February 5/6 2006 -- Neo-cons use Denmark as their latest tool to bring about the "Clash of Civilizations." Denmark is at the center of the ongoing neo-con plot to bring about a bloody military confrontation between the West and Islam. This "Clash of Civilizations" is a hallmark of the neo-con philosophy and is most exemplified in the writings of Prof. Samuel Huntington and Daniel Pipes.
This follows a pattern of neo-con activity designed to ratchet up tensions. The latest example was the rapid spread of arson across France and Belgium involving neo-Nazis, skinheads, and false flag agents that was blamed entirely on Muslims upset about the deaths of two Muslim youths in a northern Paris suburb. French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy stoked the flames with his rhetoric about Muslim "scum" just as Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen defended the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed in an offensive manner in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten as a freedom of speech issue.
Neo-con Rasmussen covered with red paint thrown by a protestor. He uses Denmark as a tool for the global neo-con "Clash of Civilizations" criminal conspiracy.
Rasmussen, who is one of George W. Bush's leading supporters in the war in Iraq (Denmark has sent several hundreds troops), governs with the support of the neo-fascist, xenophobic, and inappropriately-named Danish "People's Party." After riots in Arhus, Denmark (at the same time as the arson attacks spread across France, Belgium, and a few German cities), other newspapers in the West began publishing the same cartoons. Danish embassies in Damascus and Beirut have now been set on fire and tensions (and terrorist alerts) have been raised in many countries where the cartoons have been republished. Coffee mugs, T-shirts, and key chains are now being sold on the Internet depicting the offensive images. Cui bono? Who benefits? These tactics, of course, are very convenient for the neo-cons.
Neo-con media outlets such as The New York Sun, Fox News, and others are having a field day with the Muslim riots that have spread around the world in protest over the cartoons just as they had with the French "Muslim" arson attacks. Two New Zealand papers -- The Dominion Post in Wellington and The Press in Christchurch, have published their own controversial cartoons of Mohammed. The papers are owned by Australia's Fairfax Group, which also owns Melbourne's Age, and which was once financially connected to indicted neo-con Lord Conrad Black's scandal-ridden Hollinger publishing empire, which also includes arch neo-con Richard Perle. The Fairfax Group generally adheres to the neo-con corporatist party line.
The neo-cons ignore and even relish in the offensive nature of the inflammatory cartoons depicting Mohammed as a bomb throwing terrorist and pedophile. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell have made similar comments about the Prophet that Muslims consider blasphemous. What would the neo-cons say if newspapers published cartoons showing a shady looking Moses stealing gold and silver artifacts from the Pharaoh's palace before high tailing it across the Red Sea in the middle of the night? Or a wine-drunk Jesus cavorting with prostitutes in the red light district of Jerusalem? There is no doubt that rabbis and evangelical preachers would be calling for the heads of the offending cartoonists and editors. They've done so for far less.
Moses: "I grabbed ten of the Pharaoh's best urns. I have a list here." Jesus: "I've got the wine. Where are the Jerusalem girls?" See why Muslims are so outraged by unflattering cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed? The neo-cons relish in constant religious warfare, which they have now re-coined "the Long War."
With so many hotheads in the three Abrahamic tradition religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), such inflammatory speech is like yelling fire in a crowded movie theater. The Danish Prime Minister is wrong when he states that the offensive cartoons are protected speech. He would certainly not defend someone who yelled fire in a crowded Copenhagen theater. And struggling Danish farmers, bakers, and fishermen will now pay the price for the boycott of Danish exports by Muslim countries. Lego stockholders will suffer from a boycott of the toy company's products.
But Rasmussen, like Sarkozy, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Netanyahu, Jack Straw, and Australia's John Howard, is marching to the martial music of the neo-cons. They are the shock troops for the Clash of Civilizations, Project for a New American Century, The Long War, A Clean Break, and all the other neo-con plots, conspiracies, and contrivances. It's clearly time to investigate the neo-cons, their networks, their funding sources, their media ownership and investments, their doctrines, their false flag terrorist operations, and their political contributions. Just as Islamist terrorists, they should be rounded up as dangerous members of society and detained until they no longer pose a threat to public safety and the global commonwealth.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Subject: Millions of U.S. Dollars Sent to Venezuelan Opposition--Your Help is Needed
OTI Funneling Money To Venezuelan Opposition Parties
On February 6 2006, an investigative report in the Christian Science Monitor revealed previously undisclosed details about a U.S. program to fund opposition organizations in Venezuela in the leadup to this year's presidential elections. The Office for Transition Initiatives, a little-known division of USAID, is chaneling millions of U.S. tax dollars to fund anti-Chavez organizations.
Read the story
Many Americans have raised concerns about similar efforts by the National Endowment for Democracy to fund non-democratic movements in Venezuela, but the scope of the OTI projects is exponentially larger. What's more, the OTI acknowledges that it is an "overtly political" organization, and will play a large role in Venezuela's presidential elections.
Since first elected in 1998, President Chavez has faced a failed coup attempt, a crippling nationwide oil lockout, and a referendum that attempted to cut short his term. Each time, massive popular support kept the president in office. It is time that the U.S. government accept the will of the Venezuelan people, and allow them to live by the principals of democracy without outside interference.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Please make your voice heard on this issue today! By clicking here, you will be transferred to our Action Center, where you will be able to forward this article to your member of Congress with a personalized message.
Cuban Doctors leave for affected areas of Bolivia
SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA, February 3 (PL).— Members of the Cuban medical brigade who have gone to Bolivia to help the victims of the heavy rains left today for the affected areas to initiate their labors.
The leader of the group Daniel Posadas, informed Prensa Latina that 140 professionals are to be distributed in a total of 47 towns in Santa Cruz province.
At least two doctors will go to each of the communities and larger groups have been formed for more populated areas.
Each brigadista will take two backpacks with 13 kilograms of medicines and work materials, he explained, while highlighting the warm welcome they have received from the Bolivians.
The Cuban professionals arrived yesterday in this city in eastern Bolivia, with Luis Felipe Vázquez, the Cuban ambassador to Bolivia, and were received by MarÃa Luisa Ramos, deputy minister of International Economic Relations, and Santa Cruz City Councilor Oswaldo Pérez from the governing Movement Toward Socialism (MAS).
Subsequently the ambassador met with President Evo Morales and handed him a donation from the Cuban government of $100,000 in cash.
With emotion, the head of state thanked President Fidel Castro and the people of Cuba and Rubén Costas, the prefect of Santa Cruz, affirmed that he was very touched by the help and asked the diplomat to transmit thanks from the people of Santa Cruz to his government.
During the welcome event for the doctors at Santa Cruz airport, Peredo, younger brother of the legendary guerrillas Inti and Coco, combatants in Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara’s guerrilla army, expressed his thanks for the Cuban solidarity in his quality as “Bolivariano and Guevariano.”
For his part, Ambassador Vázquez noted that the Cuban doctors have a wide experience due to having worked in Pakistan, Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, Haiti and other countries, and have brought 20 mobile hospitals ready for installation wherever they are needed.
The leader of the group Daniel Posadas, informed Prensa Latina that 140 professionals are to be distributed in a total of 47 towns in Santa Cruz province.
At least two doctors will go to each of the communities and larger groups have been formed for more populated areas.
Each brigadista will take two backpacks with 13 kilograms of medicines and work materials, he explained, while highlighting the warm welcome they have received from the Bolivians.
The Cuban professionals arrived yesterday in this city in eastern Bolivia, with Luis Felipe Vázquez, the Cuban ambassador to Bolivia, and were received by MarÃa Luisa Ramos, deputy minister of International Economic Relations, and Santa Cruz City Councilor Oswaldo Pérez from the governing Movement Toward Socialism (MAS).
Subsequently the ambassador met with President Evo Morales and handed him a donation from the Cuban government of $100,000 in cash.
With emotion, the head of state thanked President Fidel Castro and the people of Cuba and Rubén Costas, the prefect of Santa Cruz, affirmed that he was very touched by the help and asked the diplomat to transmit thanks from the people of Santa Cruz to his government.
During the welcome event for the doctors at Santa Cruz airport, Peredo, younger brother of the legendary guerrillas Inti and Coco, combatants in Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara’s guerrilla army, expressed his thanks for the Cuban solidarity in his quality as “Bolivariano and Guevariano.”
For his part, Ambassador Vázquez noted that the Cuban doctors have a wide experience due to having worked in Pakistan, Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, Haiti and other countries, and have brought 20 mobile hospitals ready for installation wherever they are needed.
WE GO IN THE FINAL HOUR, TO THE MOST IMPORTANT LINE OF BATTLE: THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES by Harry Belafonte
On January 20-22, 2006, the International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration (www.bushcommission.org) held an unprecedented citizen’s tribunal at Riverside Church in New York City to examine, with rigor and substance, whether the Bush Administration is guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Internationally-known expert witnesses and whistle blowers, including former commander of Abu Ghraib prison Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray, and former UN arms inspector Scott Ritter, testified in the areas of war, torture, global environment, global health, and Katrina. The Commission’s summary findings will be released on February 2, 2006 at the National Press Club in Washington DC at 9:30am.
The following remarks by Harry Belafonte opened this historic session.
Thank you very much. I would to first express my great sense of privilege, and opportunity to be part of this evening’s tribunal and what we will be seeing and hearing. I would like to also extend my respects to the panel and to the tasks you have before you, and what we will be hearing.
It is most gratuitous that this should be taking place at the end of a week of celebration of the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This nation has never, ever produced a greater citizen, who stood and still stands for the principles for why we are all gathered here: the pursuit of justice, the pursuit of human rights, the pursuit of human dignity.
Theodore Roosevelt once said that when the powers of state, that having been mandated to reach out and to protect the interest of the people, begin to usurp the Constitution and undermine our laws, that it is the responsibility of the citizens to rise up and to speak against this process. And to in fact insist upon the changing of the guard, the changing of regime. (Applause) And those, those citizens who fail to hear that call, in fact should be charged with patriotic treason. (Applause) I think none gathered here this evening can be so charged.
It is important when all the instruments of government collapse, we go in the final hour, to the most important line of battle: the people themselves. The people of this nation, I think, and I know it, are awake, and are being more awakened every day. They are hearing and sensing the danger that sits on the horizon. Looking at the international oppressions that we are a part of, looking at how we have violated international humanity and law, one day this tribunal I hope, will reach out, and in its investigation look at the oppression and illegal experiences people in this nation are experiencing themselves.
On 9/11, we were all stunned by the tragic events that took place when the Twin Towers collapsed, and this terrorism was put upon our people. Two thousand lost their lives. Two thousand who were innocent, two thousand who did not cause war. And we said they were terrorists and we should hunt them down and bring them to justice. Tell me, where for you does the line blur?
When a nation as powerful as this, the most powerful in the history of human existence, and those who have dubiously come to power and who are reigning over the will of this nation, when they lie and mislead the citizens of this country, when they put before us fear and then govern by terrorism—where does the line blur for you? When our sons and daughters are sent to die in foreign battlefields, each day we claim the lives of tens and thousands of innocent men, women, and children, in other places—where for you does terrorism end and where does it begin, and who are the terrorists? (Applause).
Those who would choose to detract [from] the real meaning of this tribunal, the real meaning of this people’s moment, would suggest to you that we are somehow perhaps irrelevant. Well, I guess Paul Revere was considered at one point irrelevant, when he called for the alarm against the red coats.
I know very well that at the beginning, Dr. Martin Luther King was considered irrelevant. I know that there are so many that have called for the awakening of our citizens to look at what is happening to us and to seize our rights to put us back into democratic governance. Always in the beginning, we are minimalized, marginalized and relegated to the dustbins of history. We have prevailed before and we will prevail again.
I am honored to be a part of this process, and anything I can do to help broaden its base, to help broaden its inquiry, and to help save the soul of our nation, I welcome the opportunity and I will so serve. Thank you.
The following remarks by Harry Belafonte opened this historic session.
Thank you very much. I would to first express my great sense of privilege, and opportunity to be part of this evening’s tribunal and what we will be seeing and hearing. I would like to also extend my respects to the panel and to the tasks you have before you, and what we will be hearing.
It is most gratuitous that this should be taking place at the end of a week of celebration of the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This nation has never, ever produced a greater citizen, who stood and still stands for the principles for why we are all gathered here: the pursuit of justice, the pursuit of human rights, the pursuit of human dignity.
Theodore Roosevelt once said that when the powers of state, that having been mandated to reach out and to protect the interest of the people, begin to usurp the Constitution and undermine our laws, that it is the responsibility of the citizens to rise up and to speak against this process. And to in fact insist upon the changing of the guard, the changing of regime. (Applause) And those, those citizens who fail to hear that call, in fact should be charged with patriotic treason. (Applause) I think none gathered here this evening can be so charged.
It is important when all the instruments of government collapse, we go in the final hour, to the most important line of battle: the people themselves. The people of this nation, I think, and I know it, are awake, and are being more awakened every day. They are hearing and sensing the danger that sits on the horizon. Looking at the international oppressions that we are a part of, looking at how we have violated international humanity and law, one day this tribunal I hope, will reach out, and in its investigation look at the oppression and illegal experiences people in this nation are experiencing themselves.
On 9/11, we were all stunned by the tragic events that took place when the Twin Towers collapsed, and this terrorism was put upon our people. Two thousand lost their lives. Two thousand who were innocent, two thousand who did not cause war. And we said they were terrorists and we should hunt them down and bring them to justice. Tell me, where for you does the line blur?
When a nation as powerful as this, the most powerful in the history of human existence, and those who have dubiously come to power and who are reigning over the will of this nation, when they lie and mislead the citizens of this country, when they put before us fear and then govern by terrorism—where does the line blur for you? When our sons and daughters are sent to die in foreign battlefields, each day we claim the lives of tens and thousands of innocent men, women, and children, in other places—where for you does terrorism end and where does it begin, and who are the terrorists? (Applause).
Those who would choose to detract [from] the real meaning of this tribunal, the real meaning of this people’s moment, would suggest to you that we are somehow perhaps irrelevant. Well, I guess Paul Revere was considered at one point irrelevant, when he called for the alarm against the red coats.
I know very well that at the beginning, Dr. Martin Luther King was considered irrelevant. I know that there are so many that have called for the awakening of our citizens to look at what is happening to us and to seize our rights to put us back into democratic governance. Always in the beginning, we are minimalized, marginalized and relegated to the dustbins of history. We have prevailed before and we will prevail again.
I am honored to be a part of this process, and anything I can do to help broaden its base, to help broaden its inquiry, and to help save the soul of our nation, I welcome the opportunity and I will so serve. Thank you.
Chicken-hawk cowards... Why is it OK with the American people?
VHeadline.com commentarist Mary MacElveen writes: In reading US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's remarks when he stated we can be at war for the next 20 years in order to fight the war on terrorism, which I am of the opinion cannot be won: My message to Bush and company is that you cannot have our sons' and daughters'. I say daughters', because I put nothing past the (G)rand (O)ppresive (P)arty.
Also, while there is no talk of a draft right now, that is for one specific reason ... this is an election year here in the United States. No, not a presidential election (although, how I wish it were!) but an all important mid-term election.
So, will the GOP bring this issue up if they want to maintain their strangle hold on both houses and keep control over this country? Of course not.
While many may look to send their sons' and daughters' to Canada as was done to evade the draft during the Viet Nam War, let me remind you that a Bush-friendly Prime Minister was just sworn in and his name is, Stephen Harper ... I really do not think he will give safe haven to those seeking to avoid this draft.
The chicken-hawks who start these wars, do not really believe in a sense of duty to country when they themselves have never served ... unlike President Chavez, who served in the military in Venezuela.
These chicken-hawks are cowards...
Sure they can start a war, but they will send others to fight it ... they will stand right in front of our troops using them as props and grand stand, but they will never place their own in our soldier's boots.
They will not tolerate their own coming home in caskets, without limbs, plagued with illnesses due to depleted uranium or where in some cases, have committed suicide by cop as was the case of Specialist Doug Barber took his own life because he was suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). On January 17, he reached the end of his rope, having to fight for any of the health benefits he so rightly deserved.
Why is this okay with the American people?
I do not have an answer for that one...
As reported in: A Soldier for Truth Has Fallen ... “For some reason Doug decided he could no longer bear the ongoing pain, agony and inner torment.” I was horrified as I read: “The Lee County, Alabama sheriff’s department was on the scene trying to talk Doug out of it for over 30 minutes. The investigating officer has stated that every effort was made to stop the situation and save Doug’s life. Doug apparently turned his back to the officers, fired one shot, and ended his life.”
Is this what awaits our sons and daughters as they fight these wars for twenty years?
You may say to yourself: Oh the draft will never come back, but according to Former Weapons Inspector Warns of US-Iran War this is what Scott Ritter had to say: “the Bush administration is fixing intelligence around policy on Iran," and that it could lead to a new US war in the Middle East. He noted that the administration used a similar approach in its current war in Iraq ... "There is nothing to prevent the president from going to war in Iran. He has no respect for checks and balances. We're heading toward Tehran unless we get representatives in Congress who respect the constitution of the United States."
Respect the Constitution?
What a novel idea seeing that it has been treated like a "god damn piece of paper" by Bush and his fellow cronies.
If there is anyone to believe in this country, it is Scott Ritter who is an expert in these affairs. Do not believe what Bush tells you or what congress tells you, but believe what Scott Ritter tells you. After all, he was correct with regards to Iraq, and this government dismissed his assertions that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
Who proved to be correct?
Those elected officials in the (US) congress should have gone to him as the go to guy, instead of believing Bush's bogus intelligence. Yes, folks, Bush lied and soldiers died. Scott Ritter, the former arms inspector, was on the ground in Iraq searching for these weapons and found none.
Was Bush or our congress members? No they were not.
With tensions rising between Venezuela and the United States where just recently the Venezuelan government expelled US naval captain John Correa on charges of espionage (for trying to get Venezuelan officers to hand over state secrets), the United States government retaliated by declaring a senior Venezuelan embassy’s Chief of Staff, Jenny Figueredo Frias persona non grata and gave her 72 hours to leave the United States.
With President Hugo Chavez Frias looking to purchase more military weapons from Russia and threatening to stop supplying Americans with his country’s oil, those are as well dangerous signs of a possible invasion of Venezuela.
So, while we are engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, we may also be at some point engaged in war fare with such nations as Iran and yes Venezuela.
Which all begs the question: How will we fight on so many battle fields when we do not have the necessary numbers in order to do so?
Should the GOP retain both houses in this year’s mid-term election, will it embolden them even more to bring back the draft? I would dare to say yes. In order to fight these many wars for as long as Rumsfeld wants to, we will have no other recourse but to reinstate the draft. A volunteer force will not meet the needs of this war mongering government. As it stands, recruitment is down and what does that tell you? It tells me that really no one believes in this war and if they did, they would suit up to fight it.
Now ask yourself what this effect will have? I would say total world chaos.
Should this happen, any perceived enemy will have won.
The day we started the "Shock and Awe" campaign was truly the day of infamy and it just may last for another 20 years.
Mary MacElveen
mary@vheadline.com
Also, while there is no talk of a draft right now, that is for one specific reason ... this is an election year here in the United States. No, not a presidential election (although, how I wish it were!) but an all important mid-term election.
So, will the GOP bring this issue up if they want to maintain their strangle hold on both houses and keep control over this country? Of course not.
First of all, Bush does not see our US soldiers as freedom fighters nor as heroes. How he (Bush) sees them is collateral damage ... their lives mean nothing to Bush, especially when he has never attended one single military funeral.With the military force already over-extended around the world and not just in Iraq and Afghanistan, I do fear that the draft will come back. While a part of me wishes that it does so that the elitist's sons and daughters are also called up to suffer the horrors of war, these elitists' will truly find a way to keep them out of harms way. So, who will be left? The sons' and daughters' of blue-collar workers and others who have no power within this (USA) country.
While many may look to send their sons' and daughters' to Canada as was done to evade the draft during the Viet Nam War, let me remind you that a Bush-friendly Prime Minister was just sworn in and his name is, Stephen Harper ... I really do not think he will give safe haven to those seeking to avoid this draft.
The chicken-hawks who start these wars, do not really believe in a sense of duty to country when they themselves have never served ... unlike President Chavez, who served in the military in Venezuela.
These chicken-hawks are cowards...
Sure they can start a war, but they will send others to fight it ... they will stand right in front of our troops using them as props and grand stand, but they will never place their own in our soldier's boots.
They will not tolerate their own coming home in caskets, without limbs, plagued with illnesses due to depleted uranium or where in some cases, have committed suicide by cop as was the case of Specialist Doug Barber took his own life because he was suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). On January 17, he reached the end of his rope, having to fight for any of the health benefits he so rightly deserved.
Why is this okay with the American people?
I do not have an answer for that one...
As reported in: A Soldier for Truth Has Fallen ... “For some reason Doug decided he could no longer bear the ongoing pain, agony and inner torment.” I was horrified as I read: “The Lee County, Alabama sheriff’s department was on the scene trying to talk Doug out of it for over 30 minutes. The investigating officer has stated that every effort was made to stop the situation and save Doug’s life. Doug apparently turned his back to the officers, fired one shot, and ended his life.”
Is this what awaits our sons and daughters as they fight these wars for twenty years?
You may say to yourself: Oh the draft will never come back, but according to Former Weapons Inspector Warns of US-Iran War this is what Scott Ritter had to say: “the Bush administration is fixing intelligence around policy on Iran," and that it could lead to a new US war in the Middle East. He noted that the administration used a similar approach in its current war in Iraq ... "There is nothing to prevent the president from going to war in Iran. He has no respect for checks and balances. We're heading toward Tehran unless we get representatives in Congress who respect the constitution of the United States."
Respect the Constitution?
What a novel idea seeing that it has been treated like a "god damn piece of paper" by Bush and his fellow cronies.
If there is anyone to believe in this country, it is Scott Ritter who is an expert in these affairs. Do not believe what Bush tells you or what congress tells you, but believe what Scott Ritter tells you. After all, he was correct with regards to Iraq, and this government dismissed his assertions that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
Who proved to be correct?
Those elected officials in the (US) congress should have gone to him as the go to guy, instead of believing Bush's bogus intelligence. Yes, folks, Bush lied and soldiers died. Scott Ritter, the former arms inspector, was on the ground in Iraq searching for these weapons and found none.
Was Bush or our congress members? No they were not.
With tensions rising between Venezuela and the United States where just recently the Venezuelan government expelled US naval captain John Correa on charges of espionage (for trying to get Venezuelan officers to hand over state secrets), the United States government retaliated by declaring a senior Venezuelan embassy’s Chief of Staff, Jenny Figueredo Frias persona non grata and gave her 72 hours to leave the United States.
With President Hugo Chavez Frias looking to purchase more military weapons from Russia and threatening to stop supplying Americans with his country’s oil, those are as well dangerous signs of a possible invasion of Venezuela.
But, I do not fault President Chavez ... I fault the sheer stupidity of this GOP-led government.Any nation has the right to protect their country from any invading force and to stop shipments of their oil to a hostile nation ... or as many have come to call the United States ... a rogue nation.
So, while we are engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, we may also be at some point engaged in war fare with such nations as Iran and yes Venezuela.
Which all begs the question: How will we fight on so many battle fields when we do not have the necessary numbers in order to do so?
Should the GOP retain both houses in this year’s mid-term election, will it embolden them even more to bring back the draft? I would dare to say yes. In order to fight these many wars for as long as Rumsfeld wants to, we will have no other recourse but to reinstate the draft. A volunteer force will not meet the needs of this war mongering government. As it stands, recruitment is down and what does that tell you? It tells me that really no one believes in this war and if they did, they would suit up to fight it.
In conclusion ... many of us are already bone tired of this war in Iraq as well as Afghanistan. Many of us are already bone tired of this war on terrorism especially when we do not see any end in sight. So, I want to leave you with this thought of the ultimate blow back effect.Could some Americans and their allies begin to sympathize with those that this (USA) government have labeled the enemy?
Now ask yourself what this effect will have? I would say total world chaos.
Should this happen, any perceived enemy will have won.
The day we started the "Shock and Awe" campaign was truly the day of infamy and it just may last for another 20 years.
Mary MacElveen
mary@vheadline.com
What the Bolivarian Revolution is doing for the Venezuelan People
February 2, 2006
The social missions put forth by the Venezuelan government are a genuine salvation mission for the country. There have been great strides in the construction of this new social structure
The Bolivarian Missions are a series of social justice, social welfare, anti-poverty, and educational programs implemented under the administration of the current government. The missions are: Robinson, Ribas, Sucre, Barrio Adentro, Barrio Adentro Deportivo, Vuelvan Caras, Mercal, Guaicaipuro, Zamora, Cultura and, more recently, Negra Hipólita.
Below, we would like to show our readers the achievements and advances that each one has had.
Robinson Mission
This mission was launched on July 1, 2003, and it was used to pull millions of Venezuelans out of the shadows of ignorance.
The Robinson mission is the most important civil and military operation ever launched in Venezuela's history. This mission uses volunteers to teach reading, writing and basic math to more than 1.5 million Venezuelans who were illiterate. Each educational district gave their support for the implementation of this mission, as well as the Venezuelan armed forces.
On October 28, 2005, Venezuela was officially declared an illiteracy-free territory by UNESCO. A total of 1,482,543 Venezuelans learned to read and write; they were helped by 128,967 teachers in 136,041 classrooms. Many other governments, heads of states, personalities and organizations praised this mission.
There are currently 11,700 Venezuelans registered for the new phase of this mission.
It is worth mentioning that the Bolivarian government had the will to eradicate illiteracy. This is the first time an effort of these characteristics is put in motion and this experience could be taken into other countries in the region.
Robinson II mission is called “I can continue” and it aims to provide ongoing basic education courses to those Venezuelans who have not completed their elementary-level education. There are currently 1,468,967 Venezuelans in this mission, helped by 104,171 teachers in 99,171 classrooms.
Ribas Mission
This mission was born on October 16, 2003, and it provides remedial high school level classes to millions of Venezuelans who were forced to drop out of high school. It is named after independence hero José Félix Ribas. This mission is sponsored by the Oil and Energy ministry, as well as state-owned Pdvsa.
The goal is for this mission to be a continuation of Robinson II mission.
From 2003 to January, 2006, the Bolivarian government has helped 885,410 Venezuelans enter this mission. There are currently 578,668 Venezuelans studying in this mission with the help of 32,167 teachers, 5,177 coordinators at 8,306 school facilities nationwide. There are 32,291 classrooms and 173,834 students have received scholarships.
Sucre Mission
Sucre Mission was launched in September, 2003. The Ministry of Higher Education is in charge of this project and carries it out all around the country. The Bolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV, Spanish acronym) opens its doors to thousands of students who began to study in classrooms that were once the luxurious offices of oil oligarchs.
This program's goal is to boost the institutional synergy and community participation in order to guarantee and provide access to higher education to all high school students.
So far, this program has registered 472,363 high school graduates, 429,215 of which have been assisted and 318,381 have finished the University Introductory Program. A total of 330,346 high school graduates have registered in the education programs. Also, the mission has granted 96,412 scholarships ($100) to the poorest students, and it is checking other 2,968 scholarships.
Likewise, 10,212 teachers work for the education programs and 1,107 university villages are distributed all around the country. These examples are a proof of the determination and strategy of the State to cancel a social debt. Also, this program guarantees access to higher education to all Venezuelans.
Barrio Adentro Mission
Since April, 2003, the national government's main objective is to shape a healthcare network by providing free healthcare services to the poorest sector of the population. This is why Barrio Adentro Mission I was launched.
This mission's general objective is to provide access to healthcare assistance to 60 percent of the excluded population through the construction of 8,000 Popular Medical Centers, to provide a doctor for every 250 families (1,200 people), to increase the life expectancy of the population and to contribute to the development, growth and ageing of the population maintaining a good standard of living.
Barrio Adentro Mission I has made an important progress in this sense by providing 162,012,583 people with medical assistance, 14,716,325 people with dental assistance and 3,811,741 people with eye care assistance, by saving 31,063 lives, by giving 375,144 glasses, and by constructing 1,012 medical centers.
Barrio Adentro Mission II was launched on June 12, 2005. This mission opened 30 Integral Diagnosis Centers and 30 Integral Rehabilitation Rooms all around the country. These centers have make it possible to perform 3,936,874 lab tests, 535,631 emergency surgeries, 775,690 ultrasounds, 285,415 X-Rays, 324,936 electrocardiograms, 108 operations, 55,499 endoscopies, 1,064,339 rehabilitation traements.
Also, 200 Integral Diagnosis Centers (CDI, Spanish acronym) and Integral Rehabilitation Rooms (SRI, Spanish acronym) have been opened during these last months. 103 are already finished and they are in the endowment phase. 704 are still under construction.
Likewise, Barrio Adentro III Mission is already working. This mission has to do with the strengthening of the hospital networks all around the country in order to meet the demand of Barrio Adentro II (CDI and SRI). This project is known as People's Hospitals since it implies the modernization of hospital centers with medical and electromechanical equipment.
Barrio Adentro Mission (Sports)
This program began in February 2004 and its goal is providing sports programs for students, senior citizens, pregnant women, people with disabilities and all people wishing to improve their standard of life and health.
So far, 150,504,060 people (including all sports programs) have registered in this program. 43,976,715 people belong to sports, 25,259,343 people to physical activities at school, 980,574 people are training, 480,593 consultations and 40,417,071 recreation activities have taken place, 31,663,978 sport programs have been carried out and 7,726,786 people are registered in therapeutic sports.
The goal of this mission is to take care of national sports through sport assistance centers located in each municipality and through the Training Schools for Sport Talents (one per state), specifically for high performance sport.
Vuelvan Caras Mission
Vuelvan Caras Mission’s goal is to provide vocational training for work. People graduating from different missions must gradually incorporate into the country's economic production process and this is achieved through Vuelvan Caras Mission. This program represents the claiming for our knowledge and our creating potential and it serves the transformation of the socioeconomic model proposed by the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Since January, 2004, 6,814 cooperatives have been shaped, 130 Endogenous Development Centers are working, and there are 5,627 financed cooperatives and 264,720 graduates. The funds for these cooperatives amount to $ 423,914.
Mercal Mission
This program was created to trade and sell food and other essential products like medicines at affordable prices. It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Food’s goal for 2005 was to set up 6,000 retail locations; this means that 14,539,300 people are benefiting from this program.
Also, 6,004 Soup Kitchens are functioning; these kitchens benefit 900,600 people by giving them free meals. These meals are given to the poorest sectors of the population. Regarding nutrition and protection, 1,374,312 people living in extreme poverty have benefited from this proram.
Thanks to the products of the Corporation for Agrofood Supply and services (CASA, Spanish Acronym) and Mercal (markets), people can save up to 34 percent in comparison with the prices regulated by the State and 37 percent in comparison with the market prices.
Guaicaipuro Mission
This mission’s goal is to restore human rights to numerous indigenous communities. This program was launched in August 2004 and it has handed over 21 communal land titles to an indigenous population of 6,769 people.
The government has carried out a total of 61 projects, which represents an amount of more than 2 million dollars. The national government has financed 32 projects for a total of 600,000 dollars. Guaicaipuro Mission represents the restoration of constitutional rights to indigenous people, as well as economic development, land demarcation, strengthening of their identity, language, education, habitat and health.
Zamora Mission
Mission Zamora’s main goal is to hand over land titles to farmers in order to guarantee food for the have-nots and to bet on the social economy and endogenous development. This mission is linked to Mercal.
Since January, 2005, the government has granted 68,528 future land titles. This represents an area of 7,222,880 acres, apart from the 80 awarded titles that represent an area of 87,739 acres. There are 48 Zamora Ranches, representing a total of 56,994 acres.
Culture Mission
The Culture Mission has functioning since July, 2005 and it is a new kind of university system; that is, people graduate as Teachers in Culture. The student fee is about $230 per year. This mission has 70 tutors, 328 university teachers.
Negra Hipólita Mission
This mission is one of the newest created by the Venezuelan government. It was launched on January 14, 2006, in order to fight poverty, misery and social exclusion; thus, the government begins a new stage in the fight against these calamities.
Currently, Negra Hipólita Mission is a fact that represents the commitment to set Venezuela free from misery. Also, it is a very important effort aimed to defeat the worse kind of exclusion: poverty. The assistance is aimed at children, adolescents, adults and the elderly living in the streets, in extreme poverty, and drug-addicted individuals.
Bolivarian Achievements: Social Missions
The social missions put forth by the Venezuelan government are a genuine salvation mission for the country. There have been great strides in the construction of this new social structure
The Bolivarian Missions are a series of social justice, social welfare, anti-poverty, and educational programs implemented under the administration of the current government. The missions are: Robinson, Ribas, Sucre, Barrio Adentro, Barrio Adentro Deportivo, Vuelvan Caras, Mercal, Guaicaipuro, Zamora, Cultura and, more recently, Negra Hipólita.
Below, we would like to show our readers the achievements and advances that each one has had.
Robinson Mission
This mission was launched on July 1, 2003, and it was used to pull millions of Venezuelans out of the shadows of ignorance.
The Robinson mission is the most important civil and military operation ever launched in Venezuela's history. This mission uses volunteers to teach reading, writing and basic math to more than 1.5 million Venezuelans who were illiterate. Each educational district gave their support for the implementation of this mission, as well as the Venezuelan armed forces.
On October 28, 2005, Venezuela was officially declared an illiteracy-free territory by UNESCO. A total of 1,482,543 Venezuelans learned to read and write; they were helped by 128,967 teachers in 136,041 classrooms. Many other governments, heads of states, personalities and organizations praised this mission.
There are currently 11,700 Venezuelans registered for the new phase of this mission.
It is worth mentioning that the Bolivarian government had the will to eradicate illiteracy. This is the first time an effort of these characteristics is put in motion and this experience could be taken into other countries in the region.
Robinson II mission is called “I can continue” and it aims to provide ongoing basic education courses to those Venezuelans who have not completed their elementary-level education. There are currently 1,468,967 Venezuelans in this mission, helped by 104,171 teachers in 99,171 classrooms.
Ribas Mission
This mission was born on October 16, 2003, and it provides remedial high school level classes to millions of Venezuelans who were forced to drop out of high school. It is named after independence hero José Félix Ribas. This mission is sponsored by the Oil and Energy ministry, as well as state-owned Pdvsa.
The goal is for this mission to be a continuation of Robinson II mission.
From 2003 to January, 2006, the Bolivarian government has helped 885,410 Venezuelans enter this mission. There are currently 578,668 Venezuelans studying in this mission with the help of 32,167 teachers, 5,177 coordinators at 8,306 school facilities nationwide. There are 32,291 classrooms and 173,834 students have received scholarships.
Sucre Mission
Sucre Mission was launched in September, 2003. The Ministry of Higher Education is in charge of this project and carries it out all around the country. The Bolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV, Spanish acronym) opens its doors to thousands of students who began to study in classrooms that were once the luxurious offices of oil oligarchs.
This program's goal is to boost the institutional synergy and community participation in order to guarantee and provide access to higher education to all high school students.
So far, this program has registered 472,363 high school graduates, 429,215 of which have been assisted and 318,381 have finished the University Introductory Program. A total of 330,346 high school graduates have registered in the education programs. Also, the mission has granted 96,412 scholarships ($100) to the poorest students, and it is checking other 2,968 scholarships.
Likewise, 10,212 teachers work for the education programs and 1,107 university villages are distributed all around the country. These examples are a proof of the determination and strategy of the State to cancel a social debt. Also, this program guarantees access to higher education to all Venezuelans.
Barrio Adentro Mission
Since April, 2003, the national government's main objective is to shape a healthcare network by providing free healthcare services to the poorest sector of the population. This is why Barrio Adentro Mission I was launched.
This mission's general objective is to provide access to healthcare assistance to 60 percent of the excluded population through the construction of 8,000 Popular Medical Centers, to provide a doctor for every 250 families (1,200 people), to increase the life expectancy of the population and to contribute to the development, growth and ageing of the population maintaining a good standard of living.
Barrio Adentro Mission I has made an important progress in this sense by providing 162,012,583 people with medical assistance, 14,716,325 people with dental assistance and 3,811,741 people with eye care assistance, by saving 31,063 lives, by giving 375,144 glasses, and by constructing 1,012 medical centers.
Barrio Adentro Mission II was launched on June 12, 2005. This mission opened 30 Integral Diagnosis Centers and 30 Integral Rehabilitation Rooms all around the country. These centers have make it possible to perform 3,936,874 lab tests, 535,631 emergency surgeries, 775,690 ultrasounds, 285,415 X-Rays, 324,936 electrocardiograms, 108 operations, 55,499 endoscopies, 1,064,339 rehabilitation traements.
Also, 200 Integral Diagnosis Centers (CDI, Spanish acronym) and Integral Rehabilitation Rooms (SRI, Spanish acronym) have been opened during these last months. 103 are already finished and they are in the endowment phase. 704 are still under construction.
Likewise, Barrio Adentro III Mission is already working. This mission has to do with the strengthening of the hospital networks all around the country in order to meet the demand of Barrio Adentro II (CDI and SRI). This project is known as People's Hospitals since it implies the modernization of hospital centers with medical and electromechanical equipment.
Barrio Adentro Mission (Sports)
This program began in February 2004 and its goal is providing sports programs for students, senior citizens, pregnant women, people with disabilities and all people wishing to improve their standard of life and health.
So far, 150,504,060 people (including all sports programs) have registered in this program. 43,976,715 people belong to sports, 25,259,343 people to physical activities at school, 980,574 people are training, 480,593 consultations and 40,417,071 recreation activities have taken place, 31,663,978 sport programs have been carried out and 7,726,786 people are registered in therapeutic sports.
The goal of this mission is to take care of national sports through sport assistance centers located in each municipality and through the Training Schools for Sport Talents (one per state), specifically for high performance sport.
Vuelvan Caras Mission
Vuelvan Caras Mission’s goal is to provide vocational training for work. People graduating from different missions must gradually incorporate into the country's economic production process and this is achieved through Vuelvan Caras Mission. This program represents the claiming for our knowledge and our creating potential and it serves the transformation of the socioeconomic model proposed by the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Since January, 2004, 6,814 cooperatives have been shaped, 130 Endogenous Development Centers are working, and there are 5,627 financed cooperatives and 264,720 graduates. The funds for these cooperatives amount to $ 423,914.
Mercal Mission
This program was created to trade and sell food and other essential products like medicines at affordable prices. It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Food’s goal for 2005 was to set up 6,000 retail locations; this means that 14,539,300 people are benefiting from this program.
Also, 6,004 Soup Kitchens are functioning; these kitchens benefit 900,600 people by giving them free meals. These meals are given to the poorest sectors of the population. Regarding nutrition and protection, 1,374,312 people living in extreme poverty have benefited from this proram.
Thanks to the products of the Corporation for Agrofood Supply and services (CASA, Spanish Acronym) and Mercal (markets), people can save up to 34 percent in comparison with the prices regulated by the State and 37 percent in comparison with the market prices.
Guaicaipuro Mission
This mission’s goal is to restore human rights to numerous indigenous communities. This program was launched in August 2004 and it has handed over 21 communal land titles to an indigenous population of 6,769 people.
The government has carried out a total of 61 projects, which represents an amount of more than 2 million dollars. The national government has financed 32 projects for a total of 600,000 dollars. Guaicaipuro Mission represents the restoration of constitutional rights to indigenous people, as well as economic development, land demarcation, strengthening of their identity, language, education, habitat and health.
Zamora Mission
Mission Zamora’s main goal is to hand over land titles to farmers in order to guarantee food for the have-nots and to bet on the social economy and endogenous development. This mission is linked to Mercal.
Since January, 2005, the government has granted 68,528 future land titles. This represents an area of 7,222,880 acres, apart from the 80 awarded titles that represent an area of 87,739 acres. There are 48 Zamora Ranches, representing a total of 56,994 acres.
Culture Mission
The Culture Mission has functioning since July, 2005 and it is a new kind of university system; that is, people graduate as Teachers in Culture. The student fee is about $230 per year. This mission has 70 tutors, 328 university teachers.
Negra Hipólita Mission
This mission is one of the newest created by the Venezuelan government. It was launched on January 14, 2006, in order to fight poverty, misery and social exclusion; thus, the government begins a new stage in the fight against these calamities.
Currently, Negra Hipólita Mission is a fact that represents the commitment to set Venezuela free from misery. Also, it is a very important effort aimed to defeat the worse kind of exclusion: poverty. The assistance is aimed at children, adolescents, adults and the elderly living in the streets, in extreme poverty, and drug-addicted individuals.
Monday, February 06, 2006
WORLD SOCIAL FORUM
I JUST RETURNED FROM CARACAS.
I AM A LITTLE UNDER THE WEATHER BUT WILL BE POSTING MY OBSERVATIONS AND PHOTO'S SOON
I AM A LITTLE UNDER THE WEATHER BUT WILL BE POSTING MY OBSERVATIONS AND PHOTO'S SOON
MACU
Sunday, January 22, 2006
THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM IN CARACAS, VENEZUELA
I AM OFF TO THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM IN CARACAS.
I will be gone for two weeks. During this time my regular news postings will cease, but -- connection willing -- I will post my observations from the Forum.
I will be gone for two weeks. During this time my regular news postings will cease, but -- connection willing -- I will post my observations from the Forum.
More photos and stories when I return.
Macu
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina Plan 8,000 Kilometer Gas Pipeline
Caracas, Venezuela, January 21, 2006—A new gas pipeline, which would run nearly the entire length of the South American continent, will be one of the largest infrastructure projects in Latin American history, if plans of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, Argentina’s President Nestor Kirchner, and Brazil’s President Lula da Silva work out. The three presidents met last week, during their third trilateral meeting in Brasilia, where they discussed the plan, along with other topics related to Latin American integration.
According to Venezuela’s Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Rafael Ramirez, the pipeline will cost between $17 and $20 billion and will take up to seven years to build. The pipeline is supposed to reach from Caracas, Venezuela, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, via Brazil and with links to Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay, stretching for a total of 8,000 kilometers.
Numerous energy experts expressed serious doubts as to whether the pipeline could be built. "It is very difficult to believe this will take place, because of the distance, the financing and the supply," said Sophie Aldebert, for example, from the Rio de Janeiro-based Cambridge Energy Research Associates to Bloomberg.com.
In Brasilia, Chavez said, "The pipeline is vital to us" and dismissed doubts that it could be built due to technical and financial difficulties. "The Russians built a 4,000-kilometer (2,500-mile) pipeline to supply gas to Europe," said Chavez, according to AP.
Other critics pointed out that the pipeline would foment competition between Venezuelan and Bolivia, as Bolivia already is Brazil’s largest gas supplier. Chavez, though, denied this would be case, saying that the pipeline will Bolivia and Venezuela to complement each other, rather than to compete against each other.
The cost of building the pipeline would be carried largely by outside investors, such as firms from Asia, according to Chavez. Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA would also provide "several billion" dollars.
Chavez also suggested that if Venezuela and other Latin American countries shifted their automobiles to gas power, this would make the pipeline even more affordable and would allow Venezuela to export far more gasoline. According to AP, Argentina already has the world’s largest fleet of gas-powered vehicles and Brazil the second largest.
The gas pipeline plan is part of the Chavez government’s proposal to build a Latin American energy "cone," which would integrate Latin America in a network of pipelines, electricity grids, and trade.
The Venezuela-Argentina gas pipeline plan will be unveiled at the next trilateral meeting of the three presidents, to be held in Argentina, on March 9th.
According to Venezuela’s Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Rafael Ramirez, the pipeline will cost between $17 and $20 billion and will take up to seven years to build. The pipeline is supposed to reach from Caracas, Venezuela, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, via Brazil and with links to Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay, stretching for a total of 8,000 kilometers.
Numerous energy experts expressed serious doubts as to whether the pipeline could be built. "It is very difficult to believe this will take place, because of the distance, the financing and the supply," said Sophie Aldebert, for example, from the Rio de Janeiro-based Cambridge Energy Research Associates to Bloomberg.com.
In Brasilia, Chavez said, "The pipeline is vital to us" and dismissed doubts that it could be built due to technical and financial difficulties. "The Russians built a 4,000-kilometer (2,500-mile) pipeline to supply gas to Europe," said Chavez, according to AP.
Other critics pointed out that the pipeline would foment competition between Venezuelan and Bolivia, as Bolivia already is Brazil’s largest gas supplier. Chavez, though, denied this would be case, saying that the pipeline will Bolivia and Venezuela to complement each other, rather than to compete against each other.
The cost of building the pipeline would be carried largely by outside investors, such as firms from Asia, according to Chavez. Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA would also provide "several billion" dollars.
Chavez also suggested that if Venezuela and other Latin American countries shifted their automobiles to gas power, this would make the pipeline even more affordable and would allow Venezuela to export far more gasoline. According to AP, Argentina already has the world’s largest fleet of gas-powered vehicles and Brazil the second largest.
The gas pipeline plan is part of the Chavez government’s proposal to build a Latin American energy "cone," which would integrate Latin America in a network of pipelines, electricity grids, and trade.
The Venezuela-Argentina gas pipeline plan will be unveiled at the next trilateral meeting of the three presidents, to be held in Argentina, on March 9th.
KENNEDY, HAMBURG CONSPIRACY PART II - The Cuban connection is still in Miami and Dallas
KENNEDY, HAMBURG CONSPIRACY PART II
The Cuban connection is still
in Miami and Dallas
BY GABRIEL MOLINA
A sudden silence increased the severity of the large, high-ceilinged room in Capitol Hill, Washington, when the wide doors opened to admit a slow-walking man of average height in his sixties, impeccably dressed in a gray cashmere three-piece suit, white shirt, diagonally-striped tie and narrow-brimmed hat.
Santos Trafficante Jr, the Cosa Nostra Godfather in southwest Florida had lost a lot of the assuredness and slenderness he boasted 20 years earlier in Havana.
I vividly remember that scene and am recreating it now, even though most of the international media has virtually rejected the recent German public television documentary given the evidence concerning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy obtained by a serious investigation like that of the U.S. Congress Select Committee. It is worthwhile return to the theme as they are still harping on it in Miami, which is logical enough as it is one link in a chain, in a conspiracy there that is close to 50 years old. And because a serious daily like the Mexican La Jornada – at least in its digital edition – edited by my friend Carmen Lira, has published an article by Eva Usi, taking up the Cuban connection along Wilfried Huismann’s lines.
In effect, there is a Cuban connection, which was minutely investigated by the Select Committee, and it comes from the arm of the infamous Cosa Nostra.
The Select Committee summonsed the notorious Mafiosi capo who never served a sentence to appear before one of its sessions in Washington. The semblance was of a severe Santos Trafficante, annoyed because his Cuban connections had once again put him on the spot in that fall of 1978. But this time it was dealing with something even more dangerous than when he was caught up in the Church Committee hearings of 1974 and 1975, and his recruitment by the CIA in order to assassinate the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, came to light.
This time it was an attempt to clarify, 15 years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the indications that openly pointed to a conspiracy rather than a lone assassin. And the possible participation of members of the Italian-U.S. mafia.
Among the dozens of us journalists and investigators covering the hearings, his appearance prompted much anticipation.
The former “gambling and drug-trafficking czar” in Havana had become even more famous on his return to Florida, given that his empire, far from ending with the closing down of mafia activities in Cuba in 1959, was fortified in Miami and extended to Latin America and the Caribbean during the 60s and 70s.
In the earlier session, which Trafficante declined to attend, his old associate, millionaire José Alemán Jr, son of the Cuban ex-minister of education famous for his skilful appropriation of public funds, declared that, in a private conversation in September 1962, his friend Santos had confided to him that President Kennedy was going to be assassinated, and that he had recalled that confidence 12 months later, when the assassination occurred. Alemán confirmed his earlier statement, but changed the terms in which it had been expressed. In this new version, the Godfather had said that “Kennedy was going to hit” and possibly could have meant to say that “he was going to be hit by a large volume of Republican votes in the 1964 elections, not that he was going to be assassinated.”
At the insistence of the congress members, Alemán stated that he feared for his life and for that reason had asked for protection to declare before the Committee. Effectively, two federal police marshals, seated behind him and facing the audience, scrutinized the room with hawk-like eyes.
Somewhat harassed by the interrogation and agitated, Alemán raised his voice to say:
“I informed the authorities of this. I spoke to members of the FBI and told them that something irregular was going on with President Kennedy. I informed the FBI of everything that was going on at the time. Afterwards they told me not to worry, that Oswald was a lone assassin.”
TRAFFICANTE ADMITS WORKING FOR THE CIA
The questioning of Santos Trafficante Jr. commenced on the issue of his participation in assassination attempts against Fidel Castro, the leader of the Cuban Revolution. He admitted that he was recruited by the CIA for such a conspiracy.
At the beginning of the hearing the Florida don stated that he would have recourse to the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution in order not to make a statement. Congressman Richard Preyer, who chaired the session so that Louis Stokes (president of the Committee) could take the weight of the questioning, said that he would be granted impunity for possible crimes committed in that context, thus obliging him to testify.
Trafficante affirmed that he had been dedicated to the gambling business, but was now retired. He stated that he lived in Havana up until 1959, during the time that casinos were legal in Cuba. He only admitted to owning three: the Sans Souci, Comodoro and Deauville. In response to a question from Stokes he replied that up until 1958 he handed over 50% of his income on the slot machines and other games to the dictator Batista.
The Godfather added that he was interned in the Tiscornia camp in Havana in 1959 along with friends of his like Guiseppe di Giorgi and Jack Lansky, Mayer Lansky’s brother. Trafficante did not want to divulge how much his investments in Cuba were worth. But Stokes stated that Ricardo EscartÃn, from the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, had supplied the Committee with the information that the Havana Riviera alone produced $25 million per year. Trafficante replied that he did not own any interests in the Riviera. In law, he did not appear as the owner. But he ran the casino along with Meyer Lansky, who appeared on the payroll as a kitchen hand.
In relation to the attempts on the life of Fidel Castro, Trafficante added that the first person to make contact with him, on CIA orders, was John Roselli, an influential capo in the show business world, and later Sam Giancana, the don of Chicago.
At the time that he gave evidence to the Select Committee, Trafficante was the sole survivor of the three mafia capos recruited by the CIA to assassinate the president of Cuba. He died years later of natural causes.
Roselli continued getting into trouble with the justice system and alleging his collaboration with the CIA to avoid imprisonment.
For his part, Giancana was given a prison term in 1964. However, less than two years later, during his appeal, a message arrived from Washington from Justice Secretary Katzenbach himself, ordering his release without any explanation. On leaving prison, the Chicago don went to Mexico, possibly meeting the terms of the agreement for his release. He remained there until 1974.
In 1975 Giancana had given his first statement before the Church Committee and was preparing for further appearances, this time before the Congress Select Committee investigating the Kennedy assassination. But he was unable to. He was found in a pool of blood in his home in Oak Park, Illinois, with a shot to his mouth and five to the neck. Some months later Roselli’s corpse turned up inside a barrel in the river.
In synthesis, Trafficante denied having said that Kennedy was going to be “hit” and that he had been involved in the assassination of the president.
When the capo with the self-criticizing surname left the room accompanied by his young lawyer, we journalists went after him. But his lawyer took charge of getting him away. He said nothing more. The sessions continued.
In its investigations the Committee reached the conclusion that Jack Ruby – the author of the death of Oswald – effectively had links with organized crime and with Trafficante, despite his denials.
Among other evidence, their conclusion was derived from telephone calls made by Ruby in 1963, which increased from 25-35 in May to 96 in the first 24 days of November. The majority of them were made to members of the mafia and their associates.
RUBY’S CONTATCS WITH THE MAFIA
Between June and September of 1963, Ruby made seven long-distance calls to Lewis J. McWillie, a close associate of Trafficante and Meyer Lansky, whom he had visited on various occasions in Havana in 1959. McWillie was working in the Tropicana cabaret casino. The Cuban revolutionary authorities had given Oswald’s killer the immigration cards for his entries and exits. Ruby also called Irwin S. Weiner, the link man between “the Chicago mafia and N. J. Pecora, Marcello’s second in New Orleans and various corrupt trade union leaders.” The Committee also possessed evidence that Ruby managed cabarets in Dallas and acted as a figurehead for the Chicago mafia.
Ruby was also in frequent contact with Lenny Patrick from the Chicago mafia and Giancana’s main lieutenant.
Ruby also had links with David Yaras, the mafia executor who admitted to having met him in 1964, and with David Ferrie, of Cuban origin, Marcello’s pilot who, in his turn used to see Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans. According to the Committee findings, Ferrie, who was a CIA agent, was also in contact with Oswald through the Aerial Civil Patrol Falcon Squadron and a famous New Orleans office on 544 Camp Street, where members of groups acting against the Cuban Revolution, like Guy Bannister, also operated. Oswald had his office for the deceptively titled Fair Play with Cuba organization in the same building at the same time.
Ferrie was in Dallas on the day that Kennedy was killed and was arrested for interrogation on the assassination.
In 1959, Ferrie and Pedro Luis DÃaz Lanz, a deserter from the Cuban army, participated in the first U.S. bombing of Havana, both piloting a B25 in an operation planned by Eladio del Valle, Trafficante’s right-hand man, like Herminio DÃaz. Yaras, Ferrie and del Valle were mysteriously killed shortly after the assassination.
In his testimony before the Committee, Captain Jack Revill of the Dallas police said that Ruby had contacts with the mafia, but was not compromised as a member.
After the Committee hearing established the carelessness of the Dallas police, who even publicly announced Oswald’s transfer after his arrest and allowed Jack Ruby, whose contacts with the mafia were well known, to approach him, Jack Revill was asked if some of the police involved in the scandalous deed had been punished or criticized. “No, not that I know of,” Revill replied to Congressman Edgar, which provoked a profound and eloquent silence.
THE BUSH CONNECTION
In an article published recently in Granma journalists Lázaro Barredo and Reynaldo Taladrid recalled George Bush Sr.’s connections with Cuban gangster capos in Miami, beginning with Félix RodrÃguez, who at the time was directing – along with Luis Posada Carriles – a recently escaped fugitive of Venezuelan justice – the exchange of drugs for arms for the Nicaraguan Contras. Jeb Bush, governor of Florida and brother of current President George W. Bush, was essential to securing the release from prison of Cubans convicted of terrorist crimes, according to the book Cuba Confidential: Love and Revenge in Havana and Miami, by journalist Louise Bardach, winner of an investigative journalism awards who stands out for her work on Cuba and Miami for The New York Times and Vanity Fair. Her interview of Luis Posada Carriles for the NYT had notable repercussions.
“The Bush family has made the demands of extremist Cuban exiles its own in exchange for financial and electoral support,” says a review of the book in the The Guardian newspaper.
In 1984, Jeb Bush, then chairman of the Dade County Republican Party in Florida, began a close association with Camilo Padreda, an ex-intelligence officer under the Batista dictatorship, and financial officer of the abovementioned party. Padreda was accused of misappropriating $500,000, along with Hernández Cartaya, another Cuban-born individual, but the charges were dropped after the CIA stated that Cartaya had worked for them. Subsequently, Padreda admitted to defrauding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of millions of dollars.
During the 1980s, the current U.S. president’s youngest brother was also on the payroll of the prominently corrupt Cuban Miguel Recarey, who provided assistance to the CIA in its attempts to assassinate President Fidel Castro. Recarey, who administered the International Medical Centers, employed Jeb Bush as a real estate consultant, paying him $75,000. The future governor of Florida carried out vigorous and successful lobbying for Recarey and his business under the administrations of Reagan and Bush Sr.
Recarey was accused, in a notorious case, of massively defrauding Medicare, but he fled the United States before the trial.
Jeb Bush was also administrator of the political campaign of Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, when she won her seat in Congress, assisted by the threats of her husband, U.S. Attorney Lehtinen, of bringing to trial her dangerous rival, Raúl MartÃnez. She participated in the chrematistics operation with former Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso to obtain the release of Posada Carriles’ criminal gang, whose members are now living freely in Miami and helping out their boss. Journalist Jim DeFede criticized her for defending Posada several months ago, and that cost him his job with the Miami Herald.
It should not be forgotten that George Bush Sr. intervened to get Cuban-born terrorist Orlando Bosch out of prison. As president, he granted him U.S. residency against the will of the Justice Department of his own administration, which had characterized Bosch as a dangerous terrorist. His crimes include masterminding, together with Posada, the cruel sabotage of a Cubana Aviation passenger plane in mid-flight from Venezuela to Havana, killing the 73 civilians on board. Bosch now lives in Miami and has no regrets over his actions, according to Bardach.
Other Cuban-born terrorists such as José Dionisio Suárez and Virgilio Paz Romero, who carried out the assassination of Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier in Washington in 1976, were also freed by Bush.
In spite of all the financial and criminal scandals that are threatening the stability of his administration – or perhaps because of them – Bush has announced that in May, he is to initiate new actions to destroy the Cuban Revolution, as his allies in Miami are demanding.
The German television documentary, which coincidentally came out during Prime Minister Angela Merkel’s visit to Washington, is part of that conspiracy. In tactical terms, it is a measure aimed at distracting public opinion from plans to free Posada, in the same way that his lawyer’s threat to the government that if not released, Posada would talk about the dirty work he has carried out for the Cuba Connection, thus causing the government severe damage, has been covered up.
In strategic terms, this is part of the artillery preparations for the major objective, euphemistically called “transition in Cuba,” which in real terms is the island’s re-colonization.
The Cuban connection is still
in Miami and Dallas
BY GABRIEL MOLINA
A sudden silence increased the severity of the large, high-ceilinged room in Capitol Hill, Washington, when the wide doors opened to admit a slow-walking man of average height in his sixties, impeccably dressed in a gray cashmere three-piece suit, white shirt, diagonally-striped tie and narrow-brimmed hat.
Santos Trafficante Jr, the Cosa Nostra Godfather in southwest Florida had lost a lot of the assuredness and slenderness he boasted 20 years earlier in Havana.
I vividly remember that scene and am recreating it now, even though most of the international media has virtually rejected the recent German public television documentary given the evidence concerning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy obtained by a serious investigation like that of the U.S. Congress Select Committee. It is worthwhile return to the theme as they are still harping on it in Miami, which is logical enough as it is one link in a chain, in a conspiracy there that is close to 50 years old. And because a serious daily like the Mexican La Jornada – at least in its digital edition – edited by my friend Carmen Lira, has published an article by Eva Usi, taking up the Cuban connection along Wilfried Huismann’s lines.
In effect, there is a Cuban connection, which was minutely investigated by the Select Committee, and it comes from the arm of the infamous Cosa Nostra.
The Select Committee summonsed the notorious Mafiosi capo who never served a sentence to appear before one of its sessions in Washington. The semblance was of a severe Santos Trafficante, annoyed because his Cuban connections had once again put him on the spot in that fall of 1978. But this time it was dealing with something even more dangerous than when he was caught up in the Church Committee hearings of 1974 and 1975, and his recruitment by the CIA in order to assassinate the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, came to light.
This time it was an attempt to clarify, 15 years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the indications that openly pointed to a conspiracy rather than a lone assassin. And the possible participation of members of the Italian-U.S. mafia.
Among the dozens of us journalists and investigators covering the hearings, his appearance prompted much anticipation.
The former “gambling and drug-trafficking czar” in Havana had become even more famous on his return to Florida, given that his empire, far from ending with the closing down of mafia activities in Cuba in 1959, was fortified in Miami and extended to Latin America and the Caribbean during the 60s and 70s.
In the earlier session, which Trafficante declined to attend, his old associate, millionaire José Alemán Jr, son of the Cuban ex-minister of education famous for his skilful appropriation of public funds, declared that, in a private conversation in September 1962, his friend Santos had confided to him that President Kennedy was going to be assassinated, and that he had recalled that confidence 12 months later, when the assassination occurred. Alemán confirmed his earlier statement, but changed the terms in which it had been expressed. In this new version, the Godfather had said that “Kennedy was going to hit” and possibly could have meant to say that “he was going to be hit by a large volume of Republican votes in the 1964 elections, not that he was going to be assassinated.”
At the insistence of the congress members, Alemán stated that he feared for his life and for that reason had asked for protection to declare before the Committee. Effectively, two federal police marshals, seated behind him and facing the audience, scrutinized the room with hawk-like eyes.
Somewhat harassed by the interrogation and agitated, Alemán raised his voice to say:
“I informed the authorities of this. I spoke to members of the FBI and told them that something irregular was going on with President Kennedy. I informed the FBI of everything that was going on at the time. Afterwards they told me not to worry, that Oswald was a lone assassin.”
TRAFFICANTE ADMITS WORKING FOR THE CIA
The questioning of Santos Trafficante Jr. commenced on the issue of his participation in assassination attempts against Fidel Castro, the leader of the Cuban Revolution. He admitted that he was recruited by the CIA for such a conspiracy.
At the beginning of the hearing the Florida don stated that he would have recourse to the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution in order not to make a statement. Congressman Richard Preyer, who chaired the session so that Louis Stokes (president of the Committee) could take the weight of the questioning, said that he would be granted impunity for possible crimes committed in that context, thus obliging him to testify.
Trafficante affirmed that he had been dedicated to the gambling business, but was now retired. He stated that he lived in Havana up until 1959, during the time that casinos were legal in Cuba. He only admitted to owning three: the Sans Souci, Comodoro and Deauville. In response to a question from Stokes he replied that up until 1958 he handed over 50% of his income on the slot machines and other games to the dictator Batista.
The Godfather added that he was interned in the Tiscornia camp in Havana in 1959 along with friends of his like Guiseppe di Giorgi and Jack Lansky, Mayer Lansky’s brother. Trafficante did not want to divulge how much his investments in Cuba were worth. But Stokes stated that Ricardo EscartÃn, from the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, had supplied the Committee with the information that the Havana Riviera alone produced $25 million per year. Trafficante replied that he did not own any interests in the Riviera. In law, he did not appear as the owner. But he ran the casino along with Meyer Lansky, who appeared on the payroll as a kitchen hand.
In relation to the attempts on the life of Fidel Castro, Trafficante added that the first person to make contact with him, on CIA orders, was John Roselli, an influential capo in the show business world, and later Sam Giancana, the don of Chicago.
At the time that he gave evidence to the Select Committee, Trafficante was the sole survivor of the three mafia capos recruited by the CIA to assassinate the president of Cuba. He died years later of natural causes.
Roselli continued getting into trouble with the justice system and alleging his collaboration with the CIA to avoid imprisonment.
For his part, Giancana was given a prison term in 1964. However, less than two years later, during his appeal, a message arrived from Washington from Justice Secretary Katzenbach himself, ordering his release without any explanation. On leaving prison, the Chicago don went to Mexico, possibly meeting the terms of the agreement for his release. He remained there until 1974.
In 1975 Giancana had given his first statement before the Church Committee and was preparing for further appearances, this time before the Congress Select Committee investigating the Kennedy assassination. But he was unable to. He was found in a pool of blood in his home in Oak Park, Illinois, with a shot to his mouth and five to the neck. Some months later Roselli’s corpse turned up inside a barrel in the river.
In synthesis, Trafficante denied having said that Kennedy was going to be “hit” and that he had been involved in the assassination of the president.
When the capo with the self-criticizing surname left the room accompanied by his young lawyer, we journalists went after him. But his lawyer took charge of getting him away. He said nothing more. The sessions continued.
In its investigations the Committee reached the conclusion that Jack Ruby – the author of the death of Oswald – effectively had links with organized crime and with Trafficante, despite his denials.
Among other evidence, their conclusion was derived from telephone calls made by Ruby in 1963, which increased from 25-35 in May to 96 in the first 24 days of November. The majority of them were made to members of the mafia and their associates.
RUBY’S CONTATCS WITH THE MAFIA
Between June and September of 1963, Ruby made seven long-distance calls to Lewis J. McWillie, a close associate of Trafficante and Meyer Lansky, whom he had visited on various occasions in Havana in 1959. McWillie was working in the Tropicana cabaret casino. The Cuban revolutionary authorities had given Oswald’s killer the immigration cards for his entries and exits. Ruby also called Irwin S. Weiner, the link man between “the Chicago mafia and N. J. Pecora, Marcello’s second in New Orleans and various corrupt trade union leaders.” The Committee also possessed evidence that Ruby managed cabarets in Dallas and acted as a figurehead for the Chicago mafia.
Ruby was also in frequent contact with Lenny Patrick from the Chicago mafia and Giancana’s main lieutenant.
Ruby also had links with David Yaras, the mafia executor who admitted to having met him in 1964, and with David Ferrie, of Cuban origin, Marcello’s pilot who, in his turn used to see Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans. According to the Committee findings, Ferrie, who was a CIA agent, was also in contact with Oswald through the Aerial Civil Patrol Falcon Squadron and a famous New Orleans office on 544 Camp Street, where members of groups acting against the Cuban Revolution, like Guy Bannister, also operated. Oswald had his office for the deceptively titled Fair Play with Cuba organization in the same building at the same time.
Ferrie was in Dallas on the day that Kennedy was killed and was arrested for interrogation on the assassination.
In 1959, Ferrie and Pedro Luis DÃaz Lanz, a deserter from the Cuban army, participated in the first U.S. bombing of Havana, both piloting a B25 in an operation planned by Eladio del Valle, Trafficante’s right-hand man, like Herminio DÃaz. Yaras, Ferrie and del Valle were mysteriously killed shortly after the assassination.
In his testimony before the Committee, Captain Jack Revill of the Dallas police said that Ruby had contacts with the mafia, but was not compromised as a member.
After the Committee hearing established the carelessness of the Dallas police, who even publicly announced Oswald’s transfer after his arrest and allowed Jack Ruby, whose contacts with the mafia were well known, to approach him, Jack Revill was asked if some of the police involved in the scandalous deed had been punished or criticized. “No, not that I know of,” Revill replied to Congressman Edgar, which provoked a profound and eloquent silence.
THE BUSH CONNECTION
In an article published recently in Granma journalists Lázaro Barredo and Reynaldo Taladrid recalled George Bush Sr.’s connections with Cuban gangster capos in Miami, beginning with Félix RodrÃguez, who at the time was directing – along with Luis Posada Carriles – a recently escaped fugitive of Venezuelan justice – the exchange of drugs for arms for the Nicaraguan Contras. Jeb Bush, governor of Florida and brother of current President George W. Bush, was essential to securing the release from prison of Cubans convicted of terrorist crimes, according to the book Cuba Confidential: Love and Revenge in Havana and Miami, by journalist Louise Bardach, winner of an investigative journalism awards who stands out for her work on Cuba and Miami for The New York Times and Vanity Fair. Her interview of Luis Posada Carriles for the NYT had notable repercussions.
“The Bush family has made the demands of extremist Cuban exiles its own in exchange for financial and electoral support,” says a review of the book in the The Guardian newspaper.
In 1984, Jeb Bush, then chairman of the Dade County Republican Party in Florida, began a close association with Camilo Padreda, an ex-intelligence officer under the Batista dictatorship, and financial officer of the abovementioned party. Padreda was accused of misappropriating $500,000, along with Hernández Cartaya, another Cuban-born individual, but the charges were dropped after the CIA stated that Cartaya had worked for them. Subsequently, Padreda admitted to defrauding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of millions of dollars.
During the 1980s, the current U.S. president’s youngest brother was also on the payroll of the prominently corrupt Cuban Miguel Recarey, who provided assistance to the CIA in its attempts to assassinate President Fidel Castro. Recarey, who administered the International Medical Centers, employed Jeb Bush as a real estate consultant, paying him $75,000. The future governor of Florida carried out vigorous and successful lobbying for Recarey and his business under the administrations of Reagan and Bush Sr.
Recarey was accused, in a notorious case, of massively defrauding Medicare, but he fled the United States before the trial.
Jeb Bush was also administrator of the political campaign of Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, when she won her seat in Congress, assisted by the threats of her husband, U.S. Attorney Lehtinen, of bringing to trial her dangerous rival, Raúl MartÃnez. She participated in the chrematistics operation with former Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso to obtain the release of Posada Carriles’ criminal gang, whose members are now living freely in Miami and helping out their boss. Journalist Jim DeFede criticized her for defending Posada several months ago, and that cost him his job with the Miami Herald.
It should not be forgotten that George Bush Sr. intervened to get Cuban-born terrorist Orlando Bosch out of prison. As president, he granted him U.S. residency against the will of the Justice Department of his own administration, which had characterized Bosch as a dangerous terrorist. His crimes include masterminding, together with Posada, the cruel sabotage of a Cubana Aviation passenger plane in mid-flight from Venezuela to Havana, killing the 73 civilians on board. Bosch now lives in Miami and has no regrets over his actions, according to Bardach.
Other Cuban-born terrorists such as José Dionisio Suárez and Virgilio Paz Romero, who carried out the assassination of Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier in Washington in 1976, were also freed by Bush.
In spite of all the financial and criminal scandals that are threatening the stability of his administration – or perhaps because of them – Bush has announced that in May, he is to initiate new actions to destroy the Cuban Revolution, as his allies in Miami are demanding.
The German television documentary, which coincidentally came out during Prime Minister Angela Merkel’s visit to Washington, is part of that conspiracy. In tactical terms, it is a measure aimed at distracting public opinion from plans to free Posada, in the same way that his lawyer’s threat to the government that if not released, Posada would talk about the dirty work he has carried out for the Cuba Connection, thus causing the government severe damage, has been covered up.
In strategic terms, this is part of the artillery preparations for the major objective, euphemistically called “transition in Cuba,” which in real terms is the island’s re-colonization.
EXCLUSIVE -- Jack Abramoff's past as an apartheid South African spy.
January 21, 2006 -- EXCLUSIVE -- Jack Abramoff's past as a South African spy. According to South African intelligence sources, convicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff was a long-time intelligence asset for South Africa's apartheid era security services. The revelations from South Africa help to explain Abramoff's connections to white supremacists who use Confederate heritage organizations to mask their true agendas (see article directly below).
In 1985, Abramoff launched the International Freedom Foundation (IFF) in Washington. In fact, IFF was a front for South African military intelligence, code named Pacman, and a major front for South Africa's international propaganda efforts. The IFF was a joint project of Russel Crystal, currently a Democratic Alliance official in South Africa, and a former apartheid South Africa top spy, Craig Williamson. According to South African intelligence sources, Abramoff was first recruited by Crystal and Williamson during 1979 and 1980. Crystal and Williamson were both paid agents of the Apartheid Security Police (SAP (V)). Money paid to Abramoff initially came from SAP(V) accounts. South African intelligence files also show:
In 1985, Abramoff launched the International Freedom Foundation (IFF) in Washington. In fact, IFF was a front for South African military intelligence, code named Pacman, and a major front for South Africa's international propaganda efforts. The IFF was a joint project of Russel Crystal, currently a Democratic Alliance official in South Africa, and a former apartheid South Africa top spy, Craig Williamson. According to South African intelligence sources, Abramoff was first recruited by Crystal and Williamson during 1979 and 1980. Crystal and Williamson were both paid agents of the Apartheid Security Police (SAP (V)). Money paid to Abramoff initially came from SAP(V) accounts. South African intelligence files also show:
Abramoff's files from his days as a South African agent emerge: Details of his ties to anti-black, racist groups like World Church of the Creator and South African propaganda operations -- Babushka and Longreach -- provided exclusively to WMR.
- Abramoff’s take-over of the College Republicans National Committee (CRNC) in Washington, DC was directed by both Crystal and Williamson and similarly funded. In fact, Abramoff was mentored by them, being trained as a political operator, apartheid style -- the emphasis was on carrying out political dirty tricks with non-attribution through fronts, screens, and dupes.
- Before Crystal worked for SAP(V) as a right-wing student agitator at Wits University in Johannesburg, he was suspected of being an employee of the Bureau of State Security (BOSS), the apartheid spy agency responsible for foreign operations, including hit squad work, disinformation, and bombings. By the time of the establishment of National Students Federation (Crystal was its leader at Wits, Williamson having been exposed as an SAP(V) spy after arrests of anti-apartheid students in the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS)). A question arises as apartheid monies paid to Abramoff came from the specific account of the sections employing Crystal -- this indicates that Abramoff received foreign intelligence service money from BOSS. This was certainly the case when Abramoff's benefactors were in SAP(V) and later, when they left to join Military Intelligence (MI), which became the pre-eminent apartheid intelligence service after the rise of former defence minister P.W. Botha to the Presidency. It is clear that Abramoff received SAP(V) and MI monies for services rendered. Abramoff visited South Africa in 1983 to forge links between Crystal's National Students Federation (NSF) and Abramoff's CRNC.
- Abramoff projects with IFF included provision of U.S. armaments to Southern Africa, including Stinger missiles to UNITA in Angola and the apartheid military; stopping the Congressional Comprehensive Anti Apartheid Act and lobbying for Reagan's veto (this was the only Reagan veto overturned by Congress). As par of South African intelligence's Operation Babushka, Abramoff helped monitor anti-apartheid lobby in USA: Randall Robinson of TransAfrica was a major target as was Coretta Scott King and Jesse Jackson.
- Abramoff also hooked IFF up with some representatives of the U.S.-based World Church of the Creator – a white supremacist, neo-Nazi group, which had a branch in South Africa.
- The Democratic Alliance in South Africa is the official opposition to the African National Congress. Its leader is Tony Leon, a colleague of Crystal and Williamson at Wits University who bankrolled him in his student election campaigns as they did Abramoff in CRNC. They then financed Leon's year-long visit to the U.S. to teach law. Abramoff administered all of Leon’s U.S. arrangements. Abramoff worked on behalf of the DA and Leon in Washington, DC and New York City.
- Abramoff, schooled in the SAP(V) front-tactics worked through an American named Duncan Sellars, who was also connected with Crystal on the Ninth floor, Noswell Hall, in Johannesburg, across the road from Wits University. Abramoff visited Noswell Hall on a number of occasions. Sellars was chairman of the IFF in 1993.
- The Abramoff-Crystal anti-communist camp in Angola was an MI project designed to frustrate Chester Crocker’s diplomatic initiative under Secretary of State George Shultz to get the apartheid forces out of Namibia and the Cubans out of Angola.
- Williamson applied and received amnesty for a number of his apartheid-era crimes (killings [including Ruth First, the wife of South African Communist Party leader Joe Slovo], bombings, maimings – including children), Crystal did not apply or appear before the Truth & Reconciliation Commission. Crystal was more than "politically tied" to Williamson -- he was also "operationally tied" as was Abramoff, though Sellars and Crystal were often merely cut-outs. The letter bombing fatalities of anti-apartheid activists in Angola and Mozambique are said to have been made by another Crystal-Abramoff confidant, John Adams. Crystal-Abramoff-Williamson are reportedly responsible for compiling the hit-lists on anti-apartheid activists outside South Africa.
- Abramoff introduced Williamson to Grover Norquist and they became friends. This relationship assisted South African intelligence's Operations Longreach and Babushka, essentially pro-apartheid influence operations in DC. One propaganda operation was Abramoff's movie Red Scorpion, based on UNITA guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi, a movie for which South Africa provided military equipment, vehicles, and extras.
Hillary Rodham Clinton returned to her Young Republican roots
Not. Backing. Hillary.
Equivocation in Democratic party has gone on far too long --
time for real leadership
by Molly IvinsEquivocation in Democratic party has gone on far too long --
time for real leadership
AUSTIN, Texas --- I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president.
Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone. This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges.
The recent death of Gene McCarthy reminded me of a lesson I spent a long, long time unlearning, so now I have to re-learn it. It's about political courage and heroes, and when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times. There are times a country is so tired of bull that only the truth can provide relief.
If no one in conventional-wisdom politics has the courage to speak up and say what needs to be said, then you go out and find some obscure junior senator from Minnesota with the guts to do it. In 1968, Gene McCarthy was the little boy who said out loud, "Look, the emperor isn't wearing any clothes." Bobby Kennedy -- rough, tough Bobby Kennedy -- didn't do it. Just this quiet man trained by Benedictines who liked to quote poetry.
What kind of courage does it take, for mercy's sake? The majority of the American people (55 percent) think the war in Iraq is a mistake and that we should get out. The majority (65 percent) of the American people want single-payer health care and are willing to pay more taxes to get it. The majority (86 percent) of the American people favor raising the minimum wage. The majority of the American people (60 percent) favor repealing Bush's tax cuts, or at least those that go only to the rich. The majority (66 percent) wants to reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending, but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.
The majority (77 percent) thinks we should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment. The majority (87 percent) thinks big oil companies are gouging consumers and would support a windfall profits tax. That is the center, you fools. WHO ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
I listen to people like Rahm Emanuel superciliously explaining elementary politics to us clueless naifs outside the Beltway ("First, you have to win elections.") Can't you even read the damn polls?
Here's a prize example by someone named Barry Casselman, who writes, "There is an invisible civil war in the Democratic Party, and it is between those who are attempting to satisfy the defeatist and pacifist left base of the party and those who are attempting to prepare the party for successful elections in 2006 and 2008."
This supposedly pits Howard Dean, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, emboldened by "a string of bad new from the Middle East ... into calling for premature retreat from Iraq," versus those pragmatic folk like Steny Hoyer, Rahm Emmanuel, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Joe Lieberman.
Oh come on, people -- get a grip on the concept of leadership. Look at this war -- from the lies that led us into it, to the lies they continue to dump on us daily.
You sit there in Washington so frightened of the big, bad Republican machine you have no idea what people are thinking. I'm telling you right now, Tom DeLay is going to lose in his district. If Democrats in Washington haven't got enough sense to OWN the issue of political reform, I give up on them entirely.
Do it all, go long, go for public campaign financing for Congress. I'm serious as a stroke about this -- that is the only reform that will work, and you know it, as well as everyone else who's ever studied this. Do all the goo-goo stuff everybody has made fun of all these years: embrace redistricting reform, electoral reform, House rules changes, the whole package. Put up, or shut up. Own this issue, or let Jack Abramoff politics continue to run your town.
Bush, Cheney and Co. will continue to play the patriotic bully card just as long as you let them. I've said it before: War brings out the patriotic bullies. In World War I, they went around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that dachshunds were "German dogs." They did not, however, go around kicking German shepherds. The MINUTE someone impugns your patriotism for opposing this war, turn on them like a snarling dog and explain what loving your country really means. That, or you could just piss on them elegantly, as Rep. John Murtha did. Or eviscerate them with wit (look up Mark Twain on the war in the Philippines). Or point out the latest in the endless "string of bad news."
Do not sit there cowering and pretending the only way to win is as Republican-lite. If the Washington-based party can't get up and fight, we'll find someone who can.
VETERANS AND SURVIVORS MARCH FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE - FROM THE GULF COAST TO THE PERSIAN GULF
VETERANS AND SURVIVORS MARCH FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
From Mobile to New Orleans March 14-19, 2006
FROM THE GULF COAST TO THE PERSIAN GULF
EVERY BOMB DROPPED ON IRAQ EXPLODES IN NEW ORLEANS
From Mobile to New Orleans March 14-19, 2006
FROM THE GULF COAST TO THE PERSIAN GULF
EVERY BOMB DROPPED ON IRAQ EXPLODES IN NEW ORLEANS
The shocking images of devastation in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita may be fading from television news but the crisis on the Gulf
Coast is still with us. It's like the government's ban on film of
planes unloading flag-draped coffins at Dover Air Force Base--pictures
or no, US troops and Iraqis are still dying, day in and day out.
The corporate media hasn´t done much in depth reporting that shows the
connection between a multi-trillion dollar illegal war abroad and the
shameful failure of our government's moral, economic, and political
response to Katrina. Everyday people in this country, however, sense
that they are connected.
Military families and veterans of Iraq, Vietnam and other military
adventures, together with hurricane survivors, intend to make that
connection crystal clear on an epic march down Gulf Coast Highway 90,
heading into the heart of New Orleans on the third anniversary of the
war. The ongoing crisis on the Gulf Coast and the connection that Dr.
King made between the "giant triplets of racism, militarism and
economic exploitation" will be impossible to ignore.
At the call of the Mobile, Alabama chapter of Veterans For Peace,
members of VFP, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Vietnam Veterans
Against the War, Gold Star Families for Peace and Military Families
Speak Out will conduct, a six-day, 135-mile march from Mobile across
Mississippi to New Orleans. Thousands of hurricane survivors and
community residents along the route are expected to walk with us.
The marching veterans and military families aim to build relationships
with the surviving members of communities devastated by the
Katrina-Rita disaster. Our actions will proclaim our solidarity with
them, not only as acute victims of a "natural" disaster but also of
structural racism in the United States.
As we walk down the coastal highway, veterans who have ourselves been
the instruments of death and destruction abroad and who have become
witnesses against war as a matter of conscience, will speak out and
act as a conscience for the nation in a region of the deep South still
shaped by slavery, segregation and the monumental freedom struggles of
the 1960s.
For veterans this will be both a spiritual pilgrimage and a political action
We will demand real empowerment for Gulf Coast hurricane survivors and
for the Iraqi people.
We will demand the immediate withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq.
Bring Them Home Now! And as they come back, we demand decent health
care, employment, housing and education for them, including Depleted
Uranium testing and post-traumatic stress (PTSD) treatment.
We will demand that the US government provide funds for all Katrina
families to be reunited and returned to their homes. Bring Them Home
Now! And we demand that hurricane survivors have the right to plan
their future free from the dictates of the corporations and their
politician front men in Washington D.C. and on the state and local
level, too.
This march is a reminder to the leadership of the US, regardless of
party affiliation, that the majority of American people now oppose the
war. "Staying the course" while people continue to die and while
resources spent on an unjust and failed policy are desperately needed
on the Gulf Coast of the United States, is simply not acceptable.
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN!
While the march itself will be made up mainly of veterans, Gold Star
and other military families, and hurricane survivors, all concerned
citizens are invited and encouraged to attend the final leg, heading
into a mass rally in New Orleans on March 19, the third anniversary of
the invasion of Iraq.
We need financial support to conduct this march, and we need it now.
To donate, go to www.ivaw.net or www.veteransforpeace.org and follow
the donation instructions. Note that your donation is for the "March
in March."
Video: The Power of Nightmares
In case you missed it:
The Power of Nightmares
The Power of Nightmares
Video: The Power of Nightmares: Part 1 '.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=461187809452836609&q=power+of+nightmares
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Part 2 -
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2940187978111229279
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Part 3" In the past our politicians offered us dreams of a better world. Now they promise to protect us from nightmares.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2324388902129396093&q=power+of+nightmares
Friday, January 20, 2006
Bush administration trying to distract public opinion from the possible release of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles
THE real objective of a recent documentary making Cuba responsible for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy more than 40 years later is to distract attention from the possible release of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, and the unheard of situation of the five Cubans still imprisoned in U.S. jails despite the Atlanta Appeals Court ruling.
Iran starts transferring foreign assets
The governor of Iran's central bank has confirmed that the country has started to transfer assets held in foreign accounts.
Ebrahim Sheibani told the ISNA students' news agency on Friday: "We transfer foreign reserves to wherever we see as expedient. On this issue, we have started transferring. We are doing that."
ISNA specifically asked whether the money was being moved to Asian accounts but Sheibani's answer sidestepped the issue.
Sheibani told reporters earlier this week that Iran stood ready to repatriate the money it held abroad should this prove necessary.
Iran, which could face UN economic sanctions over its atomic programme, has bitter memories of its US assets being frozen shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Shift to Asia
ISNA's question appeared to be based on an article in the London-based Asharq al-Awsat Arabic newspaper that said Iran's Supreme National Security Council had ordered foreign holdings to be shifted to Asia.
Iran is the fourth biggest oil exporter in the world and the second largest in OPEC. Eighty percent of its export earnings come from oil, the price of which has soared over the past two years.
"If you're talking in terms of a safe haven proposal, that's where Switzerland is very strong, stronger than Singapore or other places. We are a country that is non-judgmental"Steve Bernard, Geneva Financial Centre, ZurichEconomists estimate Iran will have earned more than $40 billion in oil revenues by the end of the year to March 2006. Of this, $16 billion goes straight to budgeted government spending.
The rest goes to the Central Bank of Iran which keeps an unknown amount of holdings in foreign accounts.
The Naftiran Intertrade Company (NICO), the powerful trade and financing arm of the National Iranian Oil Company, is based in Switzerland.
Swiss reaction
Meanwhile a leading financial industry representative in Zurich on Friday said Swiss banks would welcome asset transfers by Iran.
"If you're talking in terms of a safe haven proposal, that's where Switzerland is very strong, stronger than Singapore or other places. We are a country that is non-judgmental," said Steve Bernard, director of the Geneva Financial Centre, a lobby in Switzerland's second-largest banking city after Zurich.
Switzerland is home to more offshore wealth than any other country, and is a traditional haven for investors who seek the safety of Swiss political neutrality and legal guarantees of banking privacy.
"Because of its non-discriminatory practices, Switzerland has always been an attractive place and would remain an attractive proposal for Iranian authorities looking to shift some of their assets or to diversify the geographical distribution of some of their assets," Bernard said.
Reuters
US - UK Living Heroes .. or How could I forget Craig Murray?
Definite thanks to Democracy Now for their interview with Craig Murray, who has been hit by a smear campaign by the UK government he once represented in Uzbekistan.
Why a smear campaign? Because he dared to admit his country's complicity in human rights abuses in Uzbekistan.
Strangely, the United Nations did not send a Mehlis team to investigate.
Murray has been literally defiled by his own government and former allies in the Home Office for exposing the UK and US governments.
This is the kind of grilling anyone who dares defy the status quo of media collusion with government hypocrisy gets.
I am creating a new sidebar - Living Heroes.
While I hardly believe Murtha is a living hero, I do empathize as he receives his won smear campaign ribbon for defying the Bushites on Iraq.
Same with Kerry.
Another living hero(ine) who has actually been jailed for her principled opposition is Kathy Kelly, leading member of Voices in the Wilderness - a group which took food and medicines to Iraq.
And Scott Ritter, who I met after a lecture he gave in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2002. Yes, a stone's throw from Seattle.
Ritter was eloquent in his opposition to the US invasion of Iraq. He called himself a patriot and said he feared growing anti-US sentiment in the world. He also said the invasion of Iraq could start a cycle which could eventually result in a mushroom cloud over some US city, a specter he wanted to desperately avoid.
Thank you, Mr. Murray, for being an inspiration to people around the world.
And people seem to be inspired.
Check out this link. Seems the University of Texas in Austin will be hosting a conference by historians against the Iraq war.
Why a smear campaign? Because he dared to admit his country's complicity in human rights abuses in Uzbekistan.
Strangely, the United Nations did not send a Mehlis team to investigate.
Murray has been literally defiled by his own government and former allies in the Home Office for exposing the UK and US governments.
This is the kind of grilling anyone who dares defy the status quo of media collusion with government hypocrisy gets.
I am creating a new sidebar - Living Heroes.
While I hardly believe Murtha is a living hero, I do empathize as he receives his won smear campaign ribbon for defying the Bushites on Iraq.
Same with Kerry.
Another living hero(ine) who has actually been jailed for her principled opposition is Kathy Kelly, leading member of Voices in the Wilderness - a group which took food and medicines to Iraq.
And Scott Ritter, who I met after a lecture he gave in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2002. Yes, a stone's throw from Seattle.
Ritter was eloquent in his opposition to the US invasion of Iraq. He called himself a patriot and said he feared growing anti-US sentiment in the world. He also said the invasion of Iraq could start a cycle which could eventually result in a mushroom cloud over some US city, a specter he wanted to desperately avoid.
Thank you, Mr. Murray, for being an inspiration to people around the world.
And people seem to be inspired.
Check out this link. Seems the University of Texas in Austin will be hosting a conference by historians against the Iraq war.
Bogus tape alert! The Bin Laden tape is an obvious neo-con forgery like the Reichstag Fire, Niger yellowcake, and Sadam's WMD
January 20, 2006 -- What's not right about the Osama Bin Laden audio tape. One thing that the Bush administration does well is manage perceptions of the public. Amid protests over the NSA wiretapping, the extension of the Patriot Act, and the nomination of neo-Fascist Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, an audio tape on Osama Bin Laden is sent to Al Jazzera. On the tape, Bin Laden suddenly veers from being a traditional right-wing Wahhabi fanatic to the right of the House of Saud to a leftist progressive. The tape by Bin Laden was quickly verified as "authentic" by a CIA that is now firmly in the grasp of neo-cons under Porter Goss.
However, the tape is an obvious fake being used by the Bush administration to scare Americans into believing "Al Qaeda" is making plans for another attack and an attempt to link Bin Laden to Democrats.
The reason the tape is as phony as Niger yellowcake documents and Saddam's weapons of mass destruction is as plain as day. Bin Laden quotes from the introduction of a book written by long-time Washington, DC progressive author and journalist and a friend of mine, Bill Blum. Bill was once an editor and contributor to Covert Action Quarterly, a magazine devoted to exposing CIA operations like the arming, funding, and training of Bin Laden and his mujaheddin guerrillas during the Afghan-Soviet war.
The Bush perception managers are either incredibly stupid or are trying to ensnare liberal journalists as aiders and abettors of Al Qaeda, something that is certainly within their scope. Bin Laden quotes the following passage from Blum's book, Rogue State: "If you (Americans) are sincere in your desire for peace and security, we have answered you. And if Bush decides to carry on with his lies and oppression, then it would be useful for you to read the book Rogue State, which states in its introduction: 'If I were president, I would stop the attacks on the United States: First I would give an apology to all the widows and orphans and those who were tortured. Then I would announce that American interference in the nations of the world has ended once and for all.'"
Bogus tape alert! The Bin Laden tape plugging Bill Blum's book Rogue State is a ridiculous neo-con forgery intended to tarnish the progressive left.
Bin Laden might not be so eager to quote Blum if he was aware of his other work, Killing Hope, an expose of the CIA's covert wars. In it, Blum defends to Soviet occupation of Afghanistan as self-defense against the CIA-backed Islamist guerrillas, including Bin Laden's forces, that were backed by the CIA. Now, why would Bin Laden plug an author like Blum who backed Bin Laden's hated enemies, the Soviet Communists and their Afghan allies? Because the Bin Laden tape and his purported oratory are frauds. In Killing Hope, this is what Blum wrote about Bin Laden and his CIA masters' war in Afghanistan:
"The new government under President Taraki declared a commitment to Islam within a secular state, and to non-alignment in foreign affairs. It said the coup was not foreign inspired and that they were not Communists but rather nationalists and revolutionaries. They pushed radical reforms, they talked about class struggle, they used anti-imperialist rhetoric, they supported Cuba, they signed a friendship treaty and other cooperative agreements with the Soviets and they increased the number of Soviet civilian and military advisers in Afghanistan.... In May 1979, British political scientist Fred Halliday said 'probably more has changed in the countryside over the last year than in the two centuries since the state was established.'
In March 1979, Afghan President Taraki visited Moscow to request Soviet help to fight the mujahideen. The Soviets did promise some military aid, but they would not commit ground troops. As Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin told Taraki: 'The entry of our troops into Afghanistan would outrage the international community, triggering a string of extremely negative consequences. Our common enemies are just waiting for the moment when Soviet troops appear in Afghanistan. This will give them the excuse they need to send armed bands into the country.'
. . . prior to the Soviet invasion, the CIA had been beaming radio propaganda into Afghanistan and cultivating alliances with exiled Afghan guerrilla leaders by donating medicine and communications equipment. U.S. foreign service officers had been meeting with Mujahideen leaders to determine their needs at least as early as April 1979. And, in July, President Carter had signed a 'finding' to aid the rebels covertly, which led to the U.S. providing them with cash, weapons, equipment and supplies, and engaging in propaganda and other psychological operations in Afghanistan on their behalf."
So, we're now supposed to believe that Bin Laden has come around to plug the book written by an author who demonstrated that the Soviet cause in Afghanistan was for self-defense and in furtherance of the well-being of the Afghan people and that Bin Laden's and his mujaheddin compatriots' cause was anti-progressive and destabilizing to the central Asian region? This would be laughable if it were not for the fact that the neo-cons are once again using the Big Lie to further their ambitions of global domination and worldwide fascism. The 911 attacks are beginning to look more and more like the Reichstag Fire, both engineered to bring about fascist control.
However, the tape is an obvious fake being used by the Bush administration to scare Americans into believing "Al Qaeda" is making plans for another attack and an attempt to link Bin Laden to Democrats.
The reason the tape is as phony as Niger yellowcake documents and Saddam's weapons of mass destruction is as plain as day. Bin Laden quotes from the introduction of a book written by long-time Washington, DC progressive author and journalist and a friend of mine, Bill Blum. Bill was once an editor and contributor to Covert Action Quarterly, a magazine devoted to exposing CIA operations like the arming, funding, and training of Bin Laden and his mujaheddin guerrillas during the Afghan-Soviet war.
The Bush perception managers are either incredibly stupid or are trying to ensnare liberal journalists as aiders and abettors of Al Qaeda, something that is certainly within their scope. Bin Laden quotes the following passage from Blum's book, Rogue State: "If you (Americans) are sincere in your desire for peace and security, we have answered you. And if Bush decides to carry on with his lies and oppression, then it would be useful for you to read the book Rogue State, which states in its introduction: 'If I were president, I would stop the attacks on the United States: First I would give an apology to all the widows and orphans and those who were tortured. Then I would announce that American interference in the nations of the world has ended once and for all.'"
Bogus tape alert! The Bin Laden tape plugging Bill Blum's book Rogue State is a ridiculous neo-con forgery intended to tarnish the progressive left.
Bin Laden might not be so eager to quote Blum if he was aware of his other work, Killing Hope, an expose of the CIA's covert wars. In it, Blum defends to Soviet occupation of Afghanistan as self-defense against the CIA-backed Islamist guerrillas, including Bin Laden's forces, that were backed by the CIA. Now, why would Bin Laden plug an author like Blum who backed Bin Laden's hated enemies, the Soviet Communists and their Afghan allies? Because the Bin Laden tape and his purported oratory are frauds. In Killing Hope, this is what Blum wrote about Bin Laden and his CIA masters' war in Afghanistan:
"The new government under President Taraki declared a commitment to Islam within a secular state, and to non-alignment in foreign affairs. It said the coup was not foreign inspired and that they were not Communists but rather nationalists and revolutionaries. They pushed radical reforms, they talked about class struggle, they used anti-imperialist rhetoric, they supported Cuba, they signed a friendship treaty and other cooperative agreements with the Soviets and they increased the number of Soviet civilian and military advisers in Afghanistan.... In May 1979, British political scientist Fred Halliday said 'probably more has changed in the countryside over the last year than in the two centuries since the state was established.'
In March 1979, Afghan President Taraki visited Moscow to request Soviet help to fight the mujahideen. The Soviets did promise some military aid, but they would not commit ground troops. As Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin told Taraki: 'The entry of our troops into Afghanistan would outrage the international community, triggering a string of extremely negative consequences. Our common enemies are just waiting for the moment when Soviet troops appear in Afghanistan. This will give them the excuse they need to send armed bands into the country.'
. . . prior to the Soviet invasion, the CIA had been beaming radio propaganda into Afghanistan and cultivating alliances with exiled Afghan guerrilla leaders by donating medicine and communications equipment. U.S. foreign service officers had been meeting with Mujahideen leaders to determine their needs at least as early as April 1979. And, in July, President Carter had signed a 'finding' to aid the rebels covertly, which led to the U.S. providing them with cash, weapons, equipment and supplies, and engaging in propaganda and other psychological operations in Afghanistan on their behalf."
So, we're now supposed to believe that Bin Laden has come around to plug the book written by an author who demonstrated that the Soviet cause in Afghanistan was for self-defense and in furtherance of the well-being of the Afghan people and that Bin Laden's and his mujaheddin compatriots' cause was anti-progressive and destabilizing to the central Asian region? This would be laughable if it were not for the fact that the neo-cons are once again using the Big Lie to further their ambitions of global domination and worldwide fascism. The 911 attacks are beginning to look more and more like the Reichstag Fire, both engineered to bring about fascist control.
Google fights while Yahoo drops its pants and bends over.
Yahoo has admitted that it granted the US Government access to its search engine's databases this summer, as a battle develops over the right to privacy in cyberspace.
Google, by contrast, promised last night to fight vigorously the Bush Administration’s demand to know what millions of people have been looking up on the internet.
It emerged this week that the White House issued subpoenas to a number of US-based search engines this summer, asking to see what information the public had accessed in a two-month period. It said that it needed the information in order to help create online child protection laws.
But Google refused to comply with its subpoena - prompting the US Attorney General this week to ask a federal judge in San Jose for an order to hand over the requested records. Details of the confrontation emerged after the San Jose Mercury News reported seeing the court papers on Wednesday.
At the heart of the battle is the potential for online databases to become tools for government surveillance.
Yahoo has stressed that it didn’t reveal any personal information. "We are rigorous defenders of our users’ privacy," Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako said last night. "In our opinion, this is not a privacy issue."
The Google court papers show that the US Government originally asked for a list of all requests entered into Google’s search engine between June 1 and July 31 last year. When Google argued, the request was whittled down to a week's worth of search terms - a breakdown that could nonetheless span tens of millions of queries. In addition, the White House has asked for one million randomly selected Web addresses from various Google databases.
Every other search engine company served similar subpoenas by the Bush administration has complied so far, according to the court documents.
The co-operating search engines were not identified. Microsoft's MSN, the third-most used search engine, has declined to say whether it received a subpoena. "MSN works closely with law enforcement officials worldwide to assist them when requested," the company said in a statement.
The US Government says that it is not seeking any data that would allow it to identify which individual made which search request.
Experts say nonetheless that the subpoena raises serious privacy concerns, especially after recent revelations that the White House authorised civilian phone-taps after the September 11 attacks without obtaining court approval.
Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse charity in California, called the subpoenas "the first shoe dropping" that online privacy advocates had long feared.
"These search engines are a very tempting target for government and law enforcement," Givens said. "Look at the millions of people who use search engines without thinking of the potential to be drawn into a government drag net."
The subpoenas were a "classic fishing trip" by federal prosecutors, she added.
Thomas Burke, a San Francisco lawyer who has handled several prominent privacy cases, said that many people contacted Google more often than they spoke to their mother. "Just as most people would be upset if the government wanted to know how much you called your mother and what you talked about, they should be upset about this, too," he said.
Pam Dixon, executive director for the World Privacy Forum, warned that the content of search requests sometimes contain information about the person making the query, such as names, medical profiles or Social Security information.
"This is exactly the kind of thing we have been worrying about with search engines for some time," Dixon said. "Google should be commended for fighting this." She warned people to be careful what personal information they entered into search engines.
The Department of Justice argues that Google’s cooperation is essential in its effort to simulate how people navigate the web. In a separate case in Pennsylvania, the Bush Administration is trying to prove that internet filters do not do an adequate job of preventing children from accessing online pornography and other objectionable destinations.
Obtaining the subpoenaed information from Google "would assist the government in its efforts to understand the behavior of current web users, (and) to estimate how often web users encounter harmful-to-minors material in the course of their searches," the Justice Department wrote in its court petition.
Google issued a statement last night promising to fight the case. "Google is not a party to this lawsuit and their demand for information overreaches," wrote Nicole Wong, Google's associate general counsel. "We had lengthy discussions with them to try to resolve this, but were not able to and we intend to resist their motion vigorously."
But Google's vigorous defence of privacy rights in the face of demands from the US government is apparently at odds with the search engine's stance in China.
There, human rights activists have complained that Google collaborates with the Chinese government, which controls the activities of its 111 million web surfers with one of the most stifling internet censorship policies in the world.
Google is locked in competition for the lucrative Chinese market, along with Yahoo and MSN, and the homegrown Chinese search engine Baidu.com.
All the US companies have been criticised for censoring news sites, search engines and weblogs that China's communist government considers subversive or obscene. For example, a web user in China who tried to search Google or Yahoo for subjects such as democracy and human rights would find nothing in his search results.
There was outrage in September when it emerged that Yahoo had supplied details to the Chinese authorities of the personal e-mail account of Shi Tao, a 37-year-old journalist. He was found guilty of "spreading state secrets" and jailed for 10 years, for forwarding to a foreign website a Chinese government circular banning the media from reporting the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Google, by contrast, promised last night to fight vigorously the Bush Administration’s demand to know what millions of people have been looking up on the internet.
It emerged this week that the White House issued subpoenas to a number of US-based search engines this summer, asking to see what information the public had accessed in a two-month period. It said that it needed the information in order to help create online child protection laws.
But Google refused to comply with its subpoena - prompting the US Attorney General this week to ask a federal judge in San Jose for an order to hand over the requested records. Details of the confrontation emerged after the San Jose Mercury News reported seeing the court papers on Wednesday.
At the heart of the battle is the potential for online databases to become tools for government surveillance.
Yahoo has stressed that it didn’t reveal any personal information. "We are rigorous defenders of our users’ privacy," Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako said last night. "In our opinion, this is not a privacy issue."
The Google court papers show that the US Government originally asked for a list of all requests entered into Google’s search engine between June 1 and July 31 last year. When Google argued, the request was whittled down to a week's worth of search terms - a breakdown that could nonetheless span tens of millions of queries. In addition, the White House has asked for one million randomly selected Web addresses from various Google databases.
Every other search engine company served similar subpoenas by the Bush administration has complied so far, according to the court documents.
The co-operating search engines were not identified. Microsoft's MSN, the third-most used search engine, has declined to say whether it received a subpoena. "MSN works closely with law enforcement officials worldwide to assist them when requested," the company said in a statement.
The US Government says that it is not seeking any data that would allow it to identify which individual made which search request.
Experts say nonetheless that the subpoena raises serious privacy concerns, especially after recent revelations that the White House authorised civilian phone-taps after the September 11 attacks without obtaining court approval.
Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse charity in California, called the subpoenas "the first shoe dropping" that online privacy advocates had long feared.
"These search engines are a very tempting target for government and law enforcement," Givens said. "Look at the millions of people who use search engines without thinking of the potential to be drawn into a government drag net."
The subpoenas were a "classic fishing trip" by federal prosecutors, she added.
Thomas Burke, a San Francisco lawyer who has handled several prominent privacy cases, said that many people contacted Google more often than they spoke to their mother. "Just as most people would be upset if the government wanted to know how much you called your mother and what you talked about, they should be upset about this, too," he said.
Pam Dixon, executive director for the World Privacy Forum, warned that the content of search requests sometimes contain information about the person making the query, such as names, medical profiles or Social Security information.
"This is exactly the kind of thing we have been worrying about with search engines for some time," Dixon said. "Google should be commended for fighting this." She warned people to be careful what personal information they entered into search engines.
The Department of Justice argues that Google’s cooperation is essential in its effort to simulate how people navigate the web. In a separate case in Pennsylvania, the Bush Administration is trying to prove that internet filters do not do an adequate job of preventing children from accessing online pornography and other objectionable destinations.
Obtaining the subpoenaed information from Google "would assist the government in its efforts to understand the behavior of current web users, (and) to estimate how often web users encounter harmful-to-minors material in the course of their searches," the Justice Department wrote in its court petition.
Google issued a statement last night promising to fight the case. "Google is not a party to this lawsuit and their demand for information overreaches," wrote Nicole Wong, Google's associate general counsel. "We had lengthy discussions with them to try to resolve this, but were not able to and we intend to resist their motion vigorously."
But Google's vigorous defence of privacy rights in the face of demands from the US government is apparently at odds with the search engine's stance in China.
There, human rights activists have complained that Google collaborates with the Chinese government, which controls the activities of its 111 million web surfers with one of the most stifling internet censorship policies in the world.
Google is locked in competition for the lucrative Chinese market, along with Yahoo and MSN, and the homegrown Chinese search engine Baidu.com.
All the US companies have been criticised for censoring news sites, search engines and weblogs that China's communist government considers subversive or obscene. For example, a web user in China who tried to search Google or Yahoo for subjects such as democracy and human rights would find nothing in his search results.
There was outrage in September when it emerged that Yahoo had supplied details to the Chinese authorities of the personal e-mail account of Shi Tao, a 37-year-old journalist. He was found guilty of "spreading state secrets" and jailed for 10 years, for forwarding to a foreign website a Chinese government circular banning the media from reporting the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
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