The Mighty Debt-Purge of 2009 by Mike Whitney

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by Mike Whitney
Global Research, April 22, 2009

The Fed’s $12.8 trillion of monetary stimulus has triggered a six week-long surge in the stock market. Think of it as Bernanke’s Bear Market Rally, a torrent of capital gushing from every rusty pipe in the financial system. The Fed’s so-called “lending facilities” have gone far beyond their original purpose which was to backstop a broken system. Now they’re leaking liquidity into the equities markets and sending stocks soaring while the “real” economy sinks to the bottom of the fish tank. That’s how the Fed does business these days; plenty of tasty crepes for the Wall Street kingpins and table-scraps for the lumpen masses.

Bernanke has provided generous “100 cents on the dollar” loans for Triple A mortgage-backed collateral that is now worth 30 cents on the dollar. The Fed stands to lose trillions of dollars on these loans because the assets will never regain their original value. Eventually the taxpayer will have to pony up the difference in higher taxes, fewer public services and a weaker dollar.

A Meditation on Our Monetary System: State of Permanent Siege* By Richard Cook

by Richard C. Cook
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
richardccook.com
April 22, 2009

We Hold These Truths by Richard C. Cook

Originally uploaded by Lorri37

The level of public ignorance on the topic of the U.S. and world monetary system is astonishing. This is part of the plan, of course, because the monetary elite control not only the financial system but also the news media, the publishing industry, and the educational system. The blueprint for control was put together over a century ago by Cecil Rhodes and his friends, including British financier Nathan Rothschild, as documented by Professor Carroll Quigley.

During the 20th Century the power shifted to the U.S., with the Rockefellers playing the dominant role as they continue to do today. It is no accident that J.P. Morgan Chase—the Rockefeller family bank—dominates the U.S. derivatives market; nor that Exxon-Mobil, the Rockefellers’ oil company, is the most profitable corporation in history.

“Hope”less in the “Two” Party System by Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan for Congress

by Cindy Sheehan
Dandelion Salad
Featured Writer
Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox Blog
Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox
April 22, 2009

Since November of 2006 when the Democrats regained majorities in both Houses of Congress, I began my gradual awakening to the fact that the “Two”-Party Robber Class political system is a fraud.

Nancy Pelosi ran for her Congressional seat in 2006 (which would for certain turn transform her into the House Speakership if the Dems became the majority) promising “No more blank checks for war.” She broke that promise, but kept her treasonous “impeachment is off the table” promise. What Nancy Pelosi really meant was the opposite: “I will give George Bush EVERY blank check for war that he asks of me! Why wouldn’t I? I am protecting him from accountability—billions of dollars for war is nothing!”

You have to understand, that Nancy Pelosi’s district is PRO-Impeachment and ANTI-war. If she refused to fund the wars and impeach George Bush, she would be following the will of her constituency. However, the “Two”-Party Robber Class political system protects and preserves itself no matter what party the criminal belongs to.

Scott Horton Interviews Jeff Stein on Jane Harman-AIPAC story

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AntiwarRadio

Jeff Stein, Spy Talk columnist for Congressional Quarterly, discusses his breaking news story about the alleged NSA wiretap recording of Rep. Jane Harmon agreeing to intervene on behalf of two AIPAC employees accused of espionage in exchange for help getting appointed chair of the House Intelligence Committee and why then-Attorney General Gonzales intervened to close the case before it could really begin.

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Pt 2

Rabbi Ahron Cohen: Judaism and Zionism + Neturei Karta UK speech (2008)

compiled by Cem Ertür
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
22 April, 2009

1) VIDEO: Rabi Ahron Cohen Lectures at the University of London (9 February 2009)
2) Neturei Karta UK speech delivered at the “Emergency Protest to Stop the Massacre in Gaza” (27 December 2008)

Revealing the Secrets in Room 101 By Scott Horton

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By Scott Horton
ICH
April 22, 2009 “Harpers”

On Thursday the spirit of George Orwell visited America, three times.

The first visit can be found in four memoranda prepared by Bush Administration lawyers which gave the actual go-ahead for the use of specific torture techniques on specific individuals, thus demolishing forever the absurd contention that the torture lawyers were ever only engaged in some abstract exercise without any direct application to incidents of torture. Here, we discover that Room 101 of the Ministry of Love (Miniluv) has been faithfully recreated by the Bush Team. In Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Room 101 contained whatever a prisoner feared most, which would be let loose against him in an act calculated to inspire pure terror in the victim, to break him as an individual and to produce human material suitable for reconditioning. As a reminder, here’s the way the disclosure of Room 101 is realized in the excellent film version directed by Michael Radford (it begins at roughly 3:20 in the clip):

Pepe Escobar: American torture

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TheRealNews

There can be no “exceptionalism” when the rule of law is broken

Obama, American Ideals, and Torture as ‘a useful tool’ by Jeremy R. Hammond

By Jeremy R. Hammond
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Foreign Policy Journal
April 22, 2009

The self-described “world leader in global intelligence” information group STRATFOR said on Monday, in an assessment of the Obama administration’s decision to release a series of legal memoranda giving the C.I.A. legal cover to engage in torture, that “torture can be a useful tool” and defended President Barack Obama’s decision to protect C.I.A. interrogators who employed torture against detainees from any criminal prosecution.

Obama, in his own defense of his decision to protect torturers, said that harsh interrogation methods “undermine our moral authority and do not make us safer” while defending interrogators “who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject to prosecution.”

Countdown: Torture – Who to prosecute + Maddow: Philip Zelikow

Dandelion Salad

firedoglake

Countdown-Jonathan Turley – Torture: Who to prosecute… 04_21_09

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***

Rachel Maddow: the torture memos, part 1

Mosaic News – 4/21/09: World News From The Middle East

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Warning

This video may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.

linktv

Mosaic needs your help! Donate here: http://linktv.org/contribute

“Israel To Order US-made Missile Intercept System,” Al Jazeera TV, Qatar
“Another suspect arrested in connection to Israel spy cell,” NBN TV, Lebanon
‘Hero’s welcome for Ahmadinejad after Israel speech,” Press TV, Iran
“Taliban Video Shows Attacks on US Soldiers,” Al Arabiya TV, UAE
“Armed Groups in Sudan Join “Peace Train,” Sudan TV, Sudan
“Sudan Off UN Terrorism List,” Sudan TV, Sudan
“Bangladesh Has Lost 1/3 Of Agricultural Land,” Al Jazeera English, Qatar
“Egyptians Celebrate Ancient Holiday,” Dubai TV, UAE
“Camel Racing in Mauritania,” Al Jazeera TV, Qatar
Produced for Link TV by Jamal Dajani.

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War Resistor Successfully Challenges ‘Misconduct’ Charge By Stephen Dohnberg

Sent to DS by the author, thanks Stephen.

Dandelion Salad

by Stephen Dohnberg
Global Pundit
crosposted at Digit Journal with photos
April 22, 2009

War Resistor Sgt Chiroux successfully challenged his misconduct hearing, facing down the U.S. Army and offering a potential “green light” for other soldiers challenging the legality of U.S. action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

War resistor Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, who refused to deploy to Iraq under the Individual Ready Reserve, today successfully challenged his misconduct hearing and was granted a ‘General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions’.