Saturday, August 15, 2009
G-20: Pittsburg adopts Iran/China-style free-speech policies
like sheep to the slaughter.
-George Washington
Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government | 15 August 2009
Deadly blast shakes NATO HQ in Kabul 15 Aug 2009 A car bomb explosion outside NATO headquarters has rocked the Afghan capital, killing seven people and wounding 91 others as the country prepares for a presidential 'election.' The explosion, at the main gate of the NATO compound, occurred about 8:30 a.m. local time in a heavily fortified area that also includes the US embassy and the Afghan presidential palace, the Telegraph reported.
Captain Removed After Slamming Afghan War --A British Army captain who anonymously wrote a scathing attack about the Afghan war has been removed from his unit, Sky News understands. 14 Aug 2009 The unnamed officer wrote the emotive article in Monday's Independent newspaper. "My motivation is simple" he said. "Writing this helps vent off some of the frustration at what is happening out here in Afghanistan to those serving in the British Army, where death and serious injury are sickeningly common occurrences." The officer, who has been in the Army for eight years, is likely to be brought back from Afghanistan and faces disciplinary action and a possible court martial. Serving members of the Armed forces are banned from speaking to the media without prior agreement from the Ministry of Defence.
Top General in Afghanistan Looks to Replace Support Force With Combat Troops --McChrystal is considering a 12 percent rollover from support personnel to combat troops 14 Aug 2009 The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan may look to replace desk jockeys with gun-toters while keep troop levels even in the Taliban-infested war zone, The Washington Times reports. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is preparing a major strategy review to be sent to the White House shortly, and while some advisers have suggested he request as many as 21,000 more troops, Pentagon chief Robert Gates has been downplaying the idea of building on top of the 68,000-strong force already committed there by the end of the year.
New Obusha money pit opens: U.S. to Resume Training Georgian Troops 14 Aug 2009 The United States is resuming a combat training mission in the former Soviet republic of Georgia to prepare its army for counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan, despite the risks of angering Russia, senior Defense Department officials said Thursday. The training effort is intended to prepare Georgian troops to fight at NATO standards alongside American and allied forces in Afghanistan, the Pentagon officials said.
Iraqi protest at media censorship --New rules censor books, ban websites 14 Aug 2009 About 200 Iraqi journalists, writers and publishers have protested in Baghdad at what they say is growing state interference in their work. The protest follows the introduction of new rules for censoring books, and a proposal to ban certain websites. Some journalists say there has been an increase in lawsuits against those investigating security or corruption. [Most Iraqis likely prefer Saddam Hussein over the US-installed Maliki-ExxonMobil-Monsanto dictatorship. --LRP]
Double Suicide Bombing Kills at Least 21 in Northern Iraq 14 Aug 2009 Two suicide bombers killed at least 21 people in a cafe in northern Iraq on Thursday, Iraqi officials said. The double bombing occurred about 5 p.m. in the Ayoub coffeehouse in Sinjar, a town about 240 miles northwest of Baghdad. At least 30 people were wounded.
Finding child's severed head drove Iraq guard over edge, says family 15 Aug 2009 A former British soldier accused of shooting dead two colleagues in Iraq was suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome and should never have been given a job as a private security guard in the country, his family has said. Danny Fitzsimons was arrested by Iraqi police after the attack in Baghdad's International Zone last Sunday which left two fellow ArmorGroup employees dead and a third injured. Michael Fitzsimons recalled his brother sobbing as he spoke of the child's head he had found in Kosovo and picking up bits of his friend's brain in Iraq.
Israel told to probe murder of white flag Gazans 13 Aug 2009 Human Rights Watch has demanded that Israel probe into the "unlawful" killing of 11 civilians, including 4 children, who were murdered while waving white flags during the Gaza war. The New York-based organization said in a 63-page report on Thursday that the 11 civilians were only a small fraction of the civilians killed during the December-January Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Swiss move to ban minarets as 'symbols of Islamic power' 14 Aug 2009 The Swiss country town of Langenthal has become the focus of a virulent right-wing campaign to ban minarets from all mosques in the Alpine republic on the grounds that they symbolise ideological opposition to the country's constitution. Switzerland's "stop minaret" movement is backed by the influential ultra-conservative Swiss People's Party, (SVP) which was re-elected in 2007 with its largest ever share of the vote after mounting an anti-foreigner campaign that was denounced by the United Nations as racist. Ulrich Schüler, an SVP parliamentarian and leading member of the anti-minaret movement, says the edifices are political rather than religious.
Gag me with a chainsaw! Halliburton Expanding in Williston 13 Aug 2009 Williston's oil and energy sector is continuing to expand, thanks to Halliburton's latest investment in a new 30-acre facility. The project is estimated to cost between $15 and $20 million. Shane Goettle, North Dakota Chamber of Commerce Commissioner, says Halliburton's investment is a signal that they are here to stay for the long haul.
Pentagon, governors clash over emergency military powers 14 Aug 2009 The Pentagon is upsetting the nation's governors by pushing for authority to call up military reservists for natural disasters -- and to control how the troops would be used in any state. "Control" is the key word. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine reserves can be tapped by the president for military deployments overseas and for national emergencies such as terrorist attacks. Defense officials recently floated a new proposal on Capitol Hill, sparking a sharp response from the governors. At the heart of the disagreement is who will command reserve troops when they are sent to a particular state to deal with a hurricane, wildfire or other [H1N1] disaster.
Terrorism Trials May Be at New Va. Court --Security May Favor Newport News Over Alexandria 13 Aug 2009 A new, high-security courthouse in Newport News, Va., could be the site of terrorism trials for some Guantanamo Bay inmates, including the self-proclaimed [under torture] mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, if the Obama administration sends cases into the federal courts, law enforcement sources said. The Justice Department recently began sending the files of about 30 detainees prisoners to U.S. attorney's offices in Alexandria, Manhattan, Washington and Brooklyn. Prosecutors are trying to determine which terrorism suspects can be tried in federal courts, Justice Department sources have said, and each office is working with Defense Department prosecutors to decide whether some cases should be assigned to military tribunals.
Homeland Security Expands Biometric Security Program 14 Aug 2009 The Department of Homeland Security is expanding a pilot project that uses fingerprint scanners and kiosks to speed travelers headed overseas through airport security. On August 24th, the Global Entry Trusted Traveler program will be available at 13 additional airports in the United States and Puerto Rico, bringing the total number of airports equipped with the technology to 20. The program is also available at airports in the Netherlands through a partnership.
Nine USAF personnel monitoring PR blowback --Air Force used Twitter to track NY flyover fallout 10 Aug 2009 As the Pentagon warns of the security risks posed by social networking sites, newly released government documents show the military also uses these Internet tools to monitor and react to coverage of high-profile events. The Air Force tracked the instant messaging service Twitter, video carrier YouTube and various blogs to assess the huge public backlash to the Air Force One flyover of the Statue of Liberty this spring, according to the documents... According to the Air Force One documents released through the Freedom of Information Act, a unit called the Combat Information Cell at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida monitored the public fallout from the April 27 flight and offered recommendations for dealing with the fast-breaking story. Formed two years ago, the cell is made up of as many as nine people who analyze piles of data culled from the Internet and other sources to determine whether the Air Force's message is being heard.
Fort Detrick, Quantico, DHS and Halliburton --What do they all have in common? They're all monitoring the CLG. By Lori Price 14 Aug 2009 I took a walk through the Citizens For Legitimate Government visitor logs over the past thirty hours and saw numerous .gov, .mil and state visitors in the logs. I compiled some of them. Note: This is only a snapshot!
Fear for Obama's Safety Grows as Hate Groups Thrive on Racial Backlash --Violent Signs, Gun, Standoff Latest in Emerging Anger Towards the President 14 Aug 2009 Experts who track hate groups across the U.S. are growing increasingly concerned over violent rhetoric targeted at President Obama, especially as the debate over health care intensifies and a pattern of threats emerges... While officials told ABC News that the President's daily threat matrix has yet to reflect a sharp increase in threats, White House officials privately admit deep concern and have told the Secret Service to keep security tight, even if Obama objects.
Man in Custody After 8-Hour Federal Building Standoff --The suspect made an unspecified threat against the White House, according to a law enforcement source. 14 Aug 2009 A man accused of making threats against the White House was taken into custody Thursday after an 8 hour standoff with police outside the Federal Building. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan identified the suspect as Joseph Moshe of Los Angeles. After several refusals to surrender to officials, Moshe withstood four rounds of tear gas tossed through his car window before officers fired a taser gun at him.
Mom in minivan tasered twice in Salina traffic stop; camera captures deputy's rough roadside arrest 13 Aug 2009 (NY) In January, an Onondaga County sheriff's deputy pulled over Audra Harmon, who had two of her kids with her in her minivan. A routine traffic stop escalated quickly. The deputy, Sean Andrews, accused her of talking on her cell phone. She said she could prove him wrong. He said she was speeding. She denied it and got out of the van. He told her to get back in. She did, then he ordered her back out. He yanked her out by the arm, knocked her down with two Taser shots and charged her with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. His rationale on the disorderly conduct charge: She obstructed traffic when she got out of the van. The speeding accusation: going 50 mph in a 45-mph zone.
International Swine Flu Conference --August 19-20, 2009 Workshop: August 21, 2009 - Washington, DC (New-Fields.com/ISFC) --Concurrent Breakout Session #1 Mass Fatality Management Planning Develop and implement training and exercise programs; Direct fatality management tactical operations; Activate fatality management operations; Conduct morgue operations; Manage ante-mortem data; Conduct final disposition --Session #7 First Responders: Fire Department Protect fire department first responders from falling ill & from being hurt in civil disturbances; Effectively transition into All-Hazards Incident Management Responders; Effectively undertake mass vaccinations; Enforce quarantines --Session #8 First Responders: Fire Department Protect public works first responders from falling ill or being hurt in civil disturbances
Glaxo Starts Testing Swine Flu Vaccine With Additive --Vaccine contains experimental adjuvant additive 14 Aug 2009 GlaxoSmithKline Plc has started clinical tests on its experimental swine flu vaccine, completing enrollment for the first of 16 studies planned. Glaxo, of London, said the first trial of adults ages 18 to 60 in Germany is part of a program to test the vaccine in 9,000 infants, children and adults in Europe, Canada and the U.S., the drugmaker said in an e-mailed statement today. [See: German health expert warning: Does virus vaccine increase cancer risk? 07 Aug 2009 German health expert Wolfgang Wodarg has given a shock warning about the swine flu virus vaccine - does it increase the risk of cancer?]
'In some cases, it's caused by the vaccine used to fight it.' Vaccine spreading polio in Nigeria, health officials warn 14 Aug 2009 Polio, the dreaded paralyzing disease stamped out in the industrialized world, is spreading in Nigeria. And health officials say that in some cases, it’s caused by the vaccine used to fight it. In July, the World Health Organization issued a warning that this vaccine-spread virus might extend beyond Africa.
U.S. tests system to break foreign Web censorship 13 Aug 2009 The U.S. government is covertly testing technology in China and Iran that lets residents break through screens set up by their governments to limit access to news on the Internet. The "feed over email" (FOE) system delivers news, podcasts and data via technology that evades web-screening protocols of restrictive regimes, said Ken Berman, head of IT at the U.S. government's Broadcasting Board of Governors, which is testing the system.
The brutal truth about America's healthcare --An extraordinary report from Guy Adams in Los Angeles at the music arena that has been turned into a makeshift medical centre 15 Aug 2009 They came in their thousands, queuing through the night to secure one of the coveted wristbands offering entry into a strange parallel universe where medical care is a free and basic right and not an expensive luxury. Some of these Americans had walked miles simply to have their blood pressure checked, some had slept in their cars in the hope of getting an eye-test or a mammogram, others had brought their children for immunisations that could end up saving their life. In the week that Britain's National Health Service was held aloft by Republicans as an "evil and Orwellian" example of everything that is wrong with free healthcare, these extraordinary scenes in Inglewood, California yesterday provided a sobering reminder of exactly why President Barack Obama is trying to reform the US system.
Republican Death Trip By Paul Krugman 14 Aug 2009 The truth is that the factors that made politics so ugly in the Clinton years -- the paranoia of a significant minority of Americans and the cynical willingness of leading Republicans to cater to that paranoia -- are as strong as ever... The question now is how Mr. Obama will deal with the death of his postpartisan dream. So far, at least, the Obama administration’s response to the outpouring of hate on the right has had a deer-in-the-headlights quality.
Dems Scurry from Tea-Baggers Over Health Care "Many progressives don't really feel they have a dog in this fight." By Glen Ford 12 Aug 2009 The so-called health care reform measure that single-payer advocate Rep. John Conyers calls "crap" got crapped on by a motley mob from the Sarah Palin Party. Like denizens of the original, 1968 movie Night of the Living Dead, Rush Limbaugh’s basic-unit American know-nothings and racists lurched into Democratic town hall meetings with mayhem on their rotting minds. The stage for the Revolt of the Zombies was set by Barack Obama himself, who from day-one of his presidency sowed mass confusion by never saying what he actually meant by health care reform, except that he was for it.
Cheney Volunteers For Obamacare Death Panel --Cheney said he would donate his collection of waterboards and other so-called enhanced interrogation equipment. By R J Shulman 15 Aug 2009 Once a fierce opponent to health care reform, former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney made a surprise announcement that he now fully supports President Barack Obama's vision of health care. "When I learned that under Obama's health care bill there was going to be a death panel," Cheney said, "I realized that the president had finally gotten it right." (Satire)
Previous lead stories: National Guard drill at high school to prepare for possible H1N1 riot 13 Aug 2009 (ME) Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School will be the site of a National Guard riot control drill Thursday morning to prepare in the event of a panic over distribution of serum to treat the swine flu. The school on Route 26 at the Paris-Norway town line has been designated by state officials as a distribution site for the H1N1 flu vaccine. The drill is to prepare for a worst-case scenario should the serum have to be transported from Augusta and people rush to get it. On Thursday morning, four or five National Guard Humvees will travel from Augusta to Paris with vials of fake serum. The National Guardsmen will take on the roles of panicked citizens and military police and practice what they would do, such as using tear gas, in the case of a riot. Plans were developed in April [?] to have vials of serum sent from the federal government to Augusta, Parker said... Local police chiefs have also been involved in the planning, Parker said. In a real event, local police would be in charge of security once the serum arrives in Paris.
German health expert warning: Does virus vaccine increase cancer risk? --German health expert Wolfgang Wodarg has given a shock warning about the swine flu virus vaccine - does it increase the risk of cancer? 07 Aug 2009 Lung specialist Wolfgang Wodarg has said that there are many risks associated with the vaccine for the H1N1 virus. He has grave reservations about the firm Novartis who are developing the vaccine and testing it in Germany. The vaccination is injected "with a very hot needle", Wodarg said. The nutrient solution for the vaccine consists of cancerous cells from animals and "we do not know if there could be an allergic reaction". But more importantly, some people fear that the risk of cancer could be increased by injecting the cells. The vaccine - as Johannes Löwer, president of the Paul Ehrlich Institute, has pointed out - can also cause worse side effects than the actual swine flu virus. Wodrag also described people’s fear of the pandemic as an "orchestration": "It is great business for the pharmaceutical industry," he told the 'Neuen Presse'. Swine flu is not very different from normal flu.
'Statute of Limitations Has Expired' on Many Secrets, Former Vice President Says --Cheney Uncloaks His Frustration With Bush 13 Aug 2009 In his first few months after leaving office, former vice president [sic] Richard B. Cheney threw himself into public combat against the "far left" agenda of the new commander in chief. More private reflections, as his memoir takes shape in slashing longhand on legal pads, have opened a second front against Cheney's White House partner of eight years, George W. Bush. Cheney's disappointment with the former president [sic] surfaced recently in one of the informal conversations he is holding to discuss the book with authors, diplomats, policy experts and past colleagues. [You know you're in trouble when... you reflect upon your term in office vis-à-vis the statute of limitations. --LRP]
Full cost of the Sept. 24-25 G-20 finance minister's economic summit in downtown Pittsburgh has been estimated at $19 million
PITTSBURGH - The federal and state governments have agreed to provide $16.3 million to provide security at next month's Group of 20 global economic summit in Pittsburgh.
The White House has agreed to contribute $10 million and the state will provide $6.3 million, which includes a $1.8 contribution from state police.
The full cost of the Sept. 24-25 economic summit in downtown Pittsburgh has been estimated at $19 million, with the remaining $2.7 million to be picked up by the city and Allegheny county. But Kevin Evanto, spokesman for County Executive Dan Onorato, says the city and county will keep lobbying the federal government to cover that amount as well.
Local officials have said they hope to have as many as 4,000 police officers ready to keep order amid intense protests expected.
The announcement Friday came a few hours after Pittsburgh police chief Nate Harper met with representatives from more than 70 police agencies. They talked about how agencies would be reimbursed for costs and where visiting officers will stay during the summit.
"The Collapse Gap" with Dmitry Orlov, author of "Reinventing Collapse - The Soviet Example and American Prospects". mp3
"The Collapse Gap" with Dmitry Orlov, author of "Reinventing Collapse - The Soviet Example and American Prospects". Dmitry Orlov's repeated travels to Russia throughout the early nineties allowed him to observe the aftermath of the Soviet collapse first-hand. Being both a Russian and an American, Dmitry was able to appreciate both the differences and the similarities between the two superpowers. Eventually he came to the conclusion that the United States is going the way of the Soviet Union. His emphasis is on all the things that can still be made to work, and he advocates simply ignoring all that will fall by the wayside.
http://aud1.kpfa.org/data/20090805-Wed1300.mp3
ChinaDaily.com | China's national flag to go up at White House on Sept 20 (while US flags in Clearwater, Florida go down - can't afford to fly them)
RELATED
Florida City Removes US Flags, Disses Veterans and Service Members
RussiaToday.com | Ransom demand received for missing Arctic Sea
Police in Finland say the owner of the missing freighter "Arctic Sea” has received a demand for a ransom, suggesting the involvement of pirates. Meanwhile, the ship's location is still unknown.
The Finnish-operated, Maltese-flagged vessel with 15 Russian crew members aboard disappeared three weeks ago.
On Saturday, Markku Ranta-Aho of Finland's National Bureau of Investigation told YLE – the Finnish broadcasting company – that a ransom demand was made to the Helsinki-based shipping company. He added that it was for a “significant” sum of money.
According to the Russian Maritime Bulletin, the ship's Automatic Identification System (AIS) briefly started working again at 8:30am GMT Saturday, showing the vessel is in the Bay of Biscay. The journal also says there's no way to know for sure if the positioning device is even onboard the ship.
Mikhail Voitenko, chief editor of the Bulletin, cited marinetraffic.com, a source which lets you see vessel positions based on AIS data, on which the Arctic Sea appeared for a short time.
“I know, and I’ve been talking to specialists and technicians, it’s possible to fake the signal,” Voitenko said.
Earlier, France’s Defense Ministry announced that the missing “Arctic Sea” had been found near the Cape Verde Islands. However, Russia's embassy on the islands denied that the report was true.
It seems the real story of the vessel is still shrouded in mystery, and new theories over its disappearance – including pirates, a dispute between smugglers and even a government conspiracy – continue to pop up.
The “Arctic Sea” was carrying timber from Finland to Algeria and was to arrive at the port on August 4.
On July 24, the vessel was supposedly attacked by a gang disguised as police in the Baltic Sea, near the Swedish island of Oland. It then supposedly continued on its way. Swedish police are investigating the alleged attack on the freighter.
However, it's believed the “Arctic Sea” was hijacked a second time off the coast of Portugal, after it was last contacted on July 28.
The search for the cargo ship is underway with many countries participating, and a crisis centre set up in Malta to monitor the situation.
Finland, Sweden and Malta are conducting a joint investigation into the alleged offenses relating to the “Arctic Sea”. According to the statement published on August 15 by the Malta Maritime Authority, “the investigated offences are alleged aggravated extortion and alleged hijacking”.Authorities from more than 20 countries have contributed to the investigation.
SpaceWeather.com | "The auroras came out, noctilucent clouds lit up the horizon, and a meteor streaked across the sky. It was a perfect night."
And an unlikely one....
The Perseids and, to a lesser degree, the noctilucent clouds were expected. But where did the auroras come from? There was no solar flare or gust of solar wind to spark the display. It appears to have been an unprovoked spasm of geomagnetic activity, which appeared on its own schedule, in the middle of the best meteor shower in years.
Sometimes it just pays to be outside. Keep looking up!
New Opinion Poll shows only 9 percent Pakistanis trust US as partner
August 14th, 2009
WASHINGTON - Concerned over a new public opinion poll in Pakistan showing that 64 percent Pakistanis see America as the enemy, Defence Secretary Robert Gates says the US must maintain relationships with Pakistan for the long term to build trust.
The poll saying only 9 percent of Pakistanis see the US as a partner is disturbing to defence leaders, but not surprising, he said during a Pentagon news conference Thursday.
“First of all, one of the reasons that the Pakistanis have concerns about us is that we walked away from them twice,” he said.
The United States left Pakistan after the Soviets left Afghanistan, and later in the 1990s cut off military contacts with Pakistan in response to Pakistan’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.
“So, our military-to-military relations were significantly interrupted,” Gates said. “I think that the Pakistanis, with some legitimacy, question how long are we prepared to stay there?”
The Pakistani people wonder if the only reason the United States is working with the government is “because of the war in Afghanistan, or do we value Pakistan as a partner and an ally independent of the war in Afghanistan?” he said.
The latter is the case, Gates said, and the fact that Congress is considering bills to provide multi-year economic assistance to Pakistan, proves that.
“I think it’s going to take us some time to rebuild confidence with the Pakistani people, that we are a long-term friend and ally of Pakistan,” he said.
The poll also shows that the Pakistani people have given strong support to the counterinsurgency battle going on in western Pakistan, Gates said.
“There seems to be, more than I think any of us would have expected six months ago, broad political support for what the Pakistani military is doing in the west,” he said.
That change - plus the success of Pakistani forces-serves US and Pakistani interests. “My hope is that over time, we will be able to demonstrate, to the Pakistanis, that we are a reliable ally that they can count on for the long term,” he said.
–Indo-Asian News Service
Forecasters say Tropical Storm Ana has formed over the Atlantic and could strengthen as it heads toward the Leeward Islands
List of the Leeward Islands
- U.S. Virgin Islands: St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, Water Island (US)
- British Virgin Islands: Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke (UK)
- Anguilla (UK)
- Saint Martin/Sint Maarten (Fr./Neth.)
- Saint-Barthélemy (Fr.)
- Saba (Neth.)
- Sint Eustatius (Neth.)
- Saint Kitts
- Nevis
- Barbuda
- Antigua
- Redonda
- Montserrat (UK)
- Guadeloupe (Fr.)
The small and remote Isla Aves may perhaps be included with this group for convenience.
The Netherlands Antilles, however, are divided into two groups, one group in the northeast, and one in the southwest, with different naming conventions.
LaRouchePAC | Obama'stache LaRouchePAC Poster Hits International Media
TehranTimes.com | Arab League asks EU to support call on Israel to open up its nuclear sites
Xinhuanet.com | Leaders: China seeks friendly ties with Islamic countries
RussiaToday.com | “Incestuous” relationships between Blackwater and U.S. government
Obama did extend the contract for Blackwater in Iraq because the infamous contractor and the government are closely tied, believes investigative journalist Wayne Madsen.
“So we have a lot of very “incestuous” relationships here between the government and Blackwater and key individuals who were responsible for contracts, and some still are,” he told RT.
What is outrageous, Madsen said, is that Eric Prince, the head of Blackwater, is supposed to act on behalf of the U.S. government, yet behaved as a self-proclaimed crusader against Islam.
“What we have here is an individual who received billions of dollars in US contracts, and still was under contract with the U.S. government, and fancied himself someone who wanted to wipe out Islam and kill Arabs and Muslims,” Madsen said.
RussiaToday.com | Georgians question alliance with the US
While the US is sending marines to Georgia to train a Georgian battalion, set to be deployed on a mission in Afghanistan next spring, ordinary people in Georgia are not so sure the country has chosen the right friend.
As Tbilisi and Washington work together, Georgia looks like a pressure cooker waiting to explode – like it did last summer when Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili chose to attack the breakaway republic of South Ossetia.
“There are conflicts in every society, but here they are happening all the time. Because of the geopolitical location of Georgia, [the efforts of] a lot of powerful countries in the world are concentrated in this region. The possibility exists for the whole Caucasus to catch fire at any time,” says sociology and philosophy professor Shota Kvirtia, who lost his wife seventeen years ago when war engulfed the region of Abkhazia, which was fighting for its independence from Georgia.
And many in Georgia believe last year’s war in South Ossetia was just a rehearsal for what will be the real showdown.
“For almost twenty years, Americans have been in charge of everything here. The Georgian government will not even sneeze without permission from America. That's why such a serious business as conducting war could not have been done without its backing,” says Tariel Gagnidze, of the Historical Heritage Foundation, angrily. He believes the Georgian government is fabricating facts and selling lies about what’s really going on.
“Moreover, when Americans are financing the whole military infrastructure, all military budgets, all military expenses – it’s impossible to start an action without America’s involvement,” asserts Gagnidze.
That involvement is evident everywhere on the streets of Tbilisi, but it does not mean the two sides understand each other, and many Georgians think America is foe rather than friend.
Irakli Todua , Editor-in-Chief of one of the few remaining independent Georgian newspapers – Georgia and the World – believes Russia had no choice but to intervene last August.
“Russia had to get involved in this conflict. If it hadn't, it would have escalated and more countries would have become involved,” says Todua.
Though his newspaper has not been closed down, its offices have been raided. Irakli says it is because he presented a view of the conflict that was markedly different from that of the government's.
In his opinion “it was a tragedy what happened between Russia and Georgia, and if there was the possibility for Russia to have avoided the conflict, I believe they would have.”
But the wounds of the war are still open, and people are confused whom to trust.
“I was in the Russian Federation and I saw it for myself that the Russians are not so angry with Georgian people. I found the opposite picture. Of course the propaganda machine works, but the people still have the mind and they still have the memory,” says Nana Japaridze, a member of the King Irakli II Historical Society, with optimism. She devotes her time to reminding Georgians about their shared heritage with their bigger neighbor.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Magnitude 2.3 earthquake hits Midwest City, Oklahoma - August 14, 2009
MAG DATE LOCAL-TIME LAT LON DEPTH LOCATION
y/m/d h:m:s deg deg km
map 2.3 2009/08/14 15:08:58 35.467N 97.412W 5.0 2 km ( 1 mi) NW of Midwest City, OK
Obama Family to Visit Yellowstone National Park This Weekend (Yellowstone Nat'l Park earthquake update - August 14, 2009 10:15pm CDT)
http://www.seis.utah.edu/req2webdir/recenteqs/Maps/Yellowstone.html
Update time = Fri Aug 14 21:00:02 MDT 2009
Here are the earthquakes appearing on this map, most recent at top ...
MAG DATE LOCAL-TIME LAT LON DEPTH LOCATION
y/m/d h:m:s deg deg km
0.4 2009/08/12 16:59:49 44.713N 111.100W 2.5 6 km ( 4 mi) N of West Yellowstone, MT
0.4 2009/08/12 12:55:09 44.736N 111.096W 9.2 8 km ( 5 mi) N of West Yellowstone, MT
0.1 2009/08/12 12:53:36 44.739N 111.097W 9.6 9 km ( 5 mi) N of West Yellowstone, MT
0.3 2009/08/12 12:43:31 44.737N 111.092W 10.6 8 km ( 5 mi) N of West Yellowstone, MT
0.4 2009/08/12 12:42:21 44.742N 111.096W 9.3 9 km ( 6 mi) N of West Yellowstone, MT
0.7 2009/08/12 12:28:12 44.743N 111.097W 9.1 9 km ( 6 mi) N of West Yellowstone, MT
1.2 2009/08/12 07:13:17 44.617N 110.327W 3.6 54 km (34 mi) SW of Cooke City-Silver Gate, MT
0.6 2009/08/12 02:14:41 44.736N 111.097W 10.1 8 km ( 5 mi) N of West Yellowstone, MT
0.1 2009/08/12 02:14:22 44.729N 111.095W 9.9 7 km ( 5 mi) N of West Yellowstone, MT
1.2 2009/08/12 02:12:40 44.730N 111.094W 9.7 8 km ( 5 mi) N of West Yellowstone, MT
0.6 2009/08/08 23:42:39 44.715N 111.143W 5.6 7 km ( 4 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
0.2 2009/08/08 20:26:31 44.723N 111.149W 7.2 8 km ( 5 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
0.6 2009/08/08 16:16:06 44.728N 111.156W 9.2 8 km ( 5 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
2.0 2009/08/08 15:47:22 44.724N 111.146W 7.6 8 km ( 5 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
0.9 2009/08/08 13:34:44 44.724N 111.151W 7.9 8 km ( 5 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
0.4 2009/08/08 13:28:55 44.722N 111.148W 7.8 8 km ( 5 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
0.7 2009/08/08 13:13:34 44.722N 111.150W 8.6 8 km ( 5 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
0.9 2009/08/08 13:11:20 44.724N 111.149W 8.4 8 km ( 5 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
1.2 2009/08/08 13:11:06 44.724N 111.145W 7.8 8 km ( 5 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
0.8 2009/08/08 12:58:29 44.725N 111.151W 8.6 8 km ( 5 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
0.4 2009/08/08 12:52:25 44.725N 111.159W 9.7 8 km ( 5 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
0.6 2009/08/08 12:11:14 44.679N 111.135W 2.8 3 km ( 2 mi) NW of West Yellowstone, MT
0.7 2009/08/08 11:57:43 44.730N 111.157W 9.5 9 km ( 5 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
1.1 2009/08/08 10:28:43 44.722N 111.145W 7.7 7 km ( 5 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
1.1 2009/08/08 04:15:17 44.731N 111.169W 9.9 9 km ( 6 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
0.3 2009/08/08 03:16:50 44.718N 111.147W 7.5 7 km ( 4 mi) NNW of West Yellowstone, MT
G. Edward Griffin - RealityZone | Unfiltered News Headlines - August 14, 2009
UK: Photographers organize mass protest to reclaim their right to take pictures of public buildings. They expect that many will be arrested.
Register 2009 Aug 14 (Cached)
Texas Congresswoman holds town hall meeting to promote socialized medicine and introduces woman doctor to speak in support. A reporter finds that the woman is an Obama campaign worker and no doctor at all. Collectivists justify such deception as being for the greater good.
Lone Star 2009 Aug 13 (Cached)
US: Watchdogs to guarantee "transparency" in government maintain strict secrecy about the details of their own contract. Raw Story 2009 Aug 13 (Cached)
US: Senate drops "end-of-life" provisions from socialized medicine bill. This is classic Hegelian strategy in which you start with an extreme position to elicit opposition and then fall back to a compromise, which was the real goal all along. Once the bill is passed, end-of-life provisions can be added later. Yahoo 2009 Aug 13 (Cached)
FUS: irst wave is launched of $150 million advertising campaign to sell socialized medicine - paid by pharmaceutical companies, the AMA, Federation of Hospitals, Families USA, and others who will reap the greatest profits. TV ads are slick and, even if most Americans are not convinced, they will put pressure on Congress to pass the bill. Politico 2009 Aug 13 (Cached)
New York cop tasers mom at traffic stop even though she is not threatening him in any way. See for yourself what is happening to the quality of law enforcement in America. Post Standard 2009 Aug 13 (Cached)
Massachusetts deputizes dentists, paramedics, and pharmacists to administer Swine Flu vaccine. There is no evidence that Swine Flu is even half as deadly as common flu, yet government continues to prepare for massive injections. Why? Follow the money. Boston Globe 2009 Aug 13 (Cached)
Swine Flu vaccine makers to profit $50 billion per year but they say they are not exploiting the pandemic. They are just interested in saving lives.
Mercola 2009 Aug 13 (Cached)
US: Congressional Internet site overloaded with incoming emails mostly in protest over socialized medicine plan. My Way 2009 Aug 13 (Cached)
Bob Chapman - International Forecaster | This So Called Recovery Is Going Nowhere
The Fed’s Wall Street bubble, as we forecast in January, will need at least $2 trillion more in 2010, if the economy is to just stay on an even keel. The massive debt liquidation particularly in banking, Wall Street and in insurance demands many more trillions of dollars. $23.4 trillion is not going to be enough. Presently the Fed is in the process of monetizing $2 trillion in Treasuries, Agency paper, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and collateralized debt obligations held by lenders. It is a secret what the Fed is paying for this almost worthless paper. Is it any wonder the public has lost trust and confidence in these players and our government?
Bob Chapman - International Forecaster | The Crony Capitalist Bailout Nation
InfoWars.com |Equal Opportunity: Bush as Joker Poster for Download
August 14, 2009
| Download the poster: Large | Medium | Small |
In order to drive the point home — there is no difference between the New World Order’s front men — Infowars has created a poster displaying George W. Bush as the Joker.
Please remember when posting the Bush as Joker poster around town as a compliment to the Obama as Joker poster not to put the poster on private or government property, as this provides our enemies with an excuse to call us criminals and even terrorists. Post only in public commons areas where other posters, fliers, handbills, etc., are posted.
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The latest Infowars poster is now also available as an instant classic Infowars t-shirt. Surf over to Alex Jones’ Infowars Store and get your Bush Joker Fascist black t-shirt today.
RussiaToday.com | Lost ship found at Cape Verde Islands – French Ministry
The missing Russian-crewed ship “Arctic Sea” has been found near the Cape Verde Islands. This is according to French Defense Ministry.
Related:
Missing ship turned off tracking devices?
Commercial dispute leads to Arctic Sea seizure?
According to Jerome Baroe, the ministry spokesperson, the Cape Verde coastguard has confirmed that the vessel was discovered about 520 miles off the coast.
The report is being echoed by the Russian ITAR-TASS news agency, with the information allegedly coming from NATO.
ITAR-TASS also quoted a representative of Cape Verde’s defense ministry as saying the authorities of the island state are co-operating with all the interested parties.
“I will neither confirm nor deny the reports about the ship’s presence off our coast. The information will be provided to the international media when the situation calls for it,” the representative stated.
According to Russia’s ambassador to Cape Verde, Aleksandr Karpushin, a Russian frigate is now heading to the area.
The diplomat was quoted by the Russian news service.
"I have a report from the Russian Navy that the frigate is going to enter Cape Verde territorial waters," said Alexander Karpushin. "The warship has its own search plan."
Meanwhile, according to France-Press agency, before the French have informed Russia about several other possible locations of the missing ship.
"Since yesterday we have spotted a number of vessels in the Atlantic Ocean which could turn out to be the Arctic sea," Captain Jerome Baroe told the agency. He also noted that the information has to be checked as “the ships resemble each other and can be easily repainted”.
According to the Financial Times Deutschland, the ship was seized by sea pirates.
The paper says the hijackers asked for $1.5 million ransom.
Earlier it was reported that Interpol also thinks pirates are behind the loss of the vessel, however the Russian Central Interpol Bureau could not confirm the information.
Some media have speculated the ship could have been targeted because it was carrying an "unknown cargo" in addition to timber – claims which have been denied by the operator of the Arctic sea.
The ship “Arctic Sea” has been missing since August 1. However, even earlier, on July 24, the crew reported men in masks boarding the ship, tying the crew up, searching for cargo and then leaving the ship.
The Swedish newspaper, Metro, said that the masked men spoke English and were very well equipped, suggesting that they could have been US special forces. They further reported, however, that the attackers spoke English with an accent.
Meanwhile, there has been much speculation over what has actually happened to the “Arctic Sea”. The European Commission suggested that the ship has been attacked twice – once in the Baltic Sea on July 24, and another time – off the coast of Portugal where it disappeared.
Others speculated that the ship carried precious cargo that was the target of hijackers, rather than timber as was originally reported.
Chesapeake Closes Wells Connected to Quakes | Researchers have found a possible reason for all the recent earthquakes in North Texas
2.9 magnitude earthquake hits 2 mi NE of Nickelsville, VA - August 14, 2009
MAG DATE LOCAL-TIME LAT LON DEPTH LOCATION
y/m/d h:m:s deg deg km
map 2.9 2009/08/14 08:48:18 36.745N 82.355W 3.8 3 km ( 2 mi) NE of Nickelsville, VA
StanDeyo.com | Picture of Day - August 14, 2009
ORIGINAL CAPTION: Rescuers try to pull a stranded car out of floodwater in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China, on Aug. 9 after Typhoon Morakot battered China's commercial east coast. Several deaths were reported in mainland China, but the storm claimed most of its victims in neighboring Taiwan. (China Daily / Reuters)
Govenors to Department of Defense: Thanks, but no thanks
On August 7 the National Governors Association replied to a letter evidently received from Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Stockton. The content of this letter is extracted below.
According to Matthew Rothschild in The Progressive, the letter signals an intention to seek Congressional approval to post almost 400,000 military personnel in the U.S. Rothschild continues, “This request has already occasioned a dispute with the nation’s governors. And it raises the prospect of U.S. military personnel patrolling the streets of the United States, in conflict with the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.”.....
SteveQuayle.com | Hot Headlines - August 14, 2009
57 Trillion Reasons To Murder 100 Million
Goldman: Get Ready for Oil Prices to Go Back to $147
Shifting Sands
Bank on Inflation
Commercial Real Estate, Construction and Finance Employment: How Commercial Real Estate will drag the California Economy Deeper into Recession. 32 Percent of California Construction Jobs Gone.
Stock Market Dollar Store: U.S. Dollar Down 12.5% and S&P 500 Up 50 Percent since March. How the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Juice the Stock Market.
Obama and the Post Office
The Grinch Is About to Steal Christmas
In Illinois, Another Workers' Rebellion Flares Up Against 'Banksters' Greed The “Second American Revolution” Has Begun The Pentagon Wants Authority to Post Almost 400,000 Military Personnel in U.S. — STEVE NOTE: 345,000 is very close to the number of foreign troops that I have been told are already in-country.
National Guard Drill at High School to Prepare for Possible H1N1 Riot Israel Pushing for Swine Flu Vaccine Despite Controversy
How to Cure Diseases Before They Have Even Evolved
Princeton Bioethics Professor Peter Singer: Devaluing Human Life
The Closing of the Christian Womb
New World Order and Psychotronic Tyranny
Honey Bees Disappearing May be a Greater Threat Than Global Warming
What Lies Behind the Latest Israel-Hezbollah Tensions?