P-87 The truth about US- Iraq War dead

FIRST THE CIA GETS OUT THE TRUTH ABOUT IRAN, NOW THE US DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS & THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF DO THE SAME OVER DEATHS IN IRAQ:

73,000 U.S. Troops Killed
1.6 Million "Disabled" By The War In Iraq!

by Peter Marshall E. Boomhower

George Walker Bush has presided over the worst defeat of the United States Military since Vietnam, and has deliberately skewed reporting of the deaths and injuries to conceal the facts.

Department of Veteran's Affairs, in conjunction with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has released the truth because they need the American People to know their military is, literally, destroyed.

They cannot release these horrific numbers via the chain of command because they are under orders to conceal the truth at all costs, so they let slip a report which now cannot be "un-slipped."

The Facts
The Department of Veterans Affairs, May 2007, Gulf War Veterans Information System reports the following:

More Gulf War Veterans Have Died Than Vietnam Veterans.
Total U.S. Military Gulf War 1 and Gulf War 3 Deaths: 73,846
Deaths amongst Deployed: 17,847
Deaths amongst Non-Deployed: 55,999
Total "Undiagnosed Illness" (UDX) claims: 14,874
Total number of disability claims filed: 1,620,906
Disability Claims amongst Deployed: 407,911
Disability Claims amongst Non-Deployed: 1,212,995
Percentage of combat troops who filed Disability Claims 36%

The Scam. And the Holocaust

WHY are government numbers of 3,777 so low? Simple - the government does not want the 73,846 dead Gulf soldiers to be compared to the 55,000 dead Vietnam soldiers, lest we all conclude Iraq = Vietnam.

HOW are government numbers so low? Simple. The government only counts soldiers who die in action! Any soldier who is shot but doesn't die before they get into a helicopter is not counted!!!

64 kg of uranium were used in the Hiroshima bomb. 1,820+ tons of radio-active nuclear waste uranium have been exploded in Iraq in the form of armour piercing rounds and bunker busters, representing the world's worst man made ecological disaster ever. The U.S. Iraq Nuclear Holocaust represents far more than 14,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. It's to be expected that the great majority of U.S. soldiers who took part in the invasion of Iraq will die of uranium poisoning over the next decades.

The nuclear waste will continue killing for BILLIONS of years, and can wipe out more than a third of life on earth.

So far, more than one million people have been slaughtered in the illegal invasion of Iraqi by the U.S. This is genocide of the highest order.

Iraqi birth defects are up 600% - the same will apply to U.S. Veterans.

Statistics and evidence published by the government and mainstream media in no way reflect the extreme gravity of the situation. Those working for the government and media must wake up and take responsibility for immediately reversing this U.S. Holocaust. Understanding who is manipulating all of us is critical for all of us.

For those of you who doubt the veracity of this story, who naively believe it can't be true because if it were true, you would have heard it from the government or from the main stream media, can see the proof yourselves directly from the United States Department of Veteran's Affairs' web site

P-86 Israel - US report on Iran may spark war

Israel: US report on Iran may spark war

By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer
Sat Dec 15, 11:35 AM ET

JERUSALEM - Israel's public security minister warned Saturday that a U.S. intelligence report that said Iran is no longer developing nuclear arms could lead to a regional war that would threaten the Jewish state.

In his remarks - Israel's harshest criticism yet of the U.S. report - Avi Dichter said the assessment also cast doubt on American intelligence in general, including information about Palestinian security forces' crackdown on militant groups. The Palestinian action is required as part of a U.S.-backed renewal of peace talks with Israel this month.

Dichter cautioned that a refusal to recognize Iran's intentions to build weapons of mass destruction could lead to armed conflict in the Middle East.

He compared the possibility of such fighting to a surprise attack on Israel in 1973 by its Arab neighbors, which came to be known in Israel for the Yom Kippur Jewish holy day on which it began.

"The American misconception concerning Iran's nuclear weapons is liable to lead to a regional Yom Kippur where Israel will be among the countries that are threatened," Dichter said in a speech in a suburb south of Tel Aviv, according to his spokesman, Mati Gil. "Something went wrong in the American blueprint for analyzing the severity of the Iranian nuclear threat."

Dichter didn't elaborate on the potential scenario but seemed to imply that a world that let its guard down regarding Iran would be more vulnerable to attack by the Islamic regime.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had disputed the U.S. intelligence assessment this month, saying that Iran continues its efforts to obtain components necessary to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran still poses a major threat to the West and the world must stop it, Olmert said.

Israel has for years been warning that Iran is working on nuclear weapons and backed the United States in its international efforts to exert pressure on Iran to stop the program. Israel considers Iran a significant threat because of its nuclear ambitions, its long-range missile program and repeated calls by its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for the disappearance of Israel.

Iran says its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes.

Israel will work to change the American intelligence agencies' view of Iran, said Dichter, a former chief of Israel's Shin Bet secret service agency.

"A misconception by the world's leading superpower is not just an internal American occurrence," Dichter said.

Any future faulty U.S. intelligence on the actions of Palestinian security forces could damage peace efforts, Dichter said.

"Those same (intelligence) arms in the U.S. are apt to make a mistake and declare that the Palestinians have fulfilled their commitments, which would carry with it very serious consequences from Israel's vantage point," Dichter said.

P-85 A new U.S. intelligence report indicates that Irans's nuclear program is peaceful.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran on Tuesday touted a new U.S. intelligence report as vindication that its nuclear program is peaceful. But it was unclear if the finding would lead to any immediate warming in U.S.-Iranian relations, including on key issues like Iraq.

Iranian officials insisted Washington should take a less hawkish stance and drop attempts to impose new sanctions in light of the report's conclusion that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in late 2003 and has shown no signs of resuming.

President Bush ruled out any change in policy. He said sanctions were still needed to force Iran to stop uranium enrichment, which he warned could be used for building atomic warheads someday. France and Britain also said pressure must be maintained on Tehran.

Even Russia, which urges continued negotiations rather than more sanctions, said Iran must open its nuclear program fully to international scrutiny and keep it under control of the U.N. atomic watchdog agency.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, meanwhile, disputed the U.S. conclusions, saying Israeli intelligence believes Iran is still trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said that "it is vital to continue efforts to prevent Iran from attaining (nuclear) capability." Israel is believed to have its own arsenal of nuclear weapons, the only stockpile in the Mideast.

David Albright, a former U.N. nuclear inspector and now head of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, said Israel's view meant the military option hasn't been taken off the table by the report.

Albright said Israel is looking not just at Iran's solely military efforts but at its uranium enrichment processes, which have potential military applications. "The situation can become tense if they decided their red line has been crossed," he said.

But Iran is clearly hopeful the unclassified summary of the National Intelligence Estimate, released Monday, will weaken the Western push for new sanctions over Tehran's refusal to obey a U.N. Security Council order to suspend uranium enrichment.

"The U.S. and its allies should accept nuclear rights of the Iranian nation. There is no other way, of course," President Mahmoud Ahmadeinejad said during a meeting with the Swedish ambassador, without directly mentioning the new report, according to the presidency Web site.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the U.S. will face more failure if it doesn't change its stance. "Our advice is that they correct their mistakes regarding Iran's nuclear issue," he told state television.

Mottaki's spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, said the U.S. report prove Washington's warnings over the danger of the Iranian nuclear program "are baseless and unreliable."

The report, a dramatic change from past U.S. intelligence assessments that Iran was determinedly pursuing a nuclear weapon, will "certainly undercut any push to get new sanctions," said Suzanne Maloney, a foreign policy senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Russia and China, which have veto power as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council along with the U.S., Britain and France, already were arguing against a third round of sanctions against Iran.

They are likely to push harder for a focus on further negotiations with Tehran to resolve international desires that Tehran agree on ways ensure its nuclear program is not used for developing weapons.

Mohammed ElBaradei, head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, urged all sides to "enter without delay into negotiations," saying the U.S. report "should help to defuse the current crisis."

China's ambassador to the United Nations, Wang Guangya, said the U.S. report made the prospect of new U.N. sanctions less likely. "I think the council members will have to consider that, because I think we all start from the presumption that now things have changed."

Still, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the top Iranian nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, that Iran must cooperate fully with the U.N. investigation of the nuclear program.

"We expect that your programs in the nuclear sphere will be open, transparent and be conducted under control of the authoritative international organization," Putin said at the start of a meeting with Jalili in Moscow.

Anthony Cordesman, Mideast expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said there could be a window of opportunity if the West puts forward incentives for Iran, "such as investment with Europe and the U.S."

But "negotiations will probably grow harder rather than easier in the near future," he said.

That view was echoed by Maloney, who said the report could make both sides less willing to compromise.

"The U.S. doesn't want to be in a supplicant position to Iran ... and if anything the Iranian reaction has been to exult in what they describe as an American mistake," she said.

Movement on the nuclear issue could also become tangled in other disputes between the U.S. and Iran, as Washington tries to stem what it says is increasing Iranian influence in the Middle East.

Last week's U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference was widely seen as an attempt to rally Arab moderates to isolate Iran and even try to woo away Tehran's close ally Syria. Iran denounced the meeting.

U.S. officials accuse Iran of supporting Palestinian and Lebanese militants and of arming Shiite militants in Iraq who have been involved in attacks on U.S. forces.

In recent weeks, U.S. military officials said the flow of weapons from Iran to Iraqi Shiite militias appeared to have been curtailed, although the Americans were careful to say it was too early to say whether this represented a change in Tehran's policy.

Iraqi officials say the Iranians pledged to stop the weapons flow during a visit to Tehran last August by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

___

Associated Press writers Lily Hindy and Carley Petesch in New York contributed to this report.

P-84 Something is in the air, I can smell it.

It's been just over a year (Aug 2006) since the end of the Israeli - Lebanon war and the beginning of the Israeli - USA rhetoric against Iran I have an uneasy feeling that something is in the wind and when I happened across this web-site, a cold chill ran over me.

Update '07 Dec 15...seeing that the original photo of the aircraft carrier was deleted, I've added another...

The web site is..... Voltarinet.org with the following post....


The Neoconservative Agenda to Sacrifice the Fifth Fleet –
The New Pearl Harbor... by Michael Salla

The U.S. plans for an attack on Iran envision to sacrifice the Fifth Fleet in order to justify a nuclear retaliation. This is not a hypothetical scenario, but a real option being discussed within the U.S. Joint Chief of Staff cabinet. According to our sources, admiral William Fallon made clear that if such an order was given, he would refuse to follow it and would hand in his resignation along with the entire Centcom headquarter’s. So far only the Navy and Army’s superior officers’ resistance has prevented the neoconservatives and the Air Force to launch the operations.

The Bush administation has covered up and ignored dissenting Pentagon war games analysis that suggests an attack on Iran’s nuclear or military facilities will lead directly to the annihilation of the Navy’s Fifth Fleet now stationed in the Persian Gulf. Lt. General Paul Van Riper led a hypothetical Persian Gulf state in the 2002 Millennium Challenge wargames that resulted in the destruction of the Fifth Fleet. His experience and conclusions regarding the vulnerability of the Fifth Fleet to an assymetrical military conflict and the implications for a war against Iran have been ignored. Neoconservatives within the Bush administration are currently aggressively promoting a range of military actions against Iran that will culminate in it attacking the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet with sophisticated cruise anti-ship missiles. They are ignoring Van Riper’s experiences in the Millennium Challenge and how it applies to the current nuclear conflict with Iran.

Iran has sufficient quantities of cruise missiles to destroy much or all of the Fifth Fleet which is within range of Iran’s mobile missile launchers strategically located along its mountainous terrain overlooking the Persian Gulf. The Bush administration is deliberately downplaying the vulnerability of the Fifth Fleet to Iran’s advanced missile technology which has been purchased from Russia and China since the late 1990’s. The most sophisticated of Iran’s cruise missiles are the ‘Sunburn’ and ‘Yakhonts’. These are missiles against which U.S. military experts conclude modern warships have no effective defense. By deliberately provoking an Iranian retaliation to U.S. military actions, the neoconservatives will knowingly sacrifice much or all of the Fifth Fleet. This will culminate in a new Pearl Harbor that will create the right political environment for total war against Iran, and expanded military actions in the Persian Gulf region.

*****************************************************************************************

There is a lot more to this article that you can read on their site if you so choose.

I also feel that if it's not this and some how related to Iran, then it will have something to do within the USA itself that will give Bush the authority to remain in power and continue his agenda. With the US economy as it is, something BIG needs to happen to keep the old "power" wheels turning.
JR

P-83 Canada's leader to assert Arctic claim

MONTEBELLO, Quebec - Canada's prime minister is expected to assert his nation's claim to the fabled Northwest Passage through the warming, resource-rich Arctic at talks with President Bush that start Monday.

Canada claimed the passage in 1973 but competition to control the Arctic has intensified with global warming. Shrinking polar ice has raised the possibility of new shipping lanes and development of what one U.S. study suggested could be as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas.

Russia sent two small submarines to plant a tiny national flag under the North Pole this month. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper went to the Arctic earlier this month and announced Canada will build a new army training center and a deep-water port in the Northwest passage.

SSDD.....Same Shit Different Day... And the shit just keeps getting deeper... and so the silent majority sits in a mental stupor, unaware that their eyes are tuning brown.... See my old blog post in 2006 Oct

JR

P-82 New Year.. times are a changing.... No more new posts

Other than for my personal Blog “Saysame,” I will not be adding any more posts to any of my “other” Blogs. The original intent and purpose of those Blogs was to present and document the unloving denials present in our society and so show how the different religions, governments, organizations, customs and traditions are all related and how the truth is distorted, manipulated and controlled by denial, omission, or in stating part truths meant to confuse and deceive. In all our history, nothing has really changed except the form of the experiences and no real healing or true understanding can take place as long as these conditions, fueled by unlovingness and old imprints, programs and beliefs are present.

What is happening globally now is merely the lull before the storm, a momentary pause in the on-going and escalating hatred and violence, creating the illusion of a possible peace, but that is only a façade. Rest assured that each side with its religion, government and its social structure and order is silently preparing for either a new offensive or defensive maneuver. Nothing has changed except, as mentioned, the “form” of the experience and now a "new" element will be brought into the conflicts to create the appearance that this is a new and different problem and issue and so the cycle continues, going around and around as it also escalates.

The coming times and Earth changes will not be easy as it will bring a total breakdown of society as we presently know it. These changes will not be affecting some other person or people in another part of the world, but will be happening on our personal doorstep where it can’t be denied unless denial is still your intent.

In the next few years everyone will be facing their denials and will be making life and death choices that will have far reaching consequences; more than just our present physical survival, but the survival of our very Spiritual essence. For Humanity to survive, we need to change within, before we can change the without. We need to let go of all our old imprints, programs and beliefs that keep us in this never ending cycle of unlovingness, suffering and death created by denial, guilt and shame that we have been struggling to change and call life. We can’t change it. IT is what it is…. until IT wants to change. What we need to do is to let it go from within us and to allow it to find it’s right place. Those that desire and choose to continue to follow IT need to be allowed to do so to also find their right place.

John

P-81 U.S. plans for Iraq shift as deaths reach 3,000

U.S. plans shift as deaths reach 3,000

BAGHDAD, Iraq - With U.S. deaths at the 3,000 mark, the U.S. military is accelerating plans to turn its main mission in Iraq from fighting insurgents to training Iraqi forces and hunting al-Qaida terrorists. Thousands more U.S. advisers would work inside of Iraqi units to improve their skills, which in most units still fall short of what is needed to bring down the country's violence.

President Bush is also considering the "surge" option — increasing temporarily the number of U.S. combat troops from its current 134,000 by 25,000 or more in hopes of securing the capital Baghdad to boost chances for political reconciliation.

But even without that boost, the role of the embedded advisers will take on new importance in the coming months as the U.S. struggles to hand over security duties to Iraq, bring down American casualties — and pave the way for an eventual withdrawal.

The new initiative is the latest and most ambitious of several attempts to improve the effectiveness of Iraqi units, which so far have fallen short of expectations.

P-80 Saddam dead...not the end.. but just the beginning of the end.....

Saddam compliant, calm in final moments

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The scene was at once macabre and riveting..... One of the most notorious dictators of the late 20th century, his hands bound behind him, was led up the stairs of the gallows by masked men in leather coats. A few seconds later, a trapdoor snapped open and — with a crash — the tyrant was dead.

Saddam may have been the first chief of state executed in the age of the Internet and the camera phone. Probably because of that, his death was graphically documented on video, and available worldwide, within hours.

This was not a Hollywood version of an execution: in video aired on Iraqi TV and several Web sites, the former strongman did not plead for his life, nor did he violently resist the executioners who slipped the rope around his neck. State television did not broadcast footage of the actual hanging.

But camera phone video, posted in full or in part on several Arabic language Web sites, picked up where the TV coverage left off. In it, Saddam was taunted in the final seconds leading up to his execution, and appeared to have smiled at his tormentors. While the sentence was carried out, he calmly recited verses from the Quran in a clear voice.

Finally, Saddam's body can be seen swinging in the dim light — his neck apparently snapped..... One of the most striking things about the grisly videos, perhaps, was how calmly and cooperatively the tyrant faced death.

***************************** says a me comment **********************************

Well many may breathe a sigh of relief that Saddam is gone and that he deserves what he got... I'm not defending him, but he alone is not the problem or the issue that Iraq and the world face... Bush and the US invaded Afghanistan as a war on terror and then Iraq on the pretence of retrieving weapons of mass destruction and then when that failed, like they knew it would, their reason for invading Iraq was on removing Saddam Hussain from power and bringing democracy to the country...


So now that Saddam is no longer in the picture and the US's attempt at bringing democracy to the region is failing along with support for their being there, the question now is, what is the US going to do? Withdrawal would mean defeat and that isn't in their agenda... I feel that this is the lull before the storm and that the USA and Israel will now shift attention to Iran. Bush wouldn't get more money and troops for his failed policies in Iraq, but he may pull it off if he can change the threat to America and its allies to oil rich Iran... After all, Oil was the reason for the invasion of Iraq in the first place and now that Iraqi oil is in American hands... it's on to the next target in global domination...

Says a me
JR

Updates:


Warnings against Saddam hanging
Maverick British MP denounces Saddam's hanging as illegal blunder
Saddam sees death as 'sacrifice'
U.S., Iran praise execution of Saddam
Iraq PM orders probe of Saddam execution
Saddam execution video draws criticism

P-79 Saddam could hang in hours:

Saddam could hang in hours: Iraqi officials

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein may be hanged within hours, senior Iraqi officials and the ousted president's defense team said on Friday...... One senior Iraqi source told Reuters key legal issues had been resolved and he could go to the gallows shortly. Another official said Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was meeting key figures, including the Justice Minister, to agree the details.

But the start of a week-long Muslim holiday could delay the hanging and some senior Iraqi officials still doubt there will be a rapid execution...... The State Department denied comments from Saddam's chief defense lawyer and Iraqi state television that U.S. forces had already handed the former president over for execution...... In any case, formal custody may not be very significant since U.S. troops were likely to remain on hand to the end as Washington is concerned the process goes smoothly.

Defense lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi told Reuters Saddam had been handed to the Iraqi authorities and that attorneys had been told they could not visit their client. Earlier he said he was told to arrange to collect Saddam's personal effects -- a move another defense lawyer said indicated he could die on Saturday.

Saddam, whose appeal against a conviction for crimes against humanity was rejected this week, has long been formally in Iraqi custody but physically held by U.S. military guards.

P-78 China increases its military might .... says it faces threats

China defends military rise, says faces threats

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's military modernization will focus on strengthening its navy and air force as it faces security threats from border spats, historical disputes and self-ruled Taiwan, a defense white paper released on Friday said.

But China, whose increasing defense spending and military build-up has been a source of friction with the United States, will never engage in an arms race or threaten any other nation, the policy paper said..... "The navy will gradually ... raise its marine combat and nuclear counter-attack capabilities," it said.

"The air force aims at speeding up its transition from territorial air defense to both offensive and defensive operations, and increasing its capabilities in the areas of air strike, air and missile defense, early warning and reconnaissance and strategic projection."

P-77 Fraud, Katrina contracts could waste $2B

Fraud, Katrina contracts could waste $2B

WASHINGTON - The tally for Hurricane Katrina waste could top $2 billion next year because half of the lucrative government contracts valued at $500,000 or greater for cleanup work are being awarded without little competition.

Federal investigators have already determined the Bush administration squandered $1 billion on fraudulent disaster aid to individuals after the 2005 storm. Now they are shifting their attention to the multimillion dollar contracts to politically connected firms that critics have long said are a prime area for abuse.

In January, investigators will release the first of several audits examining more than $12 billion in Katrina contracts.

P-76 Report: UK wasn't worried about Saddam and WMD

Report: UK wasn't worried about Saddam

LONDON - Britain's former top Iraq expert at the United Nations said in previously secret testimony that most government officials did not believe Iraq posed a threat in the months leading to the U.S.-led invasion, according to a new report. .... Carne Ross, a former first secretary to the British mission at the U.N. responsible for Iraq policy, told a House of Commons committee that he and other analysts believed that Iraq had only a "very limited" ability to mount an attack of any kind, including one using weapons of mass destruction, or WMD.

"Iraq's ability to launch a WMD or any form of attack was very limited," he said. "There were approx 12 or so unaccounted-for Scud missiles; Iraq's air force was depleted to the point of total ineffectiveness; its army was but a pale shadow of its earlier might; there was no evidence of any connection between Iraq and any terrorist organization that might have planned an attack," he wrote.

During the months leading up to the war, he said, there was no new evidence that Saddam posed a threat. "What changed was the government's determination to present available evidence in a different light," he testified.

Ross' testimony is likely to be cited during a full parliamentary debate on the Iraq war next month.

P-75 Ban sworn in as U.N. secretary-general

Ban sworn in as U.N. secretary-general
UNITED NATIONS - South Korea's Ban Ki-moon was sworn in Thursday as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations, promising to make his top priority the restoration of trust in the world body that has been tarnished by corruption scandals. Ban, 62, will take the reins of the United Nations on Jan. 1 when Kofi Annan steps down after 10 years at the helm. He will be the first Asian to lead the organization in 35 years

Ban will oversee an organization with some 92,000 peacekeepers around the world and a $5 billion annual budget. Its reputation has been battered by scandals in the oil-for-food program in Iraq and in peacekeeping procurement, and its outdated practices need reform to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

P-74 Cuba vows to defy U.S. efforts at change

Cuba vows to defy U.S. efforts at change
HAVANA - Cuba vowed to defy U.S. efforts for economic and political change on the island in a front-page editorial Thursday in the Communist Party's newspaper that also referred to dissidents as "mercenaries" and "counterrevolutionary puppies."

Members of the U.S. government "should not fool themselves," the editorial said. "The Cuban government and people will take charge, as they've done until now, of guaranteeing the complete failure of these plans ... to encourage the subversion and internal counterrevolution in our country."

Washington maintains a decades-old trade and travel embargo against Cuba. The Bush administration has adopted even stricter policies aimed at squeezing the island's economy and pushing out the communist leadership.

P-73 Bush decides direction of Iraq policy

Bush decides direction of Iraq policy

WASHINGTON -
President Bush said Wednesday he would "not be rushed" into a decision on a strategy change for Iraq, saying that in a round of consultations he heard both some interesting ideas and some "ideas that would lead to defeat." ..... "And I reject those ideas," Bush said after meeting with top generals and Defense Department officials at the Pentagon. He said those ideas included "leaving before the job is done, ideas such as not helping this (Iraqi) government take the necessary and hard steps to be able to do its job."

Although the White House had initially suggested that Bush would deliver his speech on Iraq strategy before Christmas, he has decided to delay it until early next year.

On Tuesday, in similar discussions with field commanders, Bush heard Gen. John Abizaid, top U.S. commander in the Middle East, and Gen. George Casey, the top general in Iraq, ask the administration to pour increased funding into more armored vehicles, body armor and other critical equipment for the Iraqis, said a defense specialist familiar with the meetings. The source requested anonymity because the discussions were private.

Abizaid has told the Senate Armed Services Committee that troop levels in Iraq need to stay fairly stable and the use of military adviser teams expanded. About 140,000 U.S. troops and about 5,000 advisers are in Iraq.



UPDATES:
'06 Dec 17 U.S. to triple number of military trainers in Iraq

P-72 India.... child slave labour

Misery goes on for India child workers

Shanta looks like any other six-year-old, except there is an open wound on her head, her hands are swollen, chapped and grey and she can barely walk.... She is the youngest of the three little girls aged six to 13 years who were rescued last month from Faridabad in the state of Haryana.... Badly beaten and bruised, the girls all worked as domestic helps just a few miles away from India's capital, Delhi.

In October, the government enacted a law banning children under 14 from working as domestic servants, at teashops, food stalls, restaurants, hotels or in the hospitality industry...

Shanta says she had been working with the family for the past year after her brother left her there..... "I used to work in water the whole day. She [the employer] beat me up regularly with a stick for not finishing my work on time. I was woken at four in the morning and then I had to wash the clothes, sweep and mop the floor," she told the BBC.

According to Shanta, she was given rice only twice a day - served on the floor - and was made to sleep in the bathroom.....She said that she never complained about her plight as that would have meant more beatings

P-71 Canadian RCMP "To serve and protect".. Yea right... but just WHO are they serving and protecting.

Top Mountie under pressure to quit job OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's top Mountie, under heavy fire for botching the case of a man deported to
Syria by U.S. agents, came under immense pressure to resign on Tuesday after he admitted to misleading legislators about the affair.

The fate of Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli looked ever more precarious after Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was concerned by what the police chief had done.

Zaccardelli's woes stem from an official inquiry that found the RCMP had mistakenly told Washington that Canadian software engineer Maher Arar was an Islamic extremist.... U.S. agents arrested Arar in 2002 and sent him to Syria, where he says -- and the inquiry concurred -- that he was repeatedly tortured during the year he spent in Damascus jails. Arar was released in 2003 and is now suing Ottawa for damages.

Zaccardelli appeared before Parliament's public safety committee in September and told legislators he had first learned of the inaccurate information in 2002. But on Tuesday he said he had been mistaken and had in fact not become aware of the problem until the inquiry issued its report this year.

"I obviously did state certain things that were not accurate, and so I apologize for that," he told the committee.

Disbelieving legislators from both the governing Conservatives and opposition parties told Zaccardelli they did not think his explanation was credible.

"I'm a little bit incredulous that a police officer with 36 years' experience could make such a mistake ... I think you can appreciate why, on both sides of this committee, we find that a little bit hard to believe," said Conservative Laurie Hawn.

UPDATE '06 Dec 08 Mountie resignation not enough, Canada's Arar says

P-70 NASA says it will set up polar moon camp.....

NASA says it will set up polar moon camp WASHINGTON - NASA may be going to the same old moon with a ship that looks a lot like a 1960s Apollo capsule, but the space agency said Monday that it's going to do something dramatically different this time: Stay there..... Unveiling the agency's bold plan for a return to the moon, NASA said it will establish an international base camp on one of the moon's poles, permanently staffing it by 2024, four years after astronauts land there.

It is a sweeping departure from the Apollo moon missions of the 1960s and represents a new phase of space exploration after space shuttles are retired in 2010.
Last year, NASA said it would cost $104 billion just to get back to the moon for its first trip, but on Monday NASA officials declined to estimate the larger costs of a permanent lunar program. They just said it would stay within NASA's budget.

The estimated time frame for NASA's lunar plans are:

2009 — a first test of one of the lunar spaceships.

2014 — the first manned test flight of the Orion crew exploration vehicle, but no moon landing.

2020 — the first flight of the four-astronaut crew to the moon.

**************************** says a me comment **********************************

Back in the early 1960's President John Kennedy set plans in motion to have a man on the moon within 10 years. By 1969, Neil Armstrong had walked on the moon. Special metals and plastics technology, as well as propulsion and other systems were all developed from scratch. Computers were just beginning to come out of the tube stage... and yet they did that 40 YEARS AGO...

Look back at all the inventions and technological advances science has made... but some how NASA would have us believe that the space program needs to be re-invented and that they have learned nothing in the past 40 years... and can't even duplicate wat was done...

There are already bases on the moons polar regions and dark side.. There are also manned bases on Mars and Venus and they are presently working on one on Jupiter...

JR

P-69 Britain - Blair unveils plan for nuclear missiles

Blair unveils plan for nuclear missiles LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair launched plans Monday for a new multibillion-dollar submarine-based nuclear missile defense system, warning lawmakers the future may hold perilous threats from rogue regimes and state-sponsored terrorists.... In what is expected to be among his last major acts as premier, Blair told the House of Commons that despite the end of the Cold War, potential threats were posed by North Korea, Iran and others.

"In these circumstances, it would be unwise and dangerous for Britain alone of any of the nuclear powers to give up its independent nuclear deterrent," he said.

Blair said Britain would cut back on its stock of nuclear warheads from 200 to 160 — a move intended to make the proposal more acceptable to detractors within his own party. But he said any decision to reduce the nuclear-armed submarine fleet from four to three would be made only after a new vessel is designed. Blair said advisers had ruled out land or air based alternatives as too costly and too vulnerable.

The existing submarine fleet will be phased out from 2022, defense officials said.

P-68 U.S. gov't has terror ratings on travelers since 2002

U.S. gov't terror ratings draw outrage WASHINGTON - A leader of the new Democratic Congress, business travelers and privacy advocates expressed outrage Friday over the unannounced assignment of terrorism risk assessments to American international travelers by a computerized system managed from an unmarked, two-story brick building in Northern Virginia...... Incoming Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record) of Vermont pledged greater scrutiny of such government database-mining projects after reading that during the past four years millions of Americans have been evaluated without their knowledge to assess the risks that they are terrorists or criminals.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that Americans and foreigners crossing U.S. borders since 2002 have been assessed by the Homeland Security Department's computerized Automated Targeting System, or ATS.

The travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk assessments, which the government intends to keep on file for 40 years. Some or all data in the system can be shared with state, local and foreign governments for use in hiring, contracting and licensing decisions. Courts and even some private contractors can obtain some of the data under certain circumstances.

"It is simply incredible that the Bush administration is willing to share this sensitive information with foreign governments and even private employers, while refusing to allow U.S. citizens to see or challenge their own terror scores," Leahy said. This system "highlights the danger of government use of technology to conduct widespread surveillance of our daily lives without proper safeguards for privacy."

P-67 Bush routinely ignoring Blair

Bush 'routinely ignoring Blair' Britain's relationship with America is "one-sided" and Tony Blair is routinely ignored by President George Bush, a senior US official has said.

Kendall Myers, a senior analyst at the State Department, described Britain's attempts to influence US policy as a "sad business", the Times reported.

Mr Myers reportedly said he felt "a little ashamed" at Mr Bush's treatment of the prime minister...... Mr Blair has been a close ally of Mr Bush since the 9/11 attacks.

P-66 Quebec "nation" status raises native Indian ire

Quebec "nation" raises native Indian ire VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canada's indigenous peoples are feeling a bit snubbed by Parliament's decision to recognize Quebecers as a "nation" within a united Canada and not them too..... Native Indian leaders say the vote in the House of Commons, which has helped reignite debate over the role of French-speaking Quebec within largely English-speaking Canada, ignored the peoples who lived in North America before European settlers arrived.

"If it is good for the Quebecois, and we have no objection to that, then it is good enough for us," Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said on Tuesday, a day after lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the measure.

Native Indians are usually referred to within Canada as the First Nations. Canada's aboriginals include native Indians, Metis -- descendants of Indians and early French settlers -- and the Inuit people of the Arctic region.

P-65 Ireland plans privatisation of water suppy in 2008

Water sell-off may begin in 2008 The privatisation or selling off of Northern Ireland's water service could begin in just over 13 months..... It has been confirmed that the government is considering starting to sell bits of it from 2008 - and they may do it without public consultation.

********************************** says a me comment ***************************

While this appears to be news, it's already in the works in Canada... As urbanization expands, rural people on wells and septic are being forced to hook up to new water supplies even though no sewer services are being provided.. Forced legislation and municipal by-laws prohibit them from continuing using their old wells.

When I was living in BC a couple of years ago there was legislation being put into place where all provincial wells had to be registered and that they could only draw so much water from the aquifer unless they were a commercial entity and had a special licence as private wells and water suppliers were already existence . Also, urban areas that used less than 20% of the water were being faced with 80% of the cost of rebuilding and refurbishing new water systems that was basically going to the heavy commercial water users and orchards. Urban areas were also paying five times more for water.

Thanks in part to the free trade agreement, fresh water is now up for sale and the Great Lakes have been receding in recent years as the US has been silently and diverting water from Lake Michigan to feed private interests. A few years ago, everyone thought that selling water was a joke, but now bottled water is a mega business and growing...

There's more... a lot more, as this is also part and parcel of the New World Orders plan of globalization and control.. control of everything... and thereby everyone..

Saysame JR

P-64 Canadian Parliament recognizes the province of Quebec as a nation

Parliament recognizes Quebecers as a nation

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Parliament recognized Quebecers as a nation within a united Canada on Monday, backing a controversial proposal that has already prompted one minister in the minority Conservative government to quit...... The House of Commons voted 266 to 16 in favor of the motion, which the government said it saw as a way to head off pressure from separatists who want to break away from Canada.

But critics said the proposal could actually bolster the separatists, and the Bloc Quebecois said it would use the change to demand extra powers, including Quebec's right to speak at international meetings.

P-63 West must prepare for Chinese, Indian dominance

West must prepare for Chinese, Indian dominance
SYDNEY (AFP) - Western nations must prepare for a future dominated by China and India, whose rapid economic rise will soon fundamentally alter the balance of power, former World Bank chief James Wolfensohn has warned..... Wealthy countries were failing to understand the impact of the invevitable growth of the two Asian powerhouses, Wolfensohn said in the 2006 Wallace Wurth Memorial Lecture at the University of New South Wales at the weekend.

Within 25 years, the combined gross domestic products of China and India would exceed those of the Group of Seven wealthy nations, he said.

"This is not a trivial advance, this is a monumental advance."

Wolfensohn said that somewhere between 2030 and 2040, China would become the largest economy in the world, leaving the United States behind.

By 2050, China's current two trillion US dollar
GDP was set to balloon to 48.6 trillion, while that of India, whose economy weighs in at under a trillion dollars, would hit 27 trillion, he said, citing projections by investment bank Goldman Sachs.

P-62 The beginning of the end of Canada....

Canada Liberals to back anti-separatist motion OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's opposition Liberals agreed on Thursday to support Prime Minister Stephen Harper's motion recognizing that Quebecers form a nation within a united Canada.

The motion is designed to derail one from the separatist Bloc Quebecois which has identical language except it does not refer to a united Canada. A vote is scheduled for next Tuesday.

"We are going to vote for a Quebec that forms a part of a united Canada," party leader Bill Graham told reporters after an emergency meeting of the Liberal caucus in Parliament.

*************************** says a me comment #1 ****************************

In the past three years I have not only traveled across Canada, but I've also lived in almost every province. I know what the people in each province think and feel. I have also come to realize what Canada is and is not. There is no Canadian Driver Licence, no Canadian vehicle registration, no Canadian Auto Insurance, no Canadian Health care. Each province has their own system that you have to buy into if you are in the province for over three months. Each province has their own political parties loosely tied to the federal system. Each province has their own provincial taxes system and official departments with tons of bureaucrats, doing the same job that one could do.

Each province is a separate entity and make no bones about it there is no love loss between western Canada and the rest of Canada or between Eastern Canada (the Maritimes) and the rest of Canada or between Quebec and Ontario and the rest of Canada.... The only thing that I noticed... to Quebec's credit... is that Quebec is the only province that is open and honest about their intentions about separating. All the rest are red necks, piously wagging their tongues and claiming that Quebec is wrong but denying that they are silently doing and plotting the same.

In the West; it's BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan that form a so-called alliance, but speak to them individually and Alberta has no use for either BC or Sask as they have the "their" Oil. BC has no use for Alberta or Sask as they have the natural resources, forests and East coast shipping. Sask is low man on the totem pole but they also see themselves as independent.

I never lived in Manitoba but they are caught in the middle, between the western provinces and wealthy and influential Ontario that is seen by many as trying to run Canada.

Quebec with it's French language has, since it's beginnings, felt alienated from the rest of English speaking Canada and has tried to preserve it's culture and language to the point that it is fiercely biased and prejudiced against any English influence. While federal and provincial governments mandate the acceptance of French and of being Bi-lingual, that same policy isn't applied for English speaking people in Quebec. While Quebec may think that they can survive on their own, they are heavily subsidized by the Federal government and like the Maritimes, what isn't subsidized is already controlled by BIG business and is US based...

New Brunswick is half French and half English speaking but they are not accepted by Quebec as they are deemed "lesser" French or Franglais. New Brunswick is what I would call the Bible belt of Canada. Lots of poor folk and lots of rich ones that are living off Federal Government subsidies.. The much criticized Canada Gun control law with it billion dollar plus operating budget has it's headquarters in Miramichi and employs about 200 people in. Do the math!

Nova Scotia is mostly English speaking and much like New Brunswick, is supported by the federal Government subsidies and PEI is in the same boat. Irving oil, with Irvings personal wealth stated at over 4.5 Billion has a strangle hold on the Maritimes, but is seen by many as a god sent... even if they are paying 15% higher prices for gas and heating oil than anywhere else in Canada. The Maritimes also have a close link with the New England states of the USA especially Maine.

The Maritimes also speak silently that they are not being supported or accepted by the rest of Canada and that they would be better off being part of the United States as they feel that good ole US Green Backs will fix their problems....

What other Prime Ministers, Trudeau, for example, have tried to keep Canada together, Harper (Bush's Page Boy) is setting the stage for it's eventual dismemberment. Every province with it's political power hungry wanna be kings, will... in it's own time begin to demand its own "national" status. While they may declare and obtain their independence, all will be quickly gobbled up by the USA... Divide and conquer...

Says a me JR

UPDATES:
Quebec separatists say strengthened by nation talk OTTAWA/MONTREAL (Reuters) - Acceptance that the people of French-speaking Quebec are a "nation," albeit one within Canada, has made the drive to independence all the easier, the head of the separatist Bloc Quebecois said on Friday.

Reversing the position he took earlier this week, Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe said he would back a government motion that Quebecers form a nation "within a united Canada," and he described the concept as another weapon in his party's pro-independence arsenal.

"It's very important for countries around the world, who will say, 'Even Canada recognizes they form a nation, they just said yes.' It's another weapon (for us)."

The Bloc, the third-largest party in the Canadian Parliament, would now ask whether Quebec had the right to speak for itself at the international level, Duceppe said.

Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper had argued that including the words "within a united Canada" would safeguard against separatists using his announcement to further their demands that Quebec secede from Canada.

*************************** says a me comment #2 ***************************

I was speaking to my sister in Alberta the other day and she also stated that Harper was splitting the country apart... this coming from a die-hard conservative... She also mentioned that their red neck friends also agreed that this was a bad move for Canada... and that it also provides fuel for Alberta and BC to state their independence as they desire to join the US...

Saysame JR

P-61 Shadow Company.. Private armies for hire...

Documentary Feature: 'Shadow Company'
Will the world privatize peace? Or, has it already done so? LOS ANGELES - In the second clip from 'Shadow Company' in the Hot Zone's Documentary feature series, private security contractors and historians discuss exactly how militaries-for-hire came to be.

Our discussion with co-director Nick Bicanic continues as he explains how Shadow Company is not a movie about Iraq, and that private security companies might be the answer to the crisis in Darfur. Excerpts from that discussion are below.

And yes, Iraq created a big new market for these guys, 50,000 or more currently working there. But the fact is, as much of the film states, the industry has been around for a long time and it will continue to stay around for a long time. If anything Iraq is just a spike in business, but it's not like it got created because of Iraq.

HOT ZONE: These private armies have played an important role in ending wars in the past and might do that again in the future.

The reason I brought up Darfur is [due to] Blackwater (a private security firm), who is fairly infamous for a number of reasons, one of them being it was their four employees who were burned and hung from a bridge in Fallujah which for many people was a catalyst in at least finding out a little bit about the existence of these guys.

Cofer Black (Vice Chairman at Blackwater) has said that Blackwater is ready to go to Darfur and willing to do it.

Think about what that means.

The fact that a private company today — irrespective of who it is, this happens to be Blackwater — has the ideological desire, the ability, and the manpower and the money to pull off an operation like that is very scary. I don't know how many people are aware of that.

Documentary: 'Shadow Company' Part I

Documentary: 'Shadow Company' Part II

Documentary: 'Shadow Company' Part III

Documentary: 'Shadow Company' Part IV

Documentary: 'Shadow Company' Part V

P-60 U.S. to require passports for nearly all.... Halt! Your papers please... Halt! Ihre Papiere gefallen

U.S. to require passports for nearly all WASHINGTON - Nearly all air travelers entering the U.S. will be required to show passports beginning Jan. 23, including returning Americans and people from Canada and other nations in the Western Hemisphere..... The date was disclosed Tuesday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in an interview with The Associated Press. The Homeland Security Department plans to announce the change on Wednesday.....

The requirement marks a change for Americans, Canadians, Bermudians and some Mexicans...... Currently, U.S. citizens returning from other countries in the hemisphere are not required to present passports but must show other proof of citizenship such as driver's licenses or birth certificates.

UPDATES:
Firms point to biometric future

RELATED TOPIC:
Jailed blogger denied Thanksgiving furlough Josh Wolf, the video blogger behind bars for refusing to hand over unpublished source material, won't be enjoying a home-cooked meal today. See Video and hear from the first jailed blogger Josh Wolf as he speaks at a press conference..... A federal judge on Tuesday denied Wolf's request for a Thanksgiving furlough, according to a court order issued by U.S. District Judge William Alsu

P-59 US Military Draft to be restored

US lawmaker to offer bill restoring military draft

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A top Democratic lawmaker said he will propose legislation to reintroduce the US military draft, saying that the all-volunteer army is shorthanded and overwhelmed by troop deployments in Iraq..... "I don't see how anyone can support the war and not support the draft. I think to do so is hypocritical," Representative Charles Rangel (news, bio, voting record) said.

The proposal would have reinstated the military draft to include conscripts between the ages of 18 and 42 years old.

But he said he felt compelled to try again because of continuing pressure on US forces, including President George W. Bush's insistence that he would not rule out using military force against North Korea and Iran.

The US has heavily depended on military reserves to keep up staffing levels in Iraq, and many soldiers have been pushed into multiple tours there because of the shortage of fresh troops..... More than 140,000 US troops are currently deployed in the country.

"If we're going to challenge Iran and challenge North Korea and then, as some people have asked, to send more troops to Iraq, we can't do that without a draft," said Rangel.... He said he envisioned that draftees could also serve in civilian positions...... "A draft doesn't necessarily mean that everyone drafted will have to serve in the military," said Rangel.

He advocated "having our young people commit themselves to a couple of years in service to this great republic, whether it's our seaports, our airports, in schools, in hospitals.".... Rangel said the bill could provide perks, including educational benefits, for draftees.

"It's the best thing for our young people and the best thing for our country.

P-58 India now test-fires medium-range nuclear capable- missile

India now test-fires medium-range nuclear capable- missile India has successfully tested a short-range ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads, according to defence officials.

It was part of an air defence exercise, and more trials are expected in the coming weeks, the defence sources said..... The test comes three days after a missile was tested by Pakistan..... The two countries recently announced they would prepare a deal to limit the risk of an inadvertent nuclear conflict.

The 8.5m (28-ft) surface-to-surface Prithvi missile covers 150 km (90 miles) in 300 seconds and has a range of up to 250 km..... More than 2,700 people were evacuated from the area of the test.

P-57 Bush - US Senate backs India nuclear deal

US Senate backs India nuclear deal The US Senate has overwhelmingly voted to pass a controversial deal to share civilian nuclear technology with India.

Under the deal, which was proposed more than a year ago, India must allow international inspections of its nuclear facilities..... US President George W Bush hailed the move as bringing India into the "nuclear non-proliferation mainstream".

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly defended the deal in the parliament in August..... He said India would not accept any move by Washington that would impede its atomic weapons programme, nor would it allow any international scrutiny of its military facilities.

P-56 Bush and his double standards on Nuclear Energy...

Two standards question for Bush In diplomacy, it is often hard to achieve tangible results, especially on a three-day visit..... Therefore, President Bush's South Asia tour will be viewed as a success. India and the US reached a landmark deal on civilian nuclear cooperation. President Bush has still got to convince a sceptical US Congress that the nuclear deal is a good one.

Politicians on Capitol Hill question whether it will undermine international efforts to tackle the spread of nuclear weapons.

Remember, India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and its military programme will still be hidden away from international inspections..... The favouritism being shown to India is making other countries in the region wary.... Some US politicians say that India is being rewarded for bad behaviour. Others fear the deal will send out entirely the wrong signal to Iran.

And President Bush's arguments so far have not been convincing..... He believes that helping India with its civilian nuclear programme will ease pressure on diminishing oil supplies. Well, not for a long time yet..... He also has to convince the international community that the US was right to bend the rules just for India.

P-55 And the TRUTH will land you in jail...

Danes on trial over Iraq secrets

he editor and two reporters from one of Denmark's main newspapers have gone on trial charged with publishing secret intelligence about Iraqi weapons......In articles published in 2004 they quoted from analysis by a Danish intelligence agent, Frank Grevil.....His report, written before the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, concluded that there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq.

It is being viewed as a landmark case in Denmark, which is usually an ardent defender of freedom of expression..... An offence of publishing confidential Danish government documents is punishable by fines or up to two years in prison.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen supported the US-led invasion of Iraq and told parliament he was convinced former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was in possession of WMD..... In October 2003, seven months after the invasion, the body set up by the US to search for WMD, the Iraq Survey Group, reported that no such weapons had been found.

P-54 Pakistan test-fires medium-range -nuclear capable- missile

Pakistan test-fires medium-range missile

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan said it successfully test-fired a new version of its nuclear-capable medium-range missile Thursday — a show of power a day after peace talks with India that were criticized by domestic hard-liners..... The Ghauri 5 missile, with a range of 800 miles — easily capable of striking deep into India — was launched to mark the end of military exercises at an undisclosed location, an army statement said.

The Pakistani military statement said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had witnessed the launch and congratulated scientists, engineers and the army for developing the new version of the missile..... "Pakistan can be justifiably proud of its defense capability and the reliability of its nuclear deterrence," he said, according to the statement..... Pakistan believes in peace that "comes from a position of strength and operational readiness," Aziz said.