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December 7, 2006
The Writing on the Wall Series #52: Time to Speak Out And Take Action
Hello everyone
For once, and this is the very first time I do this here, I wish to express myself on something that concerns all my fellow Québécois and Canadians on this list. This is about the victory of Stéphane Dion this past Saturday as the new head of the Liberal Party of Canada, a man who is most likely to win the next federal election and thus become Prime Minister of Canada.
Being a former elected member of the national executive committee of the Green Party of Quebec, then, editor hired by the Parti Québécois to write a 20 page document detailing their environmental platform, and to produce a video on sustainable development featuring Pauline Marois and Jacques Parizeau, former Prime Minister of Quebec, and having also been actively involved in Quebec as an environmentalist and pacifist in the 80's while being also supportive for a time of the movement for the independence of Quebec, I have a keen interest in politics. So to make a long story short, it is with a good dose of suspicion that I've always viewed the Liberal Party for which I never voted - the Green Party of Canada had my vote in the last federal elections. Watching on TV Saturday how Stéphane Dion, the underdog in this race, succeeded in clinching victory despite all odds against him, I was curious to find out more about him and his ideas. He has often taken a very clear stand in support of sustainable development and for the Kyoto Accord (on which Canada reneged under Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper!) and appears to be sincerely concerned about our national and global environmental future and dedicated to steer Canada's policies so that we may all make a significant contribution towards helping humanity reconciles itself with nature, as he puts it.
So naturally, I went to his website to find out more about his ideas and policies. There is a segment of his site with a good number of short video clips in which he talks about himself, how he came to politics (very reluctantly!) and what his ideas and goals are. I watched them all - that is, the French version at http://stephanedion.ca/?q=fr/Conversation since he is much more fluent in French than in English - and I must say I was quite literally stunned to discover in him someone who shares many of the same views and ideals as I have, and who can rightfully claim to be experienced enough and to have what it takes to help achieve some very significant positive changes across Canada, and to thus renew the role of our country as a leader on the world stage for sustainable development, peace and global harmony.
Therefore, for the first time in my life, I will vote for the Liberal Party in the next federal election. Despite the pro-war, pro-Bush policies and dismal environmental record of the Conservative Party of Stephen Harper currently governing Canada, I sincerely feel that with Stéphane Dion, there is now some real "sustainable" hope for the future of this country. If you want to discover for yourself what I'm talking about, visit his site at http://stephanedion.ca and recommend others to do likewise and support him whichever way you can.
There is always hope!...
Jean Hudon
Earth Rainbow Network Coordinator
http://www.earthrainbownetwork.com
Avis à tous les abonnés francophones : Vous pouvez télécharger gratuitement pour une période de temps limitée la traduction française du premier livre de Matthieu en cliquant sur ce lien.
Notice to all French-speaking subscribers: For a limited period, you can download for free the French translation of Matthew's first book through clicking on this link.
REMINDER: A new Meditation Focus will be issued this coming Saturday night as usual and will address the need for true lasting Peace in the entire Middle East, with a prime focus on Iraq and Palestine.
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P.P.S. After viewing the following video, I launched into a big stirring rant which I recommend to your attention below - Pass this on!
Global Dimming-49 min Video-BBC Investigates PORTENTOUS DISCOVERY SPELLING DISASTER!
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15809.htm
This is a film that demands action. It reveals that we may have grossly underestimated the speed at which our climate is changing. At its heart is a deadly new phenomenon. One that until very recently scientists refused to believe even existed. Click here to watch. Video and transcript. But it may already have led to the starvation of millions. Tonight Horizon examines for the first time the power of what scientists are calling Global Dimming. NOTE from Jean: In a nutshell, in the past 30 years the global amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth has greatly diminished because of all the air pollution we create and yet the Earth has not cooled because of the greenhouse effect that counters it. In addition, the evaporation rate of water went down worldwide despite the global temperatures going up, because photons from sunlight is what mainly creates evaporation - less sunlight, less evaporation. Global dimming is caused by the fact that dirty air containing lots more man-produced soot and ash particles fosters the increase of tiny water droplets in clouds - forming around these particles - thus increasing considerably the reflectivity of clouds to sunlight, which leads to global dimming and to major changes in the rain patterns which, in turn, has been responsible for the monsoon rain failures and for catastrophic famines in Africa. The real concern though is what will happen if we massively reduce the soot from the burning of fossil fuels of all kinds? The Earth's temperature will then quickly shoot up to unpredictable levels and we will all be toast! The proof of it... When air traffic came to a halt for 3 days over America after 9-11, the entire sky over the US quickly cleared of all jet contrails and the continental temperature range increased by over 1 degree Celsius in ONLY 3 days! Imagine what it will be when we globally clear our skies from air pollution, as we must do, if we don't also massively reduce greenhouse causing pollution and accumulated greenhouse gases already in the air?... If you factor what the elimination of global dimming means in the prediction models of future global climate temperature increases, the temperature is then set to increase twice faster, to 10 degrees warmer in a mere century from now, spelling super biblical-size global catastrophes. By then, 10,000 billion tons of methane, a greenhouse gas 8 times stronger than carbon dioxide, now frozen at the bottom of the ocean and being de-stabilized by warming, will have been released and it will be too late to stop the disaster. Over half the Earth could become uninhabitable... The Kyoto Protocol is a mere drop in the ocean of what needs to be done... The time to STOP the burning of oil, coal and gas is NOW. The time to change massively our way of life is NOW. It is already too late to prevent some real nasty climate change to occur. At best, we can mitigate the imminent massive consequences by acting NOW. One way or another, change is inevitable. We don't have a spare planet. Are you, are we going to take this seriously? Imagine if the United States, culpable of 25% of all greenhouse gases, did not have an ignorant, stubborn, oil-corrupted president like George W Bush, but instead a more enlightened one like Al Gore, taking a leading role to combat global warming, investing massively into existing clean energy sources (NOT ethanol!!), asking every US citizen for major sacrifices as the US did during World War II, and propelling the planet towards a safer future, with every other country following in its wake?... The World Can't Wait!...
Watch also...
Are We Changing Planet Earth - BBC Documentary - Runtime 59 Minutes
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15818.htm
David Attenborough explores just how much climate change is altering our planet. He looks ahead to find out what needs to be done to save Planet Earth from the worst impact of global warming and discovers what could happen to the planet once a 'tipping point' of carbon emissions is reached. He also discusses the solutions we can all adopt to prevent catastrophic change.
THE QUOTES
"To step back just a bit, last year was pivotal in loosening the deepest roots of the darkness; your year that is ending has been a time of exposing those roots; and 2007 will bring about the changes that the exposure set in motion. By now, “news watchers” who “follow the dots” can see that this has been happening and rightly expect it to continue. As the light has brought developments into wider public view, even news gatherers and reporters are putting increasing pressure on main steam media to relate happenings accurately. That influence and philosophies are changing is especially obvious in the United States, despite the election aftermath where the “system” showed its true colors—the majority in both major parties follows the Illuminati agenda—and much more is fomenting. You will see that recently elected leaders whom some have labeled “leftists” came in because of the higher energies prevailing, and others labeled “rightists” will be eased or forced out—this also is on the way but more slowly where despotic regimes still hold sway. In summary, justness and wisdom is coming to governments globally because the light is reaching the populace who fervently desire this and thus are manifesting it, and ones in leadership positions from communities upward to nations will respond because of their own increased light or they will be replaced by lighted souls. In like manner, all unjust laws, policies and practices at all levels will be replaced with fairness regulating governing. (...) The non-Christian world, particularly in the Mideast, wonders how the Christian world can celebrate so festively and generously with each other while endorsing war and knowing that billions of their fellow humankind are deprived of even subsistence living: Hypocrisy, apathy and lavish spending to “show love” are not the teachings of the Christed soul whose birth is commemorated on Christmas day. People in war zones are living in fear, and there is anguish in families whose members are in combat, prisons, distant hospitals, or their whereabouts are unknown. Parents who cannot meet basic expenses are feeling more desperate because of their children’s disappointment that there cannot be presents for them, and the numbers of homeless in the midst of others’ wealth are growing. Holidays are especially nostalgic times, and for those whose beloved people have passed on, fresh or lingering grief is compounded by the flurry of exhilaration around them. Thus this season is one of highly mixed emotions, and Earth pauses to absorb them all. We want you to be joy-filled always, not only in times of celebration! That is why our prayer for your world is that thankfulness for the abundant blessings of the universe and love and respect for all life everywhere will accompany your enjoyment of traditional celebrations. Hold in your hearts our eternal inseparable closeness in LOVE, the essence and the power of the Oneness."
- Matthew, through his mother Suzanne Ward - Taken from his latest December 5 message available at http://www.matthewbooks.com/mm/anmviewer.asp?a=65&z=2 and which covers the following topics: "True NESARA explanation; soul-to-consciousness communication; developing discernment; soul contracts, primary missions; dreams; animal souls; current world update; summary of previously covered information; question guideline; Christmastime’s highly mixed emotions."
"There is a tremendously powerful acquisitive and materialistic collective thought-form hovering in the ethers around us, and part of our joy and inner work as bringers of Light into this world is to counter that thought-form with compassion, opening our hearts and giving freely to those around us in need of uplifting. (...) Because the message of this time of year is to look inside ourselves, see where the love which lights our path does dwell within, look for the one Pure motivating impulse within us to love life, to love our neighbors, our families our very existence here on the planet, no matter their political persuasion or religious practice. For the true message of Christmas is to honor the Christ impulse within us all, the motive for Peace, for Self Love & for Universal Love. Many great spiritual leaders have spoken of this throughout all of human history."
- Curtis Lang and Jane Sherry -- Taken from their excellent Advent Newsletter (Dec 1)
"The cultivation of generosity is the beginning of spiritual awakening. Generosity has tremendous force because it arises from an inner quality of letting go. Being able to let go, to give up, to renounce, and to give generously all spring from the same source, and when we practice generosity, dana, we open up these qualities within ourselves. Letting go gives us profound freedom and many loving ways to express that freedom. Generosity is the beginning of the path. When the Buddha taught, he always began with generosity. (...) The Buddha said that a true spiritual life is not possible without a generous heart. Generosity is the very first parami, or quality of an awakened mind. The path begins there because of the joy that arises from a generous heart. Pure unhindered delight flows freely when we practice generosity. We experience joy in forming the intention to give, in the actual act of giving, and in recollecting the fact that we’ve given."
- Sharon Salzberg -- Taken from Generosity's Perfection
"We would get a genocide. We would get a Rwanda. We could get a terrible situation if the four million people who are in need of humanitarian assistance in Darfur (are) joined by a million people in Chad and another million in northern Central African Republic. That's six million people in a totally hopeless situation."
- Jan Egeland -- taken from U.N. chief: Darfur is in 'free fall' below
CONTENTS
1. Message from St. Germain
2. Open Letter to Jean Hudon (rerun)
3. Message of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the American People
4. A Sparkling Bubble - Avnery reading the Olmert speech
5. A “Grand Settlement” Versus the Jewish Lobby
6. HENRY KISSINGER... CHILD OF BABYLON
7. Depleted Uranium Situation Worsens
8. Say Hello to the Goodbye Weapon
9. Torture Inc. Americas Brutal Prisons
10. U.N. chief: Darfur is in 'free fall'
11. Interview with 3-Star General on UFOs
12. Earth Changes & Solutions
13. You get the Popcorn... Loads of 911 videos to watch!
14. EPA poised to "regulate" colloidal silver off the market
15. The Discovery of DNA Variability, Holographic Blueprints, and The Symphony of Life
WORTHY OF YOUR ATTENTION
Sleeper Cell: American Terror Trailer http://grouper.com/video/MediaDetails.aspx?id=1612332
NOTE: This is what part of the US population psyche is being filled with this December...
1787 Of The Best Documentaries On Earth
http://Documentaries.net
Prepared and recommended by "Mark R. Elsis" mark@lovearth.net">
The most important image taken by man so far.
http://dailyvideo.googlepages.com/hubble-deep-field
This is a link to a Six minute video from the Hubble telescope. Turn on your sound.
The Sirian Revelations - Channeled Teachings for the Awakening of Earth
http://www.sirianrevelations.net
Powerful material on the Earth and our solar system's ascension!
Accelerating human awareness as we prepare for ascension of our sun, our earth and ourselves, lightbearers from the ascended Sirian star, Satais, are committed to helping us achieve the awakening of our light bodies, activation of our dormant DNA strands and a greater understanding of what we can expect as we approach the ascension vortex of our passage into the fourth dimension. They provide the Awakening with a greater understanding of the forces behind the global conspiracy to keep us from realizing our starseed legacy: to assist in the re-birthing of Planet Earth, bring the light of truth to those who are still huddled in the darkness and assist those who intend to serve as healers and guides of the ascension, during the great transformation of all life in our quadrant of the three-dimensional galaxy. CLIP Check also the Sirian Seal offered, a Starseed Tool of Transition at http://www.sirianrevelations.net/the_sirian_seal.shtml and read the reviews (testimonials) from people using it. if you feel you need such a tool, this one looks like a powerful one... Of course, I've not tested it myself but there is a eerie sense of déjà vu to it and it looks oddly similar to the celestial glyphs' geometry we've seen in the UK over the years.
David Blaine's Bubble Bursts (May 9, 2006)
http://cache-origin.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,18980,00.html
The world record that David Blaine wanted--Longest Breath Held Underwater--didn't fall to the stunt man Monday night. Blaine, tired, achy and wrinkly from a seven-day, seven-night stay in a water-filled acrylic ball in Manhattan, held his breath for seven minutes, eight seconds, before divers, responding to an all-hands-on-deck bubbles alert, returned the endurance artist to dry land. Upon resurfacing, a shirtless Blaine shivered, sucked up a bag of oxygen and cried as he thanked the supportive crowd outside Lincoln Center. Though shaky on his feet, it was considered an accomplishment that he was on his feet--he even took some wobbly steps with the help of his handlers. CLIP Pictures of this stunt at http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2006/05/01/the_david_blain.php and http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2006/05/08/blaine.php and see a description of all his amazing feats of endurance at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Blaine and an article with pictures of his latest stunt, Gyroscope, last November 19, 2006
http://www.malibu.in/2006/random/david-blaine-and-his-gyroscope-stunt-in-new-york/
Pyramids were built with concrete rather than rocks, scientists claim
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2480751,00.html?pasta
Method used only at higher levels - Blocks set using a limestone slurry. The Ancient Egyptians built their great Pyramids by pouring concrete into blocks high on the site rather than hauling up giant stones, according to a new Franco-American study.
You've got to find what you love [by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs] (2005-06-15)
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. This is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. I was lucky - I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Note: The full speech (available at the link above) is highly inspiring. For some excellent ideas on how to find what you love and develop the courage to follow your heart and intuition, go at http://www.weboflove.org/lifepurposeintentions - See our collection of inspirational resources at http://www.WantToKnow.info/inspirational - Recommended by Fred Burks fredburks@earthlink.net"> in his latest post (on behalf of the Want To Know team) Highly Inspiring News Articles From Our New Database Give Hope and Encouragement available at http://www.WantToKnow.info/061203inspiringdatabase
"Energy from the Vacuum" DVD just released
http://www.energyfromthevacuum.com
Exquisitely filmed by Oscar-nominated Director William Gazecki in widescreen format with two cameras, and working with a six-figure budget, this tells the story of this ultimate source of energy as it has never been told before. For over two hours, Tom Bearden, John Bedini, Walter Rosenthal and Peter Lindemann D.Sc. walk us through the science and the history of this "field that is not a field," going back to the 1800's. And Tom gives us some fascinating glimpses into how he got started on this life-long research quest, plus tells us everything we ever wanted to know about his Patented Motionless Electromagnetic Generator (the MEG). Recommended by Anthony Craddock ANTHONYCRADDOCK@cox.net">
AMAZINGLY DIVERSE AND RICH LINK PAGE
http://www.futurehi.net/links.html
Message from Aaron Russo aftfnetwork@gmail.com">
America: Freedom To Fascism (AFTF) just rocketed solidly back into Google Video's "Top 100" at # 33 yesterday. Some 500,000+ viewings of AFTF have now been logged throughout the world. Please keep this upward pressure going by sharing the AFTF Google Video viewing link with as many of your family and friends as possible:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4312730277175242198
In addition to giving AFTF DVDs as gifts - http://www.freedomtofascism.com/ - I would like to encourage everyone to spread the message of freedom and liberty during the holidays screening AFTF at house parties.
ALSO RECOMMENDED
Rumsfeld successor: 'We're not winning war' (Dec 6)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1964974,00.html
· Gates stuns Congress with sharp change of tone· Attack on Iran 'could be devastating for US' - The man picked by President Bush to run the Pentagon admitted yesterday that the US was not winning the war in Iraq and warned that an attack on Iran could backfire with devastating consequences. Robert Gates's sombre and candid assessment stunned Congress, marking a sharp break with his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, who played down the severity of any problems, was dismissive of criticism, and took a much harder line against Iraq's neighbours.The change in tone came at a critical moment, with the US at a crossroads following the Democratic election victory, the resignations of two leading administration hawks, Donald Rumsfeld and John Bolton, and at a time when Washington is in the midst of a fundamental rethink of military strategy. A much-anticipated report from a bipartisan commission, the Iraq Study Group (ISG) will be published today, setting the agenda for that policy review. It is expected to recommend a diplomatic overture to Syria and Iran and a significant reconfiguration of the US's military presence in Iraq. (...) He made it clear that such a conflagration would be accelerated if the US attacked Iran, as some Washington hawks have suggested, as a means of setting back Iran's nuclear programme."I think that we have seen, in Iraq, that once war is unleashed it becomes unpredictable," he said. In particular, Mr Gates said Iran could strike back by closing off the Gulf to oil shipments, letting loose terrorist attacks in the Middle East, Europe and the US, possibly providing chemical or biological weapons to terrorist groups, and targeting US forces in Iraq.He said an attack on Syria might not provoke as lethal a backlash, but he added "it would have dramatic consequences for us throughout the Middle East in terms of our relationships with a wide range of countries in that area". (...) Democrats declared themselves relieved at Mr Gates's candour and he is expected to be confirmed easily and quickly by the Senate, allowing him to take over from Mr Rumsfeld in a few weeks.There were signs yesterday that the US military had begun implementing changes the ISG is expected to recommend. Thousands of combat troops have been pulled back from urban patrols and reassigned as advisers to help train the Iraqi army.
Iraq Panel: War a Catastrophe, Pullout by '08
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120606A.shtml
The Iraq Study Group reports that circumstances in Iraq are "grave and deteriorating," with a potential government collapse and a "humanitarian catastrophe" if the US does not change course and seek a broader diplomatic solution to the problems that have wracked the country since the US invaded, according to a bipartisan panel that sent its findings to President Bush and Congress today.
Iraq: One by One, They Tell the Truth
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120606C.shtml
"As Tony Blair flies out to meet George Bush, the latest admission of failure in Iraq has made the two leaders appear even more isolated." The editors of the Independent wonder when they will join the others who are telling the truth about Iraq.
Iraq war costs could top $1 trillion
http://tinyurl.com/yazlrb
The Democratic co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group said on Wednesday that America's ability to resolve the crisis in Iraq is narrowing and the costs could rise to more than $1 trillion
Full Text: Iraq Study Group Report: [PDF]
http://www.videos1.informationclearinghouse.info/pdf/ISG.pdf
"We do not recommend a stay-the-course solution; in our opinion, that approach is no longer viable." James A. Baker III, co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group.
New Pelosi Appointee Wants More Troops In Iraq
http://www.kxmb.com/getARticle.asp?ArticleId=74004
Rep. Silvestre Reyes, the soon-to-be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said he wants to see an increase of 20,000 to 30,000 U.S. troops as part of a stepped up effort to ?dismantle the militias.?
The Myth of More
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120606F.shtml
Michael Schwartz describes the Myth of More: "Almost without exception, whatever proposals are being raised about changing Iraq policy avoid mentioning, or explicitly reject, the idea that the United States should abandon its three-year-old attempt to occupy Iraq and actually withdraw its troops. Instead, each new suggestion or set of recommendations calls for the United States to do not less, but a whole lot more of something that is already a part of existing policy."
Widespread Corruption in Iraq Costs Taxpayers $4 Billion a Year
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120206Z.shtml
The Iraqi government is in danger of being brought down by the wholesale smuggling of the nation's oil and other forms of corruption that together represent a "second insurgency", according to a senior US official. Stuart Bowen, who has been in charge of auditing Iraq's faltering reconstruction since 2004, said corruption had reached such levels that it threatened the survival of the state.
Annan Calls Iraq a Civil War; 9 US Troops Killed, 50 Iraqi Bodies Found
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406J.shtml
Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary general, said Sunday that Iraq had descended into a civil war that was even deadlier and more anarchic than the 15-year sectarian bloodshed that tore apart Lebanon. "When we had the strife in Lebanon and other places, we called that a civil war; this is much worse," Mr. Annan said in an interview with the BBC. On Monday, 50 bodies had been found in Baghdad and nine US soldiers had been killed.
Warning Over Spiraling Iraq Refugee Crisis (07 December 2006)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1966333,00.html
The surging violence in Iraq has created what is becoming the biggest refugee crisis in the world, a humanitarian group said today. A report (pdf) by Washington-based Refugees International said an influx of Iraqis threatened to overwhelm other Middle Eastern countries, particularly Syria, Jordon and Lebanon. Last month, the UN estimated that 100,000 people were fleeing the country each month, with the number of Iraqis now living in other Arab countries standing at 1.8 million. Today's report came as George Bush and Tony Blair were due to discuss the situation in Iraq, which the bipartisan Iraq Study Group yesterday described as "grave and deteriorating". Refugees International said the acceleration in the numbers fleeing Iraq meant it could soon overtake the refugee crisis in Darfur. "We're not saying it's the largest [refugee crisis], but it's quickly becoming the largest," spokeswoman Kristele Younes said. "The numbers are very, very scary." CLIP
S. Korea presents Iraq troop pullout plan to U.S.
http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20061205/410100000020061205102713E1.html
South Korea has notified the United States of its plan to draw up a timetable for withdrawing all of its troops from Iraq next year, military sources said Tuesday.
Nearly as Many Contractors as Soldiers in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506A.shtml
There are about 100,000 government contractors operating in Iraq, not counting subcontractors, a total that is approaching the size of the US military force there, according to the military's first census of the growing population of civilians operating in the battlefield.
Killing Without Conscience : Iraq - The Hidden War (05/29/06 - Run Time 49 Minutes) http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13420.htm
How our news is sanatized to prevent the destruction and suffering created by the U.S. occupation of Iraq from entering our reality. Channel 4 Investigates.
No More Victims! Video Runtime 15 Minutes
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15820.htm
Its time we did something to help repair the broken bodies of children who have been injured by U.S. bombs and bullets. Our government has spent hundreds of billions to destroy Iraq and hundreds of thousands of children have been injured. No More Victims works to find medical sponsorships for war-injured Iraqi children and to forge ties between the children, their families and communities in the United States. We believe one of the most effective means of combating militarism is to focus on direct relief to its victims.Please visit No More Victims so that we may help as many injured Iraqi children as possible.
Has He Started Talking to the Walls?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306A.shtml
"It turns out we've been reading the wrong Bob Woodward book to understand what's going on with President Bush," says Frank Rich. "The text we should be consulting instead is 'The Final Days,' the Woodward-Bernstein account of Richard Nixon talking to the portraits on the White House walls while Watergate demolished his presidency. As Mr. Bush has ricocheted from Vietnam to Latvia to Jordan in recent weeks, we've witnessed the troubling behavior of a president who isn't merely in a state of denial but is completely untethered from reality. It's not that he can't handle the truth about Iraq. He doesn't know what the truth is."
Is President Bush Sane? (12/02/06)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15799.htm
Tens of millions of Americans want President George W. Bush to be impeached for the lies and deceit he used to launch an illegal war and for violating his oath of office to uphold the US Constitution. Millions of other Americans want Bush turned over to the war crimes tribunal at the Hague. The true fate that awaits Bush is psychiatric incarceration. The president of the United States is so deep into denial that he is no longer among the sane. Delusion still rules Bush three weeks after the American people repudiated him and his catastrophic war in elections that delivered both House and Senate to the Democrats in the hope that control over Congress would give the opposition party the strength to oppose the mad occupant of the White House. On November 28 Bush insisted that US troops would not be withdrawn from Iraq until he had completed his mission of building a stable Iraqi democracy capable of spreading democratic change in the Middle East. Bush made this astonishing statement the day after NBC News, a major television network, declared Iraq to be in the midst of a civil war, a judgment with which former Secretary of State Colin Powell concurs. The same day that Bush reaffirmed his commitment to building a stable Iraqi democracy, a secret US Marine Corps intelligence report was leaked. According to the Washington Post, the report concludes: “the social and political situation has deteriorated to a point that US and Iraqi troops are no longer capable of militarily defeating the insurgency in al-Anbar province.” (...) Bush has destroyed the entire social, political, and economic fabric of Iraq. Saddam Hussein sat on the lid of Pandora’s Box of sectarian antagonisms, but Bush has opened the lid. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed as “collateral damage” in Bush’s war to bring “stable democracy” to Iraq. Tens of thousands of Iraqi children have been orphaned and maimed. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have fled their country. The Middle East is aflame with hatred of America, and the ground is shaking under the feet of American puppet governments in the Middle East. US casualties (killed and wounded) number 25,000. And Bush has not had enough! What better proof of Bush’s insanity could there be?
Honesty in Iraq (Dec 7)
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120706N.shtml
(...) The media's new notion that Bush is losing his sanity reflects more the media's developing its sanity than Bush losing anything. He is intent on staying in Iraq forever and lying about anything he has to lie about to do so. This has been clear for years. That journalists are surprised by it now suggests the degree to which the American media, not Bush, is out of touch with the reality of Iraq. How often do we hear the voices of Iraqis in American journalism? How many of us know their stories? We've killed 650,000 of them, measured as "excess deaths" above the level of deaths our sanctions were causing each year before the war. Since the spring of 2004, most Iraqis have viewed America as their primary enemy. But what do we know about their lives? The United States has for three years now been building permanent military bases all over Iraq. How present are these bases in the thinking of members of the US media? How out of touch are we with that reality? Bush strikes me as completely in touch with it. (...) Back in reality, we should recognize that Nuremberg's condemnation of aggressive war was not a legal theory but a description of facts. Following the Holocaust, the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg called the waging of aggressive war "essentially an evil thing ... to initiate a war of aggression ... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." When you attack another nation, you predictably do not just attack it. You also almost certainly engage in a number of specific war crimes: you attack civilians, target ambulances, hospitals, and journalists, use forbidden weapons, detain, torture, murder, spy, rape, steal, and destroy. You do these things because they follow from the logic of war. You avoid them not through competence or sanity but by refraining from launching aggressive wars.
Congress Must Insist Bush Isn't Above Law
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120606J.shtml
Jesse Jackson begins: "Should President Bush be impeached? The very idea seems extreme, if not loony. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has explicitly ruled impeachment off the Democratic majority's agenda. But activists and legal scholars are organizing to pressure Democrats to begin impeachment hearings. And the incoming chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers, has issued two remarkable studies on abuses of presidential authority, raising the question of impeachable offenses."
Fine Print in Defense Bill Opens Door to Martial Law (12/06/06)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15821.htm
It’s amazing what you can find if you turn over a few rocks in the anti-terrorism legislation Congress approved during the election season.Take, for example, the John W. Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2006, named for the longtime Armed Services Committee chairman from Virginia. Signed by President Bush on Oct. 17, the law (PL 109-364) has a provocative provision called “Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies.”The thrust of it seems to be about giving the federal government a far stronger hand in coordinating responses to Katrina-like disasters. But on closer inspection, its language also alters the two-centuries-old Insurrection Act, which Congress passed in 1807 to limit the president’s power to deploy troops within the United States.That law has long allowed the president to mobilize troops only “to suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.” But the amended law takes the cuffs off. Specifically, the new language adds “natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident” to the list of conditions permitting the President to take over local authority — particularly “if domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of maintaining public order.”Since the administration broadened what constitutes “conspiracy” in its definition of enemy combatants — anyone who “has purposely and materially supported hostilities against the United States,” in the language of the Military Commissions Act (PL 109-366) — critics say it’s a formula for executive branch mischief. Yet despite such a radical turn, the new law garnered little dissent, or even attention, on the Hill. CLIP
The Taliban Gets Closer to Kabul
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,452290,00.html
A report from the German military, the Bundeswehr, warns that the Taliban is approaching Kabul and that attacks on the capital city are likely to increase. Security in nearby districts is already deteriorating.
Extra firepower called for to rescue Nato from quagmire (December 7, 2006)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1966000,00.html
News that the Iraq study group recommends a fresh injection of US combat troops for Afghanistan will come as sweet relief to embattled Nato commanders.Once the White House's proudest foreign policy success, Afghanistan is slowly starting to resemble the sort of quagmire the US is struggling to escape in Iraq.This year's dramatic Taliban resurgence has seen record numbers of suicide attacks and roadside bombs, a booming drugs trade and almost 4,000 deaths including 190 foreign soldiers.While the US provides about half of the 40,000 outside troops in Afghanistan, the Iraq study group highlights a glaring fact facing soldiers on the ground - it is not enough. It says: "The huge focus of US political, military, and economic support has necessarily diverted attention from Afghanistan. We must not lose sight of the importance of the situation inside Afghanistan and the renewed threat posed by the Taliban. (...) Analysts say US failure to send sufficient troops to Afghanistan in late 2001 was a blunder. "American policymakers ... misjudged their own capacity to carry out major strategic change on the cheap," said Barnett Rubin, an Afghanistan expert, in a recent report.Instead the US military relied on alliances with friendly warlords to exert control and help in the hunt for al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives. But as the US moved its military and intelligence assets out of Afghanistan in preparation for the invasion of Iraq, the same warlords were already undermining the democracy that George Bush wanted to nurture.The warlords built drug empires, engaged in widespread corruption and undermined the president, Hamid Karzai. The Taliban skilfully exploited the situation this year through intimidation and propaganda aimed at largely illiterate southern Pashtuns.US soldiers on the ground are reportedly angry that they botched an opportunity to destroy al-Qaida and hunt for Osama bin Laden in favour of a doomed adventure in Iraq.
The Housing Crash Recession of 2007
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506S.shtml
"As we approach the end of 2006, the economy's prospects for next year appear more gloomy with each new piece of economic data," says Dean Baker. "And, just like President Bush in his assessment of the situation in Iraq, the economic forecasters are gradually revising their forecasts downward, as it no longer appears credible to present the rosy pictures that they had been trying to sell. The trouble began early in the year, when the housing boom that was supposed to continue forever turned into a housing bust."
Plunging dollar will set world markets reeling (12/03/06)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15798.htm
"The Observer" - The slowdown in the US economy, which has sent the dollar into free fall over the past fortnight, will have devastating knock-on effects in markets around the world, analysts warn. As the US slows, and consumers in the world's biggest economy feel the buying power of the dollar in their pocket declining, global growth will be hit hard, economists say. The greenback took yet another turn for the worse on Friday, after a survey of the US manufacturing sector showed output declining for the first time in more than three years. Wall Street is now betting that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will slash interest rates to stave off a recession. The dollar ended the week at $1.98 against the pound, and $1.32 to the euro, but analysts say there is further weakness to come. 'I think the dollar's going to hell in a handbag,' said David Bloom, currency strategist at HSBC. 'Some analysts have argued that a more balanced global economy, with strong growth in Asia and Europe, means the impact of a US slowdown will be limited; but Stephen Roach, chief economist at Morgan Stanley, believes China - and in turn the rest of Asia - will follow.'America is China's largest export market, accounting for 21 per cent of its total exports over the past five years,' he said, adding that economies such as Japan,Korea and Taiwan, which export directly to the US but also sell components to China that are assembled before being sent on to the US, will be hit.Eurozone finance ministers have expressed alarm at the strength of the euro against the dollar, fearing that their exporters will suffer; but the European Central Bank is expected to push up interest rates by another quarter-point on Thursday, as it frets about inflation. CLIP
Death Knell of the US Dollar (November 26, 2006)
http://www.clivemaund.com/article.php?art_id=1212
The dollar plunged with startling ferocity late last week, driven by heavy selling. This was very bearish action that signals panic, and the probable onset of a severe downtrend. A break below the crucial support at 80 on the dollar index is expected to mark the transition from a clandestine unloading of dollar assets to an all-out stampede to “get what you can for them” before it’s too late.The conditions leading to an inevitable dollar panic sell-off did not come about overnight. They are the result of years of abuse, principally by the Federal Reserve of the US, which has created a veritable blizzard of dollars, and the universal acceptance of this “funny money” has, up until now, allowed the United States to freeload economically on the rest of the world, living way beyond its means. The exponential growth in dollars has been and is created electronically at the touch of a button, so that paying for anything is never a problem, whatever you want you simply print the extra money to pay for. Because foreigners have so far played along with this game, they are now widely, and to some extent understandably, regarded as stupid. However, it is a dangerous mistake to underestimate the mental capacities of other peoples. The Chinese, in particular, have an ancient and deep culture, and when it comes to strategic considerations, can outthink - and outflank virtually anyone. So what’s going on? - why have they accepted a mountain of paper and IOU’s over many years in exchange for real hard work and a vast quantity of real tangible products? The Chinese, and others, have done this to carry them over a bringing period during which they have built up their economies and infrastructure. Their goal - which they are fast moving towards - is to arrive at the point where there is sufficient domestic and regional demand that they no longer need to rely on orders from countries like the United States. At this point - which we may arrive at sooner rather than later - things will become very dangerous for the US dollar, and the situation is actually far worse than many now believe, because the Chinese and others are preparing to WRITE OFF THEIR DOLLAR ASSETS AS A BAD LOSS - they will try to get what they can for them, of course, but otherwise will be ready to fall back on domestic and regional demand and tough it out, thus severing the umbilical with the United States, which will be left stranded, with no takers for its funny money, a gutted manufacturing base, astronomic debts and fiscal chaos, and a huge military it can no longer afford to service. When the forces of globalization are let loose, as they have been, this is actually a natural and inevitable process, as orders and work simply move to the lowest bidders. Europe and the United States are uncompetitive and will be sidelined by the powerhouse economies of China and South East Asia. The Chinese and other trading partners with the US are already rotating out of dollars and into Dinars, Euros, commodities generally and Precious Metals at an ever increasing pace. As we already know, this has been a primary driver for the commodities boom. The recent attempt by the United States to maintain its dominance by brute force - a big reason why Iraq was invaded was that it was planning to sell its oil in Euros - is right now, quite literally, running into the sand, and it is now only a question of when, not if, the helicopters arrive on the rooftops to evacuate the last of the embattled US service personnel, like in the film “The Killing Fields”, although a last wildly dangerous attack on Iran still cannot be ruled out. CLIP
James K Galbraith: The dollar melts as Iraq burns
http://tinyurl.com/uvlzk
The demise of the dollar has clear links to the Iraq war and the world's loss of confidence in America's elites.
Richest 2 Percent Own Half the Wealth (05 December 2006)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6211250.stm
The richest 2% of adults in the world own more than half of all household wealth, according to a new study by a United Nations research institute. The report, from the World Institute for Development Economics Research at the UN University, says that the poorer half of the world's population own barely 1% of global wealth. There have of course been many studies of worldwide inequality. But what is new about this report, the authors say, is its coverage. It deals with all countries in the world - either actual data or estimates based on statistical analysis - and it deals with wealth, where most previous research has looked at income. What they mean by wealth in this study is what people own, less what they owe - their debts. The assets include land, buildings, animals and financial assets. Different Assets The analysis shows, as have many other less comprehensive studies, striking divergences in wealth between countries. Wealth is heavily concentrated in North America, Europe and some countries in the Asia Pacific region, such as Japan and Australia. These countries account for 90% of household wealth. The study also finds that inequality is sharper in wealth than in annual income. CLIP
Richest tenth own 85% of world's assets
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2488836,00.html
In terms of wealth distribution the US was among the most unequal, whereas Japan had one of the lowest levels of inequality.
Billionaires rule US richest list
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5369460.stm
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett take the top places... again For the first time, the richest 400 tycoons in the US all have a personal wealth of at least $1bn (£526m), Forbes magazine has reported. Microsoft boss Bill Gates kept top spot for a 13th consecutive year with investment guru-turned-philanthropist Warren Buffett in second place. Casino and hotel owner Sheldon Adelson has leapt from 15th to third ranking. The rich list as a whole is worth $1.25 trillion, compared with $1.13 trillion a year ago, Forbes said. Four of the top 10 came from the Wal-Mart owning Walton family. THE TOP FIVE Bill Gates - $53bn Warren Buffett - $46bn Sheldon Adelson - $20.5bn Larry Ellison - $19.6bn Paul Allen - $16bn Source: Forbes Mr Adelson's surge in fortune comes largely from a decision to open a casino in Macau, a pennisula off south-eastern China renowned for its gambling. Forbes estimates that Mr Adelson has been earning about $1m an hour for the past two years.Two of the other biggest earners were the founders of search engine Google. Apple Computers chief executive Steve Jobs was 49th on the list, with $4.9bn. California is home to 90 of the 400 on the list, while another 44 live in New York.
Why We Fight (Revisited) IMPORTANT ARTICLE - MUST READ!
http://tinyurl.com/y34rto
(...) Mayer founded the Rothschild Dynasty of successive generations of male heirs which carried on the Rothschild agenda, described in the Protocols to the Learned Members of the Elders of Zion (world rule through endless debt and continuous war). Today the Dynasty is an invisible colossus of incalculable wealth and power (the "string theory" of modern politics and economics), boasting, "We have taken hold of the ends of the springs which move their social mechanism. We have got our hands into the administration of the law, into the conduct of elections, into the press, into liberty of the person, but principally into education and training as being the cornerstones of a free existence." (cf. Protocols). (...) We are constantly assured that we are a free people. And so we are--about as free as Pavlov's dogs. The most powerful force in America is the mass media: movies, television, national newspapers and magazines, and book publishing and retailing. World Zionism owns and controls every bit of it and filters everything through a pro-Zionist and pro-Capitalist screen (cf. Protocols). It conditions the mind of America for their myths and lies. It keeps Zionist interests in the forefront of American consciousness. It determines political, social and moral values. It can destroy any official, even the president (Nixon) or a senator (Hart); independent candidates are eliminated (Romney or Perot). The spirit of the American people has been undermined through constant broadcasts of fear and terrorism and made submissive to Washington. And Washington is ruled by ruthless and fanatical traitors. The Geneva Convention is abrogated. Their armies perpetrate even more horrific "war crimes" than were prosecuted at Nuremburg. Their loyalty is not to the American Constitution or to the American people but to an alien power. Their brutal massacre of the children at Waco is a continuing warning that the American people must at all times genuflect to World Zionism. As Benjamin Freedman said, "Zionists rule these United States...as the absolute monarch of this country." Let US never forget Rachel Corrie.
We must stand up to Washington and demand that it:
Wage war only for "the common Defense of the United States";
Guarantee full employment for all citizens (not endless war);
Dismantle the arsenal of World Capitalism and World Zionism and eliminate poverty in America;
Assure minorities a place in government according to their proportion of the society;
Close the Federal Reserve and restore its debt and responsibilities to Congress and the Treasury;
Impose an annual tax of fifty percent of all personal wealth, income and property in excess of Five Millions (two percent of the people have more than all the rest);
Ban the separate taxation of wages (tax income per the 16th Amendment);
Prohibit all taxation of subsistence incomes, wages and necessaries;
Socialize/regulate banking, insurance and financial markets (end inflation and speculation);
Socialize/regulate human necessaries, food, housing, health care, education, energy and natural resources;
Eliminate private money and programmable machines from elections;
Establish term limits for all public officials including judges; the greater the power, the shorter the term;
Call for a new and modern Constitution, specifying the rights of the people and the powers of government.
Al-Jazeera And The Truth (12/06/06)
http://tinyurl.com/wpvez
Al-Jazeera, the Arab television network that the Bush administration hates so passionately, has launched its English-language service but is, of course, having trouble finding an American cable or satellite system willing to carry it.The British Broadcasting Corp. had a man watch the first day's broadcast (it's being distributed in Europe) and gave it a rave review: accurate, but grim.Since American politicians have involved us so deeply in the Middle East, the American public is entitled to see the truth of what's going on over there. The public can't get that from American television, which sanitizes its reports. Al-Jazeera shows you the grim reality. When the Israelis kill children, they show you the bodies and the weeping mothers. They show you all the ugly truth about Israeli and American policies and actions in the Middle East. They show you what war looks like.So you don't need an electronic bug in the offices of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee to know that AIPAC and the Bush administration are putting pressure on the distributors to shun Al-Jazeera. Denying Americans their First Amendment right to the truth, in regard to Israel, is always Job One with AIPAC. That is necessary because the truth about Israel's actions toward the Palestinians and other Arab countries puts the lie to all of the Zionist propaganda.Even before the recent massacre of an extended family asleep in its home by Israeli tank fire, the Israelis had killed 57 unarmed children in their current Gaza attacks. That number comes from Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper that publishes an English-language edition on the Internet. I heartily recommend it, because Israeli newspapers, unlike American newspapers, are not afraid to criticize the Israeli government. CLIP
Security of Electronic Voting Is Condemned by Federal Agency
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120106Z.shtml
Paperless electronic voting machines used throughout the Washington region and much of the country "cannot be made secure," according to draft recommendations issued this week by a federal agency that advises the US Election Assistance Commission. The assessment by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, one of the government's premier research centers, is the most sweeping condemnation of such voting systems by a federal agency.
What's Wrong With My Voting Machine?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506H.shtml
Adam Cohen writes: "To the long list of recent Election Day horrors, from butterfly ballots to six-hour lines, add 'vote flipping.'"
Think Globally, Protect the Vote Locally
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120206E.shtml
Paul Rogat Loeb writes: "Just as local cities have adopted environmental and wage laws that exceed federal standards, maybe it's time for local initiatives protecting the sanctity of the vote. We've been seeing electoral abuses and manipulations since the Bush administration took power. So we need to ensure the Democrats make national electoral protection a priority. But we can also act on a local level."
Panel Rejects Paper Trail Requirement for Voting Machines
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506O.shtml
A federal advisory panel on Monday rejected a recommendation that states use only voting machines that produced results that could be independently verified.
Democrats Who Opposed War Move Into Key Positions
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406D.shtml
With the Democrats taking over control of the House next January, the views that some voiced during two days of debate four years ago are worth recalling, since many of those lawmakers will move into positions of power. They include not only members of the new House leadership but also the incoming chairmen of the Appropriations, Armed Services, Budget and Judiciary committees and the Select Committee on Intelligence.
Bush Administration Faulted for FEMA Aid Shortfalls
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306X.shtml
In denouncing the way the Bush administration has denied aid to tens of thousands of victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a federal judge in Washington last week pulled back the curtain on a deeper mystery 15 months after the nation's costliest natural disaster: What has happened to 2.6 million households that applied for disaster assistance but have been largely shed from the rolls?
Boeing: Accused of Running Torture Travel Agency
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120206C.shtml
Since 2003, human-rights investigators and news media reports have described a Boeing Business Jet as one of the most-dreaded planes in the Central Intelligence Agency's clandestine air force. The modified 737 - a model rolled out in Renton in 2001 - was built for executive fun and comfort. But it is alleged to be the flagship of the CIA's "extreme rendition" squadron, ferrying suspected terrorists to secret agency prisons or countries where the US is said to outsource torture.
Video Is a Window Into Jose Padilla's Isolation
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15808.htm
Lawyers for Mr. Padilla, 36, suggest that he is unfit to stand trial. They argue that he has been so damaged by his interrogations and prolonged isolation that he suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and is unable to assist in his own defense. His interrogations, they say, included hooding, stress positions, assaults, threats of imminent execution and the administration of "truth serums."
Becoming What We Despise
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120606E.shtml
Robert Scheer writes: "Jose Padilla, a US citizen, has been tortured by his own government for the better part of three and one-half years, suffering years of systematic sensory deprivation documented in his attorneys' filings and supported by photos of the prisoner published this week by the New York Times. In that time, Padilla, who has been judged by professionals as mentally ill as a consequence of his brutal treatment, has been denied his Constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial and was permitted no legal representation for 21 months."
The U.S. Has a History of Using Torture
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15806.htm
This (new) legislation has effectively legalized the CIA's right to use methods that the international community, embodied in the Red Cross and the UN Human Rights Committee, considers psychological torture. MUCH MORE ON TORTURE BELOW IN ITEM #9 TORTURE inc.
U.S. Rates Travelers for Terror Risk
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15789.htm
Without their knowledge, millions of Americans and foreigners crossing U.S. borders in the past four years have been assigned scores generated by U.S. government computers rating the risk that the travelers are terrorists or criminals. The travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk assessments, which the government intends to keep on file for 40 years.
Chavez Claims Victory in Venezuela
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406O.shtml
President Hugo Chavez won re-election by a wide margin Sunday, which allows him six more years to redistribute Venezuela's vast oil wealth to the poor and press his campaign to counter US influence in Latin America and beyond.
Bush May Open the Nation's Largest Fishery to Oil Development
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/120106EA.shtml
"According to a number of separate sources, President Bush plans to rescind a ban on oil and gas drilling in the fragile, salmon-rich waters of Bristol Bay. The decision coincides with plans by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) to open almost 50 percent of Alaska's outer continental shelf to the oil industry," writes Elise Wolf.
Sri Lanka's Silenced Constituency
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120406T.shtml
"Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse has returned home after a five-day visit to India. And an end to the island's internal conflict has been put off indefinitely after four years of much-advertised, internationally mediated efforts to solve the problem. The Ceasefire Agreement of 2002, reduced to a scrap of paper quite some time ago, now lies in total shreds. The country faces the prospect of a freshly aggravated conflict - one that has not only turned thousands of the minority Tamils into refugees or roofless survivors in their ravaged region but also proven cripplingly costly for the Sinhala majority," says J. Sri Raman.
FDA rejects new limits on mercury in vaccines
October 24, 2006, MSNBC/Associated Press
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15405274/
Federal health officials won't put new restrictions on the use of a mercury-based preservative in vaccines and other medicines. A group called the Coalition for Mercury-free Drugs petitioned the Food and Drug Administration in 2004 seeking the restrictions on thimerosal, citing concerns that the preservative is linked to autism. The FDA rejected the petition. Thimerosal, about 50 percent mercury by weight, has been used since the 1930s to kill microbes in vaccines. There have been suspicions that thimerosal causes autism. However, studies that tracked thousands of children consistently have found no association between the brain disorder and the mercury-based preservative. Critics contend the studies are flawed. Since 2001, all vaccines given to children 6 and younger have been either thi! merosal-free or contained only trace amounts of the preservative. Thimerosal has been phased out of some, but not all, adult vaccines as well. Most doses of the flu vaccine still contain thimerosal. There also are minute amounts of mercury, as thimerosal or phenylmercuric acetate, in roughly 45 eye ointments, nasal sprays and nasal solutions, the FDA said. Note: Why are they still using mercury in flu shots when it is not necessary? Heavy metals are well known to be toxic to the human body. The studies mentioned above are almost entirely funded by pharmaceutical interests and government bodies working with them. For lots more on this major cover-up, click here. MORE SUCH NEWS SUMMARIES BY FRED BURKS THROUGH http://www.WantToKnow.info/061206newsarticles
Ayahuasca and Human Destiny (April 26, 2006)
http://www.futurehi.net/archives/000815.html
(...) Partly as a result of our collective efforts, over the last few decades ayahuasca has become one of the most thoroughly studied of the traditional shamanic plant hallucinogens. We now have a firm understanding of the plant species that are utilized in its preparation, including the diverse pharmacopoeia of ayahuasca admixture plants, a shamanic technology unto itself that begs additional investigation. We understand the chemistry of the active constituents of its primary botanical components, and have better insight into its remarkable synergistic pharmacology.We have identified potential therapeutic applications for ayahuasca and the role that it may some day find in healing the physical and spiritual wounds of individuals, if it is ever afforded its rightful place in medical practice. Ethnographically, my colleagues and I have made contributions to an understanding of the central role that ayahuasca already has in the context of Amazonian shamanism and ethnomedicine. We have described, and written about, its status as a window into the sacred cosmology of magic, witchcraft, transcendent experience, and healing that permeates and defines the practices of Mestizo ethnomedicine. The visionary paintings of Peruvian shaman and artist Pablo Amaringo, brought so beautifully to the attention of the world by Dr. Luis Eduardo Luna, has helped to make that tradition accessible to many who would otherwise have seen it (if they were aware of it at all) as alien, exotic, and incomprehensible. To an extent, our work has shed some small light on the more contemporary role of ayahuasca as the sacramental vehicle of syncretic religious movements that originated in Brasil and now are reaching out globally, if incrementally, to embrace a sick and wounded world that desperately yearns for the healing that this mind/body/spirit medicine can offer. CLIP - Recommended by EdElkin@aol.com
Sex Abuse of Girls Is Stubborn Scourge in Africa
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/120106WA.shtml
Even as this region races to adopt many of the developed world's norms for children, including universal education and limits on child labor, one problem - child sexual abuse - remains stubbornly resistant to change.
World AIDS Day: The Fight Turns 25
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120106P.shtml
HIV has killed 25 million people and infected 40 million since the first case was identified. Rates of HIV infection continue to grow, with 4 million new cases worldwide every year. The battle is waged even in countries that were previously models of control.
Doomed by Politics, and by Ourselves
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120506N.shtml
"As things stand," writes Dave Lindorff, "we have an ignorant president who openly scoffs at the whole idea of global warming, and who is actively working to block even small efforts to combat it."
EPA May Drop Lead Air Pollution Limits
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120706P.shtml
The Bush administration is considering doing away with health standards that cut lead from gasoline, widely regarded as one of the nation's biggest clean-air accomplishments.
Alps Warmest in 1,300 Years as "Winter" Sets In
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/120606EA.shtml
It is warmer in Europe's Alpine region now than at any time in the past 1,300 years, the head of a wide-ranging climate survey said on Tuesday.
‘Cattle cause most global warming’ (NOV 30, 2006)
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=147739
NEW YORK: Who is contributing most to global warming? Dumb cattle and not emissions from factories and power plants, says the United Nations. The increasing world population, a new UN report warns, would lead to further increase in the number of livestock as demand for meat and milk increases and that would mean emission of more greenhouse gases. Not only that. Cattle are also a major contributor to land degradation and pollution of water, the report says. The livestock business, the report says, is among the most damaging sectors to the earth's increasingly scarce water resources, contributing among other things to water pollution from animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and the pesticides used to spray feed crops. Stressing that cattle-rearing generates more global warming greenhouse gases as measured in carbon dioxide equivalent, the UN has called for improved animal diets to reduce enteric fermentation and consequent methane emissions. Beyond improving animal diets, proposed remedies to the multiple problems include soil conservation methods together with controlled livestock exclusion from sensitive areas; setting up biogas plant initiatives to recycle manure; improving efficiency of irrigation systems; and introducing full-cost pricing for water together with taxes to discourage large-scale livestock concentration close to cities. "Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems," senior UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) official Henning Steinfeld said on Wednesday. Cattle-rearing is also a major source of land and water degradation, says a new report released by FAO of which Steinfeld is senior author.
Search for Crops That Can Survive Global Warming
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/120506EC.shtml
Urgent action is needed to make sure a warming climate doesn't slash crop yields, heighten the risk of famine and deepen poverty for the world's most vulnerable, international experts said on Monday. "Climate change is not just in the future. It's happening now," said Cynthia Rosenzweig, a NASA scientist and co-chair of an international panel on climate change.
Brazil Creates Largest Tropical Rainforest Preserve
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/120606EB.shtml
Brazil created the world's largest tropical rainforest preserve Monday in a section of the Amazon scarred by illegal logging and decades of violence between loggers, ranchers, conservationists and land rights activists. The preserve covers more than 58,000 square miles - an area larger than England.
Why bonobos make love, not war (November 30, 2006)
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/mg19225801.900-why-bonobos-make-love-not-war.html
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the most volatile and hostile countries on the planet, yet its dark interior is home to a group of pacifists who look like refugees from the Summer of Love.Pygmy chimps or bonobos are both literally and metaphorically our kissing cousins. If you know them at all, it is probably as the most highly sexed of all the apes, but they are also considered by many to be our closest living relative - closer even than the common chimp.Bonobos seem to live by the principle "make love, not war". They are very docile towards one another, never aggressive or murderous, and possess many of the psychological traits we value most, including altruism, compassion, empathy, kindness, patience and sensitivity. How did they get to be so nice? Think of it this way. Somewhere between 6 and 8 million years ago, our ancestors split from the line that would become today's two species of chimps. Then around 2.5 million years ago, bonobos and common chimpanzees went their separate ways. Today our human world is characterised by war, oppression and terror. Common chimps also have a reputation for aggression and bloodshed. And then you have the bonobos. Which poses a few questions. How come they have taken such a different evolutionary path? Can they teach us to be more tolerant?What would it take to turn on our inner bonobo? CLIP - Read the rest at http://www.psybertron.org/?p=1350
Water flowed 'recently' on Mars (Dec 6, 2006)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6214834.stm
Nasa says it has found "compelling" evidence that liquid water flowed recently on the surface of Mars.The finding adds further weight to the idea that Mars might harbour the right conditions for life.The appearance of gullies, revealed in orbital images from a Nasa probe, suggests that water could have flowed on the surface in the last few years. CLIP
The Discovery of DNA Variability, Holographic Blueprints, and The Symphony of Life
http://www.newstarget.com/z021175.html
Announced with great fanfare in late November, 2006, scientists have discovered that human DNA is far more variable than previously thought. Contrary to previous beliefs, as much as 10 percent of human genes vary wildly from one person to the next. The mainstream press is hailing the discovery and some sort of breakthrough that will shed light on so-called "incurable" diseases and give researchers the ability to create more targeted medicines. (There's always a pro-Pharma slant in the mainstream media isn't there?) In reality, this new DNA discovery explains why most pharmaceuticals don't work for most people. More importantly, this discovery humbles us, and shows us that even our top scientists know less about human DNA than they once thought. Researching DNA is a lot like researching astronomy: the more we learn, the less we realize we know. It's as if every newly discovered fact unveils the existence of ten new questions we never knew existed. (...) If you look at the composition of cells in the typical human body, and you start counting them all, you realize that most of the cells in the typical human body are not human. Read that again, if you need to. It's a shocking statement, but it's entirely true. The vast majority of cells contained in the human body are bacteria cells -- about 100 trillion of them for a typical human being. In other words, when you walk around, most of the cells you're carrying with you are not even you. The importance of this is in understanding that the human organism does not exist in isolation to the world around it. Regardless of what we believe, we are all closer to nature than we think. In fact, we are literally living with nature inside us, permeating our cells and accounting for more of us than us ourselves. CLIP
Omega-News Collection 1. December 2006
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/3013824/
CORRECTION
Re: "Willie Nelson" lyrics quoted in my last compilation - this was sent by E X livetrii@yahoo.com">: "I recognized those lyrics -- and that's actually a song by David Rovics, not Willie Nelson! Along with Nelson, Rovics is one of America's great living activist folk singers. Two links showing that the song "Who Will Tell The People?" is by Rovics: http://www.soundclick.com/pro/view/01/default.cfm?bandid=111310&songid=759111&content=song
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/06/01/28_who.html
Also his website is http://davidrovics.com/ & includes lots of free music!!"
1.
From: http://www.treeofthegoldenlight.com/First_Contact/mike_quinsey/channeled%20messages/November2006/MQ_11_29_06St.Germain.htm
Message from St. Germain 29-November-2006
As we look at you all and register your level of consciousness, we find a beautiful blossoming of a new awareness that is going to carry you forward to victory. One that has already established the Light upon Earth in all its glorious power to speed up the changes. One that is manifesting the very opportunities that are needed to remove what was once the stranglehold of the dark.
Never again in the remaining years before Ascension shall the dark dictate the course of Humanity. Instead the path has been clearly defined by the Light of millions of souls, who have risen up out of their slumbers and forgetfulness. They have recognised their true selves and purpose for being here in these momentous times.
Now many walk their lives in one big prayer desiring what is best for all others. They see where upliftment is necessary, and their joy is to hold the vision of what would achieve it. This is attracting the energies for change into action, and with the speeding up of the vibrations the new reality is forming. Your success can be measured by the more subdued actions of the dark. Your Light is taking away their power, although they still harbour dreams of achieving their plan.
The Light has amazingly grown in such a comparatively short time, and continues to gain strength. More souls are awakening and recognising their true ability to mould the future, and so it shall continue at even faster rates. This is what we anticipated, and it has given us the authority to assist you in even more meaningful ways than previously. We can respond to your positive prayers for help, and this is what we have always encouraged you to do.
Working with the Light has required a great deal of faith on your part, as the results often take time to manifest. Progress cannot always be measured in ways that are necessarily apparent to you. However, now look around you and you will surely realise how much has changed since the Millennium. It was the time during which people were released from the fears of Armageddon, and similar prophesies that were expected to take place. Instead, you raised your consciousness sufficiently that you overcame such dire probabilities.
It was the turning point in your lifetimes, not without a little help from Beings of the Higher Realms. However, it was your impetus and desire for change that gave us the authority to do so. Man has never felt too comfortable or assured that his prayers are answered. This is partially explained by the idea that God will respond exactly in the measure to which your request is made. You will find that the most successful prayers are those for the good of all, although it does not preclude those for self. The energies you create by sending out your thoughts, are drawn together through the Law of Attraction creating a greater thought form. Therefore those that reflect the desires of the majority of the people are those that will have the greater chance of manifesting.
We in the Higher Realms “hear” your prayers and are bound to respond to them, but there is a measure concerning the timing as to when it is made. We have to consider the overall picture, and you must bear in mind that the dark also have a place in it. Our input is to add further power to the thought form, and it is done in such a way that changes are achieved more often in a gentle and peaceful way. Even so, the Lords of Karma decide when a major change can take place, as it must be in accordance with the greater plan.
On the face of it, it would seem to many that there is no plan at all. Chaos appears to rule and to a degree that is also true. However, what is not readily understood or seen is the outworking of the Light. It is subtle and effective without drawing attention to itself, because it works by transmuting the dark energies. As this happens, so the balance moves towards the Light that we can truly say is in its ascendancy.
Many tune in to the Akashic Records and register the possibilities for change. Hence, you are finding more predictions are in evidence, as the changes become that much nearer to manifesting. Be aware however that the Earth is in a continual state of flux, and although the goal may be constant the manner in which you reach it has many possibilities. In particular, do not hold too rigidly onto dates that may be given but see them as a measure of how near events are to manifesting.
You cannot be denied the coming period of joy and happiness. The peace you seek will come and seem unbelievable after the many lives you have experienced in times of confrontation and war. The collapse of the great civilisations of Atlantis and Lemuria left you to pick up the pieces, and ever since you have been fighting to lift yourselves up out of the lower vibrations. The lowest point has since been reached, but now your resolve to move out of them has gained you the opportunity to leave them behind once and for all.
What you are achieving right now is all credit to you who toil upon Earth. There is a determination and dedication that is born out of millennia of challenges, where your will has been forged in the fires of hell. Hell in this context is not some condition that exists off Earth, but is the very state created on it by mankind. Now proudly shine your Light to open up your path to Ascension, as it is the right time to leave duality behind.
I am St. Germain and stand at the helm of your ship, guiding you to the Promised Land. The Golden Age awaits your presence with all its promise of a land of milk and honey. A fairy tale existence where all is in absolute harmony and balance, and where happiness and beauty go hand in hand. Your journeys and experiences in duality will have proved well worthwhile, and the prize is the realisation of your true Self, in everlasting Love and Light.
Thank you St. Germain.
Mike Quinsey.
2.
LOOKING IN THE REAR-VIEW MIRROR... ONE CAN SOMETIME SEE INTERESTING THINGS...
From: http://expatsagainstbush.typepad.com/norway/2004/02/open_letter_to_.html
Also archived at http://www.earthrainbownetwork.com/Archives2004/TurningTide14.htm
February 04, 2004
Open Letter to Jean Hudon of Earth Rainbow Network :
Dear Jean,
I haven't written to you in a long while now, but I think of you often. Each week, those of us on your list all receive a mailing or two from you. Each mailing can easily turn into a couple of hours' worth (at least) of reading and discovering. Each week you confront the darkest and deepest issues of power, greed and corruption on this planet. Alternatively, you cheer us up and inspire us with news of progress and works of beauty from around the world.
How do you do it? How do you not give way to probably quite valid concerns for personal health and well-being or recrimination from the powers that be and still continue to address what needs to be addressed with such courage? What personally gives you the knowledge and inspiration, day after day?
The reason I ask is this- I have run up against my own issues in this matter. I write a weblog for the Norway Chapter of Expats Against Bush.
Before I post each entry, I wind up doing battle with those parts of me that would dearly love me to be a wimp- that encourage me to become invisible, blend in and "keep a low profile", or to simply "ride this out". After all, these voices seem to say, it would be so much easier not to rock the boat. After all, they point out, I've had a hard life. Besides, who will listen to me, anyway? "IF YOU SAY NOTHING, NOTHING CAN HURT YOU" they scream at me at the height of my self-doubt. I am just an ordinary person, after all. I can be squashed like a bug by the Evil Empire.
By simply disagreeing with George Bush and his politics, I may already be on some "No Fly" list, even though I have done nothing. I may never be able to go back to the US again. I may never be able to visit my children, friends, and other members of my family again. Simply because I choose the freedom to dissent and to do it out loud, and furthermore, because I believe in the Constitution of my country and the Bill of Rights and I think they should be defended. With all this at stake, why do I continue?
Simply because the place I keep coming to in the end is this: If I say nothing, I will have failed to be all of who I am. I will have failed to speak out for the truth as I see it, I will have failed to confront darkness, wrong-doing and gross usurpation of power. I will have failed to do my part to make this world a better place.
And I say this, Jean- that knowing you are out there and speaking truth to power helps incredibly. You are an inspiration- you and others like Boudewijn Wegerif of What Matters and William Rivers Pitt of TruthOut.org.
And if we all of us stand together and speak out- if we all continue our work in the face of inner and outer fears- if we all simply do the footwork at hand, then the odds are greatly in our favor for Spirit to accomplish miracles through all of us and we WILL see a world of beauty; a world of abundance, and of freedom and justice for all.
Merci Beaucoup, mon ami!
Harmony
Posted by Harmony Kieding on February 04, 2004
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Dearest Harmony
I'm so glad you had the courage to raise outright this issue of fear which is a the very root of the most formidable challenge all Life throughout the universe must face - fear of dying, fear of suffering, fear of lack, fear of others, fear of aloneness and even fear of being afraid. This is the one cause of so much that goes wrong when an individual spark of consciousness loses touch with the inner Reality of Oneness and Goodness that pervades all Creation. As I could see from exploring your eclectic and most interesting website, this is also a recurring theme for you to ponder and evolve from:
"The second promise to myself arose when I realized that, on Planet Earth, the condition of Fear runs rampant. Whole lives are imprisoned by it, and people held hostage. Racism flourishes on it; blackmailers apparently make quite a living out of "threatening to tell". Threatening to tell what, I ask. People and society are quite good at leaping to conclusions and passing judgments anyway. So where was I. Just about every time I have given in to my fears and reacted out of them I have regretted it. So why live a life that's controlled by them?"
- Taken from http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/7076/harmony.html
To me, it seems you have acquired over the years quite a bit of mastery over this interesting true-mettle-tester and I'm sure all people reading this also had at some point in their lives to deal with fear and its infinitely numerous and all-too-often disempowering consequences.
The fact is I had to confront the very same experience of doubt and fear the day I first received in 1981 from my divine Self the initial burst of inspiration that led to the writing in long-hand of my first "inspired" text called "The Time is Now". After putting it all down on paper I had then to decide what to do with it. Was I going to have the guts to make copies of it and offer it to others or was I to sit on it and never let anyone else the chance of also feeling the energetic impulse and unique signature that came through me at this moment of creation? Obviously, I chose like you to not allow fear to interfere and went ahead, translated it in English, made 500 copies of each and mailed it to all those I could identify as potentially interested. From that moment on, I never turned back and although my inner faith was repeatedly tested in relation to numerous contentious issues, I always continued to this day to follow and trust what guides me from within, and I've never come to regret this initial decision. Actually, it has been a most enjoyable ride and I feel a deep sense of achievement, usefulness in service to the Light, and experience spiritual rewards beyond anything I could initially have foreseen.
So I guess what I'm saying is that it pays off mightily to follow one's inner guiding still small voice within and to affirm as best as we possibly can, no matter our human frailties and perceived inability, the ever expanding expression of innate perfection we are when attuned as One with the Source of All That Is. In so doing, as you indicated, hundreds, thousands, millions of other souls are gradually likewise empowered to express their unique and irreplaceable contribution to global awakening and universal "enlovening".
And to quote you again, because you expressed it so clearly: "And if we, all of us, stand together and speak out - if we all continue our work in the face of inner and outer fears - if we all simply do the footwork at hand, then the odds are greatly in our favor for Spirit to accomplish miracles through all of us and we WILL see a world of beauty, a world of abundance, and of freedom and justice for all."
Love and Light shall prevail... eternally!
Jean
Posted by: Jean Hudon - February 07, 2004
3.
From: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15770.htm
Message of H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
To the American People
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
O, Almighty God, bestow upon humanity the perfect human being promised to all by You, and make us among his followers.
Noble Americans,
Were we not faced with the activities of the US administration in this part of the world and the negative ramifications of those activities on the daily lives of our peoples, coupled with the many wars and calamities caused by the US administration as well as the tragic consequences of US interference in other countries;
Were the American people not God-fearing, truth-loving, and justice-seeking, while the US administration actively conceals the truth and impedes any objective portrayal of current realities;
And if we did not share a common responsibility to promote and protect freedom and human dignity and integrity;
Then, there would have been little urgency to have a dialogue with you.
While Divine providence has placed Iran and the United States geographically far apart, we should be cognizant that human values and our common human spirit, which proclaim the dignity and exalted worth of all human beings, have brought our two great nations of Iran and the United States closer together.
Both our nations are God-fearing, truth-loving and justice-seeking, and both seek dignity, respect and perfection.
Both greatly value and readily embrace the promotion of human ideals such as compassion, empathy, respect for the rights of human beings, securing justice and equity, and defending the innocent and the weak against oppressors and bullies.
We are all inclined towards the good, and towards extending a helping hand to one another, particularly to those in need.
We all deplore injustice, the trampling of peoples’ rights and the intimidation and humiliation of human beings.
We all detest darkness, deceit, lies and distortion, and seek and admire salvation, enlightenment, sincerity and honesty.
The pure human essence of the two great nations of Iran and the United States testify to the veracity of these statements.
Noble Americans,
Our nation has always extended its hand of friendship to all other nations of the world.
Hundreds of thousands of my Iranian compatriots are living amongst you in friendship and peace, and are contributing positively to your society. Our people have been in contact with you over the past many years and have maintained these contacts despite the unnecessary restrictions of US authorities.
As mentioned, we have common concerns, face similar challenges, and are pained by the sufferings and afflictions in the world.
We, like you, are aggrieved by the ever-worsening pain and misery of the Palestinian people. Persistent aggressions by the Zionists are making life more and more difficult for the rightful owners of the land of Palestine. In broad day-light, in front of cameras and before the eyes of the world, they are bombarding innocent defenseless civilians, bulldozing houses, firing machine guns at students in the streets and alleys, and subjecting their families to endless grief.
No day goes by without a new crime.
Palestinian mothers, just like Iranian and American mothers, love their children, and are painfully bereaved by the imprisonment, wounding and murder of their children. What mother wouldn’t?
For 60 years, the Zionist regime has driven millions of the inhabitants of Palestine out of their homes. Many of these refugees have died in the Diaspora and in refugee camps. Their children have spent their youth in these camps and are aging while still in the hope of returning to homeland.
You know well that the US administration has persistently provided blind and blanket support to the Zionist regime, has emboldened it to continue its crimes, and has prevented the UN Security Council from condemning it.
Who can deny such broken promises and grave injustices towards humanity by the US administration?
Governments are there to serve their own people. No people wants to side with or support any oppressors. But regrettably, the US administration disregards even its own public opinion and remains in the forefront of supporting the trampling of the rights of the Palestinian people.
Let’s take a look at Iraq. Since the commencement of the US military presence in Iraq, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed, maimed or displaced. Terrorism in Iraq has grown exponentially. With the presence of the US military in Iraq, nothing has been done to rebuild the ruins, to restore the infrastructure or to alleviate poverty. The US Government used the pretext of the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but later it became clear that that was just a lie and a deception.
Although Saddam was overthrown and people are happy about his departure, the pain and suffering of the Iraqi people has persisted and has even been aggravated.
In Iraq, about one hundred and fifty thousand American soldiers, separated from their families and loved ones, are operating under the command of the current US administration. A substantial number of them have been killed or wounded and their presence in Iraq has tarnished the image of the American people and government.
Their mothers and relatives have, on numerous occasions, displayed their discontent with the presence of their sons and daughters in a land thousands of miles away from US shores. American soldiers often wonder why they have been sent to Iraq.
I consider it extremely unlikely that you, the American people, consent to the billions of dollars of annual expenditure from your treasury for this military misadventure.
Noble Americans,
You have heard that the US administration is kidnapping its presumed opponents from across the globe and arbitrarily holding them without trial or any international supervision in horrendous prisons that it has established in various parts of the world. God knows who these detainees actually are, and what terrible fate awaits them.
You have certainly heard the sad stories of the Guantanamo and Abu-Ghraib prisons. The US administration attempts to justify them through its proclaimed “war on terror.” But every one knows that such behavior, in fact, offends global public opinion, exacerbates resentment and thereby spreads terrorism, and tarnishes the US image and its credibility among nations.
The US administration’s illegal and immoral behavior is not even confined to outside its borders. You are witnessing daily that under the pretext of “the war on terror,” civil liberties in the United States are being increasingly curtailed. Even the privacy of individuals is fast losing its meaning. Judicial due process and fundamental rights are trampled upon. Private phones are tapped, suspects are arbitrarily arrested, sometimes beaten in the streets, or even shot to death.
I have no doubt that the American people do not approve of this behavior and indeed deplore it.
The US administration does not accept accountability before any organization, institution or council. The US administration has undermined the credibility of international organizations, particularly the United Nations and its Security Council. But, I do not intend to address all the challenges and calamities in this message.
The legitimacy, power and influence of a government do not emanate from its arsenals of tanks, fighter aircrafts, missiles or nuclear weapons. Legitimacy and influence reside in sound logic, quest for justice and compassion and empathy for all humanity. The global position of the United States is in all probability weakened because the administration has continued to resort to force, to conceal the truth, and to mislead the American people about its policies and practices.
Undoubtedly, the American people are not satisfied with this behavior and they showed their discontent in the recent elections. I hope that in the wake of the mid-term elections, the administration of President Bush will have heard and will heed the message of the American people.
My questions are the following:
Is there not a better approach to governance?
Is it not possible to put wealth and power in the service of peace, stability, prosperity and the happiness of all peoples through a commitment to justice and respect for the rights of all nations, instead of aggression and war?
We all condemn terrorism, because its victims are the innocent.
But, can terrorism be contained and eradicated through war, destruction and the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocents?
If that were possible, then why has the problem not been resolved?
The sad experience of invading Iraq is before us all.
What has blind support for the Zionists by the US administration brought for the American people? It is regrettable that for the US administration, the interests of these occupiers supersedes the interests of the American people and of the other nations of the world.
What have the Zionists done for the American people that the US administration considers itself obliged to blindly support these infamous aggressors? Is it not because they have imposed themselves on a substantial portion of the banking, financial, cultural and media sectors?
I recommend that in a demonstration of respect for the American people and for humanity, the right of Palestinians to live in their own homeland should be recognized so that millions of Palestinian refugees can return to their homes and the future of all of Palestine and its form of government be determined in a referendum. This will benefit everyone.
Now that Iraq has a Constitution and an independent Assembly and Government, would it not be more beneficial to bring the US officers and soldiers home, and to spend the astronomical US military expenditures in Iraq for the welfare and prosperity of the American people? As you know very well, many victims of Katrina continue to suffer, and countless Americans continue to live in poverty and homelessness.
I’d also like to say a word to the winners of the recent elections in the US:
The United States has had many administrations; some who have left a positive legacy, and others that are neither remembered fondly by the American people nor by other nations.
Now that you control an important branch of the US Government, you will also be held to account by the people and by history.
If the US Government meets the current domestic and external challenges with an approach based on truth and Justice, it can remedy some of the past afflictions and alleviate some of the global resentment and hatred of America. But if the approach remains the same, it would not be unexpected that the American people would similarly reject the new electoral winners, although the recent elections, rather than reflecting a victory, in reality point to the failure of the current administration’s policies. These issues had been extensively dealt with in my letter to President Bush earlier this year.
To sum up:
It is possible to govern based on an approach that is distinctly different from one of coercion, force and injustice.
It is possible to sincerely serve and promote common human values, and honesty and compassion.
It is possible to provide welfare and prosperity without tension, threats, imposition or war.
It is possible to lead the world towards the aspired perfection by adhering to unity, monotheism, morality and spirituality and drawing upon the teachings of the Divine Prophets.
Then, the American people, who are God-fearing and followers of Divine religions, will overcome every difficulty.
What I stated represents some of my anxieties and concerns.
I am confident that you, the American people, will play an instrumental role in the establishment of justice and spirituality throughout the world. The promises of the Almighty and His prophets will certainly be realized, Justice and Truth will prevail and all nations will live a true life in a climate replete with love, compassion and fraternity.
The US governing establishment, the authorities and the powerful should not choose irreversible paths. As all prophets have taught us, injustice and transgression will eventually bring about decline and demise. Today, the path of return to faith and spirituality is open and unimpeded.
We should all heed the Divine Word of the Holy Qur’an:
“But those who repent, have faith and do good may receive Salvation. Your Lord, alone, creates and chooses as He will, and others have no part in His choice; Glorified is God and Exalted above any partners they ascribe to Him.” (28:67-68)
I pray to the Almighty to bless the Iranian and American nations and indeed all nations of the world with dignity and success.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
29 November 2006
---
Go at the bottom of http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15770.htm to read the nearly 200 generally positive comments to this letter above.
To read Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's previous letter go at http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/rabbi_lerner/news_item.2006-05-09.4268435932
Or to http://www.earthrainbownetwork.com/Archives2006/Ahmedinejad.htm
---
Related articles:
Poll: Majority of Israeli's Favor Attack on Iran
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/13927
49 per cent of respondents would support an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities if all international diplomatic efforts fail, while 46 per cent disagree.
Paris Talks Can't Reach Iran Deal
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120606M.shtml
France's foreign ministry has said six-nation talks on a UN resolution to punish Iran for its nuclear program have failed to reach an agreement. The ministry said that although "substantive progress" was made, some "outstanding issues remained."
Rice's Iran Strategy Fizzles, Cheney Waits in Wings
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35707
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's months-long diplomatic effort to get five other powers to agree to a tough United Nations Security Council resolution on sanctions against Iran now seems certain to fail, because of Russian and Chinese resistance.
'Alternative Nobel' winner says U.S. attack on Iran likely before 2008
http://tinyurl.com/y2lt3x
Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked secret Pentagon documents during the Vietnam war, said Wednesday that he believed the U.S. would attack Iran before 2008 and urged Washington insiders to make new disclosures to prevent a new war.
Powell Says US Should Talk to Iran, Not Attack
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120106R.shtml
Former US secretary of state Colin Powell does not believe the United States will attack Iran and says Washington should speak to Tehran and Syria.
Ahmadinejad: Any EU decision against Iran's nuclear program will be considered hostile
http://tinyurl.com/y4hhmr
Iran's president warned Washington's European allies on Tuesday that Iran would reconsider its relations with them if they insist on punishing Tehran for its nuclear program, saying that would amount to an act of hostility.''
Iran to replace dollar with euro in foreign trade
http://www.payvand.com/news/06/dec/1041.html
Finance Minister: Iran has decided to replace dollar with euro in its foreign trade given the continual impediments and hostile policies directed by U.S. toward the country, Iranian finance minister said on Monday.
Euro Faces Huge Change If Others Follow Iran
http://tinyurl.com/y7hbum
It's something to keep a very close eye on because if other oil exporters were to shift from dollars to euros as they invoice oil receipts changes, it improves the euro's value as money.
4.
From: "Gush Shalom" otherisr@actcom.co.il
Date: 3 Dec 2006
Subject: A Sparkling Bubble - Avnery reading the Olmert speech
A Sparkling Bubble
Uri Avnery - 2.12.06
A FRIEND of mine, who was brought up in Egypt, took part in the interrogation of Egyptian officers captured in the 1956 Sinai war.
An Egyptian lieutenant-colonel told him: "Every time David Ben-Gurion gave a speech declaring that he was holding out his hand for peace, we put our forces on alert."
And, indeed, it was a typical method of Ben-Gurion: before launching a military operation, he would make a speech culminating with "We are holding out our hand for peace!" He frequently added that he was ready to meet the Arab leaders face to face, that he was in favor of negotiations without pre-conditions, and such.
NOW, BEN-GURION has an heir.
True, even in his darkest dreams Ben-Gurion could not have imagined an heir like Olmert - a politician personifying all the traits that Ben-Gurion detested. But, as the Bible says, "the dead praise not the Lord" (Psalm 115) nor can they choose their heirs.
Last week, Olmert went all the way to Ben-Gurion's grave in the remote Negev and made a speech designed to establish his status as his successor. No point wasting words on this pretension. But it is certainly revealing to analyse the speech itself.
On the face of it, a peacenik speech the likes of which we have not heard for some time. Some said that this was an answer to the words addressed to him by the writer David Grossman at the Rabin memorial rally. And indeed, there is a resemblance between the two: just as Grossman's speech was rich in sublime values and poor in practical proposals, so Olmert excelled in impressive phrases but failed the test of content.
WHAT DID he say, after all?
"If you (the Palestinians) set up a new government that will undertake to fulfill the principles of the Quartet, a government that will realize the Road Map and bring about the release of Gilad Shalit - I shall propose to Abu-Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) to meet him immediately, with the aim of conducting a real, open, sincere and serious dialogue between us and you." (I have translated the words literally, since the official translation has edited the text.)
Looks good. But if one looks again, one realizes that it is just a soap bubble.
Since the days of Ben-Gurion, all our governments have used this tactic: say "yes" to every peace proposal, and add a small prior condition that turns "yes" into "no".
What does Olmert demand from the Palestinian government? Little things: to recognize Israel's right to exist without fixed borders (and without Israel recognizing the right of a Palestinian state to exist within the 1967 borders), to stop the violence (without a parallel commitment by Israel) and to recognize all the agreements signed in the past (almost all of which have been violated by Israel no less than by the Palestinians.)
On top of this, the Palestinian government must fulfill its "obligations" under the Road Map. This ridiculous document, a product of Bush & Co., demands that the Palestinians' first step must involve dismantling all the "terror organizations". Meaning: all the military organizations of the Palestinian parties. As long as the occupation is in force, this is a completely impossible and unreasonable demand and the Palestinians, of course, do not agree. It's like demanding that Israel must dismantle the IDF as a first step.
Olmert does not suggest that Israel, too, would follow the Road Map. According to that document, parallel to the dismantling of the Palestinian organizations, Israel must stop all settlement activities. In practice, these were not suspended for a moment and are in full swing even now.
What will happen if the Palestinians fulfill all these one-sided conditions? Olmert will agree to meet Abu-Mazen "immediately". What for? In order to conduct a "real, open, sincere and serious dialogue."
The words were chosen meticulously. Not "negotiations", God forbid, but "dialogue". A strictly non-committal term. If we eliminate from the text all the nice words that only serve as decorations - "immediately", "real", "open", "sincere", "serious" - all that remains is the agreement to a meeting. Perhaps there are people who are eager to meet Olmert - it's a matter of taste - but this has no political meaning at all.
OLMERT DOES not spare words. "In the framework of the dialogue (again "dialogue" and not "negotiations") and in accordance with the Road Map (see above) you (the Palestinians) will be able to establish an independent and viable Palestinian state, with territorial contiguity in Judea and Samaria (Olmert uses these occupation terms instead of the term "West Bank", which has become a symbol of the opposition to the occupation), a state with full sovereignty and defined borders."
Now that is really nice. No more "temporary borders", as in the Road Map, but "defined borders". Only one little detail: where will these run?
Some might say: one does not disclose his final positions before the start of the negotiations (sorry, dialogue). But the Palestinians are expected to give everything before the start.
"We, the State of Israel, will agree to the evacuation of many territories and the settlements that we have established therein. This is extremely difficult for us - akin to the Parting of the Red Sea (a Hebrew saying) - but we will bear it, in exchange for true peace between us and you."
Sounds nice. But what does it mean? The evacuation of "many territories" and not "all the territories", not even "most of the territories". (In Israeli usage, "territories" means "occupied territories", a term official spokesmen prefer to avoid.)
Also, not "the borders that existed on the eve of the Six-Day War". Not even "borders based on the Green Line", which would allow for small changes and an agreed swap of territories. But a new border which would annex to Israel the "settlement blocs", as defined by the Separation Wall. That means the annexation of at least 10% of the West Bank, and perhaps much more.
And what's to stop that? After all, at this stage the other side would already be disarmed and would have agreed to recognize an Israel without fixed borders.
That is the old plan of Ariel Sharon: to dismantle the small and dispersed settlements, in which some 20% of the settlers live, in order to annex to Israel the territories occupied by the remaining 80%. Olmert does not say what would happen to the expanded Jordan Valley, which constitutes about 20% of the West Bank and which is already completely cut off from it (with the exception of Jericho). Nor does he mention East Jerusalem, in which another 200 thousand settlers have established themselves.
He promises that with the release of the captured soldier, Gilad Shalit, he would be prepared "to release numerous Palestinian prisoners, including ones who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms, in order to increase the trust between us and prove that we indeed hold out our hand for peace."
After eliminating all the bla-bla from this sentence, what it says is that he would agree to release veteran prisoners, with "blood on their hands", which he and his predecessors have always refused to do, in return for the soldier, as demanded by Hamas. That only confirms the Palestinian view that Israel understands only the language of force and that it would never give up anything unless compelled to do so.
It seems that Olmert was in an especially generous mood, so he added: "(After) the cessation of terrorism and violence… we will significantly diminish the number of road-blocks, increase freedom of movement in the territories, facilitate movement of people and goods in both directions, improve the operation of the border-crossings to the Gaza Strip, and release your monies held by us, in order to alleviate the humanitarian hardship which many of you suffer."
"Thank you, really thank you from the bottom of our hearts," a Palestinian might reply. Not the end of the occupation, not even the lifting of the blockade of Gaza. The dismantling of some road-blocks, leaving the others where they are. Not the return of freedom of movement, but an agreement to "increase" the permitted movement. And no opening of the passage between the Gaza strip and the West Bank (as provided for in the Oslo agreement 13 years ago.) But at least, we would give back the Palestinian money "held" by us. "Embezzled" would be a more proper term.
And what did Olmert not say in his speech? He did not propose a cease-fire in the West Bank. Why? Perhaps because the army chiefs object. But even a child can understand that without a cease-fire there, the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip will not hold. The members of the organizations in Gaza will not be able to sit still while their defenseless comrades in the West Bank are being arrested, wounded and killed. Not to mention the dismemberment implied in this proposal, contrary to the Oslo agreement, which states unequivocally that the West Bank and the Gaza Strip constitute "a single territorial unit".
SO HOW to define this speech?
It is easy to say what it is not: it is not a "turning point" in the policy of the government. A "turning point" is a change of direction, which would necessitate the preparation of the public, explaining the nature of the change, its reasons and expected results. Nothing of the sort has been done. Even the spokesmen of the extreme right did not get excited.
The correct definition is "spin" - just some more sleight of hand prepared by "image advisors" and publicity experts.
True, even spin can have some positive value. Olmert has decided to devote the spin to matters of peace, not matters of war. This shows that he believes that Israeli public opinion is moving in this direction. The Israeli peace camp can congratulate itself for that. But there is no cause for dancing in the streets.
WHY DID Olmert make such a speech at all? And why now?
There is an internal reason. In Israel, the impression has (quite rightly) gained ground that this is a government without an agenda, without a political plan, a "hollow" government (to use Grossman's phrase), whose only concern is political survival.
Olmert thought it necessary to fill the vacuum and to create the image of a Prime Minister who knows what he is doing and is working towards a clear goal.
And there is also an external reason, which may be more significant. Olmert may be bankrupt, but President Bush is even more desperate. He has come to the Middle East in order to convince the American voter that he knows what he is doing in Iraq and in the whole region. He needs a manifest achievement. He is carrying on the tradition of his predecessors that an American president who does not know what to do turns to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and achieves a "breakthrough".
Bush demanded that Olmert make a gesture to impress the world. So he made a gesture - delivering a speech full of nice phrases and promises with nothing behind them.
It must be remembered: Bush wants to look like a resolute statesman, who is constructing a front of "moderate" Arab leaders against the Evil Axis of Iran, Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas. This is why he came to Amman, instead of summoning his servants to Washington. But the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan know the dangers of looking like Israeli agents. So Bush demanded that Olmert include in his speech a reference to the Saudi peace initiative, which was rejected out of hand by the Israeli government after it had been endorsed by all the Arab states. This initiative says that the entire Arab world would recognize Israel and establish normal relations with it if it withdrew to the borders of June 4, 1967. Now, suddenly, Olmert declares that there are "positive" elements in it. But he did not accept it this time either.
Bush has returned home and will forget the whole matter. Olmert's speech will join the many others which were forgotten the day after they were delivered. Just another speech by an Israeli leader "holding out his hand for peace".
Soon available on http://www.gush-shalom.org
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Related article:
Israel's Defense Forces Warn of Pending Mideast War
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120306Z.shtml
Haaretz reports that there will be a war next summer. The atmosphere in the Israel Defense Forces in the past month has been very pessimistic. The latest rounds in the campaigns on both fronts, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, have left too many issues undecided, too many potential detonators that could cause a new conflagration. The army's conclusion from this is that a war in the near future is a reasonable possibility. As Amir Oren reported in Haaretz several weeks ago, the IDF's operative assumption is that during the coming summer months, a war will break out against Hezbollah and perhaps against Syria as well.
ADL slams UN body for making Tutu head of Beit Hanun mission (30/11/2006)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=794759
(...) The council, which has censured only Israel in its six-month existence, recently passed a resolution calling for a mission to "