News and Developments
M5 Readers: Keep in Mind That Political News, By Nature, May Reflect Sequential Agenda
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March  2008 

Desperate Mugabe refusing to give in   "ROBERT MUGABE was desperately clinging to power last night, despite his looming defeat in Zimbabwe's presidential election, by blocking the electoral commission from releasing results and threatening to treat an opposition claim of victory as a coup."     The rule: The good die young, but pricks live forever ...

US credit crunch hits education as banks abandon student loans   "One of America's leading banking associations has given warning that the United States faces a growing educational apartheid as some lenders withdraw from student loans amid new evidence that the credit crisis has spread across all types of borrowing. In the past fortnight, some banks, including HSBC, have pulled out of the $85 billion (£42 billion) a year US student loans market, fuelling anxiety that the turmoil that hit debt markets on Wall Street last summer is spilling over into the wider economy and making credit more difficult to secure for ordinary American households."

Wyoming sheriffs put feds in their place   "The District Court ruled in favor of the sheriffs. In fact, they stated, Wyoming is a sovereign state and the duly elected sheriff of a county is the highest law enforcement official within a county and has law enforcement powers exceeding that of any other state or federal official ...."

1000 activists close down NATO   "About 1,000 people from 17 European countries went to the NATO headquarters in Brussels on the 23rd of March to take part in the international non-violent action NATO GAME OVER. 5 years after the start of the Iraq war and 10 days before the Bucharest NATO summit, peace activists from all over Europe demonstrate that preventing war starts in Europe ..."

Cereal Grain Virus Attacking Food Supplies Worldwide  "A deadly fungus, known as Ug99, which kills wheat, has likely spread to Pakistan from Africa according to reports. If true, that threatens the vital Asian Bread Basket including the Punjab region. The spread of the deadly virus, stem rust, against which an effective fungicide does not exist, comes as world grain stocks reach the lowest in four decades and government subsidized bio-ethanol production, especially in the USA, Brazil and EU are taking land out of food production at alarming rates. The deadly fungus is being used by Monsanto and the US Government to spread patented GMO seeds ... Stem rust is the worst of three rusts that afflict wheat plants. The fungus grows primarily in the stems, plugging the vascular system so carbohydrates can't get from the leaves to the grain, which shrivels. Ug99 is a race of stem rust that blocks the vascular tissues in cereal grains including wheat, oats and barley. Unlike other rusts that may reduce crop yields, Ug99-infected plants may suffer up to 100 percent loss ... The first strains of Ug99 were detected in 1999 in Uganda. It spread to Kenya by 2001, to Ethiopia by 2003 and to Yemen when the cyclone Gonu spread its spores in 2007. Now the deadly fungus has been found in Iran and according to British scientists may already be as far as Pakistan ..."

Air Traffic Controller: 911 An Inside Job  "Former Air Traffic Controller Robin Hordon speaks out on 9/11, NORAD and what should have happened on 9/11." 

Katrina 'Victims' May Have To Repay $175 Million  "The contractor, ICF International of Fairfax, Va., revealed the extent of the overpayments when it issued a March 11 request for bids from companies willing to handle "approximately 1,000 to 5,000 cases that will necessitate collection effort ... The bid invitation said: "The average amount to be collected is estimated to be approximately $35,000, but in some cases may be as high as $100,000 to $150,000." The biggest grant amount allowed by the Road Home program is $150,000, so ICF believes it paid some recipients the maximum when they should not have received a penny. If ICF's highest estimate of 5,000 collection cases — overpaid by an average of $35,000 — proves to be true, that means applicants will have to pay back a total of $175 million ..."

America’s Next 9/11  "We know that the Bush regime wants to attack Iran. Despite the NIE report that Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program several years ago and despite no signs of a weapons program having been uncovered by IAEA inspectors, Bush, Cheney, and the neocon nazis continue to agitate for striking Iran “before it is too late.” Their politicized military commander in Iraq, Gen. Petraeus, keeps insisting that Iran is training Iraqi insurgents and supplying weapons that are killing US troops. Bush and Cheney themselves have made trips to Europe and the Middle East trying to marshall support for an attack on Iran. Anyone who is not deaf, blind and stupid knows that the Bush regime is doing everything it can to create circumstances that will permit a US attack on Iran ..."

India Prepared To Invest Billions in Iran Oil and Gas Fields  "India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and the Hinduja Group are in discussions with Iran for the signing of a mid-April contract that would pump billions of dollars into Iran's South Pars gas field and the south Azadegan oil field, ONGC chairman and Managing Director RS Sharma told reporters Wednesday. Though there is no definitive agreement, the "participating agreement" would involve ONGC Videsh and Hinduja in the development of phase 12 of the South Pars, as well as field development of the Azadegan oil patch. "A lot of ground has to be covered before reaching a stage of signing a definitive agreement," Sharma told reporters. Azadegan is the largest oil field in Iran after its 1999 discovery. China and India have been on the hunt for opportunities to exploit the country with the world's second-largest oil and gas reserves. This week, China said it would be willing to step in and pick up any slack left by India in the $7.4 billion Iran-Pakistan pipeline deal if India backs out. In December 2007, Sinopec signed a deal with Iran to develop the Yadavaran oil field. "

Why All the Foreign Bases?   Nice overview.

Air Force officer disciplined for saying Bush allowed September 11 attacks  "A US Air Force officer in California recently accused President Bush of deliberately allowing the September 11 terror attacks to take place. The officer has been relieved of his command and faces further discipline. The controversy surrounding Lt. Col. Steve Butler’s letter to the editor, in which he affirmed that Bush did nothing to warn the American people because he “needed this war on terrorism,” received scant coverage in the media ... Universally ignored by the press, however, was that the officer was not merely expressing a personal opinion. He was in a position to have direct knowledge of contacts between the US military and some of the hijackers in the period before the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon ..."

New Study Further Links Parkinson's Disease and Pesticides  "In another cautionary tale about the potential danger of toxic pesticides, scientists have published a new study on further evidence of a possible link between Parkinson's disease and long-term chemical exposure. As the UK's Guardian reports, a study of more than 300 people with the neurological disease found that sufferers were more than twice as likely to report heavy exposure to pesticides over their lifetime as family members without the disease."

Evidence That the CIA Murdered RFK  "A new BBC documentary supports the conclusion that the CIA planned and executed the assassination of Robert Kennedy. The new video and photographic evidence -- the result of a three year long investigation --"puts three senior CIA operatives" at the scene of the murder."

US Moves To Financially Isolate Iran  "March 20, 2008 is destined to be another day of infamy. On this date the US officially declared war on Iran. But it's not going to be the kind of war many have been expecting. The US, speaking through FinCEN, is now telling all banks around the world "to take into account the risk arising from the deficiencies in Iran's AML/CFT [anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism] regime, as well as all applicable U.S. and international sanctions programs, with regard to any possible transactions" with – and this is important – not just the above three banks but every remaining state-owned, private and special government bank in Iran. In other words, FinCEN charges, all of Iran's banks – including the central bank (also on FinCEN's list) – represent a risk to the international financial system, no exceptions. Confirmation is possible by comparing FinCEN's list of risky Iranian banks with the listing of Iranian banks provided by Iran's central bank."   Read also the result of the US financial isolation of North Korea in 2005.  Related: 5 ex-secretaries of state: Close Guantanamo, open Iran dialogue

Satellite Surveillance Domestic Issues   PDF New report from the Congressional Research Service that has not been made readily available to the public. Issued 21 March 2008.

Operation Permanent Presence: The Civil War "Surge" in Iraq   "Bush (and the ever-compliant press) portray the operation as an attempt to show that the Iraqis can handle their own security problems. A successful demonstration of this in Basra would then hasten the withdrawal of (some) U.S. troops -- so the story goes. But in fact, the operation seems expressly designed to prove the opposite point: that the Iraqi government can't possibly control its own country, and thus a major U.S. presence is still needed. This is why the White House has backed al-Maliki's assault on the strongholds of Moqtada al-Sadr in Basra. But to say that Bush has "backed" or assisted this major escalation of the Iraqi civil war is probably putting it too mildly. As the operation unravels into the inevitable blood-drenched fiasco -- exposing the Iraqi "government" as the weak, corrupt, ineffectual, infiltrated puppet show that it has always been -- it becomes more and more likely that al-Maliki was ordered to launch the attack by his masters in Washington -- or at the very least was "marshalled in the way he was going" by the Americans, with Bush playing Lady Macbeth to the power-hungry but uncertain al-Maliki."  Related: Americans in Green Zone under siege | U.S.  Offensive Against Sadr Militia | Basra crisis leaves British withdrawal in ruins | The Mahdi Army of 60,000 

Exposing DHS's Border Fence Myth: How 302 Miles Is Actually Less Than 10   "Secretary Chertoff is riding into the sunset--dragging the fence behind him. As mentioned in yesterday's immigration blog by Steve Elliott the Sun Sets on the Border Fence On 12/31/08. This sunset provision of the Omnibus bill H.R. 2764 declares that the Secretary of Homeland Security loses all authority to build the fence--even if he wants to."

AIG Sues Greenberg Over $20 Billion in Company Stock   "American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer by assets, sued the company's former chief executive officer, Maurice ``Hank'' Greenberg, claiming he ``misappropriated'' AIG shares worth $20 billion. AIG said Greenberg and six other former executives, including ex-Chief Financial Officer Howard Smith, took over company stock held by an AIG affiliate, Starr International Co., or SICO, in 2005. The defendants seized control of the board of Starr, AIG's largest shareholder, and converted the firm into a private investment vehicle for their benefit, AIG alleged." 

US gave $300m arms contract to Israeli-connected 22-year-old with criminal record   "28 Mar 2008 The Pentagon entrusted a 22-year-old previously arrested for domestic violence and having a forged driving license to be the main supplier of ammunition to Afghan forces at the height of the battle against the Taliban, it was reported yesterday. AEY, essentially a one-man operation based in an unmarked office in Miami Beach, Florida, was awarded a contract worth $300m (£150m) to supply the Afghan army and police in January last year. The report on AEY was the latest instance of private firms securing lucrative defense contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan under the Bush regime's policy of privatizing growing aspects of the military. "Operations like this pop up like mushrooms after the rain," said Milton Bearden, a former CIA official who in the 1980s was in charge of arming Afghan rebel groups fighting the former Soviet Union. Old stock was sent to Afghan forces battling Taliban. 40-year-old ammunition had to be destroyed. Henry Waxman, the member of congress from California who heads the committee on government oversight, said yesterday he would conduct hearings into the contract next month (April 2008)." Related:  Supplier Under Scrutiny on Arms for Afghans The younger Diveroli's munitions experience appeared to be limited to a short-lived job in Los Angeles for Botach Tactical, a military and police supply company owned by his uncle, Bar-Kochba Botach. See the company logo, which clearly has an Israeli star.

Model Amici Curiae Brief to Eliminate Corporate Rights   "This Brief is intended to assist communities organizing to challenge the United States government's gift of constitutional powers to property organized as corporations. Accordingly, this Brief is NOT about corporate responsibility, corporate accountability, corporate ethics, corporate codes of conduct, good corporate "citizenship," corporate crime, corporate reform, consumer protection, fixing regulatory agencies, or stakeholders."   Interesting, how the definition of corps as 'entities' has changed over time. Corporations were originally designed as figuring in public benefit in some way.

Fiscal Year 2009 Pentagon Spending Request Briefing Book   PDF  18 pages. A very revealing look at the paradigm over time, as well. Worth looking at to see the US vs. the rest of the planet.

World Military Spending  Updated 1 March 2008. Interesting planetary priorities ... sigh ...

World Food Programme Runs Out of Funding  "Faced with the dramatically spiraling costs of wheat, rice and corn, the World Food Programme has made an unprecedented appeal for at least $500m (£250m) to help it continue supplying food aid to 73 million needy people this year.”   If the planetary power structure cared at all, this would not occur. You know why they don't care.

Spain's property market suffers meltdown  "Spain's once-booming property market is in freefall, official statistics have revealed for the first time…"

Outside View: The end of capitalism as we know it  "The Western world is in an economic crisis similar in scale to the oil shock of 1973. What we are seeing is nothing less than the unraveling of neo-liberalism – the dominant economic and ideological model of the last 30 years ... The disintegration of Anglo-Saxon-inspired markets has come about largely because of the confluence of two tendencies of the "free market": speculation and monopoly capitalism. Contrary to received opinion, free markets – unless subject to civil regulation, asset distribution and persistent intervention – always tend to monopoly ... before 1973 the ratio of investment to speculative capital was 9:1; since 1973, these proportions have reversed. So huge have the numbers, leverage and derivative instruments become that their value now far exceeds the total economic value of the planet. For instance, in 2003 the value of all derivative trading was $85 trillion, while the size of the world economy was only $49 trillion ... These ratios have risen with the latest estimates that the value of all traded paper instruments exceeds the underlying value of the assets on which they are written by 3:1. The fact that these assets may themselves be devaluing by up to 50 per cent (US housing values have declined by 25 per cent in two years) means that the overall ratio of global paper value to its leveraged base may indeed double ... This average global figure itself masks even more extreme levels of leverage. The Carlyle Group de-faulted on $16.6bn (£8.4bn) of debt last week. The private equity firm had been speculating assiduously on its AAA-rated mortgage base – by some estimates, at the end of its life, Carlyle's loan-to-value ratio and hedge exposure was at 36:1. There are, of course, many other private equity firms in a similar position ... This incalculable level of speculation is abetted by the huge concentration of wealth that has occurred since 1973. Why? Because if markets tend to monopoly then smaller groups of people control larger amounts of assets. The latest figures demonstrate this admirably: the richest 10 per cent of the UK population increased their share of the nation's marketable wealth (excluding housing) from 57 per cent in 1976 to 71 per cent in 2003. Over the same period, the speculative capital that could be deployed or invested by the bottom 50 per cent of the British population fell from 12 per cent to just 1 per cent. Indeed, the wealthiest 1 per cent of the population, on current government figures, now control more than a third of all the marketable wealth – and this ignores the vast sums held in offshore tax havens ... The trouble is that nobody in power recognizes this crisis for what it is – an asset insolvency crisis brought about by massive debt leverage. Neo-liberals are still reacting as if the emergency was one of liquidity. They are wrong. Governments should bail out not banks and speculators but the customers who now have every reason to fear for the future."

Chronic Neglect Of Agriculture In Asia  "Chronic neglect of agriculture in Asia and the Pacific has left over 200 million people in extreme poverty amid rising prices for foodstuffs and despite robust growth in other sectors."    Not for much longer.

Russia to continue Arctic shelf research  "Russian scientists will continue to study the Arctic shelf in order to bolster the country's claim to a large swathe of seabed believed to be rich in oil and gas, a Russian lawmaker said on Thursday. President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia's Arctic research is aimed at establishing the country's right to a part of the Arctic shelf ..." Related: Russian Analysis of Bush and McCain - Equally Bad Options | Will Kosovo be turned over to the Pentagon? - the territory seized from Serbia is turning into a big military base of the United States and NATO. 

Cheney betting on Economic Collapse: Dumped $10 to $25 million in a European bond fund in 2006  "Darth Cheney is counting on a steadily weakening dollar. So, while working class Americans are loosing ground to inflation and rising energy costs, Darth Cheney will be enhancing his wealth in "Old Europe". As Blackburn sagely notes, "Not all 'bad news' is bad for everybody."    The plan may be that the rich would move their wealth overseas, crash the US economy deliberately, then bring their wealth back to the US where it would be worth ten times as much, and the companies that profited from the wars would provide security, confinement and operational services in the eventually devastated United States, which would become a fascist confinement state terror society.  Related: War benefits only business  "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel," said author Samuel Johnson. Bush's deceit leading to the invasion of Iraq enabled the corrupt military-industrial complex to make outrageous profits for multinational corporations. Corporate greed and war profiteering have made endless war a corporate imperative." 

The science of terror  " ... Terror is a very tenuous and subjective term to define. The Penn State International Center for the Study of Terrorism attempts to draw parameters around the word, parameters that do not identify the true perpetrators of any specific terror or terror in general: "a particular kind of political violence that is usually associated with the use, or threat of use of violent behavior to achieve political ends. Although terrorism can be, and often is, perpetrated by States, the term is most frequently associated with non-state entities seeking to overthrow or effectively destabilize a regime..."

Boston and D.C. Gun Grabbing Schemes Fizzle  "Bostonians are not buying it, though. It is not so much the flimsy rules about what is to be searched. It is rather the very idea of allowing police to enter without justification coupled with a search warrant issued by a judge ... Meanwhile, in the District of Criminals, the cops are having difficulty with an anti-Fourth Amendment scheme of their own ..." 

Tibet, the 'great game' and the CIA "There is reason to believe Beijing was caught on the hop with the recent demonstrations for the simple reason that their planning took place outside of Tibet..."   See more on this, below

Concept of 'the Jewish people' a Complete Fabrication  "In this work, the author attempts to prove that the Jews now living in Israel and other places in the world are not at all descendants of the ancient people who inhabited the Kingdom of Judea during the First and Second Temple period."  In other words, there is no real historical 'title' to the land which Israel occupies.  

Almost 50% of the US Population described as mentally ill  "America has reached a point where almost half its population is described as being in some way mentally ill, and nearly a quarter of its citizens - 67.5 million - have taken antidepressants. Social phobia, later dubbed "social anxiety disorder," was one of seven new anxiety disorders created in 1980. At first it struck me as a serious condition. By the 1990s experts were calling it "the disorder of the decade," insisting that as many as one in five Americans suffers from it. Yet the complete story turned out to be rather more complicated. For starters, the specialist who in the 1960s originally recognized social anxiety - London-based Isaac Marks, a renowned expert on fear and panic - strongly resisted its inclusion in DSM-III as a separate disease category. The list of common behaviors associated with the disorder gave him pause: fear of eating alone in restaurants, avoidance of public toilets, and concern about trembling hands. By the time a revised task force added dislike of public speaking in 1987, the disorder seemed sufficiently elastic to include virtually everyone on the planet."   This is what happens when you have a population that knows little and can do nothing about the collapse of society around them.

U.S. public's feelings about economy are bleakest since '73  "A survey of about 2,500 households found that Americans feel worse about the economy's prospects than at any time since 1973, when Americans struggled with soaring oil prices and runaway inflation. With home prices falling at record rates, Americans are also finding it more difficult to draw on their home equity, further depressing their spending power. A separate report Tuesday said the value of single-family homes in major metropolitan areas plummeted 10.7 percent in January from a year earlier, the steepest annual decline since the height of the 1990s housing slump."

US fears over honey bee collapse  "Colony collapse disorder (CCD) emerged last year, and by spring 2007 bees were dying in huge numbers - over the year as a whole the total bee population fell by 30%. Some beekeepers lost closer to 90%, and the fear is it will get worse." 

9/11 inquiry head 'tried to shield George Bush  "The head of the commission that investigated the Sept 11 terrorist attacks had closer ties to the White House than he admitted and tried to limit the Bush administration's responsibility for the incident, a book claims. Philip Zelikow, the 9/11 Commission's executive director, allegedly attempted to intimidate staff to avoid findings that would be damaging to President George W Bush, who was running for re-election, and Condoleezza Rice, his then National Security Adviser." Related: American Society of Civil Engineers accused of engaging in 9-11 cover-up  

UN rejects water availability, necessary to life, as basic right   Well. I guess they'll have to drink beer and eat dirt cookies.

'Israel sees dwindling chance of US strike on Iran, despite nuclear 'smoking gun'  "Cheney told ABC News's Martha Raddatz that Iran was "obviously ... heavily involved in trying to develop nuclear weapons enrichment." The Los Angeles Times notes that Iran has denied trying to develop a nuclear weapon and the uranium enrichment that has been demonstrated is in line with energy production, not weapons development."    Yes, they might have to do their own dirty work, up front.

Bats Perish, and No One Knows Why   Endgame continues ...

Fed May Buy Mortgages Next, Treasury Investors Bet  " ... While purchasing some of the $6 trillion mortgage securities outstanding would take problem debt off the balance sheets of banks and alleviate the cause of the credit crunch, it would put taxpayers at risk ..." 

U.S. Outsourcing Passport Manufacturing  "The United States has outsourced the manufacturing of its electronic passports to overseas companies — including one in Thailand that was victimized by Chinese espionage — raising concerns that cost savings are being put ahead of national security, an investigation by The Washington Times has found ..."

Spy In The Sky Drones In Miami  "A small pilotless drone manufactured by Honeywell International (HON.N), capable of hovering and "staring" using electro-optic or infrared sensors, is expected to make its debut soon in the skies over the Florida Everglades." Related: Soviet Style Snitch Poster Being Used On Trains

10 of the Most Important Economic Events of the Last 10 Years: Collapsing the Economy in Buildup to WW III  "Since 1999, the following events have either caused or been the symptom of the present economic crises..." 

Scientists and economists offered bribes by ExxonMobil to undermine the UN climate change report  "Letters sent by the American Enterprise Institute, an ExxonMobil-funded think tank with close links to the Bush Administration, offered the payments for articles that emphasise the shortcomings of the report. Travel expenses and additional payments were also offered. The institute has received more than $1.6 million from ExxonMobil - which yesterday announced a $50 billion annual profit, the biggest ever by a US company - and more than 20 of its staff have worked as consultants to the Bush Administration. A former head of ExxonMobil, Lee Raymond, is the vice-chairman of the institute's board of trustees ..." 

Russia and Egypt sign nuclear deal  "Russia and Egypt have signed an agreement opening the way for Russian firms to bid for contracts to build nuclear power plants in Egypt. The deal was signed on Tuesday after Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, and Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's leader, met near Moscow for talks which also covered Russia's plan to host a Middle East peace conference. Egypt wants up to four nuclear power stations. An international tender to build the first of them may come as early as this year ..." 

American Society of Civil Engineers Accused of Cover-Ups  "The professional organization for engineers who build the nation's roads, dams and bridges has been accused by fellow engineers of covering up catastrophic design flaws while investigating national disasters ..." 

U.S. mistakenly sent nuclear missile fuses to Taiwan  "The U.S. military mistakenly shipped four fuses for nuclear missiles to Taiwan in 2006 and never caught the error, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, acknowledging an incident likely to rile China. The military was supposed to ship helicopter batteries to Taiwan, but instead sent fuses used as part of the trigger mechanism on Minuteman missiles. Taiwan returned the parts to U.S. custody last week."

Cheney discusses terrorism, Iran with Turkey's PM   "On the final leg of his Middle East tour, Cheney continues to talk about the threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear program. In effect he’s trying to drum up support for a U.S. led strike on Iran." 

Columbine Massacre Unravels  "Columbine has never made any sense. On a close examination of eyewitnesses, and events, one can easily see that there were at least seven people involved, and maybe a third shooter."  Related: Columbine's Third Shooter  | FBI's dirtiest secret: Dwayne Fuselier, the FBI agent in charge of the Columbine investigation, had at least one son in the Trench Coat Mafia When a Denver news reporter questioned him, he refused to even discuss it.

Saudis Prepare for "Sudden Nuclear Hazards" After Cheney Visit  "Dick Cheney was in Saudi Arabia for high-level meetings with the Saudi king and his ministers. On Saturday, it was revealed that the Saudi Shura Council -- the elite group that implements the decisions of the autocratic inner circle -- is preparing "national plans to deal with any sudden nuclear and radioactive hazards that may affect the kingdom following experts' warnings of possible attacks on Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactors," one of the kingdom's leading newspapers, Okaz, reports. The German-based dpa news service relayed the paper's story."  Related: Probable Cause to Charge Dick Cheney With Mass Murder, Terrorism, and High Treason There is probable cause to indict Dick Cheney for the crime of supervising the events of 911, a capital crime consisting of high treason and mass murder. Both Bush and Condoleeza Rice would state that they could not have foreseen the crashing of airliners into buildings. In fact, just such a 'scenario' was the basis for security when Bush attended the G8 Summit in Italy, July 23, 2001 [See: "Italy: Bush Targeted at G8." New York Newsday 19 Sept 2001, unsigned; "Extremists 'Planned Genoa Attack on Bush'", BBC News, 27 Sept 2001]. Secondly, Dick Cheney supervised precisely that scenario on the very day that it happened in fact --a highly improbable coincidence' that would repeat later in Britain on 7/7. Cheney supervised what are called 'exercises' within a bunker --the Presidential Emergency Operations Center --located under the White House. There is damning testimony against Cheney from former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta who contradicts 9/11 Commission Report's Account of Dick Cheney's timetable.

As economy slides, New Englanders hunker down  "The consumer confidence index is at its lowest level in five years. A recent USA Today-Gallup poll found a heightened sense of vulnerability even among those not in financial crisis themselves, with 42 percent of respondents rating economic conditions as poor and 55 percent saying that "someone close to them" had lost a job, filed for bankruptcy, faced foreclosure, or been turned down for credit in the preceding three months. That widespread feeling of vulnerability emerged in more than a dozen interviews and responses to an online query." 

The Suspect Society  "The Surveillance Society. The New Authoritarianism. The Age of Paranoid Politics. These are just a few of the ways writers and thinkers describe the age we're now living in. The signs of anxiety and fear in this post 9-11 era are all around us. School lock-downs are called the new fire-drill. Recently, many schools boards in Canada made rehearsing the lock-down mandatory. The number of security staff in schools is increasing every year. By 2010 for example, there will be more security guards than teachers in American schools. But, the uniforms aren't just being worn by security staff. More and more American public schools have adopted uniforms for students. Meanwhile the U.S. army is embedding itself in schools - targeting younger and younger students for recruitment. In Canada recruitment comes through video games that inform, entertain and seduce "action-focused males starting at 17 years old"."  

Israel Bank intervenes in foreign currency market, buys dollars  "The Bank of Israel intervened in the foreign currency market on Thursday for the first time since 1997 and bought dollars."

Truckers 'going broke' and threatening to strike  "Dan Little, the owner/operator of a livestock hauling company in Carrollton, Mo., estimated Tuesday that at least 1,000 other truckers from across the United States have committed so far to joining him in a strike on April 1."

US deploys nuclear sub to Persian Gulf  "An American nuclear submarine has crossed the Suez Canal to join the US fleet stationed in the Persian Gulf, Egyptian sources say. An American destroyer recently left the Persian Gulf, heading towards the Mediterranean Sea; earlier on Thursday, a US Navy rescue ship crossed the canal to enter the Red Sea."  Related:  'No option' ruled out over Iran nukes

Global Food Costs Skyrocket as War Psychopaths Pursue Greed and Power  Very interesting to see what's happening.

Chinese Government Caught Staging Riots to Force Tibetan Issue  "A former Chinese Communist Party official has accused China of staging violent riots in Tibet in order to demonize Tibetans in the eyes of the international community, justify a brutal paramilitary police crackdown and force the Dalai Lama to resign. "The CCP carefully staged the unrest in Tibet to deceive the world. Before the incident, the authorities drove away all foreign reporters and even forbade them from going out," said Ming. "The demonstration on March 10 was meant to be peaceful. You can see from the pictures that the demonstration was all monks," he explained. By provoking the Tibetans into violence, China is orchestrating a "thorough plot with carefully designed propaganda," according to Ming, who says the ultimate goal is to force the Dalai Lama to resign and eventually categorize Tibetans as terrorists, leading to a brutal crackdown. Such a ploy is common in the west, where legitimate peaceful protesters are given a bad name by infiltrators posing as anarchists who are in reality working for the authorities. The most recent example occurred in Quebec Canada during an August 2007 SPP summit, where authorities were forced to admit that three rock-wielding mask-wearing "anarchists" were in fact police infiltrators gathering information on protesters and seemingly intent on provoking violent clashes in order to justify a police crackdown." 

Inside Story of CIA's Black Hands in Tibet    " ...By far the most important CIA asset was an agent named Gyalo Thondup, elder brother to the Dalai Lama..."  Related: Tibet, China and Human Rights  |    Links Covering the Dalai Lama and CIA 

EMD 'Safety Bracelet' - ID-Shock Bracelet Eyed by DHS for Common Use to Control People     "A company called Lamperd Firearm Training Systems wants to market this shock bracelet as a security product as a way for terrorists to be incapacitated on an airline. As always, this device is sold as something that will be used to keep everyone safe from terrorists. Of course, this company doesn’t want you to know that the vast majority of terrorism is funded by governments to begin with ... Even worse is that there appears to be demand for this shock bracelet product outside of airport security (PDF). If this technology is improved upon and enhanced, it is very possible that this technology could be used in a similar fashion to what is seen in The Running Man. " Related: Terror Watch List Claims Innocent Victims  

"We are living through another Hiroshima," Iraqi doctor says     "The U.S., Great Britain and Israel are turning portions of the Middle East into a slice of radioactive hell. They are achieving this by firing what they call "depleted uranium" (DU) ammunition but which is, in fact, radioactive ammunition and it is perhaps the deadliest kind of tactical ammo ever devised in the warped mind of man."

Over 70,000 deaths,1 million disabilities among American soldiers attributed to Iraq Wars     "U.S. investigative researchers have discovered an official U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs official, but not well publicized count, of 73,846 U.S. soldiers who have perished as an apparent result of Depleted Uranium based bio-chemical warfare exposure. This exceeds an estimate of 58,000 U.S. soldiers who had been killed in relation to the Vietnam War ... Over One million U.S. soldiers have apparently been disabled from Depleted Uranium based biochemical exposure. Over one million Iraqis have also been documented to have been killed ... More than 1,820 tons (3-million, 640 thousand pounds) of radioactive nuclear waste uranium were exploded into Iraq alone in the form of armour piercing rounds and bunker busters, representing the worlds worst man made ecological disaster ever. 64 kg of uranium were used in the Hiroshima bomb. The very broad human and ecological disaster of the Iraq War has been drowned out by America's sound-bite driven media organizations, that are owned by the same fascist clique which presides over the Iraq War ... It is apparent that a Eugenics-inspired megalomaniacal fascist clique seeks to further make Iran a toxic nuclear wasteland ... "What the government is doing is only counting the soldiers that die in action on the ground before they can get them into a hummer, helicopter or ambulance. Any soldier who is shot but they get into a vehicle before 'the die' is not counted." "Uranium poisoning, which can take decades to kill not only the soldier but family members as well" are further cited documents in Libertyforlife.com, who also adds that more than 1,820 tons of radio active nuclear waste uranium were exploded into Iraq alone in the form of armor piercing rounds and bunker busters (also known as dirty bombs), representing the worlds worst man made ecological disaster, over the 64 kg of uranium that was used in the Hiroshima bomb ..."  Related: a new propaganda item, "Bush sympathetic as war toll hits 4,000" 

Brave New World for Hollywood as Aldous Huxley feud ends     "Leonardo DiCaprio  puts his Hollywood muscle behind the first big-screen production of Brave New World, Huxley’s most enduring novel." 

McCain Now A Campaign Finance Criminal   "According to the latest Federal Election Commission report, John McCain has now spent $58.4 million dollars. McCain applied for public financing, and according to FEC chairman David Mason (in a letter to McCain), he can't withdraw without permission of the FEC. So he is now legally in violation of campaign finance law." 

Death of massive star creates brightest burst ever seen   " ... The explosion happened at a distance of over twenty billion light years from Earth. To detect a naked eye object from such a distance really is extraordinary.”  Gamma Ray Burst (can kill all life if it is aimed in the right direction) See the appendix in Matrix 6. See also the Real Time Gamma Ray Burst Data item in the first blue-bar group below on the LE Online webpage, third column on the bottom. These things are going off all the time. Check it out.

Strange Silver Price Gyrations and Shortage   " ... So, nobody wants silver so badly that its price takes a $3 nosedive in the course of about 24 hours. On the other hand, just try to find some to buy. When you do, the dealer is jacking up the price. Nobody wants silver so badly, you can't buy any! Go figure. And go buy some, while you are at it ..." 

Major Flooding In U.S. A Sign Of Things To Come   " Major floods striking America’s heartland in March offer a preview of the spring seasonal outlook, according to NOAA’s National Weather Service."

Arkansas Meat Factory Explodes   "A meat packing plant exploded Sunday afternoon, forcing homes to be evacuated because ammonia gas leaked into the air, state officials said. It was not immediately known if there were any injuries, but a witness said she saw injured people."  The cows, already dead before the plant exploded, had no comment.

Mortgage crisis hits cultural institutions    "Some of Southern California's major cultural institutions are bleeding because of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, with combined losses of more than $3 million -- and mounting -- since February, when their seemingly safe and innocuous construction bonds turned into fiscal leeches."  Related: Struggling Economy Forces Adults to Move Back Home | Exxon Skimps On Oil Production To Boost Profits | Starbucks Ordered To Pay More Than $100M In Back Tips |

Corporate Media's Virtual Blackout on Iraq Atrocity Hearings    (See also article below entitled "Winter Soldier Hearings) "Given the common media rhetoric of "supporting the troops" to ignore these same troops when they speak out about the horrors of the war is unconscionable. On the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, it is particularly important that the media reverse this silence, and include the voices of the vets who are speaking out about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan in national news coverage."

Why Bush 'Watergated' Eliot Spitzer    A useful rule of thumb in evaluating spectacular scandals around prominent public figures is to ask what and who might want to eliminate that person, and why.

Feds Launch Criminal Probe Into Aluminum Maker Alcoa Over Alleged Bribery in Bahrain   "The U.S. Justice Department has begun a criminal investigation into whether aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. participated in bribery in the Persian Gulf state of Bahrain. In documents filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, federal prosecutors asked a judge to halt a federal civil lawsuit that accused Pittsburgh-based Alcoa of bribing officials through overseas shell companies to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments."

Rumsfeld's disease: A politically-induced biochemical disaster of global proportions    "Donald Rumsfeld, as the CEO of G.D. Searle, Co., "called in his markers" to achieve U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the artificial sweetener aspartame, better known by its trade name "NutraSweet." Today, Donald Rumsfeld is known throughout the world as the zealous  U.S. Secretary of Defense who began waging a global "war on terror" in search of "terrorists" and "weapons of mass destruction." Most people, however, are not aware that Rumsfeld himself unleashed a chemical weapon of mass destruction upon the world in 1981--and it's still out there destroying people all over the world. That "WMD" is aspartame and it has been scientifically and anecdotally linked to millions of chronic illnesses and deaths."   

Investment Firms Tap Fed for Billions    "Big Wall Street investment companies are taking advantage of the Federal Reserve's unprecedented offer to secure emergency loans, the central bank reported Thursday."   ... which suggests that smaller investors are starting to pull out of the market and the investment houses need the cash to buy up stocks to keep prices from falling. 

Russia's Severstal to buy U.S. steel mill for $810 million    "Severstal, Russia's largest steel producer, is to purchase a steel mill in the U.S. for $810 million, the company announced on Friday."  

Russian FM warns military action on Iran 'disastrous'    "Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday warned that any military means to solve Iran's controversial nuclear programme would have a "disastrous" effect." Related: Iran a Nuclear Threat, Bush Insists "Bush said Thursday that Iran has declared that it wants to be a nuclear power with a weapon to "destroy people," including others in the Middle East, contradicting the judgments of a recent U.S. intelligence estimate."  Russia's NATO envoy: US military "arming ex-terrorists" in Kosovo "Russia's firebrand envoy to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said Thursday that US military aid to Kosovo amounted to arming "former terrorists." Responding to news of US President George W Bush approval of military aid to Kosovo, Russia's ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin warned that such a move could lead to "new terrorist clashes in the Balkans."" 

Hawaii volcano explodes for first time in 84 years    ""It was the first explosion in Kilauea's main Halemaumau Crater since 1924, scattering debris over about 75 acres, said Jim Kauahikaua, scientist-in-charge at Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on the Big Island."

7.2-magnitude earthquake strikes China    "A major earthquake struck western China early Friday, but there were no initial reports of casualties. The 7.2 magnitude quake hit at 6:33 a.m. (6:33 p.m. EDT Thursday), about 140 miles southeast of the city of Hotan in Xinjiang province, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Dale Grant, a USGS geophysicist, described the area as "very seismically active" but said Friday's temblor was the biggest there on record."

Foreign investors veto Fed rescue    "As feared, foreign bond holders have begun to exercise a collective vote of no confidence in the devaluation policies of the US government. The Federal Reserve faces a potential veto of its rescue measures.  Related: US, Abu Dhabi, Singapore agree sovereign wealth fund principles  US Treasury said Thursday it had struck a series of agreements with big sovereign wealth funds based in Abu Dhabi and Singapore on investments in US markets.

Demolition for NAFTA's I-69 Superhighway begins Video.   Related: Papers Expose Lies of Clinton, Emanuel, Gergen On NAFTA

Forbidden fields: Oil groups circle the prize of Iraq's vast reserves    "Royal Dutch Shell has been quietly working with Iraq's oil ministry over the past two years, advising it on how to increase the production of two oilfields. Under an agreement struck after the 2003 invasion, no one from the company, Europe's largest oil group, has set foot in the troubled country; instead, monthly face-to-face meetings with the oil ministry have been held in Amman, the Jordanian capital, and weekly contact has been maintained by video-link."

Who leaked the details of a CIA-Mossad plot against Iran   "The Bush administration is prolonging the hunting season against journalists. The latest victim is James Risen, The New York Times reporter for national security and intelligence affairs. About three months ago, a federal grand jury issued a subpoena against him, ordering Risen to give evidence in court. A heavy blackout has been imposed on the affair, with the only hint being that it has to do with sensitive matters of "national security." But conversations with several sources who are familiar with the affair indicate that Risen has been asked to testify as part of an investigation aimed at revealing who leaked apparently confidential information about the planning of secret Central Intelligence Agency and Mossad missions concerning Iran's nuclear program." 

UN: Israel Guilty of War Crimes in Gaza    Israel's targeting of a Hamas government office which caused serious casualties at a nearby wedding party was a "war crime" and those responsible should be punished, a United Nations official said yesterday." Related:   Psychopath McCain visits Israel for Jewish support for White House bid  | Latest on AIPAC Espionage Case

Ohio voting machines confiscated in criminal investigation   "Ohio investigators are treating a warehouse where 15 electronic voting machines have been quarantined as a crime scene following a report someone may have illegally tampered with them to remove a candidate's name from the ballot."

US rounding up journalists in Iraq in attempt to control information   "Associated Press president Tom Curley says his news organization does not buy the government's argument that one of its photographers arrested in Iraq was working on behalf of the enemy, and he alleged the US is rounding up journalists in an attempt to control information."

Era of cheap groceries and easily affordable food rapidly coming to a close   "New agricultural trends will soon seriously affect you. In fact, they already have. After years of relatively low inflation for basic agricultural commodities, prices for wheat, corn, eggs, milk, fruits, vegetables, beef and chicken are rising, and experts have said a new era of expensive food is here to stay—but that’s not the worst that could happen."

25 most-exposed (derivatives ) financial institutions   LEGAL INSIDER TRADING IN THREE EASY STEPS, BROUGHT TO YOU BY JP MORGAN AND THE SEC - Monday March 17, 2008 A confidential memo obtained by Wikileaks shows that not only has the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission created an insider trading loophole big enough to drive a truck through, but that Wall Street is taking full advantage of it, establishing 'how-to' programs and even client service divisions to help well-heeled clients circumvent insider trading regulations. Most of us think of insider trading as illegal. It allows those with inside knowledge to tilt the playing field, with the small investors invariably losing to the privileged few. Unfortunately for the small investor, the big boys get to play by different rules, and it has all been made legal, thanks to the SEC. Related:  Whistleblower exposes insider trading program at JP Morgan  A confidential memo shows that not only has the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission created an insider trading loophole big enough to drive a truck through, but that Wall Street is taking full advantage of it, establishing 'how-to' programs and even client service divisions to help well-heeled clients circumvent insider trading regulations. Related: JP Morgan Private Bank insider trading how-to | Investment banks are borrowing from Fed

25 Intolerable Contradictions: The Final Undoing of the Official 9/11 Story   "A review of "9/11 Contradictions: An Open Letter to Congress and the Press," by Dr. David Ray Griffin. Interlink Publishing, March 2008." 

Here comes the worldwide currency debasement  "As feared, foreign bond holders have begun to exercise a collective vote of no confidence in the devaluation policies of the US government. The Federal Reserve faces a potential veto of its rescue measures. Asian, Mideast, and European investors stood aside at last week's auction of 10-year US Treasury notes. "It was a disaster," said Ray Attrill from 4castweb. "We may be close to the point where the uglier consequences of benign neglect towards the currency are revealed."

U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to strike down D.C. handgun ban  "The Supreme Court justices, hearing a historic argument on the meaning of the 2nd Amendment, signaled they are likely to strike down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia and rule that homeowners have a right to keep a gun for self-defense." Related: PDF Transcript of Supreme Court Deliberations

Winter Soldier Hearings  Get ready for the horrible, honest reality of the American occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan like you haven't heard it before. For three days, March 14-16, hundreds of U.S. veterans of the two wars descended on Washington and testified in the "Winter Soldier" hearings about what they really did while they were ' serving their country' in Iraq. And their experiences aren't pretty. Listen to Archived Testimonial Audio from the Winter Soldier Event on Iraq as Operation Mind Fuck.

 Switzerland to sign huge Iran gas deal   "Swiss energy giant EGL is set to sign a 25-year deal in Teheran on Monday to buy 5.5 billion cubic meters of Iranian natural gas per year, starting in 2011."  

 Japanese emperor calls for stronger ties with Iran   "Akihito expressed hope that ties between Iran and Tokyo will be further enhanced during Araqchi's tenure, IRNA reported."  Another country abandons the US stance...

 Leading Economic Writer: Financial Meltdown A "Gigantic Fraud"   "A leading economic journalist has described the current financial crisis as a "gigantic fraud", the fallout of a deliberate and preconceived profit agenda to enslave the middle classes in a debt bubble."

 Banks face "new world order," consolidation   "Financial firms face a "new world order" after a weekend fire sale of Bear Stearns and the Federal Reserve's first emergency weekend meeting since 1979, research firm CreditSights said in a report on Monday."

 NASA 2008 Mission to X-Ray the Moon to Reveal Subsurface Structures   This can reveal extraterrestrial bases. Japan, India and China are launching lunar probe missions as well. Japan is pursuing the same project.  Related: NASA Moon crisis: physiographic analysis | The 1979 International Agreement on the Moon PDF| Ingo Swann's tale of covert extraterrestrial activity on the moon | Enigmas On The Moon | Base on the Dark Side of the Moon discovered in 1965

 GAO Study: The Consequences of Bush Use of Signing-Statements   "One of the most under-explored aspects of Bush's unprecedented use of signing statements has been the practical consequences. A year ago, the Government Accountability Office found that, indeed, federal officials had not complied with at least some of the provisions that Bush objected to in signing statements. In testimony to a House committee yesterday, GAO general counsel Gary L. Kepplinger announced the results of another study, this one of provisions in the 2008 defense authorization, which found more of the same. The GAO examined how 21 agencies executed 29 different provisions of the law that Bush asserted his right not to follow -- and found that in nine cases "the agencies had not executed the provisions as written." As with the earlier study, the specific examples are less than compelling -- the investigation, for instance, avoided "a close examination of provisions involving national security, intelligence, or foreign relations matters, because of our limited access to such information and the time constraints on our work ... "

 Bill Clinton: 'Paranoid' hecklers 'come and scream at me everywhere'   Well, stay home, then, you stupid fool.

 Ethiopia Found To Be Holding Fake Gold Bars   "Ethiopia's national bank has been told to inspect all the gold in its vaults to determine its authenticity. It follows the discovery that some of the "gold" it had bought for millions of dollars was gold-plated steel." In a related story: Gold Futures Rise to Record $1,009 on Bear Stearns Bailout    Just where is all the real gold, anyway?

 Leading Economist: Dollar Faces Outright Collapse   "Another prominent economist has warned that the bottom may soon drop out of the dollar completely as the currency hits fresh lows and continues to sink worldwide. Peter Schiff, a dollar-bear at Security Pacific Capital, told the London Telegraph that the greenback faced the danger of outright collapse as countries in Asia and the Middle East mull plans to break their dollar pegs, which are fueling inflation across the region." 

 $200 billion bail-out for predator banks and Spitzer charges intimately linked   "Spitzer not only took on Countrywide, he took on their predatory enablers in the investment banking community. Behind Countrywide was the Mother Shark, its funder and now owner, Bank of America. Others joined the sharkfest: Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup’s Citibank made mortgage usury their major profit centers. They did this through a bit of financial legerdemain called “securitization ... It was the night of February 13 when Spitzer made the bone-headed choice to order take-out in his Washington Hotel room. He had just finished signing these words for the Washington Post about predatory loans: “Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind eye.” Bush, Spitzer said right in the headline, was the “Predator Lenders’ Partner in Crime.” The President, said Spitzer, was a fugitive from justice. And Spitzer was in Washington to launch a campaign to take on the Bush regime and the biggest financial powers on the planet ..."

 37 Financial Services Firms Facing Lawsuit    "A group of state and municipal governments, including Mississippi, Chicago and Fairfax County, Va., said Friday they sued multiple financial-services firms, alleging price-fixing and bid-rigging in the municipal derivatives industry. The suits were filed against 37 financial-services firms, including Merrill Lynch & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley ..."   Related: Bear Stearns Bailed Out by Fed, JPMorgan | Fed pledges to supply cash |

 Russian Mafia in bed with Wall Street, CEO says   "According to Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, a majority of those purchasers will be victims of Wall Street's criminal tactics and will help line the pockets of corrupt brokers and lawyers. Byrne, a Utahn who founded Overstock.com, talked to a crowd in the Union on Monday about how New York financial media and law firms have teamed up with big-wig business elites to create massive amounts of profit at the cost of American consumers. Byrne said when someone purchases a stock, there is a three-day stock settlement period during which a broker or a trader must provide a purchaser with that stock. However, through loopholes in the system, brokers and traders can legally not provide you with that stock almost indefinitely, giving the purchaser an IOU instead, Byrne said ... "It's my thesis that certain people have figured out how they can abuse that loophole, and flood the market...often in connivance with a broker dealer," he said. Through this "flooding," the brokers can essentially issue the same stock to hundreds of people at no penalty. By increasing the supply of stocks, these dealers can dramatically drop the price according to the laws of supply and demand. Byrne showed how the "cheating parties" make money off of a stock price dropping through a process called "naked short selling." In brief, Byrne showed that "naked short selling" occurs when certain hedge funds and broker-dealers flood the market for a particular firm's stock with IOU's for that stock, cracking the market in it. If they ever have to make good on their IOU's it is at fraction of the original price, and they get to pocket the difference. These methods are used to create huge profits, often killing the victimized corporation in the process, and leaving the purchaser high and dry, Byrne said. In his efforts to stop this charade, Byrne filed a $3.5 billion lawsuit against Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and nine other well-known brokers. Byrne said numerous publications, including the New York Post and Forbes magazine, have protested his "crusade," painting him as a crazed lunatic who is angry about Overstock.com's own stock price drop. Byrne said the Mafia has become a silent player in the Wall Street game. "You don't have to dig very far into this before you get to organized crime," he said." Byrne posted the presentation to his website, www.deepcapture.com, along with a blog to document his "crusade" against Wall Street.

 Wireless neckband allows first voiceless phone call    Video

 Hedge funds on the brink as US Federal Reserve cash fails to ease crisis   "Several hedge funds with assets of more than $4 billion (£2 billion) were on the brink of collapse last night or had halted withdrawals, despite moves by the US Federal Reserve this week to ease America’s deteriorating credit crisis with a $200 billion collateral lending facility.  Related: More Americans borrowing from 401(k) to pay bills | Meltdown Looms Larger as Credit Markets Freeze | Carlyle Fund Expects Assets To Be Seized  

 National Dragnet Is a Click Away   "Several thousand law enforcement agencies are creating the foundation of a domestic intelligence system through computer networks that analyze vast amounts of police information ..." Related: FBI Prepares Vast Database Of Biometrics

 U.S. Cocaine-Plane Invasion Spooking Latin America   "Trail of Evidence Points to Major Covert Operation Targeting Venezuela. Two Florida-based companies that have exported a total of at least 11 aircraft to Venezuelan buyers since 2003 are linked to four cocaine planes and what appears to be an elaborate covert intelligence operation, an ongoing Narco News investigation shows. The covert program, law enforcement sources contend, likely involves the CIA and components of Defense Department intelligence agencies, and is focused, in part, on penetrating, or even propping up, narco-trafficking groups in Venezuela. That country’s outspoken leader, Hugo Chávez, is regularly demonized by U.S. policymakers for, among other things, supposedly allowing his country to become a haven for narco-traffickers. The operation also appears to prioritize intelligence objectives over law enforcement goals, which means tons of cocaine might well be getting a free pass into the United States. Foreign law enforcement authorities confiscated two of these cocaine planes — one in the Dominican Republic and one in Nicaragua, (tail numbers N1100M and N391SA, respectively) — on suspicion of cocaine trafficking. A third plane (tail number N12DT) is cited along with N1100M in a pending FBI money laundering case involving a Venezuelan-based drug-trafficking organization  ..."

 New Lawsuit Filed Against Defense Secretary Over Fundamentalist Christianity in Military   "An Army specialist who served two tours of duty in Iraq sued Defense Secretary Robert Gates and his supervising officer Wednesday for allegedly trying to force him to embrace fundamentalist Christianity and then retaliating against him when he refused ..."

 Who Controls the American Media   "The control of the opinion-molding media is nearly monolithic. All of the controlled media – television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, motion pictures -- speak with a single voice, each reinforcing the other. Despite the appearance of variety, there is no real dissent, no alternative source of facts or ideas accessible to the great mass of people that might allow them to form opinions at odds with those of the media masters. They are presented with a single view of the world -- a world in which every voice proclaims the equality of the races, the grave, and completely truthful, nature and history of the Jewish "Holocaust" theme. It is a view of the world designed by the media masters to suit their own ends -- and the pressure to conform to that view is overwhelming. People adapt their opinions to it, vote in accord with it, and shape their lives to fit it.  ..."

 UK top cop who led CIA probe found dead   "A city police chief who led an investigation into charges that Britain cooperated with secret CIA flights to transport terrorism suspects without formal proceedings has been found dead, his deputy said Tuesday ..."

 9/11 Questioned in European Parliament   Video     Related: Greatest act of psychological warfare ever perpetrated

 50 people looking for 'solar image of Mary' lose sight   Irony: the blind leading the blind become blind. Stupid is as stupid does. Why don't they just piss on the wall of a tunnel and size that up for religious images. It would have been safer, but still stupid.

 Putin, the power struggle, and the $40bn fortune'   "An unprecedented battle is taking place inside the Kremlin in advance of Vladimir Putin's departure from office, with claims that the president presides over a secret multibillion-dollar fortune."

 Wall St. in China’s Surveillance Boom   "The ties between China’s surveillance sector and American capital markets are starting to draw Washington’s attention."

 Derivatives: The new 'ticking bomb'   "Warren Buffett wrote the following back in 2002: We try to be alert to any sort of mega-catastrophe risk, and that posture may make us unduly appreciative about the burgeoning quantities of long-term derivatives contracts and the massive amount of uncollateralized receivables that are growing alongside. In our view, however, derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction, carrying dangers that, while now latent, are potentially lethal." 'Wall Street didn't listen to Buffett. Derivatives grew into a massive bubble, from about $100 trillion to $516 trillion by 2007. The new derivatives bubble was fueled by five key economic and political trends ..."

 Oil spike to last through 2008   "Oil prices will stay at current high levels for the rest of this year due to speculation and geopolitical tensions, Algerian state media on Monday reported OPEC President Chakib Khelil as saying. Prices could retreat in 2009 with a recovery of the U.S. dollar in foreign exchange markets following the election of a new U.S. president, and as fundamentals reassert themselves as major market forces, he was reported as saying by government newspaper El Moudjahid and state news agency APS."

 Wireless Technologies which Target the Neuronal Functioning of the Brain    "Increasingly there are indications that the uses of wireless technologies have been developed to target an individual’s biological body, with specific focus upon the neuronal functioning of the brain ..."

 Lying Politicians, Gullible Voters and the Long Slide Ahead    "If you want to see what it’s going to look like if we continue down our present path, take a trip to Rome and walk through the ruins of the Forum. Those structures went from gleaming marble to piles of bricks in a matter of decades, during which Rome went from the capital of a pan-European empire to a fetid swamp (much like a post-collapse Washington would be). But a word of warning. If you go to Rome, bring a sleeping bag and a lunch pail. Your dollar will not get you a hotel room or pay for lunch at even a run-of-the-mill eatery these days, so plan on camping and eating from the grocery store while there ..."

 Australian students turn to sex work to help pay for university    "Hundreds of university students in Victoria have turned to prostitution to pay their way through higher education ..."  

 McCain Received Defense Firm Cash After Backing Its Contract    "Critics on Tuesday questioned whether Sen. John McCain catered to special interests when he aggressively threw his support behind a $35 billion Pentagon contract for a European plane maker. McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, played a crucial role in blocking the deal to build air tankers from going to U.S.-based Boeing, instead paving the path for EADS to score the loot. He framed his decision as an example of political integrity; Boeing has previously been exposed of contract abuse. But a review of campaign finance donations and lobbying records suggests that money and personal lobbying may have also been in play. On January 15, 2007, McCain appeared at Alabama Gov. Bob Riley's gubernatorial swearing in ceremony and formally called for multiple bidders in the tanker deal. The push for an open process had only one true beneficiary, however, and that was the Northrop Grumman/EADS consortium, which was poised to be Boeing's sole competitor. A day after McCain made his proclamation, the contributions began to flow. John Green, a lobbyist for EADS donated $2,100 to the senator's presidential campaign. Ten days after that, Michelle Lammers, the "Chief of Staff" for EADS North America, gave $250 to the McCain campaign. It was her first political contribution ever. Less than a month later, the long-time head of EADS' government affairs program, Samuel Adcock, made a $2,100 donation to McCain. And eleven days later, Ralph Crosby, the head of EADS North America, donated $2,300 himself ..."  

 McCain Fortune Traced To Organized Crime    "John McCain's personal fortune traces back to organized crime in Arizona, through his father-in-law, according to a report published by a multi-news agency team called Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc."  Yes, McCain, the hot-shot Vietnam era pilot who did a 'wet start' on his jet and started the Forrestal conflagration. McCain will make Bush look like Ghandi.   Related: John McCain Is No "Hero POW" John McCain seriously violated the Military Code of Conduct by trading "military information" and making numerous public statements that appeared favorable to the communist war effort in exchange for "special treatment."  John McCain is psychopathic madman, just like the rest of them.

 Israeli at center of Spitzer scandal    "The alleged procurer in the prostitution scandal surrounding New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has an Israeli passport. A federal magistrate in New York ordered Mark "Michael" Brener held without bail after his arrest last Thursday related to allegations that he headed the Emperors VIP Club, described by police as a high-priced prostitution ring. The Associated Press reported that $600,000 in cash and an Israeli passport were elements in the denial of bail to Brener, 62. Brener's lawyer said he has been a U.S. citixen for 20 years. The New York Times has reported that Spitzer is the "Client 9" described in the search warrant that led to the arrests of Brener and four alleged colleagues. Spitzer, a Jewish lawyer whose office conducted serious investigations of at least two Jewish organizations when he was state attorney general, made a brief statement to the media Monday admitting he had let down his family and the public. He did not offer any details."

 Merck Drug Company Admits Cancer Viruses In Vaccines    "This stunning censored interview conducted by medical historian Edward Shorter for WGBH public television (Boston) and Blackwell Science was cut from The Health Century due to its huge liability--the admission that Merck drug company vaccines have traditionally been injecting cancer viruses (SV40 and others) in people worldwide. This segment of In Lies We Trust: The CIA, Hollywood & Bioterrorism, produced and freely contributed by consumer protector and public health expert, Dr. Leonard Horowitz, features the world's leading vaccine expert, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, who explains why Merck's vaccines have spread AIDS, leukemia, and other horrific plagues worldwide." Related: Vaccination Is NOT Imminization | Ingredients In Vaccines PDF

 100 Dollar Bill Worth Nothing in 2 Years    "CNN In-depth interview with economist John Williams. He states a 100 dollar bill will be worth less than toilet paper in 2 years ... Earlier this week, Economist John Williams from  ShadowStats.com gave a brief interview on CNN. In a more in-depth interview Williams states that in two years, a 100 dollar bill will be worth less than toilet paper. The combination of the housing bubble along with immense government spending will lead to a massive devaluation of the dollar. Protect your assets from hyper-inflation before it's too late. Listen to the interview below."   

 Carnegie Proposals To 'Fight Global Warming' Would End Civilization, Kill Billions    "Washington Post pushes Carnegie document that encourages near-zero carbon output within decades ... The establishment press is affording sober gravitas to a Carnegie Institution report that calls for carbon emissions to be reduced to near zero in order to combat global warming, without mentioning the fact that such a move would return man to the stone age if not end civilization as we know it and kill billions."

 112 Missing FAA Badges Stolen/Lost Since 2003   "An investigation reveals over the past 5 years, 112 FAA aviation inspector badges have been stolen or lost."  Related: Military IDs stolen in Army site burglary The theft of 200 blank military IDs from a U.S. Army facility won't provide the burglars access to any high-security doors, but a smaller number of used ID cards also taken has raised concerns over the possibility that soldiers' identities could be stolen. "Besides the blank IDs, also taken during the weekend burglary at 4828 W. Silver Spring Drive were 10 to 12 used ID cards and a laptop computer used to make IDs."

 Freddie and Fannie myth starts to evaporate   "One of the great myths about Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the mortgage bond issuers and guarantors, is that the United States Government will bail them out if they get into real trouble. Although Freddie and Fannie were established by Congress and still take their charter and defined mission from the Government, they have been entirely self-financed since floating on the stock market in 1968 ... At the end of last month, Freddie reported a record loss of $2.45 billion for its fourth quarter as it suffered from a surge in defaults on US home loans. That loss, which compared with a $401million loss the year before, was declared a day after Fannie disclosed a $3.55 billion loss for the same period. Richard Syron, Freddie's chief executive, announcing the fourth-quarter loss last month, had grim words on the outlook for the US housing market and, by extension, the entire financial system. “Today's economy represents one of the most severe housing downturns in American history,” he said." 

 Banks face "systemic margin call," $325 billion hit: JPM   "Wall Street banks are facing a "systemic margin call" that may deplete banks of $325 billion of capital due to deteriorating subprime U.S. mortgages, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in a report late on March 7th."

 United States soldiers tortured Filipinos with water in 1902   "Many Americans were puzzled by the news, in 1902, that United States soldiers were torturing Filipinos with water. The United States, throughout its emergence as a world power, had spoken the language of liberation, rescue, and freedom."

 Goldman Sachs pays out $300m in bonuses to senior execs   "WALL STREET'S most profitable bank Goldman Sachs paid five senior executives more than $300m (£149m) in bonuses last year as the securities firm successfully avoided the huge losses suffered by its rivals during the credit crisis. Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and chief executive officer of Goldmans, received a bonus of $67.9m on top of his annual salary of $600,000, while fellow executives Gary Cohn and Jon Winkelried each received $66.9m, dwarfing the payouts to their peers at other big US banks where performance was well below that of Goldman Sachs." Related: Poll: Jews highest-earning religious group in US

 US Fed releases $200bn as credit crisis hits new depths   "The global credit crisis plunged to new depths yesterday as persistent fears over the collapse of a large financial institution caused funding markets to dry up and forced the US Federal Reserve to make available up to $200 billion (£99.3 billion) of emergency financing."

 Winners of the 2008 presidential election: Fear and War   "The 2008 US presidential charade has already been decided. Come November, the next White House occupant (who will be installed via political malfeasance, computer vote theft and other election “irregularities”) will be the puppet who proves to be the most effective in echoing Bush-Cheney’s “war on terrorism” lies, and expanding the Bush-Cheney “national security” agenda. The American populace will bow to the “next Bush” who will “keep them safe” from “Islamic jihadists." Facing a new and increasingly brutal regime (probably under McCain), many brain-addled Americans will be stunned that “it is happening all over again," oblivious to the fact that their own acquiescence helped make it possible."

 International experts foresee collapse of U.S. economy beginning Sept 2008   "The most frightening forecast so far comes from the Global Europe Anticipation Bulletin (GEAB), available for 200 euros - about $300 - for 16 issues annually. Its prediction is quite specific: "The end of the third quarter of 2008 (thus late September, a mere seven months from now) will be marked by a new tipping point in the unfolding of the global systemic crisis. "At that time indeed, the cumulated impact of the various sequences of the crisis will reach its maximum strength and affect decisively the very heart of the systems concerned, on the front line of which (is) the United States, epicentre of the current crisis. "In the United States, this new tipping point will translate into - get this - a collapse of the real economy, (the) final socio-economic stage of the serial bursting of the housing and financial bubbles and of the pursuance of the U.S. dollar fall. The collapse of U.S. real economy means the virtual freeze of the American economic machinery: private and public bankruptcies in large numbers, companies and public services closing down." The report goes on to say that we are entering a period for which there is no historic precedent. Any comparisons with previous situations in our modern economy are invalid. What we will have, instead, is truly a global momentous threat - a true turning point affecting the entire planet and questioning the very foundations of the international system upon which the world was organized in the last decades. It continues to predict that, although this crucial event is global, it will be the beginning of an economic 'decoupling' between the U.S. and the rest of the world. However, non 'decoupled' economies will be dragged down the U.S. negative spiral. Concerning stock markets, the GEAB anticipates that international stocks would plummet by 40 to 80 per cent depending where in the world they are located, all affected in the course of the year 2008 by the collapse of the real economy in the U.S. by the end of summer. The European authors of this report - it appears simultaneously in French, German and English - state that they simply and without prejudice try to describe in advance the consequences of the ominous trends at play in this 21st-century world, and to share these with their readers, so that they can take the proper means to protect themselves from the most negative effects."

Note from Val: Yes, Bush and the Neocons screwed up the entire planet. It's endgame, and the way it is supposed to play out.  Stock up. Preparation H or KY Warming Lubricant, because everyone's going to get fucked and/or take it up the ass. Some food, too. Don't forget the M&M's with little deathstar pictures on them, and other important last-moment planetary memorabilia for comic perusal. Remember: that it's impossible to carry a tune as the body is dying, so songbooks are out. Seek liquidity soon.

 KBR and Others Skirt US taxes offshore   "CAYMAN ISLANDS - Kellogg Brown & Root, the nation's top Iraq war contractor and until last year a subsidiary of Halliburton Corp., has avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicare and Social Security taxes by hiring workers through shell companies based in this tropical tax haven. More than 21,000 people working for KBR in Iraq - including about 10,500 Americans - are listed as employees of two companies that exist in a computer file on the fourth floor of a building on a palm-studded boulevard here in the Caribbean. Neither company has an office or phone number in the Cayman Islands. The Defense Department has known since at least 2004 that KBR was avoiding taxes by declaring its American workers as employees of Cayman Islands shell companies, and officials said the move allowed KBR to perform the work more cheaply, saving Defense dollars. But the use of the loophole results in a significantly greater loss of revenue to the government as a whole, particularly to the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. And the creation of shell companies in places such as the Cayman Islands to avoid taxes has long been attacked by members of Congress. Senator John F. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, has introduced legislation to close loopholes for companies registering overseas. With an estimated $16 billion in contracts, KBR is by far the largest contractor in Iraq, with eight times the work of its nearest competitor. The no-bid contract it received in 2002 to rebuild Iraq's oil infrastructure and a multibillion-dollar contract to provide support services to troops have long drawn scrutiny because Vice President Dick Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive from 1995 until he joined the Republican ticket with President Bush in 2000..." 

 Russian Arms Dealer Arrested in Thailand   "A suspected Russian arms dealer dubbed the "Merchant of Death" was arrested Thursday in Bangkok on allegations that he conspired to supply Colombian rebels with arms and explosives, Thai police said." 

 AIPAC Spy Trial Slated for April 2008   "AIPAC lobbies in Washington to advance Israel’s interests. Its officials assiduously maintain contact with senior policymakers, lawmakers, diplomats and journalists. Those conversations are typical of the unseen world of information trading in Washington, where people customarily and insistently ask each other, “So, what are you hearing?” But a trial scheduled for late April in federal court in Alexandria, Va., threatens to expose and upend that system. Moreover, the case comes with issues of enormous sensitivity and emotion, notably the nature and extent of the ways American Jewish supporters of Israel try to influence the United States government.'' 

 Crimes By Homeland Security Stir Alert   "U.S. Customs and Border Protection is supposed to stop these types of crimes. Instead, so many of its officers have been charged with committing those crimes themselves that their boss in Washington recently issued an alert about the ''disturbing events'' and the "increase in the number of employee arrests.'' 

 Treasury Department Shuts Down Web Sites   "Some Web sites have been put on a Treasury Department blacklist." 

 Social Security Surveillance Act Enters House   "Under the guise of protecting seniors and our national security, Congressman Mark Kirk of Illinois 10th District and Peter Roskam of the 6th District are setting the wheels in motion for another crack at a national ID card. The “Social Security Identity Theft Prevention Act” (H.R. 5405) more appropriately titled the “Social Security Surveillance Act” was likely spurred by high opposition to the failing Real ID Act. This act would be an adequate run around to implement Real ID yet in another form. They claim their reasons for introducing this act is to curb the high rate of identity theft in Northern Illinois."

 Patriot missiles: Iraq Veterans Against the War   "After Vietnam, American veterans testified to the atrocities they witnessed. Now soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are about to do the same ..." Related: Three-Stomp Blues: Vets Tell True Stories of the Terror War

 Gulf investors may not save Citigroup, Dubai executive says   "Sameer Al Ansari, Chief Executive of Dubai International Capital told delegates at a private equity conference that it will take more than the combined efforts of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Kuwait Investment Authority and Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal to save the bank."

 Diebold rejects a $2.63 billion takeover offer from United Technologies Corp  "Diebold Inc.'s board rejected a $2.63 billion takeover offer from United Technologies Corp., saying "now is not the right time" to "pursue discussions." Diebold Chairman John Lauer called the approach "an opportunistic attempt to buy Diebold at a time when shareholders do not have sufficient data to evaluate the offer and as such, the board believes that it would be irresponsible to engage in discussions with UTC at this time." IN other words, we have an election to fix first - we'll sell the company later and leave the US. It is ALSO a CONFLICT of Interest having a Defense Contractor own machines that can fix the election in order to have the winner 'provide' quid pro quo contracts worth billions. No one questions the propriety of this .... 

  DARPA 2009: Brains-on-a-Chip, Transparent Displays  "Brains-on-a-chip, robotic rescue choppers, see-through displays -- those are just a few of the projects that the Pentagon's mad science division has hatched up for next year. Earlier this week, DARPA, the Defense Department's way-out research arm, submitted its $3.29 billion budget for the 2009 fiscal year. In it are dozens of new programs -- one more far-reaching than the next."

  DARPA: Fake Brains, ASAP  "The Pentagon's mad science division is in a hurry to start making brains-on-a-chip. According to DARPA's recently-released budget, the Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE) program isn't set to being until the next fiscal year. But the agency is already ramping up preparation for the program, which promises to "develop a brain inspired electronic 'chip' that mimics that function, size, and power consumption of a biological cortex."
Related: A preview of research objectives 

  Conrad Black begins fraud prison sentence  "Conrad Black, the disgraced British media baron found guilty last July of fraud and obstruction of justice, has begun his prison sentence at a facility in the US state of Florida. Black will serve a six and a half year sentence after being found guilty of swindling his former company, Hollinger International, out of millions of dollars. He is being detained at a low security prison about 80km northwest of the city of Orlando in Florida." 

  White House guts Intelligence Oversight Board   "No more of those pesky NIEs wrecking our war plans!"

  VIDEO - The Death of Vince Foster - What Really Happened? (1995)   "Evidence is presented that the death of White House Deputy Counsel Vince Foster was not a suicide. Expert testimony, contradictory ... all » statements from witnesses, official bungling/corruption, the missing bullet, the missing X-rays, the missing crime scene photos, the strange, untraceable gun, the missing papers from Foster's office, plus more disturbing evidence and possible motives for his murder, are reviewed in detail." 

  Asian stocks tumble on US fears  "Asian markets have registered sharp falls at the start of the trading week as investors reacted nervously to a steep decline on Wall Street on Friday."

  Russia crushes election protest  "At least 17 opposition protesters have been arrested as riot police put down a banned rally in Turgenevskaya Square in central Moscow. The protesters from the Other Russia coalition of opposition parties - who were heavily outnumbered by the hundreds of police - were grabbed and forced on to buses to cries of "no police power"."

  U.S. Launches Airstrike In Somalia  "The U.S. launched an air strike Monday on a Somali town held by Islamic extremists to go after a group of terrorist suspects, U.S. defense officials said."

  Cold Water on "Global Warming"  A whole cottage industry has sprung up among people who get grants, government agencies who get appropriations, politicians who get publicity, and the perpetually indignant who get something new to be indignant about. It gives teachers something to talk about in school instead of teaching. Those who bother to check the facts often find that not all those who are called scientists are really scientists and not all of those who are scientists are specialists in climate. But who bothers to check facts these days? 

  Toxic Chemotherapy may not be as effective against cancer as claimed  Duh. The first sign is that people die from it who would otherwise be around longer .... same with the 'aids' regimen ....

  White House blocks inquiry into construction of $736m embassy in Iraq  "The Bush administration is blocking an inquiry into the delay-plagued construction of the $736m US embassy in Baghdad, a senior Democrat in Congress said today. In addition, two US state department employees who worked on the embassy project are now under criminal investigation. Waxman urged Rice to release subpoenaed documents related to the Baghdad embassy project next week or risk being forced to do so."  Of course, Waxman will never get his information: AG Mukasey will absolutely see to that. But, a factor that should be of great interest to American taxpayers is that the contractor doing the work isn't even an American construction company. The job went to First Kuwaiti General Grading and Contracting. This Kuwaiti company essentially got the job as a "political favor" from the State Department for Kuwait's support of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The over-budget, inferiorly constructed complex is a a nightmare for the State Department, which is why the real numbers, and problems, will probably never see the light of congressional scrutiny.

  Entering The Mysterious Dimensions Of Shadow World   Rifts in spacetime and experiences of people. Brad Steiger.

  224 Detention Camps For 'Migrants' in European Union Await 'Dissidents'  "There are now 224 detention camps scattered across the European Union; altogether they can house more than 30,000 people - asylum-seekers and illegal immigrants awaiting deportation - who are often held in administrative detention for as long as 18 months. In a number of EU countries, there is no upper limit on detention length. "Detention is a very serious measure in a democratic society - governments deprive people of their liberty when they are convicted of a serious crime," said Katrine Camilleri, a refugee lawyer in Malta with the Jesuit Refugee Service, which on Dec. 18 published a report on conditions in detention centers in the 10 newest EU states. "These people have committed no crime, and though human rights law allows for detention in very specific cases, even then you can't detain people forever. Even 18 months is a very long time; it destroys them," said Camilleri, who has just been honored by the UN refugee agency for her work in the face of arson attacks on her car and home."  Related (Videos): The EU, a Future USSR-by Vladimir Bukovsky |    Part 2

  Bush's younger brother Neil visits Paraguay  "ASUNCION, Parguay - Neil Bush, younger brother of U.S. President George W. Bush, called on Paraguay's president as the guest of a business federation founded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon."  REMEMBER that the Bush family owns land in Paraguay, where they plan to go and hide, like good Nazi's .....

  Afghan poppy trade worth $4 Billion   Video  "Afghanistan grew more opium poppies in 2007 than ever before and its $4bn trade makes up 93% of the world's supply, the US state department has said. BBC March 1,2008."  Link also includes related stories.

  Most Americans Using Credit To Stay Afloat  "Credit bureau analyses of consumer payment data show that financially squeezed borrowers have begun paying their credit card and car bills before their mortgages. That's a striking reversal from the norm, one that reflects rising desperation. It suggests that some people essentially have given up trying to stay current with their mortgages and instead are focused on using credit cards to squeak by. The growing reliance on plastic may explain why revolving debt — most of which is on credit cards — rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.8%, to a record $943.5 billion, in 2007 compared with a 6.1% adjusted rate the year before, according to the Federal Reserve. During the housing boom, too many people took out mortgages they couldn't afford. Many now owe more on their houses than they're worth. Some are defaulting on their mortgages — figuring they'll lose their homes anyway — even as they keep paying credit card and auto bills, credit counselors say. "A lot of people are exhibiting a kind of fatalistic behavior to their mortgages," says Douglas Hammond, outreach programs director at Alliance Credit Counseling. "They can't make their mortgage payment, so why (try to) make it at all? 'Let's keep my car, make my payment on my credit card, so I have some way of feeding my family.' "       

  California Man Faces Life In Prison For Stealing $.50 Pack Of Donuts   (News Video)     Sigh ... an experiential loop ...

  UN Contribution to the Establishment of a Mafia-State in Kosovo  "The United Nations in a recent [2000] report submitted to Secretary General Kofi Annan now concedes that the Kosovo Protection Force (KPC) (inaugurated under UN auspices in September 1999) has been involved in "criminal activities-killings, ill-treatment/torture, illegal policing, abuse of authority, intimidation, breaches of political neutrality and hate speech". And in a cruel irony, "the United Nations is paying the salaries of many of the gangsters."2 The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) --known for its connections to organized crime and the Balkans narcotics traffic was officially dissolved and transformed into the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) modelled on the US National Guard. Funded by US military aid, the KPC is trained by Military Professional Resources Inc (MPRI), a mercenary outfit based in Alexandria, Virginia." 

  Welcome to Kosovo! The World's Newest Narco State  "As the war in Kosovo heated up, the drug traffickers began supplying the KLA with weapons procured from Eastern European and Italian crime groups in exchange for heroin. The 15 Families also lent their private armies to fight alongside the KLA. Clad in new Swiss uniforms and equipped with modern weaponry, these troops stood out among the ragtag irregulars of the KLA. In all, this was a formidable aid package. It's therefore not surprising, say European law enforcement officials, that the faction that ultimately seized power in Kosovo -- the KLA under Hashim Thaci -- was the group that maintained the closest links to traffickers. "As the biggest contributors, the drug traffickers may have gotten the most influence in running the country ..." 

  Credit Card Debt a $915 Billion Disaster-in-Waiting for Banks  "Americans now owe nearly as much – a record $915 billion – on their credit cards alone. Lenders such as Citigroup, Bank of America, and American Express, among others already reeling from the $1 trillion subprime mortgage disaster, are being further weakened, not to mention the staggering U.S. economy, which is so dependent on a vigorous consumer credit sector to keep it healthy. Seventy-two percent of the U.S. economy rides on consumption alone. Fears are now rising that U.S. consumer credit card problems could ripple out into the global credit market, starting in Europe. In the U.K., homeowners are reportedly using their credit cards for mortgage payments. Credit card interest typically runs much higher than mortgage rates, so reducing one debt by increasing another at a higher rate can be the first step on the road to default and eventual bankruptcy. The U.K, usually 18 months ahead of the U.S. in its credit cycle, is perhaps a harbinger of things to come in the U.S. credit picture."    Keep an eye on the UK. 

  Trader made unauthorized trades in Chicago wheat futures  "A rogue trader operating from a Memphis office made huge unauthorized trades in Chicago wheat futures on a day of epic volatility, costing the city's highest-volume commodities brokerage $141.5 million, the firm said ... Wheat prices more than doubled in the past year after disappointing harvests worldwide, leading to domestic supplies hitting their lowest levels in 60 years."  (See Feb 2008 news items on world wheat supplies)

  Israeli Defense Minister vows to unleash "Shoah" on Gaza   "Speaking on Israel Army Radio, [israeli deputy defense minister] Mr Vilnai said if Palestinians increased rocket fire, they will bring upon themselves what he called a "shoah" - a Hebrew word for catastrophe, and for the Nazi Holocaust. In making this statement, Vilnai has just acknowledged that there are times and circumstances where a holocaust is justified and permissible. This directly contradicts claims that what the Germans did (or what we are told they did) had no possible justification. History records at least 79 instances of Jewish persecutions, expulsions, and genocides. Mr. Vilnai has now stated quite clearly that on some occasions, the actions of the targeted people justify such actions." 

  An invention called 'the Jewish people'    "Israel's Declaration of Independence states that the Jewish people arose in the Land of Israel and was exiled from its homeland. Every Israeli schoolchild is taught that this happened during the period of Roman rule, in 70 CE. The nation remained loyal to its land, to which it began to return after two millennia of exile. Wrong, says the historian Shlomo Zand, in one of the most fascinating and challenging books published here in a long time. There never was a Jewish people, only a Jewish religion, and the exile also never happened - hence there was no return. Zand rejects most of the stories of national-identity formation in the Bible, including the exodus from Egypt and, most satisfactorily, the horrors of the conquest under Joshua. It's all fiction and myth that served as an excuse for the establishment of the State of Israel, he asserts." 

 

February  2008 

  Ron Paul slams Fed chairman Ben Bernanke at House Financial Services Committee meeting  "Congressman Ron Paul slammed Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke during a House Financial Services Committee meeting today for following a policy of deliberately destroying the dollar and wiping out the American middle class. Paul held Bernanke to task over his refusal to address the decline of the dollar and its clear link to inflation. "Inflation comes from the unwise increase in the supply of money credit....to argue that we can continue to debase the currency, which is really the policy of that you're following, purposely debasing value of currency - which to me seems so destructive....it just puts more pressure on the federal reserve to create capital out of thin air in order to stimulate the economy and usually that just goes into mal-investment," said Paul." 

  9/11 Aircraft 'Black Box' Serial Numbers Mysteriously Absent   "The United States government alleges that 4 registered Boeing commercial passenger aircraft were used in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, yet has failed to produce any physical evidence collected from the 3 9/11 crash scenes positively tied to these federally registered United and American airlines aircraft. Despite the release of abundant information regarding the 9/11 flights and the aircraft reportedly used, specific information that would confirm official allegations regarding the identity of these aircraft has been mysteriously withheld or denied upon request."

  German Court shoots down computer surveillance  "Government surveillance of personal computers would violate the individual right to privacy, Germany's highest court found Wednesday, in a ruling that German investigators say will restrict their 'ability to pursue terrorists' ... The Karlsruhe-based Federal Constitutional Court said in a precedent-setting decision that data stored or exchanged on a personal computer is effectively covered under principles of the constitution that enshrine the right to personal privacy ... "Collecting such data directly encroaches on a citizen's rights, given that fear of being observed ... can prevent unselfconscious personal communication," presiding judge Hans-Juergen Papier said in his ruling ... Authorities would be allowed to spy on suspects' computers using virus software in exceptional cases, according to the ruling. However, any such action must have the approval of a judge ..."

  EU fines Microsoft record $1.3B  "The European Union fined Microsoft Corp. a record $1.3 billion Wednesday for the amount it charges rivals for software information ... The fine is the largest ever for a single company and brings to just under $2.5 billion the amount the EU has demanded Microsoft pay in a long-running antitrust dispute."

  Many Foreclosures Stopped Because Banks Can't Prove Loan Ownership  "Judges in at least five states have stopped foreclosure proceedings because the banks that pool mortgages into securities and the companies that collect monthly payments haven't been able to prove they own the mortgages. The confusion is another headache for U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as he revises rules for packaging mortgages into securities ... More than $2.1 trillion, or 19 percent, of outstanding mortgages have been bundled into securities by private banks, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, a Bethesda, Maryland-based industry newsletter. Those loans may be sold several times before they land in a security. Mortgage services, who collect monthly payments and distribute them to securities investors, can buy and sell the home loans many times." Related: Foreclosures Jump 90% as ARM Mortgages Reset

  Earthquake felt across parts of England   "The 4.7-magnitude quake struck at about 1 a.m. and was centered about 125 miles north of London, according to the U.S. Geological Survey...Many other people in southern, central and northern England reported feeling their homes shaken by the earthquake in a country where such tremors are uncommon."

  When Electricity, the Drug of Choice, Stops  "Yes, that drug we know as alternating current will have the worst withdrawal side effects in history. We will re-enter the 17th century overnight. But there is just one big difference ­ the people that lived in the 17th century were prepared to live in it, because that's how they lived. By and large most will not be ready for it. Common jokes about "stone knives and bearskins" will no longer be laughed at."

  World Wheat Stocks Lowest Since 1948   Let them eat cake.

  Animals Disappearing "Weird science news. NPR reported on the Feb 19th that there’s a major threat to the bat population in the Northwest. Biologists are “scrambling” to get a grasp on what’s happening and warn that it could mean the end of bats in the Northeast. Then, today, NPR said that jackrabbits have vanished from Yellowstone National Park. The dangers of disappearing bats means a whole lot of trouble to local farmers. Bats keep bugs, beetles and insects under control and without them it could mean disaster for that ecosystem. What the heck is going on? You ever get that feeling like there’s a major shift afoot?."  No shit, Sherlock, its endgame.  Related: Animals Disappearing in Argentina 

  7.3 Quake off Indonesia's Sumatra triggers panic "A powerful earthquake struck west of Indonesia's Sumatra island on Feb 25, triggering panic and a brief tsunami warning, although there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties."

  7.5 Indonesia quake three dead, 25 hurt "A strong 7.5-magnitude quake rocked Indonesia's Aceh province Feb 20, killing three people, seriously injuring 25 others and briefly sparking a tsunami alert, officials said. ."

  Pakistan causes worldwide YouTube outage   "Most of the world's Internet users lost access to YouTube for several hours Sunday after an attempt by Pakistan's government to block access domestically affected other countries."

  Clinton, Obama Major Donations From Abramoff's Firm   "In 2008, it might be harder for the Democratic presidential nominee to make the same case that his or her Congressional counterparts successfully built in 2006. Facing off against likely Republican nominee John McCain, who as a senator led early investigations into Abramoff's corrupt lobbying, either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama could find themselves linked to Abramoff and his former law firm, the Miami-based giant Greenberg Traurig ... Greenberg Traurig has offices all over the United States and is one of the largest law firms in the country. It hired Jack Abramoff and his lobbying team in 2001, and fired him in 2004 when knowledge of a federal investigation of his practices became public ... Greenberg Traurig attorneys have actively donated to this season's presidential campaigns. A Feb. 12 article from the Huffington Post noted that McCain, the senator whose Indian Affairs Committee investigations helped bring down Abramoff and embroiled Greenberg Traurig in years of legal trouble, took in more than $100,000 from the firm's employees."... A review of Federal Election Commission records shows that Clinton and Obama both received hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations from Greenberg Traurig staff. Moreover, each candidate has particularly benefited from the largesse of the firm's top management and its registered lobbyists ... The Clinton and Obama campaigns were both contacted on Monday and Wednesday for comment regarding donations to their candidates from Abramoff-linked donors. Neither responded to queries ..." 

  McCain - $48,700,106 Via 468 'Bundlers'   Note: An interesting peek inside some of the McCain financing methodology. The phenomenon of "bundling' is what the White House For Sale website that hosts the page is devoted to. Interesting to explore the people and the dynamic, and notice that Ron Paul is the ONLY candidate that is not featured - his funding dynamic is different.

  Western oil giants poised to enter Iraq to tap the country's oil, despite ongoing threat of violence   "Iraq's parliament has yet to pass a hydrocarbon law setting out the terms oil companies will operate on and how profits will be split. 'My sense is that many of the oil companies are very eager to come in now, and actually what they're waiting for is the hydrocarbon law to be passed and various projects to be signed off. That is what is causing them to pause, rather than the security position,' he said. Wareing declined to name names but it is thought that Shell, Exxon Mobil and dozens of others are watching closely. The role of American corporations in Iraq has been hugely sensitive since the US-led invasion in 2003, which some critics said was motivated by the Gulf state's oil wealth ..."

  Brzezinski Seizing Control Over US Policy In Slow-Motion Coup   "Events of the past few days indicate that the Zbigniew Brzezinski faction of lunatic Russia haters have now won the upper hand inside the secret councils of the Anglo-American finance oligarchy, displacing the hitherto dominant George Shultz-neocon faction. Although George Bush and his cronies still occupy the White House, the policies that are being carried out are coming from the Brzezinski left CIA machine. Brzezinski has returned to public prominence in recent months due to his role as top establishment controller for the Obama campaign. But Brzezinski is not waiting for the outcome of the November elections to take over key parts of the US government. Brzezinski and his left CIA allies are already moving to assert their strategy, even as the neocons and their characteristic obsessions are moved to the back burner. The probability of an attack on Iran or Syria is declining, even as the danger of confrontation with Russia, China, and Pakistan ­ all much more dangerous targets to trifle with ­ increases exponentially."

  False Flag Prospects, 2008 -- Top Three US Target Cities   by Captain Eric H. May  "The easiest way to carry out a false flag attack is by setting up a military exercise that simulates the very attack you want to carry out. As I'll detail below, this is exactly how government perpetrators in the US and UK handled the 9/11 and 7/7 "terror" attacks, which were in reality government attacks blamed on "terrorists...."  Val: Note: It might be worth noting that none of his 'predictions' for the last two years have come to pass. 

  Crossing The Rubicon: Breaking The Fake News Trance   "The phrase ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ is a metaphor for proceeding past a point of no return. It originates from 49 BC when Julius Caesar directed his legions south across the river Rubicon (a traditional barrier between the Roman province of ‘Cisalpine Gaul’ and Italy proper) towards ancient Rome in defiance of the Roman Senate. Upon crossing the river, Caesar is reported to have shouted "Alea iacta est" ... the die is cast!" 

  Inside the world of war profiteers   "Inside the stout federal courthouse of this Mississippi River town, the dirty secrets of Iraq war profiteering keep pouring out. Hundreds of pages of recently unsealed court records detail how kickbacks shaped the war's largest troop support contract months before the first wave of U.S. soldiers plunged their boots into Iraqi sand. The graft continued well beyond the 2004 congressional hearings that first called attention to it. And the massive fraud endangered the health of American soldiers even as it lined contractors' pockets, records show..."

  Russia threat to use force over Kosovo   "Moscow's ambassador to NATO says Russia could resort to "Brute force" if NATO or the European Union challenge the UN on Kosovo. According to Interfax news agency, Dmitry Rogozin in a video link-up from Brussels said, "If the European Union works out a common position, or if NATO breaches its mandate in Kosovo, these organizations will be in conflict with the United Nations." "We too will have to proceed from the view that in order to be respected we must use Brute force, in other words armed force." First discovery of oil in Kosovo, then Gold, then independence, then US embassy burns ... Rioters attack British embassy in Kosovo 

  Secret Service Stand Down At Obama Event Raises Suspicions   "Dozens of police officers have voiced concern over a security stand down order issued by federal officials at Barack Obama's rally in Dallas yesterday afternoon." Related: Blacks Worry About Obama's Safety

  Ex-Congressman: U.S. Government Created Al-Qaeda, Involved In 9/11   "A former Congressman says that the U.S. government created Al-Qaeda and was involved in bombing its own citizens on 9/11, telling a national radio show that elements of the Bush administration assisted the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon."  Related: Unraveling Of 911 Story Continues | Rigged Gitmo Trials Prove 9/11 Official Story Wrong

  Norman Finkelstein: "Israel Has to Suffer a Defeat"    Very valid points. About 10 min. Worth watching (Video)

  Secret Report Uncovers Massive Fraud at European Parliament   "Chris Davies, a Liberal Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the North-West of the UK, is a member of the Budget Control Committee of the European Parliament. As he told BBC’s Today Programme (listen here), he discovered, quite by chance, that Parliament’s auditors had made a report detailing abuses on a vast scale, abuses that suggest some MEPs are simply plundering the system to enrich themselves."

  Russian Jews Worried That Putin's Successor May Be Jewish   "The Jewish community of Russia is worried over a rumor campaign by nationalist parties claiming that Dmitri Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin's handpicked successor, is Jewish. Russian Jewish leaders declined to comment on the rumors officially, fearing to lend them credibility. Off the record, however, one said: "I pray it isn't true, because it would only make trouble, for him and for us."     Life gets stranger and stranger. 

  America’s Jewish Lobby holding back a Tide of Oil   "Neo-Lefties using ‘Wars for Oil’ to cover up ‘Wars for the Jews’.  America, left wing Zionists are so intent on protecting the Jews-only state in Palestine they argue that America's invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were ‘wars for oil’. They are the counterpart of their more famous, right wing, colleagues who are devoted to the Jews-only state, and usually dual citizens of both countries. These neo-lefties suggest that America's multinational fossil fuel corporations pressured the bush regime into invading Afghanistan and Iraq so they could exploit these countries’ oil resources or assets. And yet, six years after the invasion of Afghanistan, and nearly five years after the invasion of Iraq, America's gigantic energy corporations have been unwilling to invest in these countries and completely failed to gain any control over oil reserves or oil flows. The only benefit they have enjoyed are massive windfall profits. But these profits stem from the disasters suffered by America's invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. These invasions have caused so much chaos that oil exports have dropped, global oil prices have spiraled upwards, and oil companies’ profits have soared. America’s energy corporations have ended up enjoying huge profits not from oil investments in these countries but, perversely, from their failure to make such investments." 

  4,000 company directors listed as global terror suspects and fraudsters  "The names of almost 4,000 directors of British companies appear on international watchlists of alleged fraudsters, money launderers, terror financiers and corrupt officials, The Times has learnt. A detailed study of the public register of directors held at Companies House uncovered people identified around the world as terrorist suspects, alleged drug traffickers and individuals convicted of offences ranging from illicit dealing in firearms to fraud. The research, carried out by the financial intelligence service World-Check, found 3,994 exact matches between its database of 750,000 “high-risk” individuals and the 6.8 million directors and businesses listed at Companies House. Its report also discovered 27,000 “near-matches ... The register of directors included, according to World-Check, 154 people allegedly involved in financial crime, 13 individuals wanted by Interpol for alleged terrorist activities and 37 accused of involvement in the drugs trade. World-Check also claims to have identified around 1,000 “politically exposed persons” operating as directors of British companies ... " See This PDF

  Northern Nevada Hit by 6.0 Earthquake  "Windows shattered and building facades and signs fell, but no one was seriously injured when a powerful earthquake shook this rural northeastern town on Thursday 21 Feb."   Endgame in progress.  Related: Norway Hit by 6.2 Earthquake 

  Anti-Kosovo rally leaves US embassy in flames  "The US embassy in Belgrade was in flames tonight as a huge anti-Kosovo independence rally turned violent. As many as 200,000 Serbs gathered in central Belgrade before a group of masked protesters broke into the embassy compound, ripped down an American flag and set fire to the ground floor and a side building. Armoured vehicles fired tear gas to disperse crowds who were furious that the US and many EU countries have recognised Kosovo’s unilateral decision to breakaway from Serbia." 

  Significant Gold Deposits Discovered in Kosovo  "Or how political and diplomatic positions are now being determined by profit potential. Last week Lydian International Ltd. a diversified U.K. mineral exploration and development company announced positive results from soil and trench sampling from its Rahovec project in Kosovo. The initial soil-sampling program indicated potentially significant gold deposits. The soil-sampling program also returned significant results for Nickel and Cobalt too. "This is an exciting new gold discovery in an area that was previously known only for its Ni-Co-Cu-(PGE) potential," said Tim Coughlin, President and CEO. "The soil geochemistry has defined a large and drill-ready target area." Test drilling to determine the exact nature and extent of the mineral deposits is expected to commence in the next 3 weeks. Located in Eastern Kosovo, the project is known to contain sulphide Ni-Co-Cu mineralisation, which is thought to be similar to deposits seen in Western Australia and Northern Canada. The area also has potential for Cr-(PGE) mineralisation and bauxite. "

  Large Potential Albanian Oil and Gas Discovery : Kosovo's Importance "On January 10, Swiss-based Manas Petroleum Corporation broke the news. Gustavson Associates LLC's Resource Evaluation identified large prospects of oil and gas reserves in Albania, close to Kosovo. They are in areas called blocks A, B, C, D and E, encompassing about 780,000 acres along the northwest to southeast "trending (geological) fold belt of northwestern Albania." Assigned estimates of the find (so far unproved) are up to 2.987 billion barrels of oil and 3.014 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. However, because of their depth, oil deposits may be capped with a layer of gas. If so, Gustavson calculates the potential to be 1.4 billion barrels of light oil and up to 15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Further, if only gas is present, the discovery may be as much as 28 trillion cubic feet. In any case, if estimates prove out, it's a sizable find."  And Kosovo just declared its independence! The oil connection!

  401(k) Participants Can Sue for Losses  "The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that individual participants in the most common type of retirement plan can sue under a pension protection law to recover their losses." 

  Clintons to face fraud trial  "While Hillary Clinton battles Barack Obama on the campaign trail, a judge in Los Angeles is quietly preparing to set a trial date in a $17 million fraud suit that aims to expose an alleged culture of widespread corruption by the Clintons and the Democratic Party. At the conclusion of a hearing tomorrow morning before California Superior Court Judge Aurelio N. Munoz, lawyers for Hollywood mogul Peter F. Paul will begin seeking sworn testimony from all three Clintons – Bill, Hillary and Chelsea – along with top Democratic Party leaders and A-list celebrities, including Barbra Streisand, John Travolta, Brad Pitt and Cher. Paul's team hopes for a trial in October. The Clintons' longtime lawyer David Kendall, who will attend the hearing, has declined comment on the suit ...."

  Neo-Fascist Pigs In Space   "SPACE: AMERICA'S NEW WAR ZONE". It has, however, long been a globalist neoconservative agenda to weaponize, fully militarize and aggressively control space in order to achieve what they refer to as "full spectrum dominance" over the entirety of the planet Earth."  Part 2

  Disinformation flies as US raises Iran bar  "US efforts are in overdrive to ward off a clean bill of health for Iran's nuclear program when the International Atomic Energy Agency issues a new report later this week. The American diplomats as usual have the help of compliant media, which are making much of supposed US intelligence newly "shared" with the atomic agency. Just don't believe everything you read; the IAEA does not."

  Bush Warns of Terror “That Will Make Sept. 11 Pale By Comparison."   "President Bush pressured the House on  to pass new rules for monitoring terrorists' communications, saying "terrorists are planning new attacks on our country ... that will make Sept. 11 pale by comparison." 

  Indonesian Health Minister's claims US using bird flu to produce biological weapons   "WHO laboratories forwarded influenza viruses to Western companies so they could profit by selling vaccines back to developing countries: "The system of world health management has been very exploitative. It has been controlled by inhumanly desires, based on the greediness to raise capital and to control the world." Some Indonesian samples had been sent to a US Defence Department laboratory, Dr Supari says, adding that "some of our seed viruses had been in a laboratory known as a facility developing biological weapons in a superpower country." In a related story: US dismisses bird flu claims 

 Musharraf: Keep U.S. troops out of Pakistan "Despite the growing threat from Islamic extremists, President Pervez Musharraf said U.S. troops are not welcome to join ' the fight against al-Qaida' on Pakistani soil." 

  U.S. strikes within Pakistan — without notice  " In the predawn hours of Jan. 29, a CIA Predator aircraft flew in a slow arc above the Pakistani town of Mir Ali. The drone's operator, relying on information secretly passed to the CIA by local informants, clicked a computer mouse and sent the first of two Hellfire missiles hurtling toward a cluster of mud-brick buildings a few miles from the town center. “Having requested the Pakistani government’s official permission for such strikes on previous occasions, only to be put off or turned down, this time the U.S. spy agency did not seek approval. The government of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was notified only as the operation was underway, according to the officials, who insisted on anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities.”

 UN agency: Internet Cables Possibly Sabotaged "The head of the UN backed agency that oversees international telecommunications has declared that the the cutting of a least five undersea internet cables earlier this month may be a case of sabotage. The cutting the cables in several different locations hundreds of miles apart aroused intense speculation, leading many to suspect that the activity represents, at the very least, a warning shot across the bows of certain Middle Eastern and Asian nations, and may even signify the imminence of a major geopolitical event. "

  Kucinich to Investigate 9/11 Insider Trading "Congressman Dennis Kucinich revealed that he is initiating an investigation the insider trading that took place leading up to 9/11, particularly in regards to put options placed on American Airlines and United Airlines stock. Kucinich said that he had personal questions about the implications insider trading had." 

  Clinton, Obama bank major donations from Abramoff's former law firm "A review of Federal Election Commission records shows that Clinton and Obama both received hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations from Greenberg Traurig staff. Moreover, each candidate has particularly benefited from the largesse of the firm's top management and its registered lobbyists. The Clinton and Obama campaigns were both contacted on Monday and Wednesday for comment regarding donations to their candidates from Abramoff- linked donors. Neither responded to queries."

  FBI Says Barbara Olsen Did Not Call Ted Olsen. Bush Solicitor General LIED  "We were fed a lie by Ted Olsen who served as Solictor General for the Bush Administration, when on 9/11 he held a press conference to tell America and the world that his dead wife had called him before her demise from the jet she was on that had just been hijacked. It was a lie. The FBI has reported that no such call between Barbara Olsen and Ted Olsen ever took place on 9/11/2001. "

  Hungarian Jews $40 Billion suit against U.S. "The class action concerns the failure of the Allies to bomb the railway bridges between Hungary and Auschwitz during the Second World War. Wolz believes the bombing of the railway bridges could have saved more than 400,000 Hungarian Jews life during 1944."  RELATED: Holocaust lawyer jailed for fraud 

  Famines May Occur Without Record Crops in 2008 "Grain farmers will need to harvest record crops every year to meet increasing global food demand and avoid famine, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. Chief Executive Officer William Doyle said. People and livestock are consuming more grain than ever, draining world inventories and increasing the likelihood of shortages, Doyle said yesterday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. Global grain stockpiles fell to about 53 days of supply last year, the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1960, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture."  RELATED: China tightens grip on grain

  Solar X-Rays Momentarily Drop To Zero Feb 18/19 "Something interesting is happening with our Sun. X-Rays are a well known product of the fusion process which is what our Sun is. It appears that on more than one occasion, X-ray emission levels have dropped to incredibly low levels - if not virtually down to zero. Up until now, I have not discussed very much about this observation in previous solar reports. This has recently appeared sporadically in other X-ray charts, even though I've not specifically mentioned it recently. Another virtual "zero X-ray event" apparently has occurred again, according to two NOAA instruments measuring two different X-Ray wavelengths on one satellite ..."    Endgame is in progress, after all.

  Does Balkanization Beckon Anew?    "On Sunday, Kosovo declared independence and was recognized by the European Union and President Bush. But this is not the end of the story. It is only the preface to a new history of the Balkans, a region that has known too much history."

  Bush: The War Has ‘Nothing To Do With The Economy’  "Bush denied that the there’s any link between the faltering U.S. economy and $10 billion a month being spent on the Iraq war. In fact, according to Bush, the war is actually helping the economy. "  No its not. you stupid psychopath! .... its helping Halliburton, Cheney, KBR and one-source contractors and war companies.

  Banks "quietly" borrow $50 billion from Fed  "Banks in the United States have been quietly borrowing "massive amounts" from the U.S. Federal Reserve in recent weeks, using a new measure the Fed introduced two months ago to help ease the credit crunch, according to a report on the web site of The Financial Times. The newspaper said the use of the Fed's Term Auction Facility (TAF), which allows banks to borrow at relatively attractive rates against a wide range of their assets, saw borrowing of nearly $50 billion of one-month funds from the Fed by mid-February. The Financial Times said the move has sparked unease among some analysts about the stress developing in opaque corners of the U.S. banking system and the banks' growing reliance on indirect forms of government support."

 Study Highlights Deep Seated Psychological Impact Of 9/11 "A comparative analysis of dream images suggests how deeply the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks impacted Americans' emotions, researchers report."  Of course, it was planned that way.

  Moral Obligations To Stop Mccain     "The U.S. has had Presidential candidates and Presidents who were known criminals, prevaricators and very immoral, promiscuous men who harmed national security. John McCain is no exception. However, does the public and do Republican delegates and leaders really want to pay the same costs in the future of America for McCain that they paid in the past for nominating and helping elect illicit Presidents? This article contains a description of many of the known crimes, moral transgressions and allegations of nuclear treason by John McCain. Some of these crimes may have been felonies and if so, would have also made McCain ineligible to be President should he have been prosecuted (as he should have been) and convicted."

  Pakistanis Deal Severe Defeat to Musharraf in Election     "Pakistanis dealt a crushing defeat to President Pervez Musharraf in parliamentary elections Monday, in what government and opposition politicians said was a firm rejection of his policies since 2001 and those of his close ally, the United States."   Good for them.

  How Mossad Deceived the U.S. Military on 9/11   "Mossad, Israel's military intelligence agency, infiltrated the most sensitive computer networks in the United States through a little start-up company known as Ptech, in Quincy, Massachusetts."

  FDA ties pneumonia deaths to infant vaccine     "GlaxoSmithKline Plc's rotavirus vaccine is associated with increased pneumonia-related deaths and other adverse reactions, U.S. regulatory staff said in documents posted on Friday."

  Former CIA official: Mossad behind Mugniyah killing    "While Israel has formally refuted allegations it was involved in the assassination of Hizbullah 'operations officer' Imad Mugniyah in Damascus on Tuesday, former CIA official Bruce Riedel says all signs seem to indicate the Mossad was behind the killing. Riedel, who spent over 30 years with the CIA before serving as a senior advisor on South Asian and Middle East affairs under three US presidents, said Israel has already carried out similar operations in Syria. Currently a senior fellow with the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute, he says Mugniyah's assassination proves Israel has successfully infiltrated Hizbullah and that even Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah knows he may also be in the crosshairs." 

  9/11 Truth Debate at European Parliament, February 26    "Brussels 26 February 2008 7pm, PHS 3C50 (this is where the debate will be held) – this event is NOT open to the public, only to journalists and the politicians. (Nevertheless, Belgian & French Truthers have their contacts and will make sure this debate is videotaped and put online afterwards). A few weeks after the Japanese parliament it is now Europe’s turn to open the debate on what really happened on 9/11. While journalists and politicians still support the official version of the events, defended by the Bush administration – in which the blame is laid on Muslims – the Europarliamentarian from Italy, Giulietto Chiesa, organizes an historical evening in the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday 26th February. He will present his film ZERO – 9/11: Europe for an Independent Commission of Inquiry. Related: 9/11 Truth.Org

  U.K. nationalizes Northern Rock    "British government is taking over the troubled bank until a buyer can be found."

  CIA set up 12 bogus companies mostly in Europe after 9/11   "Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, the US Central Intelligence Agency set up 12 bogus companies in Europe and other parts of the world in the hope of penetrating Islamic organizations, The Los Angeles Times reported on its website late Saturday. But citing current and former CIA officials, the newspaper said the agency had now shut down all but two of them after concluding they were ill-conceived. The firms were part of an ambitious plan to increase the number of CIA case officers sent overseas under what is known as "nonofficial cover" in order to increase the agency's potential for penetrating Islamic networks, the report said. According to the paper, the agents posed as employees of investment banks, consulting firms or other fictitious enterprises with no apparent ties to the US government."

  Bolivia declares U.S. diplomat undesirable person   "Bolivian President Evo Morales declared U.S. embassy official Vincent Cooper an "undesirable person" Monday, citing charges that Cooper was trying to organize a spy ring, according to news reaching here."

  Minnesota man: 'I took drugs, had sex with Obama' takes his case to court   "The electrifying presidential campaign of Barack Obama faces a new challenge – a Minnesota man who claims he took cocaine in 1999 with the then-Illinois legislator and participated in homosexual acts with him. When his story was ignored by the news media, Larry Sinclair made his case last month in a YouTube video, which has now been viewed more than a quarter-million times. And when it was still ignored by the media, Sinclair filed a suit in Minnesota District Court, alleging threats and intimidation by Obama's staff." Related: Sinclair Accepts Polygraph Challenge

  What FBI whistle-blower Sibel Edmonds found in translation  "The former FBI translator turned whistle-blower tells a chilling story of corruption at Washington's highest levels – sale of nuclear secrets, shielding of terrorist suspects, illegal arms transfers, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, espionage. She may be a first-rate fabulist, but Ms. Edmonds' account is full of dates, places and names. And if she is to be believed, a treasonous plot to embed moles in American military and nuclear installations and pass sensitive intelligence to Israeli, Pakistani and Turkish sources was facilitated by figures in the upper echelons of the State and Defense Departments. Her charges could be easily confirmed or dismissed if classified government documents were made available to investigators."

  Saudis 'Threatened Terror' Over UK Arms Probe  "Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday. Previously secret files describe how investigators were told they faced "another 7/7" and the loss of "British lives on British streets" if they pressed on with their inquiries and the Saudis carried out their threat to cut off intelligence."  Note: Since MI6 was involved in the 7/7 event, the event that was scripted and actually an exercise turned real ... all this Saudi stuff sounds like intel fluff.  Related: Saudi threats apparently 'rolled over' British government

Note: Watch this video - Ludicrous Diversion - 7/7 London Bombings Documentary

  UK Health proposes a £10 permit for smokers  "A ban on the sale of cigarettes to anyone who does not pay for a government smoking permit has been proposed by Health England, a ministerial advisory board. The idea is the brainchild of the board's chairman, Julian Le Grand, who is a professor at the London School of Economics and was Tony Blair's senior health adviser. In a paper being studied by Lord Darzi, the health minister appointed to oversee NHS reform, he says many smokers would be helped to break the habit if they had to make a decision whether to "opt in"."

  Iran slams US support for terrorism   "A senior Iranian cleric says it is disgraceful to see the US and Israel rejoicing at the news of Imad Mugniyah's assassination. "These are people who are supposedly leading the fight against terrorism yet they express happiness over the murder of such an outstanding figure," said Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Friday. These are the same people who have occupied Iraq and Afghanistan under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Logically they should have been condemning this act of terror yet they openly show their joy, he added."

  OPEC considers dumping US dollar   "Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries plans to discuss a proposal by Iran and Venezuela to price oil in non-dollar currencies. Finance minister of the group, which supplies 40 percent of the global crude demand, will meet to study the proposal, the organization's President Chakib Khelil said. Khalil, however, did not say when the ministers are scheduled to discuss the proposal amid the ongoing depreciation of the dollar. The idea floated by Tehran and Caracas since the dwindling dollar fallen 16.2 percent against a basket of major currencies since two years ago." 

  Comptroller General of the United States, head of the GAO, quits  " As Comptroller General of the United States and head of the GAO, there are real limitations on what I can do and say in connection with key public policy issues, especially issues that directly relate to GAO's client -- the Congress," Walker said in a statement." In other words, no one in DC cares anyway, so he's quitting.

  US lawmakers warn Pakistan of 'consequences' if vote unfair  "A US Congressional team traveling to Pakistan to observe its parliamentary election warned President Pervez Musharraf's administration of "consequences' if the polls were not free, fair and transparent."   The pot calls the kettle black. Astrologically, the U.S. Cancer orientation is "do what we say, not as we do." They're forgetting Bush closed down the Fed Election Office to prevent inquiries, etc.   Sigh ...

  Russia to double personnel at Iran Bushehr reactor site  "The company planned to bring in up to 300 specialists within the next few weeks, and a total of 1,000 before the year was out, nearly doubling the current 1,500 Atomstroiexport staff at the site, Shmatko said." (Translation: if the US and/or Israel bombs this facility after this staffing increase, they will very likely have created anywhere from three hundred to one thousand Russian victims involved in this project. War with Russia, anyone??)  Clever move on Putin's part.

  Russian state TV suggests USA involved in drug-trafficking from Afghanistan  " Russian state-controlled Channel One TV has broadcast a report containing allegations that US forces are involved in drug-trafficking from Afghanistan to Europe. It also highlighted the problem of drug abuse in the British army."  (See the material in the video section on the US Gov't and Drug Trafficking)

  "Israeli Armies Have Lost Human Form"  "Jewdo-nazis , said ISAIA LEIBOVITZ , that is what the Israeli army would become while staying in occupied territories. And that's what really happens, slowly but surely. What is the exact point in which a person loses the human form? Where is the point in which a society should declare a full stop for reassessment , because its direction is leading to abyss of no return. Good morning Israel, this point has already came and vanished. The regime which treat harshly another race ate our inner organs , and all that remains is rot and stench and that stench is strongly felt through stories like the one that is published this weekend in "7 days" appendix of" Yediot Acharonot ", about the new trend of our soldiers to have their pictures taken together with parts of corpses of Palestinians ."   If he only knew that he's only scratching the surface of this reptilian dynamic.

  India unveils 'people's phone' for £10  " India has already built the world's cheapest car – the £1,250 Tata Nano – now the country has unveiled the telecoms equivalent: the £10 "people's phone". The mobile handset, developed by Spice, the Indian telecoms group that is listed in Bombay and worth £1 billion, is angled at the very lowest end of the market. This means the phone has jettisoned all "non-essential" features – such as a screen. "It is just a phone," said Bhupendra Kumar Modi, the Spice chairman, who hopes to sell about 10 million in the next year."  Yes, and they couldn't do this in the US. 

  The 6900 Series: Protocols for Economic Collapse "And this is how the U.S. Treasury would handle an economic collapse. It's called the 6900 series of protocols. It would start with declaring a force majeure, which would immediately be interpreted by the marketplaces as a de facto repudiation of debt. Then the SEC and the various regulatory exchanges would anticipate the market's decline, hour by hour -- when Japan's markets opened the next day, what would happen when the European markets, and all the inter linkages of the global markets. On the second day, US Special Forces would be dropped in by parachute in the cities where the twelve Federal Reserve district banks are located ..."  Related: Debt crisis spreads to US municipalities | Failed muni bond auctions deepen crises  | Buffett bond plan puts heat on banks | Fed chief ready to cut rates further |  US subprime crisis costs global 7.7 trillion dollars  

  UK 'Terror' law 'in tatters' as 'extremists' go 'free' "Dozens of anti-terrorist investigations and prosecutions are in jeopardy after senior judges yesterday quashed the convictions of five young Muslims for downloading extremist propaganda. Three Court of Appeal judges, led by the Lord Chief Justice, questioned whether they should ever have been prosecuted for merely possessing the material. The ruling means that in future the prosecution will have to prove that defendants intended to commit 'terrorist attacks'." 

  Harassed At Border For 9/11 Truth Flyer  " 911Truth founder, director and organizer, Glenn Zarmanov was recently harassed on the American-Canadian border for his possession of fliers that prompt the reader to demand a new investigation and DVDs with similar content. While traveling on a visit to Montreal, Quebec, Zarmanov encountered hostility when a border-patrol agent remarked that the fliers and discs could be considered "objectionable material" and might be confiscated. Zarmanov was allowed into the country with his property, but was warned not to bring such material on subsequent visits. Zarmanov was questioned rigorously on his intentions for smuggling paper and plastic into Canada."

  House Democrats Hold Bush Officials In Criminal Contempt  "In a vote on the House floor, we acted to enforce the law and our Constitution, and hold former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten in Contempt of Congress."  

  Obama Pushes Bill That Would Mandate Global Tax "Senate to vote on legislation that would cost U.S. $845 billion, also enables UN to implement gun bans... The "Global Poverty Act," which is sponsored by Obama, is up for a Senate vote today, and if passed would mandate the U.S. to spend 0.7 percent of the gross national product on foreign aid, on top of the money being sent out of the country already. The bill passed the House by a voice vote last year because most members failed to read what was actually in it. The words "global" and "poverty" in the title were presumably enough to convince them that 'it must be good'."

  Obama distant cousin of both Cheney and Bush   "Obama outlines his ambitious geopolitical plans in a recent essay for Foreign Affairs magazine. Foreign Affairs is published by the Council on Foreign Relations, which describes itself as a non-partisan group of which he is a member. Established in the 1920's and headquartered in New York, its membership includes prominent politicians and business elite, including heads of academia and media. The organization seeks to centralize both political power and market power to craft legislation outside the checks and balances of democracy. The CFR is rarely mentioned by the mainstream media... Obama is also a 32nd degree Prince Hall Freemason loyal to the Craft and devoted to his principles so forget about the "changes" and start thinking about the same old , same old , coming once again into power. Obama is illuminati aristocracy. his appearance from 'nowhere', and subsequent rocket to the front of the political line are no coincidence." 

  Germany becomes the First Country to admit Clandestine Chemtrail Operations 

  Bush Administration Hides More Data, Shuts Down Website Tracking U.S. Economic Indicators  "The Bush administration’s latest move is to simply hide the data. Forbes has awarded EconomicIndicators.gov one of its “Best of the Web” awards. As Forbes explains, the government site provides an invaluable service to the public for accessing U.S. economic data: This site is maintained by the Economics and Statistics Administration and combines data collected by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, like GDP and net imports and exports, and the Census Bureau, like retail sales and durable goods shipments. The site simply links to the relevant department’s Web site. This might not seem like a big deal, but doing it yourself–say, trying to find retail sales data on the Census Bureau’s site–is such an exercise in futility that it will convince you why this portal is necessary. Yet, the Bush administration has decided to shut down this site because of “budgetary constraints,” effective March 1."

 'Diana death-crash mirrored MI6 plot to assassinate top Balkan leader', admits former spy  "A former spy told the Diana inquest today he believed the Princess could have been murdered by MI6 officers. Sacked secret agent Richard Tomlinson said he realised there could have been a conspiracy to assassinate Diana after seeing a documentary alleging there was a flash as her car entered a Paris tunnel. The ex-MI6 officer said that after watching the film he had remembered an MI6 training session in which he was shown how a strobe gun could be used to kill targets. Related: Diana inquest: MI6 'plotted tunnel murder'."

  Depression risk might force U.S. to buy assets "Fear that a hobbled banking sector may set off another Great Depression could force the U.S. government and Federal Reserve to take the unprecedented step of buying a broad range of assets, including stocks, according to one of the most bearish market analysts."

  U.S. mortgage crisis spreads beyond subprime loans   "As the world's largest economy grapples with the worst housing slump in two decades, people with good credit histories are falling behind on house payments, auto loans and credit cards at an accelerating pace. The problem, spurred by a sharp decline in home prices and a clampdown on loans by banks, poses a new a threat to the housing market and weakening economy, which some specialists say is in a recession or headed for one."

  The US and the EU support a Political Process linked to Organized Crime   "The US, the EU and the UN are supporting a Kosovo government headed by a known criminal, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. Hashim Thaci founded the "Drenica-Group" an underground organization that is estimated to have controlled between 10% and 15% of all criminal activities in Kosovo (smuggling arms, stolen cars, oil, cigarettes and prostitution)."  

  Key Clinton Backer Guilty in Sibel Edmonds Case  "Another important angle to Edmonds' case has opened up. Earlier this week, the New York Post ran a Page 6 piece, ODD FILM BY HILLARY BACKER, which highlights the close relationship between Hillary Clinton and Chicago-based Turkish businessman Mehmet Celebi. Celebi, "one of the national leaders of the Turkish-American community in the US," is a key fundraiser for Clinton, and is one of Clinton's Chicago delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Celebi was also heavily involved in the controversial 2006 movie "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq" which has been widely regarded as "anti-Semitic, anti-American, conspiratorial agitprop." Mehmet Celebi is also a key figure in the Sibel Edmonds case - he is heavily involved in the narcotics trade in the US and the corruption and bribery of high-level US officials."

  Japan, China and India are engaged in a race to map lunar resources   "Asian giants Japan, China and India are engaged in a race to map lunar resources and make the moon a platform to explore planets beyond, amid a renewed burst of global space activity."

  Hitler's 'lost fleet' of U-boats found in the Black Sea  "For years, German submarines U-19, U-20, and U-23 were a terrifying presence beneath the waves, preying on British and Russian shipping. Then, 60 years ago, they suddenly vanished to the bottom of the Black Sea."

  Skeletons In The Bush Family Closet   "George Bush’s grandfather, the late US senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany. The Guardian has obtained confirmation from newly discovered files in the US National Archives that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of Nazism."  Related: Bush pushes waterboarding rationale

  Venezuela halts oil supplies to Exxon Mobil    "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stopped oil exports to Exxon Mobil Corp on Tuesday, escalating a multibillion-dollar fight with the U.S. company two days after threatening to cut off all supplies to America." 

  John McCain is Panamanian Citizen, not American  He's ineligible to become president, but that's being ignored.

  Dr. Robert Bussard's Fusion Breakthrough  Windows Media Audio "In his haunting final interview, the late Dr. Robert Bussard describes a last-ditch race against time and funding to realize his career-long dream of clean, affordable fusion energy. Bussard, a founding member of America's fusion research establishment, spent over 20 years developing a modified Farnsworth-style "Polywell" fusor, successfully generating over 100,000 times the output of Farnsworth's original experiments..." 

Dozens Indicted In Chicago Mortgage Fraud Scheme     "Twenty-five people have been charged in one of the biggest mortgage fraud schemes ever prosecuted in the area ..."  Related: Developers Sue Real Estate Firms in Florida | SocGen Trading Scandal Tax Twist | Former SocGen inspector tells of trading room anarchy | Korean Banks Struck By SubPrime Crisis  | Subprime-Stricken German Bank attempts 3rd Rescue | Massachusetts charges Merrill Lynch and Co with fraud 

 More evidence of Pre-9/11 Inside Trading    "The cashing out of billions of dollars just before 9/11 never investigated" 

  Israeli Company sought tax exemption for bribes-Court Rejected Request     "Some companies request tax deductions for philanthropy, others for restaurants bills. But one Israeli business tried to push the envelope by asking to deduct nearly $860,000 it paid in kickbacks. The business, whose name was withheld by the court, asked to deduct the sum for kickbacks that were paid to help spur a business deal. The Israeli daily Maariv reported that the deal took place in an unidentified African nation. The company alleged the kickback was necessary as a part of the local business custom and therefore should be exempted from the Israeli law. The transaction was carried out in 1999, four years before Israel adopted a U.N. anti-corruption convention."

  Chertoff Again Becomes 'Psychic" - Warns Of "Earth Shattering" Events    "Department of Homeland Security Head and dual US-Israeli citizen Michael Chertoff has repeated the same fearmongering warning he made last year - he is worried "earth shattering" terror events are likely to be carried out soon. Once again, Chertoff provides no specific details, he simply reminds Americans that they need to remain afraid of phantom terrorists. The threat from "Al Qaeda" (read CIA and Mossad) is not over, Chertoff is at pains to remind us, "Just look at what's happened in the last year." he adds, referring to the fact that two men, since proven to be totally unconnected to "Al Qaeda", set a jeep on fire and drove it towards Glasgow airport in Scotland last August."    Another candidate for the woodchipper.

  Unicredit Sued for Large Italian Derivatives Scam    "Italian industrialist Francesco Saverio Parisi has sued Unicredit, Europe's second largest bank, for fraud and usury, in a move that could unveil a large derivatives scam. Far from being an isolated case, this swindle exposes, albeit with an Italian twist, a process being repeated worldwide, in which large investment banks hoodwink or strong-arm would-be investors (including school systems and municipalities) into investing into convoluted, high-risk derivatives instruments. In this instance, though, the victim has struck back with a devastating low blow—secret videos of the predators softening up the victim for the kill."

  Tortured Patsies To Take Fall For 9/11    "After half a dozen years of waterboarding, genital zapping, sleep deprivation and brainwashing, the Pentagon has finally found six patsies who will readily welcome their 72 virgins and take the fall for 9/11, providing debunkers with ample ammunition to dismiss questions about the gaping holes in the official story of the terror attacks ... "Among those held at Guantanamo is Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the attack six years ago in which hijacked planes were flown into buildings in New York and Washington. Five others are expected to be named in sworn charges," reports AP. The fact that KSM's confession included a plan to target the Plaza Bank building in Washington state, which was not founded until 2006, four years after the alleged Al-Qaeda mastermind's arrest, should provide a clue as to the reliability of the "terror mastermind's" culpability for 9/11. "  

  Police in UK launch dawn raid on boy of 12 'over school fight' months earlier     Sigh ....

  The Clintons: A Case Study In Money And Politics     Too bad they're so insecure, they want it all, when they can't take it with them. Spiritually immature incarnations.  Related: Cash Strapped Clinton Campaign -- Stunt?  Wood chipper in her future?

  Obama Presses Aggression Toward Pakistan     Bomb every country on Earth whose name ends with  -an . Major loop. War becomes perpetual when used as a rationale for peace.  Remember Obama was on the top ten most corrupt politicians list for 2007, joining Hillary and others. Related: British Have Obama By the Short-Hairs

  Bush Lights Fuse on Ex Post Facto Laws  " ...making legal retroactively that which is illegal today. Thus they can, once again, proclaim after-the-fact, that they did nothing wrong .. The final paragraph lights the 90-day fuse. It gives Congress 90 days to object or request clarification, and then it automatically becomes "law." Pretty neat stuff, no? Stroke of the pen, law of the land! But it serves in reality to violate the Constitution's ban against precisely such laws. Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 3 states: "No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed." But then again, Article I is confined to the powers of Congress, thereby exempting such prohibitions in the case of an executive dictatorship."

  Mukasey Will Not Follow Federal Law and Enforce Citations for Contempt of Congress     "Just to complete the theme of the day, Michael Mukasey said today that if Congress passed contempt citations against current and former White House officials based on their refusal to respond to subpoenas, the Justice Department would not enforce them, as federal law instructs."

  U.S. Militarism & the Drug Trade: the Afghan Dossier    "Such is the terminal logic of U.S. militarism, where CIA "specialists" and corporate mercenaries are the shock troops of a predatory capitalism gone wild. Like marauding Borg threatening to "assimilate" the entire planet to a cultural wasteland of shopping malls, the international drug traffic fuels an endless cycle of violence, where, in the immortal words of robber-baroness Leona Helmsley, "the little people" always pay the price." Related: Afghan mission likely to dominate Munich security conference

  Financial Crisis: Asset Securitization-- The Last Tango     Endgame: Unregulated Private Money Creation

  The Twilight of Democracy: The Bush Plan for America     Review of Jennifer Van Bergen's book. 

  U.S. funding Iranian Nuke Program Development    "Tax dollars are going to fund a Russian nuclear lab that is in turn, working with the Iranians. The subtext is that the Russians are helping the Iranians develop a nuclear weapons program, NIE Report be damned. However, it would be interesting to know why the US continues to fund nuclear technology development in Russia.  Video

  California fire Blackwater conspiracy    Story and Video. "San Diego Harris fire began at controversial Blackwater site. Randi Rhodes suggests that Blackwater started California Fires..."   Forum discussing Blackwater and the fires

  NATO terrorists (3-15) Operation Gladio: 1948-1990  Story and Video.  "BBC Timewatch 1992 - State Sponsored Terrorism in Europe (all 3 episodes). Documentary about the network of secret agents from France, USA, Italy and Belgium that carried out terror attacks.."

  Largest international education inquiry in decades   "Damning indictment of England's primary education system revealed that the country's children are now the most tested in the world. From their very earliest days at school they must navigate a set-up whose trademark is "high stakes" testing, says the report which is published today."

  Neo-Con's Tick Off Another of the Ten Steps to Close a Society - Student Crackdowns   (See Naomi Wolf video interview!)

  9/11 inquiry head 'tried to shield George Bush'   "The head of the commission that investigated the Sept 11 terrorist attacks had closer ties to the White House than he admitted and tried to limit the Bush administration's responsibility for the incident, a book claims. Philip Zelikow, the 9/11 Commission's executive director, allegedly attempted to intimidate staff to avoid findings that would be damaging to President George W Bush, who was running for re-election, and Condoleezza Rice, his then National Security Adviser."

  Four More American Drug Planes (CIA) Seized   "Four more American-registered drug planes have been seized from the 50-plane fleet of drug running aircraft amassed by Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Figures of interest in the transactions include financial backers of two of this year's Republican candidates for President, as well as, unsurprisingly, an aviation company in St. Petersburg, FL. which can justifiably be called "one of the usual suspects." Coincidentally or not, the American owners of the four planes (like the two busted earlier) were largely people and companies with 'special relationships' with U.S. political movers and shakers, including the CIA and the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security... The drug money was wired, usually from Mexico, to an account at Commerce Bank in Miami, whose Chairman, Dennis Nixon, is the South Texas Co-chair of John McCain’s campaign. Nixon was also a Bush Pioneer and Ranger in George W. Bush’s two Presidential campaigns, raising $300,000 in one night for Bush’s re-election bid in Texas border town Laredo. "  Related Issues

  Munitions Stolen From MCAS Miramar Storage Facility    "A cache of munitions has been stolen from a storage unit at MCAS Miramar and officials need your help in their investigation to find the munitions. The items include 15 sting grenades, which are non-lethal, but can cause injury. Also missing are five empty and inert AT-4 launch tubes..."

  Top Cop Says McCain Was Never Tortured    "A former Vietnam veteran with top secret clearance says he has personally spoken to numerous POW's who dispute John McCain's claim that he refused to provide information after he was captured and tortured in Hanoi, saying that in fact McCain's code-name was "Songbird" because of his willingness to tell all to avoid torture. Jack McLamb served nine years in secret operations in Cambodia and other nations before going on to become one of the most highly decorated police officer's in Phoenix history, winning police officer of the year twice before taking a role as a hostage negotiator for the FBI..." McCain should not even be running for President, not after the Keating 5 scandal! Not to mention that McCain is NOT A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN.   

  Toy car runs on tap water   "A remote-control car produced by the toymaker Corgi is the first household item to be powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology. The car, called H2GO, uses hydrogen derived from tap water as its fuel and was developed by the Leicester-based company in partnership with Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, an international firm based in Shanghai that hopes to extend the technology to home appliances. The hydrogen is separated from oxygen in the tap water via a miniaturized unit powered by a rechargeable battery. A tiny solar panel to charge the battery is an optional extra. The H2GO, which is billed as the first “zero emissions” remote-control toy, went on show at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair. It is expected to sell for £130 from September." 

  U.S. Agents Seize Travelers' Devices    "The seizure of electronics at U.S. borders has prompted protests from travelers who say they now weigh the risk of traveling with sensitive or personal information on their laptops, cameras or cellphones. In some cases, companies have altered their policies to require employees to safeguard corporate secrets by clearing laptop hard drives before international travel."

  Willie Nelson Fears Election Could Be Cancelled   "Country music legend Willie Nelson fears the 2008 presidential election could be cancelled due to a national state of emergency and that George W. Bush could occupy the White House for another decade. "It's a long time until election day and some sort of national crisis could put off the elections and we could have George in there ten years longer." 

  Internet cable cuts: More than accidents?    "There's a growing uneasiness in the global Internet community over a series of crippling Internet blackouts overseas that has resulted from four cuts and disruptions to underwater cables over the past week. While no evidence of sabotage has been forthcoming, the four breaks seem to many observers to stretch the bounds of coincidence. The cable breaks have been causing a growing buzz on tech blogs and drawing attention from conspiracy theorists, who suspect everything from information warfare to terrorism to sabotage by the United States to take out Internet connections to Iran, whose connectivity indeed has been pretty much blacked out for most of the past week... "

  H.G. Wells "The Open Conspiracy" in 1928    "Wells wrote the first edition of "The Open Conspiracy" in 1928. This book details what Wells called the "Open Conspiracy" among intellectual elites who despise the old order of things and desire to work towards a grand world directorate, a global society in which individuals no longer hold fast to tradition, but yield themselves willingly to the world state for the good of all. The Open Conspiracy utilizes propaganda, educational and governmental reform, and other forms of influence to achieve its goals. The scientific management of the world is at the heart of the open conspirators agenda. Of course, this tight management is sold as being for the benefit of all ..."

  Ten Steps To Close Down an Open Society   See also the lecture by Wolf in the Video of the Week, and also a video interview.

  Israel to destroy mosque because it didn't apply for building permit 700 years ago   Reptilian-Draconian control freaks and psychopathic mindset .... dead-enders themselves.  

  FBI wants palm prints, eye scans, tattoo mapping   "The FBI is gearing up to create a massive computer database of people's physical characteristics, all part of an effort the bureau says to better identify criminals and terrorists. The bureau is expected to announce in coming days the awarding of a $1 billion, 10-year contract to help create the database that will compile an array of biometric information -- from palm prints to eye scans." 

  U.S. Troops Again Being Asked If They Would Shoot American Citizens    "U.S. troops are being trained to conduct round-ups, confiscate guns and shoot American citizens, including their own friends and family members, as part of a long-standing program to prepare for the declaration of martial law, according to a soldier who recently returned from Iraq."  They did this to Marine Corps trainees in 1994, too. Control freaks freaking.

  Iran Opens Space Center, Launches Rocket   "Iran launched a research rocket and unveiled its first major space center.." In a related story: Iran oil bourse scheduled to open this coming week  Even if cutting the cables halted the Bourse, that's only going to hold for a week or ten days until repair ships can get to the area. Plus Iran has communications satellite links onto which Internet traffic is shifting. If 'someone' wants the Bourse shut down, it will have to be bombed. 

  Medical mystery unfolds at Minnesota meatpacking plant   "The disease that confronted doctors at the Austin Medical Center here last fall was strange indeed. Three patients had the same highly unusual set of symptoms: fatigue, pain, weakness, numbness and tingling in the legs and feet. The patients had something else in common, too: all worked at Quality Pork Processors, a local meatpacking plant..."

  OK-Senator seeks to put brakes on superhighway   "A state senator has filed legislation to prevent what he sees as a controversial highway corridor from being built in Oklahoma, where he said an estimated 37,000 acres could be taken from landowners through the use of eminent domain. SB 1393, by Sen. Randy Brogdon, R-Owasso, prohibits any state entity from participating in or paying dues or fees to the North America SuperCorridor Coalition Inc., any NASCO Trade Corridor Management System or any other NASCO facility. It prohibits the connection of any portion of the Trans Texas Corridor to any existing road or highway system in the state ..."   

  Bush inaction guts privacy oversight board    "As President Bush continues to spar with Congress over his demand that pending litigation that would examine his warrant less wiretapping program be thrown out of court, he seems to be furthering what critics see as his contempt for Americans' privacy rights by failing to staff a civil liberties oversight commission ..."    He failed to re-staff the Federal Elections Commission recently. See a pattern?

  McCain is Now the Neo-Con Candidate   "Of course, the neo-cons admire McCain’s generally hawkish — not to say, militarist — views, particularly with respect to Iraq, even as they may disagree with him about trifles like what constitutes torture. And even if he didn’t become a charter member of the Project for the New American Century, he embodies, in many ways, whatever it was that Kristol and Kagan meant when they were writing about “national greatness” in 1996 in their Foreign Affairs article, “Toward a Neo-Reaganite Foreign Policy.” McCain’s little ditty about “bomb-bomb-bomb, bomb-bomb-Iran” — not to mention his willingness to maintain U.S. troops in Iraq for decades, if not centuries — must also appeal to the neo-cons’ neo-imperial agenda ..."

  British planned to build training camp for Taliban fighters in Afghanistan   "Britain planned to build a Taliban training camp for 2,000 fighters in southern Afghanistan, as part of a top-secret deal to make them swap sides, intelligence sources in Kabul have revealed. The plans were discovered on a memory stick seized by Afghan secret police in December. The Afghan government claims they prove British agents were talking to the Taliban without permission from the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, despite Gordon Brown's pledge that Britain will not negotiate. The Prime Minister told Parliament on 12 December: "Our objective is to defeat the insurgency by isolating and eliminating their leaders. We will not enter into any negotiations with these people...."

  The Madness of John McCain   "A militarist suffering from acute narcissism and armed with the Bush Doctrine is not fit to be commander in chief."  Related: Hillary to Propose to Force Health Plan By Garnishing Wages of Health Plan Non-Participants  Her doctrine is that we will fuck with you for the 'common good'. She needs a date with a wood chipper.  Two bad apples in a barrel with no bottom.

  Poland 'agrees' to US missile defence deal   "Poland has put its doubts to one side and agreed in principle to let America base a missile defence system in the country, despite fierce opposition from its powerful Russian neighbour. The deal, struck in Washington this weekend, will fuel growing tension between Russia and the West, which are competing for influence in central and eastern Europe in a struggle with uncomfortable echoes of the Cold War."   War becomes perpetual when used as a rationale for peace.   

  Massachusetts charges Merrill Lynch with fraud over subprime securities   "NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Massachusetts state authorities on Friday charged Merrill Lynch and Co., Inc. with fraud and misrepresentation related to about $14 million worth of subprime securities it sold to the city of Springfield , of certain esoteric financial instruments known as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) to the City of Springfield Massachusetts, which were unsuitable for the city and which, within months after the sale, became illiquid and lost almost all of their market value," the state said in its complaint."  Related: Hidden Swap Fees by JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley Hit School Boards 

  Middle East Internet Blackouts Spur Geopolitical Suspicions   "Unprecedented mass Internet outages throughout the Middle East and Asia after no less than four undersea Internet cables were cut without explanation are spurring suspicions that a major event of geopolitical proportions may be just around the corner. Internet blackouts are impacting large tracts of Asia, the Middle East and North Africa after four undersea cable connections were severed. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Pakistan and India, are all experiencing severe problems."  Related: Internet Monitor| Map of Undersea Cables PDF  or GIF Version

  Ships did not cause Internet cable damage   "Damage to undersea Internet cables in the Mediterranean that hit business across the Middle East and South Asia was not caused by ships, Egypt’s communications ministry said on Sunday, ruling out earlier reports."     Of course, now that means submarines, not ships.  Covert Op!

  Historical Precedent: Undersea Cables Cut As Prelude To War   "At the outset of the war, the Germans had five transatlantic cables that ran through the English Channel. One went to Brest in France, another to Vigo in Spain, one to Tenerife in North Africa and two to New York via the Azores. The English cable ship Telconia cut them all in England's first offensive action in the war."

 Cutting Cables, Lighting Fuses   "A third undersea cable has been cut, effectively eliminating the Internet in the Middle East, but according to CNN that cable outage does not extend to Israel, Lebanon and Iraq..." Related: Mideast, S. Asian internet crippled | Cable Crimes 

 Israelis told to prepare 'rocket rooms' for future conflict    "Retired senior officers told Israelis on Saturday to prepare "rocket rooms" as protection against a rain of missiles expected to be fired at the Jewish state in any future conflict." 

 60 Minutes Show Can't Find Any Congressman to Speak on Record About AIPAC  "A few years back I did a report on AIPAC for "60 Minutes" with Mike Wallace. One after another, all the congressional offices I contacted confirmed the tremendous influence that AIPAC wielded, and the fear that could be inspired by an AIPAC threat to target a particular candidate. We were, however, unable to convince a single sitting House member, senator or staff person to talk on the record. Not that they disagreed with the premise. They were just terrified of taking about AIPAC."   Terrified of Mossad retribution, loss of contributions, etc.

 U.S. agrees to supply Israel's oil needs, even if it causes shortages for U.S.   Here is the actual agreement whereby the United States agrees to supply Israel's oil needs, even if it causes shortages for the U.S.

  The black box economy   "Behind the recent bad news lurks a much deeper concern: The world economy is now being driven by a vast, secretive web of investments that might be out of anyone's control." Related: Iran Oil Bourse to deal blow to dollar

  Individuals With Down Syndrome Being Blown Up For Political Agenda   "Two women described as mentally disabled and strapped with remote-control explosives — and possibly used as unwitting suicide bombers — brought carnage Friday to two pet bazaars, killing at least 91 people in the deadliest day since Washington flooded the capital with extra troops last spring. Police said the woman wearing the bomb sold cream in the mornings at the market and was known to locals as "the crazy lady ... Even the use of the handicapped in suicide bombings is not unprecedented in Iraq. In January 2005, Iraq's interior minister said insurgents used a disabled child in a suicide attack on election day. Police at the scene of the bombing said the child appeared to have Down syndrome."  All I can do is shake my head in disgust at this dynamic.   

  US  request to Turkey on Iran Bank Rejected   "A Turkish official has refused a US request to scrutinize and then suspend the activities of the Turkey-based Iran's Bank Melat. “What binds Turkey are the resolutions of the UN, and not US presidential decrees or Congressional decisions,” a Turkish diplomat told the Turkish Daily News. " 

  Paul: Bush to blame for US recession   "In a Thursday Republican debate, the 10-term congressman said the US economy is falling into recession which has been directly influenced by the flawed economic strategies pursued by the current administration." 

Turkey rejects US bank request on Iran   "A Turkish official has refused a US request to scrutinize and then suspend the activities of the Turkey-based Iran's Bank Mellat. “What binds Turkey are the resolutions of the UN and not US presidential decrees or

Vermont town hammered over petition to arrest, prosecute Bush and Cheney   "Officials in Brattleboro, Vt., have been inundated with e-mails and phone calls since outsiders learned about a petition that calls for local police to arrest President Bush and Vice President Cheney."

Bill Clinton Receives $31 million donation from contributor after Kazakhstan mining deal  "The monster deal stunned the mining industry, turning an unknown shell company into one of the world’s largest uranium producers in a transaction ultimately worth tens of millions of dollars to Mr. Giustra, analysts said. Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clinton’s charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra that had remained a secret until he acknowledged it last month."  Bold conflict of interest case there. In a related story: The Clintons Begin to Lose the Establishment 

Unprecedented Bat Die-Off In NY And VT  "Thousands of hibernating bats are dying in caves in New York and Vermont from unknown causes, prompting an investigation by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), as well as wildlife agencies and researchers around the nation. The most obvious symptom involved in the die-off is a white fungus encircling the noses of some, but not all, of the bats. Called "white nose syndrome," the fungus is believed to be associated with the problem, but it may not necessarily contribute to the actual cause of death. It appears that the impacted bats deplete their fat reserves months before they would normally emerge from hibernation, and die as a result." 

Iraqi Oil Cash Builds Up in NY Fed Bank - Not Being Used for Reconstruction  "Increased Iraqi oil revenues stemming from high prices and improved security are piling up in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York rather than being spent on needed reconstruction projects, a Washington Times study of Iraq's spending and revenue figures has shown."

Nazi-style Hospital in China Operates on the Mentally Ill  "The irreversible brain surgeries performed at No. 454 Hospital, which are all but blacklisted for mental illness in the developed world, are being done across China. They are a symptom of the problems plaguing the nation's health-care system, which has left hospitals with scant public funding and hungry for profit..."

Chemtrail Proof - German Military Exposed  Video "The German Military are exposed spraying Chemtrails. This is a Mainstream Media Exposé. Here is the proof that brings this subject to the realm of 'Conspiracy Fact'."  (Video with English subtitles)  Related Video: Chemtrail Plane Up Close and Personal  (more Chemtrail videos also on page)

Gardasil HPV Vaccine Hoax Exposed  Video  Because of this junk product, at least 20 have died. Many states in the US are trying to force people to have this 'vaccine'.  Important Video.  See all videos done by this individual. A related video (health exposé ): History Channel Admits Anthrax Attacks an Inside Job  

Bush Loots Health Care Programs to Help Pay for 2009 Budget  "Bush's 2009 budget will virtually freeze most domestic programs and seek nearly $200 billion in 'savings' from federal health care programs, a senior administration official said Thursday. The Bush budget also will likely exceed $3 trillion ... Bush on Monday will present his proposed budget for the new fiscal year to Congress, where it's unlikely to gain much traction in the midst of a presidential campaign. "  More of his "screw the population' mindset.

2,100 War Returnees Lapsed into Suicidal Behavior in 2007  "The number who tried to commit suicide or injured themselves for some other reason jumped six-fold in the last several years — from 350 in 2002 to about 2,100 incidents last year." 

Anderson Cooper's CIA Secret  "Anderson Cooper has long traded on his biography, carving a niche for himself as the most human of news anchors. But there's one aspect of his past that the silver-haired CNN star has never made public: the months he spent training for a career with the Central Intelligence Agency..." 

  Ron Paul slams Fed chairman Ben Bernanke at House Financial Services Committee meeting  "Congressman Ron Paul slammed Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke during a House Financial Services Committee meeting today for following a policy of deliberately destroying the dollar and wiping out the American middle class. Paul held Bernanke to task over his refusal to address the decline of the dollar and its clear link to inflation. "Inflation comes from the unwise increase in the supply of money credit....to argue that we can continue to debase the currency, which is really the policy of that you're following, purposely debasing value of currency - which to me seems so destructive....it just puts more pressure on the federal reserve to create capital out of thin air in order to stimulate the economy and usually that just goes into mal-investment," said Paul." 

  9/11 Aircraft 'Black Box' Serial Numbers Mysteriously Absent   "The United States government alleges that 4 registered Boeing commercial passenger aircraft were used in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, yet has failed to produce any physical evidence collected from the 3 9/11 crash scenes positively tied to these federally registered United and American airlines aircraft. Despite the release of abundant information regarding the 9/11 flights and the aircraft reportedly used, specific information that would confirm official allegations regarding the identity of these aircraft has been mysteriously withheld or denied upon request."

  German Court shoots down computer surveillance  "Government surveillance of personal computers would violate the individual right to privacy, Germany's highest court found Wednesday, in a ruling that German investigators say will restrict their 'ability to pursue terrorists' ... The Karlsruhe-based Federal Constitutional Court said in a precedent-setting decision that data stored or exchanged on a personal computer is effectively covered under principles of the constitution that enshrine the right to personal privacy ... "Collecting such data directly encroaches on a citizen's rights, given that fear of being observed ... can prevent unselfconscious personal communication," presiding judge Hans-Juergen Papier said in his ruling ... Authorities would be allowed to spy on suspects' computers using virus software in exceptional cases, according to the ruling. However, any such action must have the approval of a judge ..."

  EU fines Microsoft record $1.3B  "The European Union fined Microsoft Corp. a record $1.3 billion Wednesday for the amount it charges rivals for software information ... The fine is the largest ever for a single company and brings to just under $2.5 billion the amount the EU has demanded Microsoft pay in a long-running antitrust dispute."

  Many Foreclosures Stopped Because Banks Can't Prove Loan Ownership  "Judges in at least five states have stopped foreclosure proceedings because the banks that pool mortgages into securities and the companies that collect monthly payments haven't been able to prove they own the mortgages. The confusion is another headache for U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as he revises rules for packaging mortgages into securities ... More than $2.1 trillion, or 19 percent, of outstanding mortgages have been bundled into securities by private banks, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, a Bethesda, Maryland-based industry newsletter. Those loans may be sold several times before they land in a security. Mortgage services, who collect monthly payments and distribute them to securities investors, can buy and sell the home loans many times." Related: Foreclosures Jump 90% as ARM Mortgages Reset

  Earthquake felt across parts of England   "The 4.7-magnitude quake struck at about 1 a.m. and was centered about 125 miles north of London, according to the U.S. Geological Survey...Many other people in southern, central and northern England reported feeling their homes shaken by the earthquake in a country where such tremors are uncommon."

  When Electricity, the Drug of Choice, Stops  "Yes, that drug we know as alternating current will have the worst withdrawal side effects in history. We will re-enter the 17th century overnight. But there is just one big difference ­ the people that lived in the 17th century were prepared to live in it, because that's how they lived. By and large most will not be ready for it. Common jokes about "stone knives and bearskins" will no longer be laughed at."

  World Wheat Stocks Lowest Since 1948   Let them eat cake.

  Animals Disappearing "Weird science news. NPR reported on the Feb 19th that there’s a major threat to the bat population in the Northwest. Biologists are “scrambling” to get a grasp on what’s happening and warn that it could mean the end of bats in the Northeast. Then, today, NPR said that jackrabbits have vanished from Yellowstone National Park. The dangers of disappearing bats means a whole lot of trouble to local farmers. Bats keep bugs, beetles and insects under control and without them it could mean disaster for that ecosystem. What the heck is going on? You ever get that feeling like there’s a major shift afoot?."  No shit, Sherlock, its endgame.  Related: Animals Disappearing in Argentina 

  7.3 Quake off Indonesia's Sumatra triggers panic "A powerful earthquake struck west of Indonesia's Sumatra island on Feb 25, triggering panic and a brief tsunami warning, although there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties."

  7.5 Indonesia quake three dead, 25 hurt "A strong 7.5-magnitude quake rocked Indonesia's Aceh province Feb 20, killing three people, seriously injuring 25 others and briefly sparking a tsunami alert, officials said. ."

  Pakistan causes worldwide YouTube outage   "Most of the world's Internet users lost access to YouTube for several hours Sunday after an attempt by Pakistan's government to block access domestically affected other countries."

  Clinton, Obama Major Donations From Abramoff's Firm   "In 2008, it might be harder for the Democratic presidential nominee to make the same case that his or her Congressional counterparts successfully built in 2006. Facing off against likely Republican nominee John McCain, who as a senator led early investigations into Abramoff's corrupt lobbying, either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama could find themselves linked to Abramoff and his former law firm, the Miami-based giant Greenberg Traurig ... Greenberg Traurig has offices all over the United States and is one of the largest law firms in the country. It hired Jack Abramoff and his lobbying team in 2001, and fired him in 2004 when knowledge of a federal investigation of his practices became public ... Greenberg Traurig attorneys have actively donated to this season's presidential campaigns. A Feb. 12 article from the Huffington Post noted that McCain, the senator whose Indian Affairs Committee investigations helped bring down Abramoff and embroiled Greenberg Traurig in years of legal trouble, took in more than $100,000 from the firm's employees."... A review of Federal Election Commission records shows that Clinton and Obama both received hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations from Greenberg Traurig staff. Moreover, each candidate has particularly benefited from the largesse of the firm's top management and its registered lobbyists ... The Clinton and Obama campaigns were both contacted on Monday and Wednesday for comment regarding donations to their candidates from Abramoff-linked donors. Neither responded to queries ..." 

  McCain - $48,700,106 Via 468 'Bundlers'   Note: An interesting peek inside some of the McCain financing methodology. The phenomenon of "bundling' is what the White House For Sale website that hosts the page is devoted to. Interesting to explore the people and the dynamic, and notice that Ron Paul is the ONLY candidate that is not featured - his funding dynamic is different.

  Western oil giants poised to enter Iraq to tap the country's oil, despite ongoing threat of violence   "Iraq's parliament has yet to pass a hydrocarbon law setting out the terms oil companies will operate on and how profits will be split. 'My sense is that many of the oil companies are very eager to come in now, and actually what they're waiting for is the hydrocarbon law to be passed and various projects to be signed off. That is what is causing them to pause, rather than the security position,' he said. Wareing declined to name names but it is thought that Shell, Exxon Mobil and dozens of others are watching closely. The role of American corporations in Iraq has been hugely sensitive since the US-led invasion in 2003, which some critics said was motivated by the Gulf state's oil wealth ..."

  Brzezinski Seizing Control Over US Policy In Slow-Motion Coup   "Events of the past few days indicate that the Zbigniew Brzezinski faction of lunatic Russia haters have now won the upper hand inside the secret councils of the Anglo-American finance oligarchy, displacing the hitherto dominant George Shultz-neocon faction. Although George Bush and his cronies still occupy the White House, the policies that are being carried out are coming from the Brzezinski left CIA machine. Brzezinski has returned to public prominence in recent months due to his role as top establishment controller for the Obama campaign. But Brzezinski is not waiting for the outcome of the November elections to take over key parts of the US government. Brzezinski and his left CIA allies are already moving to assert their strategy, even as the neocons and their characteristic obsessions are moved to the back burner. The probability of an attack on Iran or Syria is declining, even as the danger of confrontation with Russia, China, and Pakistan ­ all much more dangerous targets to trifle with ­ increases exponentially."

  False Flag Prospects, 2008 -- Top Three US Target Cities   by Captain Eric H. May  "The easiest way to carry out a false flag attack is by setting up a military exercise that simulates the very attack you want to carry out. As I'll detail below, this is exactly how government perpetrators in the US and UK handled the 9/11 and 7/7 "terror" attacks, which were in reality government attacks blamed on "terrorists...."  Val: Note: It might be worth noting that none of his 'predictions' for the last two years have come to pass. 

  Crossing The Rubicon: Breaking The Fake News Trance   "The phrase ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ is a metaphor for proceeding past a point of no return. It originates from 49 BC when Julius Caesar directed his legions south across the river Rubicon (a traditional barrier between the Roman province of ‘Cisalpine Gaul’ and Italy proper) towards ancient Rome in defiance of the Roman Senate. Upon crossing the river, Caesar is reported to have shouted "Alea iacta est" ... the die is cast!" 

  Inside the world of war profiteers   "Inside the stout federal courthouse of this Mississippi River town, the dirty secrets of Iraq war profiteering keep pouring out. Hundreds of pages of recently unsealed court records detail how kickbacks shaped the war's largest troop support contract months before the first wave of U.S. soldiers plunged their boots into Iraqi sand. The graft continued well beyond the 2004 congressional hearings that first called attention to it. And the massive fraud endangered the health of American soldiers even as it lined contractors' pockets, records show..."

  Russia threat to use force over Kosovo   "Moscow's ambassador to NATO says Russia could resort to "Brute force" if NATO or the European Union challenge the UN on Kosovo. According to Interfax news agency, Dmitry Rogozin in a video link-up from Brussels said, "If the European Union works out a common position, or if NATO breaches its mandate in Kosovo, these organizations will be in conflict with the United Nations." "We too will have to proceed from the view that in order to be respected we must use Brute force, in other words armed force." First discovery of oil in Kosovo, then Gold, then independence, then US embassy burns ... Rioters attack British embassy in Kosovo 

  Secret Service Stand Down At Obama Event Raises Suspicions   "Dozens of police officers have voiced concern over a security stand down order issued by federal officials at Barack Obama's rally in Dallas yesterday afternoon." Related: Blacks Worry About Obama's Safety

  Ex-Congressman: U.S. Government Created Al-Qaeda, Involved In 9/11   "A former Congressman says that the U.S. government created Al-Qaeda and was involved in bombing its own citizens on 9/11, telling a national radio show that elements of the Bush administration assisted the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon."  Related: Unraveling Of 911 Story Continues | Rigged Gitmo Trials Prove 9/11 Official Story Wrong

  Norman Finkelstein: "Israel Has to Suffer a Defeat"    Very valid points. About 10 min. Worth watching (Video)

  Secret Report Uncovers Massive Fraud at European Parliament   "Chris Davies, a Liberal Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the North-West of the UK, is a member of the Budget Control Committee of the European Parliament. As he told BBC’s Today Programme (listen here), he discovered, quite by chance, that Parliament’s auditors had made a report detailing abuses on a vast scale, abuses that suggest some MEPs are simply plundering the system to enrich themselves."

  Russian Jews Worried That Putin's Successor May Be Jewish   "The Jewish community of Russia is worried over a rumor campaign by nationalist parties claiming that Dmitri Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin's handpicked successor, is Jewish. Russian Jewish leaders declined to comment on the rumors officially, fearing to lend them credibility. Off the record, however, one said: "I pray it isn't true, because it would only make trouble, for him and for us."     Life gets stranger and stranger. 

  America’s Jewish Lobby holding back a Tide of Oil   "Neo-Lefties using ‘Wars for Oil’ to cover up ‘Wars for the Jews’.  America, left wing Zionists are so intent on protecting the Jews-only state in Palestine they argue that America's invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were ‘wars for oil’. They are the counterpart of their more famous, right wing, colleagues who are devoted to the Jews-only state, and usually dual citizens of both countries. These neo-lefties suggest that America's multinational fossil fuel corporations pressured the bush regime into invading Afghanistan and Iraq so they could exploit these countries’ oil resources or assets. And yet, six years after the invasion of Afghanistan, and nearly five years after the invasion of Iraq, America's gigantic energy corporations have been unwilling to invest in these countries and completely failed to gain any control over oil reserves or oil flows. The only benefit they have enjoyed are massive windfall profits. But these profits stem from the disasters suffered by America's invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. These invasions have caused so much chaos that oil exports have dropped, global oil prices have spiraled upwards, and oil companies’ profits have soared. America’s energy corporations have ended up enjoying huge profits not from oil investments in these countries but, perversely, from their failure to make such investments." 

  4,000 company directors listed as global terror suspects and fraudsters  "The names of almost 4,000 directors of British companies appear on international watchlists of alleged fraudsters, money launderers, terror financiers and corrupt officials, The Times has learnt. A detailed study of the public register of directors held at Companies House uncovered people identified around the world as terrorist suspects, alleged drug traffickers and individuals convicted of offences ranging from illicit dealing in firearms to fraud. The research, carried out by the financial intelligence service World-Check, found 3,994 exact matches between its database of 750,000 “high-risk” individuals and the 6.8 million directors and businesses listed at Companies House. Its report also discovered 27,000 “near-matches ... The register of directors included, according to World-Check, 154 people allegedly involved in financial crime, 13 individuals wanted by Interpol for alleged terrorist activities and 37 accused of involvement in the drugs trade. World-Check also claims to have identified around 1,000 “politically exposed persons” operating as directors of British companies ... " See This PDF

  Northern Nevada Hit by 6.0 Earthquake  "Windows shattered and building facades and signs fell, but no one was seriously injured when a powerful earthquake shook this rural northeastern town on Thursday 21 Feb."   Endgame in progress.  Related: Norway Hit by 6.2 Earthquake 

  Anti-Kosovo rally leaves US embassy in flames  "The US embassy in Belgrade was in flames tonight as a huge anti-Kosovo independence rally turned violent. As many as 200,000 Serbs gathered in central Belgrade before a group of masked protesters broke into the embassy compound, ripped down an American flag and set fire to the ground floor and a side building. Armoured vehicles fired tear gas to disperse crowds who were furious that the US and many EU countries have recognised Kosovo’s unilateral decision to breakaway from Serbia." 

  Significant Gold Deposits Discovered in Kosovo  "Or how political and diplomatic positions are now being determined by profit potential. Last week Lydian International Ltd. a diversified U.K. mineral exploration and development company announced positive results from soil and trench sampling from its Rahovec project in Kosovo. The initial soil-sampling program indicated potentially significant gold deposits. The soil-sampling program also returned significant results for Nickel and Cobalt too. "This is an exciting new gold discovery in an area that was previously known only for its Ni-Co-Cu-(PGE) potential," said Tim Coughlin, President and CEO. "The soil geochemistry has defined a large and drill-ready target area." Test drilling to determine the exact nature and extent of the mineral deposits is expected to commence in the next 3 weeks. Located in Eastern Kosovo, the project is known to contain sulphide Ni-Co-Cu mineralisation, which is thought to be similar to deposits seen in Western Australia and Northern Canada. The area also has potential for Cr-(PGE) mineralisation and bauxite. "

  Large Potential Albanian Oil and Gas Discovery : Kosovo's Importance "On January 10, Swiss-based Manas Petroleum Corporation broke the news. Gustavson Associates LLC's Resource Evaluation identified large prospects of oil and gas reserves in Albania, close to Kosovo. They are in areas called blocks A, B, C, D and E, encompassing about 780,000 acres along the northwest to southeast "trending (geological) fold belt of northwestern Albania." Assigned estimates of the find (so far unproved) are up to 2.987 billion barrels of oil and 3.014 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. However, because of their depth, oil deposits may be capped with a layer of gas. If so, Gustavson calculates the potential to be 1.4 billion barrels of light oil and up to 15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Further, if only gas is present, the discovery may be as much as 28 trillion cubic feet. In any case, if estimates prove out, it's a sizable find."  And Kosovo just declared its independence! The oil connection!

  401(k) Participants Can Sue for Losses  "The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that individual participants in the most common type of retirement plan can sue under a pension protection law to recover their losses." 

  Clintons to face fraud trial  "While Hillary Clinton battles Barack Obama on the campaign trail, a judge in Los Angeles is quietly preparing to set a trial date in a $17 million fraud suit that aims to expose an alleged culture of widespread corruption by the Clintons and the Democratic Party. At the conclusion of a hearing tomorrow morning before California Superior Court Judge Aurelio N. Munoz, lawyers for Hollywood mogul Peter F. Paul will begin seeking sworn testimony from all three Clintons – Bill, Hillary and Chelsea – along with top Democratic Party leaders and A-list celebrities, including Barbra Streisand, John Travolta, Brad Pitt and Cher. Paul's team hopes for a trial in October. The Clintons' longtime lawyer David Kendall, who will attend the hearing, has declined comment on the suit ...."

  Neo-Fascist Pigs In Space   "SPACE: AMERICA'S NEW WAR ZONE". It has, however, long been a globalist neoconservative agenda to weaponize, fully militarize and aggressively control space in order to achieve what they refer to as "full spectrum dominance" over the entirety of the planet Earth."  Part 2

  Disinformation flies as US raises Iran bar  "US efforts are in overdrive to ward off a clean bill of health for Iran's nuclear program when the International Atomic Energy Agency issues a new report later this week. The American diplomats as usual have the help of compliant media, which are making much of supposed US intelligence newly "shared" with the atomic agency. Just don't believe everything you read; the IAEA does not."

  Bush Warns of Terror “That Will Make Sept. 11 Pale By Comparison."   "President Bush pressured the House on  to pass new rules for monitoring terrorists' communications, saying "terrorists are planning new attacks on our country ... that will make Sept. 11 pale by comparison." 

  Indonesian Health Minister's claims US using bird flu to produce biological weapons   "WHO laboratories forwarded influenza viruses to Western companies so they could profit by selling vaccines back to developing countries: "The system of world health management has been very exploitative. It has been controlled by inhumanly desires, based on the greediness to raise capital and to control the world." Some Indonesian samples had been sent to a US Defence Department laboratory, Dr Supari says, adding that "some of our seed viruses had been in a laboratory known as a facility developing biological weapons in a superpower country." In a related story: US dismisses bird flu claims 

 Musharraf: Keep U.S. troops out of Pakistan "Despite the growing threat from Islamic extremists, President Pervez Musharraf said U.S. troops are not welcome to join ' the fight against al-Qaida' on Pakistani soil." 

  U.S. strikes within Pakistan — without notice  " In the predawn hours of Jan. 29, a CIA Predator aircraft flew in a slow arc above the Pakistani town of Mir Ali. The drone's operator, relying on information secretly passed to the CIA by local informants, clicked a computer mouse and sent the first of two Hellfire missiles hurtling toward a cluster of mud-brick buildings a few miles from the town center. “Having requested the Pakistani government’s official permission for such strikes on previous occasions, only to be put off or turned down, this time the U.S. spy agency did not seek approval. The government of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was notified only as the operation was underway, according to the officials, who insisted on anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities.”

 UN agency: Internet Cables Possibly Sabotaged "The head of the UN backed agency that oversees international telecommunications has declared that the the cutting of a least five undersea internet cables earlier this month may be a case of sabotage. The cutting the cables in several different locations hundreds of miles apart aroused intense speculation, leading many to suspect that the activity represents, at the very least, a warning shot across the bows of certain Middle Eastern and Asian nations, and may even signify the imminence of a major geopolitical event. "

  Kucinich to Investigate 9/11 Insider Trading "Congressman Dennis Kucinich revealed that he is initiating an investigation the insider trading that took place leading up to 9/11, particularly in regards to put options placed on American Airlines and United Airlines stock. Kucinich said that he had personal questions about the implications insider trading had." 

  Clinton, Obama bank major donations from Abramoff's former law firm "A review of Federal Election Commission records shows that Clinton and Obama both received hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations from Greenberg Traurig staff. Moreover, each candidate has particularly benefited from the largesse of the firm's top management and its registered lobbyists. The Clinton and Obama campaigns were both contacted on Monday and Wednesday for comment regarding donations to their candidates from Abramoff- linked donors. Neither responded to queries."

  FBI Says Barbara Olsen Did Not Call Ted Olsen. Bush Solicitor General LIED  "We were fed a lie by Ted Olsen who served as Solictor General for the Bush Administration, when on 9/11 he held a press conference to tell America and the world that his dead wife had called him before her demise from the jet she was on that had just been hijacked. It was a lie. The FBI has reported that no such call between Barbara Olsen and Ted Olsen ever took place on 9/11/2001. "

  Hungarian Jews $40 Billion suit against U.S. "The class action concerns the failure of the Allies to bomb the railway bridges between Hungary and Auschwitz during the Second World War. Wolz believes the bombing of the railway bridges could have saved more than 400,000 Hungarian Jews life during 1944."  RELATED: Holocaust lawyer jailed for fraud 

  Famines May Occur Without Record Crops in 2008 "Grain farmers will need to harvest record crops every year to meet increasing global food demand and avoid famine, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. Chief Executive Officer William Doyle said. People and livestock are consuming more grain than ever, draining world inventories and increasing the likelihood of shortages, Doyle said yesterday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. Global grain stockpiles fell to about 53 days of supply last year, the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1960, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture."  RELATED: China tightens grip on grain

  Solar X-Rays Momentarily Drop To Zero Feb 18/19 "Something interesting is happening with our Sun. X-Rays are a well known product of the fusion process which is what our Sun is. It appears that on more than one occasion, X-ray emission levels have dropped to incredibly low levels - if not virtually down to zero. Up until now, I have not discussed very much about this observation in previous solar reports. This has recently appeared sporadically in other X-ray charts, even though I've not specifically mentioned it recently. Another virtual "zero X-ray event" apparently has occurred again, according to two NOAA instruments measuring two different X-Ray wavelengths on one satellite ..."    Endgame is in progress, after all.

  Does Balkanization Beckon Anew?    "On Sunday, Kosovo declared independence and was recognized by the European Union and President Bush. But this is not the end of the story. It is only the preface to a new history of the Balkans, a region that has known too much history."

  Bush: The War Has ‘Nothing To Do With The Economy’  "Bush denied that the there’s any link between the faltering U.S. economy and $10 billion a month being spent on the Iraq war. In fact, according to Bush, the war is actually helping the economy. "  No its not. you stupid psychopath! .... its helping Halliburton, Cheney, KBR and one-source contractors and war companies.

  Banks "quietly" borrow $50 billion from Fed  "Banks in the United States have been quietly borrowing "massive amounts" from the U.S. Federal Reserve in recent weeks, using a new measure the Fed introduced two months ago to help ease the credit crunch, according to a report on the web site of The Financial Times. The newspaper said the use of the Fed's Term Auction Facility (TAF), which allows banks to borrow at relatively attractive rates against a wide range of their assets, saw borrowing of nearly $50 billion of one-month funds from the Fed by mid-February. The Financial Times said the move has sparked unease among some analysts about the stress developing in opaque corners of the U.S. banking system and the banks' growing reliance on indirect forms of government support."

 Study Highlights Deep Seated Psychological Impact Of 9/11 "A comparative analysis of dream images suggests how deeply the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks impacted Americans' emotions, researchers report."  Of course, it was planned that way.

  Moral Obligations To Stop Mccain     "The U.S. has had Presidential candidates and Presidents who were known criminals, prevaricators and very immoral, promiscuous men who harmed national security. John McCain is no exception. However, does the public and do Republican delegates and leaders really want to pay the same costs in the future of America for McCain that they paid in the past for nominating and helping elect illicit Presidents? This article contains a description of many of the known crimes, moral transgressions and allegations of nuclear treason by John McCain. Some of these crimes may have been felonies and if so, would have also made McCain ineligible to be President should he have been prosecuted (as he should have been) and convicted."

  Pakistanis Deal Severe Defeat to Musharraf in Election     "Pakistanis dealt a crushing defeat to President Pervez Musharraf in parliamentary elections Monday, in what government and opposition politicians said was a firm rejection of his policies since 2001 and those of his close ally, the United States."   Good for them.

  How Mossad Deceived the U.S. Military on 9/11   "Mossad, Israel's military intelligence agency, infiltrated the most sensitive computer networks in the United States through a little start-up company known as Ptech, in Quincy, Massachusetts."

  FDA ties pneumonia deaths to infant vaccine     "GlaxoSmithKline Plc's rotavirus vaccine is associated with increased pneumonia-related deaths and other adverse reactions, U.S. regulatory staff said in documents posted on Friday."

  Former CIA official: Mossad behind Mugniyah killing    "While Israel has formally refuted allegations it was involved in the assassination of Hizbullah 'operations officer' Imad Mugniyah in Damascus on Tuesday, former CIA official Bruce Riedel says all signs seem to indicate the Mossad was behind the killing. Riedel, who spent over 30 years with the CIA before serving as a senior advisor on South Asian and Middle East affairs under three US presidents, said Israel has already carried out similar operations in Syria. Currently a senior fellow with the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute, he says Mugniyah's assassination proves Israel has successfully infiltrated Hizbullah and that even Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah knows he may also be in the crosshairs." 

  9/11 Truth Debate at European Parliament, February 26    "Brussels 26 February 2008 7pm, PHS 3C50 (this is where the debate will be held) – this event is NOT open to the public, only to journalists and the politicians. (Nevertheless, Belgian & French Truthers have their contacts and will make sure this debate is videotaped and put online afterwards). A few weeks after the Japanese parliament it is now Europe’s turn to open the debate on what really happened on 9/11. While journalists and politicians still support the official version of the events, defended by the Bush administration – in which the blame is laid on Muslims – the Europarliamentarian from Italy, Giulietto Chiesa, organizes an historical evening in the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday 26th February. He will present his film ZERO – 9/11: Europe for an Independent Commission of Inquiry. Related: 9/11 Truth.Org

  U.K. nationalizes Northern Rock    "British government is taking over the troubled bank until a buyer can be found."

  CIA set up 12 bogus companies mostly in Europe after 9/11   "Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, the US Central Intelligence Agency set up 12 bogus companies in Europe and other parts of the world in the hope of penetrating Islamic organizations, The Los Angeles Times reported on its website late Saturday. But citing current and former CIA officials, the newspaper said the agency had now shut down all but two of them after concluding they were ill-conceived. The firms were part of an ambitious plan to increase the number of CIA case officers sent overseas under what is known as "nonofficial cover" in order to increase the agency's potential for penetrating Islamic networks, the report said. According to the paper, the agents posed as employees of investment banks, consulting firms or other fictitious enterprises with no apparent ties to the US government."

  Bolivia declares U.S. diplomat undesirable person   "Bolivian President Evo Morales declared U.S. embassy official Vincent Cooper an "undesirable person" Monday, citing charges that Cooper was trying to organize a spy ring, according to news reaching here."

  Minnesota man: 'I took drugs, had sex with Obama' takes his case to court   "The electrifying presidential campaign of Barack Obama faces a new challenge – a Minnesota man who claims he took cocaine in 1999 with the then-Illinois legislator and participated in homosexual acts with him. When his story was ignored by the news media, Larry Sinclair made his case last month in a YouTube video, which has now been viewed more than a quarter-million times. And when it was still ignored by the media, Sinclair filed a suit in Minnesota District Court, alleging threats and intimidation by Obama's staff." Related: Sinclair Accepts Polygraph Challenge

  What FBI whistle-blower Sibel Edmonds found in translation  "The former FBI translator turned whistle-blower tells a chilling story of corruption at Washington's highest levels – sale of nuclear secrets, shielding of terrorist suspects, illegal arms transfers, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, espionage. She may be a first-rate fabulist, but Ms. Edmonds' account is full of dates, places and names. And if she is to be believed, a treasonous plot to embed moles in American military and nuclear installations and pass sensitive intelligence to Israeli, Pakistani and Turkish sources was facilitated by figures in the upper echelons of the State and Defense Departments. Her charges could be easily confirmed or dismissed if classified government documents were made available to investigators."

  Saudis 'Threatened Terror' Over UK Arms Probe  "Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday. Previously secret files describe how investigators were told they faced "another 7/7" and the loss of "British lives on British streets" if they pressed on with their inquiries and the Saudis carried out their threat to cut off intelligence."  Note: Since MI6 was involved in the 7/7 event, the event that was scripted and actually an exercise turned real ... all this Saudi stuff sounds like intel fluff.  Related: Saudi threats apparently 'rolled over' British government

Note: Watch this video - Ludicrous Diversion - 7/7 London Bombings Documentary

  UK Health proposes a £10 permit for smokers  "A ban on the sale of cigarettes to anyone who does not pay for a government smoking permit has been proposed by Health England, a ministerial advisory board. The idea is the brainchild of the board's chairman, Julian Le Grand, who is a professor at the London School of Economics and was Tony Blair's senior health adviser. In a paper being studied by Lord Darzi, the health minister appointed to oversee NHS reform, he says many smokers would be helped to break the habit if they had to make a decision whether to "opt in"."

  Iran slams US support for terrorism   "A senior Iranian cleric says it is disgraceful to see the US and Israel rejoicing at the news of Imad Mugniyah's assassination. "These are people who are supposedly leading the fight against terrorism yet they express happiness over the murder of such an outstanding figure," said Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Friday. These are the same people who have occupied Iraq and Afghanistan under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Logically they should have been condemning this act of terror yet they openly show their joy, he added."

  OPEC considers dumping US dollar   "Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries plans to discuss a proposal by Iran and Venezuela to price oil in non-dollar currencies. Finance minister of the group, which supplies 40 percent of the global crude demand, will meet to study the proposal, the organization's President Chakib Khelil said. Khalil, however, did not say when the ministers are scheduled to discuss the proposal amid the ongoing depreciation of the dollar. The idea floated by Tehran and Caracas since the dwindling dollar fallen 16.2 percent against a basket of major currencies since two years ago." 

  Comptroller General of the United States, head of the GAO, quits  " As Comptroller General of the United States and head of the GAO, there are real limitations on what I can do and say in connection with key public policy issues, especially issues that directly relate to GAO's client -- the Congress," Walker said in a statement." In other words, no one in DC cares anyway, so he's quitting.

  US lawmakers warn Pakistan of 'consequences' if vote unfair  "A US Congressional team traveling to Pakistan to observe its parliamentary election warned President Pervez Musharraf's administration of "consequences' if the polls were not free, fair and transparent."   The pot calls the kettle black. Astrologically, the U.S. Cancer orientation is "do what we say, not as we do." They're forgetting Bush closed down the Fed Election Office to prevent inquiries, etc.   Sigh ...

  Russia to double personnel at Iran Bushehr reactor site  "The company planned to bring in up to 300 specialists within the next few weeks, and a total of 1,000 before the year was out, nearly doubling the current 1,500 Atomstroiexport staff at the site, Shmatko said." (Translation: if the US and/or Israel bombs this facility after this staffing increase, they will very likely have created anywhere from three hundred to one thousand Russian victims involved in this project. War with Russia, anyone??)  Clever move on Putin's part.

  Russian state TV suggests USA involved in drug-trafficking from Afghanistan  " Russian state-controlled Channel One TV has broadcast a report containing allegations that US forces are involved in drug-trafficking from Afghanistan to Europe. It also highlighted the problem of drug abuse in the British army."  (See the material in the video section on the US Gov't and Drug Trafficking)

  "Israeli Armies Have Lost Human Form"  "Jewdo-nazis , said ISAIA LEIBOVITZ , that is what the Israeli army would become while staying in occupied territories. And that's what really happens, slowly but surely. What is the exact point in which a person loses the human form? Where is the point in which a society should declare a full stop for reassessment , because its direction is leading to abyss of no return. Good morning Israel, this point has already came and vanished. The regime which treat harshly another race ate our inner organs , and all that remains is rot and stench and that stench is strongly felt through stories like the one that is published this weekend in "7 days" appendix of" Yediot Acharonot ", about the new trend of our soldiers to have their pictures taken together with parts of corpses of Palestinians ."   If he only knew that he's only scratching the surface of this reptilian dynamic.

  India unveils 'people's phone' for £10  " India has already built the world's cheapest car – the £1,250 Tata Nano – now the country has unveiled the telecoms equivalent: the £10 "people's phone". The mobile handset, developed by Spice, the Indian telecoms group that is listed in Bombay and worth £1 billion, is angled at the very lowest end of the market. This means the phone has jettisoned all "non-essential" features – such as a screen. "It is just a phone," said Bhupendra Kumar Modi, the Spice chairman, who hopes to sell about 10 million in the next year."  Yes, and they couldn't do this in the US. 

  The 6900 Series: Protocols for Economic Collapse "And this is how the U.S. Treasury would handle an economic collapse. It's called the 6900 series of protocols. It would start with declaring a force majeure, which would immediately be interpreted by the marketplaces as a de facto repudiation of debt. Then the SEC and the various regulatory exchanges would anticipate the market's decline, hour by hour -- when Japan's markets opened the next day, what would happen when the European markets, and all the inter linkages of the global markets. On the second day, US Special Forces would be dropped in by parachute in the cities where the twelve Federal Reserve district banks are located ..."  Related: Debt crisis spreads to US municipalities | Failed muni bond auctions deepen crises  | Buffett bond plan puts heat on banks | Fed chief ready to cut rates further |  US subprime crisis costs global 7.7 trillion dollars  

  UK 'Terror' law 'in tatters' as 'extremists' go 'free' "Dozens of anti-terrorist investigations and prosecutions are in jeopardy after senior judges yesterday quashed the convictions of five young Muslims for downloading extremist propaganda. Three Court of Appeal judges, led by the Lord Chief Justice, questioned whether they should ever have been prosecuted for merely possessing the material. The ruling means that in future the prosecution will have to prove that defendants intended to commit 'terrorist attacks'." 

  Harassed At Border For 9/11 Truth Flyer  " 911Truth founder, director and organizer, Glenn Zarmanov was recently harassed on the American-Canadian border for his possession of fliers that prompt the reader to demand a new investigation and DVDs with similar content. While traveling on a visit to Montreal, Quebec, Zarmanov encountered hostility when a border-patrol agent remarked that the fliers and discs could be considered "objectionable material" and might be confiscated. Zarmanov was allowed into the country with his property, but was warned not to bring such material on subsequent visits. Zarmanov was questioned rigorously on his intentions for smuggling paper and plastic into Canada."

  House Democrats Hold Bush Officials In Criminal Contempt  "In a vote on the House floor, we acted to enforce the law and our Constitution, and hold former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten in Contempt of Congress."  

  Obama Pushes Bill That Would Mandate Global Tax "Senate to vote on legislation that would cost U.S. $845 billion, also enables UN to implement gun bans... The "Global Poverty Act," which is sponsored by Obama, is up for a Senate vote today, and if passed would mandate the U.S. to spend 0.7 percent of the gross national product on foreign aid, on top of the money being sent out of the country already. The bill passed the House by a voice vote last year because most members failed to read what was actually in it. The words "global" and "poverty" in the title were presumably enough to convince them that 'it must be good'."

  Obama distant cousin of both Cheney and Bush   "Obama outlines his ambitious geopolitical plans in a recent essay for Foreign Affairs magazine. Foreign Affairs is published by the Council on Foreign Relations, which describes itself as a non-partisan group of which he is a member. Established in the 1920's and headquartered in New York, its membership includes prominent politicians and business elite, including heads of academia and media. The organization seeks to centralize both political power and market power to craft legislation outside the checks and balances of democracy. The CFR is rarely mentioned by the mainstream media... Obama is also a 32nd degree Prince Hall Freemason loyal to the Craft and devoted to his principles so forget about the "changes" and start thinking about the same old , same old , coming once again into power. Obama is illuminati aristocracy. his appearance from 'nowhere', and subsequent rocket to the front of the political line are no coincidence." 

  Germany becomes the First Country to admit Clandestine Chemtrail Operations 

  Bush Administration Hides More Data, Shuts Down Website Tracking U.S. Economic Indicators  "The Bush administration’s latest move is to simply hide the data. Forbes has awarded EconomicIndicators.gov one of its “Best of the Web” awards. As Forbes explains, the government site provides an invaluable service to the public for accessing U.S. economic data: This site is maintained by the Economics and Statistics Administration and combines data collected by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, like GDP and net imports and exports, and the Census Bureau, like retail sales and durable goods shipments. The site simply links to the relevant department’s Web site. This might not seem like a big deal, but doing it yourself–say, trying to find retail sales data on the Census Bureau’s site–is such an exercise in futility that it will convince you why this portal is necessary. Yet, the Bush administration has decided to shut down this site because of “budgetary constraints,” effective March 1."

 'Diana death-crash mirrored MI6 plot to assassinate top Balkan leader', admits former spy  "A former spy told the Diana inquest today he believed the Princess could have been murdered by MI6 officers. Sacked secret agent Richard Tomlinson said he realised there could have been a conspiracy to assassinate Diana after seeing a documentary alleging there was a flash as her car entered a Paris tunnel. The ex-MI6 officer said that after watching the film he had remembered an MI6 training session in which he was shown how a strobe gun could be used to kill targets. Related: Diana inquest: MI6 'plotted tunnel murder'."

  Depression risk might force U.S. to buy assets "Fear that a hobbled banking sector may set off another Great Depression could force the U.S. government and Federal Reserve to take the unprecedented step of buying a broad range of assets, including stocks, according to one of the most bearish market analysts."

  U.S. mortgage crisis spreads beyond subprime loans   "As the world's largest economy grapples with the worst housing slump in two decades, people with good credit histories are falling behind on house payments, auto loans and credit cards at an accelerating pace. The problem, spurred by a sharp decline in home prices and a clampdown on loans by banks, poses a new a threat to the housing market and weakening economy, which some specialists say is in a recession or headed for one."

  The US and the EU support a Political Process linked to Organized Crime   "The US, the EU and the UN are supporting a Kosovo government headed by a known criminal, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. Hashim Thaci founded the "Drenica-Group" an underground organization that is estimated to have controlled between 10% and 15% of all criminal activities in Kosovo (smuggling arms, stolen cars, oil, cigarettes and prostitution)."  

  Key Clinton Backer Guilty in Sibel Edmonds Case  "Another important angle to Edmonds' case has opened up. Earlier this week, the New York Post ran a Page 6 piece, ODD FILM BY HILLARY BACKER, which highlights the close relationship between Hillary Clinton and Chicago-based Turkish businessman Mehmet Celebi. Celebi, "one of the national leaders of the Turkish-American community in the US," is a key fundraiser for Clinton, and is one of Clinton's Chicago delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Celebi was also heavily involved in the controversial 2006 movie "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq" which has been widely regarded as "anti-Semitic, anti-American, conspiratorial agitprop." Mehmet Celebi is also a key figure in the Sibel Edmonds case - he is heavily involved in the narcotics trade in the US and the corruption and bribery of high-level US officials."

  Japan, China and India are engaged in a race to map lunar resources   "Asian giants Japan, China and India are engaged in a race to map lunar resources and make the moon a platform to explore planets beyond, amid a renewed burst of global space activity."

  Hitler's 'lost fleet' of U-boats found in the Black Sea  "For years, German submarines U-19, U-20, and U-23 were a terrifying presence beneath the waves, preying on British and Russian shipping. Then, 60 years ago, they suddenly vanished to the bottom of the Black Sea."

  Skeletons In The Bush Family Closet   "George Bush’s grandfather, the late US senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany. The Guardian has obtained confirmation from newly discovered files in the US National Archives that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of Nazism."  Related: Bush pushes waterboarding rationale

  Venezuela halts oil supplies to Exxon Mobil    "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stopped oil exports to Exxon Mobil Corp on Tuesday, escalating a multibillion-dollar fight with the U.S. company two days after threatening to cut off all supplies to America." 

  John McCain is Panamanian Citizen, not American  He's ineligible to become president, but that's being ignored.

  Dr. Robert Bussard's Fusion Breakthrough  Windows Media Audio "In his haunting final interview, the late Dr. Robert Bussard describes a last-ditch race against time and funding to realize his career-long dream of clean, affordable fusion energy. Bussard, a founding member of America's fusion research establishment, spent over 20 years developing a modified Farnsworth-style "Polywell" fusor, successfully generating over 100,000 times the output of Farnsworth's original experiments..." 

Dozens Indicted In Chicago Mortgage Fraud Scheme     "Twenty-five people have been charged in one of the biggest mortgage fraud schemes ever prosecuted in the area ..."  Related: Developers Sue Real Estate Firms in Florida | SocGen Trading Scandal Tax Twist | Former SocGen inspector tells of trading room anarchy | Korean Banks Struck By SubPrime Crisis  | Subprime-Stricken German Bank attempts 3rd Rescue | Massachusetts charges Merrill Lynch and Co with fraud 

 More evidence of Pre-9/11 Inside Trading    "The cashing out of billions of dollars just before 9/11 never investigated" 

  Israeli Company sought tax exemption for bribes-Court Rejected Request     "Some companies request tax deductions for philanthropy, others for restaurants bills. But one Israeli business tried to push the envelope by asking to deduct nearly $860,000 it paid in kickbacks. The business, whose name was withheld by the court, asked to deduct the sum for kickbacks that were paid to help spur a business deal. The Israeli daily Maariv reported that the deal took place in an unidentified African nation. The company alleged the kickback was necessary as a part of the local business custom and therefore should be exempted from the Israeli law. The transaction was carried out in 1999, four years before Israel adopted a U.N. anti-corruption convention."

  Chertoff Again Becomes 'Psychic" - Warns Of "Earth Shattering" Events    "Department of Homeland Security Head and dual US-Israeli citizen Michael Chertoff has repeated the same fearmongering warning he made last year - he is worried "earth shattering" terror events are likely to be carried out soon. Once again, Chertoff provides no specific details, he simply reminds Americans that they need to remain afraid of phantom terrorists. The threat from "Al Qaeda" (read CIA and Mossad) is not over, Chertoff is at pains to remind us, "Just look at what's happened in the last year." he adds, referring to the fact that two men, since proven to be totally unconnected to "Al Qaeda", set a jeep on fire and drove it towards Glasgow airport in Scotland last August."    Another candidate for the woodchipper.

  Unicredit Sued for Large Italian Derivatives Scam    "Italian industrialist Francesco Saverio Parisi has sued Unicredit, Europe's second largest bank, for fraud and usury, in a move that could unveil a large derivatives scam. Far from being an isolated case, this swindle exposes, albeit with an Italian twist, a process being repeated worldwide, in which large investment banks hoodwink or strong-arm would-be investors (including school systems and municipalities) into investing into convoluted, high-risk derivatives instruments. In this instance, though, the victim has struck back with a devastating low blow—secret videos of the predators softening up the victim for the kill."

  Tortured Patsies To Take Fall For 9/11    "After half a dozen years of waterboarding, genital zapping, sleep deprivation and brainwashing, the Pentagon has finally found six patsies who will readily welcome their 72 virgins and take the fall for 9/11, providing debunkers with ample ammunition to dismiss questions about the gaping holes in the official story of the terror attacks ... "Among those held at Guantanamo is Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the attack six years ago in which hijacked planes were flown into buildings in New York and Washington. Five others are expected to be named in sworn charges," reports AP. The fact that KSM's confession included a plan to target the Plaza Bank building in Washington state, which was not founded until 2006, four years after the alleged Al-Qaeda mastermind's arrest, should provide a clue as to the reliability of the "terror mastermind's" culpability for 9/11. "  

  Police in UK launch dawn raid on boy of 12 'over school fight' months earlier     Sigh ....

  The Clintons: A Case Study In Money And Politics     Too bad they're so insecure, they want it all, when they can't take it with them. Spiritually immature incarnations.  Related: Cash Strapped Clinton Campaign -- Stunt?  Wood chipper in her future?

  Obama Presses Aggression Toward Pakistan     Bomb every country on Earth whose name ends with  -an . Major loop. War becomes perpetual when used as a rationale for peace.  Remember Obama was on the top ten most corrupt politicians list for 2007, joining Hillary and others. Related: British Have Obama By the Short-Hairs

  Bush Lights Fuse on Ex Post Facto Laws  " ...making legal retroactively that which is illegal today. Thus they can, once again, proclaim after-the-fact, that they did nothing wrong .. The final paragraph lights the 90-day fuse. It gives Congress 90 days to object or request clarification, and then it automatically becomes "law." Pretty neat stuff, no? Stroke of the pen, law of the land! But it serves in reality to violate the Constitution's ban against precisely such laws. Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 3 states: "No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed." But then again, Article I is confined to the powers of Congress, thereby exempting such prohibitions in the case of an executive dictatorship."

  Mukasey Will Not Follow Federal Law and Enforce Citations for Contempt of Congress     "Just to complete the theme of the day, Michael Mukasey said today that if Congress passed contempt citations against current and former White House officials based on their refusal to respond to subpoenas, the Justice Department would not enforce them, as federal law instructs."

  U.S. Militarism & the Drug Trade: the Afghan Dossier    "Such is the terminal logic of U.S. militarism, where CIA "specialists" and corporate mercenaries are the shock troops of a predatory capitalism gone wild. Like marauding Borg threatening to "assimilate" the entire planet to a cultural wasteland of shopping malls, the international drug traffic fuels an endless cycle of violence, where, in the immortal words of robber-baroness Leona Helmsley, "the little people" always pay the price." Related: Afghan mission likely to dominate Munich security conference

  Financial Crisis: Asset Securitization-- The Last Tango     Endgame: Unregulated Private Money Creation

  The Twilight of Democracy: The Bush Plan for America     Review of Jennifer Van Bergen's book. 

  U.S. funding Iranian Nuke Program Development    "Tax dollars are going to fund a Russian nuclear lab that is in turn, working with the Iranians. The subtext is that the Russians are helping the Iranians develop a nuclear weapons program, NIE Report be damned. However, it would be interesting to know why the US continues to fund nuclear technology development in Russia.  Video

  California fire Blackwater conspiracy    Story and Video. "San Diego Harris fire began at controversial Blackwater site. Randi Rhodes suggests that Blackwater started California Fires..."   Forum discussing Blackwater and the fires

  NATO terrorists (3-15) Operation Gladio: 1948-1990  Story and Video.  "BBC Timewatch 1992 - State Sponsored Terrorism in Europe (all 3 episodes). Documentary about the network of secret agents from France, USA, Italy and Belgium that carried out terror attacks.."

  Largest international education inquiry in decades   "Damning indictment of England's primary education system revealed that the country's children are now the most tested in the world. From their very earliest days at school they must navigate a set-up whose trademark is "high stakes" testing, says the report which is published today."

  Neo-Con's Tick Off Another of the Ten Steps to Close a Society - Student Crackdowns   (See Naomi Wolf video interview!)

  9/11 inquiry head 'tried to shield George Bush'   "The head of the commission that investigated the Sept 11 terrorist attacks had closer ties to the White House than he admitted and tried to limit the Bush administration's responsibility for the incident, a book claims. Philip Zelikow, the 9/11 Commission's executive director, allegedly attempted to intimidate staff to avoid findings that would be damaging to President George W Bush, who was running for re-election, and Condoleezza Rice, his then National Security Adviser."

  Four More American Drug Planes (CIA) Seized   "Four more American-registered drug planes have been seized from the 50-plane fleet of drug running aircraft amassed by Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Figures of interest in the transactions include financial backers of two of this year's Republican candidates for President, as well as, unsurprisingly, an aviation company in St. Petersburg, FL. which can justifiably be called "one of the usual suspects." Coincidentally or not, the American owners of the four planes (like the two busted earlier) were largely people and companies with 'special relationships' with U.S. political movers and shakers, including the CIA and the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security... The drug money was wired, usually from Mexico, to an account at Commerce Bank in Miami, whose Chairman, Dennis Nixon, is the South Texas Co-chair of John McCain’s campaign. Nixon was also a Bush Pioneer and Ranger in George W. Bush’s two Presidential campaigns, raising $300,000 in one night for Bush’s re-election bid in Texas border town Laredo. "  Related Issues

  Munitions Stolen From MCAS Miramar Storage Facility    "A cache of munitions has been stolen from a storage unit at MCAS Miramar and officials need your help in their investigation to find the munitions. The items include 15 sting grenades, which are non-lethal, but can cause injury. Also missing are five empty and inert AT-4 launch tubes..."

  Top Cop Says McCain Was Never Tortured    "A former Vietnam veteran with top secret clearance says he has personally spoken to numerous POW's who dispute John McCain's claim that he refused to provide information after he was captured and tortured in Hanoi, saying that in fact McCain's code-name was "Songbird" because of his willingness to tell all to avoid torture. Jack McLamb served nine years in secret operations in Cambodia and other nations before going on to become one of the most highly decorated police officer's in Phoenix history, winning police officer of the year twice before taking a role as a hostage negotiator for the FBI..." McCain should not even be running for President, not after the Keating 5 scandal! Not to mention that McCain is NOT A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN.   

  Toy car runs on tap water   "A remote-control car produced by the toymaker Corgi is the first household item to be powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology. The car, called H2GO, uses hydrogen derived from tap water as its fuel and was developed by the Leicester-based company in partnership with Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, an international firm based in Shanghai that hopes to extend the technology to home appliances. The hydrogen is separated from oxygen in the tap water via a miniaturized unit powered by a rechargeable battery. A tiny solar panel to charge the battery is an optional extra. The H2GO, which is billed as the first “zero emissions” remote-control toy, went on show at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair. It is expected to sell for £130 from September." 

  U.S. Agents Seize Travelers' Devices    "The seizure of electronics at U.S. borders has prompted protests from travelers who say they now weigh the risk of traveling with sensitive or personal information on their laptops, cameras or cellphones. In some cases, companies have altered their policies to require employees to safeguard corporate secrets by clearing laptop hard drives before international travel."

  Willie Nelson Fears Election Could Be Cancelled   "Country music legend Willie Nelson fears the 2008 presidential election could be cancelled due to a national state of emergency and that George W. Bush could occupy the White House for another decade. "It's a long time until election day and some sort of national crisis could put off the elections and we could have George in there ten years longer." 

  Internet cable cuts: More than accidents?    "There's a growing uneasiness in the global Internet community over a series of crippling Internet blackouts overseas that has resulted from four cuts and disruptions to underwater cables over the past week. While no evidence of sabotage has been forthcoming, the four breaks seem to many observers to stretch the bounds of coincidence. The cable breaks have been causing a growing buzz on tech blogs and drawing attention from conspiracy theorists, who suspect everything from information warfare to terrorism to sabotage by the United States to take out Internet connections to Iran, whose connectivity indeed has been pretty much blacked out for most of the past week... "

  H.G. Wells "The Open Conspiracy" in 1928    "Wells wrote the first edition of "The Open Conspiracy" in 1928. This book details what Wells called the "Open Conspiracy" among intellectual elites who despise the old order of things and desire to work towards a grand world directorate, a global society in which individuals no longer hold fast to tradition, but yield themselves willingly to the world state for the good of all. The Open Conspiracy utilizes propaganda, educational and governmental reform, and other forms of influence to achieve its goals. The scientific management of the world is at the heart of the open conspirators agenda. Of course, this tight management is sold as being for the benefit of all ..."

  Ten Steps To Close Down an Open Society   See also the lecture by Wolf in the Video of the Week, and also a video interview.

  Israel to destroy mosque because it didn't apply for building permit 700 years ago   Reptilian-Draconian control freaks and psychopathic mindset .... dead-enders themselves.  

  FBI wants palm prints, eye scans, tattoo mapping   "The FBI is gearing up to create a massive computer database of people's physical characteristics, all part of an effort the bureau says to better identify criminals and terrorists. The bureau is expected to announce in coming days the awarding of a $1 billion, 10-year contract to help create the database that will compile an array of biometric information -- from palm prints to eye scans." 

  U.S. Troops Again Being Asked If They Would Shoot American Citizens    "U.S. troops are being trained to conduct round-ups, confiscate guns and shoot American citizens, including their own friends and family members, as part of a long-standing program to prepare for the declaration of martial law, according to a soldier who recently returned from Iraq."  They did this to Marine Corps trainees in 1994, too. Control freaks freaking.

  Iran Opens Space Center, Launches Rocket   "Iran launched a research rocket and unveiled its first major space center.." In a related story: Iran oil bourse scheduled to open this coming week  Even if cutting the cables halted the Bourse, that's only going to hold for a week or ten days until repair ships can get to the area. Plus Iran has communications satellite links onto which Internet traffic is shifting. If 'someone' wants the Bourse shut down, it will have to be bombed. 

  Medical mystery unfolds at Minnesota meatpacking plant   "The disease that confronted doctors at the Austin Medical Center here last fall was strange indeed. Three patients had the same highly unusual set of symptoms: fatigue, pain, weakness, numbness and tingling in the legs and feet. The patients had something else in common, too: all worked at Quality Pork Processors, a local meatpacking plant..."

  OK-Senator seeks to put brakes on superhighway   "A state senator has filed legislation to prevent what he sees as a controversial highway corridor from being built in Oklahoma, where he said an estimated 37,000 acres could be taken from landowners through the use of eminent domain. SB 1393, by Sen. Randy Brogdon, R-Owasso, prohibits any state entity from participating in or paying dues or fees to the North America SuperCorridor Coalition Inc., any NASCO Trade Corridor Management System or any other NASCO facility. It prohibits the connection of any portion of the Trans Texas Corridor to any existing road or highway system in the state ..."   

  Bush inaction guts privacy oversight board    "As President Bush continues to spar with Congress over his demand that pending litigation that would examine his warrant less wiretapping program be thrown out of court, he seems to be furthering what critics see as his contempt for Americans' privacy rights by failing to staff a civil liberties oversight commission ..."    He failed to re-staff the Federal Elections Commission recently. See a pattern?

  McCain is Now the Neo-Con Candidate   "Of course, the neo-cons admire McCain’s generally hawkish — not to say, militarist — views, particularly with respect to Iraq, even as they may disagree with him about trifles like what constitutes torture. And even if he didn’t become a charter member of the Project for the New American Century, he embodies, in many ways, whatever it was that Kristol and Kagan meant when they were writing about “national greatness” in 1996 in their Foreign Affairs article, “Toward a Neo-Reaganite Foreign Policy.” McCain’s little ditty about “bomb-bomb-bomb, bomb-bomb-Iran” — not to mention his willingness to maintain U.S. troops in Iraq for decades, if not centuries — must also appeal to the neo-cons’ neo-imperial agenda ..."

  British planned to build training camp for Taliban fighters in Afghanistan   "Britain planned to build a Taliban training camp for 2,000 fighters in southern Afghanistan, as part of a top-secret deal to make them swap sides, intelligence sources in Kabul have revealed. The plans were discovered on a memory stick seized by Afghan secret police in December. The Afghan government claims they prove British agents were talking to the Taliban without permission from the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, despite Gordon Brown's pledge that Britain will not negotiate. The Prime Minister told Parliament on 12 December: "Our objective is to defeat the insurgency by isolating and eliminating their leaders. We will not enter into any negotiations with these people...."

  The Madness of John McCain   "A militarist suffering from acute narcissism and armed with the Bush Doctrine is not fit to be commander in chief."  Related: Hillary to Propose to Force Health Plan By Garnishing Wages of Health Plan Non-Participants  Her doctrine is that we will fuck with you for the 'common good'. She needs a date with a wood chipper.  Two bad apples in a barrel with no bottom.

  Poland 'agrees' to US missile defence deal   "Poland has put its doubts to one side and agreed in principle to let America base a missile defence system in the country, despite fierce opposition from its powerful Russian neighbour. The deal, struck in Washington this weekend, will fuel growing tension between Russia and the West, which are competing for influence in central and eastern Europe in a struggle with uncomfortable echoes of the Cold War."   War becomes perpetual when used as a rationale for peace.   

  Massachusetts charges Merrill Lynch with fraud over subprime securities   "NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Massachusetts state authorities on Friday charged Merrill Lynch and Co., Inc. with fraud and misrepresentation related to about $14 million worth of subprime securities it sold to the city of Springfield , of certain esoteric financial instruments known as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) to the City of Springfield Massachusetts, which were unsuitable for the city and which, within months after the sale, became illiquid and lost almost all of their market value," the state said in its complaint."  Related: Hidden Swap Fees by JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley Hit School Boards 

  Middle East Internet Blackouts Spur Geopolitical Suspicions   "Unprecedented mass Internet outages throughout the Middle East and Asia after no less than four undersea Internet cables were cut without explanation are spurring suspicions that a major event of geopolitical proportions may be just around the corner. Internet blackouts are impacting large tracts of Asia, the Middle East and North Africa after four undersea cable connections were severed. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Pakistan and India, are all experiencing severe problems."  Related: Internet Monitor| Map of Undersea Cables PDF  or GIF Version

  Ships did not cause Internet cable damage   "Damage to undersea Internet cables in the Mediterranean that hit business across the Middle East and South Asia was not caused by ships, Egypt’s communications ministry said on Sunday, ruling out earlier reports."     Of course, now that means submarines, not ships.  Covert Op!

  Historical Precedent: Undersea Cables Cut As Prelude To War   "At the outset of the war, the Germans had five transatlantic cables that ran through the English Channel. One went to Brest in France, another to Vigo in Spain, one to Tenerife in North Africa and two to New York via the Azores. The English cable ship Telconia cut them all in England's first offensive action in the war."

 Cutting Cables, Lighting Fuses   "A third undersea cable has been cut, effectively eliminating the Internet in the Middle East, but according to CNN that cable outage does not extend to Israel, Lebanon and Iraq..." Related: Mideast, S. Asian internet crippled | Cable Crimes 

 Israelis told to prepare 'rocket rooms' for future conflict    "Retired senior officers told Israelis on Saturday to prepare "rocket rooms" as protection against a rain of missiles expected to be fired at the Jewish state in any future conflict." 

 60 Minutes Show Can't Find Any Congressman to Speak on Record About AIPAC  "A few years back I did a report on AIPAC for "60 Minutes" with Mike Wallace. One after another, all the congressional offices I contacted confirmed the tremendous influence that AIPAC wielded, and the fear that could be inspired by an AIPAC threat to target a particular candidate. We were, however, unable to convince a single sitting House member, senator or staff person to talk on the record. Not that they disagreed with the premise. They were just terrified of taking about AIPAC."   Terrified of Mossad retribution, loss of contributions, etc.

 U.S. agrees to supply Israel's oil needs, even if it causes shortages for U.S.   Here is the actual agreement whereby the United States agrees to supply Israel's oil needs, even if it causes shortages for the U.S.

  The black box economy   "Behind the recent bad news lurks a much deeper concern: The world economy is now being driven by a vast, secretive web of investments that might be out of anyone's control." Related: Iran Oil Bourse to deal blow to dollar

  Individuals With Down Syndrome Being Blown Up For Political Agenda   "Two women described as mentally disabled and strapped with remote-control explosives — and possibly used as unwitting suicide bombers — brought carnage Friday to two pet bazaars, killing at least 91 people in the deadliest day since Washington flooded the capital with extra troops last spring. Police said the woman wearing the bomb sold cream in the mornings at the market and was known to locals as "the crazy lady ... Even the use of the handicapped in suicide bombings is not unprecedented in Iraq. In January 2005, Iraq's interior minister said insurgents used a disabled child in a suicide attack on election day. Police at the scene of the bombing said the child appeared to have Down syndrome."  All I can do is shake my head in disgust at this dynamic.   

  US  request to Turkey on Iran Bank Rejected   "A Turkish official has refused a US request to scrutinize and then suspend the activities of the Turkey-based Iran's Bank Melat. “What binds Turkey are the resolutions of the UN, and not US presidential decrees or Congressional decisions,” a Turkish diplomat told the Turkish Daily News. " 

  Paul: Bush to blame for US recession   "In a Thursday Republican debate, the 10-term congressman said the US economy is falling into recession which has been directly influenced by the flawed economic strategies pursued by the current administration." 

Turkey rejects US bank request on Iran   "A Turkish official has refused a US request to scrutinize and then suspend the activities of the Turkey-based Iran's Bank Mellat. “What binds Turkey are the resolutions of the UN and not US presidential decrees or

Vermont town hammered over petition to arrest, prosecute Bush and Cheney   "Officials in Brattleboro, Vt., have been inundated with e-mails and phone calls since outsiders learned about a petition that calls for local police to arrest President Bush and Vice President Cheney."

Bill Clinton Receives $31 million donation from contributor after Kazakhstan mining deal  "The monster deal stunned the mining industry, turning an unknown shell company into one of the world’s largest uranium producers in a transaction ultimately worth tens of millions of dollars to Mr. Giustra, analysts said. Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clinton’s charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra that had remained a secret until he acknowledged it last month."  Bold conflict of interest case there. In a related story: The Clintons Begin to Lose the Establishment 

Unprecedented Bat Die-Off In NY And VT  "Thousands of hibernating bats are dying in caves in New York and Vermont from unknown causes, prompting an investigation by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), as well as wildlife agencies and researchers around the nation. The most obvious symptom involved in the die-off is a white fungus encircling the noses of some, but not all, of the bats. Called "white nose syndrome," the fungus is believed to be associated with the problem, but it may not necessarily contribute to the actual cause of death. It appears that the impacted bats deplete their fat reserves months before they would normally emerge from hibernation, and die as a result." 

Iraqi Oil Cash Builds Up in NY Fed Bank - Not Being Used for Reconstruction  "Increased Iraqi oil revenues stemming from high prices and improved security are piling up in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York rather than being spent on needed reconstruction projects, a Washington Times study of Iraq's spending and revenue figures has shown."

Nazi-style Hospital in China Operates on the Mentally Ill  "The irreversible brain surgeries performed at No. 454 Hospital, which are all but blacklisted for mental illness in the developed world, are being done across China. They are a symptom of the problems plaguing the nation's health-care system, which has left hospitals with scant public funding and hungry for profit..."

Chemtrail Proof - German Military Exposed  Video "The German Military are exposed spraying Chemtrails. This is a Mainstream Media Exposé. Here is the proof that brings this subject to the realm of 'Conspiracy Fact'."  (Video with English subtitles)  Related Video: Chemtrail Plane Up Close and Personal  (more Chemtrail videos also on page)

Gardasil HPV Vaccine Hoax Exposed  Video  Because of this junk product, at least 20 have died. Many states in the US are trying to force people to have this 'vaccine'.  Important Video.  See all videos done by this individual. A related video (health exposé ): History Channel Admits Anthrax Attacks an Inside Job  

Bush Loots Health Care Programs to Help Pay for 2009 Budget  "Bush's 2009 budget will virtually freeze most domestic programs and seek nearly $200 billion in 'savings' from federal health care programs, a senior administration official said Thursday. The Bush budget also will likely exceed $3 trillion ... Bush on Monday will present his proposed budget for the new fiscal year to Congress, where it's unlikely to gain much traction in the midst of a presidential campaign. "  More of his "screw the population' mindset.

2,100 War Returnees Lapsed into Suicidal Behavior in 2007  "The number who tried to commit suicide or injured themselves for some other reason jumped six-fold in the last several years — from 350 in 2002 to about 2,100 incidents last year." 

Anderson Cooper's CIA Secret  "Anderson Cooper has long traded on his biography, carving a niche for himself as the most human of news anchors. But there's one aspect of his past that the silver-haired CNN star has never made public: the months he spent training for a career with the Central Intelligence Agency..." 

 

January  2008 

Tip-off thwarted nuclear spy ring probe  "An investigation into the illicit sale of American nuclear secrets was compromised by a senior official in the State Department, a former FBI employee has claimed. The official is said to have tipped off a foreign contact about a bogus CIA company used to investigate the sale of nuclear secrets. The claims that a State Department official blew the investigation into a nuclear smuggling ring have been made by Sibel Edmonds, 38, a former Turkish language translator in the FBI’s Washington field office. She had been employed to translate hundreds of hours of intercepted recordings made during a six-year FBI inquiry into the nuclear smuggling ring. She has previously told The Sunday Times she heard evidence that foreign intelligence agents had enlisted US officials to acquire a network of moles in sensitive military and nuclear institutions." 

Bush Issues Signing Statement On Defense Act, Waiving Ban On Permanent Bases In Iraq  "Bush yesterday signed the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act after initially rejecting Congress’s first version because it would have allegedly opened the Iraqi government to “expensive lawsuits.”  Even though he forced Congress to change its original bill, Bush’s signature yesterday came with a little-noticed signing statement, claiming that provisions in the law “could inhibit the President’s ability to carry out his constitutional obligations.” CQ reports on the provisions Bush plans to disregard:   One such provision sets up a commission to probe contracting fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another expands protections for whistleblowers who work for government contractors. A third requires that U.S. intelligence agencies promptly respond to congressional requests for documents. And a fourth bars funding for permanent bases in Iraq and for any action that exercises U.S. control over Iraq’s oil money.  In his “Memorandum of Justification” for the waiver, Bush cited his Nov. 26 “Declaration of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship” between Iraq and the United States. This agreement has been aggressively opposed by both Republicans and Democrats in Congress as not only unprecedented, but also potentially unconstitutional because it was enacted without the agreement of the legislation branch. 

Today on CNN, Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA) voiced concern that this declaration may indefinitely commit U.S. troops to fighting Iraq’s civil wars: Involved in those declaration of principles, there is an implicit potential for the United States military forces, years from now, being involved in a full-blown civil war in Iraq. And I don’t believe that’s where the American people want us and I don’t think that’s in the best interest of our national security.  Earlier this month, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced legislation requiring the Bush administration “to consult with Congress before moving forward with any agreement that could lead to long term security arrangements and other major economic and political commitments.”  Throughout his presidency, Bush has issued more than 151 signing statements challenging 1149 provisions of laws."    Actually, no signing statement has ever been composed/written by Bush. They are all created for him by someone else. He just signs them. Since the concept presumes the same person mentally creates something and then signs it, and since Bush never originates much himself, then all these statements are invalid, in my humble opinion.

Radio Broadcasts Incite Kenya's Minions to Violence  "Media monitors in Kenya say inflammatory statements and songs broadcast on local language radio stations have contributed significantly to the surge in post-election ethnic violence that has killed nearly 900 people and displaced 255,000 ..."  The broadcasts bear a striking similarity to 1994 broadcasts in Rwanda that helped whip ethnic Hutus into a killing frenzy that resulted in the genocide of 800,000 ethnic Tutsis. The broadcasts that incited Rwandan ethnic Hutus to commit genocide used dehumanizing language against ethnic Tutsis. "   Electronically persuade a population to kill itself.  Yes, this is all in line with Zbigniew Brzezinski and his "Grand Chessboard" that LaRouche spoke of. 

Sick, Tortured Cattle Used For Federal Lunch Program  "Hidden Camera Investigation Finds Slaughterhouse Used Banned 'Downed Animals' for meat destined for school lunch programs. A hidden camera investigation by an animal rights group has uncovered disturbing treatment of ailing cows at a California slaughterhouse that provides meat for school lunches. The video, obtained during what the Humane Society of the United States said was a six-week undercover investigation, shows a sickly cow being dragged by a chain before being poked, prodded, rolled and lifted with a forklift. Workers also are seen hosing the faces of cows in a manner that HSUS described as "torture, right out of a waterboarding manual. The video showed workers kicking cows, ramming them with forklift blades, applying electric shocks and even using a hose to simulate the feeling of drowning so the animals would revive long enough to pass federal inspection.  Related: California plant accused of torturing unfit cows

"The attempt was to make them so distressed and to cause them so much suffering that these animals would get up and walk into the slaughterhouse," Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, told reporters, "We've heard a lot about waterboarding in 2007 as a torture technique and we saw this applied to these animals where a high pressure hose was put in the mouth and through the nose," he said, referring to a controversial technique used in the past by the CIA in its terrorism interrogation program.

Westland Meat Company, which owns the slaughterhouse in Chino, Calif., is the No. 2 supplier of beef to a USDA program that "distributes the beef to needy families, the elderly, and also to schools, through the National School Lunch Program. Such treatment of cows is generally considered abuse and is prohibited. But slaughtering such sick cattle — known as "downers" — also is banned to protect humans from contracting mad cow disease. The USDA considers its enforcement of the ban aggressive; HSUS says it's actually riddled with holes. The president of Westland and of Hallmark Meat Packing Co., where the video was recorded, said today two employees were fired, and a supervisor was suspended "pending his explanation. Mendell's plant is now under investigation by the USDA, who has has "indefinitely suspended" Westland Meat Company from supplying meat to federal food programs, and all food from Westland that is already in the pipeline has been placed "on administrative hold." 

Senate grills Attorney General on waterboarding    "Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey got a harsh reception on Wednesday from senators of both parties, who used his appearance on Capitol Hill to accuse the Bush administration yet again of contempt for the rule of law and ... As expected, Mr. Mukasey refused to be pinned down on whether waterboarding, which creates a drowning sensation, constitutes torture when it is used in the interrogation of suspected terrorists. The anger of some committee members was further stoked on Tuesday evening, when in a letter to the panel Mr. Mukasey said that waterboarding was not clearly illegal and that perhaps it could be used again against terrorism suspects if requested by the White House. Mr. Leahy was contemptuous of that stand. “Never mind that we prosecuted Japanese soldiers for waterboarding Americans during World War II,” he said. “Never mind that this is the practice of repressive regimes around the world.  The senator’s frustration was compounded after he said that the former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, had equated waterboarding with torture. Did Mr. Mukasey agree with them, Mr. Leahy wanted to know. “I understood what they said to express their personal points of view,” the attorney general replied. “The one thing that separates me from them is that I’m the attorney general, and they’re not, that when I pronounce on the reach of general legal principles, that is taken as a statement of how far those principles — — “So you disagree with them?” Mr. Leahy pressed. “They expressed their personal view,” Mr. Mukasey replied. “So let me ask you this,” Mr. Kennedy said. “Would waterboarding be torture if it was done to you?” “I would feel that it was,” Mr. Mukasey said. At one point, Senator Kennedy likened Mr. Mukasey’s stance to being “opposed to stealing but not quite sure that bank robbery would qualify.”

 US Sentenced Enemy Officer in 1947 to 15 Years for Waterboarding As A War Crime  "After World War II, the United States government was quite clear about the fact that waterboarding was torture, at least when it was done to U.S. citizens: In 1947, the United States charged a Japanese officer, Yukio Asano, with war crimes for carrying out another form of waterboarding on a U.S. civilian. The subject was strapped on a stretcher that was tilted so that his feet were in the air and head near the floor, and small amounts of water were poured over his face, leaving him gasping for air until he agreed to talk. “Asano was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor,” Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) told his colleagues last Thursday during the debate on military commissions legislation. “We punished people with 15 years of hard labor when waterboarding was used against Americans in World War II,” he said."

 Olbermann: Does Bush want to remake US into ‘invisible fascist state’?       "Keith Olbermann delivered a blistering special comment on Monday concerning the true significance of the dispute over waterboarding and the essential role played by torture in maintaining the George W. Bush presidency. “The presidency of George W. Bush has now devolved into a criminal conspiracy to cover the ass of George W. Bush ...” 

 Waterboarding in American History   "Some high U.S. officials claim not be aware of it, and Judge Michael Mukasey, the President's choice for attorney general, prefers to equivocate, but water boarding has long been a form of torture that causes excruciating pain and can lead to death. It forces water into prisoner's lungs, usually over and over again. The Spanish Inquisition in the late 1400s used this torture to uncover and punish heretics, and then in the early 1500s Spain's inquisitors carried it overseas to root out heresy in the New World. It reappeared during the witch hysteria.  

Half of gold in central banks gone?    "U.S. central banks may have less than half the gold they claim to possess in their vaults, charges a watchdog group in an ad scheduled for publication in the Wall Street Journal this week..." Related: Gold At All Time High

Feds accused of gold-price manipulation  "The Wall Street Journal has agreed to publish a full-page ad in which the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee charges the U.S. government surreptitiously utilizes gold reserves to engage in international swaps and other market manipulations. "Anybody Seen Our Gold?" is the title of the ad, which alleges U.S. gold reserves held at depositories such as Fort Knox and West Point may have been seriously depleted. GATA asserts U.S. gold reserves are being shipped overseas to settle complex transactions utilized by the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury to suppress the price of the precious metal. "The objective of this manipulation is to conceal the mismanagement of the U.S. dollar so that it might retain its function as the world's reserve currency ..."

Bush’s State of the Union: Mandate for Iran Attack  "If it is true Bush — or rather the neocons, using the sock puppet Bush — plan to attack Iran before the decider-commander leaves office in a little less than a year, then the State of Union address seems to send up a couple red flags in that direction." 

FBI is probing 14 companies over loans    "The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday said it is investigating 14 companies for possible fraud or insider trading violations in connection with loans made to risky borrowers, and investments spun off of those loans. Federal authorities are looking into the practices of so-called subprime lenders, as well as potential accounting fraud committed by financial firms that hold subprime loans on their books or securitize them and sell them to other investors.The wide-ranging probe, which began in spring 2007, involves companies across the industry, from mortgage lenders to financial firms that bundle home loans into securities sold to investors."

How Did Israeli Spy Software Get Onto Critical FAA Computers for 911?    "The deathly precision of the attacks and the magnitude of planning would have required years of planning. Such a sophisticated operation would require the fixed frame of a state intelligence organization; something not found in a loose group, like the one led by the student Mohammed Atta in Hamburg... 9-11 was a computer crime. Apart from being a monstrous crime of mass murder and false flag terrorism, 9-11 was also a sophisticated computer crime, carried out through long-term foreign infiltration of the most sensitive U.S. military and government computer networks ... This infiltration, carried out by a foreign intelligence agency, gave the perpetrators of 9-11 "real-time" access to all the data on the computers of the U.S. government and military. On 9-11, this "super-user" access to the data of the most critical government computer networks gave the terrorists the ability to thwart the military response to the emergency as it developed ... Monte Belger, Acting Deputy of the FAA from 1997-2002, was the key official responsible for the computerized air traffic control system that MITRE and Ptech were loading with Israeli spyware." A related story: How Mossad Deceived the U.S. Military on 9/11 

FBI Conceals Flight Data Recorder Info That Could Confirm Registry ID's Of 2 9-11 Planes  "A December 8, 2007 Freedom of Information Act request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, seeking the release of all data contained by the Solid State Flight Data Recorders recovered from the crash scenes of American Airlines flight 77 and United Airlines flight 93, has been denied. The data sought, would presumably confirm the commercial flight histories and thus the federal registry identifications of N644AA (AA 77) and N591UA (UA 93), already provided by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, obtained by a December 28, 2007 FOIA release..."

Nazi Mindset Returns: Don't treat the old and unhealthy, say UK doctors   "Doctors are calling for NHS treatment to be withheld from patients who are too old or who lead unhealthy lives."  Related: Leaked UK gov't doc reveals plan to "coerce" Brits into national ID register  In their own words ....

Countrywide CEO Shamed Into Forefeiting $37.5 Million Severance Pay   "Angelo Mozilo, chairman and chief executive officer of Countrywide Financial Corp., is giving up $37.5 million of severance pay, fees and benefits in the face of pressure from politicians who have berated him for continuing to collect large sums from the mortgage lender even as millions of Americans face the threat of foreclosure. In a statement released late last night, Countrywide said the 69-year-old Mr. Mozilo will forfeit severance pay, fees and perks that he was to have received upon his retirement, according to the Associated Press."

Illusion of the Bush Economy's Growth is Revealed   "The economic dominoes are starting to fall. Ultra-low interest rates which inflated asset prices and allowed an explosion of debt are starting to seriously bite as a financial system is burdened with too much bad debt on its books. In addition, the market is starting to realize that asset prices -- namely housing -- were ephemeral and will have to drop. In effect, the entire economy is going through a process of reevaluating "the greatest story never told" and are discovering it wasn't that good a deal to begin with."

Blackwater Protesters Given Secret Trial and Criminal Conviction  "It's not unusual for a judge to clear a courtroom when there is a disruption by the public. Nor is it rare for judges to try to prevent activists from turning the tables and attempting to put the government -- or in this case a mercenary company -- on trial. But witnesses that day report that there was no disruption -- and the defendants say they were immediately cut off when they strayed from the narrow scope of the trespass charge to discuss Blackwater's actions or the war. So why clear the courtroom? That may be a question for Judge Barnes in the end, but it's hard not to view his conduct through the same veil of secrecy that shrouds all of Blackwater's actions -- and the seemingly endless lengths to which the Bush administration will go to protect Blackwater."

Sibel Edmonds: 'Buckle up, there's much more coming'  "Two weeks after the first article in the Times about the involvement of high-level US officials being involved with Turkish and Israeli interests in supplying the nuclear black market, President Bush quietly announced that the US will start supplying nuclear technology to Turkey. Do you think that is a coincidence? ... Sibel Edmonds: The timing is certainly very, very suspicious. The proposals that are being floated are very suspicious too. There are reports that Turkey will build an enrichment facility, and that Turkey will become the key supplier of nuclear fuel to other Muslim countries who want nuclear power plants. None of this makes any sense..."

Ron Paul slams stimulus package, Fed rate cuts  "Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has slammed a US economic stimulus package based on tax-refunds and called for fiscal prudence and less Federal Reserve money printing, which caused the current turmoil in the first place."

Mitt Romney’s Bizarre Beliefs  "Ex Mormons expose the church’s deceptive doctrine and its goals for a dictatorship ... Staggering revelations from ex Mormon insiders reveal the truth behind Republican presidential bidder Mitt Romney's faith and the draconian future that possibly awaits Americans if he wins the presidency... According to Schnoebelen, "If they form a dictatorship, they would institute a United Order, which is a communistic form of government where the church owns all the property. They already own almost 90% of the farmland in Florida and they are chewing up farmland all over the U.S. They want to control the U.S. food supply."  

Researchers Announce '100% Accuracy' In Facial Recognition  "Psychology researchers from Glasgow University have just announced that they've developed a facial recognition algorithm that's 100% accurate in their testing." 

Bev Harris: New Hampshire Recount a "Criminal Enterprise"  "Vote fraud expert convinced chain of custody is corrupt. Fresh from her confrontations in New Hampshire during which public officials were grilled about slapdash chain of custody and ballot box tampering issues, Bev Harris is now convinced that a "criminal enterprise" is running the primary recount. Harris was fundamental in the vetting and production of the HBO special Hacking Democracy, and has contributed towards bringing charges against vote fraudsters who cheated in Ohio in 2004. Harris traveled to New Hampshire personally to discover for herself the disgraceful lapses in chain of custody for the memory cards and ballot boxes used in the recent primary." Related: Harris Calls For Resignations | Ease of Fraud

A China base in Iran?  "Iran's security calculus has changed. It has almost reached the point of Tehran considering the option of reciprocating the perceived excess Western intrusion into its vicinity by allowing a military base for China at one of Iran's Persian Gulf ports or on one of its islands ..."  Related: Weak Dollar Fuels China's Buying Spree Of U.S. Firms 

Iranian Leader to Visit to Iraq  Now that's something else I didn't see coming .... "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will make a historic trip to Iraq sometime before March 19, state media reported Monday, the first such visit ever by an Iranian leader."

'Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said ... at the inauguration ceremony of new head of National Center for Globalization Studies, "mankind's gravest need today is a global government" ... Proposing that the rule of single law in the entire world is a bare necessity for the mankind, he said, "The existence of a thousand laws in the world, and then expecting that the global society would reach a status of equilibrium, justice, and tranquility is wishing for the impossible".' 

McCain: 'More wars to come'   What a mindless, pathetic asshole. Almost a waste of skin .... but then again .... Earth.

Leahy And Cornyn: White House Trying To ‘Eliminate’ FOIA Office  "The White House is doing everything it can to neuter the law. Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) said yesterday that Bush’s FY2009 “funds for the Office of Government Information Services authorized under the newly enacted OPEN Government Act will be shifted to the Department of Justice” from the National Archives. Congress Daily reports: “But by shifting the funding to the Justice Department, OMB would effectively eliminate the office, because it appears no similar operation would be created there,” according to an aide to Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT). […] National Archives officials are relatively independent of political pressure, the staffer explained, “but DOJ is different.” Government transparency advocates consider the department hostile to efforts to improve FOIA responsiveness, in part because it represents agencies sued by FOIA requesters. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a cosponsor of the OPEN Government legislation said he “does agree with Senator Leahy and would oppose that effort” of the administration." 

Study explores autism link to immune system  But they fail to take account of what compromised the immune systems in the first place, chief among them the biological components within vaccines, such as slow viruses, which are too costly to filter out.

US Cannot Manage Contractors, like Blackwater, in Wars, Officials Testify on Hill  "With even more U.S. contractors now in Iraq and Afghanistan than U.S. military personnel, government officials told Congress yesterday that the Bush administration is not prepared to manage the contractors' critical involvement in the American war effort."

US quietly demands Iraq give defense contractors, US military immunity from prosecution   "US officials are dragooning Iraq into accepting immunity for US civilian contractors in new negotiations with the Iraqi government just months after a feud over a private defense contractor exploded into an international outcry. The Bush administration insists that Baghdad give the US "broad authority to conduct combat operations and guarantee civilian contractors specific legal protections from Iraqi law, according to administration and military officials," a front page story in Friday's New York Times reports. The Administration's proposed security agreement would replace the current United Nations mandate authorizing the US presence in Iraq, which is set to expire Dec. 31, 2008."

Anomaly or Innate Ability: Body Blood Type Switch After Transplant  "An Australian girl spontaneously changed blood groups and adopted her donor's immune system after a liver transplant, in what doctors treating her said Thursday was the first known case of its type."  Adaptation at its finest .....

Paul Wolfowitz To 'Head' Panel 'Advising US Government On Arms Control'    The next chapter in the life of a psychopath.

Why bird flu is not a general threat to the human body  "A key reason why bird flu has so far not posed a widespread menace to humans ..."

Critics slam new UK anti-terrorism plan  "The British government's plans to allow terrorist suspects to be held for up to 42 days without charge prompted strong criticism from political opponents and civil liberties groups Friday." 

Synthetic life 'advance' reported   "A US team reports in Science magazine how it built the entire DNA code of a common bacterium in the laboratory using blocks of genetic material." 

Astronomers prepare to obtain close images of a near-Earth asteroid  "The asteroid, estimated at between 150 and 600 meters in diameter – about 500 feet to 1,900 feet, or the size of a football field, at 360 feet, to the size of Chicago’s 110-story Sears Tower, at 1,454 feet – was discovered by the University of Arizona’s Catalina Sky Survey in October 2007. It poses no threat to Earth."

900 Advisory Panels Wields Unseen Power  "At least 900 committees, boards, commissions, councils and panels give advice to federal agencies and the White House, forming a vast but largely unnoticed network that influences policy throughout the government. Collectively these bodies have some 67,000 members, meet more than 7,000 times a year and spend almost $400 million annually." In a related story: Congressional Power Trips webpage.

Bush Admin made 935 False Statements After 911  "US President George W Bush and other top officials issued almost one thousand false statements about the national security threat from Iraq following the September 11 attacks, according to a study by two not-for-profit organisations. The Associated Press reports the study, published on the website of the Centre for Public Integrity, concluded the statements “were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanised public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretences”. According to the study, 935 false statements were issued by the White House in the two years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks...." 

Musharraf had handlers in Mossad-US Agency since the 80s  "Musharraf was the Director Military Intelligence when the CIA supported the creation of the Taliban/Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Brig. Gen. Ejaz Shah was the handler of Omar Sheikh per Benazir. This shows Musharraf was very much part of 911 and cover up (of it being inside job with Dick Cheney at Command..." 

EU lawyers say no to Poland's biotech ban "European Commission lawyers have stopped Poland's move to ban trade and plantings of genetically modified (GMO) seeds, saying it had no scientific justification, the EU's Official Journal said. Related: Canadian farmer forces GM giant back to court

McCain and the Militarist Mentality "In the McCainiac worldview, there is no corner of the globe that wouldn't benefit from American boots on the ground. If you liked President Bush's infamous "fire in the mind" second inaugural address, in which he averred that the proper objective of U.S. foreign policy is "ending tyranny in our world," then you'll love President McCain's world-saving neo-Wilsonianism."  Related: McCain an Mentally Unstable Warhawk

Missing Pentagon Trillions - Where Did They COME From?  "If you add up the entire US defense budgets from 1996 to 2001, you only come up with circa 1.6 trillion. Yet, according to Rummy, not only was that much money lost, but an ADDITIONAL 700 BILLION dollars has disappeared. Remember, we're talking about 2.3 trillion dollars "missing."   You don't know?  It's all about Gold, Oil and Drugs. It came from CIA drug operations. 

Following Zakheim and Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11  "Dov Zakheim was the former Bush appointee as Pentagon Comptroller from May 4, 2001 to March 10, 2004. At that time he was unable to explain the disappearance of $1 trillion dollars. Actually, nearly three years earlier, Donald Rumsfeld announced on September 10, 2001 that an audit discovered $2.3 trillion was also missing from the Pentagon books. That story, as I mentioned, was buried under 9-11’s rubble. The two sums disappeared on Zakheim’s watch. Wikipedia points out that Zakheim is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and in 2000 a co-author of the Project for the New American Century’s position paper, Rebuilding America’s Defenses, advocating the necessity for a Pearl-Harbor-like incident to mobilize the country into war with its enemies, mostly Middle Eastern Muslim nations." 

Long-Term Unemployment Spreading in Middle Class  "Highly skilled and out of work. In November, nearly 1.4 million people -- almost one in five of those unemployed -- had been jobless for at least 27 weeks, the juncture when unemployment insurance benefits end for most recipients. That is about twice the level of long-term unemployment before the 2001 recession."  Related: "Help Wanted" highlights skills drain in U.S  People with needed skills are leaving the US, and the schools, obsessed with indoctrination rather than education, are not replacing them. Related:  Global shares tumble on US fears 

NASA Satellites Capture Start of New Solar Cycle "On January 4, a reversed-polarity sunspot appeared, signalling the start of Solar Cycle 24. Solar activity waxes and wanes in 11-year cycles and the previous solar cycle, Solar Cycle 23, peaked in 2000-2002 with many furious solar storms." 

Providence, R.I. City Council Unanimously passes Homeowners and Bank Protection Act   A similar resolution is being considered in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. Related:  Maple Heights, Ohio, Among the Worst Hit, Passes HBPA

U.S. Facing National Financial Emergency, Says Financier   "The global financial collapse is accelerating with such speed and severity that the U.S. will be faced with the necessity of declaring a national financial emergency, an unnamed European financier told EIR. He said that the financial crisis has deteriorated significantly since the beginning of the year, with multiple crises feeding off of each other, pushing the system out of control."

School Destroyed Video It Was Ordered to Preserve of Students Being Shocked "One student was shocked 77 times and the other 29 times after a prank caller posing as a supervisor ordered the treatments at a Judge Rotenberg Educational Center group home in August. The boys are 16 and 19 years old and one was treated for first-degree burns."  Related: 29 year old dies from Taser

Cops Make Fun Of Dying Man They Kill and Dump on Road "Police in Bedford, New York allegedly made fun of a dying man that they found on the side of the road. A cop from the neighboring town is accused of dealing the man a deadly blow after he drove him to Bedford and dropped him off on the side of a deserted road."   Related:  Bad Cop News  | Police Oversight Portal 

NASA funding bill could 'hinder space exploration'  "A manned mission to Mars may be history before it's even had a chance to become reality, according the Mars Society - the world's largest Mars exploration advocacy group. The culprit is the NASA portion of the recently-enacted Congressional Omnibus Appropriations Bill; it contains language that would prohibit "funding of any research, development, or demonstration activities related exclusively to human exploration of Mars." While it provides support for science missions - including exploration of Mars - the bill fails to adequately fund NASA's plans to return to the Moon and then send humans to Mars."    .... no 'Star Trek' ever planned for Earth - not part of the Game .... 

FBI denies file exposing nuclear secrets theft "The FBI was investigating a Turkish and Israeli-run network that paid high-ranking American officials to steal nuclear weapons secrets. These were then sold on the international black market to countries such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia." 

Wall Street Braces for More Volatility  "With Wall Street falling precipitously almost by the day, investors are asking what it will take to revive it. Market experts are increasingly coming to the same answer: Time. There is no piece of economic data, no corporate earnings report, no move by the Federal Reserve and no government tax plan that will be able to soothe the market's anxiety in the next couple weeks over the weakening economy." 

Canada removes U.S., Israel from torture watch list   "Canada's foreign ministry, responding to pressure from close allies, said on Saturday it would remove the United States and Israel from a watch list of countries where prisoners risk being tortured." 

Canada puts US on 'torture list' "The United States has been listed as a country where prisoners are at risk of torture in a training document produced by the Canadian foreign ministry. It also classifies some US interrogation techniques as torture." 

Ron Paul Gets 'Unexpected' Standing in Las Vegas   And its only January ..... let's see where this goes ....

The Panic of 1873 "A major economic reversal began in Europe and reached the United States in the fall of 1873. The signal event on this side of the Atlantic was the failure of Jay Cooke and Company, the country’s preeminent investment banking concern. The firm was the principal backer of the Northern Pacific Railroad and had handled most of the government’s wartime loans.
Cooke’s fall touched off a series of events that encompassed the entire nation ... " 

CIA 'backs Pakistan' on 'who killed Bhutto'  But it was they themselves who were involved .... laughable and pathetic. It was the one-armed man.

Fun: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters  (Video)  More amusing videos on page.

How 'Mystery Space Orbiters' (F.A.S.T.) were filmed "The equipment I used to get my modest little images - was a mere hand-held Canon Power Shot Digital Elph SD750. I don't know all of the specs of the CCD ... etc. I did 'zoom in' - which in my case - was a max of 12 X ... "

'ET' Signal May Have 'Natural Cause'   - ""BERKELEY, Calif. -- On Monday, KTVU reported scientists have received an odd signal from space and some readers may have interpreted this as a confirmed extra-terrestrial contact. Scientists did confirm there was an anomalous radio signal and reported it late last year. However, as SETI@home lead scientist Dan Werthimer now clarifies, "although this pulse is not well understood..." it may have a natural origin. SETI Institute Chief Scientist Seth Shostak says the highly energetic and brief signal at first excited some researchers, who at the time thought it may be a candidate ET signal. It was received not at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, as reported, but rather in Australia. The signal has not been confirmed as any sign of extra- terrestrial intelligence, although the Allen array in California is now actively searching for more of these signals."    

Clinton Donor Tied To Mexican Drug Trade   - "An influential Democratic donor who has given Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign the federal limit and has been indicted for illegally practicing law, had his offices raided by authorities who say he launders money for Mexican drug cartels."

H.R. 393: Universal National Service Act of 2007  - "To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the favorable treatment afforded combat pay under the earned income tax credit, and for other purposes." Rep. Charles Rangel [D-NY] Cosponsors [as of 2007-12-10] Rep. Yvette Clarke [D-NY] Rep. James McDermott [D-WA]."    Rangel does this almost every year. It never makes it too far because it is universally so unpopular.

Bollyn Says He Has Crucial Discovery About 911  - But won't inform anyone until he acquires a certain amount of cash .... strange way to go about it ... some clues so far ....

US lawmakers seek to block arms deal with Saudis  "A group of US lawmakers introduced a congressional resolution on Tuesday to block President George W Bush's proposed sale of high-tech, precision guided bombs to Saudi Arabia." 

7-year plan aligns U.S. with Europe's economy  Like all their other plans, this will never end up happening. The Game only allows things to go so far on this simultaneous planet. Not enough time ....  

FDA Announces Plan to Eliminate Vitamin Companies  "The FDA, emboldened by its transformation into a drug company, has embarked upon an anti-American plan of interfering with business and intentionally eliminating various dietary supplement companies from the market. The FDA announcement came on Friday, June 22, 2007 under the guise of a final rule for dietary supplement good manufacturing practices (CGMPs). Within this 800 page rule the FDA states, "We find that this final rule will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities..."

US tried to suppress federal scientist from discussing link between global warming and hurricanes  It's a thought crime to make a mental connection between two related phenomena. Related: ABC news online report

Mysterious $100 ‘supernote’ counterfeit bills appear across world    "The currency changer, brazenly plying his illegal trade in the Bank of China lobby, pulled out a thick wad of cash from around the world and carefully removed a bill. The 2003 series U.S. $100 bill was a fake, but not just any fake. It was a “supernote,” a counterfeit so perfect it’s an international whodunit. It had come from a North Korean businessman, the changer said, getting angry looks from his confederates ..."  Related: U.S. counterfeiting charges against N. Korea based on shaky evidence  A 10-month McClatchy investigation on three continents has found that the evidence to support Bush's charges against North Korea is uncertain at best and that the claims of the North Korean defectors cited in news accounts are dubious and perhaps bogus. 

Talk of emergency rate cut hits dollar    "Derek Halpenny at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ said bearish sentiment towards the dollar was reinforced by reports that additional substantial write-offs by large US financial institutions were expected to be announced this week. He said with capital injections by sovereign wealth funds seemingly already arranged the concern lies not in the potential collapse of one of these financial institutions but on the macro-economic consequences ahead. “With the size of the write-downs now being reported unprecedented, there is a high risk that the Fed’s far more aggressive in its monetary easing campaign by front-loading a lot of cuts into the first half of the year,” said Halpenny."  Related: Crisis may make 1929 look a 'walk in the park'  |  Major Dividend Cut at Citi, Huge Write Downs, Layoffs  Those system failures and lower limits on ATM withdrawals, which allowed Citi to hoard cash, are beginning to look very suspicious.  

Dozens in Texas town report seeing UFO 1 Mile long x 1/2 Mile wide      "A freight company owner and pilot who said the object he saw last week was a mile long and half a mile wide."    Brazen activity ....

U.S. Supreme Court Denies Certiorari for Landmark Right to Petition Case      "Without comment, the Supreme Court decided not to hear We The People v. United States, a case which, if heard, would have required the Court to declare -- for the first time history -- whether the Government is obligated to respond to proper Petitions by ordinary, private individuals for Redress of Grievances – specifically Grievances alleging unconstitutional behavior by the Government, and whether the individual having so Petitioned, has the Right to act to peacefully hold the Government accountable if the Government refuses to respond. In plain language, the Supreme Court has just told the American people that it is none of their business if the government is acting Constitutionally or not."

Israel's Nuclear Weapons, including Fission, Hydrogen and Neutron Bombs     "Neutron bombs are NOT defensive weapons. They are weapons of invasion and conquest. When someone goes to the expense of building a bomb that killing people but leaving the buildings intact, they plan to use those buildings."

New lab findings have solved some mysteries of Morgellons Disease     "Chronic inflammation with fibrosis, calcification of the bone and surrounding soft tissue of the joint shows presence of crystalloid fragments consistent with silicone and silica. Further, a private study to determine the chemical and biological composition of fiber specimens taken from a second woman in Florida has shown that the fiber's outer casing is made up of high density polyethylene (HDPE). The fiber material is used commonly in the manufacture of fiber optics ..."   From Report :"Morgellons - A disease in which individuals have the growth of fibers from their skin that burn at 1,700 degrees F and do not melt. (20) A private study to determine the chemical and biological composition of these fibers has shown that the fibers' outer casing is made up of high density polyethylene fiber (HDPE). The fiber material is used commonly in the manufacture of fiber optics. There is no history of the individual in that industry or coming into contact with this material. It was further determined that this material is used throughout the bio nanotechnology world as a compound to encapsulate a viral protein envelope, which is composed of a viron (1/150th times smaller than a virus) with DNA, RNA, RNAi (mutated RNA) or RNAsi linear or ring plasmids for specific functions. (21, 22) Toxicological pathology identification of tissue biopsies from an individual diagnosed with Morgellons revealed the presence of continual silica or glass tubules with the presence of silicone ... silica or silica bicarbonate can make silicone through natural cellular interaction in a biological system. "  Related: Morgellons USA Website | Morgellons Group

Ron Paul: "I don't view people as groups, but as individuals"     (Video)  Paul is seen responding to fictitious charges of racism levied by anti-Paul factions, on CNN with Zionist Wolf Blitzer.  Here, Paul shines as a simultaneous incarnation with integrity. A related video is very good: The Story of Ron Paul  good background video. Links to many more videos on Paul are also on the page.

The great dentistry rip-off: time to bite back      "Israel's aging nuclear reactor is casting a shadow over the Middle East. What's more the Israelis have buried hazardous industrial and chemical waste in the Gaza, posing a health threat to local Palestinians."

The System Is Dead; Now What?   "We now enter 2008 in uncharted territory. The problems we saw in 2007 will only get worse, and there are new horrors to be discovered as the death throes intensify. The losses to the banks in 2007, likely to be on the order of $100 billion, once the final reports are in, are just the beginning. The entire economy, particularly in the United States, has depended upon the accumulation of vast amounts of debt, with households, businesses, governments, and the financial markets all depending upon the ability to borrow to finance their existence."

Smoking Mirrors: Is There Really No Way Out for George Bush?  "There are some things that we know today. We may not know the details but we know they happened. We know that Diebold, a.k.a "Premier", fixed the New Hampshire primary so that Giuliani and Huckabee would finish ahead of Ron Paul. According to disparities between hand counts and computer counts along with exit polls and given the proof of missing votes in Sutton, NH as well as other places it’s a given that shit happened again ... " 

Presidential Psychology at the End of Days - What is Bush Capable of Doing?     "Bush-type personality operates in a defensive, binary