The latest to warn about a War III is former senator and one-time presidential aspirant Gary Hart, long an expert on national security issues, who says that targeting drones and special forces targeting specialists are already operating over and inside Iran, sizing up and locating as many as 400 targets for U.S. cruise missiles and bombers -
This is in anticipation of an aerial strike which my own research suggests could come as early as October -
Of course, this could all be bluster- - a Karl Rove-designed strategy to get the public all worked up they way they used to do with color-coded terror alerts until that strategy wore out its effectiveness through overuse. But the actual sending of Special Forces units into harm's way in Iran, and the preparation of Navy battle groups for deployment to the Iran Theater, make it more probable that an actual attack is in the offing. Word that regular military units are being prepared for third tours to the region, that the administration is changing the guidelines to make possible longer call-ups of National Guard units for longer and more frequent overseas tours of active duty, and that units in Iraq are being given stop-loss orders to delay their return home also suggest something major is brewing.
Otherwise logic would lead to the expectation that the administration would be announcing a reduction in troop levels in Iraq before Election Day.
Ordinarily one would say that the real sign of an imminent attack would be a convening of Congress to consider a use of force authorization, or perhaps an attempt in the United Nations to win endorsement for an attack from the UN Security Council, but clearly this is not happening. And for good reason.
Who has trashed the Constitution to the point that it is now little more than a historical artifact, doesn't think the needs approval from the UN or even from the Congress to embark - on the dangerous, bloody and immoral war yet.
According to this confirmed White House has the power as "commander in chief in time of war" to act in violation of both Constitution and law, as the sees fit -
The "war" in question is the so-called "War on Terror." The title Commander in Chief derives from the wording of Article II of the Constitution, in which the Founding Fathers said that a president would simultaneously be the top general of the military.
With the backing of his Alberto Gonzales, the head of what used to be known quaintly as the Justice Department, that when Congress, in the wake of the 9-11 attacks in 2001, voted an Authorization for the Use of Military Force against Al Qaeda- -it was also giving him the power to act as Commander-in-Chief in a war on terror that would have no end and that would extend anywhere and everywhere in the world and within the borders of the U.S.
In other words, that the October 2001 Congressional AUMF effectively made him a general, for as long as there were terrorists foreign or domestic trying to harm - Americans or American interests -
We need only note how Bush, in his address at the UN General Assembly last week, was describe the leaders of Iran as "supporters of terror."
It meant he is asserting his right to attack them as part of that "war" on terror, based upon the 2001 AUMF -
WAR SIGNALS? Courtesy of The Nation -
As reports circulate of a sharp debate within the White House over possible US military action against Iran and its nuclear enrichment facilities -
The Nation has learned that the Bush Administration and the Pentagon have issued orders for a major "strike group" of ships, including the nuclear aircraft carrier Eisenhower as well as a cruiser, destroyer, frigate, submarine escort and supply ship, to head for the Persian Gulf, just off Iran's western coast.
This information follows a report in the current issue of Time magazine, both online and in print, that a group of ships capable of mining harbors has received orders to be ready to sail for the Persian Gulf by October 1.
As Time writes in its cover story, "What Would War Look Like?," evidence of the forward deployment of minesweepers and word that the chief of naval operations had asked for a reworking of old plans for mining Iranian harbors "suggest that a much discussed- -but until now largely theoretical- -prospect has become real: that the U.S. may be preparing for war with Iran."
According to Lieut. Mike Kafka, a spokesman at the headquarters of the Second Fleet, based in Norfolk, Virginia, the Eisenhower Strike Group, bristling with Tomahawk cruise missiles, has received recent orders to depart the United States in a little over a week.
Other official sources in the public affairs office of the Navy Department at the Pentagon confirm that this powerful armada is scheduled to arrive off the coast of Iran on or around October 21. -
Expert: Tactical nukes needed to blast Iranian defenses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RYAN NADEL , THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 19, 2006
Tactical nuclear weapons would be required to penetrate the defenses Iran has constructed around its nuclear facilities, according to Col. (res.) Shlomo Mofaz, an international consultant on terrorism and intelligence and a research fellow at the Institute of Counterterrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
Mofaz argued that any preemptive action - not necessarily launched by Israel - against Iran's nuclear facilities would need to employ tactical nuclear weapons.
"The Iranians have invested a lot of money to hide their weapons and infrastructure underground. The most sensitive items are below the surface," he said.
"American experts have said they are not sure that conventional weapons would be able to infiltrate these sites," he said. "Based on information from public sources, any attack should use tactical nuclear weapons."
As reported in Time magazine on Monday, a recent Pentagon report outlining US military options to the Iranian threat mentions the difficulty of locating all targets. It also states that Iran's reinforced facilities constitute a strategic challenge to any military action. The report suggests that repeated air strikes using laser and satellite guided missiles would be necessary.
Mofaz added that the Iranians have studied US and Israeli techniques for destroying infrastructure and weapons stores, and therefore have built these bunkers as a response.
As the UN Security Council begins the process of bringing potential sanctions against Iran to a vote, Mofaz stressed that the Iranian strategy in relation to the UN was one of foot-dragging, an attempt to buy time while the nuclear drive advances.
"The Iranian administration is gaining more time to push forward to finish its program," said Mofaz, adding that the sanction moves had come too late.
According to Mofaz, there are two essential aspects to an Israeli response to the threat from Iran: The need to deploy the Arrow antimissile system - which would be effective only if Teheran were to employ a small number of missiles, but not against larger volleys - and to develop a second-strike capability.
"Second-strike capabilities are based on the assumption that Israel has nuclear weapons," he noted, "something which has not been confirmed by the Israeli government."
Regarding a preemptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, Mofaz said that according to the principles of the IDF, as first set out by David Ben-Gurion, "Israel must have full capability to defend itself; there must be a program and plan to deal with the Iranian threat... The IDF needs to have the capability to eliminate this threat."
Mofaz warned, however, that both the appropriate timing for such a strike and whether the IDF was capable of destroying Iran's nuclear program were unknown.
"The difficulty of such a strike stems from the possibility that there are many unidentified nuclear development sites and the limited usefulness of conventional air strikes against nuclear facilities," he said.
Look for the aircraft carriers info - going to the Gulf? -
Crude Oil in a long Term Bull market - going to LY $100 ++ soon -
German warships head for Lebanon -
German sailors during a farewell ceremony in Wilhelmshaven -
The German contingent will be the second-largest in the UN mission Eight German warships have left for the eastern Mediterranean, where they will join the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon -
UN peacekeeping engineers from China work in the port in the southern Lebanese city of Naqoura - 17/8/06
China sent 180 engineers to Lebanon before the recent fighting China will increase its peacekeeping presence in Lebanon to 1,000 troops, Premier Wen Jiabao has confirmed.
China want to play now - missiles to Iran - and Iran to continue to feed - the militant Hezbollah movement etc.? -
Only time will tell if American - nuclear bunker-buster bombs - can put an end to this damn madness. ???
Creation, as does Gula and her dog Fido, can only sit and wait. (40111) by Glen Kealey
Kissinger warns of possible "war of civilizations" Wed Sep 13, 11:54 AM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger warned that Europe and the United States must unite to head off a "war of civilizations" arising from a nuclear-armed Middle Eas
In an opinion column in the Washington Post, the renowned foreign policy expert said the potential for a "global catastrophe" dwarfed lingering transatlantic mistrust left over from the Iraq war.
"A common Atlantic policy backed by moderate Arab states must become a top priority, no matter how pessimistic previous experience with such projects leaves one," Kissinger wrote.
"The debate sparked by the Iraq war over American rashness vs. European escapism is dwarfed by what the world now faces.
"Both sides of the Atlantic should put their best minds together on how to deal with the common danger of a wider war merging into a war of civilizations against the background of a nuclear-armed Middle East."
Kissinger wrote that the big threat lay in the erosion of nation states and the emergence of transnational groups. Iran was at the centre of the challenge, he said, with its support for Hezbollah, radical Shiite groups in Iraq and its nuclear program.
Washington must accept that many European nations were more optimistic about talks designed to convince Iran to halt uranium enrichment -- a process Tehran denies is aimed at making weapons, he wrote.
But in return, he said, Europe should accept the process must include a "bottom line" beyond which diplomatic flexibility must not go and a time limit to ensure talks did not become a shield for "developing new assaults."
Europe reflexions -
In the article, Kissinger, national security adviser for former president Richard Nixon, and secretary of state for Nixon and his successor Gerald Ford, warned the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah was still dangerous, after its month-long conflict with Israel.
"Hezbollah's next move is likely to be an attempt to dominate the Beirut government by intimidation and, using the prestige gained in the war, manipulating democratic procedures," he said.
He concluded by noting that observers wondered whether, after the Cold War, trans-Atlantic ties could survive the loss of a common enemy.
"We now know that we face the imperative of building - a new world order or potential global catastrophe.
It cannot be done alone by either side of the Atlantic. Is that realization sufficient to regenerate a common purpose?"
Its plenty of FMNJ Cerro Rico - rich Silver area ore and the Silver Ag - is a Strategic war metal -
RE: Ok its the smelter, pic taken -
many huge pile of tailings - some on the left and another on the right side and one in the middle -
Americano thanks - its plenty of rich area ore and the Silver Ag - is a Strategic war metal -
from another board -
FMNJ - will Go to Moon Soon - only need a final shakeout of the weak? - before the storm -
A recovery in crude oil futures enabled Gold and Silver - futures to bounce back from early losses Monday, traders and analysts said -
December Gold settled with a gain of 50 cents to $595.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange after initially trading as low as $587.50.
December Silver added 1.5 cents to $11.325 after a low of $11.13 -
As Comex Gold was closing, the Chicago Board of Trade's full-sized December Gold futures were up 40 cents to $595.70, while full-sized
December Silver was up 8.1 cents to 11.322 -
Early in the day, several traders blamed weakness in gold and silver on the soft tone in crude oil at the time, plus strength in the U.S. dollar.
"The energy sector has taken a lot of the inflation fears out of the market," said Mike Zarembski, futures analyst with XPRESSTRADE. "Oil was below $60 earlier in the session and took the metals (down) with it."
He also blamed some of the metals' early weakness on a stronger dollar.
However, after trading to a 10-month low of $59.52 a barrel overnight, November crude oil had snapped back to $62 as Comex gold was closing, which was a gain for the day of $1.45.
"Some of the strength in the copper, gold and silver is all related to the turnaround here in the oil markets," said Jim Quinn, commodity floor analyst with A.G. Edwards.
"The dollar is still a little bit firmer. But for the most part, what we've been doing in here (with metals) has been oil sensitive."
Energy-market analysts said crude oil snapped back on technically driven buying and bullishly construed comments from OPEC President Edmund Daukoru, who said he and other oil ministers from the cartel were "conferring" about the slump in oil prices over the last six weeks.
"In the case of silver, we were able to work back above the 200-day moving average," said Quinn. "So technically, we got a little buying in the silver."
The 200-day average for the December silver futures stands at $11.215.
Meanwhile, the Platinum Group Metals - which close earlier than gold and silver - finished lower for the day, although they did pare their losses at least some as the other metals had begun their rebound.
"We had some selling in the October platinum on an outright basis," said a floor trader. Furthermore, with first-notice day for the October futures approaching at month-end, much of the activity was a rolling, with selling of October and buying January on a spread basis.
October platinum finished down $14.90 to $1,133.20 an ounce, while January fell $13.40 to $1,144.20.
Meanwhile, December palladium settled $4.45 lower at $317.20 an ounce.
"In palladium, it looks like we're going to be range-bound for a while here," said the floor trader, commenting that support has emerged a couple of dollars $315 and a little below. The December futures bottomed at $313.25 Monday.
"We did have light commission-house buying in the palladium," said the floor trader. "There was also a little bit of fund liquidation going on."
Settlements (open-outcry trading only): London PM Gold Fix: $584.75 versus $589 Friday U.S. spot gold at 1:52 p.m. ET: $590.10, up $1.80 from previous day; Range: $582.20-$591.30 December Gold (RGCZ06) $595.90, up 50 cents; Range $587.50-$597 December Silver (RSIZ06) $11.325, up 1.5 cents; Range $11.13-$11.37 October platinum (RPLV06) $1,133.20, down $14.90; Range $1,124-$1,144 December palladium (RPAZ06) $317.20, down $4.45; Range $313.25-$318
Well everyone should be rewarded for efforts - especially the miners from Bolivia who will - be very glad to work for all of the family - to a more fair wages -
Franklin Mining Announces Pulacayo Tailings Program -
LAS VEGAS, NV--(MARKET WIRE)--Sep 12, 2006 --
Franklin Mining, Inc.
(Other OTC:FMNJ.PK - News) announces program - for funding their mining operations.
The Pulacayo operation is purely tailings (Tailings are produced when metallic ores are ground into fine powder to free the metal-bearing mineral.).
The investment for Pulacayo tailings is $1.5 million.
Franklin Mining and Kempf Mining will share - the partnership as: Franklin - 51%, Kempf - 27% and Peruvian group - 12%.
COMIBOL will be paid 0 to 15 $US/ton of tailings.
Franklin Mining will lease the first mining plant - from Eco Mining, Inc. of Bolivia.
It should be operational in October and will produce - up to $200,000 to Franklin Mining per month - with an increase of up to 10 plants by January 2007.
The processing will produce 4,000 tons per day.
The existing tailings and metal grades consist of 4,000,000 tons of tailings.
The total weight of Silver is equal to 248 kg and 7,973,507 Troy ounce silver ingots.
There will be 400 tons a day, 2nd phase for 1,600 tons a day, 3rd phase 4,000 tons per day.
There is a total of seven million ounces of Silver - 121 proven ounces of Gold -
Franklin Mining announces the first tailings processing plant will be operational in October and will be - producing 400 tons per day.
There will be $200,000 to Franklin Mining - after startup of the plant per month.
The engineers have reported 4,000,000 million tons of tailings of Silver -
There is also 1 gr/ton of gold that equals - 128.605 Troy ounces of Gold ingots -
DISCLOSURES:
About Franklin Mining, Inc:
Franklin Mining currently has interests in Bolivia and the United States and opened a wholly owned subsidiary in Bolivia. Franklin Mining, Inc Bolivian subsidiaries include - Franklin Mining, Bolivia - and Franklin Oil & Gas, Bolivia.
The Cerro Rico Mine - is considered by many to be the richest Silver Mine - in the world.
Rich in Zinc and Silver - it has been actively mined since the 1500's and is in operation today -
Cerro Rico is owned by Bolivia's national mining company, COMIBOL.
About COMIBOL:
COMIBOL is the government owned mining company - in Bolivia.
COMIBOL owns the CERRO RICO Mines - as well as many other properties - and mineral rights in Bolivia.
"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: ----These risks could cause Franklin Mining Inc.'s actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, Franklin Mining Inc.
Contact:
Contact: Franklin Mining, Inc. Andrew Austin 1-702-386-5379
Source: Franklin Mining, Inc.
winifred, great move - catch it before it fly away -
Silver will always be part of "The Real Gold & Silver Money" - Some defend a fraud system with that, "its far too small a market for large, modern economies" -
Well, its only to put a higher fair value on the Silver money - it used to be worth $800/oz 500 years ago -
take the inflasion into the picture and Silver maybe worth - a fair market value $80,000/oz sooner or later? -
Silver will do far better than any fiat fraud paper asset - it will serve better as a "personal holding" and as the major Real Money when its valued to its fair market value -
If it is of your way to balance wealth, then Silver will show the LT Real value -
Metals have not shown their true worth for many years as the world has done very well with manipulations of fiat fraud paper money schemes -
This is very good some say - outside of ex. FMNJ Potosi -
But, all things do change! -
As it is our time and place to live this change - our thoughts must view the future as it must be! -
Who can know the minds of men and countries - as the 666 fiat paper burns? -
In our present system - all fiat currencies are backed by the US$ -
as long as the US$ is on an "oil standard" of backing - no other country can change -
the BIS would destroy their economy in a second of storm -
Many think that a country may sell or cut it's CB/US debt backing at will! -
They cannot? - they will not! - Oil will not accept another system? - as long as the Oil/Gold bond works? -
the world currency system is somewhat in a counterfeited owg order? -
If a crisis erupts and Gold breaks the bond with oil - then a change must take place! -
We will no doubt see a mass run of CBs into Gold - at ANY price! - this we know! - as for now - each person must protect your worth -
as the nation/state is locked from change? - You still may have a little bit of some time -
FMNJ - need an 'every day Update' on the - Silver Companies > Market cap's (updated?) -
Unless the United States gets all of its economic house in order ? -
Gold will become the basic real money again - (which Gold has been for 1000's of years) and national currencies will only be money - if backed by - Gold.
With the exception only of the periods of -
- The Great Gold Standard -
practically all governments of history -
have used their exclusive power to issue fiat money -
to defraud with totalitarian bureaucratic powers - rob, plunder and to make slaves - of most the people -