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Corrupt police and tribal leaders are stealing vast quantities of reconstruction aid that is intended to improve the lives of ordinary Afghans and turn them away from the Taliban, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt. (By Gethin Chamberlain, Sunday Telegraph, January 29. 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Well, fix it , Mr. President, you are the Decider ---- right?

Russia's Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov in his meeting with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki here Sunday stressed his country's pledge to complete Bushehr nuclear power plant project on the scheduled date. Press and Information Department of Iran's Foreign Ministry in a report added the two sides also discussed bilateral relations, regional and international developments and nuclear issues at the meeting. (Islamic News Agency, January 29, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: And what kind of fuel does a nuclear electricity power generation reactor use? Oh, enriched uranium U-235. That means that Iran’s nuclear specialists and their Russian co-workers will need to have an adequate supply of enriched uranium on hand to be able to manufacture the required enriched uranium fuel rods to load into the reactor at Bushehr if that reactor is to go on line at the scheduced time, right? And what will be Iran’s source of enriched uranium for this project? It’s enriching its own uranium for that purpose. And President George Bush is said to be planning to nuke all of Iran’s uranium enrichment laboratories because he says he knows Iran is doing all of that enrichment so just so it can produce nukes to bomb its neighbors in the Middle East. That’s crazy thinking! Doesn’t President Bush read the newspapers? If he did, he’d know that Iran needs that enriched uranium to power the nuclear plant the Russians are building for Iran at Bushehr and its nuclear engineers are enriching uranium for that purpose. Maybe President Bush is just too busy to read about things like that. Or maybe he is more into reading about pet goats. What do you think?

WASHINGTON: Chanting "bring our troops home," tens of thousands of anti-war protesters rallied in front of the US Capitol on Saturday to pressure the government to get out of Iraq. Veterans and military families joined some lawmakers, peace groups and actors including Vietnam war protester Jane Fonda to urge Congress and President George W. Bush to stop funding the war and pull troops from Iraq. (GulfNews.com, January 28, 2007). F ull article=>

By deploying a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf the United States has sent a "strong signal" that it is staying in the region and working with allies to deal with an Iranian threat, Vice President Dick Cheney said. He repeated the Bush administration's stance that the United States seeks to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program through diplomatic means, but that all options are on the table. (ALARAB ONLINE, January 28, 2008, 04:30:01 PM (GMT)). Full article=>

The American public and the US Congress are getting their backs up about the Bush Regime's determination to escalate the war in Iraq. A massive protest demonstration is occurring in Washington DC today, and Congress is expressing its disagreement with Bush's decision to intensify the war in Iraq. This is all to the good. However, it misses the real issue – the Bush Regime's looming attack on Iran. (By Paul Craig Roberts*, AntiWar.com, January 27, 2007). Full article =>

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he would demand an explanation from the United States over its military build-up in the Middle East and criticised Washington for "hardline" policies against Iran. Lavrov said he would discuss Moscow's concerns during a meeting of the international quartet group, which meets in Washington next week to try to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. (AFP, January 27, 2007). Full article=> http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070127/wl_mideast_afp/russiausiranmideast

Was it a coincidence? The Bill to restore the Draft (Universal National Service Act of 2007 (HR.393)) was introduced in the House of Representatives on exactly the same day as President Bush's announcement regarding the "Surge", in which he confirmed, in a nationally televised address, that he was going to send more than 20,000 additional troops to Iraq. (By Michel Chossudovsky, GlobalResearch.ca, January 26, 2007). Full article=>

The White House reaction to the Senate resolution opposing President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq came from Vice President Dick Cheney. In a word, he was defiant, saying about the general idea of a resolution, "It won't stop us." (CBS News, January 25, 2007). Full article=>

Every morning Dennis Colson, a surveyor at New York City's Department of Design and Construction, begins his work day by placing his hand on a scanner to log his time and attendance at the office. The use of hand geometry and other biometric data, like facial and iris recognition, is not new -- the University of Georgia pioneered the use of hand geometry when it installed scanners in its student dining hall in 1974. But the planned roll-out of hand geometry scanners in all New York City government agencies has sparked union cries of "geoslavery" and assertions that technology developed for security will be used to track, label and control workforces. (By Michelle Nichols, Reuters, January 25, 2007). Full article=>

The Internet is set to revolutionize television within five years, due to an explosion of online video content and the merging of PCs and TV sets, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said on Saturday. "I'm stunned how people aren't seeing that with TV, in five years from now, people will laugh at what we've had," he told business leaders and politicians at the World Economic Forum. (By Ben Hirschler, Reuters, January 27, 2007). Full article=>

Websites around the world are getting a new computerized visitor among the Googlebots and Yahoo web spiders: The taxman. A five-nation tax enforcement cartel has been quietly cracking down on suspected internet tax cheats, using a sophisticated web crawling program to monitor transactions on auction sites, and track operators of online shops, poker and porn sites. (By Quinn Norten, Wired News, January 25, 2007) Full article=>

Problems with the Latest Miller, Hemenway, Azrael Study on Guns

President George W. Bush will try to rally Americans behind his new Iraq plan on Tuesday (8:00 PM CST) in a State of the Union speech that will propose domestic initiatives on energy and health care. It will be the first time Bush will give his annual address before a U.S. Congress controlled by opposition Democrats, and faced with that new reality, he will make a fresh call for bipartisanship. (By Steve Holland, Reuters, January 23, 2007). Full article=>

Los Angeles tackles growing gang violence

Their city once spawned the Crips and the Bloods. Now the authorities of Los Angeles fear the bad old days of gang warfare are returning, and some warn of a "race war" between Latino and African-American street gangs. (By Dan Glaister in Los Angeles,The Guardian {U.K.}, January 23, 2007). Full article=>

What Does it Take to Live to be 100?

According to this fascinating video segment aired recently on Nova, only one in 10,000 of us will live to see 100. But scientists are working on finding ways to increase that number. Researchers found cutting the food intake of just about any organism by up to 30-40 percent extended its life by as much as 60 percent. Calorie restriction reduces insulin levels and triggers the production of sirtuins, which are produced as part of an intricate stress response that kicks an organism into survival mode (which beefs up DNA repair and prevents cells from dying). Another variable that triggered the production of sirtuins and the longer lives of flies, worms and likely mice was increasing their intake of the antioxidant resveratrol. (Marcola.com, January 23, 2007). Video and Dr. Mercola’s Comments=>

President George W. Bush's approval ratings are now the lowest for any president the day before a State of the Union speech since Richard Nixon in 1974, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Sixty-five percent of those surveyed said they disapprove of how Bush is handling his job as president while 33 percent approve. The rating matches Bush's career low in a May 2006 poll. Seventy-one percent of Americans said the country is on the wrong track, up from 46 percent in an April 2003 poll, the month after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. A majority of those polled this month don't approve of how Bush is handling the Iraq war, terrorism or the economy. (By Nadine Elsibai, Bloomberg.com, January 22, 2007). Full article=>

The United States intends to introduce a U.N. resolution on Tuesday (January 23) condemning deniers of the Holocaust, a document aimed at a conference in Iran last year dominated by delegates who questioned the extermination of 6 million Jews by the Nazis in World War Two. U.S. officials hope the resolution, which so far is backed by 39 nations including Europeans, Russia and China, could be adopted on Friday in the 192-member U.N. General Assembly. The measure urges member states "to reject any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event" and "condemns without reservation any denial of the Holocaust." (By Evelyn Leopold, Reuters, January 22, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The Bush White House, which in effect is President George, once again demonstrates its willingness to dance to the tune played by Israel’s government, this time by announcing its intention to introduce a resolution before the world body that condemns the freedom of thought, the freedom of inquiry and the freedom of expression of individuals concerning Jewish claims with regard to the the Holocaust. What irony! ---- The president of a nation thought to be the champion of free speech throughout the world is now behind a move to have the U.N. General Assembly condemn open inquiry and freedom of expression by any person concerning the nature and extent of the Holocaust if the results of that inquiry causes that person to reject the existence of the Holocaust and express his position openly. Could it be that this announcement by the White House has been timed to coincide approximately with the introduction of a Federal hate crimes bill (HR 254) in the U.S. House of Representatives on January 5 and also reflect and Bush administration’s support for this new legislation?

Requiem for the Magic Bullets

The age of antibiotics began in 1941 with the introduction of penicillin, which saved many thousands of lives during World War II. But the first sign that this new era of easily treatable bacterial infections would not last appeared just one year later, with the emergence of penicillin-resistant strains of Staphyloccocus aureus, a bacterium responsible for a wide variety of ailments from skin infections to fatal pneumonia. By 1970, more than 80 percent of the staph strains in hospitals had already become immune to the drug. Now a form of staph known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staph aureus) that is resistant to nearly every known antibiotic is responsible for many of the tens of thousands of deaths a year from infections picked up in US hospitals. By Steve Silberman, January 22, 2007). Full aticle=>

Iran began military manoeuvres in its central desert on Monday, testing short-range missiles at a time of rising tension with the US and as President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad faces continuing criticism at home. State radio reported that Revolutionary Guards were test-firing both the 350km-range Zelzal-1 missile and the 70km range Fajr-5 near the town of Garmsar, 80km south-east of Tehran. Mohsen Rezaei, an influential conservative politician and former Revolutionary Guards commander, told state television at the weekend that Washington had opted for “serious confrontation” with Iran, in which it “intends to resolve its problem in the Middle East”. (By Gareth Smyth in Tehran, Financial Times {U.K.}, January 22, 2007). Full article=>

The way NASA has started its new moon-to-Mars exploration program, the October 2006 White House announcement of a new national space policy, and subsequent statements by the State Department raise grave concerns about whether a new push to militarize space has begun. Events are pointing to an aggressive extension of U.S. supremacy beyond the stratosphere reminiscent of Reagan administration actions in the 1980s. Then it was the militarization of the space shuttle and the start-up of the Strategic Defense Initiative—"Star Wars"—which were gaining momentum until space weapons technology testing halted with the space shuttle Challenger disaster. (By Richard C. Cook, January 22, 2007). Full article=>

Shock and Oil: Iraq's Billions & the White House Connection

The American company appointed to advise the US government on the economic reconstruction of Iraq has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars into Republican Party coffers and has admitted that its own finances are in chaos because of accounting errors and bad management. (By Stephen Foley, The Independent {U.K.), January 14, 2007). Full article=>

Surge: US troops Prepare for George Bush's Last Stand

The narrow ambush alleys of Kadhamiyah, the tenements providing sniper cover at Diyala Bridge, the dusty, sprawling killing grounds of Sadr City. These are the strongholds of the Shia militias that the Americans will have to take in the battle for Baghdad. The US forces in the "surge" into the Iraqi capital face a war on two fronts. The murder miles of Haifa Street and Adhamiyah are the homes to the Sunni insurgency, which continues its bloody course four years after the official end of the war, and there is no sign of this stopping as the US forces take on the Shias. (By Kim Sangupta, The Independent {U.K.}, Janaury 14, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: From Wikipedia, here’s another famous last stand taken by an equally famous bullheaded American leader, Lt. Col. George Custer: The Battle of the Little Bighorn — which is also called Custer's last stand and Custer Massacre and, in the parlance of the relevant Native Americans, the Battle of the Greasy Grass — was an armed engagement between a Lakota-Northern Cheyenne combined force and the 7th Cavalry of the United States Army. It occurred June 25–June 26, 1876, near the Little Bighorn River in the eastern Montana Territory. The battle was the most famous incident in the Indian Wars and was a remarkable victory for the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne. A U.S. cavalry detachment commanded by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer was annihilated.

Downing Street says that belated US recognition of global warming could lead to a post-Kyoto agreement on curbing emissions. George Bush is preparing to make a historic shift in his position on global warming when he makes his State of the Union speech later this month, say senior Downing Street officials. Tony Blair hopes that the new stance by the United States will lead to a breakthrough in international talks on climate change and that the outlines of a successor treaty to the Kyoto agreement, the deal to curb emissions of greenhouse gases which expires in 2012, could now be thrashed out at the G8 summit in June…A change of heart on the environment was signalled earlier this month when the US administration unexpectedly announced that polar bears were now an endangered species because their habitat in the US state of Alaska had suffered from melting ice sheets caused by global warming. The government is now required to act on threats to the bears' survival. The EU has its own so-called cap and trade scheme, under which industries are given a quota of carbon dioxide emissions: if they exceed the limits, they must pay for extra credits that can be bought from cleaner industries - an incentive to firms to go green. (By Gaby Hinsliff, Juliette Jowit and Paul Harris, Observer-Guardian {U.K}, January 14, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The US is not a signatory to nor compliant with the Kyoto Protocols, which require signatory nations take steps to significantly reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. In 1999 the American Council for Capital Formation prepared and delivered to Congress the white paper, The Impact of the Kyoto Protocol on U.S. Economic Growth and Projected Budget Surpluses. This study upon which this document was based concluded that reducing U.S. carbon dioxide emissions to either the Kyoto target level or to 1990 levels. As carbon dioxide emissions are reduced, economic growth would slow do to lost output as prices would rise for carbon-using goods, goods that would have to be produced using less carbon and or more expensive processes. The study goes on to predict U.S. compliance with the protocols would result in annual reductions of one percent to over four precent in the GDP.

Even now, without the protocols being in effect, the GDP curve of the U.S. has already begun to nose over as the current recession takes hold following a decade of wholesale outsourcing of U.S. manufacturing, reclocation of the manufacturing facilities of U.S. corporation to countries having very low unit labor costs compared with those prevailing in the U.S., and a combination of credit-based profligate government and comsumer spending

Then why would Mr. Bush want to further damage the U.S. economy by signing onto the Kyoto Protocols now? Surely not to make the polar bears happy. Think about it. Why would he do that? Why? Ask yourself: who would benefit economically were the U.S. economy to go from the current recession into a depression, unemployment levels of up to 30 to 40 percent were to ensue and the U.S. dollar were to lose its status as the reserve currency of the world. The last event will become increasingly more probable as the U.S. Dollar Index drops quickly with the passage of time from its current value of approximately 85, breaks through the current support level of 80 and then quickly falls to the next lower support level, which is 55. By the time the index has fallen to that level, the dollar will have lost its status the world’s reserve currency and the U.S. will have achieved the distinction of becoming in the span of less than fifty years after having been the world’s greatest creditor nation. As a point of reference, please take note that the U.S. Dollar index stood at approximately 120 when Mr. Bush first took office in January 2001 and now, ownly six years later it stands at at 85, representing a loss of approximately 30 percent purchasing power for Americans.

Who would benefit from Mr. Bush’s commiting the U.S. to the Kyoto Protocols now and thereby hasten the collapse of the U.S. economy. Think about it. Who? Surely not the polar bears!

The Pentagon has been using a little-known power to obtain banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage inside the United States, part of an aggressive expansion by the military into domestic intelligence gathering. The C.I.A. has also been issuing what are known as national security letters to gain access to financial records from American companies, though it has done so only rarely, intelligence officials say. Banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions receiving the letters usually have turned over documents voluntarily, allowing investigators to examine the financial assets and transactions of American military personnel and civilians, officials say. The F.B.I., the lead agency on domestic counterterrorism and espionage, has issued thousands of national security letters since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, provoking criticism and court challenges from civil liberties advocates who see them as unjustified intrusions into Americans’ private lives. ( By Eric Lichtblau and Mark Mazzetti, The New York Times, January 13, 2007). Full article=>

Bush's Surge Already in Latest Budget

The White House yesterday said there already is enough money in the budget to pay for President Bush's proposed troop surge in Iraq, leaving Congress almost no viable way to stop him before he commits the troops. Some members of Congress had proposed using the power of the purse to cut off funds for the new troops, but White House press secretary Tony Snow said there's already enough money in the pipeline to begin the deployment of more than 17,000 soldiers to Baghdad to quell Sunni-Shi'ite violence and another 4,000 Marines to Anbar province to go after al Qaeda fighters. "Funding for the forces and to dispatch them to the region, it's already in the budget. So we're going to proceed with those plans," Mr. Snow said. That leaves Congress with few other options. One possibility, proposed by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, would rescind Congress' 2002 blanket grant of authority to use force in Iraq, and would require Mr. Bush to gain congressional approval before boosting forces. (By Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times, January 13, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: As well as I am able to ascertain, there are not two, but actually three ways of hog-tying a president like this one. The first and most direct way is for Congress to cut off his funding, which apparently is not applicable in this case. The second is for Congress to recind the blanket authority Congress has already given the president. The third way is for the Congress to impeach the president and then remove him from office. Go Congress! Go! Go! Go!

In response to President Bush's speech Wednesday night, many Democrats and Republicans in Congress have rebuked his plan to increase the number of troops in Iraq. Among Democrats, strategies for gradual draw-downs or strategic redeployments have been proposed and are being considered. Legislation to force the president to get authorization from Congress for a troop escalation has been proposed by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). Congressman Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) has joined Senator Kennedy's call; co-authoring similar legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Representative Abercrombie is the Chairman of the powerful Air-Land Subcommittee which oversees military ground forces and air power. Senator Harry Reid stated Thursday that he has enough Republican support to pass a non-binding resolution of disapproval for the president's plan. One Democratic member of the House of Representatives has taken a more drastic step. Congressman Sam Farr introduced legislation Thursday that would repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, essentially pulling the rug out from under the president. Revoking of the authorization that gave war powers to the president would stop the "surge" in its tracks and would mandate an immediate withdrawal of US Forces from Iraq. (By Matt Renner, Truthout.com, January 12, 2007). Full article=>

Military operations in Somalia by American commandos, and the use of the Ethiopian Army as a surrogate force to root out operatives for Al Qaeda in the country, are a blueprint that Pentagon strategists say they hope to use more frequently in counterterrorism missions around the globe. Military officials said the strike by an American gunship on terrorism suspects in southern Somalia on Sunday showed that even with the departure of Donald H. Rumsfeld from the Pentagon, Special Operations troops intended to take advantage of the directive given to them by Mr. Rumsfeld in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks. (By Mark Mazzetti, NY Times, January 13, 2007. Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Mr. Bush’s flyboy hothots failed to hit their intended victims a few days ago but did kill 100 or so innocent civilians. Perhaps that little mishap did not trouble Mr. Bush or cause him to shed a few tears, but it no doubt did cause the children of the parents killed by those chopper pilots to cry a lot. Just remember, compassionate conservatives like Mr. Bush only cry when the cameras are pointing their way.

President Bush’s call to increase the American military commitment in Iraq ran into intense Congressional opposition Thursday from Democrats and from moderate Republicans who expressed profound skepticism. A day after the president set out a new strategy for bringing stability to Iraq, the White House found few allies on either side of the aisle when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The reception she received suggested that Mr. Bush’s prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday had done little to build political support for sending additional troops to Baghdad. “I think what occurred here today was fairly profound, in the sense that you heard 21 members, with one or two notable exceptions, expressing outright hostility, disagreement and or overwhelming concern with the president’s proposal,” the committee’s new Democratic chairman, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, said at the conclusion of Ms. Rice’s testimony. (Thom Shanker and David S. Cloud, The NY Times, January 11, 2007). Full article=>

The United States has delivered a blunt warning to Iran that it will not "stand idly by and let these activities continue" if Teheran persists in its support for insurgents in Iraq, and pointedly declined to rule out military action. The United States has delivered a blunt warning to Iran that it will not "stand idly by and let these activities continue" if Teheran persists in its support for insurgents in Iraq, and pointedly declined to rule out military action. (By Toby Harnden in Washington, The Telegraph {U.K.}, January 12, 2007). Full article=>

MOGADISHU: Clan elders and residents in southern Somalia said on Thursday that about 100 civilians were killed this week in US and Ethiopian air strikes on suspected al-Qaeda targets in the region. There was no way to independently confirm the toll, and it was unclear if it referred to the same areas hit by at least one US air raid on Monday, and by other attacks believed to have been launched by Ethiopian helicopters. Sheikh Abdullahi Ali Malabon, an elder in the Afmadow area, said 100 bodies had been counted. “We have sent a team to assess the casualties there and they have confirmed more than 100 people killed,” he told AFP by phone from the remote area. “Many others were wounded but we don’t have an exact number.” (The News International (Pakistan}l, January 12, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: More innocent civilians needlessly slaughtered by U.S. military pilots! Why? Has Mr. Bush no shame?

One of the key architects of President Bush's disastrous Iraq war policy was responsible for writing the president's new plan calling for an increase in US troops in the region. By relying on the recommendations of neoconservative scholar Frederick Kagan, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, on what steps the White House should take to address the civil war between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq, President Bush has once again ignored the advice of career military officials and even some Republican lawmakers - many of whom in recent weeks have urged Bush to resist implementing a policy that would result in escalating the war - and instead has chosen to rely on the proposals drafted by hawkish, think-tank intellectuals that could very well backfire and end up embroiling the United States in an even bloodier conflict. (By Jason Leopold, TruthOut.com, January 11, 2007). Full article=>

President George W. Bush’s lackluster speech Wednesday night failed to convince Americans who listened and overwhelmingly oppose sending more U.S. forces to Iraq, according to a new AP-Ipsos poll. The strong public repudiation comes as Bush faces increasing opposition from Democrats and Republicans to boosting troop levels in Iraq reflects growing skepticism over the United States to go to war in the first place or that a stable, democratic government can be formed there. (Capital Hill Blue, January 11, 2007). Full article=>

On January 5, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, quietly introduced the Anti-Defamation League’s federal hate crimes bill into the House of Representatives. This is the same hate bill she introduced two years ago, which was passed by the House in fall 2005. Previously called The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, this freedom-stealing legislation has been repeatedly defeated, usually as a result of public outcry and Republican opposition in Conference.

ADL has dramatically changed the title. It is now The David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act, in memory of a Texan adolescent brutally sodomized with a metal pipe. Ray replaces Matthew Shepard as the new poster boy of hate law propaganda. Many in Congress will be inclined to pass this legislation with their sympathy votes.

Rep. Lee’s office told me that since the House passed this bill in 2005, it could rapidly move to the floor for a vote. If there is strong bipartisan support in Congress for a defunct bill, it can be resurrected in committee in minutes, by calling for a vote of approval.

The hate bill enjoys this kind of strong bipartisan support; it passed the House previously by a large margin. We know for sure that ADL and Pelosi plan to have it ratified during their “first 100 hours.” (By Rev. Ted Pike, TruthTellers.org, January 11, 2007). Learn how to take action now to block this freedom stealing legislation=>

The CIA cannot reveal "alternative interrogation methods" used on terrorists because doing so would cause exceptionally grave damage to national security by telling enemies how the agency gathers intelligence, the government has told a judge. In a document dated Friday and filed in US district court in Manhattan, the CIA said it cannot reveal more than what President George W Bush said last summer about the detention and questioning of terrorism suspects. (ZeeNews.com, January 11, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Find out interrogation officers actually do by watching this video interview.

As a direct consequence of the multiple air strikes inflicted upon Somalia this week, supposedly in the name of killing Al-Qaeda operatives, the Bush administration is helping bring back to power the savage warlords that were behind the "Black Hawk down" fiasco in 1993 where U.S. troops were killed and dragged through the streets in celebration. Alex Jones was joined on air yesterday by Africa relations expert, Emira Woods, who is the co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., to discuss the real agenda behind events in Somalia. (By Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones, PrisonPlanet.com, January 11, 2007). Full article=>

President George W. Bush’s new strategy for the Iraq war calls for what the United States sees as Iran and Syria’s support for insurgents and trying to get more help from American allies in the region. He said the United States would expand intelligence cooperation in the Middle East and deploy Patriot missile defence systems to help allies. He also said he would deploy an additional carrier strike group in the region. (By the Associated Press in the International Herald Tribune, January 11, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: How that President Bush loves to agitate! He knows that , “War is the health of the state.” --- Randolph Bourne 1886-1918

Washington, DC - Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Senate Assistant Democratic Leader Richard Durbin released the following statement tonight on President Bush's address to the nation on the war in Iraq: "Last November, the American people delivered a strong message of no confidence in the President's Iraq policy and clearly expressed their desire for a new direction. The President had an opportunity tonight to demonstrate that he understood the depth of the concern in the country, make a long overdue course correction, and articulate a clear mission for our engagement in Iraq. Instead, he chose to escalate our involvement in Iraq's civil war by proposing a substantial increase in the number of our forces there. This proposal endangers our national security by placing additional burdens on our already over-extended military thereby making it even more difficult to respond to other crises. (By Nancy Pelosi, January 11, 2007). Full article=>

U.S. special forces are working the Ethiopian troops on the ground in operations inside Somalia today, senior U.S. and French military sources tells ABC News. The sources declined to describe details of today’s mission but said U.S. special forces, including significant CIA presence, have been involved in numerous such missions, operating from a large American base known as “Camp Le Monier,: established in the French protectorate Djiboute following 9/11. (By Alexis Debat, in ABC News, The Blotter, January 9, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: As if starting two wars of occupation since he began serving as president in 2001 were not enough, Mr. Bush is apparently out to make it three ASAP!

For Windows Vista Security, Microsoft Called in the Pros: The NSA!

When Microsoft introduces its long-awaited Windows Vista operating system this month, it will have an unlikely partner to thank for making its flagship product safe and secure for millions of computer users across the world: the National Security Agency. (By Alec Klein and Ellen Nakashima, The Washington :Post, January 9, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: “Safe and secure: from whose hacking and snooping? Surely not the NSA’s!

The topic of downward acceleration of the buildings at the World Trade Centgre has been frequently discussed. The discussion is usually brief and combined with other lines of evidence for explosive demolition and its significance is thereby obscured. Acceleration is an important topic because it is based on evidence readily available to all, namely videos, and also because the calculations involved are not complex and can easily be verified by the reader. The conclusion reached that explosives were used in the demolition of these buildings is therefore not only compelling but (also) readily accessible. (By Frank Legge, PhD, Logical Systems Consulting, Perth Western Australia, in Journal of 9/11 Studies, November 2006) Full article=>

Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days. The US government has been involved in drawing up the law, a draft of which has been seen by The Independent on Sunday. It would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972. (By Danny Fortson, Andrew Murray-Watson and Tim Webb, The Independent {U.K}, January 7, 2007). Full article=>

Many adults in the United States believe Saddam Hussein collaborated with a terrorist network, according to a poll by Knowledge Networks for the Program on International Policy Attitudes. 32 per cent of respondents think Iraq gave substantial support to al-Qaeda, and 18 per cent think the Iraqi government was directly involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people. In June 2004, the federal commission that investigated the events of 9/11 stated that there had been "no collaborative relationship" between the deposed Iraqi regime and the terrorist network in the planning and carrying out of the attacks.

In August 2006, U.S. president George W. Bush referred to the situation, saying, "Nobody has ever suggested that the attacks of September the 11th were ordered by Iraq. I have suggested, however, that resentment and the lack of hope create the breeding grounds for terrorists who are willing to use suiciders to kill to achieve an objective. I have made that case." (By Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research, January 7, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The Bush-Cheney war propaganda machine did its job splendidly in the days before the actual attack upon the Iraq homeland and the Iraqi people in 2003: It was able to convince enough of the American people to demand through their representatives in Congress that the Bush regime initiate this brutal, illegal, undeclared war. The machine achieved this feat through the use of inuendo, misrepresentations of fact, outright lies and blatant scare tactics. In addition, it routinely creating new evidence and new boogiemen whenever they were required.. The machine was aided and abetted in this project by the U.S. mainstream press, which marched in locked step with Bush and Cheney all the way..

Iran with nuclear weapons is unacceptable, new House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told The Jerusalem Post hours after entering the party leadership position. The Maryland Democrat said this view is shared by his party, rejecting assertions that the Democrats would be weaker than the Republicans on Iran. He also said that the use of force against Teheran remained an option. Hoyer, second only in the hierarchy of the House of Representatives to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is charged with articulating and strategizing on party policy. (By Hilary Leila Krieger, The Jerusalem Post, January 7, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Both the U.S. and Iran are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). According to the treaty requirements, Iran is to produce no nuclear weapons nor process the active materials for the manufacture of the nuclear weapons. It may, and it is encouraged to do so, conduct research and produce enriched (much higher concentration of U-235, or fissionable uranium, than is present in raw uranium ore) for peaceful purposes, which includes enrichment of uranium for use fuel for nuclear electric power station reactors. Further enrichment of uranium to produce weapons grade uranium is strictly prohibited by the NPT; that is, if Iran were found to be either producing nuclear weapons or producing the highly enriched uranium needed for weapons, this would be unacceptable by NPT standards.

With the inception of the NPT, the agency assigned to periodically inspect onsite the nuclear programs and facilities of NPT nations for compliance with these NPT requirements is the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Since Iran become a signatory of the NPT, all onsite inspections of all of Iran’s nuclear facilities by the IAEA have shown Iran to be in full compliance with NPT requirements. Iran has been for a year or more actively engaged in enriching uranium to be used as fuel for several nuclear power reactors now under construction in Iran with the aid of Russian engineers and technicians. Yet for several years both Israel and the U.S., the latter with a Republican-controlled Congress have demanded in the United Nations Security that Iran cease all fuel enrichment, asserting without substantiation that Iran is secretly extending the enrichment process of producing weapons grade uranium and is using the reactor project as a ruse to allow it to construct nuclear weapons.

House Majority Leader Hoyer has stated that use of force again Teheran remained an option. Because Iran’s nuclear research and production facilities are now located in laboratories buried in excess of 100 feet below the surface of the earth, an air attack upon these facilities if it is to be successful, would require the use of nuclear penetration bombs. NPT provisions state clearly that an attack by one NPT signatory upon another NPT signatory using nuclear weapons would be violation of the NPT. Both Iran and the U.S are NPT signatory nations, which means that any attack on the nuclear faculties of Iran must be regarded as a gross violation of the treaty, punishable by expulsion by the NPT organization.

However, Israel is not a signatory to the NTP and, in fact, has never admitted to possessing nuclear weapons. If it has already produced its own weapons and has configured them for earth penetration, it may be considering conducting an air attack upon Iran’s buried nuclear facilities. In fact, U.S. nuclear experts and those of other nations believe that Israel now has at least 200 nuclear weapons in inventory and has possessed them for many decades.

In summary: Yes, a nuclear weapon armed Iran would be unacceptable to the NPT organization and certainly to the U.S. However, there is no material evidence that Iran is planning to build nuclear weapons nor that Iran currently possesses them. Were the U.S. to bomb Iran with nuclear weapons, it would itself be in gross violation of the NPT and would be subject to sanction by the U.N. for the crime of war an unprovoked attack upon a sovereign nation

Insider trading gaining momentum, you as the tax slave, keeping you drugged, unmistakeable warnings of growing fascisim in america, and the increasing power of the state... an arrogant, incompetent and power hungry FBI, inflation numbers questionable.

He’s on on Part 1.each week. The show is archived, so you can listen at anytime on the net.. Give it a try!

Starting Monday, January 8, patrons of the Dallas-based Petron chain, which caters heavily to Latinos, will be able to purchase American pizza with Mexican pesos. (By Karen Robinson-Jacobs, The Dallas Morning News, January 6, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Dallas, Texas, the capital of the Lone Star state, is located approximately 295 miles due north of the Mexican border. Full article=>

"Concerning the proposed 'surge' by the Bush administration of 20,000-plus U.S. troops into Iraq, this requires further authorization by the U.S. Congress under the terms of the War Powers Resolution. Section 4(a)(3) makes it quite clear that the War Powers Resolution is triggered ... 'In the absence of a declaration of war [which we do not have for Iraq], in any case in which United States Armed Forces are introduced ... (3) in numbers which substantially enlarge United States Armed Forces equipped for combat already located in a foreign nation....' (By Francis Boyle, Professor of international law at the University of Illinois,

President George Bush signalled a reshuffle of his top military and diplomatic team in Iraq yesterday in preparation for the unveiling next week of the controversial conclusions of his review into US strategy in the region. Administration officials confirmed that Mr Bush would replace his two top generals in Iraq, both of whom have expressed unease about proposals to boost the number of troops in the country. Their places will be taken by generals whose track record points to a further hardening of the president's strategy in favour of combat, rather than withdrawal, as preferred by the newly resurgent Democrats. (By Ed Pilkington in New York and Richard Adams in Washington, The Guardian {U.K.}, January 6, 2007). Full article=>

The White House and the Secret Service quietly signed an agreement last spring in the midst of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal declaring that records identifying visitors to the White House are not open to the public. The Bush administration didn't reveal the existence of the memorandum of understanding until last fall. The White House is using it to deal with a legal problem on a separate front, a ruling by a federal judge ordering the production of Secret Service logs identifying visitors to the office of Vice President Dick Cheney. In a federal appeals court filing three weeks ago, the administration's lawyers used the memo in a legal argument aimed at overturning the judge's ruling. The Washington Post is suing for access to the Secret Service logs. (By Pete Yost, Associated Press, January 5, 2007). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: In 2005, a year before the Jack Abramoff lobby scandal became headline news, RAW STORY, using the White House logs obtained by Democratic Representatives Louise Slaughter and John Conyer through a Freedom of Information Act Request, reported on the almost 200 appearancse now discredited White House Correspondent James Guckert made at the White House in the in the previous two years. Guckert, who wrote for the websites GOPUSA and Talon News under the name Jeff Gannon, had little to no previous journalism experience and previously worked as a male escort. In its article, RAW STORY observed that that Guckert often visited the White House on days when no press conferences were scheduled and on some days the log showed he had checked in but failed to check out at the end of the day.

Keith Olbermann states: "The former labor secretary, Robert Reich, says Senator John McCain told him that the 'surge' would help the 'morale' of the troops already in Iraq. If Mr. McCain truly said that, and truly believes it, he has either forgotten completely his own experience in Vietnam ... or he is unaware of the recent Military Times poll indicating only 38 percent of our active military want to see more troops sent ... or Mr. McCain has departed from reality." (MSNBC via Truthout.com, January 3, 2007). Full article and video=>

Many adults in Iraq believe the coalition effort has been negative, according to a poll by the Iraq Centre for Research and Strategic Studies and the Gulf Research Center. 90 per cent of respondents think the situation in their country was better before the U.S.-led invasion. The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein’s regime was launched in March 2003. At least 3,000 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and more than 22,500 troops have been wounded in action. There has been no official inquiry on the actual number of Iraqi casualties. A volunteer group of British and U.S. academics and researchers—known as Iraq Body Count (IBC)—estimates that more than 52,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed during the military intervention. (Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research, January 3, 2006). Full article=>

This is a You-Tube streaming video. Dr. Dahlia Wasfi was born to a Jewish mother and an Iraqi father. She recently put her medical career on hold to visit with family members in Iraq, and recently returned from a three-month stay in Basrah and Baghdad. Dr. Wasfi described her experience in Iraq and discussed the life of Iraqis under occupation on April 27, 2006 in Washington, DC.

An antiterrorist database used by the Defense Department in an effort to prevent attacks against military installations included intelligence tips about antiwar planning meetings held at churches, libraries, college campuses and other locations, newly disclosed documents show. One tip in the database in February 2005, for instance, noted that “a church service for peace” would be held in the New York City area the next month. Another entry noted that antiwar protesters would be holding “nonviolence training” sessions at unidentified churches in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The Defense Department tightened its procedures earlier this year to ensure that only material related to actual terrorist threats — and not peaceable First Amendment activity — was included in the database (By Eric Lichtblau and Mark Mazzetti, NY Times, November 19, 2006). Full article=>

A month before the November elections, Vice-President Dick Cheney was sitting in on a national-security discussion at the Executive Office Building. The talk took a political turn: what if the Democrats won both the Senate and the House? How would that affect policy toward Iran, which is believed to be on the verge of becoming a nuclear power? At that point, according to someone familiar with the discussion, Cheney began reminiscing about his job as a lineman, in the early nineteen-sixties, for a power company in Wyoming. Copper wire was expensive, and the linemen were instructed to return all unused pieces three feet or longer. No one wanted to deal with the paperwork that resulted, Cheney said, so he and his colleagues found a solution: putting “shorteners” on the wire—that is, cutting it into short pieces and tossing the leftovers at the end of the workday. If the Democrats won on November 7th, the Vice-President said, that victory would not stop the Administration from pursuing a military option with Iran. The White House would put “shorteners” on any legislative restrictions, Cheney said, and thus stop Congress from getting in its way. (By Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker, November 20, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: What is it with VP Cheney and President Bush? Oil fever? An inordinate, misplaced love of the State of Israel and a corresponding compulsion to do its bidding? A hatred of Muslims, Arabs? What? What is it about these two guys that they seem to have a virtually irresistible need to bomb, raid and pillage oil-producing nations Israel regards as enemies even if these nations have not been at war with Israel nor have threatened to attack Israel? Apparently any reason to justify starting the bombing runs seems to be sufficient for Bush and Cheney, the dynamic-duo They concocted all manner of fraudulent excuses to preemptively attack Iraq in 2003. Now they’re apparently just itching to take out Iran despite material evidence that the objective of Iran’s uranium enrichment program is to produce fissionable material for nuclear weapons, not fuel for its nuclear electric power generation plants, which are under construction. As you may know, Iran is a signatory, as is the U.S., to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Numerous unannounced inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) engineers over many, many years. Every inspection has demonstrated that Iran’s nuclear facilities are in full compliance with NPT terms and conditions, which allow treaty signatories to produce only moderately enriched uranium for the manufacture of nuclear power reactor fuel rods. But that doesn’t matter to our dynamic duo. Apparently insanity, raw fear, or wickedness or all three rule pervade the Bush White House these days. .

Democrats are "thinking big" on Bush oversight, according to a Capitol Hill newspaper. "Senate Democrats’ plans to significantly beef up the chamber’s oversight of the Bush administration will go well beyond intelligence-gathering activities and President Bush’s prosecution of the Iraq War to include investigations into the Medicare program, alleged censorship of scientists, climate change and potential manipulation of energy markets, according to aides and lobbyists," John Stanton reports for Roll Call. (In RawStory.com, November 20, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comments: This is “thinking big”?. No, no, this is playing softball. As Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s show of the same name would say, Mr. President, Let’s play Hardball!

Mr. President, what if any part did you play in the mother of all inside jobs: the expertly planned, choreographed, and stage-managed tragic hoax called “9/11”?

Mr. President, how did you manage to pull off getting elected in 2000 and 2004, when so many of the key precinct exit polls, which have a reputation for being so accurate, showed you to be the loser in key states?

Mr. President, how and why did you manage to set up the 9/11 Commission so that its investigation and its final report would constitute a white wash of the facts in this case?

Mr. President, why did you repeatedly misrepresent facts you presented to the United States people and the members of Congress immediately after 9/11 for the purpose of justifying your authorizing U.S military forces to illegally and preemptively go to war with two sovereign nations, Afghanistan and Iraq?

Mr. President, why did you make sure that the new Military Commissions Act of 2006 would designated you as the person who would define which methods of tough interrogation, also known as the methods of torture, the CIA and military personnel would be allowed to use on detainees? Did you object having to comply with generally accepted Geneva Conference standards that apply to treatment of prisoners by military personnel?

President, why are you so insistent in telling the world that Iran is about to start making nuclear weapons when you know that IAEA has inspected their nuclear facilities and reported year after year after year that these facilities are in full compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty standards?

Mr. President, why did you secretly and without the authorization or advice of Congress enter into an illegal agreement with President Vincenti Fox of Mexico and Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, to establish a North American Union, which will eliminate the United States status as a sovereign nation and incorporate it into federation much like the European Union. (See Documents Reveal Bush’s 'Shadow Government' Helping Build N. American Union ).

Mr. President, you look like you are about to faint…Mr. President, would you like to have a little ice water to drink before we continue playing Hard Ball?

President Bush believes America should be more of an idea than an actual place, a Republican congressman told WND in an exclusive interview. "People have to understand what we're talking about here. The president of the United States is an internationalist," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. "He is going to do what he can to create a place where the idea of America is just that – it's an idea. It's not an actual place defined by borders. I mean this is where this guy is really going." (Joe Kovacs, World Net Daily, November 19, 2006). Full article=>

The Israelis have called off a planned air attack on a house in Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza after hundreds of Palestinians formed a human shield. Mohammedweil Baroud said he was warned by Israeli forces to leave his home. Instead, he ran ran to a mosque and summoned neighbors to help defend the house. (BBC News, October 19, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: What a pity; the Israelis didn’t have the opportunity to slaughter more Palestinians and get away with it without being sanctioned by the U.N. for its murderous behavior. Poor babies! Israel and the U.S. have established a relationship something like one sees in tag-team wrestling in the U.S. In the Palestinian case, Israeli troops, F-16 jet fighter planes (provided by the U.S.) and perhaps even tanks kill a bunch of Palestinian men, women and children and level their homes. Then some member of the U.N Security Council proposes enactment of a resolution to censure Israel for its actions. Whereupon Israel “tags” the U.S. Representative to the U.N., currently Mr. Bolton, who immediately vetoes the proposed resolution, killing it like the pesticide Raid kills roaches --- Dead! What a killer team: The U.S. and Israel. Observing their teamwork as they work the killing fields year after year should be enough to make Americans weep or get really ticked off---but they seem to do neither, either because they have chosen to deaden their senses to this horror and injustice one way or another or they live in fear of reprisal by the Bush White House, the Anti-Defamation League or their Jewish associates or neighbors who support Israeli government’s seemingly unending war with th mostly unarmed Palestinian citizenry.

How much Real-Estate has fueled the economy... car giveaways...the psychology of market changes... Market riggers accused in class action suit... stock profits stuffing pension funds, for now... As we have seen from recent statistics real estate related jobs such as brokers, mortgage workers, appraisers and construction works are disappearing. One-third of all jobs created over the past five years have come as a result of the real estate boom. As this transpires consumer spending and confidence have fallen as well. This leveling and decent of housing prices will cause growth to fall to 1.5% or less in the coming year in spite of increases of money and credit of more than 14%. (The International Forecaster, November 19, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Check it out. If you like what you find in this free, brief web version of his two-times per week subscription newsletter, subscribe! I’ve been a subscriber for nine months, but I’ve been reading his web letters since year 2000. The full newsletters are great because keep me in touch with the political economics news of the world and gathered and interpreted by a gentleman who is the pros’ pro and who has walked the walk for over thirty years. Bob as the ability to “read the tea leave” with uncanny accuracy and alert subscribers months or sometimes even years ahead about the opportunities and pitfalls ahead. I read every issue, which arrives by email, and that takes some doing on my part because they are typically about 30 pages long. Take up Bob’s offer to send him an email requesting a free copy of newsletter. Once you read it, you’ll be pleasantly hooked!

Gearing up for a major clash with the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress, several key Senate Democrats are planning to overhaul the newly minted legislation governing military tribunals of detainees. Even before it was signed into the law last month, Democrats were criticizing the military commission bill as unconstitutional and a magnet or endless legal challenges. (By Roxana tiron, The Hill, November16, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment The link to this multimedia presentation on the U.S. Federal Reserve System was emailed to by my friend Carol. It provides a good, first-time introduction to what very few people know about the Federal Reserve System and also about the IRS. To learn more about the true functions and operations of the Federal Reserve System, I suggest you read “The Creature from Jekyll Island” by G. Edward Griffin and “Secrets of the Federal Reserve”, by Eustace Mullins Griffin’s book is also discussed at the latter linked site and you can listen to a brief discussion of the Federal Reserve by none other than U.S. Representative to Congress, Dr. Ron Paul. A Warning: Once you read the truth about the Federal Reserve you may become may become violent or you may simply crawl up into fatal position and begin crying uncontrollably. So I suggest that you rent yourself a well-padded rubber room and honker down inside of it (with its doors shut) while you read about the private baking system that is about as federal as Federal Express, has no reserve and creates money out of thin air and then lends it to us, charging us interest for its use.

For the last 13 years as I have covered global meetings and studied the ever shifting economic and political structure of this New World Order of ours, I have been very saddened to realize that we the people have absolutely no voice in government. Over and over again, the president passes executive orders that bypass Congress and if that was not bad enough, our elected representatives have determined that “they know better than you and me.” Most of the change that is occurring today is because elected officials have decided that we the people are not smart enough to understand and we are being bypassed by them. If that were not bad enough, they go along to get along instead of opposing presidential policy that is out of sync with the Constitution. (By Joan Veon, The Women’s Group, 2005). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Ms. Veon is a professional investment advisor. Excellent article.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said, “Iran has repeatedly responded to the issues posed in ElBaradei’s latest report and it has cooperated with the IAEA in every way on the basis of the comprehensive safeguards agreement." Earlier, an official told the Mehr News Agency that Iran had delivered an official response to the IAEA about the plutonium contamination that a Tuesday report alleges has been detected at an Iranian nuclear waste site. “The plutonium issue is an old issue in International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei’s report, and the IAEA is assessing Iran’s explanation,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Iran had previously provided an expert response to the IAEA, explaining that the international body had made a mistake, he added. ElBaradei’s new report is a repetition of his previous reports and there is nothing new in it, he added. Once again, the report concludes that no evidence of diversion has been observed in the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities, the official added. Hossein also said no diversion has ever been detected in Iran’s nuclear activities.

"Associating progress in the inspection and supervision sectors of Iran's nuclear activities with other affairs is questionable and technically and legally invalid," Hosseini added. He went on to say that Iran has “constructively and comprehensively” provided IAEA inspectors access to all the nuclear sites and centers they have wanted to visit. "In spirit, various IAEA reports clearly prove the transparency of Iran's nuclear programs," he stated.

IAEA inspectors did not have the opportunity to access some of the country’s nuclear centers because the Majlis passed a bill suspending implementation of the additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Hosseini explained.

LC Editor’s Comment: Reuters ran this scare headline this Tuesday, “U.N. sleuths find plutonium at Iran atom site: IAEA”, and Matt Drudge carried a link to the associated article at his site, and a spat of other negative news articles on Iran and its nuclear program have popped up over the past week or so. My best guess as that the Bush regime’s attack dog Karl Rove has embarked on a new disinformation campaign designed to encourage the American public to support the White House’s going ahead with plans the President Bush’s neocon-leaning team now has on the table for a pre-emptive attack upon Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The antiwar public, having voted the Democrats into power, are hoping – although they're not convinced – that U.S. troops will now begin to be withdrawn from Iraq. They are dreaming. And here's why. (By Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, November 15, 2006). Full article=>

A German-born Turk, who was held for four years in the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, has alleged systematic torture in the hands of the US military, from beatings to being chained to a ceiling for days. Murat Kurnaz, 24, who was released in August because of lack of evidence he was involved in terrorist activities, said he endured “many types of torture-from electric shocks to having one’s head submerged in water, (subjection to) hunger and thirst, or being shackled and suspended.” (The News {Pakistan}, November 15, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: How effective can torture be for illiciting the truth from a prisoner regarding current and upcoming military operations of the enemy? Torture is useful, I would think, in extracting information from someone under interrogation. Is that information likely to accurate, truthful, useful and timely? As a tool for interrogation, about all torture is likely to do is cause the person being tortured to tell the torturer anything that will satisfy the torturer just enough to back off on torturing him. If the details of torture are leaked to the press by the agency authorizing torture, which in this case is the Bush regime, the purpose of the leak in part at least certainly is to terrify and intimidate potential political dissidents so that they will remain good little boys and girls for ever and ever.

In response to an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, the CIA has finally acknowledged the existence of a presidential order authorizing the agency to detain and interrogate terror suspects overseas. "For more than two years, the CIA had refused to either deny or confirm the existence of the documents and had argued in court that doing so could jeopardize national security," the ACLU notes in a press release received by RAW STORY (RawStory.com, November 14, 2006), Full article=>

The United States or other countries will one day be forced to consider pre-emptive action if Iran and North Korea continur to seek nuclear weapons, a senior U.S. government official said today. (Reuters, November 14, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editors Comment: How tentative can one get?. Look ar the style of writing and words chosen by the newswriter. “will one day”, “forced (by whom?) to consider”, “a senior (unnamed) government (what department?” said.

Top European politicians, leaders of ruling families, presidents and kings of countries, bankers and other movers and shakers who met in closed session of the Bilderberg conference held in Ottawa, Canada on June 8-11, said they would have no part in the Bush regime’s plans for pre-emptively attacking Iran. According to Jim Tucker who covered the meeting for American Free Press, Bilderberg expects interest rates to rise and many Americans to lose their homes in the months ahead. Meanwhile, they hope they can pressure President Bush to refrain from an all-out invasion of Iran while maintaining oil prices at their current (June 2006) record-high levels of about $70 a barrel. Remember, money talks and… The Bush family may be rich and influential but compared to many key elitists who attend Bilderberg conferences they are poor nobodies.

TIME Exclusive: Charges Sought Against Rumsfeld Over Prison Abuse

A lawsuit in Germany will seek a criminal prosecution of the outgoing Defense Secretary and other U.S. officials for their alleged role in abuses at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo. Just days after his resignation, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is about to face more repercussions for his involvement in the troubled wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. New legal documents, to be filed next week with Germany's top prosecutor, will seek a criminal investigation and prosecution of Rumsfeld, along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet and other senior U.S. civilian and military officers, for their alleged roles in abuses committed at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (By Adam Zagorin, Time.com, November 10, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comments: There may be no way to initiate a lawsuit against these members of the Bush regime or against President Bush, since the Decider’s and Congress’ lawyers have crafted the Military Commissions Act in such a way as to protect these people from prosecution for alleged crimes against detainees committed as far back as 2001. German prosecutors should be able to try these Bush team members, if they can get to them. Mr. Rumsfeld is out as Secretary of State, so he could always move to Paraguay to avoid be snatched by he long arm of German law. Why Paraguay? Well, recently the Bush family reportedly purchased a 99,000-acre farm in northern Paraguay. I’m sure there would be enough room there for Mr. Rumsfeld to build a nice retirement home for himself and his wife, that is if the Bush’s would like to have the Rumsfelds’ nearby.

From what I’ve gathered in perusing the extradition treaty between the U.S. and Paraguay signed in 1998 by President Bill Clinton and ratified by Congress in 2001, Paraguay and the U.S. have agreed to refuse to extradite if the receiving country decides that the request for extradition is at least partly motivated by political reasons. Also, Paraguay will not extradite to the U.S. for execution. Paraguay appears to have no extradition treaty with Germany, so Paraguay should provide safe haven for Bush regime members from being extradited to Germany for trial. Could it be that within a few years many members of the current Bush regime may find themselves hiding out in Paraguay to avoid prosecution or punishment? Many members of Hitler’s regime hid out in Argentina and other South American countries after World War II to escape trial by the War Crimes Tribunal. Members of the Bush regime might do the same do the same, honkering down in Paraguay if the heat from Germany becomes too hot for them to handle in the U.S..

LC Editor’s Comment: I heard to the soundtrack only of this video today for the first time on John Stadtmiller’s National Intel Report, listing to the stream of his show from RBNLive.com. Here’s your link to the full, streamed video, which was posted on YouTube.com on July 29. Please watch it now, but more than that listen carefully and thoughtfully to the words and emotional tone of the speaker during this short, 10-minute film. Then ask yourself, “Do his words sound like the the words of some Muslim madman who hates America because of its freedom, which is the way President Bush has in the past characterized Middle Easterners he assures us are out to kill us?” Finally, please send a brief email note to me at ron@libertycalling.com, sharing your thoughts and feelings about this film with me. Could this video be a hoax? Perhaps, but I urge you view and listen to the message anyway, for I believe that the speaker’s message is a vital one for us to listen to, hear and understand the implications of as the Bush regime ratchets up its campaign now to justify to the American people bombing of Iran in the coming months and continues to chip away at the legal protection from despotic government officials guaranteed to us in the Bill of Rights.

More than 100 recent cases of delirium, hallucinations and other unusual psychiatric behavior in Japanese patients treated with Tamiflu should have parents watching for similar reactions when treating their children with the flu drug. That’s the advice from the Federal Drug Administration after adding a new precaution to the label of the influenza drug, prescribed about 2 million times a year in the United States. The FDA updated the label after receiving the 103 reports of abnormal behavior, most of which involved children in Japan. Japan uses more Tamiflu than any other country in the world, with more than 30 million prescriptions since 2001. It's been prescribed about 8 million times in the U.S. since 1999. (By Andrew Bridges, November 14, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: A study indicates (February 1960) that Tamiflu and Relenza, the two antiviral flu drugs intended to be lynchpin of the world-wide defense against the flu, are ineffective against seasonal flu outbreaks, and may not be sufficient to combat an epidemic or pandemic. Therefore, does it make sense to take or feed Tamiflu to children? Why not try instead improving your and your children’s immune systems? To find out how by clicking on the “A study indicates” link.

As an aside, you might be interested to learn that the biotech company Gilead Science, the original developer of the drug, and Roche, which now manufactures it, made a financial killing its sales Tamiflu last year riding on the claim that it was effective to killing the dreaded H5N1 strain of bird flu virus. Ex-Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld, who was on the board of Gilead from 1988 to 2001, and was its chairman from 1997, joined the Bush administration in 2001 but retained a very large share hold in the company. Rumsfeld made more than $5 Mill in capital gains from these shares after the government of nearly 60 nations decided to by massive amounts of Tamiflu for the purpose of treating a possible human pandemic of the bird flu.

The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution Saturday that would have condemned Israel for its military operations in Gaza. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton said the resolution, which also called for Israel to cease military operations immediately in the Palestinian territory, was "biased against Israel and politically motivated." The U.S. veto angered Hamas government spokesman Ghazi Hamad, who called the veto "shameful" and "not the first time" the United States has used a veto "just to protect Israel." (CNN, November 13, 2006). Full article=>

The Bush administration said on Monday that Guantanamo prisoners have no constitutional right to challenge their detention before U.S. federal judges, and the lawsuits by hundreds of detainees must be dismissed. In papers filed with a U.S. appeals court in Washington, Justice Department attorneys gave their most detailed argument yet that the cases must be dismissed because of the tough anti-terrorism law signed by President George W. Bush last month (The Military Commissions Act of 2006, H.R. 6166ER). Lawyers for the prisoners have argued the new law does not give the U.S. government the power to arrest suspects overseas and imprison them indefinitely without any charges and without allowing them to challenge their detention in U.S. court. (By James Vicini, Reuters, November 13, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Keep tabs on this trial. Watch it carefully, for dismissal of this case could encourage the Bush regime’s attorneys to petition the courts to expand its interpretation of the intention of Congress in formulating the Military Commissions Act (MCA) to include arrest any ware on the planet of illegal enemy combatant suspects be they aliens or U.S. citizens and review of their cases by the MCA’s Combatant Status Review Tribunal CSRT), the findings of which would not be subject to habeas corpus review of the federal courts. Attorney Jack Balkin has pointed out that the MCA defines the scope of authority of a CSRT so broadly that a CSRT could find U.S. citizen detainee to be an alien and also an illegal enemy combatant, and provision of MCA would prevent subsequent review of the case by a federal court under a writ of habeas corpus.

Balkin further asserts that because the detainee in this example is, in fact, a U.S. citizen, he has a right under the U.S. Constitution to habeas review by a federal court and to the extent that the MCA denies him this right it is unconstitutional. However, President Bush has already been quoted as saying the U. S. Constitution is “just a god---ned piece of paper, so it makes perfect sense to me that he would authorize the Department of Defense to have the citizen in the example tried before a military commission. If the U.S citizen in question has been secretly apprehended either here in the U.S. or while traveling abroad and then transferred secretly by air flight to a prison located in a country participating the Bush regime’s extra rendition program and put before a CSRT there, who will know that outside of the White House and select members of the Department of Defense? Suppose instead of being, in fact, an illegal enemy combatant, the citizen has been fingered by the White House as a political dissident, and the regime has directed a CSRT, which operates under its direction, to find the citizen to be an alien and an illegal enemy combatant! Who will then come to this U.S. citizen’s defense? No one, for habeas corpus would not apply in this case. The incoming 110^th session of Congress, which will be controlled by the Democrats, must do away with the MCA as it now stands. Our liberty and our lives are at stake.

Even as the Dow makes all-time highs and investors celebrate with growing enthusiasm, new signs of a slowing U.S. economy have suddenly burst onto the scene: Housing markets are sinking. Consumer confidence is falling. And GDP growth has plunged. So everywhere, investors are asking: Is this just a "soft landing" -- a short respite before the next boom? Or is it the prelude to a potentially devastating recession? Getting this answer wrong could have a damaging impact on virtually every investment and business decision you make in the next twelve months; getting it right can open up major wealth-building opportunities. So I'm delighted to see that one man has put the hard evidence together in a single, cohesive speech. He's Claus Vogt, co-editor of Sicheres Geld (the German edition of my Safe Money Report) and co-author of the best selling book, Das Greenspan Dossier. His speech, just given to subscribers, knocked their socks off. So I've asked him to share the highlights with you right now. (By Martin Weiss, Safehaven.com, November 13, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Claus Vogt’s presentation is excellent. Don’t miss reading it.

Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, has taken the first step to mounting a presidential candidacy, forming an organization in New York State on Friday to explore a White House run. Mr. Giuliani stopped short of filing documents with the Federal Election Commission to create a presidential campaign committee, a step that Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa, a Democrat, and Representative Duncan Hunter of California, a Republican, have taken. (Sewell Chan, NY Times, November 14, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Is the same Rudy Giuliani who while he was the mayor of New York in September 2001 authorized private contractors to start hauling away all of the damaged sections of World Trade Center building steel only a week or so after 9/11, in preparation for its shipment to India and China, there to be remelted in their blast furnaces and the resulting cast steel ingots forged into various plates, beams and pre-formed parts? Whoa! The second after the jets hit the towers on 9/11; the WTC legally became the scene of crime. This meant that the steel from the collapsed building had become part of the evidence left at the crime and so should have been impounded by representatives of the Mayor Giuliani. Instead, Giuliani treated it as scrap metal and arranged to have it (and the forensic evidence it contained) melted down in Asian countries, therebyestroying the forensic information it held. There is no legally defensible excuse for his doing that; Giuliani is a lawyer and had been Police Department Commissioner, so he had to known known that doing what he did was in itself a criminal act! Come on! What was Mayor Giuliani trying to hide and whom was he trying to product by giving the orders to, in effect, destroy the crime scene evidence?

And now this guy apparently wants to be elected to an office currently occupied by a person who says the U. S. Constitution is “just a god---ned piece of paper and then signs into law legislation (Military Commissions Act of 2006, H.R. 6166EH) passed by Congress that does away with the right of an accused person to petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which is an order that a detainee be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully. MCA also leaves it up to the President to decide which “tough interrogation methods” for detainees he regards as “torture” and which he does not. Are we living in the Twilight Zone now? Or is this 1984 on steroids? Neither, my friends. Whether you like it or not, Amerian citizens are now getting an inkling of what it is like to live in a burgeoning dictatorship

A Democrat takeover of the US Congress in this week's mid-term elections is expected to lead to new investigations into AWB (Australia), ripping the lid off the Bush administration's efforts to contain criticism of Australia's role in the UN oil-for-food scandal. Democrats are promising a number of new investigations relating to Iraq if they take control and Senator Tom Harkin, of Iowa, has been pressing for a renewed inquiry into why the Bush administration did not do more to investigate reports that AWB was paying bribes to the regime of Saddam Hussein. (By Geoff Elliot, News.com.au, November 6, 2006). Full aticle=>

Many adults in the United States believe their federal administration should alter its tactics in Iraq, according to a poll by the New York Times and CBS News. 61 per cent of respondents believe the U.S. should change its military strategy. In addition, 27 per cent of respondents think the U.S. should remove all of its troops from Iraq, and eight per cent believe the current military strategy is correct. (Angus Reid Global Monitor, November 6, 2006). Full article=>

The Justice Department increasingly has refused to prosecute FBI cases targeting suspected terrorists over the past five years, according to private researchers who reviewed department records. The government says the findings are inaccurate and "intellectually dishonest." The report being released Monday by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University raises questions about the quality of the FBI's investigations. Prosecutors declined to bring charges in 131 of 150, or 87 percent, of international terrorist case referrals from the FBI between October 2005 and June 2006, according to the report. The study was based on the most recent data available from the Justice Department's executive office for U.S. attorneys. (By Lara Jakes Jordan, Associated Press, November 6, 2006). Full article=>

Chinese and African leaders wrapped up a summit on Sunday with deals worth $1.9 billion and assurances from Beijing it would not monopolize Africa's resources as it builds influence in the continent. The agreements, signed between 12 Chinese firms and African governments and companies, followed Chinese President Hu Jintao’s pledge on Saturday to offer $5 billion in loans and credit, and to double aid to Africa by 2009. In a joint declaration ending the summit, delegates announced a strategic partnership and "action plan" that charts cooperation in the economy, international affairs and social development. (By Chen Aizhu and Lindsay Beck, Reuters, November 5, 2006). Full article=>

The Pentagon is speeding up plans for possible military strikes on North Korea’s nuclear programme as concern mounts that Arab states are also looking to acquire nuclear technology. US defence officials said detailed planning was under way for precision strikes on nuclear facilities such as the North Korean plutonium reprocessing plant at Yongbyon. The plant is thought to have supplied the plutonium fuel used in an underground nuclear test carried out by Kim Jong-il’s pariah regime on October 9. (By Sarah Baxter, Times Online {U.K.} November 5, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor's Comment: Washington's Mad Hatters are at it again! Rather than dwelling on their insane machinations and thereby wasting valuable time, let's get on with the business of dumping the incumbents in Congress on November 7, planning our runs for political office in time for the November 2008 elections, and getting our own spiritual, material (food, water, shelter, etc.) and financial houses (out of debt and into gold and silver) in order now to assure that we will survive the gut wrenching periods of hyperinflation and economic depression ahead of us in 2007 and 2008.

At a ceremony at C.I.A. headquarters four years ago, a logistical specialist named Kyle Dustin Foggo was awarded an intelligence medal. It was the agency’s way of saying thanks for running the airlifts that sustained the C.I.A.’s efforts in Afghanistan, including shipments of armored cars along with saddles and oats for horseback-riding covert operators in remote regions of the country. Among the well-wishers at the event in 2002 were Mr. Foggo’s childhood friend, Brent R. Wilkes, a military contractor, and Representative Randy Cunningham, a Republican from Mr. Wilkes’s hometown, San Diego.

That day might have been a high-water mark for all three. Mr. Cunningham, whose nickname is Duke, is in prison after pleading guilty to accepting bribes from contractors. Mr. Wilkes, described in court papers as one of the contractors, is under investigation, and Mr. Foggo, who later became a top Central Intelligence Agency official, is under scrutiny for possible irregularities in awarding agency logistics deals to both Mr. Wilkes and another businessman, according to a recent Congressional report. (By David Johnson, The New York Times, November 4, 2006). Full article=>

US Seeks Silence from CIA Prisoners: Report

The Bush administration is arguing that detainees held in secret CIA prisons shouldn't be allowed to describe in court how they were interrogated, the Washington Post reported in its Saturday edition. The government believes that interrogation methods used by the CIA are among the nation's most sensitive national security secrets, and that their release "could reasonably be expected to cause extremely grave damage," the Post said, citing recent court filings. Terrorists could incorporate the information into their counter-interrogation training, the government told Judge Reggie Walton. The government is trying to block access to 14 detainees transferred in September from the secret prisons to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (Reuters, November 4, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: National security? What a joke! Bush administration officials are out to protect themselves from indictment and conviction for war crimes after the completion of young Bush’s completion second term in office in January 2009 --- or perhaps sooner, if they are impeached and removed from office by the next Congress.

White House spokesman Tony Snow mocked suggestions that the verdict in Saddam Hussein’s trial in Iraq was timed to help Republican Party candidates ahead of Tuesday's key congressional elections. "Are you smoking dope?" Snow laughed when asked if US and Iraqi officials colluded to issue the verdict on Sunday to help supporters of President George W. Bush running for office. "Are you telling me that in Iraq, that they're sitting around ... that the Iraqi judicial system is coming up with (a last-minute electoral) surprise? "The most important thing to note right now, even before, is that Iraq has an independent judiciary," Snow said. (AFP, November 4, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: If you are observant, you will notice White House spokesman Snow was unresponsive the question implied by the suggestions by the press that the Bush Administration worked with Iraq’s puppet government to time the verdict of death by hanging for Saddam so that it would be render it two days before the November 7^th elections in the U.S. so as to give Republicans a much needed boost at the polls. Instead, Snow responded with a silly, sarcastic question in rebuttal and then asked another rhetorical question. Not only football quarterbacks utilize evasion to avoid getting nailed by members of the opposite team.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a 5-1/2 year low in October as 92,000 jobs were added and hiring in the two prior months was revised up, the government said on Friday, leading financial markets to slash bets on interest-rate cuts. (Reuters, November 3, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: All this means is that unemployment insurance claims fell to a 5-1/2 year low. What they’re not telling us is that workers who have been out of work long enough to have used up the unemployment benefits --- certainly millions of them by now --- are not counted in this U.S. government report. What I’d really like to see is an honest report documenting the decrease in family incomes over the past 5-1/2 years, as skilled workers and professionals who had been earning $20K-50K have now been forced to take low-wage jobs as greeters in Wal-Mart and telemarketers of long distance service after their former jobs had been outsourced to below poverty-wage (by American standards) workers in India or China. But, don’t expect the Unitary Executive to approve the preparation and release of a hot potato report like that one! Not a chance.

"This is crazy!" exclaims Lou Dobbs, in a CNN special report on "hackable" Diebold machines and what are described as "voting machine sleepovers." In the report 'Democracy At Risk,' reporter Kitty Pilgrim talks with a Princeton professor who shows how Diebold machines can easily be manipulated with a virus to change a voter's selections. "The Diebold machines we tested do not have a paper trail," Pilgrim tells Dobbs. "The record tape on the inside of the machine can be altered by the virus, and there is no other record of how someone voted. Once they walk away, that vote can be lost or stolen..." (RawStory.com, November 3, 2005). Full article, including streaming video=>

If there is a possibility that our voting will be compromised again this time around, what should we do? Vote anyway, of course. Then, if it turns out that this election too is stolen, you may become motivated enough to use your God-given ingenuity assure that by Election Day 2008 your state government will have dumped the electronic and optical voting machines and replaced them with either a simple paper ballot system or machines that provide paper trails of the votes cast, both of which have a better chance of reflecting the will of the voting public.

A nasty little secret of American democracy is that, in every national election, ballots cast are simply thrown in the garbage. Most are called "spoiled," supposedly unreadable, damaged, invalid. They just don’t get counted. This “spoilage” has occurred for decades, but it reached unprecedented heights in the last two presidential elections. In the 2004 election, for example, more than three million ballots were never counted. Almost as deep a secret is that people are doing something about it. In New Mexico, citizen activists, disgusted by systematic vote disappearance, demanded change — and got it. In Ohio, during the 2004 Presidential election, 153,237 ballots were simply thrown away — more than the Bush “victory” margin. In New Mexico the uncounted vote was five times the Bush alleged victory margin of 5,988. In Iowa, Bush’s triumph of 13,498 was overwhelmed by 36,811 votes rejected. The official number is bad enough — 1,855,827 ballots cast not counted, according to the federal government’s Elections Assistance Commission. But the feds are missing data from several cities and entire states too embarrassed to report the votes they failed to count. (By Greg Palast, Yes Magazine, Fall 2006 issue). Full article=>

What if I told you that it would take only one person—one highly motivated, but only moderately skilled bad apple, with either authorized or unauthorized access to the right company's internal computer network—to steal a statewide election? You might think I was crazy, or alarmist, or just talking about something that's only a remote, highly theoretical possibility. You also probably would think I was being really over-the-top if I told you that, without sweeping and very costly changes to the American electoral process, this scenario is almost certain to play out at some point in the future in some county or state in America, and that after it happens not only will we not have a clue as to what has taken place, but if we do get suspicious there will be no way to prove anything. You certainly wouldn't want to believe me, and I don't blame you. (By Jon "Hannibal" Stokes, Arstechnica.com, October 25, 2006). Full article=>

The evil nature of our enemies has, it turns out, certain advantages – at least when secret imprisonment and torture are at stake. The Bush administration has proved adamantly unwilling to talk to, or deal with, the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, except when it came to parking terror suspects we wanted tortured on his lot. In fact, the Syrians proved so handy and so eager to be good allies in the shadow world of global incarceration that U.S. officials turned over at least seven of their prisoners to Syrian ministrations, according to a recent piece in the British Guardian.

There was nothing unique about administration reliance on the Syrians for this. From Uzbekistan to Egypt, autocratic regimes willing to torture have been destinations for CIA secret prisoner "rendering" operations. Following kidnappings or captures elsewhere on Earth, the Agency has sent planes hop scotching – sometimes thousands of miles – across the globe to our jailers of choice. Though the aircraft used were posh indeed, such assignments proved so rigorous for CIA handlers that they evidently regularly repaired to five-star hotels in Italy, on the Spanish island of Majorca, and possibly elsewhere for a little of the recuperative good life. In places like the Marriott Son Antem, a golfing resort in the Majorcan city of Palma, they could "journey to deep inner peace" (as the hotel spa advertised) at American taxpayer expense, even while on "extraordinary rendition" trips. (By Nick Turse and Tom Engelhardt, Antiwar.com, November 3, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor's Comment: The United States now has more prisoners under lock and key, either in America or in some foreign land, than China and India combined.

In January, we estimated that the true cost of the Iraq war could reach $2 trillion, a figure that seemed shockingly high. But since that time, the cost of the war – in both blood and money – has risen even faster than our projections anticipated. More than 2,500 American troops have died and close to 20,000 have been wounded since Operation Iraqi Freedom began. And the $2 trillion number – the sum of the current and future budgetary costs along with the economic impact of lives lost, jobs interrupted and oil prices driven higher by political uncertainty in the Middle East – now seems low. (By Linda Bilmes {Harvard University} and Joseph E. Stiglitz {Harvard University}, in Niemannwatchdog.org), November 1, 2006). Full article=>

Iran has started military exercises in the Arabian gulf just days after six other nations, including the United States, held a series of exercises in the same area. Iranian state television reported, without showing any footage: "Dozens of missiles were fired including Shahab-2 and Shahab-3 missiles. The missiles had ranges from 300km up to 2,000km." The television station said that the military manoeuvres, named Great Prophet Two, would last until November 11 and include drills in the gulf and Sea of Oman, and would be a show of defensive strength. (Aljazeera.net, November 2, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: See also Dr. Abbas Bakhtiar: US vs. Iran – Part II – Hybrid War. (The file is clean). Also do a search on Abbas Bakhtiar on this web page to read my comments on the original posting of this article in LC.

Inside the Shocking HBO Film That Rocks the Voting Process

HBO's Hacking Democracy (premiering tonight at 9 pm/ET) tells the story of Bev Harris, a grandmother and writer who started investigating the subject of electronic voting in 2002 after questioning her county's switch to electronic touch-screen voting machines. Unsatisfied with their explanation, Harris set out to learn about electronic voting systems on her own, and in doing so stumbled upon shocking revelations about the vulnerability of the software and hardware. Harris, who went on to form the watchdog group BlackBoxVoting.org, recently spoke with TVGuide.com about her illuminating, though unsettling, journey. (By Matt Webb Mitovich, TV Guide, November 2, 2006). Full article=>

On the 22^nd of May, 1856, as the deteriorating American political system veered toward the edge of the cliff, U.S. Rep. Preston Brooks of South Carolina shuffled into the Senate of this nation, his leg stiff from an old dueling injury, supported by a cane. And he looked for the familiar figure of the prominent senator from Massachusetts, Charles Sumner…(By Keith Olbermann, on “Countdown” MSNBC News Show, November 1, 2006). Full text plus streaming VIDEO=>

As usual, when it comes to surveillance and the panopticon state, the ACLU misses the point. In response to the discovery of the son of the Total Information Awareness, Tangram, described as “a program in which former TIA contractors build on existing TIA research to create a new, enhanced form of the program,” according to Justin Rood, the ACLU tells us the state is “misdirecting resources towards this kind of fanciful, science-fiction project… while neglecting the basics” of what Shaun Waterman of the UPI calls “good counter-terrorist detective work.” In fact, since the vast majority of terrorists out there are working directly or indirectly for the Pentagon, CIA, MI6, or Mossad, no “good counter-terrorist detective work” is required. John Negroponte, CFR member and former overseer of the El Aguacate torture and murder dungeon in Honduras, now Director of National Intelligence, is building upon Iran-Contra criminal John Poindexter’s Total Information Awareness, a “closed-loop” snoop system supposedly closed down on October 1, 2003. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire, November 1, 2006). Full article=>

In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law a provision which, according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the President to declare federal martial law (1). It does so by revising the Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President's ability to deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331 -335) has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385), helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush is seeking to undo those prohibitions.

Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R.5122.ENR) (2), which was signed by the commander in chief on October 17th, 2006, in a private Oval Office ceremony, allows the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder."

President Bush seized this unprecedented power on the very same day that he signed the equally odious Military Commissions Act of 2006. In a sense, the two laws complement one another. One allows for torture and detention abroad, while the other seeks to enforce acquiescence at home, preparing to order the military onto the streets of America. Remember, the term for putting an area under military law enforcement control is precise; the term is "martial law." (By Frank Morales, GlobalResearch.ca, October 29, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: I apologize to my readers for failing to notice and report on this latest piece draconian legislation to come out of the White House Oval Office. Evidently I had been so thoroughly caught up in understanding and reporting on the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (H.R.6166EH) that I missed spotting this new police state legislation as it was run with little fanfare through Congress by our elected traitors and then signed into law by the Decider, a.k.a. President George W. Bush. I plan to dig into this new legislation over this weekend and provide a better report for you by early next week at the latest. In the meantime, I suggest you read Webster Tarpley’s book, George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography, to learn about the lineage of this nation’s most recent president and hopefully gain some insight on how it has shaped his peculiar view of the Constitution (Bush on the Constitution: “Just a goddamned piece of paper”) and his understanding of the specific duties this, our founding document and the ultimate “law of the land”, assigns to the President of the United States. You can download a free copy of Tarpley’s book at www.tarpley.net

Diebold Inc. insisted that cable network HBO cancel a documentary that questions the integrity of its voting machines, calling the program inaccurate and unfair. The program, "Hacking Democracy," is scheduled to debut Thursday, five days before the 2006 U.S. midterm elections. The film claims that Diebold voting machines aren't tamper-proof and can be manipulated to change voting results. (By Michael Janofsky, Bloomberg News, November 1, 2005). Full article=>

FALLUJAH - Increased violence is being countered by harsh new measures across the Sunni-dominated al-Anbar province west of Baghdad, residents say. "Thousands have been killed here by the Multinational Forces [MNF] and Iraqi allies, and the situation is getting worse every day," a member of the Fallujah city council speaking on condition of anonymity told IPS. "We have no role to play because the Americans always prefer violent solutions that have led from one disaster to another." The violence appears to be affecting the civilian population far more than it is stifling the resistance. The suffering of people in Fallujah increases by the day, and the number of resistance snipers appears to be increasing in response to the U.S. use of snipers against civilians. (By Dahr Jamail, antiwar.com, November 1, 2006). Full article=>

Gold prices rose for a seventh consecutive trading session in London amid concern about a slowdown in the U.S. economy, prompting some investors to buy bullion as a store of value against declining currencies. The dollar declined the most against the euro in more than a month yesterday after an industry report showed manufacturing in the Chicago area slowed and U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped. Investors typically buy gold to hedge against a decline in the value of other dollar-denominated assets. Gold has gained 18 percent this year and the U.S. currency has fallen almost 8 percent against the euro. (By Danielle Rossingh and Meeyoung Song, Bloomberg.com, November 1, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. Air Force is asking the Pentagon's leadership for a staggering $50 billion in emergency funding for fiscal 2007 -- an amount equal to nearly half its annual budget, defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute said on Tuesday. The request is expected to draw criticism on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are increasingly worried about the huge sums being sought "off budget" to fund wars, escaping the more rigorous congressional oversight of regular budgets. (By Andrea Shalal-Esa, October 31, 2006). Full article=>

The US defence department has set up a new unit to better promote its message across 24-hour rolling news outlets, and particularly on the internet. The Pentagon said the move would boost its ability to counter "inaccurate" news stories and exploit new media. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said earlier this year the US was losing the propaganda war to its enemies. (BBC News {U,K.}, October 31, 2006). Full article=>

Lawyers for alleged al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla have asked a Florida judge to dismiss the terrorism case against him, saying he was tortured and force-fed psychedelic drugs while held at a U.S. military brig for more than 3-1/2 years. "The torture took myriad forms, each designed to cause pain, anguish, depression and ultimately, the loss of will to live," Padilla's attorney's said in the motion for dismissal filed in Miami federal court earlier this month. (By Tom Brown, Reuters, October 31, 2006). Full article=>

A teenager carrying a Bible and shouting "I want Jesus" was shot twice with a police stun gun and later died at a St. Louis hospital, authorities said. In a statement obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, police in Jerseyville, about 40 miles north of St. Louis, said 17-year-old Roger Holyfield would not acknowledge officers who approached him and he continued yelling, "I want Jesus." (MyWay.com, October 31, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. Dollar is kaput. Confidence in the currency is eroding by the day. A report in The Sydney Morning Herald stated, “Australia’s Treasurer Peter Costello has called on East Asia’s central bankers to ‘telegraph’ their intentions to diversify out of American investments and ensure an ‘orderly adjustment’….Central banks in China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong have channeled immense foreign reserves into American government bonds, helping to prop up the US dollar and hold down interest rates,’ said Costello, but ‘the strategy has changed.’” Indeed, the strategy has changed. The world has come to its senses and is moving away from the green slip of paper that is currently mired in $8.3 trillion of debt. The central banks now want to reduce their USD reserves while trying to do as little damage to their own economies as possible. That’ll be difficult. If a sell-off ensues, it will start a stampede for the exits. There’s little hope of an “orderly adjustment” as Costello opines; that’s just false optimism. (By Mike Whitney, InformationClearingHouse.info, October 30, 2006). Full article=>

Paulson Re-activates Secretive Support Team to Prevent Markets Meltdown

Paulson re-activates secretive support team to prevent markets meltdown Judging by their body language, the US authorities believe the roaring bull market this autumn is just a suckers' rally before the inevitable storm hits. Hank Paulson, the market-wise Treasury Secretary who built a $700m fortune at Goldman Sachs, is re-activating the 'plunge protection team' (PPT), a shadowy body with powers to support stock index, currency, and credit futures in a crash. Otherwise known as the working group on financial markets, it was created by Ronald Reagan to prevent a repeat of the Wall Street meltdown in October 1987. (By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard. The Telegraph {U.K.}, October 30, 2006). Full article=>

A coalition spearheaded by Conservative Caucus Chairman Howard Phillips, author Jerome Corsi and activist Phyllis Schlafly is launching an effort today in support of a proposed congressional resolution that denounces any effort by the U.S. to enter into a North American Union with Mexico and Canada. The resolution – sponsored by Republican Reps. Virgil Goode Jr. of Virginia, Tom Tancredo of Colorado, Walter Jones of North Carolina, and Ron Paul of Texas – expresses "the sense of Congress that the United States should not engage in the construction of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Superhighway System or enter into a North American Union (NAU) with Mexico and Canada." (WorldNetDaily, October 25, 2006). Full article=>

About 1,000 documents obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request to the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SSP)of North America show the White House is engaging in collaborative relations with Mexico and Canada outside the U.S. Constitution, says WND columnist and author Jerome Corsi. "The documents give clear evidence that the Bush administration has created a 'shadow government,'" Corsi said. (WorldNetDaily.com, October 24, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The goal of the globalist-neocons is to remove national boundaries separating the U.S., Canada and Mexico and merge our nations into a union similar to the European Union. The goal is to complete the merger by 2010. A common currency, the Amero, will replace U.S and Canadian dollars and the Mexican peso. The U.S. Constitution will be abandoned and replaced with the constitution of the North American Union; U.S. sovereignty will be no more!

Are you ready for our government to trash the American flag and the U.S. Constitution and join the North American Union? Isn’t it time for us to confront our representatives in Congress, asking them each what, if anything, they are doing about turning back SSP and then vote them out of office in November if we don’t hear the answers we want to hear from them?

She should have kept her eyes on the floor like everyone else, not glanced around as though she were free. But she’d looked up to pass the time, and her gaze fell on a screener furtively slipping something into a pocket. Then the woman dropped a wallet into the plastic tray for its trip through the scanning machine. She was short and beefy, with badly dyed blonde hair and more make-up than any three girls should wear – the sort of screener Erin always prayed to avoid. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. It was then that the screener’s eyes fastened on her. The guilt reddening the woman’s face matched the revulsion on Erin’s. (A short story by Becky Acker’s, in LewRockwell.com, October 25, 2006). Full story=>

LC Editor’s Comment: This could be the way life could be for us unless we all take responsibility now for our loss of liberty following 9/11 and become personally active in rolling back the suffocating veil of government tyranny that has been imposed on us in our American, once the shining light of freedom on the hill, the beacon of liberty for the world’s politically oppressed people.

"Mr. President, you, and that advertisement of terror, are full of sound and fury - signifying (and competent at) nothing. Setting aside the fact that your government has done nothing else for these five years but pat yourselves on the back about terror, while waging pointless war on the wrong enemy in Iraq, and waging war on the cherished freedoms in America; just on this subject of counter-terrorism, sir, yours is the least competent government, in time of crisis, in this country's history! "These are the stakes," indeed, Mr. President. (MSNBC video, October 23, 2006). Click here=>

LC Editor’s Comments: In the past, you’ve known Emmy-winner Aaron Russo as the producer of the award-winning hit films The Rose and Trading Places. Now, here’s the full-length authorized version of the new full-length documentary film many viewers and critics may soon come to call Russo’s masterpiece: America: From Freedom to Facism. Formated as a large screen movie, it was shown to packed, applauding audiences at theaters throughout the U.S. this summer. Watch the streaming video here at Googl Video Then buy the DVD to provide Aaron with the resources to produce his next blockbuster movies, all targeted, I’m sure, on exposing the evil machinations of government allied with the elitists, international bankers and globalist corporations to destroy free enterprise and personal liberty and turn us into slaves on the global plantation. (October 24, 2006). Click to go to the Google Video site=>

Here are a few words for the wise from Chinese philosopher and general, Sun Tsu, as written 2,500 years ago in The Art of War:

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

There is a massive concentration of US naval power in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Three US naval strike groups off the Iranian coastline are deployed: USS Enterprise, USS Eisenhower and USS Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group. The naval strike groups have been assigned to fighting the "global war on terrorism." Tehran considers the US war games to be conducted in the Persian Gulf, off the Iranian coastline as a provocation, which is intended to trigger a potential crisis and a situation of direct confrontation between US and Iranian naval forces in the Persian Gulf: (By Michel Chossudovsky, GlobalResearch.ca, October 24, 2006). Full article=>

U.S. buyout firms Apollo Management LP and Carlyle Group* are exploring separate takeover bids for Tribune Co., publisher of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, people familiar with the matter said. (By Brett Cole, Bloomberg, October 23, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The name “Carlyle Group” should ring a bell in the minds of people reading this LC news page today. The Carlyle Group, known as the ex-presidents’ club by some people, of course, is where such ex-government movers and shakers such a former Secretary of State Jim Baker, former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci and George Herbert Walker Bush, a friend of the bin Laden family, hang their hats at 8 AM every weekday morning. Mr. Bush is, of course, the Carlyle Group’s Senior Advisor, and a former U.S. president and proud father of George W. Bush, current President of the United States. The Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times are large-circulation newspapers in major U.S. cities and, as such, will be in an excellent position to influence public opinion for the administration if the Carlyle Group is successful in its bid to acquire the Tribune Company.

I cannot view the current debate about the Bush Administration’s latest attempt to remove all checks on its power without thinking about how my German and Austrian grandparents must have watched with disbelief as Europe sank into the madness of fascism. I think about how unprecedented those changes were, and how difficult it must have been to believe that things could really become as bad as they did. My grandparents had once been as comfortably integrated into their communities as I am in mine. In the end their assimilation mattered not at all; they fled, leaving behind family, friends, property and possessions. Unlike millions of others, they were fortunate to escape with their lives. (Commentary by John Steinberg, RawStory.com, September 27, 2006). Full article=>

An all-day, full-spectrum, preparedness training seminar with will be presented by the Fearless Radio Liberty Task Force on Saturday, October 28, from 10:00 AM until 9:00 PM at the Windgate Inn on IH-35 North in Round Rock, Texas. Click here to learn more and find out how to pre-register for this seminar=>

LC Editor’s Comment: I’m already pre-registered. If you live within driving distance of Round Rock, take advantage of this opportunity to have teach you the practical skills you will need to survive and even thrive for an extended period of time should an event or series of events occur that cause travel be restricted; access to your normal sources of food, water, sanitation, electric power become severely limited; and your normal means of earning an income disappear forever or for a while. Now, while there is still time, is the time to prepare so that you and your family will not have to depend on FEMA I hope to see you at the seminar this Saturday.

LC Editor’s comments: Read the entire article. Her twelve tips are right on the money, but I would add one more. I believe we all need to consider running for public office at the local level. Becoming a member of one’s local school board our city council will give us an opportunity to block attempts by the administration in Washington to dictate how we must educate our children, police our towns and run our cities replace central government rule with local rule. The era of the passive citizen needs to go the way of the albatross if we are to survive the attempts by the globalists and their government minions to enslave us and put us on their global plantation.

Under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, you could be. The Military Commissions Act of 2006 allows the executive branch to circumvent the Constitution, endangering the due process of law for all Americans, not just terrorists. On September 28, by a vote of 65-34, the Senate formally passed S. 3930, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA). The next day, the House of Representatives followed suit, passing the act by a vote of 250-170, and the affixing of the president's signature is now a formality.* This legislation is being highlighted by the Bush administration and most Republicans as a get-tough-on-terrorists measure that allows "alien unlawful enemy combatants ... [to be] subject to trial by military commissions" without the constitutional safeguards American citizens possess against illegal detainment and judicial railroading. Moreover, the bill allows "pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions" and "statements ... obtained by coercion" — think administration-approved methods of torture. We are being told that this action is preventive medicine to heal a world gone wrong. Question now: with this fix in place, what's the prognosis for the patient? (By Joe Wolverton II, J.D., The New American, October 30, 2006, posted on October 17). Full article=>

Congress said it wants next year’s defense budget to include funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but President Bush has indicated he may ignore that request. In a “signing statement” released when he signed the 2007 Defense Authorization Act on Oct. 17, the president listed two-dozen provisions in the act that he indicated he may or may not abide by. Among the provisions is Section 1008 of the Authorization Act, which requires the president to submit defense budgets for 2008 and beyond that include funding for the wars and contain “a detailed justification of the funds requested.” (By William Matthews, Air Force Times, October 18, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment. From Section II, Article 3 of the United States Constitution (where “he” refers to the President:

“Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States.”

Therefore, if President Bush willfully fails to abide by two-dozen provision of the Defense Authorization Act, this constitutes his failing to assure that this law has been faithfully executed as required by the Constitution. It also constitutes a violation of his oath of office. As I have reported several times before, Mr. Bush has through his use of so-called “signing statement” indicated that he will not enforce certain provisions of many bills he has signed into law. Why has Mr. Bush not been censured by Congress for this willful violation of the Constitition?

Israel imports 90 percent of the approximately 250,000 barrels of oil it uses daily from former Soviet Union countries via tankers, a fact that will figure prominently in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's talks with President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials in Moscow this week. Because Israel has limited fossil fuel resources, these relationships are of extreme importance for the functioning of the country and economy, a National Infrastructure Ministry official told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday. Of Israel's daily imports, 50% to 60% come from Russia, according to the Russian business daily, RBK. (Jeruselem Post, October 19, 2006). Full article=>

It’s the borders, stupid! President Bush is having a hard time selling to voters his War on Terror, despite endless repetitive speeches arguing that we must fight the terrorist enemy in Iraq or we will fight them here. Truly, the White House should not be surprised when polls reflect that this time the message has not taken hold. Why? In this past spring and summer, the U.S. public has become amply aware that Bush has no serious intent of securing our borders. Instead, the building evidence, including that derived from FOIA requests by this author and by Judicial Watch, is that Bush agreed to erase our borders at the trilateral U.S.-Mexico-Canada summit meeting in Waco, Tex., on March 23. Here the three leaders issued what amounts to a press release declaring that now we are in the “Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America.” (Jerome Corsi, Human Events, October 17, 2006). Full article=>

Why is the United States government spending millions of dollars to track down critics of George W. Bush in the press? And why have major American universities agreed to put this technology of tyranny into the state’s hands? At the most basic level, of course, both questions are easily answered: 1) Power. 2) Money. The Bush administration wants to be able to root out - and counteract - any dissenting noises that might put a crimp in its ongoing crusade for "full spectrum dominance" of global affairs, while the august institutions of higher learning involved - the universities of Cornell, Pittsburgh and Utah - crave the federal green that keeps them in clover. But beyond these grubby realities, there are many other disturbing aspects of this new program - which is itself only part of a much broader penetration of American academia by the Department of Homeland Security. (By Chris Floyd, Empire Burlesque, October 19, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Chilling! Make sure you read this article from top to bottom. If you were bent out of out shape upon your reading of the Military Commissions Act, which was signed into law by President Bush, Jr., on Monday, you may expect to find yourself bent to near the breaking point upon reading this article! Caution! You are entering the Twilight Zone,

Doctors in Gaza have reported previously unseen injuries from Israeli weapons that cause severe burning and deep internal wounds often resulting in amputations or death. The injuries were first seen in July, when the Israeli military launched a series of operations in Gaza following the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants. Doctors said that, unlike traditional combat injuries from shells or bullets, there were no large shrapnel pieces found in the patients' bodies and there appeared to be a "dusting" on severely damaged internal organs. "Bodies arrived severely fragmented, melted and disfigured," said Jumaa Saqa'a, a doctor at Shifa hospital, the main casualty hospital in Gaza City. "We found internal burning of organs, while externally there were minute pieces of shrapnel. When we opened many of the injured people we found dusting on the internal organs." (By Rory McCarthy, The Guardian {U.K.}, October 17, 2006). Full story=>

FBI Director Robert Mueller on Tuesday called on Internet service providers to record their customers' online activities, a move that anticipates a fierce debate over privacy and law enforcement in Washington next year. FBI Director Robert Mueller on Tuesday called on Internet service providers to record their customers' online activities, a move that anticipates a fierce debate over privacy and law enforcement in Washington next year. "Terrorists coordinate their plans cloaked in the anonymity of the Internet, as do violent sexual predators prowling chat rooms," Mueller said in a speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Boston. All too often, we find that before we can catch these offenders, Internet service providers have unwittingly deleted the very records that would help us identify these offenders and protect future victims," Mueller said. "We must find a balance between the legitimate need for privacy and law enforcement's clear need for access." (By Declan McCullag, CNET, October 17, 2006). Full article=>

An Argentine official regarded the intention of the George W. Bush family to settle on the Acuifero Guarani (Paraguay) as surprising, besides being a bad signal for the governments of the region. Luis D Elia, undersecretary for the Social Habitat in the Argentine Federal Planning Ministry, issued a memo partially reproduced by digital INFOBAE.com, in which he spoke of the purchase by Bush of a 98,842-acre farm in northern Paraguay, between Brazil and Bolivia. (Prensa Latina, October 13, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush signed legislation Tuesday authorizing tough interrogation of terror suspects and smoothing the way for trials before military commissions*, calling it a "vital tool" in the war against terrorism. Bush's plan for treatment of the terror suspects became law just six weeks after he acknowledged that the CIA had been secretly interrogating suspected terrorists overseas and pressed Congress to quickly give authority to try them in military commissions…The law protects detainees from blatant abuses during questioning _ such as rape, torture and "cruel and inhuman" treatment _ but does not require that any of them be granted legal counsel. Also, it specifically bars detainees from filing habeas corpus petitions challenging their detentions in federal courts. Bush said the process is "fair, lawful and necessary." ..Many Democrats opposed the legislation because they said it eliminated rights of defendants considered fundamental to American values, such as a person's ability to go to court to protest their detention and the use of coerced testimony as evidence…The American Civil Liberties Union said the new law is "one of the worst civil liberties measures ever enacted in American history." "The president can now, with the approval of Congress, indefinitely hold people without charge, take away protections against horrific abuse, put people on trial based on hearsay evidence, authorize trials that can sentence people to death based on testimony literally beaten out of witnesses, and slam shut the courthouse door for habeas petitions," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. (By Nedra Pickler, Associated Press, October 17, 2006). Full article=>

*LC Editor’s Comment: According to Bruce Ackermann, Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, “…the commander in chief (the President) has the right to designate a U.S. citizen on American soil as an enemy combatant and subject him to military justice”. In the same article, Professor Ackermann also asserts that “…it (the law) also allows him to seize anybody who has "purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States." This grants the president enormous power over citizens and legal residents. They can be designated as enemy combatants if they have contributed money to a Middle Eastern charity, and they can be held indefinitely in a military prison.” Notice that this law would also give the President to right to designate an American newspaper columnist who has written an article critical of the White House’s handling of the war on terror as an enemy combatant, effectively canceling the Constitution’s First Amendment.

We are now living in a dictatorship. Enactment of this law by President Bush has invalidated all but one of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which in effect cancels the Bill of Rights for all practical purposes. No more freedom of speech. No more freedom for unreasonable searches and seizures. No more right to a trial by jury of one’s peers. No more freedom from being forced testifying against oneself. And on and on.

The official title of this law is The Military Commissions Act of 2006*** (H.R.6166).

There will no doubt be attempts to have this new law repealed by the courts, but even if they are successful, it could be years before the Bill of Rights is restored. In the meantime how many of our innocent fellow Americans will be snatched from their homes in the middle of the night by the police, never to be seen again? How many will rot in some far off prison without ever being charged with a crime or being given a trial by a jury of their peers? How many will be secretly executed?

What positive action can you take now that will, at the very least, substantially reduce the possibility of Congress’ doing any more damage that it did in passing this draconian legislation? During the November 7^th elections this year, vote out every incumbent who voted to pass this legislation. Here are the voting records of your Senators and Representatives in Congress. To be maximally effective in voting out an undesirable member of Congress who is up for election this month, I suggest that you vote the member of the opposite major party (Republican or Democratic Party) who his competing for that seat in Congress.

The government (U.K.) is seeking to prevent an EU directive that could extend broadcasting regulations to the internet, hitting popular video-sharing websites such as YouTube. The European Commission proposal would require websites and mobile phone services that feature video images to conform to standards laid down in Brussels. Ministers fear that the directive would hit not only successful sites such as YouTube but also amateur “video bloggers” who post material on their own sites. Personal websites would have to be licensed as a “television-like service”. (By Adam Sherwin, The Times Online {U.K.}, October 17, 2006). Full article=>

Three years after the Food and Drug Administration first hinted that it might permit the sale of milk and meat from cloned animals, prompting public reactions that ranged from curiosity to disgust, the agency is poised to endorse marketing of the mass-produced animals for public consumption. The decision, expected by the end of this year, is based largely on new data indicating that milk and meat from cloned livestock and their offspring pose no unique risks to consumers. (By Rick Weiss, Washington Post, October 17, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. Border Patrol and other law enforcement agencies at the U.S.-Mexico border are outgunned by increasingly ruthless and well-armed Mexican drug cartels, a new congressional report concludes. "The cartels use automatic assault weapons, bazookas, grenade launchers and improvised explosive devices," the House Homeland Security oversight subcommittee report said. "In contrast, U.S. Border Patrol agents are issued 40-caliber Beretta semiautomatic pistols." (By Michelle Mittelstadt, Houston chronical, October 17, 2006). Full article=>

The nation's population officially hit 300 million at 7:46 a.m. EDT Tuesday, when the Census Bureau's population clock rolled over to the big number. But there weren't any wild celebrations, fireworks or any other government-sponsored hoopla to mark the milestone. Why bother? Many experts think the population actually hit 300 million months ago. "I don't think anybody believes it will be the precise moment when the population hits 300 million," Howard Hogan, the Census Bureau's associate director for demographic programs, said in an interview before the milestone was reached. But, he added, "We're confident that we're somewhat close." (By Stephen Ohlemacher, AP. October 17, 2006). Full article=>

A woman who was ticketed for having an obscene anti-President Bush bumper sticker filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday against DeKalb County and its officials. Denise Grier, 47, of Athens, Ga., got a $100 ticket in March after a DeKalb County police officer spotted the bumper sticker, which read "I'm Tired Of All The BUSH*T." (The actual bumper sticker. Although a DeKalb judge threw out the ticket in April because the state's lewd decal law that formed the basis for the ticket was ruled unconstitutional in 1990, Grier is seeking damages for "emotional distress" against the county, according to the lawsuit. (By Daniel Yee, AP, October 17, 2006). Full article=>

In the following MSNBC video, former Attorney General John Ashcroft says that President George W. Bush should be trusted not to abuse new powers granted to him by Congress. Earlier today, Bush signed into law the Military Commission Act, a bill giving him the legal power to declare any person a detainee. The law has been criticized for removing the right of habeas corpus and limiting the right to see evidence presented against the accused. The bill also gives the president new powers to declare anyone a detainee -- including American citizens -- and to detain that person without oversight or access to the U.S. court system. (By David Edwards, Raw Story online, October 17. 2006). Full article including streaming video=>

An email sent by United States Central Command (CENTCOM) to bloggers about the "global war on terror" (GWOT) has been obtained by RAW STORY. CENTCOM announced earlier this year that a team of employees would be "[engaging] bloggers who are posting inaccurate or untrue information, as well as bloggers who are posting incomplete information." (Raw Story online, October 16, 2006). Full article=>

Here are a few words for the wise from Chinese philosopher and general, Sun Tsu, as written 2,500 years ago in The Art of War:

911 Mysteries – “Demolitions” – The first part of a three-part series NEW**

“Demolitions” is the first part of a three part series produced by In The Wake Productions (www.911weknow.com ). The series is now being called “9/11 Matrix”. The remaining two videos in this series, Highjackers and Planes and Who Benefits?, will be produced once the cost of producing “Demolitions” is recouped through sales of its DVD.

To facilitate Demolitions’ being shown on Google Video, it has been divided into three streaming video clips, Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Clicking on these links will start the video streams.

LC Editor’s Comment: Astounding! “Demolitions” takes over where Dylan Avery’s magnificent, ground-breaking documentary, Loose Change, 2^nd Edition (also shown on Google Video but available for purchase as a DVD) leaves off, presenting new footage and asking new questions and suggesting additional answers, these supported by hard data, to the ultimate question of why and how “9/11” occurred and who did it This is a great, in-depth documentary film!

.”Demolitions” includes (see Part 2) a discussion of the research conducted by Professor Steven Jones of Brigham Young University on the collapsing of three World Trade Center buildings on 9/11.Jones’findings, strongly suggest that controlled explosive demolition rather than the impacts of two airliners and subsequent fires caused these structures to fall into their own footprints on the day of 9/11. The details of the explosive demolitions of buildings are shown and discussed with well-known experts in controlled explosive demolition profession.

Here are a few comments on this video offered by 9/11 researchers: and which are taken from the In the Wake site.

"Excellent. The best of the 9/11 movies." --David Ray Griffin, author of The New Pearl Harbor

"WOW! is my reaction to this movie. Great insight into demolitions and what really happened on 9/11/2001." --Steven E. Jones, physics professor, Brigham Young University

"An outstanding contribution to understanding 9/11. Simply superb." --James H. Fetzer, founder, Scholars for 911 Truth

Powerful! It includes discussion and depiction of hard, documented evidence supporting the position that WTC buildings 1, 2 and 7 were brought down on 9/11 by persons unknown using sophisticated controlled demolition methods that employed “cutter charges” consisting of the incendiary compounds including thermate, an enhanced version of “thermite”. 1 hour, 39 minutes long. Lots of brilliant videos and stills in the presentation. Professor Jones was obviously meticulous and methodical in performing this research, which included metallurgical studies on actual samples of WTC structural steels recovered from debris that remained after these buildings fell on 9/11. This is a beautiful presentation by a truly gifted researcher and teacher who dots all the I’s and crosses all the T’s and very effectively eliminates the official government explanations for the collapsing of the WTC buildings as viable, showing them to violate the well-established laws of physics and principles of engineering. Jones is an engaging presenter with warm sense of humor and a pleasure to listen to. Excellent! Make sure to view this one! Click here to start the stream.

Avery narrates, sounding like a modern-day Sargent Joe Friday of the TV classic “Dragnet”, presenting a plethora of cold, hard, well-established data, including mainstream media video clips, pointing out often glaring contradictions between the facts in this case and the White House explanation of 9/11 and urging viewers to draw their own conclusions. Released a year before physics professor Dr. Steven Jones of Brigham Young University revealed the startling results of his metallurgical analysis of structural steel from downed World Trade Center building, this streaming video provides the perfect introduction to and background for the ongoing investigation of 9/11 by Scholars for 911 Truth and other engineering professionals. This is an exciting and illuminating, tightly edited and beautifully produced film with a great music soundtrack. 1 hour, 22 minutes in duration. Stunning! Captivating! Don’t miss it!

This video was shown on C-Span cable television on July 29 and 30. in its "American Perspectives" series. See also 9/11 Symposium Most Popular C-Span Show . The video was produced by Alex Jones productions. Alex Jones, syndicated radio talk show host based in Austin, Texas and organizer of this symposium, moderated the panel discussion Duration of this video is 1 hour, 45 minutes. I highly recommend that you set aside a block of time to watch this video. Powerful!

This is Alex Jones’ explosive new movie exposing both 7/7 and 9/11 as “false flag” operations, that is self-inflicted attacks by governments, and providing historical background on such events as well as an overview of our current state of eroded rights and freedom. Learn here what Professor Steven Jones discovered through metallurigical examination of steel wreckage from the World Trade Centers collapsed buildings. A masterful production!

LC Editor’s Comments: The full presentation serves as an excellent introduction to false flag operations, which are always run in parallel with scheduled military exercises. Tarpley discusses in the scheduled military exercises run by the U.S. government on the morning of 9/11, and in the same time window as the actual 9/11 events, one of which simulated the crashing of an airplane into a building. Bookmark www.falseflagnews.com and consult it often to become aware of upcoming scheduled military exercises, some of which may be run in your area.

Tarpley may be heard every Saturday between 4:00 P.M and 6:00 PM Central Time on his own radio show, “World Crisis Radio”. It airs over the Republic Broadcasting Network, which may have an affiliate station in your area. If not, listen to this and other RBNLive radio show live via the streaming audio feeds at www.rbnlive.com . Here is the link to the live shows, and here is the link to Webster Tarpley’s archived radio shows

By FreedomUnderground.org, This streaming video is about two years ago. It is short but well-worth watching

This is an A-to-Z film documentary of government-created terror. It covers the governments’ motivation for using terror on their citizens and presents and discusses Pearl Harbor, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Oklahoma City bombing, and 9/11. It’s 2 hours 22 minutes long and a very tight production --- A powerful, well-sourced, persuasive documentary.

Larry Silverstein, owner of the World Trade Center complex in September, admits in a Public Broadcasting System (PBS) documentary film that he had authorized the “pulling” (controlled explosive demolition) of WTC Building 7, which had not been struck by a jet, during the afternoon of 9/11. There is a problem here: It would take a demolition team several weeks to a month to rig Building 7 for demolition. This means that Silverstein had ordered Building 7 prepared at least several weeks before 9/11 for demoltion on 9/11. Why? (By Alex Jones, Infowars.com). Full article with video download link=>

“Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq” – Democracy Now!

While Lou Dobbs continues to wave the bloody shirt over illegal immigration and the 24x7 infotainment "news" channels carp about North Korea and Iran, the unprecedented physical theft of personal data by a U.S. intelligence operation to populate Total Information Awareness (TIA) surveillance databases continues unabated. WMR has learned that the FBI has been warned off investigating these thefts. Within the last 24 hours, there have been three additional major thefts of data. (Wayne Madsen Report, June 21, 2006). Full article=>

The rumors about another top GOP member of the House being involved in sexual encounters with young "men for hire" are confirmed to WMR by well-placed sources in Washington's gay community. The member in question is…(Wayne Madsen Report, October 7/8, 2006). Find out who=>

Exiles peddling back-channel intelligence, upstart advocacy groups pressing for regime change, administration hawks intent on remaking the Middle East—the scene in Washington is looking eerily familiar as the Iran standoff grows more tense. Instead of Ahmad Chalabi, we have the likes of Iran-Contra arms-dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar. A new Iran directorate inside the Pentagon features some of the same people who brought you the Iraq intel-cherrypicking operation at the Office of Special Plans. Whether calling for outright regime change or pushing “democracy promotion” initiatives to undermine the Iranian government, an expanding cast of characters has emerged to promote confrontation between the U.S. and Iran. What follows is an abridged list of the individuals and organizations agitating to bring down the mullahs. (By Abram Shulsky, Mother Jones online, October 6, 2006). Full article=>

Keith Olbermann delivered a 'Special Comment' in his Thursday (October 5) evening broadcast on the subject of lying, specifically that committed by members of the Administration, up to and including President Bush. His Thursday 'Special Comment' was among the longest he has produced on his MSNBC show Countdown. A full transcript is available here. "It is startling enough that such things could be said out loud by any President at any time in this nation's history," Olbermann said. "Rhetorically, it is about an inch short of Mr. Bush accusing Democratic leaders, Democrats, the majority of Americans who disagree with his policies, of treason." (RawStory, October 6, 2006). Full article and YouTube video clip=>

John Hancock was probably the leading tax evader in Boston. He was apparently wanted for evading what today would be hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes. He was a very successful merchant and importer, his merchant ships arrived almost daily with goods from abroad, and he hadn’t paid H.M.S. Customs its full tax for decades. Today, we would call him a tax protestor and he would have had a red flag on his tax file. Hancock’s bold signature is a clear reminder that America was founded by tax rebels, and their rebellion eventually gave birth to the United States of America. By Charles Adams, LewRockwell.com, October 7/2006). Full article=>

President Bush, again defying Congress, says he has the power to edit the Homeland Security Department's reports about whether it obeys privacy rules while handling background checks, ID cards and watch lists. In the law Mr.. Bush signed Wednesday, Congress stated no one but the privacy officer could alter, delay or prohibit the mandatory annual report on Homeland Security Department activities that affect privacy, including complaints. But Mr. Bush, in a signing statement attached to the agency's 2007 spending bill, said he will interpret that section "in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive branch." (Associated Press, October 6, 2006. Full article=>

LC Editor's Comment: For a legal opinion on the "President constitutional authority, I went to FindLaw.com and found an article written by Attorney Jennifer Van Bergen. Here it is--

New lawsuits challenge Congress's detainee act

President Bush has yet to sign into law Congress's new terror-detainee legislation, but defense lawyers are already asking federal judges to strike down key parts of the measure as unconstitutional. Two suits were filed this week in US District Court here. At issue: Whether the new antiterror legislation retroactively strips the courts of jurisdiction to hear detainee cases, and if so, would that amount to an unconstitutional suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. (By Warren Richey, Christian Science Monitor, October 6, 2006). Full article=>

Guards at Guantanamo Bay bragged about beating detainees and described it as common practice, a Marine sergeant said in a sworn statement obtained by The Associated Press. (By Thomas Watking, AP, October 6, 2006). Full article=>

My daughter just started high school. This milestone was marked by the arrival in our home of a ream of paperwork. Along with the usual bureaucratic permissions, I found tucked into this package a seemingly innocuous form that carries extraordinary consequences: Failing to fill it out might result in my daughter being harassed, assaulted, or being fast-tracked to fight in Iraq. This form asks us if we want to opt out of having our daughter's contact information sent to the U.S. military. If we overlooked this form, or did not opt out for some reason, our high school is required to forward her information to military recruiters. This is thanks to a stealth provision of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. It turns out that President Bush's supposed signature education law also happens to be the most aggressive military recruitment tool enacted since the draft ended in 1973. (By David Goodman, The SeattleTimes, October 6, 2006). Full article=>

The Fourth Amendment to our Constitution protects Americans against "unreasonable searches and seizures" and against warrants being issued without "probable cause" that they have done something wrong. While most Americans who might be familiar with this portion of our Bill of Rights probably consider its protections to apply only to criminals and therefore of little consequence to them, the Fourth Amendment actually provides vital protection to all Americans, not just "criminals." (By Bob Barr, BobBarr.org, October 4. 2006). Full article=>

There is no week nor day nor hour when tyranny may not enter upon this country - if the people lose their confidence in themselves - and lose their roughness and spirit of defiance.
- Walt Whitman

It was a dark hour indeed last Thursday when the United States Senate voted to end the constitutional republic and transform the country into a "Leader-State," giving the president and his agents the power to capture, torture and imprison forever anyone - American citizens included - whom they arbitrarily decide is an "enemy combatant." This also includes those who merely give "terrorism" some kind of "support," defined so vaguely that many experts say it could encompass legal advice, innocent gifts to charities or even political opposition to US government policy within its draconian strictures.

All of this is bad enough - a sickening and cowardly surrender of liberty not seen in a major Western democracy since the Enabling Act passed by the German Reichstag in March 1933. But it is by no means the full extent of our degradation. In reality, the darkness is deeper, and more foul, than most people imagine. For in addition to the dictatorial powers of seizure and torment given by Congress on Thursday to George W. Bush - powers he had already seized and exercised for five years anyway, even without this fig leaf of sham legality - there is a far more sinister imperial right that Bush has claimed - and used - openly, without any demur or debate from Congress at all: ordering the "extrajudicial killing" of anyone on earth that he and his deputies decide - arbitrarily, without charges, court hearing, formal evidence, or appeal - is an "enemy combatant." That's right; from the earliest days of the Terror War - September 17, 2001, to be exact - Bush has claimed the peremptory power of life and death over the entire world. (By Chris Floyd, Empire Burlesque online, October 3, 2006). Full article=>

A Denver-area man filed a lawsuit today against a member of the Secret Service for causing him to be arrested after he approached Vice President Dick Cheney in Beaver Creek this summer and criticized him for his policies concerning Iraq. (By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News, October 3, 2006. Full article=>

Gold took a beating Tuesday as lack of physical buying and weakness in crude prices proved too much for metal traders to bear. Not even a threat of nuclear tests by North Korea could help boost demand for the metal as a safe haven in times of geopolitical uncertainty. (By Simon Constable, TheStreet.com. October 3, 2005). Full article=>

For many weeks now I have been cautioning that the chances of a significant correction in the Oil market are indeed real. Perhaps I should be careful what I wish for because we have in fact now encountered some stiff headwinds in the Oil market over the past 2 weeks and I have not enjoyed it one bit. As a matter of fact, I have been feeling absolutely miserable of late. However, I do not think that Oil will fall apart. OPEC this week has voiced concerns to this effect saying that they will not allow it to slip under $60 on a sustained basis. (By Merv Burak, SafeHaven.com, October 3, 2006). Full article=>

The bellwether of the cautious establishment press, Bob Woodward, has finally unloaded both barrels on the Bush administration's Iraq policy, in his new book, State of Denial. The media hoopla surrounding the book has focused mainly on the administration's deceptions surrounding the sorry state of affairs in Iraq and Andrew Card's attempts, with the apparent blessing of Laura Bush, to get Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld fired. Neither of these facts is surprising. The real surprise in Woodward's book has received less attention: The Bush administration's main adviser during the war has been Henry Kissinger. Kissinger, according to Woodward's book, apparently has convinced the Bush White House that any troop withdrawals from Iraq will start a wave of public pressure to pull out all U.S. forces from Iraq. (By Ivan Eland, The Emporer Has No Clothes, in AntiWar.com, October 3, 2006). Full article=>

A review of White House records has determined that George J. Tenet, then the director of central intelligence, did brief Condoleezza Rice and other top officials on July 10, 2001, about the looming threat from Al Qaeda, a State Department spokesman said Monday. The account by Sean McCormack came hours after Ms. Rice, the secretary of state, told reporters aboard her airplane that she did not recall the specific meeting on July 10, 2001, noting that she had met repeatedly with Mr. Tenet that summer about terrorist threats. Ms. Rice, the national security adviser at the time, said it was “incomprehensible” she ignored dire terrorist threats two months before the Sept. 11 attacks. Mr. McCormack also said records show that the Sept. 11 commission was informed about the meeting, a fact that former intelligence officials and members of the commission confirmed on Monday. (By Philip Shenon and Mark Mazzetti, The New York Times, October 2, 2006). Full article=>

After being AWOL for over two years, the House Committee on Government Reform finally held a hearing about the botched Iraq reconstruction contracts on Thursday. Although the hearing put some light on a few serious issues, given the context, the hearing was basically a sham, a last-ditch effort to muffle the growing outrage over war profiteering stirred up by Senator Dorgan's series of ten hearings, the recent debut of Iraq for Sale, the mainstream media's growing interest in the Halliburton convoy attacks and daily war profiteering outrages like the recent report that the Lincoln Group received another contract after getting caught paying Iraqi newspapers to plant propaganda. (So much for Bushco's respect for freedom of the press in their ongoing effort to democratize Iraq.). (By Charlie Cray, Huffington Post, October 2, 2006). Full article=>

The New Face of Class War in America as Jobs Leave our Shore

The attacks on middle-class jobs are lending new meaning to the phrase "class war". The ladders of upward mobility are being dismantled. America, the land of opportunity, is giving way to ever deepening polarization between rich and poor. The assault on jobs predates the Bush regime. However, the loss of middle-class jobs has become particularly intense in the 21st century, and, like other pressing problems, has been ignored by President Bush, who is focused on waging war in the Middle East and building a police state at home. The lives and careers that are being lost to the carnage of a gratuitous war in Iraq are paralleled by the economic destruction of careers, families, and communities in the U.S.A. (By Paul Craig Roberts, CounterPunch online, October 1, 2006). Full article=>

Gas prices manipulated for political advantage... Bernie Ebbers is now in jail, but what about the big banks that abbetted fraud? Bakcdating options scandal continues... Lust for war in the east fueled by the blood of american soldiers.... The retail price of gasoline rose by $0.50, or 17% nationwide over the past month to $2.38 a gallon, and 42% of Americans believe Bush and the oil companies are manipulating the price for political advantage, and they are right. Actually gasoline has fallen from $3.18 to $2.38 or $0.80 a gallon, which is 25%. The White House says if that is so why doesn’t gas go to $3.50 a gallon? Our answer is to enrich the oil producers and the international oil cartel. The Gulf producers are also recycling much of their ill-gotten gains into Treasury securities to keep the US from going bankrupt. In addition in trouble auto manufactures will again sell more SUV’s and light trucks – a high profit center. (The International Forecaster online). Full article=>

The probability of another war in the Middle East is high. Only time will tell if the horrors of further warfare is to fully materialize. Even then, the shape of a war is still undecided in terms of its outcome. If war is to be waged or not against Iran and Syria, there is still the undeniable build-up and development of measures that confirm a process of military deployment and preparation for war. The diplomatic forum also seems to be pointing to the possibility of war. The decisions being made, the preparations being taken, and the military maneuvers that are unfolding on the geo-strategic chessboard are projecting a prognosis and forecast towards the direction of mobilization for some form of conflict in the Middle East. (By Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, GlobalResearch.ca, October 1, 2006). Full article=>

Iran is bracing itself for an expected American-led air campaign. The latter is in the advanced stages of military planning. If there were to be war between the United States and Iran, the aerial campaign would unleash fierce combat. It would be fully interactive on multiple fronts. It would be a difficult battle involving active movement in the air from both sides. If war were to occur, the estimates of casualties envisaged by American and British war planners would be high. The expected wave of aerial attacks would resemble the tactics of the Israeli air-war against Lebanon and would follow the same template, but on a larger scale of execution. (By Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, GlobalResearch.ca, September 21, 2006). Full article=>

Retired Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner is video-interviewed by INN World Report on the probability of air strikes on Iran and the likely consequences. (INN WorldReport.com, September 30, 2006). Click here to access streaming video interview=>

As reports circulate of a sharp debate within the White House over possible US military action against Iran and its nuclear enrichment facilities, The Nation has learned that the Bush Administration and the Pentagon have moved up the deployment of a major "strike group" of ships, including the nuclear aircraft carrier Eisenhower as well as a cruiser, destroyer, frigate, submarine escort and supply ship, to head for the Persian Gulf, just off Iran's western coast. This information follows a report in the current issue of Time magazine, both online and in print, that a group of ships capable of mining harbors has received orders to be ready to sail for the Persian Gulf by October 1. (By Dave Lendorff, The Nation, September 21, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Lendolrff states, “According to Lieut. Mike Kafka, a spokesman at the headquarters of the Second Fleet, based in Norfolk, Virginia, the Eisenhower Strike Group, bristling with Tomahawk cruise missiles, has received recent orders to depart the United States in a little over a week. Other official sources in the public affairs office of the Navy Department at the Pentagon confirm that this powerful armada is scheduled to arrive off the coast of Iran on or around October 21.”

Air-target planners orchestrate strikes on the basis of desired target destruction criteria. In the case of an attack on Iran, after five nights of bombing, we can be relatively certain of target destruction. It is even possible to project the degree to which parts of the Iranian nuclear program would be set back. For example, using Web pictures of the Natanz enrichment facility, it is possible to see three years worth of construction. An attack on that construction might appear to set the program back three years. (By Sam Gardiner, Colonel, USAF (Ret.) The Century Foundation, 9/19/2006). Full article=>

US may accept Iranian nuclear bomb

America is going to have to learn to live with a nuclear Iran, US intelligence analysts have concluded at a secret meeting near Washington. Senior operatives and outside experts from the intelligence community were almost unanimous in their view that little could be done to stop Iran acquiring the components for a nuclear bomb, The Sunday Times has learnt. (By Sarah Baxter, The Times Online, October 1, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The U.S. may or it may not accept Iran having a nuclear (peaceful or not) program!

It should come as no surprise if the Bush Administration undertakes a preemptive war against Iran sometime before the November election. Were these more normal times, this would be a stunning possibility, quickly dismissed by thoughtful people as dangerous, unprovoked, and out of keeping with our national character. But we do not live in normal times. And we do not have a government much concerned with our national character. If anything, our current Administration is out to remake our national character into something it has never been.

The steps will be these: Air Force tankers will be deployed to fuel B-2 bombers, Navy cruise missile ships will be positioned at strategic points in the northern Indian Ocean and perhaps the Persian Gulf, unmanned drones will collect target data, and commando teams will refine those data. The latter two steps are already being taken.

Then the president will speak on national television. He will say this: Iran is determined to develop nuclear weapons; if this happens, the entire region will go nuclear; our diplomatic efforts to prevent this have failed; Iran is offering a haven to known al Qaeda leaders; the fate of our ally Israel is at stake; Iran persists in supporting terrorism, including in Iraq; and sanctions will have no affect (and besides they are for sissies). He will not say: ...and besides, we need the oil.

Therefore, he will announce, our own national security and the security of the region requires us to act. "Tonight, I have ordered the elimination of all facilities in Iran that are dedicated to the production of weapons of mass destruction....." In the narrowest terms this includes perhaps two dozen targets. (By Gary Hart, The Huffington Post, September 23, 2006) Full aticle=>

BLITZER: How likely is the U.S. strike against Iran? And would it lead to all-out war? Joining us now is retired U.S. Air Force colonel Sam Gardiner. He has taught strategy and military operations at the National War College, the Air War College, and the Naval War College. Colonel thanks very much for coming in. He just prepared a paper for the Century Foundation entitled “Considering the U.S. Military Option For Iran.” You speak to a lot of people plugged in. What is your bottom line? How close in your opinion is the Bush Administration to giving that go ahead.

GARDINER: It’s been given. In fact, we’ve probably been executing military operations inside Iran for at least 18 months. The evidence is overwhelming

BLITZER: When you say it’s been given. The president says he wants diplomacy to work to convince the Iranian government to stop enriching uranium, not go forward. “I would tell the Iranian people that we have no desire for conflict.” He told David Ignatius of the Washington Post the other day. So what does that mean, the order has been given?

GARDINER: We are conducting military operations inside Iran right now. The evidence is overwhelming. From both the Iranians, Americans, and from congressional sources.

Intelligence and military sources in the United States and abroad are reporting on various factors that indicate a U.S. military hit on Iranian nuclear and military installations, that may involve tactical nuclear weapons, is in the final stages of preparation. Likely targets for saturation bombing are the Bushehr nuclear power plant (where Russian and other foreign national technicians are present), a uranium mining site in Saghand near the city of Yazd, the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, a heavy water plant and radioisotope facility in Arak, the Ardekan Nuclear Fuel Unit, the Uranium Conversion Facility and Nuclear Technology Center in Isfahan, the Tehran Nuclear Research Center, the Tehran Molybdenum, Iodine and Xenon Radioisotope Production Facility, the Tehran Jabr Ibn Hayan Multipurpose Laboratories, the Kalaye Electric Company in the Tehran suburbs, a reportedly dismantled uranium enrichment plant in Lashkar Abad, and the Radioactive Waste Storage Units in Karaj and Anarak. (By Wayne Madsen, Wayne Madsen Report, April 28, 2006). Full article=>

The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack. Current and former American military and intelligence officials said that Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets, and teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups. The officials say that President Bush is determined to deny the Iranian regime the opportunity to begin a pilot program, planned for this spring, to enrich uranium.

American and European intelligence agencies, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.), agree that Iran is intent on developing the capability to produce nuclear weapons.* But there are widely differing estimates of how long that will take, and whether diplomacy, sanctions, or military action is the best way to prevent it. Iran insists that its research is for peaceful use only, in keeping with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and that it will not be delayed or deterred. (By Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker, April 8, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: *In fact, IAEA reports that Iran is in compliance with Nuclear Profliferation Treaty rules and can find no evidence of Iran’s working on or planning to work on a nuclear weapons program or attempting to produce or import the highly enriched uranium needed to make nuclear weapons.

In Washington it is hardly a secret that the same people in and around the administration who brought you Iraq are preparing to do the same for Iran.

The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States. The plan includes a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons. Within Iran there are more than 450 major strategic targets, including numerous suspected nuclear-weapons-program development sites.

Many of the targets are hardened or are deep underground and could not be taken out by conventional weapons, hence the nuclear option. As in the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on Iran actually being involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States. Several senior Air Force officers involved in the planning are reportedly appalled at the implications of what they are doing—that Iran is being set up for an unprovoked nuclear attack—but no one is prepared to damage his career by posing any objections. (By Phil Giraldi, American Conservative, August 2, 2005). Full article=>

U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law a new set of sanctions (Iran Freedom Support Act (H.R.6198-IH))* targeting foreign countries that continue nuclear cooperation with Iran and sell it advanced weaponry. "I applaud Congress for demonstrating its bipartisan commitment to confronting the Iranian regime's repressive and destabilizing activities by passing the Iran Freedom Support Act," Bush said in a statement. Mindful of the situation in Iraq lawmakers warned that nothing in this document should be "construed as authorizing the use of force against Iran." Although it does not name any countries, the measure is seen as a clear warning to Russia and China, two permanent members of the UN Security Council that have resisted calls for new international sanctions against Tehran in response to its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. Russia is involved in an 800-million-dollar project to help Iran build a nuclear power plant in Bushehr and sells it modern weaponry. China has been accused of supplying the Islamic republic with advanced missile technology.

LC Editor’s Comments: The relevant part of this Act* states “Mandatory Sanctions with Respect to Development of Weapons of Mass Destruction or Other Military Capabilities – The President shall impose two or more of the sanctions described in paragraphs (1) through (6) of section 6 (of H.R.3107- The Iran and Lybia Sanctions Act of 1996) if the President determines that a person has, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, exported , transferred, or otherwise provided to Iran any goods, services, technology, or other items knowing that the provision of such goods, services, technology, or other items would contribute materially to the ability of Iran to (1) acquire or develop chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons or related technologies**;’ or (2) acquire or develop destabilizing numbers and types of advanced conventional weapons.”

** Iran is currently working on a program designed to develop production methods for enriching raw uranium (raising the concentration of its fissionable isotope U-235) moderately to permit the end product to be used as fuel for the several nuclear electric power generation reactors. Iran has one reactor under construction now (at Bushehr) and plans to build several more in the future. Nuclear experts acknowledge that the same methods, which are based to utilizing hundreds or even thousands of centrifuges to separate uranium hexafluoride gas into its isotopes, could in principle be used to produce the very highly enriched uranium needed to manufacture nuclear weapons. The Bush administration asserts --- without offering proof to back up its claim --- that Iran is secretly producing, or intends to produce in the very near future, weapons grade uranium using these methods and then use it to build bombs with which it will intimidate and dominate its neighbors, including Israel, in the Middle East. For this reason, the Bush administration insists before the world community, Iran must either voluntarily cease all enrichment activities, which it has refused to do thus far, or the U.S. will take the necessary steps to prevent from continuing on with its enrichment program. The Iran Freedom Support Act warns all nations that would normally sell Iran any equipment it needs to continue on with its enrichment program with the imposition of severe economic sanctions were they to do so.

Making threats and imposing sanctions is such a bad way of making friends and influencing people.

A video report from CNN's Jack Cafferty says that buried deep within the pending plan to create military tribunals for those suspected of terrorism is amnesty for present U.S. officials. He said that President Bush "is trying to pardon himself" with the plan, which is in the last stage of congressional endorsement and next will go to the president's desk. (WorldNetDaily.com, September 30, 2006) Full article->

LC Editor’s Comment: Read the bill (H.R. 6166-IH) to confirm this claim for yourself

With the final passage through Congress of the detainee treatment bill, President Bush achieved a signal victory Friday, shoring up with legislation his determined campaign against terrorism in the face of challenges from critics and the courts. Rather than reining in the formidable presidential powers that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have asserted since Sept. 11, 2001, the law gives some of those powers a solid statutory foundation. In effect it allows the president to identify enemies, imprison them indefinitely and interrogate them -- albeit with a ban on the harshest treatment -- beyond the reach of the full court reviews traditionally afforded criminal defendants and ordinary prisoners. (By Scott Shane and Adam Liptak, New York Times, September 30, 2006). Full article=>

I have been told a thousand times at least, in the years I have spent reporting on the astonishing and repugnant abuses, lies and failures of the Bush administration, to watch my back. "Be careful," people always tell me. "These people are capable of anything. Stay off small planes, make sure you aren't being followed." A running joke between my mother and me is that she has a "safe room" set up for me in her cabin in the woods, in the event I have to flee because of something I wrote or said. I always laughed and shook my head whenever I heard this stuff. Extreme paranoia wrapped in the tinfoil of conspiracy, I thought. This is still America, and these Bush fools will soon pass into history, I thought. I am a citizen, and the First Amendment hasn't yet been red-lined, I thought… Matters are different now. (By William Rivers, Pitt, September 29, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Who would have ever thought that even plain vanilla Americans would ever have to be concerned about having their phones tapped by the feds or ski-masked police snatching them from their homes in the middle of the night, never to be seen again? The good old U.S. of A has sure gone to the dogs since the Bushes moved into the White House, hasn’t it?

On September 11, 1973, Gen. Augusto Pinochet headed a military coup that overthrew the democratically-elected government of President Salvador Allende. Chile at that time was one of the world's oldest constitutional democracies. In the months that followed, in a round up of "terrorists", Chilean military and intelligence officers arrested 30,000 Chileans and some foreign nationals. Virtually all were tortured, and 3,000 "disappeared", many dumped alive from military aircraft into the Pacific Ocean. The Junta's secret police also sought out its critics abroad, a few weeks later blowing up the former Ambassador, Orlando Letelier, in his car as he drove through downtown Washington, DC.

In the years that followed, "President" Pinochet ruled through emergency "anti-terrorism" decrees, before he retired as a Senator for life. Before he left the presidential palace, however, the General assured himself that he would never be brought to trial for his crimes. While the country was still effectively controlled by the military Junta he headed, the runner-stamp legislature passed laws granting amnesty to those officials who had committed torture and murder during the "state of exception" to constitutional rule. The amnesty laws also granted lifetime "legislative immunity" to members of Parliament, including, of course, Senator Pincochet.

Even though Spain, France and several other countries had issued warrants for Pinochet's role in commanding the murder of their citizens in Chile following the coup, Pinochet travelled the world in luxury and, he thought, security from arrest. As former "head of state", most countries would not touch him. But, that changed in 1998, when during a visit to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and other Right-wing friends in Britain, he was detained on an extradition request from Spain.

After a long court battle, a three-member Court of the House of Lords, the highest appellate tribunal in the UK, found that Pinochet's claims to immunity as former head of state and to legislative immunity were invalid in the face of charges of violation of international laws against genocide, torture and crimes against humanity. The Blair Government ended up sending him back to Chile, where the new democratic government and courts stripped his immunity, and placed Pinochet, now 87 years old, under indefinite house arrest.

There should be a lesson here for Bush and the GOP Congress. While you might believe today that you can legalize torture and other crimes against humanity, some day they will come for you. Power does not trump the law forever. You are naked before the world, and it's only a matter of time. (By Mark G. Levey, Opinion in Scoop Independent News {NZ}, September 29, 2006). Full article=>

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who is defending President Bush's anti-terrorism tactics in multiple court battles, said Friday that federal judges should not substitute their personal views for the president's judgments in wartime. He said the Constitution makes the president commander in chief and the Supreme Court has long recognized the president's pre-eminent role in foreign affairs. "The Constitution, by contrast, provides the courts with relatively few tools to superintend military and foreign policy decisions, especially during wartime," the attorney general told a conference on the judiciary at Georgetown University Law Center…. "Respectfully, when courts issue decisions that overturn long-standing traditions or policies without proper support in text or precedent, they cannot — and should not — be shielded from criticism," Gonzales said. "A proper sense of judicial humility requires judges to keep in mind the institutional limitations of the judiciary and the duties expressly assigned by the Constitution to the more politically accountable branches."…

Gonzales has sent Justice Department lawyers into federal courts from coast to coast defending Bush's detention of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, his plans to try some of them before military tribunals and his use of the National Security Agency to wiretap Americans without court warrants when they communicate with suspected terrorists abroad. Over administration objections, the Supreme Court ordered that detainees could challenge aspects of their imprisonment in federal courts and overturned Bush's plans for military tribunals, forcing Bush to ask Congress to approve a new version of the panels. (USA Today, September 29, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The judiciary has been a thorn in the side of Mr. Gonzales as he sought time and time again to utilize the nation’s “war on terror” to provide legal justification for the Bush administration’s assuming authority beyond that specifically delegated to the President by the U.S. Constitution. Clearly nettled by federal judges rulings against the Bush administration on matters of NSA spying on American citizens and treatment of detainees, Mr. Gonzales, after having just rushed corrective legislation through Congress, was, in effect, saying to the community of federal judges: Shut up on matters concerning the wartime authority of the President Bush He is our wartime president, and the legislation Congress has just rushed through, passed and sent on to him for his signature affirms that he is “the decider” in these matters.

Congress has eased the worries of CIA interrogators and senior administration officials by granting them immunity from U.S. criminal prosecutions for all but "grave" abuses of terrorism detainees. But legislation passed Friday may not leave them entirely in the clear. International legal experts said the measure is meaningless overseas, where international courts theoretically could still prosecute alleged violations of anti-torture treaties. The same experts concede such prosecutions are highly unlikely - but not because there's no evidence of wrongdoing. Instead, they predict American economic, military and political power will deter any country from allowing the cases to proceed. (By Greg Gordon and Marisa Taylor, McClatchy Newspapers, September 29, 2006). Full article=>

Buried amongst the untold affronts to the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and the very spirit of America, the torture bill contains a definition of "wrongfully aiding the enemy" which labels all American citizens who breach their "allegiance" to President Bush and the actions of his government as terrorists subject to possible arrest, torture and conviction in front of a military tribunal. After five hours of searching through the 80-plus page bill (H.R.6166-IH), Alex Jones, who won the 2004 Project Censored award for his analysis of Patriot Act 2, uncovered numerous other provisions and definitions that make the bill appear as almost a mirror image of Hitler's 1933 Enabling Act. (By Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones, PrisonPlanet.com, September 29, 2006). Full article=>

Internet gambling ban added to U.S. port security bill

Congress was pushing on Friday to finish legislation that would boost security at U.S. ports, but at the last minute lawmakers added provisions to prohibit Internet gambling. Rushing to finish their work by the weekend to go home and campaign for elections in which control of Congress is at stake, lawmakers were linking up unrelated measures in an effort to get them approved. The House passed an Internet gambling ban earlier this summer, but the bill had difficulty moving in the Senate. However it was a priority of Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, and attaching it to the popular port security bill appeared aimed at insuring its passage. (By Susan Cornwell, Reuters, September 29, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: A ban? What happened? Didn’t the internet gambling lobby ante up enough?

"The secret of mind control is to change people outside of their awareness so they do your bidding without realizing that that's what they're doing.”. Think you know what you're doing? Think again. You don't know half the story. And when you learn it, you'll realize that what you don't know CAN hurt you. Can you say pat-sy? This is a streaming video presentation. (At WakeUpFromYourSlumber.blogspot.com, September 29, 2006). Click here=>

Pakistan hands hundreds of suspects to US for money: report

Pakistani authorities have illegally sent hundreds of Pakistanis and foreigners to prisons or handed them to the United States for money, said a report released Friday by Amnesty International. "Bounty hunters, including police officers and local people, have captured individuals of different nationalities, often apparently at random, and sold them into U.S. custody," said Claudio Cordone, the senior director of research at the human rights organization. (CBC Radio, September 29, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: I wonder how many of these suspects become trophies for CIA interrogation agents and jailers out to meet arrest quotas, if they even exist, don’t you?

Henry Kissinger has been advising President Bush and Vice President Cheney about Iraq, telling them that "victory is the only meaningful exit strategy," author and journalist Bob Woodward said. The Washington Post editor's third book on the Bush administration, "State of Denial," comes out next week. (Associated Press, September 29, 2006). Full article=>

The "horror of the shrieking boys" gets a rubber stamp from the boot-licking U.S. Congress & Senate as America officially becomes a dictatorship

Slamming the final nail in the coffin of everything America used to stand for, the boot-licking U.S. Senate last night gave President Bush the legal authority to abduct and sexually mutilate American citizens and American children in the name of the war on terror. There is nothing in the "detainee" legislation that protects American citizens from being kidnapped by their own government and tortured. Yale Law Professor Bruce Ackerman states in the L.A. Times, "The compromise legislation....authorizes the president to seize American citizens as enemy combatants, even if they have never left the United States. And once thrown into military prison, they cannot expect a trial by their peers or any other of the normal protections of the Bill of Rights.". (By Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, September 29, 2006). Full article=>

The military trials bill approved by Congress lends legislative support for the first time to broad rules for the detention, interrogation, prosecution and trials of terrorism suspects far different from those in the familiar American criminal justice system. President Bush's argument that the government requires extraordinary power to respond to the unusual threat of terrorism helped him win final support for a system of military trials with highly truncated defendant's rights. The United States used similar trials on just four occasions: during the country's revolution, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War and World War II.

Included in the bill, passed by Republican majorities in the Senate yesterday and the House on Wednesday, are unique rules that bar terrorism suspects from challenging their detention or treatment through traditional habeas corpus petitions. They allow prosecutors, under certain conditions, to use evidence collected through hearsay or coercion to seek criminal convictions. The bill rejects the right to a speedy trial and limits the traditional right to self-representation by requiring that defendants accept military defense attorneys. Panels of military officers need not reach unanimous agreement to win convictions, except in death penalty cases, and appeals must go through a second military panel before reaching a federal civilian court. (By R. Jeffrey Smith, the Washiington Post, September 29, 2006). Full article=>

Phone companies shield may be added to security bill

A provision that would shield telephone companies from liability for providing call records to help the U.S. government track terrorists may be added to a port security bill, U.S. Senate sources told Reuters on Friday. Lawmakers were rushing to finish legislation to boost security at American seaports before going home this weekend to campaign for November congressional elections. The House and Senate had a tentative agreement on the port safety provisions, but the bill was attracting last-minute amendments. Republican sources said Alaskan Sen. Ted Stevens was considering adding liability protections for phone companies that assist with President George W. Bush's warrantless domestic spying program, called the Terrorist Surveillance Program. (By Susan Cornell, Reuters, September 29, 2006). Full article=>

Congress may give the president the power to lock up almost anyone he thinks is a terror threat.

BURIED IN THE complex Senate compromise on detainee treatment is a real shocker, reaching far beyond the legal struggles about foreign terrorist suspects in the Guantanamo Bay fortress. The compromise legislation, which is racing toward the White House, authorizes the president to seize American citizens as enemy combatants, even if they have never left the United States. And once thrown into military prison, they cannot expect a trial by their peers or any other of the normal protections of the Bill of Rights.

This dangerous compromise not only authorizes the president to seize and hold terrorists who have fought against our troops "during an armed conflict," it also allows him to seize anybody who has "purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States." This grants the president enormous power over citizens and legal residents. They can be designated as enemy combatants if they have contributed money to a Middle Eastern charity, and they can be held indefinitely in a military prison.

Not to worry, say the bill's defenders. The president can't detain somebody who has given money innocently, just those who contributed to terrorists on purpose. But other provisions of the bill call even this limitation into question. What is worse, if the federal courts support the president's initial detention decision, ordinary Americans would be required to defend themselves before a military tribunal without the constitutional guarantees provided in criminal trials. (By Bruce Ackerman, Professor of Law and Political Pcience at Yale, in the Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2006). Full article=>

The House voted Thursday to impose mandatory sanctions on entities that provide goods or services for Iran’s weapons program*. The vote came as U.S diplomats continued to press the U. N Security Council. House sponsors of the Iran Freedom Support Act (H.R.6198-IH) said they expected the Senate to act quickly on the measure, sending it to President Bush for his signature this week. The bill, passed by a voice vote, sanctions any entity that contributes to Iran's ability to acquire chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. The president has the authority to waive those sanctions, but only when he can show that it is in the vital national interest. (Jim Abram, Associated Press, September 28, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comments: Freedom support? What freedom? Since when is imposing sanctions an act of freedom? Oh, I get it! In the Bushonian Newspeak Dictionary, the word freedom means oppression or control, depending on the context in which it is used.

What about Iran’s weapons program? * Is news story alluding to the nuclear weapons program Bush administration swears up and down and every which-way ----without having one lick of evidence to support its claim ---- Iran has up and running now and which (according to the Bush administration) will soon produce nuclear bombs that will threaten the peace in the Middle East and perhaps even the world?

Probably so, but the truth is that Iran is not running a nuclear weapons program, according to inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Rather it is attempting to devise means for producing the mildly enriched uranium it will need to fire up and continue to fuel the nuclear-powered electricity generating plant currently under construction. IAEA’s nuclear experts, who periodically inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities to confirm their compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, have known this fact for years.

Yet President Bush continues repeat to the world his false story about Iran’s nuclear program, confident that the American people -- just as they did when the White House set its crosshairs on Iraq and then drummed into them that Saddam was hiding weapons of mass destruction, although there were no WNDs, until they supported Mr. Bush’s attacking that weak and poorly defended nation -- will authorize him to bomb Iran for the purpose of destroying its (non-existent) nuclear weapons production capability.

Yesterday I explained that the definition of "unlawful enemy combatant" (UEC) in the latest draft of the detainee bill was so ridiculously broad and open-ended that it could not possibly be intended to establish the authority of the Executive to militarily detain all persons so defined.

But it appears I underestimated the gall and recklessness of the Administration and Congress, because there seems to be a fairly widespread understanding that the definition would do just that. Even Human Rights First seems to agree that "unlawful enemy combatants" would be subject to indefinite detention.

Most of the attention in the press has focused on subsection (i) of the definition, which would designate as an UEC any "person who has engaged in hostilities or who has purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States or its co-belligerents who is not a lawful enemy combatant (including a person who is part of the Taliban, al Qaeda, or associated forces)." And that subsection is, indeed, broad, and fairly indeterminate, depending on how "materially supported hostilities" is interpreted (something that the Administration apparently could do without much or any judicial review).

But the really breathtaking subsection is subsection (ii), which would provide that UEC is defined to include any person "who, before, on, or after the date of the enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, has been determined to be an unlawful enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal or another competent tribunal established under the authority of the President or the Secretary of Defense." (Professor Marty Balkin, Yale University Law School, September 27, 2006). Full article=>

Given all the glorification being bestowed on three U.S. senators for displaying “principle” in standing against President Bush’s plan to amend the Geneva Convention to permit torture of detainees, followed by their quick compromise abandoning any semblance of principle, it is easy to lose sight of something much bigger: The military tribunals that the president and the Congress are set to approve will constitute the most radical, dangerous, and disgraceful transformation in the U.S. criminal-justice system since our nation’s inception. (By Jacob G. Hornberger, The Future Freedom Foundation, September 27, 2006). Full article=>

Bush 'super-state' agenda to create American Union is now official

Journalist Jerome Corsi has received the first documents pertaining to a FOIA request asking for full disclosure of the SPP office in its activities towards creating a Pan American Union. According to a report by World Net Daily, the documents reveal that the Bush administration is running a "shadow government" without congressional oversight in conjunction with Canada and Mexico under the guise of a program "to increase security and to enhance prosperity among the three countries through greater cooperation." Corsi asserts that a wide range of US administrative law is being re-written in stealth under this program to "integrate" and "harmonize" with administrative law in Mexico and Canada.

The documents contain references to upwards of 13 working groups within an entire organized infrastructure that has drawn from officials within most areas of administrative government including U.S. departments of State, Homeland Security, Commerce, Treasury, Agriculture, Transportation, Energy, Health and Human Services, and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Corsi has further reported that at a recent high-level confab in Banff, an assistant U.S. secretary of state, Thomas A. Shannon , chaired a panel that featured a presentation by Prof. Robert Pastor, author of a book promoting the development of a North American union as a regional government and the adoption of the amero as a common monetary currency to replace the dollar and the peso. (By Steve Watson, Paul Watson & Alex Jones, Infowars.net, September 28, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor's Comment: This is a blockbuster article! If reading it does not enrage you, please pull out the thermometer from your first aid kit and check your temperature with it and also check your pulse rate while you are at it --- You might find that you're actually dead! From Don McLean's American Pie----" I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died"

The "horror of the shrieking boys" gets a rubber stamp from the boot-licking U.S. Congress & Senate as America officially becomes a dictatorship

Congress may give the president the power to lock up almost anyone he thinks is a terror threat.

Phone companies shield may be added to security bill

Bush 'super-state' agenda to create American Union is now official

The House voted Thursday to impose mandatory sanctions on entities that provide goods or services for Iran’s weapons program*. The vote came as U.S diplomats continued to press the U. N Security Council. House sponsors of the Iran Freedom Support Act said they expected the Senate to act quickly on the measure, sending it to President Bush for his signature this week. The bill, passed by a voice vote, sanctions any entity that contributes to Iran's ability to acquire chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. The president has the authority to waive those sanctions, but only when he can show that it is in the vital national interest. (Jim Abram, Associated Press, September 28, 2006). Full article=>

The Senate on Thursday endorsed President Bush's plans to prosecute and interrogate terror suspects, all but sealing congressional approval for legislation that Republicans intend to use on the campaign trail to assert their toughness on terrorism. The 65-34 vote means the bill could reach the president's desk by week's end. The House passed nearly identical legislation on Wednesday and was expected to approve the Senate bill on Friday, sending it on to the White House. (By Ann Plummer Flaherty, AP, September 28, 2006). Full article=>

Fewer adults in the United States believe their government’s handling of the coalition effort has been adequate, according to a poll by Harris Interactive. Only 20 per cent of respondents are confident that U.S. policies in Iraq will be successful, down nine points in two years. (By Angus Reid Global Monitory, September 28, 2006). Full article=>

In developing its nuclear program Iran is using strategies that allowed its enemy Israel to assemble the Middle East's only atomic arsenal without admitting it had one, according to a leading expert on the Israeli program. "Whether deliberately or inadvertently, there are elements of resemblance between the way Iran is pursuing its nuclear program today and the way Israel was pursuing its own program in the 1960s," Avner Cohen, author of a landmark study entitled "Israel and the Bomb," in a telephone interview. (By Bernd Debusmann, Reuters, September 27, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: PROPAGANDA! Karl Rove is doing again what he gets paid to do for President Bush, which is to manipulate public opinion through effective utilization of the news media. Many people agree that President Bush wants to bomb Iran so much he can hardly stand it. But to do this now he needs more support from the American people than he has been able to obtain by simply asserting that Iran’s nuclear program is dedicated to producing nuclear weapons rather than a capability for nuclear electrical power generation. The problem Mr. Bush faces is that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly and thoroughly inspected all of Iran’s nuclear facilities and, on that basis, has given Iran a clean bill of health: IAEA has found no hard evidence that Iran’s nuclear personnel are currently working on producing the very highly enriched uranium needed to produced nuclear weapons.

Here’s where this Reuters’ article comes to the rescue of Messrs. Bush and Rove. It states that the author of a “landmark study” asserts Iran is using the highly effective strategies Israel employed to completely hide the building of its nuclear weapons arsenal from the eyes of the world. You are to believe that since the IAEA was unable to find any hard evidence of Iran’s attempting to make weapons’ grade uranium, Iran must be in the process of producing weapons grade enriched uranium and successfully hiding evidence of it from IAEA’s inspectors. Don’t believe this left-handed logic!

The US House of Representatives passed a controversial bill setting out the rules for the detention, treatment and military prosecution of "war on terror" suspects, virtually assuring it will become law. After a few hours of debate, the bill, which critics say violates human and constitutional rights, was passed in a 253-168 vote*. The Republican majority had blocked opposition Democrats from presenting any amendment…Since the detention camp opened in 2001, after the September 11 terrorist attacks, not one of the several hundred prisoners has been afforded a trial. The draft law authorizes special military tribunals to prosecute the Guantanamo detainees, allows for secret CIA-run prisons and forbids "cruel and unusual" punishment of detainees -- without further clarification of what falls in that category. Detainees would be deprived of all legal recourse to protest the conditions of their detention. (AFP, September 27, 2006). Full article=>

The House approved legislation Wednesday giving the Bush administration authority to interrogate and prosecute terrorism detainees, moving President Bush to the edge of a pre-election victory with a key piece of his anti-terror plan. The mostly party-line 253-168 vote in the Republican-run House prompted bitter charges afterward by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R- Ill., that opposition Democrats were coddling terrorists**, perhaps foreshadowing campaign attack ads to come. Democrats responded that the GOP leader was trying to provoke fear…

During the often partisan debate, some Democrats contended the bill would approve torture. "All Americans want to hold terrorists accountable, but if we try to redefine the nature of torture, whisk people into secret detention facilities and use secret evidence to convict them in special courts, our actions do in fact embolden our enemies," said Rep. Jim Moran, D- Va. Others vehemently opposed language that would give the president wide latitude to interpret international standards of prisoner treatment and bar detainees from going to federal court to protest their treatment and detention under the right of habeas corpus*. Supporters of the bill have said eliminating habeas corpus was intended to keep detainees from flooding federal courts with appeals***. (By Ann Plummer Flaherty, AP, September 27, 2006). Full article=>

*Habeas corpus is the name of a legal instrument or writ by means of which detainees can seek release from unlawful imprisonment. A writ of habeas corpus is a court order addressed to a prison official (or other custodian) ordering that a detainee be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully and whether or not he or she should be released from custody. The writ of habeas corpus in common law countries is an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action.

***LC Editor’s Comment: Let’s not burden those poor overworked, underpaid federal judges (who will never have to wear orange prison suits and kneel all day under the sweltering sun at Guantanamo knowing that they are innocent of any wrong doing and just turned out to be at the wrong place at the wrong time) by requiring them to work full, 8-hour days. .

Alex Jones was joined on air yesterday by a former Sergeant in the United States Army named Lauro "LJ" Chavez. Chavez was stationed at MacDill AFB where he claims he witnessed unusual preparations for a potential airplane hitting the base on the morning of 9/11 and distinctly heard officers talking about a stand down. This has led him to go public in questioning the NORAD stand down and the demolition of the twin towers. In a letter that first appeared on the 9/11 Veterans For Truth Website, Sergeant Lauro "LJ" Chavez responds to a Cincinnati Post hit piece article by outlining his own doubts about the official version of 9/11 and his personal experiences of the strange prelude to the events of that morning. (By Steve Watson, Infowars, September 26, 2006). Full article=>

Lauro Chavez sent us an email today clarifying some issues that have been raised since he appeared on the Alex Jones show on Monday:

By September 2002 every would-be mover and shaker in our nation's capital knew that Gulf War II would begin shortly after President Bush could claim, however implausibly, that international "diplomacy" had failed to get Saddam Hussein to give up his pursuit of nuclear weapons. Many of them knew that Saddam had given up his pursuit of nukes a decade earlier. Worse, many of them knew that Gulf War II had already secretly begun, months before, with Operation Southern Focus, a massive preemptive, "suppressive" air assault against more than 400 "key" targets in Iraq, some of them military. That massive air assault – a war crime, if unauthorized – began before Bush even sought the "fig leaf" protection of a congressional or Security Council authorization to use U.S. armed forces if necessary to "disarm" Saddam.

Now, September 2006, every would-be mover and shaker in our nation's capital knows that Gulf War III will begin shortly after President Bush can claim, however implausibly, that international "diplomacy" has failed to get the Iranian mullahs to give up their pursuit of nuclear weapons. Many of them know that there is no "indication" that the mullahs have ever had a nuclear weapons program. Worse, many – perhaps all – of them know that Gulf War II was never about nukes. (By Gordon Prather*, Antiwar.com, September 26, 2006). Full article=>

*Physicist James Gordon Prather has served as a policy implementing official for national security-related technical matters in the Federal Energy Agency, the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Department of Energy, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of the Army.

LC Editor’s Comment: Not to worry, my friends, about the safety of Mr. President and Mr. Cheney when the nuclear cloud that arises from Mr. Bush’s leveling of Iran with nuclear weapons hangs over the U.S. like a death shroud. For when President Bush authorizes the nuking of Iran, he and Mr. Cheney and their families will no doubt be snuggled safely away in the vice-president’s, well-stocked, air-filtered bunker beneath his home at the Navy Observatory in Washington. And as for the rest of us, ladies and gentlemen, you do have your bottles of water, your duct tape and flashlights (with extra batteries) and your bags of dried pinto beans and rice already purchased and ready for use, don’t you?

“The United States is committed to the world-wide elimination of torture,” George W. Bush explained in a June 2003 speech, “and we are leading this fight by example.” Oh, the irony! Intriguingly, at the time he seemed to have a good grasp of the relevant issues. “Freedom from torture,” he said, “is an inalienable human right.” True. “The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, ratified by the United States and more than 130 other countries since 1984, forbids governments from deliberately inflicting severe physical or mental pain or suffering on those within their custody or control.” Also true. And lastly, a straightforward recognition of who the torturers of the world are, and why they do it: “Yet torture continues to be practiced around the world by rogue regimes whose cruel methods match their determination to crush the human spirit.”

Last week, we learned that among those spirit-crushing rogue regimes was the government of the United States of America, which is now “leading by example” in the field of hair-splitting and wink-nod authorizations of torture. Thanks to the recent “compromise” between the hard-core torturers in the Bush administration and “moderate” Republican torture opponents, we continue to live in a country that does not officially endorse the infliction of “severe pain.” That would be torture, you see. “Serious pain,” however, is fine. That's merely cruel and degrading treatment. (The president used to be against that, too, but, well, things change.) (By Matthew Yglesias, The American Prospect online, September 26, 2006). Full article=>

The neoconservative Bush administration will attack Iran with tactical nuclear weapons, because it is the only way the neocons believe they can rescue their goal of U.S. (and Israeli) hegemony in the Middle East… Revised U.S. war doctrine concludes that tactical or low-yield nuclear weapons cause relatively little "collateral damage" or civilian deaths, while achieving a powerful intimidating effect on the enemy. The "fear factor" disheartens the enemy and shortens the conflict. (By Paul Craig Roberts*, Antiwar.com, September 26, 2006). Full article=>

*Paul Craig Roberts is an economist and a nationally syndicated columnist for Creator's Syndicate. He served as an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration. He is a former editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Scripps Howard News Service. He is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology and he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. He was a post-graduate at the University of California, Berkeley, and Oxford University where he was a member of Merton College. He is considered to be a Reagan conservative.

Last-minute changes to legislation authorizing the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program have won the support of three balking Senate Republicans, improving the chances that a bill expanding the Bush administration's surveillance authority will pass Congress this week. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill this month that would allow, but not require, the administration to submit its warrantless wiretapping program to a secret national security court for constitutional review. But three Republicans who last year helped delay the renewal of the USA Patriot Act -- Sens. Larry E. Craig (Idaho), John E. Sununu (N.H.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) -- combined forces again to express strong misgivings about the bill's implications for civil liberties… Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, said the legislation (still) amounts to a sweeping rewrite of federal law to allow the president to conduct "massive warrantless surveillance of Americans" with no court oversight.. (By Jonathan Weisman, the Washington Post, September 26, 2006). Full article=>

President George W. Bush said on Tuesday a secret intelligence report that concluded the Iraq war had spread Islamic extremism would be made public and accused opponents of leaking it for political purposes. Senior Republicans in the U.S. Congress had pressed the White House to declassify the National Intelligence Estimate on trends in global terrorism after Democrats seized on it to criticize the administration's handling of the Iraq war. (By Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters, September 26, 2006). Full article=>

The Army's top officer withheld a required 2008 budget plan from Pentagon leaders last month after protesting to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that the service could not maintain its current level of activity in Iraq plus its other global commitments without billions in additional funding. The decision by Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, is believed to be unprecedented and signals a widespread belief within the Army that in the absence of significant troop withdrawals from Iraq, funding assumptions must be completely reworked, say current and former Pentagon officials. (By Peter Spiegel, Los Angeles Times, September 25, 2006). Full article=>

The top Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Intelligence Committee called on Monday for the White House to declassify the National Intelligence Estimate on terrorism that was produced in April. But Bush administration officials said they did not intend to make the document public. The existence of the document was disclosed over the weekend by The New York Times. According to American officials who have read the document, its conclusions include a judgment that the American invasion and occupation of Iraq have helped fuel the global jihad movement and that Islamic radicalism has spread since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. (By Mark Mazzatti, New York Times, September 25, 2006). Full article=>

Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee sought to slow down the effort by President Bush and Congressional leaders to speed the passage of legislation on the treatment of terror suspects. Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who is the panel’s chairman, described as “inexplicable” a provision in the bill that would strip federal court of jurisdiction over detainees not formally charged with war crimes. “If the courts are not open to decide constitutional issues, how is constitutionality going to be tested?’’ he asked. Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the committee’s senior Democrat, criticized the rush to pass the legislation, saying its restriction of court access would perpetuate “the indefinite detentions of hundreds of individuals against whom the government has brought no charges and presented no evidence, and without any recourse to justice whatsoever.’’ “This is un-American,’’ he said, to applause from the audience. (By John O’Neill, New York Times, September 25, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. Senate is cutting a deal with President Bush to make America a banana republic. Last week, three senators reached an agreement with the White House that will de facto permit the CIA to continue torturing people around the world. And the deal will prevent anyone — including Bush administration officials — from being held liable for the torture. This is latest sign that our elected representatives in Washington believe that the federal government deserves absolute power over everyone in the world. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell warned recently that Bush’s efforts to gut the Geneva Conventions would cause the world to "doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism.” But more important, the Senate-White House torture deal should cause Americans to doubt the moral basis of their entire government. After 9/11, many Bush administration officials seemed determined to use any and every means to bludgeon people suspected of terrorism or terrorist intent. The Justice Department delivered to the White House a memo in August 2002 explaining why Bush was not bound by the War Crimes Act or the Anti-Torture Act. (By James Bovard, The Future Freedom Foundation online, September 25, 2006). Full article=>

Following announcements that an agreement has been reached between the White House and Senators John Warner (R-VA), John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on military commissions, the American Civil Liberties Union today said the compromise agreement does not protect due process, fails to meet international treaty obligations and urged lawmakers to reject the deal. The following may be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

"This is a compromise of America’s commitment to the rule of law. The proposal would make the core protections of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions irrelevant and unenforceable. It deliberately provides a ‘get out of jail free card’ to the administration’s top torture officials, and backdates that card nine years. These are tactics expected of repressive regimes, not the American government. Also under the proposal, the president would have the authority to declare what is - and what is not - a grave breach of the War Crimes Act” - making the president his own judge and jury.” (ACLU, September 21, 2006). Full article=>

Habeas corpus* is the name of a legal instrument or writ by means of which detainees can seek release from unlawful imprisonment. A writ of habeas corpus is a court order addressed to a prison official (or other custodian) ordering that a detainee be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully and whether or not he or she should be released from custody. The writ of habeas corpus in common law countries is an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action.

A sprawling array of cases challenging the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance of American's domestic and international communications may be moved to an obscure secret court in Washington, if a pending bill to alter the nation's surveillance law is voted on before the upcoming recess. Pennsylvania Republican Senator Arlen Specter's National Security Surveillance Act would allow the Attorney General to move surveillance cases involving state secrets to the little-known Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, which has only heard one case in its 28-year history. National security experts and civil liberties advocates assail the idea, saying it would diminish the chance that the government's controversial snooping would face open judicial scrutiny. (By Ryan Singel, Wired.com, September 25, 2006). Full article=>

US officials said on Monday that American troop levels in Iraq were likely to remain well above 140,000 for the next few months, although they would not confirm reports that the 3,500-strong First Armoured Division had been ordered to remain in Iraq beyond its official tour of duty. Growing sectarian conflict between Iraqi militias in the last few months and the continuation of the mostly Sunni insurgency against US forces has complicated the Bush administration’s goal of “standing down as the Iraqis stand up”. The overall US troop presence in Iraq has risen from 127,000 in July to 142,000 this week. (By Edward Luce, Financial Times {U.K.}, September 25, 2006). Full article=>

The US Central Intelligence Agency paid Pakistan millions of dollars for handing over more than 350 suspected al-Qaeda terrorists to the United States, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has reportedly said. The assertions come in the military ruler's upcoming memoir "In the Line of Fire," serialized in The Times newspaper. Musharraf does not reveal how much Pakistan was paid for the 369 Al-Qaeda suspects he ordered should be handed over to the United States, the newspaper said, noting, however, that such payments are banned by the US government**. (AFP, September 25, 2006). Full article=>

The White House acknowledged that Iraq was among several factors that "fuel the spread of jihadism" but said that winning the war would dishearten potential terrorists. Spokesman Tony Snow sought to challenge news reports on Sunday about the latest National Intelligence Estimate for Iraq, which represents the comprehensive consensus findings of the 16 US intelligence agencies. (AFP, September 25, 2006). Full article=>

As Ghana battles with an electricity shortage, one of the nation's prominent nuclear physicists on Monday called for the development of nuclear energy as a reliable and cheap energy alternative. Edmund Osae, former deputy director general of Ghana's Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) in Accra, said the west African nation should overcome its fear of building nuclear energy in order to save itself from its recurring energy crisis. Ghana relies heavily on hydroelectric power and falling water levels at the Volta River dam have caused a wave of recent blackouts. Ghanaians have been without power for 36 hours in the past three days as the state-owned power distribution company, Electricity Company of Ghana has rationed power on the advice of the sole- power producer, Volta River Authority. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, in RawStory.com, September 25, 2006). Full article=>

New RFK Jr. article will explore if 2006 election can be hacked

There he stood, a man with a captive audience of fellow anti-American neo-cons bent on one world government. His mission: to lay out the military and security integration of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The date: September 13, 2006. The place: Banff Springs Hotel, Alberta, Canada. The forum: a secret meeting of the powerful elite, a meeting that all of a sudden become not so secret. The man: Donald Rumsfeld, point puppet for the Bush administration’s planned integration known as the North American Union. This is serious government collusion behind the backs of the citizens of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It is government for the elite, not government representing the people. (By Byron J. Richards, NewsWithViews, September 19, 2006). Full article=>

The American army should scrap the Warrior Ethos, a martial creed that urges soldiers to demonstrate their fighting spirit by destroying the enemies of the United States at close quarter rather than winning the trust of local populations, according to senior US officers and counter-insurgency experts. Soldiers are instructed to live by the creed, which evokes the warrior spirit of the modern US army. It begins with the stirring vow, “I am an American soldier”, and goes on to affirm that “I will never accept defeat. I will never quit . . . I stand ready to deploy, engage and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat”… The Warrior Ethos replaced the Soldier’s Creed drawn up in the post-Vietnam era which stated: “I am an American soldier . . . No matter what situation I am in, I will never do anything for pleasure, profit or personal safety, which will disgrace my uniform. I will use every means I have, even beyond the line of duty, to restrain my army comrades from actions disgraceful to themselves and the uniform.” (By Sarah Baxter, Times Online {U.K.}, September 24, 2006). Full article=>

A stark assessment of terrorism trends by American intelligence agencies has found that the American invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks. The classified National Intelligence Estimate attributes a more direct role to the Iraq war in fueling radicalism than that presented either in recent White House documents or in a report released Wednesday by the House Intelligence Committee, according to several officials in Washington involved in preparing the assessment or who have read the final document. (By Mark Mazzetti, New York Times, September 24, 2006). Full article=>

The compromise reached on Thursday between Congressional Republicans and the White House on the interrogations and trials of terrorism suspects is, legal experts said yesterday, a series of interlocking paradoxes. It would impose new legal standards that it forbids the courts to enforce. It would guarantee terrorist masterminds charged with war crimes an array of procedural protections. But it would bar hundreds of minor figures and people who say they are innocent bystanders from access to the courts to challenge their potentially lifelong detentions. And while there is substantial disagreement about just which harsh interrogation techniques the compromise would prohibit, there is no dispute that it would allow military prosecutors to use statements that had been obtained under harsh techniques that are now banned…Martin S. Lederman, who teaches constitutional law at Georgetown, said the bill continued to allow the harsh treatment of detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency. (By Adam Liptak, NY Times, September 23, 2006). Full article=>

The great American essayist Albert J. Nock once devoted a long piece to the question of how one knows whether or not one is living in a Dark Age. From inside such an era, of course, the question is not so simple. Historians and propagandists name ages years or even centuries after the fact, but for most of those living at the time it probably didn’t seem like the Middle Ages or the Renaissance or the Reformation, if only because it took a while for the characteristics that would later be seen as defining a given period to become firmly established. (By Alan Bock, Eye on the Empire, in Antiwar.com, September 23, 2006). Full article=>

Human and civil rights groups have broadly denounced a compromise deal on the application of the Geneva Conventions to detainees in the "global war on terror" worked out between the White House and a group of rebellious Republican senators whose efforts have been backed until now by their Democratic colleagues…"It only takes 30 seconds or so to see that the Senators have capitulated entirely, that the U.S. will hereafter violate the Geneva Conventions... and that there will be very little pretense about it," according to Marty Lederman, an international law professor at Georgetown University School of Law, who suggested that the White House had gotten the better of the rebels. (By Jim Lobe, Antiwar.com, September 23, 2006). Full article=>

Senators won't authorize torture, but they won't prevent it, either. The good news about the agreement reached yesterday between the Bush administration and Republican senators on the detention, interrogation and trial of accused terrorists is that Congress will not -- as President Bush had demanded -- pass legislation that formally reinterprets U.S. compliance with the Geneva Conventions. Nor will the Senate explicitly endorse the administration's use of interrogation techniques that most of the world regards as cruel and inhumane, if not as outright torture. Trials of accused terrorists will be fairer than the commission system outlawed in June by the Supreme Court. The bad news is that Mr. Bush, as he made clear yesterday, intends to continue using the CIA to secretly detain and abuse certain terrorist suspects. (The Washington Post, September 22, 2006). Full article=>

Iran has warned Western powers the armed forces would hit back "like lightning" against any attack as it crowed over its military prowess and showed off firepower at a major army parade. Thousands of members of the armed forces and the whole panoply of Iran's ballistic missile arsenal were on display at the parade, including the Shahab-3, a weapon whose range includes arch-enemy Israel. "We want peace but we warn the expansionists not to think of an aggression against Iran as we can defend the fatherland and Islam," Vice President Parviz Davoodi warned. (By Farhad Pouladi and Pierre Celerier, AFP, September 22, 2005). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: For some insight into the war fighting capabilities of Iran see: Dr Abbas Bakhtiar: US vs. Iran – Part II – Hybrid War. Be sure to go to and read the full article, which may be accessed by clicking on the link at that site, and view large collection of photographs and maps included with the text.

The largest covert CIA operation since the Cold War is run not only by shadowy government contractors in the darkest corners of Afghanistan, but also by unassuming Americans in places like Dedham, Mass. When U.S. civilian airplanes were spotted in late 2002 taking trips to and from Andrews Air Force Base, and making stops in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, journalists and plane-spotters wondered what was going on. It soon became clear that these planes were part of the largest covert operation since the Cold War era. Called extraordinary rendition, the practice involves CIA officials or contractors kidnapping people and sending them to secret prisons around the world where they are held and often tortured, either at the hands of the host-country's government or by CIA personnel themselves. (By Onnesha Roychoudhuri, Truthdig, in Alternet.org September 22, 2006. Full article=> )

More than 1,100 laptop computers have vanished from the Department of Commerce since 2001, including nearly 250 from the Census Bureau containing such personal information as names, incomes and Social Security numbers, federal officials said yesterday. This disclosure by the department came in response to a request by the House Committee on Government Reform, which this summer asked 17 federal departments to detail any loss of computers holding sensitive personal information. (By Alan Sipress, The Washington Post, September 22, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comments: Vanished? No, stolen! Cui bono? Who benefits: (1) the persons who stole and fenced the computers with this valuable data to make money; (2) the managers of the departments from which the computers were stolen, who now can justify purchasing new computers for their staff; (3) the businesses acquire the stolen data and use it as a tool for selling their products to persons most likely to buy their products; (4) the Bush administration (regime), which is always looking for ways to frighten and intimidate the American people and cause them to feel helpless and at the mercy of the IRS, the justice system, and police organizations. It accomplishes this in part by broadcasting the message far and wide that the U.S. government, no matter how much of the taxpayers’ money it takes, is powerless to protect them against terrorism (like 9/11), theft of personal data that it is entrusted with, and the invasion of the U.S. from the south by illegals crossing the Rio Grande.

What should be particularly aggravating to the American people about the theft of census data is that the government has warned us that refusal to provide census takers with all the information about us requested on their forms would constitute a violation of federal law and would subject violators to federal prosecution. Yet those persons who have chosen heeded this warning by providing data for the census takers could now be subject to substantial financial loss should the stolen data fall into the hands of persons who elect to use this data to open up bogus checking, charge and credit card accounts with it and then run up the balances on these accounts.

Following announcements that an agreement has been reached between the White House and Senators John Warner (R-VA), John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on military commissions, the American Civil Liberties Union today said the compromise agreement does not protect due process, fails to meet international treaty obligations and urged lawmakers to reject the deal. (Press Release, American Civil Liberties Union, September 21, 2006). Full article=>

WTC Bomb Shell: Internal EPA Papers Fuel Christie Critics

Christie Todd Whitman, while head of the federal EPA, "conspired" to falsely reassure the public that the air around Ground Zero was safe to breath, according to critics and bombshell new documents. In 2003, Whitman's then-spokeswoman, Tina Kreisher, was asked by an Environmental Protection Agency internal investigator "whether there was a conscious effort to reassure the public [in the fall of 2001]. "Ms. Kreisher said there was such an effort. This emphasis 'came from the administrator [Whitman] and the White House,' " according to newly released quotes from EPA papers. Hugh Kaufman, an EPA senior policy analyst, told The Post yesterday, that Kreisher "blew the whistle not just on the White House, but on Whitman as well," (By Susan Edelman and Dan Mangan, New York Post online, September 18, 2006). Full article=>

Just now on CNN, Air Force Col. Sam Gardiner (Ret.) said, “We are conducting military operations inside Iran right now*. The evidence is overwhelming.” Gardiner, who taught at the U.S. Army’s National War College, has previously suggested that U.S. forces were already on the ground in Iran. Today he added several additional new points:

1) The House Committee on Emerging Threats recently called on State and Defense Department officials to testify on whether U.S. forces were in Iran. The officials didn’t come to the hearing.

2) “We have learned from Time magazine today that some U.S. naval forces had been alerted for deployment. That is a major step.”

3) “The plan has gone to the White House. That’s not normal planning. When the plan goes to the White House, that means we’ve gone to a different state.”

*LC Editor’s Comment: See also Seymour Hersh’s article The Iran Plans, published in the April 17, 2006 issue of The New Yorker magagzine online.

Albuquerque-based ICx MesoSystems in 2000 sold about 10 of its air-sampling devices capable of sniffing out bioterrorism agents. In the five years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the company has sold about 600 to federal, state and local agencies, driving up its sales this year to $7 million, or more than triple what they were in 2000. "The events of 9/11 made everyone understand the importance of our product and sharpened their focus on homeland security," says CEO Chuck Call. Five years after the terrorist attacks, the homeland security business is booming, and now it eclipses mature enterprises like movie-making and the music industry in annual revenue. (By Gary Stoller, USA Today, September 10, 2006). Full article=>

The Pentagon's top brass has moved into second-stage contingency planning for a potential military strike on Iran, one senior intelligence official familiar with the plans tells RAW STORY. The official, who is close to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest ranking officials of each branch of the US military, says the Chiefs have started what is called "branches and sequels" contingency planning. "The JCS has accepted the inevitable," the intelligence official said, "and is engaged in serious contingency planning to deal with the worst case scenarios that the intelligence community has been painting." (Larisa Alexandrovna, RawStory.com, September 21, 2006). Full article=>

Four government auditors who monitor leases for oil and gas on federal property say the Interior Department suppressed their efforts to recover millions of dollars from companies they said were cheating the government. The accusations, many of them in four lawsuits that were unsealed last week by federal judges in Oklahoma, represent a rare rebellion by government investigators against their own agency. (Edmund L. Andrews, NY Times, September 21, 2006). Full article=>

Every day, another economist claims that the impact of the slowdown in housing on the economy is overrated; a few months ago, many still disputed there even was a housing bubble. There has been a housing bubble, the bubble has only started to deflate, and it may have very negative long-term implications for the US economy as well as the US dollar. (By Alex Merk, Merkfund.com, September 21, 2006). Full article=>

New federal security rules for issuing driver's licenses could cost $11 billion to implement, raising concerns among states about paying for the changes, according to a national survey of states released Thursday. "There's no question that state legislators believe driver's licenses should be as secure as is possible," said William Pound, executive director of the National Conference of State Legislatures which helped conduct the survey. "The $11 billion question is, 'Who's going to pay for it?'" The requirements — which are not final — are part of the Real ID Act of 2005, which grew out of a recommendation by the Sept. 11 commission. (By Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Associated Press, September 21, 2006). Full article=>

CIA ‘refused to operate’ secret jails

The Bush administration had to empty its secret prisons and transfer terror suspects to the military-run detention centre at Guantánamo this month in part because CIA interrogators had refused to carry out further interrogations and run the secret facilities, according to former CIA officials and people close to the programme. The former officials said the CIA interrogators’ refusal was a factor in forcing the Bush administration to act earlier than it might have wished. (By Duy Dunmore, The Financial Times {U.K.}September 20, 2006). Full article=>

Hackers using computer worms sneakily implanted via America Online (AOL) instant messages were building a potentially evil "botnet," a Silicon Valley Internet security firm said. FaceTime security specialists advised users not to open any files sent to them via AIM. (AFP, September 20, 2006). Full article=>

If you have a passport, now is the time to renew it -- even if it's not set to expire anytime soon. If you don't have a passport and think you might need one, now is the time to get it. In many countries, including the United States, passports will soon be equipped with RFID chips. And you don't want one of these chips in your passport. RFID stands for ``radio-frequency identification.'' Passports with RFID chips store an electronic copy of the passport information: your name, a digitized picture, etc. And in the future, the chip might store fingerprints or digital visas from various countries. (By Bruce Schneier, MercuryNews.com, September 20, 2006). Full article=>

As they say, the first rule of gunfights is to bring a gun, so any home defense firearm is better than none. But some guns are better for the purpose than others. Let's take a look at the most common options…Whatever gun is chosen for home defense, become familiar with it. Make it a point to practice at reasonable intervals. A firearm can potentially save your life and the lives of your family. But it isn't the firearm per-se that gets the job done, it is the person behind it. Skill and determination, reinforced by regular practice, will carry the day. Remember that, as Bill Jordan pointed out, there is no second place winner in a gunfight. (By Chuck Hawks, Chuckhawks.com, Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comments: This is just the perfect article for you to read before you go out shopping for a gun for home defense. I discovered Chuck Hawks main site (www.chuckhawks.com) on the web about five years ago, and I’ve been reading his articles and following his advice ever since. Hawks is the gun pro’s gun pro. He’s a wonderful teacher and although he makes his own preferences evident in each article, it’s clear to me that he’s not pushing products nor is he out to convince anyone about anything. I found that the easiest way to find what he has to say about anything related to guns, such as for example “scopes”, is to simply enter “chuck hawks scopes” into the Google search engine and let ‘er rip! Give Chuck a try before you expose yourself to the pitches of the sales folks down at the local gun store or at the monthly gun show in your town. You’ll be glad you did. And once you purchase your home defense gun, take Chucks advice: Become thoroughly familiar with it and practice with it a lot at the range ---when a burglar is crawling through your bedroom window is not the time to start reading the instruction manual for your new home defense gun.

Venezuela's leader Hugo Chavez has called US President George W Bush as "the devil" in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly. "The devil came here yesterday," he said, referring to Mr Bush's speech on Tuesday. "It still smells of sulphur today," he added. (BBC News, September 20, 2006). Full article=>

Many adults in the United States believe the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) should avoid the use of forceful interrogation techniques, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 57 per cent of respondents want the CIA to abide by the same Geneva Convention standards that apply to the U.S. military. (Angus Reid Global Scan, September 20, 2006). Full article=>

One of the founders of the China Democracy Party was released from seven years in prison last week and allowed to return home to Hangzhou. Zhu Yufu, 53, had been detained in the No. 6 Prison of Zhejiang. The Epoch Times interviewed him shortly after his arrival home…On one occasion (in prison), Zhu was forced to sit on a 25 cm high stool for three months. After the confinement ended, his entire bottom was festering and dripping blood. The wound has not healed and he can hardly walk. Zhu's eardrum was burst after he was beaten with an umbrella stick when he was forced to make umbrellas…Zhu also suffered sleep deprivation. The prison warden said, "You don't plead guilty, so you have no rights, no reading, no newspaper." Zhu also said several prisoners forced him to hand copy the prison's discipline regulation manual all day long, "I wrote about 640,000 words," said Zhu. "It must be a world record!" (By Gu Qinger and Tang Yu, The Epoch Times {China}) Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: America’s President Bush has authorized government interrogators to use methods any reasonable person would regard to be torture on “detainees”, also “known as “prisoners of war”, to extract confessions and elicit information from them. Once upon a time in our nation’s recent past, U.S. presidents could justifiably condemn rulers of totalitarian states with which we were at war from the torture on American prisoners of war and even their own citizens. But no more. With the inauguration of George W. Bush as President of the United State, the once proud and admired “Land of the free and home of the brave” started its perilous slide downward into the abyss leading to Hell. .

Israeli bulldozers started to level the soil and cut down olive trees in Yarin in the Tyre region on Monday, spoiling several cultivated fields and preventing farmers from inspecting their lands. "Israeli bulldozers have spoiled my land, cutting down the fruit trees I've planted," said farmer Shaker Afleh on Tuesday, as he and his daughter watched the bulldozers on his land from a kilometer away. (By Mohammad Zaatari, Daily Star, September 20, 2006). Full article=>

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the West on Tuesday of abusing the United Nations to try to deny Iran the right to the peaceful nuclear technology which Western states enjoy. His hard-line speech offered no hint of willingness to comply with U.N. demands that Tehran suspend uranium enrichment, which can be used to produce fuel for power stations or bombs. "The abuse of the Security Council, as an instrument of threat and coercion, is indeed a source of grave concern," Ahmadinejad told the U.N. General Assembly. Iran's atomic activities are "transparent, peaceful and under the watchful eyes of IAEA inspectors," he insisted, referring to the U.N. nuclear watchdog. (By Paul Taylor, Reuters, September 19, 2006). Full article=>

Once again we are being prepared for another devastating war in the Middle East. A terrorist group is "allegedly" discovered planning to blow-up 6 aircraft in UK. Another group is "discovered" in Germany planning to blow-up a train. Then UK warns whole Europe about the threat of terrorism. Then there are "loud" accusations that Iran has been trying to buy Uranium from Congo followed by a small retraction . Then there is the release of the 9/11 sound tapes of the fire-fighters along with the release of the emotional movie "9/11". And finally we have the President of the United States warning us about the threat of Islamo-Fascism. (Dr. Abbas Bakhtiar, in Zmag.org, August 28, 2006). Full article=>

American Heritage Dictionary defines politics as “the art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity”. But in reality politics is about social relations involving authority and power. We would like to think that we live in a civilized world where it is the moral principles and ethics rather than physical power that governs the conduct of the nations. But unfortunately, in our Darwinian world, there is no place for logical, moral or ethical arguments. For instance there have been many times in the past, (and even recently) when people such as president Bush, Pentagon officials and commentators, have argued for the use of tactical nuclear bombs against Iran to prevent it from developing (may be) similar ( and smaller) weapons in the “future”. { Dr. Abbas Bakhtiar, in Scoop Independent News, September 13, 2006). First paragraph=> Full article (pdf format)=>

LC Editor’s Comment: This is a very long article: 88 pages! If you do not have an Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your computer, you can load a FREE one at www.adobe.com . Dr. Bakhtiar includes an enormous number photographs showing much of Iran’s known defense equipment, including rockets, ground vehicles, ships, radar systems and jet fighter aircraft. He also includes maps showing how a ground war might be fought and also the terrain U.S. forces would be likely to encounter in ground and marine offensives. Iran’s leaders know that their nation might not be capable of winning an conventional war with the U.S. because of the latter’s technically superior air and mechanized fighting capabilities. Therefore, they intend to fight this war, if it comes, as an asymmetric, or “hybrid”, war war, knowing that by using this style of war in the Far East, the North Vietnamese were successful in causing the U.S. to withdraw from the Vietnam War and declare itself as the victor in that war.

"The concentration camps were used as a huge laboratory for human experimentation," says Wolfgang Eckhart, professor of Historical Medicine at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. During the Holocaust, Bayer, Hoechst, BASF and other German pharmaceutical and chemical companies combined into a powerful cartel known as Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie Aktiengesellschaft (IG Farben). As well as manufacturing everything from the deadly gas used to kill Holocaust victims, the gasoline used to move war vehicles and the explosives used to bomb enemies and conquer Europe, IG Farben was also trying its best to put a large number of highly profitable new drugs on the market and used concentration camp prisoners as human guinea pigs to do so. (Posted Tuesday, March 07, 2006 by Dani Veracity, in NewsTarget.com). Full article=>

The crimes committed against children define some of the Holocaust's most morally despicable horrors. In It's My Story, Palmer told Handscomb of the abuses she received as a 13-year-old at Auschwitz. As a result of the damage done to her body by the contraceptive drug experiments forced upon her at Auschwitz, she had to undergo several painful surgeries immediately following the war and, even after the surgeries, Palmer remained unable to bear children for the rest of her life. Today, in her 70s, Palmer has cancer. (Posted Tuesday, March 07, 2006 by Dani Veracity, in NewsTarget.com). Full article=>

Human medical experimentation in modern times: Silencing the victims (part three)

Even though it is openly denying any wrongdoing, New York City's ACS (Administration for Children's Services) deserves some credit for taking the effort to investigate its past involvement in medical experimentation on humans and contracting the Vera Institute of Justice to conduct an independent review. IG Farben "daughter" companies like modern Bayer, though openly denying connection to IG Farben's war crimes, have also made an effort to help human medical experiment victims. These companies have worked with the German government to set up a compensation fund for those Holocaust survivors who lived through the gruesome medical experiments to which they were subjected by their captors. (Posted Tuesday, March 07, 2006 by Dani Veracity, in NewsTarget.com). Full article=>

Two recent orders by the American military have led some observers to conclude that the U.S. is preparing for an attack on Iran. One order was a "Prepare to Deploy" command sent to a submarine, an Aegis-class cruiser, two minesweepers and two mine hunters, telling the ships’ commanders to be ready to move by Oct. 1. The other was a request from the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) for a fresh look at long-standing U.S. plans to blockade two Iranian oil ports on the Persian Gulf. (Newsmax, September 18, 2006). Full article=>

It (the attack) will take a few days, with thousands of sorties, satellite and laser-guided bombs will be aimed at targets – 1,500 already planned by Pentagon – and will try to infiltrate armed concrete, under which some of nuclear sites are hidden. Meanwhile, Washington launches diplomatic blitz in attempt to promote sanctions on Tehran.

The US government is planning to launch a diplomatic blitz on Monday regarding the Iranian nuclear issue at the United Nations headquarters in New York, where heads of states and foreign ministers have convened for the general assembly session. The United States will work to realize the promises made by Russia and China to agree to impose moderate sanctions on Tehran, following its refusal to meet the Security Council ultimatum, which expired at the end of August. A senior source at the State Department declared over the weekend that Washington was interested in solving the crisis diplomatically, but admitted that his country had no clue what Iran was thinking. (By Yitzhak Benhorin, Ynetnews.com, September 18, 2006). Full article=>

A flurry of military maneuvers in the Middle East increases speculation that conflict with Iran is no longer quite so unthinkable. Here's how the U.S. would fight such a war--and the huge price it would have to pay to win it The first message was routine enough: a "Prepare to Deploy" order sent through naval communications channels to a submarine, an Aegis-class cruiser, two minesweepers and two mine hunters. The orders didn't actually command the ships out of port; they just said to be ready to move by Oct. 1. But inside the Navy those messages generated more buzz than usual last week when a second request, from the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), asked for fresh eyes on long-standing U.S. plans to blockade two Iranian oil ports on the Persian Gulf. The CNO had asked for a rundown on how a blockade of those strategic targets might work. When he didn't like the analysis he received, he ordered his troops to work the lash up once again. (By Michael Duffy, Time Magazine, September 17, 2006). Full article=>

(Israel’s) Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Sunday that the world may have as little as "a few months" to avoid a nuclear Iran and called for sanctions. "The crucial moment is not the day of the bomb. The crucial moment is the day in which Iran will master the enrichment, the knowledge of enrichment," she said on CNN's "Late Edition." Livni said she did not want to identify a point of "no return" in the controversy over Iran's nuclear program. (In Reuters, September 17, 2006). Full article =>

LC Editor’s Comment: Livni’s statement amounts to more saber-rattling made in unisyn with President Bush. Both Tel Aviv and the White House preach the lie that Iran’s engineers are preparing to produce nuclear weapons and will have them in hand very soon and so now (according to their lopsided logi) is the time to start bombing Israels nuclear research facilities

But what are the facts about Iran’s nuclear weapons cabilities? According to the CRS Report (U.S.Government) to Congress dated November 23, 2005, “Iran is likely years away from producing weapons-grade plutonium or highly enriched uranium. Vice Adm. Jacoby, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March 2005 that Iran is expected to be able to produce a weapon early next decade. According to one report, the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran assesses that it will be ten years before Iran has a bomb.

The US-led aggression in the Middle East and the three failed attempts to oust Venezuela's Hugo Chavez since 2002 (with a fourth now planned and likely to be implemented soon) are just the latest examples of this country's imperial agenda and the "new world order" it has in mind. The way this country now engages throughout the world isn't much different than what it's done close to home and worldwide since inception. Only the venues chosen, the scope of our aims, and the extent of our power have changed. This article in two parts gives some historical perspective and then concentrates on the imperial grand strategy of the Bush administration under which regime change is a central element. In Part II, the focus is on the war in Iraq as a case study of imperial madness and its consequences. It also covers a possible little discussed economic motive behind what's now being called "the long war (By Stephen Lendman, GlobalResearch.ca, September 16, 2006). Full article=>

Hoping to end a protest by dissident Senate Republicans, the White House says it's confident it can reach a compromise on proposed rules for interrogating terror suspects. But neither side is saying how an agreement can be achieved on whether to allow highly controversial methods by the CIA, such as electric shock, forced nakedness and waterboarding, in which a subject is made to think he is drowning. The Bush administration says those techniques have foiled terror plots. Opponents say they verge on torture. The full Senate was expected to take up the issue as early as this week. (By Hope Yen, Associated Press, September 18, 2006). Full article=>

Makes strange 'explosives in U.S. buildings' reference during torture speech Friday

During his speech Friday in which the President argued for the gutting of the Geneva convention and the legal classification of torture, Bush made a strange comment about explosives and their placement in U.S. buildings. Was this a tacit admission of 9/11 controlled demolition? (By Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, September 18, 2006). Full article and video=>

In this paper, Dr. Steven Jones, Professor of Physics at Brigham Young University, calls for a serious investigation of the hypothesis that World Trade Center building 7 and the Twin Towers were brought down not but just impact damage and fires but through the use of pre-positioned cutter charges. (Steven Jones, Journal of 911 Studies, September 2006, Volume 3). Full article=>

Keith Olbermann's Friday broadcast on MSNBC featured a long look at the President's contentious Rose Garden press conference on Friday, dubbing it the "Roast Garden," and then pondered whether Bush's urgency to redefine the Geneva Convention had more to do with "covering his own backside" than anything else. At a Friday press conference, an animated President Bush tells reporters that the U.S. program to interrogate terrorist suspects will not continue unless Congress creates new legal definitions for Common Article 3 or the Geneva Conventions -- a move that has alarmed some GOP senators and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. By David Edwards, September 15, 2006). Full article, INCLUDING VIDEO of Bush's press conference and Olbermann=>

Some officials say voting law changes and new technology will cause trouble. An overhaul in how states and localities record votes and administer elections since the Florida recount battle six years ago has created conditions that could trigger a repeat -- this time on a national scale -- of last week's Election Day debacle in the Maryland suburbs, election experts said. In the Nov. 7 election, more than 80 percent of voters will use electronic voting machines, and a third of all precincts this year are using the technology for the first time. The changes are part of a national wave, prompted by the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 and numerous revisions of state laws, that led to the replacement of outdated voting machines with computer-based electronic machines, along with centralized databases of registered voters and other steps to refine the administration of elections. (By Dan Balz and Zachary A. Goldfarb, the Washinton Post, September 17, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Electronic voting at the polls will turn out to be a major problem, and not just because many people are unfamiliar with how to cast their votes on electronic voting machines. How do you pronounce the word spelled F-R-A-U-D? Experts at the Computer Science Department at Princeton University this week (September 13) week released their research paper “Security Analysis of the Diebold AccuVote-TS Voting Machine. Read about it and also view a demonstration video showing the quick and easy rigging of a Diebold machine to skew its voting records, data, logs and records and then remove all evidence of tampering.

Abstract. This paper presents a fully independent security study of a Diebold AccuVote-TS voting machine, including its hardware and software. We obtained the machine from a private party. Analysis of the machine, in light of real election procedures, shows that it is vulnerable to extremely serious attacks. For example, an attacker who gets physical access to a machine or its removable memory card for as little as one minute could install malicious code; malicious code on a machine could steal votes undetectably, modifying all records, logs, and counters to be consistent with the fraudulent vote count it creates. An attacker could also create malicious code that spreads automatically and silently from machine to machine during normal election activities — a voting-machine virus. We have constructed working demonstrations of these attacks in our lab. Mitigating these threats will require changes to the voting machine's hardware and software and the adoption of more rigorous election procedures. (By Ariel J. Feldman, J. Alex Halderman, and Edward W. Felten, Center for Information Technology Policy, Princeton University, Sepember 13, 2006). Full abstract with links to demonstration video and to full research paper=>

"Sarasota Association for Fair Elections, a group of activists concerned about the reliability of the county's touch screen voting system, won its case to have voters decide whether the county should have a back-up paper ballot system. The group gathered enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot in November, but the county refused, saying the proposal was unconstitutional because it conflicts with state law. Judge Robert B. Bennett ruled that the proposed charter amendment allowing for paper ballots would not conflict with state law. The county commission is set to discuss the ruling during today's meeting.

(In “Paper Ballots Gaining Momentum, BlackBoxVoting.org, September 13, 2006). Full article=>

President George W Bush is coming under enormous pressure from Israel - and from Israel's neoconservative friends inside and outside the US administration - to harden still further his stance toward Iran. They want the American president to commit himself to bombing Iran if it does not give up its program of uranium enrichment - and to issue a clear ultimatum to Tehran that he is prepared to do so. They argue that mere rhetoric - such as Bush's recent diatribe, in which he compared Iran to al-Qaeda - is not enough, and might even be counter-productive, as it might encourage the Iranians to think that America's bark is worse than its bite. (By Patrick Seale, The Daily Star {U.K.}, September 16, 2006). Full article=>

For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centrepiece of US Middle Eastern policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread ‘democracy’ throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardised not only US security but that of much of the rest of the world. This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state? One might assume that the bond between the two countries was based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives, but neither explanation can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the US provides. (By John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, London Review of Books, March 23, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: John Mearsheimer is the Wendell Harrison Professor of Political Science at Chicago, and the author of The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. Stephen Walt is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Primacy.Government at Harvard. His most recent book is Taming American Power: The Global Response to US.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Americans believe that Iran is likely to develop nuclear weapons in the near future. Most doubt that anything can be done to prevent such a development. These findings from the latest Rasmussen Reports poll come as officials of a United Nations’ agency complained to the Bush Administration about a Congressional report on Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Representatives from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called parts of the report “outrageous and dishonest,” and suggested that misleading information about the true status of Iran’s nuclear capabilities has been released to the public. (Rassmusen Reports, September 15, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editors Comment: This is a pathetic but not surprising polling result. It is the result of the Bush administration’s insistence that, despite all scientific and engineering evidence and the results of on-site nuclear inspections to the contrary, the purpose Iran’s nuclear program is to produce nuclear weapons, Iran’s engineers are focused on that objective now and they will have these weapons in hand soon. Mainstream cable and TV network news shows repeat and promote these unsupported assertions during their newscasts made around the clock. So the American people, the large majority of whom obtain essentially all of their information about the current state the world affairs by viewing television newscasts, tend to nod in agreement with President Bush’s assertions about Iran’s nuclear program, not knowing and perhaps not even caring that these assertions are unsupported by cold, hard data, that is the facts. I have presented the facts and supported my assertions with evidence in these pages of Liberty Calling, so there is no need to repeat them here. Since nearly 80 percent of the American people already believe now that Iran is on its way to having a nuclear weapon soon, what will Mr. Bush be willing to do during the upcoming months to convince them that Iran, in fact, has weapons in hand and has or is about to use them, thereby justifying the bombing of Iran?

In an echo of the intelligence wars that preceded the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a high-stakes struggle is brewing within the Bush administration and in Congress over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program and involvement in terrorism. U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials say Bush political appointees and hard-liners on Capitol Hill have tried recently to portray Iran's nuclear program as more advanced than it is and to exaggerate Tehran's role in Hezbollah's attack on Israel in mid-July. (By Warren P. Strobel and John Walcott, McClatchy Newspapers, September 15, 2006). Full article=>

A recent House of Representatives committee report on Iran's nuclear capability is "outrageous and dishonest" in trying to make a case that Tehran's program is geared toward making weapons, a senior official of the U.N. nuclear watchdog has said. The letter, obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday outside a 35- nation board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says the report is false in saying Iran is making weapons-grade uranium at an experimental enrichment site, when it has in fact produced material only in small quantities that is far below the level that can be used in nuclear arms. The letter, which was first reported on by The Washington Post, also says the report erroneously says that IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei removed a senior nuclear inspector from the team investigating Iran's nuclear program "for concluding that the purpose of Iran's nuclear program is to construct weapons." (By George Jahn, The Associated Press, September 14, 2006). Full article=>

Big Brother is not only watching you - now he's barking orders too. Britain's first 'talking' CCTV cameras have arrived, publicly berating bad behavior and shaming offenders into acting more responsibly. (The Daily Mail, {U.K.}, September 16, 2006). Full article=>

Ford is cutting more than 10,000 additional salaried jobs, offering buyouts to all of its 75,000 U.S. hourly workers and shutting down two more plants in a plan to end financial losses and remake itself into a smaller, more competitive car company. The announcement from Ford came as Chrysler's parent said it would cut U.S. production through the end of 2006 and follows big cutbacks at General Motors earlier this year. The cuts are all due to consumers shifting from trucks and sport utility vehicles to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars and crossovers, many made by Asian automakers. (By Tom Krishner, The Associated Press, September 15, 2006). Full article=>

Nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before being used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said Tuesday. The object is basically public relations. Domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions from others about possible safety considerations, said Secretary Michael Wynne. (CNN, September 12, 2006). Full article=>

There is no such thing as Gulf War syndrome, even though U.S. and foreign veterans of the war report more symptoms of illness than do soldiers who didn't serve there, a federally funded study concludes. (MSNBC, September 13, 2006). Full article=>

House leaders moved yesterday to temper many of the controls that a bill headed toward rapid passage would have imposed on the Bush administration's program for wiretapping terrorism suspects without court approval. (By Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post September 13, 2006). Full article=>

Our great of Texas is now being being threated by an idea born by Governor Rick Perry – The Trans-Texas Corridor. Governor Perry’s TTC is 4,000 miles of tollways and infrastructure extimated to cost $200 billion. Governor Perry signed a secret deal with Spanish corporation to control Texas infrastructure for the next years. Families all across Texas are now at risk of losing their homes. (By The Texas Toll Party, September 13, 2006. Full story including streaming video=>

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday that it’s plausible that the U.S. government was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. Chavez did not specifically accuse the U.S. government of having a hand in the Sept. 11 attacks, but rather suggested that theories of U.S. involvement bear examination. (Associated Press, September 12, 2006). Full article=>

Following the attacks of September 11th, a small group of grieving families waged a tenacious battle against those who sought to bury the truth about the event—including, to their amazement, President Bush. In ‘9/11 PRESS FOR TRUTH’, six of them, including three of the famous “Jersey Girls”, tell for the first time the powerful story of how they took on the greatest powers in Washington—and won!—compelling an investigation, only to subsequently watch the 9/11 Commission fail in answering most of their questions. (InformationLiberation.com , September 11, 2006). Full article, including steaming video=>

Brigham Young University placed physics professor Steven Jones, Ph.D, on paid leave Thursday while it reviews his involvement in the so-called "9/11 truth movement" that accuses unnamed government agencies of orchestrating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. BYU will conduct an official review of Jones' actions before determining a course of action, university spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said. Such a review is rare for a professor with "continuing status" at BYU, where Jones has taught since 1985. (By Tad Walch, Desert Morning News, September 9, 2006). Full article=>

Three professors who are members of Scholars for 9/11 Truth have been threatened with the loss of their positions for their research and teaching about the events of 9/11. Other attacks are coming from national magazines, such as TIME and U.S. NEWS, which have cover-stories this week suggesting that those who believe 9/11 involved a conspiracy may need psychological counseling. In addition, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Popular Mechanics have published pieces intended to bolster the official account of 9/11. (By James A. Fetzer, Founder, Scholars for 9/11 Truth, September 9, 2006). Full article=>

Here is YouTube streaming video Jones’ interview by the Guerilla News Network (GNN) regard the still unanswered questions about 9/11. (PrisonPlanet.com, September 9, 2006). Access the video=>

'Strategy for winning the war on terror' says world contaminated, corrupted by misinformation

A document cited by President Bush in his recent speech at the Capital Hilton Hotel on how to 'win the war on terror' cites conspiracies as one of the wellsprings of terrorism and threatens to "address" and "diminish" the problems they are causing the government in fulfilling their agenda. On Tuesday Bush referred to the strategy paper as "an unclassified version of the strategy we've been pursuing since September the 11th, 2001," that takes into account, "the changing nature of this enemy." (By Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, September 7, 2006). Full article=>

The 9/11 terrorist attack on America which left almost 3,000 people dead was an "inside job", according to a group of leading academics. Around 75 top professors and leading scientists believe the attacks were puppeteered by war mongers in the White House to justify the invasion and the occupation of oil-rich Arab countries. (By Jaya Narain, The Daily Mail {U.K.}, September 6, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: I urge you to review the web site Scholars for 911 Truth, which is the flagship site of this association of university scholars and science and engineering professionals. The association is dedicated to uncovering, discovering and collecting all data related to the events of 9/11, carefully and meticulously analyzing these data using state-of-the-art laboratory testing and computer data processing technologies and interpreting the results of this research using well-established scientific and engineering principles.

Culled from deep within the archives, ImplosionWorld.com is pleased to bring you the finest explosive cinematic adventure.

LC Editor’s Comment: Here is the site to visit to see and hear what the controlled demolitions of structures look and sound like. View several of the streaming videos at this site by simply clicking on the thumbnails of photos of the structures imploded. Then compare compare what you have found with what you find in viewing videos containing the sights and and sounds of the collapsing of WTC buildings 1,2 and 7 on 9/11. You may locate the relevant video clips by viewing several the full streaming videos on 9/11 listed below in the video section of LC. (ImplosionWorld.com). Access the site=>

Why were massive, four-ton steel girders that had been part of the WTC’s North Tower found 600 feet away immediately after that building’s collapse? The answer is that they were blown out of and horizontally away from the North Tower, launched at a very high speed by the force of the explosions that also caused that building to collapse into its own footprint on 9/11. In this YouVideo presentation, David Chandler, who publishes in 911SpeakOut.org, shows the computer graphics simulation based on the laws of physic he has devised to compute the speed at with girders must have been ejected from the falling building and shows the results of his calculations. Click here to start the video=>

Last week TIME Magazine and "The Washington Post" ran almost balanced and sympathetic stories about "the 9-11 Truth Movement." These publications define reality for millions of unsuspecting Americans. Why would they legitimize a conspiracy view that implicates their owners, the Illuminati central bankers? Why would they publicize discrepancies that they have been covering up for five years. (By Henry Makow, Rense.com, September 9, 2006). Full article=>

Dupont to walk away from pension obligations... US Plans for Iran... the man who would be King of America, in his own mind... Housing off wildly in US markets... tips for places for your assets.... Bush lies to cover up torture in secret prisons... lies to hide torture and murder. (By Robert Chapman, The International Forecaster) Full article=>

9/11 conspiracy theorists are building their case against the government from ground zero

He felt no shiver of doubt in those first terrible hours. He watched the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and assumed al-Qaeda had wreaked terrible vengeance. He listened to anchors and military experts and assumed the facts of Sept. 11, 2001, were as stated on the screen. It was a year before David Ray Griffin, an eminent liberal theologian and philosopher, began his stroll down the path of disbelief. He wondered why Bush listened to a child's story while the nation was attacked and how Osama bin Laden, America's Public Enemy No. 1, escaped in the mountains of Tora Bora. He wondered why 110-story towers crashed and military jets failed to intercept even one airliner. He read the 9/11 Commission report with a swell of anger. Contradictions were ignored and no military or civilian official was reprimanded, much less cashiered. "To me, the report read as a cartoon." White-haired and courtly, Griffin sits on a couch in a hotel lobby in Manhattan, unspooling words in that reasonable Presbyterian minister's voice. "It's a much greater stretch to accept the official conspiracy story than to consider the alternatives." (By Michael Powell, The Washington Post, September 8, 2006). Full article=>

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is set to conclude its investigation of the World Trade Center complex by analyzing if bombs brought down WTC 7, the 47 story skyscraper that was not hit by a plane yet collapsed in a controlled demolition style in under seven seconds. (By Paul Joseph Watson, Prison Planet.com, August 31, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comments: The full presentation serves as an excellent introduction to false flag operations, which are run in parallel with and at the same time as scheduled military exercises. Tarpley discusses in the scheduled military exercises run by the U.S. government on the morning of 9/11, and in the same time window as the actual 9/11 events, one of which simulated the crashing of an airplane into a building. Bookmark www.falseflagnews.com and consult it often to keep yourself aware of upcoming military exercises, some of which may be scheduled for your area. Tarpley may be heard every Saturday between 4:00 P.M and 6:00 PM Central Time on his own radio show, “World Crisis Radio”. The show airs over the Republic Broadcasting Network, which may have an affiliate station in your area. If not, listen to this and other RBNLive radio show live via the streaming audio feeds at www.rbnlive.com Here is the link to the live shows, and here is the link to Webster Tarpley’s archived radio shows.

The leaders of nations from the Roman Republic to the present day United States, have used “fake terror”, typically false flag operations, to scare their citizens into giving up liberty in return for promises made by the state, but seldom honored, that it would protect them from harm. Here are some examples. (WhatReallyHappened.com). Full article=>

Bush administration urges other nations' discretion on CIA prisons

The Bush administration yesterday cautioned countries with secret CIA prisons in their territory against disclosing the sites' existence, even as the European Parliament renewed its demand that its members come clean if they host such detention centers. (By Nicholas Kralev, The Washington Times, September 8, 2006). Full article=>

A U.S. general in Iraq on Friday said he had no proof of Iranians supporting armed militants in his area, which stretches north of Baghdad and borders Iran. The comments from Army Maj. Gen. Thomas Turner follow repeated accusations by American officials that the Shi'ite-led Islamic state is fueling sectarian violence in Iraq by funding, training and supplying Shi'ite groups there. But scant evidence has been offered. (Reuters, September 8, 2006). Full article=>

There's no such thing as al Qaeda, or al Qaida, or however you want to spell it. It's a fraud perpetrated on the American people by our own government to scare us into submission. This is a clip from the excellent three-part BBC documentary "The Power of Nightmares". See YouTube video. (PrisonPlanet.com, September 8, 2006). Access to the YouTube link=>

Saddam Hussein regarded al-Qaida as a threat rather than a possible ally, a Senate report says, contradicting assertions President Bush has used to build support for war in Iraq. Released Friday, the report discloses for the first time an October 2005 assessment that prior to the war Saddam's government "did not have a relationship, harbor or turn a blind eye toward" al-Qaida operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or his associates. (By Jim Abrams, Associated Press, September 8, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush urged Congress Thursday to give him "additional authority" to continue his administration's warrantless eavesdropping program. The speech was his latest effort in several days to mark the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by framing the election-year national security debate to political and policy advantage. (By Anushka Asthana and Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post, September 8, 2006). Full article=>

Private industry and eventually government is planning to use microphones in the computers of an estimated 150 million-plus Internet active Americans to spy on their lifestyle choices and build psychological profiles which will be used for surveillance and minority report style invasive advertising and data mining. Digital cable TV boxes, such as Scientific Atlantic, have had secret in-built microphones inside them since their inception in the late 1990's and these originally dormant devices were planned to be activated when the invasive advertising revolution arrived - 2006 marks that date. (Paul Joseph Watson/PrisonPlanet.com, September 6, 2006). Full article=>

VeriChip, the company that makes human-implantable RFID chips, is looking to span its equipment from newborns to the military's enlisted. The company announced Aug. 24 that it has made the first sale of its infant protection, wander prevention and staff duress system to the Brampton Civic Hospital in Brampton, Ontario. Separately, the company confirmed a day earlier that it is in talks with the military to test its implantable chips in two branches of the military. (By Renee Boucher Ferguson, eWeek.com, August 25, 2006). Full article=>

Is RFID tracking you?

Radio frequency identification has been heralded as a breakthrough in tracking technology, and denounced as the next Big Brother surveillance tool. (CNN, August 24, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to reinstate a special CIA unit hunting for Osama bin Laden* as it passed a $469 billion Pentagon funding bill. The Senate unanimously backed the bill after sometimes bitter debate that saw Republicans and Democrats exchanging accusations over the Iraq war and national security, major issues in November's congressional elections. (By Vicki Allen, Reuters, September 7, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: * Reinstating funding to hunt down bin Laden? Hunt down bin Laden? What a boondoggle! Funding it will provide the cover our politicians will use to once more snatch a bundle of the taxpayers money and throw it into a black hole, there to be plucked out later secretly and spent by war profiteers who regard Washington, D.C their home town, play footsie with the folks in Congress, and make sure their favorate boys get re-elected time after time. Bin Laden is the most useful, long-lasting (because he’s dead) boogieman Uncle Sam ever created to fatten the pockets of the profiteers and scare the American people into giving up personal liberty in return for the government’s promise to protect them from the reach of his band of merry terrorists, the White House has chosen to call the “al-Queda”. (View the streaming video Al Qaeda doesn't exist) The president’s “hunt” for bin Laden, as in “hunt ‘um down and smoke ‘um out”, could go on for ever if Mr. Bush and his successors play their cards right with the American people, too many of whom are willing to look the other way when the see corruption if they think they might have even a remote chance of benefiting from it.

Five years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, better than 4 in 10 Americans still believe that former Iraq leader Saddam Hussein was personally involved in those attacks, according to two recent polls. An Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of CNN released today on numerous issues surrounding the Iraq war, asked whether Hussein was personally involved in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Fifty-two percent said he was not, but 43% said they believe he was. This comes despite wide media debunking of this notion for years. At a news conference this past August 21, President Bush was asked if Iraq had anything to do with 9/11 and he said it had "nothing" to do with the attacks. Yet polls show that a majority of Republicans continue to state that Hussein was involved. (Editor & Publsiher, September 7, 2006). Full article=>

As reported by ABC News, stunning military documents codenamed "Operation Northwoods" were declassified in recent years and show how in 1962, the top US military leaders planned an operation to create terror attacks against its own cities and kill US citizens. (PRWeb. September 7, 2009). Full article=>

Ask some members of Congress about plans to build a "NAFTA superhighway" connecting Mexico and Canada via the U.S. and you might hear snickers. Some officials will tell you they have seen no "earmarks" for such a plan and question whether it even exists. But the plan does exist and the NAFTA superhighway is being built – under the radar screen. One need look no further than the $286 billion highway bill signed into law earlier this month by President Bush for some of the "earmarks." The measure gave the state of Tennessee more than $111 million to help plan and build Interstate 69, called "one of the most significant transportation projects in the region's history" by the Commercial Appeal. (WorldNetDaily.com, August 29, 2006). Full article=>

Grupo Ferrovial, Spain’s construction, infrastructure and services giant, had a busy summer acquiring airports in the UK and Peru. Now it has a concession to build and operate a Texas superhighway. Construction of the new toll road project, designed to develop an alternative route to Interstate 35 as part of the planned Trans-Texas Corridor is due to start early next year. This has been agreed by the Texas Department of Transport under a comprehensive development deal with the Spanish company Cintra - Concesiones de Infrastructuras de Transporte, a member of the Ferrovial group. Cintra’s partner for the five-year road building programme is the San Antonio-based contractor Zachry Construction Corp, but Ferrovial’s construction company Agroman is getting a share in the business. Zachry joined with Cintra in a scheme to provide private investment worth $6 billion. The assignment is to design, build and operate a four-lane toll road covering the 500 km distance between Dallas and San Antonio, bypassing the State capital at Austin. (International Construction Review, August 25, 2006). Full article=>

As our government careens toward bankruptcy, Americans are being dispossessed by the outsourcing of industrial jobs and the buyout of our infrastructure by foreign interests..."On a single day in June," reported the AP on July 15, "an Australian-Spanish partnership paid $3.8 billion to lease the Indiana Toll Road. An Australian company bought a 99-year lease on Virginia's Pocahontas Parkway, and Texas officials decided to let a Spanish-American partnership build and run a toll road from Austin to Seguin for 50 years. Few people know that the tolls from the U.S. side of the tunnel between Detroit and Windsor, Canada, go to a subsidiary of an Australian company — which also owns a bridge in Alabama." These are just a few examples of how roads and bridges built with U.S. taxpayer dollars are starting to be sold off, and so far foreign-owned companies are doing the buying...We've reached the point in this process where American politicians are literally begging Beijing to be taken on as business partners. And if Laurence Kotlikoff's recommendations prove attractive to policymakers, our government will come to embrace "direct investment" from China as the key to staving off utter insolvency...(By William Norman Grigg, The New American, August 28, 2006 Issue). Full article=>

Mount Weather is a top-security underground installation an hour's drive from Washington DC. It has its own leaders, police, fire department - and laws. A cold war relic, it has been given a new lease of life since 9/11. And no one who's been inside has ever talked. Tom Vanderbilt reports (The Guardian {U.K.}. August 28, 2006). Full article=>

With the economy beginning to slow, the current expansion has a chance to become the first sustained period of economic growth since World War II that fails to offer a prolonged increase in real wages for most workers. That situation is adding to fears among Republicans that the economy will hurt vulnerable incumbents in this year's midterm elections even though overall growth has been healthy for much of the last five years. The median hourly wage for American workers has declined 2 percent since 2003, after factoring in inflation. The drop has been especially notable, economists say, because productivity - the amount that an average worker produces in an hour and the basic wellspring of a nation's living standards - has risen steadily over the same period. (By Steven Greenhouse and David Leonhart, The NY Times, August 28, 2006). Full article=>

The plans are a state secret, so just where the Starbucks and Krispy Kreme stores will be is a mystery. But as the concrete hulks of a huge 21-building complex rise from the ashes of Saddam's Baghdad, Washington is sending a clear message to Iraqis: "We're here to stay." It's being built in the Middle East, but George W's palace, as the locals have dubbed the new US embassy, is designed as a suburb of Washington. An army of more than 3500 diplomatic and support staff will have their own sports centre, beauty parlour and swimming pool. Each of the six residential blocks will contain more than 600 apartments. The prime 25-hectare site was a steal — it was a gift from the Iraqi Government. And if the five-metre-thick perimeter walls don't keep the locals at bay, then the built-in surface-to-air missile station should. Guarded by a dozen gangly cranes, the site in the heart of the Green Zone is floodlit by night and is so removed from Iraqi reality that its entire construction force is foreign. (By Paul McGeough, TheAge.com, August 26, 2006). Full article=>

In an ironic twist, legislation that would open up the murky world of government contracting to public scrutiny has been derailed by a secret parliamentary maneuver. An unidentified senator placed a "secret hold" on legislation introduced by Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., that would create a searchable database of government contracts, grants, insurance, loans and financial assistance, worth $2.5 trillion last year. The database would bring transparency to federal spending and be as simple to use as conducting a Google search. (By Rebecca Carr, Cox News Service, August 23, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush was in the midst of explaining how the attacks of 9/11 inspired his “freedom agenda” and the attacks on Iraq until a reporter, Ken Herman of Cox News, interrupted to ask what Iraq had to do with 9/11. “Nothing,” Bush defiantly answered. Watch it. (InThink Progres online, August 21, 2006). Full article=> NOTE: Click photo of Bush there to see streaming video.

The use of depleted uranium weaponry by the United States, defying all international treaties, will slowly annihilate all species on earth including the human species, and yet this country continues to do so with full knowledge of its destructive potential. Since 1991, the United States has staged four wars using depleted uranium weaponry, illegal under all international treaties, conventions and agreements, as well as under the US military law. The continued use of this illegal radioactive weaponry, which has already contaminated vast regions with low level radiation and will contaminate other parts of the world over time, is indeed a world affair and an international issue. The deeper purpose is revealed by comparing regions now contaminated with depleted uranium — from Egypt, the Middle East, Central Asia and the northern half of India — to the US geostrategic imperatives described in Zbigniew Brzezinski’s 1997 book The Grand Chessboard. (By Leuren Moret, in Globalresearch.ca, July 8, 2004). Full article=>

Israel has appointed a top general to oversee a war against Iran, prompting speculation that it is preparing for possible military action against Teheran's nuclear programme. Maj Gen Elyezer Shkedy, Israel's air force chief, will be overall commander for the "Iran front", according to military sources spoken to by The Sunday Telegraph. News of the appointment comes just days before a United Nations deadline expires for Iran to give up its nuclear programme, which Western governments fear will be used to produce atomic weapons. Despite Iran's offer last week to engage in "serious talks" on the matter, Israel fears even more than other Western nations that the offer is simply to buy time for Teheran to secure all the technology it needs to build the bomb. (By Harry de Quetteville, The Telegraph {U.K.}, August 27, 2006). Full article=>

The rise in terrorism paranoia that reignited following the “second 9/11 plan” claimed to have been targeted against Britain has reached comic proportions. Pronunciation of the word “bomb” in American airports can lead to arrest and flight delays. Different versions of this paranoia have created a “comedy-like terror panic,” which delayed seven U.S.-bound flights in just one day. Another plane was forced to land after it was discovered that the mirror in one of the lavatories was not properly secured, and in another event, passengers were made to wait in an airport for hours because of the panic caused by a screaming child that refused to get on a plane. (Zaman Online, August 27, 2006). Full article=>

ALERT UPDATE: The EPA has published a final human chemical testing rule here. Unfortunately, the agency did little to respond to the tens of thousands of citizens opposed to the loopholes in the original proposed rule. The EPA responds to the comments by moving the problematic sections of the proposed document (see below) to other parts of the document. One aspect of the final rule that is positive is that the EPA further articulates that the rule bans all intentional dosing. Still, the rule has many loopholes (see below) regarding "observational dosing." Observational dosing can have its benefits when conducted via legitmate methods. But, historically, that has not been the practice of chemical companies seeking to weaken regulations on their products by testing on humans. (Organic Comsumers Association, August 27, 2006). Full article=>

According to the Jerusalem Post a "high-ranking [Israeli] defense official" told them that "there is growing consensus within the [Israeli] defense establishment that the United States will not attack Iran, and that Israel might be forced to act independently to stop the Islamic republic from obtaining nuclear weapons." But, after more than three years of go-anywhere see-anything inspections, Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, continues to report to the IAEA Board of Governors and to the UN Security Council that he can find "no indication" that Iran has a nuclear weapons program. (By Gordon Prather, Antiwar.com, August 26, 2006). Full article=>

Talk about chutzpah! I was suffering a bit from outrage fatigue yesterday but was shaken out of it as soon as I downloaded an unusually slick paper, "Recognizing Iran as a Strategic Threat: An Intelligence Challenge for the United States," released this week by House intelligence committee chair, Pete Hoekstra. No, not "Hoaxer." This is serious – very serious. The paper amounts to a pre-emptive strike on what's left of the Intelligence Community, usurping its prerogative to provide policymakers with estimates on front-burner issues – in this case, Iran's weapons of mass destruction and other threats. The Senate had already requested a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran. But Hoekstra is first out of the starting gate. Professional intelligence officers were "as a courtesy" invited to provide input to Hoekstra's report. (By Ray McGovern, in Antiwar.com, August 26, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The Hoekstra paper is published as an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file. If you do not have an Acrobat file reader installed on your computer, you may go to www.adobe.com and download the FREE installation file for it there. As to the accuracy and validity of the paper, first read McGovern’s article and then dig into the paper itself, which is amazing to behold! McGovern, by the way, is a retired CIA officer turned political analyst. He was a Federal employee under seven U.S. presidents over 27 years and presented the morning intelligence briefings at the White House for many years.

Suing Verizon to keep the lies hidden... watching the largest decline in housing prices in 13 years... the mishandling of personal data... lies about Iraq, now lies about Iran... why its better when global free trade agreements fail... (By Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster, August 26, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Reliable Robert smacks another one clear out of the ball field!

By Albert McKeon, A chief prosecutor of Nazi war crimes at Nuremberg has said George W. Bush should be tried for war crimes along with Saddam Hussein. Benjamin Ferenccz, who secured convictions for 22 Nazi officers for their work in orchestrating the death squads that killed more than 1 million people, told OneWorld both Bush and Saddam should be tried for starting "aggressive" wars--Saddam for his 1990 attack on Kuwait and Bush for his 2003 invasion of Iraq. "Nuremberg declared that aggressive war is the supreme international crime," the 87-year-old Ferenccz told OneWorld from his home in New York. (By Aaron Glantz, OneWorld US, August 25, 2006). Full article=>

A Republican candidate for this area’s (Nashua, New Hampshire) congressional seat said Wednesday that the U.S. government was complicit in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In an editorial board interview with The Telegraph on Wednesday, the candidate, Mary Maxwell, said the U.S. government had a role in killing nearly 3,000 people at the World Trade Center and Pentagon, so it could make Americans hate Arabs and allow the military to bomb Muslim nations such as Iraq. Maxwell, 59, seeks the 2nd District congressional seat. The Concord resident opposes the incumbent, Charles Bass of Peterborough, and Berlin Mayor Bob Danderson in the Republican primary Sept. 12. (By Albert McKeon, Nashua Telegraph, August 24, 2006). Full article=>

Drifting in the wind, it may appear to be a harmless seagull -- but the small unmanned aircraft is packed with electronics for intelligence and reconnaissance missions. Developers say the ultra-light CyberBug is simple to operate, and that any child who has ever played a video game could learn to fly it in a few hours. But at $30,000, it's not priced to sell at toy stores. The CyberBug represents a class of unmanned aircraft finding growing acceptance with police and military officials. Others are in use by the Army in trouble spots like Afghanistgan. Some of the best-known unmanned aircraft are the Predator and the Global Hawk. On Wednesday, CyberDefense Systems demonstrated one of its CyberBugs in conjunction with an announcement by a Georgia firm, National Security Associates, that it will build a 700-acre police and military training site near Fort Benning, home of the Army's Infantry, Airborne and Ranger schools. (By Elliot Minor, Associated Press, August 24, 2006). Full article=>

A structural engineer Charles N. Pegelow was a suprise guest on Jim Fetzer's radio program on August 24, which was broadcast over the Republic Broadcasting Network. Show host Fetzer is the founder of Scholars for 911 Truth. Pegelow, a civil engineer, is a specialist in steel structures such a oil drilling platforms, which are subject to severe battering by ocean waves and where fire is an everpresent danger. He discussed reasons for the collapsing of World Trade Center buildings on 9/11 during the second hour of Professor Fetzer’s show. (911blog.com, August 24, 2006). Click here to read through Pegelow’s professional resume’. Click here to listen to the hour-long interview using mp3 or Real Audio players (your choice).

LC Editor’s Comment: The easy way to access the second hour of Fetzer’s show is to move the time positioning stylus of your player to almost the end of the first hour and then click PLAY. If you have time, you might also want to listen to Fetzer’s interview of David Ray Griffin, which occupies the first hour of the show. Both interviews are excellent.

Sales of previously owned homes plunged in July to the lowest level in 2 1/2 years and the inventory of unsold homes climbed to a new record high, fresh signs that the housing market has lost steam. The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that sales of existing homes and condominiums dropped by 4.1 percent in July from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.33 million. That was the lowest level since January 2004. (By Jeannine Aversa, Associated Press, August 23, 2006). Full article=>

The delivery of at least 100 GBU 28 bunker busters bombs containing depleted uranium warheads by the United States to Israel for use against targets in Lebanon will result in additional radioactive and chemical toxic contamination with consequent adverse health and environmental effects throughout the middle east.

Today, U.S., British, and now Israeli military personnel are using illegal uranium munitions- America's and England's own "dirty bombs" while U.S. Army, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Defense, and British Ministry of Defence officials deny that there are any adverse health and environmental effects as a consequence of the manufacture, testing, and/or use of uranium munitions to avoid liability for the willful and illegal dispersal of a radioactive toxic material - depleted uranium.

The use of uranium weapons is absolutely unacceptable, and a crime against humanity. Consequently the citizens of the world and all governments must force cessation of uranium weapons use. I must demand that Israel now provide medical care to all DU casualties in Lebanon and clean up all DU contamination.

(By Maj. Doug Rokke, PhD, U.S. Army Retired, Former Director, U.S. Army Depleted Uranium project, in The Power Hour, July 24, 2006).

Israeli warplanes roared over Lebanon's northern Mediterranean coast and along its border with Syria on Monday, after the Lebanese defense minister warned rogue Palestinian rocket teams against attacking Israel and provoking retaliation that could unravel an already shaky cease-fire. (By Zeina Karam, AP, August 21, 2006). Full article=>

North American Union threatens US sovereignty

The problem with the Bush administration is that not enough of its officials have read the U.S. Constitution. Take, for example, Section 2 of Article 2. When dealing with foreign nations, it says that the President “shall have the power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur….” So, why is President Bush and his administration seeking to establish a North American Union that would, in effect, abolish the borders between Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America? Moreover, it would involve our government in so many common regulatory mandates with these two nations as to render the sovereignty of the United States a memory of what national self-governance is supposed to be. (By Alan Caruba, Human Events online, August 21, 2006). Full article=>

German chip maker Infineon said on Monday it had won a contract from the U.S. government to supply security chips for an electronic passport system. Infineon said the United States was planning to start issuing the passports to citizens by the end of the year, with about 15 million electronic passports in the first year. "Infineon will supply chips for several million passports, but not for all 15 million," an Infineon spokeswoman told Reuters. The company declined to give any further details about the size and value of the contract. Infineon is the first and currently the only supplier for these kind of security chips contracted by the U.S. government, the company said. (Reuters, August 21, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Are the chips for the new U.S. ID/Driver’s license to be issued next year next?

The NAFTA marketplace unrestrained in the pursuit of cheap labor has driven an increasing volume of manufacturing off-shore to Communist China, where slave prison camps offer a cost of labor that is hard to beat. Chinese made goods ranging from electronics to toys and clothes are daily sold in mass marketing retailers such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, K-Mart, Target, Lowes, and dozens of other U.S. corporations. Cheap goods from Communist China increasingly line the shelves of the NAFTA marketplace under marquee product trade names that bear no relationship to the Chinese slave labor that manufactured, produced, or otherwise assembled the goods. (By Jerome Corsi, Human Events online, August 21, 2006). Full article=>

What does Israel want? It isn’t just Lebanon

Is anyone really surprised that Israel violated the cease-fire? Here, after all, is a nation that has defied the United Nations on 321 different occasions, refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and proudly proclaims its own lawlessness. Only a fool, or a masochist, would count on Tel Aviv to keep its agreements. Apart from that, however, this latest raid underscores the real objective of what the American media insists on calling the Israeli "incursion" (never "invasion") into Lebanon: it's all about Syria and Iran. (By Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, August 21, 2006). Full article=>

Following a month or more of hysterical fearmongering from Neo-Con cells and their evangelist sympathizers, tomorrow, August 22nd, is being hyped by some as the potential 'end of the world' doomsday in which a massive Iranian attack will result in mushroom clouds over Israeli and US cities. Quite how Madman Mahmoud is going to engineer the apocalypse when CIA’s own investigation said he was ten years away from the bomb is never explained by the festering alarmists. (By Paul Joseph Watson, Prisonplanet.com, August 21, 2006)). Full article=>

The Bush administration continues to bypass standard intelligence channels and use what some believe to be propaganda tactics to create a compelling case for war with Iran, US foreign policy experts and former US intelligence officials tell Raw Story. By Larisa Alexandrovna, Rawstory.com, August 18, 2008). Full article=>

Who can forget the chutzpah of President George W. Bush as he bragged to Bob Woodward, "I'm commander in chief.... That's the interesting thing about being president ... I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation." Wrong, Mr. President. You and Vice President Cheney seem to have missed "Constitution 101." And you seem to have laughed off admonitions against hiring lawyers eager to give an obsequious nihil obstat to whatever you want to do. You have allowed the likes of David Addington, Alberto Gonzales, and John Yoo to do what Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) has accused you and your advisers of doing regarding Iraq – "making it up as they go along." It's enough to make you believe Shakespeare may have been right about lawyers. (By Ray McGovern, in Antiwar.com, August 19, 2006). Full article=>

John Negroponte, Director of National Intelligence for the United States, announced on Friday, August 18, 2006, the creation of a new special CIA mission to oversee intelligence activities in Venezuela and Cuba. Negroponte, who coordinates the entire intelligence community in the United States and reports directly to President George W. Bush, named CIA veteran J. Patrick Maher as Acting Mission Manager of this new important division. According to a Press Release from the Directorate of National Intelligence, “Maher will be responsible for integrating collection and analysis on Cuba and Venezuela across the Intelligence Community, identifying and filling gaps in intelligence, and ensuring the implementation of strategies, among other duties.” According to Negroponte, “such efforts are critical today, as policymakers have increasingly focused on the challenges that Cuba and Venezuela pose to American foreign policy.”… Top Secret CIA documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act in 2004 revealed the in-depth role the Agency played in the coup d’état against President Hugo Chávez in April 2002… Venezuela has presidential elections coming up on December 3, 2006, and is concerned that this new special CIA Mission will attempt to interfere with the electoral process. (By Eva Golinger, Venezuelanalysis.com, August 19, 2006). Full article=>

SEC fumbling... Back-dating of options the new scandal... Bernake spins housing crash... join the attack against paperless electronic voiting machines...The latest phony terrorist event was conditioning the public for revenge on the muslim hordes... bankruptcy filings are on the rise... The Chairmen of two senate committees have written to the head of the SEC saying they are troubled by the agency’s handling of accusations that political consideration’s impeded the investigation of a prominent hedge fund, Pequot Capital Management…As we reported to you before, the Bush administration, namely Dick Cheney, engineered the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. He instructed Israel to use the same losing tactics he used in Iraq where our troops have been bogged down for so long. Israel lost the war and in spite of that Cheney and his band of neocons want to attack Iran in the next two months trying to force voters to bring the Republicans back into power in the House and Senate and keep as many incumbents in office as possible. (Robert Chapman, The International Forecaster, August 19, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Bob is the best of the best in the business. If you find that you like his weekly web articles, you’ll love his weekly full newsletters to subscribers, which are typically 30 pages or more long and filled with practical political-economic news and tips that could make you a bundle and save you from financial disaster. It’s great!

The estimated costs for the development of major weapons systems for the US military have doubled since September 11, 2001, with a trillion-dollar price tag for new planes, ships, and missiles that would have little direct role in the fight against insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq. (By Bryan Bender, The Boston Globe, August 19, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: War is fun and profitable for those who do not have to fight in it or die in it. That is, for arms manufacturers, energy companies who provide the fuel for war vehicles, the bankers who finance these companies and the politicians can’t seem to find enough wars to stir up over the world and whose political campaigns are supported by these companies. A suggestion: Read General Smedley Butler’s book, War is a Racket. Though published in 1935, its lessons are timeless..

NASA no longer knows the whereabouts of the original tapes of man's first landing on the moon nearly 40 years ago, an official of the US space agency said. "NASA is searching for the original tapes of the Apollo 11 spacewalk on July 21, 1969," said Ed Campion, a spokesman for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, a Washington suburb. The tapes record the famous declaration of Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, as he set foot on its surface: "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind." (AFP, August 15, 2006). Full article=>

The slowdown in the once-sizzling housing market is spreading, with 28 states and the District of Columbia reporting spring sales declines, led by big drops in former boom areas of Arizona, Florida and California. Nationally, sales were down 7 percent in the April-June quarter this year compared with the same period in 2005, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday in its latest state-by-state look at housing conditions around the country. The Realtors survey showed that the biggest declines occurred in states that had been enjoying red-hot sales during the five-year housing boom. The five biggest declines this spring compared to the April-June period of 2005 were Arizona, down 26.9 percent; Florida, down 26.7 percent; California, down 25.3 percent; Virginia, down 23.9 percent, and Nevada, down 23.5 percent. (By Martin Crutsinger, AP, August 15, 2006). Full article=>

There is strong evidence that as the Bush administration is mulling over plans to bomb Iran, the simmering conflict between high-ranking military professionals and militaristic civilian leaders is bursting into the open. The conflict, festering ever since the invasion of Iraq, has now been heightened over the US administration's policy of an aerial military strike against Iran. While civilian militarists, headed by Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, are said to have drawn plans to bomb Iran, senior commanders are openly questioning the wisdom of such plans. (By Ismael Hossein-zadeh, Asia Times Online, August 15, 2006). Full article=>

The number of immigrants living in American households rose 16 percent over the last five years, fueled largely by recent arrivals from Mexico, according to fresh data released by the Census Bureau. And increasingly, immigrants are bypassing the traditional gateway states like California and New York and settling directly in parts of the country that until recently saw little immigrant activity — regions like the Upper Midwest, New England and the Rocky Mountain States. Coming in the heart of an election season in which illegal immigration has emerged as an issue, the new data from the bureau’s 2005 American Community Survey is certain to generate more debate. But more than that, demographers said, it highlights one reason immigration has become such a heated topic. (By Rick Lyman, New York Times, August 15, 2006). Full article=>

The White House on Sunday vigorously denied a report in the New Yorker magazine that the Bush administration had worked with Israel to plot military action against Hezbollah as part of a long-term plan to target Iran, a longtime supporter of the Shiite Muslim militant group. "The piece abounds in fictions," White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said in an e-mailed response to a request for comment. He also assailed reporter Seymour M. Hersh's use of unnamed sources, saying it was "hard to imagine that the story would meet any major news organization's standards for sourcing and verification." Appearing Sunday on CNN's "Late Edition," Hersh alluded to his early reporting on detainee abuses at the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. "When I did Abu Ghraib, the same kind of stuff was thrown at me — that I'm fantasizing," he said. His editors at the New Yorker, he said, "know who my sources are. In many cases, they've talked to my sources." (By Times Staff Writer, LA Times, August 14, 2006). Full article=>

However horrendous the crimes of two of the world’s great liars and terrorists in Gaza and Lebanon, it is imperative that we not let the deeds of Ehud Olmert and George W. Bush distract us from another recent event. The U.S. alliance with Israel and the power of the lobby that lets Israel so easily influence U.S. foreign policy have been major factors in allowing the monstrous slaughter of innocent civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. What is happening in these lands may also encourage Olmert and Bush to start new hostilities in Syria and heavy, possibly nuclear, bombings in Iran -- and this entire mess of neocon pottage may lead to a new World War and clashes of civilizations and religious fundamentalisms that these two wretched politicians seem quite literally to want to impose on the rest of us. It’s a tough case to make that anything else going on in the world -- anywhere -- could possibly be of equal importance.

But on July 29 and 30, and then again on August 1, something else happened that increasing numbers of people believe is of equal importance. On these dates C-SPAN rebroadcast a panel discussion, held originally in late June, sponsored by an organization called the American Scholars’ Symposium to discuss what really happened on September 11, 2001. Held in Los Angeles, the meeting lasted two days, and the C-SPAN rebroadcast covered one almost two-hour wrap-up session. The meeting was attended by 1,200 people interested in hearing something other than the official story of 9/11. The TV audience was evidently large enough to spur C-SPAN to broadcast the panel discussion five separate times in four days. (By Bill Christison, at www.dissidentvoice.org, August 14, 2006). Full article=>

Bill Christison is a former senior official of the CIA. He was a National Intelligence Officer and the Director of the CIA's Office of Regional and Political Analysis before his retirement in 1979. Since then he has written numerous articles on U.S. foreign policies. He can be reached at: kathy.bill@christison-santafe.com.

LC Editor's Comment: I've posted the link to the streaming video of this panel discussion in the Best of the Best Video's section at www.libertycalling.com. I urge you play it if you have not already. Powerful!

At airport security checkpoints in Knoxville, Tenn. this summer, scores of departing passengers were chosen to step behind a curtain, sit in a metallic oval booth and don headphones. With one hand inserted into a sensor that monitors physical responses, the travelers used the other hand to answer questions on a touch screen about their plans. A machine measured biometric responses -- blood pressure, pulse and sweat levels -- that then were analyzed by software. The idea was to ferret out U.S. officials who were carrying out carefully constructed but make-believe terrorist missions. The trial of the Israeli-developed system represents an effort by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to determine whether technology can spot passengers who have "hostile intent." (By Jonathan Karp and Laura Meckler, Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2005). Full article=>

LC Editors Comments: Relax! Here we have yet another example of our government’s using a main stream news source and story to intimidate you --- to condition you to be compliant and to always think, “Oh my! I better not think bad thoughts about our government and Mr. Bush --- If I do, they may find out and keep me off my flight…keep me from traveling --- Oh my! I better be nice! I better be good! I must think nice thoughts!” Chill out!

Sickened Iraq vets cite depleted uranium

It takes at least 10 minutes and a large glass of orange juice to wash down all the pills -- morphine, methadone, a muscle relaxant, an antidepressant, a stool softener. Viagra for sexual dysfunction. Valium for his nerves. Four hours later, Herbert Reed will swallow another 15 mg of morphine to cut the pain clenching every part of his body. He will do it twice more before the day is done.Since he left a bombed-out train depot in Iraq, his gums bleed. There is more blood in his urine, and still more in his stool. Bright light hurts his eyes. A tumor has been removed from his thyroid. Rashes erupt everywhere, itching so badly they seem to live inside his skin. Migraines cleave his skull. His joints ache, grating like door hinges in need of oil. (By Deborah Hasting, AP, August 12, 2006). Full article=>

Wall Street and Washington still oblivious to what is going on... Understanding the current account deficit... How war obsures the problem of the economy... Public opposition to the war in Iraq continues to grow... President Bush's plan for avoiding war crimes prosecution, letting psyopathic torturers off the hook .... FEMA fuels no-bid greed... Halliburton dragged on the carped for Nigerian bribes.... Full article=>

In 1979, depleted uranium (DU) particles escaped from the National Lead Industries factory near Albany, N.Y.,which was manufacturing DU weapons for the U.S military. The particles traveled 26 miles and were discovered in a laboratory filter by Dr. Leonard Dietz, a nuclear physicist. This discovery led to a shut down of the factory in 1980, for releasing morethan 0.85 pounds of DU dust into the atmosphere every month, and involved a cleanup of contaminated properties costing over 100 million dollars. Imagine a far worse scenario. Terrorists acquire a million pounds of the deadly dust and scatter it in populated areas throughout the U.S. Hundreds of children report symptoms. Many acquire cancer and leukemia, suffering an early and painful death. Huge increases in severe birth defects are reported. Oncologists are overwhelmed. Soccer fields, sand lots and parks, traditional play areas for kids, are no longer safe. People lose their most basic freedom, the ability to go outside and safely breathe. Sounds worse than 9/11? Welcome to Iraq and Afghanistan. (By Doug Westerman, n Vital Truths and Information Clearning House, May 3, 2006). Full article=>

Since the American people have lost their courage, morality, and ability to learn or care about history, the efforts of those who work tirelessly to provide the truth of America’s conquering becomes, at some point, rather pointless – minus the fact that this nation is full of children. The proof positive that Americans could care less is most prominently demonstrated by the fact that most parents still send their children into public education camps to ensure their children’s social-global re-engineering. By doing so, they ensure America’s demise – almost as if they desired their children’s freedom and rights to end. On that note, it is best said that “freedom and rights” have been all but an illusion to begin with. Freedom for “the people” was attempted in our new nation, but the same old aristocratic/elite corruptions were in full play even during the birth pangs of our country. There has never been anything new in history when it comes to the world’s aristocracies. (By Nancy Levant, NewsWithViews.com, June 27, 2006). Full article=>

In the days after Hezbollah crossed from Lebanon into Israel, on July 12th, to kidnap two soldiers, triggering an Israeli air attack on Lebanon and a full-scale war, the Bush Administration seemed strangely passive. “It’s a moment of clarification,” President George W. Bush said at the G-8 summit, in St. Petersburg, on July 16th. “It’s now become clear why we don’t have peace in the Middle East.” He described the relationship between Hezbollah and its supporters in Iran and Syria as one of the “root causes of instability,” and subsequently said that it was up to those countries to end the crisis. Two days later, despite calls from several governments for the United States to take the lead in negotiations to end the fighting, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that a ceasefire should be put off until “the conditions are conducive.”

The Bush Administration, however, was closely involved in the planning of Israel’s retaliatory attacks. President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney were convinced, current and former intelligence and diplomatic officials told me, that a successful Israeli Air Force bombing campaign against Hezbollah’s heavily fortified underground-missile and command-and-control complexes in Lebanon could ease Israel’s security concerns and also serve as a prelude to a potential American preëmptive attack to destroy Iran’s nuclear installations, some of which are also buried deep underground.

(By Seymour M. Hersh, “Watching Lebanon”, in The New Yorker magazine, posted August 14, 2006). Full article=>

Revelations concerning the origins and connections of the alleged liquid bomb terror plot to Pakistan and the 7/7 bombings in London provide a strong indication that the operation, known for months yet deliberately timed for public release, was a synthetic ruse concocted by the Bush/Blair cabal to re-package the flagging war on terror. Media reports in the days following the alert cite Pakistan's ISI as having identified Rashid Rauf as, "the link between the plot's planners and British-based Muslims who were allegedly preparing to carry out attacks on transatlantic flights." According to former NSA official Wayne Madsen, the Lashkar-e-Toiba terror group, to which Rashid Rauf is affiliated, is wholly operated and funded by the Pakistani ISI. The Pakistani ISI is a CIA front and controls terror cells at the discretion of the highest levels of the US military-industrial complex. This means that the potential mastermind of the liquid bomb plot, Rashid Rauf, was operating under the oversight and direction of Pakistani and by proxy American intelligence agencies. (By Paul Joseph Watson, Prisonplant.com, August 13, 2006). Full article=>

This week's cross-Atlantic terror alert has all the markings of an orchestrated incident to maintain public support for the ongoing US-British war on terror. White House spokesman Tony Snow admitted that President Bush had not been awakened by the dramatic news of Britain's air traffic shutdown because "Bush had been getting regular briefings on the developments for days." If they knew so far in advance, why the dramatic shutdown of trans-Atlantic air traffic inconveniencing thousands, as if they intervened just in time?

The British press admitted that it was a Scotland Yard "covert operation" that disrupted the alleged plot. Another newspaper admitted that it was a "pre-planned, intelligence-led operation by the Metropolitan Police anti-terrorist branch and security services." What we always find out later is that the government anti-terrorism forces had covert agents within these groups, monitoring their activities at best, and provoking and instructing them at worst. If the recent Canadian sting operation is any example, we will find that government agent-provocateurs were busy enticing angry Muslims to join the group and giving them training on building lethal devices. That is hardly independent, homegrown terrorism. It's induced, controlled terror for political purposes.

Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks continued on Saturday despite a U.N. resolution for a cease-fire, with missiles and artillery killing at least 19 people across Lebanon, mostly in the south. The deadliest attack was on homes in the village of Rachaf, some 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the Israeli border, where at least 15 civilians were killed, security officials said. Israeli missiles also hit a vehicle in Kharayeb, a village in the Zahrani region about halfway between Beirut and the Israeli border, killing three people and wounding five, officials said. (The Hindu News, August 12, 2006). Full article=>

Israel has asked the Bush administration to speed delivery of short-range antipersonnel rockets armed with cluster munitions, which it could use to strike Hezbollah missile sites in Lebanon, two American officials said Thursday. The request for M-26 artillery rockets, which are fired in barrages and carry hundreds of grenade-like bomblets that scatter and explode over a broad area, is likely to be approved shortly, along with other arms, a senior official said. But some State Department officials have sought to delay the approval because of concerns over the likelihood of civilian casualties, and the diplomatic repercussions. The rockets, while they would be very effective against hidden missile launchers, officials say, are fired by the dozen and could be expected to cause civilian casualties if used against targets in populated areas. (By David S. Cloud, The New York Times, August 11, 2006). Full article=>

Bush eager to cut SS and Medicare spending after elections

The Bush administration has begun sounding out lawmakers and other key figures about mounting a new bipartisan effort to rein in the costs of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security after the midterm elections, according to officials in the administration and on Capitol Hill. No specific plan has been advanced, and administration officials are proceeding gingerly given the political debacle that beset the White House last year when President Bush promoted a plan to create private accounts in the Social Security program. But they have been sending strong signals in recent weeks that they want to try something again after the elections in November. (By Michael Abramowitz, Washington Post, August 11, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush had been briefed over the last few days about the thwarted airline plot underway in Britain, a White House spokesman said today — "especially as the action by the Brits (to interrupt the plot) became more and more imminent,'' according to Tony Snow, the White House press secretary. Bush, who had gone to his Texas ranch for an 11-day working vacation, "had full briefings through the weekend'' on the matter, Snow said today. (By Mark Silva, Chicago Tribune, August 10, 2006). Full article=>

While the Bush Administration calls for the immediate disbanding of what it has labeled "private" and "illegal" militias in Lebanon and Iraq, it is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into its own global private mercenary army tasked with protecting US officials and institutions overseas. The secretive program, which spans at least twenty-seven countries, has been an incredible jackpot for one heavily Republican-connected firm in particular: Blackwater USA. Government records recently obtained by The Nation reveal that the Bush Administration has paid Blackwater more than $320 million since June 2004 to provide "diplomatic security" services globally. The massive contract is the largest known to have been awarded to Blackwater to date and reveals how the Administration has elevated a once-fledgling security firm into a major profiteer in the "war on terror." (By Jeremy Scahill, The Nation, August 10, 2006). Full article=>

Connect the dots, and it's clear that Cheney and the neocons are desperate to start a war with Iran. For over a year now I have been reporting on activities that appear to be leading the United States into direct confrontation with Iran. Aside from Sy Hersh and a few others, the majority of the U.S. media largely has ignored this march toward war, mainly because it helped disseminate the pre-war propaganda prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But failing to connect the dots on Iran is just as bad, if not worse, because Iran is by no means Iraq. A war with Persia will be a catastrophe of unimaginable consequences and the trigger for that action may have already begun. (By Larisa Alexandrovna, AlterNet, August 10, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush seized on a foiled London airline bomb plot to hammer unnamed critics he accused of having all but forgotten the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Weighed down by th war in Iraq, Bush and his aides have tried to shift the national political debate from that conflict to the broader and more popular global war on terrorism ahead of November 7 congressional elections. The London conspiracy is "a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation," the president said on a day trip to Wisconsin. (AFP, August 10, 2006). Full article=>

The four giant construction firms that received controversial no-bid contracts to house Hurricane Katrina evacuees last September will be earning up to $250 million apiece to do similar work after future disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said yesterday. Unlike the Katrina deals, the contracts announced yesterday were awarded after a bidding process. But most of them went to the same four firms: Bechtel Corp., CH2M Hill Cos., Fluor Corp. and Shaw Group Inc. Two new consortia of companies were also chosen for a share of the work. Together, the six winners will receive up to $1.5 billion for hauling and installing temporary trailers to house evacuees during future emergencies (By Griff Witte and Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, August 10, 2006). Full article=>

Some 30 percent of Americans cannot say in what year the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington took place, according to a poll published in the Washington Post newspaper. (AFP, August 9, 2006). Full article=>

Did Saddam Hussein's government have weapons of mass destruction in 2003? Half of America apparently still thinks so, a new poll finds, and experts see a raft of reasons why: a drumbeat of voices from talk radio to die-hard bloggers to the Oval Office, a surprise headline here or there, a rallying around a partisan flag, and a growing need for people, in their own minds, to justify the war in Iraq. People tend to become "independent of reality" in these circumstances, says opinion analyst Steven Kull. The reality in this case is that after a 16-month, $900-million-plus investigation, the U.S. weapons hunters known as the Iraq Survey Group declared that Iraq had dismantled its chemical, biological and nuclear arms programs in 1991 under U.N. oversight. That finding in 2004 reaffirmed the work of U.N. inspectors who in 2002-03 found no trace of banned arsenals in Iraq. (By Charles Hanley, Associated Press, August 6, 2006). Full article=>

Numerous questions need to be asked about this latest attempt by the dirty Neo-Fascist slugs to bully people into placating to being treated like slaves and updates on the frothing propaganda being spewed by the news networks need to be quantified.

For what it's worth, Drudge currently has this on his front page...CNN: 'Don't use your cellphone within 50 feet of a suspicious object, you might detonate something'...Absolute twilight zone irrational bullshit. ABC News and FOX aren't done with this one yet. ABC says five deadly terror suspects on the loose - that's not enough for FOX who say ten are on the run.

Reports differ as to when the supposed plot was discovered - BBC says Bush spoke to Blair about it some days ago - other reports say its been known for weeks. Known for weeks - and yet SNAP - all the ridiculous measures about hair gel, baby milk and water bottles are implemented on a whim. A decision had been made to introduce this latest fraud exactly on time this morning. If it was such a deadly imminent plot why did they wait to put these measures in AFTER the arrests has already taken place? BBC: "Security chiefs said the group believed to be planning the attack had been under surveillance for some time." The terrorists were caught engaging in a dry run before the attack. This translates as 'the patsies were making sure they got noticed' - actor James Woods tried to alert the authorities to a similar drill before 9/11 but was ignored.

Bush's comments are totally transparent. "The American people need to know we live in a dangerous world, but our government will do everything we can to protect our people from those dangers." The men pointing sub-machine guns at old ladies are here to help. Display the proper level of obedience to your government and we will protect you from the terrorists. Impinge on our ability to 'defend' America and something might go boom boom.

This latest PR scam will subside into implausible buffoonery within days - every other major terror alert that we have encountered is always exposed as a monumental fraud and we see no other eventuality. (Prisonplanet.com, August 10, 2006). Original article=>

Today's red level terror alert in symbiosis with escalation of conflict in the Middle East is the trial balloon for a massive staged false flag terror attack, blamed on Hezbollah or Al-Qaeda, that will light the blue touch paper for World War Three. Radio host Alex Jones, who predicted a staged attack on the World Trade Center involving the use of Osama bin Laden as a fall guy in July 2001, has now gone on record with a second prediction that a staged government terror attack will occur before the end of October unless a gargantuan effort to prevent it is launched. (By Paul Joseph Watson, Prisonplanet.com, August 10, 2006). Full article=>

Israel set to invade Lebanon despite lessons of 1982 war

Israel has approved a major escalation of war by voting to send thousands of fresh troops deeper into Lebanon in an expanded offensive echoing its invasion nearly a quarter of a century ago. The decision came as attempts at the United Nations in New York to agree a ceasefire resolution were said last night to be on the point of collapse. (By Michael Macintyre, The Independent {U.K.}, August 10, 2006). Full article=>

Associated Press reports that the dastardly new terror plot is a re-hash of Operation Bojinka - a 1995 plot to blow up 10 Western airliners simultaneously. What they don't report is that its ringleader - Ramzi Youssef - was protected by the US government in 1992. In September of 1992 Youssef entered the US with Ahmad Ajaj. Ajaj's luggage contained documents on how to make bombs and was stuffed with fake passports and ID's. Ajaj was arrested - amazingly Youssef was released. (Prisonplanet.com, August 10, 2006). Full article=>

The ultimate form of control is fear and the fear that you could lose your life at any moment elicits a Pavlovian response towards those who claim they can protect you. Trauma based mind control is not a conspiracy theory and can be observed naturally after people have been subject to distress. The New World Order know this and that is why the U.S. and British governments issued a spate of fabricated terror alerts immediately after September 11 and continue to do so to this day. Concurrently we are reminded daily that it’s not a matter of if but when the next large terrorist attack occurs. (By Paul Joesph Watson, Prisonplanet.com, February 17, 2003). Full article=>

A plot to blow up planes in flight from the UK to the US and commit "mass murder on an unimaginable scale" has been disrupted, Scotland Yard has said. It is thought the plan was to detonate explosive devices smuggled in hand luggage on to as many as 10 aircraft. Police are searching premises after 21 people were arrested. Home Secretary John Reid said they believed the "main players" were accounted for. (BBC News, August 10, 2006). Full article=>

The White House, and in particular White House advisors who belong to the neoconservative movement, allegedly encouraged Israel to attack Syria as an expansion of its action against Hizbullah, in Lebanon. The progressive opinion and news site ConsortiumNews.com reported Monday that Israeli sources say Israel's "leadership balked at the scheme." One Israeli source said [US President George] Bush's interest in spreading the war to Syria was considered "nuts" by some senior Israeli officials, although Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has generally shared Bush's hard-line strategy against Islamic militants. After rebuffing Bush's suggestion about attacking Syria, the Israeli government settled on a strategy of mounting a major assault in southern Lebanon aimed at rooting out Hizbullah guerrillas who have been firing Katyusha rockets into northern Israel. (By Bob Regan, Christian Science Monitor, August 9, 2006). Full article=>

The Bush administration drafted amendments to the War Crimes Act that would retroactively protect policymakers from possible criminal charges for authorizing any humiliating and degrading treatment of detainees, according to lawyers who have seen the proposal. The move by the administration is the latest effort to deal with treatment of those taken into custody in the war on terror. At issue are interrogations carried out by the CIA, and the degree to which harsh tactics such as water-boarding were authorized by administration officials. A separate law, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, applies to the military. (By Pete Yost, The Associated Press, August 9, 2006). Full article=>

The room shook. Not since the 1983 earthquake has my apartment rocked from side to side. That was the force of the Israeli explosions in the southern suburbs of Beirut - three miles from my home - and the air pressure changed in the house yesterday morning and outside in the street the palm trees moved. (By Robert Fisk, in the Independent {U.K., August 5, 2006). Full article=>

A woman, an immigrant from Russia, throws herself on the ground in total despair in front of her home that has been hit by a missile, crying in broken Hebrew: "My son! My son!" believing him dead. In fact he was only wounded and sent to the hospital. Lebanese children, covered with wounds, in Beirut hospitals. The funeral of the victims of a missile in Haifa. The ruins of a whole devastated quarter in Beirut. Inhabitants of the north of Israel fleeing south from the Katyushas. Inhabitants of the south of Lebanon fleeing north from the Israeli Air Force. Death, destruction. Unimaginable human suffering. And the most disgusting sight: George Bush in a playful mood sitting on his chair in St. Petersburg, with his loyal servant Tony Blair leaning over him, and solving the problem: "See? What they need to do is get Syria to get Hizbullah to stop doing that shit, and it's over."Thus spake the leader of the world, and the seven dwarfs - "the great of the world" - say Amen. (By Uri Avnery, in Counterpunch.com, July 22-23, 2006). Full article=>

The depraved international cabal that has a stranglehold on American political and financial power constitutes a new type of totalitarianism, pillaging the world through barbaric annihilation and creating a World Police State. American and world citizens have not fully awakened to the monstrous, diabolical nature of this totalitarian regime; they assume it must have some modicum of concern for its people, its nation, and human decency. Wrong! Unless we arouse ourselves from this deadly self-imposed stupor of ignorance, these homicidal maniacs will destroy us and the world. (By Norman Liverpool, in GlobalResearch.ca, July 23, 2006). Full article=>

Israeli warplanes have blitzed southern and eastern Lebanon after troops in tanks and armoured cars punched across the border and seized a strategic village, intensifying the war on Hezbollah despite mounting concern over the plight of civilians. Shiite guerrillas responded with a new hail of rocket fire on Israel's third city of Haifa that killed two people, while the UN reported fighting around the village of Marun Al-Ras taken over by Israeli forces on Saturday. As the bloody conflict entered its 12th day Sunday, top diplomats from France, Germany and Britain were heading to the region ahead of a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who rejects ceasefire calls as a "false promise." In a wave of pre-dawn raids, fighter-bombers for the first time struck directly inside the main southern city of Sidon, where tens of thousands of Lebanese have sought refuge from the relentless Israeli offensive. (AFP, in Breitbart.com, July 23, 2006). Full article=>

Britain dramatically broke ranks with George Bush last night over the Lebanon crisis, publicly criticising Israel's military tactics and urging America to 'understand' the price being paid by ordinary Lebanese civilians. The remarks, made in Beirut by the Foreign Office minister, Kim Howells, were the first public criticism by this country of Israel's military campaign, and placed it at odds with Washington's strong support. The Observer can also reveal that Tony Blair voiced deep concern about the escalating violence during a private telephone conversation with the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, last week. But sources close to Blair said Olmert had replied that Israel faced a dire security threat from the Hizbollah militia and was determined to do everything necessary to defeat it. (By Ned Temko, Conal Urquhart in Tel Aviv and Peter Beaumont, The Observer {U.K.}, July 23, 2006. Full article=>

The Israeli invasion of Lebanon was planned between top Israeli officials and members of the Bush administration. On June 17 and 18, former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Likud Knesset member Natan Sharansky met with Vice President Dick Cheney at the American Enterprise Institute conference in Beaver Creek, Colorado. There, the impending Israeli invasions of both Gaza and Lebanon were discussed. After receiving Cheney's full backing for the invasion of Gaza and Lebanon, Netanyahu flew back to Israel and participated in a special "Ex-Prime Ministers" meeting, in which he conveyed the Bush administration's support for the carrying out of the "Clean Break" policy -- the trashing of all past Middle East peace accords, including Oslo. Present at the meeting, in addition to Netanyahu, were current Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Shimon Peres. Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir is very old and suffers from dementia and Ariel Sharon remains in a coma after a series of strokes. (Wayne Madsen Report, July 22-23, 2006). Full article=>

Afghanistan’s notorious Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which was set up by the Taliban to enforce bans on women doing anything from working to wearing nail varnish or laughing out loud, is to be re-created by the government in Kabul. The decision has provoked an outcry among women and human rights activists who fear a return to the days when religious police patrolled the streets, beating or arresting any woman who was not properly covered by a burqa or accompanied by a male relative. “This is a very bad idea at a bad time,” said Sam Zia-Zarifi, the Asia research director of Human Rights Watch. “We’re close to the edge in Afghanistan. It really could all go wrong and it is alarming that the United Nations and western governments are not speaking out on this issue.” (By Christina Lamb, The Sunday Times {U.K.}, July 23, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comments: But we were told in March 2004 by Laura Bush, First Lady in the Bush White House, that, “The struggle for women's rights is a story of ordinary women doing extraordinary things. And today, the women of Afghanistan are writing a new chapter in their history. Afghan women who were once virtual prisoners in their homes, unable to go to school or to work, are helping rebuild their country. Several women helped draft and review the country's new constitution, which reserves seats in parliament for women. In more than 2000 villages, women lead local councils. And this year, all Afghan women will have the opportunity to vote in the presidential election. Women are registering to vote in greater numbers, even though they're threatened by terrorists as they try to register. They're bravely defying these threats, walking for miles to register and holding their voter cards like passports to freedom. Many women are working again and some are even running their own businesses through micro-enterprise programs. In Herat, female credit officers now have more clients than their male counterparts. Many women are learning to read and write, and they're becoming the greatest advocates for their daughters' right to education.” ---- What happened, Mrs. Bush?

Israel has called up army reservists but an Israeli military source has ruled out a mass invasion of Lebanon. The Israeli army told 3,000 reserves to report for duty, an Israeli military source said on Friday, a day after Amir Peretz, the defence minister, refused to rule out a land offensive. Peretz said: "There is no intention of occupying Lebanon, but if certain things must be done, we will do them without hesitating." However, after reports on Friday that an invasion was imminent, an Israeli military source said: "You should not expect a full-scale incursion into Lebanon." The source said that targeted incursions along the border would intensify. (Aljazeera.net, July 22, 2006). Full article=>

You can observe three important things simultaneously in the Middle East: One, Israel's total disregard for the lives and property of the Arab people; two, the effectiveness of the Israeli propaganda machine; and three, the utterly craven support for Israel by the U.S. government. A fourth thing, if you can stand to watch television news, is how casually the talking faces dispense falsehoods because of their ignorance, which is understandable. Middle East history is too complex for a fly-in TV star to avoid the trap of failing to separate fact from propaganda. (By Charlie Reese, Antiwar.com, July 22, 2006). Full article=>

The Bush administration is rushing a delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, which requested the expedited shipment last week after beginning its air campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, American officials said Friday. The decision to quickly ship the weapons to Israel was made with relatively little debate within the Bush administration, the officials said. Its disclosure threatens to anger Arab governments and others because of the appearance that the United States is actively aiding the Israeli bombing campaign in a way that could be compared to Iran’s efforts to arm and resupply Hezbollah. The munitions that the United States is sending to Israel are part of a multimillion-dollar arms sale package approved last year that Israel is able to draw on as needed, the officials said. But Israel’s request for expedited delivery of the satellite and laser-guided bombs was described as unusual by some military officers, and as an indication that Israel still had a long list of targets in Lebanon to strike. (By Davis S. Cloud and Helene Cooper, The New York Times, July 21, 2006). Full article=>

Israel's military response by air, land and sea to what it considered a provocation last week by Hezbollah militants is unfolding according to a plan finalized more than a year ago. In the years since Israel ended its military occupation of southern Lebanon, it watched warily as Hezbollah built up its military presence in the region. When Hezbollah militants kidnapped two Israeli soldiers last week, the Israeli military was ready to react almost instantly. (By Matthew Kalman, San Francisio Chronical, July 21, 2006). Full article=>

The week-old Israeli-Hezbollah conflict is likely to boost the chances of U.S. military action against Iran, according to a number of regional experts who see a broad consensus among the U.S. political elite that the ongoing hostilities are part of a broader offensive being waged by Tehran against Washington across the region. While Israel-centered neoconservatives have been the most aggressive in arguing that Hezbollah's July 12 cross-border attack could only have been carried out with Iran's approval, if not encouragement, that view has been largely accepted and echoed by the mainstream media, as well as other key political factions, including liberal internationalists identified with the Democratic Party. (By Jim Lobe, Antiwar.com, July 21, 2006). Full article=>

Bill Title: Condemning the recent attacks against the State of Israel, holding terrorists and their state-sponsors accountable for such attacks, supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and for other purposes.

For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centrepiece of US Middle Eastern policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread ‘democracy’ throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardised not only US security but that of much of the rest of the world. This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state? One might assume that the bond between the two countries was based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives, but neither explanation can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the US provides. (John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, London Review of Books, March 23, 2006). Full article=>

Today’s conservatives are eager to trade freedom for security. On June 23, the New York Times and other papers revealed that the Bush administration has been vacuuming up records passing through a Belgian hub for international banking. According to Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey, the United States government may have conducted “hundreds of thousands” of warrantless searches of personal financial data. Some government lawyers doubt the legality of the program, and administration officials told the Los Angeles Times that it had only been “marginally successful” at going after al-Qaeda. No matter. The exposé set off perhaps the biggest boom in conservative press-bashing since Watergate. The White House quickly re-labeled the surveillance program the “Terrorist Finance Tracking Program” and with near unanimity, the Right fell into line. President Bush angrily declared, “the disclosure of this program is disgraceful ... for people to leak that program, and for a newspaper to publish it, does great harm to the United States of America.” Vice President Cheney asserted that the Times article “made it more difficult for us to prevent attacks in the future” and “will enable the terrorists to look for ways to defeat our efforts.” (James Bouvard, The American Conservative, July 17, 2006). Full article=>

Pitched battles raged between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters on the border Thursday, and Israel warned hundreds of thousands of people to flee southern Lebanon "immediately," preparing for a likely ground offensive to set up a buffer zone. (By Lee Keath, The Associated Press, July 21, 2006). Full article=>

Two IDF soldiers were killed and six others were wounded in heavy clashes with Hezbollah just inside south Lebanon, close to Moshav Avivim, on Thursday afternoon. Hezbollah fired mortar shells in the area in effort to disrupt the rescue of the wounded. The IDF believes that several Hezbollah guerillas were killed in the close-quarter confrontation. (Haaretz.com {Israel}, July 21, 2006). Full article=>

Four Katyusha rockets landed near Rosh Hanikra in the Western Galilee on Thursday night as Hezbollah renewed its rocket fire on Israel. More than 30 Katyusha rockets on Thursday landed in Tiberas, Carmiel, Safed, Nahariya, Kiryat Shmona, the western Galilee and the Upper Galilee. Warning sirens were heard in Haifa as well as in the Galilee. No injuries were reported in any of the rocket strikes. (In Haaretz.com {Israel}, July 21, 2006). Full article=>

Against House Resolution 921. I rise in opposition to this resolution, which I sincerely believe will do more harm than good. I do agree with the resolution's condemnation of violence. But I am convinced that when we get involved in foreign conflicts and send strong messages, such as this resolution will, it ends up expanding the war rather than diminishing the conflict, and that ultimately comes back to haunt us.

Mr. Speaker, I follow a policy in foreign affairs called non-interventionism. I do not believe we are making the United States more secure when we involve ourselves in conflicts overseas. The Constitution really doesn't authorize us to be the policemen of the world, much less to favor one side over another in foreign conflicts. It is very clear, reading this resolution objectively, that all the terrorists are on one side and all the victims and the innocents are on the other side. I find this unfair, particularly considering the significantly higher number of civilian casualties among Lebanese civilians. I would rather advocate neutrality rather than pick sides, which is what this resolution does. (U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, Transcript in Antiwar.com, July 20, 2006). Full presentation=>

Israeli troops met fierce resistance from Hezbollah guerrillas Thursday as they crossed into Lebanon to seek tunnels and weapons for a second straight day, and Israel hinted at a full-scale invasion. Israeli warplanes also launched new airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, shortly after daybreak. The attacks were followed by strikes in the guerrillas' heartland in the south and eastern Bekaa Valley. Bombings on Wednesday killed as many as 70 people, according to Lebanese television, making it the deadliest day since the fighting began July 12. (By Hussein Dakroub, Myway.com, July 20. 2006). Full article=>

Pitched battles raged between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters on the border Thursday, and Israel warned hundreds of thousands of people to flee southern Lebanon “immediately,” preparing for a likely ground offensive to set up a buffer zone. U.N. chief Kofi Annan warned of a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon and called for an immediate cease-fire, even as he admitted “serious obstacles” stand in the way of even easing the violence. Annan denounced Israel for “excessive use of force” and Hezbollah for holding “an entire nation hostage” with its rocket attacks and snatching of two Israeli soldiers last week. (MSNBC, July 20, 2006). Full article=>

What explains the indifference of the Bush administration to the slaughter of civilians in Iraq, Lebanon, and Gaza? As of the morning of July 19, Israeli bombardments of Lebanese civilian residential districts and public infrastructure have murdered 300 Lebanese, wounded 1,000, and displaced 500,000. The Lebanese prime minister said that Israel's attack has caused "unimaginable losses" and that his government will seek compensation from Israel. (By Paul Craig Roberts, July 20, 2006). Full article=>

The House, displaying a foreign affairs solidarity lacking on issues like Iraq, voted overwhelmingly Thursday to support Israel in its confrontation with Hezbollah guerrillas. The resolution, which was passed on a 410-8 vote, also condemns enemies of the Jewish state. House Republican leader John Boehner cited Israel's "unique relationship" with the United States as a reason for his colleagues to swiftly go on record supporting Israel in the latest flare-up of violence in the Mideast. (By Ann Plummer Flaherty, Associated Press, July 20, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Another illustration of Israel’s pervasive influence in American politics.

Washington state health officials will soon start asking detailed questions about the health of some state residents — and even give them brief physical exams. The door-to-door survey of 1,100 randomly selected households across the state will try to learn more about our health, and especially about our risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, to better target preventive educational programs. (By Warren King, The Seattle Times, July 20, 2006). Full article=>

VeriChip Corporation announced that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the largest health insurer in the state, has agreed to a two-year pilot program of VeriChip's VeriMed Patient Identification System in conjunction with Hackensack University Medical Center and its physicians. In this new test program, participating patients suffering from chronic diseases would be provided with the VeriChip implantable microchip, to provide emergency room staff easy access to those patients' medical information, as well as to help avoid costly or serious medical errors. (WirelessIQ.info, July 20, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Big Brother never gives up in his goal of implanting chips in all of us. When will we find that he will require us to have implanted chips to qualify for buying food, traveling by air or accessing our checking accounts?

Just because the neocons and al-Qaeda say it, doesn't make it so. Even in an age when e-mail, word processors, and high-speed Internet connections allow writers to almost instantaneously publish glaringly inchoate offerings, it is not often that one comes across a work as poorly conceived as Larry Kudlow's contribution to National Review online (NRO) on Monday. In a piece less than 800 words long on the recent unpleasantness in the Middle East, NRO's economics editor provides enough hackneyed neocon propaganda, apologetics for limitless Israeli aggression, and plain old unhinged bluster to fill an entire book. (By Peter J. Lynch, in Antiwar.com, July 20, 2006). Full article=>

The Lebanese prime minister has called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants, saying his country "has been torn to shreds". Fouad Siniora said more than 300 people had been killed and 500,000 others displaced in a week of Israeli attacks. Israel says it carried out 80 air strikes in Lebanon in the early hours of Thursday morning. And it says its soldiers are now fighting Hezbollah militants along the border just inside Lebanon. (BBC News, July 19, 2006). Full article=>

The US is giving Israel a window of a week to inflict maximum damage on Hizbullah before weighing in behind international calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon, according to British, European and Israeli sources. The Bush administration, backed by Britain, has blocked efforts for an immediate halt to the fighting initiated at the UN security council, the G8 summit in St Petersburg and the European foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels. Israel says it carried out 80 air strikes in Lebanon in the early hours of Thursday morning. (By Ewen MacAskill, Simon Tisdall and Patrick Wintour, The Guardian {U.K.}. July 19, 2006).

Daniel Ellsberg is a former American military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation who precipitated a national firestorm in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, the US military's account of activities during the Vietnam War, to The New York Times. The release awakened the American people to a systematic program of organized deception carried out by the Pentagon against the population to continue the Vietnam War. Daniel Ellsberg, speaking on air to GCN radio host Jack Blood, stated his concerns that criminal elements of the US government were psychologically capable to have carried out 9/11. He warned that within days after a US military strike on Iran that Bush's handlers would probably stage some type of terror attack in the West to legitimize the new war. (By Kevin Smith and Alex Jones, Infowars.com, July 19, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. Department of Commerce appears to be stonewalling a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain complete disclosure of a congressionally unauthorized plan** to implement a trilateral agreement with Mexico and Canada that apparently could lead to a North American union. The plan is being implemented through an office within the Department of Commerce as the "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America," under the direction of Geri Word, who is listed as working in the department's North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, office. (WorldNetDaily.com, July 19, 2006). Full article=>

When Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert unleashed his navy and air force on Lebanon, accusing that tiny nation of an "act of war," the last pillar of Bush's Middle East policy collapsed. First came capitulation on the Bush Doctrine, as Pyongyang and Tehran defied Bush's dictum: The world's worst regimes will not be allowed to acquire the world's worst weapons. Then came suspension of the democracy crusade as Islamic militants exploited free elections to advance to power and office in Egypt, Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, Iraq, and Iran. Now Israel's rampage against a defenseless Lebanon – smashing airport runways, fuel tanks, power plants, gas stations, lighthouses, bridges, roads, and the occasional refugee convoy – has exposed Bush's folly in subcontracting U.S. policy out to Tel Aviv, thus making Israel the custodian of our reputation and interests in the Middle East. (By Patrick J. Buchanan, Antiwar.com, July 19, 2006). Full article=>

Just hours after withdrawing from the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli tanks moved into central Gaza early Wednesday, encountering fierce fighting that wounded at least three Israeli soldiers. One Palestinian was killed, Reuters reported. The renewed fighting after a day of relative calm came as the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, returned to the territory from his home on the West Bank for meetings with United Nations envoys. With Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon, the fighting in Gaza has been largely overlooked. But people continue to die daily in the territory, with 103 Palestinians killed so far, and Palestinian fighters continue to fire rockets into Israel. (By Craig S. Smith, The New York Times, July 19, 2006). Full article=>

A federal Department of Homeland Security agent passed along information about student protests against military recruiters at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, landing the demonstrations on a database tracking foreign terrorism, according to government documents released Tuesday. The documents were released by the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a Freedom of Information Act request on behalf of student groups that protested against recruiters who visited their campuses in April 2005. (By Demian Bulwa, SFGate.com, July 19, 2006). Full article=>

Israeli warplanes targeted for the first time a Christian area of eastern Beirut on Wednesday morning. No one was reportedly injured in the attack. Two trucks were hit near the department store 'Abc' in the heart of the Ashrafiyah neighbourhood. The two vehicles were however not reportedly transporting missiles as initially thought. Residents panicked and took to the streets after the raid. "We aren't safe here anymore," Ratiba Naaman told Adnkronos International (AKI). (Adnki.com, July 19, 2006). Full article=>

A third of male fish in English rivers are changing sex due to 'gender-bending' pollution, alarming research shows. Experts say female hormones from the contraceptive pill and HRT are being washed into our rivers and causing male fish to produce eggs. The problem - which is country-wide - has raised fears that the pollutants could also be contaminating our drinking water - and even be affecting the fertility of men. (Daily Mail {U.K.}, July 19, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The same pollutants contaminate the drinking water in the U.S.

Beirut's southern suburbs echoed to the terrifying crash of Israeli bombs yesterday as the last residents in this Hizbollah stronghold searched for cover among the rubble and dust left where tower blocks stood the day before. In between barrages the only sound was the tinkling of glass falling from bomb-damaged windows or the screech of wheels from a driver foolhardy enough to enter the warren of roads. (By Tim Butcher, The Telegraph {U.K.}, July 17, 2006). Full article=>

The escalating Israeli assault on Lebanon clearly represents a conscious bid to provoke a general war in the Middle East. The captured Israeli soldiers are only the pretext for the present massive military operations. Israeli spokesmen are making constant allegations that Hezbollah missiles being fired at Israel have been manufactured or delivered by Iran. At the same time, the Israelis accuse Hezbollah of wanting to transfer the two captured Israeli soldiers to Syria or Iran. These statements are an attempt to build a case for an Israeli sneak attack on Syria and/or Iran. US spokesmen, including the Nietzschean fascist Bolton, constantly repeat the litany that Syria and Iran are the supporters of Hezbollah. (By Webster Tarpley, in Global Strategy, July 17, 2006). Full article=>

The old adage, "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" does not apply to Americans, who have shown that they can be endlessly fooled. Neoconservatives deceived Americans into an illegal attack and debilitating war in Iraq. American neoconservatives are closely allied with Israel's Likud Party. In the past, some neocons lost their security clearances because of "mishandling" of classified information. According to Insight magazine, "the Pentagon has banned security clearance to Americans with relatives in Israel. Government sources and attorneys said the Pentagon has sought and succeeded in removing security clearance from dozens of Americans, mostly Jews, who either lived, worked, or have relatives in Israel." (By Paul Craig Roberts, in AntiWar.com, July 17, 2006). Full article=>

On July 13, the Pensacola, Fla.-based law firm of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a “qui tam” lawsuit in U.S. District Court, alleging that Diebold and other electronic voting machine (EVM) companies fraudulently represented to state election boards and the federal government that their products were “unhackable.” Kennedy claims to have witnesses “centrally located, deep within the corporations,” who will confirm that company officials withheld their knowledge of problems with accuracy, reliability and security of EVMs in order to procure government contracts. Since going into service, many of these machines have been linked to allegations of election fraud. (By John Ireland, In These Times, July 17, 2006). Full article=>

William Haynes II, the Pentagon's general counsel, has been closely involved in shaping some of the Bush administration's most legally and morally objectionable policies, notably on the use of torture. The last thing he is suited to be is a federal judge, but that is just what President Bush wants to make him. The Senate has been far too willing to rubber-stamp the president's extreme judicial nominees. But there is reason to hope that strong opposition to Mr. Haynes, including from the military, may block this thoroughly inappropriate choice. (New York times Editorial, July 17, 2006). Full article=>

Hundreds of rounds of automatic-weapons fire rained down on South Texas sheriff's deputies and Border Patrol agents from the Mexican side of the border as they investigated a horror story told by two American brothers who fled across the Rio Grande fearing for their lives. Several Hidalgo County deputies and at least four Border patrol agents were met with a sustained hail of gunfire alternating from the south to the east and lasting nearly 10 minutes, the officers said. (By Joseph Farah, World Net Daily, July 17, 2006). Full article=>

Listening to Newt Gingrich bloviate on Meet the Press, advocating U.S. intervention on Israel's behalf against Syria and Iran – and the pathetic Joe "Me Too" Biden effectively agreeing with him – one can only wonder how or why anybody listens to these crazies. As Newt, the megalomaniacal has-been, gleefully declares that "World War III" is in progress, and weaves a conspiracy theory linking Iran, Syria, North Korea, Hezbollah, and – believe it or not! – Venezuela, old Joe just sits there nodding out. Given a chance to reply, his only objection to Gingrich's vision of war on all fronts is that, yes, we need to go to war, but we have to do it with the support of our allies. "Fighting Joe" Biden is no weenie: his voice hardens as he avers we should tell the North Koreans that we have the capacity to "annihilate" them. Gingrich smiles. (By Jason Raimondo, July 17, 2006). Full article=>

Members of a South Dallas community trust fund board are protesting a City Council decision to spend more than $250,000 from the fund to place surveillance cameras in their neighborhood. At issue is whether the City Council agreement to put cameras in that area is an appropriate use of the South Dallas/Fair Park Trust Fund. Mayor Laura Miller and other city leaders say the cameras will reduce crime and improve the quality of life. (By Scott Goldstein, Dallas Morning News, July 16, 2006). Full article=>

Senator Specter's bill on NSA surveillance is a capitulation to administration claims of executive power. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) has cast his agreement with the White House on legislation concerning the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance as a compromise -- one in which President Bush accepts judicial review of the program. It isn't a compromise, except quite dramatically on the senator's part. Mr. Specter's bill began as a flawed but well-intentioned effort to get the program in front of the courts, but it has been turned into a green light for domestic spying. It must not pass. (Washington Post Editorial, July 15, 2006). Full article=>

EXCLUSIVE TO Wayne Madsen Report. Our intelligence sources in Lebanon have reported to us exclusively that Israel is now using poison gas and depleted uranium shells on towns in the south of Lebanon. Residents of the small village of Kasarshoba became violently ill, experiencing severe vomiting, after the Israelis hit the village with poison gas. In other cases, underground shelters in southern Lebanon were hit by Israeli depleted uranium shells. Our sources also report that the entire southern suburbs of southern Beirut, with a population of 800,000, have been totally depopulated. Israel has targeted thousands of civilian homes for destruction. (Wayne Madsen Report, July 16, 2006). Full article=>

Roads and bridges built by U.S. taxpayers are starting to be sold off, and so far foreign-owned companies are doing the buying. On a single day in June, an Australian-Spanish partnership paid $3.8 billion to lease the Indiana Toll Road. An Australian company bought a 99-year lease on Virginia's Pocahontas Parkway, and Texas officials decided to let a Spanish-American partnership build and run a toll road from Austin to Seguin for 50 years. (By Leslie Miller, Associated Press, July 15, 2006). Full article

Computerized voting was supposed to be the cure for ballot fiascos such as the 2000 presidential election, but activist groups say it has only worsened the problem and they've gone to court across the country to ban the new machines. Lawsuits have been filed in at least nine states, alleging that the machines are wide open to computer hackers and prone to temperamental fits of technology that have assigned votes to the wrong candidate. (Associated Press, July 14, 2006). Full article=>

Companies in Europe and America have shown interest in buying uranium to be mined at the Langer Heinrich uranium mine, with production and shipment expected in February 2007. The mine is targeting electrical companies that utilise uranium fuel in their reactors. Due to problems of power generation worldwide in the past 15 to 20 years, the world is re-looking to uranium, which has made the mineral's prices to soar to an all time high, with the spot price in June being US$45 per pound of uranium oxide. This is the best price the mineral has fetched in 26 years. (Wezi Tjaronda, in Windhoek, July 14, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush rejected Lebanon's calls for a cease-fire in escalating Mideast violence on Friday, saying only that Israel should try to limit civilian casualties as it steps up attacks on its neighbor. "The president is not going to make military decisions for Israel," White House spokesman Tony Snow said. Lebanon's prime minister asked Bush, during a phone call Friday, to pressure Israel for a cease-fire. (By Tom Raum, Associated Press, July 14, 2006). Full article=>

The United States is heading for bankruptcy, according to an extraordinary paper published by one of the key members of the country's central bank. A ballooning budget deficit and a pensions and welfare timebomb could send the economic superpower into insolvency, according to research by Professor Laurence Kotlikoff for the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, a leading constituent of the US Federal Reserve. (By Edmund Conway, The Telegraph {U.K.}, July 14, 2006). Full article=>

Administration to request another $110 billion for Iraq next year

Yesterday, the White House released its FY2007 mid-session budget review with great fanfare, celebrating its projection that the deficit will be nearly $300 billion this year. Buried within the mid-session review, the White House reveals that it will ask Congress for another $110 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan early next year. (Think Progress, July 12, 2006). Full article=>

Blair laid bare: the article that may get you arrested

In the guise of fighting terrorism and maintaining public order, Tony Blair's Government has quietly and systematically taken power from Parliament and the British people. The author charts a nine-year assault on civil liberties that reveals the danger of trading freedom for security - and must have Churchill spinning in his grave. (By Henry Porter, The Independent {UK.}, July 2, 2006). Full article=>

Israel is now openly engaged in infrastructure warfare, the wanton destruction of the basic platforms of human survival. The bombing of the electric power plant has thrust the world’s most densely populated area into darkness; cutting off the vital flow of energy to hospitals, assistance centers, and the pumping stations which provide the city’s water. At the same time, Israel has bombed large sections of the main roads, government buildings, water lines and bridges. The Associated Press said, “Israeli tanks and bulldozers crossed the Gaza Strip and began razing farmland east of Khan Younis”. (By Mike Whitney, InformationClearingHouse.info, July 2, 2006). Full article=>

On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-3 decision ruled that President Bush's effort to railroad tortured Guantanamo Bay detainees in kangaroo courts “violates both U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions.” Better late than never, but it sure took a long time for the checks and balances to call a halt to the illegal and unconstitutional behavior of the executive. The Legal Times quotes David Remes, a partner in the law firm of Covington & Burling: "At the broadest level, the Court has rejected the basic legal theory of the Bush administration since 9/11 – that the president has the inherent power to do whatever he wants in the name of fighting terrorism without accountability to Congress or the courts." (By Paul Craig Roberts, Antiwar.com, July 1, 2006). Full article=>

The Supreme Court's rebuff of the Bush administration's Guantanamo military tribunals knocks the issue into the halls of Congress, where GOP leaders are already trying to figure out how to give the president the options he wants for dealing with suspected terror detainees. That way forward could be long and difficult. Congress will negotiate a highly technical legal road — one fraught with political implications in an election year — under the scrutiny of the international community that has condemned the continued use of the Guantanamo prison. The ruling does little to clear up the immediate future of the 450 prisoners inside the razor wire at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, since most have never been charged with crimes and may never go to trial. (Associated Press, June 30, 2006). Full article=>

The Supreme Court ruling on Guantanamo puts the brakes on what has been a sharp expansion of executive powers and raises fresh questions about other aspects of President Bush's war-on-terror policy. The 5-3 decision was a frontal assault on Bush's tactics and a reaffirmation of the court's own role in a system where power is shared among three branches of government. "What it says is that the court has a viable interest in remaining the ultimate authority on the law," said Charles Rose, a constitutional law professor at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla. (By Tom Raum, Associated Press, June 30, 2006). Full article=>

Many Flight 77 skeptics who believe that an American Airlines Boeing 757 did not hit the Pentagon on 9/11 scoff at eyewitness testimony which claims to describe intricate details about the alleged commercial airliner. In at least one case those doubts have now been validated. James R. Cissell, an eyewitness to the object that struck the Pentagon on September 2001, is furious with a Cincinnati newspaper for falsely attributing quotes to him that he never made. (By Paul Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, June 30, 2006). Full article=>

Loss of access to collections will hamper emergency response and research. In an extraordinary letter of protest, representatives for 10,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientists are asking Congress to stop the Bush administration from closing the agency’s network of technical research libraries. The EPA scientists, representing more than half of the total agency workforce, contend thousands of scientific studies are being put out of reach, hindering emergency preparedness, anti-pollution enforcement and long-term research, according to the letter released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). In his proposed budget for FY 2007, President Bush deleted $2 million of support for EPA’s libraries, amounting to 80% of the agency’s total budget for libraries. Without waiting for Congress to act, EPA has begun shuttering libraries, closing access to collections and reassigning staff. The letter notes that “EPA library services are [now] greatly reduced or no longer available to the general public” in agency regional offices serving 19 states. (Carol Goldberg, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, January 29, 2006). Full article=>

NASHUA (NH) – A city man is charged with violating state wiretap laws by recording a detective on his home security camera, while the detective was investigating the man’s sons. Michael Gannon, 49, of 26 Morgan St., was arrested Tuesday night, after he brought a video to the police station to try to file a complaint against Detective Andrew Karlis, according to Gannon’s wife, Janet Gannon, and police reports filed in Nashua District Court. Police instead arrested Gannon, charging him with two felony counts of violating state eavesdropping and wiretap law by using an electronic device to record Karlis without the detective’s consent. (By Andrew Wolfe, NashuaTelegraph.com, June 29, 2006). Full article=>

On July 29, 2005, President Bush signed a bill which permits and promotes the charging of tolls on existing and planned interstate highways, bridges, and tunnels. Before the passage of the bill, known as SAFETEA-LU, or “Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users”, it was generally illegal to charge tolls on roads built with Federal funds. What’s more, the tolls collected will be automatic, requiring universally compatible toll transponder tags on every vehicle. SAFETEA-LU makes possible a variety of programs, all aimed at forcing Americans to pay to travel. (By Bob Dacy, Infowars.com, June 29, 2006). Full article=>

The problem with the American military today is that it doesn't have a giant, robotic airship, two-and-a-half times the size of the Goodyear blimp, that can watch over an entire city at once. Thankfully, the Pentagon's way-out research arm, Darpa, is trying to fix that. (In DefenseTech.org, June 27, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush and adherents to his viewpoint have defended the idea that the government has a right to wiretap, but their assertions do not stand up to scrutiny. President Bush has inaugurated the largest surveillance state in human history, ordering the NSA to wiretap millions of Americans’ telephone calls and e-mails abroad (according to the New York Times) and collecting the telephone records of as many as 200 million Americans (according to USA Today). Moreover, the FBI acknowledged searching the personal effects of more than 3,500 Americans without a court search warrant (according to the Associated Press) using a procedure called a “National Security Letter” under the Patriot Act. And many news sources have hinted that these revelations are merely the “tip of the iceberg” of the size of the actual surveillance conducted against Americans by the same Bush administration that had until December 2005 claimed at least seven times publicly that it sought a court warrant before conducting any search. (By Thomas R. Eddlem, the New American, June 26, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. population is on target to hit 300 million this fall and it's a good bet the milestone baby - or immigrant - will be Hispanic. No one will know for sure because the date and time will be just an estimate. But Latinos - immigrants and those born in this country - are driving the population growth, accounting for almost half the increase last year, more than any other ethnic or racial group. White non-Hispanics, who make up about two-thirds of the population, accounted for less than one-fifth of the increase. (By Stephen Ohlemacher, in MyWay, June 25, 2006). Full article=>

In late January 2003, as Secretary of State Colin Powell prepared to argue the Bush administration's case against Iraq at the United Nations, veteran CIA officer Tyler Drumheller sat down with a classified draft of Powell's speech to look for errors. He found a whopper: a claim about mobile biological labs built by Iraq for germ warfare. Drumheller instantly recognized the source, an Iraqi defector suspected of being mentally unstable and a liar. The CIA officer took his pen, he recounted in an interview, and crossed out the whole paragraph. A few days later, the lines were back in the speech. Powell stood before the U.N. Security Council on Feb. 5 and said: "We have first-hand descriptions of biological weapons factories on wheels and on rails." The sentence took Drumheller completely by surprise. "We thought we had taken care of the problem," said the man who was the CIA's European operations chief before retiring last year, "but I turn on the television and there it was, again." (By Joby Warrick, The Washington Post, June 25, 2006), Full article=>

Halliburton and other recipients of corporate welfare... and what Europeans have know about America for a long time now..... Over the past five years Halliburton has emerged as a major recipient of corporate welfare, having acquired more than $3.8 billion in federal contracts and taxpayer insured loans via the Import Export Bank. We wrote our last expose on the Ex-IM Bank in 1995 and as usual few noticed its significance. It supposedly is an independent government agency that helps finance the sale of US exports, by providing loans, guarantees and insurance. They subsidize about $20 billion a year. This past April the Ex-IM Bank guaranteed $489 million in credits to a Russian oil company, which is closely linked to the KGB and the old Communist Party apparatus. They are also involved in drug running and organized crime. Halliburton will receive $292 million of those funds to refurbish a large Siberian oil field owned by Tyumen Oil Co., which is controlled by Alpha Group. (By Robert Chapman, The International Forecaster, June 24, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Bob’s subscriber newsletter for this week is over 34 pages and fantastic. After you check out his trimmed down version of that newsletter, which is published at the International Forecaster site, you might want to consider buying a subscription to the “fully-leaded” version.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Vice President Dick Cheney said a secret program allowing U.S. officials to examine thousands of private banking records around the world was a legal and "absolutely essential" weapon in the war on terror, the New York Times reported on Saturday. (Reuters, June 24, 2006). Full article=>

The White House is nearing an agreement with Congress on legislation that would write President Bush's warrantless surveillance program into law, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Sunday. Bush and senior officials in his administration have said they did not think changes were needed to empower the National Security Agency to eavesdrop _ without court approval _ on communications between people in the U.S. and overseas when terrorism is suspected. But Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and other critics contend the program skirted a 1978 law that required the government to get approval from a secretive federal court before Americans could be monitored. (Associated Press, June 25, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Once again Senator Spector proves himself to be a “company man”. Senator Spector, you may remember, created the Magic Bullet Theory, which allowed the Warren Commission to conclude that a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Ostwald, shot and killed President Jack Kennedy.

Government wants case tossed to avoid telling 'state secret'. A lawsuit accusing AT&T of illegally collaborating in government electronic surveillance will help terrorists communicate "more securely and more efficiently'' unless it is promptly dismissed, a Bush administration lawyer argued in a packed San Francisco courtroom Friday. If the privacy-rights case is allowed to proceed, AT&T will have to admit or deny that it gave the National Security Agency access to its telephone and e-mail networks and database so the government could eavesdrop on communications between Americans and suspected terrorists in other countries, said Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler. (By Bob Egelco, San Francisco Chronical, June 24, 2006). Full article=>

London Based International Currency Review backs up Leo Wanta's story about how the Bush and Clinton crime families have ripped-off U.S. Treasury money to fund the destruction of America. While the country is preoccupied with terrorism, the war in Iraq and 9/11, thugs controlling the takeover of America are stealing citizens blind to the tune of $55 to $300 trillion dollars, according to an undercover financial report by the London-based International Currency Review. The up-to-date report just released confirms that $27.5 trillion first raised from 1989-1992 to finance the imposition of the New World Order has now covertly blossomed into much, much more as Americans have been conveniently "made to look left when they should be looking right." (By Greg Szymanski, The Arctic Beacon, June 23, 2006). Full article=>

Don't kid yourself: the Republican party's decision yesterday to "delay" the renewal of the Voting Rights Act has not a darn thing to do with objections of the Republican's white sheets caucus. Complaints by a couple of good ol' boys to legislation have never stopped the GOP leadership from rolling over dissenters. This is a strategic stall that is meant to decriminalise the Republican party's new game of challenging voters of colour by the hundreds of thousands. In the 2004 presidential race, the GOP ran a massive, multi-state, multimillion-dollar operation to challenge the legitimacy of black, Hispanic and Native American voters. The methods used breached the Voting Rights Act, and while the Bush administration's civil rights division grinned and looked the other way, civil rights lawyers began circling, preparing to sue to stop the violations of the act before the 2008 race. So Republicans have promised to no longer break the law - not by going legit but by eliminating the law. (By Greg Palast, The Guardian {U.K.}, June 23, 2006). Full article=>

The New York Times and Los Angeles Times on Friday published a major story on government surveillance of private banking records over the objections of the Bush administration. The same team that produced the Pulitzer-winning National Security Agency (NSA) "domestic spying" program, James Risen and Eric Lichtblau, put together the New York Times' piece. In the middle of the article, they reveal that the White House had asked the paper not to run it. This had happened with the NSA story as well, and the Times put off running the pair's key findings for a year. (Editor & Publish June 22, 2006). Full article=>

Less than two weeks before the company declared bankruptcy which owned the DC9 recently busted in Mexico with 5.5 tons of cocaine onboard, Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s Department of Transportation issued a press release touting the firm’s bright future in Homeland Security and announcing it had been selected to be the state’s primary provider of airport security applications. This is not the first time Jeb Bush has been involved endorsing a drug trafficking aviation company. Nor is it the first time SkyWay Aircraft has been the recipient of unexplained government favoritism. (By Daniel Hopsicker, Mad Cow Morning News, June 22, 2006). Full article=>

It is more effective to manage society by mind control than by physical coercion. The events of 9-11 and the "war on terror" mostly are exercises in mass brainwashing.

German psychiatrist Kurt Lewin, who became director of the elite-sponsored Tavistock Institute in 1932, developed the thinking behind 9-11. In the book "Mind Control World Control" (1997) Jim Keith writes:

"Lewin is credited with much of the original Tavistock research into mass brainwashing applying the results of repeated trauma and torture [of individuals] in mind control to society at large."

"If terror can be induced on a widespread basis into a society, Lewin has stated, then society reverts to a tabula rasa, a blank slate, a situation where control can easily be instituted from an external point."

"Put another way: By the creation of controlled chaos, the populace can be brought to the point where it willingly submits to greater control. Lewin maintained that society must be driven into a state equivalent to an 'early childhood situation.' He termed this societal chaos 'fluidity.'" (Page 44)

Elite planners designed Sept. 11 for its shock value. In the aftermath, they were able to impose a security crackdown, a costly military build-up and a war in Afghanistan and Iraq on a stunned population.

(By Henry Makow, Ph.D., in SaveTheMales.ca, April 21, 2006). Full article=>

The NSA’s surveillance program undermines the rule of law without producing real gains in security. The National Security Agency has been tracking the calls of millions of Americans and constructing the “largest database ever assembled in the world,” USA Today revealed on May 10. The nation’s biggest telephone companies have apparently turned over masses of personal records to the feds, allowing Uncle Sam to build up a database of the phone numbers of incoming and outgoing calls of Americans. The revelations blew to smithereens the Bush administration’s story that only international calls were being tapped without a warrant as part of its so-called “terrorist-surveillance program.” (By James Bovard, The American Conservative, June 19, 2006). Full article=>

Is the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), which did so much to promote the invasion of Iraq and an Israel-centred "global war on terror", closing down? In the absence of an official announcement and the failure since late last year of a live person to answer its telephone number, a Washington Post obituary would seem to be definitive. And, sure enough, the Post quoted one unidentified source presumably linked to PNAC that the group was "heading toward closing" with the feeling of "goal accomplished". In fact, the nine-year-old group, whose 27 founders included Vice President Dick Cheney and Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld, among at least half a dozen of the most powerful hawks in the George W. Bush administration's first term, has been inactive since January 2005, when it issued the last of its "statements", an appeal to significantly increase the size of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps to cope with the growing demands of the kind of "Pax Americana" it had done so much to promote. (By Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service, June 13, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Editor’s Comment: In October 2000, just three months before George W. Bush become president and eleven months before 9/11, PNAC published a 76-page advisory report titled, Rebuilding America’s Defenses. On page 51 of that report, the authors write, “Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event --- like a new Pearl Harbor.”

Bilderberg expects interest rates to rise and many Americans to lose their homes in the months ahead. Meanwhile, they hope they can pressure President Bush to refrain from an all-out invasion of Iran while maintaining oil prices at their current record-high levels of about $70 a barrel. Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, predicted rising interest rates and difficulties for families that have obtained adjustable rate mortgages, or “variable” interest rates. Many are likely to lose their homes as rising home mortgage rates add hundreds of dollars to their monthly payments, he said. While most listened solemnly and some expressed concern, one was heard to say, “stupid Americans deserve their fate.” (By James P. Tucker, Jr., AmericanFreePress.net, June 19, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush's push for a sweeping overhaul of immigration laws was dealt a major blow Tuesday when House Republican leaders announced they would hold public hearings on the Senate bill that they strongly oppose.
The plan, unveiled almost a month after the Senate measure passed, is the latest sign of reluctance among the GOP House leadership to try to negotiate a compromise bill that would include a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Conservatives say that element — a central part of the Senate measure — is the equivalent of amnesty. (By Nicole Gaouette, LA Times, June 21, 2006). Full article=>

Author Jerome Corsi filed a Freedom of Information Act request yesterday asking for full disclosure of the activities of an office implementing a trilateral agreement with Mexico and Canada that apparently could lead to a North American union, despite having no authorization from Congress. As WorldNetDaily reported, the White House has established working groups, under the North American Free Trade Agreement office in the Department of Commerce, to implement the Security and Prosperity Partnership, or SPP, signed by President Bush, Mexican President Vicente Fox and then-Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin in Waco, Texas, March 23, 2005. (AP, June 20, 2006). Full article=>

Quietly but systematically, the Bush Administration is advancing the plan to build a huge NAFTA Super Highway, four football-fields-wide, through the heart of the U.S. along Interstate 35, from the Mexican border at Laredo, Tex., to the Canadian border north of Duluth, Minn. Once complete, the new road will allow containers from the Far East to enter the United States through the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas, bypassing the Longshoreman’s Union in the process. The Mexican trucks, without the involvement of the Teamsters Union, will drive on what will be the nation’s most modern highway straight into the heart of America. The Mexican trucks will cross border in FAST lanes, checked only electronically by the new “SENTRI” system. The first customs stop will be a Mexican customs office in Kansas City, their new Smart Port complex, a facility being built for Mexico at a cost of $3 million to the U.S. taxpayers in Kansas City. (By Jerome Corsi, Human Events online, June 12, 2006). Full article=>

LA's spy-in-the-sky drone sparks privacy concerns

The future of law enforcement was launched into the smoggy Los Angeles skies at the weekend in the form of a drone aircraft intended to bring spy-in-the-sky technology to urban policing. The unmanned aerial vehicle, called the SkySeer, looks like a remote-controlled toy and fits into a shoulder bag. In the air, the craft is guided by global positioning system coordinates, and a camera fixed to the underside sends video to a laptop command station. (By John Hiscock, the Independent, {U.K.} June 20, 2006). Full article=>

A rudderless Fed navigating the sea of liquidity... two sets of stats for the books... the Refco debacle... and what really happened at the Bildeberger meeting in Ottawa last week.... The Federal Reserve, a privately owned corporation, is floating aimlessly at sea, rudderless. All they can now do is create money and credit and hope for the best. Our present administration in Washington is clueless, so much so that they just had to bring in a Wall Street heavyweight to begin to plan damage control. At the same time, except for a handful of legislators, Congress is clueless to what is happening. It would be nice if we could get Congress to listen, but we see little hope of that. Most of them are economic and financial illiterates. They believe a law degree makes them expert on just about everything. There is little hope of reform from either quarter. The Fed created our current situation and they knew the path they have chosen is economic stagnation and inflation, better known as stagflation. (Robert Chapman, The International Forecaster, June 17, 2006). Full article=>

The government has hired defense subcontractor Lockheed Martin to design and develop an enormous blimp that will be used to spy on Americans, according to the Athens News. Government agencies such as the NSA are anticipating that as early as 2009 the blimp will be operational and begin supporting new ways of monitoring everything that happens in the country. A prototype of the blimp is already being developed at a cost of $40 million. The spy ship, called the High Altitude Airship, will be seventeen times larger than the Goodyear Blimp and hover 12 miles above the ground. Although it is very large it will be invisible to both the naked eye and ground radar because of its distance from the earth. Fuel economic and self sufficient, it will be powered by solar energy and will be able to fly for years at a time. (Free Market News Network, June 16, 2006). Full article=>

NY report denounces shock use at school

New York education officials issued a scathing report yesterday on a Massachusetts school that punishes troubled and disabled students with electric shocks, finding that they can be shocked for simply nagging the teacher and that some are forced to wear shock devices in the bathtub or shower, posing an electrocution hazard. (By Scott Allen, The Boston Glove, June 15, 2006). Full article=>

A federal judge in Brooklyn ruled yesterday that the government has wide latitude under immigration law to detain noncitizens on the basis of religion, race or national origin, and to hold them indefinitely without explanation. (By Nina Bernstein, The New York Times, June 15, 2005). Full article=>

The Supreme Court made it easier Thursday for police to barge into homes and seize evidence without knocking or waiting, a sign of the court's new conservatism with Samuel Alito on board. The court, on a 5-4 vote, said judges cannot throw out evidence collected by police who have search warrants but do not properly announce their arrival. (By Gina Holland, Associated Press, June 15, 2006). Full article=>

The discrepancy between the kind of society many Germans thought they were building and the reality of the horror of the Third Reich presents one of the most intriguing questions of our age. "How could it -- the Holocaust -- have happened in a modern, industrialized, educated nation? The genesis of my interest in the Third Reich lies in my search for an answer to that enigmatic question. (TheThirdReichNet). Full article=>

My comments here exclude those men who have stepped forward with incredible courage since 1913 to face this tyrannical government, and like our Founding Fathers, have paid an enormous price both personally and financially. People like Bill Benson, our fine gentlemen down in the great State of Tennessee and too many others to list. (By Devvy Kidd, NewsWithViews.com, June 5, 2006). Full article=>

From the moment President Bush introduced him to the American people in October 2002, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi served a crucial purpose for the administration, providing a tangible focus for its insistence that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. After the invasion that toppled Hussein, and the subsequent rise of the insurgency against occupying U.S. forces, Zarqawi's presence in Iraq was cited as proof that the uprising was fomented by al-Qaeda-backed "foreign fighters." (By Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus, The Washington Post, June 10, 2006). Full article=>

Alex Jones travelled to Canada this weekend to document the Conference of the secretive Bilderberg group. Contacts within group and at the Brookstreet hotel leaked an exclusive full list of Bilderberg attendees to us. Click below for images of the attendees list. (Alex Jones, Prisonplanet.com, June 10, 2006). Full article=>

Jailed for putting up anti-Bush posters... Pentagon disregards the Geneva Convention... George W. Bush almost as unpopular as Richard Nixon... Bernake sounds like a witch doctor... Real Estate no longer a safe bet in Las Vegas... outlook for wealthy investors is slumping… Judge Timothy McGinty should be tarred, feathered and run out of the country on a rail. He just gave Carol Fisher, 53, sixty days for putting up anti-Bush posters. She faced a maximum three-year term on a felonious assault conviction. The police lied about what happened, which is not unusual. She had refused to accept a plea bargain, insisting she had done nothing wrong. You can expect more of this as the corporatist-fascist new world order rolls forward. As far as the judge is concerned we believe he is politically corrupt. In the last 50 years things like this have not happened in America, only in the Soviet Union, the former East Germany and Nazi Germany. (By Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster, June 10, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Bob also publishes a weekly, 25-35 page version of this web-based newsletter, which he emails to his subscribers every Saturday. If you find this brief, free, web-based newletter stimulating, informative and useful, I urge you to consider subscribing to this full version --- It’s fantastic!

Time is running out for the diplomatic effort to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme and Washington has no intention of striking a comprehensive “grand bargain” with Tehran, the US’s ambassador to the United Nations has warned. Speaking to the Financial Times, John Bolton made clear many of his reservations about the current outreach to Iran, which Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, has persuaded President George W. Bush to endorse. (By Daniel Dombey in London, The Financial Times {U.K.}, June 9, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comments: According to all on-the-ground, border-to-border inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran’s nuclear program has in the past and continues to be in full compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to which it is a signatory. What this means as a practical matter is that the IAEA, which is charged with verifying that signatories to the NPT are neither importing nor exporting nor manufacturing weapons-grade fissionable materials, has found Iran to be in full-compliance in this regard with NPT requirements.

Yet the Bush administration makes the unsubstantiated assertion that Iran, which is engaged in developing a capability for manufacturing the moderately enriched uranium is need to fuel the several nuclear power electric generations plants it has under construction in that nation, is gearing up to manufacture nuclear weapons.

Iran recently reported recently that it had successfully used gas centrifuging on a small, pilot-plant scale to enrich uranium to the point where this material would be suitable for use as fuel at nuclear electric power generation plants. The Bush administration’s position is that Iran can and, therefore, will use the same basic method on a massive scale to produce the very highly enriched uranium required to produce nuclear weapons.

Therefore, according to the Bush administration specious argument, Iran must immediately cease all enrichment activities, or suffer the consequences of not complying with U.S. demands that it do so. For if it is allowed to pursue its uranium enrichment program, Iran will soon have a nuclear weapons capability, which will constitute a threat to world peace and political stability in the Middle East.

What gives the U.S. the right to demand that another sovereign nation obey its commands? The last time I checked on the international status of Iran, I found that it is a sovereign nation. Indeed, it is a member of the United Nations and indeed it is a signatory to the NPT. Furthermore, its nuclear program, which Iran’s president has stated repeatedly is dedicated now and in the future to producing the moderately enriched uranium it needs for electric power generation, has a peaceful purpose and objective, which is in compliance with NPT requirements. Also all inspections in Iran by the IAEA have shown that Iran’s nuclear program has in the past and is now in compliance with NPT requirements and that there is no evidence whatsoever that Iran is engaged a nuclear weapons development program.

Yet Bush and Bolten remain unsatisfied with the status of Iran’s nuclear program as it now stands. So what does President Bush really want? I’d say any excuse whatsoever to justify his ordering another brutal, murderous, land-wasting pre-emptive military attack upon another oil-rich Middle East nation. But why would Mr. Bush order such a military attack. Gaining control of Iran’s oil resources is certainly a good reason.

Another likely reason for an attack, especially some time during the next few months, is to prevent the imminent opening of Iran’s bourse (crude oil exchange). The bourse will accept only currency other than dollars for payment of oil purchases. Iran’s oil is now denominated in dollars in the world market. After Iran’s bourse opens, countries that wish to purchase Iranian oil though this bourse will end up selling their dollars reserves to buy euros or other currencies that the bourse will accept for payment. This could end up flooding the international market with dollars; thereby driving down the value of the dollar relative to other world currencies and even precipitating a mass sell off of dollar on the world currency market. The political consequences of such an event are impossible to predict, but one may safely that they would have a negative impact on the viability and longevity of the Bush administration.

Three years ago Mr. Bush’s target for military attack was Iraq. This time Iran is in the crosshairs. Three years ago, the American people bought his fairy story that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction, including nukes, and was about to attack the U.S. Frightened out their wits, they massively supported President Bush’s pre-emptive military attack of Iraq and his murderous war upon the Iraqi people. This time around, Mr. Bush is using the same old fairy story, “Iraq’s WMDs will Get You!” but has replaced the name “Iraq” with “Iran”, to gain popular support for a pre-emptive military attack of Iran (Bush Doctrine).

Will Americans give this fairy storyteller a standing ovation and an atta-boy the way they did the last time around. Or will he and his advisors have to find another way to scare the gullible into cheering and gleefully hanging “Support Our Troops” yellow ribbons on their cars and trucks as the bombs begin to fall upon Iran?

Or will Americas wake up in time to take their republic back from an administration that exhibits little understanding of the founding principles of our nation and ignores wherever and whenever possible the word and spirit of the Constitution when it is politically expedient do so?

One US carrier task force is already in position in the Persian Gulf. Two more task forces are moving swiftly to take up their positions in the Iranian theatre. The controversial neoconservative American bureaucrat, Richard Perle, visited Britain on the eve of the papal audience between Prime Minister Tony Blair and Pope Benedict XVI. Earlier in the same week, the Iranian Nobel Laureate for Peace, Dr. Shirin Ebadi, was in Britain to voice her concerns about a confrontation between the west and Iran. (By Dr. Michael Carmichael, in GlobalResearch.ca, June 7, 2007). Full article=>

So Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the man, is dead. Maybe now we can finally kill off the myth too. The myth is that Zarqawi, a Jordanian jihadist who had moved his operations to Iraq in recent years, was one of the greatest threats to Western civilization, who had single-handedly been hampering progress in Iraq and spreading terror around the globe. In fact, Zarqawi was an isolated and fairly insignificant insurgent – or at least he had been, until American and British officials decided to transform him into an all-purpose bogeyman and brand him the most evil man in the world. (By Brendan O’Neill, in Antiwar.com, June 10, 2006). Full article=>

Imperialism is constant for capitalism. But it passes through various phases as the system evolves. At present the world is experiencing a new age of imperialism marked by a U.S. grand strategy of global domination. One indication of how things have changed is that the U.S. military is now truly global in its operations with permanent bases on every continent, including Africa, where a new scramble for control is taking place focused on oil. (By John Bellamy Foster, in GlobalResearch.ca, June 9, 2006). Full article=>

The famed secret society known as the Bilderberg Group is meeting today in Ottawa, and, if you haven't been invited, welcome to the club. It is one of the most exclusive conferences of global elites you will ever find – or not find. Unlike some previous events in undisclosed locations, at least the place of this meeting is known – the Brookstreet Hotel in the Canadian capital city. (WorldNetDaily.com, June 9, 2006). Full article=>

Zarqawi's real name: Lieutenant Kije

Here is a briefing slide prepared for Army General George W. Casey Jr., the top U.S. commander in Iraq. The slide appeared as an adjunct to the Washington Post's famous article from April 10, which described the psyop campaign to create a Zarqawi myth. Since that time, we have seen the emergence of a Zarqawi video of questioned authenticity, in which the oft-"killed" terrorist was seen conducting exercises in a landscape that resembled the American southwest. Previously, I asked a question that remains unanswered: If, in fact, Zarqawi conducted these maneuvers (which included the firing of anti-tank weaponry in open desert beneath a clear sky) within the borders of Iraq, why didn't American spy satellites catch sight of him immediately? Google Earth has spotted firefights on Baghdad streets. Surely, American overseers must scrutinize Iraq from the sky carefully and routinely. (Joseph Cannon, in Cannon Fire, June 9, 2006. Full article=>

Bilderberg-bound filmmaker held at (Canadian) airport

Canadian authorities detained an American activist filmmaker at the Ottawa airport late Wednesday night, confiscating his passport, camera equipment and most of his belongings. Citizenship and Immigration Canada agents stopped Alex Jones, whose films include Martial Law 9/11: The Rise of the Police State, and questioned him for nearly four hours before letting him go with only one change of clothes and telling him to return Thursday morning. “It’s really chilling, like a police state,” said Mr. Jones of his detention. (By Laura Payton, Ottawa Citizen, June 9. 2006). Full article=>

Court backs government broadband wiretap access

A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld the government's authority to force high-speed Internet service providers to give law enforcement authorities access for surveillance purposes. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a petition aimed at overturning a decision by regulators requiring facilities-based broadband providers and those that offer Internet telephone service to comply with U.S. wiretap laws. (By Peter Kaplan, Reuters, June 9, 2006). Full article=>

Data on nuclear agency workers hacked: lawmaker

A computer hacker got into the U.S. agency that guards the country's nuclear weapons stockpile and stole the personal records of at least 1,500 employees and contractors, a senior U.S. lawmaker said on Friday. The target of the hacker, the National Nuclear Safety Administration, is the latest agency to reveal that sensitive private information about government workers was stolen. (By chris Biltmore, Reuters, June 9, 2006). Full article=>

New Scientist has discovered that Pentagon’s National Security Agency , which specializes on eavesdropping and code-breaking, is funding research into the mass harvesting of information people post about themselves on social networks. (By Paul Marks, The New Scientist, June 9, 2006). Full article=>

Faced with mounting civilian carnage, both from war crimes committed by demoralized and broken U.S. troops and from the raging civil war unleashed by Bush's ill-fated, illegal invasion of Iraq, the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee has decided to waste another $50 billion to continue the lost war for five more months. Our elected "representatives" are so in thrall to the powerful military-industrial complex that no amount of American shame, pariah status, and military defeat can shut off the flow of taxpayers' funds to the merchants of death. (By Paul Craig Roberts, in Antiwar.com, June 9, 2006). Full article=>

President would get $50B for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the first few months of next year, under a House bill a subcommittee appproed Wednesday. (By Liz Sidodi, AP, June 7, 2006). Full article=>

—“In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act,” said the British writer George Orwell. Orwell’s words aptly describe the situation of Steven E. Jones, a soft-spoken professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) who has turned his attention to the unanswered questions of the Sept. 11 attacks. Provo, the home of BYU, is America’s most conservative city in the most Republican county. With more than 85 percent of the population supporting President George W. Bush, Provo seems an unlikely place for any “revolutionary act”—unless that act were simply telling the truth. (By Christopher Bollyn, American Free Press, May 1, 2006). Full article=>

In writing this paper, I call for a serious investigation of the hypothesis that WTC 7 and the Twin Towers were brought down, not just by impact damage and fires, but through the use of pre-positioned cutter-charges. I consider the official FEMA, NIST, and 9-11 Commission reports that fires plus impact damage alone caused complete collapses of all three buildings. And I present evidence for the controlled-demolition hypothesis, which is suggested by the available data, testable and falsifiable, and yet has not been analyzed in any of the reports funded by the US government. (March 19, 2006) Full article=>

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has just let the cat out of the bag about what's really behind our trade agreements and security partnerships with the other North American countries. A 59-page CFR document spells out a five-year plan for the "establishment by 2010 of a North American economic and security community" with a common "outer security perimeter." "Community" means integrating the United States with the corruption, socialism, poverty and population of Mexico and Canada. "Common perimeter" means wide-open U.S. borders between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. (By Phyllis Schlafly, EagleForm.org, July 13, 2005). Full article=>

This column stands foursquare with the Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, when he warns that there will be more terrorist attacks against the American people and civilization at large. We know, as does the Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, that this statement is an incontrovertible fact, a matter of scientific certainty. And how can we and the Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, be so sure that there will be more terrorist attacks against the American people and civilization at large? Because these attacks will be instigated at the order of the Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense. (By Chris Floyd, in Counterpunch.org, November 1, 2002). Full article=>

The much vaunted Toronto terrorist plot sank deeper into the abyss of absurdity late Wednesday when it was revealed that the alleged ringleader of the cell, Steven Vikash Chand, was a former Canadian soldier. (Prisonplanet.com, June 8, 2006). Full article=>

The media's reaction to the widely publicized 9/11 truth conference in Chicago this past weekend was a mixed bag but the general trend of the receptivity zeitgeist is shifting away from the old stereotypes and allowing key issues to be aired in a more balanced forum. (By Paul Joseph Watson, Prisonplanet.com, June 7, 2006). Full article=>

Pentagon to reject Geneva standard for detainee care

The Pentagon has decided to omit from new detainee policies a key tenet of the Geneva Convention that bans "humiliating and degrading treatment," according to military officials. That step would mark a potentially permanent shift away from strict adherence to international human-rights standards. The decision culminates a debate within the Department of Defense but will not become final until the Pentagon makes new guidelines public, a step that has been delayed. However, the State Department fiercely opposes the military's decision to exclude Geneva Convention protections and has been pushing for the Pentagon and White House to reconsider, Defense officials said. (Julian E. Barnes, The Los Angeles Times, June 5, 2006). Full article=>

Bar group will review Bush's legal challenges

The board of governors of the American Bar Association voted unanimously yesterday to investigate whether President Bush has exceeded his constitutional authority in reserving the right to ignore more than 750 laws that have been enacted since he took office. (By Charlie Savage, The Boston Globe, June 4, 2006). Full article=>

Invoking state secrets privilege becomes a more popular legal tactic by US

Facing a wave of litigation challenging its eavesdropping at home and its handling of terror suspects abroad, the Bush administration is increasingly turning to a legal tactic that swiftly torpedoes most lawsuits: the state secrets privilege. In recent weeks alone, officials have used the privilege to win the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a German man who was abducted and held in Afghanistan for five months and to ask the courts to throw out three legal challenges to the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program. (By Scott Shane, The New York Times, June 4, 2006). Full article=>

Thousands of Hotels.com customers may be at risk for credit card fraud after a laptop computer containing their personal information was stolen from an auditor, a company spokesman said Saturday. The password-protected laptop belonging to an Ernst & Young auditor was taken in late February from a locked car, said Paul Kranhold, spokesman for Hotels.com, a subsidiary of Expedia.com based in Bellevue, Washington. (By Donna Gordon Blankenship, Associated Press, June 4, 2006). Full article=>

So many models of corruption to choose from! (By Mark Fiore, The Village Voice, June 1, 2006). Full story=>

A divided Supreme Court said yesterday that free-speech rights do not shield government employees -- even proclaimed whistleblowers reporting wrongdoing -- from punishment for comments made on the job. (By Joyce Howard Price, The Washington Times, May 31, 2006). Full article=>

On May 2, 2006, The Future of Freedom Foundation sponsored this speech by James Bovard at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.. The speech is based on Bovard’s newest book, Attention Deficit Democracy, and presents a no-holds-barred examination into the U.S. government’s wars on terrorism and Iraq as well as the war on the civil liberties of the Americana people. The video is approximately one hour long. (Future Freedom Foundation, May 2, 2006). Full article with video link=>

Curiously and quietly the United States is being out-flanked in its now-obvious strategy of controlling major oil and energy sources of the Persian Gulf, Central Asia Caspian Basin, Africa and beyond. The US’s global energy control strategy, it’s now clear to most, was the actual reason for the highly costly regime change in Iraq, euphemistically dubbed ‘democracy’ by Washington. Bush restated his democracy mantra as recently as May 28 at the West Point military graduating ceremony where he declared that America's safety depends on an aggressive push for democracy, especially in the Middle East. ‘This is only the beginning,’ Bush said. ‘The message has spread from Damascus to Tehran that the future belongs to freedom, and we will not rest until the promise of liberty reaches every people in every nation.’ If the trend of recent events continues, it won’t be Bush-style democracy that is spreading, but rather, Russian and Chinese influence over major oil and gas energy supplies. (By F. William Engdahl, in Global Research, June 3, 2006). Full article=>

A 51-year-old Ohio woman was sentenced Friday to 60 days in jail for putting up anti-Bush posters, as another political prisoner falls prey to the fascist mindset controlling America. Since Carol Fisher's run-in with police on Jan.28, she steadfastly maintained her innocence, saying she was manhandled by police and then railroaded by a politically corrupted judiciary. Her attorney, Terry Gilbert agreed with his client, adding after a recent pre-sentencing hearing to question Fisher's sanity: "In more than 30 years of practicing law, I haven't seen anything remotely like this.This is gulag stuff. Is this the kind of country you want to live in when dissidents are determined to be crazy?" (By Greg Szmanski, The Arctic Beacon, June 3, 2006) Full article=>

As you listen to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice deliver her ultimatum to the Iranian mullahs, imagine you are a passenger on a hijacked airliner, headed towards Iran. You already know what the neo-crazy hijackers did to Iraq, shortly after Bush-Cheney-Rice delivered a similar ultimatum to Saddam Hussein. (By Gordon Prather, Antiwar.com, June 3, 2006). Full article=>

Iraq vowed on Saturday to press on with its own probe into the deaths of civilians in a U.S. raid on the town of Ishaqi, rejecting the U.S. military's exoneration of its forces. Adnan al-Kazimi, an aide to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said the government would also demand an apology from the United States and compensation for the victims in several cases, including the alleged massacre in the town of Haditha last year. "We have from more than one source that the Ishaqi killings were carried out under questionable circumstances. More than one child was killed. This report was not fair for the Iraqi people and the children who were killed," he told Reuters. (By Mariam Karouny and Fredrik Dahl, Reuters, June 3, 2006). Full article=>

Real estate deathwatch and the rise of foreclosures... other reasons for not going hunting with Dick Cheney or sleep over at the White House. It has been a year since we began to see signs of weakness in the real estate market. Obvious problems started to arise last September and today it should be plain for all to see that the growth has ended for the most part. The bubble is breaking in the 30 hottest markets, such as New England, Washington, DC, Florida, Southern California and Las Vegas. Surprisingly the greatest devastation of households, foreclosures, loss of homes and bankruptcies is in the upper Midwest states of Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, upper New York state and Michigan, which is due to offshoring and outsourcing a result of free trade and globalization. The worst foreclosure rates are in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. In the first quarter in Michigan the foreclosure rate was about 5% double the rate for 2005. In Ohio house prices have already fallen 6%. (By Robert chapman, The International Forecaster, June 3, 2006.) Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: In these times of great political-economic undertainty, you might want to seriously consider ordering a paid subscription to Bob Chapman’s weekly newsletter. Reading some issues, which are often 25-35 pages long, might cause your hair to stand on end but taking action on Bob’s insights could save your losing the family fortune, be it $4,366.98 squirreled away under yours bed’s mattress or $566,987.22 invested in CD’s, blue chip stocks and Treasury notes.

Former CIA analyst and Presidential advisor Ray McGovern, fresh from his heated public confrontation with Donald Rumsfeld, fears that staged terror attacks across Europe and the US are probable in order to justify the Bush administration's plan to launch a military strike against Iran, which he thinks will take place in June or July. (Paul Joseph Watson, Prisonplanet.com, June 1, 2006). Full article=>

“Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.” - Henry Kissinger, quoted in “Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United States Betrayed Its Own POW’s in Vietnam”

Vietnam was a chemical war for oil, permanently contaminating large regions and countries downriver with Agent Orange, and environmentally the most devastating war in world history. But since 1991, the U.S. has staged four nuclear wars using depleted uranium weaponry, which, like Agent Orange, meets the U.S. government definition of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Vast regions in the Middle East and Central Asia have been permanently contaminated with radiation. And what about our soldiers? Terry Jemison of the Department of Veterans Affairs reported this week to the American Free Press that “Gulf-era veterans” now on medical disability since 1991 number 518,739, with only 7,035 reported wounded in Iraq in that same 14-year period. (By Leuren Moret, San Francisco Bayview, May 31, 2006). Full article=>

The over hyped false alarm of a construction drill that caused a mass panic over rumors of gunshots in the Rayburn Building on Friday and the way in which it was reported by the servile media was a means of indoctrinating Americans to the procedure of martial law lock down of a major city. Following reports of gunfire in the Rayburn Building, House members were ordered to stay inside and shut all the doors. Parts of the Capitol complex, including the Capitol itself, were locked down during the height of the search. In addition, the Washington Post reported that schools not just on Capitol Hill but "throughout the city" were also placed on lock down. (By Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, May 29, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The last time I heard, humans held under a “lock down” of a facility were called “prisoners” and the facility was called a “prison”. Choice of the term “lock down” by school and Department of Home Security authorities is not accidental.

On Feb. 6, 2006, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales launched a convoluted attack on the Fourth Amendment before the Senate Judiciary Committee. This assault on the meaning of the Fourth Amendment is, in my estimation, the biggest leap forward for totalitarianism in this country. (By Mark Anderson, Antiwar.com, May 29, 2006). Full article=>

My husband is not a terrorist. He's not an ex-convict, a felon or on the lam, and if you don't count the occasional Post-it notes or paper clips that come home with him from the office, he's not even a petty thief. But so far, he's had trouble convincing the government of this. Every time he flies, regardless of the airline, he gets flagged when he checks in because he's on our government's terrorist watch list. As it was explained to us the first time it happened, something about his name, Michael Patrick O'Brien, creates the need for an airline manager to clear him. This involves the manager taking a look at my husband and his driver's license and disappearing into the bowels of the airport. We assume this is where the manager accesses a secret computer that somehow confirms my husband is actually just a boringly normal. (By Sara O’Brien, The Baltimore Sun, May 28, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Situations like this are all to often a fall-out of simple identity theft. There is a simple solution.

A new appetite-controlling pathway that responds to molecules found in meat has been discovered in the brain. The brain signal sytem is triggered by specific amino acids and may lead to new ways of helping obese people lose weight, researchers say. (By Roxanne Khamsi, The New Scientist, May 6, 2006). Full article=>

George W. Bush’s reëlection (in November 2004) was not his only victory last fall. The President and his national-security advisers have consolidated control over the military and intelligence communities’ strategic analyses and covert operations to a degree unmatched since the rise of the post-Second World War national-security state. Bush has an aggressive and ambitious agenda for using that control—against the mullahs in Iran and against targets in the ongoing war on terrorism—during his second term. The C.I.A. will continue to be downgraded, and the agency will increasingly serve, as one government consultant with close ties to the Pentagon put it, as “facilitators” of policy emanating from President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney. This process is well under way. (By Seymour M. Hersch, The New Yorker, January 17, 2005). Full article=>

Cheney aide is screening legislation

The office of Vice President Dick Cheney routinely reviews pieces of legislation before they reach the president's desk, searching for provisions that Cheney believes would infringe on presidential power, according to former White House and Justice Department officials. The officials said Cheney's legal adviser and chief of staff, David Addington , is the Bush administration's leading architect of the “signing statements” the president has appended to more than 750 laws. The statements assert the president's right to ignore the laws because they conflict with his interpretation of the Constitution. (By Charlie Savage, Boston Globe, May 28, 2006). Full article=>

A Pastor has come forward to blow the whistle on a nationwide FEMA program which is training Pastors and other religious representatives to become secret police enforcers who teach their congregations to "obey the government" in preparation for a declaration of martial law, property and firearm seizures, and forced relocation. In March of this year the Pastor, who we shall refer to as Pastor Revere, was invited to attend a meeting of his local FEMA chapter which circulated around preparedness for a potential bio-terrorist attack, any natural disaster or a nationally declared emergency. (By Paul Joseph Watson, Prisonplanet.com, May 24, 2006). Full article=>

To explain the unanticipated free-fall collapses of the twin towers at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, mainstream experts (also see The American Professional Constructor, October 2004, pp. 12–18) offer a three-stage argument: 1) an airplane impact weakened each structure, 2) an intense fire thermally weakened structural components that may have suffered damage to fireproofing materials, causing buckling failures, which, in turn, 3) allowed the upper floors to pancake onto the floors below.

Many will nod their head, OK, that does it and go back to watching the NBA finals or whatever, but I find this theory just about as satisfying as the fantastic conspiracy theory that "19 young Arabs acting at the behest of Islamist extremists headquartered in distant Afghanistan" caused 9/11. The government’s collapse theory is highly vulnerable on its own terms, but its blinkered narrowness and lack of breadth is the paramount defect unshared by its principal scientific rival – controlled demolition. Only professional demolition appears to account for the full range of facts associated with the collapses of WTC 1 (North Tower), WTC 2 (South Tower), and the much-overlooked collapse of the 47-story WTC building 7 at 5:21 pm on that fateful day. (By Morgan Reynolds, NoMoreGames.net, June 9, 2005). Full article=>

Whenever U.S. officials wish to demonize someone, they inevitably compare him to Adolf Hitler. The message immediately resonates with people because everyone knows that Hitler was a brutal dictator. But how many people know how Hitler actually became a dictator? My bet is, very few. I’d also bet that more than a few people would be surprised at how he pulled it off, especially given that after World War I Germany had become a democratic republic. The story of how Hitler became a dictator is set forth in The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William Shirer, on which this article is based. (By Jacob G. Hornberger, Freedom Daily, The Future Freedom Foundation, June 28, 2004) Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Author Hornberger includes this quote from Shirer’s book:

“The overwhelming majority of Germans did not seem to mind that their personal freedom had been taken away, that so much of culture had been destroyed and replaced with a mindless barbarism, or that their life and work had become regimented to a degree never before experienced even by a people accustomed for generations to a great deal of regimentation.... The Nazi terror in the early years affected the lives of relatively few Germans and a newly arrived observer was somewhat surprised to see that the people of this country did not seem to feel that they were being cowed.... On the contrary, they supported it with genuine enthusiasm. Somehow it imbued them with a new hope and a new confidence and an astonishing faith in the future of their country.”

As I read Shirer’s words, I was struck by the similarity between German people’s attitude toward their loss of personal freedom under Adolph Hitler’s barbaric dictatorship and the American people’s attitude toward loss of liberty and personal freedom since September 2001 under the presidency of George W. Bush. As is well known, Mr. Bush openly opposes political dissent and uncomplimentary political demonstrations conducted in his presence; supports the clandestine monitoring and tracking of Americans’ telephone and Internet communications by the NSA without court authorization; supports through the USA Patriot Act secret searches of residences without court authorization; and falsely claims that the Constitution authorizes him, through his addition of so-called “signing statements” to bills placed before him for signature into law, to either enforce or not enforce these law as written, his choice depending on his own interpretation of the Constitution. Yet, in my personal experience the vast majority of Americans I speak with appear to be neither disturbed by President’s position in these matters nor willing to petition their members of Congress for corrective legislative action.

The killing of 24 civilians in Haditha has reminded America of another massacre that tarnished its reputation 38 years ago. Rupert Cornwell reports. To Americans of a certain generation, the news this weekend must have seemed dreadfully familiar: an endless war, whose rationale is ever harder to understand, and where "victory" is gradually drained of meaning; a group of soldiers enraged by the loss of a comrade to an invisible enemy, running amok and exacting revenge on civilians, whose only crime was to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. (By Rupert Cornwell, The Independent {U.K.}, May 29, 2006). Full article=>

Minutemen installing Arizona border fence

Scores of volunteers gathered at a remote ranch Saturday to help a civilian border-patrol group start building a short security fence in hopes of reducing illegal immigration from Mexico. The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps plans to install a combination of barbed wire, razor wire, and in some spots, steel rail barriers along the 10-mile stretch of private land in southeastern Arizona. They hope it prompts the federal government to do the same along the entire Arizona border. (AP, May 28, 2006). Full article=>

the great sea of liquidity, created by the Fed... and how to keep dry despite... the Berlin conference that you never heard about....

If you thought 1929-1941 was bad, our coming financial problems will be much worse. Today’s speculation and leverage is 100 times more powerful. The trigger this time could be the yen carry trade and other carry trades and the derivatives involved. Due to the giant sea of liquidity created by the Fed and more recently by other central banks, today’s leveraged speculations are financing gross and unsustainable distortions, such as over consumption and global asset inflation. The underlying credit fundamentals are simply dreadful. This was not an issue in years of crisis in the immediate past. There is a huge risk associated with financing serial current account deficits and asset inflation with market-based leveraged speculations. This is not only a problem in the US, but also a global problem. (By Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster, May 27, 2006). Full article=>

Is the National Security Agency being "turned against the people," as the Congressional committee led by Sen. Frank Church warned might happen? We the people cannot know; it's classified. Thursday's slick but evasive testimony by Gen. Mike Hayden, the president's nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency, put the spotlight on Hayden's personal role in an aggressive NSA program that skirts strict 30-year-old legal restrictions on eavesdropping on American citizens. As NSA director from 1999 to 2005, Hayden did the White House's bidding in devising and implementing that program without adequately informing Congress – as required by law. When an unauthorized disclosure revealed the program to the press, Hayden agreed to play point-man with smoke and mirrors. Small wonder that the White House considers him the perfect man for the CIA job. (By Ray McGovern, Antiwar.com, May 26, 2006). Full article=>

The National Security Agency’s warrantless domestic wiretaps and its logs of Americans’ phone calls are the most controversial, but by no means the only, surveillance initiative underway that has chilling implications for all Americans. American history is littered with examples of similar instances of security programs gone awry. It is three decades now since the Church Committee concluded, “The tendency of intelligence activities expanding beyond their initial scope is a theme which runs through every aspect of our investigative findings.” (By John Prados, TomPaine.com, May 25, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Here’s your opportunity to find out if your US Senators voted Yea or Nay on this body’s version of this bill. I urge you to read them the riot act if they voted Yea, which meant that they are in favor of legally removing US borders and, therefore, relinquishing our nation’s sovereignty.

... it is important to stress that the delegates of the International Red Cross found no evidence whatever at the camps in Axis occupied Europe of a deliberate policy to exterminate the Jews. In all its 1,600 pages the Report does not even mention such a thing as a gas chamber. http://thunderbay.indymedia.org/news/2005/01/18220.php . The 9/11 puzzle will never be solved, because all those investigating are too cowardly to consider the most important issue of that sorry day. (By John Kaminski, Newsletter, May 24, 2006). Click to read entire article.

If, as I would like to believe, the above quote suggests all children and not merely those born in Western democracies, I am no longer certain that we live in a civilized society.

That women and children suffer the most during times of war is not a new phenomenon. It is a reality as old as war itself. What Rumsfeld, Rice, and other war criminals of the Cheney administration prefer to call "collateral damage" translates in English as the inexcusable murder of and other irreparable harm done to women, children, and the elderly during any military offensive. (By Dahr Jamail, Antiwar.com, May 24, 2006). Click to read entire article.

As many as 26.5 million veterans were placed at risk of identity theft after an intruder stole an electronic data file this month containing their names, birth dates and Social Security numbers from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs employee, Secretary Jim Nicholson said yesterday. The burglary occurred May 3 in Aspen Hill, according to a source with knowledge of the incident who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter is under investigation. (By Christopher Lee and Steve Vogel, the Washington Post, May 24, 2006). Click to read full article.

The coming pandemic

No, not bird flu. Identity theft! As the world tries to ready itself for the inevitable spread of the H5N1 avian flu virus, it’s unsettling to see another pandemic creeping up on us for which we seem frighteningly unprepared. I’m referring to identity theft and to the fact that companies are simply not taking sufficient care to protect their most important asset: their customers.

The numbers are already staggering, and they will only get worse. At the recent CSO Perspectives Conference, hosted by CIO’s sister publication, David McIntyre, CEO of TriWest, reported that 53 million identities have been stolen to date and 19,000 more are stolen every day. When it comes to cleaning up this mess, companies on average spend 1,600 work hours per incident at a cost of $40,000 to $92,000 per victim. (By Michael Friedenberg, in CIO online, May 15, 2006). Click to read full article .

LC Editor: There are solutions for both continuous monitoring and near real time email alerting and identity restoration. Here’s an excellent one.

Beneath the thunder of the mighty cataclysms unleashed by the Bush Administration – the war crime in Iraq, the global torture gulag, the epic corruption, the gutting of the Constitution, the open embrace of presidential tyranny – a quieter degradation of American society has continued apace. And this slow descent into barbarism didn't begin with George W. Bush – although his illicit regime certainly represents the apotheosis of the dark forces driving the decay. (By Chris Floyd, LewRockwell.com, May 23, 2006). Click to read full article.

Prisons and jails added more than 1,000 inmates each week for a year, putting almost 2.2 million people, or one in every 136 U.S. residents, behind bars by last summer. (By Elizabeth White, The Associated Press, May 21, 2006). Click to read full article.

Somewhere in the bowels of our government is a new Pentagon Papers waiting to be read. The real story of what our leaders knew and what they were thinking when they planned to invade Iraq is waiting to be told. A preview of that blockbuster is contained in a new book, "The Weapons Detective," by former U.N. weapons inspector Rod Barton. In addition to addressing the trumped-up case made for war, Barton, who served on the CIA-commissioned Iraq Survey Group, tells of how truth was bottled up. (By John Young, Boulder Daily Camera, May 21, 2006). Click here to read full article.

"Gee, that's pretty cheap. I just love shopping at Wal Mart. They have everything." That phrase has been repeated thousands of times, every day, all over the world, but especially in America. I'll give an American Gold Eagle, to someone, who will spray paint out the WAL, on a Wal Mart truck, and spray on "CHINA" in its place, and have it appear in a newspaper, which undoubtedly will be picked up by wire services, and shown to a hundred million Americans. That's assuming a hundred million Americans can still read, or do so, at least on special occasions. Americans just don't realize that we are becoming a third world nation. They're too busy enriching China. What describes a third world nation? High unemployment, high debts, government corruption, and a declining currency, would pretty well describe a third world nation. We have them all. (By Don Stott, Gold-Eagle.com, April 29, 2006). Click here to read full article.

Now, the White House's top spymaster can cite national security to exempt businesses from reporting requirements. President George W. Bush has bestowed on his intelligence czar, John Negroponte, broad authority, in the name of national security, to excuse publicly traded companies from their usual accounting and securities-disclosure obligations. Notice of the development came in a brief entry in the Federal Register, dated May 5, 2006, that was opaque to the untrained eye. (By Dawn Kopecki, Business Week online, May 23, 2006). Click to read full article.

LC Editor’s Comment: In the name of Mr. Bush’s ever-present, unending “War on Terror”, the wholesale rape of America continues on unabated, as the administration and big business tighten their lip lock

Illegals granted Social Security in Senate vote on reform bill

The Senate voted yesterday to allow illegal aliens to collect Social Security benefits based on past illegal employment -- even if the job was obtained through forged or stolen documents. "There was a felony they were committing, and now they can't be prosecuted. That sounds like amnesty to me," said Sen. John Ensign, the Nevada Republican who offered the amendment yesterday to strip out those provisions of the immigration reform bill. "It just boggles the mind how people could be against this amendment." The Ensign amendment was defeated on a 50-49 vote. (By Charles Hunt, The Washington Times, May 19, 2006). Click here for full story.

Taliban insurgents and their al-Qaeda allies, once thought defeated in Afghanistan, are regaining strength as the U.S. prepares to cede military control of the war on terror's initial battleground to NATO forces. Taliban and al-Qaeda forces are rising in number and increasingly using roadside bombs and suicide strikes. Last year was the deadliest yet for U.S. forces there and attacks are at their highest level since 2001, when the Taliban regime that harbored al-Qaeda was toppled by a U.S.-led invasion. (Bloomberg.com, May 19, 2006). Click here for full story.

“An American counternarcotics official was killed and two other Americans wounded in a suicide bombing in western Afghanistan today, while heavy fighting between Taliban insurgents and Afghan police continued in two southern provinces, officials said,” reports the New York Times. “We confirm that a U.S. citizen contractor for the State Department Bureau of International Narcotic and Law Enforcement, working for the police training program in Herat was killed in a vehicle-borne I.E.D. attack,” Chris Harris, an American Embassy spokesman, told the newspaper. After this mention, the Times moves on to detail the increasing violence between Afghan puppet police and “militants,” that is to say Afghans fighting against the occupation of their country, an entirely natural occurrence.

Of course, the Times does not bother to mention that the Afghan opium trade—in fact much of the opium trade in the so-called “Golden Crescent” (Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan)—was cultivated and nurtured by the United States government and the CIA, leading to countless cases of miserable heroin addiction in America and Europe. Reading the Times, we get the impression the Taliban—at one time sponsored by the CIA and Pakistan’s intelligence services, so long as they were kicking Russian hindquarter—are responsible for the opium trade all on their lonesome. As usual, the Times twists the story through omission. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire, May 18, 2006). Click here to read full story.

Is Congress aiding and abetting the creation of a police state? Recently, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., helped to give the CIA and NSA unprecedented police powers. By inserting a provision in the FY07 Intelligence Authorization Act, Hoekstra has undermined the existing statutory limits on involvement in domestic law enforcement. This comes after revelations in January of direct NSA involvement with the Baltimore police in order to "protect" the NSA Headquarters from Quaker protesters. (By Ray McGovern, in TomPaine.com, May 16, 2006). Click here for full story.

The escalating controversy over the National Security Agency's data mining program illustrates yet again how the Bush administration's intrusions on personal privacy based on a post-9/11 mantra of ''national security" directly threaten one of the enduring sources of that security: the Fourth Amendment ''right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." The Supreme Court held in 1967 that electronic eavesdropping is a ''search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, recognizing that our system of free expression precludes treating each use of a telephone as an invitation to Big Brother to listen in. By 2001, the court had come to see how new technology could arm the government with information previously obtainable only through old-fashioned spying and could thereby convert mere observation -- for example, the heat patterns on a house's exterior walls -- to a ''search" requiring a warrant. (By Laurence H. Tribe, The Boston Globe, May 16, 2006). Click here for full story.

How big is Bush's big government?

The United Nations committee against torture has demanded that the United States provide more information about its treatment of prisoners at home and foreign terrorism suspects held in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. In questions submitted to Washington, the panel also sought information about secret detention facilities and specifically whether the United States assumed responsibility for alleged acts of torture in them, UN officials said. "It is the longest list of issues I have ever seen," Mercedes Morales, a UN human rights officer who serves as secretary to the UN Committee against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, said. (By Stephanie Nebehay, news.com.au, April 19, 2006). Full article=>

Questions about the White House response to criticism from retired generals over Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld continued to plague the White House at Tuesday's press briefing. Rumsfeld occupied most of the press' attention -- and reporters repeatedly hammered White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan on why Bush came out with a strong defense of Rumsfeld, and why the White House isn't engaging the retired generals. (The Raw Story, April 18, 2006), Full article=>

Lee County commissioners are expected today to discuss whether to make organizers of last week's protest march pay for additional costs the county incurred, but they may be wasting their time. The county has no legal standing to charge organizers anything based on rulings from similar court battles, said Howard Simon, executive director of the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "Governments don't tax the exercise of constitutional freedoms, that's why we have municipal budgets and publicly funded police departments," Simon said. "People don't pay to exercise their First Amendment rights, that is contradictory to how the Constitution works." (By Julio Ochoa, NaplesNews.com, April 18, 2006). Full text=>

The dollar slumped to a seven-month low against the euro and an almost two-week low versus the Japanese yen Tuesday after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve monetary-policy meeting suggested the policy-making board could be at the end of its cycle of tightening interest rates. At the same time, weaker-than-expected housing data, a tame reading of U.S. core wholesale inflation, and dovish comments from San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen also weighed on the greenback (By Wanfeng Zhou, MarketWatch, April 18, 2006). Full article=>

Gold rose above $620 an ounce, the highest since 1980, as record oil prices and a drop in the dollar prompted some investors to buy bullion seeking a hedge against inflation. Gold has jumped 20 percent this year as oil climbed to a record $71.60 a barrel today. Gold reached a record $873 an ounce in 1980 after oil more than doubled in 1979, sparking a surge of inflation. The dollar is down 3 percent against a basket of six major currencies this year. (Bloomberg.com, April 18, 2006). Full article=>

Beijing will use artificial rainmaking to clear the air after a choking dust storm coated China's capital and beyond with yellow grit, prompting a health warning to keep children indoors, state media said Tuesday. The huge storm blew dust far beyond China's borders, blanketing South Korea and reaching Tokyo. The storm, reportedly the worst in at least five years, hit Beijing overnight Sunday, turning the sky yellow and forcing residents to dust off and hose down cars and buildings. Hospitals reported a jump in cases of breathing problems, state television said. The government was preparing to seed clouds to make rain to clear the air, state TV said, citing the Central Meteorological Bureau. It did not elaborate, and the bureau refused to release more information. (By Joe McDonald, The Associated Press, April 18, 2006). Full article=>

Spy Chief: CIA detainees will be held indefinitely

Exclusive: John Negroponte says accused Al-Qaeda members will remain in secret prisons as long as 'war on terror continues'. John Negroponte has seen his share of tribal warfare. As the top U.S. official in Baghdad in 2004, Negroponte spent more than a year trying to transform long-standing and often violent resentments between Shi'ites, Sunnis, and Kurds into a shared desire to form a new democratic government In Iraq. (By Michael Duffy and Timothy J. Burger/Washington, in Time.com, April 18, 2006). Full article=>

As the drumbeat for military action against Iran grows louder, some members of Congress are calling to expand the long-standing U.S. trade ban that bars American companies from investing in that nation. In fact, many war hawks in Washington are pushing for a comprehensive international embargo against Iran. The international response has been lukewarm, however, because the world needs Iranian oil. But we cannot underestimate the irrational, almost manic desire of some neoconservatives to attack Iran one way or another, even if it means crippling a major source of oil and destabilizing the worldwide economy. (By U.S. Representative Ron Paul, April 18, 2006). Full article=>

Busting empty bunkers

On April 12, Bloomberg News reported, "Iran, defying United Nations Security Council demands to halt its nuclear program, may be capable of making a nuclear bomb within 16 days, a U.S. State Department official said. "Iran will move to 'industrial scale' uranium enrichment involving 54,000 centrifuges at its Natanz plant, the Associated Press quoted deputy nuclear chief Mohammad Saeedi as telling state-run television today. "'Using those 50,000 centrifuges they could produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in 16 days,' Stephen Rademaker, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, told reporters today in Moscow." Well, the Security Council made no such demand, and the "sense" of what neo-crazy Rademaker said has deliberately been misrepresented to you. (By Gordon Prather, in Antiwar.com, April 18, 2006). Full article=>

Mississippi's two U.S. senators included $700 million in an emergency war spending bill to relocate a Gulf Coast rail line that has already been rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina at a cost of at least $250 million. Republican Sens. Trent Lott and Thad Cochran, who have the backing of their state's economic development agencies and tourism industry, say the CSX freight line must be moved to save it from the next hurricane and to protect Mississippi's growing coastal population from rail accidents. But critics of the measure call it a gift to coastal developers and the casino industry that would be paid for with money carved out of tight Katrina relief funds and piggybacked onto funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (By Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post, April 18, 2006). Full article=>

The National Archives signed a secret agreement in 2001 with the Central Intelligence Agency permitting the spy agency to withdraw from public access records it considered to have been improperly declassified, the head of the archives, Allen Weinstein, disclosed on Monday. Mr. Weinstein, who began work as archivist of the United States last year, said he learned of the agreement with the C.I.A. on Thursday and was putting a stop to such secret reclassification arrangements, which he described as incompatible with the mission of the archives. (By Scott Shane, The New York Times, April 18, 2006). Full article=>

In late February 2004, the Army announced that it was canceling plans to build a radar-evading helicopter called the Comanche, a project that was nearly three years behind schedule and more than $3.5 billion over budget. Those problems, however, didn't stop an Army panel a few weeks later from granting the Boeing Co.-Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. partnership running the program a $33.9 million "award fee" for their work on the helicopter, part of more than $200 million in such fees paid to the partnership over four years. Award fees are meant in theory to motivate defense contractors with extra money for performance. But a recent Government Accountability Office study found that the fees are often paid regardless of whether a project is on schedule and within its budget. (By Charles R. Babcock, the Washington Post, April 17, 2006). Full article=>

A new poster has been plastered around London over the past few months to remind us that Big Brother is watching in order to keep us all safe. The poster headline reads simply "Watching over you 24/7" and features giant eyes set into the landscape of the Houses of Parliament in London. (By Steve Watson, Infowars.net, April 17, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: I tried to access this site on Tuesay, April 18, but could not get the page to open ---“Cannot find server”.

Retired Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner says a military operation has already begun inside Iran. Gardiner says, "It's a very serious question about the constitutional framework under which we are now conducting military operations in Iran." We also speak with Gardiner about what he calls the "unprecedented" revolt against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld within the military. (By Amy Goodman, Host and Producer of Democracy Now!, April 17, 2006). Full text of interview and streaming video=>

Torture is a good way to "gratify sadism." It helps torturers assert domination. It historically has been used to get people to make false confessions. But it does not help to harvest intelligence. These are the findings of a Fairleigh Dickinson University economics professor, who wrote an article for the academic journal Episteme: A Journal of Social Epistemology published earlier this month. His research and subsequent article have added his name to the global debate over the treatment of prisoners in the quest to quell and get intelligence on terrorism. "It's easy to torture someone into a false conviction," said Roger Koppl, a tenured FDU economics and finance professor. (By Navid Iqbal, DailyRecord.com, April 16, 2006). Full article=>

Pentagon proposed pretexts to justify an U.S. invasion of Cuba in 1962. In his new exposé of the National Security Agency entitled Body of Secrets, author James Bamford highlights a set of proposals on Cuba by the Joint Chiefs of Staff codenamed OPERATION NORTHWOODS. This document, titled “Justification for U.S. Military Intervention in Cuba” was provided by the JCS to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on March 13, 1962, as the key component of Northwoods. (The National Security Archive, April 30, 2001). Full article and link to document, which is in Adobe Acrobat (pdf file) format.=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Click on the link at the site to view a photo image of this document (pdf format), which was classified SECRET in 1962 but which is now UNCLASSIFIED. Then scroll down to ANEX TO APPENDIX TO ENCLOSURE A. Pay particular attention to sections numbered 6 through 8, which includes a plan for the use of a remotely-controlled (referred to as a “drone”) U.S. registered airliner containing no passengers that would be secretly switched in air with a passenger-carrying, conventionally-piloted airplane of the same type and with the same markings as the drone.

On his Asian trip last month, President George W. Bush urged Americans to not fear the rise toward prosperity of emerging economies like India. Education, Bush said, was the best response to globalization, climbing further up the ladder of skills to "fill the jobs of the 21st century." But a ladder to where? That is, where are educated young Americans likely to find good jobs that will not be shipped off to India or China? The answer, according to a growing number of universities, corporations and government agencies, is in what is being called services science. (By Steve Lohr, the New York Times, April 18, 2006). Full article=>

Iran's leader will meet Saddam's fate, says Peres

The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will come to the same end as Saddam Hussein, Shimon Peres predicted at the weekend amid growing Israeli impatience with the international community's failure to curb Tehran's march towards the nuclear club. Israel's elder statesman, who was number two on the victorious Kadima list in last month's parliamentary elections, denounced the hard-line Iranian leader as a representative of Satan, not God. (By Eric Silver, April 17, 2006). Full article=>

The United States should hold direct talks with Iran on its nuclear program and go slow on pressing for sanctions, contrary to Bush administration strategy, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman said on Sunday. Breaking with President George W. Bush's insistence on a multilateral approach through the U.N. Security Council, Sen. Richard Lugar said direct U.S. talks with Iran would be useful as part of a broad dialogue on energy. Lugar, on the ABC television program "This Week," said it was too soon to press hard for sanctions aimed at halting Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program even as the Bush administration prepares to do so at a meeting in Moscow Tuesday. (Reuters, April 16, 2006). Full article=>

The bold US Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) initiative promises to build on international concerns to limit access to sensitive technologies and further tighten up the international safeguards regime. In January a similar proposal was made by Russia, for a global network of facilities under UN oversight, and in March the USA asked Russia to join the GNEP. Russia has suggested that one of its four major enrichment plants could become part of an international fuel service centre run in conjunction with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). But beyond the USA and Russia, what other countries are likely to come into line with it?

The US announcement was made after a year's preparation and discussions with the UK, France, Russia, Japan and China. In fact all would appear to be prime contenders as "partner nations [which] will develop a fuel services program to provide nuclear fuel to developing nations allowing them to enjoy the benefits of abundant sources of clean, safe nuclear energy in a cost-effective manner in exchange for their commitment to forgo enrichment and reprocessing activities, also alleviating proliferation concerns." The fuel leasing plan envisages supplying enriched fuel for initial use in customer countries before its return, followed by separation and burning of recycled components in the "fuel supplier nations" or "fuel cycle nations". (In UIC.com Newsletter, March-April 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Could the Bush administration’s insistence that Iran not be allowed to enrich uranium in its own facilities be motivated by money rather than by fear? That is, does the Bush White House expect to generate new business for U.S. uranium processors as a result of having Iran buy enrichment and reprocessing services it needs from the six-member GNEP partnership rather than provide these services for itself?

Military may soon have "Star Trek" force shield to protect soldiers, vehicles

The US military is experimenting with a defense system that is effective in neutralizing rocket-propelled grenades. The system creates a "force shield" that will protect soldiers and military vehicles. It's likened to the defensive shield seen in the sci-fi "Star Trek" TV series and movies, although this system is strictly for a rocket-propelled grenade attack. The first tests of the Trophy Active Protection System in the US were successfully completed last month by the US Naval Surface Warfare Center. (By Jim Kouri, The Common Voice, April 5, 2006). Full article=>.

One of our greatest modern gun experts, Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, Ret., once made the observation that the bullet is more important than the gun. The gun, he explained, is merely the launcher. It is the bullet that actually does the job. This is true for an armed citizen’s home defense gun, as surely as it is for the battle weapon of one of Col. Cooper’s brother Marines. Ditto for the police officer’s ammunition. And ditto again for the bullet a rural American citizen uses to harvest game for the family table. (By Massad Ayoob, Backwoods Home Magazine). Full article=>

The Bush administration's attempts to rebut criticism of defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped up a gear yesterday with the publication of a Pentagon memo seeking to persuade former military commanders to back him. The one-page memo, emailed on Friday to a large group of retired officers and civilian experts, took the unusual step of enumerating the Pentagon chief's recent meetings in order to prove "US senior military leaders are involved to an unprecedented degree in every decision-making process in the department of defence". (By Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian {U.K.}, April 17, 2006). Full article=>

Along a gritty stretch of street in Brooklyn, police this month quietly launched an ambitious plan to combat street crime and terrorism. But instead of cops on the beat, wireless video cameras peer down from lamp posts about 30 feet above the sidewalk. They were the first installment of a program to place 500 cameras throughout the city at a cost of $9 million. Hundreds of additional cameras could follow if the city receives $81.5 million in federal grants it has requested to safeguard Lower Manhattan and parts of midtown with a surveillance "ring of steel" modeled after security measures in London's financial district. (By Tom Hays, the Associated Press, April 17, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The federal grant amounts to a Bush war-on-terror bonus for New York. Now, I wonder what, if anything, the NYPD, or New York City, has commited to do contractually in return for being awarded this grant…Don’t you?

Beneath the bellows over Iran and the mayhem in Iraq, the real struggle for Mideast dominance quietly unfolds. As petrostates around the globe exert increasing command over their energy assets, Iraq is on the verge of ceding theirs to the control of American and British oil companies. If all goes as planned, the oil giants will have performed the heist of the century. (By Ann Berg, in Antiwar.com, April 17, 2006). Full article=>

According to Tim Harper, writing for the Toronto Star, a neocon attack unleashed against Iran may result in the following: “Poison-laced missiles raining down on U.S. troops in Iraq or Afghanistan, the downing of a U.S. passenger airliner, suicide bombers in major cities, perhaps unleashing their deadly payload in a shopping mall food court. It could be 9/11 all over again. Or worse…. On the political front, more anti-Americanism…. Renewed venom aimed at Washington from European capitals, greater distrust from China and Russia, outright hatred in the Arab and Muslim world. Oil prices spiralling out of control, a global recession at hand…. In Iran, a galvanizing of a splintered nation. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire, April 16, 2006). Full article=>

During an interview on CNN Friday night, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner claimed that U.S. military operations are already 'underway' inside Iran, RAW STORY has found. "I would say -- and this may shock some -- I think the decision has been made and military operations are under way," Col. Gardiner told CNN International anchor Jim Clancy (as noted by Digby at the blog Hullabaloo). (By Ron Brynaert, in The Raw Story, April 15, 2006). Full article=>

I was so deep into note-scribbling that I jumped when Carty came up behind me and read aloud over my shoulder. "'Dealing with Debt, Hardyville Style.' What's that?" "Notes for my next column." He snorted. (He does that a lot.) "No such thing as getting out of debt Hardyville style. Hardyville style is not to get into debt in the first place." "Horsefeathers," pronounced Janelle, arriving with a pot of the Hog Trough's famous coffee imitation. "Husband and I hadda go into debt to buy this place. It was an investment. (By Claire Wolfe, in Backwoods Home Magazine, February 15, 2006). Full article=>

The United States envisions a plan to establish an annual production capability of 250 nuclear warheads in a bid to be prepared for possible contingencies in the future, a senior U.S. administration official said. The plan also calls for promoting development of new types of warheads in a five-year cycle to continuously replace existing ones, the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) official said on condition of anonymity. The official also said the new type, called the reliable replacement warhead, or RRW, which is now being studied for submarine-launched ballistic missiles in place of the current W-76 warhead, could also be used for intercontinental ballistic missiles. (The Japan Times: Sunday, April 16, 2006). Full article=>

The Bush administration's new nuclear doctrine contains specific "guidelines" which allow for "preemptive" nuclear strikes against "rogue enemies" which "possess" or are "developing" weapons of mass destruction (WMD). (2001 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) and Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations (DJNO)). The preemptive nuclear doctrine (DJNO), which applies to Iran and North Korea calls for "offensive and defensive integration". It explicitly allows the preemptive use of thermonuclear weapons in conventional war theaters. In the showdown with Tehran over its alleged nuclear weapons program, these Pentagon "guidelines" would allow, subject to presidential approval, for the launching of punitive bombings using "mini-nukes" or tactical thermonuclear weapons. (By Michel Chossudovsky, Center for Research on Globalization), February 22, 2006). Full article=>

Color and monochrome photomontage with music and words background. Notice that in the introduction to the video that President Truman calls the Japanese city of Hiroshima a “military base”. (Ghanditoday.org). Full video=>

One hears not an encouraging word about US President George W Bush these days, even from Republican loyalists. Yet I believe that Bush will stage the strongest political comeback of any US politician since Abraham Lincoln won re-election in 1864 in the midst of the American Civil War. (By Spengler, in the Asia Times Online, April 11, 2006). Full article=>

Loud and brash, in gawdy garb and baseball caps, more than three million of them flock to our shores every year. Shuffling between tourist sites or preparing to negotiate a business deal, they bemoan the failings of the world outside the United States. The reputation of the "Ugly American" abroad is not, however, just some cruel stereotype, but - according to the American government itself - worryingly accurate. Now, the State Department in Washington has joined forces with American industry to plan an image make-over by issuing guides for Americans travelling overseas on how to behave. (By Philip Sherwell, The Telegraph News {U.K.}, April 16, 2006). Full article=>

US plots ‘new liberation of Baghdad’

The American military is planning a “second liberation of Baghdad” to be carried out with the Iraqi army when a new government is installed. Pacifying the lawless capital is regarded as essential to establishing the authority of the incoming government and preparing for a significant withdrawal of American troops. Strategic and tactical plans are being laid by US commanders in Iraq and at the US army base in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, under Lieutenant- General David Petraeus. He is regarded as an innovative officer and was formerly responsible for training Iraqi troops. (By Sarah Baxter, Times Online {U.K.}, April 16, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The article notes that “President George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, are under intense pressure to prove to the American public that Iraq is not slipping into anarchy and civil war. An effective military campaign could provide the White House with a bounce in the polls before the mid-term congressional elections in November. With Bush’s approval ratings below 40%, the vote is shaping up to be a Republican rout.”

Of all the war crimes that have flowed from the originating crime of President George W. Bush's unprovoked invasion of Iraq, perhaps the most flagrant was the destruction of Fallujah in November 2004. Now, as ignominious defeat looms for Bush's Babylonian folly, some of the key players in fomenting the war are urging that the "Fallujah Option" be applied to an even bigger target: Baghdad. What these influential warmongers openly call for is the "pacification" of Baghdad: a brutal firestorm by U.S. forces, ravaging both Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias in a "horrific" operation that will inevitably lead to "skyrocketing body counts," as warhawk Reuel Marc Gerecht cheerfully wrote last week (April 3) in the ever-bloodthirsty editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal. (By Chris Floyd, in the Moscow Times online, April 14, 2006). Full article=>

Iran suicide bombers ‘ready to hit Britain and US’ if its nuclear sites attacked

Iran has formed battalions of suicide bombers to strike at British and American targets if the nation’s nuclear sites are attacked. According to Iranian officials, 40,000 trained suicide bombers are ready for action. The main force, named the Special Unit of Martyr Seekers in the Revolutionary Guards, was first seen last month when members marched in a military parade, dressed in olive-green uniforms with explosive packs around their waists and detonators held high. (By Marie Colvin, Michael Smith and Sarah Baxter, Times Online {U.K.}, April 16, 2006). Full article=>

A U.S. conflict with Iran could be even more damaging to America's interests than the war with Iraq, former White House counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke wrote in Sunday's New York Times. In an op-ed article co-authored with Steven Simon, a former U.S. State Department official who also worked for the National Security Council, Clarke wrote reports that the Bush administration is contemplating bombing nuclear sites in Iran raised concerns that "would simply begin a multi-move, escalatory process." Iran's likely response would be to "use its terrorist network to strike American targets around the world, including inside the United States," Clarke and Simon warned. (Reuters, April 16, 2006). Full article=>

Tony Blair has told George Bush that Britain cannot offer military support to any strike on Iran, regardless of whether the move wins the backing of the international community, government sources claimed yesterday. Amid increasing tension over Tehran's attempts to develop a military nuclear capacity, the Prime Minister has laid bare the limits of his support for President Bush, who is believed to be considering an assault on Iran, Foreign Office sources revealed. (By Brian Brady, Scotsman News, April 16, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush is expected to approve soon a national pandemic influenza response plan that identifies more than 300 specific tasks for federal agencies, including determining which frontline workers should be the first vaccinated and expanding Internet capacity to handle what would probably be a flood of people working from their home computers. (By Ceci Connolly, The Washington Post, April 16, 2006). Full article=>

U.S. Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld allowed an "abusive and degrading" interrogation of an al Qaeda detainee in 2002, the online magazine Salon reported overnight, citing an Army document. In a report a Pentagon spokesman denounced as "fiction," Salon quoted a December 2005 Army inspector general's report in which officers told of Rumsfeld's direct contact with the general overseeing the interrogation at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (The Herald Sun, April 15, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The link shown above to the Salon site is correct. The link to Salon shown in the third paragraph of the main body of this article is incorrect.

In just two weeks, six retired U.S. Marine and Army generals have denounced the Pentagon planning for the war in Iraq and called for the resignation or firing of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, who travels often to Iraq and supports the war, says that the generals mirror the views of 75 percent of the officers in the field, and probably more. (By Pat Buchanan, in Antiwar.com, April 15, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush interrupted his Easter vacation yesterday to offer an unequivocal vote of confidence in Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, in a move aimed at countering a growing wave of criticism from retired generals calling for the Pentagon chief to resign over his leadership of the Iraq war. (By Peter Baker and Josh White, The Washinton Post, April 15, 2006). Full article=>

If you haven't already read Seymour Hersh's stunning article, "The Iran Plans," in the New Yorker magazine about President Bush's plans to preemptively "take out" what the Israelis claim is an Iranian secret nuke-oriented uranium-enrichment program, you'd better do it soon, because Hersh claims the plans are already in the early stages of implementation. There are already some US troops and former MEK terrorists operating in Iran. Hersh amplified on his article in interviews conducted by Wolf Blitzer on CNN and by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!

LC Editor’s Comment: Hersh’s article in the New Yorker magazine and Amy Goodman’s interview of Hersh were reported in the April 8-9 and and April13 issues, respectively, of LIBERTY CALLING.

Iran said it could defeat any American military action over its controversial nuclear drive, in one of the Islamic regime's boldest challenges yet to the United States. You can start a war but it won't be you who finishes it," said General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the head of the Revolutionary Guards and among the regime's most powerful figures. "The Americans know better than anyone that their troops in the region and in Iraq are vulnerable. I would advise them not to commit such a strategic error," he told reporters on the sidelines of a pro-Palestinian conference in Tehran. (AFP, April 15, 2006). Full article=>

Beset by delays, cost overruns and technical problems, the U.S. government's quest to defend the nation against a smuggled nuclear weapon or radiological "dirty" bomb is approaching a crossroads. In coming weeks, the Bush administration will award or initiate contracts worth $3 billion to develop a new generation of rugged and precise radiation monitors and imaging scanners designed to sniff out radioactive material at the nation's borders. (By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post, April 15, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Another case (figuratively) of a homeowner making plans to lock the outsides doors and turn on the burgler alarm of his home, but only after robbers have walked in, gathered all the valuables and put them into sacks, and then calmly walked out, dragging the bulging sacks behind them!

The first lavish dinner of China President Hu Jintao's historic visit to the United States next week will be in a big, secure house in Washington where the host is one of the world's most powerful men. The White House? No. It won't be in Washington D.C., but Seattle, Washington, and the April 18 dinner will be held at the $100 million lakeside mansion of Microsoft Corp. founder and the world's richest man, Bill Gates. (Reuters, April 14, 2006). Full article=>

The conflict in Iraq is not marked by front lines or raging battles between warring Iraqi factions. There is no Green Line separating sectarian militias, as in Beirut in the 1970s and 1980s, nor are there clearly defined armies and commanders. But by any measure, Iraqis will tell you that their country is embroiled in what amounts to civil war. (By Aamer Madhani, The Chicago Tribune, April 14, 2006). Full article=>

As an E&P "Pressing Issues" column recently noted, rock star Neil Young is the son of a famed Canadian journalist, so it should not surprise many that he recently recorded a song in California with a very reportorial -- or at least pundit -- feel to it. It’s called “Impeach the President,” so there can be little question what it is about. (Editor & Publisher online, April 15, 2006). Full article=>.

Big telecom rolls for NSA eavesdroppers... growth in commodities... credit extension like never before... As long as the world economy runs hot, fueled by M3 injections by most governments of more than 10%, commodities and precious metals will continue to soar. The question is for how long? We don’t know for sure, but an educated guess is for three more years. Commodities will top out first then the precious metals. There is a sea of money out there and it has to be invested somewhere and the supply of that liquidity is increasing annually by more than 10%. A few years from now after the bond and stock markets have fallen, gold will ultimately be the only game in town. We have seen this happen over and over again over the past 1,000 years as the conspiracy has attempted time after time to implement their version of world government. The reign of the Roman Empire has not been repeated and will not be repeated. (By Robert Chapman, The International Forecaster, April 14, 2006). Full article =>

Certain areas of Southern California have already broken the $3-a-gallon threshold, and it appears that all areas will be above $3 as soon as next week. According to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch, the average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.914, which is 7.2 cents higher than last week, 31 cents higher than last month and 29 cents higher than last year. (Los Angeles Business – Bizjournals.com, April 14, 2006). Full article=>

Three full years of cons, combat, and chaos! (By Mark Fiore, The Village Voice, March 16, 2006). Full video=>

Led by a familiar clutch of neoconservative hawks, major right-wing publications are calling on the administration of President George W. Bush to urgently plan for military strikes – and possibly a wider war – against Iran in the wake of its announcement this week that it has successfully enriched uranium to a purity necessary to fuel nuclear reactors. (By Jim Lobe, in Antiwar.com, April 14, 2006). Full article=>

People ask: Can this be happening in Britain? Surely not. A centuries-old democratic constitution cannot be swept away. Basic human rights cannot be made abstract. Those who once comforted themselves that a Labor government would never commit such an epic crime in Iraq might now abandon a last delusion, that their freedom is inviolable. If they knew. (By John Pilger, in Antiwar.com, April 14, 2006). Full article=>

The era of cheap money may finally be nearing its end. Investors pushed up the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note to its highest point in nearly four years today, signaling that some consumers will soon be paying more interest on credit cards and home mortgages. The change will have the biggest impact on people who took out home loans with low introductory interest rates but adjust to higher rates in later years. (By Vikas Bajaj, The New York Times, April 13, 2006). Full article=>

A small American flag, tucked into the back right-hand pocket of her pants. And for that, the Fallbrook High School sophomore was stopped by a security officer, taken to an assistant principal's office and written up in an incident report that was placed in her student file. (By Greg Moran, San Diego Union-Tribune, April 13, 2006). Full article=>

Random weapons scans at New York City schools

Public schools will begin introducing portable metal detectors at random and searching students for weapons, city officials said Thursday. By April 26, school safety officers will begin putting up temporary, portable walk-through detectors to screen middle and high school students, officials said. On days machines are at a site, signs will alert students. On any given day, detectors will be in as many as 10 schools. (By Carl Limbacher, Newsmax.com, April 12, 2006). Full article=>

Intelligence experts warn that a proposal to merge two Pentagon intelligence units could create an ominous new agency. A threatened turf grab by a controversial Pentagon intelligence unit is causing concern among both privacy experts and some of the Defense Department's own personnel. (By Mark Hosenball, Newsweek, April 12, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor Comment: Worthwhile reading in these times, when the United States appears to be moving rapidly toward becoming a dictatorship and a police state, yet some many of our countryman seem to be unaware of or unconcerned about what is happening to freedom in America.

10-Year US strategic plan for detention camps revives proposals from Oliver North

The Halliburton subsidiary KBR (formerly Brown and Root) announced on Jan. 24 that it had been awarded a $385 million contingency contract by the Department of Homeland Security to build detention camps. Two weeks later, on Feb. 6, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that the Fiscal Year 2007 federal budget would allocate over $400 million to add 6,700 additional detention beds (an increase of 32 percent over 2006). This $400 million allocation is more than a four-fold increase over the FY 2006 budget, which provided only $90 million for the same purpose. Both the contract and the budget allocation are in partial fulfillment of an ambitious 10-year Homeland Security strategic plan, code-named ENDGAME, authorized in 2003. (By Peter Dale Scott, New American Media, February 21, 2006). Full story=>

First it was ten years, then it was five or six, and now it is sixteen days. Iran will have a nuke in sixteen days and no doubt they will nuke Israel on the seventeenth day, if we are to believe the mendacious neocons. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire, April 12, 2006). Full article=>

Three years ago, I was a Marine Corps captain on the Iraqi/Kuwaiti border, participating in the invasion of Iraq. Awestruck, I heard our howitzers thunder and watched artillery rockets rise into the night sky and streak toward Iraq — their light bathing the desert moonscape like giant arc welders. (By Christpher H. Sheppard, in the Seattle Times, April 12, 2006). Full article=>

In his new exposé of the National Security Agency entitled Body of Secrets, author James Bamford highlights a set of proposals on Cuba by the Joint Chiefs of Staff codenamed OPERATION NORTHWOODS. This document, titled “Justification for U.S. Military Intervention in Cuba” was provided by the JCS to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on March 13, 1962, as the key component of Northwoods. (National Security Archives, April 30, 2001). Full text, including link to the now declassified secret document.

LC Editor’s Comment: Read this document in the context of the events of 9/11, specifically the use of airplanes. The document is presented as an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file. A free Acrobat reader is available at www.adobe.com . Dillon Avery refers to this document in the video, “Loose Change” (see list of streaming videos above).

Western nuclear analysts said yesterday that Tehran lacked the skills, materials and equipment to make good on its immediate nuclear ambitions, even as a senior Iranian official said Iran would defy international pressure and rapidly expand its ability to enrich uranium for fuel. (By William J. Broad, Nazila Fathi and Joel Brinkley, The New York Times, April 13, 2006). Full article=>

The White House has acknowledged for the first time that a key moment in post-war Iraq, the declaration by George Bush that "we have found the weapons of mass destruction", was based on intelligence known in Washington to be false. (By Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian {U.K.}, April 13, 2006). Full article=>

Two more retired U.S. generals called for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign on Thursday, claiming the chief architect of the Iraq operation ignored years of Pentagon planning for a U.S. occupation and should be held accountable for the chaos there. (By Steve Holland, Reuters, April 13, 2006). Full article=>

According to New Yorker columnist Seymour Hersh, the Bush administration is contemplating "the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against [Iran's] underground nuclear sites." Presumably, the B61-11 nuclear bomb can be configured with yields low enough to be categorized as a mini-nuke, i.e., sub- or only a few kilotons. (By James Pena, in Antiwar.com, April 13, 2006). Full article=>

We speak with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh about his latest article in the New Yorker that the Bush administration has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack. (Television news interview by Amy Goodman, Host and Produce, Democracy Now!, April 12, 2006). Full transcript and streaming video=>

Government spending hit an all-time high for a single month in March, pushing the budget deficit up significantly from the red-ink level of a year ago, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday that federal spending totaled $250 billion last month, up 13.7 percent from March 2005. (By Martin Crutsinger, The Associated Press, April 12, 2006). Full article=>

Defense stocks may jump higher with big profits

Shares of U.S. defense companies, which have nearly trebled since the beginning of the occupation of Iraq, show no signs of slowing down as investors anticipate strong first-quarter profits this month. U.S. defense spending is rising faster than expected -- confounding experts' who predicted a slowdown* -- and rumors of cuts to big programs have not turned into reality. Allied with a boom in commercial aerospace, the profit outlook for defense contractors has never looked more robust. (By Bill Rigby, Reuters, April 12, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: War is always a paying proposition for the war equipment manufactures, whose well-paid lobbyists spend lots of time with our members of Congress to make certain the mega dollar “defense” spending spigot stays wide open. Here is the latest profit picture for two major US war armaments manufacturers: Lockheed Martin, up 53 percent; and Northrup Grumman, up 29 percent. But war and threats of war have always been profitable for war equipment manufacturers. See “War is a Racket”, written by Major General Smedley Butler over seventy years ago.

The US government has ordered online auctioneer eBay's payment service PayPal to turn over records that could expose foreign accounts where tax cheats have hidden money, PayPal said. The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) wants the San Jose, California-based "online wallet" to reveal the details of accounts linked to banks or credit cards in 35 countries, said Amanda Pires of PayPal. (AFP, April 12, 2006). Full article=>

On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq: Two small trailers captured by U.S. and Kurdish troops had turned out to be long-sought mobile "biological laboratories." He declared, "We have found the weapons of mass destruction." The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true. A secret fact-finding mission to Iraq -- not made public until now -- had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons. Leaders of the Pentagon-sponsored mission transmitted their unanimous findings to Washington in a field report on May 27, 2003, two days before the president's statement. (By Joby Warrick, The Washington Post, April 12, 2006). Full article=>

Denouncing Iran's successful enrichment of uranium as unacceptable to the international community, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday the U.N. Security Council must consider "strong steps" to induce Tehran to change course. Rice also telephoned Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to ask him to reinforce demands that Iran comply with its nonproliferation requirements when he holds talks in Tehran on Friday. (By Barry Schweid, The Associated Press, April 12, 2006). Full article=>

Gasoline prices this summer will average $2.62 a gallon for unleaded regular, 25 cents a gallon more than last summer's average, the Energy Department predicted yesterday in its annual summer fuels outlook. The department's Energy Information Administration blamed high gasoline prices on steady growth in world oil demand, limited growth in oil production and continuing risks of geopolitical instability that it said would keep crude oil prices high through the remainder of the year. (By Steve Mufson, The Washington Post, April 12, 2006). Full article=>

Two of the world's most successful investors say oil will be in short supply in the coming months. That's the message from two of the world's most successful investors on the topic of high oil prices. One of them, Hermitage Capital's Bill Browder, has outlined six scenarios that could take oil up to a downright terrifying $262 a barrel. The other, billionaire investor George Soros, wouldn't make any specific predictions about prices. But as a legendary commodities player, it's worth paying heed to the words of the man who once took on the Bank of England -- and won. "I'm very worried about the supply-demand balance, which is very tight," Soros says. (By Nelson Schwartz, Fortune, April 11,2006). Full article=>

China’s trade surplus surged in March, sharply illustrating US concerns about its swelling bilateral deficit days before Hu Jintao, China’s president, travels to Washington for a summit meeting with President George W. Bush. (By Richard McGregor, Financial Times {U.K.}, April 11, 2006). Full article=>

Pharmaceutical companies are systematically creating diseases in order to sell more of their products, turning healthy people into patients and placing many at risk of harm, a special edition of a leading medical journal claims today. The practice of “diseasemongering” by the drug industry is promoting non-existent illnesses or exaggerating minor ones for the sake of profits, according to a set of essays published by the open-access journal Public Library of Science Medicine. (By Mark Henderson, Times Online {U.K.}, April 11, 2006). Full article=>

Can a U.S. citizen be locked up for three-plus years without access to a court or opportunity to challenge the government’s reasons for detention? Today, the answer in America is a provisional “yes.” And last week the government took one important step toward cementing this “yes” into a permanent power. In legal briefs and internal Justice Department memoranda, the administration has argued since 9/11 that the president has authority to detain anyone—U.S. citizen or non-citizen—without charge, without a hearing before a neutral magistrate and without access to the evidence lodged against them. (By Aziz Z. Hug, in TomPaine.com, April 11, 2006). Full article=>

When you invest so much effort into tangling the web – in this case, corrupting intelligence analysis in the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq – it becomes hard to know when to stop. Vice President Dick Cheney went to inordinate lengths, including 10 visits to CIA headquarters, to ensure that that crucial NIE on weapons of mass destruction was alarmist enough to scare Congress into authorizing war. And when the evidence turned out to be flimsy, Cheney had a back-up plan: The CIA made me do it. (By Ray McGovern, in Antiwar.com, April 11, 2006). Full article=>

The price of copper chalked up a historic high owing to supply concerns, while gold and silver hit multi-year highs on soaring investor interest, dealers said. The buoyant performance by much of the metals complex came as oil prices threatened to break further records amid the ongoing Iranian nuclear crisis. With high crude prices raising fears about inflation, investors are rushing to invest in gold, which is seen as a good store of value. Metals are being boosted also by low inventories and rising demand from China. (AFP, April 11, 2006). Full article=>

The growth in the number of agents patrolling US borders has slowed in the 4½ years since the September 11 terrorist attacks and concerns over illegal immigration override fears of terrorist infiltration in the allocation of border resources, according to a new analysis. (By Christopher Swann, Financial Times online {U.K.}, April 11, 2006). Full article=>

Iran’s announcement that it has successfully enriched uranium may be a major breakthrough for its nuclear program, but it's still a long way to being able to fuel a reactor — or produce a weapon, as the U.S. fears. Iran said it successfully enriched uranium using 164 centrifuges. For large-scale enrichment, Iran needs tens of thousands of centrifuges. Iran's nuclear boss, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, said Iran aims to expand the process to use 3,000 centrifuges in the last quarter of 2006, meaning Iran is preparing for a semi-industrial scale enrichment. (The Assciated Press, April 11, 2006). Full article=>

Almost all of the state's poorest residents will have to show proof of US citizenship to continue getting medical care by July 1, under a little-noticed federal law that could endanger coverage for many, as Massachusetts is trying to expand access to healthcare. Born out of ongoing efforts in Washington to clamp down on illegal immigration, the new federal requirement compels anyone seeking Medicaid coverage to provide a birth certificate, a passport, or another form of identification in order to sign up for benefits or renew them. No such proof is required now. (By Scott Helman, The Boston Globe, April 11, 2006). Full article=>

A Brigham Young University physicist said he now believes an incendiary substance called thermite, bolstered by sulfur, was used to generate exceptionally hot fires at the World Trade Center on 9/11, causing the structural steel to fail and the buildings to collapse. "It looks like thermite with sulfur added, which really is a very clever idea," Steven Jones, professor of physics at BYU, told a meeting of the Utah Academy of Science, Arts and Letters at Snow College Friday. The government requires standard explosives to contain tag elements enabling them to be traced back to their manufacturers. But no tags are required in aluminum and iron oxide, the materials used to make thermite, he said. Nor, he said, are tags required in sulfur. (By Suzanne Dean, Deseret Morning News, April 10, 2006). Full article=>

Key figures in a phone-jamming scheme designed to keep New Hampshire Democrats from voting in 2002 had regular contact with the White House and Republican Party as the plan was unfolding, phone records introduced in criminal court show. The records show that Bush campaign operative James Tobin, who recently was convicted in the case, made two dozen calls to the White House within a three-day period around Election Day 2002 — as the phone jamming operation was finalized, carried out and then abruptly shut down. (By Larry Margasak, The Associated Press, April 10, 2006). Full article=>

Oil prices rose above $69 a barrel Tuesday amid concerns that Iran's nuclear standoff and violence in Nigeria could hurt supplies. Prices were also pushed higher by expectations of a further draw on gasoline stocks ahead of the U.S. summer driving season. Such worries overrode expectations that the weekly snapshot of U.S. inventory data on Wednesday will show crude-oil stocks climbing an average of 1.2 million barrels from last week. (By George Jahn, The Associated Press, April 11. 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: President Bush rattles his nukes and oil prices rise. Who benefits?

Iran has successfully enriched uranium for the first time, a major development in its fuel cycle technology, news agencies quoted former President Hashemi Rafsanjani as saying Tuesday. Current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad added that Iran "will soon join the club of countries with nuclear technology." The U.N. Security Council has demanded that Iran stop all uranium enrichment activity by April 28. Iran has rejected the demand, saying it has a right to develop the process. (By Ali Akbar Dareini, The Associated Press, April 11, 2006). Full article=>

“The Security Council called on Iran Wednesday to suspend its uranium enrichment program within 30 days, ending three weeks of deadlock between Western powers and Russia and China over how to pressure Tehran to prove its nuclear efforts are not aimed at making weapons. The 15-member council unanimously adopted a nonbinding statement on Iran after the United States and five other key countries finished difficult negotiations on its wording. The statement does not commit the United Nations to action against Iran and was written to avoid language that might clearly set the stage for sanctions or subsequent military moves…”

Three years after the fall of Baghdad to U.S. forces, Washington is abuzz about new reports that the administration of President George W. Bush is preparing to attack Iran, possibly with nuclear weapons. In just the past few days, lengthy articles detailing planning for aerial attacks on as many as 400 nuclear and military targets have appeared in the Washington Post; the London Sunday Times; The Forward, the main weekly of the U.S. Jewish community; and The New Yorker. (By Jim Lobe, in Antiwar.com, April 11, 2006). Full article=>

They are the human shields. Every time there is the sound of sabre-rattling from the West over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons programme, the protesters are back in the picture. Some have been deployed in a human chain outside sensitive sites in remote areas of Iran. Others rally outside the embassies of the United States and Britain in Tehran. (By Anne Penketh, The Independent {U,K}, April 10, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush says Iranians are behind the more lethal IEDs, the roadside bombs killing our troops in Iraq. Rumsfeld warns the Iranian Revolutionary Guard may now be in Iraq. Cheney says Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. McCain says, “the military option is on the table.” And Israel is getting impatient. Writes Yaakov Katz in the March 10 Jerusalem Post, “The United States has until now not done enough to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, a senior Defense Ministry official has told the Jerusalem Post ...” (By Patrick J. Buchanan, The American Conservative, April 10, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military intelligence officials believe may have overstated his importance and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The documents state that the U.S. campaign aims to turn Iraqis against Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian, by playing on their perceived dislike of foreigners. U.S. authorities claim some success with that effort, noting that some tribal Iraqi insurgents have attacked Zarqawi loyalists. For the past two years, U.S. military leaders have been using Iraqi media and other outlets in Baghdad to publicize Zarqawi's role in the insurgency. The documents explicitly list the "U.S. Home Audience" as one of the targets of a broader propaganda campaign. (By Thomas E. Ricks, The Washington Post, April 10, 2006). Full article=>

My 'self-report' date to prison is April 11th. I will be incarcerated in FCI Danbury, Connecticut for 90 days. Prison, I'm imagining, is the exact opposite of my cat. It is cold, she is warm. It’s made up of metal with hard edges: she of curves and silky hair. sensory deprivation vs. sensuousness. Then there is her purr. I ask Google "Why do cats purr?" An answer: "Cats purr during both inhalation and exhalation with a consistent pattern and frequency between 25 and 150 hertz. Various investigators have shown that sound frequencies in this range can improve bone density and promote healing." There is no more safe or comfortable feeling than resting with Miss Whitey purring in the nook of my arm. I think I’ll make a CD of her sound track to play while I’m going to sleep in prison. Better yet, I’ll give it to the warden for him to play over the loud speaker to the whole cell block. I’m sure this would lower stress. (By Robin Lloyd, in Toward Freedom online, April 10, 2006). Full article=>

Israel's once-powerful lobby in the U.S. is running scared. The American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is facing a burgeoning scandal with the upcoming trial of Steve Rosen their longtime chief lobbyist, and Iran policy expert Keith Weissman, who are accused of spying on behalf of Israel. Their source in the Pentagon – Iran analyst and neoconservative ideologue Larry Franklin – was caught red-handed by the FBI handing over top secret information to the two AIPAC officials, who then turned the vital data over to Israeli embassy employees. Franklin pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years, with time off for good behavior – i.e., testifying against his fellow spies. (By Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, April 10, 2006). Full article=>

These days, there's more than one way to get Lost, visit The Office or keep Law and Order. Six months after ABC struck the first deal to sell commercial-free TV episodes online, networks are rushing to offer everything from individual programs to season subscriptions. Web viewers can even watch some shows for free -- with advertising. ABC has sold more than 4 million downloads to date, but none of the approaches have proven to be an overwhelming success. (The Associated Press, April 8, 2006). Full article=>

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald has now revealed in court filings bombshell information that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby told the grand jury investigating the leak of Valerie Plame-Wilson's covert CIA identity. According to Fitzgerald's filings, Libby said that he was authorized by the President and Vice President to leak classified information to New York Times reporter Judith Miller. This revelation has been accompanied by a number of public misstatements, which call for correction. (By John W. Dean, in FindLaw’s Writ, April 7, 2006). Full article =>

In Los Angeles, Eun Sook Lee will march on behalf of Korean illegal immigrants, at least 50,000, living in southern California. On Boston Common, Punam Rogers will join other Indian émigrés, as well as business clients and students from China, Germany, and Britain. In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Ivalier Duvra will take to the streets to draw attention to Haitian newcomers who he says need refugee status. (By Daniel B. Wood, The Christian Science Monitor, April 10, 2006). Full article=>

The White House on Sunday sought to dampen the idea of a U.S. military strike on Iran, saying the United States is conducting "normal defense and intelligence planning" as President Bush seeks a diplomatic solution to Tehran's suspected nuclear weapons program. Administration officials-- from President Bush on down-- have left open the possibility of a military response if Iran does not end its nuclear ambitions. Several reports published Sunday said the administration was studying options for military strikes; one account raised the possibility of using nuclear bombs against Iran's underground nuclear sites. Britain's foreign secretary called the idea of a nuclear strike "completely nuts." Dan Bartlett, counselor to Bush, cautioned against reading too much into administration planning. (By Ned Pickler, The Associated Press, April 9, 2006). Full article=>

As he drew back the curtain this week on the evidence against Vice President Cheney's former top aide, Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald for the first time described a "concerted action" by "multiple people in the White House" -- using classified information -- to "discredit, punish or seek revenge against" a critic of President Bush's war in Iraq. Bluntly and repeatedly, Fitzgerald placed Cheney at the center of that campaign. Citing grand jury testimony from the vice president's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Fitzgerald fingered Cheney as the first to voice a line of attack that at least three White House officials would soon deploy against former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV. (By Barton Gellman and Dafna Linzer, Washington Post, April 9, 2006). Full article=>

The Bush administration is studying options for military strikes against Iran as part of a broader strategy of coercive diplomacy to pressure Tehran to abandon its alleged nuclear development program, according to U.S. officials and independent analysts. No attack appears likely in the short term, and many specialists inside and outside the U.S. government harbor serious doubts about whether an armed response would be effective. But administration officials are preparing for it as a possible option and using the threat "to convince them this is more and more serious," as a senior official put it. (By Peter Baker, Dafna Linzer and Thomas E. Ricks, The Washington Post, April 9, 2006). Full article=>

Iran had shot down an unmanned surveillance plane in the south amid reports that the United States is planning military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, a press report said today. "This plane had taken off from Iraq and was filming border areas," a report in the hardline Jumhuri Eslami newspaper said. It added the Islamic Republic "officials have obtained information from the plane system and recordings", without giving any further details. (The Australian, April 9, 2006). Full article=>

Plans are under way for a massive bombing strike on sites where Iran is believed to be enriching uranium before President George W Bush leaves office in less than three years’ time. Both Bush and Dick Cheney, his vice-president, regard Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president, as a new Hitler who cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons and carry out his fantasy of wiping Israel off the map. (By Sarah Baxter and Michael Smith, The Sunday Times online {U.K.}, April 9, 2006). Full article=>

So many Western energy companies are in talks this spring with Gazprom, the Russian state-owned natural gas monopoly, that executives were lined up across the lobby of the headquarters on a recent afternoon. Fiddling with scarves and hats, representatives of a U.S.-based international oil company and a large German bank waited impatiently at the coat check amid the crowd. Gazprom is in talks with at least five Western companies and the governments of China, Israel and the United States as it expands beyond its traditional market in Europe to become a worldwide energy supplier. (By Andrew Kramer, Interternational Herald Tribue, April 9, 2006). Full article=>

Leaders vacation in Cancun and get a tan... Iran fires a new test missile... immigration policy is in the news again... domestic spying, and more... Our President continues to play musical chairs with his staff on orders from upper level elitists. The replacement of Andrew Card changes nothing and it doesn’t get rid of Karl Rove & Steven Hadley. Putting Josh Brewster Bolton in his place really worsens the situation. He has been involved in a number of intrigues and comes from a very long line of elitist, CIA conspirators. (By Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster online, April 8, 2006). Full article=>

Hersh: Bush calls Ahmadinejad Hitler, “considers” nuclear holocaust

The April 17, edition of the New Yorker has a piece by Seymour Hersh (who, in early December told me he did not think war was likely) regarding the Bush administration's plan to bomb Iran. Philip Giraldi first reported in the August 1, 2005 issue of the American Conservative magazine, and now Hersh confirms, that the war planners are "considering" the use of "tactical" nuclear weapons to destroy Iran's underground bunkers. (By Scott Horton, Blog in Antiwar.com, April 8, 2006). Full article=>

The Bush administration has a theory to explain why the Founding Fathers secretly intended for the president to have boundless power. Even though the new “unitary executive theory” is nowhere in the Constitution, White House officials continually invoke it to justify scorning federal law. The fact that the administration is getting away with this charade symbolizes how docile much of the American media and political opposition have become. (By James Bovard, Commentaries, Future Freedom Foundation online, April 7, 2006). Full article=>

AT&T provided National Security Agency eavesdroppers with full access to its customers' phone calls, and shunted its customers' internet traffic to data-mining equipment installed in a secret room in its San Francisco switching center, according to a former AT&T worker cooperating in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's lawsuit against the company. (By Ryan Singel, Wired News, April 7, 2006). Full article=>

One reason we're supposed to rejoice at the pitter-patter of illegal feet is that foreigners are only coming here to "do jobs Americans won't do." It's one of those basic assumptions upon which the argument in favor of forgetting we have borders, a culture and laws rests, and even President Bush mentioned this "truth" while speaking about immigration reform recently. And, undoubtedly, there are certain immutable laws of economics. Only, this isn't one of them. (By Selwyn Duke, in NewsWithViews.com, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

The administration of President George W. Bush is planning a massive bombing campaign against Iran, including use of bunker-buster nuclear bombs to destroy a key Iranian suspected nuclear weapons facility, The New Yorker magazine has reported in its April 17 issue. The article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said that Bush and others in the White House have come to view Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a potential Adolf Hitler. "That's the name they're using," the report quoted a former senior intelligence official as saying. A senior unnamed Pentagon advisor adviser is quoted in the article as saying that "this White House believes that the only way to solve the problem is to change the power structure in Iran, and that means war." (AFP, April 8, 2006). Full article=>

Bonkers Bolton told State Department reporters in Washington this week that if Iran's government doesn't halt enrichment work and somehow prove its nuclear effort is peaceful, the "likely next step" would be a "Chapter VII resolution under the UN Charter." (By Hugh Prather, in Antiwar.com, April 8, 2006). Full article=>

Covert action is much talked about and little understood. At its most basic level, covert action is a set of intelligence operations undertaken by a specific state's intelligence agencies to advance its national interests. They are executed in a manner that limits the visibility of that state's hand in whatever is done. Ideally, covert actions cannot be traced back to their sponsor. Most people take the term covert action to mean violent actions of one kind or another: kidnapping, assassination, support for insurgents, etc. While violence can certainly be part of a covert-action campaign, the more insidious – and often more effective – arm of covert action is called "political action," whereby one state seeks to influence the public opinion of another by speaking through the mouths of that country's citizens. (By Michael Scheuer, in Antiwar.com, April 8, 2006). Full article=>

Click on the link to go to the SonyClassic.com site and view the stunning trailer for the 2005 Eugene Jareki movie, “Why We Fight”. Then check out “War is a Racket”, written by Major General Smedley Butler over seventy years ago to expose what war is all about: Fattening the wallets of the politicians who urge the fighting of wars and the American business owners who produce the weapons of war --- the guns, the ships, the airplanes --- but never have to face the enemys’ bayonets in battle nor bury sons and daughters killed in war.

War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes. In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows. How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle? (By Major General Smedley Butler, circa 1933). Full story=>

Two government agencies are cautioning the Pentagon on risks in the Army's $161 billion Future Combat System. The Congressional Budget Office warned this week that by 2015 the Army will have to spend $10 billion a year -- a third of its entire procurement budget -- buying the system. The Government Accountability Office wants the Army and Pentagon to consider canceling the program when it comes up for a formal review in 2008 if key problems are not solved by then. The problems are many, and the cost implications high. The estimate to develop and buy the Future Combat System has nearly doubled. The original projected cost was $91.4 billion. By January, the estimate had reached $160.7 billion, a 76 percent increase. (By Pamela Hess, UPI, April 7, 2007). Full article=>

President Bush has hit new lows in public opinion for his handling of Iraq and the war on terror and for his overall job performance. Polling also shows the Republican Party surrendering its advantage on national security. The AP-Ipsos poll is loaded with grim election-year news for a party struggling to stay in power. Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction -- the largest percentage during the Bush presidency and up 13 points from a year ago. "These numbers are scary. We've lost every advantage we've ever had," GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio said. "The good news is Democrats don't have much of a plan. The bad news is they may not need one." (By Ron Fournier, The Associated Press, April 7, 2006). Full article=>

The White House on Friday chose not to challenge a prosecutor's disclosure that President George W. Bush authorized top official Lewis "Scooter" Libby to disclose intelligence on Iraq in 2003, as Libby alleges. Spokesman Scott McClellan noted that the White House released declassified portions of an intelligence report at around the same time, July 2003. That was part of an already known public release of information in the face of criticism of Bush's grounds for invading Iraq from former Ambassador Joe Wilson. (By Steve Holland, Reuters, April 7, 2006). Full article=>

The revelation that President Bush authorized former White House aid I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby to divulge classified information about Iraq fits a pattern of leaks of secret intelligence to further the administration’s political agenda. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other top officials have reacted angrily at unauthorized leaks, such as the exposure of a domestic wiretapping program and a network of secret CIA prisons, both of which are now the subject of far-reaching investigations. But secret information that supports their policies, particularly about the Iraq war, has surfaced everywhere from the U.N. Security Council to major newspapers and magazines. Much of the information that the administration leaked or declassified, however, has proved to be incomplete, exaggerated, incomplete or fabricated. (By Warren P. Strobel and Ron Hutcheson, Knight Ridder Newspapers, April 7, 2006). Full article=>

The national impeachment clock moved several minutes closer to midnight this week, with word from special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's Plamegate investigation that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's leaking of classified information to New York Times reporter Judy Miller and other journalists was approved by President George Bush himself. What makes this latest revelation important is that if Libby's claim is correct, it means the president has lied about his role, both to Fitzgerald's federal investigators, and to the American people. The former act--lying to a federal agent--could be a federal crime even though the president was not under oath. The latter--lying to the American people--was voted out of the House Judiciary Committee as an impeachable offense in the case of President Richard Nixon, and was one of the counts approved by the full House of Representatives against President Bill Clinton. While not a statutory crime, Congress has long held that lying to the public can be a "high crime" meriting of impeachment under the Constitution. (By Dave Lindorff, in Counterpunch.org, April 7-9, 2006). Full article=>

Magnequench is an Indianapolis-based company. It specializes in the obscure field of sintered magnetics. Essentially, it makes tiny, high-tech magnets from rare-earth minerals ground down into a fine powder. The magnets are highly prized by electronics and aviation companies. But Magnequench's biggest client has been the Pentagon. The neodymium-iron-boron magnets made by Magnequench are a crucial component in the guidance system of cruise missiles and the Joint Direct Attack Munition or JDAM bomb, which is made by Boeing and had a starring role in the spring bombing of Baghdad. Indeed, Magnequench enjoys a near monopoly on this market niche, supplying 85 percent of the rare-earth magnets that are used in the servo motors of these guided missiles and bombs. But the Pentagon may soon be sending its orders for these parts to China, instead of Indiana. (By Jeffrey St. Clair, in Counterpunch.org. April 7-9, 2006). Full article=>

Republicans in the U.S. Congress suffered two major setbacks on Thursday when their fiscal 2007 budget plan collapsed and they failed to put the finishing touches on $70 billion in tax cuts. The developments could not have come at a worse time as Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress and the White House, were hoping to shake election-year blues dominated so far by ethics scandals and sinking popularity. (By Richard Cowan, Reuters, April 6, 2006). Full article=>

Google aims to be able to track its users to within 100-200 feet of their location through new wireless networks in order to serve them with relevant advertising from local businesses. The leading internet search company, which depends on advertising for 99 per cent of its revenues, was selected on Wednesday by San Francisco as its preferred bidder to provide a basic free wi-fi internet service covering the entire city. (By Chris Nuttall and Kevin Allison, in The Financial Times {U.K.}, April 6, 2006. Full article=>

Authorities trying to limit disease outbreaks will be able to trace livestock movements from birth to slaughter by 2009, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said Thursday. The goal is to pinpoint a single animal's movements among the nation's 9 billion cows, pigs and chickens within 48 hours after a disease is discovered. Many livestock producers have been wary of a tracking system, which the government promised to create after the nation's first case of mad cow disease two years ago in Washington state. Johanns pointed out that Australia has gained an edge in Japan and other countries by marketing its livestock tracking system to sell beef. "Traceability is being used as a marketing tool by several countries," Johanns said. (By Libby Quaid, The Associated Press, April 6, 2006). Full article=>

LC Comment: Each animal is permanently marked for identification using an RFID (radio frequency identification) chip that is embedded in the flesh under its outer skin shortly after birth. The chip is encoded with a serial number that is unique to that animal. To identify an animal, an inspector passes a handheld RFID code-reading device over the animal’s chip and reads the animal’s identification number off the display panel of the device. .

The Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee pointedly criticized Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Thursday for "stonewalling" by refusing to answer questions about the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said Gonzales was frustrating his panel's oversight of the Justice Department and the controversial surveillance by declining to provide information about how the program is reviewed inside the administration and by whom. (The Associated Press, April 6, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. Army and private contractors employed convicted criminals as security guards across the country despite repeated warnings in the past three years of the "risky situations" that could present, according to a new federal report. (By Tim McLone, The Virginia-Pilot, April 6, 2006). Full article=>

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Thursday left open the possibility that President Bush could order warrantless wiretaps on telephone calls occurring solely within the United States. Such action would dramatically expand the potential reach of the National Security Agency's controversial surveillance program. (By Dan Eggen, The Washington Post, April 6, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Where is your outrage, my fellow Americans? Are you not unaware of the protection guaranteed to Americans by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution with respect to unreasonable searches and seizures?

Fourth Amendment: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

In the February 27 issue of The New Yorker, Jane Mayer reported on the efforts of Alberto Mora, outgoing general counsel for the US Navy, to stop the Pentagon from authorizing the use of cruel and unusual punishment beginning three years ago. In the article, Mora describes with chilling detail a meeting with top administration and military officials to discuss whether to "[make] it official Pentagon policy to treat detainees in accordance with Common Article Three of the Geneva conventions, which bars cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment, as well as outrages against human dignity." (By Katrina Vanden Heuvel, The Nation, April 5, 2006). Full article=>

President George Bush continues to openly and defiantly ignore the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) -- the 1978 statute prohibiting electronic inspection of Americans' telephone and email communications with people outside the United States without a court-authorized warrant. (According to U.S. News & World Report, the President may also have authorized warrantless break-ins and other physical surveillance, such as opening regular mail, in violation of the Fourth Amendment.). (By James Dean, FindLaw.com, April 5, 2006). Full article=>

Steven Jones, Ph.D. is a Professor of Physics at Brigham Young University. He presented his lecture on February 1, 2006. The lecture covers the collapse of three World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001 after two passenger jet airliners hit and penetrated two of them on that day. Professor Jones is a founder of Scholars for 9/11 Truth. (http://www.st911.org/ ). Click here to play the streaming video of his lecture=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Professor Jones’ lecture is logical, lucid, thorough and entertaining. He takes a very cautious, conservative approach in in interpreting the available data. As a former research physicist myself, I like his rigorous, methodical approach, and I highly recommend this streaming video for viewing. The video is 2 hours and 13 minutes long, but the viewing time seems to pass quickly --- Professor Jones’ style, though very precise and orderly, is light and easy, and he uses humor very effectively to capture and hold the attention of his audience throughout his presentation.

It's been three years since the U.S. launched its war against Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction. Of course, now almost everybody knows there were no WMD and Saddam Hussein posed no threat to the United States. Though some of our soldiers serving in Iraq still believe they are there because Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11, even the administration now acknowledges there was no connection. Indeed, no one can be absolutely certain why we invaded Iraq. The current excuse, also given for staying in Iraq, is to make it a democratic state, friendly to the United States. There are now fewer denials that securing oil supplies played a significant role in our decision to go into Iraq and stay there. That certainly would explain why U.S. taxpayers are paying such a price to build and maintain numerous huge, permanent military bases in Iraq. They're also funding a new billion dollar embassy – the largest in the world. (By U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, in Antiwar.com, April 7, 2006). Full article=>

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald stated in a court filing late Wednesday in the CIA leak case that his investigators have obtained evidence during the course of the two-year-old probe that proves several White House officials conspired to discredit former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, a critic of the administration's pre-war Iraq intelligence. This is the first time the special counsel has acknowledged that White House officials are alleged to have engaged in a coordinated effort to undercut the former ambassador's credibility by disseminating classified intelligence information that would have contradicted Wilson's public statements. (By Jason Leopold, Truthout.com, April 6, 2006). Full article=>

Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff has testified that President Bush authorized him to disclose the contents of a highly classified intelligence assessment to the media to defend the Bush administration's decision to go to war with Iraq, according to papers filed in federal court [PDF] on Wednesday by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor in the CIA leak case. (By Murray Waas, National Journal, April 6, 2006). Full article=>

The Bush administration Wednesday unveiled a blueprint for rebuilding the nation's decrepit nuclear weapons complex, including restoration of a large-scale bomb manufacturing capacity. The plan calls for the most sweeping realignment and modernization of the nation's massive system of laboratories and factories for nuclear bombs since the end of the Cold War. Until now, the nation has depended on carefully maintaining aging bombs produced during the Cold War arms race, some several decades old. The administration, however, wants the capability to turn out 125 new nuclear bombs per year by 2022, as the Pentagon retires older bombs that it says will no longer be reliable or safe. (By Ralph Vartabedian, The Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2006). Full article=>

Congress passed a landmark budget measure last year for the first upgrade of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile since the Cold War, insisting there would be limited modifications to make the warheads safer and more reliable. But in his first interview since the measure was adopted, the head of the agency that manages the arsenal described the program as a potentially far more extensive redesign of the weapons. Linton Brooks, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the new effort -- called the Reliable Replacement Warhead program -- would involve a redesign of virtually all components of the warheads, as well as the resuscitation of the complex for manufacturing them at a potential cost of many billions of dollars. (By James Sterngold, The San Francisco Chronical, January 15, 2006). Full article=>

Fifteen years after the end of the Cold War, the United States continues to spend billions of dollars annually to maintain and upgrade its nuclear forces. It is deploying a larger and more accurate preemptive nuclear strike capability in the Asia-Pacific region, and shifting its doctrine toward targeting U.S. strategic nuclear forces against "weapons of mass destruction" complexes and command centers. As of January 2006, the U.S. stockpile contains almost 10,000 nuclear warheads. This includes 5,735 active or operational warheads: 5,235 strategic and 500 nonstrategic warheads. (By Robert S. Norris and Hans M. Kristensen, in NRDC Nuclear Notebook, January/February 2006, Bulletin of American Scientists). Full article=>

LC Editor comment: Here’s a stunning video produced and directed by newcomer Dylan Avery. Click on the link ---Don’t miss it. It’s 1 hour and 20 minutes long and worth your viewing time. I obtained this link by going to www.video.google.com. You can buy the DVD at www.rbnlive.com and elsewhere on the net.

Charismatic televangelist John Hagee thinks that the Rev. Pat Robertson's suggestion that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was payback from God for withdrawing from Gaza was "insensitive and unnecessary." But he nevertheless appears to share Robertson's concern that Israel may be giving up too much land to the Palestinians. To prevent the George W. Bush administration from pressuring the Israelis into turning over even more land, Hagee, the pastor of San Antonio's Cornerstone Church and the head of a multimillion-dollar evangelical enterprise, recently brought together 400 Christian evangelical leaders – representing as many as 30 million Christians – for an invitation-only "Summit on Israel." (By Bill Berkowitz, in Antiwar.com, April 6, 2006). Full article=>

While President Bush vows to transform Iraq into a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, his administration has been scaling back funding for the main organizations trying to carry out his vision by building democratic institutions such as political parties and civil society groups. The administration has included limited new money for traditional democracy promotion in budget requests to Congress. Some organizations face funding cutoffs this month, while others struggle to stretch resources through the summer. The shortfall threatens projects that teach Iraqis how to create and sustain political parties, think tanks, human rights groups, independent media outlets, trade unions and other elements of democratic society. (By Peter Baker, The Washington Post, April 5, 2006). Full article=>

CIA made '185 rendition flights through Britain'

CIA aircraft used in secret flights to transport terrorist suspects around the world made nearly 200 calls at British airports over the past five years, according to a report released today. The report called Below the Radar: secret flights to torture and “disappearance” by Amnesty International is the latest investigation into the Bush Administration’s controversial policy of “rendition”, whereby suspected terrorists are moved to detention centres around the world. (By Richard Beesont, The Times Online {U.K.}, April 6, 2006). Full article=>

A bill exceeding by more than $15 billion President Bush’s request for the war in Iraq and new hurican aid could grow larger, much to the dismay of GOP conservatives hoping to improve their record on spending. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill Tuesday after adding about $10 billion for everything from rebuilding highways to enhancing port security. (By Andrew Taylor, The Associated Press, April 5, 2006). Full article=>

Cancer-causing benzene has been found in soft drinks at levels above the limit considered safe for drinking water, the Food and Drug Administration acknowledged Wednesday. Even so, the FDA still believes there are no safety concerns about benzene in soft drinks, or sodas, said Laura Tarantino, the agency's director of food additive safety. (By Libby Quaid, The Associated Press, April 5, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor Comment: “…the FDA still believes there are no safety concerns about benzene in soft drinks…” FDA still believes? On what basis? Perhaps the FDA was given assurances by soft drink manufacturers that their products are safe even if the benzene content concentration levels are higher than allowed by FDA standards. How comforting!

Under a Safeguards Agreement concluded by Iran with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – as required by the Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) – Iran agreed to allow IAEA inspectors to satisfy themselves that no "source or special nuclear materials" are being used or have been used in furtherance of a nuclear weapons program. Last month, Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei made yet another report that – as best he can tell – no proscribed materials are being or have been so used. (By Gordon Prather, in Antiwar.com, April 4, 2006). Full article=>

Melissa Galarneault's fourth-grade class at Indian Mounds Elementary (Bloomington, MN) had just started a math quiz when the alert came over the loudspeaker: "Attention staff, this is a lockdown." The 20 children instantly dropped their pencils, sprang from their desks, scrambled to the front of the classroom and sat silently on the floor. Galarneault rushed to the doorway, dimmed the lights, scanned the hall for stragglers and pulled the locked door shut. She checked to make sure the blinds were drawn, and then joined the huddled youngsters until a coded, all-clear message was sounded over the intercom. The entire episode lasted four minutes. This time, it was only a drill. (Brian Bakst, The Associated Press, April 4, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Lockdown drills? Lockdowns are for inmates in prisons, not for students attending school! What’s wrong with the terms safety drills or security drills?

Massachusetts lawmakers overwhelmingly approved an ambitious health-care bill on Tuesday that would make it the first U.S. state to require nearly all residents to be insured or face penalties. The bill, which comes as traditional employer-based coverage is shrinking nationwide, will provide health care to about 95 percent of the state's half million uninsured residents by 2009, state officials said. The Massachusetts policy holds both businesses and employees responsible for health care coverage. Businesses with more than 10 employees that do not provide coverage for all staff must pay a $295 fee annually per uninsured worker. Under the legislation, which is expected to be approved by Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, insurance agencies would expand health care coverage by offering state-subsidized, low-cost insurance plans with scaled-back benefits. (By Belinda Yu, AFP, March 5, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The “S’ word (socialism) for healthcare is what we have here. Or is it the “F” word, for fascism, where government (that is, politicians and bureaucrats) and business, in this case, medical insurance insuramce underwriting companies, have teamed up in Massachusetts to produce a mutual double-win for themselves at the expense of team up for a mutual double-win at the expense of small business owner and the taxpayers? Not satified with, in effect, forcing motorists to buy their car insurance programs under the threat of the state governments’ refusing to register uninsured vehicles so they may be driven legally on public roads, insurance companies will now use the long arm of the law and its penalties for non-compliance to force state residents to own health insurance -- or else!

Gold traded below $585 in Europe on Tuesday morning on a lack of buying after Monday's dash to a 25-year high. Still, traders said the precious metal remained well-placed to mount a fresh challenge to the key psychological level of $600. The precious metal's meteoric rise has been part of a broader, speculator-led rally in global commodities markets that has also included base metals and crude oil. (By Daniel Magnowski, in Reuters, April 4, 2006). Full article=>

Ollanta Humala, the former army officer and maverick populist-nationalist who leads in the run-up to Sunday's presidential election in Peru, says he wants to construct a "Latin American family" of like-minded peoples and governments. That has triggered fears in Washington that Peru could soon join Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, Evo Morales's Bolivia and Fidel Castro's Cuba in an anti-American, or at least an anti-Bush administration, radical front. (By Simon Tisdall, The Guardian {U.K.}, April 4, 2006). Full article=>

John Reid demanded sweeping changes to international law yesterday to free British soldiers from the restraints of the Geneva conventions and make it easier for the west to mount military actions against other states. In his speech, the defence secretary addressed three key issues: the treatment of prisoners, when to mount a pre-emptive strikes, and when to intervene to stop a humanitarian crisis. In all these areas, he indicated that the UK and west was being hamstrung by existing inadequate law. (By Richard-Norton Taylor and Clare Dyer, The Guardian {U.K.}. April 4, 2006). Full article=>

Venezuela prepares military for the possibility of a US invasion

Venezuela has begun to train military reservists based on lessons from the war in Iraq. President Hugo Chavez has been warning Venezuelans that there is a possibility the United States will invade their country. U.S. officials have repeatedly tried to dismiss these fears. (By Lourdes Garcia-Navarro , NPR News – Morning Edition, April 3, 2006). Full article plus link to listen (click on) to streaming audio of news report=>

Federal spending is outstripping economic growth at a rate unseen in more than half a century, provoking some conservatives to complain that government under Republican control has gotten too big. The federal government is currently spending 20.8 cents of every $1 the economy generates, up from 18.5 cents in 2001, White House budget documents show. That's the most rapid growth during one administration since Franklin Roosevelt. (By Richard Wolf, USA Today, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

Sailors know the walk, when it’s from stem to stern. It’s the walking in formation that has some feeling like fish out of water. With more than 10,000 Navy “individual augmentees” deployed around the world, of which 7,000 are in the U.S. Central Command’s combat zones, the Navy is training its sailors like soldiers more than ever before. (By Sondra Jontz, Starts and Stripes, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The method chosen for replacement of used up soldiers and marines in the Middle East?

New US Navy ship being built with 9/11 World Trade Center scrap steel

With a year to go before it even touches the water, the Navy's amphibious assault ship USS New York has already made history - twice. It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center, and it survived Hurricane Katrina. That combination of disasters gives the ship a unique standing among the 500 or so Avondale, La., shipyard workers building it, said Tony Quaglino, a crane superintendent who postponed retirement to have a hand in the New York's construction. (Richard Pyle, The Associated Press, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

LC. Editor’s Comment: I wonder what metallurgical examination of this steel could have told us about the reasons for collapse of WTC buildings 1, 2 and 7 had the Mayor of New York and the Bush administration chosen to preserve it as forensic evidence instead of having it carted away and melted down in Japan immediately after 9/11? Don’t you?

Jeff King goes into detail why he is certain that the World Trade Center Towers and WTC Building 7, the latter building not struck by an airliner and which suffered only minor fire damage, were brought down by controlled demolition on 9/11. His analysis contradicts the official government explanation for collapse of WTC buildings 1 and 2, which is that the heat of the fires that broke out in the buildings after impact had caused the steel beams that formed their underlying structures to bend and fail catastrophically, causing the floors of the buildings to pancake down upon each other and form piles of concrete and steel centered roughly within the footprints of the collapsed buildings. (Jeff King, Scholars for 9/11 Truth, March 17, 2006). 14-minute streaming video=>

A new study raises another possible threat to rebuilding efforts in Louisiana: Active geologic faults are causing levees, flood walls, bridges and homes to sink. The study, published in the April edition of the Geological Society of America's Geology journal, charts a major fault it says runs through eastern New Orleans. It also argues that the fault's downward movement "set the stage for the devastation of Hurricane Katrina by lowering elevations of the land and surrounding levee defenses." (By Cain Burdeau, The Associated Press, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

Alex Jones was joined on air yesterday by weather modification expert Ben Livingston. Livingston discussed in detail proven evidence of hurricane control and his research and experiences with cloud seeding and weather weapons used in the Vietnam war. (By Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones, in PrisonPlanet.com, October 14, 2005). Full article=>

On March 27, The New York Times published an article based on access to the full British record of the Iraq policy conversation that President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair held on January 31, 2003, as recorded by Blair’s then-national security adviser David Manning. British legal scholar Philippe Sands had already revealed this discussion in his book Lawless World , and the British television network Channel 4 had—two months ago—printed many of the same excerpts of Manning’s memo, but the Times coverage focused new attention on the memo, previously ignored by the U.S. media. (By John Prados, in TomPaine.com, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

A former senior US military commander, Anthony Zinni, called for the dismissal of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over critical mistakes made in the Iraq war. Zinni, who headed the US Central Command from 1997 to 2000, was asked if anyone should lose their job over how Washington has managed its Iraq policy. "Secretary of defense to begin with," he told NBC's "Meet the Press" program. (AFP, April 2, 2006). Full article=>

More domestic spying, ID cards, Wall Street greed... justice in Guantanamo?... polling machines... rigged elections... looting for influence... The Justice Department says the NSA could have legally monitored ordinarily confidential communications between doctors and patients or attorneys and their clients in its controversial warrantless surveillance program. They also believe there is no prohibition to using information collected under NSA’s program in court. Thus, in corporatist fascist America there is no longer a doctor-patient and attorney-client privilege. (By Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster online, April 1, 2006). Full article=>

Skyrocketing energy prices propelled Exxon Mobil Corp. to the top of the 2006 Fortune 500 list, and consigned Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to the No. 2 spot on the magazine's annual ranking of the nation's largest publicly traded companies. Fortune compiled its list based on companies' 2005 revenues. Exxon Mobil raked in $340 billion in revenue, a 25.5 percent increase over and had $36.1 billion in profits, the most by any U.S. company in history. (By J.W. Elphinstone, the Associated Press, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

Photographs of victims of a secret torture programme operated by British authorities during the early days of the cold war are published for the first time today after being concealed for almost 60 years. The pictures show men who had suffered months of starvation, sleep deprivation, beatings and extreme cold at one of a number of interrogation centres run by the War Office in postwar Germany. (By Ian Cobain, The Guardian {U.K.}, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

A University of Texas professor says the Earth would be better off with 90 percent of the human population dead. "Every one of you who gets to survive has to bury nine," Eric Pianka cautioned students and guests at St. Edward's University on Friday. Pianka's words are part of what he calls his "doomsday talk" - a 45-minute presentation outlining humanity's ecological misdeeds and Pianka's predictions about how nature, or perhaps humans themselves, will exterminate all but a fraction of civilization. (By Jamie Mobley, The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

Tony Blair says a new force will tackle the "brutal and sophisticated" criminal gangs of the 21st Century. The Serious Organised Crime Agency, dubbed Britain's FBI, will bring together more than 4,000 police, customs and immigration experts. Soca "law enforcement officers", with new multiple powers, will target international drug and people traffickers and fraudsters. They would make life "hell" for "Mr Bigs", Mr Blair said at Soca's launch. (BBC News, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

Look at the little schoolgirls on the side of the road, crowding off the curb, waiting for the parade. See how happy they are. They are waiting for someone, who is probably riding in a big, open car. Perhaps it is Dr. Goebbels. Maybe it is the Fuhrer himself. The little schoolgirls are waving swastika pennants. It's hard to imagine a more perfect cover for ``The Third Reich in Power'' (Penguin, 941 pages, $37.95), the second volume of a planned trilogy on the Third Reich by historian Richard Evans. The picture captures innocence in the service of irredeemable evil. (By Joe Mysak, in Bloomberg.com, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez is poised to launch a bid to transform the global politics of oil by seeking a deal with consumer countries which would lock in a price of $50 a barrel. A long-term agreement at that price could allow Venezuela to count its huge deposits of heavy crude as part of its official reserves, which Caracas says would give it more oil than Saudi Arabia. (By Mark Milner,The Guardian Unlimited ({U.K.}, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

Americans were rightly outraged over the possibility of an Arab nation with ties to terrorists taking control of six major American ports. Protests from across the nation helped to squelch the deal. However, the job’s not finished. The Communist Chinese still control ports at Long Beach. (By Tom DeWeese, NewsWithViews.com, April 2, 2006). Full article=>

It took a few days, but the flag of the United States of America once again is proudly waving at the entrance of the Chasewood North condominium complex in Jupiter (Florida). (By Kit Bradshaw, TC Palm Local News, April 2, 2006). Full article=>

It's high time to recognize that we as a nation are engaged in a life-or-death struggle of competing ideologies with those who promote war as an American value and virtue. In the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq by a US-led coalition, and for three years since, I have spent many hours speaking to numerous anti-war forums across the country and around the world. I have always been struck by the sincerity of the vast majority of those who call themselves anti-war, and impressed by their willingness to give so much of themselves in the service of such a noble cause. (By Scott Ritter, in AlterNet.com, March 31, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: This is Scott Ritter’s call for individuals and disparate antiwar groups to join forces nationally and start using strategic planning and focused, coordinated, adaptive action to defeat those individuals and groups now dedicated to promoting war as an American value and virtue. A thought-provoking, timely article!

The words above were spoken by Jose Angel Gutierrez, professor, University of Texas, Arlington and founder of the La Raza Unida political party. His full comment was: "We have an aging white America ... They are dying ...We have got to eliminate the gringo, and what I mean by that is if the worst comes to the worst, we have got to kill him." (By Devvy Kidd, in NewsWithViews.com, March 30, 2006). Full article=>

Knowledge of Health Inc., Blog for October 30, 2005- This is the best medical investigative work I’ve ever read (below), issued by John Cannell MD of the Vitamin D Council. The cure for flu epidemics right under the noses of all the bacteriologists and epidemiologists all along. Read every word. Stock your home with vitamin D3 capsules. Dismiss any and all claims that high-dose vitamin D is potentially toxic. Side effects don’t begin till 40,000 units are consumed for many months. (By Bill Sardi, Knowledge of Health online, October 29, 2005). Full article=>

After five years of indecision and internal disputes the Bush administration has started a new, more vigorous phase in trying to undermine the ruling mullahs of Iran. The phrase "regime change" is seen as too loaded to use in public but in effect that is what the administration is hoping to do, according to officials in Washington. Buoyed up by achieving its initial goal of dragging Teheran before the United Nations Security Council, which is to debate Iran this week, officials are now promoting several measures reminiscent of the American approach towards Moscow in the Cold War. (By Alec Russell, Telegraph News {U.K.}, April 3, 2006). Full article=>

Imagine a world where wars are fought over the internet; where TV broadcasts and newspaper reports are designed by the military to confuse the population; and where a foreign armed power can shut down your computer, phone, radio or TV at will. In 2006, we are just about to enter such a world. This is the age of information warfare, and details of how this new military doctrine will affect everyone on the planet are contained in a report, entitled The Information Operations Roadmap, commissioned and approved by US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld and seen by the Sunday Herald. (By Neil MacKay, Sunday Herald {Scotland}, April 2, 2006). Full article=>

As tensions increase between the United States and Iran, U.S. intelligence and terrorism experts say they believe Iran would respond to U.S. military strikes on its nuclear sites by deploying its intelligence operatives and Hezbollah teams to carry out terrorist attacks worldwide. Iran would mount attacks against U.S. targets inside Iraq, where Iranian intelligence agents are already plentiful, predicted these experts. There is also a growing consensus that Iran's agents would target civilians in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, they said. U.S. officials would not discuss what evidence they have indicating Iran would undertake terrorist action, but the matter "is consuming a lot of time" throughout the U.S. intelligence apparatus, one senior official said. "It's a huge issue," another said. (By Dana Priest, The Washington Post, April 2, 2006). Full article=>

US and UK forces establish 'enduring bases' in Iraq

The Pentagon has revealed that coalition forces are spending millions of dollars establishing at least six "enduring" bases in Iraq - raising the prospect that US and UK forces could be involved in a long-term deployment in the country. It said it assumed British troops would operate one of the bases. (By Andrew Buncombe, The Independent {U.K.}, April 2, 2006). Full article=>

History repeats itself, but always with new twists. We are back to the good old days when a Declaration of War preceded the start of a war. Such declaration occurred on March 16th, 2006. Reversing the old order, we are now in the "Sitzkrieg", to be followed shortly by an aerial "Blitzkrieg" in the coming days. (By Jorge Hirsch, in AntiWar.com, April 1, 2006). Full article=>

“This is a real test for the Security Council. There's just no doubt that for close to 20 years, the Iranians have been pursuing nuclear weapons through a clandestine program that we've uncovered. "If the U.N. Security Council can't deal with the proliferation of nuclear weapons, can't deal with the greatest threat we have with a country like Iran – that's one of the leading state sponsors of terrorism – if the Security Council can't deal with that, you have a real question of what it can deal with." Thus spake Bonkers Bolton, Bush’s Ambassador to the United Nations, on the eve of UN Security Council debate on what to do with the "Iranian Dossier" the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency had forwarded them at the request of the IAEA Board of Governors. (By Gordon Prather, in AntiWar.com, April 1, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: American physicist and nuclear weapons expert takes on and destroys the latest of Ambassador Bolton’s inflammatory assertions and unsupported claims about Iran’s uranium enrichment program and then very effectively sets the record straight.

Russia's top diplomat embarrassed his Western partners yesterday, even as U.S. officials said they had deliberately toned down their remarks about Russia in recent weeks while seeking Moscow's support for U.N. Security Council action on Iran. Moments after the Western powers insisted to reporters that they were on the same page with Russia and China regarding the Iranian nuclear threat, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov contradicted them, saying he saw no evidence that Iran's program had a military component or that it posed a threat. (By Nicholas Kralev, The Washington Times, March 31, 2006). Full article=>

Statement of Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) to Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On the Call to Censure the President: Mr. Chairman, first, thank you for scheduling this hearing. I know you recognize that this is a serious issue, and I thank you for treating it as such. I want to welcome and thank our witnesses, some of whom – Mr. Fein, and Professor Turner -- were with us just a few weeks ago, and one of whom -- Mr. Dean -- last appeared before a congressional committee in 1974. I am grateful for your participation, particularly given the short notice that you were given of this hearing. (The Raw Story online, March 31, 2006). Full article=>

Nixon White House counselor John Dean, testifying in favor of a Democratic resolution to censure President Bush, asserted Friday that Bush's conduct in connection with domestic spying exceeds the wrongdoing that toppled his former boss from power. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, fired back by telling Democrats: "Quit trying to score political points." The Senate, Dean said, should censure or officially scold Bush as proposed by Sen. Russell Feingold's resolution. But if that action carries too much political baggage, some senatorial warning is in order, Dean said. (By Laurie Kellman, Associated Press, March 31, 2006). Full article=>

Former White House counsel John Dean, who helped push President Richard Nixon from office during the Watergate scandal three decades ago, heads to Capitol Hill on Friday to back an uphill attempt to censure President George W. Bush. Dean, author of a book about Bush titled "Worse than Watergate", was to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of a resolution to rebuke Bush for a domestic spying program introduced secretly after the September 11 attacks. Sen. Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, introduced the resolution earlier this month. He argues that the program, which allows eavesdropping on international telephone calls and e-mails involving Americans when one party is suspected of links with terrorism, violates the law because it is conducted without court warrants. (Reuters, March 31, 2006). Full article=>

Asked recently about his position on Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions, President Bush said, “I made it clear, and I’ll make it clear again, that we will use military might to protect our ally Israel.” This statement brought precisely zero reaction from the public and the media. Do the American people fully appreciate that this president is committed to sending their sons and daughters to kill and die — yet again — in a foreign country? Leaving aside the reigning political mythology, by what moral principle does he pledge other people’s lives without their consent? It is bad enough to die for “one’s own” country, which, let’s face it, in practice always means for the exploiting elite who head the government. Being sent to die for another country’s elite is obscene. Would some of those at risk like to speak up before it’s too late? (By Sheldon Richmond, in Commentaries, Future Freedom Foundation online, March 31, 2006). Full article=>

Billionaire philanthropist Jimmy Walter and WTC survivor William Rodriguez this week embarked on a groundbreaking trip to Caracas Venezuela in which they met with with the President of the Assembly and will soon meet with Venezuelan President himself Hugo Chavez in anticipation of an official Venezuelan government investigation into 9/11. Rodriguez was the last survivor pulled from the rubble of the north tower of the WTC, and was responsible for all stairwells within the tower. Rodriguez represented family members of 9/11 victims and testified to the 9/11 Commission that bombs were in the north tower but his statements were completely omitted from the official record. (By Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones, PrisonPlanet.com, March 31, 2006. Full article=>

The 2006 deadline has passed, and pressure is being placed on states to comply with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). HAVA requires states to transition all voting machines to electronic and optical scan technologies in time for primary and mid-term elections of this year. As states are rushing to spend millions of dollars for this transition, controversy over the accuracy and security of the new machines is creating obstacles to reaching this deadline. (By Sari Gelzer, TruthOut.com, March 31, 2006). Full article=>

A letter from President Bush to Iraq's supreme Shiite spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, was hand-delivered earlier this week but sits unread and untranslated in the top religious figure's office, a key al-Sistani aide told The Associated Press on Thursday. The aide _ who has never allowed use of his name in news reports, citing al-Sistani's refusal to make any public statements himself _ said the ayatollah had laid the letter aside and did not ask for a translation because of increasing "unhappiness" over what senior Shiite leaders see as American meddling in Iraqi attempts to form their first, permanent post-invasion government. (WRAL.com, March 31, 2006). Full article=>

Betsy Hart has formulated a catchy and convenient conspiracy theory for why so many people are asking serious questions about what happened on 9/11. We're all scared! Unfortunately, this lethargic leap of logic fails to address the requisition laid forth by Charlie Sheen last week - challenge us on the facts. Hart was a guest on last week's Hannity and Colmes spot, which highlighted Sheen's comments to The Alex Jones Show in which he outlined his serious doubts about the official story of 9/11. (Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, March 31, 2006). Full article=>

The US propaganda machine: Oh, what a lovely war

This is the news from Iraq according to Donald Rumsfeld and the Bush administration. A week after the US Defence Secretary criticised the media for " exaggerating" reports of violence in Iraq, The Independent has obtained examples of newspaper reports the Bush administration want Iraqis to read. They were prepared by specially trained American "psy-ops" troops who paid thousands of dollars to Iraqi newspaper editors to run these unattributed reports in their publications. In order to hide its involvement, the Pentagon hired the Lincoln Group to act as a liaison between troops and journalists. The Lincoln Group was at the centre of controversy last year when it was revealed the company was being paid more than $100m (£58m) for various contracts, including the planting of such stories. (By Andrew Buncombe, The Independent {U.K.}, March 30, 2006). Full article=>

The Pentagon has requested hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency funds for military construction in Iraq, fanning the debate about US long-term intentions there. The money will add to an existing bill of $1.3bn for military construction in the Middle East and South Asia - primarily Iraq and Afghanistan - in the last five years. (By Becky Branford, BBC News, March 30, 2006). Full article=>

Events in Iraq are giving the lie to administration claims that all it wants to do is create a stable, democratic Iraq, and then leave. The U.S. assault on the Mustafa Mosque, and the deaths of, variously, 16 insurgents or 37 unarmed worshippers (depending upon whether you believe the Pentagon or Iraqi police), has prompted calls from the Iraqi government for the U.S. to hand over control of security in Iraq to the local government. (By David Lindorff, in CounterPunch.com, March 30, 2006). Full article=>

A company awarded a $1 billion contract for airport security equipment performed so poorly that the Homeland Security Department's inspector general recommended that the project be put out for bid again. The inspector general, Richard Skinner, found in a report released Thursday that Unisys received most of the $1 billion without providing the Transportation Security Administration much of the equipment "critical to airport security and communications." (The Associated Press, March 30, 2006). Full article=>

The House Intelligence Committee on Thursday rejected a proposal to withhold money from the National Security Agency if the White House did not reveal information about the cost of the agency's warrantless surveillance program. In a session closed to reporters, only Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., who heads a subcommittee that oversees the NSA, voted with the Democrats to support the measure to hold back one-fifth of the agency's budget. (By Katherine Schrader, The Associated Press, March 30, 2006). Full article=>

US raid on Shiite shrine served as a warning

The U.S. military was trying to send a "little reality jab" to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr when American and Iraqi troops raided a Shiite community center and shrine over the weekend, says a top U.S. military official. (By Kevin Whitelaw, U.S. News & World Report, March 30, 2006). Full article=>

A report published this year in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows that intravenous vitamin C has been document to quell advanced-stage cancer in three cases involving bladder, lung, kidney and lymphoma tumors. These three cases underwent rigorous case reporting standards as outlined by the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Survival times were 4, 9 and 10 years with intravenous vitamin C therapy! (By Bill Sardi, in KnowledgeOfHealth.com, March 28, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush exploits the word “freedom” more than any other president. Unfortunately, Americans are sufficiently ignorant that almost any reference to freedom garners applause. “Freedom” has become simply another word to lull listeners to whatever politicians are pushing. “The Restraint of Government Is the True Liberty and Freedom of the People” was a popular saying in the 1770s. But “freedom” is apparently no longer any constraint on government power. (By James Bovard, in Commentaries, Future Freedom Foundation online, March 27, 2006). Full article=>

Thursday, March 30, 2006

The UN Security Council has formally approved a statement calling on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment efforts that the West suspects are part of a secret nuclear weapons programme. The meeting of the 15-nation council took place shortly after the five permanent council members, the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France agreed on the statement, after three weeks of arduous negotiations. The statement, which needed the approval of all 15 council members, was read at a public meeting by Argentine Ambassador Cesar Mayoral, this month's council president. (The New Zealand Herald, March 30, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: This approval could very well start the countdown timer for another pre-emptive U.S. attack of a nation that poses no military threat to it. And where is the evidence that Iran plans to super-refine uranium to produce material for the production of weapons? As in the case of the Iraq affair, it’s nowhere!

The catalyst for the agenda to intern millions of Americans deemed subversive in a time of manufactured chaos could be race riots kick-started by radicalized Mexican Klan groups and their establishment controllers. Yesterday we reported on the immigration protests that are a front for the violent separatist Atzlan movement. After watching Spanish TV news stations we were able to ascertain that the marches were not wholly an organic response to the introduction of the immigration bill but were being artificially promoted and organized by the Spanish-language media. (By Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones, PrisonPlanet.com, March 30, 2006). Full article=>

10-Year US strategic plan for detention camps revives proposals from Oliver North

While debates about guest-worker programs for illegal aliens take place in the corridors of power, in the streets of America's big cities no amnesty is being offered by activists calling for the expulsion of most U.S. citizens from their own country. While politicians debate the fate of some 12 million people residing in the U.S. illegally, the Mexica Movement, one of the organizers of the mass protest in Los Angeles this week, has already decided it is the "non-indigenous," white, English-speaking U.S. citizens of European descent who have to leave what they call "our continent." (WorldNetDaily.com, March 29, 2006). Full article=>

Atzlan and Mexican Klan groups rejoice at start of 'la reconquista'. At the height of last year's French riots, Voz de Aztlan leader Ernesto Cienfuegos stated that similar scenes of chaos would be witnessed on the streets of America. As reports of violence begin to filter through, a deliberately fomented race war hiding behind an immigration debate creeps ever closer. (By Paul Joseph Watson, March 29, 2006). Full article=>

A leading U.S. security firm has offered to provide forces for any counter-insurgency mission around the world. J. Cofer Black, vice chairman of Blackwater USA told the Special Operations Forces Exhibition (Sofex-2006), that his company could supply private soldiers to any country. Black, a former U.S. State Department counter-terrorism coordinator, said Blackwater has been marketing the concept of private armies for low-intensity conflicts. (WorldTribune.com, March 29, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Blackwater USA soldiers were assigned to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina flooded that city and have been operating in Iraq for several years.

A 13-year-old boy has been charged with a felony for sending two e-mails threatening President George W. Bush ahead of his upcoming visit to Cincinnati, Ohio, local media reported. The boy, who lives in a Kentucky suburb of Cincinnati, was allowed to remain in his mother's custody ahead of an upcoming court appearance to face the charge of terroristic threatening. (AFP, March 29, 2006). Full article=>

Spanish-language media organized recent protests in LA and elsewhere

The marching orders were clear: Carry American flags and pack the kids, pick up your trash and wear white for peace and for effect. Many of the 500,000 people who crammed downtown Los Angeles on Saturday to protest legislation that would make criminals out of illegal immigrants learned where, when and even how to demonstrate from the Spanish-language media.
For English-speaking America, the mass protests in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities over the past few days have been surprising for their size and seeming spontaneity. (CBS2.com, March 28, 2006). Full article=>

Five federal judges gave a boost Tuesday to legislation that would bring court scrutiny to the Bush administration's domestic spying program. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing chaired by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the judges reacted favorably to his proposal that would require the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to conduct regular reviews of the four-year-old program…"I am very wary of inherent authority" claimed by presidents, testified U.S. Magistrate Judge Allan Kornblum. "It sounds very much like King George." (By Pete Yost, The Associated Press, March 28, 2006). Full article=>

Chicago’s use of a flawed computerized voting system operated by a privately held foreign company reveals how meaningless and absurd the “democratic” process in America has become. Having observed voting systems across Europe, from Serbia, Germany and Estonia to Holland and France, this reporter has noted that the most honest and transparent elections are also the most simple.
The more complicated methods of voting, such as the unverifiable computerized voting systems widely used across the United States, lack the most essential element of democratic elections—transparency. (By Christopher Bollyn, American Free Press, March 26, 2006). Full article=>

Half the states will require “paper trail” voting machines or require that ballots be cast only on paper in this year’s November elections, reports electionline.org, a vote watchdog web site. “Across the country, steps are being taken to modernize the nation’s elections systems, but a number of problems—expected and unforeseen—have stalled some of these efforts,” said Doug Chapin, in releasing the report in Washington Feb. 7. Chapin is the director of electionline.org. “Twenty-five states will either require the use of paper audit trails with e-voting machines or require that a ballot be cast only on paper,” the group reported. (By James P. Tucker, Jr., February 20, 2006). Full article=>

Steven Jones, Ph.D. is a Professor of Physics at Brigham Young University. He presented his lecture on February 1, 2006. The lecture covers the collapse of World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001 after two passenger jet airliners hit and penetrated them on that day. Professor Jones is a founder of Scholars for 9/11 Truth. (http://www.st911.org/ ). Click here to play the streaming video of his lecture=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Professor Jones’ lecture is logical, lucid, thorough and entertaining. He takes a very cautious, conservative approach in in interpreting the available data. As a former research physicist myself, I liked his rigorous, methodical approach, and I highly recommend this streaming video for viewing. The video is 2 hours and 13 minutes long, but the viewing time goes by quickly and Professor Jones’ presentation is very enjoyable and laced with humor.

Iraqi and American special forces who attacked an insurgent headquarters in Baghdad were not aware that their target contained a mosque until after the battle, America's most senior soldier said yesterday. General Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was responding to 48 hours of unremitting criticism over the controversial raid, which Iraqi radicals claim resulted in the deaths of 21 unarmed worshippers and an imam. (By Francis Harris, The Telegraph News {U.K.}, March 29, 2006). Full article=>

The George W. Bush administration failed to enter into negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program in May 2003 because neoconservative zealots who advocated destabilization and regime change were able to block any serious diplomatic engagement with Tehran, according to former administration officials. The same neoconservative veto power also prevented the administration from adopting any official policy statement on Iran, those same officials say. (By Gareth Porter, March 29, 2006). Full article=>

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld delivered harsh words to war critics yesterday, saying some view al Qaeda operatives as victims, not the enemy that has killed Americans repeatedly. In a speech to military officers at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., he also criticized previous administrations -- without naming them -- for failing to take on Islamic terrorists despite a series of attacks, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. (By Rowan Scarborough, The Washington Times, March 29, 2006). Full article=>

Infowars received an email from author and publisher Sander Hicks this afternoon indicating that the interview with Ed Asner scheduled for this evening on Showbiz Tonight has been cancelled. Hicks, a published author on the 9/11 cover-up as well as a Green Party senatorial candidate in New York was slated to appear with Asner on the program to discuss 9/11. Infowars confirmed with sources at CNN the segment was cancelled because another guest who had agreed to appear as an opposition voice to Hicks and Asner refused to participate the interview at the last moment. The CNN source further indicated that the opposition guest was none other than a former member of the Keene 9/11 whitewash Commission.

LC Editor’s Comment: My, my! The dam’s breaking is apparently upsetting someone!

Original news story:

Today Rep. Waxman released the first analysis of Halliburton's RIO 2 contract to restore Iraq's southern oil fields. The examination of previously undisclosed correspondence, evaluations, and audits reveals that government officials and investigators have harshly criticized Halliburton's performance under RIO 2. The documents disclose an "overwhelmingly negative" performance. (Press Release, U.S. Representative Henry Waxman’s Office, March 28, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Vice President Dick Cheney was the Chief Executive Officer of Halliburton from 1995 through October of 2000. According to a CBS News report published in 2003, the company's KBR subsidiary is the main U.S. government contractor working to restore Iraq's oil industry in an open-ended contract that was awarded in 2003 without competitive bidding

Struggling to revive his troubled presidency, President Bush replaced longtime chief of staff Andy Card with budget director Joshua Bolten on Tuesday and gave Bolten authority to make further changes in a White House staff that even Republicans have complained is tired, insular and lacking fresh ideas. (By Terance Hunt, The Associated Press, March 28, 2006). Full article=>

Supreme Court justices appeared troubled Tuesday by President Bush's plans to hold war-crimes trials for foreigners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. And several seemed outraged by the government's claim that a new law had stripped the high court of authority to hear a case brought by Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni who once worked as a driver for Osama bin Laden. Hamdan has spent nearly four years in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo, and the Supreme Court has been asked to decide if he can be put on trial with fewer legal protections before a type of military tribunal last used in the World War II-era. (By Gina Holland, The Associated Press, March 28, 2006). Full article=>

A Virginia training manual used to help state employees recognize terrorists lists anti-government and property rights activists as terrorists and includes binoculars, video cameras, pads and notebooks in a compendium of terrorist tools. The manual, discovered by the Virginia News Source, is keen to emphasize that terrorists are not only Middle Eastern in scope and the main focus is afforded to domestic terrorism. (By Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, March 28, 2006). Full article=>

"We have an aging white America ... They are dying ...We have got to eliminate the gringo, and what I mean by that is if the worst comes to the worst, we have got to kill him." Jose Angel Gutierrez, professor, University of Texas, Arlington and founder of the La Raza Unida political party. In my March 13, 2006, column I wrote about the 100,000 criminals (illegal aliens, not immigrants) who brazenly marched through the streets of Chicago without fear of being rounded up and deported. On March 17, 2006, an estimated 25,000 illegals from Ireland marched boldly in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in NY without fear of any enforcement of our immigration laws. I told my friends at the time: this unchecked in-your-face, "we demand respect" display by illegals will embolden them to demand they be given a free pass and when that doesn't happen, it will reach the point of violence. (By Devvy Kidd, in NewsWithViews.com, March 27, 2006). Full article=>

President George W. Bush expressed support Monday for Sen. Conrad Burns, despite the Senator's many links to scandal-ridden Jack Abramoff, a Republican lobbyist at the heart of an influence-peddling scheme. Speaking at a fund-raising event for Burns' re-election campaign at a Washington hotel, Bush praised the Montana lawmaker as a strong supporter on national security and tax relief. "He's the kind of person the people of Montana need here. They need somebody who's steadfast when it comes to defending the country, who's wise about how we spend your money," Bush said. (Capital Hill Blue, March 27, 2006). Full article=>

Nine days after the start of the American president's 2003 "shock and awe" uranium bombing campaign in Baghdad, an invisible radioactive uranium oxide gas cloud swept through Britain's towns and countryside and throughout Europe. Respected scientists reported on the unrevealed gas cloud after conducting research on specialized high volume air filters in England. Dr. Chris Busby and Saoirse Morgan stunned Europe in a Sunday Times of London article on Feb. 19, 2006. Their scientific paper, released March 1st, 2006, [1] proved the event. With all the vigor of delusional drunkards, British nuclear and military spokesmen predictably denied the reality of an invisible radioactive cloud. (By Bob Nichols, GlobalResearch.ca, March 27, 2006). Full article=>

If somebody asked if you wanted to buy the Brooklyn Bridge, you’d know it was a con. But how about buying the Indiana Toll Road. Before you snicker, you should know the Indiana highway was auctioned off for $3.8 billion last week. For the next 75 years, the more than 150 miles of Interstate 80 will be run by a pair of Spanish and Australian companies that will collect the tolls, operate the pit stops, keep up the highway and try to make a profit. Cintra SA, the Spanish firm, and Macquarie Infrastructure Group, the Aussies, are teaching American the business of investing in roads, bridges, water mains and the like. (By Jerry Knight, in the Journal Gazette, FortWayne.com, March 27, 2006). Full article=>

Jeff King goes into detail why the World Trade Center Towers and WTC Building 7, which was not struck by an airliner and which suffered only minor fire damage, were brought down by explosives on 9/11. (Jeff King, Scholars for 9/11 Truth, March 17, 2006). 14-minute streaming video=>

Pardon me for asking an indelicate question. It’s a question, however, that is staring everyone in the face but hardly anyone, especially those in the mainstream media, wants to ask it. Here’s the question: If we’re really at war against the terrorists, as the Bush administration continues to claim, then what in the world is Zacarias Moussaoui, a genuine terrorist, doing in U.S. federal district court? (By Jacob G. Homberger, The Future Freedom Foundation Commentaries, March 24, 2006). Full article=>

A funny thing happened on the way to Grandmother’s house… Lil Red Riding hood had to pay 17 cents a mile collected as a government tribute by an innocuous toll booth slave denying her access to the continuing “freeway” at a few bucks a pop. Little red riding hood was tracked, traced, data based, and likely searched by Toll Gestapo’s, and what was left of Lil Red was documented, and spit out of the surveillance mill for future reference! (By Jack Blood, JackBlood.com, February 16, 2006). Full article=>

In the weeks before the United States-led invasion of Iraq, as the United States and Britain pressed for a second United Nations resolution condemning Iraq, President Bush's public ultimatum to Saddam Hussein was blunt: Disarm or face war.
But behind closed doors, the president was certain that war was inevitable. During a private two-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2003, he made clear to Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain that he was determined to invade Iraq without the second resolution, or even if international arms inspectors failed to find unconventional weapons, said a confidential memo about the meeting written by Mr. Blair's top foreign policy adviser and reviewed by The New York Times. (By Don Van Natta, Jr., The New York Times, March 27, 2006). Full article=>

A bill recently introduced in the Senate would legalize warrantless wiretapping at the President's discretion. Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) introduced the bill, popularly named the Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006, on March 16, 2006. The bill was co-sponsored by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). According to a press release by Senator DeWine, the bill would allow the President to authorize wiretapping on international communications by American citizens suspected of being affiliated with a terrorist organization. All the President has to have is probable cause and a belief that surveillance of the individual is necessary to protect national security. Currently, any surveillance of American citizen’s international communications would require a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. (By John Osborn, in DissidentVoice.org, March 27, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s comment: This bill represents a further weakening of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads,

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Notice that if this bill becomes law the President, who is a member of the Executive Branch of government, would authorize these wiretaps rather than judges, who are members of Judicial Branch of government. The proposed arrangement violates a bedrock principle of the U.S. Constitution: The existence of checks and balances in the relationship between the three branches of government.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved sweeping election-year legislation Monday that clears the way for 11 million illegal aliens to seek U.S. citizenship, a victory for demonstrators who had spilled into the streets by the hundreds of thousands demanding better treatment for immigrants. With a bipartisan coalition in control, the committee also voted down proposed criminal penalties on immigrants found to be in the country illegally. It approved a new temporary program allowing entry for 1.5 million workers seeking jobs in the agriculture industry. (By David Espo, The Associated Press, March 27, 2006). Full article=>

When President Bush signed a law banning torture he quietly signed a statement saying he could bypass it. Earlier this month, Bush signed the USA Patriot Act but signed a statement that said he did not consider oversight rules binding. We speak with the Boston Globe reporter who broke the story. [includes rush transcript and streaming video of interview]. (By Amy Goodman, Democarcy Now!, March 27, 2006). Full article, including steaming video coverage=>

The FBI, while waging a highly publicized war against terrorism, has spent resources gathering information on antiwar and environmental protesters and on activists who feed vegetarian meals to the homeless, the agency's internal memos show. For years, the FBI's definition of terrorism has included violence against property, such as the window-smashing during the 1999 Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization. That definition has led FBI investigations to online discussion boards, organizing meetings and demonstrations of a wide range of activist groups. (By Nicholas Riccardi, The Los Angeles Times, March 27, 2006). Full article=>

Children as young as five have suffered strokes, heart attacks, hallucinations and convulsions after taking drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Documents obtained by The Australian reveal that almost 400 serious adverse reactions have been reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, some involving children as young as three. Cases include the sudden death of a seven-year-old, and a five-year-old who suffered a stroke after taking Ritalin. Children also experienced heart palpitations and shortness of breath after taking Dexamphetamine. Others taking Ritalin or Dexamphetamine - the two most commonly used ADHD drugs - experienced hair loss, muscle spasms, severe abdominal pain, tremors, insomnia, severe weight loss, depression and paranoia. (By Clara Pirani, Medical reporter, The Australian {Aus.}, March 27, 2006). Full article=>

New England could be in for a big one. Meteorologists say conditions _ including warmer temperatures in the Atlantic Basin and cooler temperatures in the Pacific Ocean _ are ripe for the Northeast coast to be hit by a whopper of a hurricane this season. Ken Reeves, a senior meteorologist at the AccuWeather Center in State College, Pa., said that when the Pacific is cooler, it "essentially drives the storm track further to the east in the Atlantic Ocean basin." (The Associated Press, March 27, 2006). Full article=>

Levee fixes in New Orleans falling short, experts warn

The Army Corps of Engineers seems likely to fulfill a promise by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans's toppled flood walls to their original, pre-Katrina height by June 1, but two teams of independent experts monitoring the $1.6 billion reconstruction project say large sections of the rebuilt levee system will be substantially weaker than before the hurricane hit. (By Joby Warrick, The Washington Post, March 6, 2006). Full article=>

Every year huge rotating storms packing winds greater than 74 miles per hour sweep across tropical seas and onto shorelines--often devastating large swaths of territory. When these roiling tempests--called hurricanes in the Atlantic and the eastern Pacific oceans, typhoons in the western Pacific and cyclones in the Indian Ocean--strike heavily populated areas, they can kill thousands and cause billions of dollars of property damage. And nothing, absolutely nothing, stands in their way. But must these fearful forces of nature be forever beyond our control? My research colleagues and I think not. Our team is investigating how we might learn to nudge hurricanes onto more benign paths or otherwise defuse them. Although this bold goal probably lies decades in the future, we think our results show that it is not too early to study the possibilities. (By Ross N. Hoffman, in Scientific American.com, September 27, 2004). Full article=>

President George Bush continues to openly and defiantly ignore the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) -- the 1978 statute prohibiting electronic inspection of Americans' telephone and email communications with people outside the United States without a court-authorized warrant. (According to U.S. News & World Report, the President may also have authorized warrantless break-ins and other physical surveillance, such as opening regular mail, in violation of the Fourth Amendment.). (By John W. Dean, in FindLaw.com, March 24, 2006). Full article=>

A founding member of the elite counter-terrorist unit, Delta Force, suggested that President Bush's invasion of Iraq may have started World War III, according to the Los Angeles Daily News, RAW STORY has learned. The article, acquired by RAW STORY Friday night, is expected in Sunday editions of the paper. (RawStory.com, March 24, 2006). Full article=>

Attorney Thomas Nelson discusses his lawsuit against the National Security Agency and his evidence that the Bush administration's secret domestic surveillance is much broader than reported and may include secret physical searches. [includes rush transcript]. (By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, March 23, 2006). Full article including streaming video of interview=>

They keep telling us 9/11 changed everything. But even in this Photoshopped age of unreliable narrators, much remains the same. The assassination of President John Kennedy, the Crime of the Last Century, occurred in plain sight, in front of thousands—yet exactly what happened remains in dispute. The Warren Commission found that Lee Harvey Oswald, fellow traveler of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, shot Kennedy with a cheap Mannlicher-Carcano rifle from a sixth-floor window of the Texas School Book Depository. The commission found that Oswald, who two days later would be murdered by nightclub owner Jack Ruby, acted alone. Yet, as with so many such events, there is the sanctioned history and the secret history—players hidden from view. (By Mark Jacobson, New York Magazine, March 27, 2006). Full article=>

US steps up seizures of prescription drugs imported from Canada

Thousands of Americans who order prescription drugs from Canada have received written notice that their medications have been seized, part of a US government crackdown on the cross-border discount trade. (By Christopher Roland, The Boston Globe, March 26, 2006). Full article=>

Saddam Hussein planned to use "camels of mass destruction" as weapons to defend Iraq, loading them with bombs and directing them towards invading forces. (By James Langton, Telegraph News {U.K.}, March 26, 2006). Full article=>

The National Security Agency monitored ordinarily confidential communications between doctors and patients or attorneys and their clients, the Justice Department said Friday of its controversial warrantless surveillance program. Responding to questions from Congress, the department also said that it sees no prohibition to using information collected under the NSA's program in court. (By Katherine Shrader, Capital Hill Blue, March 25, 2006). Full article=>

While President Bush appears serenely confident about Iraq, the same cannot be said of the War Party propagandists who were plotting this conflict when Dubya was still a rookie governor of Texas. (By Pat Buchanan, in Antiwar.com, March 25, 2006). Full article=>

The Republican-led U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee announced on Friday it would hold a hearing next week on a call by a Democratic lawmaker to censure President George W. Bush for his domestic spy program. In a one-sentence notice, the panel said the hearing would be held next Friday by the order of its chairman, Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who has opposed censure. (Capital Hill Blue, March 25, 2006). Full article=>

Member of ‘Scholars for 9/11 Truth’ murdered

Minneapolis Police continue their intense search to find the killers of a visiting graduate student who was shot in the Uptown area of Minneapolis last weekend. Michael Zebuhr, 25, was shot in the head during a robbery attempt Saturday night. Witnesses who called 911 are still traumatized by what they saw. Many used their cell phones to call for help. 911 records show one caller said, "Brother shot in head ... not breathing." Another said the caller saw two men in their early 20s, one wearing a Raiders jacket and the other wearing a red baseball cap. The two men then got into a white two-door car. "It was dark enough, it was completely understandable to me with the darkness compounded with the trauma, makes it, it would make it hard to make an identification," Houlton said. Zebuhr is listed as a student member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, a organization of faculty, students and scholars dedicated to identifying and revealing the truths about the events surrounding the 9/11 tragedy. (WCCO.com, March 24, 2006). Full article>

LC Editor’s Comment: Scholars for 9/11 Truth was covered in this weekend’s edition of Liberty Calling.

As the pretexts to justify the illegal war of aggression against Iraq started to collapse one after the other, the Bush Administration, its vassals and the mass media adopted the cliché of “democracy” to justify the invasion and the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children. However, from the outset of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the U.S. objective was conspicuous; to destroy Iraq, install a puppet government and pillage the nation’s resources. (By Ghali Hassan, in GlobalResearch.ca, February 4, 2006). Full article=>

In memory of those who perished…In tribute to all those who were injured physically, emotionally and psychologically…This program was made for Patriots – by Patriots! Has enough time passed to allow us to take a closer look at the events of September 11, 2001? (Blue Star Media Group, 2005). Full article with video clip, audio and photographs=>

US steps up seizures of prescription drugs imported from Canada

Member of ‘Scholars for 9/11 Truth’ murdered

LC Editor’s Comment: Scholars for 9/11 Truth was covered in this weekend’s edition of Liberty Calling.

The battle between Sunni and Shia Muslims for control of Baghdad has already started, say Iraqi political leaders who predict fierce street fighting will break out as each community takes over districts in which it is strongest. (By Patrick Cockburn, The Independent {U.K.}, March 25, 2006). Full article=>

Oregon is testing the idea of collecting highway funds through a tax on miles driven, rather than gasoline consumed. Eighty percent of Oregon's highway money comes from its 24-cents-per-gallon gas tax. If the state promotes reducing gasoline consumption and consumers tend to buy the fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids, highway revenues would take a hit, The New York Times reported. The test program uses a global positioning system to track miles driven, using a black box to calculate how many miles are clocked in-state, out of state and during rush hour. (United Press International, March 25, 2006). Full article=>

The Federal Election Commission last night released proposed new rules that leave almost all Internet political activity unregulated except for the purchase of campaign ads on Web sites. "My key goal in this rule-making has been to make sure that the commission establish clear rules to exempt individuals who engage in online politics from campaign finance laws," said Chairman Michael E. Toner, a Republican. "We tried to craft a regulation that would allow the maximum amount of freedom for people as possible," said Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub, a Democrat. Most bloggers, individual Web users, and such Web sites as Drudge Report and Salon.com are exempted from regulation and will be free to support and attack federal candidates, much as newspapers are allowed. (By Zachary A. Goldfarb and Thomas B. Edsall, The Washington Post, March 25, 2006). Full article=>

Back in November, 2004, the United Kingdom, France and Germany (E3) undertook to negotiate with Iran on behalf of the European Union a mutually acceptable long-term agreement which would provide the EU "objective guarantees" that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes. Now, why would Iran agree to provide additional guarantees, above and beyond those required by the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons? Well, Iran was to receive, in return, equally "firm guarantees on nuclear, technological and economic cooperation" with the EU as well as firm commitments on certain "security issues." (By Gordon Prather, in AntiWar.com, March 25, 2006). Full article=>

Credit agencies are fighting to limit your protection against identity theft... Balkan tribalism... phony bailout for pensions... new fed chair examines interest rates...Why is George Bush very unlikely to go to war with Iran? Find out by reading this online issue. (By Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster, March 25, 2006). Full article=> Don’t miss it!

"And the new world order better stop carrying out terror attacks. We`ve caught them over 200 times in the last 100 years, western governments doing this. Hitler does it; the British do it; the Russians did it. Governments do this." Alex continues his rampaging defense of Charlie Sheen and encourages Americans not to just believe us but check out the facts for themselves. (PrisonPlanet.com, March 25, 2006). Full article=>

Charlie Sheen has responded publicly for the first time since the media firestorm over his comments by challenging his detractors to debate him on the evidence of 9/11 and not issues relating to his personal life. "I am an American citizen that loves my country and as a citizen with my passion for this great country I demand that I be challenged on the facts not on immature behavior from twenty years ago," said Sheen. "If they continue to attack me personally it only gives credence to our side of the argument." Sheen elaborated on how developments during the course of the week had unfolded and his reaction to them. (Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones, PrisonPlanet.com, March 24, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Here’s a nicely executed streaming video that includes portions of videos produced by leading 9/11 researchers. A DVD is available for purchase. (By Lone Lantern, February 20, 2006).

Scholars for 9/11 Truth" (S9/11T) is a non-partisan association of faculty, students, and scholars, in fields as diverse as history, science, military affairs, psychology, and philosophy, dedicated to exposing falsehoods and to revealing truths behind 9/11. The members of S9/11T are encouraged to take an active role by devoting themselves to reporting the results of research on 9/11 to the nation and the world by means of lectures, articles, and other venues. S9/11T members are convinced their research proves the current administration has been dishonest about what happened in New York and Washington, D.C. (By Scholars for the Truth).

LC Editor’s Comment: Here is, all at one web site, a compelling, thorough, meticulously-documented, logical set of presentations focused on uncovering the truths about 9/11. Both streaming videos and articles are provided. To help you establish some credibility in your own mind for the content of this site, I suggest that you click on the “Who are we?” link on the main page and take a good look at the names of the members and contributors before you start working your way through the material. Enjoy!

Bush shuns Patriot Act requirement

When President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act this month, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using the act's expanded police powers. (By Charlie Savage, The Boston Globe, March 24, 2006). Full article=>

General Motors Corp., reeling from $10.6 billion in losses last year, will fire hundreds of its U.S. salaried employees starting next week, according to people familiar with the plan. The firings, which begin March 28 at several locations on what employees are calling "Black Tuesday," will be followed by another round in April, according to people at GM, who declined to be identified because the plan hasn't been made public. GM spokesman Steve Harris had no comment. (By Jeff Green, Bloomberg News, March 24, 2006). Full article=>

Even as military planners look to withdraw significant numbers of American troops from Iraq in the coming year, the Bush administration continues to request hundreds of millions of dollars for large bases there, raising concerns over whether they are intended as permanent sites for U.S. forces. (By Peter Spiegel, The Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2006). Full article=>

A U.S. State Department purchase of more than 15,000 computers produced by Lenovo Group, a company controlled by the Chinese government, is starting to draw criticism in the latest sign of American unease about the role of foreign companies in the American economy. The computers, worth more than $13 million, are coming from factories in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Monterrey, Mexico, that were part of the personal computer division that Lenovo purchased from International Business Machines (IBM) last May. (By Keith Bradsher, The New York Times, March 24, 2006). Full article=>

In the aftermath of the Dubai ports dispute, the Bush administration is hiring a Hong Kong conglomerate to help detect nuclear materials inside cargo passing through the Bahamas to the United States and elsewhere. The administration acknowledges the no-bid contract with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. represents the first time a foreign company will be involved in running a sophisticated U.S. radiation detector at an overseas port without American customs agents present. Freeport in the Bahamas is 65 miles from the U.S. coast, where cargo would be likely to be inspected again. (By Ted Bridis and John Solomon, The Associated Press, March 24, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comments: Concerning the Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa, the article goes on to say, “…Li Ka-Shing, also has substantial business ties to China's government that have raised U.S. concerns over the years.” There should be another security concern about hiring Hutchison Whampoa: The company already has long-term 25-year leases on the ports at each end of the Panama Canal, which in effect would allow it to control passage of American warships through this strategic waterway in the event of military conflict between the U.S. and China.

The war on terror will continue long after Iraq and Afghanistan are stable, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told military officials from around the world Friday. (By Burhan Ozbilici, Associated Press, March 24, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Of course it will continue for years, and years, and years. For the longer the conflict the more the profit for armaments manufacturers and for the banks that provide capital for expansion of these business and interim financing for their operations. Just as some doctors earn their money by treating sick patients for years, not by curing them, some politicians end up on the high-income public dole for countless years by involving the U.S. in unwinnable, decades-long “Wars on” enemies such as drugs or poverty or terror and then simply allowing the companies and industries spawned by these wars to pay for their re-election campaigns term after term. “War is Racket”, wrote Major General Smedley Butler in his book published seventy years ago. Check it out.

Russia said on Friday it will use new unmanned drones to help provide security during a summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in July. RIA news agency quoted Deputy Interior Minister Mikhail Sukhodolsky as saying the ministry had already tried out the gadgets but said he gave few details about the drones. (Reuters, March 24, 2006). Full article=>

The head of the U.S.-led program to rebuild Iraq said Thursday that the Iraqi government can no longer count on U.S. funds and must rely on its own revenues and other foreign aid, particularly from Gulf nations. (By Thomas Frank, USA Today, March 23, 2006). Full article=>

Instead of “God Bless America,” we should put “God Forgive America” bumperstickers on our cars. Americans, as participants in horrendous war crimes, should ask for forgiveness. America is a killer nation—not only do we kill Iraqis and Afghans, but we are in the process of killing ourselves. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire, March 23, 2006). Full article=>

By signing a nuclear cooperation agreement with India on March 2nd, George W. Bush broke with a policy that had been the United States' for over fifty years and that was supported by Republicans as well as Democrats: the refusal to encourage nuclear proliferation. That policy also had the support of the five official nuclear powers - China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and today Russia - which grandfathered the 1970 adoption of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), signed by a majority of the planet's countries. That text, to which Israel, India and Pakistan notably refused to subscribe, prohibits supplying any nuclear technology whatsoever to countries that have not signed the NPT. The American-Indian treaty trashes that disposition, even though India, which conducted its first nuclear attempt in 1974, proceeded to testing atomic weapons in 1998. (In Liberation {Fr.} March 23, 2006). Full article=>

Former first lady Barbara Bush donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund with specific instructions that the money be spent with an educational software company owned by her son Neil. ( By Cynthia Leonor Garza, the Houston Chronicle, March 23, 2006). Full article=>

Watch Alex Jones appearance on CNN's Showbiz tonight in which he not only successfully defends Charlie Sheen but also batters the Globalists with a raft of facts on the 9/11 inside job. Jones had interviewed Sheen yesterday on his syndicated daily radio show, which is broadcast nationally over the GCN Radio Network. The video includes a presentation of questions Sheen raised during the interview concerning the official White House explanation of 9/11 and an interview of Jones by Showbiz Tonight’s host. (PrisonPlanet.com, March 23, 2006). Original article, including video link=>

Here’s a nicely executed streaming video that includes portions of videos produced by leading 9/11 researchers. A DVD is available for purchase. (By Lone Lantern, February 20, 2006).

Welcome to the surveillance society. Withdrawing money from your ATM, driving on I-590, ordering fast food, making a quick stop at the liquor store on the way home: private moments are becoming more public than you might think. You're being taped --- and it's happening so unobtrusively that you're probably not aware of it. What's more, it's legal, and it's only the beginning. (By Tim Louis Macaluso, in City Newspaper Online, March 22, 2006). Full article=>

Get off it. All the carping, belly-aching and complaining about George Bush's incompetence in Iraq, from both the Left and now the Right, is just dead wrong. (By Greg Palast, in The Guardian {U.K.}, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

Federal health advisers said Wednesday that Ritalin and other drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder should not carry strong "black-box" warnings about potential cardiovascular and psychiatric risks. Rather, the Food and Drug Administration pediatric advisory committee recommended that the drug labels include warning language written so people can understand it. "I wouldn't use the word 'tougher,' said panel chair Dr. Robert Nelson, of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "'Clearer.'" By rejecting the black-box warnings in a consensus decision, the advisory panel broke with another committee that voted just last month to include them on some ADHD drugs. (By Andrew Bridges, The Associated Press, March 22, 2006). Full article=>

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that police cannot search a home when one resident invites them in but another tells them to go away, provoking a strong objection from the new chief justice about the possible impact on battered women. The 5-3 decision put new limits on officers who want to search for evidence of a crime without obtaining a warrant first. (By Gina Holland, The Associated Press, March 22, 2006). Full article=>

General Motors Corp. and bankrupt former subsidiary Delphi Corp. will offer buyouts to more than 125,000 factory workers, the companies said on Wednesday, after reaching a cost-cutting deal with the United Auto Workers union. The agreement, which capped a week of intensive negotiations in Detroit, moves the world's largest automaker toward its goal of cutting 30,000 jobs by 2008 and helps avert the threat of a strike at Delphi that could have crippled GM and cost the automaker $5 billion per month. (Reuters, March 22, 2006). Full article=>

Americans who are not in a self imposed coma are aware that Congress has once again shredded the Fourth and Fifth Amendments with their recent vote to extend certain provisions of the un-Patriot Act. The only problem is, the Constitution must be amended, not changed, altered or nullified depending on the vicissitudes dictated by political corruption. The day following the vote I watched Judge Andrew Napolitano attempt to explain to that silly fop on FOX News, Shepard Smith, what Congress in fact did with this latest shot at the Constitution. (By Devvy Kidd, in NewsWithViews.com, March 22, 2006). Full article=>

Imagine knocking on America's door and being told, "Americans don't live here any longer. They have gone away." But isn't that what we are hearing, that Americans have gone away? Alan Shore told us so on ABC's Boston Legal on March 14. (By Paul Craig Roberts, March 22, 2006). Full article=>

If you are stopped by police in Kansas, don’t be surprised if the officer pulls out a little black box and takes your fingerprints. The gadget allows officers to identify people by fingerprints without hauling them to the police station. Over the next year the Kansas Bureau of Investigation will test 60 of the devices with law enforcement agencies around the state. State officials said similar tests are being planned for New York, Milwaukee and Hawaii. (By Benita Y. Williams, The Kansas City Star, March 22, 2006). Full article=>

Profs document hijacking of US foreign policy

It comes as no surprise two “of America’s top scholars,” having released an article criticizing the hijacking of American foreign policy by AIPAC, the neocons, and the tiny outlaw state of Israel, are unable to get a hearing in the corporate media. John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt of Harvard’s Kenney School “say that [AIPAC] is so strong that they doubt their article would be accepted in any U.S.-based publication,” reports United Press International. (By Kurt Nimmo in Another Day in the Empire online, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

New Yorkers, get ready for your closeup. The NYPD is installing 505 surveillance cameras around the city - and pushing to safeguard lower Manhattan with a "ring of steel" that could track hundreds of thousands of people and cars a day, authorities revealed yesterday. The police cameras will constantly keep watch over neighborhoods plagued by crime and monitor potential terror targets as the city moves to put another 1,200 cops on the street, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. (By Alison Gendar and Michael Saul, New York News, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

A research paper by two leading American political scientists alleges that the US relationship with Israel is not good for US security, and that the Israeli lobby in the US, particularly the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, has helped exaggerate to the US media and public the importance of making the protection of Israel a key part of US foreign policy. (By Tom Regan, The Christian Science Monitor, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

North Korea suggested Tuesday it had the ability to launch a pre-emptive attack on the United States, according to the North’s official news agency. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the North had built atomic weapons to counter the U.S. threat. As we declared, our strong revolutionary might put in place all measures to counter possible U.S. pre-emptive strike,” the spokesman said, according to the Korean Central News Agency. “Pre-emptive strike is not the monopoly of the United States. (Jae-Soon Chang, The Associated Press, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

Why does the Bush Administration refuse to discuss withdrawing occupation forces from Iraq? Why is Halliburton, who landed the no-bid contracts to construct and maintain US military bases in Iraq, posting higher profits than ever before in its 86-year history? Why do these bases in Iraq resemble self-contained cities as much as military outposts? Why are we hearing such ludicrous and outrageous statements from the highest ranking military general in the United States, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace, who when asked how things were going in Iraq on March 5th in an interview on "Meet the Press" said, "I'd say they're going well. I wouldn't put a great big smiley face on it, but I would say they're going very, very well from everything you look at." (By Dahr Jamail, in TruthOut.com, March 14, 2006). Full article=>

Most medical doctors are hostile toward the use of nutritional supplements. They parrot that they are ineffective and possibly dangerous due to a lack of scientific evidence supporting them. Not true. A mountain of evidence exists. And it points to some fascinating and highly effective nutritional supplements. (By Shane Ellison, in NewsWithViews.com, February 26, 2006). Full article=>

The IRS is quietly moving to loosen the once-inviolable privacy of federal income-tax returns. If it succeeds, accountants and other tax-return preparers will be able to sell information from individual returns - or even entire returns - to marketers and data brokers. (By Jeff Gelles, the Philadelphia Inquirer, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, reiterated his long-term forecast of a falling dollar, but without a timetable for the greenback's decline. (By Maria Albin, NewsMax.com, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

In the wake of revelations of government surveillance of nonviolent protests, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington today filed requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on behalf of itself and 11 peace organizations across the state. The groups are seeking records of any surveillance of their activities by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense or the Seattle Joint Terrorism Task Force. (American Civil Liberties Union, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

On March 17, William Rivers Pitt wrote that Bush is "deranged, disconnected, and dangerous." In his March 20 Cleveland speech, Bush proved Pitt right. (By Paul Craig Roberts, in AntiWar.com, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

Did President Bush mention the government's secret warrantless surveillance program to the president of Pakistan more than four years ago? A brief passage of a 2002 book seems to raise that possibility. In "Bush at War," Bob Woodward recounts a meeting between Bush and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf at the Waldorf Towers in New York in early November 2001. (The Washington Post, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

President Bush said Tuesday that American forces will remain in Iraq for years and it will be up to a future president to decide when to bring them all home. But defying critics and plunging polls, he declared, "I'm optimistic we'll succeed. If not, I'd pull our troops out." (Terrance Hunt, The Associated Press, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

The recent killing of an unarmed Virginia doctor has raised concerns about what some say is an explosion in the use of military-style police Swat teams in the United States. Armed with assault rifles, stun grenades - even armoured personnel carriers - units once used only in highly volatile situations are increasingly being deployed on more routine police missions. Dr Salvatore Culosi Jr had come out of his townhouse to meet an undercover policeman when he was shot through the chest by a Special Weapons and Tactics force. (By Matthew Davis, BBC News, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

Having volunteered for active duty in Iraq, we are complicit in what happened in Abu Ghraib. Having left Australians to the tender mercies of US interrogators in Guantanamo Bay we're complicit in what has happened there. As an uncritical supporter of George W. Bush's war on terror, we are complicit in the widespread torturing of countless detainees. (By Philip Adams, in The Australian, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

When Bush went to Congress in September 2002, seeking "specific statutory authorization" to invade Iraq, he based his case on what we now know was "fixed" intelligence – a hastily completed National Intelligence Estimate, which supposedly contained, but did not – positive proof that Saddam was reconstructing his nuke and chem-bio programs with the intention of supplying them to Islamic terrorists for use against us. (By Gordon Prather, in AntiWar.com, March 21, 2006). Full article=>

An FBI agent who interrogated Zacarias Moussaoui before Sept. 11, 2001, warned his supervisors more than 70 times that Moussaoui was a terrorist and spelled out his suspicions that the al-Qaeda operative was plotting to hijack an airplane, according to federal court testimony yesterday. (By Jerry Markon and Timothy Dwyer, The Washington Post, Mach 21, 2006). Full article=>

Two of America's top scholars have published a searing attack on the role and power of Washington's pro-Israel lobby in a British journal, warning that its "decisive" role in fomenting the Iraq war is now being repeated with the threat of action against Iran. And they say that the Lobby is so strong that they doubt their article would be accepted in any U.S.-based publication. (United Press International, March 20, 2006).

The stated mission of Operation Swarmer, launched late last week in an area just northeast of Samarra, in Iraq, was to "break up a center of insurgent resistance" and to disrupt "terrorist activity," according to the US military. Comprised of over 1,500 US and Iraqi soldiers, 50 US attack and transport helicopters airlifted the bold force into a flat area of farmland filled not with fighters belonging to the "center of insurgent resistance," but with impoverished farmers, cows, goats and women baking bread. The first drop of soldiers onto the ground from this air-operation doubled the meager population of 1,500 souls living in the 50 square-mile area. (By Dahr Jamail, in TruthOut.com, March 20, 2006). Full article=>

I know it’s hard to believe Mr. President but they the have these things know that actually record what you say and are able to play back what they record. Even after a long period of time. Keith Olbermann and Countdown supply the evidence. (Crooks and Liars, March 20, 2006). Full article=>

Two releases of local law enforcement files in recent days have shed new light on just how far the Bush administration, federal, and local law enforcement are going to suppress political dissent in the aftermath of 9-11. (By Geov Parrish, in WorkingForChange.com, March 20, 2006). Full article=>

Chicken never has been cheaper. A whole one can be bought for little more than the price of a cup of coffee from Starbucks. But the industrial farming methods that make ever-cheaper chicken possible also may have created the lethal strain of bird flu virus, H5N1, that threatens to set off a global pandemic. According to University of Ottawa flu virologist Earl Brown, lethal bird flu is entirely man-made, first evolving in commercially produced poultry in Italy in 1878. The highly pathogenic H5N1 is descended from a strain that first appeared in Scotland in 1959. (By Wendy Orent, PittsburghLive.com, March 19, 2006). Full article=>

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." If neoconservatives have their way, Americans will soon be repeating this refrain. The identical lies used to deceive Americans about Iraq are now being recycled to justify invading Syria and Iran. Before exploring this fact, first understand that there is nothing conservative about neoconservatives. Neocons hide behind "conservative" but they are in fact Jacobins. (By Paul Craig Roberts, in LewRockwell.com, September 20, 2003). Full article=>

Actor Charlie Sheen has joined a growing army of other highly credible public figures in questioning the official story of 9/11 and calling for a new independent investigation of the attack and the circumstances surrounding it. Over the past two years, scores of highly regarded individuals have gone public to express their serious doubts about 9/11. These include former presidential advisor and CIA analyst Ray McGovern, the father of Reaganomics and former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury Paul Craig Roberts, BYU physics Professor Steven Jones, former German defense minister Andreas von Buelow, former MI5 officer David Shayler, former Blair cabinet member Michael Meacher, former Chief Economist for the Department of Labor during President George W. Bush's first term Morgan Reynolds and many more. (Alex Jones and Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, March 20, 2006). Full article including link to Jones’ radio interview of Charlie Sheen=>

LC Editor’s Comment: LC readers might want to view Dylan Avery’s excellent documentary video (next title) after reading this article and listening to the radio interview. Just click on the title to start the video.

Will it take the country down with it? The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center finds that President Bush's support among the American people has fallen to 33 percent. Even more devastatingly, the survey finds that people's most frequently used one-word description of President Bush is "incompetent." The chief chaplain for the New York City Corrections Department told a Tucson audience that "the greatest terrorists in the world occupy the White House." Two years ago when New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was suppressing demonstrations at the Republican National Convention, the chief chaplain would have been fired for his remarks, but not today. (By Paul Craig Roberts, in AntiWar.com, March 20, 2006). Full article=>

For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centrepiece of US Middle Eastern policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread ‘democracy’ throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardised not only US security but that of much of the rest of the world. This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state? One might assume that the bond between the two countries was based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives, but neither explanation can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the US provides. (By John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, London Review of Books, March 23, 2006). Full article=>

John Mearsheimer is the Wendell Harrison Professor of Political Science at Chicago, and the author of The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. Stephen Walt is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. His most recent book is Taming American Power: The Global Response to US Primac.

US President George W. Bush said he hoped to resolve the nuclear dispute with Iran with diplomacy, but warned Tehran he would "use military might" if necessary to defend Israel. "The threat from Iran is, of course, their stated objective to destroy our strong ally Israel. That's a threat, a serious threat. It's a threat to world peace," the US president said after a speech defending the war in Iraq. (AFP, March 20, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: With regard to the current standoff between the U.S. and Iran on the matter of the latter country’s refining uranium, President Bush is quoted in this article as stating “The message (to Iran) would be that ‘your desire to having a nuclear weapon is unacceptable.’” But Mr. Bush certainly must be aware by now that Iran’s leadership has stated repeatedly and emphatically that the purpose of its uranium refining program is to produce fuel for its nuclear electric power generation reactors in place or scheduled for construction and that it has no intention whatsoever of producing the very highly refined uranium needed for manufacturing nuclear weapons nor of manufacturing any nuclear weapons. Furthermore, he must be aware that all inspections of Iran’s nuclear research and related nuclear facilities conducted over the years by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts have shown Iran’s nuclear program to be in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) requirements, including those banning the production, importing or exporting of nuclear weapons material. Iran is a party to this treaty. So methinks the president doth protest too much, paraphrasing Queen Gertrude’s statement to Hamlet.

The United States has until now not done enough to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, a senior Defense Ministry official has told The Jerusalem Post while expressing hope that Wednesday's referral of the Iranian issue to the United Nations Security Council would prove to be effective. (By Vakov Katz, The Jeruselum Post, March 10, 2006). Full article=>

I don’t know how much more evidence we need to demonstrate there is a plot underway to dismantle the Bill of Rights. Now we learn that soon after “the dark days” of nine eleven, “lawyers from the White House and the Justice Department began meeting to debate a number of novel legal strategies to help prevent another attack,” according to US News & World Report. “Meeting in the FBI’s state-of-the-art command center in the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the lawyers talked with senior FBI officials about using the same legal authority to conduct physical searches of homes and businesses of terrorism suspects–also without court approval,” that is to say in direct violation of the Fourth Amendment. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire online, March 20, 2006). Full article=>

At the beginning of the Iraq war, the UN entrusted $23bn of Iraqi money to the US-led coalition to redevelop the country. With the infrastructure of the country still in ruins, where has all that money gone? Callum Macrae and Ali Fadhil on one of the greatest financial scandals of all time. (The Guardian {U.K.}, March 20, 2006). Full article=>

Iraqis detail deadly US Marine raid

Residents gave new details Monday about the shootings of civilians in a western Iraqi town, where the U.S. military is investigating allegations of potential misconduct by American troops last November. The residents said troops entered homes and shot and killed 15 members of two families, including a 3-year-old girl, after a roadside bomb killed a U.S. Marine. (By Bassem Mroue, The Associated Press, March 20, 2006). Full article=>

Student athletes, musicians and others who participate in after school activities could increasingly be subject to random drug testing under a program promoted by the Bush administration. White House officials say drug testing is an effective way to keep students away from harmful substances like marijuana and crystal methamphetamine, and have held seminars across the country to promote the practice to local school officials. But some parents, educators and school officials call it a heavy-handed, ineffective way to discourage drug use that undermines trust and invades students' privacy. (Andy Sullivan, Reuters, March 19, 2006). Full article=>

Nanotechnology has restored the sight of blind rodents, a new study shows. Scientists mimicked the effect of a traumatic brain injury by severing the optical nerve tract in hamsters, causing the animals to lose vision. After injecting the hamsters with a solution containing nanoparticles, the nerves re-grew and sight returned. (BBC News {U.K.}, March 14, 2006). Full article=>

As the Iraqi insurgency intensified in early 2004, an elite US special operations forces unit converted one of Saddam Hussein's former military bases near Baghdad into a top-secret prison. There, US soldiers turned a former government torture chamber into their own interrogation cell, calling it the Black Room. In the windowless room, soldiers beat prisoners with rifle butts, spat in their faces and used them for target practice in games of jailhouse paintball. Their aim was to extract information to help hunt down Iraq's most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, US Defence Department personnel said. (By Eric Schmitt in Washington and Carolyn Marshall in San Francisco, The Sydney Morning Herald online, March 20, 2006). Full article=>

The movement to impeach President George W Bush over the war on terror began with a few tatty bumper stickers on the back of battered old Volvos and slogans such as “Bush lied, people died” on far-left websites. But as Democrat hopes rise of gaining control of Congress this autumn, dreams of impeaching Bush are no longer confined to the political fringe. poll last week found that voters, by 50% to 37%, would prefer the Democrats to win control of Congress. If Bush’s opponents find themselves in a position of power, the temptation to humiliate him is likely to be irresistible. (By Sarah Baxter, The Sunday Times {U.K.}, March 19, 2006). Full article=>

In Times Square, anti-war protesters rallied outside a military recruiting station, demanding that troops be withdrawn from Iraq. In London, 15,000 people poured into Trafalgar Square. In Stockholm, a protester dressed as the hooded figure from a photo taken at Abu Ghraib prison. Anti-war scenes were repeated across the United States and the world Saturday as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to mark the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. (The Associated Press, March 19, 2006). Full article=>

MI5 'helped IRA buy bomb parts in US'

A former British Army mole in the IRA has claimed that MI5 arranged a weapons-buying trip to America in which he obtained detonators, later used by terrorists to murder soldiers and police officers. In a book to be published next month, the spy, who uses the pseudonym Kevin Fulton, describes in detail how British intelligence co-operated with the FBI to ensure his trip to New York in the 1990s went ahead without incident so that his cover would not be blown. (By Enda Leahy, The Sunday Times Online, March 19, 2006). Full article=>

President George W. Bush's approval rating stands at 36 percent as voters expressed anger over the continued war in Iraq, according to a poll released today by Newsweek magazine. The overall approval rating matches his standing in November, a record low for his presidency, and compares with 40 percent at the end of September, 2005, the magazine reported. Less than half, 44 percent of those polled, approved of how he's handling homeland security and terrorism issues compared with 57 percent a year ago. (Bloomberg.com, March 18, 2006). Full article=>

Nonsense from the Central Bank... unpayable debts... trade deficit with China... GW Bush for dog catcher... the Dubai ports deal... and more. The world’s central banks would have us believe that they will likely work closer together to try to manage the impact of an expected long-term decline in the value of the dollar. They have already been doing that for a very long time without telling you that. Trial balloons are going up preparing the public for the fall of the dollar. Preparation for what the bankers hope is a gradual shift in the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency over the next 4 to 6 years. The bankers know they’ve essentially ruined the American economy via debt, reflected in the current account, fiscal and personal indebtedness. (By Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster online, March 18, 2006). Full article=>

Well, according to President Bush’s 2006 National Security Strategy, "America is at war. "This is a wartime national security strategy required by the grave challenge we face – the rise of terrorism fueled by an aggressive ideology of hatred and murder, fully revealed to the American people on September 11, 2001. "This strategy reflects our most solemn obligation: to protect the security of the American people." (By Gordon Prather, in AntiWar.com, March 18, 2006). Full article=>

War consists of killing people and destroying property. That's all there is to war. Any honest soldier will tell you the same thing: His job is to kill people and destroy property. That's true of all branches of the service. The difficult question is, When is a nation justified in making the decision to kill other people and destroy their property? I think the rule is the same as it is for individuals. You are justified in killing only in defense of your own life or the lives of others for whom you are responsible. (By Charley Reese, in AntiWar.com, March 18, 2006), Full article=>

Thousands of anti-war protesters took to the streets around the world Saturday, marking the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq with demands that coalition troops leave immediately. Wael Musfar of the Arab Muslim American Federation addressed more than 1,000 people who gathered in Times Square near a recruiting station, which was guarded by police. "We say enough hypocrisy, enough lies, our soldiers must come home now," Musfar said from a parked flatbed truck. Participants chanted, "Stop the U.S. war machine, from Iraq to Korea to the Philippines." (By Paul Burkhardt, The Associated Press, March 18, 2006). Full article=>

Democrats in Albany County (Utah) will consider whether to adopt a platform that calls for the impeachment of President Bush. The platform committee of the Albany County Democratic Party has voted unanimously in favor of presenting the impeachment resolution at the party's county convention on March 26. Oliver Peters, a member of the platform committee, said the draft is meant to spur debate of what members consider some of the more important and alarming aspects of the Bush administration's activities. (In the Jackson Hole Star Tribune online, March 18, 2006). Full article=>

A new national poll shows that a near majority of voters either strongly or somewhat agree with a pledge not to vote for pro-war candidates. This makes the antiwar movement's potential impact on elections larger than pro-gun, anti-abortion, or anti-gay marriage voters. Politicians will have to pay heed to this new political force. (By Kevin Zeese, in Antiwar.com, March 18, 2006). Full article=>

American and Iraqi forces pushing through a desolate area of Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland rounded up dozens more suspected insurgents, including alleged killers of a television journalist, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Saturday. The three-day-old sweep through villages 60 miles north of Baghdad – named Operation Swarmer – was prompting growing unease among leading Sunnis. One called it a needless “escalation” at a time of difficult negotiations over Iraq's future government. (CBS and Associated Press, March 18, 2006). Full article=>

It never stops with this administration. Turley is up in arms over this one, calling it horrific-saying it removes the 4th amendment from the Constitution. He also rips Congress for lying down like dogs and not even holding serious hearing on the NSA warrantless searches. (Crooksandliars.com, March 17, 2006). Full article including video link=>

A Pentagon intelligence agency that kept files on American anti-war activists hired on of the contractors who bribed former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif, to help it collect data on houses of worship, schools, power plants and other locations in the United States. (By Jonathan S. Landay, Knight Ritter Newspapers, March 17, 2006). Full article=>

U.S. Pres. George W. Bush issued his second-term National Security Strategy Thursday, a document outlining the administration's strategy for using diplomatic, economic, and military tools to deal with global challenges. Ironically, the 47-page document that outlines a series of "successes" and "extraordinary progress in the expansion of freedom, democracy, and human dignity" since 2002 makes few references to the one issue that most clearly defines the Bush presidency – the war in Iraq. (By Bill Berkowitz, Antiwar.com, March 17, 2006). Full article=>

The Bush administration could continue its policy of spying on targeted Americans without obtaining warrants, but only if it justifies the action to a small group of lawmakers, under legislation introduced yesterday by key Republican senators. (By Charles Babington, The Washington Post, March 17, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. Middle East policy is not in America's national interest and is motivated primarily by the country's pro-Israel lobby, according to a study published yesterday by researchers from Harvard University and the University of Chicago.
Observers in Washington said yesterday that the study was liable to stir up a tempest and spur renewed debate about the function of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobby. The Fatah office in Washington distributed the article to an extensive mailing list. (By Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz.com, March 17, 2006). Full article=>

Operation Swarmer: Designed to foment Iraqi civil war

Rush Limbaugh, the OxyContin voice of the Clear Channel neocons, tells us most Americans disagree with Senator Russ Feingold’s ill-fated act to censure Bush, it is only a handful of vindictive liberals, angry because they are “out of power,” who want to punish Bush. And yet an American Research Group poll reveals 48 percent of polled Americans are “in favor of the Senate censuring the sitting president.” (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire, March 17, 2006). Full article=>

U.S. military spending in Iraq and Afghanistan will average 44 percent more in the current fiscal year than in fiscal 2005, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said. Spending will rise to $9.8 billion a month from the $6.8 billion a month the Pentagon said it spent last year, the research service said. The group's March 10 report cites ``substantial'' expenses to replace or repair damaged weapons, aircraft, vehicles, radios and spare parts. (Bloomberg.com, March 17, 2006). Full article=>

Just over 1.2 million individual income tax returns were audited in fiscal year 2005, according to a report released late Friday afternoon by the Internal Revenue Service. That represents a 21 percent increase from a year earlier. That follows a 19 percent increase in audits in 2004. The IRS also noted that the number of audits of high-income taxpayers -- defined as those with income of $100,000 or more -- reached 219,208, the highest figure in 10 years. (CNNMoney.com, March 17, 2006). Full article=>

If you are worried about how much you owe on your credit cards, this might put things in perspective: America’s national debt limit was increased yesterday to $9 trillion. That’s $9,000,000,000,000 — enough to buy Buckingham Palace 9,000 times. The increase, passed by Congress, allows the Government to borrow another $781 billion (£447 billion), increasing the national debt limit — the maximum America can borrow — from $8 trillion and $184 billion to $8 trillion and $961 billion. (By Tim Reid, The Times Online {U.K.}, March 17, 2006). Full article=>

Should we have known that President Bush would bust the budget? This week's column is a question, a brief one addressed with honest curiosity to Republicans. It is: When George W. Bush first came on the scene in 2000, did you understand him to be a liberal in terms of spending? (By Peggy Noonan, in OpinionJournal.com, March 16, 2006). Full article=>

Russia must embrace democracy if it is to improve its relations with the United States, Europe and its neighbors, according to a new US national security strategy document released. The White House blueprint called the "National Security Stategy" said that the US will seek to encourage Russia to respect the values of freedom and democracy at home and not to impede the cause of freedom and democracy in the Middle East, South and Central Asia and East Asia. (AFP, March 16, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. Congress approved a $781 billion increase in the federal government's debt limit, the fourth time lawmakers have raised the cap since President George W. Bush took office. The Senate voted 52-48 to increase the legal limit on federal borrowing to $8.97 trillion, up from $8.18 trillion. The House approved the measure last year, meaning the legislation now goes to the president for his signature. (Bloomberg.com, March 16, 2006). Full article=>

The Pentagon’s official watchdog will investigate allegations by Halliburton Company water experts that their company endangered U.S. Troops in Iraq by failing to provide safe show and laundry water. The most serious allegation came from the company’s water treatment manager in the war zone, whose internal reports said troops and civilians in Iraq were left vulnerable to “mass sickness or death”. (By Larry Margasak, The Associated Press, March 16, 2006). Full article=>

If you were President George W. Bush with all available US troops tied down by the Iraqi resistance, and you were unable to control Iraq or political developments in the country, would you also start a war with Iran? Yes, you would. (By Paul Craig Roberts, in AntiWar.com, March 16, 2006). Full article=>

Three years after Pres. George W. Bush ordered U.S. troops into Iraq, public confidence in the operation is dwindling ever smaller, as is the belief that Bush's stated reasons for going to war were sincere, according to a new poll released here Wednesday by the University of Maryland's Programme on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA). Only 28 percent of respondents said they were confident the U.S. will succeed in its aims in Iraq, down from 40 percent 18 months ago. (By Jim Lobe, AntiWar.com, March 16, 2006), Full article=>

Congressman Ron Paul has contradicted other high profile warnings that a military strike on Iran is right around the corner by opining that any act of aggression is still some time away and that the build-up to another war is still in the propaganda phase of being sold to the American people. Appearing on the Alex Jones Show, Paul speculated that the Iranian oil bourse issue cannot be the only and most pressing reason for war because a similar situation arose before the Iraq invasion yet the Europeans' attitude was different (By Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones, PrisonPlanet.com, March 16, 2006). Full article=>

Privacy campaigners in the US hailed a victory of sorts for internet search engine Google yesterday after a court case focusing on demands from the Bush administration for access to its data appeared to swing in Google's favour. (By Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian {U.K.}, March 16, 2006). Full article=>

FBI anti-terrorism agents spied on a U.S. peace group simply because it opposed the Iraq war, part of an “unprecedented campaign” to spy on innocent citizens, the American Civil Liberties Union said Tuesday. FBI documents acquired under the Freedom of Information Act and provided to reporters show the FBI conducted surveillance of the Pittsburgh-based Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice at anti-war demonstrations and leaflet distributions in 2002 and 2003. One of the FBI documents, unveiled at a news conference by the two groups, carried the headline “International Terrorism Matters” and referred to the FBI's work with an anti-terrorism task force that includes several agencies. (By Jonathan Barnes, Reuters, March 15, 2006). Full article=>

The East Orange, NJ Police Department is getting ready to greatly enlarge its ranks, with what’s being called the “Virtual Community Patrol. Soon-to-be-chosen residents will get access to a website that provides panoramic views of their block, allows them to type in general complaints, pinpoint a problem location, immediately send that information to police headquarters, and simultaneously active hidden police surveillance cameras, Police Director Jose Cordero said. The “Virtual Community Patrol” will be the first such project of its kind in the nation, reports the STAR-LEDGER. (Drudge Report, March 15. 2006). Full article=>

Federal prosecutors Wednesday implored a judge to reverse her decision banning key witnesses from the death penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, saying that the "misguided conduct" of a single government attorney should not be allowed to imperil the case. Calling the ruling unprecedented and "grossly punitive,'' prosecutors said it devastates their case that Moussaoui should be executed for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema Tuesday barred seven witnesses and all evidence concerning aviation security from the trial, saying the misconduct of Transportation Security Administration lawyer Carla J. Martin had tainted the evidence beyond repair. (By Jerry Markon, Timothy Dwyer and William Branigin, the Washington Post, March 15, 2006). Full article=>

The death of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic is an occasion for all wings of the War Party, no matter what their current squabbles over the war in Iraq, to come together in a bipartisan and trans-ideological show of unity: from the Weekly Standard to the The New Republic, and virtually all points in between, the consensus opinion is that the war to "liberate" Kosovo from the Serbian jackboot was a just cause. The same Clintonian Democrats who today decry the naked unilateralism of the U.S. in invading Iraq vocally supported America's attack on "The Butcher of the Balkans" – undertaken without UN approval – and defend it to this day. (By Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, March 15, 2006). Full article=>

Police and other government workers in the U.S. have come in contact with terrorists or people suspected of foreign terror ties more than 6,000 times in the past 28 months, the director of the federal Terrorist Screening Center said Tuesday. The encounters in traffic stops, applications for permits and other situations have resulted in fewer than 60 arrests, said Donna Bucella, whose agency maintains a list of 200,000 people known or suspected to be terrorists. The list contains an additional 150,000 records that have only partial names, Bucella said. (By Mark Sherman, the Associated Press, March 14, 2006), Full article=>

Between 1989 and 2000, the electronic display near New York's Times Square tracked the rise of the nation's red ink until it reached $5.7 trillion. When it shut down, the federal budget was running a surplus. Today, the national debt totals $8.3 trillion, a level that could force Congress this week to raise the debt ceiling for the fourth time in George W. Bush's presidency. (By Mark Trumbull, the Christian Science Monitor, March 14, 2006). Full article=>

It’s a good thing I don’t live in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. If I did, I’d refuse to accept the authority of DynCorp, the renta-cop and mercenary corporation that may soon replace the police in the storm-ravaged parish. Chances are I’d end up injured or dead at a checkpoint because DynCorp, a for-profit private military contractor, has a reputation “for brutality and recklessness,” according to Jeremy Scahill, writing for the Nation magazine. “DynCorp has even been rebuked by the U.S. State Department for its ‘aggressive behavior’ in interactions with European diplomats, NATO forces and journalists. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire, March 14, 2006). Full article=>

Shock therapy for kids: Torture or cure?

She was among twenty emotional parents supporting controversial shock-therapy treatment. “The school is a god-send. My wife and I suffer. You don't know what it's like to have a violent son who could kill you--but who you dearly love.” The school that Jenkin Washington speaks of, The Rotenberg Center, is in Massachusetts but approved by New York State as a facility for extremely troubled youths. It uses modern-day electric shock therapy by way of back packs, belts--sometimes strapped to arms and legs. The shocks can last two to three seconds and are usually administered several times a week. (By Jennifer McClogan, WCBS-TV, Channel 3, New York, March 14, 2006). Full article=>

Africa's humanitarian needs -- today the pillage in Darfur, yesterday the famine in Niger -- dominate the headlines. Human suffering, from hunger to rape, also dominates the limited attention that Americans have for hearing about problems in the most troubled part of the world. Now that may be changing as an armed insurgency in oil-rich Nigeria threatens oil exports to the U.S. and raises the possibility that U.S. troops will dig into African soil in order to protect a resource deemed vital to American interests. In short, Nigeria might be the next Iraq. (By G. Pascal Zachary, AlterNet.com, March 14, 2006). Full article=>

The United States does not have proof that Iran's government is responsible for the presence of Iranian weapons and military personnel in Iraq, the top U.S. military officer said on Tuesday. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also said the United States may slightly increase its troops in Iraq from the current 133,000 to provide more security for an upcoming Shi'ite pilgrimage amid worry about further sectarian violence. President George W. Bush said on Monday components from Iran were being used in powerful roadside bombs used in Iraq, and Rumsfeld said last week that Iranian Revolutionary Guard personnel had been inside Iraq to stir up trouble. (Reuters, March 14, 2006). Full article=>

American forces have dramatically increased airstrikes in Iraq during the past five months, a change of tactics that may foreshadow how the United States plans to battle a still- strong insurgency while reducing the number of U.S. ground troops serving here. (By tom Lasseter, Knight Ridder Newspapers, March 14, 2006). Full article=>

Slobodan Milosevic was a distasteful man with authoritarian Communist ideals. But the reasons for his obvious murder revolve around his evergreen willingness to blow the whistle on the global criminal masterminds who had made the mistake of giving 'Slobo' a speaking platform in the first place. (By Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, March 13, 2006). Full article=>

National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley quietly revised the guidelines for determining access to classified government information last year, increasing emphasis on allegiance to the United States and allowing the government broader latitude in rejecting candidates without a clearly articulated cause, RAW STORY has found. (By John Byrne and Larisa Alexandrovna, March 13, 2006). Full article=>

Was Serbia a practice run for Iraq?

O n March 11, the former Serbian leader and president of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, died in his prison cell at The Hague, where he had been on trial for four years and one month for war crimes and genocide. (By Paul Craig Roberts, AntiWar.com, March 13, 2006). Full article=>

An employee enters an unauthorized area of the company, his smart-chip badge triggering a hidden surveillance camera. That sends an alert to a security officer, who uses his laptop or cell phone to monitor what the intruder is up to. Once the realm of Tom Cruise movies, scenes such as this one are playing out at a worksite near you. (By Patricia Kitchen, Newsday, March 13, 2006). Full article=>

In the near future—maybe next week—it may be a good idea to stay away from John Young’s Cryptome website. Young’s site often posts articles on surveillance, cryptography, and information on the military and intelligence community. It appears Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, along with Sens. Olympia Snowe of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, are pushing legislation to prosecute anyone who “intentionally discloses information identifying or describing” the NSA snoop program or any other snoop program conducted under a 1978 surveillance law, according to the Associated Press. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire, March 12, 2006). Full article=>

Senior Iraqi officials Sunday confirmed for the first time that death squads composted of government employees had operated illegally from inside two government ministries. (By Matthew Schofield, Knight Ridder Newspapers, March 12, 2006). Full article=>

Revealed: UK develops secret nuclear warhead

Britain has been secretly designing a new nuclear warhead in conjunction with the Americans, provoking a legal row over the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The government has been pushing ahead with the programme while claiming that no decision has been made on a successor to Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent. Work on a new weapon by scientists at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire has been under way since Tony Blair was re-elected last May, and is now said to be ahead of similar US research. (By Michael Smith, The Sunday Times Online {U.K.}, March 12, 2006). Full article=>

April 15 is once again approaching and with it the necessity of filling out your tax return. It is a good time to reflect on the taxes you do pay—and especially on the taxes you may soon be forced to pay. (By U.S. Representative Ron Paul, in American Free Press online, March 12, 2006). Full article=>

Train Wreck of the Week – March 11, 2006

We are n the verge of the greatest inflationary binge in history. Our perceived wealth is the manifestation of one of the greatest misallocation of created assets and as such its existence will have profound ramifications. Our society, world society, has inflated expectations based upon financial leverage and useless credit. Our asset inflation and bubbles have created unsound distortions driven by unsound incentives. Due to this our capitalistic system is in extreme danger. (By Robert Chapman, The International Forecaster online, March 11, 2006). Full article=>

Here’s a striking, beautifully produced, meticulously referenced 90-minute long streaming video documentary produced by researcher Clifford Carnicom in 2004. To play it, just click on the link (title) above If you are using a player other than QuickTime but have QuickTime installed on your computer, click “No” on the question on restoring MIME type associations to QuickTime and video will stream in QuickTime. For more information about Carnicom’s work, please visit his extensive website at www.carnicom.com . Don’t miss viewing this documentary. It’s excellent.

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Weekend Edition, March 11-12, 2006

Donald Rumsfeld makes $5m killing on bird flu drug

Donald Rumsfeld has made a killing out of bird flu. The US Defence Secretary has made more than $5m (£2.9m) in capital gains from selling shares in the biotechnology firm that discovered and developed Tamiflu, the drug being bought in massive amounts by Governments to treat a possible human pandemic of the disease. (By Geoffrey Lean and Jonathan Owen, The Independent {U.K.}, March 12, 2006). Full article=>

Iran will no longer consider a proposal to move its uranium-enrichment program to Russian territory and is instead considering large-scale uranium enrichment at home, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Sunday. (The Associated Press, March 12, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: See LC Editor’s Comment following the article below titled Cheney says US won’t let Iran get nukes. Also see two articles below by Mike Whitlock, writing in Information Clearing House online and the article titled More Bushlet diplomacy, by physicist and nuclear weapons expert Gordon Prather.

Iran's leaders have built a secret underground emergency command centre in Teheran as they prepare for a confrontation with the West over their illicit nuclear programme, the Sunday Telegraph has been told. (By Philip Sherwell, The Telegraph online {U.K.}, March 12, 2006. Full article=>

Before first light on 20 March 2003 missiles rained down on Baghdad as the American-led invasion began. Saddam's regime was toppled but, three years on, the war still rages. About 35,000 Iraqis, 2,500 allied troops and 109 journalists are dead. The lives of millions have changed forever. Here are some of their stories. The Guardian Observer {U.K.}, March 12, 2006). Full article=>

Last week Broad and Sanger made a characteristically misleading – but sometimes uncharacteristically revealing – report in the New York Times with respect to what would transpire in the aftermath of the March meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency. (By Gordon Prather, in AntiWar.com, March 11, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Physicist and nuclear weapons expert Gordon Prather takes Broad and Sanger to task for cleverly slanting the news about Iran’s nuclear program and, in the process, he tells us the truth about what the Iranians have been up to all along. Good reading. Don’t miss this one. Also see Gordon Prather’s article ElBaradei's Swan Song? for additional insight into the Bush White House accusations concerning Iran’s nuclear program and what both Iran and International Atomic Energy Agency have done to assure Iran’s compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty requirements.

Taking prisoners to the edge of drowning 'not torture' says FO

Forcing a prisoner's head under water until they believe they are drowning does not necessarily constitute torture or abusive treatment, the Foreign Office has said. The equivocal statement has fuelled suspicions that Britain is turning a blind eye to practices by its allies that many international lawyers believe are illegal. (By James Kirkup, The Scottsman {U.K.}, March 11, 2006). Full article=>

Iran on Saturday explicitly warned for the first time that it could use oil as a weapon if the U.N. Security Council imposes sanctions over an Iranian nuclear program that the U.S. and others suspect is trying to produce atomic bombs. Later in the day, diplomats said Russia is pushing for a new round of international talks to be held away from U.N. headquarters, apparently hoping to head off a showdown in the council. (By Nasser Karimi, The Associated Press, March 11, 2006). Full Article=>

US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said that his country did not want permanent military bases in Iraq and that he was willing to talk to Iran about the war-torn country’s future. "We want Iraq to stand on its own feet, we have no goal of establishing permanent bases here," he said in an interview with Iraq's Ash-Sharqiya television, according to a transcript obtained by AFP. (AFP, March 11, 2006). Full article=>

The Salvador Option: Special Forces may train assassins, kidnappers in Iraq

What to do about the deepening quagmire of Iraq? The Pentagon’s latest approach is being called "the Salvador option"—and the fact that it is being discussed at all is a measure of just how worried Donald Rumsfeld really is. "What everyone agrees is that we can’t just go on as we are," one senior military officer told NEWSWEEK. "We have to find a way to take the offensive against the insurgents. Right now, we are playing defense. And we are losing." Last November’s operation in Fallujah, most analysts agree, succeeded less in breaking "the back" of the insurgency—as Marine Gen. John Sattler optimistically declared at the time—than in spreading it out. (By Michael Hirsh and John Barry, Newsweek, January 14, 2005). Full article=>

Reporters who write about government surveillance could be prosecuted under proposed legislation that would solidify the administration's eavesdropping authority, according to some legal analysts who are concerned about dramatic changes in U.S. law. (The Associated Press, March 10, 2006). Full article=>

30 US House Representatives have signed on as sponsors or co-sponsors of H. Res 635, which would create a Select Committee to look into the grounds for recommending President Bush’s impeachment, Atlanta Progressive News has learned. (By Matthew Cardinale, Atlanta Progressive News, in OpEdNews.com, March 10, 2006). Full article=>

The UK supplied Israel with quantities of plutonium while Harold Wilson was prime minister, BBC Newsnight can reveal. The sale was made despite a warning from British intelligence that it might "make a material contribution to an Israeli weapons programme". Under Wilson, Britain also sold Israel tons of chemicals used to make boosted atom bombs 20 times more powerful than Hiroshima or even hydrogen bombs. (By Meirion Jones, BBC News, March 10, 2006). Full story=>

In the last 48 hours all the major players in the Bush administration have issued statements warning of the impending danger of Iran.
Cheney blasted the Islamic regime saying there would be “meaningful consequences” if it refuses to comply with international demands to stop its nuclear program. Condoleezza Rice said, “We face no greater challenge from a single country than Iran (By Mike Whitney, Information Clearing House online, March 10, 2006). Full article=>

The prospect that Europe and Asia might move toward greater independence has troubled US planners since World War II. The concerns have only risen as the ‘tripolar order’ — Europe, North America and Asia — has continued to evolve. Every day, Latin America, too, is becoming more independent. Now Asia and the Americas are strengthening their ties while the reigning superpower, the odd man out, consumes itself in misadventures in the Middle East. (By Norm Chomsky, in The Khaleej Times online, March 10, 2006). Full article=>

The plan by Senate Republicans to step up oversight of the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program would also give legislative sanction for the first time to long-term eavesdropping on Americans without a court warrant, legal experts said on Wednesday. (By Scott Shane and David D. Kirkpatrick, the New York Times, March 9, 2006). Full article=>

In Stuart Rosenberg’s classic film, Cool Hand Luke, Strother Martin, playing the Captain of Road Prison 36, tells Luke Jackson, played by Paul Newman: “What we have here is… failure to communicate.” As I read the news this morning, I am reminded of the film and this memorable line. Rupert Cornwell, writing for the Independent, tells us “the neo-conservatives who sold the United States on this disastrous war are starting to utter three small words. We were wrong.” Cornwell cites the examples of William Buckley, Andrew Sullivan (described as “an influential commentator and blogmeister”), the “patrician conservative columnist” George Will, Francis Fukuyama, Zalmay Khalilzad, and the disgusting William Kristol, all who apparently have second thoughts about the invasion and occupation of Iraq. (By Kurt Nimmo, in “Another Day in he Empire” online, March 9, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: The article provides excellent insight into the Straussian neocons’ guiding philosophy, worldview and plans for the U.S. and the Middle East.

Teams of special operations are reportedly being placed in a growing number of American embassies in unstable parts of the world to gather intelligence on terrorists. The troops, known as military liason elements, also plan potential missions to “disrupt, capture or kill the terrorists”, said a report in the New York Times website. (Reuters, March 9, 2006). Full article=>

Watching John Bolton bulldoze the United Nations is mesmerizing. In a matter of months, he’s savaged the system that distributes power more equitably and transformed the institution into a fiefdom for western elites and American corporations. Under the banner of “reform”, the blustery Bolton has coerced a number of changes that will forever alter the composition of the UN; removing the institution’s last vestiges of international legitimacy. (By Mike Whitney, Information Clearing House online, March 9, 2006). Full article=>

The Bush administration has unilaterally repealed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) by demanding that Iran cease all uranium enrichment. This action overturns the central principle of the treaty which provides states with the “inalienable right” (NPT phrase) to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. Two years of intrusive inspections by the UN watchdog agency (IAEA) have not produced “any evidence of nuclear weapons programs” or any diversion of nuclear material. Nevertheless, the US insists that Iran be deprived of the same right that is afforded to every other signatory of the NPT. What gives Washington the right to rescind an internationally-recognized treaty? (By Mike Whitney, Information Clearing House online, March 8, 2006). Full article=>

Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday that Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and warned "the United States is keeping all options on the table in addressing the irresponsible conduct of the regime." Cheney said the Iranian government "continues to defy the world with its nuclear ambitions" and that the issue may soon go before the U.N. Security Council. (The Associated Press, March 7, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Indeed, Iran does have “nuclear ambitions”, but not in the context Messrs. Cheney and Bush have presented them to the world. Instead, Iran, which is a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), is, as it has repeatedly stated, in the process of building its own capability to produce only electrical power through the construction and operation of generating stations that obtain their required heat energy through the use of nuclear reactors fueled with refined, moderately-enriched uranium.

Iran is currently engaged in developing processes for refining and enriching raw uranium ore to produce reactor-grade uranium fuel. The NPT makes it clear that NPT signatories have the right to refine uranium for peaceful purposes. Repeated inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities by nuclear specialists with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gave demonstrated that Iran’s uranium refinement efforts are limited to production of fuel for their nuclear power reactors. Yet the Bush administration insists, without material proof to support its claim, that Iran is, instead, embarked on a program whose goal is to produce ultra-enriched uranium, which it intends to use to produce nuclear bombs and warheads.

It should be evident to all onlookers that the Bush administration is now, as it did in trying to gain United Nations (UN) approval for its subsequent pre-emptive military attack of Iraq nearly three years ago, attempting to convince the UN through a similar specious argument that Iran is guilty of violating NPT rules by developing methods designed to produce weapons’ grade uranium. Specifically, in effect, the Bush administration is claiming that because Iran has not been able to prove to the satisfaction of the White House that it is not and does not intend to produce nuclear weapons grade uranium, it must intend to produce weapons’ grade enriched uranium. Therefore, according to White House logic, it is in violation of the NPT and must cease working on uranium enrichment now or suffer the consequences of continuing in this effort.

As any student of elementary logic knows, it is impossible for any person or any nation to prove a “negative”, that is a “not” statement, such as the one demanded of Iran by the White House. And Messrs. Cheney and Bush know it! But they are certainly hoping that the American people don’t know it and therefore might be convinced by media organizations supportive the White House’s position to support a pre-emptive attack of the nuclear facilities of Iran even if the UN does not issue trade sanctions against Iran or approve such an attack. Only time will tell.

What’s new: The package makes clear that recipients of National Security Letters have the right to challenge them in court. It gives recipients of court-approved subpoenas for information in terrorist investigations the right to challenge a requirement that they refrain from telling anyone. It clarifies that most libraries are not subject to demands in those letters for information about suspected terrorists. It takes aim at the methamphetamine trade by imposing new restrictions on the sale of over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines, which contain a key ingredient for the drug. Beginning 30 days after President Bush signs the law, expected sometime this week, purchase limits go into effect: One person would be limited to buying 300, 30-mg pills in a month or 120 such pills in a day. The measure would make an exception for "single-use" sales - individually packaged pseudoephedrine products. (The Associated Press, March 7, 2006). Full article=>

Most Americans believe that John McCain's anti-torture bill clearly protects prisoners in U.S. custody from abuse. Most Americans also believe that the conditions for detainees have improved since the Abu Ghraib scandal and some initial problems at the U.S. detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Republican PR efforts to change American's perceptions of detainee treatment have been have been successful. The truth is that the Bush Administration has used the McCain anti-torture bill to codify a policy of torture that is now embedded in our legal system for perpetuity. (By David Edwards, in Veredictum.com, March 6, 2006). Full article plus streaming video.

LC Editor’s Comment: The article includes a streaming video showing a portion of the interview of Alfred W. McCoy by Amy Goodman of Pacifica Radio’s Democracy Now! on February 17, 2006. Professor McCoy is the author of A Question of Torture : CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror.

Just before Christmas, two of the world's most venerable legislative bodies engaged in erudite, impassioned debate over what the right balance should be between the imperatives of national security and international prohibitions on torture. They arrived at starkly divergent conclusions that reveal the depth of damage the war on terror is doing to this country's civil liberties. (By Alfred W. McCoy, in TomDispatch.com, February 8, 2006). Full article=>

Detainees in Iraq are still being tortured, receiving electric shocks and beatings with plastic cables, a report by Amnesty International said today. The U.S. military responded that all detainees were being treated according to international conventions and Iraqi law. Many of the cases in the report involve detainees held by Iraqi authorities. (The Associated Press, March 6, 2006. Full article=>

The five-year housing boom is indeed over, judging from growing statistical evidence and the performance of some of the nation's leading builders, and the slowdown is already rippling through the economy. In the last week, the Commerce Department reported that January sales of new single-family homes fell 5 percent _ the fourth decline in seven months _ and the backlog of unsold new homes hit a record. And the National Association of Realtors said used home sales slipped 2.8 percent in January, the fourth straight drop and 5 percent below January 2005. (By David Koenig, the Associated Press, March 6, 2006). Full article=>

The quagmire that is Iraq and Afghanistan... less safe in America is the result... Chinese cutting back on foreign dollar reserves... we do not have a constitution left...(By Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster, March 5, 2006). Full article=>

One of London’s premier department stores is in talks with police to build jail cells inside the store to hold shoplifters and identity thieves, police said yesterday. Metropolitan Police said they were in early negotiations for the construction of jail cells at the Selfridges store’s flagship Oxford Street location in London. The cells would operate as “short-term holding facilities for low-level shoplifters,” a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity. (Kahleeg Times Online, March 5, 2006). Full article=>

A shocking new scientific study by British scientists Dr. Chris Busby and Saoirse Morgan asks: “Did the use of uranium weapons in Gulf War II result in the contamination of Europe?” High levels of depleted uranium (DU) have been measured in the atmosphere in Britain, transported on air currents from the Middle East and Central Asia. Scientists cited the U.S. bombing of Tora Bora, Afghanistan in 2001 and the “Shock and Awe” bombing during Gulf War II in Iraq in 2003 as one of the main reasons. (By Leuren Moret, American Free Press online, March 4, 2006). Full article=>

The other day on Jerry Agar's radio show, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld responded to accusations about American atrocities at our prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He accused the detainees there of manipulating public opinion by lying about their treatment. (By Dahr Jamail and Tom Engelhardt, in AntiWar.com, March 6, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Sunday told an influential pro-Israel lobbying group there is an urgent need to confront Iran's "clear and unrelenting drive" for a nuclear weapons program. John Bolton, speaking before a crowd of 4,500 gathered for an American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference, said that a failure by the U.N. Security Council to address Iran would "do lasting damage to the credibility of the council." (By Foster Klug, The Associated Press, March 5, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: That Iran is engaged in a “clear and unrelenting drive” for a nuclear weapons program is the position taken by the Bush administration. However, the administration’s position is unsupported by concrete evidence that Iran is engaged in any more than an effort to produce fuel for nuclear electric power generation purposes. For more information, please refer to the excellent set of articles on Iran’s nuclear programs in AntiWar.com written by nuclear physicist and weapons expert Gordon Prather.

The man who for two years led Iran's nuclear negotiations has laid out in unprecedented detail how the regime took advantage of talks with Britain, France and Germany to forge ahead with its secret atomic program. In a speech to a closed meeting of leading Islamic clerics and academics, Hassan Rowhani, who headed talks with the so-called EU3 until last year, revealed how Teheran played for time and tried to dupe the West after its secret nuclear programme was uncovered by the Iranian opposition in 2002. (By Philip Sherwell, The Telegraph {U.K.}, March 5, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Iran converted a quantity 36 tons of yellow cake (raw) uranium-to-uranium hexafluoride gas before it voluntarily suspended all peaceful nuclear in November 2004. Conversion was not a banned activity under the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty rules. Centrifuging hexafluoride gas to separate out fissionable uranium isotopes constitutes the next step in refining uranium for either nuclear power generation or weapons use. A medium degree of separation is required to produce nuclear power reactor grade uranium; an ultra-high degree of separation is required for obtain weapons grade uranium. So the centrifuging of uranium hexafluoride gas does not imply an intention on the part of Iran to produce weapons grade uranium. In fact the stated purpose of Iran’s “nuke” program is the producing of fuel for nuclear reactor electric power generation. Without facts to support its claim, the Bush administration insists that the purpose of Iran’s nuclear fuel generation program is, in fact, to produce weapons grade uranium with which it intends to manufacture thermonuclear bombs and other nuclear weapons. It regards a nuclear weapons armed Iran as unacceptable. On this basis, the Bush administration is now attempting to force Iran to stop all refining and enrichment of uranium.

Major-General Axel Tüttelmann, the head of Nato’s Airborne Early Warning and Control Force, showed off an Awacs early warning surveillance plane in Israel a fortnight ago, he caused a flurry of concern back at headquarters in Brussels. It was not his demonstration that raised eyebrows, but what he said about Nato’s possible involvement in any future military strike against Iran. “We would be the first to be called up if the Nato council decided we should be,” he said. (By Sarah Baxter, The Sunday Times {U.K.}, March 5, 2006). Full article=>

Fifteen years after the end of the Cold War, the United States continues to spend billions of dollars annually to maintain and upgrade its nuclear forces. It is deploying a larger and more accurate preemptive nuclear strike capability in the Asia-Pacific region, and shifting its doctrine toward targeting U.S. strategic nuclear forces against "weapons of mass destruction" complexes and command centers. As of January 2006, the U.S. stockpile contains almost 10,000 nuclear warheads. This includes 5,735 active or operational warheads: 5,235 strategic and 500 nonstrategic warheads. (By Robert S. Norris and Hans. M. Kristensen, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January/February 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor’s Comment: This is an excellent, current and timely article. It includes tables of figures that show the numbers and specific types of nuclear warheads in the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal and discusses the range of available delivery platforms.

Ahamed Abdul Aziz has been in the Guantanamo Bay prison for more than three years and, by his account, has been interrogated 50 times without being charged with any crime. He waits with anguish for freedom but fears it will never come. "We are in a grave here," he told his lawyers, echoing the despair felt by many of the roughly 490 prisoners held as suspected terrorists at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba. Charges have been filed against only 10 of them. Transcripts of hearings, which the Pentagon released Friday after a successful Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by The Associated Press, show the frustration among prisoners waiting for the military to decide whether to charge them, transfer them or release them. (By Miranda Leitsinger, The Associated Press, March 5, 2006). Full article=>

The Bush administration is working behind the scenes to defuse the Dubai Ports World controversy by having the UAE-based firm team up with an American company. According to the New York Daily News, which first reported the new White House strategy on Saturday, "one snag may be that sources say the U.S. company best equipped to partner with DP World is Halliburton, once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney." (By Carl Limbacher, NewsMax.com, March 4, 2006). Full story=>

Administration revives dispute over eavesdropping authority

In a new defense of its warrantless eavesdropping program, the Bush administration yesterday reopened a dispute about whether it tried and failed to obtain direct congressional authority for use of the president's war-making powers on U.S. territory. (By Barton Gellman, The Washington Post online, March 4, 2006). Full article.

LC Editor’s Comment: Let the political games go on but cease being upset by them! They are all for show. Domestic government spying will continue unabated, or even increase in scope and intensity, unless the America people decide now, after five plus years of Straussian-Neocon governance at all levels of government, it is no longer “cool” to live in society where criminal justice is the preferred college major and all-encompassing security is more important than privacy and personal liberty.

The U.S. Air Force has begun moving heavily armed AC-130 airplanes — the lethal “flying gunships” of the Vietnam War — to a base in Iraq as commanders search for new tools to counter the Iraqi resistance, The Associated Press has learned. An AP reporter saw the first of the turboprop-driven aircraft after it landed at the airfield this week. Four are expected. The Iraq-based special forces command controlling the AC-130s, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, said it would have no comment on the deployment. But the plan’s general outline was confirmed by other Air Force officers, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the subject. (The Associate Press, March 3, 2006). Full story=>

Ten against Patriot Act reauthorization

When Senator Russ Feingold opposed the original version of the Patriot Act in 2001, the Wisconsin Democrat was alone in his defense of the Constitution. This year, as Feingold led the frustrating fight to block reauthorization of the Patriot Act in a form that continues to threaten basic liberties, he left no doubt that he was entirely willing to stand alone once more. (By John Nichols, The Online Beat, in TheNation.com, March 3, 2006). Full story=>

I love America. I love every concept the Statue of Liberty stands for – that individual liberty is held above the objectives of government; that, as Washington and Jefferson said, America imparts good will toward all and threatens no one; that this country is so big-hearted and prosperous it can welcome people from all over the world fleeing oppression or poverty. (By Harry Browne, in AntiWar.com, March 3, 2006). Full article=>

Your family dog or cat may have it. So may your library books. You may be paying highway tolls with it, using it to get into your office building or to unlock your car. It's RFID: radio frequency identification. Though it has been around for decades, the technology is touching our lives now more than ever. (By Michele M. Melendez, in Newhouse 1 online, March 3, 2006). Full article=>

The top US commander in Iraq said he does not intend to end the military's practice of paying to place favorable stories in the Iraqi press. General George Casey said an investigation found that the military had acted "within our authorities and responsibilities" in planting paid-for stories in the press through a contractor. (By AFP, March 3, 2006). Full article=>

How the economic news is spun

Readers ask me to reconcile the jobs and debt data that I report to them with the positive economic outlook and good news that comes to them from regular news sources. Some readers are being snide, but most are sincere. I am pleased to provide the explanation. First, let me give my reassurances that the numbers I report to you come straight from official US government statistics. I do not massage the numbers or rework them in any way. I cannot assure you that the numbers are perfectly reported to, and collected by, the government, but they are the only numbers we have. (By Paul Craig Roberts, in CounterPunch.com, March 2, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. Army quietly placed an order for $38 million in depleted uranium rounds last week, bringing the total order from a West-Virginia based company to $77 million for fiscal year 2006, RAW STORY has learned. The munition is highly controversial. While the Pentagon has been ambiguous about its health toll, leftover rounds from the first Gulf War are believed to have caused a significant increase in cancer and birth defects in Iraq. (By John Byrne, The Raw Story online, March 2, 2006). Full article =>

The US Defense Department is funding research into neural implants with the ultimate hope of turning sharks into "stealth spies" capable of gliding undetected through the ocean, the British weekly New Scientist says. The research builds on experimental work to control animals by implanting tiny electrodes in their brain, which are then stimulated to induce a behavioral response. "The Pentagon hopes to exploit sharks' natural ability to glide quietly through the water, sense delicate electrical gradients and follow chemical trails," says the report, carried in next Saturday's New Scientist. "By remotely guiding the sharks' movements they hope to transform the animals into stealth spies, perhaps capable of following vessels without being spotted." (In Aljazeera.net, March 1, 2006). Full article=>

You may recall that not long ago I wrote about Kellogg using new genetically modified soybean oil in some of their snack products to get rid of trans fats. No wonder companies are frantically searching for alternatives, considering the FDA's edict that processed food products must list the amount of trans fats they contain. And supply isn't keeping up with the demand, not unlike the unsafe trend seen with Splenda. Why these so-called healthier vegetable oils are a disastrous choice for most people: They can contain as much as 100 times the level of harmful omega-6 fats, far in excess of the average American's intake of more beneficial omega-3 fats. (By Dr. Joseph Marcola, Marcola.com). Full article=>

The United Arab Emirates intends to operate U.S. military factories. The Bush administration has informed Congress of a review of the UAE acquisition of a British manufacturer of engine components for U.S. military aircraft and main battle tanks. The British firm operates nine factories, including military production facilities in Connecticut and Georgia. (Special to the WorldTribune.com, March 3, 2006). Full article=>

A new study shows a direct relationship between mercury in children's vaccines and autism, contradicting government claims there is no proven relationship between the two. Published in the March 10 issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, the data show since mercury was removed from childhood vaccines, the increase in reported rates of autism and other neurological disorders in children not only stopped, but actually dropped sharply – by as much as 35 percent. (In WorldNetDaily.com, March 3, 2006). Full article=>

What does Dubai Ports World have in common with CSX, Treasury Secretary John Snow, and the Bush Family? The Carlyle Group is the answer currently gaining ground on the Internet. What once seemed the propaganda ramblings of none other than "Fahrenheit 911's" Michael Moore may end up becoming the subject of the Senate's upcoming investigation into what Washington insiders are beginning to call the "Dubai Debacle." As reported in the Guardian as early as 2001, Bush '41 and '43 have been connected to the Carlyle Group in various ways resulting in substantial compensation to the Bush family from Carlyle Group investments. (By Jerome Corsi, WorldNetDaily.com, March 3, 2006). Full article=>

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is back in the news, offered as an explanation for the sectarian violence in Iraq. First, we have the recent capture of one Farouq al-Suri, “a senior aide to al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,” according to Iraqi “state television,” or rather Pentagon television. Suri is Arabic for Syria. It makes perfect sense a captured al-Zarqawi “senior aide” would have such a name because, of course, all “foreign terrorists” hail from Syria and other nations on the Straussian neocon “evil empire” roster. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire online, March 3, 2006). Full article=>

Bush administration lawyers, fighting a claim of torture by a Guantanamo Bay detainee, yesterday argued that the new law that bans cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees in U.S. custody does not apply to people held at the military prison. In federal court yesterday and in legal filings, Justice Department lawyers contended that a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, cannot use legislation drafted by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to challenge treatment that the detainee's lawyers described as "systematic torture." (By Josh White and Carol D. Leonnig, The Washington Post, March 3, 2006). Full article=>

In a letter dated Thursday, March 2, 2006 to U.S. Representative Pete Hoekstra, Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Ray McGovern, who had served for 27 years as an analyst with the CIA before retiring from that position, writes: “Dear Congressman Hoekstra: As a matter of conscience, I am returning the Intelligence Commendation Award medallion given me for ‘especially commendable service’ during my 27-year career in CIA. The issue is torture, which inhabits the same category as rape and slavery - intrinsically evil. I do not wish to be associated, however remotely, with an agency engaged in torture.” (In TruthOut.com, March 2, 2006). Full article, including text of letter=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Here is the note from TruthOut’s editor that precedes the text of Mr. McGovern’s letter:

Editor's Note: Ray McGovern and 15 others took action today in the halls of Congress. The 16 donned orange jumpsuits similar to those worn by detainees at Guantánamo Bay. They wore gags over their mouths decorated with one word - torture. Not another word needed to be said as they walked the halls of Congress. McGovern, a 27-year veteran of the CIA, also returned his Intelligence Commendation Award medallion which was given to him for "especially commendable service." He delivered the medal to Congressman Pete Hoekstra along with the letter below. --smg/TO

US military officers, breaking with domestic and international legal precedent, said that "war on terror" military tribunals at the Guantanamo naval base could allow evidence obtained through torture. The US military officer presiding over the trial of an alleged aide to Osama bin Laden said he was not ready to rule out such evidence. (AFP, March 2, 2006). Full article=>

Congress is headed toward approving a plan that would require employers to check every worker's Social Security number or immigration work permit against a new federal computer database. Critics see the move - aimed at stemming illegal immigration - as the beginning of a government information stockpile that could be used to track U.S. residents. "We're getting closer and closer to a national ID card," says Tim Sparapani, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. (By Kathy Kiely, USA Today, March 2, 2006). Full article=>

How do you feel about a nuclear weapon that could be launched from the back of a jeep? This streaming video discusses the slightly bizarre idea of 'user-friendly' nuclear weapons. On the whole score of proliferation we're always hearing plenty about the dangers posed by the Irans and North Koreas of this world but, as we're about to see, while all that has been going on the US itself has been quietly beavering away on a program aimed at completely upgrading its nuclear arsenal, including the development of tactical weapons - mini-nukes that could be used on the battlefield. Here is Thom Cookes report, which was first broadcast over SBS (Australia) on March 2, 2006. (Presented at InformationClearingHouse.info) Web page with video display=>

LC Editor’s Comment: This is a powerful, revealing and timely video. Don’t miss this one, especially if you believe that suitcase nukes exist only in the minds of science fiction writers.

A group of scientific advisers to the Environmental Protection Agency voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a recommendation that a chemical used in the manufacture of Teflon and other nonstick and stain-resistant products should be considered a likely carcinogen. The approval of the EPA's Science Advisory Board is conditioned on minor clarifications being made to a draft report submitted by a review panel, but no major changes will be made to the panel's findings. (By Randall Chase, The Associated Press, February 16, 2006). Full article=>

The Senate on Thursday gave its blessing to the renewal of the USA Patriot Act after adding new privacy protections designed to strike a better balance between civil liberties and the government's power to root out terrorists. (By Laurie Kellman, The Associated Press, March 2, 2006). Full article=>

Republicans in the Senate face a difficult but necessary vote in coming weeks to allow the Treasury to pad the $8.2 trillion national debt by another $781 billion. The need to increase the legal limit on the debt has Democrats eager to use the debate to blast President Bush and his GOP allies in Congress for their fiscal stewardship. "During this administration, America's debt, that is, the total of the deficits has increased by $3 trillion," said Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, top Democrat on the Finance Committee. "That's a 40 percent increase in the entire federal debt accrued by our country in its entire history." (By Andrew Taylor, The associated Press, March 2, 2006). Full article=>

Two highly classified intelligence reports delivered directly to President Bush before the Iraq war cast doubt on key public assertions made by the president, Vice President Cheney, and other administration officials as justifications for invading Iraq and toppling Saddam Hussein, according to records and knowledgeable sources. (By Murray Wass, National Journal, March 2, 2006). Full article=>

Human rights abuses in Iraq are worse than they were under Saddam Hussein, John Pace, the UN’s outgoing human rights chief in Iraq said Thursday. Pace, who left his post last month, said that there is an increase in the level of extra-judicial executions and torture in Iraq. "Under Saddam, if you agreed to forgo your basic right to freedom of expression and thought, you were physically more or less OK," Pace said in an interview with The Associated Press. "But now, no. Here, you have a primitive, chaotic situation where anybody can do anything they want to anyone." (In Aljazeera.com, March 2, 2006). Full article=>

Parsippany students confront issues of terrorism and war. President Bush is being tried for "crimes against civilian populations" and "inhumane treatment of prisoners" at Parsippany High School, with students arguing both sides before a five-teacher "international court of justice." The panel's verdict could come as soon as Friday. (By Bob Jennings, in the DailyRecord.com, March 2, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor comment: “Parsippany students confront issues of terrorism and war.” What an inside-out, upside down nation we live in now! --- The kids end up by doing what the adults, including the “adults” in Congress, are either too disinterested in or too frightened to do themselves.

The truth is that the feds can control either the quantity of the nation’s money or the quality of it. At the heart of the world’s next – and probably greatest – financial crisis is the sad fact that they cannot do both at the same time. Alas, there is always some catch...some restraint...some skunk in the woodpile. (By Bill Bonner, in LewRockwell.com, March 2, 2006).

Treasury union members gathered outside the Internal Revenue Service building on Wednesday to protest a controversial measure to privatize some tax debt collection. (By Jenny Mandel, in GovExec.com, March 1, 2006). Full story=>

John Negroponte, Henry Kissinger understudy and death squad ambassador to Honduras, has admitted the Straussian neocon and Jabotinsky Likudite plan to break “all Arab states into smaller units” is on schedule (a plan going back at least to Moshe Sharett, the second Israeli PM, according to Livia Rokach, daughter of Israel Rokach, Minister of the Interior in the Sharett government), thus implementing “balkanization and vassalization,” as Rokach described it in her book, Israel’s Sacred Terrorism and detailed in Oded Yinon’s A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire online, March 1, 2006). Full article=>

In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, put lives at risk in New Orleans' Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage. (By Margaret Ebrahim and John Solomon, The Associated Press, March 1, 2006). Full article plus streaming video=>

A group of legal specialists told a Senate committee that President George W. Bush's domestic spying program is illegal and may set a precedent that allows wartime presidents to break laws freely in the name of national security. (By Charlie Savage, The Boston Globe, March 1, 2006). Full article=>

Americans seem to have forgotten why the Founding Fathers prohibited government from spying on them. Public opinion polls show that a rising percentage of Americans approve of the warrantless National Security Agency wiretaps of Americans that Bush ordered. But such blind faith in government simply ignores the lessons of U.S. history. When the feds have unleashed themselves in the past, many innocent Americans’ lives were devastated. (By James Bovard, in Commentaries, The Future Freedom Foundation online, February 27, 2006). Full article=>

10-Year US strategic plan for detention camps revives proposals from Oliver North

A 1,500-member Iraqi police force with close ties to Shiite militia groups has emerged as a focus of investigations into suspected death squads working within the country's Interior Ministry. Iraq's national highway patrol was established largely to stave off insurgent attacks on roadways. But U.S. military officials, interviewed over the last several days, say they suspect the patrol of being deeply involved in illegal detentions, torture and extrajudicial killings. The officials said that in recent months the U.S. has withdrawn financial and advisory support from the patrol in an effort to distance the American training effort from what they perceived to be a renegade force. (By Solomon Moore, in the LA Times online, February 21. 2006). Full story=>

The Salvador Option: Special Forces may train assassins, kidnappers in Iraq

Two federal judges in Florida have upheld the authority of individual courts to use the Patriot Act to order searches anywhere in the country for e-mails and computer data in all types of criminal investigations, overruling a magistrate who found that Congress limited such expanded jurisdiction to cases involving terrorism. (By Josh Gerstein, The New York Sun online, March 1, 2006). Full article=>

President George W. Bush, hit by polls showing America's support for the Iraq war at an all-time low, denied on Tuesday Iraq was sliding into civil war, despite the worst sectarian strife since a U.S. invasion. (Reuters, March 1, 2006). Full article=>

The Associated Press is reporting that civil war looms in Iraq as bombings tear across the country. Is this disaster really a result of a failed foreign policy or is it a deliberate plan to initiate a policy of ethnic cleansing that will finally allow the Globalists to capture and dominate Iraq as they never could before? (By Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, March 1, 2006). Full article=>

Bush administration and US army preparations to target American citizens and intern them in forced labor camps has vastly accelerated in the past month and commentators from all over the political spectrum are sounding the alarm bells that the round-ups may begin soon. Once the bane of the media's stereotypical 'tin foil hat wearing' caricatures, concentration camps in America are now serious news and no one is laughing. (By Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones, in PrisonPlanet.com, March 1, 2006). Full article=>

The Senate on Wednesday swatted aside a prolonged filibuster against the renewal of USA Patriot Act and agreed to add new curbs on the government's power to pry into private records under President Bush's antiterror law. But even as the new limits progressed on a 95-4 vote, some Democrats complained that restrictions would be virtually meaningless in practice and sought to add even stronger privacy protections. (By Laurie Kellman, The Associated Press. March 1, 2006). Full article=>

“It is outrageous that, for all intents and purposes, the FDA allowed a clinical trial to proceed, which makes every citizen in the United States a potential 'guinea pig,' without providing a practical, informative warning to the public." The above statement of outrage was included in a February 24 letter to acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, from Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). Senator Grassley has been keeping a close eye on the performance of the FDA in recent years. (By Evelyn Pringle, Online Journal, March 1, 2006). Full article=>

Senators from both parties on Tuesday challenged a Bush administration plan to sell more than 300,000 acres of national forest to help pay for rural schools in 41 states. Lawmakers said the short-term gains would be offset by the permanent loss of public lands. They also said profits from the proposed sales would fall far short of what's needed to help rural governments pay for schools and other basic services. (By Matthew Daly, The Associated Press, March 1, 2006). Full article=>

LC Editor comment: As in the pending Dubai ports’ deal, the Bush administration is proposing to sell off more of the United States’ infrastructure and resources to the highest bidder.

Lou Dobbs claims Dubai Ports World is trying to shut him up

On Monday’s installment of “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” Dobbs claimed that officials from Dubai Ports World, the company in the middle of the current port controversy, are putting pressure on CNN to silence him and CNN’s coverage of this issue (video link to follow): (By Noel Sheppard, in NewsBusters, February 28, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. State Department is winding down its $20 billion reconstruction program in Iraq and the only new rebuilding money in its latest budget request is for prisons, officials said on Tuesday. State Department Iraq coordinator James Jeffrey told reporters he was asking Congress for $100 million for prisons but no other big building projects were in the pipeline for the department's 2006 supplemental and 2007 budget requests for Iraq, which total just over $4 billion. (By Sue Pleming, Reuters, February 28, 2006). Full article=>

At least tens of thousands of veterans with non-critical medical issues could suffer delayed care or even be denied care in coming years to enable President Bush to meet his promise of cutting the deficit in half -- if the White House is serious about its proposed budget. After an increase for next year, the Bush budget would turn current trends on their head. Even though the cost of providing medical care to veterans has been growing by leaps and bounds, White House budget documents assume a cutback in 2008 and further cuts thereafter. (By Andrew Taylor, The Associated Press, February 28, 2006). Full article=>

The hubub was horrible. And somehow, also surprisingly unHardyvillian. "We gotta keep out those people!" "Yeah. Their kind don't understand our traditions of freedom. They got no business comin' here and ruinin' it for the rest of us." "They want all our benefits without paying the price." "Close the borders!" (By Claire Wolfe, in Backwood Home Magazine online). Full article=>

In wars of America's century just past, we have sent our soldiers to far-off fields of battle and were left to wonder about their opinions of the life-and-death conflicts in which they were involved. Letters home, and more recently telephone calls and emails, would give us a peek into their states of mind. Some who returned would regale friends and family with tales from the front lines. Times have now changed. (By John Zogby, in YahooNews.com, February 28, 2006). Full story=>

Sweetheart deals and government links swept under the rug. The mainstream media treadmill has re-employed its familiar tactic of moving attention away from the cornerstone smoking guns that make the port story important and those that would implicate former administration officials and the White House itself in criminal activities. (By Alex Jones and Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, February 28, 2006). Full story=>

The average American family has taken a financial tumble and millions in the country go hungry despite President George W. Bush's sunny assessment of the U.S. economy, say federal data and economists. (By Abid Aslam, in OneWorld US online, February 28, 2006). Full story=>

The United States that Iran has a one-week “opportunity” before the March 5 meeting of UN nuclear watchdog agency to ease fears that it seeks atomic weapons. (In AFP, February 28, 3006). Full story=>

If you're waiting for the Iranian oil bourse (IOB) – the proposed euro-based petroleum futures exchange in Tehran – to overthrow the global dollar-based economy, don't hold your breath. Establishing a futures-trading mechanism to compete with the powerhouses of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) for the oil trade is as probable as U.S. energy independence in our lifetime. (By Ann Berg, in AntiWar.com, February 28, 2006). Full story=>

The House of Representatives will vote this week on a controversial "national food uniformity" labeling law that will take away local government and states' power to require food safety food labels such as those required in California and other states on foods or beverages that are likely to cause cancer, birth defects, allergic reactions, or mercury poisoning. This bill would also prevent citizens in local municipalities and states from passing laws requiring that genetically engineered foods and ingredients such as Monsanto's recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) be labeled. (Organic Consumers Association, February 28, 2006). Full story=>

Thanks to a heads-up from Larisa at The Raw Story, we were able to captured this broadcast of CNBC's Tim Russert show. Russert interviewed James Risen and Robert O'Harrow, Jr. The video contains about 24 minutes of clips from CNBC's Saturday broadcast. (Blogged by David Edwards in Bradblog.com, February 27, 2006). Full story=>

The Bush-Cheney Pentagon is reportedly putting finishing touches on a plan to preemptively nuke Iran for insisting on its inalienable right – guaranteed by (a) the Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, (b) the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and (c) their Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA – to enjoy the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. (By Gordon Prather, in AntiWar.com, February 27, 2006). Full story=>

According to a soon to be released book written by Bill Sammon, Senior White House Correspondent for the Washington Examiner, Bush attributes his 2004 victory over John Kerry in part to a Osama bin Laden videotape released on the eve of the election. “I thought it was going to help,” Bush decided. “I thought it would help remind people that if bin Laden doesn’t want Bush to be the president, something must be right with Bush.” (By Paul Watson, in PrisonPlanet.com, February 28, 2006). Full story=>

Vice President Dick Cheney might retire within a year, shortly after the mid-term elections, according to senior Republican sources who spoke to Insight magazine. The sources said they envision Cheney being persuaded to step down as he becomes an increasing liability to President Bush. (WorldNetDaily, February 27, 2007). Full story

Many years ago, before I came to my senses and left public education for good, I was teaching on a college campus when one of the administrators approached me and asked the topic of my lecture that day. "Tom Paine and the Rights of Man," I told him. The administrator sneered, managed a look of utter contempt, and asked, "Do you mean to tell me that you are still defiling the minds of our students with the lightweight works of that filthy little atheist?" Thinking of Rousseau's comment that the Holy Roman Empire was an appropriate title except that it was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire, I responded, "Your description of Paine is correct except that he was not lightweight, little, filthy, nor an atheist." (By Robert L. Williams, in Backwoods Home Magazine online). Full story=>

Iran said yesterday that it had struck an agreement with Russia on its nuclear programme but Moscow insisted the fundamental dispute over Tehran's nuclear plans had yet to be resolved. Western diplomats also argued that any Russian-Iranian deal was probably a technical one and had still failed to resolve the basic issue of whether Iran would desist from all controversial nuclear activities, as international agencies demand. (By Daniel Dombey, Negar Roshanzamir, and Arkady Ostrovsky), The Financial Times online {U.K.}, February 27, 2006). Full article=>

Six months after Hurricane Katrina laid waste to the Gulf Coast, charities have disbursed more than $2 billion of the record sums they raised for the storm's victims, leaving less than $1 billion for the monumental task of helping hundreds of thousands of storm victims rebuild their lives, according to a survey by The Washington Post. (By Jacqueline L. Salmon and Leef Smith, The Washington Post, February 27, 2006). Full article=>

America is headed for a soft dictatorship by the end of Bush’s second term. Whether any American has civil rights will be decided by the discretionary power of federal officials. The public in general will tolerate the soft dictatorship as its discretionary powers will mainly be felt by those few who challenge it. The congressional elections this coming November are the last chance for for Americans to reaffirm the separation of powers that is the basis of their civil liberties. Unless the voters correct their mistake of putting both the executive and legislative branches in the hands of the same party and deliver the House or the Senate to the Democrats, there is nothing on the domestic scene to stand in the way of more power, and less accountability, being accumulated in the executive. (By Paul Craig Roberts, in LewRockwell.com, February 27, 2006). Full article=>

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency won't oppose the U.S. Department of Defense and DuPont Co.'s plan to dump a wastewater byproduct of a deadly nerve agent into the Delaware River. The agency said it's assured of a safe treatment for up to 4 million gallons of caustic wastewater created in the treatment for VX, a chemical weapon with a pinhead-size potency to kill a human. (By Harry Yadshak, in PhillyBurbs.com, February 16, 2006). Full article=>

Hundreds of Iraqis are being tortured to death or summarily executed each month by death squads attached to the Interior Ministry in Baghdad, the UN's former human rights chief in Iraq has told The Independent on Sunday. (By Raymond Whittaker, The Independent {U.K.}online, February 26, 2006). Full story=>

Venezuela could easily sell oil to markets other than the United States and is prepared to end exports to its No. 1 buyer if needed, the oil minister said in comments published Sunday. President Hugo Chavez's government has recently stepped up threats to cut off oil exports to the United States and sell Venezuelan-owned refineries there amid rising tensions with President George W. Bush's administration. (The Associated Press, in MyWay.com. February 26, 2006). Full article=>

Carrying a prescription that he couldn't read and trying to get it filled at a local CVS store, Bonita Springs resident Sean Balke said he looks forward to the day when medical records will be online. "I don't get that many prescriptions, but this one is for back pain," said Balke, 32. "I can't read it." Starting on April 1, the first step toward having all medical records accessible online will begin in Florida. (By Michelle S. Start, NewsPress.com, February 26, 2006). Full article=>

Lucrative opportunities taken away on a political whim; the danger of being locked up by an over-mighty government agency; the brick wall of protectionism - the business community expects to do battle with all these things in an emerging market. Yet this suddenly seems to be a description of doing business in that most developed of all markets, the United States of America. (By Stephen Foley, in The Independent {U.K}Online Edition, February 26, 2006). Full article=>

The American prison camp at Guantanamo Bay is on the southeast corner of Cuba, a sliver of land the United States has occupied since 1903. Long ago, it was irrigated from lakes on the other side of the island, but Cuban President Fidel Castro cut off the water supply years ago. So today, Guantanamo produces its own water from a 30-year-old desalination plant. The water has a distinct yellow tint. All Americans drink bottled water imported by the planeload. Until recently, prisoners drank the yellow water. The prison overlooks the sea, but the ocean cannot be seen by prisoners. Guard towers and stadium lights loom along the perimeter. On my last visit, we were escorted by young, solemn military guards whose nameplates on their shirts were taped over so that prisoners could not identify them. (By Thomas Wilner, in the Los Angeles Times, February 26, 2006). Full article=>

Two alleged al Qaeda bomb makers make their first appearances before a U.S. military tribunal at the Guantanamo navy base this week, as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to decide whether the tribunals are legitimate. A Yemeni said to have been a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden is also scheduled to appear in hearings that begin on Wednesday at the remote and controversial U.S. base in southeast Cuba. The trio are among only 10 prisoners charged with crimes at the camp, which holds nearly 500 foreign captives and which UN human rights investigators have urged Washington to shut. (By Jane Sutton, Reuters News Service, February 26, 2006). Full article=>

It may not have been as serious as Vice President Dick Cheney shooting a friend in the face, but new details that have emerged about President George W. Bush's bicycle accident in Scotland last July show that he, too, might have caused serious damage. (Editor & Publisher, February 26, 2006). Full article=>

Concerns by Google Inc. that a Bush administration demand to examine millions of its users' Internet search requests would violate privacy rights are unwarranted, the Justice Department said in a court filing. The 18-page brief filed Friday argues that because the information provided would not identify or be traceable to specific users, privacy rights would not be violated. (The Associated Press, February 25, 2006). Full story=>

The Ghanaian media is reporting that the Pentagon is seriously considering the establishment of a military base in Ghana. The base would be used to guard U.S. access to its expanding imports of West African oil..Insight newspaper report that the Head of the U.S. European Command, Gen. James L. Jones, in acknowledging the Pentagon’s interest, said that the U. s. Department of Defense was interested in possibly establishing bases in a numb of African countries, including Ghana, Senegal, Mali and Kenya. (United Press International, February 24, 2006). Full article=>

For more than three years, I've been reporting on what has been increasingly, but fragmentarily, revealed about secret CIA prisons around the world. On September 17, 2001, the president, in a classified order, gave the CIA these "special powers" (as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales agreed during his confirmation hearings). These "black sites"—as they are called in CIA, White House, and Justice Department files— escaped attempted congressional oversight until December 2005. But in the National Defense Authorization Act, the Senate finally called for regular reports on where those prisons are, what plans there are for the ultimate release of their prisoners, and "a description of the interrogation procedures used." Ted Kennedy and John Kerry introduced the resolution. (By Nat Hentoff, The Village Voice, February 24, 2006). Full story=>

"Call it Big Brother on steroids," say privacy advocates Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre, co-authors of "Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is looking for beefed up RFID technology that can read government-issued documents from up to 25 feet away, pinpoint pedestrians on street corners, and glean the identity of people whizzing by in cars at 55 miles per hour. (Press Release, SpyChips.com, February 21, 2006). Full article=>

Not that George W. Bush needs much encouragement, but Sen. Lindsey Graham suggested to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a new target for the administration’s domestic operations – Fifth Columnists, supposedly disloyal Americans who sympathize and collaborate with the enemy. (By Nat Perry, ConsortiumNews.com, February 21, 2006). Full story=>

"We need more laws," Nat announced. He stormed in from the feed side of the Hog Trough Grill and Feed, plunked a bag of horse needles and penicillin on the big round table and plunked himself angrily onto a chair. The rest of us stared at him in silence over our grits and gravy. (By Claire Wolfe, in The Backwoods Home Magazine online). Full article=?

Iran's nuclear chief said Sunday that Moscow and Tehran had agreed in principle to set up a joint uranium enrichment venture, Russian news reports said. Gholamreza Aghazadeh, who heads Iran's Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the two nations had agreed in principle on Moscow's proposal to enrich Iranian uranium in Russia, the ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies reported. Previous talks on the Moscow offer, backed by the United States and the European Union, brought no visible breakthrough. (The Associated Press, February 26, 2006). Full story=>

Of all the panicky ways that people worldwide have sought protection from bird flu, perhaps the most striking took root among Egyptians last week. Via e-mail and through advice dispensed on crowded city streets, word went out: Don't drink the water. Farmers, including the rooftop poultry breeders that are a Cairo fixture, had begun to dump stricken, dead chickens into the Nile River, the source of drinking water for millions of Egyptians, newspapers and satellite television reported. Taps were suddenly turned off and people rushed to stores to buy bottled water. (By Daniel Williams, The Washington Post, February 26, 2006). Full story=>

LC Editor comment: See also Water for Profit below under Special Topics.

While an international debate rages over the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the military has quietly expanded another, less-visible prison in Afghanistan, where it now holds some 500 terrorism suspects in more primitive conditions, indefinitely and without charges. (By Tim Golden and Eric Schmitt, in the StarTribune.com, February 25, 2006). Full story=>

A small group of National Security Agency officials slipped into Silicon Valley on one of the agency's periodic technology shopping expeditions this month. On the wish list, according to several venture capitalists who met with the officials, were an array of technologies that underlie the fierce debate over the Bush administration's anti-terrorist eavesdropping program: computerized systems that reveal connections between seemingly innocuous and unrelated pieces of information. (By John Markoff, The New York Times, February 25, 2006). Full story=>

When Uncle Sam comes marching in

About 5,500 US soldiers are coming to the Philippines this month, the latest and reportedly the largest batch in the continuing and uninterrupted deployment of US troops to the country since the "global war on terror" was launched after September 11, 2001.

About 250 of them will join an undetermined number of US troops already in Sulu, an island in the southern Philippines where the
Abu Sayyaf group supposedly fled after being driven out of neighboring Basilan island, where US troops were also previously deployed. If official pronouncements are to be believed, US troops are coming only to train Filipino soldiers, give away medicine, build schools and even give veterinary services. (By Herbert Docena, Asia Times Online, February 25, 2006). Full story=>

LC Editor comment: Reporter Docena closes his story with this comment: “ A hundred years ago, the Americans also said they had only come to help.”

News related to the Vatican Bank Scandal... torturing children in Guantanamo... Language politics in the US... a sick Medicare program due to big Pharma (Bob Chapman, TheInternationalForecaster.com, February 25, 2006). Full article=>

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Friday he is worried the Gulf Coast may not be ready to withstand another major storm as it struggles to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Less than 100 days before the start of the next hurricane season on June 1, Chertoff said his department is working now with state and local officials to develop plans for evacuations and other emergency response priorities. (By Lara Jakes Jordan, The Associated :Press, February 24, 2006). Full story=>

Emergency officials may order more evacuations this hurricane season — even for tropical storms — because so many people are living in vulnerable mobile homes and travel trailers. Col. Jeff Smith, deputy secretary of the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said the state faces two big hurdles going into hurricane season: Whether the levee systems will be upgraded in time and the fact that so many people are living in mobile homes and travel trailers in coastal areas. That combination means “we may have to call for more evacuations, even with a tropical storm,” Smith said Thursday. (By Mike Dunne, in 2TheAdvocate.com, February 24. 2006). Full story=>

White House asks to call up troops for disaster aid

The federal government should be able to deploy troops to deal with major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and, in "extraordinary circumstances," should take over the entire operation from states and localities, the White House said yesterday.
In a 217-page report released yesterday by White House homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend, the federal government proposed 125 recommendations in 17 categories to fix widespread gaps revealed by the flawed response to one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. (By Joseph Curl, the Washington Times, February 24, 2006). Full story=>

Dubai Ports World is scheduled to take over operations at 22 U.S. ports, not six as previously reported by most major media. According to the website of P&O Ports, the port-operations subsidiary of the London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. (P&O), DPW will pick up stevedore services at 12 East Coast ports including Portland, Maine; Boston; Davisville, R.I.; New York; Newark; Philadelphia; Camden, N.J.; Wilmington, Del.; Baltimore, Md.; and Virginia locations at Newport News, Norfolk, and Portsmouth. (By Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D., WorldNetDaily.com, February 24, 2006). Full story=>

Why's a retired army lieutenant colonel on the "no-fly" list?

The federal officials who are busy assuring Americans that they've got their act together when it comes to managing port security are not inspiring much confidence with their approach to airline security. When Dr. Robert Johnson, a heart surgeon who did his active duty with the U.S. Army Reserve before being honorably discharged with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, arrived at the Syracuse airport near his home in upstate New York last month for a flight to Florida, he was told he could not travel. (By John Nichols, in the Online Beat blog, The Nation online, February 24, 2006). Full story=>

A controversial counter-terrorism program, which lawmakers halted more than two years ago amid outcries from privacy advocates, was stopped in name only and has quietly continued within the intelligence agency now fending off charges that it has violated the privacy of U.S. citizens. (By Shane, National Journal, February 23, 2006). Full story=>

In a place where a hard drive means the road home was icy and RAM is a boy sheep, you wouldn't expect to find a lot of experts in e-mail encryption. Well, you won't. Find experts, that is. In Hardyville. What you will find is a lot of ordinary, privacy-minded folk who took an hour or so to download, install, and learn to use e-mail encryption programs. These folks are NOT supergeeks. Just ordinary working people who understand it's worthwhile to keep their e-mails from being casually ECHELONed or Carnivored by other-peoples'-business minders. (By Claire Wolfe, in Backwoods Home Magazine online). Full article=>

Veggie chemical repairs DNA damage and prevents cancer

A chemical in vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, as well as another one found in soy, can increase DNA repair in cells. This could prevent them from becoming cancerous. Links have already been established between eating certain vegetables and a reduction in cancer risk. These findings suggest a mechanism for why that might be the case. (In Mercola.com, February 2006). Full story=>

Evidence that supports vitamin D's profound health benefits continues to mount: Unprotected sun exposure helps the body produce the vitamin D it needs to keep bones healthy and ward off cancers and other ailments. (In Mercola.com, February 2006). Full article=>

As we wait for this year’s influenza epidemic, keep in mind we are also waiting for the big one, the pandemic (pan: all, demic: people). A severe pandemic will kill many more Americans than died in the World Trade Centers, the Iraq war, the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina combined. Perhaps a million or two in the USA alone. Such a disaster would tear the fabric of our society. Our entire country would resemble New Orleans after Katrina. (By John Cannell, MD, Vitamin D Council, in The Vitamin D Newsletter dated November 1, 2005 and reproduced in Bill Sardi’s Blog in Knowledge of Health, October 31, 2005). Full article=>

LC Editor comment: Writes Sardi, “This is the best medical investigative work I’ve ever read, issued by John Cannell MD of the Vitamin D Council. The cure for flu epidemics right under the noses of all the bacteriologists and epidemiologists all along. Read every word…”

Water for Profit, CBC Radio's special series on the privatization of water, is done in collaboration with The Water Barons an international investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which is a project of the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity. Water, like air, is a necessity of human life. It is also, according to Fortune magazine, "One of the world's great business opportunities. It promises to be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th." In the past ten years, three giant global corporations have quietly assumed control over the water supplied to almost 300 million people in every continent of the world. A 12-month investigation by journalists in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America shows that the results range from questionable to disastrous. And it shows how well-meaning municipal governments in the U.S. and Canada can become vulnerable to the persuasive techniques of these high-powered corporate giants. (CBC News, February 2003). Full story with audio links=>

Friday, February 24, 2006

Adviser says White House set on ports deal

The Bush administration said Friday it won't reconsider its approval for a United Arab Emirates company to take over significant operations at six U.S. ports. The former head of the Sept. 11 commission said the deal "never should have happened." Opponents, including the agency that runs New York and New Jersey ports, took their case to court, while the company, Dubai Ports World, stepped up efforts to change the minds of congressional critics. (By Donna De La Cruz, The Associated Press, February 24, 2006). Full story=>

United Arab Emirates donated at least $1M to Bush Library

A sheik from the United Arab Emirates contributed at least $1 million to the Bush Library Foundation, which established the George Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University in College Station. The UAE owns Dubai Ports World, which is taking operations from London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., which operates six U.S. ports. (In Click2Houston.com, February 24, 2006). Full story=>

Homeland Security officers have created a bit of a stink after walking into a public library and telling computer users that in the interests of national security they were not allowed to visit porn sites. (By Mike Farrell, in TheInquirer.com, February 24, 2006). Full story=>

Iran has offered the International Atomic Energy Agency information on a secret uranium processing project that U.S. intelligence has linked to high explosives and warhead design, diplomats said Thursday. The diplomats told The Associated Press that a team of IAEA experts was heading to Tehran on the weekend to follow up on the offer to discuss the "Green Salt Project."… Diplomats familiar with the report said the IAEA was basing its concerns on several pages of U.S. intelligence that was recently declassified and shared with agency officials so that they could confront the Iranians with it. (By George Jahn, The Associated Press, February 24, 2006). Full story=>

LC Editor comment: Once again President Bush’s intelligence community is stirring the Let’s Bomb Iran soup for GW in this administration’s always-ready war pot. Please read nuclear weapons expert Gordon Prather’s article Smoking Laptop in the February 11 issue of AntiWar.com to get the facts and learn about the spin in this case.

America's largest companies expect the federal government to pay them about $4 billion over the next four years to help keep their retiree health plans alive at a time when such benefits are increasingly on the chopping block, according to a new study by Credit Suisse First Boston. The money is due to start flowing to employers this month as part of Medicare's new prescription drug benefit. When Congress authorized the Medicare drug benefit, it also agreed to start subsidizing the drug component of employers' retiree health plans, to keep them from shifting their retirees into the government program. (By Mary Williams Walsh, February 24, 2006). Full story=>

A federal judge ordered the Pentagon on Thursday to release the identities of hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to The Associated Press, a move which would force the government to break its secrecy and reveal the most comprehensive list yet of those who have been imprisoned there. (Associated Press, February 23, 2006). Full story=>

Memos detail 74 CIA landings in Canada

CIA planes have landed in Canada 74 times since the 9/11 terror attacks, underscoring fears that the United States is ferrying suspected terrorists through its neighboring country en route to foreign prisons for torture, according to newly declassified government documents. (By Beth Duff-Brown, The Associated Press, February 23, 2006). Full story=>

Foreign firms are buying U.S. companies at the fastest clip in five years, creating concerns on Capitol Hill. Once again, foreigners are heeding the call to "Buy American." Acquisitions of U.S. companies by foreign firms rose 27 percent in value last year, according to FactSet MergerStat LLC, a financial-publishing firm. Government statistics that track so-called foreign direct investment also suggest this trend. In 2004, acquisitions in the U.S. financial-services industry, as well as the banking and manufacturing sectors, boosted the value of foreign purchases 31 percent to $72.5 billion, the third annual increase in a row. (By Tim Reason, CFO Magazine, February 1, 2006). Full story=>

Thursday, February 23, 2006

It is a stated goal of the Bilderberg Group, the Trilateral Commission and the CFR to promote what they call 'interdependence' and to lobby governments to sell off key infrastructure such as roads, lakes, ports, and highways to international corporations so that corporations can grow to be bigger in size than government. 44 of the world's 100 biggest economies are not countries, they are corporations. There is no vote, there is no access to shareholder or CEO records. These corporations take over governmental functions by paying off politicians to hand over assets and then declare there to be no means of oversight of their activities. (By Alex Jones and Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, February 23, 2006). Full story=>

The Bush administration secretly required a company in the United Arab Emirates to cooperate with future U.S. investigations before approving its takeover of operations at six American ports, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. It chose not to impose other, routine restrictions. As part of the $6.8 billion purchase, state-owned Dubai Ports World agreed to reveal records on demand about "foreign operational direction" of its business at U.S. ports, the documents said. Those records broadly include details about the design, maintenance or operation of ports and equipment. (By Ted Bridis, The Associate Press, February 23, 2006). Full story=>

LC Editor Comment: Could this be the White House’s “cover story” for the real deal? A sell-out that constitutes part of the globalists’ gradual dismantling of America, as described above by Jones and Watson? And what about the recent news stories expressing the concerns of some governors and members of Congress that having an Arab-owned company operating U.S. ports would constitute a security threat? Could those stories have been launched by the White House to serve as a distraction, a way of keeping the American people from noticing what is really happening?

Few Americans are aware of the volume of cargo that is shipped from ports located along the U.S. Gulf Coast from Brownsville, Texas, to Cape Sable, Florida. Some of these ports serve as major Department of Defense transportation nodes for overseas deployment of Army cargo. Two of these nodes are strategic ports located in Texas--the Port of Beaumont and the Port of Corpus Christi. (Designation as a strategic port means that the port management will give priority to military cargo during a contingency.) Almost 40 percent of the Army cargo deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom flows through these two ports. (In Army Logistician, July-August 2004). Full story=>

The Dubai firm that won Bush administration backing to run six U.S. ports has at least two ties to the White House. One is Treasury Secretary John Snow, whose agency heads the federal panel that signed off on the $6.8 billion sale of an English company to government-owned Dubai Ports World - giving it control of Manhattan's cruise ship terminal and Newark's container port. Snow was chairman of the CSX rail firm that sold its own international port operations to DP World for $1.15 billion in 2004, the year after Snow left for President Bush's cabinet. The other connection is David Sanborn, who runs DP World's European and Latin American operations and was tapped by Bush last month to head the U.S. Maritime Administration. (By Michael McAuliff, The New York News, February 21, 2006). Full story=>

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

President Bush was unaware of the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates until the deal already had been approved by his administration, the White House said Wednesday. (By Ted Bridis, The Associated Press, February 22, 2006). Full story!

UAE would also control shipments of military equipment for the US Army

There is bipartisan concern about the Bush administration’s decision to outsource the operation of six of the nation’s largest ports to a company controlled by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) because of that nation’s troubling ties to international terrorism. The sale of P&O to Dubai World Ports would give the state-owned company control of “the ports of New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.” A major part of the story, however, has been mostly overlooked. The company, Dubai Ports World, would also control the movement of military equipment on behalf of the U.S. Army through two other ports. (In ThinkProgress.org, February 22, 2006). Full story=>

A written report from Secret Service agents guarding Vice President Dick Cheney when he shot Texas lawyer Harry Whittington on a hunting outing two weeks ago says Cheney was "clearly inebriated" at the time of the shooting. (Doug Thompson, Capital Hill Blue, February 22, 2006). Full story=>

In Iraq, things are going swimmingly for the Straussian neocons. “A large explosion heavily damaged the golden dome of one of Iraq’s most famous Shiite shrines Wednesday, spawning mass protests and triggering reprisal attacks against Sunni mosques,” reports the Associated Press. “It was the third major attack against Shiite targets this week and threatened to stoke sectarian tensions. (By Kurt Nimmo, Another Day in the Empire, February 22, 2006). Full story=>

George Bush is preparing to shut the Guantanamo Bay torture camp, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw hinted yesterday. He said U.S. chiefs want the “situation resolved” after mounting international criticism of the camp. “I am absolutely clear the U.S. has no intention of maintaining a gulag in Guantanamo Bay,” he said. (By Victoria Wood and John Perry, in The Mirror News online {U.K.}, February 22, 2006). Full story=>

Hunt for 'dirty' bombs is stepped up with new passenger scanners

Screening systems to stop terrorists from smuggling nuclear devices - such as atom or "dirty" bombs - into Britain are being installed at airports, ports and railway stations. Scotland Yard will also test people on the streets of London for nuclear weapons or radioactive material. (By Jason Bennetto, The Independent {U.K.}, February 22, 2006). Full story=>

The Preventive Psychiatry Newsletter has written to its subscribers telling them that the real reason the former Veterans Affairs Secretary, Anthony Principi, recently resigned was because he has been involved in a massive scandal covering up the fact that Gulf War Syndrome was caused by the use of depleted uranium, according to the SF Bay View. (FreeMarketNews.com, February 21, 2006). Full story=>

Neocon architect says: 'Pull it down'

Neoconservatism has failed the United States and needs to be replaced by a more realistic foreign policy agenda, according to one of its prime architects. Francis Fukuyama, who wrote the best-selling book The End of History and was a member of the neoconservative project, now says that, both as a political symbol and a body of thought, it has "evolved into something I can no longer support". He says it should be discarded on to history's pile of discredited ideologies. (By Alex Massie, in Scottsman.com News, February 21, 2006). Full story=>

The actors who star in movie The Road to Guantanamo were questioned by police at Luton airport under anti-terrorism legislation, it has emerged. The men, who play British inmates at the detention camp, were returning from the Berlin Film Festival where the movie won a Silver Bear award. (BBC News, February 21, 2006). Full story=>

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday that the Pentagon is reviewing its practice of paying to plant stories in the Iraqi news media, withdrawing his earlier claim that it had been stopped. Rumsfeld told reporters he was mistaken in the earlier assertion. (By Robert Burns, The Associated Press, February 21, 2006). Full story=>

Rest easy, America. As a response to the Sept. 11 attacks, the Princeton, N.J., Fire Department now owns Nautilus exercise equipment, free weights and a Bowflex machine. The police dogs of Columbus, Ohio, are protected by Kevlar vests, thank God. Mason County, Wash., is the proud owner of a half-dozen state-of-the-art emergency radios (never mind that they are incompatible with existing county radios). All of these crucial purchases -- and many more like them -- were paid for with homeland security grants. (By Veronique de Rugy, Nick Gillespie, San Francisco Chronicle, February 19, 2006). Full story=>

Overriding objections from Republicans and Democrats alike, President Bush endorsed the takeover of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports by a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates. He pledged to veto efforts in Congress to block the agreement. (By Ben Feller, The Associated Press, February 21, 2006). Full story>

Gholamali Haddad-Adel, "speaker" of Iran's parliament – in Cuba, last week – dismissed the possibility of a U.S. preemptive attack against Iran, finding it "impossible" to believe that the U.S. would want "to repeat the experience of Iraq." "We hope the United States is not so stupid," he said. Presumably, Haddad-Adel meant to say, "We hope that President Bush, his vice president, his secretary of state, and his ambassador to the United Nations are not so stupid." (By Gordon Prather, in AntiWar.com, February 21, 2006). Full story=>

Backlash at jailing of historian who denied Holocaust

David Irving, the far-right British historian, sat stunned and open-mouthed yesterday when an Austrian court found him guilty of denying the Holocaust and sentenced him to three years in jail. (By Roger Boyes, The Times Online {U.K.}, February 21,2006). Full story=>

Find illegal activity in the U.S. national security agency you work for. Report it to your superiors. Get rewarded by being demoted or having your security clearance revoked – tantamount to losing your career – while those whose conduct you've reported get promoted. (By William Fisher, in AntiWar.com, February 21, 2006). Full story=>

US reclassifies many documents in secret review

In a seven-year-old secret program at the National Archives, intelligence agencies have been removing from public access thousands of historical documents that were available for years, including some already published by the State Department and others photocopied years ago by private historians. (By Scott Shane, The New York Times, February 20, 2006). Full story=>

The US is "aware" of torture taking place in Iraqi prisons, according to the outgoing Maltese UN human rights chief in Iraq. "Yes, torture is happening now, mainly in illegal detention places. Such centres are mostly being run by militia that have been absorbed by the police force," says John Pace, who retired last week as human rights chief for the UN assistance mission in Iraq. (By Harry Grech, The Times of Malta, February 20, 2006). Full story=>

UK radiation jump blamed on Iraq shells

Radiation detectors in Britain recorded a fourfold increase in uranium levels in the atmosphere after the “shock and awe” bombing campaign against Iraq, according to a report. Environmental scientists who uncovered the figures through freedom of information laws say it is evidence that depleted uranium from the shells was carried by wind currents to Britain. (By Mark Gould and Jon Ungoed-Thomas, The Sunday Times – U.K., February 19, 2006.) Full story=>

Unable to get the federal government to pick up the state's costs of illegal immigration, the Senate Finance Committee voted Thursday for a little bit of self-help with a plan to take possession of what Arizona taxpayers are supposed to pay to Uncle Sam. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Dean Martin, R-Phoenix, sees the tax seizure as a "Boston Tea Party," Southwestern style. (By Howard Fisher, Capital Media Services, February 10, 2006). Full story=>

In The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11 (2004), I summarized dozens of facts and reports that cast doubt on the official story about 9/11. Then in The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions (2005a), I discussed the way these various facts and reports were treated by the 9/11 Commission, namely, by distorting or simply omitting them. I have also taken this big-picture approach, with its cumulative argument, in my previous essays and lectures on 9/11 (Griffin, 2005b and 2005d).[1] This approach, which shows every aspect of the official story to be problematic, provides the most effective challenge to the official story. (By Dr. David Ray Griffen, in GlobalResearch.ca, January 29, 2006). Full story=>

At two key moments in recent days, White House officials contacted congressional leaders just ahead of intelligence committee meetings that could have stirred demands for a deeper review of the administration's warrantless-surveillance program, according to House and Senate sources. In both cases, the administration was spared the outcome it most feared, and it won praise in some circles for showing more openness to congressional oversight. (By Charles Babington, The Washington Post, February 20, 2006). Full story=>

Iran vowed on Monday to pursue nuclear research even if talks in Moscow lead to agreement on a Russian offer to enrich uranium for Iranian power plants -- a plan aimed at calming fears Tehran wants atomic bombs. ``If we reach some compromise... (on the Russian proposal), we continue our preparation from where we are now. That is, the research department will continue its activity,'' Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told a news briefing in Brussels. His remarks poured more cold water on the talks that began in Moscow on Monday on the Russian plan, which had been seen as a chance to defuse the row over Iran's atomic ambitions. (Reuters, February 20, 2006). Full story=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Read Representative Ron Paul’s address (below) to the House of Representatives on February 16. He shows clearly that Iran has operated entirely within the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requirements.

Address by U.S. Representative Ron Paul before the US House of Representatives, February 16, 2006

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this very dangerous legislation. My colleagues would do well to understand that this legislation is leading us toward war against Iran. Those reading this bill may find themselves feeling a sense of déjà vu. In many cases one can just substitute "Iraq" for "Iran" in this bill and we could be back in the pre-2003 run up to war with Iraq. And the logic of this current push for war is much the same as was the logic used in the argument for war on Iraq. As earlier with Iraq, this resolution demands that Iran perform the impossible task of proving a negative – in this case that Iran does not have plans to build a nuclear weapon. (By Rep. Ron Paul, in LewRockwell.com, February 20, 2006). Full text=>

Protecting yourself from biological weapons might be as simple as using a hot clothes iron. Through a project for a statewide science competition, Central Catholic High School senior Marc Roberge discovered truth in the urban legend that ironing can kill anthrax spores in contaminated mail. (By Jennifer Bails, in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 20, 2006). Full story=>

Iran and China have been discussing a major energy deal that would involve the swap of oil for technology. Western diplomatic sources said the two countries have been examining an agreement that would make Iran the leading oil supplier to China. The sources said the long-term deal was valued at $100 billion. (In The WorldTribune.com, February 20, 2006). Full story=>

The Navy's former general counsel warned Pentagon officials two years before the Abu Ghraib prison scandal that circumventing international agreements on torture and detainees' treatment would invite abuse, according to a published report. Legal theories granting the president the right to authorize abuse in spite of the Geneva Conventions were unlawful, dangerous and erroneous, Alberto J. Mora advised officials in a secret memo. The 22-page document was obtained by The New Yorker for a story in its Feb. 27 issue. (The Associated Press, February 19, 2006). Full story=>

It has nothing to do with the Bill of Rights or the right to be left alone in peace, unmolested and free from harassment, but rather it has to do with suspicion, with guilt before innocence, with mistrust and intrusion, and the roving eye of Big Brother. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire online, February 19, 2006). Full story=>

Smoke ban officers to follow offenders home

Teams of council enforcers are to be given the power to trail people who flaunt the ban on smoking in public places, including following them to their cars and homes. Critics fear the move raises the prospect of local authorities using the officers as revenue raisers to boost their coffers. Similar charges have been leveled against the armies of private traffic wardens, dubbed “the blue meanies”, who now patrol Scotland’s streets. (By Jason Allardyce, The Sunday Times – Scotland, February 19, 2006). Full story=>

Houston's police chief on Wednesday proposed placing surveillance cameras in apartment complexes, downtown streets, shopping malls and even private homes to fight crime during a shortage of police officers. "I know a lot of people are concerned about Big Brother, but my response to that is, if you are not doing anything wrong, why should you worry about it?" Chief Harold Hurtt told reporters Wednesday at a regular briefing. (By Pam Easton, The Associated Press, In Seattle Post-Intelligence online, February 15, 2006). Full story=>

LC Editor Comment: See also Kurt Nimmo’s piece on surveillance in this issue of Liberty Calling.

Twelve tips for toppling tyrants

A company at the Port of Miami has sued to block the takeover of shipping operations there by a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates. It is the first American courtroom effort to capsize a $6.8 billion sale already embroiled in a national debate over security risks at six major U.S. ports affected by the deal. (By Ted Bridis, The Associated Press, February 19, 2006). Full story=>

Witnessing the Bush administration’s drive for an attack on Iran is like being a passenger in a car with a raving drunk at the wheel. Reports of impending doom surfaced a year ago, but now it’s official: under orders from Vice President Cheney’s office, the Pentagon has developed “last resort” aerial-assault plans using long-distance B2 bombers and submarine-launched ballistic missiles with both conventional and nuclear weapons. (By Heather Wokusch, In GlobalResearch.ca, February 19, 2006). Full story=>

A half-dozen questions about 9/11 they don't want you to ask

The events of September 11, 2001 evoke painful memories, tinged with a powerful nostalgia for the way of life before it happened. The immediate tragedy caused a disorientation sufficient to distort the critical faculties in the direction of retrospectively predictable responses: bureaucratic adaptation, opportunism, profiteering, kitsch sentiment, and mindless sloganeering. (By Werther, in CounterPunch.org, February 18-19, 2006). Full story=>

The Islamic government in neighboring Iran watched with trepidation in March 2003 when U.S.-led troops stormed Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime and start remaking the political map of the Mideast. In retrospect, the Islamic Republic could have celebrated: The war has left America's longtime nemesis with profound influence in the new Iraq and pushed it to the apex of power in the region. (By Megan K. Stack and Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times, February 18, 2006). Full story=>

Recall Donald Rumsfeld, during an appropriate speech before the Council on Foreign Relations, declaring the torture camp at Guantanamo is too important to be closed down, as suggested by Kofi Annan. “We have several hundred terrorists—bad people, people that if let back out on the field would try to kill Americans,” said Rumsfeld. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire online, February 18, 2006). Full story=>

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned on Friday he could cut off oil exports to the United States if Washington goes "over the line" in what he has said are attempts to destabilize his left-leaning government. (In WOAI.com, February 17, 2006). Full story=>

Earlier today, I called Jack Blood’s radio show on GCN and complained loudly and mightily about how the PATRIOT Act was rubber stamped by the Senate yesterday, paving the way for all manner of continued and increasing malfeasance against the people and the now jackboot trampled and seriously bruised (if not comatose) Bill of Rights. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day in the Empire online, February 17, 2006). Full story=>

All over the country, and even in the press, the U.S. Constitution is being discussed in regards to the president's war powers. This is apparently a side benefit of having an empire so corrupt and murderous that many folks are considering impeaching and removing the president who lied us into war and claims unlimited authority to wiretap, kidnap, torture, and murder whomever he likes – his lawyers even insist that the "commander in chief" has the "inherent" and "plenary" authority to crush a child's testicles to get at the boy's father. {Really. Click here to read all about it.} (By Scott Horton, in AntiWar.com, February 17, 2006). Full story=>

As all students today know, Iraq is the country that the US invaded with the attempt to convert the state and the people from enemy to friend. On the face of it, this sounds rather implausible, of course. Good fences make good neighbors. Friendship and peace are not usually the result of insults, sanctions, invasions, bombings, killings, puppet governments, censorship, economic controls, and occupations. If this generation learns anything from this period, that would be a good start. (By Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., in LewRockwell.com, February 17, 2006). Full story=>

President Bush signaled a new American commitment on Friday to addressing the crisis in Darfur, saying he would support an expanded role by NATO to shore up a failing African peacekeeping mission there. Mr. Bush also said he favored doubling the number of peacekeepers operating in Darfur under United Nations control, as proposed by the Security Council last month. He discussed Darfur, in western Sudan, as an offshoot of a question about the fate of children in war-ravaged northern Uganda. (By David Sanger, The New York Times, February 17, 2006). Full story=>

Who can forget the neocons’ claim that under their leadership America creates its own reality? Remember the neocons’ Iraq reality--a “cakewalk” war? After three years of combat, thousands of casualties, and cost estimated at over $1 trillion, real reality must still compete with the White House spin machine. (By Paul Craig Roberts, in CounterPunch.org, February 15, 2006). Full story=>

Last week's annual Conservative Political Action Conference signaled the transformation of American conservatism into brownshirtism. A former Justice Department official named Viet Dinh got a standing ovation when he told the CPAC audience that the rule of law mustn't get in the way of President Bush protecting Americans from Osama bin Laden. (By Paul Craig Roberts, in AntiWar.com, February 17, 2006). Full story=>ing window into the lives, thoughts and emotions of a people caught up in the rush of the Nazi movement. It is a book that should make people pause and think -- not only about the Germans, but also about themselves.

In a single year, it is difficult to measure overall progress in the war on terror. But ABC News has learned today that President Bush will ask Congress for an additional $65.3 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It brings the total funds requested this year to more than $110 billion for those operations. This is the fourth time in three years that the Bush administration has asked for additional funds for Iraq and Afghanistan, and the $65 billion request is $2 billion higher than expected. (In ABCNews.go.com., February 17, 2006). Full story=>

The White House on Thursday said it would compromise with Senate Republicans seeking to change the law on eavesdropping to include the government’s controversial domestic spying programme. Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said he had reached an “agreement in principle” with the administration. The White House has been under fire since December when it emerged that President George W. Bush in 2001 authorised the National Security Agency to eavesdrop without warrants on the international communications of US citizens suspected of links to al-Qaeda or its affiliates. (By Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times {U.K.}, February 17, 2006). Full story=>

Two U.S. Democratic senators said on Friday they would introduce legislation aimed at blocking Dubai Ports World from buying a company that operates several U.S. shipping ports because of security concerns. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Hillary Clinton of New York said they would offer a measure to ban companies owned or controlled by foreign governments from acquiring U.S. port operations. "We wouldn't turn the border patrol or the customs service over to a foreign government, and we can't afford to turn our ports over to one either," Menendez said in a statement. (By Jeremy Pelofsky, Reuters, February 17, 2006). Full story=>

A satellite study of the Greenland ice cap shows that it is melting far faster than scientists had feared - twice as much ice is going into the sea as it was five years ago. The implications for rising sea levels - and climate change - could be dramatic. Yet, a few weeks ago, when I - a NASA climate scientist - tried to talk to the media about these issues following a lecture I had given calling for prompt reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases, the NASA public affairs team - staffed by political appointees from the Bush administration - tried to stop me doing so. (By Jim Hansen, The Independent Online {U.K.}, February 17, 2006). Full story=>

The USA Patriot Act is headed toward renewal with most of its onerous individual rights violations intact and broad Senate support for a White House-brokered compromise that adds a few token new civil liberties protections to the terror-fighting law. "The outcome here is absolutely predetermined," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said late Wednesday. "It's going to pass with overwhelming support. (In CapitalHillBlue.com, February 16, 2006). Full story=>

The Senate Intelligence Committee decided today not to investigate President Bush's domestic surveillance program, at least for the time being. "I believe that such an investigation is currently unwarranted and would be detrimental to this highly classified program," Senator Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas and chairman of the panel, said this afternoon following a closed session. While Mr. Roberts's announcement signaled that the administration's eavesdropping program would not be subject to Senate scrutiny, at least for the time being, there was no guarantee that the House would not go ahead with an inquiry of its own. (By David Stout, The New York Times, February 16, 2006). Full story=>

Despite reports of growing tensions and even occasional clashes between Islamists and nationalists, the predominantly Sunni insurgency in Iraq appears increasingly united and confident of victory, according to a new report released here Wednesday by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG). The 30-page report, based primarily on an analysis of the public communications of insurgent groups, as well as interviews and past studies about the insurgency, also concludes that rebel groups have adapted quickly and effectively to changing U.S. tactics – in both the military and political spheres. (By Jim Lobe, in AntiWar.com, February 16, 2006). Full story=>

Judge orders action on spying documents

A federal judge dealt a setback to the Bush administration on its warrantless surveillance program, ordering the Justice Department on Thursday to release documents about the highly classified effort within 20 days or compile a list of what it is withholding. (By Pete Yost, The Associated Press, February 16, 2006). Full story=>

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked Congress yesterday to provide $75 million in emergency funding to step up pressure on the Iranian government, including expanding radio and television broadcasts into Iran and promoting internal opposition to the rule of religious leaders. The request would substantially boost the money devoted to confronting Iran -- only $10 million is budgeted to support dissidents in 2006 -- and signals a new effort by the Bush administration to persuade other nations to join the United States in a coalition to bolster Iranian activists, halt Iran's funding of terrorism and stem its nuclear ambitions, State Department officials said. (By Kessler, The Washington Post, February 16, 2006). Full story=>

Vice President Dick Cheney disclosed Wednesday that he has the power to declassify sensitive government information, authority that could set up a criminal defense for his former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Cheney's disclosure comes a week after reports that Libby testified under oath he was authorized by superiors in 2003 to disclose highly sensitive prewar information to reporters. The information, about Iraq and alleged weapons of mass destruction, was used by the Bush administration to bolster its case for invading Iraq. (By Pete Yost. In MyWay.com, February 16, 2006). Full story=>

US funding doubled for 'anti-terror' forces in Africa

As Washington's dependence on African oil intensifies, some analysts predict the region will increasingly play host to confrontations between U.S. forces deployed there and various insurgent groups, predominantly Islamic extremists. Currently, African oil accounts for 12 percent of the United States' total yearly consumption. During the next 10 to 15 years, the amount is projected to jump to 25 percent. (By By John Lasker, in AntiWar.com, February 16, 2006). Full story=>

In heated speech, veteran senator seeks NSA probe

Senator Byrd delivered a scathing indictment of the President’s secret wiretapping operation, RAW STORY has learned. The speech follows. “Mr. President, in June of 2004, 10 peace activists outside of Haliburton, Inc., in Houston gathered to protest the company's war profiteering. They wore paper hats and were handing out peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, calling attention to Haliburton's reported overcharging on a food contract for American troops in Iraq. Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched. U.S. Army personnel at the top-secret Counterintelligence Field Activity or CIFA, saw the protest as a potential threat to national security…” (In RawStory.com, February 15, 2006). =>Full story

What we had deducted almost immediately after Cheney machine began rolling on this shooting is now finally starting to filter out into the rest of the media: It is not only unlikely that Whittington was injured in the way he reportedly was if Cheney had shot him from 30 yards it is impossible. After reviewing the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife report on the shooting, there is no doubt that this is a cover-up. (By Alex Jones, PrisonPlanet.com, February 15, 2006). Full story=>

SBS Dateline, an Australian television program, released new photographs from the U.S. prison in Iraq, Abu Ghraib. The graphic photographs appear below. (In RawStory.com, February 15, 2006). Full story=>

While the country – or, rather, the American media – is fixated on an accidental shooting by the vice president, and the airwaves are filled with the natterings of the chattering classes over this inconsequential albeit unfortunate matter, the real shooting is being largely ignored: the slaughter continues in Iraq. While reporters and pundits rush to track down every niggling detail of Quailgate, the story of how we were lied into war – and set up for a sequel – is largely untold. (By Justin Raimondo, AntiWar.com, February 15, 2006). Full story=>

LC Editor’s Comment: Excellent! Raimondo explores the real reason for the White House’s outing of CIA undercover agent Valerie Plame! HINT: Think Iran! Don’t miss reading this gem.

A former NSA employee said Tuesday there is another ongoing top-secret surveillance program that might have violated millions of Americans' Constitutional rights. Russell D. Tice told the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations he has concerns about a "special access" electronic surveillance program that he characterized as far more wide-ranging than the warrentless wiretapping recently exposed by the New York Times but he is forbidden from discussing the program with Congress. Tice said he believes it violates the Constitution's protection against unlawful search and seizures but has no way of sharing the information without breaking classification laws. He is not even allowed to tell the congressional intelligence committees - members or their staff - because they lack high enough clearance. (In UPI, February 14, 2006). Full story=>

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

The Secret Tapes -- Inside Saddam's Palace

ABC News has obtained 12 hours of tape recordings of Saddam Hussein meeting with top aides during the 1990s, tapes apparently recorded in Baghdad's version of the Oval Office. ABC News obtained the tapes from Bill Tierney, a former member of a United Nations inspection team who translated them for the FBI. Tierney said the U.S. government is wrong to keep these tapes and others secret from the public. "Because of my experience being in the inspections and being in the military, I knew the significance of these tapes when I heard them," says Tierney. U.S. officials have confirmed the tapes are authentic, and that they are among hundreds of hours of tapes Saddam recorded in his palace office. (By Brian Ross and Rhonda Schwartz, ABC News, February 15, 2006). Full story=>

Spider's Web: The secret history of how the White House illegally armed Iraq

We hear a Democracy Now! interview from last year with global economics correspondent Alan Friedman about how the United States helped illegally arm Iraq in the 1980s in a scandal involving George Bush Sr., James Baker, Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Mueller and others. (By Amy Goodman, Host-Director of Democracy Now, December 13, 2003). Full story, including text of and 1-hour long streaming video interview of Alan Friedman=>

Bush plans huge propaganda campaign in Iran

The Bush administration made an emergency request to Congress yesterday for a seven-fold increase in funding to mount the biggest ever propaganda campaign against the Tehran government, in a further sign of the worsening crisis between Iran and the west. Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said the $75m (£43m) in extra funds, on top of $10m already allocated for later this year, would be used to broadcast US radio and television programmes into Iran, help pay for Iranians to study in America and support pro-democracy groups inside the country. (By Ewen MacAskill and Julian Borger, The Guardian Unlimited {U.K.}, February 16, 2006). Full story=>

John Perkins, author of "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man," joins us in our firehouse studio to talk about his former work going into various countries to try to strongarm leaders into creating policy favorable to the U.S government and corporations. Perkins describes himself as an economic hit man. (By Amy Goodman, Host-Producer of “Democracy Now”, February 15, 2006). Full story, including text of interview and streaming video=>

325,000 names on fed’s terrorism list

The National Counterterrorism Center maintains a central repository of 325,000 names of international terrorism suspects or people who allegedly aid them, a number that has more than quadrupled since the fall of 2003, according to counterterrorism officials. The list kept by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) -- created in 2004 to be the primary U.S. terrorism intelligence agency -- contains a far greater number of international terrorism suspects and associated names in a single government database than has previously been disclosed. (By Walter Pincus and Dan Eggen, The Washington Post, February 15, 2006). Full story=>

Shopkeepers in central England have been trying out a new device that emits an uncomfortable high-pitched noise designed to disperse young loiterers outside their stores without bothering adults. Police carrying out the pilot project in Staffordshire say some of those who have tested the "Sonic Teenager Deterrent," nicknamed the mosquito, have talked of buying one of their own. (AFP, in Breitbart.com, February 15, 2006). Full story=>

Struggling to boost it ranks in wartime, the Army has sharply increased the number of recruits who would normally be barred because of criminal misconduct or alcohol and illegal drug problems, again raising concerns that the Army is lowering its standards to make recruiting goals. Last year, almost 1 in 6 Army recruits had a problem in their background that would have disqualified them from military service. In order to accept them, the Army granted special exceptions, known as recruiting waivers. Recruits with medical problems made up the largest category of those given waivers. But the largest increase was among recruits with a history of either criminal conduct or drug and alcohol problems, according to data provided by the Army. (By Tom Bowman, The Baltimore Sun, in The Los Angeles Times, February 14, 2006). Full story=>

The federal government is on the verge of one of the biggest giveaways of oil and gas in American history, worth an estimated $7 billion over five years. New projections, buried in the Interior Department's just-published budget plan, anticipate that the government will let companies pump about $65 billion worth of oil and natural gas from federal territory over the next five years without paying any royalties to the government. Based on the administration figures, the government will give up more than $7 billion in payments between now and 2011. The companies are expected to get the largess, known as royalty relief, even though the administration assumes that oil prices will remain above $50 a barrel throughout that period. (By Edmund Andrews, The New York Times, in Truthout.com, February 14, 2006). Full story=>

The government squandered millions of dollars in Katrina disaster aid, including handing $2,000 debit cards to people who gave phony Social Security numbers and used the money for such items as a $450 tattoo, auditors said Monday. Federal money also paid for $375-a-day beachfront condos and 10,777 trailers that were stuck in mud and unusable. Overcharges, poor accounting and abuses will take "months or years" to rectify, the Government Accountability Office and the Homeland Security Department's inspector general concluded in preliminary reports on how billions of dollars in taxpayer money is being spent. (By Hope Yen, The Associated Press, in NewsDay.com, February 13, 2006). Full story=>

I was one of ten people present at the "hack" of the Leon County, Florida voting system, which took place on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 around 4:30 in the afternoon at the county elections warehouse. Leon County's voting system is the Diebold Accu-Vote OS 1.94w (optical scan). The Leon County Supervisor of Elections, Ion Sancho, authorized a "test" of his Diebold voting system to see if election results could be altered using only a memory card. Harri Hursti (photo at right), a computer programmer from Finland, who has been working with Black Box Voting, facilitated the test and it has come to be known as the "Harri Hursti Hack." Following is a description of that hack and its significance for our nation, which I hope will correct much of the misinformation circulating regarding this event. (By Florida Fair Elections Coalition, in VoteTrustUSA.org, January 21, 2006). Full story=>

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Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Vaccine for bird flu may be useless, say experts

A vaccine ordered by the Government as a defence against avian flu may not prove effective, the latest scientific findings suggest. The Government has ordered two to three million doses of a generic H5N1 vaccine and is soon to announce which company among those who tendered has been awarded the contract. But a team that studied the avian flu in China and South-East Asia has suggested that such generic vaccines may prove ineffective against a virus that has already had years to generate genetic diversity. (By Nigel Hawkes, The Times Online {U.K.}, February 14, 2006). Full story=>

The government won't wait for bird flu to hit U.S. shores before granting liability protections to vaccine manufacturers and others that make products needed to battle a pandemic. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said Monday that the administration soon would enter into contracts for bird flu vaccine, rapid tests to detect the virus, and technology that would make the available vaccine go further. "At some point in that process, we'll need to deal with the issue of liability," he told reporters. In December, Congress gave Leavitt the authority to declare when products are necessary "countermeasures" for a public health emergency. The manufacturers and distributors of such products will have sweeping liability protections. (By Kevin Freking, The Associated Press, February 13, 2006). Full story=>

Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. George Miller, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, and other senior Democrats released a new Government Accountability Office report finding that the Bush Administration spent more than $1.6 billion in public relations and media contracts in a two and a half year span. "The government is spending over a billion dollars per year on PR and advertising," said Rep. Waxman. "Careful oversight of this spending is essential given the track record of the Bush Administration, which has used taxpayer dollars to fund covert propaganda within the United States." (In TruthOut.com, February 13, 2006). Full story=>

In the weeks before the Straussian neocons invaded Iraq, we were told only a few thousand Iraqis, at most, would die in the initial onslaught. Of course, thanks to the Pentagon, uninterested in body counts, we do not have a good idea of how many Iraqis died in the initial assault, and to make matters worse, “Iraq’s Health Ministry … ordered a halt to a count of civilians killed during the war and told its statistics department not to release figures compiled so far,” the Associated Press reported in December, 2003, months after the invasion. The following year, however, a British medical journal, the Lancet, conducted surveys in Iraq and determined that over 100,000 Iraqis had died since the invasion, the Washington Post reported. Now we are told a “major American attack on Iran’s nuclear sites would kill up to 10,000 people and lead to war in the Middle East,” according to the Oxford Research Group. (By Kurt Nimmo, in Another Day at the Empire, at KurtNimmo.com, February 13, 2006). Full story=>

Having failed at turning the NSA program to surveil international calls connected with suspected terrorists into a "domestic" spying scandal, Democrats have reversed course and now want the program to continue but under new Congressional rules. The reversal has shown that President Bush's offensive against the critics, starting with his immediate acknowledgement of authorizing the program, has once again damaged the Democrats on national security and has pushed them to settle the issue quickly. (In FreeMarketNews.com, February 13, 2006). Full story=>

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) has asked Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson for a thorough inquiry of his agency's investigation into whether a V.A. nurse's letter to the editor criticizing the Bush administration amounted to "sedition." Merely opposing government policies and expressing a desire to change course "does not provide reason to believe that a person is involved in illegal subversive activity," he said. Bingaman said such investigations raise "a very real possibility of chilling legitimate political speech." (In Editor & Publisher online, February 11, 2006) Full story=>

Will the backlash from Katrina's destruction and the Bush Administration's woeful response to it finally do in the neocons? If you think so you don't know whom you are dealing with. Many have connected the name of Leo Strauss with the Neoconservatives, but almost nowhere do I find the actual content of this connection. Strauss was a professor. What did he profess? It is not sufficient merely to use Strauss's name with a sneer, for his actual thought is likely far more daring than you can imagine. The neocons are more than just the usual hacks serving the imperial masters. They share Strauss's dark vision. (By Michael Doliner, in Swan’s Commentary, October 10, 2005). Full story=>

It’s official: Teflon is a “likely” carcinogen

The EPA has already urged companies to voluntarily ban their use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) -- a chemical used in making Teflon. An independent scientific review panel advising the EPA took it a step further, ruling Teflon and other non-stick and stain-resistant chemicals are "likely" carcinogens. (In Marcola.com). Full story=>

Vaccines, all vaccines, are immune suppressing; that is they depress our immune functions. The chemicals in the vaccines depress our immune system; the virus present depresses immune function, and the foreign DNA/RNA from animal tissues depresses immunity. Toraldo, et al found that the chemotaxis and metabolic function of PMNs (polymorphonuclear neutrophils) was significantly reduced after vaccinations were given and did not return to normal for months. Other indicators of immune system depression included reduced lymphocyte viability, neutrophil hyper-segmentation, and a reduced white cell count. All vaccines are immune depressing to some extent and that is the trade-off we are risking. The medical thought is that we trade a small immune depression for an immunity to one disease. Now let me repeat, we are trading a total immune system depression (our only defense against all known disease - including millions of pathogens) for a temporary immunity against one disease, usually an innocuous childhood disease. Therefore, the trade is not at all fair. Mullins puts it this way, "Are we trading mumps and measles for cancer and AIDS." (By Joseph Mercola, D.O., in Marcola.com). Full story=>

A United Nations inquiry has called for the immediate closure of America's Guantanamo Bay detention centre and the prosecution of officers and politicians "up to the highest level" who are accused of torturing detainees. The UN Human Rights Commission report, due to be published this week, concludes that Washington should put the 520 detainees on trial or release them. (By Con Coughlin, News-Telegraph Online {U.K.}, February 13, 2006). Full story=>

Syria has switched all of the state's foreign currency transactions to euros from dollars amid a political confrontation with the United States, the head of state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria said on Monday. "This is a precaution. We are talking about billions of dollars," Duraid Durgham told Reuters. (In Reuters, February 13, 2006). Full story=>

Iran has started putting uranium feedstock gas into centrifuges, defying the West with actual enrichment work on making what can be nuclear reactor fuel or atom bomb material, diplomats told AFP. Uranium enrichment is seen as a red line by the United States and the European Union in the long-running international standoff over Iran's nuclear program, as it is crucial to making atomic weapons. Putting uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas into centrifuges, which distill out enriched uranium, is a major escalation by Iran in its face-off with the West over a nuclear program which the United States claims hides secret atomic weapons development and amidst threats by Iran to withdrawn from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran said Monday that it would resume uranium enrichment even before the UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meets next month in Vienna to decide whether to recommend UN Security Council action against Tehran. (Agence France-Presses, February 13, 2005). Full story=>

Iran: The next war

Has Tony Blair, our minuscule Caesar, finally crossed his Rubicon? Having subverted the laws of the civilized world and brought carnage to a defenseless people and bloodshed to his own, having lied and lied and used the death of a hundredth British soldier in Iraq to indulge his profane self-pity, is he about to collude in one more crime before he goes? (By John Pilger, in AntiWar.com, February 13, 2006). Full story=>

'10,000 would die' in A-plant attack on Iran

A major American attack on Iran's nuclear sites would kill up to 10,000 people and lead to war in the Middle East, a report says today. Hundreds of scientists and technicians would be targets in the opening salvos as the attacks focused on eliminating further nuclear development, the Oxford Research Group says in Iran: Consequences of a War. The research coincides with reports that strategists at the Pentagon are drawing up plans for "a last resort" strike if diplomacy fails. Plans for an assault have taken on "greater urgency" in recent months, The Sunday Telegraph said. (Thomas Harding, in the News-Telegraph Online {U.K.}, February 13, 2006). Full story=>

The unmasking of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson by White House officials in 2003 caused significant damage to U.S. national security and its ability to counter nuclear proliferation abroad, RAW STORY has learned. According to current and former intelligence officials, Plame Wilson, who worked on the clandestine side of the CIA in the Directorate of Operations as a non-official cover (NOC) officer, was part of an operation tracking distribution and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction technology to and from Iran…The revelation that Iran was the focal point of Plame's work raises new questions as to possible other motivating factors in the White House's decision to reveal the identity of a CIA officer working on tracking a WMD supply network to Iran, particularly when the very topic of Iran's possible WMD capability is of such concern to the Administration (By Larisa Alexandrovna, in RawStory.com, February 13, 2006). Fully story=>

In a story appearing in the Sunday Telegraph, the newspaper once owned by the Canadian criminal finagler and neocon “Lord” Conrad Black, amoral strategists “at the Pentagon are drawing up plans for devastating bombing raids backed by submarine-launched ballistic missile attacks against Iran’s nuclear sites as a ‘last resort’ to block Teheran’s efforts to develop an atomic bomb.” If not so deadly serious, the idea that the Straussian neocons will shock and awe Iran only as a “last resort” would be comical. In fact, they have long planned to bomb Iran—imaginary nukes or not—and kill as many Iranians as possible and decimate the civilian infrastructure, as they have done in Iraq (some estimates put the death toll thus far above 130,000). “Central Command and Strategic Command planners are identifying targets, assessing weapon-loads and working on logistics for an operation, the Sunday Telegraph has learnt.” (By Kurt Nimmo, One Day in the Empire, in GlobalResearch.ca, February 13, 2006). Full story=>

Tolerance is a falsehood often pronounced with difficulty in all of Western societies. Small countries such as Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and Sweden are leading the pack in the war on Muslims at home, and may be on the road to encouraging a new Holocaust against humanity. While these countries are part of the U.S.-led coalition, which is responsible for the mass murder of Iraqis, they have also introduced discriminate and draconian immigration laws which are specifically directed against Muslims fleeing war and economic hardship. The pretexts are always the phantom of the “War on Terror. (By Ghali Hassan, in AxisofLogic.com, February 10, 2006). Full story=>

War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes. In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows. How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle? (By Major General Smedley Butler, circa 1933). Full story=>

Bush faces a wave of anger against him... a review of the state of the george w bush state of the union address... a timetable for the coming war with Iran... and more. Our observation of the actions of the President in his State of the Union address was that he has finally realized the waves of power were flowing against him. He’s a lame duck but he doesn’t know that yet. (Robert Chapman, The International Forecaster online, February 11, 2006). Full story=>

One of our readers e-mailed John Silveira to tell him that taking a handgun afield after a long layoff had resulted in some scary moments. While gun handling is not a perishable skill, it is certainly a corrosion-prone one. The skills don’t really die, but they sure can get rusty fast. The reader suggested that Backwoods Home’s firearms editor write a sort of handling refresher on firearms. John liked the idea, Dave Duffy concurred, and so did the gun editor. That’s all it takes, folks; Backwoods Home is your magazine, and the staff takes your suggestions seriously. Since the reader’s problems were with handguns, we’ll start there with this installment. In Part II, we’ll follow with shotgun handling tips, and in Part III, we’ll cover protocols for handling rifles. (By Massad Ayoob, in Backwoods Home Magazine online). Link to Part I, Handguns=>

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Weekend Edition, February 11-12, 2006

CIA chief sacked for opposing torture

The CIA’s top counter-terrorism official was fired last week because he opposed detaining Al-Qaeda suspects in secret prisons abroad, sending them to other countries for interrogation and using forms of torture such as “water boarding”, intelligence sources have claimed. Robert Grenier, head of the CIA counter-terrorism centre, was relieved of his post after a year in the job. One intelligence official said he was “not quite as aggressive as he might have been” in pursuing Al-Qaeda leaders and networks. (By Sarah Baxter and Michael Smith, The Sunday Times Online {U.K.}, February 12, 2006). Full story=>

Revealed: the terror prison US is helping build in Morocco

United States is helping Morocco to build a new interrogation and detention facility for Al-Qaeda suspects near its capital, Rabat, according to western intelligence sources. The sources confirmed last week that building was under way at Ain Aouda, above a wooded gorge south of Rabat’s diplomatic district. Locals said they had often seen American vehicles with diplomatic plates in the area. The construction of the new compound, run by the Direction de la Securité du Territoire (DST), the Moroccan secret police, adds to a substantial body of evidence that Morocco is one of America’s principal partners in the secret “rendition” programme in which the CIA flies prisoners to third countries for interrogation. (By Tom Walker Rabat and Sarah Walker, The Sunday Times Online {U.K.}, February 12, 2006). Full story=>

A company in the United Arab Emirates is poised to take over significant operations at six American ports as part of a corporate sale, leaving a country with ties to the September 11 hijackers with influence over a maritime industry considered vulnerable to terrorism. The Bush administration considers the UAE an important ally in the fight against terrorism since the suicide hijackings and is not objecting to Dubai Ports World's purchase of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. The $6.8 billion sale is expected to be approved tomorrow. The British company is the fourth-largest ports company in the world, and its sale would affect commercial U.S. port operations in Baltimore, Miami, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York and Philadelphia. DP World said it won approval from a secretive U.S. government panel that considers security risks of foreign companies buying or investing in American industry. (By Ted Bridis, The Associated Press, in The Washington Times online, February 12, 2006). Full story=>

Neoconservatives in Washington are urging President George W Bush to drop diplomacy with Iran in favour of boosting internal dissent and opposition forces within the Islamic regime. In an open breach with White House policy, they argue the multilateral diplomacy pursued by Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, is encouraging the Iranians to snub the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and develop a nuclear bomb under cover of a peaceful energy program. (By Sarah Baxter, The Sunday Times Online {U.K.}, February 12, 2006). Full story=>

A new high-tech vehicle that destroys roadside bombs has passed a series of U.S. military tests but has not yet been sent into battle, prompting charges that Pentagon bureaucracy is slowing the effort to protect American troops in Iraq. Last April, Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Votel, the commander of a Pentagon task force in charge of finding ways to combat the makeshift bombs known as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, endorsed development of the vehicle, called the Joint IED Neutralizer. The remote-controlled device blows up roadside bombs with a directed electrical charge, and based on Votel's assessment, then-deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz recommended investing $30 million in research and sending prototypes to Iraq for testing. But 10 months later — and after a prototype destroyed about 90% of the IEDs laid in its path during a battery of tests — not a single JIN has been shipped to Iraq. (By Mike Mazzatti, The Los Angeles Times, April 12, 2006). Full story=>

Strategists at the Pentagon are drawing up plans for devastating bombing raids backed by submarine-launched ballistic missile attacks against Iran's nuclear sites as a "last resort" to block Teheran's efforts to develop an atomic bomb. Central Command and Strategic Command planners are identifying targets, assessing weapon-loads and working on logistics for an operation, the Sunday Telegraph has learnt. (By Philip Sherwell, News.Telegraph {U.K.}, February 12, 2006). Full story=>

The airbase at al-Asad is the biggest marine camp in western Anbar province. It is in the midst of the most rebellious region in Iraq, where thousands of insurgents have been killed in a series of operations over the past year. But get "inside the wire" and this stretch of desert increasingly resembles a slice of US suburbia rather than the front line in a war zone. A cinema shows the latest films while the camp's main recreational centre offers special dance nights - hip hop on Friday, salsa on Saturday and country and western on Sunday. There is even a Hertz car rental providing saloons with bullet-proof windows for those wanting to cross the base in something more comfortable than a military Humvee. For as the news from Washington focuses on troop withdrawals, the US military is beginning to implement at immense cost the next stage in its policy for Iraq. And it is one likely to disappoint those hoping for a quick exit of all foreign troops. (By Oliver Poole, NewsTelegraph {U.K.}, February 12, 2006). Full story=>

Using cartoons, games and kid-friendly websites, the federal intelligence community is seeking to win the hearts and minds of America's children. Move over, McGruff. The trench-coated canine mascot of the National Crime Prevention Council has some youthful competition in the battle for the hearts and minds of America's children. Now in virtual training on the website of the National Security Agency are the CryptoKids, the code-makers and code-breakers of America's future. (By Simon Maxwell Apter, TheNation.com, February 11, 2006). Full story=>

The Bush administration on Friday detailed its proposal to sell more than 300,000 acres of national forests and other public land to help pay for rural schools in 41 states. The land sales, ranging from less than an acre to more than 1,000 acres, could total more than $1 billion and would be the largest sale of forest land in decades. Western lawmakers immediately objected, saying the short-term gains would be offset by the permanent loss of public lands. Congress would have to approve the sales, and has rejected similar proposals in recent years. (By Matthew Daly, The Associated Press, February 10, 2006). Full story=>

When Representative Heather A. Wilson broke ranks with President Bush on Tuesday to declare her "serious concerns" about domestic eavesdropping, she gave voice to what some fellow Republicans were thinking, if not saying. Now they are speaking up — and growing louder. In interviews over several days, Congressional Republicans have expressed growing doubts about the National Security Agency program to intercept international communications inside the United States without court warrants. A growing number of Republicans say the program appears to violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the 1978 law that created a court to oversee such surveillance, and are calling for revamping the FISA law. (By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, The New York Times, February 10, 2006). Full story=>

Iran has been in the gun-sights of George W. Bush and his entourage from the moment that he was parachuted into the presidency in November 2000 by his father’s Supreme Court. A year ago there were signs, duly reported by Seymour Hersh and others, that the United States and Israel were working out the targeting details of an aerial attack on Iran that it was anticipated would occur in June 2005 (see Hersh, Gush Shalom, Jensen). But as Michel Chossudovsky wrote in May 2005, widespread reports that George W. Bush had “signed off on” an attack on Iran did not signify that the attack would necessarily occur during the summer of 2005: what the ‘signing off’ suggested was rather “that the US and Israel [were] ‘in a state of readiness’ and [were] prepared to launch an attack by June or at a later date. In other words, the decision to launch the attack [had] not been made” (Chossudovsky: May 2005). (By Michael Keefer, in GlobalResearch.ca, February 10, 2006). Full story=>

Why We Fight: New tilm takes a hard look at American war machine from World War II to Iraq

A new film opening in theaters nationwide Friday takes a look at the American war machine over the past half century. "Why We Fight" looks at conflicts from World War II right up to the current war in Iraq to examine the political, economic and ideological reasons that drive American war policy. We play excerpts from the film and speak with award-winning director Eugene Jarecki. (By Amy Goodman, Host-Producer, Democracy Now!, February 10, 2006). Full story, including text and streaming video=>

Inside the Gobal Dominance Group: 200 insiders against the world

The leadership class in the US is now dominated by a neo-conservative group of some 200 people who have the shared goal of asserting US military power worldwide. This Global Dominance Group, in cooperation with major military contractors, has become a powerful force in military unilateralism and US political processes. A long thread of sociological research documents the existence of a dominant ruling class in the US, which sets policy and determines national political priorities. C. Wright Mills, in his 1956 book on the power elite, documented how World War II solidified a trinity of power in the US that comprised corporate, military and government elites in a centralized power structure working in unison through "higher circles" of contact and agreement. (By Peter Phillips, in CounterPunch.org, February 9, 2006). => Full story.

LC Editor comment: I also highly your clicking on the following link and reading Peter Phillips expanded discourse on these 200 insiders: http://www.projectcensored.org/

Last year was another instrumental year in the advance of world government. While most commentators will concentrate on popularized events, many will not discuss the latest steps taken to cement the final touches to a world governmental structure that has been in the making for the last 150 years or so. In order to understand the importance of 2005’s global achievements in the march towards global governance which is the integration of the world’s peoples, countries, and philosophies, we must briefly visit the past. (By Joan Veon, The Women’s International Media Group online, 2006). Full story=>

Jeff Yago, Backwoods Home’s energy writer, recently completed a couple of concealed carry handgun courses. The classes apparently left some questions hanging in the air, and Jeff passed along a request through Dave Duffy for those questions to be addressed in this space. (By Massad Ayoob, in Backwoods Home Magazine online). Full story=>

The earliest official report of a New Orleans levee breach came at 8:30 a.m., hours after Hurricane Katrina roared ashore. Word of the possible breach surfaced at the White House less than three hours later, at 11:13 a.m. In all, 28 federal, state and local agencies reported levee failures on Aug. 29, according to a timeline of e-mails, situation updates and weather reports - a litany at odds with the Bush administration's contention that it didn't know the extent of the problem until much later. At the time, President Bush said, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." (By Lara Jakes Jordon, The Associated Press, February 10, 2006). Full story=>

In an orchestrated set-up, George W. Bush announced that a plan to fly a plane into the LA Library Tower was thwarted in 2002 and within minutes news networks were showing footage of the same building being destroyed in the movie Independence Day. Bush stated that the attack was prevented only with the help of NSA surveillance of communications, an attempt to shut up critics of the spying scandal in a move about as sophisticated as a 300lb Pittsburgh Steelers fan after a heavy drinking session. The mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, immediately went public with comments of his absolute bewilderment concerning the alleged plot. "I'm amazed that the president would make this (announcement) on national TV and not inform us of these details through the appropriate channels," the mayor said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I don't expect a call from the president — but somebody." (By Paul Watson, PrisonPlanet.com, February 10, 2006). Full story=>

A state (California) dental group will likely offer the city money as early as next week to fluoridate the local water supply. For the past three years, the city has waged a legal fight against state officials to uphold a voter-approved measure that essentially banned the controversial public health effort. But the city lost its battle Wednesday against a state law that mandates fluoridation under certain circumstances when the state Supreme Court declined to hear the city's final appeal. (Donna Jones, SantaCruzSentinal.com, February 10, 2006). Full story=>

When it comes to controversies surrounding toxic chemicals, invested interests traditionally do their very best to discount animal studies and quibble with epidemiological findings. In the past, political pressures have led government agencies to drag their feet on regulating asbestos, benzene, DDT, PCBs, tetraethyl lead, tobacco and dioxins. With fluoridation we have had a fifty year delay. Unfortunately, because government officials have put so much of their credibility on the line defending fluoridation, and because of the huge liabilities waiting in the wings if they admit that fluoridation has caused an increase in hip fracture, arthritis, bone cancer, brain disorders or thyroid problems, it will be very difficult for them to speak honestly and openly about the issue. But they must, not only to protect millions of people from unnecessary harm, but to protect the notion that, at its core, public health policy must be based on sound science not political expediency. (Paul Connett, PhD, Professor of Chemistry, St. Lawrence University, in Fluoride Alert Network online, April 12, 2004). Full story=>

The former CIA official who coordinated U.S. intelligence on the Middle East until last year has accused the Bush administration of "cherry-picking" intelligence on Iraq to justify a decision it had already reached to go to war, and of ignoring warnings that the country could easily fall into violence and chaos after an invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein. (By Walter Pincis, The Washington Post, February 10, 2006). Full story=>

NASA, accused of censoring its scientists on global warming and the origin of the universe, has pledged to reform its policies.
The move followed more than a week of revelations in The New York Times and on the internet about internal tussles between NASA writers and researchers and the US space agency's public affairs office at its Washington headquarters. A key figure in the controversy, George Deutsch, resigned on Tuesday. He had told Nasa writers in an email to refer to the Big Bang as a "theory" because NASA should not discount "intelligent design by a creator." (By Deborah Zabarenko, in the New Zealand Herald, February 9, 2006). Full story=>

Making a living in Second Life

Even with 17 islands in their cyber archipelago, De Louise and McKeon don't expect to catch up with Second Life's most famous landowner, Anshe Chung, who reportedly makes more than $150,000 a year in the virtual world. "We've taken it very slow," said McKeon, known in Second Life as Alliez Mysterio. "We reinvested the money we've made and that's how we have the 17 islands." McKeon said Second Life is now her sole source of income. (By Kathleen Craig, in Wired News online, February 8, 2006). Full story=>

The problem with mercury: A history of regulatory capitulation to the chemical industry

Mercury pollution offers us a well-lit window into the failed system of chemical regulation in the U.S. (By Peter Montague, in AntiWar.com, February 7, 2006). Full story=>

Cincinnati video surveillance company CityWatcher.com now requires employees to use VeriChip human implantable microchips to enter a secure data center, Network Administrator Khary Williams told Liz McIntyre by phone yesterday. McIntyre, co-author of "Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID," contacted CityWatcher after it announced it had integrated the VeriChip VeriGuard product into its access control system. The VeriChip is a glass encapsulated RFID tag that is injected into the flesh of the triceps area of the arm to uniquely number and identify individuals. The tag can be read through a person's clothing, silently and invisibly, by radio waves from a few inches away. The highly controversial device is being marketed as a way to access secure areas, link to medical records, and serve as a payment instrument when associated with a credit card. (Press release, Spychips.com, February 9, 2006). Full article=>

Tens of thousands of children are still being prescribed powerful antidepressants despite guidance that they should not given to patients under 18 because of serious safety concerns. Campaigners warned that vulnerable teenagers were being treated with a potentially dangerous "chemical cosh" of drugs because of long waiting lists for more suitable therapies such as counseling. More than 85,000 prescriptions were given to children in 2004 for antidepressants that the regulatory agencies had ruled should only be given to adults. (By Maxine Frith, in The Independent {U.K.}, February 9, 2006). Full article=>

Iranian engineers have completed sophisticated drawings of a deep subterranean shaft, according to officials who have examined classified documents in the hands of U.S. intelligence for more than 20 months. Complete with remote-controlled sensors to measure pressure and heat, the plans for the 400-meter tunnel appear designed for an underground atomic test that might one day announce Tehran's arrival as a nuclear power, the officials said. By the estimates of U.S. and allied intelligence analysts, that day remains as much as a decade away -- assuming that Iran applies the full measure of its scientific and industrial resources to the project and encounters no major technical hurdles. But whether Iran's leaders have reached that decision and what concrete progress the effort has made remain divisive questions among government analysts and U.N. inspectors. (By Dafna Linzer, The Washington Post, February 8, 2006). Full story=>

Republicans easily defeated three resolutions seeking information about the Bush administration's policies on torture after a heated committee hearing. Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said Democrats who submitted the resolutions should "at least silently confess to themselves that their actions pose real dangers to our country." (By William C. Mann, ABC News, February 8, 2009). Full story=>

LC Editor’s comment: Were Congressman Hyde to tell the truth in this matter, he would have told the Democrats who submitted the resolutions pose real dangers to the Bush administration.

The devil's playground in the Arab sand over the last 25 years has provided crooked politicians on both sides of the Atlantic a handsome profit. While hundreds of thousands of innocents have died a bloody death, the "masters of evil" in the illegal arms trade continue to sell their "dirty toys" under the cover of darkness and through a system of secret companies hidden from public scrutiny. Many have died trying to expose their wicked game, including microbiologist Dr. David Kelly (2003) and Gerald Bull (1990), the former chairman of the Space Research Corporation. (By Greg Szymanski, The Artic Beacon, January 30, 2006). Full story=>

State Department officials appointed by President Bush have sidelined key career weapons experts and replaced them with less experienced political operatives who share the White House and Pentagon’s distrust of international negotiations and treaties. (By Warren P. Strobel, Knight Ritter Newspapers, February 7, 2006). Full story=>

John Negroponte, our first director of national intelligence, gave his first threat assessment [.pdf] to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence last week. "Let me begin with a straightforward statement of preoccupation shared by all of us sitting here before you: terrorism is the preeminent threat to our citizens, homeland, interests, and friends. "The War on Terror is our first priority and driving concern as we press ahead with a major transformation of the intelligence community we represent." Interesting, because for weeks now, senators from across the political spectrum have been gravely warning all of us that the resumption by Iran of certain safeguarded activities constitutes the gravest threat to our national security to develop since the end of the Cold War. (By Gordon Prather, in AntiWar.com, February 7, 2006). Full article=>

There is a growing awareness that a reclusive German émigré philosopher is the inspiration behind the reigning neoconservative ideology of the Republican Party. Leo Strauss has long been a cult figure within the North American academy. And even though he had a profound antipathy to both liberalism and democracy, his disciples have gone to great lengths to conceal the fact. And for the most part they have succeeded -- as the article by James Atlas in The New York Times and the article by Seymour Hersh in The New Yorker indicate. This picture of Strauss as the great American patriot, who was a lover of freedom and democracy is pure fabrication. Nothing could be further from the truth. (By Shadia B. Drury, in Evatt Foundation online, September 11, 2004). Full Story=>

LC Editor Comment: Ms. Drury is a recognized expert on the neoconservative movement. Since the current thinking of President Bush in world affairs is strongly influenced by the thinking of his advisors, many of whom are evidently neocons and not traditional conservatives, it makes sense for us to learn about the principles of neoconservativism as well as its goals and methods of operation. I recommend that you read this article from top to bottom to gain this knowledge.

LC Editor comment: Here the streaming video of a talk delivered by Professor David Ray Griffen at the Univesity of Wisconsin and broadcast on C-Span-2 on Thursday, April 28, 2005. Professor Griffen is author of the book, “The New Pearl Harbor”. In this talk, he takes a critical look at the official 9/11 Commission Report. Professor Griffin argues that "omissions and distortions" in the report amount to a cover-up by government officials and says that the available evidence suggests that the Bush administration was complicit in the 9/11 attacks. I found this link at InformationWarehouse.info

Supreme Court nominations, congressional ethics scandals, and insider politics dominated the Washington headlines in recent weeks. But perhaps the most important story, in terms of its impact on average Americans, has gone virtually unreported. Later this month our Treasury once again will hit the "debt ceiling," a figure based on federal law that limits the amount of money the federal government can borrow. The total amount of federal debt as of this month is a staggering $8.2 trillion, a number that is almost incomprehensible. The effects of this debt, however, will be felt by all of us in the form of inflation, higher interest rates, and a weakened U.S. economy. (By U.S. Representative (TX) Ron Paul, in Texas Straight Talk, Tuesday, February 6, 2006). Full article=>

Several developments that are coming to the fore indicate a noticeable advance towards a government regulated, taxed and controlled system that spells doomsday for the Internet as we know it. The first steps in a move to charge for every e mail sent have already been taken. Under the pretext of eliminating spam, Bill Gates and other industry chieftains have proposed Internet users buy credit stamps which denote how many e mails they will be able to send. This of course is the death knell for political newsletters and mailing lists. The New York Times reports that "America Online and Yahoo, two of the world's largest providers of e-mail accounts, are about to start using a system that gives preferential treatment to messages from companies that pay from 1/4 of a cent to a penny each to have them delivered. The senders must promise to contact only people who have agreed to receive their messages, or risk being blocked entirely." The end game is a system similar to China, whereby no websites even mildly critical of the government will be authorized. (By Paul Joseph Watson, in PropagandaMatrix.com, February 6, 2006). Full article=>

Minnesotans buying mail-order prescription drugs from Canada are having medications confiscated by U.S. Customs in escalating numbers, a step that has some worried that life-saving supplies may not reach customers on time. Scores of participants in mail-order drug programs, including those involved through the state of Minnesota's websites, the Minnesota Senior Federation, and Canadian pharmacies have had their shipments intercepted since the first of the year. The confiscations are making some people anxious that the government could take legal action against them. Others are concerned that federal authorities are keeping tabs on what medications they take. Buying prescription drugs from abroad is illegal, but federal officials have allowed individuals to import medications for their own use. (By Mark Brunswick, in the Star Tribune online, February 4, 2006). Full story=>

"When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal." So Richard Nixon infamously defended his approval of a plan to engage in warrantless wiretapping of Americans involved in the antiwar movement in the 1970s. For thirty years Nixon's defense has stood as the apogee of presidential arrogance. But of course Nixon was proved wrong. The wiretapping plan was shelved when J. Edgar Hoover, of all people, objected to it. Nixon's approval of it was listed in the articles of impeachment. Nixon learned the hard way that Presidents are not above the law. George W. Bush appears not to have learned the lesson. (By David Cole, in The Nation Online Edition, February 2, 2006). Full story=>

Vice President Dick Cheney recently told the Washington Post that when the Bush administration entered office, it was determined to reinvigorate the presidency and reverse the steady reduction in executive power and prerogative that had persisted since Watergate. But what reduction could the vice president have had in mind? “The vice president,” noted Sen. John E. Sununu (R-N.H.), “may be the only person I know of that believes the executive has somehow lost power over the last 30 years.” Whether or not the vice president was correct in his analysis of the state of the presidency in the year 2000, there can be no question that since then George W. Bush has dramatically expanded the powers of the president—primarily though not exclusively in matters pertaining to the war on terror. (By Thomas E. Woods, Jr., in The American Conservative, January 30, 2006). Full article=>

As we debate the constitutional wartime powers of the president, it’s instructive, and exciting, to read a new book called Lincoln’s Wrath, by Jeffrey Manber and Neil Dahlstrom (Sourcebooks). It will come as a shock to anyone who still believes in the myth of the Great Emancipator. John Hodgson knew what it meant. The book tells how he ran afoul of the Lincoln administration for the crime of publishing his opinions. Lincoln took the view that his “vast reservoir” of powers, as one of his admirers has called them, included suppressing any critics and any opposition press. What about the First Amendment? Lincoln never directly mentioned it; in all his many speeches extolling liberty, I don’t recall a single word about the need for freedom of speech or a free press. In this he stands in striking contrast to Jefferson. (By Joseph Sobran, in Sobran’s – The Real News of the Month, January 19, 2006). Full article=>

In the latest twist in the debate over presidential powers, a Justice Department official suggested that in certain circumstances, the president might have the power to order the killing of terrorist suspects inside the United States. Steven Bradbury, acting head of the department's Office of Legal Counsel, went to a closed-door Senate intelligence committee meeting last week to defend President George W. Bush's surveillance program. During the briefing, said administration and Capitol Hill officials (who declined to be identified because the session was private), California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein asked Bradbury questions about the extent of presidential powers to fight Al Qaeda; could Bush, for instance, order the killing of a Qaeda suspect known to be on U.S. soil? Bradbury replied that he believed Bush could indeed do this, at least in certain circumstances. (In Newsweek Online on February 5, set for publication on February 15, 2006). Full story=>