Summaries of 2008, our seventh
year: HomeGuard
News January
2008 ... 01/05/08 ... The
CIA and how it got it wrong on the tapes ... those in the
know about the tapes had to know that the manner in which
they were "kept" was important ... a reasonable "to do" list
for the Middle East ... does the "Persian Gulf" go its own
way? ... can the US hold onto to its 2007 gains in 08? ...
The one Bush legacy that will linger on for decades:
judiciary appointments ... the giant pork barrel no one
gives much coverage to ... and why 2007 was such a "do
nothing" year in congress ... more ripples from the housing
mess ... and the best argument against nuclear power ...
01/12/08 ... When is a person not a person? When they're in
Guantanamo ... George B, fuzzy on facts again as he lies
again about the "run up" to the Iraq war ... Voter ID laws
sweep the nation and target the electoral results for the
2008 election ... Sdrot, Israel, the front line takes the
hits but keeps on "hanging in there" ... How complicit is
the US in proliferating nuclear weapons, I mean besides
helping Israel out ... can the US find common ground enough
with Russia to make a difference?... more nuclear power
plants despite the dangers ... 01/19/08 ... Antarctica has
"the melts" in a change from reports from only a year or so
ago ... what cost is Iraq victory? Well, I guess we'll find
out when and if that happens ... the usual crap from Israel
... Sarkozy the newest lapdog pants after Bush the dumber in
the Muddle East, he wants to build them nukes ... Bush the
flip-flopper regarding Baathists reentering the Iraqi
government ... troubling signs on the economic horizon, but
who is listening anyway? 01/26/08 ... Some in NATO want a
nuclear first strike policy ... Bush pardons himself ...
Russia is even more feisty ... Gaza "busts a move" and puts
everyone in a "tough love" situation ... Iraq, what more can
be said? ... the sub-prime mess tops a trillion and the
Saudis are about to check THEIR books ... states and cities
get the double whammy ... and find out what the fastest
growing corporate crime is! February
2008 ... and let's see here
now, deforestation is the number two contributor to global
warming, right behind all the fossil fuels being burned ...
the surge shows signs of souring and time is running out ...
a new front in Iraq: Kikurk ... democracy for sale, or at
least the impression of democracy with is the same thing as
far as the US and the EU are concerned, image IS everything
... a look at Kenya and the players both inside and outside,
lost of possibilities and Chad goes bad ... 02/09/08 ...
More tipping points in nature and they're moving faster than
we thought - this is becoming a theme repeated often now a
days ... the US DOJ says it can't investigate what it had
given an OK for, that means water boarding which was never
done or only done in especial cases or out of the way places
or not by US forces or only sometimes done or right or wrong
or legal and or not legal ... Euro connection to nuclear
proliferation ... loosing in Afghanistan - what does it look
like? ... progress in Iraq has many, many faces and
different time lines and disagreements and different futures
... from Africa the legacy of stolen elections in Kenya,
Libya and fighting in various areas ... 02/16/08 ... Playing
both sides against the middle we back both sides in the
simmering Iraqi civil war ... Bush the Dumber defends
torture on the world stage ... Iran and the US struggle for
influence in Azerbaijan ... The Awakening movement is
falling asleep? ... how to "load" a primary season and
prevent the voice of the people from being heard ...
02/23/08 ... Saudis give a "heads up" on Lebanon if anyone
is listening ... Sadr's truce is extended amid grumbling of
the rank and file ... What IF it was Obama that was 0 for
10? ... who has America by the balls ? .... yet another,
very painful, example of our Global Village Idiot's broken
promises to our veterans ... and how the NYT "left handedly"
helps John McStain March
2008 ... and here we go,
another good month, Gaza violence up, Iraqi killings up, the
Afghanistan effort is more challenged every day and all
three of the leading candidates speak of making the military
bigger and none talk about "getting out" ... Russia, Serbia
and Kosovo mix it up in the news along with NATO ... some
interesting election information but nothing to get excited
about ... well , maybe there is, you decide ... 03/08/08 ...
Bush says torture is OkeyDokey ... military testing of
"dust" on unknowing civilians and military ... KBR's secret
to success: avoid taxes and more in the Caymans ... Fallon
the bulwark against war with Iran? ... Gaza and suffering
... Secret to recent US success in Iraq: pay them off, it
works ... how we overthrew Iran's government long, long ago
... and Pakistan's troubles only continue and become more
complex ... getting India on board with an Iran attack has
been difficult ... South America, the US hand and why we're
not liked so much way down there ... 03/15/08 ... Hints
regarding action on Iran, excluding the Fallon firing ...
Russia is willing to help the US, for a price ... Tibet's
effect on the Olympics? ... Repuglicans vote for
Hillasaurus, it's all part of Limbaugh's plan ... the
housing mess, Governor Spitzer, the feds fight FOR
corruption and Bush the dumber still wants to make the air
dirtier ... 03/22/08 ... separation of church and state? I
guess that HAS gone out of fashion, witness Obama's "pastor
flap" and the resultant comparison with McStain's ... Tibet
has problems, but I think "they've only just begun" ...
Alabama's ex governor gets to do the perp walk and the TV
goes dark when an explanatory defense is given air time ...
Iraq continues on but badly, very badly ... despite the
recent good news why do so many of them not want us there?
The housing monster keeps eating up cash like there is no
tomorrow, 200 billion today and what will it want tomorrow?
03/29/08 ... the Fed's solution for the financial woes, give
Wall Street access to a bottomless money pit and see if that
works ... Iraq and its many surges ... but Bush the dumber
says "normalcy is returning ... another slice of Antarctica
cracks up ... housing continues to tank and the rate of
value declination increases ... oh, yes, dollar woes and
Russia makes a move on the Muslim world. April
2008 ... 04/04/08 ... very
noticeable job loss headlines and people are starting to
call it a recession ... more info on the military slow
military build up in the Arctic ... how our man in Iraq has
lost face and ground to the one time terrorist who is now
hailed as a hero for putting an end to violence, of course
Iran helped too ... violence continues in Tibet and my sense
is that Tibet's time has come - even if not soon ... and
what WAS the BIGGEST mistake G.W. Jackass made in regard to
the GWOT?... some gulf states prepare for a nuclear attack
on Iran - there will be fallout and then FALLOUT ... two US
states fight over water ... and yet another way the Fed
Govt. has of screwing over local governments that may be
"out of favor" ... 04/13/08 ... McStain, or McPain,
whichever, gets it wrong, Sadr didn't call for a cease fire,
Maliki did, it WAS in the news, but he STILL got it wrong
... extra rumors of war in and about Israel, US military
claims that hundreds of US casualties are attributable to
Iran's activities in Iraq ... more centrifuges in Iran ...
the housing mess expands to Spain and Switzerland ...
everyone at the "highest level" of the Dimwad's
administration was in on the "torture talks" except the
"Great Weiner" himself. Now he can claim, as did his daddy
before him, "that I was out of the loop" and check your cell
phone for bloodstains ... 04/19/08 Our president reports
that he agreed with and approved of the torture that was
practiced by US forces ... Shouldn't we have a plan for
dealing with AQ, preventing the next attack and disrupting
their operations? ... Hizbollah and Israel gearing up? ...
fortress Kabul ... food prices go up and so do problems
created by it ... 04/26/08 ... a substantial increase in the
number of troops attempting suicide or has data been
"fudged" in pervious reports ... CondiGirl taunts our
enemies and endangers our troops ... the Afghan war effort
is in the hands of one man and he runs his own show ... the
odd ball battle of Basra which someone must have won or
something ... more rumors of war with Iran ... the "silent
Tsunami" puts millions at risk without a headline ... the
ubiquity of the Pentagon in day to day living May
2008 ... 05/03/08 ... the Arctic
and Antarctic both suffer from human induced climate changes
but to opposite effect ... Iran, Iran Iran, the threatening
rhetoric ramps up as do the ranking and influence of those
who make them ... the Iranians don't seem to see it as
serious, however ... the financial mess has roots almost
forty years old - it all began in 71 when the dollar was
made unredeemable and the secret fun began ... the bombing
that won't go away - what WAS in Syria and why did the
Israeli's bomb it, hush it up and why did everyone have a
different version of the "real story"? ... Iraq devolves ...
Bush and his friends the Moonies. 05/10/08 ... hundreds of
thousands of disabled vets not getting the care they need
... as predicted ... in Lebanon and in Sadr City truces
followed fighting which followed government moves against
the "enemies of the US" in both places ... McStain's
preacher man is a wowser ... Iran's red line remains where
it has always been ... China makes moves and the south Asian
arms race continues ... how empire ends - not with a bang
but with a increase of the pump price ... 05/17/08 ... our
wars of choice have troop suicide rates that are about five
times that of the death rate and it was covered up by the VA
... hundreds of thousands of suffering vets have to struggle
- this is honoring our troops? ... Arctic warming moves
ahead of the computer models ... is the two state solution
deader than the proverbial doornail? ... Another absolutely
booming poppy harvest in Afghanistan is cause for a lull in
the fighting ... Bush makes a jackass out of himself again,
in Israel, at its Knesset - oh, excuse me, that's not news;
it's par for the course ... Obama's problem of conversion
05/24/08 ... Mosul, Iraq is quieter but we're supposed to be
after Al Qaida ... the Swiss destroy "explosive" evidence of
their nuclear information peddling ... Lebanon, give the
resistance what it wants and deals ARE possible ... Pakistan
too learns that lesson ... Somalia, the new Iraq ... a
chaotic year for Africa as hundreds of thousands flee
violence, poverty, war and the weather ... nature, human
kind, food, the corporation and capital flow - interesting
combination of forces and don't forget greed ... flip
flopper McStain ... and the mess of the Middle East goes
back to the victors in WW1 splitting the spoils ... 5/31/08
... Say, why do the Pakistani's give the Taliban a break? Is
it because they have to? oil production declines in
Afghanistan - because wheat prices are going up not because
of NATO efforts ... Sadr holds on and then some in Iraq ...
Carter "spills the beans" about Israel's nukes and more ...
are we seeing the "end" of the American radical conservative
movement? ... housing slump, bank failures begin, oil prices
gouge everything and Bush is left begging and the Saudi hem
... fun and excitement for all. June
2008 ... 06/07/08... the news
marches on ... an isolated news report says that a nuclear
incident accompanied China's recent earthquake ... The UN
mandate which allowed US and allied forces into Iraq expires
on December 31, 2008 - so what happens then? Currently the
US is trying to find a way AROUND that and the Iraqi's are
not all that interested in extending the presence of US and
allied troops ... prisons on the high seas are "Abu Ghraib"
proof ... the push for a war with Iran gets little traction
but not for want of trying ... Afghanistan's uptick in
attacks and allied troop levels signal a new round of
fighting ... fixing elections Russian style ... Obama, AIPAC
and the "issues of the day ... 06/14/08 ... Sadr throws a
left hook and Maliki an upper cut, both react to the SOFA
agreement that has NOT been agreed upon yet ... corn prices
go up, partly due to "severe weather" read global warming
... Sarkozy the lap dog can bark at Iran all it wants ...
Israel gearing up for another "summer war"? ... McStain has
the killers on his staff warming up to his potential to
deliver ... A politician from Louisiana is a possible VP but
will he have time what with the need for exorcisms .... 4
trillion dollars lost so far in a housing mess that has not
seen the worst of it. ... 6/21/08 ... isn't there a concern
about nuclear proliferation - so why are hundreds of
"things" missing? ... Israel does a "dry run" for an
"Iranian gambit" ... meanwhile torture, American style, is
detected, proven and made public and yet, yet nothing is
done - amazing ... guess how we treat whistle-blowers ... US
"policy" in Somalia has chaos on the increase and no sign of
relief ... oil prices on the rise and news is soon to be
released that the proven reserves of the world's 400 largest
fields are not so proven after all ... and the prehistory of
the housing mess 06/28/08 ... a naked North Pole can be
happening this summer ... Obama caught in a flip flop ...
What is McStain's edge? ... the "unsurge: of Iraq ... the
housing and dollar crunch continues - no seriously
homelessness reaches new "customers" ... Iran says it has
the moxie ... Bush rewards N. Korea even though we DON'T get
to deal with the bombs ... Zimbabwe falls July
2008 ... 07/12/08... Big time Iraqi
leaders are telling the US it is time to go, will we? ...
Iran, the US and Israel continue the "dare me - dare you"
dance and while it all may be a show ... it may not be ...
Guantanamo's torture techniques come from documents captured
from the Chinese - I guess that is a state that knows how to
torture - might as well learn from the best ... Afghanistan,
Afghanistan, wherefore art thou? Who planned this anyway?
... the housing bubble bursts in England ... hurray, even
more oil in Iraq ... Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac get bailed
out - its huge but a done deal ... 07/19/08 ... the
Antarctic has evidence of its melt and consequences to its
ecosystems, meaning die offs - not that the human factor
isn't heavily involved in that ... Iraq's govt. has Bush the
Dumber do an about face and opt for a timetable for troop
withdrawals ... various Iran stories, attacks, flash points,
meetings, and same old, same old but with a new two week
deadline for what? ... housing and markets, they're talking
trillions in these articles, some of them - I gather that
this is serious judging from the ineffective action and the
huffing and puffing ... Pakistan's unseen problems and
Afghanistan's casualties mount, maybe this is the new
central front, again ... 07/26/08 ... McStain says, in sum,
"if we'd listened to Obama the surge wouldn't have happened
and we would not see its good result" Well, apparently he's
forgotten that he also fought against the surge, not to
mention that Obama did not want to go into Iraq in the first
place, as he did ... which do you prefer, "citizen soldier"
or "warfighter" ... the arguments against torture ... why so
much Turkey bashing by neo cons? ... a raft of stories on
Afghanistan, US and allies loosing the "war of words", the
"clueless candidates US prez, the narco-state and bombing
brides ... The Iran dance ... deregulation of commodities
markets produce deprivation and starvation ... China's
economy and empire - some simple data points ... August
2008 ... 08/02/08 ...Big ness with
those almost forgotten anthrax attacks, experts, at the
time, claimed that the anthrax "had to be from Iraq", when,
in fact, it did not. Now these experts, and the "main man of
interest" all lived cozily on the same base. So when the
main man commits suicide right before being charged, well,
one wonders who those experts were that set helped set the
US off on a war against Iran, among other questions ... the
US role in the Iranian revolution of years back ... a
housing bill that won't start helping for several months and
then will "get to" about 5 or 10% of the problem ... More
from "flip flopper" McStain ... the bee die off - why didn't
we simply ask those who knew? ... the ecological hazards of
bottled water - do you have a drinking problem? ...Bush
cronies cash in on Kurdish oil ... 08/09/08 ... Global
warming and jellyfish woes ... Russia and Georgia at war - a
flash in the pan? ... Obama and McStain's nuke plans ...
Iran still doing the dance ... Pakistan's ISI reaches out,
to China, Afghanistan and seems to be marching to the beat
of a very different drummer ... mostly doubts about the
anthrax attacker who was harassed into suicide from what is
said as the "real" persons or persons STILL is running
around free ... 08/16/08 ...nearly 20 stories on the
Russo-Georgian War of 2008 ... Juicy tidbits: hints of John
McPain's campaign connections to the "suffering nation" ...
connections to oil, east west real politic and much much
more! ... the EU looks at Russia anew ... Kikurk is a piece
of work and everyone wants in = problems ... for everyone
... Voting problems are being foreseen already ... Happy
Birthday, Dan ... 08/23/08 ... Russia STILL has not done as
it was told and the "or else" kind of talk, thus far, has
proven to be ... more talk ... tired of bad news, well there
is some GOOD: California plans some big solar plants ...
Russia ceases to deal with NATO and now a nuclear treaty is
on the chopping block, thanks to Bush the Dimwad ... Oh
Israel really would prefer to "deal with" Iran, at least the
Hawknose faction ... the signs of unraveling peace between
Sunni and Shia in Iraq as the clock runs out and a deal
allowing US forces to remain gets rocky ... and don't forget
Kikurk still sticking in the country's craw ... and another
tid bit on the anthrax attack 08/31/08 ... Arctic melting
keeps up its pace and it's carbon footprint may be hundreds
of times bigger than suspected ... the Russo-Georgian War
has repercussions around the world, as does the "new cold
war" as its called ...in Iraq Maliki has his "rendezvous
with destiny" while gun battles erupt between the US
supported government and the US supported "Sunni Awakening"
folks ... Korea wants to jump start its nukes again, nice,
very nice ... If LameBrain McStain could make a bigger error
than the criminally suspect and inexperienced beauty queen
cum governor, we'll have to see ... and, finally, in the
"era of responsibility: those responsible for the housing
mess, say they're not and no one is pressing them, not under
this administration anyway. September
2008 ... 09/06/08 ... Russia and
the EU have some amenable discussions regarding Georgia,
even though arms begin to flow, seemingly ... Cheney sticks
his dick into it, of course ... arctic temperatures are
rising faster than the other parts of the globe, per global
warming models, this may be another record year of arctic
melt down ... meanwhile Malkiki is "feeling his oats" in
Iraq and seems to think he can do what he wants ... in the
USA Palin is the silliest thing to be given a place on a
national ticket since Bush 2, Cheney 1, or little Danny
Quayle ... the India nuke deal moves forward and the hot
button issue is still Iran, war or not. ... 09/13/08 ...
What does a flash point look like before the flash, see the
Black Sea ... Palin, keeps on talking and we keep on seeing
just how disastrous she would be and how ignorant she is ...
India gets special treatment ... not much from the muddle
east this week, except Lebanon ... global warming's special
effects on Antarctica seem to contradict previous stories
but are predicted by global warming theory ... The neo-con
crew's policies in a wreck, an overview ...0920/08 ... Palin
gets ripped by a neighbor who should know ... Pakistan get
permission to open fire on US forces if they cross the
border ... Iraqi Kurds take territory that is not "theirs"
but a weak government barely manages to take some back ...
the economic crisis is being discussed as if corruption and
various kinds of criminal activity were not a part of "the
puzzle" ... Afghanistan has its time get tougher as the
Taleban begin to "invest" Kabul and the needed troops are
not really forthcoming ... 09/27/08 ... the political lesson
of 2008 is that lying works ... Arctic melt is destined to
warm the world with a vast trove of methane just now being
released ... Painful Palin exposed by a "friend and
neighbor" ... the never ending Kurds in Iraq story proves
embarrassing for the "central government" of that struggling
territory ... Russia makes more moves ... financial crisis?
yes, should we pay for it? No. October
2008 .. this time and panic is in
the air ... meanwhile US influence is no where near
bottoming out in South America ... Russia steps up to the
plate ... Afghanistan needs a new plan or something, maybe
no drug kings in the government might be a first step ...
The Iraq mess shows hints of unwinding and well things can
just get worse ... 10/18/08 ... The Russians make moves as
do the Chinese while Pakistan destabilizes, albeit slowly
... the Arctic temp rose about 9 degrees above normal in the
summer of 2007, warmest yet ... Iraq has a paper deal with
the US regarding how long our troops will stay, but "the
people" don't like it ... check me if I'm wrong but if the
bailout is 700 billion and the bonuses big time financial
fat cats comes to about 70 billion isn't that 10% of public
money being given to bastards that ruined our economy? ...
voting fraud is a nationwide concern, but not by ACORN, by
GOP SOB's who purge hundreds of thousands, even milions of
voters using HAVA and centralized voting data bases ... oh,
yes, this just in, McStain's a jackass ... 102508 ... Global
warming is happening both faster and stronger than ever
thought ... Pakistan has problems that just won't quit ...
US and India plus nukes so China and Pakistan plus nukes ...
the economic rescue plan in the US changes as the days go
by, now we are bailing out insurance companies and the auto
makers are getting in line ... Afghanistan' troubles mount
as well ... voter suppression in the us reaches the 10
million mark ... McCain is tied to scandalous Bush operative
who he fought against in 2000 ... November
2008 ...This month begins with news
that the Antarctic IS showing sings of the global warming
effect as recent research updates the old, which is not that
old ... a US raid into Syria has consequences in Iraq and
the SOFA there ... the economic crisis deepens as Wall St.
does the Yo-Yo dance over and over, the most recent
"surmise" is hat the markets have stabilized ... Yes, I know
and I'll stop laughing soon too ... The US election, days
away, is being contested by many lawsuits already as voting
machines are being proved, again, to be untrustworthy, as
voters are being purged across the nation and people are
voting absentee in record numbers already ... What will be
the cost to the US, each of us here, when the piper has to
be paid and the world holds us accountable for the misdeeds
of this looser of a president and his wars? ... Pakistan's
troubles mount and mount even as US cross border raids
provide the opposition or resistance with popular support
... 11/08/08 ... Obama wins, everyone knows that, and thank
God ... Just imagine how you'd feel if the "dark side" had
prevailed ... recession is globally recognized, save in the
US where the term is not in common use ... Pakistan gets
pushy, at least in public, with US raids ... Iraq cannot get
agreement with the US on the SOFA talks ... some exposure of
the "truth" of the "facts on the ground" preceeding the
Russo-Georgian war ... and other lots of economic reports
that indicate the system is under severe stress and that
there is no light yet at the end of the tunnel ... 11/14/08
... The economic meltdown effects Russia, Pakistan, England
and others ... carbon dioxide levels still rising and do you
LIKE being a Monsanto experiment? ... brown air in Asia ...
US: with half the bailout money accounted for the oversight
committee has not yet been hired and no real relief for
mortgage holders two headline promises for the program - oh,
and it has changed its focus a few times since being put
together ... Pakistan's war gets risky and Somalia sees its
US backed effort falter ... 1122/08 ... Iraq's SOFA has a
long way to go before it is approved and resistance is
apparent ... what happens, on December 31st, if it is not
approved? ... the world wide economic downturn is still
gaining momentum with US markets doing the "yo - yo" moves
and its government taking a "wait and see" position, so it
seems, awaiting Obama ... election fraud in Ohio, a battle
still rages ... Venezuela to get nukes from Russia with
"love" ... the oceans acidify putting food chains at risk
from the bottom up ... another report of GW's "legacy" the
cess o man still makes stinky ripples ... 11/29/08 ...
Trillions of taxpayers dollars committed to cleaning up a
mess congress and unregulated financeers made ... Bush's
midnight legacy ... Afghanistan's mess deepens ... Somalia
is "lost" to the resistance ... Iraq gets its SOFA, but who
will be the couch potato on it? ... oceanic acidification
increases far faster than theorized, a factor of 20 ... US
sells "bad baby food" for fun and profit , excuses offered
... December
2008 ... 12/06/08 ... The
big news is the quiet news: the arctic is warming faster
than any place on the globe and it seems consensus is
growing that it is past the proverbial tipping point ... the
other piece concerns a form of pollution, noise pollution,
which, in the oceans may be a very large if "unheard of"
problem. In Afghanistan the front line closes in on Kabul
... the Lame Jackass Bush continues to leave his stain on
the presidency ... economics: job losses average 400,000 per
month for the last three months ending in November ...
12/13/08 ... a look at the "great" sub continent by
Arundhati Roy considering the effects of Mumbai ...
jellyfish blooms get back in the news ... what CAN Israel do
about Hamas, Gaza, and the rocket attacks? ... escalation is
the plan for Afghanistan are there parallels to Vietnam? ...
the first hint of a "water war" in Asia? ... Greenspan says
"oops" ... the economics 101 shows how awful things are ...
a 50 billion Ponzi scheme blows up ... bond markets doing
well, the US IS the place of refuge for liquid capital, but
do we have a balloon inflating? ... 12/20/08 ... the global
finance mess takes out the Belgian Govt. ... trillions of
tons of ice melted over the past few years ... China
preempts water upstream from India and Bangladesh ... Russia
sells missile systems to Iran; the US sells to gulf states
... geopolitics and oil play out in the region surrounding
Afghanistan ... other countries follow the US lead in
dealing with the financial mess but do THEY KNOW what
they're doing? ... 12/27/08 ... only a few more weeks to go
then I can cease detailing the idiocies of George W. Jackass
... global warming increases more rapidly than previously
thought ... Israel and Gaza are "at it" again ... Pakistan
and India are having words but no one is saying it will come
to blows despite rhetoric ... Japan is trying massive "make
work" projects and bank bailouts and still it is not working
well ... Cheney says he did have something to do with Plame
and torture, but it does not seem to matter ... South
America goes its own way ... and a piece on the legacy of GW
"what a mess" Bush.