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Paulson shoots another arrow into the heart of the Economy
Andy Hughes
Paulson shoots another arrow into the heart of the Economy
The announcement in the last few days of a deal reached between the U.S. Treasury and the moribund insurance giant, A.I.G. provides a very lucid insight in to the nefarious and destructive world of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, otherwise known as T.A.R.P..Not only have A.I.G. received $152 billion to date and subsequently reported a third quarter loss of $25 billion, now they are to be cleared of their obligation on $53 billion worth of toxic credit default swaps. U.S. taxpayers are now on the hook for $205 billion courtesy of an institution which played in the Wall St. casino that passes for a "Financial Sector" and lost. Under the "Free market" system, so expounded upon by Government and Wall St. alike, A.I.G should be in chapter 11. Bailing out A.I.G and other failing institutions does absolutely nothing to address the fundamental issues at hand.
The Power Elite Playbook, Corporate Generals, Part 18
Deanna Spingola
Emperor Meiji
Coincidentally or not, at about the same time that the international bankers were promoting and funding Japan’s war-hawk behavior under Emperor Meiji (Hirohito’s grandfather) against Korea, China and Manchuria, banker-backed U.S. imperialists were looking for ways to seize productive land and control in Cuba (achieved by the Platt Amendment on March 2, 1901), banish the Spanish and expand into the resource-rich Philippines. William Howard Taft represented U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt in a highly confidential meeting in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Katsura on July 27-29, 1905. They agreed that Japan would relinquish economic control of Hawaii and the Philippines to the U.S. while Japan targeted adjacent Asiatic countries. This insidious treaty sealed Korea’s death warrant. It was approved by Britain, or rather the British financiers behind the throne who were also funding Japan’s warfare.
Why Obama must commit to cluster munitions ban
Mary Shaw
On December 3, 100 countries signed the Cluster Munitions Convention, which prohibits the use of cluster bombs.
So what rogue nations were conspicuously absent? The primary makers or users of cluster bombs -- the U.S., Israel, Russia, China, India, and Pakistan. This is the company we keep.
The problem with cluster bombs is that they are imprecise, and are notorious for killing or maiming innocent civilians, including children.
Cluster bombs are indiscriminate weapons, meaning that they cannot distinguish between an enemy solder and a civilian child. They kill whoever crosses their path. Furthermore, the clusters release numerous "bomblets" and many of them do not explode on impact. So they lie around and become de facto anti-personnel mines. Even worse, they sometimes look like toys to a child. ―In fact, according to a study by Handicap International, 98 percent of cluster bomb victims are civilians and 27 percent are children.
Bush's Parting 'FUCK YOU' to America
Len Hart
The 'bailout' is another Bush/GOP scam, a big black hole into which some 1.5 trillion dollars has already has been sucked! The dollar will eventually collapse as did German Marks under the Weimar Republic. Only the big banks benefit but they, too, will collapse. There is no bailout for the 'buck'. The emerging picture is one of fat cats scrambling to cover bare asses while putting the screws to you. This sucks!
Already $billions$ have been squandered, wasted, or simply stolen. Where is the accounting? Where has the money gone? Where is the loans that were supposed to have been made to folks hoping to own a home? How has the bailout benefited Americans in any way whatsoever? I'm open to any credible GOP explanation! I won't get one! Rather, I had expected Bush to tell Paulson: "You're doing a heckuva job!" The scary part is this: perhaps both Henry Paulson and Brownie have done precisely what Bush had intended. Like New Orleans earlier, the US economy is in ruins. Like New Orleans, there is no restoration in sight. There is, however, evidence that it was all planned.
Iraq's US Security Charade
Ramzy Baroud
World media rashly celebrated the "historic" security pact that allows for US troops to stay in Iraq for three more years after the Iraqi parliament ratified the agreement on Thursday, 27 November. The approval came one week after the Iraqi cabinet did the same.
Thousands of headlines exuded from media outlets, largely giving the false impression that the Iraqi government and parliament have a real say over the future of US troops in their country, once again playing into the ruse fashioned by Washington that Iraq is a democratic country, operating independently from the dictates of US Ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker and the top commander of US troops in Iraq, General Ray Odierno. The men issued a joint, congratulatory statement shortly after the parliamentary vote, describing it as one that would "formalise a strong and equal partnership" between the US and Iraq.
Jonathan Steel of the British Guardian also joined the chorus. "Look at the agreement's text. It is remarkable for the number and scope of the concessions that the Iraqi government has managed to get from the Bush administration. They amount to a series of U-turns that spell the complete defeat of the neo-conservative plan to turn Iraq into a pro-Western ally and a platform from which to project US power across the Middle East."
A PLO of Shame
Khalid Amayreh
öAfter many years of the PLO being dormant, if not clinically dead, Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas is trying to revive the organization in order to use it as a pawn against Hamas.
The conclusion of the Oslo Agreement and subsequent coalescence of the organization into the newly established Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1993 drastically weakened the former, rendering it almost irrelevant.
Some PLO factions, like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), left the organization in protest against the “treacherous concessions” and the crossing by the Fatah leadership, e.g. Yasser Arafat, of Palestinian national constants.
The Ongoing Nakba and Vanunu
Eileen Fleming
[Occupied east Jerusalem] On November 19, 2008, during the final day of Sabeel's [Arabic for The Way] 7th International Conference: THE NAKBA: MEMORY, REALITY AND BEYOND, Noble Peace Prize Laureate Mairead Maguire inspired nearly 300 internationals to rise up and honour Mordechai Vanunu.
Vanunu has been nominated for the Noble Peace Prize annually since 1986 for his courage and truth telling, by providing the photographic evidence that warned the world that Israel had already manufactured upwards of 200 nuclear warheads in 1985. Israel locked Vanunu up for 18 years, has held him under house arrest since April 2004, yet Israel continues to get away with nuclear ambiguity, has never allowed IAEA inspectors into the Dimona, nor have they signed the NPT.
Gaza: A Bare Life Zone nearing to a no-life-zone
Sameh Akram habeeb
With the last Israeli maneuvers' of tightening the siege imposed on Gaza, more life necessities vanished. The key power plant shut down 25 days ago resulted in tremendous direful outcomes. More than 75% of the Gaza strip faces severe power cuts and some areas completely plunged into darkness.
Power cuts and daily blackouts resulted in hindering of all facilities depending on power. The remaining power shares provided by Israel and Egypt are not enough to cover the whole coastal strip. Pumped fresh water is not reaching all living places, farms and central water wells. Sewage and treatment water machines are halted. Additionally around 77 million liters of sewage water leak into the Mediterranean contaminating it and damaging fish resources on daily basis.
Justice needs to be served in 2009
Andrew Hughes
We are nearing the end of what could arguably be called a reign of terror instigated by the ruling oligarchy in Washington, sustained by a supine Congress and which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Unilateral War, indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas, torture, detention camps, perversion of Justice and the abrogation of almost every international treaty regarding human rights have been carried out in the name of the "War on Terror". Who's going to prison ?
Most likely nobody. The new administration that takes the reins in January 2009 does not seem to have any desire to rock any boats that might undermine "stability". There will be enough for Obama and his entourage of past supporters of injustice to do once they have gone through the revolving door on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Something Grand Happened At The Café de Flore
Gaither Stewart
(Paris) It is counterproductive to attempt to debunk Parisian cafés and café culture. Whether revisionists and debunkers approve or not, the Café de Flore on Paris’ Boulevard Saint Germain is a living institution. Since its founding in 1870 it has existed as a café and second home for writers, artists and intellectuals of the likes of Apollinaire, Camus, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, and frequented by Hemingway and even Truman Capote. In the 1920s and 30s, the Flore was the meeting place of the Right, after World War II of the Left. Forming a triangle with the famous but touristy Deux Magots (today “out” and taboo for the Parisian intelligentsia) and the Brasserie Lipp just across the street, the history of the Flore has always been linked with Paris, culture and political ideas.
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