MAY LOVE PREVAIL ON EARTH
January 21, 2004
Miscellaneous Subjects #200: A Hefty Load of BullNews With a Tiny Silver Lining
Hello everyone
It is very hard nowadays with the roaring torrent of bad news making its way into our brains through a growing number of sources to gloat and boast about any government's achievements. Yet this is exactly the ridiculous feat expert Tele prompter reader George W Bush accomplished last night on American TV based on a script crafted by his masterfully deceitful handlers.
You will find in this 48-page compilation a good sampling of the horror stories the U.S. media and White House Stealers would never care to mention nor acknowledge.
As for the tiny silver lining, it came from some of the subscribers to this list.
Please share as you see fit
Jean Hudon
Earth Rainbow Network Coordinator
P.S. Your comments are most welcomed and may be included in a coming compilation. Circulating this compilation (or parts of it) to others and personally inviting them to join the ERN family of Light Servers would certainly be a useful contribution. Just make sure to include the following note along with your forward:
Free subscription to such compilations by sending a blank email to earthrainbownetwork-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
This compilation is archived at http://www.EarthRainbowNetwork.com/Archives2004/MiscelSubjects200.htm
ERRATA: A subscriber informed me that the quote from Julius Caesar I included in the Empire of Darkness Series #5 is an urban legend:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl-caesar-quote.htm - Apparently no one really knows where it came from.
"Little by little, these toxins are seeping through your skin and lungs and into your bloodstream, building up in your tissues and organs like a time bomb. No one is sure what effect they might have on your health in years to come. It is thought, for instance, that some chemicals have the ability to bio-accumulate (an increase in concentration in a biological organism over time so it reaches levels far higher than in the environment). The result is that, unaware and without giving consent, we are all acting as guinea pigs in a giant chemistry experiment."
- Taken from "House of horrors" below
WORTHY OF YOUR ATTENTION
Links to articles about environmental health
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/today/2004/2004-01/2004-0121.htm
Much more at http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org (MUST SEE!)
CONTENTS
1. Samone Michaels on Dove, NESARA and the Illuminati
2. Feedback from an AOL subscriber
3. Feedbacks on the Empire of Darkness Series #5
4. Please, Help Us Wake Up America
5. Resources to Stop the Trafficking in Human Beings
6. Martin Must Resist Bush's Fortress North America says Steven Staples
7. NEWS BRIEFING FROM UK
8. US Apache Helicopter massacring Iraqis (Video) and Much MUCH MORE!
9. House of horrors
10. The Demonized Seed
11. How Many Windmills Would $87 Billion Buy?
12. EXCERPTS FROM WEEKLY GRIST
13. Support the international initiative for a Nobel Prize for Sustainability
14. Statement On Global 'Oil Peak'
15. The deliberately unreported economic collapse of the US
16. The Hypnotist
17. Blind, Deaf Outraged by Bush Metaphors
See also:
George W Bush and the Real State of the Union (January 20)
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0120-01.htm
Today the President gives his annual address. As the election battle begins, how does his first term add up?
232: Number of American combat deaths in Iraq between May 2003 and January 2004
501: Number of American servicemen to die in Iraq from the beginning of the war - so far
0: Number of American combat deaths in Germany after the Nazi surrender to the Allies in May 1945
0: Number of coffins of dead soldiers returning home from Iraq that the Bush administration has allowed to be photographed
0: Number of funerals or memorials that President Bush has attended for soldiers killed in Iraq
100: Number of fund-raisers attended by Bush or Vice-President Dick Cheney in 2003
CLIP - (Lots more stats - Worth a read!)
Full Coverage on the Bush Administration and reactions to his speech
http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=US&cat=Bush_Administration
Democrats say Bush has created new axis of evil (Jan 21)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1503&ncid=1503&e=12&u=/afp/20040121/ts_afp/us_vote_bush_democrats_040121084629
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Opposition Democrats accused President George W. Bush of leading the Unites States into isolation in the world and creating a new "Axis of Evil" with his policies.
Bush-Haters Handbook
http://www.nationbooks.org/book.mhtml?t=huberman
The Bush-Hater's Handbook: A Guide to the Most Appalling Presidency of the Past 100 Years, recently released by Nation Books, is a godsend to those looking for a concise, mordantly entertaining overview of the Bush record, or for those wanting to arm themselves with facts and figures as we head into the presidential election year.
Bush Administration, Congress Systematically Working to Weaken Endangered Species Protection (Jan 20)
http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/mt_archives/000030.php
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is under a two-pronged attack by Congressional Republicans and the Bush Administration. U. S. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA), elevated over more senior Republicans last year to chair the House Resources Committee, is aiming to narrow the scope of the 30-year-old law through a major rewriting, a goal he has pursued since 1995. At the same time Administration officials continue to use regulatory edicts and legal tactics to inflict what environmentalists describe as "death by a thousand cuts." CLIP - MUCH MORE AT http://www.bushgreenwatch.org
U.S. government dusts off 1800s law in targeting environmental group Greenpeace (Jan 21)
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-01-21/s_12274.asp
MIAMI - When prosecutors brought charges against Greenpeace for protesting a shipment of Amazon mahogany, they dusted off a 19th century federal law enacted to stop pimps from clambering aboard ships entering port. Environmentalists call the charges a heavy-handed attempt to stifle free speech and say the government is retaliating against Greenpeace for previous in-your-face protests against the Bush administration. The federal government has never successfully prosecuted an entire activist organization on criminal charges over its protest methods - not even the Ku Klux Klan. "It's an incredible abuse of power, and this is nothing short of political retribution," said Sierra Club spokesman Eric Antebi. "We think this sets a horrible precedent for political intimidation of public interest groups." (...) One reason Greenpeace is fighting so hard is the potential punishment: a $20,000 fine and five years' probation, which could hinder the organization's use of civil disobedience as a protest tactic and could potentially open Greenpeace finances, operations, support, and membership to government inspection. "For an advocacy organization dedicated to passionate dissent, that could be a crippling inhibition," the Natural Resources Defense Council said in a brief in support of Greenpeace. The nonprofit Greenpeace also fears the government will revoke its tax-exempt status if it is convicted. CLIP
Bushwhacking Mother Nature: US Environmental Destruction Abroad (Jan 19)
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0119-02.htm
While some German politicians are worried about the closing of US military bases in their regions, others fear nasty surprises will surface after the Americans depart. The United States has consistently valued military power more than the environment - but at what price?
Bush Opposes Extension of 9/11 Probe (January 19)
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0119-02.htm
President George W. Bush and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) have decided to oppose granting more time to an independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, virtually guaranteeing that the panel will have to complete its work by the end of May, officials said last week. A growing number of commissioners had concluded the panel needed more time to prepare a thorough and credible accounting of missteps leading to the attacks. But the White House and leading Republicans have informed the panel they oppose any delay, which could mean Sept. 11-related controversies emerging during the heat of the presidential campaign, sources said.
Earth 'entering uncharted waters' (Jan 20)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3411053.stm
The Earth has entered a new era, one in which human beings may be the dominant force, say four environmental leaders. In the International Herald Tribune, they say the uncertainty, magnitude and speed of change in many of the Earth's systems is without precedent. The four, who include Margot Wallstrom, the European environment commissioner, say uncertainty cannot excuse inaction. They believe humanity may cross some critical thresholds unawares, setting off changes which cannot be reversed. CLIP
The Earth's life-support system is in peril (Jan 20)
http://www.iht.com/articles/125605.html
Doom warnings sound more loudly (Jan 10)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3384067.stm
Our environment correspondent considers why warnings about the state of the planet are becoming more insistent - For the doom merchants amongst us, 2004 showed its fearsome teeth in a cracking start before it was even 10 days old. On 7 January a report in the journal Nature said climate change could speed a million land-based species towards extinction within the next 50 years. The next day the Worldwatch Institute declared modern lifestyles were bad for us and unsustainable for the planet. The UK Government's chief scientist now says climate change is a far worse danger than international terrorism. A triple onslaught like that defies anyone to head into the new year feeling even slightly positive about the human condition. Yet life goes on, and most of us worry more about paying the Christmas bills than about a world bereft of a quarter of its animals and plants. Devout sceptics We believe the scientists: we simply do not connect their findings to our lives, our families, ourselves even. Some of us just refuse to react, blaming the messengers for their message and accusing the scientists of scaremongering. But (at the risk of tempting fate) my inbox has been blessedly much freer recently of flat-earthers and foam-flecked contrarians (and I do not regard most of those I disagree with as being either). Most of us are convinced by the message - yet still we go on as if we had not a care in the world. But whether because of climate change or not, we are already losing species so fast that biologists talk of the Earth undergoing its sixth great extinction since the Big Bang. We are losing species we do not know exist, which could be vital to our survival. A few years ago, when the world's gross national product was worth about $18 trillion, the value of Nature's goods and services to us was estimated at $33 trillion. Similarly, the evidence that human activities are intensifying natural climate change is impressive, and hardening. The world really is changing, almost imperceptibly, but in line with what science says will happen. CLIP
Demand outpaces gas production (Jan. 19)
http://famulus.msnbc.com/famuluscom/bizjournal01-17-010317.asp?bizj=HOU#body
The natural gas industry faces a year of conflicting extremes in 2004. Houston-based and multinational energy companies will pursue a number of extremely huge exploration and production projects in the Gulf of Mexico. But the amount of natural gas they supply, although substantial, will be woefully inadequate to offset a U.S. production rate that continues to dwindle at an extremely rapid pace. And events like the freezing cold snap that hit much of the country in December and caused gas prices to spike 50 percent only represent the tip of the iceberg.
Earthquakes: Natural or Man-made? (THIS IS REALLY A FREAKISH, NIGHTMARISH ARTICLE)
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/JEF401A.html
(...) An article from the 11 July, 1935 issue of the New York American entitled ‘Tesla’s Controlled Earthquakes’, stated Tesla’s “experiments in transmitting mechanical vibrations through the earth – called by him ‘the art of telegeodynamics’ – were roughly described by the scientists as a sort of controlled earthquake.” The article quotes Tesla as stating: The rhythmical vibrations pass through the earth with almost no loss of energy. It becomes possible to convey mechanical effects to the greatest terrestrial distances and produce all kinds of unique effects. The invention could be used with destructive effect in war…(...) The January 1978 edition of Specula magazine ran an article describing an incredibly profound phenomenon that could be produced within the Earth by what is called the ‘Tesla Effect.’ According to the article, electromagnetic signals of certain frequencies can be transmitted through the Earth to form standing waves in the Earth itself. In certain cases, coherence to this standing wave can be induced wherein a fraction of the vast, surging electromagnetic current of the Earth itself feeds into and augments the induced standing wave. In other words, “much more energy is now present in the standing wave than the ...amount being fed in from the Earth’s surface.” By interferometer techniques, giant standing waves can be combined to produce a focused beam of very great energy. This can then be used to produce earthquakes induced at distant aiming points. Tesla expressed grave concerns about the effects of this technology because it is exactly the type of thing that could easily get out of control once it begins vibrating within the Earth – and it could actually cause the Earth to vibrate to pieces. Could the use of this technique have been responsible for the great earthquake in Tangshan, China in 1976? CLIP
Washington's New World Order Weapons Have the Ability to Trigger Climate Change (Jan 4)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO201A.html
The important debate on global warming under UN auspices provides but a partial picture of climate change; in addition to the devastating impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on the ozone layer, the World's climate can now be modified as part of a new generation of sophisticated "non-lethal weapons." Both the Americans and the Russians have developed capabilities to manipulate the World's climate. In the US, the technology is being perfected under the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) as part of the ("Star Wars") Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI). Recent scientific evidence suggests that HAARP is fully operational and has the ability of potentially triggering floods, droughts, hurricanes and earthquakes. From a military standpoint, HAARP is a weapon of mass destruction. Potentially, it constitutes an instrument of conquest capable of selectively destabilising agricultural and ecological systems of entire regions. CLIP
Power blackouts likely: Electricity systems are becoming ever more vulnerable, and there's no quick fix (20 January 2004)
http://www.nature.com/nsu/040119/040119-3.html
Two groups of researchers have independently brought forward evidence of intrinsic weaknesses in the North American power grid. Their analyses both conclude that massive power blackouts such as the one that took out New York last summer are likely to happen again. Last week, John Kappenman, a US Government advisor from the California-based company Metatech Corporation, told the annual meeting of the American
Meteorological Society in Seattle, Washington, that geomagnetic storms could cause much larger blackouts. And, he warned, the way the grid is growing only makes it more vulnerable. "The threat is greater than anyone had previously thought," says Kappenman. CLIP
Europeans 'can save climate pact' (Jan 20)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/3410519.stm
Bagel virus hides as calculator
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3410209.stm
The Bagle virus has tricked lots of people - Warnings are being issued about the rapidly spreading Bagle Windows worm. The virus poses as a test message and so far has tricked people in 87 countries into opening it and helping it spread. Bagle plunders address books for e-mail addresses and uses an in-built mail program to send itself to new victims. It also tells its creator about an infected computer and tries to open a backdoor that a malicious hacker could use to take control of the machine. CLIP
'Bagle' E-Mail Virus Slows, Fuels Naming Debate (Jan 21)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=569&ncid=738&e=1&u=/nm/20040121/tc_nm/tech_virus_dc
Anti-virus technicians said on Wednesday that "Bagle," the latest e-mail virus to hit global computer users, was in decline and no longer considered a major threat.
1.
From: "Samone" samone@sldprints.com>
Subject: Dove, NESARA and the Illuminati
Date: 15 Jan 2004
Dearest Jean,
A friend just asked me what I thought about Dove, NESARA and the illuminati. As so often occurs when I am writing or speaking, my Divine Source comes through. I allow for the channel to be clear about what it is that we all to need to hear. Please consider posting this on your network. And as always, thank you for your ongoing dedication to disseminating this kind of information.
Love & Light,
Samone Michaels
~~~~~~
Comments on Dove, NESARA and the illuminati
First, let me say that I think that the people associated with Dove serve two purposes. One is that he/she/they offer a vision for what a transitional financial system could be. The other agenda, however, is created to test us on how much we are still willing to give our power away. We are continuing looking for something outside ourselves to "fix the problems". We must recognize this and move forward with our own empowerment to further our visions.
It is not to say that I don't believe that there are good intentions behind NESARA. In fact, if it happens, YEA! And having first hand experience of popping in on the illuminati, I can tell you that they are visited often by ETs and other dimensional beings. In fact, I had a ex agency guy describe a top secret document he read in the 1960s that talks to this issue of having visitors pop into their meetings. Because I was one of the "visitors" (due to circular time), I could describe the locations, who went where and what each country's reaction was. His mouth fell open when I described details that he knew I could only know from being there.
Russia was cooperative. Some of the Middle Eastern Countries were. The U.S. was so opposed to anything that the groups of visitors said, that they actually threatened them. It was very sad to watch. I remember one meeting where some of our military officers said, "Oh, it is those G-d d-mn ETs again." Several of the men (never any women) were in shock since they had never met an ET or angelic being. But, because they are all living within their own prisons they have created, they went along with the others' reactions. Very sad indeed.
On the other hand, the Russians in particular were very receptive. Remember this was back in the 1950s/60s. Now the illuminati is so threatened by these visits that they almost don't even listen to what the visitors have to say. They immediately react with violent behavior stemming from their own inadequacies, guilt and patterns. Each is afraid to act any other way. Imagine if you are one of the illuminati and actually wanted to think and act differently. Some would like to "get out" of the pact that they made with their own dark sides. But, they feel trapped and unsure how to escape this. Instead, much like many of the Nazis, they go along with what the others are saying, and deal with their guilt feelings internally.
No judgment on either kind of person, mind you. The ones that are feeling guilty vs. the ones moving forward with illuminati plans are equal. They are both void of love and need love sent to them for playing their roles. To truly rise above this, we must acknowledge that these are only roles and every being on the dark side is just a piece of ourselves. To do this so, spreads love to them and to those parts of our dark sides. This enables us to become our own Higher Selves in the physical.
Finally, as for the notion of last ditch efforts, that is exactly we are seeing at this time. Each 'man' for himself. They are now jockeying for position, and are behaving just like bank robbers or serial killers that turn on one another or want "credit" for their deeds. And their last straw which will be and has been prevented many times over, is to destroy the Earth and ETs with nuclear detonations and scalar/pulse weapons while they scamper for their bases on the moon and Mars.
But, as they have been shown and told, "they can run, but they cannot hide". First, no more nuclear detonations. Period. Second, the transition that we are moving through into the next dimension is across the board. In other words, all of the planets are affected with all of the Beings in every dimension. No one and nothing goes unscathed. So as Drunvalo told the illuminati many years ago when they asked, "What can we do?", he responded, "Come from love." Of course, they are at a loss for how to do this. SO THEY NEED OUR HELP.
I ask you to dig deep within yourself just as I have and continue to, and find that place in your heart where you know that the true nature of ourselves is in the state of unconditional love. Send love to the illuminati and visualize them coming from love, finding love and all of us together moving through to the next level of human experience.
Consider not thinking, but being love, joy and peace!
Samone Michaels
Author
2.
NOTE FROM JEAN: I received several letters of appreciation from former AOL subscribers when I resubscribed them recently when I though the AOL anti-spam problem was resolved (the first part of each compilation was still blocked because I always included the URL for the ERN website and this is why I can no longer include it under my name signature). Here is one example:
From: CeeTheMoonChild@aol.com
Date: 16 Jan 2004
Subject: Re: Welcome on list earthrainbownetwork
Thank you so much Jean, I didn't realize how much I missed your thoughtful, enlightening, wonderful letters. They have blessed my life so much ever since I became a subscriber, that when they ceased to come I was very sad. I didn't mind going to the net to retrieve them, but doing that was less of a blessing than receiving them in my mail box. Thank you again.
Love, Light, and Blessings be yours,
Cee the Moon Child in Florida, USA
3.
Date: 16 Jan 2004
Subject: Re: The Empire of Darkness Series #5: Could it Get Worst Than That? You Bet!
From: "A'keara" akearawt@adelphia.net>
Paranoid Shift: Understanding Tyranny is by far the absolute best article on the truth I have ever read, Jean. Thank you for circulating this amazing writer's explanation of the events that have led to the insanity of today.
I just wanted to share with you my undying gratitude for informing us and inspiring us to do all that we can do and to be all that we can be, always, always, always in our "Heartlight". There is one quote from Michael Hasty's brilliant article that really impacted me as he described what Americans must face: "It would mean being wise as serpents and gentle as doves". This says it all in one simple statement. Again, thank you for bringing the brilliance of this man's words to the attention of all of us on the wondrous ERN list.
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From: "eauxx" eauxx@pi.be>
Subject: Re: The Empire of Darkness Series #5: Could it Get Worst Than That? You Bet!
Date: 16 Jan 2004
Evil
Nietzsche considered evil to be a source of power independent of the human. Such a force of evil could exist outside of the human psyche, representing a capacity for cruelty and harm distinct from our own capabilities, a malevolent and hostile intelligence whose aim was, ultimately, to undermine our own essential humanity, to take away our ability to feel compassion, empathy, love.
The unprecedented scale of the wars and persecutions of the 20th century undermined the secular belief in inevitable progress and confronted philosophers and theologians once again with the problem of evil. In particular, the question of whether extreme suffering can ever be theologically justified was raised with regard to the Holocaust. Some have speculated about the absence of God; others have recalled the idea in the Book of Job of the mysteriousness of God's ways. The problem of evil has thus returned as a major concern of contemporary theology.
Evil and Power exist as one entity: one cannot work without the other, the larger scale of evil brings a larger scale of power and vice versa. This Evil-Power has been with mankind for thousands of years, it will continue until humankind realize where is going to bring us or has already brought us. For the sake of the world, it has to stop. Thousands of people die every day in this endless cycle. We have graduated beyond the Holocaust and are now entering the end of the world scenario with atomic energy in the hands of Evil-Power. The world is enveloped in fear, wondering what is the next move of the small group of men in Washington DC, they all know it will not be good news.
I do not know if there is enough love in the world to put an end to this, I certainly hope so. We have to accept the knowledge that we allowed this to happen and we have to accept that we have to stop it. There are no innocent people; there are only people who want to end this terrible thing.
If we are to meditate and spread love, we must know what we have to overcome in order to bring peace. We have to love so strong that warriors will throw down their arms and refuse to fight; people will rid themselves of the Evil-Power and embrace the world of peace for all of humankind.
Eauxx
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Date: 16 Jan 2004
From: Trevor Osborne wharmony@westnet.com.au>
Subject: Re: The Empire of Darkness Series #5 : Could it Get Worst Than That? You Bet!
YOU WROTE:
It may sound simplistic but it is really that simple.
All They Need is Love...
Hi Jean,
You are so right. Today I was recording from an old Bashar tape that elucidates your words in the most profound way. I know you don't want attachments so I have posted this excerpt to my website especially for you to hear (10 mins).
In the words of the Beatles song,
Love, Love, Love all you need is Love... Trevor
Click here to download
http://members.westnet.com.au/wharmony/Love,Love,Love.mp3
Trevor Osborne - World Harmony Pioneer
http://WorldHarmonyNetwork.site.voila.fr/
4.
Date: 17 Jan 2004
From: BILL D tanchu@olypen.com>
Subject: Please, Help Us Wake Up America
JEAN THIS CATASTROPHE IS SLOWLY COMING DOWN UPON US, AND NO ONE IS THE WISER EXCEPT THE MONSTERS CREATING THIS NEW WORLD DISORDER. (globalization)
Only Way to Stop Bush's Promotion of Illegals Invading America
http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd29.htm
by Devvy Kidd
The footnotes must be read:
3. Bush: Give Illegal Workers Guest Status, NY Times, January 8, 2004 and The Meaning of Bush's Amnesty by Patrick Buchanan at
http://www.amconmag.com/1_19_04/buchanan.html
4. Proposed New Constitution for the NewsStates of America at
http://www.webaccess.net/%7Ecomminc/Newstates.html
5. U.S. must rely on foreign law at
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35367
6. Social security is going south of the border at
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul149.html
7. NAFTA is nifty
http://www.cato.org/dailys/01-08-04.html
8. Social security boondoggle at
http://www.heritage.org/Research/SocialSecurity/em849.cfm
9. Tennessee Tax Win
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=20029
10. American Border Patrol and: Letters from Real Americans on illegals
http://www.vdare.com/mann/deportaliens/letters.htm
The term New World Order was a popular euphemism for world communism for years. Conspiracy kooks did not invent it. When it started to take on negative connotations, it was dropped for a nicer sounding label, Global Governance.
Thanks Jean for all you do
5.
Date: 14 Jan 2004
Subject: Re: Trafficking in human beings (mentioned in The Empire of Darkness Series #4)
From: Sraosha sraosha@indo.net.id>
Dear Jean,
I am not sure whether this site will help,
http://stop-traffic.org/Countries.html
It listed international/local NGOs & Governmental organisations that deal with anti-trafficking. I saw 3 institutions in Israel are listed on this website.
Also this site:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/news/8mars_en.htm
It gives you a relatively comprehensive info on the issue of trafficking in human being.
May be you can share this info with others who are concerned and interested with this issue.
Best,
Nita
Note from Jean: Anyone interested to get involved in this issue may also contact Nita Noor at sraosha@indo.net.id> to get more relevant resources.
6.
Date: 13 Jan 2004
From: NewsLetter@ceasefire.ca
Subject: Martin Must Resist Bush's Fortress North America says Steven Staples
Dear Friend,
I'm in Monterey, Mexico monitoring Paul Martin's meetings with George W. Bush and The Summit of the Americas. I thought you would like a copy of my editorial published in yesterday's The Hill Times. If you have not yet sent a letter to Prime Minister Martin calling for a debate on missile defence then visit http://www.ceasefire.ca
Thank you, Steve.
From: http://www.polarisinstitute.org/polaris_project/corp_security_state/publications_articles/january_8_2004.html
Martin should not use his time in Mexico working out a plan for Fortress North America with George W. Bush
OP-ED / Guest Column
By Steven Staples
THE HILL TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2004
The Summit of the Americas in Mexico this week will be Prime Minister Paul Martin's first step onto the international stage as a national leader. Much has been made of his first meeting with George W. Bush while at the summit, but there are much more important issues at stake than mad cow disease, softwood lumber, and Iraqi reconstruction contracts.
Canadians will be watching for indications of where Paul Martin intends to lead this country in a rapidly changing world. Re-establishing Canada's international stature appears to be at the top of his priorities. But it is less than clear what he thinks our international role should be, and how we should attain it.
Canadians are proud of our contributions to the world: UN peacekeeping, support for nuclear disarmament, the landmines treaty, global environmental leadership, and the promotion of international law. According to pollsters, we are more confident as a nation and we want to engage the world in order to make it more peaceful, prosperous, and environmentally healthy.
But Canada's corporate community has been urging Prime Minister Martin to cast off these old "soft power" notions from Canada's past. They argue that our future is tied to the United States, and that if we please the Bush administration we can enjoy the benefits of being the closest neighbour and best friend of the world's only superpower. Pump billions more into the military and join national missile defence, they say, if that's what it takes to win favour in Washington, D.C.
Prime Minister Martin, alarmingly, has taken much of the CEOs' advice to heart. In the last few weeks alone, he has refashioned the government to mirror the United States' Department of Homeland Security, promised the military more money while freezing spending on all other programs except health care, and handed the keys for Canada's warplanes to the most hawkish of the Liberal caucus, his newly appointed Defence Minister David Pratt.
It seems that Paul Martin needs to spend more time on Main Street, rather than Bay Street, if he thinks this is what Canadians want. Maclean's magazine's annual year-end survey found that only one in ten felt that the Prime Minister's top priority should be "having a closer relationship with the United States. " Further, three out of every four agreed that "It is important for Canada to set its own course and we were right to stay out of the war, even if it has annoyed our closest trade partner and may have cost Canadian jobs."
This international meeting in Mexico is shaping up to be an important test for Paul Martin. He will face a choice: Do we engage other countries, especially those in the developing world, as possible friends, trading partners, and recipients of our help? Or do we stand here in North America alongside the United States and watch the horizon for enemies, competitors, or resources to exploit for our own benefit?
The Polaris Institute's friends in Washington have been warning us that the word on Capitol Hill predicts national missile defence will be high in George W. Bush's mind when he meets with the Canadian Prime Minister. Will Paul Martin agree to join the ill-considered U.S. Star Wars missile shield and spend billions of dollars on the military, merely to appease the United States Republican establishment and Canadian corporations?
Someone should point out that there will be 32 other hemispheric leaders attending the Summit of the Americas. Many of them have been demanding more fairness in the global economy. Paul Martin should take the initiative and meet with Brazilian President Lula da Silva to show that Canada will take up the cause of international development and fair trade. That would be a far better use of time than working out a plan for Fortress North America with George W. Bush.
Steven Staples is a project director with the Polaris Institute, a public-interest research group based in Ottawa. He will be in Monterey, Mexico, when Prime Minister Martin meets with President Bush.
The Hill Times
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To subscribe to the ceasefire newsletter send an email to newsletter@ceasefire.ca with 'Subscribe' in the subject heading.
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See also:
Jack Layton's humoristic and revealing site on Paul Martin
http://www.flyourflag.ca/
Learn more about the real Paul Martin. As a shipping magnate Canada's new Prime Minister Paul Martin consistently refused to fly our flag - because flying another country's flag helped him avoid Canadian taxes, Canadian wages and Canadian environmental standards. How much fun was it for Paul? As Finance Minister, he helped the company he owned avoid paying taxes to himself.
THIS IS A SITE WORTH EXPLORING IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE UNEXPOSED SIDES OF CANADA'S NEW PRIME MINISTER (Jack Layton is the head of the New Democratic Party in Canada)
Martin's endorsement of national missile defence was a major victory for Canada's Corporate lobbyists. (June 2, 2003)
http://www.polarisinstitute.org/polaris_project/corp_security_state/publications_articles/missile_defence_june_03_PRINT.htm
(...) The Bush administration has been manipulating the missile defence program in order to activate domestic corporate lobbies in countries around the world, especially those countries that have been reluctant to endorse the United States' pursuit of the controversial program. The respected U.S. defence industry magazine Defense News revealed last summer that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency wanted to "lure foreign firms with U.S. defense dollars and hope the contractors sway their governments to get on board."
US opens door for Iraq contracts -- Canada gets a big thaw (Jan 14)
http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=7982&cid=8&cname=News
With a new leadership in place, Canada looks set to benefit from a sudden warming trend in its relations with the United States. In what the US is calling "an addition" to its policy banning non-coalition countries from becoming eligible for lucrative contracts to rebuild Iraq, President Bush has said that Canada will be able to bid on future reconstruction contracts. (...) Paul Martin was sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada on 12 December 2003 after taking over the leader's position in Canada's Liberal Party. He is perhaps the only international leader with a personal blog, or weblog, which he runs from his personal website (at http://www.paulmartintimes.ca/ - There is a poll with this question for canadians on this site: “The Bush Administration has expressed their intention of pursuing national missile defence, a ground-based system of interceptors designed to address accidental launches or attacks by rogue states. What should Canada's response be?” SO FAR: 34% support it unconditionally, 19% want Canada to discuss possible participation and 42% Reject this concept). The Liberal Party has held control of the Canadian government since 1993. Mr Martin, who failed in an initial run at the leader's position, has been Finance Minister since then. His elevation is seen as having the potential to greatly improve strained relations between the US and Canada. In Canada, firms were surprised by the development and several expressed reservations about their chances of actually winning any contracts they bid on. The US has been criticised heavily for "insider" contracting -- the award of massive contracts to companies seen as closely associated with the Administration. (...) Canadian officials said in Monterey yesterday that a conference on rebuilding Iraq is to take place in Kuwait next week. About 18 Canadian companies -- including Nortel -- are among the 1,200 international firms expected to attend, the officials said.
7.
Date: 16 Jan 2004
From: b4peacenow@yahoo.com>
Subject: NEWS BRIEFING FROM UK - JAN 16, 04
This week's news and comment from the press and web
To have this briefing emailed direct to you each week subscribe at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/handsoff_newsbriefing
Blair changes tune on WMD
September 2002: "Saddam's weapons of mass destruction programme is active, detailed and growing"
March 2003: "We have absolutely no doubt at all that these weapons of mass destruction exist'
June 2003: "I have no doubt that they will find the clearest possible evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction"
July 2003: "I have absolutely no doubt that we will find evidence of weapons of mass destruction programmes"
January 2004: "The chief of defence staff and other people were saying we think we may have potential WMD finds here or there. Now these things didn't actually come to anything in the end."
Guardian 12/1/04
US twisted intelligence
The BBC has been told that the US government "twisted, distorted, simplified" intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in a way that led Americans to "seriously misunderstand" what the threat was.
Greg Thielmann, director of the Strategic Proliferation and Military Affairs Office at the US State Department until his retirement last year, said President George W Bush's administration had "seriously misled" US citizens over the weapons threat.
Mr Theilmann said he was disappointed that Mr Blair had not confronted the US over its use of intelligence material.
CLIP
8.
Date: 19 Jan 2004
From: "globalresearch.ca" chossudovsky@videotron.ca>
Subject: US Apache Helicopter massacring Iraqis (Video) and Much MUCH MORE!
http://www.globalresearch.ca
Centre for Research on Globalization
Centre de recherche sur la mondialisation
GLOBAL RESEARCH (CANADA) : FEATURE ARTICLES
Best wishes and greetings to our Readers for the New Year. For a World of Peace!
1- 20 January 2004
*** VIDEO: US Apache Helicopter massacring Iraqis (Video) (download 4.8 Meg)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/audiovideo/apachehit.mpg
The Economics and Politics of the World Social Forum, Lessons for the Struggle against 'Globalisation', RUPE
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/RUP401A.html
The President of the US and his Top Advisers deliberately concocted a False Case for an Illegal and Unnecessary War, Chris Floyd
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/FLO401A.html
Provocative analysis on the distinction between anti-semitism and anti-zionism: Anti-Semitism: A Practical Manual, Uri Avnery
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/AVN401A.html
O'Neil's Claims Against Bush Supported By 1998 "War‚ Letters to Clinton" Signed By Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz , Jason Leopold
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/RAM401A.html
Militarization Not Exploration: Bush's Moon/Mars Program Is About Space Empire , Paul Joseph Watson
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/WAT401A.html
Bush Launches a Dangerous Space Policy, Global Network against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/GAG401A.html
Bush Should Be Facing ŒA Long, Hard Slog‚ On The Campaign Trail, But Dems Too Busy Fighting With Each Other, Jason Leopold
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/LEO401A.html
Trial of Saddam used as Coverup of US-UK War Crimes: Nobody wants to know Who killed half a million Iraqi children! Elias Davidsson
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/DAV401A.html
Cheney Target of Criminal Investigation , David J. Sirota
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/SIR401A.html
Saddam's Defense: Summon Bush Sr. to the Stand, Kurt Nimmo
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/NIM401A.html
Brazil: Opposition within the Workers Party to Lula's Neoliberal Reforms, Alan Benjamin
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/BEN401A.html
Reflections on 2003: Ideologues and prophets, left and right, James Petras
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/PET401A.html
Balance of social and political forces in Russia: The December Parliamentary Elections in Russia , Vyacheslav Tetekin
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/TET401A.html
Inside the Guantanamo Concentration Camp: Former Detainee Sues Bush Adminstration, Leuren Moret
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/MOR401A.html
Israeli Soldiers Refuse to Fight, Yshai Kalmanovitch
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/KAL401A.html
Top Bush Scandals of 2003. Part I: Iraq, Bob Fertik and Ted Kahl
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/FER401A.html
Washington a Trouvé la Solution: "Divisons l'Irak comme la Yougoslavie!" Michel Collon
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/COL401A.html
Earthquakes: Natural or Man-made? Jason Jeffrey
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/JEF401A.html
Washington's New World Order Weapons Have the Ability to Trigger Climate Change, Michel Chossudovsky
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO201A.html
Orange Code Terror Alert based on Fabricated Intelligence, Michel Chossudovsky
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO401A.html
Spoils of War: The Antiquities Trade and the Looting of Iraq, Gregory Elich
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/ELI401A.html
Declassified UK Intelligence: US ready to invade Middle East in 1973
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/AFP401A.html
Manufacturing Hysteria: Bogus Terror Threats and Bush's Police State, Kurt Nimmo
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/NIM312A.html
1990 Invasion of Kuwait: Washington Gave Green Light to Saddam: Transcript of Saddam Hussein's Meeting with US Amb. to Iraq April Glaspie
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/NYT312A.html
War and Globalization: The Truth behind 9/11, Video of Michel's Chossudovsky's Lecture, McMaster University, Snowshoe Films
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO312C.html
Washington has Found the Solution: "Let's Divide Iraq as We Did in Yugoslavia!", Michel Collon
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/COL312A.html
GLOBAL OUTLOOK MAGAZINE
For details on our Quarterly Magazine GLOBAL OUTLOOK
click: http://globalresearch.ca/globaloutlook/GOISSUE6.html
Just released from Global Outlook:
THE GLOBALIZATION OF POVERTY AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER, 2nd Edition, 2003, by Michel Chossudovsky
http://globalresearch.ca/globaloutlook/GofP.html
In this new and expanded edition of Chossudovsky‚s international best-seller, the author outlines the contours of a New World Order which feeds on human poverty and the destruction of the environment, generates social apartheid, encourages racism and ethnic strife and undermines the rights of women. The result as his detailed examples from all parts of the world show so convincingly, is a globalization of poverty.
In this new enlarged edition ˆwhich includes ten new chapters and a new introduction-- the author reviews the causes and consequences of famine in Sub-Saharan Africa, the dramatic meltdown of financial markets, the demise of State social programs and the devastation resulting from corporate downsizing and trade liberalization.
For ordering details click: http://globalresearch.ca/globaloutlook/GofP.html
9.
Forwarded by Ken NCEpanacea@aol.com>
From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,11381,1121888,00.html
House of horrors
Sperm counts are falling and cancer levels are rising. Something is very wrong somewhere, but what? The answer, says Hilary Freeman, may be uncomfortably close to home ...
January 13, 2004
The Guardian
Yesterday, millions of Britons woke up to the news that our daily personal hygiene routines could be making us ill. A study at the University of Reading linked chemicals called parabens in underarm deodorants with a possible breast-cancer risk, after discovering traces of parabens - preservatives thought to mimic oestrogens - in human breast tumour samples.
This finding comes just a week after scientists revealed that men's sperm counts have fallen by almost a third since 1989. Again, exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals - including parabens - is thought to have played a large part.
Buying organic and filtering your water may make you feel more secure, but it does little to protect you or your family from environmental toxins. Forget traffic pollution: the average Briton's home is almost certainly swimming in a cocktail of chemicals, many of which have been linked to allergies, cancers and infertility. These chemicals line your walls, carpets and flooring. They emanate from curtains, PCs, toiletries, even children's toys. And, while the products that you rely upon to keep your home clean do wipe out bacteria and viruses, they also spread toxic chemicals across every surface.
Little by little, these toxins are seeping through your skin and lungs and into your bloodstream, building up in your tissues and organs like a time bomb. No one is sure what effect they might have on your health in years to come. It is thought, for instance, that some chemicals have the ability to bio-accumulate (an increase in concentration in a biological organism over time so it reaches levels far higher than in the environment). The result is that, unaware and without giving consent, we are all acting as guinea pigs in a giant chemistry experiment.
"We're just as likely to be exposed to pollution indoors as outdoors," says Helen Lynn, health coordinator for the campaign group the Women's Environmental Network (WEN). "Ironically, it is trying to keep our homes and ourselves ultra-clean and sweet-smelling that is probably increasing our exposure to risky chemicals. Some of the chemicals we use in the home end up living with us in the dust, or indeed in our own body tissue. For example, the comparatively new antibacterial agent, triclosan, has been detected in breast milk."
Last year, the environmental charity Greenpeace published a report revealing that "gender bending" and other chemicals that can damage reproductive organs, interfere with growth and development and damage the immune system have been found in babies in the womb. At the same time, Greenpeace released the results of independent tests on a sample of consumer products including children's pyjamas, toys and baby feeding bottles. Alarmingly, the same hazardous chemicals were found in these items. For example, Disney-branded pyjamas contained phthalates, which are banned from teething toys under emergency legislation because they can cause liver, kidney and testicular damage.
Many of the chemicals found in household goods have been used for decades without having undergone any safety checks. "When a drugs company manufactures a new drug they must show that it has been through stringent tests demonstrating its safety before it is allowed on to the market," says Mark Strutt, chemicals campaigner for Greenpeace. "But chemical compounds are not subject to the same rigorous testing. Chemical companies do not even have to produce any data if a substance was put on the market before 1981 - and that counts for over 90% of the chemicals in circulation."
We can only speculate about the connection between the widespread use of chemicals in the home and the concurrent rise in cancers, particularly hormonal cancers. What cannot be questioned are the facts: breast cancer rates have increased by more than 50% in the past three decades, while prostate and testicular cancer rates have almost doubled. Even when ill-effects are suspected or have been identified in laboratory tests on animals, there is often no conclusive proof of the effects of individual chemicals on human health, particularly in the long term. Still more worrying is the fact that nobody knows what happens when humans are repeatedly exposed to a cocktail of diverse chemicals.
According to Strutt, the chemical manufacturers use this lack of certainty to their advantage: "The industry demands proof of harm before a chemical is restricted. Even when it is established that a chemical is harmful, they fall back on the exposure argument - for example, will a child receive a big enough dose from the toy to cause harm?
"Legislators fall for this because current regulations are based on risk rather than precaution. In other words, if the estimated exposure of a child to a particular chemical means only one in a million will incur damage, that is an acceptable risk. We argue that no avoidable risk is acceptable."
This state of affairs is set to change. In October 2003, the European Commission announced radical plans to crack down on chemicals found in many household items. Under the new guidelines - known as Reach (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) - chemicals will be subject to more stringent testing and companies will be forced to disclose basic information about all the chemicals they produce. Should the proposals become law in 2005, around 30,000 chemicals are expected to undergo safety tests.
Campaigners say the legislation does not go far enough. Substances identified as "of very high concern" will not automatically be banned. Instead the company producing such a substance will have to demonstrate "adequate control" over its circulation.
"The chemical industry will almost certainly argue that many substances we have identified as hazardous are 'adequately controlled'," says Strutt. "It will then take years to show they are not controlled, and the onus will be on environmental and health groups to do this."
The chemical industry is not happy with the Reach guidelines either. Judith Hackett, director general of the Chemical Industries Association (CIA), says: "We don't want to replace one set of regulations that don't work with another that aren't right. Consumers want information on the substances of highest concern, not five years of tests on substances of little concern which will be looked at just because they're produced in high volumes. Reach does not yet prioritise enough.
"European legislation banning substances will not prevent them finding their way into our homes," she adds. "Take phthalates in children's toys. Most children's toys are manufactured in the far east. Who will police the toys coming into Europe and determine whether or not they contain phthalates? These phthalates are unlikely to be manufactured in Europe."
As consumers, we have almost no say in whether we expose ourselves to these potentially harmful chemicals. They are now found in dust particles and in rivers; they are part of our environment. And it is practically impossible to avoid buying products that contain them. Washing powders, cleaning products and toys do not have to list their full ingredients. Only cosmetic products must do so by law and commercial confidentiality protections allow them to leave out select ingredients.
"Until the law changes," says Helen Lynn, "we'd be better off throwing open the windows, cleaning our homes with lemon juice, vinegar and bicarbonate of soda, choosing furnishings, cosmetics and toiletries that are as natural as possible and demanding products that are not just fit for their immediate purpose but are safe in all respects."
How your home may be poisoning you
1 Anti-perspirant deodorants: most brands of stick/cream/roll-on deodorants (not usually aerosols). Problem ingredient: parabens. Parabens are a family of compounds widely used as preservatives in a range of cosmetics including shampoos, make-up, lotions and deodorants. Although they cannot yet be conclusively identified as a cause of breast cancer, evidence now suggests they can act as oestrogen mimics. One, propyl paraben, has been shown to adversely affect male reproductive functions and decreased daily sperm production.
2 Toothpaste: most brands. Problem ingredients: triclosan. Triclosan is a chlorophenol used in products such as toothpaste, soaps and body washes, including vaginal washes - as well as many household cleaning products, and even dish cloths and chopping boards - for its antimicrobial (bacteria-killing) properties. The human body is a home for many different bacteria, many of which are beneficial. However, triclosan will kill all bacteria that it comes across, irrespective of whether they are good or bad.
3 Dark hair dye Problem ingredient: PPD (colouring agent). Hair dyes have been of concern since 1933, when they were found to contain p-phenylenediamine (PPD) and lead acetate. The darker the hair dye, the more PPD it may contain. PPD is also a suspected mutagen (a substance that causes changes to human DNA). Recent studies have suggested that those who have worked for 10 or more years as a hairstylist could have a risk of bladder cancer five times that of the general population. In 1995, more evidence linked frequent or long-term use of hair dyes by professionals to a higher incidence of non-Hodgkins lymphoma and cancer of the bone marrow. Another recent study found that women who regularly dye their hair are at a higher risk of ovarian cancer.
4 Illustrated children's pyjamas: including Disney-branded Buzz Lightyear pyjamas. Problem ingredient: phthalates (plus nonylphenol, see below). Phthalates are a group of synthetic chemicals used as softeners in the manufacture of PVC - they are used to make the soft, glazed, plastic design on the front of the pyjama tops. Phthalates have already been banned in teething toys. They are associated with liver, kidney and testicular damage.
5 "Rubber" bath duck toy (made from PVC): including Funky Bath duck by Chad Valley, from Woolworths. Problem ingredients: nonylphenol (plus phthalates). Nonylphenol is used in the manufacture of PVC. Studies have shown that it can mimic the female hormone oestrogen and high levels have been found in rivers where male fish have developed female characteristics. Earlier this year, research showed that the chemical had adverse effects on mammalian sperm production. A 2002 study found that nonylphenol can damage the DNA of glands that produce antibodies to fight off diseases.
6 Baby feeding bottle: including Toys-R-Us decorated feeding bottle. Problem ingredient: bisphenol-A. Bisphenol-A is used to make polypropylene, a type of plastic. It has been shown to cause genetic damage in mice. A study published in Environmental Health perspectives found that it acts as a hormone mimic and can damage the mammary glands, uterus and male genital tract of animals. Although plastics not containing it are available, it is very hard for a consumer to tell the difference - try using glass feeding bottles as a safe alternative.
7 Some air fresheners: including Ambi Pur parfum d'interior. Problem ingredient: artificial musks. Most fragranced products contain artificial musks (a known liver toxin), which are increasingly being found in breast milk. They can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin or on food. Some artificial musks have already been banned. Never spray air freshener in an enclosed space.
8 Upholstered furniture Problem ingredient: brominated flame retardants (also found in home PCs and televisions) have been linked with hormone disruption and thyroid problems. A 1999 study found that three types induced intragenic genetic recombination in mammalian cells, which is known to provoke a number of diseases, including cancer. High levels have been found in breast milk. Safe alternatives are available. Ikea has eliminated brominated flame retardants from all its furniture. TV manufacturers Hitachi, Philips and Sony are all phasing it out.
10.
Forwarded by "Mark Graffis" mgraffis@vitelcom.net>
From: http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine/la-tm-hemp03jan18,1,1658290.story
The Demonized Seed
January 18, 2004
As a Recreational Drug, Industrial Hemp Packs the Same Wallop as Zucchini. So Why Does the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency Continue to Deny America This Potent Resource? Call It Reefer Madness.
By Lee Green, Special to The Times
On an otherwise unremarkable day nearly 30 years ago, in a San Fernando Valley head shop, an ordinary man on LSD had an epiphany. The one thing that could save the world, it came to him, was hemp.
Thunderbolts come cheap on LSD, but this one looked good to Jack Herer even after his head cleared. The world needed relief from its addiction to oil and petrochemicals. From deforestation and malnutrition. From dirty fuels, sooty air, exhausted soils and pesticides. The extraordinary hemp plant could solve all those problems. Herer was sure of it. Thus began his journey as a heralding prophet.
For 12 years, Herer expanded his knowledge of hemp, burrowing deep into U.S. government archives and writing about his discoveries in alternative newspapers and magazines. He self-published "The Emperor Wears No Clothes," an impassioned rant for the utilitarian virtues of cannabis sativa, the ancient species that gives us both hemp and marijuana, which are genetically distinct. Experts agree that in contrast to marijuana, cannabis hemp-or industrial hemp as it is often called-has no drug characteristics. (See sidebar on Page 14.)
Herer's book, quirky but substantive enough to be taken seriously, inspired thousands and became an underground classic. The author has issued 16 printings over the years, revising and updating his material 11 times. Today, Herer is widely credited with launching the modern hemp movement, a persistent campaign by an eclectic coalition of environmentalists, legislators, rights activists, farmers, scientists, entrepreneurs and others to end the maligned plant's banishment and tap its potential as a natural resource.
Despite the book's over-the-top exuberance and occasional leaps of syllogistic fancy-or more likely because of them-it has sold 665,000 copies in seven languages. Or is it 635,000 copies in eight languages? The prophet isn't sure as he pads across the abused gray carpet of his two-bedroom Van Nuys apartment, a flower-child domicile to which the benefits of even the most rudimentary housekeeping remain foreign. Beard unkempt, hair askew, Herer matches the décor. "How can they make the one thing that can save the world illegal?" he asks, no less astonished by this paradox now than he was three decades ago.
Herer's question is essentially the same one hemp advocates in the U.S. have been asking with mounting consternation for the past decade. They are asking it now with new urgency in response to the Drug Enforcement Agency's latest foray against hemp, an attempt since 2001 to ban all food products containing even a trace of hemp, even though the foods are not psychoactive. The California-based Hemp Industries Assn. and seven companies that make or sell hemp products won a reprieve for the industry in June, when the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the DEA's efforts "procedurally invalid." But the matter remains in litigation, and the hemp issue continues to confound policymakers.
California's Legislature passed a bill on behalf of hemp not long ago that, in its final, watered-down form, could hardly have been less ambitious. Assembly Bill 388, approved in 2002 by wide margins in both chambers, merely requested that the University of California assess the economic opportunities associated with several alternative fiber crops. But because one of the crops was cannabis hemp, then-Gov. Gray Davis vetoed the measure, leaving California uncharacteristically behind the curve on a progressive issue that many other states and nations have embraced in recent years.
If all or even most of the oft-cited claims for hemp are true, the substance may know no earthly equal among nontoxic renewable resources. If only half the claims are true, hemp's potential as a commercial wellspring and a salve to creeping eco-damage is still immense. At worst it is more useful and diverse than most agricultural crops. Yet from the 1930s through the 1980s, many countries, influenced by U.S. policies and persuasion, banished cannabis from their farmlands. Not just marijuana, but all cannabis-the baby, the bath water, all of it.
Confronted with declining demand for their tobacco, farmers in Kentucky, where hemp was the state's largest cash crop until 1915, argue that commercial hemp could help save their farms. California doesn't face that particular dilemma but, in theory, hemp agriculture eventually could bestow innumerable benefits on the state, from tax revenues to healthier farm soils and reductions in forest logging for wood and paper. Environmentally benign hemp crops could replace at least some of California's 1 million acres of water-intensive and chemical-laden cotton.
Since taking root in the early 1990s, the hemp movement has made great progress around the world. Unfenced fields of the tall, cane-like plants flourish in Austria, Italy, Portugal, Ireland-the entire European Union. Great Britain reintroduced the crop in 1993. Germany legalized it in 1996. Australia followed suit two years later, as did Canada. Among the world's major industrial democracies, only the United States still forbids hemp farming. If an American farmer were to fill a field with this drugless crop, the government would consider him a felon. For selling his harvest he would be guilty of trafficking and would face a fine of as much as $4 million and a prison sentence of 10 years to life. Provided, of course, it is his first offense.
This for a crop as harmless as rutabaga.
Prejudiced by nearly 70 years of government and media propaganda against all things cannabis, most Americans have no idea that hemp crops once flourished from Virginia to California. Prized for thousands of years for its fiber, the plant rode commerce from Asia to Europe in the first millennium and sailed to the New World in the second. American colonists grew it in the early 1600s. Two centuries later, hemp was the nation's third-largest agricultural commodity. The U.S. census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp plantations, and those were just the largest ones. California farmers cultivated it at least into the 1930s.
CLIP - Read the rest at http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine/la-tm-hemp03jan18,1,1658290.story (Free registration is necessary)
(...) One of the many people intrigued by Herer's book was Dave West, a Midwest plant breeder with a doctorate in breeding and genetics. His curiosity about hemp had already been piqued by something he witnessed in the mid-1980s as he toiled one sweltering day in a Wisconsin cornfield. A helicopter suddenly appeared low in the sky, then hovered over an adjacent field while several men rappelled to the ground. It was a drug-enforcement operation going after wild marijuana. "Which, as a plant breeder and as somebody who grew up in Wisconsin, I knew was preposterous," West recalls. "I knew this was feral hemp and nobody wanted it, and that's why it was growing as a weed out there and nobody was picking it."
Since 1979, at a cost of millions of dollars annually ($13.5 million in 2002), the DEA has orchestrated an ambitious campaign of "marijuana eradication." The scene West observed in the cornfield was, and still is, a common one: a marijuana eradication team eradicating not marijuana but harmless feral hemp, often called "ditchweed." Escaped remnants from commercial hemp harvests of long ago still grow along railroad tracks and fence lines and in fields and culverts throughout America's heartland. Justice Department statistics show that year after year, as much as 98% of the "wild marijuana" the DEA pulls up is actually ditchweed.
"Here was an agency of the government that was selling this line"-calling ditchweed "marijuana"-"that was obviously a perversion of reality," West says. "This is a genetic resource issue. Instead of collecting, preserving and working with it, we're sending the DEA to rappel down from helicopters to pull it out and destroy it wherever they can find it."
>From July 1999 until recently, West presided over a state-sanctioned, corporate-funded quarter-acre test plot of cannabis on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. He possessed the only DEA license to research cannabis for industrial use. To meet DEA requirements, he fortified his site with better security than you'd find at a typical Russian nuclear stockpile. Ten-foot-high fencing topped with barbed wire, an alarm siren, infrared beam perimeter. You'd think he was manufacturing enriched plutonium.
For nearly four years West worked to develop a strain of cannabis ideal for cultivation as industrial hemp in the United States. Funding proved difficult given that investors and grants don't tend to find their way to research for a crop that has been illegal in this country for 33 years. But when he shut down the project last fall, West says, his decision wasn't prompted so much by money woes as by the federal government's "strong and entrenched opposition to hemp." In a written statement he handed to DEA agents Sept. 30, the day he walked off the property for good, he left no doubt about his feelings. "I quit in protest," his statement said.
A few months earlier, he had begun girding himself for the unpleasant task of eliminating the very thing his labors had created. "When I pull the plug," he lamented with wry sarcasm, "the DEA will require that the seed be destroyed. It is, after all a narcotic with no known redeeming use here on this flat earth."
The DEA agents did indeed require West to destroy the seed. The government shows no signs that it will allow industrial hemp to be grown in the United States anytime soon.
---
The Myth of Hemp Licensing
If you want to apply for a license to grow commercial hemp, you must solicit the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. The DEA consistently claims that no prohibition on hemp farming exists in this country, as if to suggest that all one need do is file the proper paperwork and make a reasonable case.
"We don't have any preconceived notions that we are or are not going to approve or deny any application," says Frank Sapienza, the DEA's chief of drug and chemical evaluation, implying that every case is a judgment call that could go either way.
Nonetheless, the agency has rejected every application it has ever received. How many? There's no telling-literally. The agency will say only that "the DEA does not have records of the number of applications received for such activities"-an extraordinary claim from an organization that documents every marijuana plant that it and cooperating law enforcement agencies uproot from U.S. soil. (In 2001, the total was 3,304,760 plants, though nearly all of them were feral hemp, or "ditchweed," not marijuana.)
Any denial that there is a U.S. hemp prohibition contradicts a salient fact: The DEA has never approved an application for commercial hemp cultivation.
11.
Forwarded by "Mark Graffis" mgraffis@vitelcom.net>
From: http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0112-07.htm
How Many Windmills Would $87 Billion Buy?
by Paul F. deLespinasse
Published on Monday, January 12, 2004 by the Corvallis Gazette-Times (Oregon)
Nobody knows exactly how much the United States has spent so far on the war. But it is a fact that Congress recently appropriated an extra $87 billion to support military operations for another year and rebuild Iraqi infrastructure.
Much of this money is now "sunk costs," and we can't "unspend" it. But the question naturally arises whether there might have been alternate projects on which this money could be spent, and whether these projects might have contributed more to U.S. national security than overturning Saddam Hussein will do. Our answers to these questions might provide guidance in deciding on future U.S. foreign policy.
News reports about a projected wind farm in northeastern Oregon illustrate one interesting possibility here. Officials at Alpine Power Co. of Roseburg want to spend $23 million to install 51 windmills near La Grande. Altogether, these windmills would generate some 92 megawatts of electricity. Assuming that they could be run about one third of the time (full windpower is not always available), each windmill would produce about 5265 megawatt-hours of electricity per year.
How many windmills could we have built and how much pollution-free electricity could be generated by those windmills if we could have used just the extra $87 billion that was recently appropriated for Iraq?
At the costs projected by Alpine Power Co, $87 billion would buy 192,904 windmills. The total resulting electricity production, again assuming each windmill can run one third of the time, would come to more than 1,015 billion kilowatt-hours per year. This amounts to about more than a quarter of all U.S. electricity consumption in 2000.
In 2000, burning coal generated 52 percent of our electricity. More than18 percent came from oil and natural gas, and about 20 percent came from atomic power stations. Burning coal, oil and gas puts carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which may contribute to potentially catastrophic global warming.
Atomic power stations pose their own problems (including the need for long-term storage of atomic waste) and may be attractive targets for terrorists.
Imported oil swells the U.S. balance of payments problems, puts large sums into the hands of dubious foreign regimes and some of the money even gets diverted to supporting terrorist organizations.
Energy produced by one method often can substitute for energy from other sources. A great increase in electricity produced by windmills could reduce our dependency on hydrocarbon fuels and imports and increase our economic, military and environmental security.
Taking the world as a whole, windmill-generated electricity has been going up about 30 percent each year since 1995. It is beginning to become a serious business in many countries including the United States. But investing an extra $87 billion now and then could accelerate this desirable process considerably.
The fictional hero Don Quixote went around Europe "tilting at windmills," a phrase that has become synonymous with engaging in noble but unrealistic efforts. However, building real windmills just might be worth thinking about. As we consider the opportunity, compare it to the cost of attacking and occupying Iraq, and the uses to which we could otherwise have put that money.
Paul F. deLespinasse of Corvallis is professor emeritus of political science at Adrian College in Michigan. He can be reached at pdeles@proaxis.com.
12.
EXCERPTS FROM WEEKLY GRIST
08 Jan - 14 Jan 2004
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
http://www.gristmagazine.com
SUPER MARKETS
Free Markets May Be the Ticket to a Clean Energy Revolution
Libertarian think tanks teamed up with big-name enviros to oppose the huge Bush energy bill that stalled out in Congress in November. But wait -- one group's from Venus, the other's from Mars ... what gives? The answer, says journalist Vijay Vaitheeswaran, is that both camps want clean, renewable energy sources to compete on a level market playing field rather than go up against fossil-fuel industries bloated on massive government subsidies. Vaitheeswaran, who writes for The Economist, is an enthusiast about clean-energy technologies and the power of market-based solutions to environmental problems. He makes a good case, says Michelle Nijhuis in her review of his new book "Power to the People" -- only on the Grist Magazine website.
Michelle Nijhuis reviews "Power to the People" by Vijay Vaitheeswaran -- in Books Unbound
http://www.gristmagazine.com/books/books010804.asp
JUST STICK TO TOFU
Farmed Salmon Contaminated With PCBs, Other Nasties
Consumers, still struggling with the news that bovine spongiform encephalopathy-laden beef will make your brain melt and mercury-laden tuna will make your children stupid, were met last week with more bad news: A new study in the journal Science claims that fish-farmed salmon contain enough contaminants (primarily PCBs and pesticides) to pose a serious health risk, more or less nullifying the health benefits of fish that other group of scientists told you about in that other study. Salmon lovers can take some consolation -- researchers say that wild salmon contain just a 10th of the cancer-causing contamination found in farmed varieties, and that South American farm-raised salmon are safer than the European variety. Grist's prescription: Forage for roots and berries in uninhabited wilderness areas and catch your fish from streams high in the mountains. Bon appetit!
Nature.com, Michael Hopkin, 09 Jan 2004
http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=1861
Financial Times, Victoria Griffith and John Mason, 09 Jan 2004
http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=1860
I AM THE TOXIC WALRUS
Arctic Natives, Minding Own Business, Suffer From Our Pollutants
Toxic industrial chemicals, carried north by wind, ocean, and river currents, are polluting the traditional diet of native Arctic peoples in Greenland and Arctic Canada. The pollutants, including PCBs and up to 200 other hazardous compounds, are first consumed by zooplankton, then travel up the food chain to the ocean-dwelling mammals -- whales, seals, and walruses -- hunted by Arctic natives according to centuries-old traditions. At this point, concentrations of chemicals and pesticides in the bodies of Greenland's Inuit are so high that their tissues can be classified as hazardous waste. Their breast milk is contaminated as well, leading to widespread immune-system and neurological problems among their children. Public health officials are torn about what advice to offer, since -- absent our toxic crap -- the native diet is quite healthy, and regardless, there is no infrastructure to support importing large amounts of (less healthy) Western foods. Arctic native culture is built around hunting, so a change in diet would also have substantial implications for their cultural survival.
Los Angeles Times, Marla Cone, 13 Jan 2004
http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=1872
13.
Forwarded by "Mark Graffis" mgraffis@vitelcom.net> on Jan 15
From: http://www.sustainable-prize.net/
Support the international initiative for a Nobel Prize for Sustainability
More than one million of citizens, and organizations from over one hundred countries support the call for a Nobel Prize on Sustainability.
On Wednesday the 10th of December 2003, the day of the official Nobel Prize ceremonies, the signatures of those who supported the initiative so far, have been sent to the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm.
The call for a Nobel Prize on Sustainability is already supported by numerous organizations, including the World Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the Earth Charter Initiative. The plea is also reiterated by individual world citizens, including some very prominent ones. 1989 Nobel Peace Price winner Dalai Lama, the political and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, has lent his name to the cause. The petition is furthermore signed by individuals like Dr Bedrich Moldan, former president of the Committee on Sustainable Development (CSD) of the United Nations and Dr. Lester R. Brown, founder of the Worldwatch Institute. Even companies like Bodyshop International have expressed their support.
The initiators say: "Alfred Nobel, the founder of the Nobel Prize, was a visionary man. In 1895 he wrote in his testament: 'The capital of my estate shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind'. For more than a hundred years the Nobel Prizes are among the most prestigious acknowledgements any scientist, writer or politician can receive. Its time for another visionary step: a Nobel Prize for Sustainable Development. Climate change, global warming, desertification, the lack of clean water and the depletion of our natural resources, call for sustainable leadership. The future of the modern world is depending on it. We, people from many different nations and with different backgrounds, are calling for installing a Prize for Sustainable Development in Memory of Alfred Nobel"
The international initiative for a new Nobel Prize stems from the Dutch parliamentarian Boris van der Ham, British Euro-MP Chris Davies and former UN-Youth Representative Ingrid Aaldijk.
PLEASE SIGN:
http://www.sustainable-prize.net/sign.html
14.
Forwarded by "Mark Graffis" mgraffis@vitelcom.net> on Jan 15
Citizens Committee on Oil Peak And Decline (COPAD) -- please sign statement (below) by going to http://www.copad.org/
For more info see the US Geological Survey's (USGS) public education poster, http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of00-320/of00-320.pdf or the non-PDF, the html version at http://www.hubbertpeak.com/magoon/
Statement On Global 'Oil Peak'
We, the members of the educational and scientific communities involved in the study of the worldwide peak of oil production, offer the following statement on the problem and its implications for our future:
Oil is a finite resource.
Oil was formed in the geological past, and a growing number of the world's leading petroleum geologists agree that more than 95 percent of all recoverable oil has now been found. We therefore know, within a reasonable degree of certainty, the total amount of oil available to us. As of this statement, we have consumed approximately half of the recoverable oil, and we continue to consume about 75 million barrels per day. Since 1981 we have consumed oil faster than we have found it, and the gap between our growing consumption and shrinking discovery continues to widen. Oil is now being consumed four times faster than it is being discovered, and the situation is becoming critical.
Oil is our most important energy source. Oil is the fuel that enabled the growth of modern civilization, and all industrialized countries now rely on it to an extraordinary extent. Oil provides 40 percent of all primary energy, and 90 percent of our transportation energy. It is furthermore critical to industrial agriculture, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, much of the clothing industry, and a vast array of others. The physical and chemical versatility of oil, combined with its high energy density, are such that no other known energy source can serve as a full or even adequate substitute. In short, oil is the lifeblood of the industrial world.
Worldwide oil production is peaking.
After more than fifty years of research and analysis on the subject, it is now clear that the rate at which world oil producers can extract oil has reached, or is extremely close to reaching, the maximum level possible. This is what is meant by 'oil peak.' With great effort and expenditure, the current level of oil production can possibly be maintained for a few more years, but beyond that oil production must begin an irrevocable decline. This decline is a certainty, guaranteed by the natural laws that govern our physical world, and nothing in science, technology, or engineering can prevent it. The consumption of a finite resource is simply a finite endeavor, and attempting to delay the onset of decline only ensures a steeper, more uncontrollable decline.
Oil peak is a powerful force of global destabilization. The foreshocks of the impending oil production peak are already impacting our economies, our environment, and our geopolitics. The inexorable tightening of supply is destabilizing oil markets, which now exhibit extreme price responses to the smallest of disturbances. Higher oil prices are hurting economies by increasing the cost of consumer goods while simultaneously reducing spendable income. Efforts to shore up weakened economies through relaxed environmental regulations, drilling in increasingly sensitive wildlife areas, or shifting to coal and nuclear technologies, are heightening environmental concerns. And with more than fifty oil-producing countries now in decline, focus on the oil-rich Middle East has sharpened dramatically. Countries of the Middle East have traditionally been able to relieve tight oil markets by increasing production, but, as the Middle East nears its own oil peak, any relief it can provide is limited and temporary. Nonetheless, many countries have become heavily reliant on Middle Eastern oil, and the geopolitical stakes of conflicts in this region have risen to all-time highs.
Solutions must be grounded in science.
The laws of thermodynamics and physics, as opposed to business and economics, must guide us through this crisis. Open markets are not equipped to cope with depletion of a critical resource, as they cannot foresee the serious technical limitations of various replacement technologies. Natural gas, for example, is itself a finite resource, and is already in decline in North America. Hydrogen is a commonly cited panacea, but rather than being a primary energy source, hydrogen is only an energy carrier much like a battery. As such, hydrogen is strictly an energy loser. Replacing oil with a sevenfold increase in nuclear energy, would pose a serious and expensive waste problem. Renewable energies including solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass must be encouraged, and their potential for large-scale deployment must be assessed. Other technologies still in the laboratory, either proven or as yet unproven, may be extremely difficult to deploy in the timeframe and scale dictated by this problem.
We call on all governments of the world to address this issue very seriously.
Oil peak is an inevitability. The first warnings were made public nearly half a century ago, and increasingly since that time the community of petroleum geologists has expressed concerns about global oil supplies. Since 1995, a group of veteran geologists has been issuing highly specific warnings based on exhaustive analyses. We now ask that the call be heard. A first response must include decisive cuts in consumption, and a thorough reassessment of the size of the world's oilfields. Communities everywhere must be apprised of this issue so that they may take part in creating a sustainable future.
Oil peak is the most pivotal challenge facing modern civilization. It is time to come together and acknowledge our collective vulnerability, and begin working to change the structure of our culture and civilization in ways we've never attempted before. We do not underestimate the magnitude of the task, nor the consequences of a failure to act. Please join us in adopting this statement, and become part of a growing community working to respond at every level.
SIGN AT: http://www.copad.org/
15.
From: "Dick Eastman" silver@nwinfo.net>
Subject: The deliberately unreported economic collapse of the US was engineered to leverage this blackmail just introduced by Greenspan
Date: 15 Jan 2004
They knew what they were getting us into when they relocated abroad the factories with which to make goods and services to pay for foreign goods and lending. Now that creditor-class-owned stooges in Congress have brought the nation to bankruptcy and the brink of extinction by following the orders of our mortal enemies -- they are playing their hand -- global financial dictatorship or a depression that will wipe out the population (and probably they intend that we get both.)
==========
BERLIN, Jan. 14 (EIRNA) -- ALAN GREENSPAN THREATENS THE WORLD: STEP UP "FINANCIAL GLOBALIZATION", OR ELSE....
Greenspan's Berlin speech was entirely devoted to the exploding U.S. trade and current account deficits and the menace of an uncontrolled, all-out collapse of the dollar. In his typical, psychologically-detached "delphic" manner, Greenspan posed the question: "With the seeming willingness of foreigners to hold progressively greater amounts of cross-border claims against U.S. residents [i.e., to maintain a net capital flow into the U.S. -- JT] at what point do net claims against the United States become unsustainable?" He emphasized that financing the gigantic US debt would never have been possible, without the growing globalization of the world financial system. The latter made it possible to divert vast amounts of capital, from the domestic sectors of the world's nations, into the U.S. financial markets. Today, Greenspan argued, the answer to a threatening collapse of the dollar, is to unleash new rounds of radical deregulation of the world economy and financial markets, eliminating all remaining traces of the former protectionist, regulated economic system of the immediate postwar period.
Especially Europe, he said, must give up what he charged was "residual resistance" to the unbridled "free trade, free-market capitalism", which he lyingly associated with the tradition of the United States. Implicitly refering to recent warnings by Robert Rubin and others, echoing LaRouche, of an abrupt collapse of the dollar, Greenspan asked: "Can market forces incrementally defuse a worrisome build-up in a nation's current account deficit and net external debt before a crisis more abruptly does so? The answer seems to lie with the degree of flexibility in both domestic and international markets.... Should globalization be allowed to proceed and thereby create an ever more flexible international financial system, history suggests that current imbalances will be defused with little disruption." That "flexibility", Greenspan implied, must include an unlimited, hyperinflationary expansion of financial derivatives, the elimination of all remaining barriers to cross-border movement of capital, and to arbitrary "adjustments" of the relative parities of national currencies.
"If we can manage to get a {fully flexible system,}" he said in response to a journalist's question "then we can resolve the problems of what is an inevitably expanding spread of deficits and therefore accumulation of net liabilities by countries such as the United States. If however, we find we are going back to the types of rigid economies and rigid structures that have existed previously, then we risk [a crisis of confidence and dollar collapse]." [jbt]
BERLIN, Jan. 14 (EIRNA) -- GREENSPAN HAUNTED BY THE "GHOST OF PROTECTIONISM", LASHES OUT AGAINST THE "CONTINENTAL EUROPEAN" CONCEPT OF CIVILIZATION.
While avoiding any explicit mention of LaRouche, Greenspan in his prepared remarks and answers to questions repeatedly complained of the "danger of creeping protectionism, which has been bothering me for quite a while", pointing to a coming "fundamental clash of ideas concerning the way economies should be organized." While preaching "optimism" that the final victory of globalization would defuse all existing financial crises, Greenspan admitted to "one major caveat." "Some clouds of emerging protectionism have become increasingly visible on today's horizon. Over the years, protected interests have often endeavored to stop in its tracks the process of unsettling economic change. Pitted against the powerful forces of market competition, virtually all such efforts have failed. The costs of any new protectionist initiatives, in the context of wide current account imbalances, could significantly erode the flexibility of the global economy. Consequently, it is imperative that creeping protectionism be thwarted and reversed...." Fortunately, Greenspan said, the concept of central economic planning was decisively discredited with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Subsequently, both the developing countries and Europe "have accepted market capitalism in large part as the most effective means for creating material affluence. [Europe] does so, however, with residual misgivings. The differences between the United States and continental Europe were captured most clearly for me in a soliloquy attributed to a prominent European leader several years ago. He asked, "What is the market? It is the law of the jungle, the law of nature. And what is civilization? It is the struggle against nature." Greenspan insisted that the law of the jungle, in the form of unbridled, "frenetic competition" was the source of what he described as a virtually infinite growth of U.S. productivity in recent decades. Unfortunately, he complained, "those that still harbor a visceral distaste for highly competitive market capitalism, doubtless gained adherents with the recent uncovering of much scandalous business behavior during the boom years of the 1990s." [jbt]
BERLIN, Jan. 14 (EIRNA) -- GREENSPAN DRAWS EMBARASSING QUESTIONS.
"You mentioned globalization makes it easier to fund the US deficit," asked the first questioner in the discussion session, "but actually the reverse is also true: globalization also makes it easier to {sell} US assets. Do you see the danger of a crisis of confidence or a dollar collapse?" A second questioner raised the issue, how the claimed, spectacular "upswing" of the U.S. economy in the last quarter fits with the continuing growth of mass unemployment. A third questioner asked Greenspan to comment on the recent publicized statements by former Treasury Secretary O'Neil, which he declined to do. The fourth questioner was the infamous Graf Otto von Lambsdorff, former German economics minister (1977-1984) and one of the most vicious "free trade" ideologues in Germany, but who unwittingly contributed to raising the spectre of a "LaRouche turn" in the United States and worldwide. Lambsdorff demanded, "You have warned rightly against creeping protectionism. Now we have an election year in US. Can we really be optimistic that no new protectionism will come up? Especially if we see the new forces worldwide -- globalized forces -- against the free trade system?" [jbt]
BERLIN, Jan. 14 (EIRNA) -- LAROUCHE REPRESENTATIVE EXPOSES GREENSPAN'S LIES ON ECONOMICS, PROPHESIZES: "YOU WILL BE THE LAST CHAIRMAN OF AN INDEPENDENT CENTRAL BANK IN THE U.S."
The big shock, however, was delivered by LaRouche collaborator Jonathan Tennenbaum, who was given the word following Graf Lambsdorff. Introducing himself as an advisor to the U.S. Presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche, Tennenbaum noted that Greenspan had entirely failed to address the crucial issue, which is the ongoing collapse of the entire global financial system. He pointed out that outstanding financial derivatives claims amount to four times world GDP, mentioning at the same time the gigantic real estate bubble in the US and the implications of the behavior of leading U.S. financial institutions as revealed by the Parmalat affair. Tennenbaum challenged Greenspan, to {prove} "that we are not in the midst of the collapse of the greatest financial bubble in modern history." Secondly, he noted that the economic development of the United States, in all its periods of healthy growth, was based on Hamiltonian principles "totally opposite to those you seem to represent". Furthermore, "80% of the U.S. population do not see the great prosperity you talk about." Rather, the tide is rising for a new Franklin Roosevelt to come on the scene. "Lyndon LaRouche has pledged to put an end to the system of independent central banking. You, Mr. Greenspan, will be the last chairman of an independent central bank in the United States. What do you say about that?"
Tennenbaum's remarks met with intense concentration from the audience, with applause from some, and enraged scowls from others. [jbt]
BERLIN, Jan. 14 (EIRNA) -- IN RESPONSE, GREENSPAN VEHEMENTLY DEFENDS FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES, BUT ADMITS "I CAN'T DENY THE POSSIBILITY OF A COLLAPSE."
"You are raising issues which, to really get at the root of them, would probably take a hour or so, so I try to keep it short", Greenspan responded. "It is certainly the case that credit derivatives have increased very substantially in the US.... They have been quite extraordinary in being able to take a very major potential problem in finance -- and I will give you one specific example -- and defuse what could have been the makings of what could have been a very major financial crisis." Elaborating on the method of "solving" one bankrupt bubble by creating another much larger one, Greenspan let some cats out of the bag: "I refer to the fact that between 1998 and 2000 world-wide and in all currencies, the equivalent of 1 trillion dollars of debt was taken out by the telecommunications industry, a significant part of which went into default. Had we had the type of financial system which we had in the earlier postwar period, with the rigidities you referred to, because banks are largely leveraged institutions, we would have had a very major collapse in banking. In the event however, because credit derivatives moved the risks from banks who initiated the credits, to those far less leveraged institutions, which were insurance companies, reinsurance, pension funds, etc., not a single major international financial institution was in trouble. These have been very major instruments for {smoothing out the system}...."
Next he blustered, "You assert that we have a real estate bubble, but the evidence of that is yet to be demonstrated. And my own judgement is, that there is not. "And you presume that as a consequence of all of these issues, that we are sitting on some massive financial bubble, which is going to blow up in our faces. You are not the only one who says that.... How do we know that the total system will not collapse? Well, the answer to that question in a technically accurate sense is, that no one has the omniscience and certainty to say, without qualification, that you are wrong. I shall merely say that the evidence that most of us who evaluate the data with respect to trying to answer that question, have overwhelmingly come to the conclusion, that that is extraordinarily unlikely to happen.... So can I deny the possibility [of a systemic collapse]? No, nobody could say that who has been taught in philosophy." Unfortunately for Greenspan, the last questioner raised the issue of Argentina's debt default. Greenspan declared, "I wish you had not asked that question." Leaving the building at the end of the event, participants were greeted once more by a pair of Youth Movement organizers, distributing LaRouche material. [jbt]
[source: Straits Times, 1/14, editorial]
THE SINGAPORE STRAITS TIMES PUBLISHED A SCATHING EDITORIAL ATTACK ON GREENSPAN'S BERLIN SPEECH.
Greenspan's claims that there was no inflation pressure in the US, no stress in funding the deficit, and that the market will deal with the current account problem, are "suspect," says the Times. Pointing to the European Central Bank warning, they say that Greenspan's policy is "exporting deflationary pressures from the US to" Europe and Japan," and claiming everything is fine because the US is fine. But even that is false, since his claim that the current account deficit will not overwhelm financial markets ignores the fact that the "market forces" Greenspan is counting on would have to force the euro to about $1.60, and Europe and Japan would have to "resign themselves to deflation," or stop funding the US deficit. They add that in the past, funding the US deficit was largely in the form of buying high-yield corporate debt, but now it is government debt, financed with low-yield US Treasuries, sold mostly to Asians. Without threatening explicitly to stop buying that paper, the influential Times conncludes: "Sooner or later, measures have to be taken -- by the US itself"
16.
Date: 15 Jan 2004
From: Antares Antares@magickriver.com>
Subject: The Hypnotist
It was opening night at the Orpheum and The Amazing Claude was topping the bill. People came from miles around to see the famed hypnotist do his stuff.
As Claude took to the stage, he announced, "Unlike most stage hypnotists who invite two or three people up onto the stage to be put into a trance, I intend to hypnotize each and every member of this audience."
The excitement was almost electric as Claude withdrew a beautiful antique pocket watch from his coat. "I want you each to keep your eye on this antique watch. It's a very special watch. It's been in my family for six generations."
He began to swing the watch gently back and forth while quietly chanting,
"Watch the watch, watch the watch, watch the watch."
The crowd became mesmerized as the watch swayed back and forth, light
gleaming off its polished surface. Hundreds of pairs of eyes followed the
swaying watch, until suddenly it slipped from the hypnotist's fingers and
fell to the floor, breaking into a hundred pieces.
"Shit!" said the hypnotist.
It took three weeks to clean up the theatre.
17.
From: http://www.thespeciousreport.com/2004/04040112blind.html
January 12, 2004
Blind, Deaf Outraged by Bush Metaphor
Washington, DC - Remarks in a new book by Bush Administration insider Paul O'Neill have drawn considerable ire from several handicapped organizations.
The former U.S. Treasury Secretary says the President's cabinet meetings, during which plans for regime change in Iraq were put in motion a mere ten days after Bush's inauguration, resembled "a blind man in a roomful of deaf people."
The National Association of Blind and Deaf Americans issued an angry statement this week, saying, "The NABDA resents any comparison between our membership and the incompetent moron President."
The Society for the Advancement of Incompetent Morons immediately responded, "We don't appreciate being mentioned in the same breath as that smirking little monkey boy," to which The League of Monkey Boys replied, "How dare you compare us to that lying sack of crap."
A representative from the Exalted High Brotherhood of Lying Sacks of Crap was unavailable for comment.
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