Re: [CTRL] Cattle are the biggest source of global warming
-Caveat Lector- Man made global warming is a hoax. The sun makes the variation. Sooner or later we shall have a new ice age. Yours, Ole Gerstrom, Denmark Sooner or later we will all be dead. flw 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] Army Recruiting Burglars, Robbers and Muggers To Make Quota
-Caveat Lector- February 14, 2007 Army Giving More Waivers in Recruiting By LIZETTE ALVAREZ The number of waivers granted to Army recruits with criminal backgrounds has grown about 65 percent in the last three years, increasing to 8,129 in 2006 from 4,918 in 2003, Department of Defense records show. During that time, the Army has employed a variety of tactics to expand its diminishing pool of recruits. It has offered larger enlistment cash bonuses, allowed more high school dropouts and applicants with low scores on its aptitude test to join, and loosened weight and age restrictions. It has also increased the number of so-called moral waivers to recruits with criminal pasts, even as the total number of recruits dropped slightly. The sharpest increase was in waivers for serious misdemeanors, which make up the bulk of all the Armys moral waivers. These include aggravated assault, burglary, robbery and vehicular homicide. The number of waivers for felony convictions also increased, to 11 percent of the 8,129 moral waivers granted in 2006, from 8 percent. Waivers for less serious crimes like traffic offenses and drug use have dropped or remained stable. The Army enlisted 69,395 men and women last year. While soldiers with criminal histories made up only 11.7 percent of the Army recruits in 2006, the spike in waivers raises concerns about whether the military is making too many exceptions to try to meet its recruitment demands in a time of war. Most felons, for example, are not permitted to carry firearms, and many criminals have at some point exhibited serious lapses in discipline and judgment, traits that are far from ideal on the battlefield. The military automatically excludes people who have committed certain crimes. They include drug traffickers, recruits who have more than one felony on their record or people who have committed sexually violent crimes. A felony is defined as a crime that carries a sentence of a year or more in prison. Bill Carr, the under secretary of military personnel policy, said the military granted waivers selectively and scrutinized a recruits full record, the nature of the crime, when it was committed, the degree of rehabilitation and references from teachers, employers, coaches and clergy members. In many cases, Mr. Carr said, the applicant may have committed the crime at a young age and then stayed out of trouble. To his knowledge, he said, recruits who are issued moral waivers are not tracked once inside the military. If the community backs them, we are willing to take a hard look, Mr. Carr said, referring to the waiver process, which includes checks of local, state and federal records. The majority of moral waivers are for serious misdemeanors, most often committed by juveniles. As Douglas Smith, the public information officer for the Armys recruiting command, said, We understand that people make mistakes in their lives and they can overcome those mistakes. Fewer than 3 in 10 people ages 17 to 24 are fully qualified to join the Army. That means they have a high school diploma, have met aptitude test score requirements and fitness levels, and would not be barred for medical reasons, their sexual orientation or their criminal histories. The Defense Department has also expanded its applicant pool by accepting soldiers with criminal backgrounds and medical problems like asthma, high blood pressure and attention deficit disorder, situations that require waivers. Medical waivers have increased 4 percent, totaling 12,313 in 2006. Without waivers, the soldiers would have been barred from service. In the last three years, the percentage of moral waivers for all new enlistments in the four services combined has fallen 3 percent, with spikes in the Army and Air Force. In all, 125,525 such waivers have been issued since 2003. The Marine Corps issues far more moral waivers than the Army 20,750 in 2006 but only because it has a stricter policy on drug use. It requires waivers for one-time marijuana use while the other services do not. Rules on waivers vary by service. The data is crystal clear; our armed forces are under incredible strain, and the only way that they can fill their recruiting quotas is by lowering their standards, said Representative Martin T. Meehan, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight. He has requested more detailed data from the Defense Department on the use of waivers. By lowering standards, we are endangering the rest of our armed forces and sending the wrong message to potential recruits across the country, Mr. Meehan said. Our men and women in uniform represent the best and brightest in America, and we need to keep it that way. Aaron Belkin, director of the Michael D. Palm Center, a research institute at the University of
[CTRL] Israel's War On Children
-Caveat Lector- Names of children under the age of 18 killed during the operations mounted by the Israeli military in Gaza since 25 June, according to the Palestinian Centre of Human Rights http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1619227.ece Bara Nasser Habib, 3 (hit by shrapnel to the head and body, Gaza City, 26 July) Shahed Saleh Al-Sheikh Eid, 3 days old (bled to death after airstrike, Al-Shouka, 4 August) Rajaa Salam Abu Shaban, 3 (died of fractured skull in air raid, Gaza City, 9 August) Jihad Selmi Abu Snaima, 14 (killed by a shell, Al-Shoukha, 10 september) Khaled Nidal Wahba, 15 months (died of wounds from an airstrike, 10 July) Rawan Farid Hajjaj, 6 (killed with his mother and sister in an airstrike, Gaza City, 8 July) Anwar Ismail Abdul Ghani Atallah, 12 (shot in the head, Erez, 5 July) Shadi Yousef Omar 16 (shot in the chest by IDF, Beit Lahya, 7 July) Mahfouth Farid Nuseir, 16 (killed by missile while playing football, Beit Hanoun, 11 July) Ahmad Ghalib Abu Amsha, 16, (killed by missile while playing football, Beit Hanoun, 11 July) Ahmad Fathi Shabat, 16 (killed by missile while playing football, Beit Hanoun, 11 July) Walid Mahmoud El-Zeinati, 12 (died of shrapnel wounds, Gaza City, 11 July) Basma Salmeya, 16 (killed in Israeli airstrike, 12 July, Jabalia) Somaya Salmeya, 17 (killed in Israeli airstrike, 12 July, Jabalia) Aya Salmeya, 9 (killed in Israeli airstrike, Jabalia, 12 July) Yehya Salmeya, 10 (killed in Israeli airstrike, Jabalia, 12 July) Nasr Salmeya, 7 (killed in Israeli airstrike, Jabalia, 12 July) Huda Salmeya, 13 (killed in Israeli airstrike, Jabalia, 12 July) Eman Salmeya, 12 (killed in Israeli airstrike, Jabalia, 12 July) Raji Omar Jaber Daifallah, 16 (died of shrapnel wounds from missile, Gaza City, 13 July) Ali Kamel Al-Najjar, 16 (killed by Israeli tank shell, Al-Maghazi refugee camp, 19 July) Ahmed Ali Al-Na'ami, 16 (killed by Israeli tank shell, Al-Maghazi refugee camp, 19 July) Ahmed Rawhi Abu Abdu, 14 (killed by drone missile, Al Nusairat refugee camp, 19 July) Mohammed 'awad Muhra, 14 (killed by Israeli bullet to the chest, Al-Maghazi refugee camp, 20 July) Fadwa Faisal Al-'arrouqi, 13 (died from shrapnel wounds, Gaza City, 20 July) Saleh Ibrahim Nasser, 14 (killed by artillery fire, Beit Hanoun, 24 July) Khitam Mohammed Rebhi Tayeh, 11 (killed by artillery fire, Beit Hanoun, 24 July) Ashraf 'abdullah 'awad Abu Zaher, 14 (shot in the back, Khan Younis, 25 July) Nahid Mohammed Fawzi Al-Shanbari, 16 (killed by artillery fire, Beit Hanoun, 31 July) 'aaref Ahmed Abu Qaida, 14 (killed by artillery fire, Beit Hanoun, 1 August) Anis Salem Abu Awad, 12 (killed by airstike, Al-Shouka, 2 August) Ammar Rajaa Al-Natour, 17 (killed by drone missile, Al Shouka, 5 August) Kifah Rajaa Al-Natour, 15 (killed by drone missile, Al Shouka, 5 August) Ibrahim Suleiman Al-Rumailat, 13 (killed by drone missile, Al Shouka, 5 August) Ahmed Yousef 'abed 'aashour, 13 (killed by missile fire, Beit Hanoun, 14 August) Mohammed 'abdullah Al-Ziq, 14 (killed by drone missile, Gaza City, 29 August) Nidal 'abdul 'aziz Al-Dahdouh, 14 (killed by rifle fire, Gaza City, 30 August) Jihad Selmi Abu Snaima, 14 (killed by artillery fire, Rafah, 10 September) 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
Re: [CTRL] Fwd: [cia-drugs] Oh Mikey, You Gotta Lotta Splainin' to Do!
-Caveat Lector- May 21, 2004: Saudi spokesmen again announce that the kingdom sits atop vast stockpiles of recoverable oil reserves. And you believe them? Ha Ha Ha flw 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
Re: [CTRL] where is the media coverage of DECLINING gas prices?
-Caveat Lector- Now that gas prices have started a modest decline for the last two weeks or so,where is the media coverage of declining gas prices? Where are the media talking heads standing by gas staion price boards marveling at the declining gas prices? And why aren't they giving the Bush Adminstration CREDIT for declining gas prices? Could this be even more evidence of a BIASED News Media? Most people do not become estatic when the price of gas falls 2 cents. We will see $80 oil within 6 months - after the elections. Of course compared to the per capita burden of one TTTrillion dollars in national debt that will be incurred due to Bush's Iraq Fiasco, who the hell cares about the price of gasoline. flw 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] Bush's Fallback Plan: Dictatorship For Iraq
-Caveat Lector- Insurgent Bombs Directed at G.I.s Increase in Iraq http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/17/world/middleeast/17military.html?pagewanted=1_r=1themc=th Senior administration officials have acknowledged to me that they are considering alternatives other than democracy, said one military affairs expert who received an Iraq briefing at the White House last month and agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity. Everybody in the administration is being quite circumspect, the expert said, but you can sense their own concern that this is drifting away from democracy. 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] Bush Planned Israeli Attack On Hizbullah in July
-Caveat Lector- Bush 'helped Israeli attack on Lebanon' Dan Glaister in Los Angeles Monday August 14, 2006 The Guardian The US government was closely involved in planning the Israeli campaign in Lebanon, even before Hizbullah seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross border raids in July. American and Israeli officials met in the spring, discussing plans on how to tackle Hizbullah, according to a report published yesterday. The veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh writes in the current issue of the New Yorker magazine that Israeli government officials travelled to the US in May to share plans for attacking Hizbullah. Quoting a US government consultant, Hersh said: Earlier this summer ... several Israeli officials visited Washington, separately, 'to get a green light for the bombing operation and to find out how much the United States would bear'. The Israeli action, current and former government officials told Hersh, chimed with the Bush administration's desire to reduce the threat of possible Hizbullah retaliation against Israel should the US launch a military strike against Iran. A successful Israeli Air Force bombing campaign ... could ease Israel's security concerns and also serve as a prelude to a potential American pre-emptive attack to destroy Iran's nuclear installations, sources told Hersh. Yesterday Mr Hersh told CNN: July was a pretext for a major offensive that had been in the works for a long time. Israel's attack was going to be a model for the attack they really want to do. They really want to go after Iran. An unnamed Pentagon consultant told Hersh: It was our intention to have Hizbullah diminished and now we have someone else doing it. Officials from the state department and the Pentagon denied the report. A spokesman for the National Security Council told Hersh that The Israeli government gave no official in Washington any reason to believe that Israel was planning to attack. Hersh has a track record in breaking major stories. He was the first to write about the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and has written extensively about the build-up to the war in Iraq. He made his name when he uncovered the massacre at My Lai during the Vietnam war. Most recently he has written about US plans for Iran, alleging that US special forces had already been active inside the country. 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
Re: [CTRL] When Conspiracy Theories Induce Paralysis
-Caveat Lector- Conspiracies occur every day in every place. A conspiracy is merely two or more people working towards a common goal. Where it crosses the line from a merely a joint effort to a 'conspiracy' - entails an effort to achieve (supposedly) nefarious or illegal ends. The US govt is the worlds greatest conspiracy theorist. Thousands of US citizens are accused by the govt every year of committing 'conspiracies' - whether it be selling drugs (i.e. govt unapproved substances), not paying taxes, or the latest - "terrorism." When govt officials engage in 'conspiracy' - it generally involves secret election campaign strategies, secretive 'NationalSecurity' effortsfor 'black' operations, or behind-the-scenes efforts to enrich corporate political sponsors by manipulating governmental policy. Those thatclaim there are no conspiracies - or that important events never come about through 'conspiracies' - are just plain foolish or victims of semantic manipulation. When citizens work together to expose establishment behind the scenes manipulation of governmental power to furthersecret goals - this becomes a threat to the power structure. The reason the goals aresecret is simply that the goals areunpopular and expose the conspirators to political orlegaldamage. Using the establishment's pervasive influence over the corporate media (and their journalist minions) those who attempt to expose such secretive manipulations are quickly branded 'conspiracy theorists.' I found it fascinating thatBEFORE the public release of Stone's JFK - dozens of high profile establishment columnists, 'pundits' and other corporate shills began attacking Stone -calling Stone a'conspiracy theorist' and a danger to the public.Why such an orchestrated effort to attack whatwas merely Hollywood entertainment? The 'facts' revealed in the movie were unimportant. What was apparently disturbing was a mass market popular entertainmentsuggestingthosein controlmight actually have secret agendasto manipulate events. 'Conspiracy Theorist' - a very useful label to instantly destroy the credibility of those who attempt to expose establishment manipulations. flw 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=""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] Bad and Ugly Days Ahead
-Caveat Lector- Many Arabs Applaud Hezbollah U.S. Credibility Seen as Harmed By Aid to IsraelBy Faiza Saleh AmbahSpecial to The Washington PostSunday, July 30, 2006; Page A17JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia, July 29 -- Ever since the seizure of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah sparked an Israeli offensive in Lebanon, Huda Fatani has set her alarm for 3:15 each morning, gotten up to perform her ablutions, then spent more than an hour on her knees praying for the Lebanese militia.Despite her grueling days at the King Fahd Hospital, where she works as a hematologist, Fatani said this was the least she could do to support the group fighting "on behalf of all Arabs."Hezbollah's fight with Israel, viewed widely here as a battle between the militia's David and the Jewish state's Goliath, has solidified support for the militant group and left U.S. credibility, already at an all-time low, in tatters. The conflict has highlighted how far apart the United States and the majority of Arabs stand on the most visceral conflict in the Middle East.Arabs see the U.S. refusal to press Israel, its ally, for a cease-fire as a clear bias toward the Jewish state and against Arabs. They also believe that U.S. delivery of weapons to Israel makes the United States complicit in the deaths of civilians."The Palestinian government was kidnapped and jailed, Palestinians were being starved by Israel, and the United States did not object," said Fatani, 42, a mother of four. "But when Hezbollah captures soldiers to release prisoners, and Lebanon is attacked by Israel, instead of telling it to stop, the U.S. rushes bombs and missiles so it can kill more Palestinians and Lebanese." 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=""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] Israelis Blow Up 34 Child Terrorists With US Bombs
-Caveat Lector- QANA, Lebanon (AP) - An Israeli airstrike killed at least 56 people, including at least 34 children, in a southern Lebanese village Sunday, the Lebanese Red Cross said. It was the deadliest attack in 19 days of fighting. Lebanese security officials put the toll at 57 dead. Security officials said the toll rose dramatically after 18 people from two families were found in a single room of the building, where dozens of people had been taking refuge from the fighting. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice postponed a visit to Lebanon in a setback for diplomatic efforts to end hostilities. Infuriated Lebanese officials said they had asked Rice to postpone the visit after Israel's missile strike on Qana. But Rice said she called Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to say she would postpone the trip, and that she had work to do in Jerusalem to end the fighting. The missiles destroyed several homes in the village of Qana as people were sleeping. Israeli said it targeted Qana because it was a base for hundreds of rockets launched at Israeli, including 40 that injured five Israelis on Sunday. Israel said it had warned civilians several days before to leave the village. One must understand the Hezbollah is using their own civilian population as human shields, said Israeli Foreign Ministry official Gideon Meir. The Israeli defense forces dropped leaflets and warned the civilian population to leave the place because the Hezbollah turned it into a war zone. Rescuers aided by villagers dug through the rubble by hand. At least 20 bodies wrapped in white sheets were taken away, including 10 children. A row of houses lay in ruins, and an old woman was carried away on a plastic chair. Villagers said many of the dead were from four families who had taken refuge in on the ground floor of a three-story building, believing they would be safe from bombings. We want this to stop! shouted Mohammed Ismail, a middle-aged man pulling away at the rubble in search for bodies, his brown pants covered in dust. May God have mercy on the children. They came here to escape the fighting. (AP) Lebanese youths gather on a hilltop overlooking the city of Beirut in Lebanon at sunset Friday,... Full Image They are hitting children to bring the fighters to their knees, he said. Rice said she was deeply saddened by the terrible loss of innocent life in Israel's attack. But she did not call for an immediate cease-fire in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militias. We all recognize this kind of warfare is extremely difficult, Rice said, noting it comes in areas where civilians live. It unfortunately has awful consequences sometimes. We want a cease-fire as soon as possible, she added. The United States and Israel are pressing for a settlement that addresses enduring issues between Lebanon and Israel and disables Hezbollah - not the quick truce favored by most world leaders. Saniora said Lebanon would be open only to an immediate cease-fire. There is no place at this sad moment for any discussions other than an immediate and unconditional cease-fire as well as international investigation of the Israeli massacres in Lebanon now, he told reporters Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would not rush into a cease-fire until it achieved its goal of decimating Hezbollah, whose July 12 capture of two Israel soldiers provoked the fighting. More than 5,000 people protested in central Beirut, denouncing Israel and the United States, some chanting, Destroy Tel Aviv, destroy Tel Aviv. A few broke car windows and tried briefly to break into the main U.N. building until political leaders called for a halt to damage. Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr questioned Israel's claim that Hezbollah fired rockets from the village. What do you expect Israel to say? Will it say that it killed 40 children and women? he told Al-Jazeera television. Qana, in the hills east of the southern port city of Tyre, has a bloody history. In 1996, Israeli artillery killed more than 100 civilians who had taken refuge at a U.N. base in the village. That attack sparked an international outcry that helped end an Israeli offensive. The attack drew swift condemnation from several world leaders. French President Jacques Chirac's office said France condemns this unjustifiable action, which shows more than ever the need to move toward an immediate cease-fire, without which other such dramas can only be repeated. Jordan's King Abdullah II condemned the ugly crime perpetrated by Israeli forces in Qana, calling it a blatant violation of the law and all international conventions. Lebanese civilians have suffered the most from the fighting. Before Sunday's attack, Lebanese officials said 458 Lebanese had been killed, most of them civilians. Thirty-three Israeli soldiers have died, and Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel have killed 19 civilians. Fighting also broke out between
[CTRL] Iraqi Mother and Child Terrorists Killed by US
-Caveat Lector- LA TIMES U.S. Raid on Insurgents Kills 2 Women, Child They say more care should have been taken in the assault on homes where insurgents may have been poised to attack troops. By Julian E. Barnes and Raheem Salman, Times Staff Writers July 22, 2006 BAGHDAD At least five people, including two women and a child, were killed early Friday in a raid in Baqubah by U.S. special operations forces targeting suspected insurgents. U.S. military officials said two of the men killed in the city, northeast of Baghdad, were believed to be associates of a senior leader of the Al Qaeda in Iraq group, previously headed by Abu Musab Zarqawi, who was killed in June by a U.S. airstrike. At least 25 people were wounded in the raid Friday. In Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, seven Iraqi police officers and soldiers were killed in a raid in which 60 suspected insurgents were captured, military officials said. Although local officials praised the raid in Baqubah, the operation was met with fury. Baqubah residents and political leaders accused the United States of excessive force, saying there was no need to fire missiles, bombs or artillery shells. They demolished three houses with children in them just because they wanted two insurgents? said Raad Dahlaki, the chief of the Baqubah municipal council. Why couldn't they just detain the men? Why did they have to demolish these three houses? Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman, said American forces used aerial fires an assault by helicopter, fighter plane or artillery to attack several houses in Baqubah after the troops were fired on from rooftops and men were seen on the roofs possibly positioning themselves for an attack. They were twice given verbal instructions for all occupants to exit the buildings and failed to do so, Johnson said. Although the neighborhood has seen violence before, it had grown calmer recently and residents were beginning to work with the Americans, Dahlaki said. The death of the women and the child, however, threatens to turn the area against the U.S. forces. That neighborhood is going to change their attitude; they are going to be more anti-American, Dahlaki said. Once again there will be roadside bombs targeting Americans. U.S. officials said the men targeted in the attack had connections with foreign fighters operating in the area and had been linked to attacks on Iraqi civilians. U.S. forces detained four men in the operation, officials said. Witnesses said afterward that an interpreter working with the Americans said he had repeatedly called for people to leave the building. Some residents said they were not able to hear any such instruction. Others said they did not realize the attackers were American and thought they were part of a militia aligned with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr. Residents said the raid occurred about 3 a.m. The mayor of Baqubah, Khalid Sanhari, said he wanted to know why the American troops could not have waited until after dawn, when it would have been clear who was conducting the assault. The neighborhood where the raid took place is mostly Sunni, and Sanhari said the Americans would have acted more judiciously in a Shiite neighborhood. This is an excessive use of force, he said. If this village was Shiite and people were shooting at the Americans, I am certain nobody would bomb it. As sectarian violence has escalated into an undeclared civil war in Iraq, Sunni residents in Baqubah have been increasingly fearful of Shiite death squads. Fawzi Ahmed, a 45-year-old neighbor, said at least some members of the military unit that carried out the attack were not dressed in standard uniforms. When he spotted the unit before the attack, he thought it might be a militia group. Ahmed said he realized they were U.S. forces only when he heard them speak English. We did not recognize them as Americans, because some of them were wearing black shirts, Ahmed said. Army Special Forces personnel do not always wear standard uniforms in Iraq and some grow mustaches or beards. An Army spokesman said 25 people were treated at a U.S. military medical center, and 17 of the most seriously injured were taken to the American military hospital in Balad. Dahlaki, the council member, said U.S. forces entered a known insurgent home about a week ago and killed two men. He said there was no anger over that operation. People think the Americans have the right to kill people who kill Americans, Dahlaki said. But they cannot kill or injure innocent people. Omer Mijbil Dulaimi, who lives about 300 yards from the scene of the raid, said the child killed in the attack was the 3-year-old grandniece of the owner of the homes, who was also killed. U.S. military officials said they regretted the deaths of the civilians. It is always tragic when noncombatants are caught up in these raids, Johnson said. And we regret the loss of civilian lives when going
[CTRL] Israeli's Protest Israel's Aggression
-Caveat Lector- YNetnews http://www.ynetnews.com/ Leftists protest 'Israel's aggression' Some 1,000 people take part in march held in protest of Israeli operations in Lebanon, Gaza. Demonstrators call on government to cease military actions, negotiate for release of hostages Moran Rada Some 1,000 protestors joined Sunday evening in a rally in Tel Aviv to protest the IDF strikes in Southern Lebanon. Police have arrested three of the protesters claiming they were holding a demonstration without a permit. The protesters, who marched from Hen Boulevards toward King George Street, chanted slogans such as Olmert agreed with Bush: War and occupation. Stop the war monstrosity, and Say no to the brutal bombardments on Gaza. They also accused Defense Minister Amir Peretz of murdering children in Gaza, and recited: Peretz, don't worry, we'll be seeing you at The Hague. Rally in Tel Aviv. 'No to brutal bombardments' They keep telling us that there is a consensus in support of the war, and that's not true. They keep telling the citizens that this is the only way, and I think that there is another way, said Abeer Kopty of Mossawa, The Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel. The organizations Ta'ayush, Yesh Gvul, The Women's Coalition for Peace and other left-wing groups have joined forces to voice a different opinion against the war and in favor of negotiations, she explained. 'Israel is overreacting' Eitan Lerner, who took part in the rally, said: Israel is entering another cycle of fighting and continues the foolishness of exaggerated aggression. I came here to protest because there's a link between starving and oppressing the Palestinians and the bombings in Lebanon. It's true that what Hizbullah did was unacceptable, but Israel is overreacting. Since when is the entire population to blame for all this? he asked. Rela Mazali from the New Profile organization explained: This is a stupid, unnecessary and evil war. Our leaders could have prevented it. eventually the hostages will be released through negotiations, but hundreds will be killed along the way in Lebanon, and I don't know how many will die here. I think that we must make our voice heard. Manal Amuri from Jerusalem called on the Israeli government to hold talks with Hamas and Hizbullah. The Israeli aggression leads to an overall war no one wants. I think that Israel should negotiate with Hizbullah and Hamas and release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages. This way this story will come to an end. What Israel is doing now resulted in the death of civilians, innocent children, and it serves no purpose except for the government's vindictiveness. I think it's good we're showing that there are Arab and Jewish citizens in Israel who oppose the war. Protesting against 'second Lebanon war' MK Dov Hanin of Hadash told Ynet: We are protesting against the second Lebanon war. The war is a disaster for Israelis, Palestinians and Lebanese. We call for the secession of this war, for the secession of harm to Israeli and Lebanese civilians, we demand an immediate ceasefire and the commencement of negotiations which is the only alternative to a catastrophic regional deterioration. To the question that no minister has expressed opposition to the war he said: Also during t he 1982 Lebanon war Hadash was the only one that opposed the war from day one and also in the second Lebanon war. I am sure that opposition to the war will swiftly intensify. I regret that Amir Peretz has stepped into the shoes of Mofaz; I regret that no member of the Labor and Meretz parties voiced opposition to the war. Noa Levi of Tel Aviv said: The choice of whether to escalate the situation or not is in our hands and the question of saving lives or not is also in our hands there is no military solution. Only negotiations. Lavi Zeitner supported her position: I am not for violence, not for Hizbullah. But also not for bombarding a whole country. 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
[CTRL] Israelis Bomb 20 Terrorist Children
-Caveat Lector- Children die in convoy attack as Israel widens Lebanon assault Inigo Gilmore in Nahariyah, Patrick Wintour in St Petersburg and Tracy McVeigh Sunday July 16, 2006 Observer Israel steeply escalated its military campaign against Hizbollah in Lebanon yesterday with a series of air strikes that left more than 35 civilians dead, including a single strike on a convoy of families fleeing the fighting in a village near Tyre in the south of the country that killed more than 20 people, most of them children. The intensification of the conflict, in which Hizbollah fired missiles deep intoIsrael, came as international leaders appeared to be deeply split over how to respond to a crisis that threatens to spill over into a full-scale war involving Syria and Iran as well as Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. Last night the Lebanese Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, declared the country in a 'state of catastrophe'. According to witnesses and photographs from the scene of the worst incident, an Israeli missile incinerated a car and a small truck full of families leaving their Lebanese border village of Marwaheen near Tyre after the Israeli army used loudhailers to tell residents they had just hours to go. Pictures showed charred bodies of children strewn across the road. UN peacekeepers recovered the bodies. Half the passengers were children or teenagers, according to medical sources. It was the deadliest single strike since Israel started an air campaign against Lebanon after two of its soldiers were captured by Hizbollah on Wednesday. Relatives gathered at a hospital to identify the dead said they came from two families - Abdallah and Ghanem. Around 100 residents sought shelter at a nearby UN base, but left after officials were unable to confirm the warning by Israel, a UN spokesman said. Other residents had tried later to leave and were killed in the missile strike, the spokesman said, adding that the Lebanese authorities had asked the UN to help evacuate about 160 people remaining in Marwaheen. They would be relocated in the morning. Relatives blamed the UN for the deaths, pelting peacekeepers with stones when they arrived with the bodies after the strike. If they had taken people in to begin with then they would never have died, said Mohammed Oqla, who was at the hospital. Last night an Israeli military spokeswoman said they were still investigating the reports of the incident. Other air strikes flattened Hizbollah's headquarters in Beirut and attacked roads, bridges and petrol stations in the north, east and south of Lebanon, cutting the country off from the outside world and hitting Hizbollah strongholds including the leader Hassan Nasrallah's home and office. The northern port of Tripoli was also attacked, the deepest strike yet into Lebanese territory. Israel's campaign has so far killed at least 100 people, all but three of them civilians, and choked off Lebanon's economy, including its growing tourism industry. On a separate front, Israeli troops also yesterday fired several missiles at targets in Gaza, killing at least two. Hizbollah fired dozens of rockets into Israel, some reaching Tiberias, 22 miles inside the border, the furthest Hizbollah missiles have so far reached. They killed two Israeli civilians and injured several. One Katyusha rocket hit the roof of a seven-floor apartment building in the Shmuel neighbourhood of Tiberias, a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, damaging several homes. There were furious political exchanges throughout the region, with Israel accusing Iran of supplying increasingly sophisticated weapons to Hizbollah. Israel claims that the device that damaged one of its naval ships off the Lebanese coast on Friday, killing four sailors, was an Iranian-made guided missile. Tension grew when Israeli warplanes fired four rockets at a border crossing point between Lebanon and Syria yesterday - Iran has threatened Israel that it will respond ferociously if there is any incursion into Syrian territory. But Syria swiftly announced that there had been no attacks within its borders. There is a growing chasm in the international community. President George Bush yesterday angrily rounded on Hizbollah for starting the violence and demanded Syria intervene. At a joint press conference with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, at the G8 summit in St Petersburg, he said: 'In my judgment, the best way to stop the violence is to understand why the violence occurred in the first place.' Bush, visibly angry, added: 'And that's because Hizbollah has been launching rocket attacks out of Lebanon into Israel and because Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers. The best way to stop the violence is for Hizbollah to lay down its arms and to stop attacking. And therefore, I call on Syria to exert influence over Hizbollah.' But in keeping with Russia's traditional role as a counterweight to the US in the Middle East,
[CTRL] Israelis Blow Up Mom - Six Yr. Old Girl Terrorists
-Caveat Lector- NEWS | OPINIONS | SPORTS | ARTS LIVING | Discussions | Photos Video | City Guide | CLASSIFIEDS | JOBS | CARS | REAL ESTATE Israelis Withdraw From North GazaPalestinian Woman, Son, Daughter Killed By Scott WilsonWashington Post Foreign ServiceSunday, July 9, 2006; A12 BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip, July 8 -- Israeli tanks and bulldozers withdrew from northern Gaza before dawn Saturday after two days of heavy fighting, leaving behind a strip of churned fields, wrecked roads and a few heavily damaged homes. Along Gaza's eastern border, where more Israeli armor entered the strip very early Saturday, the military stepped up its activity. On Saturday night, an explosion killed a woman and two of her children on the eastern edge of Gaza City. The cause of the explosion, which left four other children of the Hajaj family wounded, remained unclear. Palestinian witnesses said an Israeli artillery shell struck the family's house, but an Israeli spokesman said the military was investigating whether the house had been hit in an airstrike. "Without warning, without reason, the shell came into my first floor," Fareed Hajaj, the husband and father of the dead, said outside the morgue at al-Shifa Hospital as he prepared to identify the bodies of his wife and two children inside. The Israelis' abrupt pullback from the northern end of the Gaza Strip sharply reduced the overall intensity of their military operations in Gaza, which have been aimed at recovering a captured soldier, reducing the Palestinians' steady rocket fire into southern Israel and weakening the radical Hamas movement's hold on the Palestinian government. More than 40 Palestinians, most of them gunmen, and one Israeli soldier have been killed in 11 days of fighting. Although military officials warned that operations had not ended, Israel's departure from its deepest position inside Gaza may signal the government's desire to pursue talks to win the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 19, who was taken by Palestinian gunmen in a June 25 raid on an army post just outside Gaza. But it was unclear how the deaths of the Hajaj family members, which drew a crowd to the morgue, would influence developments. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, whose armed wing is one of the groups holding Shalit, issued a statement Saturday calling on both sides to cease military action and to revive talks with Egyptian mediators attempting to broker Shalit's release. The groups holding Shalit have demanded that Israel release some Palestinian prisoners in exchange for his release. "To get out of the current crisis, it is necessary that all parties restore calm on the basis of mutually stopping all military operations," the statement said. Israeli officials reiterated the government's unwavering rejection of a prisoner swap. In addition, officials in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he did not support the suggestion by his public security minister, Avi Dichter, on Friday that an end to the rocket attacks and Shalit's safe release would prompt Israel to free some Palestinian prisoners in the future. "There will be no cease-fire until the Palestinians return Israel's soldier safe and the firing of rockets is ceased," an Israeli official said Saturday. [Early Sunday, Israeli police reported that a rocket landed on a home in Sderot, badly damaging the house and injuring at least one person.] Early Saturday, Israeli tanks and bulldozers entered Gaza near the Karni crossing, the main passage for cargo into the strip, in search of cross-border tunnels like the one used by Palestinian gunmen to attack Shalit's post farther south. Hospital officials said two Palestinian gunmen and a local journalist were killed in fighting. The blast that killed Amna Hajaj, 45, her son Mohammed, 23, and her 6-year-old daughter, Rawan, occurred just after nightfall. Fareed Hajaj said he was standing in the street outside his house in the east Gaza City neighborhood of Shajaiyeh when a blast destroyed much of it. As friends and relatives sought to console him outside the morgue, Hajaj said Israeli artillery shells had been landing a football field away from his home since the previous day. An Israeli military spokesman said no artillery was being fired near the area when the blast occurred but that an airstrike had targeted suspected Palestinian gunmen in the neighborhood at about the same time. After several days in which fighting was centered here in the orchards, houses and sandy streets of Atatara, in Beit Lahiya, hundreds of Palestinian residents combed through the damaged neighborhood. Like the fighting, most of the damage was confined to a swath of dunes, olive and citrus groves and houses roughly a half-mile long and equally wide along this city's western edge. The Israeli military pushed into the area to increase the distance between fields that officials say are used
[CTRL] 300 LEADING BRITISH JEWS SIGNED PETITION CONDEMNING ISRAELI ATTACK
-Caveat Lector- 300 LEADING BRITISH JEWS SIGNED PETITION CONDEMNING ISRAELI ATTACK ON GAZAhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/5154838. stmBBC - Some 300 British Jews have signed a petition condemning Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip. The group, including dozens of well-known figures, says it has "watched with horror" Israel's response to the capture of a soldier. Palestinians in Gaza were being subjected to "collective punishment" because of the actions of militants, said Jews for Justice for Palestinians. . . The petition, which appeared as a full-page advert in Thursday's Times Newspaper, condemns the way Israeli forces have responded to the capture of Cpl Gilad Shalit. . . The Times advert, which cost US $18,400, is signed by well-known figures in British society including playwright Harold Pinter, film director Mike Leigh, historian Prof Eric Hobsbawn, and actor Miriam Margoyles. The group also includes a large number of academics. . . Dan Judelson, spokesman for Jews for Justice said that many people believed the attacks on Palestinian infrastructure were less about liberating Cpl Shalit and more about seeking a pretext to over-throw Hamas, the militant Islamist organisation elected to run the Palestinian Authority. "Whatever your views are of Hamas, and I of course do not share the politics of Islamists, you cannot kick out democratically-elected governments because you do not agree with them.". . . 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=""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] Did Bush and bin Laden Cut New Deal?
-Caveat Lector- Did U.S. cut deal to let bin Laden stay free? July 5, 2006 07:30 AM / The Rant .By DOUG THOMPSON Abu Musab al-Zargawi's widow says her late husband's al-Qaida organization sold him out to the United States in exchange for an American promise to ease off on its worldwide hunt for Osama bin Laden. On the surface, this sounds like normal terrorist propaganda in a misinformation war that the other side wages successfully. Or is it? We reported this yesterday: The CIA has shut down a unit assigned to hunt down Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants. The New York Times reports two dozen analysts in the unit were re-assigned to other counter-terrorism duties late last year.The news comes as the widow of Iraq al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zargawi claims his own organization sold him out in exchange for a U.S. promise to ease up on the hunt for Osama bin Laden. The woman, identified by La Repubblica as al-Zarqawi's first wife, said al-Qaida's top leadership reached a deal with U.S. intelligence because al-Zarqawi had become too powerful. She claimed Sunni tribes and Jordanian secret services mediated the deal. "I think a secret pact was struck whose immediate goal was his death," she told the newspaper. "In return, the American troops promised to ease, at least momentarily, their hunt for bin Laden." CIA officials said the move to shut down the bin Laden unit came amid growing concern in the agency about al-Qaida-inspired groups carrying out attacks independent of bin Laden. But officials stress that finding the elusive terror leader remains a high priority. The recent book Ghost Wars says some in the CIA were uncomfortable with the unit, saying its zeal for capturing bin Laden took on a cult-like atmosphere. A former senior CIA official who once headed the unit tells the Times that the move reflects the view that bin Laden is no longer the threat he once was. But he says that view is mistaken. Besides The New York Times, some info for that story came from The Associated Press. At first glance the timing appears to be off. The CIA shut down the bin Laden unit late last year. Zargarwi's death came last month, based on a tip from an "informant." But intelligence is a quid pro quo business. If you want something from the other side, you trade. Sometimes the currency is information. Sometimes it is action - or lack of action. Intelligence professionals involved in the overhyped "war on terrorism" tell me that negotiations to obtain information on Zargarwi have been ongoing since early last year and that several deals were cut. Our inability to track down bin Laden has always been curious. Military and intel professionals publicly admit we were closing in on the what the Bush administration calls the "world's most wanted terrorist" when those on the hunt were suddenly pulled out of the mission in Afghanistan and redeployed to Iraq. The decision to abandon the mission in Iraq has allowed al-Qaida to rebuild and become more of a threat. The Bush family has long had ties to the bin Laden family. Judicial Watch reported in 2002: The former president, the father of President Bush, worked for the bin Laden family business in Saudi Arabia through the Carlyle Group, meeting with them at least twice. The terrorist leader Osama bin Laden had supposedly been "disowned" by his family, which runs a multi-billion dollar business in Saudi Arabia and was a major investor in the senior Bush's firm. Other reports have stated his Saudi family have not truly cut off Osama bin Laden. In the wake of Judicial Watch and other criticism of its ties to the bin Laden family business, the Carlyle Group reportedly no longer does business with the bin Laden conglomerate. Yet the Group, among other conflicts of interest, reportedly has a major business relationship with the Saudi Arabian government, which many have criticized for its lack of cooperation in America's war on terrorism and its financial and other support for terrorist attacks on Israel and U.S. interests. "It stands to reason, as noted in the David Sanger piece in The New York Times today, that President Bush consults with his father on issues of the day. In a normal situation, this would be appropriate, but with President Bush's father being effectively an agent of the Saudi Arabian government, it raises, in the least, a conflict of interest problem. Questions can be raised, for instance, if the 'kid gloves' treatment of Saudi Arabia by the Bush Administration has anything to do with his father's financial ties to the Saudi regime. Former President Bush would be doing his son and his country a favor by immediately resigning from the Carlyle Group," stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. Coincidences? Perhaps, but I don't like coincidences, particularly when Americans die in an illegal war
[CTRL] Global Warming - Its Too Late
-Caveat Lector- Global Warming's Real Inconvenient Truth By Robert J. SamuelsonWednesday, July 5, 2006; A13 "Global warming may or may not be the great environmental crisis of the next century, but -- regardless of whether it is or isn't -- we won't do much about it. We will (I am sure) argue ferociously over it and may even, as a nation, make some fairly solemn-sounding commitments to avoid it. But the more dramatic and meaningful these commitments seem, the less likely they are to be observed. Little will be done. . . . Global warming promises to become a gushing source of national hypocrisy.'' -- This column, July 1997 Well, so it has. In three decades of columns, I've never quoted myself at length, but here it's necessary. Al Gore calls global warming an "inconvenient truth," as if merely recognizing it could put us on a path to a solution. That's an illusion. The real truth is that we don't know enough to relieve global warming, and -- barring major technological breakthroughs -- we can't do much about it. This was obvious nine years ago; it's still obvious. Let me explain. From 2003 to 2050, the world's population is projected to grow from 6.4 billion people to 9.1 billion, a 42 percent increase. If energy use per person and technology remain the same, total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions (mainly, carbon dioxide) will be 42 percent higher in 2050. But that's too low, because societies that grow richer use more energy. Unless we condemn the world's poor to their present poverty -- and freeze everyone else's living standards -- we need economic growth. With modest growth, energy use and greenhouse emissions more than double by 2050. Just keeping annual greenhouse gas emissions constant means that the world must somehow offset these huge increases. There are two ways: Improve energy efficiency, or shift to energy sources with lower (or no) greenhouse emissions. Intuitively, you sense this is tough. China, for example, builds about one coal-fired power plant a week. Now a new report from the International Energy Agency in Paris shows all the difficulties (the population, economic growth and energy projections cited above come from the report). The IEA report assumes that existing technologies are rapidly improved and deployed. Vehicle fuel efficiency increases by 40 percent. In electricity generation, the share for coal (the fuel with the most greenhouse gases) shrinks from about 40 percent to about 25 percent -- and much carbon dioxide is captured before going into the atmosphere. Little is captured today. Nuclear energy increases. So do "renewables" (wind, solar, biomass, geothermal); their share of global electricity output rises from 2 percent now to about 15 percent. Some of these changes seem heroic. They would require tough government regulation, continued technological gains and public acceptance of higher fuel prices. Never mind. Having postulated a crash energy diet, the IEA simulates five scenarios with differing rates of technological change. In each, greenhouse emissions in 2050 are higher than today. The increases vary from 6 percent to 27 percent. Since 1800 there's been modest global warming. I'm unqualified to judge between those scientists (the majority) who blame man-made greenhouse gases and those (a small minority) who finger natural variations in the global weather system. But if the majority are correct, the IEA report indicates we're now powerless. We can't end annual greenhouse emissions, and once in the atmosphere, the gases seem to linger for decades. So concentration levels rise. They're the villains; they presumably trap the world's heat. They're already about 36 percent higher than in 1800. Even with its program, the IEA says another 45 percent rise may be unavoidable. How much warming this might create is uncertain; so are the consequences. I draw two conclusions -- one political, one practical. No government will adopt the draconian restrictions on economic growth and personal freedom (limits on electricity usage, driving and travel) that might curb global warming. Still, politicians want to show they're "doing something." The result is grandstanding. Consider the Kyoto Protocol. It allowed countries that joined to castigate those that didn't. But it hasn't reduced carbon dioxide emissions (up about 25 percent since 1990), and many signatories didn't adopt tough enough policies to hit their 2008-2012 targets. By some estimates, Europe may overshoot by 15 percent and Japan by 25 percent. Ambitious U.S. politicians also practice this self-serving hypocrisy. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a global warming program. Gore counts 221 cities that have "ratified" Kyoto. Some pledge to curb their greenhouse emissions. None of these programs will reduce global warming. They're public relations exercises and -- if they impose costs -- are undesirable. (Note: on national security grounds, I
[CTRL] Most Britons Dispise the US
-Caveat Lector- Britons see US as vulgar empire builder By Ben Fenton (Filed: 03/07/2006) Britons have never had such a low opinion of the leadership of the United States, a YouGov poll shows. As Americans prepare to celebrate the 230th anniversary of their independence tomorrow, the poll found that only 12 per cent of Britons trust them to act wisely on the global stage. This is half the number who had faith in the Vietnam-scarred White House of 1975. Most Britons see America as a cruel, vulgar, arrogant society, riven by class and racism, crime-ridden, obsessed with money and led by an incompetent hypocrite. American troops are failing either to win hearts and minds in Iraq or bring democracy to that country. More than two-thirds who offered an opinion said America is essentially an imperial power seeking world domination. And 81 per cent of those who took a view said President George W Bush hypocritically championed democracy as a cover for the pursuit of American self-interests. A spokesman for the American embassy said that the poll's findings were contradicted by its own surveys. We question the judgment of anyone who asserts the world would be a better place with Saddam still terrorizing his own nation and threatening people well beyond Iraq's borders. With respect to the poll's assertions about American society, we bear some of the blame for not successfully communicating America's extraordinary dynamism. But frankly, so do you [the British press]. 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] Illegal Aliens Destroying African American Union Jobs
-Caveat Lector- Black Workers Worry About Being Displaced By Sonya Geis Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, July 1, 2006; A03 LOS ANGELES -- Eric Lee delivered a rousing speech to union organizers gathered from around the country at a black church in South Central Los Angeles. They whooped and cheered and then hit the streets, launching a campaign by the nation's largest labor union to organize Los Angeles's security guards, most of whom are African American. Despite the upbeat words, Lee, chief operating officer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Los Angeles, has real concerns about the union effort. Not that it would fail, but that it would succeed. Lee and other black leaders are worried that a strong union could backfire, pushing black workers out of an employment sector they dominate. It would not be the first time. The ranks of this city's hotel workers and janitors were once mostly African American, but their standing was undercut by waves of immigration and lower-paid workers. As more Latinos were hired in nonunion hotel and janitorial jobs, the union all but disappeared, leaving today's labor officials with bitter memories of the 1980s. In the 1990s, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) reorganized the city's janitors, but by then, the workforce was mostly Latino. Many African Americans in Los Angeles have watched resentfully as Latinos replaced them not only in low-wage jobs, but also in many traditionally black neighborhoods. Simmering tensions between the two groups occasionally boil over in school shootings, jail violence and hate crimes. Among security guards today, Lee said, the underlying feeling is, we need [a union], we want it, and when is it going to happen. Still, he said, Some say, 'Why should we do this?' because of what happened to the hotel workers and janitors. This week, the SEIU launched a campaign to collect pro-union signatures from 3,500 of 6,000 private security officers who guard Los Angeles buildings. The union estimates that nearly 70 percent of the officers are black. A related effort to organize security officers in nine other cities, including Washington, D.C., is underway. The average pay for security guards in Los Angeles is $8.50 per hour with no benefits or paid leave, according to the SEIU. Once benefits are factored in, that's $6 an hour less than the average unionized janitor. Turnover is high. Many guards receive little training and often work more than one job to make ends meet. Barbara Harris, president of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Los Angeles, said the members of her organization have not made a decision on their position on the SEIU organizing drive. Half a dozen security contractors and building owners contacted declined to comment or did not return phone calls. But union officials are encouraged by the support of the largest commercial building owner in downtown Los Angeles. At a news conference on the steps of City Hall in April, Robert F. Maguire III, flanked by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and union officials, invited the SEIU into his buildings. Maguire, chairman and CEO of Maguire Properties Inc., said it would professionalize security and enhance the offices he owns. Union organizers said security officers they have approached so far are receptive to their message. I'm all in agreement, Gregory Sawyer told the SEIU's Ron Reese and Sharrion Marshall after they asked him to sign a union card at the West Los Angeles office building where he works. Sawyer said he suspects race is a factor in the difference between security guards' wages and those of other building employees. This industry being primarily black, it's not being addressed properly, he said. I've seen every other service group is unionized -- car parkers, janitors. Why is it that every other industry is unionized and not security? Ruth Milkman, director of the Institute of Industrial Relations at UCLA, said the security guard campaign looks like a conscious effort by SEIU to alleviate racial tensions, bringing Latinos together with African Americans under one umbrella. But Andrew L. Stern, president of SEIU, said racial politics played no role in the timing of the security guard campaign. Janitors were organized first because national labor laws make it easier for them to form unions, he said. The focus is on Los Angeles now because the recent agreement with Maguire, good relations with security-guard contractors and the support of local politicians make Los Angeles a good prospect for a new union chapter, he said. We're organizing the security officers for a very simple reason, he said. They work for the same owners and contractors as the janitors. They do a job that has huge import for people's safety and security. And they make less than the people who clean the buildings. Stern said the union is well aware of black workers' fears that
[CTRL] Gaza: Beginning of the Final Solution
-Caveat Lector- Gaza: Beginning of the Final Solution By Mike Whitney Al-Jazeerah, July 1, 2006 It is the duty of Israeli leaders to explain to public opinion, clearly and courageously, a certain number of facts that are forgotten with time. The first of these is that there is no Zionism, colonialization, or Jewish State without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands. Ariel Sharon, Agence France Presse, November 15, 1998. What is driving the conflict is the radical inequality between the Jewish minority, that rules all of the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and the disenfranchised Palestinian majority, who are paying the price for the luxury that Israel lives in But what pays for that normality for Israelis is the total dispossession of the majority population. And Israel believes that it can hide them behind walls, in ghettos, as was done to Jews in Europe in the 1930s and '40s. Ali Abunimah Electronic Intifada The Palestine Chronicle conducted an informal internet poll on Wednesday which showed that nearly 75% of the people questioned believe that the reinvasion of Gaza was preplanned. This tells us that most people, who follow developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, know that Israels actions are not simply a spontaneous reaction to the kidnapping of one of its soldiers, but are part of a broader strategy for achieving their political objectives. The abduction of Gilad Shalit is simply being used as a pretext for more ethnic cleansing and land expropriation. These are the means by which Israel has traditionally achieved its territorial objectives. The Gaza invasion is better understood in terms of the statement made by Ariel Sharon at the beginning of this essay. Sharons comments are far from original. In fact, similar statements have been made by every Israeli prime minister since the founding of the state in 1948. David Ben Gurion put it this way in 1937, We must expel Arabs and take their places. Ben Gurions blunt declaration is no different from Sharons or any of his successors. It merely summarizes the prevailing sentiment of the Israeli leadership for the last 60 years. Golda Meir elaborated on Ben Gurions comments by denying the existence of the indigenous people altogether, saying, Theres no such thing as a Palestinian people. It is not as if we came and threw them out and took their country. They didnt exist. Meirs denials may seem foolish but they are consistent with the stated beliefs of every Israeli prime minister who has served since she left office in 1970. Yitzak Rabins assertions are nearly identical to those of Meir and Ben Gurion. He said, [Israel will] create in the course of the next 10 or 20 years conditions which would attract natural and voluntary migration of the refugees from the Gaza Strip and the west Bank to Jordan. How different is this from Prime Minister Olmerts comments three weeks ago when he addressed the US House of Representatives, I believed, and to this day still believe, in our people's eternal and historic right to this entire land? There is absolute unanimity among Israels leaders past and present, liberal and conservative, on this one, critical issue. The rhetoric many vary, the politics may differ, but there is no substantial difference. In reality, the settlements went through their greatest period of expansion under the dovish Labor party. Labor and Likud; two parties, one policy. The invasion of Gaza has nothing to do with the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier or even with Hamas rise to power. It is simply a continuation of the same, unalterable policy of annexation through brutality and subjugation. This is simply the latest manifestation of Israels territorial ambitions. The immensity of operation Summer Rain, suggests that plans have been in place for quite some time and that the aims may be farther reaching than is now apparent. Could this be the beginning of Transfer; the Israeli scheme to force Palestinians off their land by creating (as Rabin said) conditions which would attract natural and voluntary migration? Its very possible. The intentional destruction of electric power plants, water lines, bridges, and other vital infrastructure, as well as the cutting off of food, financial resources and medical supplies, indicate that Israel is tightening the noose on the Palestinians in an effort to make life untenable in the West Bank and Gaza. Why else would they unleash their venom against objects that are in no way related to the kidnapping of the soldier and will, probably, only put him in greater danger? Israel is doing whatever it can to make human survival impossible in the occupied territories. It is paving the way for a second Palestinian Nakba. Ariel Sharon knew that spreading misery throughout the territories was the only way to deal with the demographic
[CTRL] Israelis Blow Up Pregnant Terrorist and Wound Terrorist Children
-Caveat Lector- HAARETZ Botched IAF strike kills 2 civilians in Gaza By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff Two Palestinian civilians were killed and 13 other members of the same family were wounded in an Israel Air Force strike in the southern Gaza Strip last night. The attack came one day after three children were killed in an IAF strike in Gaza City that targeted members of Fatah's military wing. Yesterday's incident is the fourth in one month in which IAF strikes in Gaza have led to the death of 15 Palestinian civilians. Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz ordered a thorough investigation last night into the recent string of air strikes in which Palestinian civilians have been killed. Yesterday's incident occurred at around 6:30 P.M. near the main road connecting Khan Yunis and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The air force craft fired two missiles against a pick-up truck carrying members of the Popular Resistance Committee. The missiles missed the vehicle, and struck the house in which the victimized family was preparing to have dinner. Three children were among those wounded in the strike. Medical personnel in Gaza said the injuries were caused by shrapnel, and that some of the wounded were in critical condition. The 37-year-old woman killed in the strike, Fatima al-Barbarwi, was seven months pregnant. The other casualty was her brother, Zakariya Ahmed, a 45-year-old doctor living in Saudi Arabia. Doctors tried to save the woman's seven-month-old fetus but failed, they said. Palestinian witnesses said a vehicle carrying the militants was the likely target of the attack, and that the explosion occurred as they passed the house. The men inside jumped out of the car and ran into a nearby field. An IDF spokesman expressed regret at the death of al-Barbarwi. The IAF had fired the missile as the car traveled in a relatively unpopulated area on the outskirts of Khan Yunis to avoid civilian casualties. What happened in this case, the missile simply missed, the IDF spokesman said. A senior IAF officer, speaking on condition of anonymity under military regulations, said the missile missed its target by several dozen meters. A statement issued by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' office harshly condemned the Israeli attacks. The increased frequency of women and children falling victim to Israeli missiles, in an age of very precise electronic warfare, indicates Israel's deliberate intention to target every Palestinian and to cause maximum human, physical and psychological damage, it said. Halutz yesterday ordered IAF Commander Maj.-Gen. Elyezer Shkedy to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the string of recent failed strikes. An initial probe of yesterday's attack revealed that it was caused either by human or technical error. Defense Minister Amir Peretz said yesterday that the IDF has clear instructions to call off an attack if there is a chance that innocent people would be endangered. Shkedy told Haaretz that the IAF has not found a common denominator among the four incidents in which Palestinian civilians were killed. Initial findings suggest a combination of human error and technical failures, he added. In last night's incident, the road chosen for the attack was relatively isolated, but the point against which the missiles were fired was problematic, because it was not possible to maintain eye contact between the air vehicle and the target. It is also possible that there was a programming malfunction in the missiles. We carry out attacks in the Gaza Strip daily, Shkedy said. The air operations are nearly the only way to operate in Gaza. The other option is a land operation, and we must do everything possible to avoid that. Every strike on civilians is very bad, the air force chief said. It is troubling on an ethical level, and it also makes it difficult for us to maintain pressure on the terrorist organizations. Shkedy said that the militants have changed their mode of action, and have begun launching rockets within residential areas to make air attacks against them more difficult. Fighting against them (the militants) is becoming more complicated every day, Shkedy said. But we will continue fighting terror, and that includes air attacks. That is our duty. The air force chief said that he authorized a small number of senior officers to act as controllers in the aerial attacks. These are people I trust completely, Shkedy said. They have enormous experience in such attacks, and we rely on their judgment, even if it turns out that sometimes errors are made. Al-Aqsa Brigades: Renew attacks The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades threatened yesterday to strike at targets throughout Israel following a failed IAF assassination attempt the previous day. The group urged all other militant groups to renew their terror attacks. Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades militant Daoud Katouni, 20, was killed in an exchange of fire with
[CTRL] Great News! More Bush NeoCons Now Can Join US Army
-Caveat Lector- Army takes older recruits By Will Dunham Reuters Wednesday, June 21, 2006; 11:09 PM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, aiming to make its recruiting goals amid the Iraq war, raised its maximum enlistment age by another two years on Wednesday, while the Army Reserve predicted it will miss its recruiting target for a second straight year. People can now volunteer to serve in the active-duty Army or the part-time Army Reserve and National Guard up to their 42nd birthday after the move aimed at increasing the number of people eligible to sign up, officials said. It marked the second time this year the Army has boosted the maximum age for new volunteers, raising the ceiling from age 35 to 40 in January before now adding two more years. More than three years into the war, the Army continues to provide the bulk of U.S. ground forces in Iraq. Army officials have acknowledged the war has made some recruits and their families wary about volunteering. The Army Reserve, along with the regular Army and Army National Guard, missed its fiscal 2005 recruiting goal, and it currently lags its fiscal 2006 year-to-date goal by 4 percent. Army Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, the new Army Reserve chief, said he does not expect the Reserve to reach its goal of 36,000 recruits for fiscal 2006, which ends September 30. We think we'll come in right around that 96 (percent), 97 percent range, Stultz told reporters. The Army Reserve is a part-time force of federal troops who can be summoned to active duty by the Pentagon in times of need. The Army National Guard is another part-time force whose soldiers are under the command of state governors for use in emergencies such as natural disasters, but also can be mobilized to active duty by the Pentagon. The Pentagon has made extensive use of these part-time soldiers in Iraq, although the number deployed has been cut significantly. Stultz said his recruiting numbers were hurt by regular Army personnel opting to stay on active duty and reservists moving from part-time service to active duty with the Army. 'EXCELLENT SOLDIERS' Julia Bobick, an Army Recruiting Command spokeswoman, said the decision to raise the maximum enlistment age is not an act of desperation, but rather the latest prudent step intended to attract qualified recruits. These older recruits must pass the same physical standards and medical examination as younger ones, the Army said. However, those between 40 and 42 will face additional cardiovascular screening, Bobick said. Of course, not everyone is going to be (physically able to serve). But those older recruits who can meet the physical demands of Army service make excellent soldiers because they bring with them a maturity and a skill level that some of our young recruits don't have yet, Bobick said. The Army has taken numerous steps to help recruiting, including offering various financial incentives, adding recruiters and hiring a new advertising agency. It even relaxed its ban on certain types of tattoos to attract recruits who otherwise would have been disqualified from serving. The U.S. military moved to an all-volunteer force in 1973, during the tumult of the Vietnam War era. Some analysts have said if the military cannot attract enough recruits, the United States might have to consider reinstating the draft. (Additional reporting by Kristin Roberts) © 2006 Reuters Ads by Google 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] BUSH'S SECRET HIGHWAY
-Caveat Lector- BUSH'S SECRET HIGHWAY http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=15497this=stupidJEROME R. CORSI, HUMAN EVENTS - Quietly but systematically, the Bush Administration is advancing the plan to build a huge NAFTA Super Highway, four football-fields-wide, through the heart of the U.S. along Interstate 35, from the Mexican border at Laredo, Tex., to the Canadian border north of Duluth, Minn. Once complete, the new road will allow containers from the Far East to enter the United States through the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas, bypassing the Longshoreman's Union in the process. The Mexican trucks, without the involvement of the Teamsters Union, will drive on what will be the nation's most modern highway straight into the heart of America. The Mexican trucks will cross border in fast lanes, checked only electronically by the new "SENTRI" system. The first customs stop will be a Mexican customs office in Kansas City, their new Smart Port complex, a facility being built for Mexico at a cost of $3 million to the U.S. taxpayers in Kansas City. As incredible as this plan may seem to some readers, the first Trans-Texas Corridor segment of the NAFTA Super Highway is ready to begin construction next year. Various U.S. government agencies, dozens of state agencies, and scores of private NGOs (non-governmental organizations) have been working behind the scenes to create the NAFTA Super Highway, despite the lack of comment on the plan by President Bush. . . A good reason Bush does not want to secure the border with Mexico may be that the administration is trying to create express lanes for Mexican trucks to bring containers with cheap Far East goods into the heart of the U.S., all without the involvement of any U.S. union workers on the docks or in the trucks. 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=""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] Israelis Blow Up Terrorist Children 5 6
-Caveat Lector- HAARETZ Three Gaza children die in failed IAF strike By Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Amiram Barkat and Ran Reznick Three Palestinian children were killed yesterday during a failed assassination attempt by the Israel Air Force in Gaza. Two of the children, aged five and six, were brother and sister; the third was a 16-year-old boy. Two Fatah men who were the target of the strike escaped with light injuries; another 14 Palestinian citizens were injured in the incident. Advertisement This is the third time in a month that Israel Defense Forces attacks have resulted in civilian deaths. The attack, which took place at 7:15 P.M., came hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert threatened to step up actions against Palestinian terror organizations in the Gaza Strip. The dead children were identified as Mohammed al-Roka, his sister, Nadia, and Bilal al-Hassa. Seven children were also among the injured, one seriously. They were evacuated to Shifa hospital in Gaza. Palestinian eye-witnesses said the strike came at an hour when the streets were busy and many children were playing in the area. However, a senior IAF officer said the strike took place "in an area where traffic was very thin, and that the civilians that were injured were not seen by military cameras before the hit. The officer said the two missiles fired hit the vehicle directly. He was unable to explain how the two targets escaped with light injuries while nearby civilians were killed. "This is complex combat against terror cells operating in a civilian population. Some of the Qassams are fired from populated areas. When a cell goes to carry out a launch, we are working against a ticking clock. We have to find the right place to hit them, before they operate. We do everything we can not to injure civilians, even aborting a strike where there is doubt." The IDF Spokesman's Office said, "The IDF regrets any loss of life among non-combatants. Responsibility for this rests with the terror organizations and the Hamas government." Thirteen Palestinian civilians have been killed in a little more than a month in IAF strikes in Gaza. The IDF said the cell had been involved the day before in Qassam attacks against the Negev. The two Fatah men, members of the organization's military wing, were traveling in a car in the Sheikh Radwan quarter of northern Gaza City when their vehicle was hit by IAF missiles. Imad Abu-Hamed, one of the injured men, is an intelligence officer in the Palestinian Police who has worked in recent years with the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC). According to the Shin Bet security service, he has been involved in weapons smuggling and establishing a Fatah Qassam network and dispatching terrorists on attacks in Israel. He was also said to have been the intelligence officer of the PRC commander Jamal Abu-Samhadana, killed by Israel two weeks ago, and had extensive connections with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Four Qassam rockets were fired yesterday morning from the Gaza Strip. Two landed in the Gaza Strip and two in open areas around Sderot, causing no injuries or property damage. Last night, a rocket fell in Israeli territory, also without causing injuries. Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the
[CTRL] The Worlds Most Hated Nation
-Caveat Lector-
NY TIMES
June 14, 2006
Global Image of the U.S. Is Worsening, Survey Finds
By BRIAN KNOWLTON
WASHINGTON, June 13 As the war in Iraq continues for a fourth year, the
global image of America has slipped further, even among people in some
countries closely allied with the United States, a new opinion poll has
found.
Favorable views of the United States dropped sharply over the past year in
Spain, where only 23 percent said they had a positive opinion, down from 41
percent last year, according to the survey. It was done in 15 nations,
including the United States, this spring by the Washington-based Pew
Research Center.
Other countries where positive views dropped significantly include India (56
percent, down from 71 percent); Russia (43 percent, down from 52 percent);
and Indonesia (30 percent, down from 38 percent). In Turkey, only 12 percent
said they held a favorable opinion, down from 23 percent last year.
Declines were less steep in France, Germany and Jordan, while people in
China and Pakistan had a slightly more favorable image of the United States
this year than last. In Britain, Washington's closest ally in the Iraq war,
positive views of America have remained in the mid-50-percent range in the
past two years, down sharply from 75 percent in 2002, before the war.
Support for the fight against terrorism led by the United States is also
down, Pew found.
Although strong majorities in several countries expressed worries about
Iran's nuclear intentions, in 13 of 15 countries polled, most people said
the war in Iraq posed more of a danger to world peace. Russians held that
view by a 2-to-1 margin.
Obviously, when you get many more people saying that the U.S. presence in
Iraq is a threat to world peace as say that about Iran, it's a measure of
how much Iraq is sapping good will to the United States, said Andrew Kohut,
president of the Pew Research Center.
The latest declines came after a year in which anti-American sentiment had
slightly receded, aided by good feeling over aid for tsunami victims and
political progress in Iraq.
The polling was conducted before the completion last week of the Iraqi
government or the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in
Mesopotamia.
These were some other findings:
{paragraf}After Hamas's victory in the Palestinian elections, Germans, in a
reversal, said they sympathized more with Israel than with the Palestinians.
Support for Israel also rose in France, to 38 percent from 20 percent.
{paragraf}After the immigrants' riots and job protests in France, people in
every country but one the United States said they held dimmer views of
the French. The number of Americans favorably impressed by France rose to 52
percent, from 29 percent in 2003, when the French angered many Americans by
refusing to back the war in Iraq.
{paragraf}Only 75 percent of Americans had heard reports of abuses at Abu
Ghraib prison in Iraq and at the American naval base at Guantánamo Bay,
Cuba, while 90 percent of Western Europeans and Japanese had heard about
them.
Many respondents distinguished between their largely negative feelings about
President Bush and their feelings about Americans in general.
Majorities in 7 of 14 countries polled, not including the United States, had
favorable views of Americans, led by Japan, at 82 percent, and Britain, at
69 percent. But majorities in just two countries, India and Nigeria,
expressed confidence in Mr. Bush.
After a tumultuous year in Iraq and Afghanistan, the fight against terrorism
is now backed by more than 50 percent of people only in Russia and India,
while support has virtually collapsed in Japan, the poll found. People in
the United States were not asked this question. But as leading powers seek
ways to contain the Iranian nuclear program, the poll found strong
majorities in Western Europe, Japan, and India sharing underlying American
concerns. The percentages of people in Britain, France and Spain who view
Tehran as a threat have roughly tripled in three years.
More than 9 in 10 Americans, Germans, Japanese and French opposed Iran's
acquiring nuclear arms.
Pew surveyed 16,710 people from March 31 to May 14 in Britain, China, Egypt,
France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia,
Spain, Turkey and the United States. The margin of error was two to four
percentage points in every country except Britain and Germany, where it was
six points.
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
[CTRL] Big Pharma Experiments on World's Poor
-Caveat Lector- HEALTH SCIENCE DRUG COMPANIES USING WORLD'S POOR FOR UNREGULATED TESTING http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/37024/ KELLY HEARN, ALTERNET - A newly surfaced report alleges that in 1996, drug monolith Pfizer gave an unproven drug to Nigerian children and infants suffering from meningitis -- without the authorization of the Nigerian government. Completed five years ago and coming to light in a May 7 Washington Post investigation, the confidential report, written by a panel of Nigerian health experts, concluded that administering the drug Trovan to 100 patients suffering a deadly strain of meningitis was an illegal trial of an unregistered drug. The drug was ultimately shown to be ineffective. A lawsuit against Pfizer claims some of the children in the trial died and others suffered brain damage. The report surfaces as more and more clinical research relocates to the global south in order to escape burdensome regulation schemes in the United States and Western Europe. AlterNet has obtained an early look at a book to be published later this year -- The Body Hunters: How the Drug Industry Tests Its Products On the World's Poorest Patients (New Press), by investigative journalist Sonia Shah -- that raises the curtain on a trend that's harming patients and health care systems while eroding the developing world's trust in conventional medicine. Researchers needing patients and freer working conditions have for years found a honey pot in the world's slums and shantytowns. The fact that poor, desperate patients are willing to try anything, means companies like GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Wyeth currently conduct 30 percent to 50 percent of their experiments outside Western Europe and the United States, and plan to boost foreign trials by 67 percent this year, according to USA Today. Their urgency is understandable; Shah's book notes that to get a single drug to market, drug companies are forced to convince more than 4,000 patients to undergo 141 medical procedures each in more than 65 separate trials. 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] Israelis blow up terrorist family of 6 picnicking at beach
-Caveat Lector- http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-060906gaza,0,5287853.story?coll=la-home-headlines From the Los Angeles Times Israeli Artillery Kills 6 at Family Picnic in Gaza From Associated Press The attack destroyed a tent and scattered body parts along the beach -officials said the artillery hit a family picnicking on the beach, killingsix people, including three children. 9:22 AM PDT, June 9, 2006BEIT LAHIA, Gaza Strip Israel shelled suspected rocket launching sites inGaza, and Palestinian officials said the artillery hit a family picnickingon the beach, killing six people, including three children.Israel has been targeting sites where it suspects Palestinian militants havefired rockets into Israel to avenge the assassination of the militant Hamasgovernment's security chief. Military chief Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz haltedartillery fire in the area while an investigation was conducted, themilitary said.Moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned what he called abloody massacre and said the international community should halt theIsraeli offensive.We regret any harm caused to innocent civilians, Israeli army Capt. JacobDallal said.Israel offered medical assistance, including evacuation to a hospital inIsrael.The attack destroyed a tent and scattered body parts along the beach. Acrowd flocked to the area, screaming and running around in confusion. Onetearful man held the limp body of what appeared to be a girl or young woman.Palestinian medical officials originally said nine people were killed butthen lowered the toll to six. T he confusion apparently stemmed from theextensive damage to the bodies.Ground forces might have fired the shells, the military said, contradictingearlier reports that the artillery came from gunboats off the coast.An Israeli airstrike Thursday killed security chief Jamal Abu Samhadana, akey player in the rocket attacks and a close ally of the Hamas militantsheading the Palestinian Authority.Another Israeli airstrike near Gaza City on Friday targeted a car,Palestinian officials said. No one was hurt in the attack, the Palestinianssaid. They said earlier that one person was killed. 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
Re: [CTRL] 3rd Intifada Coming - Thanks To Bush
-Caveat Lector- The next Intifada will be the LAST Intifada. R. Yeah, thats the ticket. Kill all the Palestinians - especially the women, children and babies. After all, most Israeli Zionists know for a fact that Palestinians are all Untermenchen. Seems like an excellent Final Solution to the Palestinian problem. Who cares about a bunch of rag head semites anyway? flw 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
Re: [CTRL] Anti US Imperialism Not Religion Motivates Muslim Extremists
-Caveat Lector- It's no fun at all debating with you. You are just too silly. Thank you for this post. Now look at it again and explain how these people are NOT your enemy. Any facts that contradict your simplistic world view of 'us vs them' is obviously beyond your understanding. Then again pseudo-zionist 'armchair commandos are too pathetic to be taken seriously. flw 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] Brit Teachers Union To Boycott Israeli Apartheid Policies
-Caveat Lector- NY TIMES May 14, 2006 A British Teachers' Union Weighs a Boycott of Israeli Teachers By ALAN COWELL LONDON, May 13 Britain's biggest union for college and university teachers plans to ask its 67,000 members to consider boycotting Israeli lecturers who do not publicly dissociate themselves from what it called Israel's apartheid policies. The language is from a resolution to be put before the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education at its annual conference in Blackpool from May 27 to 29. The move has reopened a fiery debate that seized another college union, the Association of University Teachers, last year. In response to appeals from 60 Palestinian organizations, the Association of University Teachers voted in April 2005 to boycott two Israeli universities, saying it would bar faculty members from Haifa and Bar-Ilan Universities from taking part in academic conferences or research with British colleagues. Less than a month later, the association voted to overturn the boycott when numerous advocates, including a group of Nobel laureates, argued that university campuses in Israel enjoyed vigorous political debate and were not the most appropriate institutions to boycott. This year, however, the Association of University Teachers, with 40,000 members, plans to merge with the larger National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education, just after its conference in Blackpool. The contentious resolution is one of two relating directly to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The first, concerning Hamas's victory in Palestinian elections, enjoins British academics to continue to help protect and support Palestinian colleges and universities in the face of the continual attacks by Israel's government and to contact the Palestinian Authority government to reaffirm that support. That resolution accuses Britain of displaying outrageous bias against Hamas. The European Union, the United States and Israel consider Hamas a terrorist organization with which they refuse to have dealings, especially so long as it declines to recognize Israel and renounce violence. It is the second resolution up for approval that will revive last year's arguments over the boycott of Israeli academicians. The second resolution notes continuing Israeli apartheid policies including construction of the exclusion wall, and discriminatory educational practices. And it invites members to consider their own responsibility for ensuring equity and nondiscrimination in contacts with Israeli educational institutions or individuals, and to consider the appropriateness of a boycott of those that do not publicly dissociate themselves from such policies. David Hirsh, a lecturer in sociology at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and a member of a group called Engage, established last year to fight the boycott call, said the new resolution was nastier than the 2005 campaign because it was asking the National Association to legitimate private, personal boycotts. It's a sanctioning of private discrimination, he added. Shalom Lappin, a philosophy professor at King's College, London, and another supporter of Engage, called the boycott call a form of inquisition, of McCarthyism. No other national group is being identified in this way, he said in a telephone interview. There's no call for a boycott of American academics if they don't stand up against the occupation of Iraq. The union's leaders declined to discuss the boycott resolution before the meeting. But the British Committee for Universities of Palestine, a group which advocates a boycott, says on its Web site (www.bricup.org.uk) that Israeli policy, including the construction of a so-called security barrier, is making everyday life, to say nothing of teaching and research, ever more difficult for our Palestinian colleagues. It said Israeli academics supporting their Palestinian counterparts were few in number (less than 1 percent) and institutionally, Israeli universities are at worst active supporters of Israeli state policy, at best in passive compliance with it. Especially in the current climate of rising Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, boycott is among the clearest and least violent forms of action in resisting occupation and injustice at an international level, the committee's Web site said. An academic boycott is both a personal and a collective act made in solidarity with our Palestinian colleagues whose academic freedom is currently denied. It was not clear whether the National Association's conference would approve the resolution. Additionally, it remained uncertain what effect the approval of a boycott resolution would have on the proposed merger of the National Association with the Association of University Teachers just a few days after the conference. Zvi Heifetz, the Israeli ambassador in London, said in a statement that the boycott call would distance
[CTRL] The Inevitable Collapse of the Greenback
-Caveat Lector- The Inevitable Collapse of the Greenback By Mike Whitney Al-Jazeerah, May 3, 2006 The ultimate financial impact of trading oil in Euros rather than dollars is a complex one, but according to many experts, such a move could lead to a collapse in value for the American currency, potentially putting the U.S. economy in its greatest crisis since the depression era of the 1930s. Petro-euro: a reality or distant nightmare for the US? Al Jazeera Today, Iran fired the first shot in a battle that will ultimately change the global economic system. Mehr News Agency announced that the long-anticipated Iran Oil Bourse (OIB) will open sometime next week on Kish Island competing head-on with the US dollar. Currently, all oil transactions are denominated exclusively in greenbacks (via the London and New York oil exchanges) giving the US a virtual monopoly on the oil trade and maintaining the dollars position as the worlds reserve currency. This privilege has allowed the US to generate massive deficits as well as a national debt of $8.4 trillion without fear of economic collapse but, the times they are a-changin. If Iran proceeds with its plan, the central banks around the world will convert some of their reserves into euros sending billions of dollars back to the America. This will result in either recession or depression. The notion that the bourse poses a serious threat to the US economy has been widely dismissed as a left-wing, internet-conspiracy theory. In fact, there is nothing conspiratorial about it, unless the fundamental law of supply and demand no longer applies. If fewer people want the greenback it becomes worthless. Is that conspiratorial? Articles about the bourse have magically disappeared from the internet. The more reputable accounts of the potential disaster have slipped into a cyber black-hole. No matter. If the bourse opens next week then gold will shoot into the stratosphere while jittery currency traders continue to edge away from the shaky greenback. The Bush administration has done irreparable damage to our currency. Under the guidance of the Federal Reserve, Bush has increased government spending by 35% while raising the national debt a whopping $3 trillion. The only thing keeping the dollar on its lofty perch is the oil trade and that may soon change. The dollar fell steadily during Bushs first years in office as currency traders recognized Bushs intention to enshrine deficit spending as a permanent function of government. The greenback has managed to keep its head above water due to shaky lending practices in the mortgage industry (which sluiced trillions into domestic housing) and because of the estimated $2.3 trillion circulating in oil transactions. The increase in oil prices has allowed the Fed to keep the printing presses going at full-tilt while Bushs friends were making off with hundreds of billions in lavish tax cuts. Now, it appears that the game is over. Oil thirsty nations will be free to purchase petroleum in a stable currency leaving Uncle Sam to flail away in ocean of red ink. Nearly 70% of the reserves in the worlds central banks are currently denominated in US dollars. This monopoly allows the US to purchase valuable resources with fiat currency and maintain enormous deficits without hyper-inflation. It is the perfect rip-off. The administration has shown its willingness to go to war and kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people to defend this global extortion-racket. However, forces are in play now that will make it impossible to maintain the present system. If the Fed increases interest rates much more the $9 trillion housing bubble will burst, and if it doesnt raise rates, the $2 billion of cash inflows the government needs each day to cover its trade deficit will evaporate. It is a lose-lose situation. The opening of Irans bourse will only hasten the inevitable decline of the dollar and a death-spiral for the American economy; that is why Congress passed the Iran Freedom Support Act last week (even before the Security Council had made its recommendations!) Hidden in the small print of the legislation is a clue that reveals Congress real intentions: The Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States to deny Iran the ability to support acts of international terrorism .by limiting the development of Irans ability to explore for, extract, refine, or transport by pipeline petroleum resources. Yes indeed; Irans plan to sell oil in euros is now tantamount to an act of international terrorism, a clear sign of the importance that Washington attaches to the coming bourse. The fate of the greenback is entirely the result of Bushs enormous tax cuts, profligate spending, and a deeply-flawed foreign policy agenda. By now, Bush and co. had expected to topple regimes in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan and Somalia. If his 5 year campaign had been
[CTRL] Quote of the Day
-Caveat Lector- The Qaeda cell that hijacked American Flight 77 and plowed into the Pentagon was based in the same town, Laurel, Md., as the N.S.A., and for months, the terrorists and the N.S.A. employees exercised in some of the same local health clubs and shopped in the same grocery stores. Frank Rich, 5/14/06 NY Times 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] Anti US Imperialism Not Religion Motivates Muslim Extremists
-Caveat Lector- A Terrifying Truth About Terrorism http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/10/AR2006051001912.html Who supports terrorism in the Middle East? Not the people you'd expect, according to Dalia Mogahed of the Gallup Organization. Surveys in eight Muslim countries revealed that supporters of terrorism -- defined as those who applauded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- were no more religious than other Muslims and tended to be better-educated and more affluent. The polls found those who regularly attended prayer services were no more likely to back terrorism than those who did not. Nor were Muslims who agreed that religion was an important part of your daily life. About 25 percent of all Muslims with higher-than-average incomes supported the Sept. 11 attacks -- slightly more than those who had below-average incomes or were poor. Among high school or college graduates, 44 percent held extremist views, compared with 38 percent of less-educated Muslims. And the unemployed were no more likely to back terrorism than those who worked full time, according to the poll of 8,000 Muslims in October. What did distinguish terrorism supporters? Belief in self-determination, Mogahed found. Extremists were only about half as likely as moderates to believe that the United States would allow people in the Middle East to fashion their own political future. 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] Legal Immigrants Oppose Illegals
-Caveat Lector- Dissonant Voices Inside the Border Some Established Immigrants Want to Restrict Newcomers By S. Mitra Kalita Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, May 11, 2006; A01 Under Yeh Ling-Ling's proposal for immigration reform, even she wouldn't be allowed into the country. In 1980, Yeh arrived on U.S. shores on a visa sponsored by her sister. She went to work as a paralegal for an immigration law firm, helping file petitions for fellow foreigners to enter the United States. But then she started to notice the effects of immigration and population growth on the San Francisco Bay area. When I found out the cost of infrastructure, the cost of educating kids in America, I was shocked, said Yeh, executive director of the Oakland-based Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America, a nonprofit organization that wants to reduce immigration. There would be a tremendous drain on America. . . . Isn't it clear that immigration is not needed to boost the U.S. economy? Her view complicates a debate often framed in racial terms, with immigrants on one side and native-born, white Americans on the other. Yeh is ethnically Chinese, was born in Vietnam, raised in Cambodia, educated in Taiwan and France, became a U.S. citizen, and considers herself 100 percent American. As the latter, she says she owes it to her fellow Americans to tighten and secure U.S. borders so immigrants -- even ones like her -- can no longer come. In the camp to severely restrict immigration, there are many like Yeh. Last week, as thousands of mostly Hispanic protesters boycotted work and economic activity, a smaller number staged a news conference in Washington to deride their fellow immigrants under the newly named group You Don't Speak for Me. And on Internet message boards, Asian computer programmers are speaking out against the temporary visas that made their very passage to the United States possible. Analysts note that previous waves of immigrants have wanted to limit newer arrivals, often to avoid competition for jobs and housing. More than a century ago, Northern and Western Europeans, such as the Irish and Germans, decried the admission of Southern and Eastern Europeans. With the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, those later groups had tense relations with Asian and Latino newcomers. Now in a more heterogeneous United States, divisions don't necessarily break down by region of origin but by class and legal status, according to Louis DeSipio, a University of California at Irvine professor who has studied Latino movements. There is some thinking that the older immigrants went through some very difficult standards, and new, unauthorized immigrants are not doing that, DeSipio said. The newest immigrants tend to live and work around those who have immigrated in the recent past. They see the effects of immigration on neighborhoods and workplaces more than the average American. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center last year, 23 percent of the 1,200 Hispanics surveyed thought unauthorized migration was hurting the U.S. economy and driving down wages. The center concluded the 23 percent was a significant minority, concentrated among native-born Latinos. A more recent poll of 800 legal immigrants, conducted by Bendixen Associates of Miami and sponsored by New America Media, found that 23 percent thought undocumented immigrants should be deported. In an interview, pollster Sergio Bendixen still concluded that most immigrants have a positive view of immigration but said that African, Asian and European immigrants seemed less enthusiastic than Latinos. And a Pew Research Center poll found that immigrants still have a more positive attitude toward migration than the country overall; 52 percent of the U.S. population said immigrants take away jobs, housing and health care, while 41 percent said they strengthen the country. Beyond the economic impact, though, some immigrants accuse more recent waves of not properly assimilating. Eight years ago, Claudia Garcia left Mexico to join her husband in California; they had met through a personal ad and married in Mexico. She adopted his last name, Spencer, learned his language, English, and eventually became a U.S. citizen. I realized that America had freedom, honesty, she said. All these people, these illegals, are abusing this. Americans are giving them everything and they are incapable of saying, 'I broke the law.' Instead they are saying, 'I came to your country illegally and I want to wave my Mexican flag.' This year, the Spencers attended a city council meeting to oppose a day-laborer site. Copies of Claudia Spencer's speech circulated on the Internet, and an official with the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which wants to curb immigration, called her. She joined the local chapter of the Minuteman Project, a volunteer patrol along the U.S.-Mexican border. She started fielding calls and
[CTRL] Gertrude Bell - Queen of Iraq
-Caveat Lector- British Queen of Iraq rests in Baghdad cemetery 11 May 2006 01:03:12 GMT Source: Reuters By Ibon Villelabeitia BAGHDAD, May 11 (Reuters) - The cemetery gate groans and the gaunt grave keeper leads the visitor along rows of broken tombs. There she is, Ali Mansur says pointing to a sandstone gravestone. I take care of her. But nobody visits. Gertrude Bell, a British traveller, writer and linguist, was one of the most powerful women of the 1920s, an adviser to empire builders and confidante to kings. An oriental secretary to British governments, she is credited with drawing the boundaries of modern Iraq out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War One. Now, as her colonial creation stands on the verge of breakdown because of sectarian violence, the woman dubbed the Queen of Iraq lies in a forgotten cemetery in Baghdad. Nearly 80 years after Bell's death and more than three years after U.S. forces invaded to oust Saddam Hussein, many fear Iraq's unity is threatened by killings, roving militias and the fear that is uprooting families. Some believe the country could split into three sectarian and ethnic regions. Prime Minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki has pledged to put together a coalition government that would unite Iraq's long competing communities of Shi'ite Muslims, Sunni Arabs and Kurds and avert a slide into all-out sectarian and ethnic conflict. But as history shows, modern Iraq, the land of ancient Mesopotamia, has been a divided nation since its creation. OTTOMAN PROVINCES Bell and her fellow colonialists settled Iraq's borders by merging the old Ottoman provinces of Mosul, Baghdad and Basra, seeking to secure British interests and with scant regard for tribal and ethnic boundaries. I had a well spent morning at the office making out the southern desert frontier of the Iraq, Bell, who specialised in Arabic and Persian languages, wrote to her father in 1921. What emerged was a centralised state with three peoples with differing aims, ideals and beliefs: non-Arab Kurds in the mountainous north, Shi'ite Muslims in the south and Sunni Arabs in Baghdad and in the rest of the heartland. In 1958, a group of nationalist military officers ousted the puppet monarchy Bell had helped install in a bogus referendum in 1921 that passed with 96 percent of the vote. She had also helped draw up many of the policies that were later taken up by Saddam's Baath Party and which exacerbated the centuries-old tensions between Shi'ites and Sunnis. She ensured that a Sunni elite, previously favoured by the Sunni Turks running the Ottoman territories, dominated the new Iraqi government and the army, and that the majority Shi'ites, whom she regarded as religious zealots, remained oppressed. Kurds were denied self-rule so that London could control Kurdistan's oil fields and build a buffer against the Russians. I don't for a moment doubt that the final authority must be in the hands of the Sunnis, in spite of their numerical inferiority; otherwise you will have a ... theocratic state, which is the very devil, Bell wrote in another letter. Years later, Saddam, a Sunni, imposed his brand of Sunni pan-Arabism by force, executing tens of thousands of Shi'ites and building a regime around tribal and family patronage. His policies toward Shi'ites and Kurds further accentuated Iraq's three-way split. The Shi'ite community gained political power after the Americans ousted Saddam. In December parliamentary elections, Iraqis cast their ballots along religious and ethnic lines, turning their backs on the centralised state first imposed by Bell and the British authorities and later by Saddam. When asked by a reporter recently why Iraqi politicians argued so much over a new government, President Jalal Talabani quipped: This is the Iraq our British friends created. Juan Cole, professor of Middle East history at the University of Michigan, agreed. British policies unbalanced Iraq and Gertrude Bell played a significant role in that. TEA BY THE TIGRIS Bell, who had an aristocratic upbringing, lived in a more genteel Baghdad than today's city of sandbags, armoured vehicles and the bombed-out hulks of Saddam-era government buildings. She wore long muslin dresses and feathered hats and rode side-saddle along the banks of the Tigris. In her letters, she describes a Baghdad of tea parties, regattas, swimming excursions and luncheons on the verandas of colonial buildings. But as revolt spread and Britain used bombs and poison gas against those opposed to its presence, she faded from public life. We have underestimated the fact that this country is really an inchoate mass of tribes which can't as yet be reduced to any system, she once said. Five years before her death from an overdose of sleeping pills aged 57 in 1926, she wrote: You may rely upon one thing -- I'll never engage in creating kings again; it's too great a strain. When she was
[CTRL] For environmentalists, a growing split over immigration
-Caveat Lector- http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0512/p01s04-ussc.html?s=hns 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=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] The Israeli/Zionist Attack On Our National Anthem
-Caveat Lector- We are up against the dark forces of islam. Islam is evil. Yours, Ole Gerstrom, former MP Denmark Oh yes, man the barricades THE MOSLEMS ARE COMING!! I think I saw a Saracen in Burlington yesterday! Nah, I only saw hordes of Mexican Serfs imported by the Corporados with cheer leading by the Wall Street Journal. Viva cheap scab wages for all forever! flw 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] Feds Secret Records Proving Illegal Immigrant Fraud by Business
-Caveat Lector- Posted on Sun, Apr. 23, 2006 Evidence of work fraud untapped By LIZ CHANDLER Knight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON -- Two federal agencies are refusing to turn over a mountain of evidence that investigators could use to indict the nation's burgeoning work force of illegal immigrants and the firms that employ them. Last week, immigration authorities trumpeted the arrests of nearly 1,200 illegal workers in a massive sting on a single company, but they acknowledge that they relied on confidential informants and an unsolicited tip. It didn't have to be that hard. The Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration routinely collect strong evidence of potential workplace crimes, including the names and addresses of millions of people who are using bogus Social Security numbers, their wage records and the identities of those who hire them. But they keep those facts secret. If the government bothered to look, it could find abundant evidence of illegal aliens gaming our system and the unscrupulous employers who are aiding and abetting them, said Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz. The two agencies don't analyze their data to root out likely immigration fraud -- and law enforcement authorities can't do so because the agencies won't share their data. Privacy laws prohibit that, they say. The agencies also don't use the power that they have. The IRS doesn't fine employers who repeatedly submit inaccurate data on workers. Social Security does virtually nothing to alert citizens whose Social Security numbers are being used by others. Evidence abounds within their files, according to an analysis by Knight Ridder Newspapers and The Charlotte Observer. One internal study found that a restaurant company had submitted 4,100 duplicate Social Security numbers for workers. Other firms submit inaccurate names or numbers for nearly all their employees. One child's Social Security number was used 742 times by workers in 42 states. That's the kind of evidence we want, says Paul Charlton, the U.S. attorney in Arizona. If you see the same Social Security number a thousand times, it's kind of hard for them to argue they didn't know. The potential crimes are so obvious that the failure to provide such information to investigators raises questions about Washington's determination to end the widespread hiring of illegal immigrants. An estimated 7 million unauthorized workers are employed in the United States. They're picking crops, building homes and tending yards. In some cases, they work for the government on public projects that pay them with taxpayer money. They've built roads in North Carolina and military housing in California and even helped rebuild the Pentagon after 9-11, until law enforcement found out. They also work at airports, seaports and nuclear plants. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has asked Congress for access to earnings reports, sent by employers with money withheld for taxes and Social Security. The reports contain workers' names and Social Security numbers, and when they don't match Social Security records, the information is set aside in what's called the Earnings Suspense File. Created in 1937, the file contains about 255 million unmatched wage reports representing $520 billion paid to workers but not credited to their Social Security earnings records. The incorrect worker files mushroomed during the 1990s as immigrants poured into the United States. Almost half the inaccurate reports come from industries such as agriculture, construction and restaurants. We believe the chief cause of [unmatched] wage items ... is unauthorized work by noncitizens, Social Security Inspector General Patrick O'Carroll told Congress in February. The IRS also receives the mismatch information. Particularly disturbing is that possibly millions of the Social Security numbers belong to other people. In Utah, after Social Security provided data for one criminal inquiry, investigators discovered that the Social Security numbers of 2,000 children were being used by other people. What do you think we'd find if we had the ability to analyze all of their information? said Kirk Torgensen, Utah's chief deputy attorney general. It would be invaluable. How shortsighted is it that the government doesn't follow this trail? © 2006 Star-Telegram and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.dfw.com ro www.ctrl.org
[CTRL] THE ISRAEL LOBBY STRIKES BACK
-Caveat Lector- THE ISRAEL LOBBY STRIKES BACK AT CRITICS http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/041306A.shtml NORMAN SOLOMON, TRUTHOUT - Weeks after a British magazine published a long article by two American professors titled The Israel Lobby, the outrage continued to howl through mainstream US media. A Los Angeles Times op-ed article by Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Max Boot helped to set a common tone. He condemned a working paper by professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt that was excerpted last month in the London Review of Books. The working paper, Boot proclaimed, is nutty. And he strongly implied that the two professors - Mearsheimer at the University of Chicago and Walt at Harvard - are anti-Semitic. Many who went on the media attack did more than imply. On April 3, for instance, the same day that the Philadelphia Inquirer reprinted Boot's piece from the Los Angeles Times, a notably similar op-ed appeared in the Boston Herald under the headline Anti-Semitic Paranoia at Harvard. And so it goes in the national media echo chamber. When a Johns Hopkins University professor weighed in last week on the op-ed page of the Washington Post, the headline was blunt: Yes, It's Anti-Semitic. The piece flatly called the Mearsheimer-Walt essay kooky academic work - and anti-Semitic. But nothing in the essay is anti-Semitic. ome of the analysis from Mearsheimer and Walt is arguable. A number of major factors affect Uncle Sam's Middle East policies in addition to pro-Israel pressures. But no one can credibly deny that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington, where politicians know that they can criticize Israel only at their political peril. Overall, the Mearsheimer-Walt essay makes many solid points about destructive aspects of US support for the Israeli government. Their assessments deserve serious consideration. For several decades, to the present moment, Israel's treatment of Palestinian people has amounted to methodical and despicable violations of human rights. Yet criticism of those policies from anyone (including American Jews such as myself) routinely results in accusations of anti-Jewish bigotry. The US media reaction to the essay by professors Mearsheimer and Walt provides just another bit of evidence that they were absolutely correct when they wrote: Anyone who criticizes Israel's actions or argues that pro-Israel groups have significant influence over US Middle Eastern policy - an influence AIPAC celebrates - stands a good chance of being labeled an anti-Semite. Indeed, anyone who merely claims that there is an Israel Lobby runs the risk of being charged with anti-Semitism, even though the Israeli media refer to America's 'Jewish Lobby.' In other words, the Lobby first boasts of its influence and then attacks anyone who calls attention to it. It's a very effective tactic: anti-Semitism is something no one wants to be accused of. Sadly, few media outlets in the United States are willing to confront this very effective tactic. Yet it must be challenged. As the London-based Financial Times editorialized on the first day of this month: Moral blackmail - the fear that any criticism of Israeli policy and US support for it will lead to charges of anti-Semitism - is a powerful disincentive to publish dissenting views. It is also leading to the silencing of policy debate on American university campuses, partly as the result of targeted campaigns against the dissenters. The Financial Times editorial noted: Reflexes that ordinarily spring automatically to the defense of open debate and free enquiry shut down - at least among much of America's political elite - once the subject turns to Israel, and above all the pro-Israel lobby's role in shaping US foreign policy. 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] China has U.S. anti-missile tech, via transfer from Israel
-Caveat Lector- China has U.S. anti-missile tech, via transfer from IsraelSpecial to World Tribune.comEAST-ASIA-INTEL.COMThursday, April 6, 2006China has developed its own version of the Patriot anti-missile system, according to a Chinese-owned Hong Kong newspaper. The ground-to-air guided missile system is part of China's air shield that is similar to U.S. Patriot missiles, the March 29 Wen Wei Po reported.China covertly obtained Patriot anti-missile system technology from Israel during the 1990s, according to U.S. officials. U.S. intelligence agencies discovered the Israel-China Patriot technology transfer in March 1993.The transfers came from U.S.-made Patriots sent to Israel to counter Iraqi missile attacks during the Persian Gulf war. The report described the system's command and control system, vehicles and interceptors.In 1993, then-CIA Director Robert Gates told The Washington Times, “There is some indication that they [the Chinese] have some of the technology.” 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=""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] When vigilance undermines freedom of speech
-Caveat Lector- When vigilance undermines freedom of speech By Mark Mazower Published: April 3 2006 20:28 A recent analysis of the pro-Israel lobby in America has generated considerable criticism and debate. In their article, published last month in the London Review of Books, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, two highly respected scholars, argued that it is the lobbys success rather than any special convergence of national interests that explains the extent of American support for Israel. What is striking is less the substance of their argument than the outraged reaction: to all intents and purposes, discussing the US-Israel special relationship still remains taboo in the US media mainstream. While leading newspapers have remained silent, the response elsewhere has been swift. Some critics have charged errors of fact. Others have condemned the authors for taking lobbyists boasts at face value, saying they exaggerate their strength, unity and impact. And as the authors themselves predicted, the incendiary accusation of anti-semitism has been lobbed their way too: the Anti-Defamation League, for example, has denounced what it terms a classical [sic], conspiratorial anti-semitic analysis. Whatever one thinks of the merits of the piece itself, it would seem all but impossible to have a sensible public discussion in the US today about the countrys relationship with Israel. The reasons for, and high costs of, this problem warrant further consideration. If fear of being tarred as an anti-semite and there is no more toxic charge in American politics blocks the way, what anti-semitism actually implies in todays America is increasingly unclear. Over the past century, secularisation, wealth and prestige have bolstered the place of American Jewry in national life. Polls suggest that seriously anti-semitic views are now found only among a small minority of Americans. Yet, fear of anti-semitism has not vanished. Where once it was suspected and often found in the workplace and the domestic political arena, it is now expressed in terms of sensitivity towards criticism of the Jewish state. Often ambivalent about the methods of lobby groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), American Jews generally share the committees ultimate goal of maintaining a high level of US support for Israel. As Earl Raab, the veteran commentator, has noted, there is a sense that if America abandons Israel, it also may be in some way abandoning American Jewry itself. In the process, the line between anti-semitism and criticism of Israeli policy has become blurred. Defending what Bernard Rosenblatt, the distinguished interwar Zionist, predicted would be the Little America in the East is seen by many as synonymous with defending Jews as a whole. A striking illustration of this occurred in the run-up to the 2004 US presidential elections. At that time Congress passed the Global Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, in spite of strong objections from the State Department. The foreign service did not see why any one form of discrimination should be singled out for official US concern. It was equally troubled by the Acts language, which asserts that strong anti-Israel sentiment or indeed Muslim opposition to developments in Israel and the occupied territories should count as evidence of anti-semitic attitudes. At one level, Congress was connecting with a diplomatic strategy of the Sharon government that sought to highlight anti-semitism as a way of deflecting criticism of its policies in the occupied territories. But behind the lobbying lie deeper semantic shifts in mainstream American discourse. To be a Zionist is unproblematic in political terms, but to declare oneself an anti-Zionist is to become vulnerable to the charge of anti-semitism. I have even heard a student impute the same bias to a professor for referring to Palestine rather than Israel in a lecture on the eastern Mediterranean under Roman rule: it was as though any reference to Palestine, especially when not accompanied by a reference to Israel, was troubling. Most sensible people of course recognise that opposition to Israeli policies is quite different from anti-semitism. For those who think they are linked, it has proved hard to fix the precise boundary between the two. The Global Anti-Semitism Act talks about a line separating the latter from objective criticism of Israel but does not spell out where this line lies. Lawrence Summers, former president of Harvard University, castigated profoundly anti-Israel views for being anti-semitic in their effect if not their intent. Others refer to disproportionate criticism and vilification. But none of these terms are self-evident in their application. Because the costs of stepping over the line are high, the result is that
Re: [CTRL] Israeli Racism becoming main stream
-Caveat Lector- What the hell is a Racialist? A racialist is someone obsessed with race and ethnicity - a tribalist. I have a simple question for you. Do you think the Arabs/Muslims are your friends who mean you well and would not harm you or your fellow contrymen? Yes or no. Arabs or Moslems have no innate hatred for Americans or America. However no doubt they have hatred and resentment against the US for its malevolent policies. Too often evil begets evil. flw 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] mperial overreach is accelerating the global decline of America
-Caveat Lector- Search this site In this section The ouster of democracy Blair's vision is critically tainted Prime time for liars and sleaze artists For want of a ballot, the fight was lost An empty sort of freedom Hell is 57 varieties Email Another Morecambe Bay is waiting to happen Lift music is not elevating A perfect storm may make the NHS a lightning rod Knowledge or humanity Imperial overreach is accelerating the global decline of America The disastrous foreign policies of the US have left it more isolated than ever, and China is standing by to take over Martin JacquesTuesday March 28, 2006The Guardian 'Our power, then, has the grave liability of rendering our theories about the world immune from failure. But by becoming deaf to easily discerned warning signs, we may ignore long-term costs that result from our actions and dismiss reverses that should lead to a re-examination of our goals and means." These are the words of Henry Hyde, chairman of the House international relations committee and a Republican congressman, in a recent speech. Hyde argues that such is the overweening power of the US that it may not hear or recognise the signals when its policy goes badly wrong, a thinly veiled reference to Iraq. He then takes issue with the idea that the US can export democracy around the world as deeply misguided and potentially dangerous. He argues: "A broad and energetic promotion of democracy in other countries that will not enjoy our long-term and guiding presence may equate not to peace and stability but to revolution ... There is no evidence that we or anyone can guide from afar revolutions we have set in motion. We can more easily destabilise friends and others and give life to chaos and to avowed enemies than ensure outcomes in service of our interests and security." Article continues /a It is clear that the US occupation of Iraq has been a disaster from almost every angle one can think of, most of all for the Iraqi people, not least for American foreign policy. The unpicking of the imperial logic that led to it has already commenced: Hyde's speech is an example, and so is Francis Fukuyama's new book After the Neocons, a merciless critique of Bush's foreign policy and the school of thought that lay behind it. The war was a delayed product of the end of the cold war and the triumphalist mentality that imbued the neocons and eventually seduced the US. But triumphalism is a dangerous brew, more suited to intoxication than hard-headed analysis. And so it has proved. The US still has to reap the whirlwind for its stunning feat of imperial overreach. In becoming so catastrophically engaged in the Middle East, making the region its overwhelming global priority, it downgraded the importance of everywhere else, taking its eye off the ball in a crucial region such as east Asia, which in the long run will be far more important to the US's strategic interests than the Middle East. As such, the Iraqi adventure represented a major misreading of global trends and how they are likely to impact on the US. Hyde is clearly thinking in these terms: "We are well advanced into an unformed era in which new and unfamiliar enemies are gathering forces, where a phalanx of aspiring competitors must inevitably constrain and focus options. In a world where the ratios of strength narrow, the consequences of miscalculation will become progressively more debilitating. The costs of golden theories [by which he means the worldwide promotion of democracy] will be paid for in the base coin of our interests." The promotion of the idea of the war against terror as the central priority of US policy had little to do with the actual threat posed by al-Qaida, which was always hugely exaggerated by the Bush administration, as events over the last four and a half years have shown. Al-Qaida never posed a threat to the US except in terms of the odd terrorist outrage. Making it the central thrust of US foreign policy, in other words,
Re: [CTRL] Israeli Racism becoming main stream
-Caveat Lector- I don't think HE's a racist. I think YOU're a racist. The ultimate aim of his ( and Ha'aretz's) criticism is to make Israel as he sees it, better. He has every right to do so because he is a citizen of that country and a Jew. I am not concerned with Israel - or Palestine - or Italy - or Turkey. I care about the US because I live here. I don't care if one is a Jew, Moslem, Catholic or Rock Worshipper. Your self serving nonsensical argument that only Jews can critize Israel is obscene. You are a Zionist Racialist obsessed with Israel even though you apparently are an American. Unfortunately your racialist obsession with Israel harms my country or at least your perception of what is good for Israel is harmful. Ironically the right wing Fascist Lukidnik views you represent can only bring great harm to Israel - and the United States. flw 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] Quote of the Day
-Caveat Lector- Seven of the 10 occupations expected to grow the fastest from 2002 through 2012, according to the Labor Department, pay less than $13.25 an hour, on average: retail salesclerks, customer service representatives, food service workers, cashiers, janitors, nurse's aides and hospital orderlies. NY Times 3/26/06 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] Battle for Baghdad 'has already started'
-Caveat Lector- The Independent Online Battle for Baghdad 'has already started' By Patrick Cockburn in Arbil Published: 25 March 2006 The battle between Sunni and Shia Muslims for control of Baghdad has already started, say Iraqi political leaders who predict fierce street fighting will break out as each community takes over districts in which it is strongest. The fighting will only stop when a new balance of power has emerged, Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff of Massoud Barzani, the Kurdish leader, said. Sunni and Shia will each take control of their own area. He said sectarian cleansing had already begun. Many Iraqi leaders now believe that civil war is inevitable but it will be confined, at least at first, to the capital and surrounding provinces where the population is mixed. The real battle will be the battle for Baghdad where the Shia have increasing control, said one senior official who did not want his name published. The army will disintegrate in the first moments of the war because the soldiers are loyal to the Shia, Sunni or Kurdish communities and not to the government. He expected the Americans to stay largely on the sidelines. Throughout the capital, communities, both Sunni and Shia, are on the move, fleeing districts where they are in a minority and feel under threat. Sometimes they fight back. In the mixed but majority Shia al-Amel district, Sunni householders recently received envelopes containing a Kalashnikov bullet and a letter telling them to get out at once. In this case they contacted the insurgents who killed several Shia neighbours suspected of sending the letters. The Sunni will fight for Baghdad, said Mr Hussein. The Baath party already controls al-Dohra and other Sunni groups dominate Ghazaliyah and Abu Ghraib [districts in south and west Baghdad]. The Iraqi army is likely to fall apart once inter-communal fighting begins. According to Peter Galbraith, former US diplomat and expert on Iraq, the Iraqi army last summer contained 60 Shia battalions, 45 Sunni battalions, nine Kurdish battalions and one mixed battalion. The police are even more divided and in Baghdad are largely controlled by the Mehdi Army of the radical nationalist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the Badr Organisation that has largely been in control of the interior ministry since last May. Sunni Arabs in Baghdad regard the ministry's paramilitary police commanders as Shia death squads. Mr Hussein gave another reason why the army is weak. Where you have 3,000 soldiers there will in fact be only 2,000 men [because of ghost soldiers who do not exist and whose salaries are taken by senior officers], he said. When it comes to fighting only 500 of those men will turn up. Iraqi officials and ministers are increasingly in despair at the failure to put together an effective administration in Baghdad. A senior Arab minister, who asked not to be named, said: The government could end up being only a few buildings in the Green Zone. The mood among Iraqi leaders, both Arabs and Kurds, is far gloomier in private than the public declarations of the US and British governments. The US President George W Bush called this week for a national unity government in Iraq but Iraqi observers do not expect this to be any more effective than the present government of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. One said this week: The real problem is that the Shia and Sunni hate each other and not that we haven't been able to form a government. The Shia and Kurds will have the advantage in the coming conflict because they have leaders and organisations. The Sunni are divided and only about 30 per cent of the population of the capital. Nevertheless they should be able to hold on to their stronghold in west Baghdad and the Adhamiyah district east of the Tigris. The Shia do not have the strength and probably do not wish to take over the Sunni towns and villages north and west of Baghdad. Though the Kurds have long sought autonomy close to quasi-independence, their leaders are worried that civil war will increase Iranian and Turkish involvement in Iraq. Mr Hussein said he feared that civil war in Baghdad could spread north to Mosul and Kirkuk where the division is between Kurd and Arab rather than Sunni and Shia. Already Baghdad resembles Beirut at the start of the Lebanese civil war in 1975, when Christians and Muslims fought each other for control of the city. The battle between Sunni and Shia Muslims for control of Baghdad has already started, say Iraqi political leaders who predict fierce street fighting will break out as each community takes over districts in which it is strongest. The fighting will only stop when a new balance of power has emerged, Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff of Massoud Barzani, the Kurdish leader, said. Sunni and Shia will each take control of their own area. He said sectarian cleansing had already begun. Many Iraqi leaders now believe that civil war is
[CTRL] Mounting Congressional Opposition To Bush's Iraqi Permanent Basing Scheme
-Caveat Lector- This report lifts the rock and exposes the heart of the secret neo-con Iraq invasion scheme. It was always about turning Iraq into a puppet client state from which the US could set up a string of permanent military bases in order to dominate the whole Middle East. The Bush Gang decided from day one that the US must establish control over the Middle East oil. This delusional scheme is still being implemented by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld (the real axis of evil) even while the Iraqi mess becomes bloodier by the day. The US plan to colonize Iraq to control the region's oil is the subtext behind the escalating US anti-Iran campaign. Iran is the last remaining substantial power left in the Middle East to oppose Bush's scheme. Iran must be neutralized. A nuke enabled Iran puts a shamble to the neo-con's secret plan. flw http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-usiraq24mar24,0,5834256,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines From the Los Angeles Times Bush's Requests for Iraqi Base Funding Make Some Wary of Extended Stay By Peter Spiegel Times Staff Writer March 24, 2006 WASHINGTON Even as military planners look to withdraw significant numbers of American troops from Iraq in the coming year, the Bush administration continues to request hundreds of millions of dollars for large bases there, raising concerns over whether they are intended as permanent sites for U.S. forces. Questions on Capitol Hill about the future of the bases have been prompted by the new emergency spending bill for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives last week with $67.6 billion in funding for the war effort, including the base money. Although the House approved the measure, lawmakers are demanding that the Pentagon explain its plans for the bases, and they unanimously passed a provision blocking the use of funds for base agreements with the Iraqi government. It's the kind of thing that incites terrorism, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said of long-term or permanent U.S. bases in countries such as Iraq. Paul, a critic of the war, is co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill that would make it official policy not to maintain such bases in Iraq. He noted that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden cited U.S. military bases in Saudi Arabia as grounds for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The debate in Congress comes as concerns grow over how long the U.S. intends to keep forces in Iraq, a worry amplified when President Bush earlier this week said that a complete withdrawal of troops from Iraq would not occur during his term. Long-term U.S. bases in Iraq would also be problematic in the Middle East, where they could lend credence to charges that the U.S. motive for the invasion was to seize land and oil. And they could also feed debate about the appropriate U.S. relationship with Iraq after Baghdad's new government fully assumes control. State Department and Pentagon officials have insisted that the bases being constructed in Iraq will eventually be handed over to the Iraqi government. Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador to Baghdad, said on Iraqi television last week that the U.S. had no goal of establishing permanent bases in Iraq. And Pentagon spokesman Army Lt. Col. Barry Venable said, We're building permanent bases in Iraq for Iraqis. But the seemingly definitive administration statements mask a semantic distinction: Although officials say they are not building permanent U.S. bases, they decline to say whether they will seek a deal with the new Iraqi government to allow long-term troop deployments. Asked at a congressional hearing last week whether he could make an unequivocal commitment that the U.S. officials would not seek to establish permanent bases in Iraq, Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, the commander in charge of all U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia, replied, The policy on long-term presence in Iraq hasn't been formulated. Venable, the Pentagon spokesman, said it was premature and speculative to discuss long-term base agreements before the permanent Iraqi government had been put in place. All told, the United States has set up 110 forward operating bases in Iraq, and the Pentagon says about 34 of them already have been turned over to the Iraqi government, part of an ongoing effort to gradually strengthen Iraqi security forces. Bush is under political pressure to reduce the number of U.S. troops before midterm congressional elections, and the Pentagon is expected to decide soon whether the next major deployment will reflect a significant reduction in forces. But despite the potential force reductions and the base handovers, the spending has continued. Dov Zakheim, who oversaw the Pentagon's emergency spending requests as the department's budget chief until 2004, said critics might be reading too much into
Re: [CTRL] The Israel Lobby
-Caveat Lector- I happen to be an expert on the subject. I know more truth about 9/11 and the Middle East than everything posted on this list for the last two years. You are out of your league-- little Nazi. R. You can be certain when someone proclaims their expertise, actual knowledge is in inverse proportion to the claim. When they throw out the N word - you absolutely know they are extremely mentally challenged. flw 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
Re: [CTRL] Israeli Racism becoming main stream
-Caveat Lector- Gee, You must be right. The Jews are the intollerant racists here. The Arabs are just poor innocent victems. They bear absolutely no responsibilty for their predicament in the world. Damn Jews. R. No - you must be right. All Arabs bad. All Israeli's good. You are an evil racist son of a bitch. Make no mistake about it. To even focus on the relelatively benign predicament of Israeli Arabs, and blow it up to Nazi proportions is in itself a sneaky cowardly kind of viciousness. You are pretenting that you even care about racism and human rights, when all you are interested in is demonizing the Jews. I don't discuss Jews no more then I discuss Christians , Wiccans or Hindus. If you insist HAARETZ reporter Eli Ashkenazi is a racist - take it up with him. Interesting that you equate all Jews with Israelis. Why do you think an Israeli newspaper article wants to demonize Jews? flw If you REALLY were the caring kind of person you pretend to be, the Israeli/Palistinian issue wouldn't even come up. You would rightly focus on what the Arabs are doing to the Kurds, whom they made landless and don't allow to even use their own language. 30 Million of them. The largest, and longest disposesed ( real ) nation on earth. Ten times as many as poor suffering Palestinians who claim that dubious honor to manipulate phony humanitarians like you. You would SHOUT about how the Arabs have wiped out and expelled hundreds of thousands of non-Muslim Blacks in and around Darfur. Instead of posting the drivel you posted above, you would protest the conditions in Saudi Arabia, the heart of Arab culture, where foreign workers are treated like slaves, and where other religions are not permitted to build houses of worship. Where, a convert is beheaded. Where women are not permitted to drive. Where homosexuals are put to death. You are a fucker sir! Don't you dare claim that you are not anti-semitic. You don't even have the guts to be honest about it like the KKK is. You have made it quite obvious what you and others on this list are. R. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceâ?not soap-boxingâ?please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'â?with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâ?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 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] AIPAC Expose' Authors: Can't Get Published in US
-Caveat Lector- NewsProfessor Says American Publisher Turned Him DownBy Ori NirMarch 24, 2006 John Mearsheimer says that the pro-Israel lobby is so powerful that he and co-author Stephen Walt would never have been able to place their report in a American-based scientific publication. "I do not believe that we could have gotten it published in the United States," Mearsheimer told the Forward. He said that the paper was originally commissioned in the fall of 2002 by one of America's leading magazines, "but the publishers told us that it was virtually impossible to get the piece published in the United States." Most scholars, policymakers and journalists know that "the whole subject of the Israel lobby and American foreign policy is a third-rail issue," he said. "Publishers understand that if they publish a piece like ours it would cause them all sorts of problems." In their paper, "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," the two professors accuse "the lobby" of "policing academia," intimidating scholars and stifling dissent on campuses, mainly through accusing critics of being antisemitic. Mearsheimer said that he and Walt expected to be accused of being anti-Israel and antisemitic, so they made a point of stating in the study that the establishment of Israel was morally justified and that America's support of Israel, in principle, is justified as well. He said the paper takes issue with the extent of American support for Israel and the role that the pro-Israel lobby plays in pushing for such assistance. Asked if the study may have been initially rejected by the American publisher because of poor research, Mearsheimer said that the "evidence in the piece is just the tip of the iceberg," and that the study's observations are supported by a large body of evidence. He did concede, however, that none of the evidence represents original documentation or is derived from independent interviews. All the additional supporting material — just like the references footnoted in the paper — is of a secondary nature: citations of books and newspaper articles, Mearsheimer said. Mearsheimer dismissed accusations and insinuations that people or entities hostile to Israel encouraged him and Walt to write the paper or that they did so to appease Arab donors to their universities. "We did this independently," he said. Mearsheimer said that he and his colleague do not intend to become "policy advocates" calling for diminishing the role of America's pro-Israel lobby in foreign policy. "We decided to write a really serious piece on what we thought was a very important subject and put it in the public domain and hopefully that would open up the debate or the discussion in a civilized tone," he said. "But there was no intention to write a piece that was anti-Israel or that would in any way shape or form challenge the legitimacy of the State of Israel. That was not our intention." Home|Editorial|Fast Forward|News|Philologos|ShmoozeSections|Past Issues|About The Forward|Advertise|SubscribeMedia Links|Contact|RSS Feed Copyright 2006 © The Forward 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=""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] BUSH UNCLE IS WAR PROFITEER
-Caveat Lector- BEHIND THE BUSHESBUSH UNCLE IS WAR PROFITEER http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0223-05.htmWALTER F. ROCHE JR. LOS ANGELES TIMES -The Iraq war helped bring record earnings to St. Louis-based defense contractor Engineered Support Systems Inc., and new financial data show that the firm's war-related profits have trickled down to a familiar family name - Bush. William H.T. "Bucky" Bush, uncle of the president and youngest brother of former President George H.W. Bush, cashed in ESSI stock options last month with a net value of nearly half a million dollars. "Uncle Bucky," as he is known to the president, is on the board of the company, which supplies armor and other materials to U.S. troops. The company's stock prices have soared to record heights since before the invasion, benefiting in part from contracts to rapidly refit fleets of military vehicles with extra armor. 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=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] 'US could wipe out Iran nukes in 2 days'
-Caveat Lector- defective genetic line?. Was this to deep for you? Sorry. R. Interesting how these racists obsessed with genetic lines cannot help but expose themselves and their crackpot hate filled agenda. But then again it is important to realize they are just one more plague on humanity - like AIDS, cancer, and pestulence in general. flw 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
Re: [CTRL] Saudi Ministry of Religious Endowments, forbidding the construction of non-Muslim houses of worship in Muslim countries
-Caveat Lector- Subject: Kuwaiti MP in Support of Official Saudi Fatwa Against Churches in Muslim Lands Hmmm. Seems intolerance reigns in the neighborhood. Reminds one of the fact that Israel has made it illegal to preach Christianity to Israelis. flw 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] Israeli Racism becoming main stream
-Caveat Lector- 68% OF ISRAELI JEWS WOULD REFUSE TO LIVE IN SAME BUILDING AS AN ARAB http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/697458.html HAARETZ - Sixty-eight percent of Israeli Jews would refuse to live in the same apartment building as an Israeli Arab, according to the results of an annual poll released Wednesday by the Center for the Struggle Against Racism. . . Forty-six percent of Jews would refuse to allow an Arab to visit their home while 50 percent would welcome an Arab visitor. Forty-one percent of Jewish support the segregation of Jews and Arabs in places of recreation and 52 percent of such Jews would oppose such a move. The inclination toward segregation rises as the income level of the poll respondent drops and also as the level of religious observance rises. Support for segregation between Jews and Arabs is also higher among Jews of Middle Eastern origin as opposed to those of European origin. Racism is becoming mainstream. When people talk about transfer or about Arabs as a demographic time-bomb, no one raises their voice against such statements. This is a worrisome phenomenon, Bachar Ouda, director of the Center for the Struggle Against Racism, said on Tuesday. The report covered the year 2005 and the center will, in the future, present monthly and bi-annual polls. . . The poll further revealed that 63 percent of Jewish Israelis agree with the statement, Arabs are a security and demographic threat to the state. . . . Thirty-four percent also agreed with the statement that Arab culture is inferior to Israeli culture. . . . Half of Israeli Jews express fear or discomfort when hearing people speaking Arabic. Eighteen percent of Jews said they feel hate when hearing Arabic speakers. 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
Re: [CTRL] 'US could wipe out Iran nukes in 2 days'
-Caveat Lector- There is no hope or escape from the deluded whackos who run this country. We are clearly doomed by the rulers of the axis of evil, i.e. the US, UK, and Israel. The inmates have truly taken over the asylum. flw 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] Tomdispatch Interview: Chalmers Johnson on Our Military Empire
-Caveat Lector- Tomdispatch Interview: Chalmers Johnson on Our Military Empire [Note to Tomdispatch readers: This is the seventh in an ongoing series of interviews at the site. The last three were with Juan Cole (parts 1 and 2), Ann Wright, and Mark Danner. Tom.] Cold Warrior in a Strange Land A Tomdispatch Interview with Chalmers Johnson (Part 1) As he and his wife Sheila drive me through downtown San Diego in the glare of mid-day, he suddenly exclaims, Look at that structure! I glance over and just across the blue expanse of the harbor is an enormous aircraft carrier. It's the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, he says, the newest carrier in the fleet. It's a floating Chernobyl and it sits a proverbial six inches off the bottom with two huge atomic reactors. You make a wrong move and there goes the country's seventh largest city. Soon, we're heading toward their home just up the coast in one of those fabled highway traffic jams that every description of Southern California must include. We feel we're far enough north, he adds in the kind of amused tone that makes his company both alarming and thoroughly entertaining, so we could see the glow, get the cat, pack up, and head for Quartzsite, Arizona. Chalmers Johnson, who served in the U.S. Navy and now is a historian of American militarism, lives cheek by jowl with his former service. San Diego is the headquarters of the 11th Naval District. It's wall to wall military bases right up the coast, he comments. By the way, this summer the Pentagon's planning the largest naval concentration in the Pacific in the post-World War II period! Four aircraft-carrier task forces -- two from the Atlantic and that's almost unprecedented -- doing military exercises off the coast of China. That afternoon, we seat ourselves at his dining room table. He's seventy-four years old, crippled by rheumatoid arthritis and bad knees. He walks with a cane, but his is one of the spriest minds in town. Out the window I can see a plethora of strange, oversized succulents. (That's an Agave attenuata, he says. If you want one, feel free. We have them everywhere. When the blue-gray Tequila plant blooms, its flower climbs 75 feet straight up! Then you get every hummingbird in Southern California.) In the distance, the Pacific Ocean gleams. Johnson is wearing a black t-shirt that, he tells me, a former military officer and friend brought back from Russia. (He was amused to see hippies selling these in the Moscow airport.) The shirt sports an illustration of an AK-47 on its front with the inscription, Mikhail Kalashnikov in Cyrillic script, and underneath, The freedom fighter's friend, a product of the Soviet Union. On the back in English, it says, World Massacre Tour with the following list: The Gulf War, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Angola, Laos, Nicaragua, Salvador, Lebanon, Gaza Strip, Karabakh, Chechnya To be continued. Johnson, who served as a lieutenant (jg) in the Navy in the early 1950s and from 1967-1973 was a consultant for the CIA, ran the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley for years. He defended the Vietnam War (In that I was distinctly a man of my times ), but is probably the only person of his generation to have written, in the years since, anything like this passage from the introduction to his book Blowback: The problem was that I knew too much about the international Communist movement and not enough about the United States government and its Department of Defense In retrospect, I wish I had stood with the antiwar protest movement. For all its naiveté and unruliness, it was right and American policy wrong. Retired, after a long, provocative career as a Japan specialist, he is the author of the prophetic Blowback, The Costs and Consequences of American Empire, published in 2000 to little attention. After 9/11, it became a bestseller, putting the word blowback, a CIA term for retaliation for U.S. covert actions, into common usage. He has since written The Sorrows of Empire, Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic. (As an academic subject, the American Empire is largely taboo, he tells me. I'm now comfortably retired, but I had a successful academic career. I realize that young academics today will take up the subject and start doing research on aspects of our empire only if they've got some cover. They need somebody to go first. I've had some of my former graduate students say, Look, you're invulnerable. If you won't take the lead, why do you expect us to go do a research project on the impact of American military whorehouses on Turkey. I mean, let's face it, it's a good subject!) He is just now completing the final volume of his Blowback Trilogy. It will be entitled Nemesis. Sharp as a tack, energetic and high-spirited, by turns genuinely alarmed and thoroughly sardonic, he's a talker by nature. Our encounter is an interview in name only. No one has ever needed an interviewer
Re: [CTRL] 'US could wipe out Iran nukes in 2 days'
-Caveat Lector- If this is the scenario which will play out, then... you old fool, it is your Axis of Evil the US, UK, and Israel who will allow your obviously defective genetic line, to plague future generations. R. defective genetic line?. I repeat, the patients (and sociopaths) have taken over the (US) asylum. flw 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] KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT ISRAEL LOBBY REPORT
-Caveat Lector- KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT ISRAEL LOBBY REPORT JOHN MEARSHEIMER AND STEPHEN WALT - http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/Research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP06-011 LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS EXCERPT http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html Since the October War in 1973, Washington has provided Israel with a level of support dwarfing that given to any other state. It has been the largest annual recipient of direct economic and military assistance since 1976, and is the largest recipient in total since World War Two, to the tune of well over $140 billion (in 2004 dollars). Israel receives about $3 billion in direct assistance each year, roughly one-fifth of the foreign aid budget, and worth about $500 a year for every Israeli. This largesse is especially striking since Israel is now a wealthy industrial state with a per capita income roughly equal to that of South Korea or Spain. . . Other recipients get their money in quarterly installments, but Israel receives its entire appropriation at the beginning of each fiscal year and can thus earn interest on it. Most recipients of aid given for military purposes are required to spend all of it in the US, but Israel is allowed to use roughly 25 per cent of its allocation to subsidize its own defense industry. It is the only recipient that does not have to account for how the aid is spent, which makes it virtually impossible to prevent the money from being used for purposes the US opposes, such as building settlements on the West Bank. Moreover, the US has provided Israel with nearly $3 billion to develop weapons systems, and given it access to such top-drawer weaponry as Blackhawk helicopters and F-16 jets. Finally, the US gives Israel access to intelligence it denies to its NATO allies and has turned a blind eye to Israel's acquisition of nuclear weapons. Washington also provides Israel with consistent diplomatic support. Since 1982, the US has vetoed 32 Security Council resolutions critical of Israel, more than the total number of vetoes cast by all the other Security Council members. . . This extraordinary generosity might be understandable if Israel were a vital strategic asset or if there were a compelling moral case for US backing. . . Backing Israel was not cheap, however, and it complicated America's relations with the Arab world. For example, the decision to give $2.2 billion in emergency military aid during the October War triggered an OPEC oil embargo that inflicted considerable damage on Western economies. . . The first Gulf War revealed the extent to which Israel was becoming a strategic burden. The US could not use Israeli bases without rupturing the anti-Iraq coalition, and had to divert resources (e.g. Patriot missile batteries) to prevent Tel Aviv doing anything that might harm the alliance against Saddam Hussein. History repeated itself in 2003: although Israel was eager for the US to attack Iraq, Bush could not ask it to help without triggering Arab opposition. So Israel stayed on the sidelines once again. . . Saying that Israel and the US are united by a shared terrorist threat has the causal relationship backwards: the US has a terrorism problem in good part because it is so closely allied with Israel, not the other way around. Support for Israel is not the only source of anti-American terrorism, but it is an important one, and it makes winning the war on terror more difficult. There is no question that many al-Qaida leaders, including Osama bin Laden, are motivated by Israel's presence in Jerusalem and the plight of the Palestinians. Unconditional support for Israel makes it easier for extremists to rally popular support and to attract recruits. As for so-called rogue states in the Middle East, they are not a dire threat to vital US interests, except inasmuch as they are a threat to Israel. Even if these states acquire nuclear weapons - which is obviously undesirable - neither America nor Israel could be blackmailed, because the blackmailer could not carry out the threat without suffering overwhelming retaliation. . . A final reason to question Israel's strategic value is that it does not behave like a loyal ally. . . According to the General Accounting Office, Israel 'conducts the most aggressive espionage operations against the US of any ally'. . . Israel is hardly the only country that spies on the US, but its willingness to spy on its principal patron casts further doubt on its strategic value. . . That Israel is a fellow democracy surrounded by hostile dictatorships cannot account for the current level of aid: there are many democracies around the world, but none receives the same lavish support. The US has overthrown democratic governments in the past and supported dictatorswhen this was thought to advance its interests - it has good relations with a number of dictatorships today. [Another] justification is the history of Jewish suffering in the Christian West,
Re: [CTRL] Another War for Israel - The amen corner howls for war with Iran
-Caveat Lector- - Original Message - From: R.I.R. [EMAIL PROTECTED] This racist shmuck has never been right yet about Israel. He even tries to put words into Murtha's mouth. Murtha doesn't mention Israel. He should stick to putting things in his own mouth. It's what he knows best. Worst blog on the net. Run by an hysterical racist poof. R. Hmm. I read that Raimondo accurately quotes Murtha. Raimondo specifically points out that when Murtha states al Queda wants us to attack Iran, Raimondo specifically writes that Murtha failed to add Israel to that list. No rational person can claim that Israel does not want the US to bomb or attack Iran's alleged nuclear facilities. No rational person can deny the Israeli govt lobbied for the Iraq war. Calling this racist is in fact racist. Quoting Raimondo: Not to worry: Iran, it seems, is next on our hit list, and this is largely at the behest of the one beneficiary of the Iraq war Murtha fails to mention: Israel. The Israelis have been loudly howling for months about the prospect of a nuclear Iran: their amen corner in the U.S. has gone into overdrive, pushing for sanctions and drawing a dire picture of nuke-wielding mad mullahs. This weeks AIPAC convention was one long Iran bash session. Cheney threatened Iran with a military strike while he was supplicating before AIPAC. flw 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
Re: [CTRL] Another War for Israel - The amen corner howls for war with Iran
-Caveat Lector- Cheney Warns of 'Consequences' for Iran on Nuclear Issue http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/international/08diplo.html?_r=1themc=thoref=slogin By STEVEN R. WEISMAN Published: March 8, 2006 WASHINGTON, March 7 Vice President Dick Cheney declared Tuesday that the United Nations Security Council would impose meaningful consequences on Iran if it proceeded with uranium enrichment activities, and the Bush administration put an end to talk of compromise with Iran as floated by Russia Mr. Cheney, speaking to an overflow crowd of nearly 5,000 applauding guests at a meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, used blunt language that seemed to hint of military action or possibly the overthrow of the government in Tehran, though he mentioned neither option explicitly. For our part, the United States is keeping all options on the table in addressing the irresponsible conduct of the regime, he said of Iran. And we join other nations in sending that regime a clear message: We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. 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] Quote of the Day
-Caveat Lector- "I can tell you the main reason behind all our woes — it is America," said Abdul-Qader Ali, a clothing merchant in Adhamiya, a Sunni stronghold here. "Everything that is going on between Sunnis and Shiites, the troublemaker in the middle is America." 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=""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] Real US Iraq Strategy
-Caveat Lector- Exit without a strategy The popular response to Iraq's latest atrocities has been to blame the occupation, not rival sects Sami RamadaniFriday February 24, 2006The Guardian The shattered golden dome of Samarra is yet another milestone in George Bush's "long war" - in which a civil war in Iraq shows every sign of being a devastating feature. But what sort of civil war? I am convinced it is not the type of war that politicians in Washington and London, and much of the western media, have been anticipating. The past few days' events have strengthened this conviction. It has not been Sunni religious symbols that hundreds of thousands of angry marchers protesting at the bombing of the shrine have targeted, but US flags. The slogan that united them on Wednesday was: "Kalla, kalla Amrica, kalla kalla lill-irhab" - no to America, no to terrorism. The Shia clerics most listened to by young militants swiftly blamed the occupation for the bombing. They included Moqtada al-Sadr; Nasrallah, leader of Hizbullah in Lebanon; Ayatollah Khalisi, leader of the Iraqi National Foundation Congress; and Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's spiritual leader. Along with Grand Ayatollah Sistani, they also declared it a grave "sin" to attack Sunnis - as did all the Sunni clerics about attacks on Shias. Sadr was reported by the BBC as calling for revenge on Sunnis - in fact, he said "no Sunni would do this" and called for revenge on the occupation. None of the mostly spontaneous protest marches were directed at Sunni mosques. Near the bombed shrine itself, local Sunnis joined the city's minority Shias to denounce the occupation and accuse it of sharing responsibility for the outrage. In Kut, a march led by Sadr's Mahdi army burned US and Israeli flags. In Baghdad's Sadr City, the anti-occupation march was massive. There was a string of armed attacks on Sunni mosques in the wake of the bombing but none of them was carried out by the protesters. Reports suggest that they were the work of masked gunmen. Since then there has been an escalation of well-organised murders, some sectarian, some targeting mixed groups, such as yesterday's killing of 47 workers near Baquba. But as live coverage of Wednesday's demonstrations on Iraqi and Arab satellite TV stations clearly showed, the popular mood has been anti-occupation rather than sectarian. Iraq is awash with rumours about the collusion of the occupation forces and their Iraqi clients with sectarian attacks and death squads: the US is widely seen as fostering sectarian division to prevent the emergence of a united national resistance. Evidence of their involvement in Wednesday's anti-Sunni reprisals was picked up in the Times, which reported that after an armed attack on the al-Quds Sunni mosque in Baghdad the gunmen climbed back into six cars and were ushered from the scene by cheering soldiers of the US-controlled Iraqi National Guard. Two years ago I argued in these pages that the US aim of installing a client pro-US regime in Baghdad risked plunging the country into civil war - but not a war of Arabs against Kurds or Sunnis against Shias, rather a war between a US-backed minority (of all sects and nationalities) against the majority of the Iraqi people. That is where Iraq is heading. Crucial political turning points are going unnoticed, though not by the US ambassador in Baghdad, Zalmay Khalilzad, who organised the pro-US opposition before the invasion and devised the sectarian formulas put into practice thereafter. In the run-up to the December elections, Sadr's forces won decisive battles in Baghdad and the south against Sciri, the Shia faction more inclined to work with the US. The defeat of the Sciri forces gave Sadr's Mahdi army a powerful voice in the coalition that won the election, and helped nominate Ibrahim Jaafari as prime minister against the US-backed Sciri man, Adil Abdulmahdi. Khalilzad is adamant that Sadr's supporters should not be able to exercise such influence. This is the cause of the political crisis engulfing the Green Zone regime. For nearly two years, we have been inundated with US and British "exit strategies". So, why do you need a strategy to pack up, end the occupation and let the Iraqi people decide their own future? The "threat of civil war" of course. But that is to ignore the war unfolding in Iraq thanks to the continued occupation. None of these exit strategies will work for the simple reason that they are based on an unrealisable ambition: to have the Iraqi cake and eat it. All the Bush and Blair strategies are based on maintaining a pro-US regime in Baghdad. Freed from this hated occupation, proud and independent Iraqis will never elect a collection of US- and British-backed proteges. · Sami Ramadani was a political exile from Saddam's regime and is a senior lecturer at London Metropolitan University[EMAIL PROTECTED] www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is
[CTRL] Right Wingnut Christian pro-Israel lobby
-Caveat Lector- Search site Back to Homepage Print Edition Diplomacy Defense Opinion National Arts Leisure Anglo File Sports Travel Magazine Week's End Elections Business Underground Jewish World Real Estate Group creates first Christian pro-Israel lobby By Shmuel Rosner WASHINGTON - A new group in the United States, Christians United for Israel, will serve as an umbrella organization for Christian congregations that support Israel, and will lobby for Israel. Some 400 Christian community leaders met in San Antonio, Texas, two weeks ago to establish the group, which Christians United officials said represents about 30 million Americans. Advertisement The organization's main goal is to create a rapid-response network "targeted to reach every senator and congressman" in the United States. It is led by evangelical leaders Dr. John C. Hagee and George Morrison; fundamentalist Baptist minister Jerry Falwell; and Gary Bauer, president of the American Values organization aimed at protecting marriage, family and faith. All are renowned supporters of Israel, and considered hawkish. For instance, they will pressure the American government to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Christians United members decided to hold meetings with legislators in Washington for two days in July to tell them about the organization and its platform, and express their support for Israel. They are also planning a large annual event called "A Night to Honor Israel" that will be held in several cities simultaneously. The event, according to the group, will give American Christians the opportunity to fight anti-Semitism and express "their debt of gratitude to the Jewish people for their contribution to Christianity." The organizers stressed that the events are "non-conversionary." "We see Christians in the United States as true friends and important supporters on the basis of shared values, and we welcome their efforts to strengthen the ties between Israel and the U.S.," Israeli Ambassador to the United States Danny Ayalon said yesterday. Stephen Strang, publisher of Charisma magazine and a founding member of Christians United, has said he wants the organization to be as strong
[CTRL] Iran Big Iraq Winner
-Caveat Lector- February 14, 2006 PAGE ONE Rough NeighborhoodIran Plays Growing Role in Iraq,Complicating Bush's Strategy Tehran's Influence on Politics,Daily Life Could Give ItLeverage in Nuclear Debate Help for Shiite TV Stations By JAY SOLOMON in Washington, FARNAZ FASSIHI in Baghdad, Iraq, and PHILIP SHISHKIN in Amarah, IraqFebruary 14, 2006;PageA1 Bush administration officials who promoted war with Iraq envisioned Americans reshaping the country in their own image after the war. Instead, the reshaping is increasingly being carried out by Iran -- the same nation that has provoked a diplomatic furor over its nuclear ambitions. Iran's influence is most apparent in Iraqi politics, where a Shiite-dominated coalition has just nominated a prime minister with close ties to Tehran, but it also emerges in many areas of Iraqi life that get less notice. Iranian businessmen are some of the largest investors in restoring Iraq's shattered infrastructure. Nonprofit groups from Iran are providing basic health services that crumbled in the chaos following the U.S.-led invasion. Iraq's Shiite media are getting training from experts across the border. "America occupies Iraq, but Iran influences us," says Sheikh Kashef al-Qhatta, a prominent Shiite cleric and political analyst based in Baghdad. While Tehran has little motive now to throw Iraq into further turmoil, its ability to do so could undermine the Bush administration's attempt to stop Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. and European nations are pushing Iran to freeze the program, which they fear is aimed at producing a nuclear weapon. Iran says its program is peaceful. If Iran wished to make life difficult for the U.S. and its troops in Iraq, it might draw on the support of Iraqi Shiite leaders. One who has battled U.S. forces in the past, Muqtada al Sadr, pledged on a visit to Tehran last month to back Iran in any military showdown with the U.S. Tehran also has helped finance and train Shiite militias and paramilitary units in Iraq such as the Badr Brigades. "They believe they can just pin us down in Iraq," says George Perkovich, a national security analyst at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank, who visited Tehran last year. Iran's influence inside Iraq also is threatening to exacerbate Shiite-Sunni tensions across the Middle East. Muslims from the Sunni branch of Islam have long dominated Arab politics. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein and his Sunni-led ruling clique controlled a nation that is only an estimated 20% Sunni Arab. Now Sunni Arab leaders such as Jordan's King Abdullah II have voiced concerns about a possible "Shiite crescent" stretching from Iran to the Arabian Gulf. Bush administration officials say they are working to counter gun-running by Iranians into Iraq or any effort by Tehran to install theocratic Shiite rule in Baghdad. The Pentagon has increased border surveillance along the Iran-Iraq border, these officials say. The U.S. says it is ready to work with a permanent government led by Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who currently holds the prime minister's post on an interim basis. U.S. officials and some who study the Middle East say the danger of Iran gaining sway in Iraq may be mitigated by differences between the two nations. Iraq's population is primarily Arab, while Iran's is majority Persian and Farsi-speaking. The countries fought a long war in the 1980s. "The political dynamics in Iraq should check the direct influence from Iran," said an administration official. "Iraqis are in control over Iraq's political destiny." Wayne White, who headed the State Department's Iraq intelligence team during the war and now is an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute, a Washington think tank, says Iraq's Shiite parties aren't going to take dictation from Tehran just because they are Shiite. "Over the long run, they could operate quite separately from the Iranians," he says. "You're not seeing it now because the political situation in Iraq is not mature." Still, Iran's influence in Iraq today runs counter to the scenario many Bush administration strategists presented in the months heading into the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. At the time, policy makers saw a democratic Iraq as a base for promoting Western-style democracy in neighboring countries
[CTRL] US Building Permanent Massive 'Super Bases in Iraq
-Caveat Lector-
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/02/15/tomengelhardt/print.htmlPermanent bases in
Iraq?The Bush
administration claims the U.S. intends to leave Iraq. But its massive military
"super-bases" tell a different story.
By Tom Engelhardt
Feb. 15, 2006 | We're in a new period in the war in Iraq -- one that brings
to mind the Nixonian era of "Vietnamization": A president presiding over an
increasingly unpopular war that won't end; an election bearing down; the need to
placate a restive American public; and an army under so much strain that it
seems to be running off the rails. So it's not surprising that the media is now
reporting on administration plans for, or "speculation" about, or "signs of," or
"hints" of "major drawdowns" or withdrawals of American troops. The
figure regularly cited these days is less than 100,000 troops in Iraq by the end
of 2006. With about 136,000 American troops there now, that figure would
represent just over one-quarter of all in-country U.S. forces, which means, of
course, that the term "major" certainly rests in the eye of the beholder.
In addition, these withdrawals are -- we know this thanks to a Seymour Hersh
piece, "Up in the Air," in the Dec. 5 New Yorker -- to be accompanied, as in
South Vietnam in the Nixon era, by an unleashing of the U.S. Air Force. The
added air power is meant to compensate for any lost punch on the ground (and
will undoubtedly lead to more "collateral damage" -- that is, Iraqi deaths).
It is important to note that all promises of drawdowns or withdrawals are
invariably linked to the dubious proposition that the Bush administration can
"stand up" an effective Iraqi army and police force (think "Vietnamization"
again), capable of circumscribing the Sunni insurgency and so allowing American
troops to pull back to bases outside major urban areas, as well as to Kuwait and
points as far west as the United States. Further, all administration or military
withdrawal promises prove to be well hedged with caveats and obvious loopholes,
phrases like "if all goes according to plan and security improves..." or "it
also depends on the ability of the Iraqis to..."
Since guerrilla attacks have actually been on the rise and the delivery of
the basic amenities of modern civilization (electrical power, potable water, gas
for cars, functional sewage systems, working traffic lights, and so on) on the
decline, since the very establishment of a government inside the heavily
fortified Green Zone has proved immensely difficult, and since U.S.
reconstruction funds (those that haven't already disappeared down one clogged drain or another) are
drying up, such partial withdrawals may prove more complicated to pull off than
imagined. It's clear, nonetheless, that "withdrawal" is on the propaganda agenda
of an administration heading into midterm elections with an increasingly
skittish Republican Party in tow and congressional candidates worried about
defending the president's mission-unaccomplished war of choice. Under the
circumstances, we can expect more hints of, followed by promises of, followed by
announcements of "major" withdrawals, possibly including news in the fall
election season of even more "massive" withdrawals slated for the end of 2006 or
early 2007, all hedged with conditional clauses and "only ifs" -- withdrawal
promises that, once the election is over, this administration would undoubtedly
feel under no particular obligation to fulfill.
Assuming, then, a near year to come of withdrawal buzz, speculation and even
a media blitz of withdrawal announcements, the question is: How can anybody tell
if the Bush administration is actually withdrawing from Iraq? Sometimes, when
trying to cut through a veritable fog of misinformation and disinformation, it
helps to focus on something concrete. In the case of Iraq, nothing could be more
concrete -- though less generally discussed in our media -- than the set of
enormous bases the Pentagon has long been building in that country. Quite
literally multibillions of dollars have gone into them. In a prestigious
engineering magazine in late 2003, Lt. Col. David Holt, the Army engineer
"tasked with facilities development" in Iraq, was already speaking proudly of several billion dollars being sunk into base construction
("the numbers are staggering"). Since then, the base building has been massive
and ongoing.
In a country in such startling disarray, these bases, with some of the most
expensive and advanced communications systems on the planet, are like vast
spaceships that have landed from another solar system. Representing a staggering
investment of resources, effort and geostrategic dreaming, they are the
unlikeliest places for the Bush administration to hand over willingly to even
the friendliest of Iraqi governments.
If, as just about every expert agrees, Bush-style reconstruction has failed
dismally in Iraq, thanks to thievery, knavery,
[CTRL] Intel pros say Bush is lying about foiling 2002 terror attack
-Caveat Lector- Intel pros say Bush is lying about foiling 2002 terror attack Posted at February 10, 2006 06:56 AM in The Rant . By DOUG THOMPSON Outraged intelligence professionals say President George W. Bush is "cheapening" and "politicizing" their work with claims the United States foiled a planned terrorist attack against Los Angeles in 2002. "The President has cheapened the entire intelligence community by dragging us into his fantasy world," says a longtime field operative of the Central Intelligence Agency. "He is basing this absurd claim on the same discredited informant who told us Al Qaeda would attack selected financial institutions in New York and Washington." Within hours of the President’s speech Thursday claiming his administration had prevented a major attack, sources who said they were current and retired intelligence pros from the CIA, NSA, FBI and military contacted Capitol Hill Blue with angry comments disputing the President’s remarks. “He’s full of shit,” said one sharply-worded email. Although none were willing to allow use of their names, saying doing so would place them in legal jeopardy, we were able to confirm that at least four of the 23 who contacted us currently work, or had worked, within the U.S. intelligence community. But Los Angeles Mayor Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is willing to go on the record, claiming Bush blind-sided his city with the claims. "I'm amazed that the president would make this (announcement) on national TV and not inform us of these details through the appropriate channels," the mayor says. "I don't expect a call from the president — but somebody." Villaraigosa also said he has twice requested meetings with Bush to discuss security issues for Los Angeles and was turned down both times. Intelligence pros say much of the information used by Bush in an attempt to justify his increased spying on Americans by the National Security Agency, trampling of civil rights under the USA Patriot Act, and massive buildup of the Department of Homeland Security, now the nation’s largest federal bureaucracy, was “worthless intel that was discarded long ago.” “A lot of buzz circulated in the months following the September 11, 2001, attacks,” says an NSA operative. “Snippets here and there were true but most were just random information that could never be confirmed. One thing we do know about al Qaeda is that they seldom use the same technique twice. They tried a car bomb to bring down the World Trade Center and it failed. Then they went to planes. The next time will be something different because we’ve geared up to prevent hijacking planes and using them as flying bombs.” In August 2004, just as the Presidential campaign was about to heat up, the Bush White House raised the terror alert, claiming attacks were imminent on major financial institutions. The alert, apparently timed to steal thunder from Democrat John Kerry’s nomination for President, was withdrawn after administration officials admitted it was based on old information from a discredited informant. The discredited information dated back to the same period when intelligence agencies began receiving reports of a planned attack against Los Angeles. Former DHS secretary Tom Ridge admits the U.S. raised terror alerts for the wrong reasons and now says he often disagreed with the timing of such alerts but was overruled by the White House. "More often than not we were the least inclined to raise it," Ridge says. "Sometimes we disagreed with the intelligence assessment. Sometimes we thought even if the intelligence was good, you don't necessarily put the country on alert, There were times when the White House was really aggressive about raising it, and we said, 'For that?' We often lost the argument." Ridge left DHS in February 2005 and Bush replaced him with Michael Chertoff who agrees with the “cry wolf” strategy of the White House. “Chertoff is a lackey,” says Kevin Riley, a retired New York City Detective who knew Chertoff during his days as a U.S. Attorney in New York. “He’ll do whatever Bush tells him to do.” Intelligence pros at established Washington agencies laugh at DHS operatives, calling them “Keystone Kops” and “overpaid rent-a-cops,” saying they lack any real expertise in dealing with terrorism. “DHS is a political police force,” says a retired CIA agent. “They exist to enforce the political propaganda program of George W. Bush. That’s all they’re good for and they’re not very good at that.”© Copyright 2006 by Capitol Hill Blue 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
[CTRL] The Thick World
-Caveat Lector- /news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ferguson23jan23,0,7994587.column From the Los Angeles Times NIALL FERGUSON It's a sick, Thick World Niall Ferguson January 23, 2006 AND I COMPLAIN about the weather in Boston! Be thankful you're not here, a prospective student based in Russia told me last week. For conditions there are truly Arctic. In Moscow alone, more than 100 people have died of hypothermia this winter. This, however, is hardly news. Russia has known colder winters than this, most recently 1978-1979. The real story about life and death in Russia today has to do with self-immolation, not snow. Once upon a time, high mortality was a problem peculiar to the Third World. However, a more puzzling trend today is the dramatic deterioration of public health in what used to be seen as developed countries. Russia is the prime example. Over the last 20 years, average male life expectancy there has fallen from 65 years to below 60, compared with 75 in the United States. And Russia is not alone. Take Belarus. Male life expectancy in parts of Minsk is down to 54. There has been a 350% rise in alcohol-related deaths in the last two decades. About 13,000 people die every year because of smoking-related diseases. More than a third of Belarus' 12-year-olds are overweight or clinically obese. Actually, I've played a trick on you. None of those statistics relate to Belarus. They are all from Scotland, which in certain respects really is the Belarus of the West. So whatever became of good old Progress with a capital P? Why, after about a century of sustained improvements, is public health in some developed countries deteriorating? The obvious answer is, of course, that Russians and Scots alike lead unhealthy lives. They smoke too much. They drink too much alcohol. They eat too much high-cholesterol food. And they do not exercise enough. The United States too has plenty of self-made invalids. The people of Kentucky are the nation's leading smokers, and few can beat North Dakotans when it comes to binge drinking. But that doesn't really explain why people choose to shorten their own lives. It's certainly not enough to say because they are poor. Compared with most Africans, even unemployed Glaswegians are well-off. Nor can one simply blame poor health education. The New Sick know that cigarettes cause cancer, that excessive alcohol consumption causes cirrhosis of the liver and that too much fast food causes obesity and heart disease. Still, they consume all three like there's no tomorrow. Well, that may be precisely the point. In acting like there's no tomorrow, people who knowingly undermine their own health are, in the language of economists, discounting the future steeply. They are effectively saying: The pleasure this cigarette/pint/Mars bar will give me right now is worth more to me than the pain and privation I may one day suffer from premature disease and death. An alternative interpretation is that individuals are simply miscalculating the probability of their dying young. Either way, this can hardly be regarded as intelligent behavior. I would therefore like to suggest a new designation for these parts of the world where people are deliberately opting for ill health. To distinguish such places from the Third World, where people have maladies thrust upon them by nature and by poverty, I propose referring to them collectively as the Thick World as in thick-headed. (Note that the Thick World is also the Fat World, just as the Third World is also the Thin World.) Now I have to confess my own sins. For I recognize only too well the Russian-Scottish-Dakotan traits. True, I don't smoke. I abjure illegal narcotics. I don't even eat Mars bars, deep fried or otherwise. Nevertheless, like a good many other writers and historians, I do abuse both caffeine and alcohol. So how can I possibly criticize those whose range of vices is merely wider than mine? I used to say facetiously that people who die around the retirement age are behaving with admirable social responsibility, thereby helping to solve the impending pension crisis. Alas, the reality is that such people tend to die slowly and expensively, running up a substantial bill for taxpayers from the moment they first claim disability benefits until the day they finally expire. So the growth of the Thick World poses a grave fiscal challenge for the First World. Worse, the rise of the self-made invalid is symptomatic of a more general decline of Western civilization, not unlike the fall of the European birthrate below the natural replacement rate. It is surely not without wider significance that by 2050, Russia's population is projected by the United Nations to be less than that of Egypt. As the snow falls on Russia today, it is burying a society that is literally moribund. But Moscow is only the capital city of the Thick World. The disturbing thing is just how many northern European and
[CTRL] Army's Iraq Work Assailed by Brit Officer
-Caveat Lector- Senior Officer Points to Cultural Ignorance In an Essay Published by the U.S. Military By Thomas E. RicksWashington Post Staff WriterWednesday, January 11, 2006; A17 FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. -- A senior British officer has written a scathing critique of the U.S. Army and its performance in Iraq, accusing it of cultural ignorance, moralistic self-righteousness, unproductive micromanagement and unwarranted optimism there. His publisher: the U.S. Army. In an article published this week in the Army magazine Military Review, British Brig. Nigel Aylwin-Foster, who was deputy commander of a program to train the Iraqi military, said American officers in Iraq displayed such "cultural insensitivity" that it "arguably amounted to institutional racism" and may have spurred the growth of the insurgency. The Army has been slow to adapt its tactics, he argues, and its approach during the early stages of the occupation "exacerbated the task it now faces by alienating significant sections of the population." The decision by the Army magazine to publish the essay -- which already has provoked an intense reaction among American officers -- is part of a broader self-examination occurring in many parts of the Army as it approaches the end of its third year of fighting in Iraq. Military Review, which is based here along with many of the Army's educational institutions, has been part of that examination, becoming increasingly influential and pointed under the editorship of Col. William M. Darley. In the past two years, his magazine has run articles that have sharply criticized U.S. military operations in Iraq. A piece last summer by then-Iraq -- especially since Chiarelli was recently selected to become the No. 2 American officer there. But none of the earlier articles has been as bluntly critical of the Army as the essay by Aylwin-Foster, whose assessment is also unusual because it Maj. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli about how to better counter the insurgency has become required reading for officers deploying to comes from a senior military commander with the closest ally the U.S. government has in Iraq. The Army is full of soldiers showing qualities such as patriotism, duty, passion and talent, writes Aylwin-Foster, whose rank is equivalent to a U.S. one-star general. "Yet," he continues, "it seemed weighed down by bureaucracy, a stiflingly hierarchical outlook, a predisposition to offensive operations, and a sense that duty required all issues to be confronted head-on." Those traits reflect the Army's traditional focus on conventional state-on-state wars and are seen by some experts as less appropriate for counterinsurgency, which they say requires patience, cultural understanding and a willingness to use innovative and counterintuitive approaches, such as employing only the minimal amount of force necessary. In counterinsurgency campaigns, Aylwin-Foster argues, "the quick solution is often the wrong one." He said he found that an intense pressure to conform and overcentralized decision making slowed the Army's operations in Iraq, giving the enemy time to understand and respond to U.S. moves. And the Army's can-do spirit, he wrote, encouraged a "damaging optimism" that interfered with realistic assessments of the situation in Iraq. "Such an ethos is unhelpful if it discourages junior commanders from reporting unwelcome news up the chain of command," Aylwin-Foster says. A pervasive sense of righteousness or moral outrage, he adds, further distorted military judgments, especially in the handling of fighting in Fallujah. Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, who runs much of the Army's educational establishment, and also oversees Military Review, said he does not agree with many of Aylwin-Foster's assertions. But Petraeus, who commanded Aylwin-Foster in Iraq, said "he is a very good officer, and therefore his viewpoint has some importance, as we do not think it is his alone." Reflecting that ambivalence, the article was published with two disclaimers -- one in the form of an introduction, the other as a footnote -- which make clear that the views expressed do not reflect those of the British government, the British military, the U.S. Army, its Combined Arms Center or Military Review. "I think he's an insufferable British snob," said Col. Kevin Benson, commander of the Army's elite School of Advanced Military Studies, referring to Aylwin-Foster. Benson said he plans a rebuttal. "I think he's overstating the case," said another military intellectual here, retired Col. Gregory Fontenot, who led U.S. forces into Bosnia in 1995. But he added, "whether he's right or wrong, what's important is that the Army understands it has a problem, which it does." Aylwin-Foster, now on assignment in Bosnia, said he has heard favorable early reaction to the article. "The Brits approve, those that have read it," he said by e-mail yesterday. Darley, the review's editor, is holding his
[CTRL] Iraq war 'could cost US over $2 trillion'
-Caveat Lector- Iraq war 'could cost US over $2 trillion' · Economists say official estimates are far too low · New calculation takes in dead and injured soldiers Jamie Wilson in Washington Saturday January 7, 2006 The Guardian The real cost to America of the Iraq war is likely to be between $1 trillion and $2 trillion, up to 10 times more than previously thought, according to a report written by a Nobel prize-winning economist and a Harvard budget expert. The study, which expands on traditional estimates by including such costs as lifetime disability and healthcare for troops injured in the conflict as well as the impact on the American economy, concludes that the US government is continuing to grossly underestimate the cost of the war. The report comes during one of the most deadly periods in Iraq since the invasion, with the US military yesterday revising upwards to 11 the number of its troops killed during a wave of insurgent attacks on Thursday. More than 130 civilians were also killed when suicide bombers struck Shia pilgrims in Karbala and a police recruiting station in Ramadi. The paper on the real cost of the war, written by Joseph Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor who won the Nobel prize for economics in 2001, and Linda Bilmes, a Harvard budget expert, is likely to add to the pressure on the Bush administration over its handling of the war. It also follows the revelation this week that the White House has scaled back its ambitions to rebuild Iraq and does not intend to seek new funds for reconstruction. Mr Stiglitz told the Guardian that despite the staggering costs laid out in their paper the economists had erred on the side of caution. Our estimates are very conservative, and it could be that the final costs will be much higher. And it should be noted they do not include the costs of the conflict to either Iraq or the UK. In 2003, as US and British troops were massing on the Iraq border, Larry Lindsey, George Bush's economic adviser, suggested the costs might reach $200bn. The White House said the figure was far too high, and the deputy defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, even claimed that Iraq could finance its own reconstruction. Three years later, with more than 140,000 US soldiers still on the ground in Iraq, even the $200bn figure was very low, according to the two economists. Congress has already appropriated $251bn for military operations, and the Congressional budget office has now estimated that under one plausible scenario the Iraq war will cost over $230bn more in the next 10 years. According to Mr Stiglitz and Ms Bilmes, whose paper is due to be presented to the Allied Social Sciences Association in Boston tomorrow, there are substantial future costs not included in the Congressional calculations. For instance, the latest Pentagon figures show that more than 16,000 military personnel have been wounded in Iraq. Due to improvements in body armour, there has been an unusually high number of soldiers who have survived major wounds such as brain damage, spinal injuries and amputations. The economists predict the cost of lifetime care for the thousands of troops who have suffered brain injuries alone could run to $35bn. Taking in increased defence spending as a result of the war, veterans' disability payments and demobilisation costs, the economists predict the budgetary costs of the war alone could approach $1 trillion. The paper analyses the cost to the economy, including the economic value of lives lost and factors such as higher oil prices that can partly be attributed to the war. It also calculates the effect if a proportion of the money spent on the Iraq war was allocated to other causes. These factors could add tens of billions of dollars. Mr Stiglitz, a former World Bank chief economist, said the paper, which will be available on josephstiglitz.com, did not attempt to explain whether Americans were deliberately misled or whether the underestimate was due to incompetence. But in terms of total cost of the war there may have been alternative ways of spending a fraction of that amount that would have enhanced America's security more, and done a better job in winning the hearts and minds of those in the Middle East and promoting democracy. 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.
[CTRL] China Plans To Manufacture Large Airliners
-Caveat Lector- China spreads its wings by Friday 06 January 2006 8:24 AM GMT China wants to end its reliance on Airbus and Boeing China intends to make large airliner manufacture a priority from 2010, its defence industry has said. The Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for Defence (COSTIND) said the aerospace industry will focus on large commercial airline projects from 2010 to 2015. The priority for the airline industry [during the period] will be on trunk liners, with research and production to begin at the appropriate time, a press release on the COSTIND website said after its chiefs met this week. COSTIND has a strong influence over civilian industries that contribute to the nation's defence. No other details were provided on the type of airliner being considered or specific timing. China has long considered building a 150- to 200-seat commercial aircraft, rather than continuing to rely on Boeing of the United States and Europe's Airbus. Rush Industry officials urged the central government last year to approve the building of such aircraft before the country's demand for them peaked over the next two decades. Liu Daxiang, a senior official with the state-owned China Aviation Industry Corporation, said at the time: If China does not roll out its own trunk-liner by 2020, then the country will not succeed in 2030 or 2040 so it is really a rush. China is the third-biggest aviation market in the world after the United States and Europe. AFP By You can find this article at: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5FBC459D-BC38-465B-AA71-CD24FC760244.htm Close 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] Bush Ordered Spying on Spies
-Caveat Lector- NSA SPIED ON OWN EMPLOYEES AND WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENTS http://tinyurl.com/dnbqqWAYNE MADSEN REPORT - NSA spied on its own employees, other U.S. intelligence personnel, and their journalist and congressional contacts. WMR has learned that the National Security Agency, on the orders of the Bush administration, eavesdropped on the private conversations and e-mail of its own employees, employees of other U.S. intelligence agencies -- including the CIA and DIA -- and their contacts in the media, Congress, and oversight agencies and offices.The journalist surveillance program, code named "Firstfruits," was part of a Director of Central Intelligence program that was maintained at least until October 2004 and was authorized by then-DCI Porter Goss. . . Firstfruits was a database that contained both the articles and the transcripts of telephone and other communications of particular Washington journalists known to report on sensitive U.S. intelligence activities, particularly those involving NSA. According to NSA sources, the targeted journalists included author James Bamford, the New York Times' James Risen, the Washington Post's Vernon Loeb, the New Yorker's Seymour Hersh, the Washington Times' Bill Gertz, UPI's John C. K. Daly, and this editor [Wayne Madsen], who has written about NSA for The Village Voice, CAQ, Intelligence Online, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center.In addition, beginning in 2001 but before the 9-11 attacks, NSA began to target anyone in the U.S. intelligence community who was deemed a "disgruntled employee." According to NSA sources, this surveillance was a violation of United States Signals Intelligence Directive 18 and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. The surveillance of U.S. intelligence personnel by other intelligence personnel in the United States and abroad was conducted without any warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The targeted U.S. intelligence agency personnel included those who made contact with members of the media, including the journalists targeted by Firstfruits, as well as members of Congress, Inspectors General, and other oversight agencies. Those discovered to have spoken to journalists and oversight personnel were subjected to sudden clearance revocation and termination as "security risks." 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=""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] Spying On Us All - All The Time
-Caveat Lector- NSA JUST ONE OF MANY AGENCIES SPYING ON AMERICANS http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7904.shtmlDOUG THOMPSON, CAPITOL HILL BLUE - Spying on Americans by the super-secret National Security Agency is not only more widespread than President George W. Bush admits but is part of a concentrated, government-wide effort to gather and catalog information on U.S. citizens, sources close to the administration say. Besides the NSA, the Pentagon, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and dozens of private contractors are spying on millions of Americans 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. "It's a total effort to build dossiers on as many Americans as possible," says a former NSA agent who quit in disgust over use of the agency to spy on Americans. "We're no longer in the business of tracking our enemies. We're spying on everyday Americans." "It's really obvious to me that it's a look-at-everything type program," says cryptology expert Bruce Schneier. Schneier says he suspects that the NSA is turning its massive spy satellites inward on the United States and intentionally gathering vast streams of raw data from many more people than disclosed to date - potentially including all e-mails and phone calls within the United States. But the NSA spying is just the tip of the iceberg.Although supposedly killed by Congress more than 18 months ago, the Defense Advance Project Research Agency's Terrorist Information Awareness system, formerly called the "Total Information Awareness" program, is alive and well and collecting data in real time on Americans at a computer center located at 3801 Fairfax Drive in Arlington, Virginia. . . "TIA builds a profile of every American who travels, has a bank account, uses credit cards and has a credit record," says security expert Allen Banks. "The profile establishes norms based on the person's spending and travel habits. Then the system looks for patterns that break from the norms, such of purchases of materials that are considered likely for terrorist activity, travel to specific areas or a change in spending habits.". . . In her book Army Surveillance in America, historian Joan M. Jensen noted, "What began as a system to protect the government from enemy agents became a vast surveillance system to watch civilians who violated no law but who objected to wartime policies or to the war itself." "It's a fucking nightmare," says a congressional aide who recently obtained information on the program for his boss but asked not to be identified because he fears retaliation from the Bush administration. "We're collecting more information on Americans than on real enemies of our country." 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=""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] Massive Govt. Spying On Every American
-Caveat Lector- From Capitol Hill Blue CHB Investigates. . . NSA just one of many federal agencies spying on Americans By DOUG THOMPSON Publisher, Capitol Hill Blue Dec 27, 2005, 00:35 Spying on Americans by the super-secret National Security Agency is not only more widespread than President George W. Bush admits but is part of a concentrated, government-wide effort to gather and catalog information on U.S. citizens, sources close to the administration say. Besides the NSA, the Pentagon, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and dozens of private contractors are spying on millions of Americans 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Its a total effort to build dossiers on as many Americans as possible, says a former NSA agent who quit in disgust over use of the agency to spy on Americans. Were no longer in the business of tracking our enemies. Were spying on everyday Americans. It's really obvious to me that it's a look-at-everything type program, says cryptology expert Bruce Schneier. Schneier says he suspects that the NSA is turning its massive spy satellites inward on the United States and intentionally gathering vast streams of raw data from many more people than disclosed to date potentially including all e-mails and phone calls within the United States. But the NSA spying is just the tip of the iceberg. Although supposedly killed by Congress more than 18 months ago, the Defense Advance Project Research Agencys Terrorist Information Awareness (TIA) system, formerly called the Total Information Awareness program, is alive and well and collecting data in real time on Americans at a computer center located at 3801 Fairfax Drive in Arlington, Virginia. The system, set up by retired admiral John Poindexter, once convicted of lying to Congress in the Iran-Contra scandal, compiles financial, travel and other data on the day-to-day activities of Americans and then runs that data through a computer model to look for patterns that the agency deems terrorist-related behavior. Poindexter admits the program was quietly moved into the Pentagons black bag program where it does escapes Congressional oversight. TIA builds a profile of every American who travels, has a bank account, uses credit cards and has a credit record, says security expert Allen Banks. The profile establishes norms based on the persons spending and travel habits. Then the system looks for patterns that break from the norms, such of purchases of materials that are considered likely for terrorist activity, travel to specific areas or a change in spending habits. Patterns that fit pre-defined criteria result in an investigative alert and the individual becomes a person of interest who is referred to the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security, Banks says. Intelligence pros call the process data mining and that is something the NSA excels at as well says former NSA signals intelligence analyst Russell Tice. The technology exists, says Tice, who left the NSA earlier this year. Say Aunt Molly in Oklahoma calls her niece at an Army base in Germany and says, 'Isn't it horrible about those terrorists and September 11th,' Tice told the Atlanta Constitution recently. That conversation would not only be captured by NSA satellites listening in on Germany which is legal but flagged and listened to by NSA analysts and possibly transcribed for further investigation. All you would have to do is move the vacuum cleaner a little to the left and begin sucking up the other end of that conversation. You move it a little more and you could be picking up everything people are saying from California to New York. The Pentagon has built a massive database of Americans it considers threats, including members of antiwar groups, peace activists and writers opposed to the war in Iraq. Pentagon officials now claim they are reviewing the files to see if the information is necessary to the war on terrorism. Given the military's legacy of privacy abuses, such vague assurances are cold comfort, says Gene Healy, senior editor of the CATO Institute in Washington. During World War I, concerns about German saboteurs led to unrestrained domestic spying by U.S. Army intelligence operatives, says Healy. Army spies were given free reign to gather information on potential subversives, and were often empowered to make arrests as special police officers. Occasionally, they carried false identification as employees of public utilities to allow them, as the chief intelligence officer for the Western Department put it, to enter offices or residences of suspects gracefully, and thereby obtain data. There's a long and troubling history of military surveillance in this
Re: [CTRL] Chinese Defense Minister Gives Speech About WAR plans
-Caveat Lector- BlankSent: Sunday, December 25, 2005 9:12 PM Subject: [ctrl] Chinese Defense Minister Gives Speech About WAR plans against the United States Says China can only afford to wait another 5 to 10 years before being forced to attack to gain living space Smells like NeoCon Disinformation to me. Within 15 years China will be the worlds leading economic power - the US is well on the road to becoming a Chinese economic colony - it is nonsensical to think China will wage war on a valuable colony. flw 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] AIPAC Turns on Bush - Pushes Iran War
-Caveat Lector- Pro-Israel Group Criticizes White House Policy on Iran At Issue Is New Stance on Tehran's Nuclear Program By Dafna Linzer Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, December 25, 2005; Page A09 After years of unwavering support for the Bush administration, the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC has begun to sharply criticize the White House over its handling of Iran's nuclear program. In lengthy news releases and talking points circulated to supporters on Capitol Hill, AIPAC describes the Bush administration's recent policy decisions on Iran as dangerous, disturbing and inappropriate. One background paper suggests that White House policies are actually helping Iran -- a sworn enemy of the Jewish state -- to acquire nuclear weapons. Who's Blogging? Read what bloggers are saying about this article. a.. HIT ME AGAIN b.. the cynic librarian c.. Blog Curry - Political News Full List of Blogs (9 links) » Most Blogged About Articles On washingtonpost.com | On the web The tough words from one of Washington's most well-connected and influential lobbies come at a difficult time for President Bush, who has been struggling with low poll numbers and growing public discontent over the war in Iraq. Bush raised AIPAC's concerns in a recent telephone conversation with British Prime Minister Tony Blair when the two discussed Iran, U.S. officials said. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has tussled with past administrations -- Democratic and Republican -- but not with Bush, who has staked his presidency on a vow to bring democracy to a region dominated by Israel's enemies -- chiefly Iran, Iraq and Syria. At issue for AIPAC is Bush's decision last month to hold off on pushing to report Iran's nuclear case to the U.N. Security Council. The president and Israel have favored reporting it for the past two years. But with little support from other key U.S. allies, Bush reversed course and endorsed a Russian offer that would allow Iran to conduct some, but not all, of the nuclear work it says it needs for an indigenous nuclear energy program. Iran has not been receptive to the Russian offer. Iranian diplomats met with their European counterparts in Vienna on Wednesday to discuss the offer. Diplomats said there were no breakthroughs, but the parties agreed to meet again in January. If Iran accepts the terms, it would be allowed to produce unlimited quantities of converted uranium. That material would be shipped to Russia for enrichment and then returned to Iran to fuel a nuclear power reactor. In a statement to members of Congress, AIPAC said that it is concerned that the decision not to go to the Security Council, combined with the U.S. decision to support the 'Russian proposal,' indicates a disturbing shift in the Administration's policy on Iran and poses a danger to the U.S. and our allies. National security adviser Stephen J. Hadley said he hopes the plan may provide a way out of a two-year crisis over a nuclear program that Iran says is peaceful but was secretly built over 18 years. Critics of the Russian plan, including some inside the administration, argue that it would allow Iran to master a critical component that could be diverted for atomic weapons work. Converted uranium, if enriched to bomb-grade, can be used for the core of a nuclear device. U.N. nuclear inspectors are on the third year of an investigation of Iran's nuclear program. They have not found proof of a weapons program, but mounting evidence suggests that the Iranians have spent the past two decades acquiring the knowledge and technology that could be used to build an atomic bomb. This decision will facilitate Iran's quest for nuclear weapons and undermines international efforts to stop Iran from achieving such a capability, AIPAC told supporters and policymakers in a paper circulated after Thanksgiving. The position paper urged the Bush administration to work quickly toward reporting Iran's case to the Security Council, where it could face sanctions or an oil embargo. AIPAC, which describes itself as nonpartisan, has criticized nearly every administration's Middle East policies, often speaking out when Israeli government officials express private frustration with U.S. policies. But the news releases mark the first major criticism of the Bush White House and come as the administration is focused on problems in Iraq and has no clear path on Iran. At the same time, Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has become increasingly hostile toward Israel. In October, two months after he took office, Ahmadinejad said that Israel should be wiped off the map. Earlier this month, he told Iranians in a nationally televised speech that the murder of 6 million Jews at the hands of the Nazis during World War II is a myth. AIPAC is taking the public statements seriously. They're alarmed by a nuclear capability, and
[CTRL] US College Grads Can't Read
-Caveat Lector- Literacy of College Graduates Is on Decline Survey's Finding of a Drop in Reading Proficiency Is Inexplicable, Experts Say By Lois Romano Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, December 25, 2005; Page A12 Literacy experts and educators say they are stunned by the results of a recent adult literacy assessment, which shows that the reading proficiency of college graduates has declined in the past decade, with no obvious explanation. It's appalling -- it's really astounding, said Michael Gorman, president of the American Library Association and a librarian at California State University at Fresno. Only 31 percent of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it. That's not saying much for the remainder. Who's Blogging? Read what bloggers are saying about this article. a.. caravan70's Journal b.. TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home Full List of Blogs (2 links) » Most Blogged About Articles On washingtonpost.com | On the web While more Americans are graduating from college, and more than ever are applying for admission, far fewer are leaving higher education with the skills needed to comprehend routine data, such as reading a table about the relationship between blood pressure and physical activity, according to the federal study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. Experts could not definitively explain the drop. The declining impact of education on our adult population was the biggest surprise for us, and we just don't have a good explanation, said Mark S. Schneider, commissioner of education statistics. It may be that institutions have not yet figured out how to teach a whole generation of students who learned to read on the computer and who watch more TV. It's a different kind of literacy. What's disturbing is that the assessment is not designed to test your understanding of Proust, but to test your ability to read labels, he added. The test measures how well adults comprehend basic instructions and tasks through reading -- such as computing costs per ounce of food items, comparing viewpoints on two editorials and reading prescription labels. Only 41 percent of graduate students tested in 2003 could be classified as proficient in prose -- reading and understanding information in short texts -- down 10 percentage points since 1992. Of college graduates, only 31 percent were classified as proficient -- compared with 40 percent in 1992. Schneider said the results do not separate recent graduates from those who have been out of school several years or more. The results were based on a sample of more than 19,000 people 16 or older, who were interviewed in their homes. They were asked to read prose, do math and find facts in documents. The scores for intermediate reading abilities went up for college students, causing educators to question whether most college instruction is offered at the intermediate level because students face reading challenges. Gorman said that he has been shocked by how few entering freshmen understand how to use a basic library system, or enjoy reading for pleasure. There is a failure in the core values of education, he said. They're told to go to college in order to get a better job -- and that's okay. But the real task is to produce educated people. Other experts noted that the slip in scores could be attributed to most state schools not being particularly selective, accepting most high school graduates to bolster enrollment. In addition, Schneider said schools may not be taking into account a more diverse population, and the language and cultural barriers that come with shifting demographics. That would account for the dramatic drop in average prose literacy for Hispanics, which slipped by 18 percentage points, he said. The Hispanic scores were somewhat understandable based on the changing demographics, Schneider said. Diversity may lead to more difficulties in education. Dolores Perin, a reading expert at Columbia University Teachers College, said that her work has indicated that the issue may start at the high school level. There is a tremendous literacy problem among high school graduates that is not talked about, said Perin, who has been sitting in on high school classes as part of a teaching project. It's a little bit depressing. The colleges are left holding the bag, trying to teach students who have challenges. On average, adult literacy is virtually unchanged since 1992, with 30 million people struggling with basic reading tasks. While adults made some progress in quantitative literacy, such as the ability to calculate taxes, the study showed that from 1992 to 2003 adults made no improvement in their ability read newspapers or books, or comprehend basic forms. One bright spot is that blacks are making significant gains in reading and math and are reaching higher levels of education. For instance, the
Re: [CTRL] Merry Christmas and ... beyond.
-Caveat Lector- Merry Christmas Judy Andreas www.judyandreas.com Merry Christmas, Chanukah, Solstice and Saturnalia - H.N.Y. flw 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] Post Election Reality Check for Baghdad Bob Bush
-Caveat Lector- http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-122305iraq_wr,0,2909135.story?coll=la-home-headlinestrack=morenews From the Los Angeles Times Iraqis March, Say Elections Were RiggedBy Associated Press8:55 AM PST, December 23, 2005BAGHDAD, Iraq — Large demonstrations broke out across the country today, denouncing parliamentary elections that protesters called rigged in favor of the main religious Shiite coalition.In Baghdad, unknown assailants kidnapped a Sudanese diplomat and five other men as they left prayers at a mosque, a spokesman for Sudan's Foreign Ministry said. An Iraqi Foreign Ministry official said he had not heard of the abduction.As many as 20,000 people demonstrated after noon prayers in southern Baghdad today, many carrying banners decrying last week's elections. Many Iraqis outside the religious Shiite coalition allege that the elections were unfair to smaller Sunni Arab and secular Shiite groups."We refuse the cheating and forgery in the elections," one banner read.Sheik Mahmoud al-Sumaidaei of the Association of Muslim Scholars, a major Sunni clerical group, told followers during Friday prayers at Baghdad's Umm al-Qura mosque that they were "living a conspiracy built on lies and forgery.""You have to be ready during these hard times and combat forgeries and lies for the sake of Islam," he said.The U.S. military said two soldiers were killed when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Baghdad Friday. No other details were released. At least 2,163 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Jamal Mohammed Ibrahim said that among the six Sudanese nationals kidnapped Friday were four employees at the country's diplomatic mission in Baghdad, including a diplomat identified as Abdel Moneam Mohammad Tom.One employee managed to call the Sudanese mission briefly on his cell phone immediately after the kidnapping and talk to the charge d'affaires, Ibrahim said in a telephone call to The Associated Press in Cairo. But so far there had been no contact with the kidnappers, he said."We don't know who they are or what their demands are," he said.Last month, a top adviser to Sudan's president joined the Arab League's secretary general in arranging an Iraqi reconciliation conference in Cairo. Sudan has been planning to push for a larger reconciliation conference in Baghdad.Gunmen have kidnapped more than 240 foreigners and killed at least 39 since the Iraqi insurgency began after U.S.-led forces overthrew Saddam Hussein.The kidnapping of Arab diplomats has been particularly embarrassing to the Iraqi government, which has been pressing Arab states to return ambassadors to Baghdad.Arab governments have been reluctant to raise their diplomatic missions to full strength because of the insecurity.In July, two Algerian diplomats and an Egyptian diplomat were abducted and killed in Baghdad. The Al-Qaida in Iraq group claimed responsibility.Sunni Arab and secular Shiite factions had demanded Thursday that an international body review election fraud complaints, and threatened to boycott the new legislature. The United Nations rejected the idea.Their demand came two days after preliminary returns indicated that the current governing group, the religious Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, was getting bigger-than-expected majorities in Baghdad, which has large numbers of Shiites and Sunnis.On Friday, more than 2,000 people demonstrated in Mosul, where some accused Iran of having a hand in election fraud. About 1,000 people demonstrated in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown.The former leader claimed at his trial this week that he had been beaten by his American captors.Defense lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said Friday that he had seen marks on his client's body. Speaking in Amman, Jordan, Dulaimi said that he had filed a complaint Thursday with the court hearing Saddam's case.The chief prosecutor, Jaafar al-Mousawi, told The Associated Press on Friday that he hadn't seen a complaint but planned to visit Saddam and his seven co-defendants to review their health and "listen to their demands and supply them with everything they need."Meanwhile, gunmen Friday attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint in the city of Adhaim, in religiously and ethnically mixed Diyala province, killing eight soldiers and wounding seventeen, an Iraqi army officer said on condition he not be identified for fear of reprisal."There were too many to count," said Akid, a 20-year-old soldier from Diwanayah being treated for gunshot wounds to both thighs.Akid, who would only give his first name for fear of reprisal, said his battalion of about 600 men had already suffered over 250 desertions after a Dec. 3 ambush in Adhaim killed 19 Iraqi soldiers."They gave up," he said.In Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt
[CTRL] Abramhoff Getting Ready To Squeal
-Caveat Lector- NY Times December 21, 2005 Lobbyist Is Said to Discuss Plea and Testimony By ANNE E. KORNBLUT WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 - Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist under criminal investigation, has been discussing with prosecutors a deal that would grant him a reduced sentence in exchange for testimony against former political and business associates, people with detailed knowledge of the case say. Mr. Abramoff is believed to have extensive knowledge of what prosecutors suspect is a wider pattern of corruption among lawmakers and Congressional staff members. One participant in the case who insisted on anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations described him as a unique resource. Other people involved in the case or who have been officially briefed on it said the talks had reached a tense phase, with each side mindful of the date Jan. 9, when Mr. Abramoff is scheduled to stand trial in Miami in a separate prosecution. What began as a limited inquiry into $82 million of Indian casino lobbying by Mr. Abramoff and his closest partner, Michael Scanlon, has broadened into a far-reaching corruption investigation of mainly Republican lawmakers and aides suspected of accepting favors in exchange for legislative work. Prominent party officials, including the former House majority leader, Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, are under scrutiny involving trips and other gifts from Mr. Abramoff and his clients. The case has shaken the Republican establishment, with the threat of testimony from Mr. Abramoff, once a ubiquitous and well-connected Republican star, sowing anxiety throughout the party ranks. At issue is the complicated structure of the case against Mr. Abramoff. In August, he was indicted by federal prosecutors in Miami on charges of fraud stemming from his purchase of a fleet of casino boats in 2000. He pleaded not guilty in that case, and his lawyers say they are preparing him to stand trial. Mr. Abramoff has also been under investigation here in connection with his lobbying. No charges have been brought against him in that inquiry. The existence of what amounts to two separate but overlapping investigations partly explains why the plea negotiations for Mr. Abramoff have been so protracted and tough, said people with inside knowledge of the case. With the trial in Miami fast approaching, and coming on the heels of plea agreements from Mr. Scanlon and another close associate of Mr. Abramoff, pressure has mounted to reach his own agreement. Mr. Abramoff has also told associates that he is broke, making the prospect of an extended jury trial even less appealing. Mr. Abramoff's lead defense lawyer, Abbe D. Lowell, said he would not comment. Several people involved in various aspects of the case agreed to be interviewed as long as their names and affiliations were not made public. Justice Department officials are prohibited from discussing continuing cases as a matter of course. A spokesman for the department, Bryan Sierra, declined to comment. Although the Miami case is ostensibly separate from the Washington inquiry, the overlapping elements include occasions when Mr. Abramoff flexed his political muscle to enhance his business deal in Florida. While he and a partner, Adam Kidan, were angling to buy the SunCruz boat fleet in 2000, Mr. Abramoff had Mr. Scanlon persuade Representative Bob Ney, Republican of Ohio, to insert negative comments about a business rival of Mr. Abramoff into The Congressional Record, under a scheme outlined in documents filed in Mr. Scanlon's criminal case. The rival, Konstantinos Boulis, was murdered a short time later in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a twist that heightened the profile of the Miami case. Florida prosecutors are also investigating corruption in that case, focusing on Mr. Ney and his chief of staff at the time, Neil Volz, according to people involved in the case. Mr. Volz reportedly agreed to put negative remarks about Mr. Boulis in The Congressional Record, even though Mr. Ney had no obvious reason to comment on Mr. Boulis. Mr. Volz went on to work for Mr. Abramoff as a lobbyist. Mr. Ney has said he was tricked by Mr. Scanlon and Mr. Abramoff into participating, and no charges have been brought against him. In his financial paperwork in the Miami deal, Mr. Abramoff listed Tony C. Rudy, a deputy chief of staff to Mr. DeLay at the time, as a reference. He also listed Representative Dana Rohrabacher, Republican of California, who has since defended the decision to support the lobbyist. Lawyers for Mr. Volz, Mr. Ney and Mr. Rudy did not return calls for comment. A lawyer for Mr. DeLay declined to comment, but spokesmen for Mr. DeLay have repeatedly said he had done nothing improper. Such ties are only at the periphery of the investigations, according to people briefed on the case. Mr. Scanlon, who worked on public affairs for the SunCruz casinos and is familiar with the inner workings of many of Mr.
[CTRL] Iraqi Elections: Bush Big Loser - Iran Winner
-Caveat Lector- The Independent Iraq's election result: a divided nation By Patrick Cockburn Published: 21 December 2005 Iraq is disintegrating. The first results from the parliamentary election last week show the country is dividing between Shia, Sunni and Kurdish regions. Religious fundamentalists now have the upper hand. The secular and nationalist candidate backed by the US and Britain was humiliatingly defeated. The Shia religious coalition has won a total victory in Baghdad and the south of Iraq. The Sunni Arab parties who openly or covertly support armed resistance to the US are likely to win large majorities in Sunni provinces. The Kurds have already achieved quasi-independence and their voting reflected that. The election marks the final shipwreck of American and British hopes of establishing a pro-Western secular democracy in a united Iraq. Islamic fundamentalist movements are ever more powerful in both the Sunni and Shia communities. Ghassan Attiyah, an Iraqi commentator, said: In two and a half years Bush has succeeded in creating two new Talibans in Iraq. The success of the United Iraqi Alliance, the coalition of Shia religious parties, has been far greater than expected according to preliminary results. It won 58 per cent of the vote in Baghdad, while Iyad Allawi, the former prime minister strongly supported by Tony Blair, got only 14 per cent of the vote. In Basra, Iraq's second city, 77 per cent of voters supported the Alliance and only 11 per cent Mr Allawi. The election was portrayed by President George Bush as a sign of success for US policies in Iraq but, in fact, means the triumph of America's enemies inside and outside the country. Iran will be pleased that the Shia religious parties which it has supported, have become the strongest political force. Ironically, Mr Bush is increasingly dependent within Iraq on the co-operation and restraint of the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly called for the eradication of Israel. It is the allies of the Iranian theocracy who are growing in influence by the day and have triumphed in the election. The US will fear that development greatly as it constantly reminds the world of Iran's nuclear ambitions. Iran may be happier with a weakened Iraq in which it is a predominant influence rather than see the country entirely break up. Another victor in the election is the fiery nationalist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia fought fierce battles with US troops last year. The US military said at the time it intended to kill or capture him. Mr Bush cited the recapture of the holy city of Najaf from the Mehdi Army in August 2004 as an important success for the US Army. Mr Sadr will now be one of the most influential leaders within the coalition. All the parties which did well in the election have strength only within their own community. The Shia coalition succeeded because the Shia make up 60 per cent of Iraqis but won almost no votes among the Kurds or Sunni, each of whom is about 20 per cent of the population. The Sunni and the Kurdish parties won no support outside their own communities. The US ambassador in Baghdad, Zilmay Khalilzad, sounded almost despairing yesterday as he reviewed the results of the election. It looks as if people have preferred to vote for their ethnic or sectarian identities, he said. But for Iraq to succeed there has to be cross-ethnic and cross-sectarian co-operation. The election also means a decisive switch from a secular Iraq to a country in which, outside Kurdistan, religious law will be paramount. Mr Allawi, who ran a well-financed campaign, was the main secular hope but that did not translate into votes. The other main non-religious candidate, Ahmed Chalabi, won less than 1 per cent of the vote in Baghdad and will be lucky to win a single seat in the new 275-member Council of Representatives. People underestimate how religious Iraq has become, said one Iraqi observer. Iran is really a secular society with a religious leadership, but Iraq will be a religious society with a religious leadership. Already most girls leaving schools in Baghdad wear headscarves. Women's rights in cases of divorce and inheritance are being eroded. Sunni Arab leaders were aghast at the electoral triumph of the Shia, claiming fraud. Adnan al-Dulaimi, the head of the Sunni Arab alliance, the Iraqi Accordance Front, said that if the electoral commission did not respond to their complaints they would demand the elections be held again in Baghdad. Mr Allawi's Iraqi National List also protested. Ibrahim al-Janabi, a party official, said: The elections commission is not independent. It is influenced by political parties and by the government. But while there was probably some fraud and intimidation, the results of the election mirror the way in which the Shia majority in Iraq is systematically taking over the levers of power. Shia already control the
[CTRL] Pro War Liberals
-Caveat Lector- From Capitol Hill Blue Nov 3, 2005, 05:53 Bush's Lies and Pro-War Liberals By JOHN R. MacARTHUR (John R. MacArthur is publisher of Harper's Magazine.) It's been dreadful these past three years putting up with George W. Bush's fraudulent rationales for invading Iraq. And there's no respite in sight -- the phony justifications keep coming, no matter how many corpses pile up, no matter how badly the political situation deteriorates in Baghdad, no matter how many lies surface about the pre-war propaganda campaign. The other night in a restaurant I had to bite my tongue, instead of my bread, when a man at a neighboring table declared his trust in Dick Cheney and the president. But as much as I'm infuriated by the Bush brigade's steadfast support of the Iraq horror, I find myself angrier still when pro-war liberals _ the so-called reluctant hawks _ wring their hands over the bloody mess they've wrought with their neo-conservative allies. There are many such handwringers in politics, especially within the leadership of the Democratic Party. Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware is forever asking tough questions about Iraq (the torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo upset him terribly), without drawing the obvious conclusion that we never should have attacked in the first place, and need to get out as fast as possible. In journalism, the current handwringer-in-chief is New Yorker writer George Packer, whose book The Assassins' Gate has met with high praise from handwringers, hawks and a subset of pundits I call trimmers. Handwringers anguish over their past or current support for the war; hawks don't apologize for anything; and trimmers criticize Bush the foolish president, but avoid unequivocal denunciations of this foolish war. Christopher Hitchens, a ferocious hawk, has embraced The Assassins' Gate, calling Packer both tough-minded enough, and sufficiently sensitive, to register all (the) complexities (of the Iraq conflict). Handwringer Samantha Power went even gushier in her blurb on the back cover: Packer ... cuts past the simplistic recriminations and takes us on an unforgettable journey that begins on a trail of good intentions and winds up on a devastating trail of tears. Trimmer Frank Rich of The New York Times settled for calling Packer's book essential, and quoting it favorably in a column. I think a better description of Packer is useful idiot, as invoked by some Western anti-communists when they ridiculed liberals sympathetic to the ruthless Soviet state. Too harsh, you say? After all, humanists such as Packer, Power and Michael Ignatieff signed on with the neo-conservative crowd for a democracy-building project in Iraq, not a proletarian overthrow of capitalism. But Packer's book is nothing if not the autobiography of a liberal dupe. Its central narrative concerns the political journey of Packer's Svengali, Kanan Makiya, whose ascent from Iraqi Trotskyist and anti-Saddam exile to Cambridge (Mass.) intellectual to friend of Ahmed Chalabi to intimate adviser to Bush's cabal of right-wing radicals is related in excruciating detail. Like Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith and Richard Perle, Makiya fancies himself a revolutionary using bullets made in the forges of the Enlightenment. But the whole neo-con notion of shocking the Arab and Muslim worlds onto the true and only path of democracy parallels the merciless Bolshevik mentality of 1917 more than it follows on the tolerant ruminations of Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau. So what if tens of thousands of bystanders get killed in the wake of the overwhelming historical forces of progress? Like Lenin and Trotsky, the neo-cons want world revolution, not slow evolution. Packer reports (without evident irony) that Makiya told Bush that invading Iraq would transform the image of America in the Arab world (boy, did it ever), and he quotes his brainy pal as explaining to the president that once freed of Saddam Hussein, people will greet the troops with sweets and flowers. Yet even after 2-1/2 years of carnage, the tender, doubt-filled Packer is still seduced by his idealistic Iraqi soul mate. Despite the recklessness of its authors, Packer writes, the Iraq war was always winnable; it still is. I'll grant Packer this much: He has a terrific, if unwitting, ear for the absurd and the grotesque. In The Assassins' Gate we learn that Makiya wept while he sat with Bush in front of a TV and watched Saddam's statue pulled down, in what we now know was a staged photo op _ also that the sound of the first bombs falling on Baghdad was, to Makiya, a joyful noise. But there's a limit to my appetite for black humor. Packer becomes insufferable when he announces that he hasn't been able to sort out (his) feelings about Makiya and Iraq. He was my friend and I loved him. He had
[CTRL] Happy Iraqis Burn US Contractors Alive
-Caveat Lector- washingtonpost.com U.S. Confirms Killing Of Contractors in Iraq Four Were Slain by Angry Mob Last Month By John Ward Anderson and Steve Fainaru Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, October 23, 2005; A16 BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 -- Four U.S. contractors were killed last month when their convoy took a wrong turn, drove into a town north of Baghdad and was attacked by an angry mob, a senior U.S. military official said Saturday. The incident, which occurred Sept. 20 in the town of Duluiyah, about 45 miles north of Baghdad, was first reported Saturday by Britain's Daily Telegraph. The senior U.S. military commander confirmed the account to The Washington Post. There was no explanation for why the military did not report the deaths earlier. The commander said the four men -- identified by the Telegraph as employees of the Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown Root -- realized their convoy had taken a wrong turn and were desperately trying to escape from the town when their vehicle was attacked by insurgents. The Telegraph said dozens of Sunni Arab insurgents wielding rocket launchers and automatic rifles pursued their truck and shot at it. Two contractors who were not killed in the initial firing were dragged from their vehicle, and one was shot in the back of the head, the newspaper said. The crowd doused the other with petrol and set him alight. Barefoot children, yelping in delight, piled straw on to the screaming man's body to stoke the flames, according to the report. The crowd then dragged their corpses through the street, chanting anti-U.S. slogans, the newspaper reported. Details of the account could not be independently verified. The incident is reportedly under investigation. Soldiers responded to assist the convoy, administered first aid to two wounded contractors and evacuated the remains of four wounded contractors killed in the attack, a military spokesman told the Reuters news service in a statement Saturday. American soldiers who were escorting the convoy were unable to respond quickly enough to save the men, according to a U.S. military officer who interviewed soldiers involved in the incident and who spoke to the Telegraph. The hatches of the Humvees were closed, the officer, Capt. Andrew Staples, told the newspaper. The incident recalled a similar one in March 2004, when a mob in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah killed four U.S. security contractors, mutilated their bodies and hanged them from a bridge. The September killings bring to about 320 the number of non-Iraqi civilian contractors killed in Iraq since the start of the war in April 2003, according to statistics complied by the Brookings Institution. Meanwhile, three U.S. Marines and one Army soldier were killed in attacks earlier in the week, the military said in statements Saturday, pushing the total number of U.S. military deaths close to 2,000 since the start of the Iraq war. The three Marines were killed Friday -- two when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb near Amariyah, about 25 miles west of Baghdad, and the other when he was hit by an explosion during a fight with insurgents near Haqlaniyah, about 80 miles from the Syrian border, the military said. The military reported that the Army soldier died on Thursday of a non-hostile gunshot wound, a term that usually means an accidental death or suicide. According to a recent report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, 299 U.S. soldiers have died of accidental causes in Iraq and 48 have committed suicide. In fighting Saturday, U.S.-led forces reported killing 20 terrorists suspected of sheltering al Qaeda in Iraq foreign fighters in a series of raids on safe houses near Husaybah, a border town with Syria along the Euphrates River, a military statement said. Another statement said that U.S.-led forces found a huge weapons cache in Rawah, a town about 45 miles from the border along the Euphrates, in search operations last week. Military officials say that the Euphrates River is a major transit route for foreign fighters and supplies that are fueling the insurgency here. Electoral officials in Baghdad said Saturday that an audit of votes from the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum had so far uncovered no evidence of fraud. The audit was initiated because of the unusually high number of votes in favor of the constitution in some areas of the country. Officials said full preliminary results were expected to be released within a few days. © 2005 The Washington Post Company 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
[CTRL] The Iraq War, Part II
-Caveat Lector- The Iraq War, Part II by Bill Bonner There is hardly an error chronicled in any history of imperial wars that American forces have not committed in Iraq. - Bill Bonner I am still Iraq's president, says Mr. Hussein. What he does not seem to realize is that the American conquistadors are running the show. They've accused the former president of various crimes. But even after years in jail, Saddam refuses to squirm. Instead, he threatens to the put the empire itself in the dock. What gives this court the authority to try me, he asks? Good question, only the force of U.S. arms...that is to say, only the brute power of an invading army. I am the only lawful president of Iraq, he continues, not a puppet put in by the Americans. Again, he has a point. He stole the job fair and square. How dare you pass judgment on me, he goes on. And here we have an answer: it is merely the latest in a long chain of blunders. One of the pleasures and benefits of being the world's super-power is that you get to cut off the heads of your enemies, and you never have to say you're sorry. Tamerlane was a master of it. He cut off so many heads, his men spent days piling them up into huge pyramids...thousands of them. Caesar, Ghenghis Khan, Adolf Hitler, Stalin...all great conquerors make a point of punishing those who stood against them. But the trial of Saddam Hussein is a first. It is the first time the leader of a conquered nation has gone on television...so that he may rally his people against the invader! Once again, history's most incompetent empire is a victim of its own humbug. We quote ourselves, above, not out of vanity, but only to make a correction. We would like to explain that U.S. actions in Iraq are not an error from an historical perspective. They are a necessity. Every great empire must extinguish itself somehow. Otherwise, we would be ruled by Assyrians or Mongols. What Anglo-American forces are doing is merely a form of suicidal statecraft, suggests Zbigniew Brzezinski; that it, it is a way of cutting our own heads off. Readers have not asked for our opinion on the subject, but we give it anyway: like almost all great public spectacles, the war against Iraq was commenced on a fraud, played out as a farce, and now threatens to end in abject tragedy. Just as it should. This is in no way a partisan remark; no, it is merely an observation. Empires can rarely resist the temptation to fight a war...if they think they can get away with something. George W. Bush saw an increase in his poll ratings coming. People love a war president, at least until they've lived through a real war. He could hardly wait for an opportunity to put on a flight suit and land on a real U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, ostensibly to rally the troops, but more importantly to rally the lumpenpublic. But once Saddam's sorry troops were routed, neither the president nor his military men knew what to do next. They had guns and tanks and the most expensive weaponry money could buy. They had no clue what to do with them. When American forces took Naples in 1943, General Mark Clark appointed New York Mafioso Lucky Luciano as his senior civilian advisor. While Clark dined on fish looted from the city aquarium, Luciano knew what to do with anyone who got out of line. But Paul Bremer and the rest of the bumblers appointed by the Bush administration were only good at pleasing their masters in Washington, not ruling their subjects. They quickly made a mess of it. And now, by putting Saddam on the stand, they offer the old man a chance to make his case. Yes, the nation was a hellhole when he ran the place, but at least it was a hellhole for the Iraqi people, by the Iraqi people, and of the Iraqi people. The noose is too good for Saddam. U.S. soldiers might have done better to treat him as Genghis treated one of his enemies: pouring molten silver in his ear. Then at least he would not be on television pointing out the obvious to his compatriots; he is only on trial because the country was over-run by foreign troops. The best way to win a war, said Sun Tzu, is to let your enemy defeat himself. That is roughly what U.S. forces are doing in Iraq. They are helping to destroy the great Anglo-Saxon commercial empire. And they are doing it in the predictable way. U.S. military power is now stretched out all over the globe. The flower of America's high-tech puissance - the finest attack machine ever created - is now put to work guarding gas stations and ballot boxes. Meanwhile, the expense of maintaining global hegemony has risen so high the only way America can afford it is by borrowing money from communist China. Eighty to ninety percent of the U.S. federal deficit is now financed from outside the country...notably the East. Among the charges against Saddam is that he killed more than 140 men and teenaged boys in Dujail. His defense will be that the people of Dujail tried to kill him, which of course they did. He might mention that every
Re: [CTRL] The Easy Way to Ban a Book
-Caveat Lector- - Original Message - From: Teresa Kao To: CTRL@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Sent: Monday, October 10, 2005 1:23 PM Subject: [CTRL] The Easy Way to Ban a Book The Easy Way to Ban a Book One effective way to ban a book is to absorb all the money a publisher has available with a lawsuit. It's happening to Trine Day who published the memoir of a Green Beret serving in Vietnam during 1966 who was tasked with covertly taking the fight with Viet Cong into their Cambodian .sanctuaries. The Special Forces Association objects to the information in Expendable Elite: One Soldier's Journey into Covert Warfare in a big way. I have my doubts about the author Daniel Marvin. He is the same guy who claims he assassinated Lieutenant Commander William Bruce Pitzer for the CIA. Dr. Pitzer supposedly took part in JFK's autopsy and had evidence the autopsy report was manipulated. This guy Marvin seems to be very 'conveniently' involved in stuff and then writes about it. He sets off my BS detector. flw 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
Re: [CTRL] The Easy Way to Ban a Book
-Caveat Lector- No, he claims he was asked to assassinate. He refused because the case was in the US. Marvin was only tasked to kill overseas. You may choose to doubt but I have seen the evidence and the reaction. Specifically because he talks, he has been targeted. Part of what came out during the Special Forces Association attack on April Oliver and the Operation Tailwind story was that, Special Forces don't talk to reporters and reporters don't talk to Special Forces. Peace, Om K Yes. You are right about Marvin not being the actually shooter. I heard Marvin interviewed years ago about this. Some things just don't ring true about the guy. Of course there is always some discrepancies in every confession and muckraking. flw 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] NY TIMES REJECTS GENERAL'S OP ED CALLING FOR IRAQ PULLOUT
-Caveat Lector- BlankNY TIMES REJECTS GENERAL'S OP ED CALLING FOR IRAQ PULLOUT [From an interview with Lt General William Odom, former director of the National Security Agency, on Democracy Now] LT. GEN. WILLIAM ODOM: I'm trying to think like a strategist. And in war, as well as in politics and diplomacy, one has to know when to withdraw and when to attack. And this was a misguided attack, and it requires a strategic vision and moral confidence to turn it around, the earlier the better. But as the evidence piles up, I think my judgment is being borne out. I said before the war in February that if we invade Iraq, this will serve primarily the interests of two people: Osama bin Laden, because it will make Iraq safe for al Qaeda, and it will allow him to have access to kill Americans, which he cannot do in the U.S. very effectively; the second party that would benefit greatly would be the Iranians. Saddam Hussein invaded Iran, and they fought for eight years, and Iranians hated that regime as much more than we did. Therefore it was very much in their interest, and it is clearer now that a Shiite majority will probably end up in control in Iraq, and it will not be pro-American, and it probably will be an Islamic religious republic. So that's -- those kind of outcomes were foreseeable. . . AMY GOODMAN: Now, you wrote this piece. It's appearing a bit on the internet and some local papers. But you offered it to The New York Times as an op-ed piece? LT. GEN. WILLIAM ODOM: I didn't offer this exact version. I offered a draft op-ed. This is considerably longer than would be accepted as an op-ed. AMY GOODMAN: But the idea was to call for cutting and running? LT. GEN. WILLIAM ODOM: Yeah. I said exactly [inaudible] the earlier the better. The idea of staying the course makes no sense at all. AMY GOODMAN: Have you gotten other op-ed pieces printed in Times? LT. GEN. WILLIAM ODOM: Maybe 15 or 20, maybe 30 in the past ten years. AMY GOODMAN: What did they say about this one? LT. GEN. WILLIAM ODOM: Well, they didn't say. They just didn't take it. AMY GOODMAN: Why do you think that is? LT. GEN. WILLIAM ODOM: I really don't know. Maybe they just overlooked it. Maybe they didn't think my writing style was up to previous ventures. But I think the message would have been worth the -- if they didn't like the structure of the piece, ask me to trim it or edit it. But I really don't know. There is a tendency, it seems to me, among both Democrats and Republicans, to really get nervous about doing anything. They know that we're in trouble, and they're just not willing to face up to the reality that we are going to have to one day pick up and leave and that you're almost -- as I said in the piece, the structure of this piece, essentially saying that all of the things that the administration says will happen if we leave are already happening or they're irrelevant. http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/04/144240 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] MIERS INVOLVED IN BUSH'S NATIONAL GUARD SCANDAL
-Caveat Lector- MIERS INVOLVED IN BUSH'S NATIONAL GUARD SCANDAL http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/WILLIAM BUNCH, ATTYTOOD - White House counsel Harriet Miers has never served as a judge before, and while this career "hard-nosed lawyer" (as she is invariably described) from Texas certainly deserves some kudos for a trailblazing career as a female lawyer, she's not a legal scholar, either.But she does know better than just about anyone else where the bodies are buried (relax, it's a just a metaphor...we hope) in President Bush's National Guard scandal. In fact, Bush's Texas gubernatorial campaign in 1998 (when he was starting to eye the White House) actually paid Miers $19,000 to run an internal preemptive probe of the potential scandal. Not long after, a since-settled lawsuit alleged that the Texas Lottery Commission -- while chaired by Bush appointee Miers -- played a role in a multi-million dollar cover-up of the scandal.Whatever Miers knows about the president's troubled past, she may soon be keeping that information underneath the black robe of an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Miers, who not long ago succeeded Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez as White House counsel, is now Bush's pick to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor:Miers is a skilled lawyer -- mainly on behalf of big business, including Microsoft and Disney -- and the first woman elected Texas State Bar President. But her main qualifications for the highest court in the land appear to be the same as most of Bush's recent appointments: She is unfailingly loyal to George W. Bush.Here's how Newsweek's Michael Isikoff, on July 17, 2000, described her initial foray in the morass of Bush's Guard service: The Bushies' concern began while he was running for a second term as governor. A hard-nosed Dallas lawyer named Harriet Miers was retained to investigate the issue; state records show Miers was paid $19,000 by the Bush gubernatorial campaign. She and other aides quickly identified a problem--rumors that Bush had help from his father in getting into the National Guard back in 1968. Ben Barnes, a prominent Texas Democrat and a former speaker of the House in the state legislature, told friends he used his influence to get George W a guard slot after receiving a request from Houston oilman Sid Adger. Barnes said Adger told him he was calling on behalf of the elder George Bush, then a Texas congressman. Both Bushes deny seeking any help from Barnes or Adger, who has since passed away. Concerned that Barnes might go public with his allegations, the Bush campaign sent Don Evans, a friend of W's, to hear Barnes's story. Barnes acknowledged that he hadn't actually spoken directly to Bush Sr. and had no documents to back up his story. As the Bush campaign saw it, that let both Bushes off the hook. And the National Guard question seemed under control. So far, intriguing. . . but it gets better, and more complicated. At roughly the same time all of this was happening, Miers was also the Bush-named chair of the scandal-plagued Texas Lottery Commission. The biggest issue before Miers and the commission was whether to retain lottery operator Gtech, which had been implicated in a bribery scandal. Gtech's main lobbyist in Texas in the mid-1990s? None other than that same Ben Barnes who had the goods on how Bush got into the Guard and avoided Vietnam.In 1997, Barnes was abruptly fired by Gtech. That's a bad thing, right? Well, on the other hand, they also gave him a $23 million severance payment. A short time later, Gtech -- despite the ongoing scandals -- got its contract renewed over two lower bidders. A former executive director thought the whole thing stunk: The suit involving Barnes was brought by former Texas lottery director Lawrence Littwin, who was fired by the state lottery commission, headed by Bush appointee Harriet Miers, in October 1997 after five months on the job. It contends that Gtech Corp., which runs the state lottery and until February 1997 employed Barnes as a lobbyist for more than $3 million a year, was responsible for Littwin's dismissal.Littwin's lawyers have suggested in court filings that Gtech was allowed to keep the lottery contract, which Littwin wanted to open up to competitive bidding, in return for Barnes's silence about Bush's entry into the Guard.Barnes and his lawyers have denounced this "favor-repaid" theory in court pleadings as "preposterous . . . fantastic [and] fanciful." Littwin was fired after ordering a review of the campaign finance reports of various Texas politicians for any links to Gtech or other lottery contractors. But Littwin wasn't hired, or fired, until months after Barnes had severed his relationship with Gtech. Littwin reportedly settled with Gtech for $300,000. This all could be interesting fodder for a Miers confirmation hearing this fall. But Bush apparently went for Miers' top two credentials: Loyalty. . .
[CTRL] Israelis Ram Jap Ship - Kill Seven
-Caveat Lector- Haaretz Israeli ship suspected of ramming Japanese fishing boat, killing seven By Uri Blau and Ora CorenHaaretz Correspondents and Agencies SAPPORO, Japan - An Israeli ship is the main suspect in a hit-and-run accident with a Japanese fishing boat, in which seven fishermen were killed, Japanese media reported yesterday. The accident took place four days ago near Hokkaido, Japan's northern island. The Israeli ship, Zim Asia, allegedly sped away from the scene of the accident without reporting the collision or trying to assist the fishermen. Fishing radars showed a ship passed through the accident site early Wednesday, and suddenly changed direction, according to Japanese coast guard spokesman Osamu Kon. Coast guard planes later sighted the Israeli container vessel in nearby waters. The South Koreans told Japan, which investigated the whereabouts of several ships seen in the area, that an Israeli ship showing signs of a collision had docked in the southern South Korean port of Busan on Friday, coast guard spokesman Osamu Kon said. The ship's Israeli crew members were questioned by Korean police and reportedly refused to cooperate and only agreed to give up their travel log after a long argument. The South Korean authorities suspected the ship had been involved in an accident, but the ship's captain Moshe Ben David insisted he didn't feel any collision, according to an official at South Korea's Busan Coast Guard. When asked if his ship traveled near Hokkaido, Ben David replied, I don't know a place called Hokkaido. Yesterday the ship left Korea for an unknown destination. The Korean official said it was not detained because the accident did not occur in Korea's territorial waters and Korea had no authority to detain it or to conduct investigations. Zim Asia has collision marks along 30 meters with white paint marks identical with the color of the Japanese fishing boat. South Korea police have sent Japanese police a paint sample, a copy of the boat's travel log and its GPS records. A Zim spokesman said yesterday that Zim Asia was now on its way from South Korea to Shanghai. The boat's captain has informed the Zim headquarters in Haifa that his ship was not involved in the fishing boat accident. The boat started its trip in mid-September in Seattle and is scheduled to return there after reaching Shanghai. Israel's ambassador to Japan, Eli Cohen, confirmed that the embassy has been briefed on the matter, which is currently being handled from Israel. Cohen added that Japanese officials have yet to contact the embassy regarding the incident. Foreign Ministry officials say they are checking on the incident in conjunction with Japanese authorities as well as Zim. The seven Japanese crew members of No. 3 Shinseimaru, which overturned about 40 kilometers off Hokkaido's cape of Nosappu before dawn last Wednesday, were all residents of Hokkaido. The only survivor, Kanama Fujisato, 53, said that he was asleep when the collision took place and awoke from a hard bump in the board. Immediately after the bump the boat capsized. It happened in two to three minutes. I was in water up to my shoulders but managed to grasp a life vest that floated in my direction. For hours I beat on the sides of the boat with a board. When I heard a similar noise outside the boat I thought I might survive after all, he said. We are acting on suspicions that the Israeli ship was involved, but we've reached no definite conclusions yet, said Kon. 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] Prediction: DeLay Will Plead Guilty
-Caveat Lector- DeLay Will Plead Guilty Norm Pattis You heard it here first: Tom DeLay will plead guilty to one count of criminal conspiracy in Texas. The House Speaker was indicted by a Texas grand jury today. He is charged with conspiracy to violate campaing financing laws. Two political associates of DeLay's were also indicted. A spokesman for DeLay was quick to blame partisan politics for DeLay's newfound status as defendant. They could not get Tom DeLay at the polls. They could not get Mr. DeLay on the House floor. Now they're trying to get him into the courtroom, huffed Kevin Madden, a DeLay mouth-for hire. Let's be real. Only Tom got Tom. He is no victim of a conspiracy. He is accused of taking corporate cash, laundering it through the Republican National Committee, and then having it distributed to Texas Republicans in violation of Texas law. Sooee, said Tommy. So why am I so sure he'll plead? A line in the indictment notes that his lawyer waived the statute of limitations on the conspiracy charge during grand jury proceedings. Why would a competent lawyer waive a complete defense? Because worse was on the way if he did not. Initiates know the practice as charge-bargaining. You see a funnel cloud barreling at you and you ask your local prosecutor, quietly, on what charges are you willing to take my client if he pleads? I suspect DeLay will enter a plea late in the year. DeLay gets time to step aside. House Republicans get a chance to regroup and spin the cancer out of their midst. 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] US Protects Notorious CIA Terrorist
-Caveat Lector- WORLD USA COMMENTARY WORK MONEY LEARNING LIVING SCI / TECH A E TRAVEL BOOKS THE HOME FORUM Home About Us/Help | Archive | Subscribe | Feedback | Text Edition | Search: Africa Americas Asia Pacific Asia: South Central Europe Middle East Global Issues Also see: Iraq in Transition Terrorism Security A daily update World Stories: for 09/29/2005 Koizumi's revolution gains momentum Middle-class India plows new wealth into big weddings 1979 fault lines in Afghanistan Iran's tough stance a hit at home Morocco's biggest European export: people An Indian city holds its French flavor Reporters on the Job What is this? Africa's peace seekers Lebanon's elections Afghanistan's opium war Two Indonesian families rebuild What place for God in Europe? One Baghdad family China's family revolution What is a kidney worth? more projects... Most-viewed stories: (for 09/28/05) 09/28/05 US is logging gains against Al Qaeda in Iraq 09/29/05 Why Iran isn't a global threat 09/28/05 US begins new pitch to Muslim world 09/28/05 Life in the land where filling up an SUV costs $3 09/27/05 Hunters as endangered species? A bid to rebuild ranks. World Terrorism Security posted September 29, 2005 at 11:30 a.m. Venezuela accuses US of 'double standard' on terrorism Charges come after Texas judge blocks extradition of man accused of blowing up a Cuban passenger jet in 1976. By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com Venezuelan officials yesterday accused the US government of being hypocritical after a Texas judge blocked the extradition of terror suspect Luis Posada Carriles. Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said the decision by the judge to block Mr. Posada Carriles's extradiction showed the double standard of the US government's position on terrorism. Posada Carriles is accused of planning the 1976 bombing of a Cuban passenger jet that killed 73 people. The US government is a hypocrite in its fight against terrorism, Rangel told reporters today outside [Venezuela's] congress. The US is manipulating justice. Venezuela formally asked in June that Posada Carriles, who is in US custody on unrelated immigration charges, be extradited. [immigration judge William] Abbott yesterday said there was no guarantee that Posada Carriles wouldn't be tortured if he was sent to Cuba or Venezuela. The Miami Herald reports that Judge William Abbott compared Posada Carriles to a character from a popular spy novel series. In his decision on the case, the judge wrote that Posada was like a character from one of Robert Ludlum's espionage thrillers, with all the plot twists and turns Ludlum is famous for. Abbott issued the ruling just hours after the government rested its case against Posada Monday. The most heinous terrorist or mass murderer would qualify for deferral of removal if he or she could establish . . . the probability of torture in the future. 09/28/05 Spain's 9/11 trial called 'a failure' 09/27/05 Commission: IRA has 'destroyed its weapons' 09/26/05 Britain will scrap and replace police force in Basra Sign up to be notified daily: Find out more. Subscribe via RSS: What is this? The Venezuelan ambassador to the US was particularly upset at the charges Posada Carriles, in his 70s, would be tortured if sent back to stand trial. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which arrested him, was supposed to be arguing for his extradition. But the InterPress Service News Agency reports that Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez said DHS virtually collaborated with Posada Carriles by failing to contest statements by one defense witness that he would be tortured. Other current and former US officials also denounced the judge's decision. It's bad enough when the world knows that we're rendering suspected Islamic terrorists to countries that routinely use terror, said one State Department official. But here we have someone who we know is a terrorist, and it's clear that we're actively protecting him from facing
[CTRL] Bush Boozing
-Caveat Lector- Dangers of a Drunk Dubya By DOUG THOMPSON Sep 23, 2005, 08:39 Email this article Printer friendly page According to the National Enquirer, President George W. Bush, an alcoholic, is drinking again. In normal times, such a story in a tabloid like the Enquirer would be dismissed as just another fantasy for the newspaper that normally devotes its front page to gossip about celebrity divorces. But an America with Bush as President is anything but normal and too many warning signs point to the sad fact that Dubya the drunk is back on the bottle. Plus we reported the same thing in a story about Bushs temper tirades on August 25. Like the President, Im a recovering alcoholic. Unlike him, Ive been sober for 11 years, three months and 16 days. Bush says he quit drinking without help from any organized program. I had a lot of help from family, friends and Alcoholics Anonymous. As an alcoholic, I can say without hesitation that available evidence tells me that Bush is drinking and drinking heavily. The signs have been there for too long. Bush fell off a couch after, his aides say, falling asleep. He has appeared in public with bruises on his face, the kind of injuries a person would suffer from falling in alcohol-impaired conditions. He disappears from public view for extended periods, takes more vacations than other Presidents, has trouble forming words, appears disinterested in public and mangles his sentences. In other appearances he rambles and appears unable to focus. During the Katrina crisis he displayed little emotion or compassion when confronted with the horrors along the Gulf Coast. This web site reported last year that the White House physician had placed the President on anti-depressants. If Bush is mixing alcohol and anti-depressant drugs his judgment which is already suspect is impaired even more. The President all too often is out of control, a White House source tells me. People are afraid to risk his anger by telling him things he does not want to hear. Newsweek magazine reported the same thing last week in their story: How Bush Blew It. The Enquirer interviewed Dr. Justin Frank, a Washington D.C. psychiatrist and author of Bush On The Couch: Inside The Mind Of The President. I do think that Bush is drinking again, Frank said. Alcoholics who are not in any program, like the President, have a hard time when stress gets to be great. I think it's a concern that Bush disappears during times of stress. He spends so much time on his ranch. It's very frightening. Dr. Frank is a highly-respected psychiatrist at George Washington University and his book about the Presidents problems has been praised by other psychiatric experts. We interviewed him last year for the stories about the Presidents deteriorating mental state and his conclusions confirm Bush is losing it. White House aides tell me rumors about the Presidents drinking began circulating last year in the West Wing along with questions about possible abuse of prescription drugs. They report wide mood swings, cancelled meetings and an ever-decreasing number of aides with direct access to Bush. Two questions that the press seems particularly determined to ignore have hung silently in the air since before Bush took office, Dr. Frank told us in August. Is he still drinking? And if not, is he impaired by all the years he did spend drinking? Both questions need to be addressed in any serious assessment of his psychological state. Its scary enough to have a nutcase in the White House. Its even scarier to think that nutcase may be drunk. © Copyright 2005 by Capitol Hill Blue 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] No-Bid Contracts Win Katrina Work
-Caveat Lector- September 12, 2005 POLITICS AND POLICY No-Bid Contracts Win Katrina Work White House Uses Practices Criticized in Iraq Rebuilding For Hurricane-Related Jobs By YOCHI J. DREAZEN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL September 12, 2005; Page A3 WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is importing many of the contracting practices blamed for spending abuses in Iraq as it begins the largest and costliest rebuilding effort in U.S. history. The first large-scale contracts related to Hurricane Katrina, as in Iraq, were awarded without competitive bidding, and using so-called cost-plus provisions that guarantee contractors a certain profit regardless of how much they spend. Contracts for temporary housing have been awarded to politically connected companies like Fluor Corp. and Bechtel National Inc., a unit of Bechtel Group Inc., leading congressional Democrats to renew charges of cronyism they first leveled when the firms won lucrative work in Iraq. 1 See complete coverage2. In response, there have been bipartisan calls in Congress to establish a new government agency to manage the Louisiana rebuilding, and possibly have it run by a prominent figure such as former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani or former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Separately, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) yesterday said she supported the creation of an antifraud commission to oversee government contracts issued in response to the disaster. Some are questioning as well whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency -- which has a small procurement staff responsible for spending a relatively tiny amount of federal money each year -- is capable of effectively disbursing tens of billions of dollars. In Iraq, several audits found that contracting problems were exacerbated by overworked and inexperienced government procurement officers who weren't up to the difficult work they were entrusted to carry out. You can easily compare FEMA's internal resources to what you saw in the early days of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq: a small, underfunded organization taking on a Herculean task under tremendous time pressure, said Steven Schooner, a contracting expert at George Washington University law school in Washington. That is almost by definition a recipe for disaster. FEMA already is under fire for its poor initial response to Katrina. Its chief, Michael Brown, was removed on Friday as head of the direct relief effort. (See related article.3) Officials at the agency, a division of the sprawling Department of Homeland Security, said they are up to the task of ensuring that the money will be spent efficiently. FEMA has extensive experience in acquiring the products and services required to make sure that the support needed in response and recovery operations is secured quickly to meet the needs of disaster victims, said James McIntyre, a spokesman for the agency. In Iraq, audits have uncovered evidence that hundreds of millions of dollars were misspent by some contractors willing to stretch or break rules, while government officials were unwilling or unable to prevent abuses. Government reports have detailed systemic management failings, lax or nonexistent oversight and alleged fraud and embezzlement by officials charged with administering the rebuilding, as well as questionable activities by the contractors they employed. For example, audits have found evidence of procurement officers paying contractors twice for the same work and spending tens of millions of dollars with little to no documentation. Officials from Bechtel and Fluor declined to discuss comparisons between their work in Iraq and the Gulf Coast. Bechtel spokesman Howard Menaker said the company's deal with the government was still being finalized and declined to comment further. A Fluor spokesman referred questions to FEMA. The administration has allocated more than $62 billion to the regions hit by Katrina, and the final price tag is expected to soar to more than $100 billion. Already, at least seven contracts have been awarded for the post-Katrina effort. The Army Corps of Engineers late last week announced a $100 million deal with Shaw Group Inc. of Baton Rouge, La., for relief operations including the pumping of flood water out of New Orleans. Halliburton Co.'s Kellogg, Brown Root unit, also prominent in the Iraq reconstruction effort, is doing repair work at three U.S. Navy facilities in Mississippi as part of an existing Pentagon contract. FEMA, meanwhile, has announced four major contracts with firms charged with providing emergency housing relief in storm-battered areas of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. The $100 million contracts with Bechtel, Fluor, Shaw Group and Denver-based
[CTRL] Bush Buddies Land Fatcat Contracts for Katrina Relief
-Caveat Lector- From Capitol Hill Blue FUBAR Bush Buddies Land Fatcat Contracts for Katrina Relief By Staff and Wire Reports Sep 12, 2005, 06:39 Companies with strong ties to President Bush are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President George W. Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast. One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of Halliburton. Bechtel National Inc., a unit of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp., has also been selected by FEMA to provide short-term housing for people displaced by the hurricane. Bush named Bechtel's CEO to his Export Council and put the former CEO of Bechtel Energy in charge of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Experts say it has been common practice in both Republican and Democratic administrations for policy makers to take lobbying jobs once they leave office, and many of the same companies seeking contracts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have already received billions of dollars for work in Iraq. Halliburton alone has earned more than $9 billion. Pentagon audits released by Democrats in June showed $1.03 billion in questioned costs and $422 million in unsupported costs for Halliburton's work in Iraq. But the web of Bush administration connections is attracting renewed attention from watchdog groups in the post-Katrina reconstruction rush. Congress has already appropriated more than $60 billion in emergency funding as a down payment on recovery efforts projected to cost well over $100 billion. The government has got to stop stacking senior positions with people who are repeatedly cashing in on the public trust in order to further private commercial interests, said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight. Allbaugh formally registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root in February. In lobbying disclosure forms filed with the Senate, Allbaugh said his goal was to educate the congressional and executive branch on defense, disaster relief and homeland security issues affecting Kellogg Brown and Root. Melissa Norcross, a Halliburton spokeswoman, said Allbaugh has not, since he was hired, consulted on any specific contracts that the company is considering pursuing, nor has he been tasked by the company with any lobbying responsibilities. Allbaugh is also a friend of Michael Brown, director of FEMA who was removed as head of Katrina disaster relief and sent back to Washington amid allegations he had padded his resume. A few months after Allbaugh was hired by Halliburton, the company retained another high-level Bush appointee, Kirk Van Tine. Van Tine registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton six months after resigning as deputy transportation secretary, a position he held from December 2003 to December 2004. On Friday, Kellogg Brown Root received $29.8 million in Pentagon contracts to begin rebuilding Navy bases in Louisiana and Mississippi. Norcross said the work was covered under a contract that the company negotiated before Allbaugh was hired. Halliburton continues to be a source of income for Cheney, who served as its chief executive officer from 1995 until 2000 when he joined the Republican ticket for the White House. According to tax filings released in April, Cheney's income included $194,852 in deferred pay from the company, which has also won billion-dollar government contracts in Iraq. Cheney's office said the amount of deferred compensation is fixed and is not affected by Halliburton's current economic performance or earnings. Allbaugh's other major client, Baton Rouge-based Shaw Group, has updated its Web site to say: Hurricane Recovery Projects -- Apply Here! Shaw said on Thursday it has received a $100 million emergency FEMA contract for housing management and construction. Shaw also clinched a $100 million order on Friday from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Shaw Group spokesman Chris Sammons said Allbaugh was providing the company with general consulting on business matters, and would not say whether he played a direct role in any of the Katrina deals. We don't comment on specific consulting activities, he said. © Copyright 2005 Capitol Hill Blue 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
[CTRL] People Die While Bureaucrats Lie
-Caveat Lector- From Capitol Hill Blue FUBAR People Die While Bureaucrats Lie By PERRY BEEMAN Sep 10, 2005, 08:33 Hurricane Katrina presented not only a human tragedy, but also one of the biggest environmental stories of the new millennium. Even after days of criticism that the federal government didn't do enough to help hurricane victims, federal agencies compounded the problem by failing to respond adequately to journalists' environmental questions. The event gave the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a chance to show that it had learned lessons from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when the agency was broadly criticized for withholding information and playing down risks. Instead, EPA appears to have taken the same tight-lipped approach in responding to Katrina, denying the public crucial information collected with taxpayers' money on behalf of taxpayers in the first place. Mark Schleifstein of the New Orleans Times-Picayune was one of the reporters who in 2002 warned of his city's high risk of the type of damage that has now happened. His own home flooded, Schleifstein reported on Katrina even as he moved to higher ground. That work was made much more difficult when EPA largely ignored Schleifstein's requests for detailed information about chemical releases and other environmental problems. Any member of the public, including a journalist, should expect fast action by EPA. This case was particularly troublesome considering Schleifstein has been in high demand for media interviews because of his expertise, and EPA's staff probably was busy re-reading the Times-Picayune's disaster-manual-in-advance, Washing Away. Frustrated, Schleifstein filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act, which sets off a slow process that won't help Americans who need answers now. Seth Borenstein of Knight-Ridder, and others, filed their own FOIA requests. The Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ), a 1,450-member Philadelphia-based professional organization and a leading champion of open records, then sent a letter to EPA and other federal offices demanding quick action on the information requests. That was on Tuesday, Sept. 6. The day after, EPA held a news conference at which little was revealed except that there had been oil and gas releases _ a fact that anyone with a TV could have surmised by watching CNN's tape of the floodwaters, which clearly showed slicks. EPA mentioned high levels of bacteria and some other pollutants, but didn't back the statements up with data. The agency mentioned it had tested for 100 chemical compounds and other pollutants, but didn't release the data. Many journalists didn't learn of the press conference until it was nearly at hand, or already over, due to delays in EPA informing them via email and other means. What we need to know is what exactly is in the water. Which bacteria and how much? Which gasoline and oil constituents and how much? Which carcinogens? Which pathogens? Americans need to know what specific threats exist and what the government is doing about them. They are paying for the raw data, and they deserve to see it. Now. And they should be able to draw their own conclusions from the data, rather than have it filtered by the government. Katrina brought an incredible week of suffering, and it's long from over. People died by the hour. A famous and cherished American city stood flooded, destroyed, silent. Americans across the country paid high gas prices as petroleum products washed down streets once known more for high bar tabs. And as bodies continued to float, as crews pumped what is surely a toxic brew of chemicals and floodwaters into local lakes, journalists and other Americans waited for answers to a whole range of environmental questions. Were the bacteria in the water capable of making people sick? Were chemicals present in concentrations large enough to do harm? What the public got instead of water-sample results were sound bites. EPA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and others have to do a better job of informing the public. SEJ already had supported broad changes in federal Freedom of Information Act to make it easier for Americans to get information _ the whole point of the law. The changes also would punish agencies that play games and insist on secrecy, in some cases arrogantly ignoring legitimate requests for information. Those calls for action take on added weight in light of EPA and CDC's dismal early response to questions. Some questions might not have answers yet_ but merely offering silence, or the next thing to it, is less helpful than explaining why the information isn't available, or when it will be. The agencies simply must do better. Lives may depend on it. (Perry Beeman is president of the Society of Environmental Journalists and an environment writer for The Des Moines Register in Iowa. For
[CTRL] Mick Jagger Sings To W
-Caveat Lector- SWEET NEO CON (M. Jagger/K. Richards) You call yourself a Christian I think that you're a hypocrite You say you are a patriot I think that you're a crock of shit And listen now, the gasoline I drink it every day But it's getting very pricey And who is going to pay How come you're so wrong My sweet neo con Yeah It's liberty for all 'Cause democracy's our style Unless you are against us Then it's prison without trial But one thing that is certain Life is good at Haliburton If you're really so astute You should invest at Brown Root Yeah How come you're so wrong My sweet neo con If you turn out right I'll eat my hat tonight Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah It's getting very scary Yes, I'm frightened out of my wits There's bombers in my bedroom Yeah and it's giving me the shits We must have lots more bases To protect us from our foes Who needs these foolish friendships We're going it alone How come you're so wrong My sweet neo con Where's the money gone In the Pentagon Yeah ha ha ha Yeah, well, well Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah... Neo con 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
Re: [CTRL] What will the commission find?
-Caveat Lector- Ah yes, American cities (and rural areas) are becoming engulfed with poor, uneducated, obese, unskilled millions. Is it a coincidence that the underclass swells along with the millions of illegal immigrants? The Dems and especially Bush have made a conscious decision for corporate welfare permitting corporations to get the benefit of cheap, cheap labor while the taxpayer foots the bills for schools, healthcare, welfare needed by the new underclass of recycled Blacks, Whites and countless millions of illegals. As Pat Buchanan recently demanded- IMPEACH BUSH NOW! flw 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] Iraq Continues To Crumble - US Effort Falters
-Caveat Lector- The Christian Science Monitor World Terrorism Security posted September 9, 2005 at 12:00 p.m. Lack of funds slows Iraqi reconstruction Key projects 'grinding to a halt' as funds diverted to increased security needs. By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com Key reconstruction projects in Iraq are grinding to a halt because of lack of funds. The Guardian reports that this is the word from US officials in Iraq. On Wednesday, they told the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations of Appropriations that plans to overhaul the country's infrastructure have been downsized, postponed or abandoned because the $24 billion that Congress authorized for the task has turned out to be not nearly enbough. Water and sanitation have been particularly badly hit. According to a report published this week by Government Accountability Office, the investigative branch of Congress, $2.6bn has been spent on water projects, half the original budget, after the rest was diverted to security and other uses. The report said 'attacks, threats and intimidation against project contractors and subcontractors' were to blame. A quarter of the $200m-worth of completed US-funded water projects handed over to the Iraqi authorities no longer worked properly because of 'looting, unreliable electricity or inadequate Iraqi staff and supplies,' the report found. Reuters reports that Stuart Bowen, the US special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction, told the House Appropriations Committee that he was hesitant to ask for more money at a time when it was needed so badly for Hurricane Katrina relief. Mr. Bowen said non-US sources might be asked to fill the funding gap. It is an issue that we need to address at the right time, Bowen told Reuters after a hearing of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. In order to complete the plan we initially developed, we'll need more money. Whether that money can come from donor sources, World Bank loans or a supplemental is yet to be decided, said the former White House lawyer, who has traveled to Iraq nine times during the past 18 months. He also said that he is currenting conducting 58 criminal investigations into the misuse of funds in Iraq, although only a handful of companies have been charged so far. The Los Angeles Times [reg. required] reports that members of Congress from both parties are starting to lose patience, and that while Democrats have always been critical of the Bush administration efforts in Iraq, more Republicans are starting to question the effort. It seems sort of almost incomprehensible to me that we haven't been able to do better on restoring power to Iraq, said Rep. Don Sherwood (R-Pa.), who recently visited areas damaged by Katrina. Coming back up through Mississippi and Louisiana after being down on some relief effort, you know, when power shuts down, everything shuts down. Three government reports released in July also said that the US has been able to achive only limited progress in key sectors despite the billions of dollars spend in Iraq. The reports also blamed extra money spent on security as the main reason for the lack of progress. In mid-August Reuters reported that the International Monetary Fund released its first economic review of Iraq in 25 years, and said that insurgent violence had dampened the country's growth prospects and tied up funds meant for reconstruction. 'The lack of a secure environment has [also] impeded the effectiveness of reconstruction spending, with contractors and donors reporting security and insurance outlays in the range of 30-50 percent of total costs,' it said. The Daily Telegraph reports that the Iraqi government may try to expel thousands of heavily armed private security contractors. There are over 25,000 private security guard in Iraq. Most of them are British, American and South African ex-servicemen lured by wages of up to $1000 a day, and they are extremely unpopular with local Iraqis. Adorned in sunglasses and bullet-proof vests, they travel in white four-wheel-drive vehicles with gun barrels protruding from the windows. Many refuse to obey road signs and consider traffic jams a security risk so barge through the lines of vehicles which are often forced to pull over rapidly on to pavements. Their lack of official status has long been a concern and those operating on US department of defence contracts are free from risk of legal penalty under the Iraqi judicial system if they killed anyone in a firefight. But under the new rules confirmed yesterday [Thursday] all such firms will be brought under the authority of the Baghdad government. Meanwhile, USA Today reported Wednesday that August saw one of the highest levels in the past year of attacks on contractors working on US-funded projects. Insurgents killed seven contractors, and injured 11. Sixteen others were suspected or confirmed kidnapped. Almost all of those killed were Iraqis, who
[CTRL] US Court of Appeals Rules: Bush Has Dictatorial Powers
-Caveat Lector- Detention of Enemy Combatant Upheld From Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. -- A federal appeals court today sided with the Bush administration and reversed a judge's order that the government either charge or free dirty bomb suspect Jose Padilla. The three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the president has the authority to detain a U.S. citizen closely associated with al-Qaida. ADVERTISEMENT The exceedingly important question before us is whether the President of the United States possesses the authority to detain militarily a citizen of this country who is closely associated with al Qaeda, an entity with which the United States is at war, Judge Michael Luttig wrote. We conclude that the President does possess such authority. A federal judge in South Carolina had ruled in March that the government cannot hold Padilla indefinitely as an enemy combatant, a designation President Bush gave him in 2002. The government views Padilla as a militant who planned attacks on the United States. Padilla's attorney said his client would probably appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, adding that the 4th Circuit's decision could have grave implications for all Americans. It's a matter of how paranoid you are, Andrew Patel said. What it could mean is that the president conceivably could sign a piece of paper when he has hearsay information that somebody has done something he doesn't like and send them to jail -- without a hearing (or) a trial. The administration has said Padilla, a former Chicago gang member, sought to blow up hotels and apartment buildings in the United States and planned an attack with a dirty bomb radiological device. Padilla was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in 2002 after returning from Pakistan. The federal government has said he was trained in weapons and explosives by members of al-Qaida. Padilla, now in a military prison in Charleston, S.C., has been in custody for more than three years. Padilla, a New York-born convert to Islam, is one of only two U.S. citizens designated as enemy combatants. The second, Louisiana native Yaser Hamdi, was released last October after the Justice Department said he no longer posed a threat to the United States and no longer had any intelligence value. Hamdi, who was captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2001, gave up his American citizenship and returned to his family in Saudi Arabia as a condition of his release. Luttig, who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court, was joined in his opinion by Judges M. Blane Michael and William B. Traxler Jr. 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] Timeline To Disaster
-Caveat Lector- WASHINGTON MONTHLY - http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_09/007023.php A timeline that outlines the fate of both FEMA and flood control projects in New Orleans under the Bush administration. January 2001: Bush appoints Joe Allbaugh, a crony from Texas, as head of FEMA. Allbaugh has no previous experience in disaster management. April 2001: Budget Director Mitch Daniels announces the Bush administration's goal of privatizing much of FEMA's work. In May, Allbaugh confirms that FEMA will be downsized: Many are concerned that federal disaster assistance may have evolved into both an oversized entitlement program. . . he said. Expectations of when the federal government should be involved and the degree of involvement may have ballooned beyond what is an appropriate level. 2001: FEMA designates a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the three likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country. December 2002: After less than two years at FEMA, Allbaugh announces he is leaving to start up a consulting firm that advises companies seeking to do business in Iraq. He is succeeded by his deputy, Michael Brown, who, like Allbaugh, has no previous experience in disaster management. March 2003: FEMA is downgraded from a cabinet level position and folded into the Department of Homeland Security. Its mission is refocused on fighting acts of terrorism. 2003: Under its new organization chart within DHS, FEMA's preparation and planning functions are reassigned to a new Office of Preparedness and Response. FEMA will henceforth focus only on response and recovery. Summer 2004: FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster mitigation funding requests. Says Jefferson Parish flood zone manager Tom Rodrigue: You would think we would get maximum consideration. . . This is what the grant program called for. We were more than qualified for it. June 2004: The Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee construction in New Orleans is slashed. Jefferson Parish emergency management chiefs Walter Maestri comments: It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay. June 2005: Funding for the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cut by a record $71.2 million. One of the hardest-hit areas is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes. August 2005: While New Orleans is undergoing a slow motion catastrophe, Bush mugs for the cameras, cuts a cake for John McCain, plays the guitar for Mark Wills, delivers an address about V-J day, and continues with his vacation. When he finally gets around to acknowledging the scope of the unfolding disaster, he delivers only a photo op on Air Force One and a flat, defensive, laundry list speech in the Rose Garden. 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] Israeli Army Still Using Human Shields
-Caveat Lector- w w w . h a a r e t z . c o m -- Last update - 01:13 04/09/2005 IDF still uses human shields, in violation of High Court ruling By Arnon Regular The Israel Defense Forces is still using Palestinians as human shields, in defiance of a High Court of Justice ruling forbiding the practice, Haaretz has learned. An IDF force broke into Mahmoud Rajabi's home in the Jabel Johar neighborhood in eastern Hebron at about 4 A.M. last Wednesday and forced three brothers to serve as human shields. Some 15 soldiers, armed with rifles, machine guns and observation equipment, took over the fourth-floor apartment where the 16 members of the Rajabi family live, at least half of them minors. The family consists of Rajabi and his wife, their children and his son Nabil and his children. Family members said the soldiers ordered most of them to leave, but held three of Rajabi's sons - Nabil, 30, Raja'ai, 19 and Najah, 13 - captive in the apartment. The three were used as human shields during the soldiers' stay, against their will. The soldiers wouldn't tell them how long the operation would last or how long they intended to remain in their home. The remaining family members went to other apartments in the building, which is owned by Rajabi. At first, the IDF spokesman denied that the three brothers were being held against their will and said they could leave whenever they wanted. But the force's commander told Haaretz that they were holding the three until the operation ended. Apparently unaware of the IDF's obligation under the High Court decision not to use civilians as human shields, Liron said it was normal procedure intended to protect his soldiers' lives. He was also unaware of the IDF Spokesman's denial that the three were being held until the end of the operation. The commander said that he and the troops were using the family members to prevent stone throwing and bomb hurling at the soldiers in the house. He confirmed three men were being held inside the apartment but said, We are treating them very well here, not at all like enemies. They know we're not here to harm them. Asked if he knew of the High Court ruling prohibiting the use of civilians as human shields, he said, I don't know of any violation of the law. I'm ready to do anything to protect my soldiers. What would happen if while I left the building my deputy was attacked with stones or a bomb? Asked what he would do if anyone did the same to his family, the commander said, You're going into politics now, and I don't deal with politics. Nabil Rajabi said, The soldiers entered the building without showing any order or telling us why they were breaking in. They ordered the others to leave and told us to stay with them. We had to be with them all the time. The soldiers left the family's home before dawn on Friday. The IDF has said in the past that it obeys the court ruling and denied that such means are still in use. The Rajabis' lawyer, Laviv Haviv, sent a letter to the Judea and Samaria district attorney demanding the brothers be released. This patently illegal act constitutes a severe infringement of the Rajabi family's rights and dignity, after they were driven out of their apartment, he wrote. The IDF spokesman said, Every year starting the first day of Elul (Monday), there are 20 days, on 10 of which only Jews are permitted to pray in the Cave of the Patriarchs [in Hebron]. On the other 10 days, only Muslims are permitted to pray in the cave. The IDF has been preparing to safeguard the Jewish and Muslim services in the cave, when many worshippers arrive to pray. As part of the deployment, the troops took over commanding positions on rooftops, and in some cases reinforced the troops. In one of the buildings that was taken over, the commander kept some of the civilians at home. This is in violation of procedures and will be thoroughly investigated with all appropriate seriousness. The IDF is doing all it can to enable both religions' ritual freedom and allocates numerous forces to preserve the worshippers' security and enforce law and order during the events. -- /hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=620507 close window 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
