World-News

The Associated Press: "Home prices tumbled by the sharpest annual rate ever in August, with little indication of a turnaround in sight, a closely watched index showed Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index dropped a record 16.6 percent from August last year, the largest drop since its inception in 2000."

http://www.truthout.org/102808D



The Plastic Trap

Dominique Nora, Le Nouvel Observateur: "After houses, consumer credit? While bankers plug up as best they can the breaches created by the mortgage earthquake, another bubble threatens them: Americans have been living their dreams on credit. And, having overheated their cards, millions of households will have problems making their payments ..."

http://www.truthout.org/102808E



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=home+price
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=mortgage

Renee Schoof, McClatchy Newspapers: "At the Bush administration's direction, the Environmental Protection Agency is working on a new rule that would weaken pollution regulations for power plants, allowing them to increase emissions without adding controls. EPA officials have been working on a fast track to meet a Saturday deadline, but many of them are arguing against changing the rule ..."

http://www.truthout.org/102808B



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Environmental+Protection+Agency
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=power+plant
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Renee+Schoof

Unemployment is set to rapidly increase. "My view is that it will be near 8 or 8.5 percent by the end of next year," Nigel Gault, chief domestic economist at Global Insight, told the New York Times.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/oct2008/jobs-o27.shtml


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=recession
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=unemployment

In justifying the attack, American officials said the Bush administration was determined to operate under an expansive definition of self-defense that provided a rationale for strikes on militant targets in sovereign nations without those countries' consent.

http://tinyurl.com/5zmd9q


From Information Clearing House

The Senate resolution against drone attacks said strikes inside Pakistan were unfortunate and a gross violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. The resolution underlined that continued incursions were harming the government's efforts to seek a political solution through dialogue.

http://tinyurl.com/5vbxgu


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=drones
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Pakistan

A top British general has warned that NATO occupation forces in Afghanistan have "reached their limit" and suggested that it was time to consider supporting the formation of local tribal militias to help stabilize the country.

http://tinyurl.com/6zhz9p



In Afghanistan, the Loudest Sound Is the Clock Ticking

Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "It is my professional opinion that no amount of troops, in no amount of time, can ever achieve all the objectives we seek in Afghanistan," he said. "Frankly, we're running out of time."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/arts/television/28fron.html?ref=television


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Mike+Mullen

PM Putin Suggests Russia, China Ditch Dollar in Trade Deals

By RIA Novosti

"We should consider improving the payment system for bilateral trade, including by gradually adopting a broader use of national currencies," Putin told a bilateral economic forum. He admitted the task would be tough, but said it was necessary amid the current problems with the dollar-based global economy.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21111.htm



The Financial Woes Signal The Death Of The Dollar?

By Rev. Richard Skaff

Once the middle class is slowly and fully assassinated in the US, then, the globalization process becomes easier to implement and the Security and Prosperity Partnership (North America Union) will rush toward us like a knight in shining armor riding on a beautiful white horse to rescue us from our financial disasters that were deliberately created by our treasonous leaders.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21105.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=middle+class
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=globalization
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=death+of+the+dollar
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Security+and+Prosperity+Partnership
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=financial+disaster
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Richard+Skaff

By John Brinsley

Roubini, who predicted the current financial crisis in 2006, said the economy risks falling into "a self-fulfilling animal spirit recession that is more severe than otherwise" because of the collapse of credit markets and weak consumer and corporate spending.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21107.htm



Our Choice

By Nouriel Roubini

If the private sector does not spend and/or cannot spend, old-fashioned traditional Keynesian spending by the government is necessary. It is true that we already have large and growing budget deficits; but $300 billion of public works is more effective and productive than spending $700 billion to buy toxic assets.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21106.htm



What Will YOU Do About The Worst Capitalist Crisis Since The 1930s?

Uniting & fighting back is no longer a choice; it's a matter of survival

By Larry Holmes

Working and poor people, devastated by the depression, entered the 1930s destitute, broken and hopeless. Yet by the time the decade was over, the working class had won great battles, first by organizing itself into Unemployment Councils and tenants unions and later into giant labor unions.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21109.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=stimulus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Roubini
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=financial+crisis
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=credit+market
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=recession
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=budget+deficit
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Keynesian

The Defanging of America: Reality-Based Community Overthrows History's Actors

By Paul Craig Roberts

The American neoconservatives are the heirs of Leon Trotsky. Their dream of American "Full Spectrum Dominance"--US military and economic superiority over any possible combination of states--is matched in ambition only by the early 20th century Trotskyite dream of world Communist revolution.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21108.htm



Let Us Speculate

By William Bowles

There's an awful lot of speculation going on right now, from both the left and right about where the latest crisis of capital is headed, chief amongst them is the notion that this signals the end of the US Empire, that the so-called uni-polar world is over, that a new multi-polar world, headed by China, Russia, India and Brazil is emerging.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21112.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=hegemony
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=empire
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=superiority
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=neocons
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Paul+Craig+Roberts
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=William+Bowles

By Jacob G. Hornberger
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21103.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=interventionism
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jacob+G.+Hornberger

Environmental Working Group (EWG)
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2008/10/27-15



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Uranium+Mining
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Environmental+Working+Group

Center for Consitutional Rights (CCR)
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2008/10/28-3



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Guantanamo
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=detainee
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Center+for+Constitutional+Rights

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2008/10/28-2



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=ACLU
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Attorney+General
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=voter+registration

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/28-8

--------

Torture, morality and the American future
http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/8005/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Johann+Hari

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/28-0



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gore+Vidal

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/10/28-7



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=domestic+spying
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Lisa+Rein

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/10/28



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Bush+doctrine
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Dreyfuss

bloomberg.com — Five straight quarters of losses and a 70 percent slide in its stock this year haven't stopped Merrill Lynch & Co. from allocating about $6.7 billion to pay bonuses. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, both still on track for profitable years, have set aside about $13 billion for bonuses after three quarters, down 28 percent from a year ago. Even some employees at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which declared the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history last month, will get the same bonus they received a year ago. The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, a $700 billion taxpayer bailout, public outcry over excessive pay and the demise of three of the biggest securities firms won't deter Wall Street from offering year-end rewards to employees on top of their salaries, compensation experts say.

http://ga3.org/ct/d120pgF1S4h_/



Cost of crash: $2,800,000,000,000

guardian.co.uk — Autumn's market mayhem has left the world's financial institutions nursing losses of $2.8 trillion, the Bank of England said today, as it called for fundamental reform of the global banking system to prevent a repeat of turmoil "arguably" unprecedented since the outbreak of the first world war. In its half-yearly health check of London, the Bank said tougher regulation and constraints on lending would be needed as policymakers sought to learn lessons from the mistakes that have led to a systemic crisis unfolding over the past 15 months.

http://ga3.org/ct/ed20pgF1S4hz/



We the People

EUGENE JACKERI

tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com — Unless we see ourselves — individually and collectively – as the engine for real societal reform – no matter how hard that may be to imagine given our developed habits of disengagement — our vote on election day is wasted.

http://ga3.org/ct/B720pgF1S4hd/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Wall+Street
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Great+Depression
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bailout
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=taxpayer
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Election+Day
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Merrill+Lynch
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Goldman+Sachs
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Lehman+Brothers

Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times: "John McCain isn't boasting about a new endorsement, one of the very, very few he has received from overseas. It came a few days ago: 'Al Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election,' read a commentary on a password-protected Islamist Web site that is closely linked to Al Qaeda and often disseminates the group's propaganda. The endorsement left the McCain campaign sputtering, and noting helplessly that Hamas appears to prefer Barack Obama."

http://www.truthout.org/102808J



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=endorsement
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Nicholas+D.+Kristof

Vortrag von Friedrich Fürstenberg im Rahmen des 3. Vernetzungstreffens der SozialwirtInnen am 30.10.2006 an der Johannes Kepler Universität Linz – hoch aktuell! (pdf) http://www.gespol.jku.at/Portale/Institute/SOWI_Institute/Gespol/content/e241/e1445/e6788/files6789/Vortrag_Frstenberg_Sozstrukt.Finanzmrkte.pdf


Ursachen und Folgen der Finanzkrise. Konzept und Fakten für Referate und Veröffentlichungen

Die Krise der Finanzmärkte ist ein zentrales Thema in Parteien, Gewerkschaften, Organisationen und Initiativen. Um die Beschäftigung mit dem Thema zu erleichtern, hat isw-Mitarbeiter Leo Mayer ein Konzept ausgearbeitet, das ausführlich Fakten und Argumente zusammenträgt (Stand: 20.10.2008, pdf) beim isw http://www.isw-muenchen.de/download/finanzkriseref-lm-200810.pdf


Rettungspaket der Bundesregierung: Wer es zahlen soll, wem es hilft – was wirklich hinein gehörte

Um eine "Kernschmelze" im Bankensystem zu verhindern, hat die deutsche Regierung 500 Milliarden Euro locker gemacht. Das Rettungspaket, so isw-Mitarbeiter Conrad Schuhler, kann die Banken vielleicht aus den roten Zahlen holen, aber die drohende Wirtschaftskrise nicht verhindern, vielmehr für noch höhere Inflation und weitere Massenbelastungen sorgen. Die eigentlichen Fragen lauten: Wer soll die Rettungsaktion für Finanzinstitute bezahlen? Wie muss das Bankensystem umstrukturiert werden, um künftig Zocker-Orgien und Krisenkatastrophen zu vermeiden? Und: Vorrangig ist nicht die Sanierung skrupelloser Bankhäuser, sondern die Stärkung der öffentlichen und privaten Nachfrage, um aus der Rezession heraus zu führen. Artikel von Conrad Schuhler beim isw (pdf) http://www.isw-muenchen.de/download/banken-rp-cs-200810.pdf


ver.di zu Finanzmärkten und Finanzdienstleistungen

Kollaps der Finanzmärkte: Gewinne privatisieren – Verluste sozialisieren? Keine weitere Umverteilung von Unten nach Oben! Flugblatt von und bei ver.di Bezirk Stuttgart (pdf) http://stuttgart.verdi.de/data/kollaps_der_finanzmaerkte.pdf

ver.di fordert moralische Erneuerung der Finanzkonzerne - Bankangestellte kommen sich wie „Drückerkolonnen“ vor

„Eine „moralische und geschäftspolitische Erneuerung der Finanzkonzerne“ hat das Bundesvorstandsmitglied der Vereinten Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (ver.di) Uwe Foullong gefordert. Die Renditegier in der Unternehmenspolitik vieler Banken führe dazu, dass sich Bankangestellte wie „Drückerkolonnen“ vorkämen. Kundenberaterinnen und –berater würden immer häufiger in Loyalitätsprobleme mit ihren Kunden gebracht. Dies führe zu psychologischem Druck. Die Folge sei eine Zunahme psychischer Erkrankungen bei den Beschäftigten in den Finanzkonzernen, erklärte Foullong…“ ver.di-Bund-Pressemitteilung vom 24.10.2008 http://presse.verdi.de/pressemitteilungen/showNews?id=74943744-a1b9-11dd-4e86-0019b9e321e1

„moralische Erneuerung“ erscheint schon preisverdächtig…


Entwaffnet die Finanzmärkte!

"Sand im Getriebe" von attac, Nr. 69, zur Finanzmarktkrise (pdf) http://www.casino-schliessen.de/uploads/media/sig_69.pdf


Demos gegen die Finanzkrise

"Finanzmärkte entwaffnen", "Häuser schützen": Mit solchen und ähnlichen Forderungen protestieren Globalisierungskritiker und betroffene Bürger vor und in den Börsen von Frankfurt bis New York gegen die Finanzkrise. FTD.de zeigt die Aktionen. Bilderserie von Jens-Uwe Braun, Jennifer Tiede, Kai Beller und Nicolas Schöneich http://www.ftd.de/politik/international/431220.html


Schulden? Zahlt der Staat!

„Schulden? Zahlt der Staat! Dieser schöne Satz gilt derzeit nur für Banken. Bald könnte er für alle gelten! Schicken Sie einfach diesen Brief an den Finanzminister…“ Briefvorlage bei milliardenhilfe.de, der Brief ist eine Initiative der Interventionistischen Linken http://milliardenhilfe.de/


Der Staat soll es richten: Milliarden für die Banken – wir sollen verzichten?

Flugblatt von Forum Betrieb, Gewerkschaft und soziale Bewegungen Berlin (pdf) zur Demo „Nicht mit uns – die Profiteure sollen zahlen“, Protestkundgebung: Donnerstag, 30 Oktober um 17.00 Uhr vor dem Finanzministerium, Leipziger-/Wilhelmstraße, Berlin http://www.labournet.de/GewLinke/profile/berlinbanken.pdf

Siehe dazu auch:

30. Oktober 2008: Weltspartag

Überregional: Proteste zum Weltspartag: Nicht auf unsere Kosten!

„Mit fast 500.000.000.000 Euro steht der Staat für die Finanzbranche ein. Doch der Einsatz darf nicht zu Lasten sozial Schwacher gehen! Die Profiteure sollen zahlen! Dafür gehen wir am Weltspartag, dem 30. Oktober, auf die Straße - in Berlin und vielen anderen Orten. Wir bieten politische Alternativen und mobilisieren für ein Finanzmarktsystem unter demokratischer Kontrolle. Die Casinos müssen geschlossen werden! Forderungen unterschreiben!..“ Mehr Infos auf der attac-Aktionsseite http://www.casino-schliessen.de/aktionen/demo/


Berlin: Kommt am 30. Oktober nach Berlin zum Bundesfinanzministerium!

Die voraussichtlich größte Aktion wird in Berlin stattfinden. Ein breites Bündnis ruft zu einer Protestkundgebung auf, damit die 500.000.000.000 Euro des Rettungspakets den Verursachern in Rechnung gestellt werden. Datum/Uhrzeit: 30 Oktober, 17:00 bis 20:00 Uhr Ort: Bundesfinanzministerium, Berlin, Wilhelmstr. 97, U-Bahn Stadtmitte oder Potsdamer Platz. (Siehe dazu das o.g. Flugblatt von Forum Betrieb, Gewerkschaft und soziale Bewegungen Berlin (pdf) http://www.labournet.de/GewLinke/profile/berlinbanken.pdf


Stuttgart: Aktion "Entwaffnet die Finanzmärkte" und gemeinsame Kundgebung von ver.di Stuttgart mit attac Stuttgart am 30. Oktober 2008 um 17 Uhr vor der Deutschen Bank (Theodor-Heuss-Straße 3-Passage). Siehe den Aufruf von und bei ver.di Stuttgart (pdf) http://stuttgart.verdi.de/data/aufruf30-10-08.pdf


Voller Tank statt voller Bauch – Weder Fressen noch Moral!

„Die Krise der Finanzmärkte hat die Hungerkrise von der Agenda der Regierungen und den Titelseiten der Zeitungen verdrängt. Dabei verschärft die Finanzkrise die Lage der Hungernden noch weiter. Denn die Preisexplosion bei Lebensmitteln und die damit verbundene Ernährungskrise hat direkt mit der Funktionsweise des kapitalistischen Weltmarktes zu tun…“ Kurzreferat von Leo Mayer bei "Marxismus im Dialog", dokumentiert beim isw (pdf) http://www.isw-muenchen.de/download/hunger-lm-200810.pdf


Aus: LabourNet, 28. Oktober 2008



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Finanzkrise
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Finanzmarkt
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rettungspaket
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Zocker

Stranger than fiction

National Review
by Brendan O'Neill

10/27/08

Earlier this year, I wrote an eco-satirical column under the pseudonym Ethan Greenhart, in which I (or rather, Ethan) called upon Greens everywhere to pray for an economic downturn. The column argued that nothing would benefit our human-ravaged planet more than a ‘big, beautiful, stock-crashing, Wall Street–burning, consumer-baiting, home-evicting, bank-busting recession.’ …

http://tinyurl.com/6l7olu



Change your leaders; change your life (part 3)

Freedom's Phoenix
by Dave Hodges

10/27/08

We live in times in which history is being written. The world is at a crossroads and I feel compelled to say that I have not lived through a more uncertain time. Although the following suggestion may fall under the category of too little, too late, we still have an opportunity to change the leadership in Congress this November. Join me in voting against every incumbent, save Ron Paul, this fall. We may not be able to stop the impending train wreck that has become the American economy, and the resultant foreign policy crises that will follow, but we do have a choice on who we elect to lead us out of the political, economic and the resulting military cesspool that we now find ourselves embroiled in...

http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Editorial-Page.htm?InfoNo=040268


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=stock+crash
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Wall+Street
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=recession
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=American+economy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ron+Paul
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Brendan+O'Neill

The Nation
by Ari Berman

10/27/08

A vicious back-and-forth broke out this weekend between advisers to John McCain and Sarah Palin about whether the Alaska Governor is to blame for the McCain campaign’s woes. The Politico ran a story on Saturday entitled, ‘Palin Allies Report Rising Camp Tension.’ … In response a McCain adviser told CNN: She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone … She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else. Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom. … But Palin isn’t sweating the small stuff. She’s already looking forward — to 2012...

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/376608



Sarah Palin’s war on science

Slate
by Christopher Hitchens

10/27/08

In an election that has been fought on an astoundingly low cultural and intellectual level, with both candidates pretending that tax cuts can go like peaches and cream with the staggering new levels of federal deficit, and paltry charges being traded in petty ways, and with Joe the Plumber becoming the emblematic stupidity of the campaign, it didn’t seem possible that things could go any lower or get any dumber. But they did last Friday, when, at a speech in Pittsburgh, Gov. Sarah Palin denounced wasteful expenditure on fruit-fly research, adding for good xenophobic and anti-elitist measure that some of this research took place ‘in Paris, France’ and winding up with a folksy ‘I kid you not’...

http://www.slate.com/id/2203120/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Palin
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=federal+deficit
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Joe+the+Plumber
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ari+Berman
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Christopher+Hitchens

Boston Globe
by Jim Gomes

10/27/08

In this year’s presidential campaign, both candidates have attempted to position themselves as champions of change. However, neither John McCain nor Barack Obama has devoted much attention to the obvious and troubling ways that America has already changed. It wasn’t so long ago that America was in a class by itself. American industrial, military, and scientific strengths played a vital role in winning World War II. In the postwar period, the standard of living enjoyed by the average American family was beyond the imagination of most of the world. American cars, appliances, and electronics set the global standard. And when a challenge did arise, from the Soviet Union’s emergence as a nuclear power and its launch of Sputnik, America’s response was to increase investment in education, research, and development, and to pledge to put a man on the moon within a decade. That was then...

http://tinyurl.com/69wgzs



Against the great-man theory of the presidency

The American Prospect
by Ezra Klein

10/27/08

Forget the president. Not totally, of course. The president matters. But not as much as you think. Not as much as you’ve been led to believe. The centrality of the executive is something of a convenient fiction in American politics. Convenient for the media, which can tell the story of national affairs by following a single character. Convenient for the party that holds the White House, which can outsource the messy work of constructing an agenda to one actor. Convenient for the party that does not hold the White House, which can create an agenda out of simple opposition. And convenient for voters, who can understand politics through the actions of a discrete player and offload their dissatisfaction onto the failures of a hapless individual. But the ‘great man’ theory of the presidency is not convenient when it comes to actually creating change. Again and again, presidents disappoint...

http://tinyurl.com/5jz8z9


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ezra+Klein

Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland

10/27/08

In the battle for endorsements in the presidential campaign, Barack Obama snared a strong nod from former Secretary of State Colin Powell and John McCain received an equally strong recommendation from al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda? Yes, you heard right, al-Qaeda! This endorsement indicates what has long been known: al-Qaeda is fairly sophisticated politically. And this doesn’t mean McCain is the more accomplished candidate — in fact, apparently the group believes he is the more gullible of the two men. Quite bluntly, al-Qaeda says it wants McCain to win essentially because it thinks he is most likely to continue Bush’s macho ‘bull in the China shop’ war on terror. There has been a lot of bull in the China shop, and al-Qaeda wants to make sure it continues...

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2355


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=endorsement
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Powell
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ivan+Eland

Arizona Republic

10/27/08

The Army’s use of involuntary extensions of combat duty will likely continue through 2009 despite pledges earlier this year by top military officials to reduce reliance on the policy known as stop loss. In September, 12,204 soldiers were affected by stop loss, a policy that forces them to remain in the Army after their service commitment has expired. The same number likely will be affected each month through 2009, Army Lt. Col. Mike Moose said Thursday. Stop loss strains troops and their families, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged in May. But Gates and the Army say the policy is needed to maintain the cohesion of units heading to battle...

http://tinyurl.com/64zp7h


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=combat+duty
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=strain+troop

The Telegraph [UK]

10/27/08

Aides to George W.Bush, former Reagan White House staff and friends of John McCain have all told The Sunday Telegraph that they not only expect to lose on November 4, but also believe that Mr Obama is poised to win a crushing mandate. They believe he will be powerful enough to remake the American political landscape with even more ease than Ronald Reagan did in 1980. The prospect of an electoral rout has unleashed a bitter bout of recriminations both within the McCain campaign and the wider conservative movement, over who is to blame and what should be done to salvage the party’s future. Mr McCain is now facing calls for him to sacrifice his own dwindling White House hopes and focus on saving vulnerable Republican Senate seats which are up for grabs on the same day. Their fear is that Democrat candidates riding on Mr Obama’s popularity may win the nine extra seats they need in the Senate to give them unfettered power in Congress...

http://tinyurl.com/6c2xvq


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GOP
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Election+Day

Während die Aufregung um die Nacktscanner medienträchtig hohe Wellen schlägt, segelt im Windschatten die innereuropäische Fluggastdatenweitergabe vorbei...

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/29/29007/1.html



Durch Wände und Kleider sehen

Der jetzt heiß diskutierte "Nacktscanner" ist eine Technik, die von der Bundesregierung und der EU schon seit Jahren gefördert wird.

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/29/29010/1.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Fluggastdaten

Political Affairs: "John McCain's health care proposal would endanger women's access to health care coverage and would fail to fully cover women's health needs, a joint study by the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund revealed last week. According to the study, 59 million women and their families who depend on getting health care benefits through their jobs risk losing those benefits under McCain's plan."

http://www.truthout.org/102708WA



Investigating an Urgent Healthcare Problem

NOW on PBS: "By the year 2020, a nationwide shortage of up to one million trained nurses could mean that hundreds of thousands of patients will receive less attention and substandard treatment. Just as alarming, fewer nurses are choosing to teach the next generation of professionals, resulting in tens of thousands of applicants being turned away from the nation's nursing schools."

http://www.truthout.org/102708V



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=health+care
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=job+loss

Barb Kucera, Workday Minnesota: "Want to understand why so many American workers find it so hard to organize unions in their workplaces? Look no further than Wal-Mart, a researcher for Human Rights Watch says. Wal-Mart is a case study 'of the abysmal workers' rights regime we have here in the United States,' said Carol Pier, senior researcher on labor rights and trade for Human Rights Watch, an independent, nongovernmental organization that investigates human rights violations around the world."

http://www.truthout.org/102708LA



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Wal-Mart
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=trade+unions

Agence France-Presse: "The US government said Monday it would plow $125 billion into nine top banks under its huge bailout plan, but shares slid worldwide amid recession fears and despite a G7 pledge to take action."

http://www.truthout.org/102708U



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bailout
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=recession

http://www.taz.de/regional/berlin/aktuell/artikel/?dig=2008%2F10%2F28%2Fa0152&cHash=d1d2fc3839



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=RFID

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/phony_virginia_flier_tells_dem.php


Informant: Geraldo Cienmarcos



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=vote+fraud

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Dear Mayor, and City Council Members

The real injustice of the cell tower deal between Verizon and the Apostolic Church, on Harris and D. St., came to light to us while watching the city council meeting on public access television a couple weeks ago. I was aghast at the tepid response that most council members had toward residents' concerns and disappointed at their rush to approve this project. Even though we live a half a block from, and in plain view of, the 60 foot cell tower "to be", we were never notified by the city during the permitting process. Even more disheartening: it was our neighbor, who we are friendly with, who brokered the deal with Verizon behind our backs.

Something smells fishy in Eureka, and it's not from the high tide.

A glance at a cell tower locator map of Eureka on the Internet will reveal seven towers surrounding the city, most in commercial/industrial zones. This cell tower would be the first one in the center of town in a primarily residential neighborhood. I think this precedent is significant and warrants more attention than a few mailed notices to residents within a 300 foot radius of the proposed site. This past week, we walked around our neighborhood and talked to people about the project. Most people never received notice of the cell tower and were outraged that they were left out of the dialog.

What kind of city do we live in where hard working, tax paying citizens, are denied a real voice in decisions that will directly affect our lives?

Stop the permitting process.

This injustice must be undone now.

Posted by Henderson Center Neighbors at 7:49 PM

More information about this cell phone mast appeal can be seen at their web site - http://stopthecelltower.blogspot.com/2008/10/kindrick-ownby-truth-about-cell-towers.html


Informant: Martin Weatherall

Bush deploys combat troops in America.
http://list.lewrockwell.com/t/1159889/12759198/63143/0/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=dictatorship
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=ACLU
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Glenn+Greenwald

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul487.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ron+Paul
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/paul

http://www.lewrockwell.com/higgs/higgs93.html

On where the wealth went
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff235.html

Houdiniomics: The New Era of Government Magic
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig9/krieg1.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bailout
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/higgs
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/rozeff

http://list.lewrockwell.com/t/1159889/12759198/63134/0/

Are You a Threat to Liberty?
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blumert/blumert42.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Election+Day
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/rockwell
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/blumert

Louis Uchitelle, The New York Times: "As the financial crisis crimps demand for American goods and services, the workers who produce them are losing their jobs by the tens of thousands."

http://www.truthout.org/102708D



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=financial+crisis
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=job+loss
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Louis+Uchitelle

Dahr Jamail, Truthout: "Despite a collapsing economy and complicity in a system that is devouring the embers of a burning planet, the privileged carry on with their lives, 'unaware.' But everyone knows. Even the most ardent supporter of the powers that be is aware of what the government of the United States has done and is doing to Iraq, to the world, to the planet."

http://www.truthout.org/102708A



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=collapsing+economy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=burning+planet
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Dahr+Jamail

http://www.infowars.net/articles/october2008/271008Fluoride.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=fluoride

10 Milliarden Euro für Auslandseinsätze der Bundeswehr seit 1992

Deutschland hat für Auslandseinsätze der Bundeswehr in den vergangenen 15 Jahren mehr als 10,5 Milliarden Euro ausgegeben. In dieser Summe, die die Bundesregierung in einer Antwort auf eine parlamentarische Anfrage der Linksfraktion nennt, sind nach Angaben der Fraktion die anfallenden Betriebs- und Personalkosten nicht einmal enthalten. Zu der Summe müssten noch Betriebs- und Personalkosten hinzugerechnet werden. Der Außenexperte der Linksfraktion, Wolfgang Gehrcke, sah darin einen Beleg, dass in der deutschen Außenpolitik eine Verschiebung "zum Militärischen" hin vollziehe. "Die Bundeswehr ist zu einem Instrument deutscher Außenpolitik umgebaut worden", so Gehrke. "Die hohen Investitionen in die Rüstung, weltweit, in Europa und in Deutschland, haben zu den Haushalts- und Finanzkrisen erheblich beigetragen. Die US-Kriege in Afghanistan und im Irak belasten die Haushalte und spülen Milliarden in die Kassen der Rüstungskonzerne." Sie seien die Nutznießer dieser Kriege.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=18815



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Auslandseinsatz
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Finanzkrise
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=R%C3%BCstungskonzern

Kurz vor der Verhandlung vor dem Bundesverfassungsgericht über den Einsatz von Wahlcomputern ist die Technik umstritten: Während der Wahlprüfungsausschuss des Bundestages die Geräte für sicher hält, sieht der Verein "Mehr Demokratie" die Legitimität der Wahl als nicht gewährleistet an. Gerald Häfner, Vorstandssprecher von "Mehr Demokratie" bezweifelt die Einhaltung des Öffentlichkeits- und Geheimhaltungsprinzips sowie einen ausreichenden Schutz vor Manipulationen. Er betonte am Montag (27. Oktober) in Berlin, eine nachprüfbare Speicherung und Zählung der Stimmen sei unmöglich. Ferner könnten von den Wahlcomputern ausgestrahlte Radiofrequenzen abgefangen und Stimmen somit entschlüsselt werden. Die Überprüfung eines Mustergerätes durch die Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt gewährleiste zudem keine Übereinstimmung mit den tatsächlich eingesetzten Geräten.

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?H=N&Nr=18814

--------

Bundesverfassungsgericht beendet elektronisches Wahlroulette
http://www.ccc.de/press/releases/2009/20090303/

Das Bundesverfassungsgericht hat heute entschieden, daß der Einsatz von Wahlcomputern nicht verfassungsgemäß ist. Vielmehr müssen Wahlen in Deutschland von jedermann ohne Expertenwissen nachvollzogen werden können. Der Verfassungsgrundsatz der Öffentlichkeit der Wahl, den der Chaos Computer Club zum Kernpunkt seiner Kampagne gegen Wahlcomputer gemacht hatte, wurde vom BVerfG als wesentlich für die Durchführung demokratischer Wahlen definiert. Hingegen ist die Geschwindigkeit der Ergebnisermittlung keine Anforderung an eine Wahl. Damit sind die bisher in Deutschland verwendeten NEDAP-Wahlcomputer nur noch Elektroschrott.

In seiner heutigen Entscheidung zur Verfassungsmäßigkeit der Bundestagswahl im Jahre 2005 [1] haben die Karlsruher Richter klargestellt, dass nachvollziehbare und geheime Wahlen zum Kern unseres demokratischen Systems gehören. Dieser wird durch den Einsatz von Wahlcomputern ausgehöhlt. Es müsse auch "Menschen ohne technische Fachkenntnisse" möglich sein, die Wahl komplett nachzuvollziehen. Dazu dürfen Wählerstimmen zu keiner Zeit einzig und allein in elektronischen Speichern abgelegt sein.

Die bisher praktizierte und vom Bundesinnenministerium und der Physikalisch-Technischen Bundesanstalt propagierte Kultur des Expertentums, bei der sich die Wähler auf eine vorab festgelegte Vertrauenswürdigkeit der Computersysteme verlassen müssen, hat sich damit erledigt. Der demokratische Urakt darf nicht der unmittelbaren Kontrolle der Wählers entzogen werden.

"Wer jetzt noch mit dem digitalen Zeitgeist oder der angeblich besseren Effizienz elektronischer Wahlen argumentiert, hat nicht verstanden, was das Wesen von Demokratie ist und sollte nicht weiter mit wesentlichen Aspekten des Wahlvorgangs betraut werden", sagte Dirk Engling, Sprecher des Chaos Computer Club.

Zwar hat das BVerfG die Tür für elektronische Wahlen einen Spalt breit offengelassen, allerdings nur, wenn der Wähler jederzeit ohne Fachkenntnisse die Korrektheit der Stimmabgabe und -auszählung überprüfen kann. Diese Anforderungen an Wahlcomputer bedeuten jedoch defacto ein Verbot, da die ökonomischen Argumente für den Einsatz von Wahlcomputern hinfällig werden, sobald mindestens ein Wähler das Nachzählen der Papierstimmen verlangt.

Engling kommentierte die vom Bundesverfassungsgericht errichteten Hürden, "Wir sind gespannt, ob zukünftige Hersteller von Wahlcomputern in der Lage sind nachzuweisen, dass ihre Systeme den von den Richtern bestimmten Grundsätzen entsprechen. Der CCC wird sicher sehr genau hinschauen."

Gleichzeitig stärkte das Bundesverfassungsgericht den Grundsatz der geheimen Stimmabgabe, was die Einführung von Online-Wahlsystemen erheblich erschwert. Kernprobleme etwa von Internet-Wahlsystemen sind – neben der mangelnden Öffentlichkeit – möglicher Stimmenkauf oder die Abgabe einer Stimme von jemand anderem als dem Computerbesitzer.

Den Kommunen, die trotz umfangreicher öffentlicher Debatten über die Wahlcomputer, auf die Werbeversprechen von 20-jähriger Verwendbarkeit des Herstellers NEDAP hereingefallen sind, bleibt nun nur noch die Schadensbegrenzung. "Um nicht zum Endlager für Wahlcomputerschrott zu werden, empfiehlt der CCC den betrogenen Kommunen, sofort Ansprüche gegen die Hersteller der offensichtlich minderwertigen Systeme geltend zu machen.", so Engling weiter, "Später würden diese höchstens noch als unhandliche Schachcomputer zu gebrauchen sein."

[1] http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/entscheidungen/cs20090303_2bvc000307.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Wahlcomputer

Eine treffende Glosse aus den Manufactum-Hausnachrichten, die das für 2012 drohende Glühbirnenverbot als das entlarvt, was es ist: Ein geschickter Schachzug der Großindustrie. Jetzt unter http://www.buergerwelle-schweiz.org/Strom_im_Haushalt.505.0.html#5868


Peter Schlegel



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Energiesparlampe

by James Galbraith on Bill Moyer's Journal: Video and transcript

This is the big one. I have been working on financial crises since the New York City rescue in 1975. And this is, by far and away, the biggest threat to the system as a whole that we've seen in my lifetime and I think the biggest threat since the late 1920s.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/10242008/watch2.html



US public pension funds face big losses

California's Calpers, the US's biggest pension fund, last week reported a loss of 20 per cent of its assets, or more than $40bn, between July 1 and October 20 this year.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/29c8e0c8-a3a0-11dd-942c-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1



Banks pull squeeze play on credit cards

Companies cracking down, even on those with good credit, leaving customers to face interest rate leaps, lower credit limits and even canceled cards.

http://www.startribune.com/business/33237284.html?elr=KArksUUUU



This Is What Denial Does

The financial crisis for which we must now pay so heavily prefigures the real collapse, when humanity bumps against its ecological limits.

http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2008/10/14/this-is-what-denial-does/


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=financial+crisis
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=pension+funds
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=James+Galbraith
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=George+Monbiot

The manipulation and intimidation that African-Americans must face in order to cast a vote will only get worse this year.

http://tinyurl.com/6h9haz


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=elections+2008
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=African+American
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gary+Younge

Former generals and U.S. Justice Department officials filed briefs Thursday urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Bush administration's authority to indefinitely detain the only suspected enemy combatant held on U.S. soil.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gZEpzY9h9nC5_bSUnGp_wuaB7b3AD940H3B00


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=indefinitely+detain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=enemy+combatant
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Supreme+Court

By Dr. Judith H. Young

In adding my voice to the widespread speculation about the spate of warnings of coming crises, I again proffer the hypothesis of a staged terrorist attack as an imminent October surprise going into the final weekend of the current campaign.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21102.htm

--------

October Surprise? Don't be too surprised…
http://list.lewrockwell.com/t/1159889/12759198/63140/0/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=October+Surprise
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=terrorist+attack
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Judith+H.+Young
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/justin

By Richard C. Cook

Those with eyes to see knew the present crisis was coming long ago. That vision now has spread to more people. What is increasingly clear is that positive change, as opposed to the change that is just a drift to disaster, will only happen when people who love freedom demand it, work for it, and sacrifice for it. Will the next president of the United States facilitate such change or stand in its way?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21101.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=elections+2008
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Richard+C.+Cook

Interview with Anthony Teolis, Veterans For Peace

By Mike Whitney

Our leaders are using their power to invoke fear. They are operating secret prisons and torturing people. They are deploying paramilitary forces that not answerable to congress and spying on the American people. Our representative form of government has become corrupt, ineffective and unresponsive to its citizens.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21099.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Veterans+For+Peace
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=secret+prison
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=spying
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=corrupt
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Mike+Whitney

By Press TV

Based on those provisions, the US would be granted the permission to build military bases, camps and prisons inside Iraq. The scope of the immunity from legal prosecution for the US forces--the most controversial provision of SOFA-- would also be extended to include all US security, military and civilian firms as well as the US army's contractors.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21097.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=security+deal
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=military+bases
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=immunity+prosecution
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=contractor

FairVote
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2008/10/27



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=elections+2008

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/27-6

Tenuous Agreement on Maintaining US Troops in Iraq
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/27-12



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=security+deal
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Phyllis+Bennis

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/27-8



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Mike+Farrell

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/27-3



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=elections+2008
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Norman+Solomon

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/10/27-0

--------

Sen. Ted Stevens Found Guilty in Corruption Case

Matt Apuzzo and Jesse J. Holland, The Associated Press: "Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that tainted the 40-year Senate career of Alaska's political patriarch. The verdict, coming just days before Election Day, adds further uncertainty to a closely watched Senate race. Democrats hope to seize the once reliably Republican seat as part of their bid for a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate."

http://www.truthout.org/102708R



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ted+Stevens
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=corruption
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Election+Day
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rupert+Cornwell
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Matt+Apuzzo

Nick Turse, TomDispatch.com: "Wars, bases, and money. The three are inextricably tied together. If the United States had never wasted the better part of a trillion dollars fighting a war in Vietnam and, following defeat there, embarked on a scheme to saddle the Soviets with a similarly ignominious loss - which has now led to wars with a multi-trillion dollar price tag - the United States might not be in such dire financial straits today. And yet, despite the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the US continues to sink money into costly wars fought from expensive bases overseas with no end in sight. The result is sheer waste in every sense of the word."

http://www.truthout.org/102708M



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bailout
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Great+Depression
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bases+overseas
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Nick+Turse

Jeff Zeleny, The New York Times: "With the final week of campaigning ahead, Senator Barack Obama redoubled his efforts to tie Senator John McCain to the Bush administration by seizing on Mr. McCain’s remark Sunday that he shared a 'common philosophy' with the president. 'I guess that was John McCain finally giving us a little straight talk, and owning up to the fact that he and George Bush actually have a whole lot in common,' Mr. Obama said at a rally here. 'Here’s the thing, we know what the Bush-McCain philosophy looks like. It’s a philosophy that says we should give more and more to millionaires and billionaires and hope that it trickles down on everyone else.'"

http://www.truthout.org/102708L



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=billionaire
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jeff+Zeleny

Roy Gutman and Leila Fadel, McClatchy Newspapers: "The US military has warned Iraq that it will shut down military operations and other vital services throughout the country on Jan. 1 if the Iraqi government doesn't agree to a new agreement on the status of US forces or a renewed United Nations mandate for the American mission in Iraq. Many Iraqi politicians view the move as akin to political blackmail, a top Iraqi official told McClatchy Sunday."

http://www.truthout.org/102708K



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=security+deal
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Leila+Fadel

http://www.meta-info.de/?site=metainfo&lid=32802



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rettungspaket

The Price of Liberty
by David Heleniak

10/27/08

Our political system is a farce. This year, we have running for president a warmonger who’s a reluctant socialist versus a socialist who’s a reluctant warmonger. We have two parties that claim they’re different, but when the Establishment, the Complex, our shadowy overlords, whatever you want to call them, really want something, they get it. When the Establishment wanted the Bailout in the face of almost universal grassroots opposition, they got it. When the Complex wanted immunity to the telecoms who knowingly spied on Americans, they got it. When our shadowy overlords wanted stormtroopers to brutally stifle protesters during the party conventions, they got it. But even if voters had a real choice, and even if the politicians followed the majority will on issues that matter, the system would still, most likely, be a farce...

http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/08/10/27/heleniak.htm



How I plan to vote

The Libertarian Enterprise
by L. Neil Smith

10/26/08

I am tired of being a political orphan in a country that was supposed to be all about liberty. … In the short run, however, there is only one thing to do, and I intend to do it — and encourage everybody within the sound of my cybernetic voice to do it, too. Cast a blank. I have no use for those who fastidiously disdain to protect themselves or their loved ones, either with weapons or by voting defensively. I tried that path for a while, myself, and it leads directly to where we are now, a broken subject people, nearly in chains. Cast a blank. That’s a technical term for something every professional politico detests. You never hear about it on the news, and you probably never will, but it’s the best way that exists to send a message to the establishment...

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2008/tle490-20081026-02.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=warmonger
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bailout
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=telecoms
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=elections+2008
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=L.+Neil+Smith

Ethics in panic

Tibor's Space
by Tibor R. Machan

10/25/08

[T]he current economic fiasco has shaken some people’s confidence in the soundness of the free society. To me that’s akin to being shaken in one’s conviction in an honest and loving marriage because, well, they are rare. Free markets do not produce the mess that we are witnessing. Free market champions have forecast this mess for over a century, making the point that the more we permit government to attempt to direct the economy, the more we are inviting catastrophe, just as this has happened elsewhere...

http://tibikem.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!B2FD693F4B9A5746!475.entry



The exit from fascism is open

from Reason to Freedom
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

10/24/08

When you lose your illusions you see yourself and your own actions clearly. We need to see our present circumstances as they are and not as we want them to be. We have an opportunity to take back our country but that window of opportunity will close rapidly. We need to return to the form of government experienced by our Founders. We need to stop talking about freedom and set tasks that return control of government to the people at the most local level and change our economy from one that has us hemorrhaging jobs and money to one that keeps money local. Each of these goals takes us to freedom; not just words but the reality. And despite appearances to the contrary, the establishment of a real freedom has never been more possible...

http://www.reasontofreedom.com/blog/melinda/exit_fascism_open.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Founders
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=fascism
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Tibor+R.+Machan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Melinda+Pillsbury-Foster

CounterPunch
by Ron Jacobs

10/26/08

I should be used to it by now, but I’m not. When I read statements from US policymakers telling the world that Iraq is still not capable of defending itself without US help, I am still angered and amazed at the bold-faced arrogance. Most recently, several US political leaders and generals have told the Iraqi and American people that only they know when it is time for US troops to leave Iraq. Furthermore, while Iraqis from virtually every segment of that nation’s political sphere demand changes in the US-imposed agreement to keep US forces there, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice vocalizes Washington’s response: we decide what we want to do in Iraq and we decide how long we will stay, so take it or leave it. If you leave it, then we will find another way to stay, and if we do, we will make your lives more miserable than we already have...

http://counterpunch.org/jacobs10242008.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=security+deal
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Condoleeza+Rice
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ron+Jacobs

Liberty & Power
by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel

10/25/08

Many believed that Ben Bernanke had begun pumping up the money supply as early as the end of last year in response to the financial situation. But in fact, the Fed did not actually open the monetary spigots until a little over a month ago. Up until then, Bernanke effectively sterilized all his monetary injections, either by directly trading Treasuries from the Fed’s portfolio for riskier financial securities, or by indirectly loaning to financial institutions with money recouped by selling Fed-held Treasuries on the open market. Either way, there was no major impact on the monetary base. As a result, the annual rate of growth of the monetary base remained in the neighborhood of 2 percent through August 2008, whereas total bank reserves remained virtually constant...

http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/56095.html



The velocity of worthless money

Asia Times
by Richard Daughty

10/25/08

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke refusing to discuss the size of a proposed fiscal stimulus in the form of the government again sending out money to taxpayers, which he had just recommended that the US Congress do! He thinks it is a good idea to send out the money, and such a thing would have a whopping huge impact on his whole economic theory encompassing the standard economic theory of idiotic neo-Keynesian, econometric, deficit-spending crapola and outright socialism...

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/JJ25Dj01.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Bernanke
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Federal+Reserve
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=stimulus
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=taxpayer
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Keynesian
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Richard+Daughty

In These Times
by David Sirota

10/24/08

Is John McCain stupid, or does he believe we are? That’s the question as he criticizes Barack Obama for allegedly trying to ‘redistribute the wealth’ with a plan to lower taxes on the middle class and raise them on the super-rich. Of course, the Democrat’s proposal would merely slow down (not fully halt) the less-talked-about redistribution whereby Washington sends middle-class money up the income ladder. Either McCain doesn’t know about this kleptocracy and is the dumbest presidential candidate in history, or he thinks America is too ignorant to recognize theft. Which is it?

http://tinyurl.com/6aq47o



What are they thinking?

Fox News
by Ellen Ratner

10/24/08

Whoever is making decisions for the McCain-Palin campaign should think about another profession. The mistakes just keep piling on. This week was highlighted by the Palin wardrobe costs. No one disputes that a candidate has to look good and professional but you can ‘dress for success’ at about one fifteenth of what the Republican National Committee spent. Then instead of hitting hard on the economy the McCain-Palin campaign continues to beat the Bill Ayers drum. Today, the campaign put out a press release on Obama’s ACORN connections. … Do they really think they can move the undecided voter with negative attacks? Do they believe that the independent voter is going to come to the McCain-Palin ticket in this economic climate?

http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/10/24/eratner_1024/



Camp followers

Human Events
by Pat Buchanan

10/24/08

Perhaps the only institution in America whose approval rating is beneath that of Congress is the media. Both have won their reputations the hard way. They earned them. Consider the fawning indulgence shown insider Joe Biden with the dripping contempt visited on outsider Sarah Palin. … Contrasting McCain with his hero, Joe [Biden] declared a few weeks back, ‘When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and … said, ‘Look, here’s what happened.” Nice historical reference. Except when the market crashed in 1929, Hoover was president, and there was no television. Can one imagine what the press would have done to Sarah Palin had she exhibited such ignorance of history. Or Dan Quayle? Joe gets a pass because everybody likes Joe. Fine. But Joe also has a record of 36 years in the Senate...

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=29179&s=rcmp



Government is already an income-transfer machine

Future of Freedom Foundation
by Sheldon Richman

10/24/08

Isn’t it a little late for John McCain and the Republicans to start worrying about government redistribution of wealth? McCain claims to be alarmed by Barack Obama’s tax plan, which would tax upper-income people in order to provide tax cuts to lower- and middle-income people, many of whom don’t pay income taxes. McCain and running-mate Sarah Palin call this socialism. But the criticism is odd considering all the redistribution McCain has proposed in his presidential campaign and has supported during his long career...

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0810n.asp


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Palin
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=RNC
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=ACORN
http://www.google.de/search?q=Bill+Ayers
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=middle+class
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=redistribution
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=kleptocracy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=David+Sirota
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Pat+Buchanan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sheldon+Richman

Neue Gefahr für Finanzmärkte könnte von Hedge-Fonds drohen, Ökonom vermutet, dass die Börsen geschlossen werden müssen.

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/29/29004/1.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Hedge+Fond
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Finanzmarkt

ACTION ALERT
PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!

FORESTS ALERT! Join Local Peoples in Resisting Paraguay's Devastation by Genetically Modified Soya Monocultures

By Ecological Internet's Forests.org, http://forests.org/ Partnering with Salva la Selva, http://www.salvalaselva.org/
October 26, 2008

TAKE ACTION
http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=paraguay_soya

Deforestation, eviction, drought and murder are too high of price to pay for toxic soybeans.

In Paraguay, genetically modified (GM) soya plantations, planted in vast toxic monocultures, are the main cause of deforestation, destruction and pollution of other ecosystems, and violence and eviction of small farmers and indigenous peoples. Paraguay has nearly 2.6 million hectares of soy plantations for animal feed exports and, more recently, for agrofuel. The remnants of Paraguay's Atlantic Forest and of the Alto Parana forest, as well as wetlands, grasslands and rivers are being destroyed and polluted by the expansion of immense soya fields. Deforestation is worsening global warming and also causing severe regional warming and droughts.

Local peoples are resisting ecocide bravely, and against long odds, and need our support. Please write to the authorities in Paraguay and urge them to fully support small farmers and their demands for protection from pesticide spraying, unlawful evictions, environmental destruction and pollution; while supporting their demands for food sovereignty and land reform.

TAKE ACTION NOW: http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=paraguay_soya

DISCUSS THIS ALERT: http://forests.org/blog/2008/10/alert-paraguays-devastation-by.asp

LIST NOTE: Together we have recently achieved victories against FSC's greenwashing, Congo's rainforest logging and Cambodia's river dams. When you do not participate, we are weakened. After protesting Paraguay's toxic soya below, PLEASE respond to subsequent alerts as well -- including calling upon governments to maintain climate policies in rough economic times. Please respond to alerts whenever you can -- regular participation is vital to continued success. And the Earth needs us NOW.

g.b.



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=deforestation
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=soybeans
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Glen+Barry

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/457.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bailout
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Wall+Street

http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/859598.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=electronic+warfare

http://groups.google.de/group/freepage-news/t/e04ff7ae6cb2573a?hl=en



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=purg
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=vote+suppression
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=electronic+voting
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=elections+2008
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Kathy+Dopp

http://list.lewrockwell.com/t/1158567/12759198/63006/0/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Fisk

http://www.lewrockwell.com/gregory/gregory167.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=George+W.+Bush
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/gregory

http://www.lewrockwell.com/shaffer/shaffer184.html

How to Bankrupt a Nation
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff234.html

The Fed and Financial Madness: Crossing the Rubicon (Again)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson231.html

Have We Been Stampeded into the Panic of 2008?
http://www.lewrockwell.com/tofte/tofte16.html

Imperial Diplomacy
http://www.lewrockwell.com/pilger/pilger70.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bankrupt
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Federal+Reserve
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=imperial
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/shaffer
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/rozeff
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/anderson
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com/pilger

http://list.lewrockwell.com/t/1158567/12759198/62998/0/



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=economic+crisis
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Ron+Paul