What A Wonderful "Post 9-11" World

What a wonderful post 9-11 world! Thank you, Israel/USA.

North Tower: No Pile Driver, Yes Explosions

You Forgot to Ask for Dismantling Jewish Apartheid

Lady, you forgot to ask for the dismantling of jewish apartheid. Or do you still believe zionism can be had nicely?

Israel: Bringing Assassination Teams To A Neighborhood Near You

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Dubai's police chief said Monday an 11-member hit squad carrying European passports and disguised in wigs, fake beards and tennis clothes was behind the mysterious killing of a Hamas commander in his hotel room last month. Authorities also released photos of the 11.

Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim did not directly implicate Israel, as the Islamic militant group has. But the details he released at a news conference in the Gulf emirate are the most comprehensive accusations by Dubai authorities since the body of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was found Jan. 20 in his luxury hotel room near Dubai's international airport.

Tamim said it was possible that "leaders of certain countries gave orders to their intelligence agents to kill" al-Mabhouh, one of the founders of Hamas' military wing. But he did not name any countries.

Hamas has accused Israel and vowed revenge.

Tamim sketched out a highly organized operation in the hours before the killing, clearly done with advance knowledge of the victim's movements, and said the killers spent less than a day in the country. He said forensic tests indicated al-Mabhouh died of suffocation, but lab analyses were still under way to pinpoint other possible factors in his death.

He showed the news conference airport surveillance video of the alleged assassination team arriving on separate flights to Dubai the day before al-Mabhouh was found dead. The members of the alleged hit-squad checked into separate hotels.

In the surveillance footage, which also included images from the hotel, the one woman among the group of suspects appears to be wearing a wig and at times wears a big hat and sunglasses to blend in as a tourist. Others were also seen on the footage disguised as tourists, wearing tennis clothes and carrying rackets.

Authorities appear to have linked the group through the videos. They are seen entering and exiting the hotel, standing together or in pairs in the hotel lobby and going in and out the elevator on the floor where al-Mabhouh was staying. They appear individually, sometimes in pairs or in groups of three or four.

They paid for all expenses in cash and used different mobile phone cards to avoid traces, Tamim said.

The killing itself took just 10 minutes, he said. Several members of the hit squad followed the Hamas man — even riding with him in the same elevator to determine his room number — and then checked into the room across the hall. Four assassins among the group later entered his room in the Al-Bustan Rotana Hotel while he was out, using an electronic device to open the door. There they waited for him to return.

Source article is here.

P.S. Ya think there might be US teams like this? I wonder if Dick Cheney would know.

US Congressman Calls for Breaking Gaza Blockade

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- U.S. Rep. Brian Baird says the United States should break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver badly needed supplies by sea.

The Washington Democrat, who is not running for re-election, told Gaza students Sunday that ships should bring supplies to the beach and deliver them to United Nations agencies.

He also said President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy should visit the Hamas-ruled territory to get a first-hand look at the destruction caused by Israeli's military offensive last year.

The Obama administration shuns Hamas because the Islamic militant group refuses to recognize Israel or renounce violence.

Israel allows humanitarian supplies and food into Gaza, but has kept out cement and other building supplies.

Source article can be found here.

P.S. Notice that he's not running for re-election. Think he'd have a snowball's chance of being re-elected were he running?

Cheney: "I was a big supporter of waterboarding."

So Dick, can I call you Dick? Dick, is being evil and cruel the American way now?

Clinton Presses for Sanctions to Save Iran’s Islamic Republic!

The Obama Administration’s endless quest for additional sanctions against Iran has taken a new and bizarre form today, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton actually argued that the sanctions were necessary to save the nation’s Islamic Republic system of government from growing military influence.

“We see that the Government in Iran, the Supreme Leader, the President, the parliament is being supplanted and that Iran is moving towards a military dictatorship,” Clinton warned.

She also expressed concern that Iran could become “a far cry from the Islamic Republic that had elections and different points of view.” Perplexingly, the United States has taken an extremely negative view of Iran’s post-revolution form of government from the beginning, and has regularly backed military juntas across the Middle East.

Now, Secretary Clinton seems to see the “crippling sanctions” across the board as a way of saving the Islamic Republic from the Revolutionary Guards. At least that’s the current line as the administration pushes forward with garnering international support for the move.

As if underscoring how readily the administration changes its line to fit the situation, Clinton’s comments came just a day after National Security Adviser James Jones advocated new sanctions on Fox News with the argument that the sanctions could undermine the Islamic Republic enough that the Green Revolution opposition might take over in a regime change.

Source article was found here.

P.S. Geeze Hillary, what is it? Is it so the Islamic Republic will collapse or is it to save the Islamic Republic? Are you sure it's not part of the Clean Break strategy for securing the realm for Israel? C'mon, Hillary. You wouldn't fib the American people, would you?

Israel and U.S. Launch Global Push for New Iran Sanctions

Israel is joining the diplomatic action as the world approaches decision time in the face of Iran's nuclear threat - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen is arriving in Tel Aviv for a series of discussions focused on Iran, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading for talks in Russia for meetings with top Russian officials.
Israel and the United States will hold strategic talks on the issue next week, the first such talks since Netanyahu took office.
A senior Israeli official said Saturday that the U.S., France, Britain and Germany have been updating Israel continuously on developments at the UN and in major world capitals on drafting new measures against the Islamic Republic.
"As far as we know, efforts are being made to reach a decision on sanctions, and to have them approved in the Security Council by mid- to late March," the official said, adding, "The sanctions are expected to focus on the Revolutionary Guards and bodies linked to the nuclear program, and less on the Iranian population."
Tel Aviv and Washington have held several high-level consultations on Iran in recent weeks. Last month U.S. National Security Adviser James Jones visited Tel Aviv for talks with Israeli colleagues, and two weeks ago Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta paid a secret visit to the country. The U.S. officials briefed their counterparts on sanctions the Obama administration intends to levy against Iran, but reportedly asked them to keep a low media profile and to "act responsibly."
Today Mullen will meet his Israeli equivalent, Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, with whom he reportedly enjoys a close working relationship. Mullen and Ashkenazi met several weeks ago at a NATO summit in Brussels and on several other occasions over the past year, and speak regularly by phone.
Mullen will meet with Deputy Chief of Staff Benny Gantz tomorrow, as well as Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin and Amir Eshel, head of the army's Planning and Policy Directorate. Mullen will also meet with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak for talks on Iran and on maintaining Israel's "qualitative edge" over other regional military forces. Mullen is arriving in Tel Aviv from Egypt and will be continuing to Jordan.
Parallel to discussions with the Netanyahu administration, the U.S. is also ramping up pressure on Israel's Arab neighbors over Iran as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Saudi Arabia and the Qatar this week.
As Clinton departed for a three-day trip to the Gulf, U.S. officials hinted Saturday that one way Saudi Arabia could help diplomatically would be to offer China guarantees it would meet Chinese oil requirements, a step that might ease Beijing's reluctance to impose further sanctions on Iran.
China, which wields a veto on the Security Council, has lucrative commercial relationships with Iran and has worked to dilute previous sanctions resolutions.
"We believe that all countries have a part to play in helping to sharpen the question for Iran," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman told reporters as Clinton began her trip, saying Saudi Arabia and China have recently increased their diplomatic and commercial contacts. "We would expect them (the Saudis) to use these visits, to use their relationships, in ways that can help increase the pressure that Iran would feel," he added.
Clinton's spokesman Philip Crowley said the chief US diplomat will also discuss Iran with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We obviously need to have Turkey's support as we move forward and contemplate particular actions on the pressure track," Crowley said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is due to visit Iran next week to push for a diplomatic solution to the stand-off over Iran's refusal to curb its uranium enrichment program.
Turkey, the only NATO member that neighbors Iran, insists the row should be resolved through dialogue, arguing that economic sanctions or military action against Iran would have a damaging impact on the whole region.
Israel, meanwhile, is focusing on Russia in its efforts for new sanctions on Tehran, a high-ranking Israeli official said, and Netanyahu's upcoming trip to Moscow will be heavily dedicated to the issue. Netanyahu will meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev tomorrow and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin the following day.
Russia is believed to support sanctions targeting governmental bodies directly involved in Iran's nuclear program, but not those aimed at striking the country's economy as a whole. "If Russia agrees to sanctions, China will find itself alone and may be forced to line up with the Western powers," the Israeli official said. "That's why persuading the Russian leadership is so important."
Netanyahu is expected to try to convince Russian leaders to implement "crippling sanctions" against Tehran, and to receive assurances that the Kremlin is committed to freeze its supply of advanced S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran.
A high-level U.S. delegation will visit Tel Aviv next week for strategic talks on Iran and a number of other issues. In contrast to the original plans, talks will not be held between Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but will instead be held at the deputy-minister level.
The Israeli negotiators will be headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon of Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party. The U.S. team will be led by Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, and include presidential advisers Dennis Ross and Daniel Shapiro and other National Security Council, Defense Department and CIA officials.

Source article was found here.

In the meantime, the US card has already folded as US Congress Approved Iran Sanctions Bill.

Operation Cast Lead By The Numbers

Video: Paul Craig Roberts, Is US a Police State?

Why only assassinate American citizens abroad? What will it take to start having them assassinated right here in the good old USA? Just a few assassinations abroad to set the tone? Damn it Paul! Don't call it murder! We're fighting a war on terror! We'll only kill the bad guys!

The Revolution Has Just Begun

From the viewpoint of the Muslim world, the success of the Islamic Revolution in Iran re-invested hope to hundreds of millions. For decades, the West preached to the Muslim world that the dream of a society built upon Islamic values was an ancient legend committed to books of history – and even then, with Euro-centric eyes! There was no point resisting the gushing waves of Western modernity, modelled on self-interest and individualism. It was a fait accompli.

Drowning in helplessness and embroiled in a variety of guilt complexes, the success of the Islamic Revolution destroyed settled feelings of inferiority that had taken root in the Muslim world. The refusal of the nascent Islamic Republic to acquiesce to the diktats of the imperial superpower, despite being forcefully dragged into an eight-year long war and extensive sanctions, provided ample proof to the rest of the world that it was possible for a nation to pursue an independent political will. There was indeed a Third Way.

The rise of resistance movements across the Middle East in recent times should be viewed as part of the legacy of the Islamic Revolution and the sentiments that is has given rise to within the wider Muslim consciousness. Whilst Israeli occupation, unbridled aggression and popular discontent are the primary raison d’être for the emergence of resistance movements, the overwhelming power of an Islamic discourse in mobilising the masses is a direct consequence of the achievements of the Iranian Revolution. Imam Khomeini re-invested hope and self-confidence in the Ummah, and advised Muslim nations to be masters of their own destiny by drawing from the rich wellspring of their own faith.

With the success of the Islamic Revolution, concepts and ideals that the West had once enjoyed complete monopoly over – and indeed claimed ownership of – were vibrantly re-affirmed through an entirely different consciousness. Notions like ‘freedom is freedom if and only if deemed so by the West’ were tossed to the side, and expectedly drew the ire of Western elites. The Islamic Republic of Iran, we were then told, suppressed the rights of women, yet females make up 65% of university students today. In Iran under the Shah – the quisling of the enlightened West – female literacy stood at a shocking 17 percent; contrast that figure with the present 77 percent.

Islamic reactionaries who, according to the verities of mainstream media, stood against modernity and technological advancement have today produced state-of-the-art medical facilities, and even a home-grown nuclear energy program, amongst numerous other scientific achievements. Far from being a ‘pariah’ state, the Islamic Republic of Iran has built strong ties with nations from all over the globe, and enjoys a distinguished position within the Non-Aligned Movement. It is only in the bubbling imaginations of Washington and Co. that Iran is an ‘outsider’ in the world arena. Such cheap, cynical propaganda to demonise the Islamic Republic, although in seemingly endless supply, are increasingly having little effect; hence the adoption of even more bullish tones.

As with all nations, there are several challenges that confront the Islamic Republic; from issues of employment and social mobility to the size and scope of the public space. Nevertheless, during a span of little over three decades the Islamic Revolution has managed to accomplish much in spite of extremely harsh conditions that have been forced upon it. Western obduracy and growing talk of military strikes against Iran today, provide testimony to the achievements of the Islamic Revolution; a revolution that has remained true to its cause, and pursued an independent course by upholding values and aspirations dear to the heart of its peoples.

Source article was found here.

P.S. I know, I know, Ruse Paul's bureaucratic, Republican 'revolution' is just beginning too.

'Green' Jobs Go To China Too

American stimulus funds may well boost employment, but where?

The political tsunami in Massachusetts has concentrated the Democratic mind on the economy and employment. President Obama had thought he could turn his attention to health care while banking on the trinity of finance, retail, and housing for jobs and revenue. Massachusetts was proof that the old recipe is bankrupt.

Obama's State of the Union proposals to ease some of the anxieties of retirement, education, and child care will help at the margins, but they skirt the job question. And although his deficit reduction measures will do nothing to address long-term red ink, they will surely reduce employment in the short run.

Where are the jobs?

Democrats initially defended their poor jobs record with the refrain that employment is a lagging indicator. As unemployment continued to rise, they promised "green" jobs, which have the political benefit of marrying the desires of the working class with those of environmentally sensitive professionals.

Green jobs are surely needed. But green Democrats simply echo the Atari Democrats of the 1980s, who concluded that traditional manufacturing was disposable and high technology was the wave of the future. During this era, the young Barack Obama attempted - and failed - to find jobs for displaced steelworkers in Chicago.

China's approach

As it turned out, high-tech industries prospered or faltered on a nation's trade and industrial policy, just as autos and steel did. And the United States came up short in the new as well as the old industries. By 2004, China was exporting more information and communications technology than this country.

Whether a company was state-owned or private, domestic or foreign, the Chinese government offered a wide variety of financial incentives, subsidies, low-interest loans, manipulated currency - as well as its fabled low wages - to get results. China put green jobs in the same incubator, contrasting sharply with the American approach.

The U.S. government has invested millions in photovoltaics research, yet the country accounted for only 5.6 percent of global production in 2008, down from 30 percent in 1999. Despite the government's investment, the only leading American company in the field does its manufacturing abroad.

Chinese production in the sector during the same period grew from 1 percent to 32 percent of the global total. China has built the world's largest solar-panel manufacturing industry, requiring at least 80 percent of the equipment to be made in China.

East wind

The Chinese government also rigged the bids for large contracts to supply wind turbines by creating technical requirements that disqualified multinational companies. By contrast, when American stimulus funds subsidized a joint U.S.-China wind-power farm in West Texas, it turned out that Texas stood to get 30 permanent jobs to China's 3,000. After Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) protested, the Chinese agreed to build a wind-turbine factory in Texas.

That story had a happy ending, but Washington's default position was to award the contract without thinking about American jobs. This explains why the country's wind-power capacity increased in 2009, but its wind-power equipment manufacturing fell.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government offers huge subsidies to encourage green-technology manufacturers in the United States to move their production to China. And when manufacturing leaves, research and development operations follow. That's how China attracted battery and fuel-cell research formerly conducted in America.

For too long, outsourcing has been accepted policy in the United States. The government has sent a message that it does not care if jobs are created here or abroad.

The Obama administration needs to do more than simply throw money at research or offer tax credits. If it wants green jobs not simply to please environmentalists, but to provide work for Americans, it will have to make aid contingent upon domestic job creation. This means altering decades-old policies built on free trade, financial deregulation, and tax cuts.

Source article was found here.

P.S. Reminds me of one 'our' production meetings [in the USA] discussing a new technology that would eliminate the need for some of the non-union Mexican labor [in Mexico] that just recently replaced American union workers in 'our' company. Many in the meeting were hopeful that jobs would be returning to 'our' company.

But no! That new technology would be employed in Mexico, eliminating Mexican laborers. No jobs would be returning to 'our' company. 'Our' company would be increasing its profit margin even more than it did with the recent restructuring to replace American union workers with non-union Mexican workers in Mexico.

At the end of the meeting, I felt like asking the manager when he referred to 'our,' 'us' and 'we,' just how many of 'us' in the meeting were included in that second person terminology.

I was soon to find out that 'I' wasn't included in that second person terminology as my position was eliminated soon after that meeting in the second restructuring of this typical 'American' company that both offshores its manual, blue-collar labor abroad and employs green-card Indians for its white-collar labor at home.

This 'American' company is making lots of money but not many Americans are making money working for it.

China's Wage Rates for U.S. Workers

The U.S. economy cannot correct itself; much more than “encouragement” is needed. Workers demand intervention. The highly-touted 5.7 per cent growth in fourth quarter U.S. GDP was revealed as a fraud by Wall Street, which saw stock prices fall that day. Instead of expanding, and hiring, companies were only re-stocking empty inventories, causing a temporary surge in spending. Don’t forget that this 5.7 percent “surge” was accompanied by the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Why does Obama refuse to intervene? Why will he not create a real stimulus plan, i.e., a big, federally-run jobs program? There are two answers. First, Obama has promised the rich investors who fund America’s debt that they are the priority. These investors demand that America’s debt be managed — by trimming the budget. Instead of cutting back on war spending or bank bailouts, or taxing the rich and corporations, Obama is freezing social spending, while refusing to spend money to create jobs.

The second reason that Obama will not create millions of new, living-wage jobs is more ominous. To the President, low wages do not present a problem, but an opportunity. Although low wages destroy domestic demand for consumer goods, they create the potential for a new kind of demand internationally.

Since corporations can no longer sell their products to American workers, they are trying to switch gears, and sell more of their products abroad. This is the grand solution that Obama speaks of whenever he talks about “increasing exports,” which he mentions often now.

Exports can only be increased if U.S. workers make even lower wages, since U.S. products must compete on the world market with the slave wages of China and India. Implied in this plan is a major restructuring of the American working class. Living standards must drop further and faster.

This plan is unknown to most Americans, but it’s already begun.

Unemployment caused by the recession is being used as a blunt object to pressure workers to accept lower wages. Workers everywhere are not complaining about these conditions since they fear being fired, knowing that a thousand unemployed workers would do the job for half the wage (thus the importance of unions). Public workers are being fired or having their wages slashed due to the state budget crises.

The Democrats are watching this dynamic take place and doing nothing about it. They are merely overseeing phase one of Obama’s plan to increase corporate exports. They strain to make sad faces when talking about joblessness, but shrug their shoulders and blame the federal deficit

Source.

P.S. Rightards, here's the truth: this has been going on for a whole generation. I know. Ever since I entered the work force, yearly, wages and benefits have been declining, and work has been off shored.

Of course, you young rightards that happen to have jobs and are just entering the work force wouldn't know this... and you don't look at what's happening to your neighbors, nor do you care... right?

Here's Your Death Panel, Rightards!

We can spend an infinite amount of money in tax money killing people but we can spend tax money for health insurance. You rightards have a sick sense of right.

You Are Failing Your Exams!