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12/18/08 - 12/31/08
12/15/08 - 12/17/08
The ice storm wiped out our power, telephone and internet connections for a few days. We are glad to be back up and running (and warm). Expect two updates before the regularly scheduled holiday break, followed by a lengthy report on Continuity of Government (COG) to be released when we come back in January.
12/4/08 - 12/10/08
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Panel to Call for Probe Into Wiretapping of Scholar
--The New York Times (As with many cases involving the NSA's secret surveillance program, the alleged targets were once part of U.S.-sponsored causes. The group was big into paintball, but it was "more than a game for the Dar al-Arqam players," The Atlantic reported in 2006, "It was an opportunity to entertain the brave visions of jihad, to be waged on behalf of beleaguered Muslims in Bosnia and Chechnya. ... A few went further, devising plans for military training in Pakistan, at camps founded with U.S. help in the 1980s by an organization called Lashkar-e-Taiba." This was happening in Washington's backyard while the CIA was covertly backing jihadi groups in the same regions with Pakistan's help. A heck of a coincidence, don't you think? --DB)
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11/30/08 - 12/3/08
11/26/08 - 11/29/08
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Iraq lawmakers approve security pact with U.S.
--The Los Angeles Times (Not until the end of the article is the reader informed that both sides agreed to a provision for extending the occupation past 2011 if security conditions are deemed "too shaky" to leave Iraqi forces in charge. --DB)
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NATO countries split on help for Afghan drug war: top UN official
--Agence France Presse (The article perpetuates the myth that the U.S. and Britain are ready to "fight the drug trade" in Afghanistan. As in most cases, this so called 'war on drugs' is a selective effort. Army Generals, NATO commanders, basic Marines and Afghan officials have said the only drug lords and farmers to be targeted are the ones that refuse to align with the government and/or pay bribes. The goal is and always has been to control the trade, not eliminate it. --DB)
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11/21/08 - 11/25/08
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Finite Resources Explain the Financial Crisis
--The Oil Drum (People want simple explanations. Here is the simplest. Money is being handed out faster than resources are being produced for the money to represent. That's what triggered the crisis to begin with, and that's why these bailout efforts are only going to make things much worse. Economic growth is fueled by tangible goods and services, not worthless paper. --DB)
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US Kills Al Qaeda Mastermind of Airline Liquid Bomb Plot
--ABC News (If the reports are true, Rashid Rauf has been buried with his secrets. Recall some of the suspects in the bizarre 'liquid explosive plot' reportedly traveled from Britain to Pakistan where they were given training by the Jundullah, a group covertly backed by the U.S. against Iran. At one point, there were reports the amir of the Jundullah, Maitur Rehman, was the ' mastermind' behind the alleged plot. Rashid Rauf, as ABC reports, "is believed to have been the major link between British al Qaeda cells and the terror network's headquarters in Pakistan." The U.S. pressured Pakistan to arrest Rauf in the summer of 2006 while British authorities were still running surveillance of the suspects. The U.S. spread myths about an imminent threat from liquid explosives and the Brits were forced to make premature arrests. British authorities claimed a second group of suspects escaped as a direct result of U.S. interference. Suspects also evaded capture in Pakistan, including Rahman. Rauf somehow managed to 'escape' custody. If he is now truly dead, a complex and uncomfortable legal case has been conveniently avoided. But that's just another day in the war on terror. --DB)
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11/16/08 - 11/20/08
11/11/08 - 11/15/08
11/7/08 - 11/10/08
11/2/08 - 11/6/08
10/28/08 - 11/1/08
10/24/08 - 10/27/08
10/18/08 - 10/23/08
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Excerpts from draft U.S.-Iraqi security agreement
--The Associated Press (Press reports are going on and on about the 2011 deadline for U.S. withdrawl, but few mention that the language leaves open the possibilty for an indefinite extension. The agreement reads: "Before the expiry of the deadline mentioned in clause 1 and on the basis of Iraq's assessment of conditions on the ground, the Iraqi government can ask the U.S. government to keep forces for the purposes of training and supporting Iraqi security forces. In that case, a special agreement will be implemented and be negotiated and signed by both parties under laws and constitutional procedures applicable in both countries." In other words, there is no deadline for withdrawl, only a deadline for extending the occupation. There is also a chance the current Iraqi gov't may not even exist in 2011. Also see " Final Text of Iraq Pact Reveals a U.S. Debacle" and " Iraqi Cabinet Wants Security Agreement Altered". --DB)
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10/13/08 - 10/17/08
10/8/08 - 10/12/08
10/4/08 - 10/7/08
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