[cia-drugs] RFID Spychips in Passports May be Just the Start
RFID SPYCHIPS IN PASSPORTS MAY BE JUST THE START By Liz McIntyre Katherine Albrecht August 16, 2006 RFID-laced passports may be just the start of an Orwellian airport experience, warn privacy advocates and authors Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre as the nation braces for a rollout of the controversial technology in passports this week. They point to a U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) concept video created by CompEx Inc. that shows how citizens can be tracked and monitored throughout an airport terminal -- without their knowledge or consent. The animated flash clip is posted on the authors' website. In the video, citizen "Bob" is remotely identified and tracked via Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) devices as he enters an airport and navigates to his gate. The video ends with chilling frames of a government agent surreptitiously scanning Bob and his belongings as he sits in the waiting area. CompEx Inc. President Aram Kovach, who developed the film as a demo for the TSA, received a U.S. Patent for the idea he calls "Method for Tracking and Processing Passengers and their Transported Articles" in November of 2005. According to company press releases, TSA officials entertained his ideas twice, once in 2002 and once in 2003, and "offered to direct CompEx in pursuing a segmented objective within the guidelines they have set forth." "This footage raises the specter of Soviet-style government surveillance creeping onto our free soil," said McIntyre. "People need to know that our government has actively considered these disturbing and invasive RFID concepts. With RFID now appearing in our passports, the threat to our privacy and civil liberties may be more than theoretical." "RFID passports will do little to keep us safer," Albrecht added. "On the contrary, by requiring us to carry RFID tags in our travel documents, the government is jeopardizing our personal information while doing little to slow down the bad guys." The new passports are vulnerable to hacking and cloning by criminals. Last week at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, German researcher Lukas Grunwald showed how easily a criminal or terrorist could clone RFID tags like those in U.S. passports using inexpensive and readily available hardware. © 2006 - Liz McIntyre Katherine Albrecht - All Rights Reserved Liz McIntyre is a consumer privacy expert and author of Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track your Every Move with RFID. In this explosive book, McIntyre and co-author Katherine Albrecht reveal how organizations like Procter Gamble, Gillette, Wal-Mart, and even the U.S. Postal Service plan to use tiny computer chips smaller than a grain of sand to track everyday objects-and even people-keeping tabs on everything you own and everywhere you go. Katherine Albrecht is a privacy advocate and co-author of Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track your Every Move with RFID. Albrecht has testified on RFID technology before the Federal Trade Commission, the California state legislature, the European Commission, and the Federal Reserve Bank, and she has given over a thousand television, radio and print interviews to news outlets all over the world. Her efforts have been featured on CNN, NPR, the CBS Evening News, Business Week, and the London Times, to name just a few. Web Sites: SpyChips.com and NoCards.org E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.newswithviews.com/McIntyre/Liz10.htm ~~~ AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS DENIES RFID USE By Liz McIntyre Katherine Albrecht August 10, 2006 Crisis PR Firm Disavows Incriminating Video on Eve of Major Conference On the eve of a major RFID apparel and footwear conference, privacy activists are asking questions about an Orwellian industry video presentation depicting the use of Radio Frequency Identification at an American Eagle Outfitters store. The animated video, created by technology integrator CompEx Inc., depicts how a retailer could embed the controversial technology into clothing and credit cards to secretly identify and track consumers--even deliver targeted marketing messages. "American Eagle Outfitters has assured us that it is not using RFID in its stores or operations, and we applaud them for that. But consumers need to know that this technology exists and what it could mean for them. We have documentation showing that other companies are looking closely at these types of invasive applications," said Liz McIntyre and Katherine Albrecht, co-authors of "Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID." The video shows a consumer walking into an American Eagle Outfitters store, being remotely identified through the American Eagle Outfitters credit card in his pocket, and purchasing items with RFID tags hidden in the store's branded clothing. The graphic footage concludes with a full-facial
[cia-drugs] Venezuela to Boost Oil Sales in China
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4119437.html Venezuela to Boost Oil Sales in China © 2006 The Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela Venezuela plans to increase oil its sales to China by 50,000 barrels a day by the end of the year, the country's oil minister said Tuesday. Venezuela's state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, will increase sales to China to 200,000 barrels a day from the current 150,000 barrels per day, Rafael Ramirez said. He said the shipments include crude and other products, such as fuel oil. President Hugo Chavez and other officials had previously said they hoped Venezuela would be exporting 300,000 barrels a day to China by the end of the year. Though the United States remains the No. 1 buyer of Venezuelan crude, Chavez's government has sought to sell increasing amounts to a variety of other countries in recent years. As recently as 2004, the South American country exported only 12,300 barrels a day to China. Chavez also plans to seal an agreement during a visit to Beijing this month to buy 12 Chinese-made oil drills and to have an additional 12 drills assembled in Venezuela at a new joint factory, Ramirez said. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on its Web site that Chavez will make a state visit to China from Aug. 22-27. It said Chavez was formally invited by Chinese President Hu Jintao but did not give details of his itinerary. Since taking office in 1999, Chavez has forged strong ties with China. During his last visit in December 2004, Chavez signed a series of accords in oil, technology and other areas. Ramirez said Tuesday that Venezuela also will work on developing the aging oil fields in the Zumano area of eastern Anzoategui state with China National Petroleum Corporation, or CNPC. CNPC is also involved in certifying heavy oil reserves in the Orinoco river basin, where Venezuela's state oil company hopes to sharply increase production of heavy crude in the coming years. __._,_.___ Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM SPONSORED LINKS Independent broker dealer Independent director Central intelligence agency Central intelligence agency employment YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS Visit your group "cia-drugs" on the web. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. __,_._,___
[cia-drugs] MAUREEN DOWD : Camus Comes to Crawford, Macaca - gate: George Allen, More
MAUREEN DOWD : Camus Comes to Crawford, Macaca - gate: George Allen - Macaca, More by MAUREEN DOWD - The New York Times Wednesday Aug 16th, 2006 Dowd: Crawford Camus - If there was ever a confirmation of Albert Camuss sense of the absurdity of life, its that the president is reading him. - PLUS: Macaca - gate: Bush admin silences PBS on Sen.George Allen (R-VA)) racial slur - PLUS: Democrats's May Strip Lieberman's Committee Assignments - PLUS: North Korea floods leave 54,700 dead, missing - PLUS: Israel threatens to reinvade if Hezblollah does not disarm: Hezbollah says no chance more OP-ED COLUMNIST Camus Comes to Crawford By MAUREEN DOWD Published: August 16, 2006 If there was ever a confirmation of Albert Camuss sense of the absurdity of life, its that the president is reading him. Strangely enough, we find two famous men reading Albert Camuss The Stranger this summer. One is Jean Girard, the villainous gay French race car driver hilariously played by Sacha Baron Cohen (a k a Ali G and Borat) the sinuous rival to Will Ferrells stocky Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights. Girard, a jazz-loving, white-silk-scarf-wearing, America-disdaining Formula Un driver sponsored by Perrier, is so smooth he can sip macchiato from a china cup, smoke Gitanes and read LEtranger behind the wheel and still lead the Nascar pack. Frenchie contemptuously informs cowboy Bobby that America merely gave the world George Bush, Cheerios and the ThighMaster while France invented democracy, existentialism and the ménage à trois. The other guy kindling to Camus is none other than the aforementioned George Bush, who read The Stranger in English on his Crawford vacation and, Tony Snow told me, liked it. Name-dropping existentialists is good for picking up girls, as Woody Allens schlemiels found, or getting through the clove-cigarette fog of Humanities 101. But it does seem odd that W., who once mocked NBCs David Gregory as intercontinental for posing a question in French to the French president in France, would choose Camus over Grisham. Camus is not beach reading or brush reading. How on earth did this book make it into the hands of our proudly anti-intellectual president? Continued: http://mparent.livejournal.com/11340976.html Macaca - gate: Bush admin silences PBS on Sen.George Allen (R-VA)) racial slur Just a Gigolo In the go-go 90s, George Allen sat on the board of a Virginia tech company. Now, the company faces several class-action suits and an SEC insiders probe. By Garance Franke-Ruta Issue Date: 09.12.06 Continued: http://mparent.livejournal.com/11333768.html North Korea floods leave 54,700 dead, missing - group http://mparent.livejournal.com/11340386.html Democrats's May Strip Lieberman's Committee Assignments http://mparent.livejournal.com/11339008.html Israel threatens to reinvade if Hezblollah does not disarm: Hezbollah says no chance http://mparent.livejournal.com/11339394.html Today's Newswire: http://mparent.livejournal.com/2006/08/16/ MARC PARENT CRIMES AND CORRUPTIONS OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER NEWS http://mparent.livejournal.com/ http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/14409 http://www.dailykos.com/user/ccnwon Now you can have a huge leap forward in email: get the new Yahoo! Mail. __._,_.___ Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM SPONSORED LINKS Independent broker dealer Independent director Central intelligence agency Central intelligence agency employment YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS Visit your group "cia-drugs" on the web. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. __,_._,___
[cia-drugs] BooshCo Financing The Global Coup d' etat
judson witham [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:This Missing Billions you Mean TRILLIONS RoadsEnd WE KNOW !!Catherine A. Fitts - Don Bolles - Peter Brewton - Steve Pizzo - Mary Fricker , Dr. Richard Hayes Phillips, Greg Collins, and JUDSON WITHAM and Many Many Others EXPOSE THE FINANCIAL RAPE OF AMERICA BooshCo's The GLOBAL Coup d' etathttp://www.dunwalke.com/The Financing of the American Coup d' etatsee http://www.geocities.com/jurisnot The Great Texas Bank Job is Not a JokeFrom the Great Texas Bank Job to Solari and FAR FAR Beyond. Ol Peter Brewton and the Business Editor at the Former Houston Post Gerrald Egger and Don Bolles ALL are TRULY GREAT AMERICANSA Coverup Under Two Presidents: To Cover Up Massive Amounts Of MISSING MONEY ? BuschCo, ClintonCo Intentionally Destroying a Nation CNN's Amanpour Links 9/11 Truthers With Sky TerroristsEarth ToCNN's Christiane Amanpour NOPE - NO LUNITICS HERE.No Conspiracy Theories JUST MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF Missing LOOTED MONEY from Public Treasury, Retirement Accounts, Social Security, Pension Plans etc., etc. We are simplyon to some very horrifying FACTS. This is just the TIP of the iceberghttp://www.co.cochise.az.us/treasurer/LandFraud.htmEvery Arizona County and hundreds of thousands of trusting land purchasers were victimized by the rampant land scams of the 1960's. Artist renditions showed trees and lakes with boating and all the modern facilities: streets, street lights, golf courses, a real piece of the American dream. The true picture was a section of dry Arizona deserts with no development whatsoever. Although Arizona has the reputation of being the worst in the nation, Florida was not far behind and many states had similar swindles take place during the same time period. JUST LIKE MONTGOMERY COUNTY TEXASMASSIVE CAMPAIGN FINANCING SCANDALYou Thought The Madison SL Job was OriginalTHINK AGAINYou see when you steal BILLIONS and get CAUGHT, you are looking at some HARD TIME. BooshCo , ClintonCo and Companies and their GANGS / MAFIAS are a Pack Of THIEVING WHORES. Your claims about VAST SUMS of Missing Money are FACT not FICTION. HUD, SLs, Banks, Enron, MCI World Com, Dynergy, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, VA, and YUP Pentagon and DOD are missing VASTE AMOUNTS of Loose Change "TRILLIONS" and you thought the Clinton Campaign Financing CON was original Judson Withamgreg collins gregcollins62@yahoo.com wrote: I know this discusion will put us in the lunatic fringe group but right after Rumsfeld announced that 2.3 trillion dollars was missing from the Pentagon a magic airplane with no wings or engines smashed into the accounting section of the pentagon convieniently killing a whole bunch of budget analysts and accountants.Rumsfeld made the announcement on sept 10 he would have had to start facing the music on sept 11.No wonder Bush blocked investigations of the Saudi's those 19 hijackers saved his and Rumsfelds bacon.judson witham [EMAIL PROTECTED]com wrote: How do you think theseSLUTS PAY to STEAL ELECTIONS The Great Texas Bank Job is the FEDS worse nightmare 05/22/2004 InterviewReal Audio MP3TranscriptNonprofit groups funneled Abramoff fundsE-mails between indicted lobbyist, activists shed light on D.C. money trailBy Susan Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi Updated: 10:35 p.m. PT June 24, 2006Newly released documents in the Jack Abramoff investigation shed light on how the lobbyist secretly routed his clients' funds through tax-exempt organizations with the acquiescence of those in charge, including prominent conservative activist Grover Norquist.The federal probe has brought a string of bribery-related charges and plea deals. The possible misuse of tax-exempt groups is also receiving investigators' attention, sources familiar with the matter said.Among the organizations used by Abramoff was Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform. According to an investigative report on Abramoff's lobbying released last week by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Americans for Tax Reform served as a "conduit" for funds that flowed from Abramoff's clients to surreptitiously finance grass-roots lobbying campaigns. As the money passed through, Norquist's organization kept a small cut, e-mails show. A second group Norquist was involved with, the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, received about $500,000 in Abramoff client funds; the council's president has told Senate investigators that Abramoff often asked her to lobby a senior Interior Department official on his behalf. The committee report said the Justice Department should further investigate the organization's dealings with the department and its former deputy secretary, J. Steven Griles.Norquist has long been an architect of tax-cutting policies and political strategies that have boosted the Republican Party. He and Abramoff have been
[cia-drugs] Expendable Elite -- Victory Edition -- over 100 new pages
Please send far and wide …Expendable Elite -- Victory Edition -- over 100 new pages Save $125.00 and get more …Someone is selling the original book for $149.95 at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0972020713/ref=dp_olp_2/002-0580112-6025660?ie=UTF8You can get all the original plus over 100 new pages and new introduction by Doug Valentine, Author of the Phoenix Program fro only $19.95 plus shipping. Peace, TrineDay Publishing800.556.2012-http://www.trineday.com/paypal_store/product_pages/eelite-pb.html— NEW VICTORY EDITION —Features of this NEW paperback "Victory" edition:A new preface by Douglas Valentine, author of The Phoenix Program, described as "the definitive account" of the CIA’s most terrifying covert operation of the Vietnam War.New chapters by Lt. Col. Marvin and Kris Millegan about their triumphant trial, plus more supporting documents.Proceeds go to helping us recover from the financial strain of defending ourselves in Federal District Court.Expendable EliteOne Soldier's Journey into Covert WarfareA special operations perspective on the Vietnam War and the truth about a White House concerned with popular opinionThis true story of a special forces officer in Vietnam in the mid-1960s exposes the unique nature of the elite fighting force and how covert operations are developed and often masked to permit and even sponsor assassination, outright purposeful killing of innocents, illegal use of force, and bizarre methods in combat operations. Expendable Elite reveals the fear that these warriors share with no other military person: not fear of the enemy they have been trained to fight in battle, but fear of the wrath of the U.S. government should they find themselves classified as "expendable." This book centers on the CIA mission to assassinate Cambodian Crown Prince Nordum Sihanouk, the author's unilateral aborting of the mission, the CIA's dispatch of an ARVN regiment to attack and destroy the camp and kill every person in it as retribution for defying the agency, and the dramatic rescue of eight American Green Berets and hundreds of South Vietnamese.Daniel Marvin is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Special Forces and former Green Beret who served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He lives in Cazenovia, New York.Visit ExpendableElite.com for more information about the book and its author.Price: $19.95 +4.95 SH Category: HistoryPages: 404 Book Type: Soft cover Size: 6 x 9 ISBN: 097202071xFeatures of this NEW paperback edition:A new preface by Douglas Valentine, author of The Phoenix Program, described as "the definitive account" of the CIA’s most terrifying covert operation of the Vietnam War.New chapters by Lt. Col. Marvin and Kris Millegan about their triumphant trial, plus more supporting documents.Proceeds go to helping us recover from the financial strain of defending ourselves in Federal District Court.=
[cia-drugs] Russian General: LaRouche Is Right, Financial Oligarchy Behind the War
http://mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=541806 Russian General: LaRouche Is Right, Financial Oligarchy Behind the WarPosted:2006/08/16From:Mathaba By Rachel DouglasGeneral Colonel Leonid G. Ivashov, the outspoken former head of the International Military Cooperation Department of the Russian Ministry of Defense, has published a strategic assessment of the current fighting in Southwest Asia, which coincides in many points with the assessment issued on July 23 by Lyndon LaRouche ("Stop Being a Dupe! Know Your Actual Enemy"), whom Ivashov cited in the article. The commentary was published Aug. 7 by the Russian online Marketing and Consulting Information and Analysis Agency (www.iamik.ru), and is available in English translation at http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2006/ivashov.html The most dramatic point, made by Gen. Ivashov in his evaluation, is that the driving force behind the Israeli operation against Hezbollah and Lebanon is not provocations by Syria or Iran, not Hezbollah, and not Israel itself, nor the United States, or Great Britain. Rather, writes Ivashov, "In our view, the primary player is the politically shadowy world financial oligarchy, which is working steadily and persistently to change the political, economic, and social organization of the global community, in its own interest. The well-known American economist Lyndon LaRouche calls this force 'the world financial bankers' dictatorship.' "The motives of this "financial oligarchy," Ivashov elaborated, would include the final destruction of the Westphalian nation-state system, in favor of global dictatorship; setting the stage for attacks on Iran, as part of a resource grab as a component of such a dictatorship; and redrawing the map of the Greater Middle East.Ivashov drew attention particularly to the existence of schemes to ensnare Syria, and then Iran, in a spreading conflict. In an interview in Izvestia of July 31, Russia's senior Southwest Asia expert, former Prime Minister Yevgeni Primakov, made a similar point. Primakov said that his greatest concern about the fighting in Lebanon, was that circles in the USA intended it as a cover for an Israeli strike on Iran. In a lengthy discussion, drawing on his personal involvement in diplomacy in the region since the 1960s, Primakov said that he saw the introduction of a large peace-keeping force, brought in with an "intelligent compromise peace plan," worked out by the quartet (Russia, U.S.A., E.U., UN), as a pathway out of the crisis, but that he feared some of the forces involved have a different agenda.Primakov said he did not think that Iran or Syria were behind the attacks on Israeli soldiers, as is "fashionable" to say about the crisis-precipitating incidents. He developed how the escalation was not at all in Iran's interests, commenting that "Iran's leaders are not so brainless, as to think they could divert attention from their nuclear program by using Hezbollah." As for Syria, he recalled that it is the ABC of Syrian interests, to avoid a direct confrontation with Israel. But, continued Primakov, "What I find especially disappointing now is the behavior of the Americans," said Primakov. "Why aren't they calling for an immediate ceasefire? Sure, there is the traditional U.S. posture of no toleration for terrorists, but there may be something else behind it. Perhaps their design is to drag Syria in? Perhaps they are calculating, that if Syria is dragged in, then Iran will intervene in the war? And then they want Israel to hit Iran? I am not briefed on the secret plans of the Americans, but I don't think their premise is that the destruction of Lebanon will make Hezbollah disappear."Primakov and Ivashov are widely recognized as co-authors of the concept of a Eurasian strategic triangle of China-India-Russia, as the basis for global stability. That idea goes back to 1998-1999, when Primakov was premier for eight months, after the collapse of Russian state finances. Gen. Ivashov, who is now vice-president of the Academy of Geopolitical Studies, left his Defense Ministry job in 2001, after making a series of high-profile statements that the United States, under the Bush administration, was attempting to achieve world strategic superiority.In another of his large number of interviews in the Russian media in the recent period, Ivashov characterized the world today as "standing on the brink of a big, world civil war There are
[cia-drugs] Fwd: [ctrl] Afghan opium cultivation hits a record
Begin forwarded message:From: "Alamaine, IVe" [EMAIL PROTECTED]Date: August 16, 2006 1:09:08 PM PDTTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: [ctrl] Afghan opium cultivation hits a recordReply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Aug 16, 2:28 PM EDThttp://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AFGHAN_OPIUM_BOOM?SITE=CODERSECTION=INTERNATIONALTEMPLATE=DEFAULTCTIME=2006-08-16-14-28-05Afghan opium cultivation hits a record By FISNIK ABRASHI Associated Press WriterAP Photo/RODRIGO ABD World Video KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Opium cultivation in Afghanistan has hit record levels - up by more than 40 percent from 2005 - despite hundreds of millions in counternarcotics money, Western officials told The Associated Press.The increase could have serious repercussions for an already grave security situation, with drug lords joining the Taliban-led fight against Afghan and international forces.A Western anti-narcotics official in Kabul said about 370,650 acres of opium poppy was cultivated this season - up from 257,000 acres in 2005 - citing their preliminary crop projections. The previous record was 323,700 acres in 2004, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime."It is a significant increase from last year ... unfortunately, it is a record year," said a senior U.S. government official based in Kabul, who like the other Western officials would speak only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive topic.Final figures, and an estimate of the yield of opium resin from the poppies, will be clear only when the U.N. agency completes its assessment of the crop, based on satellite imagery and ground surveys. Its report is due in September.The U.N. reported last year that Afghanistan produced an estimated 4,500 tons of opium - enough to make 450 tons of heroin - nearly 90 percent of world supply.This year's preliminary findings indicate a failure in attempts to eradicate poppy cultivation and continuing corruption among provincial officials and police - problems acknowledged by President Hamid Karzai.Karzai told Fortune magazine in a recent interview that "lots of people" in his administration profited from the narcotics trade and that he had underestimated the difficulty of eradicating opium production.Latest News Afghan opium cultivation hits a recordAl-Qaida havens raided in AfghanistanAl-Qaida suspect killed in AfghanistanPicture bleak for women in AfghanistanAfghanistan denies U.K. terror plot linkPHOTO GALLERY AfghanistanBuy AP Photo Reprints The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime estimate that opium accounted for 52 percent of Afghanistan's gross domestic product in 2005."Now what they have is a narco-economy. If they do not get corruption sorted they can slip into being a narco-state," the U.S. official warned.Opium cultivation has surged since the ouster of the Taliban in late 2001. The former regime enforced an effective ban on poppy growing by threatening to jail farmers - virtually eradicating the crop in 2000.But Afghan and Western counternarcotics officials say Taliban-led militants are now implicated in the drug trade, encouraging poppy cultivation and using the proceeds to help fund their insurgency."(That) kind of revenue from that kind of crop aids and abets the enemy," Chief Master Sgt. Curtis L. Brownhill, a senior adviser to the head of the U.S. Central Command, during a recent visit to Afghanistan. "They count on having that sort of resource and money."Afghanistan has seen its deadliest bout of fighting this year since U.S.-backed forces toppled the Taliban for harboring Osama bin Laden. Officials believe the insurgency, most vicious in the south - Afghanistan's main poppy belt - includes die-hard Taliban, warlords and drug lords and smugglers.Fears of fanning the insurgency has constrained efforts to destroy the poppy crops of impoverished farmers - particularly in Helmand, where the area being cultivated for poppies has increased most sharply. The province now accounts for more than 40 percent of the poppy cultivation nationwide."We know that if we start eradicating the whole surface of poppy cultivation in Helmand, we will increase the activity of the insurgency and increase the number of insurgents," said Tom Koenigs, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan.He said the international community needs to provide alternative livelihoods for farmers, but warned against expecting quick results. "The problem has increased, and the remedy has to adjust," he told reporters recently.Since the fall of the Taliban, the international community, led by the U.S. and Britain, has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to combat the drugs trade.There have been some successes. Nangahar province, with the help of a strong governor and police chief, reduced opium output by 96 percent in 2005. Since March, anti-drug police units have raided 10 drug labs throughout the country, seizing 2,700 pounds of heroin and nearly 1,763 pounds of opium.Next week, the Afghan government will present a wide-ranging anti-drugs strategy. Officials are moving to
[cia-drugs] Israeli Leaders Fault Bush on War
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/081206.html Israeli Leaders Fault Bush on War By Robert ParryAugust 13, 2006 Amid the political and diplomatic fallout from Israels faltering invasion of Lebanon, some Israeli officials are privately blaming President George W. Bush for egging Prime Minister Ehud Olmert into the ill-conceived military adventure against the Hezbollah militia in south Lebanon. Bush conveyed his strong personal support for the military offensive during a White House meeting with Olmert on May 23, according to sources familiar with the thinking of senior Israeli leaders. Olmert, who like Bush lacks direct wartime experience, agreed that a dose of military force against Hezbollah might damage the guerrilla groups influence in Lebanon and intimidate its allies, Iran and Syria, countries that Bush has identified as the chief obstacles to U.S. interests in the Middle East. As part of Bushs determination to create a new Middle East one that is more amenable to U.S. policies and desires Bush even urged Israel to attack Syria, but the Olmert government refused to go that far, according to Israeli sources. One source said some Israeli officials thought Bushs attack-Syria idea was nuts since much of the world would have seen the bombing campaign as overt aggression. In an article on July 30, the Jerusalem Post referred to Bushs interest in a wider war involving Syria. Israeli defense officials told the Post last week that they were receiving indications from the US that America would be interested in seeing Israel attack Syria, the newspaper reported. While balking at an expanded war into Syria, Olmert did agree on the need to show military muscle in Lebanon as a prelude to facing down Iran over its nuclear program, which Olmert has called an existential threat to Israel. With U.S. forces bogged down in Iraq, Bush and his neoconservative advisers saw the inclusion of Israeli forces as crucial for advancing a strategy that would punish Syria for supporting Iraqi insurgents, advance the confrontation with Iran and isolate Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. But the month-long war has failed to achieve its goals of destroying Hezbollah forces in south Lebanon or intimidating Iran and Syria. Instead, Hezbollah guerrillas fought Israeli troops to a virtual standstill in villages near the border and much of the world saw Israels bombing raids across Lebanon which killed hundreds of civilians as disproportionate. Now, as the conflict winds down, some Israeli officials are ruing the Olmert-Bush pact on May 23 and fault Bush for pushing Olmert into the conflict. Building Pressure Soon after the May 23 meeting in Washington, Israel began to ratchet up pressure on the Hamas-led government in the Palestinian territories and on Hezbollah and other Islamic militants in Lebanon. As part of this process, Israel staged low-key attacks in both Lebanon and Gaza. [For details, see Consortiumnews.com A Pretext War in Lebanon.] The tit-for-tat violence led to the Hamas seizure of an Israeli soldier on June 24 and then to Israeli retaliatory strikes in Gaza. That, in turn, set the stage for Hezbollahs attack on an Israeli outpost and the capture of two more Israeli soldiers on July 12. Hezbollahs July 12 raid became the trigger that Bush and Olmert had been waiting for. With the earlier attacks unknown or forgotten, Israel and the U.S. skillfully rallied international condemnation of Hezbollah for what was called an unprovoked attack and a kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. Behind the international criticism of Hezbollah, Bush and Olmert justified an intense air campaign against Lebanese targets, killing civilians and destroying much of Lebanons commercial infrastructure. Israeli troops also crossed into southern Lebanon with the intent of delivering a devastating military blow against Hezbollah, which retaliated by firing Katyusha rockets into Israel.. However, the Israeli operation was eerily reminiscent of the disastrous U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Like the U.S. assault, Israel relied heavily on shock and awe air power and committed an inadequate number of soldiers to the battle. Israeli newspapers have been filled with complaints from soldiers who say some reservists werent issued body armor while other soldiers found their equipment either inferior or inappropriate to the battlefield conditions. Israeli troops also encountered fierce resistance from Hezbollah guerrillas, who took a page from the Iraqi insurgents by using explosive booby traps and ambushes to inflict heavier than expected casualties on the Israelis. Channel 2 in Israel disclosed that several top military commanders wrote a letter to Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, the chief of staff, criticizing the war planning as chaotic and out of line with the combat training of the soldiers and officers. [Washington Post, Aug. 12, 2006] One Israeli plan to
[cia-drugs] The Bush-Bin Laden Symbiosis
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/081106.html The Bush-Bin Laden Symbiosis By Robert ParryAugust 11, 2006 As Americans suffer through another terrorism scare and George W. Bush talks tough about a long war against Islamic fascists, it bears remembering that top CIA analysts concluded that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden released a videotape right before Election 2004 to help Bush win a second term. Many liberals and Democrats have focused on allegations of Republican voter suppression and vote tampering, especially in the swing state of Ohio. But polls suggest that a more decisive factor in Bushs narrow victory in 2004 was the reaction of the American people to bin Ladens last-minute tirade against Bush. On Oct. 29, 2004, the Friday before Election 2004, bin Laden broke nearly a year of silence and took the risk of releasing a videotape that denounced Bush and was immediately spun by Bushs supporters as bin Ladens endorsement of Democratic Sen. John Kerry. According to two polls taken during and after the videotapes release, Bush experienced a bump of several percentage points, from a virtual tie with Kerry to a five or six percentage point lead. Tracking polls by TIPP and Newsweek detected a surge in Bush support from a statistically insignificant two-point lead to five and six points, respectively. On Nov. 2, 2004, the official results showed Bush winning by a margin of less than three percentage points. So, arguably the intervention by bin Laden essentially urging Americans to reject Bush had the predictable effect of driving voters to the President, possibly in sufficient numbers to tip the balance of the election. CIA Assessment After the videotape appeared, senior CIA analysts concluded that ensuring a second term for Bush was precisely what bin Laden intended. Bin Laden certainly did a nice favor today for the President, said deputy CIA director John McLaughlin in opening a meeting to review secret strategic analysis after the videotape had dominated the days news, according to Ron Suskinds The One Percent Doctrine, which draws heavily from CIA insiders. Suskind wrote that CIA analysts had spent years parsing each expressed word of the al-Qaeda leader and his deputy, [Ayman] Zawahiri. What theyd learned over nearly a decade is that bin Laden speaks only for strategic reasons. Todays conclusion: bin Ladens message was clearly designed to assist the Presidents reelection. Jami Miscik, CIA deputy associate director for intelligence, expressed the consensus view that bin Laden recognized how Bushs heavy-handed policies such as the Guantanamo prison camp, the Abu Ghraib scandal and the war in Iraq were serving al-Qaedas strategic goals for recruiting a new generation of jihadists. Certainly, Miscik said, he would want Bush to keep doing what hes doing for a few more years, according to Suskinds account. As their internal assessment sank in, the CIA analysts were troubled by the implications of their own conclusions. An ocean of hard truths before them such as what did it say about U.S. policies that bin Laden would want Bush reelected remained untouched, Suskind wrote. Bush Spin Bush enthusiasts, however, took bin Ladens videotape at face value, calling it proof the terrorist leader feared Bush and favored Kerry. In a fawningly pro-Bush book entitled Strategery: How George W. Bush Is Defeating Terrorists, Outwitting Democrats and Confounding the Mainstream Media, right-wing journalist Bill Sammon devoted several pages to bin Ladens videotape, portraying it as an attempt by the terrorist leader to persuade Americans to vote for Kerry. Bin Laden stopped short of overtly endorsing Kerry, Sammon wrote, but the terrorist offered a polemic against reelecting Bush. Unfortunately for Kerry, bin Laden then proceeded to parrot the Democrats litany of complaints against Bush, right down to the Michael Moore-inspired canard about My Pet Goat. Its not clear why Sammon used the word canard, which means an unfounded or false story, since its a well-established fact that Bush did sit paralyzed for about seven minutes in a Florida classroom reading My Pet Goat after being told on Sept. 11, 2001, that America is under attack. Sammon also didnt weigh the obvious possibility that the crafty bin Laden might have understood that his endorsement of Kerry over Bush would achieve the opposite effect with the American people. Indeed, many right-wing pundits appear to have played into bin Ladens hands by promoting his anti-Bush diatribe just he wanted, as a de facto recommendation that Americans vote for Kerry and thus a sure way to generate votes for Bush. Bush himself recognized this fact. I thought it was going to help, Bush said in a post-election interview with Sammon about bin Ladens videotape. I thought it would help remind people that if bin Laden doesnt want Bush to be the President,
[cia-drugs] F22 Remote Control F35
"The Pentagon, looking to save money on terrorist attacks, has accelerated spending on unmanned systems since Sept. 11, 2001,"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/15/AR2006081501288_pf.htmlLockheed Says F-35 Could Fly PilotlessPentagon Demand for Drones GrowsBy Renae MerleWashington Post Staff WriterWednesday, August 16, 2006; D01Lockheed Martin Corp. has proposed an unmanned version of its Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35, which would make it the first full-scale fighter to operate without a pilot and signal the Bethesda weapons maker's push into the growing market for drone aircraft.The idea has been in the works for two years, Lockheed Vice President Frank Mauro said at a briefing yesterday. He provided few details but said the plane could be built as an interchangeable hybrid -- manned by a pilot for some missions and operated remotely for others.The Joint Strike Fighter, funded with help from several other countries, is meant to replace the F-16 as the workhorse fighter of the United States and its close allies. Less powerful than the F-22 Raptor that Lockheed developed to give the United States an advantage in air combat, the Joint Strike Fighter is still designed to travel at supersonic speed and carry up to 15,000 pounds of bombs and missiles.Test flights of the F-35 are expected to begin later this year. The idea of a remote-control version of the plane has not been pitched to the Air Force, though it has been through the company's conceptual design phase, Lockheed officials said.Air Force officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.Yesterday's briefing marked a strategic turn for Lockheed, which for years has stayed publicly on the sidelines as the Pentagon increased its spending on unmanned systems.Such competitors as Northrop Grumman Corp. and Boeing Co. are entrenched in the market, with products such as Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk surveillance drone, which is deployed overseas.Lockheed ceded the market in the late 1990s while it focused on winning the contract to build what many predict will be the Air Force's last manned fighter jet, the F-35. Lockheed then feared that the unmanned market could diminish demand for its more expensive fighter jets, analysts said."When you think about unmanned combat systems, I think about Boeing," said John E. Pike, executive director of GlobalSecurity.org.But in the past three to four years, Lockheed's aeronautics division has spent 30 to 40 percent of its internal research-and-development budget on unmanned systems, company officials said. That includes $21 million the company has spent on the Polecat, a prototype drone that Lockheed plans to test at 60,000 feet or above this year. At a briefing yesterday, the firm trumpeted a stable of unmanned systems that can run on the ground, hauling equipment and supplies for troops, and underwater, searching for submarines and mines. Some of the systems are still being developed and some are deployed in Iraq.Much of the work is being done at Lockheed's research-and-development lab in California, known as the Skunk Works, where the U-2 spy plane was developed in secret in the 1950s.Some of the company's investment "is playing catch-up for all those big dollars that the government has invested" in unmanned technology, and some is "leapfrogging" existing systems, Mauro said.The Pentagon, looking to save money, has accelerated spending on unmanned systems since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. This year, it allocated $2 billion for unmanned aircraft and millions more in the supplemental budget, compared with $363 million in 2001. The figure is projected to reach more than $3 billion by the end of the decade.What has resulted is a hodgepodge of unmanned vehicles, such as small, bomb-seeking robots that can be carried in a backpack, and airplanes that provide surveillance for days at a time. The systems have become bigger and more expensive in recent years, such as the Predator, built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., and the Global Hawk, which has a 134-foot wingspan, comparable to the Boeing 737."Lockheed is playing catch-up and acknowledging that unmanned vehicles is a trend that is not going to go away," said Loren B. Thompson Jr., a defense industry analyst and Lockheed consultant. "It's going to be hard to penetrate a market where competitors are already established.""We're looking at picking it up when we get enough customer interest, and that's the way they want to go," Mauro said. "Right now we're focused on getting the manned version of the F-35 flying."While some analysts called the idea improbable, it could be an acknowledgment that the Pentagon's initial plan to buy about 2,000 F-35s is now considered likely to change -- in part because of improved drone technology. The decision to propose an unmanned F-35 may anticipate the day when all military aircraft are pilotless, analysts said.The F-35 program has run into problems, including a rising price that is
[cia-drugs] Re: Training People to Act like Slaves
There is an initial liquid form and then a toothpaste(TATPaste!) of triacetyl triperoxide (TATP). It probably gives off acetylene for the explosion. People inflate plastic trash bags with acetylene and light them off where there is a welding rig, maybe at lunch hour. THis could almost be a hoax, if it takes a huge amount to do anything more than make a noise. -Bob --- In cia-drugs@yahoogroups.com, J M [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: LIQUID TERROR: Training People To Act Like Subservient Slaves Terrorists planned to mix liquids so why are they all being poured into airport bins? Steve Watson / Infowars.net | August 11 2006 The latest terror plot facade is nothing more than an exercise to assess how subservient the general population has become and a primer to making permanent the panicked and ridiculous freedom crushing security measures we are seeing being rushed into implementation at the moment. Whilst the government is saying there is no going back on these measures and that they will become permanent, the media is bleating about rushing in biometric retina scanners and Orwellian behaviour sensing technology. This is the only way they can do these things without backlash and protest, just have a major terror alert and rush them through. How is it that people can still deny that our governments are forwarding a big brother control agenda? ID cards, Biometric databases, retina scanners, face scanning cameras, behaviour sensing machines. The list goes on. It has been proven over and over that these measures will not help prevent terrorism, the government itself has even admitted this, so why do they relentlessly push them? The latest mind bending terror stupidity has every passenger at airports pouring their potentially explosive liquids into bins inside the airports. How stupid can things get? How far does it have to go before people start asking simple questions about what they are being made to do in the name of security? If these liquids are potentially explosive what the hell is the good in pouring them all into large bins inside overcrowded airports and mixing them all together? The Asheville Citizen Times interviewed a mother who was forced to pour away her baby's milk: I have mixed feelings about all this, Leoni said as she waited to board a flight for Miami at Asheville Regional Airport. On the one side, I'm fine with the safety measures and the effects, but on the other hand, I had to pour out my baby's milk this morning. They said I couldn't take it on board. And here she is pouring the potentially deadly milk into a vat of other potentially explosive dangerous liquids. The official counterterrorism statement told us that the plan involved mixing a sports drink with a gel-like substance to concoct explosives that could be ignited with an MP3 player or cell phone. The sports drink could be combined with a peroxide-based paste to form a potent explosive cocktail, counterterrorism officials said. If you believe the dodgy science that suggests that these liquids can be ignited by calling up your mom or whacking on a bit of Led Zeppelin on your MP3 player then they better clear the airports pretty smartish because those bins full liquids could go up any second. unless they are just bins full of baby milk and Dr Pepper that is. The Scientific American states: Furthermore, some chemicals can be mixed to create a toxic gas capable of killing people in an enclosed space such as an airplane. Great, marvelous, lets get mixing them in bins then! The XOPL blogger here is bang on the money and I couldn't put it any better: Sir, I'm going to have to take this bottle of water away from you since it might be a liquid explosive, and I'm going to have to mix it with all of these other bottles of possibly liquid explosive, and I'm going to have to dump them all in this trash can... together. Nevermind that the plot specifically mentions mixing chemicals and/or nitroglycerin... which explodes if handled too roughly. The only conclusion you can reach here is that airport security are not looking for terrorists because if they truly believed terrorists were attempting to board planes with liquids they wouldn't be mishandling the liquids in this way. -- INFOWARS: BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND '); document.write(''); document.write(' '); document.write('' + txt + ''); document.write(''); // End -- - Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business. __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to:
[cia-drugs] Re: Fwd: [ctrl] Afghan opium cultivation hits a record
Noam Chomsky says in Failed States that Prof. Alfred McCoy and Prof. Peter Dale Scott, and by implication in context of Kosovo, Prof. Michel Chossudovsky, are pre-requisites for any experts such as every single one who mentioned opium in Francis Fukayama's Nation-Building. In Fukayama's collection of papers from Rand and left hand of Rockefeller apologists for right hand, opium and heroin are the elephant in the tent. On TV last night, CSPAN, panel of Radio Liberty and USIA and State Dept experts on Afghanistan, a questioner asked,Opium is the elephant in the tent with respect to Afghanistan. What can be done? A State Dept official, Breitbaum or something, disingenuously answered as if the question had been about Taleban funding itself by opium. He said,We have not discovered a significant degree of their funding being from opium; they had friends already, dodging the issue of CIA and Pak heroin junta liberating the poppies in 2001 and originally having made Afghanistan the world's largest opium producing region during the Contra Crack era, after doing the same thing to Burma and Laos during the Vietnam war. Russell Opium Trust(ROT), Air America, al-CIA-duh, the elephant in the tent. -Bob Dodds --- In cia-drugs@yahoogroups.com, RoadsEnd [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Begin forwarded message: From: Alamaine, IVe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: August 16, 2006 1:09:08 PM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [ctrl] Afghan opium cultivation hits a record Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Aug 16, 2:28 PM EDT http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AFGHAN_OPIUM_BOOM? SITE=CODERSECTIO N=INTERNATIONALTEMPLATE=DEFAULTCTIME=2006-08-16-14-28-05 Afghan opium cultivation hits a record By FISNIK ABRASHI Associated Press Writer AP Photo/RODRIGO ABD World Video KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Opium cultivation in Afghanistan has hit record levels - up by more than 40 percent from 2005 - despite hundreds of millions in counternarcotics money, Western officials told The Associated Press. The increase could have serious repercussions for an already grave security situation, with drug lords joining the Taliban-led fight against Afghan and international forces. A Western anti-narcotics official in Kabul said about 370,650 acres of opium poppy was cultivated this season - up from 257,000 acres in 2005 - citing their preliminary crop projections. The previous record was 323,700 acres in 2004, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. It is a significant increase from last year ... unfortunately, it is a record year, said a senior U.S. government official based in Kabul, who like the other Western officials would speak only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive topic. Final figures, and an estimate of the yield of opium resin from the poppies, will be clear only when the U.N. agency completes its assessment of the crop, based on satellite imagery and ground surveys. Its report is due in September. The U.N. reported last year that Afghanistan produced an estimated 4,500 tons of opium - enough to make 450 tons of heroin - nearly 90 percent of world supply. This year's preliminary findings indicate a failure in attempts to eradicate poppy cultivation and continuing corruption among provincial officials and police - problems acknowledged by President Hamid Karzai. Karzai told Fortune magazine in a recent interview that lots of people in his administration profited from the narcotics trade and that he had underestimated the difficulty of eradicating opium production. Latest News Afghan opium cultivation hits a record Al-Qaida havens raided in Afghanistan Al-Qaida suspect killed in Afghanistan Picture bleak for women in Afghanistan Afghanistan denies U.K. terror plot link PHOTO GALLERY Afghanistan Buy AP Photo Reprints The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime estimate that opium accounted for 52 percent of Afghanistan's gross domestic product in 2005. Now what they have is a narco-economy. If they do not get corruption sorted they can slip into being a narco-state, the U.S. official warned. Opium cultivation has surged since the ouster of the Taliban in late 2001. The former regime enforced an effective ban on poppy growing by threatening to jail farmers - virtually eradicating the crop in 2000. But Afghan and Western counternarcotics officials say Taliban-led militants are now implicated in the drug trade, encouraging poppy cultivation and using the proceeds to help fund their insurgency. (That) kind of revenue from that kind of crop aids and abets the enemy, Chief Master Sgt. Curtis L. Brownhill, a senior adviser to the head of the U.S. Central Command, during a recent visit to Afghanistan. They count on having that sort of resource and money. Afghanistan has seen its deadliest bout
[cia-drugs] john perkins interview Confessions of an Economic Hitman
NATIONAL INTEL REPORT with John Stadhmiller archive: http://mp3.rbnlive.com/Stadt06.html interview: http://mp3.rbnlive.com/Stadt/0608/20060815_Tue_Stadtmiller1.mp3 http://mp3.rbnlive.com/Stadt/0608/20060815_Tue_Stadtmiller2.mp3 __._,_.___ Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM SPONSORED LINKS Independent broker dealer Independent director Central intelligence agency Central intelligence agency employment YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS Visit your group "cia-drugs" on the web. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. __,_._,___
[cia-drugs] Re: Fwd: [ctrl] Operation Change of Location?
Here's the actual link: http://www.counterpunch.com/schuh08152006.html And here's the actual point: Who infiltrated whom, and on what territory did the initial capture of the IDF soldiers occur? Differing press accounts stating that the capture occurred in Lebanon- not Israel- are now widely known: most frequently cited are AFP, Hindustan Times, Deutsch Press Agency, Asia Times, Bahrain News Agency and Voltairenet. Others reflect changes of direction in the recording of basic facts. --- In cia-drugs@yahoogroups.com, RoadsEnd [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Begin forwarded message: From: Alamaine, IVe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: August 15, 2006 8:53:34 AM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [ctrl] Operation Change of Location? Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.counterpunch.com/ August 15, 2006 Operation Change of Location? How Reports of the July 12th Capture of IDF Soldiers Soon Shifted From Lebanon to Israel By TRISH SCHUH A team of Israeli lawyers is now suing the Lebanese government for starting the war. The case, to be filed in US civil court, will sue for compensation and damages incurred by Israeli residents and businesses as a result of the war. Attorneys Yehudah Talmon, Yoram Dantziger and Nitzah Libai claim the Lebanese government violated international law because it didn't stop Hezbollah's casus belli cross-border raid against Israel. Israel's justification for its 'self-defense' attack on Lebanon, and the placement of the original provocation will take on new legal significance in coming months. Who infiltrated whom, and on what territory did the initial capture of the IDF soldiers occur? Differing press accounts stating that the capture occurred in Lebanon- not Israel- are now widely known: most frequently cited are AFP, Hindustan Times, Deutsch Press Agency, Asia Times, Bahrain News Agency and Voltairenet. Others reflect changes of direction in the recording of basic facts. Newsweek's Michael Hirsh of MSNBC.com, on July 12, said: As a result, things are blowing up so quickly it's difficult to know where to focus any longer. After the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hizbullah in Lebanon on Wednesday, which the hard-line group linked to a similar kidnapping by Hamas the week before, the mideast seemed to be closer to all-out war. By July 13, the story out of MSNBC.com's Jerusalem bureau was different. In a piece titled Crisis allows Israel to pursue strategic goals- Kidnappings give Israel excuse to neutralize Hamas, Hezbollah, Jerusalem bureau chief Steven Gutkin wrote: Kidnappings changed everything: All that changed Wednesday, when Hezbollah guerillas crossed into Israel, seizing Goldwasser and Regev and killing eight other soldiers in the ensuing fighting. AP also ran changed versions. On July 12, at 5:41AM Joseph Panossian wrote: The militant group Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers during clashes Wednesday across the border in southern Lebanon, prompting a swift reaction from Israel, which sent ground forces into its neighbor to look for them. At 7:09 AM, Panossian had altered his report: The Hezbollah militant group captured two Israeli soldiers during clashes along the Lebanese border on Wednesday. By late afternoon, at 4:13 PM, AP's Panossian had completely shifted location: Hezbollah militants crossed into Israel on Wednesday and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel responded in southern Lebanon with warplanes, tanks and gunboats, and said eight of its soldiers had been killed in the violence. Israeli sources went almost unnoticed. Cybercast News Service (CNSNews.com) of July 12 said: The abduction of two Israeli soldiers by Hizbullah militants in southern Lebanon was not a terrorist attack but an act of war, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday. Australia's ABC News (Reuters) on July 13 quoted the IDF: The sources say the Israeli soldiers had been seized at around 9am local time across the border from Aita al Shaab, some 15 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast. The Israeli army confirmed that two Israeli soldiers had been captured on the Lebanese frontier. Israeli ground forces crossed into Lebanon to hunt for the missing soldiers, Israeli Army Radio said. Voice of America, Jerusalem, on July 12 said: Speaking to reporters outside the Israeli Foreign Ministry, spokesman Mark Regev says Hezbollah is responsible for the violence. It appears we have an escalation in the North, he said. It is very clear that the escalation started on the Lebanese side of the border, and Israel will respond appropriately. In his article Casus Belli, IDF Brigadier General Moshe Yaalon wrote: The present crisis was initiated- in Gaza by Hamas and in southern Lebanon by Hezbollah- from lands that are not under Israeli occupation. New Republic, July 31. A quote by Hamas