Society's ChildS


Bad Guys

SOTT Focus: Nine Years Later - 9/11 And The Shift in Consciousness

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© Spyraal
It's been nine years since 9/11. Millions of people, civilians and soldiers have died world wide in the following war on terror. The American people have lost basic rights due to the Patriot Act. In Europe and other countries, similar "security measures" have been implemented. Anyone who has been on an international flight has experienced some of it first hand. Trillions of Dollars are spent on the war on terror, while millions of people have lost their jobs and homes as the economy is disintegrating worldwide. The emperor is naked and there is an elephant in the living room, but to this day the official story of 9/11 has not been significantly challenged publicly.

I find it interesting how people in this day and age talk about a "shift in consciousness" or "awakening" into a "New Age" while after 9 years the biggest lie is still in place. Especially Liberals and people who themselves believe to be "aware" and "conscious", yet they vote for Obama and dare not to question 9/11 or man-made "Global Warming". I think most people simply don't want the truth, for the truth is a tricky thing. It's a can of worms most people are not willing to open, as it will challenge their beliefs and ideals on a core level. Hence, they rather defend/ignore the lie and the lies they tell themselves.

The furthest most people go in regards to 9/11 is that "Bush let it happen" à la Michael Moore, but to realize, by looking into it deeper, that it was actually an Inside Job leading to Israel and not "Islamic Extremists" is still too far out for most people. It's a touchy subject, because it'll require them to question much of what they ever thought to be true about this country and the world in general.

Star of David

Best of the Web: Rachel Corrie's family confronts the Israeli military in court: Was she a victim of organ theft?

Corries
© Max BlumenthalCindy, Sarah, and Craig Corrie in the Haifa District Court for the second round of hearings in their civil suit against the Israeli government.
In a small courtroom in Haifa's District Court, a colonel in the Israeli engineering corps who wrote a manual for the bulldozer units that razed the Rafah Refugee Camp in 2003 offered his opinion on the killing of the American activist Rachel Corrie.

"There are no civilians during wartime," Yossi declared under oath.

Yossi made his remarkable statement under withering cross examination by Hussein Abu Hussein, the lawyer for the family of Corrie, who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in Rafah on March 17, 2003. In the back of the courtroom were Rachel's parents, Craig and Cindy, and her sister, Sarah, back in Israel for the second round of hearings in their civil suit against the state of Israel. They were joined by supporters, friends and a handful of reporters, including me (see Nora Barrows-Friedman's report for more). No one from the Israeli media was present - the case has been virtually ignored inside Israel.

In the immediate wake of Corrie's killing, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, then the chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, instructed Corrie's parents to demand a "thorough, fair and transparent investigation" from the Israeli government. Since then, the Israelis have stonewalled them, refusing to provide key details of their investigation, which was corrupted from the start by the investigators' apparent attempts to find evidence that a bulldozer did not in fact kill Rachel.

No Entry

Best of the Web: Blair Gets Egged - May Shelve Book Signings



Above, Tony Blair was pelted with eggs and shoes by anti-war protesters in Dublin last week.

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© Unknown
Former prime minister Tony Blair is considering cancelling a high-profile signing of his new memoir because of planned protests.

Mr Blair said he was concerned about the potential "hassle and cost" to the police of pressing ahead with Wednesday's event in central London.

Eggs and shoes were thrown by demonstrators at a previous signing in Dublin and anti-war groups have promised a mass protest outside the Waterstone's store in Piccadilly.

The ex-PM said it was "sad" that people wanted to disrupt such events but indicated he may call it off amid evidence that other hostile groups were set to join in.

Comment: Blair thinks it is "sad" that people want to disrupt his little ego trip. What is inexpressibly sad is the 1 million+ Iraqi civilians that were murdered as a direct result of his lies about the threat from Iraq and his pathological drive to invade and occupy Iraq at all costs.

Notice how Blair attempts to dismiss the demonstrators as members of the extremist "BNP" (British National Party) and how his spokesperson labels protest against war crimes as "unpleasant". How unfortunate for poor Tony that members of the public would dare stand up and shove the truth of his monstrous crimes back in his face. The reality is that those who have and plan to protest this particular war criminal's attempt to slip into the role of 'elder statesman' are ordinary people who happen to still possess a conscience (a rare quality in these times). They should therefore be applauded for their efforts in standing up for justice and against the predations of psychopaths in power like Blair.


Arrow Down

Best of the Web: 30 Statistics That Prove The Elite Are Getting Richer, The Poor Are Getting Poorer And The Middle Class Is Being Destroyed

American dream is over
© Unknown
Not everyone has been doing badly during the economic turmoil of the last few years. In fact, there are some Americans that are doing really, really well. While the vast majority of us struggle, there is one small segment of society that is seemingly doing better than ever. This was reflected in a recent article on CNBC in which it was noted that companies that cater to average Americans are doing rather poorly right now while companies that market luxury goods and services are generally performing exceptionally well. So why aren't all American consumers jumping on the spending bandwagon? Well, it seems that there are a large number of Americans who either can't spend a lot of money right now or who are very hesitant to. A stunningly high number of Americans are still unemployed, and for many other Americans, there is a very real fear that hard economic times will return soon. On the other hand, there is a significant percentage of Americans who are blowing money on luxury goods and services as if the economy has fully turned around and it is time to let the good times roll. So exactly what in the world is going on here?

Well, in 2010 life is very, very different depending on whether you are a "have" or a "have not". The recent article on CNBC referenced above described it this way....

Laptop

Best of the Web: People Power: Tony Blair's autobiography becomes 'crime book' after Facebook campaign

Tony Blair's book is being subversively moved
© PATony Blair's book is being subversively moved

Tony Blair's autobiography has been turning up in the crime section of bookshops thanks to a Facebook and Twitter campaign.

The publication of the ex-prime minister's memoirs, A Journey, was one of the most eagerly awaited literary events of the year, but his insistence that the decision to invade Iraq was correct meant that not everyone welcomed the book.

A Facebook group entitled 'Subversively move Tony Blair's memoirs to the crime section in book shops' gained more than 1,000 members inside a day.

The group's creator, Euan Booth, said the idea was non-violent direct action against a man he described as "our generation's greatest war criminal".

Vader

Best of the Web: Israeli jets bomb Gaza cities two days after re-launch of so-called 'peace talks'

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© Al JazeeraOh so predictable: A rocket allegedly fired across the border draws heavy Israeli retaliation, just two days after relaunch of peace talks.
Israeli war planes have bombarded the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis and tunnels in the city of Rafah, leaving a number of people wounded.

At least one person was killed and three others were injured in the airstrikes in Rafah and one more is missing, a Press TV correspondent quoted witnesses as saying on Saturday night.

Israeli jets are still flying low over the Gaza Strip, and the Gazans are bracing for more attacks. Israeli forces also fired rockets at farmlands in Khan Yunis.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the rocket attacks.

Israel has repeatedly launched air and ground attacks on Gaza since the deadly 22-day war it waged against the territory from late December 2008 to mid-January 2009.

Book

Best of the Web: McGinnis sez: Sarah will run for President and more...

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© Joling/Associated PressMcGinniss
Anchorage, Alaska - Sarah Palin can take down the fence.

Palin's neighbor of three months on Wasilla's Lake Lucille, author Joe McGinniss, is packing his bags and notebooks and leaving Sunday for his home in Massachusetts to write the book he has been researching on the former governor and GOP vice presidential candidate.

His arrival in May made headlines and drew an indignant reaction from Palin and a visit from her husband, Todd. The Palins even tacked an extension onto an 8-foot board fence between the homes, leaving only a part of their second-story home visible from McGinniss' driveway.

Peeping into windows or peering through knotholes was never part of his research, McGinniss said.

"I've been very busy but on Lake Lucille it's been very quiet," he said. "As I told Todd back in May - he came over to get in my face about moving in there - I said, 'You're not even going to know I'm there. A lot of the time, I'm not going to be here. And when I am, I mind my own business. I don't care what happens on your side of the fence. That's not why I'm here.'"

And that's how it has played out, McGinniss said.

A Palin spokesman didn't immediately respond to an e-mail Saturday seeking any comments from the governor on the author's departure.

McGinniss has written best-selling books, including The Selling of the President, on the marketing of Richard Nixon, Fatal Vision, an account of the Jeffrey MacDonald murder case, and Blind Faith, about a businessman's contract killing of his wife.

Comment: For more on Sarah Palin, check out these Sott links:
Sarah Palin the Sound and the Fury: Portrait of a Psycho
Sarah Palin rips 'impotent' reporters


Magnify

Best of the Web: Chris Hedges on Moral Courage

The Truthdig columnist begins this speech to the Veterans for Peace convention by saying, "Physical courage is something you see on a battlefield. Moral courage you almost never see." - 2010/09/01.

Crusader

Best of the Web: People Power! Lawyer objects to demand for photo ID, is arrested then sues

Attorney files lawsuit against state alleging false arrest and imprisonment, seeks $700,000

Norman Christopher Usiak was in a hurry. The attorney from Frederick had briefs to file, and in the rush, he couldn't remember where he put his wallet. He was wearing dark pants and a white T-shirt, an un-lawyerly ensemble a police officer described as "looking disheveled."

It was 4:10 in the afternoon and the Maryland Court of Appeals building in Annapolis closed in 20 minutes.

The regular bailiffs had gone home, replaced by a police officer for the Maryland Department of General Services, which runs and secures state office buildings.

Usiak signed his name in the register but refused the officer's demand to show a photo Identification.

Police wrote in a report that the attorney told them he left his driver's license in his car and didn't feel like walking back. Usiak said he refused out of principle.

Cloud Lightning

Raising Awareness of Pakistan's Flood Victims

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© Robert GauthierHaroon Mushtaq and his nephew, Ahmed Choudry, 4, join others at a Westwood demonstration demanding relief aid for Pakistan flood victims.
For a disaster that has displaced millions, financial support has lagged behind that offered to victims of Haiti's quake. An Anaheim man and others started their own group, Americans for Flood Relief.

When monsoon rains began inundating regions of Pakistan, Anaheim resident Essam Ulhaq felt a wave of sadness. His parents' homeland was devastated. News images of displaced people became so painful to view that he stopped looking at them.

Ulhaq, 25, was shocked that some of his friends knew little of the disaster - never mind donating to relief efforts. He would tell them that millions were now homeless, that they needed all the help they could get. To raise awareness, he and some friends decided to start their own group, Americans for Flood Relief.

Such is the complicated story of aid to Pakistan, Ulhaq and others say. For a natural disaster that has displaced an estimated 20 million people and submerged one-fifth of the country, financial support has lagged far behind that offered to victims of the Haiti earthquake and other recent disasters.