MAY UNITY PREVAIL ON EARTH


February 3, 2008

The Cornucopia Series #7: The Mother of All Contrasts

Hello everysoul!

Since I undertook to network information on things of vital interest to all, there has never been a compilation so full of extreme contrasts between examples of the best and the worst things men can do.

Reading through - yes I actually read all of it! - the more than 49,000 words contained (and exploring many of the 270 links provided) in this extra-super-large cornucopia of all kinds of stuff, I was at times dizzy with the sheer enormity of the significance of all I was learning. If you can make time to read through some of this really heavy-duty material I found - much of which was recommended by various ERN subscribers - I bet the same will happen to you. Now the challenge is to make sense of it all...

We do indeed live in VERY interesting times!

Jean Hudon
Earth Rainbow Network Coordinator
http://www.earthrainbownetwork.com

Your feedback is as always welcomed and may be included in a coming compilation - unless you prefer it is not. Circulating this compilation (or any part of it) and personally inviting your correspondents to subscribe to this list would also help enlarge the circle of people who have access to this material. Please include the following note and the URL address for the archived copy below along with your forwards, so others may have the opportunity to explore the original copy, if they so choose.

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STATS for this compilation: Over 49,200 words and 270 links provided.

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THE QUOTES

"It has been a while since I last wrote and this focus of meditation is as good an excuse as they come. Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart for all that you do and for inspiring so many of us around the world to be and to do better. I thought that it would make you even more aware of the LOVE that YOU ARE to tell you that you are behind the prayer/meditation group that I have started six years ago. My meditation/prayer group is only held once a month and believe it or not people can't wait for it to happen every month - feeling as they tell me - that it has become a place of sanity and love and healing in their lives. We often share in your focus of meditation especially when it has a Peace or Healing focus for the beloved planet at large and the group keeps growing - slowly but surely. From my humble website statistics I see how many you have guided to read my messages and hear my radio programs and I am humbled and eternally grateful to feel part of the Light that you so lovingly weave for us all. Indeed we are blessed to have you in our awareness and I am this day just sending you all my love and light as always."

- Lou BOGNON (lou@LOUBOGNON.COM)


"Millions are taking bold steps and bringing about positive change all the way from small communities to international movements. Expansion of the light that is permeating hearts and minds throughout the world CANNOT be stopped! Please do not think that only the ones in leadership positions are important—EVERY soul is essential, and simply by radiating your own light, each of you is contributing to the transformation of your world. That is how it must be because it is your world."

- Matthew - Taken from his latest message below



CONTENTS

1. Message from Matthew
2. Message from Ker-On
3. A Fable of Planetary Transformation
4. Creating a Culture of Peace
5. Gaiafield Times: A call to meditate for "Super Tuesday"
6. Japan's "Bali Shock"
7. Stopping Iran Why the case for military action still stands
8. The End of Privacy
9. Operation Desert Slaughter - Thoughts on Holocaust Memorial Day
10. The War that did not make the Headlines: Over Five Million Dead in Congo?
11. Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler
12. Dual Citizenship -- Loyal to Whom?
13. Shell chief fears oil shortage in seven years
14. THE NEW CHILDREN – ARE THEY REALLY INDIGOS?
15. UFO Guide for the Spiritually Handicapped
16 The Empty Jar



WORTHY OF YOUR ATTENTION

Middle East Undersea Cable Cutting A Zionist-NeoCon Covert Operation?
http://www.rense.com/general80/mid.htm

The 911 Truth Movement is being targeted for criminalization
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5NJoZRYOJk
Earlier this month, special Brasscheck TV correspondent Goodman Green posted a short video about HR 1955. In just three days over 100,000 people downloaded and viewed it. Now the bill is in the Senate under a new name S 1959. This bill makes it possible for the government to criminalize free speech, by declaring it a form of "terrorism." Who does this bill target? Congressional hearings show they're painting a bulls eye on the 9/11 Truth Movement by likening it to violent terrorist groups. We can stop this and this video shows how. Please visit this video, view it often, comment on it, rate it and favorite it - and ask others to do so too. This bill and the motivations behind it can be defeated if enough people speak up.

NYT's Reporter Claims Rove Influenced 9/11 Commission Report
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/013108N.shtml
Max Holland, of Washington Decoded, reports: "in a revelation bound to cast a pall over the 9/11 Commission, Philip Shenon will report in a forthcoming book that the panel's executive director, Philip Zelikow, engaged in 'surreptitious' communications with presidential adviser Karl Rove and other Bush administration officials during the commission's 20-month investigation into the 9/11 attacks.

Scientists See WTC - Hutchison Effect Parallel - PHOTOS
http://www.mediaforfreedom.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=9368
(...) Dr. Wood's work on the 9/11 event found that the experimental evidence at the World Trade Center (WTC) site was consistent with the the footprint of a high-energy electromagnetic or laser weapons which had transformed 80% of the mass of the WTC towers into nanoparticles within seconds. (...) The article by Wood and Hutchison (http://drjudywood.com/articles/JJ) documents effects and events seen in the vicinity of the World Trade Centre and compares these with observed characteristics of the Hutchison Effect. The observed effects include: "Weird Fires" - The fires seen near the badly damaged cars do not seem to ignite nearby office paper. Some photos show firefighters walking very close to or even through the fires. A video by John Hutchison shows similar looking "fires" on a model metal boat. Bent Beams and "Jellification" - Samples that Hutchison produced show very unusual effects on metal. Sometimes the metal "jellifies," turning soft and losing form, leading to severe bending or fracturing of the sample. Sometimes samples erupt from the centre and sometimes they turn to dust, similar to what happened to the WTC on 9/11. Ongoing reactions - Hutchison's samples often show an ongoing reaction, even after the energy field is removed. This "non-self-quenching" reaction seems to occur at the nuclear level. This also appears to be happening at Ground Zero (GZ). Dr. Wood's study suggests that the WTC site is still being "decontaminated," with trucks moving dirt into and out of the site, while "hosing down operations" continue, which Dr. Wood and Andrew Johnson photographed and recorded on video in January 2008. Transmutation - Sometimes materials subjected to the Hutchison Effect seem to change at a molecular or even atomic level. This could be the explanation for the apparent rapid rusting at GZ, where steel rusts like iron. Also, some photographs show unusual effects on the aluminium cladding used on the twin towers that look similar to effects produced on Hutchison's aluminum samples. CLIP

How Did Israeli Spy Software Get Onto Critical FAA Computer By Christopher Bollyn (28 January 2008)
http://www.bollyn.com/index/?id=10797
The deathly precision of the attacks and the magnitude of planning would have required years of planning. Such a sophisticated operation would require the fixed frame of a state intelligence organization; something not found in a loose group, like the one led by the student Mohammed Atta in Hamburg.
- Eckehardt Werthebach, former president of Germany's Verfassungsschutz intelligence service, comments on the sophistication and complexity of the 9-11 attacks; from a conversation with Christopher Bollyn, December 2001 (...) The dependence of the U.S. government and military on computer systems, which run on software provided by outside vendors, is the Achilles' heel of the world's most powerful nation. 9-11 was clear proof of that fundamental weakness and vulnerability. 9-11 was a computer crime. Apart from being a monstrous crime of mass murder and false flag terrorism, 9-11 was also a sophisticated computer crime, carried out through long-term foreign infiltration of the most sensitive U.S. military and government computer networks. This infiltration, carried out by a foreign intelligence agency, gave the perpetrators of 9-11 "real-time" access to all the data on the computers of the U.S. government and military. On 9-11, this "super-user" access to the data of the most critical government computer networks gave the terrorists the ability to thwart the military response to the emergency as it developed. Most importantly, the terrorists who committed 9-11 through their "super-user" access to the most critical computer networks of the U.S. government still have that access.  The evidence indicates that this infiltration was carried out by the military intelligence agency of the State of Israel. CLIP

MTV Canada Plugs " Loose Change: Final Cut"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq7hyaxiRpE

State of the Union
http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/po/2008/01/28/
Many more such comic pictures through http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/po/

The Beginning of the End
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012908A.shtml
William Rivers Pitt, writing for Truthout, says: "If Bush's lips are moving, it means he must be lying; so it has been for all those days, and so it was again on Monday evening. Some 75 percent of the citizenry believe this country to be 'on the wrong track,' and since the gomer giving the speech last night is seen as being largely responsible for putting us all on this 'wrong track' to begin with, a vast American majority pretty much didn't give a fig about what he had to say. All that most people cared about was the historic significance of the night itself. It was The Last Bush SOTU Speech Ever."

CLIMATE ALERT: Just Say No to Oil Shale, Leave the Carbon in the Ground (25 Jan 2008)
http://www.climateark.org/alerts/send.asp?id=oil_shale
Oil shale production in Western U.S. with Department of Energy subsidies will prolong dependence upon filthy fossil fuels while destroying the climate, water and land Oil shale deposits across 17,000 square miles of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming hold an estimated 800 billion barrels of oil, more than three times Saudi Arabia's stated reserves. Mining, processing and final use of oil shale involve a variety of environmental impacts. The process produces four times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions compared to normal oil production. Vast amounts of water are required in the mining process, up to 4 barrels of water for every barrel of oil. It would be a reckless and short-sighted to allow full-scale commercial production of synthetic crude oils from oil shale and other non-conventional sources. Wide scale use of such oil will result in decades of further carbon emissions from dependence upon fossil fuels, making it impossible to stop climate change. Please send a message today to the U.S. Department of Energy noting that a sustainable energy future does not include oil shale. TAKE ACTION NOW

The Amazing Sham of the NH Recount (6 min. 19 sec.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKQEQ7qHvgM
They decided NOT to put the ballots in the vault and the "Seal" does NOT seal the box. Smoke and mirrors in New Hampshire recount. Recommended by Kathy Roberts (weerkhr@pacbell.net) who wrote: "Make sure you see the whole farce, climaxing with the tragi-comic testing of the "seal" at the end. Bravo to Bev Harris of BlackBoxVoting!"

GREAT Orbs Link - MOST AMAZING PICTURES OF ORBS I'VE EVER SEEN!
http://www.celticgardens.com.au/spheres_of_light.html

MANY Additional Links
http://www.celticgardens.com.au/links.html

Dolphins make Air-Rings
http://www.eatmyshorts.net/videos/1867/Dolphins+make+Air-Rings.html

The Ten Nastiest Fish of All Time
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/1/26/the-ten-nastiest-fish-of-all-time.aspx
Some of these fish are rare, others are near extinction, but they all have the look of something from another world!

A wonderful resource for making homes, sustainable living at its best!
http://www.greenworkscompany.com/
Recommended by Carolyn Thompson (zaobarthh@yahoo.com)

Ten Tricks to Using Google You Probably Don't Know
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/1/26/ten-tricks-to-using-google-you-probably-don-t-know.aspx

A smile from God
http://photosandvideo.blogspot.com/2007/12/one-in-million-photograph.html

What The #$*! Do We Know!? - Part 1 of 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpCSk7WC4GI&feature=related

Music by ERN subscriber Nathan Stevens (nathancstevens2@yahoo.com)
http://www.myspace.com/natestevensmusic
Highly recommended - make sure you listen to (or watch) "Seeds of Unity"

The Presidents UFO Web Site
http://www.presidentialufo.com/
A Tale of Extraterrestrial Politics in the White House - In the pages of this Web site you will hopefully be led on a journey that will show you the entire known history of how the most powerful man in the world has dealt with the most highly classified secret of the last century. In short, this is the story of how the President and the White House have dealt with the mystery of UFOs. - Grant Cameron is a Canadian author, researcher and expert on the ET/UFO aspects of the US Presidents. In the past few years Cameron has turned his research interests to the involvement and actions of the President of the United States in the UFO problem. He has made 20+ trips to the National Archives and most of the various Presidential archives looking for presidential UFO material. One highlight his presidential UFO research was the chance to question Vice-president Dick Cheney on his knowledge of the UFO subject. Another highlight of the presidential UFO research was a FOIA to the White House Office of Science and Technology which yielded 1,000 pages of UFO documents from the Clinton administration. Many of these findings have been written up on The Presidents UFO Website.

Forget crop circles - now we've got a mysterious SHEEP circle (25th January 2008)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=510372&in_page_id=1770

The crop circle mystery (20th July 2007)
http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.1559662.0.the_crop_circle_mystery.php
The strongest evidence so far that some crop circles are not man made was presented to a choice gathering at the Coronation Hall in Alton Barnes yesterday. Norwegian film maker Terje Toftenes presented the DVD he has made of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the creation of a massive crop formation in East Field, Alton Barnes, on July 7. Most formations are discovered the morning after and some have even been created in fields with observers sitting on overlooking hills. But on the morning in question, dedicated UFO hunter Winston Keech had a battery of cameras, from CCTV to state-of-the-art digicams, trained on the field on the off chance that something might happen. He was joined by Gary King and his partner Paul Presdee-Jones, who had also decided to climb to the top of Knap Hill, near Alton Barnes, on a spur-of-the-moment whim. They had already met the previous evening at the "croppies" cafe at Cherhill, near Calne, when Mr Keech had become rather excited about a DVD that was being shown about lights that sometimes accompany the appearance of crop circles. He had explained that something similar had happened to him in 1990 when he all but witnessed the creation of a simple circle in crops in East Field. Little did he know he would witness the creation of something a lot more complex. At around 1.35am on July 7 Mr Keech, helped by Mr King, completed the last sweep of the area using a camera equipped with night vision. No formation was visible in the field. Then it became intensely dark and nothing was seen. But at 3.13am there was a flash of what Mr Keech described as sheet lightning. It appeared on the video footage and lasted four microseconds. Twenty minutes later, at 3.20am, there was enough light to make out the formation in the field below. It was one of the largest ever seen. It measured 1,033 feet long and consisted of 150 circles, the largest of which was 164ft across.Ms Presdee-Jones said: "We all went mad. Gary was dancing a jig." CLIP

Three significant events in the astronomy of Comet Holmes from 2007 were shown in English crop pictures from two years ago (in the summer of 2005)
http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/anasazi/time2007h.html
Recommended by Alfred Lambremont Webre (peace@peaceinspace.org) who wrote: "On October 24-25, 2007, an obscure comet known as "17P Holmes" suddenly outburst or exploded between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers still have no good idea why that happened, because most comets outburst when they approach the heat of the Sun. In any case, many of us who are familiar with the crop-messaging phenomenon saw immediately that newly-taken photographs of that comet matched a famous crop picture that had appeared at Garsington near Oxford two years earlier on July 15, 2005"

DOES THE VATICAN HOLD YOUR MORTGAGE? By William Thomas -- MOST REVEALING!!
http://www.willthomasonline.net/willthomasonline/Vatican_Mortgage_Part_1.html
It was time for another check-in with a well-informed military man who never fails to astonish me with revelations that never seem to appear on Fox or CNN. “What's new?” I asked Hank. “Oh, dude.” My friend and deep source for more than 16 years sounded tired. And shaken. This veteran of the Gulf War, and personal intrigues and interventions at all levels of the U.S. government and military, does not rattle easily.

(...) “The Vatican has surfaced again,” Hank informed me. According to his Vatican source, “They have been purchasing a large amount of storage and online storage space. They are taking a lot of pictures, a lot of documents and a lot of scans and putting that information together in a large vault of info. And they're wanting more.”If so, this project will take tons of terabytes. The “Vatican Secret Archives” - as a London newspaper tagged them - contain almost two-million items. Forget the DaVinci Code. Squirreled away in 50 miles of catacombs shelving, this volatile stockpile of scandals dating back over 1,000 years is the real deal. (...) With so much at stake in copying and moving documents that could go astray and blow up the Roman Church, I wanted to know what had precipitated the present papal panic? According to Hank's Jesuit source, the Vatican is on the verge of being “outed “for one of the biggest Ponzi schemes of all time - bilking its followers and victims for trillions of dollars while convincing believers worldwide that their suffering and exploitation is “God's will.” The catalyst for this threatened exposure? U.S. Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney. I didn't get it. Romney is a Mormon, Hank quoted his Jesuit insider. “It's kind of making the Vatican nervous as people learn more about Mormonism, which considers Jesus and Satan brothers - the light bearers, the sons of God - and start to ask questions of their own religions.”

(...) “The United States has been ransacked and pillaged…The truth is the Federal Reserve Board has usurped the Government of the United States. It controls everything here… to supply financial power to an international super state - a super state controlled by international bankers and international industrialists acting together to enslave the world.”

(...) As Eustace Mullins helpfully explains - and Aaron Russo's DVD “America: Freedom To Fascism” demonstrates - “The IRS is actually a private collection agency for the Federal Reserve System. It originated as the Black Hand in mediaeval Italy, collectors of debt by force and extortion for the ruling Italian mob families. All personal income taxes collected by the IRS are required by law to be deposited in the nearest Federal Reserve Bank.” In other words, into the pockets of the Rothschilds, Warburgs, Schiffs, Rockefellers, Harrimans, Morgans and other elite families. Slick, eh? But don't try to buy any of this hot Fed stock. “The Federal Reserve Act stipulates that the stock of the Federal Reserve Banks cannot be bought or sold on any stock exchange. It is passed on by inheritance as the fortune of the 'big rich',” Mullins relates. “Almost half of the owners of Federal Reserve Bank stock are not Americans.” These “foreign” owners include the Fed's originators, the Vatican Jesuits.

(...) Today, the largest bank in the world today, the Federal Reserve “is one of the greatest contributors, or players, in international trading,” Mullins observes.The Fed gets its orders from the Queen Mum of All Banks, the Bank of England - aka, the Bank of Rothschild. Considered by many to be the world's most powerful institution - the power behind all presidencies, dictatorships and thrones - does the Bank of England answer to any other bank? Well, yes, actually. The Bank of Rome began opening branch offices in Venice in 1587. Bank of Rome = Vatican Bank controlled by the Jesuit General, aka the “Black” (hidden, shadowy) Pope. The Jesuit's Bank of Rome opened its Bank of England branch in 1694. The first bank to be named after a country, the Bank of England had nothing to do with the British government - except to own it through privately held, interest-compounded debt. Unaccountable to either the Queen or Parliament, the misleadingly labeled “Bank of England” finances the throne, the British prime minister, parliament and much of the planet out of “The City” located in central London. All major British banks have their main offices in this “Square Mile” - as well as 70 U.S. banks. Throw in the London Stock Exchange, Lloyd's of London, the Baltic Exchange (shipping), Fleet Street (publishing and newspapers), the London Commodity and Metal exchanges - and you are looking at Earth's financial axis. [Descent into Slavery] The City operates as a sovereign state, just like the Vatican. Since 1820, the Rothschilds have traditionally chosen The City's Lord Mayor. Back in the USA, as author Eric Phelps explained in an interview just before publication of his secrecy-shredding Vatican Assassins, (which was held up to include corrections by sympathetic Jesuits) - the Vatican's Black Robes “own and control” the Federal Reserve Bank “by proxy, through the Knights of Malta, with their various trusts and so on. They never own anything outright; they always own it through a trusted third party.” Including the Vatican-home mortgage connection. CLIP

Read also PART II at http://www.willthomasonline.net/willthomasonline/Vatican_Mortgage_Part_2.html
which includes these eye-popping facts...
The Vatican likes to point out that it's going broke running Vatican City. But Cardinal Edmund Szoka, the Vatican's unofficial finance minister, told Money Week that the Vatican's assets total some $5 billion. Vatican City “has a separate financial statement,” he added.According to Baron Manhattan's research: "The Vatican has large investments with the Rothschilds of Britain, France and America, with the Hambros Bank, with the Credit Suisse in London and Zurich. In the United States it has large investments with the Morgan Bank, the Chase-Manhattan Bank, the First National Bank of New York, the Bankers Trust Company, and others. The Vatican has billions of shares in the most powerful international corporations such as Gulf Oil, Shell, General Motors, Bethlehem Steel, General Electric, International Business Machines, T.W.A., etc.” A nationally syndicated Catholic priest has stated, “The Catholic Church must be the biggest corporation in the United States. We have a branch office in every neighborhood. Our assets and real estate holdings must exceed those of Standard Oil, A.T.&T., and U.S. Steel combined. And our roster of dues-paying members must be second only to the tax rolls of the United States Government.” [The Vatican Billions] “But this is just a small portion of the wealth of the Vatican, which in the U.S. alone, is greater than that of the five wealthiest giant corporations of the country,” Baron Manhattan explains. “The Catholic church is the biggest financial power, wealth accumulator and property owner in existence.” [Vatican Billions]Don't forget to throw in more than 18,000 works of art. [Fortune Dec 21/87]The Vatican's gold treasure alone has been estimated by the United Nations World Magazine to amount to several billion dollars. The Independent has independently confirmed that “the Vatican Bank - Istituto per le Opere di Religione - manages more than $4 billion in assets. It does not reveal its profits or dividends, which are paid directly to the Pope. It enjoys the status of a central bank and has a dealing room adorned with crucifixes and papal portraits where 20 traders work .” [Independent Apr 19/02] According to Hank's Jesuit Vatican informant, the world's ultimate Vatican bankers “wanted to make sure there was enough confusion, and enough information going all over the place that no one would pay attention to” their current cover-up in the catacombs. So they fomented the mortgage mess.

(...) The Big Solution, of course, is abolish the Federal Reserve. On June 15, 2007, Rep. Ron Paul introduced the Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act HR 2755 "To abolish the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal reserve banks, and repeal the Federal Reserve Act." As govtrack.us noted on December 9, 2007: "Introduced bills go first to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. (HR2755 went to the House Committee on Financial Services.) The majority of bills never make it out of committee. Keep in mind that sometimes the text of one bill is incorporated into another bill, and in those cases the original bill, as it would appear here, would seem to be abandoned." Hold tight. Hank's Jesuit contact from the Vatican advises: “There will be a couple more bumps in the road."

CFR - The Secret Government [2/3] (10 min)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQZ56hkKOlk&feature=related
The Federal Reserve is neither Federal nor a Reserve. Owned by a corrupt group of International Bankers, it is a privately owned monopoly, largely responsible for creating America's National Debt. It is also a parasitic and unnecessary entity that literally creates American currency out of nothing and then collects interest on the backs of taxpayers for doing so. LOTS of useful info through the About This Video (More info) on the right.

CFR / NAU & 2008 Presidential Candidates (10 min)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo5CZvD3-QM
What Presidential Candidates are part of the CFR? What are they trying to accomplish? Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Jim Gilmore, Newt Gingrich, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, Who Opposes the CFR? Ron Paul

Will secret clubs pick next prez?
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58425
CFR, Bilderbergers, Trilateral Commission insiders usually run for, win White House, shows new book. Nearly every person elected as president of the United States since then – and nearly every opponent – has belonged to a secretive, globalism-oriented organization known as the Council on Foreign Relations. CLIP

Sibel Edmonds: 'Buckle up, there's much more coming.'
http://snipurl.com/1yjkn
Former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds stumbled into a world of espionage, nuclear black market, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and corruption at the highest levels of the US government.

“We Can’t Afford to Let Them Spill the Beans” - Sibel Edmonds on Marc Grossman (January 28th, 2008)
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/01/“we-can’t-afford-to-let-them-spill-the-beans”/
I am not one to easily embrace conspiracy theories, and in particular have found the idea that 9-11 was somehow an inside job too incredible for serious consideration. On the other hand, there are some very fishy aspects to some officials' behavior pertaining to the attacks. CLIP

New Public Online Forum for New Earth & New Community
http://www.newearthsummit.org/forum/
There is a new free public discussion forum that includes various thematic boards including: • Special Articles to Consider• Spirituality and Transformation• Dreams and Visions and Future Viewing• Awakened Conscious Community• Health and Harmony• World and National Events• Predictions of Future Events• Changes in Planetary and Space Environments• General Discussion• Sites of Special Interest – Weblinks Anyone can read what is posted.



ALSO RECOMMENDED

Obama, A President Like My Father, Caroline Kennedy - New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/opinion/27kennedy.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Presidential Candidate Barack Obama Speaks - 01 / 30 / 2008
http://ustream.tv/recordedvideo/sfuVEe2T.UvmR.5fvFyuxLF2pLttiKm7

Obama raises $32 million in January (Jan 31, 2008) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080131/ap_on_el_pr/campaign_money;_ylt=Aj443z_jJxLaPwTqhspoFtKs0NUE
WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised $32 million in the single month of January, a whopping figure that has permitted the campaign to boost staff and extend advertising to states beyond the sweeping Feb. 5 contests, aides said Thursday. The amount was the most raised in one month by a presidential candidate who still faced a primary challenge. Obama is now advertising in 20 of the 22 states in play for next week's Super Tuesday and plans to begin advertising in seven more states that hold primaries or caucuses later in February. Rival Hillary Rodham Clinton is advertising in 12 Super Tuesday states, including her home state of New York. CLIP

Clinton, Obama, JFK, and the next terrorist attack
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/02/01/18476217.php?printable=true
Zbigniew Brzezinski now is Obama’s chief policy advisor (WWIII) - Bush Sr's involvement in JFK assassination - U.S. did nothing to stop the killing in Rwanda

Obama, Clinton and the War
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/013108K.shtml
Truthdig's Robert Scheer writes: "Ted Kennedy was a rare sane voice among the Democrats in strongly opposing the Iraq war, and it is no small tribute when he states: 'We know the record of Barack Obama. There is the courage he showed when so many others were silent or simply went along. From the beginning, he opposed the war in Iraq. And let no one deny that truth.' But that is precisely the truth that Sen. Hillary Clinton has shamelessly sought to obscure. Her supporters have accepted Clinton's refusal to repudiate her vote to authorize the war, an ignominious moment she shares with other Democrats, including presidential candidate John Edwards, who at least has made a point of regretting it."

ABC News: Clinton Remained Silent As Wal-Mart Fought Unions (Jan 31, 2008) http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4218509&page=1
In six years as a member of the Wal-Mart board of directors, between 1986 and 1992, Hillary Clinton remained silent as the world's largest retailer waged a major campaign against labor unions seeking to represent store workers. Clinton has been endorsed for president by more than a dozen unions, according to her campaign Web site, which omits any reference to her role at Wal-Mart in its detailed biography of her. Wal-Mart's anti-union efforts were headed by one of Clinton's fellow board members, John Tate, a Wal-Mart executive vice president who also served on the board with Clinton for four of her six years. Tate was fond of repeating, as he did at a managers meeting in 2004 after his retirement, what he said was his favorite phrase, "Labor unions are nothing but blood-sucking parasites living off the productive labor of people who work for a living." CLIP

Eight More Years? by Ralph Nader (Jan 26, 2008)
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/01/26/6641/
(...) Bill Clinton's presidential resume was full of favors for the rich and powerful. Corporate welfare subsidies, handouts and giveaways flourished, including subsidizing the Big Three Auto companies for a phony research partnership while indicating there would be no new fuel efficiency regulations while he was President. CLIP

The Evolution of Evil (01/02/08)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19260.htm
Perhaps a global political apocalypse has already arrived. Activists and dissidents should understand that evil forces and tyrannical governments have evolved. Just as human knowledge and science expand, so do the strategies and instruments used by rulers, elites and plutocrats. By learning from history and using new technology they have smarter tools of tyranny. The best ones prevent uprisings, revolutions and political reforms. Rather than violently destroy rebellious movements, they let them survive as marginalized and ineffective efforts that divert and sap the energy of nonconformist and rebellious thinkers. Real revolution remains an energy-draining dream, as evil forces thrive. Most corrupt and legally sanctioned forms of tyranny hide in plain sight as democracies with free elections. The toughest lesson is that ALL elections are distractions. Nothing conceals tyranny better than elections. Few Americans accept that their government has become a two-party plutocracy run by a rich and powerful ruling class. The steady erosion of the rule of law is masked by everyday consumer freedoms. Because people want to be happy and hopeful, we have an epidemic of denial, especially in the present presidential campaign. But to believe that any change-selling politician or shift in party control will overturn the ruling class is the epitome of self-delusion and false hope. In the end, such wishful thinking perpetuates plutocracy. Proof is that plutocracy has flourished despite repeated change agents, promises of reform and partisan shifts. (...) The New World Order is getting what it wants: a stable two-class system, with the lower class serving the elitist upper class. The paradox is that along with rising economic inequality and apartheid is mounting consumerism and materialism that is used to pacify, distract and control the masses. That’s where easy credit and cheap products from low-wage nations are critical. The poor can have cell phones, 24-7 Internet access and increasingly cars, while the bejeweled upper class travel in private jets and yachts, vacation on private islands, and have several gated mansions maintained by servants and guarded by private police. We have a technologically advanced form of medieval society. It is working in the US and China and most other places. Elections just mask economic tyranny and slavery. The ruling class knows how to maintain stability. Keep the masses distracted, fearful, brainwashed, insecure, and dependent on government and business sectors for survival. Train people to see themselves as relatively free consumers. Maintain the myth that ordinary people can become wealthy and join the ruling class, which theoretically is not impossible, but of no statistical significance for the masses. There are no easy paths to restore power to the people. But here are three strategies worth considering. CLIP

American Justice - To the Dark Side - We are all torturers now (4 min 25 sec.)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19259.htm
This is the America that our leaders want us to be proud of? This is the America we have built. This is who we are. - Who is accountable? You Are! This is who we are. - Clips from Academy Award Doc "Taxi to the Dark Side," produced by an independent filmmaker, for Information Clearing House.

British Soldiers ‘Tortured and Killed’ 22 Iraqis (02/01/08)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19253.htm
BRITISH soldiers have been accused of torturing 22 Iraqi citizens to death.They are also said to have abused nine others held in their custody. The allegations of brutality, dating back to 2004, can now be made public after a gagging order was lifted by a High Court judge yesterday.The order had prevented any details of the alleged torture being reported by the Press or broadcast media. It is alleged the abuse happened after British troops were ambushed on the road from Amara to Basra. Following a firefight, a 31-strong band of Iraqis are said to have been seized by soldiers and taken into custody. They were held at British headquarters in Abu-Naji in south-east Iraq. Out of the 31 people detained only nine survived and they claim they were subjected to torture. Iraqi death certificates are said to state that the corpses of the Iraqis who were rounded up showed signs of "mutilation" and "torture". Now the bereaved Iraqi families and survivors are fighting for compensation. They will seek a High Court ruling that the Government is legally obliged to set up an inquiry into the alleged abuse. The gagging order was imposed last December by Lord Justice Thomas, sitting with Mr Justice Silber. Lord Justice Thomas said "adverse publicity" arising from the case would be "highly undesirable". But yesterday, another senior judge, Lord Justice Moses – also sitting with Mr Justice Silber – overturned the ban. He ruled that the proceedings should be "in the public domain". Lawyers representing the Iraqis say statements from the alleged victims are some of the most disturbing they have heard in 30 years. NOTE: It is worth reading the comments posted in response to this news, which include these ones: "**Action Needed Urgently** Please take several minutes to call your Senator [immediately] and tell them that you do not support the Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act. (ICH ran a story about this a few weeks ago). This bill passed with flying colors in the House and is now headed on a fast track to the Senate where it is poised to pass. Unfriggin believable. This bill will be the end of our freedom of speech here in the U.S. that we cherish so much. Inundate your Senator with preferably phone calls, fight this tyranny and dictatorship or we will become just like the Zionist-Jewish created governments of: Russia, Eastern Europe, China, Middle East, South America. Thanks and peace - 02.01.08" -- "All this has been going on continuously in the Middle East since the time Britain invaded Palestine and Iraq in the First World War. The British authorities kept it up for 30 years until they handed it over to the US authorities who have carried it on with increasing determination and cunning for the last 60 years. Since it is all satanically inspired and directed, you will not prevail against it until you know how to "put on the full armour of God".

McCain win would mean war with Iran (January 28, 2008)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7924
"More wars" could prove to be the oddest of all presidential campaign slogans. Especially if it works. Presidential candidate John McCain shocked observers on Sunday when he told a crowd of supporters, "There's going to be other wars. ... I'm sorry to tell you, there's going to be other wars. We will never surrender but there will be other wars."MSNBC's Joe Scarborough asked old-line conservative Pat Buchanan about McCain's remarks, saying, "He talked about promising that more wars were coming. ... Is he so desperate to get off the economic issue?" Pat Buchanan replied that McCain never used the word "promise" but simply said there would be more wars, and that from McCain's point of view, "that is straight talk. ... You get John McCain in the White House, and I do believe we will be at war with Iran.""That's one of the things that makes me very nervous about him," Buchanan went on. "There's no doubt John McCain is going to be a war president. ... His whole career is wrapped up in the military, national security. He's in Putin's face, he's threatening the Iranians, we're going to be in Iraq a hundred years." "So when he says more war," Scarborough commented, "he is promising you, if he gets in the White House, we'll not only be fighting this war but starting new wars. Is that what conservative Republicans want?

John McCain is Dr. Strangelove - 1 Minute video by Robert Greenwald
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19263.htm
Thanks to the casting sensibility of Arianna Huffington, we learned that John McCain has been channeling Dr. Strangelove!

Ron Paul 2008: RICO suit filed against ABC, MSNBC, FOX, CNN, CBS,...
http://www.bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?article16541
What the public needs to understand is that FOX, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and the other established *mainstream " mass media"/news sources [*see definition qrV Wikipedia.org] are perpetrating criminal fraud (via omissions, distortions and outright lies) and a deliberate censorship of Dr. Ron Paul in 2008 Presidential race—with malice and aforethought and evil intent to control the 2008 presidential elections. This is an outrage and "We the People" need to organize against this dangerous plot and TAKE ACTION by filing "class action" criminal charges and civil suits against the owners and executives of these news sources. This illegal censorship is not only harming Americans because they wield the power to control the outcome of elections via the quantity and quality of the news coverage they provide the candidates; it constitutes an unAmerican and anti-American criminal enterprise; not to fail to mention a violation of the first amendment/freedom of the press. These accused individuals—the elitist media executives—exercise monopolized and Fascist-control over media/news sources with intent to get the candidate preferred by them elected while simultaneously wrongfully hiding and/or playing down the true facts, popularity and success of the Ron Paul campaign. (...) Here is Ron Paul's Preface to the book: Every election cycle we are treated to candidates who promise us "change," and 2008 has been no different. But in the American political lexicon, "change" always means more of the same: more government, more looting of Americans, more inflation, more police-state measures, more unnecessary war, and more centralization of power. Real change would mean something like the opposite of those things. It might even involve following our Constitution. And that’s the one option Americans are never permitted to hear….With national bankruptcy looming, politicians from both parties continue to make multi-trillion dollar promises of "free" goods from the government, and hardly a soul wonders if we can still afford to have troops in – this is not a misprint – 130 countries around the world. All of this is going to come to an end sooner or later, because financial reality is going to make itself felt in very uncomfortable ways. CLIP

In opposition to the Protect America Act Statement of Ron Paul on H.R. 5104
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19254.htm
The mis-named Protect America Act allows the US government to monitor telephone calls and other electronic communications of American citizens without a warrant. This clearly violates the Fourth Amendment the US Constitution. CLIP

Ron Paul's "Revolution Manifesto" Storms Into Amazon Top Five (eb 1, 2008)
http://www.infowars.net/articles/february2008/010208Manifesto.htm
Presidential candidate Ron Paul's as yet unreleased book The Revolution: A Manifesto has stormed into the Amazon top five today rising from number 629 in a matter of hours. The book, published by Grand Central, is not due out until April 30th, yet is already selling in the thousands, giving a stark indication of how popular the Congressman's message has become.The Manifesto is Ron Paul's first original book in over twenty years and contains all his now familiar policies on the economy, war, terrorism, civil liberties and the restoration of the Constitution. The phenomenal rise of the book in the amazon bestsellers list has been assisted by a new grassroots effort at the website http://www.RonPaulBookBomb.com. The site is aiming to help Dr. Paul's manifesto debut at number one on the New York Times bestseller list in addition to reaching #1 on Amazon and on BarnesandNoble.com, as well as reaching 1 million Americans with Dr. Paul’s message.The publicity gained from such achievements will be invaluable to the Ron Paul campaign, whether that still be on the Republican ticket or as a independent come April 30th. CLIP

Ron Paul biggest GOP fundraiser last quarter
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/02/news-shocker-ro.html
Rep. Ron Paul, the 72-year-old Texan who hardly ever gets mentioned in Republican political news and the one-time libertarian who always gets the least time on TV debates if he isn't barred completely, was, in fact, the most successful Republican fundraiser in the last three months of 2007.

Ron Paul wins CA Republican Debate, Super Tuesday Surge? (January 31, 2008)
http://www.infowars.net/articles/january2008/310108Surge.htm
The last televised Republican Debate before Super Tuesday took place at the Ronald Reagan Library in California and once again Ron Paul won. BodogLife.com has Ron Paul listed at 50 to 1 odds to become the President of the United States in 2008. Paul wanted to get more airtime for his “anti-war” and “change” message in the Republican debate and he was getting just a little irritated that Anderson Cooper kept the McCain/Romney ping pong match going on for so long. Does Anderson Cooper realize Paul has outlasted Former New York City Mayor and Senator John Edwards in the quest of the 2008 White House.Once he finally got a chance to speak, the Texas Congressman stated, "You can keep borrowing from China and printing the money to stimulate the economy.”McCain agreed with Ron Paul about borrowing money from China but did not say how he would continue to fight the wars abroad. Huckabee did not like that Ron Paul was sitting between him and the two media darling front running candidates. With only 4 people left in the race, Ron Paul was able to get a little more attention on center stage but the media still gave the majority of the questions to McCain and Romney. (...) There are 21 state primaries up for grabs on Super Tuesday (February 5th, 2008). BodogLife.com has posted political betting odds on which Republican candidate will win the majority of primaries on Super Tuesday (Feb. 5)? John McCain: 2/11 - Mitt Romney: 5/4 - Mike Huckabee: 35/1 - Ron Paul: 60/1

Audio: "Criminal Enterprise" at Work in NH Recount, Says Bev Harris
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2008/012908_recount_fiasco.htm
Fresh from her confrontations in New Hampshire during which public officials were grilled about slapdash chain of custody and ballot box tampering issues, Bev Harris told the Alex Jones Show that a "criminal enterprise" is running the primary recount and has called for Secretary of State William Gardner to resign and his assistant to be fired. CLIP

Israel bars aid convoy to Gaza (Jan 28, 2008)
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BE7095BF-0E93-4AAB-A2CA-42B17264D16A.htm
The Israeli military has prevented an aid convoy organised by Israeli human rights organisations, peace activists, and former military personnel, from reaching needy families in the besieged Gaza Strip. Israeli groups braved dipping temperatures and the unusually rain-sodden grounds of the Erez border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Saturday, hoping that Israeli authorities would allow five tonnes of food through. As of Monday, the Gaza-bound supplies, comprising non-perishable goods, are still warehoused at Kibbutz Kerem Shalom on the southern border of the Gaza strip, awaiting army clearance to cross into the strip. Adam Keller, of Gush Shalom, an Israel-Palestine peace bloc, said: "We are still in negotiations with the army and are trying to mobilise Knesset members. We have an appeal to the supreme court that is ready to be lodged. We hope it will not come to that, but will use it if necessary." The Israeli supreme court is already considering a wider appeal made last week by Israeli humanitarian organisations, asking that the court compels the government to lift its blockade on Gaza. Israeli, Palestinian unity The Israeli and Palestinian peace activists first arrived at the Erez crossing in a convoy of about 100 cars and 20 buses that wound its way from Israel's main cities to the border on Saturday. Travelling under the "End the Siege!" banner, the convoy brought about 1,000 demonstrators and five tonnes of food aid to the border. Saturday's peace protests came from what in Israel is known as the 'radical left' [AFP]In the past 10 days Israel had tightened a seven-month blockade of the strip, halting supplies of foodstuffs, medical equipment and fuel. CLIP

Israeli High Court okays reducing fuel and power supply to occupied Gaza Strip
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/949679.html
Several human rights groups had challenged the sanctions, but Wednesday's ruling denied their petitions. Palestinian officials say the cutbacks have harmed Gaza's already impoverished residents by causing power shortages and crippling crucial utilities.

UN Security Council won't condemn Israel
http://snipurl.com/1ymjx
The United Nations Security Council will not discuss the proposal to condemn Israel over the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip by the Jewish state, following an adamant battle held by the Israeli delegation to the UN and backed by the United States.

Israeli occupation killed 108 Palestinians, three Israelis, UN says
http://snipurl.com/1ymjr
The military conflict between Israel and the Hamas-led Gaza Strip resistance has killed 108 Palestinians and three Israelis in the past month, the United Nations said Wednesday in summing up the explosive situation that has exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Collapse of Water, Sewer and Public Health in Gaza (2008-01-28)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7938
A stream of dark and putrid sludge snakes through Gaza's streets. It is a noxious mix of human and animal waste. The stench is overwhelming. The occasional passer-by vomits.Over recent days this has been a more common sight than the sale of food on the streets of Gaza, choked by a relentless Israeli siege. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans, almost all of its able male adults among a population of 1.5 million, crossed over into Egypt last week to buy essential provisions - and a new lease of life. That has staved off starvation. But streets continue as sewers. The rain has not helped. The sludge has spread, and the stench with it. Starved of timely income and essential supplies, municipal services have all but ceased. "The smell," says Ayoub al-Saifi, 56, grimacing as he holds a handkerchief over his nose and mouth. "The stench of the sewage…my wife has asthma, and she can't breathe." Saifi lives next to what has become a newly formed pool of waste. This used to be the street leading to home. "It's getting worse day by day," says neighbour Said Ammar, an engineer, and father of four. The sewage treatment plant in al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in Gaza City requires 20,000 litres of fuel a day. Last week Israel ceased delivery of all fuel and supplies to Gaza. The consequences have been catastrophic. Without fuel to pump it away, the waste backs up, flooding the streets and clogging the plumbing. The local ministry of health has declared this an environmental catastrophe. Doctors have warned that a medical catastrophe could follow by way of spread of cholera and other diseases. That is at a time when not even life-saving medical services are on offer any more. "We have to choose between cutting the electricity on babies in the maternity ward, cutting it to heart patients, or shutting down our operating rooms," says Dr. Mawia Hasaneen, director of emergency at al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza. (...) Israel has blocked off fuel and supplies to Gaza because it says it faces rocket attacks from the Palestinian area, which elected Hamas, the Palestinian party that does not recognise Israel. Official Israeli sources say that about 150 homemade rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel since Israel commenced this latest raid. Two Israelis have been slightly wounded and several others treated for shock. Israel has retaliated with firing from tanks and attacks by F-16 aircraft firing Hellfire missiles into Gaza's neighbourhoods. At least 76 Palestinians have been killed, and another 293 injured since Jan. 1, officials here say. Through the suffering, many Palestinians still do not blame Hamas. CLIP

'Breakout into Israel' ahead
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23111166-2703,00.html
A SENIOR Hamas official warned yesterday that the next breakout from the Gaza Strip could be into Israel, with 500,000 Palestinians attempting to march towards the towns and villages from which they or their parents fled or were expelled 60 years ago.

Gaza blockade 'is collective punishment
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23142493-23109,00.html
ISRAEL'S blockade of Gaza denies 1.4 million Palestinians the food, fuel and medicine they need to survive, Human Rights Watch said today, calling it collective punishment and a violation of international law.

Egypt pledges to seal Gaza border
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Middle_East/10184401.html
Egypt has assured the US that it will soon close off it's border with the Gaza strip to prevent Palestinians from desperately trying to enter the country to access goods they can't afford or gain access to in their closed-off territory, said Arab and US officials.

Worse Than a Crime - By Uri Avnery
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19189.htm
Sderot is only a pretext - much like the two captured soldiers were a pretext for something else altogether. The real purpose of the whole exercise is to overthrow the Hamas regime in Gaza and to prevent a Hamas takeover in the West Bank.

Jordanians rally in support of Hamas in Gaza
http://africa.reuters.com/country/EG/news/usnL25762332.html
Chanting slogans urging Islamist Hamas militants to resume suicide bombings against Israel, thousands of Jordanians marched in the capital on Friday to protest against Israel's blockade of Gaza.

The Gaza 'tea party' ( Jan 26, 2008)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JA26Ak01.html
DAMASCUS - The Arab world is infuriated by the continued blockade and seizure of Gaza by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Anti-Americanism is on the rise, even in capitals that are loyal to the United States, like Amman, Riyadh and Cairo. "This is the doing of America," most Arabs believe, in harmony with its "war on terror" against Hamas, the military group that has been in control of the Gaza Strip since June 2007. The Americans have decided to wipe out Hamas, via Israel, while the Arab world is watching. That is the feeling in Arab capitals from Casablanca to Baghdad. For one thing, the Gaza events were a rude awakening for the Arab street, after sugar-coated promises for regional peace were made at the Annapolis "peace" conference in the United States last November. To understand the magnitude of what is currently happening in Gaza, and how it backfires on the reputation of the US throughout the Arab and Muslim world, Americans must look back in history, searching for a certain injustice - done to them - that mirrors what is currently happening to the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza who are being collectively punished for being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people. CLIP

Obama Says, Israel Was Forced To Starve Palestinians In Gaza (!!!)
http://snipurl.com/1y96i
The presidential hopeful urged the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to either condemn Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel or remain silent about events in Gaza.

Obama speaks to Jewish voters, backs Israeli positions in talks
http://snipurl.com/1yjkd
Barack Obama wooed Jewish voters and skeptical Israelis in interviews published Tuesday, voicing support for key Israeli demands in peace talks with the Palestinians.

END THE SIEGE OF GAZA: CEASEFIRE NOW (Petition to sign!)
http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_end_the_siege/
The years-old blockade of Gaza is at crisis point: with the humanitarian crisis growing, the southern border has been breached and 350,000 Palestinians are pouring across. The situation is out of control -- the world must step in.To prevent catastrophe and protect civilians on all sides, your voice is needed urgently: we’re running an emergency global campaign to international, European and Arab leaders, calling on them to stop the siege, oversee open borders and help broker a ceasefire. We’ll deliver the petition when we reach 150,000 signatures - (99,142 have signed the petition so far!) lease add your name (at the URL above), then spread the word: To the United Nations, the European Union, the Quartet, the Arab League & Israel: We demand that you end the blockade and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, ensure the free flow of supplies by land, sea or air, and help to broker the ceasefire which civilians on both sides desperately need.

Orthodox Jews Condemn Zionist Atrocities in Gaza
http://snipurl.com/1ys6f
There is a vile lie which stalks the Jewish people across the globe. - It is the lie which declares that Judaism and Zionism are identical. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Hamas leader outlines conditions for peace and offers truce
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=1.0.1833751297
"If Israel withdraws, recognises Jerusalem [as capital of a future Palestinian state] and the return of our people [refugees] and dismantles settlements that occupy our land, we are ready for at least a 10 year truce," said the leader of the Islamist movement.

All power to Hamas ...
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JB02Ak01.html
By sharing all power with Hamas, Israel could force the group to share responsibility and probably keep it too busy with governance to lead a proper resistance. Israel could thereby tame one of its deadliest enemies by giving it the power its been asking for.

Four major Internet cables cut without explanation are spurring suspicions (February 2, 2008) IMPORTANT!!
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7976
Middle East Internet Blackouts Spur Geopolitical Suspicions - Unprecedented mass Internet outages throughout the Middle East and Asia after no less than four undersea Internet cables were cut without explanation are spurring suspicions that a major event of geopolitical proportions may be just around the corner.Internet blackouts are impacting large tracts of Asia, the Middle East and North Africa after four undersea cable connections were severed. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Pakistan and India, are all experiencing severe problems.According to InternetTraffic.com, Iran has been completely cut off from the Internet, though Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s blog can still be accessed.Most notably, Israel and Iraq are unaffected by the outage."Stephan Beckert, an analyst with TeleGeography, a research company that consults on global Internet issues, said the damaged cables collectively account for the majority of international communications between Europe and the Middle East," reports CNN. Officials say that the cause behind the severing of the cables remains unknown, but United Arab Emirates’ second largest telecom company said the cables were cut due to ships dragging their anchors. Is this a pre-cursor to throw a veil over an imminent staged event in the Middle East? "What are the odds? Who benefits? asks the Crimes and Corruptions blog. "Let’s see. Iranian rapprochement: "Recent months have brought signs of a growing rapprochement between Iran and Egypt.""What nation would not like this and has subs which could cut the cables? Why do it? Payback as over the net business is badly damaged. Or is this a setup for more? Note the internet is working just fine in Israel." Over at WhatReallyHappened.com, Mike Rivero points out that the mysterious cable sabotage could portend another imperial Neo-Con crusade in the works."The biggest problem the Bush administration faced during Iraq were images coming over the internet that showed the horrors being visited on the Iraqi people, and exposed the government’s lies about Saddam," he writes."I am greatly concerned that these undersea cable cuttings are intended to prevent the world from seeing something that is about to happen, other than through the government-controlled propaganda/media."MORE ON THIS DISQUIETING DEVELOPMENT IN Middle East Undersea Cable Cutting A Zionist-NeoCon Covert Operation? AT http://www.rense.com/general80/mid.htm

NATO and Israel: Instruments of America's Wars in the Middle East (January 29, 2008)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7837
(...) After returning from his trip to Western Europe and conferring with NATO Headquarters the former Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs, Avigdor Lieberman, said on early-July, 2007 that he received the tacit blessing of the E.U., the U.S., and NATO to initiate an Israeli military strike on Iran. "If we start military operations against Iran alone, then Europe and the U.S. will support us," Avigdor Lieberman told Israeli Army Radio, in a message geared towards Israeli servicemen, following his European tour and his meetings with E.U. officials, José María Aznar of Spain, and the Deputy Secretary-General of NATO.Avigdor Lieberman also asserted that because of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq the U.S., Britain, and their European allies were unable to initiate a war with Iran and its allies, but were willing to allow Israel to attack Iran. Avigdor Lieberman also affirmed that the U.S. and NATO would intervene on the side of Israel once the war with Iran and its allies were started. The message conveyed to Lieberman by NATO and E.U. officials was that Israel should "prevent the threat herself," which means that Israel must launch the war against Iran and its regional allies. CLIP

NATO Genocide in Afghanistan (30/01/08)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19235.htm
Ali Khan argues that the internationally recognized crime of genocide applies to the intentional killings that NATO troops commit on a weekly basis in the poor villages and mute mountains of Afghanistan to destroy the Taliban. Sloganeers, propagandists and politicians often use the word "genocide" in ways that the law does not permit. But rarely is the crime of genocide invoked when Western militaries murder Muslim groups. This essay argues that the internationally recognized crime of genocide applies to the intentional killings that NATO troops commit on a weekly basis in the poor villages and mute mountains of Afghanistan to destroy the Taliban, a puritanical Islamic group. NATO combat troops bombard and kill people in Taliban enclaves and meeting places. They also murder defenseless Afghan civilians. The dehumanized label of "Taliban" is used to cloak the nameless victims of NATO operations. Some political opposition to this practice is building in NATO countries, such as Canada, where calls are heard to withdraw troops from Afghanistan or divert them to non-combat tasks. DehumanizationIn almost all NATO nations, the Taliban have been completely dehumanized — a historically-tested signal that perpetrators of the crime of genocide carry unmitigated intentions to eradicate the dehumanized group. Politicians, the armed forces, the media, and even the general public associate in the West the Taliban with irrational fanatics, intolerant fundamentalists, brutal assassins, beheaders of women, bearded extremists, and terrorists. This luminescent negativity paves the way for aggression, military operations, and genocide. Promoting the predatory doctrine of collective self-defense, killing the Taliban is celebrated as a legal virtue. To leave the Taliban in control of Afghanistan, says NATO, is to leave a haven for terrorism. CLIP

Afghan reports offer bleak assessments
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7219156.stm
Exactly two years ago, the Afghan government and its many international backers met in London to plot a plan for the future, but the progress reports do not make for pretty reading.

How Kenya's Election Was Rigged
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020108P.shtml
Shashank Bengali, of McClatchy Newspapers, writes: "the spark for Kenya's firestorm of ethnic violence was lit inside a cavernous meeting hall in downtown Nairobi, where election officials over four days doctored vote counts, dismissed eye-popping irregularities and thwarted monitoring by independent observers to deliver a razor-thin victory to President Mwai Kibaki. Observers who were allowed into the vote-tallying center on Dec. 29-30, hours before the results were announced, said there was so much systematic fraud by Kenya's government-appointed election commission that it's impossible to know who really won."

U.S. Accused of Overlooking Rights Violations
http://snipurl.com/1ys68
The Bush administration is giving lip service to promoting democracy by endorsing suspect elections in Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan while allowing human rights violations in those countries to go unchecked, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

The Other Victims of Kenya’s Post Election Violence (STOP KENYA'S GENOCIDE)
http://www.stopkenyagenocide.com/
Rural Kenya has been out of focus in post election violence. Images tear gas, water canons and youth running from heavily armed general service units have commanded television screens and news coverage. The thousands of Kenyans who are arriving from Eldoret and other places in the Rift Valley are now telling the story of what is happening in rural Kenya for the first time.Those fortunate to have left Eldoret are telling harrowing stories upon arrival in Nairobi. In the meantime, bodies are lying in the smoking farms of Kikuyus, Kissis and Kambas. This website tells the individual stories of Kenyans who have been evicted out of the Rift Valley and Eldoret in particular. The stories in this website tell the outlines of what one of the interviewees Hon. Mutula Kilonzo says is evidence of massive crimes against humanity and genocide. What is very worrying is that the ethnic cleansing happening in the Rift Valley is a repeat of from 1991 and 1992 in terms of geography and in victims. This means we are likely to see more of these in future unless the root causes are addressed. In cases such as Rwanda and Darfur, occasional violent flare ups were reported before major/catastrophic attacks. CLIP

'Clear ethnic cleansing' in Kenya
http://snipurl.com/1ymk1
The violence in Kenya's Rift Valley is "clear ethnic cleansing", the most senior US official for African affairs has said.

African Union warns of Kenya 'genocide' (31/01/2008)
http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/mheygbqlqlgb/rss2/
Africa is facing a genocide in Kenya and must make resolving the crisis a priority, the head of the African Union told the continent’s leaders today at the opening of a three-day summit.“Kenya is a country that was a hope for the continent,” African Union chairman Alpha Konare said.“Today, if you look at Kenya, you see violence on the streets. We are even talking about ethnic cleansing, We are even talking about genocide. We cannot sit with our hands folded.”Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki listened from the front row. CLIP

Kenya: This will not explode into genocide
http://snipurl.com/1ymk3
As the situation in Kenya grows worse by the day - and the worst is almost certainly still to come - many people are drawing parallels with the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Pictures of gangs of young men carrying spears, clubs and machetes to cut down strangers in their area look like Rwanda '94. But the cause is very different.

Kenya rivals agree peace plan (01/02/2008) A GLIMMER OF HOPE!
http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/mheyqlaugbcw/
Rival parties in Kenya said tonight they had agreed to take immediate action to end violence after a month of deadly clashes over a disputed presidential election. The two sides signed a four-point agenda that said they would complete talks within 15 days on measures to end the political crisis.

US Propped Up Suharto Despite Rights Abuses: Documents
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19232.htm
The United States declassified documents Monday detailing how Washington propped up ex-Indonesian leader Suharto, who died at the weekend, at the expense of democracy and human rights.

Survivors Detail Suharto-era Massacres
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19229.htm
Survivors Describe Mass Killings Under Indonesian Dictator Suharto.

US Hails Suharto as "Historic Figure"
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19228.htm
THE United States hailed former Indonesian president Suharto as a "historic figure" who "achieved remarkable economic development", in a statement released by its embassy in Jakarta.

Leaked UK gov't doc reveals plan to "coerce" Brits into national ID register (January 29, 2008)
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/29/leaked-uk-govt-doc-r.html
UK campaigners NO2ID this morning enlisted the help of bloggers across the world to spread a leaked government document describing how the British government intends to go about "coercing" its citizens onto a National Identity Register. The 'ID card' is revealed as little more than a cover to create a official dossier and trackable ID for every UK resident - creating what NO2ID calls 'the database state'. NO2ID's national coordinator, Phil Booth, exhorted bloggers, freedom lovers and anyone who gives a damn about personal privacy to mirror the annotated document on their site. "The charade is over. While ministers try to bamboozle the British public with fairytales about fingerprints, officials are plotting how to dupe and bully the population into surrendering control of their own identities." "Biometric ID cards are a sham; a magician's flourish to cover the biggest identity fraud there has ever been."

Kucinich puts off effort to impeach Bush (January 28, 2008)
http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/01/kucinich_puts_off_effort_to_im.html
After promising last week that he'd mark President Bush's final "State of the Union" speech today by introducing articles of impeachment against Bush, Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich announced he's postponing the effort. Kucinich said he met with members of the House Judiciary Committee after making last week's impeachment pledge on the House of Representatives floor, and came away "hopeful there will be an inquiry by the Judiciary Committee." "I will give them the opportunity to proceed before introducing articles of impeachment," Kucinich said in a statement issued by his office. CLIP

Casey blasts Bush's Iraq signing statement
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/29/casey-blasts-bushs-iraq-signing-statement/
In signing the DOD authorization bill into law, the President declared his right to ignore several important provisions, including the establishment of an important special commission to review wartime contracting. This provision was an initiative of the Senate Democratic freshmen class, led ably by Senators Webb and McCaskill. The President also declared his right to ignore a provision prohibiting funding for U.S. military bases or installations in Iraq that facilitate the "permanent stationing" of U.S. troops in Iraq. Let me translate that into plain language: this provision sought to prevent the United States from establishing permanent bases in Iraq. Every time a senior Administration official is asked about permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq, they contend that it is not their intention to construct such facilities. Yet this signing statement issued by the President yesterday is the clearest signal yet that the Administration wants to hold this option in reserve. Mr. President, that is exactly the wrong signal to send, both to the Iraqi government and its neighbors in the region. Permanent U.S. military bases gives a blank check to an Iraqi government that has shown no evidence it is ready to step up and accept its responsibility to take the training wheels off and demonstrate real leadership and governance for the Iraqi people. Permanent U.S. military bases feeds the propaganda of our enemies, who argue that the U.S. invasion in 2003 was carried out only to secure access to Iraq's oil and establish a strategic beachhead for the U.S. military in the region. Permanent U.S. military bases means that U.S. troops will be in Iraq for years to come, ensuring that the great strain on the U.S. military we see today will continue indefinitely. CLIP

Stimulus Gone Bad
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012508N.shtml
Paul Krugman writes for The New York Times: "House Democrats and the White House have reached an agreement on an economic stimulus plan. Unfortunately, the plan - which essentially consists of nothing but tax cuts and gives most of those tax cuts to people in fairly good financial shape - looks like a lemon." In related news, David Cay Johnston, of The New York Times, reports: "President Bush‚s plan to send payments to 117 million households to stimulate the economy would impose major strains on the Internal Revenue Service ... Nobody has authorized the agency to hire extra workers to reprogram computers, enter new data, issue checks and answer calls. The agency will divert resources from serving taxpayers and enforcing tax laws."

US Banking System Teetering on the Brink of Collapse (2 Feb 2008)
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article3570.html
Graphs show the banking system is broke. Somebody goofed. When Fed chairman Ben Bernanke cut interest rates to 3% yesterday, the price of a new mortgage went up. How does that help the flagging housing industry? (...) So, why did Bernanke cut rates when he knew it would just add to the housing woes? Some critics say that he just wanted to throw a lifeline to his fat-cat investor buddies on Wall Street by providing more liquidity for the markets. But that's not it, at all. The fact is, Bernanke had no choice. He's facing a challenge so huge and potentially catastrophic; that cutting rates must have seemed like the only option he had. Just look at these graphs and you'll see what Bernanke saw before he decided to cut interest rates. (...) The pace at which money is currently being destroyed will greatly accelerate as trillions of dollars in derivatives are consumed in the flames of a falling market. As GDP shrinks from diminishing liquidity, the Fed will have to create more credit and the government will have to provide more fiscal stimulus. But in a deflationary environment; public attitudes towards spending quickly change and the pool of worthy loan applicants dries up. Even at 0% interest rates, Bernanke will be stymied by the unwillingness of under-capitalized banks to lend or over-extended consumers to borrow. He'll be frustrated in his effort to restart the sluggish consumer economy or stop the downward spiral. In fact, the slowdown has already begun and the trend is probably irreversible. The financial markets are deteriorating at a faster pace than anyone could have imagined. CLIP

Darker Days Ahead?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012608F.shtml
According to Robert Reich in Newsweek, "Think the last few days have been bad for Wall Street and the rest of the world's markets? Hang on, things are probably going to get worse, says Robert Reich, President Clinton's former secretary of Labor and author of the recent book 'Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy and Everyday Life.' According to Reich, who currently teaches public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, the United States might even be headed toward a depression."

Stagflation is Here (January 31, 2008)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7951
Last summer, I observed that there was a "solvency crisis" underneath the ongoing subprime mortgage liquidity squeeze. Central banks can alleviate a "liquidity crisis", but they cannot solve a solvency crisis. Last year also, before the events, I warned that the U.S. was heading toward stagflation. This was due to three fundamental factors. First, the structural fiscal imbalances of the federal budget in a period of prosperity, as a result of the Bush-Cheney administration's continuous deficit spending linked to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and to its large tax cuts; Second, the over-indebtedness of the overall U.S. economy coupled with an overall saving rate close to zero (in 1981, it was 12 percent), and, as a consequence, the rapidly increasing foreign debt of the U.S.; and, Third, the required decline in the U.S. dollar to reverse and correct the deteriorating American balance of payments. The second factor was a harbinger of less consumer spending in the coming months while the third factor would stoke the fire of overall inflation. And with already high budget deficits, there would be less leeway for an aggressive fiscal policy to sustain economic activity. The table was thus set for a bout of stagflation, i.e. slow growth and rising inflation.Now, stagflation is here. CLIP

The Great Credit Unwind of '08 - By Mike Whitney
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19227.htm
The financial system has been handed over to scam-artists and fraudsters who've created a multi-trillion dollar inverted pyramid of shaky, hyper-inflated, subprime slop that they've sold around the world with the tacit support of the ratings agencies and the US political establishment. (wink, wink) Now that system is about to collapse and there's nothing that the Federal Reserve can do to stop the Great Credit Unwind of '08.

U.S. slump spreading around the globe, IMF warns
http://snipurl.com/1ymkn
Financial turbulence is carrying the U.S. slump to the rest of the world, and now the global economy is in the midst of a serious slowdown, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday

US recession will dwarf dotcom crash
http://snipurl.com/1ymko
The views of Stephen Roach, one of the world's leading economists, now heading the Asian wing of Morgan Stanley, would have seemed outrageous at last year's World Economic Forum.

US House passes stimulus package
http://snipurl.com/1ymkp
The United States House of Representatives has approved an economic stimulus package worth $150bn in a bid to prop up the nation's faltering economy.

America's meltdown
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/30/opinion/edlet.php
Once again, the health and happiness of the average American is being sacrificed so that those in power can continue to make poor choices.

John Edwards: Message From Third Place
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012508G.shtml
Truthdig's Eugene Robinson reports from Lancaster, SC, "Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys took the stage at a rally for John Edwards here Wednesday, and out of a clear sky it started raining metaphors." And, Robert Scheer reports for Truthdig: "It was smart of the top Democrats to cut presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich out of that South Carolina debate, where they lamely attempted to deal with the dire consequences of the banking meltdown without confronting the banks. They made all the proper concerned noises about millions of folks losing their retirement savings and homes, but none was willing to say what Kucinich would have said: Bankers are crooks who will steal from the public unless the government holds them accountable."

Starving Haitians eating dirt cookies (Jan. 29, 2008)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5496676.html
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - It was lunchtime in one of Haiti's worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud. With food prices rising, Haiti's poorest can't afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies.Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau. The mud has long been prized by pregnant women and children here as an antacid and source of calcium. But in places like Cite Soleil, the oceanside slum where Charlene shares a two-room house with her baby, five siblings and two unemployed parents, cookies made of dirt, salt and vegetable shortening have become a regular meal."When my mother does not cook anything, I have to eat them three times a day," Charlene said.Though she likes their buttery, salty taste, Charlene said the cookies also give her stomach pains. "When I nurse, the baby sometimes seems colicky too," she said.Food prices around the world have spiked because of higher oil prices, needed for fertilizer, irrigation and transportation. Prices for basic ingredients such as corn and wheat are also up sharply, and the increasing global demand for biofuels is pressuring food markets as well.The problem is particularly dire in the Caribbean, where island nations depend on imports and food prices are up 40 percent in places. CLIP

Navy Resumes Use of Sonar off California
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012508EC.shtml
The Christian Science Monitor's Gordon Lubold reports "The Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying ships began an exercise Wednesday that allows the aircraft carrier's strike group to use sonar to practice detecting submarines in the waters near San Diego before the ships deploy overseas.... Environmental groups expect a federal judge to rule against the Navy in the coming days, nullifying an exemption signed by Bush last week that environmentalists believe was unconstitutional."

Navy Aims to Break Record With Next Test of Railgun (January 29, 2008)
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/navy-aims-to-break-record-with-next-test-of-railgun/
(...) Displaying a photograph of the splintered booster, he said the test demonstrated the antimissile potential of the electromagnetic railgun, an experimental kinetic-energy weapon that could be based in space. The audience, made up of hundreds of Pentagon officials, military industry executives and reporters, broke into applause at the sight of the crumpled booster. CLIP Comments posted there: "Billions for this nonsense and continuing billions to fight illusive Islamic enemies, build a country (Iraq) up, support economic competitors and ignore the needs of America. The US as a declining latter-day Roman Empire!" - "It will be exciting to use these fantastic weapons against people making less than $2000 per year! Boom! Boom! Then when we partially incinerate children we can bring them to the US and use MRI and all sorts of modern surgical techniques to give them new faces. We can broadcast this on cable news as a testament to our kindness and generosity.We can use our invisible, supersonic, and atomic-armed planes against countries without air forces as well. Take that for not loving freedom! Boom!" - "I have an idea, if they get the 16 megajoule version running by later this year, they can use it in January of 2009 to fire Bush, Cheney and his whole administration out of the city….." - "Finally, the advent of the “green” missile. It doesn’t use fossil fuels to kill our enemies." - "If the Navy is not out trying to kill whales with sonar waves it’s out trying to fire the equivalent of Buicks by means of electromagnetism. Someone needs to step in and straighten out the captains of this military-industrial canoe club." - MORE on this dismally stupid and certainly very lethal new technology through http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/4657177/

Large Majorities of Americans and Russians Oppose All Space Weapons (January 23, 2008)
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/home_page/444.php?lb=hmpg1&pnt=444&nid=&id=
Strong Bipartisan Support for Unilateral RestraintLarge Majorities Favor Treaty Against Attacking or Developing the Capability to Attack Satellites -- Most Americans and Russians agree that their governments should work together to prevent an arms race in space. Large majorities in both countries favor unilateral restraint and a treaty that would keep space free of weapons.A United States Air Force Defense Support System satellite used for infrared detection (Photo: USAF)Americans and Russians also support treaties that would prohibit countries from attacking or interfering with each others’ satellites and from testing or deploying weapons designed to attack satellites. These are among the key findings of a WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 1,247 Americans and 1,601 Russians developed in conjunction with the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland (CISSM). Knowledge Networks in the United States and the Levada Center in Russia conducted the interviews. Majorities in both the United States (78%) and Russia (67%) say that as long as no other country puts weapons into space, their own governments should also refrain from doing so. Most Russians (72%) and Americans (80%) also favor a new treaty banning all weapons in space. Support for such a ban was strong among Americans even when they were presented counter arguments about the potential military advantages of deploying such systems. The US poll revealed strong bipartisan consensus on the issue. Majorities in both the Republican and Democratic parties believe the US government should refrain unilaterally from deploying space weapons. There is also bipartisan backing for a treaty to ban these weapons, though support is higher among Democrats. CLIP

The Peak Oil Crisis: The Future Of Our Cars – Part 2 (31 January 2008)
http://www.fcnp.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2465&Itemid=35
Within the next ten years the size, shape, efficiency, fuel and numbers of private automobiles is going to undergo a radical change. The nine million barrells of gasoline we currently use in the U.S. each day simply will not be available in the quantities desired at any price. If a transition to a more abundant fuel source than gasoline and diesel does not take place on a widespread basis before the shortages begin, there will be troubles. It is virtually certain that at some point the government will have to impose rationing that will keep functions vital to our society such as food, water, utilities and public safety functioning. The rest of us are going to have to find alternative means of transportation. (...) There are other candidates to power vehicles, such as hydrogen, compressed air and solar panels and there is no reason why one or more of these might not become viable someday. However, given the current technology, it is likely to be decades before they could come into widespread use. Our remaining candidates require little in the way of technological improvements. Except for buses, natural gas vehicles are virtually unknown in the U.S. although there are about 7 million of them in operation worldwide. CLIP

Many shark species are in peril of extinction. Every year, tens of millions of sharks suffer painful deaths to supply the cruel and wasteful shark fin trade. The fins are used in dishes such as shark fin soup, which may be served by Chinese restaurants and during banquets, weddings and other events.As the global shark fin trade approaches its annual peak during the Chinese New Year in February, Humane Society International needs YOUR help to end this cruel practice. Sharks’ fins are often removed when the animals are still alive; the sharks are then thrown back into the water to endure a painful death from suffocation, blood loss, or predation by other species. By keeping only the fins and throwing away the bodies, boat crews aren't hampered by space constraints. This means that massive numbers of sharks can be caught and finned to supply the unsustainable shark fin trade. Despite alarming declines in shark populations, hundreds of tons of shark fins will be changing hands this Chinese New Year for astronomical prices, as restaurants and hotels stock up to meet anticipated demand for the upcoming celebrations. Your donation will support Humane Society International's efforts to: discourage the consumption of shark products in all countries, pass international bans on shark finning, and strengthen the enforcement of existing regulations. Become a Humane Society International supporter now - Sharks aren't the vicious killing machines they've been made out to be. They are living beings who feel pain. They are essential to a healthy ocean ecosystem, but they're rapidly disappearing at an alarming rate because of humans!

Stop Distribution of Shark Fins - Online Petition to sign
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/400108473
Alibaba.com is one of the largest online traders of seafood and other products, especially shark fin - without regards to source or sustainability. The practice of shark finning, where a shark is captured, the fins removed, often while the shark is still living and the body discarded, is a brutal practice that is decimating shark populations worldwide. This lucrative market for shark fin is creating huge incentives for poor nations- as represented by scores of businesses on Alibaba.com- to remove the ocean's shark populations. Without any control, it is likely that endangered and threatened shark species are traded in great volume at great profit. As a web based business gateway, Alibaba.com is collusive and partner to this criminal and wasteful practice.

Why use a harpoon... when you can use a Canon?
http://members.greenpeace.org/action/start/175/
Canon is the world's number one digital camera company, and a major sponsor of wildlife initiatives, environmental groups, and efforts to save endangered species.The CEO of a company that attracts support to its brand by associating itself with environmental issues ought to oppose lethal research whaling in the Southern Ocean. Tell Mr. Mitarai, head of Canon Japan, that you want him to express Canon's disapproval of whaling in the Southern Ocean, and to call upon the government of Japan to use only non-lethal research methods.

US Herbicides Exact High Toll
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020208Y.shtml
For Truthout, Thomas D. Williams writes: "Despite years of ongoing, critical public health controversies in Colombia and Ecuador over the US-assisted aerial herbicide spraying of coca and poppy crops while trying to reduce illegal cocaine and heroin production, US State Department officials are pursuing that very same spraying strategy today."

Wars Dwarf Warming in US Budget
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/020108EA.shtml
Jim Lobe for the Inter Press Service reports, "Despite growing recognition in the Pentagon and the intelligence community that global warming poses serious national security threats to the United States, Washington is spending $88 on the military for every dollar it spends this year on climate-related programs, according to a new study released Thursday by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)."

Population Growth Pales Against Greed of the Rich
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/020108EB.shtml
George Monbiot, The Guardian UK: "It's easy to blame the poor for growing pressure on the world's resources. But still the wealthy West takes the lion's share."

Big Business Says Climate Change Low on the Agenda
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/020108LA.shtml
Tricia Holly Davis, Geoffrey Lean and Susie Mesure report for The Independent UK that a poll of 500 major firms reveals that only one in 10 regards global warming as a priority.

UN: Climate Change May Cost $20 Trillion (January 31, 2008)
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/01/31/6751/
UNITED NATIONS - Global warming could cost the world up to $20 trillion over two decades for cleaner energy sources and do the most harm to people who can least afford to adapt, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warns in a new report. Ban’s report provides an overview of U.N. climate efforts to help the 192-nation General Assembly prepare for a key two-day climate debate in mid-February. That debate is intended to shape overall U.N. policy on climate change, including how nations can adapt to a warmer world and ways of supporting the U.N.-led negotiations toward a new climate treaty by 2009, U.N. officials said Wednesday.The treaty, replacing the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012, could shape the course of climate change for decades to come. The Kyoto pact requires 37 industrial nations to reduce greenhouse gases by a relatively modest 5 percent on average.

The Ocean's Biological Deserts Are Expanding (25 January 2008)
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/125/1
The Sahara, the Gobi, the Chihuahuan--all are great deserts. But what about the South Pacific's subtropical gyre? This "biological desert" within a swirling expanse of nutrient-starved saltwater is the largest, and least productive, ecosystem of the South Pacific. Together with the subtropical gyres in other oceans, biological deserts cover 40% of Earth's surface. But their relative obscurity may be about to change. Researchers are reporting that the ocean's biological deserts have been expanding, and they are growing much faster than global warming models predict. (...) All of the biological deserts had grown, except the South Indian Ocean's. The total expansion was 6.6 million square kilometers or 15%, and it happened as the shallow waters of the gyres were warming. "We're seeing this pattern in each of the four ocean basins," says Polovina. That suggests to him that global warming could be the ultimate cause of the observed desert expansion. Gyre waters are already strongly layered, so stirring by the wind brings little of the nutrients stored in deep waters to the surface to fuel plant and ultimately animal growth. Warming further strengthens this stratification, making such nourishing mixing all the more difficult. Climate-ecosystem models predict that global warming will exacerbate ocean desert expansion, but not this quickly, Polovina notes. During the past 9 years, gyre deserts expanded 10 to 25 times faster than modeled. CLIP - NOTE: As life and oxygen-producing planktons disappear from oceans, so disappear a vital element of our sole life-support system...

Iceless Arctic seen by summer 2013 (01/28/2008)
http://www.montereyherald.com/news/ci_8098407?nclick_check=1
The Arctic Ocean could be entirely ice-free during the summer months as soon as 2013, said two scientists at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey who have been studying the polar ice cap. (...) A combination of factors could cause the ice to disappear altogether in summer, they said.If and when that happens, "the world will change, quite dramatically," Maslowski said.The Arctic Ocean is caught in "a positive feedback loop," he said. Ice reflects sunlight and solar heat, while water absorbs it. As the ice disappears, the Arctic Ocean gets warmer.At the same time, warmer water — zero degrees Celsius but still liquid — hasAdvertisementbeen flowing into the Arctic from the north Pacific and Atlantic oceans, Kinney said.All of these factors point toward a meltdown of arctic ice as much as 15 years sooner than the previously "bold" prediction of an ice-free polar ocean by 2030."We'll still be working — and alive — in 2013," Maslowski said. "I'm confident it will happen, not only in our lifetime, but in our career time."Warming of the polar ocean will likely spin off into glacier melts in Greenland and Scandinavia, as well as disruption of the ocean currents that regulate much of the globe's climate. The Arctic will still freeze in winter, Maslowski said, but the ice cap won't be thick enough to survive the following summer. CLIP

Sun Blamed for Warming of Earth and Other Worlds (12 March 2007)
http://www.livescience.com/environment/070312_solarsys_warming.html
Earth is heating up lately, but so are Mars, Pluto and other worlds in our solar system, leading some scientists to speculate that a change in the sun’s activity is the common thread linking all these baking events. Others argue that such claims are misleading and create the false impression that rapid global warming, as Earth is experiencing, is a natural phenomenon.While evidence suggests fluctuations in solar activity can affect climate on Earth, and that it has done so in the past, the majority of climate scientists and astrophysicists agree that the sun is not to blame for the current and historically sudden uptick in global temperatures on Earth, which seems to be mostly a mess created by our own species. CLI¨P

Top 10 Surprising Results of Global Warming
http://www.livescience.com/environment/top10_global_warming_results.html
You've probably heard about the global warming song and dance: rising temperatures, melting ice caps and rising sea levels in the near future. But Earth's changing climate is already wreaking havoc in some very weird ways. So gird yourself for such strange effects as savage wildfires, disappearing lakes, and freak allergies.

Fluoride Poisoning Us and our CHILDREN in FOODS and WATER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNtTctC_7qc

Your children’s real future: what future?
http://www.telluridenews.com/lifestyle/x142937493
Chuck Burr has written “Culturequake,” a (mostly) secular and environmental version of the Book of Revelation, in which he puts on his oracle’s robe and prophesies his visions of times to come. The subtitle of the book is “Your Children’s Real Future,” and if I had to summarize, in a single word, what Burr believes to be your children’s real future, that word would be “screwed.”Burr, a local retired software developer, is riding a recent wave of end-of-times literature, a wonky believer in enviro-apocalypse. And his basic point is clearly right: eventually, everything’s gonna run out. We can’t keep sledgehammering the Earth. But the book reads like a horror movie: “Water shortages! … Tropical diseases! Mosquitoes! Global species loss!” Burr’s pessimism is limitless. “The world is approaching the point of death,” he writes. “Our culture has literally gone mad. … The world has no plan B.” (...) You want to ask: Chuck, buddy, everything all right at home? You sleeping okay? Burr admits he doesn’t know what the future holds, (although he knows the future is bleak).
After outlining all the ways we’re going to wither on the vine, he also trots out the old “abrupt ice age” theory, in which climate change comes in the form of cold, and we die the old fashioned way, in an ice age, the way our ancestors did. Either way, solutions are futile, since climate change and monoculture and erosion are already on an unstoppable path, and we have finally arrived at the scientific version of the doomsday predictions of St. John and Nostradamus. Burr reminds us that change is coming, either when we see the errors of our ways, or when change is forced upon us by catastrophe, scarcity, war, and the seven-headed beasts of Revelation are coming.

Empire State Building car zap mystery (January 27th 200)
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/01/27/2008-01-27_empire_state_building_car_zap_mystery.html
In the shadow of the Empire State Building lies an “automotive Bermuda Triangle” - a five-block radius where vehicles mysteriously die.No one is sure what’s causing it, but all roads appear to lead to the looming giant in our midst - specifically, its Art Deco mast and 203-foot-long, antenna-laden spire.“We get about 10 to 15 cars stuck near there every day,” said Isaac Leviev, manager of Citywide Towing, the AAA’s exclusive roadside assistance provider from 42nd St. to the Battery. “You pull the car four or five blocks to the west or east and the car starts right up.” (...) The 102-story building, at Fifth Ave. between 33rd and 34th Sts., has been home to broadcast equipment since its opening in 1931, when RCA installed an experimental TV antenna.Since the 9/11 attacks destroyed the twin towers, the building has regained its status as the leading transmission site for commercial broadcast outfits, with 13 TV and 19 FM stations mounting antennas on its spire. CLIP

Digital TV Will Make More People Sick
http://groups.google.com/group/mobilfunk_newsletter/browse_thread/thread/7a4b006fb3c51008
The change from analog TV to digital TV is now in progress. U.S. broadcasters are being force to change to digital signals by February 2009. This will mean that extremely powerful digital signals will be broadcast over very large areas by large antennas. This is expected to be a very dangerous development which could cause a great danger to health. There are two links below which may help you to understand the danger. A very important scientific document by Hallberg and Johansson is also attached to this message. When reading the document, note the year and note that digital TV started broadcasting at that time. It is quite clear that 'over the air' broadcasting is dangerous and should be stopped. Television and many other wireless services could be delivered to the consumer much more safely by wired connections than by wireless. Governments should be implementing widespread wired / fibre optic infrastructure now!

PDF: US Fish & Wildlife On Cell/ EMF Dangers
http://tinyurl.com/3drrqj
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Concerns Over Potential Radiation Impacts of Cellular Communication Towers on Migratory Birds and Other Wildlife

EMF-Omega-News 26. January 2008
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/4650017/

EMF-Omega-News 2. February 2008
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/4668743/

Omega-News Collection 2. February 2008
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/4668750/




1.

From: Suzanne Ward (suzy@matthewbooks.com)
Subject: Message from Matthew
Date: 27 Jan 2008

From: http://www.matthewbooks.com/mm/anmviewer.asp?a=84&z=2

US primaries; the economy, changes; Illuminati group, control crashing; ethanol; Internet; importance of sound; turmoil, violence in third density and universal contexts; other civilizations’ help in world transformation

January 27, 2008

This is Matthew greeting you in this first month of your calendar year 2008, and what a year of decisive revelations it promises to be! So let us get right to this.

The eyes and ears of the world are aimed at the nominating primaries in the United States, and it is a grand circus that these are providing. Although Hillary Clinton is the Illuminati's choice as the next US president—with good reason, as she is one of the most influential in that global group—they also have their reasons for rigging the voting process so that various candidates in each party come out on top in one state or another. As long as these "leading" ones remain hopeful of getting their party's nomination, they will stick to Illuminati-approved topics and avoid critical issues. This keeps the real state of the union under wraps in their speeches along with keeping voters uncertain about whom to believe, whom to trust with presidential power in what is relentlessly publicized as an Al Queda-terrorized world. And how much more obvious can it be that the only candidates who are not under the thumb of the Illuminati are all but excluded from media attention? Take heart in knowing that not only will the light disclose the truth about the candidates prior to the November election, but efforts are underway to have an accurate vote count then. Parallel to the Illuminati's nefarious efforts to put still another of their own in the White House, in a collaborative effort between Earth humankind and benevolent extraterrestrial family, there is a strong movement afoot to derail that dark plan. Eventually all leaders of all nations will be honest, wise and capable souls.   

The same kind of joint effort is true about the economy disaster in the United States, which is reverberating around the globe. When your mainstream media use words like "economic downturn" and "recession"; banks are reporting gigantic losses; home repossessions are mounting; credit card debt is astronomical; stock market trading suspiciously rises and falls and rises and falls; mortgage lenders are going under; retail sales are down; small companies die and large ones send jobs to other countries where wages are at bare subsistence levels; you know that major changes in current business methods must occur.

The facts are, the United States has been bankrupt for some time—there is no foundation for the amount of currency in circulation and no means to repay the national debt—and financial turmoil will increase, not get back on a firm footing as the administration proposes will result from pouring a small amount of money into personal pockets and more into business pockets. That "spending stimulus" and the measures being taken in other countries are the Illuminati's frenzied attempts to keep the lid on the global economy, which they are desperate to keep under their control, but none of their ploys will work. The ever-increasing light will blow that lid right off and expose the root of deepening problems: the corrupt banking system, private ownership of the Federal Reserve and its Internal Revenue Service collection agency, manipulated stock markets, and exploitation of nations‚ natural resources. Their long era of worldwide economic domination is crashing around them.

For the benefit of readers who may not know who the Illuminati are, I shall digress a moment to explain that this name meaning "illuminated," or "enlightened," was chosen by the darkly-inclined ones who generation after generation have oppressed your world and suppressed many truths. Also known as the secret government, the dark cabal or the elitists, it is not a membership society as such, but rather a large group of powerful individuals around the globe who essentially run governments; legal systems; royal families; religions; mainstream media; banking; education; medical field; entertainment venues; international corporations—in short, every business, organization and institution that profoundly affects life on Earth. The scope and tenacity of this dark web is why the peoples have been so easily controlled for so long. Earth, who is a sentient being, no longer is willing to tolerate the suffering of her human and animal life and her planetary body that is caused by the dark ones‚ abuse of free will, and she asked for universal assistance so her residents can break free of the deeply entrenched deception, corruption, greed and tyranny. In a nutshell, that freedom process is what is happening in your world.

To return to the financial topic, the next several months can be likened to "the darkness before the dawn." Many will experience hardships for a while, but those will be mild compared to what is on the Illuminati agenda, to plunge your world into such dire economic straits that billions would starve while those dark ones further enrich their unconscionable fortunes of illegally amassed wealth. US President Bush's push to produce ethanol rather than renewable energy sources to reduce dependency on oil is part of that insidious plan—corn production would go for that fuel instead of consumption by people and animals raised for food—remember, Bush does what he is told by the more powerful in the Illuminati ranks. That plan won't get off the drawing board either. Spiritually evolved souls well experienced in economic and business management are ready to step in, so there will be no vacuum in the conduct of those affairs as the present system is replaced by a return to a basis of precious metals.

We see that many who used to take at face value political hopefuls‚ promises and the rosy spin put on the economy still want to feel hopeful, but they are becoming wary. We greet this awakening process that will become what you could call a very rude awakening as truths continue to come out, especially when the origin and purpose of religious dogmas is revealed. Despite the ever-increasing light intensity that is enabling higher consciousness and greater spiritual clarity, not all people who will believe the disclosures about the centuries of Illuminati control will be able to accept the truth about the millennia of religious control.   

In reference to both authentic history and "breaking news," the most trustworthy source today is the Internet. For all its capacity to convey the false along with the factual, nevertheless it is the most reliable source of reports that cover what is omitted in mainstream media or is in conflict with that information. When the volume of facts on the Internet reaches a crescendo, so to say, newspapers and the air waves are forced to report the tip of the iceberg to maintain any credibility, and ones who still believe those sources do get glimpses of truth. Although the dark minds' intention to use Internet communication to complement their other forms of mind control was swiftly compromised by soul-searching users, this means also is serving their purpose of disseminating false information, so be very discerning about all its material just as with all other sources.

A related subject for your discretion, at least insofar as radio and television, is sound. The sounds from every source emanate frequencies that are beneficial or detrimental to your psyche and body, and in the higher frequencies now prevailing on Earth, you are correspondingly more greatly affected by the sounds around you. The dark minds are keenly aware of this and their skullduggery extends to bombarding you with damaging inaudible sound waves—those you can't avoid. But in most instances you can choose sounds from radios, TVs and stereos. A great deal of modern music and programming teems with dissonance or harmful decibels or both, and you can avoid those noises. Scientific experiments with classical works by Mozart, Beethoven and other masters have proven their calming, nurturing effects on very sick patients, the flourishing of plants, and the gentle receptivity of animals. We understand that symphonic music is not everyone's cup of tea, but you would do well to keep in mind its great benefits. Whenever you can, venture into Nature—delight in the sounds it offers and revel in the essence of BEing at One with All. And please don't overlook the soothing sound of silence—it is golden indeed!—and as often as possible, treat yourselves to the restorative upliftment of stillness.

Now then, if you are thinking that despite all our contentions that the light is increasing, there is little evidence of this as you observe more outbreaks of violence, from civil wars to individual acts of assault and murder, please put these in the context of what we have said about the higher frequencies magnifying all characteristics and behavior—simply put, now "good" is better and "bad" is worse. The killings of those who held or were vying for prominent leadership roles anywhere in the world are part of this exacerbated energetic force, and so is the brutality within families and acquaintances and indiscriminate killings. Those kinds of incidents will continue until the energy with dark tentacles that initiates them runs its course. Do not fall into fear, that most pernicious tool and the fuel of the darkness! A magnified energy at its core and correspondingly stronger now, fear forms cracks in the psyche that become entryways for dark tentacles. Keep foremost in your thoughts that always the light is stronger—light is the same as love and it is the most powerful force in the universe. Keeping your light steady is your fortress that the darkness cannot scale.

Although from our vantage point of observation and our knowledge of soul contracts in general, we are joyfully astounded by the amazingly rapid progress of the light, we also empathize—yes, empathize, not only sympathize—with the souls who are experiencing trauma, grief and confusion during this stage of Earth's transition. While many are leaving according to their pre-birth agreements, many others are choosing to amend their contracts and leave early so as to forego the pain of their intolerable living conditions that adds negativity, and they are joining in the light-beaming from souls in spirit to help Earth rid herself of negativity. And I hasten to say that the "better good" is happening in far greater abundance than the "bad worse"!

I shall speak first in a third density context about the countries with the most media attention: Iraq and Afghanistan, with on-going combat, turmoil and US-installed puppet regimes; Iran, the next nation on the dark ones‚ agenda, thus the rhetoric about the need to stop its potential to develop nuclear weaponry; Pakistan, with its serious political unrest; the Zionist-led 60-year conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians; and now Lebanon. Very few of the violent incidents in that entire area are the work of the "Muslim radicals" who are blamed for them—this is part of the propaganda to instill the idea that the new enemy of peace and freedom is the Islamic religion. The "insurgents," the political label given the ones trying to free their people from foreign occupation, in previous times were "patriots" fighting to liberate their countries from foreign oppressors. Most of the death and destruction, including many of the suicide bombings, are "black-ops" activities implemented or directed by the Illuminati-controlled faction of the CIA, often using mind-controlled individuals. But the big picture is that all the violence reinforces the necessity to keep waging the fictional "war on terror." Expanding this "war" is an Illuminati priority not only to further erode civil and God-given rights, but to gain "popular" support to include the manpower required to keep their conquests and occupation going in their march to world control. That never can happen except in some delusional minds that are captive of lowest third density energy forces.   

Now, in the context of the universal continuum and multiple lifetime experiencing, what is happening in those countries is the winding up of the third density karma that started in ancient times and has been brought forward throughout the ages. In pre-birth agreements, today's inhabitants chose to return specifically to participate in this balancing process for themselves and their lands to aid Earth's ascension out of third density's hotbed of darkness. Starting at a later time, the same is true of the nations in Africa where tyranny and bloodshed has long been a way of life. Understandably, the end of oppression and death in all of those areas will come more slowly than in countries without the need for that heavy karmic balancing. While life is no less traumatic for the affected populations on a conscious level, putting their living and dying in the karmic context permits the understanding of why that is continuing even as the light keeps intensifying.

With reference to the recent incident of Palestinians exploding the wall at Egypt's border so they could enter that country to get food and other necessities, the purpose in third density context is clear—oppressed peoples taking survival into their own hands. The higher view is, this is symbolic of all barriers between peoples and borders between nations breaking down as awareness of the unity of all souls is rising.    

Another aspect of the controlled mass information is that tragedies wherever they are happening receive the most focus to perpetually keep fear, violence and sorrow on center stage. No individual can assimilate that extent of humankind's suffering, and the dark ones rely on apathy as the reaction to those overwhelming numbers along with your feeling helpless to change anything and therefore doing nothing. Oh, how deluded they are! Millions are taking bold steps and bringing about positive change all the way from small communities to international movements. Expansion of the light that is permeating hearts and minds throughout the world CANNOT be stopped! Please do not think that only the ones in leadership positions are important—EVERY soul is essential, and simply by radiating your own light, each of you is contributing to the transformation of your world.

That is how it must be because it is your world. Messages from spiritually evolved beings time and again reassure you that myriad members of your universal family are among you and surrounding your homeland planet to assist you every step of the way. Out of their love and honor for you, they are there to help you manifest the wondrous world of your vision. And don't forget that in every moment, we in spirit are enfolding you in unconditional love!

---

LOVE and PEACE

Suzanne Ward
http://www.matthewbooks.com/

[Note from Suzy: If you received this as a forward and used to get the messages directly, it was via the former Yahoo group that was disbanded. As soon as a new free distribution list is ready, a note and the sign-up link will be on "Matthew's Messages" page, http://www.matthewbooks.com/mattsmessage.htm, where all messages are posted approximately a month apart. If you would like to receive these directly, please check occasionally to see if the new group is ready, and please don't send your email address to me because I can't add any more to my list. 

Using the messages/Matthew Books index and the search feature in "Matthew's Messages" makes it easy to locate topics of special interest.

Guest on the February 20th "Matthew and Friends" BBS Internet Radio http://www.bbsradio.com/bbc/matthew_and_friends.php will be Terri Daniel, author of A Swan in Heaven, her insightful conversations about human relationships with her son Danny, who contacted his mother immediately after his transition to spirit life.  

And then God said—then I said—then He said, a book of extraordinary messages received by Celestial Bluestar, David of Arcturus and me, will be available in the Spring. A description of content is at http://www.awakenedhearts.com/books2.htm and you can preorder a copy at creation@godumentary.com. ]

Last but definitely not least, my heartfelt appreciation to all who wrote about their prayers, healing energy and various remedies for my finger. You helped immensely and it appears that it will become useful again—THANK YOU!] 




2.

Forwarded by Ricardo (ricardos@auroville.org.in)

From: http://www.treeofthegoldenlight.com/First_Contact/mike_quinsey/channeled%20messages/January%202008/MQ_01_30_08Ker-On..htm

Ker-On 30-January-2008

You have created so much energy for change that it must express itself, through many avenues of opportunity that have been created. The public and indeed the world, are focused upon the U.S. and the fight for nominations to decide who goes forward to the presidential election. It is a long process but one that will give people ample opportunity to see the dark at work. Unlike previous occasions when they have hidden their manipulation and fraudulent actions, they are having to throw caution to the wind. They now see and experience opposition to their attempts to promote their own choice as your next President.

Now more people are becoming enlightened, as to how the dark have been able direct the path of Man to suit their own agenda. However, the voice of the people cannot be silenced and neither will its continuing demand for change. Almost everywhere you look across the world, the mood is changing and politicians are having a hard time. Normally with the chaos that is taking place, the dark seize every opportunity to further their own cause. This time, the power of the people is dictating that the political system is used for change, and if necessary a completely new approach.

You are therefore now in the interim period when the plan for Man’s release from the hold of the dark is manifesting. Behind those actions we are motivating and assisting our allies, to achieve the first steps that will see a positive move in the right direction. The first priority remains as ever the removal of the last cabal, and the more audacious and daring their efforts to resist it, the more they are revealing their true intent. For example, even the most biased person cannot fail to see the truth behind events such as 9/11, and the awakening grows faster and ensures that these matters remain in the public domain.

You are far from stupid, but have been taken in by the dark because you have given them your trust. They have trampled all over you in their eagerness to succeed with their plan for global control. Your worst fears are realized as the truth continues to come out, and it is incumbent for you to ensure that action is taken. Your power is in your numbers because the truth is your banner, and many are aware that God’s plan for you is vastly different to what you have been experiencing. Peace is something you seek that rarely comes without a fight, and at present you are well on the way to success.

It is not that peace can be achieved without a considerable amount of hard work, but this time with the help of the Galactic Federation you will see the future taking shape as you desire. The cleansing is first to remove those who serve themselves and the Illuminati, and then your true representatives will emerge who are already known at various levels of authority. There is always a right time to make your move, as it needs to be successful to ensure that there is no residue of the dark forces to delay the planned events. Fortunately deceit does not work where we are concerned, and we can see the person behind the outer shell and know of their intentions.

Our presence is your guarantee of success, which is why we can confidently predict that major changes will occur this year. It is intended to be one where you can see the result of our combined work to release you from the hold of the dark. Instead the Light and Love will transform societies everywhere, and any opposition will quickly be removed. From hereon the Light will become the dominant force and open up your eyes to the truth of your old reality. It will also show you what is possible when Man moves into it, and elicits the help of the heavenly forces. In the past you have been deliberately mislead as to your true potential as Beings of Light, but no more as we will ensure that every soul understands their link with the Source that is supreme and is All That Is.

We know that many of you have shied away from religious doctrine, and have placed a barrier between yourselves and the Light. When the truth is brought out, it will become so much easier to accept the existence of an All Loving and Gracious Creator. Some find it hard to accept they have an everlasting and immutable link to God, but again that will change with the coming of the Masters. The truth is to become our byword, and you will soon accept what we have come to tell you. Trust will be restored and that will clearly show in the actions we take on your behalf.

Our presence has nothing to do with claiming your planet as our own, indeed our actions will be soon be seen as quite clearly in your interests. Truth for you will be much stranger than fiction, but through various means you have been prepared for what is to come. Look at your skies and see how openly we come to you, because with few exceptions they are our craft working to finalize our last preparations, prior to officially announcing our presence. No incidents that have caused the slightest damage to you or your property are due to our craft. You must bear in mind that your Government by agreement allowed the Greys to have bases on your Earth, and they also have back engineered their own craft. Your records show that many sightings of this nature took place around Area 51 where they were developed.

The truth which we come to bring you is incredible, and it will traumatize some who are totally unprepared for it. However, our approach will be one of the awareness of such possibilities, and we will take it gently so as not to totally overwhelm you. It must set the records straight as your history is far from the truth you are spoon fed, and it will remove falsehoods and deliberate manipulation that has kept you down. You are great Beings of a glorious Light that will be re-kindled, so that you may reclaim your sovereignty and freedom once more. Already you are sensing the truth about yourselves, and it only remains for the Forces of Light to present it to you.

I am Ker-On from Venus, which you correctly associate with the vibration of Love. It is Love that we bring with us together with the blessings of God that will open your eyes to your full potential, as Gods in your own rights.

Thank you Ker-On.

Mike Quinsey

More such message from Mike Quinsey through http://www.treeofthegoldenlight.com/First_Contact/Channeled_Messages_by_Mike_Quinsey.htm




3.

A MOST INSPIRING "FABLE" FROM A GROUP OF VERY ACTIVE PLANETARY TRANSFORMERS. FURTHER EXPLORING WHAT THEY OFFER THROUGH THE LINK PROVIDED AT THE END IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

From: PEERS: WantToKnow.info Email List (emaillist@peerservice.org)
Date: 31 Jan 2008
Subject: A Fable of Planetary Transformation

From: http://www.WantToKnow.info/080131globaltransformationteamfable

A Fable of Planetary Transformation

Crafted by the Transformation Team

Once upon a time in a far away corner of the universe in the outer reaches of a medium-sized spiral galaxy, there was a beautiful blue-green planet whose inquisitive inhabitants named their world Earth. Many different peoples inhabited this planet teeming with abundant lifeforms. They had come to learn the many difficult, yet rewarding lessons of exploring in physical bodies what it is like to feel separate and disconnected from their own divine essence and from all around them.

The collective consciousness of all people on Earth greatly affected everything that happened on this revolving planet. Yet because of their explorations into separateness, the vast majority of these people – or humans as they called themselves – were unaware of how their collective will formed their world. In order to learn the deep wisdom of this Earth school or Univers-city, these humans had chosen to forget how in their deepest essence they were all interconnected and how every individual played an essential role in what happened on their planet and to their people as a whole.

Over the ages and through thousands upon thousands of revolutions of this jewel of a planet around its shining golden sun, the people of Earth explored, developed, and expanded their awareness through many rich, beautiful, and sometimes even painful experiences. Through the rich drama and challenging lessons of many ages and lifetimes, they several times grew close to the point of feeling again their deep interconnectedness with all beings. Yet each time they came close, that awareness then contracted and was eventually shut down by their collective fear of losing individuality and uniqueness.

After several cycles of this expansion and contraction, at one point in a new expansion phase, the collective mind grew so intelligent as to permit humankind for the first time to soar beyond the gravitational confines of Earth in shiny, metallic spaceships. The collective knowledge of the physical world in which they lived grew so deep that certain individuals began to see visions of a major transformation leading to physical paradise on Earth. At the same time, many others greatly feared that these new mental abilities and sophisticated technologies would be used by the militaries and greedy elite to destroy the very life and world in which they lived.

As their collective hopes and fears grew like never before, many humans dedicated to global transformation joined together in a deep prayer about their lives and world. So for the first time in the planet's history, a powerful collective call was sent out to the universe requesting help and guidance for the struggling planet and its people to move beyond separation, selfishness, and greed towards loving, empowering transformation and integration. For the first time, humanity as a whole opened to connection and help from the great universe beyond the physical confines of their world.

Their prayer was heard.

In the vast and varied collection of civilizations and species spread throughout the infinite universe, the call for help from this small, beautiful planet was heard. Unbeknownst to the people of Earth, there existed in the universe a special team made up of millions of caring souls from various planets, galaxies, and even dimensions. This loving team had dedicated themselves specifically to serve and support the inhabitants of developing planets who requested help in times of crisis and transition.

The vibrant souls of this intergalactic transformation team were committed to work together with the local transformation team of any planet that called for help in creating more nurturing, life-enhancing ways of living and growing. This loving team was activated by the collective call from Earth.

Feeling the call for help almost like a fireman on Earth responding to an alarm, the excited souls of the transformation team came together to focus their attention on this beautiful world in crisis. They opened their hearts and souls to the people there. They learned of the ways of humankind and became familiar with the challenges the people of Earth found themselves facing. While some agreed to observe and provide guidance from a distance, millions of these souls agreed to be born in human bodies and – like other humans – to forget where they came from, so that they might fully experience being human and more effectively provide help and guidance to humankind.

Being born into human bodies and human families without memory of their origin, almost all of these transformation team members felt the many pains and joys of growing up while often feeling separate and isolated from those around them. Some even chose to go through serious traumas with their human families in order to develop deeper compassion. Others simply felt alone and bewildered, unable to comprehend why those around them couldn't see that love interconnects us all. At times, all of them felt they didn't belong and sensed an inner calling to some greater purpose.

As these dedicated transformation team members grew spiritually and the crisis facing the planet intensified, magical things began to happen. Key writings, dreams, mystical experiences, and even inspiring fables began to awaken members of the transformation team to their deeper purpose.

For some the awakening was gradual, while for others a powerful, unexpected single event lifted the veil. Collectively, members of the transformation team began to remember why they came to Earth. They found themselves spontaneously connecting with other wise humans who were part of the transformation team and who further helped to awaken and inspire them. Their fears and feeling of separation gradually faded as they became increasingly excited to remember their deeper purpose, and to find themselves now playing an integral role in this empowering planetary transition.

Eventually, all members of the transformation team awoke. Upon awakening, a new, bright sparkle danced from their eyes. It was a sparkle of knowingness. Knowing that all of us are already interconnected in a divine cosmic dance. Knowing that the joy of love is always there inside when any soul truly opens to it. Knowing that the team's purpose is not to save anyone, but rather to simply be a loving invitation and inspiration to all around them. Knowing that uniqueness and individuality are welcome even in the interconnectedness of all beings. Knowing that when the people of a planet send out a collective call for help, the transformation team always answers. Knowing that the team never fails to give powerful, inspiring guidance to help make it through even the most daunting crisis.

Once upon a time, the transformation team came to Earth to remind humankind – and even to remind themselves – that we are not alone, that we are all equally important actors intimately interconnected in the divine unfolding of the universe. The team came to remind us that fear is but an invitation to growth, and that in the end, there is no end. There is only this sacred moment in which to open to all the richness that we are ready to receive. There is only the eternal here and now.

And so to bring this transformation fable to a close (or is it an opening?), the transformation team found and continues to find ever more joyful, meaningful ways to love, explore, play, and grow together with all people of Earth, as they live happily ever after in the ever present here and now.


To join in the fun and deeply meaningful work of the planetary transformation team, enter here.

See our collection of inspirational resources at http://www.WantToKnow.info/inspirational




4.

From: Terri Mansfield (azdopcampaigntm@cox.net)
Subject: Creating a Culture of Peace
Date: 31 Jan 2008

Dear beloved friends,

The 11th annual Season for Nonviolence is active now, starting on Jan. 30 which is the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's death, to April 4 which is the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death. Cesar Chavez's legacy is now a part of this Season, which is officially called "Gandhi King Chavez Season for Nonviolence".

They were global proponents of peace and nonviolence.
http://www.agnt.org/

The Franciscan Renewal Center in Paradise Valley, AZ, offers ongoing events during this Season for Nonviolence.
Please see more at their website.
http://www.thecasa.org

The Arizona Dept. of Peace Campaign supports and is engaged with the Season for Nonviolence.

Please read Len Ellis' powerful OpEd below from the Dallas Morning News.
Len Ellis reminds us that we are all creating a Culture of Peace.

Hugs of peace, love, light, laughter

Terri Mansfield
Executive Director, Arizona Dept. of Peace Campaign
602.885.9058
P.O. Box 99047
Phoenix, AZ 85060 USA
http://www.azdopcampaign.org
http://www.thepeacealliance.org
http://www.galaxiesforpeace.com

"CO-CREATING PEACE ON EARTH & IN SPACE = THE DEPT. OF PEACE IN ACTION"

The proposed Cabinet level U.S. Department of Peace will research, articulate, and facilitate nonviolent solutions to domestic and international conflicts...as we all connect to create a Culture of Peace.

---

From: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-ellis_30edi.ART.State.Edition1.4509524.html

Len Ellis: Creating a culture of peace

It's going to take all of us to bring an end to the violence

January 30, 2008

We live in a culture of violence. Violence is so prevalent, like the proverbial fish in the sea; we aren't even aware that it surrounds us and conditions us. We are so accustomed to violence that we mistakenly believe it is a natural state of being.

Being submerged in violence has dulled and numbed our sensitivity to our own humanity; our concept of what it means to be human has been impaired. And like any other belief, until it is challenged, until we become aware of another way of being, it continues.

Most people long for a state of peace, to live without fear for our lives, without fear for our health, without fear for our emotional well-being. Yes, we need challenges to grow, but living with healthy challenges is far different than living in fear.

But a culture of peace cannot be legislated or dictated, demanded or decreed.

It requires the commitment of the whole of society and must emerge from the grass-roots level, seeding peace and nonviolence in the everyday dialogue and behavior of all people, which in turn, results in cultural action.

By envisioning a culture of peace and nonviolence, people develop values for a way of life that will guide individual actions. Such is the purpose of programs such as "A Season For Nonviolence."

Today begins the 11th annual "Season for Nonviolence." This grassroots campaign was co-founded by Arun and Sunanda Gandhi of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence and 10 ministers who form the Leadership Council of The Association for Global New Thought. Its purpose is to focus educational and media attention on the philosophy of attaining peace through nonviolent action as demonstrated by Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

With the theme of "Compassionate Activism for Global Healing," the program offers a unique opportunity for people around the world to learn how we can actively engage, with compassion, in a much-needed process of global healing.

Framed by the anniversaries of the assassinations of Mohandas Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 2008 saw the addition of the name of Cesar Chavez to the title. The "Gandhi-King-Chavez Season For Nonviolence" offers a 10-week period to learn from the lives and teachings of these models.

More important, it gives us the opportunity to translate what we learn into compassionate, nonviolent, dedicated activism in their spirit.

There are people everywhere who want to help create a better world ˆ people deeply concerned about widespread suffering, environmental destruction, escalating materialism and the loss of our sense of community. Gandhi and Dr. King modeled the vision to create such a society, as well as showing us that the power for social change lays within individual consciousness.

We want to create a nonviolent world, so we must first become nonviolent individuals.

With a vision of a society governed by love and the common good, we have a powerful antidote to the violence, distrust and division of today's atmosphere of fear. Learning to be nonviolent is a new way of living, creating a healing process that ripples out into the larger world.

As we heal our own relations we are demonstrating that people, organizations and governments can move the world pro-actively toward peace and wisdom.

And while reading about and supporting "A Season for Nonviolence" is a good start, to bring about change in the world, every one of us must be active participants. We must speak out against violence and injustice wherever it shows up. We must raise our voices. We must be the change we want to see in this world.

Len Ellis is director of the Peace and Justice Center-Arlington and on the board of directors of the Dallas Peace Center. Readers may contact him through Peace-Center@TX.RR.com.




5.

From: The Gaiafield Project (davidnicol2@yahoo.com)
Date: 30 Jan 2008
Subject: Gaiafield Times: A call to meditate for "Super Tuesday"

Welcome to our first edition of Gaiafield Times for 2008! With critical elections looming in the USA, 2008 promises to be a watershed year that could bring forth a clear shift to a new era, not just for the US but for the entire global community. We are excited about the contribution that the growing numbers of spiritual peacemakers around the world can make to this transition through the power of our collective silence and prayers.

There will be many opportunities in 2008 for you to participate in globally-synchronized meditation and prayer events, including several events hosted by the Gaiafield Project and many great events hosted by ally organizations. We hope that you will contribute your spiritual power to this exciting movement to bring forth a new era of global cooperation and unity.

Global Meditation for Super Tuesday this Sunday on Ustream TV!
 
We invite you to join us for a special global meditation on Sunday Feb 3 from 10-10.30am PST (1-1.30pm EST) to pray for wisdom and grace to infuse the critical "Super Tuesday" primary election in 24 US states on Tuesday Feb 5. The guided meditation will be broadcast live on Ustream tv at http://ustream.tv/channel/gaiafield-super-tuesday-global-meditation. (Or just go to http://ustream.tv and search for "gaiafield".)

(While the primary focus of the Gaiafield Project is to support an emerging global consciousness that transcends national identities, we are motivated to bring a special focus this year to bringing spiritual support to the US political process, since wise leadership from the USA could be a great force for leading the world into the Planetary Era.)

Upcoming Gaiafield events

Wiser USA Event - In September 2008 (exact date to be advised) we will link multiple communities around the world for a 2 hour spiritual ceremony to pray for wisdom to emerge in the US in the buildup to the November elections. Stay tuned for updates!

Spring Equinox global meditation - We will broadcast a global meditation linking our friends from Findhorn, Scotland, the Tree of Life, Arizona, and the California Institute of Integral Studies using our latest and greatest technology platform.

Monthly guided global meditations - Beginning in late February, we will lead monthly guided global meditations using http://Ustream.tv (it's free to watch). Details to follow.

Events from Gaiafield Planet

World Peace Prayer Society Global Link Teleconferences - Twice a month, the World Peace Prayer Society hosts teleconferences to join people around the world in praying "May Peace Prevail on Earth". The next Teleconference is scheduled for Sun Feb 3 at 11am EST. See http://www.worldpeace.org for more info.

Common Passion monthly Teleconference and Global Concordance - held the third Thursday of every month at 6pm PST, 9pm EST. See http://www.commonpassion.org for more info.

Global Prayer Project - Join Sally and James Redfield for twice-monthly Teleconferences and webcasts of guided global meditations. The next teleconference will be on Tuesday Feb 5 at 5pm PST, 8pm EST. See http://www.celestinevision.com for more info.

You can also visit http://www.gaiafield.net for monthly updates about upcoming global meditation and prayer events.

Thank you so much for your continuing support and goodwill for our project. May Peace Prevail on Earth

The Gaiafield Project Team

Contact Information :
email: davidnicol2@yahoo.com
web: http://www.gaiafield.net




6.

Note from Jean: Avaaz has really emerged lately as a most powerful global voice for often disregarded world public opinion on several key issues and is set to become an ever more powerful instrument to insure that the will of the people is respected and implemented by those who are supposed to represent us all in governmental decision-making processes. We should all commit to lend our continued support and financial assistance, if we can afford to do so, to further enhance this amazing grassroots organization.

From: Ricken Patel - Avaaz.org (avaaz@avaaz.org)
Subject: Japan's "Bali Shock"
Date: 31 Jan 2008

Dear friends,

Huge news out of Japan: a top newspaper is reporting a major shift in climate policy, and citing Avaaz members as one of the reasons why!

The paper reports that at a critical, high-level meeting on global warming, the Environment Minister held up Avaaz's "Titanic" newspaper ad from the Bali summit--showing Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda, with Bush, steering towards climate disaster... along with a call for tough 2020 emissions targets, signed by 90,000 Avaaz members.

"The world sees Japan as a force resisting change! Are we okay with this?" the minister asked. The Chief Cabinet Minister suggested setting a target. Days later, Prime Minister Fukuda announced his decision: at last, Japan would set a 2020 emissions target!

This is a genuine victory. Japan is a huge polluter, a key Bush ally, and host of this summer's crucial G8 summit. Congratulations to everyone for the positive role we all played!

This story is also a great example of why Avaaz works. Global public opinion is powerful--but to make a difference, our voices have to reach decision-makers quickly. We had just hours to create Titanic ad after Japan took its position at the Bali summit. That's why we're launching a "Crisis Action Fund", so we'll have the money on hand when we need to act. Can we raise 50,000 Euros this week? Click below to make a totally secure donation:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/crisis_action_fund_2/5.php

To stay independent, Avaaz takes no money from corporations or governments--so building the Crisis Action Fund is up to individual Avaaz members. This fund will help us take effective action wherever necessary, in Pakistan, Kenya, Gaza, or places we can't predict.

It could pay for rallies in cities across the globe; it could buy vital communications equipment for endangered democracy activists; it could fund emergency media campaigns... whatever will have the greatest impact when our voice is needed the most.

Japan's not the only example. Here are some other moments when rapid-response people power made a difference in 2007:

Burma: When news broke in October of the violent crackdown against protesting monks, Avaaz members scrambled into action. Within 96 hours, more than half a million people called on the Chinese government to intervene, and Avaaz ran the total count in a full-page ad in one of the most influential global newspapers. Shamed, China successfully pushed Burma to start talks with the UN and with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Burma campaign continues to build.
Global poverty: When World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz's personal corruption undermined the Bank's programme to encourage good government, Avaaz members joined the cry for new leadership. With global media looking on, we hand-delivered 50,000 signatures to World Bank Headquarters. Wolfowitz resigned days later.
Global warming: In addition to the "Titanic" ad that moved Japan, more than 320,000 Avaaz members took action in real time during the Bali summit--successfully reversing Canada's obstructionism and isolating Bush as he attempted to scuttle any agreement. While just a first step, the "Bali Road Map" set the stage for climate breakthroughs this year and next.
What urgent moments will 2008 bring? Some we can predict--most we cannot.

What we do know for certain is that the new year will bring serious threats and golden opportunities. We know that in those critical moments, acting quickly can make all the difference. And we know that if we all contribute a little bit now, we'll be sure that whatever comes--and whatever is required of us--we will be ready.

Avaaz depends on Avaaz members like you to fund our campaigns. Don't wait for "someone else" to step in--we're it. To make a secure, online contribution to the 2008 Crisis Action Fund, just click the link below:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/crisis_action_fund_2/5.php

With much appreciation and hope,

Ricken, Pascal, Ben, Galit, Ben B., Iain, Paul, Graziela and the whole Avaaz team

PS: You can see a scanned-in copy of the Asahi Shimbun article, as well as a blow-up of the ad we ran in Bali, on the donation page. Apparently, Fukuda's inner circle began referring to the intense NGO response at the climate negotiations as the "Bali Shock." Here's the link: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/crisis_action_fund_2/5.php


ABOUT AVAAZ
http://Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.




7.

WALL STREET JOURNAL SETTING UP THE RATIONAL FOR A PREEMPTIVE ATTACK AGAINST IRAN

From: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120103739264407641.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Stopping Iran Why the case for military action still stands

By NORMAN PODHORETZ - January 23, 2008 (Wall Street Journal)

(...)

"It's not going to happen on my watch." What else could this mean if not that Mr. Bush was preparing to meet "the impending danger" in what he must by now have concluded was the only way it could be averted?

The only alternative that seemed even remotely plausible to me was that he might be fixing to outsource the job to the Israelis. After all, even if, by now, it might have become politically impossible for us to take military action, the Israelis could not afford to sit by while a regime pledged to wipe them off the map was equipping itself with nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them. For unless Iran could be stopped before acquiring a nuclear capability, the Israelis would be faced with only two choices: either strike first, or pray that the fear of retaliation would deter the Iranians from beating them to the punch. Yet a former president of Iran, Hashemi Rafsanjani, had served notice that his country would not be deterred by the fear of retaliation:
If a day comes when the world of Islam is duly equipped with the arms Israel has in its possession, . . . application of an atomic bomb would not leave anything in Israel, but the same thing would just produce damages in the Muslim world.

If this was the view of even a supposed moderate like Mr. Rafsanjani, how could the Israelis depend upon the mullahs to refrain from launching a first strike? The answer was that they could not. Bernard Lewis, the leading contemporary authority on the culture of the Islamic world, has explained why:
MAD, mutual assured destruction, [was effective] right through the cold war. Both sides had nuclear weapons. Neither side used them, because both sides knew the other would retaliate in kind. This will not work with a religious fanatic [like Mr. Ahmadinejad]. For him, mutual assured destruction is not a deterrent, it is an inducement. We know already that [the mullahs ruling Iran] do not give a damn about killing their own people in great numbers. We have seen it again and again. In the final scenario, and this applies all the more strongly if they kill large numbers of their own people, they are doing them a favor. They are giving them a quick free pass to heaven and all its delights.

Under the aegis of such an attitude, even in the less extreme variant that may have been held by some of Mr. Ahmadinejad's colleagues among the regime's rulers, mutual assured destruction would turn into a very weak reed. Understanding that, the Israelis would be presented with an irresistible incentive to preempt--and so, too, would the Iranians. Either way, a nuclear exchange would become inevitable.

What would happen then? In a recently released study, Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies argues that Mr. Rafsanjani had it wrong. In the grisly scenario Mr. Cordesman draws, tens of millions would indeed die, but Israel--despite the decimation of its civilian population and the destruction of its major cities--would survive, even if just barely, as a functioning society. Not so Iran, and not its "key Arab neighbors," particularly Egypt and Syria, which Mr. Cordesman thinks Israel would also have to target in order "to ensure that no other power can capitalize on an Iranian strike." Furthermore, Israel might be driven in desperation to go after the oil wells, refineries, and ports in the Gulf.

"Being contained within the region," writes Martin Walker of UPI in his summary of Mr. Cordesman's study, "such a nuclear exchange might not be Armageddon for the human race." To me it seems doubtful that it could be confined to the Middle East. But even if it were, the resulting horrors would still be far greater than even the direst consequences that might follow from bombing Iran before it reaches the point of no return.

In the worst case of this latter scenario, Iran would retaliate by increasing the trouble it is already making for us in Iraq and by attacking Israel with missiles armed with non-nuclear warheads but possibly containing biological and/or chemical weapons. There would also be a vast increase in the price of oil, with catastrophic consequences for every economy in the world, very much including our own. And there would be a deafening outcry from one end of the earth to the other against the inescapable civilian casualties. Yet, bad as all this would be, it does not begin to compare with the gruesome consequences of a nuclear exchange between Israel and Iran, even if those consequences were to be far less extensive than Mr. Cordesman anticipates.

Which is to say that, as between bombing Iran to prevent it from getting the bomb and letting Iran get the bomb, there is simply no contest.

* * *

But this still does not answer the question of who should do the bombing. Tempting as it must be for George Bush to sit back and let the Israelis do the job, there are considerations that should give him pause. One is that no matter what he would say, the whole world would regard the Israelis as a surrogate for the United States, and we would become as much the target of the ensuing recriminations both at home and abroad as we would if we had done the job ourselves.

To make matters worse, the indications are that it would be very hard for the Israeli air force, superb though it is, to pull the mission off. Thus, an analysis by two members of the Security Studies Program at MIT concluded that while "the Israeli air force now possesses the capability to destroy even well-hardened targets in Iran with some degree of confidence," the problem is that for the mission to succeed, all of the many contingencies involved would have to go right. Hence an Israeli attempt could end with the worst of all possible outcomes: retaliatory measures by the Iranians even as their nuclear program remained unscathed. We, on the other hand, would have a much bigger margin of error and a much better chance of setting their program back by a minimum of five or 10 years and at best wiping it out altogether.

The upshot is that if Iran is to be prevented from becoming a nuclear power, it is the United States that will have to do the preventing, to do it by means of a bombing campaign, and (because "if we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long") to do it soon.

When I first predicted a year or so ago that Mr. Bush would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities once he had played out the futile diplomatic string, the obstacles that stood in his way were great but they did not strike me as insurmountable. Now, thanks in large part to the new NIE, they have grown so formidable that I can only stick by my prediction with what the NIE itself would describe as "low-to-moderate confidence." For Mr. Bush is right about the resemblance between 2008 and 1938. In 1938, as Winston Churchill later said, Hitler could still have been stopped at a relatively low price and many millions of lives could have been saved if England and France had not deceived themselves about the realities of their situation. Mutatis mutandis, it is the same in 2008, when Iran can still be stopped from getting the bomb and even more millions of lives can be saved--but only provided that we summon up the courage to see what is staring us in the face and then act on what we see.

Unless we do, the forces that are blindly working to ensure that Iran will get the bomb are likely to prevail even against the clear-sighted determination of George W. Bush, just as the forces of appeasement did against Churchill in 1938. In which case, we had all better pray that there will be enough time for the next President to discharge the responsibility that Mr. Bush will have been forced to pass on, and that this successor will also have the clarity and the courage to discharge it. If not--God help us all--the stage will have been set for the outbreak of a nuclear war that will become as inescapable then as it is avoidable now.

Mr. Podhoretz is the editor-at-large of Commentary, in whose February issue this article appears, and author of "World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism" (Doubleday, 2007).

---

Related articles:

Bush maintaining Big Lie about Iran
http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/7112/
A column posted Wednesday by Al Jazeera explained to readers just how ridiculous is the notion that Iran is a "threat to world peace," as U.S. President George W. Bush repeats over and over. -- "Iran is nearly encircled by the air, land, and naval forces of the world’s most powerful military," Peter Dyer noted. -- Every country bordering Iran has U.S. military bases or is a recipient of U.S. aid. -- Two of Iran's neighbors have been invaded by the U.S. -- And an extraordinary American armada is patrolling miles off the shores of Iran. -- Moreover, the false statements made by Iran's chief accuser with respect to his last international victim, Iraq, have been numbered at 232 by the Center for Public Integrity, with hundreds more having been uttered by top officials in his administration.

Iran - Security Council members, plus Germany, agree Tuesday on the outline of a third UN resolution (January 24, 2008)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0124/p03s04-usfp.html
Washington - International powers have agreed on the outline of a third United Nations resolution sanctioning Iran for its pursuit of uranium enrichment - a sign that, despite disagreements on details, the international community is united in opposition to Iran possessing a nuclear weapon.A recent American intelligence report, concluding that Iran stopped a nuclear weapons development program in 2003, appears to have actually opened the door to additional international economic measures against Tehran. December's National Intelligence Estimate, or NIE, initially confused US allies, who saw the report as undercutting multilateral efforts to pressure Iran. But this week's agreement on the terms of a new resolution suggests that the NIE also deflated widespread concerns that the United States was heading toward unilateral military action against Iran's nuclear sites. With concerns waning that the US would use additional UN measures as a pretext for such action, some diplomats say, the path to a new resolution was cleared.Official response in Tehran to the international action was swift, with officials saying Iran would not be deterred in its nuclear pursuits - including uranium enrichment, which can be a steppingstone to building a nuclear weapon."The Iranian nation has chosen its path and will continue with it," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the student news agency ISNA. "Such illegal behavior [by the international community] will not divert the Iranian nation from its path." CLIP

Six Powers Agree on Draft Iran Sanctions
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012308D.shtml
Melissa Eddy reports for The Associated Press, "The UN Security Council's permanent members and Germany agreed Tuesday on a new draft resolution on sanctions against Iran, strengthening existing measures over the country's refusal to suspend its nuclear program, officials said."

Pre-emptive nuclear strike a key option, Nato told (January 22, 2008)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/nato/story/0,,2244782,00.html
The west must be ready to resort to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to try to halt the "imminent" spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, according to a radical manifesto for a new Nato by five of the west's most senior military officers and strategists. Calling for root-and-branch reform of Nato and a new pact drawing the US, Nato and the European Union together in a "grand strategy" to tackle the challenges of an increasingly brutal world, the former armed forces chiefs from the US, Britain, Germany, France and the Netherlands insist that a "first strike" nuclear option remains an "indispensable instrument" since there is "simply no realistic prospect of a nuclear-free world". The manifesto has been written following discussions with active commanders and policymakers, many of whom are unable or unwilling to publicly air their views. It has been presented to the Pentagon in Washington and to Nato's secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, over the past 10 days. The proposals are likely to be discussed at a Nato summit in Bucharest in April. "The risk of further [nuclear] proliferation is imminent and, with it, the danger that nuclear war fighting, albeit limited in scope, might become possible," the authors argued in the 150-page blueprint for urgent reform of western military strategy and structures. "The first use of nuclear weapons must remain in the quiver of escalation as the ultimate instrument to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction." (...) Robert Cooper, an influential shaper of European foreign and security policy in Brussels, said he was "puzzled". "Maybe we are going to use nuclear weapons before anyone else, but I'd be wary of saying it out loud." Another senior EU official said Nato needed to "rethink its nuclear posture because the nuclear non-proliferation regime is under enormous pressure". Naumann suggested the threat of nuclear attack was a counsel of desperation. "Proliferation is spreading and we have not too many options to stop it. We don't know how to deal with this."Nato needed to show "there is a big stick that we might have to use if there is no other option", he said.




8.

From: http://www.truthdig.com/report/print/20080124_the_end_of_privacy/

The End of Privacy

January 24, 2008

By Elliot Cohen

Amid the controversy brewing in the Senate over Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reform, the Bush administration appears to have changed its strategy and is devising a bold new plan that would strip away FISA protections in favor of a system of wholesale government monitoring of every American’s Internet activities. Now the national director of intelligence is predicting a disastrous cyber-terrorist attack on the U.S. if this scheme isn’t instituted.

It is no secret that the Bush administration has already been spying on the e-mail, voice-over-IP, and other Internet exchanges between American citizens since as early as and possibly earlier than Sept. 11, 2001. The National Security Agency has set up shop in the hubs of major telecom corporations, notably AT&T, installing equipment that makes copies of the contents of all Internet traffic, routing it to a government database and then using natural language parsing technology to sift through and analyze the data using undisclosed search criteria. It has done this without judicial oversight and obviously without the consent of the millions of Americans under surveillance. Given any rational interpretation of the Fourth Amendment, its mass spying operation is illegal and unconstitutional.

But now the administration wants to make these illegal activities legal. And why is that? According to National Director of Intelligence Mike McConnell, who is now drafting the proposal, an attack on a single U.S. bank by the 9/11 terrorists would have had a far more serious impact on the U.S. economy than the destruction of the Twin Towers. “My prediction is that we’re going to screw around with this until something horrendous happens,” said McConnell. So the way to prevent this from happening, he claims, is to give the government the power to spy at will on the content of all e-mails, file transfers and Web searches.

McConnell’s prediction of something “horrendous” happening unless we grant government this authority has a tone similar to that of the fear-mongering call to arms against terrorism that President Bush sounded before taking us to war in Iraq. Now, Americans are about to be asked to surrender their Fourth Amendment rights because of a vague and unsupported prediction of the dangers and costs of cyber-terrorism.

The analogy with the campaign to frighten us into war with Iraq gets even stronger when it becomes evident that along with the establishing of American forces in Iraq, the cyber-security McConnell is calling for was, all along, part of the strategic plan, devised by Dick Cheney and several other present and former high-level Bush administration officials, to establish America as the world’s supreme superpower. This plan, known as the Project for the New American Century, unequivocally recognized “an imperative” for government to not only secure the Internet against cyber-attacks but also to control and use it offensively against its adversaries. The Project for the New American Century also maintained that “the process of transformation” it envisioned (which included the militarization and control of the Internet) was “likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event—like a new Pearl Harbor.” All that appears to be lacking to make the analogy complete is the “horrendous” cyber-attack—the chilling analog of the 9/11 attacks—that McConnell now predicts.

Apparently, the Bush administration had hoped to continue its mass surveillance program in secret, but as many as 40 civil suits were filed against AT&T and other telecoms, threatening to blow the government’s illegal spying activities wide open. Unable to have these cases dismissed in appellate court by once again playing the national-security card, the administration drafted and tried to push through Congress a version of the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 that gave retroactive immunity to telecom corporations for their assistance in helping the government spy en mass on Americans without a court warrant. The administration’s plan was to use Congress’ passage of this provision of immunity to nullify any cause of civil action against the telecoms, thereby pre-empting the exposure of the administration’s own illegal activities.

Two versions of the FISA bill emerged, one from the Senate Intelligence Committee drafted largely by Cheney himself, which contained the immunity provision, and another from the Senate Judiciary Committee that did not contain the provision. Although Senate Majority leader Harry Reid inauspiciously chose the former to bring to the Senate floor, the bill was surrounded by much controversy. There had been well organized grass-roots pressure to stop it from passing, and the House had already passed a version that did not include the retroactive immunity provision. Thus, in the face of a filibuster threat by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Reid postponed the discussion until the January 2008 session.

Now Reid has tried to put off the FISA Amendments Act once again by asking Republicans to extend, for one more month, the Protect America Act of 2007, an interim FISA reform act that is due to sunset in February. However, Cheney has urged Congress to pass his version of the FISA Amendments Act now. “We can always revisit a law that’s on the books. That’s part of the job of the elected branches of government,” Cheney said. “But there is no sound reason to pass critical legislation ... and slap an expiration date on it.”

Cheney’s point about the possibility of later revisiting the FISA Amendments Act after it becomes law may foreshadow replacing it in the coming months with a law based on McConnell’s plan, which is due to emerge in February. This would mark a gradual descent into divesting Americans entirely of their Fourth Amendment right to privacy—first by blocking their ability to sue the telecoms for violating their privacy and then by giving the government the same legal protection. After all, the FISA Amendments Act still requires the government to get warrants for spying on American citizens even if it does not afford adequate judicial oversight in enforcing this mandate. McConnell’s proposal, on the other hand, would make no bones about spying on Americans without warrants, thereby contradicting any meaningful FISA reform.

President Bush has already made clear he would veto any FISA bill that did not give retroactive immunity to the telecoms. However, if McConnell’s soon to be unveiled spy-at-will plan is turned into law, a separate law giving retroactive immunity to the telecoms would be unnecessary. All Bush and Cheney would need to do to protect themselves from criminal liability would be to make the new spy-at-will law retroactive in effect from the inception of the illegal NSA surveillance program. This would also be sufficient to deflate the civil suits filed against the telecoms because the past illegal spying activities that these companies conducted on behalf of the government would then become “legal.” Indeed, the Bush administration has already done this sort of legal retro-dating and nullifying of civil rights and gotten it through Congress. For example, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 conveniently gave Bush the power to decide whether someone—including himself—is guilty of torture, irrespective of the Geneva Conventions, and it made this authority retroactive to Nov. 26, 1997. 

Whatever the final disposition of FISA in the coming weeks or months, the administration is now bracing to take a much more aggressive posture that would seek abridgement of civil liberties in its usual fashion: by fear-mongering and warnings that our homeland will be attacked by terrorists (this time of the menacing hacker variety) unless we the people surrender our Fourth Amendment right to privacy and give government the authority to inspect even our most personal and intimate messages.

It would be a mistake to underestimate the resolve of the Bush administration. But it would be a bigger mistake for Americans not to stand united against this familiar pattern of government scare tactics and manipulation. There are grave dangers to the survival of democracy posed by allowing any present or future government unfettered access to all of our private electronic communications. These dangers must be carefully weighed against the dubious and unproven benefits that granting such an awesome power to government might have on fending off cyber-attacks.

Elliot D. Cohen, PhD, is a media ethicist and critic. His most recent book is “The Last Days of Democracy: How Big Media and Power-Hungry Government Are Turning America Into a Dictatorship.” He is a first-prize winner of the 2007 Project Censored Award.

---

Related articles:

Cheney Wants Surveillance Law Expanded
http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=15791
"We're reminding Congress that they must act now," Cheney told the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. The law, which authorizes the administration to eavesdrop on phone calls and see the e-mail to and from suspected terrorists, expires on Feb. 1. Congress is bickering over terms of its extension.

FISA 2.0 Called 'Atrocious' Privacy Violation:
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/11565346/
Privacy advocates say the proposal being offered by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is "atrocious."

Senate Delays Eavesdropping Vote
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012508B.shtml
Pamela Hess, writing for The Associated Press, reports, "The Senate granted at least a temporary victory to the White House on Thursday, turning back an attempt to increase court oversight of the government's surveillance of phone calls and e-mails that involve people inside the United States."




9.

A STARK REMINDER OF THE IRAQI HOLOCAUST CAUSED BY THE UNITED STATED DOING THE BIDDING OF ISRAEL. (Make sure to review the related articles below)

From: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7920

Operation Desert Slaughter - Thoughts on Holocaust Memorial Day

by Felicity Arbuthnot

January 28, 2008

It is seventeen years since America and Britain embarked on their 'Final Solution' for the population of Iraq.

The forty two day carpet bombing, enjoined by thirty two other countries, against a country of just twenty five million souls, with a youthful, conscript army, with broadly half the population under sixteen, and no air force, was just the beginning of a United Nations led, global siege of near medieval ferocity.

Having, as James Baker boasted they would, reduced 'Iraq to a pre-industrial age', the country was denied all normality : trade, aid, telecommunications, power, sanitation, water repairs, seeds, foods, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment.

As I write, seventeen years ago, Iraq would be entering the second week of a barbaric, near twenty four hour a day, carpet bombing, which, then, as now (lest we forget - yet again) scrupulously ignored Protocol 1, Additional to the Geneva Convention of 1977:

'It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies such as irrigation works (denying them) to the civilian population or to the adverse Party ... for any motive.'

The Blitzkrieg on Iraq deliberately targeted all 'indispensable to survival'.

Within twenty four hours, most was destroyed. The electricity went off within two hours, leaving patients on life support machines and vital equipment, babies in incubators, or those on oxygen to die.

Refrigerators defrosted, all medicine needing refrigeration, blood banks and vital saline solutions for the injured were destroyed. Food rotted and between the bombing and the bank closures (latter for fear of looting) replacements were scarce to unbuyable.

In Najav, seventy dialysis patients, 'old friends', said the senior nurse in charge of the unit, died for want of electricity. The water supply was deliberately destroyed, parts denied subsequently by the pathetic, US-UK dominated Sanctions Committee - a Committee without a backbone between them - and remains lethal to this day. 

This was the plan by US Central Command, it seems, all along. The destruction of Iraq's water system has been described by Professor Nagy and Stephanie Miller as: 'a slow motion holocaust'. Few could have put it better.

(See: How the US deliberately destroyed Iraq's water. by Thomas J Nagy : http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/NAG108A.html )

The telecommunications tower was also one of the earliest casualties, an elegant, soaring, structure on the edge of Baghdad's Mansur district. It lay, broken and crumpled, as did the remains of those who worked inside it. Iraq was thus cut off from the world, the extent of the bombing and atrocities largely unknown for considerable time. Iraqis throughout the world had no way of knowing if their families, friends, loves, were dead or alive. Radio and television stations across Iraq were blitzed so no warnings to populus could be given (journalists too have special protection in wars, but decision makers, seemingly are not only illiterate, but ignore legalities.)

Hospitals, health clinics, schools and kindergartens were bombed, education eradicated so totally that the stores for educational materials, in buildings separate from the schools (usually in a central distribution point some miles away) were also bombed.

Agriculture in all forms was deliberately targeted.

Chicken farms bombed, flocks of sheep and goats, broadly half of all buffalo were killed, dairy farms obliterated.

Crops, food processing factories reduced to rubble. A war crime stupendous in its immensity, for which not one murderous, genocidal, infanticidal, decision maker or pilot has stood trial.

Pharmaceutical factories were bombed, the medical syringe factory was destroyed.

And in an especially psychotic policy, the countries who were Iraq's trading partners and had built factories and installations for the country, bombed those which they had built. America's gung-ho goons whooped over bombing the Pepsi and Coca Cola factories. 'Bravery' doesn't come more deviant, sub-normal and retarded than that.

Due to the use of defoliants and napalm, half of all Iraq's trees, including the great, ancient palms, died. Remaining palms did not bear their succulent fruit for about five years.

In the tranquil, family farming settlements, amongst the palms, women and livestock alike aborted and often died.

Survivors consistently described a 'vapor' coming from the 'planes, then the horrific aftermath, affecting those living in the shelter of the palm groves or copses of trees, where dwellers settled for relative cool from Iraq's searing summers.

And, of course, in this decimation from above, which dropped more ordinance daily than was dropped daily in the second world war, five times more explosive power was dropped than on Hiroshima.

The weapons used were depleted uranium, which continues to irradiate Iraq and the region, the people, flora and fauna -and will continue to do so for four and a half billion years. '..protection of the natural environment against widespread, long term and severe damage', is another absolute dictate under the Geneva Convention. It proscribes absolutely '... damage to the natural environment (prejucing) the health and survival of the population.'

Contraventions don't come bigger than condemning inestimable generations yet unborn, to death and deformity. The Nuremberg Principles are exercised by the treatment of both civilians and prisoners and the: '... murder or ill treatment ...of prisoners of war ... further, extermination ... and other inhuman acts against any civilian population'.

The 'inhuman acts', committed against the Iraqi people in 1991 constitute war crimes which, since no one was brought to justice, one can only hope haunt those responsible for all time.

The slaughter on the Basra Road, after the ceasefire, the fleeing civilians and retreating troops, ripped to pieces, or incinerated in General Norman Schwartzkop's 'turkey shoot'.

The whole war, of course, was nothing else. Saddam Hussein had offered, indeed, started to retreat from Kuwait before the carnage began, but as ever, for the United States, conciliation was 'too late'. Buses, lorries, cars were also targeted throughout the forty two day massacre. Lorries carrying medicines, meat, essentials were burned, with their drivers. Western troops took their repulsive 'trophy photos', with the pathetic remains of the incinerated and dismembered.

When the (UK) Observer, to its credit, printed the picture which became the symbol of the 1991 atrocities, the Iraqi soldier, with his near melted face welded to the windscreen of his vehicle, there was an outcry.

The sensitivities of readers should not be exposed to such horrors. Maggie O'Kane, writing in the Guardian Weekly (16th December 1995) describes searingly, reality. Relatives, praying, hope against hope, that those they loved, had somehow miraculously survived the hadean inferno that was the Basra Road massacre. "On the day the war ended, at a bus station south of Baghdad, dusk was falling and the road was covered with weeping women.

The Iraqi survivors of the `turkey shoot' on the Basra Road were crawling home with fresh running wounds. Their women were throwing themselves at the battered minibuses and trucks, pulling, pleading, begging. `Where is he, have you seen him ? Is he not with you ?' Some fell to their knees on the road when they heard the news.

Others kept running from bus, to truck, to car, looking for their husbands, their sons or their lovers - the 37,000 Iraqi soldiers who would not come back. It went on all night and it was the most desperate and moving scene I have ever witnessed." There was worse. Think of the excesses of horrors the Western media has deluged its readers with over the years, those perpetrated by people of other cultures, with other features: Stalin, Pol Pot, indeed Saddam Hussein and consider this in Maggie O'Kane's article: '

When Sergeant Joe Queen returned to his home town of Bryson City North California, after the Gulf war, the first thing he saw was a huge banner draped outside Hardees Burger Restaurant, which read: `Welcome Home Joe Queen.' Joe Queen, who'd been awarded a bronze star, wanted to chill out after the war, but Bryson City wouldn't let him Joe, 19-years old, had gone straight from Desert Storm to become one of the first American troops to cross the Saudi border in an armored bulldozer. His job was to bury the Iraqis alive in their trenches and then cover over the trenches real smooth so the rest of the Big Red One, as The First Armored Mechanized Brigade is called, could come nice and easy behind him. 'Joe Queen doesn't know how many Iraqi troops he buried alive on the front line.

But five years later, in his military base in Georgia, he remembers well how it worked:

`The sand was so soft that once the blade hits the sand it just caves in right on the sides, so we never did go back and forth. So you are traveling at five, six, seven miles an hour just moving along the trench... You don't see him. You're up there in the half hatch and you know what you got to do. You did it so much you could close your eyes and do it... I don't think they had any idea because the look on their faces as we came through the berm was just a look of shock. `While I was retreating, I saw some of the soldiers trying to surrender, but they were buried. There were two kinds of bulldozers, real ones, actual ones, and also they had tanks and they put something like a bulldozer blade in front of them. Some of the soldiers were walking towards the troops holding their arms up to surrender and the tanks moved in and killed them. They dug a hole in the ground and then they buried the soldiers and leveled it.' One survivor described the friends buried alive, who he had laughed with, eaten with ...'I really don't know how to describe it. We were friends. I ate with some of them. I talked to some of them. I cannot express how I felt at that moment..... I saw one soldier and his body was just torn apart by a bulldozer. The upper part was on one side and the lower on the other side.'

I hope your nightmares and those of your colleagues haunt for all time Joe Queen. May the specter of those for whose live burial you and your murderous colleagues were responsible, follow in all your footsteps, for all time.

These mass graves also carry the names of the leaders who ordered the decimation of Iraq in 1991,their military Commanders and soldiers, on every one of them. Ironically, the mass graves of Saddam Hussein have seemingly not materialized, just war graves and those from the uprising encouraged by the US and UK at the end of the 1991 decimation. The war, of course, never ended. The thirteen year subsequent embargo cost maybe one and a quarter million lives.

Additionally, the US and UK, bombed Iraq (illegally) until the (illegal) invasion of 2003. In 2002, they stepped up their destruction of life, limb and of entire housing projects with families within, children playing, doing homework, flocks of sheep and goats with their child shepherds.

'Approximately a year before the United States initiated Operation Southern Focus, as a change to its response strategy, by increasing the overall number of missions and selecting targets throughout the no-fly zones to disrupt the military command structure in Iraq. The weight of bombs dropped increased from none in March 2002 and 0.3 in April 2002 to between 8 and 14 tons per month in May-August, reaching a pre-war peak of 54.6 tons in September 2002.' (Wikipedia.)

A recent study by the Centre for Public Integrity, has also uncovered lies of impeachable stature, leading to invasion, by the Bush Administration..

'The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them, or had links to al Qaeda, or both. 'Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq's links to al Qaeda, the study found. That was second only to Powell's 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al Qaeda.' (http://www.publicintegrity.org)

Iraq's post invasion (2003-2007) excess under five mortality has been estimated at over one million. In Afghanistan, post invasion, at 1.9 million (2001-2007.)

For another humanitarian abomination of our time, the Israeli siege of the Gaza strip (June 2007 and ongoing) total excess death figures are elusive.

CIA figures for infant mortality, however (2004) are woeful at 23.54 per thousand births. Sweden (2007) just 2.76 per thousand births. Given Israel's withdrawal of electricity and just about all needed to sustain life since last June, some serious statistical data is needed - and relentless and absolute demands for humanity and human rights for our global neighbors in Gaza, Iraq and Afghanistan, the forgotten of Lebanon's 'Simmer Rain' decimation, by 'we the people ...'

Like Joe Queen's genocidal actions, the atrocities committed in these countries are being carried out in our name. 'Silence is complicity'. (For much more shameful complicity - since 1950 - please see Dr Gideon Polya: 'Body Count', an academic, key and indispensable work: http://www.globalbodycount.blogspot.com)

'There was no one left to kill', declared General Norman Schwartzkopf after the Basra Road bloodbath, where even the injured holding white flags, and doctors accompanying them were obliterated.

'Morally, we won', an Iraqi doctor told me shortly afterwards. Indeed. 'We are the new Jews', is an oft heard, Arab refrain now.

As I write, on Holocaust Memorial Day, it is impossible not to reflect that is does not take forced labor camps, forced transport and Zyclon B to create a holocaust. When the figures of the dead in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza, reach six million, as the world stands by, will they too get their own Holocaust Memorial Day?

Will we all, regardless of color or creed, ever learn, before it is too late?  

Felicity Arbuthnot is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

---

Related articles:

Bombs Away Over Iraq - Normalizing Air War From Guernica to Arab Jabour (January 31, 2008)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7944
A Jan. 21 Los Angeles Times Iraq piece by Ned Parker and Saif Rasheed led with an inter-tribal suicide bombing at a gathering in Fallujah in which members of the pro-American Anbar Awakening Council were killed. ("Asked why one member of his Albu Issa tribe would kill another, Aftan compared it to school shootings that happen in the United States.") Twenty-six paragraphs later, the story ended this way:"The U.S. military also said in a statement that it had dropped 19,000 pounds of explosives on the farmland of Arab Jabour south of Baghdad. The strikes targeted buried bombs and weapons caches." In the last 10 days, the military has dropped nearly 100,000 pounds of explosives on the area, which has been a gateway for Sunni militants into Baghdad."And here's paragraph 22 of a 34-paragraph Jan. 22 story by Stephen Farrell of the New York Times: "The threat from buried bombs was well known before the [Arab Jabour] operation. To help clear the ground, the military had dropped nearly 100,000 pounds of bombs to destroy weapons caches and IEDs." Farrell led his piece with news that an American soldier had died in Arab Jabour from an IED that blew up "an MRAP, the new Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected armored vehicle that the American military is counting on to reduce casualties from roadside bombs in Iraq." Note that both pieces started with bombing news - in one case a suicide bombing that killed several Iraqis; in another a roadside bombing that killed an American soldier and wounded others. But the major bombing story of these last days - those 100,000 pounds of explosives that U.S. planes dropped in a small area south of Baghdad - simply dangled unexplained off the far end of the Los Angeles Times piece, while, in the New York Times, it was buried inside a single sentence. Neither paper has (as far as I know) returned to the subject, though this is undoubtedly the most extensive use of air power in Iraq since the Bush administration's invasion of 2003 and probably represents a genuine shifting of American military strategy in that country. Despite, a few humdrum wire service pieces, no place else in the mainstream has bothered to cover the story adequately either. CLIP

Iraqi Occupation : One Day = $720 Million (2 Minute Video)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19233.htm
The Iraq war has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and thousands of U.S. military personnel. It is also costing $720 Million dollars each day - dollars that could be spent in much more constructive ways.

POLITICS-US: Bush Signs Vets Bill, Won't Ban Permanent Bases
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40987
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 29 (IPS) - President George W. Bush signed a 696-billion-dollar Pentagon spending bill immediately before his State of the Union address Monday night, which funds all Defence Department programmes not directly tied to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, expands health care for injured veterans and gives U.S. soldiers a pay raise. The bill is a mixed bag for peace activists, since Bush added a so-called "signing statement" saying he would ignore provisions that ban permanent military bases in Iraq and forbid the use of U.S. troops to exercise United States control of Iraq's oil resources.

American Oil companies offered five million dollars to each Iraqi MP to pass the Oil law (January 29, 2008)
http://uruknet.info/?p=m40634&hd=&size=1&l=e
An Iraqi MP preferred to remain anonymous told the newspaper that highly confidential negotiations took place by representatives from American oil companies, offering $5 million to each MP who votes in favor of the Oil and Gas law. The amount that could be paid to pass the votes do not exceed $150 million dollars in the case of $5 million to each MP, pointing out that the Oil law requires 138 votes to pass, which the Americans want to guarantee in many ways, including vote-buying, intimidation and threats! Focusing on the heads of parliamentary blocs and influential figures in the parliament to ensure the votes, the Americans guaranteed the Kurdish votes in advance but they are seeking enough votes to pass and approve the law as soon as possible. CLIP

Iraq oil cash not spent for reconstruction
http://snipurl.com/1ymj0
Increased Iraqi oil revenues stemming from high prices and improved security are piling up in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York rather than being spent on needed reconstruction projects, a Washington Times study of Iraq's spending and revenue figures has shown.

"How To Sink America" - Radio interview on the orgy of US military expenses sucking this country dry
http://dissentradio.com/radio/08_01_23_johnson.mp3
Scott Horton Interviews Chalmers Johnson: MP3: how U.S. politicians and candidates refuse to discuss the looming economic collapse, the staggering amount we spend on our military, America's pipe dream of global domination, the similarity between America and the Roman Empire in structure, overextended militarism, and inevitable collapse.

Chalmers Johnson: “Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic”
http://www.democracynow.org/2007/2/27/chalmers_johnson_nemesis_the_last_days
In his new book, CIA analyst, distinguished scholar, and best-selling author Chalmers Johnson argues that US military and economic overreach may actually lead to the nation’s collapse as a constitutional republic. It’s the last volume in his Blowback trilogy, following the best-selling “Blowback” and “The Sorrows of Empire.” In those two, Johnson argued American clandestine and military activity has led to un-intended, but direct disaster here in the United States.

Soldier Suicides Reach Record Level, Study Shows
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/013108O.shtml
The Washington Post's Dana Priest reports that the "Army was unprepared for the high number of suicides and cases of post-traumatic stress disorder among its troops, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have continued far longer than anticipated.

Annual War Cost at $171B and Rising
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012608A.shtml
Reuters reports: "The Iraq war may not dominate US news reports as the carnage drops, but a new report underscores the financial burden of persistent combat that is helping run up the government's credit card."

'US the Biggest Producer of Terror' (Jan 25)
http://ipsnews.net/wap/news.asp?idnews=40924
(...) "When targeted by a roadside bomb or suicide bomber, U.S. soldiers shoot at people randomly. Innocent civilians have been killed or injured," Yaser Abdul-Rahman, a 45-year-old schoolmaster told IPS. "Thousands of people have been killed like this." The anti-U.S. sentiment in Baquba is now so high that people no longer hide their distrust of the U.S. "At the beginning of the occupation, the people of Iraq did not realise the U.S. strategy in the area," Abu Taiseer, a member of the communist party in the city told IPS. "Their strategy is based on destruction and massacre. They do anything to have their agenda fulfilled. "Now, Iraqis know that behind the U.S. smile is hatred and violence," Taiseer added. "They call others violent and terrorists, but what they are doing in Iraq and in other countries is the origin and essence of terror. America is the biggest producer of terror, and they spend huge funds for creating and training death squads all over the world." Despite the differing U.S. ways of dealing with Shias and Sunnis, the two sects seem one in their hatred of the U.S. CLIP

US Invasion And Occupation Killed One Million Iraqi's (Jan 31, 2008)
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gRd3Bi6CXI94ke9t9CgxqcZ1wPNw
More than one million Iraqis have been killed because of the war in Iraq since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003, according to a study published Wednesday. (...) The margin of error for the survey was 1.7 percent, making the estimated range between 946,000 and 1.12 million fatalities. The highest rate of deaths throughout the country occurred in Baghdad, where more than 40 percent of households had lost a family member. CLIP




10.

From: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7957

The War that did not make the Headlines: Over Five Million Dead in Congo?

Behind the Numbers Redux: How Truth is Hidden, Even When it Seems to Be Told

by Keith Harmon Snow

January 31, 2008

The International Rescue Committee in late January 2008 released a new report on the mortality in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. The report caught the eye of some news agencies, who quickly whipped up trite little articles as supposed expressions of horror. Over and over it has been declared "the world's forgotten crises." There are reasons why Darfur is in the crises of the day, the poster crises, and why Congo is hardly mentioned.1

However, the story of war and plunder in Congo is not unreported. It is a story that has been censored, manipulated, and covered up even while it is ostensibly being told. Plenty of information has been published about the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and plenty of this is flak, designed to whiteout the truth, and help keep the real story buried, and that includes the truly honest representations of war and suffering in Congo that have been published. Just because the mainstream doesn't cover it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. This is the falsification of consciousness.

While the true death toll in Congo over the past series of wars-for the Congolese it is one long contiguous war-will never be known, it is far higher than the IRC figures. In the IRC's tidy statistical equations there is no recounting the ordeal of the millions of people who have disappeared into the swamps, the tropical forests, the mass graves, torture chambers and death camps, or after crossing borders. The entire exercise in counting the dead is another way to do little to stop it. The IRC is about profits, but that is not all.

The International Rescue Committee has been described in the past as the ideal instrument of psychological warfare, and it is. This is exactly what is going on with the IRC today, and more, when the IRC-heavily subsidized by the very same profiteers-sends its body counters into Congo. But the IRC is not only the ideal instrument of psychological warfare, it is also the ideal instrument of intelligence gathering. The IRC capitalizes on their access to refugee populations, conflict areas and individual refugee encounters and interviews to gather intelligence on armed groups, leadership, resources, weapons and geographical conflicts, information that is selectively used to serve the greater interests of the IRC and its partners.

America's Secret Warriors

Amongst the trustees or overseers of the International Rescue Committee is Henry Kissinger, a man whose interests run very deep in Congo. Henry Kissinger is tied to Freeport McMoRan (FXC) and FCX is all over the copper and cobalt show in Katanga. FCX director J. Stapleton Roy was Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research under Madeleine Albright, 1999-2000, during the Clinton administration invasions of Rwanda (1994) and then Congo/Zaire (1996); Roy retired to join Kissinger Associates.2

Another Kissinger Associates principal is Lawrence Eagleburger, who has past affiliations with the defense and intelligence insider Scowcroft Group, and has been a director of Halliburton Corporation since 1998. Scowcroft Group founder Brent Scowcroft served as the National Security Advisor to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush and, 1982-1989, he was Vice-Chairman of Kissinger Associates.

Walter Kansteiner, a National Security insider for the Clinton and G.W. Bush administrations and a "principal member" of the Scowcroft Group today, is a director of Moto Gold (operating in blood-drenched Ituri, Congo) and of the military-based "conservation" organization, the Africa Wildlife Foundation (Washington D.C.), that is backing mercenary activities in the Congo's Virungas Mountains region under the cover of gorilla protection.

Another Kissinger Associates director is Belgium's Viscount Etienne Davignon, one of the Congo's most lasting and current enemies. Davignon was directly involved, 1964-1965, in the code-named "Dragon" operations that installed the "kleptocrat" Mobutu and seeded the beginning of the end for millions of Congolese people.3,4 Davignon is also a close associate of Donald Rumsfeld through the bio-warfare production company Gilead Sciences.

CLIP

The International Rescue Committee is not a neutral or purely "humanitarian" organization. The IRC has a deep history of nefarious activities going far beyond relief operations. The IRC is also a huge financial operation providing scads of executives and business people with scads of income in ways that do not help to alleviate the war or suffering, but rather exacerbate it. While the IRC claims 90% of its funds "are spent on refugee programs and services," much of this money never hits the ground in Africa, what does often barely touches the life of a refugee. Amongst the IRC's biggest funders are HSBC bank, GE, and Goldman Sachs, all involved in Congo's blood diamonds plunder, and Pfizer and Gilead Sciences (the Davignon-Rumsfeld company). The IRC's involvement in Congo-a mortality study-involves deeply political but generally hidden motives. Why doesn't the IRC focus on feeding the living instead of counting the dead?

CLIP

Finally, the IRC is known for its long history of involvement in CIA and NSA activities, including shipping or transporting weapons.7 According to a top United Nations investigator, the IRC moved into bases in eastern Zaire in 1996 and started shelling the refugee camps with heavy weapons. Here is the direct quote: "The IRC took over some bases near the refugee camps and started shelling the camps with heavy weapons." (Name withheld for confidentiality.)

The IRC has spent millions of dollars analyzing the "impact of conflict" in the Democratic Republic of Congo but they have said nothing of substance about the parallel economy of plunder that is enriching some of the same organizations that support their "humanitarian" programs. Their recent report is a glossy brochure offering a pornography of violence.

How stupid and blind do they think people are? How stupid and blind are we?

At the same time, the IRC has received massive "loans"-in the millions of dollars-over recent years from the U.S. taxpayer-funded Overseas Private Investment Corporation. What happens to all these OPIC funds?

In the new IRC report about mortality in Congo there is not a word about the causes of the ongoing strife or the structural factors which have made this holocaust possible, and perpetuate it.

Things Go Better with Blood

Offering their only real reason for the high mortality rates, the IRC states:

"Recovery from conflict is a slow and protracted process. The persistent elevation of mortality more than four years after the official end of the 1998-2002 war provides further evidence that recovery from conflict can take many years, especially when superimposed on decades of political and socioeconomic decline."

This is nonsense. When hurricane Katrina hit, it was, after a brief delay, a rapid intervention process that established a chain of U.S. military command posts across the gulf coast. Troops, helicopters, tanks, and private military armies were quickly sent in, not to rescue people, but to secure the facilities of the US military and defense contractors, shipyards, banks and the high-end economic zone. It was all very efficient, hundreds of millions of dollars of U.S. taxpayer's money was squandered on professional killers who, fresh from Iraq and Afghanistan, did the only thing they seem to know how to do, they killed people. But the point is that the U.S. government moves mountains when it wants to, and quickly.

Recovery from conflict "is a slow and protracted process" because there is an ongoing policy of intentional depopulation in Africa. The United Nations Observers Mission in Congo (MONUC) spends about 40-45% of its billion dollar budget on airplane contracts flying around central Africa, and this goes to big business. There is never any problem shipping in weapons, and-offering a rather stark and poignant and undeniable example of the way things work and don't-Coca Cola trucks ship coke all over the place, even in rural areas. Full stop.

Think about it.

There are no books and no bookstores in Congo for a reason. Starvation is widespread and there are food and grain shortages because of, and not in spite of, the United Nations and the IRC and the World Food Program and its ties to Robert Dole, Archers Daniels Midland, ConAgra and-a Henry Kissinger link-Continental Grain. There are shortages of health supplies and high rates of disease for a reason, and it is not because this is the "heart of darkness" or any other racist foolishness.

Coca Cola is not a healthy beverage for malnourished and starving children with no access to dental facilities. More importantly, Coke director Donald F. McHenry is a President of the IRC Group, a Washington DC consulting firm whose connections to the International Rescue Committee are difficult to ascertain. Former Ambassador Andrew Young, Madeleine Albright, George Soros, Lawrence Eagleburger, Frank Ferrari, Donald Easum, Donald F. McHenry and Frank Carlucci all frequently surface like tentacles of the Templesman octopus and most of these are tight with the intelligence apparatus, and all have ties to the flak producing CIA ciphers the Africa-America Institute and the Corporate Council on Africa.

IRC President and Director George Rupp is also a director of the secretive and euphemistically named Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, a right-wing Judeo-Christian front organization. Other PCHPA directors include Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Robert Dole and David Beckman from the equally fundamentalist Christian front group Bread for the World. The Museveni government has forced 1.3 million Acholi people onto death camps in northern Uganda and denied them humanitarian relief.

Starvation happens not because this is Africa, or the Congo, it is because we are witnessing the most devastating example of predatory capitalism and heartless, absolute greed, combined with a spiritual crises-in the "first" world-of unprecedented proportions. The long term control of Congo's resources is best served by eliminating as many black people as possible. The capacity to control Congo's resources is enhanced by spreading terror, uprooting people, destroying families, sowing distrust and hatred. It is called divide and conquer and it is the oldest trick in the book of European conquest. The word that best describes the portfolio of psychological, emotional, physical, social, cultural and political effects of such campaigns of destabilization and terror is DERACINATION.

And all the while the humanitarian "misery" industry is raking in billions of dollars on programs to "help" the Congolese people, and universities create new programs and departments to train the privileged "development" work force, all to create and institutionalize dependency. This is structural violence, and it is part of a cycle of perpetuated wealth and privilege. It is managed inequality.

This is the U.S. foreign policy in action. The IRC merely institutionalizes the false framework of thinking that supports war and plunder and the entrenchment, rather than alleviation, of structural violence. Behind the psychological warfare the picture in Congo is very different, and the responsible forces are easily identified.

CLIP - Read the missing parts through http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7957">ttp://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7957

---

Related articles:

Dying Under the Radar - Report says 40,000 die in Congo each month, five years after war's end. (Jan 22, 2008)
http://www.newsweek.com/id/96764?from=rss
When pressed to think about death on a massive scale in Africa, one's mind likely focuses on the crisis in Darfur. The Rwandan genocide or Ethiopian starvation may also rate. But for all the (deserved) attention such humanitarian causes have attracted, they seem to have overshadowed a problem that is dwarfing many other crises in terms of lethality: postconflict death in Congo.Certainly no celebrities have made a pet issue out of the country, and it's not hard to understand why. Congo's problems are tough to sloganize. Death in the large, central African nation is not due to a horrific campaign of ethnic cleansing, or headline-grabbing violence among religious sects. Militia gunplay, while sporadic and increasingly prevalent in the vulnerable North Kivu region, has hardly defined the country overall since the end of the Second Congolese War in 2003. Instead, the country's top killers have been preventable conditions such as malaria and malnutrition--the spread of which has been made possible by a ravaged postwar infrastructure and struggling economy.In a new report released Tuesday, the International Rescue Committee (!!) updated its running total on Congo's dead since the outbreak of war in 1998. Their number, counting surveys through April 2007, now stands at 5.4 million deaths--1.5 million of which have occurred in just over the past two years (a rate they say is 60 percent higher than sub-Saharan Africa overall). According to the IRC, nearly half of those who perished were children under the age of five. NEWSWEEK's Seth Colter Walls spoke with Dr. Richard Brennan, head of global health programs for the IRC, about the association's field work in Congo, the scale of the tragedy, and why it seems to escape greater notice in the developed world. CLIP

Congo-Kinshasa: Congo Army, Gen. Nkunda in 'Worst Form of Human Trafficking' (31 Jan 2008)
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801310627.html
DR Congo government forces and rebels loyal to dissident Gen Laurent Nkunda are heavily recruiting and using children traficked from Rwanda and Uganda to fight their wars, the latest UN report on the issue has indicated.The movement of armed groups across borders to recruit children from refugee camps continues to be alarming, the report released yesterday by the UN said.Since January 2007, the report says, there has been a surge in the recruitment and use of Congolese and Rwandan children in North Kivu from refugee camps and communities in Rwanda by forces loyal to Laurent Nkunda. Ugandan children living in the DR Congo-Uganda border areas have also been targeted. (...) The transportation of vulnerable children by both the Government and rebel groups across borders during armed conflict constitutes one of the worst forms of child trafficking, the report by the UN Secretary General's envoy on children in armed conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy.Following the resumption of fighting in late last year between the army and Gen. Nkunda, the UN says there have been increasing numbers of children forcefully rounded up in schools. These children are apparently given guns to fight and the girls are used for sex. (...) Many of the detained children are subjected to ill treatment, torture, forceful interrogation and deprivation of food and education, the UN says. (...) While precise estimates are difficult to come by, some 250,000 children globally are being recruited to fight in armed conflicts in violation of international law, Radhika Coomaraswamy said in New York as she launched the report.Children are being recruited by groups in Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, the Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Somalia, Sudan, Sri Lanka and Uganda, according to the report.

UN to monitor truce in DRC (31 January, 2008)
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=198891&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21
KINSHASA: The United Nations has set up eight new bases in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to monitor a ceasefire recently agreed by the army and insurgents in the embattled region, a spokesman said yesterday.The new "mobile" bases, which include an average of some 30 UN troops, will also protect civilians in Nord-Kivu province, said Lt Col. Jean-Paul Dietrich, spokesman for the UN mission in the country, known by its French acronym MONUC.The MONUC already has 13 other bases in the area that have been operational for several months.An act of engagement to cease fighting was signed by the rebel movement of ex-general Laurent Nkunda, warring militias in the Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu provinces and the Kinshasa government last week. The deal followed a regional peace conference that began on January 6 at Goma, Nord-Kivu's capital. Despite the agreement, clashes ignited Monday between Nkunda's political-military movement and a Mai-Mai ethnic militia force near the town of Ngungu, more than 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Goma. Warring factions minimised the violence and reaffirmed their commitment to the ceasefire the following day. But some international observers question the good faith of the belligerent leaders and doubt they have full control over their own troops. "The insecurity in Nord-Kivu has had repercussions in the north of Sud-Kivu," said Dietrich. "The latest clashes in Nord-Kivu have set off an interior migration of thousands of people in the Minova region" in Sud-Kivu, he said. Bases have been reinforced in the area to protect civilians and support humanitarian organisations, he added.Dietroch said that MONUC chief Alan Doss had called on leaders of combatants to "re-establish discipline among their troops, respect human rights and release children that they have recruited." The UN mission was also participating in talks to create a technical commission on the demobilisation of armed groups, said Kemal Saiki, another MONUC spokesman. The eastern provinces of DR Congo have been ravaged by conflict since the end of the 1998-2003 war. More than a million people have been displaced in the region.

Congo-Kinshasa: Army Kills 10 Rebels in Ituri (29 January 2008)
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801290701.html
At least 10 rebels have been killed in clashes with government forces in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) region of Ituri, prompting thousands of civilians to take flight, according to military and humanitarian sources.




11.

A REAL EYE-OPENING ARTICLE! KNOWING THAT WHEN YOU EAT INDUSTRIALLY-PRODUCED MEAT YOU DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR SOLE LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEM, TO THE RISE OF HUNGER AND DEATH IN THE POOREST COUNTRIES AND TO YOUR OWN DEMISE, THEN IT IS EASIER TO DECIDE TO CHANGE YOUR DIET...

Forwarded by Mark Graffis (mgraffis@gmail.com)

From: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html?ref=science

Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler

By MARK BITTMAN - January 27, 2008

A SEA change in the consumption of a resource that Americans take for granted may be in store — something cheap, plentiful, widely enjoyed and a part of daily life. And it isn’t oil.

It’s meat.

The two commodities share a great deal: Like oil, meat is subsidized by the federal government. Like oil, meat is subject to accelerating demand as nations become wealthier, and this, in turn, sends prices higher. Finally — like oil — meat is something people are encouraged to consume less of, as the toll exacted by industrial production increases, and becomes increasingly visible.

Global demand for meat has multiplied in recent years, encouraged by growing affluence and nourished by the proliferation of huge, confined animal feeding operations. These assembly-line meat factories consume enormous amounts of energy, pollute water supplies, generate significant greenhouse gases and require ever-increasing amounts of corn, soy and other grains, a dependency that has led to the destruction of vast swaths of the world’s tropical rain forests.

Just this week, the president of Brazil announced emergency measures to halt the burning and cutting of the country’s rain forests for crop and grazing land. In the last five months alone, the government says, 1,250 square miles were lost.

The world’s total meat supply was 71 million tons in 1961. In 2007, it was estimated to be 284 million tons. Per capita consumption has more than doubled over that period. (In the developing world, it rose twice as fast, doubling in the last 20 years.) World meat consumption is expected to double again by 2050, which one expert, Henning Steinfeld of the United Nations, says is resulting in a “relentless growth in livestock production.”

Americans eat about the same amount of meat as we have for some time, about eight ounces a day, roughly twice the global average. At about 5 percent of the world’s population, we “process” (that is, grow and kill) nearly 10 billion animals a year, more than 15 percent of the world’s total.

Growing meat (it’s hard to use the word “raising” when applied to animals in factory farms) uses so many resources that it’s a challenge to enumerate them all. But consider: an estimated 30 percent of the earth’s ice-free land is directly or indirectly involved in livestock production, according to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, which also estimates that livestock production generates nearly a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gases — more than transportation.

To put the energy-using demand of meat production into easy-to-understand terms, Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan — a Camry, say — to the ultra-efficient Prius. Similarly, a study last year by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan estimated that 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days.

Grain, meat and even energy are roped together in a way that could have dire results. More meat means a corresponding increase in demand for feed, especially corn and soy, which some experts say will contribute to higher prices.

This will be inconvenient for citizens of wealthier nations, but it could have tragic consequences for those of poorer ones, especially if higher prices for feed divert production away from food crops. The demand for ethanol is already pushing up prices, and explains, in part, the 40 percent rise last year in the food price index calculated by the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization.

Though some 800 million people on the planet now suffer from hunger or malnutrition, the majority of corn and soy grown in the world feeds cattle, pigs and chickens. This despite the inherent inefficiencies: about two to five times more grain is required to produce the same amount of calories through livestock as through direct grain consumption, according to Rosamond Naylor, an associate professor of economics at Stanford University. It is as much as 10 times more in the case of grain-fed beef in the United States.

The environmental impact of growing so much grain for animal feed is profound. Agriculture in the United States — much of which now serves the demand for meat — contributes to nearly three-quarters of all water-quality problems in the nation’s rivers and streams, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Because the stomachs of cattle are meant to digest grass, not grain, cattle raised industrially thrive only in the sense that they gain weight quickly. This diet made it possible to remove cattle from their natural environment and encourage the efficiency of mass confinement and slaughter. But it causes enough health problems that administration of antibiotics is routine, so much so that it can result in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten the usefulness of medicines that treat people.

Those grain-fed animals, in turn, are contributing to health problems among the world’s wealthier citizens — heart disease, some types of cancer, diabetes. The argument that meat provides useful protein makes sense, if the quantities are small. But the “you gotta eat meat” claim collapses at American levels. Even if the amount of meat we eat weren’t harmful, it’s way more than enough.

Americans are downing close to 200 pounds of meat, poultry and fish per capita per year (dairy and eggs are separate, and hardly insignificant), an increase of 50 pounds per person from 50 years ago. We each consume something like 110 grams of protein a day, about twice the federal government’s recommended allowance; of that, about 75 grams come from animal protein. (The recommended level is itself considered by many dietary experts to be higher than it needs to be.) It’s likely that most of us would do just fine on around 30 grams of protein a day, virtually all of it from plant sources.

What can be done? There’s no simple answer. Better waste management, for one. Eliminating subsidies would also help; the United Nations estimates that they account for 31 percent of global farm income. Improved farming practices would help, too. Mark W. Rosegrant, director of environment and production technology at the nonprofit International Food Policy Research Institute, says, “There should be investment in livestock breeding and management, to reduce the footprint needed to produce any given level of meat.”

Then there’s technology. Israel and Korea are among the countries experimenting with using animal waste to generate electricity. Some of the biggest hog operations in the United States are working, with some success, to turn manure into fuel.

Longer term, it no longer seems lunacy to believe in the possibility of “meat without feet” — meat produced in vitro, by growing animal cells in a super-rich nutrient environment before being further manipulated into burgers and steaks.

Another suggestion is a return to grazing beef, a very real alternative as long as you accept the psychologically difficult and politically unpopular notion of eating less of it. That’s because grazing could never produce as many cattle as feedlots do. Still, said Michael Pollan, author of the recent book “In Defense of Food,” “In places where you can’t grow grain, fattening cows on grass is always going to make more sense.”

But pigs and chickens, which convert grain to meat far more efficiently than beef, are increasingly the meats of choice for producers, accounting for 70 percent of total meat production, with industrialized systems producing half that pork and three-quarters of the chicken.

Once, these animals were raised locally (even many New Yorkers remember the pigs of Secaucus), reducing transportation costs and allowing their manure to be spread on nearby fields. Now hog production facilities that resemble prisons more than farms are hundreds of miles from major population centers, and their manure “lagoons” pollute streams and groundwater. (In Iowa alone, hog factories and farms produce more than 50 million tons of excrement annually.)

These problems originated here, but are no longer limited to the United States. While the domestic demand for meat has leveled off, the industrial production of livestock is growing more than twice as fast as land-based methods, according to the United Nations.

Perhaps the best hope for change lies in consumers’ becoming aware of the true costs of industrial meat production. “When you look at environmental problems in the U.S.,” says Professor Eshel, “nearly all of them have their source in food production and in particular meat production. And factory farming is ‘optimal’ only as long as degrading waterways is free. If dumping this stuff becomes costly — even if it simply carries a non-zero price tag — the entire structure of food production will change dramatically.”

Animal welfare may not yet be a major concern, but as the horrors of raising meat in confinement become known, more animal lovers may start to react. And would the world not be a better place were some of the grain we use to grow meat directed instead to feed our fellow human beings?

Real prices of beef, pork and poultry have held steady, perhaps even decreased, for 40 years or more (in part because of grain subsidies), though we’re beginning to see them increase now. But many experts, including Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University, say they don’t believe meat prices will rise high enough to affect demand in the United States.

“I just don’t think we can count on market prices to reduce our meat consumption,” he said. “There may be a temporary spike in food prices, but it will almost certainly be reversed and then some. But if all the burden is put on eaters, that’s not a tragic state of affairs.”

If price spikes don’t change eating habits, perhaps the combination of deforestation, pollution, climate change, starvation, heart disease and animal cruelty will gradually encourage the simple daily act of eating more plants and fewer animals.

Mr. Rosegrant of the food policy research institute says he foresees “a stronger public relations campaign in the reduction of meat consumption — one like that around cigarettes — emphasizing personal health, compassion for animals, and doing good for the poor and the planet.”

It wouldn’t surprise Professor Eshel if all of this had a real impact. “The good of people’s bodies and the good of the planet are more or less perfectly aligned,” he said.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, in its detailed 2006 study of the impact of meat consumption on the planet, “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” made a similar point: “There are reasons for optimism that the conflicting demands for animal products and environmental services can be reconciled. Both demands are exerted by the same group of people ... the relatively affluent, middle- to high-income class, which is no longer confined to industrialized countries. ... This group of consumers is probably ready to use its growing voice to exert pressure for change and may be willing to absorb the inevitable price increases.”

In fact, Americans are already buying more environmentally friendly products, choosing more sustainably produced meat, eggs and dairy. The number of farmers’ markets has more than doubled in the last 10 years or so, and it has escaped no one’s notice that the organic food market is growing fast. These all represent products that are more expensive but of higher quality.

If those trends continue, meat may become a treat rather than a routine. It won’t be uncommon, but just as surely as the S.U.V. will yield to the hybrid, the half-pound-a-day meat era will end.

Maybe that’s not such a big deal. “Who said people had to eat meat three times a day?” asked Mr. Pollan.

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Mark Bittman, who writes the Minimalist column in the Dining In and Dining Out sections, is the author of “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian,” which was published last year. He is not a vegetarian.

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Related issues:

Driving Us to Vegetarianism
http://www.grist.org/news/daily/2007/08/30/5/
Animal-rights groups say meat-eating worse for climate than driving - With which instrument do you cause more greenhouse-gas emissions: your car key or your fork? It's a question asked in an advertising campaign by the Humane Society, which, along with other big animal-rights groups, is striving to open consumers' eyes to an oft-overlooked connection: the climatic impact of eating meat. Bolstered by a recent United Nations report stating that the livestock business spews more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation combined, animal-rights groups say greens aren't stressing the point enough. "Environmentalists are still pointing their fingers at Hummers and SUVs when they should be pointing at the dinner plate," says a campaigner for PETA. "You just cannot be a meat-eating environmentalist."

Do Not Giggle
http://www.grist.org/news/daily/2006/12/01/6/index.html
Livestock sector spews a fifth of human-caused greenhouse-gas emissions, says U.N - The U.N. has issued fresh content on a vital cause of global warming: cow farts. It seems that 18 percent of human-caused greenhouse gases stem from farm animals and the livestock industry, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Besides poots, agriculture-related deforestation and energy use contribute to the total. When all the carbon-equivalent math is said and done, livestock produce more of the world's human-caused greenhouse-gas emissions than cars, says the U.N.: about 9 percent of carbon dioxide, up to 40 percent of methane, and nearly two-thirds of nitrous oxide. If those numbers don't mooove you, consider that global meat and milk production is projected to roughly double by mid-century. To address livestock's effect on global warming (not to mention water pollution and biodiversity) the report proposes using manure as fuel, increasing irrigation efficiency, improving land use, and changing animals' diets to reduce flatulence. Which does not make us grin.




12.

THIS HELPS EXPLAINING LOTS OF THINGS...

Forwarded by Nattanya (nattanya@telus.net)

From: http://www.viewzone.com/dualcitizen.html

Dual Citizenship -- Loyal to Whom?

by Dan Eden

Someone wrote and asked me, "Why are there Israeli- but not Mexican-American Dual Nationals?"

Well, here's my take on this. I'd also like your views and opinions.

Unless we are Native American Indians, all Americans have their origins in some other country. Both of my parents were from England. They were proud to be "British" but they were most proud of achieving their American citizenship. Sure, we had pictures of the Queen and nick-nacks with the Union Jack on them. My mother even celebrated the traditional 4 o'clock tea time and was good at making Yorkshire Pudding. In the late 60's my older brother served in the US Army and did his tour in Viet Nam. When it came down to "allegiance," we were all patriotic Americans. Period.

The word "allegiance" means that we promise loyalty. It also carries with it the expectation that this loyalty will be exclusive and unrestrained. In the case of a declared war or real threat or conflict, for example, our allegiance to America should preclude any other interest, be it another country or political ideology.

When they took their oath to become American citizens, my parents had to pledge their "allegiance" exclusively to America and renounce their allegiance to "any and all foreign governments." That included Great Britain, one of our strongest allies.

Before Viewzone asked me to research the meaning of "dual citizenship," I had never heard of the term. How could someone be a citizen of two countries at the same time? But I was just ignorant. Dual nationalities and citizenships are quite common.

CLIP - Read the missing part at http://www.viewzone.com/dualcitizen.html

While Washington claims it has a "good neighbor" policy with Mexico, the U.S. does not permit Mexicans to hold dual nationality. The US makes them become either U.S. or Mexican -- you can't be both. But the U.S., in its special relationship with Israel, has become very sympathetic to allowing Israeli-Americans to retain two nationalities and allowing U.S. citizens not only to hold public office in Israel, but to hold US government positions as well! No other country holds this special exception to our laws of citizenship.

So, you might ask, are there any other dual Israel-American citizens who hold US government positions that could compromise American security? Yes. Consider the following list that I obtained on the web:

Michael Mukasey
Recently appointed as US Attorney General. Mukasey also was the judge in the litigation between developer Larry Silverstein and several insurance companies arising from the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001.

Michael Chertoff
Former Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, at the Justice Department; now head of Homeland Security.

Richard Perle
One of Bush's foreign policy advisors, he is the chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board. A very likely Israeli government agent, Perle was expelled from Senator Henry Jackson's office in the 1970's after the National Security Agency (NSA) caught him passing Highly-Classified (National Security) documents to the Israeli Embassy. He later worked for the Israeli weapons firm, Soltam. Perle came from one the above mentioned pro-Israel thinktanks, the AEI. Perle is one of the leading pro-Israeli fanatics leading this Iraq war mongering within the administration and now in the media.

Paul Wolfowitz
Former Deputy Defense Secretary, and member of Perle's Defense Policy Board, in the Pentagon. Wolfowitz is a close associate of Perle, and reportedly has close ties to the Israeli military. His sister lives in Israel. Wolfowitz came from the above mentioned Jewish thinktank, JINSA. Wolfowitz was the number two leader within the administration behind this Iraq war mongering. He later was appointed head of the World Bank but resigned under pressure from World Bank members over a scandal involving his misuse of power.
 
Lawrence (Larry) Franklin
The former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst with expertise in Iranian policy issues who worked in the office of Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith and reported directly to Feith's deputy, William Luti, was sentenced January 20, 2006, "to more than 12 years in prison for giving classified information to an Israeli diplomat" and members of the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Franklin will "remain free while the government continues with the wider case" and his "prison time could be sharply reduced in return for his help in prosecuting" former AIPAC members Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, [who] are scheduled to go on trial in April [2006]. Franklin admitted that he met periodically with Rosen and Weissman between 2002 and 2004 and discussed classified information, including information about potential attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. Rosen and Weissman would later share what they learned with reporters and Israeli officials." (source: sourcewatch.com).

Douglas Feith
Under Secretary of Defense and Policy Advisor at the Pentagon. He is a close associate of Perle and served as his Special Counsel. Like Perle and the others, Feith is a pro-Israel extremist, who has advocated anti-Arab policies in the past. He is closely associated with the extremist group, the Zionist Organization of America, which even attacks Jews that don't agree with its extremist views. Feith frequently speaks at ZOA conferences. Feith runs a small law firm, Feith and Zell, which only has one International office, in Israel. The majority of their legal work is representing Israeli interests. His firm's own website stated, prior to his appointment, that Feith "represents Israeli Armaments Manufacturer." Feith basically represents the Israeli War Machine. Feith also came from the Jewish thinktank JINSA. Feith, like Perle and Wolfowitz, are campaigning hard for this Israeli proxy war against Iraq.

Feith was investigated by the FBI under suspicion of leaking classified information to Israel, being that he was Larry Franklin's boss when Franklin leaked those documents to Rosen and Weissman of AIPAC. For that he was forced to leave the National Security Council. Feith was also investigated by the Senate Intelligence Committee for sexing up 'intelligence' that was used to justify invading Iraq.

Edward Luttwak
Member of the National Security Study Group of the Department of Defence at the Pentagon. Luttwak is reportedly an Israeli citizen and has taught in Israel. He frequently writes for Israeli and pro-Israeli newspapers and journals. Luttwak is an Israeli extremist whose main theme in many of his articles is the necessity of the U.S. waging war against Iraq and Iran.

Henry Kissinger
One of many Pentagon Advisors, Kissinger sits on the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board under Perle. For detailed information about Kissinger's evil past, read Seymour Hersch's book (Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House). Kissinger likely had a part in the Watergate crimes, Southeast Asia mass murders (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos), Installing Chilean mass murdering dictator Pinochet, Operation Condor's mass killings in South America, and more recently served as Serbia's Ex-Dictator Slobodan Milosevic's Advisor. He consistently advocated going to war against Iraq. Kissinger is the Ariel Sharon of the U.S. Unfortunately, President Bush nominated Kissinger as chairman of the September 11 investigating commission. It's like picking a bank robber to investigate a fraud scandal. He later declined this job under enormous protests.

Dov Zakheim
Dov Zakheim is an ordained rabbi and reportedly holds Israeli citizenship. Zakheim attended Jew's College in London and became an ordained Orthodox Jewish Rabbi in 1973. He was adjunct professor at New York's Jewish Yeshiva University. Zakheim is close to the Israeli lobby.

Dov Zakheim is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and in 2000 a co-author of the Project for the New American Century's position paper, Rebuilding America's Defenses, advocating the necessity for a Pearl-Harbor-like incident to mobilize the country into war with its enemies, mostly Middle Eastern Muslim nations.

He was appointed by Bush as Pentagon Comptroller from May 4, 2001 to March 10, 2004. At that time he was unable to explain the disappearance of $1 trillion dollars. Actually, nearly three years earlier, Donald Rumsfeld announced on September 10, 2001 that an audit discovered $2.3 trillion was also missing from the Pentagon books. That story, as mentioned, was buried under 9-11's rubble. The two sums disappeared on Zakheim's watch. We can only guess where that cash went.

Despite these suspicions, on May 6, 2004, Zakheim took a lucrative position at Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the most prestigious strategy consulting firms in the world. One of its clients then was Blessed Relief, a charity said to be a front for Osama bin Laden. Booz, Allen & Hamilton then also worked closely with DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is the research arm of the Department of Defense.

Judicial Inc's bio of Dov tells us Zakheim is a dual Israeli/American citizen and has been tracking the halls of US government for 25 years, casting defense policy and influence on Presidents Reagan, Clinton, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. Judicial Inc points out that most of Israel's armaments were gotten thanks to him. Squads of US F-16 and F-15 were classified military surplus and sold to Israel at a fraction of their value.
 
Kenneth Adelman
One of many Pentagon Advisors, Adelman also sits on the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board under Perle, and is another extremist pro-Israel advisor, who supported going to war against Iraq. Adelman frequently is a guest on Fox News, and often expresses extremist and often ridiculus anti-Arab and anti-Muslim views. Through his racism or ignorance, he actually called Arabs "anti-Semitic" on Fox News (11/28/2001), when he could have looked it up in the dictionary to find out that Arabs by definition are Semites.

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby
Vice President Dick Cheney's ex-Chief of Staff. As chief pro-Israel Jewish advisor to Cheney, it helps explains why Cheney is so gun-ho to invade Iran. Libby is longtime associate of Wolfowitz. Libby was also a lawyer for convicted felon and Israeli spy Marc Rich, whom Clinton pardoned, in his last days as president. Libby was recently found guilty of lying to Federal investigators in the Valerie Plame affair, in which Plame, a covert CIA agent, was exposed for political revenge by the Bush administration following her husband's revelations about the lies leading to the Iraq War.

Robert Satloff
U.S. National Security Council Advisor, Satloff was the executive director of the Israeli lobby's "think tank," Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Many of the Israeli lobby's "experts" come from this front group, like Martin Indyk.

Elliott Abrams
National Security Council Advisor. He previously worked at Washington-based "Think Tank" Ethics and Public Policy Center. During the Reagan Adminstration, Abrams was the Assistant Secretary of State, handling, for the most part, Latin American affairs. He played an important role in the Iran-Contra Scandal, which involved illegally selling U.S. weapons to Iran to fight Iraq, and illegally funding the contra rebels fighting to overthrow Nicaragua's Sandinista government. He also actively deceived three congressional committees about his involvement and thereby faced felony charges based on his testimony. Abrams pled guilty in 1991 to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to a year's probation and 100 hours of community service. A year later, former President Bush (Senior) granted Abrams a full pardon. He was one of the more hawkish pro-Israel Jews in the Reagan Administration's State Department.

Marc Grossman
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. He was Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources at the Department of State. Grossman is one of many of the pro-Israel Jewish officials from the Clinton Administration that Bush has promoted to higher posts.

Richard Haass
Director of Policy Planning at the State Department and Ambassador at large. He is also Director of National Security Programs and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He was one of the more hawkish pro-Israel Jews in the first Bush (Sr) Administration who sat on the National Security Council, and who consistently advocated going to war against Iraq. Haass is also a member of the Defense Department's National Security Study Group, at the Pentagon.

Robert Zoellick
U.S. Trade Representative, a cabinet-level position. He is also one of the more hawkish pro-Israel Jews in the Bush (Jr) Administration who advocated invading Iraq and occupying a portion of the country in order to set up a Vichy-style puppet government. He consistently advocates going to war against Iran.

Ari Fleischer
Ex- White House Spokesman for the Bush (Jr) Administration. Prominent in the Jewish community, some reports state that he holds Israeli citizenship. Fleischer is closely connected to the extremist Jewish group called the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidics, who follow the Qabala, and hold very extremist and insulting views of non-Jews. Fleischer was the co-president of Chabad's Capitol Jewish Forum. He received the Young Leadership Award from the American Friends of Lubavitch in October, 2001.

James Schlesinger
One of many Pentagon Advisors, Schlesinger also sits on the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board under Perle and is another extremist pro-Israel advisor, who supported going to war against Iraq. Schlesinger is also a commissioner of the Defense Department's National Security Study Group, at the Pentagon.

David Frum
White House speechwriter behind the "Axis of Evil" label. He lumped together all the lies and accusations against Iraq for Bush to justify the war.

Joshua Bolten
White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Bolten was previously a banker, former legislative aide, and prominent in the Jewish community.

John Bolton
Former UN Representative and Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Bolton is also a Senior Advisor to President Bush. Prior to this position, Bolton was Senior Vice President of the above mentioned pro-Israel thinktank, AEI. He recently (October 2002) accused Syria of having a nuclear program, so that they can attack Syria after Iraq. He must have forgotten that Israel has 400 nuclear warheads, some of which are thermonuclear weapons (according to a recent U.S. Air Force report).

David Wurmser
Special Assistant to John Bolton (above), the under-secretary for arms control and international security. Wurmser also worked at the AEI with Perle and Bolton. His wife, Meyrav Wurmser, along with Colonel Yigal Carmon, formerly of Israeli military intelligence, co-founded the Middle East Media Research Institute (Memri),a Washington-based Israeli outfit which distributes articles translated from Arabic newspapers portraying Arabs in a bad light.

Eliot Cohen
Member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board under Perle and is another extremist pro-Israel advisor. Like Adelman, he often expresses extremist and often ridiculus anti-Arab and anti-Muslim views. More recently, he wrote an opinion article in the Wall Street Journal openly admitting his rascist hatred of Islam claiming that Islam should be the enemy, not terrorism.

Mel Sembler
President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. A Prominent Jewish Republican and Former National Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee. The Export-Import Bank facilitates trade relationships between U.S. businesses and foreign countries, specifically those with financial problems.

Steve Goldsmith
Senior Advisor to the President, and Bush's Jewish domestic policy advisor. He also served as liaison in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (White House OFBCI) within the Executive Office of the President. He was the former mayor of Indianapolis. He is also friends with Israeli Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert and often visits Israel to coach mayors on privatization initiatives.

Adam Goldman
White House's Special Liaison to the Jewish Community.

Joseph Gildenhorn
Bush Campaign's Special Liaison to the Jewish Community. He was the DC finance chairman for the Bush campaign, as well as campaign coordinator, and former ambassador to Switzerland.

Christopher Gersten
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families at HHS. Gersten was the former Executive Director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Husband of Labor Secretary.

Mark Weinberger
Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Public Affairs.

Samuel Bodman
Deputy Secretary of Commerce. He was the Chairman and CEO of Cabot Corporation in Boston, Massachusetts.

Bonnie Cohen
Under Secretary of State for Management.

Ruth Davis
Director of Foreign Service Institute, who reports to the Office of Under Secretary for Management. This Office is responsible for training all Department of State staff (including ambassadors).

Daniel Kurtzer
Ambassador to Israel.

Cliff Sobel
Ambassador to the Netherlands.

Stuart Bernstein
Ambassador to Denmark.

Nancy Brinker
Ambassador to Hungary

Frank Lavin
Ambassador to Singapore.

Ron Weiser
Ambassador to Slovakia.

Mel Sembler
Ambassador to Italy.

Martin Silverstein
Ambassador to Uruguay.

Lincoln Bloomfield
Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs.

Jay Lefkowitz
Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Ken Melman
White House Political Director.

Brad Blakeman
White House Director of Scheduling.

I don't know about you, but dual citizenship is fine with me for an ordinary citizen. But if you hold an official position that demands that you put American interests above all else -- if you should look transparent and fair to the rest of the world regarding your formation of Middle East foreign policies, then this is a dangerous trend. Even if there were no pro-Israeli agenda, the fact that decision makers have a bias or an allegiance to one of the parties involved in the current conflict should have raised red flags long before now.

If you think we're being unfair here, ask yourself: How you would react to the Head of Homeland Security if he or she were a dual national with citizenship in Iran, Lebanon or Saudi Arabia? Ask yourself why you don't feel the same about Israeli dual citizenship. Then you will understand how powerful the Israeli lobby has been in "adjusting" your acceptance of their special status.

Hey, I could be way off on this. Let's hear from you.

UPDATE: December 4, 2007

Newsweek's Michael Isikoff reports that Iraq war architect Paul Wolfowitz has been rewarded with a new position in the Bush administration which will allow him to oversee classified intelligence and inform policies on WMD issues.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has offered Wolfowitz, a prime architect of the Iraq War, a position as chairman of the International Security Advisory Board, a prestigious State Department panel, according to two department sources who declined to be identified discussing personnel matters. The 18-member panel, which has access to highly classified intelligence, advises Rice on disarmament, nuclear proliferation, WMD issues and other matters. "We think he is well suited and will do an excellent job," said one senior official.

[Editor's comment: You couldn't make this stuff up!]

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Related articles:

The Key Players Of 911 - Who Is Jerome Hauer? (1-26-8)
http://www.rense.com/general80/key.htm
In the coming days I will publish an important article with crucial new information about several highly-placed U.S. government officials and the foreign computer technology that was used to carry out the aerial attacks of 9-11. (...) Yesterday, a reader sent me a document that contained a link to a very interesting 9-minute video clip called "The 9/11 Solution." This short video, which I recommend, is about how the "9-11 cover story was sold to the public." It shows how – in the first hour after the attacks – the controlled media conspired, or was used, to promote the fairy tale that became the official story about why the World Trade Center towers collapsed, i.e. structural failure caused by fire. The short video is composed of a couple clips taken from network television news on the very morning of 9-11.

The first is a clip of an unknown person in the street who provided a detailed explanation of how and why the towers collapsed. This simple man on the street, wearing a Harley-Davidson shirt, claims that the towers collapsed due to structural failure due to intense fires. Although this person was not named, his non-expert opinion was echoed by highly-placed experts who were interviewed on the first news shows after the collapses. In hindsight, this video shows how manipulative and effective this "random" interview was in seeding the official explanation of 9-11.

The second clip is even more interesting. This is a Dan Rather interview with Jerome M. Hauer, the first director of the Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Office of Emergency Management (OEM). Not only does Hauer second the opinion that burning jet fuel brought down the towers – he even goes so far as to put the blame on Osama Bin Laden. Now wonder they call him a "Terrorism Expert."This is a very important video clip because it shows how Jerome Hauer, the former director of OEM, was instantly ready to speak to the mass media about the attacks in New York – from San Diego, I presume.The buildings had just collapsed but Hauer, from a distance, stated that the "velocity" of the planes and the fuel were responsible for the collapses, which certainly looked explosive to real explosion experts, such as Van Romero of New Mexico Tech. Hauer then went on to say that the attacks carried the "fingerprints of Osama bin Laden."

How could he possibly make such a damning determination of responsibility before any evidence had even been collected? Hauer did not work in New York on 9-11. He had left his position as head of the director of the OEM in New York City in February 2000. He had then joined Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a large consulting concern based in San Diego, as a vice president and associate director of its Center for Counterterrorism Technology and Analysis. Like Benjamin Netanyahu, Jerome Hauer is a Zionist expert on terror.

WHO IS JEROME HAUER? (...) Jerome Hauer is among the small group of key individuals who are suspected of playing crucial roles is setting the stage for Israeli false-flag terror attacks of 9-11. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York appointed Jerome M. Hauer, left, to lead the newly created Office of Emergency Management in 1996 (...) Jerome Hauer is the son of the late Milton G. Hauer and Rose Muscatine who married April 4, 1949. His mother's parents, Hyman David Muscatine (1881-1964) and Rebecca Bertha (nee Gartner), were Hebrew-speaking Zionists. They both came to the United States in 1908-1909; Hyman from "Russia Poland" in 1908 and Rebecca from the Austrian Empire in 1909. His father's parents, Moritz and Gussie Hauer, immigrated from Hungary before the turn of the century. Jerome Hauer, however, is best known for being the director of the OEM when he made the decision to build a $13 million crisis center on the 23rd floor at 7 World Trade Center. This bizarre crisis center was unveiled in June 1999, and became the subject of tension between the agency and the Police Department, whose own command center at 1 Police Plaza had until then been the focus of emergency preparedness operations.

Jerome M. Hauer, who has strong family connections to the State of Israel, built the bizarre crisis center for the Office of Emergency Management in Larry Silverstein's WTC 7, the 47-story tower which was demolished by explosives in the afternoon of 9-11As the first director of the new crisis center, "one of Hauer's first tasks was to find a home for an emergency command center to replace the inadequate facilities at police headquarters," according to the Times.Reports indicate that the OEM crisis center at the World Trade Center was not being used on 9-11 by the usual personnel. The center had been temporarily relocated to Pier 92 on Manhattan's West Side, due to a FEMA drill which was supposed to begin on the day after 9-11, according to statements made by Mayor Giuliani. So who was in the OEM center in Larry Silverstein's building on 9-11? That's the question that needs to be answered. Hauer's "crisis center" for the Office of Emergency Management occupied the 23rd floor of the Israeli-built tower owned by Larry Silverstein. It should be noted that the OEM crisis center was constructed (like the damaged section of the Pentagon) by the same British company (AMEC) who was contracted to clean up the rubble from the WTC and the Pentagon. CLIP

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From: http://texemarrs.com/golem_at_hand.htm

The Golem is at Hand

"What is Israel to do?... Israel has been building nuclear weapons for years...What would serve the Jew-hating world better in repayment for thousands of years of massacres but a nuclear winter?...The ultimate justice?"

- Professor David Perlmutter, The Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2002

"We Israelis possess several hundred atomic warheads and rockets and can launch them at targets in all directions, perhaps even at Rome. Most European capitals are targets… We have the capacity to take the world down with us."

- Dr. Marvin Crevald, Hebrew University (Associated Press, 2006)

What is The Golem? Listen closely, dear friends, because the answer to that provocative question is a matter of life and death. Indeed, the survival of you, me, and literally the whole world is tied up in the knowledge of The Golem. (...) Now, Michael Collins Piper, one of the world's foremost authorities on Israel and on Jewish power in global politics, economics, and religion, has published an important new book, The Golem: A World Held Hostage, Israel's Nuclear Hell Bomb and the Road to Global Armageddon. I cannot recommend this book enough. (...) Michael Collins Piper's outstanding book underscores the fact that, "A real-life Golem exists in Israel today: its arsenal of nuclear weapons of mass destruction." The tale and legend of The Golem, Piper adds, "is a warning to our world of the dangers of religious fanaticism. The modern-day nuclear Golem in Israel stands at the center of world unrest today."

The Golem a Holy and Sacred Beast

Israel's founding father, David Ben-Gurion, a known Socialist/Communist terrorist agent, described the atomic Admiral William Fallon, in charge of U.S. Centcom in the Middle East, informed President Bush that the U.S. Armed Forces would not go along with the Jews’ bellicose demand that Iran be attacked with nuclear bombs. Fallon later told Time magazine, "We are trying to put the crazies back in the box."

bombs that Israel's spy corps began to acquire and stock in the late 1950s as Israel's "sacred" weapon. Today, Israel's rabbis and political leaders speak of their nation's criminal inventory of stolen atomic weapons in hallowed terms as "holy instruments of God." They are the Golem monster, ready and prepared to vanquish all Gentiles and especially the hated Moslems and Christians. The Golem (Israel's nuclear arsenal) is designed to kill all who oppose the Jews' secret plan for a world Zionist Kingdom. These Israeli zealots are joined in their "holy" ardor and love of nuclear bombs by President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and the many neo-conservative Jews who infest and control the White House and Pentagon. Admiral William Fallon, a patriot who leads U.S. military forces in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, has been doing his best to hold off the zealots' keen desire to unleash The Golem on Iran, Syria, and other enemies in the Middle East. "We're trying to put the crazies back in the box," Fallon reportedly told Time magazine."Crazies?" Yes, that is how one of America's top military leaders describes Bush, Cheney, and the insane Jewish magicians who are so eager to use nuclear weapons of mass destruction and ignite a bloody and barbaric World War III.


Will the Golem Turn on its Creators?

In Jewish lore, The Golem, created out of clay from the earth by the magical conjurations of sorcerous rabbis, first vanquishes Israel's enemies. But then he gets out of control and the monster becomes a deadly threat to his own creators, the Jews. The monster turns on them and smashes their laboratory.
The Zionist plot to use The Golem—thanks to the 400 nuclear bombs now in Israel's Negev desert arsenal—will no doubt backfire on its modern-day inventors of evil. Unless we are able—as Admiral Fallon so colorfully puts it—to "put the crazies back in the box," not only will tens of millions of Americans die a horrible miserable death in a "nuclear winter," but the nation of Israel will also suffer maximum loss.
Keep in mind that it is not only Israel's 400 nukes we're talking about, but America's 10,000 + nuclear weapons as well. Once the nuclear genie is out of the bottle, who knows where things will end. One well-known Hebrew University professor, one of the Jewish crazies lobbying for The Golem to be unleashed, has threatened that, "The capitals of Europe will be toppled" by Israel missiles armed with atomic bombs. Like Dr. Strangelove, these makers of The Golem are inspired by Satan to bring down upon the head of mankind a form of "Doomsday Weapon." It's been called by noted Jewish New York author Seymour Hersch, "The Samson Option." The blinded Samson, you will remember, pushed down the two great pillars of Dagon's temple, and the Philistines were destroyed—along with Samson. "Yes," the zealots' poisonous reasoning goes, "we in Israel, like Samson, will all die, but the important thing is that our enemies, too—the Moslems and the Christians—will be destroyed."
CLIP

Strategic Doctrine - EXCELLENT ARTICLE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND ISRAEL'S POSITION.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/israel/doctrine.htm
The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 was preceded by more than 50 years of efforts by Zionist leaders to establish a sovereign nation as a homeland for Jews. The desire of Jews to return to what they consider their rightful homeland was first expressed during the Babylonian exile and became a universal Jewish theme after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. and the dispersal that followed. After the end of World War II, and the near-extermination of European Jewry by the Nazis, international support for Jews seeking to settle in Palestine overcame British efforts to restrict immigration, and laid the foundation for establishing a Jewish state. On 14 May 1948 the State of Israel was proclaimed. The following day, armies from neighboring Arab nations entered the former Mandate of Palestine to engage Israeli military forces.The State of Israel has always had a single defense goal - to ensure the existence of Israel and the security of its citizens. Israel is tiny (smaller than New Jersey) when compared to its Arab neighbors. More pointedly, it lacks strategic depth. A hostile fighter could fly across all of Israel (40 nautical miles wide from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea) within four minutes, while traveling at "only" subsonic speed. Israel is unable to field a large standing force compared with those it faces and must rely on its reserves. Israel's small population also increases its sensitivity to civilian and military losses. To make up for quantitative disadvantages, Israel maintains as large a qualitative lead as possible. The IDF makes up for its lack of size by superior maneuverability and firepower, and by relying on intelligence. Israeli national security strategy is founded on the premise that Israel cannot afford to lose a single war. Because the best way to avoid losing a war is to not fight it in the first place, Israeli strategy begins with the maintenance of a credible deterrent posture, which includes the willingness to carry out preemptive strikes. Should deterrence fail, Israel would seek to prevent escalation, and determine the outcome of war quickly and decisively. Since it lacks strategic depth, Israel must prevent the enemy from entering its territory, and must try to quickly transfer the battle to enemy territory.Israel applies its nuclear weapons to all levels of this formula. The total Israeli nuclear stockpile consists of several hundred weapons of various types, including boosted fission and enhanced radiation weapons ("neutron bombs"), as well as nuclear artillery shells. Strategically, Israel uses its long-range missiles and nuclear-capable aircraft (and, some say, submarines with nuclear-armed cruise missiles) to deter both conventional and unconventional attacks, or to launch "the Samson Option", an all-out attack against an adversary should defenses fail and population centers be threatened. In addition, despite Israel's insistence that it "will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East," these systems represent an effective preemptive strike force. At the same time, Israel deploys tactical systems designed to rapidly reduce an invading force. Following the 1973 war, Israel fielded at least three batteries of atomic-capable self-propelled 175mm cannons equipped with a total of no less than 108 warheads, and placed atomic land mines in the Golan Heights during the early 1980s. CLIP

MORE NO THIS ISSUE IN "SAMSON OPTION"ISRAELI NUCLEAR THREATS AND BLACKMAIL
http://www.carolmoore.net/nuclearwar/israelithreats.html

Who's a Jew (January 28, 2008) SOME PRETTY ASTOUNDING PICTURES!!
http://curtmaynardsblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/whos-jew.html
Whether or not you believe that all the below are Jewish really doesn't matter, but you should be asking yourself how less than .5% of the world's population [Jews] have such a disproportionate influence on world affairs.

Immigration Officials Detaining, Deporting American Citizens
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012508F.shtml
McClatchy Newspaper's Marisa Taylor reports, "Thomas Warziniack was born in Minnesota and grew up in Georgia, but immigration authorities pronounced him an illegal immigrant from Russia." And, Spencer S. Hsu writes for The Washington Post: "Did Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff put a convenient spin on statistics about apprehensions at the U.S.-Canada border in order to support new rules that his department is imposing there? Senators who oppose the plan to tighten identification requirements say he did."




13.

Forwarded by Mark Graffis (mgraffis@gmail.com)

From: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/wef/article3248484.ece

January 25, 2008

Shell chief fears oil shortage in seven years

Carl Mortished, World Business Editor World demand for oil and gas will outstrip supply within seven years, according to Royal Dutch Shell.

The oil multinational is predicting that conventional supplies will not keep pace with soaring population growth and the rapid pace of economic development.

Jeroen van der Veer, Shell’s chief executive, said in an e-mail to the company’s staff this week that output of conventional oil and gas was close to peaking. He wrote: “Shell estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand.”

The boss of the world’s second-largest oil company forecast that, regardless of government policy initiatives and investment in renewables, the world would need more nuclear power and unconventional fossil fuels, such as oil sands.

“Using more energy inevitably means emitting more CO2 at a time when climate change has become a critical global issue,” he wrote.

Mr van der Veer is expected to discuss Shell’s energy outlook today at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

In his e-mail, which was reported on www.RoyalDutchShellplc.com, an independent website that monitors the company, Shell’s chief set out two scenarios for the world’s energy future.

The first scenario, “Scramble”, envisages a mad dash by nations to secure resources. With policymakers viewing energy as “a zero-sum game,” use of domestic coal and biofuels accelerates.

It is a world, said the Shell chief, where “policymakers pay little attention to energy consumption – until supplies run short.”

The alternative scenario, “Blue-prints”, envisages a world of political cooperation between governments on efficiency standards and taxes, a convergence of policies on emissions trading and local initiatives to improve environmental performance of buildings.

Shell has not committed to either scenario. The oil company regularly uses scenario-planning to test the likely impact of widely divergent economic and political scenarios on its long-term strategy.

Unsurprisingly, Mr van der Veer indicated that Shell preferred the Blueprints scenario but he expressed caution over the likelihood of it coming to pass without a global approach to emissions trading.

The Blueprints scenario assumes that 90 per cent of CO2 is captured by coal and gas power plants in developed countries by 2050, and at least half of the CO2 emitted by power stations in the developing world. No such plants are in operation today, noted the Shell chief. “It will be hard work and there is little time,” he said.

Mr van der Veer’s comments emerged in the same week that the European Commission launched reforms to its carbon trading system, with plans to force power stations to buy permits to emit CO2.

In an acknowledgement of the challenge of securing global acceptance of the need to curb carbon emissions, the Commission President, Jos? Manuel Barroso, said that the Commission would consider the possibility of taxing imports into the EU by countries that failed to take equivalent measures to curb carbon emissions.

Mr van der Veer’s prediction that the oil industry would soon struggle to deliver sufficient conventional oil and gas to meet demand echoes growing concern from other oil bosses.

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Related articles:

Shell profits hit record 31 billion dollars in 2007 (Jan 31)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080131/ts_afp/britainenergyoilcompanyearningsshell_080131131455
LONDON (AFP) - Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday that net profits leapt 23 percent last year to a record 31.331 billion dollars (21.115 billion euros), energised by soaring crude prices.

Exxon shatters profit records
http://snipurl.com/1ys6v
Oil giant makes corporate history by booking $11.7 billion in quarterly profit; earns $1,300 a second in 2007.

Chevron 4th-Quarter Profit Rises on Record Oil Prices
http://snipurl.com/1ys6y
Fourth-quarter revenue climbed 29 percent to $61.4 billion, Chevron said. Price gains more than made up for a 1.6 percent decline in oil and natural-gas production.

Mexico's Oil Output Has Peaked, Under Current Limitations
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1237734/mexicos_oil_output_has_peaked_under_current_limitations/




14.

A MOST INTERESTING ARTICLE OFFERING USEFUL INFORMATION ON MANY CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS

From: http://www.cinemind.com/atwater/Blue.html

THE NEW CHILDREN – ARE THEY REALLY INDIGOS?

P.M.H.Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.) P. O. Box 7691 Charlottesville, VA 22906-7691

"Let us think again about what we are doing in labeling these 'new children.' I believe this is the new sub-race of individuals for which our fifth collective has been preparing. It corresponds to new growth on an old tree - the family tree."

… Rev. Carol Parrish-Harra, Ph.D. Founder, Sancta Sophia Seminary

I no longer have any doubts that humankind's long predicted quantum leap in evolution is indeed happening and on several fronts: kids being born "different;" and children "changed" - either because of an intensely powerful life event or from an encounter with the "power punch" that best describes the impact of a near-death or otherworldly experience.

Although my work in the field of near-death studies began in 1978, I have tracked the impact of consciousness transformations, especially with children, since 1966. Of my seven books containing my findings, The New Children and Near-Death Experiences compares children who had near-death experiences (kids who "changed") with those born from 1982 onward (kids who were "different" since birth). These two groups compare in ways that are both startling and unsettling. Because of this, I wrote Beyond the Indigo Children: The New Children and the Coming of the Fifth World, due on bookstores shelves September 28, 2005.

I'd like to briefly address this phenomenon, at least to the extent that we can in this article, before the book is published. Revelations from psychics and visionaries, claims and counter-claims, sensation seekers, skeptics and investigators, are speaking out now about so-called "Indigo Children" and "Crystal Children," as well as other "categories" in the labeling of our newest citizens on planet Earth.

The phenomenon of new children covers not only kids with unusual character traits and supposed purple or indigo colors that are said to predominate in their auras (the electromagnetic field around them), but the concept of "root races" (the basic root stock of humankind's gene pool) and what is happening overall to the human race as a species. There are many voices speaking out about this and much to consider. Some of the more well-known claims and sources for them follow.

Lee Carroll and Jan Tober, in their popular book, The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived, state that the new kids are Indigos ("Sixth Root Race" in esoteric traditions) because they have purple auras. They write of how technologically oriented the new youngsters are while at the same time being highly intuitive and creative, confident, strong, non-attached, with quick, sharp minds. Much of the information in their book comes from channeled sources through a medium, with additional comments from a few professionals and parents.

Another personage is Drunvalo Melchizedek, a self-realized mystic. In an interview with him, conducted by Diane Cooper about "Children of the New Dream," he explained that there are three different types of children now emerging: those in China who are super psychics, the Indigo children, and kids born with AIDS. He describes the Chinese youngsters as "psychic beyond belief." He says they have scored 100% on every test given to them, no matter what kind of test it was or how difficult. This has puzzled their parents, who often lament, "I have a kid who knows everything Æ what do I do about this?" He reports that such children are showing up in Russia and the United States, and that these super psychics are similar to Indigo children. (A man who writes at length about the Chinese children is Paul Dong in his book, China's Super Psychics.)

What excites Drunvalo the most, though, are the AIDS kids. "About 10 or 11 years ago in the U.S.," he offers as an example, "there was a baby born with AIDS. They tested him at birth and at 6 months and he tested positive for AIDS. They tested him a year later and he still tested positive. Then they didn't test him again until he was 6, and what was amazing is that this test showed that he was completely AIDS free! In fact, there was no trace that he ever had AIDS or HIV whatsoever!" He goes on to reveal that, in close monitoring by medical researchers at University of California/Los Angeles, the discovery has been made that youngsters like this particular boy exhibit a unique DNA patterning no one else has Æ 24 active codons. (In human DNA the world over, 20 of the 64 different patterns or codons are "turned on" and active, 3 operate like "stop/start" codes similar to a computer, while the rest remain inactive.) He claims that the children with 24 active codons, instead of the usual 20, have shown a resistance to disease that is quite remark-able. They seem to be immune to everything. Drunvalo believes this DNA advancement heralds "the end of disease" in that anyone, by choosing to align with 4 unity and interconnectedness, as the kids do, can achieve the same result.

James Twyman in his book, Emissary of Love, shares his own personal story of meeting an unusual child from Bulgaria and afterward discovering that he suddenly possessed psychic powers. He found that he could alter the form of matter, read people's thoughts, and even transmit images to others via pure intent. Four months later he traveled to Bulgaria and, through interactions with the same boy and those like him, he learned that just by opening up to the consciousness of these children he could hear them telepathically no matter where he was, and he could manifest abilities they said were latent within him and in everyone else. His travels not only to Bulgaria, but Bosnia and other war-torn areas on peace missions, brought him face-to-face with many of what he calls "psychic children." He has since purchased land in Oregon where he holds large retreats for members of the "Beloved Community" (what he calls those who receive his e-mailed "Letters from James Twyman").

This sampling of claims about today's youngsters necessitates that we ask the question: how much of what is being said about the new children is true and how much is fantasy? Although there is no way to check every tidbit, I can comment on some of it.

Children born with AIDS who recovered without a trace, even of HIV:

The original tests done on AIDS babies which made the news about a decade ago have since been discredited. In rechecking protocols, physicians discovered that none of the children ever had AIDS or HIV to begin with but, rather, other conditions which were misdiagnosed. Only a few cases of unexplainable recovery exist worldwide. Hardly a trend by anyone's standards.

Children from war-torn countries who exhibit unusual psychic abilities:

It is well known in psychological/medical circles going back over a hundred years that most children who are abused, troubled, painfully shy, shell-shocked by wars and similar traumas, or suffering from neglect, become quite psychic. Typical are reports of out-of-body experiences, telepathy, being able to affect physical matter with thoughts, know the future, see and communicate with angels/disincarnates/demons. A child's natural intuitive faculty tends to expand automatically into a survival mechanism during times of crisis.

Children propelled into almost super-star status by well-known adults.

Oprah Winfrey, a super star herself, has always used good judgment and care in how she handles child guests on her television show. So have many other media personalities. The record of James Twyman, however, is questionable. What he has accomplished by holding Peace Concerts around the world is incredible. His 2004 performance in Baghdad, Iraq, with mortars exploding only a few blocks away, is the stuff of legend; a home for orphans established there by members of his "Beloved Community" has saved lives. Yet he has been heavily criticized of late as being a "P. T. Barnum" for taking advantage of fears about war and the desire for peace to capitalize on his claims about psychic children. (P. T. Barnum was a promoter and circus owner in the late 1800s who made a fortune lying to the public about his performers.) Twyman, in answer to his critics, admitted to exaggerating claims he made in his book, Emissary of Love. He said he did it for "effect." This rue, however, did not slow him down. He had his center in Oregon registered as a church organization so a program could be offered through its seminary to grant Peace Minister ordinations and a Master of Peace divinity degree, and hold large conferences featuring gifted children. He has many projects to fund this, such as training people to bend spoons with their mind, improving children's psychic ability, and experimenting with the healing properties of a flower called Nard or Pikenard (supposedly rare and grown only in a small region of Nepal). I cannot comment on the circus atmosphere this man creates, but I can counter the claims he makes about Nard. The flower can easily be purchased throughout South America and at a small fraction of what he charges, even higher grades of the plant. In Twyman country, distinguishing truth from fiction is a challenge.

Children unusually psychic now widespread, some even beyond belief:

Many of these claims are true. Hundreds of schools for psychic children have sprung up globally, as have conferences, articles, and magazines on the subject. What is also true, but overlooked, is that all children by right of birth are psychic and display some or all of the same abilities now being credited to those who are "special." I wonder if it's rather a case of today's open climate for such things and parents being far more willing than in the past to allow their children to express themselves, that accounts for the unusual number of successful demonstrations of psychic ability with kids. Admittedly, as our environment continues to change (less oxygen, decreased magnetics, increased storms), we will see people of any age become more psychically aware Æ as a form of self-protection, and, as a type of adaptation. As concerns the super-psychic children of China, researchers have noted that the majority lose their clairvoyant, telepathic, and mind-over-matter traits after puberty. This finding is consistent with what has been discovered in other countries and established throughout reams of parapsychological research conducted for over a century in England and Europe (later in the United States). Psychic abilities are affected by states of mind, hormonal balances, and environmental influences. They are real, valid, and deserving of wider acceptance than being linked to superstition or subject to religious condemnation or sensation seekers.

Children who possess a wisdom beyond their years:

Adults are now turning to youngsters for advice on a multitude of issues, and receiving words of wisdom that they say have changed their lives. When you examine what the children said, most of it is the simple truths we all know but take for granted. Their counsel reminds us of what really matters: love one another, pretend and it is so, keep the faith, no one is ever alone, each person is precious, God is real and God loves us. Keep in mind that modern kids communicate in multiple ways. Many have their own website, publish books of inspiration, are featured on radio and television talk shows, even produce e-magazines and e-mailed newsletters. Or, they have relatives who do it for them. It wasn't so long ago when people flocked to the beds of stricken or dying children to hear what they might say, believing that "out-of-the-mouths-of-babes" came great truths. Of interest is that most of the more exceptional youngsters are suffering from major illnesses or handicaps, are paralyzed (some use speaker boards as their voice is gone), or are facing imminent death. What is different with these kids is their admission that "I chose to be born this way so you would listen to me" or "I'm here to spread love." Marshall Stewart Ball, a brilliant 15-year-old from Austin, Texas, is like this; his website is well worth visiting, his books are treasures. This is also true of Mattie J. T. Stepanek, age 11 of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, who, despite a rare form of muscular dystrophy, triumphed in uplifting books of poetry.

Children unusually calm and loving regardless of circumstances:

Today's junior citizens have a certain calmness about them that puts adults at ease, and bespeaks a time when children were well-mannered and courteous. But this calm demeanor often hides confusion, indifference, and a restless impatience. Current newspaper headlines shout out titles like: "Younger Students Getting Violent" ("I'm scared to even go to school," says a fifth-grader), and "Rug Rat Rage" (detailing an epidemic of anger that seems to begin right after toddlerhood). In March of 2003, a reporter, investigating the story about a father who killed his three sons and then himself, spoke with a child who knew the younger son. The boy asked rather matter-of-factly, "Do you think all dads should kill their children?" There is no doubt that the new children are loving and exceptionally generous; yet, just below the surface can lurk a different "face." These kids will talk back and question authority to a degree that is surprising and disconcerting.

Children with mutations, DNA helix alterations, additional codons (patterns):

Nothing in medical literature backs up any discoveries or findings about the activation of additional codons in the human being, which is curious considering how important this news should be. What is gathering "steam," however, at least in the alternative press, are stories about mutations in the helix spirals of DNA and of additional strands forming. A few of these claims have received a preliminary nod, pursuant to rigorous medical study. One holistic practitioner, however, by the name of Dr. Berrenda Fox (doctorates in physiology and naturopathy) publicly stated that she already had solid evidence proving such mutations. A short time after her announcement she closed her clinic, saying she was forced to "after a harrowing battle with the American Medical Association." Rumors are still circulating concerning her whereabouts and whether or not any of her claims were ever true. Most toss off the whole affair, and with reason, since Fox was once a writer for television shows such as "The X Files" and "Sightings." Numerous psychics and channelers have said similar things to that of Dr. Fox. One in particular, Susanna Thorpe-Clark of Australia, states: "We are being changed physically from carbon-based beings with two strands of DNA into crystalline beings with 1,024 strands of DNA (eventually), because only crystalline substances can exist on higher dimensional levels. We are in fact having our bodies merged with Sirian DNA strands, as this format is close enough to our own to be able to integrate with relatively little side effects." Susanna is well-known and well-regarded; so are others like her. Yet evidence to back up these revelations remains undetermined - whether from channeled sources, health-care practitioners, or medical investigators.

Children who are geniuses, intelligence on the rise:

Scores on standard IQ tests are soaring by leaps and bounds. We used to think that intelligence was inherited, that it was "in the genes," and that environment had little effect. Yet, what is happening today defies nature and nurture. Psychologist Ulrich Neisser of Cornell University joins a growing chorus when he admits: "This shatters our belief about the rigidity of IQ. It's powerful evidence that you can indeed change it." Psychological Review carried a provocative article by William T. Dickens of Brookings Institution that at least addresses the IQ puzzle in a way that makes some degree of sense. He advanced the idea of "the Flynn effect" (an observation made by James Flynn in 1987 - Flynn, by the way, co-authored Dickens' paper), that "People's IQs are affected by both environment and genes, but - their environments are matched to their IQs." He continued: "Higher IQ leads one into better environments, causing still higher IQ." Suggested here is the multiplier effect, especially when kids are exposed as a group to flash cards, "brain-twisters" and "brain-teasers" (even games on the back of cereal boxes and crossword puzzles). It doesn't seem to matter in such groups if choice is involved or exposure is incidental. Intelligence is still heightened. Take a moment just to reflect on what the new kids are exposed to - they can't help but know more than their parents. Caution: some of the genius superstars are phony. They were caught being coached by their mothers. This doesn't change the intelligence phenomenon but it does change how we regard the innocence of our children.

Children who look different, like "aliens," enlarged prefrontal lobes:

Absolutely true. Tales are told of children with alterations in brain structure, the nervous and digestive systems, unusually sensitive skin, ears, and eyes. Those I have researched in the general populace closely resemble what happens to children who have undergone a near-death episode. The pattern of aftereffects includes physiological as well as psychological changes, and our newest kids match this, almost trait for trait. This fact does not suggest that each child who displays these characteristics had a near-death episode, but it does confirm my notion that we can use the near-death phenomenon as a "model" to better understand what seems to be happening to the human family as a whole. What I recognize is the handiwork of evolution. Other researchers are coming to the same conclusion, among them Joseph Chilton Pearce. In his book, The Biology of Transcendence: A Blueprint of the Human Spirit, and specifically on page 251, are photographs of toddlers with a protruding prefrontal cortex (lobe). This protrusion curves outward from the top base of the nose to the hairline creating a large and amply curved forehead. I have a granddaughter like this, and I have seen hundreds more. Pearce showed me some of his other pictures, of little ones who looked as if they were wearing "helmets" or had "football heads" (startling extensions of the prefrontal cortex as well as out through the back of the head). During follow-ups, he obtained current photos illustrating how, as their hair lengthened, the anomaly was no longer visible (except for their unique foreheads). He found that these children were so advanced and so intelligent, they appeared to be "otherworldly." "The mothers of such children whom I have spoken with at any length," he explained, "have strikingly similar backgrounds. They are self-possessed women of strength and self-confidence and are deeply spiritual in a personal rather than formal sense. Many are in their late thirties or early forties."

Children who have indigo and/or purple auras, a predominant trend:

Precursors to the Sixth Root Race began arriving, as near as I can tell, in the late 1800s. More are coming in today but in no where near the numbers currently being claimed. Although traits like higher intuition, mind-over-matter, various psychic abilities, mental and technological expertise, are the province of Ascended Blues (the "Fifth Root Race" in ascension - heightened in energy and vibration), for the next 400 years or so it may be difficult to distinguish one root race from the other as characteristics will blend during the early stages. The notion that children with indigo/purple auras are now commonplace, is greatly exaggerated. What is common, and becoming more so, are sightings of a deepening in aura colors, especially that of blue, around both young adults and children. Aside from aura colors, though, body type, behavior characteristics, and mental/intuitive acuity are important to note. True Indigos, and so far I've only met a few of them, do not have the same physical stamina so prevalent with Fifth and Ascended Fifth Root Races. What I mean by "true Indigos" are those who bring in the more developed states relative to the Sixth Root Race. Seldom do you find "developed" individuals in the early waves of any evolutionary changeover. Each root race improves on the body type and consciousness of the one before it. The Sixth will be more refined, able to thrive in significantly higher states of mental and spiritual realities than what presently exists on the earth plane. True Indigos are challenged to appreciate sexual differences, seem to have "no skin" with regard to personal boundaries, and tend to objectify hygiene and health-care chores. Their "grounding" is not in the physical, but in the mental. It is the Ascended Blues (Fifth Root Race) who are "made-to-order" for tackling the immensity of today's problems. They are powerful "fixers," broad-minded, and virtually unstoppable once they commit to a goal. They will never be satisfied with anything less than an overhaul of society itself, globally. To categorize our new children, as is being done in popular missives, with labels like Indigo Hero, Crystalline, Psychic, Star Seed, Alien Hybrid, Blue Ray, Wonder Kid, etc., serves no one. . . and does more harm than good.

As you can readily see by this brief "expose," some of the claims made about the new children have merit, some are hoaxes, some are visionary revelations, and some are currently outside of our ability to either verify or discredit. One thing's for certain, though. We are changing as a species, even on a cellular level. Our children are proof of this, and, oh, what amazing children they are!

References:

CLIP - Please go at http://www.cinemind.com/atwater/Blue.html to review the references

---

Related video:

From: Project Camelot (support@projectcamelot.org)
Subject: Project Camelot interviews Boriska
Date: 25 Jan 2008

Project Camelot interviews Boriska
http://projectcamelot.org/boriska.html
Worth the wait, our interview with Boriska has taken quite some time to edit due to the challenges of translating and transcribing on to the video from Russian to English; we wanted to be sure to capture everything Boriska said with clarity. We now believe we’ve captured closely the wording he chose to use in answering our questions. He's a fascinating child and pure delight to behold... here after too long a delay is Boriska in what is the first time he has been seen on film in the West.

Click here to stream:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=y7Xcn436tyI

We're also pleased to publish a most interesting, in-depth article on Boriska by Gennady Belimov who first 'discovered' Boriska four years ago - translated into English for the first time:
http://projectcamelot.org/indigo_boy_from_mars.html

Note from Jean: I wonder if this young boy isn't making it all up... Looks like that to me!

CLIP




15.

Forwarded by Lise Jacques (lisejacques@gmail.com) on January 31, 2008

From: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/eceti/message/3579

UFO Guide for the Spiritually Handicapped

There are many handicaps when it comes to ufology the largest of which is concept of me, the belief in separation and the finite as the whole. There are many levels and categories concerning ufos and for anyone to think they have the whole pie having only a piece is most arrogant. When someone comes along with a little more of the pie competition and jealousy sets in. There is also the infiltration of disinformation and N.W. O. operatives providing funding which is why you do not see me at many events in the ufo community. Unfortunately this is what is going on in the UFO community which has not learned to cooperate for the greater good. The ones who have the most pie are the best listeners and sad to say they are far and few in between those who get a little too caught up in their own self importance. The disinformation and censorship game which combined with run amuck egos makes it very hard to get to the truth of the matter. You will hear a lot about the past, sightings far away and all the negative hype for a reason. These are the ones that get the most press. It also builds up another agenda which is a false flag alien invasion to further unify humanity in fear of a greater terror in which the terror solution game will be again be played. The trick is to realize the ones creating the terror are the same ones with the solution motive being to gain further control of the people and take away what little freedom is left. Let's dig a little deeper in both directions to get a little bigger perspective on what is going on in the skies, beneath us and in other dimensions.

This being said we will attempt to give a little more of the pie than most but there is always more to the story for it is unfolding as we speak. We are going to start at the bottom and work our way up to leave you with a good feeling at the end of this article. There are ancient stories of Archons. This is a group of malevolent ETs and demonics which have been known about since the most ancient of times. They feed off of others, mostly lower frequency emotions and in some cases even physically. They seek control, domination, total subservience and engage in acts to create a vibration and frequency they feel comfortable with. They are behind much of the pain suffering, torture, wars etc. and have their human counterparts which seek power at any expense. The human counterparts control the main stream media which determines the beliefs of most people concerning UFOs. You will find the degenerate groups in deep underground facilities or influencing people in positions of power to wreak as much havoc as possible. Many have heard of these as "not all" but some of the greys, reptilians, and other bizarre shape shifting forms yet they are few in numbers compared to the higher level off world visitors.

It is imperative to remember the consciousness in which you seek is the consciousness in which you connect. We have a long history of war, aggression, competition and power struggles which in the past has made us ripe for the picking for low level contact.

What makes the low level beings most uncomfortable is the higher consciousness and energies the most powerful of which are divine feminine love, joy and bliss. To try to drive them out using condemnation, judgment, anger is not nearly as effective as love and healing energies which are the most powerful. These groups are being phased out due to the Earth's ascension and evolution into the higher frequencies which is how the benevolents do their magic. As we enter these new frequencies they will all be exposed and the reaction or karma will be accelerated. They and their human counterparts will fall, for it is the destiny of tyranny.

There are those visitors who just observe. This is like one big experiment to them and in the past have chosen not to interfere. Many of these groups are now beginning to take a more active role due to influences from the higher universal beings.

There are the benevolent ones, some of which are our ancient ancestors returning. The Earth was seeded by twelve races and each have their investment. Many had to start over as primitives due to devastating cataclysms such as pole shifts, meteor impacts etc. while others left and continued to evolve from an already advanced state leaving a few monuments or temples behind as proof of their advanced knowledge. Some of these advanced beings also went underground and are there to this day. They also continued from an advanced state of evolution to even a grander state. They have their ships and technologies we would call miracles.

There are time travelers with the ability to travel forward or backward in time, which is all going on in the now, and have been around in some civilizations for millions of years. There are civilizations thousands, millions and billions of years ahead of us in evolution. We know today there are over 200 billion stars in our galaxy with planets revolving around them just as our solar system. There are over 500 billion galaxies. This is just this dimension imagine the 11 other dimensions known now by scientists and those remaining unknown. For the Earth to be the only inhabited planet would lend to a very small and lazy Creator not to mention a dead multiverse.

The people and their ships are best understood when we understand the vibrational continuum. There are physical ships, ships that are pure energy, ships that are magnetized light and ships that are pure consciousness. They exist all along the vibrational continuum best known as the light spectrum. The occupants of these ships have physical bodies, energy bodies, light bodies and bodies of pure consciousness. We are multidimensional beings not just personalities and bodies. If you believe you are just a body and a personality, that belief or consciousness determines your ability to perceive and experience the higher levels. You do not see with your eyes, the brain determines what you see thus, AS YOU BElieve, so it is. Out of billions of bits of information some of which is interdimensional coming through the eyes we choose a small percentage of that to be our reality. When someone tells you there are no UFOs, they are all bad, here to slice dice experiment on and consume us, or they are the devil that consciousness will find and manifest what it seeks. We magnetize and manifest according to our consciousness and our brain chooses our reality often missing a much greater reality surrounding us in the present moment. This is why when asked where heaven is the masters say, Heaven is a choice - it is all around you.

Ramtha's teachings cover the light spectrum. There is hertzian, the physical, infrared, visible light, ultra violet, xray, gamma, the void all of which are inhabited. Within infrared and visible light polarities exist and it is within these levels beings exist that can influence humanity in a beneficial or not so beneficial way. We have mental and emotional bodies just as they do which can be influenced if we are not aware of and have not mastered all of our levels. This has been going on throughout time and we have a long history of benevolent and not so benevolent beings engaging the Earth.

This is the origins of many religions and cultural beliefs. Now is the time to transcend all religious and cultural boundaries and focus on the universal principles and understandings necessary for a healthy society and environment. We live in a unified field in which all is connected. The Creator is Omnipresent in all Creation. Brother/Sisterly Love, Individual Freedom and Prosperity for All, living in Harmony with each other and Nature is the model for Earth, an Eden which strayed far off track and is in the process of awakening and healing.

If we want to make contact with the spiritually and technologically advanced off world visitors, unite with those on the interior of the same nature and welcome the return of our ancient ancestors - we need to make a space for them. It is not their job to come and clean up the consciousness and environment, it is our job to rise to the occasion. It is not their duty to prove themselves to demanding arrogance, it is our job to prove ourselves worthy of their attention. If we want to experience Heaven on Earth, join the rest of the universe in peace and live in harmony with each other and nature - it all begins with us.

The Earth has been quarantined for quite some time due to our aggressive and barbaric nature - most of which comes from the leadership not the people in general. There has been strict guidelines as to engagement. The good news is these guidelines have been lifted due to the low level contacts and past interference in humanities evolution. It is also a part of the evolution of humanity and the Earth to awaken and heal, thus joining the rest of the universe in peace. It is to become the emerald jewel it was meant to be. If you think of the Earth as an atom in the body of Creation which is burning and itching to the point of getting all Creations attention, this is what is happening. It is as if all Creation is focusing on Earth now, recognizing the problem and coming to assist. It is said we can be part of the problem or the solution. The problem is coming to an end and the solution will be what is left. Nature is awake, it is intelligent, it is on the move assisted by higher intelligences. In the days to come, it is wise to shift into service, becoming the solution and aid in the awakening and healing of humanity and the Earth. Change is in the Wind and we must evolve and flow with the changes on every level if we are to remain as part of the solution. There are great consortiums and councils taking part in this awakening and healing process. Some have incarnated for this very purpose. On behalf of these great benevolent consortiums and councils, some of which you have heard of such as Pleiadians, Orion Council of Light, Arcturians and Andromedans, we welcome each and every one of you to become part of and cooperate in the solution.

Be well

James Gilliland
http://www.eceti.org

ECETI - Enlightened Contact with Extraterrestrial Intelligence - ufojames@gorge.net

AWESOME BOOKS AND VIDEOS covering UFOs their origins and intentions, Earth Changes, the origin and history of humanity and the Earth, Healing unseen negative influences and the path to awakening and healing. http://www.eceti.org/books.htm

ECETI News is part of the public awareness and UFO acclimation project of ECETI under the Self Mastery Earth Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to the Awakening and Healing of Humanity and the Earth. Any donations will be greatly appreciated.

Orbs: The Veil Is Lifting Trailer
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1435353861531647969&

PRESS RELEASE for the 90 min documentary Contact Has Begun
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/eceti/message/3575?var=1

UFO Sighting Map - January, 2008
http://www.ufosnw.com/sighting_reports/2008/maps2008jan.htm

Monthly Statistical MUFON Report - for January 2008:
CMS continues to amass sighting reports from around the globe. In January 2008 there were 607 sightings reported to MUFON through CMS from the following countries;
Country Number of Reports
UNITED STATES 556
CANADA 15
CLIP
Most impressively there were 36 Landings, Hovering, or Takeoffs reported and 37 Entities observed.

To review the CMS data yourself go to http://www.mufon.com and click on "UFO Case Files" to 1.) Easily look at the Last 20 Sightings, or 2.) Do a customized search of the CMS database by date and/or location, or 3.) Logon to CMS for even more detailed UFO sighting information about your State and the World.




16.

Forwarded by Kelley Elkins (elkins_delgado@yahoo.com)

The Empty Jar

An 85-year-old man was requested by his doctor for a sperm count as part of his physical exam.

The doctor gave the man a jar and said, "Take this jar home and bring back a semen sample tomorrow."

The next day the 85-year-old man reappeared at the doctor's office and gave him the jar, which was as clean and empty as on the previous day.

The doctor asked what happened and the man explained, "Well, doc, it's like this--first I tried with my right hand, but nothing. Then I tried with my left hand, but still nothing. "Then I asked my wife for help. She tried with her right hand, then with her left, still nothing. She tried with her mouth, first with the teeth in, then with her teeth out, still nothing.

"We even called up Arlene, the lady next door and she tried too, first with both hands, then an armpit, and she even tried squeezin' it between her knees, but still nothing."

The doctor was shocked, "You asked your neighbor?" The old man replied, "Yep, None of us could get the jar open."




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