Culture of Secrecy & Corruption

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

EDIT:

I’m not sure if I’m breaking any rules. I checked, it didn’t say I couldn’t… I am not affiliated with anyone in these links. I’m not advertising anything, and I’m not a spam-bot…

This is a massive topic, and a massive link dump. I’m not sure what I was trying to do originally, it just evolved… It is by no means exhaustive. I’ve been through every link within the last 5 days, so they all work as of 5 days ago.

I don’t expect anyone to read all this. It’s there for your perusal and discussion. I have put it in the conspiracy forum so that the conversation can be wide open.

Some of the link ‘headlines’ do not match the actual headline of the page. A small few I’ve put in more than one place as it pertains…

I occasionally use Wikipedia as a link. That’s me being lazy, or summarizing. Wikipedia is a decent place to start looking when their external links are good.

I realize someone could probably find just as many links to paint a different picture. This is how I see it.

I don’t ascribe to everything in these links, it’s just information. I am biased, (anti-gettingscrewed) so that surely had an effect on the links I chose…

lbpc.ca – evaluating news critically
jhu.edu – evaluating internet information

END EDIT

Starting with the financial crisis: (sort of chronologically)

The loosening of rules, and its possible contribution to the secrecy and corruption.

fdic.gov – depository institutions deregulation and monetary control act 1980
fdic.gov – savings and loan scandal and deregulation chronology

fdic.gov – deregulation: gramm leach bliley act 1999– scroll down below food act
bizjournals.com – pointing fingers in banking deregulation mortgage messes
nytimes.com – rep’s & dem’s can share blame for financial crisis deregulation

businessweek.com – bankers trust tapes: culture of greed and duplicity
carnegieendowment.org – the roots of corporate scandals
timesonline.co.uk – culture of corruption at heart of eu

several posts to follow…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

Fed secrecy…

A 55 min. documentary on the history of the dark otc derivatives market, the fight against regulation and transparency, and the tumble…

pbs.org – frontline: the warning (the dark otc derivatives market collapse)

An interview with Greenspan in which he says there is no agency above the Fed.
onstreammedia.com – pbs jim leher interviews greenspan
huffingtonpost.com – greenspan wanted housing bubble dissent kept secret

sanders.senate.gov – (i) bernie sanders: end fed secrecy
loc.gov – (d) kucinich introduces bill to audit fed response to crisis
house.gov – (r) ron paul: abolish the federal reserve
financialtaskforce.org – addressing inequalities in the global financial system
financialtaskforce.org – case for global financial transparency.pdf

auditthefed.com – hr 1207 & s 604 to remove GAO restrictions

The GAO (Government Accountability Office) has limited capacity to audit the Fed. The GAO is prohibited from auditing the Fed on these matters:

Transactions for or with a foreign central bank or government, or non-private international financing organizations
Deliberation, decisions, or actions on monetary policy matters
Transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
A part of a discussion or communication among or between members of the Board of Governors and officers and employees of the Federal Reserve System related to clauses (1) (2) or (3)

The GAO is also prevented from conducting on-site examinations of banks or bank holding companies without the written consent of the appropriate regulatory agency.

federalreserve.gov – frequently asked questions

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

Scandal after scandal…

usnews.com – freddie mac cracks in the foundation
msnbc.com – fannie mae accounting problems
cfr.org – experts debate nationalization of fannie and freddie
msnbc.com – lessons learned from madoff scandal
thisismoney.co.uk – barclays bank scandal exposed
usatoday.com – marsh & mclennan accused of price fixing, collusion
independent.co.uk – insurance scandal spreads to britain
time.com – bank of america b.c.c.i scandal
washingtonpost.com – time warner scandal aol
msnbc.com – jp morgan paying $700m to settle sec charges
bbc.co.uk – scandal-hit citigroup rebuilds its image
nydailynews.com – prosecutors: ibm biggest insider trading case in the us
sec.gov – sec sues waste management heads in accounting scandal
pbs.org – the salinas-citibank affair

These could be listed for pages, if every kind of corruption was included…

Let’s not forget the disappearing middle class in the meantime…

usatoday.com – wealth disparity widens
cnn.com – study: tax cuts making rich richer
cnn.com – irs findings: rich getting richer
guardian.co.uk – budget cuts target poor to pay for tax cuts and iraq

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

More accounting scandals, and the auditors who were in charge of their books…

A link or two about the auditor’s troubles followed by the firms they did the books on…The auditors are known as the big 5 – the 5 biggest firms in the biz. Now only 4 after Arthur Andersen’s scandal…

Price Waterhouse Cooper:

bbc.co.uk – price waterhouse cooper 2nd audit scandal in less than year

sec.gov – microstrategy fraud charges
sec.gov – bristol myers squibb to settle fraud charges
nytimes.com – sec names 8 in kmart accounting fraud
usatoday.com – timeline of tyco scandal
businessweek.com – aig scandal
huffingtonpost.com – satyam computer services accounting scandal

Ernst & Young:

bloomberg.com – long list of ernst & young scandals

msnbc.com – two cendant execs avoid prison in scandal
bbc.co.uk – one.tel collapse angers magnates
washingtonpost.com – six indicted in aol scandal
sec.gov – sec charges healthsouth corp accounting fraud
independent.co.uk – anglo irish bank chiefs quit amid loans scandal

KPMG:

timesonline.co.uk – us authorities: kpmg largest criminal tax fraud in us history
washingtonpost.com – fannie mae sues kpmg for approving bad numbers
bizjournals.com – kpmg to pay $115m in lernout and hauspie case

nytimes.com – computer associates international accounting scandal
guardian.co.uk – xerox in $2 billion scandal
cnn.com – waksal indicted in imclone scandal
latimes.com – 18 charged in peregrine systems inc. accounting scam
forbes.com – lernout and hauspie accounting scandal

Deloitte & Touche:

sec.gov – sec charges deloitte & touche for adelphia audit
cci.com – judge says deloitte & touche can be sued in parmalat collapse

msnbc.com – adelphia: conspiracy, bank fraud, securities fraud
cnn.com – duke energy caught up: indictments, lawsuits, accounting scandals
sec.gov – sec settles securities fraud case with el paso corporation
stanford.edu – merril lynch bogged down in legal troubles
sec.gov – sec complaint: reliant energy fraud
businessweek.com – parmalat: europe’s enormous financial scandal

Arthur Andersen:

bbc.co.uk – arthur andersen guilty in enron case obstruction of justice

bbc.co.uk – enron scandal at a glance
guardian.co.uk – how far is white house entwined with enron
sec.gov – sec charges cms energy corp fraud
bbc.co.uk – dynegy follows in enron’s footsteps
nytimes.com – execs prosper as global crossing collapsed
bbc.co.uk – worldcom wall street scandal

forbes.com – corporate scandal sheet
wikipedia.org – notable accounting scandals

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

The fall-out…

publicintegrity.org – who’s behind the financial meltdown
bloomberg.com – subprime mortgage derivatives tumble
sec.gov – sec charges goldman sachs fraud subprime mortgages
reuters.com – goldman sachs selling securities they bet against
bloomberg.com – sec complaint: tourre emails ‘cdo monstrosities’
huffingtonpost.com – risky derivatives sold as ‘aaa’ investments
bloomberg.com – hearings needed to focus more on wider rot in financial system

huffingtonpost.com – fbi warned of massive wave of financial crimes since 80’s

msn.com – washington’s $6.3 trillion bailout
bloomberg.com – us taxpayers risk $9.7 trillion in bailouts
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcZH9G8S9iQ"]YouTube- FED has lent and spent 9 Trillion - Has no idea to whom or for what[/nomedia]

businessweek.com – regulators seize 181 banks since start of 2009

time.com – bank ceo’s continue to fight financial reform
demos – banks are bigger, richer, defiant and back to risky pre-bailout routine.pdf
pbs.org – bill moyers: simon johnson james kwak the oligarchy
baselinescenario.com – simon johnson james kwak website
pbs.org – nomi prins fmr. wall street exec interview

bbc.co.uk – global military spending hits new record despite recession

washingtonpost.com – financial, business interests step up lobbying
huffingtonpost.com – 2009 was record year for lobbying

time.com – ukraine economic crisis
atimes.com – indonesia bailout
bbc.co.uk – iceland economic crisis
bbc.co.uk – belgium bailouts
wsj.com – irish economic crisis
telegraph.co.uk – latvia economic crisis
huffingtonpost.com – russia’s economic crisis
telegraph.co.uk – spain economic crisis
newsweek.com – no bank failures or bailouts in canada

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RqqGIwCFW8&feature=related"]YouTube- Ron Paul: "Some Big Events Are About To Occur"[/nomedia]

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

Finances around the world beginning to shift… some before the crisis.

time.com – saddam to trade oil in euro’s
bloomberg.com – dollar reaches breaking point as banks shift reserves
telegraph.co.uk – gcc to create own petro-currency
reuters.com – wary of us debt, china shifts gears on investment
independent.co.uk – gcc, china, russia, france, japan, brazil may abandon us $
reuters.com – iran conducts all crude trade in euro, yen
ebreview.com – is changing world order placing us dollar at risk

reuters.com – global regulators want central agency to manage bank failures
abcnews.com – head of imf proposes new global reserve currency
imf.org – sdr’s: special drawing rights history
bloomberg.com – world bank says us dollar’s supremacy is not a certainty
cbsnews.com – un recommendation on world economy: replace the dollar
bloomberg.com – china reiterates call for new world reserve currency
telegraph.co.uk – g20 moves world closer to global currency

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

Happening as well, but not directly related to the financial scandal.

Over the years… ambiguity, secrecy, and unaccountability become cancerous…

damronplanet.com - doublespeak
ncte.org – doublespeak award recipients.pdf
sfsu.edu – kent bach: philosophical look at ambiguity
pay:
exampleessays.com william luntz essays on doublespeak
books.google.ca – luntz: double speak
books.google.ca – luntz: why no one knows what anyone’s saying anymore

An environment of secrecy, and unaccountability is becoming the norm in government as well…

tfij.org – greater government control of information
usatoday.com – %36 of students say media stories need gov’t approval first

pbs.org – frontline: cheney’s law (the consolidation of executive power)
msnbc.com – bush uses privilege to deny aide’s testimony
seattlepi.com – cheney: office not part of executive branch, not obligated
cnn.com – cheney blocks congress claiming executive privilege

The use of signing statements, and ‘riders’ to bypass/override votes… (mentioned in Cheney’s Law) These are common practice. The Bush administration is not the only one to use them, but they did use them more controversially.

presidency.ucsb.edu – lists signing statements
boston.com – bush asserts authority using signing statement
boston.com – bush quiet signing statement sidesteps torture ban

legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com – definition ‘rider’
propublica.org – example of riders being used to attach unpopular bill to popular
guardian.co.uk – example of riders being used as a ‘wrecking amendment’
cato.org – real id attached to needed military bill adopted without separate vote

In consideration of time (mine), you may like to further research how some controversial or unpopular bills have been fast tracked, riders, and other creative measures over the decades…

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kpWqdPMjmo"]YouTube- Rumsfeld 2.3 Trillion Dollars missing Pentagon 1 DAY b4/9-11[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eootfzAhAoU"]YouTube- McKinney Grills Rumsfeld[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcZH9G8S9iQ"]YouTube- FED has lent and spent 9 Trillion - Has no idea to whom or for what[/nomedia]

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5odPAK17hOI&feature=related"]YouTube- Dick Cheney Caught telling lies!![/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdFk2jLmmwo&NR=1"]YouTube- Stay The Course[/nomedia]

to continue...

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

There is much confusion about the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), for those that know about it. The ‘harmonizing’ of the 3 North American countries.

This has been referred to, by the opposition, as the preliminary steps to a North American Union, like that of the EU. They argue that the SPP/NAU is undermining the sovereignty, safety, and the legislative process of all 3 countries. This was also the opposition’s argument during the EU’s formation.

It’s not surprising that there are conspiracy theories about it, as the voting public has not been well informed, much less had a say. And the government’s themselves are in disagreement about what it is, or even whether it exists or not.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br31mdP8-Ug"]YouTube- doublespeak 101[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-Mkb9w-i3w"]YouTube- North American Union Through Incrementation & Lies[/nomedia]
[ame="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x210wb_lou-dobbs-nau-12-states-resist_news"]Dailymotion - Lou Dobbs NAU 12 States Resist - a News & Politics video@@AMEPARAM@@http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video@@AMEPARAM@@video[/ame]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep5YLiGizFg"]YouTube- North American Union In Everything But Name[/nomedia]

citizen.org – nafta superhighways/spp: truth is stranger than fiction
judicialwatch.org – security & prosperity partnership of north america
naftasuperhighway.info – many links, documents, news articles
house.gov – ron paul: nafta superhighway
cbc.ca – secret banff security meeting attracted us, mexico officials
canada.com – ‘north american union’ plan under fire
habeascorpuscanada.com – canadian lawyer’s official legal challenge to nau

cfr.org: building a north american community
ceocouncil.ca – north american security and prosperity
nafi.org – north american model legislature
nafi.org – north american model constitution.pdf

whitehouse.gov – search ‘security and prosperity partnership’ (nada)
dhs.gov – security and prosperity partnership of north america.pdf
govcanada.ca – strategy for our north american partnership
govcanada.ca – north american leaders summit
spp.gov - security & prosperity partnership of north america
You might notice that a lot of the ‘important’ links are 404’s. When I’m on a ‘conspiracy’ site, and the important links aren’t working, it can be a bad sign… particularly when it’s the ‘last stop’ in the information chain…

nationalpost.com – map of nafta superhighway on alberta gov’t website
transportation.alberta.ca – north-south trade corridor
canamex.org – canamex corridor
nascocorridor.com – north america’s supercorridor coalition
keeptexasmoving.com – trans-texas corridor

History on the EU.

bbc.com - eu constitution
eia.org.uk – european information association
washingtonpost.com – for eu critics, a cautionary tale
telegraph.co.uk – why aren’t we shocked by a corrupt eu
statewatch.org – monitoring the state and civil liberties in europe
europa.eu – trans-european transport network
europa.eu – raising standards of eu highways for full economic integration

Some history on relevant trade acts…

cbc.ca – canada/us free trade agreement: vid news clips spanning 85 - 97
enotes.com – us/canada free trade agreement of 1989

time.com – brief history of nafta
usatoday.com – 10 years ago nafta was born
tradeobservatory.org – nafta watch

globalexchange.org – andean trade preference act puts free trade on fast track
ftaa-alca.org – free trade area of the america’s (ftaa)
citizen.org – list of organizations that work to defeat ftaa

ustraderep.gov – trade advisory committee supports cafta
globalexchange.org – list of organizations that work to defeat cafta

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

Project for a New American Century (PNAC):

PNAC formed in 1997, stating ”We aim to make the case and rally support for American global leadership” Some integral members/signatories include:

Dick Cheney
Lewis ‘scooter’ Libby
Richard Armitage
Donald Rumsfeld
Paul Wolfowitz
John Bolton
Zalmay Khalilzad
Richard Perle
Elliot Abrams
Jeb Bush

Many of these men held many other government/corporate positions over the years, working together here and there, or as members of another respected think tank Council on Foreign Relations, which many of our elected governments have also been member to at some time.

On January 5, 1999, Jeb Bush (George Bush’s brother) became the Governor of the state of Florida, where he would later become implicated in the controversial election of his brother in 2000.

In September of 2000, PNAC released a document:

newamericancentury.org – rebuilding americas defenses.pdf

In it, they describe four main goals for maintaining US global leadership.

Quote:

Establish 4 core missions for US military forces:

Defend the American homeland
Fight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous major theatre wars
Perform the ‘constabulary’ duties associated with shaping the security environment in critical regions
Transform the US forces to exploit the ‘revolution in military affairs’

To carry out these core missions, we need to provide sufficient force and budgetary allocations. In particular, the United States must:

Maintain nuclear strategic superiority, basing the US nuclear deterrent upon a global, nuclear net assessment that weighs the full range of current and emerging threats, not merely the US-Russia balance.

Restore the personnel strength of today’s force to roughly the levels anticipated in the ‘Base Force’ outlined by the Bush Administration, an increase in active-duty strength from 1.4 million to 1.6 million.

Reposition US forces to respond to 21st century strategic realities by shifting permanently-based forces to Southeast Europe and Southeast Asia, and by changing naval deployment patterns to reflect growing strategic concerns in East Asia.

Modernize current US forces selectively, proceeding with the F-22 program while increasing purchases of lift, electronic support and other aircraft; expanding submarine and surface combat fleets; purchasing Comanche helicopters and medium-weight ground vehicles for the army, and the V-22 Osprey “tilt rotor” aircraft for the Marine Corps.

Cancel ‘road block’ programs such as the Joint Strike Fighter, CVX aircraft carrier, and Crusader howitzer systems that would absorb exorbitant amounts of Pentagon funding while providing limited improvements to current capabilities. Savings from these canceled should be used to spur the process of military transformation.

Develop and deploy global missile defenses to defend the American homeland and American allies, and to provide a secure basis for US power projection around the world.

Control the new ‘international commons’ of space and ‘cyberspace’, and pave the way for the creation of a new military service – US Space Forces – with the mission of space control.

Exploit the ‘Revolution in Military Affairs’ to insure the long term-superiority of US conventional forces. Establish a two-stage transformation process which

Maximizes the value of current weapons systems through the application of advanced technologies, and,
Produce more profound improvements in military capabilities, encourages competition between single services and joint-service experimentation efforts.

Increase defense spending gradually to a minimum level of 3.5 to 3.8 percent of gross domestic product, adding $15 billion to $20 billion to total defense spending annually.

End quote

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

In December of 2000, we had the controversial Presidential election, and lingering controversy over elections to this day…

justice.gov – national voter registration act (nvra) of 1993
nytimes.com – 1994: vote fraud ruling shifts pennsylvania senate

gregpalast.com – theft of the presidency
cbs.com: katherine harris files (stopped recounts & co-chair to bush campaign)
pbs.org – media recount: bush won the election
cnn.com: has scotus gone political?
gao.gov – statistical analysis of uncounted votes in 2000 election.pdf
aclufl.org – naacp v. harris et al
naacp.org – election protection launches voter assistance hotline
sfgate.com – florida flooded with pre-emptive election lawsuits 2004

usccr.gov – d.o.j voting rights enforcement for 2008 election.pdf

“Addressing concerns regarding noncompliance with NVRA, Mr. Tokaji said that there is evidence that the number of voter registration applications from public assistance offices has declined precipitously in the past 10 years, even though about 40 percent of voting age citizens from low-income households are unregistered. He said that this and other evidence suggests that a disproportionate number of poor Americans are not being registered as required by the law because registration opportunities are not being made available as required by NVRA. He contended that, although there has been one successful case having to do with making registration available at public assistance agencies, DOJ has done relatively little to remedy the situation.

A second priority that Mr. Tokaji addressed was making sure that voters’ names are not omitted or wrongly removed from state voter registration lists. He cited a study that found that this was the greatest source of lost votes in the 2000 election, with over 1.5 million voters affected. As evidence of this problem, Mr. Tokaji pointed to the high numbers of provisional ballots being cast, which are often used when voters’ names do not show up on the registration list. He mentioned that his written testimony goes into far greater depth on the matter.”

nationalreview.com – an acorn falls from the tree
acorn.org – video wall

fec.gov – federal election commission
reformelections.org – project of the century foundation

fairvote.ca – fair vote canada: electoral reform
blackboxvoting.com – the original anti-bbv site
eff.org - e-voting rights
votersunite.org – resource for fair and accurate elections
usccr.gov – search ‘electronic voting’

This documentary was nominated for an Emmy in outstanding investigative journalism in 2007.

[ame="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=hacking%20democracy&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbs=vid:1&source=og&sa=N&tab=wv"]google.com – search ‘hacking democracy’ (electronic voting machines)[/ame]
hackingdemocracy.com - homepage
blackboxvoting.org – america’s elections watchdog group

wikipedia.org – movement to impeach bush

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

Once the dust settled, those PNAC members listed earlier became high level members of Bush’s Administration.

Dick Cheney – Vice President
Lewis ‘scooter’ Libby – Dick Cheney’s Chief of Staff
Richard Armitage – Deputy Secretary of State
Donald Rumsfeld – Secretary of Defense
Paul Wolfowitz – Deputy Secretary of Defense
John Bolton – Ambassador to the UN
Zalmay Khalilzad – Ambassador to the UN, Iraq, and Afghanistan
Richard Perle – Chair of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee
Elliot Abrams – Held 3 positions involving national security during Bush’s 8 years

Jeb Bush – Governor of Florida

That’s pretty interesting, even if there were no election controversy... I wonder if any of those PNAC recommendations released a few months prior were put into action.

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

(sorry I’ve done this the long way)

Establish 4 core missions for US military forces:

Defend the American homeland

dhs.gov – department of homeland security

Fight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous major theatre wars

time.com – the us in afghanistan
nytimes.com – (2002) white house says iraq war will cost 50 or 60 billion
washingtonpost.com – (2009) iraq war could cost 3 trillion and more
timesonline.co.uk – secret war inside pakistan
nytimes.com – us widens terror war to yemen

Perform the ‘constabulary’ duties associated with shaping the security environment in critical regions

seattle.com – us building 14 ‘enduring bases’ in iraq and world’s largest embassy
brookings.edu – list of articles on rising use of private military firms
sfgate.com – us policy built on world bases

Transform the US forces to exploit the ‘revolution in military affairs’

bbc.co.uk – us military create virtual earth to plan for future conflicts
washingtonpost.com – bush says policy is not about weaponizing space
bbc.co.uk – how unmanned drones are changing modern warfare

To carry out these core missions, we need to provide sufficient force and budgetary allocations. In particular, the United States must:

Maintain nuclear strategic superiority, basing the US nuclear deterrent upon a global, nuclear net assessment that weighs the full range of current and emerging threats, not merely the US-Russia balance.

guardian.co.uk – increasing funding for nuclear weapons research and testing
bbc.co.uk – obama promotes nuclear free world
washingtonpost.com – obama seeks funding increase in nnca

Restore the personnel strength of today’s force to roughly the levels anticipated in the ‘Base Force’ outlined by the Bush Administration, an increase in active-duty strength from 1.4 million to 1.6 million.

nytimes.com – president wants to increase size of armed forces
washingtonpost.com – strained army extends tours to 15 months
brookings.edu – private military lacks regulation, oversight, accountability
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ3CHKm9ZuY&feature=related"]YouTube- Barack Obama and Rahm EmanuelÂ´s Plan for The Draft - MANDATORY SERVICE - for everyone 18-25[/nomedia]

Reposition US forces to respond to 21st century strategic realities by shifting permanently-based forces to Southeast Europe and Southeast Asia, and by changing naval deployment patterns to reflect growing strategic concerns in East Asia.

defense.gov – rumsfeld: positioning america’s forces for the 21st century
washingtontimes.com – us/japan dispute over relocation of us base
nenepimentel.org – troops to phillipines as part of war on terror

Modernize current US forces selectively, proceeding with the F-22 program while increasing purchases of lift, electronic support and other aircraft; expanding submarine and surface combat fleets; purchasing Comanche helicopters and medium-weight ground vehicles for the army, and the V-22 Osprey “tilt rotor” aircraft for the Marine Corps.

defense.gov – global posture: the world has changed, our posture must change
defense.gov – rumsfeld: positioning america’s forces for the 21st century

Cancel ‘road block’ programs such as the Joint Strike Fighter, CVX aircraft carrier, and Crusader howitzer systems that would absorb exorbitant amounts of Pentagon funding while providing limited improvements to current capabilities. Savings from these canceled should be used to spur the process of military transformation.

lockheedmartin.com – lockheed wins joint strike fighter competition

Develop and deploy global missile defenses to defend the American homeland and American allies, and to provide a secure basis for US power projection around the world.

defense.gov – 2010 ballistic missile defense review report.pdf
They’ve been developing and deploying missile defense systems both domestically, and ‘regionally’ for the last decade…

Control the new ‘international commons’ of space and ‘cyberspace’, and pave the way for the creation of a new military service – US Space Forces – with the mission of space control.

au.af.mil – us air force transformation flight plan 2003.pdf
space.com – us air force plans for future war in space
msnbc.com – us cyber-warfare takes offensive

Exploit the ‘Revolution in Military Affairs’ to insure the long term-superiority of US conventional forces. Establish a two-stage transformation process which

Maximizes the value of current weapons systems through the application of advanced technologies, and,
Produce more profound improvements in military capabilities, encourages competition between single services and joint-service experimentation efforts.

defense.gov – global posture: the world has changed, our posture must change
defense.gov – rumsfeld: positioning america’s forces for the 21st century

Increase defense spending gradually to a minimum level of 3.5 to 3.8 percent of gross domestic product, adding $15 billion to $20 billion to total defense spending annually.

whitehouse.gov – 2010 budget: defense spending is %4.7 of gdp.pdf
reuters.com – obama seeks record $708 bln in 2011 defense budget

pbs.org – frontline: the war behind closed doors
They interview William Kristol in this documentary. They don’t mention that he is the Chair of PNAC.

Well, they awarded the Joint Strike Fighter Program to Lockheed, instead of canceling it like they’d planned.

Otherwise, it appears the PNAC plan was implemented with stunning efficiency.

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

The controversy surrounding 9/11…

Angus-Reid: 16% believe government on 9/11

cbsnews.com – white house opposes 9/11 query panel
cnn.com – clinton security advisor fined for destroying documents
cbsnews.com – hijackers lived with FBI informant
nytimes.com – wh heavily redacted 9/11 report before release
timesofindia.com – India helped fbi trace isi terrorist links
cbs.com – sept 11 families sue saudis
sfgate.com – suspicious profits sit uncollected
washingtonpost.com – no formal charges on bin laden, not wanted for 9/11
firefightersfor911truth.org – nfpa guidelines that were ignored
nist.gov – physical evidence removed before tower 7 investigation
epa.gov – air & water safe at ground zero
nytimes.com – many 9/11 workers have lung issues
nytimes.com – christie whitman (epa) testifies

atimes.com – (aug 2001) pepe escobar’s warning about osama

Professional’s begin to put their careers on the line to organize, demanding a new investigation

1,100 architects & engineers for 9/11 truth
scholars for 911 truth
pilots for 911 truth
firefighters for 911 truth
notable americans & victims families for 911 truth
military, intelligence, government for 911 truth
veteran’s for 911 truth
survivors and families for 9/11 truth
lawyers for 911 truth
political leaders for 911 truth
religious leaders for 911 truth
medical professionals for 911 truth
artists entertainers media professionals for 911 truth
bloggers for 911 truth
muslim jewish christian alliance for 911 truth

Family Steering Committee (FSC) - Homepage
FSC – Unanswered questions

8 of 12 FSC members joined a group of other families and survivors who are demanding a new investigation…

Carol Ashley
Kristen Breitweiser
Patty Casazza
Beverly Eckert
Monica Gabrielle, and daughter Nicole who was not on the FSC
Mindy Kleinberg
Sally Regenhard
Lorie Van Auken

survivors and families for 9/11 truth

9/11 commission members comment:

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzrv-e37Es8&NR=1"]YouTube- 9/11 Truth: The 9/11 Commission Was Set Up To Fail[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB6ger4NC1Y&NR=1"]YouTube- Lee H. Hamilton- 911 Commission[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtQY4u8gHTo&feature=related"]YouTube- 9/11 Commission deals[/nomedia]

Three FBI agents come forward, including a chief of internal affairs:

cnn.com – wright fbi special agent, 9/11 whistleblower, investigated 4 times
cbsnews.com – fbi translator whistleblower fired, reporting 9/11 corruption
whistleblowers.org – vid. fbi chief of internal affairs 60 minutes

wikipedia.org – movement to impeach bush

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

The following controversial legislature attributed to 9/11…

eff.org – illegal nsa spying

dhs.gov – homeland security was formed

loc.gov – the usa patriot act 2001
eff.org – analysis of patriot act

pbs.org – domestic security enhancement act (patriot act 2) 2003
eff.org – analysis of patriot act 2

jurist.edu – detainee treatment act 2005
washingtonpost.com – legalizing torture (and secrecy)
cnn.com – bush agrees to torture ban
boston.com – bush signing statement sidesteps torture ban

loc.gov – military commissions act 2006.pdf
amnesty.org – military commissions act bad policy into bad law
salon.com – judge declares section 7 of military commissions act unconstitutional

loc.gov – defense authorization act 2007
washingonpos.com – troops to deploy domestically challenges posse commitatus
aclu.org – concern over incremental encroachment of military in domestic affairs
state.gov – federal troops for disaster assistance: legal issues.pdf

fema.gov – presidential directive 51 2007.pdf
c-spanvideo.org – continuity of government
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdfjsS9Wqk8"]YouTube- Continuity of the US government.. TOP SECRET![/nomedia]

amnesty.org – implementation international covenant on civil & political rights

wikipedia.org – movement to impeach bush

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

The War on Terror, or now known as the Overseas Contingency Operation.

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." PresidentBush, June 18, 2002

foxnews.com – celebrating american patriotism that soared after 9/11
msnbc.com – american patriotism continues to soar 4 years after 9/11

washingtonpost.com – terrorized by the war on terror
guardian.co.uk – ‘there is no war on terror’
atimes.com – deconstructing the war on terror

Although ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ was launched as the global war on terror, it is widely thought to be a referral to the war in Afghanistan. Not many know about Operation Enduring Freedom Philippines, Operation Enduring Freedom Horn of Africa, Operation Enduring Freedom Trans Sahara, or the US deaths taking place in ‘contingency operations’ all over the world.

telegraph.co.uk – war is big business
leeds.ac.uk – hundreds of articles/lectures on propaganda and the war on terror

twq.com – (1999) afghanistan: the consolidation of a rouge state.pdf
bbc.co.uk – us planned attack on taleban before 9/11
msnbc.com – white house given plan for war with al-qaida 2 days before 9/11

ctv.ca – the tapi pipeline in afghanistan
pipelinesinternational.com – a pipeline through a troubled land
chevron.com – (1997) central asian oil pipeline (chevron bought unocal in 2005)
sfgate.com – condoleeza rice served chevron board from 1991 till bush admin.
atimes.com – hamid karzai & khalilzad consult unocal on pipeline in 96-97
cnn.com – hamid karzai declared elected president of afghanistan
telegraph.co.uk – khalilzad (pnac) appointed us ambassador to afghanistan
atimes.com – pipelineistan goes afpak

state.gov – afpak: seeing afghanistan and pakistan as one operation

bbc.co.uk – fresh guantanamo torture claims
washingtonpost.com – legalizing torture (and secrecy)
cnn.com – bush agrees to torture ban
boston.com – bush quiet signing statement sidesteps torture ban
washingtonpost.com – cia holds suspects in secret prisons
timesonline.co.uk – flight logs reveal secret rendition
guardian.co.uk – poland admits role in cia rendition programme

cnn.com – obama plans to close gitmo as early as first week in office
washingtonpost.com – (nov 09) obama won’t set deadline for gitmo closing

corpwatch.org – contractors in afgh are making big money for bad work

brookings.edu – list of articles on rising use of private military firms
brookings.edu – private military lacks regulation, oversight, accountability

nytimes.cm – tighter rules fail to stem deaths of innocent afghans at checkpoints
latimes.com – confusing and subjective rules of engagement

huffingtonpost.com – pre-emptive war v. preventive war
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RLMfIxxd-A"]YouTube- THE BEST DEFENSE: Preventive War[/nomedia]

guardian.co.uk – Meecher: this war on terrorism is bogus
guardian.co.uk – Meecher defends article

leeds.ac.uk – anti-americanism on the rise

wot.com – war on terror: the board game

wikipedia.org – movement to impeach bush

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

Iraq.

newamericancentury.org – (2000) rebuilding americas defenses.pdf

“Indeed, the United States had for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the regime of Saddam Hussein.”

newamericancentury.org – sept 20, 2001 letter to bush from pnac

“But even if evidence does not link Iraq directly to the attack, any strategy aiming at the eradication of terrorism and its sponsors must include a determined effort to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.”

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0wbpKCdkkQ"]YouTube- Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice Tell The Truth About Iraq[/nomedia]

bbc.co.uk – report concludes iraq had no wmd
bbc.co.uk – saddam had no link to al-qaeda

timesonline.co.uk – downing street memo
downingstreetmemo.com – secret realities v. public comments
washingtonpost.com – 6 days after 9/11 bush tells pentagon to prepare for iraq

nytimes.com – joe wilson’s july 6, 2003 article ‘what i didn’t find in africa’
washingtonpost.com – july 14, 2003 article exposing cia’s valerie plame wilson
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plame_affair"]wikipedia.org – the plame affair[/ame]
cnn.com – mcclellan: cheney should testify about cia leak

cbsnews.com – no-bid contracts to few favored companies
cnn.com – questions of halliburton contracts dismissed
msnbc.com – critics question no-bid katrina contracts

bbc.co.uk – critics claim: backdoor draft
usatoday.com – serious reforms at walter reed urged
cbsnews.com – military lack armor, radio’s, bullets

guardian.co.uk – private contractors sued for torture at abu ghraib
wsj.com – the real blackwater scandal
chicagotribune.com – defense contractors in human trafficking scandals
[ame="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=iraq%20for%20sale&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbs=vid:1&source=og&sa=N&tab=wv"]google.com – search ‘iraq for sale’ (private military documentary)[/ame]

bbc.co.uk – us uses chemical weapon white phosphorus in iraq
[ame="http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=fallujah+hidden+massacre&aq=0&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=fallujah+hidde&gs_rfai"]google.ca – search ‘fallujah hidden massacre’ (30 min doc – very graphic)[/ame]
bbc.co.uk – us denies using napalm-like mark-77 firebombs in iraq
smh.com.au – us admits mark-77’s used in iraq, technically not napalm

bbc.co.uk – leaked video of us military killings in iraq (discretion)
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG2RYrxlxv8"]YouTube- April 2004 fallujah pentagon gun footage[/nomedia] (discretion)
guardian.co.uk – rules of engagement from a british paratrooper
latimes.com – confusing and subjective rules of engagement

cnn.com – us opposition to un’s international criminal court
hrw.org – new us mines would violate treaty
guardian.co.uk – new secret us germ warfare defense center violates treaty
huffingtonpost.com – mccain: interrogations in violation of geneva convention
aclu.org – dod uses geneva convention to withhold torture photos

wikipedia.org – movement to impeach bush

msnbc.com – (2007) candidate obama wants troops home by spring 08
cbsnews.com (2009) – obama: some troops home in 19 months 50,000 remain
seattle.com – us building 14 ‘enduring bases’ in iraq and world’s largest embassy
timesonline.co.uk – obama’s deadline on afghanistan starts to slip

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

One thing the WOT has done for sure, is blur the lines on who exactly the enemy is – even at home. Anyone in a public space could be a terrorist – that’s you or I. Our law enforcement is being trained accordingly. Are the public still to be protected, or suspected?

I see words like ‘terrorist’, ‘Al-qaeda’, ‘extremist’ that were once such far-away sounding words, now being used on American’s. CNN right now, has a presentation called ‘American Al-Qaeda’. I see conspiracy theorist’s being called ‘extremists’. I see an FBI pamphlet where people who read the constitution are potential terrorists…

I see social control…

usatoday.com – muslim racial profiling is justified when at war with extremists
latimes.com – reaction reopens wounds of ww2 for japanese americans

guardian.co.uk – dixie chicks branded ‘saddam’s angels’

popularmechanic.com – debunking 9/11 myths (refers to theorists as extremists)
ssrn.com – obama regulatory czar paper: conspiracy theories should be banned

examiner.com – government equates constitutionalists with terrorists
keepandbeararms.com – phoenix fbi pamphlet describing potential terrorists

abcnews.com – reporter arrested while investigating lobbyist’s and dnc donors
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCLuYvBeq40"]YouTube- Citizens Arrested for commiting FREE SPEECH in Washington DC[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD-RvnY3qCE&feature=related"]YouTube- CNN COP arrest Reporter and his Camera man for NO REASON!![/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKzojYvXn20&feature=related"]YouTube- Police Officer Arrests Firefighter[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aS4VO-P8FQ"]YouTube- Police vs Reporter, US - ABC TV Crew Pulled Over, Gunpoint[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWnqcQB_L_Y&feature=related"]YouTube- Camera man arrested for asking badge number[/nomedia]

nytimes.com – critics claim new arizona law is open invitation to harass hispanics

cato.org – real id act attached to military bill adopted without separate vote
cnet.com – faq: how does real id act affect you
stateline.org – 2 states lead revolt against real id
house.gov – house bill 361 to repeal sections of real id act

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9CZ5OUet3s"]YouTube- Ron Paul: A National ID Card? Outrageous![/nomedia]
spychips.com – rfid and consumer privacy authors of ‘spychips’

virginia.edu – richard dreyfuss calls for renewed civics education

pbs.org – milton friedman interview 10/01/00
“You have to distinguish different areas. Some kinds of regulations have declined. Regulations of prices, particular regulations of industries as a whole have declined. Other kinds of regulations, particularly regulations on personal behavior, have gone up. It's social control that has been taking the place of narrow economic control.” – Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize winning economist.

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

The Media.

The multinational companies were basically granted first amendment rights. Time Warner (CNN) has the same free speech rights as you. You have to go through a CNN of course, to have the same daily, world-reaching ability.

The media industry, like the financial industry, has also been ‘deregulated’. The media companies have fought for it, barely reporting on it. They’re position on the matter may influence how they did/do didn’t/don’t report on it.

FOX & MSNBC have the same interests in this respect. They may duke it out with each other, but they will never attack the system they both feed from. The real problem with the media is not about bias in the media – that is a consequence and distraction of the real problem.

Five companies now own around 90% of all our media. Tv, movies, radio, magazines, news, internet, publishers, cell phones, theme parks… all of it. Those thousands of media choices out there are controlled by 5 companies.

Furthermore, these gigantic multinational companies own many other huge businesses. Can we trust that they will report negatively on their other companies if necessary? Can we trust that they will report negatively on companies owned by the other networks who spend many millions in advertising on their networks?

It used to be that media companies had to report to the FCC every 3 years for a detailed review of content. Now, they get a postcard every 8 years. (see Michael Copps on PBS below)

They lobby heavily at Washington, and Washington needs the media to even be seen. Perception is everything in Washington. So, who ‘owns’ who?

In this respect, it would not be that hard to ‘control’ the media should it be corrupted. In fact, control of the media in some form is not abnormal at all in other parts of the world, we know this…

[ame="http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=orwell+rolls+in+his+grave&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=orwell+roll&gs_rfai"]google.com – search ‘orwell rolls in his grave’ (media corruption)[/ame]
[ame="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=p&tbs=vid%3A1&q=century+of+the+self&aq=5&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=centur&gs_rfai"]google.com – search ‘century of the self’ (bbc series 4 parts)[/ame]
[ame="http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=power%20of%20nightmares&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbs=vid:1&source=og&sa=N&tab=wv"]google.com – search ‘power of nightmares’ (bbc series 3 parts)[/ame]

Some people who were interviewed in the Orwell doc…

freepress.net – media reform
fair.org – fairness and accuracy in reporting
markcrispinmiller.com – news from underground
publicintegrity.org – investigative journalism in the public interest
tfij.org – the fund for independence in journalism

Does our media have their talking points handed down from above?

washingtonpost.com – fox internal memos (talking points)
mediamatters.org – list of fox internal memos
nypost.com – does cnn hand down talking points?

Charles Lewis was a producer at CBS’s 60 Minutes. He says he left because they started telling him what he could and couldn’t investigate… (see ‘Orwell Rolls in his Grave’)

pbs.org – media industry deregulation timeline (links throughout)

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairness_Doctrine"]wikipedia.org – the fairness doctrine (repealed in 1987)[/ame]
time.com – congress has repeatedly tried to bring back the fairness doctrine

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996"]wikipedia.org – telecommunications act 1996[/ame]
allbusiness.com – (2000) suspension of personal attack & political editorial rules

cnn.com – (2003) fcc further relaxes cross-ownership rules
3 million people contacted the FCC (unprecedented) in opposition of this move. (See FCC Commissioner Michael Copps below)

pbs.org – net at risk
pbs.org – net neutrality
eff.org – protecting net neutrality

pbs.org – big and bigger media
pipa.org – study: misperceptions in the media (iraq war as example).pdf
publicintegrity.org – well connected: tracking the players in media
journalism.org – 5 year study on ownership and quality of local tv news
nytimes.com – channels of influence (dixie chicks cd’s smashed at rally)

cjr.org – media companies: who owns what
reclaimthemedia.org – homepage
pbs.org – list of related media links/resources

pbs.org – bill moyers: fcc commissioner michael copps
pbs.org – bill moyers: buying the war

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

The influence of commissions, councils, and such…

newamericancentury.org – 2000 rebuilding americas defenses.pdf

“Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor.” page 51.

As terrible as it sounds, 9/11 may have even been convenient to implementing the PNAC plan…

If the whole relationship/connection thing interests you, start looking here:

cfr.org – council on foreign relations membership roster
trilateral.org – trilateral commission membership (e-mail for the full list)
wikipedia.org – trilateral commission membership
newamericancentury.org – PNAC homepage (check signatories on documents)
bilderberg.org – bilderberg conferences (there is no official bilderberg site)
wikipedia.org – bilderberg group
ctv.ca – bilderberg meets in secrecy in ottawa
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Skull_and_Bones_members"]wikipedia.org – skull and bones members (no official skull and bones site)[/ame]
cbsnews.com – skull & bones
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiisokDGbfA"]YouTube- Bush Admits Skull and Bones[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yOF713wOD4"]YouTube- John Kerry Admits Skull and Bones Membership[/nomedia]

It really ads a whole new dimension when you realize these people are everywhere, and hold the highest positions of power all over the globe – whether you think they are up to no good or not. It makes perfect sense to want to understand how those organizations/people view our place in the world, as they take up the integral positions in our ‘systems’.

wto.org – world trade organization
un.org – the united nations
imf.org – international monetary fund
bis.org – bank for international settlements
worldbank.org – the world bank
federalreserve.gov – the united states federal reserve
cnn.com – the fortune 500 companies
cjr.org – media companies: who owns what
foundationcenter.org – tax exempt foundations
clas.ufl.edu – united states universities
nato.int – north atlantic treaty organization
usmilitary.com – the united states military
usa.gov – the united states government
cia.gov – central intelligence agency
fbi.gov – federal bureau of investigations
9-11commission.gov – the 9/11 commission

It’s interesting to see what positions they push in legislature/lobbying.

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

Back to the Fed…

I’m sure some would consider some of what I’ve presented here up to this point as a ‘conspiracy theory’, particularly when I introduced PNAC. I would obviously disagree, as it is mainstream, public, pertinent information, and I merely presented the information. I offered some opinion here and there, none of which I would consider outrageously conspiratorial. I would agree however, that some of it could look like a conspiracy of some sort on some of their parts.

So, here is where some conspiratorial theorizing actually begins. Since the Fed is mostly secret, above any other agency, and refuses to be audited for 12 trillion (in bailouts) of our dollars, the conversation is conspiratorial by default – don’t blame me. We all went nuts theorizing what happened with Clinton and Lewinsky, or John Edwards, or Brittney, or Brangelina, so let’s give the same consideration to something half-way important, like 12 trillion of our dollars and the trouble in our economy. You’re not going to see a picture of it getting out of a car with no panties though…

A friend gave me this film back in 98. I watched it, dismissed it as urban legend, and thought nothing else of it. I watched it again in 06 with a different perspective, then again a few months ago with an even different perspective (post financial crisis).

It is 3 ½ hours. No music, no flashy graphics… totally low budget. Still very interesting (IMO). If you can agree to some of the more controversial information on PNAC, or the tight web of friends in high places all over the world, you may find this not to be such a leap… there is not much technical jargon…

[ame="http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=moneymasters&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbs=vid:1&source=og&sa=N&tab=wv"]google.ca – moneymasters: how international bankers gained control of america[/ame]
themoneymasters.com – monetary reform

buchanan.org – pat buchanan links to the film on his site
cineaste.com – nomi prins calls moneymasters ‘simply outstanding’
wnd.com – world net daily gives quick thumbs up review
vueweekly.com – edmonton paper interviews doc producers

These people’s work corroborates some/much of what’s in the documentary. Gause’s audio link is a good companion to the documentary.

andygause.com – monetary/currency historian
usgoldcoins.com – audio of andrew gause discussing the federal reserve

scribd.com – search ‘archibald roberts most secret science’
shatteringdenial.com – carroll quigley tragedy and hope.pdf
pbs.org – nomi prins fmr. wall street exec interview

Not directly related to the film, but expansion on Quigley who ties the financial powers to American foreign policy…

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reece_Committee"]wikipedia.org – reece committee 1953[/ame]
scribd.com – search ‘dodd report to reece committee on foundations 1954’
hollings.org – zbigniew brzezinski the grand chessboard.pdf

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

There are many quotes in the film. I have not verified all of them. I ended up reading [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carroll_Quigley"]Carroll Quigley’s[/ame] book. His book supports the core principles in the documentary.

Three Quotes from the film:

1. Carroll Quigley’s Tragedy and Hope:

shatteringdenial.com – carroll quigley tragedy and hope.pdf

“ …The powers of financial capitalism had another far reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements, arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences. The apex of the system was the Bank for International Settlements in Basle, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the worlds' central banks which were themselves private corporations. The growth of financial capitalism made possible a centralization of world economic control and use of this power for the direct benefit of financiers and the indirect injury of all other economic groups."

Another quote from Tragedy and Hope, not in the film:

“This (radical right) myth, like all fables, does in fact have a modicum of truth. There does exist, and has existed for a generation, an international Anglophile network which operates to some extent the way the radical right thinks the communists act. In fact, this network which we may identify as the round table groups, has no aversion to cooperating with the communists, or any other groups, and frequently does so. I know of the operations of this network because I have studied it for twenty years and was permitted for two years, in the early 1960’s, to examine its papers and secret records. I have no aversion to it or to most of its aims and have, for much of my life, been close to it and to many of its instruments…”

Like the film, Quigley mentions outright, then later has the understanding that central banks do lend credits to governments and that governments do go in debt to the banks, as he describes other matters.

He discusses the creation, power and influence of groups like the CFR, and the Trilateral Commission… He himself was a CFR member.

He delves into the US’s ‘secret’ foreign policy in Latin America, Cold War Russia, and other regions.

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

2. Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize winning economist: This is a longer, more comprehensive version than the documentary…

pbs.org – milton friedman interview

“Well, we have to distinguish between the recession of 1929, the early stages, and the conversion of that recession into a major catastrophe.

The recession was an ordinary business cycle. We had repeated recessions over hundreds of years, but what converted [this one] into a major depression was bad monetary policy.

The Federal Reserve system had been established to prevent what actually happened. It was set up to avoid a situation in which you would have to close down banks, in which you would have a banking crisis. And yet, under the Federal Reserve system, you had the worst banking crisis in the history of the United States.

There's no other example I can think of, of a government measure which produced so clearly the opposite of the results that were intended. And what happened is that [the Federal Reserve] followed policies which led to a decline in the quantity of money by a third. For every $100 in paper money, in deposits, in cash, in currency, in existence in 1929, by the time you got to 1933 there was only about $65, $66 left.

And that extraordinary collapse in the banking system, with about a third of the banks failing from beginning to end, with millions of people having their savings essentially washed out, that decline was utterly unnecessary.

At all times, the Federal Reserve had the power and the knowledge to have stopped that. And there were people at the time who were all the time urging them to do that. So it was, in my opinion, clearly a mistake of policy that led to the Great Depression.”

Moneymasters is the source for this Friedman quote, as they claim to have discussed their monetary reform proposal with Friedman, which he commended.

“The Federal Reserve definitely caused the Great depression by contracting the amount of currency in circulation by 1/3 from 1929 to 1933.”

“Any system which gives so much power and so much discretion to a few men, (so) that mistakes – excusable or not – can have such far reaching effects, is a bad system.”

3. Woodrow Wilson’s quote is attributed to six years after the Federal Reserve Act but, according to Salon, may in fact have been said 2 years before the Federal Reserve Act was signed – and not quite the way it was quoted in the film. Wilson did say this during his campaign in 1911:

salon.com – woodrow wilson federal reserve

“A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men who, even if their action be honest and intended for the public interest, are necessarily concentrated upon the great undertakings in which their own money is involved and who necessarily, by very reason of their own limitations, chill and check and destroy genuine economic freedom.”

“We are at the parting of the ways. We have, not one or two or three, but many, established and formidable monopolies in the United States. We have, not one or two, but many, fields of endeavor into which it is difficult, if not impossible, for the independent man to enter. We have restricted credit, we have restricted opportunity, we have controlled development, and we have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated, governments in the civilized world – no longer a government by the opinion and the duress of small groups of dominant men.”

IMO, the quote is still insightful, as the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was not the first attempt at centralized banking in the US. The prominent financiers already long had a monopolistic position in the finance game.

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

Given our financial situation today, the rampant corruption, the rampant secrecy, I think EVERYONE should consider what is in this documentary as a possible explanation for what is going on.

“In times of great economic upheaval and turmoil, wealth is not destroyed, it merely changes hands.”

If the Fed can mathematically stabilize the economy…

The Fed can mathematically create ‘boom’ and ‘bust’ periods. They would have the foreknowledge of these events, and could therefore position themselves to profit in either case. Is the ‘business cycle’ nothing but a choreography used to transfer immense sums of wealth into their hands?

“The Federal Reserve system had been established to prevent what actually happened… There's no other example I can think of, of a government measure which produced so clearly the opposite of the results that were intended… At all times, the Federal Reserve had the power and the knowledge to have stopped that. And there were people at the time who were all the time urging them to do that. So it was, in my opinion, clearly a mistake of policy that led to the Great Depression.”

Apparently, if you read many of the big-wigs’ memoirs from the time, they all mention how lucky they were to be positioned in other assets just before the great crash of 1929.

The film starts by asking these questions:

“Why are we over our heads in debt? Why can’t the politicians bring debt under control? Why are so many people, often both parents now, working at low paying dead end jobs, and still making do with less? Why does the government tell us that inflation is low, when the buying power of our pay checks is declining at an alarming rate? Only a generation ago bread was a quarter, and you could buy a brand new car for $1,995….”

The documentary explains why our dollar has devalued by %94 since the creation of the Fed in 1913. It explains how our monetary system is an inherently unsustainable, debt-based, and inflationary system. It explains how this system was basically crafted, deceitfully, to transfer as much wealth as possible from the unsuspecting public to the central bankers…

telegraph.co.uk – china alarmed by us money printing
reuters.com – the coming great inflation, real or imagined
thestar.com – hyperinflation fears on the rise globally
telegraph.co.uk – revealed: the real rate of inflation
reuters.com – sf fed: housing weakness not distorting inflation measures

I’m not a Ron Paul-a-maniac. I do however, think he is one of the few who understands what is going on with the Fed and our money – just as there were only a few back in the days when it all came about... He also speaks frequently about it for the last 20 years or so.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY_7aq8EFC4"]YouTube- Ron Paul: "The Federal Reserve is a Government Unto Itself"[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSRvnXtrmtE&feature=related"]YouTube- Ron Paul Opening Statement Fed Hearing 07/21/2009[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JndGujmdjhA&feature=related"]YouTube- Ron Paul One Party Rule in USA[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzhmjQR74bk"]YouTube- Ron Paul, Peter Schiff & Lou Dobbs Know !!![/nomedia]

auditthefed.com – trans-partisan coalition for greater transparency
nytimes.com – are we a nation of financial illiterates?

to continue…

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

Last post… some other things to consider…

msnbc.com – cities cited for low high school graduation rates
cbsnews.com – study finds other nations zoom by us in student achievement
nytimes.com – literacy for college grads declines significantly over last decade
guardian.co.uk – us university enrollment ‘in decline’
hoover.org – the decline and fall of american education
sfgate.com – american kids, dumber than dirt (a teacher’s perspective?)

msn.com – real unemployment at %15.6
cnbc.com – real unemployment %17.5
businessweek.com – real unemployment over %20

rawstory.com – how corporations secretly move millions to fund political ads
buyingofthepresident.org – how money shapes presidential campaigns
rawstory.com – obama received 20 million from healthcare industry in campaign
msnbc.com – backroom health care deals fuel voter anger

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftnNU70dSPs&NR=1"]YouTube- DCA - Cancer Cure - (No profit = no research)[/nomedia]

cbc.ca – greece bailouts
timesonline.co.uk – greece riots at austerity measures for imf bailout
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdyLtFvzR9w&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube- DemocracyNow with John Perkins part1[/nomedia]
johnperkins.org - homepage

pbs.org – guns, drugs, and the cia
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT5MY3C86bk"]YouTube- Former LA Police Officer Mike Ruppert Confronts CIA Director John Deutch on Drug Trafficking[/nomedia]
fromthewilderness.com – mike ruppert: the cia and drugs

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiUDKI0ptyk&feature=related"]YouTube- If You're an American you should see THIS! For Real[/nomedia]

boston.com – sinclair lewis’ 1935 novel ‘it can’t happen here’

“No invading army will be needed to turn America fascist. Instead, the catalyst will come from within, and when it does it will speak colloquial American, and it will come waving the Stars and Stripes.”

huffingtonpost.com – naomi wolf: 10 steps to close down an open society
themodernworld.com - umberto eco: 14 ways of looking at a black shirt
hartfordhwp.com – laurence britt: 14 points to fascism

Warning: A handful of f-bombs, 1 rooster sucker…
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYIC0eZYEtI&feature=related"]YouTube- George Carlin -"Who Really Controls America"[/nomedia]

So, I have one very simple question out of all that;

Why isn’t phonetic spelled like it sounds?

Peace

Pull My Finger · May 17, 2010

Some sites I used for research… no particular order…

There are many other sites/links within these sites… get lost for hours…

aljazeera.com - homepage
aljazeera.net - homepage
wikipedia.org – confusion between the aljazeera’s
I start with, and separate these only to note the confusion between the two.

world-news.org – links to news organizations around the world
newsbank.com – news research made easy
newseum.org – today’s front pages

c-span.org - homepage
pbs.org - frontline
npr.org - homepage

freepress.net – media reform
fair.org – fairness and accuracy in reporting
cjr.org – media companies: who owns what
prwatch.org – center for media and democracy
publicintegrity.org – investigative journalism in the public interest
tfij.org – the fund for independence in journalism
lbpc.ca – thinking critically about the world: media
corpwatch.org – holding corporations accountable
propublica.org – journalism in the public interest
bizjournals.com – main journal/choose city
opensecrets.org – center for responsive politics
wikileaks.org - homepage
markcrispinmiller.com – news from underground
rawstory.com - homepage
foia.ucia.gov – cia foia requests
moneylaundering.com – homepage: subscription site
thenation.com - homepage
salon.com - homepage
themoneymasters.com – monetary reform
banksterusa.org – financial reform
velvetrevolution.us – bit abrasive but good links to news & documents
gregpalast.com – journalism and film
democracynow.org – war and peace report
nationaljournal.com - homepage
nationaljournal.com – an inside view to the lobbying and advocacy industry
augustreview.com – global elite research center
fromthewilderness.com – mike ruppert archive
brookings.edu – homepage

ips-dc.org – institute for policy studies
tradeobservatory.org – global source of trade policy information
cfr.org – council on foreign relations
ciponline.org – center for international policy
financialtaskforce.org – addressing inequalities in the global financial system
financialtaskforce.org – case for global financial transparency.pdf
trilateral.org – trilateral commission
hrw.org – human rights watch
closethebase.org – american military bases around the world
newamericancentury.org - homepage
globalexchange.org – international human rights organization
postcarbon.org – promotion of more sustainable world
energybulletin.net – peak energy
bilderberg.org – bilderberg conferences
amnesty.org – amnesty international
ips.org – journalism and communication for global change
ichrp.org – international council on human rights policy
ict.org – international institute for counter-terrorism
terrorismdata.leiden.edu – database terrorism counter-terrorism radicalization

eff.org – electronic frontier foundation
democraticmedia.org – center for digital democracy
aclu.org – american civil liberties union
theacru.org – american civil rights union
naacp.org - homepage
usccr.gov – us commission on civil rights
maldef.org – mexican american legal defense & education fund
citizen.org – protecting health, safety and democracy
nul.org – national urban league
canadians.org – council of canadians
canadianactionparty.ca – homepage

freedomabovefortune.com – joe bannister former irs agent
wethepeoplefoundation.org - homepage

gc.ca – canadian charter of rights and freedoms
juridicas.unam.mx – constitution of the mexican united states.pdf
usconstitution.net – the united states constitution
usconstitution.net – people’s republic of china constitution

senate.gov- contact senators of congress
writerep.house.gov – write your representative
canada.gc.ca – contact your government

Peace

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