“A wide range of Emergency Care Drugs used by first responders and hospitals are now reported to be in shortfall. Although specific drug shortfalls may be commonplace, there are at least 12 essential emergency medications in now in shortfall for an extended period. Many of these drugs are manufactured by multiple companies. Is it a breakdown of the “free market?” Or is this an intentional drawdown of critical supplies in advance of an emergency situation. I will let you draw the conclusions.”

WikiLeaks today released over 75,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan.

The Afghan War Diaries an extraordinary secret compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. The reports describe the majority of lethal military actions involving the United States military. They include the number of persons internally stated to be killed, wounded, or detained during each action, together with the precise geographical location of each event, and the military units involved and major weapon systems used.

The Afghan War Diaries is the most significant archive about the reality of war to have ever been released during the course of a war. The deaths of tens of thousands is normally only a statistic but this archive reveals locations and key events behind each of these individual deaths. We hope the impact will lead to a comprehensive understanding of the war in Afghanistan and modern warfare in general.

Wikileaks ‘War Diary’ website which contains data that was provided in advance to the Guardian, New York Times and Der Spiegel.

From The Guardian:

Their publication comes amid mounting concern that Barack Obama’s “surge” strategy is failing and as coalition troops hunt for two US naval personnel captured by the Taliban south of Kabul on Friday.

The war logs also detail:

• How a secret “black” unit of special forces hunts down Taliban leaders for “kill or capture” without trial.

• How the US covered up evidence that the Taliban have acquired deadly surface-to-air missiles.

• How the coalition is increasingly using deadly Reaper drones to hunt and kill Taliban targets by remote control from a base in Nevada.

• How the Taliban have caused growing carnage with a massive escalation of their roadside bombing campaign, which has killed more than 2,000 civilians to date.

From the New York Times:

The records also contain firsthand accounts of American anger at Pakistan’s unwillingness to confront insurgents who launched attacks near Pakistani border posts, moved openly by the truckload across the frontier, and retreated to Pakistani territory for safety.

The behind-the-scenes frustrations of soldiers on the ground and glimpses of what appear to be Pakistani skullduggery contrast sharply with the frequently rosy public pronouncements of Pakistan as an ally by American officials, looking to sustain a drone campaign over parts of Pakistani territory to strike at Qaeda havens. Administration officials also want to keep nuclear-armed Pakistan on their side to safeguard NATO supplies flowing on routes that cross Pakistan to Afghanistan.

This month, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in one of the frequent visits by American officials to Islamabad, announced $500 million in assistance and called the United States and Pakistan “partners joined in common cause.”

The reports suggest, however, that the Pakistani military has acted as both ally and enemy, as its spy agency runs what American officials have long suspected is a double game — appeasing certain American demands for cooperation while angling to exert influence in Afghanistan through many of the same insurgent networks that the Americans are fighting to eliminate.

Behind the scenes, both Bush and Obama administration officials as well as top American commanders have confronted top Pakistani military officers with accusations of ISI complicity in attacks in Afghanistan, and even presented top Pakistani officials with lists of ISI and military operatives believed to be working with militants.

“Encouraging signs of credit expansion continue to be seen in weekly Fed. Reserve reports.”

“Bradstreet’s and Dun’s weekly reviews report retail trade has held up favorably compared to last year;”

“BLS index of employment in 12 manufacturing industries in June was 72.2 vs. 74.1 in May and 85.5 in June 1930; index of payrolls 62.5 vs. 66.6 and 84.1.”

“Shoe production continued gains, with June output estimated at 27M pairs, up 13% from 1930″

Source

Source: AAA

“Who Really Controls America”

“George Carlin Doesn’t Vote“

A reasonable person might even call the ‘mini-boom’ of 2009 the bump in the road in a secular decline. Give away enough ‘free’ money and some of it is bound to end up stimulating economic activity – even in a depression. The trick, however, is to make the activity long-lasting and ‘real’ as opposed to ‘nominal’.

Source: CBO