http://www2.nict.go.jp/y/y223/simulation/realtime/index.html
Monday, November 16, 2009
Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government | 16 Nov 2009
US unveils 'Guantanamo's evil twin' extended Bagram prison --'The Bagram prison resembled a concentration camp.' 16 Nov 2009 Journalists have been allowed to inspect refurbished facilities at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, the largest US military hub in the region and home to a controversial prison. Al Jazeera's correspondent James Bays, who was among those who inspected the facilities on Sunday, said Bagram, unlike its Guantanamo counterpart, was clearly not going to be shut down soon. "The new prison wing cost some $60 million [for KBR] to build ..." Bays said. "But we were not shown the detainees. Human-rights lawyers say that, while the environment for the prisoners may be changing, their legal situation is not ... not having been charged. Nor has any civilian lawyer ever been allowed inside." Omar Dighayes, a former detainee at Bagram and Guantanamo Bay, said the Bagram prison resembled a concentration camp. "People were beaten, dragged, tortured in it," he told Al Jazeera.
New Evidence Jack Straw Guilty On Torture - A Smoking Gun By Ambassador Craig Murray 16 Nov 2009 Finally I have indisputable documentary evidence that the British government had a positive policy of using intelligence from torture in the War on Terror, and that the policy was personally directed by Jack Straw. Here are the minutes of the meeting at which I was told this. All references to the CIA and MI6 have been literally cut out, but the meaning is till perfectly unmistakeable particularly given the heading of the minute. And here is the absolute smoking gun of Jack Straw's involvement. Straw has been lying about this for five years. He dismissed my evidence on this to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights as "Entirely untrue".
Obama no better than Bush, says Iranian parliament speaker 15 Nov 2009 U.S. steps to renew sanctions and seize a New York skyscraper linked to Iran show that President Barack Obama is no better than his predecessor George W. Bush, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said on Sunday. Larijani's statement, which was followed by chants of "Death to America" among MPs in the legislature, was the latest from Tehran voicing disappointment in the new U.S. administration's policies toward the Islamic Republic.
Obama says al Qaeda still greatest threat to U.S. 16 Nov 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday called al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] the biggest threat to U.S. security, as his aides stepped up pressure on Afghanistan and Pakistan to cooperate with Washington's strategy [aka killer drone bombings] in the troubled region.
Danger from al Qaeda is strong as ever, warns Gordon Brown 16 Nov 2009 Gordon Brown will today warn the danger posed by al-Qaeda is as strong as ever, as he tries to rally support for the war in Afghanistan. The PM will claim the terrorist network remain the "biggest threat" to Britain's national security. As a result, he will argue, it is essential that UK forces win the battle in Afghanistan against Taliban insurgents [that the US is funding].
CIA has given hundreds of millions to Pakistan spy agency --CIA says gets its money's worth from ISI 15 Nov 2009 The CIA has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Pakistan's intelligence service since the Sept. 11 attacks, accounting for as much as one-third of the foreign spy agency's annual budget, current and former U.S. officials say. The Inter-Services Intelligence agency also has collected tens of millions of dollars through a classified CIA program that pays for the capture or killing backing of wanted militants, a clandestine counterpart to the rewards publicly offered by the State Department, officials said. The payments have triggered intense debate within the U.S. government, officials said, because of long-standing suspicions that the ISI continues to help Taliban extremists who undermine U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and provide sanctuary to Al Qaeda members in Pakistan.
US pressures Pakistan to intensify war on militants 16 Nov 2009 The United States has warned that its new Afghan strategy could fail unless Pakistan intensifies its fight against the militants. US President Barack Obama has called on his Pakistani counterpart Asif-Ali Zardari to broaden his battle against the militants, The New York Times reports on Monday. Obama has also offered a range of new incentives bribe$ to the Pakistanis in exchange for their cooperation.
UK seeking new world order by Afghan war 16 Nov 2009 Despite reports of the UK's plan for peace talks with the Taliban, Premier Gordon Brown defends Britain's military involvement in the Afghan war, saying his country must play a full role in 'changing the world'. "I believe that Britain can and must play its full part in changing the world," the British prime minister said Monday.
3 Afghan policemen killed in Kandahar 16 Nov 2009 At least three Afghan policemen have been killed and six others wounded in an attack in the southern part of the war-torn country, police officials say. Militants attacked a police checkpoint in the province of Kandahar overnight, police criminal director of Kandahar Pashton Moamand said on Monday.
Gunmen in army uniforms kill 12 Iraqi villagers 16 Nov 2009 [Blackwater?] Gunmen wearing military uniforms shot dead at least 12 men in a pre-dawn attack in a village near Baghdad on Monday, villagers and police said. The attack took place in the mainly Sunni village of Zauba, west of Baghdad.
Iraqi cleaner takes UK to court over alleged sexual harassment 16 Nov 2009 An Iraqi cleaner who claims that she was sexually harassed at the British Embassy and at the ambassador’s residence in Baghdad is taking the Government to court over its alleged failure to investigate her complaints. The case will challenge a decision by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to allow KBR, the American company contracted to maintain the two premises, to conduct its own investigation into the allegations, rather than carry out an independent inquiry.
Oops! Israel gaffe reveals 'Iran ship photos' were forged 16 Nov 2009 After Israel released photos it said proved that a huge shipment of weapons for Hezbollah came from Tehran, Iranian news agencies publish evidence showing that the photos are forged. Israeli naval sources recently claimed that they found a large cache of Iranian-made arms when they stormed a vessel near Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. They claimed that the ship was heading for the Hezbollah resistance movement, either in Lebanon or Syria. Iran instantly dismissed the claims, issuing a statement with which it condemned Israel's many acts of piracy in international waters.
Pro-Israel lobby group bankrolling Tories, film claims --50% of MPs in the shadow cabinet are Conservative Friends of Israel members, according to Channel 4's Dispatches 16 Nov 2009 Pro-Israeli organisations in Britain look set to see their influence increase if the Conservatives win the next election, a film scrutinising the activities of a powerful but little-known lobby warns today. At least half of the shadow cabinet are members of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), according to a Dispatches programme being screened on Channel 4. The programme-makers describe the CFI as "beyond doubt the most well-connected and probably the best funded of all Westminster lobbying groups".
Israel could annex more of West Bank - minister 16 Nov 2009 An Israeli cabinet minister said on Monday Israel could annex more of the West Bank if Palestinians declared statehood without concluding a peace agreement. "If the Palestinians take such a unilateral line, Israel should also consider ... passing a law to annex some of the settlements," Environment Minister Gilad Erdan, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Israel Radio.
FM: Israel would counter any Palestinian unilateral step 16 Nov 2009 Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that any unilateral step by the Palestinians will be countered by a unilateral step from Israel. "The Americans also understand that unilateralism buries any chance for peace. They would find themselves in an uncomfortable position faced with a one-sided move," Lieberman said.
Chavez: US to use bases in Colombia for spying 16 Nov 2009 Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has renewed his criticism of the US-Colombia military pact, accusing Washington of using its bases there for spying. On Sunday, Chavez once again slammed a recently signed defense accord between Washington and Bogota, which would give the US access to military bases in Colombia.
Anti-war soldier faces 10 years in jail 17 Nov 2009 A British soldier who faces up to 10 years in jail for speaking out against the war in Afghanistan will go before a military judge this week to discover if he will remain in an army jail while he awaits trial. In an escalation of the Ministry of Defence's legal action against him, Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, 27, was arrested and charged last week with five counts of disobeying lawful commands and standing orders in relation to his public opposition to the war expressed at an anti-war rally last month. He had already been charged with desertion for refusing to return to fight in Afghanistan.
Up to 16 US soldiers committed suicide last month 15 Nov 2009 More U.S. soldiers likely committed suicide last month than were killed in the Fort Hood shootings earlier this month. The U.S. army is investigating sixteen potential suicides among active-duty soldiers in October, about twice the number reported in September, Army officials said. Of the 7 reported in September, three have been confirmed as suicides, and 4 still are under investigation [!] to determine the cause of death.
Officials: Major Hasan Sought War Crimes Prosecution of U.S. Soldiers 16 Nov 2009 Major Nidal Malik Hasan's military superiors repeatedly ignored or rebuffed his efforts to open criminal prosecutions of soldiers he claimed had confessed to war crimes during psychiatric counseling, according to investigative reports circulated among federal law enforcement officials. On Nov. 4, the day after his last attempt to raise the issue, he [allegedly] took extra target practice at Stan's shooting range in nearby Florence, Texas and then closed a safe deposit box he had at a Bank of America branch in Killeen, according to the reports... Investigators believe Hasan's frustration over the failure of the Army to pursue what he [and the whole world] regarded as criminal acts by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan may have helped to trigger the shootings.
Giuliani calls Obama soft on terrorism 16 Nov 2009 Former New York Mayor [9/11 co-conspirator] Rudolph W. Giuliani called President Obama soft on terrorism for deciding to try the acknowledged mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, and said it would increase the security risk to the city. Trying Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in the city also would wrongfully force Americans to pay for his security, both in court and in holding while awaiting trial, said the Republican who oversaw the city's response to the Sept. 11 attacks.
U.K. Anti-Terror Police Hold 5 in Northwest, London 16 Nov 2009 U.K. police arrested five men under the Terrorism Act after raids in northwestern England and a hotel near London’s Heathrow airport. The arrests in Manchester, Bolton, Stalybridge and close to Heathrow were part of a coordinated operation that began at 4 a.m. local time today, Greater Manchester Police said in e-mailed statements today.
Five held in terror 'recruitment' probe 16 Nov 2009 Five men were arrested today as part of an investigation into the alleged recruitment of terrorists to join training camps in Afghanistan. Among those held during the series of early morning raids at addresses in Greater Manchester and a hotel near Heathrow airport was a 62-year-old Muslim preacher who was taken from his home in Bolton. Police said there was no imminent threat within Britain and that the inquiry was focusing on an overseas target.
Facebook Twitter Monitoring by US Government 2009 Posited By AfterAmericaNZ 03 Nov 2009 How safe are you when using Twitter? RT's Anastasia Churkina visited a home that was raided by the FBI, after its owner was arrested for allegedly directing huge demonstrations at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh in September.
Million Hit By 'Plague Worse Than Swine Flu' 15 Nov 2009 A deadly plague could sweep across Europe, doctors fear, after an outbreak of a virus in Ukraine plunged the country and its neighbours into a state of panic. A cocktail of three [Baxter] flu viruses are reported to have mutated into a single pneumonic plague, which it is believed may be far more dangerous than swine flu. The death toll has reached 189 and more than 1 million people have been infected, most of them in the nine regions of Western Ukraine. President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko has called in the World Health Organisation and a team of nine specialists are carrying out tests in Kiev and Lviv to identify the virus. President Yushchenko said: "People are dying. The epidemic is killing doctors. This is absolutely inconceivable in the 21st Century." [See: Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor By Lori Price 26 Apr 2009.]
Doctors learn why Ukrainians dying 13 Nov 2009 All victims of the virus in Bukovyna (22 people aged 20-40) died not from bilateral pneumonia, as was previously thought, but as a result of viral distress syndrome --i.e, the total destruction of the lungs. Cardio-pulmonary insufficiency comes and consequently cardiogenic shock develops, which causes cardiac standstill and death, said the bureau chief of the Chernivtsi regional forensic examination, doctor of science, Professor Viktor Bachynsky, UNIAN reports. "The virus, which causes death, is very aggressive, it does not strike the trachea, but immediately gets into the lungs and causes heavy swelling and solid hemorrhage. Mixed types of parainfluenza and influenza A/N1N1 lead to this state. This is a very toxic strain, which has not yet answered to the treatment of the Ministry of Health", said Viktor Bachinsky.
Experts warn of possible A/H1N1 mutation 11 Nov 2009 Medical experts are warning that the A/H1N1 flu has entered a period of high frequency and easy transmission. And with fresh cases of pigs infected by the virus in Hong Kong and Taiwan, experts say the possibility that the virus will mutate is growing. Recent monitoring has found several cases of pigs, cats and dogs infected by the human A/H1N1 flu virus.
H1N1 no deadlier than regular flu: top doctor 16 Nov 2009 Despite the recent surge in H1N1 deaths, the nation's chief public health officer says the pandemic virus appears no deadlier than regular seasonal influenza and that there could actually be substantially fewer flu deaths than normal this season. Although H1N1 is disproportionately infecting more children and otherwise healthy young adults, "the mortality rate from this (H1N1) is no worse than seasonal flu," Dr. David Butler-Jones said in an interview with Canwest News Service.
Pfizer Demands DNA from Vaccine Injured Beneficiaries 01 Nov 2009 Pfizer International, the US pharmaceutical company that carried out a meningitis trovan test in 1996 on a number of children in Kano State, has demanded a Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) report as a pre-condition for beneficiaries to draw down on the $75 million judgment money against it, a retired justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Abubakar Wali, said. Speaking at the palace of the Emir of Kano on Friday, Justice Wali said Pfizer came to Nigeria in 1996 at the peak of the outbreak of meningitis disease in Kano to offer 'assistance' on affected victims. He said, unknown to the government and people of the state, the company had come to test the drug, which resulted to deforming and killing of many children in the state.
Feds seek transit oversight 16 Nov 2009 The Obama administration will propose that the federal government regulate local transit agencies in the wake of an increase in subway and light-rail passenger injuries, a Transportation Department spokeswoman said Sunday. Jill Zuckman said the department launched an examination of transit safety after an accident in June on the District of Columbia's Metro system killed nine people and injured 80.
Federal prosecutors oppose former Gov. Siegelman's appeal to U.S. Supreme Court 14 Nov 2009 The U.S. Supreme Court does not need to hear the appeal of [Rove victim] former Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL) because prosecutors adequately proved at trial that he exchanged an official act for a political donation, according to written arguments filed late Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice. Siegelman and co-defendant HealthSouth Corp. founder Richard Scrushy in August asked the justices to take up their case because they believe it raises broader legal questions about how much evidence is needed to prove bribery.
Drug Makers Raise Prices in Face of Health Care Reform 16 Nov 2009 In the last year, the industry has raised the wholesale prices of brand-name prescription drugs by about 9 percent, according to industry analysts. That will add more than $10 billion to the nation’s drug bill, which is on track to exceed $300 billion this year. By at least one analysis, it is the highest annual rate of inflation for drug prices since 1992... A Harvard health economist, Joseph P. Newhouse, said he found a similar pattern of unusual price increases after Congress added drug benefits to Medicare a few years ago, giving tens of millions of older Americans federally subsidized drug insurance. Just as the program was taking effect [under pharmaterrorist troll Bush] in 2006, the drug industry raised prices by the widest margin in a half-dozen years.
In House, Many Spoke With One Voice: Lobbyists' 15 Nov 2009 In the official record of the historic House debate on overhauling health care, the speeches of many lawmakers echo with similarities. Often, that was no accident. Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were ghostwritten, in whole or in part, by Washington lobbyists working for Genentech, one of the world's largest biotechnology companies. E-mail messages obtained by The New York Times show that the lobbyists drafted one statement for Democrats and another for Republicans. The lobbyists, employed by Genentech and by two Washington law firms, were remarkably successful in getting the statements printed in the Congressional Record under the names of different members of Congress. Genentech, a subsidiary of the Swiss drug giant Roche, estimates that 42 House members picked up some of its talking points -- 22 Republicans and 20 Democrats, an unusual bipartisan coup for lobbyists.
Useless is as useless does: Copenhagen climate talks: No deal, we're out of time, Obama warns 16 Nov 2009 Barack Obama acknowledged today that time had run out to secure a legally binding climate deal at the Copenhagen summit in December and threw his support behind plans to delay a formal pact until next year at the earliest. During a hastily convened meeting in Singapore, the US president supported a Danish plan to salvage something from next month's meeting by aiming to make it a first-stage series of commitments rather than an all-encompassing protocol.
Boycott Alaskan tourism: AK Governor Declares War on Polar Bears By Adrian Chen 16 Nov 2009 Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell [R-terrorist] wants the polar bears hanging out on top of his state's oil reserves to stop being so endangered. He's suing the feds to remove their "threatened" classification and help speed up development of oil fields.
Previous lead stories: US blocks release of Iraq, Afghanistan torture photos 15 Nov 2009 US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has blocked the release of new photographs showing prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq being abused by their Americans captors. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had sued for the release of 21 color photos under the Freedom of Information Act. The Obama regime filed a brief with the Supreme Court late Friday saying that Gates has invoked new powers blocking the release of the photos. Federal courts had rejected the government's arguments to block their release, so Congress gave Gates new powers to keep them private under a law signed by President Barack Obama last month. Gates' order specifically cites the 21 pictures sought by the ACLU, plus 23 additional ones cited in a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the second Circuit. However, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the order covers all photographs from investigations related to the treatment of individuals captured or detained in military operations outside the US between Sept. 11, 2001, and Jan. 22, 2009.
Britain's Abu Ghraib: Did Britain collude with US in abuse [and torture] of Iraqis? 14 Nov 2009 Claims that British soldiers recreated the torture conditions of Abu Ghraib to commit the sexual and physical abuse of Iraqi civilians are being investigated by the Ministry of Defence. In one case, British soldiers are accused of piling bodies of Iraqi prisoners on top of each other and subjecting them to electric shocks, an echo of the abuse at the notorious US detention centre at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison. One claimants says he was raped by two British soldiers, and others say they were stripped naked, abused and photographed... "They made him strip naked and started messing with his penis and taking photos. On one occasion I refused to pick a fight, then a soldier kicked me hard on my back, which made me fall on the floor. He started hitting me with a baton on my knees. Then he used an electric baton on different parts of my body."
Afghan troop surge to cost up to $54 bn per year 15 Nov 2009 The cost of sending 40,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan is estimated to be between $40 billion to $54 billion annually, a new report says. The New York Times cited top administration officials on Saturday that budget projections for the Afghan war will cost US taxpayers at least $1 million per soldier, per year.
Corbett Report - Estulin | After G20, Oligarchs Moving on African Union, Population Reduction
In an exclusive interview with The Corbett Report earlier today, Daniel Estulin revealed the behind-the-scenes details of last week's G20 Finance Minister's meeting in St. Andrews, Scotland. Many of these details come from actual G20 documents that his sources were able to sneak out of the meetings in spite of security measures which, Estulin notes, were unprecedented "even by Bilderberg standards." These documents, which contain valuable information about the conference, are available at BilderbergBook.com and have been mirrored on The Corbett Report homepage. They were smuggled out at great personal risk and need to be disseminated widely.
The key issue discussed at the meeting, according to Estulin, was "the next step in globalization, which is the creation of the African Union." This is part of an unfolding agenda of the ceding of national sovereignty to unnacountable regional governments which can more easily administer and implement the aims of the financial oligarchs. One of these aims is the elite's exhaustively documented penchant for population reduction, including tying development aid to population control problems. "The creation of the borderless African continent will be spearheaded by the IMF."
One of the smuggled documents shows that an attendee had the IMF articles of agreement at the meeting and highlighted the fact that funds were made available "under adequate safeguards" to member nations. This is code speak for imposing draconian measures designed to plunge countries into virtual servitude, with the result that in Africa, countries spend five times more revenue on servicing their IMF debts than they do on health care for their own citizens.
Watch an excerpt of the interview in the video:
The meeting's attendees, also identified in the smuggled documents, reads like a who's who of the financial oligarchical elite, including leading Bilderbergers such as U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, World Bank President Bob Zoellick, Turkish Finance Minister Ali Babacan and British Finance Minister Alistair Darling and many others. The Trilateral Commission was also represented at the conference by Japanese members Yoshihiko Noda and Masaaki Shirakawa.
In the interview, Estulin discusses the G20's debate on dumping the U.S. dollar which he first revealed would be on the meeting's agenda in a press release last week. He indicates that the matter, although discussed, was rejected . "The American and the British delegations tried to persuade the Russian and the Chinese delegates to devalue the dollar and create a basket of currencies or another world currency to take the place of the dollar," he said. "Luckily, both the Russians and the Chinese told the Americans and the British to go pound sand. They were not willing to do this."
The idea that the Western financial oligarchs are aiming to dump the U.S. dollar is in line with recent reports that Goldman Sachs (whose members are suspiciously well connected to the upper echelons of the U.S. Treasury) actually took up positions to short the housing market right before the crash. Although a pre-meditated attempt to bring about a financial collapse would appear not to be in the financial oligarch's self-interest, it makes perfect sense when one considers this as a problem-reaction-solution operation of creating a problem in order to get the public to support a pre-determined solution. In this case, the endgame has always been to use a financial collapse to usher in a New World Order. Now, exactly as precicted, everyone from Kissinger to Soros is using the economic collapse to call for a new financial order of greater international (read: unelected, undemocratic and unaccountable) control over world financial markets. Indeed, just as the G20 was wrapping up, talking heads like Damon Vickers were starting to insert talking points about a new global currency and a "New World Order" onto CNBC. Although it is good news that the dumping of the dollar failed to gain traction at this meeting, it by no means insures that this disastrous move will not continue to be pursued by the influential globalist financiers.
On a positive note, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty made a show of standing up for the people of the planet by noting that "the recent public policy of privatizing profits and socializing losses is unacceptable to taxpayers," to which someone responded "Do you think they have noticed?" The response provoked laughter from the assembled oligarchs. Mr. Estulin has a message for the G20 oligarchs: "Gentlemen of the G20, in case you're wondering: Yes, we the great unwashed have definitely noticed." FULL STORY
BlacklistedNews.com | Breaking Headlines
| The biggest story on the Planet today is the outbreak of a very serious Advanced Biological War virus in Europe. The second biggest story on the Planet is the suppression of this story for almost two weeks by the corporate owned mainstream news media. | |
| This report builds on the previously published Arctic ownership backgrounder. Its aim is to highlight new developments in the scramble for Arctic oil. | |
| PRIME Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday Britain must play a comprehensive role in 'changing the world' as he defended the country's military mission in Afghanistan. | |
| As I have repeatedly written (see this and this), the new derivatives legislation is so bad that it probably increases - rather than decreases - the risk to the financial system. | |
| Heads of state do not bow and show obeisance to one another, regardless of whether either one is an American President. | |
| Health and safety inspectors are to be given unprecedented access to family homes to ensure that parents are protecting their children from household accidents. | |
| India has put its nuclear power plants under alert and tightened security around them after intelligence about possible attacks, a report said on Monday. | |
| The CIA has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Pakistan's intelligence service since the Sept. 11 attacks, accounting for as much as one-third of the foreign spy agency's annual budget, current and former U.S. officials say. | |
| To combat terrorism, we should address the root causes of poverty, says former "economic hit man" | |
| A DEADLY plague could sweep across Europe, doctors fear, after an outbreak of a virus in Ukraine plunged the country and its neighbours into a state of panic. | |
| In 'grotesque carnival,' contractors pay insurgents to protect supply lines.How the U.S. funds the Taliban | |
| DARPA, the Pentagon tech bureau which has conferred upon a suffering human race such boons as the internet, the stealth bomber and the night-vision goggle, has finally made a bid to achieve that which humanity has yearned for above all other things. We refer, of course, to a laser weapon sufficiently portable to be carried on the head of a shark. | |
| Last year, Neuronetics' NeuroStar TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) Therapy system became the first device of its kind to be cleared by the FDA for treating depression. Although, the similarity to a dentist chair was probably not a great idea. | |
| Vagus Nerve Stimulation: $95,000. Deep Brain Stimulation: $40,000. Sacral Nerve Stimulation: $16,000. I don't need most of these things (or even know what they are), but I'd still love a spending spree in the Bionic Body Shop. | |
| At TEDMED, I witnessed video clips showing science I never knew was so advanced. Dr. Anthony Atala has been growing human tissue and organs, in a lab, for nearly two decades. He's even printed kidneys from a cell-stuffed inkjet printer. | |
| Colorado — No one was injured Saturday night in Wildridge, where a 61-year-old man reported to be armed with handguns barricaded himself into a home, Avon Police Chief Brian Kozak said. The Jefferson County Bomb Squad sent a robot into the house to help negotiate with the man, Kozak said. | |
| China continues to operate a network of "black jails" to detain poor people who attempt to go to Beijing to complain about injustices at the hands of corrupt local officials, according to Human Rights Watch | |
| In Japan, being thin isn’t just the price you pay for fashion or social acceptance. It’s the law. | |
| Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode in which Blackwater security guards fatally shot 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, according to former company officials. | |
| WASHINGTON: The CIA has funnelled hundreds of millions of dollars to Pakistan's intelligence service since the September 11 attacks, accounting for as much as one-third of the agency's budget, US officials say. | |
| A team of Japanese researchers has implanted the nucleus of an older woman's egg into the egg cell of a younger donor. | |
| In The People's Republic of China, it's no secret that the Party controls just about everything. But as Beijing suffers through its second major snowstorm this season, residents are growing weary of their leadership's control-freak tendencies | |
| A suicide car bomb devastated Pakistan's main spy agency building in the northwest Friday, killing at least 7 people and striking at the heart of the institution overseeing much of the country's anti-terror campaign. | |
| In order to fulfill this shared vision, Parties have agreed to establish a coherent, cohesive and integrated system of financial and technology transfer mechanisms under the Convention and a follow up/compliance mechanism. | |
| After several months of secrecy and controversy, on October 28th the US and Colombia signed an agreement to allow the US military extensive access to seven Colombian bases, notwithstanding serious concerns about true intentions and eventual consequences. | |
| Law Professor Trains Eye on Evolution of International Governance | |
| Concern was raised over the organic agriculture industry’s ability to cope with the onslaught of climate change while spurning GM technologies, at a high-level debate in the capital last week. | |
| A 14-year-old Virginia boy is weak and struggling to walk after coming down with a reported case of Guillain-Barre syndrome within hours after receiving the H1N1 vaccine for swine flu. | |
Cargill and Agro-Cartels Agenda For Globalization and Famine; LaRouche Responds
November 16, 2009 (LPAC)—This week's official pre-meetings for the Nov. 16-18 World Food Security Summit convened in Rome by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, tell in advance why the intended Declaration (a draft is circulating) is a call for more globalization and famine, in the false name of combatting hunger!
Lyndon LaRouche said, "It's a fraud! It's a plan to decrease the world's population by two-thirds. It's a desperate effort to keep control for the moment. It's bad bullshit,— that's the only way to describe it. Don't give it any credibility. They are who they are, out for genocide. Don't get excited about it; it's not going to work. A different trend is happening in the world; at this time, the power of London is about to evaporate. London and its friends are about to lose their power."
On Nov. 12-13, FAO Director Jacques Diouf and other FAO officials met with top execs of major agro-cartel companies now dominating world food, farming, and processing, at a forum, "Private Sector Actions to Reduce Food Insecurity," including Paul Naar, Vice President of Cargill; David Blanchard, Senior V.P. of Unilever; Henry Rieux, Bunge, Europe; Dean Oestreich, Chairman of Pioneer Hi-Bred International (DuPont), the world's largest seed company; Sean de Cleene, Vice President, Yara Fertilizer, the world's largest; and many others. Their common theme, as stated in the title of one of the panels, is: "Sustainable Food Value Chains," which is globaloney-talk meaning: the cartels—not governments, not farmers, not citizens—make the decisions from farm to table, on who farms, who eats, and who doesn't.
This year a new entity was formed called the Global Food Initiative, by four leaders of the world food cartel: Monsanto, ADM, DuPont (Pioneer), and John Deere. The purpose of the association is to promote still more globalization and private control over food seeds, processing, farm inputs, trade, and final distribution.
On Nov. 2-3 in London, this goal was discussed at a conference at the Royal Institute for International Affairs (RIIA, or Chatham House), "Food Security 2009—Achieving Long-Term Solutions."
On Monday, the FAO Summit proper convenes, with an expected attendance of several dozens heads of state, and a keynote by Pope Benedict XVI. As the FAO itself documents, at least 1.02 billion people—one sixth of the human race, is going hungry now. Helga Zepp-LaRouche in 2008 led a world drive for the June 2008 FAO World Food Summit to launch measures to double world food production at the earliest possible time. This can be done through a physical economic mobilization possible under a new credit system, as Lyndon LaRouche calls for, by a "Four Powers" collaboration of Russia, China, India, and the United States.
In opposition to this perspective, the draft 41-point Summit Declaration calls for more globalization, and public/private partnerships in the name of the "right to food."
FULL STORY
VOXY.co.nz | Fluoridation Increases Infant Death Rates
Tuesday, 17 November, 2009 - 07:54Fluoridation causes more premature births, one of the top causes of infant death in the USA. It poses the greatest risk to poor non-white mothers and babies. This is the finding State University of New York researchers from data spanning 1993 to 2002.
Research in Chile in the 1970s also showed fluoridation caused an increase in infant death rates. Chile stopped fluoridation as a result.
A baby born at least 3 weeks early is classified as premature - accounting for about 12 percent of US births.
To ensure fluoridation was the culprit, and not some other factor, the researchers recorded fluoridation residence status (under or over 1 ppm) and adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, neighborhood poverty level, hypertension and diabetes.
The data came from the NY Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System, which collects comprehensive information on patient characteristics and treatment history. The research was conducted within the university's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health.
"For the Ministry of Health to continue promoting fluoridation when there is this kind of evidence that it is real health risk is inexcusable" says Mark Atkin, Fluoride Action Network (NZ)'s co-representative on the Fluoridation-free NZ Coalition, adding "Only a few months ago we had further confirmation that fluoridation increases teenage male bone cancer rates. As has been said before, those who continue to promote fluoridation do so at the risk of future legal action against them."
Bloomberg.com | China’s New Missile May Create a ‘No-Go Zone’ for U.S. Fleet
Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- China’s military is close to fielding the world’s first anti-ship ballistic missile, according to U.S. Navy intelligence. The missile, with a range of almost 900 miles (1,500 kilometers), would be fired from mobile, land-based launchers and is “specifically designed to defeat U.S. carrier strike groups,” the Office of Naval Intelligence reported.
Five of the U.S. Navy’s 11 carriers are based in the Pacific and operate freely in international waters near China. Their mission includes defending Taiwan should China seek to exercise by force its claim to the island democracy, which it considers a breakaway province.
The missile could turn this region into a “no-go zone” for U.S. carriers, said Andrew Krepinevich, president of the Center for Strategic and Budget Assessments in Washington. FULL STORY
Seattle PostGlobe - Top News: Doctors report "unprecedented" rise in deformities, cancers in Iraq
November 16, 2009 - As we in the news media like to say, violence has “abated” in Iraq. For example, on Monday it was reported that 16 people – including a member of the country's main Sunni political party and several of his relatives – were killed by gunmen. And a parked car bomb exploded in a market in Kirkuk, killing five people and wounding seven others.
It’s sad to say that the death of 21 people is not too bad, but this is a country that, since the U.S. invasion, often saw a daily civilian death toll topping 100.
But there is another, more insidious violence that is on the rise and will likely continue to rise for generations to come.
The Guardian.co.uk reports that doctors in Fallujah are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting.
The report said, “Neurologists and obstetricians in the city interviewed by the Guardian say the rise in birth defects – which include a baby born with two heads, babies with multiple tumours, and others with nervous system problems - are unprecedented and at present unexplainable.”
Actually, this rise in birth defects has been reported on – by, at least a handful of journalists – for years. Iraqi researchers and doctors - for years - have documented the rise of birth defects and cancer primarily in southern Iraq where most of the fighting took place in the first Gulf War. With the second war in Iraq, it seems obvious that the problem is spreading. Depleted uranium has been singled out as the most likely cause.
Depleted uranium, which is used for armor-piercing shells of various sizes, is a highly dense metal that is the byproduct of the process during which fissionable uranium used to manufacture nuclear bombs and reactor fuel is separated from natural uranium. DU remains radioactive for about 4.5 billion years. Many governments have outlawed the use of DU as weapons. The United States has not. FULL STORY
NoCapandTrade.us | NO CAP AND TRADE
The House of Representatives rammed through the mind blowing 1500 page American Clean Energy Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454) on June 26th, 2009. The last 300 pages had just been written the night before. No one had seen it. There wasn't even a copy on the floor of the House. Yet, it is the most expensive, intrusive, job destroying, economically damaging bill ever considered in the history of the US. The US Senate is now considering it as the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, S 1733. This is one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation ever considered by Congress. Watch our short 3-4 minute videos and read our article in Range Magazine to find out just how dangerous this bill is. Then call your Senator and tell him or her not to vote for this bill. Go to www.congress.org to get contact information.
- If you think cap and trade is needed or innocuous, think again!
- What we are facing just to start
- (by 2030)
- · $3000 per family per year in increased energy costs
- · $4,600 per family per year total increased cost of living
- · $700 billion a year loss of GDP.
- · $5.7 Trillion in increased taxes
- · $9.4 Trillion total cost thru 2030
- · Up to 6 Million lost jobs
- · 2.2 jobs lost for every green job created
- · $750,000+ cost for every green job created
- · National debt will rise to minimum $12,803 per person
- · Trading of carbon credits on the derivatives market -- the same one that caused the financial collapse last year.
- · Devastating to 3rd World Nations
Cost of Keeping One U.S. Soldier in Afghanistan Per Year: One Million Dollars
November 15th, 2009
The U.S. doesn’t have to “win” the war for a handful of diabolical corporations to make a killing. The trick is to keep the war going for as long as possible.
And, day after day, the shakedown continues.
Bogus contracts, drugs and energy. That’s all, folks.
Plus a little change we can believe in.
Via: New York Times:
While President Obama’s decision about sending more troops to Afghanistan is primarily a military one, it also has substantial budget implications that are adding pressure to limit the commitment, senior administration officials say.
The latest internal government estimates place the cost of adding 40,000 American troops and sharply expanding the Afghan security forces, as favored by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American and allied commander in Afghanistan, at $40 billion to $54 billion a year, the officials said.
Even if fewer troops are sent, or their mission is modified, the rough formula used by the White House, of about $1 million per soldier a year, appears almost constant.
So even if Mr. Obama opts for a lower troop commitment, Afghanistan’s new costs could wash out the projected $26 billion expected to be saved in 2010 from withdrawing troops from Iraq. And the overall military budget could rise to as much as $734 billion, or 10 percent more than the peak of $667 billion under the Bush administration.
Such an escalation in military spending would be a politically volatile issue for Mr. Obama at a time when the government budget deficit is soaring, the economy is weak and he is trying to pass a costly health care plan. FULL STORY
RIAN.ru | Medvedev says Russia to step up navy presence in world's oceans
SINGAPORE, November 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia plans to increase its naval presence in the world's oceans, President Dmitry Medvedev said on board a Russian warship during an official visit to Singapore on Monday.Russia announced in 2007 that its Navy had resumed and would build up a constant presence throughout the world's oceans. Once one the world's most powerful forces, the Russian Navy now has few ships regularly deployed on the open seas.
Asked by the crew of the Varyag cruiser if Russia's presence would be stepped up further, Medvedev said: "Yes, this is planned."
Moscow has recently contributed warships to international efforts to combat Somali pirates. A flotilla of Russian warships also participated in exercises with India and Venezuela last year.
Last year's tour of the Mediterranean, Caribbean, South Atlantic and the Indian Oceans by a flotilla led by the heavy missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) was lauded by many in Russia as the country's naval reappearance on a global scale and criticized in the West as echoing the Cold War-era.
After making several port calls and engaging in antipiracy operations off Somalia, the Pyotr Veliky arrived in Venezuela in late November, which coincided with Medvedev's state visit to the Latin American state. The president visited the ship along with his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez.
In September 2008, Russia was reported to be in talks with Syria on turning the Tartus port into a permanent Middle East base for Russian warships.
Medvedev said Russia needs an effective navy to be able to send ships to take part in international missions.
"Our objective at the moment is to invest more considerable funds in the Navy. Decisions have been made, warships will be purchased under a state armaments program, certain steps will be made next year," Medvedev said.
He also said the current economic slump would have an insignificant effect on arms purchases for the Army and Navy.
RMN.com | A LICENSE FOR YOUR HOUSE - Thinking about selling your house - A look at H.R. 2454 (Cap and trade bill)
November 16, 2009 - You are encouraged to read the provisions of the Cap and Trade Bill that has passed the House of Representatives and being considered by the Senate.
A License required for your house...no longer just for cars and mobile homes...?
Thinking about selling your house - A look at H.R. 2454 (Cap and trade bill).
Beginning 1 year after enactment of the Cap and Trade Act, you won't be able to sell your home unless you retrofit it to comply with the energy and water efficiency standards of this Act. H.R. 2454, the "Cap & Trade" bill passed by the House of Representatives, if also passed by the Senate, will be the largest tax increase any of us has ever experienced. The Congressional Budget Office (supposedly non-partisan) estimates that in just a few years the average cost to every family of four will be $6,800 per year. No one is excluded. However, once the lower classes feel the pinch in their wallets, you can be sure these voters get a tax refund (even if they pay no taxes at all) to offset this new cost. Thus, you Mr. and Mrs. Middle Class America will have to pay even more since additional tax dollars will be needed to bail out everyone else.
But wait. This awful bill (that no one in Congress has actually read) has many more surprises in it. Probably the worst one is this: A year from now you won't be able to sell your house. Yes, you read that right. The caveat is (there always is a caveat) that if you have enough money to make required major upgrades to your home, then you can sell it. But, if not, then forget it. Even pre-fabricated homes ("mobile homes") are included. In effect, this bill prevents you from selling your home without the permission of the EPA administrator. To get this permission, you will have to have the energy efficiency of your home measured. Then the government will tell you what your new energy efficiency requirement is and you will be forced to make modifications.......
IntelDaily.com | Reality: Foreclosures rise, consumer sentiment falls in US
November 16, 2009 - Home foreclosures in the US increased 19 percent in October over a year ago, according to a report released by RealtyTrac, Inc., on Thursday. The number of filings was more than 300,000 for the eighth month in a row.
The figures reflect the continued crisis facing millions of US homeowners who face declining wages and soaring unemployment.
The state with the highest foreclosure rate in the country continues to be Nevada, where one out of 80 homes received a foreclosure filing in October.
The state with the highest absolute number of foreclosures was California, with more than 85,000, followed by Florida, Illinois, and Michigan. These four states accounted for more than 50 percent of all foreclosures in the country.
The continued jobs crisis has been met with indifference by the Obama administration. In a brief statement made on Thursday, Obama emphasized the “limits to what government can and should do, even during such difficult times.” It was necessary to avoid any “ill-considered decision…when our resources are so limited,” he added. (See “Obama announces fraudulent ‘jobs’ summit”)
These remarks pledged to fiscal austerity and “limited government” made clear that the administration will continue to reject any government jobs program or additional stimulus measures. They come after the Obama administration has already handed out trillions of dollars to the banks and continues to spend hundreds of billions on the attempted military conquest of the Middle East and Central Asia.
Cave's Headline | November 16, 2009
The Dayton Business Journal reports:
The Dayton area overall has created or saved more than 623 jobs as a result of the $320 million in stimulus funding that has been awarded.
If you don't live in Dayton, you'll be happy to know that the federal government took your tax dollars and spent $514,000 per job to get Daytonians back to work. And that's assuming, contrary to our experience, so far that the jobs reported as "created or saved" are for real.
ZeroHedge.com | Full Ben Bernanke Speech Before Economic Club of New York
November 16, 2009
On the Outlook for the Economy and Policy
When I last spoke at the Economic Club of New York a little more than a year ago, the financial crisis had just taken a much more virulent turn. In my remarks at that time, I described the extraordinary actions that policymakers around the globe were taking to address the crisis, and I expressed optimism that we had the tools necessary to stabilize the system.....
AP | Millions will have to repay part of tax credit
WASHINGTON — More than 15 million taxpayers could unexpectedly owe taxes when they file their federal returns next spring because the government was too generous with their new Making Work Pay tax credit.
Taxpayers are at risk if they have more than one job, are married and both spouses work, or receive Social Security benefits while also earning taxable wages, according to a report Monday by the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration.
The tax credit, which is supposed to pay individuals up to $400 and couples up to $800, was President Barack Obama's signature tax break in the massive stimulus package enacted in February.
Most workers started receiving the credit through small increases in their paychecks in April. The tax credit was made available through new withholding tables issued by the Internal Revenue Service.
The withholding tables, however do not take into account taxpayers with multiple jobs or married couples in which both people work. They also don't take into account Social Security recipients with jobs that provided taxable income.
The Social Security Administration sent out $250 payments to more than 50 million retirees in the spring as part of the economic stimulus package. The payments were meant to provide a boost for people who didn't' qualify for the tax credit.
However, they went to many retirees who also received the credit. Those retirees will have the $250 payment deducted from their tax credit — but not until they file their tax returns next year, long after the money may have been spent.
"While implementing a credit through reduced withholding is an effective way to provide economic stimulus evenly throughout the year, it is difficult to account for everyone's circumstances," said J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration. "More than 10 percent of all taxpayers who file individual tax returns for 2009 could owe additional taxes."
The tax credit is also available for 2010. Russell said the problems will continue in 2010 if they are not resolved.
The credit pays workers 6.2 percent of their earned income, up to a maximum of $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples who file jointly. Individuals making more than $95,000 and couples making more than $190,000 are ineligible.
"Making Work Pay was designed to deliver much needed boosts to the paychecks of 95 percent of all working Americans," said Nayyera Haq, a Treasury Department spokeswoman. "Since enactment, more than 110 million families have benefited from as much as $60 in additional take home pay each month to put toward their family budgets, serving as a steady boost to spending and consumption."
For many, the new tax tables will simply mean smaller-than-expected tax refunds next year. The average tax refund this year was about $2,800.
The IRS, in a response to the audit, advised taxpayers to check their withholding throughout the year to make sure they don't get hit with an unexpected tax bill.
"The withholding system must approximate the tax liability of tens of millions of Americans, and therefore, cannot be tailored precisely to fit every individual situation," Richard Byrd Jr., commissioner of the IRS' wage and investments division, wrote in the agency's response to the report.
Bloomberg.com | Rice may double in price - to more than $1,000 a metric ton as dry El Nino weather shrinks output
Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Rice prices have nowhere to go but up as drought in India and cyclones in the Philippines cripple harvests, according to the world’s biggest importer and the top exporter. Rice may double to more than $1,000 a metric ton as dry El Nino weather shrinks output and the Philippines and India boost imports, said Sarunyu Jeamsinkul, the deputy managing director at Asia Golden Rice Ltd. in Thailand, the largest exporting nation. Prices won’t peak until March, said Rex Estoperez, a spokesman for the National Food Authority of the Philippines, the biggest importer. The agency issued a record tender for 600,000 tons last week and today called for bids for the same volume on Dec. 8 to secure grain before prices rise.
Global rice supplies are likely to be tighter than last year, when food shortages sparked riots from Haiti to Egypt, said Jeremy Zwinger, president of The Rice Trader, a brokerage and consulting company in Chico, California. Escalating food prices threaten to spark unrest in developing nations while increasing costs for beer brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos., the biggest U.S. rice buyer, and cereal maker Kellogg Co.
John Galt | The Obama Bowing Survey
November 16, 2009
IF Obama bowed to the Saudi King as the picture above indicates and they are rated #4 with the other Oil Exporters for purchasing our Treasuries…..
AND
IF Obama bowed to the Empeoror of Japan as the pictured above indicates and they are rated #2 for purchasing our Treasuries……
THEN WHAT
Did Obama do BEHIND CLOSED DOORS with the Chinese Premier last night since they are the NUMBER 1 buyer of Treasuries?
a. Hugabutt
b. Lewinsky
c. Sent Michelle in
d. Sang “The East is Red” wearing a sarong and high heels to entertain them.
e. All of the above
What a schmuck…..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)