Twelfth Bough

A report from a Lebanese source: (click through for original link) The United States has informed Israel that it bans any attack on Iran to knock down its nuclear program, the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reported Sunday. The newspaper, in a Tel Aviv-datelined report, said Washington has "clearly informed Israel… that we would not allow you to launch war on Iran." [My first question: Why don't Americans know this? Because ABCNBCCBSFOXCNN are too busy blowing smoke up their asses about Sarah Palin.] The reported U.S. message also includes a ban on the use of Iraqi airspace to launch raids against Iran, the report added. Some Israeli forces believe the "west has succumbed" to the idea of nuclear-armed Iran … and Israel must acknowledge this reality," according to the report. However, "the majority of Israeli political and military officials believe that Iran's nuclear program poses a direct threat to Israel's existence," the report said

Like millions of other people across America...I'm still trying to comprehend what would drive McCain to pick Palin, especially now that she is being vetted. What a disaster. I am of two minds about this. Either the powers that run things above politics picked her to be their puppet and will control the corporate media so they don't shred her like she's being shredded on the internet, or John McCain snapped under pressure and picked her all by himself out of spite. McCain seems to have a similar sociopathic personality to Bush. He must have been under tremendous pressure to make this decision, and we can imagine the people pulling and tugging and wheedling and cajoling their arguments at his poor, addled brain. Maybe he snapped out of exasperation, told them all off, and picked her to literally mess up their plans. Spiteful? Yes. Stupid? Yes. Possible? Yes. As suggested by one wag, perhaps he wants to take a few of his favorite enemies out (the Rovian power structure) as a

Another great Dees illustration and Lord Stirling (The Frightening) piece can be seen and read over at s o s . I just wanted to point out for my little cabal of readers a map of the Black Sea area (good for zooming). There's only one way for US and NATO ships to get in there, and it's through the Bosporous at Istanbul, Turkey. Being a very narrow strait, it would seem easy to control. This indeed puts Turkey on the hot seat between their neighbor Russia and NATO. If they let the ships in (which they have so far under some ancient limitations they rustled up from a bottom drawer), they piss off Russia. Otherwise, they piss off NATO. Good luck with that. You can click on the map to enlarge the area. It's less than one mile wide and maybe 15 miles long. Before they even get there, the ships have to go up around Greece, through the Dardanelles, and then through the Sea of Marmara. My point simply being that when people talk about this being in Russia's backyard, they might

I was trying to wrap my mind around McCain's Palin pick yesterday. The pandering to women thing is obvious, but there has to be more to it than that. The brilliance of this move, if you will (and I use the term advisedly), comes in how it appeals to the very men who we might otherwise expect to protest the loudest because she's a woman . But she's their kind of woman, you see, the right kind, so that's different. She's from the tribe. Plus, she's a hottie! She is the female version of George W. Bush in 2000: young, regular (this time for real), attractive, controllable. Those who make her will presume to own her. Do you see how this is a brilliant pick if your emotional development stunted at age 14? Do you see how this might be very useful if John McCain drops dead , and a bunch of Old White Men want a new puppet to play with? Why should the corporate masters take a risk on Obama/Biden and have to lobby and cajole a little when they can simply have their way

Israel is not going to stand for it. No. NO. NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JERUSALEM, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Israel won't stand by and watch Iran develop its nuclear program despite the stance of the rest of the international community , a security source says. The unidentified source said while international superpowers such as the United States are focusing their antinuclear efforts on diplomacy, Israel won't accept that Iran is capable of developing nuclear weaponry , IsraelNN.com reported Friday. That's right. They are not going to stand for it. Much more on their little snit here. Israel will not agree to allow Iran to achieve nuclear weapons and if the grains start running out in the proverbial egg timer, the Israeli government will not hesitate to take whatever means necessary to prevent Iran from achieving its nuclear goals, the government has recently decided in a special discussion , the Jerusalem Post reported on Friday quoting the Israeli daily

You can find all these stories at the After Armageddon Newspage today. First, the rapidly deteriorating financial situation: What we are witnessing is the breakdown of the link between middle-class America and the global financial markets it has over-tapped across the last several decades. Fannie and Freddie were the support infrastructure connecting houses to capital market access. They have been caught with weak financials, swollen balance sheets and escalating default, just like the home owners they assist. The size of their retained mortgage portfolios is truly gigantic. As banks fail, Americans will be forced to bail them out with our ever-diminishing resources. American Goy details how exactly this works. Oh sure, there is money to invade and occupy Iraq, there is money to bomb Iran, there is money to train crazed jihadists/mujahedin from al Kaida in Iraq and send them into

Hey, just so you know, today GWB extended the national emergency he declared on 9/14/01 for one more year. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/08/20080828-7.html Consistent with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency I declared on September 14, 2001, in Proclamation 7463, with respect to the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, New York, New York, the Pentagon, and aboard United Airlines flight 93, and the continuing and immediate threat of further attacks on the United States. Because the terrorist threat continues, the national emergency declared on September 14, 2001, and the powers and authorities adopted to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond September 14, 2008. Therefore, I am continuing in effect for an additional year the national emergency I declared on September 14, 2001, with respect to the terrorist threat. This notice shall be published in the Federal

(satire) Obviously. But perhaps not, so there. Transcript of Bill O'Reilly interviewing Dennis Kucinich here. KUCINICH: You know, first of all, the American eagle needs two wings to fly. Don’t forget that. And, secondly, what I stand for is mainstream: health care for all, jobs for all, employment security. That’s what all Americans want. O’REILLY: Yes, they want it, but you can’t -- the only way to get all that is by implementing a socialistic system. And that’s what they don’t want, so that’s the... If you want a secure job and health care, you're a socialist. Actually, it's probably ok to want these things for yourself, but if you start wanting it for other people, you're a socialist. We're pretty smart here in America, but socialism is the only way to give Americans secure jobs and health care. There's just no other way to solve the conundrum, so pick one. See, we can't have socialism, so we can't solve these problems. Suck it up. Now, if y

I bet Israel will make some expedient decisions soon that will be very awkward for the neocons, such as cutting some deals with certain professed 'enemies' like Iran and Russia. The Europeans will do the same thing, but with history as a guide, I don't expect to see much restraint in the rush to label the French and Germans as ungrateful back-stabbers. It's when the Israelis, our special buddies, cut us loose to save their own asses that we will see some flabbergasted Americans trying to make sense of it all. This guy nails it, in my opinion . The facts on the ground will force the Europeans and the Israelis to side with Russia. They need the oil and gas -- it's as simple as that. I'm sure they will try to finesse the snub, but given that our economy has to contract by an estimated $2 trillion, and that's going to take awhile, they can't ignore the facts on the ground in the meantime. If they are forced to be with us or against us, um, well...actually..

An article from ynet, posted here , informs us that Moscow has been working to convene a multi-party Mideast peace conference in November. Hmm. That's funny, because without Israel, it's a worthless endeavor. But if Russia should succeed in hosting a successful Mideast peace conference, well... wouldn't that change everything? Kind of like a 9/11 in reverse. The Arab World would love to break out of the current stalemate. If Russia can get Israel to cooperate, well, Condi could forget about ever collecting her Nobel Peace Prize. A fantasy, you say? Hold on. Brother Nathanael discusses the relationship between Russia and Israel, referencing a Haaretz piece bemoaning how this Georgian debacle played out. Israel has a long, unfortunate history of supporting failing, problematic regimes, from Idi Amin in Uganda to Augusto Pinochet in Chile, including the generals in Argentina and the Phalanges in Lebanon. The establishment repeatedly has been enticed to believe Israel can be a

The corporate media is going to hand off the baton from the Olympics to the Democratic Convention. Gotta keep those Americans distracted from the real news. Let's hope they drop the damned thing and some truth breaks through. The other day we saw the first signs of Israel squirming a little on the hot seat because of the Georgia fiasco. Russia has condemned both Israel and the US for their role in arming the Georgian military with sophisticated weapons. Israel claims it has not directly equipped or trained the Georgian military, and private Israeli firms - with the defense ministry's approval- are responsible for such dealings. How Eddie Haskel-ish. On the same day (8/20/08), a Lebanon paper reported that Olmert warned Israelis about the 'next war' hitting Israeli cities. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned on Tuesday that the next war with Lebanon would involve attacks on Israel's cities, and threatened that the Jewish state would hit back "harder than b

If you're looking for a very clear description, explanation and prediction of what's going on with the economy, try this one . I feel smarter already. This is straight economic information with no political undertones or conspiracy angles and lots of graphs. It's very well done. Some choice bits: The pseudo-wealth that has been created in the last seven years has begun to unwind, but will increase in speed in 2009. You only know how you’ve lived your life over the last seven years. Your neighbor who has been getting their house upgraded, sending their kids to private school, driving a BMW, and taking exotic vacations may have been living the high life on debt. As usual, Warren Buffet’s wisdom comes in handy. “ Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” The tide is on its way out, and the naked swimmers are numbered in the millions. Mohamed El-Erian, the number two man at PIMCO, fears a negative feedback loop consuming the country. I believe we

You may have noticed that the subtitle of this blog is Tracing the Arc of Justice . I have noticed that over and over again, in matters small and large, that people overlook injustice. They shrug their shoulders as if to say that injustice is to be expected . Therefore, since there's nothing that can be done about it, one shouldn't spend too much time worrying about those poor people over there. Needless to say, this really bothers me a lot. The attitude I typically get from people is that I am a little wacky for caring about things like the Palestinians. They just don't see the point. I am lacking 'common sense,' or something, which is a pretty funny accusation since the driving force of my philosophy is fighting for the common good. Not the good for this powerful group or that powerful group, but the good for everyone. The most frequent retort I get about people who are 'behind' is that it's probably their own fault. Maybe, but maybe not. It's just

From a Russian perspective , George Bush has 'colossal audacity' to suggest that Russia pull back from Georgia. Listening to you, your Vice President, Condi Rice and US and western officials complain about "regime change," "invasion," "bloodshed" and "suffering civilians" (in the light of their crimes across the world) have become nothing but laughable at best and highly infuriating and enraging at worst. You are an idiot! We seem to recall that when your Israeli friends were absolutely devastating the people of Lebanon, wantonly killing civilians, destroying their country’s infrastructure and destroying their environment also….the flapping jaw of your representative, Condoleezza Rice and your entire administration were saying no ceasefire, no nothing, just keep on going, keep on committing acts of state terrorism on innocent people, keep on committing your war crimes, you have them covered. Well, Mr. Bush, this is it. Moscow bet

Since the stupid fiasco in Georgia, the following events have transpired: Russia has cancelled all military cooperation with NATO. Around 10 joint military exercises were planned involving Russian and NATO members through the end of this year. They will probably all be cancelled. Russia and Syria have renewed their former ties. The Russian aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov” is ready to head from Murmansk towards the Mediterranean and the Syrian port of Tartus. The mission comes after Syrian President Bashar Assad said he is open for a Russian base in the area. The “Admiral Kuznetsov”, part of the Northern Fleet and Russia’s only aircraft carrier, will head a Navy mission to the area. The mission will also include the missile cruiser “Moskva” and several submarines, Newsru.com reports. President Assad in meetings in Moscow this week expressed support to Russia’s intervention in South Ossetia and Georgia. He also expressed interest in the establishment of Russian missile air de

I remember seeing something a while back, but unfortunately I can't put my hands on it now, and it said that many patriotic Americans worked in the NSA. These people are very, very intelligent types and they will not sit by and let the US become taken over by the goon squad currently in charge. If I recall correctly, this was part of a comment thread. Now that may all be true, and I hope it is, but apparently there are others in the NSA who carry a different attitude. Wayne Madsen, always spoiling for a fight with Bush and Cheney, or the chance to show off his undies to minimum wage airport TSA workers, has an executive level NSA staff person on record saying that significant sentiment exists within the NSA to kill troublesome bloggers and journalists. The NSA executive staffer was, apparently, not the source of the sentiment, but this individual did pass along the context and the precise wording of the “junior G-man” working in the NSA. Prominent names listed in the NSA database o

JTA reported on 8/17 that a Condoleeza Rice visit to the Middle East (a totally useless waste of US taxpayer money) has been called off. http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/109953.html Condoleezza Rice's widely expected visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority this week in unlikely to happen. An aide to Mahmoud Abbas said earlier this month that the U.S. secretary of state, having hosted Israeli and Palestinian Authority negotiators in Washington, would make a routine trip to the region on August 20 to oversee peace efforts. But U.S. diplomatic sources said Sunday that Rice -- who never formally gave a date for her next visit -- will not be flying out to the Middle East in the near future given the Bush administration's over-riding concern with the Georgian crisis. How convenient. Meanwhile, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi King Abdullah told Iran not to get roped into a pretext for a military attack. Following a meeting this weekend between Egyptian Pre

The US under George Bush has absolutely wasted an unforgivable number of lives, money and opportunities over the last eight years. Russia and China are the world's new superpowers. But since this is very, very difficult for some people to admit, we are instead treated to various hissy fits of self-righteous indignation from the losers. Here's one with that shrew Condoleeza Rice and the spastic Saakashvili . At a joint appearance with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Tiblisi after signing the accord, Saakashvili lashed out again at Russia and the West. We will "never, ever surrender" he said about the conflict with Russia. He then accused the West of triggering Russian aggression by denying his country membership in NATO. Rice defended the new cease-fire document, saying it requires that the Soviets leave Georgia immediately adding that the time has come "to begin a discussion of the consequences of what Russia has done." Saakashvili used the

Via this outstanding piece by Mike Whitney.

Do you remember this atrocity? Footage of Fadel Shana, 23, being killed by a tank shell in the Gaza Strip has been released by the news agency, which said that the cameraman was hit despite clear markings that showed him to be a journalist. After medical examinations of Shana's body, Reuters said that Israel had used a controversial type of tank shell which scatters metal darts, or flechettes, around the surrounding area after exploding, risking civilian casualties. Israel refused to comment on the report, but stated that the weapons were not illegal. I wrote about it here. Not that I’m surprised, but it still bears pointing out because I’m sick and tired of people shrugging off all sorts of barbaric behavior. Where’s the outrage? Where’s the accountability? This has been going on for a long time, so what good is a measured demand for a ’swift, honest and impartial investigation’? Has anything like that ever been forthcoming in all these years? No. The IDF will blow this off just