THOUGHT FOR THE DAY!

"Imperialism today is taking place in the context of...the 'universalization' of capitalism. It is not now primarily a matter of territorial conquest or direct military or colonial control. It is not now a matter of capitalist powers invading non-capitalist powers in order to bleed them dry directly and by brute force. Now it is more a matter of ensuring that the forces of the capitalist market prevail in every corner of the world (even if this means marginalizing and impoverishing parts of it), and of manipulating those market forces to the advantage of the most powerful capitalist economies and the United States in particular." ... "Military force is still central to the imperialist project, in some ways more than ever."-- Political scientist Ellen Meiksins-Wood, Z magazine Nov 1999, p26

 

HAPPY 'KICK OUT THE GOVERNMENT' DAY!!!

 

Jul 04 07:50

America's Birthday: Facts and Fallacies

“I am apt to believe,” wrote John Adams in 1776, regarding what would eventually become America’s Independence Day, “it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.” And he was right—for the most part. Adams got it all except the date: “the Second of July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.” So has America spent over two centuries celebrating the wrong date? Not exactly . . . but you’d better dust off that history book just the same and get ready to reconsider some popular Fourth of July misconceptions.

Jul 04 07:50

What happened to the signers of the Delaration of Independence

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Jul 03 23:55

IS THE US CORPORATE MEDIA RACIST?

Of course, I might have missed something here. Maybe there is another reason that the American Corporate media thinks that Iran hijacking boats in their own territorial waters is a major news story while Israel hijacking a boat in international waters is not. And if that is true; if there really is a reason why the two stories are being treated differently, I welcome any member of the corporate media to call into my radio show and explain it to me.

Because until they do, I think we have no choice left but to conclude that the difference in coverage between the two stories is that the American Corporate Media just don't like black people!

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Relinked at reader request.

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Jul 03 23:48

Zimbabwe: The Case for a Debt Audit

Odious debts are defined as those debts incurred by the state which are not for the needs or interest of the state but merely to strengthen the state's despotic power as well as to repress the population that fights against despotism.

Jul 03 21:02

Sexting timebomb, more of Tavistock's degeneracy agenda

The sexting timebomb
Elissa Lawrence June 28, 2009
Experts warn the trend of "sexting" - sending lewd images of oneself or others by text message - is only beginning.
http://www.rense.com/politics5/300.htm
Tavistock And The Conspirators' Hierarchy
The Story Of The Committee Of 300
By Dr. John Coleman (excerpt)
From Dr. Byron Weeks 11-21-99

Jul 03 18:43

That ’30s Show

We have the Obama stimulus plan, which aims to create 3 ½ million jobs by late next year. That’s much better than nothing, but it’s not remotely enough. And there doesn’t seem to be much else going on. Do you remember the administration’s plan to sharply reduce the rate of foreclosures, or its plan to get the banks lending again by taking toxic assets off their balance sheets? Neither do I.

All of this is depressingly familiar to anyone who has studied economic policy in the 1930s. Once again a Democratic president has pushed through job-creation policies that will mitigate the slump but aren’t aggressive enough to produce a full recovery. Once again much of the stimulus at the federal level is being undone by budget retrenchment at the state and local level.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Yes. And this history, like the earlier versions, likely ends with another World War.

Because they can't think of anything else to do.

Jul 03 18:25

Shock: Global temperatures driven by US Postal Charges

Back in 1885 it cost 2 cents to post a letter. Who would have thought that as postal charges climbed by 40 cents through the next 120 years, that global temperatures would mirror that rise in timing and slope and gain almost one full degree?

Jul 03 18:01

Ayatollah Khamenei: Iran is not Georgia

Whatever you think about Iran, a country based on an Islamic constitution and with an Islamic leadership, one thing is sure the current leaders are no fools. They know, what “divide and conquer” means. And they are not about to allow a 1953 rerun.

Jul 03 17:45

Burma junta blocks Ban Ki Moon’s meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi

Ban Ki Moon was refused a meeting with the detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday — an unpromising start to an important two-day visit to Burma by the UN Secretary-General.

“I was assured that the Myanmar authorities will make sure that this election will be held in a fair and free and transparent manner,” Mr Ban said

Webmaster's Commentary: 

It is eminently possible that the man who visited Aung San Suu Kyi was planted as a reason for bringing her back to trial to prevent her from at all having a chance in the next round of elections.

And for that statement about "... the Myanmar authorities will make sure that this election will be held in a fair and free and transparent manner,”, I honestly don't know whether to laugh of cry.

Dr. Ban Ki Moon has got to know better than to believe this.

And he also had to know that he would be prevented from meeting Aung San Suu Kyi, even briefly.

Jul 03 17:08

Cow Backpacks Trap Methane Gas

Have you heard the expression "it's a good job cows can't fly"?

These cows just might.

:)

Jul 03 17:03

Energy bills: the £1.7bn annual rip-off

Energy companies are over-charging customers by failing to pass on £1.66 billion of savings they have made on falling wholesale gas and electricity prices.

Gas prices should be 7.4 per cent cheaper and electricity bills 3.1 per cent cheaper, saving an average household £74 a year, research obtained by The Independent suggests.

Consumer Focus, the publicly funded watchdog which calculated the figures using the energy regulator's own model, described them as "conservative". It suggested that further predicted falls in wholesale prices should reduce gas bills by a further 8 per cent and electricity by 4 per cent by the end of 2009. This would knock a total of £157 off average bills.

Jul 03 17:00

Salt water caverns may be beneath surface of Saturn moon

Gas jets that could signify an underground water supply have been spotted by scientists on Saturn's moons, suggesting there could be a home for extra-terrestrial life.

Jul 03 16:35

Overheating iPhones: Sorry I'll have to call you back, I'm in a heat wave

The heat wave may have broken in the UK, but that hasn't stopped the world from noticing that Apple has released some support information concerned with overheating iPhones and using the devices in hot weather. We know, the words 'support information' chill us too (if you'll excuse the pun) so we'll summarise it for you - don't let your iPhone get too hot or it will stop working.

Jul 03 15:44

Afghanistan: US Offensive, or Taliban Entrapment?

Afghanistan Offensive
Tara Mergener CBS News
Published: July 3, 2009
U.S. Marines are moving deeper into Taliban territory and the enemy is doing little to stop them....overall there’s been little resistance from insurgents.
http://www.canadaeast.com/rss/article/718102
Head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan says Taliban a dangerous, resilient enemy, Friday July 3rd, 2009
Bill Graveland, THE CANADIAN PRESS
...Petraeus warns,...."I think you have to recognize this is an enemy that is adaptable and at times is barbaric," ....

Jul 03 15:16

A 'coup' in Honduras? Nonsense.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras – Sometimes, the whole world prefers a lie to the truth. The White House, the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and much of the media have condemned the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya this past weekend as a coup d'état.

That is nonsense.

In fact, what happened here is nothing short of the triumph of the rule of law.

Jul 03 14:32

Israel: Bahraini officials' actions shame Obama's inaction

Israel: Bahraini officials make first historic visit
Tel Aviv, 3 July (AKI) - Senior Bahraini officials have made an historic visit to Israel to meet a group of Bahraini detainees that were arrested with other activists this week when they tried to enter the Gaza Strip to deliver aid, the country's official news agency BNA said on Friday.
BNA said the detainees were freed by Israeli authorities after Bahrain's efforts to free them.
"The efforts resulted in the approval of the Israeli authorities to hand over detainees to the representatives of the Kingdom of Bahrain. As a result, the ministry of foreign affairs in cooperation with the ministry of interior sent a mission to Ben Gurion Airport to receive the Bahrainis detained," said BNA.

Jul 03 13:36

Card issuers beating new law

Credit card companies are raising interest rates and fees seven months before new rules go into effect that will limit their ability do so, much to the irritation of Congress and consumer advocates.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

All of which will drive MORE credit card holders into default. thereby accelerating the crash!

Jul 03 13:32

Israeli sub sails Suez, signaling reach to Iran

An Israeli submarine sailed the Suez Canal to the Red Sea as part of a naval drill last month, defense sources said on Friday, describing the unusual maneuver as a show of strategic reach in the face of Iran.

Israel long kept its three Dolphin-class submarines, which are widely assumed to carry nuclear missiles, away from Suez so as not to expose them to the gaze of Egyptian harbormasters.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

So, who is provoking whom in this situation?

Jul 03 13:29

Palin resigning as Alaska governor

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday she is resigning from office at the end of the month, raising speculation that she would focus on a run for the White House in the 2012 race.

The more I think about this, the less sense it makes. 2021 is a long way off, and she could finish the current term as Governor and simply choose not to run for another term. But this report says she is stepping down and Alaska's Lt. Government will take over.

There is more to this than meets the eye!

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Obama just locked in his second term.

Jul 03 13:03

Colin "I can't pronounce my own name" Powell still a liberal that GOP determined to call a Republican

Please listen to this guy's words - he wants a "government that works" and "solves people's problems" [new cars for everyone!] then embraces his own empty rhetoric about small government and low taxes and THEN has the audacity to say he doesn't like slogans. It was clear from the beginning the GOP was just desperate to get a Black face that they ignored his core beliefs. How's that working, GOP? This one endorsed Obama (race first!) and Steele is like some sort of sad joke.

Try getting your core beliefs down and stop compromising on them - nothing else would matter and you would win (so long as you purge the neocons) even without pandering to racial groups.

Jul 03 12:56

Flashback: YouTube, Obama as slave of Israel

Former IDF Captain: Obama will act as a “slave” to Israel, AIPAC
BBC
January 6, 2009

Jul 03 11:44

Absurdity and Corruption Beyond Measure.

It’s been crystal clear for some time that the media is nothing more than a slimy, lie machine. If you hear something from the mass media you can take it for granted that it’s a lie or certainly an exaggeration or a distortion. In certain cases where the news doesn’t fit with the media’s agenda they just don’t report it at all, as in the hijacking of the Free Gaza ship and the imprisonment of the passengers. Yesterday we learned that this doesn’t even touch the level of corruption that defines today’s mass media. Yesterday we saw what they have been up to at the Washington Post. It’s painful to read the spin coming out of the mouths of the corporate heads.

Jul 03 11:39

The Big Whorehouse on the Potomac

Jul 03 11:11

False Flag Alert: Israeli sub heading toward Iran

I guess the fact it is in the news makes it less likely, but they could be planning to launch a missile that appears like it is from Iran towards Israel.

Jul 03 11:06

Masters of hypocrisy

So, Peres wants to make peace with the Saudis, the Kazakhs, the Indonesians, the Mauritanians, even Muslims in the innermost parts of Black Africa. It is only the Palestinians he insists on stealing their land, arrogating their rights and narrowing their horizons.

It is nearly impossible to gauge the level of Israeli-Zionist hypocrisy. Indeed, one wouldn't go too far by saying that Israel is the world's most hypocritical nation-state.

The evidence is as conspicuous as overwhelming.

Jul 03 11:05

Cynthia McKinney: I’m in jail in Israel

Former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney revealed in a phone call posted online that she is in an Israeli prison with others who attempted to run a blockade to deliver supplies to Gaza.

McKinney and about 18 other activists in Israeli custody for the past three days will likely be released by Sunday, according to the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Israel is hoping that a release over the holiday weekend will prevent the (lazy) corporate media from paying any attention to her ... which is fine because that means us bloggers, without access and without resources, will scoop News Corp, right John Hartigan?

Jul 03 11:03

The Base Court: Another Fortress Rising in America's Ring of Iron

While President Obama circumnavigates the globe, talking loftily of peace and engagement with the peoples of the world -- in language largely cribbed from old George Bush speeches, but presented in a far more photogenic, plausive package -- this is the real face that the United States is showing to the world.

Jul 03 11:00

Regulators Seize 7 More Failed Banks

Regulators shut down John Warner Bank of Clinton, Ill.; First State Bank of Winchester in Winchester, Ill.; Rock River Bank of Oregon, Ill.; Elizabeth State Bank of Elizabeth, Ill.; Danville, Ill.-based The First National Bank of Danville; Founders Bank of Worth, Ill.; and Dallas-based Millennium State Bank of Texas, bringing the number of U.S. bank failures this year to 52.

Jul 03 10:59

U.S. Faces Resentment in Afghan Region

The mood of the Afghan people has tipped into a popular revolt in some parts of southern Afghanistan, presenting incoming American forces with an even harder job than expected in reversing military losses to the Taliban and winning over the population.

Villagers in some districts have taken up arms against foreign troops to protect their homes or in anger after losing relatives in airstrikes, several community representatives interviewed said. Others have been moved to join the insurgents out of poverty or simply because the Taliban’s influence is so pervasive here.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Afghanistan is an occupied country, governed by American puppets who appear to their own population to be so crooked that they have to screw their socks on the morning.

Imagine that your kid, wife, husband, mom, dad, or other loved one or friend had been blown to smithereens in a US airstrike: would you want to skip toward the representative troops whose military did this with flowers in your hands?

Our options in Afghanistan are stark, and very limited.

We could declare "victory" and go home.

We could develop a robust reconstruction, sort of like the Marshall Plan after WW2, provide investment for real economic growth, encourage more real political dialogue and inclusion. When things stabilize enough that the pipelines can be constructed, we could then declare victory, and come home.

Or, we could kill every Afghan still breathing, behave like a complete butcher in the eyes of the rest of the world and any people of conscience left in this country, install the pipelines, declare victory, and come home.

Unfortunately, there are some in the halls of power in Washington who see that last scenario as truly preferable to the other two.

You cannot, absolutely, win what is essentially a land war from the air. The lessons of Viet Nam should have taught this country's military and political leaders this, but apparently the lessons have yet to be learned.

Those who do not understand the past, and learn from it, are doomed to repeat it - and fail again.

Jul 03 10:40

Israel Again Rejects Total Settlement Freeze

Despite repeated demands from the Obama Administration, the right-wing Israeli government has repeatedly rejected the call and insisted that the US will eventually change its mind. The move has proved relatively popular, and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s approval rating has remained strong.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Dear President Obama: please, immediately halt all monetary and military aid to Israel, paid with our tax dollars.

If Israel doesn't want peace, and only wants to go on building illegal settlements on Palestinian land, that money should go to much better uses here at home.

Signed: We the People.

Jul 03 10:37

Taliban Slip Away From Afghanistan Surge Battle

Marine commanders said Taliban fighters seemed to have melted into the surrounding countryside rather than staying to fight the large U.S. force.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

The Taliban are most likely re-grouping to strike in another area, far away from where the 4,000 Marines are massed.

Jul 03 10:31

Taliban Seize US Soldier, ‘Sell’ to Militant Clan

It is being reported today that an unnamed US soldier and three Afghan soldiers were ambushed and captured Tuesday by the Taliban in Afghanistan’s restive Paktika Province. The military confirmed that the soldier was missing and believed captured.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

I feel badly for the captured soldier, and can hardly begin to appreciate what their family is going through right now.

But this country betrayed that soldier long before he was ever captured, by torturing prisoners of war, and - for all practical intents and purposes - withdrawing from every human rights treaty to which it was ever a signatory.

Unfortunately, this soldier can expect no better treatment than the prisoners of war at Abu Ghraib received.

Jul 03 10:24

US Uses False Taliban Aid Charge to Pressure Iran

The Barack Obama administration has given new prominence to a Bush administration charge that Iran is providing military training and assistance to the Taliban in Afghanistan, for which no evidence has ever been produced, and which has been discredited by data obtained by IPS from the Pentagon itself.

CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus declared in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Apr. 1, "In Afghanistan, Iran appears to have hedged its longstanding public support for the Karzai government by providing opportunistic support to the Taliban."

Webmaster's Commentary: 

All sham and absolutely no substance.

The war drums are beating harder and faster now, and unfortunately, there are some elements in the US government who believe that only another war can get this country out of the economic misery it is experiencing (largely due to the financing of the existing wars without end.)

These are, by the way, generally people whose sons and daughters will never see military combat.

Jul 03 10:17

EU states may recall Iran envoys after U.K. embassy arrests

Iran's standoff with the West escalated with the European Union considering pulling out all 27 of its ambassadors in retaliation for the recent detentions of several local employees of the British Embassy in Tehran, despite Iranian claims that all but one had been released.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Right on cue from the EU; the less opportunity for meaningful dialogue there is between the EU representatives and Iran, the greater the chance for military confrontation.

The prospects for which, have certain elements in Washington and Tel Aviv salivating greatly in anticipation.

Jul 03 10:09

Troops gather on Georgian border

The tranquility of the rolling green fields and lush vineyards belie it, but many fear that another summer war between Russia and Georgia like the one 11 months ago which killed hundreds of civilians is no more than a stutter of automatic gunfire away from breaking out. And if it happens, this standoff at Ergneti could be the flashpoint.

Russian troops this week embarked on large-scale war games in the North Caucasus, just a few dozen miles away, preparation for "potential conflict situations in the region," the generals say. Similar exercises preceded the war last summer.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Russia didn't start the war last year: Saakashvili did with his invasion of South Ossetia.

This was a spectacularly idiotic thing for him and his government to have done, and one that demonstrated absolutely no understanding of Russia's most probable response to such an action.

Let us hope that cool heads in Tbilisi and Moscow prevail right now. This region doesn't need more war and human suffering; it needs development and economic investment.

Jul 03 09:57

7 more banks fail as FDIC mulls rules for sales

Six Illinois banks and one bank in Texas were shuttered Thursday as government regulators proposed new rules for private equity firms seeking to take over failed banks.

That's more than double the 25 which failed in all of 2008 and the three closed in 2007. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of all seven. The total cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund from the seven closings will be $314.3 million, the FDIC said.

Jul 03 09:46

Iranian cleric: British Embassy staff to be tried

A powerful Iranian cleric said on Friday that British embassy local staff arrested for allegedly stoking post-election unrest will be put on trial, a move that prompted coordinated protests from European governments.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

If people were accused of fomenting violence in any country against that country's government, they would also be accused and tried in a court of law.

And remember: the accused were local Iranian staff, not British citizens.

Jul 03 09:42

Press TV New Footage of Basij Military Base Attack

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Western Media showed the Basij firing into the crowd of rioters in Tehran. What they DIDN'T show you was the rioters first attacking the Basij with Molotov Cocktails!

Jul 03 09:37

US-backed Colombian soldiers execute innocent for cash

The United States is slated to hand over some $750 million in mostly military aid to Colombia this year. The potential contribution of US taxpayers’ money to fund the killing of innocent people — though likely inadvertent on the part of the Colombian government — will almost certainly raise eyebrows among human-rights activists and others who have long criticized the Colombian government’s actions in its war against cocaine and insurgents.

At the heart of the problem is the Colombian government’s practice of paying soldiers for dead bodies of FARC members. Predictably, the incentive has led some soldiers to kill innocent civilians, dress their bodies up as FARC rebels, and hand them in for cash.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

This is, unfortunately, one in a long string of events where we wind up propping up a government (with your tax dollars, and sometimes military muscle) with absolutely no regard for the welfare of its citizens.

This country's alleged "war on drugs", both domestically and internationally, has just made the problem worse.

Ultimately, as has been shown with Portugal, the decriminalization of drug usage - and a push toward treatment - does work, because it takes the profit motive out of getting people addicted, and offers addicts a way back out of their addiction with counseling and support.

That is logical, and has been proven to work. But there are too many people internationally making too much money from illegal drug sales to ever let that happen, and particularly not here in the US.

Jul 03 09:32

US: Citizen or Consumer?

A corporation is not a person. It is an abstraction: an organizational structure that feels no remorse and has no morality, no life, no soul. Yet the modern corporation – still just an arbitrary legal entity – enjoys the same rights as you or I. It has the right to free speech, to own property, to lobby government officials and protect against self-incrimination.

Jul 03 09:25

Texas Grassroots defeats Goliath of internationalists

Proud to say I'm part of the group that lobbied this. Texas is one of the states fighting to lead the way. YOU NEED TO ACT LOCALLY.

Today, ordinary Texans brought Governor Rick Perry’s road privatization, toll road, and Trans Texas Corridor agenda to a screeching halt. The Legislature adjourned without re-authorizing private toll road contracts called Comprehensive Development Agreements (or CDAs). The grassroots scored another victory by KILLING the revolving fund in HB 1, preventing the $2 billion in bonds from being spent to build toll roads, convert freeways to toll roads, or subsidize private toll deals, as well as protecting public employee pension funds from risky toll roads schemes that are failing all over the world.

Jul 03 08:24

Days late, and during the "Friday News Dump", New York Times FINALLY reports on Cynthia McKinney

Jul 03 08:22

Hungarian lawmakers reject Holocaust denial law

Hungary’s lawmakers rejected constitutional amendments to make Holocaust denial a punishable offense.

Some local Jewish community leaders believe that Monday's vote secured the first parliamentary victory for Jobbik, a rapidly rising local neo-Nazi movement widely predicted to win several seats in the national elections due within a year.

The proposals, put forth by the ruling Socialist caretaker government, attracted fewer than half the votes needed to adopt a constitutional amendment.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

I think the world has about had it with this creeping dictatorship called "Israel."

Jul 03 08:21

Israel used human shields, NOT Hamas - Amnesty International

Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israeli forces of war crimes, saying they used children as human shields and conducted wanton attacks on civilians during their offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The London-based human rights group also accused Hamas of war crimes, but said it found no evidence that the Islamist rulers of Gaza used civilians as human shields during the 22-day offensive Israel launched on December 28.

Jul 03 08:20

Sweatin' With the Socialists

Jul 03 08:15

An Open letter to President Obama: Why Are we supporting Israel's war crimes in Gaza?

Webmaster's Commentary: 
Jul 03 08:14

MASTERS OF HYPOCRISY

I have no doubt whatsoever that Shimon Peres, the President of the criminal state of Israel, would be the main winner in any international championship for the world’s worst liar and hypocrite.

Jul 03 08:12

NEW YORKERS PROTEST THE PIRACY ON THE MEDITERRANEAN …… PHOTO ESSAY

Jul 03 08:09

Cynthia McKinney calls in from Israeli Prison Cell

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Note the report about how Israel says the UN has no authority inside Israel.

Jul 03 08:04

A complete list of things caused by global warming

Webmaster's Commentary: 

"Can I have your money now?" -- The Gore-acle

Jul 03 08:01

Another Example of U.S. Censorship of Mainstream Media

It appears that the U.S. Mainstream media is going to ignore this story even though Cynthia McKinney was once a Congresswoman from Georgia and a Presidential candidate. How odd. What does this say about the news we receive daily from the mainstream media. The New York Times Boasts "All the News that’s fit to Print". Apparently this act of piracy and cowardly behavior isn’t fit to print. I condemn the New York Times for failing to print this news that they are fully aware of.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Actually, the NY Times finally ran a small story about the incident, but hardly treated it as the headline news it deserves to be, and in any event in days late in reporting the story at all.

Jul 03 07:58

FLASHBACK - Air France plane broke up over 'number of minutes'

New evidence suggests the Air France jet which crashed into the Atlantic with 228 on-board broke up over a number of minutes, rather than in one catastrophic incident.

Jul 03 07:53

Western Governments Funding Taliban & Al-Qaeda To Kill U.S. Troops, Destabilize Countries

Recent revelations concerning the U.S. importing Taliban members into Iraq to foster false flag terrorism is merely the tip of the iceberg when compared to the U.S. intelligence complex’s multi-decade history in sponsoring Sunni Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist groups around the world.

Webmaster's Commentary: 
Jul 03 07:50

CIA Now Delays IG's Torture Report Until the End of the Summer

Webmaster's Commentary: 

... the summer of 2135, that is.

Jul 03 07:47

"Look Jane, come see Dick wiggle out of this one!"

Torture is a prosecutable war crime under US domestic laws: The Convention Against Torture(CAT) and the 1996 War Crimes Act. It is also a prosecutable war crime under the Nuremberg & Tokyo Protocols written by the United States of America after WWII. It is a prosecutable war crime under the Geneva Conventions General Article III of 1949. And all it takes to be charged, convicted and imprisoned-or hanged, is for anyone who is convicted in a court of law for violating any one of these laws. And it only takes the commission of ONE single offense for the wheels of justice to roll over the offenders. Not 100. Not 180. Just one.

Jul 03 07:45

Helen Thomas: Not Even Nixon Tried to Control the Media Like Obama

Following a testy exchange during Wednesday’s briefing with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas told CNSNews.com that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press the way President Obama is trying to control the press.

“Nixon didn’t try to do that,” Thomas said. “They couldn’t control (the media). They didn’t try.

“What the hell do they think we are, puppets?” Thomas said. “They’re supposed to stay out of our business. They are our public servants. We pay them.”

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Helen is a good one!

Jul 03 07:43

"Free Madoff" says Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin, Hollywood actor and left activist, has a new cause. Free Bernard Madoff! Yes, really.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Wow! HULU really DOES rot your brain!!!!!!!!

Jul 03 07:37

The Confessions of Osama Bin Laden

Who robbed you of $12 trillion from your Social Security system? Was it me or those you elected? Why won't your newsmen ask that question? Was it me who robbed you of trillions in Iraq? Was it me or those who you willingly elected? Republicans and Democrats? Was it me who rendered your banks insolvent? Was it me who disrupted Wall Street and destroyed investor confidence? Was it me who threatens to topple the global economic system? Or was it your own elected leaders?

Jul 03 06:19

How Martian clouds create snowfall

Clouds scoot across the Martian sky in a movie clip consisting of 10 frames taken by the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. This clip accelerates the motion. The camera took these 10 frames over a 10-minute period. Particles of water ice make up these clouds, like ice-crystal cirrus clouds on Earth.

The planet Mars conjures images of red rocks and arid, dusty plains, but as NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander showed last year, it snows on Mars.

Jul 03 05:24

Obama: The Emperor's Seven Signing Statements

by David Swanson

Lawless detention is the least of it. State secrets and warrantless spying scrape the surface. Drone attacks and ongoing torture begin to touch it. But central to the power of an emperor, and the catastrophes that come from the existence of an emperor, is the elimination of any other force within the government. Signing statements eliminate congress. Not that congress objects. Asking congress to reclaim its power produces nervous giggles. ...

Jul 03 05:20

Ron Paul Strikes Gold

Thu Jul 2, 2009 1:52pm EDT
Ron Paul's legislative history is a lesson in principled failure. Among the bills he has co-sponsored: ending U.S. cooperation with the United Nations, a repeal of antitrust law "to restore the inherent benefits of the market economy," and stripping the government of the right to set a minimum wage. Just last week, he again introduced a bill "to repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990," which would presumably make schools less safe but which would reinforce our right to bear arms. For Paul, ideology almost always trumps politics.

Jul 03 05:15

Big brother is watching: The technologies that keep track of you

By Claudine Beaumont
Published: 10:13AM BST 02 Jul 2009

The furore around the Chinese government’s Green Dam software has raised the issue of the way modern technology is used to monitor our daily lives. Here, we list seven of the technologies that can be used to keep track of your movements.

Jul 03 05:07

IAPA Vice President Covers for Press Censorship in Honduras (Update: IAPA Responds)

by Al Giordano
July 2, 2009

Edgardo Dumas, publisher of the pro-coup daily La Tribuna in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and the country’s former Defense Minister, is saying that he speaks for the Inter American Press Association (IAPA where he sits on one of 13 committees) to claim there is no media censorship under the coup regime in Honduras.

(This would not be the first time that the IAPA and its newspaper owners acted in ways contrary to their stated mission in Latin America.)

....

Jul 03 05:01

Why Doesn't NPR Call Waterboarding Torture?

Thursday July 2, 2009 06:03 EDT
The still-growing NPR "torture" controversy

There are several noteworthy developments since I wrote on Tuesday about the refusal of NPR's Ombdusman, Alica Shepard, to be interviewed by me about NPR's ban on using the word "torture" to describe the Bush administration's interrogation tactics. Given the utter vapidity of her rationale ("there are two sides to the issue. And I'm not sure, why is it so important to call something torture?"), I was momentarily amazed to learn that she actually teaches "Media Ethics" to graduate students at Georgetown University (my amazement quickly dissipated once I recalled that this is the same institution that, until last year, paid Doug Feith -- Doug Feith -- to teach students "national security policy" and that Berkeley Law School has John Yoo "teaching law" to its students; next semester at Georgetown: Karl Rove teaches Civility in a Post-Partisan Age, Bill Kristol lectures on Accountability in Punditry, while David Gregory examines The Role of Intellect in Adversarial Questioning).

Jul 03 04:27

Fake news gets real

If Wolf Blitzer isn’t quaking in his beard, he should be.

I’m referring to "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," which sent correspondents and producers to locales where comedy shows don't normally operate: Iran and Iraq. Along the way, these two Comedy Central commercial properties cooked up plenty of laughs. But they also produced some insightful — and certainly entertaining — coverage of these two complex and important global stories.

Jul 03 03:57

The New Homeowner Hallucination

The New Homeowner Hallucination: "We'll Rent For A Year And Then Sell When The Market Comes Back"

The next segment of the market to crash will be the mid- to high-end, where many smug homeowners are now telling themselves they'll just rent their houses for a year while they wait for the market to "come back." Needless to say , these folks are dreaming.

Jul 03 03:53

“US to conduct unprecedented surveillance over Internet”

02 July, 2009
US Internet users fear that the US National Security Agency is going to conduct fishnet-type surveillance without any predicate, says investigative journalist and RT contributor Wayne Madsen from Washington D.C.

President Barack Obama has announced that a special person is going to overlook the safety of government and military computer systems to protect them from attack.

But some believe that the 'Cyber Tsar' is just a way to spy upon people online.

Jul 03 03:28

Dozens of cites to be bulldozed

JUST LIKE THEY DO IT IN ISRAEL !

Jul 03 03:04

Blogs won't beat us: News chief

NEWS LIMITED'S chief executive, John Hartigan, has launched a broadside on bloggers and other online amateurs, arguing they are no substitute for professional journalists.

(*His most scathing attack was reserved for bloggers, who, he said, lacked resources and access to key decision-makers.)

Jul 02 20:49

UN expert: Israeli seizure of Gaza-bound aid ship is 'criminal'

Last update - 05:03 03/07/2009
A UN human rights investigator on Thursday called Israel's seizure of a ship carrying relief aid for the Gaza Strip "unlawful" and said its blockade of the territory constituted a "continuing crime against humanity".

Israeli authorities on Tuesday intercepted the vessel, which was also carrying 21 pro-Palestinian activists, and said it would not be permitted to enter Gaza coastal waters because of security risks in the area and its existing naval blockade.
...

Jul 02 20:47

Palestinians: IDF tank fire kills Gaza teen

Last update - 06:32 03/07/2009
By Haaretz Service and the Associated Press

A 17-year-old Palestinian girl was killed and several other Palestinians wounded in a blast in central Gaza near the Israeli border Thursday, Hamas security officials said, charging that an Israeli tank shell was to blame.

The Israel Defense Forces said soldiers returned mortar fire, but did not use tank shells, after they came under Palestinian fire across the border in central Gaza.

...

Jul 02 20:44

Housing Minister: Spread of Arab population must be stopped

By Guy Lieberman, Haaretz Correspondent
Housing Minister Ariel Atias on Thursday warned against the spread of Arab population into various parts of Israel, saying that preventing this phenomenon was no less than a national responsibility.

"I see [it] as a national duty to prevent the spread of a population that, to say the least, does not love the state of Israel," Atias told a conference of the Israel Bar Association, which focused on a reforming Israel's Land Administration.
...

Jul 02 20:22

Senate bill fines people refusing health coverage

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fines will raise around $36 billion over 10 years.

Jul 02 18:27

ISRAEL'S PROPAGANDISTS ARE STILL BASHING CYNTHIA!

Jul 02 18:21

Cynthia McKinney calls WBAIX from Israeli prison

Webmaster's Commentary: 

"There is no UN in Israel!"

Jul 02 18:15

Tell Israel to Free Humanitarian Workers Aboard Free Gaza Boat!

On June 30th, the Israeli Navy attacked and captured the unarmed humanitarian aid boat The Spirit of Humanity. This is the second time that the Israeli navy has attacked a Free Gaza Movement boat while it was attempting to deliver medical supplies, building equipment, and children's toys to the Port of Gaza.

Take action below to demand the release of The Spirit of Humanity's crew and passengers!

Jul 02 18:13

US remains silent over McKinney arrest by Israel

Nearly a day after the detention of former US lawmaker Cynthia McKinney by Israeli forces, Washington has yet to make a reaction.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Doing nothing IS the reaction!

Jul 02 17:44

UN Expert denounces seizure of aid boat by Israel

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Richard Falk, denounced the unlawful naval seizure by an Israeli gunboat on the high seas of a ship carrying medicine and reconstruction material to blockaded people of Gaza.

Jul 02 17:25

Captured American soldier: free reign to waterboard him.

After all, it isn't torture according to the US.

Jul 02 17:24

Dahr Jamail, A Secret History of Dissent in the All-Volunteer Military

According to Private First Class Clifton Hicks, who served in Iraq with the First Cavalry from October 2003, only six months after Baghdad was occupied by American troops, until July 2004, search and avoid missions began early and always had the backing of a senior non-commissioned officer or a staff sergeant. "Our platoon sergeant was with us and he knew our patrols were bullshit, just riding around to get blown up," he explained. "We were at Camp Victory at Baghdad International Airport. A lot of the time we'd leave the main gate and come right back in another gate to the base where there's a big PX with a nice mess hall and a Burger King. We'd leave one guy at the Humvee to call in every hour, while the others stayed at the PX. We were just sick and tired of going out on these stupid patrols."

Jul 02 16:45

Cynthia McKinney Remains Imprisoned in Israel After Gaza-Bound Boat Is Seized

Former U.S. lawmaker and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney and several other human rights activists remained in an Israeli prison Thursday after refusing to sign a deportation form that they claim is self-incriminating.

In a press release from the Green Party, McKinney said the form states that the Spirit of Humanity, a Greek-flagged relief boat carrying 21 activists, medical supplies, cement, olive trees and children's toys en route to Gaza, was violating the Israeli blockade and trespassing the country's territorial waters.

Jul 02 16:43

US STATE DEPARTMENT COMMENT ON CAPTURE OF CYNTHIA MCKINNEY!

"On that last question, I don’t know the answer, actually. I think I have to refer you to the Government of Israel. "

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Well! THAT'LL teach 'em to kidnap a congresswoman!!!!!!!!

Jul 02 15:13

Iran Divided & the 'October Suprise'

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s current spiritual leader and the key supporter of reelected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was more the ideological purist in the early 1980s, apparently opposing the unorthodox strategy that involved going behind President Carter’s back to gain promises of weapons from Israel and the future Reagan administration....

Meanwhile, Israel’s Likud Prime Minister Menachem Begin was furious at Carter for pushing him into the Camp David peace deal with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat that required Israel returning the Sinai to Egypt in exchange for normalized relations.

Jul 02 14:44

Woman Commits Suicide to Avoid Eviction

"Rich get richer, poor get poorer, families on the street, govt doesn't care. God bless the usa, but can He save it?"

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Why kill yourself?

Aren't there more obvious targets?

Jul 02 14:27

WHUS - ANNE WRIGHT INTERVIEW ON ISRAELI HIJACKING OF FREE GAZA SHIP!

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Used with permission of WHUS

Jul 02 13:51

We are NOT the “Story”

We are NOT the “Story”, It’s Not Just Our 21 Kidnapped Passengers
2009-07-02 | Free Gaza Team
July 1, 2009
With respect, it is not enough. We are not the story. Since its founding in 1948 the State of Israel has regularly kidnapped and tortured Palestinians, throwing them into forgotten prisons where they can languish for years. Today, over 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners without benefit of due process, some never even charged - men, women, and children - endure torture and isolation in Israeli jails, outdoor prison camps, and secret black sites. They come from all walks of life: doctors, journalists, parliamentarians, workers, resistance fighters, homemakers, students and others. They are our sisters and brothers.

Jul 02 13:45

THE PIRATES OF ZION: OBAMA MISSES THE BOAT!

THE PIRATES OF ZION: OBAMA MISSES THE BOAT!
By Alan Sabrosky*
June 30, 2009

Israel’s boarding and capture in international waters of The Spirit of Humanity, an unarmed boat carrying relief supplies to the suffering people of Gaza, shows that state-sponsored piracy is a real peril today. It is just one more breach of international law added to the global "rap sheet" of a rogue state that, as Netanyahu remarked a few weeks ago, is not like other countries. But Israel’s capture of this boat was also Netanyahu’s test of Obama’s resolve – a test Obama failed, to his shame and discredit.

Jul 02 13:40

Released activist, Detention in Israel like a "terror film"

O.Próximo.- Una activista de Free Gaza describe su detención en Israel como una "película de terror"
Europa Press
Una ciudadana israelí que se encontraba entre los 21 activistas detenidos hace dos días por las fuerzas de seguridad israelíes cuando intentaban llegar a la Franja de Gaza con un barco lleno de ayuda humanitaria, afirmó hoy que las condiciones en las que les han mantenido se parecen a una "película de terror". Seguir leyendo el arículo
[Babelfish]
O.Próximo. - An activist of Free Gaza describes his halting in Israel like a “film of terror”

Jul 02 13:34

British prisoners report ill treatment in Israeli jail

A message smuggled out of the Ramla Givon prison in an email from members of the solidarity boat crew arrested earlier this week has accused the Israeli authorities of maltreatment and keeping them in poor conditions.

Jul 02 13:30

ACLU Says Government Used False Confessions

The American Civil Liberties Union yesterday accused the Obama administration of using statements elicited through torture to justify the confinement of a detainee it represents at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The ACLU is asking a federal judge to throw out those statements and others made by Mohammed Jawad, an Afghan who may have been as young as 12 when he was captured. His attorney argued that Jawad was abused in U.S. custody, threatened and subjected to intense sleep deprivation.

Jul 02 13:29

Washington Post cancels lobbyist event amid uproar

Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said today she was canceling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her home where for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record access to "those powerful few" — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors.

The astonishing offer was detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he felt it was a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its “health care reporting and editorial staff."

Jul 02 13:28

And Here It Is On CNBC: Manipulation

"This market continues to be propped up by government intervention and manipulation."

No, really?!

By the way, market manipulation is illegal.

Of course when you own the police force you can do whatever you damn well please, right?
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