HONOR OUR VETS by The Cosmic Messenger

"One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, the screaming, lies and hatred comes invariably from people who are not fighting." ... George Orwell

He was elected nearly one year ago based on his ability to charm voters with promises of hope for a better lifestyle. Yet many of those assurances remain unfulfilled such as healthcare and ending foreign military aggression.

It's really quite simple, Mr. President. Bring the troops home and it will free up the financial resources to spend on domestic infrastructure. You can do one or the other but not both at the same time.

For once in your career, make the decent choice instead of a politically correct decision.


Peace,
Cosmic

BRING THE TROOPS HOME !

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WAR PROFITEERING by The Cosmic Messenger

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies...." ... Thomas Jefferson

As Congress moves closer to passing a deeply flawed health care bill, another kind of deathly crisis immediately emerged to take its place. One only spoken about in hushed tones on Capitol Hill so as not to jeopardize whatever sordid war plan lay ahead for the nation by the President.

Last Thursday it was reported by the BBC several banking monopolies in the United States were giving seed money "to firms producing" cluster munitions "despite growing international efforts to ban them."

No wonder Obama hesitates to put an end to the war escalation in Afghanistan and neighboring clandestine hostilities towards Pakistan. He's as unethical as his predecessor. Bought and paid for along with national legislators to perpetuate interminable conflict by blue-blooded global business interests whose only objective is wealth accumulation by covetousness desires.

Sadly, this is starting to smell like Nixon's secret war in Cambodia. Do I need to recount this ill-fated aggression for you ? Corporate money ruled politics then and still prevails today while true health reform or a broken domestic infrastructure is sacrificed for a tainted global vision.

We all know how that ended. People solemnly protested and persistently dogged our elected officials until their voices were heard. The time has come for this kind of transformative action again. Will the Washington bureaucrats and the the D.C. lobbyists who bribe them listen though ?


Peace,
Cosmic

Cluster Bomb Trade Funded by World's Biggest Banks

by Nick Mathiason

The deadly trade in cluster bombs is funded by the world's biggest banks who have loaned or arranged finance worth $20bn (£12.5bn) to firms producing the controversial weapons, despite growing international efforts to ban them.


HSBC, led by ordained Anglican priest Stephen Green, has profited more than any other institution from companies that manufacture cluster bombs. The British bank, based at Canary Wharf, has earned a total of £657.3m in fees arranging bonds and share offerings for Textron, which makes cluster munitions described by the US company as "leaving a clean battlefield".

Campaigners maintain the deadly weapons can explode years after combat, killing or maiming innocent people.

HSBC will face protests outside its London headquarters today. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JP Morgan and UK-based Barclays Bank are also named among the worst banks in a detailed 126-page report by Dutch and Belgian campaign groups IKV Pax Christi and Netwerk Vlaanderen.

Goldman Sachs, the US bank which made £3.19bn proft in just three months, earned $588.82m for bank services and lent $250m to Alliant Techsystems and Textron.

Of the banks named, only Barclays was prepared to comment. It said: "Barclays group provides financial services to the defence sector within a specific policy framework. It is our policy not to finance trade in nuclear, chemical, biological or other weapons of mass destruction.

"Our policy also explicitly prohibits financing trade in landmines, cluster bombs or any equipment designed to be used as an instrument of torture." A spokeswoman added that Barclays had supplied money to Textron, which makes cluster bombs, but that the US firm was a broad-based weapons manufacturer.

Last December 90 countries, including the UK, committed themselves to banning cluster bombs by next year. But the US was not one of them. So far 23 countries have ratified the convention. The UK has yet to do so, but the Foreign Office confirmed that it would form part of the government's legislative programme before the next election.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the tightest export control order had been placed on cluster bombs, which extended to banks supplying money to manufacturers. The government was aware the control order was not working and "is working on it".

Esther Vandenbroucke, of Netwerk Vlaanderen and one of the report's authors, said: "The responsibility to ban cluster munitions is a shared responsibility. It requires courage, and it requires an effort. We are just months away from an international treaty entering into force and it is time for signatory states to the Convention on Cluster Munitions for non-signatory states and for financial institutions to act now."

Last December, the New Zealand government's pension fund sold shares in Lockheed Martin because of its link to the manufacture of cluster bombs. Similar actions have been taken by the Irish and Dutch governments.

Millions of people will be endangered by up to tens of millions of cluster bomblets that have not yet exploded, causing lasting economic and social harm to communities in more than 20 countries for decades to come, campaigners have warned. The vast majority of cluster bomb casualties occur while victims are carrying on their daily lives.

On Monday, a Lebanese 20-year-old man had his leg amputated after a cluster bomb exploded in southern Lebanon Houla village. A security source said he was collecting wood in his border village when the explosion occurred.

The Israeli army made extensisve use of cluster bombs during the war in south Lebanon three years ago. Cluster bombs were most recently used by both the Georgians and the Russians in the dispute over South Ossetia. They were also used in the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions.

© 2009 Guardian News and Media Limited

URL to article: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/10/29-1

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HEALTH REFORM CHICANERY by The Cosmic Messenger

"What this country needs are more unemployed politicians." ... Edward Langley

What a bunch of dupes Democrats in Congress must think the public constitutes. Last Tuesday it was reported by the MSM our legislators on Capitol Hill were considering redefining the meaning of a health care public option. They proposed to label it "Medicare Part E" making it more palatable to centrists within their own Party.

The new rendition could have a dual influence by attracting support from GOP moderates purportedly turning President Obama's signature reform effort into a two-party liaison. The intended consequence was meant to understate the political risk for conservatives in the 2010 elections irrespective of political affiliation.

Speaking personally, I believe our politicians have their priorities wrong. Rather than defend a restrained approach, it hasn't yet occurred to them to follow our basic Constitutional precepts which is to abide by the will of the people. The surreal middle-of-the-road model which these fools conform to now, enables only corporate citizens while the rest of American society be DAMNED. Their courtship of this predatory class defecates on Western-style democracies everywhere turning it into a corrupt system from which aristocratic, mercantile princes and princesses rule through bribery.

It's one thing to exclaim publicly the merits of a public option but an entirely different story when DEMwits misstate their intent concerning this issue. Plans such as Medicare For Everyone (Part E) or one with an opt-out clause such as Harry Reid floated earlier in the week just confuse an already befuddled electorate. At least the "Party of No" (GOP) is adamant in its opposition and doesn't try to outfox us with duplicitous empty words.

Are you bewildered by the arcane capers of our national lawmakers since the health reform debate began ? You don't have to be. Call Congress today and make it perfectly clear to them you want a single-payer solution as your public option. No trying to split the difference to appease political factions or business lobbyists. You'll be glad you did.


Peace,
Cosmic

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CHEERLEADERS FOR FAILURE by The Cosmic Messenger

"I get the feeling that if you found the cure for cancer this afternoon they'd be denouncing Obama for destroying free enterprise because cancer centers would have to close." ... Michael Moore

It sounds as though conservatives of all political persuasions across the country have begun chanting in unison the "LOSER" refrain and tagging the President with it. Prodded by an incendiary MSM, their goal is to win back Congress in the next election and abort the life of the Obama revolution in its gestation before fully evolving.

Imagine that ... neocons pleading to us neurotically to terminate the birth of a movement in anticipation its impact could be lethal to corporate elitism. Ohhhh, the insanity in which we live ! I thought the materialists were allegedly the political party with the RIGHT values. Apparently, these ideals don't conform to a stable western economic model but shift conveniently as the situation demands creating periodic boom and busts in our consumption habits.

Only a smattering of America's voting population wants Obama to fail but these individuals are strategically placed throughout the media and business community from which they can shape our opinions. Don't believe me ? Listen to the following You Tube video and discover for yourself the fiendish path they've charted for us.

Now that you've seen and heard the psychotic rants of the greedy among us you know who the ENEMY is. Don't say you weren't warned.


Peace,
Cosmic

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