The war on democracy is unmentionable in western elite circles

john pilger...

Since the Second World War, the US has:

1. Attempted to overthrow more than 50 governments, most of them democratically-elected.
2. Attempted to suppress a populist or national movement in 20 countries.
3. Grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30 countries.
4. Dropped bombs on the people of more than 30 countries.
5. Attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders.

In total, the United States has carried out one or more of these actions in 69 countries. In almost all cases, Britain has been a collaborator. The "enemy" changes in name – from communism to Islamism — but mostly it is the rise of democracy independent of western power or a society occupying strategically useful territory, deemed expendable...

The sheer scale of suffering, let alone criminality, is little known in the west, despite the presence of the world’s most advanced communications, nominally freest journalism, and most admired academy. That the most numerous victims of terrorism – western terrorism – are Muslims is unsayable, if it is known. That half a million Iraqi infants died in the 1990s as a result of the embargo imposed by Britain and America is of no interest. That extreme jihadism, which led to 9/11, was nurtured as a weapon of western policy ("Operation Cyclone") is known to specialists but otherwise suppressed.

[...]

America is now a land of epidemic poverty and barbaric prisons: the consequence of a "market" extremism which, under Obama, has prompted the transfer of $14 trillion in public money to criminal enterprises in Wall Street. The victims are mostly young jobless, homeless, incarcerated African-Americans, betrayed by the first black president. The historic corollary of a perpetual war state, this is not fascism, not yet, but neither is it democracy in any recognizable form, regardless of the placebo politics that will consume the news until November. The presidential campaign, says the Washington Post, will "feature a clash of philosophies rooted in distinctly different views of the economy." This is patently false. The circumscribed task of journalism on both sides of the Atlantic is to create the pretence of political choice where there is none.

there are times - and today is one of them - when i'd almost rather not know the truth...

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Remember, the fear must be sustained if the resources are to flow

i signed off the previous post with my own solid advice - "don't give in to the fearmongers"... not more than an hour later, i'm faced with former intelligence director, currently a booz allen defense contractor vp and ace fear-monger mike mcconnell shoveling it out as fast as he can...

Speaking at the Washington Ideas Forum at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., former Director of National Intelligence and Director of the National Security Agency Mike McConnell said that the U.S. is unprepared for a cyberattack and must overhaul its defenses.

"The warnings are over. It could happen tomorrow," he said of a large-scale cyberattack against the U.S., which could impact the global economy "an order of magnitude surpassing" the attacks of September 11. McConnell, in a panel with Bush administration Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend and Washingtonian reporter Shane Harris, called cybersecurity "the wolf at the door."

McConnell and Townsend both argued that the U.S. should overhaul how it defends against cyberattacks. Townsend warned that U.S. intelligence and security agencies lack the organizational ability and authorization to prevent and respond to cybersecurity threats.

never mind that mcconnell and booz have gazillions of dollars at stake based on how much fear they can stoke in the administration, congress and the american public... never mind that the atlantic can't be bothered to identify mcconnell in his current role as a senior vp at booz allen... the message is all about fear...

could a sophisticated cyber weapon like the stuxnet worm be developed, directed at the u.s. internet infrastructure and possibly shut it down...? why, sure... i don't doubt that it's a possibility... but, fercryinoutloud, is it necessary for someone like mcconnell to pop up every six months with his patented chicken little routine, particularly when our esteemed news media aren't even interested in giving us the rest of the story...?

fortunately, a commenter writing in the uk guardian hasn't taken leave of his senses...

There is now an extensive police and industrial lobby in Britain dependent for its resources on maintaining a high level of public fear. The lobby thrives on its own failures. The incidents in America on 9/11 (2001) and in London on 7/7 (2005) saw the greatest ever peacetime growth in spending on security. Unlike most forms of public spending, this one could by its nature demand cash with menaces and with no account of value for money.

The fear must be sustained if the resources are to flow.

as in britain, as in the us - as always, follow the money...

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The continuing stages of financial collapse and the denial that goes along with it

they're trying desperately to make it look like things are under control but they sure as hell aren't... even the stock market rally looks to me like grasping at straws...

a few of the latest stories, all of them no less than stunning, none of them comforting...

first this...

S.E.C. Temporarily Blocks Short Sales of Financial Stocks

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday issued a temporary ban on short sales of 799 financial stocks, a move against traders who have sought to profit from the financial crisis by betting against bank shares.

The temporary ban, intended to bring calm to the markets, follows similar action by Britain on Thursday.

The S.E.C. said the “temporary emergency action” would “protect the integrity and quality of the securities market and strengthen investor confidence.”

The commission said it was also considering measures to address short selling in other publicly traded companies.

then this...

Treasury to Guarantee Money Market Funds

The federal government took two actions on Friday to shore up money market funds, which have long been considered as safe and risk-free as a bank savings account, but which have come under stress in the current market turmoil.

The Federal Reserve said that it would expand its emergency lending program to help support the $2 trillion in assets of the funds.

And the Treasury Department said that it would guarantee, at least temporarily, money market funds up to an amount of $50 billion in order to ensure their solvency.

“For the next year, the U.S. Treasury will insure the holdings of any publicly offered eligible money market mutual fund — both retail and institutional — that pays a fee to participate in the program,” the Treasury said in a statement.

The department said concerns about the value of money market funds falling below the standard net asset value of $1 — or “breaking the buck” — had heightened the financial turmoil and caused severe liquidity strains in world markets.

followed in short order by this...

Stocks Surge as U.S. Acts to Shore Up Money Funds and Limits Short Selling

Stocks shot wildly upward Friday morning after the federal government moved to try and restore confidence in the financial markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up more than 400 points only moments after the opening. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 4 percent. Markets in Europe and Asia also traded higher.

our fearless leaders know that there are gazillions of people out there who simply MUST, for their own sanity, find a way to continue to believe in our utterly failed financial system and will hang on to their denial until the last thread is ripped away by the sheer force of reality... i can't say as i blame them... when your entire worldview and belief system is based on power, money and the power of money, letting go of those beliefs is going to be at least as hard as kicking a long-standing drug addiction and, in fact, probably considerably harder...

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Light posting day

it's 8:10 p.m. saturday evening here in kabul, 8:40 a.m. saturday morning on the u.s. west coast, 9:40 a.m. u.s. mountain time, 10:40 a.m. u.s. central time, 11:40 a.m. on the u.s. east coast, 12:40 p.m. in argentina, and 5:40 p.m. central european time... that pretty much covers the times zones of the people near and dear to me...

it's been a very sunny, slow and lazy day for me... my one-day "weekend" is friday but this week, tomorrow and sunday are afghan national holidays because, as i explained in a previous post, sunday is afghanistan independence day, the day afghanistan celebrates getting rid of the brits in 1919...

in celebration of actually having a decent amount of time to refresh and re-charge (altho' i will keep working on and off anyway as is my wont), i'm not going to knock myself out posting... for one thing, my internet service was down all morning and half the afternoon, which forced me to do some unaccustomed leisure reading and - no kidding - to lie in the sun for an hour or so on the balcony... it was just the ticket and i've slowed my pace considerably... this is a very good thing because it's the first time i've actually seriously kicked back since before i left buenos aires on march 24...

so...

if brother tim or jim is so moved, they can put up some posts... for me, i'm going to go read some more and then hit the sack...

p.s. check out how my colleagues and i arrange skype conference call times...

World Meeting Planner

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Afghanistan Independence Day helicopter practice fly-by

sunday is afghanistan independence day when they celebrate regaining their independence from the brits in 1919... i've had choppers doing practice fly-bys, two-by-two, 10 at a time, followed by screaming jets, at tree-top height directly off my balcony at 6 a.m. for the past 10 days (the parade ground is two blocks from where i'm staying)... the fuel consumption alone must be staggering... this morning, for good measure, they added in "cannon practice"... 12 major blasts in a row rocked the entire bldg... 'course i'm usually already awake thanks to the muezzin who chants the morning prayers from a loudspeaker at the top of the minaret of the mosque around the corner starting at 4:15 every morning... guess i'm going to have to drag out the ol' earplugs...

here's a youtube clip i took this morning right outside my room of two of the choppers...

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$100B USD = £50.4480B GBP

uh... i'm confoozed... here's a story from today about a £50B BofE bail-out...

Bank details £50bn lending boost

The Bank of England has announced details of a plan to help prevent the credit crisis causing more damage to the UK banking system and economy.

Banks will be able to swap potentially risky mortgage debts for £50bn of secure government bonds to enable them to operate during the credit squeeze.

The Bank's governor, Mervyn King, said the scheme aimed to improve liquidity in the banking system.

It should also increase confidence in financial markets, he added.

Under the scheme, banks will be allowed to swap their "high quality" mortgage debts for government securities.

The swap will be for a period of one year and may be renewed for a total of three years.

and here's a story i posted on saturday about a $100B BofE bank bailout...

The Bank of England is planning to provide around $100 billion of support to British banks and lending institutions.

The cash package is designed to help banks cope with the after effects of the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States.

Britain's banks have for years raised vital finance by selling tens of billions of pounds of mortgages to international investors.

But last August the market closed down which is why mortgages and other loans have become harder and more expensive to obtain.

The Bank of England plans to fill the breach, and next week it will announce a proposal to pump new money into the banking system for up to three years.

It will offcer to swap government bonds with a maturity of up to a year for the bank's unsellable mortgage assets.

i'm assuming it's the same story, only one is expressed in u.s. dollars and the other in british pounds... here's the conversion based on today's dollar/pound exchange rate...

from xe.com...

$100B USD = £50.4480B GBP

United States Dollars United Kingdom Pounds
$1 USD = £0.504480 GBP £1 GBP = $1.98224 USD

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Un-frigging-believable! Bank of England bails out banks to the tune of $100 BILLION

words fail me...

The Bank of England is planning to provide around $100 billion of support to British banks and lending institutions.

The cash package is designed to help banks cope with the after effects of the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States.

Britain's banks have for years raised vital finance by selling tens of billions of pounds of mortgages to international investors.

But last August the market closed down which is why mortgages and other loans have become harder and more expensive to obtain.

The Bank of England plans to fill the breach, and next week it will announce a proposal to pump new money into the banking system for up to three years.

It will offcer to swap government bonds with a maturity of up to a year for the bank's unsellable mortgage assets.

can't we, pretty please, just go about letting the whole goddam house of cards collapse so we can get on with setting up something better...? use the hundred billion to provide a cushion for ordinary folks who would get hurt the most in a crash of the financial markets but who will absolutely get hurt if the money goes to the banks... cuz, let's face it, the banks don't give a teeny fraction of a tiny shit for ordinary folks...

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And we should not find anything suspicious about this because...?

isn't it just so very interesting how so very many of those who question things they aren't supposed to question end up this way...?

UK Top Cop Who Led CIA Probe Found Dead

A city police chief who led an investigation into charges that Britain cooperated with secret CIA flights to transport terrorism suspects without formal proceedings has been found dead, his deputy said Tuesday.

Manchester Chief Constable Michael Todd, 50, was found dead in Snowdonia, about 240 miles northwest of London, Deputy Chief Constable Dave Whatton said. He had been missing since going out for a walk Monday during his day off.

Whatton said the body, which was found Tuesday afternoon, had not yet been formally identified but he believed it was Todd.

He said a coroner's inquest would investigate the cause of death and did not give any further details.

Todd was elected vice president of the Association of Chief Police Officers of England and Wales in 2006, according to a biography on his Web site.

The association gave him the task of looking into accusations that Britain allowed the CIA to use the country's airports to fly terrorism suspects to other countries without any extradition hearings, a clandestine procedure known as "extraordinary rendition."

Todd's investigation concluded last June that there was no evidence to back the claim. Last month, however, Britain admitted one of its remote outposts in the Indian Ocean had twice been used by the United States as a refueling stop for the secret transfer of two terrorism suspects.

that "remote outpost" would be the indian ocean island of diego garcia about which i've posted numerous times...

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Still more on the CIA "black site" at Diego Garcia

i've had two posts on diego garcia over the past five months, one in october and the second just last month...

here's more, as the truth slowly trickles out...

Britain's denials that its territories have been used for 'extraordinary rendition' were dramatically undermined last night after the United Nations claimed that Diego Garcia has been used as a detention centre to hold US suspects.

Manfred Novak, the United Nations' special rapporteur on torture, who is charged with investigating human rights abuses, said he had received credible evidence from well-placed sources familiar with the situation on the island that detainees were held on Diego Garcia between 2002 and 2003.

Novak pledged he would consider a request by the UK government to share his information. 'I spoke to my sources on condition of anonymity and it would take time to trace them; I couldn't do it [brief the UK government] without the explicit authorisation of these people,' Novak said. 'But under this caveat, I could share more information.'

Novak said he had spoken to people who had been held on the atoll, situated in the Indian Ocean and home to a large US naval base. They had been treated well in comparison with the regime some endured at places such as Guantánamo Bay. 'There were only a few of them and they were not held for a long time,' he said.

In 2004, the then Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, confirmed to parliament that there was a detention centre on Diego Garcia. Planning documents show it was 'upgraded' in December 2001. Ships operating offshore have also been used as floating 'black sites' to hold detainees, according to human rights groups.

eventually, i suppose, we will find out where all of the cia black sites are located...

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Using advanced technology to terrorize 10 year-olds in the UK

let's get this straight... if you come here, you go inside, buy something, and then get the hell out, and don't stop on the sidewalk to eat your goddam candy bar either... we got your money, now beat it...

Jordan Webb can predict the exact time of day his head will start aching. If the 10-year-old lingers outside the Reynolds grocery store past 5 p.m., a small black device latched onto the storefront and operated on a timer will emit a high-pitched sound that makes the boy's skull feel like it's popping.

"It sounds like 'Eeeeeeeek' and gives me a big headache," said Jordan, who then covered his ears and made a face reminiscent of Macaulay Culkin's famous pose in the "Home Alone" movies.

Jordan is referring to the Mosquito, a $975 transmitter designed to disperse young loiterers by making a loud humming noise that most people older than 25, such as his 41-year-old mother, can't hear. The Mosquito has sparked a new sort of buzz in Britain, this time among political and civil rights groups that say the device is discriminatory and treats young people as second-class citizens.

Others have worried that the Mosquito is the next step in Britain's Big Brother society. Britons are among the most photographed, filmed, speed-checked and monitored people in the world, thanks to an interlocking system of computerized government devices.

an ominous turn of events...

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The truth continues to trickle out: Britain connects Diego Garcia with extraordinary rendition flights

i posted back in mid-october on the possibility that diego garcia is a cia black site... it looks like, ever-so-slowly, the truth is coming out...

Two U.S. planes carrying terrorism suspects refueled at a U.S. base on British-ruled Diego Garcia in 2002, Britain said on Thursday, contradicting earlier assurances.

"Contrary to earlier explicit assurances that Diego Garcia had not been used for rendition flights, recent U.S. investigations have now revealed two occasions, both in 2002, when this had in fact occurred," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told parliament. Diego Garcia is an Indian Ocean island.

given the island's extreme isolation from just about anywhere, what do you think the likelihood is that they were "JUST" refueling stops for extraordinary rendition flights...?

here are some google earth shots of diego garcia...


The above shows the entire Diego Garcia
atoll surrounding the lagoon. Although
you can't see them very well in this shot,
there are 7 ships in the lagoon and 2
in port.


The above is a closer-in shot of the
airbase. The port is in the middle left
and the housing area is on the extreme
upper left.

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Look out...! Larisa's on the Bhutto case...!

and when larisa's on the case, the big boy cover-up quickly starts to fall apart...

While President Musharraf initially declined help from the British in investigating the assassination of Mrs. Bhutto, pressure from a distrusting public and a crumbling explanation caused a turnaround this week. An agreement was reached allowing the British to conduct their own investigation, and police from Scotland Yard arrived over the weekend.

US intelligence officials say, however, that very little evidence will be found, especially if investigators are looking for the suspected shooter. Three former US intelligence officials have told Raw Story that not only is the gunman dead, he was likely the actual target of the suicide bomber.

According to a former high ranking US intelligence official, who wishes to remain anonymous due to the delicate nature of the information, the US intelligence community understands the gunman to have been killed in the blast following Mrs. Bhutto's assassination.

"He was killed, probably not knowing that the suicide bomber was there," said this source. "We don't know for sure if the two men arrived together. We do know that the assassin died in the explosion, and was probably meant to."

Several other US intelligence officials concur that the bomber was likely "inserted" to "clean up" evidence of the shooting, including eliminating the gunman.

there's so many nasty little sidelights to the bhutto story, it ain't even funny, but i really do like the way that larisa's pulled 'em all together...

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The United States is now an "endemic surveillance society"

my post from this past may 30...

raw story has a rundown on the leaps and bounds the uk has taken with regard to abolishing a citizen's right to privacy... it's chilling... read it...

[Privacy International's Gus Hosein said] that, with respect to privacy in the democratic world, “whatever bad policy is out there, Britain does it worse.”

here's a graphic from privacy international, showing the leading surveillance societies in the world...

Leading surveillance societies in the EU and the World
(click on graphic for full-size image...)

in the leading category of "endemic surveillance societies":

China, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom

in the next category of "extensive surveillance societies":

United States

so, now, lookee here... the u.s. has been kicked down a notch, from "extensive" to "endemic"...




yes, we're now in black instead of red...

Despite political shifts in the US Congress, surveillance initiatives in the US continue to expand, affecting visitors and citizens alike.

[...]

In terms of statutory protections and privacy enforcement, the US is the worst ranking country in the democratic world. In terms of overall privacy protection the United States has performed very poorly, being out-ranked by both India and the Philippines and falling into the "black" category, denoting endemic surveillance.

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"2 percent of Basra residents felt that the British military had had a positive impact"

considering the margin of error for polls in general, 2% is equivalent to no support whatsoever...

juan cole...

A recent poll conducted in Basra has little good news in it for the British in the south.

In the poll, only 2 percent of Basra residents felt that the British military had had a positive impact on the security situation in the southern port. Some 86% said that the British impact has been negative! Not suprisingly, 83% said they wanted British troops to leave Iraq altogether. The BBC adds:

Two-thirds felt security would improve in the short term, while 72% said it would improve in the long term. Only 5% said security would deteriorate following the withdrawal.

These number really are suggestive of a colonial experiment gone badly wrong. If the British had been in the Iraqi south as helpmeets to Iraqi authorities, as former PM Tony Blair often alleged, it is hard to imagine that the people there would be this hostile.

"gone badly wrong" is a serious understatement...

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Extraordinary rendition, European overflights, European complicity

from the london sunday times...

THE secret flight plans of American military planes have revealed for the first time how European countries helped send prisoners, including British citizens, to the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

Despite widespread criticism of alleged human rights abuses and torture at the US base in Cuba, a Sunday Times investigation has shown that at least five European countries gave the United States permission to fly nearly 700 terrorist suspects across their territory.

[...]

Inquiries by Ana Gomes, a Portuguese member of the European parliament, have uncovered not only more CIA flight logs but also more sensitive military flight plans, which until now have remained a closely guarded secret.

[...]

In a statement to the European parliament on the visits of CIA planes to Spain, the foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has testified: "Our territory may have been used not to commit crimes on it, but as a stopover on the way to committing crime in another country."

Spain, it has now emerged, had a specific agreement with the US to allow flights and visits to Spanish airbases for American planes.

In Portugal, the foreign minister Luis Amado has said flights across his country's airspace took place "under the aegis of the UN and Nato and that Portugal naturally follows the principle of good faith in the relations with its allies". Nato's role in Guantanamo stems from a secret agreement made in Brussels on October 4 2001 by all Nato members, including Britain. Although never made public, Lord Robertson, the former British defence secretary who was later Nato's secretary-general, explained that day that Nato had agreed to provide "blanket overflight clearances for the United States and other allies' aircraft for military flights related to operations against terrorism".

the following data courtesy of ghost plane... note that 191 of these 3557 flights took place PRIOR to 9/11... i don't know what that indicates, but it sure as hell would be interesting to find out... also, if you visit the site and look at the flight plans AFTER 9/11, you will see a MAJOR shift in both origins and destinations...

The following are historic flight plans that, according to a variety of aviation sources, were filed by aircraft understood to belong to companies identified in the New York Times in May, 2005 , as operated by the CIA. Please note that all flight plans were not executed, so some of these journeys may not have taken place and the actual route of the planes may have deviated from the flight plans. Further, these planes have been used for a wide variety of purposes and a great number have no connection at all with "rendition" or other prisoner operations; the planes may also have been chartered at times for use by other agencies. The Gulfstream registered N85VM and then N227SV was identified by the Chicago Tribune as regularly chartered by the CIA. The plane was however in private ownership and many of its journeys relate to private purposes. Although I have tried to make this information as accurate as possible, it may contain errors and you should not rely on it without further checks. It is published as an aid to further research, in particular to allow others to continue to establish the whereabouts of a great number of prisoners who have gone missing. Any information on the purpose of flights indicated here would be gratefully received - Stephen Grey.

Flight 101 - 200 of 3557

Flight date	Departure	Arrival	Plane id	Details
26-04-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SARAJEVO	N4009L	Details
30-04-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	AUGSBURG MUHLHAUSEN	N4009L	Details
30-04-2001	AUGSBURG MUHLHAUSEN	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
03-05-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SKOPJE EX LYSK	N4009L	Details
03-05-2001	SKOPJE EX LYSK	TIRANA	N4009L	Details
03-05-2001	TIRANA	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
07-05-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	VICENZA	N4009L	Details
07-05-2001	VICENZA	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
11-05-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	TIRANA	N4009L	Details
11-05-2001	TIRANA	SKOPJE EX LYSK	N4009L	Details
11-05-2001	SKOPJE EX LYSK	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
16-05-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	TUZLA	N4009L	Details
16-05-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	GANDERKESSE	N212CP	Details
16-05-2001	TUZLA	SARAJEVO	N4009L	Details
16-05-2001	SARAJEVO	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
17-05-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SKOPJE EX LYSK	N4009L	Details
17-05-2001	SKOPJE EX LYSK	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
18-05-2001	GANDERKESSE	FRANKFURT MAIN	N212CP	Details
21-05-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	DUBLIN	N212CP	Details
22-05-2001	DUBLIN	REYKJAVIK	N212CP	Details
30-05-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SARAJEVO	N4009L	Details
30-05-2001	SARAJEVO	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
06-06-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SARAJEVO	N4009L	Details
06-06-2001	SARAJEVO	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
07-06-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	TIRANA	N4009L	Details
07-06-2001	TIRANA	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
15-06-2001	WRIGHTSTOWN/MC GUIRE	FRANKFURT MAIN	N379P	Details
16-06-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SANAA	N379P	Details
16-06-2001	DULLES WASHINGTON	FRANKFURT MAIN	N379P	Details
17-06-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SANAA	N379P	Details
17-06-2001	SANAA	FRANKFURT MAIN	N379P	Details
17-06-2001	WHITE PLAINS	HELSINKI-VANTAA	N85VM	Details
18-06-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	WRIGHTSTOWN/MC GUIRE	N379P	Details
18-06-2001	HELSINKI - VANTAA	PARIS / LE BOURGET	N85VM	Details
19-06-2001	PARIS / LE BOURGET	WESTHAMPTON	N85VM	Details
20-06-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SARAJEVO	N4009L	Details
20-06-2001	SARAJEVO	SKOPJE EX LYSK	N4009L	Details
20-06-2001	SKOPJE EX LYSK	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
24-06-2001	TETERBORO,NJ.	BELFAST/ALDERGROVE	N85VM	Details
28-06-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SARAJEVO	N4009L	Details
28-06-2001	SARAJEVO	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
29-06-2001	BELFAST/ALDERGROVE	TETERBORO, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK	N85VM	Details
06-07-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SKOPJE EX LYSK	N4009L	Details
06-07-2001	SKOPJE EX LYSK	TIRANA	N4009L	Details
06-07-2001	TIRANA	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
11-07-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SARAJEVO	N4009L	Details
11-07-2001	SARAJEVO	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
12-07-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SKOPJE EX LYSK	N4009L	Details
12-07-2001	SKOPJE EX LYSK	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
18-07-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SARAJEVO	N4009L	Details
18-07-2001	SARAJEVO	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
19-07-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	TIRANA	N4009L	Details
19-07-2001	TIRANA	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
19-07-2001	SCHENECTADY COUNTY, NY	BORDEAUX-MERIGNAC	N85VM	Details
20-07-2001	GANDER INTL	SHANNON	N8183J	Details
20-07-2001	WESTHAMPTON	PARIS / LE BOURGET	N85VM	Details
21-07-2001	SHANNON	SIGONELLA (MIL)	N8183J	Details
21-07-2001	PARIS / LE BOURGET	SCHENECTADY COUNTY, NY	N85VM	Details
26-07-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SKOPJE EX LYSK	N4009L	Details
26-07-2001	SKOPJE EX LYSK	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
02-08-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SKOPJE EX LYSK	N4009L	Details
02-08-2001	SKOPJE EX LYSK	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
06-08-2001	SIGONELLA (MIL)	FRANKFURT MAIN	N8183J	Details
09-08-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	TIRANA	N4009L	Details
09-08-2001	TIRANA	SKOPJE EX LYSK	N4009L	Details
09-08-2001	SKOPJE EX LYSK	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
15-08-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	AUGSBURG MUHLHAUSEN	N4009L	Details
15-08-2001	AUGSBURG MUHLHAUSEN	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
17-08-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	TUZLA	N8183J	Details
17-08-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	VICENZA	N4009L	Details
17-08-2001	TUZLA	FRANKFURT MAIN	N8183J	Details
17-08-2001	VICENZA	TUZLA	N4009L	Details
17-08-2001	TUZLA	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
29-08-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SKOPJE EX LYSK	N4009L	Details
29-08-2001	SKOPJE EX LYSK	TIRANA	N4009L	Details
29-08-2001	TIRANA	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
30-08-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SARAJEVO	N4009L	Details
30-08-2001	SARAJEVO	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
30-08-2001	BOSTON	DUBLIN	N85VM	Details
31-08-2001	DUBLIN	CORK	N85VM	Details
01-09-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	RAMSTEIN	N8183J	Details
01-09-2001	RAMSTEIN	ANKARA / ESENBOGA	N8183J	Details
02-09-2001	ANKARA / ESENBOGA	TASHKENT / YUZHNY	N8183J	Details
03-09-2001	CORK	SLIGO	N85VM	Details
04-09-2001	CONNAUGHT	LONDONDERRY / EGLINTON	N85VM	Details
05-09-2001	LONDONDERRY / EGLINTON	BEDFORD/LAURENCE G. HANSCOM FIELD, MASSACHUSETTS	N85VM	Details
06-09-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SKOPJE EX LYSK	N4009L	Details
06-09-2001	SKOPJE EX LYSK	TIRANA	N4009L	Details
06-09-2001	TIRANA	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
07-09-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SARAJEVO	N4009L	Details
07-09-2001	SARAJEVO	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
12-09-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	SARAJEVO	N4009L	Details
12-09-2001	SARAJEVO	FRANKFURT MAIN	N4009L	Details
13-09-2001	TASHKENT / YUZHNY	RAMSTEIN	N8183J	Details
13-09-2001	TASHKENT / YUZHNY	FRANKFURT MAIN	N8183J	Details
14-09-2001	FRANKFURT MAIN	RAMSTEIN	N8183J	Details
14-09-2001	RAMSTEIN	BAKU/BINA	N8183J	Details
14-09-2001	DULLES WASHINGTON	ATHENS/ELEFTHERIOS VENIZELOS	N379P	Details
15-09-2001	ATHENS/ELEFTHERIOS VENIZELOS	ISLAMABAD	N379P	Details
16-09-2001	LUTON	GENEVE COINTRIN	N85VM	Details

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Bird and Fortune: two Brits 'splain the financial markets

stu has been telling me about these two guys, and describing their quintessential dry-as-dust british humor... no kidding...



(thanks to brasscheck tv...)

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In Britain, an average person is caught on camera up to 300 times a day

THEY'RE WATCHING: A wall of video monitors
images from closed circuit television
CCTV) installed in central London.
Britain has the highest number of CCTV
cameras -- about one for every 14 people.

smile... wave...

By some estimates, 4.2 million CCTV cameras, or one for every 15 people, quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, monitor the comings and goings of almost everyone -- an average person is caught on camera up to 300 times a day.

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The face of diplomacy: John Bolton in drag

where does bush come up with these people...?


Debra Cagan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition
Affairs to Defence Secretary Robert Gates

Britsh MPs visiting the Pentagon to discuss America's stance on Iran and Iraq were shocked to be told by one of President Bush's senior women officials: "I hate all Iranians."

And she also accused Britain of "dismantling" the Anglo-US-led coalition in Iraq by pulling troops out of Basra too soon.

The all-party group of MPs say Debra Cagan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs to Defence Secretary Robert Gates, made the comments this month.

The six MPs were taken aback by the hardline approach of the Pentagon and in particular Ms Cagan, one of Mr Bush's foreign policy advisers.

i don't indulge in personal attacks, but i can't help but observe that the outfit she's wearing seems somehow totally inappropriate to any situation where she would be representing her country... on a personal night out to, let's say, a dance club, well, maybe...

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Iraqi History

Check out this article on Iraqi history at
The Information Clearing House.
It gives a good example of Western folly in that region. As the author points out, it would be nice if we in the west would try to learn about a region before we attack it. Of course, we would have invaded anyway, but understanding the history of that region may point towards real solutions to our current crisis.

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The UK's Serious Organized Crime Agency hasn't shared any info with Interpol about the recent failed terrorist attacks

WTF...?!?!

The head of Interpol said Monday that Britain's anti-terrorist efforts are "in the wrong century," pointing out that authorities in London had not shared any information from the investigation of three failed car bomb attacks and had not made good use of a passport database.

"We have received not one name, not one fingerprint, not one telephone number, not one address, nothing, from the UK, about the recent thwarted terrorist attacks," Ronald Noble, Interpol's secretary general, said in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. television.

"My view is that the U.K.'s anti-terrorist effort is in the wrong century," Noble said.

eyeball THESE stats...

Noble said Britain — like most countries — has so far failed to take advantage of Interpol's list of 7 million lost or stolen passports. However, he said Britain was now testing systems to access the database, and said he hoped that would be working within months.

Switzerland, he said, checks the database 300,000 times per month, and typically gets 100 hits on stolen or lost passports.

Britain now checks the database about 30 times a month, and the United States use it 80 times per month, he said.

absolutely unbelievable... the uk is only NOW "testing systems to access the database...?!?!" and check out which uk government office is responsible for liaison with interpol...

[A] Home Office spokesman said the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) "as the U.K. arm of Interpol, consults Interpol databases and performs searches on behalf of U.K. law enforcement, in addition to which U.K. police forces have direct secure access to Interpol databases."

oh, yeah, they're SERIOUS, all right, about as serious as the u.s. who generates only 80 hits per month...

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