President Roosevelt Kept Deadly Disease Hidden for Years
New York Post
... It has long been known that President Franklin D. Roosevelt, during the last year of his life, was gravely ill with serious cardiac problems: He'd been diagnosed with acute heart failure in March 1944 and suffered from astronomically high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis. But what the public did not know was that four years earlier, while still in the second of his four terms as president, FDR had been diagnosed with a deadly skin cancer, melanoma, in a lesion over his left eyebrow. This disease would metastasize to Roosevelt's abdomen and his brain, causing a tumor that eventually killed him on April 12, 1945.
No-Fault Espionage
Philip Giraldi
... Spies are traitors in every sense of the word, unless, of course, if one is spying for Israel. Israel aggressively spies on the US both to influence policy and steal high technology, but getting caught only very rarely has any consequences. Leading neoconservatives like Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, and Stephen Bryen have all been detected in flagrante providing classified information to Israel but the investigations were halted and their security clearances were godfathered so they could continue to hold high office. FBI counter intelligence officer John Cole has reported on the frustration of his colleagues over the many cases of Israeli espionage that are dropped under orders from the Justice Department.
US Public Pensions Face $2,000 Billion Shortfall
The Financial Times (Britain)
The US public pension system faces a higher-than-
Honest Men
Taki Theodoracopulos -- Takimag
Let's start 2010 right and mention a few honest people in the news... Lastly I read Kevin Mac Donald's Cultural Insurrections, his essays on western civilization, Jewish influence, and anti-Semitism. Jewish influence is a much-discussed subject -- in private, that is. It is seldom the subject of dispassionate scientific analysis. MacDonald does not pull his punches. I read all three books in one week while partying non-stop as the year came to a close.
A Nobel Judge Who Admired Hitler
The Dominion Post -- Stuff (New Zealand)
Sven Hedin was one of Sweden's most famous scientists. Back in the early 1900s he explored Central Asia and Mongolia, and became an international cartographer, hydrographer, photographer and author of popular travel books ... In 1905 Hedin was appointed one of 18 judges on the Nobel Prize Committee. He continued voting on nominees until 1949. In the 1930s, he came to admire Adolf Hitler and often visited him ... "He was a hypnotic talker, a fascinating man. I also made friends with Goebbels, Himmler, Goering and Doenitz."
Where Do Jews Come From?
Evan R. Goldstein -- The Wall Street Journal
... Enter Shlomo Sand. In a new book, "The Invention of the Jewish People," the Tel Aviv University professor of history argues that large numbers of Khazar Jews migrated westward into Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania, where they played a decisive role in the establishment of Eastern European Jewry. The implications are far-reaching: If the bulk of Eastern European Jews are the descendents of Khazars -- not the ancient Israelites -- then most Jews have no ancestral links to Palestine. Put differently: If most Jews are not Semites, then what justification is there for a Jewish state in the Middle East?
Israel Rules
Paul Craig Roberts
... In the second decade of the 21st century, America's Zionist wars against Islam will expand. America's wars in behalf of Israel's territorial expansion will complete the bankruptcy of America ... America has been brought low, both morally and economically, by its obeisance to the Israel Lobby. Even Jimmy Carter, a former President of the United States and Governor of Georgia recently had to apologize to the Israel Lobby for his honest criticisms of Israel's inhumane treatment of the occupied Palestinians in order for his grandson to be able to run for a seat in the Georgia state senate. This should tell the macho super-power American tough guys who really runs "their" country.
Local Holocaust Museums Grow Amid Worries About Future
Forward (New York)
The numbers speak for themselves: There are now 16 Holocaust museums in the United States, from Albuquerque, N.M., to Houston, to Richmond, Va. And these are just the biggest of nearly 150 Holocaust centers all over the country. The proliferation of museums detailing the story of what happened to European Jewry during World War II has been largely a phenomenon of the 1990s, part of the general increase in Holocaust awareness in the culture at large. But it has by no means slowed.
A Decade of Self-Delusion
Patrick J. Buchanan
... We have a government that cannot balance its books, defend its borders or win its wars. And what is it now doing? Drafting another entitlement program as we are informed that the Social Security and Medicare trust funds have unfunded liabilities in the trillions. At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the question is not whether we will preside over the creation of a New World Order, but whether America's decline is irreversible.
Why They Hate Us: On Military Occupation
Stephen M. Walt
... The bottom line is that you don't need to be a sociologist, political scientist, or a student of colonialism or foreign cultures to understand why military occupation is such a poisonous activity and why it usually fails. If you're an American, you just need to read a bit about Reconstruction and reflect on how its effects -- along with the effects of slavery itself -- have persisted across generations. If that's not enough, visit a society that is currently experiencing occupation, and take the time to go through a checkpoint or two. Then you might understand why the local population doesn't view the occupying forces as benevolent and isn't as grateful as occupiers often think they ought to be.
Operation Cast Lead: Anniversary of Israel's Gaza Strike
Uri Avnery
... The Gaza War - from the decision to throw the army into a densely populated area to the use of white phosphorus and flechette munitions - has raised a dark cloud over Israel. The Goldstone report, coming as it did after the gruesome pictures broadcast throughout the war by all the world's TV networks, has produced a terrible impression. Hundreds of millions of people saw and heard, and their attitude towards Israel has changed for the worse. This will have far-reaching impact on the decisions of governments, the attitude of the media and in thousands of big and small decisions concerning Israel.
Israelis View Foreign Media as 'Anti-Semitic'
European Jewish Press
Nearly three-quarters of Israelis view the foreign media as being negative towards Israel, according to a recent poll revealed by Professor Avraham Tzion of Ariel University Center, located in the West Bank. Speaking at the annual conference on media and communications held there, he said the survey also showed that 88 percent of the respondents cited anti-Semitism as the main reason for Israel's negative image.
Inside Story of the Hess Flight: Hitler's Peace Offer to Britain
The American Mercury (1943)
... Hitler offered total cessation of the war in the West. Germany would evacuate all of France except Alsace and Lorraine, which would remain German. It would evacuate Holland and Belgium, retaining Luxembourg. It would evacuate Norway and Denmark. In short, Hitler offered to withdraw from Western Europe, except for the two French provinces and Luxembourg, in return for which Great Britain would agree to assume an attitude of benevolent neutrality towards Germany as it unfolded its plans in Eastern Europe. In addition, the Führer was ready to withdraw from Yugoslavia and Greece.
Americans Are Hell-Bent on Tyranny
Paul Craig Roberts
... In the US, of course, there is no such attempt to hold to account Bush, Cheney, Condi Rice, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and the large number of war criminals that comprised the Bush Regime. Indeed, Obama, whom Republicans love to hate, has gone out of his way to protect the Bush cohort from being held accountable. Here in Great Moral America we only hold accountable celebrities and politicians for their sexual indiscretions ... Apparently, Americans regard sexual infidelity as far more serious than invading countries on the basis of false charges and deception, invasions that have caused the deaths and displacement of millions of innocent people.
Sigmund Freud Saved by Nazi Admirer
The Times (Britain)
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was saved from Hitler's persecution of the Jews by a long-standing Nazi who was fascinated with his work, a new book reveals. The fate of Freud and his family in Vienna hung in the balance after Hitler's forces took over Austria in 1938. The psychoanalyst was first protected, then helped to escape to Britain, by Anton Sauerwald, a Nazi who had been put in charge of his assets. In twists of Freudian complexity, Sauerwald was put on trial after the Second World War accused of plundering the Freud family wealth -- only to be saved after the intervention of one of Freud's daughters.
China Executions Shrouded in Secrecy
BBC News
Opponents of the death penalty condemn China's record on a number of fronts. Firstly, there is the secrecy surrounding the judicial process that makes it impossible to find out whether the accused has had a fair trial or not. That means of course that it is uncertain how many criminals are executed here. Human rights groups based abroad estimate that China executes more people each year than the rest of the world put together - although there is quite a disparity between their figures. It will be around 5,000 in 2009, down from 6,000 in 2007, according to the US-based Dui Hua Foundation. Amnesty International's figure is lower.
Ben Stein Says Ron Paul Uses `Anti-Semitic' Arguments
Thomas R. Eddlem -- New American
Ben Stein, former actor turned economic and political advisor, accuses Congressman Ron Paul of using an "anti-Semitic" argument in saying that the US should reconsider its Middle East policies, and in asking why there is so much hatred and terrorism against the US in Arab and Muslim countries. The heated exchange between Stein and Paul is during an appearance on CNNs "Larry King Live."
Iran Sanctions Are Precursor to War
Rep. Ron Paul
Last week the House overwhelmingly approved a measure to put a new round of sanctions on Iran. If this measure passes the Senate, the United States could no longer do business with anyone who sold refined petroleum products to Iran or helped them develop their ability to refine their own petroleum ... This policy is pure isolationism. It is designed to foment war by cutting off trade and diplomacy. Too many forget that the quagmire in Iraq began with an embargo. Sanctions are not diplomacy. They are a precursor to war and an embarrassment to a country that pays lip service to free trade. It is ironic that people who decry isolationism support actions like this.
Lazy Afghanistan Army
Journeyman Pictures -- Video
Top NATO commander General McChrystal calls training local soldiers and cops "our main effort" in Afghanistan. But whipping recruits into shape is a whole lot harder when they're stoned out of their minds. "You walk into a whole squad of ANA [Afghan National Army] smoking hashish. They don't understand that the use of drugs, it effects the way that they accomplish their mission," says one disgusted marine. "Soldiers come out without helmets, soldiers come out missing a lot of gear." Runtime: 6:28 mins.
Iraq Inquiry Reveals Chaos That Led Britain To War
The Guardian (Britain)
Some will always believe that Tony Blair took the country to war in Iraq on a lie, but the most damning charge emerging from the Iraq war inquiry so far is that Britain went to war on a wing and a prayer. The main charges, after four weeks of cross examination, are that Britain had minimal influence over American diplomatic and military strategy, did not plan correctly for the aftermath of war, and utterly misconstrued post-war Iraqi society.
Israel's Jewish Settlements are Illegal, Says European Union
Xinhua (China)
The European Union (EU) expressed its dismay on Wednesday for Israel's decision on the expansion of the settlement of Gilo in East Jerusalem. "The presidency recalls that settlement activities, house demolitions and evictions in East Jerusalem are illegal under international law," said Sweden, which is current rotating presidency of the EU, in a statement. Such activities also prejudge the outcome of final status negotiations and threaten the viability of a two-state solution. The presidency recalls that the European Union has never recognized the annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967 nor the subsequent 1980 basic law," said the statement.
Religious Leaders vs. Members: Contrasting Views on Immigration
Center for Immigration Studies
In contrast to many national religious leaders who are lobbying for increases in immigration, a new Zogby poll of likely voters who belong to the same religious communities finds strong support for reducing overall immigration. Moreover, members strongly disagree with their leaders' contention that more immigrant workers need to be allowed into the country. Also, most parishioners and congregants prefer more enforcement to cause illegal workers to go home, rather than legalization of illegal immigrants, which most religious leaders prefer.
Madoff's Wife Blames `The Gentiles'
ABC television - Video
"The Gentiles" are responsible, says Ruth Madoff, wife of infamous financial crook Bernie Madoff. This and other details are related by Brian Ross from his new book, The Madoff Chronicles. Runtime: 4:37 mins.
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Debating the Holocaust: A New Look at Both Sides By Thomas Dalton
In this remarkable, balanced book, the author skillfully reviews and compares "traditional" and "revisionist" views on the "The Holocaust."
On one side is the traditional, orthodox view -- six million Jewish casualties, gas chambers, cremation ovens, mass graves, and thousands of witnesses. On the other is the view of a small band of skeptical writers and researchers, often unfairly labeled "deniers," who contend that the public has been gravely misled about this emotion-laden chapter of history.
The author establishes that the arguments and findings of revisionist scholars are substantive, and deserve serious consideration. He points out, for example, that even the eminent Jewish Holocaust scholar Raul Hilberg acknowledged that there was no budget, plan or order by Hitler for a World War II program to exterminate Europe's Jews.
This book is especially relevant right now, as "Holocaust deniers" are routinely and harshly punished for their "blasphemy," and as growing numbers of people regard the standard, Hollywoodized "Holocaust" narrative with mounting suspicion and distrust.
The author of this book, who writes under the pen name of "Thomas Dalton," is an American scholar who holds a doctoral degree from a major US university.
This is no peripheral debate between arcane views of some obscure aspect of twentieth century history. Instead, this is a clash with profound social-political implications regarding freedom of speech and press, the manipulation of public opinion, how our cultural life is shaped, and how power is wielded in our society.
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