F. William Engdahl: Framing Libya and Reframing War

The lies used to justify the NATO war against Libya stink to high heaven, having surpassed those created to justify the invasion of Iraq. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both had honest observers on the ground for months, following the rebellion in eastern Libya, and both have repudiated the every major charge used to justify the NATO war on Libya. According to the Amnesty observer, who is fluent in Arabic, there is not one confirmed instance of rape by the pro-Gadaffi fighters, and not even a doctor who knew of one. All the Viagra mass rape stories are pure fabrications. Amnesty could not verify a single "African mercenary" fighting for Gaddafi, and the highly charged international satellite television accounts of African mercenaries raping women that were used to panic much of the eastern Libyan population into fleeing their homes were pure fabrications. There were no confirmed accounts of helicopter gunships attacking civilians, and no jet fighters bombing people, except those from the evil NATO forces, who were led by Obama to destroy Libya and steal their oil as soon as possible, as was the case after the destruction of the Iraqi armed forces. After three months on the ground in rebel-controlled territory, the Amnesty investigator could only confirm 110 deaths in Benghazi, which included Gadaffi supporters. Only 110 dead in Benghazi? Wait a minute, we were told thousands had died there, ten thousand even. No, only 110 lost their lives, including pro-government people. No rapes, no African mercenaries, no helicopter gunships or bombers, only 110 deaths due to the aggressive bombings by the continuing NATO bombardments, whose every claim is based on a lie.

Nazemroaya: NATO Massacres of Civilians Aimed at "Cleansing" the Libyan People

On, or around the night of August 10, 2011, NATO conducted intensive attacks on Libyan civilians in the night of August 8, and in the early hours of August 9, 2011, from approximately 2:00 a.m. to 4:00 am EET. Despite Obama's proclaimed intent to help Libyan civilians, American fighter and bomber planes, the civilians in Libya were bombed indiscriminately by NATO. A large number of casualties occurred in the city of Zliten, in the district of Misurata. In Zliten, 85 people were killed, including 33 children, 32 women, and 22 men. Many of the injured civilian victims are in critical condition, and most are now near death. Thus goes Obama's claim of helping Libyan civilians! Looks as though Obama's claim to help Libyan civilians is about a queer as a two dollar bill: A large number of casualties occurred in the city of Zliten, in the district of Misurata. In Zliten, 85 people were killed, including 33 children, 32 women, and 20 men, as a result of NATO's deliberate targeting of residential areas and civilian infrastructure. Many of the injured civilian victims are in critical condition and near death. Zliten has been under constant NATO bombardment for several days. The recent NATO attacks started at about 11:30 pm EET on August 8, 2011. At least 7 civilian homes belonging to local farmers were destroyed, killing entire families. In all, 20 families were the targets of NATO bombings.

Thomas C. Mountain: Libya War Lies Worse Than Iraq

The lies used to justify the NATO war against Libya have surpassed those created to justify the invasion of Iraq. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both had honest observers on the ground for months following the "rebellion" in eastern Libya, and both have repudiated every major change used to justify the NATO war on Libya. According to the Amnesty observer, who is fluent in Arabic, there is NOT one confirmed instance of rape by the pro-Gadaffi fighters, and not even a doctor who knew of one. All the Viagra mass rape stories were pure fabrications. Amnesty could not verify a single "African mercenary" fighting for Gaddafi's story, and the highly charged international satellite television accounts of African mercenaries raping women that were used to panic much of the eastern Libyan population into fleeing their homes were fabrications. There were no confirmed accounts of helicopter gunships attacking civilians, and no jet fighters bombing people, which completely invalidates any justification for the No-Fly Zone in Security Council resolutions used as an excuse for NATO to launch its attacks on Libya. After three months on the ground in rebel-controlled territory, the Amnesty investigator could only confirm 110 deaths in Benghazi, which included Gadaffi supporters. Only 110 dead in Benghazi? Wait a minute, we were told thousands had died here, ten thousand even. No, only 110 lost their lives, including pro-government people.

The Raw Story: Thousands Riot in China's Guizhou Province

Thousands of rioters took to the streets in southwestern China,with some smashing and burning vehicles, after a city official injured a female cyclist, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday. The riots broke out late Thursday in Guizhou province and continued all night. Ten police officers were wounded in the violence. Rioters also blocked the city's main roads, using trucks,the state-run China National Radio reported on its web site. Xinhua said the riots were set off when "chengguan" officials, responsible for low-level policing on China's streets, injured a female cyclist while trying to confiscate her bicycle for illegal parking. Chengguan officials, widely disliked in China, and often accused of using excessive force against civilians, have been behind an increasing number of riots in recent years. Last month, hundreds of people in another southern Chinese city rioted after a chengguan was reported to have beaten up a one-legged fruit seller. The seller, who had apparently protested against the confiscation of his cart for illegal parking, later died of his injuries. Comments on the Guizhou riots were blocked on the popular Chinese microblogging website Weibo on Friday.

Agence France-Presse: Scientists Predict Eruption Of Undersea Volcano!

US scientists said Tuesday that for the first time they have successfully predicted the eruption of one of the world's most active undersea volcanoes off the coast of the western state of Oregon: Scientists from Oregon and New York have been monitoring Axial Seamount, 250 miles out to sea, since it last erupted in 1998, and predicted it would again before 2014. On an exhibition to the area on July 29, researchers using a remotely operated robot discovered a lava flow that was not there the year before, and began noticing that the entire area looked unfamiliar. "When we first arrived at the seafloor, we thought we were in the wrong place, because it looked so completely different," said Bill Chadwick, an Oregon State University geologist who co-authored a 2006 study that forecast another eruption by 2014. "We were unable to find our markers or monitoring instruments, or other distinctive features on the bottom." The team was using bottom pressure sensors, the same tools used to monitor the sea floor for potential tsunamis after an earthquake. A couple of their recording instruments soon turned up, and scientists determined that the eruption happened on April 6. The team was excited at the recovery, but cautioned that most volcanoes remain highly volatile.

Gerald Celente: PIIGS, Presstitutes And The Global Meltdown

In fact, You couldn't NOT read all about it: According to our corporate media, we are in for a wonderful era about how those happy stock market days are now here again! After a stormy start, June closed and July began immediately with US benchmark indexes racking up their "biggest weekly gains in two years on good news." (Or so it seems, at least on the surface!) Yes, there was some, how shall I call it? CONCERN, but, as The New York Times reported in June 25th, "Two years into the recovery, the economy is still behaving like a plane taxiing indefinitely on the runway. Few economists are predicting an out-and-out return to recession (are they just dumb, or what?) Analysts, or should it be 'analists' "generally" expect the economy to pick up in the second half. These economists were earlier forecasting strong job growth in June, but two weeks later, when the horrible numbers came in, the "Bureau of Labor Statistics" reported that only 18,000 jobs had been created, and not the 125,000 jobs projected by those same economists who were also not "predicting a out-and-out return to recession." Accordingly, without missing a beat, the Times changed its tune, writing new words to replace the old words they would "never" be forced to eat: "Feeble Job Numbers Show Recovery Starting to Stall. Defying Economists Forecast for Hiring, Unemployment Creeps Up to 9.2%. As we used to say in my Latin Class: "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi" (Thus goes the glory of the world).

Theunjustmedia News & Perspectives: Is our US government being honest with us?

Whenever American Soldiers die in combat, as I can relate, based on my combat experience in Vietnam, our "wonderful government" appears to need a reason for their untimely deaths. As the advisory team leader in Trung Lap, in the heart of the so-called "Iron Triangle" I watched as our Chinook helicopters brought load after load of dead American soldiers into my compound, and had them stack like cord-wood at the end of my runway, which was made entirely from solid steel planking. It seems that there had been a large "operation", and these were our soldiers who had not survived. The silly one star general, who came in a light helicopter "to chew my ass", because I had not permitted his "air assets", as he liked to call them to complete their task of killing enemy soldiers in the nearby rubber plantation, did not arouse any pity in my heart, since I was still focused on the many American soldiers lying there behind him. I had joined the indigenous forces from the village of Trung Lap in fighting the enemy in the rubber trees during the previous night, and had cut the general's "air assets", as he called them, loose, after the helicopters helped us to survive that ordeal. The little tiny general, while I stunk to high heaven, still smelled of after- shave, and a secure environment. Like the soldiers of the "Vietcong", the soldiers of the "Mujahideen" in Afghanistan have a right to fight for the freedom of their country, as we Americans did, when the British tried to keep us as their "colony".

Madison Ruppert: Libyan Rebels are falling apart, but Gaddafi remains unfazed by NATO campaign.

For months now, the Libyan rebels have been infighting, and progressively moving toward total discontinuity. As I have been saying since the beginning, this is NOT as cut-and-dry as the mainstream media made it out to be. The notion that an unelected body which declares itself as the "sole legitimate" representative for an entire nation, is entirely ludicrous. The fact remains that an unelected body, which claims to represent the entire Libyan people is laughable at best. We all know that the Libyan people have not voted for these rebels, and have never supported them. Let's put this into perspective: If, during a period of intensive civil unrest in our United States, a tiny elite claims to be the sole representatives of our nation, they would, at the very least, be laughed out of office. What if the "international community" then claims to support them, providing financial and military aid, would even this make them legitimate? If the people of Libya were actually behind these "self-proclaimed" rulers, would they have the right to kill these so-called representatives of the people? To make this scenario even more ridiculous, could these unelected rebels in our country claim to lead our government for the benefit of our people? Wait, I think that our 'government' under Obama has already done that!

Reuters: NATO Strike Kills Dozens of Civilians!

Libyan state media said on Tuesday that dozens of civilians had been killed in a NATO strike on a village about 150km (90 miles) east of Tripoli, and the so-called "alliance" (read gang of thieves) said it was "looking into" the reports. Libyan state television showed the charred bodies of at least three young children, who, it said, were killed by a NATO strike on Monday night in the village of Majar. It also showed wounded women and children being treated at a hospital. The television station reported that a total of 85 people had been killed in Majar, but it did not say how many of these were civilians. The official Jana news agency said "20 families" had been killed, without giving a more precise figure. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the reports of casualties. The government of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi announced three days of mourning for the victims, according to state television. The village of Najar is near Zlitan, on Libya's Mediterranean coast, where NATO forces have been mounting attacks on government troops. A NATO official said the "alliance" hit a target in Zlitan on Monday night, but he could not say if it was the same location where Libyan state media reported casualties. "We have been chasing this report up. We cannot confirm reports of civilian casualties, but we would "regret" any loss of civilian life. NATO goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties, unlike the Gaddafi regime, which, according to these NATO liers, is deliberately targeting civilians!???

Julie Levesque: Breaking Israel's Illegal Siege against the Palestinians!!

Global Research's Julie Levesque's participation in another mission to bring food and medicine to the starving residents of the Gaza strip was organized by (PGPF), the Perdana Global Peace Foundation. On May 16, 2011, when the "Spirit of Rachel Corrie" (a young and determined woman) who was brutally killed by an Israeli bulldozer, entered Palestinian waters undetected and was immediately attacked by the entire Israeli Navy, which is supported by US contributions to the Zionoist cause, despite the fact that Israel destroyed and machine gunned our USS Liberty. At the time, I was the Intelligence Operations Officer of our 4th US Armored Division in Goeppingen, Germany. When I brought the information to General Sherrer, our division's commander, who commented, while I was standing in his door way: "With friends like these, we have no need of enemies". But, I digress: The idea of sending flotillas to Gaza came originally from former Malaysian Prime Minister, and Perdana Global Peace Foundation's founder Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who had been an outspoken advocate of the rights of the Palestinians. Like most people who take a firm stand against the illegal actions of the state of Israel, he was labeled "antisemitic". This type of "ad hominem"attack is the only is the only stratagem left to those who wish to defend an illegal and immoral occupation.

Julianne Escobedo Shepherd: Michael Moore's Input

Michael Moore has been tweeting his discontent at the S&P rating, not to downgrade, but the fact that Standard&Poor rating is merely part of a network of Wall Street capitalists who screwed our economy. On his Twitter feed Monday, Moore blamed the 2008 economic collapse on Standard & Poor's credit rating. He calls on Obama to "SHOW SOME GUTS", and arrest the CEO of Standard & Poor. These "Criminals" brought down the economy in 2008, and it looks as though they intend to do it again! Mr. Moore noted that the owners of S&P are old Bush family friends, continuing a theme he has developed through several films about capitalism, as a "CRONY" system for the rich and Wall Street, especially including the Bush family! Appopriately, his most recent film is:
CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY!!

The Coming Depression: More Than 45.8 Million Americans are on Food Stamps

Yes, beginning in May, the USDA reported that the number of Americans using food stamps has now shot to an all-time high of 45.8 million in May. That is up from 12% from a year ago, and 34% higher than two years. The program provides monthly benefits to low-income families and individuals, which they can use at stores that accept SNAP benefits. To qualify for food stamps, an individual's income can't exceed $1,174 a month, or $14,088 a year, an amount that is 130% of the national poverty level. The average food stamp benefit was $133.80 per person, and $283.65 per household in May. The highest concentration of food stamp users were in California, Florida, New York and Texas, where more than 3 million residents in each state received food stamps in May, according to CNN Money. No one ever talks about the 'Poverty Water Line'. Above the PWL, you accumulate wealth faster than you spend it. Below the PWL, you sink deeper and deeper into extreme poverty. Often, it takes two incomes, no kids, and a helping hand from wealthy parents to get above the PWL. Young couples need to budget, save to extremes and plan their future pending very carefully. After about ten years, a newlywed couple will find their PWL, if they have been successful saver/planners. They see their net assets growing and their debt being reduced and managed. Once this personal waterline has been found, they will be among the group where the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Increasing assets by gambling in the market or in shady ventures are not options for most. It's called "inequality". The wealth and income inequality gap has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels. A massive new underclass has been created and continues to grow. All this is is a symptom of a massive level of political corruption, where lobby money determines the middle class.

Tom Dispatch: Chalmers Johnson Dismantels its Empire

Though Chalmers Johnson died on November 20, 2010, his spirit lives on in the most active of ways: In his last years he regularly chewed over the profligacy of the Pentagon, our unbridled urge for military spending, and our penchant for war-making and war preparations without end. He was convinced that we had long passed the point at which we were still a"republic", that we had decisively opted for empire, and, long before the US intelligence community came to that conclusion, that we were on the downward side, helped along by what he called a "military Keynesianism" run amok. One question he raised regularly in conversation, but never answered in print, was: What would it mean for the United States, ie a great military superpower, to bankrupt itself? After all, we aren't Argentina. But if there was no obvious model to draw on, he never doubted one thing: If we did not change our ways and reverse course on empire, we would certainly be a candidate for debtor's prison and a wreck of a country. In his last major essay, also the title of his last book, he turned to the issue of dismantling the empire, knowing full well that it wasn't on any imaginable Washington agenda. Having just lived through one of the more bizarre months in the history of the former republic, what I recently termed "a psychotic spectacle of American decline, it seemed to me that Johnson's dismantling essay couldn't be more timely, and so, on this quiet Sunday in August, on the weekend the author of Blowback would have turned 80, so I am bringing it back from the TomDispatch archives.

CBS NEWS: London Riots Leave City Scarred; 160 Jailed

London Police arrested 160 people during a weekend of riots and looting that erupted in a disadvantaged London neighborhood just five miles from the site of next year's Olympic Games. Groups of masked and hooded young people looted shops, attacked police officers, and set fire to vehicles, in violence that has raised questions about security ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games, and revealed pent-up anger against the city's police. Around 35 police officers were injured, including three hit by a car while trying to make arrests in east London. Police commander Christine Jones said officers were shocked at the outrageous level of violence directed against them. The violence broke out in the gritty north London suburb of Tottenham on Saturday night amid "community anger" over a fatal police shooting of a 29-year-old father of four. Police said "copycat criminal" violence spread to other parts of the city Sunday night and early Monday, including, briefly, London's main shopping and tourist districts at Oxford Circus. The protest over the death of Mark Duggan, who was gunned down in disputed circumstances Thursday, was initially peaceful, but it turned ugly as between 300 and 500 people gathered around Tottenham's police station late Saturday. Some "protesters" filled bottles with gasoline to throw at police lines, while others confronted police with makeshift weapons, including baseball bats and bars, and attempted to storm the station.

Libya: Each Death, Each Bomb by NATO will Assure Their Defeat!

Don't those associated with NATO realize that the more people they kill in Libya, the more damage that they do, the less likely they are to come out of this horror of their creation. The aggression against Libya now only means "saving face". If you count the massive war crimes they have committed against Libya, "saving face" is now totally out of the question: Having been defeated in in Zlintan, in another act of obvious cowardly desperation, NATO trash and garbage bombed a children's hospital, killing at least 50 children, but they have also deprived countless children of receiving needed medical care. Considering their daily attacks on medical targets, that number will be extremely high. In view of their daily bombing, there is no room to claim that NATO is saving "civilian lives". Right now, Libyans are voting by the millions to thwart Obama's desire to grasp the oil which he wanted to give to American and European corporations, in order to deprive the Libyan people of their resources in favor of powerful multinational corporations. The bottom line for NATO is that their corporate stooges no longer control Benghazi. The cowardly leaders of their so-called government has fled a long time ago, retreating rapidly while the "getting is good". Now, the so-called "leaders" of their "government" are reputed to be hiding in Turkey, while the end of this horrible war, stoked by the greed of NATO governments, continues unabated!

Julius Sequerra: Thirty-One American Military Killed in Afghanistan!!

Of the 31 Americans killed when their Boeing Chinook helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, twenty were members of SEAL Team 6, which "allegedly" killed Usama bin-Ladenin Abbottabad. I used the quotes on both sides of the word "allegedly", since bin-Laden in fact died in his mountain cave many months ago, but his "resurrection" and death were hyped in all of our gullible news-media sources, so that 'president' Obama could celebrate and tell the American suckers who voted for him, that he actually accomplished something during his term in office! But I digress: According to "reliable information" from a 'retired' Colonel, Seal Team 6 is an ultra-elite group of 'black' operatives who exist outside military protocol, engage in operations that have the highest level of classification, and often work outside the bounds of military protocol, and outside international law. According to the media story, the Taliban shot down that chopper, but many others have serious doubts about that. Remember Pat Tillman, the Pro-Football Star, who dumped his contract to fight in Afghanistan? That pretty boy was assassinated by his own government. Reportedly, he was beginning to get a little too close to the truth for his own good, so three bullets were fired at close range to kill him. "Friendly-fire, indeed"!!
As Goethe, my favorite German Poet said, many years before his death:
"We are never deceived, but we deceive ourselves!"

Iran Revolutionary Guards Commander Becomes President of OPEC

A senior Iranian revolutionary guards commander targeted by international sanctions has taken over the presidency of OPEC, after he became Iran's oil minister on Wednesday. Rostam Ghasemi, head of the Khatam al-Anbia military and industrial base, was one of four ministers nominated by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to join his cabinet last week, and approved by Iran's conservative-dominated parliament. Ghasemi is currently subject to US, EU and Australian sanctions, and his assets have been blacklisted by the US Treasury and western powers. He took 216 votes from the 246 deputies in the 290-seat parliament. Iranian state media interpreted the vote as a reaction to international sanctions against the country, especially those which have been targeted by revolutionary guards and the country's nuclear program. "The clever and decisive vote of Iranian MP's for engineer Ghasemi to become the oil minister is a meaningful and crucial response to the attacks against the guards from the west's media empire," said Ramedan Sharif, the head of the revolutionary guards' public relations' unit, in quotes carried by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. In a parliament debate before the vote, however, Ali Motahari, a prominent conservative MP who has previously threatened to impeach Ahmadinejad, spoke out against the involvement of the revolutionary guards in Iran's politics. "The integration of the guard, as a military force, in political and economic power, is not in the interests of the system," Motahari told the parliament. "In neighboring countries, military officials are distancing themselves from politics and power,while it's the opposite in Iran."