Image by paddynapper via FlickrThis post was 'lost' and only partly saved, missing notes on U.S. military sponsorship of U.K. created Israel and its costs for Israel, including a Ha'aretz article on Israel's perseution of Palestine. Plus I had run Search on 'U.S. Occupation Starvation' that included returns on post WW II Germany and Japan, and should have included Afghanistan,Iraq,Somalia,Haiti...and more
Here's what's left before anything else goes wrong.
Gratitude
"Giving of ourselves; service to others - that's what this season is all about."
Sharing Trends in 2011
An Illustrated History of Energy
Nigerian coast braces for consequences of biggest oil spill in 13 years
Shell facility spills 20,000 barrels of oil about 70 miles off the coast of Nigeria, which is a densely populated area.
Up, Up, and Away: Research Balloons Take to Antarctica's Skies
Fitted with sensors, called dropsondes, which drop from the craft, the driftsondes collect detailed atmospheric information including atmospheric characteristics such as wind, temperature, humidity and pressure.The data collected during Concordiasi will also improve the understanding of processes driving ozone-hole formation each spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Big Lie on Fannie and Freddie
Wall Street knows that the crash of 2008 was a replay of the Great Crash of 1929, and for many of the same reasons. They also know it was likely to result in a Second New Deal with many of the same rules and regulations on private business behavior. That is why these monied interests are so desperate to create an alibi that would pawn off their own reckless speculations, criminal negligence and outright malfeasance onto their favorite scapegoat of choice, the government.Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the perfect patsies for this cover story. The two housing agencies are government agencies, sort of. They did participate in the sub-prime fiasco, however belatedly. And they do serve poor people trying to get ahead and so offer perfect cover for Wall Street interests trying to hide their own crimes so as to forestall heightened government supervision. That is why we are seeing a replay of the Ronald Reagan morality tale about undeserving Welfare Queens that resonates so well with the GOP's personal responsibility-minded Religious Right base.
Revelations that Newt Gingrich accepted more than a million dollars in lobbying fees to talk up the soundness of Freddie and Fannie with his Republican colleagues while at the same time fingering the two agencies as the prime movers of the sub-prime collapse, only underscores the ulterior motives and hypocrisy that's been at the core of conservative blame-gaming all along.
Fiscal Policy Works
Via Brad DeLong, there’s a paper by David Romer (pdf) summarizing recent research on fiscal policy, inspired by the crisis and aftermath. And his conclusion is not at all what you hear on the talk shows; it is that there is now overwhelming evidence that fiscal policy does in fact work when it’s not offset by monetary policy. And since we’re now in a liquidity trap in which conventional monetary policy has no traction, that’s the world we’re in.| Counting the Cost |
| The year that should not have been |
Economic experts dissect what went wrong in 2011, what might have gone right, and where it all points to for 2012. |
| Markus Kerber: "One size cannot fit all" |
A strong critic of the euro explains why he thinks the currency union is doomed to fail. |
Presidential Super PAC disclosures may leave voters in the dark
There are plenty of opportunities for these groups to avoid scrutiny until, in some cases, Jan. 31. The first four potentially pivotal contests of the Republican presidential nominating process in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida may already be over before the public learns who's bankrolling some of the new entities that have sprung up in the wake of Citizens United, the Supreme Court's landmark 2010 ruling that gave corporations, unions and other special interests the right to spend unlimited sums to influence elections.Some of these groups already have spent millions in early-voting states, but little is known about most of them. Those that are required to register with the Federal Election Commission don't have to reveal which candidate they are supporting or opposing until they begin making independent expenditures. (Those that qualify as 501(c)4 "social welfare" organizations under the U.S. tax code never have to register with the FEC or reveal their donors.) Presidential campaigns are legally barred from coordinating expenditures with Super PACs, and some candidates have denounced their activities. But many of the presidential Super PACs are led by former campaign staffers and political aides of the candidates (See chart below).
Of the 20 Super PACs that Sunlight has identified as playing in the 2012 presidential race, only five have so far have released any information about donors. And most of that information is six months old. While some committees may be required to reveal donors next week, they can avoid doing so if:
Labour unions are under fire across the US, but do they have enough vitality to fight back?
The Lives They Lived
We follow one boy's journey from a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon to the UK's most prestigious public school.
A deeper look at Iraq's ethnic composition, military bases, private contractors, casualties and oil fields.
The winners and losers of US policy on Iran
State of Denial
Hostile measures against political adversaries are also becoming the norm in Washington. On December 14, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Iran Threat Reductions Act (HR 1905). An amendment to it proposed by hawk Ileana Ros-Lehtinen essentially bars US officials from even speaking to the Iranians with minor exceptions. Several analysts have written that the measure will enhance the threat of war. Intelligence veteran Paul Pillar warned in November that the restriction could block peaceful means of conflict resolution over Iran's nuclear program and "any diplomacy to keep US-Iranian incidents or crises…from spinning out of control”.
Preventing unnecessary catastrophes was exactly what recently retired Admiral Mike Mullen was trying to do when he reiterated calls for engagement with Iran. In September he strongly recommended that the US explore "any channel [of communication] that's open”, adding that "even in the darkest days of the Cold War,” America "had links to the Soviet Union”. Even Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta felt compelled to explain why war should be avoided to a pro-Israel audience at the Saban Center in Washington earlier this month. "The consequence could be that we would have an escalation that would take place that would not only involve many lives, but…consume the Middle East in a confrontation and a conflict that we would regret,” he said.History repeats itself and with Iran it's hardly the work of supernatural forces. In 1996, a similar battle raged between elements of the "Israel lobby” and USA*Engage, which opposed harsh sanctions against Iraq and Iran. The lobby prevailed, with parts of the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act being written by members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). This was confessed to journalist Jeffrey Goldberg by AIPAC staffer Steven Rosen who would later be indicted for espionage after being accused of giving classified US intelligence to Israel.
AIPAC's victory was also a boon for the Russians and Chinese who were able to secure lucrative contracts in the sanctioned countries without competition. The main loser was America's economy.
It's no coincidence that many of the same groups that agitated for war with Iraq are also pushing America closer to confrontation with Iran.
| Iraq on the edge |
As US troops have left the country, what is preventing Iraq from moving forward? THE BLACKLISTED JOURNALIST,EMAIL,BUSH'S OCTOBER ...(from page 6)www.blacklistedjournalist.com/column110k1.html But in reality, the United States is still in charge: Not only do 138000 troops remain to control the streets, but the "100 Orders" of L. Paul Bremer III remain to ...Have You Ever Heard of Bremer's 100 Orders - :: www.uruknet.info ...www.uruknet.info/?p=42948 - United States 10 Apr 2008 – But Bremer's 100 orders destroyed Iraq's economy not just for years but for decades to come. It undid some historical things dating back ten ... |
L. Paul Bremer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Paul_Bremer
On May 23, 2003 Bremer issued Order Number 2, in effect dissolving the entire former Iraqi army and ..... "Bremer speaks at Clark, 100 protest: IMC Worcester". ...Regulations - CPA Iraq
www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/
140+ items – Orders – are binding instructions or directives to the Iraqi ...| Reg 1 | The Coalition Provisional Authority |
| Reg 2 | The Development Fund for Iraq**Amended per Reg 11 Sec 1** |
End the War First! Bremer's 100 Orders
endthewarfirst.org/bremer_100_orders.html
100+ items – Coalition Provisional Authority Bremer's 100 Orders ...| Order 1 | De-Ba`athification of Iraqi Society |
| Order 2 | Dissolution of Entities with Annex A |
Bremer's 100 Orders - The Rape of Iraq
www.fictionpost.com/f57/bremers-100-orders-rape-iraq-11538/
9 posts - 4 authors - Last post: 24 Oct 2008
The Handover That Wasn't By Antonia Juhasz, Foreign Policy in Focus. Posted July 20, 2004. The U.S. occupation of Iraq officially ended on ...Plowing for Profits U.S. agribusiness eyes Iraq's fledgling markets by ...(from page 6)
www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Iraq/Plowing_for_Profits_Iraq.htmlThis broader push for privatization is reflected in the language of Order 81, one among 100 legal orders left behind by U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer's ...
www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Iraq/Plowing_for_Profits_Iraq.html
This broader push for privatization is reflected in the language of Order 81, one among 100 legal orders left behind by U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer's ...Who is behind mystery spy devices dropped over Syria?
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