soc.culture.usa
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Today's topics:
* Imagine the day taxpayers are required to pay a holohoax tax-YOU DO! More! -
1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/6915790f914ffeee
* AFGANISTAN IS HEATING UP - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/6ae442c9b1901ed0
* Engraved On America's Tombstone? - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/c7d319e169c99e3e
* EL ASESINATO DEL DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING POR EL GOBIERNO - 1 messages, 1
author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/433b21509eb1ac53
* EINSTEIN-PHONY.LIAR,PLAGIARIST! - 2 messages, 2 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/252ea6d968f0cf6d
* Illegals: The Cure? Require 'Illegal Alien" Exclusion in Insurance Policies -
1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/50d9d24ad2faadf1
* IRAN PLANS 'WAR GAMES' IN THE PERSIAN GULF........ - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/42726506b667902e
* Cyprus: Portrait of a Christianity Obliterated by Barbaric Turks - 1
messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/858e113b5ec49a9b
* THE UN Human Rights Council A/60/L.48 - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/9bd6926ae655c966
* Study: You're Wasting Your Time Praying! - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/e9f4d8dfa08ede4e
* Defeating Jihad - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/1d04516116096e32
* US Should Not Recognize Kadima Unless Kadima Recognizes Palestines Right To
Exist, Respects International Law and Ends The Illegal Occupation - 1 messages,
1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/c8ade91b0cf4278f
* Fly High - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/9401495b34ff8719
* Mosul slips out of control as the bombers move in - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/2a8fc8a9c4f801b2
* Iraqi Resistance Report for 30 Mar, 2006 - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/8d60665f0fca4d06
* Suicide Bomber Kills 3 in Occupied West Bank - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/057c26b1a6e97bba
* Taming Global Capitalism Anew - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/364cd3a23e9b8748
* Senate report cites lapses in port security - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/7faf7a13732a9a82
* Immigration: 'Let the prisoners pick the fruits' - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/c225e266a1ed53f6
* Bush "Deniability" on Pre-War Intel Warnings - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/df97ffea28112f0d
* Digital US "Debt Clock" Can't Keep Up - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/119ec30ebe51591b
* Phone Trail Backs Italian Kidnap Case Against CIA - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/fde8dcfb385ee170
* 9/11 Trial: FBI vs Al Qaeda - A Tale of 2 Orgs - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/4c5aa1df9b00f898
* US Demands Files from ISPs, Tech Firms - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/2ad9e8584c483b49
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Imagine the day taxpayers are required to pay a holohoax tax-YOU DO!
More!
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/6915790f914ffeee
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 6:50 pm
From: Rob Welldum
On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 21:58:05 -0500, "127.0.0.1" <127.0.0.1@127.0.0.1> wrote:
>Imagine the day US taxpayers are required to pay a holocaust tax.
>Don't..................that day is here.
When even Heinz/Libby have to go public to explain why they refuse to continue
paying the KOSHER TAX, you can believe them.
Is this why the ZHIDS campaigned against Kerry and his wife, owner of Heinz?
On 14 Oct 2004 05:46:23 -0000,Pamyat18 wrote:
>Mamzer Kenneth McVay,SOBC, the well-known fag and mamser in Canada,
>Fag McVay of Vancouver, convicted of child molesting
>and car theft in California and Oregon, and still
>unemployed gas pump boy, mastermind of the
>Canadian branch of NAMBLA, now finally dying as a
>diseased AIDS-spreader, wants all to know
>about all his fellow ZHID criminals and perverts.
>Here is the latest.......
Notice that the foul pervert and molester McVay just can not deny the
FACTS of the article!
This was even confirmed in the jew newspaper tied in with McVay, where
they carried the article about HEINZ DUMPING THE KOSHER TAX in Canada,
because too damn expensive!!
Where possible support products that refuse to pay the kosher tax!
>GayMcVaySOBC@truthmail.com (GayMcVaySOBC) wrote in message
>news:<7ec78acb.0402121323.7bdc880c@posting.google.com>...
>> From: tyler <tylerdurdensidea@yahoo.com>
>> Newsgroups:
>bc.general,calgary.general,soc.culture.jewish,alt.revisionism,alt.conspiracy
>> Subject: McVay - his own worst enemy!
>> Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 23:06:07 GMT
>> McVay - his own worst enemy!
>> I posted a series of simple comments and questions about the kosher or
>> rabbinical tax on food products and Mr. McVay immediately labeled me
>> as a racist and an anti-semite.
>> Then he claims that businesses that pay the tax are not coerced in any
>> way.
>> Let's examine this calmly and logically and look at his behaviour.
>> If McVay is the standard for the Jewish community then it is clear
>> from his postings on the internet/usenet that the standard response
>> is: if anyone questions the rabbinical or kosher tax they are to be
>> immediately attacked as being racist and anti-semitic.
>> Based on this standard response how can anyone with intellect imagine
>> anything different being said to businessmen when approached with
>> kosher certification? My posting is a minor incident yet it elicited
>> rage and endless accusation from McVay. Just look at his message
>> headers! And yet he expects that the same is not being done where real
>> money is involved?
>> Mr. McVay, if you want us to believe that businesses are not being
>> coerced then perhaps you should set an example first.
>> Oops, it's too late isn't it? I've proven that businesses are being
>> coerced.
>> It's never too late to change though. You can start by apologizing.
>> tyler
>> Subject: KOSHER TAX Ripoff-HEINZ/Libby Dumps,Too Expensive to
>> Consumers!!
>> NOTICE THAT NONE OF THE FILTHY ZHID APOLOGISTS FOR THIS EXTORTION WILL
>> SAY WHAT IS THE TOTAL IN HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PAID FOR THIS
>> EXTORTION!!
>> We do know that Philip Wolf a part-time kosher food inspector (sic) in
>> Calgary Canada testified in court that he gets $35,000 for his
>> part-time job!!
>> Heinz/Libby finally got fed up this year,and stopped paying the
>> extortion tax!!
>> Now, when you buy HEINZ and LIBBY goods, you are no
>> longer lining the pocketrs of the COR Jew parasites,
>> like the so-called kosher food inspector in Calgary,
>> Toronto and wherever they hide under the rocks....
>> Now, these leeches will have to try and find some work to do,
>> such as janitorial, road sweeping or whatever they may be
>> qualified to do...
>> Notice that parasite Ken McVay AGREES WITH THE TRUTH OF THE
>> ARTICLES. That is why his Jew masters have him do ad
>> hominem attacks instead, to try and divert attention!!
>> From: norma2339@charter.net
>> Newsgroups: wpg.general,calgary.general
>> Subject: Re: Heinz Dumps KOSHER TAX-Too Expensive to Consumers!!
>> Date: 2 Apr 2003 02:33:32 -0800
>> "veranda" <nobody@home.com> wrote in message
>news:<NQria.6802$vs.479414@news3.calgary.shaw.ca>...
>> > > > veranda : the origins of Kosher are of very good value since it
>> > > > teaches sanitary way of food storage , handling and preparation .
>> > > > Those were valuable practices hundreds of years ago .
>> > > > The whole point is that Today it only duplicates the work of
>> > > > Public Food Inspectors and therefore is an unjustified extra cost
>> > <norma2339@charter.net> wrote in message
>> > news:9abc4e06.0304010305.50dc870e@posting.google.com...
>> > > What duplication? It is a symbol on the container and the cost would
>> > > not change in any way. This "paranoia" is silly.
>> veranda : what 'paranoia' ?? we are talking about saving money .
>> In order to have the Kosher mark on a product the manufacturer
>> must subscribe to the Rabbi inspections ( just like Public
>> Inspectors ) and the Rabbi are charging money for their services ,
>> you knew that !
>> Kosher is Israel's food inspectors , dear , not in Canada though ,
>> we got our own ! :)
>> Well, to set the record straight. The Rabbinate council that approves
>> something Kosher according to milk and meat products probably got a
>> flat fee and if the company continued to raise the prices that counsel
>> doesn't really care. It is not an item by item thing. With the
>> Kosher diet it matters what foods are eate together (and never mil and
>> meat) and one eats mostly milk meals, because the time period between
>> those types of meals is longer after meat (a much heavier meal in the
>> day.)
>> What would it save you--less than $10 a year.
>> All countries have their own Rabbinate Cousels, so don't think that it
>> is just Canada with their own. Maybe it is the Canadian Rabbis who
>> have demanded more money?
>> Or, perhaps Philip Wolf, the KOSHER FOOD INSPECTOR in Calgary wanted
>> more than the $35,000 a year he got for duplicating the work of the
>> Canadian authorities?? Apparently, his part-time stamps business
>> couldn't make any money either.
>> On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 10:25:20 -0600, Boris Dynin <boris@movil.com>
>> wrote:
>> Further to the article below about Heinz/Libby, the smaller article
>> following sheds more light on the KOSHER NOSTRA EXTORTION TAX!!
>> The "Kosher Nostra Scam" on the American Consumer
>> by Ernesto Cienfuegos
>> La Voz de Aztlan
>> Los Angeles, Alta California - 4/27/2002 - (ACN) La Voz de Aztlan
>> receives quite a few "news tips" per week from our many subscribers
>> and readers. Some we dismiss immediately but a very few catch our
>> attention.
>> Last week we received an e-mail asking us if we knew the significance
>> of the small encircled letter "U" or letter "K" that can be found
>> printed on many food cans, food packages and on other kitchen
>> products. The message gave us some clues and suggested that we
>> do some research into the subject. What we found
>> certainly was "news" to us and it both shocked and angered us.
>> On arriving at my residence, I immediately went to the pantry to
>> verify that what I had just learned was actually true. Sure enough,
>> most of the packaged and canned foods from major companies, like
>> Proctor & Gamble and others, did have the (U), the (K) or other
>> similar markings. The Arrowhead water bottle, the instant Folgers
>> Coffee, the Kelloggs box, the Jiff Peanut Butter, the Pepper
>> container, the Trader Joe's tea box and even the Glads plastic
>> sandwich bags carton had the (U) or (K) mark on them.
>> We needed a little more verification so we called two major companies
>> to ask some questions. We chose Proctor & Gamble that markets the
>> Folgers Coffee and the Clorox Company that manufactures the Glads
>> plastic zip lock sandwich bags. Each of the two companies, as well as
>> most others, have 1-800 telephone numbers printed on their packages
>> for consumers to call in case they have any questions about their
>> products. When we asked the Proctor & Gamble representative what the
>> (U) meant on their Folgers Coffee container, she asked us to wait
>> until she consulted with her supervisor. She came back and informed us
>> that the mark meant that the coffee was " certified kosher".
>> We than asked her how and who certified the coffee to be "kosher" and
>> whether it cost any money to do so. She refused to answer these and
>> other questions. She suggested that we write to their Corporate Public
>> Affairs Department. We than called the Clorox Corporation to ask what
>> the (U) meant on the package of their Glads plastic sandwich bags and
>> she also said that the (U) meant that the plastic bags were "kosher"
>> but refused to answer questions concerning payments the Clorox
>> Corporation has to make in order to be able to print the (U) on their
>> products.
>> What we learned next, pretty much floored me personally. I learned
>> that major food companies throughout America actually pay a Jewish Tax
>> amounting to HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER YEAR per year in order to
>> receive protection.
>> This hidden tax gets passed, of course, to all non-Jewish consumers of
>> the products. The scam is to coerce the companies to pay up or suffer
>> the consequences of a Jewish boycott. Jewish consumers have learned
>> not to buy any kitchen product that does not have the (U) the (K) and
>> other similar markings.
>> Another shocker was learning who is actually behind these
>> sophisticated "Kosher Nostra Scams." It turns out that the
>> perpetrators of these elaborate extortion schemes are actually
>> Rabbinical Councils that are set up, not just in the U.S. but in other
>> western countries as well. For example, the largest payola operation
>> in the U.S. is run by those who license the (U) symbol. The
>> (U) symbol provides protection for many products sold here in Aztlan
>> and in the United States. This symbol is managed by the The Union of
>> Orthodox Jewish Congregations with headquarters at 333 Seventh Avenue
>> in New York City.
>> The scam works like a well oiled machine and is now generating vast
>> amounts of funds, some of which are being utilized by the Union of
>> Orthodox Rabbis to support the Ariel Sharon Zionist government in
>> Israel. The website of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations is
>> full of pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian propaganda.
>> The "Kosher Nostra" protection racket starts when an Orthodox Rabbi
>> approaches a company to warn the owners that unless their product is
>> certified as kosher, or "fit for a Jew to eat", they will face a
>> boycott by every Jew in America. Most, if not all of the food
>> companies, succumb to the blackmail because of fear of the Jewish
>> dominated media and a boycott that may eventually culminate in
>> bankruptcy. Also, the food companies know that the cost can be passed
>> on to the consumer anyway. The food companies have kept secret from
>> the general consumer the meaning of the (U) and the amount
>> of money they have to pay the Jewish Rabbis.
>> It is estimated that the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, which
>> manages the (U) symbol protection racket, controls about 85% of the
>> "Kosher Nostra " certification business. They now employ about 1200
>> Rabbi agents that are spread through out the U.S.
>> Food companies must first pay an exorbitant application fee and then a
>> large annual fee for the use of the (U) copyright symbol. Secondly,
>> the companies must pay separate fees each time a team of Rabbis shows
>> up to "inspect" the company's operations.
>> Certain food companies are required to hire Rabbis full time at very
>> lucrative salaries.
>> The amount of money that the non-Jewish consumer has paid the food
>> companies to make up for the hidden Jewish Tax is unknown, but it is
>> estimated to be in the BILLIONS since the scam first started. The
>> Orthodox Jewish Councils as well as the food companies keep the amount
>> of the fees very secret. The Jewish owned Wall Street Journal wrote
>> about the problem many years ago, but they have stopped writing about
>> it now.
>> Only public awareness concerning the "Kosher Nostra Scam" will
>> eventually help stop this swindle of the American consumer. Public
>> education of the scam may lead to an eventual non-Jewish boycott of
>> all products with the (U), (K) or other Jewish protection symbols. I
>> certainly do not need to pay extra for "kosher water", "kosher coffee"
>> or "kosher plastic sandwich bags".
>> In fact, I demand my money back for all I had to pay over the years
>> for the hidden and illegal Jewish Tax. Are there any bright attorneys
>> out there that could bring a class action suit against the Union of
>> Orthodox Jewish Congregations on behalf of the citizens of Aztlan and
>> other non-Jewish people?
>> * * * * * * * * * * * *
>> CONGRATULATIONS TO HEINZ/LIBBY FOR STARTING THE
>> ANTI-KOSHER NOSTRA REVOLT!!
>> >>Further to the article below, today's Southam newspapers
>> >>report that Canadian Jew News stated that Heinz Canada
>> >>have removed the Koosher Tax Certification from almost
>> >>all Heinz products.
>> >>Heinz declared this was done " to keep costs down" according
>> >>to Heinz spokeman Anna Relyea.
>> >>To save money Heinz stopped the KOSHER TAX on tomato sauces
>> >>and pastes, vinegar and mustard, and also jars of baby foods.
>> >>Also, the KOSHER TAX was dropped on all domestic beans,
>> >>including those sold under the Libby's label.
>> >>Naturally, the ZHID rabbis who made a killing in fees from
>> >>the KOSHER TAX are now complaining, according to Rabbi
>> >>Mordechai Levin, executive director of COR(Council of
>> >>Orthodox Rabbis).
>> >>Good for Heinz!! Perhaps now more firms will join the
>> >>refusal to pay the KOSHER TAX!!!
>> >>From: tyler <tylerdurdensidea@yahoo.com>
>> >>Newsgroups: calgary.general,soc.culture.jewish,edm.general
>> >>Subject: You asked for it! Proof that COR religous tax on food costs
>> >>consumers
>> >>Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2002 00:55:49 GMT
>> >>You asked for it! Proof that COR religous tax on food costs consumers
>> >>It has been said by zionists and orthodox that the COR tax on Canadian
>> >>food does not cost the consumer. Of course this is ridiculous and the
>> >>proof is easily found.
>> >>COR stands for Council of Orthodox Jews. They certify foods as kosher.
>> >>Foods such as Heinz Ketchup and Windsor Salt, and non foods such as
>> >>aluminum foil and bleach, have COR certification. Look at the label,
>> >>if you see COR followed by a number then the manufacturer pays rabbis
>> >>to inspect food, facilities and preparation methods. If they conform
>> >>to religious law then the product is certified as kosher.
>> >>The following has been snipped from:
>> >>http://www.kosherquest.org/html/Reliable_Kosher_Symbols.htm
>> >>Pay attention to the fact that kosher certification, in other words
>> >>rabbinical organizations, can derive profit. COR certification costs
>> >>are passed along to the consumer by the manufacturer and a religious
>> >>organization is profitting. Canadian consumers must boyocott any COR
>> >>certified food product to stop a religion from hijiacking Canadian
>> >>food production and unfairly profiting from the sale of food items.
>> >>The website explains:
>> >>Once contact with a certifying agency is made, the detective work
>> >>begins. The manufacturer must supply a complete, detailed list of
>> >>every ingredient in the product, including preservatives, release
>> >>agents, stabilizers or other inert ingredients. In addition, every
>> >>step in the manufacturing process, every cleansing agent used on the
>> >>equipment and all other products produced on the same premises require
>> >>close investigation and supervision.
>> >>The certifying agency must track down each ingredient to its ultimate
>> >>source. If, for instance, the ingredient is meat or a meat by-product,
>> >>the item cannot be kosher unless the meat source itself is strictly
>> >>kosher. Wine and wine by-products, cheese, and some dairy by-products
>> >>(such as whey) present the same problem. Any oil used in the
>> >>manufacture of foodstuffs has to be traced back to the oil processor.
>> >>The supervising agency must conduct a complete and intense
>> >>investigation into the origin of all the ingredients.
>> >>The results of all these investigations are forwarded to the rabbinic
>> >>authority (or board) of the supervising agency. If changes in
>> >>ingredients or processes are required, the manufacturer must make the
>> >>changes before the agency will do further work. Once all is
>> >>acceptable, the rabbinic authority will determine the amount of
>> >>on-plant supervision necessary. This information is written into a
>> >>contract and then sent to the manufacturer.
>> >>The cost of certification to the manufacturer is minimal. For
>> >>non-profit agencies, cost depends on the amount of on-site work.
>> >>Agencies making a profit might have a minimum annual charge and fees
>> >>depending on the gross annual sales of the product.
>> >>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>> >>The cost is minimial to the manufacturer because they are passed on to
>> >>the consumer. The consumer pays 100% of the costs, no wonder they say
>> >>that!
>> >>...and whoever heard of a rabbinical agency not making money. They
>> >>likely all have a minimum annual charge and fees based on the gross
>> >>annual sales of the product.
>> >>The website claims that certification increases sales. Ask your
>> >>friends and neighbours if they know what COR means. Unless they are
>> >>Jewish, they won't have any idea. So much for sales being increased
>> >>because something is certified.
>> >>tyler
>> >>the consumer watchdog!!!
If you believe in the TRUTH and the RIGHT,
then visit www.freedomsite.org
Lawyers, politicians, and judges need to be recycled - as fertiliser!!
"At a time of universal deceit - telling the truth
is a revolutionary act."
(George Orwell)
David Icke - '...and the truth shall set you free'
"All truth passes through three stages.
First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed,
and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
(Arthur Schopenhauer)
"The reason men are silenced is not because they speak falsely,
but because they speak the truth. This is because if men speak
falsehoods, their own words can be used against them; while if
they speak truly, there is nothing which can be used
against them -- except force." -- John Bryant
"To attempt to silence a man is to pay him homage, for it is an
acknowledgement that his arguments are both impossible to answer
and impossible to ignore."
--John Bryant
Posted by:
Patrick Lee Humphrey
7500 Bellerive #1807
Houston, Texas 77036-3040
1-713-266-7764
Steven Horn (KCOM)
1836 NW 11th St
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
(405) 524-0576
together with
Boris Dynin <boris@sonic.net> = NAMBLA executive &
Henry<hermcam@mindspring.com>
CALL late nights to discuss: (408) 773-0984
Email me: boris@movil.com , boris@sonic.net or even
VISIT me at:
55 Chumasero Drive, Daly City, San Francisco 94132
We all like late night discussions, even from Stormfront,
Christian Identity, Pamyat, Aryan Nations, etc.
We are together with McVay, regional managers for NAMBLA.
We like young children, so that we can train them our way.
Ken McVay invites callers,and visitors,to his homosexuals escorts
office: VISIT at:
#5 - 1601 - Bowen Road, Nanaimo, B.C., Canada, or my home at:
Apt. 3108 - 995 Bowen Road, Nanaimo, B.C., Canada
or call: 1-250-616-9431
As everyone can see McVay takes it as a compliment when he is
called a "confessed child-molester" and the additional material
should give an indication as to the why.
"I am weary of seeing the issue of "child porn" blown out of
proportion (I've been on and around the Net since 1988, and have
yet to come across anything I'd consider "child porn." I've
seen photos of naked children, but then I've got some of those in
my family photo album, and fail to see the harm, or any great
moral danger to our society)." - Nizkor Director Ken McVay
http://www.spectacle.org/695/mcvay.html [Many paedophiles
also have family albums with naked children photos in them.]
Look at Ken McVay's photo and ask yourselves; "Does he not look like
a disheveled unkempt pervert or someone who would molest your child
even if he or she were not naked"?
http://www.protocol.gov.bc.ca/protocol/prgs/obc/1995/1995_KMcVay.jpg
For detailed and documented evidence of McVay's questionable
background and details of convictions, please refer to Dr.David Michael's
detailed expose on McVay. McVay is a distraught paranoid molseter, and is
known for claiming that anyone who refutes his lies must be a grosvenor!!
It is also suspected that McVay fabricates responses using aliases, just
to justify his existence to his ZHID masters.
Since I am a female, I also like to receive many calls, to discuss
NAMBLA,lesbianism, JEW atrocities and similar.
Email me, Shiksa Susan Cohen at: Flavia18@verizon.net, especially late nights.
Also,be sure to include me on maillists:
Keith Spencer,5005 Whitemud Road,Edmonton,AB,Canada T6H5L2
I welcome phone calls, late nights:(780)437-1787 or
send lots of emails to: krs2@ualberta.ca, or phone to
work:(780)492-0473
And also: George Firestone: "George" <firestone@hemisphere.com>,
and davejoll@ihug.co.nz.
Here is Fag Rianin's own web page: http://gaydar.co.uk/riain_il
Notice he is a self confessed ZionistFagJew!
For the real TRUTH about ZHIDS, visit the world top-rated website for
JEW-WATCH:
http://www.jewwatch.com
Now with more evidence coming out proving ZHID COLLABORATION WITH
NAZIS - another 51 cases besides the renowned Kastner case - no wonder
people around the world are really disliking the Christkiller ZHIDS!!
Or, other useful websites include:
ZUNDELSITE - www.zundelsite.org
IHR - www.ihr.org
OSTARA - www.ostara.org
PAMYAT - http://abbc.com/pamyat/index.html
Edgar J.Steele - www.ConspiracyPenPal.com
AL JAZEERA - http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage
THE HOFFMAN WIRE - Dedicated to Freedom of the Press,
Investigative Reporting and Revisionist History
Subscribe: HoffmanWire-subscribe@topica.com
Or, visit the website for NATIONAL ALLIANCE : http://www.natall.com
They have lots of information, as well as books and records.
They also are involved in exposing Ken McVay for the crook he is,
and passing on information to the appropriate criminal prosecutors.
As a service to the public, this article is posted worldwide by a
victim of the molester pervert Ken McVay, with the assistance
of a group interested in detailing the depredations of the ZHIDS.
May Ken McVay and his like,rot in gehenna.
In memory of William Grosvenor who courageously posted the TRUTH
for many years around the world.
Reply-To: "George" <firestone@hemisphere.com>,<firestone@bellsouth.net>
or to Ariadne@mac.hush.com, or Ariadne.mac@gmail.com
Feel free to subscribe us to maillists for sex, homosexuals and the like.
==============================================================================
TOPIC: AFGANISTAN IS HEATING UP
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/6ae442c9b1901ed0
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 6:57 pm
From: xpenenyx@earthlink.net
On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 23:40:25 -0500, "serwad" <serwad@bellsouth.net>
wrote:
>
><xpenenyx@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>news:v2lo22hnqpac2s0saq940oi4fgd80hsv04@4ax.com...
>> On Wed, 29 Mar 2006 22:34:10 -0500, "serwad" <serwad@bellsouth.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>"Tilly" <TillyGr@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>>news:ezHWf.9543$JZ1.355151@news.xtra.co.nz...
>>>> serwad wrote:
>>>>> "BernardZ" <DontBother@NOSPAM.com> wrote in message
>>>>> news:MPG.1e95325e2618f6409896c3@west.Usenet-News.net...
>>>>> > In article <8CrWf.974$L7.838@bignews2.bellsouth.net>,
>>>>> > serwad@bellsouth.net says...
>>>>> > > Afghanistan
>>>>> > >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > As a Muslim Alex what do you think about the death penalty for a
>>>>> > person that abandoned Islam and became a Christian.
>>>>>
>>>>> It is un Islamic to punish anyone for converting to other faith. Holy
>>>>> Quran says that "there is no compulsion in religion".
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Its getting to be a real problem to Islam the number of people
>>>>> > leaving.
>>>>>
>>>>> The opposite is true, millions are converting to islam especially in
>>>>> United States. Miami mosque has several hundred ex jews, who have
>>>>> converted in the past 10 years!.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hundreds? One or two at the most!
>>> Miami central mosque has a congregation of 12,000. There are 18 other
>>>mosques in the area
>>
>>
>> Really?
>> http://www.pluralism.org/research/profiles/display.php?profile=73315
>>
>>
>> Basically, the main program of the mosque is to provide religious
>> services such as the five daily prayers, Friday prayer, taraveeh
>> (prayers every night during the month of Ramadan), Eid al-Fithr and
>> Eid al-Qurban celebrations. Because only a few Muslims live near the
>> mosque, it has not organized an Islamic school for Muslim children.
>> However, the mosque is open to people who want to learn more about
>> Islam privately. For example, there are four FIU students learning
>> Islam from a member of this mosque.
>> Every Friday there are 200-300 Muslims participating in Jum'ah Prayer,
>> including a few women. There are about 10-20 Muslims who regularly
>> attend daily prayers
>>
>> http://www.pluralism.org/research/profiles/display.php?profile=73314
>>
>> Programs and Schedules
>>
>> A number of programs are offered.
>> First, the five daily prayers are served regularly .
>> Second, prayer is led on Friday (about 400-500 people attend).
>> Third, a daily lecture is offered after ashar (around 17:00 P.M.),
>> attracting about 25 participants.
>> Fourth, Sunday school is provided for children. The Qur'an, Arabic and
>> other Islamic studies are taught. There are around two hundred
>> students and one of teachers is a woman. This school is not a regular
>> elementary or secondary school; students also attend regular schools,
>> public or private.
>> Fifth, occasional lectures are presented by different speakers.
>> Sixth, gatherings are held to to recite the Holy Qur'an.
>> Seventh, social gatherings are designed to discuss, through a series
>> of questions and answers, religious and family questions.
>> Eighth, the mosque conducts Ramadan Programs such as ifthar (breaking
>> the fast), shalat taraveeh (a strongly recommended prayer after isha')
>> every night during the month of Ramadan).
>> Ninth, Islamic Festivals are also given, such as Eid al-Fithr, Eid
>> al-Adha, Milad Nabi (the birth of the Prophet Muhammad), and Isra'
>> Mi'raj (the night journey of the Prophet). Thousands of people attend
>> the Eid al-Fithr and Eid al-Adha celebrations.
>> Tenth, the mosque also hosts Islamic Marriages and Islamic Funeral
>> services.
>>
>> If there are so many, how come so few Muslims attend services?
>
>There are many mosques in South Florida, not just the onhe you refer to.
>Allahu Akbar!
>
Can't you count. I listed two of which the second is the Miami
Central Mosque which you claim has 12,000 members. If there are 12,000
they must not be very good Muslims seeing as so few attend Friday
services.
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Engraved On America's Tombstone?
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/c7d319e169c99e3e
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 1:02 pm
From: SteveR
In article <q9jp221tf57u68465m9q06cq1qicr1jlv2@4ax.com>,
/ control / <control @remote.nul> wrote:
> On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 13:06:16 -0600, SteveR <tex_driver@comcast.net>
> wrote:
>
> >In article <pJKdnX5-N65eg7HZRVn-jw@scnresearch.com>,
> > "0:->" <pohaku.kane@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> SteveR wrote:
> >> > In article <42um22hcavnl6beht8ddal7oemdktfqr3m@4ax.com>,
> >> > / control / <control @remote.nul> wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> they can call in the notes.
> >> >> Anytime they please.
> >> >
> >> > And we'll just hand it all over, even though it would collapse our
> >> > economy.
> >> >
> >> > Sure, you bet.
> >> >
> >> > Any more deep theories concerning our imminent collapse?
> >>
> >> The first thing we would do, and they know it, is reduce our balance of
> >> trade deficit. That would allow us in probably less than a year to
> >> redeem all the notes held.
> >>
> >> But of course what would that entail, action wise?
> >>
> >> Why, NOT BUYING ANY MORE PRODUCTS FROM THEM FOR A YEAR.
> >>
> >> That would be the end of that story, PDQ.
> >>
> >> They no more want to call those notes than they want to have us balance
> >> our trade with them.
> >>
> >
> >
> >The trouble with that scenario is that the left would start buying
> >Chinese goods in greater numbers, just like the Arab boycott of Danish
> >goods spurred the "Buy Danish" movement on the right.
>
> Remember when the Repugs were high on their fascist oats and electric
> kool-aid and were calling for "Freedom Fries" and boycotting French
> wine and cheese?
I still am. However, I do not boycott videos of French 'utes rioting,
that's too good to give up.
> Looks like the French are still there
For how long? Have you bothered to look at the problems confronting
France? Their economic future is, in a word, dismal. Their unemployment
numbers are insane. Their Islamic population hasn't assimilated very
well, which is why you have areas that the cops won't go - that are
essentially under Shariah law. The unemployment rate for 'utes in that
demographic is at about *50%*
France today is almost where the US was in the Depression.
> ...let's
> see... there's thousands less US Servicemen to buy French products.
There's on less Iraqi to buy French weaponry.
> Heckuva job, Bushie! You sure showed those damned French how to lose
> a war.
Uh, dude. The French were on Saddam's side. Where is Saddam now? Who's
occupying his palaces? Not the French.
Heckuva a job, Kenny.
==============================================================================
TOPIC: EL ASESINATO DEL DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING POR EL GOBIERNO
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/433b21509eb1ac53
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 9:16 pm
From: Super User For Ever
PM wrote:
> Como el gobierno usano mata a sus disidentes y se ahace
> el bobo.... Que leccion me ha dado el SUPER USER...
> Que pena que yo no puedo ver la TV alemana aqui!....
ZDFdokukanal, Jueves, hoy, 02:00 - 03:00 horas
UN ACTO ESTATAL - EL ASESINATO DEL DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING
El 4 de abril de 1968 fue asesinado el defensor de color negro
de los derechos ciudadanos y pastor Dr. Martin Luther King en
Memphis.
Los verdaderos trasfondos del asesinato fueron mantenidos ocultos
por decenios, hasta que en 1998 el interncionalmente reconocido
abogado de los derechos humanos y publicista William F. Pepper
reinicio una investigacion del atentado y - apoyado por la familia
King - en 1999 trato de abrir una nueva investigacion judicial.
Die wahren Hintergründe des Mordes wurden über Jahrzehnte im Verborgenen
gehalten, bis 1998 der international renommierte Menschenrechtsanwalt
und Publizist William F. Pepper das Attentat neu aufrollte und -
unterstützt von der Familie King - 1999 einen Prozess anstrebte.
Al final del interrogatorio de mas de 70 testigos y una duracion
del proceso de casi cuatro semanas, el jurado llego en Memphis a
la siguiente sentencia: "Hubo un complot en perjuicio de Martin
Luther King. Instituciones, entre ellas pertenecientes al
gobierno, participaron en este complot".
Con ello se habia demostrado claramente: Martin Luther King fue
victima de un complot de asesinarlo (o sea: no la victima de un
loco solitario, como se acostumbra inventar en usania, cuando
el gobierno y/o sus instsituciones dejan matar a quien no les
gusta. SU). Esta pelicula muestra este hasta hoy en dia no
enfrentado capitulo de la historia norteamericana en su contexto
historico y muestra abiertamente los intereses que aun hoy en dia
intentan evitar una aclaracion del caso.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Ein Staatsakt - Die Ermordung des Dr. Martin Luther King
Am 4. April 1968 wurde der schwarze Bürgerrechtler und Pfarrer Dr.
Martin Luther King in Memphis erschossen.
Die wahren Hintergründe des Mordes wurden über Jahrzehnte im Verborgenen
gehalten, bis 1998 der international renommierte Menschenrechtsanwalt
und Publizist William F. Pepper das Attentat neu aufrollte und -
unterstützt von der Familie King - 1999 einen Prozess anstrebte. Im
Anschluss an die Vernehmung von über 70 Zeugen und einer
Verhandlungsdauer von fast vier Wochen, kam das Geschworenengericht in
Memphis zu folgendem Urteil: 'Es hat eine Verschwörung zum Schaden von
Martin Luther King stattgefunden. Institutionen, darunter der Regierung
zugeordnete, waren an dieser Verschwörung beteiligt'. Damit war
eindeutig festgestellt: Martin Luther King wurde Opfer eines
Mordkomplotts. Der Film stellt dieses bis heute unverarbeitete Kapitel
amerikanischer Geschichte in seinen historischen Zusammenhang und legt
die Interessen offen, die eine Aufklärung des Falles noch immer zu
verhindern suchen.
==============================================================================
TOPIC: EINSTEIN-PHONY.LIAR,PLAGIARIST!
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/252ea6d968f0cf6d
==============================================================================
== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 9:21 pm
From: "Mimi"
> STUPID CROAT THIS MAN CHANGE THE WORLD
>
Which stupid Croat changed the world ?
== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 1:39 pm
From: "DoD"
"John Smith" <JSmith888654778@aol.com> wrote in message
news:e099b0$bvk$1@news.datemas.de...
> May this stupid Croat, croak. Name one Croat who's left his mark on this
> world except for Nazi sympathizer, Ante Pavelich who was hanged.
Ivo Andric
Lavoslav Ruzicka
Antun Lucic
Mother Teresa
Shall I go on?
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Illegals: The Cure? Require 'Illegal Alien" Exclusion in Insurance
Policies
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/50d9d24ad2faadf1
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 7:29 pm
From: "Voltes34"
"salad" <oil@vinegar.com> wrote in message
news:1meXf.10680$Bj7.4088@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
| Just another American wrote:
|
| > http://www.allanfavish.com/insurance_illegals.htm
| >
| > REQUIRE AN "ILLEGAL ALIEN" EXCLUSION IN INSURANCE POLICIES
| >
| > By Allan J. Favish*
| >
| > February 11, 2006
| >
| > Sometimes asking the right questions can lead to simple answers.
|
| I have a better solution. Let's implant chips into all Americans to
| identify themselves. Basically people would become gigantic bar codes.
|
| Police could attend sports events, music events, and other events where
| people gather. The folks would go through a hidden scanner and be
| removed from the others if he/she didn't have a chip.
|
| The chipless person would immediately be jailed. When proof of
| citizenship is presented, the jailed miscreant would pay a fine and get
| chip implanted. Those that couldn't would be deported.
|
| Think of the ease cops would have when you are pulled over. He simply
| scans the people in the car and if there is a warrant, to jail you go.
|
| When you die, the morgue simply scans you into the system. Death
| warrants could then be transmitted to government agencies and private
| groups like TRW and other credit checking agencies.
|
| If temporary work permits are required, implant a chip that identifies
| the person as a temporary worker.
Your idea would create new revenue source for mortuaries, morgues and
criminals. They would just resell or, shall we say recycle, the chips
collected from their devious acts.
==============================================================================
TOPIC: IRAN PLANS 'WAR GAMES' IN THE PERSIAN GULF........
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/42726506b667902e
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 2:16 pm
From: "Nedabiah"
"John Lemke" <jflemke@locallink.net> wrote in message
news:F5qdneRSx4KBw7DZRVn-rA@locallink.net...
>
> "Nedabiah" <Ned4u@newsserver.ca> wrote in message
> news:ZDcXf.2934$u15.482877@news20.bellglobal.com...
>>
>> "facilitator" <tlmurray@juno.com> wrote in message
>> news:1143782718.802339.39600@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>>> God bless the Jews. Bring peace to Jerusalem.
>>>
>> God bless the Iranians. Give Jerusalem back to the Palestinians.
>>
>> God bless the Iranians. Kick American terrorists out of Irak. Stop them
>> from mudering innocent people.
>
>
> Hey, come stay at alt.prophecies.nostradamus. Come, join our little love
> fests.
>
> Seriously.
Nay, that's for European French and American drug addicts. I was told
Michel-de-Notre-Dame probably smoked grass.
>
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Cyprus: Portrait of a Christianity Obliterated by Barbaric Turks
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/858e113b5ec49a9b
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 8:32 pm
From: "Agamemnon"
Cyprus: Portrait of a Christianity Obliterated
ROMA -- The island of Cyprus was the first destination of the "special
mission" that the Holy Spirit entrusted to Paul and Barnabas, according to
what is written in the Acts of the Apostles, in chapter 13.
On the island they found a Roman governor, Sergius Paulus, "an intelligent
man who wanted to hear the word of God and believed, deeply shaken by the
teaching of the Lord."
But if Paul and Barnabas were to return to Cyprus today, to the northern
part of the island, they would find not the Romans as governors, but the
Turks.
And instead of a Christianity being born, they would find a dying
Christianity, with the churches and monasteries in ruin, or else transformed
into stables, hotels, and mosques.
This is documented in a startling report from Luigi Geninazzi, who was sent
to Cyprus by "Avvenire," the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference.
Cyprus became part of the European Union on May 1, 2004. But this was true
only for the southern part of the island, which is Greek and Christian.
The northern part was occupied by Turkey in 1974, with 40,000 soldiers. The
Turkish occupation caused death, destruction, and a forced relocation of
populations. About 200,000 Greek Cypriots of the Christian Orthodox faith
who lived in the north of the island fled to the south. And likewise, the
Turkish Cypriots of the south, Muslims, moved to the north.
In 1983 Turkey consolidated the occupation by creating a Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus, which is internationally recognized only by the government
of Ankara: 180,000 persons live there, 100,000 of whom are colonists
originally from Anatolia.
A wall guarded by the blue helmets of the United Nations divides the two
parts of the island and cuts through the capital, Nicosia. In April of 2004,
the UN placed before a referendum a plan of confederation between the two
states, but this was rejected by the Greek Cypriots of the south, who are
four times as numerous as the Turkish Cypriots of the north.
The Islamization of the north of the island has been concretized in the
destruction of all that was Christian. Yannis Eliades, director of the
Byzantine Museum of Nicosia, calculates that 25,000 icons have disappeared
from the churches in the zone occupied by the Turks.
For a Turkey that aspires to enter the European Union, its actions in the
north of Cyprus give a terrible impression of itself.
And what it has done in destroying the Christian presence begun by Paul and
Barnabas is described in the report that follows, published in "Avvenire" on
Sunday, February 26:
"They did not even spare the stone altar..."
Byy Luigi Geninazzi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Europe ends here, in the most beautiful island of the Mediterranean, torn by
a wall that splits it in two. Europe ends abruptly along a barrier of barbed
wire, cement, and military turrets that splits Cyprus along its entire width
and divides Nicosia, a capital wounded in its ancient heart.
For the UN, which guards over it with its blue helmets, it is the "green
line." But here the people continue to call it the "Attila line," from the
name that the Turks gave to the invasion.
The scourge has left its marks. It has struck Cyprus, the site of the most
ancient Christian community on European soil, in its artistic, cultural, and
religious treasury: stupendous Byzantine and Romanesque churches, imposing
monasteries, mosaics and frescoes of inestimable value. It is a heritage
that in the northern part of the island, under Turkish occupation, has been
sacked, violated, and destroyed.
To realize this it is enough to cross the "Attila line" at the checkpoint of
Nicosia, and there you are in the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus, which greets the visitor with a large banner on which is written a
topsy-turvy welcome: "How happy I am to be a Turk!" (a famous phrase of
Kemal Ataturk). The nationalist pride of the descendents of the Ottoman
empire has also modified the natural countryside, carving the crescent moon
and the red star on the side of the Pentadattilos mountains, which dominate
the wide plains.
The Turkish flag billows on the façade of the church of Agia Paraskevi, in
the once Greek Orthodox village of Angastina. A sign says that work is
underway to transform it into a mosque. The bell tower, which no longer
bears a cross, is a strange minaret with the loudspeaker of the muezzin
fixed upon an archway.
Christodoulos, the young archeologist accompanying me, is visibly shaken: "I
was baptized here," he says in a voice hoarse with emotion. He is one of the
200,000 Greek Cypriot refugees who, thirty years ago, lived in the north of
the island and were chased out of their homes.
Christodoulos kneels on the spot where he was once baptized and lights a
candle. The Turkish construction workers, squatting in front of the apse for
their lunch break, look at him curiously: "Every time I come back to this
area, it's always worse," he sighs.
We stop at Trachoni, where a jewel of the Renaissance once stood, the church
of the Panagia, Our Lady. Now only the walls are left; the interior bears
the signs of vandalism that has not spared even the stone altar, the pieces
of which have ended up in a hole dug recently to search for who knows what
treasure.
Ours is a sad pilgrimage that at every stop adds to one's outrage and
disbelief, a via dolorosa that retraces the places of Christian memory at
risk of disappearing. At the village of Peristerona, on the road to
Famagosta, the medieval monastery of Saint Anastasia (see photo) is being
used as a stable, with the cows chewing their cud amid what remains of the
ancient cells. The tombs of the cemetery have been profaned, and the
gravestones broken.
We leave the countryside behind and go to the coast. Here many of the
churches have been turned into restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, for the
enjoyment of the tourists. At the top of the rock of Lapethos, which juts
out over the sea, the church and convent of Agia Anastasia have become a
sumptuous hotel with a swimming pool dug into the cloister, and a casino
under the bell tower.
Almost the entire artistic patrimony of the Orthodox Church in the territory
occupied by the Turks -- 520 buildings between churches, chapels, and
monasteries -- has been sacked, demolished, or disfigured. Only three
churches and one monastery, the monastery of Saint Barnabas, which has been
turned into a museum, are in a more or less dignified state.
"The ruin is before our eyes, but the European Union prefers to look the
other way," the Cypriot foreign minister, George Iacovou, bitterly tells us.
"The only hope is that, in the course of negotiations for Turkey's adhesion
to the EU, someone might pull out the dossier of shame."
The Byzantine Academy of Nicosia has gathered detailed and meticulous
documentation on the occupied churches in Cyprus. And for two years an
attempt has been made at religious dialogue, with the support of the
Orthodox bishop Nikiforos of the historic monastery of Kykko: "We have met
with the Muslim leaders headed by Lefka, and I told them that respect for
our places of worship is the basis for cooperation." Nikiforos is moderately
optimistic: "I encountered a lot of understanding. Errors have been made on
both sides; we must overcome the divisions of the past and walk together."
But the last word belongs to the politicians. Huseyn Ozel, a government
spokesman for the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, displays
great cordiality with the foreign journalist. The destroyed and sacked
churches? "There was a war, and bad things happened on both sides," he
explains.
I point out to him that most of the mosques in Greek Cypriot territory have
been restored, while his government has authorized the transformation of
churches into restaurants and hotels, an insult to the sentiment of
believers. "They did this to keep the buildings from falling into ruin, and
anyway, these are decisions made by the preceding government, which I do not
share," Ozel counters.
I insist: what do you have to say about the churches that, still today, are
being turned into mosques? The Turkish Cypriot functionary spreads his arms
wide: "It is an Ottoman custom..."
It as a tradition that, unfortunately, continues. An unsettling calling card
for a Turkey that aspires to enter the European club.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Greek Orthodox bishop: "Europe, intervene!"
An interview with Chrisostomos Englistriota
In Cyprus, the head of the Church has always been an ethnarch, too, a leader
of the people. This directly political role was exercised by the famous
archbishop Makarios, the charismatic leader of the rebellion against the
English domination during the 1950's, and the first president of the
independent republic of Cyprus.
"Our Church doesn't practice politics anymore, but its authority has not
diminished," recalls the bishop of Paphos, Chrisostomos Englistriota. Since
His Beatitude Chrisostomos I was struck by a grave illness, the bishop of
Paphos has carried out his functions as leader of the Holy Synod of the
Orthodox Church on the island.
Q: Your Excellency, Cyprus remains divided. Can the Greek Orthodox Church
foster dialogue between the parties?
A: "It is a situation that saddens us deeply, the result of a completely
illegal military occupation. A true dialogue is impossible, because the
Turkish Cypriots do not enjoy any autonomy, the last word belongs to the
government of Ankara."
Q: Are there contacts among the religious exponents?
A: "Some of our bishops have met with the leaders of the Turkish Cypriot
Islamic community. It's important to us to have good relations with them,
but then when it comes time to discuss concrete matters, like the problem of
the sacking and profanation of our churches, they don't know what to say,
they refer everything to the political authorities."
Q: Have you tried to raise the question in international circles?
A: "Yes, of course. We have repeatedly turned to the European Union to ask
for their intervention. The last time was in the autumn of 2004, after
Cyprus entered the EU."
Q: The results?
A: "Nothing so far. My personal conviction is that the European governments
should exert pressure on Turkey, above all in this phase of the opening of
negotiations for the entry of Ankara into the Union. But they don't want to
take advantage of this opportunity. And so the more time passes, the more
our sacred places in the northern part of Cyprus are falling into ruin. The
Turks want to destroy every trace of Hellenism and of Christianity. Only
strong international pressure can stop them."
By Sandro Magister
www.chiesa.espressonline.it
English translation by Matthew Sherry
© 2006, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved.
==============================================================================
TOPIC: THE UN Human Rights Council A/60/L.48
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/9bd6926ae655c966
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:33 am
From: "Free Cuba Now"
United Nations A/60/L.48
General Assembly Distr.: Limited
24 February 2006
Original: English
06-24590 (E) 240206
*0624590*
Sixtieth session
Agenda items 46 and 120
Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the
outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the
economic, social and related fields
Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit Draft resolution
submitted by the President of the General Assembly Human Rights Council
The General Assembly, Reaffirming the purposes and principles contained
in the Charter of the United Nations, including developing friendly
relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal
rights and self-determination of peoples, achieving international
cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social,
cultural or humanitarian character and in promoting and encouraging
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all,
Reaffirming also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1 and the
Vienna
Declaration and Programme of Action,2 and recalling the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,3 the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights4 and other human rights instruments,
Reaffirming further that all human rights are universal,
indivisible,interrelated, interdependent and mutually reinforcing and
that all human rights must be treated in a fair and equal manner, on
the same footing and with the same emphasis,
Reaffirming that while the significance of national and regional
particularities
and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be
borne in mind, all States, regardless of their political, economic and
cultural systems, have the duty to promote and protect all human rights
and fundamental freedoms,
__________________
1 Resolution 217 A (III).
2 A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III.
3 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
4 Ibid.
2
Emphasizing the responsibilities of all States, in conformity with the
Charter,
to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without
distinction of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language or religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth
or other status,
Acknowledging that peace and security, development and human rights are
the
pillars of the United Nations system and the foundations for collective
security and
well-being, and recognizing that development, peace and security and
human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing,
Affirming the need for all States to continue international efforts to
enhance
dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations, cultures and
religions, and emphasizing that States, regional organizations,
non-governmental organizations,religious bodies and the media have an
important role to play in promoting tolerance, respect for and freedom
of religion and belief, Recognizing the work undertaken by the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights and the need to preserve and build
on its achievements and to redress its shortcomings,
Recognizing also the importance of ensuring universality, objectivity
and
non-selectivity in the consideration of human rights issues, and the
elimination of
double standards and politicization, Recognizing further that the
promotion and protection of human rights should be based on the
principles of cooperation and genuine dialogue and aimed at
strengthening the capacity of Member States to comply with their human
rights obligations for the benefit of all human beings,
Acknowledging that non-governmental organizations play an important
role at
the national, regional and international levels, in the promotion and
protection of
human rights, Reaffirming the commitment to strengthen the United
Nations human rights machinery, with the aim of ensuring effective
enjoyment by all of all human rights, civil, political, economic,
social and cultural rights, including the right to development, and to
that end, the resolve to create a Human Rights Council,
1. Decides to establish the Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, in
replacement of the Commission on Human Rights, as a subsidiary organ of
the
General Assembly; the Assembly shall review the status within five
years;
2. Decides that the Council will be responsible for promoting universal
respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms
for all,
without distinction of any kind and in a fair and equal manner;
3. Also decides that the Council should address situations of
violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations,
and make recommendations thereon. It should also promote effective
coordination and the mainstreaming of human rights within the United
Nations system;
4. Further decides that the work of the Council shall be guided by the
principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity and
non-selectivity, constructive international dialogue and cooperation,
with a view to enhancing the promotion and protection of all human
rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development;
3A/60/L.48
5. Decides that the Council will, inter alia:
(a) Promote human rights education and learning as well as advisory
services, technical assistance and capacity-building, to be provided in
consultation
with and with the consent of Member States concerned;
(b) Serve as a forum for dialogue on thematic issues on all human
rights;
(c) Make recommendations to the General Assembly for the further
development of international law in the field of human rights;
(d) Promote the full implementation of human rights obligations
undertaken
by States and follow-up to the goals and commitments related to the
promotion and protection of human rights emanating from United Nations
conferences and
summits;
(e) Undertake a universal periodic review, based on objective and
reliable
information, of the fulfilment by each State of its human rights
obligations and
commitments in a manner which ensures universality of coverage and
equal
treatment with respect to all States; the review shall be a cooperative
mechanism,
based on an interactive dialogue, with the full involvement of the
country concerned and with consideration given to its capacity-building
needs; such a mechanism shall complement and not duplicate the work of
treaty bodies; the Council shall develop the modalities and necessary
time allocation of the universal periodic review mechanism within one
year after the holding of its first session;
(f) Contribute, through dialogue and cooperation, towards the
prevention of
human rights violations and respond promptly to human rights
emergencies;
(g) Assume the role and responsibilities of the Commission on Human
Rights relating to the work of the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner
for Human Rights, as decided by the General Assembly in its resolution
48/141 of
20 December 1993;
(h) Work in close cooperation in the field of human rights with
Governments, regional organizations, national human rights institutions
and civil society;
(i) Make recommendations with regard to the promotion and protection of
human rights;
(j) Submit an annual report to the General Assembly;
6. Decides also that the Council will assume, review and, where
necessary,
improve and rationalize all mandates, mechanisms, functions and
responsibilities of
the Commission on Human Rights in order to maintain a system of special
procedures, expert advice and complaint procedure; the Council shall
complete this review within one year after the holding of its first
session;
7. Decides further that the Council shall consist of 47 Member States,
which shall be elected directly and individually by secret ballot by
the majority of the members of the General Assembly; the membership
shall be based on equitable
geographical distribution and seats shall be distributed as follows
among regional
groups: African Group, thirteen; Asian Group, thirteen; Eastern
European Group,
six; Latin American and Caribbean Group, eight; and Western European
and Others Group, seven; the members of the Council will serve for a
period of three years and shall not be eligible for immediate
re-election after two consecutive terms;
4
A/60/L.48
8. Decides that the membership in the Council shall be open to all
Member
States of the United Nations; when electing members of the Council,
Member States shall take into account the contribution of candidates to
the promotion and
protection of human rights and their voluntary pledges and commitments
made
thereto; the General Assembly, by a two-thirds majority of the members
present and voting, may suspend the rights of membership in the Council
of a member of the Council that commits gross and systematic violations
of human rights;
9. Decides also that members elected to the Council shall uphold the
highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights,
fully cooperate
with the Council and be reviewed under the universal periodic review
mechanism
during their term of membership;
10. Decides further that the Council shall meet regularly throughout
the year
and schedule not fewer than three sessions per year, including a main
session, for a total duration of no less than ten weeks, and shall be
able to hold special sessions, when needed, at the request of a member
of the Council with the support of one third of the membership of the
Council;
11. Decides that the Council shall apply the rules of procedure
established
for committees of the General Assembly, as applicable, unless
subsequently
otherwise decided by the Assembly or the Council, and also decides that
the
participation of and consultation with observers, including States that
are not
members of the Council, the specialized agencies, other
intergovernmental
organizations and national human rights institutions, as well as
non-governmental
organizations, shall be based on arrangements, including Economic and
Social
Council resolution 1996/31 of 25 July 1996 and practices observed by
the
Commission on Human Rights, while ensuring the most effective
contribution of
these entities;
12. Decides also that the methods of work of the Council shall be
transparent, fair and impartial and enable genuine dialogue, be
result-oriented, allow subsequent follow-up discussions to
recommendations and their implementation and also allow for substantive
interaction with special procedures and mechanisms;
13. Recommends the Economic and Social Council to request the
Commission on Human Rights to conclude its work at its sixty-second
session and to abolish the Commission on 16 June 2006;
14. Decides to elect the new members of the Council; the terms of
membership shall be staggered and such decision will be taken for the
first election by the drawing of lots, taking into consideration
equitable geographical distribution;
15. Decides also that the elections of the first members of the Council
shall
take place on 9 May 2006 and that the first meeting of the Council
shall be
convened on 19 June 2006;
16. Decides further that the Council shall review its work and
functioning
five years after its establishment and report to the General Assembly.
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/N06/245/90/PDF/N0624590.pdf?OpenElement
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Study: You're Wasting Your Time Praying!
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/e9f4d8dfa08ede4e
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 7:35 pm
From: Val Adams
kinkysr@yahoo.com wrote:
> No surprise to rational minds. But praying for other people to recover
> from an illness is ineffective, according to the largest, best-designed
> study to examine the power of prayer to heal strangers at a distance.
>
You are well nikked.
Is this another of those wonderful "How to lie with Statistics" essays?
Hey, 'studies show', the moon has no light of it's own..but that doesnt make
it less beautiful to see... or to dream by.
Maybe your 'scientists' need to get out of the lab and mingle with some real
people, caring about one another. They might learn something.
And I'm an agnostic...
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Defeating Jihad
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/1d04516116096e32
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 2:37 pm
From: "serwad"
"DoD" <thecats@ss.mil> wrote in message
news:FmcXf.7399$a97.4963@newsread1.mlpsca01.us.to.verio.net...
> Frontpage Interview's guest today is Serge Trifkovic,
OH, FUCK NO! HIS NAME IS SRBA ARSEHOLE, AND HE IS LOOOONG FORMER REPORTER,
HE HAS LOTS IN COMMON WITH YOU , YOU ZIONAZI BASTARD!
==============================================================================
TOPIC: US Should Not Recognize Kadima Unless Kadima Recognizes Palestines
Right To Exist, Respects International Law and Ends The Illegal Occupation
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/c8ade91b0cf4278f
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 7:44 pm
From: flaviaR@verizon.net
On 28-Mar-2006, nbatra@sbcglobal.net wrote:
> > They are not "stateless people", they do not belong to a distinct
> > ethnic group, the WB palisimians, who lived there before 1994, have
> > jordanian citizenship and are, formally, jordanians. They have Jordan,
> > they have palistan-hamasistan and want a VIP pass to Israel too.
>
> They live in refugee camps, so formal statuses notwithstanding, they
> are currently de-facto stateless. Going to work in Israel and coming
> back does not give one a state, and Jordan is by no means their state
> either. The creation of a State of Palestine is essential for these
> refugees.
And I will agree with you so far as to say that those who have done to
most to keep them stateless should be the ones to amend this & give
them a state. I just forget whether this would be Jordan, Syria, Lebanon
or Saudia Arabia.
Susan
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Fly High
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/9401495b34ff8719
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:51 am
From: "Kobe"
Muslima -
>From: naureen101@aol.com - view profile
>Date: Thurs, Mar 30 2006 6:24 pm
>No where hijab is mentioned in quran!! Quran dictates on covering
>bossoms and lowering gaze which is a very good idea. I would also
>like to mention, most tribes during mohammad times [...omitted...]
I am deeply offended by the irreverent reference to the Holy Prophet
(sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and your general ignorance what Allah
subhan-o-talla has lucidly stated in the Noble Qur'an and the Hadiths.
I implore you not to doctor Al Qur'an or indulge in selective
acceptance of timeless prescriptions contained in that tome. This
would help you avoid the blazing heat of the Hellfire that is the
destiny of kufr such as myself.
Both Al Qur'an and Hadiths are unambiguous on Al Hijab: pl refer to
Al-Ahzab 33:59 as well as Hadith - Bukhari 1:148.
Finally, as a Muslima, you should focus away from the transient,
evanescent aspects of this world and focus on the hereafter. That
is what differentiates you from infidels like me.
I pray that Allah subhan-o-talla (SAW) grant you the wisdom to see
the light.
JazakAllah hu KhairAn,
/Kobe
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Mosul slips out of control as the bombers move in
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/2a8fc8a9c4f801b2
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:55 am
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Mosul slips out of control as the bombers move in
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
The Independent - Mar 31, 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article354786.ece
Mosul slips out of control as the bombers move in
By Patrick Cockburn in Mosul
When the 3,000 men of the mainly Kurdish 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Division of
the Iraqi Army go on patrol it is at night, after the rigorously enforced
curfew starts at 8pm. Their vehicles, bristling with heavy machine guns,
race through the empty streets of the city, splashing through pools of
sewage, always trying to take different routes to avoid roadside bombs. "The
government cannot control the city," said Hamid Effendi, an experienced
ex-soldier who is Minister for Peshmerga Affairs in the Kurdistan Regional
Government.
He is influential in the military affairs of Mosul province with its large
Kurdish minority, although it is outside the Kurdish region. He believes:
"The Iraqi Army is only a small force in Mosul, the Americans do not leave
their bases much and some of the police are connected to the terrorists." In
the days since a suicide bomber killed 43 young men waiting to join the
Iraqi army at a recruitment centre near Mosul last week soldiers in the city
have been expecting a second attack.
"We are not leaving the base in daytime because we know other bombers are
waiting for us," said a soldier at a base near Mosul's city centre.
Saadi Pire, until recently the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in
Mosul, says bluntly that the 12,000 police "are police by day and terrorists
by night. They should all be dismissed and other police brought in from
outside."
He thinks that Mosul, the northern capital of Iraq with a population of 1.7
million, could erupt at any moment. He points out that it is difficult to
pacify because so much of Saddam Hussein's army - some 250,000 soldiers and
30,000 officers - was recruited from there.
General Muthafar Deirky, the ebullient commander of the 3rd Brigade, is more
confident about the government's grip the city. He has been stationed there
since 11 November 2004 when, in one of the least publicised disasters of the
US occupation of Iraq, insurgents captured the city as the police and army
deserted en masse. Some 11,000 weapons and vehicles worth $40m (£23m) were
lost.
The American media was almost entirely embedded with the US Marines who were
engaged in the bloody battle for Fallujah, population 350,000, so the
outside world did not notice that the anti-American resistance had captured
a city five times as large.
General Deirky, a peshmerga veteran, was called in a panic by the army
commander in Baghdad who told him that "Mosul was under the control of
terrorists". He gathered 700 men and, having fought off two ambushes,
advanced into the city just in time to prevent the capture of the television
station. He was dismayed to discover that out of an 1,800-strong Iraqi Army
unit all but 30 Kurds had deserted.
After a brisk counter-attack by the 3rd Brigade and American troops the
guerrillas evaporated having chosen not, as in Fallujah, to stand and fight.
General Deirky says most of the resistance cells were later eliminated.
He claims that the situation is very different today when the people of
Mosul "welcome us, hate the terrorists and give us information about them".
But the general's own account of recent events in the city show the depth of
the divisions between Arabs and Kurds as well the Arab hostility to the
occupation.
For instance at the end of last year the Arab chief of police Ahmed
al-Jibouri, appointed after the uprising, was dismissed with 40 of his
officers for aiding the insurgents. "He was telling people that every family
should have one of its members in the resistance," recalled the general.
In reality, Mosul city, like so many places in Iraq, is an ethnic minefield
which the US has sought to negotiate with varying success since the
overthrow of Saddamin 2003. At first US commanders did not want Kurdish
forces in the city fearing the reaction of the Arabs.
General David Petraeus of the 101st Airborne tried to bring on board the
Sunni Arabs but when he left this policy languished. Since November 2004
Arabs in the province claim that the US has simply joined forces with the
Kurds after the mass desertion of the Arab police and army.
"The Americans are now just one more of the tribes of Mosul," said one Arab
source alleging that the CIA got all its information from Kurdish
intelligence.
Most soldiers have an ethnic map of Mosul imprinted on their brain. "I feel
safer now because there is nothing but Kurdish villages from now on," said a
driver, with a sign of a relief, as we drove away from the city.
For the moment nobody is wholly in control and most expect more fighting.
*
================================================================
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: Iraqi Resistance Report for 30 Mar, 2006
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/8d60665f0fca4d06
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:55 am
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
Iraqi Resistance Report for 30 Mar, 2006
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
AlBashrah - Mar 30, 2005
http://www.albasrah.net/en_articles_2006/0306/iraqiresistancereport_300306.htm
Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Thursday, 30 March 2006.
Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member,
editorial board, the Free Arab Voice.
Thursday, 30 March 2006.
Al-Anbar Province.
Al-Khalidiyah.
Resistance sharpshooter reportedly kills US soldier in al-Khalidiyah.
In a dispatch posted at 7:40pm Mecca time Thursday evening, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance marksman shot and killed a US
soldier in the town of al-Khalidiyah, about 80km west of Baghdad.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported residents of al-Khalidiyah
who witnessed the attack as saying that the American soldier was on guard
duty atop one of the observation towers to the east of the town when he took
a direct hit from a Resistance sharpshooters bullet, killing him instantly.
Resistance pounds joint US-Iraqi puppet army camp near al-Khalidiyah.
In a dispatch posted at 3:20pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance forces fired five 82mm mortar rounds
into a camp jointly used by US and Iraqi puppet forces in the Jazirat
al-Khalidiyah near al-Khalidiyah, which is located about 80km west of
Baghdad.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses in the
al-Jazirah area as saying that following the bombardment, plumes of smoke
billowed up from the joint US-Iraqi puppet army camp.
Al-Fallujah.
Americans impose new identity system on Amiriyat al-Fallujah in response to
increased Resistance attacks.
US forces have begun implementing a new identity system for residents of
Amiriyat al-Fallujah, similar to that they imposed on the city of
al-Fallujah itself at the end of 2004. The move in Amiriyat al-Fallujah
follows an upsurge of Resistance attacks on US occupation forces in the
town.
A source in the local puppet police told Quds Press that under the system
involves issuing a special identity card that local residents are to display
on their chests that will allow them to enter or exit the town through the
many American checkpoints set up all over the area.
The source said that for local residents to obtain the new identity cards,
they must be photographed, finger printed, and must have an imprint of the
iris and cornea of their eye taken. The first identity cards are to be
issued to puppet regime employees, professionals, and storeowners, and after
them to ordinary citizens.
Local people fear that the stringent new American security measures will
mean additional hours wasted waiting at American checkpoints set up at the
suburbs entrances and exits.
Resistance assaults checkpoint manned by US, puppet troops in Amiriyat
al-Fallujah Wednesday evening.
In a dispatch posted at 11am Mecca time Thursday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam
reported that Iraqi Resistance fighters assaulted a checkpoint manned by US
and Iraqi puppet army troops in the suburb of Amiriyat al-Fallujah, about
7km southwest of the city of al-Fallujah, some 60km west of Baghdad, on
Wednesday evening.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses as saying that
Resistance fighters equipped with light arms and shoulder-launched rockets
attacked the checkpoint located at the entrance to the residential complex
in the ash-Shahid neighborhood of Amiriyat al-Fallujah at about 7pm local
time Wednesday evening.
The Resistance fighters struck the checkpoint with three rockets, sparking a
gun battle with US and puppet forces, who called in reinforcements.
Witnesses said that several US armored vehicles and other transports arrived
and surrounded the area. No further information on the nature or extent of
casualties was available.
Ar-Ramadi.
Director of Syrian News Agency in Iraq released by criminal kidnappers after
payment of ransom.
In a bulletin posted at 7:45pm Mecca time Thursday evening, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that criminal kidnappers unconnected to the Iraqi
Resistance had released Ziyad al-Mujannid, the Director of the Syrian News
Agency in Iraq, whom they had abducted days earlier on the International
Highway in al-Anbar Province.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that al-Mujannad and his
colleague, the journalist Walid az-Zaydi, who had been abducted with him,
were both released after the kidnappers received US$50,000 in ransom. In an
interview with Mafkarat al-Islam, al-Mujannad said that his kidnappers had
no connection to the Iraqi Resistance.
Al-Qaim.
Resistance bomb wounds three US troops in al-Qaim.
In a dispatch posted at 12:50pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US patrol on
the main road in the ar-Rummanah area east of al-Qaim near the border with
Syria in western Iraq.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses in ar-Rummanah
as saying the bomb went off by a patrol of several US Humvees, disabling one
of them and wounding three American troops.
Baghdad.
Resistance bomb kills three pro-US Badr Brigade gunmen in eastern Baghdad.
In a dispatch posted at 8:50pm Mecca time Thursday night, Mafkarat al-Islam
reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a car belonging to the
pro-American Shii sectarian Badr Brigade militia in the ash-Shab area of
eastern Baghdad on Thursday.
The Baghdad correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses in
ash-Shab as saying that a bomb exploded by a car carrying four Badr Brigade
gunmen who had attacked Sunni mosques in the ash-Shab district. The blast
left three Badr Brigade militiamen dead and the fourth wounded.
Two US troops reported killed in Resistance bombing south of Baghdad.
In a dispatch posted at 8:40pm Mecca time Thursday night, Mafkarat al-Islam
reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US military column on
the ad-Durah Baghdad al-Jadidah Highway south of Baghdad.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported a source in the Iraqi
puppet police as saying that the bomb went off by an American column as it
drove along the highway south of Baghdad. The blast disabled one Humvee,
killing two US troops and wounding two more of them the puppet police source
disclosed.
Resistance bomb blasts puppet police patrol in southwestern Baghdads
al-Amil neighborhood.
In a dispatch posted at 1:10pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by an Iraqi puppet
police patrol in the southwestern Baghdad neighborhood of al-Amil.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses in al-Amil as
saying that the bomb disabled one patrol vehicle, killing two puppet
policemen and wounding two more of them.
Resistance car bomber blasts Green Zone gate area in Baghdads
al-Harithiyah district Thursday morning.
In a dispatch posted at 11:10am Mecca time Thursday morning, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance fidai fighter detonated the
explosives-packed car he was driving setting off an explosion that rocked
the area around the Republican Palace in Baghdad the heavily guarded area
that the Americans call the Green Zone where they have set up the
headquarters of their occupation regime.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses in central
Baghdads al-Harithiyah district as saying that the Resistance car bomber
detonated his car at the gate to the Green Zone off an-Nusur Square in
al-Harithiyah.
After the blast, US occupation troops and puppet Iraqi Interior Ministry
Shock Troops (Maghawir) encircled the area. Preliminary reports at the
time of reporting indicated that one puppet Shock Troop vehicle had been
disabled and two Shock Troops killed and three more of them wounded in the
attack.
Motorcade of Director of Sunni Waqf Endowments attacked.
In a dispatch posted at 10:40am Mecca time Thursday morning, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that unknown armed men ambushed the motorcade of the Sunni
Director of Waqf endowments, Dr. Ahmad Abd al-Ghaffur as-Samarra in
western Baghdads al-Ghazaliyah district.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses in
al-Ghazaliyah as saying that armed men opened fire on the motorcade near the
al-Hamzah Mosque in the area, wounding three of the officials bodyguards.
Resistance bomb misses puppet police patrol leaving one civilian dead.
In a dispatch posted at 10:25am Mecca time Thursday morning, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded in Uqbah ibn Nafi
Square in eastern Baghdads al-Karradah district on Thursday morning.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses in al-Karradah
as saying that a bomb that had been planted by the side of the main road
near the square blew up just after a puppet police patrol drove past. The
bomb was evidently intended for the puppet police, but for some reason the
explosion was slightly delayed and missed them. The blast killed one
civilian and wounded two more.
US military units have been known to use electronic jamming devices that
prevent many bombs from detonating as they go past, in effect setting off
the bombs behind them.
Diyala Province.
Baqubah.
Resistance bomb near Baqubah leaves three US troops reported killed.
In a dispatch posted at 9pm Mecca time Thursday night, Mafkarat al-Islam
reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US foot patrol on the
main road in the village of al-Huwaydir near Baqubah, some 65km northeast
of Baghdad.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported residents of al-Huwaydir as
saying that the bomb, which had been planted by the side of the main road in
the village, killed three US troops and wounded three more of them.
Resistance bomb reportedly kills two US troops near as-Sadah village near
Baqubah.
In a dispatch posted at 10:50am Mecca time Thursday morning, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US military
column on as-Sadah road a few kilometers from Baqubah, about 65km northeast
of Baghdad.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported residents of the village of
as-Sadah who witnessed the attack as saying that the bomb destroyed one
Humvee, killing two US troops and wounding two more of them.
Al-Madain.
Resistance bombards camp of puppet Shock Troops in al-Madain.
In a dispatch posted at 3:30pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance forces fired four 82mm mortar rounds
into the headquarters of puppet Iraqi Interior Ministry Shock Troops
(Maghawir) in the town of al-Madain just southeast of Baghdad.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses in al-Madain
as saying that the barrage set off explosions inside the camp and sent
plumes of smoke rising into the sky over the facility.
Buhriz.
Resistance forces assault puppet troop checkpoint in Buhriz.
In a dispatch posted at 12:20pm Mecca time midday Thursday, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance fighters attacked a checkpoint
manned by Iraqi puppet army troops in the Buhriz area, adjacent to the city
of Baqubah, some 65km northeast of Baghdad.
The Baghdad correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses in
Buhriz as saying that Resistance fighters armed with light and medium
weapons and rocket launchers assaulted the checkpoint, disabling one puppet
army vehicle and killing two puppet troops and wounding four more of them.
Babil Province.
Al-Latifiyah.
Resistance bomb blasts US column south of al-Latifiyah.
In a dispatch posted at 3:40pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US military
column on the main road south of al-Latifiyah, which is located some 30km
south of Baghdad.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported residents of al-Latifiyah
who witnessed the attack as saying that the bomb exploded by a column of
American armored vehicles and Humvees, destroying one Humvee and killing or
wounding the members of its four-man crew.
At-Tamim Province.
Al-Hawijah.
US soldier reported killed in Resistance bombing in al-Hawijah.
In a dispatch posted at 6pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam
reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US military column in
the al-Hawijah area southwest of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses who live in
al-Hawijah as saying that a bomb that had been planted by the side of the
main road blew up as a US column passed by, disabling one American armored
vehicle, and killing one US soldier and wounding two more of them.
Ar-Riyad.
Bomb blasts oil pipeline southwest of Kirkuk.
In a dispatch posted at 2:30pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that a bomb exploded under an oil pipeline linking Kiruk
with the refinery area of Bayji to the south, setting off a massive fire.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported residents of ar-Riyad,
about 25km southwest of Kirkuk, as saying that a bomb exploded on the
pipeline, blasting the line open and setting it ablaze.
Kirkuk.
Resistance bomb south of Kirkuk wounds US troops.
In a dispatch posted at 2:20pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US patrol in
the at-Tuz area south of Kirkuk on the road to Baghdad.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses in the at-Tuz
area as saying that the bomb disabled a Humvee, wounding thee US troops, one
of them severely.
Resistance bomb blasts puppet police in Kirkuk.
In a dispatch posted at 12:50pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by an Iraqi puppet
police patrol on the main road in central Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
The Kirkuk correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported local eyewitnesses
as saying that the bomb disabled one of the patrol vehicles, wounding two
puppet policemen, one of them a captain.
Ninwa Province.
Mosul.
Resistance fighters ambush US patrol in Mosul leaving one US soldier
reported dead.
In a dispatch posted at 6:20pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance fighters clashed with US occupation
troops in the Adan neighborhood of western Mosul in northern Iraq.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses who live in
Adan as saying that the fighting broke out when Resistance fighters armed
with light and medium weapons ambushed a US patrol. The attack sparked a
firefight that lasted for more than 20 minutes. During the battle, US
vehicles were damaged and one American soldier was killed an three others
wounded.
Maysan Province.
Al-Amarah.
Resistance savagely bombards British base in al-Amarah.
Iraqi Resistance forces mounted a violent bombardment of the British
occupation camp in the city of al-Amarah in southern Iraq, about 60km from
the Iranian border, sending plumes of smoke rising into the sky, according
to a report carried by Quds Press.
Eyewitnesses told Quds Press that the British camp set up in the Abu Naji
Iraqi Army base took place on Wednesday night. The British troops responded
by opening fire indiscriminately around the area. British military
helicopters could be seen prowling the area overhead until Thursday morning.
Local residents told Quds Press that the Resistance had begun blasting the
British base on a daily basis in response to what local people regard as
unacceptable behavior by the occupation troops. Ten local people were
arrested by the British and humiliated and savagely beaten, prompting the
puppet council of the province to cut its ties with the British forces.
Sources:
http://www.qudspress.com/data/aspx/d48/18048.aspx
http://www.qudspress.com/data/aspx/d47/18047.aspx
http://www.qudspress.com/data/aspx/d43/18043.aspx
http://www.qudspress.com/data/aspx/d42/18042.aspx
http://www.qudspress.com/data/aspx/d48/18038.aspx
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104856
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/03/29/iraqabduction.shtml
http://en.rian.ru/world/20060329/44942190.html
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104854
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104850
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104849
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104848
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104847
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104846
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104844
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104843
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104839
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104838
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104831
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104830
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104829
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104827
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104822
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104821
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104814
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104812
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104811
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104808
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104801
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104799
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104798
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104797
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104795
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=104794
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060330/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_carroll_released;_ylt=AgMrMh24bnzHv9QM2kA1G6as0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ
http://www.freearabvoice.org
http://www.albasrah.net/moqawama/english/iraqi_resistance.htm
*
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NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems
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TOPIC: Suicide Bomber Kills 3 in Occupied West Bank
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/057c26b1a6e97bba
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:55 am
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Suicide Bomber Kills 3 in Occupied West Bank
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
The Independent - Mar 31, 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article354841.ece
Suicide bomber kills three in West Bank
By Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem
Three Israelis were killed last night when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew
himself up in a car near a petrol station outside a Jewish settlement in the
West Bank.
Initial reports said the three victims had picked up the bomber, who was
hitchhiking, dressed as religious Jew. A rescue worker said the car was
still on fire an hour after the blast.
Responsibility for the bombing was claimed by a new cell of the Fatah-linked
Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades based in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus. The
bombing was the first in the West Bank since December 2005 and the first
claimed by any faction other than Islamic Jihad since February 2005.
Rafaela Segal, who lives in Kedumim, told Israel Radio she heard the blast.
"I saw thick smoke rising from the gas station and at first I thought the
gas station was on fire," she said.
Meanwhile, diplomatic and economic pressure on the Palestinians was
significantly stepped up yesterday when the US refused to rule out support
for Israel fixing its own borders unilaterally and the international
"Quartet" again effectively threatened an economic blockade of the
Palestinian Authority.
The Quartet of the US, EU, UN and Russia expressed "grave concern" that the
Palestinians' Hamas government, elected in January and sworn in this week,
had not yet agreed to recognise Israel, renounced violence and abide by all
previous agreements between the PA and Israel. It warned that unless that
changed that "there inevitably will be an effect on direct assistance to
that government and its ministries".
The UN and aid agencies have consistently argued that it impossible for
medical, educational and other services including security to be maintained
in the medium to long term without involving the PA and that
non-governmental organisations are not equipped to do it.
In a related development in the wake of this week's Israeli elections, the
US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, was at pains not to reject outright
the plans of the election victor, Ehud Olmert, the acting Prime Minister, to
draw "permanent" borders unilaterally while pulling some 70,000 settlers out
of the West Bank. She said in Berlin: "I wouldn't on the face of it just say
absolutely we don't think there's any value in what the Israelis are talking
about."
The formulation appeared to leave the door open to a welcome for withdrawal
of settlements and to Mr Olmert's intention to fix "permanent borders"
unilaterally by 2010. If the US were to recognise unilaterally fixed borders
of the kind suggested by Mr Olmert it would reverse the policy of successive
US administrations in favour of negotiation and conflict with international
law as defined by the International Court of Justice.
Mr Olmert has proposed that the border would run along the 450-mile
separation barrier, which puts up to 10 per cent of Palestinian territory on
to its Israeli side. The barrier was declared illegal in July 2004 by the
ICJ largely for that reason with the US judge dissenting.
Ghassan Khatib, the outgoing Palestinian Planning minister, said last night
of Ms Rice's statement: "Unilateralism is not good for the peace process and
it what brought Hamas to power." Adding that by ignoring the PA and pulling
out of Gaza unilaterally, Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister, had allowed
Hamas to take the credit for it." Dr Khatib said the US should be
strengthening the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, "and the peace camp
in Palestine".
However, the Quartet welcomed the recent statements by Mr Abbas, who has
been urging Hamas to abide by previous agreements and commit itself to a
peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Late soldiers' votes in the election gave Kadima, Likud and the left-wing
Meretz an extra seat each - meaning that Mr Olmert could form a centre-left
coalition with Labour, Meretz, and the Pensioners' Party if he chose.
In an intensification of military action against firing of rockets by
militants in Gaza, the Israeli army said last night it was targeting
specific launching sites. It had warned Palestinian security officers to
keep out of such areas.
*
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NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems
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TOPIC: Taming Global Capitalism Anew
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/364cd3a23e9b8748
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:55 am
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Taming Global Capitalism Anew
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
The Nation - Apr 17, 2006 issue
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060417/forum
Taming Global Capitalism Anew
by JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ, THEA LEE, WILL HUTTON, JAMES K. GALBRAITH,
JEFF FAUX, JOEL ROGERS, MARCELLUS ANDREWS & JANE D'ARISTA
[One of the greatest achievements of the twentieth century was a social
contract that provided far more economic security and prosperity for working
Americans than had existed in any previous period. But successive waves of
changes in the world economy, together with the ascendancy of a strain of
economic philosophy that puts the freedom of capital above the interests of
society, have placed enormous strain on the postwar social contracts of all
Western countries, resulting in stagnating wages, greater insecurity and
levels of income and wealth inequality not seen since the early 1900s. And
even more far-reaching challenges arising from the current pattern of
globalization, with its emphasis on the outsourcing of service as well as
manufacturing jobs, may lie ahead.
Developing a strategy for taming global capitalism anew therefore
constitutes the overriding challenge of our time. For that reason, we have
invited some of the leading progressive thinkers in this country and a
longtime observer of the American economy to offer their ideas on how the
United States, as the major capitalist country and the major player in
globalization, could reshape both capitalism and globalization in ways that
build a new social contract serving the needs of working people everywhere.
- -The Editors]
A Progressive Response to Globalization
JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ
Globalization is often viewed as posing a major threat to "capitalism with a
human face." Trade liberalization puts downward pressure on unskilled wages
(and increasingly even skilled wages), increasing inequality in more
developed countries. Countries trying to compete are repeatedly told to
increase labor-market flexibility, code words for lowering the minimum wage
and weakening worker protections. Competition for business puts pressure to
reduce taxes on corporate income and on capital more generally, decreasing
funds available for supporting basic investments in people and the safety
net. And international agreements, such as Chapter 11 of NAFTA and the
intellectual property provisions of the Uruguay Round of trade talks, have
been used to short-circuit national democratic processes.
Yet Sweden and the other Scandinavian countries have shown that there is an
alternative way to cope with globalization. These countries are highly
integrated into the global economy; but they are highly successful economies
that still provide strong social protections and make high levels of
investments in people. They have been successful in part because of these
policies, not in spite of them. Full employment and strong safety nets
enable individuals to undertake more risk (with the commensurate high
rewards) without unduly worrying about the downside of failure. These
countries have not abandoned the welfare state but have fine-tuned it to
meet globalization's new demands. We should do the same.
At the same time, we must temper globalization itself--not by withdrawing
behind protectionist borders and not by trying to enhance the well-being of
our citizens at the expense of those abroad who are even poorer. Rather, we
should reshape globalization to make it more democratic, and we should
moderate its pace to give countries more time to cope. There will still be
losers in a reshaped globalization, but the vast majority of citizens in
both the North and the South will be better off with the right policies.
Coping with globalization entails recognizing both the consequences of
globalization and the limitations in the standard responses. Increased
education is important, but it is not enough. At this time we should make
taxation more progressive in order to offset the economic forces increasing
inequality, not decrease the degree of progressivity as we have done in the
past five years. We should strengthen our safety nets, not weaken them. The
United States has one of the worst unemployment insurance programs in the
advanced industrial countries. A redesign of our social insurance program to
make it more of an integrated lifetime social insurance program, along the
lines of the provident funds of Singapore, could provide substantially more
complete insurance coverage without weakening economic incentives.
Most important, we should have a true commitment to full employment. The
high priests of the financial markets have convinced many of the dangers of
even moderate inflation, contending that even slight increases in inflation
are very costly, especially to the poor, and that the costs of reversing
inflation are extremely high. This is all nonsense, as we demonstrated in
successive issues of the Economic Report of the President while I was chair
of the Council of Economic Advisers. Today we should be worried not about
inflation but about our lackluster growth, which leaves a large "jobs
deficit." Full employment is the most important social protection. And even
moderate unemployment, even of the disguised kind (discouraged workers,
increased numbers on disability and large numbers who work part-time
involuntarily), puts downward pressure on wages, exacerbating the problems
brought on by globalization.
There are two other elements of a progressive agenda that are sometimes not
given sufficient attention. The first is enhancing savings among
lower-income individuals, including by matching grants (for example, by
cashable tax credits). Some conservatives have embraced the concept of the
ownership society--by which they too often mean simply that those who own
more get to own still more. But it is important for individuals of modest
means to have a cushion to protect themselves against the vagaries of the
market.
The second is enhancing investment in research, strengthening our
competitive advantages, so necessary if we are to maintain robust growth.
Today, a disproportionate amount of our nation's research budget is spent on
military objectives; funds for basic science, or even advances in applied
technology that would improve living standards and help us protect the
environment, are scarce.
Globalization's advocates often portray it as presenting unprecedented
opportunities. For those committed to creating a society based on principles
of social justice, it is also presenting unprecedented challenges. These are
some of the elements of the progressive response to these challenges.
Joseph E. Stiglitz, University Professor at Columbia University, won the
Nobel Prize for Economics in 2001 and is the author of The Roaring Nineties.
A New Domestic and Global Strategy
THEA LEE
The challenge we face today in the United States is how to engage in the
global economy without decimating our own middle class and gutting our
social regulatory system. The logic of global capitalism as currently
practiced is to drive down workers' wages, weaken their bargaining power and
strip away their social protections in both rich and poor countries, while
simultaneously encouraging and celebrating the excesses of debt-driven
consumerism.
But this system is inherently unstable and unsustainable. The United States
is running a current account deficit of more than $700 billion a year to
fund consumption we can't afford. This is not financially sustainable.
Meanwhile, many workers in developing countries work twelve to sixteen hours
a day, in dangerous conditions, without the right to form an independent
union, at poverty pay, so that multinational corporations can boost their
bottom line. That is not politically sustainable.
Any policy agenda to build a better system must have both a national and an
international component. At the national level, we need to fight for
workers' rights to form unions and bargain for decent wages and working
conditions; we need affordable and equitable healthcare and retirement
security systems that do not create competitive disadvantages for domestic
companies; and we need to invest in education, technology and
infrastructure, especially in manufacturing.
While national reforms are critical to improving workers' daily lives, we
must not ignore the global component, because if we don't get that piece
right, unregulated global competitive pressures will eventually undermine
any domestic reforms and worker gains. Trying to protect the American middle
class without changing our interaction with the global economy is like
pouring water into a leaky vessel.
For the United States, there are three key components to a new global
strategy: taxes, currency and trade rules. In order to bring about real
change, we need to work with domestic businesses as well as with our global
justice allies. Domestic producers are equally frustrated by US policies
that make it virtually impossible for them to compete in the global economy
while producing on American soil.
First, our corporate tax system is insanely inefficient and unfair. American
taxpayers currently subsidize the offshoring of their own jobs (at a rate of
at least $7 billion a year) through policies that exempt income earned
offshore from corporate taxes. Very few other countries have similar
systems, and most have some form of "border adjustable" tax that exempts
exports from sales or value-added taxes. Our current system taxes exports,
while subsidizing the offshoring of jobs. We need a complete overhaul of our
corporate tax system to address this self-inflicted wound.
Second, the overvalued dollar is killing our domestic manufacturing sector
and exacerbating the problems in tradable services (a category that now
covers everything not nailed to the floor). While the high dollar policy
serves the Wal-Marts of the corporate world very well, it creates almost
insurmountable competitive problems for domestic producers. The Bush
Administration has clearly decided to cater to the retailers, outsourcers
and importers. It is now up to Congress to pass legislation that will force
China and Japan to stop manipulating their currencies to gain competitive
advantage.
Third, the framework of rules in the global trading system (through the WTO
and our own domestic agreements) is severely lopsided in favor of
multinational corporate interests--leaving workers, small farmers, the
environment and the poor ever more vulnerable and weak. If we understand the
central problem of the global economy to be one of an imbalance of power and
income distribution, then it becomes clear that global trade rules need to
be rewritten to insure that workers have a voice at their workplaces and in
national political debates. Linking core workers' rights as defined by the
International Labor Organization to market access would do three important
things: It would empower workers and give them a fighting chance to bargain
for their fair share of the wealth they create; it would help build a middle
class, so that workers can buy some of the goods they produce; and it would
put a leash on multinational corporations by taking the profit out of
exploitation.
No single action will get us out of the hole we're in, but together these
tax, currency and trade policy pieces point us in the right direction.
Thea Lee is policy director of the AFL-CIO.
Re-creating Public-Interest Politics
WILL HUTTON
Looked at from Europe and Asia, the US economy has emerged as a formidable
global competitor with the leading brands, the leading technologies and a
careful strategy of producing low-value-added goods in Asia while nurturing
high technology at home. If American blue-collar jobs have been lost in
mass-production manufacturing, they have been created in distribution,
transportation and services--and also in the high-value-added "knowledge
economy."
Thus American blue-collar workers are split into four components: those
under direct competition from Asia, those working in the blue-collar service
sector, those directly or indirectly benefiting from high-value-added
knowledge work and those who work in the public sector. Each component is in
very different circumstances--and even in the public sector, the appeal of
trade unions and collective action is fading. Democrats have allowed too
many of these new categories of workers to be recruited to the Republican
cause with their redefinition of the public interest as private. The
repercussions for the battle of ideas have been global.
The first task in any rebirth of liberal politics is to recognize
contemporary realities--the primacy of a highly individualized culture with
a highly segmented working class with very different objective
interests--and not hanker to re-create an order that is past. Liberals need
to be clear-eyed about the extent to which the current world system benefits
the United States; for example, Chinese goods are cheap, boost real incomes
and create a disinflationary climate of low interest rates that has provided
a massive economic stimulus. Protection might benefit one of the four
components of the working class--those in direct competition with Asia--but
it would hurt the other three, not to mention poverty-stricken Asian
peasants now delighted to have the opportunity for self-improvement.
The second task is to understand that winning the argument at the big
political level, as much as detailed policies, is a condition for winning
power. In this regard, what has to be done is not to make the case for
"government" or "collective" action, which goes against the contemporary
grain of American political culture, but to recapture the idea of the public
and the importance of the public institutions through which it is delivered.
For example, American universities--among the country's great public
institutions--are the envy of the world, but they have increasingly become
the preserve of the children of a rich elite who can afford the stunning
fees, with a consequent alarming reduction in social mobility. They must be
reclaimed; even the top private universities recognize the "publicness" of
their vocation and the degree to which the "public" is currently being
corrupted. Social mobility is a public interest, and its decline is of
public concern. The argument needs to be made in those terms.
I would go further still. The United States was colonized by the values of
the Enlightenment and its commitment to reason, to checks and balances in
government, and to the importance of a lively public sphere. It was these
Enlightenment values interacting with the great nineteenth-century
egalitarian tradition that gave the United States its dynamism as much as
its go-getting capitalism. Now the values of the market and increasingly
religion have been allowed to crowd out the vitality of the entire fabric of
Enlightenment institutions. The liberal case surely has to be to reassert
why these institutions are so important and to remake the case in today's
context--hence the instinctive liberal support for open-sourcing, the public
dissemination of knowledge and the fair distribution of access to
information. I would also add the old progressive case against excessive
corporate power and breathe life into the Sherman and Clayton acts.
Trustbusting and taking on the creationists are essential parts of the
story.
We also need to revive institutions of grassroots altruism and solidarity.
Nowhere in the industrialized West has the progressive cause gone far
without the support of organized labor; but the conventional trade union no
longer captures the imagination or hearts of working people. Only when
unions start growing with a much more clearheaded sense of what their
members want and what can be delivered will there be a more secure political
base.
But it all starts with associating liberals with the idea of the public in
its best Enlightenment sense, showing how that has worked for the United
States in the past and could work for it in the future.
Will Hutton, a British writer, is the author of A Declaration of
Interdependence (Norton) and is completing a new book on China and the
United States.
Taming Predatory Capitalism
JAMES K. GALBRAITH
In 1899 Thorstein Veblen described predation as a phase in the evolution of
culture, "attained only when the predatory attitude has become the habitual
and accredited spiritual attitude...when the fight has become the dominant
note in the current theory of life." After an entire century's struggle to
escape from this phase, we've suffered a relapse. The predators are
everywhere unleashed; and the institutions built to contain them, from the
United Nations to the AFL-CIO to the SEC, are everywhere under siege.
Predation has again become the defining feature of economic life. Our first
problem is to grasp this reality in full.
Postwar prosperity was built on a vast cut in the cost of security and the
achievement of peace in Europe and much of Asia. The American role in the
cold war system was to provide security; for this the dollar's role as
anchor of the world trading system was our reward. But now, with Iraq, we
are seen worldwide as the leading predator state, promoting war as a
solution rather than as the ultimate economic and human horror. For this,
many would like to see our privileges revoked.
Corporate and financial fraud and political corruption form the second great
domain of predatory capitalism. DeLay, Frist and Abramoff are the names in
the news, but the tone is set by the leadership--Cheney of Halliburton and
Bush of Harken Energy--a large predator and a small scavenger, specialists
in cronyism and expert in nothing else. When predation becomes the dominant
business and political form, the foundation of capitalism crumbles. Markets
lose legitimacy, investors fly to safety in bonds, and authentic innovation
and shared growth both become unattainable. The solution must be not just a
change of parties but a new political class, including a new media not under
corrupt control.
Then there is the predatory attack on unions and labor, in which many
economists are complicit. This is far advanced in America and most visible
today in Europe, as reflected by the doctrine of flexible labor markets,
which claims that the conquest of unemployment requires cutting the pay of
the working poor. But there is no history of unemployment ever being
conquered this way--certainly not in the United States of the 1940s, 1960s
or 1990s. Modern Europe also affords counterexamples of equalizing growth,
from Norway and Denmark to recent gains in Spain, as well as object lessons,
most recently in France, of the catastrophe of designed exclusion.
The way forward is a program for growth and justice built on the needs of
the working population and the middle class. To begin with, in the United
States there must be a powerful demolition of the old political order: We
need elections where all votes are cast and counted. The campaign against
voter repression is the essential civil rights struggle of our time, even
though most progressives don't seem to realize it yet. Prevailing will
require fundamental reform such as the introduction of nationwide
vote-by-mail (the Oregon system). Without that, and also many relentless
prosecutions, nothing else will be achieved.
The economic commitment, in turn, must be to full employment here, to
egalitarian growth in Europe and Japan, and to a worldwide development
strategy favoring civil infrastructure and the poor. Public capital
investment, stronger unions and a high minimum wage should frame the
domestic agenda. Overseas, crackdowns on tax havens and the arms trade, a
stabilizing financial system and an end to the debt peonage of poor
countries should be among the priorities of a new structure.
The truths are that egalitarian growth is efficient, that speculation must
be regulated, that crime starts at the top and that peace is the primary
public good. These truths are poison to predators and are the reason
predators have fostered and subsidized an entire cynical intellectual
movement devoted to "free" markets made up of a class of professor-courtiers
now everywhere in view. Taming predatory capitalism could start with
breaking this econo-corporate analytical axis, and reviving the concept of
countervailing power, first formulated by John Kenneth Galbraith in 1952.
James K. Galbraith, chair of the board of Economists for Peace and Security,
teaches at the University of Texas and is senior scholar with the Levy
Economics Institute.
A North American Social Contract
JEFF FAUX
Social justice will come to the global economy only when enough people in
enough nation-states are organized across borders to demand it. Yet in a
world of 6.5 billion people in more than 200 separate
countries--representing wide differences in culture, living standards and
political consciousness--the idea of a popular transnational politics
effective enough to humanize the relentlessly interconnecting markets seems
impossibly utopian.
But if we think of establishing a global social contract as a step-by-step
process, in which political solidarity is built first among neighboring
societies, region by region, it becomes easier to imagine. The ongoing
struggle for a "Social Europe" to match the expanded European capitalist
market offers the best real-world example of the promise of a regional
social contract.
We should open up a second front in this global class war in North America.
The North American Free Trade Agreement was the template for the neoliberal
global project. In its protection of corporate interests and its undermining
of democracy, NAFTA is even more reactionary than the World Trade
Organization. Not surprisingly, it has reinforced inequality and insecurity
in all three countries--most visibly demonstrated by the daily migration of
Mexicans across the border, desperately seeking jobs. NAFTA's failure makes
North America a microcosm of globalization's Catch-22: Bringing social
justice to global markets requires global institutions to regulate global
business, but these institutions are dominated by elites who oppose social
justice.
After twelve years, integration among the three North American economies has
gone too far to reverse. So it is time for progressives in all three
countries to mobilize together to promote a social contract on their own
continent. This does not mean merging into one country. Rather, it means the
creation of a cross-border political movement to challenge the agenda of
elites in all three countries, who established NAFTA precisely to escape
democratic constraints on their wealth and power.
The problems of developing political solidarity across North America's
national borders are different from but not necessarily more difficult than
those encountered among the twenty-five countries that now make up the
European Union. A cross-border movement could build on the many
organizational and personal relationships that already exist. Early steps to
gain experience and trust could include joint actions against corporate
abuses that span the continent. A simultaneous strike against a common
employer or a protest against a common environmental abuse could dramatize
the interests that people in all three countries share. Progressives could
develop a common legislative agenda, introducing the same proposals in all
three legislatures. This agenda might come to form the basis of a new North
American social contract that would include the following elements:
§ A Bill of Rights for citizens of North America, enforceable in all
countries, that would reassert the primacy of civil protection of
individuals and democratic government over the extraordinary privileges
NAFTA gives to corporate investors.
§ A New Continental Deal, in which Canada and the United States commit
substantial long-term aid to Mexico in order to nurture higher and
sustainable economic growth while Mexico commits to policies (independent
trade unions, minimum wages, equitable taxes) that assure a wider
distribution of the benefits of growth.
§ A Continental Development Strategy that shifts the economic policy
objectives of all three countries from subsidizing pursuit of global profits
by corporate investors to support of greater industrial self-sufficiency,
resource conservation and increased investment in health and education.
Driven by these goals, a progressive North American Customs Union would
manage modest levels of balanced trade with the rest of the world.
Creating a politics around such a continental social contract could help
inspire progressive activists to develop their own common vision of the
future to replace NAFTA's nihilist nightmare of unregulated capitalism. Such
a movement would also help reinforce beleaguered progressives in Europe,
South America and Southeast Asia (China and India are regions in
themselves), who are trying to bring to life regional models of development
that respect human life and dignity. Finally, it could help undercut
American elites' messianic illusions of their moral right to rule the
world--which infects liberals as well as conservatives--and force them to
turn to the humbler but more productive task of making their own part of the
globe a better place.
Jeff Faux was the founder and is now di stinguished fellow at the Economic
Policy Institute. His latest book is The Global Class War.
Build the High Road Here
JOEL ROGERS
American progressives have lots of ideas on the alternative international
rules and institutions in monetary policy, finance, trade, human rights and
development needed to make globalization work better for the North and
South. What we lack is the power to implement them. Under the "dictatorship
of no alternatives" that defines current policy debates, it is important to
propose one to the fraying "Washington Consensus" and seek allies,
particularly in this NAFTA hemisphere, in its enactment. But we should not
wait on international reform to build democratic power in this economy,
starting from where we are right now. We should build a
high-road--high-wage, low-waste, democratically accountable--economy right
here. Doing so will give focus to domestic efforts, connect them practically
to international ones and eventually yield the organization, experience and
confident social base we want to contribute to global fights. Building the
high road here should be at least half of any international strategy.
Of course, some progressives think internationalization already dooms this
enterprise--that capital's mobility will defeat any attempt at increasing
democratic control over the economy. But they're mistaken. Economies don't
just slide around on a frictionless, flat world. They have gravity and
traction. The economic importance of place hasn't been destroyed by
internationalization but in many ways has increased. Capital markets are far
from perfect, and capital is less mobile than commonly assumed. And some
constraints on capital are actually a net gain to it, not a loss.
Around the country, hundreds of largely isolated projects are already
showing this. They include worker-training and skill-certification programs
that increase productivity while capturing it in income; the use of union
pension funds to stabilize and grow distressed local economies while
generating returns on investment; "smart growth" policies that reduce
commuting times and lower real housing costs while improving the
environment; living-wage and allied efforts to raise standards on company
performance while increasing productivity; and the Apollo Alliance program
for good jobs and energy independence. These efforts are considered by many
progressives to be a sidebar to their main show and usually not even as a
single class of activities. In fact, they are all examples of the high-road
politics we should be pursuing.
This harnesses democracy as a force of production, a source of value, and
not just value in the economy. It builds productive infrastructure (in part
physical, in larger part institutional) that adds value, reduces waste and
captures the benefits of doing both. Such infrastructure attracts capital by
increasing its return but also grounds capital by its own immobility. And
with capital's exit threats thus reduced, real bargaining can again begin.
The essence of that bargaining is demanding more of capital than is now
demanded by markets--less pollution, higher wages, better labor relations,
more community investment--in exchange for the infrastructure that allows
capital to meet the demands profitably under competitive conditions.
None of this is rocket science. We already know how to add value in places
by improving education and worker training; increasing research and
commercialization capacity; providing the marketing, financial and other
business services that are beyond the capacities of individual firms; and
helping to cluster firms to realize complementary strengths while enlisting
workers in their upgrading. We know how to reduce waste by establishing
markets and making direct investment in renewable energy and more
resource-efficient--and, with accurate accounting, much cheaper--energy,
housing, transportation and consumer durables. We know how to improve
government efficiency by democratizing elections, applying the private
sector's metrics revolution to its operations and engaging citizen
organizations in open-source problem-solving and regulatory enforcement.
Doing these things together improves living standards by strengthening
democracy. It shows democracy as a solution in organizing daily life, not
part of the problem.
This is not a new insight. Markets can't set rules for themselves, solve
their collective-action problems or elicit wide voluntary citizen
contribution. Democracy's ability to do them all is its signature strength,
and there are no limits on their being done better and better--thus
producing more wealth, more citizen engagement and wider freedom in future
choice. This directly helps immobile workers, even under
internationalization. Indeed, even in the "worst case" of perfect
competition, with instantaneous capital adjustment to changes in expected
after-tax rates of profit, all gains from such place-based democratic
efficiency would go to the immobile workers who call those places home.
Neoliberalism declares unfettered business domination our best bet for
material well-being. We should declare high-road democracy a better bet, and
invite others to place it with us. We will not lack for takers in the United
States. Americans are sick to death of "business as usual," and desperate
for an alternative that works. And our working class wants more of
government than death and taxes, more of life than their irrelevance, more
of their "leaders" than fake empathy and real contempt. A role in
constructing a better economy, and a society fit to live in, is what paving
the high road provides.
Joel Rogers, a Nation contributing editor, teaches at the University of
Wisconsin.
Universal Capitalism
MARCELLUS ANDREWS
The non-college-educated majority of working Americans, and increasingly
even some college-educated workers, face two long-term problems. First, the
buying power of their wages cannot keep pace with the cost of the things
they need, including healthcare, housing and schooling. Second, their path
to upward economic mobility is disappearing because stagnant and falling
real wages combined with ever more severe economic segregation limit their
ability to invest in themselves or their children, whether alone or
collectively, because of the weakened tax base of working-class communities.
It is very difficult to find a way to reverse the downward pull of
globalization and global labor migration on the wages of modestly educated
people. But that does not mean that we are without a way of improving the
standard of living of working people. Ironically, the problem may provide
its own solution. Let me explain. Contemporary economic trends are pushing
the wages of workers down while boosting the returns to financial capital
and knowledge capital. That being the case, the best way to promote economic
opportunity for low-wage workers and especially their children is to pioneer
collective forms of capital ownership and wealth accumulation. In short, we
should work to make every American a capital owner.
One way to proceed is for the federal government to reserve a portion of
each year's tax receipts--say, 1 percent of GDP--for contributions into a
collective capital account that is invested in a set of privately managed
and federally supervised index funds. This capital fund, which I will call
the Opportunity Fund, would be a trust fund completely free of government
interference, subject to the same rules and regulations as other index and
mutual funds. With contributions of tax receipts each year, its value would
grow as the financial wealth of the country and the economy grows,
generating not only capital gains but also interest and dividend income for
the American people.
The interest and dividend income generated by the Opportunity Fund could be
used in a variety of ways. It could be used to supplement working families'
wage income by providing the funds needed for a basic annual income payment,
whose size could vary according to such criteria as age, number of children
and income level (perhaps with a work requirement to avoid dependency
problems). It could also be used to fund a child savings account system that
builds up an inheritance for every child on a progressive basis, with a
larger share of the funds going to children from poorer families. The child
savings account could be used when a person reaches age 18 or soon
thereafter to pay for college, buy a home or establish a retirement nest
egg, or to pursue some other approved investment purpose.
The Opportunity Fund form of universal capitalism is, in short, a method for
redistributing capital income through collective savings. It could put a
more sustainable floor on the income of workers than does our collapsing
welfare state. It could provide the financial basis for the children of
every working family to be able to invest in their own human capital and
their own economic future. It could also help correct the problem of
economic and wealth inequality by creating a system of public inheritance
that would help those who are not lucky enough to have been born into
families that can pass on wealth to their children.
The Opportunity Fund is viable, practical and eminently doable right now. It
is also the best way--perhaps the only way--to meet all of our country's
most pressing economic and social objectives. Not only must we promote
fairness within and between generations; we also need to save more and
borrow less (subject of course to Keynes's lesson that too much saving too
fast can cause recession and unemployment) so our country will have a more
sustainable financial future. And we must also rebuild our economy by
investing more in order to be able to better compete in today's world
economy. The Opportunity Fund form of universal capitalism is an idea whose
time has come because it can meet these objectives better than the current
collapsing social welfare system.
Marcellus Andrews is the author of The Political Economy of Hope and Fear:
Capitalism and the Black Condition in America.
Reform the International Financial System
JANE D'ARISTA
President Richard Nixon's decision to end the Bretton Woods agreement in
1971 was a milestone in the erosion of the Western social contract. This
decision ushered in a new international monetary system--one in which
international payments in dollars would be made by private banks rather than
exchanges of gold between the Federal Reserve and other central banks, and
the value of the dollar would be determined by supply and demand.
This new dollar-centric international monetary system has been a powerful
force in shaping the global economy and is, to a great extent, responsible
for the current pattern of globalization. For the United States, it has
meant that US policy-makers have had to hold real US interest rates higher
than those of other strong currencies and have had to accept a higher value
of the dollar relative to other major currencies. This has not only led to
slower US economic growth but has made US goods less competitive vis-a-vis
those of other economies. Thus the cost of American dollar hegemony has been
the loss of export markets and, along with it, the loss of relatively good
jobs in the tradable-goods sector of the economy.
For developing countries, the consequences have been no less serious. The
post-Bretton Woods system has pushed more and more economies toward
export-led growth, which tends to suppress domestic wages and regulatory
standards. Countries that cannot pay for imports and attract foreign
investment in their own currencies must "earn" these external currencies,
mainly dollars, by exporting more than they import to one or a few countries
that issue the global means of payment. To remain competitive with other
nations and insure continued access to these markets, they have adopted
policies that maintain downward pressure on wages and exchange rates and
have shunned those that stimulate the demand necessary for sustained
development.
This export-led growth paradigm created by the current international
monetary system appears to have benefited the United States, the key
currency country, especially in recent years, enabling us to consume more
than we produce. A large share of the dollars that flow out of the United
States to pay for imports flows back as investments in US financial assets.
This foreign investment expands credit and allows Americans to spend more
and save less. It also makes many Americans feel wealthier than they
actually are by fueling inflated real estate and equity prices. But the cost
of this pattern of growth has been the rapid buildup of both domestic and
external debt.
This extraordinary growth in both US domestic and external debt now raises
questions about the sustainability of this paradigm. Will highly indebted US
households be forced to reduce their spending? If so, will a fall in imports
reduce foreign financial investment, raise interest rates and induce or
exacerbate a recession? And if the United States does, in fact, falter in
its role as buyer of last resort in the global economy, what policies in
which countries will insure continued growth?
To build a new global social contract, the underlying logic of the
international financial system must be radically altered. What is needed is
a new international monetary regime that can open access to international
trade and investment for all nations on equal terms by allowing all
currencies to be used in cross-border as well as domestic transactions.
Keynes's international clearing agency could serve as a basic structure for
such a system, reclaiming the public sector's role in global payments
through a process of debiting and crediting cross-border payments against
reserve accounts held with the clearing agency by member countries, with
changes in reserves used to determine periodic adjustments in exchange
rates.
An international monetary system based on the idea of an international
clearing agency could also be designed to create a true lender of last
resort, replacing the current ad hoc facilities, which depend on taxpayer
donations. This would provide an effective channel for containing damaging
financial crises and maintaining the financial stability needed for balanced
growth in the global economy. It would also permit a resumption of the
demand-led growth policies that are a necessary support for a new, global
social contract.
Jane D'Arista is an author, lecturer and former Congressional staff
economist who writes for the Financial Markets Center.
*
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TOPIC: Senate report cites lapses in port security
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/7faf7a13732a9a82
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:55 am
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Senate report cites lapses in port security
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
Reuters - Mar 30, 2006
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2006-03-30T223627Z_01_N30300859_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-PORTS.xml
Senate report cites lapses in port security
By Vicki Allen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Forty percent of cargo containers entering U.S. ports
are now screened for radioactive material but a minimum of containers tagged
as potential risks are inspected before they reach the country, according to
a congressional report released on Thursday.
A three-year study by a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
subcommittee also found that the system used to identify high-risk
containers has never been tested or validated.
The study comes after the release earlier this week of a government report
four years after the September 11 attacks that said federal undercover
investigators were able to enter the United States with enough radioactive
material for two dirty bombs.
The subcommittee's study touted a pilot program at Hong Kong's port to
screen all shipping containers, while it said U.S. authorities screen only 5
percent by both X-ray and radiation detectors..
Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson told the subcommittee the
Hong Kong project likely would not be the single cure for gaps in port
security that he said would require cooperation by nations and the private
sector.
But Jackson was optimistic it could lead to a system that would
significantly enhance the ability of U.S. authorities "physically to inspect
a large number of containers at ports worldwide."
Sens. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, and Charles Schumer, a
New York Democrat, praised the Hong Kong project they recently saw in which
containers move through a system with an imaging machine, a radiation scan
and a process to identify the container.
"While the Port of Hong Kong is screening everything, we are screening next
to nothing," Schumer told the subcommittee.
"The silver lining to the Dubai Ports World fiasco is that we are finally
focused on the vulnerability of our ports," Schumer said, referring to the
Arab state-owned company's deal to manage some operations at six U.S. ports.
The company withdrew after Congress decried the plan as a security risk.
The subcommittee report cited progress in facing security risks from the 24
million containers that enter the United States annually, with U.S. Customs
and Border Protection officials stationed at a number of foreign ports to
ease inspections and deployment of more than 700 radiation monitors at ports
around the world.
But it said the system to detect high-risk containers depends on unreliable
information, and too many of those containers reach U.S. ports without being
inspected.
The report also called the deployment of radiation detection equipment
"woefully inadequate."
It also cited risk from containers of trash from Canada that are brought
into the United States, and are nearly impossible to inspect because of
their density and lack of uniformity. The United States should ban trash
imports, or adopt a moratorium or impose inspection fees, the study said.
© Reuters 2006.
*
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TOPIC: Immigration: 'Let the prisoners pick the fruits'
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/c225e266a1ed53f6
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:55 am
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Immigration: 'Let the prisoners pick the fruits'
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
AP via CNN - Mar 30, 2006
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/30/immigration.house.ap.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest
'Let the prisoners pick the fruits'
House members condemn immigration bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House conservatives criticized President Bush, accused
the Senate of fouling the air, said prisoners rather than illegal farm
workers should pick America's crops and denounced the use of Mexican flags
by protesters Thursday in a vehement attack on legislation to liberalize
U.S. immigration laws.
"I say let the prisoners pick the fruits," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of
California, one of more than a dozen Republicans who took turns condemning a
Senate bill that offers an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants an
opportunity for citizenship.
"Anybody that votes for an amnesty bill deserves to be branded with a
scarlet letter 'A,'" said Rep. Steve King of Iowa, referring to a guest
worker provision in the Senate measure.
Their news conference took place across the Capitol from the Senate, where
supporters and critics of the legislation seemed determined to heed
admonitions from both Bush and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to conduct
a dignified, civilized debate.
The House has passed legislation to tighten border security, while the
Senate approach also includes provisions to regulate the flow of temporary
workers into the country and control the legal fate of millions of illegal
immigrants already here. Bush has broadly endorsed the Senate approach,
saying he wants a comprehensive bill.
It was the second day in a row that congressional Republicans aired their
differences on an issue that directly affects the fastest-growing segment of
the electorate. Under Bush's leadership, the Republicans have made dramatic
inroads among Hispanic voters, and party strategists fret that the
immigration debate could jeopardize their gains. (Watch Lou Dobbs analyze
the issue -- 12:50)
On Wednesday, leading GOP senators disagreed whether the legislation
amounted to amnesty.
There was no such debate at the news conference in the House, where not a
word was spoken in defense of the Senate bill and even Bush was not spared
criticism.
"I don't think he's concerned about alienating voters, he's not running for
re-election," said Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado. He said Republicans could
lose the House and Senate over the immigration issue, and he said of the
president: "I wish he'd think about the party and of course I also wish he'd
think about the country."
Referring to a wave of demonstrations in recent weeks, Rep. Virgil Goode of
Virginia said, "I say if you are here illegally and want to fly the Mexican
flag, go to Mexico and wave the American flag."
King analyzed the issue in class terms.
"The elite class in America is becoming a ruling class and they've made
enough money by hiring cheap illegal labor that they think they also have
some kind of a right to cheap servants to manicure their nails and their
lawn, for example.
"So this ruling class, this new ruling class of America, is expanding a
servant class in America at the expense of the middle class of America, the
blue collar of America that used to be able to punch a time clock, buy a
modest house and raise their families. ... Those young people are cut out of
this process."
Rep. J.D. Hayworth of Arizona and others said Republicans would pay a price
in the midterm elections if they vote for anything like the Senate
legislation. "Many of those who have stood for the Republican Party for the
last decade are not only angry. They will be absent in November," he said.
Rohrabacher said Americans should be able to "smell the foul odor that's
coming out of the U.S. Senate."
Asked a few moments later whether the same odor was emanating from the
president, he said, "I have no comment."
Rohrabacher, King and others stood at a podium decorated with a bumper
sticker reading "Say No to Amnesty," as the Senate slogged through a second
suspenseless day of debate.
The only vote of the day came on a proposal by Frist for a study of the
number and causes of deaths at the U.S.-Mexico border. It passed 94-0.
The more difficult choices lie ahead next week, when critics of the bill are
expected to try to strip out the guest worker provision and roll back the
provisions relating to 11 million illegal immigrants already here.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee,
has said repeatedly he hopes to find a compromise that is more broadly
acceptable than the legislation that cleared his committee over the
objections of six Republicans.
"There's a movement afoot to find consensus," said Sen. Lindsey Graham,
R-South Carolina, who voted for the bill that cleared committee.
He said the president's statements "have been hugely helpful."
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.
*
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TOPIC: Bush "Deniability" on Pre-War Intel Warnings
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/df97ffea28112f0d
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:56 am
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Bush "Deniability" on Pre-War Intel Warnings
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
[How Rove tried to "insulate" Bush -- preserve his "deniability" --
from the obvious fact that he was warned well in advance of the
quagmire he was creating in Iraq. -NYTr]
The National Journal - Mar 30, 2006
http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0330nj1.htm
PREWAR INTELLIGENCE
Insulating Bush
By Murray Waas, National Journal
Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, cautioned other White
House aides in the summer of 2003 that Bush's 2004 re-election prospects
would be severely damaged if it was publicly disclosed that he had been
personally warned that a key rationale for going to war had been challenged
within the administration. Rove expressed his concerns shortly after an
informal review of classified government records by then-Deputy National
Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley determined that Bush had been
specifically advised that claims he later made in his 2003 State of the
Union address -- that Iraq was procuring high-strength aluminum tubes to
build a nuclear weapon -- might not be true, according to government records
and interviews.
Hadley was particularly concerned that the public might learn of a
classified one-page summary of a National Intelligence Estimate,
specifically written for Bush in October 2002. The summary said that
although "most agencies judge" that the aluminum tubes were "related to a
uranium enrichment effort," the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence
and Research and the Energy Department's intelligence branch "believe that
the tubes more likely are intended for conventional weapons."
Three months after receiving that assessment, the president stated without
qualification in his January 28, 2003, State of the Union address: "The
British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought
significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell
us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable
for nuclear weapons production."
The previously undisclosed review by Hadley was part of a damage-control
effort launched after former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV alleged that
Bush's claims regarding the uranium were not true. The CIA had sent Wilson
to the African nation of Niger in 2002 to investigate the purported
procurement efforts by Iraq; he reported that they were most likely a hoax.
The White House was largely successful in defusing the Niger controversy
because there was no evidence that Bush was aware that his claims about the
uranium were based on faulty intelligence. Then-CIA Director George Tenet
swiftly and publicly took the blame for the entire episode, saying that he
and the CIA were at fault for not warning Bush and his aides that the
information might be untrue.
But Hadley and other administration officials realized that it would be much
more difficult to shield Bush from criticism for his statements regarding
the aluminum tubes, for several reasons.
For one, Hadley's review concluded that Bush had been directly and
repeatedly apprised of the deep rift within the intelligence community over
whether Iraq wanted the high-strength aluminum tubes for a nuclear weapons
program or for conventional weapons.
For another, the president and others in the administration had cited the
aluminum tubes as the most compelling evidence that Saddam was determined to
build a nuclear weapon -- even more than the allegations that he was
attempting to purchase uranium.
And finally, full disclosure of the internal dissent over the importance of
the tubes would have almost certainly raised broader questions about the
administration's conduct in the months leading up to war.
"Presidential knowledge was the ball game," says a former senior government
official outside the White House who was personally familiar with the
damage-control effort. "The mission was to insulate the president. It was
about making it appear that he wasn't in the know. You could do that on
Niger. You couldn't do that with the tubes." A Republican political
appointee involved in the process, who thought the Bush administration had a
constitutional obligation to be more open with Congress, said: "This was
about getting past the election."
The President's Summary
Most troublesome to those leading the damage-control effort was documentary
evidence -- albeit in highly classified government records that they might
be able to keep secret -- that the president had been advised that many in
the intelligence community believed that the tubes were meant for
conventional weapons.
The one-page documents known as the "President's Summary" are distilled from
the much lengthier National Intelligence Estimates, which combine the
analysis of as many as six intelligence agencies regarding major national
security issues. Bush's knowledge of the State and Energy departments'
dissent over the tubes was disclosed in a March 4, 2006, National Journal
story -- more than three years after the intelligence assessment was
provided to the president, and some 16 months after the 2004 presidential
election.
The President's Summary was only one of several high-level warnings given to
Bush and other senior administration officials that serious doubts existed
about the intended use of the tubes, according to government records and
interviews with former and current officials.
In mid-September 2002, two weeks before Bush received the October 2002
President's Summary, Tenet informed him that both State and Energy had
doubts about the aluminum tubes and that even some within the CIA weren't
certain that the tubes were meant for nuclear weapons, according to
government records and interviews with two former senior officials.
Official records and interviews with current and former officials also
reveal that the president was told that even then-Secretary of State Colin
Powell had doubts that the tubes might be used for nuclear weapons.
When U.S. inspectors entered Iraq after the fall of Saddam's regime, they
determined that Iraq's nuclear program had been dormant for more than a
decade and that the aluminum tubes had been used only for conventional
weapons.
In the end, the White House's damage control was largely successful, because
the public did not learn until after the 2004 elections the full extent of
the president's knowledge that the assessment linking the aluminum tubes to
a nuclear weapons program might not be true. The most crucial information
was kept under wraps until long after Bush's re-election.
Choreography
The new disclosures regarding the tubes may also shed light on why officials
so vigorously attempted to discredit Wilson's allegations regarding Niger,
including by leaking information to the media that his wife, Valerie Plame,
worked for the CIA. Administration officials hoped that the suggestion that
Plame had played a role in the agency's choice of Wilson for the Niger trip
might cast doubt on his allegations.
I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, then chief of staff and national security adviser
to Vice President Dick Cheney, was indicted on October 28 on five counts of
making false statements, perjury, and obstruction of justice in attempting
to conceal his role in outing Plame as an undercover CIA operative.
Signaling a possible defense strategy, Libby's attorneys filed papers in
federal court on March 17 asserting that he had not intentionally deceived
FBI agents and a federal grand jury while answering questions about Plame
because her role was only "peripheral" to potentially more serious questions
regarding the Bush administration's use of intelligence in the prewar
debate. "The media conflagration ignited by the failure to find [weapons of
mass destruction] in Iraq and in part by Mr. Wilson's criticism of the
administration, led officials within the White House, the State Department,
and the CIA to blame each other, publicly and in private, for faulty prewar
intelligence about Iraq's WMD capabilities," Libby's attorneys said in court
papers.
Plame's identity was disclosed during "a period of increasing bureaucratic
infighting, when certain officials at the CIA, the White House, and the
State Department each sought to avoid or assign blame for intelligence
failures relating to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capability," the
attorneys said. "The White House and the CIA were widely regarded to be at
war."
Only two months before Wilson went public with his allegations, the Iraq war
was being viewed as one of the greatest achievements of Bush's presidency.
Rove, whom Bush would later call the "architect" of his re-election
campaign, was determined to exploit the war for the president's electoral
success. On May 1, 2003, Bush made a dramatic landing on the flight deck of
the USS Abraham Lincoln to announce to the nation the cessation of major
combat operations in Iraq. Dressed in a military flight suit, the president
emerged from a four-seat Navy S-3B Viking with the words "George W. Bush
Commander-in-Chief" painted just below the cockpit window.
The New York Times later reported that White House aides "had choreographed
every aspect of the event, even down to the members of the Lincoln crew
arrayed in coordinated shirt colors over Mr. Bush's right shoulder and the
'Mission Accomplished' banner placed to perfectly capture the president and
the celebratory two words in a single shot."
On May 6, in a column in The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof quoted an
unnamed former ambassador as saying that allegations that Saddam had
attempted to procure uranium from Africa were "unequivocally wrong" and that
"documents had been forged." But the column drew little notice.
A month later, on June 5, the president made a triumphant visit to Camp As
Sayliyah, the regional headquarters of Central Command just outside Qatar's
capital, where he spoke to 1,000 troops who were in camouflage fatigues.
Afterward, Rove took out a camera and began snapping pictures of service
personnel with various presidential advisers. "Step right up! Get your photo
with Ari Fleischer -- get 'em while they're hot. Get your Condi Rice," Rove
said, according to press accounts of the trip. On the trip home, as Air
Force One flew at 31,000 feet over Iraqi airspace, escorted by pairs of F-18
fighters off each wing, the plane's pilots dipped the wings as a sign, an
administration spokesperson explained, "that Iraq is now free."
There were few hints of what lay ahead: that sectarian violence would engulf
Iraq to the point where some fear civil war and that more than 2,440
American troops and contractors would lose their lives in Iraq and an
additional 17,260 servicemen and -women would be wounded.
Blame The CIA
The pre-election damage-control effort in response to Wilson's allegations
and the broader issue of whether the Bush administration might have
misrepresented intelligence information to make the case for war had three
major components, according to government records and interviews with
current and former officials: blame the CIA for the use of the Niger
information in the president's State of the Union address; discredit and
undermine Wilson; and make sure that the public did not learn that the
president had been personally warned that the intelligence assessments he
was citing about the aluminum tubes might be wrong.
On July 8, 2003, two days after Wilson challenged the Niger-uranium claim in
an op-ed article in The New York Times, Libby met with Judith Miller, then a
Times reporter, for breakfast at the St. Regis hotel in Washington. Libby
told Miller that Wilson's wife, Plame, worked for the CIA, and he suggested
that Wilson could not be trusted because his wife may have played a role in
selecting him for the Niger mission. Also during that meeting, according to
accounts given by both Miller and Libby, Libby provided the reporter with
details of a then-classified National Intelligence Estimate. The NIE
contained detailed information that Iraq had been attempting to procure
uranium from Niger and perhaps two other African nations. Libby and other
administration officials believed that the NIE showed that Bush's statements
reflected the consensus view of the intelligence community at the time.
According to Miller's account of that meeting in The Times, Libby told her
that "the assessments of the classified estimate" that Iraq had attempted to
get uranium from Africa and was attempting to develop a nuclear weapons
program "were even stronger" than a declassified White Paper on Iraq that
the administration had made public to make the case for war.
The special prosecutor in the CIA leak case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, has said
that he considers the selective disclosure of elements of the NIE to be
"inextricably intertwined" with the outing of Plame. Papers filed in federal
court by Libby's attorneys on March 17 stated that Libby "believed his
actions were authorized" and that he had "testified before the grand jury
that this disclosure was authorized," a reference to the NIE details he gave
to Miller.
In the same filings, Libby's attorneys said that Hadley played a key role in
attempting to have the NIE declassified and made available to reporters:
"Mr. Hadley was active in discussions about the need to declassify and
disseminate the NIE and [also] had numerous conversations during [this]
critical early-July period with Mr. Tenet about the 16 words [the Niger
claim in the State of the Union address] and Mr. Tenet's public statements
about that issue."
Three days later, on July 11, while on a visit to Africa, Bush and his top
aides intensified their efforts to counter the damage done by Wilson's Niger
allegations.
Aboard Air Force One, en route to Entebbe, Uganda, then-National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice gave a background briefing for reporters. A
reporter pointed out that when Secretary Powell had addressed the United
Nations on February 5, 2003, he -- unlike others in the Bush administration
- -- had noted that some in the U.S. government did not believe that Iraq's
procurement of high-strength aluminum tubes was for nuclear weapons.
Responding, Rice said: "I'm saying that when we put [Powell's speech]
together ... the secretary decided that he would caveat the aluminum tubes,
which he did.... The secretary also has an intelligence arm that happened to
hold that view." Rice added, "Now, if there were any doubts about the
underlying intelligence to that NIE, those doubts were not communicated to
the president, to the vice president, or me."
In fact, contrary to Rice's statement, the president was indeed informed of
such doubts when he received the October 2002 President's Summary of the
NIE. Both Cheney and Rice also got copies of the summary, as well as a
number of other intelligence reports about the State and Energy departments'
doubts that the tubes were meant for a nuclear weapons program.
Discrediting Wilson
After Air Force One landed in Entebbe, the president placed the blame
squarely on the CIA for the Niger information in the State of the Union: "I
gave a speech to the nation that was cleared by the intelligence services."
Within hours, Tenet accepted full responsibility. The intelligence
information on Niger, Tenet said in a prepared statement, "did not rise to
the level of certainty which should be required for presidential speeches,
and the CIA should have ensured that it was removed." Tenet went on to say,
"I am responsible for the approval process in my agency. The president had
every reason to believe that the text presented to him was sound. These 16
words should never have been included in the text written for the
president."
Behind the scenes, the White House and Tenet had coordinated their
statements for maximum effect. Hadley, Libby, and Rove had reviewed drafts
of Tenet's statement days in advance. And Hadley and Rove even suggested
changes in the draft, according to government records and interviews.
Meanwhile, as the president, Rice, and White House advisers worked to
contain the damage from overseas, Rove and Libby, who had remained in
Washington, moved forward with their effort to discredit Wilson. That same
day, July 11, the two spoke privately at the close of a White House senior
staff meeting.
According to grand jury testimony from both men, Rove told Libby that he had
spoken to columnist Robert Novak on July 9 and that Novak had said he would
soon be writing a column about Valerie Plame. On July 12, the day after
Rice's briefing, the president's and Tenet's comments, and the conversation
between Rove and Libby regarding Novak, the issue of discrediting Wilson
through his wife was still high on the agenda. According to the indictment
of Libby: "Libby flew with the vice president and others to and from
Norfolk, Virginia on Air Force Two." On the return trip, "Libby discussed
with other officials aboard the plane what Libby should say in response to
certain pending media inquiries" regarding Wilson's allegations.
Later that day, Libby spoke on the phone with Time magazine's Matthew
Cooper. Cooper had been told days earlier that Valerie Plame worked for the
CIA. During this conversation, according to Libby's indictment, "Libby
confirmed to Cooper, without elaboration or qualification, that he had heard
this information, too." Also that day, Libby's indictment charged, "Libby
spoke by telephone with Judith Miller ... and discussed Wilson's wife, and
that she worked at the CIA."
On July 14, Novak published his now-famous column identifying Plame as a CIA
"operative" and reporting that she had been responsible for sending her
husband to Niger.
On July 18, the Bush administration declassified a relatively small portion
of the NIE and held a press briefing to discuss it, in a further effort to
show that the president had used the Niger information only because the
intelligence community had vouched for it. Reporters noted that an
"alternate view" box in the NIE stated that the State Department's Bureau of
Intelligence and Research (known as INR) believed that claims of Iraqi
purchases of uranium from Africa were "highly dubious" and that State and
DOE also believed that the aluminum tubes were "most likely for the
production of artillery shells."
But White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett suggested that both the
president and Rice had been unaware of this information: "They did not read
footnotes in a 90-page document." Later, addressing the same issue, Bartlett
said, "The president of the United States is not a fact-checker."
Because the Bush administration was able to control what information would
remain classified, however, reporters did not know that Bush had received
the President's Summary that informed him that both State's INR and the
Energy Department doubted that the aluminum tubes were to be used for a
nuclear-related purpose.
(Ironically, at one point, before he had reviewed the one-page summary,
Hadley considered declassifying it because it said nothing about the Niger
intelligence information being untrue. However, after reviewing the summary
and realizing that it would have disclosed presidential knowledge that INR
and DOE had doubts about the tubes, senior Bush administration officials
became preoccupied with ensuring that the text of the document remained
classified, according to an account provided by an administration official.)
On July 22, the White House arranged yet another briefing for reporters
regarding the Niger controversy. Hadley, when asked whether there was any
reason that the president should have hesitated in citing Iraq's procurement
of aluminum tubes as evidence of Saddam's nuclear ambitions, answered, "It
is an assessment in which the director and the CIA stand by to this day.
And, therefore, we have every reason to be confident."
Later that summer, the Senate Intelligence Committee launched an
investigation of intelligence agencies to determine why they failed to
accurately assess that Saddam had no viable programs to develop chemical,
biological, or nuclear weapons at the time of the U.S. invasion.
As National Journal first disclosed on its Web site on October 27, 2005,
Cheney, Libby, and Cheney's current chief of staff, David Addington,
rejected advice given to them by other White House officials and decided to
withhold from the committee crucial documents that might have shown that
administration claims about Saddam's capabilities often went beyond
information provided by the CIA and other intelligence agencies. Among those
documents was the President's Summary of the October 2002 National
Intelligence Estimate.
In July 2004, when the Intelligence Committee released a 511-page report on
its investigation of prewar intelligence by the CIA and other agencies, Sen.
Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said in his own "Additional Views" to the report,
"Concurrent with the production of a National Intelligence Estimate is the
production of a one-page President's Summary of the NIE. A one-page
President's Summary was completed and disseminated for the October 2002 NIE
.. though there is no mention of this fact in [this] report. These one-page
NIE summaries are ... written exclusively for the president and senior
policy makers and are therefore tailored for that audience."
Durbin concluded, "In determining what the president was told about the
contents of the NIE dealing with Iraq's weapons of mass destruction --
qualifiers and all -- there is nothing clearer than this single page."
*
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: Digital US "Debt Clock" Can't Keep Up
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/119ec30ebe51591b
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:56 am
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Digital US "Debt Clock" Can't Keep Up
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
AFP via Yahoo - Mar 27, 2006
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060328/bs_afp/afplifestyleusbudgetclock;_ylt=AlJ5m0eV3CMfNO9CpYfikB.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ
Digital "US debt clock" running out of time, space
Tick, 20,000 dollars, tock, another 20,000 dollars.
So rapid is the rise of the US national debt, that the last four digits of a
giant digital signboard counting the moving total near New York's Times
Square move in seemingly random increments as they struggle to keep pace.
The national debt clock, as it is known, is a big clock. A spot-check last
week showed a readout of 8.3 trillion -- or more precisely 8,310,200,545,702
- -- dollars ... and counting.
But it's not big enough.
Sometime in the next two years, the total amount of US government borrowing
is going to break through the 10-trillion-dollar mark and, lacking space for
the extra digit such a figure would require, the clock is in danger of
running itself into obsolescence.
The clock's owner, real estate developer Douglas Durst, knew such a problem
could arise but hadn't counted on it so soon.
"We really expected it to be quite some time," Durst told AFP. "But now,
with the pace of debt growth only increasing, we're looking at maybe two
years and certainly before President (George W.) Bush leaves office in
2009."
The clock was the invention of Durst's father, Seymour Durst, who nursed a
keen sense of fiscal responsibility and believed government profligacy to be
a national curse.
The elder Durst, who died in 1995, originally thought of the idea in the
early 1980s as the US budget deficit started to mount during the presidency
of Ronald Reagan, but the technology was not immediately available to
realise his vision.
The original 11 foot by 26 foot (3.3 meter by 8.9 meter) clock was
eventually erected a block from Manhattan's Times Square in 1989 when the
national debt stood at 2.7 trillion.
For the next decade it tracked, odometer style, the government's red ink
with an extra feature which, by dividing the main figure by the number of
families in the country, offered an estimate for how much each family owed
as their share.
Toward the close of the millennium, with a booming economy fuelling annual
budget surpluses, the clock began to slow and finally ran into its first
mechanical problem.
"It wasn't designed to run backwards," Douglas Durst explained.
Believing that the signboard had served its purpose, the Dursts pulled the
plug in 2000 with the debt total showing around 5.7 trillion dollars and the
individual "family share" standing at close to 74,000 dollars.
The clock was covered with a red, white and blue curtain, but not
dismantled.
"We'll have it ready in case things start turning around, which I'm sure
they will," Durst said at the time.
He only had to wait two years as the Bush presidency coincided with an
upsurge in borrowing. The curtain was raised in 2002 and the digital readout
flickered back to life showing a national debt of 6.1 trillion dollars with
the numerals whizzing round faster than ever.
In 2004, the old clock was torn down and replaced with a newer model which
had optimistically been modified to run backwards should such a happy
necessity arise.
Instead the debt continued to rise at such a rate that the once unthinkable
total of 10 trillion dollars veered from alarmist fantasy into the realm of
impending reality.
"When it became clear what was going to happen, our first thought was to
free up the digital square occupied by the dollar sign so that we could cope
with a 14th digit," Durst said.
The latest plan is for yet another replacement, involving a larger scale
signboard.
"We're not happy at the impact we're making with this one," he said.
Durst insists that the clock is non-partisan in its effort to shame the
federal government over what he sees as its willingness to gamble away the
nation's future.
"We're a family business," Durst said. "We think generationally, and we
don't want to see the next generation crippled by this burden," he said.
Last week, the "family share" readout on the clock stood some loose change
short of 90,000 dollars.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse.
*
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TOPIC: Phone Trail Backs Italian Kidnap Case Against CIA
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/fde8dcfb385ee170
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:56 am
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Phone Trail Backs Italian Kidnap Case Against CIA
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
Reuters - Mar 31, 2006
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-03-31T135609Z_01_L31693276_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-ITALY-USA.xml
Phone Trail Backs Italian Kidnap Case Against CIA
By Phil Stewart
ROME (Reuters) - Prosecutors hoping to put 22 CIA agents on trial in Italy
for kidnapping a Muslim cleric there say they have gleaned new evidence from
German phone records, a well-placed judicial source said.
The CIA agents are accused of grabbing Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr off a Milan
street in 2003 and flying him for interrogation in Egypt, where he has said
he was tortured.
One of the main arguments in the Italian prosecutors' case is that Nasr was
flown from Italy to a U.S. military base in Ramstein, Germany, before
changing planes and heading to Egypt.
Ramstein was first identified partly by Nasr's description of how long he
spent in the air and from examination of outbound flights at the Aviano
military base north of Venice, which is used by the U.S. Air Force.
New checks into German phone records -- including at the Ramstein air base
and a hotel -- have produced more evidence of the stopover, the source at
the Milan prosecutors' office said.
"This confirms and strengthens the body of evidence," said the source, who
declined to be named.
"It's clear that there is a link between Aviano and Ramstein and there are
some people (linked to the operation in Italy) who are also present in
Germany."
Italian investigators had been wiretapping Nasr before his abduction and
accuse him of ties to al Qaeda and recruiting combatants for Iraq, according
to court documents and Milan prosecutors. The investigators say the CIA
pulled the plug on a promising probe when they abducted him from the
country.
An Italian judge has called the kidnap a breach of Italian sovereignty. Nasr
was briefly released from Egyptian custody in 2004 and recounted his ordeal
in phone calls to Italy, before being re-arrested.
GERMAN CHECKS
In Germany, the prosecutor investigating the Nasr affair, Eberhard Bayer,
said Italian prosecutors had asked him to check 26 German phone numbers
related to the Nasr case.
"About seven or eight are numbers at the airbase in Ramstein and belong
probably to a communications squadron. But we can't find out who took the
calls because the Americans aren't giving us any information," Bayer said.
"Two numbers belong to hotels in Germany. In one we established a woman had
stayed who also played a part in Italy -- a cheque card was used that was
also (used) in Italy."
The European Parliament and the Council of Europe are watching the Italian
case carefully as they move ahead with their own investigations into
suspected U.S. anti-terrorism activity, including running secret prisons in
eastern Europe.
Several European countries have sought explanations from the United States
over the suspected use of military bases on the continent for "rendition", a
process whereby terrorism suspects are secretly transferred to third
countries, including states known to practice torture.
Italian prosecutors plan to close their case against the 22 CIA agents
around April 10, the source said, a procedural step that would pave the way
for them to seek a trial in absentia -- since the United States is unlikely
to hand over the suspects.
A trial could bring more information to the public domain, including details
on who accompanied Nasr to Germany and Egypt.
"On the cardinal question of who was in the plane (with Abu Omar) and who
got out in Ramstein, we have got no further at all ... the Americans are
giving us no information at all," Bayer told Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Mark Trevelyan in Berlin)
© Reuters 2006
*
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: 9/11 Trial: FBI vs Al Qaeda - A Tale of 2 Orgs
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/4c5aa1df9b00f898
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:56 am
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
9/11 Trial: FBI vs Al Qaeda - A Tale of 2 Orgs
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
The New York Times - Mar 31, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/us/nationalspecial3/31plot.html
At Sept. 11 Trial, Tale of Missteps and Management
By SCOTT SHANE and NEIL A. LEWIS
WASHINGTON, March 30 Three weeks of testimony and dozens of documents
released in the sentencing of Zacarias Moussaoui have offered an eerie
parallel view of two organizations, Al Qaeda and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and how they pursued their missions before the attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001.
Al Qaeda, according to a newly revealed account from the chief plotter,
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, took its time in choosing targets attack the White
House or perhaps a nuclear plant in Pennsylvania? Organizers sized up and
selected operatives, teaching them how to apply for a visa and how to cut a
throat, a skill they practiced on sheep and camels. Despite the mistakes of
careless subordinates and an erratic boss, Osama bin Laden, Mr. Mohammed
tried to keep the plot on course.
Mr. Mohammed, a Pakistani-born, American-trained engineer, "thought
simplicity was the key to success," says the summary of his interrogation by
the Central Intelligence Agency. It is all the more chilling for the banal
managerial skills it ascribes to the man who devised the simultaneous air
attacks.
If Mr. Mohammed's guiding principle was simplicity, the United States
government relied on sprawling bureaucracies at feuding agencies to look for
myriad potential threats. The C.I.A. had lots of information on two
hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar, but the F.B.I. did not know
the men had settled in San Diego, where Mr. Mohammed had instructed them to
"spend time visiting museums and amusement parks" so they could masquerade
as tourists.
At the F.B.I., a few agents pursued clues that would later prove
tantalizingly close to the mark, but they could not draw attention from top
counterterrorism officials. A Minnesota F.B.I. agent, Harry M. Samit, warned
in a memorandum that Mr. Moussaoui was a dangerous Islamic extremist whose
study of how to fly a Boeing 747-400 seemed to be part of a sinister plot.
"As the details of this plan are not yet fully known, it cannot be
determined if Moussaoui has sufficient knowledge of the 747-400 to attempt
to execute the seizure of such an aircraft," Mr. Samit wrote on Aug. 31,
2001. He had already urged Washington to act quickly, because it was not
clear "how far advanced Moussaoui's plan is or how many unidentified
co-conspirators exist."
But to high-level officials, the oddball Moroccan-born Frenchman in
Minneapolis was only one of scores of possible terrorists who might be worth
checking out. An F.B.I. official in Washington edited crucial details out of
Mr. Samit's memorandums seeking a search warrant for Mr. Moussaoui's
possessions, and said that pressing for it could hurt an agent's career, Mr.
Samit testified.
The picture of a large and lumbering bureaucracy trying to defend against a
small and flexible enemy is striking, said Timothy J. Roemer, a member of
the national Sept. 11 commission.
"It's like the elephant fighting the snake," said Mr. Roemer, a former
Democratic congressman from Indiana. "One of the impressions of Al Qaeda and
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is their ability to change course and put new people
into their plan and dynamically respond to the challenges day to day."
The United States government, he said, "is almost the opposite."
"We're slow to change," he said, "slow to adjust, and we're building a huge
bureaucracy."
The court testimony, Mr. Roemer said, has reinforced his belief that
"Moussaoui was an Al Qaeda mistake and a missed opportunity for the F.B.I."
The jury at Mr. Moussaoui's sentencing trial in federal court in Alexandria,
Va., began deliberating on Wednesday about whether he qualifies for the
death penalty for not telling American officials of the approaching
terrorist attacks. If jurors decide he does qualify, they will then have to
make a second decision as to whether he should be executed.
The outlines of the events on both sides in the weeks leading to the Sept.
11 attacks are well known. But the voluminous evidence presented at the
trial have added details and color to the public history of the plotters and
how American counterterrorism officers failed to stop them.
There are snippets of highly classified National Security Agency cables and
glimpses of the C.I.A. inspector general's report on the agency's
performance before the attacks, which remains secret. There are numerous new
F.B.I. e-mail messages and memorandums that fill in the details of agents'
suspicions and why they were not heeded.
But the 58-page "Substitution for the Testimony of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,"
a detailed account of what Mr. Mohammed has told investigators since his
capture in Pakistan in 2003, and an attached two-page statement written by
him, give the most direct view to date of the man who conceived and
organized the attacks.
"I know that the materialistic Western mind cannot grasp the idea, and it is
difficult for them to believe that the high officials in Al Qaeda do not
know about operations carried out by its operatives, but this is how it
works," Mr. Mohammed wrote in his statement to his interrogators. "We do not
submit written reports to our higher ups. I conducted the September 11
operation by submitting only oral reports."
Mr. Mohammed comes across as a hands-on, midlevel manager who sometimes
handled details, like perusing a San Diego telephone book he bought at a
market in Karachi, Pakistan, for English-language schools and flight
schools.
But he delegated what he could to others. He had Abu Turab al Jordani, a
Qaeda veteran from Jordan, train the less sophisticated "muscle" hijackers,
teaching them to use their knives on animals and how to storm a jetliner
cabin. He allowed Mohammed Atta, appointed "emir" of the hijackers, to make
final decisions on targets and on the date of the attack.
Mr. bin Laden repeatedly pressed Mr. Mohammed to move ahead with the
hijacking plot, the document says. He pushed, for example, to strike on May
12, precisely seven months after the 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole. Ever
the pragmatist, Mr. Mohammed put him off. In fact, Mr. Mohammed "noted that
he disobeyed bin Laden on several occasions by taking operatives assigned to
him by bin Laden and using them how he best saw fit."
One restriction on the plot was the small number of Qaeda devotees who had,
or could get, visas to enter the United States. Mr. Mohammed used Mr. Midhar
and Mr. Hazmi because they had visas despite his doubts about their
minimal English and lack of sophistication.
But he also considered Mr. Moussaoui less reliable because of time he had
spent in the West. Mr. Mohammed "stated that Westerners have a different
point of view because of their freedom," the summary says.
The sentencing trial made clear the frustration of the Minneapolis F.B.I.
office in its repeated efforts to interest bureau headquarters in Mr.
Moussaoui.
Gripping testimony came from Mr. Samit, who arrested Mr. Moussaoui on Aug.
16 and quickly became convinced that he was a terrorist who knew about an
imminent hijacking plot. Mr. Samit said that he had sent about 70 warning
messages about Mr. Moussaoui, but that they had produced no results.
The agent said he had been puzzled at the reluctance of Michael Maltbie, a
supervisor with the Radical Fundamentalist Unit at bureau headquarters, to
seek a search warrant for Mr. Moussaoui's belongings from a special
intelligence court.
Mr. Samit seemed unable to satisfy Mr. Maltbie's demand that he provide a
tangible link between Mr. Moussaoui and a foreign power, a requirement for a
warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He thought he had
sufficient evidence from two French intelligence reports showing Mr.
Moussaoui had recruited someone to fight in Chechnya for an Islamist group
allied with Mr. bin Laden.
But on Aug. 24, 2001, a frustrated Mr. Samit sent an e-mail message to
Charles Frahm, a friend and, at the time, an F.B.I. liaison to the C.I.A.,
asking for information to help make his case. "We're trying to close the
wiggle room for F.B.I. headquarters to claim there is no connection to a
foreign power," he wrote.
Mr. Moussaoui's lawyers asserted that Mr. Maltbie had undermined the effort
to obtain a search warrant by deleting some details from Mr. Samit's
requests. Mr. Samit said Mr. Maltbie had told him he was reluctant to press
for a warrant because doing so would be risky for his career and "he was not
about to let that happen to him."
At the time, the bureau had become wary of applying to the intelligence
court because a well-regarded supervisor had angered the court's chief judge
in a previous case.
Days later, with the attacks in New York and Washington, the scale of the
destruction astonished even Mr. Mohammed. According to the summary, he said
he "had no idea that the damage of the first attack would be as catastrophic
as it was."
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
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TOPIC: US Demands Files from ISPs, Tech Firms
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/2ad9e8584c483b49
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Mar 31 2006 11:56 am
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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US Demands Files from ISPs, Tech Firms
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
AP via Yahoo - Mar 31, 2006
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060331/ap_on_hi_te/internet_blocking&printer=1;_ylt=AgzSklot1dYKon.9BxBe1X5k24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-
U.S. Demands Files From ISPs, Tech Firms
By MARYCLAIRE DALE
Associated Press Writer
The Justice Department is demanding internal files from dozens of Internet
service providers and other technology firms as it seeks to defend a
controversial Internet child protection law.
The subpoenas are similar to one given to Google Inc., which waged a
partially successful battle over the government's request for millions of
pieces of information about search engine requests and Web site domains.
InformationWeek magazine unearthed subpoenas that show the government also
demanded information from at least 34 other companies, including Internet
service providers such as Comcast Corp. and EarthLink Inc., security
software firms and other technology companies.
The subpoenas, which the magazine obtained through Freedom of Information
Act requests, show the Justice Department preparing for an October trial in
Philadelphia over the 1996 Child Online Protection Act. It is not clear
which companies are complying, and to what extent.
"That money could be spent so much more wisely on giving software away to
parents that are having these problems," Dan Jude, president of Security
Software Systems, said of the litigation costs.
The 12-person firm, which makes filtering software, spent more than 40 hours
trying to comply with the subpoena, he said. The company refused to provide
some information on proprietary grounds, fearing it could make its way into
the court file.
"If that information gets out in the public, we've just lost our competitive
edge," Jude said Thursday. The subpoena also sought information the company
does not keep, such as customer satisfaction, he said.
Department of Justice spokesman Charles Miller did not immediately return a
message Thursday afternoon.
The subpoenas also went to companies including AT&T Inc., Cox Communications
Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Symantec Corp.
The U.S. Supreme Court has twice said the law which would criminalize
Internet material deemed "harmful to children" as defined by "contemporary
community standards" is likely to violate First Amendment protections and
granted preliminary injunctions.
Critics say that definition is so broad it would stifle free speech, and
also note that pornographers and others could simply base their operations
offshore, beyond the reach of U.S. authorities.
Online publishers who are challenging the law argue that filters are a less
restrictive way to protect children. The publishers, which include sexual
health sites, a gay newspaper and the online magazine Salon.com, are
represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
"Our overarching concern over what the government is doing (with the
subpoenas) stems from the 'why,' what is it they're actually trying to
accomplish?" said David McGuire, a spokesman for the Center for Democracy
and Technology in Washington. "It doesn't seem reasonable."
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press.
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