-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- Spy vs. Spy "Iran-Contra" Mop-Up Files of Israeli newspaper seized. Now Bush is safe. JERUSALEM �� Documents and tapes linked to the Iran-Contra affair have been seized from the office of an Israeli newspaper publisher and one-time arms dealer, a lawyer in the case said Thursday. The office of Yaakov Nimrodi, acting publisher of the Maariv daily, was searched this week as part of an investigation involving Nimrodi's son, Ofer, who is suspected of having plotted the murder of a state witness in a wiretapping scandal. Police are not renewing an investigation of the Iran-Contra affair, said spokesman Ofer Sivan. He would not say what material was taken from Nimrodi's office. The Iran-Contra scandal erupted in the mid-1980s when Israel and the United States secretly sold weapons to Iran, while publicly condemning arms sales to the country. The weapons, including anti-tank missiles, were sent to Iran in exchange for Iran's agreement to work for the release of U.S. hostages held in Lebanon by pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim extremists. Nimrodi, a former agent in Iran for Israel's Mossad secret service, was one of three Israeli middlemen in the deal. Part of the profits were funneled to anti-Sandinista insurgents in Nicaragua known as Contras. Yitzhak Shamir, prime minister at the time, said the United States always knew what Israel was doing, but did not always agree. "Our interests were different, though very close," he told Israel television. Nimrodi's lawyer, Yossi Cohen, said Thursday that his client was writing a book about the scandal and that while the documents and tapes in his possession were of historical importance, they were not secret. Cohen said, however, that Nimrodi hadn't looked at the material in 15 years. A reference to Irangate first emerged Wednesday when police said they had found a secret document linked to the scandal in the office of private investigator Oded Ben-Dov. Police suspect Ben-Dov was hired as a hitman by Nimrodi's son in the alleged plot against the witness. Ben-Dov said the Iran-Contra document he had was sent to him by an overseas client several years ago, the Haaretz newspaper reported. Israel television reported that the document was a secret Israeli government inquiry into the scandal. The younger Nimrodi stepped down as Maariv publisher after police announced last month they were investigating him in connection with the alleged murder plot. Nimrodi was arrested a week ago. Earlier this year, he had served four-and-a-half months in jail on charges he wiretapped phones of a rival newspaper, Yediot Ahronot. Associated Press, December 2, 1999 Federal Reserve Greenspan Pumps Up the Money Supply by Irwin Kellner NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- If you look at what the Federal Reserve has done to interest rates this year, you might think that chairman Alan Greenspan was auditioning to play the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. M-3 has been growing at an annual rate of 12 percent -- more than twice as fast as gross domestic product growth." The Fed has raised interest rates three times, taking back all of last year's cuts. But if you look instead at what the Fed is doing with the nation's money supply, you would have to conclude that Mr. Greenspan really wants to be Santa Claus. This is because the money supply is growing much faster than usual. In the past 13 weeks, the money supply M-3 has been growing at an annual rate of 12 percent -- more than twice as fast as gross domestic product growth. This apparently has resulted from Mr. Greenspan's promise to inject extra liquidity into the banking system in case there are any Y2K-related withdrawals. The Fed has already added more than $50 billion to the money supply over and above seasonal needs (see my column of Nov. 9). But wait, there's more. But you ain't seen nothing, yet. The Fed has also been writing a huge amount of what are called repo options. These options could add another $500 billion to the system, if exercised. And while it is the Fed's intent to take this extra money out of the system, come the New Year, this temporary injection of funds is not without its consequences -- some of which might well be long-lasting. Effects are obvious Its effects in the financial markets are already visible. The stock market has run up sharply since the middle of October, reflecting this extra liquidity looking for a home. On the other hand, both bond prices and the dollar have declined, as these markets have begun to fear the inflationary impact of this massive injection of funds. So far, prices of most goods appear to be rising only slowly. This might change, however, since these extra funds are now being spent -- not just for the holidays, but for Y2K as well (see my column of Nov. 24). Don't think for one moment that prices of batteries, flashlights, portable stoves, generators -- even candles -- aren't zooming. Once we pass into the New Year and the Fed starts removing this excess liquidity, the stock market might thirst for buyers and prices could take a header. It's enough to make an investor Fed up. Dr. Irwin Kellner, chief economist of CBS MarketWatch, is Weller professor of economics at Hofstra University. CBS Marketwatch, December 7, 1999 Government Crime Treasury Dept. Operating Out of Control Destroys evidence on Indian trust. Treasury Department officials shredded 162 boxes of documents being sought in a lawsuit involving the mismanagement of Indian trust funds, covered up their actions for more than three months and lied to a federal court about it, court records show. The document destruction was outlined in a report by court-appointed investigator Alan Balaran, released yesterday by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth -- who four months ago ordered the government to pay $625,000 for the earlier "disobedience" of Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and then-Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin in withholding records in the case. "This is a system clearly out of control," Mr. Balaran said in the report. Justice Department lawyers, citing potential "severe and unfair damage" to the reputations of seven Treasury Department lawyers questioned in the shredding probe and the possibility of "eroding confidence" in the agencies involved, asked Judge Lamberth Friday to delay releasing the report. The judge denied the motion. "It has already been almost seven months since this matter was brought to the court's attention. The court is unwilling to allow additional weeks -- or months -- to go by before this matter is placed on the public record," Judge Lamberth wrote. The judge said in his five-page order making the Balaran report public the document destruction was authorized "on the very same day" Treasury officials were testifying before the court about their negligence in allowing the destruction of voluminous microfilm files that should have been preserved. He also said that on that same day -- Nov. 23, 1998 -- Treasury and Justice Department lawyers were "repeatedly assuring the court that all necessary steps were being taken to preserve all relevant documents." "Rather than coming forward at that time and making the necessary admissions, the Treasury officials deliberately decided not to tell Justice Department officials about the destruction, arrogating totally to themselves the decision that the documents were not related to this litigation, a decision that everyone involved now admits was wrong," the judge wrote. Attorneys for the Indians told reporters yesterday the government's actions reflected a continuing pattern of "obfuscation, stonewalling and delay." "It is clear from this latest event and the history of the case that the government continues to not take this case seriously, and that includes a lot of their employees across this agency," said John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund. In a joint statement, the Treasury and Justice departments said they would "respond to the court as appropriate." The statement also said the departments were "disappointed" in some conclusions in the Balaran report, but was committed to "cooperating with the court to resolve all issues fully and fairly." "In fairness to all concerned, we caution against drawing conclusions prematurely," the statement said. The document destruction occurred at a Suitland, Md., warehouse between Nov. 23, 1998, and Jan. 27. In February, Judge Lamberth held Mr. Babbitt and Mr. Rubin in contempt of court for failing to turn over Indian trust records in the pending suit. He issued the contempt citations after Mr. Babbitt and Mr. Rubin refused to produce trust fund records, canceled checks and other documents demanded by the court. The judge said he found "clear and convincing evidence" that Mr. Babbitt and Mr. Rubin disobeyed his order, although he noted that Mr. Rubin's involvement came because he "totally delegated his responsibility to others and they have miserably failed to comply with this court's orders." Mr. Babbitt and Mr. Rubin were among those named in the class-action suit, filed when the Native American Rights Fund -- representing various tribes -- accused the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs of mismanagement. Judge Lamberth had sought the records and other materials involving more than 300,000 individual accounts and 2,000 tribal accounts managed by the Interior and Treasury departments. The departments manage money from, among other sources, land settlements, royalties from minerals and other resources, and companies that use Indian land. Interior and Treasury officials have been unable to produce accounting records or statements to verify how much cash has been collected. An audit by the Arthur Andersen accounting firm said the Bureau of Indian Affairs could not account for $2.4 billion in transactions involving the funds. The suit seeks damages for the lost money. Judge Lamberth first ordered the departments to turn over all documents in the case to allow attorneys for the Native American Rights Fund to prepare for trial. The departments never complied, giving the judge a number of reasons for the delay -- including an Interior Department claim that some of the records have been so tainted by rodent droppings in a New Mexico warehouse that to disturb them would put department officials at a health risk. Treasury lawyers waited more than three months after the contempt citations before they notified Judge Lamberth the 162 boxes had been shredded. Government lawyers have since acknowledged that statements made to the judge about the documents were "patently untrue," Mr. Balaran said in his report. Lawyers for the Indians said last month they would seek another contempt citation after Mr. Balaran discovered records concerning the case in a shed with used tires and other debris on a North Dakota reservation. Judge Lamberth said he would take no action on the Balaran report until all objections are reviewed. Each side now has 10 days to respond to the findings. The Washington Times, December 7, 1999 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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