G20 protests rock London’s financial area – 01 Apr 09
While the differences between the big G20 players were quietly discussed behind closed doors, out on the streets of London there was real anger.
Thousands crowded into London’s financial centre to make their protests heard.
Hamish MacDonald was there. AlJazeeraEnglish
by Tom Burghardt
Global Research, March 29, 2009
Antifascist Calling…
US Officials “Rediscover” ISI-Taliban Nexus
Long considered the realm of “conspiracy buffs” The New York Times, citing anonymous “American government officials,” have belatedly “discovered” that Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence agency (ISI) is aiding the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
That ISI operatives were reportedly involved in planning the 9/11 attacks, the ostensible reason for the 2001 U.S. invasion and occupation of Afghanistan remains as they say, “off the table.” Yet, as The History Commons reports, Operation Diamondback uncovered a 2001 plot jointly-run by ISI operatives and organized crime figures to illegally purchase weapons, including Stinger missiles and nuclear components, for the Taliban and al-Qaeda. According to The History Commons, citing The Washington Post and MSNBC:
Informant Randy Glass plays a key role in the sting, and has thirteen felony fraud charges against him reduced as a result, serving only seven months in prison. Federal agents involved in the case later express puzzlement that Washington higher-ups did not make the case a higher priority, pointing out that bin Laden could have gotten a nuclear bomb if the deal was for real. Agents on the case complain that the FBI did not make the case a counterterrorism matter, which would have improved bureaucratic backing and opened access to FBI information and US intelligence from around the world. (“Sting Operation Exposes Al-Qaeda, ISI, and Drug Connections: Investigators Face Obstacles to Learn More,” The History Commons, no date)
By Juan Cole
ICH
March 31, 2009 “Salon”
President Barack Obama may or may not be doing the right thing in Afghanistan, but the rationale he gave for it on Friday is almost certainly wrong. Obama has presented us with a 21st century version of the domino theory. The U.S. is not, contrary to what the president said, mainly fighting “al-Qaida” in Afghanistan. In blaming everything on al-Qaida, Obama broke with his pledge of straight talk to the public and fell back on Bush-style boogeymen and implausible conspiracy theories.
Obama realizes that after seven years, Afghanistan war fatigue has begun to set in with the American people. Some 51 percent of Americans now oppose the Afghanistan war, and 64 percent of Democrats do. The president is therefore escalating in the teeth of substantial domestic opposition, especially from his own party, as voters worry about spending billions more dollars abroad while the U.S. economy is in serious trouble.
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see
Escobar: The secrets of Obama’s surge + Obama’s Afghan plan + The rights of women
Warning
This video may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.
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http://submedia.tv/stimulator/2009/04…
This week:1. Good news round up
2. Montreal Angst
3. X-acto Shooting
4. Olympic Greenwash
5. Obama chills motherfucker out
6. European Rebellions part Deux
7. Biden needs more time
8. Goose Liver Revolution
9. Atari Teenage Riot
10. C.R.A.S.S. & the RNC 8
by Dr. Ellen Hodgson Brown
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
webofdebt.com
April 1, 2009
How ‘Quantitative Easing’ Could Be Harnessed For The Public Good
Nervous pundits are predicting the end of American life as we know it, after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced on March 18 that he would be dropping yet another trillion dollars in helicopter money – up to $300 billion to buy long-term government bonds and an additional $750 billion to buy private debt, with the Term Asset-backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) to be opened up for the sake of consumers and small businesses. The dollar immediately experienced its worst drop in 25 years, amid worries that the Fed’s intervention would spur hyperinflation. Typical of the concerned commentators expressing these sentiments was Mark Larson, who wrote in “Money and Markets” on March 20:
“This is Banana Republic-type stuff! And I’m not talking about the clothing store. Printing money out of thin air at the central bank, only to turn around and buy debt securities issued by your Treasury, is the kind of practice you typically see in emerging market regimes. We’re essentially monetizing our country’s debt and deliberately devaluing our country’s currency.”
Tim Wood wrote in “Financial Sense” on March 21:
The President is not exactly telling all that’s going on in AfPak.
President Obama’s highly anticipated new strategy for what the Pentagon now calls AfPak – Afghanistan and Pakistan – is full of grey areas. Most extra troops will be deployed to poppy-growing areas, not to fight al-Qaeda, the President’s stated number one objective. The President talks about building trust – but as the US cannot trust the Pakistani ISI, the Pakistani people don’t trust the US or even their own government. Pepe Escobar argues there are many more strategic issues at play than meets the eye – and the President and his team’s spin.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
The Obama administration puts a pretty new name on the war on terror.
Dandelion Salad 