Twelfth Bough

The Haitian people continue to suffer because, since the earthquake TEN MONTHS AGO, 2% of the rubble has been cleared, and therefore nothing can be rebuilt and therefore people cannot be relocated and therefore they cannot rebuild their lives. Why the delay? Because the wealthy landowners in Haiti (friends of Bill Clinton et. al.), can't agree on who should pony up land to relocate the millions of homeless people, and so they're waiting on the election in a few weeks, and then it will be sorted out, presumably, in favor of whoever wins. Meanwhile, millions endure unbearable living conditions for months on end. And people die unnecessary deaths. Cholera can kill in 24 hours. Cholera is not a natural disease of the Caribbean, and so the people there have no immunity. On Sunday reports were that the UN was investigating allegations that a Nepalese peacekeeping base was the source of cholera that has stalked Haiti since October 20. Days after a cholera epidemic sickened m...

Wayne Madsen says it was probably a Chinese missile. route of Chinese submarine? China flexed its military muscle Monday evening in the skies west of Los Angeles when a Chinese Navy Jin class ballistic missile nuclear submarine, deployed secretly from its underground home base on the south coast of Hainan island, launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from international waters off the southern California coast. WMR’s intelligence sources in Asia, including Japan, say the belief by the military commands in Asia and the intelligence services is that the Chinese decided to demonstrate to the United States its capabilities on the eve of the G-20 Summit in Seoul and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Tokyo, where President Obama is scheduled to attend during his ten-day trip to Asia. The reported Chinese missile test off Los Angeles came as a double blow to Obama. The day after the missile firing, China’s leading credit rati...

Ariel Sharon, in a coma for five years, goes home Almost five years after a massive stroke plunged Ariel 'Arik' Sharon into a deep and irreversible coma, preparations are under way for Israel's legendary old warhorse to return home to his vast Sycomore ranch on the northern fringe of the Negev desert, not far from Gaza. Sharon's family would not comment on media reports that the former prime minister will be moved from the Sheba medical centre where he has been since 2006 within the next few days, but earlier this week the Knesset (parliament) approved annual funding of 1.6m Israeli shekels - about £275,000 - for his continued treatment at home. ... As was inevitable, news of Sharon's transfer revived speculation about how history will treat him after he dies, which for all his dedicated medical team's efforts is unlikely to be too far off. a SCULPTURE of Ariel Sharon in his hospital bed (wtf?) ...The move comes three weeks after the Ber...

UPDATE 2: Now some anonymous officials are saying it was probably China. A rather more serious accusation. Note that none of these people are on the record -- it's all assumptions and anonymity. At the very least, according to this source, it was a missile. As to whether it was ours or theirs, he does not know. But he said “they do,” a reference to the brass. The rumors circulating “within the [Pentagon] rings” suggest that it was a deliberate launch of a missile from “Chinese property at sea” intended as a warning to the U.S. Although it was odd that he would not clarify the nature of the “Chinese property,” I can only assume that it did not originate from Catalina Island or U.S. military ships in the area, as we still own those, at least to my knowledge. A domestic intelligence source speaking to me off the record acknowledged the event by his assurances that it was indeed “some type of large missile” and not an illusion or model rocket. This, according to infor...

A great talk by Webster Tarpley. Video from SocioEconomics History.

US officials set to visit Paraguay and Uruguay this week. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo A. Valenzuela will be in Asuncion, Paraguay November 8–9 and in Montevideo, Uruguay November 9–10.   In both countries, he will meet with government officials and political, business, and civil society leaders to discuss bilateral and regional issues such as opportunities for increased trade, educational exchanges and science and technology cooperation, as well as avenues to improve security and stability for the Western Hemisphere... ...because of all the terrorists and organized criminals in Paraguay and Uruguay. Fernando Lugo in May and October 2010. tiwy.com Proving that he is a sick president?     Diplomats from six Latin American countries, including Paraguay, visiting Georgia this week. Georgian Foreign Minister, Grigol Vashadze, met with a group of diplomats from six Latin American countries visiting Georgia on November...

On November 6, 2010, Wayne Madsen reported on the Obama White House. White House: Obama conducting reign of terror. Terror? Yes. On the American people? Pakistan? Afghanistan? Via the CIA and corrupt military and intelligence operatives? No. Not that kind of terror. Suspected White House leakers are on the run. So the story goes, according to anonymous but brave sources still trusted by Obama, that: 1) Obama has become detached from reality; and 2) this created a political disaster for the Democratics; so 3) Obama's trusted advisers urged him to take a long trip to India; while 4) Democrats can sort through their power issues. President Obama was urged by the few White House insiders from whom he still takes advice to leave the country on his ten-day Asian trip, his longest trip abroad since becoming president, in order to not inflict any more damage to the Democratic Party in the wake of one of the worst electoral defeats for the party of an incumbent president ...