[CTRL] Fwd: Bush's Rule by Whim Threatens Not Only the Constitution but the Rule of LAW
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: July 28, 2007 7:38:35 PM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Bush's Rule by Whim Threatens Not Only the Constitution but the Rule of LAW Bush asserts a king's prerogative With showdown over Iraq looming, president courts constitutional crisis Published on: 07/25/07 http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2007/07/25/ bushking0725.html In theory, President Bush is sworn to faithfully execute the laws of the United States. In reality, he has treated federal law as a menu from which he picks and chooses those laws he likes, while ignoring those that do not suit his taste. That royalist attitude may soon inspire a constitutional confrontation unrivaled in U.S. history. At the moment, the president's penchant for ignoring laws he finds inconvenient is best displayed in the standoff with Congress over subpoenas. Congress has demanded the sworn testimony of White House officials as part of an investigation into the Justice Department; the White House is refusing to allow that testimony, citing executive privilege. In itself, that conflict is hardly unusual; it continues a traditional contest of wills between presidents and Congress that goes back to the earliest days of the Republic. The conflict is so standard that federal law lays out a clear process for resolving it. If witnesses refuse to honor congressional subpoenas and are found in contempt, the matter is referred to the U.S. attorney from Washington, D.C., whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for its action. The wording of that law doesn't give the U.S. attorney any leeway. It doesn't say that he or she can or may bring it before the grand jury. It says he or she shall bring the matter to the grand jury, so the courts can resolve the conflict between the other two branches of government. Bush, however, claims the right to ignore that law. He not only refuses to allow his aides to testify, he refuses to allow the U.S. attorney to refer the matter to the grand jury, as the law says he must. In essence, Bush is denying Congress access to the courts as an impartial arbiter of their dispute. Now, in most other eras in American history, that would be the making of a serious confrontation between the congressional and executive branches. But in the Bush administration, it's a minor prelude to what may be coming next. For months now, Congress has been debating ways to force a change of course in Iraq. Under the Constitution, the president is commander- in-chief, but Congress has the power of the purse — the right to fund or refuse to fund government activities. That means that the most obvious means of forcing a change of policy in Iraq is through the appropriations process. Congress could chose to fund military operations in Iraq only until a certain date, or only under certain conditions. The Bush administration argues strongly against taking that course, as is its right. However, the White House also claims that any provision that sets a date certain for withdrawal would infring[e] on the president's constitutional authority as commander-in-chief. In other words, the White House believes that any law telling the president what to do in Iraq would be unconstitutional, and thus could be ignored. The administration has already refused to abide by numerous other provisions of law that it considered an unconstitutional assault on its powers, with the law regarding congressional subpoenas only the most recent. And within the administration, that a hard-nosed approach toward executive power has been championed most strongly by Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney did not come to that position lately. He expressed similar opinions 20 years ago, when he was still a member of Congress from Wyoming and vice chairman of a committee investigating the Iran- Contra scandal. The heart of that scandal involved the Boland Amendment, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. That provision — a clear case of Congress exercising its power of the purse — barred the U.S. government from sending financial or military aid to the Contra guerrillas, who were trying to overthrow the Communist government of Nicaragua. When a cabal inside the Reagan White House arranged secret means to fund the Contras anyway, in clear violation of federal law, a scandal was born. Most congressmen, Republican and Democratic alike, believed the White House had broken the law by funding the Contras. Cheney did not. In a minority committee report, he and others argued that the right to conduct foreign policy belongs exclusively to the president, and the Constitution does not permit Congress to pass a law usurping presidential power. Congressional actions to limit
[CTRL] Fwd: THREE Democrats in Congress Told Secret C.O.G. Plan None of Your Business
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: July 28, 2007 7:59:48 PM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: THREE Democrats in Congress Told Secret C.O.G. Plan None of Your Business Democratic members of the Homeland Security Committee were told the document is close hold. Frankly, we're not willing to share it DeFazio chases secret terror-crisis plan After the White House denies access, the Web buzzes with conspiracy chatter The Oregonian, July 28, 2007 JEFF KOSSEFF http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/ 118559492719310.xmlcoll=7 WASHINGTON -- Peter DeFazio won't take no for an answer. After conspiracy theorists fanned the Internet with their outrage, the Oregon congressman renewed his push Friday to gain access to the classified portion of a White House plan to operate the government after a terrorist attack. This time, DeFazio is joined by two other Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee who wrote to a top Bush administration Homeland Security official requesting access to the information. The White House refused to provide it to DeFazio earlier this month, offering no explanation beyond national security concerns. After The Oregonian reported the situation a week ago, the story spread rapidly across the Internet, linked from more than 250 blog postings and political Web sites. We can think of no basis for you to deny members of the Committee on Homeland Security the opportunity to review this document in a secure setting, states the letter signed by DeFazio; Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the committee; and Rep. Chris Carney, D-Pa., chairman of the Homeland Security oversight subcommittee. The letter was addressed to Frances Townsend, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism. DeFazio wants to read the secret file after hearing from constituents concerned about a conspiracy. The public portion of the presidential directive lays out general policies for operating the government during a major catastrophe, but it referred to classified portions. According to the letter, White House staff had initially said it would provide the document to Homeland Security Committee staff so DeFazio could review it. But on July 18, White House staff, the congressmen wrote, informed the Committee that the request had been reconsidered and rejected. In fact, the Committee staff was told the document is 'close hold,' and 'frankly we are not willing to share it.' This response is as troubling as it is shocking, wrote DeFazio and the other Democrats. Members of Congress are allowed to view classified material in a secured room in the Capitol, provided they do not disclose the contents. In addition to the standard oath of secrecy taken by all members of Congress, members of the Committee on Homeland Security are required to sign an oath agreeing not to disclose any classified information received during the course of their service on the Committee, the congressmen wrote. In a written statement, White House spokesman Trey Bohn would not say why DeFazio was denied access: We do not comment through the press on the process that this access entails. It is important to keep in mind that much of the information related to the continuity of government is highly sensitive. DeFazio's dispute points to a broader tension between the White House and members of Congress, who say they are not provided with information they request from the executive branch. I'm trying to think of one piece of information this administration has actually supplied to me that it hasn't first put out on CNN, Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., said in a recent interview, citing requests for information about whether helmet liners were being provided to the National Guard to requests for evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Jeff Kosseff: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL.com. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis 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://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A
[CTRL] Fwd: Ohio's 2004 Ballots, Ordered Preserved by Federal Judge, Destroyed or Missing
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: July 31, 2007 7:09:57 PM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Ohio's 2004 Ballots, Ordered Preserved by Federal Judge, Destroyed or Missing In Violation of Federal Law, Ohio's 2004 Presidential Election Records Are Destroyed or Missing By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet Posted on July 30, 2007, Printed on July 31, 2007 http://www.alternet.org/story/58328/ Two-thirds of Ohio counties have destroyed or lost their 2004 presidential ballots and related election records, according to letters from county election officials to the Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner. The lost records violate Ohio law, which states federal election records must be kept for 22 months after Election Day, and violates a U.S. District Court order issued last September that the 2004 ballots be preserved while the court hears a civil rights lawsuit alleging voter suppression of African-American voters in Columbus. The destruction of the election records also frustrates efforts by the media and historians to determine the accuracy of Ohio's 2004 vote count, because in county after county the key evidence needed to understand vote count anomalies apparently no longer exists. The extent of the destruction of records is consistent with the covering up of the fraud that we believe occurred in the presidential election, said Cliff Arnebeck, a Columbus attorney representing the King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association, which filed voter suppression suit. We're in the process of addressing where to go from here with the Ohio Attorney General's office. On the one hand, people will now say you can't prove the fraud, he said, but the rule of law says that when evidence is destroyed it creates a presumption that the people who destroyed evidence did so because it would have proved [them guilty]. Brunner's office confirmed the 2004 ballots were missing, but declined to comment. Because this case is still pending, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is unable to comment on this, said Jeff Ortega, a spokesperson. Ultimately, whether the boards of elections are in violation of a federal court order is a matter for the court to decide. The missing presidential election records were discovered this past spring by Brunner, a Democrat and former judge who was elected Secretary of State in 2006. Her predecessor, Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell, was sued in August 2006 by a Columbus community organization that alleged the former Secretary of State and other unnamed officials selectively and discriminatorily designed and implemented procedures for the allocation of voting machines in a manner to create a shortage. For certain urban precincts where large numbers of African-Americans resided, according to the complaint. Under federal and Ohio law, all ballots and election records from federal races must be preserved for 22 months after Election Day, which fell on Sept. 2, 2006. While election integrity activists and reporters from a Columbus website, FreePress.org, had sought the ballots and other election records soon after the presidential election, Blackwell would not allow county boards to release the ballots, citing court challenges to the 2004 results and a 2005 suit from the League of Women Voters alleging the state was not following the newest federal election law, the Help America Vote Act. By spring 2006, after the League's lawyers stipulated they were not challenging the 2004 election results, some counties began to release their 2004 election records. Scrutiny of those records raised questions about the conduct of the election and some county vote totals. On Aug. 23, 2006, lawyers for the King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association notified the Secretary of State's office of their voter suppression suit. The following day Blackwell's office sent letters to all 88 of Ohio's county Boards of Election, notifying them of the suit. It is customary for public officials to preserve potential evidence when notified of pending litigation. Blackwell negotiated with opposing attorneys and agree to send a directive to election boards saying the ballots should be retained. Ian Urbina, a New York Times reporter working on the story, reported that Blackwell said he would be creating a process whereby county election officials could eventually review and dispose of the 2004 ballots. On Sept. 11, 2006, U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley ordered the election boards to preserve all ballots from the 2004 Presidential election, on paper and in any other format, including electronic data, unless and until such time otherwise instructed by this Court. Two months after Marbley's order, Blackwell lost the race for governor to Democrat Ted Strickland and Brunner was elected
[CTRL] Fwd: Chrysler Crisis and the Plunge Into Chaos
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: July 28, 2007 12:32:34 AM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Fwd: Chrysler Crisis and the Plunge Into Chaos [In my column I suggested] we drop all talk of the subprime crisis and just say CREDIT crisis. All eyes would soon be watching Chrysler's success or failure in raising a mere $US 20 billion. Chrysler, a company that has never failed a creditor, was turned down for credit in a world allegedly awash with liquidity. Chrysler' sent begging signaled the end of an age not just of easy credit but ANY credit. Wednesday night the world took a fork in the path to the future that will see a return to a world that most people alive have never experienced. A world of hardship, credit squeezes, of long periods of negative growth and mass unemployment. Of recession and of depression, busts countering booms. Of older-style economic cycles that, under traditional capitalism, used to be the norm. Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL.com. From: Jim S. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: July 28, 2007 1:17:06 AM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Chrysler Crisis and the Plunge Into Chaos Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] America is a nation founded on the principle that all human life is sacred... Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical.-- G.W. Bush on the occasion of vetoing Congressional bill on stem cell research. June 20, 2007 http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/chrysler-crisis-and-the- plunge-into-chaos/2007/07/26/1185339167308.html *Chrysler Crisis and the Plunge Into Chaos* July 27, 2007 Credit, hard or soft, has undergone a day of reckoning, writes David Hirst. ON WEDNESDAY night about midnight, Australian time, the world changed, maybe forever. I can claim to be engaged in writing what was likely to come over the next week when it actually came down. That is, Chrysler came down and with it the age not just of easy credit but hard credit. On Wednesday night the world took a fork in the path to the future that will see a return to a world that most people alive have never experienced. A world of hardship, credit squeezes, of long periods of negative growth and mass unemployment. Of recession and of depression, busts countering booms. Of economic cycles that have, since the advent of capitalism, been the norm. I had begun the column by suggesting we drop all talk of the subprime crisis and just say credit crisis. Then, I had intended to quote PIMCO's Bill Gross at length following his statement early in the day that all eyes would soon be on Chrysler's success or failure in raising a mere $US20 billion. Chrysler, a company that has never failed a creditor, was having trouble getting credit in a world allegedly awash with liquidity. Well, as I wrote last week, when the credit tap is turned off, nothing comes out of it. And it happens fast. On the very day Chrysler failed to get the finance, forcing it to go to its banks -- themselves leaner by the day -- Gross had written: The price and terms that lenders will accept may wake them, shake them, and tell them that the world has suddenly changed. Gross is PIMCO's chief investment officer, which puts him in charge of almost 900 billion bucks. He is a man renowned for his nous and honesty. He has been way ahead on the subprime scandal for months, and carries that gift of colourful illusion one often associates with a teller of the truth. Earlier in the same article, which was to come only hours after the article started moving on the blogosphere, Gross wrote of last week's Bear Stearn fiasco being the first of many. That is scary enough coming from one of the biggest fixed-fund managers in the world. But adding the lines lenders have frozen future lending and backed up the market for high-yield new issues such that it resembled a constipated owl: absolutely nothing is moving took the cake. I doubt whether more than a few souls on Wall Street had read his report and clearly no one on the squawk box had, but his Chrysler prediction and his perceptive prognosis must rank as one of the greatest intuitive predictions, based on nothing but pure knowledge of the market, made in recent times. The Dow had been merrily advancing as though the previous day's wipe-out had not occurred. It passed 100 points on the upside in early trading and looked well on the way to erasing the previous day's huge losses. But with the announcement that Chrysler could not find lenders, the Dow and the other indices stopped and fell. For an hour or so, the thought of the end of endless liquidity panicked the market. But, as often happens at such times, when the plug seems to have been pulled on the entire financial system, the buyers stepped in and took the deer in headlights look
[CTRL] Fwd: Even If We're PERMITTED an Election in 2008, It'll Be RIGGED
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: July 31, 2007 8:26:26 PM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Even If We're PERMITTED an Election in 2008, It'll Be RIGGED Alex Pelosi's documentary Diary of a Political Tourist catches a tipsy Congressman Peter King (R-NY) annoiuncing at a White House function before the election was finished that It's already over. The Election's over. We won. Pelosi asks, How do you know that? King replies, It's all over but the counting. And we'll take care of the counting. http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/peterking.wmv http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/2004votefraud.html Those who cast the votes decide nothing; those who count the votes decide everything. -- Joseph Stalin (Soviet dictator, Communist Party leader) http://www.alternet.org/story/58328/ Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL.com. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis 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://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Fwd: The Bush/Cheney Legacy: History's First Pre-Emptive Nuclear Strike?
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: July 31, 2007 8:42:08 PM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: The Bush/Cheney Legacy: History's First Pre-Emptive Nuclear Strike? 28 July 2007 Ex-CIA officer Slams US Allegations against Iran as a Sham http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=76438 In an alarming exposure of the acceleration and urgency of the American war party's push towards catastrophic war with Iran, Philip Giraldi, former CIA counter terrorism officer, in an interview [1] on 24th July with Anti War Radio debunked the NeoCons' repeated myth of Iran's support for AlQaeda as a pretext for war. Whilst acknowledging Iran's helpfulness in trying to establish security in both Afghanistan and Iraq, Giraldi spoke of the United States' hypocritical and illegal support for terrorist separatists groups inside Iran, and various plans and scenarios which have been drawn up to destroy Iran's military and economic infrastructure by massive bombardment, with the use of nuclear bombs a real and stated possibility. Giraldi refuted the assumption that sharing hostilities towards the US, placed Iran and AlQaeda in the same camp and sharing similar agenda, arguing that Iran followed a very different agenda in its dealings with the US. He emphasised both the fact of Iranians' helpfulness in Iraq, in terms of pushing for greater stability, and also their help and cooperation in Afghanistan, as well as the reality of the deep hostilities between Shiia Iran and Sunni extremism of AlQaeda. Giraldi recalled the major attack against the Iranian consulate general in Afghanistan by the Taliban, a close ally of AlQaeda, in which 11 Iranian diplomats were killed, and the regular AlQaeda violent attacks against Shiia population in Iraq, and concluded that a Shiia Iranian-AlQaeda alliance was not a plausible possibility. He described the recent New York Sun's allegation [2] that AlQaeda prisoners in Iran led terrorist operations inside Iraq under the advice of the Iranian government, as one of many propaganda pieces making a case for war. He said how in 2003, the Iranian government, through the Swiss embassy, had offered to hand over the six AlQaeda prisoners kept in Iran, which includes Osama Bin Laden's son, in exchange for the US ceasing its support for the MEK, and how this offer was rejected by the US. He said of the MEK that it was sheltered and armed by Saddam against Iran, and now supported and armed by Pentagon against Iran. Highlighting what he called American ultimate hypocrisy, Giraldi explained how the US government is supporting terrorist groups and ethnic division in Iran and charging the Iranians in Iraq for what the US was doing in Iran itself and with a lot more evidence. Giraldi talked of US's support for Jundullah which he described as a Sunni Baluchi separatist group in eastern Iran that has launched deadly terrorist attacks inside Iran. He also spoke of US support for separatists amongst the Arab minority which is closer to the border with Iraq. Giraldi repeated the alarm call he first made in his revelations in the American Conservative Magazine in 2005 that Dick Cheney, who has no authority under the constitution, had ordered the air force to draw up plans for air strike against Iran that even included the use of nuclear weapons. He said he thought there was a lot of evidence since then to suggest that nuclear weapons are still very much on the table and named Republican Senators such as McCain, Giuliani and Romney who had not flinched at all in the debate about the prospect of using nuclear weapons against Iran. He spoke of various war scenarios cooked up by the war party. One scenario was of the automatic use of the nuclear weapons in order to reach and destroy the Iranian nuclear sites buried under ground. Another scenario was to use the nuclear threat if the Iranians continue to fight back after we staged our attack, the idea being that's what the nukes are for, our nukes that everybody knows that we in fact do have, is to tell them, listen, you are going to sit there and take it while we bomb you for a week or two and you are not going to fight back and if you do fight back then we will use nuclear weapons on you, and he cited the example scenario of Iranians resisting by staging attack in the Strait of Hormuz or destabilising Afghanistan. Setting out the horrifying context of the possibility of the US using nuclear strikes against Iran, under the pretext of destroying Iranian nuclear bombs which do not exist and Iran's cooperation with AlQaeda, another propaganda fabrication, Giraldi drew attention to the recent warning to Iran and the threat of war issued by AlQaeda for Iran's support for the Shiia government in Iraq, as well as AlQaeda's constant
[CTRL] Fwd: Don't Say Panic
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: July 28, 2007 1:10:45 AM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Don't Say Panic Global markets slump as credit crunch panic spreads Gary Duncan and Miles Costello The Times, July 27, 2007 http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/ banking_and_finance/article2148307.ece Shares plunged worldwide yesterday as panicked investors fled stock markets amid anxieties that the flood of cheap credit that has fuelled a global boom in corporate deals is drying up. Mounting fears that a credit crunch will end the easy lending that has fuelled a wave of takeovers, and pushed shares to record highs, sent shockwaves through markets on both sides of the Atlantic. In a bloody day in the City’s dealing rooms, the FTSE 100 index slumped by 203.1 points, or 3.2 per cent, to 6,251.2. £48.5 billion was wiped off the value of Britain’s leading shares as the blue chip benchmark succumbed to its sharpest points drop for five years, and its biggest percentage loss since March 2003. In New York, leading US shares were also battered, with the Dow Jones industrial average at one point trading down as much as 447 points to 13,335.30, before later recovering to close down 311.50 points, or 2.3 per cent, at 13,473.60. Related Links Don’t panic, market still has mileage, says banker The severity of the losses, as fearful investors stampeded for the exits, triggered “circuit-breakers” at the New York Stock Exchange designed to put the brakes on sudden plunges in stocks. The broader SP 500 index of US blue chips also dived by more than 2 per cent. The latest in a series of triple-digit swings in the Dow’s value, as well as London’s heavy losses, was deepened as worries over the economic impact from the US housing market downturn were exacerbated by news that sales of new homes in America tumbled by 6.6 per cent last month in the largest drop since a 12.7 per cent plunge reported in January. A new jump in oil prices, to almost $77 a barrel, added to the edgy mood. Other leading stock markets were also pounded. Shares on European bourses fell across the board, in their most severe losses for more than four months. Germany’s benchmark Dax index lost 2.3 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 dropped 2.5 per cent. Analysts said that the latest bout of turmoil worldwide was driven by growing concern that the cheap finance that has driven a global glut of corporate deal-making is evaporating as institutions rethink the financial risks they have been taking on. Ryan Larson, a senior equity trader at Voyageur Asset Management, said: “The real concerns are about credit and oil pushing higher. Wall Street continues to walk a wall of worry.” The anxieties were initially sparked by the shakeout in America’s sub-prime mortgage market amid a jump in defaults on loans made to high-risk borrowers. But worries have intensified this week as backers of big buyout deals have run into severe difficulty in securing finance, despite increased interest rates, raising the spectre of a broader “credit crunch”. Those fears infected stock markets yesterday as investors fretted that the deal-making driving share prices upwards may now run out of steam, and sought sanctuary in the traditional safe havens of government bonds. The tremors in debt markets were underlined as the iTraxx Crossover index, the key barometer of sentiment in credit markets, pushed through 400 basis points (4 per cent) for the first time – indicating that the cost of insuring against defaults on risky debt has doubled since mid-June. The ABX benchmark index of US sub-prime loans meanwhile sank to record lows. “We’re watching the slow-motion suicide of the capital markets,” one trader said. Another added: “It’s just driven by fear at the moment. It’s gone beyond the realms of irrationality.” Among the casualties in the stock market fall yesterday was Moneysupermarket.com, one of the year’s largest London flotations. Shares in the online price comparison site opened trading at 170p, the bottom of a preannounced range, valuing the firm at £843 million. But even that could not prevent heavy losses on its debut as the shares suffered a baptism of fire to close down 12p at 158p. More than £800 million was also wiped off shares in Legal General, the UK’s third-largest insurer. The near 8.25 per cent fall in LG’s share price came as lacklustre margins on its business added to worries that the insurance sector is most exposed to any stock market downturn. The oil heavyweight Shell, the largest London-listed company, reported a leap in profits to $7.5 billion in the second quarter, but was also sold off. Its stock slid 2.1 per cent to £19.72. Even the popularly held BT, despite solid results
[CTRL] Fwd: Bush Used Cover of National Security in 2004 to Manipulate the ELECTIONS
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: July 31, 2007 6:57:02 PM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Bush Used Cover of National Security in 2004 to Manipulate the ELECTIONS Ever since Bush STOLE the presidential election in 2000, his top priority has been to devote all the resources of the federal government --Justice Dept, courts, FBI/NSA/CIA-- to PURGING Democrats from the democratic process, to guarantee one-party rule by the Nazi --er, REPUBLICAN-- Party Tuesday, July 31, 2007 Data mining, the NSA, DOJ corruption and impeachment http://cannonfire.blogspot.com/2007/07/data-mining-nsa-doj- corruption-and.html In all the controversy over Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' testimony, no-one has noticed a key fact: The latest stories about data mining -- stories based, it is said, on administration leaks intended to aid the embattled Gonzales -- confirm the report of an unfairly tarnished NSA whistleblower. Remember Russell Tice? He was a source for the original New York Times reportage on the FISA-free wiretapping program. When he first indicated that he disagreed with the administration's scheme to spy on Americans, the vengeance squads targeted him. First, he was subjected to a bogus psychiatric examination. (This is a familiar tactic in the intelligence community; I have heard of an example going back to the early 60s.) Then he was demoted to the most humiliating jobs in the NSA heirarchy. In essence, he was axed to leave. As soon as the public learned that the the NYT had used Tice as a source, the attack dogs -- Rush, O'Reilly and other feral stalkers of the night -- howled and growled and bared their fangs. I cite this example only because it was written by a hack with the delicious name of Moran. In an earlier post, I cited this article: Tice is a 20-year veteran of the United States intelligence network, having worked for Naval Intelligence, the Department of Defense and, most recently, the National Security Agency, where he held the position of intelligence analyst and capabilities officer. He has intimate knowledge of the innermost workings of the intelligence community, and wants to tell Congress about an NSA program that, he says, is unconstitutional and possibly criminal. “What [the American people] know about is Hiroshima,” he says. “What I’m going to tell you about is Nagasaki. I’m going to tell you about three Nagasakis.” He is gagged, however, by the non- disclosure agreement he signed before becoming privy to top-secret government activities. (Emphasis added.)What might this refer to? Data mining. (To read the rest, click Permalink below) Tice describes the NSA's activities in vague and hypothetical terms here. To put matters simply: The NSA scoops up everything -- all telephone communications, all email, everything -- without a warrant. Data mining programs are used to winnow the information down to manageable size. If you want more technical details, start here. (Incidentally, this program is at the heart of Dan Brown's Digital Fortress. Brown is, of course, notorious for making up what he is pleased to call his facts. However, he does claim to have had the assistance of NSA insiders in the writing of that work, which seems rather more convincing than do his other fictions.) But who does the winnowing? Who chooses the targets? According to Tice, ...when a problem arose and I raised concerns, the total lack of concern that anyone could be held accountable for any illegality involved. And then these things are so deep black, the extremely sensitive programs that I was a specialist in, these things are so deep black that only a minute few people are cleared for these things. So even if you have a concern, it's things in many cases your own supervisor isn't cleared for. And: Fear rules the day right now. For the most part, people know, NSA employees know, that this is wrong, that this is illegal. In many cases they feel betrayed by their own leadership, by [former NSA Director Gen. Michael] Hayden, [NSA Director Lt. Gen. Keith] Alexander, and by [Deputy Director] Bill Black. Here's what Tice told Amy Goodman about data mining: But it's basically a way of searching all of the data that exists, and that’s things like credit card records and driver's license, anything that you can get your hands on and try to associate it with some activity. I think if we were doing that overseas with known information, it would be a good thing if we’re pinning them down. But ultimately, when we're using that on -- if we’re using that with U.S. databases, then ultimately, once again, the American people are -- their civil rights are being violated. Just last year, the Republican attack machine attempted to make people believe that these were the
[CTRL] Fwd: Bush's Crusade Costing America Its Only Arab Allies
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: July 28, 2007 1:39:18 AM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Bush's Crusade Costing America Its Only Arab Allies White House warns Saudis over machinations in Iraq Ewen MacAskill in Washington July 27, 2007, Guardian Unlimited http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2136515,00.html The extent of the deterioration in US-Saudi relations was exposed for the first time today when Washington accused Riyadh of working to undermine the Iraqi government. The Bush administration sent a warning to Saudi Arabia, until this year one of its closest allies, to stop undermining the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki. The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and the defence secretary, Robert Gates, are scheduled to visit Jeddah next week. A diplomat in Washington said of the two governments: There is a lot of bad blood between the two. In a sign of the extent to which the relationship has deteriorated, the US made public claims that the Saudis have been distributing fake documents lying about Mr Maliki. The Bush administration, as well as the British government, is telling the Saudis, so far without success, that establishing a stable government in Iraq is in their interest too and that they stand to suffer if it collapses. Relations have been strained since King Abdullah, in a speech earlier this year, unexpectedly criticised the US, describing the Iraq invasion as an illegal foreign occupation. That was the first sign of a rift between the two who have enjoyed a solid relationship for decades, based on Saudi's vast oil reserves. The state department spokesman, Sean McCormack, at a briefing, did not refer directly to US frustration with Saudi, beyond saying that Ms Rice and Mr Gates on their trip to the region will be wanting more active, positive support for Iraq and the Iraqi people. The British government, which retains a close relationship with the Saudis, shares many of the US concerns about Riyadh's role in Iraq but, unlike Washington, is unwilling to go public about its concerns. A Foreign Office spokesman said today: We have always encouraged the Saudis to participate in the political process in Iraq. Saudi Arabia has a crucial role to play and the Saudis recognise the success of the whole project for the region's stability. The US claims that the Saudi royal family are offering financial support to co-religionist Sunni groups in Iraq opposed to Mr Maliki's Shia-led government. In a graphic example of the tension, Zalmay Khalilzad, until recently the US ambassador to Baghdad, protested to the Saudis over fake documents distributed in Baghad which claimed Mr Maliki was an Iranian agent and had tipped off the radical Shia cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, about a US crackdown on his Madhi army militia. Mr Khalizad, who is now US ambassador to the UN, wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times last week in which he said: Several of Iraq's neighbours - not only Syria and Iran but also some friends of the United States - are pursuing destabilising policies. As well as allegedly undermining Mr Maliki, the Bush administration is also expressing its unhappiness with the Saudis for failing to stem the flow of Saudi jihadists crossing its border to fight in Iraq, often as suicide bombers. The US estimates that about 40% of the 60 to 80 foreign fighters entering Iraq each month are from Saudi Arabia. The Bush administration, like Britain, is still dependent on oil supplies from Saudi and until now has been reluctant to go public about the increasing differences with the kingdom. But it has briefed the US media about the strained relationship ahead of Ms Rice's trip to Saudi. Diplomats caution that the rift at this stage, while alarming for those used to the old certainties, is not about about fundamental ties but is tactical. Other causes of tension include Saudi's support for Hamas, which now controls Gaza, and Riyadh's lack of support for a US Israel-Palestinian peace plan. The repositioning of Riyadh reflects the concern of other Gulf states - which, like the Saudis, are primarily Sunni - about the increasing influence of Iran, which is Shia-dominated. --- http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/3740/ US_Papers_Sat_US_Steps_Up_Sunni_Recruiting Ann Scott Tyson leads the Post's front page-- http:// www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/3740/ US_Papers_Sat_US_Steps_Up_Sunni_Recruiting--with news that the U.S. military is expanding its efforts to fund armed Sunni residents as local protection forces. The fighters are being paid by U.S. emergency funds, reward payments and other monies, indicating the scramble to find money anywhere to pay these guys who are more than just the co-opting of Sunni tribesmen or former insurgents; they're
[CTRL] New Book on Cult Leader, Delaware leads the way on sex abuse
-Caveat Lector- New Book on Cult Leader Details What Prosecutor Calls His 'Most Significant' Case - R. Robin McDonald - Fulton County Daily Report 7/30/07 “Dwight Malachi York was a false prophet...and a sexual predator who headquartered his religious cult in rural Georgia, then used his position as a religious leader to deflect scrutiny from his criminal activities, a newly published book asserts. York's brazen willingness to attack his skeptics as racist, while portraying himself as a victim of racial and religious persecution, enabled him to con politicians, law enforcement authorities, civil rights organizations, academics and journalists, according to Bill Osinski, the author of Ungodly: A True Story of Unprecedented EvilUngodly is the story of York's rise and fall and the sordid secret behind his professed dreams to build a black Utopia in Putnam County, Ga., and take global a new religion with him as its self-styled savior. Inside Tama-Re, the faux Egyptian compound he had built on a 440-acre farm in Putnam County, York turned his female followers into concubines and their children into sex slaves. Today, the man who set himself up as The Master Teacher of the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors and the Pharaoh of Tama-Re is in federal prison, serving a 135-year term for racketeering and transporting minors in interstate commerce for unlawful sexual activity. _http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1185527208760_ (http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1185527208760) Delaware leads the way on sex abuse 7/31/07 by Maureen Paul Turlish - On July 10, a history-making event took place in Delaware when Gov. Ruth Ann Minner signed into law what is believed to be the most comprehensive civil legislation concerning the sexual abuse of minors. Delaware residents, over a period of two years, worked very hard to make the Child Victims Act (Senate Bill 29) a law. It provides for a two-year moratorium on the statute of limitations on lawsuits for sexual abuse. Victims have until July 10, 2009, to seek damages regardless of when the assaults occurred. _http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/pa/8821237.html_ (http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/pa/8821237.html) ** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour 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://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] US military needs ?image makeover? in Iraq: study
-Caveat Lector- http://www.buyitordie.com/us-military-needs-image-makeover-in-iraq-study-12350.html US military needs ?image makeover? in Iraq: study IC Publications Agence France Presse 21 July 2007 The US military could take a hint from the advertising world when it comes to building a better image in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a study for the Pentagon released this week. ?Just as people think ?safety? when they think of Volvo automobiles, the US military needs to establish a strong brand identity that is consistently communicated through all US force actions and messages,? said the study by the independent RAND Corporation. Instead of sending a positive message, the ?show of force? brand that has been touted by the US military in its operations has had a negative effect on local populations, undermining potential support, it said. ?The central feature of consumer marketing is: know your target audience so you can satisfy their needs,? said RAND associate behavioral scientist Todd Helmus, a lead author of the report. ?The US armed forces need to know who the civilian populations of Iraq and Afghanistan are, apply that knowledge through day-to-day operations, and monitor how those civilian populations perceive US operations ? Then the military can adjust operations to get more civilian support.? The research study analyzes marketing techniques including branding, customer satisfaction, and ?harnessing the power of ?influencers.?? It found that the same techniques could be applied to ?help shape Afghan and Iraqi perceptions of American forces.? It also based its findings on dozens of interviews with marketing professionals as well as active and retired military personnel. However, Helmus stressed that while image may be everything in the advertising world, making progress in a war zone would require the right kind of concrete action. ?It?s not just a matter of putting the right spin? on US military actions, because words alone won?t win public support,? he said. ?Instead, US forces need to take the right actions if they want to get the local support that?s crucial to America?s counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.? Among the study?s recommendations for the armed forces were ?manage civilian expectations by not making promises they can?t keep,? and ?monitor civilian satisfaction through town hall meetings.? It also recommended ?social marketing? to encourage civilians to cooperate with coalition forces. ?The US military needs to identify and emphasize the benefits of doing so in a way that motivates the population. For example, providing tips on insurgents can improve civilians? safety, if safety is a motivating benefit.? Some of the United States? missteps were also detailed in the report. ?Certain things do not translate well,? the study said. ?Danger lies behind assumptions of similarity.? For instance, one psychological operations pamphlet bearing an image of a pair of eyes and a message that US forces would ?find you and bring you to justice? was air-dropped to intimidate Iraqi insurgents but reached civilians in the area as well, giving ?everyone who picked it up the ?evil eye.?? In another example, ?as coalition helicopters fly over urban areas, the gunners, whose feet hang from the aircraft, have inadvertently offended thousands of Iraqis who gaze above,? because in Arab culture it is offensive to show the sole of one?s foot to another person. The study also noted a Department of Defense study that highlighted how the use of words can be interpreted differently across cultures. ?When American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy,? it said. ?Moreover, saying that ?freedom is the future of the Middle East? is seen as patronizing, suggesting that Arabs are like the enslaved peoples of the old Communist World ? but Muslims do not feel this way: they feel oppressed, but not enslaved.? * Juxtaposeur http://eeng.net/CS/blogs/smileycoyote/default.aspx http://www.myspace.com/decompartmentalized www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis 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:
[CTRL] Marine Dead Zone in Gulf of Mexico
-Caveat Lector- From The Scotsman: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com Massive marine dead zone forms in Gulf of Mexico JANET MCCONNAUGHEY IN NEW ORLEANS THE world's second largest dead zone has formed in the sea off the Louisiana and Texas coasts, according to scientists. Crabs, eels and other creatures usually found on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico are swimming in crowds on the surface because there is too little oxygen in their usual habitat, said Dr Nancy Rabalais of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. At 7,900 square miles, the oxygen-poor area is not quite as big as was predicted for this year, but it is still the third-largest ever mapped. We very often see swarms of crabs, mostly blue crabs and their close relatives, swimming at the surface when the oxygen is low, Dr Rabalais said from a research ship as it returned to Cocodrie, Lousiana from its annual measurement trip. But she added that eels, which usually live in sediments 60ft-70ft under water, were a less common sight on the surface. The Gulf of Mexico annually develops a vast dead zone when the supply of oxygen shrinks, causing hypoxia. This year's is about 7.5 per cent smaller than had been predicted by Eugene Turner, a professor of oceanography and coastal sciences at Louisiana State University, from his judging of nitrogen content in the Mississippi River watershed. He had predicted it would be about 8,540 square miles, which would have made it the largest dead zone measured in at least 22 years. More storms than normal may have reduced hypoxia by keeping the waters churning, Dr Rabalais said. Hypoxia occurs in the Gulf when fresh water pouring in from the Mississippi floats above the heavier salt water. Algae die and fall to the bottom, where their decay uses up oxygen faster than it can be replenished by being brought down from the surface. Eventually, the lower layer holds too little oxygen for aquatic life. Nitrogen, from fertilisers, erosion and sewage, speeds up the process by feeding algae. The Gulf's dead zone was larger in 2002 and 2001, covering 8,500 square miles and 8,006 square miles respectively. Dead zones have appeared elsewhere in the United States, and have been reported off South America, China and Japan, and in the Baltic and Black seas. *This article:* http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1183602007 *Last updated:* 29-Jul-07 00:39 BST. = Commentary: Thank you, corporate greed and inadequate waste disposal, for what's happened to our oceans. -- -- Jerod C. Batte, JERODIAN DESIGNS www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis 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://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
