OpEdNews - Diary: US "POISED TO STRIKE at Iran's Nuclear Sites" From Bulgaria and Romania

Sofia's news of advanced war preparations along the Black Sea is backed up by some chilling details. One is the setting up of new refuelling places for US Stealth bombers, which would spearhead an attack on Iran. "The USAF's positioning of vital refuelling facilities for its B-2 bombers in unusual places, including Bulgaria, falls within the perspective of such an attack." Novinite named colonel Sam Gardiner, "a US secret service officer stationed in Bulgaria", as the source of this revelation.

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DIANE'S NEWS CLIPS begins here :)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> Excerpted from: http://www.truthout.org US "Poised to Strike at Iran's Nuclear Sites" From Bulgaria and Romania http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907C.shtml President Bush is preparing to attack Iran's nuclear facilities before the end of April, and the US Air Force's new bases in Bulgaria and Romania would be used as back-up in the onslaught, according to an official report from Sofia. --- Hagel Interview More Anti-War Than Most Dems http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907A.shtml Republican senator Chuck Hagel sounds off on the sorry state of Congress, the president's lies, and the vote for war that he now regrets. In an interview for GQ, Hagel explains how he was deceived by the president, and won't let it happen again. --- Scott Ritter | Stop the Iran War Before It Starts http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907B.shtml "In his recent State of the Union address, Bush spent a great deal of time speaking about Iraq and his plans for how to achieve 'victory,'" writes Scott Ritter. "The Democrats, in their various responses, rightly criticized the president and his plans as unrealistic and insupportable. The stage has been set for an old-fashioned showdown between executive and legislative power, where the advantages are stacked in favor of those who control the power of the purse." --- Frank Rich | Hillary Clinton's Mission Unaccomplished http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907D.shtml Frank Rich writes "Few Americans know more than Senator Clinton about health care, as it happens, and if 27 Americans hadn't been killed in Iraq last weekend, voters might be in the mood to listen to her about it." But polls continue to show Iraq dwarfing every other issue as the nation's No. 1 concern. --- Women and Children Joined Battle in Najaf http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907E.shtml Women and children joined 600-700 "Soldiers of Heaven" on the outskirts of the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, and may be among the casualties. The final casualty toll, put by other Iraqi officials at 300 gunmen, was still being calculated, Waeli said, putting the initial figure at about 200. --- Mandela Calls for Gandhi's Non-Violence Approach http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907F.shtml Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela joined top leaders, Nobel laureates and elder statesmen on Monday calling on the world to reinvent Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent approach to solving conflicts. --- Jason Leopold | "Bush Administration Is Focus of Leak Inquiry" http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907J.shtml Jason Leopold begins: "On the evening of September 27, 2003, Ari Fleischer logged onto a computer and read a story published on the Washington Post's web site - a story that would be printed above the fold on the front page of the paper the next morning. 'Bush Administration Is Focus of Leak Inquiry,' the headline read. 'CIA Agent's Identity Was Leaked to Media.' By the time he finished reading the story, Fleischer's heart 'went into his throat.'" --- US Air Raids in Somalia May Be Inefficient, Harmful http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907P.shtml US air raids in Somalia to flush out suspect al-Qaeda operatives may be ineffective in fighting terrorism and risk making the country's Muslim population more radical, regional experts warn. --- David Bacon | Which Side Are You On? http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907L.shtml David Bacon writes: "Today, many Congressional leaders - Democrats and Republicans - want to allow corporations and contractors to recruit hundreds of thousands of workers a year outside the US and put them to work here on temporary visas. Labor schemes like this have a long history. From 1942 to 1964, the bracero program recruited temporary immigrants. They were exploited, cheated, and deported if they tried to go on strike. Growers pitted them against workers already in the country to drive down wages. Cesar Chavez, Ernesto Galarza and Bert Corona all campaigned to get the program repealed." --- Peril in Bush Health Proposal http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907N.shtml With his proposal to uproot a tax break that has been in place for more than 60 years, Bush has touched off an impassioned debate over the future of the employer-based system that provides health insurance to more than half of all Americans. --- J. Sri Raman | Debris of Super-Power Pride Endangers Peace in Space http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907O.shtml "Calculations of the damage done in space by China's anti-satellite missile test of January 11 continue. What needs to be stressed far more is the serious setback the test can spell for terrestrial efforts to assure humanity of an outer space free from weapons and wars," writes J. Sri Raman. --- Hundreds Die in Clash Near Shiite Holy City http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907K.shtml Iraqi and American forces killed several hundred gunmen apparently planning to attack a Shiite Muslim shrine Sunday, fighting a day-long battle in which a US helicopter crashed, killing two US troops, Iraqi security officials said. The fighting near the holy city of Najaf on the eve of the Shiite holiday of Ashura came as a mortar attack killed five teenage girls at a school in Baghdad and the daily nationwide civilian death toll again climbed past 100. --- Jean-Marcel Bouguereau | The Situation in Lebanon: Behind by a Conflict http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907G.shtml Jean-Marcel Bouguereau analyzes the stakes in Lebanon. --- Police Detain Nine in Capitol Hill Antiwar Protest http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907S.shtml Nine antiwar protesters were arrested Monday when they gathered in a House office building to read off the names of American and Iraqi war dead. --- Iraq Cultivates Ties to Democrats http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907T.shtml --- Latest Global Warming Report Too Optimistic http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012907EA.shtml Later this week in Paris, climate scientists will issue a dire forecast for the planet that warns of slowly rising sea levels and higher temperatures. But that may be the sugarcoated version. Early and changeable drafts of their upcoming authoritative report on climate change foresee smaller sea-level rises than were projected in 2001 in the last report. Many top US scientists reject these rosier numbers. Those calculations don't include the recent, and dramatic, melt-off of big ice sheets in two crucial locations. --- Paul Krugman | The Sum of All Ears http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012907EC.shtml --- Health Plan Deduction Cuts Social Security http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012907HA.shtml A little-noticed part of President Bush's new health insurance proposal could pose a sticky question: Is it worth getting a tax break for health coverage if it means you will end up with smaller Social Security checks when you retire? --- Agribusiness's Endless Appetite for Profit http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012907HB.shtml In recent years, the United States of America has morphed into what one writer calls "the United States of Arugula." The rise of the celebrity chef, of the 24-hour Food Network, and Martha Stewart's do-it-all perfectionism has brought on a similar yearning for all things gourmet, for fine cooking and finer dining, mache and foie gras alike. During the same time, a number of notable books have shined a light on the darker side of our new food obsession. _________________________________

[NEWSDISSECTOR] What THE People Know and When? http://www.newsdissector.com/blog/2007/01/29/what-the-people-know-and-when/ _________________________________ Excerpted from: http://www.americanpolitics.com Sunday Mourning ... Dick Cheney reveals the Big Lie by Alan Bisbort You have freed us from the bondage of the Sunday morning news programs. We now know, thanks to your brutal honesty, what we have long suspected but only just this week had corroborated. That is, these shows are part of the Big Lie, part of what was once quaintly called the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" (VRWC). In case you missed it, Cathie Martin, Cheney's former communications director, admitted on the witness stand at Lewis Libby's perjury trial that the best way to respond to the accusations that the Bush administration had misled Congress and the nation into going to war with Iraq was to book her boss on Meet the Press. "Chatty" Cathie said that the advantage to doing this is that Cheney would be able to "control the message" (read: lie constantly without being called on it). She admitted, "I suggested we put the vice president on 'Meet the Press,' which was a tactic we often used. It's our best format." ........................snip......................... So, thank you Cheney. Bigtime Dick exposed the Big Lie. Tim Russert and all the other hosts and panelists are media tools, to be used at the pleasure of the VRWC. This is no surprise about Cheney but these other folks fancy themselves "journalists." [snip] More: http://www.apj.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=84&Itemid=2 --- How the Moonie Media Apparatus Bought Chris Matthews' Soul for a Pittance Written by Scoobie Davis http://snipurl.com/18oyv --- Potshot at Guantanamo lawyers backfires http://snipurl.com/18oz1 --- More at: http://www.americanpolitics.com _________________________________ Excerpted from: http://www.iraqslogger.com Cheney says of Critics: "I'm VP, and They're Not" Tells Newsweek Iraq Pullout Would Destabilize Afghanistan, Pakistan http://snipurl.com/18oq2 _________________________________ .ron corvuswire@verizon.net Iran plan to open bank in Baghdad 1.30.07 BAGHDAD: Iran has outlined an ambitious plan to expand its military and economic ties with Iraq, including an Iranian national bank branch in Baghdad, just as the Bush administration warned Tehran to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs. Iran's plan, as outlined by its Iraq ambassador to The New York Times, could drag the Islamic republic further into conflict with the US, which has detained a number of Iranian operatives in Iraq and says it has proof of Iranian complicity in attacks on US and Iraqi forces. Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi acknowledged for the first time that two Iranians detained last month by US forces in Iraq were security officials, as the US has claimed. "They worked in the security sector in the Islamic republic, that's clear," Mr Qomi said in a 90-minute interview at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad. The interview appeared in yesterday's Times. The Iranians were in Iraq because "the two countries agreed to solve the security problems", the ambassador said. The Iranians "went to meet with the Iraqi side", he said. Mr Qomi said the Iranians should not have been detained and he ridiculed evidence the US military said it had proving that the Iranians were involved in planning attacks on the US and Iraqi forces. http://snipurl.com/18oo1 ----- The "Wipe Israel Off The Map" Hoax What Ahmadinejad really said and why this broken record is just another ad slogan for war Paul Joseph Watson Barely a day goes by that one can avoid reading or hearing yet another Israeli, American or British warhawk regurgitate the broken record that Iran's President Ahmadinejad threatened to "wipe Israel off the map," framed in the ridiculous context that Israelis are being targeted for a second holocaust. This baseless rallying call for conflict holds about as much credibility as Dick Cheney's assertion that Saddam Hussein was planning to light up American skies with mushroom clouds. Today it's the turn of would-be future British Prime Minister David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, who repeated the "wipe Israel off he map" fraud in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos: http://snipurl.com/18ooq using it to qualify his refusal to rule out a military strike on Iran under a Tory government. Did Ahmadinejad really threaten to "wipe Israel off the map" or is this phrase just another jingoistic brand slogan for selling the next war in the Middle East? The devil is in the detail, wiping Israel off the map suggests a physical genocidal assault, a literal population relocation or elimination akin to what the Nazis did. According to numerous different translations, Ahmadinejad never used the word "map," instead his statement was in the context of time and applied to the Zionist regime occupying Jerusalem. Ahmadinejad was expressing his future hope that the Zionist regime in Israel would fall, not that Iran was going to physically annex the country and its population. To claim Ahmadinejad has issued a rallying cry to ethnically cleanse Israel is akin to saying that Churchill wanted to murder all Germans when he stated his desire to crush the Nazis. This is about the demise of a corrupt occupying power, not the deaths of millions of innocent people. [snip] ... Read more: http://snipurl.com/18oow ----- US to cite Israel over cluster bombs The Bush administration is to notify Congress tomorrow that Israel may have violated agreements with Washington when it fired US-supplied cluster munitions into Lebanon in its war with Hizbullah last summer, The New York Times reported today. [snip] http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0128/breaking41.htm ----- Buying Influence: Macquarie Invests In Media Outlets Critical Of Texas Deal [snip] "Australian toll road giant Macquarie agreed Wednesday to purchase forty local newspapers, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma, for $80 million. Macquarie Bank is Australia's largest capital raising firm and has invested billions in purchasing roads in the US, Canada and UK. Most recently the company joined with Cintra Concesiones of Spain in a controversial 75-year lease of the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road. [snip] http://www.takingdownwords.com/taking_down_words/2007/01/buying_influenc.html ----- Public Service Annoucement America has had 20 years worth of Bushes and Clintons. And now they want more, more years and years of the Bush-Clinton cabal? As if America didn't have other Americans qualified to be President. Enough already! America is not an oligarchy! .ron ----- Iraq Reality Check - VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQuKDMZdvMo How any American, including Congressmen and women, can watch this CNN video of CNN's Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware explaining the reality of the Iraqi government and the war, yet still vote to send U.S. tax dollars and American soldiers to Baghdad is beyond comprehension. CNN's Baghdad correspondent, Michael Ware, was in Baghdad the day "Shock & Awe" was executed, and remained there in Iraq reporting on the ground from Baghdad every day FOR YEARS! Ware recounts past Bush "troops surges" and discusses how American tax dollars and weapons we give to the Iraqi government will eventually be used against American soldiers, and how the latest Bush-McCain "troop surge" will definitely fail. Ware describes the Iraqi government as a "collection of militias." Ware also recognized the need for some kind of force to replace the U.S. military, in order for U.S. withdrawal. Such a recommendation squares with Cong. Kucinich's plan to replace U.S. troops with a U.N. peacekeeping force. The alternative is to leave the troops in Iraq. ** Michael Ware http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQuKDMZdvMo ** The Kucinich Plan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS6JyiAt0xg ----- MORIAH ARNOLD 6TH GRADER MESSAGE TO GEORGE BUSH DC PEACE RALLY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSRzDJz0jJ8 _________________________________ Submitted by: http://jablankfort@earthlink.net IPS: A call to treat Israeli produced diamonds as blood diamonds http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=36331 --- From personal experience Some of Israel's supporters occasionally cross the line into ... http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4504931.html _________________________________ Missed? Dept. By Charlotte Laws ... Are You The Terrorist Next Door? Congress recently passed legislation called the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), which can be used to prosecute civil disobedience and speech as "domestic terrorism" when an animal-related business loses profits and property. The Act also protects corporations that pollute and destroy the environment. http://snipurl.com/18opg _________________________________ Watch the new VoteVets.org ad opposing the escalation! http://snipurl.com/18qyl _________________________________ * Please write your Representative to let them know how you feel about the US support for colonization and occupation in Iraq and Palestine (House and Senate): http://www.house.gov/writerep/ & Senate: http://snipurl.com/ze9 _________________________________ * http://www.counterpunch.org * http://infowars.com * http://lewrockwell.com _________________________________ ****** Are you getting the best price? ****** Online retailers frequently offer special deals. I'd never complain about that. However, it is difficult to know if you're getting the best price. Many stores offer refunds if an item's price falls after you buy it. But you need to request the refund. Refund Please makes this easy. Enter the product number and the price, along with the purchase date. You'll be notified if the product goes on sale. Currently, Refund Please only works with Amazon. But the site is adding more online retailers. TO VISIT TODAY'S COOL SITE, GO HERE: http://www.refundplease.com | Be sure to listen to me Monday through Friday. Use my map to find me near you http://www.komando.com/listen/index.aspx _________________________________ eHEALTHY NEWS Mercury Levels Higher in Some Imported Tuna - Some cans of imported tuna may have mercury levels that exceed the safety limit set by the U.S. government. http://snipurl.com/18mmc ----- More than Seven Hours of Sleep Per Night Increases Your Risk of Brain Disease - Oversleeping can be far more dangerous than you ever imagined. http://snipurl.com/18mmd ----- How to Petition Your Angels, Part IV - Learn to call upon the powers of angels to help you create a beautiful, prosperous life. http://snipurl.com/18mmf _________________________________ VIDEO: Amateur - Lasse Gjertsen 3:12 AN AMATEUR WITH REAL TALENT Lasse Gjertsen has made a real splash on YouTube. He's created a stunning music video featuring himself on drums and piano. He's titled the video Amateur, which is a bit of an overstatement: He doesn't know how to play either the piano or the drums. But it is clear that Lasse is very talented. The music sounds excellent. But it is his method of creating the music that is most surprising. He rearranged video clips of himself banging the drums or tinkering with the piano. Hmmm, creating music through video editing? You've got to see (and hear) it to believe it! Kim Komand You Tube: http://snipurl.com/11smk _________________________________ NationalGeographic.com http://lava.nationalgeographic.com/pod/ _________________________________ NASA Astronomy picture of the day http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html _________________________________ Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. ~ Albert Einstein _________________________________ Link to: http://Diane's News Clips http://www.opednews.com/author/author2300.html?entry=diary