Disrespectful and Disgraceful: The Republican Policy Against First Responders by Walter Brasch

by Walter Brasch
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
www.walterbrasch.com
Aug 4, 2009

It isn’t unusual that the Republican party is anti-union.

It isn’t even unusual that the Republican National Committee sent to its base a loaded questionnaire with blatantly leading and highly biased questions.

But it is unusual that the party that claims to ally itself with homeland security has not-so-subtly attacked the firefighters and police who responded to 9/11.

The Republicans want their respondents to answer a resounding “NO” to the following question:

“Do you believe that the federal government should allow the unionization of the Department of Homeland Security employees who serve in positions critical to the safety and security of our nation”?

Israeli general: Israel-Lebanon border could explode at any minute

Updated: August 11, 2009
Updated: August 10, 2009
Updated: August 9, 2009

Propaganda Alert

compiled by Cem Ertür
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
4 August 2009

 
1) Lebanese President: Israeli Threats Create Urgency for Speedy Government Shape-Up (11 August 2009)
2) Netanyahu: Lebanese government is responsible for any attack from its area on Israel (10 August 2009)
3) Israeli Deputy FM: We will hold Hizbullah responsible for any harm to Israelis abroad (9 August 2009)
4) Israeli Defence Minister hints at another war with Lebanon (7 August 2009)
5) Hezbollah stockpiles 40,000 rockets near Israel border (5 August 2009)
6) Hezbollah rockets part of Iran and Israel’s political game of chess (5 August 2009)
7) Could Iran be plotting a Hizbollah offensive to take the heat off its leaders? (4 August 2009)
8) Nasrallah: Israel to strike Lebanon again (26 July 2009)
9) Lebanese President: Lebanon will use ‘all legitimate and available means’ against the Israeli threats (15 July 2009)

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http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/newsdesk.nsf/0/81156F37277EFCE1C225760F004D5946?OpenDocument

excerpts from: Suleiman: Israeli Threats Create Urgency for Speedy Government Shape-Up

Naharnet, 11 August 2009

The recent barrage of Israeli threats, which show the enemy’s hidden intentions toward Lebanon, calls on us to work hard to strengthen and close our ranks […] [in order] to form, as soon as possible, a national unity government that can overcome personal considerations and reflect Lebanese accord in the face of the looming danger

[Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, separate meetings with the Economy and Trade Minister Mohammed al-Safadi and State Minister Ali Qanso, 11 August 2009] 

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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1106627.html

excerpt from: Netanyahu: Lebanon will pay if Hezbollah attacks

Haaretz, 10 August 2009

If Hezbollah joins the Lebanese government as an official entity, let it be clear that the Lebanese government, as far as we are concerned, is responsible for any attack — any attack — from its area on the state of Israel

[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 10 August 2009]

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http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1249418558533

excerpt from: ‘If Hizbullah harms Israelis abroad it will pay a heavy price’

Jerusalem Post, 9 August 2009

If, god forbid, one hair on the head of an official Israeli representative, or an unofficial one, is harmed, we will view Hizbullah as responsible and it will suffer the consequences. And the consequences, as far as Hizbullah is concerned, will be very severe.

[Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, interview with Radio Israel, 9 August 2009]

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http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=102752&sectionid=351020203

excerpt from: Barak hints at another war with Lebanon

Press TV, 7 August 2009

We cannot accept that a neighboring UN member state should have in its government representatives of a militia that has more than 40,000 rockets.

[Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, 6 August 2009] 

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6739175.ece

excerpt from: Hezbollah stockpiles 40,000 rockets near Israel border

by Richard Beeston and Nicholas Blanford, The Times, 5 August 2009

Brigadier-General Alon Friedman, the deputy head of the Israeli Northern Command, told The Times from his headquarters overlooking the Israeli-Lebanese border that the peace of the past three years could “explode at any minute”.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6739216.ece

excerpt from: Analysis: Hezbollah rockets part of Iran and Israel’s political game of chess

by Richard Beeston, The Times, 5 August 2009

Israel has the political will and the military muscle to execute an attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities. The range may be beyond anything attempted by the Israeli Air Force, but Iran’s conventional forces are outdated and defences weak.

It is assumed that Arab states, whose airspace Israeli bombers and fighters would have to fly through to reach Iran, would secretly cooperate on a mission to blunt the Persian threat.

That is why Tehran is investing so heavily in its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. The Shia Muslim militia has rebuilt and strengthened its arsenal since the bloody war it fought with the Israelis in 2006. It has amassed tens of thousands of rockets and missiles capable of bombarding half the country.

Israeli planners have no doubt that should they make the fateful decision to attack Iran, they will provoke massive retaliation on an unprecedented scale. The most densely populated areas of the country would come under Hezbollah range, including Tel Aviv, Haifa and Ben Gurion, Israel’s only international airport.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/could-iran-be-plotting-a-hizbollah-offensive-to-take-the-heat-off-its-leaders-1766952.html

Could Iran be plotting a Hizbollah offensive to take the heat off its leaders?

by Robert Fisk, Independent, 4 August 2009

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http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=101646&sectionid=351020202

excerpt from: Nasrallah: Israel to strike Lebanon again

Press TV, 26 July 2009

Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has said that the Israeli regime may launch another attack on Lebanon by the next spring.

In a meeting with Lebanese expatriates visiting the country, Nasrallah estimated that Israel would not remain inactive, but rather, initiate an aggression on the country “sometime between the end of this year and next spring”, Lebanese television channel al-Jadid reported on Saturday.

The prominent leader added that should Israel wage another war on his homeland, the Hezbollah movement would use new tactics and methods to repel the assault. He stressed that this time the group would not hesitate to attack Tel Aviv, if the southern suburbs of Beirut were hit.

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http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=100841&sectionid=351020203

excerpt from: Lebanon will use ‘all means’ against Israel

Press TV, 16 July 2009

Speaking at the opening session of a Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit on Wednesday, [Lebanese President Michel] Suleiman reiterated that Lebanon has the right to defend itself against Israeli the threats and to liberate its lands occupied by Israel.

Suleiman slammed Israel’s daily violations of Lebanese territorial sovereignty and ‘its aggressive espionage acts in breach of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701’. […]

“Lebanon presented this summit with specific demands for the full and unconditional implementation of Resolution 1701, for the rejection of any form of Palestinian naturalization and for the preservation of (Lebanon’s) right to defend itself and liberate its land by all legitimate and available means,” he said.

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from the archives:
 

https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/01/11/blue-star-rampage-israels-dress-rehearsal-for-lebanon-by-mike-whitney/

excerpt from: Blue Star Rampage: Israel’s dress rehearsal for Lebanon

by Mike Whitney, Information Clearinghouse, 8 January 2009

The reason the rationale for invading Gaza keeps changing, (from rocket-fire to Hamas infrastructure to strengthening deterrents to weapons smuggling to ceasefire violations etc) is because the Israeli leadership wants to conceal the true objective. The purpose of “Operation Cast Lead” is to conduct a dress rehearsal for another invasion of Lebanon.

That’s the real goal. Israel has never recovered from its defeat at the hands of Hezbollah during the 33 Day war in 2006, so it is planning to restart hostilities. The attack on Gaza is just a “dry run” to strengthen morale and put the finishing touches on the battle plan. That’s why there’s such a disparity between the implicit risks of the current operation and its minuscule strategic gains.

It’s not really Hamas in the cross-hairs, but Hezbollah; and this time, Israel hopes to crush them with overwhelming force. The massive week-long aerial bombardment of Gaza; the pounding by heavy artillery units, and the deployment of elite troops and armored divisions, all presage a massive Normandy-type invasion of Lebanon with the probability of high casualties.

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http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1228728164866&pagename=JPos t%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

Preparing for a possible confrontation with Hizbullah

by Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post, 11 December 2008

“In the last war, we made a distinction between Hizbullah targets and Lebanese national targets […] Now that Hizbullah is in the government – with veto power in the cabinet – there is no longer a reason to make this distinction, since a Hizbullah attack against Israel is essentially a Lebanese attack against Israel. […] No village will be immune […] We will give them about a 12-hour warning, and then strike back” [a senior Israeli army general told the Jerusalem Post].

To prepare for another possible war with Hizbullah, the IDF has also drawn up operational plans that it believes will succeed in ending the battle – with a clear and decisive victory – in four or five days, not like last time. […]

In general terms, the plan consists of two stages. The first: to strike hard at Hizbullah infrastructure from the air, and to hope that this is devastating enough to force Hizbullah to end the war […] The second: to conduct a massive ground attack, probably up to the Litani River, […]

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related links: 

Israeli Air Force to train overseas for Iran strike operation (5 July 2009)

https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/israeli-ambassador-to-us-iranian-nuke-could-wipe-off-israel-in-seconds/

Israel holds drill simulating all-out war (21 May 2009)

https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/israel-holds-drill-simulating-all-out-war/

CSIS report: Turkey would be the optimum route for a possible Israeli attack on Iran (16 March 2009)

https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/csis-report-turkey-would-be-the-optimum-route-for-a-possible-israeli-attack-on-iran/

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map: 

Israeli bombardment of Lebanon between July 12 and August 6, 2006

source: Electronic Intifada [PDF Format 252K]

http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/maps/469.shtml

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Keeping track of the empire’s crimes, by William Blum

by William Blum
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Aug 4, 2009

Keeping track of the empire’s crimes

If you catch the CIA with its hand in the cookie jar and the Agency admits the obvious — what your eyes can plainly see — that its hand is indeed in the cookie jar, it means one of two things: a) the CIA’s hand is in several other cookie jars at the same time which you don’t know about and they hope that by confessing to the one instance they can keep the others covered up; or b) its hand is not really in the cookie jar — it’s an illusion to throw you off the right scent — but they want you to believe it.

Instances of the United States overthrowing, or attempting to overthrow, a foreign government since the Second World War by William Blum

by William Blum
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Killing Hope
Aug 4, 2009

order here

When a range of years is given, the effort to overthrow was
not necessarily an active operation each year of the period.

U.S. Government Assassination Plots by William Blum

by William Blum
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Killing Hope
Aug 4, 2009

order here

The U.S. bombing of Iraq, June 26, 1993, in retaliation for an alleged Iraqi plot to assassinate former president George Bush, “was essential,” said President Clinton, “to send a message to those who engage in state-sponsored terrorism … and to affirm the expectation of civilized behavior among nations.” *

Controlling the Global Economy: Bilderberg, the Trilateral Commission & the Federal Reserve, by Andrew Gavin Marshall

by Andrew Gavin Marshall
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
August 4, 2009

Part 1: Global Power and Global Government: Evolution and Revolution of the Central Banking System

Part 2: Origins of the American Empire: Revolution, World Wars and World Order

Global Power and Global Government: Part 3

The Bilderberg Group and the European Union Project

In 1954, the Bilderberg Group was founded in the Netherlands, which was a secretive meeting held once a year, drawing roughly 130 of the political-financial-military-academic-media elites from North America and Western Europe as “an informal network of influential people who could consult each other privately and confidentially.”[1] Regular participants include the CEOs or Chairman of some of the largest corporations in the world, oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum, and Total SA, as well as various European monarchs, international bankers such as David Rockefeller, major politicians, presidents, prime ministers, and central bankers of the world.[2]

Ron Paul: Cash for Clunkers + Senate to vote on $2 billion for ‘clunkers’ after GOP caves

campaignforliberty
August 03, 2009

Dr. Paul explains why “Cash for Clunkers” hurts poor people and is bad for the economy.

Skip the Happy Talk – This Depression is just Beginning, by Mike Whitney

Dandelion Salad

by Mike Whitney
Information Clearing House
August 03, 2009

Too bad Pulitzers aren’t handed out for blog-entries. This year’s award would go to Zero Hedge for its “The ‘Money on the Sidelines’ Fallacy” post. This short entry shows why the economy will continue its downward slide and why the US consumer will not get off the mat and resume spending as he has in the past. The fact is the Net Wealth of US Households has “declined from a peak of $22 trillion to just under $12 trillion in early March.”

Judge Orders Release From Guantánamo Of Kuwaiti Charity Worker by Andy Worthington

by Andy Worthington
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
www.andyworthington.co.uk
4 Aug. 2009

By sheer coincidence, I had just been alerted to the publication of a number of documents relating to the ongoing habeas corpus cases of the Guantánamo prisoners last Thursday, and was reading, with mounting disbelief, the government’s supposed case

By sheer coincidence, I had just been alerted to the publication of a number of documents relating to the ongoing habeas corpus cases of the Guantánamo prisoners last Thursday, and was reading, with mounting disbelief, the government’s supposed case against Khalid al-Mutairi (PDF), one of the last four Kuwaiti prisoners, when I received an email notifying me that District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly had just granted his habeas petition and ordered the government to “take all necessary and appropriate steps to facilitate” his release “forthwith.”

A Neglected Classic of Sorts – Leonard Lewin’s Report from Iron Mountain by Daniel N. White

by Daniel N. White
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Aug. 4, 2009

Tracked down and read a book that I’d heard of all my life, mostly, and had never gotten around to reading.  Book is Report from Iron Mountain, by Leonard Lewin.  I as a kid remember my dad talking about the book when it came out–he bought into its authenticity at the time like everyone else did, and was particularly concerned with its arguments and conclusions, being a career USAF jet jock at the time.  Am not sure when he got wise to its being a parody–he may not have ever, as the amount of egg left on the faces of official and literary America from their believing in this book’s authenticity when it came out no doubt greatly interfered with word of its being a prank getting out too much too fast.  If the old man were still around, and still believed in the book’s authentic provenance, well he probably wouldn’t lack for company.  Rightwingers reprinted the book in the late ’80’s, and used it as evidence of the Giant Conspiracy that they and they alone were hep to.  They did this without the author’s permission, and argued in court that seeing as the book was a USG publication, it was not subject to copyright restrictions and could be reprinted freely without permission, like any other government publication.  They lost, and wound up having to give all the copies that they had back to L. Lewin.   How droll.  And hell if people still aren’t buying into it today–Wikipedia’s entry on the book allows the possibility still of it being an authentic USG study, and Oliver Stone used it as evidence in his movie JFK as evidence for The Giant Conspiracy that only he and  that useless drunk Jim Garrison were hep to.  Gadzooks.

South Ossetian village shelled

RussiaToday
August 03, 2009

The South Ossetian Ministry of Defense says the village of Otrev, near the South Ossetian capital Tskhinval, was shelled on Monday evening.