Iran's Supreme Leader criticizes Western "meddling"
www.chinaview.cn 2009-06-28

TEHRAN, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Sunday criticized "meddling" of Western countries in Iran's internal affairs, local satellite Press TV reported.

Khamenei slammed the "meddling statements of some U.S. and European officials in Iran's internal affairs" when he was addressing the judiciary chief and staff in Tehran.

"These (U.S. and European) officials, with their absurd comments on Iran, talk in a way as if they had no problem of themselves and there was just Iran's problem," Iran's state TV IRIB quoted him as saying in another report.

On June 13, Iran's Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won 62.63 percent of the total ballots of the 10th presidential election on June 12, while his main rival Mir-Hossein Mousavi got 33.75 percent.

After the official declaration, Mousavi protested "strongly" the "obvious violations" in Iran's presidential election. He also appealed to the Guardians Council for the cancellation of the election results. READ MORE

Thought Crime Bills Threaten Talk Radio
Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
Saturday, June 27, 2009

HR 1966 has cleared the House and now faces the Senate as S.909, the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (officially, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act). The bill is expected to sail through the Senate as it did in the House. It will provide federal assistance to the states, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for “other purposes.” It creates special protective status based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.

Kansas Rep. Todd Tiahrt compared the bill to Orwell’s Animal Farm and said it would damage free speech.

S.909 is a direct violation of the First Amendment. It allows the federal government to prosecute people involved in “hate speech” transmitted over television, radio, and the internet. The House version of the bill states: Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce [radio, TV, internet] any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. (HR 1966, SEC 3, Sec. 881a)

In other words, if a talk show host engages in “hostile” speech against a person or persons of the above mentioned federally protected group that talk show host will face federal prosecution and the prospect of a two year prison term.

According to Alan Potash, director of the Anti-Defamation League for the Plains States, “freedom of speech does not extend to racist groups.”

The ADL played an instrumental role in passing the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. “ADL has long been in the forefront of national and state efforts to deter and counteract hate-motivated criminal activity. Hate crime statutes are necessary because the failure to recognize and effectively address this unique type of crime could cause an isolated incident to explode into widespread community tension,” the ADL website states.

In the wake of a series of crimes the corporate media and the ADL have linked to “white supremacists” (the killing of police officers in Pittsburgh and the attack by James von Brunn on the Holocaust museum in Washington), the ADL and its partners on the so-called left have engaged in an orchestrated campaign to demonize groups and individuals that are not racist or separatist. READ MORE

What Actually Happened in the Iranian Presidential Election?
A Hard Look at the Numbers
by Esam Al-Amin
Global Research, June 22, 2009
CounterPunch

Since the June 12 Iranian presidential elections, Iran "experts” have mushroomed like bacteria in a Petri dish. So here is a quiz for all those instant experts. Which major country has elected more presidents than any in the world since 1980? Further, which nation is the only one that held ten presidential elections within thirty years of its revolution?

The answer to both questions, of course, is Iran. Since 1980, it has elected six presidents, while the U.S. is a close second with five, and France at three. In addition, the U.S. held four presidential elections within three decades of its revolution to Iran’s ten.

The Iranian elections have unified the left and the right in the West and unleashed harsh criticisms and attacks from the “outraged” politicians to the “indignant” mainstream media. Even the blogosphere has joined this battle with near uniformity, on the side of Iran’s opposition, which is quite rare in cyberspace.

Much of the allegations of election fraud have been just that: unsubstantiated accusations. No one has yet been able to provide a solid shred of evidence of wide scale fraud that would have garnered eleven million votes for one candidate over his opponent.

So let’s analyze much of the evidence that is available to date.

More than thirty pre-election polls were conducted in Iran since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his main opponent, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, announced their candidacies in early March 2009. The polls varied widely between the two opponents, but if one were to average their results, Ahmadinejad would still come out on top. However, some of the organizations sponsoring these polls, such as Iranian Labor News Agency and Tabnak, admit openly that they have been allies of Mousavi, the opposition, or the so-called reform movement. Their numbers were clearly tilted towards Mousavi and gave him an unrealistic advantage of over 30 per cent in some polls. If such biased polls were excluded, Ahmadinejad’s average over Mousavi would widen to about 21 points. READ MORE

The new rules would see the Fed given the authority to “regulate” any company whose activity it believes could threaten the economy and the markets.

This goes a step further than the centrally planned economies of the Soviet Union or Communist China, in that the Federal Reserve is not even accountable to the U.S. government, it is a private entity that according to former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, is accountable to nobody but the banking families that own it.

Obama’s regulatory “reform” plan is nothing less than a green light for the complete and total takeover of the United States by a private banking cartel that will usurp the power of existing regulatory bodies, who are now being blamed for the financial crisis in order that their status can be abolished and their roles handed over to the all-powerful Fed.

According to an Associated Press report today, Democratic leaders have committed to enacting the plan before the end of the year and Republicans in both the House and Senate have indicated that they won’t stand in the way of the overhaul.

“The final plan….is expected to sidestep most jurisdictional disputes and simply impose across the board standards to be applied by all financial regulators, according to administration and industry sources, ” reports the Washington Times.

In other words, the Fed, which is already totally unaccountable to Congress, is to be placed in complete control of the entirety of the U.S. financial system, to do as it wishes without repercussion. READ MORE

Obama's Undeclared War Against Pakistan Continues, Despite His Attempt to Downplay It
In a new interview, Obama said he has “no intention” of sending US troops into Pakistan. But US troops are already in the country and US drones attack Pakistan regularly.

By Jeremy Scahill

Three days after his inauguration, on January 23, 2009, President Barack Obama ordered US predator drones to attack sites inside of Pakistan, reportedly killing 15 people. It was the first documented attack ordered by the new US Commander in Chief inside of Pakistan. Since that first Obama-authorized attack, the US has regularly bombed Pakistan, killing scores of civilians.

The New York Times reported that the attacks were clear evidence Obama “is continuing, and in some cases extending, Bush administration policy.” In the first 99 days of 2009, more than 150 people were reportedly killed in these drone attacks. The most recent documented attack was reportedly last Thursday in Waziristan. Since 2006, the US drone strikes have killed 687 people (as of April). That amounts to about 38 deaths a month just from drone attacks.

The use of these attack drones by Obama should not come as a surprise to anyone who followed his presidential campaign closely. As a candidate, Obama made clear that Pakistan’s sovereignty was subservient to US interests, saying he would attack with or without the approval of the Pakistani government. Obama said if the US had “actionable intelligence” that “high value” targets were in Pakistan, the US would attack.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, echoed those sentiments on the campaign trail and “did not rule out U.S. attacks inside Pakistan, citing the missile attacks her husband, then-President Bill Clinton, ordered against Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in 1998. ‘If we had actionable intelligence that Osama bin Laden or other high-value targets were in Pakistan I would ensure that they were targeted and killed or captured,’ she said.
READ MORE

US drone strike kills 80 Pakistanis
By Tom Eley
25 June 2009

On Tuesday, an unmanned US Predator drone fired missiles into a funeral procession in the Pakistani region of South Waziristan, killing as many as 80 people and maiming dozens more. It was the deadliest US attack within Pakistan to date.

The mourners had gathered for the funeral of seven victims of another US drone attack that had taken place earlier the same day. US media accounts described the target as a “Taliban training center in South Waziristan.” According to local sources, those killed and wounded in the attack were mostly civilians. The US has stepped up its drone attacks on South Waziristan in preparation for a major ground offensive by the Pakistani military. Pakistani fighter jets have also been bombing the region.

Last Sunday, US drones fired missiles at a home in the South Waziristan district of Makeen, killing at least five. On Thursday, June 18, a US drone bombed a house close to the capital of South Waziristan, Wana, killing one. When villagers ran to rescue those they feared trapped in the rubble, the unmanned plane fired its missiles again, killing 12 more. Tuesday’s attack on the funeral procession in the village of Najmaral, also in the Makeen district, appears to have been aimed at Pakistani militant leader Baitulla Mehsud. Mehsud was not at the funeral, which was held for a tribal leader and six others killed in that morning’s attack. The increasing carnage inflicted on the Pakistanis is the direct result of the escalation of military violence in both Afghanistan and Pakistan ordered by President Obama. The new administration has already sent an additional 12,000 US soldiers as part of a “surge” that will bring the US troop presence in Afghanistan by the end of the year to 60,000.
READ MORE

Fed As Policeman For Economy A Big Mistake
June 27 2009
International Forecaster Weekly

Summary: Economy in a shambles, Growth not in the equation, Fed stifles US Treasury, More powers for Fed not the answer, more ponzi schemes before the courts, real GDP shrinking this year, More power for failed regulators a serious suggestion

As you have already seen this is a worldwide depression and no one will escape. Europe’s economy is already in a shambles as is the US economy. Inflation will rage all over the world, because every nation has created massive amounts of money and credit as demanded by US and British elitists. They have all overmedicated the patient. As the Broadway hit play of many years ago told us, we are going to have to go through a “Period of Adjustment.” Some nations will get off easier than others. There will be no decoupling and many nations could have revolutions.

Government spending and increased debt has been taken on by all countries and to in part pay for that taxes will rise everywhere. Deficits will hit records as far as the eye can see. You can’t have massive spending, massive debt and massive tax increases and expect to have growth. It is impossible.

Thus far government has been able to paper over the systemic meltdown in the financial area. They still haven’t dealt with off balance sheet and derivative losses. Even with the trillions poured into these entities it has not been enough to solve their problems and over the next few years that will become obvious.

The Treasury plans of having the fox, the Fed, take over the chicken coop is pure insanity. These are the very people who caused the problem by encouraging mis-rating, securitization and lending that defied reality. Now the Fed is to become policeman. It is really insulting and removes any sense of security from the system.

The problem of protecting consumers lies in the hands of the Fed, raters, lenders and Wall Street. Greed overcame any semblance of prudence.

The Treasury, as stated under the Constitution, should have the authority to solve financial crisis, but they cannot because the Fed has the tools to do so. Those tools have to be put in the hands of the Treasury again. It is not a cure all, but it is a step forward. That has to be accompanied by ending the revolving door between banking, Wall Street and the positions appointed in Washington, especially the Treasury. READ MORE

With the Obama administration set to oversee significant increases in US security assistance programmes for African countries, Daniel Volman examines the US government's plans for its military operations on the African continent over the coming financial year. Stressing that the US president is essentially continuing the policies outlined under his predecessor George W. Bush, the author considers the proposed funding increases for initiatives like the Foreign Military Financing programme and the International Military Education and Training (IMET) programme.

Pointing out that the administration is yet to offer any public explanation of its policy, Volman concludes that it would be a mistake to assume that there will be no US military action if the situation in Somalia deteriorates.

At the beginning of May 2009, President Obama submitted his first budget request to Congress. The Obama administration's budget for the 2010 financial year proposes significant increases in US security assistance programmes for African countries and for the operations of the new US Africa Command (AFRICOM). This shows that - at least initially - the administration is following the course laid down for AFRICOM by the Bush administration, rather than putting these programmes on hold until it can conduct a serious review of US security policy towards Africa. This article outlines the administration's plans for Africa in the coming year and the money it intends to spend on military operations on the continent. READ MORE

The Truth Behind The Iraq “Sovereignty” Propaganda
Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops to remain stationed at dozens of U.S. military bases throughout the country

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The corporate media is getting all giddy and affording blanket coverage to the story of Iraqis who are “regaining their sovereignty” as U.S. troops are pulled out from Iraqi cities. This is of course lurid and baseless propaganda - hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops will remain in Iraq stationed at the dozens of military bases that have been built across the country.

“As of now, there are approximately 130,000 U.S. military personnel in Iraq. Most of the U.S. soldiers that had been deployed in Iraqi cities are being returned to garrison elsewhere in country. The United States Air Force controls Iraq’s airspace. The United States Navy controls Iraq’s territorial waters,” points out the Cryptogon blog. “Sovereignty: No. Propaganda: Yes.”

After the “official” full withdrawal date of 2011, which Admiral Mike Mullen has indicated isn’t even guaranteed, “Mr. Obama plans to leave behind a “residual force” of tens of thousands of troops to continue training Iraqi security forces, hunt down foreign terrorist cells and guard American institutions,” reported the New York Times back in February.

“Residual force” is a euphemism for “occupying army,” since only the most stupidly naive could ever believe that Iraq is now nothing more than a subservient client state of the new world order empire. READ MORE

Iran Election and the Twitter Revolution
Posted: 2009/06/18
From: Mathaba

Not all that twitters is gold: a handful of anonymous people have managed to misinform the major western news networks, and thus mislead millions of people concerning current events in Iran. In this case, do blame the messenger: MSM news networks.

This article of collected references shows that far from being a "revolution" fanned by Twitter and Facebook, these (un)social media networks delude only themselves, some of their followers, the western media networks (as we shall demonstrate) and even, it seems, western intelligence agencies.

The opposition to democracy in Iran, we will show, has long been established and comes from the west, while neither Twitter nor Facebook pose any real threat.

The greater danger comes from gullible western "MSM" news networks giving in to the temptation of false information from unlimited fake accounts set up by intelligence agencies and activists and their uncritical subservience to those who finance them for "New World Order" objectives.

Don't be a useful idiot

Let us break a few assumptions that western TV couch and internet potatoes have about Iran. For those who realize that taking a position and voicing it toward others over the Internet is a responsibility which requires some informed opinion, you'll find the links and references in this document of great assistance. READ MORE