OBAMA’S SUPERVISED SHAME

Not because it was brutal or clumsy or anticipated was there any less indignation about the Yankee judge from the South Florida District denying René González, the Cuban anti-terrorist hero, the right to return to the heart of his family in Cuba after having served the unfair sentence imposed on him.

After a cruel and undeserved 13-year prison sentence, the United States government – that gave birth to monsters such as Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch who, as CIA agents had a hand in the exploding of a Cuban airliner full of passengers in mid-flight – forces René to remain in that nation, where he shall be at the mercy of unpunished murderers for three long years, under a regime described as supervised “freedom”. Still unfairly and vengefully imprisoned for long terms of confinement, are another three Cuban heroes, and another one sentenced to two life terms. That is how the empire responds to the growing world clamour for the freedom of these men.

If that were not the case, then the empire would cease to be an empire; and Obama would cease to be a fool.

Of course the Cuban heroes shall not be there forever. On the foundations of the unequalled example of dignity and steadfastness, solidarity in the world and in the very heart of the American people shall grow, and it shall put an end to the stupid and unsustainable injustice.

The uncouth decision was made when the UN General Assembly was in the midst of developing a profound debate on the necessity of re-founding that institution. Never have we heard such solid and energetic criticisms.

The Bolivarian leader Hugo Chávez opened it up with his first message to the General Assembly published on the evening of September 21st. Chávez’ second letter, transmitted in an energetic and vibrant tone by Chancellor Nicolás Maduro, was lapidary. In that message, he also denounced the criminal imperialist blockade against our Homeland and the scandalous and cruel vengeance against the 5 Cuban anti-terrorist Heroes.

Such circumstances have forced me to write a third Reflection. I shall transmit the essential ideas of that forceful message, using the very words of the author:

“[…] We do not look for the peace of the cemetery, as said Kant ironically, but a peace based on the most zealous respect for international law. Unfortunately, the UN, through all its history, instead of adding and multiplying efforts in favor of peace among nations, ends up supporting, sometimes through its actions and other times by omission, the most ruthless injustices.”

“From 1945 on, wars have done nothing but inexorably increase and multiply themselves.”

“I want to call on the governments of the world to reflect: since September 11th, 2001, a new and unprecedented imperialist war began, a permanent war, in perpetuity.

“We have to look directly at the terrifying reality of the world we live in. […] Why is the United States the only country that scatters the planet with military bases? What is it afraid of to allocate such a staggering budget for increasing its military power? Why has it unleashed so many wars, violating the sovereignty of other nations which have the same rights on their own fates? How can international law be enforced against its insensible aspiration to militarily hegemonizing the world in order to ensure energy sources to sustain their predatory and consumer model? Why does the UN do nothing to stop Washington? […] the empire has awarded itself the role of judge of the world, without being granted this responsibility […] therefore, imperialist war threatens us all.

“Washington knows that a multi-polar world is already an irreversible reality. Its strategy consists of stopping, at any price, the sustained rise of a group of emerging countries […] the goal is to reconfigure the world so it is based on Yankee military hegemony.”

“What is behind this new Armageddon?: the absolute power of the military-financial leadership which is destroying the world in order to accumulate ever more profits; the military-financial leadership which is subordinated, de facto, to an increasingly larger group of States. Keep in mind that war is capital’s modus operandi: the war that ruins the majority and makes richer, up to the unthinkable, a few people.

“Right now, there is a very serious threat to global peace: a new cycle of colonial wars, which started in Libya, with the sinister objective of refreshing the capitalist global system, within a structural crisis today, but without any limit to its consumerist and destructive voracity.”



“Humanity is on the brink of an unimaginable catastrophe: the world is marching inexorably toward the most devastating ecocide; global warming and its frightening consequences are announcing it, but their perspective on the ecosystem, which resembles the ideology of the conquistadors Cortés and Pizarro , as the influential French thinker Edgar Morin rightly pointed out […] The energy and food crises are sharpening, but capitalism continues to trespass all the limits with impunity.

“…the great U.S. scientist Linus Pauling, awarded the Nobel Prize on two occasions, continues enlightening our path: “I believe that there is a greater power in the world than the evil power of military force, of nuclear bombs — there is the power of good, of morality, of humanitarianism. I believe in the power of the human spirit”. Let us mobilize all the power of the human spirit: it is time now. It is imperative that we unleash a great political counter-offensive in order to prevent the powers of darkness from finding justifications for going to war, from unleashing a widespread global war through which they attempt to save the western capital.”

“The warmongers, and especially the military-financial leadership that sponsors and leads them, must be defeated.

“Let’s build the balance of the universe foreseen by the Liberator, Simón Bolívar – the balance that, according to his words, cannot be found within war; the balance that is born out of peace.”

“…Venezuela, alongside the member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), was actively advocating for a peaceful and negotiated solution to the Libyan conflict. That is also what the African Union did. However, in the end, the logic of war decreed by the UN Security Council and put into practice by NATO, the armed wing of the Yankee empire, was imposed. […] the “Libyan Case” was brought before the Security Council on the basis of an intense propaganda by the western mass media, who lied about the alleged bombing of innocent civilians by the Libyan Air Force, not to mention the grotesque media setting of the Green Square of Tripoli. This premeditated bunch of lies was used to justify irresponsible and hasty decisions by the Security Council, which paved the way for NATO’s military regime change policy in Libya.”

“… What has the no-fly zone established by Security Council resolution 1973 become? How could NATO perform more than 20,000 missions against the Libyan people if there was a no-fly zone? After the Libyan Air Force was completely annihilated, the continued “humanitarian” bombing shows that the West, through NATO, intends to impose their interests in North Africa, turning Libya into a colonial protectorate.”

“What is the real reason for this military intervention?: Recolonizing Libya in order to capture its wealth. Everything else is related to this goal.

“…the Residence of the Venezuelan Ambassador in Tripoli was invaded and looted, and the UN kept it to itself, remaining ignominiously silent.”

“…Why is the Libyan seat in the UN granted to the “national transitional council,” while the admission of Palestine is blocked by ignoring, not only its lawful aspiration, but also the existing will of the majority of the General Assembly? Venezuela hereby ratifies its unconditional solidarity with the Palestinian people and its total support for the Palestinian national cause, which naturally includes the immediate admission of Palestine as a full member state within the United Nations.

“And the same imperialist pattern is being repeated regarding Syria.”

“It is intolerable that the powerful of this world intend to claim for themselves the right to order legitimate and sovereign governments rulers to step down. This was the case in Libya, and they want to do the same in Syria. Such are the existing asymmetries in the international setting and such are the abuses against the weakest nations.”

“If we direct our eyes to the Horn of Africa we will witness a heartbreaking example of the UN’s historical failure: most serious news agencies report that 20-29,000 children under the age of 5 have died in the last three months.”

“What is needed to face this situation is $400 million, not to solve the problem, but just to address the emergency that Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia are going through. According to all sources, the next two months will be crucial to prevent more than 12 million people from dying, and the worst situation is that of Somalia.

“This reality could not be more atrocious, especially if, at the same time, we ask ourselves how much is being spent to destroy Libya. This is the answer of U.S. congressman Dennis Kucinich, who said: “This new War will cost us $500 million during its first week alone. Obviously, we do not have financial resources for that and we will end up cutting off other important domestic programs’ funding.” According to Kucinich himself, with the amount spent during the first three weeks in Northern Africa to massacre the Libyan people, much could have been done to help the entire region of the Horn of Africa, saving tens of thousands of lives.”

“…it is frankly regrettable that in the opening address of the 66th General Assembly of the UN, an immediate appeal to solve humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa was not made, while instead we were assured that “the time has come to act” on Syria.”

“We are also crying out for the end to the shameful and criminal blockade of our sister Republic of Cuba: a blockade that, for more than fifty years, is being exercised by the empire with cruelty and brutality, against the heroic peoples of José Martí.

“As of 2010, 19 UN General Assembly votes confirm the universal will demanding that the United States stop the economic and trade blockade against Cuba. Since all sensible international arguments have been exhausted, we have no choice but to believe that such cruel actions against the Cuban Revolution result from imperial arrogance in view of the dignity and courage shown by the unsubmissive Cuban people in their sovereign decision to determine their own fate and fight for their happiness.

“From Venezuela, we believe it is time to demand of the U.S. not only an immediate and unconditional end to the criminal blockade imposed against the Cuban people, but also the release of the five Cuban antiterrorist fighters held hostage in the prisons of the American Empire for the sole reason of seeking to prevent the illegal actions of terrorist groups against Cuba, under the shelter of the U.S. government.”

“For us, it is obvious that the UN is not improving, nor will it improve from the inside. If the Secretary General, along with the President of the International Criminal Court, take part in an act of war, as in the case of Libya, nothing can be expected from the current structure of this organization and there is no longer time for reform.”

“It is unbearable that there is a Security Council that turns its back, whenever it wants to, on the clamor of the majority of nations by deliberately failing to acknowledge the will of the General Assembly. If the Security Council is some sort of club with privileged members, what can the General Assembly do? Where is its room for maneuver, when Security Council members violate international law?

“Paraphrasing Bolívar when he spoke of nascent Yankee imperialism in 1818, we have had enough of the weak following the law while the strong commit abuses. It cannot be us, the peoples of the South, who respect international law while the North violates it, destroying and plundering us.

“If we do not make a commitment, once and for all, to rebuilding the United Nations, this organization will lose its remaining credibility. Its crisis of legitimacy will be accelerated until it finally implodes. In fact, that is what happened to its immediate predecessor: the League of Nations.”

“The future of a multi-polar world in peace lies with us. In the articulation of the majority peoples on the planet to defend ourselves from the new colonialism and to attain balance in the universe that neutralizes imperialism and arrogance.

“This broad, generous, respectful call with no exclusions is addressed to all the peoples of the world, but especially to the emerging powers of The South that must take on with courage the role they are being called upon to play in the immediate future.

“From Latin America and the Caribbean, powerful and dynamic regional alliances have arisen, seeking to configure a democratic regional space, respectful of special characteristics and wishing to accentuate solidarity and complementariness, fostering what unites us and politically resolving whatever divides us. And this new regionalism admits diversity and respects the rhythms of all. […] the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) moves forward as an experiment of the vanguard of progressive and anti-imperialist governments, seeking formulas to break with the governing international order and strengthening the capacity of the peoples to collectively face the factual powers. But this does not impede our members from making a decisive and enthusiastic thrust for the strengthening of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), a political bloc confederating the 12 sovereign states of South America with the aim of grouping them in what The Liberator Simón Bolívar called “a Nation of Republics”. And further along down the road, we the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are getting ready to take that historic step and found a great regional entity that will group us all together, with no exclusions, where we may jointly design the policies that must guarantee our well-being, our independence, our sovereignty, on the basis of equality, solidarity and complementariness. Caracas, capital of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is now swelling with pride to host the Summit of the Heads of State and Government next December 2nd and 3rd, an event that shall definitively found our Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).”

With these profound ideas, thus concludes the second message of the Bolivarian President Hugo Chávez to the UN General Assembly.

According to the AFP dispatch dated today in Washington: US President Barack Obama declared this Wednesday that while he is president he shall be willing to change the policy with Cuba, as long as significant political and social changes are produced.

What a nice man! How smart he is! So much virtue has not allowed him to understand yet that 50 years of blockade and the crimes against our Homeland have not been able to bring our people to their knees. Many things shall change in Cuba, but they shall change because of our efforts and despite the United States. Perhaps that empire shall crumble first.

The unyielding resistance of the Cuban patriots is symbolized by our 5 Heroes. They shall never back down! They shall never surrender! As Martí proclaimed, and I have mentioned on other occasions: “Before continuous efforts to free and prosperous country, will join the South Sea to the North Sea and a snake will hatch from an eagle’s egg.”

It is obvious that the judge from the South Florida District has put the spotlight on “Obama’s supervised shame”.

Fidel Castro Ruz
September 28, 2011
7:37 p.m.


Source: http://www.cubadebate.cu/

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THE OBAMA DECEPTION

The Obama Deception is a hard-hitting film that completely destroys the myth that Barack Obama is working for the best interests of the American people.

It was produced by Alex Jones, who is a recognized American talk radio host, actor, anti-Globalist activist and filmmaker.

The film was released in March 2009. Two years have passed since then, but there are still many people who have not watched it. If you haven’t seen the film yet, I really recommend you to take the time to watch it.

The Obama phenomenon is a hoax carefully crafted by the captains of the New World Order. He is being pushed as savior in an attempt to con the American people into accepting global slavery.

We have reached a critical juncture in the New World Order's plans. It's not about Left or Right: it's about a One World Government. The international banks plan to loot the people of the United States and turn them into slaves on a Global Plantation.

Covered in this film: who Obama works for, what lies he has told, and his real agenda. If you want to know the facts and cut through all the hype, this is the film for you.

Watch the Obama Deception and learn how:

- Obama is continuing the process of transforming America into something that resembles Nazi Germany, with forced National Service, domestic civilian spies, warrantless wiretaps, the destruction of the Second Amendment, FEMA camps and Martial Law.

- Obama's handlers are openly announcing the creation of a new Bank of the World that will dominate every nation on earth through carbon taxes and military force.

- International bankers purposefully engineered the worldwide financial meltdown to bankrupt the nations of the planet and bring in World Government.

- Obama plans to loot the middle class, destroy pensions and federalize the states so that the population is completely dependent on the Central Government.

- The Elite are using Obama to pacify the public so they can usher in the North American Union by stealth, launch a new Cold War and continue the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

You can download the whole movie here: The Obama Deception



The famous American rapper and political activist, KRS-One, compares the presidency of the United States with Burger King, and how people never get to see who is above all.

KRS speaks on secret societies running the United States and the world as well as his views on the nation's first African-American President:

"If they controlled it before, what makes you think they’re not controlling it now? The country was on the verge of revolution. They threw a Black man up, now we like this (complacent). They put a Black face on the New World Order and now we all happy. KRS ain’t buying it.

“Everyone is pointing to Barrack right now, President Obama and saying, 'You gotta get the economy together, you gotta get the economy together.' When in fact the president has very little to do with the economy. It's the Federal Reserve Chairman that at least sets the policy… that's a privately owned company. The Federal Reserve Bank, they set the agenda.

"Barack is like the manager of Burger King. All presidents are, including Bush. It's like this -- when your fries are cold, if your burger's not done right, you go back to Burger King -- America, or your government -- and you say, 'My burger's cold! I want new fries!' First, you go to the cashier, that's the courts. You argue to the courts.

"The courts, if you can't get no justice with the cashier, you say 'Let me see the manager! I want to go to the Supreme Court! I want to see the President!' The manager comes out. 'Hi. What can I do for you?' Now, the manager can override the decisions of the cashier. But you never get to see the franchise owner of Burger King.

"If you really have a problem with your burger, you need to go see the franchise owner. We need to go to the top, or to the bottom. We need to go to where the real architecture of government is, and it's not in a President. It's in a global scheme."

Another person that appears in the film is the journalist, lecturer and geopolitical analyst, Webster Griffin Tarpley, that also offer his review about the economic and diplomatic team that Barack Obama chose to work with:

"If you look also at the people that Obama has put on his appointments list, it's all Wall Street. It's government of Wall Street, by Wall Street, and for Wall Street. There's nobody from heavy industry. There's nobody from the auto sector. Nobody from Silicon Valley. Nobody from big oil. Nobody from defense. No labor, no women, no retirees, no small business, nothing. It's pure Wall Street. The only people who have a voice in Obama's councils are Wall Street finance oligarchs. That's all there is. Nobody else counts for anything under Obama. It's the most extreme Wall Street administration we've ever had."

In the film you will also learn about the empty promises of President Obama, the media's full support for him and the meetings in secrecy.

In my opinion The Obama Deception is not about Left or Right but about the enormous power that Secret Societies have, and how they plan to establish a totalitarian One-World Government.

The American trend forecaster, Gerald Celente, referring to the speaking of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner – “he was the former President of the NY Federal Reserve and now he’s our Treasury Secretary?”

International Bankers have the control of USA and the World. The Federal Reserve seems to be more powerful than the President and the Congress.

That is what Henry Ford and Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter warned decades ago when they said:

“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”
Henry Ford

“The real rulers in Washington are invisible and exercise power from behind the scenes.”
Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter

It is not weird that politicians do not keeping their pre-electorial promises. Only very few do what they promised and many of them would say anything just to get elected.

The film augured that the Obama presidency would be a prolongation of the Bush one and it was right. I personally do not see substantial changes between both presidencies. Change seems nearly impossible at this point. The level of incompetence is stunning. It can not be tolerated any longer.

I really hope that this film helps to understand in a better way, the complexity of the world in which we live.

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HOW WAR MADE THE BUSH FAMILY RICH

When interested in the connection between the Iraq War and the Bush family, only clicking in Google is enough to find a wealth of information. Remarkably, we never get any information about it by our own media, kind of strange, right?

The many connections between the Bush family, defence industry and the global arms trade are only known by a certain group of people. The average American or any other world citizen has not the faintest idea of it.

The following article written by Evelyn J. Pringle gives a clear image of it: Why Are We In Iraq?

Bush Family $$$ Signs

After Dick Cheney's tenure at the Pentagon ended in 1993, he spent much of the next two years deciding whether to run for President. He formed a political-action committee, and crossed the country making speeches and raising money. (Contact Sport, The New Yorker, 2/16/04).

Records from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) shows that Cheney's PAC contributors included executives of the companies that have since won the largest contracts in Iraq. Among them were Thomas Cruikshank, Halliburton's CEO at the time; Stephen Bechtel, whose family's firm now has a contract in Iraq worth as much as $2.8 billion; and Duane Andrews, then senior VP of Science Applications International Corporation, which has won seven contracts in Iraq.

However, while Cheney and his pals may well be the most blatant profiteers in Iraq, they are by no means the only ones involved in this grand war profiteering scheme commonly referred to as the "War on Terror." The #1 spot on the list belongs to the First Family.

War Is Family Business

Here's where the web of deceit really gets complicated. There are so many ties between the Bush family, the defense industry and the global arms trade, that it's almost impossible to keep track of them all. But yet the widespread ties are hardly ever even mentioned in the mainstream media. Or a revelation might show up for a day or two and then its like oh well, what's new.

Lets Start At The Top - The First President Bush

When Jr. took office, Bush (Sr.) was a member of the Carlyle Group. The firm is almost entirely made up of ex-government officials and it is said to be the world's most politically connected private equity firm.

The complaints about the Bush family connections with the Carlyle Group began long before 9/11. As early as March 3, 2001, shortly after Bush Jr.'s inauguration, Judicial Watch issued a press release that said:

Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government abuse and corruption, called on former President George Herbert Walker Bush to resign immediately from the Carlyle Group, a private investment firm, while his son President George W. Bush is in office. Today's New York Times reported that the elder Bush is an "ambassador" for the $12 billion private investment firm and last year traveled to the Middle East on its behalf. The former president also helped the firm in South Korea.

The New York Times reported that as compensation, the elder Bush is allowed to buy a stake in the Carlyle Group's investments, which include ownership in at least 164 companies throughout the world (thereby by giving the current president an indirect benefit). James Baker, the former Secretary of State who served as President George W. Bush's point man in Florida's election dispute, is a partner in the firm. The firm also gave George W. Bush help in the early 1990's when it placed him on one of its subsidiary's board of directors.

This is simply inappropriate. Former President Bush should immediately resign from the Carlyle Group because it is an obvious conflict of interest. Any foreign government or foreign investor trying to curry favor with the current Bush Administration is sure to throw business to the Carlyle Group. And with the former President Bush promoting the firm's investments abroad, foreign nationals could understandably confuse the Carlyle Group's interests with the interests of the United States government," stated Larry Klayman, Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel.

Questions are now bound to be raised if the recent Bush Administration change in policy towards Iraq has the fingerprints of the Carlyle Group, which is trying to gain investments from other Arab countries who [sic] would presumably benefit from the new policy," stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

As a rule, I'm not a major fan of Judicial Watch; however in this case their comments are almost prophetic.

Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, it became known that Bush Sr. was financially linked to the bin Laden family. The Sept 28, 2001 Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that, "George H.W. Bush, the father of President Bush, works for the bin Laden family business in Saudi Arabia through the Carlyle Group, an international consulting firm."

When Sr. hooked up with the Carlyle Group, his special area of influence was the Middle East, and especially Saudi Arabia investors. One of the investors that he brought to Carlyle was the Bin Laden Group, a construction company owned by the family of none other than future US #1 enemy Osama bin Laden. 

According to an investigation by theWSJ, Sr. convinced Osama's brother, Shafiq bin Laden, to invest $2 million of Bin Laden Group money with Carlyle.

According to the WSJ, "The senior Bush had met with the bin Laden family at least twice in the last three years -- 1998 and 2000 -- as a representative of Carlyle, seeking to expand business dealings with one of the wealthiest Saudi families which, some experts argue, has never fully severed its ties with black sheep Osama in spite of current reports in a mainstream press that is afraid of offending the current administration."

I'm no expert, but I even knew that 6 months prior to 9/11, Osama appeared in a video taken at his son's wedding, along with his mother, his son and his son's new wife. I guess they family must have got into a tiff after the wedding.

The WSJ went on to outline the details of the family's investment. The bin Laden firm invested $2 million in Carlyle Partners II Fund, which raised a total of $1.3 billion overall. The fund purchased several aerospace companies among 29 deals. "So far, the family has received $1.3 million back in completed investments and should ultimately realize a 40% annualized rate of return," a Carlyle executive told the WSJ.

On Sept 27, the WSJ said it confirmed that a meeting took place between Sr. and the bin Laden family through Sr's Chief of Staff Jean Becker, but only after the WSJ showed Becker a personal thank you note that Bush Sr. sent to the bin Ladens after the meeting.

Here's a little known fact that may bring goose bumps to some. On 9/11, Shafiq bin Laden was at a meeting in the office of the Carlyle Group, and stood watching TV as the WTC was destroyed under the instruction of his brother.

So in a nutshell, Osama's attacks on the WTC and Pentagon, which lead to a massive increase in defense spending, most likely made the Bush family a great deal of money. And the real kicker is that the attack may have even enriched his own family.

How Does Carlyle Make Its Money?

It's been estimated that Carlyle has investments in over 300 companies, and the majority of them derive revenues from military and security contracts. In fact, Carlyle is the countries 11th largest defense contractor. In 2002, it received $677 million in government contracts, and in 2003, it was awarded contracts worth another $2.1 billion.

Business has definitely improved for the firm since Jr. took office. For example, one of its subsidiaries, Vought Aircraft, now holds over $1 billion in defense contracts. Prior to 2001, the company's future was iffy at best. Right before 9/11, it had actually laid off 20% of its workforce. But low and behold, business picked right back up with the air strikes on Afghanistan and the war in Iraq.

Carlyle's ties go directly into the Oval Office.  In fact, a list of past employees has Jr.'s name on it.  He was actually employed by Carlyle at on point in his life. According to a story in Harper's Magazine, Jr. held a position as a corporate director on the board of the Carlyle subsidiary, Caterair. Until he was politely told to hit the road because he didn't have anything to offer the company.

In addition, in March 1995, while Jr. was governor of Texas governor and a senior Trustee of the University of Texas, the University of Texas Endowment placed $10 million in investments with the Carlyle Group.  Who knows how much of that investment money benefited the bin Ladens.

Side-Kick James Baker

Sr.'s top sidekick, James Baker, is also a player with the Carlyle Group. He joined the firm immediately after his stint as Sr.'s Secretary of State ended, bringing a briefcase packed full of global connections to the firm.  Carlyle's revenues tripled after Baker came on board.

Much like Bush Sr., Baker's main duty was to manage the firm's relationships with Saudi clients.  He not only handled investment deals, it was also his job to look after the key interests of Saudi investors. For instance, when the Justice Department began an investigation into the financial dealings of Saudi Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, guess who the prince turned to for help? You got it, Baker.

And get this, Baker is currently defending the prince in a trillion dollar lawsuit brought by the families of the victims of the 9/11. The suit accuses the prince of using Islamic charities to funnel millions of dollars to known terrorist groups linked to Al-Qaeda.

Carlyle is also cashing in on the Homeland Security front and the enactment of the Patriot Act.  Two Carlyle companies, Federal Data Systems and US Investigations Services, hold multi-billion dollar contracts to provide background checks for airlines, the Pentagon, the CIA and the Department of Homeland Security. USIS used to be a federal agency, until it was privatized in 1996 and snatched up by Carlyle. Needless to say, it's now making money hand over fist.

Baker & Carlyle Hard At It

Baker and Carlyle have been hard at it behind the scenes, profiting in ways so blatant that a secret deal revealed byThe Nation magazine (and since reported in most major newspapers) gives a whole new meaning to the term war profiteering.

As most people know, Bush Jr. appointed Baker to be his special envoy on Iraq's debt.  His mission was to meet with presidents and prime ministers around the world and ask them to forgive Iraq's debt in the name of the reparation needs of the country.

When Baker was appointed, questions about conflict of interest were raised because of his ties to the Carlyle Group, which has extensive business interests in the Middle East.  His law firm, Baker Botts, was also brought up because both firms have strong links to the Saudi Royal Family, which happens to hold a great deal of Iraq's debt. 

In fact, the New York Times published an editorial upon the announcement of Baker being appointed special envoy that called for Baker to resign from both Carlyle because he was a partner, and Baker Botts. 

In response to the editorial, Jr. said he doesn't read editorials, but assured the world that Baker was a man of high integrity.  Carlyle submitted a signed statement that said:  "Carlyle does not engage in lobbying or consulting." and "Carlyle does not have any investment in Iraqi public or private debt."

Well that was then and this now. According to confidential documents obtained by The Nation, including a 65-page proposal to the Kuwaiti government, Carlyle has sought to secure a $1 billion investment from Kuwait using Baker's influence as debt envoy. The secret deal involved a plan to transfer ownership of up to $57 billion in unpaid Iraqi debts owed to Kuwait.

The debts would be assigned to a foundation created by a consortium in which the key players are the Carlyle Group and the Albright Group, headed by former secretary of state Madeline Albright, along with several other well-connected firms.

So it boils down to this, the Carlyle Group was engaged in lobbying to secure Iraq's debt at the same time that Baker was asking the world to forgive those debts. Under the deal, Kuwait would give the consortium $2 billion up front to invest in a private equity fund, with half of it going to Carlyle.

The Nation showed the documents to Jerome Levinson, an international lawyer and expert on political and corporate corruption at American University.  He called it "one of the greatest cons of all time. The consortium is saying to the Kuwaiti government, 'Through us, you have the only chance to realize a substantial part of the debt.  Why?  Because of who we are and who we know.' It's influence peddling of the crassest kind."

Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University and a leading expert on government ethics and regulations, told The Nation, that this means Baker is in a "classic conflict of interest. Baker is on two sides of this transaction:  He is supposed to be representing the interests of the United States, but he is also a senior counselor at Carlyle, and Carlyle wants to get paid to help Kuwait recover its debts from Iraq." She said, "Carlyle and the other companies are exploiting Baker's current position to try to land a deal with Kuwait that would undermine the interests of the US government."

Just listen how they described The Carlyle Group, "a private equity team, has earned its reputation by successfully consummating deals at the intersection of politics and finance, with its roster of political stars, including, among others, former US Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci, former British Prime Minister John Major, and until recently, former US President George Bush." 

I like that "stars." Is that kind of like Hollywood stars except they are from Washington?

The document goes on to state: "The extent to which these individuals can plan an instrumental rule in fashioning strategies is now more limited ... due to the recent appointment of Secretary Baker as the President's envoy on international debt, and the need to avoid an apparent conflict of interest." Yet it goes on to say that this will soon change: "We believe that with Secretary Baker's retirement from his temporary position, that Carlyle and those leading individuals associated with Carlyle will then once again be free to play a more decisive role..." according toThe Nation.

I wonder if this means we're going to lose our special envoy. 


Retirement?

The proposal goes on to tell Kuwait that in the near future, 40 state-owned Iraqi enterprises will be available for leasing and management contracts. Is that kind of like privatizing public utilities? 40 of them, huh? You mean we are going to do all that for Iraq? Does that mean that the Iraqis might have clean water, and not have raw sewage in their streets anytime soon? I suppose that would be a good thing.

Now where in the world did the Iraqis ever get the idea that we wanted to take over their country? I've never been able to figure out why they would ever think that.

For those readers wondering about how much progress Baker has made in the 10 months in his position as special envoy, I'd have to say not much. The negotiations apparently are kind of stalled.  

Senator Joe Biden recently asked Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq, about the status of the international negotiations to get other countries to forgive Iraq's debts. He asked, "Has a single nation in the G8 ... formally said or requested of their parliaments to forgive Iraqi debt?"  "Not yet.  No sir," Schlicher answered.

According to The Nation, "Not only has Baker failed to deliver any firm commitments for debt forgiveness; at the annual meeting of the International Fund on October 2, it emerged that France had done an end run around Washington and was pushing a debt-relief deal of its own. ... a plan to cancel only 50% of Iraq's debts -- a far cry from the 90-95 % cancellation Washington had been demanding. Yet Baker was nowhere to be found."

Evelyn J. Pringle is an Ohio-based investigative journalist, and a columnist for Independent Media TV. She can be reached at: e.pringle@sbcglobal.net. (C) Copyright 2004 Evelyn J. Pringle.

After reading the above article, can we still look at the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the same? It is unacceptable to have such conflicting interests, still it happens and the media stays silent. Are we really living in a open democracy or is that just a dream that vanished many years ago?

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THE BARBARIC SOLDIERS OF THE USA

You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality.

Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it.

- Malcolm X

'Kill Team' Morlock trophy image — lifting the dead boys head by his hair

They are called heroes in the USA. The soldiers are fighting in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, bringing peace to people whose life is in danger. Fighting with honour for an honourable cause but sadly enough this is just the fairy tale the American political leaders want us to believe. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are nothing more than a massacre, innocent civilians including women and children are slaughtered in the most brutal way possible by the so honourable American soldiers.

The most unbelievable fact about this all is that the USA doesn’t want to address this. Pictures are kept out of the western media, some media are even threatened by the USA to not show or talk about these matters. Only when pictures leak the USA takes action against it.  

Abeer Qasim Hamza was raped and murdered, after her family was murdered.

One case where the USA did take action was in the Mahmudiyah killings and gang- rape of a 14-year-old girl by U.S. troops occurred on March 12, 2006, in the town of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Five United States Army soldiers were charged with the crimes: Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Spc. James P. Barker, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, Pfc. Brian L. Howard and Pfc. Steven D. Green (whom the army discharged before the crime's discovery). Abeer Qasim Hamza was raped and murdered, after her family was murdered.

But there are many more stories, which are kept away from media and where no justice is done. In the following part a couple of these stories will be shown and described. The pictures included are shocking but real. 

U.S. soldiers in Bravo Company stationed near Kandahar in a war game they were playing took it upon themselves to kill an unarmed Afghanistan boy. The Kill team did this January 15th 2010.

Gul Mudin, a young teenager, lived in the village of La Mohammad Kalay, Afghanistan.

Sworn statements have two soldiers Corporal Jeremy Morlock and Private First Class Andrew Holmes engaged in staging the killing so that it would appear that the US soldiers had been under attack.

The statements read that they ordered the boy to stand still and then they tossed a grenade at him and opened fire with their weapons while they remained behind a mud wall. The dead body of the boy, Gul Mudin is seen here lying by the wall where he was killed.

Image of severed legs passed around among the members of Bravo Company.

US Staff Sgt. Gibbs in the back of a Stryker vehicle, a pair of scissors visible in the top pocket of his uniform. Dead fingers are tossed around within the company. Gibbs is said to have used a pair of medic shears to cut the finger off at least two Afghan civilians murdered by members of his platoon.

“Those were some innocent farmers that got killed. Their standard operating procedure after killing dudes was to drag them up to the side of the highway.”

Rolling Stone — In the process of suppressing the photographs, the Army may also have been trying to keep secret evidence that the killings of civilians went beyond a few men in 3rd Platoon.

The above picture is already shocking and prevail a side of the war that is hardly shown here in the West. At the bottom of this article you can find the links to the pages that show more pictures of the barbarian acts of the soldiers of the USA. In this article the most appalling are not used, so be aware when opening the links given, the pictures provided there are horrific.

Often the question ‘Why are the Arabs so angry at the West and mainly USA?’ is asked to me.  I show them above pictures and then ask the person the same question: ‘Why are the Arabs so angry at the West and mainly USA?’ 90% of the time their opinion changed dramatically, some are even ashamed of their opinion before seeing the pictures.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are dirty wars, both sides are evil; the USA and the Taliban/ Al-Qaeda. People in Afghanistan and Iraq live day by day out in a hell on earth, where nobody protects them.

Not even the USA, the country claiming it’s the most developed country in the world and a real fighter for freedom.

Well maybe somebody can explain to me what these brutal killings have to do with freedom?!

Links/Sources:

http://www.thewe.cc/weplanet/asia/afghanistan/afghanistan.html

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-kill-team-20110327

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THE CONGRESS DEBATES

Today, Sunday, at 10:00 a.m., I listened to the debates of the delegates to the Sixth Congress of the Party.

There were so many Commissions that, obviously, I could not listened to all those who spoke.

Delegates had gathered into five Commissions to discuss a number of issues. And, of course, I also took advantage of the session breaks to breath with calm and indulge in the intake of some energy-generating produce. Most certainly they must have felt more appetite, given their work and age.

I was amazed to see how well prepared this new generation is, with such high educational level, so different from the generation that began to learn how to read and write precisely in 1961, when the Yankee bombers piloted by the mercenaries attacked our homeland. Most of the delegates to the Party Congress today were small kids back then or had not been born yet.



I did not care as much about what they said as I did about the way they said it. They were so well prepared and their vocabulary was so rich that I could hardly understand them. They discussed every word, even the addition or deletion of a comma in the paragraph under discussion.

Their task is far more difficult than the one taken up by our generation when socialism was proclaimed in Cuba, only 90 miles away from the United States.

Thus, upholding our revolutionary principles is, in my opinion, the main legacy we could pass on to them. There can be no margin for error at this moment in human history. This is a reality that no one should deny.

The Party leadership should be the sum total of the best political talents of our people, capable of confronting the policy of the empire that jeopardizes the human species and generates gangsters such as those in NATO, who have launched in only 29 days, since the beginning of the inglorious “Odyssey Dawn” operation, more than four thousand air raids against an African nation.

The duty of this new generation of revolutionary men and women is becoming an example of modest leaders, studious and tireless fighters for socialism. In the barbaric era of consumer societies, to overcome the capitalist production system that fosters and promotes selfish interests among human beings is, no doubt, a difficult challenge.

The new generation is called upon to rectify and change, without hesitation, everything that needs to be rectified or changed and continue proving that socialism is also the art of the impossible: to build and carry on with the Revolution of the people, by the people and for the people and defend it, during half a century, from the mightiest power that has ever existed.

Fidel Castro Ruz
April 17, 2011
8:33 p.m.


Source: http://www.cubadebate.cu/

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COLUMN: ISN’T THE USA ONE BIG HYPOCRITE?

Isn’t the USA a big hypocrite? This is the country that wants to portray itself as the leader of the world being an example to others countries when it comes to human right and democracy. But doesn’t everybody outside the USA, knows that is just one big joke. Americans just want to be dictators forcing the world to be their puppet in order to protect nothing more than their own interests?

Now the USA is losing its power on the world, more and more becomes clear about a country claiming to protect democracy and human rights, we see the true United States. It is a country that doesn’t really care about human rights and democracy when the person in dispute is seen as a danger to the country.

Today, while reading the paper my eyes were drawn to an article about Bradly Manning, a military who is supposed to leak documents to the whistle-blower site Wikileaks. 

More than 250 American jurists have complained about the ‘degrading and inhuman treatment’ of Manning. And the academics went even a step further by saying that the conditions in where Manning was detained are comparable with ‘torture’. But this is not the only case in where the United States shows us his true colour.

We still remember the stories of Guantanamo bay, where torture was normal and where people were hold without any legal reason. Also we can mention the case of Irak, where children’s lives were taken away because they could be terrorists, without mentioning how making pictures with dead people, was seen as a fun activity for soldiers as memoriam of their time in the army.

And this is the country that is showing others what’s wrong with their policies, surrounding human rights and their democracy? Shouldn’t we just all just turn our back to the USA? Its economy is failing, its policies are failing, does anything even work there?

The more disturbing news about these kinds of events come into the news the more I start to feel repulsion for the country.  How can we, Europe, support a country that has these kinds of events happening in its territory? And who asks us to bring democracy into other countries in the Middle East?

Maybe the day has come to take a real distance from the USA and listen to the opinions from other countries from all over the world. To cooperate with countries we used to see as liars but who now seem to have spoken the truth way before we opened our eyes to see the real United States. And start doing what we learned in university: An analysis contains all sides of the story and is not a imposed unilateral view.ight to conquer and spread their ways to the inferior people of the world.

image

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THE BEST AND MOST INTELLIGENT

Yesterday, because of a lack of time and space, I did not write one word about Barack Obama’s speech on the Libyan war that he gave on Monday, March 28. I had a copy of the official version that the US administration had provided to the press. I underlined some of his statements. I went through it again and concluded that it was not worth wasting too much paper on.

I recalled what Carter had told me about the US forestry industry when he visited Cuba in 2002, since he owns a family-run tree farm in Georgia. During his recent visit I asked him about his farm and once again he explained how he plants 3 pine trees per every 2 meters, equaling 1,700 trees per hectare that are harvested 25 years later.

Many years ago, I read in a Sunday issue of The New York Times that this publication used the equivalent of 40 hectares of forest to produce its printed edition. So, this explains my concern about saving paper.

Of course, Obama is an expert articulator of words and phrases. He could make a living out of writing children’s short stories. I am familiar with his style because, long before he took office, I read and underlined his book entitled Dreams from My Father, which was the first thing I read of his. I did so with respect and recognized that the author knew how to select the precise words and correct phrases to win over the readers’ sympathies.

I confess that I did not like the way he used suspense, concealing his political ideas until the end. I made a special effort not to jump to the last chapter to read his opinions on various issues that, in my opinion, were crucial at this stage of human history. I was sure that the severe economic crisis, the colossal military expenditures, and the young blood that was shed during the times of his republican predecessor would help him defeat his electoral adversary, despite the enormous racial prejudices of US society. He was aware about the risk of being physically eliminated.

For obvious reasons of traditional politicking, prior to the elections, he went after the votes of the Miami-based anti-Cuban factions, most of them led by reactionary people who had supported Batista. These people turned the United States into a banana republic, where electoral fraud decided no less than Bush W’s electoral victory in 2000, throwing a future Nobel laureate into the garbage: Al Gore, vice-president under Clinton and a presidential candidate.

A basic sense of justice would have led President Obama to rectify the outcome of the infamous trial that led to the inhumane, cruel and particularly unfair imprisonment of five Cuban patriots.

His Union Addresses; his speeches in Brazil, Chile and El Salvador; and his address on NATO´s war on Libya forced me to underline the aforementioned speech more than his own autobiography.

What are the worst parts of his statement and how can one explain the approximately 2,500 words in the official version?

From a domestic standpoint, the speech’s complete lack of realism places its happy author in the hands of his worst adversaries, those who want to humiliate him and take revenge for his November 2008 electoral victory. The beating they gave him in late 2010 is still not enough for them.

From an external standpoint, the world gained more awareness of what the UN Security Council, NATO and Yankee Imperialism really represents to many nations.



To be as brief as I have promised, I’ll tell you that Obama began his speech by saying that he has played his role in “stopping the Taliban’s momentum in Afghanistan, and going after al Qaeda all across the globe.”

He immediately added that: “For generations, the United States of America has played a unique role as an anchor of global security and as an advocate for human freedom.”

This is something that —as our readers know— Cubans, Latin Americans, Vietnamese and many others, can bear witness to.

After this solemn declaration of faith, Obama invested a lot of time to speaking about Qaddafi, about his horrors and the reasons for which the United States and their closest allies: “—United Kingdom, France, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Turkey— all of whom have fought by our sides for decades […] have chosen to meet their responsibilities to defend the Libyan people.”

Further on he added: “…NATO, has taken command of the enforcement of the arms embargo and the no-fly zone.”

He confirmed the objectives of this decision “Because of this transition to a broader, NATO-based coalition, the risk and cost of this operation —to our military and to American taxpayers— will be reduced significantly.”

“So for those who doubted our capacity to carry out this operation, I want to be clear: The United States of America has done what we said we would do.”

He then went back to obsessing on Qaddafi and to the contradictions that assail his mind: “Qaddafi has not yet stepped down from power, and until he does, Libya will remain dangerous.”

“It’s true that America cannot use our military wherever repression occurs. And given the costs and risks of intervention, we must always measure our interests against the need for action.”

“The task that I assigned our forces —to protect the Libyan people […] — carries with it a UN mandate and international support.”

He returned to his obsessions over and over again: “If we tried to overthrow Qaddafi by force, our coalition would splinter. We would […] have to put US troops on the ground to accomplish that mission, or risk killing many civilians from the air.”

“…we are hopeful about Iraq’s future. But regime change there took eight years, thousands of American and Iraqi lives, and nearly a trillion dollars.”

A few days after the NATO bombings began, a few reports started to appear about a US fighter-bomber that had been shot down. A source later confirmed the reports. Upon seeing a falling parachutist, some of the country folk did what people traditionally do in Latin America: they went to go see, and if someone needed it, they would provide help. No one can know what they were thinking. They were most definitely Muslims working the earth who would not be in favor of the bombings. A helicopter, which suddenly arrived on the scene to rescue the pilot, opened fire against the rural farmers, seriously injuring one of them. It was a miracle that they didn’t kill them all. As the world knows, Arabs are traditionally hospitable towards their enemies, they invite them to stay in their own houses and turn their back to not see which way they take. Even a coward or a traitor could never represent the spirit of a social class.

The strange theory, that he included in his speech, could only occur to Obama, as shown in the following passage:

“There will be times, though, when our safety is not directly threatened, but our interests and our values are. [...] And in these circumstances, we know that the United States, as the world’s most powerful nation, will often be called upon to help.”

“In such cases, we should not be afraid to act -– but the burden of action should not be America’s alone. As we have in Libya, our task is instead to mobilize the international community for collective action.”

“That’s the kind of leadership we’ve shown in Libya. Of course, even when we act as part of a coalition, the risks of any military action will be high. Those risks were realized when one of our planes malfunctioned over Libya. Yet when one of our airmen parachuted to the ground, in a country whose leader has so often demonized the United States –- in a region that has such a difficult history with our country –- this American did not find enemies. Instead, he was met by people who embraced him. One young Libyan who came to his aid said, “We are your friends. We are so grateful to those men who are protecting the skies.”

“This voice is just one of many in a region where a new generation is refusing to be denied their rights and opportunities any longer.”

“Yes, this change will make the world more complicated for a time. Progress will be uneven, and change will come differently to different countries. There are places, like Egypt, where this change will inspire us and raise our hopes.”

Everyone knows that Mubarak was an ally of the U.S., and when Obama visited the University of Cairo, in June 2009, he could not ignore the tens of billions of dollars stolen by him in Egypt.

He continued with the emotional story:

“…we welcome the fact that history is on the move in the Middle East and North Africa, and that young people are leading the way. Because wherever people long to be free, they will find a friend in the United States. Ultimately, it is that faith — those ideals — that are the true measure of American leadership.”

“…our strength abroad is anchored in our strength here at home. That must always be our North Star — the ability of our people to reach their potential, to make wise choices with our resources, to enlarge the prosperity that serves as a wellspring for our power, and to live the values that we hold so dear.”

“And let us look to the future with confidence and hope not only for our own country, but for all those yearning for freedom around the world.”

The spectacular story reminded me of the Tea Party, Senator Bob Menendez and the illustrious Ileana Ros, the fierce wolf that defied the law to keep the Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez kidnapped. She is now nothing less than Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States.

Gaddafi never tires of repeating that Al-Qaeda is making the war on him and sends fighters against the government of Libya, because he supported Bush’s war on terror.

That organization once had excellent relations with the American intelligence services in the fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and has plenty of experience on the working methods of the CIA.

What if the allegations of Gaddafi were true? How would Obama explain to the American people that part of those ground combat weapons fell into the hands of the men of Bin Laden?

Would it not have been better and and more intelligent to have struggled to promote peace and not war in Libya?

Fidel Castro Ruz
March 31, 2011
7:58 p.m.


Source: http://www.cubadebate.cu/

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MY SHOES ARE TOO TIGHT

While the damaged reactors spew radioactive smoke over Japan and monstrous-looking planes and nuclear submarines launch deadly charges tele-directed onto Libya, a North African Third World country with barely six million inhabitants, Barack Obama was spinning a tale for the Chileans that sounded like one I used to hear when I was 4 years old: “My shoes are too tight, my socks are too warm; and I carry in my heart the little kiss you gave me”.

Some of his audience was taken aback in that Cultural Centre in Santiago de Chile.

When the president looked anxiously over his audience after mentioning perfidious Cuba, expecting an explosion of applause, there was icy silence. Behind him, oh, yes! felicitous coincidence! among all the other Latin American flags, there precisely was Cuba’s.

If he were to turn for a second, over his right shoulder he would have seen, like a shadow, the symbol of the Revolution on the rebel Island that his mighty country wanted to destroy, but could not.

Anybody would be, without a doubt, extraordinarily optimistic if they were expecting the peoples of Our America to applaud the 50th anniversary of the mercenary Bay of Pigs invasion, 50 years of cruel economic blockade of a sister country, 50 years of threats and terrorist attacks that cost thousands of lives, 50 years of plans to assassinate the leaders of the historic process.

I heard myself being mentioned in his words.

In truth, I gave my services to the Revolution for a long time, but I never eluded risks nor violated constitutional, ideological or ethical principles; I regret not having better health so that I could carry on serving the Revolution.

I resigned, without hesitation, all my state and political positions, including that of First Secretary of the Party, when I became ill and I never tried to exercise them after the Proclamation of July 31, 2006, even when I partially recovered my health more than a year later, although everyone continued to affectionately address me in that manner.

But I am and shall continue to be as I promised: a soldier of ideas, as long as I can think or breathe.

When they asked Obama about the coup against heroic President Salvador Allende, promoted as many others by the United States, and about the mysterious death of Eduardo Frei Montalva, murdered by agents of DINA, a creation of the American government, he lost his composure and began to stammer.

The commentary on Chilean television at the end of his speech was, without a doubt, accurate when it stated that Obama had nothing to offer the Hemisphere.

As for me, I don’t want to give the impression that I felt any hatred for his person, much less for the people of the United States; I acknowledge the contributions many of its sons and daughters have made to culture and science.

Obama now has before him a trip to El Salvador tomorrow, on Tuesday. There he is going to have to be quite inventive because, in that sister nation in Central America, the weapons and training received from the governments of his country spilt much blood.

I wish him bon voyage and a bit more good sense.

Fidel Castro Ruz
March 21, 2011
9:32 p.m.


Source: http://www.cubadebate.cu/

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