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| Joel Skousen's
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| This week in the World Affairs Brief: |
NEW BOOK PRAISES THE GLOBALIST SECRET ELITE
Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making by David Rothkopf has emerged as a modern follow up to Tragedy and Hope by Dr. Carroll Quigley. The latter treatise by Quigley was the book that clued my uncle W. Cleon Skousen into the fact that there was a globalist elite undermining US sovereignty and aiding Communist takeovers around the world, as opposed to the more obvious but simple theory that Communist agents were infesting the State Department (as conservatives used to think). The Reds were inside government, alright, but the leaders were only posing as communists. Alger Hiss was the principle globalist agent running the show and calling the shots. It caused Cleon to write The Naked Capitalist, a review of Quigley's naive exultation about these globalists who Quigley admired and revered. Quigley claimed to have been on the inside for a while and seen some of their plans. His only criticism of the globalist plans was that he thought they ought to be more open in their intentions rather than keeping everything a secret. Quigley, Bill Clinton's mentor, was a typical Ivory Tower professor at Georgetown, and perhaps unaware of the underlying evil nature of the conspiracy he so admired. This week I document much more of what US globalists are working on to undermine American liberties. For a one-time sample copy of these briefings, send an email to "editor@worldaffairsbrief.com" and request it.
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| Also: |
| US PRESIDENCY NOW AN EVIL INSTITUTION |
| US PREPARING TO TURN PARTS OF SADR CITY INTO A WASTELAND |
| FBI EVADES COURT RULINGS ON NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS |
| More... |
 | to read the rest of this week’s brief! |
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The World Affairs Brief is a weekly news analysis service dedicated to providing an understanding of the hidden agendas behind the actions of world leaders and other powerful individuals who influence government from behind the scenes. Although the World Affairs Brief is provided to subscribers only, you can read samples of Mr. Skousen's unique analysis in the archives section. The following daily news items are provided as a sampling of the crucial issues that Mr. Skousen may analyze in this week's briefing. |
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Friday, May 9, 2008
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BIG PHARMA, BIG FOOD, BIG FUEL, AND BIG FASCISM
Story
What form of government are we supposed to have? The Founders of this country bequeathed us a system we used to call Free Enterprise, in which the government was supposed to leave business alone.Now, what kind of system do we actually have today? Because the original system has been perverted – first by ordinary criminals, then by the conspiracy for world government – the system we have now, the perversion, began as “mercantilism” and today is best described as Fascism -Alan Stang/NewsWithViews
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US tightens its grip on Pakistan
Story
A speech made by US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte at the National Endowment for Democracy's (NED) Pakistan forum in Washington on Monday merits attention.In all practical terms, the speech is a final summing up but at the same time it sets outs the tone of the US policy towards Pakistan in the remaining months of the George W Bush administration.The NED is well known for covertly funding and supporting politicians in Latin American countries with strong support to the military -M K Bhadrakumar/Asia Times
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Iran woos Farsi-speaking nations
Story
There are many interrelated reasons why the United States policy of isolating Iran has failed, one being the prominent regional role played by Tehran that simultaneously relies on a net of bilateral, trilateral and multilateral arrangements. These are on the rise, irrespective of the nuclear standoff, sanctions and threats of military action against Iran.One initiative in particular that Iran is genuinely interested in, and hopeful about its prospects, deals with trilateral cooperation among the three Farsi-speaking nations of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan -Kaveh L Afrasiabi/Asia Times
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War funding and war rhetoric
Story
Americans might be excused for being upset by their tax money being handed out left-and-right, without consent and in issues that do not affect their day-to-day lives.What makes things more difficult is that in addition to "classified activities", the US administration is still vehemently committed to spreading baseless arguments aimed at creating trouble for its opponents in the region -Sami Moubayed /Asia Times
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IRAQ: The elusive Iranian weapons
Story
There was something interesting missing from Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner's introductory remarks to journalists at his regular news briefing in Baghdad on Wednesday: the word "Iran," or any form of it.It was especially striking as Bergner, the U.S. military spokesman here, announced the extraordinary list of weapons and munitions that have been uncovered in recent weeks since fighting erupted between Iraqi and U.S. security forces and Shiite militiamen -Tina Susman/LA Times
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Russia Parades Military Might
Story
Nuclear missile launchers and columns of tanks rolled through Red Square Friday in a display of martial hardware not seen in front of the Kremlin since the waning days of the Soviet Union.The parade, smaller in scale than similar commemorations in the Soviet period but laden with significance and mixed messages, marked the 63rd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.But the goose-stepping footfalls, echoing in front of shop windows bearing products from Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, captured as well the contrasts institutionalized during eight years of rule by former President Vladimir V. Putin -C.J. Chivers/NY Times
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Mexican army can't stop drug lords' war on cops
Story
More than a month after Mexican President Felipe Calderon dispatched more than 2,000 soldiers to the troubled border city, execution-style murders remain commonplace — and usually unsolved — as heavily armed drug cartels battle for control of lucrative drug-smuggling routes into the United States.At least 10 federal police officers have been killed in the past three weeks, and pitched shootouts have raged from the Pacific Coast to central Zacatecas -Jay Root/McClatchy Newspapers
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State Department Asks Congress To Keep Quiet About Details of Deal
Story
Washington's civil nuclear deal with India is in such desperate straits that the State Department has imposed unusually strict conditions on the answers it provided to questions posed by members of Congress: Keep them secret. "The administration's unwillingness to make their answers more widely available suggests they have something to hide from either U.S. or Indian legislators," said Daryl Kimball, director of the Arms Control Association -Washington Post
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Mortgage Firms Cool to Principal-Cut Plan
Story
A major provision of the housing-market legislation passed by the House Thursday is getting a lukewarm reception from the mortgage industry.The measure, which is aimed at reducing foreclosures, would encourage mortgage companies to reduce the principal on troubled loans.But trade groups that represent mortgage companies and investors say the provision might not help as many borrowers as some expect -Ruth Simon & Nick Timiraos/Wall Street Journal
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U.S. House Approves Democratic Anti-Foreclosure Bill
Story
The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation to let the government insure up to $300 billion in mortgages to help homeowners avert foreclosure, after the White House said the measure would force taxpayers to bear excessive risk.The House voted 266-154 for the housing package offered by Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank.The plan would have the Federal Housing Administration insure refinanced mortgages after loan holders agree to cut principal to make payments affordable -Alison Vekshin/Bloomberg
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United Congress Sends Bush a Farm Bill
Story
The White House and Congress are on a collision course over agricultural policy, amid demands by President Bush to pare subsidies to wealthy farmers.But the fate of a sweeping farm bill is more likely to depend on commitments made to bolster nutrition assistance for the needy.Food-aid programs make up more than two-thirds of spending in the bill.It is not clear whether the legislation will attract enough Republican support, especially in the House, to override the president -Greg Hitt/Wall Street Journal
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Europeans and British Leave Rates Unchanged
Story
The European Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4 percent on Thursday, saying that the region’s economy remained resilient despite nearly nine months of financial turmoil.Also Thursday, the Bank of England kept its benchmark rate at 5 percent, pausing to study the effects of three interest rate cuts it has made since Dec. 6.The president of the European bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, said in Athens that Europe had been largely untouched by the credit crisis and the slowdown in the United States -Carter Dougherty/NY Times
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U.S. declines to help present nuclear deal to Iran
Story
World powers will in the coming days offer a revised package of incentives to Iran but Washington has refused to send its own envoy to help present the deal, diplomats and a U.S. official said on Thursday.Diplomats said the package, aimed at getting Iran to halt its nuclear work, could be delivered on Friday or over the weekend, most likely in Tehran, by the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.In a change from normal protocol, political directors from France, Britain, Russia and China -- permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- and Germany would probably go with Solana
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Vladimir Putin pledges to transform economy of Russia into a world leader
Story
In a fervent speech to the Russian Parliament, Mr Putin, who handed over the country’s presidency the previous day to Dmitry Medvedev, said that he would cut oil taxes to stimulate growth and predicted that Russia would overtake Britain to become the sixth-largest economy this year.Mr Putin boasted that during his eight years as President, Russia “had not just changed but become a different country” -Carl Mortished/London Times UK
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Bolivia Senate Clears Way for Recall Vote for Morales, Prefects
Story
Bolivia's Senate cleared the way for a recall election that President Evo Morales wants to use to shore up support in South America's poorest country.In the wake of the Senate approval today, voters will decide whether Morales, his vice president, and all prefects -- the elected leaders of Bolivia's nine provinces -- should continue to hold office.They will lose their jobs if more voters say they should go than voted them into office -Stephan Kueffner/Bloomberg
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Will vote in Bolivia spur separatism moves abroad?
Story
The 84 percent victory of pro-autonomy forces in Sunday's referendum called by Bolivia's wealthy eastern province of Santa Cruz in open defiance of that country's central government has triggered fears of a chain reaction of separatist movements throughout Latin America.The leftist governments of Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Cuba lashed out against the Santa Cruz autonomy vote, claiming it represents the beginning of a U.S. effort to dismember politically independent Latin American countries and create new pro-American states in the region -Andres Oppenheimer/Miami Herald
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Gunmen Kill Chief of Mexico’s Police
Story
Gunmen assassinated the acting chief of Mexico’s federal police early on Thursday morning in the most brazen attack so far in the year-and-a-half-old struggle between the government and organized crime gangs.The Mexican police have been under constant attack since President Felipe Calderón took office in December 2007 and started an offensive against drug cartels that had corrupted the municipal police forces and local officials in several towns along the border with the United States and on both coasts -James C. McKinley/NY Times
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Neocons and the Truth: Bitter Enemies to the End
Story
In a July, 2006 article in Rolling Stone — entitled “Iran: The Next War” — the superb journalist James Bamford detailed the shady activities of numerous neoconservatives inside and out of the U.S. Government to plan an attack on Iran.That war-cheerleading neoconservatives of this strain are completely unbound by the truth is not news.Obviously, the war they unleashed in Iraq is the most compelling proof of that.But sometimes when the lying is so blatant, one can’t help but note it -Glenn Greenwald/Salon
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NY Judge may order release of CIA 'torture' memo
Story
The CIA must let a judge view a 2002 memo purportedly including waterboarding among interrogation methods to be used on prisoners in U.S. custody so he can decide if it should be made public, the judge ruled Thursday.The order came as a result of a lawsuit brought in October 2003 by the ACLU and other civil rights groups seeking to use the Freedom of Information Act to get records concerning the treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody abroad
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Gag Order Partially Lifted, Israel Obsesses Over Corruption Investigation of Prime Minister
Story
As the sun set on Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations tonight, Israeli media were partially liberated from a gag order that had restricted their reporting the details of a fast moving and curiously timed corruption investigation of Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert.All this drama takes place as President Bush is set to arrive in Israel Tuesday.Morris Talansky, the New York financier reported as being questioned in the probe, said that he was mystified by the investigation -Laura Rozen/Mother Jones
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Thursday, May 8, 2008
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Congressional Testimony of Marjorie Cohn on Torture Policy
Story
What does torture have in common with genocide, slavery, and wars of aggression? They are all "jus cogens." That’s Latin for "higher law" or "compelling law." This means that no country can ever pass a law that allows torture.There can be no immunity from criminal liability for violation of a "jus cogens" prohibition.The United States has always prohibited torture in our Constitution, laws, executive statements, judicial decisions, and treaties.When the U.S. ratifies a treaty, it becomes part of American law under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution (streaming media also at the link) -Marjorie Cohn
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“Torture Team”: British Attorney Philippe Sands on the White House Role in Sanctioning Torture
Story
The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to hold a series of hearings examining the Bush administration’s role in authorizing the illegal torture of prisoners in US custody at Guantanamo and elsewhere.We speak to British attorney and author, Philippe Sands, author of the new book Torture Team: Rumsfeld’s Memo and the Betrayal of American Values.On Tuesday, Sands testified before the House Judiciary Sub-Committee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties -Democracy Now
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Abuse Claims Mount Against Pentagon, Contractors
Story
As human rights groups demanded the release of a report on a long-running investigation of the role of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the unlawful interrogations of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, new torture claims were leveled at two U.S. military contractors by a former Abu Ghraib "ghost" detainee who was wrongly imprisoned and later released without charge -William Fisher/IPS
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Israelis Believe Another War Is Coming
Story
As Israel marks its 60th anniversary, Israelis are deeply pessimistic about the prospects of peace with their neighbours, with an overwhelming majority believing they will be at war again within the next five years.In the last decade, Israelis have seen the collapse of the Oslo peace accords, the eruption of the second Intifadah uprising, and have watched as unilateralism, which they supported overwhelmingly, imploded -Peter Hirschberg/IPS
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'Syrian-Israeli meeting fell through'
Story
A Turkish initiative to hold a meeting between Israeli and Syrian officials fell through after Damascus leaked to the press that Israel had agreed to relinquish all of the Golan Heights in exchange for peace, the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat reported Thursday.According to another report, the chances that such a meeting will be held in the near future are slim due to the US administration's stance on Damascus -Jerusalem Post IL
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Israel: From independence to intifada
Story
Amid the celebrations – from a Jewish astronaut sending greetings from space to Israel, to an attempt to set a world record for the number of people singing the national anthem, Hatikva – Israel approaches its 60th birthday with some ambivalence.More, perhaps, than it did its 50th – and more even that it expected to, a few weeks ago.It is a sobering thought that, 60 years after Ben Gurion signed the declaration, Israel remains a state without agreed or defined borders -Donald Macintyre/Independent UK
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Lebanon descends into chaos as rival leaders order general strike
Story
Lebanon seems to feed on crisis, need crisis, breathe crisis, like a wounded man needs blood.Indeed, the start of this latest drama might be traced to the murder of two Phalangist officials in the Bekaa town of Zahle a few weeks ago.The murderer has been named, is linked to the pro-Syrian opposition and is still at large.The darker side of all this, of course, involves Beirut airport -Robert Fisk/Independent UK
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Confrontation in Lebanon Appears to Escalate
Story
The decision by the Lebanese government to shut down a private telephone network operated by the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah was an act of war and Hezbollah would defend itself, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, said on Thursday.The comments were among Mr. Nasrallah’s strongest since the beginning of Lebanon’s months-long political crisis and may signal a new level of confrontation between Hezbollah and its supporters and the Western-backed government -Nada Bakri & Graham Bowley/NY Times
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North Korea hands over nuclear documents -U.S.
Story
North Korea has handed over thousands of pages of nuclear weapons documents to a U.S. diplomat visiting Pyongyang, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.The documents were handed over to the State Department's Korea expert, Sung Kim, who is on a visit to Pyongyang.They provide detailed logs of how much plutonium was produced, the official said.He said the United States would carefully go through the documents after Kim and his team left Pyongyang
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Lawmakers urge Bush to shelve Russia nuclear deal
Story
Key U.S. lawmakers urged President George W. Bush on Wednesday to shelve a civilian nuclear cooperation pact with Russia until concerns about Russia's nuclear ties to Iran are cleared up.Letters from members of the House of Representatives and the Senate expressed widespread unease on Capitol Hill about links between Moscow and Iran.In the Senate, a missive to Bush signed by 32 senators said Russia's "increasingly abrasive foreign policy" was one reason Bush should not send the civilian nuclear cooperation deal to Congress for review
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Russia expels U.S. military attachés
Story
Russia has ordered two American military attachés at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to leave the country following the expulsion of a pair of Russian diplomats from Washington, U.S officials said Thursday.The officials declined to discuss the reason for the expulsions, but noted that none of the military attachés involved had been declared "persona non grata" or was accused of specific wrongful conduct, such as espionage
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Argentine Farmers Block Grain Trucks, Withhold Crops to End Tax
Story
Argentine farmers began their second national strike in as many months by blocking grain exports and withholding crops to protest tax increases and price caps on domestic food.An eight-day strike was called yesterday after a collapse in talks with the government, and farmers began to stop trucks on highways across the country last night.The protests threaten to deepen a global food shortage and hurt South America's second-biggest economy -Matthew Craze & Eliana Raszewski/Bloomberg
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Probe of Israeli Prime Minister Centers on N.Y. Businessman
Story
While investigators are looking into allegations that Talansky served as a go-between, it is not believed that he himself provided funds.The Long Island businessman is party to a pending lawsuit in New York against Israel Aircraft Industry, which is partially owned by the Israeli government.Talansky was among several investors in an Israeli satellite-imagery company that was forced by the Israeli Defense Ministry to stop selling satellite images to the Venezuelan government -Forward
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LI MAN'S 9-YR. LINK TO OLMERT
Story
The Long Island financier at the center of a scandal that could topple Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert started raising money for the embattled politician nearly a decade ago.Morris Talansky, a millionaire entrepreneur from Woodmere, served as treasurer for the New Jerusalem Foundation, a charity Olmert founded in 1999 as mayor of the city.Talansky caught the eye of Israeli investigators some time ago, a source said, after they learned that his name and moniker, "The Laundry Man," appear in the logs of Olmert's financial dealings -Chuck Bennett/NY Post
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King David
Story
While commanding the 101st Airborne Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, David H. Petraeus famously mused to journalist Rick Atkinson, "Tell me how this ends." Asked Tuesday by The Washington Independent how he would answer that if one of his own division commanders posed it, Petraeus replied by phone from Baghdad's Camp Victory.But would that answer have satisfied Maj. Gen. Petraeus in 2003? -Spencer Ackerman/Washington Independent
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Oil Companies Agree to MTBE Settlement
Story
About a dozen of the nation's largest oil companies agreed to settle litigation with 153 public water providers in 17 states that sued over groundwater contaminated by the gasoline additive MTBE.Terms of the deal submitted for court approval Wednesday call for the companies to pay $423 million in cash plus clean-up costs that arise over the next 30 years.Settling defendants include BP America Inc., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Shell Oil Co., Marathon Oil Corp., Citgo Petroleum Corp., Sunoco Inc. and Valero Energy Corp.At least six companies declined to settle, the largest being ExxonMobil Corp -Heather Won Tesoriero/Wall Street Journal
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EPA might not act to limit rocket fuel in drinking water
Story
An EPA official said Tuesday there's a "distinct possibility" the agency won't take action to rid drinking water of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has contaminated public water supplies around the country.States and local communities would have to bear the expense of cleansing their drinking water of perchlorate, which has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states.The toxin interferes with thyroid function and poses developmental health risks, particularly to fetuses
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FBI seeking records of 2004 Condoleeza Rice ethics probe
Story
FBI agents investigating government watchdog Scott Bloch have subpoenaed any records that would reveal whether concerns about the 2004 elections prompted him to clear Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice of ethics violations.Bloch, the U.S. special counsel who investigates federal employee whistleblower complaints, found no merit to allegations that Rice, then President Bush's national security adviser, timed some of her trips to boost Bush's 2004 reelection campaign -Marisa Taylor/McClatchy Newspapers
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Bush Iraq Emails Not Recoverable
Story
A late-night court filing by the White House on Monday revealed that official administration emails about the run up to the invasion of Iraq and the initial occupation may never be recovered.Whistleblowers have accused the White House of destroying email records from their internal servers.The Bush administration disputes this accusation, claiming instead that many emails were stored incorrectly -Matt Renner/TruthOut
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Drowning in Dollars
Story
It is now conventional wisdom to say that the Pentagon budget is higher in “real” dollars than at any point since the end of World War II.What is not conventional wisdom - but should be - is that at today’s historic high level of spending, our military forces are smaller than they have ever been since the end of World War II; equipment is – on average – older than it ever has been before, and key elements of our most important fighting forces are not fully prepared for combat -Winslow T. Wheeler/CounterPunch
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Senate appropriators pitch $165 billion supplemental
Story
Senate appropriators on Thursday are planning to mark up a $165.4 billion supplemental spending bill that would cover war costs for the rest of this year and into 2009.While the Senate figure is $18.2 billion less than the total sum the House is planning to approve, it is still much more than the $108 billion the White House said it is willing to accept without a veto.The Senate will likely include domestic spending, but a summary of the mark up circulated Wednesday did not include such items -Roxana Tiron/The Hill
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