The Great Firewall of China wins the gold..before the games.

Despite its promises, the Chinese government will keep a tight hand on the internet activities during the Olympics. It is shameful that the IOC accepted the notion this morning. To find out about the great fire wall of China and how it works go check out this link.

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The Military-Industrial Complex: It’s Much Later Than You Think.

Since 1961, there has been too little serious study of, or discussion of, the origins of the military-industrial complex, how it has changed over time, how governmental secrecy has hidden it from oversight by members of Congress or attentive citizens, and how it degrades our constitutional structure of checks and balances.

With the Bush administration and its private army of Blackwater...it got even worse. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been a blessing for the military-industrial complex, it has to some extend driven the ideology of the neo-cons.

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IOC admits Internet censorship deal with China

By Nick Mulvenney BEIJING (Reuters) - Some International Olympic Committee officials cut a deal to let China block sensitive websites despite promises of unrestricted access, a senior IOC official admitted on Wednesday. It is a shame that the Olympic games will take place with the " Great fire wall of China" still operating.

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How are we doing on the " war on terror"?

The 7th anniversary of 9/11 is right around the corner. Nobody can contest that the tragedy was the defining moment of the Bush administration, it was at the very core of most decisions made from the wars in Afghanistan & Iraq to the Patriot Act and the massive spying on American people.

One would argue that it made the Bush administration into a horse with blinders, narrowly focused on only one goal: Make sure an event like 9/11 would never happened again.


The fact that we did not have a terrorist attack will become the key argument for McCain in November. You can count on his campaign, the GOP, FOX news and all the usual suspects in the art of spinning fiction into reality to make it the corner stone of his presidential bid. They will build up on fear and paranoia to convince American people that only " McCain can keep America safe".


However, what Americans should keep in mind, before they cast their ballots in November, is the dramatic increase of terrorism world wide. Today a bomb exploded in Istanbul, yesterday it was a few in India.....people barely pay attention to it unless it is very deadly or completely original in its technical execution. It has sadly become a way of life in most countries on the planet. Some governments in Europe are considering terrorism more a policing issue as opposed to a problem that can be handled by military force alone.

It is also very hard to fight a " war " against an enemy that is not clearly identified. In our case of the so called " war on terror ", we are dealing with threats that are polymorphic and shift constantly from one part of the globe to another. The Bush administration has being claiming for years that " Iraq is the center of the war on terror"; of course it wasn't the case before the US invasion but did become one for a while. It appears that, right now, the real " hot spot " is again Afghanistan and could become sooner than later Pakistan.

The critical question here is this: Assuming that the " war on terror" can have an end-game , are we winning it? The goal of the attack of 9/11 by Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda organization was to set up the 1st phase in an elaborate psychological warfare. It seems likely that Bin Laden knew a swift retaliation would come from the US and NATO in the form of an invasion of Afghanistan. Bin Laden couldn't predict the invasion of Iraq, but it became quickly an opportunity for him to get America trapped in a very costly quagmire.

The real objective of Bin Laden and his associates was an attack on America' s economy....this is probably why he picked the World Trade Center towers to be the first targets, for the symbolic aspect of it. The current crisis of the US and Europe's economy can be linked to two wars with a price tag of 1 trillion. We have our " war on terror ", the global terror originated by Al Qaeda is a war on the world's economy and prosperity. At this juncture, it is hard to tell who is winning.

Mr. Murdoch Goes to War against " The New-York Times".

Mark Bowden is an Atlantic national correspondent, in his article he explores how the owner of Fox is planning to have " The Wall Street Journal" replace the New-York Times as the standard bearer for serious business journalism.

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Security Expert Finds A Wrench In The Internet

Several months ago, Dan Kaminsky discovered a major problem with the basic wiring of the Internet that could easily be exploited by hackers. It has to do with what's known as the domain name system, or DNS.

This is a must read if you do banking transactions on line or even e commerce. The " secured " pages of your banking institution could be exposed to hackers.

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Obama's tax plan in comparison with McCain's tax plan.

The Obama tax plan would make the tax system progressive by providing tax breaks to those at the bottom of the income scale and raising taxes on upper-income earners ( above $250,000). McCain's plan would make the system more regressive by providing little tax relief to those at the bottom while giving huge tax cuts to households at the very top.

McCain used to opposed the Bush tax cut for the wealthy, he has flip-flopped on the issue, and is now in favor of making it permanent.

The conservative economists claim that measures such as the Bush tax cut stimulate the economy. This position is only valid if you believe in an economical " trickle down effect" of the wealth coming from the top to the bottom.

The systemic problem that we have right now ( a clear example is the Fannie & Freddie bailout by the Feds) is to have an hybrid economic model: Full blown capitalism for the good time ( huge profit for the very few) and socialism in bad times (losses shared by everyone). There is no fairness in this, it is completely illogical, and is collapsing in front of us.

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Did Pelosi saved Pres. Bush " chestnuts"?

The congress passed a bill to rescue the mortgage giants Fannie & Freddie and address other systemic issues with the housing sector at large.Most Democrats voted in favor of the bill .The GOP voted 75% against the bill. Time will tell if the sweeping bill to rescue the crippled housing market will be a band-aid or offer a long term solution.

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McCain, Obama Offer Two different Paths On Mideast Policy

America's role as a mediator between Israelis and Palestinians has been a divisive issue on the campaign trail.Obama's adviser on the issue is former Clinton's Assistant secretary of State, Susan Rice. McCain's one is Randy Scheunemann; a neo-con former adviser of Rumsfeld.Obama would have a more balance approach between Israelis and Palestinians.

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After Bush, America needs a re-branding.

America's international " brand " value has suffered a great deal, can it be fixed and how?Students at Occidental College in Los Angeles put together a series of proposals to improve America's international standing. The project, Re-branding America, has gained the attention of political campaigns as well as organizations abroad.

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Home sales hit record 10 year low.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pace of existing home sales in the United States fell in June to a 4.86 million-unit annual rate, the National Association of Realtors said in a report on Thursday that saw the sales volume hit a 10-year low. Economists...

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A Texas oil man with a plan for alternative Energy ?

Unfortunately, not the one we had in the White House for the last 8 years. This one is oil tycoon's Pickens. Mr. Pickens is spending some serious money on the biggest wind farm ever built. Big enough to power a town.Other folks should follow his lead.

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Is your money safe at your bank?

Your banking institution knows a lot about you; with more banks facing problems on a daily bases, it is time for you to look into your banking institution's health and make sure your money is safe ( providing you still have any left).

This official link from the FDIC give you reliable sources you can use to find out if your banking institution is at risk. It will give you a bank rating, and could prevent you from losing your life saving.

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Could another " New Deal " be what America needs?

After almost 8 years of incredible mismanagement by the Bush Administration, America is in a state of complete shamble. Last year, I took a photographs of a graffiti sprayed on a crumbling house in the lower 9th ward in New-Orleans; it said " America needs help". This is probably, in a nutshell, the most accurate political statement of today.

The numbers can make one's head spin. Our budget deficit is 9 trillion, the dollar has reached record low against currencies such as the Euro, the Yen, and the Pound.The low dollar is not really helping our manufacturing sector either, it is more or less gone thanks to the strategy of corporation such as Wall Mart of exporting jobs to India and China. The jobs left to maximize corporate profit and they won't come back.In this insane hyper-capitalist logic Americans were supposed to be the eternal consumer with a credit card never maxed out.

Well, guest what, Americans ( except the super wealthy ) are going broke. Since the burst of the real estate bubble, they can not borrow on their houses any longer. In the mean time, the skyrocketing oil prices is triggering inflation. In the last few weeks, the Feds had to take over a Bank and are tracking a few on their " at risk " of going under list.

The so call economical " stimulus" from the Bush administration ( remember the $600.00 you spent already) was insulting, inefficient and pure political pandering. Another symptoms of the drastic economical misconception of this administration. Bush wanted people to spend the money....well they should have saved the money instead.

Americans have been spending money they don't have for too long consuming stuff they quite often don't need. It is time to re-think our behavior or face the consequences. What we have being doing for years with our own financing management reflect at a much smaller scale the " economic model" of the Bush crack team. The best example is the two wars on installment plan ( with money borrowed from China and Japan) at a cost of 1 trillion combined and counting.

What the next president will have to do to prevent America to become a 2nd or even a 3rd world country is to revisit the type of ideas that FDR implemented to take America out of the great depression in the " New Deal". The next president and the next Congress will have to put a real stimulus plan together, not based on consumer spending but one focusing on fixing the infrastructure of the countries ( roads, bridges, levees, sewage systems, ports, public transportation).
Our country is falling apart, and spending on infrastructure generate much more growth than cutting taxes.

We also need to re-think our conception of " free market" in the long run. It is a paradox that the Bush administration, now a day, is practicing a socialized capitalism consisting of private gain and public losses. With just happened with Fannie & Freddie is an illustration of this point.

It is time to spend money in America not on wars that we can't either afford or win.

McCain is tracking Obama's every moves .....on line.

France24.com reveals that McCain, beside his reputation of being a dinosaur for not knowing much about computers or the Internet, has his campaign track the changes made on Obama's web site. It seems that it is specially the case when it comes to Obama's Iraq policy.

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Al Maliki wants the US troops out of Iraq.

This is the transcript of Der Spiegel's interview of Iraq's prime minister Al Maliki.He agrees with the time table proposed by Obama, it would have most troops out within 16 months. This is bad news for the Bush administration and also McCain. You can count on the GOP's spin doctors to say that Maliki supports Obama.

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The global food crisis: Stop putting corn in your gas tank.

According to The Guardian, the World Bank reveals , in a secret report, that the use of biofuel ( mainly ethanol from corn) forced global food prices up by 75 %, instead of the 3 % previously indicated by the Bush Administration.
The report was not released to avoid " embarrassing President Bush " said a World Bank senior official. If you want 200 million people to starve keep putting corn in your gas tank.

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Historians views on Bush's " Legacy".

The approval rating of Bush has hit record low among Americans. Could it be that W stand for Worst US president ever? Historians are giving their perspectives.

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The scandal of powerty in America in photographs.

Large photojournalist archive and editorial pieces, from New-Orleans post Katrina to the pro amnesty immigration movement in the US and a photo essay about homeless people in America.
This photojournalism archive contains photographs spanning for more than 30 years.

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Bush: Cheerleader in chief or completely delusional?

Today, Bush had a quickly arranged press conference to address the growing anxiety of the American people.

In the last few days, the crisis in the mortgage and financial market has reach a critical mass. On Friday, the Feds had to take over Indy Mac,a mortgage lender and saving institution, based in California. The institution is FDIC insured, but Monday at the crack of dawn, hundred of customers were lining up to withdraw their money. What most of them didn't know is that the Fed guarantee only up to 100,000 dollars...above that you are on your own. A man, who got in line early, still lost 40% of his entire life saving after 40 years of hard work. The scene at the bank was a reminder of the 1930's and the great depression.

An even bigger problem is the state of disarray of giants mortgage co. Fannie and Freddie. The two private institutions are traded on the stock market and hold 5 Trillion worth of mortgages in the US market. A collapse of the two institutions would have catastrophic consequences and the Feds, over the week-end, made an explicit commitment to bail them out if needed. Later today, their stocks took a dive of 26%....I guess the share holders do not really trust the Bush administration.

How about trusting " the market to regulate itself", Pres. Bush? Right now, the Bush administration is doing exactly the opposite. The rule is simple: In good time the profit stays private and go to the very top, the top executives at Fannie & Freddie are very well compensated. In bad time, it becomes everyobody's problem and we all pick up the tab.

Pres. Bush this morning kept saying that things were " tough " for Americans right now but that we were not in a recession and we had to stay " optimistic". He used the word " psychological" a few times, as if he wanted to give Americans the sense that everything would be OK. Another point that he made over and over was the validity to " drill for oil " to solve the high gas prices. He conceded that it wouldn't solve any problem in the short term, but once again he brought up the " psychological impact" it would have on the rest of the world.

What I find ironic about this is the symbolic aspect of it: The Bush administration has put America in a giant hole of debts ( 9 Trillion and counting). We are fighting two wars, with borrowed money, that we can't neither afford nor win and yet the Democrats' controlled Congress is still funding the wars and all the " tools needed"( by a delusional administration) to fight the so call " war on terror". Thanks to Bush's policies we are in a giant hole, yet in his absurd logic, the " Decider" wants to digg( drill) more.

What I got from Bush' s press conference was a feeling of panic, the sense of someone even less focus than usual, lost and quite frankly almost on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Could it be that he is drinking again?
If Bush was planning to be America's President/ Dr. Phil today, I don't think the " mission was accomplished".

The age factor: Will McCain be like Reagan or Dole ?

If elected, McCain would be 72 years old when he takes office. It would make him the oldest first term president ever. In a recent Pew research survey, the word used more often to describe McCain was " old ". This huge generation gap could make him out of touch with the problems and aspirations of young Americans. Can he even use the Internet?

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Do you want a " Reagan foot soldier " for President ?

McCain claims to be a " foot soldier" of the " Teflon " president, as if a connection with Ronald Reagan had a wide appeal across the electorate.However, Bush's heir should be cautious specially when it comes to Regan short geopolitical views. Let's keep in mind that the Reagan's financed " Freedom fighters " are now the Taliban's in Afghanistan.

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Politics as Spectacle.

Politic has become a circus, with celebrities of all stripes " endorsing " politicians. Why should we care that Rambo ( Sly Stalone) and Texas Ranger ( Chuck Norris) are for McCain , or that Ophra is for Obama? Today, it is hard to make a distinction between actors and politicians..one become the other in a heart beat. Think about Reagan...the " teflon" president was a B list actor that became a president. The sad thing is that someone as brilliant as FDR would not stand ( no joke intented) a chance today in our context of " rock star" politicians.

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Are Americans a " nation of whiners"?

They are, at least according to former Senator Phil Gramm.

Gramm is a top economic adviser for McCain, he made the statement in an interview with the Washington Times.
He added : " You've heard of mental depression, this is a mental recession ". He went on to peddle the talking points of the Bush administration that " The US was not in an economic recession" and then said in closing " We have sort of become a nation of whinners".

I am sure people losing their jobs, houses and their 401 k's ( if they still have any) will be happy about the ludicrous statement. Today, the numbers were in; the foreclosures were up by 50 % from last year. Is this our imagination, Mr. Gramm? Gas is at record high and the dollar at record low. When was the last time you went to a gas station, Mr. Gramm? Are you aware of the 9 trillion deficit Mr.Gramm?

In politic you are only as good as the people you hire as " adviser", and getting Gramm in his team says a lot about McCain's judgement.

McCain moved quickly to limit the political damage caused by the comment of former Texas Senator Gramm. " Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I speak for me. So I strongly disagree " McCain said.

Yet, McCain picked Gramm in his "team", and quite often,in political campaigns the freudian slips of advisers reflect the real position of the boss. In the case of Gramm and McCain, it shows the disconnect that the very wealthy have with the real struggle of the middle class ( at least what is left of it).

Obama went on the attack saying: " It's not a figment of the imagination, it's not all in your head. I think it is time we have a president who doesn't deny our problems..or blame American people for them."

The Definitive and Up-To-Date McCain Flip Flop List

Steve Benen at Carpetbagger Report has been accumulating a list of McCain flip flops. He's now up to 62 cases of policy reversals by Senator McCain. A couple examples: National Security Policy 1. McCain thought Bush’s warrantless-wiretap program circumvented the law; now he believes the opposite. Article has links verifying each flip-flop.

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Social Darwinism in America.

Since Bush took office the gap between have and have not has reached an obscene level. We are fighting a war ( at a cost of 650 billion) that we can't neither afford nor win. Yet, we can't take care of the basic needs of American people at home. Americans are losing they jobs, houses and even hope .Is the American dream becoming a nightmare ?

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10% of Americans think Sen. Obama is a Muslim.

In their efforts to sabotage his bid for the presidential election, some GOP's operatives and Christian right wing fundamentalists have being spreading unfounded rumors of Obama being a secret Muslim. 10 % of American are buying the argument...the lunatic fringe is going further by calling Obama the anti-Christ.

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Is McCain the ultimate Flip-Flopper ?

With accusations of flip-flopping flying back & forth between Obama's and McCain's campaigns, this blog takes a comprehensive look at the long track record of the " Maverick" 's countless flip-flops. From ethanol, the Bush tax cut, the election finance reform and of course his own immigration bill. The list goes on and on....

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Obama rejects charges of flip-flopping

By Caren Bohan POWDER SPRINGS, Georgia (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama rejected charges on Tuesday that he has shifted positions on Iraq and other issues as part of a move to the political center. It is the usual strategy for the Democrat presidential to move toward the center and has being for decades. The.However, the move could alienate the left of the Dems the progressive democrats specially when it come to the FISA cout and the war in Iraq. This could backfire on Obama. But again, McCain is such an expert at flip-flopping that it seems that Obama doesn't even come close.

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Iraq insists on U.S. withdrawal timetable: official

By Ahmed Rasheed and Mohammed Abbas BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq will not accept any security agreement with the United States unless it includes dates for the withdrawal of foreign forces, the government's national security adviser said on. Bad news for the Bush Administration and of course John McCain.

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McCain is the ultimate flip-flop artist.

McCain has flip-flopped so fast on the economy, taxes and balancing the budget that our head is spinning. Bush's heir changes his mind faster than anyone in politic, his mind fluctuates at the speed of a pin ball gone crazy. Is he taking his meds for ADD?

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McCain " lap dog express " plane ride.

As the former Maverick has left the " straight talk express " to become Bush's lap dog riding the gravy train of lobbyists, specially the one of the oil company. Obama says McCain would be Bush 3rd terms...I think it could be even worse. McCain is even tighter with the neo-cons and the industrial-military complex than Bush.

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Is a world wide depression worse than 1929 in the forecast?

The month of June was the worse month on Wall Street since 1930. With the financial sector still shaky, price of oil at record high and the US dollar at record low against the Euro, how can the US afford two wars at a cost of 1 trillion,so far? Are George W. Bush's policies bankrupting the US economy and bringing down the world wide economy?

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Robert Reich was Secretary of labor in the Clinton era.

This is a link to his web site. He is one of the sharpest economical mind to ever serve in public office. Beside his blogging activity, Dr. Reich currently teachs at Berkeley. You can also listen to his comments on NPR's Market Place. The posts on his blog are factuals, articulated and brilliants. It is a must read if you care about solutions to fix the economy.

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" Maverick " no more. McCain has lobbyists run his campain.

A complete list of more than 134 lobbyists that have served on McCain's campaign, and who have raised money for him.

If you look closely, there are a lot of lobbyists for oil companies on the list!

Most of them have connection with the Bush Administration as well. If he is elected they will make sure McCain follows policies in favor of the oil companies, the big corporations and of course the military-industrial complex.

I guess, it will be no more " straight talk express " from McCain, but just a nice ride on the lobbyists' gravy train.....
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" The World is entering a danger zone"

According to the World Bank president Robert Zoellick,ahead of the Japan's G8 summit, is urging world leaders and oil producers " to act now to address the man made catastrophe " caused by soaring food, commodities and oil prices. This blog contains the direct link of the letter sent by Zoellick to Prime minister Fukuda and the other G8's leaders.

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Is Senator Obama alienating the Progressive Democrats?

Obama, like any Democrats who wants to be elected for president, is making a move towards the " center " on various issues. The 2ND Amendment's Supreme court ruling, FISA court issue. The progressive Dems, his core support during the primary, are not happy about it. He would lose they support if he makes a shift on withdrawing from Iraq.

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World Bank secret report: biofuel caused food crisis

At least according to The Guardian. The use of biofuel forced global food prices up by 75 %, instead of the 3 % previously indicated by the Bush Administration. The report was not released to avoid " embarrassing President Bush " said a World Bank senior official. If you want 200 million people to starve keep putting corn in your gas tank.

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Obituary: Jesse Helms by The Guardian, a bigot or a patriot?

Jesse Helms died on the fourth of July at the age of 86. For the ultra Christian right he was a patriot.However, for moderate Republicans and of course Democrats Helms symbolized the old South. He was a bigots and a racist against civil rights. He put a great deal of efforts in cutting funding for social programs, international help and the UN.

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Should Obama pick a zombie as his vice president?

A provocative blog about Obama potential pick of Sam Nunn as VP. This blog is from conservative blogger Ben from Infinite Monkeys. Not my opinion, but funny take none less.

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