[CTRL] NYTimes.com Article: Cities Urge Restraint in Fight Against Terror (with commentary)
-Caveat Lector- Caption for picture published with article says: "Art Babbott, a Flagstaff city councilman, sponsored a resolution to protect civil liberties in terrorism investigations. Mr. Babbott's colleague Joe Haughey worried that the measure might invite terrorism." Interesting to note that Mr. Haughey does not appear in the picture. It is also interesting to note the subtle slant of the article, working hard at planting "seeds of doubt" in citizens reading it about these measures "inviting terrorism". I have taken the liberty of highlighting the "seeds" I found, most with commentary added by me in italics and brackets. Did I miss any? Cities Urge Restraint in Fight Against Terror December 23, 2002 By MICHAEL JANOFSKY FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., Dec. 20 - Nearly two dozen cities around the country have passed resolutions urging federal authorities to respect the civil rights of local citizens when fighting terrorism. Efforts to pass similar measures are under way in more than 60 other places. While the resolutions are largely symbolic, many of them provide some legal justification for local authorities to resist cooperating in the federal war on terrorism when they deem civil liberties and Constitutional rights are being compromised. [So, being "symbolic", they have no real meaning and therefore we shouldn't be wasting our time pursuing them. The "some legal justification" comment is a poke at those who "resist cooperating".] Most of the resolutions have passed in liberal bastions like Boulder, Colo.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Cambridge, Mass.; and Berkeley, Calif., where opposition to government policy is a tradition. But less ideological places have also acted, with more localities considering it, from big cities like Chicago and Tampa, Fla., to smaller ones like Fairbanks, Alaska, and Grants Pass, Ore. Many communities are getting help from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, a grass-roots group in Florence, Mass. "People are very, very willing and committed to do everything reasonably possible about terrorist threats," said Elliot Mincberg, legal director of People for the American Way, a nonprofit group that works for constitutional protections. "But there is a growing concern about the executive branch is handling this, a unilateral assertion of power that, in many instances, intrudes on people's privacy and is carried out in a very secretive manner." Art Babbott, the City Council member who sponsored the resolution in Flagstaff that passed last week after intense debate, said: "We've been singing the same song in this country for more than 200 years. It's a very good song, and I want to keep singing it. I'm very leery of changing the lyrics." Supporters of the resolutions say the measures have grown out of a belief that the Patriot Act of 2001, the Homeland Security Act passed this year and a series of executive orders have given the federal government too much muscle in its war against terrorism at the expense of average Americans, especially Muslims. The 2001 act expands government powers in such matters as electronic surveillance, search warrants and detention. The Homeland Security Act created a cabinet department for national defense. [No actual seeds in the above several paragraphs, but note how neutrally they present the "other" side.] In most places, the resolutions carry no legal weight, merely affirming the civil rights as federal authorities intensify antiterrorist efforts in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. [Again, the seed that we would be wasting our time on these, since they "carry no weight"] But resolutions passed by some towns like Amherst, Mass., have a sharper tone, going so far as to direct city personnel not to help federal or state officials in activities that could be considered in violation of civil rights or liberties. The Amherst measure, for example, says, "to the extent legally possible, no town employee shall officially assist or voluntarily cooperate with investigations, interrogations or arrest procedures" that may be judged to violate civil rights or liberties. The Flagstaff measure, which passed with a City Council vote of 4 to 3, includes a part written so ambiguously that members on each side of the issue said it could give the police department and other city departments a legal basis to delay or even withhold cooperation with higher authorities investigating a terrorist threat or suspicious person. To the four council members who support the measure, that is a good thing. The three who opposed it predicted that it could have dangerous consequences. [Fear seed - implementing this could "put us in jeapardy"] Nancy Talanian, co-director of the Florence group, said conflicts between local and federal authorities had not emerged. However, in Amherst, faculty members at the University of Massachusetts recently protested the Federal Bureau of Investigation's questioning of Musaddak J. Alhabeeb, an Iraqi-born associate pro
[CTRL] question
-Caveat Lector- -Caveat Lector- Has anyone seen any articles dealing with the quality of the methods of the FBI and other tip lines in dealing with tips from the public. It seems particularly important in light of the lack of use of information received by them prior to 9/11? I am concerned what might be happening in terms of a preemptive strike by Iraq here in the US prior to full scale war against Iraq by the US and other countries. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, 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 Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ctrl 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] www.ctrl.org 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 Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ctrl 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 Om
[CTRL] WH HolyDayze
-Caveat Lector- http://www.whitehouse.org/news/2002/122502.asp~ ~~ Forwarded as information only; everything sent has to stand on its own merits, not on my recommendation. Dissenting ideas are the health of the American system. A<:>E<:>R + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "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 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "War is the health of the state. It automatically sets in motion throughout society these irresistible forces for uniformity, for passionate cooperation with the government in coercing into obedience the minority groups and individuals which lack the larger herd sense." RANDOLPH BOURNE (1886-1918) in War and the Intellectuals + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." --- Ernest Hemingway http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org 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 http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl 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] La France Potte
-Caveat Lector- France to toughen laws on cannabis Paul Webster in Paris Friday December 27, 2002 The Guardian France is planning to tighten restrictions on the smoking of cannabis in an attempt to curb its steadily rising popularity. Campaigners claim that millions of people are regularly defying existing laws as more plantations of cannabis are discovered, particularly in the south of the country. At normal levels of consumption, up to three million French people will have smoked the drug on Christmas day. France's hardline interior minister, Nicholas Sarkozy, has been consulting cabinet members and government officials on raising the maximum penalties for cannabis use, from the present level of a year in prison or a £5,000 fine. This month the government made it an offence to drive under the drug's influence after a series of fatal road accidents. The interior ministry's anti-drugs chief, Michel Bouchet, has also been asked to investigate the cultivation of cannabis after police reported that more than 40,000 plants were pulled out in raids last year, compared to 1,500 10 years ago. But the pro-cannabis Collectif d'information et de recherche cannibiques, Circ, claimed that there was not a village south of the Loire valley without a plantation. In addition, hundreds of thousands of plants were grown indoors. The fashion for home-grown cannabis was linked to two DIY books, Fumée clandestine (secret smoke) and Culture en placard (cupboard growing) which have sold 100,000 copies between them. Drugs squad detectives admit to being overwhelmed, during this month's Hemp Salon in central Paris. The event was backed by Circ's founder, Jean-Pierre Galland, who campaigns through the Green party for the legalisation of the drug. He has had to pay about £30,000 in fines for his lobbying activities in its favour. Police visited the salon but there were no arrests despite the sale of gadgets such as the Pollinator which can be used to make hashish. Visitors were given catalogues by Sensi Seedbank, Holland's main producer, but many amateur growers depend on cannabis seeds sold to feed racing pigeons, which, according to one advertisement, "was like putting a turbo-engine into a sparrow". Other catalogues offered bat manure, considered as the best fertiliser for growing the seven-leaved plant. "The great problem is not police raids but theft," a grower from the Var said. "You'll find small fields hidden in pine forests. Once they have been located, they have to be guarded night and day. A good crop earns enough to keep you all year round, even though it is sold only to friends." So far, no action has been taken against shops selling specialised equipment, of which there are about 50 in France. But a decision will have to be taken soon on whether to stop the annual summer festival at Montjean-sur-Loire where cannabis, described as "the symbol of the Loire valley", is easily available. "It's only a matter of time before pot overtakes tobacco," a festival organiser said. "There are already nearly half as many pot smokers as tobacco smokers. Some of our visitors say that cannabis saved their life." http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org 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 http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl 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] Visiting Priest Arrested on Sex Charge, Shoppers Pay Via Fingerprint
-Caveat Lector- this may be heavy for survivors Visiting Priest Arrested on Sex Charge - Visiting Roman Catholic Priest From Poland Arrested in Conn. on Sexual Abuse Charge AP New Britain, Conn. 12/26/02 "A visiting Roman Catholic priest from Poland was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl he was counseling about a previous sexual assault. The Rev. Roman Kramek, 40, who had been serving at Sacred Heart Church, is accused of having sex with the 17-year-old girl on Dec. 18, prosecutors said. Kramek admitted to the crime in a sworn statement to authorities, they saidUnder state law it is illegal for psychotherapists or any member of the clergy to have sex with anyone they are counseling. The Hartford Archdiocese was not aware of the incident and had not been informed of the arrest, said the Rev. John Gatzak, a spokesman for the archdiocese. "Nobody here at the chancellory knows anything about this," he said." http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20021226_1082.html http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=569&ncid=738&e=3&u=/nm/20021224/tc_nm/retail_kroger_fingerprint_dc Kroger Lets Shoppers Pay Via Fingerprint Tue Dec 24, 1:34 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - Suppose you endured the checkout line at the grocery store only to find that you were short on cash, or you'd forgotten your wallet. What if you could settle the bill with just the touch of your finger? Kroger Co., the largest U.S. supermarket chain, is offering some customers just that opportunity, testing finger imaging as a method of payment in three of its Texas stores. A machine scans the index finger, matching the customer's unique fingerprint with the individual's account. The company avoids the term "fingerprinting" because of its law enforcement connotation -- the same reason the technology is applied to the index finger, rather than the thumb. www.ctrl.org 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 Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ctrl 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] For your attention
-Caveat Lector- Euphorian spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it. To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk France to toughen laws on cannabis Paul Webster in Paris Thursday December 26 2002 The Guardian France is planning to tighten restrictions on the smoking of cannabis in an attempt to curb its steadily rising popularity. Campaigners claim that millions of people are regularly defying existing laws as more plantations of cannabis are discovered, particularly in the south of the country. At normal levels of consumption, up to three million French people will have smoked the drug on Christmas day. France's hardline interior minister, Nicholas Sarkozy, has been consulting cabinet members and government officials on raising the maximum penalties for cannabis use, from the present level of a year in prison or a £5,000 fine. This month the government made it an offence to drive under the drug's influence after a series of fatal road accidents. The interior ministry's anti-drugs chief, Michel Bouchet, has also been asked to investigate the cultivation of cannabis after police reported that more than 40,000 plants were pulled out in raids last year, compared to 1,500 10 years ago. But the pro-cannabis Collectif d'information et de recherche cannibiques, Circ, claimed that there was not a village south of the Loire valley without a plantation. In addition, hundreds of thousands of plants were grown indoors. The fashion for home-grown cannabis was linked to two DIY books, Fumée clandestine (secret smoke) and Culture en placard (cupboard growing) which have sold 100,000 copies between them. Drugs squad detectives admit to being overwhelmed, during this month's Hemp Salon in central Paris. The event was backed by Circ's founder, Jean-Pierre Galland, who campaigns through the Green party for the legalisation of the drug. He has had to pay about £30,000 in fines for his lobbying activities in its favour. Police visited the salon but there were no arrests despite the sale of gadgets such as the Pollinator which can be used to make hashish. Visitors were given catalogues by Sensi Seedbank, Holland's main producer, but many amateur growers depend on cannabis seeds sold to feed racing pigeons, which, according to one advertisement, "was like putting a turbo-engine into a sparrow". Other catalogues offered bat manure, considered as the best fertiliser for growing the seven-leaved plant. "The great problem is not police raids but theft," a grower from the Var said. "You'll find small fields hidden in pine forests. Once they have been located, they have to be guarded night and day. A good crop earns enough to keep you all year round, even though it is sold only to friends." So far, no action has been taken against shops selling specialised equipment, of which there are about 50 in France. But a decision will have to be taken soon on whether to stop the annual summer festival at Montjean-sur-Loire where cannabis, described as "the symbol of the Loire valley", is easily available. "It's only a matter of time before pot overtakes tobacco," a festival organiser said. "There are already nearly half as many pot smokers as tobacco smokers. Some of our visitors say that cannabis saved their life." Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org 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 http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl 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] China On Verge of Financial Collapse?
-Caveat Lector- THE TIMES December 27, 2002 Bad debts put strain on Chinese bank system >From Oliver August in Beijing WHEN Larry Long visits the imposing marble-tiled office of his local bank, he sees what many regard as the biggest threat to China's Communist leadership. The white-haired property developer tried recently to withdraw £8,000 from his account at the Beijing branch of the Everbright Bank. The embarrassed bank manager confirmed that Mr Long had enough money in the account but was adamant that he could withdraw no more than £800. Overnight, and without informing customers, China's largest semi-privatised bank had introduced a rule allowing no more than 10 per cent of deposits to be withdrawn in a month. Mr Long was enraged but not surprised. For months China has been rumoured to be on the brink of a financial crisis. The fact that some banks may now have run out of cash to pay depositors confirms some people's worst fears. Some experts believe that China's economic miracle is threatened by an impending crisis similar to that which crippled South-East Asia five years ago when its tiger economies were humbled. According to Mr Long, bank insolvency is a grave problem for the private businesses that power the new Chinese economy. He said: "I have to buy timber and the merchant will take only cash, like most people in China. When I can't get cash, my business just stops." After his first unsuccessful trip to the bank in the autumn, Mr Long was enraged again when he returned a few weeks later. Without notice, Everbright had raised its so-called "reserve requirement". Depositors were limited to withdrawing 5 per cent in a month. Mr Long, who is building a holiday villa complex outside Beijing, said: "I couldn't believe they had changed the rules again. It was clear that the bank did not have enough money to pay its depositors. The financial crisis everyone fears is already upon us." Anecdotal evidence suggests that Mr Long's experience is a common one. While the four big state-owned banks will remain solvent after Beijing pledged the third bail-out in four years, some semi-privatised banks such as Everbright cannot pay out routine withdrawals by account holders. Worse still, new loans to deserving growth-creators, such as Mr Long, are even less likely. The reason is that most Chinese banks are burdened by bad debts said to exceed those of their troubled counterparts in Japan, where a loan crisis is choking the economy. During the boom of the past decade, China's banks have been lending without asking too many questions. Induced by bribes and misguided official directives, loan officers pumped cash into nefarious construction and export schemes regardless of economic reality. Some turned out well, making China a rising nation. Many others did not. The bottom line is that between 30 and 50 per cent of all China's loans are write-offs. Standard & Poor's, the ratings agency, estimates that the problem will cost about £300 billion to clean up, or 43 per cent of China's gross domestic product (GDP). By comparison, America's 1980s savings and loans crisis cost 3 per cent of US GDP. Even worse, China's financial crisis extends to local governments. According to a recent report in the People's Daily newspaper, some cities have started to borrow from underworld figures because they can no longer pay for essential services. Gordon Chang, author of the book The Coming Collapse of China, said: "When government officials have to go to loan sharks to meet their obligations, we must realise that China's financial policies are simply unsustainable." A combination of rising unemployment, bankrupt local governments and insolvent banks has now raised concerns that a financial meltdown would almost certainly act as a catalyst for political upheaval. Rick Baum, of the University of California in Los Angeles, said: "If the economy falls below the current growth levels, the leadership will be in real trouble." There have not been any runs on banks yet but in the absence of external enemies and significant domestic opposition groups, a financial crisis is currently the biggest threat to the regime. Many banks are no longer fully state-owned and their debts are not a sovereign risk. Everbright, for example, is still managed by officials, but part-owned by shareholders. There is no guarantee that the Government will bail out such banks. Even so, Mr Long gave his bank one last chance. As co-owner of a foreign joint venture company, he is entitled under government regulations to receive direct currency transfers from abroad. Mr Long arranged for the payment of a $10,000 (£6,250) bill into his account, expecting to be able to take out at least some of it. But the bank manager demanded to see the contract detailing the work for which Mr Long had billed his foreign client. "Because I couldn't show them a contract they refused to credit the funds to my account," the developer said. "I didn't get any money at all. Th
[CTRL] There's no proof on Iraq: Moscow
-Caveat Lector- http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,5752234%5E2703,00.html There's no proof on Iraq: Moscow >From AFP December 27, 2002 RUSSIA has widened the rift on the UN Security Council over Iraq by openly disputing Washington's claim it has proof Baghdad is hiding weapons of mass destruction. "No one can provide the slightest evidence," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Yury Fedotov told the ITAR-TASS news agency, dismissing claims that Iraq represented a terrorist threat. The US and its closest ally, Britain, claim they have proof of Iraqi attempts to foil weapons inspections, a claim Baghdad strongly denies. Russia, the US and Britain, along with France and China, are the five permanent security council members, each with veto power over actions and resolutions by the 15-member council. The US has threatened unilateral military action against Iraq if it believes Baghdad is in "material breach" of UN Security Council Resolution 1441 mandating its abolition of weapons of mass destruction. Washington and London have already said a material breach exists, based on Iraq's 12,000-page account of its weapons program mandated and received by the Security Council. Syria, the only Arab member of the Security Council, dismissed as "ridiculous and unfounded" accusations by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Iraq had transferred weapons of mass destruction to Syria. Mr Sharon claimed on Tuesday that UN inspectors in Iraq would be unlikely to find any weapons because they were being hidden in Syria. "Sharon's allegations are unfounded and only aim to divert attention from the chemical, nuclear and biological arsenal that Israel possesses," a foreign ministry spokesman said in Damascus. "The accusations are ridiculous, especially since Syria has signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and along with other Arab countries has called for the Middle East to be freed from all weapons of mass destruction," the Syrian spokesman told the official SANA news agency. "The only party that has opposed this call and continues to do so is Israel." Israel agreed with the US in 1969 not to declare its nuclear weapons programs nor to test its nuclear weapons. In return, Washington pledged not to pressure Israel to sign the nuclear non- proliferation treaty. However, military experts say Israel has at least 200 nuclear warheads and possesses the means to use them in an attack. www.ctrl.org 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 Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ctrl 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] $3.2B Afghan Pipeline Deal Imminent
-Caveat Lector- http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2273065,00.html 3.2B Afghan Pipeline Deal Imminent Thursday December 26, 2002 2:20 PM ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) - Leaders from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan met Thursday to work out the final details of an ambitious deal to build a gas pipeline through war-ravaged Afghanistan. The long-delayed $3.2-billion natural gas pipeline, known as the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, would carry gas from energy-rich Turkmenistan to Pakistan. It would be one of the first major investment projects in Afghanistan in decades. The project promises to give an economic boost to Afghanistan but lacks solid financial backing. Investors are leery of the risks of doing business in a country where U.S.-led coalition forces are still hunting down remnants of Taliban and al-Qaida fighters. Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov welcomed Afghan President Hamid Karzai Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali to his marble working residence in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat for the two-day meeting. Huge portraits of the three leaders hung outside the palace. The meeting is to culminate Friday in the signing of a framework agreement defining legal mechanisms for setting up a consortium to build and operate the pipeline. The pipeline would pump hundreds of millions of dollars into Afghanistan's ruined economy and create 12,000 jobs there. Pakistan would get more than $300 million in transit fees annually and gain access to the gas. Turkmenistan, which possesses the fifth largest gas reserves in the world, would get a badly needed alternative route for gas exports. In 1994 Russia refused to transport gas from this former Soviet republic via the pipelines running through its territory. ``Once the contract is signed tomorrow, different private companies and consortiums can take interest in the project should there be interest in it,'' said Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah. ``It is a project which is good for prosperity of all three countries.'' The Asian Development Bank is carrying out a study for the 910-mile pipeline, which would tap into natural gas wells at Turkmenistan's huge Dauletabad-Donmez field. The field holds more than 100 trillion cubic feet in gas reserves. The pipeline would carry up to 700 billion cubic feet of gas a year. The $1 million study approved last week by ADB directors is slated to begin next month and be complete in June 2003, after which work on setting up a consortium will begin. The pipeline was originally launched in 1997 by a consortium led by U.S. energy giant Unocal Corp. but abandoned after the United States fired cruise missiles into Afghanistan in 1998 in pursuit of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. The Afghan, Pakistani and Turkmen leaders relaunched the project at a meeting in May in Islamabad. The signing ceremony was originally scheduled for October but was postponed because Pakistani officials were busy forming a Cabinet and because of questions the Asian Development Bank raised about financial aspects of the plan. The Japanese conglomerate Itochu has expressed interest in participating, but no company has joined the project. Unocal said it has no plans to do so. India is the main potential buyer of the Turkmen gas that would be pumped through Afghanistan. But efforts to interest New Delhi in the project so far have been unsuccessful, with India reluctant to depend on its rival Pakistan. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones said earlier this year that Washington would support the project as long as it is commercially viable. Skeptics say the project would require an indefinite foreign military presence in Afghanistan. The summit comes a month after the Turkmen government reported an assassination attempt against Niyazov. The authoritarian leader has ruled the five-million Central Asian nation with an iron hand since before the Soviet collapse, maintaining state control over the country's extensive energy resources. www.ctrl.org 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 Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ctrl To subscribe to
Re: [CTRL] Israeli Soldier Gets 65 Days for Murdering 95 Yr Old Grandmother
-Caveat Lector- At 11:49 AM 12/26/02 -0500, you wrote: -Caveat Lector- In a message dated 12/25/2002 10:09:05 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > An Israel Defense Forces soldier who killed a 95-year-old Palestinian woman > earlier this month has been sentenced to 65 days in > military prison. But does he get to keep the points? Prudy Not many points for that one. Now if she were an armed, one eyed, pregnant, dynamite toting, glorious freedom fighter, THAT would be points. J2 www.ctrl.org 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 Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ctrl 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] Fighting Fear and Fundamentalism
-Caveat Lector- Fighting Fear and Fundamentalism By Toby Sackton, http://www.alternet.org/ December 23, 2002 ... consider a fine piece in Al Ahram, the main Egyptian paper, by Usama Ghazali Harb, who says the Muslim world's predicament today is not the result of some external plot but the fact that "while the vast majority of Muslims keep silent, an extremist minority has hijacked the faith and is steering it into a confrontation with the world. . . . These extremists are supported by conservative forces that fear progress and modernity." So writes a fawning Thomas Friedman in his endless quest to find Jeffersonian Muslims. But here is a modified version of Harb's thesis: "while the vast majority of Americans keep silent, an extremist minority has hijacked our government, and is steering it into a confrontation with the world...These extremists are supported by conservative forces that fear global equality and environmental moderation." Isn't this as valid a description of our predicament those of us caught in the middle as we watch our government convert the simple terrorist crime of Sept. 11 into a vast conflict that asserts American military dominance over the Arabs? Although not a historian, I have always felt that fundamentalist ideas are based on fear of the future. What else can explain the attraction Armageddon holds for so many American Christian fundamentalists, except the idea that no future is better than the fearful future of uncertainty, change and atomization they are being drawn toward. Fundamentalism gains currency in societies in which the leadership maintains power by creating terror, either overtly through repression and arrest, or covertly through hyper-sensitizing people's everyday fears of crime, poverty, exclusion, and death. Many American Jews went to Israel to live in religious communities. But fear of a modern, secular identity has driven some of them to set up radical fundamentalist orthodox communities, who approvingly stone cars that drive on the Sabbath, threaten stores that might open, or more seriously, support murderous attacks on Palestinians or even the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who stood up to the Settler movement. Is this not the same virulent fundamentalism we are fighting? At the political level, the Republican Party long ago chose to capitalize on fear to maintain power. In California, Ronald Reagan got his start by fanning fear of communists, poor people, immigrants and crime. The GOP became the dominant party in the South by playing on racism and fear of blacks among white southerners a strategy that is now showing signs of strain, as is evident with Trent Lott's resignation. As the U.S. population becomes more diverse, leaders like Lott who expose the overt racism at the core of some Republican policies have to be sacrificed for not staying on message. This unfortunate convergence of a party based on fear governing a country where many already are acting in fear creates "perfect storm"- like conditions for power elites to push for a major expansion of American empire. So what are we to do? The only way to fight this fundamentalist ideology at home and abroad is to clearly fight fear. When comforting a fearful friend, you don't get far by dismissing or contradicting their feelings. You are of no help. It is only by understanding the fear, by bringing it out into the open that we can help people who are afraid. We can help them see how exaggerated and unreal their fears are, and recognize how these fears are being imposed on them from the outside. This is the only way in which fear can be gradually drawn away and dissolved. The left should not only stand moral witness against killing civilians overseas, but also stand up for freedom at home. Roosevelt's four freedoms are not a bad place to start: freedom of expression; freedom of worship; freedom from want; freedom from fear. The current war on terrorism unleashed by the Bush administration undermines each one of these freedoms. With skyrocketing budget deficits and military spending, the war will increasingly divert economic resources away from urgent social needs such as health care. Thanks to our military expansion and adventurism, Americans are becoming targets both when we travel abroad and when we dissent in public at home. The fear of political violence may soon become a part of our everyday lives. Although most of us may not feel religious freedom is at risk, Muslims are already beginning to feel under pressure, what with FBI agents in mosques secretly recording their words. But in Roosevelt's 1941 Four Freedoms speech, the first and foremost point was freedom of expression. In the U.S. today, the government is using the war on terrorism to purge any idea that the Republicans view as "heresy" silencing or spying on dissenting citizens in the name of patriotism. Only fundamentalists can support such an agenda of fear. And remember, fear is our enemy.
[CTRL] Air Travelers Urged to Unlock Bags, Opening Liability Issue
-Caveat Lector- Yet another reason why I won't be flying again. Next thing you know, we'll be asked to fly naked and without ANY luggage to prove we're not carrying any "dangerous" stuff like exploding underwear! Air Travelers Urged to Unlock Bags, Opening Liability Issue Critics wonder who'll pay for losses, damage once inspectors can freely search luggage. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bags20dec20,0,2814845.story?coll=la%2Dhome%2Dheadlines By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Times Staff Writer WASHINGTON -- The government on Thursday asked air travelers to leave checked luggage unlocked for security screeners to inspect starting Dec. 31, but the policy prompted an outcry after officials failed to specify who would be liable for lost, damaged or stolen articles. With passengers checking about 1 billion pieces of luggage a year, the new policy by the Transportation Security Administration to check for hidden explosives is expected to entail opening millions of items - in many cases while the passenger is not present. "That leaves a lot to be desired from the standpoint of making people feel comfortable," said Kevin Mitchell, president of the Business Travel Coalition. "What happens if you have an expensive camera and it's gone?" The requirement also will test how much privacy passengers are willing to give up for security's sake. Airline liability for damage, loss or theft of luggage is clearly spelled out in government regulations. But the security agency has no set policy on how it will handle complaints of security-related damage, which critics and travelers rights groups fear may be widespread. Agency officials say they will deal with such problems case by case. Although some airports will use X-ray machines to inspect lugga! ge, some of the bags will still have to be checked by hand. So screeners will not have to break locks, the agency is advising travelers to secure their bags with cable ties, locking plastic strips that are generally used to fasten wire bundles in computer and stereo setups. The strips can be snipped off without damaging a bag. Eventually, the security agency expects to offer them to travelers for free. If screeners do have to open a bag, agency officials said they will leave a note inside with a toll-free number to call if there is a problem. The line will be staffed from 5 a. m. to 7 p. m. Pacific time on weekdays and 7 a. m. to 3 p. m. Pacific time on weekends. "That's not sufficient," said Michael Wascom, a spokesman for the Air Transport Assn., which represents major airlines. "What if they closed [a bag] improperly and your belongings fell out? Who is liable? How do you make a claim? What can you expect? The public needs answers. The absence of consumer information is breathtaking." There will be consumer safeguards, said security agency spokesman Brian Turmail: "If someone gets back a bag with something missing, they can call our consumer-response center." However, passengers who persist in locking their bags run the risk of having their locks cut off. The security agency "will not be responsible for damage to locks," Turmail said. The agency also urged travelers not to pack food or beverages in checked luggage. Some foodstuffs may spill or smear as the bag is searched. Others, such as cheese and chocolate, may trigger a false alarm by explosives detection equipment. Photo film can be damaged by screening equipment and should be kept in carry-on bags. Presents in checked baggage must be unwrapped. Turmail said the agency is working hard to get the word out to passengers in the hope that luggage screening will go smoothly. Additional information is available online at http://www.TSATrave! lTips.US . With millions of bags jostling around on conveyor belts and jetting around the country each day, airline officials said problems are inevitable. Major airlines reported about 120,000 complaints of lost, damaged or delayed bags in October, the latest month for which statistics are available. That covers complaints just from loading and unloading closed bags. Industry officials fear that passengers angry over security mishandling of baggage will take it out on the airline, not the agency. "Airlines that mishandle baggage typically have a customer-service agent on the receiving end of the complaint, and a written claim is taken on the spot," Wascom said. "Who's to say that anyone is doing anything when you call an anonymous person at the end of an 800 number that isn't even manned 24 hours a day? More needs to be done." The closer inspections stem from a congressional mandate that all checked bags be screened with explosives detection equipment by the end of the year. The security administration will be using two types of technology, and both require some bags to be opened. Some luggage will be screened by SUV-size machines akin to the medical scanners used by hospitals. The airport version of the scanners has a high false-alarm rate. In some
[CTRL] Israeli candidate takes on ultra-Orthodox
-Caveat Lector- The Boston Globe Online -- Low Graphics Version Israeli candidate takes on ultra-Orthodox Ex-commentator shakes up the race By Dan Ephron, Globe Correspondent, 12/26/2002 TEL AVIV - Tommy Lapid will not be Israel's next prime minister. But the 72-year-old journalist-turned-politician might get enough votes in next month's election to change Israeli politics dramatically, according to a rising chorus of pundits here. Lapid, a Holocaust survivor who leaped to local fame as a boisterous television commentator, is attracting voters from the left and right with a party that blames Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews for many of the country's woes and seeks to empower the secular middle class. In television spots set to air next month, his centrist Shinui party portrays the ultra-Orthodox as a burden on society - citizens who neither work, pay taxes, nor serve in the army, which is stretched to the limit after more than two years of fighting with the Palestinians. Some Israelis are uncomfortable with the tone of the campaign, and Lapid's sharpest critics say his slogans sound a little like the rhetoric of Europe's worst anti-Semites. But the message is resonating loudly with secular Jews long angry at the disproportionate political power wielded by the ultra-Orthodox and lately worn out by endless rounds of reserve duty in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In fact, Lapid, who bears a striking resemblance to the late actor Carroll O'Connor - television's Archie Bunker - is doing so well in the polls that analysts say Shinui could be the linchpin that holds together the next governing coalition, a role typically reserved for the ultra-Orthodox parties. ''Our goal is to replace the ultra-Orthodox as the kingmakers and ... help build a secular coalition,'' Lapid said in his Tel Aviv office. Doing so could change the face of Israel, where governments have always included religious and ultra-Orthodox parties. Lapid says he's up to the task. A native of Yugoslavia, Lapid immigrated to Israel in 1948 at age 17, after surviving World War II in a Budapest ghetto while 12 members of his family died in concentration camps. Lapid's father was a newspaper editor and Lapid followed in his footsteps, working for decades at the daily Maariv newspaper and eventually serving as managing editor. But it wasn't until he began appearing as a panelist on a popular television news show called ''Popolitica'' in the 1990s that Lapid and his caustic views of the ultra-Orthodox became known to Israelis. On one show, usually a political shout-fest, he branded ultra-Orthodox Jews as leeches. On another that included gay and ultra-Orthodox guests, he said he would rather see his son become a homosexual than a student at a yeshiva (Jewish seminary). His sparring with ultra-Orthodox panelists came to symbolize the schism in Israel between the religious minority, which has used its political power over the decades to try to pull the country closer to observant Judaism, and the secular majority. It also subjected Lapid to sharp criticism. ''I think his rhetoric borders on anti-Semitism,'' said Avraham Ravitz, an ultra-Orthodox member of Parliament from the Torah Judaism party. ''The hatred he spreads and the language he uses when he talks about religious groups reminds me of very dark days in our history,'' he said. But many viewers felt Lapid was expressing - forcefully, if not always eloquently - their own resentment of the ultra-Orthodox, who make up about 12 percent of Israel's population. ''I'm not hateful, I'm angry,'' Lapid said in the interview. ''I'm an old-fashioned Western liberal.'' Most ultra-Orthodox Jews are exempted from army service under an agreement between rabbis and early leaders of the Jewish state, a source of constant friction with secular Israelis. Many opt for a life of religious study instead of work, living off government subsidies. Lapid says he had not considered going into politics until a month before t he 1999 parliamentary election when activists in Shinui, which then looked like it was on the verge of disappearing, asked him to lead the party. Under Lapid, Shinui won six seats in the 120-member Parliament in 1999. Polls published now predict the party will double its representation. Yaron Ezrahi, a political scientist at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, says one reason for Shinui's surge in popularity is the growing burden of military duty reservists have been made to shoulder during fighting with the Palestinians. ''There's a sense that the distribution of this burden is not equal and therefore unfair. People have become quite bitter about it and Lapid addresses that bitterness,'' Ezrahi said. ''His popularity is a backlash after years of dominance by the ultra-Orthodox,'' he said. The sentiment is captured in one of Shinui's television spots. In it, an animated character, meant to symbolize a secular middle-class Israeli, is collaps
[CTRL] Israelis Execute Teenage Rock ThrowingTerroist and Terrorist Policeman
-Caveat Lector- December 26, 2002 Israeli Troops Kill Seven in Hunt for Militants By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 1:45 p.m. ET RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- Israeli troops chasing militants in the West Bank surrounded homes, a hospital and a downtown square Thursday, killing five armed Palestinians and two bystanders, while soldiers reoccupied Bethlehem after withdrawing over Christmas. The military activity reflected Israel's strategy of seizing the initiative in its conflict with the Palestinians instead of reacting to Palestinian attacks. But the largest Palestinian death toll in weeks also raised concerns of new efforts by Palestinian militants -- who have not staged a major terrorist attack in almost a month -- to retaliate. An escalation of the 27-month conflict could also have an impact on Israel's Jan. 28 election. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud is ahead in the polls, but his advantage has been slipping because of a police investigation of alleged vote-buying in recent internal party elections. In Bethlehem, Israeli forces imposed a curfew again, forcing residents to return to their homes after a two-day respite for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, the Israelis pulled back from the center of town. On Thursday, two Israeli jeeps drove back through the town, residents said. Soldiers with loudspeakers declared a curfew and threw tear gas canisters at people who were celebrating the second day of a Christmas feast, forcing them indoors. The Israeli military said the curfew was brought back for security reasons. Israel's latest occupation of Bethlehem came after a Palestinian suicide bomber from the town blew himself up on a bus in Jerusalem on Nov. 21, killing 11 passengers. Israel says it has warnings of other militants planning attacks originating in Bethlehem. In clashes Thursday, Israeli soldiers killed five armed Palestinian fugitives and two bystanders -- a teenager and a traffic policeman. In Ramallah, soldiers surrounded a hospital and fired at the guard room, killing an armed guard and arresting three others, Ramallah governor Mustafa Issa said. The military said soldiers shot a wanted Palestinian who tried to escape. Also in Ramallah, where Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has his headquarters, soldiers in plain clothes tried to arrest a wanted Palestinian, but he ran, so soldiers shot and killed him, the military said. Then Palestinians threw rocks at the soldiers, who opened fire, killing a 19-year-old traffic policeman, Palestinians said. In Tulkarem, Israeli soldiers killed a local leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militia linked to Arafat's Fatah movement. The military said he tried to escape. In the northern West Bank town of Kabatiya, soldiers surrounded the house of Hamza Abu Roub, a local leader of the militant Islamic Jihad, demanding that he surrender. He sent out his wife and children and opened fire on the soldiers, who shot and killed him, then blew up the house. Four soldiers were wounded. In Nablus, soldiers searching for a fugitive killed a Palestinian gunman in an exchange of fire, the military said. Later, after soldiers imposed a curfew, hundreds of Palestinians protested and threw rocks at soldiers, who opened fire, killing an 18-year-old and wounding 20 other people, Palestinians said. The military said Palestinians threw rocks and firebombs at soldiers. Meanwhile, in Cairo, the militant group Hamas rejected a proposal to restart talks with Fatah about stopping suicide bombing attacks against Israelis. Hamas has claimed responsibility for most of the suicide attacks against Israelis. Egypt has hosted talks between the two Palestinian factions and was trying to arrange another round, but the Hamas representative left Cairo, saying that focusing the talks on stopping suicide bombing attacks amounted to a precondition. Hamas, which does not accept a Jewish state in the Middle East, has resisted efforts to declare an end to attacks. Although Arafat has denounced attacks on civilians, many Palestinians consider soldiers and Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza as legitimate targets; Palestinians claim those areas for a state. A senior Israeli official said Thursday that Israel is building 300-yard-wide buffer zones around some of the Jewish settlements. The purpose is to make it harder for Palestinian attackers to infiltrate, said Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Sharon. ``It's just to ensure that you have a forward defense deployment so you don't engage the terrorists inside the compound or inside the village,'' he said. Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said the buffer zones are an attempt to expand settlements and sabotage a U.S.-backed peace plan which envisions Palestinian statehood by 2005. ``Sharon wants to make sure by 2005 that it will be impossible to create a Palestinian state because of the settlements,'' Erekat said. http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & information
[CTRL] Israel’s Nuclear Parade
-Caveat Lector- http://www.islam-online.net/English/Views/2002/12/article11.shtml Israelâs Nuclear Parade By Ebrahim Mohamed Institute for Arabic & Islamic Research 26/12/2002 In the landmark book Israel and the Bomb, scholar Avner Cohen observes that Israel's nuclear policy has been an enduring success because it has enabled the country to maintain a nuclear monopoly in the Middle East while avoiding the political liabilities associated with overt possession of nuclear weapons. According to former Prime Minister Shimon Peres, Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity has "managed to create sufficient suspicion for there to be a deterrent without having gotten to a status of clarity which would behoove sanctions against us."1 Hence, despite the South Asian nuclear tests and concerns about the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by other states in the Middle East, the current nuclear posture review is unlikely to lead to major change in Israel's posture of nuclear ambiguity. The Persian Gulf and the Middle East, though nominally separate geographic identities, are linked fundamentally as one broad political-military region. The dynamics of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and Israel's relative military superiority, invariably affect the thinking of all the Arab/Persian communities in the region, not to mention inter-Arab rivalries. The Iran-Iraq war was a powerful formative experience for both countries and their concepts of national security and deterrence. Likewise, Israel's long history of conflict with its neighbors, its innate sense of vulnerability, and the hostility it faces from the Gulf States continue to drive its own elusive search for security. Israel's nuclear weapons are an outgrowth of its sense of siege and the corresponding doctrine that arises from this psychology. Israeli military strategy has long focused on preemptive conventional capabilities and the ability to carry the battle away from Israeli territory and population centers. Although this doesnât seem to be the case today, statistics still indicates that more Arabs are killed by military action in Palestinian âruledâ areas than in Israeli territories. Thus, as the analyst Geoffrey Kemp notes, any threat that undermines the superiority of the air force also calls into question the Israeli concept of deterrence. Arab advances in missile technology, air defenses, and chemical weapons seem to offer just such a threat. Thus, nuclear weapons are seen as a hedge against conventional attack as well as a deterrent against weapons of mass destruction. Israel's nuclear weapons program dates back to the late 1950s and the construction of the nuclear facility at Dimona, in the Negev. There, with French and later South African assistance, the Israelis embarked upon a nuclear weapons program that, according to U.S. Intelligence estimates, is thought to have yielded between 75 and 130 devices. Some reports indicate that Israel instituted a nuclear alert during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and again in 1991 during the Gulf conflict. Information about the Israeli weapons program is somewhat conjectural. The Israeli government does not admit to possessing nuclear weapons and is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Dimona remains a closed site not subject to international inspections or safeguards. There exists no official mention of how nuclear weapons fit into Israeli strategic thinking, and their role in the Israeli Defense Force's doctrine is therefore a matter of guesswork. The states arrayed against Israel hold that it is their right to develop nuclear weapons as a deterrent to the Israeli arsenal. They believe that Washington maintains a double standard by ignoring Israel's acquisition of weapons of mass destruction while opposing the transfer of even peaceful nuclear technologies to others. Both Iraq and Iran have sought nuclear capability as a strategic equalizer. In the case of Iraq, however, nuclear weapons serve an ambition greater than the acquisition of a relative deterrent. Saddam's search for regional hegemony means that he must both overcome Iran's strategic superiority and stake a claim to leadership of the Arab world. In Saddam's eyes, weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in general, and nuclear weapons specifically, serve both purposes. They counter Iran's strategic depth and demographic superiority. They are also seen to threaten and confront Israel. Thus they play to broader inter-Arab themes. Israel is understandably averse to seeing its nuclear advantage eroded. Indeed, as its air strike on the Osiraq reactor in Iraq in 1981 demonstrated, Israel is ready to maintain a nuclear monopoly in the region through the use of force. That the world was a safer place following the destruction of the Iraqi reactor is undoubted. And it is noteworthy that Iraq possessed a relatively advanced military program despite its membership in the NPT. However, in the long run, the tactical success of the a
[CTRL] Officials Contradict Sharon's Warnings
-Caveat Lector- http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=36136 Officials Contradict Sharon's Warnings Prime Minister Sharon was also taken to task for his remarks last night about Iraq. He told a television interviewer that there are unconfirmed reports that Iraq has hidden biological and chemical weapons in Syria, that a Palestinian terrorist cell trained in Iraq to use shoulder-launched missiles to shoot down planes at Ben Gurion International Airport was recently caught, that Iraqi nuclear scientists are working in Libya, and that the PA and Iraq are working together. The interview came only hours after Sharon told the country that Iraq could very well attack Israel. Labor Party leaders said that Sharon was "causing panic" merely to divert public attention from the headlines of alleged corruption in the Likud. They were particularly incensed after IDF Intelligence Chief Gen. Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the likelihood that Iraq would attack Israel before an American attack is low. Moshe Arens, who served as Defense Minister during the first Gulf War, also said that the chances of an Iraqi attack are not great. In a related item, the Health Ministry has decided that there is currently no need to incoculate the entire population against smallpox. www.ctrl.org 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 Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ctrl 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] The Democracy Worshipers
-Caveat Lector- http://amconmag.com/12_16/buchanan6.html The Democracy Worshipers by Pat Buchanan Russell Kirk saw it coming. As the Cold War was winding down, the father of modern conservatism was invited to the Heritage Foundation to lecture on Americaâs brightening prospects. As he celebrated with his friends the âdeath of Marxist ideology,â Dr. Kirk pointedly warned us against a new âideology of democracy.â âVarious American voices have been raised these past few months to proclaim enthusiastically that soon all the world ... will embrace an order called âdemocratic capitalism,ââ said Kirk. âIt seems to be the assumption of these enthusiastsâmany of them members of the faction called Neoconservatismâthat the political structure and the economic patterns of the United States will be emulated in every continent, for evermore.â âDemocratic capitalismâ is âneoconservative cant,â said Kirk. It is an ideological folly to attempt to recreate in foreign lands with utterly different cultures what 200 years of American history produced here. Said Kirk, this manic drive by democratists to do so in Saigon led to the murder of Diem and the loss of South Vietnam. Kirk hailed as a peerless Cold War leader that âelderly and eminent conservative,â Ronald Reagan. Reaganâs foreign policy, said Kirk, was âwondrously successful, with the exception of his failure in Lebanon.â Just so. In Lebanon, Reagan intervened in a civil war where no vital interest was at risk, and 241 Marines paid the price. Kirk also noted the gathering disaster in Africa. Democratists in Europe and America had helped strangle the Rhodesian regime of Ian Smith and were pressing sanctions to bring down Johannesburg. Was Kirk not prophetic? Was he not right? Today, Marxist-racist Robert Mugabe is seizing white-owned farms in Zimbabwe, and starvation looms. South Africa is a crime-ridden and AIDS-infested nation slowing sinking toward failed-nation status. Like all ideologuesâbe they Marxist, socialist, or Wilsonianâdemocracy worshipers attribute their disasters not to a flawed ideology but a lack of energy. We should, they argue, have gone back into Lebanon in force after the bombing at the Marine barracks and occupied Somalia after U.S. Army Rangers were massacred. But this is folly. There was never any vital U.S. interest at risk in Beirut or Mogadishu worth sending any U.S. soldiers to die for. Todayâs democratist prattle about converting a post-Saddam Iraq into an Arab model of âAmerican valuesâ calls to mind LBJâs burbling on about âbuilding a Great Society on the Mekong.â Not long ago, America stood for freedom. When was our love of freedom replaced by this cult of democracy? What do we mean by democracy? Orwell said he might be more enthusiastic about democracy if only he could find someone who opposed it. What has one-man, one-vote produced in Africa? Virtually all the fifty-odd African states have reverted to tyranny, tribalism, or genocide. Africa was better off under colonial rule. Look at South America. After repeatedly electing Peronists, Argentina is a bankrupt country whose citizens come out in Buenos Aires at night to scour garbage cans for food. Brazil, $264 billion in debt, just elected a Marxist to solve an economic crisis. In Caracas, the elected president is a Castroite who earlier attempted a beer-hall putsch and is busily immiserating his middle class. >From Algeria to Pakistan, Islamists are winning elections. In democratic Europe, liberated by America, defended by America, free nations are voting away their sovereignties to the socialist super-state EU. Anti-Americanism is rife. Not one European nation has a birth rate that will keep it alive as a true European state through this century. If this is what democracy produces, why should U.S. soldiers die to impose it on Arabs and Muslims? Why should Arabs and Muslims not resist it to the death? The mark of a âsoundly conservative foreign policy,â said Dr. Kirk, is prudence. âIts object should not be the triumph everywhere of Americaâs name and manners under the slogan of âdemocratic capitalismâ but ... the preservation of the true national interest and acceptance of the diversity of economic and political institutions throughout the world. Soviet hegemony ought not be succeeded by American hegemony.â Dr. Kirk was an authentic conservative. Is George W. Bush? In his campaign he echoed Kirk: âThe United States must be humble ... in how we treat nations that are figuring out how to chart their own course.â Today the President brays like a neocon: âThe 20th century ended with a single surviving model of human progress.â This is the hubris of the best and brightest of the Sixties, and we know what became of them. As Proverbs reminds us, âPride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.â www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a disc
[CTRL] ANOTHER WAR, STILL NO PROOF
-Caveat Lector- http://www.uexpress.com/tedrall/site/viewru.cfm?uc_full_date=20021224&uc_comic=ru&uc_daction=X ANOTHER WAR, STILL NO PROOF A Groundless Ground War Edges Nearer NEW YORK--Eleven days after September 11, 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell promised to release proof that Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden were guilty of planning and executing the attacks on New York and Washington. "We will put before the world, the American people, a persuasive case that there will be no doubt when that case is presented that it is Al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, who has been responsible," Powell told ABC News. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice, speaking a few channels over, on CNN, echoed Powell's pledge. "Clearly we do have evidence, historical and otherwise, about the relationship to the Al Qaeda network to what happened on September 11," Rice said on Sept. 22nd. "We will begin to lay out that evidence and we will do it with friends, allies and the American people and others." Afghanistan, along with Pakistan, had hosted Al Qaeda training camps. Al Qaeda, Bush said, had attacked us. So we bombed Afghanistan. The Bush Administration spent the next three months overseeing the dropping of explosives, killing an estimated 10,000 Taliban soldiers and at least 3,500 Afghan civilians. During the year since we installed a puppet ruler, Hamid Karzai, as interim Afghan president, at least 36 American soldiers have lost their lives defending Karzai's fragile regime. So where's Rice's "evidence, historical and otherwise," confirming that Al Qaeda carried out 9/11? Where is Powell's "persuasive case"? The Bushies, as usual, are keeping mum. We, the American people, have yet to see the slightest shred of evidence tying Osama bin Laden, Mullah Omar, Michael Jackson or the Easter Bunny to the attacks. Fifteen months and still no proof! There are only three logical explanations for Bush's failure to produce the goods: Al Qaeda and the Taliban had nothing to do with 9/11. Possible, but unlikely. Who else would have done it? What with the war and all, the Bushies simply forgot to write up a report. Impossible. If proof existed, the Administration would have released it to make people like me shut up. The evidence is circumstantial at best. Now we're talking. More likely than not, American intelligence strongly suspects bin Laden et al. but can't prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Police detectives are repeatedly frustrated by this dilemma. What do you do when you know in your gut that a suspect is guilty, but you don't have enough evidence to press charges? The answer is painfully obvious: you let the bastard walk. In a society based on law, evidence must be sufficiently compelling in order to charge a defendant, much less convict him. To settle for less is to sacrifice the essential principle of our nation which holds that everyone--even radical Islamists--is presumed innocent. George W. Bush, an unscrupulous man whose arrogant contempt for the law elevated him to the White House, despises basic American values. He acted as Afghanistan's judge, jury and executioner--without even possessing sufficient proof to charge bin Laden in an American court. Now, however, Bush is paying a price for the decision not to lay his cards on the table regarding Afghanistan. While 90 percent of voters say they don't doubt that Saddam Hussein is developing weapons of mass destruction, 72 percent told a Los Angeles Times poll on Dec. 15 that Bush has not yet provided enough evidence to justify starting a war against Iraq. This figure clearly includes many Republicans who otherwise support Bush's policies. Most Americans have a gut feeling that Iraq has WMDs. But they don't think a gut feeling is sufficient cause to go to war. Here we go again. Does the U.S. really possess proof, as it claims, that Saddam is up to no good? Or does it merely suspect--in other words, have a gut feeling--that Iraqi scientists are cooking up smallpox bombs hundreds of feet beneath the desert? The American people aren't being allowed to see the evidence excusing the bloody war about to be waged in their name. Nor are the prospective allies whose help--and young men--we are requesting. "To say that we know but we won't tell you is not very persuasive," Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Ambassador to the United Nations, said. "It's not a poker game where you call your cards and call the other's bluff." Incredibly, Bush even resisted turning over intelligence data on Iraqi weapons to the U.N., information might help inspectors prove that Saddam was violating the 1991 ceasefire agreement. Approval ratings for an American war on Iraq are slipping. Unless he coughs up definitive proof of Iraqi wrongdoing or calls off the whole thing, this latest oil-driven military misadventure may become Bush's political Waterloo. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propa
[CTRL] America ‘Pearl Harbored’
-Caveat Lector- http://www.americanfreepress.net/12_24_02/America_Pearl_Harbored/america_pearl_harbored.html America âPearl Harboredâ Fanatical Warhawks Drafted Blueprint for Bloody U.S. World Domination Years Ago The cabal of war fanatics advising the White House secretly planned a âtransformationâ of defense policy years ago, calling for war against Iraq and huge increases in military spending. A âcatalyzing event â like a new Pearl Harborââwas seen as necessary to bring this about. Â Exclusive to American Free Press By Christopher Bollyn The huge increases in U.S. military spending that have occurred since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were planned before President George W. Bush was elected by the same men who are pushing the administrationâs âwar on terrorismâ and the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Billions of dollars in additional defense spending are but the first step in the groupâs long-term plan to transform the U.S. military into a global army enforcing a terroristic and bloody Pax Americana around the world. A neo-conservative Washington-based organization known as the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), funded by three foundations closely tied to Persian Gulf oil and weapons and defense industries, drafted the war plan for U.S. global domination through military power. One of the organizationâs documents clearly shows that Bush and his most senior cabinet members had already planned an attack on Iraq before he took power in January 2001. The PNAC was founded in the spring of 1997 by the well-known Zionist neo-conservatives Robert Kagan and William Kristol of The Weekly Standard. The PNAC is part of the New Citizenship Project, whose chairman is also William Kristol, and is described as âa non-profit, educational organization whose goal is to promote American global leadership.â Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Jeb Bush, and Paul Wolfowitz signed a Statement of Principles of the PNAC on June 3, 1997, along with many of the other current members of Bushâs âwar cabinet.â Wolfowitz was one of the directors of PNAC until he joined the Bush administration. The groupâs essential demand was for hefty increases in defense spending. âWe need to increase defense spending significantly if we are to carry out our global responsibilities today and modernize our armed forces for the future,â the statementâs first principle reads. The increase in defense spending is to bring about two of the other principles: âto challenge regimes hostile to our interests and valuesâ and âto accept responsibility for Americaâs unique role in preserving and extending an international order friendly to our security, our prosperity, and our principles.â A subsequent PNAC plan entitled âRebuilding Americaâs Defenses: Strategies, Forces and Resources for a New Century,â reveals that the current members of Bushâs cabinet had already planned, before the 2000 presidential election, to take military control of the Gulf region whether Saddam Hussein is in power or not. The 90-page PNAC document from September 2000 says: âThe United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.â âEven should Saddam pass from the scene,â the plan says U.S. military bases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will remain, despite domestic opposition in the Gulf states to the permanent stationing of U.S. troops. Iran, it says, âmay well prove as large a threat to U.S. interests as Iraq has.â A âcore missionâ for the transformed U.S. military is to âfight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous major theater wars,â according to the PNAC. The strategic âtransformationâ of the U.S. military into an imperialistic force of global domination would require a huge increase in defense spending to âa minimum level of 3.5 to 3.8 percent of gross domestic product, adding $15 billion to $20 billion to total defense spending annually,â the PNAC plan said. âThe process of transformation,â the plan said, âis likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing eventâlike a new Pearl Harbor.â American Free Press asked Christopher Maletz, assistant director of the PNAC about what was meant by the need for âa new Pearl Harbor.â âThey needed more money to up the defense budget for raises, new arms, and future capabilities,â Maletz said. âWithout some disaster or catastrophic eventâ neither the politicians nor the military would have approved, Maletz said. The ânew Pearl Harbor,â in the form of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, provided the necessary catalyst to put the global war plan into effect. Congress quickly allocated $40 billion to fund the âwar on terrorismâ shortly afte
[CTRL] "Hugo Chavez and Venezuela's poor versus everybody else"
-Caveat Lector- "Hugo Chavez and Venezuela's poor versus everybody else" Printed on Thursday, December 26, 2002 @ 11:34:47 EST http://yt.org/article.php?sid=955 [The news coming out of Venezuela has made it look as if Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is an evil-tyrant with no support from the people. However, the reality is different. The media has ignored the many protests throughout Venezuela in support of Chavez. Matthew Riemer explains the other side of the story in this relevant article on Venezuela's recent turmoil.] By Matthew Riemer YellowTimes.org Columnist (United States) (YellowTimes.org) Remember the coup in Venezuela earlier this year? A coup, if we need remind ourselves, that was an abortive one that the Bush administration initially backed with much fanfare, but then rescinded that jubilance when they discovered it to have crumbled under the pressures of military powers faithful to President Hugo Chavez and massive public backing from the impoverished Venezuelan masses. Is that same pattern about to be repeated now or will it end this time in an orgy of violence as such South American endeavors so often do? If we look closely, current events in Venezuela resemble the transparent machinations of the failed April 2002 coup quite well. Like the coup in April, this new movement has begun with the promise of a never-ending strike as the main instrument for removal of Chavez. Furthermore, the current strike, like the one in April, is being spearheaded by the same ringleaders: Pedro Carmona's Fedecamaras and the Venezuelan Confederation of Trade Unions (CTV). While the state run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), is being brought to a halt against judicial orders to highlight the devastating effects of a stoppage of the country's oil industry. Once again we have the upper middle class politicians, military officers, merchants, and demagogues attempting to bring the country's economy to a standstill in protest of Chavez's social and geopolitical strategies; strategies that challenge the U.S.' idea of a model South American strongman. Chavez sells oil to Cuba and meets with Fidel Castro. He also openly criticizes the U.S.' "war on terrorism" and globalization, and that's a Washington no-no. All the while, the Chavez supporters, the vast and poverty stricken lower class, are the ones most hurt by the strikes as the elite Venezuelan oligarchy pursue their selfish agenda and plutocratic aspirations with the middle class as their tool. And once again the private, corporate media in both Venezuela and the United States are answering their paymasters' call by printing and reporting wildly one-sided affairs that virtually omit reference to the vast and consistent pro-Chavez rallies around the country. Of the recent articles published by the New York Times about the situation in Venezuela one has to read several articles to even find a one sentence mention of the pro-Chavez movement, let alone an entire article about them. Moreover, these people, their movement, and what they represent are half the story, yet are given only 1 percent of the coverage. Why? Because then the American people might not so easily grasp the fact that Hugo Chavez is an evil tyrant, against the people, hell-bent on destroying Venezuela's economy for his own egotistical purposes as they do now. Instead we might see large demonstrations by the rural poor in support of Chavez while decrying the underhanded tactics of the corporations and news media attempting to seize control of the country. We might clearly see a divided country where an empowered oligarchy is trying to wrest control of the government for its own privatizing purposes in the face of international law and the Venezuelan constitution. Chavez is continually called a dictator or a communist or a leftist: anything to conjure up some good ole Cold War imagery, or of the Iron Curtain and Marxism, though no one really knows what being a Marxist means. People just know it's bad. We should also recall the strange and little known quasi-government proxy known as NED. The National Endowment for Democracy describes itself as "A private, nonprofit organization created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. [NED] is governed by an independent, nonpartisan board of directors." NED, though billed as a private organization, more accurately functions as an unofficial government organization that carries out foreign policy initiatives throughout the world. By all reasonable accounts, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) had more than an oblique and unintentional role in the proceedings in Venezuela in April. Just before the April coup, NED had funded a conference where many of the opposition leaders, and ultimate coup organizers, were set to meet, including hand-picked, two-day dictator Pedro Carmona, president of the business group Fedecamaras, who was to speak at the event. Upon coming to power Carmona
[CTRL] Fwd: Gen. Singlaub: Strike North Korea First
-Caveat Lector- --- Start of forwarded message --- From: "NewsMax.com" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "NewsMax.com News Alert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: "NewsMax.com" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Fwd: Gen. Singlaub: Strike North Korea First Date: 12/26/02 12:56:41 PM Gen. Singlaub: Plan for Strikes Against North Korea In the latest edition of NewsMax Magazine, Major Gen. John K. Singlaub, U.S. Army (retired), warns that World War III may boil out of the an peninsular unless the U.S. takes swift and decisive action. In an exclusive interview with NewsMax Magazine, Singlaub, the former chief of staff for U.S. forces in South Korea, says that North Korea's nuclear program must be stopped at all costs -- even if it means the U.S. takes pre-emptive strikes against North Korea's nuclear sites and risks a major war. Singlaub also blames the Clinton administration for disastrous policies that not only allowed communist North Korea to develop such weapons, but aided them financially -- and perhaps technically to do so. Singlaub notes that if the U.S. is indifferent, N. Korea will soon have the capability to hit the U.S. mainland, specifically the West Coast, with nuclear devices. You can get a FREE copy of the January edition of NewsMax magazine with Gen. Singlaub's interview - PLUS extra bonus items. Just click here: https://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag/bitterlegacybook.cfm https://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag/bitterlegacybook.cfm";>AOL users click here Singlaub Gave First Warning Soon after 9/11, Gen Singlaub went on the record to say a global war could well be triggered -- especially if the U.S. military got bogged down in a Mid-East cauldron. Singlaub has argued that if U.S. forces become "stretched," North Korea may use the opportunity to strike South Korea with a full-blown invasion. Singlaub's warnings are made in NewsMax's latest best-selling book: "Catastrophe: Clinton's Role in America's Worst Disaster." The book, published earlier this year, warned of the grave threat posed by North Korea. You can get this book "Catastrophe" FREE ... Click here: https://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag/bitterlegacybook.cfm https://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag/bitterlegacybook.cfm";>AOL users click here NewsMax Predicted 9/11 Strikes NewsMax's "Catastrophe" follows NewsMax's blockbuster book "Bitter Legacy: The Untold Stories of the Clinton-Gore Years," edited by Christopher Ruddy and Carl Limbacher. In "Bitter Legacy" - published in January 2001 - Ruddy and Limbacher claimed that Clinton- era policies had made the U.S. vulnerable to attack. They also predicted that terrorists would make major terrorist strikes in the U.S. homeland. "Bitter Legacy" also warned of the growing menace of North Korea, which has been aided by the U.S., as well as China and Russia. Check out our offer to get "Bitter Legacy" FREE. Click Here: https://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag/bitterlegacybook.cfm https://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag/bitterlegacybook.cfm";>AOL users click here Find out the Bush "Mandate" What will happen next, with the Republicans in control of Washington for the first time in a half century? In the January edition of NewsMax magazine, we answer that question and reveal: * Where Bush will strike after Iraq * Why partial birth abortion may soon be banned * Why a limited deployment of a missile defense shield could spark a collision with China * Why an economic boom will likely be sparked by new tax cuts and an oil price drop * The dangers posed to civil liberties by Homeland Security ...and much, much more You can get the "Mandate" edition of NewsMax magazine FREE with our special offer ... just click here: https://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag/bitterlegacybook.cfm https://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag/bitterlegacybook.cfm";>AOL users click here Also FREE: Charlton Heston edition of NewsMax magazine NewsMax's recent cover story, "Heston's Battle," is one of our most requested editions ever. We'll send you this edition -- with intimate details of Charlton Heston's battle with Alzheimer's, as well as new revelations about why he broke with the Hollywood Left to challenge the PC establishment. Check out our FREE offer on the Heston edition ... click here: https://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag/bitterlegacybook.cfm https://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag/bitterlegacybook.cfm";>AOL users click here TO ADVERTISE** For information on advertising at NewsMax.com please contact Corrine McNurlin at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 888-766-7542. TO SUBSCRIBE** If this News Alert has been forwarded to you and you would like a subscription, please visit http://NewsMax.com/email.shtml http://NewsMax.com/email.shtml";>AOL users click here Sign up for free e-mail alerts today! For a NewsMax magazine subscription, visit: http://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag_subscribe/ http://www.newsmaxstore.c
[CTRL] Fliers facing new baggage search rules
-Caveat Lector- http://www.arizonarepublic.com/news/articles/1221search21.html Fliers facing new baggage search rules By Judy Nichols The Arizona Republic Dec. 21, 2002 New airport rules that allow searches of your luggage away from your supervision are raising questions about theft, damage and notification. Will searchers put something into your bag? Will they take something out? If they break your luggage locks, who pays? If your camera's missing, what happens? Passengers traveling today from Phoenix won't face the additional scrutiny at Sky Harbor International Airport, which is still installing video cameras and screening employees to meet the Dec. 31 deadline. But some airports have implemented the new system, and here's how it works: Bags are screened electronically. If they set off an alarm, they are searched by hand. In Phoenix, as elsewhere, "we will resolve every alarm," said Suzanne Luber, local spokeswoman for the federal Transportation Security Administration. Plastic locks provided Nationally, officials expect about 35 percent of bags will set off false alarms, triggering hand searches. Explosives-sniffing dogs will supplement the electronic screening in Phoenix until additional equipment arrives. If you locked your bag and it sets off the alarm, workers will break the lock to search it. You won't be reimbursed. If your bag sets off the alarm and you have used a free plastic lock provided by Sky Harbor, which should be available within a few days, workers will cut it off and search your bag. They will leave a flier inside that explains the search and gives you a toll-free number (1-866-289-9673) to call with questions or complaints. Then searchers will shut the bag and put another plastic lock on it, probably a different color, so you will know it has been opened. If you notice anything missing, call the toll-free number. The locks can be opened using scissors. "We will deal with each case individually," Luber said. If your bag won't shut because the lock has been broken, employees will try to tape it shut so nothing falls out, or put it into a plastic bag to make sure none of your belongings are lost, Luber said. The 26,000 bag screeners nationally have gone through three background checks and will be monitored with video cameras, Luber said. "This protects the employees from false accusations and protects the customers, too," Luber said. Leave the food at home Obviously, the best thing is to avoid accidentally setting off the alarm. Some tips: Spread out books or hard items, rather than stacking them. Pack shoes on top. Put personal items like toothbrushes in resealable plastic bags so workers don't have to touch them. Avoid packing food; items such as peanut butter, jelly and chocolate bars have the same density as plastic explosives. If you've packed the sharp items taken out of your carry-on, put them into a plastic bag on top of your other items so searchers don't accidentally poke themselves. Check in early. Some airlines will not guarantee that your bag will make the plane if you've checked in less than 45 minutes before the flight, Luber said. Despite the additional searches, Luber said, the security agency's goal is to avoid additional delays. "We still have a goal of 10 minutes for passengers to get through security," she said. "We don't have a set goal for bags." News on azcentral.com Breaking News World/Nation Email newsletters Sign up to receive breaking news alerts, delivered to your inbox free whenever big news happens. Republic Front Page | Local | Sports Arizona Living | Business | Opinions Subscribe to The Republic Terms of Service Help Center | About us Copyright 2002, The Arizona Republic. All rights reserved http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org 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 http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl 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
Re: [CTRL] Outsourcing Big Brother
-Caveat Lector- The original article (in the spirit of total DARPA awareness) and a multitude of relevant hyperlinks can be found at http://memes.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1458&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 Do you Yahoo!? www.ctrl.org 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 Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ctrl 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 Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now
Re: [CTRL] Israeli Soldier Gets 65 Days for Murdering 95 Yr Old Grandmother
-Caveat Lector- Never satisfied, eh Pru - you spend lots of time professing that Israelis never are punished for killing Arabs - on 12/26/02 11:49 AM, Prudy L at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > -Caveat Lector- > > In a message dated 12/25/2002 10:09:05 PM Eastern Standard Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > >> >> An Israel Defense Forces soldier who killed a 95-year-old Palestinian woman >> earlier this month has been sentenced to 65 days in >> military prison. > > But does he get to keep the points? Prudy > > http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org > 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 > http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ > http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl > > 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 Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate William of Occam NEURONAUTIC INSTITUTE on-line: http://home.earthlink.net/~thew http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org 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 http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl 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] Philo-Semitism is racism
Title: Re: [CTRL] Philo-Semitism is racism -Caveat Lector- on 12/26/02 11:37 AM, William Shannon at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: But Ms. Mohn is totally ignorant of Judaism. She writes: “The phenomenon of “Chosen-ness”, as understood in Jewish tradition, has nothing to do with closeness to God or superiority versus non-Jews”. Ms Mohan is correct, though even most Jews get it wrong. Chosen means chosen to do a particular job, that is to heal the world. It is a dirty job, and one that obviously has engendered much hatred. It does not mean chosen as special or better or anything of the sort – it is an obligation laid on the Jews, not a benefit given to them. Chosen to battle the status quo – which means that those in power will hate and oppress you, because you are fighting against their entrenched power base. As to her earlier quote about an “ethnic Jew” describing himself as Christian – there is a semantic mix of levels going on, one I have talked about here often Jewish is an ethnicity as well as a religion – the same word has two distinct meanings, I wish we had another word, because this confusion causes much harm. If the author were ethnically Italian, no one would have any problem with him calling himself any religion he chooses. If you are ethnically Italian, you cannot change your ethnicity – so an Italian Jew could become an Italian Christian and visa versa, but an Italian Jew or Italian Christian could not become ,say, an ethnically German Jew or German Christian. So it is not racist to say an ethnic Jew cannot stop being a Jew, regardless of what religion they profess. For example I am ethnically Jewish, but have no religious belief. Does my lack of belief in god change my ethnicity? Of course not. -- -- -- -- -- - -- - -- -- - - - - -- --- -- - - - - -- - - - -- -- - -- - "Truth is more of a stranger than fiction." -- Mark Twain NEURONAUTIC INSTITUTE on-line: http://home.earthlink.net/~thew www.ctrl.org 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 Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ctrl 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] Israeli Soldier Gets 65 Days for Murdering 95 Yr Old Grandmother
-Caveat Lector- In a message dated 12/25/2002 10:09:05 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > An Israel Defense Forces soldier who killed a 95-year-old Palestinian woman > earlier this month has been sentenced to 65 days in > military prison. But does he get to keep the points? Prudy http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org 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 http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl 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] Philo-Semitism is racism
-Caveat Lector- http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=21405 Philo-Semitism is racism Norwegian daily newspaper Nationen (Oslo) published an op-ed attacking Israel Shamir on Nov. 28. Here is his reply. As sooner or later everyone gets attacked as an anti-Semite, it could be useful as a blank standard reply. I do not like philo-Semites, i.e. people choosing to fight anti-Semitism, of all ills. In this world, so full of trouble and real suffering, there is something deeply pervert in persons preferring to protect and support â not the poor, not the refugees, not the oppressed, but the wealthy, influential and well-connected group actively engaged in ethnic cleansing of Palestine. The chief proponent of this well-endowed movement is an American Jew, the head of ADL, Abe Foxman. Two years ago he was caught taking large sums of money from the superthief Marc Rich, a crook who cheated American tax-payer and found refuge in Switzerland. For years Foxman and his organization collected dossiers on people who objected to apartheid and sold them to Mossad and to South Africa of Forster. They broke into houses, stole documents, run professional surveillance of the left activists in California. Last year, Foxman and ADL were found guilty in the US court of law, and paid millions of dollars to people they intimidated and smeared. Foxmanâs best chum is Ariel Sharon, the mass murderer of Sabra, Shatila, Kibie and Jenin. A new book by Gordon Thomas and Martin Dillon, âThe Assassination of Robert Maxwell: Israelâs Super Spyâ confirms the professional philo-Semites have permanent ties with Mossad, the long arm of Israeli apartheid, memorable to you by Lillehammer murders. In brief, the philo-Semites are sleazy guys taking money from sleazy crooks in order to cover up the creeping genocide of Palestinians. It is not strange, as the very emphasis on âanti-Semitismâ is disgustingly racist, as if it were worse than racism against anyone else. People who decry âanti-Semitism,â instead of âracismâ or âethnic-prejudice,â are actually saying that there is something really special â and particularly bad â about discrimination against this one particular group. In other words, they are racists. Your average Norwegian does not hesitate to say he dislikes Swedes. Sometimes he corrects himself and says he actually hates Swedes. Older Norwegians freely speak of their hatred to Germans. So do Jews: Recent bestseller by a philo-Semite Goldhagen called all Germans âwilling executioners of Hitlerâ. âEvery Jew must maintain in his heart holy hatred to Germansâ, quoth Elie Wiesel, another professional philo-Semite. Somehow nobody is worried about these racist statements; Wiesel even received Nobel Peace Prize from the Norwegian Academy. Germans are not exclusion. A Jewish scribe, Daniel Pipes, wrote a piece together with a Dane Lars Hedegaard in the Canadian daily National Post (Aug. 27, 2002), published by the Jewish media lord, Israel Asper, a great friend of my country, saying: âPredominantly Muslim immigrants constitute 5 percent of the population but consume upwards of 40 percent of the welfare spending. Muslims are only 4 percent of Denmarkâs 5.4 million people but make up a majority of the countryâs convicted rapists, an especially combustible issue given that practically all the female victims are non-Muslimâ. I am not sure one can be more racist than that, even if one mobilizes Der Sturmer. But somehow nobody is worried about it. The racist talk of anti-Semitism is used to protect Israeli racism. It is amazing that some people still pay attention to it, and their crocodile tears drip into newspapers. I wonder why the Third Reich did not try to stop the Allied forces by claiming they are led by âanti-German prejudiceâ. One imagines Russian soldiers at Stalingrad listen to such a broadcast and drop their weapons in shame. Or is it only anti-Jewish prejudice that is objectionable? Apparently, it is the case for philo-Semites: The Guardian wrote about assassinated Dutch racist leader that though he hated Muslims and Arabs, he was not a bad guy, as he liked Jews. Can one be more racist than that? The piece by Christine Mohn is true to its racist genre. She described me as âan ethnic Jew who defines himself as a Christianâ. Like Adolf Hitler, she thinks âonce a Jew, forever a Jewâ, baptism notwithstanding, he can only âdefine himself as a Christianâ. However, non-racists are of different opinion. A philo-Semite is a potential Jew, as he considers Jews being more equal than other people. A Jew by birth can leave Jewry if he believes in equality of Man as did St. Paul, Marx and Trotsky. Here the opinions of the church and of the Communist Party coincide. Indeed, that was the vision of Abram Leon, a young follower of Trotsky, who perished in Auschwitz in 1944. In his important book, âThe Jewish Question: Marxist Interpretationâ (I am grateful to Noam Chom
[CTRL] "It looks like Barbie's Dream House after the apocalypse"!
-Caveat Lector- --- Forwarded message follows --- To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "AlasBabylon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.antiwar.com/justin/justincol.html -- Outgoing mail is certified virus free Scanned by Norton AntiVirus http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org 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 http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl 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] Report on foot-wide gaps in dam is pulled from Web site
-Caveat Lector- http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/101486_dam25.shtml SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/101486_dam25.shtml Report on foot-wide gaps in dam is pulled from Web site Wednesday, December 25, 2002 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MISSOULA, Mont. -- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has removed a document from its Web site that revealed officials found foot-wide gaps in a portion of the aging Milltown Dam upstream from here. Instead, the Web site now contains a notice that anyone wishing to view the information must file a request with the agency through the federal Freedom of Information Act. The agency did not explain the reason behind the change, and a spokesman did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment yesterday. The one-page document was on the agency's Web site as late as Friday. It revealed that an engineer with Northwestern Energy, which owns the dam, called the FERC twice on Oct. 25 to report that company officials had found gaps between the bottom of the dam's concrete spillway and its earthen foundation. An engineer said the gaps could be filled with grout, and a NorthWestern spokeswoman, Claudia Rapkoch, said the dam is "safe and structurally sound." Missoula County commissioners, however, were upset that they were never told about the problem. They learned of it only after a county employee came across the document on FERC's Web site last week. Commissioners sent a written complaint to the agency Friday, after an FERC engineer said he could not discuss the gaps because of "national security." By Monday, the document had been removed from FERC's Web site. Peter Nielsen, environmental health supervisor at Missoula's City-County Health Department, said FERC is improperly withholding information. "After Sept. 11, FERC put the clamps on certain things so terrorists could not get in there and get diagrams to Grand Coulee," he said. "But we are not Grand Coulee. "Our downtown is five miles downstream from this dam, and we are in fact threatened by this structure. The citizens of Missoula have a concern for their public health, safety and welfare, and we are having information withheld from us." The dam and its Milltown Reservoir are the terminus of the nation's largest Superfund environmental cleanup site, the resting place for decades of mine waste that washed 120 miles down the Clark Fork River from Butte and Anaconda. © 1998-2002 Seattle Post-Intelligencer http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org 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 http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl 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] West Virginia ticket has winning numbers for whopping $561 million - smh.com.au
-Caveat Lector- http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/26/1040511133189.html Print this article | Close this window West Virginia ticket has winning numbers for whopping $561 million December 27 2002 Someone who bought a lottery ticket in West Virginia won the $US314.9 million ($A561.72 million) jackpot in Wednesday's Powerball drawing, a lottery official said. Multi-State Lottery Association drawing manager Sue Dooley said no other information on the winner would be immediately released late Wednesday. An unexpected Christmas Day run on Powerball tickets pushed the already whopping $US280 million ($A499.46 million) jackpot to $US314.9 million just before numbers were drawn, making it the multistate lottery's largest prize ever. The numbers in Wednesday night's drawing were 5-14-16-29-53 and the Powerball was 7. The prize would be the third-largest lottery jackpot in US history. Joe Mahoney, a spokesman for the Multi-State Lottery Association said the jackpot grew after holiday sales were much higher than expected. "We were always planning on Wednesday, Christmas Day, to be a very light day for sales," Mahoney said. "Monday and Tuesday were much higher than we expected them to be and (Christmas) ... was much higher than we anticipated it to be." But since gas stations and convenience stores - typical lottery retailers - were open Christmas Day, throngs of people ventured out to get a piece of the action. "That's about all I'm selling today," said Mike Green, store manager of a QuikTrip in Des Moines. "A lot of people are buying them for gifts." At a Kum & Go convenience store in Des Moines, customers bought as many as 100 tickets apiece, including Richard Nichols, who stopped by before Christmas dinner. He didn't think it was a big purchase. "When you don't buy them very often, it's not that much," said Nichols. "We're just about ready to eat, so, I said, 'I got to do an errand here'." Powerball, the nation's largest lottery game, is run by the Multi-State Lottery Association and is played in 23 states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands. Sounantha Baccam, 27, of Des Moines, planned to buy about 10 tickets. "I think it's pretty neat, though, isn't it, on Christmas Day, to go for it?" he said. If the prize goes unclaimed yesterday, the jackpot would reach record levels, said Mary Neubauer, spokeswoman for the Iowa lottery. One first-time player, Bill Sanders, 60, of Mission, Kansas, bought his ticket yesterday from a gas station. If the single ticket he bought is the winner, "I'd probably travel the world and live a lot different than I do now." The game's second-largest jackpot was $US295.7 million ($A527.47 million) in July 1998. Last summer, it reached $US295 million ($A526.22 million). The biggest lottery jackpot in US history was a Big Game prize of $US363 million ($A647.52 million), won in May 2000 by ticketholders in Michigan and Illinois. The second was a $US331 million ($A590.44 million) Big Game jackpot split between three tickets in April. AP This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/26/ 1040511133189.html http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org 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 http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl 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] A nation with no beer - smh.com.au
-Caveat Lector- http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/26/1040511133545.html Print this article | Close this window A nation with no beer December 27 2002 The general strike against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has cut not only vital supplies of oil, but also another precious liquid in the country: beer. Since the strike began December 2, cutting into the beer supplies as the nation's top producer stopped brewing, beer-thirsty Venezuelans have had to turn to whiskey and other alternatives. "Right now, we drunks are drinking the good stuff," Jose Gonzalez, a retired government worker, joked after buying a $US28 ($A50) bottle of whiskey. "But if the strike continues, we are going to end up broke." It's a bit of a sacrifice for beer-loving Venezuelans, who like to socialise over a glass in neighbourhood Spanish-style taverns or have a cold one to combat the tropical heat. According to Cerveceria Regional, a Venezuelan subsidiary of Brazil's Brahma brewery, Venezuela is the No. 3 beer producer in Latin America. Per capita, Venezuelans are the biggest beer consumers in Latin America, drinking an average of 80 litres annually. Mexico comes next at 51 litres; Brazil, 48 litres. But into the strike's fourth week, beer is becoming hard if not impossible to find in Caracas liquor stores and supermarkets. It is still available in many bars and restaurants, but selections have shrunk. Merchants complain their profits will be as flat as day-old beer during what should be a peak season. "Normally, December is the best month of the year for us. It's when we sell the most, for parties," said Marco Dos Santos, a Caracas liquor store owner. "We still have rum, whiskey, and wines, but they could be gone in a few days and we'll have to close." Dos Santos added that no products have arrived at his shop in two weeks. Prospects of replenishment soon were dim. Empresas Polar, Venezuela's biggest brewer and one of the world's largest, stopped production to support the strike. Soldiers recently raided a Polar warehouse looking for other products, such as cornflour and cooking oil, after Chavez ordered authorities to distribute hoarded products deemed essential to the nation's welfare. Beer isn't on the list, and the soldiers only found thousands of bottles waiting to be filled. Polar said it is taking legal action to prevent more raids. AP This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/26/ 1040511133545.html http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org 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 http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl 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] A washingtonpost.com article from: alamaine@uffdaonline.net
-Caveat Lector- You have been sent this message from [EMAIL PROTECTED] as a courtesy of the Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31358-2002Dec23.html Smallpox Plan May Force Other Health Cuts By Ceci Connolly The Bush administration's plan to vaccinate as many as 10.5 million medical personnel and emergency responders against smallpox will cost between $600 million and $1 billion and is likely to siphon money from other bioterrorism and public health efforts, local and state officials warn. With most of the 50 states already buckling under budget deficits, the widespread immunization campaign due to begin in late January amounts to "the ultimate unfunded federal mandate," said George Hardy, executive director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. "We can't afford to do this at the expense of all other preparedness." For months, city and state leaders have been preparing to inoculate about 450,000 medical professionals who would serve on smallpox response teams in the event of an outbreak. But few expected President Bush to adopt a much broader proposal, known as Phase 2, to encourage every remaining health care worker, police officer, firefighter and emergency medical technician to be immunized. "States and localities already are diverting significant resources to smallpox vaccination and there is no end in sight," said Patrick Libbey, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. "We urge that the program be kept at minimal levels and grow only as rapidly as threat assessments demand, so as not to disrupt other basic community health protections or cause unnecessary harm." The decision to revive a vaccine known for its dangerous side effects is a reflection of the changing times, Bush said in announcing the plan. In anticipation of a likely war with Iraq, he ordered mandatory inoculation for 500,000 members of the armed forces and is recruiting volunteers among medical workers and emergency responders to serve as a sort of domestic front line against biological attack. Other Americans will be able to receive the vaccine, even though it has not yet gone through the Food and Drug Administration's licensing and approval process, but the government is recommending against universal vaccination for the general public. The cost of biodefense is rising steadily. Already, the federal government has spent more than $862 million to buy the smallpox vaccine. Last spring, the Bush administration distributed $918 million to state health departments for homeland security, money it says could defray smallpox vaccination costs. "We're absolutely committed to working with the states to make this work efficiently and safely, said Tom Skinner, spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "There are a lot of dollar figures out there, some of which I believe do not take into account the infrastructure that's been put in place." But that infusion of cash came with extensive demands, said Michael Richardson, acting health director for the District of Columbia. To qualify for the money, states and large cities such as the District submitted detailed plans for improving computer systems, training medical workers and adding emergency hospital beds. "The word smallpox wasn't even mentioned," he said. The $10 million given to the city was spent stockpiling medications, hiring epidemiologists and other bioterrorism experts and upgrading the public health laboratory. Richardson said he does not know where the District will find the $3.6 million needed to inoculate 10,000 to 20,000 emergency personnel over and above the first group of 3,000 health care workers. Bill Pierce, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said he expects Congress to approve an additional $940 million for states "to conduct disease surveillance, upgrade labs and improve public health infrastructure." The impact of leaping from 450,000 to as many as 10 million inoculations next spring is far greater than the numbers suggest, state officials said. Mounting a smallpox vaccination program 30 years after routine immunizations were stopped in the United States will require extensive education and training, careful medical screening for people at risk of complications, near-daily checking of inoculation sites and vast data collection, health officials say. Because Phase 1 focuses on medical workers, states plan to rely heavily on hospitals to administer the vaccine and monitor employees for side effects. But hospitals cannot be expected to oversee the second phase, which will entail not only logistical challenges, but also many more medical complications. Historical data suggest that for every 1 million immunized, about one-third will miss at least a day of work because of advers
[CTRL] U.S. ability to fight two wars doubted -- The Washington Times
-Caveat Lector- http://www.washtimes.com/national/20021225-16818336.htm The Washington Times www.washingtontimes.com U.S. ability to fight two wars doubted Rowan Scarborough THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published December 25, 2002 For the first time since the U.S. military adopted a post-Soviet strategy of being ready to fight two wars simultaneously, there are real prospects that American troops may be asked to carry out that mission. But some military analysts say the armed forces today are too small to fight two major wars at once. The situation is this: The Bush administration says Iraq is lying about its weapons of mass destruction, as the United States moves forces to the Persian Gulf for an invasion to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. In the Pacific, North Korea is exploiting the crisis with Saddam to test President Bush's resolve. Pyongyang has resumed its nuclear-weapons program, which Washington believes poses a threat to world security. With tensions rising, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld asserted on Monday that U.S. forces can simultaneously fight North Korea and Iraq. A Pentagon policy statement, known as the Quadrennial Defense Review, states that the military today is funded and structured to fight and occupy one enemy nation, while defeating another foe. "We're capable of winning decisively in one and swiftly defeating in the case of the other," Mr. Rumsfeld said. "Let there be no doubt about it." But there are doubters, inside and outside the military. "In all due respect to Rumsfeld, that was a very patriotic thing to say," said retired Army Col. Ken Allard, a military analyst. "But we do not have the means, the manpower or the strategy to actually do that. We simply lack sufficient ground forces, sufficient airlift, sufficient sea lift to do those things." Retired Rear Adm. Jeremy Taylor, a former attack pilot and carrier commander, said he believes the Bush administration, in reality, knows it cannot fight two major conventional wars simultaneously. That is why, he said, the White House recently issued a strategy statement threatening to use nuclear weapons to prevent attacks from enemies that use weapons of mass destruction. "We have a [two-war] strategy that is totally out of whack with the size of the force we have," Adm. Taylor said. "For the secretary to say we can handle two regional conflicts is ludicrous to the point where the rascals of the world, our adversaries, don't believe us. We have lost our ability to deter war." Today's 1.4-million-member active-duty force is about half the size of the U.S. military during the 1980s, when the country was still engaged in the Cold War. Yet the United States has taken on additional assignments while maintaining old alliances through the deployment of 200,000 troops in Germany and Asia. The U.S. military plays a major role in peacekeeping in the Balkans, is actively preparing for war in the Persian Gulf, has 8,000 troops fighting a low-grade war against al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan and has positioned units to attack terrorists in the Gulf and Africa. The United States had just begun shrinking the Cold War force of 2.1 million in 1990 when Saddam's army invaded Kuwait and the Pentagon responded with Operation Desert Storm. Commanders asked for and received 550,000 troops to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Today, the active force is a little more than half that size. A U.S. Army that once constituted nearly 800,000 soldiers now stands at 480,000. "When all of a sudden push comes to shove, part of the reason we have been able to do what we've been able to do is overwhelming ground power. That was the reason Desert Storm went so spectacularly well," Col. Allard said. "Today, you simply lack the forces to go around." The United States is in the midst of a major military buildup in the Persian Gulf for what could well be an invasion this winter to oust Saddam from power. If North Korea attacks South Korea while the United States has troops invading Iraq, the Pentagon would be faced with a whirlwind of decisions. Some domestic units are designated for war in both the Pacific and Gulf theaters. Gen. Tommy Franks, who would direct an invasion of Iraq, might have to relinquish some of his requested 250,000 troops to block the North Korean advance. This could prolong the war against Iraq and increase U.S. casualties something uniformed military officials warned about last year when Mr. Rumsfeld's aides toyed with the idea of cutting the active force even deeper. The argument of Mr. Rumsfeld's aides, in part, was that advancements in "smart" munitions during the past decade have reduced the requirement for land units. Pyongyang has picked this time to announce the resumption of its nuclear program as the United States is involved in a crisis in the Gulf to test Mr. Bush. One scenario is that Mr. Bush is forced to
[CTRL] Arutz Sheva - Israel National News
-Caveat Lector- http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=36136 Officials Contradict Sharon's Warnings Prime Minister Sharon was also taken to task for his remarks last night about Iraq. He told a television interviewer that there are unconfirmed reports that Iraq has hidden biological and chemical weapons in Syria, that a Palestinian terrorist cell trained in Iraq to use shoulder- launched missiles to shoot down planes at Ben Gurion International Airport was recently caught, that Iraqi nuclear scientists are working in Libya, and that the PA and Iraq are working together. The interview came only hours after Sharon told the country that Iraq could very well attack Israel. Labor Party leaders said that Sharon was "causing panic" merely to divert public attention from the headlines of alleged corruption in the Likud. They were particularly incensed after IDF Intelligence Chief Gen. Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the likelihood that Iraq would attack Israel before an American attack is low. Moshe Arens, who served as Defense Minister during the first Gulf War, also said that the chances of an Iraqi attack are not great. In a related item, the Health Ministry has decided that there is currently no need to incoculate the entire population against smallpox. http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org 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 http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl 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] MRC Alert: Winning Quotes in the MRC's Annual Awards for Worst Reporting (fwd)
-Caveat Lector- "I pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands, one Nation under God,indivisible,with liberty and justice for all." visit my web site at http://www.voicenet.com/~wbacon My ICQ# is 79071904 for a precise list of the powers of the Federal Government linkto: http://www.voicenet.com/~wbacon/Enumerated.html -- Forwarded message -- Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2002 21:08:46 -0700 From: Media Research Center <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: MRC Alert: Winning Quotes in the MRC's Annual Awards for Worst Reporting ***Media Research Center CyberAlert*** 1:10am EST, Thursday December 26, 2002 (Vol. Seven; No. 203) The 1,404th CyberAlert. Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996 Winning Quotes in the MRC's Annual Awards for the Worst Reporting; The 52 Judges Who Evaluated the Quotes Distributed to more than 11,600 recipients by the Media Research Center, bringing political balance to the news media since 1987. The MRC is the leader in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias. Visit the MRC on the Web: http://www.mediaresearch.org. CyberAlerts from this year are at: http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/cyberwelcome.asp Subscribe/unsubscribe information, as well as a link to the MRC donations page, are at the end of this message. When posted, this CyberAlert will be readable at: http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2002/cyb20021226.asp 1) The winning quotes in the MRC's "Best Notable Quotables of 2002: The Fifteenth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting." 2) A list of the 52 judges who evaluated the quotes in 17 award categories. > 1) The winning quotes in the MRC's "Best Notable Quotables of 2002: The Fifteenth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting." To determine this year's winners, a panel of 52 radio talk show hosts, magazine editors, columnists, editorial writers and media observers each selected their choices for the first, second and third best quote from a slate of six to nine quotes in each category. Each received a paper ballot in late November and returned it within two weeks. See item #2 below for the list of judges. First place selections were awarded three points, second place choices two points, with one point for the third place selections. Point totals are listed in the brackets at the end of the attribution for each quote. Each judge was also asked to choose a "Quote of the Year" denoting the most outrageous quote of 2002. The MRC's Kristina Sewell and Amanda Monson distributed and counted the ballots. Brent Baker and Rich Noyes assembled this issue and Mez Djouadi posted the complete issue. To see the full results, with RealPlayer clips of many of the television quotes, go to: http://www.mediaresearch.org/notablequotables/bestof/2002/welcome.asp For an Adobe Acrobat PDF that matches the eight-page hard copy version: http://www.mediaresearch.org/notablequotables/bestof/2002/pdf/BestofNQ2002.pdf Now, the winning quotes in 17 award categories: Media Hero Award "For Castro, freedom starts with education. And if literacy alone were the yardstick, Cuba would rank as one of the freest nations on Earth. The literacy rate is 96 percent." -- Barbara Walters narrating her interview with Fidel Castro on ABC's 20/20, October 11. [73 points] General Phil "Cheap Shot" Donahue Award (for Swipes at the War on Terrorism) "This is interesting news that we get now, and it may put the President under a lot of heat today as the public learns that he knew, through his daily CIA intelligence briefings, that bin Laden had potential terror attack plans under wayIt also calls into question what happened when Andy Card, Andrew Card, the White House chief of staff, that morning went and whispered in the President's ear, as the President was talking to a group of school students in Florida [on Sept. 11, 2001]. Was the President really surprised?" -- Charles Gibson's introduction and question to White House correspondent Terry Moran on ABC's Good Morning America, May 16. [79 points] Fourth Reich Award (for Portraying John Ashcroft as a Fascist) "One of the interesting things about this German story that's coming out is they had like 90 pages of particulars of this cell and it makes you think -- they were leaving trails and clues all over the place -- if we'd really been watching and paying attention we could have headed off 9/11. But the German prosecutorial system was pretty laid back and didn't want to be John Ashcroft, you know, they didn't want to be the SS, they had that worry there, no Gestapos. And so it was a great place for terrorists to operate." -- Newsweek Assistant Managing Editor Evan Thomas on the August 31 Inside Washington, referring to German surveillance of an al Qaeda group before 9/11. [88 points] Ashamed of the Red, White & Blue Award Phil Donah
