Rep Ron Paul – TX Congressman
Peter Schiff – Pres, Euro Pacific Capital
Andrew Schiff – Euro Pacific Capital
Sheriff Richard Mack – Author, County Sheriff: America’s Last Hope
Tom Mullen – Author, A Return to Common Sense: Reawakening Liberty in the Inhabitants of America
Dr. Walter Block – Professor, Loyola University New Orleans, fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Cato Experts Dissect Obama's Health Care Town Hall Meeting
President Obama on Wednesday answered questions on rising costs, taxing benefits, and many other issues during an ABC News special on health care reform, "Questions for the President: Prescription for America." Cato Institute scholars Michael D. Tanner and Michael F. Cannon respond to Obama's claims.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Another Reason Why I Hate Faux News...
The Fox News coverage of a conference in Chicago on July 19, 2009, titled the "Fall of Capitalism & Rise of Islam" heavily hyped the story, falsely claiming that Al Qaeda terrorists were openly recruiting there as shown in this video.
The first two Fox News clips come from "Fox and Friends Sunday" broadcast on July 19, 2009.
The clip of reporter Steve Brown comes from the Fox News program "America's News HQ" also broadcast on July 19, 2009.
The two clips of neo-con superhawk Frank Gaffney are from the Fox News program "America's Newsroom" broadcast on July 20, 2009.
The first two Fox News clips come from "Fox and Friends Sunday" broadcast on July 19, 2009.
The clip of reporter Steve Brown comes from the Fox News program "America's News HQ" also broadcast on July 19, 2009.
The two clips of neo-con superhawk Frank Gaffney are from the Fox News program "America's Newsroom" broadcast on July 20, 2009.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Doctor Tells It Like It Is On Obama's Proposal For Healthcare.
On Wednesday, July 22, 2009, Dr. Paul appeared on CNN's "American Morning" to discuss the failure of the current government-managed health care system and to advocate for less government interference and greater patient control.
Ron Paul Breaks Down The Federal Reserve's Role Behind The Economic Crisis.
Opening Statement:
Ron Paul Questioning Bernake:
Ron Paul on MSNBC after the hearing.
Ron Paul Questioning Bernake:
Ron Paul on MSNBC after the hearing.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Max Keiser Slams Goldman Sachs.
Max Keiser ends up going into a "Global Governance Talk" but only to make a point while the French Professor Of Economics consistently preaches about it being the "Solution"
Friday, July 17, 2009
"The Most Trusted Man In America" has passed...
Walter Cronkite, an iconic CBS News journalist who defined the role of anchorman for a generation of television viewers, died Friday at the age of 92, his family said.
“My father Walter Cronkite died,” his son Chip said just before 8 p.m. Eastern. CBS interrupted prime time programming to show an obituary for the man who defined the network’s news division for decades.
Mr. Cronkite’s family said last month that he was seriously ill with cerebrovascular disease.
Mr. Cronkite anchored the “CBS Evening News” from 1962 to 1981, at a time when television became the dominant medium of the United States. He figuratively held the hand of the American public during the civil rights movement, the space race, the Vietnam war, and the impeachment of Richard Nixon. During his tenure, network newscasts were expanded to 30 minutes from 15.
“It is impossible to imagine CBS News, journalism or indeed America without Walter Cronkite,” Sean McManus, the president of CBS News, said in a statement. “More than just the best and most trusted anchor in history, he guided America through our crises, tragedies and also our victories and greatest moments.”
Mr. McManus added: “No matter what the news event was, Walter was always the consummate professional with an un-paralleled sense of compassion, integrity, humanity, warmth, and occasionally even humor. There will never be another figure in American history who will hold the position Walter held in our minds, our hearts and on the television. We were blessed to have this man in our lives and words cannot describe how much he will be missed by those of us at CBS News and by all of America.”
Mike Wallace, the “60 Minutes” correspondent emeritus, said simply in a statement, “We were proud to work with him — for him — we loved him.”
Reassurance was Mr. Cronkite’s stock in trade, the ability to convince viewers that when he was on the air all would turn out well.
In a review of Mr. Cronkite’s autobiography in 1997, the former New York Times columnist Tom Wicker wrote:
When John F. Kennedy was murdered in Dallas in 1963, Walter Cronkite stayed on the air for the Columbia Broadcasting System for countless hours. His performance that weekend helped pull together a nation stricken with grief and was a signal event in television’s evolution into the national nervous system.
When Mr. Cronkite came back from Vietnam after the Tet offensive of 1968, he concluded on national television that the war had become no better than a stalemate. Hearing that, President Lyndon Johnson told associates, ”If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.” And he had. When Mr. Cronkite asked Robert Kennedy, then a senator from New York, whether he would run for President in 1968, Kennedy turned the tables: he proposed that Mr. Cronkite should run for the Senate. Mr. Cronkite refused, but the idea reflected polls showing that a journalist — a television journalist at that — had become the most trusted man in America.
Katie Couric, the current anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” said in a statement Friday night that Mr. Cronkite was so trusted “because he exhibited a sense of purpose and compassion, night after night. He was the personification of excellence.”
For his exhaustive and enthusiastic coverage of NASA, Mr. Cronkite was sometimes called “the eighth astronaut.” During the first moon landing in 1969, Mr. Cronkite “was on the air for 27 of the 30 hours that Apollo 11 took to complete its mission,” The Museum of Broadcast Communications notes.
Jennifer Mascia and Douglas Martin contributed reporting.
Now, the other side of Walter that many didn't know about.
“My father Walter Cronkite died,” his son Chip said just before 8 p.m. Eastern. CBS interrupted prime time programming to show an obituary for the man who defined the network’s news division for decades.
Mr. Cronkite’s family said last month that he was seriously ill with cerebrovascular disease.
Mr. Cronkite anchored the “CBS Evening News” from 1962 to 1981, at a time when television became the dominant medium of the United States. He figuratively held the hand of the American public during the civil rights movement, the space race, the Vietnam war, and the impeachment of Richard Nixon. During his tenure, network newscasts were expanded to 30 minutes from 15.
“It is impossible to imagine CBS News, journalism or indeed America without Walter Cronkite,” Sean McManus, the president of CBS News, said in a statement. “More than just the best and most trusted anchor in history, he guided America through our crises, tragedies and also our victories and greatest moments.”
Mr. McManus added: “No matter what the news event was, Walter was always the consummate professional with an un-paralleled sense of compassion, integrity, humanity, warmth, and occasionally even humor. There will never be another figure in American history who will hold the position Walter held in our minds, our hearts and on the television. We were blessed to have this man in our lives and words cannot describe how much he will be missed by those of us at CBS News and by all of America.”
Mike Wallace, the “60 Minutes” correspondent emeritus, said simply in a statement, “We were proud to work with him — for him — we loved him.”
Reassurance was Mr. Cronkite’s stock in trade, the ability to convince viewers that when he was on the air all would turn out well.
In a review of Mr. Cronkite’s autobiography in 1997, the former New York Times columnist Tom Wicker wrote:
When John F. Kennedy was murdered in Dallas in 1963, Walter Cronkite stayed on the air for the Columbia Broadcasting System for countless hours. His performance that weekend helped pull together a nation stricken with grief and was a signal event in television’s evolution into the national nervous system.
When Mr. Cronkite came back from Vietnam after the Tet offensive of 1968, he concluded on national television that the war had become no better than a stalemate. Hearing that, President Lyndon Johnson told associates, ”If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.” And he had. When Mr. Cronkite asked Robert Kennedy, then a senator from New York, whether he would run for President in 1968, Kennedy turned the tables: he proposed that Mr. Cronkite should run for the Senate. Mr. Cronkite refused, but the idea reflected polls showing that a journalist — a television journalist at that — had become the most trusted man in America.
Katie Couric, the current anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” said in a statement Friday night that Mr. Cronkite was so trusted “because he exhibited a sense of purpose and compassion, night after night. He was the personification of excellence.”
For his exhaustive and enthusiastic coverage of NASA, Mr. Cronkite was sometimes called “the eighth astronaut.” During the first moon landing in 1969, Mr. Cronkite “was on the air for 27 of the 30 hours that Apollo 11 took to complete its mission,” The Museum of Broadcast Communications notes.
Jennifer Mascia and Douglas Martin contributed reporting.
Now, the other side of Walter that many didn't know about.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Obama's Reversals & Refusals.
Barack Obama’s indefinite detention claim, coupled with the enemy combatant right he inherited, enables him to lock up any US citizen forever without a trial, author and political consultant Naomi Wolf told RT.
Monday, July 13, 2009
The Fed Under Fire...
The Federal Reserve is one of the most powerful and secretive institutions in Washington, long considered beyond the reach of lawmakers. But now, as details emerge of how the Fed secretly doled out more than a trillion dollars during the financial crisis, a rare bipartisan movement in Congress demands that the Fed be held accountable.
Russia Today: Freedom Fest 2009
"Our Government No Longer Represents the Values of Freedom.." Adm Kokesh
"We know socialism does't work" Steve Forbes
"Our current leaders have very little in common with the peopl who founded this country. Their philosophy is rooted in socialism or Marxism..." Peter Schiff
"We know socialism does't work" Steve Forbes
"Our current leaders have very little in common with the peopl who founded this country. Their philosophy is rooted in socialism or Marxism..." Peter Schiff
Medvedev Unveils “World Currency” Coin At G8.
Russian President shows reporters example of “united future world currency”
In a highly symbolic moment at the G8 summit in Italy today, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev unveiled to reporters a coin representing a “united future world currency”.
“We are discussing both the use of other national currencies, including the ruble, as a reserve currency, as well as supranational currencies,” the Russian leader said at a news conference.
However, those who have downplayed the formulation of a world currency by dismissing it as merely a progression of SDR’s (Special Drawing Rights) and not something that would physically be used by citizens in a system of world government, were contradicted when Medvedev clearly outlined that the new currency would be “used for payment” by citizens as a “united future world currency”.
“This is a symbol of our unity and our desire to settle such issues jointly,” Medvedev said.
“Here it is,” Medvedev told reporters today in L’Aquila, Italy, after a summit of the Group of Eight nations. “You can see it and touch it,” reports Bloomberg.
The question of a supranational currency “concerns everyone now, even the mints,” Medvedev said. The test coin “means they’re getting ready. I think it’s a good sign that we understand how interdependent we are.”
Medvedev explained that the coin had been minted in Belgium and bears the words “unity in diversity”. An RIA Novosti report noted that the coin represented an example of a “possible global currency”.
China and Russia have repeatedly called for a new global currency to replace the dollar.
When confronted about plans to supplant the dollar with a new global currency, both Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner denied that such an agenda existed.
However, just days after he told a Congressional hearing that there were no plans to move towards a global currency, Geithner sought to please the elitist CFR by assuring them that he was “open” to the notion of a new global currency system.
The scandal-ridden and highly secretive Bank For International Settlements, considered to be the world’s top central banking power hub, released a policy paper in 2006 that called for the end of national currencies in favor of a global model of currency formats.
The global currency would be a key central plank of a future system of world government. Earlier this week, Pope Benedict called for a “world political authority” to manage the global economy.
Here is a close up of the coin.
Click Here
*My Personal Words*
People thought the whole "New World Order" was some kind of "Conspiracy Theory." Well, here is your conspiracy you ignorant, naive, hard headed assholes.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Aaron Russo's: Freedom To Fascism
This documentary covers many subjects, including: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the income tax, Federal Reserve System, national ID cards (REAL ID Act), human-implanted RFID tags (Spychips), Diebold electronic voting machines,[2] globalization, Big Brother, taser weapons abuse,[3] and the alleged use of terrorism by government as a means to diminish the citizens' rights.
Some of the premises of the film include:
The Federal Reserve System is unconstitutional and has maxed out the national debt and bankrupted the United States government.
Federal income taxes were imposed in response to, or as part of, the plan implementing the Federal Reserve System.
Federal income taxes are unconstitutional or otherwise legally invalid.
The use of the Federal income tax to counter the economic effects of the Federal Reserve System is futile.
Some of the premises of the film include:
The Federal Reserve System is unconstitutional and has maxed out the national debt and bankrupted the United States government.
Federal income taxes were imposed in response to, or as part of, the plan implementing the Federal Reserve System.
Federal income taxes are unconstitutional or otherwise legally invalid.
The use of the Federal income tax to counter the economic effects of the Federal Reserve System is futile.
Friday, July 10, 2009
What Did The C.I.A. Lie About???
US Congress has once again accused the CIA of lying to lawmakers. This follows the statement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in May that the agency failed to inform her about the use of harsh interrogation techniques.
Seven Democrats from US Congress stated that the CIA wasnt telling Congress the whole truth about its crucial program related to national security policy.
The House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes of Texas and six other members announced that CIA Director Leon Panetta had acknowledged that senior CIA officials have repeatedly misled lawmakers since 2001.
The legislators have not revealed exactly what program was being kept secret, given the sensitivity of the matter, so it is not known whether the case has to do with the occupation of Iraq, the US armys actions in Afghanistan, or harsh interrogation techniques.
There is a suggestion that it is about the use of waterboarding on suspected terrorists, judging by the words of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Republican Peter Hoekstra criticized Reyes, calling the allegations bizarre. Republicans have also suggested that the announcement was timed to deflect a controversy involving Pelosi. Indeed, after her statement in May some media and her political rivals accused her of being aware of the use of torture but concealing the information.
Meanwhile, observers say Congress should have the authority to hold CIA officials accountable for deliberate deceptions.
Seven Democrats from US Congress stated that the CIA wasnt telling Congress the whole truth about its crucial program related to national security policy.
The House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes of Texas and six other members announced that CIA Director Leon Panetta had acknowledged that senior CIA officials have repeatedly misled lawmakers since 2001.
The legislators have not revealed exactly what program was being kept secret, given the sensitivity of the matter, so it is not known whether the case has to do with the occupation of Iraq, the US armys actions in Afghanistan, or harsh interrogation techniques.
There is a suggestion that it is about the use of waterboarding on suspected terrorists, judging by the words of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Republican Peter Hoekstra criticized Reyes, calling the allegations bizarre. Republicans have also suggested that the announcement was timed to deflect a controversy involving Pelosi. Indeed, after her statement in May some media and her political rivals accused her of being aware of the use of torture but concealing the information.
Meanwhile, observers say Congress should have the authority to hold CIA officials accountable for deliberate deceptions.
Special "Q Group" security wing inside US National Security Agency.
Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen claims the group has since grown into a disproportionate counter-intelligence force, mainly targeting journalists and prosecuting whistleblowing security officials.
According to Madsen, this group is fully operational and is called the Q Group of the National Security Agency and its headquarters are within the headquarters of NSA at Fort Meade, Maryland. Q Group works in close cooperation with the FBI counter intelligence officers, as well as local police department intelligence units.
Madsen insists that the group is very large and approximately 1,000 agents and informers are employed by this secret agency within the already secretive NSA.
Under Obama there has been no effort to curtail this organization. Unfortunately, the NSAs power is growing because the Obama administration is now giving them new powers to conduct surveillance in cyberspace, placing cyber command under the control of NSA, said Madsen.
According to Madsen, this group is fully operational and is called the Q Group of the National Security Agency and its headquarters are within the headquarters of NSA at Fort Meade, Maryland. Q Group works in close cooperation with the FBI counter intelligence officers, as well as local police department intelligence units.
Madsen insists that the group is very large and approximately 1,000 agents and informers are employed by this secret agency within the already secretive NSA.
Under Obama there has been no effort to curtail this organization. Unfortunately, the NSAs power is growing because the Obama administration is now giving them new powers to conduct surveillance in cyberspace, placing cyber command under the control of NSA, said Madsen.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Adam Kokesh Announces Bid for Congress
SANTA FE, NM- July 6, 2009 - Peace & Liberty activist and Iraq war veteran, Adam Kokesh, announces bid for congressional seat in New Mexico's Third Congressional District as announcement brings in over $25,000 in a single day despite servers being overwhelmed and crashing. Signs spring up all over the district urging people to join the "Kokesh r3VOLution."
Adam Kokesh announced at the event, "Celebrate American r3VOLution" that he would seek a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Kokesh referenced Thomas Paine's "The Crisis" as he announced, "'These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country . . . Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.' So began the great American tradition of winter soldiering. I have decided that for myself, the greatest way to continue that tradition is to run for Congress to represent New Mexico's Third Congressional District."
Adam Kokesh announced at the event, "Celebrate American r3VOLution" that he would seek a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Kokesh referenced Thomas Paine's "The Crisis" as he announced, "'These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country . . . Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.' So began the great American tradition of winter soldiering. I have decided that for myself, the greatest way to continue that tradition is to run for Congress to represent New Mexico's Third Congressional District."
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy 4th Of July! ( With Some Education On The 4th )
The Declaration of Independence was approved JULY 4, 1776. John Hancock signed first, saying "the price on my head has just doubled." Benjamin Franklin said "We must hang together or most assuredly we shall hang separately." Of the 56 signers: 17 served in the military, 11 had their homes destroyed, 5 were hunted and captured, Abraham Clark had two sons imprisoned on the British starving ship Jersey, John Witherspoon's son was killed in battle, Francis Lewis' wife was inprisoned and died from the harsh treatment, many, such as Thomas Nelson and Carter Braxton, lost their fortunes and 9 died during the War. When Samuel Adams signed the Declaration, he said: "We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come." John Adams said: "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty." John Adams continued: "I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration...Yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory...Posterity will triumph in that day's transaction, even though we [may regret] it, which I trust in God we shall not."
Finally, An Educational Video About The 4th Of July.
*Bonus* The Legend.
Finally, An Educational Video About The 4th Of July.
*Bonus* The Legend.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
While the U.S. Dilly Dallies on Honduras, We Continue to Support a Right-Wing Thug in Colombia.
By Liliana Segura, AlterNet.
Alvaro Uribe could be re-elected through just the type of referendum the ousted Manuel Zelaya has been accused of trying to carry out.
With all eyes suddenly on Honduras over the expulsion of President Manuel Zelaya, few were paying attention when President Barack Obama quietly met with Colombian president and staunch U.S. ally Alvaro Uribe this week.
Protests over the coup in Tegucigalpa were met with spurious claims that the left-leaning "Mel" Zelaya was seeking an illegal re-election bid through a revamping of the Honduran Constitution. Meanwhile, at the White House, Uribe found himself dodging questions about re-election plans of his own.
Uribe knows something about changing a constitution to stay in office. In 2004, his powerful supporters in the Colombian Congress passed legislation to amend the 1991 constitution in order to allow the popular president to seek a second four-year term. Though controversial, the new law was upheld by the country's Supreme Court, and in 2006, Uribe won the presidential election in a landslide.
Now, Uribe is poised to do it again. While he has acted coy and evasive when asked whether he wants to extend his presidency -- a political cartoon in the weekly Semana recently showed Uribe calling a third term "inconvenient" while adding "but if the pueblo demands it, I will sacrifice myself" -- his allies in Congress have been working to pass legislation to grant him a third presidential run, through just the type of voter referendum Zelaya has been inaccurately accused of trying to carry out. The referendum would ask Colombians to vote on yet another constitutional amendment to allow presidents to run for a third term. Given Uribe's overwhelming approval rating, such a measure could turn out well for him.
It's an alarming prospect. Since Uribe's first re-election, reports have surfaced that members of Congress were bribed by his administration to vote for his re-election bid. The accusations add to a mind-boggling litany of charges against Uribe, whose government has been linked to right-wing paramilitaries for years -- and whose military continues to kill innocent civilians and then dress up their corpses as FARC guerillas.
Add to that a series of intelligence scandals -- including a wiretapping probe targeting politicians and journalists -- and one would think it might be time to distance the U.S. from the man George W. Bush liked to call "mi amigo."
Yet Obama greeted Uribe warmly at the White House this week, praising him for his "diligence and courage" and speaking optimistically about the passage of a free trade agreement -- a measure presidential-candidate Obama opposed on human rights grounds.
When a journalist asked about Uribe's potential re-election bid, Obama was diplomatic. "We know that our experience in the United States is that two terms works for us," he said, adding that he had advised Uribe that one of our "most revered" presidents, George Washington, had stepped down after two terms, despite being in a position to stay in power. But, he added, "each country, I think, has to make these decisions on their own."
For his part, Uribe assured reporters that "our democratic institutions are totally solid," at which point Obama added, to some laughter:
"… The other thing I should say is that if I were to serve two terms, I'm fairly confident that I would not have the 70 percent approval rating that President Uribe has."
With Zelaya in Washington this week, there are calls for the Obama administration to cut off aid to Honduras as a way to pressure the newly installed Roberto Micheletti to return him to power. (Currently, the State Department has requested $68.2 million in aid for fiscal year 2010 -- an increase of $25 million from this year -- for military, development and health aid.) For Honduras, the second- or third-poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, the impact would be severe.
Colombia, meanwhile, has for years been the largest recipient of U.S. aid in the region -- $6 billion, mostly thanks to the "war on drugs." While the Obama administration has spoken of scaling back military dollars in favor of development funds, Obama's meeting with Uribe this week inspired little confidence that any future aid will be contingent on a real improvement on Colombia's human rights record.
"I commended President Uribe on the progress that has been made in human rights in Colombia and dealing with the killings of labor leaders there," Obama said on Monday. In reality, a report by the International Trade Union Confederation this month shows that "Colombia remains the world's deadliest country for labor organizers, with 49 killed last year, up from 39 in 2007 but down from 78 in 2006," according to the Associated Press.
While the Obama administration is right to consider denying economic aid to the coup government in Honduras, the crimes and human rights violations in Colombia under Uribe should have sparked such action years ago.
As Uribe's allies in Bogota continue to pave the way toward a third presidential term, the Obama administration would do well to stop praising him and reconsider who, exactly, its allies should be in Latin America.
Alvaro Uribe could be re-elected through just the type of referendum the ousted Manuel Zelaya has been accused of trying to carry out.
With all eyes suddenly on Honduras over the expulsion of President Manuel Zelaya, few were paying attention when President Barack Obama quietly met with Colombian president and staunch U.S. ally Alvaro Uribe this week.
Protests over the coup in Tegucigalpa were met with spurious claims that the left-leaning "Mel" Zelaya was seeking an illegal re-election bid through a revamping of the Honduran Constitution. Meanwhile, at the White House, Uribe found himself dodging questions about re-election plans of his own.
Uribe knows something about changing a constitution to stay in office. In 2004, his powerful supporters in the Colombian Congress passed legislation to amend the 1991 constitution in order to allow the popular president to seek a second four-year term. Though controversial, the new law was upheld by the country's Supreme Court, and in 2006, Uribe won the presidential election in a landslide.
Now, Uribe is poised to do it again. While he has acted coy and evasive when asked whether he wants to extend his presidency -- a political cartoon in the weekly Semana recently showed Uribe calling a third term "inconvenient" while adding "but if the pueblo demands it, I will sacrifice myself" -- his allies in Congress have been working to pass legislation to grant him a third presidential run, through just the type of voter referendum Zelaya has been inaccurately accused of trying to carry out. The referendum would ask Colombians to vote on yet another constitutional amendment to allow presidents to run for a third term. Given Uribe's overwhelming approval rating, such a measure could turn out well for him.
It's an alarming prospect. Since Uribe's first re-election, reports have surfaced that members of Congress were bribed by his administration to vote for his re-election bid. The accusations add to a mind-boggling litany of charges against Uribe, whose government has been linked to right-wing paramilitaries for years -- and whose military continues to kill innocent civilians and then dress up their corpses as FARC guerillas.
Add to that a series of intelligence scandals -- including a wiretapping probe targeting politicians and journalists -- and one would think it might be time to distance the U.S. from the man George W. Bush liked to call "mi amigo."
Yet Obama greeted Uribe warmly at the White House this week, praising him for his "diligence and courage" and speaking optimistically about the passage of a free trade agreement -- a measure presidential-candidate Obama opposed on human rights grounds.
When a journalist asked about Uribe's potential re-election bid, Obama was diplomatic. "We know that our experience in the United States is that two terms works for us," he said, adding that he had advised Uribe that one of our "most revered" presidents, George Washington, had stepped down after two terms, despite being in a position to stay in power. But, he added, "each country, I think, has to make these decisions on their own."
For his part, Uribe assured reporters that "our democratic institutions are totally solid," at which point Obama added, to some laughter:
"… The other thing I should say is that if I were to serve two terms, I'm fairly confident that I would not have the 70 percent approval rating that President Uribe has."
With Zelaya in Washington this week, there are calls for the Obama administration to cut off aid to Honduras as a way to pressure the newly installed Roberto Micheletti to return him to power. (Currently, the State Department has requested $68.2 million in aid for fiscal year 2010 -- an increase of $25 million from this year -- for military, development and health aid.) For Honduras, the second- or third-poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, the impact would be severe.
Colombia, meanwhile, has for years been the largest recipient of U.S. aid in the region -- $6 billion, mostly thanks to the "war on drugs." While the Obama administration has spoken of scaling back military dollars in favor of development funds, Obama's meeting with Uribe this week inspired little confidence that any future aid will be contingent on a real improvement on Colombia's human rights record.
"I commended President Uribe on the progress that has been made in human rights in Colombia and dealing with the killings of labor leaders there," Obama said on Monday. In reality, a report by the International Trade Union Confederation this month shows that "Colombia remains the world's deadliest country for labor organizers, with 49 killed last year, up from 39 in 2007 but down from 78 in 2006," according to the Associated Press.
While the Obama administration is right to consider denying economic aid to the coup government in Honduras, the crimes and human rights violations in Colombia under Uribe should have sparked such action years ago.
As Uribe's allies in Bogota continue to pave the way toward a third presidential term, the Obama administration would do well to stop praising him and reconsider who, exactly, its allies should be in Latin America.
H2O Powered Car!
Everyone is going crazy on how to make more "Gas efficient cars", the Japanese already have that one locked down.
BUT! It seems there was a man who invented this many many years ago but never put it into a full production.
BUT! It seems there was a man who invented this many many years ago but never put it into a full production.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Freedom Watch With Judge Napolitano 6-1-09
Guests:
* Rep Ron Paul
* John McManus, John Birch Society
* David Bruckner, Columbia Univ Professor
* Dr. Mary Ruwart, Libertarian Presidential Candidate
* Jim Babka, Pres, DownsizeDC.org
* Rep Ron Paul
* John McManus, John Birch Society
* David Bruckner, Columbia Univ Professor
* Dr. Mary Ruwart, Libertarian Presidential Candidate
* Jim Babka, Pres, DownsizeDC.org
Wayne Madsen On Alex JonesTV: Explosive Reporting!
From The Swine Flu, Honduras Conflict, James von Brunn, And Much Much More...
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