I remember Galbraith's repeated appearances on Air America (Franken's show) pumping up the Kurds' independence from Iraq.

This is not surprising to me at all, although usually the money passes through a few more hands before it's laundered.

Wars are sort of like bullfights. They wave a flag in your face and you get worked up before they stick it to you.

I haven't followed Glenn on a daily basis, but perhaps he can look into the pipeline that's going to run through Afghanistan. Most American wars post-WWII have resources (like petrol) and/or drugs.

The war in the former Yugoslavia followed the same gameplan the Nazis used. Divide up the competition to Western hegemony in Eastern Europe. Getting people to kill each other over what they imagine their divinities are is a swell way to destroy the social fabric and then go in and pluck the resources.

It's the game.

When stories like this happen, stories that are often used as propaganda by sitting powers, my rule of thumb is to observe and question.

Consider the anthrax letters. The reportage was essentially whipping up the rationale for war. Fingers pointed to Saddam. Remember the FOUR sources close to the investigation that were trumpeting bentonite? Now we Saddam and Iraq had nothing to do with it and the latest official position is that it was a lone nut working within the military-industrial complex. Of course, there is no evidence that that one lone nut was either a nut or had anything to do with the letters.

The DC shooter was a military veteran. I would love to see a thorough examination of his military career.

The OKC bomber was another kinda alleged lone nut with some friends, again a disgruntled army man. He went to special training for the Green Berets, then "failed". Recall that there were witnesses seeing McVeigh driving around the truck with Middle Eastern-looking people.

In the present case Major Hasan had just gotten his medical certificate in 2009, and his medical training was within the military. The military doesn't just make doctors, so this would suggest that Hasan was a career military man. What was he doing prior to becoming a doctor? When did he join the military?

In short, I not only monitor the reportage and what is and isn't true, but also what isn't reported, or what is reported initially but then ignored by the media later. No one hears about bentonite anymore. When Pan Am 103 went down, the national news were reporting that there was a group of CIA employees aboard. Now no one remembers the McKee Team. So the immediate reports aren't only about false information, they are also about true information that authorities don't want to interfere with the story.

The federal case here in California against Prop 8 is the key. One intent of the lawsuit is to prove that it was the intention of the backer of Prop 8 to deny a group of citizens their civil rights. And of course that's what the purpose was. So they are suing for the backers of Prop 8 to produce all their emails and memos.

In both California and Maine these initiatives were done to take away existing civil rights. If the California lawsuit is successful the Maine takeaway won't stand.

Can't the Saudis get into the 21st Century and tase people like we do?

"Be sure lefty slime like Jackson and Sharpton have their way

Jackson of "Hymie Town" fame and Sharpton of "Tawana Brawley" and "Freddie's Fashion Mart" fame.

"My lawyer would have fun with those characters, suing their ass back to Nat Turner."

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Sue for what? Defamation of character of a public figure?

And while I have no great affection for Jackson, he made the "Hymie Town" remark 25 years ago and apologized very soon after he made the remark.

Besides, what does Jackson (or Sharpton for that matter) have to do with Limbaugh not getting an NFL franchise? The NFL has a history of owners who were connected to organized crime, even fringe rightwing ideologies (go read about HL Hunt). Currently Alex Spanos is a huge contributor to Republican and a rightwing causes. He wasn't wanted in the country club by the members of the country club, not because of what he believes but but what he says out loud.

I suspect that this was all just another Rushbo publicity stunt to wring some kind of pity party for poor, discriminated against white racists. At least Rush didn't pretend to hide in a big balloon.

Until the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia oil rights in Central Asia were dominated by Herbert Hoover's corporate interests. That huge pool of petroleum belonged to him. When Hoover was charged with providing food and aid at the end of WWI he refused to provide that aid to the Russians. One can say he was willing to starve the Russians to get back his oil.

The Cold Warriors in the West were divided between the Detentists who were willing to keep Communism from expanding versus those fans of "rollback" who wanted to break the USSR into its little constituent republics. The rollbackers won.

But how do you get that oil out of Central Asia? How about a pipeline that runs through Afghanistan to the Indian Ocean? That has been the driving force of the military-industrial complex since probably the Carter Administration. Zbigniew Brzezinski was there during the Carter Administration, during the Clinton Administration, and is operating now on behalf of Big Oil.

Osama bin Laden would not have been a threat to the US if he had not been nurtured by the CIA, supplied by the CIA, etc. Bin Laden has been nothing more than a useful idiot for the oil interests. Americans pay in lives and money to fight a war to further fill the pockets of the rich.