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It's been a very tough month, fundraising-wise. We're short about $2300.Can you help us make budget this month?
The Wall Street Journal's top headline article today tells of the military's plan to categorize cyber attacks as equivalent to acts of war. Here's my take, which includes responses I also got from David Swanson and Ray McGovern.
The US has a history of false flag attacks being used as excuses to start wars. The problem is, to be effective, false flag attacks require bombs, blood, death...
thanks,
rob kall 
 Latest Headlines
By Rob Kall
Get Ready for Digital False Flag Attacks The US has a history of false flag attacks being used as excuses to start wars. The problem is, to be effective, false flag attacks require bombs, blood, death... By Gustav Wynn
Breitbart Again Demonizing Average People in Hoax Videos  Another hyper-partisan activist video has been promoted by Andrew Breitbart's website, painting average folks on the street as un-American "fascists" due to their willingness to criticize conservative radio hosts and websites. Plainly, the subjects are lied to and coaxed to sign a hoax petition they do not seem to understand. By michael payne
President Obama Faces Two Ultimatums; One By China, One By The American People  By his expansion of the Afghan War into the sovereign nation of Pakistan, President Obama has made a grievous mistake that could lead America to the brink of a massive Central Asian war. Pakistan, a nuclear power, is in a state of turmoil as its government and its people react with rage over the continued U.S. encroachment into their nation and the relentless attacks by deadly U.S. drones in civilian populated areas. By Wendell Potter
Health Insurers Have Had Their Chance  Of the many supporters of a single-payer health care system in the United States, some of the most ardent are small business owners who have struggled to continue offering coverage to their workers. By Rania Khalek
For Sale: The Desperate States of America  While we have been frantically playing defense against relentless assaults on multiple fronts, from anti-union legislation to draconian anti-choice laws to the attempted privatization of Medicare, the selling off of public assets to the private sector has received little attention. By Smedley Butler
War is a Racket (1933)
Smedley Butler was the most famous American hero of the First World War, also decorated for action in the Spanish American War and in Asia. He came to realize that War is senseless violence, foisted on young patriots and taxpayers by those who make enormous profits from war. He became an unstoppable voice for peace. It is uncanny how much of what he says is directly applicable today. By Russ Baker
How Do You Support Your Troops--Regular, Special Or Super?  As we celebrate Memorial Day, it can be hard to remember that this is not principally intended as a day off from work for most of us, but as an occasion to honor dead soldiers who were once actual living persons, with many years of expected life ahead of them. NY Times by JOE NOCERA: The Good Banker
For nearly 30 years, Wilmers has run the M&T Bank, based in Buffalo. When he took it over, M&T had $2 billion in assets; today, its assets exceed $68 billion, and it's one of the most highly regarded regional bank holding companies. Wilmers's report, however, was less about the company's numbers than about the dismal state of his beloved profession. Wilmers, it turns out, is that rarest of birds: a banker willing to tell harsh truths about banking. That, for instance, much of the money the big banks earn comes from trading profits "rather than the prudent extension of credit that furthers commerce." By Alexandra Bonifield
Real American Heroes: The Birthday Boys  Review of Aaron Kozak's LA Fringe award-winning play "The Birthday Boys" about 3 Marines taken hostage in Iraq Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Corruption and Profiteering in the War on Terror, By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR  Grand Theft Pentagon tells the scandalous story of how some of the world's mightiest and must ruthless corporations exploited the tragic events of 9/11 to make billions upon billions in the form of government contracts with the connivance of the Bush administration. In a riveting work of investigative reporting, Jeffrey St. Clair shines a merciless searchlight into some of the murkiest corners of the Pentagon, exposing the sweatheart deals between the defense department and its favorite coterie contractors: Boeing, Bechtel, Halliburton and the Carlyle Group. Dawn of the Galaxies
[[hdf.jpg]] When did galaxies form? To help find out, the deepest near-infrared image of the sky ever has been taken of the same field as the optical-light Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 2004. The new (2009)image was taken by the Wild Field Camera 3 on the refurbished Hubble. These galaxies therefore likely existed when the universe was only a few percent of its present age, and may well be members of the first class of galaxies. Some large modern galaxies make a colorful foreground to the distant galaxies. Each "dot" is a galaxy; our humble Milky has over a hundred billion stars. Yes, we are, "dust in the wind." By Kurt Stone
After the Rapture
Noq that the Rapture has once again been put on hold, its time to get back to the more mundane aspects of life . . . like the ballot iniatives in San Francisco and Santa Monica to make the circumcision of any male under the age of 18 a misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. What is the world coming to? Or is this merely a way to guarantee that the next Rapture won't be a rupture? By Bob Johnson
Michele Bachmann Exposes the Deadly Superstitions of the Religious Right  The religious right believes in Bible superstitions which are causing wars and killing children. It needs to end. By Christopher Rice
Strike Updates: Color Revolutions (MUST READ)
Internet activists and organizers in academia have been financed with over half a billion dollars through the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) program "Whose Vote?? OUR VOTE!!!" WI Protest for Election Integrity
Tuesday is a big day for Election Integrity in Wisconsin. Will the Kloppenburg campaign be making a statement about all of the "irregularities" that have been found in administration of the Supreme Court Election and the Recount? EXCLUSIVE: WI State Election Board Failed to Review Minutes from Waukesha County 'Recount' Before Certifying Supreme Cou
Brad "BradBlog" Friedman: Mountains of irregularities, more than 800 official exhibits, and objections by candidate's attorneys never examined by top state election authority before razor-thin results for 10-year seat on state's high court certified as 'correct'" Paul Krugman: Against Learned Helplessness  A strange thing has happened to policy discussion: on both sides of the Atlantic, a consensus has emerged among movers and shakers that nothing can or should be done about jobs. Instead of a determination to do something about the ongoing suffering and economic waste, one sees a proliferation of excuses for inaction, garbed in the language of wisdom and responsibility. By Brian Downing
Vietnam and the New American Way of War  War-making, in astonishing contrast to post-Vietnam sensibilities, has become a de facto presidential power, legitimized by invocation of national security arguments only desultorily debated. This power was ceded by congress and endorsed by a gratefully uninvolved nation. By Joe Walsh
Wars and War Mongers  I was waiting for Roberto to pick me up, we were going to our Wednesday protest in front of Portland, Oregon's City Hall. I was busy with getting things ready and MSNBC was on the TV. I sat down to watch the replays and they cut away to the House of Representatives because Bibi Netanyahu was going to give a speech in front of a joint session of our Congress. I watched in horror as this war criminal walked into... By earl ofari hutchinson
Palin Presidential Scam Stays in High Gear
Sarah Palin has no chance at winning the presidency. And that's what makes Palin's incessant presidential scam intriguing and amusing. It's intriguing because she gets away with, and amusing because most in the media and the GOP know it's a scam but go along with it for sheer thrill, titillation, and even chuckles. The latest to feed the Palin presidential scam is the man who foisted Palin on the nation, John McCain. By Muhammad Khurshid
Is Pakistan Really A Terror State?
Killing of Osama bin Laden in a garrison city has raised many questions. Now the question arises as whether Pakistan is a terror state or not. By Ed Tubbs
This is a test, but oh it is such an important one
It matters . . . a great deal, a very great deal, that you scroll over the comments made by U.S. Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, to highlight them, then hit the Ctrl-C on your keyboard, to paste them into a document that can be easily and immediately referenced. By Stephen Lendman
Waging War at Home and Abroad While Pledging Peace
Sending innocent men and women to prison Latest Articles
Memorial Day 2011-In memory of the giants who have come before and whose shoulders we stand upon
Very random writings on how the founders approached factions political parties and how they might address the new Tea Party. Health Care Reform It's True Meaning  As a health care provider (ARNP), I am in a unique position to see and understand the problems inherent in our present system and what health reform means to us as patients and providers coming down the pike. An improved Medicare that permits ANYONE of ANY age to buy-in affordably is the ONLY solution that is right for both the American People and those of us who provide that care. Thai Rak Thai's Victory
As the general election in Thailand approaches, the political victory of the dissolved Thai Rak Thai party becomes more apparent. Ozone Hole Solution
Instead of wait for 50-years to come natural recovery of the ozone hole, it will do to look in a direction of artificial repair; oxygen molecules are present in the ozone layer, there are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's) that are powered by batteries and fly to stratospheric height; so we simply use these UAV's to convey liquid oxygen from here, discharge them as gas to the ozone layer for hamrful UV protection Training Americans for -- or out of -- Dr. Ellsberg's Doomsday Scenario  "If you keep doing things in the same dastardly way, bastardly results will keep piling up." It's time to build a 21st century army that makes Doomsday less probable and earthly time in between more bearable. The Strange Case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn  Beyond Belief - When the news is stranger than truth. Dominique Strauss-Kahn is not only a leading cog in the elitist world, he is the mild-mannered member of the opposition. Torture Pictures BANNED by Obama
WARNING: Pictures on this video are VERY GRAPHIC and DISTURBING. They are also ILLEGAL. The Senate passed S. Amdt. 1157 to H.R. 2346,... The Woman Who Overthrew King Louis-Philippe (1830 - 1848)  All This and Heaven Too (1940), directed by Anatole Litvak, staring Charles Boyer and Bette Davis is based on the true story of Field's great-aunt, Henriette Deluzy Desportes, a governess employed by Theobald, Duc de Choiseul-Praslin to care for his children. Israel's Best Friends are its Worst Enemies  Only if we truly love our friends will we always tell them the truth and call them on their bad behavior; and when religion and politics get in bed together, we the people for JUSTICE and PEACE get screwed. Nuts, Conservators and a Judge Gone Wild
Conservatorships constitute the new "silver" civil rights issue. This reporter has been following the conservatorship of Jean Tanaka, an elderly Los Angeles resident who was also a detainee in the Japanese-American detention camps during WW II. Texas Standing up to Blockade Threat would have Forced Obama to Show his True Face
If Obama suddenly blockaded one of his own states over its exercising of a constitutional prerogative, the people of the United States and the rest of the world would see beyond a shadow of a doubt the clay feet on which Obama stands. Drug Companies: Killing Kids for Profit  Practicing psychiatry in New Zealand has given me a unique perspective on childhood bipolar disorder, which is virtually unknown outside the US. Melbourne psychiatrist Dr Peter Parry has recently exposed a conspiracy by Eli Lilly and other drug companies pressure psychiatrists, pediatricians and primary care physicians to prescribe dangerous antipsychotic drugs "off-label" to American children. Obama Plans Gutting Regulations for Corporate Favorites
Obama is more business friendly than most Republicans By Jay Janson
A Nation Always Murdering in Smaller Countries for its Rich Investors Is Evil
During Memorial Day moments of silence to honor those who 'gave' their lives, exclude my six bunk mates buried somewhere in North Korea. They would be really pissed, being thanked for dying while killing dirt poor people in their own country because of phony radio, newspaper praise of how we were protecting Koreans from Koreans. We Have the Rest of This Year to Save Bradley Manning  A little more than a year ago, Pfc. Bradley Manning was arrested for allegedly leaking classified information, specifically the "Collateral Murder" video that showed the slaying of two Reuters journalists by the US military forces. To discuss Manning and the one year anniversary of his arrest, I had Kevin Zeese, a Bradley Manning Support Network Steering Committee member, come on "This Week in WikiLeaks." Ever More Pathetic War Criminal Obama Kowtows to Unity of White Racist Empires  Obama speech before the British Parliament - fawning over the proud history of the savage and murderous white racist British empire that America would emulate. How wonderful for Anglo-American predatory investments, David Rockfeller's embracing the clever idea of putting in a black face to front the American Empire flung out over the neo-colonized non-white majority of humanity (as was the British Empire before it). Hillary Showing Soft Corner For Terrorists
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has Pakistan urgently needed to take decisive steps against terrorism, According to her, relations between the two allies, tense since the killing of Osama bin Laden, had reached a turning point. America is America Because of You
America is not dead because others have lost their belief in the Constitution. It's the Military, Stupid!: Don't Blame America's Debt Crisis on Social Security and Medicare  The NY Times' Gretchen Morgenson has been exemplary in exposing the banks' corrupt role in causing the financial crisis and recession, but she lost her way writing about the deficit crisis when she reported on the findings of a Peterson Institute study that blamed Social Security, and she didn't even mention the military! INVITING CHAOS: playing chicken with the debt ceiling
A game of Russian roulette is being played with the national debt ceiling. Fire the wrong chamber of the gun, and the result could be the second Great Depression. We have been frightened into believing that government debt is a bad thing, but nearly all money today originates as debt. The public debt is the people's money, and today the people are coming up short. A Lower Order of Being  George Washington was born the son of a farmer and began a career as a surveyor. He fought for the British in the French and Indian wars and led an unsuccessful charge in pursuit of retreating Native Americans into a forest. George learned that day that you never follow Native Americans retreating into a forest. The Gaza Freedom Flotilla-One Year Later and Another Flotilla on the Horizon  It is not too late for countries to put massive international pressure on Israel to end the blockade and determine how to address Israel's security concerns about ships entering the Gaza port. European Union inspectors were placed in the Rafah border crossing in 2006. A similar structure could be suggested for the port of Gaza.  Best News Links from the Web
As Physicians' Jobs Change, So Do Their Politics
There are no national surveys that track doctors' political leanings, but as more doctors move from business owner to shift worker, their historic alliance with the Republican Party is weakening from Maine as well as South Dakota, Arizona and Oregon, according to doctors' advocates in those and other states. That change could have a profound effect on the nation's health care debate. Back to Helen Thomas, Lennon, Vanunu and Giving U.S. Some Truth  "I'm sick and tired of hearing things from uptight short sided narrow minded hypocrites all I want is the truth, just give me some truth. I've had enough of reading things by neurotic psychotic pigheaded politicians all I want is the truth, just give me some truth...How do you sleep at night?"-John Lennon Complex Composite Materials to Order  A team of researchers at MIT has found a way to make complex composite materials whose attributes can be fine-tuned to give various desirable combinations of properties such as stiffness, strength, resistance to impacts and energy dissipation. Global Warming May Help Trees Store Carbon  One helpful action anyone can take in response to global warming is to plant trees and preserve forests. Trees and plants capture carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, thereby removing the most abundant greenhouse gas from the atmosphere and storing some of it in their woody tissue. Dumb Question of the Twenty-first Century: Is It Legal?
They are irrelevant. Think of them as twentieth-century questions that don't begin to come to grips with twenty-first century American realities. In fact, think of them, and the very idea of a nation based on the rule of law, as a reflection of nostalgia for, or sentimentality about, a long-lost republic. At least in terms of what used to be called “foreign policy,†and more recently “national security,†the United States is now a post-legal society. (And you could certainly include in this mix the too-big-to-jail financial and corporate elite.)It’s easy enough to explain what I mean. If, in a country theoretically organized under the rule of law, wrongdoers are never brought to justice and nobody is held accountable for possibly serious crimes, then you don’t have to be a constitutional law professor to know that its citizens actually exist in a post-legal state. Syria video points to "shoot to kill' policy of security forces  Amnesty International has obtained video footage that points to a "shoot to kill" policy being used by the Syrian security forces to quell reform protests. The footage, smuggled out of Syria by contacts of Amnesty International, shows protesters shot and beaten by security forces, soldiers conducting a night raid on the "Omari mosque in Dera'a and a mass funeral in Izraa. "These extraordinary images were taken by Syrians who have risked their lives to document the callous attempts of the authorities to terrorize the pro-reform movement from going out onto the streets," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa. What Happens When Greece Defaults - Lilico  It is when, not if. Financial markets merely aren't sure whether it'll be tomorrow, a month's time, a year's time, or two years' time (it won't be longer than that). Given that the ECB has played the "final card" it employed to force a bailout upon the Irish -- threatening to bankrupt the country's banking sector -- presumably we will now see either another Greek bailout or default within days. Libyan Rebels Distribute Rules on POW Treatment.  The Rebel Libyan military, which now controls most of Eastern Libyahas been slowly evolving from a chaotic mass of self-styled "Road-Warrior" militias racing across the desert and engaging in spontaneous firefights with Gaddafi forces to a professional army, has started to lay down the law, as demanded by the Geneva Conventions, on how to treat prisoners of war. REBELLION IN AMERICA: Incensed voters 'repudiate' Washington's leadership, By Bob Unruh  Voters across America are fed up with Washington's behavior, don't believe representatives are getting the message and may just respond with demands for a constitutional amendment that would wrap duct tape around the profligate spending habits in government, according to a new poll. "An overwhelming percent of 75 percent said they would favor a U.S. constitutional amendment requiring an annual balanced budget from the federal government," said Fritz Wenzel, whose public-opinion research and media consulting company, Wenzel Strategies, conducted the poll. The Cluster Bombing of Misrata: The Case Against the USA  On the 15th April 2011, during the day, sub-munitions of a MAT-120 cluster bomb were shown to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and C.J. Chivers, a journalist for the New York Times, in Misrata. On that evening, during ongoing clashes between rebel and loyalist forces, Human Rights Watch workers witnessed 3 or 4 cluster munitions landing in residential areas of Misrata. HRW attest to further subsequent such bombings. Over 100 Libyan Army Personnel Defect from Gaddafi  ROME (Reuters) - Eight high-ranking Libyan army officers appeared in Rome on Monday saying they were part of a group of as many as 120 military officials and soldiers who had defected from Muammar Gaddafi's side in recent days. The eight officers -- five generals, two colonels and a major -- spoke at a hastily-called news conference organised by the Italian government, which is one of a handful of countries that has recognized the Libyan rebel movement fighting Gaddafi as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people. "What is happening to our people has frightened us," said one officer, who identified himself as General Oun Ali Oun. "There is a lot of killing, genocide ... violence against women. No wise, rational person with the minimum of dignity can do what we saw with our eyes and what he asked us to do." Karzai Gives "Last Warning" Over Civilians Killed in NATO Attack  Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on the US military on Sunday to avoid operations that kill civilians, saying it was his "last warning" to Washington after 14 people allegedly died in an air strike. Reacting to the alleged deaths of 10 children, two women and two men in an air strike on Saturday in the southern province of Helmand, Karzai said such incidents were "murdering of Afghanistan's children and women." Rep. Paul Ryan's Dubious Sales Pitch  Representative Paul Ryan is rebutting critics of his plan to turn Medicare into a "premium support" program, pointing to two existing programs that he says prove his approach would be better for beneficiaries. Don't believe it. Global Carbon at Record High  Carbon-dioxide emissions hit a record high last year, the International Energy Agency said on Monday, dimming the prospects of limiting the global temperature increase to two degrees Celsius. "Energy-related carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2010 were the highest in history, according to the latest estimates," the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a statement. Education Problems Way Deeper Than 'Good' or 'Bad' Teachers  "When I got to the school, I got notes telling me that my son wasn't really working," Jaramillo says. "The principal said, 'His body is here, but his brain is not in the room.' " Jaramillo immediately understood what was going on. She told the principal what their family had been dealing with at home. Her husband, Guadalupe Pedraza, had been abruptly laid off from his maintenance job recently. After 12 years working there, he was told on a Wednesday that his last day would be that Friday. Taking Chance; on HBO today  Kevin Bacon plays a senior officer escorting home the body of a 20 year old Marine killed in Iraq. This is a touching, poignant film which shows how the military handles returning the bodies of our killed soldiers, and how so many people, as the body travels to its final resting place, are touched and show their love, honor and respect. It is a perfect movie for Memorial day. It reminds us that we have a duty not just to mourn our soldiers but also to vigilantly challenge those who keep us at war, questioning the reasons we stay each additional day. Thank George W. Again, by Abby Zimet of Common Dreams  Just As We Suspected Dept: The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has updated a widely cited chart to show that Bush-era tax cuts to the rich and two ill-advised wars - not the economic downturn - are primarily responsible for the massive debt now driving Republicans to cut health, education, social services and every other remotely useful program. As usual, the visuals speak louder than any numbers. Pictured is the chart. Reflections on the 9/11 Controversy, by Elizabeth Woodworth  Though the imagery of the events of September 11, 2001, is profoundly etched in the collective human memory, there is a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting that these events were not brought about in the manner described by The 9/11 Commission Report of 2004.[3] Gen. Cartwright, poised to lead Joint Chiefs, had his shot derailed by critics
When Obama met with Cartwright on May 21, he told the general that Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates -- both of whom had long mistrusted Cartwright because of his independent relationship with the president and for opposing their plan to expand the war in Afghanistan -- had recommended that he not get the job, said the military officials close to the general. Palin, Queen of Right-Wing Reaction  It appears that Palin's intentions are set. Like most liberals, I'm happy to sit back and watch the multi-car pileup in the Republican Party that she will inevitably induce. But for the same reason that we try to avoid inviting the drunk relation to Thanksgiving dinner, I'd actually prefer never having to think about her again, and I preemptively lament the corrosive effect her unvarying diet of lies and demagoguery will have on our politics. Easy Rider Revisited: You May Prefer the Old Version  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is rumbling into the parking lot of the Pentagon on the back of a motorcycle as she starts an East Coast bus tour. Wearing black from head to toe, the Republicans' 2008 vice presidential nominee stopped at a thousands-strong motorcycle ride from the Pentagon to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Palin, who is mulling a White House run, was joined by her family. Ocean Acidification = Latest Manifestation of Global Warming  Ocean acidification is now one of the most worrying threats to the planet, say marine biologists. "Just as Vulcano is pumping carbon dioxide into the waters around it, humanity is pouring more and more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere," Dr Jason Hall-Spencer, a marine biologist at Plymouth University, told a conference on the island last week. "Some of the billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide we emit each year lingers in the atmosphere and causes it to heat up, driving global warming. But about 30% of that gas is absorbed by the oceans where it turns to carbonic acid. It is beginning to kill off coral reefs and shellfish beds and threaten stocks of fish. Very little can live in water that gets too acidic." Will Bachmann Back Out? Challenged by 10th Grader to Debate  On Friday's "The Last Word", Lawrence O'Donnell hosted 16-year-old Amy Myers, then tenth grader who has challenged Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann to a debate on the topics of American history, Civics, and the U.S. Constitution. O'Donnell offered to moderate the match-up, should it ever happen. Did Bacteria Consumed Deepwater Methane? Place yr. bet...  A technical comment published in the May 27 edition of the journal Science casts doubt on a widely publicized study that concluded that a bacterial bloom in the Gulf of Mexico consumed the methane discharged from the Deepwater Horizon well. Financial Reform: Another Opportunity About to be Trashed?
Senate Republicans told President Obama that they would not confirm any nominee to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unless Democrats first agreed to gut the bureau's power. House Republicans continued their attack on Elizabeth Warren, the consumer advocate and Harvard law professor who is setting up the bureau, charging last week that the bureau -- and Ms. Warren -- wield draconian powers.
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