Greenspan-Guidotti: How Does America rank on the Greenspan-Guidotti Scale? It's a guaranteed default!

The only way out of our dilemma is to raise interest rates as the US dollar begins to fail, which already began in the summer of 2010. Those who want to make 2.15% on an investment must leave it invested for 10 years. On the other hand, US business can money at auction basically free from the central bank for .25%, invest it in T-bonds and make 1.9% free! When the world finds out about this ponzi scheme, the jig will be up. With the US government planning to spend an extra $7.7 trillion and a national deficit of more than twelve trillion dollars, it sounds as though the American public will be paying for this for the rest of their lives. Obama has a lot to deal with, with a $12 trillion debt that will increase by at least 10% in a single year. It is amazing that Bush managed to nearly double the US national debt during his time in office. With a GDP of only about $14 trillion, that debt load must be looking pretty scary for Americans. Actually, there will soon be a "run on the dollar". Porter Stanberry writes: It's one of those numbers that's so unbelievable, that you actually have to think about it for a while! Within the next 12 months, the US Treasury will have to refinance $2 trillion in short-term debt, not counting any additional deficit spending, which is estimated to be around $1.5 trillion. Put the two numbers together, then ask yourself, how in the world can the Treasury borrow $3.5 trillion in only one year? That's an amount equal to to nearly 30% of our entire GDP, and we're the world's "biggest" economy. Where will the money come from? How did we end up with so much short-term debt? Like most entities that have far too much debt, whether sub-prime borrowers, GM, Fannie, or GE -the US treasury has tried to minimize its interest burden by borrowing for short durations and then "rolling over" the loans when they come due. As they say on Wall Street: "A rolling debt collects no moss." Will Speaker Boehner cave on the Debt Ceiling, or will you help Ron Paul fight to prevent a Debt Ceiling Betrayal? Don't forget: "It's YOUR MONEY'. As long as Speaker Boehner refuses to take a clear stand in support of only passing a debt ceiling if a strict "Cut, Cap, and Balance" plan is also enacted,then he's just playing "Let's Make a Deal" with America's future! Please sign the petition to your representatives and senators DEMANDING that they reject any business as usual "deal", and join Ron Paul in signing the "Cut, Cap, and Balance" pledge IMMEDIATELY.

Medea Benjamin: By Torpedoing the Gaza Flottilla, Israel Sunk its Own Ship!

Instead of high-fiving each other for their success in thwarting the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Israel should throw the propaganda hacks who catapulted the flotilla into headline news for weeks and left Israel smelling like rotten fish. Last year, when the Israeli military killed nine aboard the Turkish ship, the incident made waves around the world, but in previous years, the same international coalition had sent boats to Gaza five times, successfully reaching their destination with a symbolic shipment of humanitarian aid. No blood, no military interception, no story! That's why the advice of many of Israel's best buddies, including the lobby group AIPAC just ignored the flotilla. But now the idiotic Israeli government decided to announce with bravado that it was prepared to stop the flotilla with lethal force, including snipers and attack dogs. Smelling blood, the media frenzy began: Even before leaving home, passengers were besieged with press calls asking why they were willing to risk their lives for the plight of the people of Gaza. Worse yet, mainstream media began bombarding the passengers with requests to come along for the ride! With space for only ten media on their boat, they ended up with a complete media circus: CNN, CBS, Al Jazeera, AP, and "The Nation and Democracy Now." Other boats also began to scramble to accommodate "MORE PRESS"! Thanks to Israel, we were guaranteed that no matter what happened, THE WHOLE WORLD WOULD BE WATCHING!! The Israeli's next blunder was even more idiotic: It sent a letter to foreign journalists warning them that if they participated in the flotilla, they would be denied entry into Israel for ten years, and their equipment would be impounded! Israel's Foreign Press Association said: The Threat sends a chilling message to the international media and raises serious questions about Israel's commitment to FREEDOM OF THE PRESS!!

Bob Chapman: Mounting Public Debt, and the L ooting of Federal Pensions, Social Security and Medicare

Our US government debt will be in the vicinity of $1.5 trillion this year. Ever since May 16th, short term debt has been frozen at about $14.3 trillion! As one humorist appropriately said: A Trillion here, and a Trillion there, and pretty soon we're talking about big money. Up until May 16 this year, our fiscal debt was was $783.135 billion. That means if no August 2nd agreement is reached, $275 billion will be needed up to August 2nd, a total of about $700 billion will be needed by 9/30/11, at the end of the fiscal year. Those funds are to come from federal pensions, Social Security and Medicare. How will those funds be paid back? We do not know, but we would guess there could be legislation to commandeer private pensions, 401Ks and IRAs. On the other hand, an alternative is for the Fed to create $700 billion and buy the Treasury debt. That means they would have to create another additional $850 billion to keep the economy from slipping into a great dark pit. That means additional net funds that would have to be created out of thin air of close to $3 trillion. That means mega inflation 2 to 3 years down the line. In addition the US debt to GDP should be more than 100% by the end of the fiscal year 9/30/11. We guess the Fed can keep interest rates at near zero until borrowers finally get fed up with low returns and a loss in principal, as the dollar deteriorates. It was four years ago when rates were 5-1/4%. Rates in time will return to that level and cause economic and financial devastation. We can also assure you Treasury buyers are not driving rates down and bond prices up, the Fed can take full credit for that. Those who seek safety in low interest Treasuries are giving up purchasing power. In today's markets there is no such thing as safety!

Dave Gahary: The War President

Barack Obama, once hailed as an anti-war president, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people. Now, based on his actions, we know him to be a contemptible fraud! At the time, his disgusting dog-and-pony show, complete with empty promises to bring our troops home, was an apparent outreach to the Muslim world and peace-loving US taxpayers, and a supposed attempt ti curb nuclear proliferation. Now that we actually know Obama to be a disgusting fraud, and his continued illegal aggression against sovereign nations, Bolivia's President Evo Morales stated that Obama's peace prize should be revoked. Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega and Cuba's Fidel Castro have made similar statements, as has Vladimir Zhirinovsky, head of Russia's Liberal Democratic Party. Nevertheless, a completely shameless Obama is continuing US hostilities against a sovereign nation past a deadline spelled out in the "War Powers Act of 1973", commonly referred to as War Powers Resolution. Since recent polls show strong opposition to American intervention of Libya, if Obama is not working for the American people, is Satan now his real employer? Revelations unveiled in The New York Times last week detail how the "president" rejected the views of top lawyers at the Pentagon and the Justice Department, and decided that he had the legal authority to continue American military participation in the air war in Libya without congressional authorization!

Eugene Robinson: Our Robotic Assassins

The skies over at least six countries are patrolled by robotic aircraft, operated by the US military or the CIA, that fire missiles to carry out targeted assassinations. I am convinced that this method of waging war is cost-effective, but not moral. There has been virtually no public debate about the expanding role of unmanned drone aircraft as killing machines, at least not domestically. In the places where drone attacks are taking place, there has been understandingly a great uproar, but even in the rest of the world, questions are being raised about the legal and ethical basis for these "antiseptic" missile strikes. According to the Washington Post, a US military drone fired missiles in Somalia last week in an attempt to kill two leaders of the Islamist group al-Shahab, which is apparently tied to al-Qaida. The men were apparently wounded in the attack, the newspaper reported, according to an unnamed senior military official. Somalia thus joins Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen and Libya as nations where remote-controlled drones are conducting lethal attacks. The strike was deemed justified by US officials, according to the Post, because al-Shabab had become "somewhat emboldened of late" and was "planning operations outside of Somalia" against the United States or its allies. The Obama administration has greatly increased the use of missile-firing drones, and it is easy to understand why. The unmanned aircraft can be flown above hostile territory, and used to locate, track and obliterate targets without putting US lives at risk. Since the drones are controlled electronically by human operators, they can be directed in ways that respond to changing conditions on the ground: If a fleeing target SUV turns right, the drone can turn right as well!

Tom Engelhardt: The Militarized Surrealism of Barack Obama

Its already gone, having barely outlasted its moment - just long enough for the media to suggest that no one thought it added up to much. Okay, it was a little more than the military wanted, something less than Joe Biden would have liked, not enough for the growing crew of anti-war congressional types, but way too much for John McCain, Lindsay Graham & Co: I'm talking about the 13 minutes of remarks on the way forward in Afghanistan, that Obama delivered in the East Room of the White House two Wednesday nights ago. Tell me you weren't holding your breath, wondering whether the 33,000 surge troops he ordered into Afghanistan as 2009 ended would be removed in a 12 month, 14 month, or 18 month span. Tell me you weren't gripped with anxiety about whether 3,000 5,000 10,000 or 15,000 American soldiers would come out this year, leaving either 95,000, 93,000, 88,000 or 83,000 behind! You weren't? Well, if so, you were in good company. Billed as the beginning of the end of the Afghan War, it should have been big, and it couldn't have been smaller. The patented Obama words were meant to soar, starting with the George W. Bush-style invocation of 9/11 and ending with the usual copious blessings upon this country and our military, but on the evidence, they couldn't have fallen flatter. I doubt that I was alone in thinking that it was like Ronald Reagan on an unimaginably bad day in an ad captioned "It's never going to be morning again in America." If you clicked Obama off that night, or let the event slide instantly into your mental trash can. I don't blame you. Still, the president's Afghan remarks shouldn't be sent down the memory hole quite so quickly! For one thing, while the mainstream media's pundits and talking heads are always raring to discuss his policy remarks, the words that frame them are generally ignored - and yet the discomfort of the moment can't be separated from them. So start with this: Whether by inclination, political calculation, or some mix of the two, our president has become a rhetorical idolator!

Franklin Lamb: NATO's War Against Libya's Civilians!

Since Obama wanted to bring "democracy" (meaning steal Libya's Oil, just as George W. Bush stole the oil from Iraq's people), there have been five recent instances of undisputed NATO bombings on Libyan civilians, but Obama claims that he is "protecting innocent civilians", Yeah, right. If you believe that, there is some land, though currently under water in the Gulf of Mexico. Though now completely contaminated by BP (British Petroleum), with the helpful assistance of President Obama, who probably received some kickbacks out of that deal! But I digress: On May 13, 2011, a peace delegation of Muslim religious leaders, having arrived in Breda to seek dialogue with fellow Sheiks from the east of Libya was bombed at 1 AM in their guest house by two MK 82 bombs. Eleven were killed instantly and 14 were seriously injured, but NATO claimed the building housed a "Command and Control Center." All witnesses and the hotel owner have vehemently denied this claim. This observer interviewed the leader of the delegation, Shiek Khalad Ali on three occasions, seeking details, but he is recovering from shrapnel wounds to his leg. NATO has finally offered the wounded families compensation. During the early morning of June 20, 2011, 8 missiles and bombs targeted the home of Khaled Al-Hamedi and his parents and family. Fifteen family members and friends were killed, including Khaled's pregnant wife, his sister and three of his children. NATO said it bombed the home because it was a military installation of some kind. Witnesses, neighbors, and independent observers deny that there was ever any military installation or troop presence on the property. In late June, 2011, on the main road west of Tripoli a public bus with 12 passengers was hit by a TOW missile, killing all passengers, but NATO claimed that public buses are being used to transport military personnel.
Foreign observers, including this one, unanimously aver that they have not seen military personnel in Tripoli, including tanks, APC's, or even military equipment.