Halliburton Whistleblower Wins in Court: $970K, Obama: Bin Laden Death Ups Terror Risk for Americans, The Most Dangerous Word in the World, US in ‘”Denial” Over China’s Pacific Plans, The Political Theater & the Debt Ceiling Crisis & More!
BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials
US Envoy: NO Rush to Leave Afghanistan, A Saudi Beacon for Iraq’s Sunni Militias, The Cyber-Security Industrial Complex, UK Farmers Find Promise in a Crop Illegal in Afghanistan, Goldman Sachs: US Credit Risk if Wars Counted as ‘Cuts’, How America Became an Empire & More!
International Newsworthy
A Saudi Beacon for Iraq’s Sunni Militias
Amnesty International Website Blocked in Saudi Arabia
The Cause of the Latest Russian-Kyrgyz Energy Row
New US Envoy: NO Rush to Leave Afghanistan
NATO Admits: 5 Children Wounded in Afghanistan Air Strike
Afghan Lawmakers Tackle Karzai on US Deal
Britain Farmers Find Promise in a Crop Illegal in Afghanistan
Iraq “Ignores” US-Imposed Sanctions Against Iran
NATO Strikes Kills 7 in Libya Hospital
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BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials
Obama: Transnational Organized Crime is A National Emergency!, Who Rules America, 9/11: Who Really Benefited?, Foreign Powers Behind “Cambodia Killing Fields?”, Pentagon: You Hack- We Shoot, Murdoch’s Misery- China’s Delight, The lesser Evil, & More!
Newsworthy
Foreign Powers behind “Cambodia Killing Fields?”
US Turns Heat on ISI: Says it Spies on Pakistani-Americans
Iran Draws the Line with Turkey on Syria
More Predator Drones for Libya
As Central Asia Dries Up, States Spar Over Shrinking Resources
Murdoch’s Misery, China’s Delight
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BFP Food for Thought: Trying to See the Forest despite the Trees…
Can we just step back for a few minutes, put aside all the little meddling points showcased by the propaganda machine media and political showmen, take a look at the following facts, and try to see the forest despite the trees?
An ‘alleged’ Mastermind executes a terror attack on September 11, 2001, with a few men, to be exact 19.
Our government responds by sending over at least 150,000 men and women.
That ‘alleged’ Mastermind implements the 9/11 terror plot with a few hundred thousand dollars; in the range of $400,000.
Our government spends more than $1,000,000,000,000 in response, on wars on terror abroad, at least that much here at home, and keeps on spending.
Our government has been using lots of this:
To bomb the hell out of this:
Because we have this:
And they have only this:
The 9/11 Terrorist Attack cost us 2977 innocent lives. 19 terrorists’ also died on that day; resulting in 2996 deaths.
In Afghanistan alone our government’s response has resulted in the deaths of more than 2600 coalition forces, at least 10,000 civilians, and many more thousands lumped together as Taliban, Militants or simply unknown; our estimated total around 20,000.
We suffered greatly as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, with 2977 deaths, nearly 7000 treated for injuries, and tens of thousands suffering the losses of their loved ones.
As a nation we’ve been suffering continuously since then; for almost a decade: with thousands of our soldiers killed, many more thousands wounded, and many many more thousands of these men and women’s loved ones suffering the results. We have also been suffering the loss of trillions of our hard-earned tax dollars. For a decade; Continuously.
As a nation we’ve been causing lots of suffering too; for a decade; continuously. With tens of thousands of people we’ve killed and seriously injured, and with many more tens of thousands of orphans and loved ones left behind to suffer those losses.
Tens of thousands of lives. Trillions of dollars. Tens of thousands of disabled; orphans, and widows. Suffering there. Suffering here.
There must be ‘some ones’ out there immune to all this suffering. Obviously those ‘some ones’ have not been suffering. In fact ‘some ones’ must be gaining a lot from all this suffering. And maybe, considering the tremendous level of ‘gains’ involved, ‘some ones’ actually want, thus, start and inflict the suffering. Otherwise what could ever explain this insanity?
Tens of thousands of lives lost there. Thousands of lives lost here. Tens of thousands more in pain; and many more mourning. Millions deprived of Trillions of hard-earned dollars. And there are those ‘some ones’ who have been earning billions of dollars from many millions’ sufferings; for almost a decade, and, continuously.
Who could these ‘some ones’ be? Any food for thought?
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BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials
DARPA’s Secret Afghan Spy Machine, Hell-Bent on War, John Brennan’s False Drone Claims, U.S. Blocks Oversight of its Mercenary Army in Iraq, Central Asia-Caucasus Cyber Censors Tactics, Financial Sectors Score Big Money for Obama, Which Side of American Torture Are You On? & More!
Newsworthy
U.S. Blocks Oversight of its Mercenary Army in Iraq
Egypt Military Postpones First Post-Mubarak Elections
Inside DARPA’s Secret Afghan Spy Machine
General Zia Expresses Concern over Instability in Balochistan
Central Asia & Caucasus: A Look at Tactics Used by Cyber Censors
A New Epoch Beginning in the History of the Euro?
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BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials
Newsworthy
Arrest of Ex-CIA Lawyer Sought Over Drone Use
Crackdown, Intimidation & Torture in Bahrain
Major Reshuffle amid Protests in Egypt
President Karzai’s Advisor Shot Dead
Civilians Make Up Over 90% of the US Drone Casualties in Pakistan
Israel-Made Weapons Seized in Karachi : Rehman
Israel to Attack Iran in Fall?
The Criminalization of the British Media
**** Read more
BFP Select Nightly News & Editorials
Newsworthy
‘Deadliest Six Months’ for Civilians in Afghanistan
U.S. Building New Jails across Afghanistan
Iran Rejects US Claims of Role in Iraq Attacks
Libya Says 1,100 Dead in NATO War Crimes
Canada: The Gift That Keeps Giving to Israel
CIA Officer May Face War Crime Charges
Lawmaker: US Airports are not Secure Enough
A False Narrative About Fannie Mae
Select Editorials
The Military Industrial Complex: The Enemy From Within
Wasted & Stolen Trillions for War
The Media’s Endless Propaganda for War
How Has Murdock Improved With Age
Video- The Secret History of the CIA: The CIA in Business with the Parent Group to Al-Qaeda?
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The Anatomy of a Viable Candidate
During the last two years I have been engaging in a certain ritual each time I get together with friends or acquaintances. Usually this is how it goes: we chat about how much ‘worse’ things have gotten since Obama became president, on issues from expansion of our imperialistic wars to illegal domestic spying to fiasco-ridden bailouts to the continuation of torture and assassination programs… At some point during these intense discussions I lean over the table, look directly in my companion’s eyes and say the following: ‘Come on, admit it, and admit it loud and clear, with no ifs or buts. Say it; say I wasted my vote.’ The reaction is usually something like this: ‘I really had hopes for this guy,’ or ‘considering the other evil I didn’t have much of a choice,’ or something along these lines. But as you may know I don’t give up that easily, so I press harder: ‘whatever the reason, do you now see your vote as completely misplaced and wasted?! If so, just say it.’ To make a long story short, I usually succeed. I get them to admit, loud and clear, with each syllable emphasized: Yes! I wasted my vote.
Let me explain my intentions before you take me as someone who gets some sort of a perverse pleasure in being proved right, or, rubbing people’s noses in their mistakes. Because I don’t take any pleasure whatsoever from this particular ritual, neither do I consider myself some sort of winner in a competition. I engage in this ritual because I truly believe in ‘admitting to our fallacies’ as the first step in getting over them and or not repeating our past mistakes. It is one thing to be objective enough to criticize one’s chosen candidate, but it is a totally different ball game when we take responsibility and own up to our own role in creating or putting in place the wrong candidate. And I believe three major mistakes we as a nation repeatedly commit are the following:
1- Buying into our Media’s Marketing Scam in Creating a ‘Viability’ Illusion
2- Believing in & Repeating the Myth of Wasting One’s Vote
3- The Lesser of Two Evils Mentality
Two years ago I wrote the following on the self-defeating lesser of two evils mentality, and I still stand by it: Read more
Podcast Show #39
Tom Woods joins us to discuss his latest article on the Phony Arguments for Presidential War Powers which has triggered intriguing reactions from the media on both sides of the isle. He provides us with historical background and a ‘real’ constitutional view of war making powers vested in US presidents, and tells us why the mainstream, left and right, usually proclaims the congressional power to declare war “obsolete.” Dr. Woods defines ‘State Nullification,’ provides us with examples and an historical context for this power vested in the states, and counters uninformed arguments and generalizations spread by the mainstream on this topic. He talks about the Federal Reserve and the disastrous government bailout, the polarized and sound-bite oriented media, the labeling of critics of the status quo, the case of the states and medical marijuana, the man most responsible for the beginning of the imperial presidency in the US, and more!
Thomas E. Woods, Jr., is a senior fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Harvard and his master’s, and Ph.D. from Columbia University. He is the author of eleven books, most recently Rollback: Repealing Big Government Before the Coming Fiscal Collapse and Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century. His other books include The New York Times bestsellers Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse and The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, as well as Who Killed the Constitution? The Fate of American Liberty from World War I to George W. Bush (with Kevin R.C. Gutzman). Dr. Woods’ writing has appeared in dozens of popular and scholarly periodicals, including the American Historical Review, the Christian Science Monitor, Investor’s Business Daily, Modern Age, American Studies, New Oxford Review, Catholic World Report, and Journal of Libertarian Studies. He is presently a contributing editor of The American Conservative magazine, and a contributor to six encyclopedias. He publishes regularly at his website http://tomwoods.com.
Here is our guest Tom Woods unplugged!
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Boiling Frogs Beltway Buzz: The Upcoming Bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Prozac
According to our inside sources a new Bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Prozac will be launched before the end of the 112th Congress. The primary purpose of the Prozac Caucus will be to raise awareness and advocate for this ‘miracle drug’ aka ‘happiness pill,’ on the grounds of combating homegrown terrorism and domestic violence, lowering the national divorce rate, and increasing the level of general job satisfaction among the restless American workforce. “Increasing the level of general satisfaction and happiness, while decreasing the effects of violence and despair inducing factors such as anxiety and depression, are the major keys to achieving long term national security, family unity, and work force stability. With Prozac we believe we can achieve all that and more,” said a congressional aide who wished to remain anonymous. The caucus will have an interactive website with easy-to-print promotional materials and a password protected section for physicians titled ‘Patriotic Physicians for a Secure America.’
Let’s start with what is a congressional caucus, or at least what it is supposed to be, in theory that is. A congressional caucus is a coalition of House and Senate members who meet to discuss specific legislative priorities and policy issues. Caucuses ‘supposedly’ allow members to discuss issues to determine their positions and make sure their votes are informed. They can also give ‘advocates’ a chance for a group of legislators to champion their cause on the Hill. You may go ahead and change ‘advocates’ to ‘lobby and you’ll be even more on target.
When we look at the long list of these caucuses, a list that initially had only a few but seems to lately have taken off rapidly, we see some caucuses that seem rather ‘ordinary and expected;’ for example, Children’s Environmental Health Caucus or Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus. We also see some ‘amusing’ ones, such as Congressional Bike Caucus, Congressional Soccer Caucus, and Congressional Boating Caucus.
You follow me so far? Okay, then there are more than a few caucuses that are ‘confusing:’ Democratic Israel Working Group, Congressional Israel Allies Caucus, Congressional Friends of Jordan Caucus, and other ones for Turkey, Jordan, etc. Why do I say ‘confusing’? Well, in the above paragraph we outlined the caucus definition, which includes ‘giving advocates, aka lobbies, a chance to influence, aka lobby, their cause through the members of their caucus. In this case, the advocates, aka lobbies, are foreign, and this means ‘direct foreign influence,’ and that in turn would make the representatives in these caucuses who then influence and lobby the rest of the Congress ‘foreign agents.’ Think of it as two-tiered foreign lobbies: Read more
