Moving to the Brink of War

The situations with Georgia and Iran are so precarious, I feel the need to post links to a few articles that will help you cut through the stupid propaganda spewing from the Mainstream Media. Though we are generally powerless to affect what our crazed -- no, evil -- leaders are doing, we can do something. We can spread awareness. We can pray. If enough people figure out what's happening, spread the word, and contact their political representatives, then maybe we can stop the deadly path we're on.

If you think I'm exaggerating, then I ask you to research deeper than the trite lies the MSM is feeding the sheep.

Today is the 27th anniversary of the sale first IBM PC. Personal computers have revolutionized our way of life. Communicating with you like this, in a no-cost, instant, easily transferable form via the internet is unprecedented, and offers the first real check on the power elites in history. They've always kept their power by controlling the flow of information. Masses of bloggers and emailers are circumventing the gatekeepers' matrix with real information.

If we will use the power we have, and not let them take it away, perhaps we can steer the planet away from the brink of mass annihilation and totalitarianism, and into the light of human potential unleashed in the creativity and productivity that freedom allows. So do your part, and pass this information on to the conscious, caring people you know.

I have several excellent articles to help you understand what's happening in Georgia. Read them so you can help enlighten your friends when they yammer about how bad it is that Russia "invaded Georgia." Justin Raimondo remarks on the anti-Russian bias of the Western media as he clearly points out who the real aggressor is. It's the US-backed Georgia.

Earl of Stirling calls the Georgian attack on South Ossetia the beginning of World War III. He details the 1,000+ US Marine trainers and 1,000 Israeli mercenaries helping the Georgian army. Read to the end as he shifts to the problem with Iran. It seems they have advanced biological weapons that make nuclear weapons unnecessary.

The blockade the US, England and France are setting up on Iran is an act of war designed to provoke a response from the Iranians. Surely this will be a case of wishing you had not gotten what you asked for. "This is a most serious game of military brinkmanship with major nuclear armed powers that have profound objections to the neo-con grand strategy and to western control of all of the Middle East's oil supply." His Addendum 2 on Iran's advanced biowar capability should take the wind out of any hawk's sails.

Stratfor explains how the Russo-Georgian War shows how the balance of power in Eurasia has clearly shifted to Russia. The Bear is back! You can clear your palate with Karl Schwarz's "American Lies & American Delusions." He's not optimistic the the overly credulous "Boobus Americanus" (as H.L. Mencken dubbed the American middle class many years ago) is capable of waking up from its distractions and help change the course of history.

William Engdahl goes into more detail about "The Puppet Masters Behind Georgia's President Saakashvili." "The controversy over the Georgian surprise military attacks on South Ossetia and Abkhazia on 8.8.08 makes a closer look at the controversial Georgian President and his puppet masters important. An examination shows 41 year old Mikhail Saakashvili to be a ruthless and corrupt totalitarian who is tied to not only the US NATO establishment, but also to the Israeli military and intelligence establishment."

Spiked-Online goes deeper into "the messy truth behind the morality tale" in Georgia. It seems that Bush's phony "war on terror" has helped destabilize the region and bring more innocent suffering and detruction. Just another day at the office.

Where's the media in all this? Why aren't they helping us get an accurate picture of what's going on? It seems that "America's Israeli Occupied Media" is falling down on its job and doing its dead-level best to define all situations from the Israeli point of view.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Barack Obama is toeing the party line right along with McCain. According to Eric Walberg (and echoed by countless other progressives), "Barack Obama as the candidate promising change is revealing his true colours, much to the despair of anyone actually expecting any change." Again, we find the real power behind Obama's throne is his chief foreign policy advisor, Zbigniew Brzesinski. Zbig, well-known for his virulent anti-Russian stance, just compared Putin to Hitler. Anyone hoping Obama is a candidate of peace is living in Dreamland. Both McCain and Obama are pawns of the global elite.

My initial curiosity and somewhat favorable opinion of Obama when he was still an "empty suit" offering a "change" from the pathetic, destructive Presidency of George Bush, vanished long ago. His backers, his policies, his beliefs, the skeletons in his closet -- all make me incredibly pessimistic about his Presidency, IF he makes it through.

I've long expected the "swift-boating" of Obama. Jerome Corsi, who help write the swift boat book on John Kerry, just released "Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality." It's already number 1 on the NY Times bestseller list. Devvy Kidd wonders when the National Inquirer will finish the job on Obama that it did on John Edwards? Another writer speculates that Obama's Pearl Harbor event will happen soon after the convention. From what I've seen, there's plenty of stuff left over to pay the same compliment to John McCain. Hmm. Maybe that's why Hillary and Romney merely suspended their campaigns?

The Olympics, War and the Financial Tsunami

The most obvious, but unstated, point of the Olympics so far is this: China is the major superpower of the 21st century. NBC's commentators tiptoed around the elephant in the living room. The closest they came was when Matt Lauer said the drum show was "a little bit intimidating." The official line is that this is China's "coming out party." No, China is announcing they are the "Big Dog" now. The last 150-200 years of economic history have been just a little down tick in a 5,000 history of world dominance.

The opening ceremonies were a breath-taking blend of sophisticated technology and precision works of human action and arts. The is will be the post-American century, probably much sooner than any of us realize.

The idiot warmongers in charge of American foreign policy seem determined to accelerate our downfall. The pieces are moving into place for a naval blockade on Iran. This is a clear act of war. Iran has every right to develop peaceful nuclear technology, and the most recent inspections showed they had no nuclear weapons program. This won't deter the Bush-Cheney-NeoCon gang. Their lies are legion. (Conveniently, Congress is on summer recess.)

More Bush lies to justify the Iraq invasion pour forth each week. Pulitzer prize-winner Ron Suskind's new book claims that the White House "buried British intelligence on Iraq WMDs." Suskind also reported that an ex-CIA agent he interviewed says Cheney likely ordered a letter on White House stationery linking Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 attacks. Despite White House denials, Suskind stands by his report.

Remember our report last week that "Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh's shocking revelations "that Bush administration officials held a meeting recently in the Vice President’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran?" All it would take is an apparent Iranian missile sinking our oldest aircraft carrier to the bottom of the Persian Gulf to incite revenge blood lust in the American public. Edgar Steele has an excellent run-down of many events that point to World War III and the reason to make your preparations now.

Arnaud deBorchgrave agrees that we're nearing war with Iran. Apparently Israel is ready to attack Iran "without US permission." Of course, Israel can't attack Iran without overflying Iraq (which needs US permission.) I've mentioned previously the grave economic consequences for the US if we go to war with Iran. Given the close economic economic and military ties Iran has with both China and Russia, such a conflict could easily escalate to WWIII. Which brings us to . . .

US and Israeli-backed Georgia foolishly attacked the Russian-leaning secessionist South Ossentia. Putin-led Russia has said they are through retreating and have apparently crushed the Georgian assault. Israel has been extensively involved in selling arms to Georgia and providing training for at least seven years. "Georgia's defense minister, Davit Kezerashvili, is a former Israeli who is fluent in Hebrew." Michel Chossudovsky of Global Research has an excellent analysis, with maps, that shows how this might lead to a larger US-Russian military conflict. The Georgian attack had to have had the okay and direction of the US, NATO and, probably, Israel.

Alex Jones, at http://www.infowars.com/, is staying up to the minute on what's happening. His current article recaps the latest status. The NeoCons at the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere are likening the Russian response to Hitler, forgetting the Georgia started the confrontation. The US is airlifting Georgian troops from Iraq, and reports are surfacing about American and NATO soldiers/mercenaries being found in the conflict. As usual, Karl Schwartz has an insightful take on this.

Paul Craig Roberts points out that "Georgia was part of Old Russia and the Soviet Union for two centuries. After Soviet communism collapsed, the US taxpayer funded neoconservative National Endowment for Democracy broke every agreement that President Reagan had made with Gorbachev and began using US taxpayers’ money to rig and purchase elections in former constituent parts of the Russian/Soviet empire. The Endowment for Democracy purchased Georgia as a US colony. The affront to Russia was extreme, but at the time Russia was weak. Oligarchs with outside money had grabbed control over Russian resources, and Russia was in dire straits and could not resist American imperialism. Putin corrected the situation for Russia."

William Engdahl says Washington risks a nuclear war by miscalculation. Obviously the Bush-Cheney NeoCons can't calculate the real costs of war, since Iraq was to be a six-week "cakewalk" and cost less than $50-60 billion before all those Iraqi oil revenues kicked in to pay for our occupation.

"Nuclear Primacy" is "what gives the seemingly obscure fight over two provinces the size of Luxemburg the potential to become the 1914 Sarajevo trigger to a new nuclear war by miscalculation. The trigger for such a war is not Georgia’s right to annex South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Rather, it is US insistence on pushing NATO and its missile defense right up to Russia’s door."

If Russia deploys nuclear-capable bombers in Cuba, the crisis will only escalate.

On the economic front, the financial tsunami continues to pick up force. All my reading tells me we still see only the tip of the iceberg. The gold price has been manipulated down to around $860. If you've been waiting for gold or silver to fall, wait no more. Both are already very hard to get.

Just a few economic reports:

America Out of Economic Ammunition -- we have no more financial weapons left.

Rep. Paul Ryan says US Headed Toward Bankruptcy.

The Fire This Time? "What happens if the US economy has finally hit the wall of remorseless reality, and can only produce what it can honestly produce? What happens to the American economy and American standards of living if all the gimmicks have been exhausted?"

Sidney Blumenthal writes on "The Strange Death of Republican America." George Bush has ended the Republican dominance that began in 1968. I'll be a delegate in Minneapolis at the GOP convention the first week in September. Ron Paul will have a simultaneous 3-day event, climaxing with a major rally at the Target Center on September 2. I hope I have time to record some of my observations on the ground.

Grace and Peace and Courage!

Impeachment or Jail for George W. Bush?

In case you had not heard it from your usual news sources, Rep. Dennis Kucinich filed articles of impeachment against President George Bush. Even though he narrowed the focus from 35 articles to one, the Democrat faction of the War Party doesn't want to upset their chances of getting back in power. So they've followed Nancy Pelosi's lead and sent the mattter to the Judiciary Committee to hold hearings -- but not for impeachment. Rep. John Conyers, the man who would give the go ahead to impeachment, continues to stall.

The Democrats have had two years with a Congressional majority to impeach Bush and end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They continue to give Bush everything he needs in funding and spying authority to act at will. Perhaps they have a "secret plan" to end the Iraq war but can't implement until they have a Democrat President. I guess 70% of citizen opposition to the war is not enough support to give them a little bit of backbone!

Paul Craig Roberts notes that "Little War Criminals Get Punished, Big Ones Don't." Bush, Cheney, Blair and the rest get free passes to murder, maim and destroy, while petty tyrants like Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, gets faces charges from the UN's International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Vincent Bugliosi (the man who prosecuted Charles Manson), recently released a book that says Bush should be behind bars. In The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, he lays out his evidence outlining what questions he would ask Bush at a potential murder trial. He believes Bush should be charged with the murders of over 4,000 American soldiers who have died in Iraq since the American-led invasion of that country because of the strong evidence that Bush launched that invasion under false pretenses. Watch an interview with him here.
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Ex CIA Analyst Ray McGovern says Iraq Prime Minister Maliki's call for a timetable for the US to withdraw its troops from Iraq blows out another false reason for continuing the US presence. After all, we said we'd leave when they asked us to.

The rationale increases for Israel to attack Iran, provoke an incident, or even pull off one of their famous "false flag" operations (like the Madrid train bombing?) to further entangle the US. McGovern concludes: "the Israelis are likely to be preparing a September/October surprise designed to keep the U.S. bogged down in Iraq and in the wider region by provoking hostilities with Iran."

Scott Ritter, the UN weapons inspector who correctly showed that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction before the invasion, details the likely disastrous consequences of an attack on Iran. He reminds us "that no plan survives initial contact with the enemy, and furthermore one can never forget that, in war, the enemy gets to vote." We should have learned that with Iraq, but the NeoCons controlling Bush are not part of the "reality-based community."

The NeoCons aren't too worried. Most have bought homes in Dubai and stashed their money in Swiss bank accounts. The Bush family purchased a 98,842 acre farm in Paraguay. Isn't that where Dr. Josef Mengele and other Nazi expatriates fled after World War II?
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Pepe Escobar deconstructs Obama's recent speech on foreign policy. The devil is always in the details, he says. Obama seems to favor keeping the current status quo in Iraq if it could be done with a continuing presence of 30,000 "residual" US troops. "Withdrawal it isn't. Is this 'change we can believe in', part of a new 'overarching strategy' - or is this the same status quo as defined by half a century of continuous, many would say imperial, US foreign interference?

In another matter, Joseph Farah of World Net Daily has caused quite a stir with his article on Obama's call for a "civilian national security force." Holy Stasi, Batman!

In a July 2nd speech in Colorado Springs, Obama said: "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." Is this some kind of national police force as large and powerful as our military? The kind a police state might need? Farah goes on: "Certainly there have been initiatives like this elsewhere – Cuba, the Soviet Union, China, Venezuela, North Korea. But has anything like this ever been proposed in a free country?

The Obama campaign would not return calls to Farah. Nor, he reports, have they posted a transcript of the speech on their web site. These lines were excluded from a special transcript he sent to the Wall Street Journal and Denver Post. But the lines are there, about 16:30 into a video of the speech on YouTube.

We don't know exactly what Obama meant by this remark, but it was delivered in a polished, practiced way. A new national police force is just what an emerging fascist government needs. Let's look for a little clarification in the future.

And we know McCain is ready for a hundred year presence and is ready to "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran."

McBama OCain for President!

Full-Blown Fascism Emerging in America

During the Viet Nam war, protesters freely threw around the accusation that the US government was becoming fascist. While I knew they were technically correct in terms of collusion of business and government, our government still seemed largely constrained by the chains of the Constitution. Sadly, that's no longer the case.

In his brilliant video, "From Freedom to Fascism," Aaron Russo traces the seeds of American fascism to the institution of the federal income tax and Federal Reserve Bank in 1913. Thomas Jefferson repeatedly warned that a central bank would spell the end of freedom in the US.

I've seen several lists like the one Naomi Wolf gives as her ten steps (video) (print) followed by every country that abandons freedom for fascism. They're all happening here. With the announcement yesterday that we now have one million people on the official terrorist watch, her discussion about how she and many others were put on the list is chilling.

Yes, 9-11 changed everything -- including Americans' understanding of, and desire for, political freedom. Hitler used the Reichstaag fire to pass the Enabling Act to take total power in Germany. In the same way, Bush used 9-11 as the pretext for passing the PATRIOT ACTS I & II and their bretheren. It is interesting that China is building a high-tech police state with the help of US technology.

The recent passage of the revamped FISA law is one more step towards total tyranny. Joel Skousen writes: "With the final passage of the FISA reform bill this week, the US Senate has reached a new low in its outright disregard for the constitution its members are sworn to uphold. Simply put, Congress has no power to legislate any law that violates any of the provisions of the constitution. Period.

In this case, the constitution is clear: no warrantless searches are permitted--none. That's what constitutions are supposed to do: put strict limits on lawmaking power so that individual rights are protected from evil minorities, evil majorities, or in this case, insipid yes men in Congress eager to please those above them conspiring to use the phony threat of terrorism to dismantle constitutional protections."

For all you folks who have put your hope in Obama, after saying he wouldn't, he voted for FISA. I hate to burst your bubble, but he won't do away with the total surveillance state. Nor will he withdraw from Iraq, or keep us out of Iran. He's under the thumb of the same PTB as Bush, and McCain. Think Obama is anti-war? He just promised 10,000 more US soldiers to Afghanistan! Does anyone remember how the Soviet Union was brought down in part because of their disastrous Afghan adventure? McBama OCain for President!

More and more liberals and progressives are warning that "voting for Obama and keeping one's fingers crossed, is not a sign of hope. It's a sign of self-delusion." So is voting for McCain to "perserve freedom."

Bill Moyers decries the demise of the media into their current position as lap dogs of the PTB. "Sadly . . . the Fourth Estate has become the fifth column of democracy, colluding with the powers that be in a culture of deception that subverts the thing most necessary to freedom, and that is the truth."

If the media had been doing its job, it "could have spared that country from rack and ruin, saved thousands of American lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, and freed hundreds of billions of dollars for investment in the American economy and infrastructure." Instead, the media basically parroted the erroneous and misleading intelligence fed to them by the liars who wanted this war.

Stephen Colbert skewered the press two years ago when he revealed how they operate when he keynoted the US Press Club dinner: ". . . let's review the rules. Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration . . . You know, Fiction."

TSA announced earlier this month that they want to develop a "safety bracelet" for all airline passengers to wear. Taking the place of a boarding pass, it will not only monitor your whereabouts, but be your own personal Taser device -- on you, of course! Announcing the new iShock!
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A Sign of our Times - In the fifth this year of many coming bank failures, the California's IndyMac had lines of depositors trying to get their money. Those with more than $100K were left holding the bag. Without a massive infusion, the FDIC will be able to cover only a small fraction of the total number of bank deposits at risk. In an attempt to calm the public, and FDIC official assures us that the former IndyMac Bank is "as safe and as sound as any bank in the country right now." If IndyMac just failed, what does that say about the other banks?!

Some $1 billion of uninsured deposits held by 10,000 IndyMac customers are now trapped and federally seized. Since FDIC only insures deposits of up to $100,000, holders of accounts with larger amounts under one social security number (business and/or personal) may consider dispersing funds to safer havens.

The new plan to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost US taxpayers hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of dollars. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard writes that as the full effects of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debacle spread through the world, the US could face a "foreign funding crisis." That could be devasting since we depend upon $700 billion a year in funding from Asian, Russian and Middle Eastern sources to fund our current account deficit.

So we're borrowing money to fund to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and so Iraqi puppet Prime Minister al-Maliki can hand out cash on the streets of Baghdad?
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The increase in the wholesale inflation rate is the highest in 27 years!
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Iran just discovered a huge new oil field and signed a signed a major oil deal with Russia. Now an attack on Iran will now be viewed as an attack on Russia's vital interests. China aleady views it as such because of a long-term $400 billion LNG contract. The Russions have reportedly stationed their latest fighters and bombers in easy reach of Iran and Iraq if their vital interests are threatened. Are we at the edge of the abyss? Maybe so, if it is true that Bush supports an Israeli attack on Iran.

Maybe it is only our own soliders who have the leverage to stop the war with Iran. Support the Troops! Bring 'em Home!

Recession: With or Without War?

My recent glimmer of optimism about possibly avoiding war with Iran was snuffed in a recent article by Gary North. First he summarizes "the good news" -- "there is going to be an international recession, rising corporate bankruptcies, bank failures, and retrenchment by consumers because they can no longer pay the rising cost of energy [and food]."

Then he repeats his earlier warning that if Israel attacks Iran, the economic news will rapidly get worse. (The head of OPEC recently warned global oil prices would be "unlimited" in case of a war.)

North says all signs point to an upcoming Israeli air strike on suspected Iranian nuclear production facilities. Decision-makers in the US and Western Europe have not made it clear that they will impose significant negative sanctions on Israel after an attack on Iran; therefore, they have given Israel an "implied green light" concerning an attack. Since the Israelis perceive Iranian nuclear weapons as a threat to their survival, they are likely to attack.

Absence such sanctions, the only thing stopping Israel is the perception that the aftermath of their attack would be the negative fallout of the collapse of the Western economy that buys Israeli goods. He suggests you include this very real possibility in your financial planning. So do I.

The Huffington Post ran a guide to understanding the two bipartisan resolutions that Congress will probably vote on this week. These are tantamount to declaring war on Iran, threatening naval and air blockade if Iran doesn't adhere to American wishes. These resolutions "are based on factual errors, exaggerations, half-truths, and even outright lies." Even though the effort may seem insignificant, you should still contact your Representative and Senators to register your opposition to these resolutions.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank has lost all credibility around the world. The IMF will soon begin an audit of the US financial system, releasing a report by 2010. Soon the criminal, deceptive financial practices that have flourished in the 27 years since Richard Nixon repudiated the last vestiges of the gold standard will be laid bare for all to see.

I see more dire financial forecasts than I can possibly list. If you still believe the spinmeisters from the Fed and Treasury and the talking heads in the financial press that we're about to turn the corner financially, you need to read more. Richard Daughty ("The Mogambo Guru") says "Banks are Suffering from their Own Stupidity." And so will we. The Boston Globe reports that 401(k)s and IRA are eroding in value due to soaring energy prices and the meltdown in financial stocks.

The Inflation Fuse Has Been Lit, says analyst Larry Edelson. The famed Aden Sisters point out the the boom in gold, silver and commodities foretold massive global inflation, and that it should be with us for some time to come.

If you haven't yet bought any gold or silver and moved out of stocks and bonds, do it now. Even in the traditional summer slump, gold is up almost $100 from its recent low. I'd advise staying away from any of the gold or silver ETFs, though. I've seen persuasive evidence that they are likely being used not only to suppress the price of the metals through short-selling, but also may not have the actual reserves they claim to have. Take delivery. Jim Sinclair even suggests you take physical delivery of the stock shares you plan to hold. The likely breakdown in the financial system could tie up your shares for years, IF you are even able to get them.

Unlike previous inflations, global competition for wages on anything that is transportable, has capped most wages. Layoffs and slack demand may even be driving wages down. Rising prices for food, fuel and other necessities, coupled with steady or falling wages and unemployment, can only make the recession deeper.

Historically, all empires end. The US empire is no exception. The indications are everywhere. In Jeff Foxworthy's style, here's a handy list of 36 signs the US empire is crumbling.

On a lighter note, be sure to take a few moments to savor these spectacular photos of Antarctic icebergs. God's world is beautiful. We shouldn't mess it up.

War with Iran Not Inevitable

If you've been following my blog, you know I think a war with Iran would have disastrous consequences for America. Our financial and military are both stretched to the breaking point, and the economy is stagnating into what could easily become a depression. The many estimates of dire consequences of an Iranian response (one writer calls it "the perfect storm from hell") would only worsen these conditions.

The good news is that the forces lining up against the Cheney-NeoCon-Israeli coalition for war with Iran may be getting the upper hand. Tom Englehardt makes a good case "Why Cheney Won't Take Down Iran." Justin Raimondo at AntiWar.com also sees signs the tide might be turning against the War Party.

U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as Defense Secretary Robert Gates are said to oppose an attack on Iran. Gates reportedly told Democratic Senators last year that it would "create generations of jihadists and our grandchildren will be battling our enemies here in America." One observer thinks that the threat of higher oil prices due to an Iranian war has Bush and the Republicans "over a barrel," creating a huge problem for John McCain in November.

On the other side is what Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury under Reagan, calls "a totally lawless regime" that is hell-bent on getting its way, regardless of what the American people want. Meanwhile, the virtual declaration of war with Iran if House Joint Resolution 362 and Senate Resolution 580 pass is still a threat. So far there has been no vote on either. To their credit, Rep. Tom Cole, Sen. Coburn and Sen. Infofe stand alone among the Oklahoma delegation as not having signed on as co-sponsors.

So while I am more hopeful than when I first addressed this issue almost two weeks ago, we need to remember Yogi Berra's famous words: "It ain't over till it's over." If you haven't called your Congressman and Senators yet about these resolutions, register your opinion today. And pray that if there is any shred of decency left in the leaders of the Bush administration, that they will spare the world and our posterity the all-too-likely horrors of unleashing their war plans on Iran.

More Treacherous Economic Signposts

David McAlvaney's latest podcast is out. As usual, the analysis is not optimistic. We're already in an under-reported US and worldwide financial crisis. Everyone in the world but Americans realize the financial system is broken. Crooks abound, and trust has disappeared. The Fed and US financial media are trying to hold everything up with spin and false statistics. Believe it at your own risk.

There is a high likelihood that the US stock market will crash by mid-fall. That's on top of the slide over the last 7 years. The US is in recession, and inflation is picking up. If Obama wins the election (likely right now), his first 100 days will be like FDR's. Higher taxes and more regulation supposed to alleviate our financial crisis will deal a devastating blow.

The McAlvaneys just put out a new 2-hour DVD with their current geo-political and economic analysis, "When Greed Turns to Fear: How to Protect Your Portfolios from the Day of Panic." Ask for a free copy and the latest printed newsletter. Call Rob at 800-525-9556, Ext 101.

Meanwhile Gary North writes about his pick for the worst-case economic scenario over the next 6-12 months. He analyses the ramifications of an attack by Israel and/or the US on Iran, both in terms of $10+ a gallon gasoline and the resulting permanent war with Shia insurgents in Iraq. He suggests you plan accordingly.

Jacob Hornberger points out that "Americans Had It Coming." Higher prices for gasoline, food and most other things are the price of empire and imperial adventurism. Our ill-fated invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan have become "black holes of federal expenditures," instead of the self-funding cakewalks the NeoCons promised. Rather than raise taxes to pay for the $535 Billion cost of these wars, the government borrowed the money from the Chinese. "Well, what did Americans think — that empires come cheap?"

[Do you remember Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld breaking the news on Sept. 10, 2001 that the Pentagon could not account for $2.3 TRILLION in funds? They disappeared just like countless billions in Iraq that can't be found. An event the next day swept this news out of the public's mind. Whatever hit the Pentagon just happened to wipe out the accounting section that had all the records. What a coincidence! For some reason, not another word was said about the missing TRILLIONS.]

If you didn't read last week's post "Treacherous Economic Signposts," now is a good time to do it. You might even want to review it if you did. There are so many daily distractions that it is hard to keep focused on dark storm moving in on the horizon.

I keep mentioning these financial problems because now is NOT the time for complacency. Things really are different this time. This is not going to "somehow" work itself out. Get your money out of the stock market, buy gold, silver and food, and take what other precautions necessary to protect you and your family.

Act Now to Stop the War Against Iran

If you limit your news sources to the Lame Stream Media, you probably don’t realize how hard the NeoCons and Israel Lobby are pushing war with Iran. Former CIA intelligence analyst Ray McGovern makes a strong case that the US and Israel are gearing up to attack Iran before Cheney-Bush leave power in January. Read it here and see what you think. Pat Buchanan points out that the American people are not even being included in the debate.

Also, read today’s previous post, an article by Joel Skousen on “The Iran Factor in US Elections.” He quotes Insiders saying the Iran war is a done deal, with only the timing and provocation still to be decided. With the ostensibly (but not really) anti-war Obama leading McCain in the polls, the NeoCons need this war to keep the Republicans in power.

The Senate Intelligence Committee in early June concluded in an under-reported study that Cheney-Bush-Rumsfeld et al. continually made their case for the Iraq war with intelligence that was “unsubstantiated, contradicted or even non-existent” leading the American people that the Iraq threat “was much greater than existed.” The same people, using the same techniques, are being used to scare Americans into attacking Iran. You’ve got to read McGovern’s article to see how near we are to war.

The difference this time is that no one is claiming that a war with Iran will be a “cakewalk,” and no one believes we will be greeted as liberators. As McGovern says: “Unlike Iraq, which was prostrate after the Gulf War and a dozen years of sanctions, Iran can retaliate in a number of dangerous ways, launching a war for which our forces are ill-prepared. The lethality, intensity and breadth of ensuing hostilities will make the violence in Iraq look, in comparison, like a volleyball game between St. Helena's High School and Mount St. Ursula.”

A number of scenarios about the consequences of a war with Iran, such as this and this from the Christian Science Monitor, ought to make even the most ardent hawk re-think this insane idea. Some even think an Iranian attack might trigger the “Sampson Option” for Bush, making the Middle East a trigger for World War III.

In an article about the current covert operations designed to destabilize Iran, Seymour Hersh quotes Defense Secretary Gates that if the Bush Administration stages a preemptive strike on Iran, “We’ll create generations of jihadists, and our grandchildren will be battling our enemies here in America.”

Please watch the video of Ron Paul’s warning about the proposed Iranian attack in Congress on June 26. He summarizes the war-like actions toward Iran that the US would take if Rep. Gary Ackerman’s (D-NY) House Joint Resolution 362 is passed and enacted by the Congress after the July 4th recess. The resulting naval blockade will likely trigger a war. Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) introduced a similar Resolution 580 in the Senate.

These resolutions are a top priority of AIPAC and are eerily reminiscent of the plan enacted by FDR in 1940 that provoked the Japanese into attacking Pearl Harbor, triggering our entry into World War II.

If you want higher oil prices, more inflation, more recession, more unemployment, more loss of world reputation, more police state measures at home, more military deaths and maimings, then you’ll like this war.

If you are against this new war, you must call your Congressman and Senator and register your opposition. And if you think that surely this can’t be happening because the Democrats control Congress, and they were given a majority in 2006 because they would stop the war, then you are sadly mistaken. Notice both authors are Democrats. And Ron Paul recently revealed how House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2006 spiked a provision from a spending bill that would require a vote by Congress before the President could attack Iran. She did it at the behest of Israeli leadership and AIPAC.

You can see if your Congressional Rep is a cosponsor here, and if your Senator is, here. Notice the long list of Democrat co-sponsors. Not very anti-war, are they? That shows why the Israeli lobby is probably the most powerful in Washington. Unfortunately, Oklahoma’s Dan Boren, John Sullivan, Mary Fallin and Frank Lucas are cosponsors. To their credit (at the time of this posting) not listed as co-sponsors are: Tom Cole, Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn.

Please call your Congressman and Senator and register your opposition this week. You can also easily send and email by going to this site.

The Iran Factor in US Elections

Joel Skousen’s analysis of the role war with Iran will play in the coming election is a good example of higher-level thought with respect to the reality of politics in the US. According to Insiders, the war with Iran is a done deal, just like the "Downing Street Memo" confirms the Iraq invasion was decided a year before it actually happened. The only thing left to decide is the timing and the provocation used as a pretext.

This piece is from Skousen’s excellent weekly newsletter, “World Affairs Brief,” is just $48 a year delivered every Friday by email. I highly recommend it. http://www.worldaffairsbrief.com

THE IRAN FACTOR IN US ELECTIONS
Right now, the main concern of Americans is painfully high gas prices and the fast declining economy, which I will address later in the brief. No incumbent president or party can stay in office with this kind of public dissatisfaction--bordering on rage. The public will succumb to the hollow but populist promises for change coming from Barack Obama, a closet Marxist. Polls continue to show Obama outpacing McCain by large margins, despite the disadvantages of race. But war with Iran can change all that--for the worse. Even though war would cause gas prices to skyrocket even further, there is nothing that drives Americans to act more blindly and without thinking than the specter of having our troops attacked by another country. That appears to be what our globalist leaders are planning. However, it will make a big difference whether they pull this off before or after the election. That's what we will analyze this week.

In an interview this week with Dennis Wholley, insider and former National Security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski (President Carter's handler) talked openly about the coming war with Iran. He stated that either the US will justify such a war by some terrorist attack inside the US that can be blamed on Iran or that Israel would initiate a pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear program, inducing an Iran retaliation against American forces in Iraq--knowing (as the Iranians do) that Israel would never attack Iran without a green light from the US. Iran's retaliation against US troops would, in turn, be used to justify the US attack on Iran.

We now have two deep insiders talking openly about this Iran provocation strategy that I have long predicted--Dick Cheney and Brzezinski. Even more surprising was Brzezinski's openness about discussing how likely this would be to happen prior to the election --which would "change the dynamics of the election and galvanize the American people" into a unified cry for vengeance against Iran--a warmonger's dream.

Brzezinski denied that he was formally associated with Obama's campaign as a foreign policy advisor, giving the lame excuse that "I have to be my own person," implying that advisors have to align themselves with the campaign positions taken by the candidate. Actually, it's the other way around. But he did admit to advising Obama on occasion and being an Obama supporter. I wonder.

In reality, Brzezinski is NOT being his own person nor a passionate Obama supporter. He is, above all, a globalist who has been positioning himself deceptively in opposition to the globalist Bush-Cheney policies so that he and others of "Team B" can control the rising anti-war opposition-represented by Obama. He is concealing his deeper involvement with the Obama campaign for a variety of reasons. 1) He is well into his 80s and will not be able to serve in a formal government capacity, and 2) His marching orders may require the flexibility to switch support to McCain if a war with Iran should serve to dump Obama at the last moment. In any case, Brzezinski is worth watching because he is one of those globalists who appears to switch sides in advance of a change in direction.

The Iran war could change the dynamics of the election in various ways depending on timing. If it comes as an "October surprise" (apt code name for the operation by the dark side of government which subverted Jimmy Carter's reelection by fomenting the Iran hostage crisis and bribing the Iranians not to release the hostages until Reagan was elected) before the election, it will be timed to derail the otherwise certain election of Democrat Barack Obama and reinstall another Republican war president. If the provocation by Israel and the US attack comes after the election while Bush is a lame duck, the events will give Obama (the presumed winner) the excuse to support the war, subvert the anti-war movement and bring all Americans into the patriotic fervor of another war to "protect our troops." Obama would also welcome the opportunity to convince Americans that he can be a forceful commander-in-chief.

In the Wall Street Journal's Review and Outlook column entitled, "Israel on the Iran Brink" it outlined the establishment position. Here are some excerpts with [my critique in brackets]:

"Israel isn't famous for welcoming public scrutiny of its most sensitive military plans. But we doubt Jerusalem officials were dismayed to see news of their recent air force exercises splashed over the front pages of the Western press. Those exercises -- reportedly involving about 100 fighters, tactical bombers, refueling planes and rescue helicopters -- were conducted about 900 miles west of Israel's shores in the Mediterranean [towards Cyprus]. Iran's nuclear facilities at Bushehr, Isfahan and Natanz all fall roughly within the same radius, albeit in the opposite direction. The point was not lost on Tehran, which promptly warned of 'strong blows' in the event of a pre-emptive Israeli attack.

"The more important question is whether the meaning of Israel's exercise registered in Western capitals. It's been six years since Iran's secret nuclear programs were publicly exposed, and Israel has more or less bided its time as the Bush Administration and Europe have pursued [token] diplomacy to induce Tehran to cease enriching uranium. It hasn't worked. Iran has rejected repeated offers of technical and economic assistance, most recently this month. Despite four years of pleading, the Administration has failed to win anything but weak U.N. sanctions.

"Russia [always playing both sides in its habitual commitment to Hegelian conflict creation] plans to sell advanced antiaircraft missiles to Iran and finish work on a nuclear reactor at Bushehr, though spent fuel from that reactor could eventually be diverted and reprocessed into weapons-usable plutonium. Chinese companies still invest in Iran while the U.N.'s chief nuclear inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei, has repeatedly downplayed Iran's nuclear threat.

"As for the U.S., December's publication of a [purposely] misleading National Intelligence Estimate that claimed Iran had halted nuclear weaponization signaled America's own lack of seriousness toward Iranian ambitions [Not at all. This was a ploy to set up Iran for quick condemnation once the war begins by not having to prove it had a nuclear program. After the NIE all the US has to say is "oops--I guess they didn't shut down their nuclear weapons program after all"--with no actual proof they ever had one to begin with].

"Barack Obama is leading in the Presidential polls and portrays as a virtue his promise to negotiate with Iran 'without precondition' -- i.e., without insisting that Tehran stop enriching uranium [a precondition that insists on total capitulation of the other's position before talks destroys any need for those talks]. All the while Iran continues to enrich [very minor quantities], installing thousands of additional centrifuges of increasingly more sophisticated design while it buries key facilities underground.

"No wonder Israel is concluding that it will have to act on its own to prevent a nuclear Iran [It's more complex than that given that the US and Israel used their links to Pakistani nuclear smuggler Abdul Khan to give nuclear plans to Iran and others. Iran was being set up for a fall]. Earlier this month, Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, a former army chief of staff, warned that 'if Iran continues with its program for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack.' Other officials distanced themselves from those remarks, but September's one-shot raid on Syria's nuclear reactor ought to be proof of Israel's determination.

"An Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites would of course look nothing like the Syrian operation. The distances are greater; the targets are hardened, defended and dispersed; hundreds of sorties and several days would be required. Iran would retaliate, with the help of Hezbollah and Hamas, possibly sparking a regional conflict as large as the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Mr. El Baradei predicted this weekend that such an attack would turn the Middle East into a 'ball of fire,' yet his own apologies for Iran and the West's diplomatic failures are responsible for bringing the region to this pass [hardly! This is a conflict the globalists want and are fomenting]. They have convinced the mullahs that the powers responsible for maintaining world order lack the will to stop Iran."

In reality, Russia is the one whispering in Iran's ear that the West doesn't have the will. In addition, the Russians are giving the Iranians the same false promises of military support they gave Saddam--making them overconfident. Russia intends to betray the Iranians just like they did Iraq for two purposes: 1) they get a front row seat bristling with electronic surveillance during the attacks on Iran to record all the intel they can about Israeli and American military tactics and their deployment of new weapons systems and countermeasures. 2) they allow the US to continue building their reputation as the "bully of the world" which will someday be used by Russia and China to excuse their own pre-emptive strike against America and its allies.

Yossi Melman, of the Left-wing Haaretz newspaper says "Israel is a long way from attacking Iran." Melman is projecting the Israeli establishment line of denial to keep Iran guessing. After referring to the public statements by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz that Israel will not tolerate a nuclear Iran, Melman says these statements, "can be interpreted as 'preparing the ground' for the possibility that Israel will attack Iran. It is also correct that all the bodies dealing with the 'Iran case,' including the Mossad, Military Intelligence, Operations Directorate of the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Air Force and the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, are planning for the worst-case scenario." He excuses this as "their professional duty," and then adds that "one cannot conclude, as many have following a report in The New York Times (June 19) that an Israeli attack is certainly around the corner."

I disagree. It is going to happen--only the timing is being decided, as well as the provocation. Melman protests too loudly in his attempt to dissuade the Israeli public when he says, "Not only has such a decision not been made in any relevant forum in Israel - the question has not even been discussed." Nobody believes that. He also claims the "decision to attack Iran to foil its nuclear program is from Israel's point of view a last resort, and the chances of it happening depend on many variables." Again untrue. The decision has been made-the only variables are how to start the war and its timing.

Melman comments on US/Israeli cooperation in any future attack. "The most important variable is Israel's coordination with the United States. As has happened on a number of historic occasions - the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the two Lebanon wars and, most recently, the strike against Syria's nuclear reactor, Israel will not strike Iran without first coordinating its actions with the U.S. This could be a tacit understanding, a flashing yellow light, or a direct request for a green light. Such support is conditioned first and foremost on the question of who will occupy the White House come November." No, it does not. Both of the candidates are controlled, and we will have war either way.