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

January  2010 

 

'With new refineries Iran will export gasoline' [01/31/10] "Iran plans to build seven new oil refineries with a capacity of 1.6 million barrels that could turn the country into a gasoline exporter. ..."  Note: I don't see how they will be able to build these in any meaningful period of time.   

The Merchants of Fear: Israel's Profiting from Homeland Insecurity [01/31/10] "In the wake of the weird Christmas Day "underwear bomber" incident on Northwest Flight 253, former Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, as if on cue, was all over the mainstream media touting whole-body scanners as the answer to America's airline security problems. Since leaving public office in 2009, Chertoff had co-founded the Chertoff Group, a security and risk-management firm whose clients include a manufacturer of body-imaging screening machines. While some in the media noted this rather commonplace conflict of interest, ignored by all was a far more significant abuse of the American public's trust. In a CNN interview, Chertoff cited the Detroit incident as "a very vivid lesson in the value of that machinery." One lesson that he hasn't drawn, however, was about the unreliability of the security firm which allowed the young Nigerian Muslim without a passport to "slip through" Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. ICTS International N.V., the Dutch-based security firm, was established in 1982 by former members of Israel's secret police, the Shin Bet, and El Al security. Menachem Atzmon, who holds the controlling shares in the firm, was convicted in 1996 for campaign finance fraud while co-treasurer of the Likud party. The other co-treasurer Ehud Olmert, who was acquitted of those charges, resigned as Israeli Prime Minister in 2008 amid multiple corruption charges. ..." 

Israel spied on Iran, Syria from secret Turkish base [01/31/10] "Revelations of a secret Israeli spy base, which was allegedly set up in Ankara to gather classified information on Iran and Syria, has dragged Tel Aviv into a new spy scandal. Sources in Turkey's ruling party told Russia's Mignews that Israeli spy agents ran an advanced electronic monitoring station from the Ankara military headquarters to keep tabs on communication networks in Iran and Syria. According to the sources who were speaking on condition of anonymity, the Signals Intelligence station was solely managed by Israeli intelligence personnel and had become off-limits for members of the Turkish government. Israeli military sources have refused to comment on the revelations, which are likely to spark an outcry in Turkey, now that they have been leaked to newspapers and media outlets. This is not the first time Israel finds itself at the centre of a major spy scandal. For years Israeli politicians have masterminded a wave of undercover operations and terror plots in numerous countries, including Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Switzerland, and the US. However, much of Israel's espionage operations are focused on the Tehran government, largely because of Iran's uranium enrichment activities, which is seen by Israel as a mortal threat. Israel, which is reported to have an arsenal of 200 nuclear warheads itself, accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons and routinely threatens to reduce the country's enrichment sites to rubble. This is while Iran, unlike Israel, is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has opened its enrichment facilities to UN inspection.  ..." 

UK's Jewish Chronicle warns Gordon Brown: safeguard Israeli war criminals or else [01/31/10] "Gilad Atzmon comments on an editorial in Britain’s top Zionist newspaper in which the paper’s editor, Stephen Pollard, and its chief political editor, Martin Bright, appeared to be threatening British Prime Minister Gordon Brown with electoral defeat unless he restricts the application of universal jurisdiction to ensure that suspected Israeli war criminals can travel to the UK without risk of prosecution. ”In plain language the Jewish Chronicle is suggesting that Gordon Brown, as far as the Jews are concerned, is basically finished. I wonder how long it will take for the British people to wake up and say enough is enough? How long will it take before they say NO to Israeli and Zionist infiltration of their politics, laws and values?” ..."   

The Fateful Geological Prize Called Haiti [01/31/10] "Behind the smoke, rubble and unending drama of human tragedy in the hapless Caribbean country, a drama is in full play for control of what geophysicists believe may be one of the world’s richest zones for hydrocarbons-oil and gas outside the Middle East, possibly orders of magnitude greater than that of nearby Venezuela. Haiti, and the larger island of Hispaniola of which it is a part, has the geological fate that it straddles one of the world’s most active geological zones, where the deepwater plates of three huge structures relentlessly rub against one another—the intersection of the North American, South American and Caribbean tectonic plates. Below the ocean and the waters of the Caribbean, these plates consist of an oceanic crust some 3 to 6 miles thick, floating atop an adjacent mantle. Haiti also lies at the edge of the region known as the Bermuda Triangle, a vast area in the Caribbean subject to bizarre and unexplained disturbances. This vast mass of underwater plates are in constant motion, rubbing against each other along lines analogous to cracks in a broken porcelain vase that has been reglued. The earth’s tectonic plates typically move at a rate 50 to 100 mm annually in relation to one another, and are the origin of earthquakes and of volcanoes. The regions of convergence of such plates are also areas where vast volumes of oil and gas can be pushed upwards from the Earth’s mantle. The geophysics surrounding the convergence of the three plates that run more or less directly beneath Port-au-Prince make the region prone to earthquakes such as the one that struck Haiti with devastating ferocity on January 12. ..."   

Haiti arrests 10 US citizens for child smuggling [01/31/10] "The Haitian police have arrested 10 US citizens after they tried to take 33 Haitian children out of the earthquake-stricken nation. ..."   

Aafia Siddiqui stands her ground at trial [01/31/10] "Pakistani citizen Aafia Siddiqui, who is charged with attempted murder of FBI agents and US military personnel, has told a New York court that the charges against her are "ridiculous." ..." 

FBI investigates another alleged 'Ponzi-style' scheme [01/31/10] "Scott's report, which reads like an indictment, says the Sun Village scheme was a "two-tier criminal enterprise." It points the finger at Frederick and Derek Elliott, a father and son team of resort developers from Canada, and James B. Catledge, a Nevada-based investment guru whose company, Impact Inc., peddled Sun Village property. "Catledge and his group, along with the Elliotts, created, developed, marketed, and sold a Ponzi-style scheme, bilking millions upon millions of dollars from investors," the report says. Catledge, a major Republican Party donor who dined with President George W. Bush in 2008, is described in the report as "the main architect of the Ponzi scheme." ..."   

Libya, Russia agree $1.8 billion arms deal – Putin [01/31/10] "Libya has signed an arms deal with Russia worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.8 billion), Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying on Saturday. “Only yesterday we signed a contract worth 1.3 billion euros,” Putin said, according to RIA Novosti. “And it’s not only small arms,” he added, ..."  

Defense Contractors Go Offshore to Avoid Payroll Taxes [01/31/10] "Setting up foreign subsidiaries allows American defense contractors not only to utilize cheaper labor and more favorable regulations, but also avoid paying taxes that fund key government safety net programs ..."   

US firm kicked out of Peru mining group for pollution [01/31/10] "Peru's mining, oil and energy association (SNMPE) said Saturday it has expelled US mining company Doe Run from its roster for not cleaning up its pollution problems, which environmentalists say are among the worst in the world. "It has not shown... any willingness to comply with its environmental commitments and its obligations to the country, its workers, the La Oroya population and its creditors," SNMPE said in a statement. Doe Run in 1997 took over La Oroya mining complex and the Cobriza copper mine in Peru's central Andean mountain region, where it mines for lead, copper, zinc, silver, gold and a series of byproducts including sulfuric acid. The US company's La Oroya mining operation was listed in 2007 by the international environmental group Blacksmith Institute as the sixth worst polluted site in the world. ..."  

Sharp Dressed Man Who Aided Mutallab Onto Flight 253 Was U.S. Government Agent [01/31/10] "Please note that in the article that follows, I am not claiming that the U.S. Government knew Mutallab had a bomb or intended to hurt anyone on Flight 253 when the U.S. Government let him board. Kurt Haskell Infowars.com January 30, 2010 Umar Farouk Abulutallab.  ..."  

Are U.S. Soldiers Any Worse than Their Soviet “Allies” in World War II? [01/31/10] "Our “allies” in World War II—the Soviets—evidently didn’t think too kindly of the Jews they liberated from Auschwitz or perhaps they wouldn’t have raped some of them. Just as U.S. soldiers raped 3,500 French women after D-Day, just as U.S. soldiers raped some Iraqi prisoners, just as U.S. soldiers raped thousands of southern women during the so-called Civil War, and just as U.S. soldiers rape each other. At least the U.S. soldiers in Hawaii known as the three minute men paid for their sex during World War II. ..."  

Legislation to Counter Supreme Court's Campaign Finance Ruling Gaining Support [01/31/10] "In the wake of last week's sweeping 5-4 Supreme Court ruling, which struck down several longstanding prohibitions on corporate political contributions, Democratic lawmakers are proposing legislation to counter some of its effects. Perhaps the most politically promising proposal is the Fair Elections Now Act, a bill introduced which aims to blend small-donor fundraising with public funding as a means of reducing the pressure of fundraising from large contributors. Proponents say the bill, introduced by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson (D-Connecticut), will make it easier for politicians to run campaigns without money from corporations and lobbyists, and also decrease time spent fundraising.  ..."  

Opening Speech by Nicolas Sarkozy at 40th World Economic Forum at Davos [01/30/10] "May I of course begin by thanking Professor Schwab and all the Davos Forum organizers for inviting me to give the opening address of this 40th session. Crisis Let me make things clear: I have not come here as a political leader to lecture anyone, but to tell you that we must all together learn the lessons of the crisis. Why must we, all together, learn the lessons? Because we are all responsible for it. And because, above all, we are responsible for the world we are going to leave to our children. Ladies and gentlemen, without the intervention of the States, everything would have collapsed. It isn't a matter of liberalism, statism, socialism, of left or right, it's a reality. Failing to draw from the events we experienced a year ago, the conclusion that we must radically change our ways – if we didn't change them, we would be irresponsible. This crisis is not just a global crisis. This crisis is not a crisis in globalization. This crisis is a crisis of globalization. ..."    Related: Operation Sarkozy : how the CIA placed one of its agents at the presidency of the French Republic  

Cell phone ban does not reduce accidents: California revenue scheme exposed as complete fraud [01/30/10] "A new study reveals that the hand-held cell phone ban for drivers that went into effect July 1, 2008 has not reduced accidents in California, as the proponents of this tyrannical nanny state law had falsely purported. Is anyone surprised? ..."  

Chinese company preemptively cloned iPad [01/30/10] "The unveiling of Apple's iPad tablet computer was one of the most anticipated technology events in recent years, but a similar looking device has been on sale in China for nearly six months. ..." 

Senate Joins The Battle Against Supreme Court's 'Attack On Democracy' [01/30/10] "Lawmakers now appear to be introducing new legislation on a daily basis aimed at reversing the effects of last week's sweeping Supreme Court ruling that overturned more than a century of bipartisan precedent to allow corporate wealth -- including that of foreigners -- nearly unfettered influence in U.S. elections. For the first time, such a bill has come forth in the Senate, as well as additional pieces of legislation in the House. ..."  

Abuse Under Color of Authority: Deputies Tasered Son to Death, Parents Say [01/30/10] "Sheriff's deputies beat and Tasered to death a U.S. military veteran in a jail cell after arresting him on a bogus charge of "trespassing," his family says in Baltimore Federal Court. They say two other men died in the custody of the Hartford County, Md., Sheriff's Department, showing "a consistent pattern and practice of condoning its officers' pervasive misconduct and abuse of authority." ..."   

Democracy Now: Season 2010: Episode 0126 [01/30/10] VIDEO [59:05]  "Filmmaker Michael Moore joins us for a wide-ranging interview about Haiti, the Supreme Court decision on corporate campaign financing, President Obama’s first year in office, the Democrats, and much more. “The Democrats] don’t have the guts ....."   

UN says Yemen humanitarian crisis deepening [01/30/10] "The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warns of Yemen's ever-increasing humanitarian crisis as the war in the northern front between the army and Houthi fighters flares. ..."  Note: Where are all the ships, airplanes, telethons and move stars?

Formaldehyde-Laced Death Trailers to Haiti [01/30/10] "The trailer industry and lawmakers are pressing the government to send Haiti thousands of potentially formaldehyde-laced trailers left over from Hurricane Katrina — an idea denounced by some as a crass and self-serving attempt to dump inferior American products on the poor. “Just go ahead and sign their death certificate,” said Paul Nelson of Coden, Ala., who contends his mother died because of formaldehyde fumes in a FEMA trailer. The 100,000 trailers became a symbol of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s bungled response to Katrina. The government had bought the trailers to house victims of the 2005 storm, but after people began falling ill, high levels of formaldehyde, a chemical that is used in building materials and can cause breathing problems and perhaps cancer, were found inside. Many of the trailers have sat idle for years, and many are damaged. ..."    

Commentary:  Security in Anarchy [01/30/10] "A commonplace point of contention between minarchists and anarchists is whether police and/or military services can be provided without the state. I was reminded of this debate as I drove home from work late the last few nights and passed the Department of Homeland Security. Each night there has been a small SUV that appears to belong to a private security firm blocking the entrance. The libertarian in me is disgusted by the corporatism on display — but this is nothing new, and, besides, it’s another too-powerful, bloated bureaucracy, so disgust is to be expected. But, the anarchist in me is incredibly amused at the irony here: the agency charged with providing security for the entire nation does not provide security for itself! ..."  

Poll: Americans pretty clueless about politics, world [01/30/10] "Only one in four Americans know how many votes a Senate filibuster requires. One in three know the name of the chairman of the Republican Party. One in two know the Democratic leader of the US Senate. Health care? Fewer than one in three Americans even know that no Republicans voted for the Senate health care overhaul. Americans' ignorance about politics isn't new, but the latest results from the Pew Poll suggest few are really paying attention. ..."  Note: It's just a show where politicians pretend they have relevance and validity as a workable social concept ... they don't .

Historian Zinn Said “Largest Lie” Was U.S. “War On Terrorism” [01/30/10] Note: However, he was annoyingly oblivious to larger scale dynamics, and resisted the true facts behind 9/11. 

Wikileaks temporarily shuts down due to lack of funds [01/30/10] "The whistleblowing website Wikileaks has temporarily shut down because of a lack of funds. The site, which has been a major irritant to governments and big businesses since it launched in 2007, says it cannot keep going without more public donations. Wikileaks' organisers announced the suspension in a statement on its site. "To concentrate on raising the funds necessary to keep us alive into 2010, we have reluctantly suspended all other operations, but will be back soon," it says. Pleading for more cash, it explained that publishing hundreds of thousands of previously secret documents each year costs money. "If staff are paid, our yearly budget is $600,000 [£372,000]," it said. ..."  

Iran cites buildup, questions intent of more than 90 foreign warships [01/30/10] "Iran has reported a naval buildup in the Gulf. Officials said Western and allied forces have deployed scores of warships in the Gulf and Arabian Sea. They said nearly 100 warships have been conducting operations, many of which appear to be directed against Iran. "The Westerners know well that the existence of these warships in the Persian Gulf serve as the best operational targets for Iran if they should want to undertake any military action against Iran," Iranian Defense Minister Ahmed Vahidi said. Vahidi, in an address on Jan. 19, said more than 90 foreign warships were detected in the Gulf region. He said they included Western aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and submarines in what has created a "military environment ..."  Note:  See the new Iran section link on the Special Articles page.

Update:  Potential False Flag Attack To Be Blamed On Muslims Foiled [01/29/10] "A possible false flag terror attack to be blamed on Muslims has been foiled after a Navy vet was busted with a grenade launcher, assault rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, as well as Arab headdress, in New Jersey yesterday. Initial media reports speculated that the man was planning a terrorist attack on a U.S. military base in the area. “Lloyd Woodson, 43, whose last known address was Reston, Va., today faces multiple offenses, including second-degree unlawful weapons possession and fourth-degree possession of prohibited weapons, Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest said,” reports the New Jersey Star Ledger. “Branchburg police confronted Woodson at 3:55 a.m. at the Quick Chek convenience store on Route 28 after receiving a call reporting a suspicious person. Branchburg Patrolman Steven Cronce noticed a large bulge beneath the green, military-style jacket that Woodson was wearing, which was later determined to be the assault rifle with a defaced serial number, Forrest said.” After searching his hotel room, police found a grenade launcher, hundreds .50-caliber and .308-caliber rounds, a police scanner, as well as “Middle Eastern red and white traditional headdress”. “The man may have had plans to attack a U.S. military base,” reported Fox New Jersey, adding that the amount of weapons he had led police to suspect he was a terrorist. The FBI were remarkably swift in distancing the man from any link with terrorists, despite the fact that his deadly arsenal was accompanied by maps of a military facility. “The FBI said a man charged with multiple weapons offenses after a cache of weapons and maps of a military facility were found in his New Jersey motel room has no known terrorism link,” reported the Associated Press this morning. Imagine if a Muslim had been busted with grenade launchers, assault rifles, and maps of military facilities. Authorities and the media would instantly claim he was part of an Al-Qaeda conspiracy and launch all kinds of fearmongering about the inevitability of getting hit again by terrorists unless we give up our rights – just as they did in the aftermath of the failed underwear bombing incident. ..."     Note: Another dumb patsy gets caught.

CrossTalk on Holocaust: Murder Revenues [01/29/10]   VIDEO [25:47]  "Sixty-five years ago, Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops. Peter Lavelle asks his guests what the legacy of the Holocaust is today. Is its memory being abused? Does Israel use Holocaust as a blackmail weapon? Norman Finkelstein and Israel W. Charny discuss the issue in a heated debate. ..."  Note:  Now, this is a half hour fun video.

Hackers hit House websites: ‘Fuck Obama’ [01/29/10] "Some twenty congressmembers and House congressional committee websites were hit with targeted hacks this morning after President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech ..."  Note: ... or Barry Soetoro, which is allegedly his REAL name.

Secret detention may amount to crime against humanity: UN experts [01/29/10] "UN human rights experts warned in a report on Wednesday that "widespread and systematic" secret detention of terror suspects was continuing and could pave the way for charges of crimes against humanity. The report listed 66 countries that have allegedly been involved in secret detentions -- from Ethiopia to Romania, from Kosovo to Pakistan -- and called on governments to investigate and prosecute those who ordered such detentions. In their first in-depth global study on secret detentions, the UN experts said that virtually no judicial steps had been attempted against the practice despite the "widespread" manner in which suspects were held in a legal limbo. "Secret detention continues to be used in the name of countering terrorism around the world" in spite of international human rights norms, said the study, which is due to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in March. "If resorted to in a widespread and systematic manner, secret detention might reach the threshold of a crime against humanity," the authors cautioned. The "global war on terror," which was launched by President George W. Bush's administration after the September 11 attacks, had "reinvigorated" the use of secret detentions in an organised manner, they said. The campaign saw the creation of "a comprehensive and coordinated system of secret detention of persons suspected of terrorism, involving not only US authorities, but also other states in almost all regions of the world." The study was compiled by two independent UN experts on counter-terrorism and torture, as well as UN panels overseeing arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances. Campaign group Amnesty International said in a statement that governments must be held to account ....."   

Commentary:  Towards a Theory of Conspiracy Theories [01/29/10] "As Gore Vidal once said "The way our ruling class keeps out of sight is one of the greatest stunts in the political history of any country" and conspiracy theory is one of their most potent methodologies. ... Recently, there was quite a hullabaloo in the blogosphere over a reprehensible academic paper Sunstein co-wrote in 2008 (available for download here), which argued for a Cointellpro-type program of government infiltration of conspiracy theorists, online and in person. Given the incredible scope and flexibility of the powers of his office, as enunciated in this September 30, 1993 executive order signed by Clinton, his proposal should certainly give us pause. His paper, "Conspiracy Theories," was originally scooped by Marc Estrin at Rag Blog, and covered in short order by Daniel Tencer at The Raw Story and Glenn Greenwald at Salon and pretty much went viral from there. Although Greenwald's piece was the most extensive, none of the reports really examined the paper in great detail.  I took the time to read the whole thing. I've also read the entire academic literature on conspiracy theory and written one of my masters theses on the topic at a Division I research university. If I have the stomach for it, I may offer a more detailed analysis of Sunstein's paper in a future post, but for now I'd like to offer something else ...." 

Bernhard of the World Wild Life Fund [01/29/10] "Scandal rocked the Royal family again in 1976 when it was revealed that Prince Bernhard had accepted a $1.1 million bribe from U.S. aircraft manufacturer, Lockheed Corporation to influence the Dutch government's purchase of fighter aircraft. The Prime Minister of the Netherlands ordered an inquiry into the affair while Prince Bernhard was refusing to answer reporters' questions, stating: "I am above such things." ..."  Note: I wish to know why he's still alive. 

Landrieu phone plot: Men arrested have links to intelligence community [01/29/10] "Two of the three men arrested on Monday along with “ACORN pimp” James O’Keefe for “maliciously tampering” with Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) phones in her New Orleans office have ties to the United States intelligence community. ..."    

Report: Bush order allowing murder of US citizens abroad still in effect [01/29/10] "If a United States citizen was determined to have joined a foreign terrorist group, that person could be legally murdered under orders given by President George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks. In spite of an administration change in Washington, D.C., that allowance is still in effect, according to a late-breaking report in The Washington Post on Tuesday. ..."  

How many other Holocausts have occurred and why are they not remembered? [01/29/10] "Today is UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but why do we only remember this one event, when so many other holocausts have taken place? Think Armenia, Rwanda, the Congo, Cambodia, Sudan, Iraq, etc. Why such a high-profile focus on this one holocaust, while the many other holocausts never get a mention? ..."  

US 82nd Airborne Division, elite unit that specializes in combat, not logistical support, fire on starving crowds in Haiti [01/29/10]  Note: The 82nd should not be there .... aren't they so 'proud' to be an army of 'one' .... don't forget ... there are a lot of Iraq/Afghan vets there that would just kill all of them if possible, and then kill themselves when they get back to the states. Too bad an asteroid couldn't fall on Haiti and get rid of the whole deal. What a show ... I can hear Pat Robertson now .... Related: UN Troops Pepper Spray Starving Haitians    

U.S. Companies Join Race on Iraqi Oil Bonanza [01/28/10] "American companies have been arriving in Iraq to pursue an expected multibillion-dollar bonanza of projects to revive the country’s petroleum industry. But there are questions about the Iraqi government’s capacity to police the companies. “These are for-profit concerns and they are trying to make as much money as they can,” said Pratap Chatterjee of CorpWatch. ..." 

US favors return of ex-Ba'athists (Saddam Hussein's political party) to power [01/28/10] "A senior Iraqi politician has warned that Washington supports the return of former Ba'ath party members to power in a bid to bolster security arrangements with Israel. ..."  Note:  So Israel is hoping for an eventual war trumped up between Iraq and Iran ... so much death in Iraq for nothing other than a temporary political convenience on the world stage.

Corruption probe into sale of Ghana oil block [01/28/10] "US and Ghanaian authorities are investigating corruption allegations involving a Texas oil company and the local partner that helped it secure control of the Ghanaian oil block that yielded one of Africa’s biggest recent discoveries. The case risks complicating efforts by Texas company Kosmos to sell its stake in the Jubilee oil field to ExxonMobil in a deal valued at $4bn. ..."   

Courts decide Guantanamo detainees are not "persons" under US law [01/28/10] "As reported yesterday, The US Supreme Court has refused to consider a case brought by 4 former Guantantamo Bay detainees against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other senior military officials for allegedly ordering torture and religious abuse. The plaintiffs are British nationals and include 3 men whose detainee experiences were portrayed in the award-winning docudrama, The Road to Guantanamo. In it's refusal to hear the case, the Supreme Court let stand a DC Circuit Court opinion that Guantanamo detainees do not qualify as "persons" under US law. Shannon Young spoke with Shayana Kadidal from the Center for Constitutional Rights about the legal implications of the case. ..."   

Goats slaughtered almost daily at Pakistan president's home to ward off 'black magic' [01/28/10] Note: And these people have nuclear weapons.

Democrats consider dropping insurance ban on pre-existing conditions [01/28/10] "Among the casualties of President Barack Obama's healthcare agenda may be those who suffer from pre-existing medical conditions and can't get insurance. Thought the ban on denying health insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions was going the way of the dodo? Not so fast. An astute blogger noted that the new proposals floated by Democrats in the wake of the massive health care bill's collapse is a provision that would bar denying coverage for those with pre-existing conditions -- but only if they were under 19. "Did someone just chuck pre-existing conditions overboard?" he wrote. Among the measures Democrats are considering, the New York Times noted Friday, "Insurers could not deny coverage to children under the age of 19 on account of pre-existing medical conditions." "The only reason to specify that children under the age of 19 won't be denied coverage is because you plan on letting everyone 19 and over BE denied coverage for pre-existing conditions," blogger John Aravosis replied. ..."  Note: "Pre-existing conditions' is how anyone's body IS ... if that's not good enough, then ...it's not a plan for anyone. Duh. 

Chris Hedges: Democracy in America Is a Useful Fiction [01/28/10] "There is no national institution left that can accurately be described as democratic. Citizens, rather than participate in power, are allowed to have virtual opinions to preordained questions, a kind of participatory fascism as meaningless as voting on “American Idol.” Mass emotions are directed toward the raging culture wars. This allows us to take emotional stands on issues that are inconsequential to the power elite. Our transformation into an empire, as happened in ancient Athens and Rome, has seen the tyranny we practice abroad become the tyranny we practice at home. We, like all empires, have been eviscerated by our own expansionism. We utilize weapons of horrific destructive power, subsidize their development with billions in taxpayer dollars, and are the world’s largest arms dealer. And the Constitution, as Wolin notes, is “conscripted to serve as power’s apprentice rather than its conscience.” ..."   

Danish Companies To Divest From Israel [01/27/10] "The decision came after human rights groups and boycott campaigns declared the wall to be in violation of an advisory ruling made by the Hague International Court. ..."  Note: I like it when some sequentials piss off other sequential groups.  Remember the Israeli air crash in 1992 in Denmark that contained components of Sarin nerve gas .... Israel's days are numbered ...

Israel Upset over UN Pro-Semitic (referring to the Palestinians) Reports [01/27/10] "Israel warned that any report which didn’t put the blame 100 percent on Hamas was inherently biased and declared that it showed the hypocrisy of the entire planet and a global bias against Israel. The US House of Representatives [Or as I like to refer to it, Knesset West] also condemned the report as “unfair” and called for the president to block its consideration. ..." 

US businesses urge Obama to resist Iran sanctions bill [01/27/10] "US business groups warned the White House on Tuesday that congressional plans to expand US sanctions on Iran threaten to significantly undermine US economic and security interests. The proposed sanctions would incite economic, diplomatic, and legal conflicts with US allies and could frustrate joint action against Iran," the US Chamber of Commerce and other business groups said in a letter to top White House officials. ..."    

Report:  North Korea, South Korea Exchange Artillery Fire Along Coast [01/27/10] "North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire along their disputed western sea border on Wednesday, two days after the North designated no-sail zones in the area, the military and news reports said. North Korea fired several rounds of land-based artillery off its coast, an officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said. The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of department policy, said no causalities or damage were immediately reported. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the South immediately returned fire from a marine base on an island near the sea border. Yonhap, citing an unidentified presidential official, said both Koreas fired into the air. ..."  

The Secret Arms Race  [01/27/10] VIDEO [8:10]  "Whilst the world has been distracted by the financial crisis crippling the global economy, one trade has been quietly thriving. As weapons trading escalates, the international arms race is picking up pace." 

Arsonists attack Greek synagogue for second time in 3 weeks "Police say a synagogue on the Greek island of Crete has been targeted by arsonists for the second time in three weeks. ..."   Related: Greek Cops Caught on Video Posing as Anarchists [01/27/10] VIDEO [5:47]   Note: Connection? Highly probable. Only governments attack themselves, now, pretending to be someone else. It's a tired trick that's so transparent. They're all be gone at some point.

Venezuelan vice president resigns [01/27/10] "Venezuelan Vice President Ramon Carrizalez has left the government, reportedly citing personal reasons. ... 

Plummeting birthrates "threaten prosperity" worldwide [01/27/10] "The resulting population dive will be breathtaking. Japan’s population, projections say, will decline by about 21 percent over the next four decades. South Korea’s population, which swelled by two-thirds over the last 40 years, is estimated to shrink by nearly 10 percent in the next 40. Europe’s population will peak in about five years and contract by between 6 and 16 percent by 2050, led by big declines in Germany (down 14 percent), Italy (6 percent), Poland (16 percent), and Russia (22 percent). ..." 

US Government Allowed Flight 253 to Happen [01/26/10] " ... The real bombshell came last Wednesday during hearings before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee when Bushist embed, and current Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), Michael E. Leiter, made a startling admission. CongressDaily reported on January 22 that intelligence officials “have acknowledged the government knowingly allows foreigners whose names are on terrorist watch lists to enter the country in order to track their movement and activities.” Leiter told the Committee: “I will tell you, that when people come to the country and they are on the watch list, it is because we have generally made the choice that we want them here in the country for some reason or another.” CongressDaily reporter Chris Strohm, citing an unnamed “intelligence official” confirmed that Leiter’s statement reflected government policy and told the publication, “in certain situations it’s to our advantage to be able to track individuals who might be on a terrorist watch list because you can learn something from their activities and their contacts.” An alternative explanation fully in line with well-documented inaction, or worse, by U.S. security agencies prior to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and now, Christmas Day’s aborted airline bombing, offer clear evidence that a ruthless “choice” which facilitates the murder of American citizens are cynical pretexts in a wider game: advancing imperialism’s geostrategic goals abroad and attacks on democratic rights at home. Leiter’s revelation in an of itself should demolish continued government claims that the accused terror suspect succeeded in boarding NW Flight 253 due to a failure to “connect the dots.” ..."    Related:  Senate Bill Based On Christmas Terror Attempt Would 'Discard The Constitution' "Proposed legislation in response to the Obama administration's handling of the so-called Christmas Day bomber would essentially make constitutional protection optional in cases of suspected terrorism, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which opposes the measure. ..." 

Flight 253 Cover-Up: “No Smoking Gun” Claims Undercut by New Disclosures [01/26/10] "Nearly one month after passengers foiled an attempted suicide bomb attack aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 as it approached Detroit on Christmas Day, new information reveals that the White House and U.S. security agencies had specific intelligence on accused terrorist, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, far earlier than previously acknowledged. Along with new reports, evidence suggests that the administration’s cover-up of the affair has very little to do with a failure by the intelligence apparatus to “connect the dots” and may have far more serious political implications for the Obama administration, and what little remains of a functioning democracy in the United States, than a botched bombing. What the White House and security officials have previously described only as “vague” intercepts regarding “a Nigerian” has now morphed into a clear picture of the suspect–and the plot. The New York Times revealed January 18 that the National Security Agency “learned from a communications intercept of 'Qaeda followers' in Yemen that a man named “Umar Farouk”–the first two names of the jetliner suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab–had volunteered for a coming operation.”  According to Times’ journalists Eric Lipton, Eric Schmitt and Mark Mazzetti, “the American intelligence network was clearly listening in Yemen and sharing that information.” Indeed, additional NSA intercepts in December “mentioned the date of Dec. 25, and suggested that they were ‘looking for ways to get somebody out’ or ‘for ways to move people to the West,’ one senior administration official said.” ....."  Note:  Interesting article.

Arnold: Send California prisoners to Mexico [01/26/10] "Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested California could ease its crowded prison system by sending thousands of undocumented inmates to specially built jails in Mexico. Speaking to reporters at the Sacramento Press Club, Schwarzenegger said California could ease its strained finances by a billion dollars if 20,000 illegal immigrants currently held in the state were housed across the border. "I think that we can do so much better in the prison system alone if we can go and take, inmates for instance, the 20,000 inmates that are illegal immigrants that are here and get them to Mexico," Schwarzenegger said. "Think about it -- if California gives Mexico the money. Not 'Hey, you take care of them, these are your citizens'. No. Not at all. "We pay them to build the prison down in Mexico. And then we have those undocumented immigrants down there in prison. It would half the costs to build the prison and run the prison. We could save a billion dollars right there that could go into higher education." ..."   

‘Minority Report’ Becomes a Minnesota Reality [01/26/10] "The movie Minority Report was about a future society where people are arrested before they actually even commit a crime, i.e, they are arrested just for thinking about it. It seems that science fiction has become science fact in Minnesota. ..."  

Freedom Forum CEO Tied to For-Profit Prisons [01/26/10] ""What Overby’s Freedom Forum biography does not disclose is that since 2001, he’s been a director of the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). This omission is easy to understand when you juxtapose the Freedom Forum’s guiding principles—“free speech, free press and free spirit”—against CCA’s recent actions and attitudes toward the press and freedom of information. CCA, the nation’s largest private jailer (holding more than 70,000 prisoners in over 60 facilities, and taking in $1.6 billion in revenue for 2008), spent millions of dollars from 2007 to 2009 successfully lobbying against two bills: the Public Safety Act of 2007 (which would outlaw private prisons) and the Private Prison Information Act of 2007. As no hearing was ever held on the Public Safety Act, it’s likely that the bulk of these resources went to suppress the PPIA." ..."  Related: Analysis:   Americans: consumers, warriors or prisoners [01/26/10] "Corporations Are Citizens - What Are We?... This week's Supreme Court ruling that corporations are protected by "free speech" rights and can contribute enormous sums of money to influence elections is a de jure endorsement of the de facto dominance of corporations over our lives. Indeed, corporations are the new citizens of this country, and ordinary Americans, who used to be known as "citizens," now fall into three categories: consumers, warriors and prisoners. ..."

ICC Complaint Filed Against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Tenet, Rice, Gonzales [01/26/10] "A complaint has been filed with the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) in The Hague against George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, and Alberto Gonzales (the “Accused”) for their criminal policy and practice of “extraordinary rendition” perpetrated upon about 100 human beings. This term is a euphemism for the enforced disappearance of persons and their consequent torture. This criminal policy and practice by the Accused constitute Crimes against Humanity in violation of the Rome Statute establishing the I.C.C.  ..."   

US Sole Opponent of UN Anti-Nazi Resolution [01/26/10] "... The State Department reply of February 26, 2009 stated: “This resolution fails to distinguish between actions and statements that, while offensive, should be protected by freedom of expression, and actions that incite violence, which should be prohibited. The United States remains convinced that governments should not punish speech, even that which is deemed offensive or hateful. In a free society hateful ideas fail on account of their own intrinsic lack of merit.”  ... The governments of the Baltics and Ukraine are tacitly sanctioning resurgent Nazi ideology, and the inclusion of the Baltics in NATO, and support of pro-Nazi regimes in Ukraine and Georgia, are central to a hostile encirclement of Russia, an Orwellian rewriting of history, undermining Russia’s morale and prestige as the decisive victor defeating Nazism in World War II. Of course, this perversion of history also desecrates the honor and memory of the many American soldiers who also died fighting Nazism. The rewriting and desecration of historic truth are an essential component of political and psychological warfare ...."   

South Carolina Lt. Gov. Apologizes for Comparing the Poor to ‘Stray Animals’ Who Just Breed [01/26/10] "South Carolina’s Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has apologized for comparing poor people to “stray animals” that are encouraged by gifts of food to breed uncontrollably. Bauer, who is running in the state’s gubernatorial election, told CNN while apologizing that he is “not against animals.” What he is is maybe a little dense. After telling the news network that “I never intended to tie people to animals,” Bauer repeated the error by offering this pearl of wisdom: “If you have a cat, if you take it in your house and feed it and love it, what happens when you go out of town?”  ..."    Note: Remember this: [The Palestinians are] beasts walking on two legs." Menahim Begin, speech to the Knesset, quoted in Amnon Kapeliouk, "Begin and the Beasts". New Statesman, 25 June 1982. 

Virginia authorities seize grenade launcher, weapons cache from ex-Navy man at motel [01/26/10] "At the time of his arrest, Woodson was wearing a military-style ballistic vest with a reinforced steel plate and carrying a .223-caliber assault rifle that had been altered to fire .50-caliber ammunition, Forrest. He was also carrying four loaded magazines with hollow-point ammunition, Forrest said.  ...Detectives later searched Woodson’s room at the Red Mill Inn on Route 22 and found weapons including a .308-caliber semi-automatic assault rifle with a defaced serial number, a grenade launcher, hundreds .50-caliber and .308-caliber rounds, a police scanner, and the maps of a U.S. military installation and an out-of-state civilian community, Forrest said. Woodson, who is a Navy veteran, had been staying at the hotel since last week. Investigators also found Middle Eastern red and white traditional headdress, Forrest said. "  Note: Another mind-controlled soul to play patsy for another covert Op.

Mass Toad Slaughter Causing Controversy In Australia [01/26/10] "When the enemy reached Australia's largest state last year, the Kimberley Toad Busters knew the battle was on. But they didn't expect that officialdom might strip them of their most effective weapon. The enemy? The cane toad. The weapon? Plastic bags full of carbon dioxide – long considered the animal-friendly alternative to whacking the creatures with golf clubs or cricket bats. But Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation isn't so sure that euthanizing Bufo marinus with carbon dioxide is the kindest way to go, and says further tests are needed. Should the tests prove the toads are suffering, the carbon dioxide option could be banned across Western Australia. And that, the Toad Busters fear, would make the war against cane toads virtually unwinnable. Keep on whacking them instead, says the government. But to many, that makes no sense. ..."  Note: Dumb people and misplaced priorities, as usual. 

Iraq: 'US to surrender Iraq to extremists' [01/25/10] "An Iraqi parliamentarian warns of alleged US plans to surrender the country to extremists, urging resistance on the part of Baghdad. ...The Iraqi Press Agency (IPA) quoted female Shia lawmaker Maha al-Douri as saying that the United States aims to cede the country to Baath, the outlawed party of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and Takfiris — both considered to be extremist groups. Al-Douri, which serves the parliamentarian bloc associated with senior Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, said a recent visit by US Vice President Joe Biden had been in line with the plans. Biden met with the Iraqi leadership on Saturday after the country's Justice and Accountability Commission barred more than 500 candidates from contesting the country's eagerly-anticipated parliamentary elections on March 7, linking some of the questionable figures to the Baath party. The visit, some say, was aimed at reversing the decision ....."   Note:  As far as the US is concerned, why not give Iraq back the very thugs they took it from, because they will get the population back in line, and Iraq can be used to harass Iran, the current US objective.

UK: Academic: Terrorism and child pornography used to justify surveillance society [01/25/10] "Internet users are being spied on in their own home as the Government uses the threat of terrorism and the spread of child pornography to justify launching a dramatic expansion of surveillance society, according to a leading academic. ..."   

UK: Details of Iraq whistleblower’s alleged suicide to be sealed 70 years [01/25/10] "By 2080, anyone with a direct interest in learning how Dr. David Kelly died, will themselves be dead. That's how an Oxford coroner reacted to a recent ruling ordering the details of the former United Nations weapons inspector's death locked away for 70 years, Kelly's story, however, was gravely important in 2003, just before he was found dead in the woods behind his home in Oxfordshire, U.K. As the BBC revealed in the wake of his passing, he had been the key source behind a story claiming intelligence on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction was "sexed up." Hours before his death, he reportedly e-mailed New York Times reporter Judith Miller, warning her of "many dark actors playing games," according to the BBC. Lord Hutton, the British judge who led the state's investigation into Kelly's death, also ordered his written records pertaining to the case sealed for 30 years, according to UK's Morning Star Online. ..."   

Defense Department Considering Outsourcing American Aerospace Jobs to France [01/25/10] "Vying for the $35 billion contract for 179 tanker planes are the Washington-based Boeing and the Toulouse, France-based European Aeronautic Defense Space Company (EADS), though the former has threatened to withdraw from consideration if the Pentagon did not significantly alter their request for proposals (RFP) to fit the capabilities of their plane. ..."   

Judges Urge Congress to Act on Indefinite Terrorism Detentions [01/25/10] "Three judges on the federal trial court hearing challenges brought by Guantanamo prisoners are calling on Congress and the Obama administration to enact a law to address one of the nation's most perplexing moral and legal dilemmas: When can the United States indefinitely detain terrorism... ..."  Related: MSM: Panel: 50 Gitmo Prisoners Must Be Kept Indefinitely  "A task force spearheaded by the Justice Department recommends that 50 of the 196 detainees at Guantanamo Bay be held indefinitely without trial. The group, providing a specific breakdown for the first time, determined that the 50 prisoners were too dangerous to release and that any trial would expose state secrets.  ..."   

No Blackwater in Pakistan, says interior minister [01/25/10] "The Pakistani Interior Minister has once again ruled out the existence of Blackwater in Pakistan, saying there is no evidence showing its presence in the country. ..."  Related: Gates Admits Blackwater Operating in Pakistan   

 Analysis: Exposing Myths About the CIA And The Intelligence Community By Melvin A. Goodman [01/25/10]  "It is time for serious soul-searching regarding the role of the CIA and the intelligence community. Last month’s operational and intelligence failures led to the deaths of seven CIA officers in Afghanistan and might have resulted in nearly 300 deaths on a Northwest Airlines plane headed for Detroit. It is particularly shocking that President Barack Obama’s chief of counterterrorism, John Brennan, conceded that the latter failure was caused by the fact that there was “no one intelligence entity or team or task force assigned responsibility for doing a follow-up investigation” of the considerable intelligence that was collected. It is unbelievable that the president had to order the creation of a system for tracking threat reports. The failures beg the question of what have we learned since 9/11. Previous CIA failures regarding the unanticipated decline and fall of the Soviet Union, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the run-up to the Iraq War demonstrate a $75 billion intelligence enterprise that can provide neither strategic nor tactical warning to policymakers and is reluctant to provide uncomfortable truth to power. ..."   

C.I.A. Deaths Prompt Surge in U.S. Drone Strikes  [01/24/10] "Since the suicide bombing that took the lives of seven Americans in Afghanistan on Dec. 30, the Central Intelligence Agency has struck back against militants in Pakistan with the most intensive series of missile strikes from drone aircraft since the covert program began.  ..."   

A-bomb matter discovered in northern Brazil [01/24/10] "Brazilian police have discovered a large stash with hundreds of kilograms of 'enriched uranium' in the northern State of Amapa. After four months of investigations, police on Friday discovered the 'highly' fissile material hoarded in a remote area of a tropical rainforest, Russia's RIA Novosti reported on Saturday. According to the report, around 450 kilograms (990 lb) of pitchblende, particularly radioactive uranium ore, which can be used for military purposes, was recovered in a bag in the northern territories. Officials have refrained from disclosing further information about the episode and reportedly launched a probe into the case.  ..."   

'Israel seeks more involvement in Afghan war' [01/24/10] "Foreign forces in Afghanistan will use unmanned Israeli drones more extensively in the US-led war, an Israeli paper said, citing the regime's desire to be more involved in the war. The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday that Germany will become the fifth country whose troops in Afghanistan will operate Israeli drones as of next week. The German military is expected to take delivery of an undisclosed number of Israeli made surveillance-geared Heron unmanned drones, the newspaper said. Another Israeli daily, Ha'aretz, wrote in March that Israeli-built drones have been flying in Iraqi and Afghan skies for the last three years. The Afghan government has not commented on the report.  ..."   

Report: Canada's former ambassador to Iran was CIA spy  [01/24/10] "A report says the Canadian diplomat praised for sheltering Americans during the Iranian Revolution was a CIA spy. The Globe and Mail quotes former ambassador Ken Taylor as telling the newspaper that he was made ``de facto CIA station chief'' in a secret deal between president Jimmy Carter and prime minister Joe Clark. ..."  

Ron Paul: State of the Republic Address [01/23/10]  VIDEO [6:05]  "Texas Congressman Ron Paul has delivered a riveting “State of The Republic” address on his Campaign for Liberty website, orating his thoughts on where the U.S. stands as a nation and what the future holds. Paul warns that if the country continues along the course it is on, we will witness a three stage slide into social and political chaos, beginning with the current financial crisis, a coming dollar crisis, and culminating in mass unrest. “Reality is setting in,” the Congressman urges, adding that the only way to prevent social breakdown is to embrace liberty and self reliance and reject the nanny state and government dependency. “We are rapidly moving toward a dangerous time in our history. Society as we know it is vulnerable to political and social unrest. This impending crisis comes as a consequence of our flawed foreign and domestic economic policies, a silly notion of money, ignorance about central banking, ignoring the onerous power and mischief of out of control intelligence agencies, our unsustainable welfare state and a willingness to sacrifice privacy and civil liberties in an attempt to achieve safety and security from an inept government.”."  Part 2 [7:45]  Part 3   [5:34] 

UK Raises National Threat Level, Imbuing Hillary Clinton With Magical Relevance Sufficient for Someone to Attack Her During Her Visit [01/23/10] "Fears of a terrorist attack on Hillary Clinton when she is in Britain next week prompted the UK terror threat level to be raised, according to a leading expert. Professor Richard Bonney believes the arrival of the U.S. Secretary of State in London next week is why the official level has gone from substantial to severe. ..."  Note: Fat chance. 

Gates: Taliban (Now) Part of ‘Political Fabric’ of Afghanistan (Like They Always Were) [01/23/10] "Just days after declaring the Taliban “insidious” and a “cancer” on Afghanistan that needs to be eliminated, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates insisted that the group was part of the “political fabric” of Afghanistan that needed to be willing to take a legitimate role going forward. ..."  Note:  Translation- the US and NATO are losing, big-time, in Afghanistan.

Apocalypse of the American Mind [01/23/10] "One thing that remains consistent over the last 30 years in observing America’s participation in Afghanistan is that mistakes and errors of judgment, no matter how egregious or self-defeating, never seem to get corrected. In fact, in its effort to rationalize a growing culture of war-making from Vietnam to Afghanistan, America has come around to embracing the insanity of the fictional Colonel Kurtz. ..."  

States Can Reject Unconstitutional Federal Laws [01/23/10] "... More recently, nullification of a different sort has been put on trial in the court of public opinion and pursued in the chambers of state legislatures across the country. This type of nullification is not an act of defiance, rather one of obedience — obedience to the Constitution of the United States and to the conscience of its determined protectors. When a state nullifies a federal law, it does so with the solemn conviction that the law in question is unconstitutional. The state's lawmakers, generally invoking their sovereign powers under the Tenth Amendment, are proclaiming that the offensive law is void and inoperative, or non-effective, within the boundaries of that state. In other words, they declare that the federal law is not "legal" and cannot be enforced against their citizens. Such nullification has a long history in the American tradition. Of late it has been used by quite a few states in effectively blocking the federal Real ID Act of 2005 and resisting federal marijuana laws. With regard to healthcare legislation expected to be forced on us against our will by Washington, a number of states are already putting into motion the wheels of nullification. Legislation has been introduced, or state constitutional amendments put forth for 2010, that could effectively nullify national healthcare mandates within the borders of the various states. ..."  

Tensions high at Israeli-Lebanese border [01/23/10] "A new report said that Hezbollah has tightened security measures along the border with Israel as Tel Aviv beefs up its forces along the northern frontier. ..."   

“Gold Finger - A New Take On Operation Grand Slam With A Tungsten Twist” [01/23/10] "I’ve already reported on irregular physical gold settlements which occurred in London, England back in the first week of October, 2009. Specifically, these settlements involved the intermediation of at least one Central Bank [The Bank of England] to resolve allocated settlements on behalf of J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank – who DID NOT have the gold bullion that they had sold short and were contracted to deliver.  ... At the same time I reported on two other unusual occurrences: 1] - irregularities in the publication of the gold ETF - GLD’s bar list from Sept. 25 – Oct.14 where the length of the bar list went from 1,381 pages to under 200 pages and then back up to 800 or so pages. 2] - reports of 400 oz. “good delivery” bricks of gold found gutted and filled with tungsten within the confines of LBMA approved vaults in Hong Kong ... If anyone were contemplating creating “fake” gold bars, tungsten [at roughly $10 per pound] would be the metal of choice since it has the exact same density as gold making a fake bar salted with tungsten indistinguishable from a solid gold bar by simply weighing it. ....  Unfortunately, there are now more sordid details to report. When the news of tungsten “salted” gold bars in Hong Kong first surfaced, many people who I am acquainted with automatically assumed that these bars were manufactured in China – because China is generally viewed as “the knock-off capital of the world”. Here’s what I now understand really happened:  ....."   

TSA Agent places white powder on passenger as “a joke” [01/23/10] "Ann Davis, the TSA spokeswoman, said this afternoon that the worker is no longer employed by the agency as of today. She said privacy laws prevented her from saying if he was fired or left on his own. ..."  Related: “I Am God” – TSA Agent Arrested at LAX 

Video catches NYC cops punching handcuffed man in head [01/23/10] "Two New York City police officers have been suspended without pay after video surfaced of them punching a suspect who was handcuffed and lying on the ground. The video, obtained by the New York Daily News, shows officers John Cicero and William Green repeatedly hitting Johnathan Baez in the head. Baez was one of eight men apprehended during an undercover drug sting gone awry in the Bronx on Jan. 5. "This is not an isolated incident," Baez' lawyer, Jeffrey Emdin, said. "What sets this apart is that it was caught on tape." ..."   

U.S. Feeds One Quarter of its Grain to Cars While Hunger is on the Rise [01/23/10] "The amount of grain needed to fill the tank of an SUV with ethanol just once can feed one person for an entire year. The average income of the owners of the world’s 940 million automobiles is at least ten times larger than that of the world’s 2 billion hungriest people. In the competition between cars and hungry people for the world’s harvest, the car is destined to win.  Continuing to divert more food to fuel, as is now mandated by the U.S. federal government in its Renewable Fuel Standard, will likely only reinforce the disturbing rise in hunger. By subsidizing the production of ethanol, now to the tune of some $6 billion each year, U.S. taxpayers are in effect subsidizing rising food bills at home and around the world. ..."    

41 industry leaders call on Congress to halt corporate ‘bribery’ [01/23/10] "Forty-one business leaders have co-signed letters sent to Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress voicing their opposition to Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that frees corporations to spend unlimited amounts on influencing elections. "Is there a difference between campaign contributions and bribery?" said Alan Hassenfeld, chairman of Hasbro, Inc, who co-signed the letter. "It is long past the time to stop requiring that our elected officials moonlight as telemarketers raising money for their re-election campaigns rather then devoting all their time to solving the problems before this nation," he said. The letter read: "As business leaders, we believe the current political fundraising system is already broken. The Supreme Court decision further exacerbates this problem." ..."  

Intel Chief’s Ignorance Displayed In Senate Hearing [01/23/10] "In yet another indicator that incompetents are handling national security, the U.S. government’s top intelligence official told a senate panel that the Al Qaeda operative who recently tried to blow up a passenger jet should have been questioned by a special interrogation unit that doesn’t even exist. If this sounds like a late-night comedy show skit, just take a look at the news report that provides the embarrassing details. Testifying before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the president’s Director of National Intelligence (Dennis Blair) said that the Nigerian terrorist who tried to blow up the Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas should not have been questioned by the FBI, but rather a yet-to-be-created interrogation outfit.  ... This hardly marks the first controversy involving Homeland Security blunders that indicate the system is perhaps not the most efficient. The nation’s Secretary of Homeland Security is actually best known for her many gaffes, including the laughable assessment that the aviation security system worked because Abdulmutallab didn’t actually succeed in blowing up the plane. Never mind that the system allowed a radical Muslim who appeared on the terrorist watch lists of two countries to board an airplane with explosives in his pants and that it was actually passengers—not authorities—who stopped him."  Note: Not even a minion would voluntarily put explosives in his pants. Related: "Counterterrorism" Interrogation Teams Coming To the U.S.

Iraq Spent $85 Million On Useless Bomb Detectors [01/23/10] "A BBC Newsnight investigation has found that a so-called “bomb detector”, thousands of which have been sold to Iraq, cannot possibly work. Leading explosives expert Sidney Alford told Newsnight the sale of the ADE-651 was “absolutely immoral”. “This type of equipment does not work,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind betting that lives have been lost ..."   

Human rights abusers ‘turned on activists in 2009′ [01/22/10] "Human rights defenders from Russia to Sri Lanka were themselves targets of vicious abuses in 2009, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday in its annual world report. HRW's executive director, Kenneth Roth, introduced the 624-page report by saying abuses against defenders of human rights represented a backlash by governments feeling the pressure. "Attacks on rights defenders might be seen as a perverse tribute to the human rights movement, but that doesn?t mitigate the danger," Roth said. "Under various pretexts, abusive governments are attacking the very foundations of the human rights movement." The report highlights the daylight kidnapping and murder of Natalia Estemirova, who investigated abductions, torture and illegal executions in Chechnya -- most of them by Russian and Russian-installed Chechen forces. Her murder came after a prominent human rights lawyer, Stanislav Markelov, was shot dead in central Moscow, and was followed by the murder of two charity workers in Chechnya and the gunning down of an opposition and civic activist in neighboring Ingushetia. ..."  

Commentary:  The Rule of Law Has Been Lost [01/22/10]  by Paul Craig Roberts "The protective features of law in the U.S. were eroded in the twentieth century by prosecutorial abuse and by setting aside law in order to better pursue criminals. By the time of our second edition (2008), law as a shield of the people no longer existed. Respect for the Constitution and rule of law had given way to executive branch claims that during time of war government is not constrained by law or Constitution. Government lawyers told President Bush that he did not have to obey the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which prohibits the government from spying on citizens without a warrant, thus destroying the right to privacy. The U.S. Department of Justice ruled that the President did not have to obey U.S. law prohibiting torture or the Geneva Conventions. Habeas corpus protection, a Constitutional right, was stripped from U.S. citizens. Medieval dungeons, torture, and the windowless cells of Stalin’s Lubyanka Prison reappeared under American government auspices. ..."   

Commentary:  How the Patriot Act Perpetuates Official Robberies: The War on Privacy [01/22/10] By James Bovard "In the post–9/11 era, federal officials are treating cash as they would a suspected weapon of mass destruction. They have created legions of new restrictions and reporting requirements for citizens’ money. But the new controls have done nothing to make Washington any more competent at protecting Americans from real threats. -- The feds seized upon the attacks to greatly expand intrusions into Americans’ financial affairs. The terrorist attacks instantly endowed George W. Bush with the right to micro-manage world financial institutions — or so the Bush administration apparently believed. And while Treasury Department officials portrayed their decrees as first strikes against “money that kills,” in reality it is almost impossible to determine which dollar bills have homicidal intent. The USA PATRIOT Act gave the feds the right to financially strip-search every American. It created new financial “crimes without criminal intent” — empowering the Customs Service to confiscate the cash of American travelers who fail to fill out a government form. ..."  

US waves white flag in disastrous 'war on drugs' [01/22/10] "After 40 years of defeat and failure, America's "war on drugs" is being buried in the same fashion as it was born – amid bloodshed, confusion, corruption and scandal. US agents are being pulled from South America; Washington is putting its narcotics policy under review, and a newly confident region is no longer prepared to swallow its fatal Prohibition error. Indeed, after the expenditure of billions of dollars and the violent deaths of tens of thousands of people, a suitable epitaph for America's longest "war" may well be the plan, in Bolivia, for every family to be given the right to grow coca in its own backyard. ..."    

How Did Spy Software Get Onto FAA Computers? [01/22/10] "The deathly precision of the attacks and the magnitude of planning would have required years of planning. Such a sophisticated operation would require the fixed frame of a state intelligence organization, something not found in a loose group, like the one led by the student Mohammed Atta in Hamburg. - Eckehardt Werthebach, former president of Germany's Verfassungsschutz intelligence service, to Christopher Bollyn, December 2001 ..."   

Abuse Under Color of Authority: NY police charged with sexual abuse of man [01/22/10] "A New York police officer and two colleagues have stood trial for abusing a man in October 15, 2008 after arresting him for smoking a marijuana cigarette. ..." 

"Anti Piracy" Law Firms labeled a Scam in the House of Lords [01/22/10] VIDEO [2:38]  "Lord Clement-Jones describes a continuing scam of a Law Firm that obtains a Norwich Pharmacal and then uses it to try to obtain money from an individual. I have to say it sounds so much like the ACS LAW model that I just have to assume he is talking about one and the same.  ..."  

Peres warns Abbas of third intifada [01/22/10] "Israeli President Shimon Peres warned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that continuing the impasse in negotiations with Israel could lead to a third intifada. He added that "in delaying, Abbas is playing with fire. ..."    

U.S. Jew indicted as possible Israel spy [01/22/10] "Two attorneys in the counterespionage unit of the U.S. Department's of Justice National Security division, Deborah Curtis and Heather Schmidt, presented documents found on the scientist's computer. One document, titled "Proposed Operations for 2005-2006," referred to the need to carry out "a penetration of NASA," the U.S. space agency. Another document, according to the prosecution, shows Nozette attempted to obtain highly confidential material by using his high-level security clearance and infiltrating other people's computers. ..."  

Alan Grayson Petitioning Against Looming Supreme Court Campaign Finance Decision [01/21/10] "n response to news that the Supreme Court will hold a special public session on Thursday, which some expect could bring a highly-anticipated campaign finance decision, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) is circulating an online petition opposing the decision, which is expected to undo limits on corporate spending in federal campaigns. Grayson said he would personally deliver the signatures to the court in the morning. "We're trying something new -- usually the only petitions the Supreme Court sees are petitions for writ of certiorari," Grayson told HuffPost. Asked where he got the idea, he said, "It's in the Constitution. The First Amendment guarantees the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances." ...It's Grayson's second stunt in anticipation of the decision. Last week the outspoken Florida Democrat introduced several pieces of legislation, such the Business Should Mind Its Own Business Act and the Corporate Propaganda Sunshine Act. (House leadership has also indicated it's planning a legislative response to the case.)"   

New Orleans 2.0: US Security Company Offers to Perform "High Threat Terminations" and to Confront "Worker Unrest" in Haiti [01/21/10] "We saw this type of Iraq-style disaster profiteering in New Orleans and you can expect to see a lot more of this in Haiti over the coming days, weeks and months. Private security companies are seeing big dollar signs in Haiti thanks in no small part to the media hype about "looters." After Katrina, the number of private security companies registered (and unregistered) multiplied overnight. Banks, wealthy individuals, the US government all hired private security. I even encountered Israeli mercenaries operating an armed check-point outside of an elite gated community in New Orleans. They worked for a company called Instinctive Shooting International. (That is not a joke). Now, it is kicking into full gear in Haiti. As we know, the member companies of the Orwellian-named mercenary trade association, the International Peace Operations Association, are offering their services in Haiti. But look for more stories like this one: On January 15, a Florida based company called All Pro Legal Investigations registered the URL Haiti-Security.com. It is basically a copy of the company’s existing US website but is now targeted for business in Haiti, claiming the "purpose of this site is to act as a clearinghouse for information seekers on the state of security in Haiti." "All Protection and Security has made a commitment to the Haitian community and will provide professional security against any threat to prosperity in Haiti," the site proclaims. "Job sites and supply convoys will be protected against looters and vandals. Workers will be protected against gang violence and intimidation. The people of Haiti will recover, with the help of the good people from the world over." The company boasts that it has run "Thousands of successful missions in Iraq & Afghanistan." As for its personnel, "Each and every member of our team is a former Law Enforcement Officer or former Military service member," the site claims. "If Operator experience, training and qualifications matter, choose All Protection & Security for your high-threat Haiti security needs." Among the services offered are: "High Threat terminations," dealing with "worker unrest," armed guards and "Armed Cargo Escorts." Oh, and apparently they are currently hiring. ..."     

Cargo firms delivering aid also involved in arms trafficking, says report [01/21/10] "Air cargo companies involved in illicit arms and drug trafficking have been repeatedly contracted by the UN and other aid agencies to deliver humanitarian aid, a leading thinktank reveals today. ..."  

Webmaster's Talk on Conspiracy Theories [01/21/10] VIDEO [7:03]  "Joe, a lawyer and the webmaster of 911insidejob.net, talks about conspiracy theories and that they are not far-fetched as many people believe. In fact, almost all unlawful acts of any significant nature are always planned and perpetrated by more than one person. Consequently, almost all significant unlawful acts are the result of a conspiracy. ..."  Note: He's naive and unaware of much, but his thoughts on conspiracy are apropos.  

Whisteblower reveals how health insurers can game new insurance bill [01/21/10] "Though Senate bill cuts 'pre-existing conditions,' it still allows insurance companies to create 'pre-existing' categories to raise rates. The Democrats' healthcare overhaul, billed as a monumental game-changer for Americans' health insurance coverage, provides numerous loopholes for health insurance companies which will allow them to raise rates to protect profit margins, a health insurance whistleblower says. Wendell Potter, a twenty-year veteran of the insurance industry and former vice president of communications for Cigna, warns that current healthcare legislation does nothing to prevent the insurance industry from continuing its ongoing practice of increasingly shifting healthcare costs to consumers. A form of bait-and-switch, such practices often set up individuals, families and small businesses for inadequate or unaffordable access and a continued looming threat of financial ruin. The overlooked element, Potter says, is that insurance companies will be able to claim they are reducing premiums by forcing more Americans to pay higher deductibles and offering less coverage. “We talk a lot about affordability, and we talk about affordability of insurance premiums,” Potter told Raw Story in a nearly hour-long interview. “But when you talk about affordability, you need to talk about affordability of premiums plus out-of-pocket expenses.” ..."  

U.S.-China Military Tensions Grow [01/21/10] "Even though the U.S. military budget is almost ten times that of China's (with a population more than four times as large) and Washington plans a record $708 billion defense budget for next year compared to Russia spending less than $40 billion last year for the same, China and Russia are portrayed as threats to the U.S. and its allies. China has no troops outside its borders; Russia has a small handful in its former territories in Abkhazia, Armenia, South Ossetia and Transdniester. The U.S. has hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in six continents. ..."  

Gitmo ‘Suicides’ Linked to Black Site Cover-Up [01/20/10] "The soldiers suggest the three actually had choked to death on rags during interrogation, and say they were told by camp commander Col. Bumgarner that even though everyone knew about the rags the official story would be that they hanged themselves to death. The colonel also reportedly warned the soldiers their communications were being monitored to make sure they didn’t “undermine” the official report. Col. Bumgarner was said to be “infuriated” by the story, while the Justice Department insisted that it had already closed its investigation into the incident and “found no evidence of wrongdoing.” ..."   

After Stealing Palestinian Organs, Now It’s Haiti’s Turn [01/20/10] "While media reports from Haiti expressed amazement at Israel’s well-equipped medical delegation to the quake-stricken nation, some critics have warned against organ theft. The Israeli medical team dispatched to Haiti has set up a field hospital in the tremor-battered Caribbean country, winning Western media praise for doing what even their American peers have not yet managed to accomplish. ..."   

Rise In Secret Bill Writing In Washington [01/20/10] "Schoolchildren are taught that a bill finally goes to the president after selected lawmakers meet openly to forge a compromise, and the House and Senate approve their accord. But in today's Congress, formal conference meetings are rare, the minority party is usually shut out and the public has little or no access to the process. That trend has been on display this month as Democrats and the White House engage in closed-door talks on how the government is going to change the delivery of health care that have effectively excluded the public and the media. Dating back to 1789, the House and Senate have dealt with differences in bills by convening conference committees to thrash out a unified approach that the chambers can pass and send to the president. For the past two decades at least some of these bicameral, bipartisan meetings have been open to C-SPAN cameras. But in those same two decades, leaders from both parties have held fewer and fewer conference meetings, or reduced their significance to photo ops. In the 93rd Congress of 1973-75, Congress filed 190 conference reports, the end product of formal House-Senate negotiations. In the session of 2005-07, the last time Republicans controlled both chambers, that number had fallen to 28. Last year, the first year of the current Congressional session, there were only 11 conference reports. ..."   

Republicans take Kennedy's seat in historic upset [01/20/10] "Republicans scored a victory overnight that put President Barack Obama's agenda in jeopardy and could kill health-care reform  ..."  

Protest Rally Against British Supplier of Israeli Weapons [01/20/10] "Protesters rallied in London against a British defense contractor that supplied Israel with weapons during the country’s 2009 assault on the Gaza Strip... ..." 

‘Daily Show’: It’s the Career Politicians, Stupid [01/20/10] VIDEO [5:38] "Why is the U.S. in the dire financial straits it’s in? Well, “Comeback America” author David Walker, who was formerly the country’s comptroller general and head of the Government Accountability Office, has a few ideas about what led to our “dysfunctional democracy” and he lays it all out in this clip from “The Daily Show.” Meanwhile, Jon Stewart gives an alternate translation for “e pluribus unum”: “We’re winging this.” Sounds about right.  ..."   Note: Very Good clip!

Commentary: Of Course the US Is Occupying Haiti [01/20/10] "The French minister and Medecins Sans Frontieres are exactly right. With that combination of militarism and victimology that characterises US fascism, DC is sanctimoniously taking over Haiti and will install its forces there permanently, to threaten any country that wants to declare its independence from the empire. The Southern Command in Tampa and the big US base in Columbia show the way. And see the endless footage of Marines succoring children. The US is only helping those in need, not exerting its domination. Murray Rothbard didn’t call it the welfare-warfare state for nothing. It’s the social worker with a machine gun, or as Isabel Patterson put it so long ago, the humanitarian with a guillotine. (Via Drudge) ..."   

Massachusetts could elect senator who supports waterboarding [01/19/10] "The Republican state senator vying to fill the Senate seat recently vacated by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) says he doesn't believe waterboarding -- where a suspect is effectively temporarily drowned -- is torture. ...State senator Scott Brown's candidacy has taken Massachusetts by storm and political analysts by surprise. Brown said that the US should continue to employ waterboarding against terrorist suspects, a technique considered torture for which the US executed Japanese soldiers during World War II."   

Travelers To US Can't Fly Without e-Approval [01/19/10] "US authorities make advance registration with ESTA mandatory from 20 January for visa waiver countries ..."  

French Minister Rips US: 'This Is About Helping Haiti, Not About Occupying Haiti' [01/19/10] "The United Nations must investigate and clarify the dominant U.S. role in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, a French minister said Monday, claiming that international aid efforts were about helping Haiti, not "occupying" it. U.S. forces last week turned back a French aid plane carrying a field hospital from the damaged, congested airport in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, prompting a complaint from French Cooperation Minister Alain Joyandet. The plane landed safely the following day. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warned governments and aid groups not to squabble as they try to get their aid into Haiti. "People always want it to be their plane ... that lands," Kouchner said Monday. "(But) what's important is the fate of the Haitians." ..."  

Dems look at bypassing Senate health care vote [01/19/10] "A panicky White House and Democratic allies scrambled Sunday for a plan to salvage their hard-fought health care package in case a Republican wins Tuesday's Senate race in Massachusetts, which would enable the GOP to block further Senate action. ..."  Note: Unless ALL of Congress votes on this ... it isn't a valid law. Tricks don't make it legal. 

Law to Curb Lobbying Sends It Underground  [01/19/10] "Ellen Miller, co-founder of the Sunlight Foundation, has spent years arguing for rules to force more disclosure of how lobbyists and private interests shape public policy. Until recently, she herself registered as a lobbyist, too, publicly reporting her role in the group’s advocacy of even more reporting. Not anymore. ...In light of strict new regulations imposed by Congress over the last two years, Ms. Miller joined a wave of policy advocates who are choosing not to declare themselves as lobbyists."   

MLK assassinated by US government: King family civil trial 1999 decision [01/18/10] "Martin Luther King’s family and his attorney, William F. Pepper, won a civil trial that found US government agencies guilty in the wrongful death of Martin Luther King. The 1999 trial, King Family versus Jowers and Other Unknown Co-Conspirators, is the only trial ever conducted on the assassination of Dr. King. The King family’s attempts for a criminal trial were denied, as suspect James Ray’s recant of what he claimed was a false confession was denied. ..."   

Texas:  Armed "hunters" put Pantex nuclear weapons plant into security lockdown [01/18/10] "An Amarillo, Texas nuclear plant was put on precautionary lockdown after armed hunters were spotted in a field across from the plant, the Carson County Sheriff's Department said. Pantex Plant activated its Emergency Response Organization at 8 a.m. Friday in response to a possible security situation. Pantex employees were moved to a safe location. Police were on the scene and said there was no danger to the public. "They did have it locked down," said an official, who wished to remain anonymous, at the Texas Department of Public Safety, according to Reuters. "There was no security breach. It was purely a precautionary measure." The Pantex Plant is a nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility. ..."  Note:  Something may be "stinky" with this story. Pantex has had a series of security problems linked to Israel   

Big neocon loss in Ukraine presidential election [01/18/10] "Viktor Yuschenko, friend of George Soros, knocked out in first round. Run-off between Viktor Yanukovych and current PM Yulia Tymoshenko. ..."  Note:  People like Yulia ... perhaps it's her 'Star Wars" hair bun that comes across so well.  Related: Ukraine identifies Georgian special forces who were sent to disrupt presidential election [01/18/10] "These agents should be on every international watch list: Sergei Bigiashvili, Giorgy Kalandarishvili, Zurab Makirishvili, Zama Vashadze, Zurab Jakhaya, Zviad Tsnobiladze, Chukzar Tsikhilashvili, Irakly Gogiya, Bakur Kornilov, and Irakly Andronikashvili ..."| Georgian special forces personnel tried to rip seals off ballot boxes in Ukraine.  [01/18/10] " ..."  Note:  Georgia is a big hangout for Israelis and their disaffected cohorts.

Commentary:  "The Power Elite Is Worried" [01/18/10] ".... Gerald Celente has predicted that 2012 will see the birth of a new third party to supplant the Republicans, who certainly deserve to be supplanted. It will, apparently, be centered in the Tea Party movement. These people seem far better than the Republicans in domestic affairs, and they tend to be unconnected to the establishment in general. At their best, they are Ron Paulians. (Indeed, Ron held the first Tea Party.) The other day, Republican talk show host Rush Limbaugh said the last thing the country needs is the Ron Paul movement draining the life out of the Republican party (haha!). He fears too that Ron might run as an independent candidate in 2012. And today on Morning Joe, the assembled notables were also bemoaning the rise of the independents .... Taxpayers are faced by two identical parties, one owned by banksters and Wall Street plutocrats, and one owned by oil plutocrats and Big Pharma, and both sets of owners are worried. Is the gravy train slowing? Might the spigot of our money pouring into their wallets be tightened? No wonder Limbaugh, a loyal retainer of the Bush family—as Bush I once jovially confirmed on an open mike—tells us to pay no attention to Ron, one of his extremely rare mentions. I wonder: does Rush know, to take one of many examples, that a huge crowd chanted “Twenty-Twelve, Twenty-Twelve” to Ron last weekend? ..."   

Haaretz reports Israeli firm allowed underwear bomber on plane in Amsterdam [01/18/10] " Haaretz finally reports Israeli firm allowed underwear bomber on plane in Amsterdam ...The Israeli firm ICTS International (not to be confused with ICTS Europe, which is a different company), and two of its subsidiaries are at the crux of an international investigation in recent days, as experts try to pinpoint the reasons for the security failure that enabled Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to board Northwest flight 253 and attempt to set alight explosives hidden in his underwear. A Haaretz investigation has learned that the security officers and their supervisor should have suspected the passenger, even without having early intelligence available to them. At this time, ICTS and the Dutch security firm G4S are hurling recriminations at each other, as are the authorities at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Federal Aviation Authority and U.S. intelligence officials. "   Note:  ICTS and subsidiaries I-SEC and Pro-Check International are under fire. Related:  Flashback Dec 2009: "Passengers at Schiphol flying to the United States subjected to intense grilling by security personnel linked to  Israeli firm."   

Executive Orders - The Hallmarks Of Fascist Tyranny [01/18/10] "... In order to maintain the illusion of a democracy, we are still allowed a presidential election every four years; and no one president can serve more than two four year terms. But, it's not any one president who has become a dictator, it is the Office of the Presidency, and those faceless autocrats who control the presidency that has become dictatorial, without many of us ever knowing it. ..."   

Obama and the Global Police: More Friendly Fascism? [01/18/10] "Over the course of his first year in office, Barack Obama has shown himself to be a skillful and savvy politician, saying the things Americans want to hear while stealthily and inexorably moving forward the government's agenda of centralized power. For example, in one breath, Obama pays lip service to the need for greater transparency in government, while in another, he issues an executive order that will result in even more government secrecy. He is aided in this Machiavellian mindset by a trusting populace inclined to take him at his word and a mainstream media seemingly loath to criticize him or scrutinize his actions too closely. A perfect example of this is the media's relative lack of scrutiny over Obama's recent transformation of Executive Order (EO) 12425 from a document that constitutionally limits the International Criminal Police Organization's (Interpol) activities domestically to one that establishes it as an autonomous police agency within the U.S. ..."   

The Intelligence Cover-Ups Continue: Obama Appoints John McLaughlin To "Investigate Terror" [01/18/10] "The Obama administration quietly announced Friday the appointment of John McLaughlin, former deputy CIA director, to head the internal investigation of the intelligence failures that led to the Christmas Day attempted bombing of a Delta airliner headed for Detroit as well as the events leading to the shootings at Fort Hood in November.  ..."  Note:  He will be fed with specific info that will cause him to come to a desired conclusion.

The Landed Underclass: A much worse problem [01/18/10] "The idea of the Cold War was: Communism is so bad, because of how badly it runs everything and how badly it treats everybody except its top nobs, who live rather better than the average king and more like certain notorious mediaeval popes, that rather than allow it to happen here we will at remarkably short notice transform the bulk of the Northen Hemisphere into what is known as a ’self-illuminating glass car park’. The Communists, who at the time were mostly in Russia, naturally took a different view. ....  Totalitarianism is a much worse problem than terrorism because terrorists, particularly real ones, can usually blow up no more than a few dozen people at a time, and that only occasionally, and can sometimes be nobbled if they can’t be nicked, and can be ignored the rest of the time, whereas totalitarians always bully everyone, everywhere, all the time, for ever, in ways that are really quite difficult to ignore. They are addicted to power, can never have enough of it, and to ensure their supply of it they will stop at nothing. The great mystery of the 21st century is why people, including people who in recent memory stood up to some real terrorists and won, are now apparently so afraid of terrorists that they’ll submit only slightly grudgingly to totalitarians. Or is it the totalitarians they’re really afraid of by now, and not the terrorists at all?  ..."  Note: Fun read. 

Haiti Earthquake Hides the Cracks of Hypocrisy [01/18/10] "But, what happened during these disasters?: [ Gaza 2009-2010  Ongoing , killed thousands, massive humanitarian disaster, continued prison. Cause: Israeli Military – US Weapons] , [Afghanistan 2001-2010 killed millions, massive humanitarian disaster, continued occupation. Cause: US Military – US Weapons ], [ Iraq 2003-2010 – killed millions, massive humanitarian disaster, continued occupation. Cause: US Military – US Weapons. ]  ..."  Note: Nothing happened.  Related:  Ortega warns of US deployment in Haiti  "Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega says that the United States has taken advantage of the massive quake in Haiti and deployed troops in the country. "What is happening in Haiti seriously concerns me as US troops have already taken control of the airport," Ortega said on Saturday. The Pentagon says it has deployed more than 10,000 soldiers in Haiti to help victims of Tuesday's earthquake. ..." Commentary: Haiti and the ‘Global War on Terror’  "The contrast could not be more painful. The wealthiest people in the world insist on complete security in a fabricated ‘war against global terror,’ while millions of people living just beyond their shores have no security whatsoever, and thousands are crushed by structures without building codes, and stranded by infrastructure that isn’t worthy of the name. The initial ground and aerial scenes from Haiti are almost too much to watch. Mile after mile of pancaked buildings, where untold numbers of people still alive in the rubble writhe in pain and agony next to the dead bodies of family members, co-workers, and friends. How can we go back to the sickeningly neurotic ‘war on terror’ after this? ..."  The Right Testicle of Hell: History of a Haitian Holocaust by Greg Palast "...the President had rescue teams in the air almost immediately. That was President Olafur Grimsson of Iceland. On Wednesday, the AP reported that the President of the United States promised, "The initial contingent of 2,000 Marines could be deployed to the quake-ravaged country within the next few days." "In a few days," Mr. Obama?  ...There's no such thing as a 'natural' disaster. 200,000 Haitians have been slaughtered by slum housing and IMF "austerity" plans ..." 

Kuwaiti FM: Israel's Prime Minister Is “Stupid and Insane” [01/18/10] "Kuwait's foreign minister lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him "stupid" and "insane," the Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported on Sunday. Mohammed al-Sabah said the policies of "Israel's stupid and insane prime minister" had jeopardized the so-called peace process, but that the Kuwaiti government remained committed to an Arab peace plan put forward by Saudi Arabia and would keep working to heal a split between the major Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas. ..."   

Support for the Goldstone Report Grows As European Parliamentary Delegation Wraps Up Visit to Gaza [01/18/10] VIDEO [3:02] 

Commentary:  The Great $7.4 Trillion George W. Bush Tax Increase On Middle America [01/18/10] "George W. Bush was determined to be a two term President and didn't want to be like his father and serve one term because of a recession, but George W. Bush had a huge problem. How was he going to decimate our manufacturing base increase the trade deficit and spur the economy all at the same time? Well starting a phony war in Iraq would help spur the economy, but he knew that wouldn't be enough, but if he could steal enough money from middle America and hand it over to his rich pals they could spur the economy by building homes and sell these homes with creative financing. The perfect plan, all home grown and he could still export our manufacturing base and increase our trade deficit all at the same time. ..."    

Italy to Require Anyone Who Uploads Video to the Internet to Obtain Government Authorization [01/18/10] "New rules to be introduced by government decree will require people who upload videos onto the Internet to obtain authorization from the Communications Ministry similar to that required by television broadcasters, drastically reducing freedom to communicate over the Web, opposition lawmakers have warned. ..."  

Looming High Court Ruling Could Taint Justice, Legal Expert Says [01/18/10] "A pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling could aggravate the influence of corporate campaign spending that already has skewed justice in some of the nation’s courts, a University of Illinois labor law expert warns. ..."  

Commentary:  If the Amish Are Exempt, Why Not the Rest of Us? [01/18/10] "The Amish have an exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes, and will be exempt from the next health monstrosity that Congress is birthing. They have successfully gotten a degree of liberty in their governance that the rest of us have not. (This is a way to achieve panarchy.) To mimic Rodney Dangerfield: With my government, I don’t get no respect. ..."   

2010: Giant Gathering Storm Clouds [01/17/10] "The year 2008 bore my mark as the year the system broke. A public article addressed the issues, laid out before the breakdown occurred in September of that year. The consequences for the many failures, the desperate nationalizations, the hasty scrambles to put financial sewage under USGovt ownership, the realization of TARP as a vast slush fund for illegitimate bank rescues, the official monetization plans put forth to prevent bond implosions, and much more occurred in the year 2009 as a recognized aftermath. Here we are in 2010 and the threats must again be laid out. A prelude was offered in an mid-December article entitled "Full Circle of Govt Debt Default" where a global sovereign debt ruin in vicious circle was displayed the sequence that started in the Untied States and will end in the Untied States. Rather than make specific forecasts of extreme events, a list is presented much like a smorgasbord. The odds are 100:1 in favor at least one extreme event occurring in this current calendar year in my view. The odds are very high in favor of several events taking place this year. The key here is that a great many extremely damaging and highly disruptive events loom like giant gathering storm clouds that meet, complete with lightning displays. More terrestrial types might consider that a great many land mine explosives lie in the wide pathways ahead. At least a few extreme craters will be formed. A few financial edifices will be toppled. Great changes come, especially to the global power structures. This time around, the stakes are bigger, and entire nations will face debt failure and national realignment. The ripple effects will reshape the global financial system. The blind, the deficient, and the compromised fail to fully appreciate and detect the meaning of the Dubai debt default or the Iceland financial failure. They actually believe these busts have been dealt with by the very strength of the capitalist system. ..."  

Gerald Celente: Depression, Sustainable Living and Survival  [01/17/10] The Anti China Backlash , The Greatest Depression Postponed, Not Prevented, It’s Only Going to Get Worse .   "Trend forecaster Gerald Celente,  January 11, 2010. Topics of discussion include the Greatest Depression, China, Immigration, sustainable living and the ’survival mode.’ ..."   

Israel threatens to expel Turkish ambassador [01/17/10] "Tel Aviv, which is at odds with Ankara, has threatened to expel the Turkish ambassador, should Turkish dramas depicting Israeli brutality continue. ..."  

The Militarization of Emergency Aid to Haiti: Is it a Humanitarian Operation or an Invasion? [01/17/10] "Haiti has a longstanding history of US military intervention and occupation going back to the beginning of the 20th Century. US interventionism has contributed to the destruction of Haiti's national economy and the impoverishment of its population. ..."  Related: CNN: Haiti Quake Special News Updates | After a day of deliveries, US ship runs out of aid [01/17/10] "Helicopters sit ready to go from this US aircraft carrier off Haiti, but there's a problem: after a day of frantic aid runs there is simply nothing left to deliver. "We have lift, we have communications, we have some command and control, but we don't have much relief supplies to offer," said Branch, who commands the battle group led by the nuclear-powered Carl Vinson. ..." |UN appeals for $560m in Haiti aid |  Heritage Foundation wastes no time in seeing opportunity a la Shock Doctrine in Haiti  "While on the ground in Haiti, the U.S. military can also interrupt the nightly flights of cocaine to Haiti and the Dominican Republic from the Venezuelan coast and counter the ongoing efforts of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to destabilize the island of Hispaniola. ..."

Iran Six decides against new sanctions on Tehran [01/17/10] "Iran Six participants holding a meeting in New York on Saturday decided against new sanctions on Tehran and will study new political methods to solve the issues, a Russian Foreign Ministry deputy said. ..."  

Commentary: Like Sheep To the Slaughter [01/17/10] "... Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge was pressured to use the terror alert system to scare the public into voting for Bush, who used this victory to continue the destruction of the rule of law and US civil liberties. ... This worked pretty well for a while. But now Americans are beginning to question why we are supposedly facing a never-ending existential threat from people who just don't like our movies or taste in music. They want details. They want to know why we are sacrificing American ideals and spending hundreds of billions of dollars fighting wars we can't win against people who shouldn't hate us. Authoritarian rulers love to scare the people. But they're going to have to come up with something better than this pretty soon.  ..."  

Gibbs Grilled By Press Corps About Obama’s Promises Of Transparency [01/17/10] VIDEO [2:33] 

Wind farms produced 'practically no electricity' during Britain's cold snap [01/17/10] "Wind farms produced "practically no electricity" during the cold snap which manufacturers' groups say could lead to severe winter energy shortages.  The cold weather has been accompanied by high pressure and a lack of wind, which meant that only 0.2pc of a possible 5pc of the UK's energy was generated by wind turbines over the last few days. Jeremy Nicholson, director of the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG), gave warning that this could turn into a crisis when the UK is reliant on 6,400 turbines accounting for a quarter of all UK electricity demand over the next 10 years. ..."  Note: Britain has contracted to have wind farms built in the North Sea for a cost of $160 billion by several foreign contractors. It's a boondoggle. Cui Bono?  

Law School : No Longer the Golden Ticket [01/17/10] "Lawyers who entered the field as recently as a few years ago could reasonably expect a life of comfort, security and social esteem. Many are now faced with a different landscape. Firms shed more than 4,600 lawyers last year, according to a blog that tracks the legal industry, Law Shucks. Bonuses for those who survive are shriveling, and an increasing number of firms now compensate associates based on grades for performance — shades of law school — rather than automatically advancing them on the salary scale. For those just starting out, it’s easy to think that the rules have changed six minutes into the first period. ..."  

Easily Hacked Voting Systems to be Used in MA Special Election for the U.S. Senate [01/17/10] "As the election looms, tempers flare, money is poured into the contest from all sides, and Democrats sweat out what should have been a safe seat for them - a Democrat named Kennedy has held that particular seat for more than the last 50 years - questions about whether the election results can be trusted have already emerged in a race where the stakes couldn't be higher. The electronic voting systems used in Massachusetts are notoriously plagued with problems and vulnerabilities, and are in violation of federal voting system standards. Moreover, they are sold, programmed, and maintained by a company with a disturbing criminal background. ..."   

Judge Napolitano-The Constitution and Freedom [01/17/10] VIDEO [5:51]  Note: Yeah ... that's how it used to be understood.

Interview: Nir Rosen: "Al Qaedas threat to US is a lie" [01/17/10] VIDEO [12:29]   "RT's Anastasia Churkina interviews writer and film maker Nir Rosen ..."   

British Labour Party legislator: "Israel Should be Tried for War Crimes" [01/17/10] "Israelis who authorized the use of white phosphorous in densely populated Gaza should be tried for war crimes, a British Labour Party legislator said Friday, after entering the Hamas-ruled territory with 60 European parliamentarians. ..." 

The Case for Impeachment of President Barack Obama [01/16/10] Executive Intelligence Review Jan 15.  "Under the U.S. Constitution, the purpose of impeachment is the protection of the nation, through the removal from high office, of a Federal official who is causing grave injury to the nation, its people, and its Constitution. Impeachment is not a criminal proceeding; its purpose is not to punish a wrongdoer, but to prevent him or her from doing further, irreparable harm to the country. The question of prosecution, or imprisonment, comes later—if at all. The U.S. Constitution sets a high standard for bringing a bill of impeachment against a high public official. The grounds are restricted to "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." The clear intent, as a review of the discussions by the Founders at the Constitutional Convention (1787) indicates, was to target crimes against the Constitutional order. The bills of impeachment against President Richard Nixon put it well, when they declared, in each count, that, "In all of this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States." President Obama's crimes dwarf those of Richard Nixon. Public evidence alone demonstrates that he is leading a conspiracy to subvert constitutional government, and to impose measures which would result in mass death of Americans, and the destruction of the nation. His high crimes and misdemeanors, as elaborated below, include actions which amount to a conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity which will predictably result in murder or other atrocities, offenses or inhumane acts, against the civilian population of the United States; actions which would lead to genocide against civilians in other parts of the world; and actions would lead to the elimination of the sovereignty of the United States, by submitting control over its economic policy to supranational powers committed to reducing the world's population by billions of people. ..."  Note:  PDF

U.S. Provoking War With Venezuela: Netherlands has Granted U.S. Military Use of its Islands in the Caribbean [01/16/10] "The government of the Netherlands recently granted the US military use of its islands in the Caribbean, with the excuse that this is to help in the “war against drugs”. In reality, this is a direct threat to the Chavez government in Venezuela. In the Dutch media articles have appeared about the “war-mongering” president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, who is “preparing a war against Colombia”. Now Chávez has accused the Netherlands of supporting aggression against Venezuela, because the Netherlands has given permission to the American armed forces to use the military bases on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao.  In the media Hugo Chávez, as always, has been presented like some “crazy populist”, and of course the “civilised Netherlands” are presented as being totally innocent. Later Maxime Verhagen, the Dutch minister of foreign affairs, said the American military were on Aruba and Curaçao, as part of the “war against drugs”. He remains silent about what is really happening on Aruba and Curaçao. ..."   

The Case of Obama: Tantamount to Treason [01/16/10] By Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. "Whatever President Barack Obama may believe he is doing, matters have now reached the point at which his conduct in the matter of so-called "health-care legislation" must be condemned as tantamount to treason. Which is to say that his present actions are of the character, in effect, of an attempted destruction of our United States, in favor of the efforts of that manifest enemy of our republic's Constitution which is the British monarchy. As in the provisions of that monstrous assault on our Federal Constitution embodied in provisions of the so-called "health care," draft legislation pushed through the Senate, President Obama and his accomplices have pushed through clearly anti-constitutional legislation which, if adopted, would become a mass-murderous form of national practice against our citizenry, which would probably result in massive wrongful deaths among our citizens before a due-process nullification of implicitly criminal forms of law could be remedied. The presented evidence indicates that the intention of that monarchy is to reduce the world's population, rapidly, from a presently estimable level of about 6.7 billions living souls, to less than 2 billions. ..."    

Welcome To The Running Man: FBI seeks public’s help via Times Square billboard [01/16/10] "The FBI’s most wanted will soon be staring at tourists in Times Square.
The agency will unveil a digital billboard there Friday. It will air pictures of fugitives and missing persons. It also will publicize high-priority security messages. Besides criminals, it will draw attention to kidnap victims and missing children. The FBI hopes the public can help find them. ..."   

For Israel, a reckoning [01/16/10] "A new global movement is challenging Israel's violations of international law with the same strategies that were used against apartheid.
The farce of the climate summit in Copenhagen affirmed a world war waged by the rich against most of humanity. It also illuminated a resistance growing perhaps as never before: an internationalism linking justice for the planet with universal human rights, and criminal justice for those who invade and dispossess with impunity. And the best news comes from Palestine. ..."    

U.N.’s World Health Organization Wants Tax on Internet  [01/16/10] "The World Health Organization (WHO) is considering a plan to ask governments to impose a global consumer tax on such things as Internet activity or everyday financial transactions like paying bills online. Such a scheme could raise “tens of billions of dollars” on behalf of the United Nations’ public health arm from a broad base of consumers, which would then be used to transfer drug-making research, development and manufacturing capabilities, among other things, to the developing world. The multibillion-dollar “indirect consumer tax” is only one of a “suite of proposals” for financing the rapid transformation of the global medical industry that will go before WHO’s 34-member supervisory Executive Board at its biannual meeting in Geneva. ..."   

Commentary: The cover-ups continue- Obama's pick to investigate Northwest bomb attempt assures failure won't be punished [01/16/10] by Melvin A. Goodman - Baltimore Sun.  "Obama's pick to investigate Northwest bomb attempt assures failure won't be punished. The Obama administration announced Friday the appointment of John E. McLaughlin, former deputy CIA director, to head the internal investigation of the intelligence failures that led to the Christmas Day attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight headed for Detroit. With this appointment, President Obama has assured that the culture of intelligence cover-up will continue. Mr. McLaughlin has participated in the cover-up of many of the CIA's most egregious failures and misdeeds during the last decade. When he left the CIA, he served as the agency's chief apologist. Most of official Washington views Mr. McLaughlin as the mild-mannered, professorial CIA bureaucrat whom former CIA director George Tenet called the "smartest man he had ever met." Few people understand, however, that Mr. McLaughlin played the central role in providing the Bush administration with false intelligence to justify the use of force against Iraq in 2003. Washington insiders remember that it was CIA director Tenet who told President George W. Bush, "Don't worry, it's a slam dunk," in response to the demand for stronger intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Few people remember that it was Mr. McLaughlin who actually delivered the "slam-dunk" briefing to the president in January 2003. ..."   

The fundamental unreliability of America’s media [01/15/10] "Consider the record of the American media over the last two weeks alone. Justin Elliott of TPM documents how an absolute falsehood about the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing—that Abdulmutallab purchased a “one-way ticket” to the U.S., when it was actually a round-trip ticket—has been repeated far and wide by U.S. media outlets as fact. Two weeks ago, Elliott similarly documented how an equally false claim from ABC News—that two of the Al Qaeda leaders behind that airliner attack had been released from Guantanamo—became entrenched as fact in media reports (at most, it was one, not two). This week, Dan Froomkin chronicles how completely discredited claims about Guantanamo recidivism rates continue to be uncritically “reported” by The New York Times and then inserted into our debates as fact.  ..."   

Study: Campaign donations to judges distorting justice system [01/15/10] "A soon-to-be-published study has found that campaign contributions from corporations to judges are likely distorting the justice system and making it harder for ordinary citizens to win cases against corporations. University of Illinois labor law professor Michael LeRoy examined the outcomes of 223 state court rulings on cases involving disputes between employers and employees. He found that where party-affiliated judges are elected, employees won 32.1 percent of cases, but where judges are appointed, or elected in non-partisan elections, employees won 52.7 percent of the time. LeRoy admits that the study's usefulness is "limited" because it did not determine which judges did actually take corporate donations. But "it’s hard to think of an alternative explanation,” he said in an interview with the University of Illinois' News Bureau. "The inference I arrive at is that there’s something about the election process that is influencing the outcome." Like many other legal experts, LeRoy argues the situation could be made worse by a Supreme Court case currently being heard that could result in much of the US's body of law limiting campaign contributions being thrown out. ..."  

Ron Paul Powerful Speech - A Call for Revolution? [01/15/10]  VIDEO [4:15]   

Report: Texas continues to execute mentally retarded prisoners [01/15/10] "It is unconstitutional to execute mentally retarded prisoners in the United States. The state of Texas, however, appears to have found a loophole, according to a published report. Psychologist George Denkowski, an expert witness oft-used by Texas prosecutors, has been utilizing "junk science" to elevate the intelligence evaluation scores of mentally deficient death row prisoners, according to a new report in The Texas Observer. In the Supreme Court's 2002 ruling on Atkins v. Virginia, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote, "Because of their disabilities in areas of reasoning, judgment, and control of their impulses ... [the mentally retarded] do not act with the level of moral culpability that characterizes the most serious adult criminal conduct." Because of this, the justices found it "cruel and unusual" to put the mentally deficient to death, leaving it to the states to establish a framework by which such individuals could be identified in capital cases. However, Texas Governor Rick Perry rejected a bill that would have established rules to determine who is mentally retarded. Left grasping, courts invented their own criteria, turning to psychologists for the complicated evaluations. ..."  

“Us” versus “them”: on the meaning of fascism [01/15/10] "Roger Tucker considers the linguistic root, visual representation, usage and practise of fascism, and examines the circumstances under which the concept, “which is neither good nor bad in itself”, becomes malevolent. To illustrate, he looks at two contemporary examples of fascism: the USA and Israel. ”Fascism ... it is a social pathology and it can legitimately be considered humanity's most urgent public health problem. If enough people come to understand what the disease is and how to diagnose it, perhaps there will emerge a means to inoculate ourselves. At this point American and Jewish fascism appear to have converged into an aggressive pathological force that endangers humanity more than any such phenomenon in the past.” ..."   Note: sequentialism abounds

Commentary:  Wal-Mart, the US Retailer Taking Over the World by Stealth [01/15/10] "In the main square of the modest town of Bentonville, that Wal-Mart's founder, Sam Walton, opened a discount store, Walton's Five and Dime, in 1951. That shop, now a museum, helped spawn a retail empire that spans 8,100 stores in 15 countries generating $401bn (£248bn) of revenue annually. With a market capitalization of $210bn, Wal-Mart is worth as much as the gross domestic product of Nigeria. --- Four of America's 10 richest individuals are from Wal-Mart's low-profile Walton family, which still owns a 40% controlling stake. - The company's portfolio ranges from superstores in the US to neighbourhood markets in Brazil, bodegas in Mexico, the Asda supermarket chain in Britain and Japan's nationwide network of Seiyu shops. Wal-Mart gets many of its products from low-cost Chinese suppliers. The pressure group China Labour Watch estimates that if it were a country, Wal-Mart would rank as China's seventh largest trading partner, just ahead of the UK, spending more than $18bn annually on Chinese goods. --- --- Perhaps more than any other firm in America, Wal-Mart divides opinion. Unions loathe its relentless downward pressure on wages and its refusal to allow workers to organize. The company has been accused of unfair treatment of older, more expensive, employees. It is facing one of America's largest class-action lawsuits alleging wage discrimination against women and its hypermarkets are routinely blamed for squeezing small shops out of business. -- "This is a company with a record of exploitation," says Jill Cashen, spokeswoman for a pan-union campaign group, Wake Up Wal-Mart. "They have not shared their wealth. -- When you spend your money at Wal-Mart, you're contributing to the wealth of one very rich family and not very many other people. ..."   

Commentary: Scanners aren't 'the solution' [01/15/10] "The astonishing thing was that hardly anyone in the mainstream media mentioned that a full-body scanner would not have been able to detect the chemical Abdulmutuallah brought onto the plane with him. Full-body scanners only detect things that are high density, like metal or wax, not things that are low density, like chemicals or plastics. That is the entire idea behind the full-body scanner: its waves pass through lower density clothes to show the higher density body. So, if the motivation of the people pushing for these things isn't actually to protect us, what is it? Well, it's to take power from us, and to give it to themselves, naturally. ..."     

Feingold Fears "Lawless" Court Ruling on Corporate Campaigning  [01/15/10] "More than one hundred years ago, after a 1904 president race that saw big life insurance companies pour money into the project of electing Republican Teddy Roosevelt, the defeated Democratic candidate, Judge Alton Parker, raised the question of whether presidents and congresses would simply be bought by corporations seeking policies that favored their interests. --- "The greatest moral question which now confronts us is: Shall the trusts and corporations be prevented from contributing money to control or aid in controlling elections?" declared Parker. -- Roosevelt recognized that when he relied on corporate money to overwhelm an opponent, he stood on the wrong side of democracy and put the American experiment at risk. That recognition made the 26th president a reformer. --- He called for full public financing of federal campaigns and told the Congress in 1905 that: "All contributions by corporations to any political committee or for any political purpose should be forbidden by law." ..."  

Las Vegas: The Boom - Bust Bender [01/15/10]  Note: It's an anomaly ... the city and the setting .. or an abberation.

B'nai B'rith – The Jewish Secret Society that Dominates America [01/15/10] "B'nai B'rith was instrumental in gaining U.S. support for the nascent Zionist state of Israel in the late 1940s. The Jewish secret society of Freemasons used President Harry Truman's friend - and their agent - Eddie Jacobson of Kansas City (standing behind Truman) in off-the-record meetings in the Oval Office to persuade the president to approve the Zionist land grab known as the 1947 U.N. Partition Plan of Palestine and then to recognize the state of Israel the next year following the Zionist ethnic cleansing of nearly 400 Palestinian villages and towns. By applying pressure directly on Truman, B'nai B'rith dictated U.S. policy in spite of strong resistance from the U.S. Department of State. ..."  

House Rep floats bill to ban private security contractors [01/15/10] "An Illinois House Democrat is planning to introduce a bill that would ban private security contractors, including Blackwater, from US military and intelligence operations. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) has circulated a letter among her colleagues asking them to co-sponsor the Stop Outsourcing Security (SOS) Act, which would "responsibly phase out the use of private security contractors for functions that should be reserved for US military forces and government personnel," the letter states. In the letter, obtained by investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, Schakowsky suggests that the recent controversies surrounding security contractor Blackwater were among her motivations for proposing the legislation. ..."  

America Rising: An Open Letter to Democrat Politicians [01/14/10] VIDEO [3:31]  "I had stopped the comments on this video for many reasons, for example: racist rants, death threats, calling out for murder, accusing me of things that are just not true (as if you liberals somehow have ESP and know what I am all about.) Get over yourselves! Thanks to all the people who do get it, you are out there, keep spreading accurate information as most of us can agree we are not being shown the truth. ..."  Note: It's like "V for Vendetta" for the Democrats! 

Man's Battle With Mental Illness: Pat Robertson: "Blame Haiti's 'Pact to the Devil' [01/14/10] "Pat Robertson says Haiti's got itself to blame for the earthquake because of a "pact to the devil" it made long ago. "They were under the heel of the French ... and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.'" The devil delivered, and Haitians have been "cursed" ever since, says Robertson. "True story." The reverend, who famously blamed liberals and gays in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, sees an upside to Haiti's current misery, notes the Daily News. Islanders "need to have a great turning to God, and out of this tragedy, I'm optimistic something good may come."  ..."  Note:  Yeah, Pat. You're a real fruit loop.

Danish neocons stage phony terrorist plot [01/14/10] "According to the Somali man’s sister, the attack on Westergaard may have been part of an elaborate plot by the Danish Security Intelligence Service (Politiets Efterretningstjeneste or PET), to ratchet up tensions between Muslim and non-Muslim Danes and feed the current propaganda effort to breathe new life into the ”all Muslims are potential terrorists” campaign by neocons and Israeli propaganda operatives around the world, especially in the wake of the Christmas Day ”underwear bomb” plot on Delta/Northwest Airlines flight 253 over Detroit. WMR previously reported the airline plot was yet another neocon false flag event. .. 

Commentary: Totalitarian “Synchronization” — Germany 1933 and USA 2010 [01/14/10] "On January 11th, Barack Obama added another critical element to the architecture of wartime presidential dictatorship by signing an executive order establishing a “Council of Governors” for the supposed purpose of strengthening federal-state “partnership” in military and homeland security affairs. ..."   

Iraq war was illegal, Dutch panel rules [01/14/10] "Inquiry says conflict had no sound mandate in international law as it emerges UK denied key letter to seven-judge tribunal ..."  Related: Dutch PM clings on as inquiry finds invasion had no mandate 

Giving corporations an outsized voice in elections [01/14/10] "Corporations are pitching a bizarre product -- a radical vision of the 1st Amendment. It would give corporations rather than voters a central role in our electoral process by treating corporate political spending as protected speech. If this vision becomes reality, businesses and other big-money players will spend billions either hyping their preferred candidates or running attack ads against elected officials who don't support their preferred agenda. Voters will be forced into a couch-potato role, mere viewers of the electoral spectacle bought and paid for by wealthy companies. ..."  

CIA Planned to 'Rendition' Suspects in Germany: Report [01/14/10] "The CIA had 25 agents in Germany after the September 11 attacks and planned to "rendition" illegally al-Qaeda suspects without informing the German government, Spiegel magazine reported Sunday. --- "It was about grabbing people without the Germans knowing about it," the German weekly magazine cited an unnamed former CIA agent as saying. "We were planning stuff that was totally illegal. ..."   

Sheikh’s Torture Trial Ends In Acquittal [01/14/10] "A court in Abu Dhabi has acquitted the man accused of beating an Afghan grain trader in 2004. Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, a member of the UAE royal family, claimed he was drugged by two other men, and therefore unaware of his actions, which included torturing the man with electric prods, driving over him and raping him. ..."  Note: Well, he still did what he did ... which means it's 'in him' to do these things, and he is a psychopath, and ought to be institutionalized. 

Israeli Minister Publicly Humiliates Turkish Ambassador [01/13/10] "Even in the tough world of Middle East diplomacy, it was a startling snub: The Turkish ambassador was seated lower than his Israeli host, denied not only a handshake but a smile – all for the benefit of eager Israeli TV crews. While diplomatic messages are often found in subtle gestures and body language, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon offered a humiliating reprimand of Ankara's envoy – ostensibly over a TV show. His actions drew an angry response from Turkey on Tuesday, exposing the deep rift that has emerged over the past year between the Jewish state and its closest friend in the Muslim world. The conflict also reflected a deeper shift under way in the region as Turkey's Islamic-oriented government has moved closer toward Israel's archenemy Iran. ..."   Related: Turkey: Israel threatens peace  "Turkey's prime minister accused Israel on Monday of threatening peace in the region and using disproportionate force against Palestinians. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Israel to stop violating Lebanon's airspace and territorial waters. He also called on the U.N. Security Council to put same pressure on Israel regarding nuclear arms as it does on Iran. "We can never remain silent in the face of Israel's attitude. ... It has disproportionate power and it is using that at will while refusing to abide by U.N. resolutions. We can never accept this picture," Erdogan said. "These steps threaten global peace." ..."    

Employer health mandate may be dropped [01/13/10] "House and Senate negotiators working on President Barack Obama's health overhaul bill appear likely to drop a proposed income tax increase on high-wage earners and possibly jettison a requirement for large businesses to offer coverage to their employees, Democratic officials said Tuesday. Negotiators are considering extending the Medicare payroll tax, which now applies only to income from wages, to cover some of the investment earnings of couples making more than $250,000 a year, and individuals earning above $200,000. That could make up lost revenue from dropping the high-wage income tax and scaling back a proposed tax on high-value insurance plans, which is strongly opposed by organized labor and House Democrats. ..."   

TB-Infected Man On TSA List Slips Onto Flight [01/12/10] "Once again highlighting how dangerously incompetent the nation's airline security system is, a passenger with tuberculosis took a 2,600-mile flight on a commercial plane even though his name appeared on a Homeland Security “do-not-board” list. Authorities evidently realized that the visibly ill man had violated their security system after the flight, which originated in Philadelphia, landed at its San Francisco destination more than five hours later. The man was then detained and whisked away to a local hospital after federal health officials were notified. The damage had been done, however. Hundreds of unsuspecting passengers were needlessly exposed to the highly contagious fatal disease that primarily affects the lungs and can spread to the kidneys and spinal column. The infected male passenger slipped through even though he appeared on a do-not-board list submitted to both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). ..."     

US Rejects Treaty to End Korean War [01/13/10] "State Department Officials Slam Idea of Ending 60 Years of War. ..."   

Gay Marriage Trial Starts Monday [01/13/10] "Ted Olson and David Boies, who argued opposite sides of Bush v. Gore, have teamed up to legalize gay marriage by way of the Supreme Court. They are a few wins, appeals and years away from getting there, but the two lawyers are off to a hot start. Olson and Boies head to court Monday to argue against California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state. ..."   

The Underwear Bomber - Crushing Freedom With Phony Arab Terrorism [01/13/10] "Strange as it may seem, a couple of weeks ago as I ruminated on Obama's broken promise to bring the troops home, his attempt to out-warmonger the Bush administration and his plummeting popularity, I thought to myself: "ya know, what that guy (or rather the disgruntled US public) needs is a good old fashioned 'Muslim terror attack'. Preferably one that includes a ranting 'terrorist' message about Afghanistan and 'slaughtering infidels'. That'll soon silence the rabble and get them behind Obama's Afghan surge!" And so it was that, as I sipped my eggnog on Christmas day, I was shockingly unsurprised to read the headlines about an 'underwear bomb' (as shown above). To adequately address the recent airline "terror attack" in Detroit and the airborne terror attacks in Yemen we must delve into the topsy turvey world of the 'war on terror', where black is white, up is down, and shady Middle Eastern-looking men and your knickers share equal rating on the US DHS threat-o-meter. In short, it's no easy task. So first of all, let me say a few words about airports and the old and new airport "security measures". The nightmare that is modern commercial air travel started with 9/11. Before this date, air travel was reasonably civilized. There were no long queues (at least not after check in). We just threw our hand luggage on the security belt, walked through the scanner and we were done. After 9/11 however, every commercial airplane became a potential flying bomb and passengers and their hand luggage had to undergo more extensive searches. In Dec 2001, the theatrics of the clearly brain-washed Richard Reid, aka "the shoe bomber", added the common or garden shoe to the list of potential terrorist weapons. Now, the equally bizarre antics of the young Nigerian Mr Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has thrown our underwear into the mix.  ..."   

Voter turnout analysis proves the 2004 election was stolen (BARD) [01/12/10] "The impossible 2004 National Exit Poll returning Bush/Gore 43/37% split of the electorate has been discussed ad nauseam. It required at least 5 million more returning Bush 2000 voters than were still alive in 2004. A feasible returning voter mix combined with National Exit Poll vote shares proves that Kerry won beyond a reasonable doubt (BARD). The mix was calculated over a wide range of estimated turnout of LIVING 2000 voters after applying a 5% mortality rate. To handle uncertainty in LIVING Gore and Bush 2000 voter turnout in 2004, a 92-98% range of turnout assumptions was applied to calculate the True Vote. But since the 98% turnout estimate is solid, the range should be reduced to 97-99%. This would also increase confidence in the resulting True Vote calculation. Given that LIVING voter turnout had to be less than 100%, we can set an upper limit of 99% turnout. But to maintain an overall 98% AVERAGE turnout, the lower limit must be 97%. Because of this constraint, there are just three plausible Gore/Bush turnout scenarios: 98/98, 99/97 and 97/99. Again, this assumes that 98% is an accurate estimate. Let’s look at confirming evidence that it is. ..."    

"Iran Six" to meet this week in New York - Clinton [01/12/10] "The Iran Six will meet this week in New York, U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton told journalists on her way to Hawaii on Monday. A diplomatic source told RIA Novosti the meeting would take place on Saturday. A meeting of the Iran Six - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - was scheduled for December 22, but was canceled by request of China. The Iran Six have been trying to persuade Tehran to halt uranium enrichment it says it needs for electricity generation for economic and diplomatic incentives. Iran Six envoys last met in Geneva on October 1. Iran, which is already under three sets of United Nations sanctions for refusing to halt uranium enrichment, recently announced plans to build 10 new uranium enrichment facilities. Western powers suspect it of pursuing an atomic weapons program. Britain's envoy to the UN Mark Lyall Grant said in late December that the UN Security Council could introduce new sanctions against Iran by late February unless Tehran accepts the Iran Six's offer on its controversial nuclear program. ..."  

South Korea official says North's peace talks proposal 'unwelcome' [01/12/10] "A South Korean Foreign Ministry official said on Monday North Korea's call for peace treaty talks as a condition to restart nuclear disarmament negotiations was unwelcome. ..."  Note: Ha! Well! 

TSA Logo Contest Mocks Agency [01/12/10] Note: Some really amusing patches.

No one punished in Congress  [01/12/10] "25 ethics inquiries in '09; 1 senator admonished  ... Nearly three years after Congress approved sweeping ethics rules to "drain the swamp," as incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it, no member of Congress has been punished for wrongdoing. In that time, allegations of sexual misconduct and financial impropriety have been lodged against lawmakers. The most serious rebuke in the past year: a "letter of qualified admonition" to Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., after the Senate ethics panel concluded he misled lawmakers and inappropriately offered to raise campaign funds for then-governor Rod Blagojevich as Burris sought the Senate appointment. "Three years later, it's the same old, same old," said Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. ..." 

Lithuanian capital faces winter nights without streetlights over unpaid debt [01/12/10] "Vilnius' main streets will have no lighting if the city administration cannot agree a debt repayment schedule with the electric utility by January 15, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday . ..."    Note: Not fodder for a new Beach Boys song.

Arizona Treasurer Says Checks Will Bounce Amid Budget Crisis [01/12/10] "Arizona state legislators go back to work Monday in an attempt to battle a nearly $1.5 billion dollar deficit. “The February school payment we can’t make, February payroll there’s no money there,” said State Treasurer, Dean Martin. Martin said unless the capitol buildings are sold before the end of the month, there will be no more ..."  

British Soldiers 'Tortured and Murdered Iraqi Grandmother' [01/12/10] "British soldiers are being investigated over allegations they tortured and murdered a 62-year-old Iraqi grandmother. The body of Sabiha Khudur Talib was found dumped by the roadside three years ago after her family home was raided by troops. The Royal Military Police are now investigating claims from her relatives that she was led away by soldiers from the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment before being brutally tortured and shot. ..."   

Rupert Murdoch Begins Blocking News Aggregators, Search Engines [01/12/10] "  Note: So what  ... it's not like it's a necessary source for anything but consensus propaganda. 

US General: Iran ‘certainly can be bombed’ [01/12/10] "The United States has developed contingency plans to address Iran's nuclear ambitions if negotiations falter between the Islamic republic and Western nations, a top US general said Sunday -- raising questions again over the US military's secret strategies on Iran. ..."  Note: Rabid sequential Petraeus (Betray Us) What international consensus agreed that the US has the right to even take these actions unilaterally. None. The 'rogue state' phenomena is spreading.

Did the CIA Deploy a Blackwater Hit Team in Germany? [01/12/10] "German prosecutors have launched a preliminary investigation into allegations that the CIA deployed a team of Blackwater operatives on a clandestine operation in Hamburg, Germany, after 9/11 ultimately aimed at assassinating a German citizen with suspected ties to Al Qaeda. The alleged assassination operation was revealed last month in a Vanity Fair profile [...]"   

California Cap-and-Trade Revolt  [01/12/10] "... Now the jobless rate is 12.3%, 2.25 million Californians are unemployed, and the state government is broke. So Republican Assemblyman Dan Logue has begun collecting signatures for "The Global Warming Solutions Act," a ballot initiative that would suspend California's cap-and-trade scheme until the unemployment rate falls below 5.5%. He's aiming to get it on the November ballot. No matter what one thinks of climate science, it makes little sense for an individual state to unilaterally impose major new tax and regulatory costs on its own industries. The impact of California's gesture on global temperatures will be infinitesimal, but the economic impact will make the state even less attractive to start or expand a business. A 2009 study by economists at the California State University at Sacramento and commissioned by the California Small Business Roundtable found that the implementation costs "could easily exceed $100 billion" and that the program would raise the cost of living by $3,857 per household each year by 2020. So much for the free green lunch. The law all but encourages outsourcing to Nevada, Texas, China and India. Even the liberal Sacramento Bee, which supports the law, says that policy makers should be "candid about the real costs of the transition it is contemplating. . . . Industries that are energy-intensive will move elsewhere."  ..."    

TSA funding airport "mind-reading" scanners [01/11/10] ""As far-fetched as that sounds, systems that aim to get inside an evildoer's head are among the proposals floated by security experts thinking beyond the X-ray machines and metal detectors used on millions of passengers and bags each year," AP's Michael Tarm reports. Tarm focuses on an Israeli company called WeCU Technologies (as in "we see you"), which is building a system that would turn airport waiting areas into arenas for Pavlovian behavioral tests: The system ... projects images onto airport screens, such as symbols associated with a certain terrorist group or some other image only a would-be terrorist would recognize, company CEO Ehud Givon said. The logic is that people can't help reacting, even if only subtly, to familiar images that suddenly appear in unfamiliar places. If you strolled through an airport and saw a picture of your mother, Givon explained, you couldn't help but respond. ... The reaction could be a darting of the eyes, an increased heartbeat, a nervous twitch or faster breathing, he said. The WeCU system would use humans to do some of the observing but would rely mostly on hidden cameras or sensors that can detect a slight rise in body temperature and heart rate. ..."  Note: So, they're attempting to set people up by displaying provocative symbols, and then gauging reactions relative to a threshold. These people have too much time on their hands.  Suppose everyone in the country stopped doing everything ... flying .. going to work .. and just said 'fuck you" to those who see themselves in charge. There is nothing they could do, because they fear the population as a whole, whom they have betrayed.

Role Reversal: Lieberman Defends Obama From McCain [01/11/10] "Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) offered a rare defense of Barack Obama on Sunday -- and an even rarer rebuke of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) -- after the Arizona Republican accused the president of "leading an extreme left-wing crusade to bankrupt America."  Note: Ha! The ultimate putz. Joe has no allegiance to anyone but himself and Israel.

Israel To Build NIS 1.5 Billion Fence Along Border With Egypt [01/11/10] ""I took the decision to close Israel's southern border to infiltrators and terrorists. This is a strategic decision to secure Israel's Jewish and democratic character," Netanyahu said in a statement.  ..."  Note: Democratic character ... they kill everyone equally well. 

Oliver Stone's 'Secret History' to put Hitler 'in context' [01/11/10] "Hitler is an easy scapegoat throughout history and its been used cheaply. He's the product of a series of actions. It's cause and effect ... Director Oliver Stone's upcoming Showtime documentary miniseries "Secret History of America" promises to put mass murderers such as Stalin and Hitler "in context." ..."  

MSM: Israeli firm 'failed to detect would-be bomber' [01/11/10] "An Israeli security firm has come under fire for failing to detect Nigerian bomb suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab despite separate US intelligence failures, an Israeli paper reported on Sunday. The Israeli-owned ICTS company did not identify the 23-year-old charged in connection with the failed Christmas Day bombing as a flight risk despite several warning signs, the Haaretz newspaper said. "Even if US intelligence failed and the name of the Nigerian passenger was not pinpointed as a suspect for the airline, he should have stirred the suspicion of the security officers," the newspaper said. "His age, name, illogical travel route, high-priced ticket purchased at the last minute, his boarding without luggage (only a carry-on) and many other signs should have been sufficient to alert the security officers and warrant further examination of the suspect." The Netherlands-based firm provides security services in airports in 11 countries, including France, Britain, Spain, Hungary, Romania and Russia, the newspaper reported. It was established in 1982 by former agents of Israel's internal Shin Bet security service and former El Al airline security agents, the paper added. ..."  Note:  I am glad this story finally made its way into the mainstream media, where it belongs. Related: Israel: Israeli firm blasted for letting would-be plane bomber slip through

Israel rejects US hint about possible sanctions [01/11/10] "Israel was outraged Sunday after Obama administration's special envoy to the Mideast suggested the U.S. might impose sanctions on Israel to press it to make concessions in peace talks with the Palestinians. According to the AP, envoy George Mitchell was asked in a television interview last week what sort of pressure could be applied to Israel. "Under American law, the United States can withhold support on loan guarantees to Israel," Mitchell told PBS interviewer Charlie Rose, noting that the previous Bush administration had done so in the past. On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement in response to Mitchell's remarks, blaming the Palestinians for the failure to resume negotiations. "Everyone realizes that the Palestinian Authority refuses to renew peace talks, while Israel took significant steps to advance the process," the statement said.  ..."   

Israel to build fence on border with Egypt [01/11/10] "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday ordered the construction of a fence along two segments of Israel's border with Egypt "to stem the infiltration of migrant workers and terrorists into Israel," the Haaretz newspaper said. ..."    

Civil Liberties Groups Say New TSA Screening Measures Are Discriminatory [01/11/10] "Civil liberties advocates and organizations representing Muslims believe the Obama administration’s decision to require extra scrutiny for travelers to the U.S. from 14 predominantly Islamic countries will lead to practices that are discriminatory and ineffective. The Obama administration announced Sunday it will subject the citizens of 14 nations who are flying to the United States to intensified screening at airports, including being subjected to full-body pat downs or body scanners. Under the new rules, all citizens of Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen must receive a pat down and an extra check of their carry-on bags before boarding a plane bound for the United States, officials said. Citizens of Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria — nations considered “state sponsors of terrorism” — face the same requirement.  But the agency denied that the new regulations amount to profiling. “TSA does not profile. As is always the case, TSA security measures are based on threat, not ethnic or religious background,” spokeswoman Kristin Lee said. “We are only as strong as our weakest point,” said Cindy Farkus, the head of global security programs at the Transportation Security Administration. “We are always trying to stay ahead of where the emerging threats might be.” But the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) told us that the new TSA guidelines were “a political solution to a security problem.” ..."  Note: Sequentials in charge, belaboring over a situation abetted by an Israeli security company.

A citizens guide to understanding corporate media propaganda techniques [01/11/10] "In this post I will attempt to enumerate powerful propaganda techniques being used on the American public by the corporate or so called "mainstream" media. Give this a good read, and my guess is that after you are armed with this important information, you will be able to see the techniques as they are being deployed against you. ..."  

Former NYC Police Commissioner Hit Pregnant Woman, Drove Off [01/11/10] "A former New York City police commissioner has been accused of backing his SUV into a pregnant woman, then driving away. Police say Howard Safir bumped the woman with his Cadillac Friday afternoon in Manhattan. She was treated for a bruised shoulder, but wasn't seriously hurt. Police detectives decided not to press charges. They say Safir didn't know he'd hit someone. The victim tells a different story. Joanne Valarezo tells The New York Times that both she and a passenger in the SUV yelled at the driver for being careless before he drove away...."   

REPORT: Challenges To Constitutionality Of Health Reform Funded By Health Industry Money [01/11/10] "Since Democrats secured 60 votes to pass health care reform legislation — and passage became inevitable — prominent conservatives relaunched an under-the-radar campaign to invalidate reform through the legal system. On the eve of the final health care vote in the Senate, Sens. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and John Ensign (R-NV) invoked a “constitutional point of order” to allow the Senate to rule by majority vote on whether the “Democrat health care takeover bill” is unconstitutional. ..."   

China Helped State-Backed Companies Steal Computer Code, U.S. Firm Says [01/11/10] "In "one of the largest cases of software piracy in history," the Chinese government helped two state-backed companies steal encrypted data from an Internet content-filtering program developed by a family-owned U.S. company, according to a federal complaint. China uses the software to spy on its own people, says the new filing, while the red giant also made more than $2 billion selling the program with the help of manufacturing behemoths Sony and Toshiba who "chose to turn a blind eye" to its nefarious origin. ..."  

Terrorists R US [01/11/10] VIDEO [4:39]  Note:  An excellent short testimony from Mike Prysner, an Iraq war veteran connecting the dots between corporatism and militarism.

Video Clip: Big Bucks, Big Pharma [01/11/10] VIDEO [4:52]  Note: Those 'consumers' who believe television ads for pharmaceuticals deserve what they get.

Government aims for 90pc car emission cuts [01/11/10] "The Federal Government has released proposed new car emission standards which it wants to introduce from 2012. ..."  Note:  What's left of the auto industry can't do it, of course ...

Two All-Beef Patties, Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese, Pickles, Onion, and…Ammonia [01/10/10] "Eight years ago, federal officials were struggling to remove potentially deadly E. coli from hamburgers when an entrepreneurial company from South Dakota came up with a novel idea: injecting beef with ammonia. The company, Beef Products Inc., had been looking to expand into the hamburger business with a product made from beef that included fatty trimmings the industry once relegated to pet food and cooking oil. The trimmings were particularly susceptible to contamination, but a study commissioned by the company showed that the ammonia process would kill E. coli as well as salmonella. Officials at the United States Department of Agriculture endorsed the company’s ammonia treatment, and have said it destroys E. coli “to an undetectable level.” They decided it was so effective that in 2007, when the department began routine testing of meat used in hamburger sold to the general public, they exempted Beef Products. With the U.S.D.A.’s stamp of approval, the company’s processed beef has become a mainstay in America’s hamburgers. McDonald’s, Burger King and other fast-food giants use it as a component in ground beef, as do grocery chains. The federal school lunch program used an estimated 5.5 million pounds of the processed beef last year alone. But government and industry records obtained by The New York Times show that in testing for the school lunch program, E. coli and salmonella pathogens have been found dozens of times in Beef Products meat, challenging claims by the company and the U.S.D.A. about the effectiveness of the treatment. ..."  

Australia: Cadia Gold Mine expansion sparks water worries [01/10/10] "The NSW Government has approved plans to develop the nation's largest underground gold mine, but residents are worried there is not enough water. ..."   

France plans to set up war crimes tribunal [01/10/10] "The French government says it will form a panel to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. ..."   

US to review court decision on Blackwater killings [01/10/10] "The US government said Friday it will review the decision by a US court to drop charges against American private security guards accused of killing 14 Iraqi civilians in an unprovoked attack in 2007. ..."   

GOP Congressman wants to deport every Iranian [01/10/10] "The Stop Terrorists Entry Program Act (STEP) was first introduced by Rep. J. Gresham Barrett (R-SC) in 2003 [PDF link]. The updated version, he explained in a media advisory, would bar citizens of Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Yemen and Syria from entry into the United States. It would further require citizens of those nations who are legally visiting or residing in the United States to be deported within 60 days. ...The National Iranian American Council was not amused."  Note:  What an idiotic moron. 

Octomom Nadya Suleman Wins Court Ruling [01/10/10] "A California appeals court ruled in favor of octuplets mother Nadya Suleman Friday, denying a call for an independent guardian to monitor her children's finances. The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana called the petition an "unprecedented, merit-less effort by a stranger" and directed an Orange County probate court to vacate its order for an investigation into the family's finances. Paul Petersen, an advocate for children in the entertainment industry, argued that Suleman's children were vulnerable and that an independent guardian should be appointed to look after their financial interests. ..."  Note: Good for her. People need to mind their own business.

Amazing Time-Lapse Video -- One Year In 120 Seconds [01/10/10] "Over the course of 2009, Norwegian Eirik Solheim recorded brief 30-second video clips every week of the view from his balcony in Oslo. The result of all this archiving is an amazing time-lapse video that synthesizes the entire year into a 120 seconds. You can learn all about his techniques on his website. ..."  Note:  Cool.

CIA bomber video calls for attacks on US [01/10/10] "The Jordanian suicide bomber who killed seven Central Intelligence Agency staff has appeared in a posthumous video to urge more attacks on the US to avenge the death of the former leader of Pakistan’s Taliban movement ..."  Note: Another Israeli production, no doubt.  Related:  Is Israel Controlling Phony Terror News? "Who says Al Qaeda takes credit for a bombing? Rita Katz. Who gets us bin Laden tapes? Rita Katz. Who gets us prettymuch all information telling us Muslims are bad? Rita Katz? Rita Katz is the Director of Site Intelligence, primary source for intelligence used by news services, Homeland Security, the FBI and CIA. What is her qualification? She served in the Israeli Defense Force. She has a college degree and most investigative journalists believe the Mossad “helps” her with her information. We find no evidence of any qualification whatsoever of any kind. A bartender has more intelligence gathering experience. ..." 

Former top attorney to President Bush tried to kill wife [01/10/10] "John Michael Farren, a former top attorney to President Bush, is accused of beating his wife with a flashlight and trying to strangle her inside their New Canaan home… The alleged attack happened two days after Mary Farren delivered divorce papers to him, according to the arrest affidavit. She was in stable condition at Norwalk Hospital with a broken nose, a broken jaw and other injuries… Farren, who was born in Waterbury, work[ed] for President George W. Bush and President George H.W. Bush. In 2007, President George W. Bush named Farren Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President, according to a White House personnel announcement ....

Obamacare 2010 a/k/a “Penalize, Overcharge, Deprive, Let 'em Die": Part 1 – The Mandate Insanity [01/10/10] "We are about to lose another freedom. The right to die uninusured. The right to die uninsured, that is, without paying a fine for being uninsured because we cannot afford the insurance that would keep us alive. I think we can safely categorize this as an “insult to injury.” You thought you and your fellow citizens were entitled to humane universal health care, single-payer Medicare for All suckers? Think again. You can go ahead and die without insurance, but don’t think you can get away with that without having paid a fine for not having the insurance you can’t afford that might have saved you! Am I the only one confounded and angered by this situation? Recently Jim Hightower referred to Obama as the President of Absurdistan. The “audacity of amorality”? The new plan is being touted as a favor to us in these times that try one’s sanity as well as one’s soul. The so-called health care reform mandate rule that every citizen must be a customer of a mega-corporation-vendor or pay a fine to the IRS is actually a colossal super-gift to the medical corporate complex by the Prez and the super-majorities in the Congress. Millions of involuntary customers! Was it valiant whistleblower Wendell Potter who first called the faux reform the “Health Insurance Enrichment Act”? It seems far beyond the time when the US should join the rest of the industrial nations in providing universal health care for all. But in this too often amoral, perversely unfolding world that grants peace prizes to war mongers, rescues and rewards the engineers of financial meltdowns, declares its chief architect “Man of the Year”, in fact, in this particular, supposed constitutional republic of the US, instead of protecting and promoting “the right to life” of the now struggling citizenry they took a sacred oath to do, the Prez and Congress are economic codependents of mega-corporations and are unethically using the power of government to extort even greater profits for the oligopolies. Then this executive and these legislative betrayers declare it “historic” reform through a shallow, equally prostituted corporate media that sets up the ongoing drumbeat of propaganda and disinformation. ..."   

Commentary: More Christmas Bombing Fallout: Hillary’s Visa Problem [01/10/10] "The State Department not only failed to share the threat information with a variety of agencies but those who had the information didn’t even act upon it themselves. In fact, Several State Department officials in Nigeria and Washington, DC didn’t even do the basic tasks expected of public servants working to protect Americans. Not only did the State Department not comply with all the requirements Secretary Clinton had said, but the State Department also violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 1735 by not providing the new information they received on an al-qaeda suspect to the UN. We know that State Department officials in Nigeria and Washington had the information because someone wrote a top secret cable dated November 20, 2009 explaining that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had ties to al-qaeda. This means that the State Department had 35 days to revoke Adbulmutallab’s visa and share the information with the UN – it failed to do either. Had the State Department shared the cable with other U.S. agencies or given the information to the UN, as required under the Chapter 7 Resolution, all Nations would have been obligated to deny entry and freeze the assets of anyone officially on the UN’s Terrorist List. The smoking gun is the November 20 State Department cable that wasn’t acted upon. No one shared it with the Embassy visa section, other U.S. agencies or the UN. How could a top secret cable be written but not acted upon by the same Embassy that wrote it? Questions remain as to who approved the cable, where was it sent and why wasn’t a visa revoked because of the cable? U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Robin Sanders and Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson need to answer some questions about what they did with the November 20, 2009 top secret cable containing crucial national security information. Did they ignore the fact that their Embassy identified an al-qaeda operative? Did they not check to see if a visa was already granted to this al-qaeda operative? Who all approved the visa? Who read the cable? At the very minimum, Ambassador Robin Sanders needs to tell the American people why she didn’t revoke the visa of Abdulmutallab after her team originally approved it. What we’ve learned since Janet Napolitano and Hillary Clinton thought everything went as bureaucratically expected on Christmas Day is that President Obama takes surf board accidents on his vacation very seriously but is willing to delegate the safety of the American public to subordinates. ..."   

UK: Peers criticise food industry secrecy on nanotechnology [01/09/10] "The UK food industry comes under attack from peers today for being secretive over its development of nanotechnology in food and drink. The Lords science and technology committee is urging the government and research councils to carry out more checks into the use of nanomaterials in food and in particular the dangers for the human body. Nanotechnology involves whittling common materials down to the size of microscopic particles, allowing them to acquire unusual properties. Nanoparticles have been used in cosmetics and sun-cream products. They can help create foods which taste the same as conventional alternatives but have lower fat, salt or sugar levels, or enrich foods with supplements, or even be used in packaging to extend products' shelf-life. Nanotechnology is also being seen as a successor to genetically modified (GM) techniques. This week Professor John Beddington, the government's chief scientist, said GM crops and developments such as nanotechnology must be embraced to avoid catastrophic food shortages and future climate change. But today's warning from eminent scientists including Lord Krebs – the former chairman of the Food Standards Agency – is the third in two years, after calls from the Royal Society and the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution for more stringent safety checks. Research has shown that nanoparticles can penetrate into places larger particles cannot go, such as through the "blood-brain barrier", which stops toxic molecules passing from the blood into the brain. They find their way into vital organs including the kidneys and liver, but precisely what they do in them has yet to be fully investigated. In a 112-page report, Nanotechnologies and Food, the Lords committee says transparency is key to ensuring public trust in food safety but warns that the food companies' failure to publish details of their research in this area is "unhelpful". ..."   Related:  Grey goo’ food laced with nanoparticles could swamp Britain "Britain is on the brink of a massive expansion in foods containing controversial 'grey goo' nanoparticles, according to the former head of the Food Standards Agency. ..." |Secretive food firms risk public backlash, Lords warn

Chicago May Ax Police Exams To "Boost Minorities" [01/09/10] "Officials in a crime-infested urban U.S. city are seriously considering eliminating an entrance exam for its police department in order to boost the number of ethnic minorities on the force. If the Chicago Police Department does in fact go through with its outlandish affirmative action plan, it would become the only law enforcement agency in a major American city without a police entrance exam that assures would-be officers are sufficiently qualified to serve and protect. The brilliant idea of lowering standards in the name of further diversifying the 13,000-member force came from the notoriously corrupt officials who for years have run the Windy City. Law enforcement officials vehemently oppose the plan and assure that lowering the quality of candidates by accepting everyone who applies and meets the minimum education and residency requirements will only translate into poor police service for Chicago’s nearly 3 million residents.  That’s because a background check and psychiatric screening alone won’t eliminate unqualified candidates, according to a high-ranking Chicago Police official who ran the personnel department under two previous superintendents. Whenever you make it easier to be the police, he said, you do the citizens and the police department a disservice.  The head of Chicago’s local police union wasn’t quite so diplomatic, publicly stating that the idea of eliminating an entrance exam “sounds too stupid to be true.” The test is essential because an application process alone provides very limited information about candidates, he added.  ..."  Note:  There are so many ways that this policy is stupid, I lost count.

TSA Agent at LAX: “I am god, I’m in charge.” [01/09/10] "They are the first line of defense in airport security but two troubling incidents involving TSA agents at LAX are raising concerns. A TSA agent was arrested on January 3rd in Terminal One at LAX, a source told NBCLA. He had just gotten off duty and was behaving erratically, saying, “I am god, I’m in charge.” Meanwhile, a TSA Internal Affairs investigation turned up evidence of LAX TSA agents using drugs at an after-hours party. TSA officials say a videotape of the party was of poor quality and the employees were not in uniform, but 4 employees were tentatively identified. All 4 were tested for drugs. One came back positive and that employee was fired. ..."  

Malaysia:  Indonesian Muslims and Christians Argue over Allah [01/09/10] ""Why are the Christians claiming Allah?" asks businessman Rahim Ismail, 47, his face contorted in rage and disbelief. He shakes his head and raises his voice while waiting for a taxi along Jalan Tun Razak, a main thoroughfare in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital. "Everybody in the world knows Allah is the Muslim God and belongs to Muslims. I cannot understand why the Christians want to claim Allah as their God," Rahim says as passersby, mostly Muslims, gather around and nod in  agreement. The reason for their anger is a recent judgment by Malaysia's high court that the word Allah is not exclusive to Muslims. Judge Lau Bee Lan ruled that others, including Catholics who had been prohibited by the Home Ministry from using the word in their publications since 2007, can now use the term. She also rescinded the prohibition order that forbade the Malay-language edition of the Catholic monthly the Herald to use Allah to denote the Christian God. After widespread protests, however, the judge granted a stay order on Jan. 7, the same day the government appealed to the higher Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling ...."      Related: Churches firebombed over 'Allah' declaration [01/09/10] "Three churches have been fire bombed in Malaysia just hours before Muslim groups held protests over the use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims. Police are on alert after the attacks in Kuala Lumpur. Muslim groups held peaceful demonstrations at mosques amid tight security. Organisers have condemned the attacks on churches that took place overnight. Police say it is still too early in the investigation to link the attacks to last week's court ruling that allows non-Muslims to use the word 'Allah' when referring to God. This overturns a three-year government ban. The Catholic Church claims they have been using the term for decades. Some Muslim groups fear that Christians want to use the word 'Allah' as part of a plan to encourage Muslims to convert to Christianity. The government department has appealed against the court decision."    Attacks after Malaysian court rules Christians can "worship Allah"   Note: All of this is beyond infantile. Belief systems and minions. Bad combo.

Ireland : 'Blasphemy' Now Against the Law [01/09/10] "On January 1st a new law took effect in Ireland -- the so-called "Blasphemy Law..." makes it a criminal offense to make blasphemous statements regarding any religion...The Irish fought for many centuries for freedom and self-determination for their people, and many brave Irishmen gave their lives for this cause. How is it then that they now seek to criminalize and subjugate the beliefs of many of their own citizens?...' ..."  Note: Morons. Their whiskey sucks, too.

Leftist: If You Can’t Justify Your Existence You Must Die [01/09/10] VIDEO [2:49] "In this clip from the 2008 film “The Soviet Story”, we see that George Bernard Shaw, the celebrated progressive playwright defended Hitler, advocated killing those who can’t justify their existence and called for the development of lethal gas 10 years before the national socialists in Germany did exactly that. George Bernard Shaw was one of the left’s most revered figures and the only person besides Al Gore to win both an Oscar and a Nobel prize. ..."  Note: Nobel aided and abetted wars and murder for profit.  

Wal-Mart and H&M Destroy Brand New, Unsold Clothes [01/09/10] "Add up all the sorrow, hard work and resources that went into producing those goods… Straight to the landfill. Wal-Mart apparently uses a machine to destroy the clothes. How very American is that? Did someone get rich designing and building the machines that Wal Mart uses to destroy brand new clothes before they are thrown out?  ..."   

US mainstream media is dying [01/09/10] VIDEO [11:00]  "News consumers are giving up read more...traditional sources of information such as newspapers and television and turning to so-called new media, says US journalist and author Michael Wolff, creator of Newser.com web site. RT's Marina Portnaya spoke with Mr Wolf. ..." 

China: More than 106,000 officials punished in first 11 months of 2009 [01/09/10] "About 2.6 percent of those punished by the CPC were expelled from the Party and referred for prosecution for embezzlement or bribery, Gan said. ..."  Note: I'd like to see that happen here, just for the experience.

Class Action Suit Claims Macy's Sells Bogus Gems [01/09/10] "A class action accuses Macy's of selling bogus rubies, amethysts and sapphires. "Gems that were represented to be natural 'rubies' were in fact heavily glass filled and often heavily lead glass treated ... [and] other rubies arriving from wholesalers were a mixture of ruby and composite ruby which in turn created a treatment and care issue in that a composite ruby could not be re-polished or re-cut for restoration purposes, and is damaged by a variety of cleaning solvents," according to the complaint in San Francisco County Court. ..."  Note: Ha!

IRS Agent Admits He Took a Bribe [01/09/10] "An IRS employee pleaded guilty to taking a bribe. Fernando Hernandez, 33, of Dallas, admitted that in June 2005 he took $2,000 in cash and promised a taxpayer that the IRS would not audit the taxpayer's return. ..."   

Olbermann: ‘Seedy’ GOP politicians show terrorists how to sow havoc [01/09/10] "Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) was widely condemned by liberals last week after he sent out a fundraising letter which used the failed Christmas Day airplane bombing to promote his campaign for governor of Michigan. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has come in for his share of criticism as well since he uncritically endorsed Hoekstra's approach in an appearance on Fox News. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann took aim against both men in a special mini-comment on Thursday which suggested that President Obama "will have a far easier time correcting the flaws in our counter-terrorism efforts than he will have correcting the flaws in the souls of the American politicians who continue to exploit those flaws for their own insidious reasons." ..

U.S. airliner returns after take-off over disruptive passenger [01/08/10] "A U.S. passenger airliner with 231 people on board bound for Hawaii was escorted back to Portland International Airport by two F-15 fighters after one of the passengers become disruptive, FoxNews.com website reported. The passenger refused to store his duffle bag properly and handed the captain of the airliner a note via a flight attendant that contained aggressive statements addressed to the crew. The captain of the passenger jet, which belongs to Hawaiian Airlines, made the decision to return back to Portland in order for security officials to take off the unruly passenger. FoxNews.com quoted Keoni Wagner, a spokesman for Hawaiian Airlines, as saying that the incident had nothing to do with terrorism. "This is kind of a routine passenger disturbance on board. A guy is being taken off the flight, but it's not of any particular concern," Wagner was quoted as saying. ..."   

2 ex-Blackwater Guards Charged in Afghan Killings [01/08/10] "Two former Blackwater contractors were arrested January 7th on murder charges in the shootings of two Afghans after a traffic accident last year, according to a federal indictment. The indictment unsealed hours after the arrests charges Justin Cannon, 27, and Chris Drotleff, 29, with second-degree murder, attempted murder and weapons charges. FBI agents arrested both of them without incident, said Peter Carr, a spokesman with the U.S. attorney's office in Virginia's eastern district. Both men have told The Associated Press that they were justified in opening fire on a car that caused an accident in front of their vehicle, then turned and sped toward them. The indictment says the shooting at a Kabul intersection killed two people. At least one other person was injured. ..."  

Democrats plan to manipulate elections with universal registration [01/08/10] "The proposal is to register everyone on every welfare list, everyone getting unemployment insurance, everyone with a driver's license, everyone who has had run-ins with the legal system, everyone owning any property - basically everyone on every list the government keeps. People will be registered to vote whether or not they want to be registered. If individuals are on any public record, they will be automatically registered. ..."  Note:  The " theft through majority voting coalition" looks to gain market share. 

'Christmas Day bomber recruited by al Qaeda in London': Yemen claims sparks Whitehall fury [01/08/10] "The young Nigerian accused of attempting to bomb a transatlantic airliner on Christmas Day was recruited by al Qaeda in London, Yemen's government claimed today. ..."   

Rahm Emanuel: U.S. is 'fed up' with Israel, Palestinians [01/08/10] "The White House had rejected claims that Barack Obama's most senior aide blasted Israel and the Palestinians for foot-dragging and warned that the U.S. could walk away from the Middle East peace process. The comments come after reports that Rahm Emanuel recently told an Israeli diplomat that the U.S. is fed up with both sides, and said that Washington would reduce its involvement in peace efforts if no significant progress was made.  ...According to reports, Emanuel told Dayan the U.S. is sick of the Israelis, who adopt suitable ideas months too late, when they are no longer effective. The U.S. is also sick of the Palestinians who never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, Emanuel reportedly said. Emanuel added that if there is no progress in the peace process, the Obama administration will reduce its involvement in the conflict, because, as he reportedly said, the U.S. has other matters to deal with.... "    

China hit with $2.2 billion software piracy lawsuit  [01/08/10] "A Californian company claims that China stole its work and used it to create Green Dam, a controversial censorship program that China initially wanted to install on every new computer in the country. China claimed that Green Dam would help protect children from pornographic and violent content on the internet, but its critics claimed that the program also blocked politically sensitive information.  ..."   

Pakistan not to give guarantee for uninterrupted gas supplies to India through a proposed multi-billion dollar pipeline from Iran [01/08/10] "Pakistan has decided not to give any guarantee for uninterrupted gas supplies to India through a proposed multi-billion dollar pipeline from Iran, a media report said here today...."   

The Lie of Law: Courts Bow to State's Raw Power [01/07/10] "It is often forgotten how "legal" the Nazi regime in Germany really was. It did not take power in a violent revolution, but entered government through the entirely "legal" procedures of the time. The "legal" vote of the "legally" elected Reichstag gave Adolf Hitler the powers to rule by decree, thus imparting strict "legality" to the actions of his government. Indeed, there were several cases when those who felt the government had overstepped the bounds of law in a particular instance actually took the Nazi regime to court, and won. Why? Because the government was bound by "the rule of law." And the fact is, almost the entire pre-Nazi judicial system of the German state remained intact and operational throughout Hitler's reign. The "rule of law" carried on. Of course, as the Nazi regime plowed forward with its racist, militarist, imperialist agenda, this "rule of law" became increasingly elastic, countenancing a range of actions and policies that would have been considered heinous atrocities only a few years before. This trend was greatly accelerated after the Regime -- claiming "self-defense" following an alleged "invasion" by a small band of raiders -- launched a war which soon engulfed the world. Naturally, in such unusual and perilous circumstances, jurists were inclined to give the widest possible lee-way to the war powers of the state. After all, as one prominent judge declared, the war had pushed the nation “past the leading edge of a new and frightening paradigm, one that demands new rules be written. War is a challenge to law, and the law must adjust. ..."   

100,000 Collections in NYC Called Bogus [01/07/10] "A debt collection agency and the lawyers they work with obtained millions of dollars in default judgments against more than 100,000 New York City residents through "sewer service," according to a federal class action. The class claims they were never served with summons or complaint, and the collections agencies filed false affidavits of service.  ..."   

Truckers Challenge Clean Air & Fuel Laws [01/07/10] "An independent truckers association is asking a federal judge to enjoin a California rule that bans trucks that do not meet emissions standards from doing business at California ports, saying the rule is causing the truckers to be "unemployed by government mandate."  ..."    

Commentary: Miraculous Organ: Blair, Obama and the Narcissist's Defense [01/07/10] "In recent days we have all witnessed two vomitous eruptions of moral nullity that would tax the powers of a Voltaire or a Vidal to do them proper justice; they quite o'er-crow the meager gifts of a hack like me. But I will sketch a few observations here nonetheless, if only to add one more small voice to those few who bear witness to the evils perpetrated by our unaccountable leaders. We speak of course of Barack Obama's Nobel speech and Tony Blair's recent comments on the Iraq War. Let's take the lesser figure first. ..."  

The Airport Scanner Scam [01/07/10] "Scan, baby, scan. That’s the mantra among politicians at all levels in the wake of the thwarted terrorist attack aboard a Detroit-bound passenger jet. According to conventional wisdom, the would-be “underwear bomber” could have been stopped by airport security if he’d been put through a full-body scanner, which would have revealed the cache of explosives attached to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s groin.  Within days or even hours of the bombing attempt, everyone was talking about so-called whole-body imaging as the magic bullet that could stop this type of attack. In announcing hearings by the Senate Homeland Security Commitee, Joe Lieberman approached the use of scanners as a foregone conclusion, saying one of the "big, urgent questions that we are holding this hearing to answer" was "Why isn’t whole-body-scanning technology that can detect explosives in wider use?" Former Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff told the Washington Post, "You’ve got to find some way of detecting things in parts of the body that aren’t easy to get at. It’s either pat downs or imaging, or otherwise hoping that bad guys haven’t figured it out, and I guess bad guys have figured it out." Since the alternative is being groped by airport screeners, the scanners might sound pretty good. The Transportation Security Administration has claimed that the images "are friendly enough to post in a preschool," though the pictures themselves tell another story, and numerous organizations have opposed them as a gross invasion of privacy. Beyond privacy issues, however, are questions about whether these machines really work—and about who stands to benefit most from their use. ... As I documented in my book The Five Unanswered Questions About 9/11, airport security has always been compromised by corporate interests.When it comes to high-tech screening methods, the TSA has a dismal record of enriching private corporations with failed technologies, and there are signs that the latest miracle device may just bring more of the same  ..... The Washington Examiner last week ran down an entire list of all the former Washington politicians and staff members who are now part of what it calls the "full-body scanner lobby"....." Related: Chertoff Exploits Detroit Plane Bomb to Stir up Business for Client "Former Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff has been all over the airwaves since the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day, advising the nation that it should invest in full-body scanners for airports. What Chertoff failed to mention in numerous television interviews is that his consulting business currently represents the company, Rapiscan Systems, that makes the scanners. Chertoff first became familiar with Rapiscan’s technology while running the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President George W. Bush. In 2005, Chertoff’s agency purchased 40 body scanners for installation at 19 U.S. airports. He then left the administration and formed his own security consulting business, the Chertoff Group. Earlier this year, the DHS’ Transportation Security Administration (TSA) purchased 150 machines from Rapiscan for $25 million, and in the wake of the Christmas Day incident, TSA is expected to buy another 300 scanners. ..."  Note: Not only does the Mossad and Shin Bet have control over 65 major airports outside the US, they're taking over the airports in the US.

Slovakian spies planted explosives on a man taking a Dublin flight [01/07/10] "On 2 January 2010, in Slovakia, Slovakian spies planted explosives on a man taking a Dublin flight 96g of RDX plastic explosives were planted on the 'unsuspecting' 49-year-old electrician by the Slovakian agents. Allegedly, this was to test airport security. The man was allowed to fly with the explosives. The authorities in Dublin were only alerted to the situation several days later ..."  Note: Weird how so many 'intel' agencies are involved in terrorism related antics. 

KSM Conspiracy Charges Analyzed and Debunked [01/07/10] "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and five co-defendants have been charged with conspiracy and related charges. Their trial, recently announced by president Barack Obama, will be held in federal court next year in New York. KSM has been labeled the “mastermind” behind the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and Obama has already declared him guilty. This article will analyze those conspiracy charges.  ..."  Don’t believe the charges until you’ve read the charge sheet.

Commentary:  Welcome Back to the Bronze Age of Intelligence  [01/06/10] "Late last year, on Christmas day and the day before New Year's Eve, jihadists from both the Taliban and, allegedly, al Qaeda, embarrassed the United States. On Christmas a Nigerian citizen was allowed to get on a plane in Amsterdam with an incendiary device sewn into his underwear despite having been put on a terror watch list. Last Wednesday, a Taliban militant, a physician named Humam Khalil Mohammed, blew up himself and eight others at a CIA base in southeastern Afghanistan. What makes these attacks and the successful infiltration of agents from two terrorist networks especially embarrassing is that a little bit of additional vetting would've turned up their true intentions. ..."  

Who Would Benefit Politically from a "Terrorist Incident" on American Soil? The Strange Case of Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab [01/06/10] "Despite some $40 billion dollars spent by the American people on airline security since 2001, allegedly to thwart attacks on the Heimat, the botched attempt by Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab to bring down Northwest Airlines Flight 253 over Detroit on Christmas Day was foiled, not by a bloated counterterrorist bureaucracy, but by the passengers themselves. Talk about validating that old Wobbly slogan: Direct action gets the goods! And yet, the closer one looks at the available evidence surrounding the strange case of Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, the more sinister alleged "intelligence failures" become. As this story unfolds it is becoming abundantly clear that U.S. security officials had far more information on the would-be lap bomber than we've been told. ..."  

Army specialist jailed for rap song about stop-loss [01/06/10] VIDEO [4:58]  "Army specialist Marc Hall has been jailed after writing a rap song against the Army's controversial stop loss policy and mailing it to the Pentagon. The stop loss policy makes it legal for the army to extend a soldier's deployment or service beyond their designated time in the military. Hall isn't the first soldier to raise questions about the policy, but now his could have further implications for freedom of speech in the army.  ..."   

Old System Where Catholic Orders Used Poor Kids for Slave Labor Described in Complaint [01/05/10] "Members of two Catholic religious orders trafficked in children for decades, taking poor kids from their parents in Britain and Malta and promising to educate them in Australia, then putting them to a life of forced labor and physical and sexual abuse, according to a federal class action in Manhattan.  ..."   

NZ's cyber spies win new powers  [01/05/10] "New cyber-monitoring measures have been quietly introduced giving police and Security Intelligence Service officers the power to monitor all aspects of someone's online life. The measures are the largest expansion of police and SIS surveillance capabilities for decades, and mean that all mobile calls and texts, email, internet surfing and online shopping, chatting and social networking can be monitored anywhere in New Zealand. In preparation, technicians have been installing specialist spying devices and software inside all telephone exchanges, internet companies and even fibre-optic data networks between cities and towns, providing police and spy agencies with the capability to monitor almost all communications. Police and SIS must still obtain an interception warrant naming a person or place they want to monitor but, compared to the phone taps of the past, a single warrant now covers phone, email and all internet activity. It can even monitor a person's location by detecting their mobile phone; all of this occurring almost instantaneously. Police say in the year to June 2009, there were 68 interception warrant applications granted and 157 people prosecuted as a result of those interceptions. Police association vice-president Stuart Mills said the new capabilities are required because criminals were using new technologies to communicate, and that people who weren't committing criminal offences had little to fear. However, civil liberties council spokesman Michael Bott said the new surveillance capabilities are part of a step-by-step erosion of civil rights in New Zealand.  ..."   

The Makings of a Police State: The Quest for Clearance [01/05/10] "... Based on GAO’s July 2009 data, about 2.4 million persons currently hold security clearances for authorized access to classified information. And this figure, 2.4 million, does NOT even include some of those with clearances who work in areas of national intelligence. In fiscal year 2008 the Office of Personnel Management and the Defense Department processed about 450,000 requests for confidential, secret and top-secret clearances. According to bits and pieces of data here and there, there are over three million federal employees who require security clearances for jobs.  ..."    

TSA Agent Poses as Blogger in Bid to Identify Agency Leak [01/05/10] "A TSA agent who served a civil subpoena on blogger Steven Frischling last week also posed as the blogger in order to trick the blogger’s anonymous source into revealing his identity, according to someone familiar with the incident. ..."   

33 Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out To Be True [01/04/10] "... Skeptics are important in achieving an objective view of reality, however, skeptism is not the same as reinforcing the official storyline. In fact, a conspiracy theory can be argued as an alternative to the official or “mainstream” story of events. Therefore, when skeptics attempt to ridicule a conspiracy theory by using the official story as a means of proving the conspiracy wrong, in effect, they are just reinforcing the original “mainstream” view of history, and actually not being skeptical. This is not skeptism, it is just a convenient way for the establishment view of things to be seen as the correct version, all the time, every time. In fact, it is common for "hit pieces" or "debunking articles" to pick extremely fringe and not very populated conspiracy theories. This in turn makes all conspiracies on a subject matter look crazy. Skeptics magazine and Popular Mechanics, among many others, did this with 9/11. They referred to less than 10% of the many different conspiracy theories about 9/11 and picked the less popular ones, in fact, they picked the fringe, highly improbable points that only a few people make. This was used as the "final investigation" for looking into the conspiracy theories. ..."    

CIA Dished out $3 Million to buy silence in Another Narco Scandal [01/04/10] "After 15 years of legal battles the CIA agrees to pay $3 million to a former DEA agent who accused a former CIA official of illegally eavesdropping on him as part of a joint CIA and State Department effort to thwart DEA’s anti-narcotics mission in Burma in the early 1990s. Richard Horn was stationed in Burma in the early 1990s as the DEA country attaché to Burma, a nation that is ranked as one of the top opium poppy producing countries in the world. He was in charge of overseeing DEA’s mission in Burma involving eradication of the opium poppy, which is used to produce heroin. Bill Conroy of Narco News covers the latest on State Secrets Privilege recipient Richard Horn. As always Conroy dares to dig and cover this significant story when the rest of the media stenographers are avoiding it like the plague and as they are told by their mighty government sources above. ..."   

Here In The Long Solemn Dark: An Examination Of Global Elitism [01/04/10] "Inherent in every human being lurk the qualities that make us capable of indelible and enduring good, or astounding and catastrophic evil. Many of us struggle with these natural inborn psychological dualities every day of our lives. With the help of conscience; the ever present voice of the unconscious which guides us towards balance, many of us survive the internal battle without inflicting too much damage on the innocent bystanders around us. ..."    

U.S. backed-drug gangs fight Taliban’s traffickers in endless turf battle [01/04/10] "The revelation1 that Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s brother Wali is on the Central Intelligence Agency payroll and is a known drug lord has complicated President Obama’s already torturous internal debate on Afghanistan and dredged up questions about long-standing ties between the C.I.A. and illegal drugs. Though controversial, there is evidence that from Laos  to Nicaragua  to Afghanistan, and many places in between, the C.I.A has a long history of links to illegal drugs as a means to buy allies and fund off-the-books missions.  The C.I.A first backed Afghan drug lords in 1979, according to David Musto and Joyce Lowinson, members of the White House’s Strategic Council on Drug Abuse, who wrote in a New York Times Op-Ed on May 22, 1980: “We worry about the growing of opium in Afghanistan or Pakistan by rebel tribesmen who apparently are the chief adversaries of the Soviet troops in Afghanistan. Are we erring in befriending these tribes as we did in Laos when Air America (chartered by the Central Intelligence Agency) helped transport crude opium from certain tribal areas?”  Drug Enforcement Agency reports in 1980 showed Afghan rebel movements were “determined in part by opium planting and harvest seasons.”   One U.S.-backed drug lord was Yunas Khalis. “He spent most of his time fighting, but the wars were not primarily with the Soviets,” writes Alexander Cockburn and Jeffery St. Clair.  “Instead, Khalis battled other Afghan rebel groups, the object of the conflicts being control of poppy fields and the roads and trails from them to his seven heroin labs near his headquarters in the town of Ribat al Ali. Sixty percent of Afghanistan’s opium crop was cultivated in the Helmand Valley, with an irrigation infrastructure underwritten by USAID.” ..."   

Norwegian minister under fire for praise of Cast Lead book  [01/03/10] "The Norwegian foreign minister's praise for a controversial book accusing Israeli troops of perpetrating a "monstrous, systematically implemented and comprehensive massacre" in Gaza aroused harsh criticism yesterday from Israeli officials and Jewish organizations ... Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told Haaretz that the book being endorsed by Jonas Gahr Store is "outrageous and borders on incitement made up of fabrication and lies." "It is problematic that a representative of a democratic government is praising such things," Ayalon added ....... The book in question is called "Eyes in Gaza," written by Mads Gilbert and Erik Fosse after their stay in the Strip during Operation Cast Lead last year.  "  Note: In other words, it's a piece of journalism written in Gaza by people who were there and made observations. Unless there was wrongdoing by Israel, that shouldn't be a problem. Of course, the reality is transparent to anyone capable of critical thought and observation. 

Lieberman scolds diplomats: Stop placating the world  [01/03/10] "The problem of Israeli diplomacy is that it does not do enough to preserve the country's honor. ..."  Note: Israel never had honor in the first place.  These people are clearly delusional, and will remain so.

FAA and taxpayers prop up small, little-used airports  [01/03/10] "The Federal Aviation Administration has given $240 million to upgrade airports owned by businesses and that are used exclusively for private airplanes, a USA TODAY analysis shows. The money has aided about 50 privately owned airports — many of them little-used — since the mid-1980s, buying items such as runway upgrades, new fences and airplane hangars. The funding is unusual because most airports that get federal grants are owned by cities or counties. Supporting businesses that own airports raises questions about whether public funds should go toward assisting private enterprise. "Airports can help areas to some extent, but the people who benefit from grants are developers who own airports," aviation economist Kenneth Button said. Large companies getting airport grants include energy giant Exelon and Belz Enterprises, a major developer in the South. The FAA says the privately owned airports it funds benefit the public by providing landing areas for private airplanes that otherwise would congest nearby commercial hubs. The airports "serve an important role in our aviation system," said Catherine Lang, FAA's acting associate administrator for airports. Lang said the FAA is "considering more stringent policies," though, that could halt funding for about 20 little-used private airports. Without the cash, most of the airports could not support themselves and would close, officials say. ..."    

VUI: Voting Under the Influence [01/02/10] "The real face of our two-party but one-establishment system of politics seems to have made a rare appearance again with Obama’s speech last Tuesday. That is, to those among the wannabe gullible majority, since a small fraction have known this true face for a while. The good news is that finally we are seeing a significant number of apologists who are coming to the realization of being taken for a ride during this last election. The not so good news has to do with the depth of this new realization, thus the extreme vulnerability of being misdirected and exploited again, over and over, as has been done for decades. ... Last May I put forth a discussion topic on the issue of casting votes based on the ‘lesser of two evils’ decision-making process. Here are the questions I posed back then, which I am posing again now that we have more people waking up to smell their new Whitehouse Roses: ...."  Note: Revisiting ‘The Lesser of Two Evils’ Mentality. 

2010: U.S. To Wage War Throughout The World [01/02/10] "January 1 will usher in the last year of the first decade of a new millennium and ten consecutive years of the United States conducting war in the Greater Middle East. Beginning with the October 7, 2001 missile and bomb attacks on Afghanistan, American combat operations abroad have not ceased for a year, a month, a week or a day in the 21st century. ..."  Note:  One has to wonder just how many countries the US has to be fighting before that fighting can be declared a "world war"!

Danger Room’s Top 10 Stories From a World Gone Nuts [01/02/10] "The past year took Danger Room’s team of reporters from Afghanistan to Israel to Georgia, and from the Pentagon to a clandestine air base in Southwest Asia, in what has to be one the wildest years ever on the international stage. Here are our choices for the most important stories of 2009. ..."  

UN warns of the collapse of Gaza’s water supplies [01/02/10] "A UN agency has warned of the danger of the collapse of the underground water system in the Gaza Strip. In a report, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) claims that over-use and contamination as a result of the Israeli war against Gaza a year ago is having a damaging effect on water supplies upon which 1.5 million people depend. Pollution, says the UNEP, is so bad that Gaza’s children are at risk of nitrate poisoning. Test at nine private wells showed that nitrate levels exceed World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines of 50 milligrams per litre; one well had a level of 331 milligrams per litre. High levels of nitrates can cause "blue baby syndrome" ..."  Note:  Israel fully understands the consequences of polluted water, and the effect that water-borne illnesses can have on people, particularly children. Look for Israel to forbid the necessary equipment from getting into Gaza to remedy the situation.

Chicago! Not the Musical, but the Action-Suspense Docudrama!  by Sibel Edmonds [01/01/10] "Chicago’s governing style and practices have been consistently characterized as criminal and corrupt since the days of the prohibition-era gangster, Al Capone. Last year Daniel Elgber wrote an interesting piece on this same topic titled ‘Why is Chicago so Corrupt?’ ..."  Note: Good piece.  

Belief System Wars: California Science Center is sued for 'canceling a film promoting intelligent design' [01/01/10]  "L.A.'s California Science Center will start the new year defending itself in court for canceling a documentary film attacking Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. A lawsuit alleges that the state-owned center improperly bowed to pressure from the Smithsonian Institution, as well as e-mailed complaints from USC professors and others. It contends that the center violated both the 1st Amendment and a contract to rent the museum's Imax Theater when it canceled the screening of "Darwin's Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record." The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by the American Freedom Alliance, an L.A.-based group described by senior fellow Avi Davis as a nonprofit, nonpartisan "think tank and activist network promoting Western values and ideals." The AFA seeks punitive damages and compensation for financial losses, as well as a declaration from the court that the center violated the Constitution and cannot refuse the group the right to rent its facilities for future events..... "Intelligent design" is the theory that an intelligent being, rather than impersonal forces such as Darwinian natural selection, is responsible for shaping life on Earth. An overwhelming majority of scientists and science and natural history museums consider the theory of evolution to have been proved beyond a doubt by genetic and fossil evidence. Critics of intelligent design have dismissed it as a superficially scientific cloak for the straightforwardly religious belief known as Creationism that's anchored in a literal reading of the bible  ....."  Note: Both sides are infantile and dumber than a box of rocks.

US telecom company fined for bribing Chinese officials [01/01/10] "UTStarcom Inc., a US telecom company, agreed on Thursday to pay three million dollars in fines for bribing Chinese officials with Hawaiian vacations and other junkets, US officials said.  The Justice Department said UTSI had agreed to pay a 1.5-million-dollar fine for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by providing "travel and other things of value" to employees of state-owned Chinese telecom firms. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the Alameda, California, company had agreed to pay an additional 1.5 million dollars for authorizing millions of dollars in unlawful payments to Asian government officials ..."     

Judge tosses Blackwater case, cites gov't missteps [01/01/10] "A federal judge dismissed all charges Thursday against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of killing unarmed Iraqi civilians in a crowded Baghdad intersection in 2007. Citing repeated government missteps, U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina dismissed a case that had been steeped in international politics. The shooting in busy Nisoor Square left 17 Iraqis dead and inflamed anti-American sentiment abroad. The Iraqi government wanted the guards to face trial in Iraq and officials there said they would closely watch how the U.S. judicial system handled the case. Urbina said the prosecutors ignored the advice of senior Justice Department officials and improperly built their case on sworn statements that had been given under a promise of immunity. Urbina said the government's explanations were "contradictory, unbelievable and lacking in credibility." "We're obviously disappointed by the decision," Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said. "We're still in the process of reviewing the opinion and considering our options." Prosecutors can appeal the ruling.  ..."  

150 more full-body scanners to go in U.S. airports [01/01/10] "One hundred and fifty new full-body scanning machines are set to be placed in airports across the United States as federal authorities work to close security loopholes exposed by the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner. The Transportation Security Administration ordered the scanners before the bombing attempt for up to $170,000 apiece. Plans are also in place to purchase an additional 300 units by 2012, TSA officials said. Forty body scanners are currently in use at 19 U.S. airports. Use of the technology -- considered overly invasive by critics -- is optional, according to the TSA Web site. Passengers who opt out of the screening receive an alternate form of checking, which includes a pat-down procedure. ..."  Note: Wonder who owns the scanner companies, and the connections to banks, wall street or politicians, and what state they're in.... cui bono?

82-year-old dissident and radical leader arrested in Moscow [01/01/10] "Russian dissident Ludmila Alexeeva and radical leftist leader Eduard Limonov were arrested by police Thursday in central Moscow during an opposition rally, an AFP photographer said. Anti-riot police arrested the 82-year-old Alexeeva, one of this year's recipients of the European Parliament's Sakharov prize for freedom of thought, after they received orders by walkie-talkie to "pick her up." Police confirmed that around 30 participants had been arrested, also including the founder of the outlawed National Bolshevik Party, Eduard Limonov, according to a Moscow radio station. "I didn't have time to open my mouth, I just made a hand signal," said Alexeeva on the radio, shortly after her arrest. "I have no idea why I was arrested. Usually, they (the police) write in the statement that I resisted" the forces of law and order, she added. "They offered to release me, but I refused, demanding that they release all those in police vans," the 82-year-old said. The protesters were arrested in Triumfalnaya Square, central Moscow, as they began shouting slogans and showing placards which read "Putin behind bars!" Their gathering had been banned by Moscow's town hall. ..."   

"Ridding America of the Warmongers" [01/01/10] "Disgusted Americans who vote for politicians that talk peace yet, once elected, support wars, need to get active in between elections. Just voting every four years won’t hack it …These tasks require dedicated day-by-day engagement…” Failure to grasp these opportunities “is likely to have ominous repercussions: for the country, for the world, and for future generations.”   Note:  They think they can change the nature of the game, here.

China: Mentally Ill People Murdered, Used To Blackmail Mine Owners [01/01/10] "Police have arrested nine people in southwest China suspected of trafficking mentally ill people to be murdered in mines across the country in a bid to blackmail mine owners into paying compensation, a local official said Thursday. Mine owners in China face intense pressure to keep deadly accidents under wraps, and have reportedly been found paying off journalists and relatives of dead miners in recent years to keep safety problems from coming to light. ... In one case in Fujian province, Xinhua said a suspect surnamed Feng was charged along with two others with beating a mentally ill person to death in an iron mine, and then pushing the mine owners for compensation by claiming to be a relative of the victim.  The cases are similar to the plot of the 2003 Chinese movie "Blind Shaft" in which two coal miners plan the murder of a fellow worker and make it look like an accident in an attempt to extort money from the mine boss. China's mining industry is the world's deadliest, with most accidents blamed on poor safety as enterprises scramble to feed the country's insatiable demand for coal."  

Gaza sees more malformed newborns [01/01/10] "The pain continued for a couple of months before she was finally able to get the medical checkup, and the results left her shocked and speechless. The child she was carrying suffered from malformation and may die either inside her womb or shortly after birth. The baby came to this world while his brain hung out of his head like a bag of skin covering his eyes, therefore, the baby will never experience sight. Meanwhile, he could not breathe either because of the malformation in his nose as it appears clogged. ..." 

Egypt To Allow Convoy To Enter Gaza - Galloway Statement VIDEO [1:03]  Note: Better late than never.

UK: Internet piracy measures 'will cost consumers £500m' [01/01/10] "The Digital Economy Bill, which requires internet service providers (ISPs) to disconnect users who are accused of illegal filesharing, will cost consumers up to £500 million, the Government has estimated. The Bill, which is expected to become law next year, will add £25 a year to the cost of broadband, according to ISPs. The Government’s impact assessment document [available in PDF form], which examines the likely effects of the Bill, estimates that around 40,000 households will give up their broadband connections entirely to avoid the higher fees. ..."   Note:  What happens when people run out of money.

Iran: U.S. Hasn’t Learned Lesson from Hiroshima [01/01/10] "… “Those who have committed the worst crimes against the people of Hiroshima and humanity by using nuclear weapons should not be the ones to win a prize and enjoy the right of veto.” Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Sa’eed Jalili expressed regret that these powers still are continuing the politics of proliferation, the experimentation with new generations of nuclear weapons and the escalation of these weapons, and that they are even working towards nuclear proliferation. Jalili added, “Who but America and some of its allies has given the Zionist regime control over nuclear weapons?” … ..."  Note: He's right.

Commentary: The Old 'False-Flag Trick' [01/01/10] "Government is the only human enterprise that profits from failure. Once that principle is understood, many otherwise inexplicable choices made by ruling elites and their servants can be made intelligible. For instance, we can begin to understand the perverse persistence governments display in courting preventable catastrophes, and then capitalizing on such incidents to enhance their power to do exactly the same things that resulted in disaster. In this case, in addition to requiring the helotry to undergo unconscionable personal violations before flying, the Regime is exploiting the incident aboard Northwest Flight 253 to escalate the ongoing military assault on Yemen, thereby increasing the human misery that helps propel international terrorism. ..."   

PsyOp Internet battle for Hearts, and Minds [01/01/10] "The Internet revolution has changed the face of our planet. Over the last 20 years there's been a complete transformation of the way we live, conduct business, and share information. In the same amount of time, information technology has helped bring countless atrocities committed by governments, and global corporations into view. We've seen the rise of groups like "We Are Change", and birthing of the "Truth Movement"; which has kicked off a viral, and grassroots information wave. The Internet's been in many regards a saving grace of mankind, and in the same likeness the greatest threat to the establishment! ..."  Note: It won't happen exactly like that on the next world designated for simultaneous incarnations, that's for sure.

The Cash Committee: How Wall Street Wins On The Hill [01/01/10] "The question was simple: Should the lending practices of auto dealers be regulated?  It was already October and the 42 Democrats and 29 Republicans on the House Committee on Financial Services had spent the better part of the year hashing out the details of a new federal agency dedicated to protecting consumers from dangerous and deceptive financial products. Auto dealers seemed like an obvious target for the new agency; nearly every time someone buys a car, the dealer also sells them an auto loan, complete with promises like zero per cent interest and a pile of cash back. Americans hold some $850 billion in car debt and dealers are responsible for marketing roughly four-fifths of that amount. They pocket lucrative commissions with little oversight, and the committee seemed poised to change that. Enter Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.), a former Saab dealer from Orange County, who according to his latest financial disclosure statement still collects rent from some of his former auto dealer colleagues. Campbell downplayed the importance of his industry partners and proposed an amendment to the bill exempting dealers from the new agency's purview. On October 22, it came up for a vote. As usual, the members filed into the high-ceilinged first-floor hearing room in the Rayburn House Office Building. Committee Chairman Barney Frank oversaw the vote atop four tiered rows of seats, a full story above the witnesses and the audience. The longest-serving Democratic members of the panel -- informally known as the banking committee -- sat to the right or just below the chairman; it can take years, if not decades, for a freshman representative to ascend up the risers. The clerk called the roll, starting from the top. Senior Democrats roundly rejected Campbell's amendment. It appeared as if the Democrats would beat back the effort and apply the same standard to car dealers that was applied to everyone else. Then came the bottom two rows, the place where reform goes to die. Despite the disapproval of the powerful chairman and nearly every consumer group in the country, the Campbell amendment passed by a 47-21 margin. ..."  Note: Congress is as corrupt as Wall Street. This is just another admission by the system, in people's faces, that they are corrupt and no one can stop it.