News for May 26, 2005

Related Topics:+

Moscow Paralyzed by Major Power Cut, Muscovites Fear End of World (May 26, 2005) - Two years ago, when New York City was paralyzed by a massive blackout, Russian energy officials used the occasion to point out that something like that could never happen in Russia, where the energy infrastructure is entirely different. But by Wednesday afternoon, after a massive power outage at a plant in Moscow left tens of thousands of people without electricity, water, or the Internet, panicked journalists had already begun making their comparisons.

The disaster began late Tuesday night, when a short circuit at Moscow’s Chagino power plant caused an explosion that, in the words of energy officials, led to a cascade effect in the city and surrounding vicinities.

By noon on Wednesday, some 20,000 people were trapped underground in the Moscow subway, with electricity cut off suddenly on at least five lines, leaving some 43 trains stuck in tunnels. more...

Europeans are shouting ‘no’ for one reason: it’s their economies, stupid by Anatole Kaletsky (May 26, 2005) - WHY ARE THE PEOPLE of Europe so angry? The standard answer, as the Germans, French and Dutch all turn against their governments, is that the European project has gone too far and that political elites have overreached themselves, losing touch with the ordinary people. Their resentment about the loss of national political control to the unaccountable Eurocrats of Brussels has finally boiled over. more...

5 5 ships ordered to “surge” to support war on terror By JACK DORSEY (May 26, 2005) - The Navy has ordered five ships and 2,800 sailors to deploy on unexpected missions to support anti-terrorism efforts in the Balkans and Middle East. Four of the ships will leave today. The deployments are in response to requests from the European Command and the Central Command and are not exercises, Vice Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, commander of the 2nd Fleet, said Tuesday. While most ships know several months in advance – sometimes a year or more – when they will deploy, these ships were given between six and eight weeks’ notice to get ready, Fitzgerald said. more...

Nothing Makes Sense Anymore by The Mogambo Guru (May 26, 2005) - I am officially back on the “scared and paranoid” side of life, and while it is not “good to be home,” it is, at least familiar, and there is a certain comfort in that, as at least I know where all the pistols and cookies are stashed around here. But then again, my homecoming is only because I was temporarily in a distant, disturbed place, where even shadows spook me out, and where my nights were spent entirely without sleep, night after night, because my brain no longer waited for me to fall asleep before I started having nightmares about the economy, and I am here to tell you that that is unnerving, to say the least.

My problem seems to be that nothing makes any sense anymore. A story in The Post says essentially the same thing when the author notes “In the past few weeks, the world’s financial markets have acted in a confused, counter-intuitive, bipolar fashion.” Doug Noland entitled his Credit Bubble Bulletin this week “Conundrums.” Mike Hoy writes “I have never seen as many red flags being raised at one time as what I see right now.” It’s everywhere!

I mean, inflation is up, but bond yields are down, which is the exact opposite of what you would expect. In fact, the yield on the 10-year T-note is barely over 4%! Foreign demand for US debt is down, yet prices for debt go up, the exact opposite of what you would expect. Inflation is up, yet gold is down, again the exact opposite of what you would expect. Demand for oil is up, yet prices are coming down, the exact opposite of what you would expect. The economy is slowing, yet stocks are soaring, the exact opposite of what you would expect. It just goes on, day after day, item after item, which explains why I am cowering in the hall closet, gobbling tranquilizers and whimpering “It doesn’t make sense! It doesn’t make sense!” more...

Saddam’s magic stonestone Link Lost By Judi McLeod (May 26, 2005) - The Sun, a British tabloid that published pictures of imprisoned, former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in his underwear may have missed something more intriguing than Saddam's BVDs. While the `Butcher of Baghdad’ has long been a stone around the neck of his own people, it is ironic to consider that sorcerers say he wears one of their stones around his own neck. One of his palace-seers-for-rent purportedly made for Saddam, a special talisman to keep the Grim Reaper at bay. Some say it’s a magic stone worn like a necklace. Others contend he had it implanted under the skin on his arm. Tyrants throughout history, including Adolph Hitler maintained life long love affairs with the occult. Saddam’s mother, Sabha was a peasant woman who sometimes moonlighted as a fortune-teller. Saddam comes to the black arts naturally. Incredibly, he once ordered Baghdad University to set up a department of parapsychology when plain psychology may have been more in order. The university’s Saddam ordered discipline of study was launched to investigate methods to use in the Iran-Iraq war, and later to `mind-read’ UN inspectors searching for WMDs in Iraq. more...

Ofcom says OK to sex with animals (May 26, 2005) - Clean-up TV campaigners seeking succour in Ofcom’s new broadcasting rules suffered an immediate blow today when the regulator gave the all-clear to programmes about “sex with animals”. The comments by Richard Hooper, the Ofcom deputy chairman, came at the unveiling of its long-awaited new broadcasting code and will have had the regulator’s spin doctors holding their heads in their hands. more...

Hezbollah has 12,000+ rockets - The head of Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah said on Wednesday it possessed more than 12 000 rockets that it could use to hit northern Israel. “Some people think we have 12 000 rockets, Katyushas or other ones. I tell you, we have more than 12,000,” Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah told a crowd of tens of thousands of supporters in Bint-Jbeil, a Shiite town near the Israeli border. “The whole of the north of occupied Palestine as well as its settlements, airports, fields and farms are within the firing range of the fighters of the Islamic resistance,” he said, referring to northern Israel. Nasrallah’s speech was to mark the fifth anniversary of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after more than 20 years of occupation, a pullout for which Hezbollah’s armed wing was widely credited in the country.

Sinn Fein launches referendum campaign by Democrat reporter (May 26, 2005) - SINN FEIN this week launched its campaign on the proposed EU constitution, setting out 13 clear reasons why the party would be working “vigorously” for a no vote on both sides of the Irish border. Launching the campaign in Dublin, Sinn Fein MEP Mary Lou McDonald warned that the proposed constitution would transform the EU from a body of co-operating member states into an embryonic federal state with its own legally binding constitution. 

“It deepens the democratic deficit, further concentrating power in the hands of the few at the expense of national parliaments and ordinary people. It undermines neutrality, and seeks to transform the EU into a global superpower, with its own foreign minister, army and armaments agency. It copper fastens the right wing economic agenda which has dominated EU policy for over a decade and seeks to extend such policies to public services and international trade agreements, undermining welfare provision and global justice priorities. 

“It offers no new or meaningful social or human rights protections to citizens of member states, yet significantly increases the power and scope for undemocratic bodies such as the EU Commission and Council, in crucial areas of policy such as international relations, defense, criminal justice, trade, and the internal market.

“This is a critical referendum for everyone on this island. It has huge implications for the future and the debate needs to start now.” Promising a vigorous campaign of opposition on both sides of the border, party president Gerry Adams insisted that the proposed constitution was not in the interests of the people of Ireland. He urged all sections of public opinion, particularly trade unionists, community organizations, human rights groups and supporters of other political parties to join with Sinn Fein in opposing it.

Adams also called on the government to publish its referendum proposals as quickly as possible, set out plans for a fair and balanced debate based on facts and to give an assurance that it would respect the decision of the electorate.

“The debate on the EU constitution is not between pro and anti Europeans. It is a debate over different visions for the future of the EU,” said the Sinn Fein leader. “Sinn Féin wants to see an EU that promotes sustainable growth, environmental protection, social and economic equality, human rights and global justice.”

13 reasons to reject the EU constitution

1. It lays the legal foundations for a federal Europe
2. It deepens the democratic deficit
3. It significantly increases in the powers of the European Council and Commission
4. It undermines of national sovereignty, national parliaments and the rights of citizens
5. It will end neutrality for Ireland and other member states
6. It promotes a policy of substantial militarization
7. It provides for single foreign policy, defense policy and EU foreign minister
8. It promotes the centralization of economic control in the hands of the Council and Commission
9. It contains a clear constitutional commitment to a free market neo-liberal economic model
10. It promotes an economic model that will deepen existing levels of poverty and social exclusion within the EU
11. It will undermine the ability of member states to provide public services
12. The Charter of Fundamental Rights has no mechanisms for ensuring compliance, and does not add to the promotion of human rights or equality for citizens
13. It promotes policies in relation to the developing world that will deepen the levels of global inequality, poverty and instability

Islam Is Not Compatible With Democracy by Randy Taylor, Senior Analyst (May 25, 2005) - So why are we fooling ourselves into thinking that it is? Islam is more of a cult led by dictatorship with the current dictator being any radical cleric within earshot who can justify atrocities against anyone inside or outside of their belief system. This is reminiscent of a cult following more than a legitimate religion. Almost every religion I can think of or have been exposed to gives people the choice to either worship their way or choose not to and the worst punishment would be banishment for choosing another religion or not following the guidelines set by that religion. When your “religion” shares the same characteristics as a deadly infection, then it doesn’t qualify as a religion in my humble opinion. 

There are zealots in many faith based followings and religions and usually they are shunned or spoken out against openly by the elders or leaders of the religion. However, we do not find this to be true with Islam or the followers of Islam. This may be due to fear, ignorance or simply that by remaining silent they are endorsing the acts of their radical counterparts and yet are able to claim that they area against the acts because they have remained silent in the matter. Leaders of Islamic countries that speak out publicly against terrorism, yet allow financing of terrorism through their banks, allow arms to flow from their military to the terrorists and allow their borders to be the transit stations to and from regions plagued by terrorists are no more than terrorists themselves. If you examine these countries, they are not democracies but manipulated and corrupt dictatorships who secretly wish to witness the destruction of the western world.

If you examine the power structure within the country of Iran, the core of Islamic Radical teachings and the biggest supporter of terrorism, you do not see democracy anywhere within the country. The country is basically run by the judges in their Islamic based judicial system and the label of “judge” is simply a title if you were to compare to a judge bearing the same title within the United States. A judge is expected to be fair and examine all the facts and see that justice is done. This cannot be conducted under Islamic law and teachings as the teachings of Islam prevail regardless of the circumstances. Islamic Law is controlled, ruled and regulated by the Islamic teaching, period. The theocracy controls all public and private matters in every instance. Government, law and Islam, regardless of how treacherous the latter may be to mankind, are one. And to make this perverted system even worse, it has been translated to mean that you can be murdered legally for not adhering to the hatred that Islam perpetuates out against followers of other religions, even if you are a follower of Islam who may not approve of the murder and terrorism around you. I had stated in a previous article that there are good Muslims out there, but I am convinced that the number is so insignificant that it doesn’t really matter in the big picture and their insignificance is by their choice and through their own silence. 

In a world where the people of Islam are trying to force sensitivity towards their Islamic teachings upon the religions and people of the west, trying to force tolerance and insisting upon it from our US law enforcement and political leaders one has to question the double standard that this cult like following is imposing upon us. We must also question why those law enforcement agencies and politicians are allowing this infection to infiltrate the very core of our society and government. There is no tolerance whatsoever with Islam, yet they want other to be tolerant towards them. Our seemingly insane efforts to maintain a politically correct posture is slowly allowing the fox into the henhouse at all levels here in the United States. I simply ask you to look closely at the DHS employee roster and need no further proof of infiltration at the highest levels of our security apparatus and living proof of the “politically correct tolerant attitude” we have towards the problem.

We are flirting with certain disaster and we must realize that oil and water do not mix, the oil being Islam and the water being our democratic ways, our lives, our liberties and our freedoms as well as our ability to worship our God in our way, without threat of death from fellow worshippers.

Be safe, stay vigilant.