Stephen Lendman

Almost immediately after a bus full of Israeli tourists exploded
outside of the airport in Burgas, Bulgaria, both Israel and the
United States began hurling accusations that Iran was behind
the violence. They also immediately claimed a suicide bomber
had done it. They have offered no proof of this. A remotely-
controlled bomb is just as likely. This would have been all in
a day's work for Israel's Mossad.

Israel's history is odious. State terror is policy. It's a dagger pointed at humanity's heart. False flags and targeted assassinations are specialties. Mossad and Shin Bet (Israel's Security Agency) have notorious terrorist histories. Bet on either organization's dirty hands behind the latest Bulgaria attack. Fingers point the wrong way. Israel blames Iran for its own crimes.

Unindicted war criminal Netanyahu said "Israel will respond forcefully to Iranian terror." At issue is a Bulgarian Sarafovo airport bomb attack. It's located in Burgas. It's a popular Black Sea resort destination. Israeli tourists and others were killed.

On July 19, Reuters headlined "Bulgaria says suicide bomber blew up airport bus," saying:

A bus carrying Israeli tourists and others was attacked. Eight deaths were reported. Around 30 others were injured. According to Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov:

established a person who was a suicide bomber in this attack. This person had a fake driving license from the United States."

It wasn't coincidental that the attack came on the anniversary of the 1994 AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) Buenos Aires bombing. It killed 85 and injured hundreds. Argentina has Latin America's largest Jewish population. It numbers around 200,000. Israel falsely blamed Iran.

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Jonathon Blakeley

Introduction by Gilad Atzmon: Time is ripe to look into NGOs (non-governmental organizations), what they are and who stand behind them. In the following Deliberation piece, Jonathon Blakeley explores recent shift in Russian attitude towards NGOs. I may as well confess that in the last few weeks I have been looking into Palestinian NGOs and their funders. My findings are pretty worrying...

In a wonderfully chess-like move, the Russian Parliament skillfully moved to block attempts to de-stablize Russia by using NGOs to encourage dissent. AlJazeera reported today that a new law had been passed with only one vote against and one abstention. The law would limit the operation of NGOs in Russia. Specifically foreign-funded NGOs would have to declare that they are foreign agents on all their publicity materials.

But what are NGOs exactly?

No one describes the NGOs better than Phyllis Schlafly who has watched them for decades: “The NGOs are energetic lobbyists for dramatic changes in the mission and structure of the UN to achieve global governance. Most NGOs are also members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which originated many of the global environmental polices set forth in the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on Climate Change, and Agenda 21. The most prominent NGOs are the radical environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the feminist and population-control groups such as Planned Parenthood.”

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Stephen Lendman

Photo: Riverdale, Ill. has run operational deficits for a number of consecutive years, driven primarily by a reduction in the amount the village relies on debt financing. “The village funded itself by borrowing money from its sewer and water funds, and now carries an operating fund balance of -52.1 percent of revenues.” The city, like many others on this list, is extremely small, with a population of just over 14,000. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

In past decades, many US municipalities declared bankruptcy. Since 1981, 42 cases were filed. Ten came in the past four years. Given hard times getting harder, what's happening now is unprecedented since the Great Depression. Cities occasionally declare bankruptcy. In America, they're coming more often. Others in dire financial straits may follow.

San Bernardino, CA is the latest. On July 11, The New York Times headlined "Third City In California Votes to Seek Bankruptcy," saying:

Officials have no choice. They can't meet payroll obligations through summer. "Faced with a budget shortfall of $45 million and city coffers that have already been drained, the San Bernardino City Council voted on Tuesday to file for bankruptcy."

Interim city manager Andrea Travis-Miller said:

"I am concerned about our ability to make payroll, not only in the next 30 days but also in the next 60 to 90 days. A major restructuring of this organization is needed."

California cities have two Chapter 9 bankruptcy options. They can either hire a third-party mediator to negotiate with unions and creditors or declare a fiscal emergency. San Bernardino chose the latter way. Depression conditions ravage the city. Many others face similar problems. Stockton and Mammoth Lakes declared bankruptcy earlier. Other financially strapped cities and towns around the state and country may follow. It's hard keeping up with many troubled municipalities, counties, school systems, and other public services potentially facing bankruptcy.

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