When the Taliban calls, pick up

Rebel Newsflash: When the Taliban calls, pick up (plus 54 more items)

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• When the Taliban calls, pick up
• Remembering the second intifada
• The Extraordinary Rendition of Palestine
• America Still Segregated
• Economic Shock Therapy for Wall Street: Mortgage Lenders could soon be falling like Dominos
• Crotch Bomber Kicks Off Massive DNA Destruction
• It was very sad that Quran was burnt: Craig Blomberg
• US quietly testing 'scary new war in Pakistan'
• Saturday: 2 Iraqis Killed, 4 Wounded
• Cyber war on Islamic Iran
• Computer worm attacking Iran's nuclear facilities 'includes Biblical link to Israel'
• Climate Cult Indoctrinating Our Kids With Depraved Death Wish
• Lessons on New World Order From Star Trek
• Lest We Forget–The Deliberate Attempted Bankrupting of America in mid-September, 2008
• CNN Makes Rick Sanchez's Point
• Could U.S. Officials Be Charged for Causing the Financial Crisis?
• Lower Than This They Cannot Stoop
• The impending collapse of Israel in Palestine
• Study Shows Monsanto Roundup Herbicide Link to Birth Defects
• Homeland Insecurity
• America's Food Chain: The Crisis, the Attack, the Kill
• Towards an Inflationary Depression in America
• Feds Use Pre-Crime To Target Disgruntled Veterans
• Netanyahu humiliates Obama again
• "Underground" Group of Cadets Say Air Force Academy Controlled by Evangelicals
• Baltic States: Pentagon's Training Grounds For Afghan and Future Wars
• US government deliberately infected Guatemalans with STDs in medical experiment
• Most Canadians, Americans skipped H1N1 vaccine last year
• Drastic lifestyle changes are best treatment for diabetes, obesity
• Invading Pakistan
• US Still Taking a Hard Line on Peace Talks with Taliban
• FBI raids anti-war activisits in U.S.
• Supreme Court Affirmed 'Racial Profiling' 35 Years Ago
• Authorities Plan To Trawl Phone Calls And E Mails For Signs Of "Resentment Toward Gov."
• Addicted to Drones
• Slouching Toward 2011
• A Long Road Ahead in Pakistan
• Climate Film Depicts Children Assassinated For Not Reducing Carbon Footprint
• Becoming Lula
• Bad Exes
• Friday: 8 Iraqis Killed, 14 Wounded
• Our Man in Sanaa
• Fox News Boss Murdoch Calls For Legalizing 40 Million Illegals
• Feds Radiating Americans At Internal Checkpoints
• Tea Party vs. War Party?
• The Hariri Assassination: Israel's Fingerprints Surface
• The War Addicts
• Rise in Af-Pak Cross-Border Attacks Spurs Backlash
• Better Safe Than Sorry?
• Dr. Doug Rokke: The Dangers of Using Depleted Uranium
• Pressure Obama Now on Sovereignty-Robbing Treaties
• The Japan Syndrome
• The Green Dividend
• The Junta's Soft Landing
• Avigdor Lieberman's UN Speech Shows the True Face of Israel

When the Taliban calls, pick up Posted: 03 Oct 2010 07:35 AM PDT There is a saying, I may be twisting it in the retelling, to the effect of what you do unto others will be done onto you. These thoughts come to mind as I wrestle with a dilemma that seems to be worming its way out of the soil of a country at war overseas and with itself. Earlier this week, I received a friend request on Facebook from one Abdullah Musafir. He identified himself as from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. His wall was filled with Islamic proverbs and reports on the killing of Western forces and battles with "cowardly terrorists," i.e., NATO, Afghan soldiers and US troops. There were references to the destruction of "puppet" police vehicles and the use of IEDs.

Remembering the second intifada Posted: 03 Oct 2010 07:24 AM PDT Ten years ago, Ariel Sharon marched on the symbolic heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, flanked by a 1,000-strong security force, and invoked one of the most famous phrases in Israeli history. "The Temple Mount is in our hands," he said, reiterating the radio broadcast from June 1967, when Israeli forces overran Jerusalem and occupied the last portions of Palestinian territory not conquered in 1948.

The Extraordinary Rendition of Palestine Posted: 03 Oct 2010 03:49 AM PDT It has been a rather bizarre week in the Middle East.  Let me just cite a few examples: - The International Atomic Agency (IAEA) succumbed to pressure from the US and other western countries and thus failed to make any explicit or even implicit request of Israel to join the nonproliferation treaty.  One of the excuses given is that there is a delicate peace process going and we do not want to upset the situation (i.e. upset Israel).

America Still Segregated Posted: 03 Oct 2010 02:21 AM PDT An article in the U.K. Daily Mail notes "These are the maps that show the racial breakdown of America's biggest cities. Using information from the latest U.S. census results, the maps show the extent to which America has blended together the races in the nation's 40 largest cities. With one dot equalling 25 people, digital cartographer Eric Fischer then colour-coded them based on race, with whites represented by pink, blacks by blue, Hispanic by orange and Asians by green." Most cities have very clear racial dividing lines. The article notes "Detroit, for example, is infamous for its divide between black and white. But the map shows such a clear separation along the Eight Mile beltway that it is startling – almost bordering on segregation. The strict east-west divide in Washington DC is also well known – but chilling to see so starkly outlined on the map of the nation's capital. And in Los Angeles, the Latino population dominates the poorer areas of the city."

Economic Shock Therapy for Wall Street: Mortgage Lenders could soon be falling like Dominos Posted: 03 Oct 2010 12:40 AM PDT The hits are coming fast and furiously.  Major Wall Street mortgage lenders could soon be falling like dominos - and looking again for handouts. On September 20th , Ally Financial Inc., which owns GMAC Mortgage, the nation's 4th largest lender, halted evictions and resale of repossessed homes in 23 states.  This was after a document processor for the company admitted that he had signed off on 10,000 pieces of foreclosure paperwork a month without reading them.  The 23 states were all those where foreclosures must be approved by a court, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida and Illinois.

Crotch Bomber Kicks Off Massive DNA Destruction Posted: 02 Oct 2010 09:27 PM PDT Mainstream Doctors Fritz-Albert Popp and Bruce Lipton both tell us that our DNA appears to be the vital link between our physicality and spirituality. Dr. Popp, founder of the International Institute of Biophysics, at Neuss, Germany, and Dr. Lipton, of the University of Wisconsin, both confirm that modern science now realizes and recognizes that our DNA structures directly reflect our consciousness. This makes it possible for us to willfully activate what science formerly called "junk" DNA, by increasing our individual consciousnesses.

It was very sad that Quran was burnt: Craig Blomberg Posted: 02 Oct 2010 09:17 PM PDT Craig L. Blomberg is the Distinguished Professor of the New Testament, and has been a New Testament scholar since 1986 at the Denver Seminary in Colorado. Denver Seminary where Prof. Blomberg teaches is an evangelical graduate-level institution that was founded in 1950. Blomberg delivers speeches and writes on a number of Christianity, religion-related issues regularly. He has published several books on the New Testament of which we can name "From Pentecost to Patmos: An Introduction to Acts Through Revelation" and "The Historical Reliability of John's Gospel: Issues and Commentary". He specializes in the parables and the writings of Luke-Acts.

US quietly testing 'scary new war in Pakistan' Posted: 02 Oct 2010 09:03 PM PDT Don't get it twisted, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow essentially told her viewers Thursday night. "Borders matter" and "AfPak" is not the name of a single country. Contrary to popular and media opinion, America is now fighting in three countries: Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Saturday: 2 Iraqis Killed, 4 Wounded Posted: 02 Oct 2010 06:50 PM PDT Violence was very light ahead of Independence Day observations. At least two Iraqis were killed and four more were wounded in new attacks. Residents of Anbar Province reported an increasing greater military presence since yesterday's announcement that a Shi'ite super-coalition is supporting Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for a second turn as the premier. The surge risks antagonizing Sunnis, who may feel shut out of the political process. They supported the non-sectarian Iraqiya party in March elections. While the Iraqiya party won the most seats, it was not enough to guarantee the party a shot at the premiership. Iraqiya reiterated it would not support Maliki, even though he is appealing to Sunnis to join him.

Cyber war on Islamic Iran Posted: 02 Oct 2010 06:28 PM PDT "US war with Iran has four ingredients; Iran is the only independent government which doesn't take orders from the US; Israel wants to destroy Iran so that it doesn't face a third defeat once it attacks Southern Lebanon for water resources; US military complex and the US 'prostitute' media," Dr. Paul Craig Roberts. Listen to him on Corbett Report below. Iranian Intelligence Minister, Heydar Moslehi, has announced the arrest of several members of the western espionage network which recently attacked over 30,000 computers in industrial sites. The announcement also suggested that attack involving the stuxnet worm virus, which computer experts believe may have been to spy on Iran's nuclear facilities rather than destroy them, has raised alarm in the country.

Computer worm attacking Iran's nuclear facilities 'includes Biblical link to Israel' Posted: 02 Oct 2010 04:58 PM PDT Israel has been linked to a complex worm currently attacking computers in Iran, which experts claim may have been designed to target the country's nuclear facilities. The Stuxnet worm, supposedly aimed at slowing Iran's desire to create a nuclear arsenal, appears to include a reference to a Biblical story in which Jews pre-empt a Persian plot to destroy them. The New York Times reports a file inside the Stuxnet code is named 'Myrtus' - a reference to the Hebrew word Esther, the same name as the Old Testament book in which the story appears.

Climate Cult Indoctrinating Our Kids With Depraved Death Wish Posted: 02 Oct 2010 01:16 PM PDT 10:10 Global's revolting and macabre climate change infomercial, for which the organization has already been forced to apologize for and remove, in which children who refuse to lower their carbon emissions are brutally liquidated in a bloody gorefest, unveils one of the primary goals behind the global warming cult movement – to encourage children to kill themselves in the name of saving the planet. This sickening ad is not only a direct threat to climate skeptics, it is a harrowing insight into the deeply disturbed, serial killer-like psychological profile of prominent environmentalists, who routinely promote draconian methods of soft-kill genocide in the name of population reduction.

Lessons on New World Order From Star Trek Posted: 02 Oct 2010 01:00 PM PDT Lessons on New World Order From Star Trek!

Lest We Forget–The Deliberate Attempted Bankrupting of America in mid-September, 2008 Posted: 02 Oct 2010 12:29 PM PDT Make sure to listen to the point beginning at 2 minutes where Kanjorski discusses the "electronic run on the banks" that would have bankrupted the US within 24 hours. "Someone threw us in the middle of the Atlantic without a liferaft and now we don't know if we have what it takes to get back. We simply do not know"

CNN Makes Rick Sanchez's Point Posted: 02 Oct 2010 12:16 PM PDT Jews run the US media and control perception. When Rick Sanchez said so, he was fired. Point made. Rick Sanchez didn't understand that his role was to obscure this fact. He was Latino window dressing. He was the gentile front man. The shabbos goy. His role was to keep the Left-Right puppet show going. But he committed the worst possible sin. He pointed to the Illuminati Jewish puppeteer.

Could U.S. Officials Be Charged for Causing the Financial Crisis? Posted: 02 Oct 2010 12:15 PM PDT Iceland's parliament voted this week to refer former Prime Minister Geir Haarde to a special court where he may face charges of criminal negligence during the collapse of the country's financial sector, which left taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in debt. According to a government investigation, Haarde's administration missed a number of specific opportunities in 2008 to limit the damage of the impending banking meltdown to the greater Icelandic economy. If convicted, Haarde could potentially face up to two years in jail. Could U.S. officials ever face charges for the market crash and the ensuing recession?

Lower Than This They Cannot Stoop Posted: 02 Oct 2010 09:24 AM PDT Depending on when this gets posted, the post Anthony put up titled "O…M…G – Video explodes skeptical kids in bloodbath" may have sunk quite a bit down the pile of posts–Anthony and his squad are prolific posters. But it can't get any lower than the content shown in 10 10′s video. A relatively innocuous campaign to persuade people to lower their own emissions by 10 percent has pretty much exploded (literally) any hope that the debate can rise above the Wes Craven level. What's next? The Last House on the Left… Isn't Insulated?

The impending collapse of Israel in Palestine Posted: 02 Oct 2010 08:08 AM PDT On November 15, 1988 the Palestine National Council (P.N.C.) meeting in Algiers proclaimed the Palestinian Declaration of Independence that created the independent state of Palestine.   Today the State of Palestine is bilaterally recognized de jure by about 130 states.  Palestine has de facto diplomatic recognition from most of Europe.  It was only massive political pressure applied by the U.S. government that prevented European states from according to Palestine de jure diplomatic recognition.

Study Shows Monsanto Roundup Herbicide Link to Birth Defects Posted: 02 Oct 2010 07:00 AM PDT A major new scientific study has confirmed growing conviction that the world's most widely used chemical herbicide, Monsanto Corporation's Roundup is toxic and a danger to human as well as animal organisms. The latest scientific research carried out by a multinational scientific team headed by Professor Andrés Carrasco, head of the Laboratory of Molecular Embryology at the University of Buenos Aires Medical School and member of Argentina's National Council of Scientific and Technical Research, presents alarming demonstration that Monsanto and the GMO agribusiness industry have systematically lied about the safety of their Roundup. Roundup in far lower concentrations than used in agriculture is linked to birth defects. The health implications are huge. All major GMO crops on the market today are genetically manipulated to "tolerate" the herbicide Roundup.

Homeland Insecurity Posted: 02 Oct 2010 06:36 AM PDT "Terrorist" is probably the dirtiest label of the last decade. It has also proven convenient for a number of uses: 1. instil fear in the populace 2. justify large military budgets 3. excuse extra-judicial assassinations 4. deflect attention from one's actions to another's

America's Food Chain: The Crisis, the Attack, the Kill Posted: 02 Oct 2010 05:38 AM PDT In this three-part series, Food Chain Radio host Michael Olson interviews key people in the food freedom movement. From gun-blazing bureaucrats who attack small food producers to legislation like S 510 which threatens to hyper-regulate whole food operators out of business, Olson questions guests about government motives, who's behind the legislation, and where the crisis really lies. Olson notes that the U.S. "has a serious food safety crisis, and so its agents, with guns drawn and warrants in hand, are breaking down the doors of the little people who sell food to their neighbors. But wait... which is in crisis: local food or industrial food?"

Towards an Inflationary Depression in America Posted: 02 Oct 2010 05:27 AM PDT There is no question that those who control our government from behind the scenes are bound and determined to take over the $6 trillion in private pension plans. Whether they'll be successful remains to be seen. The Department of Labor wants to force all IRA's and 401k's into the arms of a corporate fascist government, that knows better what is good for you, than you do. You would exchange your hard earned investments for a guaranteed, government annuity that is not worth the paper it is written on.

Feds Use Pre-Crime To Target Disgruntled Veterans Posted: 02 Oct 2010 04:45 AM PDT The government seems to be obsessed with targeting disgruntled veterans with pre-crime and other unconstitutional forms of surveillance, demonization and harassment, the latest example being an Orwellian software program that purports to identify potential terrorists by analyzing the tone of phone conversations and emails to detect "resentment toward government".

Netanyahu humiliates Obama again Posted: 02 Oct 2010 04:40 AM PDT The Obama administration's attempts at seducing Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, are getting embarrassing. Netanyahu has made it very clear he is not interested. According to Ha'aretz, the latest (and most cringe-worthy) moment in the saga came this week when Dennis Ross, the president's top adviser on Israel-Palestinian issues, convinced Obama that Israel would only agree to an extension of the settlements freeze if Obama would "come off as friendlier" to Bibi.

"Underground" Group of Cadets Say Air Force Academy Controlled by Evangelicals Posted: 02 Oct 2010 04:26 AM PDT An anonymous cadet at the US Air Force Academy (USAFA ) spoke out against alleged religious discrimination at the school last week, saying that some cadets must pretend to be evangelical Christians in order to maintain standing among their peers and superiors. In an email to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), the whistleblower stated that he is part of an "underground group" of about 100 cadets who cannot rely on proper channels to confront evangelical pressure.

Baltic States: Pentagon's Training Grounds For Afghan and Future Wars Posted: 02 Oct 2010 04:14 AM PDT With the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization into Eastern Europe from 1999-2009, the U.S.-led military alliance has grown by 75 percent, from 16 to 28 members. By 2009 all former non-Soviet Warsaw Pact member states had been incorporated into NATO, the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) being absorbed with its merger into the Federal Republic in 1990. The Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined NATO in 1999 and Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia in 2004. Albania, which suspended participation in the Warsaw Pact six years after its founding, in 1961, was brought into the Alliance last year.

US government deliberately infected Guatemalans with STDs in medical experiment Posted: 02 Oct 2010 12:00 AM PDT The U.S. government made an interesting announcement this week, admitting it purposely infected hundreds of Guatemalans with gonorrhea and syphilis back in the 1940s as part of an "inoculation study". Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius jointly made a public apology for the experiment, which they dubbed "unethical" and "abhorrent".

Most Canadians, Americans skipped H1N1 vaccine last year Posted: 02 Oct 2010 12:00 AM PDT Despite all the scare tactics, fear mongering, and pseudoscience about the alleged importance of being vaccinated, a new report from Statistics Canada has revealed that 60 percent of Canadians decided against getting an H1N1 influenza vaccine last year. Even the World Health Organization's (WHO) declaration of a stage 6 pandemic was not enough to convince most Canadians to get the shot.

Drastic lifestyle changes are best treatment for diabetes, obesity Posted: 02 Oct 2010 12:00 AM PDT A new study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine has found that making considerable lifestyle and dietary changes are highly effective at improving the health of diabetes patients, as well as preventing of cardiovascular illness. Getting regular exercise and eating better, say researchers, are once again the best routes to take when combating disease, rather than simply take medication.

Invading Pakistan Posted: 01 Oct 2010 11:00 PM PDT "We will have to see whether we are allies or enemies," said Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik after a US/NATO manned air strike took out three Pakistani soldiers and wounded three others. If it isn't clear to the Pakistani minister, it is crystal clear to the people of Pakistan, who live in fear of constant US drone attacks – and, now, open violations of their country's sovereignty. Anti-American sentiment is at an all-time high, and the increasingly fragile government – which hangs by a very thin thread – is being rapidly undermined by US actions. The attack was launched "in self-defense," according to the US military, but the Pakistanis weren't appeased: they promptly cut off a vital supply route into Afghanistan. Slowly, but surely, the Obama administration is keeping one of the President's more ominous campaign promises – that he would invade Pakistan, if necessary, to "win" the war in Afghanistan. Even John McCain found this a scary prospect, and denounced it as "dangerous" – and yet we hear nary a peep from the Democratic-controlled Congress, nor are any Republicans, including McCain, raising objections.

US Still Taking a Hard Line on Peace Talks with Taliban Posted: 01 Oct 2010 11:00 PM PDT Following serious setbacks to the U.S. military's war plan in Afghanistan, the Barack Obama administration has taken the first tentative step toward a negotiated settlement of the conflict by actively seeking to ascertain the willingness of the Taliban to enter into negotiations, according to a source familiar with the administration's thinking about the issue. But the administration is still sticking to demands on the Taliban that it knows are not realistic, in a manner that is strikingly similar to the demands stated publicly by the United States in the early stage of the Vietnam War.

FBI raids anti-war activisits in U.S. Posted: 01 Oct 2010 09:43 PM PDT On Sept. 24, reporter Jason Ditz wrote: "[T]he FBI is confirming that this morning they began a number of raids against the homes of anti-war activists in Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan and North Carolina, claiming that they are 'seeking evidence relating to activities concerning the material support of terrorism.' "

Supreme Court Affirmed 'Racial Profiling' 35 Years Ago Posted: 01 Oct 2010 09:43 PM PDT Congressional champions of "amnesty" for illegal immigrants, and federal courts that argue that Arizona's border law includes unconstitutional "profiling," suffer from ignorance: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1975 that states can protect their borders and profile suspects. In United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, the high court ruled in 1975 that "the likelihood that any given person of Mexican ancestry is an alien is high enough to make Mexican appearance a relevant factor."

Authorities Plan To Trawl Phone Calls And E Mails For Signs Of "Resentment Toward Gov." Posted: 01 Oct 2010 06:35 PM PDT Do you resent the government for enforcing Obamacare or raising your taxes? Write about it in an email or talk about it on the phone and you could be placed under surveillance as a potential terrorist, if frightening new technology being shopped to law enforcement agencies is implemented. Forget pre-crime and get ready for face-crime, Big Brother is set to unleash a new wave of shockingly invasive and Orwellian technology on the American people if a recent symposium in Hamburg New York is anything to go by. Federal agencies, police departments and others were all in attendance to see a demonstration of a system that trawls phone conversations, emails and instant messages to detect "resentment toward government," alerting authorities to potential "terrorists" who are then placed under surveillance. The technology was demonstrated to law enforcement officials, mental health professionals, and military representatives at a recent International First Responder-Military Symposium held at Hilbert College.

Addicted to Drones Posted: 01 Oct 2010 01:33 PM PDT "The military's impressive, isn't it?," U.S. President Bill Clinton remarked to his aide George Stephanopoulos in 1994, as the 82nd Airborne Division stood by for orders to invade Haiti to remove the Raoul Cédras's regime from power. For civilian officials, the military's ability to find and destroy things from a safe distance never ceases to amaze. The CIA's ongoing drone strike campaign is a particularly redoubtable example, with drone operators in the United States taking out targets in Pakistan's tribal areas. In September alone, the agency launched more than 20 unmanned drone strikes against suspected al Qaeda and Taliban operatives in Pakistan.

Slouching Toward 2011 Posted: 01 Oct 2010 01:25 PM PDT Creating Afghan forces that can help win the war and take over responsibility from U.S. and international forces is only one element of President Barack Obama's new strategy in Afghanistan, but it is a critical one. So far, the results are mixed and raise serious questions about both the impact of trying to rush progress to meet political deadlines, and the failure of America's allies to provide enough trainers to create an effective and enduring force. A detailed analysis of Afghan force development, based on interviews, reports by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and in-country visits, indicates that significant problems remain in every aspect of the effort.

A Long Road Ahead in Pakistan Posted: 01 Oct 2010 12:39 PM PDT Last week, Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations. The foreign minister is a glossy, silver-haired gentleman, and he delivered a glossy address lauding the new "Strategic Dialogue" with the United States, his government's commitment to transparency and accountability in the distribution of humanitarian assistance for victims of the epic floods, and so forth. He was asked several terribly polite questions and answered in kind. Then I asked the minister if he worried that his government's lack of capacity and even lack of legitimacy in the eyes of citizens was impeding development. Qureshi blew a gasket. "I really fail to understand what you're trying to say," he shot back, "but I can tell you that there are no capacity issues. The Pakistan Army is working. [The] Pakistan Army is an institution that belongs to the government of Pakistan.… They are working under instructions of an elected government, and that is what it ought to be."

Climate Film Depicts Children Assassinated For Not Reducing Carbon Footprint Posted: 01 Oct 2010 12:15 PM PDT A new climate change infomercial released by a prominent global warming activist organization depicts children being assassinated for not reducing their carbon footprint, as AGW skeptics are grotesquely blown up with innards and blood splattering everywhere, a frightening reminder of the fact that the environmental agenda is merely a veil for a hideous religion of death, and that the vehemently discredited and increasingly desperate global warming movement is in the last death throws of its existence.

Becoming Lula Posted: 01 Oct 2010 11:20 AM PDT The only question that seems to be left hanging in Brazil's presidential race is the date of Dilma Rousseff's victory party: Oct. 3 or Oct. 31? The polls have consistently reported that Rousseff, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's preferred successor, is hovering around the threshold that she needs to secure a victory Sunday, Oct. 3, in the first round of the country's presidential election. The most recent numbers -- published on Sept. 29 -- put her at 47 percent of the popular vote, right on the boundary of what is required to avoid a runoff. But even if the contest goes to a second round, there seems to be little doubt that Rousseff will eventually prevail.

Bad Exes Posted: 01 Oct 2010 10:45 AM PDT Schröder had always been reliably pro-Russia as chancellor, rejecting criticism of Moscow's human rights record and even describing then-President Vladimir Putin as a "flawless democrat." But the German public was still shocked by the blatant cynicism of his final act. Less than one month before stepping down, Schröder helped procure a $1.4 billion loan for Gazprom, the Russian state oil monopoly formerly run by current President Dmitry Medvedev. Then, just after stepping down, Schröder accepted the chairmanship of Gazprom's controversial Nord Stream pipeline project, which will increase Germany's reliance on Russian natural gas and was agreed to under Schröder's tenure.

Friday: 8 Iraqis Killed, 14 Wounded Posted: 01 Oct 2010 08:44 AM PDT As of today, Iraq has spent 208 days without an elected government. It now stands as the country that has gone the longest between parliamentary elections and the formation of a new government. Meanwhile, at least eight Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded in light prayer day attacks across the country. Iraq is on its 208th day without a new government, surpassing the Netherlands, which went without a government for 207 days in 1977. A coalition of Shi'ite parties, including the Sadrists, marked the occasion by announcing its support for incumbent Nouri al-Maliki's return as premier, but the Badr Organization and associated Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council are positioning against Maliki. Iraqiya squeezed out a win against Maliki's State of Law party, grabbing the most seats in March elections, but not enough to form a government on its own. Maliki still does not have enough seats to win, and it will likely be up to the Kurds to settle the deadlock.

Our Man in Sanaa Posted: 01 Oct 2010 07:29 AM PDT The scene in Yemen's capital Sept. 20 was almost embarrassing, according to those who looked on: John Brennan, the influential White House counterterrorism advisor, was trying to leave Sanaa after a fly-in, fly-out visit with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh about his country's burgeoning al Qaeda branch. But Saleh was too busy pleading for U.S. cash to let the 25-year CIA veteran drive away, according to people familiar with Brennan's visit. Clutching Brennan by the arm, Yemen's burly president of 30-plus years stood at the open door of Brennan's limo, pressing his appeals that the United States pay up now, not later, on the $300 million that Barack Obama's administration is planning to give Yemen over the near term to help it combat al Qaeda. (Someone finally eased shut the limo door on the Yemeni leader, allowing Brennan to get away, witnesses said.)

Fox News Boss Murdoch Calls For Legalizing 40 Million Illegals Posted: 01 Oct 2010 07:22 AM PDT Rupert Murdoch wants "amnesty" for millions of illegal aliens. On Thursday, appearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Murdoch said he supports amnesty for "law abiding" illegal immigrants. He did not explain how millions of people who have crossed the border and entered the country illegally may be considered "law abiding."

Feds Radiating Americans At Internal Checkpoints Posted: 01 Oct 2010 07:00 AM PDT Federal authorities do not concern themselves about the flood of illegal immigrants and drugs crossing the border every day, they're more worried about radiating American truck drivers at internal checkpoints with mobile scanners that shoot dangerous x-rays through both vehicles and passengers. As we reported last month, the federal government has acquired hundreds of backscatter x-ray scanners mounted in vans that they are now using to randomly scan vehicles, passengers and homes in complete violation of the 4th amendment and with wanton disregard for any health consequences. An example of their expanding use was reported by WSBTV yesterday, after federal agents from several agencies, including Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation, and the TSA, set up an internal checkpoint on Interstate 20 just west of Atlanta and detained truck drivers for half an hour or more at a "state-owned inspection station" while they were scanned with a bomb detection device. Officials admitted there was no specific threat that justified the checkpoint, and although it was labeled a "counter-terror operation," the scans were also being conducted in the name of "safety".

Tea Party vs. War Party? Posted: 01 Oct 2010 12:00 AM PDT "We're all on the same page until the polls close Nov. 2," Richard Viguerie, the longtime conservative strategist who has allied with the Tea Party, told The New York Times. After that, "a massive, almost historic battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party begins." Indeed, such a battle seems unavoidable. Consider.

The Hariri Assassination: Israel's Fingerprints Surface Posted: 30 Sep 2010 11:50 PM PDT In the Middle East, the link between political machinations, espionage and assassination is either clear as day, or clear as mud. As for the yet-unsolved case of the February 2005 murder of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, mud might be giving way to daylight.

The War Addicts Posted: 30 Sep 2010 11:00 PM PDT Sometimes it's the little things in the big stories that catch your eye.  On Monday, the Washington Post ran the first of three pieces adapted from Bob Woodward's new book Obama's Wars, a vivid account of the way the U.S. high command boxed the Commander-in-Chief into the smallest of Afghan corners.  As an illustration, the Post included a graphic the military offered President Obama at a key November 2009 meeting to review war policy.  It caught in a nutshell the favored "solution" to the Afghan War of those in charge of fighting it — Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General David Petraeus, then-Centcom commander, General Stanley McChrystal, then-Afghan War commander, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, among others. Labeled "Alternative Mission in Afghanistan," it's a classic of visual wish fulfillment.  Atop it is a soaring green line that represents the growing strength of the notoriously underwhelming "Afghan Forces," military and police, as they move toward a theoretical goal of 400,000 — an unlikely "end state" given present desertion rates.  Underneath that green trajectory of putative success is a modest, herky-jerky blue curving line, representing the 40,000 U.S. troops Gates, Petraeus, Mullen, and company were pressuring the president to surge into Afghanistan.

Rise in Af-Pak Cross-Border Attacks Spurs Backlash Posted: 30 Sep 2010 11:00 PM PDT The steady increase in U.S. cross-border attacks from Afghanistan into the frontier areas of Pakistan – whether by drone missiles or attack helicopters – is causing a serious backlash from both the region's residents and Islamabad's government and military leadership. In the latest case, the government of President Asif Ali Zardari Thursday closed NATO's primary supply route into land-locked Afghanistan after helicopters from the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) attacked a military checkpoint in Kurram Agency inside Pakistan, reportedly killing three Pakistani soldiers and injuring three others.

Better Safe Than Sorry? Posted: 30 Sep 2010 11:00 PM PDT "Better safe than sorry" is a popular English idiom that can be traced back to Irish novelist Samuel Lover's Rory O'More (1837). Essentially, it means that it is better to take precautionary actions rather than be sorry that you didn't if something bad happens. One example was when we were worried about the H1N1 (or swine flu) outbreak. Even if the chance of catching H1N1 (let alone dying from it) was relatively low, many people thought it was better to be vaccinated rather than risk catching swine flu. A more mundane example is having someone hold a ladder while you climb up – even though you believe you're perfectly capable of maintaining your balance and don't have any reason to think it will fall over. In the post-9/11 world, "better safe than sorry" has become an article of faith guiding the actions we take in the name of preventing terrorism. But are we truly better safe than sorry?

Dr. Doug Rokke: The Dangers of Using Depleted Uranium Posted: 30 Sep 2010 10:06 PM PDT Alex welcomes Dr. Doug Rokke back to the show to talk about the dangers of depleted uranium. Rokke served as a member of the 3rd US Army Medical Command's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical response and special operations team and with the US Army Depleted Uranium Assessment team during Gulf War 1. He was the US Army's Depleted Uranium Project director from 1994 - 1995 and developed congressionally mandated education and training materials and wrote US Army Regulation 700-48, the US Army PAM 700-48, and the US Army's common task for DU incidents. Major Rokke has been subjected to ongoing retaliation from Department of Defense officials who do not want information regarding actual adverse health and environmental effects of uranium weapons and their mandatory but ignored requirements to provide medical care to all casualties and to clean up all environmental contamination.

Pressure Obama Now on Sovereignty-Robbing Treaties Posted: 30 Sep 2010 09:43 PM PDT Several sovereignty-surrendering treaties are piled on Barack Obama's desk waiting to be slipped past the U.S. Senate when the new Congress is seated in January. He is unlikely to act during the election season, but concerned citizens must remain on guard while the international propaganda machine is grinding away. Propaganda is so effective that well-meaning Americans are being exploited. Jim Horn, vice president of Colonial Williamsburg, is supporting having the historic city designated a "World Heritage Site." The designation would give the UN, not Virginia, control. The UN could say where roads or buildings could or could not be built. Under this arrangement, the locality could only plead for changes and could be denied.

The Japan Syndrome Posted: 30 Sep 2010 05:28 PM PDT   This year, China overtook Japan as the world's second-largest economy, a shift in the global pecking order that surprised nobody who has been paying attention for the past 20 years. What was truly surprising is that Japan was still No. 2. Like a distant uncle whose death notice reminds you he was alive, Japan is noteworthy for its furtive slinking from the world stage. It is an extraordinary disappearing act for a country whose global hegemony was seen as a fait accompli just 20 years ago. But the ur-Asian-export juggernaut has slipped into a permafunk of its own making. Japan as Number One now languishes as the 400,000th most popular book on Amazon.com while When China Rules the World is a bestseller.

The Green Dividend Posted: 30 Sep 2010 03:00 PM PDT The president didn't want the engine. The Pentagon chief didn't want the engine. Even the Air Force didn't want to spend $485 million to develop a second engine for the F-35 fighter jet. After all, Pratt & Whitney had already won the bid for the F-35 and was already developing it. A second engine was, literally, overkill. Yet in May 2010, Congress decided to defy the Pentagon and risk a presidential veto by restoring funding for this second engine.

The Junta's Soft Landing Posted: 30 Sep 2010 08:30 AM PDT With Burma's government holding a rare election in November, it's fair to wonder whether the military junta has real changes in store for the beleaguered country. Last Friday, a Burmese official at the United Nations even went so far as to insist that the leader of the Burmese opposition, Aung San Suu Kyi, will have a chance to cast a ballot. Unfortunately, the full evidence suggests that the regime isn't inclined to initiate any deep reforms after 48 years of autocratic rule: Although Suu Kyi will be able to vote, she was barred from running for office, and her imposed house arrest has yet to be lifted.

Avigdor Lieberman's UN Speech Shows the True Face of Israel Posted: 30 Sep 2010 04:27 AM PDT Yisrael Beiteinu's strong third-place showing in Israel's February 2009 elections for the Knesset was met with dread and disgust from many different quarters. Avigdor Lieberman, the founder and leader of the far-right party and the current Foreign Minister, ran a campaign filled with fascist overtones as he called for "loyalty oaths" to be signed by Palestinian citizens of Israel. But perhaps we should take a look at Lieberman again in light of his much-condemned United Nations General Assembly speech yesterday and instead feel glad that the true face of Israel is shining to the world because of his position of power.

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