[CTRL] The Menacing Menace
-Caveat Lector- From http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/Scott051202/scott051202.html }}}Begin The Judeo-Christian menace By Frank Scott Online Journal Contributing Writer May 12, 2002We are supposedly in a struggle with an Islamic world bent on taking over the West. This, according to pundits, government figures and other bigots who use the worst racial and religious slanders, reducing more than a billion human beings to hordes of terrorist madmen. But where does the madness originate and which religious doctrines are at the root of the savagery that grips our world? It is the political economics of capital that drive the global engines of the market and power its killing machines. But religion plays an important supporting role, by preaching divine goodness to rationalize earthly evil. Individual words of Judeo- Christian piety and love, spoken by sincere believers, rarely match its institutional deeds of greed and hate practiced on millions of people under its rule. Calling Islam a threat to this kind of Western civilization is a charge empty of context and full of bigotry. Influenced by our mind managers, many accept that they are evil and that we are good . Of course, most humans are inherently decent, if given the chance to act that way. But it is Judeo-Christianity, propelled by its western capitalist motor, that is the worst killer, molester and polluter the world has ever known. Islam, in its most extreme forms, is the equivalent of a mob armed with pistols , while the Judeo- Christians are the Crusades, World Wars, nuclear and biological weapons, colonialism and racism, all rolled into one. The Koran is cited by those who condemn all Muslims for the excesses of some, but it is the older Bible that contains the seeds from which the murderous policies of the West take root. Rejecting the moral message of justice that some find in its scriptures, its institutional lust has been to dominate , slaughter and pollute , while depicting itself as superior, divinely chosen, and when aggrieved, righteously vengeful in acting on the will of God. Who are the real fanatics? The present horror in Israel-Palestine is an example of this religious bigotry. Palestinians are deemed fanatic when they are driven to suicidal despair by their plight, and blow themselves apart to kill their invaders. But the brutal, colonial power of Israel is depicted as a nation of persecuted souls, seeking shelter and besieged by suicidal madmen corrupted by their evil parents. It is as if rich young Palestinians loll about on chaise lounges, and suddenly their wicked parents say, Go blow yourselves up and kill some innocent Jews. The lack of context given these bloody actions could lead simpletons to conclude that Arabs hijacked four airplanes, killed themselves and thousands of Americans , because Western women hide their identities behind cosmetics and hair coloring, instead of burqas and chadors. In the wholesale terror of Judeo-Christian war and the retail terror of Islamic retaliation, victims are mostly innocent, and tragically so. They are pawns of policy, and complicit only through ignorance and subjection to propaganda. Despite tales of how misinformed they are, it would be hard to find people more confused about the material world than we are. The corporate West has the most powerful weapons of mass destruction ever created, but it also has media weapons of mass confusion. It uses both, and without mercy. The tongue-twisted twit in the White House, who makes Reagan look quick-witted by comparison, is transformed by media into a bold, wise wartime leader. Congress follows this line and alternates between being lapdogs and bootlickers. Whether snuggling at his crotch or groveling at the Israeli lobby's feet, this disgraceful mob of bought and paid for politicos has defamed democracy . With few exceptions, it praises the occupying military force in Palestine, and supports our war on everything labeled terrorist. It demands that the world treat the USA as chosen people of the planet, above the rule of any law, save that of its own Judeo-Christian interpretation. Our commissars of consciousness identify social realities only in caricatured individuals. Whether these are ancient religious icons, as in the Moses or Jesus legends, or contemporary figures, as in a heroic Bill Clinton or Eli Weisel or a demonized Yasir Arafat or Ariel Sharon, they misrepresent the material world, oversimplify complex issues, and distort the humanity at the core of most religious belief. We meddle in the lives of millions who never invited us into their world. We disrespect their cultures, empower their dictators, and murder them at will, all to maintain an energy system that endangers the planet. Religious fables about people returning to a place where they've never been, to collect real estate given them by God, and of a virgin giving birth to God's son, blend with political fables about democratic societies protecting the
[CTRL] Carlyle Group cashing in again on IPO
-Caveat Lector- --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Sun, 12 May 2002 19:39:09 -0700 From: Joshua Tinnin [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:[CIA-DRUGS] Fw: [Big-Medicine] Carlyle Group cashing in again on IPO To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Not exactly a new article, but I do believe it's relevant considering the current clash of ideas. Not only that, this is in ... CBS Marketwatch. Although the link to the original article is dead, it is on http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/03.21C.Carlisle.Group.htm - jt - Original Message - From: Joshua Tinnin [EMAIL PROTECTED] from - http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?print=1guid=%7B2E2F45DA-05FC-4D34- 828B-03FB3A59F543%7D Carlyle Group cashing in again on IPO Commentary: U.S. Marine Repair is latest offering By Steve Gelsi, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 1:17 AM ET March 17, 2002 NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Conspiracy theories abound on the Internet. And the involvement of the Carlyle Group in yet another military contractor IPO should provide some good fodder, not to mention tales of insider deals that rival the payoffs from the dot-com era. Chaired by former Regean administration defense secretary Frank Carlucci, The Carlyle Group - http://www.thecarlylegroup.com/ - is a $13 billion private equity firm based just a few blocks away from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. Founded in 1987 by two executives hailing from MCI, Marriott and a corporate merger attorney, it's attracted the most high-ranking officials in Washington on their way out of jobs in the Oval Office or elsewhere in the upper echelon of government. Principals include former British Prime Minister John Major, former secretary of state, James A. Baker III, not to mention former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Arthur Levitt. Former President George Bush holds the official title of senior advisor to the Carlyle Asia Advisory Board and gives speeches at events. Eyeing companies for investment, the Carlyle Group has taken part in several IPOs over the years including VarsityBooks.com, orthodontic firm Align Technology and high speed Internet firm NorthPoint Communications. In October of 1997, The Carlyle Group purchased a majority stake in United Defense Industries (UDI: news, chart, profile) in the midst of a slowdown in U.S. military spending following the end of the Cold War. After Sept. 11, President George W. Bush proposed huge increases in military spending now pending before Congress. The languishing defense sector has heated up and with it military-flavored IPOs have surfaced from several players including Tuesday's Anteon International (ANT: news, chart, profile), Integrated Defense Technologies (IDE: news, chart, profile), ManTech International (MANT: news, chart, profile) and upcoming information technology specialist Veridian. The $400 million United Defense Industries IPO was the first to debut in the latest salvo of weapons debutantes. When the maker of military vehicles went public in December, Carlucci owned 40,000 shares at an average strike price of $4.71, according to the company's IPO filings. The IPO debuted at $19 per share and has since risen to more than $27 per share. Carlucci is showing a tidy paper profit of $892,000 on his stake in United Defense Industries - pretty respectable. Granted, there are lockup periods governing when insiders can sell their shares, but in this time of post dot-com meltdowns and a barren IPO landscape, it's amazing to see that such big profits are still possible. On Wednesday, Carlyle filed a $160 million IPO for U.S. Marine Repair, a Norfolk, Va. specialist in maintaining and refurbishing Navy ships. Although the IPO market may soon tire of all these military deals, this one should do fairly well and provide another nice payday for The Carlyle Group. With access to folks like Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney, Carlyle seems to have the defense game rigged as one of the biggest military contractors in the country. Sure it's just good business to buy low and sell high, but the Carlyle Group seems to be a bit too well connected. The company practically evokes classic conspiracy theories about a shadow government run by entities like the Rockefeller-founded Trilateral Commission of the 1970s, or the bizarre gatherings of wealthy white men dressed in robes at California's Bohemian Grove. The tales continue with the annual Bilderberg conference or the World Economic Forum at Davos -- events where the world's elite gather to ponder the direction of Western Civilization. While it's illegal for former government officials to lobby directly for private firms, there's nothing on the books right now to keep ex-officials from helping to raise money for investment ventures sponsored by companies like the Carlyle Group. The debate over apparent conflicts of interest will likely continue, but in the
Re: [CTRL] HR 3598 was ... Wonder if they'll reinstate the draft...
-Caveat Lector- --- Samantha L. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: -Caveat Lector- In a message dated 5/10/02 4:17:20 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Although I endorse nonviolent means to provide solutions to most if not all conflicts arising among the various factions of humanity, I also endorse (almost) universal military training. As a mother I am opposed because our kids then become guinea pigs for whatever vaccines the military wants to throw at them. That is my primary concern. These young people lose their rights as individuals when they become part of the military machine. Boot camp - okay, weapons training - okay, vaccines NOT okay. IMO. Laura As a mother of a 16 year old, I say no to all of it. No son of mine will fight for the greed of the global elite. If they care to send THEIR sons to fight, fine by me. The military machine is nothing but the global greed machine and I want no part of it. If that means I can't drive me fricking car anymore, so be it! A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om __ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Fwd: OPEC WARNING TO CHAVEZ KILLED COUP
fwd ---BeginMessage--- Fear of Embargo Behind US Move Against Populist President by Greg Palast The Guardian (UK), Monday May 13, 2002 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was warned of the likely coup against him in advance by the Secretary General of OPEC, Ali Rodriguez, allowing Chavez to prepare an extraordinary plan which spared both his government and his life, an investigation has revealed. # Newsnight will broadcast and webcast Palasts report from Caracas tonight, Monday, during the programme which begins at 10:30pm. Meirion Jones, Producer. See www.bbc.co.uk/Newsnight/ or www.GregPalast.com. The webcast remains accessible for at least 24 hours. # Mr. Rodriguez, a former leftist guerrilla, called Chavez from OPEC headquarters in Vienna several days before the attempted overthrow in April. He tipped off his ally that OPEC had advance word that some Arab nations, later revealed as Libya and Iraq, planned to call for a new oil embargo against the United States over Palestine. OPEC's chief warned Chavez that the US would have to prod a long-simmering coup into action to break the back of any embargo threat, likely April 11, start of a general strike. It was Venezuela which shattered the first oil embargo of 1973 by replacing Arab oil with its own huge reserves. The warning - revealed by an investigation for BBC2's Newsnight to be shown tonight - explains the oddly swift and safe return of Chavez to power within two days of his April 12 capture by military officers under the direction of coup leader Pedro Carmona. Until now, there remained a mystery as to why Carmona, who declared himself president, and Venezuela's military chiefs, most of whom backed the coup, simply surrendered without firing a shot. The answer, Newsnight was told by a Chavez insider, is that several hundred pro-Chavez troops were hidden in secret corridors under and leading into Miraflores, the Presidential Palace. Juan Barreto, a leader of Chavez' party in the National Assembly, was with Chavez when he was under siege. Barreto said that Jose Baduel, chief of the paratroop division loyal to Chavez, waited until Carmona was inside Miraflores. Baduel then called Carmona and informed him that, with troops virtually under his chair, Carmona was as much a hostage as Chavez. He gave Carmona twenty-four hours to return Chavez alive. Escape from Miraflores was impossible for Carmona. The building was surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Chavista demonstrators who, alerted by Chavez' Minister of Foreign Affairs, had marched on Miraflores from The Ranchos, the poorest barrios. Despite the warning and his preparations, Chavez was forced to surrender to coup leaders on April 12 because his first line of defense, Plan Avila, failed. Under Plan Avila, made public shortly after the coup, the Presidential Palace would be surrounded with tanks. However, the tank battalion commander stunned Chavez by refusing the president's orders to act. Chavez himself told Newsnight that upon receiving the warning from OPEC, he hoped to stave off a coup entirely by issuing a statement meant to mollify the Bush Administration. Chavez pledged that Venezuela would never join, nor tolerate, a renewed oil embargo. But Chavez had already incurred America's wrath by slashing Venezuelan oil output and rebuilding OPEC, causing oil prices to nearly double to over $20 a barrel. Chavez opponents made clear they would not abide by OPEC production limits and would reverse Chavez' plan to double the royalties charged foreign oil companies in Venezuela, principally, US petroleum giant Exxon-Mobil. The American government's panic over the looming calls for an oil embargo, made public by Iraq and Libya on April 8 and 9, also explains the US State Department's ill-concealed and clumsy support for the coup attempt. Chavez told Newsnight, I have written proof of the time of the entries and exits of two US military officers into the headquarters of the coup plotters - their names, whom they met with, what they said - proof on video and on still photographs. Last month the Guardian reported a former US intelligence officer claims that the US had been considering a coup to overthrow the elected Venezuelan president for nearly a year. Wayne Madsen, a former intelligence officer with the US navy, told the Guardian that American military attaches had been in touch with members of the Venezuelan military to examine the possibility of a coup. Trying to restore diplomatic channels to the US, Chavez has played down the importance of the American meddling which nearly ended in his death. But Guillermo Garcia Ponce, a key Chavez advisor, charges that US funding was behind three simultaneous plots to assassinate Chavez. Garcia Ponce, who holds the title of Political
[CTRL] Kapos in the Kongress
-Caveat Lector- From http://sptimes.com/2002/05/12/Columns/Israel_shows_its_musc.shtml }}}Begin [an error occurred while processing this directive] Israel shows its muscle dealing with Congress By SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN, Times Senior Correspondent © St. Petersburg Times, published May 12, 2002 During the 2000 election campaign, pro-Israel groups were among the biggest contributors to U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch of Florida. The Fort Lauderdale Democrat got $23,400, more than he received from groups representing education and health care interests. During the 2000 election campaign, pro-Israel groups were among the biggest contributors to U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch of Florida. The Fort Lauderdale Democrat got $23,400, more than he received from groups representing education and health care interests. But Deutsch says the pro-Israel money had nothing to do with his May 2 vote for a controversial House resolution expressing unequivocal support for Israel. Nor, he says, did the money affect his decision to join three other members of Congress in flying to Israel that day to hand-deliver the resolution to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. I honestly have no much idea how much money I was given, Deutsch said. And it's irrelevant in terms of anything. Others aren't so sure. Clearly the giving by the pro-Israel interests has an impact in Congress, says Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington, D.C., organization that monitors campaign financing. You can't say it's the only thing that impacts Congress in terms of the resolution, but it clearly does have a lot of impact. According to the center, pro-Israel groups have contributed $41.3-million to federal candidates and political party committees since 1989. In the same period, pro-Arab and pro-Muslim interests have given $297,000. Of course, congressional support of Israel is neither new nor surprising. The United States has been Israel's closest friend since 1948, when President Harry Truman became the first world leader to recognize the new Jewish state. Despite its small size and scarce natural resources, Israel absorbed hundreds of thousands of Jews from around the globe and built a thriving country -- with the help of billions in U.S. aid -- that is the only democracy in the Middle East. But critics say Israel's continued occupation of land seized during the 1967 Middle East War has stymied peace and contributed to the violence that has claimed the lives of 489 Israelis and more than 1,500 Palestinians since September 2000. The latest crisis came in late March when Israel, in response to a suicide bombing that killed 28 Jews, invaded several Palestinian cities. President Bush found himself caught between Arab demands to stop the incursion and Israel's insistence on destroying the infrastructure of terrorism. It was amid Bush's attempts to end the crisis that the House passed the resolution expressing solidarity with Israel and condemning Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Although 352 members voted yes, there was enough concern about the measure that 82 others voted no or didn't vote. Some opponents said the resolution would hurt America's ability to act as an evenhanded broker in Mideast peace negotiations. This one-sided resolution will only fan the killing frenzy, charged Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D- Ohio. It offers no encouragement for the Arab states to have a place at the peace table. . . . Israel cannot make peace alone. This resolution envisions no Palestinian state. At its worst, I fear it represents crass domestic politics in this election year. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., argued that the resolution failed to take into account that neither Israelis nor Palestinians had fully honored the 1993 Oslo peace agreement. Let us get that straight, he told his House colleagues. Neither side is an angel. Florida's Deutsch countered that Israel's fight against Palestinian attacks and America's fight against al-Qaida are one and the same. There is no Yasser Arafat exemption to the war on terrorism, said Deutsch, who is Jewish and has many Jewish voters in his state. Hours after the resolution passed, Deutsch and three other House members flew to Israel aboard a U.S. Navy plane. At least one Israeli newspaper called the trip a fact-finding mission although any facts gathered came from the Israeli side. Deutsch said he and his colleagues asked to meet with Palestinians but were told that was impossible unless they agreed to see Arafat. They declined. The consensus is that it's a post-Arafat era and he's a terrorist, Deutsch said in a phone interview after his return last week. The four also asked to go to the West Bank and Gaza Strip but were warned by the U.S. Embassy in Israel that it would be too dangerous, Deutsch said. Instead, the delegation met with Israeli leaders and visited victims of terrorism. One of the most constructive parts of the trip, Deutsch said, was seeing the large amount of weapons Israel seized
Re: [CTRL] Could the Poles Flip?
I have been thinking on this subject since 1972. Can the poles flip try in our life time. My own theory.. What scientists call a ice age is just the ice cap breaking down and re-forming elsewhere. What triggers this I am not sureI am still thinking about this. When I come up with a theory I will post it. Immanuel Velikovsky had some interesting theories on this subject as well as other people. He said it was possible to have "mini reversals". He was sure these had indeed happened in historic time and the man and animal life has been deeply affected by them. He considered the fact that many of the life forms destroyed in catastrophies were more physically adapted to survive than the creatures that replaced them. In other words, there was nothing wrong with the animals, they were just SUDDENLY WIPE OUT. Take the mastedons for instance. Scientists found undigested plants in their stomachs and between their teeth. Plants that now grow nowhere near where the animals died (like currently hundreds of miles away). They died and were flash frozen in the blink of an eye (as they did not have time to putrify or decay). It is said that sled dogs ate the meat with no problems. Take fossils for instance. There are no new fossild being made. The majority of plants and animals died and rot and are gone in days. Fossils formed under great heat and stress causing the plants and/or animals to die and be covered up so quickly and under such heat that they just got sealed and fossilized. Another subject Dr. Velikovsky tackled was the idea of where petroleum came from. Or coal either for that matter. Coal and oil where created under great stress and heat. What caused the great fift valley in Africa for instance. where the earth looks like alarge tennis ball that some giant twisted until the surface cracked and tore. Look at a geological (surface feature map). The Andes Mountains and the Himalayas have been thrust up higher in historic times. Dr. Velikovsky had the personal opinion the the time frame of history is all wrong. That many old religious documents including the Old Testament are recordings of such events. Look at the east coast of the United States around the Carolinas especially, there are a series of "blue holes" out in the ocean and depressions all along the U.S. east coast that look like a train of meteorites had rained in a path left to right. Has the sun always risen in the east and set in the west Not according to many ancient documents and legends. In one of the pyramids is a mural of the sky the way it would look if if the sun rose in the west and set in the east. It was considered very sacred. Ancient temples were always oriented to the sun rising on the solstice. That is the main reason temples were abandoned and rebuilt. The old testament temple was even rebuilt for this reason. The day has not always been 24 hours long. The year has not always been 365 days long. Historically this is a "recent" occurance. What we read in the Old Testament is a historical record of earth changes (the exodus for instance). Why does the Old testament insist on stating "in the east at the sun's rising" if this were not something different or out of the ordinary Yes...The earth would survive a pole shift. The planet would survive and quite possibly the creatures on it. [EMAIL PROTECTED] ### - Original Message - From: William Shannon To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, April 29, 2002 7:54 PM Subject: [CTRL] Could the Poles Flip? http://www.earthfiles.com/earth339.htmEarth's Magnetic Anomalies - Could the Poles Flip?by Linda Moulton HoweApril 27, 2002 Cambridge, Massachusetts - Deep beneath our feet as we walk around in fact, 4,000 miles down is the center of the earth where an iron core is so hot it is liquid and boils around like cooking porridge. That moving, melted iron also produces the magnetic fields that surround the earth and upon which much of earth's surface life, satellites and space technology depend upon for orientation, and for protection. If magnetic fields did not trap highly energetic particles racing from the sun, all kinds of damage could be done to living organisms and space technologies. For nearly a million years, magnetic field lines have been coming out of the south pole and entering the north pole of the earth. That is called the magnetic dipole.Now a science team from Paris, France led by Gauthier Hulot at the Institute of Earth Sciences in Paris - working with other scientists such as Harvard University's magnetic field expert, Dr. Jeremy Bloxham - have compared satellite measurements of the earth's magnetic field strengths 25 years ago and today. Their discovery was published in the April 2002 science journal Nature and it boils down to
[CTRL] Colombian Tribe Topples Mighty Oil Giant
-Caveat Lector- --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Mon, 13 May 2002 04:45:33 + From: robalini [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Konformist: Alternet News Colombian Tribe Topples Mighty Oil Giant Gabrielle Banks, AlterNet May 6, 2002 There's not much good news coming out of war-torn Colombia these days. Friday was a notable exception. With no great fanfare, Occidental Petroleum, the multinational giant that has gained infamy in environmental circles, announced at its annual shareholder meeting in Santa Monica, Calif. that it was relinquishing control of Siriri, the oil block in Colombia on the ancestral land of the U'wa people. The official line was that after exploratory drilling came up dry last summer, Occidental geologists concluded it was not scientifically wise to carry on the project. This was a high-risk well from a technical standpoint, said Occidental spokesman Larry Meriage. But environmentalists had a different take. It just shows that drilling for oil in ancestral territories of indigenous communities in a tropical rainforest region is an unviable and untenable business plan, said Michael Brune of the Rainforest Action Network. According to one activist who has closely followed local developments, when the U'wa realized Occidental intended to proceed with the drilling, the tribe prayed for the oil to move. Maybe the dry well was simply proof that the universe is the best arbiter in matters of such consequence. However you spin it, this was a colossal victory for the U'wa, a tribe of just 5,000 souls, whose scrappy, grassroots struggle against Occidental began nearly a decade ago. The U'wa said the oil operation threatened the basic welfare of civilians who would be caught in the cross-fire of Colombia's civil war. The battle over power and resources -- perpetrated by the Colombian military, leftist FARC guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers -- has ravaged any semblance of normalcy for Colombians. People are kidnapped and murdered in what amounts to a perpetual, surreal chess match. (Staking its own territorial claim in the war, the Bush Administration is pushing the U.S. Congress to authorize $98 million in military aid to defend another Occidental venture, the Caño-Limon pipeline, a private enterprise which runs through U'wa land.) At great odds and at great risk to their survival, the U'wa have taken a non-violent tack toward self-determination. When Occidental's plans in Siriri became clear in the early 90s, U'wa tribal leaders diligently filed lawsuits, lobbied at corporate headquarters, and mobilized peaceful blockades at well sites to block Occidental. When the magnitude of the multinational's political muscle proved insurmountable, the U'wa took their struggle to sympathetic progressive groups in United States and around the world where it galvanized an overwhelming response. In one of the best-covered protests, demonstrators outside the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles denounced Al Gore's insensitivity to the U'wa people. At the time, Gore was a major stockholder in Occidental and the U'wa had threatened a mass suicide if the company went forward with its plan to drill. Occidental -- which banked $14 billion in sales last year -- probably didn't lose much sleep over the bad press. After six months of drilling, the company says it decided it was no longer fiscally worthwhile to continue to explore this wildcat well, where the likelihood of striking oil was one in 12. We may never know why Occidental pulled its operations out of the Siriri block, but this rare, non-violent triumph of the few offers a powerful lesson to the mighty armed masses at war in Colombia (and in many places throughout the world). No matter how daunting the opponent, true victory can never be attained through bloodshed. Gabrielle Banks is Activism Editor for AlterNet. * Bush 'Unsigns' War Crimes Treaty Jim Lobe, AlterNet May 6, 2002 --- The Bush administration Monday formally renounced its obligations as a signatory to the 1998 Rome Statute to establish an International Criminal Court (ICC). Critics say the decision to unsign the treaty will further damage the United States' reputation and isolate it from its allies. Driven by unfounded fears of phantom prosecutions, the United States has hit a new nadir of isolationism and exceptionalism, said William Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International's U.S. section (AIUSA). A simple three-sentence letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan formally ended U.S. participation in an agreement to create the world's first permanent tribunal to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and other crimes against humanity. In the letter, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, John Bolton, asserted that Washington does not intend to become a party to the (Rome Statute
[CTRL] Spies, or students?
-Caveat Lector- From http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=162902contrassID= 2subContrassID=5sbSubContrassID=0listSrc=Y Despite the article casting aspersions to contrafute the existence of spies as art students, it gives up little things like: There is also an explanation for the military background of the arrested Israelis: every Israeli has a military background, often in the various intelligence units. This may become relevant when considering how the Israelis categorise their citizens, as one-time military, now civilians -- or -- as all soldiers of varying statuses of reserve component. }}}Begin w w w . h a a r e t z d a i l y . c o m Spies, or students? Were the Israelis just trying to sell their paintings, or agents in a massive espionage ring? WASHINGTON - It could be the biggest espionage scandal of the century, or the greatest journalistic non-starter in many a decade, but it's clear that the story of the Israeli art students in New York - dozens of alleged spies living in the United States - refuses to die down. Anyone who believes the story says that everything is accurately documented and confirmed, and that only a conspiracy on the part of the U.S. administration - which is desperate to keep the affair quiet, partly out of shame and partly because of its warm relations with Israel - is keeping the affair out of the spotlight of public discussion. Those who repudiate the affair say it is baseless, just another unfounded urban legend that has taken on a life of its own on various marginal Internet sites. Either way, the story of the Israeli spies is alive and kicking. The most recent mention of the affair came last week in the highly respected Internet magazine, Salon.com, which recapped the main points of the scandal and even added some new details of its own. The official Israeli response was the same as ever: Nonsense, they say. The outline of the scandal is the same wherever it is published, with the more respectable journals taking more care over the details and relying more on reports and documented evidence, while the more marginal publications pile on spurious details and compare the scandal to the great conspiracies of the past. According to reports of the scandal, around 120 young Israeli citizens, posing as art students and selling paintings door-to-door, have been arrested and deported from the United States. The door- to-door sale of art works, it is claimed, was a front for a sophisticated spy ring: the students would turn up at homes and offices - especially at buildings housing federal authorities and military bases, and even went to the homes of those employed in these offices. The students attempted to form friendships with federal employees, photograph their offices, tap their phone lines and infiltrate their databases. It is also claimed that the spy ring kept tabs on Arab targets inside the United States, including Arab Americans who were in contact with the Al-Qaida network. According to some speculations, the Israelis' intelligence work enabled the spy ring to know in advance of the planned terror attack on September 11, without lifting a finger to prevent it. Beware students selling art There is one source for all these stories and it is not an unreliable one. The source is the 60-page draft of an internal report by the intelligence division of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Thedraft was leaked to the media and its existence was confirmed by spokesmen from the DEA and the Justice Department, which is responsible for running the DEA. But confirming that the report exists is not the same as verifying its contents. According to the report's author, whose identity has never been published, DEA officials identified an increase in the number of incidents in which young Israelis, claiming to be art students, tried to sell them works of art. It is entirely possible, said the report, that this is an organized intelligence-gathering activity. A warning was sent out by the federal anti-espionage office to other federal agencies in March 2001,warning them to be wary of students trying to sell them art works and gain entry to federal facilities. The document records several encounters between DEA officials and Israelis all over the United States. In one incident, the report documents an attempt to gain entry to the Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, where the AWACS spy plane and the B-1 bombers are serviced. What is really keeping this story alive is the claim of a link between the Israeli students and Israeli intelligence. The original report, as well as subsequent media reports, say that many of the young Israelis arrested served in the IDF's Intelligence Corps and were involved in operating electronic bugging equipment; one even said he was the son of a senior Israel Defense Forces officer. It took just one small leap to turn this into a conspiracy, whereby all the Israelis arrested were in the pay of the Mossad. The
[CTRL] Iraqi Oil
-Caveat Lector-
From http://fiot.1accesshost.com/iraqioil.html
If that means I can't drive me fricking car anymore, so be it!
[ Kristine S]
This will be something to watch. You may be prescient! Oh! Change best happens
from the inside out. AER
}}}Begin
US Again Becomes Top Consumer of Iraqi Oil; Congress Considers Ban
DUBAI, May 11 (AFP) - The majority of Iraq's oil exports since shipments resumed
May 8 after a month-long embargo will again go to the United States, the Middle East
Economic Survey (MEES) reports in its Monday edition.
MEES soundings indicate that Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has
already confirmed sales and scheduled liftings for around 850,000 barrels per day
(bpd) and may be able to export as much as 1.4 million bpd, the industry newsletter
says.
MEES further understands that most of the exports are destined for the US with
some to Europe, Morocco, South Africa, India and Taiwan.
Major buyers include Valero, Chevron, Arcadia, Petrola, Glencore, TotalFinaElf,
Sinochem, Vitol and Cepsa, the weekly adds.
The US Senate in April voted overwhelmingly in favor of an amendment to an energy
bill that would prevent the United States from buying oil of Iraqi origin.
The House of Representatives now has to vote on the amendment.
In 2001, the United States imported some 10.6 million barrels of oil per day,
according to official figures. Most of that came from Canada, Saudi Arabia and
Venezuela, but around nine percent was from Iraq.
Iraq has an export capacity target of 2.2 million barrels per day, and most of the
shortfall is due to the loss of exports during the first week of the month before
President Saddam Hussein ended an embargo in support of the Palestinians.
The United Nations estimated Iraq's loss from the embargo at 1.2 billion dollars.
Iraq is allowed to export oil under a UN-supervised oil-for-food program introduced to
alleviate the suffering of the population from crippling sanctions slapped on Baghdad
for invading Kuwait in 1990.
A vote in the Security Council to reform UN sanctions and free up the flow on non-
milltary goods to Baghdad has been delayed for a few days at the request of Russia.
End{{{
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not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not
believe in anything merely on the authority of Teachers, elders or wise men.
Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it
agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all.
Then accept it and live up to it.
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--- Ernest Hemingway
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[CTRL] Venzuelan oil
-Caveat Lector-
From http://www.guardian.co.uk/oil/story/0,11319,714504,00.html
Why shoot only one foot with the Iraqis? Get both feet via the Venzuelans!!!
AER
}}}Begin
Opec chief warned Chavez about coup
Greg Palast
Monday May 13, 2002
The Guardian
The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, had advance warning of last month's coup
attempt against him from the secretary general of Opec, Ali Rodriguez, allowing him
to prepare an extraordinary plan which saved both his government and his life, an
investigation has revealed.
Mr Rodriguez, who is Venezuelan and a former leftwing guerrilla, telephoned Mr
Chavez from the Vienna headquarters of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting
Countries, of which Venezuela is an important member, several days before the
attempted overthrow in April.
He said Opec had learned that some Arab countries, later revealed to be Libya and
Iraq, planned to call for a new oil embargo against the United States because of its
support for Israel.
The Opec chief warned Mr Chavez that the US would prod a long-simmering coup
into action to break any embargo threat. It was likely to act on April 11, the day a
general strike was due to start.
It was Venezuela which shattered the oil embargo of 1973 by replacing Arab oil with
its own huge reserves.
The warning - revealed by a Newsnight investigation to be shown on BBC2 tonight -
explains the swift and safe return of Mr Chavez to power within two days of his April
12 capture by military officers under the direction of the coup leader, Pedro
Carmona.
Until now, it was unclear why Mr Carmona - who had declared himself president -
and the military chiefs who backed the coup surrendered without firing a shot.
The answer to the mystery, Newsnight was told by a Chavez insider, is that several
hundred pro-Chavez troops were hidden in secret corridors under Miraflores, the
presidential palace.
Juan Barreto, a leader of Mr Chavez's party in the national assembly, was with Mr
Chavez when he was under siege.
Mr Barreto said that Jose Baduel, chief of the paratroop division loyal to Mr Chavez,
had waited until Mr Carmona was inside Miraflores.
Mr Baduel then phoned Mr Carmona to tell him that, with troops virtually under his
chair, he was as much a hostage as Mr Chavez. He gave Mr Carmona 24 hours to
return Mr Chavez alive.
Escape from Miraflores was impossible for Mr Carmona. The building was
surrounded by hundreds of thousands of pro-Chavez demonstrators who, alerted by
a sympathetic foreign affairs minister, had marched on it from the Ranchos, the
poorest barrios.
Mr Chavez told Newsnight that, after receiving the warning from Opec, he had hoped
to stave off the coup entirely by issuing a statement to mollify the Bush
adminstration. He pledged that Venezuela would neither join nor tolerate a renewed
oil embargo.
But Mr Chavez had already incurred America's wrath by slashing Venezuelan oil
output and rebuilding Opec, causing oil prices to nearly double to over $20 a barrel.
His opponents had made it clear that they would not abide by Opec production limits
and would reverse his plan to double the royalties charged to foreign oil companies in
Venezuela, principally the US petroleum giant Exxon-Mobil. The US government's
panic over the calls for an oil embargo, made public by Iraq and Libya on April 8 and
9, also explains what Venezuelans see as the state department's ill-concealed and
clumsy support for the coup attempt.
Mr Chavez told Newsnight: I have written proof of the time of the entries and exits of
two US military officers into the headquarters of the coup plotters - their names,
whom they met with, what they said - proof on video and on still photographs.
Last month the Guardian reported a former US intelligence officer's claims that the
US had been considering a coup to overthrow the Venezuelan president for nearly a
year.
Newsnight is on BBC2 at 10.30pm
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002
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~~~
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expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information
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Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe
simply because it has been handed down for many generations. Do not
believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do
not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not
believe in anything merely on the authority of Teachers, elders or wise men.
Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it
agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all.
Then accept it and live up to it.
The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama
[CTRL] More Terror Groups for the List
-Caveat Lector-
From http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,714484,00.html
}}}Begin
Israel thwarts Jewish bomb attack on school
Suzanne Goldenberg in Jerusalem
Monday May 13, 2002
The Guardian
Israel has thwarted a Jewish extremist plot to blow up a Palestinian hospital and a
girls' school in Arab East Jerusalem, arresting the bombers as they attempted to
install their high-powered explosives.
The plot came to light two weeks ago when police in Jerusalem stumbled on two
men unloading their bomb on the pavement between a girls' high school and the
Mukassad hospital, the main health centre for the Palestinians of East Jerusalem. It
was due to explode when the 1,500 pupils arrived at school. Two other men were
arrested later.
News of the attempted bombing - which was withheld by a court order until the
weekend - was greeted with considerable horror in Israel, and the men were
condemned by both the left and the right.
These fellows, if successful, could have created a major disaster, and with all due
respect to the Israeli agony about suicide bombings, this would have just contributed
another incredible atrocity that we don't want to see, said Ehud Sprinzak, dean of
the Lauder School of Government, and an expert on Jewish extremist groups.
However, several rabbis from small and hardline illegal Jewish settlements in the
West Bank criticised the arrests. Outside the Russian compound in Jerusalem,
where the men are being held, a small group has kept a vigil for the last few days,
and Kahane Chai, a Jewish extremist group outlawed in Israel and included on
America's list of international terrorist organisations, called for the release of the
men.
I think the government should put bombs in hospitals but unfortunately the
government doesn't do it, so it is up to the people to do those things, Noam
Federman, a spokesman for Kahane Chai, said.
The hospital bombing plot is the latest sign of a resurgence among Jewish 13
extremists, who have constantly accused the prime minister, Ariel Sharon, of going
soft on the Palestinians.
In March, a bomb exploded at a Palestinian boys' school in another part of Arab East
Jerusalem, injuring seven children and a teacher. It was claimed by a group called
the Revenge of the Children.
A police spokesman yesterday said investigators were looking for links between that
attack and the attempt to bomb the hospital. They are also seeking connections
between the attacks and the killing of at least seven Palestinians who were shot
dead on West Bank roads by another shadowy extremist group.
There have been no prosecutions in connection with any of these incidents, but Mr
Sprinzak said he hoped the arrest of the four men would lead to a breakthrough. He
also predicted that the arrests would scare off other extremists who might be
contemplating similar action.
But there was little sign of that at the weekend in Bat Ayin, a small Jewish settlement
in the West Bank, and home of three of the detainees. According to the Israeli press
yesterday, the settlement is particularly insular - banning entry to Palestinians and
to
non-Jews. There are no televisions, and male residents are required to grow beards.
The discovery of the plot has fuelled speculation in Israel of the re-emergence of a
highly sophisticated network of Jewish extremists. During the 1980s, a group known
as the Jewish Underground planned attacks on the Al-Aqsa mosque, a Muslim holy
site in Jerusalem, and struck at Palestinian political figures.
However, Mr Sprinzak dismissed those fears. That underground is long gone, and
those people have been freed. When people in Israel speak of an underground they
have in mind a sophisticated group, with very well trained operatives. This is nothing
like that.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
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Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe
simply because it has been handed down for many generations. Do not
believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do
not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not
believe in anything merely on the authority of Teachers, elders or wise men.
Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it
agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all.
Then accept it and live up to it.
The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutta
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Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will
teach you to keep your
[CTRL] (Fwd) PHARISEE WATCH: Lobby for Taxpayers' Dollars
-Caveat Lector- --- Forwarded message follows --- AIPAC Meeting Features Senator Jon Kyl Who Pledges Support to Israel C. E. Carlson Up to 450 Israeli patriots, guests and picketers attended the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) meeting at the Scottsdale Arizona Hilton Hotel on Sunday morning, May 5. AIPAC describes itself on its website as America's Pro-Israel Lobby and quotes the New York Times in what calls it The most important organization affecting America's relationship with Israel. The meeting format was decidedly more Israeli than American. It began with the standing singing of the Israeli National Anthem. The American flag was present, but was not deployed in a superior position to the Star of David. The Star Spangled Banner was not offered, nor was there a pledge to The American flag. One verse of God Bless America was sung as a consolation offering. Keynote speakers included Israeli Patriot Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, Member of Congress Jane Harman, AIPAC Executive Director Howard Kohr and Israeli former bureaucrat and now Stanford Professor Ariel Levite. The reoccurring theme was that Yasser Arafat controlls terrorism and the Palestinian people, that he is guilty of acting in bad faith so the Palestinian people must be further punished. Thus, Arafat was pictured as sort of a backwards proxy for the people. He is guilty but they must suffer. AIPAC inconsistency indicates it has a love hate relationship with Mr. Arafat; they love to denounce him but they don't want him to go away. Dr. Ariel Levite, who has served in the Defense Ministry, provided his version of the history of the intifada where he repeatedly fixed the blame on Arafat. He stressed that the Israeli people want peace. The writer got the impression that Dr. Levitt considers Arafat far too useful to get rid of. Kyl and Harmon competed for which could do the most for Israel. Both in their strident anti-Palestinian views, made the paid AIPAC Director and the Israeli agent appear moderates by comparison. Kyl stopped just short of saying all Palestinians should be ejected, as his friend, retiring Congressman Dick Armey recently publicly demanded. Kyl proudly stated he had had taken a military jeep tour around the West Bank, and said he agreed with Israel that it needed to appropriate a buffer zone between the west bank and Syria before a treaty is signed. He called for the cessation of funding to the PLO, which he said was upward to $170 million, and he indicated confidence congress would comply. Kyle's agenda mirrors the wish list of AIPAC Director Kohr, who also said he favored de-funding certain United Nation's investigative agency unfriendly to Israel. Representative Jane Harmon stated that she plans to co-sponsor a measure calling for adding Syria to the terrorist state list, and Kyl hastened to announce he would add his support. Several notes of concern played, and several admissions damaging leaked out of the meeting. Howard Kohr, stated that AIPAC is troubled by the widely held view since Day911 that the hatred would not be there were it not for (US) unique relationship with Israel. Jane Harmon stated that the US should continue to support Israel even if we have to go it alone without any other country in the world with the US. She seems to understand this may be the case. Harmon also stated her support for Israeli action in the West Bank, but she cautioned that she did not want to see us convert every five year old into a suicide bomber. Much of the meeting was consumed by a carefully monitored Israel friendly panel discussion with friendly written questions supposedly from the floor. However, several written questions from the floor about the use of US Foreign aid to end the live of Palestinian civilians were not read. AIPAC Director Kohr stated in his opening remarks, only one country stands with Israel. This was a surprising admission. As the crowd broke for lunch, Kohr acknowledged the presence of the pro- Palestinian pickets in front of the building, of which he said constitutes a growing worldwide problem. Mr. Kohr's speech delivered at the previously held April 22 conference can be read on AIPAC's website (www.aipac.org/policy2002hak.html). A substantial picket of men, women and children organized by Friends of Palestine rotated on the line steadily from 9:00 AM to 12:30PM with signs critical of foreign aid, Israeli atrocities, and AIPAC's influence on Congress. Several signs were directed at Senator Kyle of Arizona. Some picketers carried red, white, black and green Palestinians flags on busy Scottsdale Road in front of the hotel. Several counter picketers stationed themselves across the street, waving Israeli flags. According to a study by the Washington Report for Middle East Affairs, Senator Jon Kyl has already been the recipient of $77,000.00 in direct campaign
[CTRL] U.S. WON'T ABANDON CENTRAL ASIA...WATCH OUT, CENTRAL ASIA!
-Caveat Lector- This is being sent on behalf of [EMAIL PROTECTED] as part of the mailing list that you joined. List: emperorsclothes URL: http://www.emperors-clothes.com URL for this article: http://emperors-clothes.com/news/bbc1219.htm If you get this message twice, please bear with us. We'll have a new email list server within two weeks. Join our email list at http://emperors-clothes.com/f.htm Receive articles posted on Emperor's Clothes. Please feel free to re-post our material, but please quote our words rather than paraphrasing. Please credit the author(s) if you use our work. And please give the article's Web address so people can check the documentation. www.tenc.net * [Emperor's Clothes] === U.S. WON'T ABANDON CENTRAL ASIA... BBC Monitoring Central Asia Unit Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring December 19, 2001, Wednesday LENGTH: 1420 words FROM: Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency, Almaty, in Russian 19 Dec 01 [Posted 26 January 2002] Note: The following text contains no commentary from Emperor's Clothes. For related reading, see end.- EC] === ...WATCH OUT, CENTRAL ASIA! by Jared Israel Below is a report on the testimony of Elizabeth Jones, US assistant Secretary of State for Eurasian Affairs, before the US Senate last December. It comes from Kazakhstan courtesy of BBC. I could find no mention of Jones' Senate testimony in any US newspaper. Fortunately, we have Kazakhstan which is only about 6547 miles away and so it is possible for US citizens like me to find out what our leaders (so-called) are doing. People in the US - and all over the world - were originally told it was necessary to launch a military attack on Afghanistan to get rid of the Taliban and to arrest Osama bin Laden. Remember him? But as far back as December, Undersecretary Jones said something quite different in the media-free privacy of the U.S. Senate. She explained that no matter what happened in Afghanistan, the US and its allies would stay and assist the Central Asian Republics. However: that assistance was conditional on economic and democratic reforms and the observance of human rights. Jones outlined US priorities in the region: combating terrorism; reform; the rule of law; Caspian Sea energy resources. Many who oppose US policy will see the phrase Caspian Sea energy resources and think, Aha! It's oil! They're after oil. I don't think that's useful for understanding US policy. If the US Establishment needed oil then, as Mr. Castro has argued, they could buy it. Or they could buy the oil wells. Or the local oil companies. There really is nobody interested in standing in the way of the US having a reasonable supply of oil. Rather, the US establishment, and the Empire of which it is a leading part - perhaps we should call it the New World Empire - is very much interested in protecting its current hegemonic position in the world from possible future challenges coming from Eurasia - namely, from the still-nuclear-armed former Soviet Union. Hence the drive into Central Asia. In her Senate testimony, Undersecretary Jones made it clear she wishes to transform the Central Asia Republics into US protectorates. She didn't say it outright, of course, but she used easily decipherable code: The USA believes, Jones said, that certain countries in the region should noticeably step up their economic reforms and democratic processes, the observance of human rights and the formation of a strong civil society. Ahh, a strong civil society. This phrase has a definite meaning in the New World Empire. Civil society is strengthened when USAID, the National Endowment for Democracy and other government agencies in the U.S., Norway, Holland and Germany, as well as seemingly private groups, like the CIA-connected Open Society Foundation of George Soros, move in. What do these agencies do? They fund people who work for the Empire in the guise of democratic this and human rights that and institutes for economic reform and independent media. In the words of Allen Weinstein, the man who conceived the National Endowment of Democracy: 'A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA,' agrees Weinstein. -- Washington Post, September 22, 1991 To strengthen civil society these fake democracy-funding agencies set up NGOs, newspapers and TV stations and political parties as a Fifth Column to destabilize local societies along vulnerable lines of conflict. Or they inflame regional conflicts in the guise of peace and mediation groups. Ultimately these Fifth Column groups stage, or attempt to stage coup d'états, always under the guise of democratic reform, thus putting US operatives in power. This happened in Yugoslavia and Philippines. It was attempted in Belarus and Venezuela. The basis is being
[CTRL] Native America Wisdom?
-Caveat Lector- Much homage is paid to Native Americans and their wisdom. Is the wisdom deserving of such reverence? I give you this: In the beginning, the Cherokee believed that the earth was covered with water and that beavers came from the sky to drag the mud from the oceans bottom and bring it to the top. The beavers then attached it to the sky and created the land. The great buzzard now flew to the ground where he flapped his wings while the valleys and mountains were formed. It was on one of these flights that the great buzzard created the land on which the Cherokees lived. ??? Damaeus A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Fwd: [CIA-DRUGS] Bush Ranch Potemkin Village
---BeginMessage--- http://www.democrats.com/view.cfm?id=6687 PHONY TO THE CORE: The Ole Family Ranch in Crawford is a Set Completed the Same Day the Election was Stolen By Cheryl Seal Have you seen all those article and pictures of Bush at home on the ranch in Crawford - the ones that imply that he is just an ole ranch hand more comfortable on the family homestead than in the Big City, be it Austin or D.C.? Well, if you bought this image, you've been royally snuckered. The Bush family homestead in Crawford is nothing more than an elaborate set. The house, built in 2000, was designed to be ready for Bush to step into - like a set awaiting an actor - during the 2000 presidential election. Not only was the ranch created in 2000 - so, essentially, was the town of Crawford! Before then only about 400 people lived in the area. The Crawford Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture were formed shortly after the ranch was finished. The 1,600 acres on which the ranch sits was purchased in 1999 for an undisclosed price, but it was a helluva lot less than the current real estate agents' appraisal of $1.2 million. Yep, worth $1.2 million, but G.W. has a sweet deal at the tax appraiser's office, where the property is valued at about $988,000. Oh, and that homey ole ranch house? It's actually a 10,000-square-foot single level mansion/compound that won't even be 2 years old until this November! The compound features a swimming pool for daughters Jenna and Barbara, who apparently loudly demanded it - the Bushes call it the girls' Whining pool. Btw - we hear Bush got a sweet deal on the house construction, (the cost, of course remains undisclosed): the builders came from a religious community in El Mott, Texas. The original completion date of the house was November 7 - election day 2000. In other words, the curtain went up on the set on schedule for show time. The very timing of this event indicates that Bush was absolutely confident that the election would be successfully engineered in his favor. The whole idea behind the ranch set, of course, was so that the public could be treated to footage of Bush seeking a quiet retreat at the family ranch. Americans would thus assume that the ranch was a rooted family homestead or compound like the one Kennedy's had in Martha's Vineyard or FDR had at Campobello. But when Bush retreated into his homestead in November, 2000, he was merely walking onto a prepared set upon which the paint had barely dried, let alone even the barest of roots put down! When we see photos of Bush bombing around the ranch in his leather jacket in his ole pickup, supposedly knowing every tree and bush - it's all pure fantasy! If Bush knows every tree and bush after actually spending, all told, a total of about 2 months on the ranch (if you put the odd days end to end) since it was bought, then I''d like to know when he found time to hold all those endless Crawford press conferences! Seems to me he'd be way too busy introducing himself to trees and bushes. Until Bush and handlers decided that a rural ranch would be a slick bit of PR for the presidential campaign, Bush had no interest in a home on the range. Instead, his preferred weekend retreat was to the Rainbo Club, an exclusive lakeside hunting club in Henderson County, about an hour south of Dallas, much closer to the comforts of Austin. When a Bush run for president began to look like a pretty good bet, the 1,600 acres were bought and the Bushes started making weekend trips to a 60-year-old ranch house that existed on the property - not of course, before refurbishing it! - so they could build the lore that would take in the American public, hook, line and sinker. In an interesting side note - while Bush is anti-conservation in his presidential policies to please his corporate pals, in his OWN home, he has installed several conservation/energy saving features, including solar panels for heating water, rainwater collection for landscape irrigation, an air conditioning system that uses groundwater and a gray water recycling system. The obvious impression here is that Bush, being all PR show and no substance or real convictions, wants to cover all the bases. Block conservation when it is expedient, but have some conservation stuff to show off when that is expedient. So, in short, we have a president who, ON THE SAME DAY - November 7, 2000 - stole an election and had the last nail driven into a phony ranch set. But with a completely snuckered press corps, we also have had a completely snuckered public. And a platoon of completely snuckered world leaders, chief among them Blair and Putin, who have been hosted at the ole ranch set and completely taken in. Alas, the Crawford ranch is a symbol of the utter corporate phoniness of this administration. The whole scenario reminds me of those type of sophisticated con artists (like the ones who recently convinced several investors they could turn sand into gold! ) who blow into town, rent an upscale office
[CTRL] Fwd: [CIA-DRUGS] Moonie Rag Denies 9-11 Inside Trading
---BeginMessage--- Spin from a spook-haunted journal owned by the Rev. Moon. Enough said? MacNamara http://www.insightmag.com/news/251677.html Not Much Stock in 'Put' Conspiracy Posted May 13, 2002 By Kelly Patricia O'Meara There has been a great deal of talk about alleged insider trading of airline stocks by associates of Osama bin Laden prior to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Government investigators remain tight-lipped about a Department of Justice (DOJ) probe of possible profiteering by terrorists with advance knowledge of the attacks despite data that show trading activity on at least two of the most obvious stocks don't support the premise. In fact, based on financial information almost immediately available to investigators, even the most febrile conspiracy theorists would have to agree that this dog don't hunt. For instance, much of the speculation involves put options ? a bet that a stock will go down ? on American and United airlines, the two carriers whose planes hijackers seized for the attacks. Yes, there was a spike in puts on those airlines just days before, but the data show such spikes weren't anomalous. On Sept. 6, 2001, the Thursday before the tragedy, 2,075 put options were made on United Airlines and on Sept. 10, the day before the attacks, 2,282 put options were recorded for American Airlines. Given the prices at the time, this would have yielded speculators between $2 million and $4 million in profit ? hardly what any analyst would call a killing in the options markets. Based on historical data for both airlines, the put options just prior to Sept. 11 neither were dramatic nor unprecedented. For example, there were repeated spikes in put options on American Airlines during the year before Sept. 11, including June 19 with 2,951 puts, June 15 at 1,144 puts, April 16 at 1,019 and Jan. 8 at 1,315 puts. United Airlines puts were a little more during the prior year, including Aug. 8 at 1,678 puts, July 20 with 2,995, April 6 at 8,212 and March 13 at 8,072. Since such relatively small spikes in options occur frequently and in a random pattern, why would respected financial analysts and government investigators cry foul? That is the mystery. Because the matter still is under investigation, none of the government investigating bodies ? including the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and DOJ ? are speaking to reporters about alleged insider trading. Even so, suspicion of insider trading to profit from the Sept. 11 attacks is not limited to U.S. regulators. Investigations were initiated in a number of places including Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Spain. As in the United States, all are treating these inquiries as if they were state secrets ? which, given the known financial information about trading in the equities of the two airlines used in the attacks, seems curious. Lynne Howard, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), tells Insight that information about who made the trades was available immediately. We would have been aware of any unusual activity right away. It would have been triggered by any unusual volume. There is an automated system called 'blue sheeting,' or the CBOE Market Surveillance System, that everyone in the business knows about. It provides information on the trades ? the name and even the Social Security number on an account ? and these surveillance systems are set up specifically to look into insider trading. The system would look at the volume, and then a real person would take over and review it, going back in time and looking at other unusual activity. Howard continues, The system is so smart that even if there is a news event that triggers a market event it can go back in time, and even the parameters can be changed depending on what is being looked at. It's a very clever system and it is instantaneous. Even with the system, though, we have very experienced and savvy staff in our market-regulations area who are always looking for things that might be unusual. They're trained to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Even if it's offshore, it might take a little longer, but all offshore accounts have to go through U.S. member firms ? members of the CBOE ? and it is easily and quickly identifiable who made the trades. The member firm who made the trades has to have identifiable information about the client under the 'Know Your Customer' regulations (see Snoops and Spies, Feb. 22, 1999), and we share all information with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Given all of this, at a minimum the CBOE and government regulators who are conducting the secret investigations have known for some time who made the options puts on United and American airlines. The silence from the investigating camps could mean any of several things: Either terrorists are responsible for the puts on the airline stocks; others besides terrorists had
Re: [CTRL] Native America Wisdom?
-Caveat Lector- Much homage is paid to Native Americans and their wisdom. Is the wisdom deserving of such reverence? I give you this: In the beginning, the Cherokee believed that the earth was covered with water and that beavers came from the sky to drag the mud from the oceans bottom and bring it to the top. The beavers then attached it to the sky and created the land. The great buzzard now flew to the ground where he flapped his wings while the valleys and mountains were formed. It was on one of these flights that the great buzzard created the land on which the Cherokees lived. Damaeus Hmm. Almost as ridiculous as the Old Testament / Torah. flw A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] HR 3598 was ... Wonder if they'll reinstate the draft...
-Caveat Lector- In a message dated 5/13/02 1:50:42 AM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: As a mother of a 16 year old, I say no to all of it. No son of mine will fight for the greed of the global elite. If they care to send THEIR sons to fight, fine by me. The military machine is nothing but the global greed machine and I want no part of it. If that means I can't drive me fricking car anymore, so be it! Yeah. My son could handle boot camp and he'd probably like weapons training, and if that's all it was, I could probably go along with it if he could. But fighting and killing for sick military/industrial monetary purposes - I cannot see that. Our sons in the US will face the choice between jail and the military if HR 3598 passes? The Canada option is closing. And without money to leave the country and go elsewhere, I don't know what can be done to protect these young men from either jail or the military. According to HR 3598 all young men who graduate before Jan 2003 will be exempt. We did the math and our son can't graduate in or before Jan 2003 even with summer school. Laura A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Uncivil Wars
-Caveat Lector- From http://www.arabia.com/afp/news/mideast/article/english/0,10846,200823,00.html }}}Begin Likud party defies Sharon, says no to a future Palestinian state May 13, 2002, 04:30 AM TEL AVIV (AFP) - Israel's right-wing Likud party voted a resounding no to a Palestinian state in brazen defiance of their leader Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, already politically vulnerable after his army put on hold a threatened military strike on the Gaza Strip. The hardline stance by Likud's 2,600 person central committee late Sunday was sure to damage Sharon's ability to direct Israel's fragile national unity government, torn between right and left. Likud ministers are now bound to block any peace initiative that could lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Sharon warned the crushing vote would damage Israel's vital ties with its top ally the United States, which advocates the establishment of a Palestinian state and has exerted heavy pressure on Sharon to curb Israel's military forays in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. I respect all democratic decisions of the central committee, but I will continue to lead the country according to the principles that I have always held: security for Israel and aspirations for peace, Sharon declared after his party's stunning snub of his leadership. Sharon was feeling the heat from former premier Benjamin Netanyahu, his rival for power, who engineered Sharon's humiliation by the Likud, just as the White House had started to demand Sharon move the peace process forward. Sharon, a hardline former general, first tried to head off Netanyahu's manoeuver with his own motion to stop the vote. But the party rejected his motion by 59 percent. In a sign of US influence, the army began Sunday standing down reservists called up for an operation against the largely Gaza-based Islamic group Hamas, which claimed Tuesday's deadly suicide bombing outside Tel Aviv, state radio said. The report was the latest indication the Jewish state had put on hold the threatened attack in retaliation for the pool hall blast that killed 16 Israelis and wounded another 55. Sharon, who was having talks in Washington with US President George W. Bush just as the explosion went off, cut short a US trip and flew home vowing to avenge the deaths. But the tough talk soon became muted. A Sharon spokesman denied the reports that Israel's decision had been made under heavy pressure from Washington, which wanted to keep chances for peace talks alive. But David Maguen, head of the Israeli parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee, told state radio the decision was part of a political calculation. Israel is reaping the results of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's recent visit to Washington and there were very positive developments, particularly at Sharm el- Sheikh. He was referring to Saturday's summit of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz that ended with a new appeal for peace. The three key Arab leaders restated the Arabs' sincere determination to achieve peace and their rejection of all forms of violence, according to a statement issued after the gathering. But Sunday's political bust up in Israel threatened to dash any fresh momentum for Middle East peace. Before the Likud vote, King Abdullah II of Jordan said: It would be an extremely negative reaction, because what we're talking about is a crisis of violence that neither side can get themselves out of. Leading Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat slammed the right-wing Israeli Likud party's landslide rejection. What we have seen tonight is a major and severe blow to all efforts being made to revive the peace process, Erakat told CNN. I hope this vote will be an eye opener for President Bush who calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state, he said, adding it showed what kind of people we are dealing with in the Likud party and the Israeli government. The revival of Israel's peace movement had also piled pressure on Sharon's brittle coalition government. More than 60,000 people demonstrated Saturday in Tel Aviv to demand an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories in Israel's largest peace rally since the latest conflict erupted 19 months ago. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, meanwhile, told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that a proposed peace conference could be held in June, possibly in Italy or Turkey. In Bethlehem, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Irineos I celebrated the first mass to be held inside the sixth-century Nativity Church complex after Friday's end to the 39-day standoff between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen. But politics also weighed at the holy site as a senior clergyman celebrating a special mass at an adjoining church blasted Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory as the root of evil in the Middle East. As long as the root of evil is there, the violence will stay. The root of
Re: [CTRL] Native America Wisdom?
-Caveat Lector- makes about as much sence as a burning bush and a virgin mother.. Damon Amaeous wrote: -Caveat Lector- Much homage is paid to Native Americans and their wisdom. Is the wisdom deserving of such reverence? I give you this: In the beginning, the Cherokee believed that the earth was covered with water and that beavers came from the sky to drag the mud from the oceans bottom and bring it to the top. The beavers then attached it to the sky and created the land. The great buzzard now flew to the ground where he flapped his wings while the valleys and mountains were formed. It was on one of these flights that the great buzzard created the land on which the Cherokees lived. ??? Damaeus A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] Native America Wisdom?
Hello, I think a much more real sense of wisdom is the unflinching belief in a son of God that was executed and then resurrected days later only to become, well something, after that. Of course getting the sun to stand still and several foot thick walls to come tumbling down with the blowing of trumpets is certainly a much more civilized belief. Then again a good old Red Sea parting or the casual walk on water befits the cerebral capacities of a civilized culture and people much better than falling beavers from the sky for crying out loud. Did I mention a virgin giving birth? db In a message dated 5/13/02 1:17:54 PM !!!First Boot!!!, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Much homage is paid to Native Americans and their wisdom. Is the wisdom deserving of such reverence? I give you this: In the beginning, the Cherokee believed that the earth was covered with water and that beavers came from the sky to drag the mud from the oceans bottom and bring it to the top. The beavers then attached it to the sky and created the land. The "great buzzard" now flew to the ground where he flapped his wings while the valleys and mountains were formed. It was on one of these flights that the "great buzzard" created the land on which the Cherokees lived. ???
[CTRL] Mark Twain's Americanism
-Caveat Lector- From http://www.positiveatheism.org/tochtwai.htm }}}Begin Mark Twain's Americanism by H.L. Mancken The New York Evening Mail Index: Mark Twain Index: H.L. Mencken Index: Biographies Home to Positive Atheism November 1, 1917 When Mark Twain died, in 1910, one of the magnificos who paid public tribute to him was William H. Taft, then President of the United States. Mark Twain, said Dr. Taft, gave real intellectual enjoyment to millions, and his works will continue to give such pleasure to millions yet to come. He never wrote a line that a father could not read to a daughter. The usual polite flubdub and not to be exposed, perhaps, to critical analysis. But it was, in a sense, typical of the general view at that time, and so it deserves to be remembered for the fatuous inaccuracy of the judgment in it. For Mark Twain dead is beginning to show far different and more brilliant colors than those he seemed to wear during life, and the one thing no sane critic would say of him to-day is that he was the harmless fireside jester, the mellow chautauquan, the amiable old grandpa of letters that he was once so widely thought to be. The truth is that Mark was almost exactly the reverse. Instead of being a mere entertainer of the mob, he was in fact a literary artist of the very highest skill and sophistication, and, in all save his superficial aspect, quite unintelligible to Dr. Taft's millions. And instead of being a sort of Dr. Frank Crane in cap and bells, laboriously devoted to the obvious and the uplifting, he was a destructive satirist of the utmost pungency and relentlessness, and the most bitter critic of American platitude and delusion, whether social, political or religious, that ever lived. Bit by bit, as his posthumous books appear, the true man emerges, and it needs but half an eye to see how little he resembles the Mark of national legend. Those books were written carefully and deliberately; Mark wrote them at the height of his fame; he put into them, without concealment, the fundamental ideas of his personal philosophy -- the ideas which colored his whole view of the world. Then he laid the manuscripts away, safe in the knowledge that they would not see the light until he was under six feet of earth. We know, by his own confession, why he hesitated to print them while he lived; he knew that fame was sweet and he feared that they might blast it. But beneath that timorousness there was an intellectual honesty that forced him to set down the truth. It was really comfort he wanted, not fame. He hesitated, a lazy man, to disturb his remaining days with combat and acrimony. But in the long run he wanted to set himself straight. Two of these books, The Mysterious Stranger and What Is Man? are now published, and more may be expected to follow at intervals. The latter, in fact, was put into type during Mark's lifetime and privately printed in a very limited edition. But it was never given to the public, and copies of the limited edition bring $40 or $50 at book auctions to-day. Even a pirated English edition brings a high premium. Now, however, the book is issued publicly by the Harpers, though without the preface in which Mark explained his reasons for so long withholding it. The ideas in it are very simple, and reduced to elementals, two in number. The first is that man, save for a trace of volition that grows smaller and smaller the more it is analyzed, is a living machine -- that nine-tenths of his acts are purely reflex, and that moral responsibility, and with it religion, are thus mere delusions. The second is that the only genuine human motive, like the only genuine dog motive or fish motive or protoplasm motive is self interest -- that altruism, for all its seeming potency in human concerns, is no more than a specious appearance -- that the one unbroken effort of the organism is to promote its own comfort, welfare and survival. Starting from this double basis, Mark undertakes an elaborate and extraordinarily penetrating examination of all the fine ideals and virtues that man boasts of, and reduces them, one after the other, to untenability and absurdity. There is no mere smartness in the thing. It is done, to be sure, with a sly and disarming humor, but at bottom it is done quite seriously and with the highest sort of argumentative skill. The parlor entertainer of Dr. Taft's eulogy completely disappears; in his place there arises a satirist with something of Rabelais's vast resourcefulness and dexterity in him, and all of Dean Swift's devastating ferocity. It is not only the most honest book that Mark ever did; it is, in some respects, the most artful and persuasive as a work of art. No wonder the pious critic of The New York Times, horrified by its doctrine, was forced to take refuge behind the theory that Mark intended it as a joke. In The Mysterious Stranger there is a step further. What Is Man? analyzes the concept of man; The Mysterious Stranger boldly analyzes
[CTRL] Controlling the Human Spirit
-Caveat Lector- From http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/ellerbe0.htm }}}Begin Controlling the Human Spirit The Inquisition and Slavery 1250-1800 by Helen Ellerbe from The Dark Side of Christian History Index: Historical Writings (Various) Home to Positive Atheism See also: The Witch Hunts: The End of Magic and Miracles by Helen Ellerbe See also: History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe by W. E. H. Lecky There has been no more organized effort by a religion to control people and contain their spirituality than the Christian Inquisition. Developed within the Church's own legal framework, the Inquisition attempted to terrify people into obedience. As the Inquisitor Francesco Pena stated in 1578, We must remember that the main purpose of the trial and execution is not to save the soul of the accused but to achieve the public good and put fear into others. The Inquisition took countless human lives in Europe and around the world as it followed in the wake of missionaries. And along with the tyranny of the Inquisition, churchmen also brought religious justification for the practice of slavery. The unsubmissive spirit of the Middle Ages only seemed to exacerbate the Church's demand for unquestioning obedience. The Church's understanding of God was to be the only understanding. There was to be no discussion or debate. As the Inquisitor Bernard Gui said, the layman must not argue with the unbeliever, but thrust his sword into the man's belly as far as it will go. In a time of burgeoning ideas about spirituality, the Church insisted that it was the only avenue through which one was permitted to learn of God. Pope Innocent III declared that anyone who attempted to construe a personal view of God which conflicted with Church dogma must be burned without pity. Before the inquisition was fully underway, the Church welcomed heretics back into its fold under terms it considered reasonable. The following is an example of such terms: On three Sundays the penitent is to be stripped to the waist and scourged by the priest from the entrance of town ... to the church door. He is to abstain forever from meat and eggs and cheese, except on Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas, when he is to eat them as a sign of his abnegation of his Manichaean errors. For twoscore days, twice a year, he is to forgo the use of fish, and for three days each week that of fish, wine and oil, fasting, if his health and labors will permit. He is to wear monastic vestments, with a small cross sewed on each breast. If possible, he is to hear mass daily and on feast- days to attend church at vespers. Seven times a day he is to recite the canonical hours, and, in addition the Paternoster ten times each day and twenty times each night. He is to observe the strictest chastity. Every month he is to show this paper to the priest, who is to watch its observance closely, and this mode of life is to be maintained until the legate shall see it fit to alter it, while for infraction of the penance he is to be held as a perjurer and a heretic, and to be segregated from the society of the faithful. Few heretics returned to the Church of their own accord. The Church turned to its own canon law to authenticate an agency which could enforce adherence to Church authority. In 1231 Pope Gregory IX established the Inquisition as a separate tribunal, independent of bishops and prelates. Its administrators, the inquisitors, were to be answerable only to the Pope. Its inquisitional law replaced the common law tradition of innocent until proven guilty with guilty until proven innocent. Despite an ostensible trial, inquisitional procedure left no possibility for the suspected to prove his or her innocence; the process resulted in the condemnation of anyone even suspected of heresy. The accused was denied the right of counsel. No particulars were given as to the time or place of the suspected heresies, or to what kind of heresies were suspected. A suspected friendship with a convicted heretic was also a crime, yet no information was given as to which heretic the accused was to have adored. The names of accusing witnesses were kept secret. One's only recourse was an appeal to the Pope in Rome, which was so futile as to be farcical. The friar Bernard Delicieux declared: ... that if St. Peter and St. Paul were accused of 'adoring' heretics and were prosecuted after the fashion of the Inquisition, there would be no defense open for them. The inquisitor presided over inquisitional procedure as both prosecutor and judge. While he was technically to arrive at his decision after consulting with an assembly of experts of his choosing, this check to his power was soon abandoned. An inquisitor was selected primarily on the basis of his zeal to prosecute heretics. He and his assistants, messengers, and spies were allowed to carry arms. And in 1245, the Pope granted him the right to absolve these assistants for any acts of violence. This act
[CTRL] Annual Report 2000 - Toronto Police Service
http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/publications/annual/2000/11.html Title: Annual Report 2000 - Toronto Police Service 11 of 32 Outlaw Biker Gangs Historical Overview Outlaw biker gangs and their criminal activities have existed in our city for 40 years. The Toronto area gangs that have prospered in recent years are reflected in their accompanying patches. Membership in these gangs has fluctuated over the years but generally has remained in excess of three hundred bikers. Their criminal activity has historically centred on, but is not limited to, pursuits such as; the trafficking of controlled substances and firearms, as well as property crimes involving tractor trailer cargo theft and distribution. Bikers also control the strip club industry through intimidation and extortion. Although seemingly in direct competition for profits derived from these various criminal enterprises, the gangs have co-existed in relative harmony. Present Day Scenario The outlaw biker community in the Province of Ontario and specifically in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), has very recently undergone a dramatic re-organization, which will potentially have significant consequences for law enforcement and for the community at large. This re-organization occurred almost overnight. It was initiated by the Bandidos motorcycle gang who absorbed most of the Rock Machine organization, as well as individual members from the Outlaws and the Loners motorcycle gangs. The Quebec-based Hell's Angels motorcycle gang responded with a swift and unprecedented 'patch over' of the entire membership from the Satan's Choice, Para-Dice Riders and Last Chance motorcycle gangs, as well as individual members from the Loners, Rock Machine and the Outlaws motorcycle gangs. The outlaw biker community in the GTA is now effectively controlled by four outlaw motorcycle biker gangs, three of which have international status. They are the Hell's Angels, Outlaws, Bandidos, and the Vagabonds. Response by Law Enforcement The arrival into the Province of Ontario of the Hell's Angels outlaw motorcycle gang in particular, as well as the Bandidos motorcycle gang, has been predicted by knowledgeable biker investigators since the early 1980's. As a response in part to this threat, the Provincial Special Squad came into existence on June 1st, 1998. The squad is a Joint Forces Operation, which includes membership from eighteen police agencies within the Province and also includes the Criminal Intelligence Service of Ontario (CISO). The primary mandate of this squad is to more effectively utilize province-wide policing resources, by maximizing their collective law enforcement efforts against the criminal aspects of outlaw motorcycle gangs. The Toronto Police Service has been a dedicated partner within the Provincial Special Squad from the inception of the unit. The Challenge The recent shifting and strengthening of allegiances within the outlaw biker community has re-enforced the need for law enforcement to generate a strong and sustained centralized response to this flourishing organized crime problem. 11 of 32
[CTRL] Packing.org Concealed Carry (CCW), Concealed Weapon Permit, Concealed Weapon Law : all united states
http://www.packing.org/state/index.jsp/all+united+states Title: Packing.org Concealed Carry (CCW), Concealed Weapon Permit, Concealed Weapon Law : all united states Concealed carry database, News tracking, Gun ranges, Events, etc. The American Self-Defense InstituteIf you have guns...For self-protection...For peace of mind Monday, May 13, 2002 STATE CCW INFORMATION | HEADLINES | AIRLINES | GUN RANGES | GUN EVENTS | GUN TALK | F.A.Q. REGISTER | LICENSE TOOL | GLOSSARY | LINKS | ADD AN ARTICLE | LOGIN State CCW Info: Select state Alabama Alaska All of Canada All United States Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York New York City North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington DC West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Over 4,889 readers and contributors 1,545offsiteclick-thoughsonMay 12, 2002 Search stories: All United States: Laws and Summaries General Notes: Date updated: Thursday, April 4, 2002 The BATF has FAQ's pages for all Gun related issues. To find these pages go to BATF and put "FAQ" in the search box. This should bring up a list of issues the BATF addresses on their web site. You should be able to find all the answers to your questions there concerning Firearms and the BATF. How do I apply for a permit? N/A Documents required N/A Issuing authority N/A Permit term N/A Approximate cost N/A Places off-limits while carrying All federal property Federal parks Post offices etc. Car/Gun law summary Date updated: Wednesday, April 3, 2002 TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 44 > Sec. 926A. Sec. 926A. - Interstate transportation of firearms Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof, any person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle: Provided, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver's compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console Must volunteer carry status to Law Enforcement Unknown Carrying without a permit N/A Peaceable journey law summary: Unknown State/local preemption law: Unknown Offices relating to CCW licensing in All United States Issuance of permits: Resident permits:no Non-resident permits:no Shall-issue permits:N/A Must apply in person:unk
Re: [CTRL] Native America Wisdom?
-Caveat Lector- - Original Message - From: Damon Amaeous [EMAIL PROTECTED] Much homage is paid to Native Americans and their wisdom. Is the wisdom deserving of such reverence? More than this post, which has nothing to do with conspiracy theory whatsoever. Troll. - jt A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] Native America Wisdom?
-Caveat Lector- iggy wrote: like organised religion isn't the biggest consperacy of them all? born agains scare me it's their way or the burning stake. Joshua Tinnin wrote: -Caveat Lector- - Original Message - From: Damon Amaeous [EMAIL PROTECTED] Much homage is paid to Native Americans and their wisdom. Is the wisdom deserving of such reverence? More than this post, which has nothing to do with conspiracy theory whatsoever. Troll. - jt A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] church has paid out est. 1 billion, Iraq
-Caveat Lector- this may be heavy for survivors Roman Catholic Church Shifts Legal Strategy Aggressive Litigation Replaces Quiet Settlements By Michael Powell and Lois Romano - Washington Post Staff Writers - 5/13/02 the diocese charged in a countersuit that it was she who was negligent for allowing her boys, then 7 and 10, to sleep over at the sacristan's apartmentThe 194 Catholic dioceses in the United States, Sweeney noted, do not possess limitless resources -- some estimates put their net worth at about $15 billion. The church and its insurers have already paid out an estimated $1 billion in settlements -- obtained from the sale of assets and from special church abuse or molestation liability insurance coverage. And officials expect insurance premiums and settlement costs to mushroom.It's the largest Christian denomination in the world, with 63 million members in the United States. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A8117-2002May12?language=printer http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/10/1021002391082.html The siege of Baghdad - May 11 2002 The US obsession with toppling Saddam Hussein is growing despite European doubts and shaky justification, writes Gay Alcorn. The last remaining suspicion that Saddam Hussein was involved in the death of 3000 Americans on September 11 seemed to be put to rest. ''US officials scotched the ''Iraqi connection in a series of leaks this week, saying they no longer believed the hijackers' ringleader, Mohammed Atta, held secret meetings with an Iraqi intelligence agent in the Czech capital of Prague in April last year. A HREF=http://www.ctrl.org/;www.ctrl.org/A DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html A HREF=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html;Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]/A http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
