UniOrb Blog

Nobel Peace Prize for War Makers and Activists

2012-02-02T05:49:00.004Z

The Nobel Peace Prize used to be highly respected for its recipients who honored the true meaning of "peace" by promoting peace and ways to lessen the role of military power in international affairs.

Nowadays, it's nothing more than a joke due to the cast of war makers and activists who had been chosen by the Nobel Peace Prize committee for their own political agenda. One can't help feeling that the members of the committee were either bought or supported the "new world order" (U.S.-led NATO allegiance).

There is a short list of categories established in 1901 for Nobel prizes - physics, chemistry, literature, peace, and physiology & medicine and economic sciences which was added in 1969. Most Nobel prizes seem to be in line with the founder's intent. One prize obviously does not: Nobel Peace Prize.

Look at the cast of wrongfully chosen recipients in the last decade:

2003 - Shirin Ebadi from Iran was awarded for her efforts on the struggle of the rights of women and children. (Any activist against the Iranian government gets a nod from the the West.)

2004 - Wangari Maathai from Kenya was basically an environmentalist who promoted planting trees worldwide. Her political activities were related to the Green Belt Movement. (How could an environmentalist be considered a peace activist?)

2006 - Muhammad Yunus from India was awarded for creating economic and social development among the poor. (Why didn't he share the Nobel Economic Prize with Edmund S. Phelps in 2006?)

2007 - Al Gore (former U.S. Vice President) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were jointly awarded for their efforts to spread knowledge "about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures (carbon footprint) that are needed to conteract such change." (How can climate change be related to promoting peace?)

2008 - Martii Ahtisaari (former President of Finland) was awarded for his efforts to resolve international conflicts, namely in Namibia, Indonesia, Kosovo and Iraq. He worked as a United Nations diplomat and mediator for years. He was also a strong advocate for Finland to join NATO. (He was basically a UN cleanup man working for the "new world order.")

2009 - Barack Obama (U.S. President) was awarded for "his efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." Right. He was the one who escalated US military operations in Afghanistan, who led the illegal invasion of Libya and gave Sarkozy of France the reins to finish the take-down of Gaddafi and who trespassed into Pakistan to conduct extrajudicial killing of the supposedly Obama bin Laden. (How could anyone mistaken a war monger for a peace activist?)

2010 - Liu Xiaobo from China was awarded for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China." He is a political prisoner known for his outspoken criticism of the Chinese government. (Again, any activist against the Chinese government gets a nod from the West.)

2011 - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), and Tawakel Karman (Yemen) were jointly awarded for "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's fights to full participation in peace-building work.".

Two of the three women seem to be political activists. Leymah Gbowee, Liberian peace activist, was responsible for leading a women's peace movement that brought an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. Tawakel Karman, a press freedom Yemeni activist, was partly responsible for the Yemeni uprising in 2011.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, seems to be promoting war rather than peace. She established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) with the objective to "promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation" by investigating more than 20 years of civil conflict in her country. Ironically, TRC report in June 2009 listed 50 names of people, including Sirleaf that "should be barred from holding public offices"... for "being associated with former warring factions." In addition, Sirleaf offered Liberia to be the headquarter of AFRICOM (U.S. Military of Africa) - the only African leader to do so.

In conclusion, Fredrik Heffermehl, the Norwegian researcher, is absolutely correct in accusing the Nobel Peace Prize committee for choosing war makers and activists, rather than those who actually promote peace in the world.

Ron Paul with world's point of view

2012-01-04T02:29:00.003Z

Almost all Republicans are corrupt, greedy, and immoral. Worse still, they are ethnocentric - supporting domination of the world whether in politics, economics or just plain military might. They believe that only American point of view matters while ignoring, demeaning and destroying the rest of the world.

Ron Paul is one exception.

He is a man with principles, integrity and true grit as he often stands alone against the rest of the evil clan of Republican clones in Washington. Any fool can follow like a lemming but only a true hero can stand out as a real leader of the people. Ron Paul is that leader.

As a citizen of the world, "he tries to imagine how the world looks to people other than Americans." It's time for those narrow-minded Americans to see things from the world's point of view. They need to understand that Americans are just a SMALL PART of humanity; to understand the HUMAN ANGUISH and SUFFERINGS of the nations they've destroyed; and to understand that they must SHARE our planet with other civilizations and cultures in the world.

It's egregious and absolutely wrong to bring "Americanism" to the world. To put it simply: the world is NOT "made in USA." And Ron Paul understands that perfectly!

Relationship: U.S. provokes Iran

2011-12-05T13:31:00.000Z

No matter how objective you may think you are on the relationship between Iran and the U.S., the reports on the events over the years between the two countries actually reveal that the U.S. certainly has been stirring up mayhem in Iran with political chicanery and covert maneuvers.

1. In 1953, the CIA helped to reinstate the U.S. puppet, Shah, back to power in Iran. The U.S. has NO RIGHT to dictate who it wants as a leader in other countries. It's quite understandable why Khomeini triumphed in an Islamic revolution to restore power in Iran for Iranians.

2. In 1986, U.S. President Ronald Reagan used Iran in secret arms deals to raise money for his illegal backing of Contra guerrillas in Nicaragua. Meanwhile, the U.S. was backing Iraq's Saddam Hussein in a war against Iran.

3. In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush pushed for the U.S.-led illegal invasion of Iraq. Then, the U.S. accused Iran for staging attacks on U.S. forces. Why would Iran attack the U.S. forces after the U.S. had helped to remove Iran's enemy, Saddam Hussein?

Note: In January 2002 before the invasion of Iraq, Bush branded Iran part of an "axis of evil" as one of the countries for Bush to invade.

4. In November 2011, the U.S./Israel now accuse Iran for developing an atomic bomb design, as they did in 2008 UN sanctions. The accusers were proved dead wrong in a report - U.S. National Intelligence Estimate in 2007 - which clearly stated that Iran "put nuclear military plans on hold in 2003."

Considering that Iran shot down a U.S. spy drone in July and again on Sunday, December 4, 2011, who is provoking whom?

Considering all the facts above on how the U.S. had consistently accused Iran of this or that, why aren't there more consistent mainstream reports showing the U.S. as the worst warmonger in the world?

NATO Attack: Pakistan finally wakes up

2011-11-27T15:57:00.000Z

Pakistan is in uproar over the "unacceptable" U.S.-led NATO attack on a Pakistani military post, killing 24 Army personnel.

Looking at a series of events, the U.S- led NATO attack on Pakistan recently was certainly not "a mistake" but a "tit for tat" retaliation.

It's not surprising that NATO deliberately attacked a Pakistani post after the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan has soured for more than half a year. In May, the U.S. violated Pakistan's sovereignty by committing a covert operation in killing supposedly Osama Bin Laden. Then, Pakistan imprisoned a CIA contractor. Without evidence, the U.S. accused Pakistan on backing a militant attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul. Moreover, the contention over Shamsi Air Base in Pakistan used by U.S. forces for drone strikes in Afghanistan and other parts of the region has deepen the rift between the U.S. and Pakistan.

It's obvious that the U.S. IGNORES any leader's plea to stop the drone attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. In fact, the U.S. is doing everything to protect its illegal, barbaric defense toy against humanity.

It's about time Pakistan stood up to the U.S. and should not play along with the U.S. illusory "war on terror." In response to the attack, Pakistan did the right thing - shut down NATO supply routes into Afghanistan and ordered the U.S. to vacate the drone base in 15 days.

And it's about time for any Muslim nation to know that the U.S. has no real friends, just allies that are being used as pawns.

How Congressmen Enrich Themselves

2011-11-14T03:12:00.002Z

We all know that the U.S. congress is not serving the public from the laws they passed to SUPPRESS individual rights, to ALIENATE the U.S. from the rest of the world in support of Israel's paranoid phantasm of being eliminated by surrounding neighbors, and to support ongoing ILLEGAL wars for corporate interests in the Middle East.

What we obviously see is that the members of the Congress do serve one thing - MONEY.

How could a congressman become very wealthy with just a paying salary of $174,000 a year?

Most of them are bought by corporations, especially defense contractors and pharmaceutical companies, as well as lobbyists for Israel.

In addition, there's a way to enrich themselves in stocks. The laws against stock market insider trading don't apply to the members of the Congress!!!

Let's try to understand this one. The Congress passed the laws AGAINST insider trading for anyone living in the U.S. But, those same laws DON'T apply to members of the Congress?!

This article reveals that "Congress and their aides have regular access to powerful political intelligence, and many have made well-timed stock market trades in the very industries they regulate."

So principles, ethics, justice go right out the door. There you have it - a corrupt congress that definitely DOES NOT serve and represent the people.

One more example of the dysfunctional American democracy.

UN's hypocrisy on Iran's designing an atomic bomb

2011-11-09T04:21:00.000Z

The UN hypocrisy is clearly displayed here reporting that "Iran appears to have worked on designing an atomic bomb."

So what?!

Look at the nations that have nuclear weapons for mass destruction. They are members of the exclusive nuclear power club, Nuclear-Poliferation Treaty (NPT), in the UN Security Council: United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France and China. By the way, three of which, the U.S. Britain and France also belong to another exclusive club, NATO, which is now wreaking havoc in the Middle East with ongoing wars.

Then there are the non-NPT nations that have nuclear bombs, namely India, Pakistan and North Korea.

Last of all, the undeclared nuclear power, Israel, with its advanced drone technology and hidden nuclear arsenal plants, ludicrously threatened to bomb Iran's nuclear sites so that Israel could remain the ONLY nuclear power in its vicinity.

If UN really wanted to punish non-NPT nations for possessing nuclear weapons, then it should start punishing India, Pakistan, and North Korea first, and especially Israel for not being forthright about its possessions of nuclear bombs.

Besides, who has the right to decide which nation can or cannot have nuclear weapons?

We all know the UN is run by the United States, which is now the main warmonger in the world. It's obvious the NPT bullies are trying to keep weaker nations from defending themselves with nuclear bombs that the U.S. first introduced to humanity in its mass destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

If there is going to be any punishment at all, it'd be for the rest of the world, about 180 nations, to punish ALL the nations that HAVE nuclear bombs for bringing mass destruction to humanity!!!

Isn't it time for the world nations to wake up and stop letting a handful of superpowers dictate the fate of our world?

Michael Jackson's Trial: Defense Based on a Lie

2011-11-05T03:31:00.002Z

After six weeks of testimony in the high profile case of Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson, the jury started their deliberations Friday, November 5, 2011.

Forty-nine witnesses, including Jackson's former employees, many medical experts, ER workers, and Murray's girlfriends and patients testified for either defense or prosecution.

Ironically, the defense important witnesses, Dr. Allan Metzler, Jackson's primary doctor, Cherilyn Lee, his nurse practitioner, and even Dr. Paul White, the key defense witness on which the whole the defense rests its case, said the same thing that they would never administer the dangerous propofol to Jackson in a non-hospital setting.

One obvious point came out of this dramatic court trial is that ALL medical experts concurred on Murray's egregious deviation from standard care of his patient, Michael Jackson, by giving him propofol as a "sleeping aid" daily. One obvious evidence is that Jackson died of propofol intoxication. It doesn't take much to figure out why Jackson died and who is responsible for his death.

Even if Jackson was to inject the fatal dose of propofol, as the defense tried to argue, Murray is still solely responsible for providing the propofol daily and neglecting his professional duty as a doctor in taking care of his patient's health.

One glaring note is that Murray deliberately left many questions unanswered - no records of Jackson's medical treatment and no mentioning of propofol to ER workers. A coverup for Murray's guilt? And there are no explanations for his delay in calling 911 nor why he used propofol, a general anesthetic for surgery, to treat Jackson's insomnia.

The defense team rested solely on Dr. White's theory that Jackson self-administered the fatal propofol dose that killed him. White's belief was based on Murray's words that he had given only 25 milligrams of propoful to Jackson.

What if Murray had lied? Lying seems to go hand in hand with Murray's deceptive behavior.

The defense team really doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Cheney's toxic memoir

2011-08-30T15:00:00.004+01:00

Dick Cheney's memoir, "In My Time", hits bookstores today. Don't waste your money to support the most unpopular, reviled, war criminal against humanity by reading what he confessed as well-known ugly facts.

Few political figures in history have been so reviled as former Vice President Cheney. He left the office with an approval rating of 13%. Cheney will be remembered as a super villain - the embodiment of evil. He's done much more lasting damage to the country than the fury of the recent Hurricane Irene.

What destruction was Cheney responsible for?

- 9/11 terrorism
- Iraq war
- Afghanistan war
- torture
- illegal spying on Americans
- war profiteering with Halliburton
- expanded presidential powers
- maximized personal power at the expense of everyone

Now, he has the nerve to try to make a profit from the public?! What he deserves more is to have shoes thrown at him!!!

Gaddafi gets the last laugh: Mainstream media's 'Tripoli takeover' lies

2011-08-23T09:33:00.002+01:00

By now, the world knows what the role of the mainstream media play in the Libyan crisis.

The mainstream media are working with NATO to spread disinformation and waging a psychological war on the people of Tripoli. The mainstream media are fabricating stories to attack Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and hoping to convince the world in believing their orchestrated lies. And the mainstream media have been reporting that the rebels were victorious in toppling Tripoli...

Now the world knows that Gaddafi gets the last laugh.

One gross lie - Saif al Islam, one of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's sons, who was earlier reported to have been arrested, made a surprise appearance in Tripoli and gave an interview to foreign journalists from AFP, BBC and Fox News early on Tuesday morning after the so-called event, "rebels took over Tripoli". Even the International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed earlier the arrest of Saif al Isalm by the rebels. Now you know who ICC works for.

Another outrageous lie - Musa Ibrahim, a Libyan government spokesman, who said that none of the three sons of the Libyan leader reported arrested actually remain free.

And the worst lie of them all - the rebels controlling 95% of the capital. In reality, the situation is just the opposite, Tripoli is under the loyalist forces control! The rebels were actually rounded up and captured.

In the next few days, everyone could see the reality, as truth always triumphs...

Fukushima Nuclear Crisis: Three Head Officials Sacked

2011-08-15T14:43:00.000+01:00

After five months since the outbreak of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, the effects of radiation contamination and ongoing leaks have become more widespread and damaging to farmers, fishermen, producers, livestock,and consumers, not to mention the residents in the Tohoku region and throughout Japan.

Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) as been heavily criticized for handling the Fukushima nuclear crisis - delayed public announcements of the actual meltdowns and power supply problems as well as staged government-sponsored symposium for nuclear power. Both Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy are under METI's wings.

As expected, three top officials in charge of regulating Japan's nuclear power generation - METI's Administrative Vice Minister Kazuo Matsunaga (59), NISA head Nobuaki Terasaka (58), and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy head, Tetsuhiro Hosono (58) - have been recently fired.

NISA's Terasaka said recently that he was aware of the possibility of a meltdown as early as March 12, after the detection of cesium. And then he insisted he did his best to deal with the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years.

While the rest of the nation is still suffering from the ongoing nuclear power crisis, these three incompetent and corrupt heads are eligible for the early retirement bonuses, 20% (10 million yen extra).

"The three senior officials are retiring because of incentives, but not because of punishments, and therefore they are being treated the same way as usual early retirees," the industry ministry explained.

Huh?

Think these three officials should donate their bonuses to help the victims of the radiation leaks!!!

Who are the rioters in Britain?

2011-08-10T18:18:00.000+01:00

As mayhem spreads from London to other parts of Britain, it's important to know who and why they are in revolt. Let's get the facts straight.

Despite the mainstream media painting the rioters as just hooded teenage delinquents - poor and frustrated striking out against the community - they are, in reality, from a diverse range of backgrounds and age groups and are all united by their hatred of the British police state and the conservative-led government.

The British working class people are frustrated and angry about the inequalities in wealth and opportunity, tired of unwarranted police harassment and racial discrimination, and fed up with government austerity measures.

They burned and looted stores that were either big chain stores or catered to middle-class professionals that offer little to their community.

This is not just some riots that could be quelled with brute force, but a beginning of a revolution. The fact that riots are well coordinated and spreading shows that it is indeed a revolution. As history tells us, a revolution is a movement that can't be crushed in a day or in a few weeks.

More widespread unrest will be coming...

Murdoch could be prosecuted violating Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

2011-08-07T02:01:00.008+01:00

The Murdoch scandal in Britain is just the tip of the iceberg.

Murdoch's culture of corruption has not only ensnared major figures in media and politics of Britain, but also of major figures in Australia and the United States as they will be scrutinized and investigated in the future.

The media watchdogs feel vindicated as they have long criticized the unethical practices of News Corp. and its subsidiaries, including News of the World, The Sun, Fox News, and The Times of London. And many of these practices are found to be illegal.

As expected, Murdoch will face trials in these countries that he ruled above the law.

In the U.S., the allegations against News Corp. of wide-scale corruption and obstruction of justice violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The fact that the scandal involves bribery of police officers, blackmailing politicians, and unlawful phone and email hacking, etc. would mean that News Corp. could be prosecuted under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Here's a clear-cut article on why the U.S. Department of Justice is forced to act.

Predicted Murdoch's Fall in 2009

2011-07-27T02:58:00.011+01:00

In less than 2 years, Rupert Murdoch has fallen from grace as predicted in the UniOrb 2009 post.

It was a mistake to say in 2009 "Let’s see how fast Murdoch’s News Corp. take a nose dive into obscurity." It should have been "Let’s see how fast Murdoch’s News Corp. take a nose dive into INFAMY."

No need to spell out here how much damage Murdoch has brought to journalism. All the journalists who have worked for him directly or indirectly ought to know the shame they have brought upon themselves and the media industry. The world is in chaos partly because of them.

This gem piece by Teeluck Sooknarine says it all: Rupert Murdoch's Fall From Grace Is Good For America And The World.

Not surprising, Murdoch's scandal has accounted for high-profile scalps in Britain. But it won't stop there, the Murdoch's empire also has its tentacles in the U.S. and Australia. This is just the beginning of the collapse of the Murdoch House.

Judgement Day has finally come...

Hypocrisy of the U.S. stance on al Qaeda

2011-07-17T09:29:00.001+01:00

The hypocrisy of the U.S. stance on al Qaeda shows a nation suffering schizophrenia.

On one hand, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says that "strategically defeating al-Qaeda is within reach" to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. Furthermore, John Brennan, White House counterterrorism adviser, placed the focus now on the U.S. homeland as the primary area for homegrown terrorist who might be "inspired by al Qaeda" and warned that Ayman al Zawahiri, former Osama bin Laden's second-in-command of al Qaeda, who "might try to launch new attacks to prove he and al Qaeda are still relevant."

On the other hand, you have the CIA funding and training al-Qaeda to destabilize Libya and take control of its government. The following piece by Islam Times puts the U.S. hypocrisy in a nutshell.

All nations must now be totally aware of what the U.S. empire is doing, not only in the Middle East, Africa but also in the world. To put it simply - the CIA is running amok by a rogue nation that deceptively calls itself a democracy.

Any nation kowtows, cooperates or aligns itself with the U.S. is basically asking to be stepped on in the end. After all, there's only one dictator in a world empire.

US 'Preparing Invasion of Africa starting with Libya'

2011-06-29T03:38:00.002+01:00

We all know how hypocritical NATO and the US have been on the illegal war against Libya. Not a day goes by that we don't hear news of NATO desperately trying to kill Gaddafi, not only the leader of Libya but also the leader of Africa.

Despite pretending to pullout military forces from Libya, Obama continues the war with the drone terror offensive to aid NATO in killing innocent Libyans.

Why did the US launch the war against Libya in the first place? The answer appears to be simple - rid of Gaddafi for good. Obama has an October surprise for America - a massive military invasion of Libya.

But there's more to it. The US plans to invade Africa. George W. Bush created AFRICOM for a reason. It's time for all African nations to understand the U.S. and NATO's true intentions for taking down Gaddafi in Libya.

It's the first step for a CONTINENTAL INVASION!

The only way to stop the war on Libya and the BEGINNING of a CONTINENTAL invasion of Africa is for AU and all African nations to send in troops en masse to defend not only Gaddafi but all of Africa. The African leaders that stand by to watch the fall of Gaddafi are not only helping the invaders but also lining themselves up as future targets.

It's certain that the U.S. WILL strike - the time is ripe due to the chaos in the Middle East uprising.

China and Russia should help in defending Libya and other African nations from the western power grab. If not, they, too, will be losers in the end.

The American military machine doesn't have real friends or allies - everyone is to be won over sooner or later.

Conspiracy-minded U.S. media got it all wrong on Bin Laden

2011-06-25T07:21:00.003+01:00

"To get the truth" is no longer the motto of the U.S. media in anything related to Osama Bin Laden. It's more like "make up more lies to cover the truth" as the latest flagrant violation of media sacred oath on news reporting.

Who do they think they're fooling?

Even two-thirds of Pakistanis do not believe Bin Laden was killed by the U.S. assassination squad.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a similar question poll in the U.S., but you could be sure that many Americans don't believe it either.

Of course, the Pentagon desperately tries to convince an unconvincing public about its "successful operation" by continuing the saga on the "terrorist links" to Bin Laden.

And the U.S. media continues to commit media suicide by being the mouthpiece of Pentagon's propaganda.

They're not fooling anyone, except themselves.

Excerpt of IAEA report on Fukushima nuclear crisis

2011-06-05T17:08:00.002+01:00

IAEA team of experts went on a fact finding mission in the Tohoku region from May 24 - June 1, 2011.

What is interesting is that IAEA team not only visited Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, but also other nuclear power plants (Tokai, Higashi Dori, Onagawa and Fukushima Dai-ni) hit by the massive earthquake and large tsunami waves. Although the large tsunami waves affected all these facilities to varying degrees, TEPCO`s Fukushima Dai-ichi came out as the one with the most severe consequences.

So, what happened at TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-ichi?

Although all electrical power was lost when the earthquake occurred, the automatic systems successfully inserted all the control rods into its three operational reactors 1-3. In addition, all available emergency diesel generator power systems were in operation.

However, the 14-meter high tsunami waves washed away all power sources except for one emergency diesel generator that provided emergency power to be shared between reactors 5 and 6. Without power, reactor control or instrumentation on site, the TEPCO operators also had problems with communications systems both within and external to the site.

Without the cooling systems for the reactors, Units 1-3 quickly heated up due to usual reactor decay heating. The rest is history.

Here is an excerpt of the report:

"1. The Japanese Government, nuclear regulators and operators have been extremely open in sharing information and answering the many questions of the mission to assist the world in learning lessons to improve nuclear safety.

2. The response on the site by dedicated, determined and expert staff, under extremely arduous conditions has been exemplary and resulted in the best approach to securing safety given the exceptional circumstances. This has been greatly assisted by highly professional back-up support, especially the arrangements at J-Village to secure the protection of workers going on sites.

3. The Japanese Government's longer term response to protect the public, including evacuation, has been impressive and extremely well organized. A suitable and timely follow-up programme on public and worker exposures and health monitoring would be beneficial.

4. The planned road-map for recovery of the stricken reactors is important and acknowledged. It will need modification as new circumstances are uncovered
and may be assisted by international co-operation. It should be seen as part of a wider plan that could result in remediation of the areas off site affected by radioactive releases to allow people evacuated to resume their normal lives. Thus demonstrating to the world what can be achieved in responding to such extreme nuclear events.

5. The tsunami hazard for several sites was underestimated. Nuclear designers and operators should appropriately evaluate and provide protection against the risks of all natural hazards, and should periodically update these assessments and assessment methodologies in light of new information, experience and understanding.

6. Defence in depth, physical separation, diversity and redundancy requirements should be applied for extreme external events, particularly those with common mode implications such as extreme floods.

7. Nuclear regulatory systems should address extreme external events adequately, including their periodic review, and should ensure that regulatory independence and clarity of roles are preserved in all circumstances in line with IAEA Safety Standards.

8. Severe long term combinations of external events should be adequately covered in design, operations, resourcing and emergency arrangements.

9. The Japanese accident demonstrates the value of hardened on-site Emergency Response Centres with adequate provisions for communications, essential plant parameters, control and resources. They should be provided for all major nuclear facilities with severe accident potential. Additionally, simple effective robust equipment should be available to restore essential safety functions in a timely way for severe accident conditions.

10. Hydrogen risks should be subject to detailed evaluation and necessary mitigation systems provided.

11. Emergency arrangements, especially for the early phases, should be designed to be robust in responding to severe accidents."

The IAEA report covers both the good and bad points of Japan's nuclear crisis.

Japan earns good marks (nos. 1-4) in terms of dealing with orderly evacuation of the affected people in the devastated area and the efforts of the TEPCO operators who are dedicated and determined to tackle the nuclear crisis.

Japan earns bad marks for poor planning of the nuclear power plant sites (nos. 5 & 8), lacking adequate emergency arrangements for severe accidents (nos. 6,9,11), and the cozy relationship between the Nuclear regulatory systems with the nuclear power companies (no. 7), not following the line of IAEA Safety Standards.

In reality, the report doesn't help to contain the nuclear crisis, but to reiterate what is already well known about the deficiency, inadequacy and inefficiency of TEPCO, along with the government nuclear agency, in dealing with the pressing nuclear disaster. What IAEA needs to provide is a sensible road to control and contain the nuclear crisis, which we haven't seen yet.

Under closer scrutiny, the report doesn't address the poor crisis management that we are witnessing today at Fukushima power plant - unmanageable tons of radioactive water at the site, continuation of radiation leaks from the facilities, and the worsening of the nuclear crisis.

Japan: Political Power-Wrangling in the Face of Nuclear Crisis

2011-06-03T05:55:00.003+01:00

On June 2, 2011, a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan failed in the Lower House. Though Kan needed only 232 votes, an overwhelming majority of 293 lawmakers supported him by voting against the motion compared with 152 who voted in favor.

The no-confidence motion submitted by the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), New Komeito and the Sunrise Party of Japan, was aimed at toppling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Kan's government. They banked on Kan's own political party's bloc headed by Ichiro Ozawa, the former head of Japan's ruling party who's been indicted for illegal political fund-raising, to succeed in their quest to splinter the DPJ as a way to gain political points. If the no-confidence motion in the Lower House had passed, then Kan Cabinet would have to either resign en masse or Kan would have to dissolve the Lower House for a snap election.

It appears just before the plenary session to vote on the no-confidence motion Kan defused the rebellion among the DPJ members with a promise to step down once the Tohoku crisis is under control. For all the media attention focused on Ozawa's power-play to topple Kan, Ozawa himself didn't even show up to vote on the no-confidence motion.

The LDP, the largest opposition to DPJ, attacked Kan for handling the nuclear crisis, even though LDP was responsible for the lax oversight of the nuclear-power industry during its 50 years in power. Not surprisingly, Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) has been one of the big donors to the LDP. The timing of the no-confidence vote could be linked to Kan's recent calls to deregulate the energy industry, scale down the importance of nuclear power, and consider renewable energy sources for the future.

In reality, everyone loses. Despite Kan's obvious defeat of the opposition parties and Ozawa, the political diversion of no-confidence motion has set the stage for his lame-duck rule in the midst of a national emergency. Diet deliberations on important bills to handle the national crisis may be delayed because greater attention is focused on picking Kan's successor.

Most Japanese, especially disaster victims who have lost homes, jobs and loved ones, and are facing ongoing threats of radioactive contamination, have been very critical of the politicians - expressing anger and confusion over the timing of the no-confidence motion.

In the Tohoku region, many voting sites and ballot counting locations were completely destroyed or washed away in the tsunami. How could they have elections if the Lower House was dissolved?

Furthermore, no unified view within the LDP of what form the new government should be if they succeeded in pushing out Kan's administration.

When will the Japanese politicians stop thinking of themselves and start thinking of the people they represent for a change?

TEPCO Needs to Face Reality of Core Meltdowns

2011-05-27T17:23:00.006+01:00

In the course of two months, several hydrogen blasts, fires, high core temperatures, and continuous release of high amount of radiation elements into the air, sea and environment, TEPCO had no idea that the Fukushima reactors had suffered core meltdowns until the retrieved data confirmed that they did a few days ago?

Hard to believe when international nuclear experts had repeatedly said so during the early days of the nuclear disaster. Nevertheless, turning a deaf ear to the warning echoes around the world, TEPCO managers have been pouring their futile efforts, precious time and tons of money in fixing a growing series of problems of which they created to stabilize a losing battle against nuclear core meltdown - not one but three meltdowns!!!

Gross mismanagement or delusional TEPCO?

Not surprisingly, inept TEPCO management is trying to blame the earthquake and tsunami for its failures.

TEPCO's analysis report states that the meltdowns at reactors #1-3 occurred from within a day to four days.

So far, TEPCO released data from reactor #3 claiming that the March 11 earthquake, not the tsunami, was the cause of damaged piping for the emergency core cooling system. However, another cooling equipment powered by steam worked fine until it was suspended by TEPCO operators on March 13 which led to a core meltdown. Furthermore, no damage to key pipes caused by the earthquake has been confirmed.

TEPCO operators manually shut down the emergency cooling system (isolation condenser) for reactor #1 on March 11, after the earthquake but they supposedly turned it back on before the tsunami hit the plant. Although reactors #1-3 lost all external power due to the tsunami, emergency power sources were still in working order. TEPCO needs to explain why the emergency cooling system stopped working completely right after the tsunami.

To think the welfare of the state, the local Japanese and the world environment has been entrusted in the hands of the delusional TEPCO management team that has been acting in total denial of reality.

Even now, the revised plan to decommission reactors nos. #1-4 to a state of "cold shutdown" is ignoring the fact that the other two operational reactors #5 and #6 will be in a "dead zone" for years to come. Why not decommission ALL the nuclear reactors at the site?

Furthermore, the plan did not address the salt level in the radioactive water that might have corroded some of the containment components.

Moreover, TEPCO never alluded to the possibility that radioactive groundwater could also have traveled inland, not just leaking out to sea in May and April. After all, radioactive cesium was found in sewage sludge outside of the Fukushima nuclear plant site.

The fact that the radiation leaks are not only ongoing but also new ones appear one after another since the core meltdowns, isn't it time for TEPCO to face reality by entombing all the crippled reactors at the Fukushima Daichi Plant once and for all?

Nuclear Meltdown: The ONLY Solution for Fukushima

2011-05-20T04:37:00.000+01:00

It's confirmed that data shows meltdowns occurred at reactors Nos. 1-3 of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It appears that melted fuel has created holes in all the pressure vessels and landed in the containment vessels. No.1 reactor has been reported to have a cracked containment vessel.

Furthermore, more than 87,500 tons of contaminated water has been accumulated at the site so far, and leaked water has been going somewhere. Not surprisingly, highly contaminated water was found leaking into the ocean from No. 3 reactor on May 11, 2011.

There's no denying of the worst-case scenario unfolding before our eyes! It's time for the Japanese government and TEPCO to take adequate and necessary actions!

Nuclear experts advise the following:

1. Dig a trench about 50 feet below the surface around reactors 1-3 all the way down to the bedrock. Then fill the trench with zeolite that can absorb radioactive cesium from leaking into the groundwater around the plant. Nonstop work MUST begin now.

2. Build a concrete wall to encapsulate the entire reactor, which could take years, but need to start as soon as possible.

Fumiya Tanabe, former senior researcher at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, has said before: "In resolving serious accidents like those (at the Fukushima plant), it is a cardinal rule to work out recovery measures based on the worst possible situation."

Unfortunately, TEPCO seems to be going backwards in getting the situation under control and things have been slowly eroding day by day.

TEPCO SHOULD NOW SERIOUSLY HEED HIS ADVICE!!!

Inept TEPCO fails to prevent meltdown

2011-05-16T16:56:00.003+01:00

It's predictable that TEPCO's mismanagement, lack of foresight and snail-paced efforts in dealing with Fukushima nuclear crisis have led to meltdown in all three reactors - #1, #2, and #3.

Two months after the tsunami devastation, TEPCO still hasn't even come near to installing a working cooling system for any of the troubled reactors! Not only is TEPCO management team unable to deal with the meltdown, they've actually created more problems in trying to cool the fuel rods in the spent pools and in the containment vessels.

It seems every step they have taken so far is done without any prior ACCURATE ASSESSMENT of the situation or LACK OF FORESIGHT to predict the CONSEQUENCES of their actions. Thus, the crisis worsens day by day.

It's understandable that the nuclear crisis is overwhelming at first, but it's not forgivable that the nuclear crisis rating has climbed from 4 to 7! The worsening of the crisis can't be blamed on the tsunami or aftershocks, but on TEPCO's inadequate, inept, and insufficient efforts in handling this whole affair!

TEPCO and the government have not put in ALL THE MANPOWER to handle this national crisis. Sending in few workers each day to work on one reactor at a time is not dealing with the urgent attention to the needs of each reactor in crisis.

Now the meltdown has finally been confirmed in reactor #1, and probably in reactors #2 and #3, due to cracks in the containment vessels, TEPCO should stop wasting time thinking of building cooling systems and start thinking of quick massive cement burial for all troubled reactors before more radiation leaks into the environment, spreading to other parts of the world!

Pakistan Bans Live Broadcast By Western News Media

2011-05-11T06:51:00.002+01:00

The western news media blitz of disinformation and misreporting has angered the Pakistani authorities, as the Pakistani information minister put it: "They were spitting venom against Pakistan."

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has banned all major western television channels from making live broadcasts from Abbottabad - the scene of Osama bin Laden's assassination by the US Special Forces - and ordered some reporters and their TV crews to leave town.

The international foreign news media specifically targeted are as follows: Fox News, NBC News, CNN, CNS, IBN, BBC, Al Jazeera, Voice of America and Sky News. These channels cannot broadcast anywhere in Pakistan without obtaining a licence. In addition, government officials ordered several British, Australian and American journalists to leave Abbottabad because their visas did not permit them to stay.

Functioning as the mouthpieces of their governments, the western mainstream news media not only have lost their credibility but also smeared their own reputation in "unreliable and irresponsible" news reporting.

Pentagon releases hideout fake videos on bin Laden

2011-05-08T04:43:00.001+01:00

It is almost too comical to see the American effort trying to contain damage control in the story of bin Laden's death.

On Saturday, the Pentagon released the captured hideout videos of Osama bin Laden watching himself on television. An intelligence official said, "It is improbable that this kind of footage would be anywhere but with bin Laden. He jealously guarded his image."

Of course, the obvious questions arise about the fake video of bin Laden.

1. Why and who would want to shoot a boring video of a lone man watching TV?

Unless it's to prove the man in the room was indeed Osama bin Laden.

2. Why a side view close-up instead of a front view close-up of the man? Why a close-up view of bin Laden on TV?

Unless to show the comparison of the white beard of the REAL bin Laden on TV and the white beard of the man in the room. But notice no comparison of the face of bin Laden on TV with that one in the room.

3. Why was supposedly "Osama bin Laden" holding the remote control with his right hand when he's left-handed as stated in the official FBI notice?

Really!!! Is the world so gullible to believe what the U.S. is saying now?

Watch the video below:

Pakistan Admits Assisting US in bin Laden Raid

2011-05-07T15:55:00.002+01:00

The American officials gloated about their successful Osama bin Laden assassination raid and they didn't inform Pakistan in advance, fearing bin Laden could be tipped off.

The inflammatory comment suggests that Pakistan was not doing enough to fight alongside its U.S. ally against terrorists. The fact the hideout of Osama bin Laden is so close to a military facility raised suspicions that Pakistan was either harboring terrorists or just being too incompetent.

But in reality, with all the eyewitness testimonies from local news stations and some news reports, the Pakistan army was outside of the compound during the American raid.

Here's a report that settles the issue once and for all: Pakistan army knew about operation against Osama bin Laden

It makes sense why the Pakistani government was so slow in response to the public about their involvement right after the U.S. raid, and then it officially declared that the U.S. acted alone. It also explains why the Pakistani government and security have been mostly silent about what actually took place inside the compound.

Now, the cat is out of the bag.

We'll be seeing more news coverage on bin Laden raid from the side of Pakistan since the White House seems to be less forth-coming with answers.

The ever-changing story of CIA op on killing bin Laden

2011-05-04T02:01:00.002+01:00

It's really not necessary to remind everyone that Osama bin Laden has been dead for years. The credibility of the Obama's version of bin Laden being alive in Pakistan for years is zero.

The fact that the White House's story on "kill bin Laden operation" is changing day by day reaffirms that the operation was just another CIA staged performance.

As a typical CIA operation, it's shrouded in secrecy and it lacks evidence of proof that the man they shot was the REAL Osama bin Laden. The widely circulated image of the "dead" Osama bin Laden by the mainstream media has already been proven to be a fake.

Here are some discrepancies in stories that have surfaced:

- Obama's aides have suggested that the Navy Seal's orders were to either capture bin Laden or kill him.

Early version: The U.S. government states bin Laden "resisted" before he was shot. Bin laden had a gun in his hand but did not fire.
Later version: Bin Laden was not armed when he was shot.

Early version: Bin Laden was shot in the head.
Later version: Bin Laden was shot at least once in the face.

Eary version: Counterterrorism advisor John Brennan said a woman was killed who may have been used as a human shield by bin Laden.
Later version: Bin Laden's wife who rushed U.S. commandos was shot in the leg but not killed.

Pakistan version: One prisoner was taken alive, possibly the son of bin Laden.
U.S. version: Only the body of Osama bin Laden was taken but his family members were taken away by Pakistani authorities.

Pakistan version: One of the Blackhawk Apache helicopters was shot down.
U.S. version: Seal team blew up its own helicopter due to mechanical failure. 2 more Chinook helicopters flew in.

Now Obama says that his administration has the following proof of the dead bin Laden in the operation:

1. dead photos of bin Laden to be released soon (his skull was blown out)
2. video of sea burial of bin Laden to be released
3. DNA samples

Let's see the proof!!!

NATO murdered Gaddafi's son

2011-05-03T01:20:00.000+01:00

In a clear-cut article describing the illegal barbarian act of NATO going beyond its UN security council resolution, striking Gaddafi family compound with 3 missles, killing Gaddafi's youngest son, 29-year old Saif al-Arab and three grandchildren under 12 on April 30, 2011.

One of the participants in the NATO coalition attacks on Libya, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday that NATO's targeting policy in Libya is not about targeting "particular individuals", though it's obvious that NATO has made a second attempt to kill Gaddafi. The first attempt was on April 25 when NATO warplanes bombed the residence of Gaddafi in Tripoli.

The United States, which led the attacks on Libya and later sent in predator drones in place of its military troops, has left NATO to continue its dirty war on Gaddafi. The White House spokesman Jay Carney ironically said "It is certainly not the policy of the coalition, of this administration, to decapitate, or to effect regime change in Libya by force."

No force? Hypocrisy indeed!!! What do you call going after the leader in his residence with air strikes!?!

Naturally, the African Union demanded NATO to stop targeting Libyan officials in their air raids.

Time to see the true colors of NATO and the U.S. and their motives for the illegal war on Libya!

Upheaval of Middle East Connected To U.S.-NATO Strategic Plans

2011-04-30T14:17:00.001+01:00

Vyacheslav Matuzov, one of the leading Russian experts in Middle East affairs, voiced real concern that the protesters in the streets in various countries throughout the Middle East don't really understand the REAL MOTIVES for calling a regime change.

The Arab Islamic world is NOW in a chaotic situation that is actually controlled from a distance by the United States, American military centers. What is unfolding in the Middle East, this so-called "revolutionary process" is closely connected with the strategic goals of the United States' policy dating back to the days of George W. Bush administration calling for a plan to re-branding the Middle East.

On the issue of NATO going after Gaddafi, he said that the whole world community should support not the NATO position but the African Union's position.

Read the interview to understand more about what's is REALLY going on. The protesters must understand what will be waiting for them in the future. It's certainly not going to be better, just look at Iraq and Afghanistan!!!

The Great East Japan Earthquake has record high aftershocks in a month

2011-04-23T09:37:00.002+01:00

The survivors and residents in the Tohoku region face two impending fears: the radiation hike from the instability of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and the threat of more strong aftershocks after the magnitude 8.9 Great East Japan Earthquake struck off the coast on March 11, 2011.

The world's fifth largest quake - 1,000 times more powerful than the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995 - was caused by a rift near the boundary between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. Massive tsunami ranging from 10 meters to 20 meters swallowed the coastline as a result of the Pacific plate slipping under Japan at the Japan Trench. This huge quake not only caused a displacement of 20 meters and a fault a few hundred kilometers long, but also shifted the Earth's axis by about 10 cm.

An earthquake of this scale could trigger other earthquakes at faults. What's unusual is to see so many aftershocks within a month, almost on a daily basis. The record number of aftershocks, not including those with a magnitude of 5.0 or less, is reported to be over 400 with a magnitude of 5.0 and higher, about 70 registering 6.0 and above and more than 5 at the 7.0 level or higher.

Japan has an average 300 earthquakes throughout Japan everyday.

TEPCO's bad management is the CAUSE of worsening Fukushima crisis

2011-04-06T08:30:00.002+01:00

Poor crisis management continues with TEPCO.

Slow and making bad judgment calls, the management of TEPCO has wasted precious time setting off foreseeable detrimental consequences - as being played out in the chain events and the escalation of radiation and the release of radioactive substances into the environment.

Instead of having all manpower from various nuclear power plants of TEPCO, including workers from other nuclear power plant companies close to the region to assist on multiple actions at the same time in order to contain the crisis from the beginning, TEPCO is now dealing with problem after problem in a chain reaction.

Knowing how grave the possibility of nuclear meltdown right after the tsunami devastation, TEPCO didn't divulge important information to the public or ask for international nuclear experts for help right away. Without accurate assessment of the whole nuclear plant's damages,TEPCO tried to do piecemeal fixes.

Even though the American nuclear experts' assessment on March 26 suggested ways to stabilize the nuclear reaction within the cores, TEPCO waited a week to inject nitrogen into the containment structures in an attempt to purge them of hydrogen and oxygen - when combined could produce explosions - which had already happened to several reactors. With this type of slackened attitude towards taking preventive measures, TEPCO is setting itself for more problems to follow.

The missteps are many in the ongoing fiasco: using seawater instead of fresh water for cooling the spent fuel rods which led to overflow of radioactive contaminated water in turbine buildings that leaked into the sea; sending workers into the dangerous nuclear plants without the appropriate footwear to protect themselves from radiation resulting in 2 workers being exposed; failure in plugging the radioactive leaks from Reactor 2 because of poor assessment of leak location, etc.

With the slow, ineffective moves and lacking foresight by TEPCO management, you wonder why the Japanese government continues to trust them to handle things. The crisis is getting worse by the day.

It's time to pull the plug on the TEPCO management team and have outside experts to make the decisions and handle the situation.

Japan's Radiation: Media Hyping Fear

2011-03-29T09:53:00.003+01:00

As events continued to unfold at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the fear of radiation has spread beyond borders and more virulently than has radiation itself.

Time and time again, the mainstream media writes alarming pieces or quotes outside experts on the matter of radiation leak from the stricken Fukushima nuclear reactors, which does more harm in heightening fear than the danger of radiation itself.

Contaminated tap water, milk and vegetables in the northeast Honshu do pose a health threat for those living close to the Fukushima nuclear power plant. But the danger of radiation contamination is really localized - that is, limited to 30 kilometers from the Fukushima crippled plant, not to the rest of Japan or the rest of the world.

Fear-mongering has spread as far as the U.S. where reports of Americans hoarding iodine pills despite the fact that the risk of exposure is close to zero, and pills can have harmful side effects. Many countries around the world have halted some Japanese food exports even though Japan has a reliable monitoring food safety system that had already stopped exporting food from the affected region. And the G7 had to intervene when the yen soared to a record 76.25 in chaotic trading a week ago.

Of course, the news on radiation fear outside of Japan reaching the Japanese citizens in the country only pushes up the level of panic.

The situation is simply this: The radiation leak is NOT out of control, there still exist some measures to deal with the nuclear plant problems. However, the fear along with panic is spiraling out of control.

It's best to remain calm and listen to experts for facts than speculations or wild rumors.

One thing for sure, the experts have not said it's time to entomb the crippled nuclear power plant, so there's still time for TEPCO and the Japanese government to get it under control.

UN, NATO going after Gaddafi

2011-03-23T07:02:00.003Z

There is no doubt for objective observers to see the blatant conspiracy among the Western powers in the UN and NATO in bullying Libya. There is no acceptable explanation that justifies the West for its illegal and culpable interference in Libya's "civil war". And there is absolutely no argument that the U.S., Britain, France and Italy backed by the UN have revealed themselves as the immoral hypocrites supporting their trained lap-dog rebels to overthrow Gaddafi.

The simple reason for the West to remove Gaddafi is not that he's been a thorn to the U.S., but he's highly respected and regarded by other African nation leaders. With him removed, other leaders in Africa could easily fall or be controlled by the leaders of the West. With total disregard and contempt for African nations, the US-led NATO continue to attack Gaddafi's forces despite the Arab League and the African Union condemnation.

The obvious attempt to assassinate Gaddafi violates not only U.S. law, "without authorization from the U.S. Congress pursuant to the terms of the War Powers Resolution, for President Obama to establish any type of so-called ‘no-fly zone’ over Libya would be illegal and unconstitutional", but also the UN’s own charter which prohibits state-sponsored assassination, except under conditions of warfare.

No state has declared war against Libya.

As expected, the mainstream media paints Gaddafi as the monster attacking his own people, just like they did to Saddam Hussein in a run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Deja-vu?

U.S. behind the "nonviolent" revolutions for a "Greater Middle East"

2011-02-09T03:48:00.000Z

To understand what is really going on in the recent massive demonstrations in the Middle East - Tunisia, Yemen, Algeria and Egypt - you need to watch this Russia Today's interview with F William Engdahl, who is author of the book 'Full Spectrum Dominance: totalitarian democracy in the new world order.'

It's obvious to see the similarities in the uprising of these protests with the past upheavals in the "color revolutions" seen in post-Soviet countries. These revolutionary movements in the past and now in the Middle East seem to be too well orchestrated to be spontaneous.

These revolutions bear the fingerprints of the U.S. intelligence agencies - coaching "lead protesters" and using other elements - a technique which was perfected by The Albert Einstein Institution that advocates the use of strategic nonviolent action in conflicts throughout the world.

Remembering the anthrax attacks following September 11

2011-01-23T07:00:00.001Z

During the early Bush presidency, the anthrax attacks were used as one of Bush administration's scare tactics to bring the congress and the news media stations to their knees.

It worked.

Two Democratic Senators - Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont - were the targets of the anthrax letters and later the infamous Patriot Act (stripping civil liberties) was passed without any real discussion or dissension. NBC, ABC, CBS, and New York Post obviously toed the line of Bush administration policies after the anthrax threats.

Coincidences abound as to the access, motives and targets of the deadly weapon as revealed in Bio-terrorism -- anthrax attacks following September 11.

More importantly, the anthrax attacks which killed 5 postal workers and infected 17 others were never solved.

The biggest coincidence of them all, when Bush was to leave office, Dr. Bruce E. Ivins, a bio-weapons researcher who was working on solving the anthrax case died on Tuesday, July 29, 2008, reportedly by suicide just as the Department of Justice was about to charge him with the 2001 anthrax attacks.

In conclusion, the anthrax case has too many coincidences to say the least.

Haiti's unspent billions on earthquake victims

2011-01-13T05:04:00.000Z

After a year of the deadly earthquake on January 12, 2010 that hit Haiti, killing more than 230,000 people, frustrated Haitians are wondering what has happened to billions of dollars of foreign money pledged by governments around the world and charities for the reconstruction of Haiti.

Al Jazeera News gives us a pretty good idea how your donated money has not ended up helping the ones in dire needs but has fallen into the hands of bureaucracy, red tape, and just plain mismanagement.

One year on, 4 billion dollars pledged by countries in the world have yet to be materialized. Shamefully, some governments haven't put up one cent. The world body of governments promised 4 billion dollars but less than 30% has been spent.

The American charities collected 1.84 billion dollars but only $530 million dollars, around 38%, has been spent.

Watch the video and you'll see the excuses and evasions for the government/charity spokesmen not to take the blame for their slow actions and irresponsibility, leaving the Haitians again not just as victims of the natural disaster but also the so-called "humanitarian" efforts of the "responsible" governments and "caring" fund raising organizations.

Pilot points out ludicrous TSA-type of security in SFO

2010-12-26T03:41:00.001Z

A pilot posted a series of videos that featured scenes from inside the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and pointed out the contrast between the passengers, who were heavily scrutinized, and airport employees who just passed through a single door.

The pilot was first asked to remove the videos, then he was suspended from the Federal Flight Deck Officer program for the reason that "he may have violated a regulation."

What was the regulation that he violated?

TSA spokeswoman says that he "must be able to maintain sensitive security information."

Don Werno, the pilot's lawyer responds, "This is really about getting the message out and demanding intelligent security. No state secrets are being shown here. What's being shown here is a lack of security."

San Francisco airport defended its practices by saying "Proper and effective security requires multiple layers of systems, procedures and policies that are interlaced and constantly monitored."

The next sentence uttered by the TSA spokeswoman should make any passenger stand alert: "The vast majority of the widespread layers of this security program are behind the scenes and transparent to casual observers."

The words "BEHIND THE SCENES AND TRANSPARENT" obviously mean that TSA is making a profile and physical identification of everyone that gets screened. TSA is using body scanners not just for a "strip search" but also for collecting data on every passenger for its mother lode data base.

UN Statement on WikiLeaks

2010-12-24T01:52:00.002Z

In light of ongoing WikiLeaks bashing, the UN rapporteurs for freedom of expression call upon States whose signatories to U.N. treaties and laying claim to human rights, freedom of speech and information, to keep a number of international legal principles. Here are the key sentences of that important statement:

1. The right to access information held by public authorities is a fundamental human right subject to a strict regime of exceptions. The right to access to information protects the right of every person to access public information and to know what governments are doing on their behalf...

2. At the same time, the right of access to information should be subject to a narrowly tailored system of exceptions to protect overriding public and private interests such as national security and the rights and security of other persons. In accordance with international standards, information regarding human rights violations should not be considered secret or classified...

3. ...Other individuals, including journalists, media workers and civil society representatives, who receive and disseminate classified information because they believe it is in the public interest, should not be subject to liability unless they committed fraud or another crime to obtain the information. In addition, government "whistleblowers" releasing information on violations of the law, on wrongdoing by public bodies, on a serious threat to health, safety or the environment, or on a breach of human rights or humanitarian law should be protected against legal, administrative or employment-related sanctions if they act in good faith...

4. Direct or indirect government interference in or pressure exerted upon any expression or information transmitted through any means of oral, written, artistic, visual or electronic communication must be prohibited by law when it is aimed at influencing content...

5. Filtering systems which are not end-user controlled – whether imposed by a government or commercial service provider – are a form of prior censorship and cannot be justified...

6. Self-regulatory mechanisms for journalists have played an important role in fostering greater awareness about how to report on and address difficult and controversial subjects...

Read more, click here.

CIA Chief Ducks Pakistan Supreme Court

2010-12-19T07:45:00.004Z

The CIA station chief was pulled from Pakistan after his name was publicly exposed in Pakistan earlier this month by a Pakistani journalist whose relatives were killed in December 2009 CIA drone strike in North Waziristan. The CIA top spy in Islamabad runs the Predator drone program in the U.S. war against militant groups hidden along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

AP story attempts to diffuse the focus on the real reason for the CIA top man on the run. A group of lawyers and citizen activists are probing the possibility of moving the Supreme Court of Pakistan against those responsible for the killing of innocent Pakistanis. AP version titled "Pakistan spy agency denies it exposed CIA chief" never mentions that CIA chief is facing a lawsuit for murder filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan in Islamabad as exposed in Rupee News titled CIA Chief runs for cover. Instead, AP tries to raise suspicion by saying "the station chief's outing has spurred questions whether Pakistan's spy service might have leaked the information."

Why is this important? AP is supposedly be well-informed and has access to more sources and resources than any local newspaper. When AP "neglects" or omits certain facts, you tend to suspect its motives in publishing the story.

Here are the noticeably "omissions" in AP article.

AP doesn't mention the fact that "almost every Pakistani politician and military leader has accused the CIA for nefarious activities in Pakistan" or that there is a "CIA Army" existence in Pakistan.

AP leaves out the man's occupation in the lawsuit against the CIA. That man is not just an ordinary Pakistani civilian but a journalist.

AP willingly published the chief's name of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency but withheld the name of the outed CIA chief (Johnathan Banks) even though his name was revealed in Pakistani newspapers and television newscasts.

AP points to the lawsuit filed last month in the U.S. in connection with the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, India, that has "named Pakistan's intelligence chief as a defendant." This suggests ISI chief is somewhat involved in leaking information in retaliation even though a line was added: "The Pakistani intelligence official said the CIA has not directly accused the ISI of any wrongdoing in the revelation of the station chief's name."

What's the significance here? In any legal court battle, the defendant or defendants must be named. If the U.S. court could reveal the name of the ISI chief, why wouldn't it be the same in Pakistan's legal court system?

Conclusion? The fact that AP didn't even mention the lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the CIA shows the lack of truth and objectivity in mainstream news reporting. Although AP and other mainstream news agencies "appear objective" in reporting from both sides of the story with "witnesses", often key facts and points have been deliberately left out to hide the truth of the story. Readers need to dig deeper to know the truth.

Press Misinforms As Usual About Wikileaks

2010-12-11T07:36:00.001Z

What could be a better example than the lame mainstream press going after Julian Assange, the editor-in-chief of Wikileaks, who has released thousands of whistleblowing documents that show years of poor performance of the mainstream media in full public view.

Typing "Julian Assange" in Google News search, you'll find a section with over 10,000 articles by the mainstream media misleading, disinforming, or attacking Julian Assange with Washington Post leading the way in "What the Assange case reveals about rape in America."

Further down, you'll find the section that supports Wikileaks with only about 250 articles crawled by Google bot with the leading article entitled, "How The Press Misleads About Wikileaks".

How could anyone seriously believe that the news coverage nowadays is unbiased or fair?

WikiLeaks started out as a small operation for leaked secret documents has turned into an international grass roots movement to fight for freedom of the press and for maintaining Internet freedom. What Wikileaks - one small outfit - did is the exact job that had been expected of the giant corporation of the mainstream media!!!

Bush's Book of Lies: Decision Points

2010-12-01T07:23:00.000Z

As the worst president in American history, former U.S. president George W. Bush has been brazenly promoting his memoir "Decision Points" trying to defend his war crimes against humanity, spin more lies about his past (ir)responsible role as "the protector of America" and soften his image as a world class rogue. He has been appearing in interviews on major television networks, Oprah and the latest, Facebook, to market his lie-infested memoir like a preemptive strike to define his role in history before historians do it for him.

But records don't lie. It shows that in eight years, Bush singlehandedly managed to destroy America - the world's most powerful nation - economically, environmentally, and constitutionally, not to mention, damage America's image in all four corners of the globe. On the global front, Bush, again singlehandedly, managed to instill "global fear" and make "terrorism" a household word, incite Islamophobia and insidiously paint Muslims as "terrorists", as well as wreaked havoc in underdeveloped and developing nations with the accelerated expansion of military industrial complex.

Naturally, everyone is curious to know what Bush has to say on the nonexistent weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, hanging chads, waterboarding, Hurricane Katrina, Iraq/ Afghanistan wars and the economic meltdown. Three salient points in the memoir are to be focused here – the Bush administration committed war crimes; Bush authorized illegal torture; and Bush gave the order to shoot down Flight 93 in Pennsylvania – one of the four hijacked planes on September 11.

The memoir plainly shows that the Bush administration knowingly and willingly committed war crimes in Iraq. Not only did the Bush administration violate the Nuremberg Charter but also the U.N. Charter when it launched an unprovoked invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Bush doctrine of preemptive self-defense is nothing more than euphemism for war of aggression. The Bush administration justified its invasion of Iraq by falsely claiming that Iraq possessed weapons of WMD linked to al Qaeda that supposedly launched 9/11 attacks on American soil. The logic of the U.S. attacking Iraq in self-defense makes no sense. Even if Iraq had possessed WMD as claimed, without an attack or an immediate threat from Saddam Hussein, there would still have been no justification for invading Iraq under the U.N. Charter.

Bush wrote that he felt "sickened" on learning that weapons of mass destruction did not exist in Iraq. He said he was absolutely certain that Iraq had WMD before the invasion. This is simply a gross lie. There is overwhelming evidence that Bush knew very well that the information he used was flawed. 2006 Senate Intelligence Committee Report concluded that the Bush administration knew the intelligence was bad. Hans Blix, the former U.N. chief weapons inspector, had persistently reported that there were no signs of WMD. Even CIA reports showed skepticism about the existence of WMD. The logical conclusion is that Bush had plans to invade Iraq no matter what the results were on WMD.

Hubris notwithstanding, Bush openly admitted to authorizing illegal torture. In his memoir, Bush answered "Damn right" to the CIA's request for permission to waterboard 9/11 suspect, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Bush repeated that he would decide the same way again “to save lives.” He went on to claim that waterboarding worked as Khalid "disclosed plans to attack American targets with anthrax…among other breakthroughs.” In retort to Bush's unsupportive claims, Prime Minister David Cameron spoke out against the use of torture as both immoral and counterproductive.

Bush confessed that he gave a military order to shoot down Flight 93 – the hijacked passenger plane that was heading towards D.C. on September 11. According to the official story, Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, PA, as a result of a struggle in the cockpit between the hijackers and the passengers. The evidence of debris from the destroyed plane by missile fire seems more accurate than the official version of jet brought down in an open field by a passenger revolt. See the video below.

Why was Flight 93 shot down if it had been a part of the elaborate false flag operation of 911 attacks? The logical conclusion is that it was shot down - not to prevent it from crashing into a strategic target in the capital, but to eliminate all possibilities of survival for hijackers in their struggle to control the hijacked plane. Dead men don't talk.

In George W. Bush's book Decision Points, the former president tells a story of lies.

In Family of Secrets, based on five years of research, hundreds of interviews and thousands of documents, Russ Baker tells the real story of Bush and his family.

November 2010

2010-11-27T03:24:00.001Z

Wednesday 11/10/10 - Support Congressman Grayson's HR-5353 "The War is Making You Poor Act"

If you ever wonder how much money that the military industrial complex has stolen to impoverish the average American, see the video about Congressman Grayson's introduction of HR-5353 "The War is Making You Poor Act".

Grayson not only explains the insanity of the U.S. against other nations on defense spending for wars, but also suggesting how every American can benefit from the runaway Pentagon defense budget.

With a chart, Grayson shows how the U.S. defense spends as much as the world combined! The U.S. has already outspent China 5 to 1 and Russia 10 to 1. Why does the U.S. still need to spend more? Go figure!

There are 3 salient points in this VERY IMPORTANT BILL:

- requires spending of ONLY $549 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan wars WITHOUT ADDITIONAL $159 billion the president is asking for the so-called "emergency war" that could stretch out to 7 - 9 years.

- allows all Americans tax free on the first $35,000 annual income

- reduces federal deficit and federal debt

It's time to support a SANE bill that Congressman Grayson has introduced to deal with our "mad" defense spending and save all Americans from economic doom and our collapsing economy!

See the video and spread the word!

October 2010

2010-11-27T03:14:00.000Z

Sunday 10/31/10 - The Meaning of Life for Humanity: "The Egg"

Sometimes we come across an explanation so powerful that no other disciplinary studies - science, philosophy, psychology, religion, etc. - could give a satisfactory answer to the meaning of life for humanity. Here's a simple short story that reminds us that each and every one of us is part of the development of humanity. What we do unto others is what we do unto ourselves. Peace and prosperity will finally come when humanity becomes mature.

"You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that's when you met me."

To continue reading the story by Andy Weir, click: "The Egg"

Wednesday 10/20/10 - CIA To Use Google Driverless Cars To Patrol Streets

It's here! A car without driver on the road.

BUT, serious questions on privacy should be raised here:

Why Google, an Internet search engine, invented this driverless car in the first place? If not for spying on other cars, pedestrians, houses, streets, etc.?

This is what they tell us: ”The Google cars use computer A.I., cameras, lasers, and GPS devices to figure out where to go, how fast to go, and where other cars are. Remove the human element, and replace it with a computer that can process road conditions, speed, other cars, and a million other bits of information…"

It's the "million other bits of information" that is truly troubling.

Worse still, Google has now made a pact with the CIA. "The CIA says the Google Cars will drive down American streets - unmanned - and gather data on the nefarious activity of all citizens. This data will be cross-referenced with the search data that Google is also collecting – if need be."

After all, we already have Google Map from satellite spying, so why not a closer view for spying with a Google Driverless Car?

Forget about your privacy whenever you go outside and be careful what you say in the open! Of course, be extremely cautious and alert, the U.S. death squad (CIA) is just lurking around the corner, eavesdropping and watching from one of those Google Driverless Cars!

September 2010

2010-11-27T03:07:00.000Z

Wednesday 09/01/10 - Pentagon Blackmailing China with Threats

The most recent Pentagon's cybersecurity plan, known as "Cyberstrategy 3.0", calls for the military to mobilize private industry for "active defense" against cyberattacks and launch cyber warfare. Not surprisingly, the Department Homeland Security with the help of NSA would oversee the strategy of "deterrence based on making America's infrastructure robust and redundant enough to survive any attack." The Cyber Command will have responsibility for "active defense" starting Oct. 1, 2010. And the U.S. is already recruiting allies.

What is disturbing about all this? The military intrusion of the global highway for communication!

What is more chilling is that the Pentagon openly accused China for launching cyber attacks against the U.S. in an article on August 20, 2010. A month before, InsideDefense.com obtained a draft copy of the report titled "The QDR in Perspective: Meeting America's National Security Needs in the 21st Century," which aims directly at China, calling for "increasing the size of the Navy to a 346-ship fleet and the U.S. military’s posture in the Western Pacific to counter China's growing influence in the region."

Considering China has been a target since 2006 QDR, could these recent acts of U.S. hostility be seen as a way to blackmail China from dumping U.S. dollar?

July 2010

2010-11-27T02:42:00.000Z

Tuesday 07/16/10 - Next US Central Commander: Military Madman

Any sane person can see that the U.S. is self-destructing with its expansion of military madness throughout the world. Having embroiled in illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration is now putting the worst kind of military leader in charge of the entire Middle East and Central Asia - Gen. James N. Mattis, who enjoys killing as he once gloated: "fun to shoot some people" and "have a plan to kill everybody you meet".

What can we expect from this?

More reports of the dead. More unreported mistaken killings of the innocents. And more vicious and brutal the wars become under a bloodthirsty mad leader who makes killing his business.

Isn't it time for the world to stop America from spreading its military madness around the globe? Isn't it time for the U.S. allies to stop cooperating with America in spreading the military disease of decimating the human population? And isn't it time for the whole world to speak out in one voice to save our humanity from wonton destruction?

February 2010

2010-11-27T02:24:00.000Z

Tuesday 02/03/10 - History Lesson for 9/11 Attacks

Sooner or later the truth of 9/11 attacks will unfold to the world.

The public will finally realize that the whole event was none other than a false flag operation committed by the traitors and their conspirators involving Bush, Cheney and other government officials, CIA, FBI, and the elitists of corporations, the press, and other nations' government top officials. They spoon fed an incredible story to the Americans and the world on how the so called amorphous "terrorists" without a formidable army or nuclear weapons happened to be more audacious and intelligent than any other established nations in the world to ambush the U.S. with their strikes against two well-known cities - the very core symbols of America - New York City and Washington D.C.

During the Bush years, the public was idiotically gullible and lived in total fear. Even now, there are so many who still believe in the "official" version of the 9/11 attacks. It's about time to wake up and shake off that trance of too-scare-to-open-your-eyes to reality: The road to Armageddon

Funny, how history repeats itself. Charles Lingdbergh's 1941 speech in Des Moines, given incidentally on September 11, sounds very familiar to what had happened during the Bush years: Charles Lindbergh's - September 11, 1941 Des Moines Speech

May 2010

2010-11-27T02:23:00.000Z

Tuesday 05/01/10 - Futuristic warfare is here with sci-fi weapons

If you think any war games in arcades or at home are great for your kids, think again when it comes to seeing these sci-fi weapons on the REAL battlefield or on OUR STREETS, maiming or killing human beings. Laser weapons, armed robots, sonic blasters and puke rays no longer exist in virtual reality, but on the battle ground whether it’s in a war abroad or in our backyard demonstration. The futuristic warfare has already begun.

If you think Iraq and Afghanistan are not the battlefields for the U.S. army to test its latest dangerous arsenals, you should learn about the armed killing robots, Active Denial System, drones, flash bang grenades, and green laser pointers that are already in use. If you think the government is serving the interest of the people, think again when it plans to use Long Range Acoustic Device, Taser Shockwave, and puke rays for crowd control.

Sometimes, you wonder how some humans could be so degenerate and inhumane to create machines to cause suffering and destroy lives. And they do it for the fun of it. What kind of monsters are they not to respect life? And what kind of monsters are those who willingly use these machines to see the suffering of others? Do they even know what a human being is?

See this article for photos and descriptions of these laser, high-tech weapons being tested today:

10 Sci-Fi Weapons That Actually Exist.

Older Post - December 2009

2010-11-27T02:21:00.000Z

Monday 12/21/09 - Murdoch's "Hari-Kari" with Google

In the most recent news industry development, Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp. who also owns The Wall Street Journal has just committed “hari-kari’ by forcing Google to allow publishers to limit free views for readers.

Murdoch blamed Google’s allowing public free access to news as “people steal our stories” without payment. It’s a shame he doesn’t blame himself for helping to orchestrate the fall of the newspaper industry with other mainstream media agencies by reporting “biased news” in the past to toe the line of the warmongers - namely Bush, Blair, and Howard. It’s more shameful that he thinks he can now FORCE people to pay for his so-called “real news”. Google brings about 14% of incoming traffic to News Corp's U.S. news websites. It’s most shameful that he doesn’t understand the meaning of free speech under the First Amendment by forcing Google to restrict public’s access to free news. Yet, he heads a news corporation that is supposed to uphold the First Amendment as the core value in the freedom of the press.

Why does Murdoch resent Google? Simply this: Google makes lots of money from the advertisements placed next to news search results. The motivation behind Murdoch's unethical demand is no other than old fashioned greed. He wants to get a cut of the action.

Google corners 65 percent of the U.S. search market. Many newspaper publishers whose websites depend on advertising sales need Google to supply them with readers. If all of the major newspapers and the major news sources including the AP and Reuters were to follow suit, then it would be an illegal cartel which could raise consumer's complaints of media companies choking off access to news and fall under suspicion of price-fixing, as well as draw lawsuits for breaching the First Amendment.

Any publisher who follows his example will not only lose readerships but also its reputation for not honoring the essence of free speech. Let’s see how fast Murdoch’s News Corp. take a nose dive into obscurity.

Older Post - March 2008

2010-11-27T02:17:00.000Z

Thursday 3/14/08 - Attack Iran!

As a witness in the audience watching a looming global threat of Armageddon to unfold, one can’t help noticing the stage is being set; the players are moving into place, the world is being divided into two war camps while the neutral nations are biding their time either to be victims to be trampled on or to join in the battle cry on the winning side in its ‘last throes’ of our earthly existence.

Without a doubt, Bush and Cheney are determined to carry out their atrocious act to wipe out ‘their enemies’ at all cost. Who are the enemies? Why, EVERYONE, of course. Because they plan to destroy the WHOLE PLANET.

Destruction is in their blood.

These two will live in world infamy as the worst leaders ever existed on Earth. In their grand scheme of destruction, they plotted 9/11 attacks to kill thousands of innocents, secretly designed to topple the United States, and have displaced millions of refugees around the globe due to their illegal wars in the Middle East and the interference of clandestine mercenary corps in Africa and Latin America. Worse still, they have ignited a nuclear arms race to quicken the annihilation of our world.

So, where is the epicenter for their Armageddon? Attacking Iran, of course. The following article should make everyone shudder:

6 Signs the U.S. May Be Headed for War in Iran

Older Posts - September 2007

2010-11-27T02:14:00.000Z

Friday 9/21/07 - Taser Issue: Lethal Weapon to Silence Free Speech

The mainstream media is at it again – trying to obfuscate, misinform and bury important issues under the noise of whether a University of Florida student zapped with a Taser at the John Kerry Forum on campus deserves it or the university police abusive actions are justified.

The New York Times tried to depict the young student as ‘a prankster and his apparent flair for self-promotion’ by wanting to record his encounter with Senator Kerry on video. The Press Association suggested ‘his online writings and videos raised the question of whether his actions during the forum were genuine or some kind of stunt.’

It’s not at all surprising that Andrew Meyer, a senior telecommunications major, would want his questioning of the famous Senator be filmed with his own camera. That would also explain why he shows his homemade videos on his website.

The questions raised should not be about the student’s behavior or even the justification for the police to use a Taser on an ‘’unruly’’ student, instead the question should focus on why the police force is armed with a lethal weapon to silence free speech.

There are two significant issues here: First, why does a university allow the police to use a lethal weapon on unarmed students? Amnesty International says the high-voltage weapons have been linked to more than 70 deaths in America. Of course, there is the post-Virginia Tech shooting mentality, which advocates arming of faculty and students against the possibility of danger. But in the case of Andrew Meyer, he was clearly unarmed. Needless to say, it’s abhorrent to think our civilized society would need lethal weapons to control our youngsters in schools. Second, why does the exercise of one’s right to free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment be considered a threat that warrants an arrest?

In the police report, it claimed that ‘the defendant Andrew Meyer was being lawfully detained for inciting a riot and disrupting a school function.’ The video obviously contradicts the police report. There were no students rallying behind Meyer to start a riot and as for disrupting a school function, even Senator John Kerry said that he ‘never felt threatened by Meyer’ and ‘asked police to allow Meyer to ask his question.’

What’s disturbing about the University Police Department document is that it states the circumstances for using a Taser include trying to avoid an officer’s attempts to control a situation. A person does not have to strike or harm an officer to justify use of a Taser, according to “UPD document states circumstances for Taser use” (Independent Florida Alligator, 9/18/2007). In other words, anyone can be a victim to police abuse.

The students at the University of Florida got it right – this incident is too important to be ignored. They have held a series of protests supporting Meyer and their own right to free speech. Their fight is really everyone's fight, too! It could be one of us, next!

Older Posts - August 2006

2010-11-27T02:12:00.000Z

Friday 8/18/06 - FCC Inquiries of "Fake News"

The latest on FCC mailed inquiries to 77 television stations for using video news releases as "fake news" points to one major reason for public viewers to distrust the mainstream media. The spread of skepticism is like a forest fire where one can no longer tell the difference between propaganda and news.

As standards for news, FCC requires all video news releases to disclose "the nature, source and sponsorship of the material that they are viewing," but these stations not only broke the rules, they had the audacity to sabotage “the truth” in make-believe news stories for the sake of “considerations” (financial gain?) from private “creators of news releases”. In other words, these stations were bought to lie to the public.

Worse still, the stations have continued to release fake news despite the truth of their misconduct that surfaced earlier in March this year in "Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed," a study conducted by the Center for Media and Democracy, a nonprofit organization that monitors the public relations industry.

From this news item, one saying comes to mind: “Money corrupts people” — the managers of TV stations, the corporations as creators of fake news, the news station reporters to air the videos, the paid actors pretending to be reporters and the list goes on…

Thursday 8/17/06 - Skepticism in UK on Terror Plot

Skepticism abounds in UK after the government announced that it had foiled a massive terror plot a week ago. In the article, 'People are definitely sceptical' Guardian (Aug. 16, 2006), the majority of the British citizens and tourists have given credible reasons for such skepticism:

“…whether these claims are just to clamp down on British Muslims.”
“Is it scaremongering tactics by the government or another reason to harass more innocent people?”
"It's propaganda, isn't it? It gets the whole nation on alert."
“A lot of these terror alerts seem to coincide with an announcement about ID cards for instance.”
“Some of it's for our own protection, but I believe a lot of it is spin.”
“We've been given no evidence yet.”
“I don't trust the government at all. There's no doubt that Blair lied about the weapons of mass destruction before Iraq."

I would add one more reason: Not only are these supposedly terror attacks well-timed with the government’s attempts to raise public support, but also that they are so predictable. For Bush and Blair, they should stop assuming that people, sometimes acting like sheep, are blind and stupid not being able to see through their ploys. In fact, according to the National Sheep Association, “Sheep are quite intelligent creatures.”

Thursday 8/9/06 - Cause of Obesity Epidemic - GM Suspect

The article about the spread of obesity to infants conducted by scientists is troubling. (Raw Story, August 9, 2006) Over the years we have been bombarded by scientists trying to blame obesity on the lifestyle habits, fast-food consumption, or genetic hereditary in the US. Instead of looking at the real cause of the obesity epidemic, mainly in the US compared to the rest of the world, the scientists and doctors have examined the results related to obesity.

Since the introduction of GM products in the US food market for mass consumption in the 1980s, obesity has become most noticeable in the last ten years. Obesity is a sign of abnormal physical condition of the body that could be brought about by external and internal factors. The fact that obesity is epidemic at an accelerated speed points to more of an internal factor than an external one. In other words, junk food intake and genetic hereditary would have a direct association with quick body changes, more so than a lifestyle habit of being a couch potato. The GM element in the unlabeled food in markets seems to be the culprit more than anything else, for it’s found in most junk food and it does cause genetic hereditary changes. It’s amazing that scientists turn a blind eye to study the negative effects of GM food for human consumption. Perhaps, they were the ones who have been complicit all along with big food corporations and the government in burying the facts — all for the sake of reaping profits from an ignorant public.

Older Posts - July 2006

2010-11-27T02:08:00.001Z

Monday 7/24/06 - Second genetic code discovered in DNA

This piece of news should put anyone at ease with cloning to take a second look at what scientists still don’t know about DNA. Here’s an excerpt from Raw Story (July 24, 2006):

“The New York Times will report on Tuesday that researchers believe they have found a second code in DNA in addition to the genetic code, Raw Story has learned.

The primary genetic code specifies the proteins that a cell makes. This second code specifies the placement of the nucleosomes, miniature protein spools around which the DNA is looped and which control access to the DNA itself. Biologists have suspected for years that certain positions on the DNA where it bends most easily might be more favorable for nucleosomes, but not until now has it been possible to analyze the hidden pattern. If confirmed, this discovery could help explain higher-order functions of the genes, such as how each type of cell is able to activate only the genes it needs and not those used by other types of cells.”

It would explain some of the inherent problems of making exact replicas of living things. The question is obvious: if the scientists don’t know all the facts, what are they doing messing with nature?

Older Posts - June 2006

2010-11-27T02:07:00.000Z

Sunday 6/11/06 - Read Between the Lines in AP Article

The June 11, 2006 article entitled “Bush, advisers plan future of U.S. in Iraq” by AP is nothing more than a propaganda piece for the Bush administration to help push up the polls for Bush and the sagging support for Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections. It’s filled with contradictions that one must read between the lines to understand the real U.S. military stance in Iraq.

Here are some of the lines:

“President Bush is gathering his top military and civilian war advisers to plan the U.S. role in the country’s future.” (It didn’t say that Bush is planning to leave the future to the “new established government of Iraq”.)
“White House officials have said announcements of force reductions are not expected.” (In other words, no plan whatsoever for troop withdrawals.)
“…he (Bush) has been careful not to signal any troop reductions yet, continuing to say he will make those decisions when commanders in the field advise him to do so.” (When has Bush ever listened to any of his military commanders in the field before, or anyone for that matter?)
“Gen. George Casey said he thinks it will be possible to withdraw some of the 130,000 U.S. forces in the months ahead as long as Iraq's government and security forces make progress.” (Right. In fact, the war situation is getting out of control.)
“Among the most immediate concerns is how to buttress security operations in and around Baghdad. Some suggest that could involve short-term troop increases. “ (Notice the word “increase” for troops and the justification for that increase. In reality, no intention for troop withdrawals.)
“He said more Iraqis are taking the lead in the fight, although that does not mean they can operate without support such as logistics, intelligence and medical evacuations.” (In other words, the U.S. troops will stay and support Iraqi security forces to fight insurgents indefinitely.)

Thursday 6/01/06 - Supreme Court Treats Government Whistleblower as Corporate Worker

As expected, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Bush policy – everyone working for the government is under the executive branch, ultimately under Bush’s control. In a 5-4 decision, Justices Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and the latest Justice member, Samuel Alito, all voted against protection for whistleblowers, giving the rationale that government employees don’t have the right to speak freely inside their offices on matters related to "their official duties."

The problem with this rationale is that these conservative judges consider the rights of government officials as the rights of corporate workers. Of course, there’s a huge difference. Government officials are supported by our taxes — their utmost duty is to serve the interest of the public. Whereas, corporate workers are paid by their employers — they are subjected to follow corporate rules. It’s unbelievable how these judges couldn’t see that obvious difference. Whistleblowing against government wrongdoing is not only necessary for the protection of the public, but also a legitimate right of the individual, protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. To stifle individual rights, the Supreme Court overturned an appeal court ruling in favor of individual’s protection by the First Amendment.

It’s becoming quite clear that our judicial branch is reshaping to support Bush’s polices.

Older Posts - May 2006

2010-11-27T02:00:00.000Z

Wednesday 5/10/06 Reasons for replacing Goss with Hayden as CIA director

The sudden departure of the CIA director, Porter Goss, leaving the intelligence community as the best defense against terrorism adrift at sea mirrors the overall state of government under Bush’s watch. Like many departments, FEMA, Homeland Security, Environmental Protection Agency, and Food and Drug Administration, that serve the essential welfare and the interest of the American people, CIA has become the latest casualty on the growing list of dysfunctional government departments and agencies.

Goss’ unexplained resignation (“a mystery”) and his nominated replacement, Air Force General Michael Hayden, an architect of Bush’s spying program (NSA eavesdropping), indicate several possible conclusions:

In an attempt to raise his plunging poll numbers, Bush is trying to cast aside blame for both intelligence failures on terrorism (9-11 attacks) and on prewar intelligence on Iraq by having Goss as the scapegoat.
After Goss has cleared the CIA of dissidents by forcing out many talented and respected intelligent officers, Bush can now provide a military perspective on a cilivian agency by placing a military officer as the head of CIA for his ongoing “war on terror."
Bush is grabbing power by extending military dominance over civilians through civilian agencies acting as military Gestapo.

More importantly, the intelligence community is facing an overhaul unlike any other in U.S. history. The directors of other major intelligence agencies, National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office, have been in office for less than a year. The head of the FBI’s counterterrorism and intelligence branch resigned last week and the head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency plans to leave next month.

In retrospect, evidence of the Bush administration lying to the nation to go to war against Iraq and even against Afghanistan (al-Qaeda was not tied to the 9-11 attacks) shows that Bush is to be blamed, not our intelligence community. Yet, Congress allows the Neocons to continue dismantling our intelligence community by supporting Bush’s overhaul policies and nominations.

Tuesday 5/2/06 - Stephen Colbert's Weapon of Mass Derision at the Correspondents' Dinner

The comedian, Stephen Colbert, ambushed the audience at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner to the delight of millions cable TV viewers. He not only insulted the guests of honor — the press, but also mocked the most distinguished man in the room — the president. Displaying satire at its finest, Colbert riddled the non-suspecting crowd at the black tie event with razor-sharp barbs, stinging truths, and poignant ironies.

Here are some of his quotes on the press corps:

“Over the last five years you people were so good over tax cuts, WMD intelligence, the effects of global warming. We Americans didn’t want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to find out.”

“I am appalled to be surrounded by the liberal media that is destroying America, with the exception of Fox news. Fox News gives you sides of every story, the president’s side and the vice president’s side. “

“The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type.”

“Reporting on N.S.A. wiretapping or secret prisons in Eastern Europe? Those things are secret for a very important reason — they’re super depressing. And if that’s your goal, well, MISERY ACCOMPLISHED.”

“Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know — fiction."

on the Bush administration:

“I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.”

“So the white house has personnel changes…they’re just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic…. that is a terrible metaphor. This ship’s not sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg... “

“General Mosley, General Peter Pace. They still support Rumsfeld. You guys aren’t retired yet, right? (Looking at them) Right, they STILL support Rumsfeld.”

“Joe Wilson is here. And of course, he brought along his lovely wife Valerie Plame. Oh, my god! (covering his mouth with one hand) Oh, what have I said? I am sorry, Mr. President, I meant to say he brought along his lovely wife. Pat Fitzgerald is not here tonight?”

“And we can’t forget man of the hour, new press secretary, Tony Snow. Secret service name, Snow Job. Got some big shoes to fill, Tony. Scott McClellan, too, SAY NOTHING like nobody else.”

and on Bush:

“We don’t pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality." And reality has a well-known liberal bias.”

”I stand by this man because he stands FOR things. Not only for things, has he stood ON things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.”

“I’ve never been a fan of books. They’re all fact, no heart. I mean, they’re elitist telling us what is or isn’t true, what did or didn’t happen. What’s Britannica to tell me the Panama Canal was built in 1914? If I want to say, it was built in 1941, that’s my right as an American. I’m with the president, let history decide what did or did not happen.”

“The greatest thing about this man is he’s steady. You know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday, that he believed on Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday.”

It was truly an unforgettable event where he shamed the press for their inept coverage of the administration’s malfeasance, where he demonstrated the bravado that Congress lack in confronting the “Decider,” and where he spoke for the rest of common Americans how we really felt towards our incompetent leader, cowardly government and sycophantic press.

Without a doubt, Colbert dropped a bomb of weapon of mass derision at the annual Correspondent’s Association Dinner, leaving the victims “shocked and awed,” the conspirators “silently” uneasy, and the guilty “ready to blow.” Time will tell if Colbert’s performance as a message for soul-searching will have any affect on those attendees.

Older Posts - April 2006

2010-11-27T01:58:00.000Z

Saturday 4/25/06 - Bush's Hubris and Insanity

In his essay, “Bushim as Greek Drama: “Hubris” and “Tragic Flaws”, Bernard Wiener compared George W. Bush to other presidents, namely, Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton, for their hubris while in office and their characteristic flaws as leaders. They all share one common attitude — they thought they could get away with anything as presidents, including breaking the law. The three previous presidents were caught lying and covering-up their misdeeds (Nixon’s Watergate, Reagan’s Iran/Contra arms scandal, Clinton’s Lewinsky affair).

Although Wiener claimed that Bush’s characteristic flaws are more than any of the other presidents, he falls short to state the obvious — Bush is mad. It would explain his inconsistencies, indifference to human suffering, and denial of reality. It would also explain his inability to know right from wrong or understand the consequences of his actions. He holds a persistent belief that he’s “saving America” at all cost.

As a Greek tragedy, perhaps it’d be more appropriate to compare Bush to the Roman emperors: Caligula and Nero.

Saturday 4/22/06 - October Surprise

In John Dean's article, "If Past Is Prologue, George Bush Is Becoming An Increasingly Dangerous President" , he mentioned five possibilities for the "October surprise" that Bush and Co. will pull before the midterm elections: 1. Cheney to step down as Vice President to be replaced by a new face; 2. to achieve a united stance among foreign nations against Iran; 3. to claim the capture of Osama bin Laden; 4. to launch a terrorist attack on homeland soil; or 5. to go it alone in nuking Iran. Any one of them would help the Republicans from losing control of Congress.

First possibility is unlikely, changing Cheney with another Republican won't help the sinking administration. The midterm elections have very little to do with the president or vice president but everything to do with congress run by Republicans. The second is also improbable, world governments are wary this time to believe U.S. dejá-vu accusation of Iran's WMD after the false claim of Iraq's WMD. Third possibility is impossible to do because bin Laden is already dead. That leaves us with the fourth and fifth possibilities, both of which could turn out to be realities. The terrorist attack would not be another series of aerial hijacking attacks against skyscrapers, but some kind of biochemical assault on crowded trains or subways. The fifth possibility is going to occur while Bush is still in office. It's not a question of if but when.

Looking at the latest news -- a revolt of the generals, Bush's obstinate defense of Rumsfeld, articles on U.S. military poised to attack Iran, increasing hostile warnings against Iran by Bush and Co. -- all point to one or more possibilities: nuke Iran, or terrorist attack on homeland to garner American support for war on Iran. Bush won't fire Rumsfeld now for a simple reason -- the war against Iran could not be possible without Rumsfeld at the helm. The generals have the right idea to revolt -- to stop Rumsfeld from executing Bush's grandiose madness to start World War III.