Last chance for you to help
Hi again, Palash
I wanted to follow up on the couple of emails I sent to you over the past 2 weeks. My organization, International Medical Corps, was nominated to be one of the Top 25 in American Express' Members Projects, "Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children" and is in the running to receive up to $1.5 million to help feed hungry children.
There is only 1 day left in the voting and International Medical Corps is currently number 5 in the Top 5 American Express Members Projects. If we fall out of the Top 5 we will receive no funding, so every vote counts. I wanted to make one last plea for you to post on Nandigram United because it would really help our mission. I just added some new videos and blogger widgets to our social media press release here:
http://internationalmedicalcorps.smnr.us/
Please let me know if you can post and please vote for "Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children." Thank you so much.
Chessia
--
Chessia Kelley, International Medical Corps
ckelley@imcworldwide.org
http://imcworldwide.org
Memories of Another day
While my Parents Pulin babu and Basanti devi were living
Monday, September 29, 2008
December 3, 2000-America in the Grip of Bush's 'Iron Triangle' The network of big business interests that is now waiting to reap its rewards from an a
December 3, 2000-America in the Grip of Bush's 'Iron Triangle' The network of big business interests that is now waiting to reap its rewards from an administration that may stand for little but revenge and greed
Published on Sunday, December 3, 2000 in the Observer of London
America in the Grip of Bush's 'Iron Triangle' ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_triangle
)
The network of big business interests that is now waiting to reap its
rewards from an administration that may stand for little but revenge
and greed
by Ed Vulliamy @ http://www.commondreams.org/views/120300-106.htm
The ominous joke in Washington is that George W. Bush is learning how
to pronounce the word 'inaugural'.
The city that has for eight years filled its cappuccino bars with the
staff of a reforming presidency is bracing itself for change: an
influx of Texan Stetsons and Cuban heels - and a politics stamped with
a familiar brand name, the Bush family. 'It will be,' says one senior
White House aide, 'the restoration of the aristocracy, motivated by
revenge and greed.'
The Bush Transition Office has just opened across the River Potomac
from the leafy, liberal streets of Georgetown in McClean, Virginia,
where heavy-hitting lobbies of the conservative Right fill the phone
directory. From here, where workers are rewiring to make way for more
phone lines, Bush's presidency-in-waiting will take shape, even though
the election result remains contested.
The question the capital is asking is the one posed by White House
communications director Sidney Blumenthal on Friday: 'If Bush wins,
who is the President?'
That is a question more and more Americans are raising as Bush's grip
on the White House strengthens by the day. Just what does 'Dubya'
stand for? The answer seems to be: not much. The more you look at Bush
the less you see. For every clue as to what kind of President he would
make, there is a question; for every pattern, a glitch.
The clues are among the entourage, either packing for Washington or
else already here, planning the next four years while Bush bides his
time - relaxing, apparently - at his ranch. If there was ever a
President defined by his donors and patrons, it is Bush. Like a player
in a baroque allegorical drama, he is not really a person, more a
personification of interests.
They come from three overlapping spheres of influence: his father's
ancien régime , the clique of political operatives with which 'Dubya'
has governed the nation's second biggest state, and - most formidably
- business interests behind the Republican Party that have waited
eight long Clinton years for this moment. For all of them, another
Bush administration is payback time.
A network controlled by George Bush Snr first opened the floodgates
for the funds that bought 'W' the election. 'The old man's network,'
says Bush's cousin, John Ellis, 'is probably 50,000 people, and I
think they were looking for some kind of vindication. I don't think
you can possibly overrate the hatred of Bill Clinton in the Republican
Party'.
The old guard falls into two categories. The privy council of the last
Bush administration is led by Dick Cheney, getting down to the
unfinished business of 1992 while 'Dubya' is out of town. It includes
General Colin Powell, former Secretary of State James Baker, Pentagon
official Paul Wolfowitz and National Security aide Condoleeza Rice.
From his father's domestic team, Bush has former Federal Reserve
appointee Lawrence Summers, and faithful soldier Andrew Card to be his
Chief of Staff - of whom one aide said: 'At least he's not a Texan.'
Then there is the overlapping circle of investors and corporate barons
made rich by Bush's father, collected into the Carlyle Group, a
cabalistic, Washington-based merchant bank chaired by Ronald Reagan's
former Pentagon chief, Frank Carlucci. Carlyle is a financial club for
Bush Snr's intimate circle and can expect to enjoy political clout in
the White House.
Bush Snr is one of the bank's paid emissaries. Among the partners are
his economic adviser Richard Darman and Dubya's front man in Florida,
James Baker (Bush Jnr has his own connections with Carlyle).
From this ancien régime comes talk of bipartisanship, conciliatory
gestures to a riven nation and Congress, and even recruitment of pro-
Bush Democrats into the Cabinet. But behind the figureheads are other
faces - the hardline Texan managers of the most disciplined and
lavishly funded political campaign in recent history.
And behind them are the real power brokers, hands to guide the White
House from within the world of business and industry with whom Bush
has worked for years, who wield awesome power in American society and
owe no debt to compromise.
In the capital, the point man works both on stage and behind the
scenes. When the Supreme Court convened on Friday, Bush was
represented by Theodore Olson, a high-profile attorney and former
partner of Kenneth Starr.
But, backstage, Olson is the Washingtonian who has kept the right-wing
candle burning on the capital's dining circuit during the Clinton
years, along with his socialite wife, Barbara. It is intriguing that
Bush should have appointed the man who accepted some $2.4 million from
the ultra-conservative donor Mellon Scaife for what became known as
the Arkansas Project - the conspiracy to launch the Paula Jones
lawsuit, to detonate the fruitless Whitewater 'scandal' through paid
operatives in Little Rock, and ultimately to force the impeachment of
President Clinton. Now Olson has become ambassador inside the Beltway
for the state of Texas.
To most Washingtonians, Texas - with its 1.4 million children without
health insurance, squandered surplus, appalling pollution record,
exaggerated school standards, housing crisis and execution factory -
is not an alluring model for America.
But Bush has, from the beginning, pointed to Texas as the validation
of his presidential collateral. And the Bush power base - of his own
generation, at least - lies in his fiefdom, in whose image he would
forge the nation.
Most obviously, Bush will continue to lean on the so-called 'Iron
Triangle' of his closest aides throughout his political career. The
most visible of these is spokeswoman Karen Hughes, whom CNN's Charles
Zewe says 'treats the media like a covey of quail that can be rounded
up'.
'Bush,' says a Texan Democrat consultant, 'is the boy in the bubble of
infotainment.' Hughes, an army brat born in Paris (France, not Texas),
with size-12 shoes and Texan-sized voice, will be the woman to make
sure the bubble does not burst, like the boil on Bush's cheek the week
after he first thought he was elected.
The second point of the triangle is the buzz-cut Oklahoman Joe
Allbaugh, quiet enforcer of the governor's will. He would be the White
House 'thought police', with a further role to mediate friction that
exists, hidden, between Hughes and the apex of the Iron Triangle, Karl
Rove.
Rove goes back nearly 30 years in Republican politics, 25 of them with
the Bush family. He moved to Texas to work for the then Congressman
Bush in 1973. Talking to him is like meeting a robot; it is hard to
detect any sign of feeling other than devotion to and control over his
current master, for whom he has fought every political campaign. Even
Tom Paulen, former chairman of the Texas Republican Party, calls Rove
'a control freak'.
Rove was Bush Snr's emissary to his own son. He had the idea 'Dubya'
should run 'some time during the 1995 session', he told The Observer -
and in this he is more than a political strategist. Rove does not only
form part of the Iron Triangle; he welds it to other scaffolding in
the Bush political edifice. He is the centre of a nexus that connects
not only the gubernatorial machine to Bush Snr, but to the business
and party interests that sought out George W. Bush (rather than the
other way round) to win back the White House at, literally, any cost.
'I never dreamed about being President,' says Bush, 'All of a sudden,
people started talking to me about the presidency'. Karl Rove
organised the meetings in 1998 that began the Republicans' courting of
this real-life Forrest Gump - for a reason.
Clinton was regarded as an illegitimate President because he gave
certain quarters of American power a hard time - characterised by a
new term in the Wall Street lexicon during the aftermath of the
election: 'Bush stocks'.
'There's been a sigh of relief,' said Larry Smith, an analyst with
Sutro in New York. Bush's proclaimed victory was greeted by a sudden
leap in the share value of big pharmaceutical companies, big insurers
of health care, and the big oil and tobacco companies.
While Rove was masterminding Bush's gubernatorial victory of 1994 in
Texas, he himself had another job with one of these companies: a paid
political intelligence operative for the Philip Morris cigarette
company, reporting to another Bush aide, Jack Dillard, ubiquitous
tobacco lobbyist.
Unlike that of Clinton, Bush's record on tobacco does not displease
the industry; he decreed it impossible for the civil lawsuit against
tobacco companies to proceed in Texas. 'The prospect of Bill Clinton
gone and a Bush presidency makes the tobacco industry almost giddy,'
says Martin Feldman, an analyst of the industry for the consultants
Salomon Smith and Barney.
Corporate delight at the prospect of a Bush team heading for
Washington stems from the core political philosophy Bush brings from
Texas to Washington, which is also Rove's principal achievement. In
Texas legalese it was called 'tort reform'; in Washington it
translates as grand-scale deregulation of business, services and
industry.
Even if a full-blooded Bush agenda is partly clipped by the pall of
illegitimacy and the narrowness of his official victory, this is the
Texas manifesto the newcomers to Washington will be determined - and
likely - to accomplish.
It was described to The Observer this last week by a senior White
House aide as 'bringing the business special interests into politics
so they can take over the regulatory bodies of government and regulate
themselves'. For example: the Environmental Protection Agency, the
fair trade agencies, the health, safety and 'human resources'
executives, the regulation of industry, education, guns, medicine and
land use.
And so, behind the political 'Iron Triangle' is the real 'Iron
Triangle' also lying in wait with Bush - the businessmen.
Foremost among these is Don Evans, the rainmaker. Evans, an oil
executive from Bush's home town of Midland, Texas, goes back three
decades with the governor, who was his childhood friend and confidant.
Evans became his presidential campaign chairman, filling the biggest
political war chest of all time.
He is now tipped by one Republican insider for 'any job he wants' in
the White House. Whatever that is, he will be among the most
influential politicians in America. The word among Republicans is that
Evans may have his eye on the chairmanship of the party's National
Committee.
Evans represents the industry in which Bush himself began his career,
which propels the economy of Texas and was crucial to both his and his
father's victories - oil.
No industry has a higher stake in 'tort reform' than the drillers of
black gold, and few look forward to a deregulating Bush administration
more than the executives of the oil industry, which has already been
promised almost unfettered exploration and drilling rights.
But there are other interests too, and two of them - urban development
and health care - combine with oil in another mighty figure in the
background of a Bush administration. If he must thank his father for
his name, Bush must thank Richard Rainwater for his money.
Last year, as he prepared to run for President, Bush liquidated a
blind trust he created to hold his assets - many of them in oil, real
estate, health care and other companies owned by Rainwater, a
contributor to Bush's campaigns and with whose money Bush aquired his
windfall stake in the Texas Rangers baseball team.
Rainwater is a billionaire buying into beleaguered companies at
discount prices and reselling when everyone wants in. But he is also
involved in companies, including oil firms, that are heavily regulated
with hundreds of millions in government contracts.
One, a hospital chain called Columbia/HCA, is the subject of a federal
investigation into Medicare fraud. Another, Charter Behavioural Health
Systems (in which Bush held investments), is subject to regulatory
scrutiny, while another - Crescent Real Estate, which operates mental
hospitals - has its multi-million-dollar government input under
federal investigation. Rainwater is not himself accused of any
misdemeanour, but in each case, the prospect of Bush's promise to
privatise and deregulate the health system is a tempting one.
Rainwater is most famous for investing the oil wealth of the third
point of Bush's business Iron Triangle - the Bass Brothers, builders
of the metropolis Fort Worth. He turned the $50 million they invested
with him in 1970 to $5 billion in 1986, mainly through timely
investing in Texaco oil and Disney.
This is how the wheels go round in Texas: in 1997, Governor Bush
supported a tax reform Bill aimed to cut, among other things, school
property taxes. The reform saved Rainwater's Crescent Real Estate
$2.5m.
In 1999, Bush rushed through an emergency tax relief package to help
independent oil producers as prices slumped. According to state
records, the biggest beneficiary was the Pioneer Natural Resources oil
company, with a $1m tax break. Filings with the Security Exchange
Commission show Rainwater to own 55m shares in Pioneer.
The scale model for this entwinement of political and commercial
interests was the inclusion of the oil companies in drawing up Texas's
clean air regulations last year. The rules were devised by Bush's
office in collaboration with Marathon Oil and Exxon, and left
companies to set their own standards voluntarily.
But while the governor was waiting to sign the new 'self-regulatory'
Bill into law, the town of Odessa, Texas, was covered by a pall of
black smoke so thick that drivers had to switch on their lights during
daylight.
Odessa, said Dr David Karman of the Texas Natural Resources
Commission, 'was like having an open incinerator in your backyard.
Only this incinerator is burning a very large soup of toxic
chemicals'.
In bringing the politics of Texan non-government into national
government, Bush is in perfect harmony with two of his most powerful
lieutenants in Congress: Dick Armey, leader of the House, and Tom
Delay, the Republicans' feared chief whip.
Delay, who led the impeachment of President Clinton and whose office
mobilised the baying crowds bussed around Florida last month, is seen
as the coming man and leader of the extreme Right, with which Bush
must deal. Delay has called the Environmental Protection Agency the
'Gestapo' of government.
Armey has likewise attacked what he calls 'government shackles on
enterprise'; both men have sworn absolute loyalty to Bush.
And as it happens, both men, like George W. Bush, come from Texas.
Another Iron Triangle.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2000 >end
Peace,
Doc
Published on Sunday, December 3, 2000 in the Observer of London
America in the Grip of Bush's 'Iron Triangle' ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_triangle
)
The network of big business interests that is now waiting to reap its
rewards from an administration that may stand for little but revenge
and greed
by Ed Vulliamy @ http://www.commondreams.org/views/120300-106.htm
The ominous joke in Washington is that George W. Bush is learning how
to pronounce the word 'inaugural'.
The city that has for eight years filled its cappuccino bars with the
staff of a reforming presidency is bracing itself for change: an
influx of Texan Stetsons and Cuban heels - and a politics stamped with
a familiar brand name, the Bush family. 'It will be,' says one senior
White House aide, 'the restoration of the aristocracy, motivated by
revenge and greed.'
The Bush Transition Office has just opened across the River Potomac
from the leafy, liberal streets of Georgetown in McClean, Virginia,
where heavy-hitting lobbies of the conservative Right fill the phone
directory. From here, where workers are rewiring to make way for more
phone lines, Bush's presidency-in-waiting will take shape, even though
the election result remains contested.
The question the capital is asking is the one posed by White House
communications director Sidney Blumenthal on Friday: 'If Bush wins,
who is the President?'
That is a question more and more Americans are raising as Bush's grip
on the White House strengthens by the day. Just what does 'Dubya'
stand for? The answer seems to be: not much. The more you look at Bush
the less you see. For every clue as to what kind of President he would
make, there is a question; for every pattern, a glitch.
The clues are among the entourage, either packing for Washington or
else already here, planning the next four years while Bush bides his
time - relaxing, apparently - at his ranch. If there was ever a
President defined by his donors and patrons, it is Bush. Like a player
in a baroque allegorical drama, he is not really a person, more a
personification of interests.
They come from three overlapping spheres of influence: his father's
ancien régime , the clique of political operatives with which 'Dubya'
has governed the nation's second biggest state, and - most formidably
- business interests behind the Republican Party that have waited
eight long Clinton years for this moment. For all of them, another
Bush administration is payback time.
A network controlled by George Bush Snr first opened the floodgates
for the funds that bought 'W' the election. 'The old man's network,'
says Bush's cousin, John Ellis, 'is probably 50,000 people, and I
think they were looking for some kind of vindication. I don't think
you can possibly overrate the hatred of Bill Clinton in the Republican
Party'.
The old guard falls into two categories. The privy council of the last
Bush administration is led by Dick Cheney, getting down to the
unfinished business of 1992 while 'Dubya' is out of town. It includes
General Colin Powell, former Secretary of State James Baker, Pentagon
official Paul Wolfowitz and National Security aide Condoleeza Rice.
From his father's domestic team, Bush has former Federal Reserve
appointee Lawrence Summers, and faithful soldier Andrew Card to be his
Chief of Staff - of whom one aide said: 'At least he's not a Texan.'
Then there is the overlapping circle of investors and corporate barons
made rich by Bush's father, collected into the Carlyle Group, a
cabalistic, Washington-based merchant bank chaired by Ronald Reagan's
former Pentagon chief, Frank Carlucci. Carlyle is a financial club for
Bush Snr's intimate circle and can expect to enjoy political clout in
the White House.
Bush Snr is one of the bank's paid emissaries. Among the partners are
his economic adviser Richard Darman and Dubya's front man in Florida,
James Baker (Bush Jnr has his own connections with Carlyle).
From this ancien régime comes talk of bipartisanship, conciliatory
gestures to a riven nation and Congress, and even recruitment of pro-
Bush Democrats into the Cabinet. But behind the figureheads are other
faces - the hardline Texan managers of the most disciplined and
lavishly funded political campaign in recent history.
And behind them are the real power brokers, hands to guide the White
House from within the world of business and industry with whom Bush
has worked for years, who wield awesome power in American society and
owe no debt to compromise.
In the capital, the point man works both on stage and behind the
scenes. When the Supreme Court convened on Friday, Bush was
represented by Theodore Olson, a high-profile attorney and former
partner of Kenneth Starr.
But, backstage, Olson is the Washingtonian who has kept the right-wing
candle burning on the capital's dining circuit during the Clinton
years, along with his socialite wife, Barbara. It is intriguing that
Bush should have appointed the man who accepted some $2.4 million from
the ultra-conservative donor Mellon Scaife for what became known as
the Arkansas Project - the conspiracy to launch the Paula Jones
lawsuit, to detonate the fruitless Whitewater 'scandal' through paid
operatives in Little Rock, and ultimately to force the impeachment of
President Clinton. Now Olson has become ambassador inside the Beltway
for the state of Texas.
To most Washingtonians, Texas - with its 1.4 million children without
health insurance, squandered surplus, appalling pollution record,
exaggerated school standards, housing crisis and execution factory -
is not an alluring model for America.
But Bush has, from the beginning, pointed to Texas as the validation
of his presidential collateral. And the Bush power base - of his own
generation, at least - lies in his fiefdom, in whose image he would
forge the nation.
Most obviously, Bush will continue to lean on the so-called 'Iron
Triangle' of his closest aides throughout his political career. The
most visible of these is spokeswoman Karen Hughes, whom CNN's Charles
Zewe says 'treats the media like a covey of quail that can be rounded
up'.
'Bush,' says a Texan Democrat consultant, 'is the boy in the bubble of
infotainment.' Hughes, an army brat born in Paris (France, not Texas),
with size-12 shoes and Texan-sized voice, will be the woman to make
sure the bubble does not burst, like the boil on Bush's cheek the week
after he first thought he was elected.
The second point of the triangle is the buzz-cut Oklahoman Joe
Allbaugh, quiet enforcer of the governor's will. He would be the White
House 'thought police', with a further role to mediate friction that
exists, hidden, between Hughes and the apex of the Iron Triangle, Karl
Rove.
Rove goes back nearly 30 years in Republican politics, 25 of them with
the Bush family. He moved to Texas to work for the then Congressman
Bush in 1973. Talking to him is like meeting a robot; it is hard to
detect any sign of feeling other than devotion to and control over his
current master, for whom he has fought every political campaign. Even
Tom Paulen, former chairman of the Texas Republican Party, calls Rove
'a control freak'.
Rove was Bush Snr's emissary to his own son. He had the idea 'Dubya'
should run 'some time during the 1995 session', he told The Observer -
and in this he is more than a political strategist. Rove does not only
form part of the Iron Triangle; he welds it to other scaffolding in
the Bush political edifice. He is the centre of a nexus that connects
not only the gubernatorial machine to Bush Snr, but to the business
and party interests that sought out George W. Bush (rather than the
other way round) to win back the White House at, literally, any cost.
'I never dreamed about being President,' says Bush, 'All of a sudden,
people started talking to me about the presidency'. Karl Rove
organised the meetings in 1998 that began the Republicans' courting of
this real-life Forrest Gump - for a reason.
Clinton was regarded as an illegitimate President because he gave
certain quarters of American power a hard time - characterised by a
new term in the Wall Street lexicon during the aftermath of the
election: 'Bush stocks'.
'There's been a sigh of relief,' said Larry Smith, an analyst with
Sutro in New York. Bush's proclaimed victory was greeted by a sudden
leap in the share value of big pharmaceutical companies, big insurers
of health care, and the big oil and tobacco companies.
While Rove was masterminding Bush's gubernatorial victory of 1994 in
Texas, he himself had another job with one of these companies: a paid
political intelligence operative for the Philip Morris cigarette
company, reporting to another Bush aide, Jack Dillard, ubiquitous
tobacco lobbyist.
Unlike that of Clinton, Bush's record on tobacco does not displease
the industry; he decreed it impossible for the civil lawsuit against
tobacco companies to proceed in Texas. 'The prospect of Bill Clinton
gone and a Bush presidency makes the tobacco industry almost giddy,'
says Martin Feldman, an analyst of the industry for the consultants
Salomon Smith and Barney.
Corporate delight at the prospect of a Bush team heading for
Washington stems from the core political philosophy Bush brings from
Texas to Washington, which is also Rove's principal achievement. In
Texas legalese it was called 'tort reform'; in Washington it
translates as grand-scale deregulation of business, services and
industry.
Even if a full-blooded Bush agenda is partly clipped by the pall of
illegitimacy and the narrowness of his official victory, this is the
Texas manifesto the newcomers to Washington will be determined - and
likely - to accomplish.
It was described to The Observer this last week by a senior White
House aide as 'bringing the business special interests into politics
so they can take over the regulatory bodies of government and regulate
themselves'. For example: the Environmental Protection Agency, the
fair trade agencies, the health, safety and 'human resources'
executives, the regulation of industry, education, guns, medicine and
land use.
And so, behind the political 'Iron Triangle' is the real 'Iron
Triangle' also lying in wait with Bush - the businessmen.
Foremost among these is Don Evans, the rainmaker. Evans, an oil
executive from Bush's home town of Midland, Texas, goes back three
decades with the governor, who was his childhood friend and confidant.
Evans became his presidential campaign chairman, filling the biggest
political war chest of all time.
He is now tipped by one Republican insider for 'any job he wants' in
the White House. Whatever that is, he will be among the most
influential politicians in America. The word among Republicans is that
Evans may have his eye on the chairmanship of the party's National
Committee.
Evans represents the industry in which Bush himself began his career,
which propels the economy of Texas and was crucial to both his and his
father's victories - oil.
No industry has a higher stake in 'tort reform' than the drillers of
black gold, and few look forward to a deregulating Bush administration
more than the executives of the oil industry, which has already been
promised almost unfettered exploration and drilling rights.
But there are other interests too, and two of them - urban development
and health care - combine with oil in another mighty figure in the
background of a Bush administration. If he must thank his father for
his name, Bush must thank Richard Rainwater for his money.
Last year, as he prepared to run for President, Bush liquidated a
blind trust he created to hold his assets - many of them in oil, real
estate, health care and other companies owned by Rainwater, a
contributor to Bush's campaigns and with whose money Bush aquired his
windfall stake in the Texas Rangers baseball team.
Rainwater is a billionaire buying into beleaguered companies at
discount prices and reselling when everyone wants in. But he is also
involved in companies, including oil firms, that are heavily regulated
with hundreds of millions in government contracts.
One, a hospital chain called Columbia/HCA, is the subject of a federal
investigation into Medicare fraud. Another, Charter Behavioural Health
Systems (in which Bush held investments), is subject to regulatory
scrutiny, while another - Crescent Real Estate, which operates mental
hospitals - has its multi-million-dollar government input under
federal investigation. Rainwater is not himself accused of any
misdemeanour, but in each case, the prospect of Bush's promise to
privatise and deregulate the health system is a tempting one.
Rainwater is most famous for investing the oil wealth of the third
point of Bush's business Iron Triangle - the Bass Brothers, builders
of the metropolis Fort Worth. He turned the $50 million they invested
with him in 1970 to $5 billion in 1986, mainly through timely
investing in Texaco oil and Disney.
This is how the wheels go round in Texas: in 1997, Governor Bush
supported a tax reform Bill aimed to cut, among other things, school
property taxes. The reform saved Rainwater's Crescent Real Estate
$2.5m.
In 1999, Bush rushed through an emergency tax relief package to help
independent oil producers as prices slumped. According to state
records, the biggest beneficiary was the Pioneer Natural Resources oil
company, with a $1m tax break. Filings with the Security Exchange
Commission show Rainwater to own 55m shares in Pioneer.
The scale model for this entwinement of political and commercial
interests was the inclusion of the oil companies in drawing up Texas's
clean air regulations last year. The rules were devised by Bush's
office in collaboration with Marathon Oil and Exxon, and left
companies to set their own standards voluntarily.
But while the governor was waiting to sign the new 'self-regulatory'
Bill into law, the town of Odessa, Texas, was covered by a pall of
black smoke so thick that drivers had to switch on their lights during
daylight.
Odessa, said Dr David Karman of the Texas Natural Resources
Commission, 'was like having an open incinerator in your backyard.
Only this incinerator is burning a very large soup of toxic
chemicals'.
In bringing the politics of Texan non-government into national
government, Bush is in perfect harmony with two of his most powerful
lieutenants in Congress: Dick Armey, leader of the House, and Tom
Delay, the Republicans' feared chief whip.
Delay, who led the impeachment of President Clinton and whose office
mobilised the baying crowds bussed around Florida last month, is seen
as the coming man and leader of the extreme Right, with which Bush
must deal. Delay has called the Environmental Protection Agency the
'Gestapo' of government.
Armey has likewise attacked what he calls 'government shackles on
enterprise'; both men have sworn absolute loyalty to Bush.
And as it happens, both men, like George W. Bush, come from Texas.
Another Iron Triangle.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2000 >end
Peace,
Doc
The Thuggery of Al Gore
The Thuggery of Al Gore
by William L. Anderson
In Mario Puzo’s book, The Godfather, Vito Corleone is able to rise to power by intimidation and sometimes murder. As Puzo describes it, Corleone made sure that his competitors in distributing olive oil (yes, Vito did do olive oil, among a few other things) had a few problems, like having their delivery trucks robbed, oil dumped in the streets, and whatever else it took to convince his rivals that they should not compete with him.
The Godfather, of course, is a novel (later made into a movie). It is eminently readable, but a novel all the same. What happened this past week, however, was not from a novel, but rather from the mouth of the former U.S. vice president and the latest Nobel Peace Prize winner:
LONDON, England (CNN) – Former vice president and environmental campaigner Al Gore has urged young people to protest against new coal-fired power plants that don't use carbon capture and storage technology.
Speaking at the opening plenary session of the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York, Gore said: "If you're a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration."
There is a problem, of course, and that is that there is no developed technology of "carbon capture" for power plants that can be applied on a large scale, and the early reports are that such a technology would add another 50 percent to the capital costs of the project, making the plant so expensive that it is not worth building in the first place. Thus, my first reaction to this article was to dismiss it as Al Gore being Al Gore: like the idiot uncle in the closet who escapes once in a while.
However, when one combines this latest outburst with his recent call to eliminate all coal-and-oil fired power plants from the United States and replace them with "renewable" energy sources such as windmills and solar panels, a whole different picture emerges. Gore claims that these "new technologies" will "stimulate the economy," but this is nothing more than the Broken Window Fallacy in different terms.
Beyond all his claims of "new technologies" and the like, there was another statement that Gore made which exposes what he is doing – and it is not "saving the planet":
"I believe for a carbon company to spend money convincing the stock-buying public that the risk from the global climate crisis is not that great represents a form of stock fraud because they are misrepresenting a material fact," he said. "I hope these state attorney generals around the country will take some action on that."
Gore clearly is calling for executives of electric power companies that build power plants to be charged with felonies (securities fraud is a felony under state and federal laws), which means that he wants these people to go to prison simply for building electric power plants. Again, it is easy to dismiss this as more Gore rhetoric, except that his actions are much more nefarious than just a nutty guy running his mouth.
Al Gore, you see, is a competitor of the electric power companies. He is not just an advocate; he is a major partner in a fund called Generation Investment Management Ltd., which just capped out at $5 billion. (I doubt seriously that Gore brought any money into the fund; he is the political front man, but stands to become an extremely wealthy person through it.)
Now, if Gore simply were a guy making money on the free market who had radical opinions, I would not be writing this article. However, that is not what is happening. Al Gore is a powerful political figure who is calling for his shock troops to use violence – and don’t kid yourself, that is what he wants – against companies with huge cost advantages against his own technologies of choice.
For all of the ballyhoo for solar and wind power, the ability of these mechanisms to create the energy that comes from coal, oil, or natural gas is miniscule. Robert Bryce in his recent book, Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence, lays bare just how inferior the Gore-financed technologies really are. In fact, if it were not for the special subsidies, tax breaks, and government purchases of these various energy devices, Gore’s fund would be topping out at zero. To put it another way, Gore’s "new technologies" are not commercially viable on a large scale, and certainly cannot begin to replace the current electric production grid in this country and most likely never would be able to do so.
Thus, if these technologies are going to be used on the scale that Gore demands, the only way to do it is through naked brute force. In a word, Gore is appealing to thuggery; he cannot beat his competitors in the marketplace, so he calls for gangs of thugs to shut down construction of these plants, and if that does not work, he wants the government to arrest and imprison the owners.
Vito Corleone, while he could manipulate the law, never was the law. Individual congressmen could send up bills for Vito, judges might look the other way, but his overall influence was marginal. Gore, on the other hand, is becoming a political force at a time when Congress is about to nationalize the entire U.S. financial system, which means that investment in the future is going to flow toward those projects that are politically-connected.
In a free market, investment dollars flow to those projects that promise the most profit; in a political market, the profits come not from correct entrepreneurial choices, but rather from manipulation of the tax code, subsidies, and outright force.
Gore’s latest outbursts, however, bring a new element into the whole energy markets. He is calling for criminalization of burning oil and coal, and if that won’t work, he wants gangs of thugs to shut down the building of new plants, all in the name of the scam of global warming.
It is his crusade for the state to control the weather, of course, that gives Gore the cover to call for thuggish acts by others which will result in Gore becoming even wealthier than he already is. The economist Bruce Yandle once pointed out in his "Baptists and Bootleggers" example that calls for regulation will come from people who represent the "Baptists" in order to front for the "bootleggers." (Baptists and bootleggers both want the liquor stores closed, but for very different reasons.)
Al Gore, however, is taking Professor Yandle’s analogy up another notch. That is because Gore is playing the role of both Baptist and bootlegger. I should add that he also seems to be auditioning for the role of the Godfather himself.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson227.html
by William L. Anderson
In Mario Puzo’s book, The Godfather, Vito Corleone is able to rise to power by intimidation and sometimes murder. As Puzo describes it, Corleone made sure that his competitors in distributing olive oil (yes, Vito did do olive oil, among a few other things) had a few problems, like having their delivery trucks robbed, oil dumped in the streets, and whatever else it took to convince his rivals that they should not compete with him.
The Godfather, of course, is a novel (later made into a movie). It is eminently readable, but a novel all the same. What happened this past week, however, was not from a novel, but rather from the mouth of the former U.S. vice president and the latest Nobel Peace Prize winner:
LONDON, England (CNN) – Former vice president and environmental campaigner Al Gore has urged young people to protest against new coal-fired power plants that don't use carbon capture and storage technology.
Speaking at the opening plenary session of the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York, Gore said: "If you're a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration."
There is a problem, of course, and that is that there is no developed technology of "carbon capture" for power plants that can be applied on a large scale, and the early reports are that such a technology would add another 50 percent to the capital costs of the project, making the plant so expensive that it is not worth building in the first place. Thus, my first reaction to this article was to dismiss it as Al Gore being Al Gore: like the idiot uncle in the closet who escapes once in a while.
However, when one combines this latest outburst with his recent call to eliminate all coal-and-oil fired power plants from the United States and replace them with "renewable" energy sources such as windmills and solar panels, a whole different picture emerges. Gore claims that these "new technologies" will "stimulate the economy," but this is nothing more than the Broken Window Fallacy in different terms.
Beyond all his claims of "new technologies" and the like, there was another statement that Gore made which exposes what he is doing – and it is not "saving the planet":
"I believe for a carbon company to spend money convincing the stock-buying public that the risk from the global climate crisis is not that great represents a form of stock fraud because they are misrepresenting a material fact," he said. "I hope these state attorney generals around the country will take some action on that."
Gore clearly is calling for executives of electric power companies that build power plants to be charged with felonies (securities fraud is a felony under state and federal laws), which means that he wants these people to go to prison simply for building electric power plants. Again, it is easy to dismiss this as more Gore rhetoric, except that his actions are much more nefarious than just a nutty guy running his mouth.
Al Gore, you see, is a competitor of the electric power companies. He is not just an advocate; he is a major partner in a fund called Generation Investment Management Ltd., which just capped out at $5 billion. (I doubt seriously that Gore brought any money into the fund; he is the political front man, but stands to become an extremely wealthy person through it.)
Now, if Gore simply were a guy making money on the free market who had radical opinions, I would not be writing this article. However, that is not what is happening. Al Gore is a powerful political figure who is calling for his shock troops to use violence – and don’t kid yourself, that is what he wants – against companies with huge cost advantages against his own technologies of choice.
For all of the ballyhoo for solar and wind power, the ability of these mechanisms to create the energy that comes from coal, oil, or natural gas is miniscule. Robert Bryce in his recent book, Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence, lays bare just how inferior the Gore-financed technologies really are. In fact, if it were not for the special subsidies, tax breaks, and government purchases of these various energy devices, Gore’s fund would be topping out at zero. To put it another way, Gore’s "new technologies" are not commercially viable on a large scale, and certainly cannot begin to replace the current electric production grid in this country and most likely never would be able to do so.
Thus, if these technologies are going to be used on the scale that Gore demands, the only way to do it is through naked brute force. In a word, Gore is appealing to thuggery; he cannot beat his competitors in the marketplace, so he calls for gangs of thugs to shut down construction of these plants, and if that does not work, he wants the government to arrest and imprison the owners.
Vito Corleone, while he could manipulate the law, never was the law. Individual congressmen could send up bills for Vito, judges might look the other way, but his overall influence was marginal. Gore, on the other hand, is becoming a political force at a time when Congress is about to nationalize the entire U.S. financial system, which means that investment in the future is going to flow toward those projects that are politically-connected.
In a free market, investment dollars flow to those projects that promise the most profit; in a political market, the profits come not from correct entrepreneurial choices, but rather from manipulation of the tax code, subsidies, and outright force.
Gore’s latest outbursts, however, bring a new element into the whole energy markets. He is calling for criminalization of burning oil and coal, and if that won’t work, he wants gangs of thugs to shut down the building of new plants, all in the name of the scam of global warming.
It is his crusade for the state to control the weather, of course, that gives Gore the cover to call for thuggish acts by others which will result in Gore becoming even wealthier than he already is. The economist Bruce Yandle once pointed out in his "Baptists and Bootleggers" example that calls for regulation will come from people who represent the "Baptists" in order to front for the "bootleggers." (Baptists and bootleggers both want the liquor stores closed, but for very different reasons.)
Al Gore, however, is taking Professor Yandle’s analogy up another notch. That is because Gore is playing the role of both Baptist and bootlegger. I should add that he also seems to be auditioning for the role of the Godfather himself.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson227.html
Buy your poison: Aspartame, Diet Soda, Splenda
<<<<< Back To Home
Buy your poison: Aspartame, Diet Soda, Splenda
Leo Rebello
http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=101
[The American model of Corporate Executives moving between Government, top universities, powerful think tanks or NGOs, is now being increasingly exposed in the US as responsible for the stifling of opinion and dissent, and the complete perversion of public life. It has made American citizens guinea pigs in the hands of faceless corporate bureaucrats and soulless corporations, ensuing the very triumph of Mammon that the high values of civilization were supposed to prevent – Editor]
This article aims to create public awareness about the known dangers of Aspartame, Diet Soda, Splenda and how MNCs mess up people’s lives in cahoots with corrupt FDA authorities worldwide. Health Care is Self Care and Right to Health akin to the Right to Life. The State is duty-bound to play a positive facilitating role in this regard; but does it?
Aspartame
When the temperature of the artificial sweetener Aspartame exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in it converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which causes metabolic acidosis [Aspartame Toxicity Center, www.holisticmed.com/aspartame Aspartame Information List; also Splenda & other dangerous sweeteners, www.mpwhi.com. Additional information at www.TruthAboutSplenda.com]
Although multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, Methanol toxicity is. Systemic lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple sclerosis, especially with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers. The victim usually does not know that Aspartame is the culprit. Its continuous use irritates the lupus to such a degree that it may become a life-threatening condition [Ibid]
Patients with systemic lupus become asymptotic, once taken off diet sodas. In cases of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, most symptoms disappear. There are many cases where vision loss returned and hearing loss improved markedly. This also applies to cases of tinnitus and fibromyalgia [Ibid]
Those using Aspartame (Nutra Sweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc) and suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain, unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss, probably have Aspartame poisoning [Ibid]
Sadly, modern medicine, a pseudo science, cannot diagnose people with Aspartame harm or diagnoses in error. There are many instances when diagnosis is totally off the mark, but each ‘one-disease, one-organ’ specialist goes on giving more and more medicines and creating more and diseases. Create-more-diseases-and-cash-on-it being is the operating principle of disease-business and crap science [Holistic Healing in Tropical Diseases, Dr. Leo Rebello, Natural Health Centre, Bombay, 2006]. Therefore, instead of running after these foolish ‘medicine men’ just stop drinking diet sodas and be alert for Aspartame on food labels.
Diet Soda
Diet soda is not a diet product, but a chemically altered, multiple sodium (salt) and Aspartame-containing product that actually makes you crave for carbohydrates and gain weight. These products also contain formaldehyde, which stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs; no wonder the American population is turning obese and/or suffering from cancers and diabetes [From FAT to Fit, Leo Rebello, www.healthwisdom.org]
Formaldehyde is an absolute toxin and is used mainly to preserve ‘tissue specimens’ in laboratories. Formaldehyde poisoning symptoms include local irritation of eyes, nose, mouth, throat, respiratory and gastro-intestinal tracts, and central nervous system causing vertigo, stupor, convulsions, unconsciousness, renal damage.
Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics. Physicians who thought they had a patient with retinopathy in fact had patients with symptoms caused by Aspartame. The latter drives the blood sugar out of control. Thus diabetics may suffer acute memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are neurotoxic. With diabetics, Aspartame passes the blood-brain barrier, attacks the neurons of the brain causing various levels of brain damage, seizures, depression, panic attacks, uncontrollable anger and rage [Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, First Indian Edition, 1990]
Consumption of Aspartame causes these same symptoms in non-diabetics as well. Documentation and observation reveal that thousands of children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD have had complete turnarounds in behavior when these chemicals were removed from their diet. So-called ‘behavior modification prescription drugs’ (Ritalin and others) are no longer needed. Indeed, giving Ritalin for ADD and ADHD is “treatment worse than the disease” [Nature Cure and Yoga Therapy, Dr. Leo Rebello, 2004, 3rd ed.]
Methylphenidate (brand name Ritalin) was patented in 1954 by the CIBA pharmaceutical company (now Novartis), and most brand-name Ritalin is produced in the United States. Methylphenidate is a CNS stimulant. Reported methylphenidate abuse side effects include psychosis (abnormal thinking or hallucinations), insomnia, mood swings, mood changes, nervousness, stomach aches, diarrhea, headaches, decreased sex drive, lack of hunger, gum and skin bleeding and dry mouth [Online library of psychoactive plants, chemicals and related topics from Erowid.org]. It is also complicit in stunted growth.
In the United States and worldwide, methylphenidate is classified as a Schedule II drug under the Convention of Psychotropic Substances because of its high addictive potential and consequent abuse [Wikipedia]. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, “the uproar over Ritalin was triggered almost single-handedly by the Scientology movement.” The Citizens Commission on Human Rights, an anti-psychiatry group associated with Scientology, conducted a major campaign against Ritalin in the 1980s and lobbied Congress for an investigation. Ritalin’s less common side effects include palpitations, high blood pressure and tachycardia [Ibid]. Most child-patients were being ‘poisoned’ on a daily basis. The drug can cause mental retardation and other birth defects, if taken at the time of conception and early pregnancy [Ibid].
Children are especially at risk for neurological disorders and should never be given artificial sweeteners. There are many different case histories of children suffering grand mal-seizures and other neurological disturbances.
Aspartame was approved for use in dry foods in 1981 and in soft drinks in 1983. Late Senator Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio wrote and presented The Aspartame Safety Bill (S. 1554) in 1983 that would require label warnings on products containing Aspartame, especially regarding pregnant women, children and infants. A key element of Metzenbaum’s bill was labelling that would caution consumers how much aspartame they could ingest, the maximum allowable daily intake established by FDA, and a special warning for pregnant women. The bill stated that the warning information “be included on such labels and labelling in a manner which is the most useful to individuals who consume such food.” The bill mandated independent tests by the National Institutes of Health, focusing on brain chemistry, behavioural and neurological reactions, headaches, mood alterations, memory loss and effects on pregnant women and fetuses. It was killed by intense lobbying by the big pharma MNCs in cahoots with the American FDA [Ibid]. The US Food & Drug Administration has long lost is reputation to be able to do its job.
Monsanto’s patent on Aspartame has expired. But there are over 5000 products in the market in USA alone that contain this deadly chemical and thousands more will be introduced. Monsanto, creator of Aspartame, funds the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association and the Conference of the American College of Physicians, a fact exposed by the New York Times: “These [organizations] cannot criticize any additives or convey their link to Monsanto because they take money from them and are required to endorse their products.” Also: “The chemical sucralose, marketed as ‘Splenda,’ has replaced aspartame as the no.1 artificial sweetener in foods and beverages. Aspartame has been forced out by increasing public awareness that it is both a neurotoxin and an underlying cause of chronic illness worldwide...”
Splenda/Sucralose
But “chlorocarbons are never nutritionally compatible with our metabolic processes and are wholly incompatible with normal human metabolic functioning. Any chlorocarbons not directly excreted from the body intact can cause immense damage to the processes of human metabolism and, eventually, our internal organs.” The liver is a detoxification organ which deals with ingested poisons and over time gets damaged beyond repair with such artificial chemicals. You buy the poison; you buy the disease.
According to PRNewswire-USNewswire, 11 August 2008, US District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer has set 6 January 2009 as the starting date for a potentially landmark civil suit against Johnson & Johnson over its alleged false advertising of the artificial sweetener Splenda. The central issue before the court is whether the advertising of Splenda - a man-made chemical sweetener containing chlorine - makes consumers believe it is a natural product, by using taglines like “Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar,” and similar advertising.
Internal documents show Johnson & Johnson knew that its Splenda advertising was causing consumers to believe that Splenda is natural, though it is not. Rulings in France, Australia and New Zealand have found Johnson & Johnson’s advertising of Splenda to be deceptive, but the company continues advertising in the United States and is now the subject of legal scrutiny and public criticism.
Lead Sugar Association attorney Mark Lanier says: “Now we look forward to presenting the truth about Splenda to the jury and focusing on the very real effect of misleading advertising. We are confidant that the outcome will be a victory for consumers everywhere” [PR New and the Sugar Association].
Dr. Betty Martini, founder, Mission Possible International, which promotes the natural herb Stevia for diabetics in place of sugar, says “the controversy rages over Splenda (sucralose). Is it safe and natural like sugar or is it a chlorinated hydrocarbon? As lawsuits fly, consider the chemistry of this artificial compound.” She points out that the FDA denied approval of aspartame for 16 years since it was created and then caved in to political/economic pressure when Don Rumsfeld, CEO of the manufacturer, was brought to Washington by Ronald Reagan. A new FDA Commissioner appointed to approve it then became a consultant for NutraSweet’s public relations firm for $1000/day on a 10-year contract! She said this should have made FDA more cautious the next time, but the FDA approved the toxic chlorocarbon Splenda without hesitation and without any long-term testing on human subjects.”
This shows how powerful drug and chemical lobbies are responsible for letting loose the hounds of disease and death on an unsuspecting and uninformed public. It is time that people woke up to the dangers from the pharmaceutical mafia.
Dr. Leo Rebello has nearly three decades of clinical, teaching and research experience in Natural Medicine. He edits www.healthwisdom.org; the views expressed are his own.
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Buy your poison: Aspartame, Diet Soda, Splenda
Leo Rebello
http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=101
[The American model of Corporate Executives moving between Government, top universities, powerful think tanks or NGOs, is now being increasingly exposed in the US as responsible for the stifling of opinion and dissent, and the complete perversion of public life. It has made American citizens guinea pigs in the hands of faceless corporate bureaucrats and soulless corporations, ensuing the very triumph of Mammon that the high values of civilization were supposed to prevent – Editor]
This article aims to create public awareness about the known dangers of Aspartame, Diet Soda, Splenda and how MNCs mess up people’s lives in cahoots with corrupt FDA authorities worldwide. Health Care is Self Care and Right to Health akin to the Right to Life. The State is duty-bound to play a positive facilitating role in this regard; but does it?
Aspartame
When the temperature of the artificial sweetener Aspartame exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in it converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which causes metabolic acidosis [Aspartame Toxicity Center, www.holisticmed.com/aspartame Aspartame Information List; also Splenda & other dangerous sweeteners, www.mpwhi.com. Additional information at www.TruthAboutSplenda.com]
Although multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, Methanol toxicity is. Systemic lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple sclerosis, especially with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers. The victim usually does not know that Aspartame is the culprit. Its continuous use irritates the lupus to such a degree that it may become a life-threatening condition [Ibid]
Patients with systemic lupus become asymptotic, once taken off diet sodas. In cases of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, most symptoms disappear. There are many cases where vision loss returned and hearing loss improved markedly. This also applies to cases of tinnitus and fibromyalgia [Ibid]
Those using Aspartame (Nutra Sweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc) and suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain, unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss, probably have Aspartame poisoning [Ibid]
Sadly, modern medicine, a pseudo science, cannot diagnose people with Aspartame harm or diagnoses in error. There are many instances when diagnosis is totally off the mark, but each ‘one-disease, one-organ’ specialist goes on giving more and more medicines and creating more and diseases. Create-more-diseases-and-cash-on-it being is the operating principle of disease-business and crap science [Holistic Healing in Tropical Diseases, Dr. Leo Rebello, Natural Health Centre, Bombay, 2006]. Therefore, instead of running after these foolish ‘medicine men’ just stop drinking diet sodas and be alert for Aspartame on food labels.
Diet Soda
Diet soda is not a diet product, but a chemically altered, multiple sodium (salt) and Aspartame-containing product that actually makes you crave for carbohydrates and gain weight. These products also contain formaldehyde, which stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs; no wonder the American population is turning obese and/or suffering from cancers and diabetes [From FAT to Fit, Leo Rebello, www.healthwisdom.org]
Formaldehyde is an absolute toxin and is used mainly to preserve ‘tissue specimens’ in laboratories. Formaldehyde poisoning symptoms include local irritation of eyes, nose, mouth, throat, respiratory and gastro-intestinal tracts, and central nervous system causing vertigo, stupor, convulsions, unconsciousness, renal damage.
Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics. Physicians who thought they had a patient with retinopathy in fact had patients with symptoms caused by Aspartame. The latter drives the blood sugar out of control. Thus diabetics may suffer acute memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are neurotoxic. With diabetics, Aspartame passes the blood-brain barrier, attacks the neurons of the brain causing various levels of brain damage, seizures, depression, panic attacks, uncontrollable anger and rage [Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, First Indian Edition, 1990]
Consumption of Aspartame causes these same symptoms in non-diabetics as well. Documentation and observation reveal that thousands of children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD have had complete turnarounds in behavior when these chemicals were removed from their diet. So-called ‘behavior modification prescription drugs’ (Ritalin and others) are no longer needed. Indeed, giving Ritalin for ADD and ADHD is “treatment worse than the disease” [Nature Cure and Yoga Therapy, Dr. Leo Rebello, 2004, 3rd ed.]
Methylphenidate (brand name Ritalin) was patented in 1954 by the CIBA pharmaceutical company (now Novartis), and most brand-name Ritalin is produced in the United States. Methylphenidate is a CNS stimulant. Reported methylphenidate abuse side effects include psychosis (abnormal thinking or hallucinations), insomnia, mood swings, mood changes, nervousness, stomach aches, diarrhea, headaches, decreased sex drive, lack of hunger, gum and skin bleeding and dry mouth [Online library of psychoactive plants, chemicals and related topics from Erowid.org]. It is also complicit in stunted growth.
In the United States and worldwide, methylphenidate is classified as a Schedule II drug under the Convention of Psychotropic Substances because of its high addictive potential and consequent abuse [Wikipedia]. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, “the uproar over Ritalin was triggered almost single-handedly by the Scientology movement.” The Citizens Commission on Human Rights, an anti-psychiatry group associated with Scientology, conducted a major campaign against Ritalin in the 1980s and lobbied Congress for an investigation. Ritalin’s less common side effects include palpitations, high blood pressure and tachycardia [Ibid]. Most child-patients were being ‘poisoned’ on a daily basis. The drug can cause mental retardation and other birth defects, if taken at the time of conception and early pregnancy [Ibid].
Children are especially at risk for neurological disorders and should never be given artificial sweeteners. There are many different case histories of children suffering grand mal-seizures and other neurological disturbances.
Aspartame was approved for use in dry foods in 1981 and in soft drinks in 1983. Late Senator Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio wrote and presented The Aspartame Safety Bill (S. 1554) in 1983 that would require label warnings on products containing Aspartame, especially regarding pregnant women, children and infants. A key element of Metzenbaum’s bill was labelling that would caution consumers how much aspartame they could ingest, the maximum allowable daily intake established by FDA, and a special warning for pregnant women. The bill stated that the warning information “be included on such labels and labelling in a manner which is the most useful to individuals who consume such food.” The bill mandated independent tests by the National Institutes of Health, focusing on brain chemistry, behavioural and neurological reactions, headaches, mood alterations, memory loss and effects on pregnant women and fetuses. It was killed by intense lobbying by the big pharma MNCs in cahoots with the American FDA [Ibid]. The US Food & Drug Administration has long lost is reputation to be able to do its job.
Monsanto’s patent on Aspartame has expired. But there are over 5000 products in the market in USA alone that contain this deadly chemical and thousands more will be introduced. Monsanto, creator of Aspartame, funds the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association and the Conference of the American College of Physicians, a fact exposed by the New York Times: “These [organizations] cannot criticize any additives or convey their link to Monsanto because they take money from them and are required to endorse their products.” Also: “The chemical sucralose, marketed as ‘Splenda,’ has replaced aspartame as the no.1 artificial sweetener in foods and beverages. Aspartame has been forced out by increasing public awareness that it is both a neurotoxin and an underlying cause of chronic illness worldwide...”
Splenda/Sucralose
But “chlorocarbons are never nutritionally compatible with our metabolic processes and are wholly incompatible with normal human metabolic functioning. Any chlorocarbons not directly excreted from the body intact can cause immense damage to the processes of human metabolism and, eventually, our internal organs.” The liver is a detoxification organ which deals with ingested poisons and over time gets damaged beyond repair with such artificial chemicals. You buy the poison; you buy the disease.
According to PRNewswire-USNewswire, 11 August 2008, US District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer has set 6 January 2009 as the starting date for a potentially landmark civil suit against Johnson & Johnson over its alleged false advertising of the artificial sweetener Splenda. The central issue before the court is whether the advertising of Splenda - a man-made chemical sweetener containing chlorine - makes consumers believe it is a natural product, by using taglines like “Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar,” and similar advertising.
Internal documents show Johnson & Johnson knew that its Splenda advertising was causing consumers to believe that Splenda is natural, though it is not. Rulings in France, Australia and New Zealand have found Johnson & Johnson’s advertising of Splenda to be deceptive, but the company continues advertising in the United States and is now the subject of legal scrutiny and public criticism.
Lead Sugar Association attorney Mark Lanier says: “Now we look forward to presenting the truth about Splenda to the jury and focusing on the very real effect of misleading advertising. We are confidant that the outcome will be a victory for consumers everywhere” [PR New and the Sugar Association].
Dr. Betty Martini, founder, Mission Possible International, which promotes the natural herb Stevia for diabetics in place of sugar, says “the controversy rages over Splenda (sucralose). Is it safe and natural like sugar or is it a chlorinated hydrocarbon? As lawsuits fly, consider the chemistry of this artificial compound.” She points out that the FDA denied approval of aspartame for 16 years since it was created and then caved in to political/economic pressure when Don Rumsfeld, CEO of the manufacturer, was brought to Washington by Ronald Reagan. A new FDA Commissioner appointed to approve it then became a consultant for NutraSweet’s public relations firm for $1000/day on a 10-year contract! She said this should have made FDA more cautious the next time, but the FDA approved the toxic chlorocarbon Splenda without hesitation and without any long-term testing on human subjects.”
This shows how powerful drug and chemical lobbies are responsible for letting loose the hounds of disease and death on an unsuspecting and uninformed public. It is time that people woke up to the dangers from the pharmaceutical mafia.
Dr. Leo Rebello has nearly three decades of clinical, teaching and research experience in Natural Medicine. He edits www.healthwisdom.org; the views expressed are his own.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
To subscribe to this group, send email to:
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NESTLE AMONG COMPANIES IN MELAMINE TAINTED FOODS, CAMPBELLS, SARA LEE - LIST
From: Eric Eckert
Subject: NESTLE AMONG COMPANIES IN MELAMINE TAINTED FOODS, CAMPBELLS, SARA LEE - LIST
Posted on, http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=132370
When this was first reported, I thought the recall was just for
liquid milk and the dehydrated milk used in baby formulas. Not so.
These new findings that China's 'milk protein' is in many snacks,
gravy mixes, soups, cakes, baked dessert items and 'Nestle' products is frightening. Just how far does this taint go? So far, no one is saying, or admitting. This contamination has been known for over a year. Yep, that's right. You've been eating melemine tainted snacks for a year.
Even though Nestle has tested positive, they are claiming ignorance and that they are melamine free. As is Kraft. The pdf file comes from a Malaysian gov site.
Let the buyer beware....
Susoni
PS The PDF file can be downloaded here from Malaysian site. Most of it is in English. The list is unbelievable!! Nescafe, Nestle,
Ovaltine, Aussie Dairy products, Campbell's, Sara Lee, Tesco, Oreos (Kraft- although they deny it) M&M's, Snickers, just in time for kiddies and Halloween!
http://www.moh.gov.my/MohPortal/DownloadServlet?id=2188&type=2
If it won't download, e-me and I can send you the pdf file.
*******************************************
Tainted milk crisis hits more global companies
Snackers, beware: Your favorite chocolate or creamy treats might
contain milk contaminated with melamine.
The list of companies facing potential recalls grew Friday as reports of foods tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, which has been blamed in the deaths of four Chinese infants, spread to a widening range of products.
Food companies around the globe are rushing to assess their products and in some cases setting new strategies to prevent problems.
"We have to think about any processed food with milk or protein in it," said James Rice, a food industry veteran who is now China
country manager for 'Tyson Foods Inc.' (TSN), the world's largest
meat processor.
Tokyo-headquartered Lotte Group, a major snack maker, got caught up in the storm Friday after its popular chocolate-filled Koala cookies were recalled in Hong Kong and Macau because of melamine contamination.Packages of the cookies, still on sale in Shanghai, list whole milk powder as an ingredient.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080927/D93F1MIO0.html
----------------------------
List of foods :
1 BAIRONG -- GRAPE CREAM CRACKERS
2 DOVE -- H/NUT ALM & RAISIN CHOC
3 DOVE -- HAZELNUT CHOC
4 DOVE -- MILK CHOCOLATE
5 Dreyers -- Choc Cake Ice Cream 887ml
6 Dreyers -- Choc Cake Ice Cream 887ml
7 Dreyers -- Cookie & Cream Ice Cream 887ml
8 Dreyers -- Cookie & Cream Ice Cream 887ml
9 Dreyers -- Mint Chip Ice Cream 887ml
10 Dreyers -- Mint Chip Ice Cream 887ml
11 Dreyers -- Rocky Road Ice Cream 887ml
12 Dreyers -- Rocky Road Ice Cream 887ml
13 Dreyers -- Strawberry Ice Cream 887ml
14 Dreyers -- Strawberry Ice Cream 887ml
15 Dreyers -- Toast Almond Ice Cream 887ml
16 Dreyers -- Toast Almond Ice Cream 887ml
17 Dreyers -- Vanilla Ice Cream 887ml
18 Dreyers -- Vanilla Ice Cream 887ml
19 DUTCH LADY STER M LF BANANA
20 DUTCH LADY STER MK LF PLAIN
21 DUTCH LADY STER MK LF CHOC
22 DUTCH LADY STER MK LF SBERRY
23 DUTCH LADY STER M LF HNYDEW
24 DUTCH LADY STER M LF HNYDEW
25 DUTCH LADY STER MILK PLAIN
26 DUTCH LADY STER MK LF CHOC
27 DUTCH LADY STER MK LF SBERRY
28 DUTCH LADY STER M LF BANANA
29 FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM SESAME CRACKERS
30 FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM SALTINE CRACKERS
31 FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM S ONION CRACKERS
32 FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM SEAWEED CRACKERS
33 GINBIS PARTY ANIMAL BUTTER BISC
34 GINBIS PARTY ANIMAL SEAWEED BIS
35 GINBIS PARTY ANIMAL CNUT
36 GINBIS ANIMAL BISCUIT
37 Koala Cocoa Biscuit 40g
38 Koala Cocoa Biscuit 40g
39 KRAFT OREO WAFER STICKS 18S
40 KRAFT OREO WAFER STICKS 5S
41 KRAFT OREO W/STICK WH CHOC 18S
42 KRAFT OREO W/STICK WH CHOC 5S
43 Lotte Koala Cocoa Funpack 210g
44 Lotte Koala Cocoa Funpack 210g
45 M & M Chocolate Peanut 200g
46 M & M Chocolate Peanut 200g
47 M&M CHOC CANDIES PLAIN%
48 M&M CHOC CANDIES PEANUT%
49 M&M CHOC CANDIES-PLAIN
50 M&M CHOC CANDIES-PEANUTS
51 M&M FUNSIZE MILK
52 M&M FUNSIZE PEANUT
53 M&M Chocolate Candies Plain 200g
54 M&M Chocolate Candies Plain 200g
55 MEIJI UJIKINTOKI 2978
56 MEIJI UMAKABO CHOCOLATE
57 MEIJI FAMILY PACK-GREEN TEA
58 MEIJI CHESTNUT & REDBEAN
59 MENTOS BOTTLE YOGHURT PROMO PK
60 MENTOS BOTTLE YOGHURT
61 Monmilk BREAKFAST MILK MALT
62 Monmilk BREAKFAST MILK WALNUT 6S
63 Monmilk BREAKFAST MILKMALT 6S
64 Monmilk CHOCOLATE MILK 6S
65 Monmilk COFFEE MILK 6S
66 Monmilk HI CAL LOW FAT
67 Monmilk HI CAL LOW FAT MILK
68 Monmilk HI CAL LOW FAT MILK 6S
69 Monmilk HI CAL MILK
70 Monmilk HI CAL MILK 6S
71 Monmilk MILK DELUXE 12S
72 Monmilk PURE MILK
73 Monmilk PURE MILK
74 Monmilk PURE MILK 6S
75 MonmilkBREAKFAST MILK WALNUT
76 NABISCO IN A BISKIT CHICKEN
77 NESTLE NES D/STICK MINI VANILLA
78 NESTLE NES DISTICK MINI CHOCO
79 NESTLE MILK & BERRY STARS CRL
80 NO FRILLS WAFER BLUEBERRY
81 NO FRILLS WAFER CHOCOLATE
82 NO FRILLS WAFER PEANUT
83 Orion Fresh Pie 138g
84 Orion Fresh Pie 138g
85 Orion Tiramisu 138g
86 Orion Tiramisu 138g
87 PEI TIAN CREAM BISCUIT
88 Rabbit Milk Sweet 150g
89 SILANG NATURAL OAT CRACKER
90 Snicker Candies Funsize 240g
91 Snicker Candies Funsize 240g
92 SNICKERS PEANUT CHOCOLATE%
93 SNICKERS SNACKSIZE BARS PNUT 5
94 TAKE ONE BABY BITES 24S
95 TAKE ONE BABY BITE CK VG
96 TAKE ONE BABY BITE CARROT
97 Vitasoy Chocolate Drink 4s 125ml
98 Vitasoy Chocolate Drink 4s 125ml
99 Vitasoy Melon Soya Bean Milk 4s 125ml
100 Vitasoy Melon Soya Bean Milk 4s 125ml
101 Vitasoy Q Soya Milk 4s 125ml
102 Vitasoy Q Soya Milk 4s 125ml
103 WANT WANT MILK CANDY
104 Want Want Flavoured Milk 250ml
105 Yili Hi Cal Low Fat Milk 1L
106 Yili Hi Cal Low Fat Milk 6s 250ml
107 Yili Hi Cal Milk 1L
108 Yili Hi Cal Milk 6s 250ml
109 Yili Pure Milk 1L
110 Yili Pure Milk 6s 250ml
111 Youcan Masterbean Multipack
112 Youcan Passion Multipack
113 Youcan Silk Sliced and Passion Strawberry
114 Youcan Stawberry Multipack
115 Youcan Traditional Sesame Multipack 4s
116 Youcan Unusual Multipack 4s
http://storymory2share.blogspot.com/2008/09/updated-list-of-tainted-milk-products.html
---------------------------
Among the startling details: the practice of adulterating milk was
widely known in the industry, and one dairy knew since late last year that its formula was sickening children.
The revelations have dismayed a broad segment of the public —
parents — who feel the government has breached their trust. Tens of thousands of children have sought medical care, nearly 13,000 have been hospitalized and four infants have died.
Hong Kong regulators pulled Chinese milk, yogurt and ice cream off the market after finding that eight of thirty samples tested
contained the poison. Hong Kong authorities found traces of melamine in two Nestle products – a follow-on formula for babies over a year old, and a type of milk used for catering. Nestle denies that their products are tainted, pointing out that Hong Kong recently made their melamine standards more stringent than U.S. and European standards.
http://ontheotherhandcolumn.blogspot.com/2008/09/got-melamine.html
Long list here:
http://scroochchronicles.com/?p=586
Subject: NESTLE AMONG COMPANIES IN MELAMINE TAINTED FOODS, CAMPBELLS, SARA LEE - LIST
Posted on, http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=132370
When this was first reported, I thought the recall was just for
liquid milk and the dehydrated milk used in baby formulas. Not so.
These new findings that China's 'milk protein' is in many snacks,
gravy mixes, soups, cakes, baked dessert items and 'Nestle' products is frightening. Just how far does this taint go? So far, no one is saying, or admitting. This contamination has been known for over a year. Yep, that's right. You've been eating melemine tainted snacks for a year.
Even though Nestle has tested positive, they are claiming ignorance and that they are melamine free. As is Kraft. The pdf file comes from a Malaysian gov site.
Let the buyer beware....
Susoni
PS The PDF file can be downloaded here from Malaysian site. Most of it is in English. The list is unbelievable!! Nescafe, Nestle,
Ovaltine, Aussie Dairy products, Campbell's, Sara Lee, Tesco, Oreos (Kraft- although they deny it) M&M's, Snickers, just in time for kiddies and Halloween!
http://www.moh.gov.my/MohPortal/DownloadServlet?id=2188&type=2
If it won't download, e-me and I can send you the pdf file.
*******************************************
Tainted milk crisis hits more global companies
Snackers, beware: Your favorite chocolate or creamy treats might
contain milk contaminated with melamine.
The list of companies facing potential recalls grew Friday as reports of foods tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, which has been blamed in the deaths of four Chinese infants, spread to a widening range of products.
Food companies around the globe are rushing to assess their products and in some cases setting new strategies to prevent problems.
"We have to think about any processed food with milk or protein in it," said James Rice, a food industry veteran who is now China
country manager for 'Tyson Foods Inc.' (TSN), the world's largest
meat processor.
Tokyo-headquartered Lotte Group, a major snack maker, got caught up in the storm Friday after its popular chocolate-filled Koala cookies were recalled in Hong Kong and Macau because of melamine contamination.Packages of the cookies, still on sale in Shanghai, list whole milk powder as an ingredient.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080927/D93F1MIO0.html
----------------------------
List of foods :
1 BAIRONG -- GRAPE CREAM CRACKERS
2 DOVE -- H/NUT ALM & RAISIN CHOC
3 DOVE -- HAZELNUT CHOC
4 DOVE -- MILK CHOCOLATE
5 Dreyers -- Choc Cake Ice Cream 887ml
6 Dreyers -- Choc Cake Ice Cream 887ml
7 Dreyers -- Cookie & Cream Ice Cream 887ml
8 Dreyers -- Cookie & Cream Ice Cream 887ml
9 Dreyers -- Mint Chip Ice Cream 887ml
10 Dreyers -- Mint Chip Ice Cream 887ml
11 Dreyers -- Rocky Road Ice Cream 887ml
12 Dreyers -- Rocky Road Ice Cream 887ml
13 Dreyers -- Strawberry Ice Cream 887ml
14 Dreyers -- Strawberry Ice Cream 887ml
15 Dreyers -- Toast Almond Ice Cream 887ml
16 Dreyers -- Toast Almond Ice Cream 887ml
17 Dreyers -- Vanilla Ice Cream 887ml
18 Dreyers -- Vanilla Ice Cream 887ml
19 DUTCH LADY STER M LF BANANA
20 DUTCH LADY STER MK LF PLAIN
21 DUTCH LADY STER MK LF CHOC
22 DUTCH LADY STER MK LF SBERRY
23 DUTCH LADY STER M LF HNYDEW
24 DUTCH LADY STER M LF HNYDEW
25 DUTCH LADY STER MILK PLAIN
26 DUTCH LADY STER MK LF CHOC
27 DUTCH LADY STER MK LF SBERRY
28 DUTCH LADY STER M LF BANANA
29 FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM SESAME CRACKERS
30 FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM SALTINE CRACKERS
31 FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM S ONION CRACKERS
32 FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM SEAWEED CRACKERS
33 GINBIS PARTY ANIMAL BUTTER BISC
34 GINBIS PARTY ANIMAL SEAWEED BIS
35 GINBIS PARTY ANIMAL CNUT
36 GINBIS ANIMAL BISCUIT
37 Koala Cocoa Biscuit 40g
38 Koala Cocoa Biscuit 40g
39 KRAFT OREO WAFER STICKS 18S
40 KRAFT OREO WAFER STICKS 5S
41 KRAFT OREO W/STICK WH CHOC 18S
42 KRAFT OREO W/STICK WH CHOC 5S
43 Lotte Koala Cocoa Funpack 210g
44 Lotte Koala Cocoa Funpack 210g
45 M & M Chocolate Peanut 200g
46 M & M Chocolate Peanut 200g
47 M&M CHOC CANDIES PLAIN%
48 M&M CHOC CANDIES PEANUT%
49 M&M CHOC CANDIES-PLAIN
50 M&M CHOC CANDIES-PEANUTS
51 M&M FUNSIZE MILK
52 M&M FUNSIZE PEANUT
53 M&M Chocolate Candies Plain 200g
54 M&M Chocolate Candies Plain 200g
55 MEIJI UJIKINTOKI 2978
56 MEIJI UMAKABO CHOCOLATE
57 MEIJI FAMILY PACK-GREEN TEA
58 MEIJI CHESTNUT & REDBEAN
59 MENTOS BOTTLE YOGHURT PROMO PK
60 MENTOS BOTTLE YOGHURT
61 Monmilk BREAKFAST MILK MALT
62 Monmilk BREAKFAST MILK WALNUT 6S
63 Monmilk BREAKFAST MILKMALT 6S
64 Monmilk CHOCOLATE MILK 6S
65 Monmilk COFFEE MILK 6S
66 Monmilk HI CAL LOW FAT
67 Monmilk HI CAL LOW FAT MILK
68 Monmilk HI CAL LOW FAT MILK 6S
69 Monmilk HI CAL MILK
70 Monmilk HI CAL MILK 6S
71 Monmilk MILK DELUXE 12S
72 Monmilk PURE MILK
73 Monmilk PURE MILK
74 Monmilk PURE MILK 6S
75 MonmilkBREAKFAST MILK WALNUT
76 NABISCO IN A BISKIT CHICKEN
77 NESTLE NES D/STICK MINI VANILLA
78 NESTLE NES DISTICK MINI CHOCO
79 NESTLE MILK & BERRY STARS CRL
80 NO FRILLS WAFER BLUEBERRY
81 NO FRILLS WAFER CHOCOLATE
82 NO FRILLS WAFER PEANUT
83 Orion Fresh Pie 138g
84 Orion Fresh Pie 138g
85 Orion Tiramisu 138g
86 Orion Tiramisu 138g
87 PEI TIAN CREAM BISCUIT
88 Rabbit Milk Sweet 150g
89 SILANG NATURAL OAT CRACKER
90 Snicker Candies Funsize 240g
91 Snicker Candies Funsize 240g
92 SNICKERS PEANUT CHOCOLATE%
93 SNICKERS SNACKSIZE BARS PNUT 5
94 TAKE ONE BABY BITES 24S
95 TAKE ONE BABY BITE CK VG
96 TAKE ONE BABY BITE CARROT
97 Vitasoy Chocolate Drink 4s 125ml
98 Vitasoy Chocolate Drink 4s 125ml
99 Vitasoy Melon Soya Bean Milk 4s 125ml
100 Vitasoy Melon Soya Bean Milk 4s 125ml
101 Vitasoy Q Soya Milk 4s 125ml
102 Vitasoy Q Soya Milk 4s 125ml
103 WANT WANT MILK CANDY
104 Want Want Flavoured Milk 250ml
105 Yili Hi Cal Low Fat Milk 1L
106 Yili Hi Cal Low Fat Milk 6s 250ml
107 Yili Hi Cal Milk 1L
108 Yili Hi Cal Milk 6s 250ml
109 Yili Pure Milk 1L
110 Yili Pure Milk 6s 250ml
111 Youcan Masterbean Multipack
112 Youcan Passion Multipack
113 Youcan Silk Sliced and Passion Strawberry
114 Youcan Stawberry Multipack
115 Youcan Traditional Sesame Multipack 4s
116 Youcan Unusual Multipack 4s
http://storymory2share.blogspot.com/2008/09/updated-list-of-tainted-milk-products.html
---------------------------
Among the startling details: the practice of adulterating milk was
widely known in the industry, and one dairy knew since late last year that its formula was sickening children.
The revelations have dismayed a broad segment of the public —
parents — who feel the government has breached their trust. Tens of thousands of children have sought medical care, nearly 13,000 have been hospitalized and four infants have died.
Hong Kong regulators pulled Chinese milk, yogurt and ice cream off the market after finding that eight of thirty samples tested
contained the poison. Hong Kong authorities found traces of melamine in two Nestle products – a follow-on formula for babies over a year old, and a type of milk used for catering. Nestle denies that their products are tainted, pointing out that Hong Kong recently made their melamine standards more stringent than U.S. and European standards.
http://ontheotherhandcolumn.blogspot.com/2008/09/got-melamine.html
Long list here:
http://scroochchronicles.com/?p=586
Can We Really Transplant a Human Soul?
A lesbian fast food junkie who said meat made her sick and married a man shortly after receiving the transplanted heart from a 19 year old “man hungry” vegetarian…a happy man who committed suicide just like the man his donor heart came from…there are now more than 70 documents cases such as these . Is it possible that a part of a persons personality or “soul” stays attached to their individual organs after death ?
Story at:
http://parabook.wordpress.com/
Can We Really Transplant a Human Soul?
September 27, 2008 – 7:10 am
By Danny Penman
Source: Daily Mail
The progress of medical science in the past 30 years has been so rapid that yesterday’s miracles are tomorrow’s commonplace procedures.
So it has proved with heart transplants, which have become almost routine in hospitals around the world.
Yet every once in a while a story emerges which should cause us all to sit up and take note that there is nothing “routine” or “commonplace” about such complex operations.
The suggestion, highlighted again this week, that donor patients could not only be acquiring the organs but also the memories - or even the soul - of the donor is surely one such story.
This bizarre possibility was raised by the inexplicable case of Sonny Graham - a seemingly happily married 69-year-old man living in the U.S. state of Georgia. He shot himself without warning, having shown no previous signs of unhappiness, let alone depression.
His friends described it as an act of passion, not of reason.
The case might have remained just an isolated tragedy were it not for the fact that Sonny had received a transplanted heart from a man who had also shot himself - in identical circumstances.
To make things even more intriguing, shortly after receiving the heart transplant, Sonny tracked down the wife of the donor - and fell instantly in love with her.
“When I first met her,” Sonny told a local newspaper, “I just stared. I felt like I had known her for years. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her.”
He spoke of a deep and profound love for her. It was instant and it was passionate. The kind of love where overwhelming passion seizes control of the mind and banishes reason. They quickly wed.
The tragedy of Sonny Graham will, no doubt, be written off as mere coincidence. After all, there is surely no conceivable way that the memories, let alone the character of a donor, can be transplanted along with their heart.
Virtually every doctor and scientist will tell you the heart is a mere pump. The seat of our mind, our consciousness, our very soul - if such a thing exists - lies in the brain.
The heart’s only control over our mind is whether or not it sends it blood. Ever since William Harvey unravelled the mysteries of the heart and circulatory system centuries ago, this fact has remained beyond doubt.
Well, almost beyond doubt.
For a few brave scientists have started claiming that our memories and characters are encoded not just in our brain, but throughout our entire body.
Consciousness, they claim, is created by every living cell in the body acting in concert.
They argue, in effect, that our hearts, livers and every single organ in the body stores our memories, drives our emotions and imbues us with our own individual characters. Our whole body, they believe, is the seat of the soul; not just the brain.
And if any of these organs should be transplanted into another person, parts of these memories - perhaps even elements of the soul - might also be transferred.
Bizarre Cases of Memory Transplants
There are now more than 70 documented cases similar to Sonny’s, where transplant patients have taken on some of the personality traits of the organ donors.
Professor Gary Schwartz and his co-workers at the University of Arizona have documented numerous seemingly inexplicable experiences similar to Sonny’s. And every single one is a direct challenge to the medical status quo.
In one celebrated case uncovered by Professor Schwartz’s team, an 18-year-old boy who wrote poetry, played music and composed songs was killed in a car crash. A year after he died, his parents came across a tape of a song he had written, entitled, Danny, My Heart Is Yours.
In his haunting lyrics, the boy sang about how he felt destined to die and donate his heart. After his death, his heart was transplanted into an 18-year-old girl - named Danielle.
When the boy’s parents met Danielle, they played some of his music and she, despite never having heard the song before, knew the words and was able to complete the lyrics.
Professor Schwartz also investigated the case of a 29-year-old lesbian fast-food junkie who received the heart of a 19-year-old vegetarian woman described as “man crazy”.
After the transplant, she told her friends that meat now made her sick, and that she no longer found women attractive. If fact, shortly after the transplant she married a man.
In one equally inexplicable case, a middle-aged man developed a new-found love for classical music after a heart transplant.
It transpired that the 17-year-old donor had loved classical music and played the violin. He had died in a drive-by shooting, clutching a violin to his chest.
Nor are the effects of organ transplants restricted to hearts. Kidneys also seem to carry some of the characteristics of their original owners.
Take the case of Lynda Gammons from Weston, Lincolnshire, who donated one of her kidneys to her husband Ian.
Since the operation, Ian believes he has taken on aspects of his wife’s personality. He has developed a love of baking, shopping, vacuuming and gardening. Prior to the transplant, he loathed all forms of housework with a vengeance.
He has also adopted a dog - yet before his operation he was an avowed “cat man”, unlike his wife who favoured dogs.
It’s easy to dismiss such tales as hokum. But the Chinese authorities are certainly taking them seriously.
They have recently taken an interest in Professor Schwartz’s ideas and have begun a programme to monitor transplant patients. (As many “donated” organs in China come from executed political prisoners, a cynic might suggest that the authorities are worried about an “epidemic” of political thought spreading via organ transplants.)
Science or Supernatural?
Many scientists will, of course, point out that tens of thousands of organ transplants have now been carried out worldwide, so you would expect to come across a few bizarre cases like Sonny Graham’s.
It is also hardly surprising that after a major life-threatening operation such as a heart transplant, a patient may undergo a profound alteration to their character. Who could remain unchanged after staring death in the face?
The powerful drugs required as part of organ transplant procedures can also cause major changes in behaviour. Put all these together and it’s no wonder that some patients leave hospital with a drastically different outlook on life.
What is most surprising about these cases, though, is not that some transplant patients emerge as different people after an operation, but that the changes are so specific.
“It’s a targeted personality change,” says Professor Schwartz. “If this is the result of drugs, or stress, or coincidence, none of those would predict the specific patterns of information that would match the donor.”
If Professor Schwartz and his ilk are right, it would destroy one of the foundation stones of modern biology. But then again, modern biology has a guilty little secret: it has, as yet, no viable theory to explain how we store memories and how we produce consciousness.
In fact, scientists haven’t even managed to define what exactly consciousness is, let alone managed to pin down where it comes from and where it is to be found within the body.
So maybe, just maybe, the poets, romantics and mystics throughout the ages were right: the heart really is the seat of our emotions and of our souls.
And if we can transplant hearts, then perhaps it’s not so fanciful to suggest that some part of the spirit goes with them. Who knows - one day doctors may even be able to offer a “character transplant”.
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
Paranormal_Research - Scientific Data,
Health Conspiracies & Anything Strange
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Paranormal_Research
Subscribe:... Paranormal_Research-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Story at:
http://parabook.wordpress.com/
Can We Really Transplant a Human Soul?
September 27, 2008 – 7:10 am
By Danny Penman
Source: Daily Mail
The progress of medical science in the past 30 years has been so rapid that yesterday’s miracles are tomorrow’s commonplace procedures.
So it has proved with heart transplants, which have become almost routine in hospitals around the world.
Yet every once in a while a story emerges which should cause us all to sit up and take note that there is nothing “routine” or “commonplace” about such complex operations.
The suggestion, highlighted again this week, that donor patients could not only be acquiring the organs but also the memories - or even the soul - of the donor is surely one such story.
This bizarre possibility was raised by the inexplicable case of Sonny Graham - a seemingly happily married 69-year-old man living in the U.S. state of Georgia. He shot himself without warning, having shown no previous signs of unhappiness, let alone depression.
His friends described it as an act of passion, not of reason.
The case might have remained just an isolated tragedy were it not for the fact that Sonny had received a transplanted heart from a man who had also shot himself - in identical circumstances.
To make things even more intriguing, shortly after receiving the heart transplant, Sonny tracked down the wife of the donor - and fell instantly in love with her.
“When I first met her,” Sonny told a local newspaper, “I just stared. I felt like I had known her for years. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her.”
He spoke of a deep and profound love for her. It was instant and it was passionate. The kind of love where overwhelming passion seizes control of the mind and banishes reason. They quickly wed.
The tragedy of Sonny Graham will, no doubt, be written off as mere coincidence. After all, there is surely no conceivable way that the memories, let alone the character of a donor, can be transplanted along with their heart.
Virtually every doctor and scientist will tell you the heart is a mere pump. The seat of our mind, our consciousness, our very soul - if such a thing exists - lies in the brain.
The heart’s only control over our mind is whether or not it sends it blood. Ever since William Harvey unravelled the mysteries of the heart and circulatory system centuries ago, this fact has remained beyond doubt.
Well, almost beyond doubt.
For a few brave scientists have started claiming that our memories and characters are encoded not just in our brain, but throughout our entire body.
Consciousness, they claim, is created by every living cell in the body acting in concert.
They argue, in effect, that our hearts, livers and every single organ in the body stores our memories, drives our emotions and imbues us with our own individual characters. Our whole body, they believe, is the seat of the soul; not just the brain.
And if any of these organs should be transplanted into another person, parts of these memories - perhaps even elements of the soul - might also be transferred.
Bizarre Cases of Memory Transplants
There are now more than 70 documented cases similar to Sonny’s, where transplant patients have taken on some of the personality traits of the organ donors.
Professor Gary Schwartz and his co-workers at the University of Arizona have documented numerous seemingly inexplicable experiences similar to Sonny’s. And every single one is a direct challenge to the medical status quo.
In one celebrated case uncovered by Professor Schwartz’s team, an 18-year-old boy who wrote poetry, played music and composed songs was killed in a car crash. A year after he died, his parents came across a tape of a song he had written, entitled, Danny, My Heart Is Yours.
In his haunting lyrics, the boy sang about how he felt destined to die and donate his heart. After his death, his heart was transplanted into an 18-year-old girl - named Danielle.
When the boy’s parents met Danielle, they played some of his music and she, despite never having heard the song before, knew the words and was able to complete the lyrics.
Professor Schwartz also investigated the case of a 29-year-old lesbian fast-food junkie who received the heart of a 19-year-old vegetarian woman described as “man crazy”.
After the transplant, she told her friends that meat now made her sick, and that she no longer found women attractive. If fact, shortly after the transplant she married a man.
In one equally inexplicable case, a middle-aged man developed a new-found love for classical music after a heart transplant.
It transpired that the 17-year-old donor had loved classical music and played the violin. He had died in a drive-by shooting, clutching a violin to his chest.
Nor are the effects of organ transplants restricted to hearts. Kidneys also seem to carry some of the characteristics of their original owners.
Take the case of Lynda Gammons from Weston, Lincolnshire, who donated one of her kidneys to her husband Ian.
Since the operation, Ian believes he has taken on aspects of his wife’s personality. He has developed a love of baking, shopping, vacuuming and gardening. Prior to the transplant, he loathed all forms of housework with a vengeance.
He has also adopted a dog - yet before his operation he was an avowed “cat man”, unlike his wife who favoured dogs.
It’s easy to dismiss such tales as hokum. But the Chinese authorities are certainly taking them seriously.
They have recently taken an interest in Professor Schwartz’s ideas and have begun a programme to monitor transplant patients. (As many “donated” organs in China come from executed political prisoners, a cynic might suggest that the authorities are worried about an “epidemic” of political thought spreading via organ transplants.)
Science or Supernatural?
Many scientists will, of course, point out that tens of thousands of organ transplants have now been carried out worldwide, so you would expect to come across a few bizarre cases like Sonny Graham’s.
It is also hardly surprising that after a major life-threatening operation such as a heart transplant, a patient may undergo a profound alteration to their character. Who could remain unchanged after staring death in the face?
The powerful drugs required as part of organ transplant procedures can also cause major changes in behaviour. Put all these together and it’s no wonder that some patients leave hospital with a drastically different outlook on life.
What is most surprising about these cases, though, is not that some transplant patients emerge as different people after an operation, but that the changes are so specific.
“It’s a targeted personality change,” says Professor Schwartz. “If this is the result of drugs, or stress, or coincidence, none of those would predict the specific patterns of information that would match the donor.”
If Professor Schwartz and his ilk are right, it would destroy one of the foundation stones of modern biology. But then again, modern biology has a guilty little secret: it has, as yet, no viable theory to explain how we store memories and how we produce consciousness.
In fact, scientists haven’t even managed to define what exactly consciousness is, let alone managed to pin down where it comes from and where it is to be found within the body.
So maybe, just maybe, the poets, romantics and mystics throughout the ages were right: the heart really is the seat of our emotions and of our souls.
And if we can transplant hearts, then perhaps it’s not so fanciful to suggest that some part of the spirit goes with them. Who knows - one day doctors may even be able to offer a “character transplant”.
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
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Sex is Death in a Darkened Land
Annals of Liberation: Sex is Death in a Darkened Land
Chris Floyd
September 25, 2008
While the world is mesmerized by the bait-and-switch going in Washington -- where the ramshackle, post-Republic triumvirate of Bush, McCain and Obama held an "historic" meeting on Thursday to demonstrate their bipartisan concern for the welfare of the filthy rich -- atrocity and repression still stalk the American satrapy of Iraq.
The sectarian extremists empowered by the American rape of Iraq are now carrying out a relentless, systematic killing spree against human beings who are attracted to other human beings of the same gender -- or are even suspected of such an attraction.
Hundreds of people have been murdered -- and are being murdered -- by factions of the American-backed, American-installed, American- armed Iraqi government, in a frenzy of "sexual cleansing" aimed at "perverts and sodomites" across the conquered land, as Peter Tatchell reports this week in gruesome detail (see original for the often disturbing links):
The "improved" security situation in Iraq is not benefiting all Iraqis, especially not those who are gay. Islamist death squads are engaged in a homophobic killing spree with the active encouragement of leading Muslim clerics, such as Moqtada al-Sadr, as Newsweek recently revealed.
One of these clerics, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a fatwa urging the killing of lesbians and gays in the "most severe way possible"... .
The death squads of the Badr organisation and the Mahdi army are targeting gays and lesbians, according to UN reports, in a systematic campaign of sexual cleansing. They proudly boast of their success, claiming that they have already exterminated all "perverts and sodomites" in many of the major cities...
Two militias are doing most of the killing. They are the armed wings of major parties in the Bush and Brown-backed Iraqi government. The Mahdi army is the militia of Moqtada al-Sadr, and the Badr organisation is the militia of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), which is the leading political force in Baghdad's governing coalition... .
Saddam Hussein was a bloody tyrant. I campaigned against his blood-stained misrule for nearly 30 years. But while Saddam was president, there was certainly no danger of gay people being assassinated in their homes and in the street by religious fanatics.
Since his overthrow, the violent persecution of lesbians and gays is much worse. Even children suspected of being gay are abducted and later found shot in the head.
Lesbian and gay Iraqis cannot seek the protection of the police, since the police are heavily infiltrated by fundamentalists, especially the Badr militia. The death squads can kill with impunity. Pro-fundamentalist ministers in the Iraqi government are turning a blind eye to the killings, and helping to protect the killers. Some "liberation" .
Tatchell also relates personal stories of murder and violence in his piece in the Guardian. But one of the most eloquent expressions of the situation comes in the broken English of a commenter on the Guardian website, an Iraqi exile now living in the UK:
Im so shocked to see this is happening in the country where i was born and lived most of my life, under saddam we know few gay people and they lived among us just like any other Iraqi, yes they may laugh or make jokes about them, but never heard anything about killing or slaughtering human that way, please my friends , stop blaming Islam here, there are so many bad people in every culture and religion, yes Sistani is a devil, Moqtada al sadr is another devil, but remember who brought them to power, it is the UK and US governments and thanks to the west democracy that killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq and left over 2 million orphans and widows angry and with nothing to live for, now ask your self where the hate for the western government in the middle east coming from. gay people from Iraq still struggle even here in the UK, I know two gay men been here in Britain for the last six years and have been refused asylum, not allowed to work with no benefit and no support, how on hell they expect humans to live, explain it to me is this a western freedom and human right tolerance UK?
Sadly, there is nothing new in Tatchell's findings. The fundamentalists' war against sexual heterodoxyh has been going on for a long time, as we reported here back in 2006:
Defenders of George W. Bush's war crime in Iraq ¨C particularly those super-tough "liberal hawks" who have cast their lot with the crony conquistadors ¨C trot out the term at every opportunity. What else can they do? All the other excuses for their pet war have been exploded as bare-faced, deliberately concocted lies. So they've been reduced to the ludicrous claim that Bush's murderous plunder of the broken land is actually a noble defense of civilization against black hordes of "Islamofascists. " In this way, these desk-bound warriors seek to identify themselves with the sainted figures of old, like George Orwell, who actually put their bodies on the line against real fascists.
Yet it is painfully obvious that the forces which come closest to matching this intellectually empty and historically ignorant propaganda term have in fact been empowered by Bush's war. Obscurantist clerics and deadly sectarian groups backed by Bush now rule in Iraq, while his war of aggression there ¨C and his global gulag of torture and unlawful detention ¨C are swelling the ranks of violent extremists around the world, as his own State Department acknowledges in its latest report on international terrorism.
For example, last month, 14-year-old Ahmed Khalil was shot dead by the Bush-backed Iraqi police on the doorstep of his home, the Independent reports. His crime? Homosexuality. He was just one of scores of homosexuals ¨C or suspected homosexuals ¨C systematically slaughtered by the sectarian militias that Bush is arming and training to serve as Iraq's official "security" forces. Ironically, Ahmed might not even have been gay; he was having sex with men in the neighborhood for money, to help his poverty-stricken family, which has been completely wiped out in the economic meltdown wrought by Bush's "liberation. "
The "sexual cleansing" campaign by the death squads Bush has unleashed is just part of the ongoing organized slaughter in Iraq, where ¨C by conservative, "tip-of-the- iceberg" estimates ¨C almost 4,000 civilians have been murdered in Baghdad alone so far this year, many of them "hogtied and shot execution-style, " the Los Angeles Times reports. "Others were strangled, electrocuted, stabbed, garroted or hanged¡many bore signs of torture such as bruises, drill holes, burn marks, gouged eyes or severed limbs." The majority of such killings are now being carried out by the government-backed militias and their infiltrated agents in the Bushist police brigades, as Bush's latest satrap, Zalmay Khalilzad, openly admits.
So that's why Ahmad Khalil had to die, along with untold thousands of others, gay and straight, Sunni and Shiite, religious and secular, Iraqi and American. It has nothing to do with any of the grand abstractions employed by the apologists for empire to mask their complicity with the immoral dictates of raw power: national security, humanitarian intervention, the war on terror, the clash of civilizations, Islamofascism, etc. No, it's just a crude, brutal ¨C and no doubt temporary ¨C marriage of convenience between old-fashioned religious extremism and old-fashioned elitist greed. Both are committed to the destruction of Iraqi society in order to impose their own form of bondage in place of Saddam's tyranny.
And yes, Virginia, there was a ruthless and largely successful "ethnic cleansing" campaign carried out in Iraq, by the American-backed Baghdad government, and with the direct involvement of the American forces that sustain the sectarian extremists in power. Juan Cole provides the evidence here, strongly refuting the arguments by the literally atrocious "surge" architect, Fred "Way Way Back Behind the Lines" Kagan, that the slaughter and exile of hundreds of thousands of innocent people was not a key element in the relative decrease of still-horrific violence in Iraq.
Cole points to a ThinkProgress report with detailed links to sources -- including the U.S. military -- that thoroughly debunk the revisionists' claim that there was no ethnic cleansing. From ThinkProgress (see original for links):
Kagan¡¯s claim is contested by major news organizations and the U.S. military¡¯s own data....The [Washington] Post¡¯s [maps showing] distribution of sectarian enclaves corresponds closely with these graphs, provided by Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), that chart sectarian violence in Baghdad between July 2006 and July 2007, which is the period in which the U.S. military escalation, also known as the Baghdad Security Plan, took place.
The August 2007 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq also rebuts Kagan¡¯s mythmaking. One of the NIE¡¯s judgements was that where some "conflict levels have diminished," it was due to sectarian "separation. "
Kagan¡¯s view is also challenged by Joe Christoff of the Government Accountability Office, who stated in congressional testimony in October 2007 that sectarian cleansing was "an important consideration in even assessing the overall security situation in Iraq":
We look at the attack data going down, but it¡¯s not taking into consideration that there might be fewer attacks because you have ethnically cleansed neighborhoods, particularly in the Baghdad area. [¡]
It¡¯s produced 2.2. million refugees that have left, it¡¯s produced two million internally displaced persons within the country as well.
In August 2007, the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization indicated that "the total number of internally displaced Iraqis [had] more than doubled, to 1.1 million from 499,000¡å since the surge started in February. Center for American Progress Iraq analyst Brian Katulis estimated that Baghdad, which once used to be a 65 percent Sunni majority city, "is now 75 percent Shia."
Kagan¡¯s claim that Baghdad "remains a mixed city," severely understates both the drastic transformation of the city¡¯s sectarian make-up and the suffering that attended that transformation. It also casually ignores the fact that one of the most intense and violent periods of sectarian cleansing took place under the aegis of the military escalation Kagan now claims credit for.
And as Cole notes:
I visited some of these displaced Iraqis in one of the 'some place elses,' i.e. Amman, in August; 50,000 of them are considered 'vulnerable' by the aid agencies and their situation is desperate. Some Iraqis in exile told me that they could never return. They were Sunni and their own neighborhoods were now 100% Shiite. Or their spouse was a Shiite and they were Sunni, and there was no mixed neighborhood left where they would feel comfortable. Some 25% had had a child kidnapped. Many had received personal threats from militias that they are convinced are still in their old neighborhood. (E.g. 'If Ahmad Adib shows his face in this neighborhood again he will be shot on sight .. .') Indeed, sometimes the militias track them down in Amman and threaten them there again. A lot of Iraqis in Jordan move from apartment to apartment frequently so as to avoid the long arm of the militias.
As noted, Fred Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute has denied the ethnic cleansing even took place. US military propagandists sometimes point to continued small Sunni enclaves such as Adhamiya in Baghdad as proof that there was no ethnic cleansing. But neighborhoods near Adhamiya that used to be mixed are almost all Shiite now. I'd guess that 700,000 or 800,000 Sunnis were ethnically cleansed from the capital from June 2006-September 2007. Imagine, to lose everything, to huddle dispossessed in a foreign land worrying where your next meal is coming from, and then to have the powerful and wealthy Kagans deny your very existence.
But then, the entire war crime in Iraq has been one long exercise in denying the existence of the human suffering that the United States is directly responsible for. As Arthur Silber noted the other day:
You would think the fact that our government has murdered well in excess of one million innocent people would be front page news every day. Of course, you would be wrong.... And you might like to think that many Americans would be outraged that our military continues to occupy a nation that we have entirely destroyed, and that Americans would demand that the destruction and death cease immediately.
About all of that, you are terribly, grievously wrong. Most Americans can't be bothered about any of that. Most Americans simply do not care.
So there will certainly be no outcry in America about the "sexual cleansing" campaign of the death squads. It will probably not even be reported in the American press.
***
:: Article nr. 47520 sent on 26-sep-2008 16:22 ECT
www.uruknet. info?p=47520
Link: www.chris-floyd. com/content/ view/1614/ 135/
Lakota Indians Establish Their Own Country Within the United States
Lakota Indians Establish Their Own Country Within the United States
by: Rami Nagel (see all articles by this author)
http://www.naturalnews.com/022631.html
Key concepts: United States, America and Cavities
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Email this article to a friend Printable Version
(NaturalNews) During the week of December 17 - 19, 2007, Lakota Indian leaders traveled to Washington DC and withdrew from the constitutionally mandated treaties to become a free and independent country. They do so in a fully honest, legal, and ethical manner.
"We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us," long-time Indian rights activist Russell Means told a handful of reporters and a delegation from the Bolivian embassy. All were gathered in a church in a run-down neighborhood of Washington for a news conference. In other words, the Republic of Lakota is now inviting everyone within their country borders to join them and to live free and create a new government based on the laws of brotherhood.
Lakota leaders delivered a message to the United States State Department in December of 2007, announcing they were unilaterally withdrawing from treaties they signed with the federal government of the United States.
The Lakota activists rightly describe treaties Native American's signed with the United States as "worthless words on worthless paper,” because the United States never holds up their end of the treaty.
One such treaty is the Treaty of Fort Laramie, September 17, 1851. Article three of the treaty states, “United States bind themselves to protect the aforesaid Indian nations against the commission of all depredations by the people of the said United States, after the ratification of this treaty.”
The Treaty of Fort Laramie from April 29, 1868 states, “The United States agrees that the following district of country... [describes a large geographic boundary] ... set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Indians herein named...”
Upon these documents and others, the various tribes in the now Republic of Lakotah were guaranteed exclusive use and control of their lands in exchange for safe passage along the Oregon Trail.
Article six of the U.S. Constitution upholds treaties as the supreme law of the land, “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.”
The Republic of Lakotah withdrawal letter states, “The continuing violations of these treaties’ terms have resulted in the near annihilation of our people physically, spiritually, and culturally.”
In instances across the United States, our own government has completely betrayed and murdered countless numbers of Native Americans.
“After 150 years of colonial enforcement, when you back people into a corner there is only one alternative. That alternative is to bring freedom back into existence by taking it back - back to the love of freedom, to our life-way.” Canupa Gluha Mani
The first thing I thought when I saw this news was, can I move in?
In a letter dated January 1st, 2008 addressed to the US government, and to Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and various counties, the Republic of Lakotah announced plans to retrieve the land stolen by the US government. For private citizens within the boundaries, the Republic of Lakotah writes, “We wish to deal with the American people in good faith and in a win-win manner.” Again, the win-win idea includes encouraging people within the boundaries to join their country which perhaps will include things like, a fair and favorable tax rate. The Republic of Lakotah land map can be seen here (www.republicoflakotah.com/map.html) .
The Republic of Lakotah move is a hopeful sign for us all. A sign that we can collectively reclaim what we believe is rightfully ours. A government that is truly for the people, of the people, and by the people.
This is a far stretch to the broken and bloated U.S. government we see today, which promotes disease across the land and violates the very people and earth that sustains us all.
I end with restating the saying that underlies some beliefs of many Indigenous groups across the globe, as well as the Republic of Lakotah:
Mitaku Oyasin! (We are all related!) .
Learn more at (www.republicoflakotah.com) .
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
To subscribe to this group, send email to:
MedicalConspiracies-subscribe@googlegroups.com
Any information here in is for educational purpose only; it may be news related, purely
speculation or SOMEONE’S OPINION. Always consult with a qualified Medical Doctor before deciding on any course of treatment, especially for serious or life-threatening illnesses.
By becoming a member of this group you AGREE to hold this group its members, list owners, moderators and affiliates harmless of any liability for any direct, consequential, incidental, damage incurred.
YOU AGREE; to accept responsibility and liability for your own actions and to contact a licensed Medical Doctor before deciding on any course of treatment, especially for serious or life-threatening illnesses.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE; YOU MUST UNSUBSCRIBE.
________________________________________________
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107,
**COPYRIGHT NOTICE
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
by: Rami Nagel (see all articles by this author)
http://www.naturalnews.com/022631.html
Key concepts: United States, America and Cavities
Want stories like this e-mailed to you? Click here for free email alerts
Email this article to a friend Printable Version
(NaturalNews) During the week of December 17 - 19, 2007, Lakota Indian leaders traveled to Washington DC and withdrew from the constitutionally mandated treaties to become a free and independent country. They do so in a fully honest, legal, and ethical manner.
"We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us," long-time Indian rights activist Russell Means told a handful of reporters and a delegation from the Bolivian embassy. All were gathered in a church in a run-down neighborhood of Washington for a news conference. In other words, the Republic of Lakota is now inviting everyone within their country borders to join them and to live free and create a new government based on the laws of brotherhood.
Lakota leaders delivered a message to the United States State Department in December of 2007, announcing they were unilaterally withdrawing from treaties they signed with the federal government of the United States.
The Lakota activists rightly describe treaties Native American's signed with the United States as "worthless words on worthless paper,” because the United States never holds up their end of the treaty.
One such treaty is the Treaty of Fort Laramie, September 17, 1851. Article three of the treaty states, “United States bind themselves to protect the aforesaid Indian nations against the commission of all depredations by the people of the said United States, after the ratification of this treaty.”
The Treaty of Fort Laramie from April 29, 1868 states, “The United States agrees that the following district of country... [describes a large geographic boundary] ... set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Indians herein named...”
Upon these documents and others, the various tribes in the now Republic of Lakotah were guaranteed exclusive use and control of their lands in exchange for safe passage along the Oregon Trail.
Article six of the U.S. Constitution upholds treaties as the supreme law of the land, “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.”
The Republic of Lakotah withdrawal letter states, “The continuing violations of these treaties’ terms have resulted in the near annihilation of our people physically, spiritually, and culturally.”
In instances across the United States, our own government has completely betrayed and murdered countless numbers of Native Americans.
“After 150 years of colonial enforcement, when you back people into a corner there is only one alternative. That alternative is to bring freedom back into existence by taking it back - back to the love of freedom, to our life-way.” Canupa Gluha Mani
The first thing I thought when I saw this news was, can I move in?
In a letter dated January 1st, 2008 addressed to the US government, and to Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and various counties, the Republic of Lakotah announced plans to retrieve the land stolen by the US government. For private citizens within the boundaries, the Republic of Lakotah writes, “We wish to deal with the American people in good faith and in a win-win manner.” Again, the win-win idea includes encouraging people within the boundaries to join their country which perhaps will include things like, a fair and favorable tax rate. The Republic of Lakotah land map can be seen here (www.republicoflakotah.com/map.html) .
The Republic of Lakotah move is a hopeful sign for us all. A sign that we can collectively reclaim what we believe is rightfully ours. A government that is truly for the people, of the people, and by the people.
This is a far stretch to the broken and bloated U.S. government we see today, which promotes disease across the land and violates the very people and earth that sustains us all.
I end with restating the saying that underlies some beliefs of many Indigenous groups across the globe, as well as the Republic of Lakotah:
Mitaku Oyasin! (We are all related!) .
Learn more at (www.republicoflakotah.com) .
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
To subscribe to this group, send email to:
MedicalConspiracies-subscribe@googlegroups.com
Any information here in is for educational purpose only; it may be news related, purely
speculation or SOMEONE’S OPINION. Always consult with a qualified Medical Doctor before deciding on any course of treatment, especially for serious or life-threatening illnesses.
By becoming a member of this group you AGREE to hold this group its members, list owners, moderators and affiliates harmless of any liability for any direct, consequential, incidental, damage incurred.
YOU AGREE; to accept responsibility and liability for your own actions and to contact a licensed Medical Doctor before deciding on any course of treatment, especially for serious or life-threatening illnesses.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE; YOU MUST UNSUBSCRIBE.
________________________________________________
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107,
**COPYRIGHT NOTICE
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Why blame rickshaws only?
Why blame rickshaws only?
Published On: 2008-09-26
Why blame rickshaws only?
Asif K Shams, Banani, Dhaka
Being a disabled person I am seriously inconvenienced by the ban on rickshaws on important roads. I am a mid-level employee so cannot afford CNGs , even if I can find one. Taxis and private cars are unthinkable. For this reason I am very pleased to see that your fearless newspaper has highlighted the acute problems caused by traffic jams on a daily basis. However, the police authorities are relentless in blaming rickshaws for the jams and even force me to walk (I use a crutch) in the heat and in the rain.
Over the last 2/3 weeks you are printing revealing pictures of gridlock on the road, when not one rickshaw can be seen. The actual cause is apparent to all (except perhaps, the authorities). There are too many private cars on Dhaka's roads that are too narrow to accommodate them all. Most of these cars are huge requiring lots of octane, cause pollution and park anywhere they like without any difficulty to obstruct traffic in all directions. Moreover, their incessant honking on hydraulic horns is turning most of Dhaka people deaf, as the police sergeant confessed in your paper recently.
In this connection, I have been following the writings of Sikander Ahmed and others who are giving many useful suggestions. He claims that if existing traffic laws are strictly followed and implemented, both motorized and non-motorized transports can ply on the roads with ease. Why isn't someone listening, instead of constantly putting the blame on those who cannot fight back.- usually the poor rickshawallas and those who use them.
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=56472
Published On: 2008-09-26
Why blame rickshaws only?
Asif K Shams, Banani, Dhaka
Being a disabled person I am seriously inconvenienced by the ban on rickshaws on important roads. I am a mid-level employee so cannot afford CNGs , even if I can find one. Taxis and private cars are unthinkable. For this reason I am very pleased to see that your fearless newspaper has highlighted the acute problems caused by traffic jams on a daily basis. However, the police authorities are relentless in blaming rickshaws for the jams and even force me to walk (I use a crutch) in the heat and in the rain.
Over the last 2/3 weeks you are printing revealing pictures of gridlock on the road, when not one rickshaw can be seen. The actual cause is apparent to all (except perhaps, the authorities). There are too many private cars on Dhaka's roads that are too narrow to accommodate them all. Most of these cars are huge requiring lots of octane, cause pollution and park anywhere they like without any difficulty to obstruct traffic in all directions. Moreover, their incessant honking on hydraulic horns is turning most of Dhaka people deaf, as the police sergeant confessed in your paper recently.
In this connection, I have been following the writings of Sikander Ahmed and others who are giving many useful suggestions. He claims that if existing traffic laws are strictly followed and implemented, both motorized and non-motorized transports can ply on the roads with ease. Why isn't someone listening, instead of constantly putting the blame on those who cannot fight back.- usually the poor rickshawallas and those who use them.
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=56472
Plutocracy Forms of government
Plutocracy
Forms of government
Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth. In a
plutocracy, the degree of economic inequality is high while the level
of social mobility is low. This can apply to a multitude of government
systems, as the key elements of plutocracy transcend and often occur
concurrently with the features of those systems. The word plutocracy
(Modern Greek: πλουτοκρατία - ploutokratia) is derived from the
ancient Greek root ploutos, meaning wealth and kratein, meaning to
rule or to govern.
Usage
The term plutocracy is generally used to describe two distinct
concepts: one of a historical nature and one of a modern political
nature. The former indicates the political control of the state by an
oligarchy of the wealthy. Examples of such plutocracies include some
city-states in Ancient Greece, the civilization of Carthage, the
Italian merchant republics of Venice and Florence, and Genoa.
Kevin Phillips, author and political strategist to U.S. President
Richard Nixon, argues that the United States is a plutocracy in which
there is a "fusion of money and government." [1].
Modern political
The second usage of plutocracy is a pejorative reference to a
disproportionate influence the wealthy are said to have on political
process in contemporary society. Positive influence includes campaign
contributions and bribes; negative influence includes refusing to
support the government financially by refusing to pay taxes,
threatening to move profitable industries elsewhere, and so on. It can
also be exerted by the owners and ad buyers of media properties which
can shape public perception of political issues. Recent examples
include Rupert Murdoch's News Corp's alleged political agendas in
Australia, the UK [2] and the United States or the oil industry
oligarchy, and billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, which may back right-
leaning political action committees (PACs), as well as billionaire
George Soros' efforts to influence US politics by backing left-leaning
PACs.
Recently, there have been numerous cases of wealthy individuals and
organizations exerting financial pressure on governments to pass
favorable legislation. (see: Lobbying) Most western democracies permit
partisan organizations to raise funds for politicians, and it is well-
known that political parties frequently accept significant donations
from various individuals (either directly or through corporate
institutions). Ostensibly this should have no effect on the
legislative decisions of elected representatives; however it would be
unlikely that no politicians are influenced by these contributions.
Some describe these donations as bribes, although legally they are
not. In the United States, campaign finance reform efforts seek to
ameliorate this situation. However, campaign finance reform must
successfully challenge officials who are beneficiaries of the system
which allows this dynamic in the first place. This has led many reform
advocates to suggest taxpayer dollars be used to replace private
campaign contributions, these reforms are often called clean money,
clean elections reform as opposed to simply campaign finance reform
which does not address the conflict of interest involved where most or
all of the campaign money is from private, often for-profit sources.
Critics of so-called clean elections point out that that having the
government decide which candidates would receive tax dollars and
therefore be allowed to run would create an effective dictatorship
where the government decides who the people can vote for.
Forms of control
A Plutocracy is a government controlled by a minuscule proportion of
extremely wealthy individuals found in most societies. In many forms
of government, those in power benefit financially, sometimes enough to
belong to the aforementioned wealthy class.
Classically, a plutocracy was an oligarchy, which is to say a
government controlled by the wealthy few. Usually this meant that
these ‘plutocrats’ controlled the executive, legislative and judicial
aspects of government, the armed forces, and most of the natural
resources. To a certain degree, there are still some situations in
which private corporations and wealthy individuals may exert such
strong influence on governments, that the effect can arguably be
compared to a plutocracy.
If there are no forms of control within the society, the plutocracy
can easily collapse into a kleptocracy, "reign of thieves", where the
powerholders attempt to confiscate as much public funds as possible as
their private property. A kleptocratic state is usually thoroughly
corrupt, has very little production and its economy is unstable. Many
failed states represent kleptocracies.
THE AMERICAN PLUTOCRACY
http://www.progressiveliving.org/plutocracy_defined.htm
The specific American politicians who support plutocratic governance
are identified here
To e-mail this page to a friend, click here
To search the Progressive Living site for more concerning plutocracy,
click here
Read about the plutocratic agenda
Read about Progressivism, the antidote to Plutocracy Go to the
Progressive Living political Field Guide.
Go to the Progressive Living economics Field Guide
Go to the Progressive Living preamble
Go to the Progressive Living site map
Go to the Progressive Living welcome page
See the resource on the Bush cabinet, with links that illustrate its
plutocratic nature
Forms of government
Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth. In a
plutocracy, the degree of economic inequality is high while the level
of social mobility is low. This can apply to a multitude of government
systems, as the key elements of plutocracy transcend and often occur
concurrently with the features of those systems. The word plutocracy
(Modern Greek: πλουτοκρατία - ploutokratia) is derived from the
ancient Greek root ploutos, meaning wealth and kratein, meaning to
rule or to govern.
Usage
The term plutocracy is generally used to describe two distinct
concepts: one of a historical nature and one of a modern political
nature. The former indicates the political control of the state by an
oligarchy of the wealthy. Examples of such plutocracies include some
city-states in Ancient Greece, the civilization of Carthage, the
Italian merchant republics of Venice and Florence, and Genoa.
Kevin Phillips, author and political strategist to U.S. President
Richard Nixon, argues that the United States is a plutocracy in which
there is a "fusion of money and government." [1].
Modern political
The second usage of plutocracy is a pejorative reference to a
disproportionate influence the wealthy are said to have on political
process in contemporary society. Positive influence includes campaign
contributions and bribes; negative influence includes refusing to
support the government financially by refusing to pay taxes,
threatening to move profitable industries elsewhere, and so on. It can
also be exerted by the owners and ad buyers of media properties which
can shape public perception of political issues. Recent examples
include Rupert Murdoch's News Corp's alleged political agendas in
Australia, the UK [2] and the United States or the oil industry
oligarchy, and billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, which may back right-
leaning political action committees (PACs), as well as billionaire
George Soros' efforts to influence US politics by backing left-leaning
PACs.
Recently, there have been numerous cases of wealthy individuals and
organizations exerting financial pressure on governments to pass
favorable legislation. (see: Lobbying) Most western democracies permit
partisan organizations to raise funds for politicians, and it is well-
known that political parties frequently accept significant donations
from various individuals (either directly or through corporate
institutions). Ostensibly this should have no effect on the
legislative decisions of elected representatives; however it would be
unlikely that no politicians are influenced by these contributions.
Some describe these donations as bribes, although legally they are
not. In the United States, campaign finance reform efforts seek to
ameliorate this situation. However, campaign finance reform must
successfully challenge officials who are beneficiaries of the system
which allows this dynamic in the first place. This has led many reform
advocates to suggest taxpayer dollars be used to replace private
campaign contributions, these reforms are often called clean money,
clean elections reform as opposed to simply campaign finance reform
which does not address the conflict of interest involved where most or
all of the campaign money is from private, often for-profit sources.
Critics of so-called clean elections point out that that having the
government decide which candidates would receive tax dollars and
therefore be allowed to run would create an effective dictatorship
where the government decides who the people can vote for.
Forms of control
A Plutocracy is a government controlled by a minuscule proportion of
extremely wealthy individuals found in most societies. In many forms
of government, those in power benefit financially, sometimes enough to
belong to the aforementioned wealthy class.
Classically, a plutocracy was an oligarchy, which is to say a
government controlled by the wealthy few. Usually this meant that
these ‘plutocrats’ controlled the executive, legislative and judicial
aspects of government, the armed forces, and most of the natural
resources. To a certain degree, there are still some situations in
which private corporations and wealthy individuals may exert such
strong influence on governments, that the effect can arguably be
compared to a plutocracy.
If there are no forms of control within the society, the plutocracy
can easily collapse into a kleptocracy, "reign of thieves", where the
powerholders attempt to confiscate as much public funds as possible as
their private property. A kleptocratic state is usually thoroughly
corrupt, has very little production and its economy is unstable. Many
failed states represent kleptocracies.
THE AMERICAN PLUTOCRACY
http://www.progressiveliving.org/plutocracy_defined.htm
The specific American politicians who support plutocratic governance
are identified here
To e-mail this page to a friend, click here
To search the Progressive Living site for more concerning plutocracy,
click here
Read about the plutocratic agenda
Read about Progressivism, the antidote to Plutocracy Go to the
Progressive Living political Field Guide.
Go to the Progressive Living economics Field Guide
Go to the Progressive Living preamble
Go to the Progressive Living site map
Go to the Progressive Living welcome page
See the resource on the Bush cabinet, with links that illustrate its
plutocratic nature
How McCain Blew It
CounterPunch Diary
How McCain Blew It
By ALEXANDER COCKBURN
In whatever years remain to him – and the health prognoses for McCain are cloudy at best – McCain should look back at the 48 hours up to and including Friday night’s debate in Mississippi as the Rubicon he was too frightened to cross. He spurned a huge chance to turn the tables on his all-too-decorous opponent.
McCain should have furiously denounced the bailout. There was no ideological impediment, since the Arizona senator has no firm convictions beyond the precepts of his bankrollers – which can be quickly summed up as: less taxes for the rich. Everything else, the thundering about earmarks, the calls for an abolition of “cost plus” in defense contracting (actually, a truly radical proposition if McCain believed a word of it), is hot air.
A McCain “No” to bailout would have put Obama in a difficult position, exposing the timidity of his own posture, and leaving him with the options of continuing as Wall Street’s errand boy, his role to date, or if he tried to outflank McCain from the left, as a wild-eyed radical.
But McCain’s nerve failed him. In the opening exchanges of the debate even the sedate Jim Lehrer became impatient as McCain and Obama fled the all important matter of the economic crisis and the proposed bailout and retreated into campaign boilerplate about earmarks and tax cuts. Sacrifices? It should not have been hard for Obama to say, right up front in stentorian tones, “You ask, Senator McCain, what I propose to cut in this hour of crisis. John, I propose to cut the war in Iraq. Here’s what it has cost to date…” Long minutes went by before he even touched on this issue.
Weirdly, McCain refused to look at Obama. It was a big mistake. A couple of straw polls from CNN and CBS right after the debate called it for Obama. In the CNN poll “undecided” women and older people plumped solidly for Obama. It’s in these sectors that the race will be won.
I’ll bet that a lot of those pro-Obama votes from women stem from McCain’s inability to look Obama in the eye. How many women have had to put up with that crap from sulky male spouses and partners? Ask Cindy. Ask any woman.
The biggest win Friday night was for dullness. The two candidates trudged through their dutiful exchanges with even more tedium than the chorus in a Greek tragedy hashing over the whims of fate.
The post-match analysts said that McCain seemed asleep at the wheel during the initial exchanges on the economy, the $700 billion bailout proposed by the Fed and the Treasury, but got snappier when the topic shifted to Iraq and Iran.
Indeed it was clear McCain had forfeited his best shot at turning the tables on Obama the moment he declared that he would vote for the $700 billion bailout package for Wall Street proposed by Bernanke at the Fed and the US Treasury Secretary Paulson and endorsed by President Bush.
The bailout is hugely unpopular across the United States. In the past four days I’ve not been in a cash register line in any supermarket where vivid denunciations of Wall Street haven’t mingled with sarcasms about the tycoons’ hirelings in Congress now trying to commit taxpayers’ money to bail out their losses. All this while the hoppers riffle through the National Enquirer for news of Sarah Palin’s love life and about the Youtube films of Bristol.
Every politician in Congress is being told by their office staffs that phone calls are running at least 90 to 10 against the bailout. This is why the Republicans in Congress have found it east to resist the frantic appeals of Paulson, formerly of Goldman Sachs, and instead to say No, leaving the Democrats to whinge and trim, with half-hearted “conditions” attached to the bail-out and fake populist squeaks about reducing executive compensation. Will the Democrats also demand that the tycoons surrender all the money they stand to make if a bailout sends the value of their stock holdings soaring? I don’t think I see the bankers’ whore, Senator Charles Schumer, insisting on that.
Last Wednesday McCain woke up to a thunderbolt crashing into his campaign hq. It arrived in the form of a Washington Post-ABC poll reporting showing that for the first time, among likely voters, Obama was leading McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent. A week earlier the race had been even. This sudden crushing lead told McCain and his campaign managers that the “Palin bounce” had evaporated. The worst financial crisis since the Depression had taken center stage and the voters were clearly assessing McCain as being out of touch.
Perhaps as a relict of his days as a navy pilot, McCain is capable of quick decisions and drastic changes of course. His pick of Palin, snuffing out Obama’s post-Denver glow, showed that. That Wednesday morning, amid the ghastly shock of the Washington Post-ABC poll McCain seized the initiative.
The nation was in danger! He would speed to Washington. He urged Obama to do the same. The debate would have to be postponed.
Obama was already meekly playing along, with talk of bipartisanship. And then… McCain blew his golden opportunity. Since he’s now lagging ominously in the ratings, McCain needed to ignite at least one or two firestorms Friday night, starting with the bailout. Now the chance has gone.
The first function of any presidential debate is to demonstrate to the Big Money that both candidates are “safe”, first on the matter of keeping the rich secure from worry. The second function is to assure all relevant lobbies that they are ready and willing to blow up the world if American “security” requires it.
In the requisite demonstrations Obama and McCain sang in unison. They are as one with Wall St. They are ready to blow up the planet. Three times Obama said he completely agreed with the elderly madman opposite him. The interactions became progressively more hackneyed and absurd. Obama pledged to “take out” Osama bin Laden. McCain vowed to prevent another Holocaust of the Jews. Obama respectfully agreed with McCain that Putin is a potential problem and that plucky Georgia needs America’s succor. It was nauseating. Most of the world and its problems didn’t feature at all. Latin America? Free trade?
Between the two of them, the candidates affirmed, often in identical terms, almost every lunatic policy position that has doomed George Bush’s presidency and made America an object of derision and loathing among the nations.
It should have been a no-brainer for Obama simply to chain his opponent to all the disasters of the Bush years, about which the American people have reached a firm and hostile verdict. Obama should be setting forth a new agenda. Instead we got Bush/Cheneyspeak from the Democrat about taking out Osama, repeating all the disasters of Iraq in Afghanistan and invading Pakistan presumably when President Zardari is in Alaska, pursuing Sarah Palin.
(Who knows? In the event she doesn’t get to Washington as veep, Sarah can dump Todd and the kids and move on to Islamabad, working for Christ and Empire from the inside.)
A born trimmer, Obama is incapable of going for the jugular or even sounding as though he can take a firm stand on anything. This guy’s no leader. He comes across as a trimmer and a wimp. McCain looks decisive by comparison. He’s a throat slitter by temperament. He nicked Obama a couple of times, but the Wall Street tycoons went unscarred. At a ripe tactical moment McCain declined the role he affects to love. When the chips are down, he’s no maverick.
McCain’s Women
Among all the sticks with which to whack McCain we should surely be hearing more about the scoundrely banker Charles Keating, the financier and anti-porn crusader, whose fraudulent operations with Lincoln Savings and Loan very nearly derailed McCain’s career after exposure of Keating’s lavish patronage of McCain as one of his protectors in Congress. (Keating spent time in prison and now lives a subdued life in Arizona.)
In 1986, Cindy and her father James invested $400,000 in a shopping center being developed by Keating. An indefatigable traveler, given to impulsive excursions around the world in his private jet, Keating took along Cindy and the children and, occasionally, John. Amid these voyages, Cindy developed with Keating the idea of financing the American Voluntary Medical Team (AVMT) to supply aid to disaster-struck areas. Keating, an ardent Catholic, also introduced Cindy to Mother Teresa. This relationship led to Cindy’s adoption of a baby born in Bangladesh. The adoption came as a complete surprise to McCain.
These trips and the relationship with Keating attracted the scrutiny of investigators probing McCain for ethical misconduct. Beleaguered by accusations that he had been shielding a top-rung corporate criminal, McCain appears to have blamed his wife for the political millstone Keating had become.
According to two emergency room physicians in Phoenix, , who tell us they don’t want their names used, interviewed by CounterPunch, it was at this time that Cindy McCain sought medical attention in the Phoenix area for injuries consistent with physical violence: bruises, contusions and a black eye . There were at least two more visits for medical attention in the Phoenix area by Cindy, with similar injuriesi, between 1988 and 1993.
For the full story of McCain’s treatment of Cindy and of his first wife Carol, I urge you to subscribe to our newsletter. There are crackerjack reports from Jeffrey St Clair and myself and also an update of McCain’s shameful conduct as a POW from Doug Valentine. Also in this latest issue, David Price’s shocking account of how subscribe US intelligence agencies re trying to strong arm an impoverished scholar into being a spook.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Footnote: An earlier version of this column also appears in The First Post.
Alexander Cockburn can be reached at alexandercockburn@asis.com
How McCain Blew It
By ALEXANDER COCKBURN
In whatever years remain to him – and the health prognoses for McCain are cloudy at best – McCain should look back at the 48 hours up to and including Friday night’s debate in Mississippi as the Rubicon he was too frightened to cross. He spurned a huge chance to turn the tables on his all-too-decorous opponent.
McCain should have furiously denounced the bailout. There was no ideological impediment, since the Arizona senator has no firm convictions beyond the precepts of his bankrollers – which can be quickly summed up as: less taxes for the rich. Everything else, the thundering about earmarks, the calls for an abolition of “cost plus” in defense contracting (actually, a truly radical proposition if McCain believed a word of it), is hot air.
A McCain “No” to bailout would have put Obama in a difficult position, exposing the timidity of his own posture, and leaving him with the options of continuing as Wall Street’s errand boy, his role to date, or if he tried to outflank McCain from the left, as a wild-eyed radical.
But McCain’s nerve failed him. In the opening exchanges of the debate even the sedate Jim Lehrer became impatient as McCain and Obama fled the all important matter of the economic crisis and the proposed bailout and retreated into campaign boilerplate about earmarks and tax cuts. Sacrifices? It should not have been hard for Obama to say, right up front in stentorian tones, “You ask, Senator McCain, what I propose to cut in this hour of crisis. John, I propose to cut the war in Iraq. Here’s what it has cost to date…” Long minutes went by before he even touched on this issue.
Weirdly, McCain refused to look at Obama. It was a big mistake. A couple of straw polls from CNN and CBS right after the debate called it for Obama. In the CNN poll “undecided” women and older people plumped solidly for Obama. It’s in these sectors that the race will be won.
I’ll bet that a lot of those pro-Obama votes from women stem from McCain’s inability to look Obama in the eye. How many women have had to put up with that crap from sulky male spouses and partners? Ask Cindy. Ask any woman.
The biggest win Friday night was for dullness. The two candidates trudged through their dutiful exchanges with even more tedium than the chorus in a Greek tragedy hashing over the whims of fate.
The post-match analysts said that McCain seemed asleep at the wheel during the initial exchanges on the economy, the $700 billion bailout proposed by the Fed and the Treasury, but got snappier when the topic shifted to Iraq and Iran.
Indeed it was clear McCain had forfeited his best shot at turning the tables on Obama the moment he declared that he would vote for the $700 billion bailout package for Wall Street proposed by Bernanke at the Fed and the US Treasury Secretary Paulson and endorsed by President Bush.
The bailout is hugely unpopular across the United States. In the past four days I’ve not been in a cash register line in any supermarket where vivid denunciations of Wall Street haven’t mingled with sarcasms about the tycoons’ hirelings in Congress now trying to commit taxpayers’ money to bail out their losses. All this while the hoppers riffle through the National Enquirer for news of Sarah Palin’s love life and about the Youtube films of Bristol.
Every politician in Congress is being told by their office staffs that phone calls are running at least 90 to 10 against the bailout. This is why the Republicans in Congress have found it east to resist the frantic appeals of Paulson, formerly of Goldman Sachs, and instead to say No, leaving the Democrats to whinge and trim, with half-hearted “conditions” attached to the bail-out and fake populist squeaks about reducing executive compensation. Will the Democrats also demand that the tycoons surrender all the money they stand to make if a bailout sends the value of their stock holdings soaring? I don’t think I see the bankers’ whore, Senator Charles Schumer, insisting on that.
Last Wednesday McCain woke up to a thunderbolt crashing into his campaign hq. It arrived in the form of a Washington Post-ABC poll reporting showing that for the first time, among likely voters, Obama was leading McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent. A week earlier the race had been even. This sudden crushing lead told McCain and his campaign managers that the “Palin bounce” had evaporated. The worst financial crisis since the Depression had taken center stage and the voters were clearly assessing McCain as being out of touch.
Perhaps as a relict of his days as a navy pilot, McCain is capable of quick decisions and drastic changes of course. His pick of Palin, snuffing out Obama’s post-Denver glow, showed that. That Wednesday morning, amid the ghastly shock of the Washington Post-ABC poll McCain seized the initiative.
The nation was in danger! He would speed to Washington. He urged Obama to do the same. The debate would have to be postponed.
Obama was already meekly playing along, with talk of bipartisanship. And then… McCain blew his golden opportunity. Since he’s now lagging ominously in the ratings, McCain needed to ignite at least one or two firestorms Friday night, starting with the bailout. Now the chance has gone.
The first function of any presidential debate is to demonstrate to the Big Money that both candidates are “safe”, first on the matter of keeping the rich secure from worry. The second function is to assure all relevant lobbies that they are ready and willing to blow up the world if American “security” requires it.
In the requisite demonstrations Obama and McCain sang in unison. They are as one with Wall St. They are ready to blow up the planet. Three times Obama said he completely agreed with the elderly madman opposite him. The interactions became progressively more hackneyed and absurd. Obama pledged to “take out” Osama bin Laden. McCain vowed to prevent another Holocaust of the Jews. Obama respectfully agreed with McCain that Putin is a potential problem and that plucky Georgia needs America’s succor. It was nauseating. Most of the world and its problems didn’t feature at all. Latin America? Free trade?
Between the two of them, the candidates affirmed, often in identical terms, almost every lunatic policy position that has doomed George Bush’s presidency and made America an object of derision and loathing among the nations.
It should have been a no-brainer for Obama simply to chain his opponent to all the disasters of the Bush years, about which the American people have reached a firm and hostile verdict. Obama should be setting forth a new agenda. Instead we got Bush/Cheneyspeak from the Democrat about taking out Osama, repeating all the disasters of Iraq in Afghanistan and invading Pakistan presumably when President Zardari is in Alaska, pursuing Sarah Palin.
(Who knows? In the event she doesn’t get to Washington as veep, Sarah can dump Todd and the kids and move on to Islamabad, working for Christ and Empire from the inside.)
A born trimmer, Obama is incapable of going for the jugular or even sounding as though he can take a firm stand on anything. This guy’s no leader. He comes across as a trimmer and a wimp. McCain looks decisive by comparison. He’s a throat slitter by temperament. He nicked Obama a couple of times, but the Wall Street tycoons went unscarred. At a ripe tactical moment McCain declined the role he affects to love. When the chips are down, he’s no maverick.
McCain’s Women
Among all the sticks with which to whack McCain we should surely be hearing more about the scoundrely banker Charles Keating, the financier and anti-porn crusader, whose fraudulent operations with Lincoln Savings and Loan very nearly derailed McCain’s career after exposure of Keating’s lavish patronage of McCain as one of his protectors in Congress. (Keating spent time in prison and now lives a subdued life in Arizona.)
In 1986, Cindy and her father James invested $400,000 in a shopping center being developed by Keating. An indefatigable traveler, given to impulsive excursions around the world in his private jet, Keating took along Cindy and the children and, occasionally, John. Amid these voyages, Cindy developed with Keating the idea of financing the American Voluntary Medical Team (AVMT) to supply aid to disaster-struck areas. Keating, an ardent Catholic, also introduced Cindy to Mother Teresa. This relationship led to Cindy’s adoption of a baby born in Bangladesh. The adoption came as a complete surprise to McCain.
These trips and the relationship with Keating attracted the scrutiny of investigators probing McCain for ethical misconduct. Beleaguered by accusations that he had been shielding a top-rung corporate criminal, McCain appears to have blamed his wife for the political millstone Keating had become.
According to two emergency room physicians in Phoenix, , who tell us they don’t want their names used, interviewed by CounterPunch, it was at this time that Cindy McCain sought medical attention in the Phoenix area for injuries consistent with physical violence: bruises, contusions and a black eye . There were at least two more visits for medical attention in the Phoenix area by Cindy, with similar injuriesi, between 1988 and 1993.
For the full story of McCain’s treatment of Cindy and of his first wife Carol, I urge you to subscribe to our newsletter. There are crackerjack reports from Jeffrey St Clair and myself and also an update of McCain’s shameful conduct as a POW from Doug Valentine. Also in this latest issue, David Price’s shocking account of how subscribe US intelligence agencies re trying to strong arm an impoverished scholar into being a spook.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Footnote: An earlier version of this column also appears in The First Post.
Alexander Cockburn can be reached at alexandercockburn@asis.com
U.S. Raids on Pakistan
U.S. Raids on Pakistan
Violations of Sovereignty
By Brian Cloughley
"Counterpunch" -- - Henry Kissinger was no amateur when it came to illegally bombing and invading countries that he and the evil President Nixon considered did not meet American requirements of unconditional servility, but even he must be intrigued about the latest antics of Washington’s finest. The vice president of the United States, a charmless and despotic bully, and his president, he of the close-set eyeballs and pretensions to dignity, recently excelled themselves in self-delusion concerning their unlawful invasion of Iraq and their fury with nations whose governments fail to toe the Washington line…… Read
http://www.lisauk.com/Articles.asp?aid=523
Violations of Sovereignty
By Brian Cloughley
"Counterpunch" -- - Henry Kissinger was no amateur when it came to illegally bombing and invading countries that he and the evil President Nixon considered did not meet American requirements of unconditional servility, but even he must be intrigued about the latest antics of Washington’s finest. The vice president of the United States, a charmless and despotic bully, and his president, he of the close-set eyeballs and pretensions to dignity, recently excelled themselves in self-delusion concerning their unlawful invasion of Iraq and their fury with nations whose governments fail to toe the Washington line…… Read
http://www.lisauk.com/Articles.asp?aid=523
NAPM REAFFIRMS OPPOSITION TO THE INDO-US NUCLEAR DEAL
NAPM REAFFIRMS OPPOSITION TO THE INDO-US NUCLEAR DEAL
Amidst protests against price rises of essential items throughout the country, the PM Manmohan Singh has again started harping on the issue of the Indo-US Nuclear Deal. The Deal has been pushed forward in India in an anti-democratic manner without approval of the Parliament - in fact in the teeth of opposition by a large majority of parliamentarians. The Deal has the potential of disturbing regional stability and further distorting India's relationships with important neighbours like China, Pakistan and Iran. This cannot also but severely undermine the prospects for both vertical and horizontal non-proliferation and thereby the prospects for global nuclear disarmament. This allurement also has the danger of further propelling India towards becoming a junior military ally of the US and a market to mint profits for its MNCs and also the nuclear industry of other advanced countries – Russia and France, in particular. Most importantly it will be a set back to the environmentally friendly sustainable ways of meeting our energy requirements. Power from nuclear energy is a failed project in developed countries and the eagerness of the Prime Minister to clinch the Deal fails to generate any enthusiasm among the common people of India. Neither is nuclear energy a solution to global warming as some experts make it out to be. On the contrary the entire nuclear fuel cycle is fraught with danger and exposes human beings to hazardous radiation. The world is yet to find a safe way for disposal of radioactive waste, a factor which is constraining the growth of nuclear power programmes in the developed countries.
The Indo-US Nuclear Deal is meant to serve the interests of the global nuclear power industry and is a ploy to keep India away from staking claims to shrinking fossil fuel reserves in proportion to its large population so that these reserves may last for some more time for the rich countries.
The undue importance given to the Indo-US Nuclear Deal as opposed to the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, even though gas is predicted to be the major source of power globally for the next two to three decades, raises questions about the motives of the Indian government.
We take strong objection to the joint Indo-US military exercises that have been taking place for the last seven years with the aim of building interoperability and we demand immediate closure of the Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte in Mizoram. The increasing militarization of the India State is also being used to crush civil liberties and democratic movements in the country. India must learn a lesson from the history of US military involvement in various parts of the world.
We appreciate the consistent stand taken by the Left Front, a partner in the UPA alliance, in successfully stalling the Indo-US Nuclear Deal up till now and hope that the India specific agreement with the IAEA will never be finalized. Even as we note their foresight in foiling the US hegemonic designs in South Asia, we also expect them to take a principled stand against the nuclear power programme. We believe that the IAEA safeguards must be implemented nationally and internationally on all declared and undeclared nuclear activities, including that of Israel. The Government of India must also make its nuclear related activities transparent and accountable to the people, especially those who are directly affected by radiation.
We welcome the government's decision to ask the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to draft an umbrella legislation for promotion and growth of renewable energy.
Surendra Mohan, Achin Vanaik, Major General S.G. Vombatkere (Retd.), J. Sri Raman, Thomas Kocherry, Sukla Sen, Mukta Srivastava, Anand Patwardhan, Ajit Jha, Feroze Mithiborwala, Kishore Jagtap, P.T.M. Hussain, Ashish Ranjan Jha, Kamayani, Sanjay M.G., Arundhati Dhuru, Aruna Roy, Medha Patkar, Sandeep Pandey
On behalf of National Alliance of People's Movements
--
Mukta Srivastava
National Alliance of People's Movements
Amidst protests against price rises of essential items throughout the country, the PM Manmohan Singh has again started harping on the issue of the Indo-US Nuclear Deal. The Deal has been pushed forward in India in an anti-democratic manner without approval of the Parliament - in fact in the teeth of opposition by a large majority of parliamentarians. The Deal has the potential of disturbing regional stability and further distorting India's relationships with important neighbours like China, Pakistan and Iran. This cannot also but severely undermine the prospects for both vertical and horizontal non-proliferation and thereby the prospects for global nuclear disarmament. This allurement also has the danger of further propelling India towards becoming a junior military ally of the US and a market to mint profits for its MNCs and also the nuclear industry of other advanced countries – Russia and France, in particular. Most importantly it will be a set back to the environmentally friendly sustainable ways of meeting our energy requirements. Power from nuclear energy is a failed project in developed countries and the eagerness of the Prime Minister to clinch the Deal fails to generate any enthusiasm among the common people of India. Neither is nuclear energy a solution to global warming as some experts make it out to be. On the contrary the entire nuclear fuel cycle is fraught with danger and exposes human beings to hazardous radiation. The world is yet to find a safe way for disposal of radioactive waste, a factor which is constraining the growth of nuclear power programmes in the developed countries.
The Indo-US Nuclear Deal is meant to serve the interests of the global nuclear power industry and is a ploy to keep India away from staking claims to shrinking fossil fuel reserves in proportion to its large population so that these reserves may last for some more time for the rich countries.
The undue importance given to the Indo-US Nuclear Deal as opposed to the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, even though gas is predicted to be the major source of power globally for the next two to three decades, raises questions about the motives of the Indian government.
We take strong objection to the joint Indo-US military exercises that have been taking place for the last seven years with the aim of building interoperability and we demand immediate closure of the Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte in Mizoram. The increasing militarization of the India State is also being used to crush civil liberties and democratic movements in the country. India must learn a lesson from the history of US military involvement in various parts of the world.
We appreciate the consistent stand taken by the Left Front, a partner in the UPA alliance, in successfully stalling the Indo-US Nuclear Deal up till now and hope that the India specific agreement with the IAEA will never be finalized. Even as we note their foresight in foiling the US hegemonic designs in South Asia, we also expect them to take a principled stand against the nuclear power programme. We believe that the IAEA safeguards must be implemented nationally and internationally on all declared and undeclared nuclear activities, including that of Israel. The Government of India must also make its nuclear related activities transparent and accountable to the people, especially those who are directly affected by radiation.
We welcome the government's decision to ask the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to draft an umbrella legislation for promotion and growth of renewable energy.
Surendra Mohan, Achin Vanaik, Major General S.G. Vombatkere (Retd.), J. Sri Raman, Thomas Kocherry, Sukla Sen, Mukta Srivastava, Anand Patwardhan, Ajit Jha, Feroze Mithiborwala, Kishore Jagtap, P.T.M. Hussain, Ashish Ranjan Jha, Kamayani, Sanjay M.G., Arundhati Dhuru, Aruna Roy, Medha Patkar, Sandeep Pandey
On behalf of National Alliance of People's Movements
--
Mukta Srivastava
National Alliance of People's Movements
The Nanavati Commission has conveniently misunderstood Mr. Modi and his Government without examining them.
RESS RELEASE
DATE: 27TH SEPTEMBER 2008
· The Nanavati Commission has conveniently misunderstood Mr. Modi and his Government without examining them.
· Mr. Modi and his Government got Full Marks without appearing in the Exam of the Nanavati Commission.
· We strongly feel that the Nanavati Commission has forgotten the real story of the Gujarat Carnage 2002, publicly admitted and proudly advocated by the Mr. Modi and his BJP. - Rohit Prajapati & Trupti Shah - Activists, Gujarat
The following statements of Mr. Modi say a lot, and even if the Nanavati commission would have taken the statement of Mr. Modi, he might have said similar things to the commission
"With the entire population of Gujarat very angry at what happened in Godhra much worse was expected". Narendra Modi, at a Press Conference in Gujarat, Feb 28, 2002.
Asked about the violence, Modi quoted Newton's third law 'every action has an equal and opposite reaction' - to virtually justify what was happening. The Times of India, March 3, 2002.
"Relief camps are actually child-making factories. Those who keep on multiplying the population should be taught a lesson." Shri Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Mehsana district during his gaurav yatra, quoted in The Hindu, Sept 10, 2002.
"(Nothing illustrates the role of the police better than police commissioner P.C. Pande's statement that, 'Police were not insulated from the general social milieu… (When) there's a change in the perception of society, the police are part of it and there's bound to be some contagion effect"'. The Telegraph, March 2, 2002
Let us also remind Justice Nanavati that even the then Prime Minister Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee felt compelled to say the following things:
"My one message to the chief minister is that he should follow raj dharma. A ruler should not make any discrimination between his subjects on the basis of caste, creed and religion." -- Atal Behari Vajpayee, during his visit to Ahmedabad on April 4, 2002; in The Hindustan Times.
"I do not know what face I will show them (the world) now after the shameful events in Gujarat." -- Atal Behari Vajpayee, during his visit to Ahmedabad on April 4, 2002; in The Hindustan Times.
"From Godhra to Ahmedabad, in so many places, there are so many incidents of people being burnt alive, including helpless women and children. This is a blot on nation's forehead and has grievously harmed India's image in the eyes of the world."- Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India, statement on March 3, 2002.
The Supreme Court's decision in the Best Bakery case again clearly condemns the state machinery and religious fanatics as the directors of the 2002 Gujarat Carnage. "When the ghastly killings take place in the land of Mahatma Gandhi it raises a very pertinent question as to whether some people have become so bankrupt in their ideology that they have deviated from everything which was so dear to him. […] The fanatics who spread violence in the name of religion are worse than terrorists and more dangerous than an alien enemy. […] The role of the State Government also leaves much to be desired. One gets a feeling that there was really no seriousness in the State's approach in assailing the Trial Court's judgment. […] The modern day "Neros" were looking elsewhere when Best Bakery and innocent children and women were burning, and were probably deliberating how the perpetrators of the crime can be saved or protected. Law and justice become flies in the hands of these "wanton boys". When fences start to swallow the crops, no scope will be left for survival of law and order or truth and justice. Public order as well as public interest become martyrs and monuments."
Even the Nanavati Commission has conveniently ignored the above Supreme Court judgment and other such judgments by the Supreme Court. The Commission had also ignored the NHRC's various interim reports. The recent statements to the Tehelka channel made by various individuals boasting about their role in the violence, which were seen and heard by millions of people in the country, also seem to have made no impression on the Nanavati commission.
Let us remind the people that the PUCL, Vadodara who were active in relief and rehabilitation during the 2002 violence in Gujarat, had withdrawn from the proceedings of the Nanavati-Shah Commission. PUCL, Vadodara had earlier submitted an affidavit to the Commission based on the PUCL investigations into the violence in Vadodara city and surrounding villages. But they were obliged to submit a second affidavit stating that, in view of their lack of faith in the inquiry proceedings, they would not participate in them further due to the remarks made by Justice Nanavati.
The prime reason for boycotting the commission was that in late May 2003, Justice Nanavati has been reported extensively in the media to have said, "The evidence recorded so far does not indicate any lapse on the part of the police or administration in controlling the communal clashes in several parts of the state." Thereafter, Justice Nanavati reportedly backed out and stated that the media had misquoted him. But a TV channel reported that Justice Nanavati, in an interview with the channel, had said the Gujarat riots were not one-sided and that there was limited evidence against the VHP. We were shocked with the comments made by a senior member of the Commission, Justice Nanavati, a former judge of the Supreme Court. "There is no real evidence that has been brought to name individual Bajrang Dal or VHP leaders," the TV channel quoted Justice Nanavati as saying. This despite the voluminous evidence that emerged from the investigations of several independent fact-finding commissions.
We strongly feel that the Nanavati Commission has forgotten the real story of the Gujarat Carnage 2002 publicly admitted and proudly advocated by Mr. Modi and his BJP.
Let us remind the Nanavati Commission that denial of justice on such a scale will have disastrous long-term consequences for the entire society.
Rohit Prajapati
Trupti Shah
Activist, Gujarat
Rohit P rajapati & T rupti S hah
37, Patrakar Colony, Tandalja Road,
Post-Akota, Vadodara - 390 020
GUJARAT, INDIA
Phone No. + 91 - 265 - 2320399
Email No: rohit.prajapati@gmail.com
____________________________________________________________________
DATE: 27TH SEPTEMBER 2008
· The Nanavati Commission has conveniently misunderstood Mr. Modi and his Government without examining them.
· Mr. Modi and his Government got Full Marks without appearing in the Exam of the Nanavati Commission.
· We strongly feel that the Nanavati Commission has forgotten the real story of the Gujarat Carnage 2002, publicly admitted and proudly advocated by the Mr. Modi and his BJP. - Rohit Prajapati & Trupti Shah - Activists, Gujarat
The following statements of Mr. Modi say a lot, and even if the Nanavati commission would have taken the statement of Mr. Modi, he might have said similar things to the commission
"With the entire population of Gujarat very angry at what happened in Godhra much worse was expected". Narendra Modi, at a Press Conference in Gujarat, Feb 28, 2002.
Asked about the violence, Modi quoted Newton's third law 'every action has an equal and opposite reaction' - to virtually justify what was happening. The Times of India, March 3, 2002.
"Relief camps are actually child-making factories. Those who keep on multiplying the population should be taught a lesson." Shri Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Mehsana district during his gaurav yatra, quoted in The Hindu, Sept 10, 2002.
"(Nothing illustrates the role of the police better than police commissioner P.C. Pande's statement that, 'Police were not insulated from the general social milieu… (When) there's a change in the perception of society, the police are part of it and there's bound to be some contagion effect"'. The Telegraph, March 2, 2002
Let us also remind Justice Nanavati that even the then Prime Minister Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee felt compelled to say the following things:
"My one message to the chief minister is that he should follow raj dharma. A ruler should not make any discrimination between his subjects on the basis of caste, creed and religion." -- Atal Behari Vajpayee, during his visit to Ahmedabad on April 4, 2002; in The Hindustan Times.
"I do not know what face I will show them (the world) now after the shameful events in Gujarat." -- Atal Behari Vajpayee, during his visit to Ahmedabad on April 4, 2002; in The Hindustan Times.
"From Godhra to Ahmedabad, in so many places, there are so many incidents of people being burnt alive, including helpless women and children. This is a blot on nation's forehead and has grievously harmed India's image in the eyes of the world."- Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India, statement on March 3, 2002.
The Supreme Court's decision in the Best Bakery case again clearly condemns the state machinery and religious fanatics as the directors of the 2002 Gujarat Carnage. "When the ghastly killings take place in the land of Mahatma Gandhi it raises a very pertinent question as to whether some people have become so bankrupt in their ideology that they have deviated from everything which was so dear to him. […] The fanatics who spread violence in the name of religion are worse than terrorists and more dangerous than an alien enemy. […] The role of the State Government also leaves much to be desired. One gets a feeling that there was really no seriousness in the State's approach in assailing the Trial Court's judgment. […] The modern day "Neros" were looking elsewhere when Best Bakery and innocent children and women were burning, and were probably deliberating how the perpetrators of the crime can be saved or protected. Law and justice become flies in the hands of these "wanton boys". When fences start to swallow the crops, no scope will be left for survival of law and order or truth and justice. Public order as well as public interest become martyrs and monuments."
Even the Nanavati Commission has conveniently ignored the above Supreme Court judgment and other such judgments by the Supreme Court. The Commission had also ignored the NHRC's various interim reports. The recent statements to the Tehelka channel made by various individuals boasting about their role in the violence, which were seen and heard by millions of people in the country, also seem to have made no impression on the Nanavati commission.
Let us remind the people that the PUCL, Vadodara who were active in relief and rehabilitation during the 2002 violence in Gujarat, had withdrawn from the proceedings of the Nanavati-Shah Commission. PUCL, Vadodara had earlier submitted an affidavit to the Commission based on the PUCL investigations into the violence in Vadodara city and surrounding villages. But they were obliged to submit a second affidavit stating that, in view of their lack of faith in the inquiry proceedings, they would not participate in them further due to the remarks made by Justice Nanavati.
The prime reason for boycotting the commission was that in late May 2003, Justice Nanavati has been reported extensively in the media to have said, "The evidence recorded so far does not indicate any lapse on the part of the police or administration in controlling the communal clashes in several parts of the state." Thereafter, Justice Nanavati reportedly backed out and stated that the media had misquoted him. But a TV channel reported that Justice Nanavati, in an interview with the channel, had said the Gujarat riots were not one-sided and that there was limited evidence against the VHP. We were shocked with the comments made by a senior member of the Commission, Justice Nanavati, a former judge of the Supreme Court. "There is no real evidence that has been brought to name individual Bajrang Dal or VHP leaders," the TV channel quoted Justice Nanavati as saying. This despite the voluminous evidence that emerged from the investigations of several independent fact-finding commissions.
We strongly feel that the Nanavati Commission has forgotten the real story of the Gujarat Carnage 2002 publicly admitted and proudly advocated by Mr. Modi and his BJP.
Let us remind the Nanavati Commission that denial of justice on such a scale will have disastrous long-term consequences for the entire society.
Rohit Prajapati
Trupti Shah
Activist, Gujarat
Rohit P rajapati & T rupti S hah
37, Patrakar Colony, Tandalja Road,
Post-Akota, Vadodara - 390 020
GUJARAT, INDIA
Phone No. + 91 - 265 - 2320399
Email No: rohit.prajapati@gmail.com
____________________________________________________________________
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