the big story (weekend)

Establishment Grooms “Outsider” Petraeus for Presidential Bid

Forget the Tea Party. Forget Ron Paul. Forget untried and unknown independents. America needs a strong leader. It needs an outsider.

“Many voters yearn for an outsider, someone with authenticity, integrity and proven accomplishment. Someone who has not spent their life plotting how to ascend the greasy pole, adjusting every utterance for maximum political advantage,” writes Toby Harnden for the Daily Telegraph. “In this toxic climate, perhaps the only public institution that has increased in prestige in recent years is the American military.”

That outsider is General David Petraeus.

Outsider? Petraeus is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. The “outsider” Patraeus attended the Bilderberg meeting held in Greece in 2009.

Foreign Policy magazine, the globalist Carnegie Endowment for International Peace periodical now owned by the CIA’s favorite newspaper, the Washington Post, profiled Petraeus as number eight on its list of “Top 100 Global Thinkers.” The establishment media has turned somersaults to praise him and select him as leader of the year on numerous occasions. The Atlantic Council, an insider organization par excellence — members and associates include Brent Scowcroft, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, Colin Powell and Zbigniew Brzezinski — has bestowed its Military Leadership Award on Petraeus.

Neocon warmongers love Petraeus. The American Enterprise Institute — one of a handful of neocon think tanks behind the push to invade Iraq and kill a million plus Iraqis — bestowed its 2010 Irving Kristol Award on Petraeus. The late Kristol is considered to be the godfather of the neocon movement.

General David Petraeus is very much an insider.

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*U.S. and Colombia Cover Up Atrocities Through Mass Graves

*Karzai Slams The West AGAIN

*Economist tallies swelling cost of Israel to US

*Australia to appoint population minister; develop strategy

*Air Force's mystery spaceship: X-37 gears up for launch

*Aral Sea Almost DRIED UP




*The Cashless Society - Economics 101



*VIDEO: 7.2 Earthquake shakes southern California



earlier:

Tea Dems

Disgruntled Democrats are joining the Tea Party. The numbers are very small at this point but it could be a trend affects Obama in 2012

Grand Junction, Colorado (CNN) -- They are not typical Tea Party activists: A woman who voted for President Obama and believes he's a "phenomenal speaker." Another who said she was a "knee-jerk, bleeding heart liberal."

These two women are not alone.

Some Americans who say they have been sympathetic to Democratic causes in the past -- some even voted for Democratic candidates -- are angry with President Obama and his party. They say they are now supporting the Tea Party -- a movement that champions less government, lower taxes and the defeat of Democrats even though it's not formally aligned with the Republican Party.

Read more...

*US Special Forces staying in Iraq

*More than 200,000 to lose jobless benefits Monday with Congress out

*Bacteria detection is anti-terror effort

*Flat Unemployment Rate Masks the Race Gap

*ALSO: What do the new unemployment numbers means


*What's driving up oil prices again? Wall Street, of course

*Triple blasts in Baghdad embassies kill dozens

*TSA Letter Confirms Naked Body Scanners Transmit Images

*Obama Expands Military Involvement in Africa

*Legality of Drone Strikes Still in Question


*Feds found Pfizer too big to nail

*IBM to build 'smart' grid for electric cars. Your car managed from afar

*Girl Arrested for Doodling Sues New York City

Saturday:

Pope Protected Pedophiles

Contrary to Vatican statements, evidence continues to emerge that Ratzinger covered and shielded pedophile priest while serving as Cardinal for the US

The abuse cases of two priests in Arizona have cast further doubt on the Catholic church's insistence that Pope Benedict XVI played no role in shielding pedophiles before he became pope.

Documents reviewed by The Associated Press show that as a Vatican cardinal, the future pope took over the abuse case of the Rev. Michael Teta of Tucson, Ariz., then let it languish at the Vatican for years despite repeated pleas from the bishop for the man to be removed from the priesthood.

In another Tucson case, that of Msgr. Robert Trupia, the bishop wrote to then-Cardinal Ratzinger, who would become pope in 2005. Bishop Manuel Moreno called Trupia "a major risk factor to the children, adolescents and adults that he many have contact with." There is no indication in the case files that Ratzinger responded.

The details of the two cases come as other allegations emerge that Benedict – as a Vatican cardinal – was part of a culture of cover-up and confidentiality.

"There's no doubt that Ratzinger delayed the defrocking process of dangerous priests who were deemed 'satanic' by their own bishop," Lynne Cadigan, an attorney who represented two of Teta's victims, said Friday.


Read more...

*Contesting Jobless Claims Becomes a Boom Industry

*US Delays Decision on China Yuan Manipulation

*Angel Face: How the Media got Amanda Know Wrong

CoOlDiGgY news (late edition)

VIDEO: Paul Krugman Admits There Are 'Death Panels'

*Obama's New Fuel Standards Will Add Almost $1000 to Auto Prices

*Sell-off in US Treasuries raises sovereign debt fears

*2010 US Census Warning: Authorities Seizing Personal Property, Issuing Code Violations



*Depressions Last HOW LONG?


earlier:

Homeowner Program Favoring White Borrowers

A new survey from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition has raised new questions about the Obama administration’s $75 billion Home Affordable Modification Program. The program is designed to provide financial incentives for mortgage lenders and servicers to reduce monthly payments for struggling homeowners.

The survey found white homeowners are almost 50 percent more likely to receive a loan modification under the mortgage program than African Americans or Latinos. Meanwhile, loan servicers foreclose on delinquent African American borrowers more quickly than white or Latino borrowers.

Read more...

*Letter Suggests Pope Knew of Abuse

*Bill Clinton Apologizes To Haiti For Effects Of Free Trade

*U.S. Foreign Aid May Entice Partners To Stay In Afghanistan

*Obama Appoints Pesticide Lobbyist Gets Posted as Chief Agricultural

*Hook-Up Culture At Boston University Leads To Skepticism About Sexual Assault


*Census 2010: Are you counted?

*Good Guys Win: No DWP rate hike ... for now

*Metrolink workers object to personality testing


*R.I. flooding: 'It makes you want to cry'

*India begins census that will include photos and fingerprints of all adults

*Dagestan suicide bombings have Russia looking to Putin

*US isn't concerned with Iran’s nuclear threat but with its oil power

CoOlDiGgY news (late edition)

The coming inflation wave

(Fortune) -- Whether the American economy is in an inflationary or deflationary environment sounds like it should be a fundamental and settled question. But due to the unprecedented financial crisis, the answer is actually subject to intense debate among economists.

Making economic projections is far from a scientific process, so it's not surprising to find valid arguments on both sides of the divide. The economists who are right will help investors drive returns over the next three years.

Inflation can be a positive or negative, depending on the level and duration of it in our economy. The main negative associated with inflation is a drop in purchasing power of money, and therefore, consumers. In extreme cases, consumers may actually start hoarding if they fear continued and aggressive price increases. The positive side of inflation is to decrease the real value of debt, or essentially provide debt relief.

Read more...

*Iran Nuclear Scientist Defects to U.S. In CIA 'Intelligence Coup'

*Obama wants U.N. sanctions on Iran in weeks

*Pharma Planning to Dump Experimental and Controversial Vaccines in Public Schools


*Health Reform Law to Spawn More Tax Men?

*Subway riders question NYPD’s ‘ridiculous’ show of force

*Iraq election challenged over 'banned' candidates

*WikiLeaks to release video of civilians, journalists being murdered in air strike

*Children WILL face 'naked' airport scans

*Report: California’s foreign-born population has peaked

*VIDEO: Ed Asner for 9/11 Truth



earlier:

Recession Leading to the End of Speeding 'Cushion'

The recession may be claiming a new victim: the 5-10-mph "cushion" police and state troopers across the USA have routinely given motorists exceeding the speed limit.

As cities and states scramble to fill budget gaps with revenue from traffic citations, "not only are the (speeding) tolerances much lower, but the frequency of a warning instead of a ticket is way down," says James Baxter, president of the National Motorists Association, a Wisconsin-based drivers' rights group that helps its members fight speeding tickets.

"Most people, if they're stopped now, are getting a ticket even if it's only a minor violation of a few miles per hour," Baxter says. He cites anecdotal evidence of drivers being pulled over at slower speeds.

Read more...

*4 dead in D.C. shooting


*US oil company donated millions to climate sceptic groups

*Two-Thirds of Boys in Afghan Jails Are Brutalized

*Time Magazine: E.U. Members Sell Weapons with Torture Potential

*Elizabeth Warren: Banks Fought For the Very Thing They Are Now Fighting Against

*Catholic League Defends Pope, Blames Homosexuality for Molestations

*Is America ‘Yearning for Fascism’?

*Double suicide bombings kill 12 in Russia's Dagestan

*Canada to pull out of Afghanistan in 2011

the big story

Pope 'knew child abuser allowed back to work'

Pope accused of ignoring pleas to stop priest who molested 200 deaf boys

The Roman Catholic Church’s account of Pope Benedict XVI’s handing of a serial paedophile was called into question today when new documents emerged suggesting that his office was kept informed of the offender’s rapid return to working with children.

Contrary to statements released by the church in Germany, a memorandum uncovered by the New York Times suggests that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was told that a priest had gone back to pastoral duties in Munich a few days after he started psychiatric treatment. The priest went on to commit further offences.

The latest child abuse scandal to hit the Catholic Church involves a German priest called Father Peter Hullermann, who was convicted of molesting boys in 1986. Victims have complained that repeated warnings were ignored by the church over decades of abuse.

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the big story (late edition)

POPE IMPLICATED IN COVER-UP OF WISCONSIN SEX ABUSE CASE

Warned About Abuse, Vatican Failed to Defrock Priest

Top Vatican officials — including the future Pope Benedict XVI — did not defrock a priest who molested as many as 200 deaf boys, even though several American bishops repeatedly warned them that failure to act on the matter could embarrass the church, according to church files newly unearthed as part of a lawsuit.

The internal correspondence from bishops in Wisconsin directly to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope, shows that while church officials tussled over whether the priest should be dismissed, their highest priority was protecting the church from scandal.

The documents emerge as Pope Benedict is facing other accusations that he and direct subordinates often did not alert civilian authorities or discipline priests involved in sexual abuse when he served as an archbishop in Germany and as the Vatican’s chief doctrinal enforcer.

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earlier:
update: 28% DWP rate increase to go to create 1600 "green doctors" position to police resident's carbon practices

Al Gore & LA Mayor vs LA: 28% Energy Hike
Latest of many energy increases that are coming to your city soon

The voters said no at the polls but Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa still imposed a "carbon surcharge" on monthly water bills in the name of "green" despite the fact it was a crony pay-off. Energy prices for citizens and businesses have increased 70 percent in 2 years in a city that is losing jobs, people, and businesses daily. Now another in a series rate hikes is being proposed under the threat of city-wide bankruptcy. Al Gore is giving the unpopular increases a "green" justification as other mayors look on.

from Huffington Post:
In a rebuke to Mayor Villaraigosa, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously today to review his proposal to raise DWP rates. The LA Times reports:

On a 15-0 vote, the council asserted jurisdiction over the Department of Water and Power board's decision to approve the first of four increases over the next year to help pay for renewable energy and other expenditures.

Several council members said they were especially disturbed by Villaraigosa's warning, sent to them in writing the night before the vote, that a failure to let the rate hikes stand would cause the DWP to renege on its plan to provide $73 million to the city's strained general fund, which pays for basic services such as public safety and parks.

This has become a particularly contentious issue in recent days, especially as the Mayor shifts focus from the hikes a s a Green initiative, to one essential for the city's economic survival. The LA Weekly weighs in:

Funny, because Mayor V. has been saying for months that the word bankruptcy is not in his vocabulary -- that it's not going to happen under his watch. Of course, he did not tie his DWP rate increases to the city's budget problems -- which would make the hikes look like indirect taxes -- until Tuesday.

Regardless of the Mayor's change in tone, his initiative has still received the endorsement of heavy-hitter environmentalists like Al Gore and the Sierra Club. In a blog post for the HuffPost LA, Bill Corcoran of the Sierra Club writes:

By supporting the Mayor's proposed investments in clean energy now, members of the Los Angeles City Council can demonstrate the foresight to protect their constituents from drastic and avoidable rate increases in the future--especially those low-income families that could be devastated by such a hardship. This proposal addresses concerns about increasing rates in the midst of tough economic times by incentivizing energy efficiency programs, which allows families to manage the bottom line of their DWP bills as rates are marginally increased.

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