July 14, 2009 archive

Main Core, PROMIS and the Shadow Government (Pt. 4a)

For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence–on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations.

– President John F. Kennedy



Secrecy is the slayer of liberty, it is the essence of which dictatorships are made, of which free societies are suffocated by and of which people are subjugated by. When that secrecy becomes institutionalized in the most powerful corridors of government then it is only a matter of time until that government becomes a weapon of the powerful to be used against the people. Today, in mid-2009 we here in the United States of America (or at least those of us who are awake) are bearing witness to the last vestiges of a once vibrant democracy slowly strangled to death by a deeply embedded culture of secrecy. There has been a hijacking of the intentions of the founders who envisioned a free people by a corrupt and immoral oligarchy and those who serve it. It is backed by the rise of a high-tech police state built on on our backs and enforced by Big Brother style surveillance, incessant propaganda and the vicious undercurrent of social manipulation in order to sow the seeds of hatred necessary for divisiveness and ignorance that are protection for the gangster state.

Soldier balks at deploying; says Obama isn’t president

Original article, by Lily Gordon and subtitled Says he shouldn’t have to go to Afghanistan because Obama is not a U.S. citizen, via ledger-enquirer.com:

U.S. Army Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook, set to deploy to Afghanistan, says he shouldn’t have to go.

His reason?

Barack Obama was never eligible to be president because he wasn’t born in the United States.

Four at Four

  1. The NY Times reports Goldman Sachs records a huge profit. Goldman Sachs looted $3.44 billion from the U.S. and world economy, “or $4.93 a share, in the second quarter. The results continue a robust turnaround for Goldman since it rode out the final tumultuous months of last year with aid from the government’s banking rescue.”

    Goldman benefited from a multibillion-dollar taxpayer cushion last year and, “along with other banks, also benefited from a government program that allows banks to issue debt cheaply with the backing of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In addition, it received money from the government’s bailout of the American International Group, being paid 100 cents on the dollar for its $13 billion counterparty exposure to the insurer.”

  2. The LA Times reports Helicopter crash kills six military contractors in Afghanistan and two Marines die in separate incident. “A helicopter flying under private contract to Western forces in Afghanistan crashed in volatile Helmand province today, killing all six civilians aboard. Military officials also reported the deaths of two U.S. Marines in the same southern province”.

    The NY Times addds American pilots in Afghanistan alter tactics to avoid civilians.

    “It used to be, where do you want the bomb?” said Capt. Thomas P. Lalor, the commander of the air wing on this aircraft carrier, which provides about one-third of the combat support flights for American ground forces in Afghanistan. “Now, it’s much more collaborative.”

    “It’s the right thing to do,” said Cmdr. Rich Brophy, the commander of one of the squadrons, VFA-115, based in Lemoore, Calif. “We certainly don’t want to cause civilian casualties.”

Four at Four continues with anger grows over the CIA, climate change and national borders, and the Euphrates drying up in Iraq.

    John Ensign Linked to “Do-It-Yourself Excorcism”

    Beyond the obvious hypocrisy inherent in GOP Senator and Promise Keepers member John Ensign’s recently disclosed extramarital sexual affair, there’s another notable aspect to Ensign’s religious affiliations that has so far escaped public notice: exorcism.

    Senator John Ensign belongs to a Pentecostal denomination, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, that promotes a new health care paradigm in which both physical and psychological maladies can be cured through the casting out of demons. In the new approach, individuals can even heal themselves by exorcising their own demons, through a process that a 2003 Associated Press story characterized as “do it yourself exorcism”.

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    Why Are They Afraid To Merely ….Investigate?

    Simulposted at Daily Kos

    Why are both Democrats and Republicans afraid to have real, comprehensive investigations on torture and the Cheney/CIA War Crime du jour?

    Investigations are just that, investigations.

    SEN. McCAIN:  I don’t know if–first of all, I’d like to know the facts of the case before there should be an, an investigation.

    Last I checked, the best way to get the facts of the case, was to investigate the facts of the case.

    Investigate:

    transitive verb: to observe or study by close examination and systematic inquiry

    intransitive verb: to make a systematic examination ; especially : to conduct an official inquiry

    To investigate something is to observe it and study it closely….and to gain knowledge.

    To refuse to investigate is to refuse to gain knowledge.

    Why are both Dems and Repubs afraid to merely gain knowledge …through investigation?

    Because both Dems and Repubs already have enough knowledge, as does the rest of the world, to know one simple fact.

    Horrendous crimes were committed. And those horrendous crimes were approved and authorized by The President and Vice President of the United States of America and carried out with their knowledge.

    Everyone, and I mean everyone, is afraid to investigate for one simple reason. There is a mountain of evidence in the public sphere that all points to the inescapable fact that The President and Vice President of the United States of America, absent some miracle defense, are guilty of approving and encouraging torture, homicide by torture, and lying to congress and the American People about it and covering it up.

    Stomach turning War Crimes so horrible that pictures of it need to be suppressed and the CIA’s own internal investigation by the Inspector general is to incriminating and stomach turning to be released.

    From the recent Newsweek article and interview with AG Holder


    For his part, Emanuel calls Holder a “strong, independent attorney general.” But Emanuel’s agitated presence hangs over the building-“the wrath of Rahm,” one Justice lawyer calls it-and he is clearly on the minds of Holder and his aides as they weigh whether to launch a probe into the Bush administration’s interrogation policies.

    Holder began to review those policies in April. As he pored over reports and listened to briefings, he became increasingly troubled. There were startling indications that some interrogators had gone far beyond what had been authorized in the legal opinions issued by the Justice Department, which were themselves controversial. He told one intimate that what he saw “turned my stomach.”

    It is just that simple.

    The President and Vice President of the United States of America ‘did’ horrible, illegal, immoral, stomach turning things.

    And no one wants to investigate it because the investigation would prove once and for all that The President and Vice President of the United States of America did ‘commit’ horrible, illegal, immoral, stomach turning War Crimes.

    And then, once it has been proved….they would have to actually DO something about it.

    They could no longer, as they are doing now, pretend it didn’t happen.

    And really, no one has any idea just what to do about the fact that The President and Vice President of the United States of America did ‘commit’ horrible, illegal, immoral, stomach turning War Crimes. Including stomach turning torture and homicide by torture.

    And that is quite simply, the choice America faces. Do we investigate and prove beyond any doubt that The President and Vice President of the United States of America voluntarily joined the ranks of the great War Criminals of human history….

    Or do we ignore the fact that The President and Vice President of the United States of America voluntarily joined the ranks of the great War Criminals of human history?

    Hint: Ignoring it won’t make it unhappen.

    Notes to Sarah’s Ghost

    Soon to be ex-Alaska governor Sarah Palin has an op-ed published in the WaPo today [July 14] that obviously wasn’t written by Lady SaladMaster, and which derides Obama’s cap and trade policy while promoting ‘the usual’. Drill, drill, drill plus mountain destruction for un-clean coal and going nuclear. While I understand this attempt to keep herself in the ‘Puglican lineup of erstwhile power brokers even in her new persona as a Quitter Extraordinaire, I’d like to take on some of her ghost-writer’s points.

    CNN on sex scandals: They all do it.

    CNN

    Political sex scandals a nonpartisan affair

    “(CNN) — If there’s one thing Democrats and Republicans have in common, it’s sex scandals.

    No matter which party the philanderer belongs to, the public wants all the juicy details, as evidenced most recently by the public’s fascination with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s Argentine travels.

    “That’s just prurience,” said Sally Quinn, a longtime Washington journalist and columnist. She’s married to former Washington Post Executive Editor Ben Bradlee. “Sex sells and everybody’s interested in sex, so when there’s a sex scandal, it’s got everything — you’re talking about sex, you’re talking about power, and in a lot of cases, money is involved. You are talking about how the mighty have fallen,” she said.”

    With Friends in the Treasury — Bankers don’t need NO Accountability

    Elizabeth Warren was appointed chair of a newly created Congressional Oversight Panel (COP), which is charged with keeping tabs on the $700 billion bailout of the financial sector – including Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP).

    Warren however, has had some “Trouble” getting straight forward answers … as she explained to the Boston Globe:

    H.Res 383 – Demand Accountability for 8 years of Bush/Cheney (Action!)

    Crossposted at DKos

    A troll on DK beat this diary up pretty bad and killed the thread. If anybody can give me a rescue it would be greatly appreciated.

    Please, rec this diary up on DK if you can, so that others may see it as well

       If you don’t support warrantless wiretapping, The Patriot Act, torture or any of the other high crimes and War crimes committed by the Criminal Bush Junta you might be interested in H.Res 383.

        H.Res 383 was introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA9) and is designed to act as a Congressional oversight bill that would establish a select committee to review national security laws, policies, and practices. Better yet, this committee would have power of subpoena.

        If the House Leadership pushes this bill and the House Rules committee allows for open hearings and gives this bill a closed rule barring amendments, we could well be on our way to full investigations of Bush/Cheney and their policies crimes.  

    Docudharma Times Tuesday July 14

    Britain halts some arms exports to Israel in response to Gaza conflict

    From The Times

    July 14, 2009




    Sheera Frenkel in Jerusalem


    In a move that threatens to strain diplomatic ties, Britain has blocked the sale of spare parts for Israel’s fleet of missile gunships because they were used in the recent campaign in Gaza.

    The first country to revoke an arms licence in response to the war in Gaza six months ago, Britain told the Israeli Embassy in London that five of the export requests for parts for the Sa’ar 4.5 gunships had been rejected because the vessels had fired on Gaza during Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s controversial 23-day campaign against the militant group Hamas. The spare parts were intended for the ships’ guns.

    An Israeli defence official said that Britain’s decision to revoke five of the 182 licences reviewed by the Government would not impair the navy’s operational abilities – but admitted that there was concern within the military that other countries might follow suit.

    Afghan victims of abuse find refuge

    The nation’s six shelters provide a place to stay and legal help to women and girls fleeing abuse, forced marriage or slavery. Some obtain divorces, others reconcile with their families.

    By David Zucchino

    July 14, 2009


    Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan — Her father is dead and her brother is just a boy. For Shabana, a radiant young woman of 17 with dark eyes and flowing hair, the absence of a strong male protector has cost her dearly.

    One day last fall as she was walking home from school, Shabana was kidnapped by a young man from her neighborhood. He forced her into marriage, then beat and imprisoned her in his home over the next seven months. Her mother did not intervene.

    “He knew I had no one to protect me, and he took advantage,” Shabana said of her kidnapper.

    But in late May, Shabana managed to escape to a women’s shelter on a quiet side street in another part of Kabul, the Afghan capital. And into her life came Esther Hyneman, 70, an American who speaks virtually no Dari but has brought a New Yorker’s sharp tongue and aggressive attitude to the cause of Afghan women’s rights.

    Muse in the Morning

    Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
    Muse in the Morning

    2009 Poems


    Coloration

    Walled In

    men

    women

    maybe both

    sometimes neither

    our choice

    or at least

    it should be

    Liberty

    for our souls

    and yours

    if you want it

    for you

    and your children

    your grandchildren

    generations to come

    the future

    Freedom

    to live

    all the colors

    of the rainbow

    of gender

    as well as skin

    The walls

    around you

    between us

    will fall

    if you stop

    believing in them

    –Robyn Elaine Serven

    –February 6. 2008

    Loud yelling heard in Pittsburgh

    Factoid only seven people on the planet know:  Bill Donahue, Roman Catholicism’s Abe Foxman, completed his dissertation on McCarthyism at LaRoche College in Pittsburgh’s north suburb, back in the day.

    LaRoche College started out as the motherhouse/inhouse college for novices of the Divine Providence order.  When Donahue used its facilities, it was only slightly expanded from that, with classrooms in the motherhouse, in quonset huts, and in trailers plunked on hastily scraped lots.

    Today the campus is large enough to have hosted several hundred peace activists from around the country at the second National Assembly anti-war conference.

     

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