News and Developments
M5 Readers: Keep in Mind That Political News, By Nature, May Reflect Sequential Agenda
See  News Home Page 

September  2008 

 Cyber Security Expert: Hackers Planning To Steal Election For McCain   ".....Spoonamore is a GOP member and a lifelong Republican, having worked on election campaigns with Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. He also has 20 years worth of experience in encrypted and networked communications systems for banks, TV, telecommunications, EMS, Military and other uses .... In an ten part You Tube interview, Spoonamore warns that hackers are planning to steal the election on behalf of the McCain camp and even predicts the margin of victory, that McCain will make a "shocking recovery" and win 51.2 percent of the vote with three electoral votes over Obama ..."  Related: Republican IT consultant subpoenaed in case alleging tampering with 2004 election

 168 Minions Crushed in Another Temple Stampede   ".....Thousands of pilgrims panicked by false rumors of a bomb stampeded at a Hindu temple in western India on Tuesday, killing at least 168 people in the crush to escape."  Yep. Back to nature spirit they go.

 McCain Aides Complain that Palin Is 'Clueless'   "Capitol Hill sources are telling me that senior McCain people are more than concerned about Palin. The campaign has held a mock debate and a mock press conference; both are being described as "disastrous." One senior McCain aide was quoted as saying, "What are we going to do?" The McCain people want to move this first debate to some later, undetermined date, possibly never. People on the inside are saying the Alaska Governor is "clueless."  The VP Debate is scheduled for Thursday, Oct 2. If it happens, it should be funny.  Related: Two videos ( A , B ) that suggest why McCain is hiding Palin. 

 Pro-McCain Group Dumping 28 Million Terror Scare DVDs in Swing States   "This week, 28 million copies of a right-wing, terror propaganda DVD are being mailed and bundled in newspaper deliveries to voters in swing states. The 60-minute DVDs, titled Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, are landing on doorsteps in a campaign coinciding with the 7th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Funding is coming from a New York-based group called the Clarion Fund, a shadowy outfit whose financial backers are unclear."  Related: Flashback (6/08) Lieberman Predicts Attack Will Come Early In Next Presidency   "We need a president who's ready to be Commander-in-Chief on day one. Senator McCain is - incidentally, Senator Clinton said that over and over again and she was right. She was ready to be president on day one. Why? Because our enemies will test the new president early. Remember that the truck bombing at the World Trade Center happened in the first year of the Clinton administration. 9/11 happened in the first year of the Bush administration. John McCain is ready to take the reins on January 20, 2009. He doesn't need any training." (video included on page) | McCain Adviser: Another Attack on U.S. Would Be "Big Advantage" For McCain |  McCain's Terror Policy: Continued Belittling Of 'Law Enforcement,' More 9/11-Mongering | McCain's Take On Bin Laden, Habeas Corpus Is Delusional, Legal Scholar Says

 Syria's intelligence community again hit by major car bomb   "Syria has been rocked by the latest in a series of major car bombing targeting terrorist leaders and security officials. A truck filled with explosives was detonated near Syrian intelligence headquarters in Damascus. The bombing took place on Sept. 27 outside the parking lot of the Palestine branch of Syrian intelligence and near a Shi'ite shrine. ." [ 09/29/08 ]    Gee, if they really were intelligent, why are they still there after last time?

 IAEA 'puts Israeli nukes on agenda'  "The UN nuclear watchdog has unanimously agreed to put the issue of Israel's nuclear capabilities on the agenda of its annual meeting." [ 09/29/08 ]  

 Iran vows to continue nuclear work  "Iran says the newly-adopted and 'politically-motivated' UN Security Council resolution will not alter course of its nuclear program." [ 09/29/08 ] 

 Palin believes men, dinosaurs coexisted  "Vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has suggested that men and dinosaurs coexisted on an Earth created 6,000 years ago, a report says." [ 09/29/08 ] 

 Consulate in Los Angeles raises Israeli flag    "Thousands cheered Sunday as the blue-and-white Star of David flag was raised for the first time in front of the Israeli Consulate on Wilshire Boulevard. The Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles opened in 1973 and has a staff of about 60. It is one of nine Israeli consulates across the country and is considered "more important than some of our embassies," said Shahar Azani, Israeli consul for public affairs in L.A."  [ 09/28/08 ]

 Pakistan facing financial crisis (since 'war on terror' bribes stopped)    "International efforts are under way to stop Pakistan from defaulting on its debts after its foreign reserves dropped to just $3bn. With about $1bn a month needed to provide its people with basic requirements there are fears that Pakistan could run out of money before the end of the year." [ 09/28/08 ]

 $15m found in student's luggage in Frankfurt    "Customs officials at Frankfurt airport found 8.7 million euro ($15.27 million) in cash stashed in the luggage of a student, reports said." [ 09/29/08 ]

 EU Officials: Investigate CIA Plane Used in Renditions Caught with 4 Tons of Cocaine    "The CIA Drug Plane Scandal grew exponentially last week when European Union officials broke an official 40-year-long silence on the previously-taboo subject of the CIA’s worldwide involvement in drug trafficking.  [ 09/10/08 ]  Watch Related Videos on the CIA and Drugs by Daniel Hopsicker

 China's landmark spacewalk mission ends   "The Shenzhou-7 space module carrying three taikonauts landed safely by parachute Sunday afternoon in China's northern grassland, after a landmark spacewalk mission that leads the country further in its space exploration." [ 09/28/08 ]  Related: Full text of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's speech at 2008 Summer Davos in Tianjin [ 09/27/08 ]

 NERA Releases White Paper on US Financial Bailout Reverse Auction Plan   "A new paper on reverse auctions, the cornerstone of the financial bailout plan currently being promoted by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and hotly debated on Capitol Hill, was published today by NERA Economic." [ 09/28/08 ]

 Suicides Increase, Motive Unknown, in 50% of Japanese Defense Forces   "Defense Ministry officials, alarmed by a spike in suicides among Self-Defense Forces personnel, say the motive in about half the cases cannot be explained. The suicide rate among SDF personnel is close to double that among civil servants in other ministries and agencies, government statistics show. According to the National Personnel Authority, the suicide rate among SDF members stood at 34.4 per 100,000 in fiscal 2007. That was nearly double the 17.7 suicides per 100,000 among regular national civil servants in fiscal 2005, the latest comparable figure. More than half of the suicides involved Ground SDF personnel. The GSDF is the largest of the three military branches with about 140,000 service members, followed by the Maritime SDF and the Air SDF. To the vexation of the Defense Ministry and SDF officials, in half of the cases the motive for suicide remains unknown. Between fiscal 1998 and 2007, 52 percent of the cases were classified as "other motives or motives unknown." [ 09/27/08 ] 

 Canada: offices of U.S. Defense Department agency ransacked and torched  "The U.S. State Department is investigating whether national security was threatened after someone broke into a secure American military procurement agency on Bank St. last week and ransacked offices before torching the place. Someone broke into the secure building -- only accessible after-hours with a swipe card -- and set five fires on the second and fourth floors. Locked cabinets and drawers were pried open, employees said. The entire second floor was home to a satellite office of the U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency, a wing of the Department of Defense that handles $90 billion in military contracts worldwide. The fourth floor houses the Canadian Co-operative Association, a non-governmental organization which represents the co-operatives and credit unions of Canada." [ 09/27/08 ]

 Introducing: The Voter Bomb!  "Official launch is set for Monday. The point of the site is to vote out every single incumbent of the entire House of Representatives! All 435 members are up for re-election, as well as 35 US Senators." [ 09/27/08 ]

 Credit crunch banker leaps to his death in front of express train  "Kirk Stephenson, who was married with an eight-year-old son, died in the path of a 100mph express train at Taplow railway station, Berkshire. Mr Stephenson is believed to have taken his own life after succumbing to mounting personal pressures as the world’s financial markets went into meltdown."  [ 09/27/08 ]

 McCain never showed up at Capitol Hill for final bailout negotiations   "After declaring he’d return to Washington to help with the bailout negotiations immediately after last night’s debate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) never went to Capitol Hill today. In fact, McCain stayed largely holed up in his Arlington apartment, leaving only to go to his campaign headquarters just around the block, the New York Times reports."  [ 09/27/08 ]

 So, Who 'Won' The Stupid 'Debate'?  "Today I am changing my opinion slightly. I now think there were three losers and one winner. Before reading further ponder that possibility. See if you can figure out the one winner and three losers of the debate."  [ 09/27/08 ]

 US-Russian deal 'lets Iran’s nuclear bomb program off the hook'  (Mossad-Debka File) "Sept. 26, 2008 was the day the policy pursued by Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni and Shimon Peres, of reliance on the international community to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb, sank without a trace. The international community declined to adopt fresh economic sanctions to 'rein in an increasingly defiant Tehran'. While Israeli spokesman still refer to a future threat which there is still time to stop, most world leaders appear reconciled to its presence."  [ 09/26/08 ]

Arab Slams Israel Over Settlement Policy At UN Meet    "Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal has slammed Israel's settlement expansion in the annual UN Security Council meeting."  Related:  UN debates Israeli settlements |  Arab League wants UNSC meeting on Israel  [ 09/27/08 ]

 PAKISTAN:  Pak army warns US to stay off its border   "Pakistani army has warned the US to stay out of its territory while hunting down militants along the volatile border with Afghanistan." Related: Zardari lashes out at US in UN speech  [ 09/26/08 ]

INDIA:  US House passes India nuclear deal    "The House of Representatives has passed a civilian nuclear pact with India that lifts a three-decade-old ban on civilian nuclear trade with India." 

 McBama...Of One Mind On The Murderous Police State   "After watching the debates last night it appears we have only one choice for President as relates to the Apartheid State of Israel. President McBama. Obama refers to a country whose intelligence services watched the 9/11 hijackers for a year before the attacks and said nothing as our stalwart Ally. The treasonous McCain family is of course AIPAC's eternal servant. McCain never met a country he didn't want to bomb, except Lebanon. But back then he was young and inexperienced."  Related:  McCain: AIPAC's #1 Congressional Butt Boy 

 Full text of Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN General Assembly   "The following is a copy of Iranian President Ahmadinejad's speech to the United Nations General Assembly early Wednesday morning, as translated by the Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran News Service"  Related:  Ahmadinejad talks Holocaust on CNN  “They (Zionists) don't allow anyone to freely discuss the historical events that happened. They just say this is our account of history, this is what happened and everybody else must just accept it,” said Ahmadinejad."

 Debate Analysis: McCain Acted Like a Jerk   (26 Sept Debate) "Not once did McCain look Barack Obama in the eye. That's right — John McCain refused to even look at Obama, a man who is making an historic bid to become the next president of the United States. Say what you will about Obama, but I don't think anyone believes that he does not deserve eye contact once in 90 minutes. McCain was dismissive and derisive. He treated Obama with disdain and condescension. He was smug, arrogant, and patronizing. He simply refused to take Obama seriously. And he repeatedly smirked, giggled, snickered and mocked .... Giggling and smirking and not taking important people and issues seriously — remind you of anyone? McCain's behavior did not make him seem presidential. It made him seem like George W. Bush. Only older. Much older. And old enough to know better." 

 McCain sabotages bail out deal   "John McCain did nothing to help, he only hurt the process," the senior Democrat said at a joint news conference with Senate banking committee chairman Christopher Dodd. Barney Frank, the Democratic chair of the House of Representatives financial services committee, said: "I think this was a campaign ploy for Senator McCain. The meeting convened by Bush was a "photo op and political theater that had nothing to do with us getting to work," Dodd said. But backed by Richard Shelby, the top Republican on Dodd's Senate committee, McCain said "there never was a deal" given the hostility of many congressional Republicans to the government's planned intrusion into private enterprise. Democratic proposal to the bailout include leniency for struggling mortgage holders over their repayment terms, and would give taxpayers "equity" in a bailed out company, entitling them to a share of any profits generated. Democrats were also calling for limits on pay deals for executives whose companies get rescued under the government deal. And they said that any deal must include strict oversight by federal regulators. Related: REID: McCain was silent at the White House; Lacks Temperament to be president [Video]     "Sen. Harry Reid gives an inside account of the White House meeting on 9/25/08, reporting Sen. John McCain barely said a word, and that his participation "blew up" negotiations on Capitol Hill. Reid says McCain's behavior this week shows he doesn't have the temperament to be President."

 Lawyer: 'Serious Damage' to McCain if Palin Probe Report Out Before Election      "An attorney representing Alaska’s Legislative Council said John McCain’s presidential campaign fears a statewide ethics investigation into Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s vice presidential running mate, “would cause serious damage to the Republican ticket” if details of the probe were “publicly known before the national election.”  Related: Subpoenaed Palin aides could be found in contempt  "With state officials again defying legislative subpoenas in the investigation of whether Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power, the war between state lawmakers and Alaska's attorney general is escalating.The governor's chief of staff, Mike Nizich, and six other Palin aides didn't show up Friday to honor subpoenas ordering them to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee chairman, Anchorage Democratic Sen. Hollis French, said they could be found in contempt when the full Legislature convenes in January, a finding that carries potential jail time."  After the election, if there is one.

 Videos:  Rep. McDermott "Paulson can throw a pass to himself"   | Ron Paul Schools Bernanke on the Bailout Plan  | Rep Lloyd Doggett hammers Bernanke on Bailout |The Keating Five Scandal in 97 Seconds

 Election Theft for 2008 Already Underway      "The campaigns are in full gear, the candidates are picked, TV ads are running, and election corruption is taking hold. Around the country, particularly in swing states, there are stories of efforts to undercut voter registration especially by poor and African American voters. In addition, this summer has seen story after story of the potential corruption and likely dysfunction of electronic voting machines."  Related: Video  Rove Has Already Fixed the 2008 Election

 'The double standard is stunning: their profits are their profits, but their losses are our losses'  "The U.S. government has been turned into an engine that accelerates the wealth upwards into the hands of a few. The Wall Street bailout, the Iraq War, military spending, tax cuts to the rich, and a for-profit health care system are all about the acceleration of wealth upwards. And now, the American people are about to pay the price of the collapse of the $513 trillion Ponzi scheme of derivatives. Yes, that’s half a quadrillion dollars."

OIL/GAS: Iraq and Shell sign gas deal   "Iraq has signed an agreement with Shell in a second major gas deal between the country and an international oil firm since US invasion."  Related: 'Nabucco comes true if Iran involved'  "Chief executive of Hungarian oil and gas says the Nabucco gas pipeline will be realized only if Iran joins the project as a supplier." 

SYRIA:  Bomb blast rocks Syrian capital Damascus  Video. "At least 17 people have been killed and at least 14 injured in a car bomb attack in the Syrian capital Damascus. The car bomb, which Syrian public television said contained about 200kg of explosives" A related story: Bomb Kills 17 in Syria Near Intelligence Office | Condoleeza Goes to Syria to discuss Mideast | US asks for full IAEA report on Syria |  Syria pushes the envelope in the North  

 SOMALIA:  Russians send warship to Somalia      "A Russian warship is heading toward Somalia after pirates seized a Ukrainian freighter carrying rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft guns and 30 Russian T-72 tanks. The frigate Neustrashimy (Fearless) was ordered to the region in response to "the rise in pirate attacks, including against Russian citizens," Igor Dygalo, a Russian navy spokesman told AFP. As he spoke a Russian media report said the hijackers were seeking to discuss a ransom payment for the ship."  Related: US destroyer watching hijacked ship off Somalia | Pirates want US$35m for Ukrainian Ship Loaded With Weapons

 Money and Votes Aligned in Congress's Last Debate Over Bank Regulation      "The last time Congress seriously debated how to regulate the financial industry, the result was legislation that allowed the nation's largest banks to get even larger and take risks that had been prohibited since the Great Depression. A look back at that debate, which was over the 1999 Financial Services Modernization Act, reveals that campaign contributions may have influenced the votes of politicians who, a decade later, are now grappling with the implosion of the giant banks they helped to foster."

 Protesters Take Their Outrage to Wall Street     "Enraged by the prospect of $700 billion of their taxes going to reimburse Wall Street speculators for their dubious investments, about 500 protesters paraded through Lower Manhattan's financial district Thursday afternoon, their chants of "You broke it, you bought it" reverberating through the narrow office building canyons and off the flag-draped wall of the New York Stock Exchange."

 Paraguay's president says he turned down offer to meet Palin     "After enumerating the various heads of state he'd met with, the room went silent and then laughed a bit when he confided that he was approached about meeting with GOP Vice Presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. President Lugo said he turned the meeting down."  Note: Don't forget that the Bush family bought a large piece of property in Paraguay to flee to ... just like previous fascists.

 Former Kissinger Policy Planner, CFR Member Calls For New Global Monetary Authority     "A Council on Foreign Relations member and former policy planner under prominent Bilderberger Henry Kissinger has penned a piece in the Financial Times of London calling for a “new global monetary authority” that would have the power to monitor all national financial authorities and all large global financial companies .... “Even if the US’s massive financial rescue operation succeeds, it should be followed by something even more far-reaching – the establishment of a Global Monetary Authority to oversee markets that have become borderless.” writes Jeffrey Garten, also a former managing director of Lehman Brothers ...."  Related:  Ron Paul: Congress Has Opted For 10-Year Plus Depression | Leading Economists All Slam Bailout | Prestigious Group of 192 Economists Slam Bailout  | Bush Does a 9/11 Replay in Asking for Unprecedented Powers and Budget | Congress Moves to Break Impasse on Bailout Plan | Bush: ‘Bail-out plan will be passed’ (UK)

 Bank Borrowing From Fed Already Exceeded Bailout Total in Last Week     "U.S. banks borrowed $188 billion per day on average in the latest week from the Federal Reserve, meaning that the Fed loaned out more money than the Treasury’s proposed bailout in just one week, still barely managing to keep the economy afloat."

 McCain Suffers From Premature Expectation:  Declares He's Won Sept 26 Debate With Obama Before It Happens        

 Paulson and Bush Administration Rejected More Oversight of Hedge Funds in Feb 2007     "Feb. 22 — The Bush administration said Thursday that there was no need for greater government oversight of the rapidly growing hedge fund industry and other private investment groups to protect the nation’s financial system. Instead, the administration, in an agreement it reached with the independent regulatory agencies, announced that investors, hedge fund companies and their lenders could adequately take care of themselves by adhering to a set of nonbinding principles. The decision came after months of study by a presidential working group of top officials and regulators. They looked at both the hedge fund industry, which has more than $1 trillion in assets, and the management of private equity firms, which take direct control and ownership of companies rather than relying on large numbers of outside stockholders. The group’s conclusions reflected both the strong antiregulatory ideology of the administration and the formidable influence of Wall Street and the increasingly wealthy hedge fund industry among both Democrats and Republicans in Washington. Three of the administration’s most senior economic policy makers — Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., his top deputy, Robert K. Steel, and White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten — are alumni of Goldman Sachs, which in the last decade has evolved into one of the most important players in the private equity market ."   So, they spent months doing a study back then, which said that everything was ok, that resulted in the system collapsing, prompting them to admit they have been doing another study for months to 'fix' something, but did nothing, and then they come to us with a crisis they created and knew was coming? 

 Ohio Congressman Died of Head, Neck Injuries In 'Fall Down Stairs'     "U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor, who was found dead in his apartment in suburban Washington the first week of September, died of blunt head and neck trauma 'consistent with a fall down stairs', according to a medical examiner's report released Friday ... Aides found Gillmor's body Wednesday at his town house in Arlington, Va., after he failed to show up at the Capitol for morning meetings. "   Note: Paul Gillmor served on the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.  Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

 White House meeting ends with no financial deal     "After a 24-hour buildup heightened by election drama, a meeting at the White House between US President George W Bush and the two rivals for his position - Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain - ended Thursday with no agreement on an emergency financial bailout .... Senator Richard Shelby has condemned the proposal as "flawed from the beginning" and insisted that alternatives must be considered before Congress is stampeded into rubber stamping the president's plan. He waved a document in reporters' faces that he claimed contained the opinion of 44 economists from leading institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Chicago who say the Bush administration has overstated the threat of economic collapse if the bill is not adopted."    What 'deal' can happen between Bush and the two candidates? None ... It's not up to them.  They all ought to be hung for treason.  Related: Tentative agreement on bailout falls apart

 £4.7bn ID card scheme faces new stumbling block over fingerprinting    "Jacqui Smith today admitted that it will be impossible to include fingerprints of some people on the Government’s ID cards. The revelation will raise new doubts about the effectiveness of the scheme."

 US finds emboldened Russia holding the cards    "The U.S. has found an emboldened Russia wielding enormous leverage at a critical stage in disputes over the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs, a once-promising partnership with Moscow in doubt. After a month of bitter exchanges over Russia's war with Georgia, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came face-to-face Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and discovered Moscow's cooperation on Iran and North Korea may no longer be a sure thing." Note: The fact that Secretary Rice would find a hardening of Russia's positions on North Korea and Iran 'surprising' just boggles the mind. That she could possibly think, as a rational human being, that Russia would embrace the US views on these issues after the US raked Russia over the coals for their response to the colossally stupid Georgian invasion of South Ossetia, defies imagination. And of course, this article never mentions that Russia's invasion of Georgia was in response to Georgia's invasion of South Ossetia. Nope. The whole Bush Administration are a bunch of greedy, delusion power-hungry idiots who should be hung, along with 98% of the members of Congress, for treason. 

 FBI Investigates Lehman, AIG, Fannie, Freddie    "The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened preliminary probes into the financial details and struggles of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and American International Group (AIG) Inc. All of the firms are at the center of recent financial turmoil. According to a Wall Street Journal article, FBI and regulators are currently under pressure to hold high-profile executives accountable for the crisis - particularly following the announcement of a taxpayer-funded bailout. The specific crimes that that FBI is expected to uncover may include fraud or other wrongdoings."

 China banks told to halt lending to US banks    "Chinese regulators have told domestic banks to stop inter-bank lending to U.S. financial institutions to prevent possible losses during the financial crisis, the South China Morning Post reported on Sept 25th. The Hong Kong newspaper cited unidentified industry sources as saying the instruction from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) applied to inter-bank lending of all currencies to U.S. banks but not to banks from other countries."  Related: Europe and Japan turn cold shoulder to U.S. plea for bank bailouts | National Debt: An Analysis of the Presidents Who Are Responsible for the Borrowing  

 McCain and Obama to meet Bush 'for crisis talks on economy'   "Mr McCain has appeared to lose his footing over the past week in the face of the financial storms ripping through America, with polls suggesting yesterday that they have may have propelled Mr Obama into a commanding lead and blown away the Republican's long-standing advantage on which candidate is best able to handle an unexpected crisis ... Opponents last night suggested his proposal to skip the debate and suspend campaigning was the latest in a series of panic moves which included his pick of Sarah Palin as running mate, as well as a response to the financial crisis that has been marked by populist railing against Wall Street and some glaring inconsistencies ... Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer described it as "weird and odd," adding Senate colleagues had not heard "hide nor hair" from Mr McCain during any of the negotiations prior to this announcement. One of Mr Obama's aides said: "The only thing that has changed is John McCain's standing in the polls."  Related: Financial Crisis Upends Campaign  | John McCain Has a Bizarre History of Hiding Evidence About His Fellow POWs  

 'Russia's move to pull out of Iran talks spells end of sanctions'   "UN Ambassador Shalev surprised at Ahmadinejad's warm welcome by General Assembly; Moscow's cancellation endangers 4th round of sanctions." 

 CIA/MI6/MOSSAD’s October False Flag   [speculation on a possibility] "Earlier this summer, a McCain campaign official mused in an interview that an attack could benefit his candidate in the polls ... Expect a West/Zion false flag very soon. They hope to catapult McCain to the presidency with this false flag. They also want to build up a narrative that eventually leads to the US attacking Iran. They must do a false flag that implicates Iran. There has been some chatter already that 'the Iranians have some secret weapon' eg biological agents, and that there are 'Iranian sleeper cells' in America ready to release this agent on the American people should Iran be provoked ... It may not be a bio agent it may be a dirty bomb or it may be both things. If I were to guess, I would say it’s probably going to be both and you will see this go on in multiple cities in America, mainly residential places. Maybe six places will be attacked simultaneously ... The attack on Iran will occur in about 18 months. It will be after a series of provocations. America will be seen as reluctantly entering into a war with Iran. However too many of its citizens have been killed by the “Iranians” and they will rally the people in patriotic fervor and they will sign up in scores to avenge the killings of the Americans. And then America will go further into debt and martial control. America will go down not realizing who really killed it." Note: Even with a scenario like this, all I have to say is, "So what, if it did happen like that?" Ha! Dog and pony show over. Incarnation over. Real freedom, and the fools and slow-pokes move on to the next world, while we do what we wish to, and have a wonderful time exploring new things, so bring on whatever it is, and get it over with, already. This place is a real piece of work.  

 Congress balks at Treasury's plan for Wall Street   "At a Senate hearing on the proposed $700-billion bailout, Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke battle skepticism from both parties. A Republican calls the plan 'un-American.' In a sharp series of lectures, lawmakers scolded Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke for caring more about the fortunes of the nation's big financial institutions and less about the fates of homeowners whose mortgage woes sparked the current crisis ... Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) complained that the Treasury plan would "take Wall Street's pain and spread it to the American taxpayer." "This massive bailout is not a solution," said Bunning. "It is a financial socialism, and it's un-American." ... Lawmakers from both chambers said they didn't like the idea of rushing through a proposal with sweeping political and economic impacts in only a matter of days."  More (NYT)  " .... Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. received an angry and skeptical reception on Tuesday when he appeared before the Senate Banking Committee to ask Congress to promptly give him wide authority to rescue the nation’s financial system. But after hours of back-and-forth, the committee’s leaders said explicitly what had seemed clear all day: that they rejected the administration’s plan. “What they have sent us is not acceptable,” said the committee chairman, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, who  called the Treasury proposal “stunning and unprecedented in its scope and lack of detail.” Asserting that the plan would allow Mr. Paulson to act with “absolute impunity,” Senator Dodd said, “After reading this proposal, I can only conclude that it is not only our economy that is at risk, Mr. Secretary, but our Constitution, as well.”  Related: Ten Things About Bush's Trillion Dollar Fleecing Plan 

 UN: Leaders from around the world lash out at American bankers   Video NYT   Bush drone about 'terrorism' ignored.

 Paulson's former firm to be among largest beneficiaries of bailout   "Goldman Sachs Group -- formerly run by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and Morgan Stanley, stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries of a $700 billion US bailout ... Paulson has admirers: during his Goldman tenure the firm donated 680,000 acres of land in Chile, and he has personally given away $100 million of his fortune to charitable groups. According to estimates conducted by Open Secrets, Paulson is the richest cabinet member of the Bush Administration ...Paulson was the head of Goldman Sach's investment banking division from 1990 to 1994. He later became chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman, and left his post to join the Bush Administration."  Related: Paulson Debt Plan May Benefit Mostly Goldman, Morgan  Talk about a conflict of interest in this laughable parade of criminals. Pelosi, Kerry and more than 50 other members of Congress Have Direct Financial Stake in the Bailout  Altogether, 56 senators and representatives had stakes in AIG, Lehman, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns Cos. or IndyMac Bancorp Inc. -- some of the biggest casualties of the market bloodbath. White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto Admits Bailout Planned for Months But, they'd have to have shock and awe, first, and let the system collapse to induce 'their' 'solution'. | Treasury Morphs Into A Hedgefund |Shadow banking system is unraveling | Clients move assets worth $6b from Citi, UBS to Deutsche

 'Israel can't destroy Iran N-facilities'  "A retired senior US military commander has rejected the notion that Israel is capable of seriously damaging Iran's nuclear program." 

 McCain would preemptively strike Iran  "Republican candidate John McCain says he would order a preemptive strike on Iran if the country were to acquire a nuclear weapon."

 US spy plane shot down in Pakistan   "A pilotless US drone aircraft has been shot down in the northwestern Pakistan after local tribes fired at plane while crossing the border." 

 Ahmadinejad: Wars behind US meltdown  "Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the US military intervention abroad is partly to blame for the economic turmoil on Wall Street." 

 Goldman to Raise Capital, With $5 Billion From Buffett  "Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, will receive preferred shares in Goldman Sachs as part of the bank’s effort to raise $7.5 billion in fresh capital."

$13 Billion in Iraq Aid Wasted Or Stolen, Ex-Investigator Says   "A former Iraqi official estimated yesterday that more than $13 billion meant for reconstruction projects in Iraq was wasted or stolen through elaborate fraud schemes..." Don't forget Blackwater antics, either.

10,000 Syrian troops mass on Lebanese border   "Thousands of Syrian troops have amassed along the Lebanese border in what Damascus says is an effort to combat smuggling, Lebanese military sources said on Monday, stoking speculation and concern in Lebanon. A source in the Lebanese Army confirmed that Syrian forces had deployed in the northern region of Abbudiya, but he told The Daily Star, "There is no need to worry."

  AIG and its prolific use of “offshore” scams   " Featuring the brilliant investigative journalist Lucy Komisar, this program highlights the use of “Offshore” entities to evade taxes, maximize corporate profits and finance a variety of criminal enterprises. Much of the first side of the program consists of analysis and discussion of insurance giant AIG and its prolific use of “offshore” scams. In addition to presenting AIG’s pioneering development of “captive” reinsurance companies to launder profits and evade taxes, the program highlights AIG’s use of Coral Reinsurance for a variety of illegal gambits ... "  Related: Cooking the Insurance Books | Joseph Stiglitz talks about offshore tax evasion Video |Corruption: Laundromat Royale | Confessions of a Citibanker | Citigroup: A Culture and History of Tax Evasion (PDF)

  Bush Administration will keep secret 'grim' Afghanistan report quiet until after election   "A secret US intelligence report which says the political and military situation in Afghanistan is "grim" will be withheld from the public until after the election, a new report says. Intelligence officials are finishing up the National Intelligence Estimate on Aghanistan, according to ABC's Brian Ross, "but there are 'no plans to declassify' any of it before the election," an official said. Keeping the intelligence report under wraps would likely help Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). McCain has focused on what he sees as the success of the Iraq "surge," in which the US added troops to lessen violence. Attention to problems in Afghanistan would put the spotlight on President Bush's failures, which might rub off on the Republican presidential nominee. "According to people who have been briefed, the NIE will paint a 'grim' picture of the situation in Afghanistan, seven years after the US invaded in an effort to dismantle the al Qaeda network and its Taliban protectors," Ross writes."

  US pushes Pakistan towards the brink   "Within Pakistan, some analysts argue that this is a carefully coordinated move to weaken the Pakistani state yet further by creating a crisis that extends way beyond the badlands on the frontier with Afghanistan ... Its ultimate aim, they claim, would be the extraction of the Pakistani military's nuclear fangs. If this were the case, it would imply that Washington was indeed determined to break up the Pakistani state, since the country would very simply not survive a disaster on that scale ... The key in Pakistan, as always, is the army. If the already heightened US raids inside the country continue to escalate, the much-vaunted unity of the military high command might come under real strain. At a meeting of corps commanders in Rawalpindi on September 12, Pakistani Chief of Staff General Ashfaq Kiani received unanimous support for his relatively mild public denunciation of the recent US strikes inside Pakistan in which he said the country's borders and sovereignty would be defended "at all cost"." Related: Robert Gates: Invade Pakistan!   

  Palin campaign operations chief was VP of IDT, telecom investigated for bribery   "Michael Glassner, in charge of Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s campaign operations, was till April 18th a vice-president of IDT, the New Jersey-based telecom fined $1.3 million by the FCC in July for failing to file its Haiti contract ... Glassner, registered as a federal lobbyist, was a member of the McCain New York, New Jersey, Connecticut Finance Committee and a bundler for John McCain ... Glassner was named several months ago to head vice-presidential operations for the McCain campaign. He oversees Sarah Palin’s travel, schedule and communications."  Related:  Jim Courter, John McCain’s fundraiser, quits  "Courter’s resignation is the latest shake-up among aides and fund raisers to the two presumptive presidential candidates. James Johnson resigned last month from Senator Barack Obama’s campaign following disclosures that he had received a mortgage on favorable terms from Countrywide Financial. Samantha Power quit as a foreign policy adviser to the Obama campaign in March after she was quoted as calling Senator Hillary Clinton “a monster.” Recently Phil Gramm had his role as an economic adviser to McCain reduced after he was quoted as playing down the economy’s woes, saying that a “nation of whiners” was at fault. Courter, a former New Jersey Republican congressman, was one of 20 McCain national finance co-chairmen." Treasonous Media giving McCain a 'free ride' by ignoring Keating involvement  Real reporting disappeared 30 years ago. Now, they are accomplices in deception ... the press, the whole administration and congress is its own RICO case!

  Why Would “Terrorists” Want To Decapitate Anti-US Leadership In Pakistan?     "Why would “Al-Qaeda,” a group that is supposedly the prime target of the U.S. initiated war on terror, commit a terrorist attack against a country that has recently changed its government and all but renounced its role as a U.S. ally in the war on terror? .... had the leadership of Pakistan not cancelled their plans to dine at the Marriott Hotel at the last minute, the entire command structure of the whole country would have been decapitated. 'Pakistan's top leaders were to dine at the Marriott hotel (The hotel’s lobby in recent years served as a meeting place for the CIA and Pakistanis who would not risk being seen at the American Embassy) that was devastated by a truck bombing over the weekend, but changed the venue at the last minute ... 'At the eleventh hour, the president and prime minister decided that the venue would be the prime minister's house. It saved the entire leadership.' Indeed, it seemed the 'terrorists' did know that their prime objective was to completely wipe out the most influential players in a government that has seemingly vowed to break away from the years of Pervez Musharraf-mandated lapdog subservience to U.S. imperial whims." Related:  What Was Mysterious Activity Going on in the Marriott Hotel Islamabad by United States Marines? " ... the fire on the fifth and fourth floor of the hotel broke out because those flours were housing the mysterious steel boxes under the heavy guard of United States marines and no one including the Pakistani security forces and the security men of the hotel were allowed to go near them. These boxes were shifted inside the hotel when the Admiral Mike Mullen met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others in Islamabad ..."  Another Terrorist Attack in Pakistan by U.S and India |'Shadowy' unknown ('CIA' connected) group claims Islamabad bombing ".... A Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television correspondent in the Pakistani capital said he received a text message on his mobile phone showing a telephone number, which he called and then heard a recording in which the group calling itself "Fedayeen of Islam" admitting launching Saturday's attack. The speaker on the recording spoke in English "with a south Asian accent," he said."  More on these 'boxes': " ... Witnessed by many, including a PPP MNA and his friends, a US embassy truckload of steel boxes was unloaded and shifted inside the Marriott Hotel on the same night when Admiral Mike Mullen met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others in Islamabad. Both the In-gate and the Out-gate of the hotel were closed while almost a dozen well-built US Marines in their usual fatigues were unloading the steel boxes from the truck. No one, including the hotel security men, was either allowed to go near the truck or touch the steel boxes, which were being shifted inside the hotel but without passing through the scanners. Upon inquiry, one of the three PPP friends who was waiting for the main gates of the hotel to open to get his car in, was informed that the suspicious boxes were shifted to the fourth and fifth floors of the hotel. Mumtaz Alam was furious both at the US Marines and the hotel security not only for the delay caused to them but also for the security lapse he was witnessing ..." So, is it possible these boxes contained explosives planted by US Marines to take out the Pakistani government (in concert with) the truck bomb 'outside' the Marriott compound? Of course. And, it also constitutes an 'act of war' against Pakistan by the U.S.

  Pakistan rejects U.S. 'help' in probe of hotel blast  (USA Today)   " ... We do not need help. We are competent. We reject it," Interior Ministry adviser Rehman Malik told reporters Sunday after the U.S. offered FBI help in pursuing the terrorists behind the attack .... Law Minister Farooq Naik called the attack Pakistan's '9/11'  ... "  Duh. The US was ultimately behind the attack in the first place, and the Paks need no help with those who which to manipulate the situation further. Related: 'Spies' 'Warn' That 'Al Qaeda' Aims for October Surprise  'Al Qaeda' ' may' launch more overseas operations to influence the presidential elections in November. Yeah, right. In politics, if it happens, it's planned by those in charge. The U.S. administration is the biggest terrorist threat to the planet. The CIA and their 'Al Qaeda" goon collective will attack at will.

China eyeing closer military exchanges with Pakistan  "Senior Chinese military official Guo Boxiong pledged on Monday to further strengthen military exchanges between China and Pakistan ..." 

  10 Russian warships deployed in Syria      " .... Ten Russian warships have been deployed at the Syrian port of Tartus based on an accord reached by the two sides after the August south Caucases conflict."

  India deploys WMD Nuclear Weapons Capable Fighter Jets in Indian Occupied Kashmir  " .... In the wake of weeks of widespread anti-Indian demonstrations in occupied Kashmir, which even New Delhi’s spin doctors have been unable to blame on Pakistan, India has deployed its top Russian-made fighter jets in the beleaguered valley, ostensibly for “better border management,” but analysts said the move was aimed at Pakistan after relations between the nuclear-armed rivals soured in recent months. True to form, India blamed Pakistan for the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul in July this year, though there was not a shred of evidence to support India’s allegation. And now, some Indian officials in New Delhi are trying to lay the blame for the recent bomb blasts in the capital at Pakistan’s door – again, without any evidence to this effect. But, then, this is the same India that once even blamed Pakistan’s ISI for a train accident in the eastern Indian state of Assam! What possible interest could the ISI have in causing a train accident in Assam, is anybody’s guess."

  U.S. Economic Crash and Foreign Policy Crash United Slaves of America      " .... First, it was the foreign policy crash of 2001. Yes, that much-milked by Bush 9/11 which instead of serving as wake up call to review and remedy America’s deplorable policies towards the peoples of the Middle East, only provided the Bush administration with a presumed casus belli as well as a raison-d’ètre for both the neocon empire-building and the economic sacking of the nation by an unscrupulous elite. Now, we all know the cost and results of replacing a “call to reason” with a “call to arms.” And now, as if a foreign policy crash hadn’t been enough seven years ago, and as if trying to mend relations with much of the world weren’t a formidable task, here comes the nuclear detonation that precedes America’s economic crash, what may turn out to be the mother of all crashes, but one still to reach ground zero. O, we’ll survive the impact here in America, but other than the elite, and a small affluentocracy, the rest of us, probably 85 to 90 percent of the population, will de facto help redefine this nation as the United Slaves of America .... "

  Loan Titans Paid McCain Adviser Nearly $2 Million     " .... Senator John McCain’s campaign manager was paid more than $30,000 a month for five years as president of an advocacy group set up by the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to defend them against stricter regulations, current and former officials say...."  Related: Palin Will Meet With Kissinger and Foreign Leaders 

 (Update 2) McCain Covered Up His Collaboration with the North Vietnamese While a POW    "Allegations resurface that McCain made propaganda statements and tried to keep Viet Cong records about him classified." That's because it's true, and it's also true that McCain, son of an admiral ,was directly responsible for the conflagration on the Forestall that killed over 130 people. The guy is such a dipshit, disingenuous, unstable, downright dangerous individual, it's too bad he wasn't killed in the disaster he started. It's too bad he didn't die in the prison camp. His whole schtick is a 'sympathy-patriotic' darkside platform based entirely as a deception. Every time I see him struggle to raise a hand or walk around, because of his 'war injuries', somehow, I know he's getting what he deserves. Pain. He is such a fuck-up in everything he does. Related: Reporters never ask McCain about sealing POW documents  | McCain Equates Embryos and Fetuses in Stem Cell Statement | McCain’s ‘team of mavericks’ run by ‘old Bush hands.’

  Judge orders Cheney to preserve records    "A federal judge on Saturday ordered Dick Cheney to preserve a wide range of the records from his time as vice president. The decision by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is a setback for the Bush administration in its effort to promote a narrow definition of materials that must be safeguarded under by the Presidential Records Act .... A private group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, is suing Cheney and the Executive Office of the President in an effort to ensure that no presidential records are destroyed or handled in a way that makes them unavailable to the public .... The lawsuit stems from Cheney's position that his office is not part of the executive branch of government. This summer, Cheney chief of staff David Addington told Congress the vice president belongs to neither the executive nor legislative branch of government, but rather is attached by the Constitution to Congress. The vice president presides over the Senate. In 2003, Cheney asserted that the office of the vice president is not an entity within the executive branch."

  Confessions of a sub-prime mortgage baron   "The former loan company boss now sees himself as little better than a mid-rank drug dealer ... Dishonesty became endemic in loan applications. By the end, Bitner reckons that 70% of submissions to the company from brokers were deceptive. Properties, supposedly objectively appraised, were spectacularly overvalued. He estimates that half of loans were on homes over-egged by up to 10%, a quarter had prices exaggerated by 11% to 20% and the rest were "so overvalued they defied all logic" ..."  

$700 Billion Is Sought for Wall Street in Vast Bailout  "The Bush administration on Saturday formally proposed a vast bailout of financial institutions in the United States, requesting unfettered authority for the Treasury Department to buy up to $700 billion in distressed mortgage-related assets from the private firms. The proposal, not quite three pages long, was stunning for its stark simplicity. It would raise the national debt ceiling to $11.3 trillion. And it would place no restrictions on the administration other than requiring semiannual reports to Congress, granting the Treasury secretary unprecedented power to buy and resell mortgage debt .... A $700 billion expenditure on distressed mortgage-related assets would roughly be what the country has spent so far in direct costs on the Iraq war and more than the Pentagon’s total yearly budget appropriation. Divided across the population, it would amount to more than $2,000 for every man, woman and child in the United States .... Whatever is spent will add to a budget deficit already projected at more than $500 billion next year. And it comes on top of the $85 billion government rescue of the insurance giant American International Group and a plan to spend up to $200 billion to shore up the mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac .... “This is a good foundation of a plan that can stabilize markets quickly,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement. “But it includes no visible protection for taxpayers or homeowners .... There are estimates that firms are carrying $1 trillion or more in bad mortgage-related assets ... The ultimate price tag of the bailout is virtually impossible to know, in part because of the possibility that taxpayers could profit from the effort, especially if the market stabilizes and real estate prices rise."  So, that's $985 Billion, so far ... $1 Trillion. Wait! Doesn't the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation have $23 Trillion in assets? What's up with that? Oops. 

  These are the times that try to trick us into self-defeat    " .... The best thing one can do to help prevent panic is to TURN OFF THE TV. With the constant drumbeat of putrid propaganda out of your head it will be much easier to clarify your mind. For those willing to make the effort, there are sources of information -- short wave radio, portions of the internet, and some books -- but in these times it is more important to know what your neighbors think than what the news anchor says he thinks (with a gun to his head or a bribe in his pocket) ...."   

  Why Israel Is Preventing Ahmadinejhad from Speaking At The UN   "The fact is , there was the very good likelihood Ahmadinejhad was going to discuss Israel’s attack on the USS Liberty on the floor of the UN General Assembly or (per our request) even that he would yield 3 minutes of his time to give USS Liberty survivor Phil Tourney an opportunity to tell the world what Israel did to him and his shipmates 41 years ago."

  US schools pay classroom informants  "Under an incentive scheme at Scripps Ranch, a large San Diego high school, students can call a special "tip line" - to report suspicious activity on campus. Callers whose tips lead to arrests or charges can earn themselves rewards of up to $1,000." 

  Financial Bailout: America's Own Kleptocracy "Nobody expected industrial capitalism to end up like this. Nobody even saw it evolving in this direction. I'm afraid this failing is not unusual among futurists: The natural tendency is to think about how economies can best grow and evolve, not how it can be untracked. But an unforeseen road always seems to appear, and there goes society goes off on a tangent."  

  Foreclosures Increasing Numbers Of Homeless and Tent Cities Around Nation "More cities around the country are finding themselves with tent cities housing otherwise homeless people, and homeless advocates say the foreclosure crisis is partly to blame .... the growing problem of encampments isn't confined to Florida and California, homeless advocates say tent cities have appeared or expanded in Portland, and Seattle, Oregon, Reno, Nevada, Athens, Georgia, Chattanooga, Tennessee and Columbus, Ohio among other places .... According to a report by the National Coalition for the Homeless, nearly 61 percent of local and state homeless coalitions say their communities have experienced a rise in homelessness since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007 ..."

  Powers Can’t Agree on New Sanctions Against Iran "Though the State Department said of today’s Washington DC meeting between six of the world’s major powers that they were all committed to “exploring possible further measures” to punish Iran in the wake of this week’s IAEA report, they have been, as expected, unable to agree on the content or timing of a future UN Security Council resolution."  Watch for the UN to - again - become "irrelevant" on the issue of Iran. The question is, what will Russia do in response to any kind of US/Israeli-led strike against Iran?

  Insane McCain Praised Banking Deregulation Earlier in  Sept 2008 "In a magazine article published earlier this month, John McCain not only claimed credit for the banking deregulation, but he hailed it as a model for what should be done with health care ..." Related: McCain on banking and health   'McCain, who now poses as the scourge of Wall Street, praised financial deregulation and promising that 'if we marketize health care, it will perform as well as the financial industry'.   He should have died in the Forrestal conflagration which he caused. Jewish Republicans That Helped Pave the Way to John McCain’s Nomination  Mark Broxmeyer (The Israel Hawk) , Joe Lieberman (The Democratic Apostate), Marshall Wittmann (Maverick Wordsmith) , Fred Zeidman (Ex-Bush Backer), Eric Cantor (The Rising Star).   McCain is such a bumbling, reckless, irresponsible fool ... all pretense for sanity has gone.

  Bankrupt AIG Underwrote McCain's 'Reform Institute' "John McCain is making a big show of criticizing the government "bailout" of insurance giant AIG. But it turns out that AIG, which received $85 billion in US tax dollars earlier this week, is one of the largest donors to McCain's pet think tank, the comically named "Reform Institute," which he co-founded in 2001 "in direct response to the millions of Americans who, during the 2000 presidential campaign, expressed profound disillusionment with corrupt fundraising activities."     See other McCain related items this month, below.

  Rice Acknowledges Georgian Attack "U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has acknowledged that Georgia attacked South Ossetia, speaking on Russian-American relations at the German Marshall Fund in Washington. The speech was much awaited, even though its content was known in advance. Rice harshly criticized Russian domestic and foreign policy, saying that the country was becoming “increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad.” She characterized Russia as “on a one-way path to self-imposed isolation and international irrelevance.” ... This speech is marked by a softening of her rhetoric in regard to Russia."    It did not matter to Rice that the US has, since 2001, been "increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad". She's oblivious and in denial, supporting the US position of 'do as we say, not what we do'. 

(Update 2) SEC bans short-selling of 799 financial stocks "The move by the Securities and Exchange Commission will temporarily ban what is called short selling of 799 financial stocks. The rule took effect immediately Friday and extends through 11:59 p.m. EDT on Oct. 2. Short selling involves borrowing a company's shares, selling them, and pocketing the difference when the stock falls. It is a legitimate method of trading — it can make markets more efficient and bring in more capital — but the government argues that it has widened the scope of the recent financial crisis and contributed to the collapsing values of investment and commercial bank stocks in particular. The SEC also eased restrictions on the ability of companies to buy back their own shares, also through Oct. 2, a move aimed at helping restore liquidity to the distressed and volatile market. Related: What the SEC’s Ban on Shorting Really Means | Cuomo Plans Short-Selling Probe  "New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has started a "wide-ranging investigation into short selling in the financial market" related to companies under pressure over the past week, such as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., American International Group, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc ... Mr. Cuomo said that in the past few days his office has received complaints about false rumors spread by short sellers. "Short selling is not illegal, but when combined with the spread of wrong information, that is illegal," he said ... The SEC is also investigating rumor mongering and has sent subpoenas to more than 50 hedge funds." No legal definition for "hedge fund" under U.S. securities laws and regulations | U.S. Plans Sweeping Financial Cleanup | Amex, GE and others may seek to be on short-seller ban list

Wall Street Shake-up Connects to Washington Through Contributions, Personal Investments  "Wall Street's grim news has plenty of people worried about their pocketbooks. Lawmakers are among them, not only concerned with how to boost the economy but with their own personal finances tied to companies that are struggling. The richest members of Congress seem to be the most invested in the companies at the center of the Wall Street shake-up."  Related: Credit Crisis Out of Control- US Government Admission "No One Knows What to Do"   

McCain Attacks Wall Street Greed—While 83 Wall Street Lobbyists Work for His Campaign  "Several of McCain's most senior campaign aides have lobbied for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And the Democratic National Committee, using publicly available records, has identified 177 lobbyists working for the McCain campaign as either aides, policy advisers, or fundraisers. Of those 177 lobbyists, according to a Mother Jones review of Senate and House records, at least 83 have in recent years lobbied for the financial industry McCain now attacks. These are high-paid influence-peddlers who have been working the corridors of the nation's capital to win favors and special treatment for investment banks, securities firms, hedge funds, accounting outfits, and insurance companies. Their clients have included AIG, the newest symbol of corporate excess; Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday sending the stock market into a tailspin; Merrill Lynch, which was bought out by Bank of America this week; and Washington Mutual, the banking giant that could be the next to fall. Among these 83 lobbyists are McCain's chief political adviser, Charlie Black (JP Morgan, Washington Mutual Bank, Freddie Mac, Mortgage Bankers Association of America); McCain's national finance co-chairman, Wayne Berman (AIG, Blackstone, Credit Suisse, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac); the campaign's congressional liaison, John Green (Carlyle Group, Citigroup, Icahn Associates, Fannie Mae); McCain's veep vetter, Arthur Culvahouse (Fannie Mae); and McCain's transition planning chief, William Timmons Sr. (Citigroup, Freddie Mac, Vanguard Group) ..."   Related:  Palin Blames Wall Street Woes on Lobbyists 

(Update 2) AIG Advances on Speculation Investors May Try to Derail Federal Takeover    "American International Group Inc. rose 43 percent in New York trading on speculation shareholders may try to derail a government takeover by helping to repay a federal loan to the company. Sovereign wealth funds are among investors that might help pay the debt of New York-based AIG, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unidentified person. AIG avoided collapse by agreeing Sept. 16 to turn over 80 percent of the company to the government in exchange for a two- year loan of as much as $85 billion. The insurer, crippled by losses tied to the U.S. housing market, borrowed $28 billion as of Sept. 17, the Federal Reserve said yesterday. Former Chief Executive Officer Maurice "Hank'' Greenberg may try to end government involvement in the company "as prompt as possible,'' his attorney David Boies said in an interview this week. Greenberg, who saw the value of the AIG stake he controls plunge by more than $5 billion this month, has said the takeover might have been avoided if AIG got a bridge loan, tapped private investors and sold assets. "How can it be the right move if shareholders lose 80 percent of their equity?'' he said in a Sept. 17 interview. Greenberg, the CEO for almost four decades until 2005, controlled about 11 percent of the shares through personal holdings and investment firms he runs before the takeover agreement, the largest stake." Related:  AIG Holders Push To Pay Off Loan   "Major shareholders are pursuing an effort to try to help pay off the federal government's loan to AIG in time to avoid having Washington take an 80% stake in the company."

Greenberg could pay fine of up to $100 million on Fraud Charges  "... Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the former CEO of American International Group Inc (AIG), could face a fine of up to $100 million to settle three-year-old civil fraud charges brought by New York's attorney general, according to business news channel CNBC on Friday... Greenberg left AIG in 2005 after allegations of financial misconduct were made against him and the company by then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. AIG paid $1.64 billion two years ago to settle the charges."  

The Biggest Loser: Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg  "... Everyone who owned shares in AIG took a hit Wednesday, following the announcement that the iconic insurance company was the latest casualty of the financial crisis -- but no one lost nearly as much as the firm's former CEO, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg. In his 27 years as CEO of AIG, Greenberg was credited with vastly expanding the company, turning it into the world's largest insurance firm. Forced to relinquish the reins in 2005 amid a fraud investigation by then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Greenberg went on to run two companies that remained highly invested in the American International Group (AIG) ...  Greenberg, who privately or through the companies he runs still owns a private jet, an office on Park Avenue and homes in New York City and Brewster, N.Y., likely lost 95 percent of his total assets, or somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 billion, analysts say. "  As of Sept 19th, some of AIG's stockholders are trying to arrange alternative arrangements that will not have to result in the US government getting 80% of the company. What's up with that? (CNBC news)  Couldn't happen to a worse guy.

Treasury Department will begin selling bonds for the Federal Reserve" (9/17/08) The Treasury Department will begin selling bonds for the Federal Reserve in an effort to help the central bank deal with unprecedented borrowing needs resulting from the current credit crisis."  Keep in mind the the Fed is a private corporation. Chart of who "owns" the Federal Reserve   

Related: Stocks Fall as Bank Gloom Deepens |SEC Issues New Short-Sale Rules | IMF Head: Worst Of Financial Crisis May Lie Ahead  What is happening right now: Nobel Prize Winning Economist: Crisis As Bad As Great Depression Or Worse  "Two time Nobel-prize winner and former chief economist of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz has warned that the current financial crisis will continue for at least another eighteen months and in many ways represents a worse situation than the one faced by Americans during the great depression of the 1930s."

  Alex Jones "The Final Countdown" Interviews With Joseph Stiglitz about what is happening right now, on the Alex Jones show (YouTube, Part 1, Part 2) Next 18 months bad!. Stiglitz, back in 2001, caused controversy when he exposed rampant corruption within the World Bank and the IMF, and blew the whistle on their nefarious methods of inducing countries to fall under their debt before stripping them of sovereignty and hollowing out their economies, including how the IMF and US Treasury fixed the Russian elections at that time.  The next 18 months ... essentially the rest of Endgame.

Related Alex Jones Videos: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 with Joseph E. Stiglitz (author, "The $3 Trillion War - The True Cost of The Iraq War") . Currently available Joseph Stiglitz related videos on YouTube. Also, see this lecture by Stiglitz.  

In an unprecedented, premature move, McCain picks super lobbyist to head transition team  "In a case of “premature election-action,” the McCain campaign named Washington über-lobbyist William E. Timmons, Sr. as the head of his presidential transition team. Timmons, according to a report in Time magazine, is being assisted by former Navy Secretary and 9/11 Commission cover-up co-conspirator John Lehman ... The public selection of a transition team head prior to the election is practically unprecedented in modern American politics, another indication that the American public is being psychologically primed for another stolen presidential election and the fait accompli of a McCain-Palin administration prior to the November 4 election ... Timmons, along with his son, have built up Timmons & Company as a deep-pocketed lobbying firm in a city full of lobbying firms. Timmons represents anything but change for a McCain administration. In fact, Timmons is tied to all the bêtes noires of the Republican Party over the last generation and a half: Watergate, Tongsun Park and Koreagate, and the Ford administration and its two top advisers, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. Timmons was Richard Nixon’s congressional liaison who tried to derail the impeachment of Nixon for the Watergate scandal ..."

Russia ratchets up US tensions with arms sales to Iran and Venezuela  "Russia snubbed its nose at the United States today by announcing plans to sell military equipment to both Iran and Venezuela."

Up To 500 Bank Closures Could Absorb FDIC Funds   "Mark Patterson, chairman of private equity fund , told an audience of financial experts at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria this week that the U.S. could suffer up to 500 bank closures and that the chances of a new great depression are now as high as 25 per cent. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which guarantees individual accounts up to $100,000, only has about $50 billion to “insure” about $1 trillion in assets across the nation’s financial institutions. This has led top economists like Nouriel Roubini, of NYU’s Stern School and RGE Monitor, to openly warn that a "slow motion run on the banks" is already occurring nationwide as individuals move their deposits to safer havens. Patterson put the figure at 300-500 bank failures presuming that other well known investment banks survive, something he said “was not such a good assumption.”  

Senate passes $612 Billion defense spending bill   In other words, "screw the population, we're terminally addicted to the game". 

Bright Side of a Total Financial Market Collapse     "One of life's rules is that there's bad in good and good in bad. The total collapse of the U.S. financial system is no exception. Even in the midst of the current financial despair we can look around and identify many collateral benefits ...."   Related:  Financial Meltdown 2008 - "What It Means to You" | Meltdown 2008 Other Observations | The Great 2008 Transfer of Wealth | Extraordinary Times, Intentional Collapse, and Takedown of the U.S.A.

U.S. kills Pres. Karzai's associate -"mistaken for Taliban"     "US-led international forces have shot dead a close associate of the Afghan President Hamid Karzai after "mistaking him for a Taliban militant". 

McCain says US not "in decline"    "Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Sept 17th he rejected the view that the United States was in decline as the country faces economic turmoil. "I reject the doom and gloom that says our nation is in decline. America's best days are ahead of us," McCain said during a visit to a factory of US car manufacturer General Motors in Lake Orion in the Midwestern state of Michigan .."   Lake Orion .... McCain is ...sigh ... beyond fucking words. Too bad he wasn't killed when he started the conflagration on the Forrestal that killed 135 others.  Related: White House rivals war over deepening financial crisis| McCain: ‘Fundamentals of the Economy Are Strong.’ |Ron Paul predicted this economic collapse a year ago  (Video) | Obama pulls ahead as McCain trips up on economy | McCain's economic adviser out of limelight after gaffe

18 Minions Watching TV on Side of Highway Killed By Bus    "A speeding bus has run over villagers watching TV on the side of a highway in eastern India, killing at least 18 and wounding 18 others."  Back to nature you go. The other 18 will watch a different channel next time, right?  Related: Two Hindu rioters killed in India | Sri Lanka violence leaves 71 dead 

Maternal ' flu shots' ' protect newborns'  They contradict themselves:  "Flu shots given to pregnant women a month or more before delivery will prevent most cases of influenza during the first six months of their babies' lives, researchers said .... The shots are not licensed for children younger than six months old -- who are in turn more likely to be hospitalized for influenza than any other group."  Well, if they're not licensed for younger than six, why are they recommending it for pre-natal use? Stupid fucking people. Anyone who buys into vaccines as a viable concept deserves what they get.

Morgan, Goldman Shares Decline as Confidence Wanes  "Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the largest independent securities firms in the U.S., fell for an eighth day in New York trading amid a crisis of confidence in financial companies." 

Global Finance Capitalism is “Functionally Bankrupt"    " .... Nations outside the Western sphere of influence, most notably Russia , have declared that “enough is enough.” For Russia and nations such as Venezuela and Iran , and likely many more struggling with the question of where their real interests lie, a unipolar world where the U.S. military serves as the police force for the New World Order’s outrageously overextended financial empire is no longer acceptable. Basically there are only two options for a nation that has painted itself into a corner by hosting a predatory financial system, including the system of dollar hegemony where other nations purchase that nation’s debt to finance its fiscal and trade deficits. So what does that nation do when those other nations start to resist? The options are 1) to continue to subjugate those other nations through covert or overt warfare, which is what the U.S. has been doing since the national security state took over in the 1950s; or 2) change its financial system to one that is non-predatory and does not require a steady diet of victims to assuage its internal contradictions and appetite for gain .... Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin may be the most dangerous political candidates in the history of the U.S. They are the representatives of the Bush-Cheney -Neocon-Zionist-Cabal that seems to view World War III as not only the favored method to avoid facing our economic plight but also something really exciting and justifiable in its own right. McCain fits in perfectly with that view—the only thing that really seems to turn him on is the prospect of more war .... Democrat Barack Obama, far from being the peace candidate he seemed to be early in his election bid, when he said he opposed the Iraq War from the start, has clarified his position to mean that he opposed that war because we should have been focusing our military efforts more on Afghanistan and Pakistan .... Their positions, which justify thoroughly documented U.S. aggression, misjudgment, and falsehoods in the Georgia debacle, are utterly irresponsible. Though Obama and Biden do not seem to be as pathologically attached to warfare as McCain/Palin, their passive acquiescence to the imperatives of a foreign policy based on armed world conflict could just as easily lead to World War III .... Obama-Biden appear to be the candidates most favored by the U.S. establishment elite, headed by the New York financial circles that provided the backbone of the Democratic Leadership Council which put Bill Clinton into office .... (all this) comes at a time when the failure of government to work on behalf of the people rather than the corporate and financial controllers is clearly the real problem. Government has an essential role to play in assuring prosperity and fairness, which Libertarianism is ideologically incapable of addressing ..."   Unfortunately, his solution is that a "nationalist party" would have to assume command and do certain things ... none of which will change the game.

New UN Chair Calls Georgia Aggressor   "Brockmann spoke about the need to reform the UN Security Council at a closed session, saying that some of the members of the Security Council are a threat to world peace because of their inability to overcome their passion for war."  Related: New General Assembly President calls for democratization of United Nations "The state of our world today is deplorable, inexcusable and, therefore, shameful. What Tolstoy denounced as ‘mad selfishness’ explains why, as trillions of dollars are spent on wars of aggression, more than half the world’s people languish in hunger and destitution."  Schröder urges Europe to warm to Moscow  "Adopting a strong, at times passionate, pro-Russian stance, the former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder has roundly criticized the United States on several fronts, warning NATO against offering membership to Georgia and opposing Pentagon plans to base its anti-ballistic missile shield in Eastern Europe."

Russia to share space technology with Cuba   "Russia intends to share its space technology with Cuba, and has begun discussions on building a space center in the country, the Russian space agency said on Sept 17th."  The warhawks will see this as an opportunity to invade Cuba again.  Related: Russia signs pacts committing itself to defense of South Ossetia and Abkhazia | Russia should unilaterally claim part of the Arctic | Russia Gives Banks Cash, Halts Stock Trading to Head Off Crisis  

GAO Auditors Question Interior Dept Collection of Energy Royalties    "Congressional auditors are questioning whether the Interior Department is collecting all the royalties energy companies owe for petroleum developed on federal property. The auditors' findings expand on concerns raised last week by a sex and drugs scandal at the department's agency in charge of managing offshore oil and natural-gas exploration."

McCain on U.S. economy: From 'strong' to 'total crisis' in 36 hours   "On Monday morning, as Wall Street was absorbing one of the biggest shocks to the financial system in generations, Senator John McCain said he believed the fundamentals of the U.S. economy were "strong." Hours later he backpedaled, explaining that he meant that American workers, the backbone of the economy, were productive and resilient. By Tuesday he was calling the economic situation "a total crisis" and decrying "greed" in Wall Street and Washington." McCain (the man who dumped his first wife to marry a drug-addicted heiress) criticizing greed is like Jeffrey Dahmer criticizing cannibalism.

AIG Bailout: $85 Billion Bailout "Loan"  "In a bid to save financial markets and the economy from further turmoil, the US government agreed Tuesday to provide an $85 billion emergency loan to rescue the huge insurer AIG. The Federal Reserve said in a statement it determined that a disorderly failure of AIG could hurt the already delicate financial markets and the economy. The Fed said in return for the loan, the government will receive a 79.9 percent equity stake in AIG." 

Study on Bisphenol Plastics Deliberately Designed to Not Allow Results to Be Linked to Cause     "A study has for the first time linked a common chemical used in everyday products such as plastic drink containers and baby bottles to health problems, specifically heart disease and diabetes. British researchers, who published their findings on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, analyzed urine and blood samples from 1,455 U.S. adults aged 18 to 74 who were representative of the general population. Using government health data, they found that the 25 percent of people with the highest levels of bisphenol A in their bodies were more than twice as likely to have heart disease and, or diabetes compared to the 25 percent of with the lowest levels ... This is the first ever study (of this kind) that has been in the general population ... Steven Hentges of the American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry group, said the design of the study did not allow for anyone to conclude BPA causes heart disease and diabetes. "At least from this study, we cannot draw any conclusion that bisphenol A causes any health effect. As noted by the authors, further research will be needed to understand whether these statistical associations have any relevance at all for human health," Hentges said in a telephone interview." Of course they designed the study to by-pass consequences and remedy.

Pilot's mind affected, loses control as Aeroflot plane with Russian general aboard crashes     "The pilot of the Aeroflot jet that crashed killing all 88 people on board ignored commands from air traffic controllers, probably contributing to Russia's worst air disaster in two years, according to news reports Monday ... Flight controller Irek Bikbov told state-run Channel One TV that the pilot was behaving strangely, disobeying orders to descend on the final approach and instead taking the jet to a higher altitude. "I informed the pilot that he has reached a point where he should go down," Bikbov said in an audio recording broadcast on TV. "He confirmed he was going down but kept climbing." Bikbov then ordered the pilot to make a second run, but instead of making the right turn he turned left. When he asked the pilot whether things were normal on board, the pilot answered positively but his voice was strained as if under stress, Bikbov said. "He was behaving in a strange manner and wasn't following my orders," Bikbov said. The last thing controllers heard was a scream in the cockpit seconds before the plane crashed."  Related: Russia investigates 'mysterious' Aeroflot jet crash "... The airline earlier confirmed there were no survivors and said the dead included nine people from Azerbaijan, five from Ukraine and one each from France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States ... The foreign ministry in Kiev said six Ukrainians perished in the disaster ... Among the Russian victims was General Gennady Troshev, a former top commander of Russia's war in Chechnya and advisor to ex-president Vladimir Putin ..." I say electromagnetic weapons and a little sabotage snuff one general.

23 minions dead, 8 injured in stampede to collect $4.25 cash handout     "At least 23 Indonesians were crushed to death Monday while trying to collect $4.25 in cash handouts from a rich family at a charity event marking the Islamic holy month, officials said. Eight others were critically injured in the stampede."  It's sad, sad world ... sigh ... back to nature you go. Wasn't it fun? In a marginally related story, solely because of the simplistic stupidity of those involved: Saudi Arabian cleric: Mickey Mouse must die "Sheikh Muhammad Munajid claimed the mouse is "one of Satan's soldiers" and makes everything it touches impure. The cleric, a former diplomat at the Saudi embassy in Washington DC, said that under Sharia, both household mice and their cartoon counterparts must be killed."

Bush family cleaning up on transfer of public lands to private hands     "WMR has learned from a senior Democratic congressional source that the Bush family, most notably former President George H. W. Bush, is reaping windfall profits from the transfer of title of public federal and state lands to private hands. The elder Bush, according to our sources, has a vested financial interest in land title companies that specialize in the transfer of public lands to private interests. The revelations represent the first evidence that the elder Bush has benefited from the transfer of public lands to private hands in a giant scheme to defraud federal and state governments, as well as the American taxpayers and Native Americans. The land-grabbing scheme primarily involves the transfer of federal lands, including Native American lands and national forest system lands, in the Rocky Mountain West, state lands in Texas, and both federal and state lands in California, Mississippi, and Florida to private entities. The scheme is also at the center of the scandal surrounding jailed GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff who conspired to privatize federal lands and assets around the country to benefit his corporate clients. In 2004, under pressure from Abramoff and the White House, Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Jim Gibbons (R-NV) shepherded the passage of the Western Shoshone Distribution Act, which was quickly signed by President George W. Bush ... the Bush administration ordered a number of California and other Western state forest wildfires purposefully set with the intention of damaging and destroying federal and state forestlands, thus making them ripe for exploitation and sale to private interests.... In Florida, under both Governors Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist, the St. Joe Company, a firm that has close financial ties to both Jeb and George H. W. Bush, has steadily encroached on lands adjacent to state and federal wildlife management preserves, state forests and parks, and national forests. "  Related:  Planning begins for prosecution of Bush war crimes   

Ukraine governing coalition collapses     "The speaker of the Ukrainian parliament has announced the collapse of the pro-Western governing coalition."

Russian politician convinced Iran Will Be Attacked By US and Israel by Nov 5th     Video, with translation.  Here is a better interview with Surgey Markov, State Duma Deputy on a UK television program about US attitude and what's happening.

German paper exposes CIA link to “Islamic” terror plot    "According to information from sources within the German authorities, a German contact person for the CIA was involved in the planning of what would have been the largest Islamic terror attacks on German soil. He supposedly helped transport 20 detonators."    

Global banks brace for derivative blow-up    "The world's major couterparties on the $US455 trillion derivatives market go into technical default and no one is sure what is going to happen."    

Lehman Brothers Hired Jeb Bush in 2007 As Advisor To Its Private Equity Business    "Lehman Brothers has hired Jeb Bush, brother of the President of the United States, as an advisor to its private equity business, a source familiar with the situation said. Lehman hired another relative of U.S. President George W. Bush last year--George Walker, a second cousin, who heads up the bank's asset management business. Jeb Bush is the former governor of Florida. Lehman Brothers declined to comment."  Related:  Where Was Lehman’s Board?  Nine of them are retired. Four of them are over 75 years old. One is a theater producer, another a former Navy admiral. Only two have direct experience in the financial-services industry.

NASA patents to be auctioned    "A suite of 25 patents for technology developed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center will be put up for sale at a live intellectual property auction being held in October by Ocean Tomo Auctions LLC in Chicago."  NASA is taxpayer funded. Any patents they develop are the property of the American people. At least in the early years, such technological developments were considered public domain and available for commercial exploitation to all. So the GOP is once again taking assets paid for by the people, and selling them off for cash.   

Pakistani forces clash with NATO troops    "Pakistani security forces have repulsed a ground attack by the NATO troops at Pakistan-Afghanistan border in South Waziristan, sources say."    

Biden: McCain sequel worse than Bush   "Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden says Republican John McCain would be a sequel worse than US President George W. Bush."   No shit. Either side will get into a conflict, though. 

EU ministers approve international probe into Georgia conflict   "A proposal to hold an international investigation into last month's conflict in Georgia has been backed by the 27 EU foreign ministers, the French foreign minister said on Sept 15th. 

Russia's Baltic Fleet starts week-long exercise   "Russia's Baltic Fleet has launched a week-long scheduled exercise, the navy press service said on Sept 15th. It said the exercise, which will last through September 22, involves over 20 warships and more than 10 support and auxiliary vessels, as well as 15 fixed and rotary winged aircraft." 

Cheney Scales New Heights of Hypocrisy  "While Alaska Governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin is getting all the attention, the current vice president, Dick Cheney, was able to pontificate about Russia and Georgia with barely any notice from the media. However, while hardly anyone was watching, Mr. Cheney echoed the hypocrisy of his boss, President George Bush. While traveling in Italy, Mr. Cheney decided to become the moral arbiter of Russia’s foreign policies. His incredible remarks are worth studying."  

Israel slated to buy US smart bombs  "DoD approves deal; Congress has 1 month to object; missiles would be crucial to strike on Iran." Israel would have the weapons by the November election.

IAEA confirms nuclear Iran on right track     "The IAEA says it has been able to 'verify the non-diversion' of Iran's nuclear work and called for increased cooperation ** with the agency."  Related:  US threatens Iran with new sanctions "The White House has threatened Iran with the possibility of further sanctions, should the Islamic Republic continue to enrich uranium."  US, Israel expect IAEA Iran report to boost sanction efforts "The United States and Israel hope that a new report from the UN's nuclear agency showing Iran continuing to enrich uranium and blocking its investigation will breathe new life into efforts to sanction the Islamic Republic." [9/16] **? IAEA: Teheran blocking weapons probe  [9/15/08, Israel]    

Russia says no to war, sanctions on Iran  "Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says he will not accept military action or new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear activities."  Related: US stonewalling Ahmadinejad visa process  scheduled to address the General Assembly on September 23. US a step closer to Iran blockade   

McCain, Palin defiant in trying to "lie" their way into the White House  "Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin stand accused Monday of trying to "lie" their way into the White House with discredited claims and advertising -- and it's not just outgunned Democrats crying foul."  Related: Palin’s links to Christian Fundamentalism Permeating Republican Party | Palin Reveals Herself to Be As Insane as McCain Real News Commentary video (with great commentary by Pepe Escobar) Palin behaves like a pathetic putz! She's dangerous, naive, gullible and supremely ignorant.

Bolivia Expels U.S. Ambassador  Real News Video. Ambassador Goldberg cast out, after causing discord in Bolivia. Philip Goldberg took part in financing the separatist process that was being cultivated in the background to pierce the Bolivian regime. Related:  US warns Morales of 'serious' effects  [9/15/08] "US Ambassador to Bolivia Philip Goldberg has warned that his expulsion from the country will lead to serious consequences."   Lead to what? Pissing off the cabal?  Bolivia: Evolving Political Crisis

Shock waves hit Wall St. as 2 big firms fall    "In a stunning reshaping of America's financial landscape, two venerable Wall Street firms fell from the shock waves of a credit crisis that has plunged the financial system into turmoil, as stocks tumbled across the globe Monday in response ..."  

Banks pledge $70b loan to calm markets   "Ten of the world's biggest banks have planned a $70 billion loan program to bolster worldwide liquidity and ease the credit shortage. The banks said in a joint statement late Sunday that they have agreed to create a "collateralized borrowing facility” with each bank contributing $7 billion to help ease access to credit. The 10 banks are Bank of America Corp, Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc, Credit Suisse Group, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Merrill Lynch & Co, Morgan Stanley and UBS AG."   

Photo evidence of Georgian peacekeepers’ sabotage training by US forces  "Seven photos. The Abkhazian law enforcement agencies have handed over photographs to Russia that will likely serve as evidence that foreign instructors trained Georgian peacekeepers for sabotage and subversion."   

Obama: cross-border raids by the US forces into Pakistan a small step in right direction    Stupid man, stupid planet. 

Pakistan fires at US helicopters  "Pakistan has reportedly fired warning shots at US-led helicopters, repelling them as they entered the country's tribal region. "The US-led coalition troops in helicopters came close to the border and they tried to enter into Pakistan territory in the early hours of Monday but shots were fired by Pakistani troops and the coalition troops retreated," AFP quoted a security official as saying Monday. The incident took place near Angor Adda village in South Waziristan, where US troops carried out a heli-borne raid earlier this month and killed at least 20 people including women and children."   

US faces the F-16s it supplied Pakistan  "The US is faced with the uneasy scenario of confronting the very same weapons and military hardware, including F-16 fighter jets, it has armed Pakistan with for decades."   

Pakistani jets 'sent to confront US drones'     "Pakistan has ordered its jet fighters to confront any attack by the US-led coalition forces on the tribal belt near the Afghan border."  Related: 'Bush playing with fire in Pakistan'  "US congressman Dennis Kucinich says President George W. Bush's authorization of attacks inside Pakistan will further destabilize the world."  Crisis looming for US' Pakistan raids "Pakistan opposition lawmakers warn the United States to respect its borders or else the country will stop all support in the war on terror."  US, NATO at odds over Pak incursion  "NATO says it will not take part in US's unilateral strategy of conducting cross-border raids into Pakistani tribal belt near Afghan border." Pak army ordered to hit back US forces  "The Pakistani Army has been given orders to retaliate against any unilateral strike by the Afghanistan-based US troops inside the country."

Palin 'prepared for war with Russia on Georgia'    "Lipstick on a pig" is a very apropos metaphor for Palin. "Sarah Palin warned yesterday she would be prepared to go to war with Russia to protect Georgia in her first interview since John McCain chose her as his vice-presidential nominee. "I mean, that is the agreement when you  are a Nato ally. If another country is attacked, you're going to be expected to be called upon to help."  Georgia attacked Russia, you stupid bimbo ... pay attention. Everyone knows. You're an idiot! In a related story: Palin: War in Iraq, response to 9/11  "Republican vice-presidential pick Sarah Palin has renewed the discredited claim that the war in Iraq was a response to the 9/11 attacks." Inhofe Again Equates Iraq With 9/11   These people are so disconnected from reality, it's hilarious.

UK Claim: 'Who the fuck are you to lecture me?': Russian minister's rant at David Miliband    "The UK Foreign Secretary received the undiplomatic tongue-lashing over the telephone after expressing the EU's anger with the Kremlin, it was revealed yesterday. Mr Miliband was 'surprised' by the ferocity of the verbal attack and the nature of the language, an insider close to the Foreign Secretary added. It came as he put forward objections to the ;Russian invasion of Georgia' following a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels last month."  Russian Response to UK Claim: No 'F' in diplomacy  Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko has flatly denied the reports, telling Interfax on Saturday, “It is not characteristic of Russian Foreign Ministers to use profane language. Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov is a very experienced diplomat, and he is always correct in commenting on these or those events in international affairs,” “Such leaks are probably aimed at attaining political ends and pouring oil on the flames of hysteria surrounding Russia's actions in the Caucasus, and they are incompatible with the spirit of relations between Russia and the United Kingdom,” Nesterenko added. He went on to confirm that the Russian Foreign Ministry is preparing a detailed transcript of the phone conversation between the two Ministers, while Lavrov intends to personally comment on his conversation with Miliband within the next few days.  Note: Whomever is telling the truth, it remains that Miliband is just another idiot puppet.  The EU stood silently by, indeed assisted, as the US invaded Afghanistan and Iraq on the basis of lies, then has the audacity to chastise Russia for RESPONDING to an attack by Georgia.  

U.S. ambassador ordered to leave Venezuela  "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez exposes a coup attempt sponsored by U.S.-backed interests, gives U.S. ambassador Patrick Duddy 72 hours to leave the country." [9/12/08]

Wahhabi cleric issues TV murder decree    "Saudi's top judiciary official has issued a religious decree saying the owners of television networks broadcasting immoral content may be killed."  Well, there goes their purchase of South Park videos.

Israel irked by Iran-Russia military ties    "Israel has urged Russia to turn a blind eye to its military deals with Georgia and to halt its sale of advanced weapons to Iran and Syria."  Not going to happen.

Lehman's 158-year run on Wall Street set to come to abrupt end    "Executives at Lehman Brothers, the 158-year-old Wall Street bank that has been brought to the brink of collapse, are set for a long weekend of negotiation as potential acquirers pored over its books and regulators agitated for a deal to restore confidence to battered financial markets."  Good.

Soaring commodity prices push Japan to brink of recession    "Japan's economy, the second largest in the world, is on the brink of recession, as evidence grows that the economic woes afflicting Europe and America are spreading eastwards."

Albanian witness in U.S. arms probe dies suddenly    "Albania's government said on Friday it was looking into the sudden death of an arms industry figure who was helping prosecutors investigate a weapons sale to the United States and an explosion that killed 26 people." 

Rumors propel gas prices to near $6 a gallon in parts of Florida    "Gasoline prices rose to nearly $5.50 a gallon in parts of Florida on Friday when rumors of a fuel shortage spread across the state." 

Latest US Drone Strike in North Waziristan Kills at Least 14    "Pakistan’s military has confirmed that at about 5:30 AM this morning a US drone struck a home and a former government school near the North Waziristan town of Miramshah. The strike killed at least 14 people and injured 12 others."   The US military understands full well that these kinds of strikes guarantee two things: the killing of more innocent civilians, and the radicalizing those left standing even further from the current Pakistani government, on purpose, to create a dynamic which they will then rail against, as usual. It's the MO for the U.S.

The little known "false flag" attack to make a killing on the speculation market    "Prior to the 9/11 attacks, insider trading “put options” were placed on United and American Airlines stocks. The speculative options on United were placed between September 6 and 7, 2001 and on American on September 10 at the Chicago Board of Options Exchange." 

UK: Up to 30 more airlines will go bankrupt before Christmas    "Scenes of chaos in which 85,000 passengers have been stranded at locations around the world after the collapse of XL, Britain's third largest holiday company, would become a familiar sight as the travel industry struggled with soaring fuel costs and the effects of a global economic downturn. "We are in the worst trading environment the industry has ever seen", said Mr Walsh. "We have already seen 30 or so airlines go bust this year and it would be fair to expect a similar number of casualties worldwide over the next three to four months."

Rogue Israeli Mossad-British Team Behind French Students Assassination    "Both French students, Bonomo and Ferez, were studying at the prestigious London Imperial College researching the origins of bird flu and the link to the alleged vaccines." 

Russian Poll: 84% Say Truth About 9/11 Being Deliberately Hidden    "A new poll from a major Russian news outlet reveals that 84% believe that the truth behind the 9/11 attacks is being deliberately hidden by the U.S. government." 

U.S. Foreclosures Hit Record in August 2008   "Owners of 303,879 properties, or 1 in 416 U.S. households, got a default notice, were warned of a pending auction or foreclosed on ... Filings increased 27 percent from a year earlier ... The worst housing slump since the 1930s shows little sign of abating ... August filings were 11 percent higher than the previous record of 273,001 set in May ..."  Related: U.S. Economy: Retail Sales Unexpectedly Drop; Prices Decline  Idiots. How could it have been unexpected?

Paulson Adamant No Government Money for Lehman  "... The U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is adamant that no government money be used to rescue Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc...."  Good. 

Olbermann: Bush Administration's "Criminal Neglect" Allowed 9/11 Attacks To Occur  "MSNBC host Keith Olbermann perhaps went further than ever before last night in his special comment about the 9/11 anniversary, slamming the Bush administration for their "criminal neglect" in allowing the attacks to occur and identifying the continued exploitation of 9/11 "sociological pornography" as the only reason that Bush hasn't been impeached."  A myopic view. Olbermann cannot accept that the Bush administration DID the attack. In related stories: "Next US terror attack 'could be by white Americans or Europeans"  Just like the last one | Comic Forced To Apologise For Citing 9/11 Theories | Italian 911 Documentary Opens In Russia - Rejected By US Media  Video Clip  "On the anniversary of 9/11, an Italian-produced documentary called ZERO, investigating the tragedy, is opening in Russia. The authors believe that the U.S. official version of events surrounding the attacks can't be true. U.S. networks have rejected the film." | General Stupidity and Ignorance of Populations Proportional to Root Belief in US Gov't Story of 911   

Bush: Iranians Are ‘Assholes’  " In his new book “The War Within,” Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward details a telling White House meeting on Iran in spring 2007 (p. 334): “I think we need to do something to get engaged with these guys,” Fallon said. Iraq shared a 900-mile border with Iran, and he needed guidance and a strategy for dealing with the Iranians. “Well,” Bush said, “these are assholes.” Fallon was stunned. Declaring them “assholes” was not a strategy. Lots of words and ideas were thrown around at the meeting, especially about the Iranian leaders. They were bad, evil, out of touch with their people. But no one offered a real approach."   Sigh. Always friction between competing psychologically disturbed rebel Orion (or 'illuminati')  factions. Have a cookie, Georgie, because you're probably one of the biggest assholes on the planet. See below (I keep posting this, because it's apropos) 

  

US to invade Iran any day now?  "A few weeks ago the Russian newspaper Izvestia, a well-known and authoritative daily published nationwide and abroad, came forward with something that would have been looked upon as a conspiracy theory if published by a tabloid. The paper suggested that by attacking South Ossetia, the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili had badly damaged a planned U.S. military operation against Iran. In the newspaper's opinion Georgia was supposed to play the role of another "unsinkable aircraft carrier" for the U.S., i.e. an operational and tactical base for U.S. aircraft that would be making bombing raids into Iran. Something akin to what Thailand was in the Vietnam war. Thailand certainly benefited from the arrangement, and Georgia would have too, insists the paper, if its President hadn't put his ambitions above the US national interest and ended up beaten, disarmed, chewing on his neckties and totally incapable of providing whatever the U.S. needs from him. That's why, according to Izvestia in yet another article on the matter, the U.S. response to the Russian retaliation was harsh in words but very mild in action. The latest on the issue suggests that Mikhail Saakashvili may be replaced any day now by direct order from Washington ... "

Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan  " ... Bush secretly approved orders in July that for the first time allow American Special Operations forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials ..."

Israel asked U.S. for arms, air corridor to attack Iran - Got Defensive Weapons Instead  "The security aid package the United States has refused to give Israel for the past few months out of concern that Israel would use it to attack nuclear facilities in Iran included a large number of "bunker-buster" bombs, permission to use an air corridor to Iran, an advanced technological system and refueling planes ... About a month ago, Haaretz reported that the Bush administration had turned down an Israeli request for certain security items that could upgrade Israel's capability to attack Iran. The U.S. administration reportedly saw the request as a sign preparations were moving ahead for an Israeli attack on Iran ... An attack on Iran would apparently require passage through Iraqi air space. For this to occur, an air corridor would be needed that Israeli fighter jets could cross without being targeted by American planes or anti-aircraft missiles. The Americans also turned down this request ... An air attack on Iran would require refueling of fighter jets on the way back. According to a report on Channel 10 a few weeks ago, the U.S. rejected an Israeli request for more advanced refueling tankers, of the Boeing 767 model ... it appears that in compensation for turning down Israel's "offensive" requests, the U.S. has agreed to strengthen its defensive systems. During the Barak visit, it was agreed that an advanced U.S. radar system would be stationed in the Negev, and the order to send it was made at that time. The system would double to 2,000 kilometers the range of identification of missiles launched from the direction of Iran, and would be connected to an American early warning system. The system is to be operated by American civilians as well as two American soldiers. This would be the first permanent U.S. force on Israeli soil. A senior security official said the Americans were preparing "with the greatest speed" to make good on their promise, and the systems could be installed within a month. At the beginning of the year, the Israeli leadership still considered it a reasonable possibility that Bush would decide to attack Iran before the end of his term. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in private discussions, even raised the possibility that the U.S. was considering an attack in the transition period between the election in November and the inauguration of the new president in January 2009. However, Jerusalem now assumes that likelihood of this possibility is close to nil, and that Bush will use the rest of his time in office to strengthen what he defines as the Iraqi achievement, following the relative success of American efforts there over the past year and a half.  Related: Seven ways Israel could haunt the 2008 campaign

Putin Sees No Grounds for Cold War    "Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sees no grounds for another Cold War with the West, Interfax reported. Vladimir Putin made the respective statement in Sochi on Thursday, during the meeting with members of Valdai International Debating Club. Russia and the West are to agree on the common rules of coexistence, create new system of security, the prime minister made clear. “We have no ideological contradictions, no basis for the Cold War. To the contrary, we have lots of common problems, which could be efficiently resolved only by joining the efforts,” Putin said. Amid those global problems, Putin went on, are the terrorism, infectious diseases, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. “If we agree on the common rules, it will be a significant element of stability in the world,” the prime minister emphasized, adding that “attaining stability calls for the movement from both sides.” 

Corruption in Bush Administration    "A group of US officials engaged in financial and moral corruption with some oil company employees have been arrested and are in US custody."  Related: Gov't officials probed about illicit sex, gifts

Ex-CIA Exec Facing Trial Says He'll Expose Agents, Programs   "A former top CIA official accused of corruption and fraud is threatening to expose the identities of numerous agents and programs as part of his defense, prosecutors said. In a court filing, prosecutors allege that former CIA executive director Kyle "Dusty" Foggo is trying to gum up the works of his trial, scheduled for November, by delving into classified information that is irrelevant to his case. Foggo is charged with 28 counts of wire and mail fraud, unlawful money transactions and making false statements." 

Nationalization of US Mortgage Companies -F.Mae and Mac   Real News Video  "Officials said that both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were being placed in a government conservatorship, but declined to use the word "nationalization"  ...These two institutions currently either hold or guarantee half of all the mortgages in the United States. Their portfolio of over five trillion dollars of mortgage assets would be an enormous burden, probably unsupportable burden, for our financial system ... Housing prices are falling faster presently than they were during the Great Depression. This is very serious. Paul Krugman noted in the editorial page in The New York Times quite accurately that this is shaping up like the crisis in Japan in the early 1990s. That cost them a decade of economic growth. We've lost over 600,000 jobs here in the United States since the beginning of the year, as the economy has clearly entered a recession, in my view. And unless we can intervene more actively than anything that's been done to this point—and that's why a retooled Fannie and Freddie under government control need to play such an important part in helping to restructure the mortgages of these people that are really struggling to stay in their homes ..."

U.S. House Votes To End Mexican Truck Program   "The U.S. House of Representatives defied a White House veto threat on Tuesday by voting to end a controversial pilot program that gives long-haul commercial trucks from Mexico full access to U.S. highways. The bill, approved 395-18, would reverse a decision by the Transportation Department to continue the program, which was begun last year under NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement."  Olè!

Israel 'Bans' Arms Dealers from Visiting Georgia   " ... Of interest is that the Israeli government ordered the freeze because of objections from Russia. In Israel, they apprehend that the Kremlin may set to large-scale supplies of sophisticated weapons to the states of the Middle East that are hostile to Israel, including Iran. A day before, Russia’s General Staff Deputy Chief General-Colonel Anatoly Nogovitsyn told foreign ambassadors and military attaches that the General Staff had no data about the continuation of military cooperation of Georgia and Israel. At the same time, Nogovitsyn confirmed that Israel had supplied to Tbilisi eight drones, including four Hermes 450 spying drones. Those drones were spying in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Nogovitsyn reminded, adding that the Israeli experts trained Georgian military to operate the drones in 2007. Besides, Israel supplied to Georgia more than 100 sets of mine-clearing charges used to make passages in the antitank minefields and 50 sets used for the passages in the antipersonnel minefields, as well as 500 sets of camouflage nets." But will this affect US arms shipments? No. Related: Russia for Georgian Arms Embargo  " ... Russia introduced a draft resolution to the UN Security Council to place an embargo on arms shipments to Georgia. “It is in the interests of all sides,” Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin told Agence France Presse. He admitted that several members of the council, especially the United States, are likely to block the resolution." 

U.S. 'Demands' Russia Quit Georgia   No, you first. The US can't really make demands ... but they think they can .. delusional people. 

NASA To Explore Secret Layer Of Sun  I want to see: "Sun To Explore Secret Layer of NASA" . But, the Sun doesn't give a shit any more than we do, about people who aren't even intelligent enough to give a shit about themselves, who pretend they know something . It's their job to hide the truth, and discuss things that don't matter and no one gives a shit about in our lifetime ... which is about over anyway.

Minion Girl Suicides in India Fearing 'End Of World' Due To Collider Experiment   Poor dumb excuse for a broccoli ...back to nature you go!  Related: Amish Farmers See Mark Of The Beast In RFID Livestock Tags  It's another freak show, courtesy of Geee zusss. Yah Ya!

U.S. Intel Sees It Russia's Way - Georgia Conflict Hearings    "American intelligence confirms that the latest military actions in South Ossetia were started by Georgia and Russia’s position in the conflict was correct, says Republican California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. He said the situation reminded him of the Bay of Tonkin incident, which the U.S. used as a pretext for beginning the war in Vietnam. "The Russians are right! We're wrong! Georgia started it, the Russians ended it," Rohrabacher said at a hearing in the House of Representatives. Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried said U.S. intelligence was still working on an exact chronology of the events of August 7 to verify Georgian claims that Russian forces were in Roki Tunnel, linking Russia to South Ossetia, before Georgia attacked. Fried said that the Bush administration had forcefully and repeatedly warned the Georgians against beginning military actions against Russia, and he was unable to say why Georgia (with zionists in the administration and Israeli vacation homes everywhere) chose to ignore that advice. Nonetheless, Fried acknowledged that supporting Georgia was in U.S. interests, even if it considers the countries actions foolish. Russia acknowledged the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on August 26. Those republics requested that recognition after Georgian forces almost completely ruined Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, in the course of the event of August 8-12. More than 1500 civilians were killed in that time, according to South Ossetian authorities."  Related: U.S. Examined Beginning of War " ... The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives held hearings on the recent war in Georgia. During the debates high-ranking State Department and Pentagon officials actually admitted that it was Tbilisi that started the hostilities attacking South Ossetia. This said, Washington virtually acknowledged the chronology Russia regards real ... It’s the first time the U.S. recognized at the high level that Georgia unleashed hostilities in South Ossetia. Earlier only U.S. Ambassador in Moscow John Beyrle made this the point in his August interview with Kommersant, “Russia’s troops reasonably responded to the assault on the Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia.” ... However, admitting Georgia’s attack on Tskhinvali, Washington doesn’t renounce its view of Russia’s line as “aggressive”. “The U.S. shows support for Georgia’s security, independence, and territorial integrity. U.S. policy is to demonstrate to Russia that its aggressive actions do not serve its national interest, will not be tolerated, and will not be cost free,” Mr Edelman stated ..." More:  US administration's stance on Georgia attacked by Congress  (9/11/08)

Reduced Dominance Is Predicited For U.S.    Duh  "An intelligence forecast being prepared for the next president on future global risks envisions a steady decline in U.S. dominance in the coming decades, as the world is reshaped by globalization, battered by climate change, and destabilized by regional upheavals over shortages of food, water and energy."  But, it's already true NOW ... the U.S. has already declined ... and knows it ... prefers technological bullying over rationality and escape from denial.

Pentagon Admits Afghan Strategy Not Working    "The U.S. military conceded it was not winning the battle against an increasingly deadly insurgency in Afghanistan and said on Wednesday it would revise its strategy for the region to include militant safe havens in neighboring Pakistan."

Russia Plans 7,600 Force In Georgia Regions   Of course ... 

Pyongyang 'restarts' nuclear program    "North Korea has reported started to reassemble its main nuclear facility after the US failed to remove the state from a terrorism blacklist."  The U.S. lied, and they simply said 'fuck you' to the U.S.   End of story.

Israel cabinet to hold meeting on Iran    "Israeli Radio has unveiled that the Israeli officials are concerned about the reports that Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station is near completion. Israel, which is the only possessor of nuclear arsenals in the Middle East, has repeatedly declared that it will resort to “any option” to halt Iran's nuclear enrichment program. As a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Iran is legally entitled to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. Last month a delegation from Atomstroyexport -- Russia's nuclear plant construction company -- arrived in Iran to discuss the completion of the Bushehr nuclear power plant"  (expected to be operational Feb 2009)

Iran urges UN action to Israeli threats   "Iran has called for a “resolute and clear response” from the United Nations to the dangerous Israeli threats against the Islamic republic." 

Pentagon to rebuild Georgian army   "The US says it is ready to send an assessment team to Georgia to study rebuilding the country's army against any further 'foreign aggression'. Speaking in a congressional hearing on the recent Georgia-Russia conflict, the US Under Secretary of Defense (Zionist) Eric Edelman said that Washington is going to respond to Georgia's "legitimate needs" and help Georgia rebuild its economy, infrastructure, and armed forces, AFP reported. "  The whole world knows the US/Georgia/Israeli faction attacked first. It's a matter being addressed in terms of an investigation by the EU, and others. The US administration is living in imagination land,  and totally in denial, believing that people believe them. They're nuts. 

MEPs urge Russian pull-out from Georgia   "The European Parliament has adopted a resolution advising Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia under a ceasefire agreement."  Nope. The US and Israelis also need to leave Georgia, for complete equity. Russia is a Scorpio country, and 'being surrounded' drives them nuts, historically. US doesn't comprehend this, or ignores it, because the US is a Cancer country, "do as we say, not as we do", and the EU does their bidding .... for now.

Russian troops stay in breakaway regions    "Russia says its troops will remain inside the Georgian breakaway regions for a long time to prevent any fresh 'military interventions'."  Good. They will stay there forever.  Russia drafted an arms embargo resolution on Georgia on Sept 9, 2008, at the UN Security Council, saying that "some countries" are re-arming Georgia in a move to threaten Georgia's independence-seeking provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

United States Still Using Barbaric Exotic EM Technologies To Kill Groups of People In Iraq  "Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward revealed to Larry King last night, Sept 8, 2008, that the U.S. has embarked on a "secret killing program" in Iraq which has dramatically reduced attacks on coalition troops by wiping out terrorists, but what could this secret weapon possibly be? The program -- which Woodward compares to the World War II era Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb -- must remain secret for now or it would "get people killed," Woodward said Monday on CNN's Larry King Live. "The top secret operations will "some day in history ... be described to people's amazement," Woodward told King. While he would not reveal the details, Woodward said the terrorists who have been targeted were already aware of the capabilities. "The enemy has a heads up because they've been getting wiped out and a lot of them have been killed," he said. "It's not news to them." ... For the weapon to be comparable to the atomic bomb, one would speculate that it must employ some kind of exotic new technology and is potentially related to neutron bomb and electromagnetic weapons research ... Woodward's discussion of the secret weapon wiping out alleged terrorists in large numbers suggests it may be a far more barbaric device than an EMP weapon, which would more traditionally be used against standing armies rather than scattered insurgents ... One possibility is that the weapon is something similar that described to film maker Patrick Dillon by Iraqi infantryman Majid al-Ghazali - a frightening giant flame-thrower type device that instead shoots out "concentrated lightning bolts" or radiation bursts that result in vehicles and people being almost literally liquidized ... During a street battle in Baghdad on April 12 2003, Al-Ghazali describes witnessing American troops unveil an oddly configured tank which "suddenly let loose a blinding stream of what seemed like fire and lightning, engulfing a large passenger bus and three automobiles." ... "Within seconds the bus had become semi-molten, sagging "like a wet rag" as he put it. He said the bus rapidly melted under this withering blast, shrinking until it was a twisted blob about the dimensions of a VW bug. As if that were not bizarre enough, al-Ghazali explicitly describes seeing numerous human bodies shriveled to the size of newborn babies. By the time local street fighting ended that day, he estimates between 500 and 600 soldiers and civilians had been cooked alive as a result of the mysterious tank-mounted device." ... Al-Ghazali adds that following the battle, U.S. troops were scrupulous about burying the evidence of the weapon's deadly consequences, but that telltale signs remained which he showed to journalist Dillon ... Dillon, a battlefield medic in Vietnam, Somalia and Kosovo, stated, "I've seen a freaking smorgasbord of destruction in my life, flame-throwers, napalm, white phosphorous, thermite, you name it. I know of nothing short of an H-bomb that conceivably might cause a bus to instantly liquefy or that can flash broil a human body down to the size of an infant. God pity humanity if that thing is a preview of what's in store for the 21st century." ... An interview with Majid al-Ghazali can be viewed below along with a further exploration of exotic weapons systems being employed in Iraq. Aid workers and others have backed up reports of terrifying new weapons systems being deployed that cause horrific injuries and agonizing deaths. Woodward's characterization of the victims merely as "terrorists" conceals the fact that a great number of the victims of these brutal weapons are no doubt innocent people caught up in the fighting ... An interview with Majid al-Ghazali can be viewed below along with a further exploration of exotic weapons systems being employed in Iraq. Aid workers and others have backed up reports of terrifying new weapons systems being deployed that cause horrific injuries and agonizing deaths. Woodward's characterization of the victims merely as "terrorists" conceals the fact that a great number of the victims of these brutal weapons are no doubt innocent people caught up in the fighting."  Related: Videos - Secret Particle Weapons In Iraq   Part 2  Part 3      PDF FILE (in case they pull the article)

Footage of civilian 'massacre' forces inquiry into US attack  "America's most senior soldier in Afghanistan has called for the Pentagon to investigate claims that more than 90 civilians were killed in an American air strike, after harrowing video footage emerged showing the broken bodies of at least 11 children among the dead. The grim, eight-minute clip, filmed on a mobile phone in the aftermath of the bombing, shows rows of shrouded bodies laid side by side in a make-shift morgue. Among them are at least 11 children, many of them toddlers. The top-level review comes just days after he admitted there were "large discrepancies" among accounts of the death toll. American officials claim there were just seven civilians killed. The United Nations, the Afghan government and human rights groups said that the body count was closer to 90. Locals said most of the dead were women and children. The damning footage was shot by a doctor who visited the morgue, in a building normally used as a mosque, on the morning after the attack on 22 August. If the 90 dead are confirmed, it would be the worst incident of collateral damage in Afghanistan since US and UK forces invaded in 2001. Missiles fired by US drones killed 16 people, in an attack launched across the border into Pakistan yesterday. The strike targeted ' a religious school founded by an old friend of Osama bin Laden', intelligence officials and Pakistani villagers said. The US has increasingly used drones to make cross border strikes on suspected Taliban targets in recent weeks. The missile killed 16 people, most of them Pakistani and Afghan Taliban fighters, though four women and two children were also killed, according to a senior intelligence officer."

Georgia vs Russia Trial Set Into Motion in The Hague  "The U.N. International Court of Justice that decides on the disputes between the nations has set today to emergency hearings of Georgian suit to Russia."

Dick Cheney 'Demands Action' vs. Russia     "U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who is considered the gray cardinal of the White House, rarely makes such programmatic speeches on foreign affairs. But when he does, they frequently signify the beginning of a new phase of U.S. policy. In May 2005, Cheney delivered his infamous Vilnius speech, in which he first issued Russia the ultimatum: return to democracy or become a pariah state. That address was even compared to Winston Churchill’s Fulton speech. Cheney’s Saturday speech in Cernobbio, Italy, was a logical extension of his speech three years ago ..."

Lawsuit: Prevent Cheney from withholding, destroying documents on his exit from office     "Vice President Cheney has said he does not have to make his papers public after leaving office because he is not part of the executive branch. A lawsuit to be filed today says they are covered under the 1978 Presidential Records Act. Historians and scholars are among those joining a lawsuit aimed at preventing the Bush administration from destroying or withholding documents related to the role of the "most influential vice president in U.S. history," Dick Cheney, in forming public policy, the Washington Post reports in its Monday edition."

Russia confirms sending warships to the Atlantic, Caribbean    "A Russian naval task force from the Northern Fleet will go on a tour of duty in the Atlantic Ocean and participate in joint naval drills with the Venezuelan navy in November, a Navy spokesman said on Monday ... Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez earlier said Venezuela would hold joint naval exercises with Russian warships in the Caribbean in late November through early December. Russia announced last year that Russia's Navy had resumed, and would build up its continual presence in different regions of the world's oceans." 

Al-Zawahiri Viciously Slams Iran  " Neo-Cons to have a harder time pushing terrorist link after harsh rebuke. Ayman al-Zawahiri viciously attacks Tehran as "collaborators" with the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq ... Zawahiri's purported rebuke towards the Iranians is not going to sit well with supporters of John McCain, for it was the Republican nominee who attempted to blur the lines between Sunni and Shia back in March when he was corrected by Joe Lieberman after claiming Iran was 'training Al-Qaeda terrorists'."

Zardari to negotiate N-deal with China   " Pakistan-elect President Asif Ali Zardari will visit China next week to negotiate a nuclear deal similar to the one between India and the US." 

Pakistan Poises for Imminent Coup by Military Factions    "Forget labels. In reality, two giant parties struggle perennially for power in Pakistan. One is the politicians' party, whose candidate, Asif Ali Zardari, has just been elected president. The other is the army party, which prefers bazookas to ballot boxes. Democracy in this pivotal country is a frail blossom. And Zardari is as frail as they come ..."   Related: Pakistan threatens to retaliate against US  A spokesman for Pakistan's army, Major Murad Khan, has slammed Washington for killing Pakistani civilians, warning of retaliatory action. 

Russia Ready to Vaporize the Jewish State    Sigh ... all right ... go ahead ... get it over with.

9/11 Accomplices vie for US Presidency    "The ISI is a foreign branch of the CIA. "Al-Qaeda" is a covert operation that is managed by Anglo-American military-intelligence. Ahmad, the "9/11 money man" who delivered funds to alleged lead suicide hijacker Mohammed Atta prior to the attacks, met personally with Biden on September 13, 2001 ... At the same time that he was meeting with a man directly connected to the alleged hijackers, Biden was among the loudest and most bellicose voices joining Bush-Cheney for the bombing of Afghanistan, in retaliation for 9/11. Biden expressed an interest in "personally shooting Osama bin Laden". Not surprisingly, John McCain expressed the same post-9/11 bloodlust, in his infamous editorial, "War is hell. Let's get on with it." Biden’s tune has remained unchanged, to this day. He wants to "finish the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban", and (in language that appears to be the new neoliberal "talking point") "take out the ones who actually attacked us on 9/11" ... Dirty politics and back-door deals are nothing new for Biden, the perfect neoliberal establishment insider who has made a career of opportunism, obstruction, and political cover-up. Biden, the senator of Delaware, the largest tax haven for corporations in the US, has played a key role in virtually every major US policy decision over the past two decades. Every military conflict. Supreme Court confirmations. Cabinet confirmations. Judiciary appointments. Congressional probes (cover-ups) of major political scandals ... If Barack Obama genuinely wishes to "take out" those who "actually attacked us" on 9/11, he would "take out" the legions of elite sponsors who have made his own rise to power possible. He could begin with his own foreign policy guru, super-elite Zbigniew Brzezinski, the virtual creator of Islamic terrorism during the Carter administration, who suggested that a Pearl Harbor-like attack, a "massive and widely perceived external threat" would be useful; the man whose vision of "American primacy" and destablization across the Eurasian "Grand Chessboard" has been a lifelong obsession. Obama might also "take out" the Clintons, and other neoliberal bigwigs supporting his campaign, given the fact that they were instrumental in sowing the seeds of 9/11 throughout the 1990s. Obama should "take out" members of Bush-Cheney, and members of Reagan and George H.W. Bush presidencies, and a worldwide legion of covert operatives, policy advisors, think tank figures (Project for a New American Century, etc.), and oil executives who "lit the match". He might also tell the truth about the global war for oil..."

Report: 3 Mossad spies killed in Iraq    "The Arab-language Israeli daily al-Arab reported that the three agents were killed on Wednesday in a blast at a building which was guarded by the US security firm Blackwater. According to report, the three agents carried fake Iraqi passports. Meanwhile, the Iraqi media reported that hundreds of Mossad agents had been deployed to northern Iraq. According to reports, the agents were tasked with the killing of the Iraqi scientists who were involved in the country's nuclear program under Saddam. US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh had earlier reported that Israeli agents were based in Iraq's Kurdistan to gather intelligence on Iran's nuclear activities. According to Hersh, the agents who were disguised as businessmen had managed to infiltrate into Iran and Syria and install smart espionage gadgets inside the countries. Israel hoped that the US would resume the activities of the Kirkuk-Haifa pipeline which was constructed during the British rule. Under pressure by Arab countries, the US, however, had to drop the plan." 

Afghans Fed Up With Government, US   "Mohammed makes it clear that the tribal chiefs have lost all faith in both their own government and the foreign soldiers in their country. Such disillusionment is widespread in Afghanistan, feeding an insurgency that has killed 195 foreign soldiers so far this year, 105 of them Americans."

US to establish naval base in Georgia   "The US is negotiating with Georgia and Turkey to establish a naval base at one of the two key Georgian ports of Batumi or Poti, reports say. Turkey, in an attempt to avoid political tension with Russia, has not officially revealed its position regarding the plan, said Gruzya Online, a Russian-language internet site."

Bank Tied To John McCain's Son Goes Under   "Nevada regulators closed Silver State and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of the bank, based in Henderson, Nev. It had $2 billion in assets and $1.7 billion in deposits as of June 30. Andrew K. McCain, a son of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, sat on the boards of Silver State Bank and of its parent, Silver State Bancorp, starting in February but resigned in July citing "personal reasons," corporate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show. Andrew McCain also was a member of the bank's audit committee, responsible for oversight of the company's accounting. The younger McCain, who is the chief financial officer of Hensley & Co., the beer distributorship of which Cindy McCain is chairwoman, is the Arizona senator's adopted son from his first marriage ..."

UN to demand Israel pay Lebanon $1 billion   "Lebanese media say Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to instruct Israel to take responsibility for environmental damages caused by 2006 war, including oil spill following bombing of Beirut power plant..."

Vladimir Putin set to bait US with nuclear aid for Tehran   "Russia is considering increasing its assistance to Iran’s nuclear programme in response to America’s calls for Nato expansion eastwards and the presence of US Navy vessels in the Black Sea delivering aid to Georgia. The Kremlin is discussing sending teams of Russian nuclear experts to Tehran and inviting Iranian nuclear scientists to Moscow for training, according to sources close to the Russian military. Moscow has been angered by Washington’s promise to give Georgia £564m in aid following the Russian invasion of parts of the country last month after Tbilisi’s military offensive. Kremlin officials suspect the US is planning to rearm the former Soviet republic and is furious at renewed support for attempts by Georgia and Ukraine to join Nato." 

Russia closes its embassy in Georgia   "Russia closed its embassy in Georgia and halted consular operations after Georgia severed diplomatic ties following last month's war. The diplomatic suspension means no new applications for Russian entry visas will be accepted, a blow to Georgians who have relatives in Russia or other ties there." 

Man who 'swore to god' that he didn’t borrow money struck by lightning  Video  "A Chinese man unwilling to return a debt went to the town square and 'swore to god' he hadn’t borrowed money from his neighbor. Eyewitnesses say that less than a minute later he was struck by lightning."  While this says nothing to support his fictitious deity, it does say something about timing, cosmic humor, and how quickly anything can blossom into a double entendre in reality. Of course, it wouldn't have mattered if the man never spoke a word; he would have had the same experience with the lightning, and the issue of his debt. Either way, the man's got heat on him, and external deference has another plug for the minions.

US 'rearming' Georgia under aid guise      "Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says the US is rearming Georgia under the cover of humanitarian assistance to the ex-Soviet country."   And they are, because the US Navy 'aid' ships are far too small to be carrying significant aid supplies. Weapons, yes.  Related: US to replenish Georgian weaponry

Citibank pays $18M for stealing money from customers using computer scheme  "Citigroup's "account sweeping program" automatically removed positive balances from customers' credit card accounts, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. said. For instance, if a customer double-paid a bill by mistake or refunded a purchase for credit, that positive balance was then taken from the customer without notification, Brown said. An executive from Citibank told investigators the sweep program could not be stopped because it would reduce the executive bonus pool."  Related (more detail):  Investigation Reveals Bank Was Stealing From Its Customers CA AG Office article

McCain, the bogus maverick   "The following is Press TV's exclusive interview with Alexander Cockburn, the founder and editor of Counterpunch magazine, on the day of John McCain's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN."

US gov't to save Fannie and Freddie   "The US Treasury Department is to configure a plan placing the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage finance companies under federal control."  (with fiat money from Imagination Land) 

War of words between Biden and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee  "During a teleconference between Senator Biden and members of the Jewish press yesterday, the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate stated his 'candid opinion' that AIPAC does not speak for the government of Israel. Biden's frank comments about AIPAC raised eyebrows in Israel as well as amongst the tiny nation’s supporters in America ... The backstory to yesterday's teleconference between Biden and a group of Jewish news organizations involves a broadcast that took place earlier this week in Israel ... the subject of peace in the Middle East and Israel's diplomatic status vis a vis the United States is moving toward center stage in the Vice Presidential campaign. Senator Biden is now on a collision course with Governor Sarah Palin, who supports pre-emptive military action against Iran."  However: In Florida, Biden touts record on Israel  so it's just a matter of transitional posturing with no net change in dynamic.  Related: Senator Biden Wrong: AIPAC Does Represent the Government of Israel 

US warship confronts Russian military in ‘tinderbox’ port  "A US Navy flagship carrying humanitarian aid yesterday steamed into a Georgian port where Russian troops are still stationed, stoking tensions once again in the tinderbox Caucasus region ... While Russia again questioned the deployment of what it described as “the number one ship of its type in the US Navy” in the Black Sea, it said that it planned no military action in response ... Moscow, which followed up its crushing military defeat of Georgia by unilaterally recognising two of its breakaway provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, was angry that Mr Cheney still insisted on Georgia’s entrance into the Atlantic alliance — something several key NATO members oppose ... Visiting Kiev, the Ukrainian capital yesterday, Mr Cheney kept up his tough anti-Russian rhetoric when he urged Ukraine’s squabbling pro-Western leaders to unite in the face of threats to the country’s security ..." 

Blackwater In Iraq  quick video  Short, sweet and to the point 4 min 39 sec   Good info on those 140,000 security forces there.

US forces kill 20 in Pakistan cross-border raid  "U.S. commandos killed at least 20 people including women and children in a cross-border raid yesterday in Pakistan’s tribal region .The reported action in South Waziristan was the first involving US ground troops

In a Fascist State, Cameras Equal Terrorism  "In America and England, citizens are being urged to report people taking pictures as potential terrorists." 

US forces kill 20 in Pakistan cross-border raid  "U.S. commandos killed at least 20 people including women and children in a cross-border raid yesterday in Pakistan’s tribal region .The reported action in South Waziristan was the first involving US ground troops there, although the US has carried out several missile attacks and airstrikes in recent months on suspected militant hideouts."

Ralph Nader: armed conflict provoked by John McCain and colleagues     "In the United States, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader says last month’s armed conflict over South Ossetia was provoked by Republican John McCain and his colleagues in Washington.  Related: EU wants truth about Ossetian war  "EU Foreign Ministers are calling for an international inquest into identifying who was responsible for starting the conflict in South Ossetia"

Cool reception for Cheney in Azerbaijan     "American Vice President Dick Cheney’s visit to the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, appears to be have been unsuccessful for Washington, unlike his visit to Tbilisi (Georgia). Cheney received a cool welcome and, according to Russia's Kommersant newspaper, Azerbaijan’s President Ilkham Aliyev has implied that Baku is going to play a waiting game concerning the Nabucco gas pipeline, which is set to bypass Russia. Neither President Ilkham Aliyev nor the Prime Minister, Artur Rasizade, were there to greet Cheney at Baku airport. Instead, he was met by the country’s First Deputy PM and the Foreign Minister. The Kommersant newspaper reports that Cheney was very annoyed by the results of the meeting with President Aliyev and even refused to attend a ceremonial supper in his own honour. Aleksandr Pikaev, an analyst from the Institute for World Economy and International Relations, believes Dick Cheney is hardly the right man for diplomacy in the region. “The Americans didn’t find anything else to support their failed ally Saakashvili other than sending to the region Mr Cheney who is incredibly unpopular in the world, who is associated with the war in Iraq, with all this conservative black-and-white vision of the world, who was accused of corruption – remember the Halliburton affair in Iraq. If the Bush Administration really wanted to consolidate the international community behind the U.S. in criticising Russia, I think they should have found somebody else, not Mr Cheney,” Pikaev said."  No one wants that delusional psychopath around, and they don't have to.  Related: Ukraine shares concerns over Russian fleet with Cheney  "Russia's Black Sea Fleet poses a potential danger to Ukraine's security, according to President Viktor Yushchenko who made this statement following talks with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who is visiting the country on Sept 5."

[See other material on Cheney this month, including info on the Nabucco pipeline deal] [See more on Urkraine and Yushchenko] 

Witness To WTC Explosions On 9/11 'Kills Himself'     "A janitor who worked in one of the World Trade Center towers and helped save lives on 9/11, in addition to witnessing what he described as "explosions" in the tower basement, is said to have 'committed suicide'."  What a 'coincidence'.  Honesty, on a planet where 'truth' is functionally defined as 'a lie undiscovered', often pays a heavy price.

Bush Extends 9/11 National Emergency Yet Again For 1 Year    "... “The National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601-1651) is a United States federal law passed in 1976 to stop open-ended states of national emergency and formalize Congressional checks and balances on Presidential emergency powers. The act sets a limit of two years on states of national emergency. It also imposes certain "procedural formalities" on the President when invoking such powers, and provides a means for Congress to countermand a Presidential declaration of emergency and associated use of emergency powers ... Bush’s denial of the Homeland Security’s right to review the COG plans in the classified Appendices of NSPD-51 should have been seen as a constitutional crisis -- a line in the sand for Congress to assert its constitutional rights and duties. Now, one year later, I understand (although I cannot corroborate it from the Internet) that Congressman Kucinich has introduced or will introduce a bill for Congress, under the terms of the National Emergencies Act, to countermand the presidentially proclaimed national emergency. This is an important move, but it should not obviate the need for Congress to review rules which allegedly restrict its own powers under the constitution."

'Obama might pursue criminal charges against Bush administration'    "Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden said earlier this week that he and running mate Barack Obama could pursue criminal charges against the Bush administration if they are elected in November. Biden's comments, first reported by ABC news, attracted little notice on a day dominated by the drama surrounding his Republican counterpart, Alaska governor Sarah Palin. But his statements represent the Democrats' strongest vow so far this year to investigate alleged misdeeds committed during the Bush years. When asked during a campaign event in Deerfield Beach, Florida, whether he would "pursue the violations that have been made against our Constitution by the present administration", Biden answered in the affirmative ..."  (See Video)  Yeah ... that's going to happen. Not that it would matter. Related (9/5): Biden denies report: 'No one's talking about pursuing Bush criminally'  Gee, wasn't it just the other day he said something about Israel and Iran, and then denied it afterward. Nice pattern for a disingenuous talking head to adopt .... just like insane McCain, actually. I see innumerable headlines for the future beginning with "Biden denies...". Ironically, he's also in denial about reality itself, as a pimp for synthetic consensus reality, bent on suppression of individual experience.  Well, we're 'Biden' our time waiting to get out of here, watching the parade of deceit and stupidity.

Government Sponsored Terror “Embedded in the DNA” Of American Politics   " ... When the media speaks of terrorism it tends to be in the context of 'lone bandits' from 'middle eastern countries' when most of the terrorism that occurs in the world is government sponsored." Morello told Change reporters. "Whether it's the Bush administration or the Putin administration, terror is not something that is unfamiliar to governments... " 

Two Wall St. brokers accused of $1B subprime fraud   "A former Wall Street broker pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he and a colleague duped investors into purchasing more than $1 billion in high-risk securities by making it look as though the trades were

Israel says stopped arms supplies to Georgia prior to conflict (So? You were done selling them stuff)  "Israel imposed an 'embargo on arms supplies' to Tbilisi a week before Georgia attacked its breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russia's Defense Ministry earlier said Israel had sold unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, and electronic artillery systems to Georgia and planned to supply armored vehicles and small arms. Some reports claimed that Israeli military experts had been training Georgian reconnaissance units since the fall of 2007 ... South Ossetia was attacked by Georgian forces on August 8. The majority of residents of South Ossetia hold Russian citizenship, and Moscow launched a massive operation to expel Georgian troops from the region and to reinforce its peacekeepers." 

U.S. pushes through radar plans despite opposition in Czech Republic      "The U.S. is to deliver the first funds to the Czech Republic for the construction of its controversial radar base at the end of this month according to reports in Czech media, The radar is to be linked to a missile base planned to be built in Poland. However, the majority of the Czech population remains opposed to the U.S. plan ..."

Palin chosen to please Council for National Policy, Right-Wing Christian Think Tank      "Last week, while the media focused almost obsessively on the DNC's spectacle in Denver, the country's most influential conservatives met quietly at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis to get to know Sarah Palin. The assembled were members of the Council for National Policy, an ultra-secretive cabal that networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy ... CNP members have included Tony Perkins, James Dobson, Grover Norquist, Tim LaHaye and Paul Weyrich. At a secret 2000 meeting of the CNP, George W. Bush promised to nominate only pro-life judges; in 2004, then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told the group, "The destiny of the nation is on the shoulders of the conservative movement." This year, thanks to Sarah Palin's selection, the movement may have finally aligned itself behind the campaign of John McCain ... Though Dobson and Perkins reportedly attended the recent CNP meeting in Minneapolis, a full roster of guests would be nearly impossible to require. The CNP deliberately operates below the radar, going to excessive lengths to obscure its activities. According to official CNP policy, "The media should not know when or where we meet or who takes part in our programs before or after a meeting." The members of the Council for National Policy are the hidden hand behind McCain's Palin pick." These people WANT Armageddon in order to bring their 'god' to Earth. Mentally ill beyond the pale.  Related: Sarah Palin Meets With AIPAC  " ... Except for a meeting with the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, Sarah Palin appearances have been canceled, according to WSJ. "She has to familiarize herself with every position John McCain has held over a number of years. That takes work and briefing," one McCain aide said. She has been kept from contact with the media and others by Republican operatives. Palin spent Tuesday in her hotel suite meeting with campaign aides and working on her speech ..."  Since McCain is mentally ill and unstable at room temperature, Sarah Palin doesn't have much to learn. Alaska ought to look pretty good by now.

US, Russia standoff takes to the Black Sea      "Washington's confrontation with Moscow has reached a new level now that Russia has withdrawn its troops from most of the Georgian territory it took during the war provoked by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. Russian and US warships have been engaged in a standoff in the Black Sea in recent days ..."

Saudi coup against King Abdullah fails     "The motive behind the planned coup was, apparently, to overthrow the Saudi National Arabian Guard leader, who is loyal to King Abdullah and prevent the selection of another member of the family as crown prince."

Iraq said not to favor U.S. firms to develop oil fields     "Iran is pressuring Iraqi authorities to exclude U.S. oil majors from contracts to develop the country’s massive oil fields, sources at the Oil Ministry said. The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the authorities currently favor Chinese and Russian companies to those of the United States. Their remarks come following a contract the ministry signed last month with China’s state-owned oil firm CNPC. The $3bn oil services contract is a renegotiated deal of the Ahdad oilfield which CNPC had agreed to develop in 1977. China is the first country to win such a contract since the 2003 U.S. invasion of the country. Russia had also signed a deal in 1977 to develop West of Qurna, one of Iraq’s largest fields with reserves estimated at billions of barrels. It is not clear how much influence Iran had in persuading the government to renegotiate CNPC’s 1997 contract ..."  No influence was needed ... the US administration is enough reason.

Scientists Sue To Stop Supercollidor Project     "A European court says the idea a new supercollider project could create a "celestial vacuum" and eventually consume the Earth is worth discussing, but the project can move forward on schedule anyway. At dispute is what could happen should planned experiments at the supercollider built near Geneva by the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, go awry when the massive atomic particle smasher is fired up about this time next week. Several scientists led by spokesman Otto Rossler, a German chemist, have filed a case in the European Court of Human Rights seeking a delay in the project's opening while the potential problems are studied further." 

EU approves proposal to try Britons in their absence in foreign courts     "British citizens could be convicted in their absence by foreign courts for traffic, credit card or other criminal offences under plans approved in principle by the European Parliament. The proposals would allow citizens to be extradited automatically under fast-track procedures at the request of another European Union country on the basis of a decision by the foreign court. The overwhelming adoption by the Parliament of the proposals, which now go to the Council of Ministers, was condemned yesterday as “throwing habeas corpus out of the window”. 

GEORGIA - CAUCASUS

Georgia: Israel of the Caucasus     "Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili evidently thought the United States would come to his side militarily if Russian troops pushed him back into Georgia after ordering an attack last Aug. 8 on the breakaway province of South Ossetia. And when his forces were mauled by Russia's counterattack, bitter disappointment turned to anger. Along with Abkhazia, Georgia lost two provinces ... Georgia also had a special relationship with Israel that was mostly under the radar. Georgian Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili is a former Israeli who moved things along by facilitating Israeli arms sales with U.S. aid. "We are now in a fight against the great Russia," he was quoted as saying, "and our hope is to receive assistance from the White House because Georgia cannot survive on its own." The Jerusalem Post on Aug. 12 reported, "Georgian Prime Minister Vladimir Gurgenidze made a special call to Israel Tuesday morning to receive a blessing from one of the Haredi community's most important rabbis and spiritual leaders, Rabbi Aaron Leib Steinman. 'I want him to pray for us and our state,'" he was quoted ... Israel began selling arms to Georgia seven years ago. U.S. grants facilitated these purchases. From Israel came former minister and former Tel Aviv Mayor Roni Milo, representing Elbit Systems, and his brother Shlomo, former director general of Military Industries. Israeli UAV spy drones, made by Elbit Maarahot Systems, conducted recon flights over southern Russia, as well as into nearby Iran ... In a secret agreement between Israel and Georgia, two military airfields in southern Georgia had been earmarked for the use of Israeli fighter-bombers in the event of pre-emptive attacks against Iranian nuclear installations. This would sharply reduce the distance Israeli fighter-bombers would have to fly to hit targets in Iran. And to reach Georgian airstrips, the Israeli air force would fly over Turkey ... The attack ordered by Saakashvili against South Ossetia the night of Aug. 7 provided the Russians the pretext for Moscow to order Special Forces to raid these Israeli facilities where some Israeli drones were reported captured ... At a Moscow news conference, Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Russia's deputy chief of staff, said the extent of Israeli aid to Georgia included "eight types of military vehicles, explosives, landmines and special explosives for clearing minefields." Estimated numbers of Israeli trainers attached to the Georgian army range from 100 to 1,000. There were also 110 U.S. military personnel on training assignments in Georgia. Last July 2,000 U.S. troops were flown in for "Immediate Response 2008," a joint exercise with Georgian forces. 

Georgia admits dropping cluster bombs      "The Georgian government has admitted dropping cluster bombs in its military offensive to regain control of South Ossetia, reports Human Rights Watch. The international organisation says it has received an official letter form Georgia’s Defence Ministry that acknowledges the use of the M85 cluster munitions near the Roki tunnel linking South Ossetia with Russia. The M85 is the same weapon that was used extensively by Israel in its 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon." 

Georgia airfields earmarked for war on Iran, Used By Israelis      "Georgia permitted Israel to use two military airfields for 'a potential pre-emptive strike' against Iranian nuclear sites, a report says." 

Bush announces $1B in aid for Georgia     " President Bush on Wednesday said the U.S. will send an extra $1 billion to Georgia to help the pro-Western former Soviet republic in the wake of Russia's invasion. She mocked Russia for its recognition of the two separatist regions in Georgia that are at the heart of the conflict that broke out last month, and for its failure to garner international backing ... "The free world cannot allow the destiny of a small independent country to be determined by the aggression of a larger neighbor," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters at the State Department in a simultaneous announcement with Bush." Yes, the US is a "do as we say, not as we do" country. Never mind the $1 billion in worthless fiat currency involved, or the fact that the USA administration does to other countries exactly what they're chewing out the Russians, for, and that the US/Georgian/Israeli factions invaded South Ossetia (Russia), not the other way around.  The planet is getting impatient with these psychopaths who live in their own version of Imaginationland.  Related: Georgia Eager to Rebuild Its Defeated Armed Forces | ‘South Ossetia to ask for more Russian troops’  This is going to be some protracted dog and pony show. This means, look elsewhere for who's doing what under cover of conflicts like this. Finally: Bush Administration Checkmated in Georgia | IMF Is Set to Lend Georgia $750 Million "The International Monetary Fund is set to reach a preliminary deal this week that will throw the former Soviet republic a $750 million credit line, according to officials close to the negotiations. Both the U.S. and Europe are also working on big assistance packages that Georgia hopes will provide $2 billion or more."

Former Soviet Georgia Big Hangout for Israelis    "... They have omitted to mention — for of course it would be anti-Semitic to do so! — that Georgian Prime Minister Vladimir Gurgenidze is Jewish! — that his Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili is a Jew who enjoys Israeli citizenship! — that the former Georgian ambassador to Israel is Jewish and that half his family are domiciled in Israel! — and, finally, that tens of thousands of Israelis flock to Georgia every year where they own second homes. (See Dr Hesham Tillawi, ‘Georgia: Israel’s Home Sweet Home’ ..."   Related (irony) Georgian leader Saakashvili compares Georgians to Jews  Many of them are. Here he trying to talk around the real reality in Georgia, and trying to invoke guilt in some, pity in others, and victimhood in many more.

CHENEY

Cheney to 'shoot' Caucasian troubles     "Dick Cheney started a Caucasian-Ukrainian tour on Sept 2. His 'challenging task' is to 'promise weapons to Georgia and NATO membership to Ukraine', and to 'convince Azerbaijan to accept the Nabucco pipeline project' ... Cheney's trip to the Caucasus and Ukraine is possibly the last attempt by the Bush Administration to set up a Black Sea-Caucasian cordon on Russia's southern border as a gift to the next administration .. Cheney is a 'man in his own league' and 'the main ideologist of the neoconservative policy of the Republican administration and the country as a whole' ... Cheney says his foreign policy teacher Bradford Wesferfield, a Yale political scientist, helped to shape his hard-line approach to foreign policy, but an article in The Nation in 2004 reported that Dr. Westerfield came to regret the hard-nosed lessons Mr. Cheney said he had learned ... Dr. Westerfield characterized the current Bush Administration as overly confrontational, calling that "precisely the wrong approach" ... Cheney orchestrated the U.S. invasion of Panama, Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East, the anti-Iraqi policy and, some say, the molding of Mikheil Saakashvili, described as the United States' main ally in the Caucasus ... Wherever Cheney goes, he always makes clear what the U.S. wants and how best to fulfill its wishes and, by implication, avoid the unpleasant consequences of non-compliance ... In Tbilisi, he will offer "friend Michael" U.S. support and rearmament of the Georgian army with U.S.-made weapons ... His task in Baku will be more difficult. He must cajole President Ilkham Aliyev into approving the Nabucco gas pipeline, which Baku, along with much of Europe, is coming to view with growing mistrust ...  Interestingly, Russian energy giant Gazprom holds a 50% stake in Austria's Baumgarten, the terminal for the Nabucco pipeline ... "This goes against the whole concept of Nabucco, that it would not be either Russian or Russian-controlled gas," says Zeyno Baran, an energy and Central Asian expert at the conservative Hudson Institute in Washington and the wife of Matthew Bryza, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs ... Mr. Bryza covers the Caucasian region and has been actively lobbying for Saakashvili. Some even say he was his direct political mentor. "  Related: Ukraine's presidential party quits ruling coalition  "Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's party officially pulled out of the ruling pro-Western coalition on Wednesday amid a government dispute over presidential powers and the Georgia-Russia conflict." Oops! Too much going on to deal with USA, or Dick Cheney. The why of it may be this: Ukraine parliament defies Yushchenko; pro-West coalition crumbles  " ... The collapse of the Yushchenko-led ruling coalition in Ukraine has been brewing since early 2008 when Tymoshenko, a politician openly keen to replace Yushchenko as the country's political leader, came into increasing conflict with the president over economic reforms, and alleged corruption within each of their parties ..." 

BIDEN - ISRAEL - IRAN

Biden: Israel should accept 'nuclear' Iran    "The US Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden has advised senior Israeli officials to come to terms with a 'nuclear' Iran. In a clandestine meeting with unnamed Israeli officials, which was partially covered by the US Jewish Army Radio, Barack Obama's vice-presidential nominee said, "Israel will have to reconcile itself with the nuclearization of Iran." According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Biden, a six-time Delaware Senator and chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the "amazed" officials, "It's doubtful if the economic sanctions will be effective, and I am against opening an additional military and diplomatic front."  Related: (Faux News) Biden denies saying Israel would have to reconcile with a nuclear Iran "Joe Biden’s spokesman vehemently denied a report in an Israeli newspaper Monday that said the Delaware senator was quoted saying Israel would have to “reconcile” itself with a nuclear Iran ... The report appeared in Haaretz, quoting an un-sourced report from Israel’s Army Radio that said Barack Obama’s running mate made the remarks behind closed doors with unnamed senior Israeli officials ... “We have no idea if someone is misinterpreting a statement or if Biden really could have said this because it sounds incoherent,” one Israeli foreign ministry source told FOX News. “It’s a bit odd that Biden would say something like this. If someone had to reconcile itself with a nuclear Iran it would be the U.S. It sounds not like him.”  Of course, this would come from Fox (faux) News.

Hurricane Gustav strikes US Gulf Coast     "Hurricane Gustav has struck southwest of New Orleans shortly before 1500 GMT, after forcing nearly two million people to flee the region. The US National Hurricane Center said that Gustav made landfall in the US Gulf Coast Monday whipping up fearsome rain and isolated tornadoes around a deserted New Orleans, reported AFP. New Orleans experienced the harsh storm almost exactly three years after the terrifying disaster of Hurricane Katrina ..."  Related: Gustav pushes oil over $117 | Blackwater Preps For Gustav | Water tops levees as Gustav makes Louisiana landfall | Feds: hurricane sparks shut-in of 96% of Gulf oil output

Christians hide in forests as Hindu minion mobs ransack villages    "Thousands of terrified Indian Christians are hiding in the forests of the volatile Indian state of Orissa after a wave of religious 'cleansing' forced them from their burnt-out homes with no immediate prospect of return ... A mob of Hindu fundamentalists rampaged through villages last week, killing those too slow to get out of their way, burning churches and an orphanage, and targeting the homes of Christians. Up to 20 people were reported dead, with at least two deliberately set alight, after the murder of a Hindu leader last Saturday provoked the violence ..."  Related: Kashmiri Hindu minions end protests | Minion politician buries 5 alive 'for wanting to choose own husbands' They can't have individuals deciding their own lives in Fuckistan.

Law enforcement 'preventively detains'  protest organizers before GOP Convention  "On the weekend before the Republican National Convention, law enforcement agencies detained dozens of people (50) and issued a series of search warrants aimed at groups believed to be organizing demonstrations while delegates and Republican officials are in town."  Related: Feds Directed Preemptive Raids On RNC Protesters

FBI Intelligence Bulletin no. 89 Tactics Used During Protests and Demonstrations   PDF  Related: ACLU Slams Classified 2003 FBI Memorandum Directing Law Enforcement to Engage in Protest Suppression Tactics " ... It is troubling that the FBI is advocating spying on peaceful protesters, but even protesters who engage in civil disobedience or other disruptive acts should not be treated like potential terrorists," ... Of particular concern is one section warning law enforcement about protesters' use of videotaping as an ""intimidation"" technique. Most mainstream demonstrators often use videotape during protests to document law enforcement activity and, more importantly, deter police from acting outside the law ..."  Being watched while you beat someone could only be seen as 'intimidating' by an insecure ,draconian fascist psychopathic egomaniac control freak, right?

Ahmadinejad gets a crucial boost     "An apparent public endorsement of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei throws a new light on the 2009 presidential elections. Khamenei's backing could silence some government critics and Ahmadinejad is already calling the leader's approval "a medal of honor"."  Related: Tehran exploits US-Russian tensions 

Russia threatens to supply Iran with top new missile system     "US intelligence fears the Kremlin will supply the sophisticated S-300 system to Tehran if Washington pushes through Nato membership for its pro-Western neighbours Georgia and Ukraine. The proposed deal is causing huge alarm in the US and Israel as the S-300 can track 100 targets at once and fire on planes up to 75 miles away. That would make it a "game-changer", greatly improving Iranian defences against any air strike on its nuclear sites, according to Pentagon adviser Dan Goure. "This is a system that scares every Western air force," he said. Senior US intelligence operatives believe that Russia is planning to use a stand-off over the S-300 to create a foreign policy showdown that would test the mettle of a new US president. Republican candidate John McCain has taken a strongly anti-Kremlin line on a series of international issues and backed Georgia's desire to join Nato. His Democratic rival Barack Obama has also indicated he supports Nato membership for Georgia." 

Italy pays up for Libyan occupation    "Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi says Italy will invest five billion dollars in Libya to resolve disputes between the two countries. "The accord will provide for 200 million dollars a year over the next 25 years through investments in infrastructure projects in Libya," Berlusconi commented during his visit to the Mediterranean city of Benghazi where he will meet with Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi. The oil-rich African nation was an Italian colony until 1951. In 1991 Italy issued a formal apology for its occupation and oppression of the country." 

Albright: US mishandling Caucasus crisis     "Former US secretary of state Madeline Albright has condemned the Bush administration's mishandling of the Georgia-Russia conflict." 

Colombia denies US military base request      "Colombia's Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos says the US will not have a new military base in the country but will strengthen cooperation." 

Chinese end Cuba visit   "He Guoqiang, member of Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, ended a four-day visit to Cuba."  Related: Raul meets Russia's Sechin  Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin has met Cuban President Raul Castro as part of a three-day visit focusing on building commercial ties | Russia-Cuba ties worry U.S.  

Mass protests against violence in Mexico      "Mexicans have poured to the streets of 70 towns and cities to protest the rising violence resulting from fight against drug trafficking." 

UK Jails hold 8,500 war veterans      "Around 8,500 former members of the British armed forces are serving sentences in UK prisons for violent offences, a new report reveals. " 

Floridians protest Iran war buildup     "Hundreds of Florida residents have taken to the streets to protest against the prospect of a United States military strike on Iran."

Exiled ex-Syrian VP gets life    "A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced the former Syrian vice-president, Abdel-Halim Khaddam, to life in prison with hard labor." 

Activists protest US nukes on German soil     "About 2,000 anti-war activists have demonstrated outside a German air force base, protesting US nuclear weapons being stored there. At least 20 American atomic warheads are reportedly deployed underground at the Buechel air base." 

Japanese PM Yasuo Fukuda resigns     "Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has announced his resignation at a news conference, in an effort to break a political deadlock."  Related: Japanese protest US nuke ship arrival  Hundreds of Japanese people have taken to the streets to protest against the permanent basing of a US nuclear aircraft carrier near Tokyo. 

Egypt closes Gaza's key crossing      "Egypt has closed the border crossing between the country and the Gaza Strip amid the long-running Israeli blockade of the coastal enclave."  9/1

Australia may stop nuclear fuel to Russia      "Australia has threatened to reconsider a deal to sell nuclear fuel for Russian reactors unless Moscow respects Georgia's sovereignty."  9/1