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Dramatic Increase in Israeli Settlement Construction
by Stephen Lendman
Peace Now compiled disturbing evidence. More on it below. It calls itself "the leading voice of Israeli public pressure for peace."
It wants Israel's occupation ended. It has over 10,000 global members.
Settlement Watch is one of its important initiatives. It reports on ongoing construction. Doing so undermines peace. It prevents peaceful conflict resolution.
It denies Palestinian self-determination. It hardens ruthless occupation. Maintaining it violates international law.
Iranian Nuclear Talks: Hold the Cheers
by Stephen Lendman
Old time US radio hero Lamont Cranston (aka the Shadow) used to ask "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows."
Perhaps he had US policymakers in mind. Duplicity defines their agenda.
For nearly 35 years, Iran has wrongfully been vilified. It remains America's main Middle East bete noire. Just concluded nuclear talks changed nothing. More on that below.
Following two days of talks in Geneva, P5+1 countries and Iran called them positive. A joint statement said the following: "Delegations of the E3+3 (Britain, France and Germany + America, China and Russia) and the Islamic Republic of Iran held two days of substantive and forward looking negotiations (on) 15 and 16 October 2013.
Obama Zombies are Alinsky Fanatics
by: BATR
The wackos that believe that Barack Hussein Obama is a political rock star are blind to reality. It would be one thing if eccentric characteristics shaped such opinions of social outcasts, but when entire segments of the MTV population speak in a PBS lisp, the liberal popular culture has drunk the kool aid. The zombie rage in flicks is no accident. Converting entire generations of lost souls into National Civilian Service Corps NSA informants is an effortless task, when government schooled illiterates adore Barry Soetoro. Turning a constitutional republic into a collectivist gulag is only possible, when the greater fool principle becomes the law of the land. By objective standards, Obama is a dismal failure as leader of the free world and defender of the underprivileged. The African-American community voice Tavis Smiley states: 'Black People Will Have Lost Ground in Every Single Economic Indicator' Under Obama. "The data is going to indicate sadly that when the Obama administration is over, black people will have lost ground in every single leading economic indicator category."
Appalling Human Rights Abuses in Bahrain
by Stephen Lendman
Since February 2011, Bahrainis challenged state terror policies heroically. Brutal crackdowns followed. They continue.
They include mass arrests, imprisonments, torture, kangaroo court trials, and overall ruthlessness.
Bahrain's ruling Al Khalifa monarchy is a close US ally. Washington provides material support. It's one of the world's most despotic regimes. Ruthlessness defines its policies. More on that below.
According to the State Department's 2012 human rights report,
serious human rights abuses persist.
They include "citizens inability to change their government peacefully; arrest and detention of protesters on vague charges, in some cases leading to their torture in detention; and lack of due process in trials of political and human rights activists, medical personnel, teachers, and students, with some resulting in harsh sentences."
China Calls for De-Americanizing
by Stephen Lendman
It's an idea whose time has come. On October 13, China's official press agency Xinhua headlined "Commentary: US fiscal failure warrants a de-Americanized world." More on this below.
Thomas Jefferson once warned:
"If the American people allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation, and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers occupied."
New Iranian Nuclear Talks
by Stephen Lendman
On October 15, new P5 + 1 talks began. Five permanent Security Council members plus Germany are meeting in Geneva with Iran.
Previous rounds failed. Will this time be different? Israel wants no letup in sanctions. It wants lots more besides. More on that below.
AIPAC lobbies intensively for whatever Israel wants. It exerts enormous influence in Washington.
An October 14, State Department briefing said the following:
"We are encouraged that President Rouhani has received a mandate from the Iranian people to pursue a more moderate course."
"We are also encouraged that President Rouhani recently reiterated that Iran will never develop a nuclear weapon."
Obama "believes we should test those assertions, which is part of what we'll be doing over the coming days."
"Foreign Minister Zarif has said he is coming with a detailed proposal that elaborates on the thoughtful presentation he made to the P5+1 foreign ministers in New York, and we are ready to hear it, to listen to it, and to go to work, if it is substantive and concrete."
Nestle: Global Water Predator
by Stephen Lendman
Nestle is a global predator. It lies calling itself "the world's leading nutrition, health and wellness company."
"Our mission of 'Good Food, Good Life' is to provide consumers with the best tasting, most nutritious choices in a wide range of food and beverage categories and eating occasions, from morning to night."
Acquiring competitors secured it numerous water brands. They're listed under the heading "Nestle Waters: The Healthy Hydration Company."
They include Aqua Spring, Deep Spring, Glaciar, Ice Mountain, Perrier, Poland Spring, and Pure Life among others. They're sold in dozens of countries worldwide.
Uncontrollable Boehner and the Bait and Switch Index
Michael Collins
The Money Party's latest training exercise with live ammunition (aimed at us) is over for a while. At the last minute, the geniuses in your nation's capitol got it together long enough to pass a relatively clean budget resolution and raise the debt limit for a few weeks. The bill also included some intrusive income verification requirements for the Affordable Care Act (ACA)/Obamacare from the people who say they hate the government in their business.
The after-deal spin is simply revolting. Talking head after head said that Boehner couldn't control his caucus and decided to let the nihilist wing of the Republican Party (aka tea party) learn a real life lesson in politics. You see, in addition to being a political hack and philanderer, Boehner is also a great teacher. He let the forty or so tea party representatives run wild to show them just what happens when you you behave like idiots. They might as well have said that pigs live in trees, the founding fathers smoked dope, or something equally ridiculous.
Debt Ceiling Hype
by Stephen Lendman
The so-called deadline to raise it isn't one at all. Lots of ways can resolve it. Prioritized spending can keep government operating. It can prevent default.
From October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014, an estimated $3 trillion in revenue will be collected. The Treasury can mint trillion dollar coins if needed.
The Fed monetizes debt by buying Treasuries. It's purchasing about $1 trillion annually. It can double the amount if it wishes.
Doing so, of course, is madness. What can't go on forever, won't. Massive monetization debases dollar value. Doing so is back door defaulting. Short-term, nothing prevents it from continuing.
Technically the debt ceiling is unconstitutional. The 14th Amendment Section 4 mandates paying public debt obligations. It states:
"The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned."
"But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void."
Defaulting violates the Constitution's "general welfare" clause. Article I, Section 8 states:
"The Congress shall have power to¦provide for (the) general welfare of the United States."
Having power means using it when most needed. It means doing so for the good of the country and everyone. It requires keeping government operating. It requires funding its obligations.
The so-called debt problem is an accounting one. The Treasury can issue any amount it wishes. The Fed can buy it all if needed.
It can cancel debt it owns. It can simply forgive it. It's a bookkeeping entry. It's money Washington owes itself.
Doing it creates lots of wiggle room. It would end the current standoff. It would prevent default.
It won't happen whether or not the so-called deadline is passed. Bet on it.
Here's where things now stand. An hour from now they may change. According to Defense News.com:
Senate Democrat and Republican leaders "are close to finalizing a debt-ceiling deal
It buys time. It gives Congress and Obama three more months to resolve differences. It averts new defense sequestration cuts.
Senate majority and minority leaders Harry Reid (D. NV) and Mitch McConnell (R. KY) respectively agreed on 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) funding levels.
Washington Brinksmanship Masks Class War
by Stephen Lendman
So-called budget/debt ceiling squabbles mask Washington's longstanding class war. It's been ongoing for decades.
Post-9/11 it intensified. Neoliberal harshness explains it. Bipartisan complicity force feeds it.
Doing so transfers unprecedented amounts of wealth from ordinary Americans to bankers, other corporate favorites, rich investors, and high net worth households.
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