rothschild to endorse mccain

from bitternclingyamerican

CNN is reporting that a prominent member of the Rothschild banking family and Bilderberg attendee set to endorse McCain:

Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter and member of the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee, will endorse John McCain for president on Wednesday, her spokesman tells CNN.

Forester is the CEO of EL Rothschild, a holding company with businesses around the world. She is married to international banker Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. Forester is a member of the DNC’s Democrats Abroad chapter and splits her time living in London and New York.

Lady (cough, cough) Lynn met her husband, Sir Evelyn Rothschild, at the 1998 Bilderberg conference, thanks to Henry Kissinger.

the mysterious b.michael strikes again

Investigate the army : Attorney general should
probe army for encouraging draft dodging
B. Michael, YNet, Sep 21 20008

The Haaretz headline informed us that Attorney General Mazuz ordered a criminal investigation against a group encouraging draft dodging. Very nice. The time has indeed come for this. Yet before the attorney general rushes to investigate the New Profile organization, perhaps he would do well to dispatch his investigators to look into a much bigger and much more important organization, which is doing a much more effective job of encouraging draft dodging: I’m talking about the IDF. The attorney general should try to find out who’s responsible for turning the army into what it is. Who are the ones responsible for turning it into a policing and thuggery force? Who are those in charge of sending young recruits to man roadblocks and decide who can see a doctor and who cannot, who can make a living and who cannot, who can study and who cannot — in fact, they decide who will live and who will not. Mr. Mazuz should aim to find out who’s the wicked person who sends soldiers to “detain” a 12-year-old child in the middle of the night because he “poses a threat to the area.” He should also find out who ordered the army to provide settler gangs with security escort services when they decide to commit pogroms against their neighbors. Indeed, the attorney general should find out when and how, and because of whom, did the army turn into an advanced and productive manufacturer of bad apples, weeds, and wild thorns. Because after all, isn’t it unthinkable that a kind hearted and thinking person would agree to join all of these activities without hesitating? Without heretic feelings making their way to his heart? Without his soul being torn a little bit? After all, even Attorney General Mazuz realizes that had the army not been dealing with all that, the New Profile organization would remain jobless. So by all means, let him investigate. He should also guide his investigators not to swallow all the “security” excuses that have nothing to do with what I mentioned above. Indeed, he should investigate fully how it could be, and who is responsible for turning the army into the most advanced organization for promoting draft dodging.

one day soon the helicopters will fire back

(AP via IHT) Pakistani troops and tribesmen opened fire when two US helicopters crossed into the country from Afghanistan, late Sunday, Sep 21, in North Waziristan, intelligence officials said Monday. The Pakistani Army and the US military in Afghanistan said they had no information on the reported incursion, which was likely to add to tensions between Islamabad and Washington. The two intelligence officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. They said informants in the field had told them of the incursion about 2 km inside the disputed and poorly demarcated border in the Alwara Mandi area. The helicopters did not return fire and re-entered Afghan airspace without landing, the officials said. A week earlier, US helicopters reportedly landed near Angoor Ada, a border village in South Waziristan, but returned toward Afghanistan after troops fired warning shots.

i thought they said they found nothing

IAEA meeting in Vienna opens, with focus on Iran, Syria
DPA via Haaretz, Sep 22 2008

Questions about Iran’s past nuclear activities and about Syria’s alleged secret nuclear program are expected to dominate a meeting of the IAEA board that opened in Vienna on Monday. The 35-member IAEA Board of Governors is set to discuss Iran’s lack of cooperation in explaining a set of past studies, which the international nuclear watchdog says could be related to an effort to develop nuclear weapons. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei wrote in his latest report on Iran that his inspectors had not found evidence of actual weapons manufacturing. However, several IAEA reports have laid out indications for an Iranian atom bomb effort, including a blueprint for a nuclear warhead obtained by Tehran, and work on the modification of Shahab-3 missiles which points to nuclear use. On Monday, ElBaradei is set to give board members an interim report on Syria, which is suspected of having secretly built a nuclear reactor, possibly with North Korean help. IAEA inspectors took samples at the alleged site in June, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes last year. Diplomats said last week that results were still outstanding and no final assessment would be possible unless Syria gives the IAEA access to further sites.

mccain unsure how many cars he has

All the Candidates’ Cars
Keith Naughton, Hilary Shenfeld, Newsweek, Sep 20 2008

When you have seven homes, that’s a lot of garages to fill. After the fuss over the number of residences owned by the two presidential nominees, NEWSWEEK looked into the candidates’ cars. And based on public vehicle-registration records, here’s the score. John and Cindy McCain: 13. Barack and Michelle Obama: one. One vehicle in the McCain fleet has caused a small flap. United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger, an Obama backer, accused McCain this month of “flip-flopping” on who bought daughter Meghan’s foreign-made Toyota Prius. McCain said last year that he bought it, but then told a Detroit TV station on Sept. 7 that Meghan “bought it, I believe, herself.” (The McCain campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.) Obama’s lone vehicle also is a green machine, a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid. He bought it last year to replace the family’s Chrysler 300C, a Hemi-powered sedan. Obama ditched the 300C, once 50 Cent’s preferred ride, after taking heat for driving a guzzler while haranguing Detroit about building more fuel-efficient cars. McCain’s personal ride, a 2004 Cadillac CTS, is no gas sipper, but it should make Detroit happy because it’s made by General Motors. “I’ve bought American literally all my life and I’m proud,” McCain said in the interview with Detroit’s WXYZ-TV. But the rest of his fleet is not all-American. There’s a 2005 Volkswagen convertible in the garage along with a 2001 Honda sedan. Otherwise, there’s a 2007 half-ton Ford pickup truck, which might come in handy on the Sedona ranch; a vintage 1960 Willys Jeep; a 2008 Jeep Wrangler; a 2000 Lincoln; and a 2001 GMC SUV. The McCains also own three 2000 NEV Gem electric vehicles, which are bubble-shaped cars popular in retirement communities. Only the Cadillac is registered in the candidate’s name. Cindy McCain’s name is on 11 vehicles, though not the one she actually drives. That car, a Lexus, is registered to her family’s beer-distributor business and is outfitted with personalized plates that read MS BUD.

a nice jewish boy to win the home counties

For Labour’s sake go, Gordon: it’s David’s turn
Lord Desai, Evening Standard, Sep 22 2008

[…] There is a way out. This is for Brown to see the writing on the wall and declare that he will step down once the Labour Party has chosen someone else. It cannot be pleasant but the choice for him is to stick around in office and lose 300 seats at the next election, sending the Labour Party into exile for decades, or to take a chance that someone else would be better leading the party. A vacancy could trigger a leadership election now and a new leader could be ready to take over by the New Year. There are many likely candidates. But the lead contender is obvious. David Miliband has already shown maturity in not contesting last year and setting out his vision during the summer. I have known David as an ideas man since John Smith’s days, when he was secretary of the Commission on Social Justice. He has experience of generating ideas from his time in No 10 — and of implementing them as a minister. He was a brilliant cabinet minister at Defra and now at the Foreign Office. Miliband has vision, youth and already a long stint in policy making behind him. He is what we need for the Home Counties, where the battle will be won or lost. At this conference delegates have the right to ask Brown for an orderly transition for the sake of the party he loves so much. If he does not, then someone ought to remind him of Cromwell’s words to the Long Parliament. You have been here too long. In God’s name — and for Labour’s sake — go.

producer of “the money masters” interviewed

Patrick Carmack — the producer of the acclaimed documentary “The Money Masters” detailing how private international bankers gained control of the American economy — shares his view on the current meltdown in the global financial services sector and his Monetary Reform Act to fix the fundamental underlying problem.

To read the Monetary Reform Act, please visit:The Money Masters

For the full interview, please visit: The Corbett Report

the semi official version

Waziristan link seen in attack on Marriott:
Blast caused by RDX and TNT: Malik
Syed Irfan Raza, Pakistan Dawn, Sept 21 2008

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik has said that Saturday’s blast in Islamabad that claimed 53 lives had links with Waziristan. A video tape, recorded by a security TV camera of the Marriott Hotel, which was shown at a press conference on Sunday, raised questions about security arrangements made to avert a terrorist attack in the capital’s high security areas. “It is premature to blame any particular group or individual for the blast but all roads lead to Waziristan,” the adviser said. The video clip showed a six-wheeler dumper truck hitting a steel barrier at the hotel’s main entrance. The attacker, who could not be seen in the film, opened fire on security guards, forcing them to retreat, and then blew himself up causing a small blast which set the truck on fire. A number of courageous security guards reappear, one of them with a fire extinguisher who tries to extinguish the blaze but fails. He tries repeatedly to douse flames as traffic is seen on the road. There is no sign of movement in the truck and the footage does not show the massive blast which wreaked the havoc.

Questions have been raised as to how such a huge quantity of highly explosive material (RDX and TNT) could be brought into the capital and then taken to the high security area. And there were only five or six private guards at the hotel gate and no arrangement to put out fire. “It was the first incident in the capital in which terrorists used RDX and TNT explosives. In all previous blasts the terrorists had used potassium. Aluminium powder used in the explosion caused the fire inside the hotel,” Mr Malik said. Analysts said the attack could have been averted had the fire on the truck been extinguished before it reached the explosives. The fire in the hotel, a favourite spot for foreigners and the local elite — and a previous target of militants — smouldered till about noon on Sunday. Mr Malik said the bomb contained an estimated 600kg of military-grade explosives as well as artillery and mortar shells. It left a crater 60 feet wide and 24 feet deep.

Mr Malik said the government had decided to implement a new security plan in Islamabad to prevent such attacks. He said closed-circuit cameras would be installed along all main roads and at important points in the capital. They will be linked to a central control room. The task has been given to the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra). The adviser said the plan approved by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani would be implemented in a few days. “All trucks, buses and taxis coming into the federal capital will be monitored thoroughly and police patrolling will be increased.”

Meanwhile, interior ministry sources said the government had decided to intensify operations against militants in tribal areas. The joint investigation team submitted a report after bomb disposal squads of army and police had examined the site. According to sources, officials of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency and Marines who were staying in the hotel could have been the target of the attack. Shortly after the blast, well-equipped personnel of US Marines took positions at the place to remove their colleagues, the sources added. “It is unfair to target thousands of people in a hotel to kill two Americans,” Mr Malik said. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

but this 95 sec. video asks the question: who really did it? – RB

remarkable disclosures regarding pakistan

USA has bared its teeth
Asif Haroon Raja, Asian Tribune, Sep 21 2008

(The ‘Asian Tribune’ is an exceedingly left-liberal, pro-govt. web ‘zine created in Sri Lanka – RB)

The US and its allies succeeded in toppling Taliban regime in November 2001 and replacing it with a puppet regime, but the Taliban were neither militarily defeated nor eliminated from the system. But for effective encirclement of Afghanistan from all directions and massive air support provided by USA, the Northern Alliance could not have made any progress. Once the Taliban realised that they were no more in a position to offer resistance particularly after Pakistan ditched them, they considered it prudent to carry out a tactical withdrawal from Kabul and most took shelter in Pashtun dominated southern and eastern Afghanistan. Some trickled into FATA and Baluchistan where they had their kith and kin and some moved into Iran. They remained inactive till 2002 but utilised this time to regroup and refit themselves to be able to strike back at the invading forces that had devastated their country. Bush and his teams of neo-cons felt complacent that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda had been taken care of and only the remnants had to be flushed out. It was this smugness which impelled them to invade and occupy Iraq in March 2003.

In the meanwhile, the vices that had been eliminated by the Taliban during their short rule reappeared in a big way. Besides lack of justice, war lordism, corruption, poppy growing, drug business and nepotism reigned supreme. The Taliban and their supporters were either brutally killed or put in Bagram jail and subjected to horrendous torture. The Pashtuns being in great majority were persecuted and power got concentrated in the hands of non-Pashtun Northern Alliance elements and war lords. The occupation forces inflicted heavy collateral damage on civilians whenever they confronted the militants. These developments disillusioned the Afghans and sympathy wave among the Pashtuns living both sides of the border started to shift towards the Taliban. Induction of NATO forces in 2003 together with deteriorating law and order situation provided the spark to ignite insurgency.

When Gen Musharraf submitted to US pressure after 9/11 and ditched the Taliban in Afghanistan, he provided air bases as well as logistics support and shared intelligence with CIA. He allowed CIA and FBI to recruit agents in FATA and other places and to establish their outposts. The focus of ISI and other agencies was shifted towards hunting and nabbing so-called terrorists all over the country, in monitoring dissident elements within the army and in political wheeling and dealings. The CIA acquired all the links ISI and MI had both sides of the Pak-Afghan border and gradually took most agents on ISI payroll within its fold. By virtue of having better technology and means the CIA was able to take over intelligence acquisition and dissemination system. As a consequence the troops operating in FATA became entirely dependent upon CIA inputs. Taking advantage of complete liberty of action, CIA succeeded in buying the loyalties of many tribal chiefs and notables in FATA by doling out dollars in sacks since it knew that the Pashtun could not be crushed by force but could be purchased. Those not falling in line were got killed.

In FATA, Nek Muhammad was first cultivated and provided logistic support. When he entered into a peace deal with Pak Army in July 2005, he was killed using precision guided missile. Abdullah Masood, an Afghan war veteran who had also fought the Northern Alliance in October-November 2001 was captured and brainwashed during his two years internment in Guantanamo Bay. He was released after agreeing to work on terms dictated by CIA and he soon was able to takeover the leadership role. His death at Zhob at the hands of Pak security forces was a loss for CIA.

Baitulah Masood and Fazlullah had not taken part in Afghan jihad and do not qualify to head Taliban; yet 30 year old Baitullah has managed to create Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Fazlullah calls the shots in Swat. Mulla Omar had never shown interest in establishing any links with Pakistani Taliban and had warned Nek Muhammad not to operate under the brand name of Taliban. It is being questioned as to how come Baitullah, Fazlullah and their spokesmen desperately wanted by Pakistan security forces have escaped the hawk eye of USA, particularly after they have been seen giving detailed interviews to media and using their cell phones? ISI had once given six figure coordinates of Baitullah and yet no Hellfire missile was fired on his hideout by CIA. The TTP that has spread its influence in all the seven agencies of tribal belt and in neighbouring settled districts of NWFP has succeeded in making inroads into Punjab, particularly southern Punjab. Large number has got recruited from Chiniot, Bahawalpur, Dera Nawab, Bahawalnagar, Faisalabad, Sialkot and other places. Though they do not speak a word of Pashto, but are fighting side by side with Pathan Taliban.

After Shakai peace deal with the militants in South Waziristan in July 2005, Pakistan was subjected to a calculated slander campaign. Having fixed more than one lac troops into the furnace of FATA it was scoffed at for not doing enough to control militancy in FATA. Pakistan was also accused of nuclear proliferation and IAEA kept up the pressure to hand over AQ Khan for interrogation. Musharraf accepted the charge and forced AQ Khan to make a confession to defuse the heat. The religious extremist threat was blown out of all proportions and it was repeatedly stated that Pakistan’s nuclear assets had become unsafe. Musharraf accepted this charge as well and promised to fight extremism and terrorism with full force.

After declaring Pakistan as the most dangerous country, FATA was declared as the most dangerous place on earth. Pakistan was blamed for growing turbulence in Afghanistan since in view of US military leaders and Karzai; Pak army was not doing enough to control militancy. The phenomenon of missile attacks by drones commenced in January 2006 when a suspected target in Damadola was attacked killing scores of innocent civilians. Another deadly missile attack was launched on a Madrassa in Bajaur in October that year killing 80 students. Ever since, this phenomenon continues unabated.

Once the ISI got freed from wild goose chase of so-called terrorists and came under pressure on account of missing persons, it started to concentrate on its primary task in the troubled spots. To its horror it found far too many militant groups and criminal gangs operating under the guise of religious militants and cultivated by foreign agencies. They were the ones involved in carrying out gruesome beheadings of security personnel and torching girls’ schools to defame the real Taliban who had a peaceful agenda. Besides CIA, RAW and RAM, even Iran and Uzbekistan had developed its tentacles in Baluchistan, Swat and Kurram Agency. Most of the pro-Pakistan groups had been purchased or neutralized and those not coming to terms were eliminated by groups sponsored by CIA. Things had gone topsy-turvy and ISI found itself at a loss how to differentiate between friend and foe.

It is when the ISI began to recover the lost ground and renewed its old contacts in FATA and started to expose and block clandestine activities of CIA, RAW and RAM that all hell broke lose on ISI. Instead of feeling ashamed of what they were doing, USA had the cheeks to start making hue and cry that ISI was linked with the Taliban and that it must be emasculated. The three colluding partners lost their cool when the Indian Embassy in Kabul was subjected to a suicide attack on 7 July 2008. The trio fumed with anger and blamed ISI without even carrying out preliminary investigations. It was alleged that the perpetrator of suicide attack belonged to Gujranwala. Adm. Mike Mullen and Deputy Director CIA Stephen Kappes came huffing and puffing to Islamabad on 12 July and expressed their concern in strong words. Both Gen Tariq and Gen Kayani were told to bring the ISI to heel and to control militancy on their side of the border. The details of suicide bomber provided by the visitors proved false. It transpired later on that it was a bomb planted in a parked jeep which was detonated with the help of a remote control and was master minded by Mossad.

In the meanwhile Bush gave a green signal to Pentagon to extend the sphere of operations in Afghanistan into neighbouring FATA in July. He said that besides Iraq and Afghanistan, Pakistan is the third battleground. The military was told to hit targets whenever any actionable intelligence was available without notifying Pakistan. US troops started to man mobile posts all along Pak-Afghan border with Paktika as their main forward base camp. These hostile steps were taken in spite of the fact that the new government under Zardari had abandoned its policy of dialogue and resumed the policy of force against the militants. After a month long Frontier Corps led operation in Khyber Agency, the army was employed in Hangu to control the unrest. In continuation of offensive policy, the army launched powerful operations in Swat in July and in Bajaur on 6 August backed by jetfighters, gunship helicopters, tanks and artillery guns and started to make rapid progress against the well entrenched militants. Operations in these two restive areas are still going in with full steam and several hundred militants have been killed. Instead of getting pleased, the Americans got disturbed since they never intended to control militancy but to spread the flames of militancy into cities and create anarchic conditions.

The month of September saw intensification of missile attacks and each attack resulted in loss of innocent lives. To create fear and panic among the peaceful residents of Waziristan and also to target pro-government elements, missile attacks were intensified and each attack killed innocent men, women and children. The idea was to antagonise pro-government Waziris and also to force them to migrate as had happened in case of Bajaur. To further up the ante, Pakistan was declared as a battleground and a first ever ground attack was carried out by US troops on the night of 3 September at Angoor Adda killing 15 men women and children. A deadly missile attack was conducted on pro-Pakistan Jalaluddin Haqqani house in North Waziristan on 8 September killing 25 inmates mostly women and children. He was blamed for carrying out attack on Indian Embassy. The intruding drone was forced to beat a hasty retreat on 12 September when own jets got airborne and started to track it. A ground attack on 15th was also thwarted by the troops and locals. So far 62 border violations have been carried out by US-ISAF forces including 36 after the takeover by PPP government in March 2008. So far 30 missile attacks have been made killing innocent people. In none of the attack any Al-Qaada operative or militant Taliban was killed.

The nexus in Kabul is working upon a scripted plan to make FATA lawless and beyond the control of security forces, push militancy into settled areas and then into major cities and thus create a civil warlike situation to prove their contention that Pakistan was the most dangerous country in the world and that the extremists were on the verge of taking over power and nuclear weapons. After inflaming South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Mohmand Agency, Khyber Agency, Darra Adam Khel, Kurram Agency, Hangu and Swat, Bajaur Agency was built into a stronghold of militants where huge cache of arms and ammunition was dumped. By virtue of being located at the crossroad of the tribal belt and also linked with Dir, Swat and Afghanistan, it was to act as bulwark and a launching pad to provide reinforcement to other areas.

10,000 Indian troops are stationed in Afghanistan under the garb of supervising construction of road Jalalabad-Port Chahbahar project that has now been completed. Whereas India has officially declared 14 Indian consulates in Afghanistan, on ground they have 107 in which 20 intelligence units are burning their midnight oil to destabilise Pakistan. Many mercantile shops run by Indians have an intelligence office in the rear. In Wakhan, a religious Madrassa run by Indian Muslim clerics is functioning since 2002 under the patronage of RAW and Mossad. Very young boys, mostly orphans, destitute or homeless are recruited. Recruits are mostly Afghans, Uzbeks, Tajiks and Caucasians. The latter being fair skinned and resembling Europeans are trained to hit targets in Europe or in USA to once again create a 9/11 like situation.

Reportedly, 10,000 ideologically motivated terrorist and suicide bombers have been trained. Besides receiving military training, they have also been made to learn Pashto and customs of Pathans. They are regularly infiltrated into troubled spots of Pakistan. Posing as volunteers they join the rank and file of militants to fight the army. They are the ones who are destroying schools, CD shops, bridges and other installations and carrying out brutal beheading of captured personnel. The idea is to create chaos and confusion and also to defame the real Taliban that have not come under their influence. They are also responsible for creating cleavages within the people of FATA and in disrupting peace deals. In Kurram Agency, Afghan officers and soldiers are actively involved in the sectarian conflict by way of providing arms and ammunition to Shias belonging to Tori tribe and physically participating in duels with Sunnis. In Swat, Fazlullah led militants are supplied with war munitions as well as fighters.

Likewise, dissident tribal chiefs in Baluchistan including late Akbar Bugti were also taken on board. The CIA helped in reincarnating BLA and providing all sorts of war munitions to Baloch militants belonging to Bugti, Marri and Mengal tribes and establishing over 60 Farari camps in Baluchistan. Shamsi airbase that was handed over to USA in October 2001, houses Blackhawk helicopters primarily engaged in monitoring the entire length of Iranian border. CIA has cultivated Sunni Iranian Baloch Jandullah group (not the one that had operated against 5 Corps commander). It is anti- Iranian regime and was utilised by CIA to carryout acts of sabotage in Iran through Zahidan. Iran has now constructed a stone wall all along its border to prevent cross border terrorism from Baluchistan. It has clouded Pak-Iran relations since the latter feels that such activities could not have been undertaken without the blessing of Pak government.

It is now clear that our so-called friends have been playing a double game. Now that USA has bared its teeth and let its intentions known, to pretend that it would stop short of achieving its objectives will be like living in fools’ paradise. It is simply degrading to unashamedly say that we cannot fight the Americans. It is also preposterous to assume that Pakistan may not survive without American support. Pro-American elements within Pakistan on US payroll have been parroting this theme since creation of Pakistan to safeguard their vested interests. North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Iran, Somalia are living examples who have survived despite adopting hostile posture against USA. It is high time that we gird up our loins and put our act together to face up to the challenge boldly.

The army under Gen Kayani has expressed its resolve to confront the threat and safeguard country’s sovereignty irrespective of the consequences. It is now up to our week-kneed rulers oblivious of the ominous threat and still busy in power game as to how they stand up to the test. It will be naive to expect that the threat will be warded off with diplomacy alone. We must make USA realise that it will become exceedingly difficult for US led allied troops to operate in Afghanistan if Pakistan opts out of fighting US war of terror and refuses to provide transit facility to carry oil and food supplies to its troops in Afghanistan. The magnitude of dependence can be gauged from the fact each day over 400 containers ply from Karachi and Quetta to Afghanistan transporting food, munitions and 300 million gallons of fuel for US-Nato troops in Afghanistan. We may also consider bridling CIA’s unchecked activities and closing down four bases in control of USA.