Canadian Content - US-American Politics

Canadian Content - US-American Politics http://forums.canadiancontent.net en Sun, 18 May 2008 15:23:21 GMT vBulletin 60 http://forums.canadiancontent.net/images/styles/cancon/misc/rss.jpg Canadian Content - US-American Politics http://forums.canadiancontent.net BUSH on Lebanon/ Middle East - interview http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73694 Tue, 13 May 2008 02:06:20 GMT Here is an article as well as a video of an interview with Mr. Bush on his Middle East solution.
Don't miss it!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7397400.stm ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73694 Blackwater..... http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73577 Thu, 08 May 2008 03:02:31 GMT Blackwater
by Jeremy Scahill (2007)

Review on back:
"Blackwater is the utterly gripping and explosive story of how the Bush administration has spent hundreds of millions of public dollars building a parallel corporate army, an army so loyal to far right causes it constitutes nothing less than a Republican guard. The most important and chilling book about the death throes of US democracy you will read in years and a triumph of investigative reporting." Naomi Klein, author of No Logo.

"This engrossing investigative piece exposing, in shocking detail, a U.S. government-outsourced Frankenstein replete with helicopter gunships may leave you incredulous. But you better believe it, for it poses a grave and gathering danger to the future of our Republic." Ray McGovern, CIA veteran and former intelligence briefer for George H.W. Bush.
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Watch these videos!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqM4tKPDlR8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAibI5ahMGs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOrh3...eature=related (part II)
]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73577 Obama wins NC close in Indy http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73548 Wed, 07 May 2008 03:54:13 GMT The Bomb is a step closer to being the nominee tonight. But as one political commentator said tonight, "one thing about the Clinton's, they don't let a little thing like losing get in the way of becoming President". I hope she decides to back off pretty soon.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/...nge/index.html ]]> US-American Politics Kreskin http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73548 Disproportionate Campaign Coverage http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73490 Mon, 05 May 2008 03:43:28 GMT So, the democrats are running their primaries and plastering their candidates all over the news. They're tearing one another down, and pulling out all the nastiness from their closets. I called it cannibalism and wondered if they were going to kill themselves, but tonight I had an epiphany.

Once these 'primaries' are over, the democratic candidate has already had months more coverage and campaigning than McCain has really gotten. The mud has been slung and they've done the hurling, so they knew where it would splatter. When it comes time for the actual election, all they have to do is rip on McCain a tiny bit, and ride on all the work they've already done.

Has this uneven primaries coverage set the democrats up with an unfair amount of coverage? ]]> US-American Politics karrie http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73490 Iraq: The ugliness of a senseless war! http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73456 Sat, 03 May 2008 19:51:31 GMT * Children Hurt and Hospital Is Hit in Baghdad Clashes* BAGHDAD — The ugly daily fight for ground in the poor Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City... Children Hurt and Hospital Is Hit in Baghdad Clashes

BAGHDAD — The ugly daily fight for ground in the poor Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City unfolded Saturday at a small mosque next door to a hospital, damaging the hospital and many of its ambulances, and near a group of children who were injured by the violence as they gathered tin cans to sell for salvage.

The first hit, close to the Sadr General Hospital, was American. After a night of clashes in the neighborhood, the Americans fired at least three “precision-guided munitions” at a small building next door to the hospital that neighbors said was used as a place of prayer for hospital employees, pilgrims and neighborhood residents.

Twenty-eight people were wounded in the attack near the hospital, said Abdul Hussain Qassim, a hospital official.
The circumstances of the other strike are in dispute. The Americans said claims that they had attacked the children were “preposterous.” And the area where the hit occurred is near heavily contested ground. Shiite militias trying to hit nearby Iraqi Army and American forces have sometimes misfired, hitting areas near there in recent fighting.

But both instances underline sad truths about urban warfare. The daily horror for families and children living near the front line area of Sadr City is that who is a friend and who a foe is no longer a meaningful question. The militias use rocket propelled grenades, sniper rifles and mounted machine guns as well as AK-47 rifles while the Americans are shooting Hellfire missiles, tank rounds, and satellite-guided missiles as well as rounds from machine guns. Iraqi Army soldiers are also on the scene.
Iraqi ambulances have been used to ferry weapons, and homes are used as safe houses for militia fighters. Men in the vests of municipal road workers sometimes toil at burying improvised explosive devices while Iraqi and American forces have holed up in schools and Education Ministry buildings. Sometimes it feels as if nothing is what it seems.
In the strike near the hospital, the sign at the iron gate at the entrance to the building demolished by the American strike reads “Imam Hussein’s Resthouse.”
The Americans described the building in a statement as “a “criminal element command and control center.”
“Intelligence reports indicate the command and control center was used by criminal elements to plan and coordinate attacks against Iraqi security and coalition forces and innocent Iraqi citizens,” the statement said.
Col. Gerald O’Hara, a spokesman for the multinational forces, underscored that the Americans “take great care to prevent any collateral damage and will continue to do so.”
“We don’t target civilians and regret any casualties,” he added.

full story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/wo...hp&oref=slogin
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I guess there is enough blame to go around for everyone! How horrible it must be for the poor Iraqis to live in that danger zone day and night, with no other place to go to.
And here a reminder...

http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/
---------------------------------------------------------- ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73456 Condi tells Arabs to help Palestinians. http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73424 Fri, 02 May 2008 06:01:57 GMT * US rebuke over Palestinian funds * ... US rebuke over Palestinian funds

Ms Rice was careful not to pinpoint individual Arab states for criticism

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has implied Arab states could do more to help the Palestinians.
Without singling out specific Arab states for criticism, Ms Rice said they should focus on how much they can do - not how little - for the Palestinians.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7379066.stm
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She is absolutely right! Those oil-rich Gulf States should help their brothers and sisters.
I know they already have millions of refugees to take care of, but that is peanuts!
Why do the Palestinians need help anyway? Don't they have enough land to feed themselves? And Israel already provides them with free electricity!! What's the problem, I wonder? ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73424 Guantanamo Prisoner released http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73423 Fri, 02 May 2008 05:47:59 GMT * Freed Guantanamo prisoner is home* *A cameraman from the al-Jazeera television station, freed from US detention in Guantanamo Bay, has... Freed Guantanamo prisoner is home

A cameraman from the al-Jazeera television station, freed from US detention in Guantanamo Bay, has arrived home in Sudan.
Sami al-Hajj had been in US custody for more than six years. He was detained in Afghanistan in 2001.
He arrived in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on a US military plane in the early hours of Friday morning.
After a 16-month hunger strike Mr Hajj grimaced as he was carried off the plane by US military personnel.
Al-Jazeera showed footage of him being carried into the hospital on a stretcher, looking frail but smiling and surrounded by well-wishers.
No charges
"We are concerned about the way the Americans dealt with Sami, and we are concerned about the way they could deal with others as well," said Wadah Khanfar, managing director of al-Jazeera's Arabic service.
There was no immediate US comment.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7378828.stm
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If he hasn't gone insane, he should tell the world about his treatment. ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73423 Generous Mr. Bush donates to Foodbank. http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73421 Fri, 02 May 2008 05:31:05 GMT * Bush offers $770m for food crisis * ... Bush offers $770m for food crisis

Mr Bush said more still needed to be done to fight the world's food crisis

George W Bush has offered $770m (£390m) in international food aid to help ease the effects of surging food prices that have sparked riots in some countries.
The US president said he was asking Congress to approve his request.
The White House has come under intense pressure to step in as high food and petrol prices have squeezed poor families both at home and abroad.
The global crisis has sparked rioting in several developing countries, with the threat of worse to come.
"We're sending a clear message to the world that America will lead the fight against hunger for years to come," said Mr Bush.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7378807.stm
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That's nice!! That should make quite difference already. Now the Eu and Russia and China should step up to the plate. Oh, and Israel, too! ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73421 Similarities: Somali - Gaza http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73411 Thu, 01 May 2008 21:42:02 GMT * Air raid kills Somali militants * ... Air raid kills Somali militants

The leader of the military wing of an Islamist insurgent organisation in Somalia has been killed in an overnight air strike.
Aden Hashi Ayro, al-Shabab's military commander, died when his home in the central town of Dusamareb was bombed.
Ten other people, including a senior militant, are also reported dead.

Read on: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7376760.st
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What have these people done to America?
Is it already Christians against Muslims? Under the pretense of fighting the Nazis, oops, pardon me... I meant Terrorists?

So, our known enemies at the moment are the Nazis (neo-), then the Communists, and now the American-defined Terrorists! Anyone else I forgot? The Loons could be next!!!:lol:

I guess the Americans handed themselves a carte blanche (unrestricted power to act at one's own discretion; unconditional authority) to hunt and destroy anybody THEY define as a Terrorist. And the world at large accepts it as perfectly o.k.:roll: ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73411 Are the Democrats about done yet? http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73402 Thu, 01 May 2008 18:06:30 GMT If I were living in the states, I may have been planning on voting Democrat. That is, until watching them cannibalize one another in their... If I were living in the states, I may have been planning on voting Democrat. That is, until watching them cannibalize one another in their presidential primaries. What a ridiculous display, and they haven't even made it to the actual elections yet. I don't understand this. How does party cannibalism garner them any support when it comes time to actually decide who runs the country? McCain can essentially sit back and watch and smile as they devour one another and leave him with nothing but a ravaged corpse to run against. Handy. ]]> US-American Politics karrie http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73402 US could totally obliterate Iran.... http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73379 Thu, 01 May 2008 05:43:27 GMT 'Provocative' Clinton angers Iran

Tehran has complained to the UN about remarks made last week by Hillary Clinton on the circumstances under which the US might attack Iran.
The Democratic presidential hopeful said last week the US could "totally obliterate" Iran if it attacked Israel.
Tehran, which insists its nuclear programme is solely for power generation, denounced her words as "provocative and irresponsible".
It said the remarks were "a flagrant violation" of the UN Charter.
.......... Tehran is facing tougher UN sanctions for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment.
The US fears Iran is trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and could use them against Israel.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is solely for power generation.

Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7376741.stm
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Let me get this straight!!: IF Iran attacks Israel, then the United States will "obliterate" Iran in return!!
Result: Two countries would be obliterated.... Israel by Iran - Iran by US! ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73379 Treasury considers new ways for Fed to use powers http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73346 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:35:22 GMT *Treasury considers new ways for Fed to use powers *By Gillian Tett in London and Krishna Guha in Washington Published: April 29 2008 23:23 | Last... Treasury considers new ways for Fed to use powers

By Gillian Tett in London and Krishna Guha in Washington

Published: April 29 2008 23:23 | Last updated: April 29 2008 23:23

The Federal Reserve could use proposed new regulatory powers to try to stop credit and asset market excesses from reaching the point where they threaten economic stability, the US Treasury said on Tuesday.

David Nason, assistant secretary for financial institutions, said the Fed could even use its proposed “macro-prudential” authority to order banks, hedge funds and other entities to curtail strategies that put financial stability at risk.

By “leaning against the wind” in this way, the US central bank could “attempt to prevent broad economic dislocations caused by potential excesses”, he said.

His comments come amid debate inside the Fed as to whether it should try to do more to contain asset price bubbles, following the housing and dotcom busts. Some see enhanced regulatory powers as a better tool for this than interest rates.

The proposed new powers – outlined in a Treasury blueprint published last month – require legislation and may never be authorised. But policymakers see the plan as offering a template for future regulation.

The blueprint envisages giving the Fed roving authority to collect, analyse and publish market data from a wide range of institutions, from banks to hedge funds.

“The market stability regulator must have access to detailed information about all types of financial institutions,” said Mr Nason.

Hedge funds are uneasy about this proposal. However, many European central bankers are eager to acquire the kind of macro-prudential powers the Treasury would like to give to the Fed.

Meanwhile, data showed accelerating US house price declines and further declines in consumer confidence.

Source

So what I'm wondering and perhaps someone here knows, have the Chinese already started "advising" Washington on its finances? It sure sounds like it. I'm sure this wouldn't be very public but the Chinese do technically, as the largest investor in the USA, have the right to start making demands. This move seems like a very Chinese solution and a move away from corporatism. ]]> US-American Politics Scott Free http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73346 US has a piracy list http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73304 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:20:28 GMT U.S. puts China, Russia and 7 other countries on piracy watch list WASHINGTON - The United States is accusing China, Russia and seven other... U.S. puts China, Russia and 7 other countries on piracy watch list

WASHINGTON - The United States is accusing China, Russia and seven other countries of failing to protect American producers of movies, computer software and other copyrighted material from widespread piracy.
The administration Friday placed the nine countries on a "priority watch list" that will subject them to extra scrutiny and could eventually lead to economic sanctions - if the administration decides to pursue complaints before the World Trade Organization.
In addition to China and Russia, the other seven countries targeted were Argentina, Chile, India, Israel, Pakistan, Thailand and Venezuela.
http://technology.sympatico.msn.ca/U...=abc&date=True
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I'm surprised they name Israel!!!
Nice of them not to mention Canada!!! Well, I guess we are little goody two-shoes!!:-? ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73304 Prisoners re-enter society http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73299 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:31:17 GMT Hi everyone, I think that every person has his right to live in a society no matter even if he was a prisoner in his early life. Most of the... Hi everyone, I think that every person has his right to live in a society no matter even if he was a prisoner in his early life. Most of the prisoners are racial or ethnic minorities and have difficulty in re-entering the society as they are faced with poverty and this leads to crime for which they are re-arrested are convicted and re-incarcerated and this adds a burden on the government in respect of tax-payers. What are your views on this? ]]> US-American Politics onika http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73299 The neoconning of a nation http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73288 Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:03:03 GMT **Vice-President, shilling troupe of retired generals, deliver fantastic tales for their cause** *By ERIC MARGOLIS... Vice-President, shilling troupe of retired generals, deliver fantastic tales for their cause

By ERIC MARGOLIS

PARIS -- U.S. intelligence released a dramatic video last Thursday, supposedly taken by an Israeli spy, that purportedly showed North Korean technicians helping build a nuclear reactor in Syria.
The reactor was destroyed seven months ago by Israeli warplanes.
Until now Israel and the U.S. have remained silent about the attack. Syria claimed a warehouse was hit, but curiously said nothing more about what was an act of war. Washington offered no proof the reactor, if it was one, would have produced weapons rather than electric power. U.S. and Israeli intelligence have long stated Syria had no nuclear weapons capabilities.
Vice-President Dick Cheney and fellow neocons forced the CIA to release the James Bondish video in an effort to sabotage an impending six-nation agreement to end North Korea's nuclear program. They bitterly oppose the deal for being too soft on Pyongyang. Neocons long have worried the possibility of North Korea selling nuclear technology to Arab states posed a potential threat to Israel.
This mysterious imbroglio also is being used by Israel's rightwing Likud Party, a close ally of U.S. neocons, to attack political rival Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his Kadima Party.

BACK-CHANNEL TALKS

Olmert has been involved in Turkish-brokered, back-channel peace talks with Syria for years. Likud and its U.S. allies are determined to sabotage any deal with Damascus that would return the Golan Heights, which Israel conquered in the 1967 war, to Syria. The Likudniks also sought to derail efforts by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter to encourage the Israeli-Syrian talks, and get Israel and the militant Palestinian movement, Hamas, to talk.
Under the purported deal, Israel would return the Golan Heights in exchange for Damascus' agreement to sever its close links with Iran, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and Hamas. Syria also would grant Israel important water rights. The fate of up to 250,000 Syrian inhabitants driven from Golan remains uncertain.
Israel, backed by the Bush administration, certainly has been using the carrot of a return of Golan to entice Syria away from Iran. But there is also a big stick: Ever-stronger threats of a U.S.-Israeli attack on Syria. Israel's September attack on Syria was a clear warning.
Cheney and fellow militarists are pushing hard for attacks on Syria, Lebanon and Iran before President George W. Bush leaves office. Neocons have flocked to Sen. John McCain's banner -- in spite of Hillary Clinton's vow to "obliterate" Iran if it attacked Israel with nuclear weapons. They believe U.S. attacks on Arab states and/or Iran would prove decisive in winning the presidency for McCain this November. A U.S. attack on Syria could well be the first step of a broader air war against Lebanon and Iran.

SYRIAN REACTOR

Meanwhile, Cheney and allies in Congress and the media are also using the Syrian reactor hubbub to undermine efforts by the U.S. state department, a primary hate object for neocons, to implement the nuclear weapons freeze with North Korea. State department boss Condoleezza Rice has run for cover, leaving her chief negotiator with North Korea to twist in the wind.
As the latest furor builds over the nefarious North Korean, we should remember that this scare story comes from the same Washington fib factory that manufactured all the alarms and "evidence" about Saddam Hussein's non-existent weapons of mass destruction and links to al-Qaida.
North Koreans are pretty scary, but their nuclear capabilities and the threat they supposedly pose have been exaggerated. South Korea and European intelligence agencies, for example, are cautious about Washington's claims about North Korea and Syria.
The New York Times revealed last week what this column has long said: The Pentagon has duped Americans and Canadians by organizing a bunch of retired U.S. generals -- mislabelled "independent military experts" -- to shill for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Watch these rent-a-generals again prostitute themselves on TV by promoting the administration's party line about the great Syrian nuclear menace.

http://www.torontosun.com/News/Colum...401676-sun.php ]]> US-American Politics Avro http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73288 Why The US Has Gone Broke http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73280 Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:56:56 GMT * The Pentagon Strangles Our Economy: * *... The Pentagon Strangles Our Economy:

Why the U.S. Has Gone Broke

By Chalmers Johnson
26/04/08 " Le Monde " -- The military adventurers in the Bush administration have much in common with the corporate leaders of the defunct energy company Enron. Both groups thought that they were the "smartest guys in the room" -- the title of Alex Gibney's prize-winning film on what went wrong at Enron. The neoconservatives in the White House and the Pentagon outsmarted themselves. They failed even to address the problem of how to finance their schemes of imperialist wars and global domination.
As a result, going into 2008, the United States finds itself in the anomalous position of being unable to pay for its own elevated living standards or its wasteful, overly large military establishment. Its government no longer even attempts to reduce the ruinous expenses of maintaining huge standing armies, replacing the equipment that seven years of wars have destroyed or worn out, or preparing for a war in outer space against unknown adversaries. Instead, the Bush administration puts off these costs for future generations to pay or repudiate. This fiscal irresponsibility has been disguised through many manipulative financial schemes (causing poorer countries to lend us unprecedented sums of money), but the time of reckoning is fast approaching.
There are three broad aspects to the U.S. debt crisis. First, in the current fiscal year (2008) we are spending insane amounts of money on "defense" projects that bear no relation to the national security of the U.S. We are also keeping the income tax burdens on the richest segment of the population at strikingly low levels.
Second, we continue to believe that we can compensate for the accelerating erosion of our base and our loss of jobs to foreign countries through massive military expenditures -- "military Keynesianism" (which I discuss in detail in my book Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic). By that, I mean the mistaken belief that public policies focused on frequent wars, huge expenditures on weapons and munitions, and large standing armies can indefinitely sustain a wealthy capitalist economy. The opposite is actually true.
Third, in our devotion to militarism (despite our limited resources), we are failing to invest in our social infrastructure and other requirements for the long-term health of the U.S. These are what economists call opportunity costs, things not done because we spent our money on something else. Our public education system has deteriorated alarmingly. We have failed to provide health care to all our citizens and neglected our responsibilities as the world's number one polluter. Most important, we have lost our competitiveness as a manufacturer for civilian needs, an infinitely more efficient use of scarce resources than arms manufacturing.
Fiscal disaster
It is virtually impossible to overstate the profligacy of what our government spends on the military. The Department of Defense's planned expenditures for the fiscal year 2008 are larger than all other nations' military budgets combined. The supplementary budget to pay for the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, not part of the official defense budget, is itself larger than the combined military budgets of Russia and China. Defense-related spending for fiscal 2008 will exceed $1 trillion for the first time in history. The U.S. has become the largest single seller of arms and munitions to other nations on Earth. Leaving out President Bush's two on-going wars, defense spending has doubled since the mid-1990s. The defense budget for fiscal 2008 is the largest since the second world war.
Before we try to break down and analyze this gargantuan sum, there is one important caveat. Figures on defense spending are notoriously unreliable. The numbers released by the Congressional Reference Service and the Congressional Budget Office do not agree with each other. Robert Higgs, senior fellow for political economy at the Independent Institute, says: "A well-founded rule of thumb is to take the Pentagon's (always well publicized) basic budget total and double it." Even a cursory reading of newspaper articles about the Department of Defense will turn up major differences in statistics about its expenses. Some 30-40% of the defense budget is 'black,'" meaning that these sections contain hidden expenditures for classified projects. There is no possible way to know what they include or whether their total amounts are accurate.
There are many reasons for this budgetary sleight-of-hand -- including a desire for secrecy on the part of the president, the secretary of defense, and the military-industrial complex -- but the chief one is that members of Congress, who profit enormously from defense jobs and pork-barrel projects in their districts, have a political interest in supporting the Department of Defense. In 1996, in an attempt to bring accounting standards within the executive branch closer to those of the civilian economy, Congress passed the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act. It required all federal agencies to hire outside auditors to review their books and release the results to the public. Neither the Department of Defense, nor the Department of Homeland Security, has ever complied. Congress has complained, but not penalized either department for ignoring the law. All numbers released by the Pentagon should be regarded as suspect.
In discussing the fiscal 2008 defense budget, as released on 7 February 2007, I have been guided by two experienced and reliable analysts: William D Hartung of the New America Foundation's Arms and Security Initiative and Fred Kaplan, defense correspondent for Slate.org. They agree that the Department of Defense requested $481.4bn for salaries, operations (except in Iraq and Afghanistan), and equipment. They also agree on a figure of $141.7bn for the "supplemental" budget to fight the global war on terrorism -- that is, the two on-going wars that the general public may think are actually covered by the basic Pentagon budget. The Department of Defense also asked for an extra $93.4bn to pay for hitherto unmentioned war costs in the remainder of 2007 and, most creatively, an additional "allowance" (a new term in defense budget documents) of $50bn to be charged to fiscal year 2009. This makes a total spending request by the Department of Defense of $766.5bn.
But there is much more. In an attempt to disguise the true size of the U.S. military empire, the government has long hidden major military-related expenditures in departments other than Defense. For example, $23.4bn for the Department of Energy goes towards developing and maintaining nuclear warheads; and $25.3bn in the Department of State budget is spent on foreign military assistance (primarily for Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Republic, Egypt and Pakistan). Another $1.03bn outside the official Department of Defense budget is now needed for recruitment and re-enlistment incentives for the overstretched U.S. military, up from a mere $174m in 2003, when the war in Iraq began. The Department of Veterans Affairs currently gets at least $75.7bn, 50% of it for the long-term care of the most seriously injured among the 28,870 soldiers so far wounded in Iraq and 1,708 in Afghanistan. The amount is universally derided as inadequate. Another $46.4bn goes to the Department of Homeland Security.
Missing from this compilation is $1.9bn to the Department of Justice for the paramilitary activities of the FBI; $38.5bn to the Department of the Treasury for the Military Retirement Fund; $7.6bn for the military-related activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and well over $200bn in interest for past debt-financed defense outlays. This brings U.S. spending for its military establishment during the current fiscal year, conservatively calculated, to at least $1.1 trillion.
Military Keynesianism
Such expenditures are not only morally obscene, they are fiscally unsustainable. Many neo-conservatives and poorly informed patriotic Americans believe that, even though our defense budget is huge, we can afford it because we are the richest country on Earth. That statement is no longer true. The world's richest political entity, according to the CIA's World Factbook, is the European Union. The E.U.'s 2006 GDP was estimated to be slightly larger than that of the U.S. Moreover, China's 2006 GDP was only slightly smaller than that of the U.S., and Japan was the world's fourth richest nation.
A more telling comparison that reveals just how much worse we're doing can be found among the current accounts of various nations. The current account measures the net trade surplus or deficit of a country plus cross-border payments of interest, royalties, dividends, capital gains, foreign aid, and other income. In order for Japan to manufacture anything, it must import all required raw materials. Even after this incredible expense is met, it still has an $88bn per year trade surplus with the U.S. and enjoys the world's second highest current account balance (China is number one). The U.S. is number 163 -- last on the list, worse than countries such as Australia and the U.K. that also have large trade deficits. Its 2006 current account deficit was $811.5bn; second worst was Spain at $106.4bn. This is unsustainable.
It's not just that our tastes for foreign goods, including imported oil, vastly exceed our ability to pay for them. We are financing them through massive borrowing. On 7 November 2007, the U.S. Treasury announced that the national debt had breached $9 trillion for the first time. This was just five weeks after Congress raised the "debt ceiling" to $9.815 trillion. If you begin in 1789, at the moment the constitution became the supreme law of the land, the debt accumulated by the federal government did not top $1 trillion until 1981. When George Bush became president in January 2001, it stood at approximately $5.7 trillion. Since then, it has increased by 45%. This huge debt can be largely explained by our defense expenditures. ]]> US-American Politics darkbeaver http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73280 PBS breaks ‘media blackout’ of NYT story on Pentagon propaganda. http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73261 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:49:23 GMT *PBS breaks ‘media blackout’ of NYT story on Pentagon propaganda.... PBS breaks ‘media blackout’ of NYT story on Pentagon propaganda.

On Sunday, The New York Times published an explosive report exposing the Pentagon’s secret campaign to use analysts in order to “generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance.” Since that time, TV news organizations have largely been silent on their role in the propaganda. Ari Melber notes that last night, PBS’s Newshour finally broke this blackout, but couldn’t convince the other networks to participate:

JUDY WOODRUFF: And for the record, we invited Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and NBC to participate, but they declined our offer or did not respond.

Watch PBS’s segment here:

hmmmm, who knew.... duh! :roll: ]]> US-American Politics Scott Free http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73261 Guantanamo http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73260 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 13:38:22 GMT * Detainees’ Mental Health Is Latest Legal Battle* Please, read the full article. I will not quote any section, except this one statement from an... Detainees’ Mental Health Is Latest Legal Battle

Please, read the full article. I will not quote any section, except this one statement from an American military woman:

Quote:

Speaking generally, Commander Storum said, detainees are enemy combatants held safely. “We are holding the right people,” she added, “in the right place, for the right reasons, and doing it the right way.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/wa...TDOy3pJwLFsP7w
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I have often wondered how these fellow human beings are holding up, how they keep themselves from going insane.
The Americans have lost their humanity!!! ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73260 U.S. Weighing Readiness for Military Action Against Iran http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73256 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 07:14:32 GMT

Quote:

The nation's top military officer said yesterday that the Pentagon is planning for "potential military courses of action" as one of several options against Iran, criticizing what he called the Tehran government's "increasingly lethal and malign influence" in Iraq.

Washington Post

The US has been banging this drum on and off over the last 2 years. ]]> US-American Politics dj03 http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73256 Breaking News: US ship fires at Iranian boats. http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73246 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:03:57 GMT * US vessel fires at Iranian boats* *A ship contracted by the US Navy has fired warning shots in the direction of two small... US vessel fires at Iranian boats

A ship contracted by the US Navy has fired warning shots in the direction of two small Iranian boats, according to US military officials.
The incident took place in the Gulf, in international waters several miles from the Iranian coast.
The vessel - the Westward Venture - was working for the US Military Sealift Command under a 65-day charter, an official told the BBC.
It was carrying military cargo to the northern Gulf region.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7367675.stm
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In international waters? What is going on? ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73246 Clinton Outduels Obama in Primary http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73163 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:44:46 GMT Clinton outduels Obama in Pennsylvania Mrs. Clinton’s margin in Pennsylvania was probably not sufficient to alter the basic dynamics of the race,... Clinton outduels Obama in Pennsylvania

Mrs. Clinton’s margin in Pennsylvania was probably not sufficient to alter the basic dynamics of the race, but it made clear that the contest will continue.

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s win over Barack Obama in the primary gives her a boost as she struggles to raise money.

http://www.nytimes.com/
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Senator Barack Obama opened the next phase of his presidential campaign here Tuesday evening, seeking to turn his focus away from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and persuade party leaders that time is running out for Democrats to start defining their Republican opponent.

“There is a sense of urgency about the time we’re losing and a sense of urgency that we not savage each other to the benefit of Senator McCain,” said David Axelrod, the chief strategist for Mr. Obama. “Ultimately, what this is about is the race in November.”

“If Senator Clinton thinks she has a legitimate chance to win the nomination, she has every reason to stay,” Mr. Axelrod said aboard the campaign plane here Tuesday evening. “But if her only strategy is to try and tear down Senator Obama, I think that’s going to make a lot of Democrats uncomfortable.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/us...hp&oref=slogin
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I feel a little sad that Obama lost in Pennsylvania. That is quite a setback for him. ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73163 CIA:Al-qaeda is a total and complete fabrication http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73148 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:34:36 GMT Here is a documentary, that will show the credibility of those who support this war on terror, like I think Not, toro, extremists like colpy, zarchov... Here is a documentary, that will show the credibility of those who support this war on terror, like I think Not, toro, extremists like colpy, zarchov and so on.........It is time to face the truth, once and for all.

http://www.ronpaulwarroom.com/?p=7947

Quote:

BBC’s killer documentary called “The Power of Nightmares“. Top CIA officials openly admit, Al-qaeda is a total and complete fabrication, never having existed at any time. The Bush administration needed a reason that complied with the Laws so they could go after “the bad guy of their choice” namely laws that had been set in place to protect us from mobs and “criminal organizations” such as the Mafia. They paid Jamal al Fadl, hundred’s of thousands of dollars to back the U.S. Governments story of Al-qaeda a “group” or criminal organization they could “legally” go after. This video documentary is off the hook…

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?doc...arch&plindex=0 ]]> US-American Politics Logic 7 http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73148 <![CDATA[Pentegon's hands behind analysts!!!!]]> http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73108 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:04:40 GMT Hi, folks;
this is a very long and detailed account on how the so called "military analysts" are hired by the Bush administration to give their opinions and assessments on issues to do with the war. It is well worth reading the entire article, if you want to know what is really gong on.

I will give you a short paragraph as an example to entice you to keep reading:

Quote:

As conditions in Iraq deteriorated, Mr. Allard recalled, he saw a yawning gap between what analysts were told in private briefings and what subsequent inquiries and books later revealed.
“Night and day,” Mr. Allard said, “I felt we’d been hosed.”

The Pentagon defended its relationship with military analysts, saying they had been given only factual information about the war. “The intent and purpose of this is nothing other than an earnest attempt to inform the American people,” Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said.

And here two selected readers' comments:

Quote:

There is really no bottom to the duplicity of the Bush Administration. If there were justice he would go straight from the White House to a prison cell.— Dianne Jackson, Birmingham, AL
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This campaign of disinformation is very disheartening. Our only hope for a democracy to work is based upon shared access to real and truthful information. The Bush administration has been consistent in its desire to shape the "truth" to support its agenda. I can only hope that Americans can see how dangerous this is to our country and will remove the Republican control of our country in the next election.— Ron Mann, Ph.D., Pacific Palisades

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/wa...hp&oref=slogin ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73108 <![CDATA[We don't have prisoners here!!!]]> http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73094 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:41:28 GMT ‘We don't have prisoners here’

Guides will only let journalists so far behind the wire — and one detention camp remains completely secret.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...rnational/home
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The Americans are now showing certain facilities, to prove what? How wonderful the non-inmates have it, being allowed to pray and read the Koran?

Omar Khadr is still behind the wire!!! He is a prisoner, and so are all the others!

The camp is still a violation against basic human rights!

Why have they copies of the Geneva Convention rules posted, when they clearly violated those rules? Isn't that a mockery? Perhaps I don't understand? ]]> US-American Politics dancing-loon http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73094 Heroes or Dupes http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73084 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:44:06 GMT http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance140.html http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance140.html ]]> US-American Politics JBeee http://forums.canadiancontent.net/showthread.php?t=73084