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Focus

Through original investigations and analysis, everyday the Focus section highlights a trend in international events.

It’s all in the family!
The Wall Street White House

4 July 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | Robert Hormats, Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs, is to be installed as Under Secretary of Economics, Business, and Agricultural Affairs. This comes as one more, probably unnecessary reminder of the total control exercised by Wall Street over the Obama administration’s economic and financial policy. Hormats is “a talker rather than a decider” according to one former White House official, but he will find plenty of old friends used to making decisions, almost all of them uniformly disastrous for the U.S. and global economy.

Obama’s Real Message to Latin America?
The Coup in Honduras

By Nikolas Kozloff | 29 June 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | On July 28, troops in Honduras ousted President Manuel Zelaya and flew him out of the country. Praised by the traditional left for his economic policies and social reforms, Zelaya’s alliance with Hugo Chavez and growing relationship with the ALBA countries were sharply rebuked by the more conservative sectors which also disapproved of his periodic attacks on the United States. From Costa Rica, Zelaya declared: "This was a plot by a very voracious elite, which wants to keep this country in an extreme level of poverty!". However, it seems improbable that the Honduran elite would have toppled the democratically-elected president without Washington’s prior consent and support, despite assurances to the contrary.

The grassroots takeover technique
« Color revolution » fails in Iran

By Thierry Meyssan | Beirut (Lebanon) | 27 June 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | Tehran’s « green revolution » is the latest version of the « color revolutions » which have allowed the United States to impose subservient governments in several countries without needing to use force. Thierry Meyssan, who advised two governments facing this type of crisis, analyses this method and the reasons for its failure in Iran.

Kurt Sonnenfeld : Exclusive interview
9/11 FEMA videographer at Ground Zero goes public

Buenos Aires (Argentine) | 22 June 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | As official videographer for the U.S. government, Kurt Sonnenfeld was detailed to Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, where he spent one month filming 29 tapes: "What I saw at certain moments and in certain places ... is very disturbing!" He never handed them over to the authorities and has been persecuted ever since. Kurt Sonnenfeld lives in exile in Argentina, where he wrote "El Perseguido" (the persecuted). His recently-published book tells the story of his unending nightmare and drives another nail into the coffin of the government’s account of the 9/11 events. Below is an exclusive interview by The Voltaire Network.

Class struggle and imperial propaganda
Iranian Elections: The ‘Stolen Elections’ Hoax

By James Petras | New York (United States) | 19 June 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | In line with the forecasts by western opinion leaders and reporters based in Tehran, the outcome of the Iranian presidential election leaves no room for doubt: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won by a landslide victory. This is hardly surprising, observes Professor James Petras, since people voted according to class interests : the incumbent national-populist candidate drew his support from the far more numerous lower classes while the pro-western elite voted for the liberal candidate, boosted by the western media. A similar electoral scenario has already been witnessed in other countries.

From Mossadegh to Ahmadinejad
The CIA and the Iranian experiment

By Thierry Meyssan | Beirut (Lebanon) | 19 June 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | The news of alleged election fraud has spread through Tehran like wildfire, pitching ayatollah Rafsanjani’s supporters against ayatollah Khamenei’s in street confrontations. This chaotic situation is secretly stirred by the CIA which has been spreading confusion by flooding Iranians with contradicting SMS messages. Thierry Meyssan recounts this psychological warfare experiment.

A conspiracy theory? Think again! (VIDEO)
CIA and Pentagon Deploy RFID “Death Chips.” Coming Soon to a Product Near You!

16 June 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | First it was cattle. Then it was pets. Then Mexicans. Now the tribal areas of Pakistan where the CIA is equipping Pakistani tribesmen with secret transmitters to call in airstrikes targeting al-Qaida and Taliban militants. A drone, guided by the signal from the chip, destroys the building with a salvo of missiles scattering body parts everywhere. Will Americans and the rest of the "free world" be next? Long perceived as a crazy conspiracy theory, radio-frequency identification chips (RFID) have surreptitiously penetrated every aspect of society and may soon literally get under our skin for full-spectrum control. Back to Orwell ... "The future is now" as Burghardt admonishes!

Blurring the lines
Pentagon Cyber Command seen as threat to civil liberties

15 June 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | The Pentagon’s development of a "cyber-command" is prompting questions about its role in the larger national strategy to protect government and private-sector computer networks and whether privacy can be protected. How Cyber Command’s launch would effect civilian computer networks is still unclear. However, situating the new agency at Ft. Meade, under the watchful eyes of National Security Agency snoops, should set alarm bells ringing.

In the name of "Free Trade"
Peru: Blood Flows in the Amazon

By James Petras | New York (United States) | 13 June 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | Recent free trade agreements signed with the American and Canadian governments fueled the Peruvian government to go ahead with changes to domestic laws that would seek to advance mineral, logging, oil and agricultural ‘development’ into previously untouched areas of the Amazon. In early June, President Alan García, an ally of US President Barack Obama, ordered armored personnel carriers, helicopter gun-ships and hundreds of heavily armed troops to assault and disperse a peaceful, legal protest organized by members of Peru’s Amazonian indigenous communities protesting the entry of foreign multinational mining companies on their traditional homelands.

Reality versus Rhetoric
US-Latin American Relations in a Time of Rising Militarism, Protectionism and Pillage

By James Petras | 9 June 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | One of the most striking aspects of contemporary US-Latin American relations is the profound divergence between the hopes, expectations and positive image of the Obama regime and the policies, strategies and practices which are being pursued. Many so-called progressive North American commentators and not a few Latin American writers have ignored the most elementary features of US foreign policy, and focused exclusively on the highly deceptive rhetoric of “change” and “new beginnings.” A serious understanding of US foreign policy toward Latin America requires a discussion of the main objectives of the Obama regime, the global priorities of imperial policy in times of multiple wars and world depression.

Ulterior motives?
Sarkozy’s Secret Plan for Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccination

By F. William Engdahl | 8 June 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | The French Government is developing secret plans to impose mandatory vaccination of the entire French population, allegedly against possible Swine Flu disease according to reports leaked in a French newspaper. The plan is without precedent and even defies recommended public health advice. Pharmaceutical giants benefit from the move, as the Swine Flu increases the trend to militarization of public health and use of needless population panic to advance the agenda.

Video
The Bilderberg Plan for 2009: Remaking the Global Political Economy

By Andrew G. Marshall | 7 June 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | The Bilderberg Group conference is the most important meeting in the world, attended each year since 1954 by the world’s most powerful individuals. They meet behind closed doors and their decisions affect every human being on earth, now and in the future. The step-by-step crafting of a supranational world government has been on their agenda for decades. This year they gathered in Greece from May 14-17, where they focused on the economic crisis and the threat of a disease pandemic as a means of justifying centralization of power, involving plans for a global department of health, a global treasury and a shortened depression rather than a longer economic downturn, the probable collapse of the dollar and population reduction. However, their zeal to reshape the world could cause the situation to eventually spin out of their (...)

A matter of definition!
Americans Are Now More Closely Aligned With Progressive Ideas Than at Any Time in Memory

4 June 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | The media still calls America a “center-right” nation, but “center-left” is closer to the truth. On issues ranging from health care to energy, the public is more progressive than people think. Demographic groups from youth to Hispanics are voting farther left and in larger numbers than ever before. The new report the Campaign for America’s Future is publishing with Media Matters for America— "America: A Center-Left Nation" —documents the trends and challenges the mainstream media to recognize reality. It remains to be seen to what extent they can rely on Barack Obama to fulfill their aspirations.

June 7 Parliamentary Election
Lebanon: Mideast Tipping Point

31 May 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | The many countries who feel that Lebanon is their playground are behaving with particular irresponsibility at this moment of historic importance for the Lebanese. It would come as no surprise if some of these countries were actually planning to start a war, should their favored factions fail to emerge victorious in the June 7 election, but even if this is not the case, the aggressive interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs by so many rich and powerful outsiders risks yet another disaster for the long-mistreated Lebanese.

Killing fields?
US Doctors’ association calls for Moratorium on GMO Foods

By F. William Engdahl | 23 May 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | In a just-released position paper on GMO foods, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) states that ‘GM foods pose a serious health risk’ and calls for a moratorium on GMO foods. Citing several animal studies, the AAEM concludes ‘there is more than a casual association between GMO foods and adverse health effects’ and that ‘GM foods pose a serious health risk in the areas of toxicology, allergy and immune function, reproductive health, and metabolic, physiologic and genetic health.’ The report is a devastating blow to the multibillion dollar international agribusiness industry, most especially to Monsanto Corporation, the world’s leading purveyor of GMO seeds and related herbicides.

41 U.S. Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Agency Veterans Challenge the Official Account of 9/11

By Alan Miller | 19 May 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | Following in the footsteps of well over 1,000 scientists and other professional groups who have already gone on record questioning the official theory, more than 40 U.S. Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Agency veterans have come forward to challenge the Government’s rendition of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Their behind-the-scenes knowledge and experience of sensitive and classified issues places them in a uniquely authoritative position. In this sense, their critical stance is all the more damning for the government. Conspicuously absent from the landscape are the mainstream media professionals, as they continue to provide cover for the government’s totally bankrupt theory and fail to report on landmark developments such as this.

America’s dark side
Obama’s Animal Farm: Bigger, Bloodier Wars Equal Peace and Justice

By James Petras | New York (United States) | 17 May 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | Not considered ruthless enough for the job, Gen. David D. McKiernan, was forced out on Monday and replaced by Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the new commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan. An Army rising star, McChrystal had been running the most secretive force in the U.S. military: the Joint Special Operations Command, the tough, slit-their-throats "black ops" guys who captured Saddam Hussein and terrorized civilians. JSOC is part of what Dick Cheney alluded to when he said that America would have to "work the dark side" after 9/11. The appointment of Bush’s most brutal commander reveals Obama’s commitment to an unrestrained escalation of the war in Afghanistan, in keeping with his military-driven imperialistic agenda.

Everything You Need to Know About Oil, Gas, Russia, China, Iran, Afghanistan and Obama
Pipelineistan goes Af-Pak

14 May 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | Nothing of significance takes place in Eurasia without an energy angle. In this insightful analysis, global reporter Pepe Escobar focuses on the ongoing energy struggle across "Pipelineistan" and the Great Game of business, diplomacy and proxy war between Russia and the U.S. He delves into tumultuous Central and South Asia and the "AfPak" battleground. There, U.S. planes and unmanned aerial drones are killing combatants as well as civilians, while, in Afghanistan, Washington continues to build new military bases. Under the carnage of war, courses the Liquid War. Just how the energy flows and through which territories controlled by whom can make - quite literally - a world of difference, even though it rarely captures our attention.

US: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who’s the Greatest Threat of All?

By Jim Lobe | 12 May 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | Two major events over the past week in Washington - the AIPAC conference and the visit of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari - crystallized the tug of war which is underway for predominance over the Obama Administration’s foreign policy agenda. Simply put, the "bash-Iran" faction is rivalling against the "bash-AfPak" faction ... but, either way, bashing is the name of the game! Judging from the months-long, unrelenting and indiscriminate strikes against the Afghanistan/Pakistan border region, it is not difficult to guess which of the two contenders has gained the upper hand, at least for the time being. Could it be a signal that the power of the Israel Lobby is beginning to ebb?

Pirates, Smoke and Mirrors!
The Crisis in Somalia: US-NATO Plans to Control the Indian Ocean

By Rick Rozoff | 6 May 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | Located in the strategically crucial Horn of Africa on the eastern edge of the continent - adjacent to the Red Sea, Suez Canal and key commercial waterways, Somalia has consistently been at the center of U.S. geopolitical interests in the region since the Cold War years. Presidents have come and gone and client states expediently reshuffled, but the longterm strategy has remained steadfast. Against this backdrop, piracy - whether genuine or manipulated - emerges as a convenient smokescreen to divert attention from the central issue: military control by the United States and NATO of the entire Indian Ocean to insure global energy dominance.

Chaos by design?
Crisis as a way to build a global totalitarian state

By Olga Chetverikova | 4 May 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | As the world teeters on the brink of financial disaster, leaders are calling for a new world order. As early as the late 1990s, David Rockefeller, author of the idea of private power that is due to replace the governments, said that the world was on the threshold of global changes. He invoked the need of "some large-scale crisis that will make people accept the new world order..." Is the current crisis being used as a mechanism to stoke civil fear and unrest, inducing people to succumb to a system of transnational private power? Olga Chetverikova believes we are in the final stage of that long-time planned ’global control’ agenda.

Shifting sands in the international balance of power
Meeting with Thierry Meyssan

By Thierry Meyssan | 1 May 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | From his refuge in Lebanon, Thierry Meyssan gave Égalité et Réconciliation a long interview in which he presented a blow-by-blow analysis of the new U.S. Administration. According to him, following the Bush-Cheney interlude of the Iraq war, Washington has reverted to the post-9/11 consensus and to the contradictions prevailing during the 2001-02 period. However, the military debilitation in Iraq plus the Wall Street crisis are compelling the Empire to reconsider its strategies and timetable for attaining its global geopolitical goals.

The Mad Men did well
Obama’s 100 days

By John Pilger | 30 April 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | In his latest column, John Pilger describes the power of advertising - from the effects of smoking to politics - as he reaches behind the facade of President Barack Obama’s first 100 days. Obama was catapulted to victory on the wave of his sleekly packaged "yes, we can" campaign and "change you can believe in" promises. Yet he also said things that most people were not paying attention to. If Obama had a theme at all, it was the rehabilitation of America as a dominant military power and avaricious bully. “We will be the most powerful,” he often declared.

Video of (prophetic) interview with Historian Webster Tarpley
The Men Behind Obama

By Webster G. Tarpley | 30 April 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | Re-posted in view of unfolding developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In this interview, conducted by Deep Journal before the 4 November elections, Webster Tarpley expounds on the topic of his recently published books "Obama, The Postmodern Coup,The Making of a Manchurian Candidate" and "Barack Obama: The Unauthorized Biography". Does Obama represent a real change or is it the same old imperialism with cosmetic surgery?

Privatization of brutality (Video)
US Cities Increasing Use of Armed Mercenaries to Replace Police

By Jeremy Scahill | 26 April 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | From Iraq to the streets of American cities, the deployment of private security forces - including Israeli commandos - to take the place of police officers has spiked significantly and is raising grave concerns. Few areas have seen as dramatic a transformation to privatized services as the world of intelligence and domestic law enforcement. This is an ominous, accelerating trend which thrives on US tax-payer money and prospers in a legal limbo devoid of clear regulatory criteria or accountability mechanisms, leaving the door open for serious abuses. In the words of former CIA division chief and senior analyst Melvin Goodman: "the entire industry is essentially out of control; it’s dangerous!".

Fear of the truth
Durban II: Alethophobic Boogaloo

23 April 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s opening speech at the 2009 United Nations World Conference Against Racism, dubbed Durban II, addressed numerous inconvenient and uncomfortable truths regarding both the UN Security Council and the history of the State of Israel. Predictably, in response to the public airing of such truths, Ahmadinejad was immediately met with sharp and revealing opposition and self-righteous indignation by the representatives of many European countries - echoed, if not led, by the US and Israeli governments - and has been lambasted and demonized in the Western media.

Cuba still out in the cold
Mixed Feelings About Obama’s First Meeting with Hemispheric Leaders

22 April 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | Of all the memorable statements coming out of the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad (April 17 - 19, 2009), the one that stood out the most was President Barack Obama’s public expression of how he intended to approach his first major meeting with his hemispheric counterparts: "I have a lot to learn and I’m very much looking forward to listening," the president said in his opening address. Obama is making the right noises, but will he walk the talk?

International Conference Against Racism
Behind the U.S. gov’t boycott

By Sara Flounders, Monica Moorehead | 19 April 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | The decision by the Obama administration to boycott the Durban Review Conference Against Racism has raised a torrent of petitions, protests and criticism. An actual boycott of the upcoming April 20-24 meeting would be the first time that the United States has refused to participate in a United Nations conference. This has come as a shock to many who expected a fundamentally different attitude toward an international conference on racism from the Obama administration.

Lecture by Prof. David Ray Griffin
9/11: Time for a Second Look

By David Ray Griffin | Brussels (Belgium) | 18 April 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | Professor David Ray Griffin, renowned author of a series of series of eye-opening books that recount his painstaking research into the attacks of September 11, 2001, is on a tour of several major European cities. On the strength of mounting scientific evidence exposing the fabrication of the official account, it is indeed time for a second look at 9/11 and for people throughout the world to support the scientific experts and professional leaders who are calling for a new independent investigation, all the more since 9/11 and the so-called "war on terror" continue to be part of the Obama administration’s rhetoric and to serve as the rationale underpinning the ongoing military offensives abroad and the erosion of civil liberties at home.

Russia in the crosshairs
Turkey, Washington’s geopolitical pivot

By F. William Engdahl | 17 April 2009 | Voltaire, édition internationale | President Barack Obama’s stop in Turkey was hardly an afterthought, a "while I’m in the neighborhood" visit and it was far more momentous than the president’s speech would suggest. For Washington, Turkey today has become a geopolitical “pivot state” which is in the position to tilt the Eurasian power equation towards Washington or significantly away from it, depending on how Turkey develops its ties with Moscow and its role regarding key energy pipelines.

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Focus

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The Oligarchy Changes the Guard: Barack Obama

The Oligarchy Changes the Guard: Barack Obama

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September 11th, 2001

September 11th, 2001

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