MONEY AS DEBT

One of the last things John F. Kennedy did before he was assassinated was declare his intention to reform the central banking system of the United States.

No connection between these two events?

Congressman Louis McFadden, Chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee from 1927-33, opposed the Federal Reserve System. There were three reported attempts on his life before he finally died of "heart failure."

Here's what he said about the Federal Reserve from the floor of Congress:

"Mr. Chairman, we have in this Country one of the most

corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Banks, hereinafter called the Fed.

The Fed has cheated the Government of these United States and the people of the United States out of enough money to pay the Nation's debt. The depredations and iniquities of the Fed has cost enough money to pay the National debt several times over.

This evil institution has impoverished and ruined the people of these United States, has bankrupted itself, and has practically bankrupted our Government. It has done this through the defects of the law under which it operates, through the mal-administration of that law by the Fed and through the corrupt practices of the moneyed vultures who control it."

PENTAGON RULES OUT FALLON TESTIMONY

Fallon's abrupt announcement March 11 that he was resigning, effective March 31, as chief of U.S. Central Command overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan triggered accusations by Democrats in Congress that he was being forced out for publicly opposing launching a war against Iran.

In declaring that Fallon would not join Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker as witnesses before Congress next month, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said the decision had nothing to do with Fallon's views on Iran or the reasons for his unexpected resignation and retirement.

MCCAIN 'BREAKS OFFICIAL SPENDING CAP'

Republican presumptive nominee John McCain has ignored official campaign expenditure limits and has overspent millions in the primary.

CANADA AND ISRAEL SIGN DECLARATION TO COOPERATE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

â€œThe Declaration of Intent is an opportunity for Canada and Israel to strengthen their commitment to safeguarding their citizens and respective national interests from common threats,â€ said Minister Dicter.

THE ROLE OF THE CIA: BEHIND THE DALAI LAMA'S HOLY CLOAK

The government set up in exile in India and, at least until the 1970s, received $US1.7 million a year from the CIA.

The money was to pay for guerilla operations against the Chinese, notwithstanding the Dalai Lama's public stance in support of non-violence, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

SUNDAY: 4 US SOLDIERS, 91 IRAQIS KILLED; 152 WOUNDED

With the loss of four soldiers in Baghdad today, the U.S. death tally now stands at 4000 American military deaths. At least 91 Iraqis were also killed and 152 more were wounded during the latest round of violence.

BUSH'S ALTERNATE REALITY

President Bush on Wednesday said something demonstrably false and inflammatory about Iran -- asserting that the Iranian government has "declared they want to have a nuclear weapon to destroy people."

The Iranians have never done any such thing -- and for Bush to say so at a time of great tension between the two countries is bizarre at best.

SOLDIER FOUND HIMSELF FIGHTING ARMY

Butler and 22 other members of an Army Reserve unit refused to go on a fuel transport mission in Iraq carrying nine 5,000-gallon tanks of fuel in vehicles with only cloth tops. Their actions set off an international stir about the equipment U.S. military personnel had to use.

VET SUICIDE ATTEMPTS STILL ON RISE

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports suicide attempts among combat veterans who are treated by the VA are on the increase.

U.S. DEATHS IN IRAQ WAR REACH 4,000; GREEN ZONE IS SHELLED

BAGHDAD, March 24 -- A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers on patrol in southern Baghdad late Sunday, the military said in a statement Monday, taking the overall U.S. death toll in the five-year Iraq war to at least 4,000. Earlier, mortar and rocket attacks pounded the Green Zone, the heavily fortified U.S.-Iraqi military and government complex, on a day when more than 60 people were killed in violence across the country.

NORFOLK AIRMAN, 34, KILLED BY BOMB IN AFGHANISTAN

A 34-year-old airman from Norfolk was killed Saturday after his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, according to a statement yesterday by the Defense Department.

BHUTTO LOYALIST ELECTED AS PAKISTAN PM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A longtime loyalist of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was elected Pakistan's new prime minister Monday and vowed to seek the release of judges detained under President Pervez Musharraf.

MOTHER FIGHTS ARMY OVER SON'S DEATH

WAUSAU, Wis. -- Joan McDonald believes her son was a casualty of the war in Iraq, but the Army says that while he did suffer a severe head wound in a bomb blast, the cause of his death is undetermined, keeping him off the casualty list.

THE PENTAGON’S PAIN COMPLIANCE AND MIND CONTROL WEAPONS

The U.S. Defense department has tested some spooky weapons, but those involving mind control and telepathic attack may be near the top of the list. A newly declassified 1998 document released under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (download the pdf here), describes potential weapons for crowd control, such as a microwave gun that could beam words directly into people’s ears, and an electromagnetic pulse that causes epilepsy-like seizures.

A CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION

Those of us who oppose the war, who believe that all U.S. troops should be withdrawn and the network of permanent bases in Iraq dismantled, have only two options in the coming presidential elections—Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney.

SAMI AL-ARIAN'S LONG ORDEAL

Because of his faith, ethnicity and political activism, the Bush administration targeted Al-Arian for supporting "terrorism." In fact, he's a Palestinian refugee, distinguished professor and scholar, community leader and civil activist.

Nonetheless, the FBI harassed him for 11 years, arrested him on February 20, 2003, and falsely accused him of backing organizations fronting for Palestinian Islamic Jihad - a 1997 State Department-designated "Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)."

CITIZENSHIP OR DEATH

Over 20,000 soldiers currently serving in the United States army are not United States citizens. For 109 of those soldiers, their path to citizenship cost them their lives.

FOUR ARRESTED ASKING REP. DELAHUNT TO STOP FUNDING OCCUPATION OF IRAQ

Sarah Thacher, Paul Rifkin, Mike Tork, Mike Risch, and Diane Turco then attempted to negotiate with Rep. Delahunt on the position to not vote for funding to extend the war. With the help of his staff member, Michael Higgins, they negotiated with Chief of Staff, Mark Forest, until 9:30 PM. Not receiving a direct response to the petition, they stayed the night in the congressional office, sleeping on the floor. The next morning, conversations were engaged directly with Rep. Delahunt. He was unable to make a commitment. The group remained to bear witness to peace and respectfully asked for his reconsideration. At 3:30, another call came in from Rep. Delahunt. Hopeful that he had reconsidered his position, the call was actually to ask them to leave. Rep. Delahunt suggested to the peace advocates, “In the best American tradition, why don’t you take your protest out on the street?” Their response was “In the best American tradition, we will bear witness to peace right here in this office. The funding for the war needs to end now and we call upon you to vote not to extend war funding”. Police were called in and the four were arrested.

THE IRAQI CIVIL WAR BUSH AND THE MEDIA DON'T TELL YOU ABOUT

While the majority of Iraqis know that the current Sunni-Shiites tension did not exist before 2003, no one can deny that after five years of U.S. occupation, sectarian tension is now a reality. Sectarianism is another disaster that was brought to Iraq by the war and occupation of Iraq.

The U.S.-led invasion did not only destroy the Baath political regime, it also annihilated the entire public sector including education, health care, food rations, social security, and the armed forces. The Iraqi public sector was a great example of how millions of Iraqis: Arabs and Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites, Muslims and Christians, religious and secular, all worked together in running the country. The myth that the former Iraqi government was a "Sunni-led dictatorship" was created by the U.S. government.

MAY DAY: A CALL TO ACTION

May Day, the First of May, 2008, is a Thursday. According to the Bush Administration it is Loyalty Day. Are you feeling loyal?

THE COST OF WAR IN PLAIN ENGLISH

There are studies that estimate the long-term costs as being anywhere from one to six trillion dollars, and the general consensus now – even among the most optimistic Bush Believers – is that the least we will end up spending in Iraq will be more than one trillion dollars. That's if we start pulling troops out tomorrow. Already, not counting such expenses as continued healthcare for wounded veterans, replacing worn-out equipment, or the increase in oil prices from $30 per barrel in 2003 to $120 per barrel in 2008, the actual appropriations for the Iraq war are currently more than $513 billion.

IRAQ, $5,000 PER SECOND

The lies, deceit and stupidity aside, the political horror of George W Bush's war in Iraq is that in following GOP ideology, he put the cost of the blood and money upon the least of us while he cut taxes for the wealthy and unearned income crowd who have sacrificed absolutely nothing. No President or political party in American history was ever been so bold.

TELECOM LOBBYISTS TIED TO MCCAIN

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has condemned the influence of "special interest lobbyists," yet dozens of lobbyists have political and financial ties to his presidential campaign — particularly from telecommunications companies, an industry he helps oversee in the Senate.

GAS PRICES HIT RECORD $3.26, DIESEL AT $4.06

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The average price of a gallon of gas in the United States has risen to a record $3.26, and the cost of diesel fuel has soared to a record $4.06 a gallon, adding to pressure on consumers and the companies that deliver their goods.

THE MARCH 20, 2008 US DECLARATION OF WAR ON IRAN

March 20, 2008, destined to be another day of infamy. On this date the US officially declared war on Iran. But it's not going to be the kind of war many have been expecting.

No, there was no dramatic televised announcement by President George W. Bush from the White House oval office. In fact on this day, reports the Washington Post, Bush spent some time communicating directly with Iranians, telling them via Radio Farda (the US-financed broadcaster that transmits to Iran in Farsi, Iran's native language) that their government has "declared they want to have a nuclear weapon to destroy people." But not to worry, he told his listeners in Farsi-translated Bushspeak: Tehran would not get the bomb because the US would be "firm."

GOD DAMN AMERICA ESPECIALLY PENNSYLVANIA

One was missing a pick-up in the driveway; its screen door was left half-open, and there was a letter taped to the window. The Sheriff’s Notice of eviction. Another foreclosure.

God damn America.

I know that’s what Obama’s spiritual guide would say.

WATCH OUT, YOU'RE BEING WATCHED

"That's the type of technology we have that's going on in the background. You don't see it. If I hadn't told you about it, you'd never know it was there."

About all I can say is: Wow. Wow that the government now has the ability to detect radiation in a cat inside a car going by at 70 miles per hour. And wow at this world we live in, where we feel compelled to sniff, at random, inside the traffic coming out of Bellingham.

What else is the government watching?

PBS' 'FRONTLINE' EXAMINES, EXPLAINS 'BUSH'S WAR'

Last month, an essay in The New York Times asked the question: Is PBS still necessary?

The newspaper reaped a whirlwind of angry and eloquent responses in the affirmative, but nothing shows the necessity and continuing cultural importance of PBS like the two-part Frontline documentary titled Bush's War that starts tonight.

IS THERE A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WHO HAS ANY CLUE ABOUT BORDER SECURITY OR ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION?

S. CAROLINA COPS MOW DOWN SUSPECTS WITH CRUISERS

79% OF AMERICANS BELIEVE WE'RE HEADED FOR DEPRESSION LASTING SEVERAL YEARS

WASHINGTON — More than three in four Americans think the country is in a recession, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll over the weekend shows, reflecting a crisis of confidence that economists say could make the economy worse.

CURIOUS CASE OF THE DEAD SCIENTIST AND THE BOMB EXPERIMENT

There has been no inquest into his death, as the coroner has been waiting for the MoD to disclose information about the incident. An attempt to prosecute the scientist's manager for manslaughter ended when prosecutors said they were withdrawing the charge, but said the case was too "sensitive" to explain that decision in open court.

ONE YEAR LATER, MARKET WHERE MCCAIN STROLLED ‘FREELY’ IS CONTROLLED BY SADR, TOO UNSAFE FOR AMERICANS TO VISIT

On April 1, 2007, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) strolled through the open-air Shorja market in Baghdad in an effort to prove that Americans are “not getting the full picture” of what’s going on in Iraq. In a press conference after his Baghdad tour, McCain told a reporter that his visit to the market was proof that people could “walk freely” in parts of Baghdad.

What McCain failed to mention was that he was accompanied by “100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead.” He also appeared to be wearing a bulletproof vest during his visit.

Since that trip, McCain has claimed that the situation in Iraq has improved even more. A few months ago, McCain claimed that “we’ve succeeded militarily” in Iraq. Things, of course, are going so well, that he wants to keep U.S. troops there for at least 100 years.

BUSH WILL SELL NAMING RIGHTS TO IRAQ WAR

President Bush commemorated the 5th anniversary of the Iraq War, by winning the Only Person Who Still Thinks The Iraq War Was A Good Idea award. He shared the award with Dick Cheney and John McCain.

McCain visited Iraq, and said that although things were going very well now, one hundred years from now, our troops in Iraq will be doing even better. McCain said that Iran should stop helping Al Qaeda in Iraq, and then after Joe Lieberman whispered in his ear, McCain corrected himself and said what he meant to say was that he and Lieberman were war mongers.

THE PRIVATE SECTOR’S TRAMPING IN IRAQ

As the nonpareil war profiteer in Iraq, Blackwater Worldwide keeps outdoing its own mercenary record. Ranking Blackwater executives have used inside influence as administration fund-raisers to multiply their no-bid war contracts a thousandfold to more than $1 billion. Armed Blackwater guards redefined Ugly American for the Iraqi people last September in fatally shooting 17 civilians with impunity in a burst of “spray and pray” panic on the streets of Baghdad.

MILITIAS AND DEATH SQUADS: THE OCCUPATION STRATEGY TO DIVIDE IRAQ

Whether their name is sectarian militias, paramilitary groups, death squads, mercenaries, criminal gangs, rogue elements in the new Iraqi security forces (no matter what they are called or how different they are), it is said they are controlling Iraq now and turning it into a no-man's land. It is said that the American occupation authorities, and their Iraqi agents in the government are helplessly incapable of controlling them. That they are ever stronger, better functioning, and more organized , and that they are consolidating their control over the north and the south of Iraq, making its division a de facto truth.

BEAR STEARNS AND THE DOMINO EFFECT

The following video is from PBS’s Jim Lehrer News Hour, broadcast on March 21, 2008

AMERICAS 14,000MPH SECRET TRANSIT SYSTEM

Government whistleblowers and retired military personnel have publicly stated that during their employment they observed that our government has a massive network of tunnels, with super velocity trains, linking secret underground bases. (Thomas Castello, the former Dulce Base security officer, reported to an associate that Dulce had a tube-shuttle station linked to several other secret underground bases.)

FUEL SUPPLIES FOR US TROOPS HIT

Some 40 road tankers supplying fuel to American troops in Afghanistan have been destroyed by suspected pro-Taleban militants on the border with Pakistan.

EARTH TO CHENEY: YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM, DUDE

Vice President Dick Cheney has announced that he thinks Hamas and Syria are trying to "torpedo" the peace talks between Israel and Palestine.

Stunning news, to be sure -- in the sense that the Veep has only just figured this out.

SCOOP: LULLING AMERICANS INTO FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY

Along with 196 other votes against the bill, Rep. Ron Paul weighed in on HR 3773 by saying, “This bill will allow the federal government to engage in the bulk collection of American citizens’ communications. In effect, it means that any American may have his electronic communications monitored without a search warrant. As such, the bill clearly violates the Fourth Amendment.” Rep. Paul went on to point out that of the 50,000 National Security Letters issued around 30,000 were issued, NOT for suspected terrorists, but for Americans. He later added, “When we come to accept that the government can spy on us without a court order, we have come to accept tyranny.

THE POWER OF WE THE PEOPLE

Amazing video! Do not miss! -- ZDN

JUNE 8-AUGUST 10, 2006: FBI SHOWS BRIEF INTEREST IN CATCHING BCCI FIGURE LINKED TO BIN LADEN

The FBI and Italian paramilitary police raid a luxury yacht owned by Saudi multimillionaire Ghaith Pharaon, but do not find him. Since 1991, there has been an international arrest warrant for Pharaon due to his prominent role in the criminal BCCI bank. Shortly after 9/11, a French intelligence report linked him to Osama bin Laden (see October 10, 2001). Pharaon’s yacht was raided off the coast of Sicily. The yacht was not seized. Despite being wanted for 15 years, Pharaon has managed to continue to run a large business empire.

AUGUST 1991: WANTED BCCI FIGURES PROTECTED IN PAKISTAN AND UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

In the wake of the July 1991 shutdown of the criminal BCCI bank (see July 5, 1991), the Pakistani government indicates that it is willing to shelter BCCI figures wanted in other countries.

JULY 11, 1991: ARREST REVEALS LINKS BETWEEN PAKISTANI GOVERNMENT, A. Q. KHAN NETWORK, AND BCCI

On July 11, 1991, retired Pakistani Brigadier General Inam ul-Haq is arrested by German authorities in Frankfurt. His arrest sheds light on the links between the criminal BCCI bank, the Pakistani government, and the A. Q. Khan nuclear network. In 1987, US intelligence attempted to arrest ul-Haq in the US for buying nuclear components there meant for Pakistan’s nuclear program, but some US officials tipped off the Pakistani government about the sting and only a low-level associate of ul-Haq’s was caught (see Before July 1987).

1984-1986: CIA REVEALS BCCI’S DRUG AND TERRORIST LINKS TO OTHER US AGENCIES, BUT NO ACTION TAKEN

The CIA sends a report on the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) and its drug-related activities to other US government departments. It follows up with a report about BCCI’s links to notorious terrorists such as Abu Nidal, the most wanted man in the world at the time. Similar reports follow in 1986. However, the Justice Department, Treasury Department, and other departments keep silent about what they know and no action is taken against the bank.

JULY 14, 2006: KRISTOL CALLS FOR US STRIKE AGAINST IRAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES

William Kristol, the publisher and chief commentator for the neoconservative Weekly Standard, calls for a “military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.” He reasons: “Why wait? Does anyone think a nuclear Iran can be contained? That the current regime will negotiate in good faith? It would be easier to act sooner rather than later. Yes, there would be repercussions—and they would be healthy ones, showing a strong America that has rejected further appeasement.”

JANUARY 15, 1969: DEFENSE DEPARTMENT PRODUCES CLASSIFIED STUDY PROVING DECADES OF DECEPTION SURROUNDING VIETNAM

The study conclusively shows that each US administration, from Harry S. Truman through Lyndon B. Johnson, had knowingly and systematically deceived the American people over the US’s involvement and interventions in the region. Historian John Prados will later observe that the study, later dubbed the “Pentagon Papers” after it is leaked by RAND analyst and task force member Daniel Ellsberg (see September 29, 1969 and March 1971), represents “a body of authoritative information, of inside government deliberations that demonstrated, beyond questioning, the criticisms that antiwar activists had been making for years, not only were not wrong, but in fact, were not materially different from things that had been argued inside the US government.”

EARLY OCTOBER 2002: BUSH RECEIVES INTELLIGENCE MEMO NOTING DISSENTS ABOUT IRAQI ALUMINUM TUBES

Both the Energy Department (DOE) and the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) believe the tubes are “intended for conventional weapons,” contradicting the view of other intelligence agencies, including the CIA and DIA. The public will not be told of Bush’s personal knowledge of the DOE and INR dissents until March 2006. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and other senior officials will try to explain the administration’s stance on Iraq’s nuclear program by asserting that neither Bush, Vice President Cheney, nor Rice ever saw the dissents. For months, Bush, Cheney, Rice, Secretary of State Colin Powell (see February 5, 2003), and others will cite the tubes as indisputable proof of an Iraqi nuclear program. US inspectors will discover, after the fall of the Iraqi regime, that the nuclear program had been dormant for over ten years, and the aluminum tubes used only for artillery shells.