Iran, Pakistan sign gas pipeline deal

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PressTV
March 16, 2010

Iran and Pakistan have signed a deal to construct a pipeline connecting the two neighboring countries, a project that was strongly opposed by the US.

Pakistan has argued that the pipeline, which will connect Iran’s South Pars gas field with Pakistan’s Balochistan and Sindh provinces, is essential for efforts to meet its energy needs.

“It’s in our legitimate economic interests,” Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said after the deal was signed on Tuesday.

He stated that construction of the pipeline should begin this year and it should become operational by 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the terms of the final deal, Iran will supply 750 million cubic feet of gas per day to Pakistan for 25 years.

The US administration tried to block the deal to put more economic pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.

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In a sense the U.S.-NATO war on Iran has already begun by Bruce Gagnon

Central Asia Pipeline Plan Begins To Emerge by Bruce Gagnon

The Next Big Bailout is on the Way – Prepare To Get Reamed! By Mike Whitney

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By Mike Whitney
March 16, 2010 “Information Clearing House”

Housing is on the rocks and prices are headed lower. That’s not the consensus view, but it’s a reasonably safe assumption. Master illusionist Ben Bernanke managed to engineer a modest 7-month uptick in sales, but the fairydust will wear off later this month when the Fed stops purchasing mortgage-backed securities and long-term interest rates begin to creep higher. The objective of Bernanke’s $1.25 trillion program, which is called quantitative easing, was to transfer the banks “unsellable” MBS onto the Fed’s balance sheet. Having achieved that goal, Bernanke will now have to unload those same toxic assets onto Freddie and Fannie. (as soon as the public is no longer paying attention)

Bernanke’s cash giveaway has helped to buoy stock prices and stabilize housing, but market fundamentals are still weak. There’s just too much inventory and too few buyers. Now that the Fed is withdrawing its support, matters will only get worse.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped the folks at Bloomberg from cheerleading the nascent housing turnaround. Here’s a clip from Monday’s column:

The Filibuster Flim Flam by Ralph Nader

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by Ralph Nader
The Nader Page
March 16, 2010

The U.S. Senate has become the graveyard of Congress! Dozens of bills passed by the House of Representatives—to improve the health, safety and economic well-being of Americans—are locked up in the Senate month after month.

This was not always the case. In the sixties and seventies, legislation affecting consumers, workers and the environment often started in the Senate and was sent to the House in the hope that that body would not weaken or defeat these bills.

Committee chairs like Senators Warren Magnuson, Gaylord Nelson, and Walter Mondale would move legislation after great public hearings open to the citizenry. Auto safety, product safety, meat and poultry inspection, gas pipeline safety in the late sixties, followed by the sweeping air and water pollution control bills in the early seventies, were examples of Senatorial initiatives.

In a sense the U.S.-NATO war on Iran has already begun by Bruce Gagnon

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by Bruce Gagnon
featured writer
Dandelion Salad
Organizing Notes
March 16, 2010

I’ve had lots of responses to my post the other day about the Marines being used to clear out southwest Afghanistan. One friend here in Maine sent me the above map that was in a Canadian newspaper in 2008. This map lays out a similar pipeline route from Turkmenistan that would deliver natural gas through Afghanistan, Pakistan, and then into India.

The June, 2008 Globe and Mail story was entitled “Pipeline opens new front in Afghan war.”

Georgia: Simulating War Or Provoking It? by Rick Rozoff

by Rick Rozoff
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Stop NATO
Stop NATO-Opposition to global militarism
March 16, 2010

On the evening of March 13 Georgia’s Imedi television channel ran a 30-minute prime time “simulated” newscast about a Russian invasion of the South Caucasus nation complete with a report that the country’s mercurial (if not megalomaniacal) president – Mikheil Saakashvili – had been assassinated.

Afghanistan: Anyone For Truth? + A fatherless Afghan boy remembers Iraq Memorial to Life

https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/

jperryam
March 15, 2010

Refusing to engage in a thorough and honest examination of all the issues only enables the ugly truth to rule indefinitely. All who genuinely consider themselves good citizens need to accept their responsibility to stand up and speak the truth to power. It’s the only way well ever have real change.

HOMEWORK:

The Other Illegal War
http://tiny.cc/D2DE8

The Rogue Nation
http://tiny.cc/HzLGC

Stunning Statistics Every American Should Know
http://tiny.cc/VrWs2

An appeal to anti-war organizations & activists to oppose the increasing threats against Iran

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(source: CASMII)
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran
Sunday, March 7, 2010

CASMII Press Release

An appeal to anti-war organizations & activists to oppose the increasing threats against Iran

Around the world, anti-war activists are preparing for major protests this spring to oppose the continuing U.S.-led occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a storm of developments is dramatically increasing tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In response, the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) is issuing this appeal to the anti-war movements in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries to raise the demands of “No war, no sanctions, no internal interference in Iran!”

Bill Fletcher: The unions and Obama

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TheRealNews

Bill Fletcher: The American trade union movement is in disarray

Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a columnist, activist, author and labor organizer. He is the Executive Editor of The Black Commentator and his newest book, cowritten with Fernando Gapasin, is entitled “Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path Toward Social Justice”. He is the a cofounder of the Center for Labor Renewal, has served as President of TransAfrica Forum and was formerly the Education Director and later Assistant to the President of the AFL-CIO.

Israeli army chief visits Turkey to hold talks on Iran’s nuclear program

Propaganda Alert

compiled by Cem Ertür
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
16 March 2010


1) Israeli army chief Gabi Ashkenazi visits Turkey to hold talks on Iran’s nuclear program (15 March 2009)

from the archives:

2) Israeli army chief Dan Halutz visits Turkey to discuss the Iranian threat (December 2005)

3) Turkey agrees to Israeli exercises near Iranian borders (December 2005)

4) CIA Director Porter Goss tells Turkey to be ready for US air strikes against Iran and Syria (December 2005)

5) General Basbug: Turkey can never welcome an Iran who possesses nuclear weapons (June 2005)

related documents:

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

7) Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul says Israeli raid a “closed matter” (November 2007)

________________________


http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=171037


excerpts from: Ashkenazi holds security talks in Turkey

by Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post, 15 March 2010

[Israeli army chief] Gabi Ashkenazi flew to Ankara on Monday to hold talks with his Turkish counterpart Gen. Ilker Basbug.

Ashkenazi also participated in a NATO terrorism conference on the sidelines where he met privately with Basbug and Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul. […]

Ashkenazi discussed regional security issues with a focus on Iran’s nuclear program as well as the rearmament of Hizbullah in southern Lebanon. […]

Ashkenazi’s trip on Monday is the first visit by an IDF [Israel Defense Forces] chief of staff since the 2005 visit by Dan Halutz. […]

“This visit is on the military-strategic level, not a diplomatic level. The Turks are not hiding it and neither are we,” [said Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avi Benayahu].

______________________


from the archives:


excerpts from: Halutz, Turkish officials discuss Iranian threat during visit

by Metehan Demir, Jerusalem Post, 23 December 2005

During a one-day working visit to Ankara [on December 22, 2005, Israeli army chief Dan] Halutz met with his Turkish counterpart Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, and discussed common concerns such as Islamist terrorism and Iran’s suspicious nuclear activities.

A briefing presented by the Turkish military laid out Iran’s efforts to obtain nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles (the Shihab 4 and 5) which could reach Turkish territory. Halutz was told that Iran causes uncertainty and risk for Turkey as well as the region. […]  [T]he international community should step up pressure on Iran to give up these dangerous attempts, members of the Turkish General Staff added.

________________________


from the archives:


excerpts from: UAE daily says Turkey agrees to Israeli exercises near Iranian borders

E’temad website, 28 December 2005 (via BBC Monitoring, 29 December 2005)

According to the agreement reached by the Joint Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, Dan Halutz, and Turkish officials, Israel is to carry out various military manoeuvres in the areas that border Iran and Syria. [Dan Halutz] had gone to Turkey a few days earlier. […]

The Israeli side made the request to carry out the manoeuvres because of the difficulty of passage in the mountain terrains close to Iran’s borders in winter. […]

The [Hakkari and Bolu] units are the most important of Israel’s special military units and are charged with fighting terrorism and carrying out guerrilla warfare. Earlier Turkey had agreed to Israeli pilots being trained in the area bordering Iran.

________________________


excerpts from: CIA’s Goss reportedly warned Ankara of Iranian threat

Dunya, 13 December 2005

During his recent visit to Ankara, CIA Director Porter Goss […] asked Ankara to be ready for a possible US air operation against Iran and Syria.

Goss, who came to Ankara just after FBI Director Robert Mueller’s visit, […] Goss first told Ankara that Iran has nuclear weapons and this situation was creating a huge threat for both Turkey and other states in the region. […]

The second dossier is about Iran’s stance on terrorism. The CIA argued that Iran was supporting terrorism, the PKK and al-Qaeda.

The third had to do with Iran’s alleged stance against Ankara. Goss said that Tehran sees Turkey as an enemy and would try to ‘export its regime’.

________________________


http://www.tsk.tr/eng/konusma/gnkurIIncibsk_atckonusmasiogleyemegi_eng__06062005.htm


Luncheon remarks by General Ilker Basbug, Deputy Chief of Turkish General Staff

“Like other countries and especially the United States, we have been following Iran’s nuclear efforts with serious concern. Turkey can never welcome an Iran who possesses nuclear weapons. The nuclear states axis starting from North Korea, passing through Iran and extending to other possible powers in our region poses sensitivity on part of Turkey.”

[Turkey’s Deputy Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug, speech at the American-Turkish Council’s annual conference, Washington DC, 6 June 2005. On August 2008, General Basbug became the head of Turkey’s armed forces ]

________________________


related documents:


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


excerpts from: Study on a possible Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear development facilities

by Abdullah Toukan, Anthony H.Cordesman and Arleigh A. Burke

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), 16 March 2009

“A military strike by Israel against Iranian Nuclear Facilities is possible and the optimum route would be along the Syrian-Turkish border then over a small portion of Iraq then into Iran, and back the same route. […]

If the Israeli aircraft do actually fly over Turkey that would constitute a clear Turkish – Israel and even U.S. conspiracy to attack Iran, so the Political risks could be high with Turkey.

Operationally, the risk from Syria would be low, whereas the risk from Turkey could be of medium level if Turkey deems it necessary to react militarily.”

________________________


http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL06691733


Turkey‘s Gul says Israeli raid a “closed matter”

Reuters, 6 November 2007

“It is no easy thing to discover that combat jets from a friendly state [i.e. Israel] have penetrated your skies overnight. It is good that you apologised, even though the apology was late. As we see it, the matter is closed and we hope that it will not be repeated in the future”

[Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul, commenting on the September 2007 Israeli Air Force bombing raid on Syria through Turkey, interview with Israel’s Maariv newspaper, 6 November 2007]

________________________

Capitalism Is Dying a Natural Death By Siv O’Neall

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By Siv O’Neall
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Axisoflogic.com
Mar 16, 2010

The curtain is going down on the lone-superpower world we know and it is now a most urgent question if and when and how forces for true democracy, human rights, peace and civilization can come out and dissipate the cloud that has spread over what was once an almost decent way of life.

The long-time descent into totalitarian capitalism and neglect for anything but corporate profit has just about finished its course. The party is over. Bankruptcy is next. What we don’t know yet is how far-reaching this economic freefall is going to be.

Dennis Kucinich is calling for “The Medicare Public Option” + Take Action

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http://www.usalone.com/donations_kucinich.php

Dennis Kucinich is demonstrating his leadership again by calling for “The Medicare Public Option”, the proposal to allow people under 65 to buy into Medicare, to be passed in reconciliation of the current health care bill.

Please step forward now yourself now to help Dennis get a new radio spot on the air IMMEDIATELY to advocate for this issue.

Though as originally introduced on the House floor, Representative Alan Grayson did not expressly ask that the Medicare You Can Buy Into Act (HR4789) be passed immediately, in reconciliation of the current Senate health care bill, he has since suggested that he is interested in this, and there is already a movement growing to do exactly that.

Abu Zubaydah’s Torture Diary by Andy Worthington

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by Andy Worthington
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
www.andyworthington.co.uk
16 March, 2010

To coincide with the publication of my article, “What Torture Is, and Why It’s Illegal and Not ‘Poor Judgment,’” in which I revisited the scandalous whitewash of the Justice Department report into the conduct of John Yoo and Jay Bybee (the lawyers who sought to redefine torture in the notorious “torture memos” of August 2002), I reproduce below a transcript of the statements made by the “high-value detainee” Abu Zubaydah during interviews with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, following his transfer to Guantánamo from secret CIA prisons in September 2006.

Tamils aren’t voting for change by Suren Surendiran

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by Suren Surendiran
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
http://www.tamilsforum.com
16 March, 2010

crossposted on guardian.co.uk

The Sri Lankan minority wants autonomy, but persecution in their homeland stopped Tamils voting in the election to effect it

The Tamil National Alliance‘s current manifesto prefers a federal structure in Sri Lanka to a separate state. It claims shared sovereignty, and that the north and east provinces are the historical habitations of Tamil-speaking people. It further states that the Tamil people are a distinct nationality and are entitled to the right of self-determination. Power-sharing arrangements must be established in a unit of merged Northern and Eastern provinces based on a federal structure, in a manner also acceptable to the Tamil-speaking Muslim people. Devolution of power should be in the areas of land, law and order, socioeconomic development including health and education, resources and fiscal powers.

“The Youth” by Cindy Sheehan + Peace of the Action Tent City Going Up

by Cindy Sheehan
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox Blog
Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox
March 16, 2010

Almost everywhere I go to speak, during the Q and A portion, someone asks me where are “The Youth?”

Well, I have good news for all these people who have been lamenting over the lack of young people in our Peace Movement: they are out here at Camp OUT NOW on the lawn of the Washington Monument.

Countdown: Michael Moore on Wall Street and Health Care

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mmflint
March 15, 2010

“[Chris Dodd] said today, well we don’t want to ‘punish’ Wall Street. Yes we do. Yes, that’s exactly what we need to do, because if we don’t do it, they won’t do anything to change. … Instead what we did was, we wrote them more checks and said, ‘Here. Thanks for stealing the money. Take some more.’ I mean that’s absolutely the wrong message to send to a thief.” — Michael Moore on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Monday, March 15th, 2010