Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Oops! US Soldiers Kill Iraqi Tribal Chief's Son
AQUBA: US soldiers killed an Iraqi tribal chief's son and wounded his wife in what the Americans on Saturday called a tragic accident, although local accounts of the incident differed.
US troops were travelling through the district of Kanaan, northeast of Baghdad, late on Thursday when Zhaheri tribe chief Thaher Zaihud al-Zhaheri's son, Ahmed, walked outside the family's front door and was shot dead, the tribal leader said.
Further gunfire wounded Zhaheri's wife in the leg.
According to the US military, American soldiers were conducting a reconnaissance patrol ahead of a combined operation with Iraqi security forces when the “tragic accident” occurred.
“Villagers responded to what they thought were intruders and began firing in the darkness, which caused other residents to come out of their homes and also fire their rifles,” a statement said.
“Thinking they were under attack, the US soldiers returned fire to protect themselves. Regrettably, as a result of this gunfire exchange, a young man was killed and a woman was wounded.”
The statement said an investigation had been launched.
According to Zhaheri, however, there was no shooting prior to the family hearing a noise near their home and they thought there might be thieves in their village, Saisabanah.
“Ahmed went outside and when he opened the door and walked outside, the Americans shot and killed him,” he told AFP.
“They continued shooting at our house and one bullet hit my wife's leg.” Zhaheri's account of the incident was repeated by an Iraqi military officer in Diyala's provincial security operations centre.
Saisabanah is a village of around 10 houses, and families there are known to have fought US forces since the 2003 invasion.
Zhaheri's wife Sabiha Nahath Saud, 56, was in stable condition, according to Ahmed Alwan, a doctor at the main hospital in Baquba, Diyala's provincial capital.
Source article can be found here.
P.S. Oops! Americans, think about that thought that I mentioned earlier of the American flag being like matador's cape. Maybe we'd stop doing the stupid things we're doing in the world if we would. Maybe we'd stop being such good, stupid Americans.
US troops were travelling through the district of Kanaan, northeast of Baghdad, late on Thursday when Zhaheri tribe chief Thaher Zaihud al-Zhaheri's son, Ahmed, walked outside the family's front door and was shot dead, the tribal leader said.
Further gunfire wounded Zhaheri's wife in the leg.
According to the US military, American soldiers were conducting a reconnaissance patrol ahead of a combined operation with Iraqi security forces when the “tragic accident” occurred.
“Villagers responded to what they thought were intruders and began firing in the darkness, which caused other residents to come out of their homes and also fire their rifles,” a statement said.
“Thinking they were under attack, the US soldiers returned fire to protect themselves. Regrettably, as a result of this gunfire exchange, a young man was killed and a woman was wounded.”
The statement said an investigation had been launched.
According to Zhaheri, however, there was no shooting prior to the family hearing a noise near their home and they thought there might be thieves in their village, Saisabanah.
“Ahmed went outside and when he opened the door and walked outside, the Americans shot and killed him,” he told AFP.
“They continued shooting at our house and one bullet hit my wife's leg.” Zhaheri's account of the incident was repeated by an Iraqi military officer in Diyala's provincial security operations centre.
Saisabanah is a village of around 10 houses, and families there are known to have fought US forces since the 2003 invasion.
Zhaheri's wife Sabiha Nahath Saud, 56, was in stable condition, according to Ahmed Alwan, a doctor at the main hospital in Baquba, Diyala's provincial capital.
Source article can be found here.
P.S. Oops! Americans, think about that thought that I mentioned earlier of the American flag being like matador's cape. Maybe we'd stop doing the stupid things we're doing in the world if we would. Maybe we'd stop being such good, stupid Americans.
Stop Being Such Good Americans
Americans stop and think a minute, especially you who where your patriotism on your sleeves, this may be a liberating thought for you:
Think of the American flag as a matador's cape and yourselves as the bull.
Then perhaps you'll stop being jingoed to charge to your demise.
P.S. The bulls that are considered good bulls, are those that charge through the cape all the time, every time... until they are slayed.
Stop being such good Americans.
Think of the American flag as a matador's cape and yourselves as the bull.
Then perhaps you'll stop being jingoed to charge to your demise.
P.S. The bulls that are considered good bulls, are those that charge through the cape all the time, every time... until they are slayed.
Stop being such good Americans.
Friday, February 26, 2010
US Oligarchy to Japan: Do it the American way.
Does anyone really believe that Toyota is being pilloried in the media for a few highway fatalities?
Nonsense. If Congress is so worried about innocent people getting killed, then why haven't they indicted US commander Stanley McChrystal for blowing up another 27 Afghan civilians on Sunday?
But this isn't about bloodshed and it's certainly not "safety regulations". It's about politics--bare-knuckle Machiavellian politics. An attack on Toyota is an attack on Japan's leading export. It is an act of war. Here's a excerpt from the New York Times which explains what is really going on:
"The Japanese economy has emerged from its worst recession since World War II, but is still reeling. Japan must do more to lift its economy out of deflation and boost long-term growth", S.&P. said.
“The outlook change reflects our view that the Japanese government’s diminishing economic policy flexibility may lead to a downgrade unless measures can be taken to stem fiscal and deflationary pressures,” S.&P. said. “The policies of the new Democratic Party of Japan government point to a slower pace of fiscal consolidation than we had previously expected.”
President Barack Obama is expected to address similar worries in the Untied States on Wednesday, with a call for a freeze in spending on many domestic programs, a move he hopes will quell perceptions that government spending is out of control. Fiscal problems in Greece and Ireland have also helped put the spotlight on the issue of national debt." ("Japan’s High Debt Prompts Credit Rating Warning", HIROKO TABUCHI AND BETTINA WASSENER, NY Times)
Japan's new liberal government is fighting deflation using the traditional methodology, by lowering interest rates and increasing fiscal stimulus. But that's not what Washington wants. Neoliberal policymakers and their buddies in the right-wing think tanks want "fiscal consolidation" which means harsh austerity measures that will deepen the recession, increase unemployment, and trigger a wave of defaults and bankruptcies. This is how western corporatists and bank tycoons keep their thumb on the developing world and thrust their economies into perennial crisis. It's the "shock doctrine" and it's been the IMF's modus operandi for over 20 years. Japan is being stuffed into a fiscal straight-jacket by supporters of the Washington consensus whose goal is to weaken government and accelerate the privatization of public assets and services.
The ratings agencies are being used in the same way as the media; to wage an economic/guerrilla war on Japan and force the administration to rethink their economic policies. (Note: There is no chance that Japan will default on its debt because it pays its debts in its own currency and has large foreign exchange reserves of over $1 trillion) The attacks on Toyota are a way of showing Tokyo what happens to countries that fail to obey Washington's orders.
Here's a clip from the New York Times which sums up the problem in a nutshell:
The government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has "bolstered spending on social programs aimed at helping households......The powerful lower house of parliament approved a supplementary budget for the fiscal year that ends in March worth ¥7.2 trillion, or $80.3 billion, to help shore up the economy...And next year, government spending will grow further with a record trillion-dollar budget including ambitious welfare outlays. (New York Times)
Western elites will not tolerate economic policies which raise the standard of living for the average working slob. "Social programs" or "welfare outlays" are anathema to their trickle down, Voodoo capitalist orthodoxy. What they want is upward redistribution and class warfare. Regrettably, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has put himself at odds with US powerbrokers and is feeling the full measure of their wrath. His public approval ratings have plummeted to 37 percent and are headed downward still. The message is simple: Cross Washington and you're a goner.
Source article can be found here.
P.S. Somehow I don't think Americans will be leading the way to freedom.
Nonsense. If Congress is so worried about innocent people getting killed, then why haven't they indicted US commander Stanley McChrystal for blowing up another 27 Afghan civilians on Sunday?
But this isn't about bloodshed and it's certainly not "safety regulations". It's about politics--bare-knuckle Machiavellian politics. An attack on Toyota is an attack on Japan's leading export. It is an act of war. Here's a excerpt from the New York Times which explains what is really going on:
"The Japanese economy has emerged from its worst recession since World War II, but is still reeling. Japan must do more to lift its economy out of deflation and boost long-term growth", S.&P. said.
“The outlook change reflects our view that the Japanese government’s diminishing economic policy flexibility may lead to a downgrade unless measures can be taken to stem fiscal and deflationary pressures,” S.&P. said. “The policies of the new Democratic Party of Japan government point to a slower pace of fiscal consolidation than we had previously expected.”
President Barack Obama is expected to address similar worries in the Untied States on Wednesday, with a call for a freeze in spending on many domestic programs, a move he hopes will quell perceptions that government spending is out of control. Fiscal problems in Greece and Ireland have also helped put the spotlight on the issue of national debt." ("Japan’s High Debt Prompts Credit Rating Warning", HIROKO TABUCHI AND BETTINA WASSENER, NY Times)
Japan's new liberal government is fighting deflation using the traditional methodology, by lowering interest rates and increasing fiscal stimulus. But that's not what Washington wants. Neoliberal policymakers and their buddies in the right-wing think tanks want "fiscal consolidation" which means harsh austerity measures that will deepen the recession, increase unemployment, and trigger a wave of defaults and bankruptcies. This is how western corporatists and bank tycoons keep their thumb on the developing world and thrust their economies into perennial crisis. It's the "shock doctrine" and it's been the IMF's modus operandi for over 20 years. Japan is being stuffed into a fiscal straight-jacket by supporters of the Washington consensus whose goal is to weaken government and accelerate the privatization of public assets and services.
The ratings agencies are being used in the same way as the media; to wage an economic/guerrilla war on Japan and force the administration to rethink their economic policies. (Note: There is no chance that Japan will default on its debt because it pays its debts in its own currency and has large foreign exchange reserves of over $1 trillion) The attacks on Toyota are a way of showing Tokyo what happens to countries that fail to obey Washington's orders.
Here's a clip from the New York Times which sums up the problem in a nutshell:
The government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has "bolstered spending on social programs aimed at helping households......The powerful lower house of parliament approved a supplementary budget for the fiscal year that ends in March worth ¥7.2 trillion, or $80.3 billion, to help shore up the economy...And next year, government spending will grow further with a record trillion-dollar budget including ambitious welfare outlays. (New York Times)
Western elites will not tolerate economic policies which raise the standard of living for the average working slob. "Social programs" or "welfare outlays" are anathema to their trickle down, Voodoo capitalist orthodoxy. What they want is upward redistribution and class warfare. Regrettably, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has put himself at odds with US powerbrokers and is feeling the full measure of their wrath. His public approval ratings have plummeted to 37 percent and are headed downward still. The message is simple: Cross Washington and you're a goner.
Source article can be found here.
P.S. Somehow I don't think Americans will be leading the way to freedom.
Tea Parties, Alex Jones, FOX News
If I were an Alex Jones fan or a "patriotic" tea partier, I'd be concerned about the synchronicity in FOX's red-scare demonizing of Obama and the Dems and theirs. You have to ask, what is FOX's goal to understand the common goal.
YA THINK FOX HAS SOME PRINCIPLED GOAL IN MIND???
Did you forget how they defended the criminal administration of Bush, no matter how grievous the crimes, no matter how grievous to.... THE CONSTITUTION!!!!
Wake up people!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wanted: Background Sweeper
Due to truth (and other bad ideas) seeping into the background of our broadcasts, we are seeking a Background Sweeper. Desired person should have a general idea of the kind of truth (or bad ideas) that is not appropriate for prime time television.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Harvard Fellow Calls for Genocidal Measure to Curb Palestinian Births
A fellow at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Martin Kramer, has called for "the West" to take measures to curb the births of Palestinians, a proposal that appears to meet the international legal definition of a call for genocide.
Kramer, who is also a fellow at the influential Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), made the call early this month in a speech at Israel's Herzliya conference, a video of which is posted on his blog ("Superfluous young men," 7 February 2010).
In the speech Kramer rejected common views that Islamist "radicalization" is caused by US policies such as support for Israel, or propping up despotic dictatorships, and stated that it was inherent in the demography of Muslim societies such as Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip. Too many children, he argued, leads to too many "superfluous young men" who then become violent radicals.
Kramer proposed that the number of Palestinian children born in the Gaza Strip should be deliberately curbed, and alleged that this would "happen faster if the West stops providing pro-natal subsidies to Palestinians with refugee status."
Due to the Israeli blockade, the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza are now dependent on UN food aid. Neither the UN, nor any other agencies, provide Palestinians with specifically "pro-natal subsidies." Kramer appeared to be equating any humanitarian assistance at all with inducement for Palestinians to reproduce.
He added, "Israel's present sanctions on Gaza have a political aim -- undermine the Hamas regime -- but if they also break Gaza's runaway population growth, and there is some evidence that they have, that might begin to crack the culture of martyrdom which demands a constant supply of superfluous young men." This, he claimed, would be treating the issue of Islamic radicalization "at its root."
The 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, created in the wake of the Nazi holocaust, defines genocide to include measures "intended to prevent births within" a specific "national, ethnic, racial or religious group."
The Weatherhead Center at Harvard describes itself as "the largest international research center within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences." In addition to his positions at Harvard and WINEP, Kramer is "president-designate" of Shalem College in Jerusalem, a far-right Zionist institution that aspires to be the "College of the Jewish People."
Pro-Israel speakers from the United States often participate in the the Herzliya conference, an influential annual gathering of Israel's political and military establishment. This year's conference was also addressed by The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and, in a first for a Palestinian official, by Salam Fayyad, appointed prime minister of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.
Kramer's call to prevent Palestinian births reflects a long-standing Israeli and Zionist concern about a so-called "demographic threat" to Israel, as Palestinians are on the verge of outnumbering Israeli Jews within Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories combined.
Such extreme racist views have been aired at the Herzliya conference in the past. In 2003, for example, Dr. Yitzhak Ravid, an Israeli government armaments expert, called on Israel to "implement a stringent policy of family planning in relation to its Muslim population," a reference to the 1.5 million Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Source article can be found here.
P.S. Noteworthy are the stoic responses of Mr. Kramer's fellow Israeli tribe members.
Audio: Debra Medina Agrees 9-11 Truth Movement is Despicable
Well there ya go rightard patriots! Back to Ruse Paul.
We gotta just forget about 9-11 truth (and the war) and just dismantle social programs and privatize America, damnit!!! Don't you realize that's what true patriotism is all about? It's privatizing America!!!! Now, chant with me: We don't need no stinking health insurance!!!
Architects & Engineers 911 Truth Press Conference
AE911Truth Press Conference from MysterE Productions on Vimeo.
The professional organization of architects & engineers who dared to answer the charge of ‘conspiracy theorist’ with the proof of physics and common sense has now reached 1000+ members exposing the official 9/11 story.Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Iran Reports US Sponsored Jundallah Leader in Custody
The Iranian government is reporting today that Abdulmalek Rigi, the founder and leader of the Jundallah militant group, was turned over to their custody today following his arrest. Rigi was reportedly arrest on a flight from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan.
Jundallah is a Baloch separatist group responsible for several major attacks, including the destruction of a Shi’ite mosque in Zahedan during the election campaign last year. US officials have privately confirmed having secretly encouraged and advised Jundallah for years.
But exactly how deep America’s ties to the group were or are is unclear. Rigi’s younger brother, Abdulhamid Rigi, who was captured by Iran last year, claimed that the US provided direct funding to the group after it broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2003 and that US officials even ordered specific terrorist attacks inside Iran.
Though the group’s attacks have been virtually exclusively against Iran, they are also known to operate inside Pakistan. The Iranian government has also claimed that the US gives the group safe haven in neighboring Afghanistan and even provided Rigi with an Afghan passport.
Jundallah and Iran reportedly held secret talks earlier this month in Dubai, though the talks apparently ended without an agreement and Jundallah issued a statement last week pledging new attacks against the Shi’ite government.
Source article with links can be found here.
Jundallah is a Baloch separatist group responsible for several major attacks, including the destruction of a Shi’ite mosque in Zahedan during the election campaign last year. US officials have privately confirmed having secretly encouraged and advised Jundallah for years.
But exactly how deep America’s ties to the group were or are is unclear. Rigi’s younger brother, Abdulhamid Rigi, who was captured by Iran last year, claimed that the US provided direct funding to the group after it broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2003 and that US officials even ordered specific terrorist attacks inside Iran.
Though the group’s attacks have been virtually exclusively against Iran, they are also known to operate inside Pakistan. The Iranian government has also claimed that the US gives the group safe haven in neighboring Afghanistan and even provided Rigi with an Afghan passport.
Jundallah and Iran reportedly held secret talks earlier this month in Dubai, though the talks apparently ended without an agreement and Jundallah issued a statement last week pledging new attacks against the Shi’ite government.
Source article with links can be found here.
Gates: European Aversion to War a Danger to Peace
Speaking today at the National Defense University, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates condemned European nations in general for their refusal to contribute larger portions of their population to NATO.
Gates warned that Europe’s aversion to war was doing serious harm to assorted US military operations with NATO backing, and was therefore “an impediment” to the lasting peace he envisions those wars eventually creating.
Gates’ comments appeared to be directed in part at the Netherlands, who saw its government collapse this weekend after NATO pressure to continue its commitment to the Afghan War led antiwar members of the government to withdraw.
He said that the “demilitarization of Europe” was a long-term, systemic problem for NATO, and that the European members of NATO needed to increase their military spending to NATO mandated levels.
Source article with links can be found here.
P.S. Patience, Mr. Gates. It takes time to dumb down people and mold their minds to respond properly to war jingoing. Americans have you spoiled.
Gates warned that Europe’s aversion to war was doing serious harm to assorted US military operations with NATO backing, and was therefore “an impediment” to the lasting peace he envisions those wars eventually creating.
Gates’ comments appeared to be directed in part at the Netherlands, who saw its government collapse this weekend after NATO pressure to continue its commitment to the Afghan War led antiwar members of the government to withdraw.
He said that the “demilitarization of Europe” was a long-term, systemic problem for NATO, and that the European members of NATO needed to increase their military spending to NATO mandated levels.
Source article with links can be found here.
P.S. Patience, Mr. Gates. It takes time to dumb down people and mold their minds to respond properly to war jingoing. Americans have you spoiled.
Israeli Oppositon Leader: International Community Must Back Dubai Hit
“Every terrorist must know that no one will support him when a soldier, and it doesn’t matter what soldier, tries to kill him," says opposition leader.
Opposition leader and former Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni on Tuesday called upon the international community to support Israel’s effort to fight terrorism, alluding for the first time to the assassination of Hamas weapons procurement director Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, which foreign sources have attributed to the Mossad.
Speaking at the closing plenary of the Jewish Agency Board of Governor’s meeting at the capital’s Inbal Hotel, Livni said that any comparison between terrorism and those fighting it is immoral. Noting that US forces in Afghanistan accidentally killed 27 civilians on Monday, she said it must be made clear that the world supports armies that are fighting terrorists, and not terrorists who target innocent civilians.
“Every terrorist must know that no one will support him when a soldier, and it doesn’t matter what soldier, tries to kill him, whether it is in the Gaza Strip, Afghanistan or Dubai,” Livni said. “I don’t expect the world to welcome the killing of terrorists, but I do expect the world to not criticize it.”
Livni said she did not know who was responsible for the killing of Mabhouh. She mocked the criticism Israel has taken from the international community for the assassination.
“What was disproportionate this time?” she asked. “Was there a disproportionate use of passports?"
Source article can be found here.
Opposition leader and former Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni on Tuesday called upon the international community to support Israel’s effort to fight terrorism, alluding for the first time to the assassination of Hamas weapons procurement director Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, which foreign sources have attributed to the Mossad.
Speaking at the closing plenary of the Jewish Agency Board of Governor’s meeting at the capital’s Inbal Hotel, Livni said that any comparison between terrorism and those fighting it is immoral. Noting that US forces in Afghanistan accidentally killed 27 civilians on Monday, she said it must be made clear that the world supports armies that are fighting terrorists, and not terrorists who target innocent civilians.
“Every terrorist must know that no one will support him when a soldier, and it doesn’t matter what soldier, tries to kill him, whether it is in the Gaza Strip, Afghanistan or Dubai,” Livni said. “I don’t expect the world to welcome the killing of terrorists, but I do expect the world to not criticize it.”
Livni said she did not know who was responsible for the killing of Mabhouh. She mocked the criticism Israel has taken from the international community for the assassination.
“What was disproportionate this time?” she asked. “Was there a disproportionate use of passports?"
Source article can be found here.
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