Amazing Things

Amazing things are possible
when we all get along

HAPPY NEW YEAR

IMAGINE PEACE

Think PEACE, Act PEACE, Spread PEACE

[click photo]

Imagine Peace Tower 1/1/09, 1:30 AM GMT.
(12/31/08, 5:30 PM PST.)

May this year be much better than the last!

.

USS Liberty

[1:08:33]

'The USS Liberty': America's Most Shameful Secret

by Eric S. Margolis

NEW YORK – On the fourth day of the 1967 Arab Israeli War, the intelligence ship 'USS Liberty' was steaming slowly in international waters, 14 miles off the Sinai Peninsula. Israeli armored forces were racing deep into Sinai in hot pursuit of the retreating Egyptian army.

'Liberty,' a World War II freighter, had been converted into an intelligence vessel by the top-secret US National Security Agency, and packed with the latest signals and electronic interception equipment. The ship bristled with antennas and electronic 'ears' including TRSSCOMM, a system that delivered real-time intercepts to Washington by bouncing a stream of microwaves off the moon.

'Liberty' had been rushed to Sinai to monitor communications of the belligerents in the Third Arab Israeli War: Israel and her foes, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.

At 0800 hrs, 8 June, 1967, eight Israeli recon flights flew over 'Liberty,' which was flying a large American flag. At 1400 hrs, waves of low-flying Israeli Mystere and Mirage-III fighter-bombers repeatedly attacked the American vessel with rockets, napalm, and cannon. The air attacks lasted 20 minutes, concentrating on the ship's electronic antennas and dishes. The 'Liberty' was left afire, listing sharply. Eight of her crew lay dead, a hundred seriously wounded, including the captain, Commander William McGonagle.

At 1424 hrs, three Israeli torpedo boats attacked, raking the burning 'Liberty' with 20mm and 40mm shells. At 1431hrs an Israeli torpedo hit the 'Liberty' midship, precisely where the signals intelligence systems were located. Twenty-five more Americans died.

CONTINUED

My college dorm mate was one of the four radio operators on duty when the torpedo struck the ship in the compartment directly below the radio room. He can be heard near the beginning of the video: "Everybody in the space I worked in died - except me!"
When the torpedo exploded it tore the floor open in the radio room, killing the other three operators and throwing my dorm mate out the door into the corridor.
We would sit up at night as he told me of the attack. Of how he was in contact with the attacking Israeli pilots, telling them it was an American ship. Of how the planes made several low altitude passes before attacking.
He told me of the cover up of the incident, of how he was sworn to silence, but was refusing to remain silent. This was not an accident as the Israeli and American Governments claimed.
We often sat up late into the night as he dreaded going to sleep, the nightmares were frequent and terrifying, often he would wake up screaming, drenched in sweat.

USS Liberty Memorial Site
Moorer Commission Findings
If Americans Knew - The USS Liberty
USS Liberty Veterans Association Report
Open letter to the United States Congress by the survivors of the USS Liberty
A false flag operation?

Additional Links.....h/t..Big Dan

Under ConstructionAgent 99's cabin on Trafalmadore

As the project nears completion it is time to take a look back at the progress of the rehabilitation of the wilderness cabin on the planet Trafalmadore.

The cabin at the start of renovation.

At first it was thought a new door and windows would be all that was needed, however as such projects go, much was to be learned about aged buildings.


Nighttime view from the cabin.


Agent BB2 ponders the project as the work is about to begin.


Agent DLC was at first enlisted to deliver the materials for the reconstruction, however as usual he made a complete ass of himself...


so other more costly measures had to be taken.


The Trafalmadorians were a big help in the construction. Although hideous to look at, they are actually very kind, peace loving characters.


Due to the proximity of Saturn and its strong magnetic fields interacting with the solar wind, static electricity is a constant problem, the solution to which is still being explored.


First on the list of amenities was a new front door.
(The color scheme has yet to be confirmed.)


Then the old bathtub...


was replaced with a fine new soaker.


The sleeping loft was refurbished.


A new sauna and hot tub complete the on-site project...


while nearby a vertical farm is nearing completion...


as is a new spaceport for CONTROL's intergalactic shuttle...


piloted by Jean Luc Picard.

The Simple Life

Life was simpler then, three miles from the nearest road, on the banks of the north fork, Feather River. Home was a rehabilitated miner’s cabin, inset into the hillside, with a plastic sheet over a roof of found boards. An old Franklin stove, found abandoned along side the river, was a source of heat and the cooking surface.

The bed was made of driftwood and old fire hose found upstream, topped with a down sleeping bag. A driftwood table, driftwood chairs and shelving at the rollup windows rounded out the décor.

Two walls were stone, covered in moss, and two walls were driftwood with large rollup windows. The floor was dirt with a large woven rag rug in the center.

A large pot of beans on the stove and some fish from the river kept the tummy happy. The solitude and oneness with nature kept the soul happy.

The hike in and out was rugged. In places the trail clung to the face of a cliff where one false move could be deadly. In other places you were in a position to be excellent cougar bait. Several times deer were found in the middle of the trail, victims of a large cougar that roamed the area. This discouraged frequent trips out to the van which was a good thing since trips out to the van meant trips to the bar.

Evenings were spent reading books by oil lamp, rolling Bugler cigarettes, watching for the skunk that would come and visit or just sitting outside in the dark listening to the river. At times one’s mind would play tricks and you would think you were hearing voices in the river as it echoed off the cliffs.

Days were spent exploring the hillsides and fishing for the next meal. Music was provided by my guitar. My dog, Pepper, was my constant companion and never complained about our living arrangements.

Once a month, a trip out to town would restock the dry beans and rice as well as a fresh supply of yeast and flour for bread. A chicken, some eggs, a slab of bacon, some fruit and veggies would provide a welcome change of diet for several days. Dried salami and a block of cheddar cheese would keep for at least a week.

Oh to be young and carefree again!

Clean Coal?Think again!

On December 22nd of this year a sludge pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant collapsed releasing 2.6 million cubic yards of highly toxic coal ash sludge into the surrounding environment. This is 48 times the volume of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

UPDATE: The size of the spill is now estimated at 5.4 million cubic yards - over 1 billion gallons!

WHY HAS THIS NOT BEEN REPORTED IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA?

A clearer video and MORE from Scholars & Rogues

[Note: the video starts automatically at S&R, but the audio is just airplane noise - very annoying!]

Skid Row

Merry Corporate Christmas

Non Sequitur

by Wiley Miller

Whale Wars

Captain Paul Watson and crew take on the Japanese whaling fleet.

Note: the full length videos linked here have been taken down at Youtube. In addition Splashcast has also announced they are stopping the video service I used to create the full length videos here. View the 5 minute introduction video and follow the links to the Sea Shepherd website to keep informed of their latest campaign.

Check back in the summer of 2009 as the latest campaign, currently under way, is broadcast on cable and satellite.

Introduction: Goals and Missions - The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society 5:03

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Song of the Whales - French captioned

Don't Kill the Whales - with music by Yes

On the Lighter Side:The Undecided Voter

What more can be said?

Shoe Toss

Rex Babin

There is reported evidence that Muntader al-Zaidi is being tortured in jail:

Albaghdadia, the TV channel where the Iraqi Journalist Montather Al-Zeidi works, reports that an Iraqi MP (Ms. Zainab Al-Kanani) informed them that Montather’s hand was broken in jail.

This confirms a lot of reports and rumors about Montather being subject to torture while the Iraqi authorities are interrogating and detaining him in some unspecified location.

Link

Code Pink to stage protest for the release of Muntader al-Zaidi:

The theatrical anti-war group Code Pink plans to gather outside the White House today to protest for the release of the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at President Bush over the weekend.

The activists plan to show up with a "large supply of shoes" in order to show solidarity with Muntader al-Zaidi, who has been in custody since disrupting a weekend press conference with the size-10 projectiles.

It's unclear whether there are plans to actually throw the shoes at the White House, but there's been some discussion of setting up a cardboard cut-out of President Bush and offering prizes to anyone able to knock it over.

Link

Petition: Free Muntader al-Zaidi Now!

Update 12/18/08:

It didn't take long for other shoes to drop. Muntazer al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who fastballed his shoes at President George W. Bush in Baghdad over the weekend, remains in custody, but his act of individual protest has feverishly rippled out across the country, sparking uproar in parliament and pride on the streets. The obscure correspondent for al-Baghdadiya, a satellite-TV channel that broadcasts from Cairo, could face from two to seven years' imprisonment for hurling his footwear at the U.S. President and for calling Bush a dog.

Link

Within the above article we learn there is quite a bit of discord within the Iraqi Parliament over the issue:

...the Sadrists, in particular, are keen to exploit the massive public sympathy for the Shi'ite reporter to turn up the heat on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki over the issue, especially ahead of provincial elections slated for Jan. 31.

"The Sadrists were saying 'We are talking about having immunity for foreign troops here while an Iraqi is in prison for insulting a foreigner,'" says Mahmoud Othman, an independent Kurdish lawmaker who attended the session.

Well Dah!!!

More from the illustrious Agent 99 on Muntader al-Zaidi's treatment and apology Here.

Update 2, 12/19/08:

A judge has confirmed that Muntader al-Zaidi has been beaten and is bearing visible evidence of the assault:

BAGHDAD (AP) — The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during a news conference was beaten and had bruises around his eyes and other parts of his face, a judge said Friday.

Judge Dhia al-Kinani, the magistrate investigating the incident, said the court has opened a probe into the alleged beating of journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi during the news conference.

........

Al-Zeidi "was beaten in the news conference and we will watch the tape and write an official letter asking for the names of those who assaulted him," the judge told The Associated Press.

Link

Update 3, 12/21/08

Muntader al-Zaidi is now planning to sue the gaurds who beat him:

"Muntazer has filed a complaint today (Sunday) against those who assaulted him," lawyer Dhiya al-Saadi told AFP, saying those responsible worked for the security forces of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's media office.

"There are bruises on his body. He has lost a tooth in his upper jaw, and his left eye is bloodshot," the lawyer said, adding that the list of injuries is backed up by medical checks.

Link

More news: Link

Precisely

Precisely...

my response!

"Thanks be to God, Muntazer's act fills Iraqi hearts with pride," his brother, Udai al-Zaidi, told Reuters Television.

"I'm sure many Iraqis want to do what Muntazer did. Muntazer used to say all the orphans whose fathers were killed are because of Bush."

Zaidi shouted "this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," at Bush in a news conference he held with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during a farewell visit to Baghdad on Sunday.

The journalist then flung one shoe at Bush, forcing him to duck, followed by another, which sailed over Bush's head and slammed into the wall behind him. Throwing shoes at someone is the worst possible insult in the Arab world.

Link

Saturday Night Music Videos at the Vault

We aren’t talking Cowboys and Indians here!

ROY ROGERS & NORTON BUFFALO

[click something]

George W. Bush Library

Rex Babin

Saturday Night Music Videos at the Vault

Rock out with songstress

KT TUNSTALL

[click something]

$8.5 TrillionRevisited

Non Sequitur

By Wiley Miller

[click image to enlarge]

Stolen From Ann El Khoury

Reclaiming Space

$8.5$8.5 $8.5(Trillion that is)

[click photo]

$8.5 Trillion so far in government bailout funds to the criminal bankers and wall street speculators.

No Exit

Veterans for PeaceProtest at the National Archives

[h/t Big Dan]

The Veterans for Peace have once again taken over the front steps of the National Archives building in Washington D.C. calling for the arrest of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney on War Crime charges for the debacles in Afghanistan and Iraq.

From After Downing Street: Link
From OpEd News: Link
More at YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OJFt0Boj1s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weAy8OvcfUo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VThVcF0bZY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjVjp4a2PZM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkP1gcq_XjA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-JuMCAl2cE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1CeFMg5EOk

Saturday Night Music Videos at the Vault

Give me an “F”, give me a “U”, give me…

COUNTRY JOE McDONALD

[click something]

Bail

UNCLE JAY

Addicted to Oil

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Feb. 2006

Adam Kokesh

Saturday Night Music Videos at the Vault

A Tribute to a remarkable woman

MARIAM MAKEBA
IN MEMORIAM

[click something]

Woweee!

[Be sure to check out David Dees' other artwork HERE - astounding! BB2]

Saturday Night Music Videos at the Vault

Chicago Blues Night at the Vault

MICHAEL BLOOMFIELD

[click something]

Proposition 8

I Want my Country Back!

The Votes are Flipping!

The electronic voting machines are already flipping the votes!

Even Oprah was a victim.[click photo for story]

Here's how the flipping is done!


Other means of flipping an election and what you can do to prevent it.

You can help

Video The Vote

VOTE!

GET OUT AND VOTE!

Saturday Night Music Videos at the Vault

Come for a Mercurial Journey with

QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE

[click something]

Stealing America... Will your vote count?

STEALING AMERICA: Vote by Vote from Concentric Media on Vimeo.[89 must see minutes]

The End of AmericaNaomi Wolf

[click photo]

In a stunning indictment of sweeping policy changes during the Bush years, best-selling author Naomi Wolf (The Beauty Myth) makes a chilling case that American democracy is under threat. Investigating parallels between our current situation and the rise of dictators and fascism in once-free societies, Wolf uncovers a number of deeply unsettling similarities-from the use of paramilitary groups and secret prisons to the targeted suspension of the rule of law. With this galvanizing call to arms based on her recent book, she urges regular citizens to take back our legacy of freedom and justice.

VIEW FILM

(By popular request I have removed the trailer video due to its propensity to start playing at random times.)

100,000 in Missouri

The Bluebear is on the Beach

I will be abandoning the Lair for the next week in favor of life on the beach. Should my services be required I can be found under the right hand blue umbrella on the beach.

You may also contact Agent 99 if immediate CONTROL response is required and for the latest updates regarding KAOS operations be sure to summon Big Dan!

In the meantime keep up the struggle against KAOS and if you mess up the Lair be sure to clean up after yourselves. What ever you do be sure to leave some brandy for my return! (Don't make me have to bring out the yaks!)

Peace

Wall Street?

Army Orders Ray Gun Delivery.(Developing)

It was announced yesterday that the Army has placed an order of $25 million dollars for five of Raytheon's ray gun toting trucks to join the fleet of similar devices such as Boeing's Advanced Tactical Laser and The Pulsed Energy Projectile, which although dropped as a weapon against humans is still alive and well in development for use against other Laser systems.

Wired News reports:

Army Orders Pain Ray Trucks; New Report Shows 'Potential for Death'
After years of testing, the Active Denial System -- the pain ray which drives off rioters with a microwave-like beam -- could finally have its day. The Army is buying five of the truck-mounted systems for $25 million. But the energy weapon may face new hurdles, before it's shipped off to the battlefield; a new report details how the supposedly non-lethal blaster could be turned into a flesh-frying killer.

The contract for the pain ray trucks is "expected to be awarded by year's end," Aviation Week notes. "A year after the contract is signed, the combination vehicle/weapons will start be fielded at the rate of one per month."

In this report titled Millimetre Waves, Lasers, Acoustics for Non-Lethal Weapons? Physics Analyses and Inferences by Jürgen Altmann of the Technische Universität Dortmund in Dortmund Germany, it is revealed that these energy waves are not as non-lethal as they are claimed to be.

I will be expanding on this subject and the report upon my return in a week.
Until then be sure to review the previous articles on the subject here at the Lair.

Saturday Night Music Videos at the Vault

I’m out of here!

Hiatus in Cabo

[click something]

No More Numbers!

The US government's debts have ballooned so badly the National Debt Clock in New York has run out of digits to record the spiraling figure.

The digital counter marks the national debt level, but when that passed the $10 trillion point last month, the sign could not display the full amount.

Link

Oh goody! - does that mean it can't get any worse?

HALF HOUR MUST SEE!

More on the stuff she mentions in the interview....

Comic Relief

Fairy Tales

In honor of tonight's debate!

[click photo]

Drop Everything and Watch This

[two hours]

Saturday Night Music Videos at the Vault

We’ve got the blues tonight with

DAVID BROMBERG

[click something]

Wall Street Bailout Weapon$ of Ma$$ Deception

[h/t Big Dan's Big Blog for assembling this assesment]

We're In Trouble Deep

[click image and note well the source]

When are you going to blow?

Dear 99,

What would you do if you learned that President Bush was preparing - in violation of federal law - to use the U.S. military to maintain order within our borders? I hope you would at least take one minute to help us raise awareness about the situation.

For more than 200 years, federal laws have protected the American people against the use of military forces on our own soil. Strengthened in 1878 by the Posse Comitatus Act, these laws have guaranteed that the federal government could not use the military for domestic law enforcement purposes.*

Without such protection, the federal government could use the might of our army to violate state and individual rights. Moreover, minor incursions by the military into domestic law enforcement activity could lay the foundation for the imposition of martial law at a moment's notice. This is one slippery slope we don't want to start sliding down.

That is why we should all be deeply disturbed by the news that President Bush has assigned the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team to be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army component of Northern Command (NorthCom). According to an article in Army Times, the soldiers could be called upon for a variety of tasks, including quelling "civil unrest." They are apparently engaged in training with shields and batons, beanbag bullets, and Tasers.

We need to raise awareness about this threat to our liberty immediately. The American Freedom Campaign believes the best method available at the moment is to send an email to the moderators of the next two presidential debates, urging them to ask the candidates whether they would fully enforce the Posse Comitatus Act.

Please join us in the effort by clicking on the following link:

democracyinaction.org

In just one minute, you can share your feelings with both Tom Brokaw at NBC and Bob Schieffer at CBS. After you do so, please spread the word by forwarding this alert widely to friends and family or by using the Tell-A-Friend option that will appear on our site after you send your email.

Thanks so much for taking action on this important campaign.

Best, American Freedom Campaign Action Fund

I'm losing my cookies, here. This is so far out of hand. I warned about this days ago, and I think it calls for a little more than emailing news anchors, but if you simply won't grab your pitchfork....

The revolution Will Not Be Televised!

Argh!

COURIC: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

PALIN: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land-- boundary that we have with-- Canada. It-- it's funny that a comment like that was-- kind of made to-- cari-- I don't know, you know? Reporters--

COURIC: Mock?

PALIN: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

COURIC: Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.

PALIN: Well, it certainly does because our-- our next door neighbors are foreign countries. They're in the state that I am the executive of. And there in Russia--

COURIC: Have you ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

PALIN: We have trade missions back and forth. We-- we do-- it's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where-- where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is-- from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to-- to our state.

Source

IFILL: Governor, would you support expanding [granting same-sex benefits to couples] beyond Alaska to the rest of the nation?

PALIN: Well, not if it goes closer and closer towards redefining the traditional definition of marriage between one man and one woman. And unfortunately that's sometimes where those steps lead.

But I also want to clarify, if there's any kind of suggestion at all from my answer that I would be anything but tolerant of adults in America choosing their partners, choosing relationships that they deem best for themselves, you know, I am tolerant and I have a very diverse family and group of friends and even within that group you would see some who may not agree with me on this issue, some very dear friends who don't agree with me on this issue.

But in that tolerance also, no one would ever propose, not in a McCain-Palin administration, to do anything to prohibit, say, visitations in a hospital or contracts being signed, negotiated between parties.

But I will tell Americans straight up that I don't support defining marriage as anything but between one man and one woman, and I think through nuances we can go round and round about what that actually means.

But I'm being as straight up with Americans as I can in my non- support for anything but a traditional definition of marriage.

Source

What?

My brain is about to explode! The synapses are all tied in knots trying to follow the twisted logic and wandering thought patterns of her speaking. Reading James Joyce's Ulysses is a far easier task:

"...I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes. "

Don't you agree?

Where'd My Vote Go?

It's in here somewhere:

[Sequoia Advantage DRE]

Or is it?

[h/t Velvet Revolution]

Republican Cyber Security expert and former McCain supporter, Stephen Spoonamore on the vulnerabilities of electronic voting.

Saturday Night Music Videos at the Vault

Babe Ruth is up next at the plate in the Colosseum,
Blodwyn Pig is in pitching this inning.

This Pig Has No Lipstick!

[click something]

Ponzi

The Ponzi Scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that involves promising or paying abnormally high returns to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from net revenues generated by any real business. It is named after Charles Ponzi.^[1]

A Ponzi scheme usually offers abnormally high short-term returns in order to entice new investors. The high returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises (and pays) require an ever-increasing flow of money from investors in order to keep the scheme going.

The system is doomed to collapse because there are little or no underlying earnings from the money received by the promoter. However, the scheme is often interrupted by legal authorities before it collapses, because a Ponzi scheme is suspected and/or because the promoter is selling unregistered securities. As more investors become involved, the likelihood of the scheme coming to the attention of authorities increases.

FBI investigating companies at heart of meltdown

The FBI is investigating four major U.S. financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a $700 billion bailout plan by the Bush administration, The Associated Press has learned.

Two law enforcement officials said Tuesday the FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and insurer American International Group Inc. Additionally, a senior law enforcement official said Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. also is under investigation.

The inquiries will focus on the financial institutions and the individuals that ran them, the senior law enforcement official said.

The law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigations are ongoing and are in the very early stages.

Officials said the new inquiries bring to 26 the number of corporate lenders under investigation over the past year.

Spokesmen for AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac did not immediately return calls for comment Tuesday evening. A Lehman spokesman did not have an immediate comment.

Just last week, FBI Director Robert Mueller put the number of large financial firms under investigation at 24. He did not name any of the companies under investigation but said the FBI also was looking at whether any of them have misrepresented their assets.

[MORE]

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