Mossad Agent Pearlman Releases Phony "Al-Qaeda Tape"

While President Bush authorizes the CIA to bankroll and arm the real Al-Qaeda in Iran
PRISON PLANET

Adam Pearlman, the Jewish Mossad agent who once wrote stinging essays condemning Muslims as "bloodthirsty terrorists", has once again popped up as an "Al-Qaeda spokesman" to frighten the dwindling number of Americans who still believe Al-Qaeda exists outside of U.S. intelligence circles.
"An American member of al-Qaida warned President Bush on Tuesday to end U.S. involvement in all Muslim lands or face an attack worse than the Sept. 11 suicide assault, according to a new videotape."

"Wearing a white robe and a turban, Adam Yehiye Gadahn, who also goes by the name Azzam al-Amriki, said al-Qaida would not negotiate on its demands," reports the Associated Press.

Who is the mysterious Adam Yehiye Gadahn?

The FBI lists Gadahn's aliases as Abu Suhayb Al-Amriki, Abu Suhayb, Yihya Majadin Adams, Adam Pearlman, and Yayah.

Adam Pearlman is his real name and his grandfather is none other than the late Carl K. Pearlman; a prominent Jewish urologist in Orange County. Carl was also a member of the board of directors of the Anti-Defamation League, which was caught spying on Americans for Israel in 1993. Mike Rivero has the scoop at WhatReallyHappened.com .

Israel's Mossad intelligence agency was caught in 2002 creating a phony Al-Qaeda group to justify attacks on Palestinians.

Pearlman has a knack of releasing his tapes at the most politically opportune time for Bush, having first burst onto the scene shortly before the 2004 presidential election and then again right after Katrina when the President's approval rating was tanking fast.

Even more mainstream publications, like the Los Angeles City Beat , have dismissed Pearlman before as nothing more than "cartoonish propaganda."

Pearlman had a hippy upbringing, a brief but intense flirtation with death metal and before a sudden transformation, once referred to Muslims as “bloodthirsty, barbaric terrorists.” Pearlman was a hardcore Jewish Zionist and wrote essays and screeds bashing the Muslim faith. He even got into fights at mosques and beat up Muslim worshippers.

Pearlman, the hardcore Jewish Zionist who trashed Muslims and beat them up, grows a beard and suddenly becomes an "Al-Qaeda spokesman" - nothing suspicious here, move along!

Pearlman's personal history and the highly suspicious nature in which he suddenly professed his conversion to Islam in a single Internet posting and later appeared on the scene as a spokesman for "Al-Qaeda" are all the ingredients needed to draw the conclusion that Pearlman is working as a double agent and most likely for Mossad.

The Pearlman tape was once again obtained by the IntelCenter group, a U.S. government contractor, and it's head Ben Venzke has given the tape credence in media interviews concerning the story.

In our previous groundbreaking expose , we unveiled the ties between Intelcenter, a group that regularly 'obtains' Al-Qaeda tapes and the Pentagon. Intelcenter is an offshoot of IDEFENSE, which was staffed by a senior military psy-op intelligence officer Jim Melnick, who has worked directly for Donald Rumsfeld.

Intelcenter were behind the October 2006 release of the "laughing hijackers" tape that showed Mohammad Atta and Ziad Jarrah allegedly attending a 2000 Al-Qaeda meeting and reading their last will and testament.

Segments of the video that were interspersed with footage of the "laughing hijackers," Jarrah and Atta, showing Bin Laden giving a speech to an audience in Afghanistan on January 8 2000, were culled from what terror experts described as surveillance footage taken by a "security agency."

News reports at the time contained the admission that the U.S. government had been in possession of the footage since 2002, while others said it was found when the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001, and yet it was still bizarrely reported that the tape, bearing all the hallmarks of having been filmed and edited by undercover US intelligence and having admittedly been in US possession for five years, was released over the weekend of September 31/October 1 by Al-Qaeda.

The video also contained segments that were first broadcast in a British documentary called The Road to Guantanamo , which was originally aired in March 2006. The context of the corresponding scene in the dramatized documentary featured U.S. interrogators attempting to coerce Gitmo detainees into confessing Al-Qaeda membership by showing them fake videos where their likeness had been computer generated to appear as if they were in attendance during Bin Laden's January 8 2000 speech.

The monster in the closet is once again being waved in front of the American people's faces in order to quell bubbling national resentment about the ongoing carnage in Iraq and the fact that May was the deadliest month in terms of our boys returning home in flag-draped caskets.

Meanwhile, President Bush has authorized the CIA to bankroll and arm Jundullah, a Sunni Al-Qaeda organization , to attack Iran in order to destabilize Ahmadinejad's government.

While Bush grandstands in his Rose Garden speech about how Al-Qaeda wants to kill our children and as Mossad agent Pearlman rants on a video tape about a new 9/11, the only real Al-Qaeda are being equipped, funded and trained by our own government to kill innocent civilians in the Middle East in order to pave the way for the next chapter of Neo-Con blood-letting - while crude propaganda tapes are foisted on us at home in an effort to hoodwink us into supporting it all.

Bush begins push for immigration plan

He accuses rivals of criticizing bill before reading it
sfgate

President Bush cranked up his campaign for immigration reform Tuesday, accusing detractors of unfairly picking apart a compromise bill and of denouncing the legislation without reading it.

The president used his most forceful language yet in support of the Senate bill, which would establish a new point system for awarding green cards and offer legal status to many illegal workers already in the country.

"The first step to comprehensive reform must be to enforce immigration laws at the borders and at work sites across America. And this is what this bill does," Bush said at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco. "For the skeptics who say that we're not concerned about border security or workplace enforcement, they need to read the bill."

Bush accused conservative opponents of the bill of engaging in "empty political rhetoric."

"I know there are some people out there hollering and saying, 'Kick them out.' That is simply unrealistic. It won't work," the president said. "If you want to scare the American people, what you say is, the bill is an amnesty bill. It's not an amnesty bill. That's empty political rhetoric, trying to frighten our fellow citizens."

Under the deal struck this month between the White House and a bipartisan group of senators, workers seeking legal status would need to pay fines and back taxes and eventually demonstrate proficiency in English.

Border security also would need to be improved before other parts of the immigration package -- including a temporary worker program and legal status for some workers who are currently illegal -- can take effect.

One reason Bush chose to speak to law enforcement trainees at this federal site about 60 miles south of Savannah was to underscore his commitment to improved border controls. The bill would increase the number of border agents to 20,000, add hundreds of miles of fencing and vehicle barriers, and build 105 more surveillance towers.

"A lot of Americans are skeptical about immigration reform primarily because they don't think the government can fix the problems," Bush said. "And my answer to the skeptics is ... give us a chance to fix this problem. Don't try to kill this bill before it gets moving."

White House officials declined to say whether the president has made progress in persuading members of his own party to support the deal.

"I'm not going to get into nose counting right now," said White House spokesman Tony Snow. "We have been inviting folks to take a look. And I think the more they hear, the more they're going to be inclined to support it."

The immigration package survived several legislative challenges last week, its first on the floor of the Senate. The administration and other supporters say they are optimistic that the bill will be passed in the Senate with its central compromise intact: legal status for many of those already in the country in return for shifting the emphasis in the future away from family unification toward a more merit-based system.

The bill's fate in the House is less certain.

Last year, a comprehensive immigration reform package squeaked past the Senate only to die in the House. This year, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, has said the White House needs to deliver 70 Republican votes or the bill will not make it to the president's desk.

"I appreciate the Republicans and Democrats in the United States Senate ... who put politics aside and put courage first to work on a comprehensive bill," Bush said. "It takes a lot of courage in the face of some of the criticism in the political world to do what's right, not what's comfortable. And what's right is to fix this system now before it's too late."

U.S. Wants Defense Cooperation as Russia Tests Weapon

May 30 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. wants cooperation with Russia on missile programs, the State Department said, as the government in Moscow announced it successfully tested a weapon that it claims is immune to all defense shields.

The U.S. can't confirm the Russian report, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said a briefing in Washington yesterday. ``We would hope that the Russians would want to cooperate with us on the issue of missile defense,'' he said.

A strategic cruise missile was fired yesterday from a mobile ground-based system in the southern Astrakhan region near the Caspian Sea, Interfax cited Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov as saying.

Tensions have risen between the U.S. and Russia over a U.S. plan to base interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic as part of a system defending against long-range missile attacks from countries such as Iran. Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday the U.S. action risked turning Europe into a ``powder keg.''

``Nothing we have proposed or planned is in any way, shape or form a threat to Russia's strategic capabilities and certainly shouldn't be viewed that way,'' Casey said, according to a State Department transcript.

The defense system involves only 10 interceptors and is ``designed to defend against a limited attack by a rogue nation, including a nation like Iran,'' he said. ``This is a threat that's there, not only for the United States and its European allies, but also for the Russians as well.''

Russian Defenses

The Russian test of a high precision missile shows the country has a new tactical and strategic system, Ivanov said, according to Interfax. Such missiles may be deployed in the defense program by 2009, he added.

The weapons are ``capable of overcoming all existing and future missile defense systems,'' he said. ``That is why, from the point of view of defense and security, Russians can look into the future without any worries.''

The U.S. deployment will spark a ``new spiral of the arms race,'' Putin said in Vienna last week. He dismissed American concerns that Iran could threaten the U.S. and Europe. Iranian missiles now have a maximum range of 1,100 miles (1,700 kilometers) and by 2012 they may have missiles with a range of 1,500 miles, too short to justify a missile shield, he said.

The dispute with the U.S. comes at a time of growing strains between Russia and seven eastern European countries that were once within the Soviet Union and are now members of the European Union.

Bush insider nominated to head World Bank

rte
The United States has nominated former trade representative and Deputy Secretary of State, Robert Zoellick, to become President of the World Bank, an international organisation designed to eliminate poverty.

Mr Zoellick will succeed Paul Wolfowitz, who steps down at the end of June following a scandal involving a pay deal for his partner.

Mr Zoellick has worked in various capacities for several US Presidents such as Ronald Reagan, George H Bush and George W Bush.
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His opposition to 'nation building' as a foreign policy put him at odds with neo-cons like Mr Wolfowitz.

However, Mr Wolfowitz and Mr Zoellick did co-sign a 1998 letter to then President Bill Clinton calling for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

They also served together in the informal group headed up by Condoleezza Rice known as the 'Vulcans' which advised George Bush on foreign policy during his first campaign.

Last year, Mr Zoellick stepped down from his job as Deputy Secretary of State to join the investment bank Goldman Sachs.

At the State Department, he tried to negotiate a peace deal in Darfur and worked to improve US relations with China.

From 2001 to 2005 he served as the US Trade Representative and was centrally involved in talks to lower tariffs and to bring China and Taiwan into the World Trade Organisation.

His name was mentioned early on as a replacement during the crisis which engulfed the World Bank.

The US traditionally nominates the head of the World Bank, however the bank's board must approve the appointment.

A formal announcement is expected today.

Email Tax Coming

new york times
The era of tax-free e-mail, Internet shopping and broadband connections could end this fall, if recent proposals in the U.S. Congress prove successful. State and local governments this week resumed a push to lobby Congress for far-reaching changes on two different fronts: gaining the ability to impose sales taxes on Net shopping, and being able to levy new monthly taxes on DSL and other Internet-service connections. One senator is even predicting taxes on e-mail.

Pro-tax advocates this week advanced a flurry of proposals pushing in that direction. A bill was introduced that would usher in mandatory sales tax collection for Internet purchases. Then, during a House of Representatives hearing the same day, politicians weighed whether to let a temporary ban on Net access taxes lapse when it expires on November 1. A House backer of another pro-sales tax bill said to expect a final version by July.

The response to the moves in CNET News.com's TalkBack forum was overwhelmingly negative, mostly along antitax convictions. However, some readers took a bigger-picture approach to the situation.

"Half the reason the Internet has become so successful is because the government has had little involvement."
-- CNET News.com reader

"Half the reason the Internet has become so successful is because the government has had little involvement," wrote one reader to the forum.

The U.S. Congress is also poised to create a set of massive new government databases that all employers must use to investigate the immigration status of current and future employees or face stiff penalties. The so-called Employment Eligibility Verification System would be established as part of a bill that senators began debating on Monday. The procedure that is likely to continue through June and would represent the most extensive rewrite of immigration and visa laws in a generation.

Because anyone who fails a database check would be out of a job, the proposed database already has drawn comparisons with the "no-fly list" and is being criticized by civil libertarians and business groups.

All employers--at least 7 million, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce--would be required to verify identity documents provided by both existing employees and potential hires, the legislation says. The data, including Social Security numbers, would be provided to Homeland Security, on penalty of perjury, and the government databases would provide a work authorization confirmation within three business days.

Contractors Open Fire in Baghdad

washington post

Blackwater USA, a private security firm under contract to the State Department, opened fire on the streets of Baghdad twice in two days last week, and one of the incidents provoked a standoff between the security contractors and Iraqi forces, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.

A Blackwater guard shot and killed an Iraqi driver Thursday near the Interior Ministry, according to three U.S. officials and one Iraqi official who were briefed on the incident but spoke on condition of anonymity because of a pending investigation. On Wednesday, a Blackwater-protected convoy was ambushed in downtown Baghdad, triggering a furious battle in which the security contractors, U.S. and Iraqi troops and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters were firing in a congested area.

Blackwater confirmed that its employees were involved in two shootings but could neither confirm nor deny that there had been any casualties, according to a company official who declined to be identified because of the firm's policy of not addressing incidents publicly.

Blackwater's security consulting division holds at least $109 million worth of State Department contracts in Iraq, and its employees operate in a perilous environment that sometimes requires the use of deadly force. But last week's incidents underscored how deeply these hired guns have been drawn into the war, their murky legal status and the grave consequences that can ensue when they take aggressive action.

Matthew Degn, a senior American civilian adviser to the Interior Ministry's intelligence directorate, described the ministry as "a powder keg" after the Iraqi driver was shot Thursday, with anger at Blackwater spilling over to other Americans working in the building.

Degn said he was concerned the incident "could undermine a lot of the cordial relationships that have been built up over the past four years. There's a lot of angry people up here right now."

Details about that incident remained sketchy. The Blackwater guards said the victim drove too close to their convoy and drew fire, according to the three American officials. Concerned about a possible car bomb or other threat, the guards said they tried to wave off the vehicle, shouted, fired a warning shot into the radiator, then shot into the windshield when the driver failed to pull back, the officials said. Such steps are recommended under the rules for the use of force by contractors in Iraq specified in Memorandum 17, a set of guidelines adopted in 2004 by the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-led occupation government, and still in effect.

The Iraqi official said the driver encountered the Blackwater convoy after leaving a gas station just outside the Interior Ministry. Some witnesses said the shooting was unprovoked, the official said. He said the driver had wounds in his shoulder, chest and head.

The Blackwater employees refused to divulge their names or details of the incident to Iraqi authorities, according to two of the U.S. officials and the Iraqi official. The officials described a tense standoff that ensued between the Blackwater guards and Interior Ministry forces -- both sides armed with assault rifles -- until a passing U.S. military convoy intervened.

Anne Tyrrell, a Blackwater spokeswoman, said the company did not discuss specific incidents. In a statement via e-mail, she wrote: "Blackwater investigates any reports of hostile action in Iraq. Per the terms of our US Government contracts, as a matter of routine, Blackwater is required to file after action reports on any such incidents."

Dan Sreebny, a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Baghdad, said: "The security contractors are an important part of our embassy here. We expect all people within the mission to conform to the rules and procedures of professional behavior. We take allegations of misbehavior very seriously, and when there are such allegations we investigate thoroughly."

Blackwater, which is headquartered in Moyock, N.C., gained national attention in March 2004, when a mob killed four of its employees in the city of Fallujah and hung their charred corpses from a bridge. Blackwater is now the most prominent of dozens of security companies working in Iraq, with hundreds of guards and a fleet of armored vehicles and helicopters.

The Interior Ministry, which regulates security companies for the Iraqi government, has received four previous complaints of shooting incidents involving Blackwater in the past two years, according to Hussein Kamal, undersecretary for intelligence affairs. But in an interview before last week's shootings, Kamal said Iraqi authorities have been hampered by a Coalition Provisional Authority order granting contractors immunity from the Iraqi legal process.

Interior Ministry officials said Blackwater has not applied to operate as a private security company in Iraq. That process has been completed by several security firms with U.S. government contracts, including ArmorGroup International and Aegis Defense Services, two British companies.

Tyrrell wrote that Blackwater is "working lawfully in Iraq," adding, "We comply with all contractual obligations, including obtaining all appropriate registrations in the very dynamic environment in Iraq whose requirements for registration and licensing are always evolving."

The Pentagon and company representatives estimate that 20,000 to 30,000 armed security contractors work in Iraq, although there are no official figures and some estimates run much higher. Security contractors are not counted as part of the coalition forces and are prohibited from taking part in offensive operations. But their convoys are often attacked, drawing guards into firefights and ground combat.

The Blackwater convoy involved in the Wednesday incident was ambushed at 11 a.m., according to the U.S. military, while escorting State Department employees participating in the reconstruction effort. U.S. officials and bystanders said the Blackwater vehicles were struck by a well-coordinated attack, with insurgents unleashing a barrage of small-arms fire from surrounding rooftops.

A statement released by the military said that the "security unit" requested assistance and that Apache helicopters attached to the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, arrived before ground forces.

Mohammed Mahdi, 37, an employee at a veterinary drugstore, said the combined American forces unleashed a fury of gunfire near the Amanat, the municipal headquarters located in the heart of downtown Baghdad. Before taking cover in his store, Mahdi said, he saw two people killed and one wounded near the city's legal registry.

A U.S. Embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Blackwater contractors "did their job," enabling the State Department employees to be extracted without injuries. The U.S. military said no American soldiers were killed or wounded during the attack.

Mahdi said that the battle lasted for nearly an hour and that when he emerged he saw four mini-buses, a taxi and an Opel sedan containing dead and wounded. He said that he saw "at least four or five" people "who were certainly dead" but that he did not know how the people were killed, who killed them or whether they were civilians or combatants.

"There were people yelling: 'There's someone dead over here! Come!' " he said. "And another saying: 'There's someone wounded over here. Come and get them.' "

U.S. Government Uses Al-Qaeda To Attack Iran

prisonplanet
Bush authorizes group formerly headed by alleged 9/11 mastermind to be bankrolled & armed by CIA for covert regime change

Recent revelations illustrating the fact that the U.S. government is using a Sunni Al-Qaeda terrorist group formerly headed by the alleged mastermind of 9/11 to carry out bombings in Iran undermines the entire war on terror as a monumental hoax that is being exploited purely to realize a geopolitical agenda.
"President George W Bush has given the CIA approval to launch covert "black" operations to achieve regime change in Iran, intelligence sources have revealed. Mr Bush has signed an official document endorsing CIA plans for a propaganda and disinformation campaign intended to destabilise, and eventually topple, the theocratic rule of the mullahs."

"The CIA is giving arms-length support, supplying money and weapons, to an Iranian militant group, Jundullah, which has conducted raids into Iran from bases in Pakistan," the London Telegraph reported yesterday.

Jundullah is a Sunni Al-Qaeda offshoot organization that was formerly headed by alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Even if you believe the official story of 9/11 to the letter, the fact that Bush has personally authorized U.S. support for this group completely dismantles the facade of the war on terror.

The group has been blamed for a number of bombings inside Iran aimed at destabilizing Ahmadinejad's government and is also active in Pakistan , having been fingered for its involvement in attacks on police stations and car bombings at the Pakistan-US Cultural Center in 2004.

The U.S. government is arming and directing a Sunni Al-Qaeda group to carry out bombings in Iran and yet Bush has the temerity to grandstand during his Rose Garden speech last week and wave the Al-Qaeda bogeyman to strike the fear of God into American citizens.

"As to al Qaeda in Iraq, al Qaeda is going to fight us wherever we are. That's their strategy. Their strategy is to drive us out of the Middle East. They have made it abundantly clear what they want. They want to establish a caliphate. They want to spread their ideology. They want safe haven from which to launch attacks. They're willing to kill the innocent to achieve their objectives, and they will fight us. And the fundamental question is, will we fight them? I have made the decision to do so. I believe that the best way to protect us in this war on terror is to fight them," Bush said on Thursday.

Bush's definition of fighting Al-Qaeda is apparently to lend them all the funds, weapons and tactical know how they need to carry out attacks against innocent civilians in Iran, and let us not forget that America's allies the British have also been caught training insurgents in Iraq to carry out hi-tech bombings that are later blamed on Iran - just as the SAS worked with U.S. special forces to train the KLA in Kosovo , which was also an Al-Qaeda chapter having been financed directly by Bin Laden himself.

But in the world of newspeak and the lowest common denominator propaganda that cloaks the real agenda of the "war on terror", anyone who rises up against occupation, be it a kid who throws a rock in Baghdad or a car bombing on behalf of an increasingly Shiite-led insurgency, the natural enemies of the Sunni "Al-Qaeda," are terrorists and are Al-Qaeda members.

A cruel irony exists whereby anyone and everyone who opposes military occupation is smeared as an Al-Qaeda terrorist and yet the only real Al-Qaeda terrorists are being bankrolled, armed and directed by the CIA itself, with Bush's explicit approval.

Since President Bush didn't know the difference between Sunni & Shiite Muslims until two months before the invasion of Iraq and the incoming chairman of a congressional intelligence committee said Al Qaeda prominently came from the Shia branch of Islam, we can't hold out much hope for Joe Public and this is why the simplest propaganda is always the most effective.

They're the bad guys, we're the good guys - black and white with no shades of gray.

In reality, Al-Qaeda only exists within intelligence circles coordinated by the highest echelons of the U.S. government, and is being used yet again as a tool for destabilization in nations targeted for regime change by the Neo-Cons.

Jundullah is not the only anti-Iranian terror group that US government has been accused of funding in an attempt to pressure the Iranian government.

Multiple credible individuals including US intelligence whistleblowers and former military personnel have asserted that the government is conducting covert military operations inside Iran using guerilla groups to carry out attacks on Iranian Revolution Guard units.

It is widely suspected that the well known right-wing terrorist organization known as Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), once run by Saddam Hussein's dreaded intelligence services, is now working exclusively for the CIA's Directorate of Operations and carrying out remote bombings in Iran of the sort that the Bush administration condemns on a daily basis inside Iraq.

After a bombing inside Iran in March, the London Telegraph also reported on how a high ranking CIA official has blown the whistle on the fact that America is secretly funding terrorist groups in Iran in an attempt to pile pressure on the Islamic regime to give up its nuclear program.

Cheney criticizes the Geneva Conventions in Military Academy commencement address

raw story

Vice President Dick Cheney criticized the notion of applying the Geneva Conventions to individuals captured in the course of the war on terrorism in a Saturday commencement address at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.

"Capture one of these killers, and he'll be quick to demand the protections of the Geneva Convention and the Constitution of the United States," the Vice President said in the Saturday morning speech. "Yet when they wage attacks or take captives, their delicate sensibilities seem to fall away."

Cheney delivered the remarks in the context of moral and ethical lessons that the graduating cadets at West Point had learned in the course of their study.

"You have lived by a code of honor, and internalized that code as West Point men and women always do," he said. "As Army officers on duty in the war on terror, you will now face enemies who oppose and despise everything you know to be right, every notion of upright conduct and character, and every belief you consider worth fighting for and living for."

Recently, West Point instructors have complained of the difficulty of persuading Army cadets to adhere to the principles of the Geneva Conventions in the war on terrorism. A February article in the New Yorker highlighted a dialog on the problem between West Point's dean and Joel Surnow, producer of the hit Fox television program '24.'

"This past November, U.S. Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, the dean of the United States Military Academy at West Point, flew to Southern California to meet with the creative team behind '24,'" wrote Jane Mayer in the magazine. "Finnegan, who is a lawyer, has for a number of years taught a course on the laws of war to West Point seniors - cadets who would soon be commanders in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. He always tries, he said, to get his students to sort out not just what is legal but what is right. However, it had become increasingly hard to convince some cadets that America had to respect the rule of law and human rights, even when terrorists did not. One reason for the growing resistance, he suggested, was misperceptions spread by '24,' which was exceptionally popular with his students. As he told me, 'The kids see it, and say, ''If torture is wrong, what about '24?''"

The excerpt of Cheney's remarks is presented below, and can be accessed in full at the White House website.

#
The standards of this Academy only highlight the deepest and most fundamental difference between the United States and our sworn enemies. A month ago, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Pace, spoke to this class about each officer's duty to follow a moral compass in all of his or her actions. In these four years you have learned the rules of warfare and professional military ethics. You've studied the tenets of morality. You've reflected on the seven Army values: of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. You have lived by a code of honor, and internalized that code as West Point men and women always do.

As Army officers on duty in the war on terror, you will now face enemies who oppose and despise everything you know to be right, every notion of upright conduct and character, and every belief you consider worth fighting for and living for. Capture one of these killers, and he'll be quick to demand the protections of the Geneva Convention and the Constitution of the United States. Yet when they wage attacks or take captives, their delicate sensibilities seem to fall away. These are men who glorify murder and suicide. Their cruelty is not rebuked by human suffering, only fed by it. They have given themselves to an ideology that rejects tolerance, denies freedom of conscience, and demands that women be pushed to the margins of society. The terrorists are defined entirely by their hatreds, and they hate nothing more than the country you have volunteered to defend.

The terrorists know what they want and they will stop at nothing to get it. By force and intimidation, they seek to impose a dictatorship of fear, under which every man, woman, and child lives in total obedience to their ideology. Their ultimate goal is to establish a totalitarian empire, a caliphate, with Baghdad as its capital. They view the world as a battlefield and they yearn to hit us again. And now they have chosen to make Iraq the central front in their war against civilization.

EXCLUSIVE: White House Warned on Iraq

EXCLUSIVE: White House Warned on Iraq

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Intelligence Community Predicted Trouble in Post-Saddam Iraq
Officials Foresaw Dangerous 'Challenges' After Saddam's Fall

By JONATHAN KARL

May 24, 2007 —

ABC News has learned new details about what the intelligence community was telling the White House before the Iraq War about the challenges that would face the United States after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

In stark contrast to the WMD fiasco, the intelligence community was largely on target about what the United States would face in postwar Iraq.

But it's not a slam dunk. In some ways, the situation in Iraq is actually worse than the intelligence community predicted.

In January 2003, the CIA's National Intelligence Council delivered to the White House two reports predicting what the United States would face in Iraq. The reports, which until now were classified, are expected to be released by the Senate Intelligence Friday.

Officials with access to the reports read excerpts to ABC News.

The first report is titled "Principal Challenges in Post-Saddam Iraq." It paints a picture of an Iraq beset by ethnic violence and unlikely to accept democracy. Here are some highlights:

Iraq is unlikely to break apart, but it is "a deeply divided society." There is "a significant chance" that groups would "engage in violent conflict ... unless there is an occupying force to prevent them from doing so."

Neighboring states could "jockey for position ... fomenting ethnic strife inside Iraq."

"Iraq's political culture does not foster political liberalism or democracy."

"A generation of Iraqis" who have been subjected to Saddam's repression are "distrustful of surrendering or sharing power."

Al Qaeda could operate from the countryside unless there is a strong central power in Baghdad.

There would be "a heightened terrorist threat" that "after an initial spike would decline after three to five years."

The second report is titled "Regional Consequences of Regime Change in Iraq." This report warns of potential instability in the region, especially if the war were to be long and violent. It also warns that al Qaeda could exploit U.S. focus on Iraq by re-establishing its presence in Afghanistan.

This report, however, also outlines the potential regional benefits of success in Iraq. For example, it says success in Iraq "would increase the willingness of regional governments to cooperate with the U.S."

Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures

BBC NEWS | UK | Stop and quiz powers considered

BBC NEWS | UK | Stop and quiz powers considered

Stop and quiz powers considered
The government is considering giving police officers across the UK "stop and question" powers under new anti-terror laws, says the Home Office.

The proposal, allowing police to ask people about their identity and movement, is among measures being considered by Home Secretary John Reid.

The measure is so far used only in Northern Ireland.

Police elsewhere have to have "reasonable suspicion" a crime has been committed before they can stop people.

Anyone who refuses to co-operate could be charged with obstructing the police and fined up to £5,000, according to the Sunday Times.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We are considering a range of measures for the Bill and 'stop and question' is one of them."

Political correspondent Norman Smith said the proposals were likely to be "hugely controversial".

'National security'

When it emerged on Thursday that three men suspected of wanting to kill UK troops had disappeared, Mr Reid criticised his political opponents and judges for stopping the use of tougher measures against terror suspects.

He promised new anti-terror measures within weeks which he said he hoped there would be "less party politics" and more about the concern "for national security".

Stopping and questioning anyone you like will backfire because people will be being criminalised
Shami Chakrabarti Director of Liberty

The Home Office would not comment on suggestions the new laws were to be rushed through before Tony Blair steps down as prime minister on 27 June.

Greater powers to remove vehicles and paperwork for inspection are also believed to be part of the measures.

Writing separately in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Blair said the disappearance of the three suspects under control orders was a symptom of a society which put civil liberties before fighting terror.

The prime minister described this as "misguided and wrong" and said prioritising a terror suspect's right to traditional civil liberties was "a dangerous misjudgement".

'Political machismo'

The Sunday Times claims police minister Tony McNulty told Mr Blair the new "stop and question" measures would be "very useful UK wide".

It quoted a letter sent to the prime minister which said the measures would be "a less intrusive power" than stop and search, which are widely seen as unpopular with the public.

However, campaign group Liberty criticised the proposals saying the police should not have powers to question people "willy-nilly".

Director Shami Chakrabarti said: "This looks like political machismo, a legacy moment.

"Stopping and questioning anyone you like will backfire because people will be being criminalised."

Jane Winter, director of British-Irish Rights Watch, told the Sunday Times the government was using "a sledgehammer to crack a nut".

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/6695685.stm

Published: 2007/05/26 23:27:19 GMT

© BBC MMVII

BBC NEWS | Americas | Dust victim is added to 9/11 toll

BBC NEWS | Americas | Dust victim is added to 9/11 toll

Dust victim is added to 9/11 toll
A US woman has been added to the list of those killed in the attack on the World Trade Center, after dying from dust generated by the towers' collapse.

New York's chief medical examiner said he was certain the dust contributed to Felicia Dunn-Jones' death from a rare lung disease five months after 9/11.

The toxic cloud contained particles of asbestos, lead, glass, and cement.

The ruling that she was the tragedy's 2,750th victim may have implications in the cases of dozens of other deaths.

Hundreds more people, including those who have helped clean up Ground Zero, say they continue to suffer from respiratory problems because of breathing in the toxins.

Homicide

Ms Dunn-Jones worked as a lawyer near the World Trade Center when suicide attackers crashed two hijacked airliners into the buildings.

After the towers collapsed, she ran through the thick clouds of dust which swept through Manhattan.

Ms Dunn-Jones developed a cough and had difficulty breathing four months later, and died on 10 February 2002.

An autopsy showed she died of sarcoidosis, a disease which produces microscopic lumps called granulomas on lungs and is often associated with exposure to environmental hazards.

In a letter made public on Wednesday, New York's chief medical examiner, Dr Charles Hirsch, said he was certain "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the dust "was contributory to her death".

Dr Hirsch said he would amend Ms Dunn-Jones's death certificate accordingly and change the manner of death from natural causes to homicide.

Her name will be added to the official list of victims from the attacks on New York.

The 9/11 death toll, not including the hijackers, also includes 184 killed when a plane flew into the Pentagon and 40 killed in a hijacked plane that crashed into the ground in Pennsylvania.

# In another development, years of legal wrangling over the insurance claim for the World Trade Center has finally ended after insurers agreed to pay a total of $4.5bn dollars to rebuild Ground Zero.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6689973.stm

Published: 2007/05/24 20:33:17 GMT

© BBC MMVII

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran 'uncovers US spy networks'

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran 'uncovers US spy networks'

Iran 'uncovers US spy networks'
Iran says it has uncovered several spy networks run by the US and its allies - the occupying forces in Iraq.

The intelligence ministry said it had "succeeded in uncovering, identifying and striking blows" at infiltrators organised by those forces.

The statement said the networks had been detected in western, south-western and central parts of Iran.

The allegations come two days before the Iran and US ambassadors meet in Baghdad to discuss the crisis in Iraq.

The statement, which was broadcast on state-run television, gave no further details.

"These spy networks were operating under the guidance of the occupiers' intelligence services and with the support of some influential Iraqi groups and factions," it said.

The White House said it did not confirm or deny allegations about intelligence matters.

"We urge Iran to play a positive role in Iraq... and stop blaming everyone else for problems they are only bringing on themselves," a White House spokeswoman is quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6695653.stm

Britain deports Muslim cleric to Jamaica - International Terrorism - MSNBC.com

Britain deports Muslim cleric to Jamaica - International Terrorism - MSNBC.com

Britain deports Muslim cleric to Jamaica
Government says he influenced four of the 2005 London bombings
The Associated Press
Updated: 12:39 a.m. ET May 26, 2007

KINGSTON, Jamaica - A Muslim cleric named by the British government as a key influence on one of four men who carried out the deadly London transport bombings in 2005 was deported to Jamaica Friday after being released from prison.

Abdullah el-Faisal, a Jamaican-born convert to Islam, arrived Friday evening in the capital of Kingston and was escorted to a waiting car by relatives.

Before being driven off to an undisclosed location, el-Faisal told reporters he was “very happy” to be back in his native land.

British Home Secretary John Reid said earlier that el-Faisal is barred from re-entering Britain.

“We are committed to protecting the public and have made it clear that foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality and break our laws can expect to be deported after they have served a prison sentence,” Reid said. “We will not tolerate those who seek to spread hate and fear in our communities.”

The cleric was sentenced to nine years in jail in 2003 after being convicted of incitement to murder and stirring racial hatred by urging followers to kill Hindus, Jews and Americans. Prosecutors said that in lectures and on audiotapes, the cleric also tried to recruit British youths for terrorist training.

El-Faisal had his sentence cut to seven years on appeal, and became eligible for parole after serving half his jail term. He was deported immediately upon his release.

In its official report on the attacks of July 7, 2005, Britain’s Home Office said 19-year-old Jermaine Lindsay — one of four suicide bombers who killed 52 other people — was heavily influenced by el-Faisal’s teachings.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18869714/

Pentagon issues blunt warning to China - Focus on China - MSNBC.com

Pentagon issues blunt warning to China - Focus on China - MSNBC.com

Pentagon issues blunt warning to China
Report says China’s military likely to add to Beijing-Washington strains
The Associated Press
Updated: 5:14 a.m. ET May 26, 2007

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is warning China in blunt language that despite Beijing’s massive military buildup, it lacks the power for a successful attack against rival Taiwan.

The annual report on China’s military, released Friday, is likely to add to rising tension between Washington and Beijing at a time when U.S. lawmakers are considering bills that would punish China for what they contend are predatory trade practices.

The report was released on the day the largest high-level Chinese delegation ever to visit the United States left Washington after economic meetings with frustrated lawmakers and with senior Bush administration officials yielded few results.

In the report, the Defense Department explicitly describes what would happen if China should attack Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island that Beijing claims as its own. It says China does not yet have “the military capability to accomplish with confidence its political objectives on the island, particularly when confronted with the prospect of U.S. intervention.”

An attack could severely damage China’s economy and lead to international sanctions, spur a Taiwan insurgency that could tie up the Chinese military for years, and possibly cause Beijing to lose its coveted hosting rights for the 2008 Olympics, the report said.

“Finally, China’s leaders recognize that a conflict over Taiwan involving the United States would give rise to a long-term hostile relationship between the two nations — a result that would not be in China’s interests,” the report said.

Michael Pillsbury, a former Pentagon official who now serves as an adviser on China issues, called the Taiwan language the “most blunt warning in any U.S. document in history to China of the really bad things that will happen if they attack Taiwan.”

The Chinese Embassy did not return messages Friday seeking comment on the Pentagon report. But China has reacted angrily to previous reports and has insisted that its multibillion-dollar military buildup is defensive.

No breakthrough in economic meetings
The report comes after high-level U.S.-China economic meetings this week failed to reach any breakthrough on the countries’ biggest economic dispute: China’s currency, which American manufacturers say is undervalued by as much as 40 percent. That makes Chinese products cheaper for Americans and U.S. goods more expensive in China.

The Pentagon report also said the People’s Liberation Army has been acquiring better missiles, submarines and aircraft and should more fully explain the purpose of a military buildup that has led some to view China as a threat. It noted, however, that “the PLA remains untested in modern warfare.”

Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute, said China’s military still is relatively modest, despite the country’s huge population and booming economy.

“There really isn’t much in China’s military programs that would lead you to the conclusion that they want to do anything beyond being influential in East Asia,” he said.

If the Bush administration were truly worried about the possibility of a Chinese military challenge, he said, it would be rethinking the vibrant trade ties between the countries, which it has yet to do.

“If China was really a threat, would we be moving our factories there at the rate of one a day?” he asked. “During the Cold War, nobody in America ever proposed building television sets or cars in Russia.”

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18875239/

Customs workers say they were told to lie - U.S. Security - MSNBC.com

Customs workers say they were told to lie - U.S. Security - MSNBC.com

Customs workers say they were told to lie
Six claim they were ordered to file false inspection reports at airport
The Associated Press
Updated: 10:05 p.m. ET May 26, 2007

ORLANDO, Fla. - Six customs inspectors have told federal officials that superiors instructed them to enter false data indicating airline passengers had been stopped and inspected for plant and animal contraband.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers allege that in 2005, supervisors at Orlando Sanford International Airport told them to falsify information typically gathered during direct interviews and inspections of international passengers or crew members, according to a report by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

“This would falsely reflect that the passenger or crew member had been stopped, interviewed and bags inspected in connection with a suspicion of possessing contraband or engaging in unlawful activity,” the report stated.

The six officers were agricultural specialists, employed to detect and stop introduction of animal and plant pests into the United States.

The inspectors told the Special Counsel’s office that they were instructed to enter the false data because the airport was busy.

The whistle-blowers allege that when questioned about the practice, supervisors said that “things were done differently in Sanford.”

One agent entered the information without ever receiving any security clearance or training, according to the Special Counsel’s office documents.

Customs and Border Protection spokesman Zachary Mann declined to discuss the case when contacted by The Associated Press on Saturday, but said the agency takes all allegations of wrongdoing seriously.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18886391/
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© 2007 MSNBC.com

Bilderberg 2007: Agenda and Participant List

www.danielestulin.com

In 1954, the most powerful men in the world met for the first time under the auspices of the Dutch royal crown and the Rockefeller family in the luxurious Hotel Bilderberg of the small Dutch town of Oosterbeck. For an entire weekend they debated the future of the world. When it was over, they decided to meet once every year to exchange ideas and analyze international affairs. They named themselves the Bilderberg Club. Since then, they have gathered yearly in a luxurious hotel somewhere in the world to decide the future of humanity.

In more than fifty years of meetings that brings together unprecedented power and money in the same time and place, never has any information been leaked as to what subjects were debated during the Bilderberg Club meetings. Bilderberg, one of the world’s most powerful secret organizations is run out of an 18m2 offices, staffed by one person, using one telephone line and a single fax number. There is no web page and no brass name plate on the door. The independent press has never been allowed in, and no statements have ever been released on the attendees’ conclusions nor has any agenda for a Bilderberg meeting been made public. How, in God’s name, can this be possible when Bilderberg´s elite membership list includes all of the most powerful individuals who run the Planet?

Leaders of the Bilderberg Club argue that this discretion is necessary to allow participants in the debates to speak freely without being on the record or reported publicly. Otherwise, Bilderbergers state, they would be forced to speak in the language of a press release. Doubtlessly, this discretion allows the Bilderberg Club to deliberate more freely, but that does not respond to the fundamental question: What do the world’s most powerful people talk about in these meetings?

Any modern democratic system protects the right to privacy, but doesn’t the public have a right to know what their political leaders are talking about when they meet the wealthiest business leaders of their respective countries?

What guarantees do citizens have that the Bilderberg Club isn’t a centre for influence trafficking and lobbying if they aren’t allowed to know what their representatives talk about at the Club’s secret gatherings? Why are the Davos World Economic Forum and G8 meetings carried in every newspaper, given front page coverage, with thousands of journalists in attendance, while no one covers Bilderberg Club meetings even though they are annually attended by Presidents of the International Monetary Fund, The World Bank, Federal Reserve, chairmen of 100 most powerful corporations in the world such as DaimlerChrysler, Coca Cola, British Petroleum, Chase Manhattan Bank, American Express, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Vice Presidents of the United States, Directors of the CIA and the FBI, General Secretaries of NATO, American Senators and members of Congress, European Prime Ministers and leaders of opposition parties, top editors and CEOs of the leading newspapers in the world. It is surprising that no mainstream corporate media outlets consider a gathering of such figures, whose wealth far exceeds the combined wealth of all United States citizens, to be newsworthy when a trip by any one of them on their own makes headline news on TV.

The delegates at Bilderberg 2007: Istanbul, Turkey May 31-June 3

This year’s delegation will once again include all of the most important politicians, businessmen, central bankers, European Commissioners and executives of the western corporate press. They will be joined at the table by leading representatives of the European Royalty, led by Queen Beatrix, the daughter of the Bilderberg founder, former Nazi, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and Bilderberger President, Etienne Davignon, Vice Chairman, Suez-Tractebel from Belgium. According to Bilderberg Steering Committee list which this author had access to, the following names have now been confirmed as official Bilderberg attendees for this year’s conference (In alphabetical order):

George Alogoskoufis, Minister of Economy and Finance (Greece); Ali Babacan, Minister of Economic Affairs (Turkey); Edward Balls, Economic Secretary to the Treasury (UK); Francisco Pinto Balsemão, Chairman and CEO, IMPRESA, S.G.P.S.; Former Prime Minister (Portugal); José M. Durão Barroso, President, European Commission (Portugal/International); Franco Bernabé, Vice Chariman, Rothschild Europe (Italy); Nicolas Beytout, Editor-in-Chief, Le Figaro (France); Carl Bildt, Former Prime Minister (Sweden); Hubert Burda, Publisher and CEO, Hubert Burda Media Holding (Belgium); Philippe Camus, CEO, EADS (France); Henri de Castries, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO, AXA (France); Juan Luis Cebrian, Grupo PRISA media group (Spain); Kenneth Clark, Member of Parliament (UK); Timothy C. Collins, Senior Managing Director and CEO, Ripplewood Holdings, LLC (USA); Bertrand Collomb, Chairman, Lafarge (France); George A. David, Chairman, Coca-Cola H.B.C. S.A. (USA); Kemal Dervis, Administrator, UNDP (Turkey); Anders Eldrup, President, DONG A/S (Denmark); John Elkann, Vice Chairman, Fiat S.p.A (Italy); Martin S. Feldstein, President and CEO, National Bureau of Economic Research (USA); Timothy F. Geithner, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York (USA); Paul A. Gigot, Editor of the Editorial Page, The Wall Street Journal (USA); Dermot Gleeson, Chairman, AIB Group (Ireland); Donald E. Graham, Chairman and CEO, The Washington Post Company (USA); Victor Halberstadt, Professor of Economics, Leiden University; Former Honorary Secretary General of Bilderberg Meetings (the Netherlands); Jean-Pierre Hansen, CEO, Suez-Tractebel S.A. (Belgium); Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations (USA); Richard C. Holbrooke, Vice Chairman, Perseus, LLC (USA); Jaap G. Hoop de Scheffer, Secretary General, NATO (the Netherlands/International); Allan B. Hubbard, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, Director National Economic Council (USA); Josef Joffe, Publisher-Editor, Die Zeit (Germany); James A. Johnson, Vice Chairman, Perseus, LLC (USA); Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Senior Managing Director, Lazard Frères & Co. LLC (USA); Anatole Kaletsky, Editor at Large, The Times (UK); John Kerr of Kinlochard, Deputy Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc (the Netherlands); Henry A. Kissinger, Chairman, Kissinger Associates (USA); Mustafa V. Koç, Chariman, Koç Holding A.S. (Turkey); Fehmi Koru, Senior Writer, Yeni Safek (Turkey); Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign Affairs (France); Henry R. Kravis, Founding Partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (USA); Marie-Josée Kravis, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute, Inc. (USA); Neelie Kroes, Commissioner, European Commission (the Netherlands/International); Ed Kronenburg, Director of the Private Office, NATO Headquarters (International); William J. Luti, Special Assistant to the President for Defense Policy and Strategy, National Security Council (USA); Jessica T. Mathews, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (USA); Frank McKenna, Ambassador to the US, member Carlyle Group (Canada); Thierry de Montbrial, President, French Institute for International Relations (France); Mario Monti, President, Universita Commerciale Luigi Bocconi (Italy); Craig J. Mundie, Chief Technical Officer Advanced Strategies and Policy, Microsoft Corporation (USA); Egil Myklebust, Chairman of the Board of Directors SAS, Norsk Hydro ASA (Norway); Matthias Nass, Deputy Editor, Die Zeit (Germany); Adnrzej Olechowski, Leader Civic Platform (Poland); Jorma Ollila, Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc/Nokia (Finland); George Osborne, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (UK); Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Minister of Finance (Italy); Richard N. Perle, Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (USA); Heather Reisman, Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc. (Canada); David Rockefeller (USA); Matías Rodriguez Inciarte, Executive Vice Chairman, Grupo Santander Bank, (Spain); Dennis B. Ross, Director, Washington Institute for Near East Policy (USA); Otto Schily, Former Minister of Interior Affairs; Member of Parliament; Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (Germany); Jürgen E. Schrempp, Former Chairman of the Board of Management, DaimlerChrysler AG (Germany); Tøger Seidenfaden, Executive Editor-in-Chief, Politiken (Denmark); Peter D. Sutherland, Chairman, BP plc and Chairman, Goldman Sachs International (Ireland); Giulio Tremonti, Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy); Jean-Claude Trichet, Governor, European Central Bank (France/International); John Vinocur, Senior Correspondent, International Herald Tribune (USA); Jacob Wallenberg, Chairman, Investor AB (Sweden); Martin H. Wolf, Associate Editor and Economics Commentator, The Financial Times (UK); James D. Wolfensohn, Special Envoy for the Gaza Disengagement (USA); Robert B. Zoellick, Deputy Secretary of State (USA); Klaus Zumwinkel, Chairman of the Board of Management, Deutsche Post AG (USA); Adrian D. Wooldridge, Foreign Correspondent, The Economist.

Amongst the names appearing on the initial list of invitees which this journalist had access to in January 2007 stand out the names of the now disgraced John Browne, British Petroleum’s Chief Executive Officer and the disgraced and fired former chief of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz. It will be interesting to see if either of these men makes an appearance at Bilderberg 2007. The Bilderbergers have no trouble accepting criminals into the fold as long as their misdeeds are conducted away from public spotlight and scrutiny. Once exposed, the culprits are generally discarded. Lord Conrad Black, former chief executive of Hollinger media group is a case in point.

Two others names on the original January 2007 list should raise a few eyebrows. One of them is Bernard Kouchner, the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in the right wing Nicolas Sarkozy government in France. Kouchner is a former founder of ONG Doctors without Borders. He was absent from Bilderberg 2006 in Ottawa, Canada. Could his government position been arranged prior to the French national elections? For my money, the surprise appearance of year award should go to Mahmood Sariolghalam, Associate Professor of International Relations, School of Economic and Political Sciences, National University of Iran. What is an Iranian doing at a NATO alliance controlled Bilderberg conference? We will know soon enough. Bilderberg 2007 is indeed a good time to look behind the scenes.

What will be discussed at Bilderberg 2007?

Aside from the Irak quagmire, energy problems continue to dominate Bilderberger discussions. Oil and natural gas are finite, non-renewable resources. That’s because once used up it cannot be replenished. As the world turns, and as oil and natural gas supplies dwindle while demand soars dramatically, especially with Indian and Chinese booming economies who want all the trinkets and privileges of an American way of life, we, as the Planet, have crossed the midpoint of oil production and discovery. From now on, the only sure thing is that supply will continue to diminish and prices will continue to increase. In these conditions world conflict is a physical certainty. End of oil means end of world’s financial system, something which has already been acknowledged by Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, two full time members of the Bilderberger inner circle. Goldman Sachs oil report, [another full time member of the Bilderberger elite] published on March 30, 2005 increased the oil price range for the year 2005-6 from $55-$80 per barrel to $55-$105. During 2006 meeting, Bilderbergers have confirmed that their short range price estimate for oil for the 2007-08 continues to hover around US$105-150/barrel. No wonder Jose Barroso, President of the European Commission, announced several months ago during the unveiling of the new European energy policy that the time has come for a “post-industrial age.” To bring the world into the post industrial age, you first need to destroy the world´s economic base and create another Great Depression. When people are poor, they don´t spend money, they don´t travel, and they don´t consume.

As the economic impact sinks in, and as the after effects of Peak Oil become evident in the face of breakdown of civilization, the United States will be forced to challenge Europe, Russia and China for the hegemony of control and the ever depleting hydrocarbon, non-renewable reserves most of which are contained in the Middle East. That will be point number two on the Bilderberg 2007 agenda.

Third item on the agenda is European relations with Russia not only in Europe but also in Central Asia. With Moscow making a deal with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan over the transport of gas to Europe, the US geo-strategic goal of driving a wedge between the Central Asian countries and Russia lies in shambles. While the US says this is "not good for Europe", the Europeans are divided. Iran, overnight has become America’s last hope in the energy war.

Iran war, after two years of huffing and puffing by the Bush government is definitely off the table. Furthermore, with France, Russia, Japan and China investing heavily in Iran, the world has drawn a line in the sand and the U.S. will be told at the conference not to cross it. There is blood in the water, and blood in the water usually leads to a good fight.

That notwithstanding, the United States needs to control the region, not only for its oil reserves but, most importantly to help it sustain world economic hegemony. Under this strategic design, regional states will be turned to weak domains of sectarian sheikhs with little or no sovereignty and, by implications, a pathetic agenda of their economic development. Regional chaos favours the spread of Islamic fundamentalism, which in turn reinforces the process of political and social disintegration supported by the Bilderbergers.

With Blair leaving, the UK will be told yet again, that they must, at all cost, do what is necessary to integrate the country into the European Community.

Finally, with Wolfowitz resigning from the World Bank, Bilderberg luminaries will try to come to a consensus on how best to overhaul not only the bank but its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by a Spaniard, Rodrigo Rato. Wolfowitz became entangled in controversy seven weeks ago after World Bank whistleblowers leaked to the Washington-based non-governmental organization Government Accountability Project (GAP) documents that showed Wolfowitz pushing a high pay raise in a secondment deal to the US State Department for his girlfriend.

We, as a society, are at a crossroads. In almost every corner of the planet, stress points are beginning to fracture. The roads we take from here will determine the very future of humanity. It was former British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, who stated that “the world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes.”

It is not up to God to bring us back from the “New Dark Age” planned for us. IT IS UP TO US. Whether we go into the next century as an electronic global police state or as free human beings depends on the action we take now. Forewarned is forearmed. We will never find the right answers if we don’t ask the proper questions.

Dobbs: Amnesty Plan Part Of North American Union

Youtube
The new amnesty plan proposed by Capitol Hill is part of a larger agenda to integrate the United States and Mexico.

The political leadership envision no restriction to the flow of poor workers and goods into the United States. And guess who will pay for all of it.

A shocking report on plans to eliminate the mexican border, and bankrupt the U.S. taxpayer.

Educating Rudy Press Conference

Youtube
Congressman Ron Paul and Michael Scheuer educate Rudy Giuliani on American foreign policy (May 24, 2007)

Was Bush Speech Scheduled To Pre-empt The View?

ABC show set to feature 9/11 truth heavyweights cancelled in favor of Bush's Al-Qaeda obsessed press conference
prisonplanet

Did master political strategist Karl Rove schedule and script George Bush's speech in the Rose Garden yesterday to pre-empt the possible appearance of 9/11 truth movement heavyweights on ABC's The View?

That's the suspicion many people outlined to us in e mails and calls yesterday.

Though we learned privately that guest appearances by William Rodriguez and the Loose Change crew on the show hosted by Rosie O'Donnell were cancelled at the start of the week, the ABC website still listed their names as being scheduled.

Presidential news conferences that take place in the daytime and do not relate to any kind of breaking news or national event do not cut into regular programming on major non-news channels, and yet ABC chose to air the speech in its entirety after The View was cancelled for that day.

Many 9/11 truthers now suspect that this was a Rovian ploy to distract attention or in effect completely displace the subject matter raised by Rodriguez and Loose Change that was set to be aired on The View.

In his speech, Bush re-hashed dated and questionable "intelligence" about Al-Qaeda and entered into a sophomoric rant about how the terrorists want to kill our children, invoking the phantom group no less than 19 times.

"Just about everything else that came up during the hour-long news conference was traced to bin Laden's terrorist network," writes Dana Milbank today in the Washington Post.

"They are a threat to your children, David," he advised NBC's David Gregory."

"It's a danger to your children, Jim," Bush informed the New York Times' Jim Rutenberg."
"This last warning was perplexing, because Rutenberg has no children, only a brown chow chow named Little Bear. It was unclear whether Bush was referring to a specific and credible threat to Little Bear or merely indicating there was increased "chatter in the system" about chow chows in general."

Was Bush's relentless propaganda pitch about Al-Qaeda scripted to coincide with the slated appearance of 9/11 truthers on The View, a show that enjoys 30 million viewers over the course of its air time? Was this a Rovian scheme to neutralize 9/11 truth?

In between his 10th and 11th mention of "Al-Qaeda", a sparrow stepped up to the plate to challenge Bush on his crap and put the cowardly Washington press corps to shame by pooping on his shoulder.

Man Treated As Terror Suspect For Taking Photo Of French Fries

fairfieldweekly.com

This was going to be a happy story about how two of my nephews love the french fries on the Bridgeport-Port Jefferson Ferry. “Ferry fries,” they call them. But that story went out the window Sunday night, when I took the photograph below and was threatened with arrest by the Ferry Fascists for doing so.

I was heading back to Connecticut after a weekend with the family when I took the photo. I’d eaten the fries on the way over, but couldn’t stomach another round, so I snapped two photos at the food counter, and as I was putting the camera away, two guys behind the counter started lobbing hostile, accusatory questions in my direction. “Why are you taking pictures of the food?” “I’m writing a review,” I responded, and walked away.

I went outside to take some notes and then headed back into the cabin. I observed that there were two crew members standing near me, and I heard one of them talking about me, and the photo I took. I had been turned in!

I’m of the mindset that when overzealous 9/11-hero wannabes start making ridiculous accusations, I am going to stand up and say something. If I hear you talking about me like I might be a terrorist for taking a picture of french fries, I am going to interrupt and put some perspective on the matter. So I approached the mate and told him I had a complaint about his crew. I didn’t appreciate their hostility. Yes, I was livid. Stone-cold sober, too.

Well, Gilligan didn’t like my tone, and I guess it’s my fault for escalating the situation by lobbing multiple eff-bombs at him, because the next thing I know, Gilligan’s back with two Big Fellows. I gave my name and phone number to Gilligan, and I showed him the picture of the french fries (which, by the way, are disgusting). In fact, I showed him all three of the photos that were on the camera. That should have ended it, but Gilligan demanded that I show him identification, because otherwise the police would get involved. I asked him under what authority he was demanding this of me. It’s the captain’s orders.

“Kiss my ass. I’m not showing you any ID.”

Gilligan goes to consult with the Skipper, comes back, and repeats the threat. Show me ID, or the police will be waiting at the dock.

Now, this is the part of the story where the little man on my shoulder who wants to go home and enjoy the evening whispers in my ear, “It’s not worth it, my boy.” So I take out my ID, and one of the Big Men grabs it. “He doesn’t even drive!” he sneers. “It’s a forgery!” he declares. “This isn’t you in the picture,” Gilligan announces.

Well, the ID is a New York State non-driver’s ID I’ve had forever, and it is, in fact, me in the picture. But Big Man declares that he knows better, since he was a cop for 20 years.

“That’s my ID. Take it or leave it,” I tell them. We pull in to the dock, and I stroll off the boat. No cops. End of story, almost.

Intern Molly Aronica went down to the ferry dock Tuesday morning to get a quote for me. She found Frederick A. Hall, vice president and general manager of the ferry company. “All photographs may be subject to challenge,” he told Molly, “due to the fact that there have been past incidents where possible acts of terrorism have been threatened.”

Fair enough, but this episode was clearly brought to you by the same dangerously moronic mindset that brought you Freedom Fries.

Sadr, the anti-American Shiite cleric, resurfaces in Iraq

international herald iht.com

KUFA, Iraq: The powerful Iraqi cleric Moktada al-Sadr surfaced in his home base of Kufa in southern Iraq on Friday, delivering a sermon in a local mosque after what American intelligence officials called a four-month sojourn in Iran.

The cleric, addressing a large crowd amid heavy security, called for American forces to leave Iraq and for the Iraqi government to make sure that the Americans leave as soon as possible. He called for and end to fighting between his own Mahdi Army and Iraqi forces and police, asking his followers to conduct peaceful demonstrations instead.

He also requested reconciliation between Shiites and Sunnis.

Sadr left for Iran after the Bush administration announced its new security push in January, and his militia immediately went underground, in an apparent effort to out-wait the Americans and avoid a head-on clash. Members of his political party, however, say he never left.

Now, his return has the potential to profoundly influence politics and the security situation in Iraq, though American officials acknowledge that the political motivations for Sadr's return and even the duration of his stay in Iraq remain unclear.

Sadr's appearance came as the American military announced on Friday that six more soldiers had died in Iraq, five on Thursday and one on Tuesday, according to Reuters. April was the worst month this year for the American military since the invasion, with 104 soldiers killed. About 90 have been killed in May so far.

The prevailing view among American officials familiar with intelligence reports about Sadr's return is that the cleric's aim at a minimum is to raise his political profile in Iraq and possibly strengthen his position in anticipation that provincial elections may be held next year. There have also been reports that his militia has been splintering during his absence, and he may also be trying to reinforce his influence over his supporters.

Some Americans also suggest that he may be trying to take advantage of the absence of one of his main Shiite rivals, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, who has come to the United States for medical treatment. Hakim's organization, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, has been vying for influence among Shiites with Sadr's organization.

The broader question is whether Sadr plans to step up his oratory against the American-led coalition and try to mobilize pressure for an American withdrawal or seek a new political accommodation.

"He has a great deal of administrative and management work to do," said Toby Dodge, a Middle East expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "He has to reassert control over an increasingly wayward military organization." Dodge, who recently spent a month in Iraq, added, "Clearly, he needs to make his mind up whether his military organization is a tool of rampant sectarianism or a tool of national reconciliation."

According to American officials familiar with intelligence reports, Sadr slipped into Iraq almost a week ago and was recently at Kufa, his home base near Najaf. Sadr, 33, has had an antagonistic relationship with the United States. Much of his popularity stems from his vehemently anti-American speeches immediately after the invasion in 2003; his militia waged two major uprisings against American troops in 2004.

In April, six ministers from Sadr's movement left the Maliki government, protesting the Iraqi government's refusal to set a schedule for the withdrawal of American forces. But a substantial bloc of Sadr supporters remain in the Iraqi Parliament. Last month, Sadr issued a statement, read by a cousin in Parliament, that praised Iraqis who were resisting the American occupation as "honorable Iraqis" and denounced President Bush as "the greatest evil." Despite his efforts to present himself as an Iraqi nationalist, there have been reports that Sadr's militia has begun to fracture while he has been away and that he was losing influence with some of his more militant followers.

"There clearly are divisions in the Sadrist movement, probably accentuated by Sadr's continuing absence from Iraq," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in March.

Recently, Sadr has been taking a different tack. His supporters have met with Sunni Arab tribal leaders from Anbar Province who have been feuding with the insurgent group Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. The meetings were billed as an effort to forge a nationalist movement to overcome sectarian tensions, and the message appeared calculated to appeal to war-weary Iraqis. Some political analysts saw it as an attempt to expand his political bloc, and his return may also be an effort to advance this agenda.

American officials presume that Sadr, in returning to Iraq, has been assured by the Maliki government that he will not be detained. The United States appears to be taking a wait-and-see attitude, hoping that he will be more flexible in practice than his fiery speeches would suggest. While some American officials expect him to rally support for an American departure from Iraq, others say they hope he may seek some sort of accommodation.

Still, not even American officials privy to classified intelligence on Sadr's return pretend to be certain what he has in mind. "There is a range of speculation on what it might mean," one Defense Department official said. "Some say he will reassert himself. Some are not so sure of that. I don't believe the intelligence community has come to a firm assessment on the meaning of his return to Iraq."

One matter of speculation concerns how long Sadr intends to remain in Iraq. One theory is that he may make an appearance to impress his supporters, condemn the American occupation in a Friday sermon and then head back to Iran.

But another view is that Sadr will be watching the Americans as closely as they are monitoring him. This theory holds that he will continue to stay in southern Iraq and nurture his movement as long as he concludes that there is little chance that the American forces will move against him.

Michael Gordon reported from Washington and Jon Elsen from New York. Iraqi employees of The New York Times reported from Kufa and Najaf.

Iranian leader: Israel may be 'uprooted' - Focus on Iran - MSNBC.com

Iranian leader: Israel may be 'uprooted' - Focus on Iran - MSNBC.com

Iranian leader: Israel may be 'uprooted'
Ahmadinejad warns Jewish state against attacking Lebanon this summer
The Associated Press
Updated: 2:11 p.m. ET May 24, 2007

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday warned Israel it would be “uprooted” if the Jewish state made any move against and attacked Lebanon in the coming summer.

Although there has been discussion among Israeli experts about the possibility of another war against the Lebanon’s Hezbollah guerillas, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz and other officials have denied plans for such a conflict. A war between the two sides last summer ended in a U.N.-brokered cease-fire.

Israeli troops are in the midst of an offensive against the Palestinian Hamas faction in response to rocket attacks on Israeli border towns, arresting more than 30 senior members of Islamic militant group in the West Bank early Thursday.

“If you think that by bombing and assassinating Palestinian leaders you are preparing ground for new attacks on Lebanon in the summer, I am telling you that you are seriously wrong,” President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a rally in the city of Isfahan.

“If this year you repeat the same mistake of the last year, the ocean of nations of the region will get angry and will cut the root of the Zionist regime from its stem,” added Ahmadinejad, speaking live on state television.

Ahmadinejad warned Israel that “60 years of invasion and assassination is enough. If you do not cease invasion and massacre, soon the hand of power of the nations of the region will rub you criminals with earth.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Ahmadinejad’s comments reflected the Iranian leadership’s support for the “most extreme elements in Lebanon and in the Palestinian Authority.”

“Ahmadinejad funds, trains and arms the most extreme anti-peace elements in the region. If there is any real threat to regional security, it comes from an expansionist fundamentalist Iran,” Regev said.

The 34-day Israeli-Hezbollah war started after the pro-Iranian militants captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross border raid in July 2006. The cease-fire called for the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel.

After the inconclusive outcome of the war, Israelis are seen as unlikely to start another one unless they felt they could emerge clearly victorious. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert lost most of his public support after Israel failed to achieve its stated goals—freeing the captured soldiers and crushing Hezbollah.

‘Wiped off the map’
Ahmadinejad has a history of verbal attacks on Israel.

In October 2005, he raised outrage in the West when he declared that Israel’s “Zionist regime should be wiped off the map.” His supporters and some independent analysts have since argued Ahmadinejad’s words were mistranslated from Farsi and actually meant “vanish from the pages of time”—implying Israel would disappear on its own rather be destroyed.

Ahmadinejad appears to be stepping up his confrontational tone at a time when Iran faces renewed pressure by the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program and just days before direct Iran-U.S. talks in Baghdad on Iraq’s security.

The United States, which has long accused Iran of providing sophisticated explosives to militants in Iraq, has also increased its military presence in the Gulf as a show of force.

Ahmadinejad comments Thursday also likely reflect his attempt to cast himself in the role of a champion of the Palestinian cause. Iran support the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups that refuse to recognize Israel.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11497240/

Use Your Driver's License as a Debit Card

businessweek
A startup promises to save both drivers and gas station owners a bundle at the pump by cutting credit cards out of the payment process

Aurora Bisig is a big believer in retailer discount cards. At her last count, she had a dozen—from Sam's Club (WMT) to nearly every grocery store in Central Texas. So this March, when the Austin (Tex.) insurance agent pulled into a gas station for a fill-up and saw a sign promising an additional 10¢ off per gallon for signing up with a new e-payment program, she was interested.

She was also pleased to learn that the "RollbackPrice" program wouldn't require her to add another piece of plastic to her overstuffed wallet. Instead, after entering her driver's license number and bank account information online with a two-year-old company called National Payment Card (NPC), she'd be able to pay for gas just by swiping her driver's license (linked directly, via the existing magnetic stripe, to her bank account), and entering a personal identification number.

Gas-station owners are pleased with the program too. Because NPC processes the payment as an e-check with the Automated Clearing House (ACH), a network most commonly used for direct deposits, participating retailers bypass credit card companies such as Visa and Mastercard (MA)—and their processing fees (see BusinessWeek.com, 3/13/07, "Steve Case Takes On the Credit Card Giants").
Cutting Down on Interchange Fees

Also known as interchange fees, these charges add up to more than small change for gas station owners now that the average price of gas is over $3 a gallon. In fact, last year, the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) reported that such stores' credit card fees surged 22% to reach $6.6 billion, making it the industry's second-largest expense—and exceeding the industry's overall profits for the first time ever.

NPC started piloting the patent-pending technology at a handful of gas stations in Texas this January. Since then the company has signed contracts to roll out the system to five regional convenience store chains starting in June. Although only 24 states currently issue licenses with magnetic stripes, NPC can also add e-payment functionality to a chain's existing loyalty cards. One of the first contracts NPC signed was with Flash Foods, a convenience-store chain based in Georgia, a state that doesn't have magnetic-stripe licenses. By 2010, NPC Chief Executive Officer Joe Randazza expects the system will be in place at more than 36,000 locations.

While a $36 traditional credit card purchase could cost a gas station around 86 cents (or more, if it's a rewards card), NPC charges a flat 15¢ fee for each transaction it processes. That means that retailers using NPC's system can afford to pass along an instant discount to customers—creating what's in essence a self-funded loyalty program—while still coming out ahead. Randazza estimates his eight-person company, based in Boca Raton, Fla., will be in the black by late 2008 (see BusinessWeek.com, 5/10/07, "The Problem with Loyalty Programs").
Focusing On Gas Stations

Guy Oliver of MTG Management, which manages three of the Texas gas stations where the NPC system is being piloted, says he's pleased to have some control over his spiraling credit card processing costs. "With Visa and Mastercard, there doesn't seem to be any relief in sight," he says. "We pay more in interchange fees than we do for freight to get the gas to the stations."

Randazza says the technology has applications in other industries, but for now the company is focusing on gas stations and convenience stores, where already-slim profit margins have been particularly hard hit by rising credit card interchange fees (see BusinessWeek.com, 11/17/03, "The Virtually Cashless Society," and 5/1/03, "Big Plastic's Costly Losing Hand").

Another reason for the current focus: It's one of the only markets price-sensitive enough that a few pennies off can count as a serious incentive for consumers.

Based on the reactions she's heard from friends and colleagues in Texas, Bisig says it might take some time to convince people that sharing their license number and bank account information with a retailer is safe—especially shoppers who aren't familiar with other e-payment systems like PayPal (see BusinessWeek.com, 5/23/05, "PayPal Spreads Its Wings").
Fear of Fraud a Factor

In Texas, a spokeswoman for the state's Public Safety Dept. issued a statement advising that consumers use caution when providing any retailer with their driver's license number, and emphasized that DPS does not endorse National Payment Card or any other programs that piggyback on state-issued drivers' licenses.

National Payment Card, for its part, says its stringent security measures make the likelihood of fraud or identity theft very low. Customers' financial information is not stored anywhere on the actual license, and withdrawals are not permitted after more than three failed PIN attempts. The system also sets a maximum weekly limit of $300 in withdrawals, though Randazza says in the case of fraud, customers would only be responsible for the first $50 of that.

Bisig, for one, was satisfied with the system's security precautions. Because her license is PIN-protected, she points out, it's even more secure than using a credit card. While some of her friends have worries about giving out too much of their personal information to a retailer, she reasons, "People give out that much information and more whenever they buy something on the Internet."

Bisig says her biggest complaint is that she can't use her license to pay at more retailers and still has to carry individual loyalty cards for each one. "I wish they could all do it," she says. "It would be so much easier."

Ron Paul On The Record

The Texas Congressman's best quotes on martial law, foreign policy, the economy and more
prisonplanet

Over the years we have had the opportunity to interview Ron Paul many times and in light of the recent runaway success and resonance of his presidential campaign, we decided to compile the Texas Congressman's best quotes on subjects ranging from martial law to the plunging dollar to foreign policy.

Compare these home truths to the cacophony of rehearsed establishment pablum spewed forth by Giuliani, McCain, Romney or any other of the shill candidates.

RON PAUL ON THE POLICE STATE & MARTIAL LAW

"If we don't change our ways we will go the way of Rome and I see that as rather sad.....the worst things happen when you get the so-called Republican conservatives in charge from Nixon on down, big government flourishes under Republicans."

"I think they're concerned about the remnant, the remnant of those individuals who don't buy into stuff and think that they should take care of themselves on their own, that they should have their own guns and their own provisions and they don't want to depend on the government at all and I think that is a threat to those who want to hold power. They don't want any resistance to their authoritarian rule."

"They're putting their back up against the wall and saying, if need be we're going to have martial law."

"We've heard all these statements by the President, by the administration, why they need more militarism at the federal government to keep people in check so nobody knows how this will turn out but I do know that the only thing we can do about it is try to alert the American people to what's going on so they can be prepared."

"It's getting close to it, it's called usurpation of power and it's done in many ways with Congress just going along because they're sound asleep and this certainly is an attack on our Constitution and on our freedoms."

"We might have to hope that our Supreme Court helps us out a little. The Court has been better than the executive branch and a heck of a lot better than the Congress, because we've given the President everything he's asked for and the President has been begging for all this authority, so immediately we have to hope that the courts will save us on some of these things. But once again ultimately its only when the people wake up and say they don't like this... sometimes the people wake up to late. Right now we don't have concentration camps, but like you have pointed out, the authority has been given so that concentration camps can come without Habeas Corpus. I have heard the argument that there is nothing else left in the Bill of Rights. If they can lock you up, what good is freedom of speech or what good is a gun? That is now part of the books, part of the law."

"You know there's nothing that guarantees that they will allow you to air your radio show forever. They have already trampled on our rights, they talking about putting people in prison today without Habeas Corpus... If we don't preserve our fundamental freedoms we can't fight back. I'm convinced of one thing, we could all be very very poor tomorrow and have to start from scratch but if we have our freedoms and we have our sound currency and we have the government off our backs, this country would rebound so quickly."

"I think they are always prepared and everyday they have more powers than before because under these emergency powers acts, the President now has more authority than ever. And the contest that is really going on in this Presidential election is are there enough of us that care about our freedoms versus those who are willing to succumb to the temptations of dictatorship. Just think of the attitude, what it was like right after 9/11 when they passed the Patriot Act, I said 'you know it's not even available, you can't even read it and we're getting ready to vote' they said 'it doesn't matter, the people want us to do something, this looks like we're doing something, it sounds good, there's no way I'm even gonna question this', so they voted for it. They got their signals from the people. it is true that there are a lot of people who wanted something done, the big question is are there more of them or more of us?"

"Congress has generously ignored the Constitution while the President flaunts it, the courts have ignored it and they get in the business of legislating so there's no respect for the rule of law."

RON PAUL ON BIRD FLU

"To me it's so strange that the President can make these proposals and it's even plausible. When he talks about martial law dealing with some epidemic that might come later on and having forced quarantines, doing away with Posse Comitatus in order to deal with natural disasters, and hardly anybody says anything. People must be scared to death."


"I believe it is the President hyping this and Rumsfeld, but it has to be in combination with the people being fearful enough that they will accept the man on the white horse. My first reaction going from my political and medical background is that it's way overly hyped and to think that they have gone this far with it, without a single case in the whole country and they're willing to change the law and turn it into a military state? That is unbelievable! They're determined to have martial law."

RON PAUL ON THE NEO-CONS

"I think the arrogance of power that they have where they themselves are like Communists....in the sense that they decide what is right. The Communist Party said that they decided what was right or wrong, it wasn't a higher source."

RON PAUL ON THE UN, GLOBAL GOVERNMENT & THE NORTH AMERICAN UNION

"Who do we have at the UN, Bolton, the arch Neo-Con warmonger and actually what they've done is taken the Neo-Con position on intervening on the internal affairs of other nations and regime change and they've institutionalized that in the United Nations, now the UN is in the business of regime change."

"I think the goal is one world government - we have not only the U.N. - we have the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank, then we have all the subsidiaries like NAFTA and hemispheric governments, highways coming in."

"We have behind the scenes a plan for a North American Union, that's the part that the American people are starting to wake up to, although we have a long way to go to wake up Washington. It's amazing to me how many people outside of Washington are very much aware of the plans with this North American Union, at the same time they are in total denial in Washington, except for the few behind the scenes who are laying the plans and providing the finances."

RON PAUL ON THE DEMOCRAT COWARDS

"Not a whole lot will change because the leadership on the Democratic side, even if they had their way, don't have a different foreign policy. They have been supportive of an interventionist foreign policy in the middle east, and they are not about to back away from that... They are willing to criticize the policy but only as a means to get power."

RON PAUL ON THE PLUNGING DOLLAR & THE ECONOMY

"They all believe in the federal reserve, they are not going to get rid of the IRS and the income tax. I think the dollar is going to keep sliding, which means prices are going to rise, when currencies self destruct, the end goes quickly. There are no signs that there is anything being done in Washington to correct the problem. Spending is going to continue and probably going to get worse, the deficits are going to stay high if foreign policy is not going to change."

"That's also part of the foreign policy to be in position to hold onto natural resources, that's one of the major reasons why we're in the middle east, so yes if there is a financial crisis, they're going to have the guns, and they have control of the natural resources... It's not a good scenario, because what usually happens when you wipe out a currency is that you wipe out the middle class, and we already see this happening. The standard of living is going down."

"They get a temporarily good deal but what it does is encourage us not to be productive, it encourages us not to have manufacturing any longer, we can let others do it cheaper, cheap labour, and then we buy it with cheap money. That is going to come to an end. That means later on there are going to be a lot of changes here. Domestically the interest rates are going to rise, the inflation rate, the price of all goods and services, that will rise, and the economy will weaken, so we have some very serious problems ahead."

"Economically the consequences will be that there's going to be a wholesale rejection of the dollar, because the world has trusted the dollar, especially since the breakdown of the Bretton Woods in 1971, when the linkage of the dollar to gold was broken, they still trusted the dollar as if it were gold, and therefore we can print the money and we can spend the money and foreign countries take our money, then loan it back to us, so they're getting a bum rap."

RON PAUL ON FOREIGN POLICY

"As a Commander in chief you could certainly handle the troops around the world. I would start talking to all our allies and tell them what the plans were and start coming home. We are now spending close to a trillion dollars maintaining our foreign policy. It's a lot bigger than most people realize if you add up the Dod, the supplementals, the interest on the money we spend and taking care of our veterans."

"We have turned our own country into isolationists, diplomatically we don't talk to anybody, we have more enemies than we've ever had before and fewer allies, and at the same time our ability to defend this country is being diminished on a daily basis. We worry about borders, all around he world, we worry about borders in Korea, about borders around Iraq, and what do we do with our own borders? Here we don't do anything."