tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51354083313483810552024-03-13T14:19:51.059-07:00American JudasInvestigating GlobalCorp and Other Conspiracies Through Consciousness of the Carbon CrisisRobert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.comBlogger181125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-41676001808215569292019-10-24T17:26:00.000-07:002019-10-24T17:26:13.854-07:00The Irishman and the Assassination of JFKTime to end my two year sabbatical from blogging. Part of the reason why I put American Judas on hold was because I changed jobs in the summer of 2018 and I wanted to focus on learning my new job and performing it to the best of my ability, which I feel I have. But the main reason is that I just didn't feel inspired to write. So pardon me if I'm a bit rusty after a prolonged writer's block.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Martin_Scorsese_Berlinale_2010_%28cropped%29.jpg" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: currentColor; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: currentColor; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: currentColor; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: currentColor; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; color: #3366cc; font-family: inherit; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 100%; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img alt="File:Martin Scorsese Berlinale 2010 (cropped).jpg" data-file-height="656" data-file-width="545" decoding="async" height="599" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Martin_Scorsese_Berlinale_2010_%28cropped%29.jpg/498px-Martin_Scorsese_Berlinale_2010_%28cropped%29.jpg" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: currentColor; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: currentColor; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: currentColor; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: currentColor; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 100%; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="498" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
Martin Scorsese, <i>photo courtesy of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Martin_Scorsese_Berlinale_2010_(cropped).jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i><br />
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br />
What's inspiring me to write is the upcoming release of Martin Scorsese's new film, <i>The Irishman</i>, in theatres on November 1 and on Netflix starting November 27. This movie is based on the book <i>I Heard You Paint Houses</i> by Charles Brandt. I received this book as a gift from one of my best friends and found it quite fascinating. It details five years of interviews, intertwined with Brandt's historical context and perspective, that the author did with Frank Sheeran. Sheeran was a labor union official in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) whose close friend and mentor was the infamous president of the Teamsters, Jimmy Hoffa. But prior to meeting Hoffa, Sheeran's close friend and mentor was Russell Bufalino, the Mafia boss of Northeastern Pennsylvania. During the interviews, Sheeran admitted that he would "paint houses" for both Bufalino and Hoffa, which was their code for murdering someone. But the biggest revelation Sheeran made in the interviews is that of the more than twenty-five hits he did for the Mob and for Hoffa, the one that haunted him most to confess to was that he murdered Jimmy Hoffa on July 30, 1975.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Jimmy_Hoffa.jpg" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #0645ad; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img alt="File:Jimmy Hoffa.jpg" data-file-height="1081" data-file-width="820" decoding="async" height="600" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Jimmy_Hoffa.jpg/455px-Jimmy_Hoffa.jpg" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: white; background-image: url("/w/resources/src/mediawiki.action/images/checker.png?bdcf5"); background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: currentColor; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: currentColor; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: currentColor; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: currentColor; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="455" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
Jimmy Hoffa, <i>photo courtesy of <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jimmy_Hoffa.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i><br />
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br />
Scorsese is one of my favorite directors and I'm looking forward to seeing this movie because my hope is that returning to the familiar milieu of mobsters inspired Scorsese to return to the great filmmaking of <i>Goodfellas</i> and <i>Casino</i>. I'm also looking forward to seeing him reunite with Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro, who will be playing Frank Sheeran. Yet another reason I can't wait to see this movie is that this is the first time Scorsese will be working with Al Pacino, who will be playing Jimmy Hoffa. But the most compelling reason I have for seeing this movie is to see if Scorsese and screenwriter Steven Zaillian include what I consider to be the most explosive detail of the book: that Jimmy Hoffa was murdered by the Mafia to cover up their involvement in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/John_F._Kennedy%2C_White_House_photo_portrait%2C_looking_up.jpg" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #0645ad; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img alt="File:John F. Kennedy, White House photo portrait, looking up.jpg" data-file-height="970" data-file-width="748" decoding="async" height="599" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/John_F._Kennedy%2C_White_House_photo_portrait%2C_looking_up.jpg/462px-John_F._Kennedy%2C_White_House_photo_portrait%2C_looking_up.jpg" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: white; background-image: url("/w/resources/src/mediawiki.action/images/checker.png?bdcf5"); background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: currentColor; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: currentColor; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: currentColor; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: currentColor; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="462" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
President John F. Kennedy, <i>photo courtesy of <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/John_F._Kennedy%2C_White_House_photo_portrait%2C_looking_up.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i><br />
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br />
I've written many blog entries on the JFK assassination and have tried to be consistent in placing responsibility for his murder on the <a href="https://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-defense-intelligence-agency-dia.html">Military-Industrial Complex</a>. But I've also tried to detail how the CIA and the Mafia were used as tools to achieve this ignominious result. In my blog post, "<a href="https://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2014/09/its-alright-ma-im-only-acting.html">It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Acting)</a>," I explained where I thought the role of the Mob fit in:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"A good way to explain this is to say it occurs at a "low level", as the Jim Garrison character played by Kevin Costner in the movie </span><a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/JFK_%28film%29" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #5588aa; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>JFK</i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> described the level the Mafia operated at in the conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: cyan; color: black; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Jim Garrison</b><span style="background-color: cyan; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">: I don't doubt their involvement, Bill, but at a low
level. Could the mob change the parade route? Or eliminate the
protection for the President? Could the mob send Oswald to Russia and
get him back? Could the mob get the FBI, the CIA, and the Dallas Police
to make a mess of the investigation? I mean, could the mob get the
Warren Commission appointed to cover it up? Could the mob wreck the
autopsy? Could the mob influence the national media to go to sleep? And
since when has the mob used anything but .38s for hits up close? The mob
wouldn't have the guts or the power for something of this magnitude.
Assassins need payrolls, schedules, times, orders. This was a military
style ambush from star to finish. A coup d'etat with Lyndon Johnson
waiting in the wings. "</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<br />
The author of <i>I Heard You Paint Houses</i>, Charles Brandt, doesn't really delve into the "levels" of the JFK assassination, probably because the focus of his book is a Mafia hit man, Frank Sheeran. Sheeran's perspective is limited to his personal experience. But because his experience includes personal friendships and business relationships with Russell Bufalino and Jimmy Hoffa, it gives the reader an extraordinary story on what events lead up to Hoffa's disappearance. Hoffa was released from prison in 1971, having served four years of a thirteen year sentence for bribery, jury tampering and fraud, when President Nixon commuted his sentence on the condition Hoffa refrain from union activity until 1980. There were rumors that the Nixon administration was bribed to pardon Hoffa in exchange for an endorsement by the IBT to re-elect Nixon in 1972. Sheeran admitted in his interviews with Brandt of at least two separate occasions, in May 1971 and October 1973, where he delivered a suitcase filled with at least six-figures worth of cash to none other than Attorney General John Mitchell.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Interview_with_Atty._Gen._John_Mitchell_%28cropped%29.jpg" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #0645ad; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img alt="File:Interview with Atty. Gen. John Mitchell (cropped).jpg" data-file-height="5054" data-file-width="3370" decoding="async" height="600" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Interview_with_Atty._Gen._John_Mitchell_%28cropped%29.jpg/400px-Interview_with_Atty._Gen._John_Mitchell_%28cropped%29.jpg" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: white; background-image: url("/w/resources/src/mediawiki.action/images/checker.png?bdcf5"); background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: currentColor; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: currentColor; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: currentColor; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: currentColor; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="400" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
Attorney General John Mitchell, <i>photo courtesy of <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interview_with_Atty._Gen._John_Mitchell_(cropped).jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i><i><u><span style="color: #000120;"><br /></span></u></i><br />
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br />
Hoffa sued to invalidate this restriction from union activities on his pardon in court, but lost in 1974. By 1975, Hoffa was not only appealing this case at the next judicial level, he was making noise that he wanted to run for President of the IBT in 1976. As part of his campaign to depose the current Teamsters president, Frank "Fitz" Fitzsimmons, Hoffa said publicly that he was going to expose the alleged mob connections that Fitz had. This was upsetting to mobsters like Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano that had been affiliated with the Teamsters prior to Hoffa's prison term. Sheeran tried explaining to Bufalino, who was much higher up the Mafia food chain than Tony Pro, that Hoffa was "puffing"; letting off steam but not really going to expose anyone. But Russell Bufalino knew too many important people who were worried about Hoffa's behavior and insisted on meeting with him at a bar in Philadelphia called Broadway Eddie's on October 17, 1974. Frank Sheeran gave his perspective on what happened that night.<br />
<br />
From <i>I Heard You Paint Houses</i>, pages 239-242:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">There were about sixty people at Broadway Eddie's that night. The only ones who were at a table eating were Angelo, Russell, Jimmy, and me. The rest were at the bar. Trays of food kept coming out of the kitchen for the people at the bar. Jimmy was having spaghetti and meatballs, and I was having raviolis. The four of us were sitting in a row. When you wanted to talk you had to lean out a little bit. Angelo was on the end next to Russell, and Jimmy was between Russell and me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Angelo didn't say anything and I didn't say anything the whole time. They knew I was for Hoffa. I had Hoffa stickers all over my Lincoln. There was no prolonged conversation about what they were there for. I would imagine Jimmy knew why he was asked to be there, but I don't know.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"What do you want to run for?" Russell asked.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"It's my union," Jimmy said.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"You only have four years to wait. You could run in eighty. That would make sense."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"I could run now. I've got the people with me."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Jimmy wasn't being fresh, but he was being firm. Russell didn't say anything about the way Jimmy was campaigning and the things Jimmy was going around saying about the alleged mob. But Jimmy had to know that such talk in public would be of concern to Russell. Jimmy knew about Joe Colombo and the publicity he brought and Crazy Joey Gallo. Jimmy knew how all of Russell's problems began with the publicity from Apalachin. At least Jimmy should have been wondering what was causing Russell to go from being behind Jimmy and meeting with Fat Tony to help Jimmy in 1976, and now talking this way about things. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"What are you running for?" Russell said. "You don't need the money."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"It's not about the money," Jimmy said. "I'm not letting Fitz have the union."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Russell didn't say anything for a minute. He just ate in silence. People didn't say no to Russell and he usually never had to ask twice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Jimmy said, "I'm going to take care of the people who've been fucking me."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Russell turned to Jimmy and was now facing Jimmy and me both. "There are people higher up than me that feel that you are demonstrating a failure to show appreciation," and then he said so softly that I had to read his lips, "for Dallas."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Jimmy did not respond to that.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Russell turned away and made some small talk with Angelo and that meant the meeting was over. We finished eating. I sat there thinking that this was it. The people had talked among themselves and Russell was now speaking for them, and they were against Jimmy running and Russell was, too. Tony Pro had won the battle for their hearts and minds. I had the feeling that it wasn't that Jimmy was running that was costing his support among his friends; it was the way he was running.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">I didn't know how serious it was for Jimmy until Jimmy and I were getting ready to leave. Russell took me aside and said, "Some people have a serious problem with your friend. Talk to your friend. Tell him what it is."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"I'll do my best. You know yourself, Russ; he's tough to talk to."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"He's got no choice."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"Jimmy's pretty high up himself," I said.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"You're dreaming, my friend. If they could take out the president, they could take out the president of the Teamsters."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Jimmy liked the Warwick Hotel. It was around Seventeenth and Walnut, a short ride from Broadway Eddie's in my Lincoln with the Hoffa stickers. I went up to Jimmy's room with him to have that talk with him, but Jimmy started talking first.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"Everybody wants Hoffa to back down. They're all afraid of what I know. I got a package here I want you to take down to the Market Inn." Jimmy handed me a small satchel, not too heavy. It had no name on it. Whoever it was for would know enough to come for it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"That reminds me, Jimmy," I said. "I've been meaning to tell you this before; Mitchell stopped down the hall last spring and told me to tell you not to run. He said to enjoy your pension and your grandchildren."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"That doesn't surprise me. That fucking Mitchell already told me, 'Don't even think about using what you think you know.'"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"I didn't know what Russell was going to say to you tonight, Jimmy," I said. "But I know they mean it, Jimmy. On the way out tonight Russell told me to tell you what it is."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"If anything unnatural happens to Hoffa, I can tell you all hell with break loose. I've got more records and lists ready to be mailed out to the media than you can imagine. I've had too many motherfuckers in my life I thought I could trust. I need more people like you. And I have them now. I know who my friends are."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"Jimmy, you're doing a lot of puffing that has people concerned."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"That's just the tip of the iceberg, the tip of the iceberg. Let me tell you - Dallas, did you hear that word tonight? Remember that package you took to Baltimore? I didn't know it then, but it turns out it was high-powered rifles for the Kennedy hit in Dallas. The stupid bastards lost their own rifles in the trunk of a Thunderbird that crashed when their driver got drunk. That pilot for Carlos was involved in delivering the replacements that you brought down. Those fuckers used both of us on that deal. We were patsies. What do you think of that? They had fake cops and real cops involved in it. Jack Ruby's cops were supposed to take care of Oswald, but Ruby bungled it. That's why he had to go in and finish the job on Oswald. If he didn't take care of Oswald, what do you think they would have done to him - put Ruby on a meat hook. Don't kid yourself. Santo and Carlos and Giancana and some of their element, they were all in on Kennedy. Every single one of the same cast of characters that were in on the Bay of Pigs. They even had a plot to kill Castro with Momo and Roselli. I've got enough to hang everybody. And every last bit of it comes out if anything unnatural happens to me. They will all pay. All those who fucked me will pay."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">I sat there with the satchel in my lap. Jimmy would sometimes get on a kick and there was no stopping him. You just listened. But I never saw him like this before. This time it was unreal. There was nothing for me to say even if I was inclined to do any talking. If the room was bugged I didn't want my voice on anything. Picking up high-powered rifles - man, oh, man.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"You don't know the half of it. Fitz's stupidity is only exceeded by his arrogance. They thought Hoffa was going to drop off the face of the earth. None of them have got an ounce of balls to face me. My Irish friend, there are things I can't tell you because it would cost you your life to know them. There are secret things I have known, seen, and supported that would rock this nation."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
According to Frank Sheeran, this is what sealed Jimmy Hoffa's fate. Nine months later, Hoffa disappeared forever. I'll leave out Frank's details on how Hoffa was murdered; either read the book or watch the movie when it comes out. What I want to address is that there are certain details in this account, because of significant prior research I have done on the JFK assassination, that strike me as being highly credible. Hoffa's rant in the hotel room with Sheeran dovetails with a number of other details confirmed within the JFK assassination research community, such as the involvement of <a href="https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKtrafficante.htm">Santo Trafficante</a>, <a href="https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKmarcello.htm">Carlos Marcello</a> and <a href="https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKgiancana.htm">Sam Giancana</a>, the Mafia connection with <a href="https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKruby.htm">Jack Ruby</a>, and the overlap between the characters who orchestrated the hit on JFK also orchestrating the <a href="https://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-origins-of-irancontra-from-bay-of.html">Bay of Pigs</a>. Hoffa's mention of Sam "Momo" Giancana and Johnny Roselli teaming up with the CIA to whack Castro has pretty much been accepted by the <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/24/fidel-castro-cia-mafia-plot-216977">mainstream</a>. I suppose a Warren Commission apologist could dismiss this account, which Sheeran divulged to Brandt in 1999, as an imaginative retelling of conspiracy theories well known by the public at that time. But there's one detail not so well known that sticks out like a crawling cockroach on a white rug:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The stupid bastards lost their own rifles in the trunk of a Thunderbird that crashed when their driver got drunk.</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
When I first read this passage, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. A Thunderbird with rifles in the trunk? It sounds like a throwaway line, but it reeked of familiarity to me. Where had I read about this before? I searched through my library and found the answer. <i>Oswald Talked: The New Evidence in the JFK Assassination</i>, an obscure book written by Ray and Mary La Fontaine in 1996, had a unique perspective in that their evidence originated from assassination files released in Dallas in 1992 in the wake of the furor surrounding Oliver Stone's film <i>JFK</i>. They obtained arrest records from the Dallas Police Department that had previously been classified. In the course of their research, they discovered the arrest records for the "three tramps." The identities of the "three tramps" have long been the subject of debate in the JFK assassination research community as possibly being hit men like <a href="https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKharrelson.htm">Charles Harrelson</a>, perhaps even Watergate felons Frank Sturgis and E. Howard Hunt, disguised as hobos. The La Fontaines verified the identities of the three tramps arrested were Gus Abrams, Harold Doyle, and John Forrester Gedney.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/The_Three_Tramps.jpg" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #0645ad; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img alt="File:The Three Tramps.jpg" data-file-height="682" data-file-width="986" decoding="async" height="553" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/The_Three_Tramps.jpg/800px-The_Three_Tramps.jpg" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: white; background-image: url("/w/resources/src/mediawiki.action/images/checker.png?bdcf5"); background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: currentColor; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: currentColor; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: currentColor; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: currentColor; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
The Three Tramps, <i>photo courtesy of <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Three_Tramps.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i><br />
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br />
So why did the authorities cover up the identities of these seemingly innocuous people for so long? Perhaps because there was a fourth arrest that day in Dallas, one John Franklin Elrod, who tried to inform the FBI in August of 1964 that he shared a cell with Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963. The FBI tried to discredit Elrod by denying he was incarcerated in Dallas that day and burying his report for three decades. What did Elrod inform the FBI about concerning Oswald?<br />
<br />
From <i>Oswald Talked</i>, page 16:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Elrod informed the deputies on that August morning that what he hadn't been able to get out of his head were some remarks his Dallas cellmate had made shortly after they were locked in together. A man with a gruesomely battered face had been led through the corridor outside their cell. He was an inmate with an escort of guards. Elrod heard his cellmate say he recognized the injured inmate despite his "smashed up" face. He had met him previously in a motel room with four other men, he said. The men in the room had been advanced money under some type of contract, and the man with the injured face received some of the money. He wasn't injured then and drove a car loaded with guns, a Thunderbird. That was what Elrod could remember his cellmate saying, except for the most important thing: that one of the men in the motel room had been Jack Ruby.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
The La Fontaines were able to verify that Lawrence Reginald Miller was the passenger of a 1962 Thunderbird who smashed his face into the windshield when the car crashed after being chased by the Dallas Police Department who staked out the illegal gunrunning. After being treated at Parkland Hospital on November 18, 1963, Miller was remanded to the Dallas city jail, where he stayed until November 25. The driver of the Thunderbird, Donnell Darius Whitter, who ended up with a four year prison sentence for his crimes, worked at a Texaco Service Station where he would service the car of Jack Ruby whenever he came into the station.<br />
<br />
I sincerely doubt any of these inconvenient details will make their way into <i>The Irishman</i>. When I finished reading the book, I worried that Scorsese might try to sidestep the JFK aspects of the story and just focus on the gangster details. It remains to be seen exactly what will be included, but this portion of <a href="https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/the-irishman-review-martin-scorsese-robert-de-niro-al-pacino-joe-pesci-1203351142/">Owen Gleiberman's review</a> of the movie gives me hope it might be more than I expect:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14.86px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: cyan;">The film presents the JFK assassination as an underworld conspiracy, and whether or not you buy that, the triangle of the mob, the Teamsters, and the JFK administration, with the former bootlegger Joe Kennedy called upon to repay favors, makes for a thrillingly entangled political spider web.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">...</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14.86px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: cyan;">It would be a stretch to call “The Irishman” topical, yet in its way the film could hardly be more timely. It’s a vision of outrageous power flying too close to the sun. And when Pesci’s terse, demonically understated Bufalino, behind his death-shield horn-rims, tells Frank that the order has come down from on high, the movie gives off a resonating chill.</span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<br />
What exactly did Bufalino mean by "people higher up than me" or in Gleiberman's words, "the order has come down from on high"? Trafficante, Marcello and Giancana (who was murdered one month prior to Hoffa's disappearance and five days prior to his scheduled testimony to the Church Committee on the mob's role in a CIA plot to kill Castro) were not higher up the Mafia hierarchy than Bufalino; they were equals. I really believe this is a reference to the realm of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_politics">Deep Politics</a> and the intersection of organized crime and intelligence black ops. I used to call it the Deep State, in reference to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Dale_Scott">Peter Dale Scott</a>'s concept of it, but I can't anymore. I can't even stomach including those words on my page header anymore. Perhaps part of what has depressed my desire to blog has been witnessing how the far right has <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">expropriated the phrase and perverted its original meaning. Just walk into your local Barnes and Noble store and check out their current events shelves to see what I mean: dozens of books with the words 'deep state' plastered on the covers from the likes of Sebastian Gorka and Newt Gingrich, as if they were completely separate and disconnected from it. Besides, it is a global phenomenon involving multiple state actors, so Deep World is a more appropriate description. But I won't use that either out of fear that phrase will also be expropriated for right-wing trendiness. I'll use Michael Ruppert's phrase <a href="http://fromthewilderness.net/free/ww3/031005_globalcorp.shtml">GlobalCorp</a> because it acknowledges <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">how their endgame is unsustainable in the context of the Carbon Crisis:</span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div align="justify" class="news" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The problem lies in the definition of "The Powers That Be." Most people still think in terms of nation states. I always think in terms of money, even to the point of looking at money (the way it functions now) as <em>the</em> PTB without attachment to a human or national identity.</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="news" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="news" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Not too long ago I had a dialogue with Catherine Austin Fitts after which an epiphany struck. As the human race blows itself into extinction, or destroys the climate, or starves itself to death, the last corporate merger and acquisition will take place. And at the same moment as mankind dies, the CFO of "GlobalCorp" will be shouting, "Hooray! We did it!"</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="news" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="news" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Those who win in a rigged game get stupid. We have all played this game (to one degree or another). And compared to the rational, far-sighted humanitarians that Jefferson and Whitman hoped for and expected, we are all frightfully stupid.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br /></span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">If you see me blogging again, and I'll never say never where blogging is concerned, it is because I have found the inspiration to fight the stupid!</span>Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-15451835531142993742017-09-17T21:31:00.000-07:002017-09-17T21:31:19.299-07:00Tea Pot Dome, Watergate, Trump: Crime, Cover-up and Curious Death Comparisons<span style="font-size: small;">This is Robert Paulsen standing outside of Teapot Rock in Wyoming. Nearby are the Teapot Dome oil fields that are notorious as the focus of the Teapot Dome scandal during the Harding administration in the 1920s. Though Teapot Dome started as a bribery scandal, like most famous political scandals, it was the cover-up that really made the whole affair explode.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QJAuxKGNiiQ/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QJAuxKGNiiQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The origins of the Teapot Dome scandal began around <a href="http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/teapot-dome-scandal">1909</a> when Navy administrators began converting their fleet from coal powered ships to oil powered ships. As more ships were converted, Navy officials became concerned about the possibility of oil running out (an occurrence many Peak Oil deniers point to as a means of dismissing the notion it could <i>ever</i> happen). The Navy asked Congress to set aside federally owned lands where oil deposits existed for protected reserves that would not be used except during a federal emergency. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Two of the three reserves, set aside in <a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/roaring-twenties/essays/graft-and-oil-how-teapot-dome-became-greatest-political-scand">1912</a>, were in Elk Hills and Buena Vista Oil Fields in Kern County, California. </span>The other oil reserve set aside was Teapot Dome in Natrona County, Wyoming in <a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/roaring-twenties/essays/graft-and-oil-how-teapot-dome-became-greatest-political-scand">1915</a>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The corruption that lead to scandal officially started with newly inaugurated President Warren G. Harding switching responsibility of these oil reserves from Navy to Secretary of Interior through <a href="https://millercenter.org/issues-policy/us-domestic-policy/making-teapot-dome-scandal-relevant-again">Executive Order 3474</a> on May 31, 1921. The Secretary of Interior was <a href="http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1858691_1858690_1858518,00.html">Harding's poker-playing buddy Albert Bacon Fall</a>, who was a Senator from New Mexico until President Harding appointed him in March 1921. It was Fall who actually <a href="https://millercenter.org/issues-policy/us-domestic-policy/making-teapot-dome-scandal-relevant-again">wrote</a> the Executive Order that Harding signed. Once these oil fields were under Fall's control, he made secret deals with two powerful oilmen, Harry F. Sinclair of Mammoth Oil, a subsidiary of Sinclair Oil Corporation, and Edward L. Doheny of Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company. Fall leased oil production rights to Doheny for the Elk Hills reserve and Sinclair for Teapot Dome. Though both leases were issued without competitive bids, this was not illegal at the time. What was illegal was the bribes of <a href="http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1858691_1858690_1858518,00.html">more than $400,000</a> that Fall accepted from Doheny and Sinclair for these leases.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Albert_Fall.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Albert_Fall.jpg" /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Albert Bacon Fall, Secretary of Interior convicted of bribery <i>Photo courtesy of <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Albert_Fall.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">When independent oilman and future Democratic Governor of Wyoming <a href="http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/teapot-dome-scandal">Leslie Miller</a> observed Sinclair trucks hauling drilling equipment into Teapot Dome, he was suspicious enough to ask Democratic Senator John B. Kendrick to look into it. On April 15, 1922, Kendrick introduced a resolution calling for an investigation into the deal. The leader of the investigation through the Senate </span>Committee on Public Lands was Republican Senator Robert La Follette. La Follette was a Progressive who would later launch a third party run for President in 1924. Any suspicions La Follette may have had regarding the corruption involved in this deal would only have intensified after the quarters of his Senate Office Building were <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Senate_Investigates_the_Teapot_Dome_Scandal.htm">ransacked</a>.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, leadership of the inquiry fell to the most junior minority member of the committee, Democratic Senator Thomas J. Walsh of Montana, in October 1923. By then, Fall had resigned from his position in January 1923, after delivering truckloads of documents to bury the investigators in a mass of paper. At first, it seemed that there was no evidence of wrongdoing. But Walsh's tenacity in investigating the leads proved that a cover-up was hiding the truth behind Teapot Dome. Ironically, the cover-up involved the Washington Post. As <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1977/06/09/uncovering-a-coverup-on-teapot-dome/93c16e16-8e32-4bf0-aabd-bb83c9bebd0d/?utm_term=.698eed1b1acf">Chalmers M. Roberts</a> wrote on June 9, 1977, "One of the oddities of the two scandals - Teapot Dome in the Harding
administration and Watergate in the Nixon administration - was the
reversed roles played by The Washington Post. In the case of Teapot Dome
it was The Post's publisher who at first covered up for Fall until a
probing senator caught him in a lie; in the case of Watergate The Post
was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for its public service in tracking down and
exposing the wrong-doing." <br />
<br />
The cover-up concerned a $100,000 "loan" that Fall received in late 1921 while he was the Secretary of the Interior. Fall denied on the witness stand that the money was for compensation for the oil leases. It seemed that when Fall's personal friend, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1977/06/09/uncovering-a-coverup-on-teapot-dome/93c16e16-8e32-4bf0-aabd-bb83c9bebd0d/?utm_term=.698eed1b1acf">Washington Post publisher Edward Beale (Ned) McLean</a>, told Walsh's committee that he had loaned Fall the money, the trail had dried up. But because McLean had stayed in Palm Beach, Florida, saying that a sinus condition prevented him from traveling to Washington to testify publicly, Walsh was suspicious and came down to Florida to interrogate him directly. With the possibility of a perjury charge hanging over him, McLean admitted the truth: he hadn't lent Fall the money at all. It turned out that the money came from Pan American <span style="font-size: small;">Petroleum and Transport Company head Edward L. Doheny, who had suggested to Fall that he get McLean to say he lent the money.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Edward_L._Doheny.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Edward_L._Doheny.jpg" /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Edward L. Doheny <i>Courtesy of <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Edward_L._Doheny.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">At this point, the Teapot Dome scandal exploded. President Calvin Coolidge, who came into office after the sudden death of President Harding on August 2, 1923, appointed <a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/roaring-twenties/essays/graft-and-oil-how-teapot-dome-became-greatest-political-scand">two special prosecutors</a>, Republican lawyer and future Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts and former Democratic Senator Atlee Pomerene, to take over the investigation. Though Walsh originally thought some of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1977/06/09/uncovering-a-coverup-on-teapot-dome/93c16e16-8e32-4bf0-aabd-bb83c9bebd0d/?utm_term=.698eed1b1acf">McLean's coded messages</a> implicated Coolidge in Teapot Dome, Roberts and Pomerene were unable to find evidence to confirm a criminal conspiracy went up that high. They were able to file a total of eight cases, two civil and six criminal. Two civil cases to cancel the disputed oil leases went to the Supreme Court; in both the Elk Hills and Teapot Dome oil fields both leases were voided in 1927 and production was shut down. The criminal cases only resulted in one conviction: Albert Fall was convicted of accepting the bribe from Doheny, the first Cabinet member convicted of a crime committed while in office, and sentenced to one year in prison and fined $100,000. Amazingly, Doheny was never convicted for any crime; in 1930 he was acquitted of offering the same bribe that Fall was convicted for, which lead one <a href="http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/teapot-dome-scandal">reporter</a> to observe, "</span>You can’t convict a million dollars." The only other person to serve time in the Teapot Dome scandal besides Fall was Harry Sinclair, but not for the bribe: he was sentenced to nine months and served six months in jail for contempt of Congress and for hiring detectives to trail members of the jury in his original bribery trial for which he was acquitted.<br />
<br />
While the number of convictions in this scandal pales in comparison to Watergate, Teapot Dome does share a notorious feature with it: a bizarre body count. It's a popular misconception that nobody died from Watergate. In addition to Nixon's Watergate operation linking back to his <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2012/11/17/the-death-toll-of-watergate/">treasonous campaign sabotage</a> of President Johnson's 1968 Paris peace talks that needlessly extended the death toll of the Vietnam War, there is also the curious matter of the plane crash of United Airlines Flight 553 on December 8, 1972. 43 of the 55 people aboard were killed, including Dorothy Hunt, who was carrying $10,000 in $100 bills when the plane crashed. She was the wife of E. Howard Hunt, who organized the Watergate break-in. On that date, prior to boarding the doomed flight, Dorothy, who had also been a <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKhuntD.htm">CIA employee</a>, had a meeting with CBS journalist Michelle Clark, who was working on a Watergate story, along with Chicago Congressman George Collins. All three were killed in the subsequent plane crash. FBI agents arrived at the scene of the crash before the Fire Department, which is suspicious considering the Fire Department received a call within one minute of the crash. One FBI agent confiscated a tape from the Midway Airport control tower that reportedly contained information of error or sabotage regarding Flight 553. The day after the crash, a new Undersecretary of Transportation, who would supervise the two agencies investigating the crash - the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) - was appointed by President Nixon. This was White House aide Egil Krogh, who would later plead guilty and serve four and a half months in prison for his role in the Watergate conspiracy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/United_Air_Lines_Flight_553_%283%29.jpg/320px-United_Air_Lines_Flight_553_%283%29.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/United_Air_Lines_Flight_553_%283%29.jpg/320px-United_Air_Lines_Flight_553_%283%29.jpg" /><br />
Crash site of doomed Flight 553 which killed Dorothy Hunt <i>Photo courtesy of <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/United_Air_Lines_Flight_553_%283%29.jpg/320px-United_Air_Lines_Flight_553_%283%29.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i><br />
<br />
<br />
There were two verifiable murder victims connected with Teapot Dome. They were Theodore "Hugh" Plunkett and Edward L. Doheny Jr., known to the family as Ned. Plunkett was a chauffeur for the entire Doheny family and was Ned's personal secretary and great friend, though one associate, <a href="https://www.kcet.org/history-society/we-shall-never-know-murder-money-and-the-enduring-mystery-of-greystone-mansion">Fredrick R. Kellogg</a> said, "their relationship was more than that of friends." Ned and Hugh's connection with Teapot Dome was very direct: in November 1921, they were the literal bagmen who delivered a small black bag filled with $100,000 to Albert Fall at the Wardman Park Hotel in Washington D.C. In May 1924 during his father's trial for conspiracy, Ned refused to answer questions about his role in delivering the money, but testified he and his father did nothing wrong. Doheny Sr. was acquitted of that charge in 1926, but was later charged with bribery. By the fall of 1928, both Ned and Hugh were called to testify in the upcoming bribery trials of Fall and Doheny. But while Ned would have received immunity for his testimony, Hugh did not receive the same assurance.<br />
<br />
Amidst all this, the Doheny family was moving into the 55 room mansion built on 429 Beverly Hills acres called Greystone which Hugh Plunkett had overseen the construction of while Ned was supporting his father through the Teapot Dome scandal in Washington. Supposedly on Christmas Eve, Hugh suffered a <a href="https://www.kcet.org/history-society/we-shall-never-know-murder-money-and-the-enduring-mystery-of-greystone-mansion">"nervous breakdown"</a> and on the afternoon of February 16, 1929, Ned, his wife Lucy, and the family Doctor Ernest Fishbaugh urged Hugh to enter a sanitarium. We'll never know if this was just to get him mental help, to exempt him from testifying, or both, but Hugh refused. Later that evening, both Ned and Hugh were found dead in a Greystone bedroom, both with a single shot to the head. Though the official story was that Hugh murdered Ned, then committed suicide, there was plenty of contradictory evidence, such as false information from witnesses, and forensic investigator Leslie White's observation that Ned was shot at close range, while Hugh was not. Since there was never an official inquest and District Attorney Buron Fitts declared the investigation closed, what actually happened will remain a mystery. Greystone mansion still exists today and ironically was used as a filming location for the Paul Thomas Anderson film <i>There Will Be Blood</i>, which was based on the Upton Sinclair novel <i>Oil!</i>, which many say was inspired by the rise to power of Edward L. Doheny Sr.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Greystone_Mansion.JPG/320px-Greystone_Mansion.JPG" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Greystone_Mansion.JPG/320px-Greystone_Mansion.JPG" /><br />
Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, CA <i>Photo courtesy of <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Greystone_Mansion.JPG/320px-Greystone_Mansion.JPG">Wikimedia Commons</a></i> <br />
<br />
<br />
So how do these monster political scandals of the 20th century stack up to current events? There are some striking similarities where crime, cover-up and curious deaths compare to the crazy cacophony surrounding Donald John Trump. There is certainly much debate, which will continue at least until Special Counsel Robert Mueller wraps up his <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/16/politics/robert-mueller-special-counsel-lawyers/index.html">investigation</a>, about whether Trump and Russia colluded to steal the election, which is the primary charge among many leveled against him. But even if that treasonous possibility doesn't pan out, the connections between the Trump campaign and Russia could encompass such corruption that crimes such as money laundering, perjury and obstruction of justice were committed by Trump and members of his campaign.<br />
<br />
That there has been an active cover-up by Trump and his administration to obfuscate their machinations is fairly irrefutable. Even if you defer judgment until Mueller completes his investigation on precisely what Trump meant when he told then FBI director James Comey regarding the agency's investigation into ousted national security advisor Michael Flynn that, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/10/politics/trump-comey-testimony-timeline-what-we-know/index.html">"I hope you can let this go,"</a> that is hardly the only instance where a cover-up attempt backfired with Team Trump. The most recent example is their reaction to the revelation of a meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner and a Russian lawyer, among others that occurred June 9, 2016. Originally when the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/08/us/politics/trump-russia-kushner-manafort.html">New York Times</a> broke this story on July 8, 2017, their response was coordinated (and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/07/31/trumps-lawyer-repeatedly-denied-trump-was-involved-in-trump-jr-s-statement-but-he-was/?utm_term=.eaa0d9d562e7">dictated</a> by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/us/politics/russia-trump.html">Donald J. Trump Sr.</a>) to only admit that the topic of adoption was discussed. The following day, when the New York Times revealed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/09/us/politics/trump-russia-kushner-manafort.html?rref=collection%2Fnewseventcollection%2FThe%20Trump%20White%20House&action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=Collection&region=Marginalia&src=me&version=newsevent&pgtype=article">five sources</a> confirmed Trump Jr. agreed to the meeting on the basis that dirt on Hillary Clinton would be given to him, their <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/07/11/timeline-donald-trump-jr-interactions-kremlin-linked-lawyer/467634001/">cover story</a> fell apart.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Donald_Trump%2C_Jr._%2830521162671%29.jpg/320px-Donald_Trump%2C_Jr._%2830521162671%29.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Donald_Trump%2C_Jr._%2830521162671%29.jpg/320px-Donald_Trump%2C_Jr._%2830521162671%29.jpg" /><br />
Donald Trump Jr. <i>Photo courtesy of <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Donald_Trump%2C_Jr._%2830521162671%29.jpg/320px-Donald_Trump%2C_Jr._%2830521162671%29.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i><br />
<br />
<br />
While the depth, severity and criminality of this scandal should probably be explored more thoroughly once the investigation is complete, there is one curious death tied to the Trump/Russia scandal that deserves closer scrutiny. Republican operative <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/know-about-peter-w-smith-fd05b9284cbd">Peter W. Smith</a> was quite active during the 2016 presidential campaign, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/gop-activist-who-sought-clinton-emails-cited-trump-campaign-officials-1498872923">two</a> <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/gop-operative-sought-clinton-emails-from-hackers-implied-a-connection-to-flynn-1498770851">explosive</a> reports from the Wall Street Journal. Smith was trying to obtain stolen Hillary Clinton emails from hackers he assumed were affiliated with the <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/07/13/gop_operative_s_suicide_days_after_disclosing_solicited_clinton_emails_from.html">Russian government</a>. He presented himself as working with top Trump adviser Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, both in his solicitations to the Russian hackers and his interview with the Wall Street Journal on May 4, 2017. Ten days later, but six weeks before the Journal's story went to print, Peter W. Smith was found dead on May 14, 2017.<br />
<br />
The Minnesota state death record said 81 year old Smith <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-peter-smith-death-met-0713-20170713-story.html">killed himself</a> and was “found with a bag over his head with a source of helium attached” in a hotel in Rochester, Minnesota. There was a suicide note recovered by police stating that there was "NO FOUL PLAY WHATSOEVER" and that he took his own life because of a "RECENT BAD TURN IN HEALTH SINCE JANUARY, 2017" and because he had a policy of "LIFE INSURANCE OF $5 MILLION" about to expire. In my research, I have yet to verify whether his policy would actually pay out for a suicide. It's hard to believe his <a href="https://trumpwatchdogs.com/2017/06/30/who-is-peter-w-smith/">wife and three kids</a> (with three grandkids) really needed that money, considering he had spent <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/republican-who-sought-clinton-emails-didnt-die-of-old-age.html">more than 40 years</a> in the lucrative field of directing private equity firms in corporate acquisitions and venture investments. More pertinent to my doubt, I have yet to verify if he actually signed the all cap suicide note or not. The only recent bad turn in health attested to by one of <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/gop-operative-peter-w-smiths-cause-death-might-not-be-suicide-reports-say-2565737">Smith's former employees</a> is a heart condition. But Smith was getting treated for this condition at the nearby Mayo Clinic, which shows he was interested in getting better. The Wall Street Journal writer who interviewed him, <a href="https://twitter.com/shaneharris/status/885638875577712640">Shane Harris</a>, says he saw <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/republican-who-sought-clinton-emails-didnt-die-of-old-age.html">no indication</a> of bad health or suicidal behavior.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://img1.business-gazeta.ru/article/55/1499440241_picPKWMYfBqNw2iQMyUByHgk62AnAQdEXz7.jpg" src="https://img1.business-gazeta.ru/article/55/1499440241_picPKWMYfBqNw2iQMyUByHgk62AnAQdEXz7.jpg" /><br />
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump <i>Photo courtesy of <a href="https://img1.business-gazeta.ru/article/55/1499440241_picPKWMYfBqNw2iQMyUByHgk62AnAQdEXz7.jpg">Business-Gazeta</a></i><br />
<i></i><br />
<br />
<br />
What has been the Trump administration's reaction to the curious case of Peter W. Smith? They told the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/gop-operative-sought-clinton-emails-from-hackers-implied-a-connection-to-flynn-1498770851">Wall Street Journal</a> that "if Mr. Flynn coordinated with him in any way, it would have been in his capacity as a private individual." The problem with this non-denial denial that Smith was working for the Trump campaign is that his relationships with members of Team Trump are not limited to Flynn and his son. In his efforts to seek out the hacked emails, Smith told potential collaborators that he was working <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/know-about-peter-w-smith-fd05b9284cbd">"in coordination to the extent permitted as an independent expenditure"</a> with Sam Clovis, Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway, as well as Flynn. Bannon denied hearing of Smith, even though Matt Boyle, the Washington Political Editor of Breitbart, the publication run by Bannon until he left to join the Trump campaign, collaborated with Smith in an effort to force out Paul Ryan as House Speaker, a <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/300445-exclusive-trump-campaign-ceo-wanted-to-destroy-ryan">cause shared by Bannon</a>. Kellyanne Conway at least admitted to knowing him while claiming she hadn't spoken to him recently. How did she know him? Well, one way would have been through her husband, George Conway. That relationship goes back almost two decades. George was one of the <a href="http://crooksandliars.com/2017/07/morning-joe-looks-peter-smith-story">"elves"</a> working on the Paula Jones lawsuit against Bill Clinton. Smith funded the lawsuit; he <a href="http://observer.com/1998/03/gingrich-money-man-peter-smith-helped-david-brock-sock-clinton/">paid Arkansas state troopers</a> to tell stories that they procured women for then-Governor Clinton in what was dubbed Troopergate, which lead to the Paula Jones case. Smith has one other tie with a Trump campaign adviser going back two decades: Newt Gingrich. Peter W. Smith donated more than <a href="http://observer.com/1998/03/gingrich-money-man-peter-smith-helped-david-brock-sock-clinton/">$100,000</a> to Gingrich's controversial GOPAC political fund from 1989 to 1995, which made him the <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/know-about-peter-w-smith-fd05b9284cbd">"No. 1 financial backer of Mr. Gingrich."</a><br />
<br />
Whether all these ties with the tumultuous world of Trump lead to Smith's demise cannot be conclusively determined yet. What does seem conclusive, looking over this seamy scope of history, is that the more they try to cover up the truth, the more they lose control.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-64633293242954847072017-08-26T18:40:00.000-07:002017-08-26T18:41:55.350-07:00Indivisible March in Los Angeles - August 26, 2017Ever since the horrific events in Charlottesville two weeks ago, I've been aching to get out and protest. This weekend, my wife and I attended the Indivisible March in Los Angeles to rally for women's rights and honor Heather Heyer, who was brutally run over and murdered by a Nazi terrorist in Charlottesville while counter-protesting against white supremacy. It was an extremely hot afternoon, but we enjoyed meeting with friends and seeing so many people stand up against hatred. I hope you enjoy the video we made of our time there.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IKBhBTMcJd0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IKBhBTMcJd0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-66324428401960201462017-06-08T15:18:00.001-07:002017-06-08T15:18:46.881-07:00This Changes Everything Should Mean EverythingSeveral years ago, (six to be precise) I posted a column by Naomi Klein titled <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2011/11/capitalism-vs-climate.html">Capitalism vs. the Climate</a>. It is a brilliant piece that was published in <i>The Nation</i>, and it was refreshing to read thoughtful research that explained to a mainstream, albeit left-leaning, audience the environmental and economic correlation between peak oil and global warming, i.e. the Carbon Crisis. I've been a fan of Klein ever since I read <i>The Shock Doctrine</i> so I was glad to see that in her research she had come to a lot of the same conclusions I had. She spelled out quite clearly that we cannot have an economy based on infinite growth when we're stuck on one planet with finite resources, that the Carbon Crisis has brought civilization to the point that in order to survive, "<b>it demands a new civilizational paradigm.</b>" Klein even referenced the positive efforts of the Transition Town movement and warned of how Jevon's Paradox could undo the savings from energy efficiency if that savings is "<b>simply plowed back into further exponential expansion of the economy, <i>reduction in total emissions will be thwarted</i>." </b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/Naomi_Klein_in_Berlin_2007.jpg/480px-Naomi_Klein_in_Berlin_2007.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/Naomi_Klein_in_Berlin_2007.jpg/480px-Naomi_Klein_in_Berlin_2007.jpg" /><br />
Naomi Klein, author of <i>This Changes Everything</i> Source: <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/Naomi_Klein_in_Berlin_2007.jpg/480px-Naomi_Klein_in_Berlin_2007.jpg"><i>Wikimedia Commons</i></a> <br />
<br />
<br />
When I found out Klein was writing a book on climate change and capitalism, I was eager to read her further research. Not <i>too</i> eager; the hardcover edition of <i>This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate</i> was published in 2014 and I waited until last year to read it when the paperback was on sale. My take on it? It is extremely well researched and well written. I would grade it as being a very good book, but for certain reasons I'll elaborate on later, it falls shy of being a great book. Klein does succeed in elaborating on the immediacy of our predicament and the necessity of the "new civilizational paradigm" mentioned in the initial column. As she writes on page 347, "We know that we are trapped within an economic system that has it
backward; it behaves as if there is no end to what is actually finite
(clean water, fossil fuels, and the atmospheric space to absorb their
emissions) while insisting that there are strict and immovable limits to
what is actually quite flexible: the financial resources that human
institutions manufacture, and that, if imagined differently, could build
the kind of caring society we need."<br />
<br />
<i>This Changes Everything</i> is really good when it takes on the shortcomings of politicians and activists on both sides of the issue. It's pretty easy to tear apart the mindset of deniers, which Naomi Klein does with aplomb. But she is even more incisive in her critiques of so-called environmentalists that have grown cozy with Big Business, green billionaires like Richard Branson that talk a good game to the press, but don't always put their money where their mouth is, and anyone who thinks that carbon offsets constitutes a sound policy to stop global warming. To quote her on page 223: "The problem is that by adopting this model of financing, even the
very best green projects are being made ineffective as climate responses
because for every ton of carbon dioxide the developers keep out of the
atmosphere, a corporation in the industrialized world is able to pump a
ton into the air, using offsets to claim the pollution has been
neutralized. One step forward, one step back. At best, we are running
in place."<br />
<br />
There are a couple of issues that prevent <i>This Changes Everything </i>from being truly great. First, I thought that some of the scarier probabilities of the effects of global warming were somewhat soft-pedaled. The only time that methane emissions were mentioned was in relation to fracked natural gas. While Klein correctly mentions on page 143 that methane is "thirty-four times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide", at no point in the book does she mention how much methane is encased in clathrates in the Arctic Circle. I have <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2016/01/climate-denialism-climate-fatalism-and.html">written</a> about this issue in <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-black-hole-of-russia.html">multiple entries</a> on this blog and was surprised that the only time she mentioned methane releases due to global warming in connection with the Arctic was on page 15 where she states that 6 degrees of warming could set off a tipping point "like massive releases of methane from Arctic permafrost." As I have <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2014/04/beyond-environmentalism.html">written before</a>, while methane releases from Arctic permafrost is a serious future tipping point, a massive release from methane clathrates in the Arctic is the more immediate threat with the melting of the Arctic ice cap set to happen any summer between now and <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/22790-the-vanishing-arctic-ice-cap">2018</a>. Klein overlooks this threat completely.<br />
<br />
Second, while I felt that Klein boiled down the general philosophical points of the necessity to build "an alternative worldview," as she puts it on page 482, I was hoping for greater specificity of what that view entails. I suppose this is more of nit-picky critique; the book doesn't set out to be a manifesto, and Klein does hit one point strong on page 179 that we need to avoid to succeed: centralizing. "Authoritarian socialism and capitalism share strong tendencies toward
centralizing (one in the hands of the state, the other in the hands of
corporations). They also both keep their respective systems going
through ruthless expansion - whether through production for production's
sake, in the case of Soviet-era socialism, or consumption for
consumption's sake, in the case of consumer capitalism." This is an excellent point I wish she could have expanded upon more in the context of our dependence on finite energy resources. She never mentions peak oil by name in the book, though she does mention on page 147 that "global conventional oil production from "existing fields" will drop from
68 million barrels per day in 2012 to an expected 27 million in 2035."<br />
<br />
Overall, Klein ends the book on a more positive note than she might had she completed the book, say, sometime after November 2016. These words from page 481 really have a hopeful outlook for the future of humanity:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"So how do you change a worldview, an unquestioned ideology? Part of
it involves choosing the right early policy battles - game-changing
ones that don't merely aim to change laws but change patterns of
thought."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"Because if we are to have any hope of making
the kind of civilizational leap required of this fateful decade, we
will need to start believing, once again, that humanity is not
hopelessly selfish and greedy - the image ceaselessly sold to us by
everything from reality shows to neoclassical economics."</span><br />
<br />
And from page 482:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"Fundamentally, the task is to articulate not just an alternative set of
policy proposals but an alternative worldview to rival the one at the
heart of the ecological crisis - embedded in interdependence rather than
hyper-individualism, reciprocity rather than dominance, and cooperation
rather than hierarchy."</span><br />
<br />
<br />
Klein gets it. Beyond changing laws, changing our environment, our economy or the essential way that money works, we have to change our <i>minds</i>; how we think. No doubt she has been trying to effect that change, particularly through her work with 350.org. But what kind of backlash can we expect from those who find this paradigm shift a threat? Klein addressed this on a slightly darker note in her <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/164497/capitalism-vs-climate?page=full">column</a> in <i>The Nation</i> six years ago:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"We know the answers already. The corporate quest for scarce resources
will become more rapacious, more violent. Arable land in Africa will
continue to be grabbed to provide food and fuel to wealthier nations. <b>Drought and famine will continue to be used as a pretext to push genetically modified seeds, driving farmers further into debt. <i>We will attempt to transcend peak oil and gas by using increasingly risky technologies to extract the last drops</i>,
turning ever larger swaths of our globe into sacrifice zones. We will
fortress our borders and intervene in foreign conflicts over resources,
or start those conflicts ourselves.</b> “Free-market climate
solutions,” as they are called, will be a magnet for speculation, fraud
and crony capitalism, as we are already seeing with carbon trading and
the use of forests as carbon offsets. And as climate change begins to
affect not just the poor but the wealthy as well, we will increasingly
look for techno-fixes to turn down the temperature, with massive and
unknowable risks."</span><br />
<br />
<br />
Sounds an awful lot like the present day, doesn't it? I'm not just talking about the recent decision by Herr Drumpf to declare the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/climate/trump-paris-climate-agreement.html?_r=0">departure</a> from the 2015 Paris climate accord by the USA. While I find that policy change disgusting, there was certainly nothing shocking about it. It's not like he was ambiguous about his opinion of the Paris climate treaty during his <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/promise/1379/cancel-paris-climate-agreement/">campaign</a> for the presidency. But what I do find surprising is that in the midst of <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/03/hillary-clinton/yes-donald-trump-did-call-climate-change-chinese-h/">tweeting</a> that he thinks global warming is a hoax invented by the Chinese and employing <a href="https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/266259787405225984?lang=en">lame humor</a> about how we need global warming to counter snow in New York, the Trump administration is exploring real policy options to deal with the reality of global warming. It's the option they want to employ that scares the hell out of me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<header>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h1 class="entry-title">
Team Trump Ponders Climate ‘Engineering’</h1>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="published" datetime="2017-04-05">April 5, 2017</time></div>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="published" datetime="2017-04-05"> </time> </div>
</blockquote>
</header><blockquote>
<div class="horizontal-w-c-circular s-share-w-c" id="s-share-buttons">
<div class="pinit-btn-div">
<span class="PIN_1496944316989_button_pin PIN_1496944316989_red" data-pin-href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" data-pin-log="button_pinit_bookmarklet"></span></div>
</div>
<strong>Exclusive:</strong>
Rather than take prudent steps to reduce the release of global-warming
gases, some Trump advisers are pondering risky gambles to re-engineer
the Earth’s climate, as Jonathan Marshall explains.<br />
<br />
<span id="more-23153"></span><br />
By Jonathan Marshall<br />
<br />
While President Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/28/climate/trumps-executive-order-pushes-the-us-climate-pledge-further-out-of-reach.html">floors the accelerator</a>
to speed up global warming through executive orders and appointments of
notorious climate deniers to his administration, more and more
scientists are pinning their hopes on <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/climate-scientists-its-time-for-plan-b-1221092.html">“Plan B”:</a> planetary-wide interventions to engineer ways to avoid global climate disruption. But <a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/issues/climate-geoengineering">critics warn</a> that such a prescription, however alluring, may be as bad as the disease.<br />
<br />
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_22789" style="width: 310px;">
<a class="image-anchor" href="https://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Screen-Shot-2017-03-01-at-5.36.57-PM.png"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-22789" data-lazy-loaded="true" height="222" src="https://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Screen-Shot-2017-03-01-at-5.36.57-PM-300x222.png" style="display: inline-block;" width="300" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text">
President Donald Trump giving his weekly address on Feb. 25, 2017. (Screen shot from Whitehouse.gov)</div>
<div class="wp-caption-text">
<br /></div>
</div>
Now, to compound the irony, members of Trump’s inner circle are
touting climate engineering as a cheap way to insure the planet against
harm without any need to change lifestyles or curb the oil and coal
industries. They resemble compulsive eaters who count on frequent
liposuction rather than maintaining strict diets to keep their body fat
in check and stay healthy.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://library.wmo.int/opac/doc_num.php?explnum_id=3414">Evidence</a>
of climate disruption is all around us, including record-high
temperatures, record-low sea ice, the die-off of major coral reefs,
acidification of the oceans, drought-induced famines, and more extreme
storm damage.<br />
<br />
At the same time, climate scientists <a href="http://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/media/uploads/files/1/climate-change--a-risk-assessment-v9-spreads.pdf">warn</a>
that barring breakthroughs in energy technology and adoption of cleaner
transportation, industrial and agricultural processes, the world faces
severe risks of economic and social disruption over the next half
century from potentially irreversible warming.<br />
<br />
Such considerations helped motivate more than 100 scientists and policy makers to <a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/content/trump-administration-inflates-geoengineers-balloon">meet in Washington</a>,
D.C., late last month to discuss some largely untested ways to prevent
runaway warming by limiting the Earth’s absorption of solar radiation.
These measures could include using aircraft to release tiny particles
into the upper atmosphere to reflect sunlight, or using fleets of boats
to spray the air with saline mist to promote the formation of reflective
clouds.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/content/trump-administration-geoengineering-administration">Several prominent Trump supporters are big boosters of such climate engineering</a>.
For example, Newt Gingrich, the President’s close adviser and former
House Speaker, gushed that it “holds forth the promise of addressing
global warming concerns for just a few billion dollars a year. Instead
of penalizing ordinary Americans, we would have an option to address
global warming by rewarding scientific innovation.”<br />
<br />
And Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told investors in 2015, when he
was still CEO of Exxon Mobil, “Our plan B has always been grounded in
our beliefs around the continued evolution of technology and engineered
solutions to address and react to whatever the climate system and its
outcomes present to us.”<br />
<br />
more...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2017/04/05/team-trump-ponders-climate-engineering/">https://consortiumnews.com/2017/04/05/team-trump-ponders-climate-engineering/</a></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
The article goes on to detail the possible problems associated with geoengineering, including regional famine and floods under some proposals or the depletion of the Earth's ozone layer under others. None of these problems were news to me because Naomi Klein had already addressed them and many others in <i>This Changes Everything</i>. From page 259:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"The cons are that, depending on which sun-blocking method is used
and how intensively, a permanent haze could appear over the earth,
potentially making clear blue skies a thing of the past.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span>
The haze could prevent astronomers from seeing the stars and planets
clearly and weaker sunlight could reduce the capacity of solar power
generators to produce energy (irony alert).</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">But the
biggest problem with the Pinatubo Option is that it does nothing to
change the underlying cause of climate change, the buildup of
heat-trapping gases, and instead treats only the most obvious symptom -
warmer temperatures. That might help control something like glacial
melt, but would do nothing about the increased atmospheric carbon that
the ocean continues to soak up, causing rapid acidification that is
already taking a heavy toll on hard-shelled marine life from coral to
oysters, and may have cascading impacts through the entire aquatic food
chain."</span><br />
<br />
<br />
And from page 260: <br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"Oh, and another con: once you start spraying material into the
stratosphere to block the sun, it would basically be impossible to stop
because if you did, all the warming that you had artificially suppressed
by putting up that virtual sunshade would hit the planet's surface in
one single tidal wave of heat, with no time for gradual adaptation. Think of the wicked witches of fairy tales, staying young by drinking ill-gotten magical elixirs, only to decay and wither all at once when the supply is abruptly cut off."</span><br />
<br />
<br />
What I appreciated the most to Klein's approach to this matter, beyond just detailing facts and spelling out how geoengineering would effect us on a physical level, was that she also explored historically and philosophically why this approach to dealing with global warming is so wrong. Attending a conference on geoengineering in 2011 being held in the Buckinghamshire countryside about an hour and a half northwest of London at an estate called Chicheley Hall (which was once a set in a BBC production of <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>), Klein gained a unique perspective. From page 266 and 267:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">This is the strange paradox of geoengineering. Yes, it is exponentially more ambitious and more dangerous than any engineering project humans have ever attempted before. But it is also very familiar, nearly a cliché, as if the past five hundred years of human history have been leading us, ineluctably, to precisely this place. Unlike cutting our emissions in line with scientific consensus, succumbing to the logic of geoengineering does not require any change from us; it just requires that we keep doing what we have done for centuries, only much more so.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Wandering the perfectly manicured gardens at Chicheley Hall - through the trees sculpted into lollipops, through the hedges chiseled into daggers - I realize that what scares me most is not the prospect of living on a "designer planet," to use a phrase I heard at an earlier geoengineering conference. My fear is that the real-world results will be nothing like this garden, or even like anything we saw in that technical briefing, but rather something far, far worse. If we respond to a global crisis caused by our pollution with more pollution - by trying to fix the crud in our lower atmosphere by pumping a different kind of crud into the stratosphere - then geoengineering might do something far more dangerous than tame the last vestiges of "wild" nature. It may cause the earth to go wild in ways we cannot imagine, making geoengineering not the final engineering frontier, another triumph to commemorate on the walls of the Royal Society, but the last tragic act in this centuries-long fairy tale of control.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
This is the crossroads that humanity faces. Whether we face it with Trump in charge, or Pence, or whoever, Klein's book is an important guide for navigating the terrain we must pass through to ensure our survival. That's no understatement; barring some fantastic breakthrough that enables humans to travel faster than the speed of light (or clean up Mars with the same speed), this is the only planet we have to survive on. Klein sums it up best on page 279, "We did not create it; it created - and sustains - us. The earth is not
our prisoner, our patient, our machine, or, indeed, our monster. It is
our entire world. And the solution to global warming is not to fix the
world, it is to fix ourselves."<br />
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-31882607198483567682017-04-10T22:31:00.000-07:002017-05-04T16:55:47.066-07:00How Standard Oil and GM Stymied Los Angeles Public Transportation<i><u>Editorial note from Robert Paulsen</u>: This post is a synthesis of two earlier posts, <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2010/02/los-angeles-and-great-interstate.html">Los Angeles and the Great Interstate Highway Conspiracy</a> and <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2012/09/los-angeles-and-great-interstate.html">Los Angeles and the Great Interstate Highway Conspiracy Part Two</a>, for the purposes of creating a vlog pertaining to the subject. Below is a link to the video and the transcript.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dYSTwnZyd-o/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dYSTwnZyd-o?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
This is the Seattle Center Monorail, built for the Seattle World's Fair in 1962 and still operating today. I've always wondered why this form of mass transit never caught on in Los Angeles where I'm from. The truth is the Alweg Monorail Company, responsible for the Seattle and Disneyland's Monorail offered to build this sort of thing for Los Angeles in 1963. What happened?<br />
<br />
In the aftermath of gaining international recognition for their monorail at the 1962
Seattle Century 21 Exposition, the Alweg Monorail Company wanted to establish a major presence in the world of urban rail transit. On <a href="http://www.monorails.org/tmspages/la1963.html">June 4, 1963</a>, the President of the Alweg Rapid Transit
Systems, Sixten Holmquist wrote a letter to the Metropolitan Transit Authority
(MTA) of Los Angeles with an official proposal. It stated, "We are pleased to submit this day a
proposal to finance and construct an Alweg Monorail rapid transit
system 43 miles in length, serving the San Fernando Valley, the Wilshire
corridor, the San Bernardino corridor and downtown Los Angeles." In specifying the financial details, in which the complete system amounted to $105,275,000, the <a href="http://micechat.com/blogs/samland/1850-disneylands-alweg-monorail-walt-disneys-highway-sky.html">proposal</a>, which was also presented to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, stated, "this is a turn-key
proposal in which a group will share risk, finance the construction, and
turn over to MTA a completed and operating system to be repaid from MTA
revenues."<br />
<br />
So why didn't the L.A. County Board of Supervisors approve this proposal? It was opposed by Standard Oil. According to Kim Pedersen, a former Alweg engineer explained that there was initially a lot of excitement for the proposal. But then political pressure from Standard Oil dampened their enthusiasm. According to page 170 of <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=OHSsBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA170&lpg=PA170&dq=standard+oil+alweg+los+angeles&source=bl&ots=Ln8V97h5LJ&sig=nce1JuAVvCIxscXBK-dOpXo_J98&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjWtNflt_rSAhUrrlQKHaBLD_IQ6AEILjAD#v=onepage&q=standard%20oil%20alweg%20los%20angeles&f=false"><i>American Society of Civil Engineers - Los Angeles Section</i></a>, political pressure may also have come from General Motors against the project. Famed author Ray Bradbury rallied against this pressure by stating, "A single transit line will not answer our problems; we must lay plans for a series of transportation systems that would allow us to move freely, once more, within our city. The answer to all this is the monorail." For all his objections, Bradbury was <a href="https://freevenicebeachhead.org/2012/07/01/ray-bradbury-and-the-free-monorail-system-2/">thrown out</a> of the Board of Supervisors meeting. Walt Disney also supported the monorail, but unfortunately their influence was unable to match Standard Oil and GM.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Standard_oil_octopus_loc_color.jpg/320px-Standard_oil_octopus_loc_color.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Standard_oil_octopus_loc_color.jpg/320px-Standard_oil_octopus_loc_color.jpg" /><br />
Standard Oil "Octopus" <i>Image courtesy of <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Standard_oil_octopus_loc_color.jpg/320px-Standard_oil_octopus_loc_color.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i> <br />
<br />
<br />
But this wasn't the first time that Standard Oil and GM stymied public transportation in Los Angeles. Their most infamous collusion is known as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/25/story-cities-los-angeles-great-american-streetcar-scandal">Great American Streetcar Scandal</a>. Between 1938 and 1950, the transit systems in more than 25 cities were bought out by National City Lines (NCL) and replaced by GM buses. Who controlled National City Lines? Well, their list of investors included Firestone Tires, Phillips Petroleum, Mack Truck Company, Standard Oil and, at least since 1946 when American City Lines merged with NCL, General Motors. Despite public opinion polls that, in Los Angeles for example, showed <a href="http://www.emagazine.com/0397feat2_sb1.htm">88 percent</a> of the public favoring expansion of the rail lines after
World War II, NCL systematically shut down its streetcar systems until, by 1955, only a few remained. L.A. had two popular trolley systems; the Pacific Electric "Red Cars" and the Los Angeles Railway "Yellow Cars." While National City Lines owned only the Yellow Cars, because both systems were often used in conjunction by
travelers and cutting service on one line made the other less convenient than automobiles, both systems failed and were dismantled. While General Motors, Standard Oil and Firestone Tires may not have bought the Red Car just to destroy it, like the Judge Doom character played by Christopher Lloyd did in the final act of the 1988 movie <i>Who Framed Roger Rabbit?</i>, the result was identical.<br />
<br />
They didn't go down without a fight, however. On <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_American_streetcar_scandal">April 9, 1947</a>, nine corporations and seven individuals (comprising
officers and directors of certain of the corporate defendants) were
indicted in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Southern_District_of_California" title="United States District Court for the Southern District of California">United States District Court for the Southern District of California</a> on two counts under the U.S. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Antitrust_Act" title="Sherman Antitrust Act">Sherman Antitrust Act</a>.
The charges were conspiracy to acquire control of a number
of transit companies to form a transportation monopoly, and conspiring
to monopolize sales of buses and supplies to companies owned by the City
Lines. In 1948, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed lower court rulings and allowed the venue to be changed from Southern California to Northern Illinois. In 1949, the defendants were acquitted on the first count of conspiring
to monopolize transportation services, but they were found guilty on the
second count of conspiring to monopolize the provision of parts and
supplies to their subsidiary companies. What was their penalty for this criminal conspiracy? The companies were each fined
$5,000, and the directors were each fined one dollar! Amazingly, they had the audacity to appeal this slap on the wrist, but the verdicts were
upheld in 1951.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Pacific-Electric-Red-Cars-Awaiting-Destruction.jpg" class="shrinkToFit" height="631" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Pacific-Electric-Red-Cars-Awaiting-Destruction.jpg" width="1009" /> Pacific Electric "Red Cars" lined up for destruction <i>Image courtesy of <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Pacific-Electric-Red-Cars-Awaiting-Destruction.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i><br />
<br />
Destroying the trolley system and replacing it with buses was only the
first step. In order for private cars to become the dominant American
transportation, they needed new roads to drive on. GM helped create the National Highway Users Conference, which became a powerful DC lobby group for interstate highways. When GM President Charles Wilson became Secretary of Defense in 1953, he used his position to claim that a new road system was vital to U.S.
security needs. Backing him up in this regard was Federal Highway
Administrator Francis DuPont, whose family was then the largest GM
shareholder. In 1956, Congress approved a bill introduced by Senator Albert Gore, Sr., the $25 billion
Federal-Aid Highway Act. Secretary of Commerce Sinclair Weeks
<a href="http://www.bilderberg.org/socal.htm">called</a> it, "the greatest public works program in
the history of the world." That may or may not be true, but in Los Angeles, we call it "gridlock."<br />
<br />
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-89675856090820652582017-02-28T17:07:00.000-08:002017-03-01T00:31:51.094-08:00Breaking Butterflies: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the Paranoia of J. Edgar HooverThere is no doubt that later this summer, all forms of media print, TV, radio etc., will be awash with the memory, however hazy, of the 50th anniversary of the similarly media-driven Summer of Love. Never mind that if you ask the residents of the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Summer-of-Love-40-Years-Later-1967-The-stuff-2593252.php">epicenter</a> of this event, the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, a great many of them will tell you that the <i>real</i> Summer of Love was 1965 and 1966, before Flower Children culture was appropriated and commercialized for consumption by mainstream America to become those dreaded dirty hippies. The media got their kill for the establishment, and they won't pass up the opportunity to bask in the fifty year old glow of that victory when the chill of winter subsides.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pRfG7swy5IU/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pRfG7swy5IU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
But there is a different 50th anniversary I want to talk about. Like the Summer of Love, this is filled with just as much drugs, sex and phenomenal rock music, but with enough paranoia, treachery and overkill in this drama to describe the event as a Winter of Discontent. That would be the arrest and trial of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones for drug possession that began in February of 1967. Part of what initiated this incident was the response of Mick Jagger to a <i>News of the World</i> story from February 5 that reported him consuming Benzedrine and sharing hash at Blaises, a London club. Jagger was not even at the club when News of the World visited it (according to page 223 of <i>Mick Jagger</i> by Philip Norman, the Rolling Stone they most likely interviewed was Brian Jones), so he denounced the story as lies on a TV show broadcast that evening, then had a writ for libel served to the offending paper. Mick and Keith decided to spend the following weekend with some friends at Keith's recently purchased cottage in the Sussex countryside to escape the London spotlight. That might sound like a smart move, except for the fact that one of the "friends" they brought with them was a drug dealer with an attaché case full of LSD.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/33/38720224_dc362c081b.jpg" /><br />
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards <i>Photo courtesy of <a href="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/33/38720224_dc362c081b.jpg">Flickr</a></i><br />
<br />
<br />
The weekend began the evening of <a href="https://www.beatlesbible.com/1967/02/10/recording-a-day-in-the-life-4/2/">Friday, February 10</a>, at Abbey Road studios where Mick Jagger, his girlfriend Marianne Faithfull and Keith Richards attended the Beatles recording the orchestral parts of the track "A Day in the Life," a Lennon/McCartney song that would be released later that year as the final track on their album <i>Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band</i>. The taping lasted until early Saturday morning, after which Keith and his guests for the weekend drove in convoy fifty miles away to his West Sussex cottage called Redlands. After arriving, some enjoyed tripping on "Sunshine," a California-made variety of acid known to provide a more relaxing and tranquil trip than usual. On Sunday morning, they enjoyed genuine sunshine with a brisk country walk through the woods. When they returned they found two surprise guests, George Harrison and his wife, Pattie. They left soon after though, as George found the atmosphere too low-key for him.<br />
<br />
How ironic that at that time, around 5pm, a call was made to the West Sussex Regional Police Headquarters that a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2210932/How-MI5-plotted-destroy-The-Stones-The-astonishing-truth-drug-raid-saw-Jagger-jailed--gave-Marianne-Faithful-lifelong-notoriety.html">"riotous party"</a> was going on at Redlands, including drug use. The eighteen raiding police officers were surprised to find a rather mellow gathering settling down to watch a film on television. They then searched each individual guest methodically for drugs. Mick Jagger had four white amphetamine tablets in his jacket pocket confiscated. Another guest, Robert Fraser, had confiscated what he told the police were insulin tablets, but were later tested to be heroin. They also confiscated marijuana from a guest named David Snyderman, known as Acid King David. Before leaving, they formally cautioned Keith Richards that if any of the items they confiscated proved to be illegal, he would face prosecution for letting them be used in his home.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Stones_ad_1965-2.jpg" /><br />
The Rolling Stones <i>Photo courtesy of <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Stones_ad_1965-2.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></i><br />
<br />
There are a couple of myths associated with this infamous drug bust, likely perpetrated by the equally infamous <i>News of the World</i>. One is that the police busted an orgy in progress. This is false, spread mostly by innuendo surrounding the fact that <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2257293/Marianne-Faithfull-STILL-pines-Rolling-Stones-Mick-Jagger-sexually-humiliated-40-years-ago.html">Marianne Faithfull</a>, after showering from the long country walk that afternoon, had wrapped herself in a fur rug from a bed that she was wearing when the police arrived. When approached by a policewoman to be searched, she let the rug fall and shouted theatrically, "Search me!" This made Mick Jagger beside himself with laughter. The other related rumor is that Mick was discovered licking a Mars bar inserted into Marianne's holiest of holies. A salacious rumor at the time, but one without a shred of evidence, aside from Keith admitting he probably had Mars bars in his home for guests with the munchies.<br />
<br />
When the confiscated items were confirmed as illegal, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards received court summonses alleging offenses against the Dangerous Drugs Act on <a href="http://thehistoryofrockmusic.com/1967/02/12/police-raid-keith-richards-redlands-home-in-sussex-for-drugs/">March 20, 1967</a>. Along with their art dealer friend Robert Fraser, they plead not guilty at a preliminary hearing on May 10. The trial lasted three days. The first day, June 27, the sole witness for the defense, Dr. Raymond Dixon Firth, stated he gave Mick verbal permission to take the amphetamine tablets and in his view, it was a legitimate prescription. The judge, Leslie Block, who told fellow Sussex landowners in a speech a few months later that, "We did our best, your countrymen, my fellow magistrates and I, to cut these Stones down to size," instructed the jury not to regard his words as a prescription. While they found him guilty in six minutes, Block deferred the sentence until after the trials of Robert Fraser and Keith Richards. Then Fraser changed his plea to guilty in the hope of reducing his sentence. Keith's trial took place over the next two days. Judge Block then amplified the circus environment of the trial by allowing lurid details of the behavior of Marianne Faithfull (not so convincingly camouflaged as "Miss X") to be presented, then in summing-up instructed the jury to disregard it and pretend they never heard it. They retired for an hour, then pronounced Keith guilty. The judge sentenced Fraser to six months, Mick to three months and Keith to one year in prison.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://e.snmc.io/lk/f/a/c60501dab7d181651425a950bd35e78e/3659227.jpg" src="http://e.snmc.io/lk/f/a/c60501dab7d181651425a950bd35e78e/3659227.jpg" /><br />
Marianne Faithfull <i>Photo courtesy of <a href="http://e.snmc.io/lk/f/a/c60501dab7d181651425a950bd35e78e/3659227.jpg">Rate Your Music</a></i><a href="http://e.snmc.io/lk/f/a/c60501dab7d181651425a950bd35e78e/3659227.jpg"> </a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The reaction to this obvious attempt to make an example of the Stones as a scapegoat for generation gap disdain was outrage. The severity of the sentences for crimes which an ordinary first time offender might be expected to pay only a modest fine upset many fellow Brits sense of fair play. This sense not only occurred among the Rolling Stones contemporaries such as the Who, who released cover versions of two Jagger-Richard songs, "The Last Time" and "Under My Thumb," as a protest during the trial with all proceeds going to charity, but also among older establishment voices. On June 30, an appeals process began where with a 7,000 pound per person bail, Mick and Keith were released provided they surrendered their passports and agree not to leave the country before their full appeal was heard.<br />
<br />
The next day, July 1, William Rees-Mogg, the editor of The Times, wrote a scathing indictment of the trial titled, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_breaks_a_butterfly_upon_a_wheel%3F">"Who Breaks a Butterfly on a Wheel?"</a> The meaning of the phrase, originally coined by satirist Alexander Pope in 1735, is that subjecting a defenseless target to a brutal attack is as pointless as strapping a butterfly to a medieval torture rack. The butterfly in this case was Jagger and Rees-Mogg made such an articulate case for why his treatment was an injustice that it helped accelerate the appeals process with Lord Chief Justice Parker intervening to hear Mick and Keith's appeal on July 31. The result was that while Mick's conviction was upheld because the amphetamine found in his pocket, Stenamina, was illegal in England, his sentence was erased. Keith did even better, having both his sentence and his conviction overturned. The appeals court even censured Judge Block for allowing the titillating testimony about Marianne Faithfull to be presented in court when she wasn't even on trial.<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://conspiromedia.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/acid-king-keith.jpg" src="https://conspiromedia.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/acid-king-keith.jpg" /><br />
Keith Richards with Acid King David <i>Photo courtesy of <a href="http://conspiromedia.wordpress.com/">conspiromedia.wordpress.com</a></i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Yet even with this near-full vindication, there was still the nagging question of who tipped off the police in the first place and why. There were only two guests at Redlands who were under suspicion, Nicky Cramer and Acid King David. After <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2257293/Marianne-Faithfull-STILL-pines-Rolling-Stones-Mick-Jagger-sexually-humiliated-40-years-ago.html">"Jagger's pet gangster"</a> David Litvinoff and fellow London thug John Bindon declared Cramer innocent (after beating him to a pulp) that left the possible pool of informants at one with Acid King David, who fled England the day after the bust. At the time, the party thought to have the greatest motive to see the Stones busted was the <i>News of the World</i> after Jagger had sued them for libel, which Keith had suggested in court that they used Acid King David as an agent provocateur. But according to the real Acid King David, who dropped the last name Snyderman upon returning to the USA and was known as <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1323236/The-Acid-King-confesses-Rolling-Stones-drug-bust-set-MI5-FBI.html">David Jove</a> until he died in 2004, his real employer was much higher up the food chain. As told in pages 264-265 of <i>Mick Jagger</i> by Philip Norman:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">In fact, at Redlands just before the raid, he had come close to giving himself away when - his guard possibly lowered by drugs - he'd started talking enigmatically to Michael Cooper about spying and espionage, "the James Bond thing ... the whole CIA bit." Three decades later in L.A., he confessed to Maggie Abbott that he'd been recruited by MI5 on behalf of America's Federal Bureau of Investigation, specifically an offshoot known as COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) set up by the FBI's director, J. Edgar Hoover, in the 1920s, to protect national security and maintain the existing social and political order. For almost forty years, COINTELPRO operated against so-called subversive elements, from Communists and socialists and Soviet spies to the civil rights movement, black radicals, the campaign against the Vietnam War, and feminists, unhindered by any normal restraints of democracy or morality. Its methods, for which it would finally be wound up by a horrified Senate investigation in 1971, included illegal surveillance, black propaganda, burglary, forgery, conspiracy, and harassment.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">By 1967, COINTELPRO had switched its focus to the subversive effects of rock music on America's young, particularly the kind coming from Britain, most particularly the kind played by the Rolling Stones. Getting two Stones busted for drug possession would ensure they were denied visas for any further U.S. tours in the foreseeable future. Britain's security services had been more than happy to assist in the thwarting of these public menaces. And once they were nailed - so Snyderman had been led to understand - the next ones on the hit list would be the Beatles.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
On page 435, Norman quotes a former FBI operative saying, "J. Edgar Hoover hated Jagger probably more than any other pop-cultural figure of his generation." There certainly are numerous incidents throughout history where Hoover's legendary paranoia drove him to great lengths to nail the perceived offender of his own warped sense of justice. But what happened fifty years ago certainly qualifies as one of the most colorful and bizarre examples.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-21273087899563376662017-01-19T17:45:00.000-08:002017-01-19T17:45:06.689-08:00Countdown to Trumpstag: Entering the Endgame, Swelling the Shock Doctrine<i>"With the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which have become costly guerilla conflicts, and with the exposure of the Bush administration's deceptions about 9/11 and the threats posed by Saddam Hussein, we have seen the seeds for new conflicts being planted in West Africa, Venezuela, and Columbia, as well as in the Far East, Indonesia and Korea. In each of these places, there are reserves of oil and gas or strategic transit routes that can help to meet supply needs for whoever controls them.</i><br />
<br />
<i><b>The Endgame for all this struggle is China</b>, whose oil imports were recently predicted by the Japan Times to increase by 500% before the year 2030."</i><br />
<br />
-Michael C. Ruppert from <i>The Truth and Lies of 9-11</i> Introduction filmed in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU7QNVn5Jo8">2004</a> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The interregnum of infamy is coming to a close. With the presidential election of 2016 now <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2016/11/addendum-to-rutherfraud-2016-stolen.html">officially stolen</a>, there have been numerous pieces written about the numerous ways this transition clearly delineates the end of Obamanation and the start of Abomination. Pieces about the repeal of Obamacare, the building of "The Wall" and mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. Pieces about the ban on Muslim immigration to the US and registry for Muslims in the US. Pieces about domestic policy that try to demonize Trump as something 'other' than a conservative Republican, as the ill-fated Clinton campaign tried to do, but which inevitably, from my perspective, illustrate him as just the inevitable hypocritical Tea Party poster child for government mismanagement at the highest level in the name of a political temper tantrum summed up in a two word mantra: <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/120814/2015-tea-party-state-union-response-shows-failed-strategy">"no compromise."</a><br />
<br />
<img alt="https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1602/24015138254_35c5fd21f6_b.jpg" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1602/24015138254_35c5fd21f6_b.jpg" /><br />
Donald J. Trump Photo credit: <a href="https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1602/24015138254_35c5fd21f6_b.jpg"><i>Flickr</i></a><br />
<br />
<br />
This is not going to be one of those pieces. My focus will be on foreign policy. Sure, there's plenty of columns out there on Trump's foreign policy, covering the upcoming 'tearing up' of the Iran nuclear deal, making nice with Russia and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-bomb-isis-2015-11">"bomb the shit out of ISIS."</a> But not many cover the situation from the American Judas perspective: documenting the Deep State and other conspiracies through consciousness of the Carbon Crisis. I've already presented a <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2016/06/orlando-terror-operation-gladio-plan-c.html">hypothesis</a> prior to the general election that the <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-origins-of-irancontra-from-bay-of.html">overworld</a> might consider President Trump a useful tool to facilitate a transition of Operation Gladio B under NATO control to an Operation Gladio C that decentralizes NATO responsibility (as recently as January 15 he called them <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-nato-obsolete-idUSKBN14Z0YO?il=0">"obsolete"</a>)and privatizes wherever possible to obscure accountability. Anyone familiar with history knows that wherever Operation Gladio goes, false flag attacks follow. And there have certainly been no shortage of columns exploring the possibility of a 'Reichstag fire' event during Trump's time in office. Where I hope to be different in my exploration of a 'Trumpstag' event requires revisiting an old subject the overworld pimping privatization would prefer we all forget about: Peak Oil.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" src="data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQEAZABkAAD/2wBDAAUDBAQEAwUEBAQFBQUGBwwIBwcHBw8LCwkMEQ8SEhEPERETFhwXExQaFRERGCEYGh0dHx8fExciJCIeJBweHx7/2wBDAQUFBQcGBw4ICA4eFBEUHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh7/wAARCADwAPADAREAAhEBAxEB/8QAHAAAAwEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAAABAUGAwcCAQAI/8QARxAAAQIEBAIGBQkGBAYDAAAAAQIDAAQFEQYSITFBUQcTIjJhcRQ1coGxFSMzNEJSkaHBJCU2YnPRCILw8RYmQ1OS4YOywv/EABoBAAIDAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQFAQIDAAb/xAAyEQACAQMDBAEFAAEDAwUAAAAAAQIDBBEhMTIFEjNBIhMjNFFxYRRCgSRywQZSkdHw/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwD+gaULuCF1ivmF3HEPrybUZyHPUfxpCuz85JAdkR4/0j0TNmYsiGOKYm6hDWxXyAq/ENrSLUlZhzf/AIshXb+dEu2OyI8f+j0c+QQ2I5blQ6QHzogu0X3DKtxNq8n5gGHPVV/0cQC08shIgbR5p7jVhDQiHsQ9g6STd0QXQ8iMqvE94gTZtEN+rxxbRYFZc5f0UJEedb1GbCmRpGkNyj3G1PTdMNunr5AlxsDVtFkJ84J68tIGPTHoxegax5xexmFNi4EWS1OQ0p6dIedOX3QG72AK0nK4kR3X/LAp0zxgiN/fCH2MEFMbiNI7oiQwZTdlUPelr7wvu9mLqiPn/wDKIC6yv+pZpYeMzbGkKo7BhujSLw5Iq90GNJvLw/6Wvmxdf8WKZkftCvbhJfL7z/7g+lxX8D6QntCG1gvkD3HEZYjRahqPMw1vtaEk/wBC6zX3kRib6DhaPIf7Ux/nLZvLi8WRVsd0hPahxYr5AVw/iMK8i1FWrxhpfPNCov0LbbWsiQQNLCPIReYpnopcghvhHbEB8gD1wEH2q+aMK7+ITXxaSSeOa0OerrFqkAWbbrSQiAGawjy73G73N2gNNbeMdhEPYYyCbPpBsL7W1vBlrDunlmNVpI0xKgolUrVprbUgW/Ew46unKhGIDYSTqSz+2TjU5Iqe6lM/JqWN0h3WPNqONxrhsZMjQHUDmRpF4vDKuLHVNAUOyCbfZTqfzh1YY+olgDuU0twbECQltu5sSdhrGvXn8IsH6XrkVtjje8ecejGoW1sDGkVqQ3gaU0EjWHvTFmXcAXjwgLEAIfbHPeM+vbwZXpbzAASNffCL2MgthO0aw3RSTGksn9nUY9B0uP3Mi69bS0FVUTaZHswB1tYuVj2a9Pf2zNAhOmGmyRGsOSIe6GDKf2ePRdIWZi2//QmmxabcHJekI77zy/7g2g80oP8AYxpAsoQ26fFuWDC4eg1xMi2Hr8zeDrx5pTQDbLtqxbIgAER5T/akPcYbNpdPatFo7lGP6QnUQ8sV8sgVy/iMsRJth4njeDb15p1QC2j91MikDQR5KKxFHoJ8ghvhEvYhjGmj55MMLXnEHrv4hOI02kgORufCHPWPxsgFl5pf0n2wSrQEk7DjHlc65HDWoqxJi+gYaFqhOpXMgXEszZbh8LbfiYulk5Jt4RBznSNi2tLCMOSyaZLKF87aM7lv5r2APkTF/rOnsa/RUlhi2cwziCtK63EWIZx1Z1DbzyiBfkBcCL1bmrVik2dStqUHlGEngqRZd7FYcQtP2A1r+MDamrivRZ0N+uUSW6piqCbQruh9IJT5HWO7nHVFXTUtGau9JOKaC8PTqTKVCVP3VZFfCD7bqX0p90kC1rKNTYb0/pSwtiJ9mSC36ROkdlqbRlCjyChcfjBPVLundQShnT9gdnazt89xSI1y2AObUW1vCd6sMyFMWVoDeNIPU6S0G9MGkP8Apiw8i++egHiRNphoe+MOuPKgV6XpAWoHxhH7GYZL6bxtDczlqNpQXY849F0zl3C2+eUKazYTVv5YXdbWbiJt07gYoG3lCaOocbt/GNYL5IhjKXTdi0el6VpJsV37Ek6LTzp4E3/CEPUPjcST9MOtnmjTGVHFyPKHHTvIzC42HGKk2w2IJuX9uYHS5w/pAt8I8t6Q9e7CZcduLR3M2UFHHaEPbHcBuOI1xKkf8OHzgm6fwq//AL9AltyiQqdgI8tHZD2fI3bGojmVYypg+eTDC05xB6/EJxSkfJ6CVJBvcBw2T4kngPOG/V3m2aALHzS/pwvFmOqlWpx+k4LcLEu0rq5iqZSVlX3WvDmfKPNd6gkPYw7mxZRsL0eQc6+qOuzc85qoFWZZPNR5RVvJtFIqZKXfQkpSgScqFZS02kZl8ttB5xaKxuaJBLrDyU2YbsBqrOcyvxMTI2VDII60dFLDgCvDT3xmaxoY3CGWW7jLY24i8cyzorB6qNEbnpfqVkqJ53EVwU+iiCxLh70VC0TDTpaBs2sklN/AjURRd3srOEZLGBlgPHU3hqZTI1t9b9JUQnMpWdcvfZQO9v7RtHVAFWl2s7nKqQtpDra0upWkLS4nZaTsY0itQWQ5pQBG8P8ApwvvtgTFSbTbXlAvWuMDuncRW2ISexkwxgfCN6e5RjeTT8yI9F0vYVXopribTnuhd1rzxCOn8AdA2hNAOCEbiNo8kVGkqLtER6TpfsV34inh+3ODzhD1P8qp/Q+18FMZ0cXV74d9P5MFudxzi4WwyseUTc+OZhT8kCAGw8hHmlsh0+TN5YaxdFGUVETdYh/Y7AFzsNsVi2GXB/reLXfjqGFH/aQTQ0jzUeKHMtwlu9tN4tnGpVjOloKpgJTpY2tB/T39zLBq+scEF0k157FlZfwpTVKaocgCKvOJOXrVf9pKuA8fGDOp3KknGO5Xp9r2y7mc1qlWlZJxul0tAYYaBab6hGv/AJDjzPGEcYNajaOW2h5hqjzE44y8llaXcqQSVXPmY0XyeQqFNRR0NmkhptvrdwNYvg0SAqmptN2WxYbREmEQjgVuaDIntXjBsIWp9ZSpCkgCw4nlEJlsZQ0SoXSCM/jElHA/TEvLzCFS7qLhYsUqiGZuJyzpCwauRbVP09suNA2cQeA/QRVPUGq08m3RD0lOUNSaBXkOuUxSrS8wntLliefNJ/SCYsV1KWD+lKKUOtpdaW280tIUladAocx4w+6dsJ734g2Lxabb8oF6vxgW6fwkJka2MI1uMfQYwIJp7mch3Tx2BHpOn8RVebCmvi097oU9Y86Cen8ARHAwoiGsIa3jeJDHEgm7RPhHpOmcRT1Dcnqh9deEIeoflVP6MbXwUxpQ+8nzh10/kwW645HWMv4dc90dceOZlSX3IHPuA8o84l8UOPbN5Yaxenq9SjKSiCy0+cehsEtRfcPXA3xeP+W3fdEXPjl/kxp6Sic/Z2/1yjza2HMtwpCbpIAuSNBEkGOIJ2ekqM8qloLk+/ZiWsLkKVpm90GU24rKM3CLlqctx5Ms0ClS2FafaYfa+cn1JUSHXjuVEa6coxnycvbCqa2Xon8H4dXNTZqU4rrLLs2Emyb8dBGUpyaGFGCTyzvGHqN8l0dC8oLrlibjW3KCo0e2CZT60ZzaXo81VSwnL3VWuYo9DeGpGzbxC13Ot4FnJhcUYg6kjjGOWapJBEuLNWte+8SmXQZLLsMoTGiZDYa00ty5ULnnaK5KPB9clEuoLToCgsFIBFx5HnFXuZzSaOPdImBhT1mq0wqTLKVZxtNz1ZP6eEXjUaYBVp5R0DoJxRUJKZlqDVFIekphQRLv5rllz7h8P7Q56bcONT6cmIOo0c08rc6xjNKROtJvfcHwierN9sDCw3mvQjaAsBvbS8JluMPQcyBYQRT3KSHlNSCkacY9HZ6Q0FV4KMRC1QI8IUdY8sGE2HACRvCrZhwS2BG8NyGhzT/oT5R6Xp6xEU3mr1J2pgCoOi0ef6j+TU/ofaa0F/hDWhpu4kX4w7sPcga61XaN8Z/w857o648cylFZmn+jn6f0jzq4IbIJlRrF6K1KMpKIntI849DYaZF1xuNcYC2HXvd8RFa+tNmcOSOftDSPOLYcS3CUEpTmSdQNI4qCLqErJVqZefeDTNNpypgKULhKjfX8oLp8TksvJxKXferU885LNKbllOEh1Wq3iftHwjKezYZDRpHVMAYdVNSKZgs9VKskAKAPbVxMdSoymu4JlWjD4nUFvBVNQ080g5BZBSLH3wydRSgljYVxhKFbOdyLxG/l7aNLDcwvqSTeBzb6kY6oOlSgL5jfygWUchqMy6ACAIz7MGq1NpR1Sla6ecRgs9htJqQTbMm48YlPBm2OpNIW2CbCLYMWz68gJum4ta8UloRnIDUJRqcYcadQMjqcqh+vnFMkPGMEBSKauSqL8upstFlzOlaeNjofONadRwl3+xXc01KPazstTqAqlNp0+oAOPs9sD7wtDjqku6nTkvYltIunOaYIncbQoW4b6DWNQBBNNZZSQ/pQuE+Yj0dppAV3ayJsTaVNQ8IUdY8kAix8bf6AEDWFe7DgpqNoaMhjumpu0Y9LY6RFV0sywTdU9Zu+do8/1L8if9DrN/YT/wCBvQh86nzh5YcAa43GuM/4ec90Rc+OZWhyOfo224R52PFDRbBMqNY0o7lWU1EHaR5x6Cx9sW3G40xj/Dr3+X4iK1/HIpDkjnzY7Ijza2HEtwprhElWQ3SS8p9+dpIzJamJZpt8oHaCcy735aGCNVE0pn7AWGRK0ZuoutKmJl8luXQE9lCdO0YiEPi2zdTy0v0dhw8zLyeHWqeiwcSjOocLwypNKlgAqwk63d6BJh4syzgUQM6Sdf0jCVTCaGEIqcos5pW5p5yYWypXZSTC6cvkNKUcChaikdpR8ork3Rl1v2QlIvreIZogpt1QTbshXC8ZtFhhIuOG1ki/HsxGGQxvLPvJSAEJtfnFjBoPSSsHMkAkcIrIg/FICQCdIz9lRHOsy6Ki9MKuSsZbHnFwGstRphSYcmMOthZBDD7jd+VjDCtNztqLYpUUqsxs2NrwGt2aPYNl4KpbmcigpI0T5iPRW3AWXW4mxQP3qq/KFHV39yARY+GQvTuIVrcNYU0NY2juVY9pQ+bj0tnpAWXPNEzVB+9HPajz/UvyJr/KDLP8aP8ARzQB2x5w+sOAPcbjLGf8Pue0mM7nxzK0ORAp4R52PFDX0ES3fjSkUZUUMao849FZeMXV9xjjD+H3v8vxEZXHimVpc0c/b7ojzvsavkEt+MSc9jn0hK1Oof4iJuWdcSKey2HC2oaLQRb9DBlPWJyfbE6XMLp8ilqXzoW+m4DSNMvhEySSRNFtsNpXpbj5fmQW20oyhMXi2tzaeNkJcTToSkdUoqCTa0Y1ZahtvT7URU8oLcLigRn1gWYbEE7Lgihsj8hoZuG8cXCAyVBV0g8rRDJW4RLnJsg6+MciJDaRupFjHFGhlL6JsYrIzkj0k8yALxnPYjBOYnUvMhaXQnMq+0WiB1dytkaail4bpzSRdcwlTznmqxhtdw+nb0kIoT76k2aJGx5iFy3Zu3lBsuNYJp7lHsUNJGifMR6O34CuvuJsUj96K8oS9X8sAqz8TFyN4XewwJZF42p7kFBSB2Y9HbcBXc80TFU9ZuCEHUfzJf8AAZZ/jR/o3oPfR5w9seAPX3GeNPUDntCM7jxzIockQI2THno8UNAmV78aUijKehDtJEehs+AtuNxjjD+H3vNPxEUuPHIrS5ogG7ZB5x5xbDZ8ghoC40v5RJz2FUhJqb6YpOpKSFtvUsodyJ1BSVEa8d4Ot8LczlLMcIqa12Z5sjq7rVfsxepFN6GtHMVqOJhOSSSAAFWsSg3EbTgnFYKwk+9tiBNKlpyZKRlKE6qUNifGMI0lLcPddwRD4nyNTCmGUpAQbZgYBrNQkMqGse5k64txspI7p4iMk09QhYMVTmlnAQb6H3xbQvjIWxUmyctxqdPKK6GihhZNlTLaXNV7a2vE6FWhtT6g1kulQ8yYgrJI0dr8jLX6ydaSr7pVFJSSMGF06uU+faHocy2twHVJOpMU7k9MFW8GdbZRMdQgqsEnUkXFvGLxiBXDS2LjELYYl6c0jXLLgA87AQ56rxgjz1nrKeRcjhffjCpbhnoOlxoIIp7lGUNHA0uI9FQ0gK6+4kxT61PlCfq/OAXZ+Ji9IF4W+wsIa3Fo2hyRVlDRtQI9Hb8BXcckStT9aue3aEPUPy5/8B1l+NH+jqgC7jcPLPSALWeoxxr6hcH8wjK50pSZ1HkQI4eEIEsJIaBMoNbxeluUZU0EdoR6K0X2xbX3D8YeoHvNPxEZXL+1JkUuaIBvux51foavkEN247cYlbkpgmJ3qXTzT5+ZqKmqmzdUs02uwLfEHntB0e1R7s6hFpaTrtvGEiholHkq1LNVwT8yh3KMuvYTbhlgmjT74d+QS5qOlU7EgqszKpWVK0ha0r1SpIvm8LcI6pxNaCy3kl3cQNS8m+zLOBc00QpaEbpBvvAne8PAYoxbTZy3FMzUp6oKLk+5LtrTnKUm2h8ecBTg28sOprKIyry8xL6MPzaijtLvMHW/LSKqJp9KX7APlyZlX0szMw6BzV2rXi/Y3sTlwWWH0qrhU4EzE2lCUC977g7GKumzalWUkOcU1NtFFampJ0pXmsc4y3HOKYb0RpUqqCyyQVWqjNFKVzam0/cQbkxZpL2DJyqFJh6iyTriZmoKK9QQFu3tEKDks4OVOTOgycrT2G23pWXbKb2VbQ/7xRwKzhjQ94nmpqjy0k+9Iz1SE3MpEhLSiPnL31bUL7ba/lBNCHdNQ/Yquai7ZP8AR1jFpJMm6lpbaOrBCCNU+EMeq8YCazfykv2KUgXzA3ubwqW4YmGy52gmkvkVloiio2to9DR4Cus/kI8VetlDwhP1d/cgFWmlKQAjWFq3DAhoaiNYckVexQ0YdkR6S34CuvrIl6om1UePJcIOoPF1MOsvx4/0c4f+lbh7acAWvo9Rhja3yE57Y/WMrrwyOo8yAEIW9hoFSkXpblJFTQe+kcTHorTxi2tuHYw9QveafiIwufDMikvmiBb2jzw1lyCW9LEWFuJiVuQ9iJxdh5Naxy7MTJV1EjT+tAJsLkqsPfaNVBtZPUWdyodPjFL5SehU9FFTWaZMUV82ebczspCvsnh+UGWtZODimKep2qU/qLYq6wnPT8ufRINsvhxMaVOAJQ54OD4iluurTc4sOde24FKUlZQFAX35wqc2mNZUEvkgbG8ji6flWKxT3GZGluDq23Fm7jixorTlvG8e5rLRWnUi5dqepyyu0bFJqSEM1qZEsDcrDitDxHlyjb6tJLYxqUrty+MtBW/J1lVT6p2YeclwDlLjhuNNb+esZ/Vi9gjsqpYk8lTh+hvCs0Rrq16Bbjq1KzDqiCEgj2opOaxoaUaLUk2dB6QsMjEPR1PykqltEzLuNuN5dAQkglN/ECBoSdN9yQTc0/qw7TkFVoVZaqwlg6pDCSntBZvawjeNWmvQJ9KbWFoNcGYAdcrwmKnOPPypST1XWEqUeFo0lcQawgeNtWjPLkdawfhxylMlTzi5hparqTy5AeIgCWW2xhhY+TOl0pIVW6Ohy6Vtq7GVW5Pjz0hhYxzWiI7uk/p1JLZFNjQftjBAAJBBVfW0FdU4wFNnzYjRcpFxraFS3C0Gy28FUeRWexSUbhHoKXEV1l8hFir1uryhN1fyQC7VfakL24XLcMCWtxG0OSKvYoaN3Y9Hb8BZV5ExVvWcwP54QdR/Kn/A2z/Hj/Rxh8dtHnD2z4gtzyDsb+oV+0P1jG78UjqPIghCB+v4NAmUjWiUZVUD6ZuPRWvjFtXcOxj6he80/EQPX8MyaXNECiPPjSfIKZ1KfOJ2KSeE2TXSRM/JVBqFS2W9LNtBfkpX94Ka7af9PR9KcakYR/8Abn/wTH+GiSqdQxjUcUz76jKolSjq76G97W8d41sopFv/AFI406UKcdztmbrWlBZHaGS3KDJOMsoQ47ZaHOMSYadQ886RdOwAhVWoOLyOLetGawxPNzAbw03Tqg6lUww8VM27oBBvFXUwsFo23z7kR9TnmWm+212rbpTGeQnsJzqUzc0HVtJUn7LeXVSt4rknsKelSipNICknr3LE2OiBuExPcaKOEW1CBLLzLibpWMyhFXuXlsSGJKKmWeIT2VEky7hHZA4gxlky7T9h2oLlCA9LKCEnvosU/hfeIyT2ZLmRdMwgFi4bIsSUgbxbVp4K/TXsZ0p3qa5Sgkk3mEp13guxco14gl1Sj/pa38LfGv1xr2YP6nxgeVs+bEiOEKvYV+wyXGogqjyKy2KSjDQR6ClxFlbcRYp9bK8oS9X8kAu08MgBsbQv9hQS1uI2p7lXsUFG7keht+Asqc0TNW9bTHtQj6h+XL+Btp4I/wBHGHx20w8tOLBbrkG439Qr9sRjdeGRNHkQXKED9fwZhUp3o1o7lJFVQPpEx6K18Ytq7hmMvUT3mn4iB7nwzJpc0QbfdEIH6Gk+QS1wESlkr/RF0kU1ddpUnRiSG3XMqlpGib2tfnBM8tKI56PVjSjOozz0aUp/CuIHcOtOOzMiyQ56UEWSfAjjGlPMKkoml/Whd2sauPk0WU276OXCQbFWlj+caSl2PIBQh3xWSarFbeKl2aUvJcAczGcqndoGxoqDyc1rLE05Mq6/sE3OTlAU1qM6XEVOSCbdp13Lb7xjNk4BpKYl25oy0mkKeAuVK4RyJS1HMg264+RmSkqF7qO5840itSZ6FJQJptM11Lj7abpyk5ozfI6XEyxc8uWpDk0ppM1LtaPItfs37w/1wjLB24PQE0iZQh6XbSCe8OZiyRSUWmUrLaEM2Asoa7xZ7PByYZh9su4jpyRqRMJUPLWCbHzxAL6eLSZc41+tsezBvU+MDy1nzYkb298KluFegyW7wgujyKy2KWjR6ClwFdbcn8UetleUJer+SAba7YAkfpC9bhT3CGdxG9PZlHsUVFAybR6K38SFlTmiXqnrR724QdR/Kn/A208Ef6OsPjto8YfWq+DBLnkFY3P7ic8Fj9YwuvDItQ54IROsIP1/Bl7wFSg1vGtHcqyqw+O2kx6G24CyruF4y9RPeafiIwufDMtS5og2+6IQS9DSfIJaNrE7COT0KrcYyrC3QnIEqcQoLAtyhnQi6kVoRSrfSk4+mA1HEFOk63T6VLqJqLqwmYBFgkeW0XqzhCSjjX2HULec6cpZ+PoNqHaaUgkA5QAPGMqj1NLf/HolVIKHFuLULDTXgYwT1D5PLRBYjmP3k84pzMSdIHnyDqXEla1VS3LqsrKbEm3KIxk1wsCbD6pvqHarYqSu5SOOURGMMrrnQTzmMaoKoUKkCmSToXSuyx5C8ERgt8mFatJSxgIl8TvIX1iFrWCq6QnvQPOCTyiXW0K7BmLKlXpyapk6yzIyymi0kPOdtYI87cYymlHYvRqZ3F1Gn53D1fdo82spyG7V/tpO1jxjlg3bUkdWptS9IQFFSbFIvz90W9Mx7UmP8JvqRiGSebaLpCwnLx84ItHivHAqvo91rPJc41+uMezBvU+MDzdnzYjR+sKk9QpBkt3hBVHfJWWxS0WPQ0taeRZW3EGKB+91eUJuqfKrFBlrsAN6wtTyFPcKZGogiGzKvYo6IOwY9FQ8KFVV4lklaoLVR/wXHn+o/lS/gfbLFGCHeH9Vt+EegteDA7jkEY4NqG5f74/WBrrwyZah5CFTCH0n/gZewuUjWluVkVWH+8mPQ23jFtXcJxlpQnSeafiIwuX9mZNLmiFR3RHn5a4Gk+QQ1a4vtEpaFR3Q/p020N94dWDwgO4S3CcUycimbk5tySYL6nLdalAzDlrGl24wxJotZVqifb3aE/UXimaSFDQK20gCrLLPQU44jkS4gCW1ODLZIGci/GMc65CKbyjkFamOsm3lAbKjCS1GFPSJHV6Zcm3USLKCApQLqgO6BFi7eFqNZiqybLAlmFoRZISEg+HKKSedjJ3EV7J2dYYmXluqKEaXBJ001ju5gNWr3aim/VPJU0Ws5GfKk3Nr2vFdWDKq86lEJpDcyHUISlxICU5k6Ec/zgeKl7CVNviHzU0a71LEysLmmCeoeFgRtpp+sWjlLU2p1sSwy1wXMOBlDat09kZufExPdoFd2ZZWx07o/Sv/AIhkbaqKrk+A3+MG2KzWj/gVdTklaSx7LbGn1yXP8sF9T4wPN2fJsSIhVjULxgLlu8IKo6ZKy2KWjDjHoaPhQsrbiLFHrc+zCbqXmiGWuwuaBtC2IS9wprcRvDZkPYo6H3DHoqHhQqrbktVfWkz7cIOofly/gwtl9qA7w8O2mPQ23jYHX5G2OvUa/bH6wLd+CRNDyEMnh5Qh/wBqGfsLlN41olGVWH++mPRWvjFtXcJxp6gd9pPxEC3XgmTS5ohU90ecIfSGk+QQ3F4lR5Qh8+mG9kB3AXjhWSVlVD7Ll4nqMsUilpzI6puEz1uNwRC+Tyz1dNZgBYrUlxp3gcoBij2LU44OMVZNn3wDoVcIxbGEeJJ1MLlJN17VTi3LqWNMiBt+kWjqYVm8EgmoTE/ND0ZiYdWpRsSjKki+mpEbRgluBwi55D/QcQZbt01xQ1vkcCot2xCVaOSC6dhmuuL6wUh9DoAsVOpFxe8VaibU7JLcpk4Kr3UDWTS+lJW3cqUVHlcG0ZtRCHRh26Cyl0rEklU2najTSxmVmCgoEE+6B6qWNAB0vkdXoEqUOKc01tccoyisoIWiOqdGEvnrK3lDSXZy/wCY/wC0NulQ7n3CHrNRxpdpQ4z+tMezGnU9oCe12EqYV+w1hctuIJp+zOWxTUXux6Ch4ULK+4gxR62Pswm6l54hlrsANd0QuiFPcIa3Ebx2ZV7FJQ/o49Db+FCqtuS1W9azH9SEPUPy5fwY23igPaB30x6G28bALjka459SH+qP1gS78EjS38hCo/8A0fjCL/ahhLcLlfpI1olGVVA7yY9DbeMArbhGNfULntp+Ige68MyKXNEMN4QekNZ8ghuLxKj2h/TIh303ZgVc3x59WlxzUf0jLqf47/pW18iIWtOLYRLzBGndv5QsjsmemtaidPAsxPMqMh1o1zCJk8hUXqczqQQp9RTstN4xkFwYmn5Rp55CVqBQTqIhyeC71C1MSrLQQ2EJAGlkiIjP9lOItfq8zJKIYaSoCNYzJVRx1PUtjCqL3pvbTsYlyNFcSKyg1Wcm0oXOEIB4JG0YSkV7mPqiGpyRUkouW9UkRhnJDeT5Rl/syRa2to7GTFvDydh6MpRUvSw8sWcmDmUOVo9L06HZRyeT6rV77jITjH66x7EDdS4wMLXYSo2EKluFvcLl+EFUystimo3cj0FDwoWV9yfxP61V5Qm6l54htrwAkbDyhdE3Ru1uI2RD2KWh/RmPR0fChZW3JSretpn24QdQ/Kl/BhbeKBQYeF1Jj0FvpDAvueR6x1pQz/VH6wLd+CRrb8yHGhHmfjCL/ahhLcKlfpI1olGVlAAzo8o9DbeMX1tWbY19ROD+ZPxED3XgmTS5oh063jz/AKQ0nyN2o0iUH9DHzyId9N2YFcG2OyeolwmxIVcCM+p5dHtX7ItNJZOfytSka+K1RGFfP01aSVX0uu9v/rAroOMB1Zzw3FCZgmcpc3IOdl9rMnX4wLFrDQyfxkjmdQd9HX6KsFKkEgqPGKOOQuMtMi9Tqb5syfC8Q8m0X7PILrqrBW5jGecls53GMhSpZ5eV9RPkYhNrUv2LBSydCpQShLhWlR5KH9onvI0QeKExLAejvEpPC8UkiFJ+zxMBcqhSVWSN/OKLCRScgrDMuqen2ZZq+V1Yufu+JjSlrLABcVO2DZ3XD6Qm4bT2UgIHKw4x6m1S/wBOeQuPlUbYBjLSbY9m0L+p7QNbXYSp4CFWzDGguX4QTSKS2KajdyPQ0PChZX3EGJh+91DwEJupeeIba8AFvaF0TdBDXeEbIh7FJQu4R4R6Oj4ULK25KVXWqPnmuEHUPy5fwYW3igUGHe8I9BR0p5F9xrI9Y69SEc3R8DA154WjSh5CHTqRbxhCnlJDGW4VK/SRrR3KMrcP99B8I9BbeMX1dzTGp/ca/bSPzED3fgkTRWZoiE6XuQPOEDeiGc3rkIbFhc2A5xeJUfUHV9KeINrQ96eu1PIFcaifpLxBK9Yimysw2p5vN1qkm+TbTzjWvBTjj2Z0cxOTdEGdPSJjKQeUUrnJRqYZB3VkzXt/5CCaVONWLj70JdapSqKa2HFcfckql6ehKc6SA+gHQjnCO7tJW88SR6ejcwuqeYHN+kBpaKmmbkz1stMpztKOmvKBcBEZYWCOdnJoLBcZUniRyi/aRGpNPUb0yfCrXAAjGpDULp1k9wj5VLLpUCEgcbxRw0CFUjgZy+I2VoSpTozDnFOwh1Ij+QxE0pIC3E+RMVaZEpR/YvrVQmZ+cQmXSsNpHAbmKKC9g8pZeg1bq0zhGkSdYQSpxE02X0HW7Z7whlZ2rqQdWOyE3ULiNP7b3P6Jw4+zNMtTTCwpD7YdbtsUnhDm1TVLDPP1n8sAeMiDOMi+yLwu6n/tX6CLXRCZIJsQL6Qpb1yG7hUva4F9eUFUjOS0KajdyPQ0PEkLK+4gxN65V5CE3UvPEOteAC3tC6JsghrvCNkQ9ikoXdPlHo6PhQsq7knUyPlN7+pHn+oSX+qb/wCBhbeOBR4fHaEeipeEX1+R8xz6l/8AmT8DAt54jSh5CHb3EIIjGW4ZK9+NaO5RlXh/vJj0Vt4xfV3Nca+pF/1E/EQNd+CZahzIlGmv+3vhCu7C7RnpjUX1PElIpJKX5pK3P+21raCqdCrLUylUS0JKudKE4GJhFLUmSbUmyljVS76W8IZ0oOEQWa7gKhPF+WusEZxey9SrxvGvcyiWHgla9WXsGdINHxgEpWyy56PNhJ/6C+9f3gRrRq9s0n7Iq0++BS9K1QmqZXUTEjlVIONgocOoWDsIcXFCFzDHtgtrdVLaWV6JA1KWmpJaCMrKjdbZ3YV4R5S7sJW88s9daXlOvDK5CWYmGQS24m99id4E7W9Q36iW+4EtEu4nK2rq1W3juO5zmnsJZyXdStWWaKh4xZSSKNS3PEpIvuqA9KAjnUiV+RcYbpcrLhLrziniOZgWbUtjfEFuytlHetcSGW0oQk6mIo2srhqmga5uI0oOcQPpNynA9QUqyyEiwMevVsqFv2I8fK5lc1vqMDwh00YtwvQZOQZbkp+UZTlaS+my0oFtLwshV7IsLnT7plhKf4hqNXHkIrVImaU4jslTbudPwED3kPrbFrddi1LuiYnw5WkI+TaxKzBOyb5VQsdJwjhhKn3alEwDcHS3hrGtB6kSehS0bue6PQ0eIrr7iDEwPywrTgIT9S88Q+14ALe0LkbI3b3EbRIexS0PuHyj0lHxIWVdySqfrR7+pHnL/wDI/wCRhbeOBSYf74j0tLwC+e58x3b5FFz/ANZPwMCXi+0a0PIQ7diAbDw0vCLZDHTu1CUOIaGZ5xtA9u0awSfozm0HyOMsNU5Xz1TSpdrlLYzX9+kPqEu2GACrHLJPH3S9ILlVylNp7qk5rl98gJT7tYzqOE12s6mnGRxyq9JVTn3VsPOKQ2VdlTZypPujKFOEOJs5NvUUzmIXHpd4M3v3i4RqbRqcKZCbeRQxMOKWVTU2oa/dAH9zFTjomCJ8PyyUqdAVYpHlGi2KMV48ZRO0yYaJztpSTa1yLcYiTxsdjIF0YV0Ynwu7gSq2VVqUk+gLWfrDP3R4jSHNpWVaHb7Aa8HGXd+ienA7JzC2nQ4FBWVZUqxSR4RepBT+MzoVPp/JGE3M37T11X16xO4hNc9MisygPLbqqaUawG5dSSpiazjxVaFU1KLxJDTEHrFmK2ptViok+68VbhjYviXpmkrLzanghKVJtxUbCIcu9YSKObW7Kqiya1vBLkw654DuwXbdNqXDzsgK56rCisPVlzTGwynKUgJNtVbC0P6FnC3j2U9v/J564uZ15989yV6W6iheEZphlYKXHEMpUOJN7xa5fbSZnQX3CKSWjL9WRYDW/jHm5axY2x8RRUmSLvoSoLR3hm3jRbkHyUcW2MyVLz97Tce+OcUzslngnpSxRh6aQ2zUHXZdWnUzHbR+HOM5Usao7JaSfTfieeqXycueEg4fo0sIASfzginVcdGYyjlmtQxritT/AF5rL5cG/WLuPwvGdWCqPU0iuzYLo3SrWZRYFSbZnkfyDIfxgadnFPQ1+sy0ofSrhibfS1NImJN0/eRmT+N4yVFxZb6mUdWwxUqZOU70yVn5R2WO7od1HnfaHNJxUdRfVjlkPXMSUCWqjyl1WXJzWyhd4S3dJyvJv1gPpTxSwV8tUpGlSypqemAygbA98+6H9J/b7WAVc92hGYw6RWp5lctKShZZSu4deGqiPCMakVNdr2NIZi8o57PY5mGUryLSVbWSm3vgdW9OGyNnVk9yOquKKjNurK1nIeZjZabIq3kXvVcS8sr53y7UctDsa5JmrV1T92iUnnpEp4LZJienHlPZr3y7RVkB9Kqd23ELcUE5bFN7R2ThjiN1UnLUyR1zNshZ7XEk3/ICOwcUfR/UCVpaWOwTpY65uP6RKb2IaKWqrSpL7aCoBV072iz0IWhxjEqJul1ZutU6aclZ1hzrJd5BspBG4vyPKJozdOfcis4Ka1Ot4LxFROkKS9Nm5OVZraEBM2wQBnV98cod0ZxqLXcXzTg9AuvUXDNMpMxUKsXZSUlklby0rI04JA4km0WqJQWhEG5M5fTJdrFku5PU+UekpFaymXB1UUg95R4Qpua1GMczeA+hTqPj/wDI3YwErqimUxdMtzGtmwCtANvtE7e6F9NOtrGnhft//Qb9WdFazyfZUyWGJtqmYtdUmdmPq8yXVKl3vLkfMQ1t6dKmstagFetVqPRlxITTYl0LkWmihQ0UF3QfwhmsPYW9sluahM1OGzr5At3U7eUWSS0J33Oc9KFRRMYukMPyqh1FOT1z4TsXF7A+Iy/nCm+qvHag22prOTJvIhpJtmuu5BMJnosB+fQLNtrSvNlSpPlFkyDANLbbUtsC1tRfhxiJb5IYmfWG3syVlKCLjnblG0dip9EyA+mb6wlae7bcRDRIYJx1yyy6tS7bqNzFZL2ctA6XmZhOiX3Mx1HaiH+zsjNiqvo0SoFXEkRB2WHor/zHVuqeQhWhQlXZPujm2yrimZmeadSkNhRSdx/6jm8tt+y3rB1+rVmYnXVrdeVcHQqN/jBrf6KJfslqvUXFrcutazl0Gfa0UZO4hnEvBnrnFqKDY5SrXWK5JEtVm0tKcAuEpH4xJwgn5tKja+nImOJwKnjm4/gYjJOAZaVhQIVc30uYhshoKpTLkzVJaWCRd55KVa/Z0zH8I44YYnmjMVV5aQkJGjYJ1CRwicnDzo7mk+npRlNxdVhwjskMrqlPkJJCb5Rck8IlyyQctxRNGcqLraPq7Zte0QtXgncR0ycmqFXWqhLOKZJd1yjUwTb1HGWEYVYZWh0HpbrzuI+iuYbFw+26268lJ0dToL+dyDDKtLNPIJSjifaxN0Z4kTMUJFLultDRIWUqsVH/AF+UAU6NOT75rMvQbOb4p4R0WguBD6GyUIAIBNtFX+Pvgzuez1MGlHY5z/iUmgqq0yQUO42pdrXFtd4ElyNEtMkDhPFNbw1NJepUytTBV25R0lba08Rrt7ovCpKJWUU9j+j8M4rpE/hA4pbUlmWYaWuYa/7KwO6f0g2FTuj3Ak4NSwcJw1OTdUqs9WZlN3pt9byr768PIAD8YSXUu6eRlRWIlu0ptbYKCSCOA2MCNZNj48gBsC6rHnwiDgEoDTlyoqvy5RzOZL15iZk3/SQSqVWdP5fOCKeqwVawZMKKj9k3FwOYiWiMhQmAjQHhaIwcHyc5YhSiTwFoq0dkYtrCkm1u1vzEV7TjVBK1CyjmEV2JCpVAbbU4UqBb72usQcXaag6Zkh1S2wU3yL5waUNm202Dimwlaxa42tEYJQmqAUlxFkZrkgkq0ijJRNVXNcodsk5QfMnhFSRPMNgp7SBfmI7JYGLKMg7BJ42MccZBhJVo3rwKjtEkMMw89KydQemZh5KHEMlEuDoLquDHEHioJS484vXsnfhrHHDPBbhlKy2Xdnm9COA8eUcQHYkrClTKpWVF21AIKr7RxBMdUQshKrpIIIPEx2cEnwyjE231SxfMNzwjoy7XkjGTeSd6vDtVp80QVMyyglROhSTdJ+ENqMlOi8gVVdtVNEXgxmabcYnJdKrq0UnYacYyjScl3L0aSep2vDtRQ+iVdJu5ftN5bki9tBxjVaRIWuhNdNUg3V6tIVOVV1su9L5EKQftBagR+UZQj3PKLTeEc3epjskGw85ZK7lJI2tzi/aslMjRE7M0zAU3TAooRXZtCloGlmkd4++/5RMm4x7TlFN5DsEMuCWDhBCSdtv9CFVZ5DIIqVZkJUhJUVHZN7CMC5oy71zRQD1ahw3iDjw+hOXtHQcoj2cZIlkLYcl3Uda2rQg8ov3Y2IZJVWSTSakhlDnWMugkIBuURpF5KGLikgRck+ybwD1iTaIaIKCUdzp0Re3jFWShnLoISDkCTzvGTOAsQTq1PCnSyyH3hdR5DxiUiMjaaqdQk5pt6ptukqcFnF7JHjBJxbImiqXDqFBKFAEKvcG/ERPohgVSm2EMqSwAt0WCiru/7xmSifqPWrKniW167cohnCd5OUg2ukdq0UNDJwfcFid4sirPBQACd7bxJxlNScvNM/PoJTbQDf3RxArXL1GnPBUqpc00vdlWpAickDlhyZytuOMmWdWntI4p8Igk+PNLSodq4vcnnHEn4tjIpWa1jHHHkKKdCUWPG0ccLsUMOO0pS5fsrACXbG+dN7/2jajLDwZTjjUIwW2lFNSFo7aSdxbThDal8YsDqPMkXlKSqTxPJKQUJaTJJULDXN1hJt7oHlDMtDTLSyhq9h6ZT6TLrluvlUqVPymROrf3kn8CffEU7iFGXY9Jfr0WnTc45W5MY2w9JVDBiJ+SZuqXmE9apBurIT2hb8YPrUYyj3RA4yaeGTnS7RpaXxzL0unTKX5NinIU2tI0SSCSD4wBCUqibl60C8JNYPdFbShlKALADs+EKZPKaDIbDIgpSq5zK4Rl2ljFZQhVrqzfy7RYqe2XDpm1sdDwiMEp4MKjMv8AWhmVbLaVd9w7W8PGJjoc3kFEiznC1pzKP2lcYtkgX16Xlm2rtiyr7ReEiGJkJUXhmOVKtBaLvUhFNTGr21sDY35xlM4Zz0ymTly6uxITdIPExRLLwcIKWpTZcm3Ul9906/yiLv8ARBS1ScM84vOQ+yolNgbJ/ON2ShOKpUqbKmTW/nlyfmiD3PCITZLQIisTCFFTilXUe1Y3zeMW7UUyMpOqF27ZNio3vFGichBfQpQNykm6TfXyimC+T8uwzhZToN+cccZAJSnNmABGw4xxDMjNyyZlpl1w5Tobc+UScMnXShK/RUJbSoWIOpV+MUeTsA6gQbqUb8zEpkmeUE2vbkYnJx4LausASFE33JGX3xxx5Uj+Zor4RJx+CFOJLZAvY620PhELSRzSaF1EmVNT6pdzQpVYj4Q3p1MwAJQ1Omss9cxKTSR22gATx3juzvWGWzhHQKSFuttTbLhTMsKCk8lDiCNtRFq9rTrx7aiyWjVnHZiBujGm16cYKP3fUiVs32urRSfcbn3xrZyaX0fYNcJdvctzh0w281UKn6SSt8FaVKvc/wCrWjKbSjLBtB5aHdLbR1eZSVhSgO0doST0egatAy4STdFhz+9FMk5MABcqSO1ciOLYPhbJbSoKsd9do7JVg6RfN2ifDhFnscfS7l1IzKA0ipwtxLkblUnZak3tyi8EVkTsmS6+gDh8Y1awQmWdFaASlTmuUi45iMJMlCuvTpcrLcra6WBmUngTwi8V7IbDZTtpC0pAUq1wOMQ98nGappTjxS4mwBvZXZ15QQycnpVnWShaG1A6ZeIMVSOyJJppyVcyuIPVnQExfJUzS45Luda2bjnHNElMz+0y7E0wkBtxITf7qxv8Io0SnkIK75i4kKVa0ZtFjF5IIsMoVbe9vyiUQxHVJdaCVAKCVG+a20WOHFCn/SpctLIDqBY5tSBFGdkOUkFJz7p3EQSfkqDYIyggi9444xCC8boQB43jjjNaCCkqI7Iy2vv4xOTj8tRyJKFDKiw210iXqQngQVkmTrDE6NW3u9bSxH/oQTRqZ+JlNJanYqQ04inyz9gqXeCSlwG41Gx5QRY3cK8pU1pJeilehKmk1qmWeHczTfU3BOtvI+MFPuiu4xTzsaVhCiltQuoMOdYm/AfaHvAjWnju71uUlrHtP55xGnJimtMX2dI/EQLXaUWXpLVDKSGVgAuE6ajwhJLcPN3FZdAc1hdPjFTjMK01F9b6RJOTKZc6plLiApfApjiGDtvMlzRdlEXyxLeTggN3Wg9lAUeJvEHE5jR7OnPqCVWHu/vaNqZSQnw7dU0De4vF5kIvJUlCOyLBVteUYPVliNbdVN1p91ZJJWQSOXCNWsIq9ymkglhKVLWkIsNSYzZI4ma0idSv0uWlVrA1Ljdtee8bvJwnmEtkFTUsyojvBoke8DWIRwtmHpZ1oslt1u4uA7ziyOE3WLZX1KzdN7iJOHtDnmgy7JFVgVBbeuxO8RJHRGsu8m+unNUZFjctXOfMAOJIvEHAM8yVBIUCtBBFwYsiBIh5dPqAWAQkH5wcxHNHFYhxuYZ6xCroUPcYq0SeHLJUe6BbTWIJPySSi1u0OAjjj4pJ0+auBoFcDHZOMFJcSsWKQoaAcIkqJ8Vy63KapQ0dT2gRsI0pyw8PYrPDjho6P0S1dZw/LK6sPS60BLrCzoqxtceOmnjF6ljG6XdCXZJcX/n/AD/S1O47WlPY6axKoZbaelF9ZJOKu2T3m1/cPj4QRY3k5t0K6xUW69SX+DKtQwvq02FvNlbRBFwoWv4wygs6ewQ/nXGzfo3SPXGyN1pUPwgK4fxNaC1D5dKFoQCCkq0PgITPcOZ+c0CVAhIQbAn7UcQZFV9VoKOOkccejmWoICwkWv4mOOMJplCkErlkkJOir2JMccaN9Wyw8vawAF9dY4gmMaL/AGRBunskbcecbUysgDCaAtwkxeZCLObWpqmOKSQClCifCwgdLUsRNFdQwhT6053FahPEm50giWxT2O5KTcmFdZOG6TqhKTt5xTQsPsW0Gp0ubU4pla21adcI1kcIBMqbWFJUpJtqD4xCWTgkONPgh1sKSBYqG48YnY4U1aSSlvrWl9azw5gx3ccKJGaU3OthxWpVlvzizIiVjDwUtIBNuMZNFhpLPXUkJVrewvFSUarGYpGYBQvccI44UVWVC051qAP2osmVMqBOKadMmVXBFwTzjpEofKSh0BSlZCdx4xklgk8pDbNlgFS0m5iWSe1b3v2dwIocYvrzEaqJ5HaLnAU031rLqFpSMwtpxi0SHsG9DkysNTkgo/VnTlHJO9/zhnb6oGnj2dww5PKYyqV84w7o4wftp5jkYi8tlXw4aS9MmnVcfg9h5NMCWCXZdRLDos24ftH7v6R1pX/1LcZ6SW/9K16WH8T+bukBxp7pSrBbFkKS3vwOsRcPOc7lqWMrAY0kgqB+yL3hQ9wlnxxS0NAWCgNY44wcJyWBve34RJwSVgIKgRc6JEccCOC2YKJCSNTHEMzmHippqWSodVfOo8TyjiCYx0uzaLbco3gRI/YQsWCogd7SOnuQth3iqaTK0R5RJykZVe/QRSO5JLUUhakqX3yNB4RrNGfsrZAuLKQ2nQDWMmaH/9kA" /><br />
Michael C. Ruppert, author of <i>Crossing the Rubicon</i> Photo credit: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/By%20Source%20(WP:NFCC#4),%20Fair%20use,%20https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42547604"><i>Wikipedia</i></a> <br />
<br />
<br />
I happen to concur with the late Michael Ruppert, whom I quoted earlier, that one of the motives for the Gladio B attacks on September 11, 2001 was Peak Oil. Contrary to what pundits have proclaimed, Peak Oil is not <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-12/here-s-one-sign-that-peak-oil-is-dead">"dead"</a>; it never was a question of <i>if</i>, but <i>when</i> it would occur. <a href="http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2005/04/314739.shtml">"Maestro"</a> Dick Cheney certainly didn't have a crystal ball to foresee how technological improvements in hydraulic fracking could forestall its imminence when, as CEO of Halliburton in 1999, he demonstrated his knowledge of Peak Oil in a speech at the London Institute of Petroleum. I don't claim to have a crystal ball either as to whether a peak in total liquid fuel global production (the <i>real</i> Peak Oil, not just light sweet crude) will happen before the end of the decade, or in the 20s or 30s. But it is axiomatic that unless there is massive global deindustrialization (highly unlikely) or massive global depopulation (scarily likely), it will happen before the end of the century. No other liquid fuel on the planet comes close to the energy density or energy return on energy invested as oil. So control of these resources is paramount; not just in securing supplies where they are produced but securing access to transport them for consumption. More on that later.<br />
<br />
I think if we want to try to understand why a new 9/11 could occur, it also helps to look back and understand the economic motives behind the <i>original</i> 9/11. Not September 11, 2001, but September 11, 1973. That was the day that General Augusto Pinochet overthrew the elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile in a violent coup. He rolled out firing tanks into the streets and had fighter jets assault government buildings. Allende was killed and his cabinet rounded and locked up. About <a href="http://www.consortiumnews.com/1990s/consor33.html">13,500 civilians</a> were arrested in the days that followed and imprisoned, many sent to the two main football stadiums in Chile where hundreds were tortured and murdered, including popular folk singer Victor Jara. In all, more than 3,200 were disappeared or executed, 80,000 imprisoned and 200,000 fled Chile to avoid political persecution. While much has been written about the assistance that Pinochet received from the <a href="http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB558-CIA-latest-release-of-Presidents-Daily-Briefs-continues-to-cover-up-knowledge-of-1973-Chile-coup/">CIA</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITT_Corporation#Involvement_in_1973_Pinochet_coup_in_Chile">ITT</a> and <a href="http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB437/">Henry Kissinger</a>, there is a deeper economic examination by Naomi Klein in her well-researched and compelling book <i>The Shock Doctrine</i> which shows collaboration between the military and a small group of neo-liberal privatization extremists called the Chicago Boys, who were disciples of laissez-faire economist Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago. From page 86:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">For a time, the coup planning proceeded on two distinct tracks: the military plotted the extermination of Allende and his supporters while the economists plotted the extermination of their ideas. As momentum built for a violent solution, a dialogue was opened between the two camps, with Roberto Kelly, a businessman associated with the CIA-financed newspaper <i>El Mercurio</i>, acting as the go-between. Through Kelly, the Chicago Boys sent a five-page summary of their economic program to the navy admiral in charge. The navy gave the nod, and from then on the Chicago Boys worked frantically to have their program ready by the time of the coup.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Their five-hundred-page bible - a detailed economic program that would guide the junta from its earliest days - came to be known in Chile as "The Brick." According to a later U.S. Senate Committee, "CIA collaborators were involved in preparing an initial overall economic plan which has served as the basis for the Junta's most important economic decisions.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">64</span> Eight of the ten principal authors of "The Brick" had studied economics at the University of Chicago.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">65</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
While I used the word 'neo-liberal' above to describe this economic approach, I think it's important to point out, considering how often the words 'liberal' and 'conservative' are used as labels to describe political polar opposites, that neo-liberals and neo-conservatives are really the same team in terms of the expansion of the Military-Industrial Complex into what Klein terms the "disaster capitalism complex." Whether it's the Friedmanite Chicago Boys sweeping across the governments of the Southern Cone in the 70s in which 100,000 to 150,000 were tortured and tens of thousands killed to protect the "free" market, or the IMF and World Bank offering aid with major strings attached to Poland and South Africa in the 90s, it all turns out the same in each country: a crisis is used (or manufactured) as a pretext for economic restructuring predicated on massive privatization and eradicating the public sector, resulting in a <a href="http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine/reviews/it-takes-crisis">permanent underclass of anywhere from 25 to 60 percent of the population</a> and the rich becoming super-rich. Exacerbating this Dickensian disconnect in the 21st century are the multi-national corporations profiting off this arrangement: heavy construction, high-tech security, arms dealers, private health care companies treating wounded soldiers, the oil and gas sector, and defense contractors. This paradigm is designed to avoid being voted out of existence. Designating it neo-con or neo-lib obfuscates its real nature: corporatist. As Klein writes on page 105:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Corporatism, or "corporativism," originally referred to Mussolini's model of a police state run as an alliance of the three major power sources in society - government, businesses and trade unions - all collaborating to guarantee order in the name of nationalism. What Chile pioneered under Pinochet was an evolution of corporatism: a mutually supporting alliance between a police state and large corporations, joining forces to wage all-out war on the third power sector - the workers - thereby drastically increasing the alliance's share of the national wealth.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
While I can certainly visualize Trumpstag being used as a pretext for just this sort of war on workers in the USA, I can also see the gaping hole in the analogy: Trump won't be starting a violent coup to seize power, he's already got it. But there's another country that underwent the "Pinochet option" in a reverse manner. I'm talking about what happened to Russia under Boris Yeltsin during the 1990s. As the Russian president, he first gained international attention in August 1991 when, in response to a group from the Communist old guard in tanks threatening to bomb the Russian parliament building called the White House in a bid to stop democratization, Yeltsin stood on one of the tanks amid a crowd of pro-democracy protestors denouncing them. When the tanks retreated, Yeltsin was a hero for democracy. Four months later, Yeltsin formed an alliance with two other Soviet republics to dissolve the Soviet Union. Yeltsin then tried to institute a 'Chicago School' economic program lifting price controls. <a href="http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch33-9.htm">The average Russian consumed 40% less in 1992 than in 1991</a> and a third of the population fell below the poverty line. When parliament brought forth a budget bill in 1993 to try to slow down the Shock Doctrine, the IMF leaked to the press that it would rescind a $1.5 billion loan.<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Naomi_Klein_Warsaw_Nov._19_2008_Fot_Mariusz_Kubik_05.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Naomi_Klein_Warsaw_Nov._19_2008_Fot_Mariusz_Kubik_05.jpg" /><br />
Naomi Klein, author of <i>The Shock Doctrine</i> Photo credit: <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Naomi_Klein_Warsaw_Nov._19_2008_Fot_Mariusz_Kubik_05.jpg"><i>Wikimedia Commons</i></a> <br />
<br />
<br />
The day after the IMF leak, Yeltsin initiated the first step of the "Pinochet option" by issuing decree 1400, which abolished the constitution and dissolved parliament. Two days later, a special session of parliament voted 636-2 to impeach Yeltsin for this decree, which would be the equivalent of the U.S. president unilaterally dissolving Congress. Though Russia's Constitutional Court ruled Yeltsin's behavior unconstitutional, President Clinton backed Yeltsin and Congress voted to give Yeltsin $2.5 billion in aid. Pro-democracy protesters demonstrated for two weeks, once again surrounding the White House parliament building. Only this time, instead of defending the building as he did two years earlier, Yeltsin did the opposite: on October 4, 1993, Yeltsin ordered a reluctant army to storm the Russian White House and set it on fire! Approximately 500 people were killed and almost 1,000 wounded in the worst violence Moscow had seen since 1917. As Klein summed it up on page 289 of <i>The Shock Doctrine</i>:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">But Russia wasn't a repeat of Chile - it was Chile in reverse order: Pinochet staged a coup, dissolved the institutions of democracy and then imposed shock therapy; Yeltsin imposed shock therapy in a democracy, then could defend it only by dissolving democracy and staging a coup. Both scenarios earned enthusiastic support from the West.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
The postscript to this tyranny was a law-making binge that entrenched a corrupt casino capitalism in Russia during the 90s. It made their market highly speculative and thus highly vulnerable: when the Asian financial crisis of 1998 hit, the Russian economy tanked. Yeltsin's approval rating dropped to six percent and his alcoholism made him increasingly dysfunctional. What turned this disastrous situation around? Another shock, this time in the form of a false flag attack on Russian soil. In September 1999, four apartment buildings were blown up in the middle of the night, killing almost three hundred people. Newly appointed prime minister Vladimir Putin placed the blame on Chechen rebels trained by Osama bin Laden and launched air strikes on Chechnya later that month. While Putin has never allowed a formal investigation into the apartment bombings, <a href="http://www.darkpolitricks.com/fsb-apartment-bombing-false-flag-attack/">independent research</a> into these attacks, as well as a flimsy excuse for a <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2012/11/22/finally-we-know-about-moscow-bombings/">"training exercise"</a> that implicated the FSB that Putin previously headed, prove the attacks were an inside job. Sadly, the job worked as Russians rallied around the KGB veteran Putin to protect them from terror. On December 31, 1999, several oligarchs engineered a quiet handover of the presidency from Yeltsin to Putin, no elections necessary.<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Vladimir_Putin_2015.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Vladimir_Putin_2015.jpg" /><br />
Vladimir Putin Photo credit: <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Vladimir_Putin_2015.jpg"><i>Wikimedia Commons</i></a> <br />
<br />
<br />
On the subject of Putin, let's explore him a little more deeply in the context of recent events, the first event being the US presidential election of 2016. I have already published pieces with multiple sources to back up my claims that the <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2016/06/orlando-terror-operation-gladio-plan-c.html">DNC stole the primaries for Clinton</a> and the <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2016/11/addendum-to-rutherfraud-2016-stolen.html">GOP stole the general election for Trump</a>. It was a slick trick that put Hillary in the same position that Robert Shaw's character Doyle Lonnegan in <i>The Sting</i> was in when Paul Newman beat him at poker with a deck switch: "What was I supposed to do - call him for cheating better than me, in front of the others?" Of course, it's too much to ask our <b><span style="font-style: italic;">Justice</span></b>
Department (there's a glaring misnomer) to investigate to what extent
software corruption stole the general election for Trump or for
Clinton in the primaries to verify that the management of our fake democracy is a perennial shell game. So
instead we got a feel-good donation-driven request for a hand recount - but even that
paltry bread crumb posed too much of a threat to the Deep State. Rather than having the headline
across the media be that the recount was stopped, that story was buried
with bipartisan approval so that we could, <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-black-hole-of-russia.html">yet again</a>, demonize Russia.
That's not to say there is absolutely no truth in this
bipartisan-approved, REM-friendly story - just that it is a convenient
distraction so the sheeple will stop focusing on how elections are <span style="font-style: italic;">actually</span>
stolen in this country and look at how it might possibly have been
stolen but which, upon closer, time-wasting examination, will at best prove an attempt to <i>influence</i> the election as opposed to <b>direct theft</b>. It's not that Putin didn't have the
motive - he certainly preferred Trump to Clinton. It's not that he
didn't have the means - Russian computer hackers do exist whether
you believe they hacked the DNC (and RNC) or not. But how could Putin
have had the opportunity to steal the general election when it was already being
stolen by the GOP and the machinery they've had in place for over a <span style="font-style: italic;">decade</span>
now? Say what you will about Putin - he's not dumb enough to try to
steal something if he saw it was already being stolen for him by someone
else!<br />
<br />
But there is another recent event concerning Putin that I think provides even deeper insight into the machinations of the Deep State and how geopolitical imperatives look to shape up in the future. That event is the Syrian Civil War. I think it should be clear by now what happened there in light of the recent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/29/syrian-government-and-rebels-have-signed-ceasefire-agreement-says-putin">ceasefire</a>: Putin checkmated the West. Despite all attempts to outmaneuver those supporting the Assad government, including assisting rebels aligned with ISIS, Putin's intervention put the Deep State in a bind where the only way to undermine him would be through direct armed conflict, nuclear power vs. nuclear power. Is that avenue a legitimate consideration by the Deep State? It's important to point out, especially because they are so powerful, that the CIA is not a monolith, the FBI is not a monolith, NATO is not a monolith and our military is not a monolith. By extension, I think it's safe to say the Deep State is not a monolith either; there are <i>factions</i> competing for direction in all of these powerful groups. Some of those factions are still hanging on to the confrontation with Russia; those factions by and large supported Clinton for president. The other factions, many of which supported Trump, saw the writing on the wall that change was in the wind, that a more economically inviting challenger for global primacy was waiting in the wings. The prospect of World War III to the overworld exists only as a method of last resort in their Shock Doctrine, when all other avenues for commanding control of resources have been exhausted and profits can no longer be maximized.<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Fiery_Cross_Reef_2015.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Fiery_Cross_Reef_2015.jpg" /><br />
<br />
Fiery Cross Reef, Spratly Islands, South China Sea Photo credit: <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Fiery_Cross_Reef_2015.jpg"><i>Wikimedia Commons</i></a><br />
<br />
<br />
That more economically inviting challenger is China. Is the Endgame that Michael Ruppert warned us about over a decade ago approaching? There are a couple of highly indicative factors that we might be entering the initial phase. One factor is the dispute over islands in the South China Sea. <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2011/08/15/the-south-china-sea-is-the-future-of-conflict/">Foreign Policy</a> had a excellent examination of why this geographical area is so important. These paragraphs are particularly informative:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The South China Sea joins the Southeast Asian states with the Western Pacific, functioning as the throat<i> </i>of
global sea routes. Here is the center of maritime Eurasia, punctuated
by the straits of Malacca, Sunda, Lombok, and Makassar. More than half
the world’s annual merchant fleet tonnage passes through these choke
points, and a third of all maritime traffic. The oil transported through
the Strait of Malacca from the Indian Ocean, en route to East Asia
through the South China Sea, is more than six times the amount that
passes through the Suez Canal and 17 times the amount that transits the
Panama Canal. Roughly two-thirds of South Korea’s energy supplies,
nearly 60 percent of Japan’s and Taiwan’s energy supplies, and about 80
percent of China’s crude-oil imports come through the South China Sea.
What’s more, the South China Sea has proven oil reserves of 7 billion
barrels and an estimated 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, a
potentially huge bounty. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">
</span><span style="background-color: cyan;"> It is not only location and energy reserves that promise to give the
South China Sea critical geostrategic importance, but also the
coldblooded territorial disputes that have long surrounded these waters.<b> </b>Several
disputes concern the Spratly Islands, a mini-archipelago in the South
China Sea’s southeastern part. Vietnam, Taiwan, and China each claim all
or most of the South China Sea, as well as all of the Spratly and
Paracel island groups. In particular, Beijing asserts a historical line:
It lays claim to the heart of the South China Sea in a grand loop
(widely known as the "cow’s tongue") from China’s Hainan Island at the
South China Sea’s northern end all the way south 1,200 miles to near
Singapore and Malaysia. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">
</span><span style="background-color: cyan;"> The result is that all nine states that touch the South China Sea
are more or less arrayed against China and therefore dependent on the
United States for diplomatic and military support. These conflicting
claims are likely to become even more acute as Asia’s spiraling energy
demands — energy consumption is expected to <a href="http://www.eia.gov/cabs/South_China_Sea/Full.html" target="_blank" title="South China Sea | U.S. Energy Information Administration, March 2008">double by 2030</a>,
with China accounting for half that growth — make the South China Sea
the ever more central guarantor of the region’s economic strength.
Already, the South China Sea has increasingly become an armed camp, as
the claimants build up and modernize their navies, even as the scramble
for islands and reefs in recent decades is mostly over. China has so far
confiscated 12 geographical features, Taiwan one, Vietnam 25, the
Philippines eight, and Malaysia five.</span> <br />
<br />
While Trump made a number of statements during the presidential campaign indicating that under his administration there might be a trade war with China, his actions during the interregnum have only increased the tension of that prospect. Most prominent, of course, was the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/03/world/asia/trump-taiwan-and-china-the-controversy-explained.html?_r=0">controversial call</a> from Trump to the president of Taiwan in December. But the inflammation of tension comes not just from Trump himself, but from his cabinet picks. During his confirmation hearing before Congress, Trump's pick for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (the former CEO of ExxonMobil whose selection is probably the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV0SJo8Z0Cw">best evidence Putin has dirt on Trump</a>, considering Tillerson received the <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/11/investing/rex-tillerson-exxon-russia-putin/">Order of Friendship</a>, one of the highest awards Russia gives to foreign citizens, from Putin in 2013 for negotiating an <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-exxon-rosneft-idUSBRE83H0UE20120418">offshore oil exploration partnership with Exxon and Rosneft</a> that would be worth <b><i>half a trillion dollars</i></b> if not for Obama's sanctions on Russia) declared that China's activity in the South China Sea islands is <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/13/politics/us-tillerson-china-reaction/">"extremely worrisome"</a> and that "we're going to have to send China a clear signal that first, the
island-building stops, and second, your access to those islands also not
going to be allowed."<br />
<br />
Another factor that we might be entering the initial phase of the Endgame is terrorism. The connection with China is through the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), a group also called the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and is predominately comprised of ethnic Uyghurs from China's Xinjiang province. Like most Islamic jihadist movements, they have roots in Operation Gladio Plan B. I stumbled upon these roots four years ago in <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/03/synopsizing-sibel-edmonds-evolution-of.html">Synopsizing Sibel Edmonds: The Evolution of Operation Gladio Part One</a>:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Edmonds also lists another big player in the Gladio B network, Yusuf
Turani. Turani was actually given US citizenship in 1997 and called the
President of Turkestan in absentia. Again, Turkestan is an area of
West China known as the Xinjiang province.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
It should be noted that Yusuf Turani's picture is prominently displayed in the <a href="http://letsibeledmondsspeak.blogspot.com/2008/01/sibel-names-names-in-pictures.html">"Sibel Edmonds' State Secrets Privilege Gallery"</a> related to her case. Given this connection, it should not be surprising that TIP joined the global jihadist movement of the Caliphate in 2013 and have been fighting in the <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2016/08/chinas-nightmare-xinjiang-jihadists-go-global/">northwest part of Syria</a>. One of their biggest allies in aid and training has been Turkey, or more specifically, the NATO-sponsored <a href="http://journal-neo.org/2015/09/23/turkish-uyghur-terror-inc-americas-other-al-qaeda/">Grey Wolves of Turkey</a>. In the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Grey Wolves set up training camps for youths from Turkic language groups in Central Asia, including Uyghur. They provided material support and commando training for the East Turkestan Independence Movement (ETIM).<br />
<br />
But while the ostensible purpose for such a terror group within the auspices of Gladio might be to encourage separatism to create a buffer region to isolate China from Central Asia, such a precarious arrangement might also be used, in the hands of a skilled propagandist, to place the blame for their actions on the government of China. This might explain why the government of Turkey was quick to spread the story that the prime suspect in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/2017/jan/05/istanbul-nightclub-why-attacker-may-be-a-uighur">New Year's Eve attack</a> on the Reina nightclub in Istanbul is a Uyghur. More indicative of the propagandistic sleight-of-hand needed to pull off this sort of switcheroo on par with the Saddam/al-Qaeda alignment that the neo-cons alleged in the buildup to war with Iraq is the recent statement by Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, Trump's pick for National Security Adviser, that China is allied with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/world/asia/michael-flynn-trump-china-islamists.html">"radical Islamists."</a> While I certainly am wary of the influence such bellicose rhetoric can have coming from the cabinet, I don't consider Flynn to be the skilled propagandist. That designation would go to the co-writer of the book Flynn wrote in July titled “<a href="http://us.macmillan.com/thefieldoffight/lieutenantgeneralretmichaeltflynn/9781250106223">The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies</a>.” That propagandist is Michael Ledeen.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://rightweb.irc-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/michael-ledeen.jpg" src="http://rightweb.irc-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/michael-ledeen.jpg" /><br />
Michael Ledeen, author of <i>Universal Fascism</i> Photo credit: <a href="http://rightweb.irc-online.org/"><i>rightweb.irc-online.org</i></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Ledeen's lifetime career of propaganda has been explored in numerous posts on this blog. The most comprehensive one is <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2007/03/american-judas-2nd-edition-investigate.html">American Judas 2nd Edition: INVESTIGATE CHENEY & UNRAVEL THE CABAL</a>. Highlights: Ledeen is the <a href="https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2005/10/22/faster-please/">conduit</a> of the Niger yellowcake forgery the Bush administration used to buttress their case to go to war against Iraq in 2003. He was involved in the early stages of the <a href="http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/Ledeen_Michael/">Iran/Contra scandal</a>. Finally, but most important in light of the subject of this post, he was allegedly tied to the <a href="http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/Ledeen_Michael/">Italian P2 Masonic Lodge</a>, a violent right wing group that was
involved in a number of terrorists attacks in Italy in the 1970s and the
1980s. P2 was involved with Operation Gladio in those attacks known as the Strategy of Tension, a false-flag campaign where P2 organized terror attacks to blame on left-wing groups. As <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/run-run-for-your-lives">Josh Marshall </a>said in a recent column on the Ledeen-Flynn partnership, "Basically, if you see an idea and it looks sensible but find out Ledeen
is involved, it's definitely not sensible and is in fact probably some
harebrained plan half crazy, half evil that you want nothing to do with.
When Ledeen's involved, there's always trouble...Seriously, if Flynn's in with Ledeen, he's trouble."<br />
<br />
As I said before, I don't claim to have a crystal ball. I don't know if Trumpstag will happen this year or next, or what exact form it will take. The only certainty I have that the event is coming is that the motives of the principal actors who stand to profit the most are all too clear.<br />
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-53938220622106662932016-12-07T07:36:00.000-08:002016-12-07T07:36:46.825-08:00Pearl Harbor - the Original LIHOPNo doubt that as you read this, there will be numerous other articles inundating mainstream and alternative media outlets commemorating the 75th anniversary of bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. I'm sure there will be lots written about it being a "sneak attack" that changed the course of World War II by bringing the United States into the Allied fold. But there is a darker truth behind the circumstances that brought about the bombing of Pearl Harbor that belie the established historical reports that there was anything 'sneaky' as far as knowledge of it in the White House was concerned. The truth is that when Japan planned and executed the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt Let It Happen On Purpose.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/FDR_1944_Color_Portrait.tif/lossy-page1-220px-FDR_1944_Color_Portrait.tif.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/FDR_1944_Color_Portrait.tif/lossy-page1-220px-FDR_1944_Color_Portrait.tif.jpg" /><br />
<i>President Franklin Delano Roosevelt Source: Wikipedia</i> <br />
<br />
<br />
If you are wondering why I capitalized the last five words in the preceding paragraph, you might not be very familiar with 9/11 conspiracy theories. There are two acronyms used to describe how 9/11 might have involved the United States government. LIHOP, or Let It Happen On Purpose, posits that the plot originated outside of the government, but that once intelligence learned of it prior to 9/11, they allowed the attacks to occur. MIHOP, or Made It Happen On Purpose, states that the US government created the plot from the beginning. My own take on this is something I expressed in a previous blog post <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-x-factor.html">The X Factor</a>. Here is the pertinent section:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">I've always rolled my eyes at the "debate" between <span class="posthilit">LIHOP</span>
and MIHOP as those acronyms were used to assign responsibility for the
9/11 debacle. To my mind, the two terms represent a logical fallacy, a
distinction without a difference. It's quite possible the assassination of <span class="posthilit">Malcolm</span> <span class="posthilit">X</span> was <span class="posthilit">LIHOP</span> for the FBI and Martin Luther King was MIHOP. So fucking what?! They're still <span style="font-weight: bold;">responsible</span>.
Whether they latch on to another organization's plot already in
progress and help facilitate it by removing impediments or hatch the
plot on their own, the <span style="font-style: italic;">intent</span> to have the plot succeed is the same. I've written <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2014/09/its-alright-ma-im-only-acting.html">before</a>
about how the 9/11 Truth movement lost direction and momentum; perhaps
if more people had understood the logical fallacy at play, the search
for Truth might have lead to Justice.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
With that in mind, it was over ten years ago, back when the LIHOP/MIHOP debate was in full throttle, that an online friend of mine informed me about the McCollum memo. Also known as the Eight Action Memo, this memorandum was dated October 7, 1940 and was sent by Lieutenant Commander Arthur H. McCollum, director of the Far East desk of Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) to Navy Captains Walter Stratton Anderson, the Director of ONI with direct access to FDR and Dudley Knox, a naval strategist and chief of the ONI library. In this <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/McCollum_memorandum">memo</a>, McCollum advocated eight actions that called for virtually inciting a Japanese attack on American ground, air and naval forces in Hawaii:<br />
<br />
<br />
<dl><dd><span style="background-color: cyan;">A. Make an arrangement with Britain for the use of British bases in the Pacific, particularly Singapore</span></dd><dd><span style="background-color: cyan;">B. Make an arrangement with the Netherlands for the use of base facilities and acquisition of supplies in the Dutch East Indies</span></dd><dd><span style="background-color: cyan;">C. Give all possible aid to the Chinese government of Chiang-Kai-Shek</span></dd><dd><span style="background-color: cyan;">D. Send a division of long range heavy cruisers to the Orient, Philippines, or Singapore</span></dd><dd><span style="background-color: cyan;">E. Send two divisions of submarines to the Orient</span></dd><dd><span style="background-color: cyan;">F. Keep the main strength of the U.S. fleet now in the Pacific[,] in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands</span></dd><dd><span style="background-color: cyan;">G. Insist that the Dutch refuse to grant Japanese demands for undue economic concessions, particularly oil</span></dd><dd><span style="background-color: cyan;">H. Completely embargo all U.S. trade with Japan, in collaboration with a similar embargo imposed by the British Empire</span></dd><dd></dd><dd></dd></dl>
McCollum concluded by stating, "<u>If by these means Japan could be led to commit an overt act of war, so much the better.</u>" Captain Knox then wrote a comment that while cautiously worded, agreed with the actions detailed in the memo. "The paper trail of the McCollum memo ends with the Knox endorsement. Although the proposal was addressed to Anderson, no specific record has been found by the author indicating whether he or Roosevelt actually ever saw it. However, a series of secret presidential routing logs plus collateral intelligence information in Navy files offer conclusive evidence that they did see it. Beginning the very next day, with FDR's involvement, McCollum's proposals were systematically put into effect."<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Arthur_H._McCollum_Portrait.jpg/220px-Arthur_H._McCollum_Portrait.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Arthur_H._McCollum_Portrait.jpg/220px-Arthur_H._McCollum_Portrait.jpg" /><br />
<i>Lieutenant Commander Arthur H. McCollum Source: Wikipedia</i> <br />
<br />
<br />
The above quote is not by Knox, but by Robert B. Stinnett on page nine of his book, <i>Day of Deceit</i>. Stinnett earned 10 battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation for his service in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1946. This book is extremely well researched; dedicated to US Congressman John Moss (D., CA), the author of America's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In addition to numerous documents retrieved through the FOIA for the FBI as well as the Navy, the State Department and other government institutions, Stinnett's book contains over 600 endnotes. The conclusion he reached through this painstaking research is that President Roosevelt definitely had foreknowledge of the attack on Pearl Harbor and took steps to make sure it happened. Remarkably, Stinnett still retains a degree of sympathy for the man whose provocations led to the deaths of 2,403 Americans at Pearl Harbor as he details in the preface, page XIII:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">As a veteran of the Pacific War, I felt a sense of outrage as I uncovered secrets that had been hidden from Americans for more than fifty years. But I understood the agonizing dilemma faced by President Roosevelt. He was forced to find circuitous means to persuade an isolationist America to join in a fight for freedom. He knew this would cost lives. How many, he could not have known.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The country was disillusioned by the failure of America's idealistic commitment to make "the world safe for democracy" in World War I. Many Americans had chosen isolationism to shelter their young from the horrors of another war, and believed that Roosevelt would "not send their sons to fight in foreign wars." Roosevelt believed that his countrymen would rally only to oppose an overt act of war on the United States. The decision he made, in concert with his advisors, was to provoke Japan through a series of actions into an overt act: the Pearl Harbor attack.</span></blockquote>
<br />
While the McCollum memo, whose eight actions were all implemented by President Roosevelt prior to December 7, 1941, is presented by Stinnett in the first chapter as evidence, it is certainly not the only piece, or even the most damning piece of evidence proving foreknowledge and intent. For me, the smoking gun is that Stinnett uncovered proof that the Japanese codes had been broken by the Americans and FDR was aware of this. From <i>Day of Deceit</i>, page 21:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">During the last days of September and first week of October 1940, a team of Army and Navy cryptographers solved the two principle Japanese government code systems: Purple, the major diplomatic code, and portions of the <i>Kaigun Ango</i>, a series of twenty-nine separate Japanese naval operational codes used for radio contact with warships, merchant vessels, naval bases, and personnel in overseas posts, such as naval attachés.</span></blockquote>
<br />
From pages 22-23:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Rear Admiral Royal Ingersoll, Assistant Chief of Naval Operations, revealed America's ability to detect and predict Japan's naval war strategy and tactical operations to the US Navy's two Pacific commanders, Admirals James Richardson and Thomas Hart, in a letter dated October 4, 1940. Ingersoll was specific: The Navy began tracking the movement and location of Japanese warships in October 1940. "Every major movement of the Orange (America's code name for Japan) Fleet has been predicted, and a continuous flow of information concerning Orange diplomatic activities has been made available." He said that Navy cryptographers had solved the Japanese naval merchant ship code. "The system itself is 99 percent readable," reported Ingersoll.</span></blockquote>
<br />
Later on page 23:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">But Ingersoll's 1940 letter sheds a light on the 5-Num system that was never intended by the pre-Pearl Harbor naval censors. Recovery was effected before April. By the end of January 1941, President Roosevelt was on the receiving list of the <i>Kaigun Ango</i>, according to the White House route logs prepared by Arthur McCollum.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
The most common response that this information doesn't prove FDR knew <i>when</i> the attack on Pearl Harbor would occur is that in the weeks prior to the attack there was complete radio silence of the Japanese carrier force. Stinnett contends that this is a myth propagated by Lieutenant Commander Edwin Layton and others with the intelligence clearance who did not forward appropriate information to those who should have received indication of a pending attack. From page 208:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Layton's claims about the carrier commands' radio silence does not hold up to scrutiny. There were 129 Japanese naval intercepts obtained by US naval monitor stations between November 15 and December 6 that directly contradict Layton's figures.</span></blockquote>
<br />
Some of these intercepts gave more than just an indication of what was to come. According to page 226:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">On December 5, Japanese Foreign Ministry officials transmitted two messages which disclosed that war between Japan and America would start December 7. Stations US, CAST and FIVE obtained two intercepts. They were in the Purple Code; interception of the messages went fine, but there's no evidence that Stations US and CAST forwarded the intercepts to Hawaii - even though both cryptographic centers knew the keys to Purple and decoded such messages in hours.</span></blockquote>
<br />
From pages 212-213:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue, commander of the Fourth Fleet in the Central Pacific, informed his forces by radio that a declaration of war was imminent. His radio message was intercepted by Henry F. Garstka at Station H at 8:40 P.M. on Friday, December 5, and included in Kisner's bundle, which was given to Dyer at 1:00 P.M. the next day, but was never delivered to Admiral Kimmel.</span></blockquote>
<br />
These are just a couple among many examples where vital intelligence regarding the plans to attack Pearl Harbor were withheld from the two men in Hawaii in a position to protect the troops, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, and Lieutenant General Walter Short, commanding general of the Hawaiian Department of the US Army. Both men were among the 36 Americans cleared to read the Japanese diplomatic and military intercepts in 1941. Yet their access was restricted for reasons no subsequent investigation has yet to completely satisfactorily explain.<br />
<br />
There are other disturbing incidents that indicate foreknowledge and cover-up from other important figures besides FDR. On pages 157-158, Stinnett provides stunning details regarding a strictly secret press briefing delivered by Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall on November 15, 1941:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">During the briefing, Marshall alluded to one of America's most vital secrets when he revealed that the United States could read Japan's encrypted messages. He told the correspondents that his war assessment was based on access to a leak from the Japanese: "We know what they know and they don't know we know it." Marshall then predicted that a Japan-America war would break out during the "first ten days of December," according to the notes of one correspondent present.</span></blockquote>
<br />
More from page 158:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Two ethical questions are raised by Marshall's secret conference with reporters: (1) Instead of the press conference on November 15, 1941, why didn't he confer with Lieutenant General Walter Short on November 15, 1941, and disclose that he had learned from secret Japanese sources that war with the United States would break out within the first ten days of December? Ethical questions abound. Who deserved the very secret information, the reporters or Short? General Short raised the ethics question during testimony before the 1945-46 Joint Congressional Investigation Committee: "After October 28, 1941, with the War Department receiving information almost daily which indicated that war was imminent, he [Marshall] communicated to me none of those personal messages containing the inside information." (2) What was the responsibility of the reporters, their editors, and their publishers? In the land of the First Amendment, Americans expect journalists to abide by strict ethics and report the news, not hide secrets. Yet four of the nation's major media - the <i>New York Times</i>, <i>New York Herald Tribune</i>, <i>Time</i>, and <i>Newsweek</i> - and three major wire services - Associated Press, United Press, and International News Service - were let in on secrets denied to General Short and Admiral Kimmel in Hawaii.</span></blockquote>
<br />
Where media responsibility is concerned, I'm reminded of a more recent example of the Radical Establishment Media sitting on the story of warrantless wiretapping. While the <i>New York Times</i> broke the story in 2005, they had been sitting on it since the spring of 2004 when <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/14/james-risen-new-york-times_n_5324303.html">high-ranking Bush administration officials persuaded the paper’s brass to spike the story</a>. Some things never change. But there is another aspect of cover-up in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor that is eerily reminiscent of a similar story of cover-up in the aftermath of 9/11. From page 255:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The key evidence of what really happened began to be concealed as early as December 11, 1941, only four days after the attack. The first step in the clean-up came from Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes, the Navy's Director of Communications. He instituted a fifty-four year censorship policy that consigned the pre-Pearl Harbor Japanese military and diplomatic intercepts and the relevant directives to Navy vaults. "Destroy all notes or anything in writing," Noyes told a group of his subordinates on December 11.</span></blockquote>
<br />
This type of destruction in the aftermath of a national tragedy instigating war would be repeated almost 60 years later when an unnamed FAA official <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/06/national/faa-official-scrapped-tape-of-911-controllers-statements.html?_r=0">destroyed a tape recording</a> of interviews of at least six air traffic controllers who dealt with two of the hijacked airliners recalling their version of events from a few hours earlier on 9/11. The tape was destroyed by a supervisor before anyone made a transcript of it or even listened to it. Though the supervisor crushed the cassette in his hand, shredded the tape and dropped the pieces into different trash cans around the building, this decision was simply chalked up to "poor judgment."<br />
<br />
It's a quote that has become somewhat of a cliche, but bears repeating: those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. How many Pearl Harbors will America endure before it can no longer survive?Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-78720670384501166522016-11-23T14:26:00.000-08:002017-01-18T16:22:40.624-08:00Addendum to Rutherfraud: the 2016 Stolen Election<i>"Remember Donald Trump's ceaseless, tireless, classless repetition of the claim that the election is, quote, "rigged." But remember it in the context of what one of this year's great patriots, his Art of the Deal ghostwriter Tony Schwartz, observed about Trump and projection. Remember that Schwartz tweeted, "most negative things he says about others are actually describing him." Since Trump has endlessly bleated this charge that Hillary Clinton and everybody else are trying to rig the election, since his interests and those of the Russian hackers and Wikileaks are running on parallel tracks, if not the same track, go into the last stretch here assuming that <b>Trump's charge of rigging is actually an admission of an attempt to rig the election on his behalf</b>, not against him."</i><br />
<br />
-<a href="http://video.gq.com/watch/the-closer-with-keith-olbermann-does-trump-s-obsession-with-vote-rigging-signal-something-about-his-own-plans">Keith Olbermann</a> <b>October 26, 2016</b><br />
<br />
<br />
When I first conceived of my most recent blog entry, <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2016/11/rutherfraud-b-hayes-and-selection-of.html">Rutherfraud B. Hayes and the (S)election of 1876</a>, I was not consciously attempting to engage in prophecy. The portion of the video that was shot at the U.S. Hotel where Hayes stayed was done months ago in conjunction with an invitation to attend my sister's wedding and reception, which was held on the premises. Perhaps on a subconscious level, I was digging into the past to correlate election fraud with the possibility of it occurring this year as Donald Trump and his associates proclaimed throughout the campaign. Then again, maybe on a deeper unconscious level, I might have heard about the Schwartz tweet and forecast my concerns as Olbermann would later do in his video for GQ, <a href="http://video.gq.com/watch/the-closer-with-keith-olbermann-does-trump-s-obsession-with-vote-rigging-signal-something-about-his-own-plans">Does Trump's Obsession With Vote Rigging Signal Something About His Own Plans?</a><br />
<br />
Either way, it happened. The 2016 election was stolen. It may not have occurred in the exact fashion in which the 1876 election was stolen, but it did happen. There are three primary sources on which I base this judgment: Greg Palast, Jonathan Simon and J. Alex Halderman. Palast has reported on this kind of chicanery before in 2000 and 2004. On November 11, 2016, he wrote an article spelling out what he concludes about the most recent presidential election titled <a href="http://www.gregpalast.com/election-stolen-heres/">The Election was Stolen - Here's How...</a> Using a system called Crosscheck, Trump operatives under the direction of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach purged 1.1 million Americans of color from the voting rolls of GOP-controlled states including Michigan and North Carolina. Palast details many additional methods, including felonious caging, that proves that "Jim Crow, not the voters, elected Mr. Trump."<br />
<br />
Then, there are the exit polls. As Palast writes, "Exit polls are the standard by which the US State Department measures the honesty of foreign elections." <a href="http://www.alternet.org/something-stinks-when-exit-polls-and-official-counts-dont-match">Jonathan Simon</a> did extensive research into the discrepancies between exit poll results in swing states and the final vote tallies. These discrepancies, which Simon calls a "red shift," includes North Carolina, which was a 5.9% shift from Clinton, who won the exit poll by 2.1%, to Trump winning the state vote count by 3.8%, which Simon calls "way outside the margin of error for that poll and therefore very unlikely to occur by chance." Also in this category is Pennsylvania, which gave Clinton a 4.4% lead in the exit poll margin, yet Trump wins by 1.2%, a 5.6% red shift. Florida had a 2.6% red shift with Clinton ahead in exit polls by 1.3%, then losing by 1.3%. This research was corroborated by <a href="http://markcrispinmiller.com/2016/11/exit-polls/">Mark Crispin Miller</a>, who detailed in 2004 how Kerry lost Ohio in the same fashion.<br />
<br />
Finally, as <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/22/politics/hillary-clinton-challenge-results/index.html?sr=fbCNN112316hillary-clinton-challenge-results0247AMVODtopLink&linkId=31471138">CNN reported</a> yesterday, there is the research from a team of computer scientists including J. Alex Halderman, the director of the University of Michigan Center for Computer Security and Society. They found evidence that vote totals in three states, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, could have been manipulated or hacked. Specifically, they found a questionable trend in which Clinton received 7% fewer votes in counties which relied on electronic voting machines compared to counties which relied on paper ballots. They presented their findings to top Clinton aides last Thursday and urged them to call for a recount. At this time, it is not known whether the Clinton campaign will request an audit based on the findings.<br />
<br />
So who is responsible for the theft? Donald Trump? The GOP? Russia? At this point, I don't presume to know and neither should anyone else. <b><i>We need to find out!</i></b> Rarely do I use this blog as a platform to call for political action, but this is an exceptional exception. Today is the last day to contact the Department of Justice to demand an audit. The number is (202) 514-2000. Wait to hear the menu, then press option 4 to leave a voicemail. Tell them to audit North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida due to reports of widespread voting machine tampering. Tell them they need to ensure the will of the American people and our democratic processes must be honored. That's what I did. Time will tell if this will motivate government action, but time is of the essence. Act now!<br />
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-79217877911379843692016-11-07T20:08:00.000-08:002016-11-07T20:08:16.916-08:00Rutherfraud B. Hayes and the (S)election of 1876<br />
<br />
<img src="http://ghosttowns.com/states/or/images/jack1.jpg" height="199" width="299" /><br />
<i>U.S.
Hotel - 1880 Built by George Holt for his fiancee Madame Jeanne De
Reboam. The first guest was President Rutherford B. Hayes.</i> <br />
<a href="http://ghosttowns.com/states/or/jacksonville.html">Courtesy Dolores Steele</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
This is the United States Hotel in Jacksonville, Oregon. It was built in 1880 and one of its first famous guests was President Rutherford B. Hayes. President Hayes, however, was one of the most infamous presidents in American history. He only served one term, but it was <i>how</i> he became President that made him truly infamous.<br />
<br />
The election of 1876 pitted Democratic Party nominee Samuel J. Tilden, the distinguished Governor of New York famous for exposing William "Boss" Tweed as a corrupt leader of the Tweed Ring within Tammany Hall, which was an engine for graft and corruption in New York City during the Gilded Age, against Republican Party nominee Rutherford B. Hayes, the Governor of Ohio who was the choice when the convention had stalled after six ballots. According to historian <a href="http://www.davekopel.com/Misc/OpEds/1876-Election.htm">Henry Adams</a>, Hayes was chosen as, "a third rate nonentity, whose only recommendation is that he is obnoxious to no one" and "necessary for party harmony." When all the votes were counted, Tilden had clearly won the popular vote, 4,284,000 to Hayes' 4,037,000.<br />
<br />
But as anyone who followed the hanging chad cliffhanger in 2000 knows, U.S. Presidential elections are never decided by popular vote, but through the electoral college. Tilden was ahead of Hayes in that arena, 184 electoral votes to 165. However, there were 20 electoral votes unresolved. In three southern states, South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana, each party declared that its candidate had won the state. There was also a dispute in <a href="https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/hayes_rutherford_b_visit_to_oregon_1880/#.V8CwHjX30vk">Oregon</a> because one of the state's electors, deputy postmaster John W. Watts, had his vote declared invalid by Oregon Governor La Fayette Grover. Grover, a Democrat, declared that Watts, a Republican Hayes supporter, violated the rule prohibiting electors from holding a federally appointed office.<br />
<br />
So what does the U.S. Constitution say should happen when there is not a clear winner in the electoral college? This was clarified by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution">12th Amendment</a> ratified in 1804, which states that if no candidate has a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives, with each state delegation having one vote, chooses the President and the Senate, with each Senator having one vote, chooses the Vice President. But instead of following this Constitutional procedure, Congress passed a law on January 29, 1877 forming a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1876">15-member commission</a> to settle the result.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/owBIS_Eue0U/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/owBIS_Eue0U?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
This commission consisted of five members each from the House, Senate and Supreme Court which resulted in seven Republicans, seven Democrats, and one independent, Supreme Court Justice David Davis. But at the same time, Davis was elected by the legislature of Illinois to the Senate. While Democrats in the Illinois legislature thought they were securing Davis's support on the commission by voting for him, this backfired when Davis resigned from the Supreme Court (and the commission) to take his Senate seat. The justices on the commission then chose Justice Joseph P. Bradley, a Republican, as his replacement.<br />
<br />
There were double sets of returns for each of the four states in dispute. While Hayes probably did win South Carolina (by a razor-thin 889 votes) and Florida, Tilden won in Louisiana with a majority of 9,000 of 207,000 votes cast. <a href="http://www.davekopel.com/Misc/OpEds/1876-Election.htm">Matthew Josephson</a> in his 1938 book <i>The Politicos</i> wrote: "Supported
by Republican ‘visiting statesmen’, not to mention regiments of Federal
soldiers, the Louisiana Returning Board proceeded to accept the
testimony of perjurers, thieves and prostitutes, and to throw out the
ballots of whole parishes, until over 13,350 Democratic votes were
canceled and a Hayes majority of over 4,000 votes were produced."<br />
<br />
Yet in spite of this evidence of fraud, Justice Bradley joined his seven other Republican members in a series of 8-7 votes that awarded all 20 disputed electoral votes to Hayes, giving him a 185-184 electoral vote victory. How could Tilden and the Democratic Party have accepted this outcome? A secret meeting was convened between representatives of both parties at the Wormley Hotel in Washington D.C. on February 26, 1877. According to journalist <a href="http://www.davekopel.com/Misc/OpEds/1876-Election.htm">Matthew Josephson</a>, "Democrats would abandon presidential claims and Republicans promised
federal troops, which enforced the constitutional amendment giving (African-Americans)
full rights of citizens, would be removed from the South." This is the real legacy of the election, or rather, the selection of 1876: the so-called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1877">Compromise of 1877</a>, which was the end of Reconstruction and the entrenchment of white supremacy-fueled segregation that denied African-American civil rights through Jim Crow laws for generations to come.<br />
<br />
Being the only president ever elected by congressional commission, President Hayes was given the nickname "Rutherfraud" Hayes. While his tour of the western states including Oregon in 1880 may have been part of an effort to reach out to citizens who felt disenfranchised, the taint of the disputed election ultimately led Hayes not to seek re-election that year.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-89264611546389601092016-09-27T23:04:00.000-07:002016-09-28T16:19:33.666-07:00Conspiracy History is for the BirdsThis is my second and more thorough attempt to create an American Judas post as a vlog. I hope you all watch it and certainly appreciate any constructive feedback that could help me make future vlog post the best they possibly can be. Of course, if you're unable to watch youtube videos or if you just prefer to read, the transcript is below.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DfjdSTR4dQg/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DfjdSTR4dQg?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Conspiracy History is for the Birds</b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ah, nothing more relaxing than feeding birds in the park on a sunny day. Pretty hard to imagine these creatures involved in corruption, murder or political conspiracy, right? Well I’ve got a story, three stories in fact, that details how hunting for birds has been used as a subterfuge throughout American history in an attempt to obscure the darkest political conspiracies of our time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>November 1910</b>: Senator Nelson W. Aldrich, Republican of Rhode Island, one of the most powerful men in Washington D.C., invited a small group of men out to the appropriately-named Jekyll Island for what was billed as a <a href="https://archive.org/stream/CreatureFromJekyllIslandByG.Edward-G.EdwardGriffin/CreatureFromJekyllIslandByG.Edward-G.EdwardGriffin_djvu.txt">‘duck hunt’</a>. Located off the coast of Georgia, Jekyll Island was a winter retreat for the wealthy consisting of 5,700 acres of land, including over 1,000 acres of tidal marshlands filled with an abundance of fowl. More importantly, the owners of the island could assure the privacy of this group. This was paramount to Aldrich who was extremely wary of attracting the attention of the press because, in addition to his senatorial responsibilities, he served as chair of the National Monetary Commission, a US banking policy review board formed in the wake of the Panic of 1907 to find ways to prevent similar financial panics from happening. Aldrich had instructed his companions to arrive at the New Jersey railway station separately, avoid reporters, and pretend not to know each other if they met inside the station prior to boarding. Once inside the train, these men addressed each other by first names only to further obscure their identities. In addition to the Senator and his personal secretary Arthur Shelton, the Jekyll Island ‘duck hunt’ crew was comprised of an elite gathering of DC power players: Dr. A. Piatt Andrew, a former Harvard University assistant Professor of Economics and as of 1910, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Henry P. Davison, partner at J.P. Morgan and Co. (who along with J.P. Morgan was a co-owner of Jekyll Island), Frank A. Vanderlip, President of the Rockefeller-owned National City Bank and last, but for the designs of the real bagging at hand, probably most important, Paul M. Warburg, representing U.S. interests as a partner of Kuhn, Loeb and Co. and extensive international interests as a member of the Warburg banking family. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How many ducks they actually bagged on that trip is inconsequential; it was subterfuge for the real purpose: the most powerful moneyed interests in the world secretly redesigning the way money works in America. The plan hatched on this trip was the basis for what would eventually become the Federal Reserve. Though Aldrich’s initial legislation upon return from this trip would be rejected by Congress, it did approve a similar proposal on December 22, 1913, which President Wilson signed into law the next day called the Federal Reserve Act. This law, which forever altered the structure of the U.S. economy, would never have been conceived if these most powerful moneyed interests (Morgan, Rockefeller and Warburg conservatively represented one quarter of the world’s wealth at that time) had not secretly conspired to make it so.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>November 1963</b>: New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison called in David Ferrie to question him about his reported association with Lee Harvey Oswald, accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy. In the aftermath of JFK’s assassination, Garrison had made preliminary inquiries regarding possible associates Oswald may have had during the summer of 1963 while he was in New Orleans. Ferrie’s name cropped up as having been seen with Oswald, including a tip that he had taken a trip to Texas on the day of the assassination. During questioning from Garrison, Ferrie said that he and some friends had driven to Houston that day to go ice skating. Garrison said his rationale for going during one of the most violent recent thunderstorms was not adequate. They then drove to Galveston on Saturday (where Jack Ruby placed a phone call Saturday night) and on Sunday, according to Ferrie, went on a ‘goose hunt’. After relating details of this hunt for a “wise bunch of birds”, Garrison’s assistant DA confronted him that they understood there were no guns in the car. Ferrie then twisted his story to fit this fact as confirmed by his road trip companions. Garrison then had Ferrie arrested and held for further questioning by the FBI. The FBI swiftly released him, finding no connection between him and the assassination.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By 1967, Ferrie had changed his story again regarding the ‘goose hunt’, now claiming that they did have guns in the car. But regardless of whether there really was a ‘goose hunt’ or not, this story was the thread that helped unravel the official history as decreed in the Warren Commission Report of 1964, claiming that Oswald alone assassinated President Kennedy and Ruby alone assassinated Oswald, no larger conspiracy existing beyond that. Garrison took that thread and, though Ferrie mysteriously died in April 1967 and was unable to testify, built a case that brought an indictment for the murder of JFK against one of Ferrie’s associates, Clay Shaw. Though ultimately found not guilty, the public outcry against the absurd conclusions of the Warren Report led to a second investigation, the House Select Committee on Assassinations that in 1979, acknowledged that one of the possible indications of a conspiracy was Lee Harvey Oswald’s apparent association in New Orleans with David Ferrie.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>January 2004</b>: Vice President Dick Cheney, having been <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2004/feb/05/nation/na-ducks5">notified</a> the previous month that the Supreme Court would render a decision in the case of <i>Cheney v. United States District Court</i> in July 2004, felt the urge to go out on a ‘duck hunt’ of his own. He arranged a little getaway at oil baron Wallace Carline’s private reserve in Morgan City, Louisiana. Accompanying the Vice President on Air Force Two was none other than Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who was scheduled to hear arguments in the case in March and April. Though Scalia later complained to the media that "the duck hunting was lousy”, he never complained about the vice president paying for all his expenses for the trip. Cheney even provided Justice Scalia with Secret Service protection and transportation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But there <i>were</i> plenty of <a href="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/feb2004/scal-f20.shtml">complaints</a> from the conservative Judicial Watch and the progressive Sierra Club, who were the plaintiffs in this case against the National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG). Not coincidentally, the NEPDG was headed by Vice President Dick Cheney between late January and April 4, 2001. There were many calls for Justice Scalia to recuse himself from this case, citing the friendly ‘duck hunt’ as an obvious sign of impartiality. Scalia refused to withdraw and on July 2, 2004, in a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court voted in favor of the Vice President allowing Cheney to keep his records secret. Though Scalia tried to assure that this was a case where Cheney was involved in his “official capacity, as opposed to…personal capacity”, the seven pages of NEPDG documents that Judicial Watch was able to obtain in July 2003 from a Freedom of Information Act request show a focus of the NEPDG records was on oil and gas in the Middle East. Full disclosure could reveal a contradiction of the stated claims of the Bush administration that plans to invade Iraq did not occur prior to September 11, 2001. The records may even contain, as investigative journalist <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=W6czyl1ZcjAC&pg=PA42&lpg=PA42&dq=cheney+energy+task+force+the+deepest+darkest+secrets+of+9/11&source=bl&ots=Ybq4asc1jk&sig=8EeJsW_Km9nMQS6VSxIvHqLUwcA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwizndHnj4jPAhUD9mMKHV28Dh0Q6AEIOjAF#v=onepage&q=cheney%20energy%20task%20force%20the%20deepest%20darkest%20secrets%20of%209%2F11&f=false">Michael Ruppert</a> believes, “the deepest, darkest secrets of 9/11”. To this day, the records of those meetings, which included such non-government officials as Enron CEO Kenneth Lay, later to be convicted in a separate and more public scandal of conspiracy and corporate fraud, remain a secret to the public. But as far as the appearance of any impropriety in the matter is concerned, Scalia had the sharpest retort: “Quack, quack”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At first glance, the only thing that seems to connect these three conspiratorial anecdotes is a hunt for birds. It’s a coy and obviously flimsy cover story each and every time. But a cover story for what? What does the creation of the Federal Reserve, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and the Supreme Court-approved suppression of the records of Dick Cheney’s Energy Task Force have in common? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The answer is that each incident revolves around a group of men identifying an impediment to the business they wish to conduct and initiating a plan to remove the impediment and maximize the profits of their business. That’s how I define the word conspiracy: how business gets done. Whether it is accomplished within the letter of the law or outside is of little practical significance to these Machiavellian men; what matters is that it gets done, whatever it takes. These anecdotes are not the exception to the rule in American history, it <b> is</b> the rule.</div>
Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-12061817152862172442016-07-20T17:27:00.000-07:002016-07-22T12:35:56.923-07:00The Poetry of Gary Snyder and Radical Revolution<b>Editorial Prologue:</b> Yeah, yeah, I know regular readers of this blog might recall I wanted future posts to be more visually oriented. But sometimes I'm inspired to just <u>write</u>. When one of my closest friends left southern California for greener pastures about a year and a half ago, he left behind a collection of Gary Snyder poems titled <i>No Nature</i>. I finally got around to reading it recently and loved it. Two poems in particular I found especially inspiring as I felt they reflected my feelings on the conundrum of human existence within the confines of that paradigm we call civilization. So I put fingers to the keyboard and cooked this blog entry up. I'm not sure if this blog entry really lends itself to a visual component, but if you really want to see Robert Paulsen give a poetry reading, by all means hit me up in the comments section. If I can get at least three comments in favor of a poetry reading, I'll film it and edit the post to put the video in!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Poetry of Gary Snyder and Radical Revolution</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/radical">Full Definition of radical</a><br />
<b>1</b> : of, relating to, or proceeding from a root: as <br />
<b>a</b> (1) : of or growing from the root of a plant <<i>radical</i> tubers> (2) : growing from the base of a stem, from a rootlike stem, or from a stem that does not rise above the ground <<i>radical</i> leaves> <br />
<b>b</b> : of, relating to, or constituting a linguistic root <br />
<b>c</b> : of or relating to a mathematical root <br />
<b>d</b> : designed to remove the root of a disease or all diseased and potentially diseased tissue <<i>radical</i> surgery> <<i>radical</i> mastectomy><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">TOMORROW'S SONG by Gary Snyder</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The USA slowly lost its mandate</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">in the middle and later twentieth century</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">it never gave the mountains and rivers,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> trees and animals,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> a vote.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">all the people turned away from it</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> myths die; even continents are impermanent</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> Turtle Island returned.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> my friend broke open a dried coyote-scat</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> removed a ground squirrel tooth</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> pierced it, hung it</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> from the gold ring</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> in his ear.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">We look to the future with pleasure</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">we need no fossil fuel</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">get power within</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">grow strong on less.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Grasp the tools and move in rhythm side by side</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> flash gleams of wit and silent knowledge</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> eye to eye</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">sit still like cats or snakes or stones</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> as whole and holding as</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> the blue black sky.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">gentle and innocent as wolves</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> as tricky as a prince.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">At work and in our place:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> <i>in the service</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><i> of the wilderness</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><i> of life</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><i> of death</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><i> of the Mother's breasts!</i></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
War, politics, economics, energy. These are all concepts intrinsic to human civilization. War is the continuation of politics by other means, politics is the continuation of economics by other means, economics is the continuation of energy by other means. While the concept of energy may not <span style="text-decoration: underline;">originate</span> with human civilization, it is intrinsic and in contrast with the other three continuations of it, energy alone is separate from humanity as a part of nature. Try as we might to show how sophisticated we are with our ever expanding technological advances, we can't escape the fact that we are a part of nature and disregarding the significance of this not only has repercussions on the natural world around us, but also on the very civilization so many in vanity try to place above the natural world.<br />
<br />
If there is one concept intrinsic to human civilization that connects energy to its most direct continuation, economics, it is money. As with technology in general, it is a concept that many of its most ardent advocates like to pretend is divorced from the natural world; that all the currency manipulation, derivatives and speculators rise above such terrestrial inconveniences as natural resources. But our monetary system is predicated on infinite growth. And you cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet. This is an important concept to grasp if you really care about a real revolution in human civilization that is truly radical, if you define radical as mentioned above, <b>proceeding from a root</b>. <br />
<br />
We must get to the root of what truly ails us. Every symptom of the sickness ailing society, income inequality, student debt, global warming, famine, you name it - all borne out of the same root problem: human civilization uses a monetary system predicated on infinite growth on a finite planet. A metastasizing malignant cancer on our seven billion strong and growing human body that is destined for destruction - all we have to do is maintain business as usual to watch this prognosis play out. Unless you change the way money works, you change nothing. It's easy to get confused and think the answer to this problem lies in how we <i>distribute</i> money. Capitalism doesn't work so try socialism. Socialism doesn't work so try communism. Communism doesn't work so try capitalism. A shell game solving some symptoms, exacerbating others.<br />
<br />
So maybe the problem is money <i>itself</i>. Maybe the problem is that the way money is currently constituted - fiat currency, fractional reserves, compound interest - is intrinsically a Ponzi scheme. Money <b>is</b> debt when it is predicated on an infinite growth system. That's regardless of whether your standard is pegged to gold, silver or the almighty buck. So how do we make the root of our monetary system more aligned with the natural world? Maybe the answer is to change the way money is currently constituted so that instead of being predicated on debt, it is predicated on energy. Specify and detail exactly how energy is utilized in our society; both the energy found in natural resources and the human energy of our labor. To insure the replacement of the Infinite Growth paradigm with sustainability, insist on renewable natural resource usage and re-localize economic allocations to sustain human energy and prioritize fair labor practices.<br />
<br />
This new system will address all the symptoms that ail us. Until, like every other continuation of energy in the past, human beings find a way to corrupt <i>that</i> system.<br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
So maybe the root problem is the continuation itself. When did human beings first abandon their direct connection with the natural world of energy in favor of developing that civilized continuation we call economics? I believe this occurred with the advent of agriculture. We've been on a collision course with our own extinction ever since. Not because agriculture itself is inherently environmentally corrosive, but because of the <i>human greed</i> that made agriculture inherently <span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;">totalitarian</span> as described by <a data-mce-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTsg5r9oKic" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTsg5r9oKic">Daniel Quinn</a>: "it all belongs to us: everything; every bit of it and we can do with it what we want."<br />
<br />
So maybe if we abandon our continuations, i.e. civilization, we'll get a truly radical revolution that addresses the real root problem: <b>greed</b>.<br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
Not that that will solve <i>all</i> our problems. We're only human.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">REVOLUTION IN THE REVOLUTION IN THE REVOLUTION by Gary Snyder</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The country surrounds the city</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The back country surrounds the country</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"From the masses to the masses" the most</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Revolutionary consciousness is to be found </span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Among the most ruthlessly exploited classes:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Animals, trees, water, air, grasses</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">We must pass through the stage of the</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"Dictatorship of the Unconscious" before we can</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Hope for the withering-away of the states</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">And finally arrive at true Communionism.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">If the capitalists and imperialists</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> are the exploiters, the masses are the workers.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> and the party</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> is the communist.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">If civilization</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> is the exploiter, the masses is nature.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> and the party</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> is the poets.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">If the abstract rational intellect</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> is the exploiter, the masses is the unconscious.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> and the party</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"> is the yogins.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">& POWER</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">comes out of the seed-syllables of mantras.</span>Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-30877874824574474352016-07-09T18:00:00.000-07:002016-07-24T20:26:05.984-07:00Our Road Trip to the Columbia Icefield, Yellowstone and BeyondWe've taken a lot of road trips over the years, but this May my wife and I decided to take what we called the "mother of all road trips." We've traveled over the past decade through the western
part of the United States; usually our road trips lasted anywhere from a weekend
to a whole week and the most miles we ever drove probably added up to
1,500 miles round trip. This trip lasted two weeks, extended beyond U.S.
borders into Canada, and added up to 2,596 miles round trip!<br />
<br />
We started early Saturday morning May 7 driving up the I-5 to southern Oregon to spend some time with my relatives. I was able to spend Mother's Day with my mother as well as my 98 year old grandmother, who had recently taken a bad fall but was still able to see us in the hospital. Then we headed up to northern Oregon in Tigard, which we used as a base for exploring the wineries of the Willamette Valley. We tasted a number of great wines and saw some spectacular views of the area.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOW7rF6ASwPrgC3b16EIg34mqf5aXiTSM4z3nfUzdVjK4l_fogVx4BgQj_tm1ijiT-kyWz6OboRtZ-qWdZOV1jbfU_LKExXXj6_bvNxN-UUItdTysac3Hz3jVmiBPchUz419RzM1yv6g/s1600/DSCN4675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOW7rF6ASwPrgC3b16EIg34mqf5aXiTSM4z3nfUzdVjK4l_fogVx4BgQj_tm1ijiT-kyWz6OboRtZ-qWdZOV1jbfU_LKExXXj6_bvNxN-UUItdTysac3Hz3jVmiBPchUz419RzM1yv6g/s320/DSCN4675.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Continuing north on the I-5, we stopped off in Seattle and took an elevator to the observation deck of the Space Needle. It was my first time visiting the iconic structure featured prominently in the classic 1974 conspiracy thriller <i>The Parallax View</i>, which I wrote about in a <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-parallel-view.html">previous blog post</a>. Then we enjoyed a wonderful seafood meal at Ivar's Acres of Clams. Their deep fried salmon and their salmon chowder was hot, savory and absolutely delicious.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbc15pMe0gXogWl3rTYn78VZJSa7vo2ioaAz9WUr8FiFgoQp23OTLxrlzFQL8RjZTk7hvTgn7llXp35yvuRePf5dnXP7atXhkBDVhpw7QXWNNexGj6eG-n_qUPfjGK59wvHWl3pqiYkes/s1600/DSCN4735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbc15pMe0gXogWl3rTYn78VZJSa7vo2ioaAz9WUr8FiFgoQp23OTLxrlzFQL8RjZTk7hvTgn7llXp35yvuRePf5dnXP7atXhkBDVhpw7QXWNNexGj6eG-n_qUPfjGK59wvHWl3pqiYkes/s320/DSCN4735.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
We kept going north, leaving the United States (making sure we had our passports and our courage; the border guard was tough as nails) and heading into Canada to spend the night in Vancouver. After viewing the city and mountainous horizon from the Vancouver Lookout Tower, we drove up Transcontinental Highway 1 on our way to Kamloops. While the city of Kamloops was situated in a beautiful valley and we had a wonderful dinner at their local diner <a href="http://www.haroldsfamilydining.com/">Harold's Family Restaurant</a> (absolutely the best french fries ever - I'm not kidding - extra super crunchy on the outside, not overly salted, soft hot potato inside - and the kicker - served with a side of thick hearty brown gravy. Must try!) Kamloops was just a one night stopover on our way to what for me was the ultimate destination, Canmore.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq31qVBvTk2g-kF4L3TFZosgk-H2Vo3UBpKEI2bE73q42Z31A41bVaBmIC-l28rX93g0PPHqKfQcXi_inXeLx0t7epwOEwbt2yLty6mPeMfg5wJEhZOIVJLg9oI5Pyucr0436kWDcXK_Y/s1600/DSCN4812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq31qVBvTk2g-kF4L3TFZosgk-H2Vo3UBpKEI2bE73q42Z31A41bVaBmIC-l28rX93g0PPHqKfQcXi_inXeLx0t7epwOEwbt2yLty6mPeMfg5wJEhZOIVJLg9oI5Pyucr0436kWDcXK_Y/s320/DSCN4812.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Located right outside of Banff National Park, Canmore is surrounded by Alberta's Rocky Mountains. The drive from Kamloops to Canmore was an exercise in escalating exhalations. With each curve of the road, our jaws dropped further as each stunning snow-capped peak would be replaced by a different one, perhaps larger, or more jagged, but each an awe-inducing spectacle. There were other spectacles of nature to view besides mountains: at one point I had to slow from 120 kilometers per hour to zero for a few minutes to allow a young grizzly bear to pass across the highway. Arriving in Canmore Friday May 13, we ate at their local diner <a href="http://canmoredining.com/family/craigs-way-station/">Craig's Way Station</a> where I had a great Canadian burger for dinner, then bought sandwiches at Tim Horton's to go for lunch the next day. We tried to go to bed at 10pm, but were amazed to look outside to see the sun hadn't set yet!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cT3XiwfYZrNUVNzBwxsyGP4lLJByzXawGcl5LkNklHMa8yqzjjwA67qcsAl8M_EMFtjQruaQaDYC753olu26P_C6rYQsH91yAWZ0zdqfVy9EKReEghnTIIqRXplscZDWYfUwtpmkVH4/s1600/DSCN4815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cT3XiwfYZrNUVNzBwxsyGP4lLJByzXawGcl5LkNklHMa8yqzjjwA67qcsAl8M_EMFtjQruaQaDYC753olu26P_C6rYQsH91yAWZ0zdqfVy9EKReEghnTIIqRXplscZDWYfUwtpmkVH4/s320/DSCN4815.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<br />
The next day, Saturday May 14, is what I consider to be the pinnacle of our trip, the Columbia Icefield. We drove three hours through Banff National Park crossing over into Jasper National Park, a drive even more spectacular than the previous day - each side of the road crowned with towering peaks stuffed with ancient glaciers - including crystal clear lakes and all different kinds of wildlife such as rams that we had to slow to allow them to cross the road. At the Columbia Icefield, we could see the mighty Athabasca Glacier and how global warming had reduced its size over the last century. It was there that I decided to shoot a video segment for American Judas to demonstrate the difference.<br />
<br />
We continued in a specially designed truck to drive us onto the Athabasca Glacier. There we walked on the glacier, which produced an especially bright glare for which I fortunately remembered to wear sunscreen lotion. There was a flowing stream of water and<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhvjpfNs99E"> we both drank a cup of glacier water</a>. There is no other water on earth that compares to glacier water. It is simply the cleanest, clearest, coldest water on earth! We hadn't planned on doing this on what would have been the 73rd birthday of my father - it was one of those serendipitous synchronicities of fate - but remembering how he traveled to 55 countries in his lifetime, it seemed like the perfect moment to honor him.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qgk_uA6R4Ic/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qgk_uA6R4Ic?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
From there, it was on to Yellowstone! We stayed in Gardiner, Montana near the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MGSbazpO7M">Roosevelt Arch</a> at the northern entrance. We made good on our game plan to reach Old Faithful Inn first thing in the morning, then backtrack on the same road in the afternoon to see what we missed. That meant getting front row seats for the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UkW2aKTpUE">9:30am eruption of Old Faithful geyser!</a> Then we explored the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPzh7MVewUA">Upper Geyser Basin</a>, encountering many geysers, pools and buffalo. After that, we drove to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U15Qn3d_E6Q">Fountain Paint Pot and Mammoth Hot Springs</a> before heading back to Gardiner for dinner at the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abGff0yqovI">Two Bit Saloon</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_3WsG-UdAoti4yq0oZdhMtm6lsK-3NrQFTt4q7_-Co8G2FHAbTcu80atrLXW7stRv0dSejsaKj7rOFeD3OscdSEwyVCHCgKmkSNJUxM7nk5U1RnNuATnW-VDel7r4OxClsv09xZ9qUx0/s1600/DSCN4964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_3WsG-UdAoti4yq0oZdhMtm6lsK-3NrQFTt4q7_-Co8G2FHAbTcu80atrLXW7stRv0dSejsaKj7rOFeD3OscdSEwyVCHCgKmkSNJUxM7nk5U1RnNuATnW-VDel7r4OxClsv09xZ9qUx0/s320/DSCN4964.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
In many ways this was the most rigorously scheduled of any of our
road trips - some of our daily drives lasted over 10 hours and chewed up
over 700 miles from one destination to the next - so we researched as
many nitty-gritty details as possible to know where the next gas stop
(at the cheapest price) was, where the next meal (sometimes stuffed in a
freezer bag) could be munched and what points of interest might be
observable along the way. But sometimes my wife and I would learn
something new upon reaching our destination of something not on the
itinerary that we just had to check out.<br />
<br />
That was what happened on the last leg of the trip in Las Vegas. While staying at the El Cortez downtown, we read about a brand new land art installation just outside of Vegas at Jean Dry Lake. It's called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbApVx9DmMU">Seven Magic Mountains</a> and this creation by artist Ugo Rondinone consists of seven stacks of enormous multi-colored totems. Seeing such a bright playful exhibit amidst such a stark dry atmosphere was the kind of experience my wife and I yearn for as travelers.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOT8Rj-89FMGawrEahLqHYly5IK3IbFptfYBqtzI4Z6ut3pldNG5_4AnhC9rRKZaEQjz3gATFQWBzxcmNEqfyZblarhaUZBUznLZfiD5tG4Fo8Np-TDRqDYfURvUh3W01Is71FlHDPR84/s1600/DSCN5507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOT8Rj-89FMGawrEahLqHYly5IK3IbFptfYBqtzI4Z6ut3pldNG5_4AnhC9rRKZaEQjz3gATFQWBzxcmNEqfyZblarhaUZBUznLZfiD5tG4Fo8Np-TDRqDYfURvUh3W01Is71FlHDPR84/s320/DSCN5507.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This was really a transformative trip for us. Shooting and watching so much video, like the one from Columbia Icefield I posted above, made me realize the power of images and how I would like to create more video-oriented posts for American Judas both here and on my new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIzS5oXX1ULSftkthuiLqhA">Youtube channel</a>. But there were so many other great adventures my wife and I experienced outside the scope of what I usually explore here that we've decided to create our own separate blog! I'm very excited about this joint venture and hope that you will check it out along with all the great pictures and videos we're posting!<br />
<br />
Our new blog is:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lexandneek.wordpress.com/">www.lexandneek.wordpress.com</a><br />
<br />
Please subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLLEC42lwOT-StCSsafgVKQ">Youtube channel</a> and be sure to check us out on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LexandNeek-1284923181522200/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/LexandNeek">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lexandneek/">Pinterest</a>. We hope to update our blog and Youtube channel once a week, while I'll still try to stick to once a month entries here. I'll still try to find new things to write about (shouldn't be too difficult with all the crazy things happening in the world today) but I also hope to revisit previous entries by updating them with Youtube videos that will add a new dimension. Stay tuned!<br />
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-6839301170314978022016-06-19T22:06:00.000-07:002017-01-18T16:22:00.672-08:00Orlando Terror, Operation Gladio Plan C and the Resistible Rise of Donald TrumpSorry to skip a month blogging - most of May was spent on an incredible, possibly life-changing vacation that I will be providing much more details on in my next blog post - but since the Presidential contest for November has been decided for the major parties, I feel compelled to take my focus off deep history for a moment and weigh in. I've already written about and was correct in <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2015/05/is-this-best-we-can-do.html">predicting</a> that Hillary Clinton would win the Democratic Party nomination. It really is incredible that in challenging her, Bernie Sanders was able to win as many votes, states and delegates and last as long as he did. But it is past time that he and his most passionate supporters face reality: he <i>never</i> had a chance.<br />
<br />
You can run on a platform that threatens the system and win in the House, you can even run on a platform that threatens the system and win in the Senate, but if you run for President on a platform that threatens the system, you will not be <i>allowed</i> to win even the nomination of a major party. Sorry to be such a cynical bastard, but if <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/03/16/new_york_times_busted_for_anti_bernie_bias_the_iconic_clinton_endorsing_newspaper_slyly_edits_article_to_smear_sanders/">media</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDR0USwGdq8">bias</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SandersForPresident/comments/4jid77/basic_stepbystep_of_what_went_down_yesterday_at/">DNC-enabled disenfranchisement</a> and <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/05/16/clinton-does-best-where-voting-machines-flunk-hacking-tests-hillary-clinton-vs-bernie-sanders-election-fraud-allegations/">computer</a> <a href="http://www.madcowprod.com/2016/06/09/hey-california-election-rigged/">voting fraud</a> doesn't convince you the fix was in from the beginning, nothing will. As I <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2015/08/breaking-bernie-21st-century-rat-fucking.html">wrote previously</a> in a blog post explaining why the system wouldn't let Bernie win, the last time a candidate from a major party who ran for President on a platform that genuinely threatened the status quo came close to winning the nomination, it was Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Remember what happened to him? I suppose it's possible there was an exception to the rule four years later when McGovern was nominated, but that only happened because of the Canuck Letter and other instances of "ratfucking" done at the instigation of President Nixon so that he could face an opponent easier to beat. Two years later, Nixon found out what happens when you try to cheat the system.<br />
<br />
It is because of this that while I believe that establishment-favorite Clinton is most likely to win, the portrayal of presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump by the Radical Establishment Media (and himself) as being anti-establishment is a clever piece of misdirection. I'm reminded of the logical extension of a Carl von Clausewitz quote by Michael Ruppert in the movie <i>Collapse</i>, "There was a guy name von Clausewitz who said that war is a
continuation of politics by other means.<i> </i>Politics is a continuation of <i>economics</i> by other means." From that perspective, it should be clear that Trump, political neophyte though he may be, is far from being anti-establishment where economics are concerned.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/56c640526e97c625048b822a-480/donald-trump.jpg" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/56c640526e97c625048b822a-480/donald-trump.jpg" /><br />
Donald Trump 2016 GOP presumptive nominee Photo credit: <i>businessinsider.com</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
If it isn't clear, let me spell out the absurdity of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/07/donald-trump-bernie-sanders-supporters-clinton-nomination">The Donald's unctuous outreach</a> to Sanders' supporters: you know that richest 1%; those billionaire fat-cats Bernie's always railing against? Trump is the milk-carton-poster-child personification of that social strata. Basically born with a <a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/156234/exposing_how_donald_trump_really_made_his_fortune%3A_inheritance_from_dad_and_the_government's_protection_mostly_did_the_trick">$200 million silver spoon in his mouth</a>, he parlayed that into a real estate/reality TV huckster empire worth billions. While a complicit media has done a magnificent job of image reinforcement for Trump by painting him as simpatico with the stereotypical blue-collar angry guy on a bar-stool, this is someone who has spent his entire adult life wining and dining the elite. They may view Hillary as the better choice because of her longer track record of political compliance with overworld objectives, but that doesn't mean they see Trump as an untrustworthy loose cannon. Remember, this is the man who literally wrote the book on <i>The Art of the Deal</i>. He can be counted on to negotiate in their favor, even if his road to electoral victory is riding a wave of discontented revolt.<br />
<br />
That possibility of victory should not be discarded as a pipe dream. My recent road trip with my wife took us through Pacific Northwest blue states as well as Great Basin red states. The only presidential candidates that I saw signs and bumper stickers for, often in the same state regardless of color, were Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. I realize that's not the most scientific basis for measuring the level of anger and political discontent with the status quo. But the fact remains that Trump, with large dollops of free media enabling, rode this wave of anger to victory and Sanders, despite significant media obstruction, rode a parallel wave of discontent to a close second. While it may not make logical sense from an ideological perspective for a Bernie supporter to switch to Trump, the reality of politics is that sometimes emotion trumps logic. As comedian Bill Maher <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2016/04/bill-maher-we-are-one-terrorist-attack-away-from-president-trump/">observed</a>, we're one terror attack away from "President Trump."<br />
<img alt="" class="irc_mi ioQs44TYK9Og-pQOPx8XEepE" height="225" src="https://tribwpix.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/gettyimages-539753402.jpg?quality=70&strip=all&w=400&h=225&crop=1" style="margin-top: 109px;" width="400" /><br />
Orlando club Pulse Photo credit: <i>pix11.com</i><br />
<br />
<br />
In that context, it's important to take a closer look at the recent terror attack in Orlando. This horrific mass shooting on June 12, the worst in US history in terms of casualties with 49 killed and 53 wounded, already has the presumptive nominees pouncing on it to provide red meat for their respective bases. Clinton is highlighting it to promote gun control against <a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/346538-clinton-ohio-orlando-speech/">"lone wolves"</a> while Trump uses it to rally around the 2nd amendment and highlight his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country; even <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/donald-trump-would-expand-muslim-immigrant-ban-n591416">expanding</a> it to "suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is a proven
history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or allies."<br />
<br />
But what alarms me with this particular incident are the number of inconsistencies ignored by REM indicative of a <a href="http://operation-gladio.net/brabant-killers">Brabant-style</a> Gladio operation similar to other recent attacks. Just as the San Bernardino massacre last December originally had eyewitness reports of <a href="http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=39367&start=735#p584099">three shooters</a> subsequently reduced to two, initial reports in Orlando of <a href="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/eyewitness-account-from-within-pulse-nightclub/nrfJF/">two shooters</a> were reduced to one Omar Mateen, even though Mateen reportedly told police he had <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/us/orlando-shooting.html?_r=0">accomplices</a>. Just as with the Boston Bombing in 2013, we have the FBI questioning the perp/patsy on multiple occasions only to be cleared of suspicion before the subsequent terror event. The FBI even <a href="http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2016/06/confirmed-fbi-introduced-florida.html">admit</a> that they introduced Mateen to "informants" - a procedure usually employed so they can be handlers in a sting operation - though somehow Mateen, like Tsarnaev in Boston before him (and the WTC bombers in 1993) just slipped through the cracks. Then there's the curious case of James Wesley Howell from Indiana, arrested in Santa Monica, California in the early hours of the same morning as the Orlando attack for possessing weapons in his car. He claimed that he was on his way to an LA Gay Pride event. Cuz what better way to express your <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-gay-pride-la-weapons-20160612-snap-story.html">bisexual</a> pride than firing three assault rifles with high capacity ammo and detonating a five gallon bucket of explosive chemicals?<br />
<br />
Now I'm willing to admit I might be wrong in some of my suspicions. Perhaps the Howell case is completely coincidental and there's no connection. Maybe Mateen was really just a frustrated bipolar American lashing out in rage over his conflicted sexuality. I find that a much more believable motive than radical Islam, especially considering in addition to pledging support to ISIS, Mateen had earlier attracted the attention of the FBI in 2013 by telling co-workers he was a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/13/omar-mateen-may-not-have-understood-the-difference-between-isis-al-qaeda-and-hezbollah/">member</a> of <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/orlando-gay-club-shooter-omar-mateen-called-911-bathroom-article-1.2671481">Hezbollah</a>, which anyone with a cursory knowledge of Sunni-Shiite relations understands is <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/war-between-hezbollah-and-isis-lebanon-404244">fighting against ISIS in Lebanon</a>, indicating Mateen doesn't understand shit about who he supports; yelling 'ISIS' is a convenient deflection from his closeted reasons. But I'm a lot more reluctant to let go of my suspicions of his handling by the FBI where they attempted to <a href="http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/omar-mateen-committed-mass-murder-fbi-tried-lure-him-terror-plot">lure him into a terror plot</a>, particularly since this was not his only connection with the intelligence community.<br />
<br />
There are at least three connections that I'm aware of that Mateen had with the CIA. (Thanks to the whole crew at <a href="http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=39815">RI</a> for their contributions.) First, there is his father, Seddique Mateen. According to Daniel Hopsicker, the US-based Afghan satellite channel that Mateen has a show on, <a href="http://www.madcowprod.com/2016/06/13/orlando-shooter-dad-longtime-cia-asset/">Payam Afghan</a>, is said to be "widely known in Southwest Asia as a CIA-Pakistani-ISI construct." Second, Omar Mateen was a member of the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/13/florida-gunman-omar-mateen-had-been-investigated-for-links-to-us/">Timbuktu Seminary</a>, an educational website run by former US Marine and undercover FBI agent Marcus Dwayne Robertson. According to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/06/09/abu-taubah-case/">The Intercept</a>, Robertson, who now goes by Abu Taubah, claims he worked as a covert operative for the CIA. Third, there is Mateen's security guard employment with G4S. This security corporation was formerly known as Wackenhut, a CIA proprietary company previously involved in <a href="http://www.americanpolitics.com/20010220Iraqgate.html">Iraqgate</a>, among other offenses. The shares of G4S were bought up by Pakistan in 2012, a deal the <a href="http://www.dawn.com/news/761816/pakistan-acquires-g4s">Chairman of Wackenhut</a> said would not be possible without the support of Bank al Falah. According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_Alfalah">wikipedia</a>, "the roots of the bank go back to the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI)."<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://cdn.historycommons.org/images/events/401_sibel_edmonds2050081722-9823.jpg" src="http://cdn.historycommons.org/images/events/401_sibel_edmonds2050081722-9823.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Sibel Edmonds author of <i>The Lone Gladio</i> Photo credit: <i>historycommons.org</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
It is this last intelligence connection that intrigues me the most because it ties into a personal hypothesis I have regarding the overworld vetting of Donald Trump's nomination. My previous post on <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-origins-of-irancontra-from-bay-of.html">Iran/Contra</a> explained how the overworld, exemplified by David Rockefeller, manipulates deep state events in coordination with the realms of intelligence, politics, finance and the underworld. Much of the covert operation apparatus that had been the domain of CIA proper was partially outsourced through the private efforts of guys like Gen. John Singlaub, but also through BCCI, which intersected all those realms. Privatization as a tool for Empire Maintenance is something that became even more intense in the 21st century with the invasion of Iraq as mercenary contractors like Blackwater were used in some cases to supplement and in some cases to outright supplant the military. With more and more attention being brought by alternative media to the history of Operation Gladio in false flag terror attacks, and in the case of the Paris attacks last November the finger of blame being pointed at the organization in charge of Gladio B, NATO, on an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7GAbVhjTSw">international television outlet</a>, is it likely that there are plans underway to obscure the role that Gladio plays today by trying to change it again? The original change in the 90s from Gladio A to Gladio B changed <i>how</i> it operated, from Cold War objectives to War on Terror objectives. Could they now have plans to change <i>where</i> it operates from in the latest evolution?<br />
<br />
This possibility is certainly something I'm not alone in entertaining. Sibel Edmonds hinted at something similar happening in her novel <i>The Lone Gladio</i> on page 352:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">"Well, Greg, you did it. You exposed and ended the operation. Here's to that." She raised her glass and took another sip. "And I believe that's it for me. I no longer owe you. I fulfilled my obligation and kept my end of our deal." Elsie lifted her glass high and drained it. "Even Steven."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Greg narrowed his eyes. "That was Operation <i>B</i>. You are right: it ended. But Operation <i>C</i> has already kicked in and is hard at work...as we speak. We might have cut two tiny heads off the beast, but the hydra's got hundreds more, you can bet your life on it."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<br />
My hypothesis is the overworld is currently exploring the possibility of transitioning Operation Gladio Plan B to Operation Gladio Plan C by decentralizing NATO responsibility and privatizing wherever possible to obscure accountability. That Gladio continues is essential for Empire Maintenance; the question then is how to do so in the most effective manner. Keeping in mind that in being the presumed nominee Trump passed his overworld vetting, declaring that NATO <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/videos/2016-03-23/complete-trump-interview-nato-nukes-muslims-and-hillary">"may be obsolete"</a> and that "maybe" it should be gotten rid of would constitute the most efficient path of achieving an overworld objective - with the added bonus of appearing to be anti-establishment! <br />
<br />
Why else do I think President Trump might be a useful instrument in the evolution of Gladio B under NATO to Gladio C privatized? At the same time Trump was questioning the need for NATO last March, he unveiled his list of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/21/politics/donald-trump-foreign-policy-team/">top foreign policy advisors</a>. One name in particular stood out in bold for me: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_E._Schmitz">Joe Schmitz</a>. While REM outlets usually described him as a former Defense Department inspector general, he stood out to me for a different position entirely: a former executive with the firm of mercenaries formerly named Blackwater. If you haven't read Jeremy Scahill's book <i>Blackwater</i>, it's worth it for how he details the whole sordid history of the Schmitz family. For Trump to lambaste the entire Bush family name over Iraq, which I loved, then choose as one of his main foreign policy advisors someone who <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-joseph-e-schmitz-foreign-policy-pentagon-dod-germany-wrong-doing-439239">helped protect</a> that criminal administration proves two things. It proves Trump likes to have it both ways and that he has a particular interest in the arena of privatization that could prove very useful to the Deep State if he won in November.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">“Therefore learn how to see and not to gape.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">To act instead of talking all day long.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The world was almost won by such an ape!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The nations put him where his kind belong.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">But don't rejoice too soon at your escape -</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The womb he crawled from is still going strong.”
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">―
<a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/26853.Bertolt_Brecht">Bertolt Brecht</a>,
</span><span id="quote_book_link_580449"><span style="background-color: cyan;">
<a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2103413">The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui</a></span>
</span><br />
<br />
<br />
There have already been so many articles and op-ed columns dedicated to comparing the rise of Trump to the rise of a fascist dictator, it's hard to resist the temptation, which is basically what the quote above from Brecht's play does. I certainly don't believe that President Hillary Clinton would shy away from emasculating NATO if it best served the interests of Empire Maintenance. Perhaps that is the choice we really face in November: transition to Gladio C at a glacial pace to preserve the appearance of business as usual with another President Clinton, or shake the status quo with the "faster, please" position of President Trump. In that light, Orlando may be a trial balloon for the Deep State to get a pulse on what America can take - similar events before November could either quicken that pulse or make it catatonic. "Faster, please", in case you didn't get the reference, is a signature meme of Machiavelli lover and author of <i>Universal Fascism</i> Michael Ledeen. While Ledeen might make a <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelledeen/2016/03/10/whos-a-fascist/#44f3d785795f">scholarly claim</a> that historically speaking Trump is not a fascist, I would invite him and everyone else to read <a href="http://interglacial.com/pub/text/Umberto_Eco_-_Eternal_Fascism.html">Umberto Eco's 14 points of fascism</a> to see if the candidate you despise measures up. Personally, whatever you call it, I don't think American Judas would survive it should President Trump take this whim and make it law:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h1 class="article-title">
Donald Trump wants to 'close up' the Internet</h1>
<span class="byline-timestamp"> <span id="js-byline-icon"> </span> <span class="cnnbyline "> <span class="byline">by <a href="mailto:david.goldman@turner.com" target="_blank">David Goldman</a> </span> <a class="soc-twtname" href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=DavidGoldmanCNN">@DavidGoldmanCNN</a> </span> <span class="cnnDateStamp"> December 8, 2015: 9:00 AM ET</span></span><br />
<br />
<h2>
Donald Trump has called for a shutdown of the Internet in certain areas to stop the spread of terror.</h2>
In a speech at the U.S.S. Yorktown in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina,
on Monday, Trump referenced the use by ISIS of social media as a
recruitment tool. He recommended a discussion with Bill Gates to shut
off parts of the Internet.<br />
<br />
<div id="ie_column">
</div>
"We're
losing a lot of people because of the Internet," Trump said. "We have to
go see Bill Gates and a lot of different people that really understand
what's happening. We have to talk to them about, maybe in certain areas,
closing that Internet up in some way. Somebody will say, 'Oh freedom of
speech, freedom of speech.' These are foolish people. We have a lot of
foolish people."<br />
<br />
<b><span class="inStoryHeading">Some totalitarian governments do it</span></b><br />
<b><span class="inStoryHeading"> </span></b> <br />
The notion that the Internet could be shut off is not completely off
base. North Korea does it. Some countries have been known to shut off
Internet service to their citizens in times of crisis. Egypt restricted
the Internet during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.<br />
<br />
Other
countries block certain Internet services and sites. China is the most
famous example, forbidding most social networking sites as well as
websites that deal with subjects the government doesn't want its
citizens to know about.<br />
<br />
more...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/08/technology/donald-trump-internet/">http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/08/technology/donald-trump-internet/</a> </blockquote>
<br />
<br />
Call it fascist, call it foolish, call it a 'loose cannon' like so many others in the 'establishment' do. But if you care about freedom and if anything I've written in this entry makes any sense, whatever you call it, resist it. <i>It doesn't have your best interests at heart.</i> At all!Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-46067915230892387502016-04-28T17:01:00.001-07:002019-10-23T15:14:22.532-07:00The Origins of Iran/Contra: From the Bay of Pigs to Lee Harvey, OsvaldoIn downtown Los Angeles, there is a place called the Civic Center Mall. It is known as containing the largest concentration of government employees in the United States outside of Washington, D.C. On a personal level, it is an area I spent a great deal of time hanging out with the LA branch of the #Occupy Wall Street movement in the fall of 2011. But it is also an area where a plot to assassinate President Jimmy Carter was foiled on May 5, 1979 that may have influenced future events that put in motion the sinister forces that conspired to perpetrate one of the grossest violations of the U.S. Constitution known as the Iran/Contra scandal.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://www.paulrwilliamsproject.org/site_files/images/EXM-P-S-LOS-ANG-CIT-BUI-550-thumb5.jpg" src="http://www.paulrwilliamsproject.org/site_files/images/EXM-P-S-LOS-ANG-CIT-BUI-550-thumb5.jpg" /> <br />
Civic Center Mall <i>Photo credit: www.paulrwilliamsproject.org</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Iran/Contra scandal was revealed on November 25, 1986 by Edwin Meese as a criminal enterprise where funds from the sales of US arms to Iran were diverted to the Contras fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. There is the known scandal covered by the mainstream media that led to the histrionic hearings where <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=oliver_north">Lt. Col. Oliver North</a> displayed his crisp uniform and his not-so-crisp memory, the Tower Commission issued their report which like most government commissions uncovered minimal criminality and zero systemic accountability, and all outstanding indictments for six of the known perpetrators (former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Elliott Abrams, Robert C. McFarlane, Alan Fiers, Clair George and Duane Clarridge) were <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1992-12-25/news/mn-2472_1_iran-contra-affair">pardoned by lame-duck President George H. W. Bush </a>as he was about to leave office.<br />
<br />
But there are also the more clandestine elements not as widely publicized that illustrate just severely our democratic processes have been subverted. Just to mention a few, there was the "readiness exercise" called Rex-84 in which Oliver North worked with FEMA to draw up plans to, among other things, detain hundreds of thousands of undocumented aliens, surveillance and detention of political dissidents, including US citizens, and identifying scenarios for suspending the US Constitution. There was the CIA-Contra-crack scandal that I've written <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/04/killing-messenger-better-late-than-never.html">multiple</a> blog <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/03/synopsizing-sibel-edmonds-evolution-of_28.html">entries</a> on that Gary Webb lost his career and his life over. There was the financial legerdemain perpetrated by these shadow networks through shady institutions like <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2010/09/genesis-of-911.html">BCCI</a>, another scandal I've written about previously.<br />
<br />
Intersecting all of these elements were the "secret teams" of intelligence agents, military operatives and others working in the private world of covert operations detailed in the book <i>The Iran Contra Connection</i> by Jonathan Marshall, Jane Hunter and Peter Dale Scott. These covert teams probably existed on an ad hoc basis throughout US history (General Smedley Butler's <i>War is a Racket</i> gives a good summary of how this happened prior to WWI.) but really became institutionalized in 1947 with the creation of the CIA and the NSC. One of the first prime examples of this type of secret team was what <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKhelliwell.htm">Paul Helliwell</a> did for Chaing Kai-Shek's Kuomintang Army (KMT) in Taiwan in the 1950s. A career OSS/CIA officer, (who also helped <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/14/how-the-cia-helped-disney-conquer-florida.html">Walt Disney</a> set up an unconstitutional form of government on his Florida land purchase for what would ultimately become Disney World) Helliwell tried to prepare Chaing's KMT for a future mainland China invasion by setting up a clandestine arrangement for CIA fronted companies Civil Air Transport (CAT) and the Sea Supply Corporation to ship opium for the benefit of the KMT. CIA involvement with the drug trade continued into the 1960s as focus shifted from a presumed offensive out of Taiwan to a defensive posture in Laos and Vietnam. CAT was renamed Air America and was extremely important in maintaining covert, often illegal operations. Helliwell was transferred to provide business cover for the CIA's Cuban operations in 1960.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="Paul Helliwell" src="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKhelliwellP.jpg" height="208" width="150" /><br />
Paul Helliwell <i>Photo credit: www.spartacus-educational.com</i><br />
<br />
<br />
The foundation of the scandal on a personnel level, to some degree, traces back 55 years ago to April 1961. This was the infamous Bay of Pigs debacle that the CIA coordinated where a group of Cuban counter-revolutionaries invaded Cuba with the goal of overthrowing Fidel Castro. The invasion was a spectacular failure that became a sort of spawning ground for future scandals. (President Nixon referred to it while trying to cover up Watergate as <a href="http://watergate.info/1972/06/23/the-smoking-gun-tape.html">"the whole Bay of Pigs thing"</a>, which H.R. Haldeman believed was a <a href="http://www.thehistoryreader.com/contemporary-history/nixons-bay-pigs-secrets/">code for the JFK assassination</a>.) According to page 32 of <i>The Iran Contra Connection</i>, Helliwell worked with Lucien Conein, Mitch WerBell and E. Howard Hunt to develop relationships with drug dealing Cuban veterans of the Bay of Pigs invasion. <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKconein.htm">Lucien Conein</a>
was suspected to be involved in the JFK assassination, having worked
with Ted Shackley and <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKharvey.htm">William Harvey</a> (who was in charge of ZR/RIFLE, the top secret CIA operation to kill Castro, working directly with Mafia ambassador Johnny Roselli) at the JM/WAVE CIA station (where
Helliwell was the CIA paymaster) in Miami in 1963. Conein was the CIA's
liaison with the Corsican gangsters of Saigon, according to page 64 of <i>The Iran Contra Connection</i>,
and knew about but did not tell Washington of the large drug shipments
the Corsicans were sending to Europe while giving the 1965 Saigon
government a fixed percentage of the profits. <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKwerbell.htm">Mitch WerBell</a>,
an arms dealer who may have supplied silencers to the gunmen in Dallas
that killed JFK, was indicted on drug smuggling charges in 1976. While
serving as a "personal security advisor" to Lyndon H. LaRouche in 1978,
his former OSS colleague <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKsinglaub.htm">General John Singlaub</a> reconnected with him at a
right-wing meeting set up, according to page 66 of <i>The Iran Contra Connection</i>, for those who "didn't think the country was being run properly and were interested in doing something about it."
Singlaub later became head of the World Anti-Communist League (WACL) and one of
the most pivotal members of the "secret team" that orchestrated key
events in the Iran/Contra scandal, raising "tens of millions of dollars...for arms and ammunition" <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKsecordR.htm">by his own admission</a>. According to page 21 of <i>The Iran Contra Connection</i>, Singlaub began to report to NSC staffer Oliver North and CIA director William Casey in 1984 on his fundraising activities for the Contras.<br />
<br />
And then, there was E. Howard Hunt, CIA veteran of the successful 1954 Guatemala coup and the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs campaign. I've <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2014/11/degree-absolute-and-jfk-assassination.html">detailed previously</a> Hunt's involvement with the JFK assassination as revealed through Mark Lane's successful courtroom defense written about in <i>Plausible Denial</i>. Hunt is also famous for his criminal involvement with the Watergate burglars,
including Cuban exile Eugenio Martinez, an active member of Operation
40, a CIA counter-intelligence operation (which Hunt and fellow
Watergate burglar Frank Sturgis were members of) originally designed to
seize control of the Cuban government after the Bay of Pigs invasion. Other members of Operation 40 include <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKquintero.htm">Rafael (Chi Chi) Quintero</a>, <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKroderiguez.htm">Felix Rodriguez</a> and <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKposada.htm">Luis Posada</a>. What do these three have in common besides a connection with the CIA's Bay of Pigs campaign? All three were active at the Ilopango Air Force Base in El Salvador that resupplied the Contras in Nicaragua and imported large quantities of cocaine into the US to support the Contras. When Eugene Hasenfus, an Air America veteran, was captured by the Sandinistas after his plane was shot down on October 5, 1986, which blew the Iran/Contra scandal wide open, he told his captors that two Cuban-Americans based in El Salvador, "Max Gomez" and "Ramon Medina", coordinated the operation for the CIA and that they had the <a href="http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/posada/posada10-21-86.htm">"blessing"</a> of Vice President George H. W. Bush. "Medina" was an alias for Luis Posada, who I've written <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2010/02/aging-terrorist-bites-hand-that-fed-him.html">multiple</a> blog <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2010/02/luis-posada-update-3-month-delay.html">entries</a> about, and "Gomez" was an alias for Felix Rodriguez, a <a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8976.htm">longtime CIA operative</a> who took part in the 1967 Bolivian operation that led to the capture of Che Guevara. He interrogated Guevara before he ordered his execution. He still possesses Guevara's Rolex watch that he took as a trophy.<br />
<br />
Long before Hasenfus's plane was shot down, the US was involved with criminal activity on behalf of the Contras: Duane Clarridge, chief of the CIA Latin America division who was one of the six pardoned by Bush for Iran/Contra, (later one of the <a href="http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2005/10/19/niger-uranium-forgery-mystery-solved/">"principal forgers"</a> of the Niger uranium documents used as justification for invading Iraq in 2003) was responsible for mining Nicaraguan harbors in 1984, an act for which the United States was convicted in the World Court at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua_v._United_States">The Hague in 1986</a>. But how does Iran fit into this scandal? The official story is that, to secure the release of American hostages held in Lebanon by Hezbollah, members of the Reagan administration sold missiles to Iran starting in 1985 to secure their release. How were members of the Reagan administration able to reach out to their sworn enemy, Iran, who called them the "Great Satan"? I synopsized some of how this happened in the <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2007/03/american-judas-2nd-edition-investigate.html">2nd edition of American Judas</a> through the efforts of one Machiavellian meddler named Michael Ledeen:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
As a consultant working with NSC head Robert McFarlane, he was involved
in the transfer of arms to Iran during the Iran/Contra scandal. <a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/15860/">http://www.alternet.org/story/15860/</a>
Ledeen acted as a go-between for Oliver North in the early stages of
the Iran/Contra scandal, working with Israeli spy David Kimche to gain
the release of US hostages in Beirut through an Iranian arms dealer,
Manucher Ghorbanifar. <a href="http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1261">http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1261</a><a href="http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1261"> </a>Ghorbanifar then served as the medium between Oliver North and Iran in the Iran/Contra scandal. <a href="http://www.tribune-libanaise.com/tribune/article.php3?id_article=9">http://www.tribune-libanaise.com/tribune/article.php3?id_article=9</a></blockquote>
<img alt="" class="irc_mi iGwy8VVeiDXY-pQOPx8XEepE" src="http://rightweb.irc-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/michael-ledeen.jpg" height="217" style="margin-top: 112px;" width="232" /><br />
Michael Ledeen <i>Photo credit: rightweb.irc-online.org</i><br />
<br />
<br />
Ledeen (named as a <a href="http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2005/10/19/niger-uranium-forgery-mystery-solved/">"conduit"</a> for the Niger uranium forgery that was used as justification for invading Iraq in 2003) indicates that his <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Conversations_with_Machiavellis_ghost_Denials_mark_0307.html">association with Ghorbanifar</a> (who in addition to being an Iranian arms dealer, was also an agent of <a href="http://www.wrmea.org/1987-july/israel-stonewalling-iran-contra-committee.html">"the intelligence services of Israel"</a> during the 1970s) began at this time. Yet the history of US arms shipments to Iran after the rise of the Ayatollah actually began much earlier. The earliest confirmed shipment took place in 1981, with Israelis acting as the middlemen much as they did in the 1985-86 Iran/Contra period. This took place shortly after Reagan took office in the aftermath of a scandal that George Polk Award-winning investigative journalist Robert Parry describes as a <a href="http://baltimorechronicle.com/2010/061810Parry.shtml">"prequel"</a> to Iran/Contra:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">On July 18, 1981, an Israeli-chartered plane was shot down after
straying over the Soviet Union, offering the first glimpse of these
secret arms transactions. In a PBS interview nearly a decade later,
Nicholas Veliotes, Reagan’s assistant secretary of state for the Middle
East, said he looked into the incident by talking to top
administration officials.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">
</span>
<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">“It was clear to me after my conversations with people
on high that indeed we had agreed that the Israelis could transship to
Iran some American-origin military equipment,” Veliotes said.</span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">
</span><span style="background-color: cyan;">In checking out the Israeli flight, Veliotes came to believe that
the Reagan camp’s dealings with Iran dated back to before the 1980
election.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">
</span>
<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">“It seems to have started in earnest in the period
probably prior to the election of 1980, as the Israelis had identified
who would become the new players in the national security area in the
Reagan administration,” Veliotes said. “And I understand some contacts
were made at that time.”</span></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
That "prequel" is known as the 1980 October Surprise. It certainly wasn't the first October Surprise; the most infamous precedent would be during the 1968 electoral campaign when <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2014/08/12/george-will-confirms-nixons-vietnam-treason">Richard Nixon ordered Anna Chennault</a>, his liaison to the South Vietnam government, to persuade them to reject a cease-fire being brokered by President Johnson, an interference that violated the Logan Act. While I've <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2010/10/october-surprise-30th-anniversary.html">written</a> about the 1980 scandal <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2010/12/under-rug-what-project-censored-missed.html">before</a>, I think a synopsis would be helpful as to how it relates to key Iran/Contra characters. On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranians stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 American hostages. The Reagan campaign, managed by William Casey, was worried that if President Carter was able to pull off an 'October Surprise' and negotiate the release of the hostages right before the election, it might give him the momentum to win re-election in 1980. Casey enlisted his friend, former OSS officer John Shaheen, along with his Shaheen's business partner Cyrus Hashemi to initiate negotiations to delay the release of the hostages.<br />
<br />
Casey had secret meetings with both men and, according to Peter Dale Scott's <i>The Road to 9/11</i> page 324 endnote 87, "Hashemi had worked for the CIA beginning in 1975." Hashemi then had a meeting in March 1980 with Donald Gregg, a CIA officer who at the time was a member of Carter's White House team, but who knew George H. W. Bush (who directed the CIA in 1976) and later worked in his office when he became Vice President. This led to a meeting in <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2011/07/14/october-surprise-evidence-surfaces/">July 1980 in Madrid</a> where Casey, Hashemi and his brother Jamshid Hashemi met with Iranian mullah Mehdi Karrubi to ensure the Iranians would not release the hostages to Carter prior to the election. This was followed up with a meeting in October 1980 in Paris where Casey finalized the deal with the Iranians. This time, according to a <a href="http://www.consortiumnews.com/2010/050610.html">1993 Russian government report</a>, he was joined by Robert Gates, an NSC staffer at the time, and George H. W. Bush.<br />
<br />
These names already constitute the future initiates of Iran/Contra infamy. Once Reagan won the election, he appointed his campaign manager William Casey to be the CIA director, where he was in his element coordinating with the "secret teams" involved in Iran/Contra. Donald Gregg was part of Operation 40 with Felix Rodriguez and <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=irancontraaffair&irancontraaffair_key_figures=irancontraaffair_donald_gregg">worked closely with him and Vice President Bush</a> starting in 1983 to subvert the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boland_Amendment">Boland Amendment</a> and supply the Contras with arms, cash and supplies. Robert Gates' involvement in Iran/Contra included <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2006/11/08/robert-gates-and-iran-contra/">staying informed of Contra support through Alan Fiers</a> (who pled guilty for Iran/Contra, later pardoned by Bush) though he denied recalling details about as frequently as Oliver North. According to page 108 of <i>The Road to 9/11</i>, John Shaheen and Cyrus Hashemi were involved in 1985 in an Israeli arms sale to Iran in Hamburg brokered by Michael Ledeen.<br />
<br />
How does Ledeen figure into the October Surprise? An <a href="http://www.consortiumnews.com/task-force-draft.pdf">early draft</a> of the task force report investigating the October Surprise (a whitewash chaired by veteran scandal-sweeper Lee Hamilton) mentioned a September 16, 1980 meeting for the "Persian Gulf Project" that Ledeen attended as well as an <a href="http://www.consortiumnews.com/2010/050610.html">"October Surprise Group"</a> that had multiple meetings attended by Ledeen. His partner Manucher Ghorbanifar also figures in by attending meetings in <a href="http://www.wrmea.org/1991-may-june/reprise-of-the-october-surprise-is-the-worst-surprise-still-to-come.html">Washington and the Paris meeting in October 1980</a>. In fact, just prior to his death, <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2016/04/the-october-surprise-was-real-spymaster-hints/">Duane Clarridge</a> revealed that Ghorbanifar set the date of the hostage release and that he had “big bets in Las Vegas—big, big—millions” tied to the timing of the deal. This was corroborated by CIA specialist on Iran George Cave, who while denying Reagan officials plotted the October Surprise (Cave is <a href="http://www.baltimorechronicle.com/2006/092106PARRY.html">reputed</a> to have attended the Paris meeting and wrote a 2013 'fictional' novel <i>October 1980</i> which Clarridge said, “The whole novel is really true.”) seconded that Ghorbanifar likely placed bets on the outcome. According to Peter Dale Scott's <i>The Road to 9/11</i> page 324 endnote 89, Ghorbanifar was also involved with the 1985 Hamburg deal along with Adnan Khashoggi, who may have attended the Paris meeting and was a <a href="https://www.brown.edu/Research/Understanding_the_Iran_Contra_Affair/i-thebeginning.php">financial intermediary</a> in the delivery of American-made missiles from Israel to Iran, "and ex-CIA officer Miles Copeland."<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="Miles Copeland, Jr.jpg" data-file-height="428" data-file-width="373" height="252" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cd/Miles_Copeland%2C_Jr.jpg/220px-Miles_Copeland%2C_Jr.jpg" width="220" /><br />
Miles Copeland <i>Photo credit: wikipedia.org</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
With <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Copeland_Jr.">Miles Copeland</a>, we enter into an earlier chapter of the plot to delay the release of the hostages, a sort of "prequel to the prequel" of Iran/Contra. Copeland (father of Stewart Copeland, drummer for <a href="http://www.thepolice.com/">The Police</a>) worked closely with Archibald and Kermit Roosevelt in arranging Operation Ajax, which deposed the democratically-elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammed Mossadegh, and replaced him with Shah Reza Pahlavi in 1953. This was a pivotal event, along with the subsequent savagery by the Iranian secret police SAVAK, that led to the overthrow of the Shah and rise of the Ayatollah in 1979. On April 20, 1980, Copeland published a "speculative" piece in the <a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3862.htm">Washington Star</a> on how he would free the hostages. This was just two days after President Carter made a top secret decision to proceed with Operation Eagle Claw, a rescue attempt almost identical to what Copeland wrote about. As investigative journalist and co-author of <i>The Iran Contra Connection </i><a href="http://www.skepticfiles.org/socialis/surprise.htm">Jonathan Marshall</a> said, "There is legitimate room for at least questioning as to whether it was some kind of leak that came out in the form of fiction to protect him from charges that he had sabotaged it."<br />
<br />
Is there more direct testimony that the Reagan campaign sabotaged Carter's hostage rescue, at that time totaling 52 hostages, which resulted in the abortion of the mission at the first staging area, Desert One, with eight US servicemen killed in a helicopter crash? According
to <a href="http://shermsays.blogspot.com/2011/01/shadow-cia-and-revenge-of-spooks_10.html">Mansur Rafizadeh</a>, a CIA "secret team" directed by William Casey
sabotaged the mission. Rafizadeh worked for both the CIA and SAVAK. According to him, corroborated by historian <a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3862.htm">Donald Freed</a> and Reagan administration policy advisor <a href="http://www.skepticfiles.org/socialis/surprise.htm">Barbara Honegger</a>, Casey was knowledgeable about Operation Eagle Claw before the fact as he was in communication with Richard Secord, the chief mission planner. Secord was heavily involved in Iran/Contra, both in providing <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=irancontraaffair&irancontraaffair_key_figures=irancontraaffair_richard_secord">planes and supplies to the Contras</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/17/world/key-sections-of-conspiracy-indictment-in-iran-contra-affair.html?pagewanted=all">assisted the shipment of missiles to Iran</a>. On the Turkish border in the mother ship, awaiting the cue from chief planner Secord, was none other than Oliver North. Working closely with him as a logistical planner for ground operations was Albert Hakim. Yet 24 hours before the operation, when he was supposed to be obtaining trucks and other necessary vehicles, Hakim left Tehran and fled to Baghdad. <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKhakim.htm">Hakim later became Secord's business partner</a> in the Stanford Technology Trading Group International and was <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=albert_hakim_1">indicted for conspiracy in Iran/Contra</a>, among other counts, along with Secord, North and former National Security Adviser John Poindexter. The Pentagon review board found astonishing incompetence and negligence
in the failure of Operation Eagle Claw and freelance journalist <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/cynthia-dwyer-53rd-hostage-of-us-crisis-with-iran-dies-at-84-20160215">Cynthia Dwyer</a>, who had not yet been taken as the 53rd hostage, <a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3862.htm">told Reverend Moore</a> that the CIA deliberately botched the
operation. <br />
<br />
While the scenario above may sound too terrible to be true for some, there is an historical precedent in which the CIA purposely designed an operation to fail. According to David Talbot in his book <i>The Devil's Chessboard</i>, page 400, that is exactly what Allen Dulles did with the Bay of Pigs.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">But, as usual, there was method to Dulles's seeming carelessness. It is now clear that the CIA's Bay of Pigs expedition was not simply doomed to fail, it was <i>meant</i> to fail. And its failure was designed to trigger the real action - an all-out, U.S. military invasion of the island. Dulles plunged ahead with his hopeless, paramilitary mission - an expedition that he had staffed with "C-minus" officers and expendable Cuban "puppets" - because he was serenely confident that, in the heat of battle, Kennedy would be forced to send the Marines crashing ashore. Dulles was banking on the young, untested commander in chief to cave in to pressure from the Washington war machine, just as other presidents had bent to the spymaster's will.</span><br />
<br />
Not only did Dulles keep the news from JFK that the operation was doomed to fail, as the minutes of a <a href="http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB355/">November 15, 1960 task force meeting</a> released in 2005 prove, he also kept the plots to assassinate Castro from him too. President Kennedy did his best to stand up against this intimidation from Dulles, ultimately firing him for the Bay of Pigs, and also from Dulles's compatriot Lyman Lemnitzer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was Lemnitzer, along with Navy chief Arleigh Burke, who tried to coerce JFK into using the military as the Bay of Pigs operation was in the process of failing. Lemnitzer continued to raise the prospect of invading Cuba with JFK afterward, most notoriously with his proposal of <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKlemnitzer.htm">Operation Northwoods</a>, which advocated false flag terror attacks in Washington D.C. and Miami to justify an invasion of Cuba. President Kennedy rejected this and three months later reassigned Lemnitzer to become Commander of U.S. Forces in Europe. Lemnitzer then became Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in January 1963, in charge of the infamous Operation Gladio, among other duties. He certainly had the <a href="http://progressivepress.com/blog-entry/50-years-after-jfk-murder-finger-finally-points-pentagon-chief-lemnitzer">means and motivation</a> to assassinate JFK.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style";">I have this feeling man, 'cause you know, it's
just a handful of people who run everything, you know … that's true, it's
provable. It's not … I'm not a fucking conspiracy nut, it's provable. A handful,
a very small elite, run and own these corporations, which include the mainstream
media. I have this feeling that whoever is elected president, like Clinton was,
no matter what you promise on the campaign trail – blah, blah, blah – when you
win, you go into this smoke-filled room with the twelve industrialist capitalist
scum-fucks who got you in there. And you're in this smoky room, and this little
film screen comes down … and a big guy with a cigar goes, "Roll the film." And
it's a shot of the Kennedy assassination from an angle you've never seen before
… that looks suspiciously like it's from the grassy knoll. And then the screen
goes up and the lights come up, and they go to the new president, "Any
questions?" "Er, just what my agenda is." "First we bomb Baghdad." "You got it
…"</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style";"><span style="background-color: cyan;">http://www.skeptic.ca/Bill_Hicks_quotes.htm</span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: small;">
</span>
<br />
<br />
<br />
While this classic Bill Hicks routine on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8IvKx0c19w">"The Elite"</a> was played for comedy, I do believe that it hits on a larger truth; both in terms of the JFK assassination and how the world really works. This is the milieu that Peter Dale Scott describes as "deep politics": all those political practices and arrangements, deliberate or not, that are usually repressed in public discourse rather than acknowledged. I think most people understand how this works in regard to the <u>underworld</u>; that there is an intersection between financial and political realms with organized crime. But in his book <i>The Road to 9/11</i>, Scott spells out how this works in regard to the <b>overworld</b>: that realm of wealthy or privileged society that, although not formally authorized or institutionalized, is the scene of successful influence of government by private power. A prime example of someone who has done this over the course of several decades without ever holding public office is <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2015/06/rockefeller-road-paved-with-good.html">David Rockefeller</a>. While there is no evidence that Rockefeller was involved in the JFK assassination, there have been a number of books, such as <i><b>Thy Will Be Done</b> The Conquest of the Amazon: Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil</i> by Gerard Colby and Charlotte Dennett, <i>Battling Wall Street: The Kennedy Presidency</i> by Donald Gibson, and <i>The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government</i> by David Talbot, that detailed how among those who stood to benefit from the assassination of JFK, Rockefeller was one of the biggest. I doubt there is any evidence that will surface; when you live in the overworld, your actions tend to stay in the shadows.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" class="irc_mi iDSf_ZfLSbso-pQOPx8XEepE" src="http://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/55faa9c0e4b0ffa7afe4ae9a/320x486.jpg?fit=scale&background=000000" height="441" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="290" /><br />
David Rockefeller Sr. <i>Photo credit: forbes.com</i><br />
<br />
<br />
Yet there was a period in 1979 when Rockefeller felt compelled to step out of the shadows to exert his overworld influence. This was during the time that the Shah of Iran had been overthrown on February 11, 1979 but prior to the seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979. Rockefeller wanted President Carter to permit the Shah to enter the United States. Carter, cognizant of Iranian history and popular animosity there over the CIA engineered coup, had no desire to do so. Rockefeller found multiple ways to apply pressure to get his way. Three of Rockefeller's men, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, current National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and influential lawyer/banker <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/USAmccloyJ.htm">John McCloy</a> (previously a member of the Warren Commission, always a member of the overworld since representing IG Farben and sharing a box with Hitler and Goering at the 1936 Olympics) supported this special project code-named <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2013/01/11/americas-bloody-price-for-power/">Project Alpha</a>, which included Rockefeller dipping into private funds to pay his and McCloy's employees for working on this project. The lobbying effort was so intense that at one point when his chief of staff Hamilton Jordan told him opposing Kissinger was politically dangerous, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=op39ymd2um0C&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=jimmy+carter+%22the+hell+with+henry+kissinger%22&source=bl&ots=izyVbMngdA&sig=rFcFExnpmcZkOVrWlxx7QKLesB4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjj7_nH0q_MAhVIxWMKHflfAWgQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=jimmy%20carter%20%22the%20hell%20with%20henry%20kissinger%22&f=false">Carter responded</a>, "The hell with Henry Kissinger, I am President of this country!"<br />
<br />
What was Rockefeller's motive for breaking with his usual low-profile behavior? As the current chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank (McCloy had previously been chairman), he was aware that they were one of the companies most indebted to the Shah. Iran was <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-imperial-anatomy-of-al-qaeda-the-cia-s-drug-running-terrorists-and-the-arc-of-crisis/20907?print=1">"the crown jewel of Chase's international banking portfolio."</a> Financial analyst and journalist Mark Hulbert, in his book <i>Interlock</i>, argued that Rockefeller and his coterie precipitated the hostage taking to give Chase legal cover to seize enough Iranian assets to erase billions in questionable loans that now threatened the bank's liquidity. The new Iranian government wanted Chase to return Iranian assets. But in a crisis situation, seizure of Iranian assets would be legal under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, powers that had been conveniently transferred, according to Peter Dale Scott's <i>The Road to 9/11</i> page 86, to FEMA under reorganization engineered by Zbigniew Brzezinski on July 20, 1979. Ten days after the hostages were taken, President Carter froze all Iranian assets in US banks on the advice of his Treasury Secretary, William Miller. Naturally, Miller had ties with Chase Manhattan Bank.<br />
<br />
Why did President Carter cave in to their demands? There are a number of factors, but the political pressure on him certainly increased in the summer of 1979. There was pressure from McCloy on his closest advisors. There was pressure from Kissinger, indicating he would withdraw his support for SALT II unless there was a "more forthcoming attitude on our part regarding the Shah." Perhaps the deciding factor arrived courtesy of three Rockefeller men advising the Shah: Joseph V. Reed, Robert Armao and Benjamin H. Kean. They lobbied to have the Shah admitted to the US on the grounds of his poor health to get better treatment at an American hospital. Carter reluctantly accepted this rationale with the <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/USAmccloyJ.htm">pregnant question</a>, "What are you guys going to advise me to do if they overrun our embassy and take our people hostage?"<br />
<br />
But there is one other factor that is rarely mentioned. That would be the incident I referred to at the beginning of this post, an assassination attempt against President Carter on May 5, 1979, foiled by the Secret Service ten minutes before he was to give a speech at the Civic Center Mall in Los Angeles. The suspect arrested was an Ohio-born unemployed drifter with a history of mental illness who told the police that he spent the night before at the Alan Hotel with a man he knew as "Julio" who, along with two other Latino men, asked him to fire a starter pistol with blanks as a diversion so they could shoot President Carter from their hotel room. This story was written about in Time and Newsweek when it happened and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Lee_Harvey">wikipedia</a> has a synopsis of the details. The drifter with the starter pistol was named Raymond <b>Lee Harvey</b>. "Julio" turned out to be <b>Osvaldo</b> Espinoza Ortiz. As <a href="http://www.ctka.net/2015/HillaryJFKAddendum.html">James DiEugenio</a> wrote recently, "No one as smart as Carter could have missed the significance of that."<br />
<br />
After the hostages were taken, Rockefeller tried to slip back into the shadows, but there is evidence he was involved in the October Surprise. On <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2005/041505.html">September 11, 1980</a>, according to a campaign visitor log, Rockefeller and several of his aides signed in to see William Casey at his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. That this visit concerned the October Surprise was corroborated by sworn testimony from CIA officer Charles Cogan, who was present when Rockefeller's aide Joseph Reed in 1981 told Casey something to the effect of "we did something about Carter's October Surprise." In a less formal setting, Cogan said Reed's words were "We fucked Carter's October Surprise." Besides Rockefeller and Reed, also attending the 9/11/80 meeting with Casey was Archibald Roosevelt, the former CIA officer who had collaborated with Miles Copeland both on Operation Ajax and a hostage-rescue plan that President Carter rejected in favor of the sabotaged Operation Eagle Claw. The effort to undo Carter's efforts to free the hostages was something many who had worked for the CIA, out of loyalty to their former director George Bush, had a personal interest in. Copeland referred to these interested parties as "the CIA within the CIA" who "had an understanding with the Iranians" that the hostages would not be returned before Reagan's election. A key figure in that arrangement was Ted Shackley coordinating the Republican monitoring of hostage negotiations for Richard Allen of the Reagan-Bush campaign.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="Theodore (Ted) Shackley" src="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKshackley2.jpg" height="223" width="156" /><br />
Ted Shackley <i>Photo credit: spartacus-educational.com</i><br />
<br />
<br />
No examination of the origins of Iran/Contra is complete without discussing <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKshackley.htm">Ted Shackley</a>. Perhaps more than any other individual, Shackley ties so many disparate strands of this dark web of conspiracy together. In early 1962, Shackley was deputy chief of JM/WAVE in Miami, delivering supplies to mobster Johnny Roselli as part of the plan to assassinate Fidel Castro. Later that year he became head of the station and gained control of Operation 40. In 1966, he was placed in charge of the CIA's secret war in Laos and his "Secret Team" became involved in the drug trade by helping anti-communist General Vang Pao monopolize the heroin trade in Laos. Shackley and his associate Thomas Clines even set up a Saigon meeting in 1968 between Pao and Mafia kingpin Santo Trafficante to establish a heroin-smuggling operation from Southeast Asia to the United States. When he became Chief of Station in Vietnam in 1969, Shackley headed the Phoenix Program, which in a two year period murdered 28,978 civilians. He stepped up his drug operation with the help of Clines, Richard Armitage (yeah, the same <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7371785">gossip</a> who leaked Valerie Plame's identity to Bob Woodward) and Richard Secord by disbursing excess money from the Vang Pao opium fund from 1973 to 1975 into a secret account at <a href="http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKnuganbank.htm">Nugan Hand Bank</a> in Sydney Australia. When Saigon fell in April 1975, Armitage set up a secret "financial conduit" inside Iran so the "Secret Team" could access the drug funds for black operations against enemies of the Shah.<br />
<br />
When George H. W. Bush became director of the CIA in 1976, he appointed Shackley to Deputy Director of Operations. But when Carter was elected and he appointed Admiral Stansfield Turner to head the CIA, Turner fired Shackley when he found out about Nugan Hand and the activities of his "Secret Team." Shackley's response was to privatize his operations in providing intelligence to business; the "CIA within the CIA" Copeland referenced. This included joining Stanford Technology owned by Albert Hakim in October 1980 where they profited off the Iran-Iraq War. In addition to his previously mentioned coordination of the October Surprise, it should probably come as no surprise that Shackley was involved in Iran/Contra. According to <i>The Iran Contra Connection</i> page 177, in November 1984, Manucher Ghorbanifar made contact with Shackley in West Germany with a proposal to "work with the 'moderates' in Iran" and "suggested ransoming the hostages for cash as a first step." In May 1985, Shackley revived this Ghorbanifar gambit when he had a meeting with his friend Michael Ledeen to discuss the hostage situation. According to Shackley, Ledeen told him members of the U.S. government wanted to know in that connection if the Ghorbanifar connection was "still open."<br />
<br />
All of this is really just scratching the surface. Shackley's exploits were so numerous and notorious, a Hollywood movie directed by Robert DeNiro titled <i>The Good Shepherd</i> was loosely based on his career. Perhaps the most memorable line from his character, played by Matt Damon, is when a mobster played by Joe Pesci asks ultimately <u>what</u> does the CIA have? Damon chillingly replies, <b>"The United States of America. The rest of you are just visiting."</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eQMzJ5Z7zBw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eQMzJ5Z7zBw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
While so many of these events may seem like ancient history, when the conspirators go unpunished their deeds tend to be repeated. Sometimes, as in the most recent revelation of the Panama Papers, not only do diabolical deeds get repeated, but the same dark actors crop up, such as <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/business/panama-papers-links-revealed-to-spies-and-iran-contra-affair-1.2599083">Adnan Khashoggi</a> from Iran/Contra. Unless our citizens are willing to dredge up this darkness and expose it to the light of justice, we will continue to be just visitors in this country, pretending to be free.Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-50399024362555909172016-02-29T17:25:00.000-08:002016-03-02T16:30:30.380-08:00ISIS, Peoples Temple, SLA and the Manson Secret: Mind Control, the CIA and Cult ManipulationEvery once in a while, I get a comment on this blog that inspires a new blog post. Last October, when I wrote <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2015/10/isis-is-bs-its-just-latest-greatest.html">ISIS is BS: It's Just the Latest Greatest Gladio Operation</a>, I received a comment from Peter Chamberlin who posted a <a href="https://therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/what-is-the-truth-about-isis/">link</a> that detailed the concentration of future ISIS leaders (Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Abu Ayman al-Iraqi, Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi and Haji Bakr, to name four) who were imprisoned together at Camp Bucca, an internment center in Iraq where the US Army ran a "behavioral modification program." From 2004 to 2009, these Islamists, along with many others, were in the midst of an <a href="https://www.blogger.com/">"Al Qaeda school"</a> where terrorists gave chalkboard lessons on explosives and suicide bombing techniques to younger prisoners. Camp Bucca has been portrayed in the media as a place where a "pressure cooker" of Islamic
extremists just blew. I think this interpretation is just another
example of "blowback" being bullshit. After asking at <a href="http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38387&hilit=ISIS+camp+bucca">RI</a> if anyone could find any corroborating links of what seemed to me to be evidence that ISIS was part of a mind control intelligence operation, seemslikeadream found a few <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/was-camp-bucca-pressure-cooker-extremism">different</a> <a href="http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/21519">sources</a> on the <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/searchResults.jsp?searchtext=bucca&events=on&entities=on&articles=on&topics=on&timelines=on&projects=on&titles=on&descriptions=on&dosearch=on&search=Go">subject</a>, and I discovered this <a href="http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/07/14/371210/who-is-abu-bakr-albaghdadi/">one</a> which not only corroborated my own suspicions that Camp Bucca was a CIA brainwashing facility for building radicalized leaders for ISIS, but brought up an example from the past to illustrate how mind control intelligence programs did not end with MK-ULTRA in the 1960s as the CIA has maintained.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">But is such a thing really possible? Sadly, yes.
CIA mind control technology has made tremendous strides since it began
in the 1950s with the lavishly-funded MK Ultra program. MK Ultra was
closed around 1960 because it had achieved its objective: Power over the
human mind such that a brainwashed “Manchurian candidate” assassin
could be created. That is, an ordinary human being, after CIA treatment,
could be made to kill someone – anyone – without the slightest
conscious awareness of his actions. The most notorious “Manchurian
candidate” is Sirhan Sirhan, the mind-control slave who was set up as a
patsy in the CIA’s murder of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The CIA
also has a track record of creating cults – and their charismatic
leaders. The Reverend Jim Jones, an anti-establishment clergyman, was
turned by CIA mind-control into a fire-breathing, charismatic
puppet-master, who convinced hundreds of people to join him in a mass
suicide. Ironically, the puppet-master was himself a CIA puppet; the
mass suicide was a CIA experiment designed to discover whether a large
group of political dissidents could be so totally controlled that they
would kill themselves on command. This experiment, like the murder of
RFK, was a success.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">More recently, the CIA has been conducting
Nazi-style mind-control experiments on Muslim inmates in Guantanamo and
other terror prisons. Jon Ronson – a mainstream journalist and
bestselling author who generally keeps his humorous distance from
“conspiracy theories” – discovered in 2003 that Guantanamo inmate Jamal
al-Harith and others had been subjected to torture and “silent sound”
mind-control experiments while in US custody.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">In her book The
Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein shows that CIA torture is not designed to
elicit information. Its real purpose is to “break” the subject so he or
she can be mind-controlled.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Douglas Rushkoff’s book Coercion
explains how CIA mind control works: The subject is “broken,” then the
CIA interrogator presents himself as a substitute parent figure and
seizes total control of the subject’s mind. That is how Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed, who was waterboarded 183 times in a single month, was
convinced by his mind-control torturers that he was involved in the 9/11
attacks.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The secrecy surrounding al-Baghdadi’s five years in
US custody strongly suggests that the self-proclaimed “caliph of Islam”
is actually a Muslim version of Jim Jones. His “Islamic State” is a
Muslim Jonestown. It is designed to mass-suicide Islam by turning
Muslims against each other.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Fortunately, the world’s Muslims are not drinking the kool aid.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
This is not the first time I have read the allegation that Jim Jones was involved with the CIA and that his Peoples Temple cult was a mind control experiment. Peter Levenda wrote a brilliant trilogy of books titled <i>Sinister Forces</i> and in <i>Book Two: A Warm Gun</i>, he devotes all of Chapter Thirteen to the subject. The first association Jones had with the intelligence community began when he was a fifteen year old sidewalk preacher in Richmond, Indiana and met Richmond police officer Dan Mitrione. Giving liberal credit to author Jim Hougan for his piece <a href="http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=16572"><i>Jonestown, The Secret Life of Jim Jones: A Parapolitical Fugue</i></a> (Hougan's <a href="http://jimhougan.com/JimJones.html">three</a> <a href="http://jimhougan.com/JimJones2.html">part</a> <a href="http://jimhougan.com/JimJones3.html">series</a> on the subject on his website is a valuable update), Levenda maps out the known details of their relationship. After his sidewalk preaching teenage years, Jones became assistant minister for the Somerset Methodist Church in Indianapolis in 1952. It was there that he refined the approach for which he became known: preaching a gospel of racial tolerance that attracted black followers and performing "miracles" in which he fraudulently removed cancerous tumors through mesmeric passes, shouting Biblical phrases, and concealing chicken livers to be conveniently revealed as "tumors." What was different during the 1950s as opposed to his later career is that his political outlook was decidedly anti-Communist.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="Cult leader Jim Jones" class="img" src="http://media.npr.org/programs/day/features/2006/oct/jonestown/jones-10e6b893b77a536df4c1d1e97c86dbeeb9fe3dee-s500-c85.jpg" title="Cult leader Jim Jones" /><br />
Jim Jones <i>Photo credit: Corbis via NPR</i> <br />
<br />
<br />
That changed during the 1960s when Jones hooked up again with Dan Mitrione. According to Hougan, Mitrione had moved on from being chief of police in Richmond, Indiana to training three months at the FBI's National Academy in 1957 to being hired by the State Department in 1960 as a "public safety adviser." In late 1960 he moved to Brazil officially employed as an Agency for International Aid (AID) officer attached to the Office of Public Safety (OPS). I've written <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/05/conspiracy-theory-vs-hypothesis.html">multiple</a> <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2015/02/george-de-mohrenschildt-and-paines.html">blog</a> <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2015/06/rockefeller-road-paved-with-good.html">entries</a> about how AID often provides cover for the CIA, but I've not yet written about OPS. Levenda goes into more details about OPS and Mitrione in <i>Sinister Forces Book Two: A Warm Gun</i> on page 171:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Mitrione, it is now known, was involved with the training of Latin American police forces in the use of torture and drugs in interrogations, under the auspices of the now-defunct and cynically entitled Office of Public Safety (OPS), an Orwellian organization that was formed during the Eisenhower administration. Mitrione was an avid practitioner of the methods he taught and, according to one of his trainees in Uruguay in the late 1960s, he would pick up homeless people on the streets to be used as guinea pigs in his training sessions, bloody interrogations which were always conducted in a soundproof room. In Montevideo, this room was in the basement of his home. When the derelicts died during the course of the "training," their bodies would be dumped back in the streets as a warning to Communist insurgents.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.spirituallysmart.com/Dan%20Mitrione_files/mitrione.gif" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="263" /><br />
Dan Mitrione <i>Photo credit: Advance Indiana</i><br />
<br />
<br />
Eventually this flagrant sadism caught up with Mitrione and he was, to quote Levenda on page 171 again, "taken hostage and killed by the leftist guerrilla Tupamaros in Uruguay in 1970, revolutionaries who knew that he was a CIA agent with AID agency cover." What is fascinating about this in regard to Jim Jones is that the CIA opened a 201 file on Jones at the same time Mitrione was staying in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in November, 1960. Mitrione then moved to Belo Horizonte, Brazil in December 1960, which is where Jones and his family traveled to in April 1962. Prior to that, Jones had been spotted in places as varied as Hawaii, Cuba (where he supposedly had his picture taken with Fidel Castro while trying to convert and convince black Cubans to leave with him to Indiana) and even Guyana - but at conflicting times where he couldn't be in both places at once. Considering the State Department issued Jim Jones two passports - one on June 28, 1960, the second January 30, 1962 - Hougan believes that, in a peculiarity similar to the 'Oswald double' phenomenon, there were two Jim Joneses: the real one and an impersonator. While in Belo Horizonte, Jones was interested in the works of David Miranda, who did a study on ESP and mass-conversion techniques, subjects of interest to the CIA in connection with MK-ULTRA, which Mitrione would become involved with later in Uruguay. What Hougan suggests is that the CIA file was opened on Jones in 1960 when Mitrione was recruited into the CIA because he intended to use Jim Jones as a CIA agent and that Jones' file was closed and purged in 1970 as a direct and logical result of Mitrione's assassination.<br />
<br />
Jones was certainly not the same preacher who left America when he returned in 1965. He moved to Ukiah, California and incorporated the "Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ of Redwood Valley" on November 26, 1965. The religious organization that adopted them and insured their legitimacy, the Disciples of Christ, has counted three presidents among its members (James Garfield, Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan) and is a millennialist sect with apocalyptic beliefs. Jones himself preached apocalyptic visions, but now instead of preaching anti-Communism as he had done in Indiana during the 1950s, Jones was preaching the gospel of Karl Marx. Yet despite this (or perhaps because of, if this conversion was all part of a psy-op), "the Messiah from Ukiah" was, according to the late conspiracy researcher John Judge, contacted by missionaries from <a href="http://www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/JohnJudge/Jonestown.html">World Vision</a>. This particular non-governmental organization (NGO) has a history of intersecting with the intelligence community including Cuba during the Bay of Pigs invasion, southeast Asia with the CIA, and as Levenda points out on page 184, "World Vision is only one example of an organization that is widely reported to have cooperated extensively with American intelligence services in South America." World Vision also has bizarre ties to the John Lennon assassination and the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan that I have <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-im-really-upset-that-watson.html">written</a> about before.<br />
<br />
After moving to San Francisco in 1972, the Peoples Temple became more prominent and consequently received greater public scrutiny. Occasionally there would be negative coverage in the press, though nothing comprehensive of the beatings, sexual abuse, torture, brainwashing and mind control. On October 3, 1976 one member named Bob Houston wrote a letter to Jim Jones resigning from the Peoples Temple. On October 5th, he was found dead under suspicious circumstances. Houston's father worked for Associated Press was convinced of foul play as a result of his son's defection and pushed for a deeper investigation into the Peoples Temple. He was able to convince Congressman Leo J. Ryan to take up his case. Levenda summarizes Ryan's creds in <i>Book Two: A Warm Gun</i> on page 204:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">At the same time, California Congressman Leo J. Ryan was making a name
for himself as a government watchdog. He had co-authored the Hughes-Ryan
Amendment, which required the CIA to get prior approval from Congress
before undertaking any covert activity. In addition, he was asking
questions about the CIA's mind-control projects in the State of
California, as he wondered whether or not the notorious members of the
Symbonese Liberation Army (SLA) had been willing or unwilling
beneficiaries of the MK-ULTRA program while serving time at Vacaville.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
The question Ryan asked the CIA regarding the SLA concerned their leader, Donald DeFreeze. While imprisoned at Vacaville, he was involved with the Black Cultural Association under the direction of Professor Colston Westbrook. Westbrook has since been identified as a former intelligence agent who worked for AID, the same agency providing cover for Dan Mitrione and possibly Jim Jones in Brazil. The SLA, like ISIS and the Peoples Temple, also engaged in brainwashing, famously kidnapping and programming heiress Patricia Hearst to help them rob a bank. It is possible they were not genuine revolutionaries but agent provocateurs; at one point they hijacked a car and driver, drove around a few hours telling them who they were, then let the driver go - the same type of attention-demanding phoniness that Lee Harvey Oswald doubles engaged in test driving cars while talking tough about Russia, or talking about killing Kennedy at rifle ranges.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="Donald Cinque DeFreeze" border="0" src="http://image2.findagrave.com/photos/2002/119/22548_1020158566.jpg" width="155" /><br />
Donald "Cinque" DeFreeze <i>Photo credit: Find a Grave</i><br />
<br />
<br />
But Ryan took their intelligence connections seriously enough to ask if DeFreeze, who was killed along with five other SLA members May 17, 1974 in an LA SWAT team raid where the house they were staying was burned to the ground, was involved with the CIA MK-ULTRA program. The CIA issued a non-denial denial, stating that "DeFreese" (note the misspelling. Deliberate?) was not a participant in CIA program as "far as our records" indicate. This was issued October 18, 1978. By then, Jones had already moved the Peoples Temple out of the US into the jungles of Guyana where Jonestown was created. Congressman Ryan then investigated Jonestown in November, offering to take members back to the US who didn't want to stay. When they drove to the airport November 18, 1978, the party was gunned down by Jones' security force, murdering Ryan and several others. Jones then proceeded to kill 913 human beings including himself. Whether through administering hypodermic cyanide injections, having his security force kill those trying to escape, or the brainwashed Kool-Aid drinkers the media loved to highlight, Jones is responsible for all these murders.<br />
<br />
There was one man whose life Jones went out of his way to save: Richard Dwyer. Dwyer had accompanied Ryan to Jonestown. He was a career intelligence officer working under State Department cover at the US Embassy in Georgetown. Multiple sources have said his real employer was the CIA. How amazing that in the midst of orchestrating the complete decimation of Jonestown, he tried <a href="http://jimhougan.com/JimJones.html">several times</a> to make sure that someone from the intelligence community was out of Jonestown when his apocalyptic visions were about to become very real.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Ed Sanders, in his book about Charles Manson and the Family, stated that if the Pentagon ever formulated the Manson Secret, the world would be in trouble. One wonders if Jonestown was an example of such a formula: a white man, with murky intelligence connections and political activity in Latin America and the Caribbean during the sixties, becomes the leader of a large black congregation and orders them all to their deaths. If this had been in a novel, it would have been dismissed as unbelievable.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="Charles Manson might be getting married" src="http://static.deathandtaxesmag.com/uploads/2013/11/Screen-Shot-2013-11-20-at-10.10.27-AM-640x427.png" /><br />
Charles Manson <i>Photo credit: death and taxes</i><br />
<br />
<br />
The above passage from page 203 of Peter Levenda's <i>Book Two: A Warm Gun</i> is just one of many examples where he draws parallels between Jonestown and Helter Skelter. Jim Jones preached that he was the reincarnation of Jesus (and Lenin); Manson also would tell his followers that he was Jesus (and the Devil). Like Manson, Jones had his "family" (he insisted they address only him as Father) through which he used psychodrama to subordinate other members. Manson would orchestrate the sex lives of the members of his family by directing group copulation; Jones would control the sex lives of his congregation arranged marriages, public humiliations and private rape. Manson would use drugs, particularly LSD, as part of his acting out rituals for the Manson Family such as putting him on a cross in a mock crucifixion where he would be resurrected; Jones had a huge pharmacy of narcotics and psychoactive compounds, it's not really clear how the drugs were used in everyday life in the compound. At the Jonestown compound, Jones put his congregation through rigorous physical labor and sleep deprivation; Manson would often exhaust his women with physical work prior to sex and would take his crew on late night "creepy-crawl" burglaries. As Levenda wrote in the previously cited book on page 98, "That combination of sex and drugs and a kind of perverse operant conditioning are the basic working parts of what Ed Sanders calls "The Manson Secret." It was what CIA psychiatrist Ewen Cameron was working on until virtually the day he died, except that Manson was much more successful. As documented in <i>The Nine</i>, Cameron created zombies; Manson created assassins."<br />
<br />
Was Manson involved with the intelligence community? Levenda believes that Manson may have been subjected to MK-ULTRA testing while imprisoned in Chillicothe during the 1950s. Manson maintained a connection with the intelligence community during the 1960s with a drug dealer named Ronald Stark. According to the blog VISUP, <a href="http://visupview.blogspot.com/2011/10/latin-american-high-weirdness-cults_16.html">Stark</a> was a large scale LSD during the 60s who was finally brought down in Italy in 1980. He was released by an Italian court on the basis that he had been employed by US 'secret services' since at least 1960. It's hard not to wonder if Jones was a more refined large-scale approach as Manson. Both believed in the prospect of an imminent race war. To quote Levenda's book again on page 201, "One could say they were on either side of the same argument: Jones (ostensibly) wanted to preserve the black people of America and Manson wanted them destroyed. Both, however, saw race war as inevitable. When the dust cleared, however, Manson had killed only white people (with an attempted murder on one black drug dealer); Jones had killed hundreds of black people in Jonestown."<br />
<br />
<br />
My point in exploring these dark chapters of the past hopefully illustrates that the past continues to live on into the present. ISIS is only the most recent blatant example. The techniques of mind control will continue to be effective on <i>anyone</i> willing to surrender their free will for the illusion of security. When you surrender your free will, you surrender your power. Guard against that with vigilance.Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-53124021761859784482016-01-28T13:47:00.001-08:002016-01-28T16:45:18.282-08:00Climate Denialism, Climate Fatalism and Porter Ranch: Confronting the Inevitability of the Carbon CrisisPeak Oil happened <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2010/12/under-rug-what-project-censored-missed.html">10 years ago</a> according to the <a href="http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2010-11-11/iea-acknowledges-peak-oil">International Energy Agency</a>. I no longer mention Peak Oil (that's a peak in global conventional crude production, to be precise) in my description of this site because the technological advancements in fracking have punted the full ramifications downfield by at least a decade or two. This in spite of President Obama's attempts to emphasize renewable energy use; proving that when you employ an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/energy/securing-american-energy">"All-of-the-Above Energy Strategy"</a> - dirty beats clean in the marketplace for liquid fuel consumption. This will continue to be the case even after the shale bubble pops, which looks like <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-oil-shale-idUSKCN0UY0FC">what's happening now</a>, and after US shale oil production peaks, which may occur as soon as 2020, according to the <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/06/05/energy-boom-nearing-its-end/I0Gf9Ny0Ac1tRDHaNZVUpN/story.html">US Energy Department</a>. Look for coal to make a comeback (along with the Fischer-Tropsch coal-to-oil liquefaction process popularized by the Nazis) sometime in the 2030s or 40s at the latest. That's regardless of whether it's a Democratic administration insisting that the coal is "clean" or a Republican insisting coal production should skyrocket regardless of environmental ramifications because of China, the Middle East, or whatever "other" is timely for a reactionary to demonize.<br />
<br />
Bottom line: this means a peak in total liquid fuel production probably won't occur until sometime close to the mid-21st century. <b>This is not good news.</b> Delaying the inevitable peak through an increased reliance on non-conventional fossil fuels only intensifies the overall consequences, both economically in terms of demand permanently outstripping an irreversibly declining supply, and environmentally in terms of carbon (oil, shale, coal) consumption increasing greenhouse gas emissions to the point global warming becomes severe enough to diminish food production, among other disasters. They are flip sides of the same coin that should be simultaneously referenced as the Carbon Crisis in referring to the predicament human civilization finds itself in. I've been saying that for over two years now; I even did an annual update in <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/10/carbon-crisis-2013-update.html">2013</a> and <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2014/10/carbon-crisis-2014-update-planet-jenga.html">2014</a>.<br />
<br />
I decided to stop doing an annual update - partially because of my terrible history in maintaining <i>any</i> kind of annual update on this blog (like <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2010/12/under-rug-what-project-censored-missed.html">UNDER THE RUG</a> or <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2010/12/krampus-of-year-newt-gingrich.html">Krampus of the Year</a>), but also because I think it's better to report news as it occurs, rather than compile it for reporting en masse near the end of the year. It's not as though there was a shortage of developments in the worsening of the Carbon Crisis in 2015. But at some point, the enormity of climatological abnormalities happening either necessitates a universal awakening within civilization or a universal shutdown of civilization. True existential threats trump denial every time.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/12647518_10208751139834843_6409583431890432241_n.jpg?oh=93eded8f415b9bd65fdb9f271e6af06d&oe=572916C2" style="height: 582px; width: 582px;" /><br />
<br />
<br />
So why am I writing this blog entry, since we clearly haven't reached that point yet? Because I want to explore the sociological phenomenon of climate denial through a prism I've grown extremely comfortable looking through: conspiracy theory. Interestingly, there are two diametrically opposed theories positing a cover-up of the truth about global warming:<br />
<br />
1) The truth about global warming is being covered up because the United Nations, through the backing of such pro-eugenic wealthy elitists as David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger and Bill Gates, is using this phony story, propagated by paid scientists and a compliant mainstream media, as an excuse to cull the world's population and institute totalitarian control by removing property rights via Agenda 21 and instituting a technocracy economy where carbon consumption is rationed through global policing.<br />
<br />
2) The truth about global warming is being covered up because human industrial civilization has already burned enough greenhouse gasses to drive humanity to extinction, so to avoid spreading panic the mainstream media sells the worst effects as <i>possibly</i> happening, but in decades or hundreds of years, and mainstream scientists are soft-pedalling the immediacy of self-reinforcing feedback loops from clathrates and permafrost melt sending massive amounts of methane into the atmosphere, which could happen within the next decade or two.<br />
<br />
Both theories deny the current consensus on global warming (the <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/">IPCC</a>): one says the consensus is wrong because global warming isn't real and the other says the consensus is wrong because global warming is worse than admitted. The first theory, which seems more prevalent in the parapolitical community, is actually more grounded in historical reality than most climate denial positions that reject the scientific consensus either from a religious prejudice (God wouldn't allow such a cataclysm, He <a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/9-11.htm">promised</a> that after the Great Flood) or an ideological/economic prejudice (<a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-exxon-global-warming-20160120-story.html">Exxon</a> says it's not real, why should I doubt their data instead of latte-sipping lefties who want us all riding bikes?) or both. That's not to say climate denial conspiracy is devoid of those prejudices - just watch Alex Jones, who manages to combine everything.<br />
<br />
But there is one researcher that I have a great amount of respect for who has been publicizing and advocating this theory: James Corbett. I've quoted from <a href="https://www.corbettreport.com/">The Corbett Report</a> on numerous occasions, including the Sibel Edmonds Gladio B interviews, where he generously <a href="https://www.corbettreport.com/interview-626-sibel-edmonds-explains-whos-at-the-top-of-the-pyramid/">linked</a> to my <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/04/synopsizing-sibel-edmonds-evolution-of_12.html">blog synopses</a>, and the Boston Bombing coverage. For the most part, I agree with his views on the Deep State, the total corruption of the political process, abuses of the National Security State, and his classic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuC_4mGTs98">9/11 expose video</a>, among other issues. But I am in absolute disagreement with him on the subject of climate change. He presents his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gobe0vWPfl8">case</a> for how he came to that assessment with quite a bit more research than the prejudicial examples cited in the paragraph above.<br />
<br />
<img class="irc_mi" height="425" src="https://clareswinney.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/jamescorbettsmall2.jpg" style="margin-top: 20px;" width="377" /><br />
<i>James Corbett, host of The Corbett Report Photo credit: </i><br />
<span class="_r3"><a class="_ZR irc_hol i3724" data-noload="" data-ved="0ahUKEwjxr5y2_MrKAhVHyGMKHV43B7wQjB0IBg" href="https://clareswinney.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/james-corbett-the-revolution-of-the-mind-is-the-only-revolution-that-matters/"><span class="irc_ho" dir="ltr">clareswinney.wordpress.com</span></a></span><br />
<br />
<br />
It is certainly historically correct, as Corbett points out to buttress his argument, that the Rockefeller family has ties to eugenics and has advocated population reduction. What I pointed out in a <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2015/06/rockefeller-road-paved-with-good.html">post on the Rockefellers</a> last year is that where the Rockefellers have been responsible for a mass population reduction, i.e. genocide, in <i>practice</i>, it was through "development", i.e. deforestation, of the Amazon rainforest where death tolls ranged from 40,000 to 100,000 during the 1960s - environmental degradation that is currently losing the ability to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/31/amazon-rainforest-deforestation-weather-droughts-report">regulate the climate</a>. Which kind of undercuts Corbett's argument that the Rockefellers are perpetrating a fraud by propagandizing against the dangers of climate change: the scientific research proves the Rockefellers in reality have perpetrated <i>actual</i> climate change. Again, I must cite the excellent book by Charlotte Dennett and Gerard Colby, <i>Thy Will Be Done</i>, which documents not only the genocide I mentioned, but the Rockefeller ties to eugenics that Corbett mentioned.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, on the subject of science, I know Corbett's counter to the evidence I've cited is that there are scientists that question the anthropogenic impact on global warming that he has interviewed on his show. The reality is that there will never be a 100% consensus on <i>any</i> scientific theory: even Darwin's theory of evolution is controversial enough that <a href="http://www.evolutionnews.org/2006/02/over_500_scientists_proclaim_t001981.html">over 500 scientists</a> doubt it as recently as 2006. It would be illogical for me to argue that <i>every</i> academic study that questions the link between human activities and global warming is funded by <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/15/exxon-mobil-gave-millions-climate-denying-lawmakers">oil corporations</a> and the <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2015/04/08/koch-brothers-climate-change-denial/">Koch brothers</a>, even though it's been proven that many of them are. Likewise, while Corbett may have a point castigating the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/21/AR2009112102186.html">CRU</a> for their attempts in 2009 to censor dissenters, it would be illogical for him to argue that <i>every</i> academic study that validates the link between human activities and global warming is the product of a UN plot. But here's the implicit argument: if the UN and their fellow conspirators are really perpetrating a hoax, then you must reject the science behind the theory that radiatively active gases in the earth's atmosphere create a greenhouse effect. Only by rejecting this scientific theory can you then dismiss the <a href="http://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html">massive planetary deforestation</a> and <a href="http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/analysis/global-consumption-of-fossil-fuels-continues-to-increase/">burning of fossil fuels</a> and essentially say, "Well, that doesn't matter."<br />
<br />
So why do I disapprove of this conspiracy theory so vociferously? Primarily because there is so much evidence global warming is happening <b>right now</b> and not just in predictive models for the future by IPCC-approved studies. The claim that global warming paused is <a href="http://www.agrinews-pubs.com/Content/Farm-Family-Life/Farm-Family-Life/Article/Study-finds-no-break-in-global-warming-/10/8/12917">old</a> and <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/global-warming-pause-was-a-myth-all-along-says-new-study/">fallacious</a>: according to <a href="http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/">NASA</a>, global temperature rose <a href="https://robertscribbler.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/halfway-to-2-c-according-to-nasa-we-just-blew-past-an-ominous-milestone/">1 degree Celsius</a> past pre-industrial times during the first six months of 2015. By the end of the year, both <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/science/earth/2015-hottest-year-global-warming.html?_r=0">NASA and NOAA</a> said 2015 was the hottest year in recorded history. As far as the "rise of the oceans" <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/29/1105451/mckibben-to-romney-please-explain-again-why-slowing-the-rise-of-the-oceans-is-such-a-silly-plan/">mocked</a> by reactionary politicians, their rapid warming is <a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/oceans-are-warming-so-fast-they-keep-zooming-off-science-charts/article/424328">breaking scientific charts</a> with carbon rates <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/04/10/oceans-facing-carbon-rates-which-spurred-mass-die-250-million-years-ago">similar to emissions that drove a mass extinction event 252 million years ago</a>; we've already seen <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/global-warming-sea-levels-north-new-york-rise-by-record-128mm-1489365">sea levels north of New York rise by 128 mm</a>. But what's happening now that really scares me is the news that global warming is <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/23/global-warming-is-now-slowing-down-the-circulation-of-the-oceans-with-potentially-dire-consequences/?tid=rssfeed">slowing down the Gulf Stream</a> over the North Atlantic Ocean. More about that later.<br />
<br />
There are other parts of this theory that don't sit well with me. I've noticed that a lot of people who buy into the UN hoax theory simultaneously promote the idea that the elites control the weather (though I'm not sure if Corbett promotes this or not) either through <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/haarp-secret-weapon-used-for-weather-modification-electromagnetic-warfare/20407">HAARP</a>, <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/military-weather-modification-chemtrails-atmospheric-geoengineering-and-environmental-warfare/5356630">chemtrails</a> or other <a href="http://www.google.com/patents/US5984239?dq=5984239&ei=NU5LUL3aOI2I9QTLtYGQCw">weather modification technology</a>. To me, buying into both seems like a way to have your cake and eat it too. It's a built-in escape clause in case global warming becomes literally impossible to deny: the elites did it! Now I don't deny there is truth to the charge that weather modification technology does exist and <a href="http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-11/chinas-weather-manipulation-brings-crippling-snowstorm-beijing">has been used</a>. But there's a logical conundrum in the elite control scenario. If the elites created global warming to cull the the world population, how exactly would they institute totalitarian control when the climate is wreaking global havoc?! Michael Ruppert <a href="http://www.resilience.org/stories/2009-05-22/sinking-titanic-interview-michael-c-ruppert">explained in 2009</a>, "As human industrial civilization collapses everything will be governed
by a force as powerful and unyielding as gravity. That is geography.
Things do not break up. They break down. They get smaller. Problems in
Essen or the Rhineland will be different from problems in East Prussia
or Bavaria."<br />
<br />
Since global collapse necessitates re-localization, the good news is that we won't have to worry being controlled by the United Nations, NATO or the Federal Reserve, they will either become ineffectual figureheads or will cease to exist entirely. But the federal government may suffer the same fate as well. What is the best way to create a new society? <b><a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-man-is-gone-message-remains.html">Unless you change the way money works, you change nothing.</a> </b>While some may fear technocracy as a UN tool of enslavement, I think it has excellent potential for success in a post-industrial, re-localized society, which is how I advocate implementation. But I also think it's important to remember that in such a future, there will be no one-size-fits-all solution. Local currencies should reflect the output of that particular region, though hopefully if this is an ad hoc arrangement in the wake of the Carbon Crisis, the economy will be rooted in sustainability as opposed to growth. Hopefully, if we learn the right lessons, we can build a new society that values sustainability and vilifies greed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Unless there's no humanity left to rebuild society...</i><br />
<br />
<br />
Which brings us to the second theory, what I would call climate fatalism. This has been most prominently promoted by Guy McPherson, who has at times said that global warming would cause humans to be extinct on this planet by <a href="http://guymcpherson.com/2012/06/were-done/">2030</a>; lately he has upgraded that estimation to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODWw_xSYJbo">2050</a>. In fairness, this theory isn't predicated on a cover-up, but McPherson has asserted that it is a by-product, singling out mainstream climate change activists like James Hansen and Bill McKibben for being <a href="http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/2013/11/06/guy-mcpherson-james-hansen-bill-mckibben-are-guilty-of-malpractice-video/">"guilty of malpractice"</a> for not stating that we face extinction. He has also criticized Michael E. Mann (who, coincidentally, James Corbett has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gobe0vWPfl8">also criticized</a>, but for diametrically different reasons) for his call to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU0rB--OlEg">"keep burning coal"</a> because even though he thinks we're screwed either way, we should stop doing what got us in this mess in the first place.<br />
<img class="irc_mi" src="http://markmaynard.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/doc4f26f64895efd1869159641-300x243.jpg" height="243" style="margin-top: 111px;" width="300" /><br />
<i>Dr. Guy McPherson Photo credit: </i><span class="_r3"><a class="_ZR irc_hol i3724" data-noload="" data-ved="0ahUKEwj91O3l_MrKAhVX8GMKHQ4GCigQjB0IBg" href="http://markmaynard.com/2012/02/dr-guy-mcpherson-making-the-case-for-living-off-grid-in-ypsilanti/"><span class="irc_ho" dir="ltr">markmaynard.com</span></a></span><br />
<span class="_r3"><span class="irc_ho" dir="ltr"> </span></span> <br />
<br />
The criticism of McPherson seems to come in two different forms. One form is to criticize him because of the fear that such "doom and gloom" will diminish the activism trying to reduce carbon emissions because people will give up if they think it doesn't matter because it's too late. I think this charge is unfair; McPherson always encourages his audience to use their knowledge as motivation to live your life focused on what's most important to you and not to give in to hopelessness - since Michael Ruppert's death he has maintained a suicide re-consideration link on his <a href="http://guymcpherson.com/">website homepage</a>. The other form is in critiquing his methodology. He has been charged with <a href="https://fractalplanet.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/how-guy-mcpherson-gets-it-wrong/">cherry-picking scientific data</a> that in full does not support his position. Another charge is that he only lists positive feedback loops without also taking into consideration <a href="http://planet3.org/2014/03/13/mcphersons-evidence-that-doom-doom-doom/">negative feedback loops</a> that might reduce the severity and immediacy of global warming.<br />
<br />
McPherson's <a href="http://guymcpherson.com/2014/12/how-scott-johnson-gets-it-wrong/">response</a> does not directly rebut those specific points. He does say that his larger point stands that methane is an issue that is not for our grandchildren to deal with, but for us right now. While I may disagree with him on the specifics and immediacy of human extinction, where methane is concerned I do agree with him. McPherson in his research quotes from a study by <a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2014/01/global-warming-and-the-gulf-stream.html">Malcolm Light</a> that the methane clathrate gun was fired in 2007 when the Gulf Stream "energy/year exceeded 10 million times the amount of energy/year necessary to dissociate subsea Arctic methane hydrates." That the slowing down of the Gulf Stream has been noted as a scientific reality by the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/23/global-warming-is-now-slowing-down-the-circulation-of-the-oceans-with-potentially-dire-consequences/?tid=rssfeed">Washington Post</a> in 2015 as I mentioned before is an ominous sign that this research may be correct. Also related to this is a story by the BBC that permafrost warming in parts of Alaska <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34540414">'is accelerating.'</a> Methane's greatest potential for planetary destruction as a greenhouse gas is that it is <a href="https://psehealthyenergy.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/methane-is-20-times-more-powerful-than-carbon-dioxide-as-a-greenhouse-gas/">33 times more powerful than carbon dioxide</a> over a 100 year period following emission, and <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/326/5953/716.short">105 times more powerful than carbon dioxide</a> over a 20 year period following emission.<br />
<br />
This really hit home for me on a personal level living in southern California this winter. There was a methane leak in Porter Ranch first reported October 23, 2015 that at this date still has not been plugged. This one failed well at Southern California Gas Co.'s Aliso Canyon storage field has put out, according to the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-porter-ranch-greenhouse-20160124-story.html">Los Angeles Times</a>, "the equivalent of 2.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide - more greenhouse gas than 440,000 cars emit in a year." The methane emissions have surpassed what is released by all industrial activity in the state. While Governor Jerry Brown is currently working on a plan for So Cal Gas to "offset" the emissions, (click <a href="http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=35613&p=529523#p529523">here</a> to read how I really feel about what a bullshit concept offsets are) I find it astounding that they ordinarily wouldn't be required to pay for this leak "because California's climate change regulations exempt methane leaks —
even enormous ones — as "fugitive emissions" that are not subject to the
state's cap-and-trade program." As reprehensible as that is, it's pretty much par for the course for authorities upholding the consensus view on global warming. Guy McPherson has <a href="http://www.collapsingintoconsciousness.com/guy-mcpherson-climate-change-summary-and-update-from-nature-bats-last/">pointed out</a> that most major climatological assessments "fail to account for significant self-reinforcing feedback loops" and the IPCC's praised Fifth Assessment "<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/12/02/1253931/ipccs-planned-obsolescence-fifth-assessment-report-will-ignore-crucial-permafrost-carbon-feedback/">ignores important feedbacks</a>." The melting of permafrost and Arctic methane clathrates are two of the biggest feedback loops that could make global warming spiral out of control.<br />
<br />
There's one more elephant in the Carbon Crisis living room that McPherson frequently brings up that most others fail to address. That is the time lag between the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and its corresponding affect on average global temperature. This time lag is <a href="http://www.skepticalscience.com/Climate-Change-The-40-Year-Delay-Between-Cause-and-Effect.html">approximately forty years</a>. In other words, even if we stopped all fossil fuel emissions today, the <a href="https://www.co2.earth/global-co2-emissions">carbon dioxide emitted in 2015</a>, which amounted to approximately 9.734 gigatons, (1 gigaton = 1 billion tons) won't have an affect on global temperature until 2055. The global warming we're experiencing right now is from roughly 1975. With so much future warming already baked into the system, drastic action must take place. Yet reducing emissions alone <a href="https://theconversation.com/reducing-emissions-alone-wont-stop-climate-change-new-research-45493">won't stop climate change</a>. McPherson <a href="http://guymcpherson.com/2015/07/near-term-habitat-loss-for-humans/">explains</a> that carbon emissions contain reflective particles. Dramatic emissions reduction of 35-80% would create an absence of solar dimming that would result in <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jgrd.50192/full">1 °C of additional warming</a>. That would put the planet at 2 °C. For those hoping for a techno-fix, the most recent conclusion of scientists is that <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/197521/scientists-we-cannot-geoengineer-our-way-out-climate-crisis">we cannot geoengineer our way out </a>of climate change.<br />
<br />
This is the real crossroads of history at which we stand. Do we confront the inevitability of the Carbon Crisis with compassion and dignity or wastefulness and recklessness? Well, I suppose there are uglier ways to go. It's ironic, but my idyllic childhood memories growing up in suburban LA were literally colored by greenhouse gas emissions. The late <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ry0g4W0_ZI">Dennis Farina</a> put it best in the movie <i>Get Shorty</i>: "They say the fucking smog is the fucking reason you have such beautiful fucking sunsets." I thought they had disappeared for good with tighter emission standards reducing our smog to negligible levels. But for the past couple months, they've returned. My sister Anastasia has captured some of these spectacular sunrises and sunsets on camera.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/12524308_10208723477263296_6123563687299920028_n.jpg?oh=03b2a24c3f35fc5d91ba037671e342a3&oe=5741C1D2" style="height: 582px; width: 582px;" /><br />
<br />
Could this be from the methane leak in Porter Ranch?<br />
<br />
<img alt="" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/12573852_10208726976190767_6755945011811678898_n.jpg?oh=0a0f25a1a4d583944a5dc1b5723f7360&oe=5734A762" style="height: 582px; width: 582px;" /><br />
<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/12/02/1253931/ipccs-planned-obsolescence-fifth-assessment-report-will-ignore-crucial-permafrost-carbon-feedback/"><br /></a>
<br />
Or the cesium from Fukushima?<br />
<br />
<img alt="" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/12642474_10208754298393805_5654111077744100793_n.jpg?oh=d6d3c1d635f5ebbf5bd8450de7deef90&oe=5732EFC8" style="height: 582px; width: 582px;" /><br />
<br />
<i>Either way, what a beautiful way to go!</i><br />
<br />
<h1 class="yt watch-title-container">
<span class="watch-title " dir="ltr" id="eow-title" title="A Message to the Environmental Movement [REUPLOAD]"></span><span class="watch-title " dir="ltr" id="eow-title" title="A Message to the Environmental Movement [REUPLOAD]"></span><span class="watch-title " dir="ltr" id="eow-title" title="A Message to the Environmental Movement [REUPLOAD]"> </span></h1>
Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-50068069717743981952015-12-19T18:07:00.002-08:002015-12-19T18:13:09.751-08:00Phil Ochs and the "Crucifixion" of JFK <em>"And the night comes again to the circle studded sky<br />The stars settle slowly, in lonliness they lie<br />'Till the universe expodes as a falling star is raised<br />Planets are paralyzed, mountains are amazed<br />But they all glow brighter from the briliance of the blaze<br />With the speed of insanity, then he dies."</em><br />
<br />
-Phil Ochs, "Crucifixion"<br />
<br />
Phil Ochs is my all-time favorite singer-songwriter from the folk revival of the 1960s. Nothing against Dylan, it's just that I'm a child of the 70's and 80's, so my perspective is colored by those times in which I got to know him as the rocker Bob Dylan, or Lucky Wilbury. While I certainly appreciate how pivotal Dylan's folk period was for his time, Ochs appeals to me more on both a political and personal level. I first got into his music around late 2002-early 2003, just as people were collectively waking up to the coalescing bullshit in the buildup to the Iraq War. So many of his songs, such as "Cops of the World", "Is There Anybody Here", "The Power and the Glory" and "Pretty Smart on My Part" still have resonance and relevance now, even though he originally wrote them as, in his own words, <a href="http://www.legacy.com/news/celebrity-deaths/article/phil-ochs-singing-journalist">"topical songs."</a> I found myself so connected with his music at the time, I even rewrote some of his lyrics in "Love Me, I'm a Liberal" to be even more topical during the 2004 election (not realizing Jello Biafra did the same thing in the 90's). Though I've never played that version publicly, I did perform it for my Dad before he passed away, and he enjoyed it thoroughly.<br />
<br />
Something I have found particularly fascinating the more I learn about Phil Ochs is the deep connection between him and the Kennedys. To some degree, his career began because John F. Kennedy became President. When Ochs was a student at Ohio State University in 1960, he became interested in folk music and left-wing politics, in no small part due to the influence of his roommate Jim Glover, who introduced him to folk music and taught him to play guitar. In the documentary <i>Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune</i>, Glover talks about how he had a bet with Ochs that Nixon would beat Kennedy in the 1960 election. When JFK won, Ochs' prize for winning the bet was Glover's guitar. Ochs briefly formed a duo with Glover called The Singing Socialists, though according to what Glover told <a href="http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2013/05/phil-ochs-at-dealey-plaza.html">William E. Kelly Jr.</a>, Ochs grew worried after being confronted by an angry audience member asking if they were Communists and asked to change the name of the duo to The Sundowners. Glover felt that this change "took all the fun out of it for me." He left OSU in 1961 and moved to Greenwich Village where he met his future wife Jean Ray and formed the folk music duo Jim and Jean. If that name sounds familiar, it might be because the Coen brothers movie <i>Inside Llewyn Davis</i>, which covered the Greenwich Village folk revival in 1961, featured a folk duo named Jim and Jean played respectively by Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img class="irc_mi" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2011-03-02-PhilGunFlag.jpg" height="465" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="391" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Glover has some reservations about the identical name of the Jim and Jean duo in <em>Inside Llewyn Davis</em> being a <a href="http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20140109/article/140109631">"coincidence."</a> While some allege the inspiration for the Llewyn Davis character played by Oscar Isaac who crashes in friend's apartments while pursuing a folk singing career in New York is Dave van Ronk, Glover says the house-crasher was actually Phil Ochs, who came to New York in 1962 to pursue his own career in folk music. While crashing, Ochs met Jean's friend Alice Skinner. Ochs and Skinner moved in together and married later that year when she became pregnant with their daughter Meeghan. At their wedding, Jim Glover was the best man, Jean Ray was the bridesmaid and the wedding was witnessed by Bob Dylan's girlfriend Suze Rotolo, famously featured in the iconic cover of Dylan's <em>The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan</em>.<br />
<br />
During his career, Ochs wrote at least two songs about the assassination of JFK. The first, which appeared on his second album <em>I Ain't Marching Anymore</em>, was "That Was the President." Lyrically, it is a straightforward tribute to JFK. The second song, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion_(song)">"Crucifixion,"</a> is the more poetic and allegorical song. Ochs acknowledged it was about JFK, but that it told a deeper more timeless story about the building up and tearing down of all rebels and reformers: "The Kennedy assassination, in a way, was destroying our best in some kind of ritual. People say they really love the reformer, they love the radical, but they want to see him killed. It's a certain part of the human psyche—the dark side of the human psyche." When Ochs performed this song for Senator Robert F. Kennedy privately in March 1967, RFK cried when he realized the song was about his brother.<br />
<br />
According to Jim Glover, there is a darker more <a href="http://www.ciscohouston.com/docs/jcc/jim_glover.shtml">clandestine story</a> about the connection between Phil Ochs and the assassination of JFK. Glover claims that when they met after the assassination, Ochs told him that <a href="http://www.ciscohouston.com/docs/jcc/jim_glover3.shtml">he had been in Dealey Plaza</a> when JFK was murdered. Supposedly the reason for this goes back to their time at Ohio State University. Both had been active in the ROTC at the time, which was compulsory. Ochs, however, intimated that through his contacts there he became involved in a military intelligence program which included surveillance on campus. Apparently he kept the association with the contacts as Ochs told Jim and Jean that there was a plot to kill JFK and that somehow the Fair Play for Cuba Committee was involved. Glover said he would let Ochs know if he found out anything more, but then Jim and Jean left along with a <a href="http://www.ciscohouston.com/docs/jcc/jim_glover2.shtml">tour bus</a> of other folk acts to the South in the summer and fall of 1963, which is a story worth reading about in the link above.<br />
<br />
<br />
<em>They say they can't believe it, it's a sacreligious shame<br />Now, who would want to hurt such a hero of the game?<br /><strong>But you know I predicted it; I knew he had to fall</strong><br />How did it happen? I hope his suffering was small.<br />Tell me every detail, for I've got to know it all,<br />And do you have a picture of the pain?</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
This prescience Ochs refers to in the song "Crucifixion" above not only extended to JFK and RFK, it's possible Ochs may have also been talking about himself. While he was in Africa on a trip in 1973, Ochs was attacked and strangled by robbers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Though he survived the attack, his vocal cords were permanently damaged. Ochs believed the attack may have been arranged by government agents - perhaps the CIA. To be fair, Ochs had grown increasingly paranoid by this time due to his bipolar condition. The attack just exacerbated his problems. His alcoholism grew more intense and in 1975 he began identifying himself as John Butler Train, claiming Train had murdered Ochs and carried a weapon at all times because he was convinced someone was trying to kill him. Lethargic, feeling he was unable to write or sing anymore, Phil Ochs hanged himself on April 9, 1976.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OIwbeEGXj5E/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OIwbeEGXj5E?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Had he lived, he would have turned 75 today. Happy birthday, Phil Ochs. Rest In Peace.<br />
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-34685114076011638622015-11-20T14:56:00.000-08:002016-03-02T16:08:54.411-08:00Friday the 13th Paris Terror, the Assassination of JFK, Operation Gladio...and the Knights Templar?Looking back on my entries here over the past eight years, while there are very few conspiracy-related subjects that I have an aversion to writing about, there is one area that I have avoided doing in-depth analysis on. That would be the subject of secret societies. Sure, if you run a search on this blog, you'll find entries where I'll either make a passing comment on Bilderberg or Skull and Bones, or I'll quote some other source that does. But I've never made an effort to seriously research a secret society inside and out. My reason, or excuse depending on your perspective, is that such an undertaking is beyond what I can verify to my own sense of satisfaction because - they're secret! So usually I only feel comfortable talking about secret societies obliquely, rather than digging deeper into their history.<br />
<br />
I'm not about to spell out a full history, but I'm going to dig a little deeper into the history of a secret society than usual on this post. The reason is that there are two separate incidents I've been researching that, for different reasons, have bizarre connections with a secret society. These incidents, both monumental historical events, are the assassination of JFK and the terror attacks in Paris last Friday. The connections are due more to geography than any grand master plan: I've been researching aspects of the 'French Connection' theory regarding the JFK assassination and the November 13 Paris attacks, of course, took place in France. But the secret society is one that has a very ancient history in France that beguiles the imagination - the Knights Templar.<br />
<br />
Now for the brief history lesson, courtesy of <i>The Temple and the Lodge</i> by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, pages 41-55. The Knights Templar began in 1118, supposedly to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land. There may have been more ambitious designs from the beginning. The Templars were said to have consisted of only nine knights until 1128, though their records show such prestigious additional recruits as Count Hugues de Champagne (whose vassal, Hugues de Payens, was the Templars first Grand Master) and Fulk, Comte d' Anjou, father of Geoffrey Plantagenet and grandfather of Henry II of England. 1128 was when the Council of Troyes gave them monastic rule, which essentially made them soldiers living as monks. To quote page 43 directly:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">From 1128 on, the Order expanded at an extraordinary pace, receiving not just a massive influx of recruits, but also immense donations of both money and property. Within a year, they owned lands in France, England, Scotland, Spain and Portugal. Within a decade, their possessions would extend into Italy, Austria, Germany, Hungary and Constantinople. In 1131, the king of Aragon bequeathed to them a third of his domains. By the mid-twelfth century, the Temple had already begun to establish itself as the single most wealthy and powerful institution in Christendom, with the sole exception of the Papacy.</span></blockquote>
<br />
While their power had significant influence in the realm of the military and politics during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, their most lasting influence was probably in the realm of finance. To quote pages 47-48:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">In effect, the origins of modern banking can be attributed to the Order of the Temple. At the peak of their power, the Templars handled much, if not most, of the available capital in Western Europe. They pioneered the concept of credit facilities, as well as the allocation of credit for commercial development and expansion. They performed, in fact, virtually all the functions of a twentieth-century merchant bank.</span></blockquote>
<br />
It was because of their wealth and resources that the Templars became a target in the beginning of the fourteenth century, at a time they had grown militarily weak, to a monarch of exceeding greed and ambition, King Philippe IV of France. After compiling a catalog of charges from infiltrators and renegades, he conducted the equivalent of a secret police raid at dawn on October 13, 1307 to seize and place under arrest all Templars in France, place their preceptories under royal sequestration, and confiscate their goods. It's possible many were tipped off; the Grand Master, Jacques de Molay burned many of their books and extant rules before escaping and Philippe never did find the 'treasure of the Templars' that was the main plot point of the movie <i>National Treasure</i>. But there were numerous arrests and the wild confessions extracted from Templars through hideous torture included infanticide, abortion, homosexuality, spitting and ritualistically trampling on the cross and worship of a demonic power called 'Baphomet.' They were officially dissolved by papal decree on March 22, 1312, without an official verdict on their guilt or innocence. Jacques de Molay was captured and roasted to death over a slow fire on March 18, 1314 in Paris, France.<br />
<br />
Yet the influence of the Knights Templar was so strong that even after the Order was abolished, they seemed to live on. <i>The Temple and the Lodge</i> explores the historical links between the Templars and the Freemasons, but it goes beyond that. To quote page 41:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as we shall see, certain rites of Freemasonry assiduously sought to establish a pedigree dating back to the Templars. At the same time, other, neo-Templar, organisations began to appear, similarly claiming a pedigree derived from the original Order. Today, there are no fewer than five organisations in existence alleging one or another species of direct descent form the white-mantled warrior-monks of the Middle Ages.</span></blockquote>
<br />
It is through this neo-Templar lens that I recently found a connection with the assassination of JFK. I had heard several months ago that there was a new book coming out by David Talbot titled <i>The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government</i>. I was somewhat curious, any examination of the dark deeds of Allen Dulles requires a serious analysis of his role in the JFK assassination. But the excerpts from that book on the <a href="http://whowhatwhy.org/2015/10/20/jfk-assassination-plot-mirrored-in-1961-france-part-1/">WhoWhatWhy</a> website that seemslikeadream on <a href="http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=39064&start=15#p575609">RI</a> brought to my attention really piqued my interest. It's worth <a href="http://whowhatwhy.org/2015/10/21/jfk-assassination-plot-mirrored-in-france-part-2/">reading</a> the entire <a href="http://whowhatwhy.org/2015/10/22/jfk-assassination-plot-mirrored-in-1961-france-part-3/">three</a> part series of excerpts on the failed coup against French President Charles de Gaulle titled "JFK Assassination Plot Mirrored in 1961 France," but there were a couple sections in <a href="http://whowhatwhy.org/2015/10/20/jfk-assassination-plot-mirrored-in-1961-france-part-1/">Part One</a> that I found particularly revealing.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="uncited">
<div>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">In panic-gripped Paris, reports of US involvement in the coup filled newspapers across the political spectrum. Geneviève Tabouis, a columnist for Paris-Jour, zeroed in directly on Dulles as the main culprit in an article headlined “The Strategy of Allen Dulles.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Other news reports revealed that Jacques Soustelle — a former governor-general of Algeria who joined the Secret Army Organization (Organisation de l’Armée Secrète, or OAS), a notorious anti-de Gaulle terrorist group — had a luncheon meeting with Richard Bissell in Washington the previous December.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
That name Soustelle was familiar to me. I ran a search through my blog and found that I had previously written about him in <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-defense-intelligence-agency-dia.html">The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Operation Gladio and the Assassination of JFK</a>. Apparently De Gaulle discovered that one of Sostelle's largest contributors was Ferenc Nagy, longtime asset of CIA Deputy Director of Plans Frank Wisner and President of Centro Mondiale Commerciale, who had on their board of directors another CIA asset (sorry, <span style="font-weight: bold;">agent</span>): Clay Shaw, indicted for the murder of JFK by Jim Garrison.<br />
<br />
A couple other important points to remember: First, Richard Bissell, who replaced Wisner as the CIA's DDP when Wisner had a nervous breakdown in 1958, was one of three CIA bigwigs fired by President Kennedy for the failure at the Bay of Pigs in 1961, the other two being Deputy Director Charles Cabell and Director Allen Dulles. Second, OAS, the terrorist group Jacques Soustelle had joined, was directly involved, according to Jonathan Kwitny and Daniele Ganser, with the French stay-behind army that was part of a scheme concocted by <a href="http://www.theantechamber.net/ExArchive/OperationGladio.htm">Allen Dulles</a> and carried out by NATO known as Operation Gladio.<br />
<br />
Since Operation Gladio is the brainchild of Allen Dulles, I really hope Talbot details as much of this as possible. In the <a class="postlink" href="http://whowhatwhy.org/2015/10/20/jfk-assassination-plot-mirrored-in-1961-france-part-1/">WhoWhatWhy excerpt</a>, Talbot doesn't call out Gladio by name but refers to its alignment with the failed coup and names a supporter of particular interest:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="uncited">
<div>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">De Gaulle was particularly determined to shut down the secret “stay-behind army” that Dulles had organized in France — a network of anti-Communist militants with access to buried arms caches who were originally recruited to resist a potential Soviet invasion but were now aligned with the rebellious generals and other groups plotting to overthrow French democracy.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">De Gaulle ordered his young security adviser, Constantin Melnik, to shut down the murky, stay-behind network of fascists, spooks, and criminals, which Melnik agreed was “very dan- gerous for the security of France.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">But Melnik, who was trained at the RAND Corporation, a leading think tank for the US national security complex, was another admirer of Dulles, and the stay-behind under-ground continued to operate in France. Melnik — who was the son of a White Russian general and the grandson of Czar Nicolas II’s personal physician, who was executed along with the imperial family — was as passionately anti-Soviet as his US security colleagues.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
Melnik has a much darker and fascinating history than what is indicated above. In addition to his <a class="postlink" href="http://operation-gladio.net/constantin-melnik">Gladio ties</a>, there is his connection with the <b>Knights Templar of the Sovereign Order of the Solar Temple (OSTS)</b>. I'm highlighting the part pertaining to Melnik, but the whole <a class="postlink" href="http://www.philipcoppens.com/stateterrorism_2.html">article</a> is great:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="uncited">
<div>
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Constantin Melnik</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Observers have noted that there are many parallels between the OTS and the original “Templar Order” in France, the OSTS. A leading member of the OSTS was Constantin Melnik, head of the then French external intelligence agency SDECE. Melnik conceived the so-called La Main Rouge (“the Red Hand”), a group of state-sponsored terrorists that specifically operated in the Algerian War in the 1950s. Several terrorist attacks were attributed to this organisation and seen as attacks against the French state, whereas they were actually committed by the state—a so-called false-flag operation.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Melnik has since admitted his responsibility in the creation of the fiction of the Red Hand, but he has denied any involvement in the Templar story. Instead, he has pointed the finger at the KGB! He claims that, in 1958, it sent over people to the area he lived in, dressed up as Templars, in an effort to discredit him! As he was later repeatedly seen at the OSTS headquarters in Villié Morgon, near Lyon, his claims regarding the KGB, even if true, do not change his personal and extensive involvement in the OSTS.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">What Constantin Melnik does not dispute either is that he received his training from the Rand Corporation, a company whose principal customer is the Pentagon. He also accepts that it was François de Grossouvre who was instrumental in his return to France in 1983. De Grossouvre was the person in charge of Gladio in the Lyons region. Geoffroy d’Aumale and Jean-Pierre Faure, in their Guide de l’espionnage et du contre-espionnage (“Espionage and Counter-espionage Guide”), claim the same. De Grossouvre would later commit suicide inside his office in the Elysée Palace, the residence of the French president, though many believe that he was “suicided”.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Former members of the OSTS have noted that there definitely was a military aspect to the OSTS. Though there were mass gatherings of members in which apparently esoteric if not magical rituals were performed, there were also weekends of a slightly different nature. One member stated that on one such weekend, a group was taken to a secluded valley in which their guides began to show them extremely high-tech machine guns which definitely came from a military arsenal. They were asked to begin target practice, an offer which some of the OSTS members immediately declined and then most annulled their membership or let it expire. It therefore seems clear that the OSTS had always been, or at some point became, exposed to Gladio, and members were often unknowingly invited to begin to train as resistance fighters in the Gladio network.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Within the Gladio framework, the OTS begins to make more sense. If the OTS was part of the Gladio network, it would explain why it was led by Luc Jouret, a Belgian ex-military official with ties to Gladio. It explains the enormous sums of money that were transferred, and it explains what happened in the final days of the OTS. If the OTS was a Gladio cell, it seems that the French Ministry of the Interior had indeed infiltrated this cell and may have been responsible for neutralising it (for Gladio was controlled by the CIA and NATO, not the governments of the countries in which it operated). One means of neutralisation is to kill all members…</span></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
Gladio terror has morphed considerably over the decades. I've <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-defense-intelligence-agency-dia.html">previously detailed</a> the evolution of Operation Gladio to <a href="http://wideshut.co.uk/gladio-b-the-origins-of-natos-secret-islamic-terrorist-proxies/">Gladio Plan B</a>; that the War on Terror is the next stage of the Gladio Strategy of Tension, which would make 9/11 an Operation Gladio false-flag operation on steroids. Should the same designation be automatically bestowed on the Friday the 13th Paris terror attacks? Before doing that, I think it's imperative to clarify just how I believe the relationship between Gladio B and terror facades such as al-Qaeda and ISIS works. I don't believe that <i>every single</i> act of terror that ISIS takes credit for is a Gladio op. Remember that ISIS operative in <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/04/us/garland-mohammed-drawing-contest-shooting/">Garland, Texas</a> who tried to ambush a draw-a-cartoon-of-Mohammed event with his roommate earlier this May that the police ended up killing? Amateur hour. No trace of Gladio coordination by my assessment. I don't believe the vast majority of rank-and-file members of these terror groups comprehend whose pawn in which game they actually serve. You've got the grunts enticed and/or coerced into helping their poor families by doing the true believers jihadi shit, which Lydia Wilson for <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/what-i-discovered-from-interviewing-isis-prisoners/">The Nation</a> did an excellent job of detailing interviewing ISIS prisoners. Above them is the mid-level hardcore fundamentalist jihadis, who use whatever tactics are necessary to keep the grunts doing their job. The top-level may be true believers or not, but that's where Gladio infiltration is essential for <i>manipulating</i> terrorist operations for maximum exploitation. That's what's important to remember about their relationship: it's not about Gladio B operatives <i>controlling</i> <u>everything</u> ISIS does, it's about manipulating and <i>facilitating</i> the big terror attacks for the media to saturate and coerce your perception so that the Military-Industrial Complex can achieve whatever objective the terror attack was coordinated to obtain.<br />
<br />
<br />
That said, the evidence that has been accrued within the last week is really starting to make the Friday the 13th Paris terror attacks look more and more like France's 9/11. Just like <a href="http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/042202_bushknows.html">9/11</a>, there were multiple warnings from intelligence agencies of various countries (<a href="http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/15/french-jews-warned-friday-morning-of-impending-large-terrorist-attack/">Israel</a> and <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/world-news/1.686257">Iraq</a>, so far) that an attack was imminent. Just as there were multiple-site <a href="http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/011805_simplify_case.shtml">terror exercises</a> planned for <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?day_of_9/11=complete_911_timeline_training_exercises&timeline=complete_911_timeline">New York City</a> and <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?before_9/11=militaryExercises&timeline=complete_911_timeline">Washington D.C.</a> on or around 9/11, there was a multi-site exercise planned for the morning of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smq5iQonYeE">November 13, 2015</a> in Paris, according to EMT and Charlie Hebdo chronicler Patrick Pelloux. In the aftermath of 9/11, the Patriot Act (which was actually <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/12/joe-biden-drafted-the-core-of-the-patriot-act-in-1995-before-the-oklahoma-city-bombing.html">drafted prior to 9/11</a>) was passed to increase surveillance on everyone and the military was given carte blanche. France is reacting the same way to <i>their</i> 9/11, recently extending their <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/paris-attacks-france-extend-state-of-emergency_564f61cae4b0258edb3150ab">state of emergency to three months</a>, which basically makes France a <a href="https://boingboing.net/2015/11/20/france-declares-state-of-emerg.html">police state</a> until the end of February next year.<br />
<br />
But there are three things in particular that from my perspective look like Gladio B fingerprints. First, the phony passports. Just as with 9/11, where a <a href="http://911research.wtc7.net/disinfo/deceptions/passport.html">terrorist passport</a> was magically found among the wreckage of the World Trade Center (not to mention the exploding plane that crashed into the WTC) completely intact, this time we have two Syrian passports found on the bodies of two of the Paris attackers. Despite the uncritical acceptance by the <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/08/establishment-radicals.html">Radical Establishment Media (REM)</a> of this story at face value, there are multiple sources confirming these passports are fake. One <a href="http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/police-believe-attackers-used-forged-passports-to-stigmatize-refugees-1.2662167">source</a> makes an accurate assessment as to the reason <i>why</i>: to stigmatize Syrian refugees (that objective, among the American right-wing, is working like gangbusters). The second <a href="http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syrian-passports-found-scene-paris-attacks-fakes-made-turkey-police-520642631">source</a> narrows down the where: most likely these phony passports were made in Turkey. I've written <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/03/synopsizing-sibel-edmonds-evolution-of.html">multiple</a> <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/04/synopsizing-sibel-edmonds-evolution-of_12.html">entries</a> on the importance of Turkey in Gladio B operations. Second, there is the bizarre story of "Sébastien" (no last name necessary, like some prima donna rock star) who claims he was ISIS's guide in the Bataclan, yet is an acclaimed hero in European REM who uncritically accept that story as well as his claim to have saved a pregnant woman hanging outside the building. MacCruiskeen on <a href="http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=39303&start=300#p578209">RI</a> has done a great job documenting the suspicious details and outright bullshit on display in this story. The entire account reeks of psy-op, which is the hallmark of Gladio's Strategy of Tension. Third, the claim that the Friday the 13th Paris terror attacks were <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0385tzj">planned in Belgium</a>. It's interesting to note that in addition to being "the capital of political Islam in continental Europe," Brussels, Belgium is also where NATO headquarters are located. It's too bad that instead of focusing on the NATO aspect, as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7GAbVhjTSw">Gearoid O Colmain</a> so brilliantly did, the REM focus on Belgium consists of calling Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the chief patsy of the Paris attacks the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/world/europe/paris-terror-attack.html">"chief architect."</a> Like the patsy before him whose pose he mimics, (thanks Joao), Abaaoud was conveniently <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/abdelhamid-abaaoud-dead-paris-attacks-6860987">killed</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="Image" src="https://i.imgur.com/QjW86ZK.jpg" /><br />
<img alt="Image" src="https://i.imgur.com/JdBLhKD.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So what's the connection with the Knight's Templar? There isn't a direct connection so much as an <i>esoteric</i> connection. The dates of most significant terror attacks are chosen deliberately in commemoration of some other significant event. (The Oklahoma bombing on April 19, 1995 was chosen to coincide with the Waco siege of 1993, for example.) I've yet to find major significance with the date of November 13 prior to this year. I suppose it's possible the date was chosen to commemorate the truck bombing in <a href="http://copycateffect.blogspot.com/2015/11/friday-13th-france-911.html">Riyadh in 1995</a> that killed five Americans and two Indians, but I doubt it. Perhaps the significance of the choice isn't rooted in November the 13th, but <b>Friday the 13th</b>. The association of this date with terror is something rooted deeply in our culture. It goes beyond the umpteen returns of Jason Voorhees in the popular <i>Friday the 13th</i> film franchise. One of the earliest historical examples where this date had a significant impact is one of the darkest days in Templar history. To quote page 54 from <i>The Temple and the Lodge</i>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: cyan;">The Temple, it must be remembered, was, with the sole exception of the Papacy, the most important, most powerful, most prestigious, most apparently unshakable institution of its age. At the time of Philippe's attack, it was nearly two centuries old and was regarded as one of the central pillars of Western Christendom. For most of its contemporaries, it seemed as immutable, as durable, as permanent as the Church herself. That such an edifice should be so summarily demolished rocked the foundation upon which rested the assumptions and beliefs of an epoch. Thus, for example, Dante, in <i>The Divine Comedy</i>, expresses his shock and his sympathy for the persecuted 'White Mantles'. Indeed, the superstition which holds Friday the 13th to be a day of misfortune is believed to stem from Philippe's initial raids on Friday, 13 October 1307.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
It remains to be seen just how bad the current Friday the 13th attack will rock the foundation upon which the assumptions and beliefs of our epoch rest.Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-57603846200882283312015-10-16T12:58:00.000-07:002016-03-02T16:07:53.138-08:00ISIS Is BS: It's Just the Latest Greatest Gladio OperationThey are not extinct, but for all practical intents and purposes, al-Qaeda has gone the way of VHS. They had a great run, make no mistake, the dominance of al-Qaeda in the global terror market created some memorable moments that secured their place in the annals of terror history, but after two decades a change was overdue. They peaked over a decade ago with 9/11, but even the "successful" attacks they pulled off afterward paled in comparison. A new scarier face was needed. Something more evil, more brutal, with a darker more all-encompassing vision, like a Bond villain meets the fundamentalist Islamic Borg.<br />
<br />
Demand, meet the new Supply! Like an Egregore the Military-Industrial Complex wished into existence, ISIS burst onto the scene as the shiny new Blu-ray DVD disc designed to make us forget all about those stodgy Bush-era VHS bad guys. You thought al-Qaeda was scary when they beheaded their kidnap victims? ISIS beheads even more <b>and</b> burn people to death in cages! You thought hijacking planes and flying them into buildings was the apex of modern terror? ISIS is carving a Caliphate out of Iraq and Syria, something the old analog al-Qaeda only <b>dreamed</b> of! ISIS has grown in leaps and bounds beyond when I <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2014/06/quagmire-redux.html">first wrote about them</a>, so much so that now al-Qaeda members are bemoaning their fate in the dustbin of history to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/10/how-isis-crippled-al-qaida">sympathetic Western journalists</a> as ISIS sweeps them aside. Out with the old, in with the new!<br />
<br />
I'm not sure how many actually buy this sales pitch, but I sure don't. ISIS is BS; on multiple levels. On one level, our Radical Establishment Media is propagating a phony debate over the origins of how ISIS grew into the terror behemoth it appears to be. It's phony not just because it makes it appears that the American contribution in creating and nurturing ISIS was some kind of horrible accident, but phony because it assigns the blame in typical binary bullshit: either Obama is to blame through the Libya "rathole" story <a href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n08/seymour-m-hersh/the-red-line-and-the-rat-line">broken by Seymour Hersh</a>, or Dubya is to blame because if he hadn't invaded Iraq under false pretenses in 2003, ISIS never would have been created.<br />
<br />
As with most high-quality, well-crafted, effective bullshit, these stories both have elements of truth in them. It is true that prior to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, al-Qaeda in Iraq, who subsequently renamed themselves ISIL, ISIS, Islamic State and who knows what else in the future, did not exist. There is also <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/05/newly-declassified-u-s-government-documents-the-west-supported-the-creation-of-isis.html">ample documentation</a>, particularly through the DIA, to support many aspects of Seymour Hersh's story regarding a covert network channeling weapons from Libya through southern Turkey across the Syrian border. What is BS is the propagation of the myth that the President creates and controls such covert networks. The myth is designed to keep the Deep State the unaddressed elephant in the living room while maintaining the charade that, for better or worse, our elected leaders run the show.<br />
<br />
But there is another level of BS that is uglier and raises disturbing possibilities along the lines of the old Hitler dictum: the bigger the lie, with heavy repetition, the more likely it will be believed. Stories keep cropping up that make me doubt just what is and isn't real about the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMjXbuj7BPI">history</a> of the "new" threat. Like the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/world/africa/18iht-iraq.4.6718200.html?_r=2&&">New York Times story</a> that the leader of ISIS back when they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi, <b>never existed</b> and his <i>audio-taped declarations were done by an actor</i>. Then there are the stories that are repeated, sometimes in the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/10/21/u-s-accidentally-delivered-weapons-to-the-islamic-state-by-airdrop-militants-allege/">mainstream</a>, other times on <a href="http://www.waradana.com/news/iraq/43/77164/">alternative websites</a>, where the United States and <a href="http://www.hangthebankers.com/iraqi-army-downs-2-uk-planes-delivering-weapons-to-isis/">Great Britain</a> are caught sending weapons to ISIS. The story in the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/08/18/the-terrorists-fighting-us-now-we-just-finished-training-them/">Washington Post</a> where retired Lt. General Thomas McInerney admitted that the U.S. helped build <span class="posthilit">ISIS certainly had a headline that brought the big lie front and center:</span><br />
<span class="posthilit"><br /></span>
<span class="posthilit"><br /></span>
<span class="posthilit"><br /></span>
<br />
<img alt="Image" src="http://beforeitsnews.com/contributor/upload/5385/images/Screenshot%20from%202014-09-03%2010_54_42.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The stories that really made my hair stand on end were the ones that wrote of ISIS reeking of being a <a href="http://rt.com/op-edge/168064-isis-terrorism-usa-cia-war/?utm_content=buffer4ccca&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer">NATO operation</a>. There was even an article in which <a href="http://journal-neo.org/2015/07/12/time-admits-isis-bringing-arms-fighters-in-from-nato-territory/">Time</a> admitted that ISIS was bringing arms and fighters in from NATO territory. This, along with the earlier revelations involving the clandestine cooperation of Turkey reminded me of a revelation about Operation Gladio Plan B from Sibel Edmonds that I first quoted on this blog in <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/04/synopsizing-sibel-edmonds-evolution-of_12.html">Synopsizing Sibel Edmonds: The Evolution of Operation Gladio Part Six</a>:<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>James Corbett</b>: <i>...And on that note, we have an email in from
Robert, who has a blog called americanjudas.blogspot.com where he is
starting to synopsize our conversations and he's got Part One and Part
Two up already and has done a good job of putting in some relevant links
and explaining some of the characters and the details, so I will put
the links to those blog posts in the show notes for this, and also
Robert had a question, he said, "In Part Two, Sibel mentioned that the
Pentagon doesn't call it Gladio B, but there is a designated section, a
physical office that deals with Gladio operations. Can she tell us what
the actual name is, or has she been gagged from doing so on the grounds
of State Secrets?"</i><br />
<br />
<b>Sibel Edmonds</b>: <i>Right, um, the FBI's file, because the name of
the file itself wouldn't be even considered classified, it's the name of
a file, the operation is considered the Operation Gladio Plan B. With
the Pentagon, I can't because it has not become public, and it is part
of or under another division; and again that division if I were to name
the division, people would be very familiar, and it will be say 'Why,
that's an interesting place to put the Operation Gladio Plan B and the
office there'. I can tell you that the division is mainly international
NATO officers, you're looking at lieutenant colonel and higher, and it
has the only office that I know in the Pentagon with the highest number
of Turkish officers, they're going to have both US citizenship and
Turkish, but they're assigned to this Pentagon division. Now it
changes, every four or five years, some are stationed somewhere else,
but if you look at it let's say during a certain period of time, the
highest percentage are Turkish officers there, female and male.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Could ISIS be part of Operation Gladio Plan B? That would be the logical conclusion, considering Edmonds has provided many colorful details about how <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2015/05/reviewing-sibel-edmonds-lone-gladio.html">al-Qaeda is part of Gladio B</a> and ISIS is al-Qaeda's evil offspring. There is more evidence of Turkish collaboration with ISIS regarding the <a href="http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/511885.html">sale of oil</a>, including reports that they are buying oil stolen by ISIS at a price of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6kdi1UXxhY">$2 million a day</a> (so is Israel, but that's a whole different elephant sitting the same living room, which AlicetheKurious from Rigorous Intuition brilliantly explains the <a href="http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38478&start=390#p563650">history</a> of). The proof of a Turkey/ISIS alliance is so overwhelming, even Turkish-American host of The Young Turks Cenk Uygur made a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHyKFpEl95w">great video</a> concluding in a "Final Judgment" that Turkey was guilty of cooperating with ISIS. Has Edmonds herself come to the conclusion that ISIS is part of Gladio B? In an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7AV7A_Hh_M">interview last year</a>, she slyly referred to the attention shift from al-Qaeda to ISIS as a "brand change" for "marketing purposes", but she went into more detail in an <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/silencing-a-whistle-blower-gladio-b-and-the-origins-of-isis-sibel-edmonds/5475126">interview last month</a> with the snip below being especially revealing:<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2 itemprop="headline">
Silencing a Whistle-Blower, Gladio B and the Origins of ISIS. Sibel Edmonds</h2>
<h3 class="subtitle">
Global Research News Hour Episode 111: A Conversation with Sibel Edmonds</h3>
<div class="post-info">
<div class="author">
By <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/michaelwelch" title="Posts by Michael Welch">Michael Welch</a>, <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/sibel-edmonds" title="Posts by Sibel Edmonds">Sibel Edmonds</a>, and <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/jonathan-wilson" title="Posts by Jonathan WIlson">Jonathan WIlson</a></div>
<div class="grDate">
Global Research, September 11, 2015</div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<b>SE:</b> <i>I can give you a recent example, in fact my
website boilingfrogspost.com or for short bfpreport.com. In 2011, months
and months before Syria came in the headlines – anything about Syria
was written on the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN – we broke a
story based on my sources here in United States military but also in
Turkey about the fact that special CIA/NATO forces in a NATO base in
Turkey, which is in the southern portion of Turkey very close to the
Syrian border, they were bringing in, in Turkey, the CIA/NATO Gladio
unit, they were recruiting and bringing in people from northern Syria
into these camps, part of the US air force base in southern Turkey. They
were training them – military training – they were arming them, and
they were basically directing them towards create terror events inside
Syria, not only against Assad, but also in various villages and regions
against the people, against public.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>When we broke this story and decided all this, nobody from the
mainstream media even looked at it, in fact several of my sources,
before approaching me at Boiling Frogs Post, they had gone with
evidence, with documents, aerial pictures to some of the top
publications such as the New York Times, but they did not print any of
this, not because of lack of supporting documents, because at that point
they were not ready in the United States to make Syria the real case,
they were still in the midst of training and taking these people down,
funneling them back into Syria. These are really pourus borders between
Syria and Turkey. Then seven, eight months later suddenly Syria started
entering the news headlines in the United States.</i><br />
<br />
<i>That was the training and beginning of the ISIS brand. It started as
ISIL and then turned to ISIS and now for short IS. This was completed by
design, it was created and the people who are part of the so called
ISIS they were carefully selected, brought into the U.S. NATO base in
Turkey, they were trained they were funnelled, and this is what they
were told to do. They created a new brand and a new brand with purpose
of replacing the old brand: Al Qaeda.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Al Qaeda, after twelve years started to losing its oomph as a brand,
this is no different than any kid of marketing strategy you would see
from companies bringing in the same kind of product, but under a
different brand and packaging to excite the buyers, purchasers, the
consumers. This is the same kind of thing. With Al Qaeda weakening as a
brand because after a while people get like, oh yeah it’s the same
thing, Al Qaeda here, Al Qaeda there, they are inside the wells, they
are in my backyard, they are in the outhouse. So they said this is the
time to create another brand so they gave birth to this ISIS brand.
Within two years this brand that never existed before, and if you go and
look at the headlines you can Google ISIS and financial network, this
ISIS brand became the richest terror organization on the planet with two
plus billion dollars net worth.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Think about it, how does that happen? How can in two years some
ferocious terror group get to form and they have all these guns all
these bombs, and they have range rovers and they have jeeps, and they
have all this sophisticated training, military and paramilitary
training. They have two billion dollars plus. They have IT networks and
they are the worlds scariest terror organization. That is the hallmark
of Operation Gladio B. That is what they have been doing since the
1950’s and now with people getting likely to buy they types of brands
and subscribe to these types of brands to them, they are being marketed
to the consumers in the west. They are gobbling it up with the
mainstream media about this ISIS. They even have uniform like looks with
the special bandanas. They look like ninja turtles.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I wouldn’t be surprised if they got some help from Hollywood
production consultants they have on their payroll and some really
brilliant marketing experts to re-brand Al Qaeda come up with a brand
new brand, replace the old brand, and in less than two, three years make
it largest, the richest, the most ferocious, the most capable. As they
did with Al Qaeda, today they are putting out this headline saying ISIS
has access and capability in biological weapons, people can Google this.
ISIS has ability and capability to utilize chemical weapons in attack.
Now they are saying that they possibly have nuclear capabilities. Even
if you look at the unbelievable organizations that fairly quickly became
big, you would never see such marketing scheme that in two three years
you could become that rich, two billion dollars plus net worth.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>This all goes into the years and years, decades and decades, half a
century of experience in creating these synthetically created terror
brands, and give them the oomph to market it to the consumers here in
the west.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Is there another source to corroborate Edmonds? Surprisingly, I found an <a href="http://www.lookingglassnews.org/viewstory.php?storyid=1282">article</a> that I originally cited <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/04/boston-terror-central-asia.html">two years ago</a> on this blog. Not only does this source show a Gladio connection through two neo-fascist Italian operatives, but it does so in 2005, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6kdi1UXxhY">one year before al-Qaeda in Iraq came into existence</a> and even mentions one of the formative patsies, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who first brought the group into media prominence. The last paragraph is particularly perceptive:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 97%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><h2>
Reading Between the Lines: Gladio Ops Designed to Discredit the Iraqi Resistance</h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Posted
in the database on Saturday, July 09th, 2005 @ 10:40:10 MST (325 views)</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>from Another Day in the Empire</b>
</td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It seems the corporate media reported on the Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr kidnap
story in order to re-send the message that the CIA is in need of reform, as telegraphed
in the wake of nine eleven by the Bush whitewash commission and the CIA’s
freshly installed head, the neocon partisan Porter Goss. News stories over the
last couple years portray the CIA as Maxwell Smart bunglers who allowed Osama
to slip under the wire and fed bad intelligence to Bush and crew on Iraq, when
in fact the bad intelligence (actually deliberately crafted propaganda) came from
the Office of Special Plans and a handful of Iraqi “dissidents” such
as Ahmed Chalabi, a Wolfowitz and Perle protégé and convicted embezzler. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
Now that the corporate media has performed it assigned task—float another
CIA as butterfingers story—the Nasr kidnap story will be allowed to more
or less evaporate in standard fashion, dropped from the news cycle and more
or less ignored to death, although the <a href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8464764/" target="_blank">Associated
Press</a> is reporting the Italian government is in denial mode over accusations
it knew all about the kidnapping of the Egyptian cleric in 2003. As for Gaetano
Saya and Riccardo Sindoca, the two Gladio neofascists who ran a “parallel'’
anti-terrorism police force, and are apparently connected to the Nasr kidnap
case (according to prosecutors in Genoa and Milan), this story has disappeared
almost entirely (a Google News search this morning returns four results, three
originating in Italy and one with the Guardian in Britain). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, if one reads between the lines, certain troublesome details emerge.
For instance, as reported by the <a href="http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=57308">New
Hampshire Union Leader</a>, “Rome newspaper La Repubblica quoted the former
head of the CIA’s Osama bin Laden unit, Michael Scheuer, as saying the
CIA received authorization from Italy’s secret service, SISMI, before
the [Nasr kidnap] operation.” Checking out the easily researched background
of SISMI we learn the spook organization “has long been notorious for
far right, even neo-fascist, leanings. According to Italian judicial investigators,
SISMI was deeply involved in numerous plots against Italy’s democratic
government, including the 1980 Bologna train station terrorist bombing that
left 85 dead and 200 injured,” Canadian journalist Eric S. Margolis reported
last summer. “Senior SISMI officers were in cahoots with celebrated swindler
Roberto Calvi, the neo-fascist P2 Masonic Lodge, other extreme rightist groups
trying to destabilize Italy, the Washington neocon operative, Michael Ledeen,
and the Iran-Contra conspirators.” In short, SISMI is neck-deep in Gladio
operations. As Margolis reports, the American liaison is none other than Michael
Ledeen, an “influential” neocon with direct input into the Bush
administration. Margolis continues:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
SISMI works hand in glove with US, British and Israeli intelligence. In the
1960’s and 70’s, SISMI reportedly carried out numerous operations
for CIA, including bugging the Vatican, the Italian president’s palace,
and foreign embassies.</span> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
snip<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is now becoming increasingly obvious the governments of Italy and the United
States are collaborating in a Gladio-type operation and the kidnapping of Osama
Moustafa Hassan Nasr, a former CIA asset, was conducted to keep him from revealing
more about the operation. For instance, as the<a href="http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/06/27/alleged_cia_target_tied_to_iraq_group/" target="_blank">
Boston Globe </a>reported on June 27, Nasr “was involved with Ansar al-Islam,
a Kurdish Islamic group in northern Iraq that the United States said had ties
with Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Taliban, and Al Qaeda, and, according
to an Italian law enforcement official, the cleric was “involved in an
organization that sent people to training camps in Kurdistan… [and] was
involved in preparing false documents and passports for sending people in Iraq,
[perhaps] to train for bomb attacks.” It should be noted that <a href="http://www.prisonplanet.com/news_alert_020403_general1.html" target="_blank">Mullah
Krekar</a>, the leader of Ansar al-Islam, told al-Hayat newspaper in 2003 he
had “a meeting with a CIA representative and someone from the American
army in the town of Sulaymaniya (Iraqi Kurdistan) at the end of 2000. They asked
us to collaborate with them,” an offer Krekar said he refused. It is also
interesting to note that Ansar al-Islam supported Jund al-Shams (Soldiers of
the Levant), according to American intelligence officials quoted by <a href="http://www.back-to-iraq.com/archives/000201.php" target="_blank">Jeffery
Goldberg</a> and Christopher Allbritton, former AP and New York Daily News reporter.
“Jund al-Shams is controlled by a man named Mussa’ab al-Zarqawi,”
Allbritton quotes Goldberg, writing for the New Yorker. <br /><br /><br />
Of course, apologists will dismiss the above as paranoia, and offer the corporate
media take on events: Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr worked undercover for the CIA
and he was kidnapped because he had gone over to the dark side. Maybe. However,
this does not explain why Saya and Sindoca, intimately connected to Operation
Gladio, according to Italian prosecutors, were involved in the kidnapping. Gladio
specialized in penetrating left-wing organizations and turning such into terrorist
outfits. Is it possible SISMI, DSSA, and U.S. military intelligence (run out
of Rumsfeld’s refashioned Pentagon) are penetrating Islamic organizations
in Iraq and turning them into terrorist organizations designed to discredit
the Iraqi resistance? If so, we should not expect the corporate media to make
such (admittedly speculative) connections. Such is left up to us “conspiracy
kooks” submerged within the blogosphere, reading between the lines, and
understanding history and the murderous skullduggery of the state. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>The more things change, the more they stay the same! <br />
<br />
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-85899084425361233532015-08-14T13:53:00.002-07:002016-10-27T17:47:03.116-07:00Breaking Bernie: 21st Century Rat-Fucking<i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001358/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><span class="character">Deep Throat</span></a>:
What's the topic for tonight? </i><br />
<i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000602/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><span class="character">Bob Woodward</span></a>:
Rat-fucking. </i><br />
<i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001358/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><span class="character">Deep Throat</span></a>:
[<span class="fine">lights a cigarette</span>]
In my day it was called double-cross. In simple context, it means infiltration of the Democrats.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4059" src="http://fryingmineinbutter.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/all-the-presidents-tropes-hal.jpg?w=885&h=488" height="331" title="all the presidents tropes hal" width="600" /><br />
<br />
<br />
What a difference a few months makes. When I wrote about the state of the presidential race <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2015/05/is-this-best-we-can-do.html">previously</a>, I did not anticipate two events. First, I did not foresee the Republican Party primary race being hijacked by a reality TV star. Lord knows how long Donald Trump will keep sucking up all the oxygen from the rest of the personality-challenged GOP field, but with a personal bankroll nearly eleven figures large (insert your own Spinal Tap joke), the answer appears to be: as long as he goddamn pleases, so suck it, losers! Second, it appears that I was wrong when I placed Senator Bernie Sanders "in the same camp as Martin O'Malley, Jim Webb, Lincoln Chafee and anyone
else who wants to throw their hat in the ring: next in line in case
Hillary Clinton is photographed abusing an endangered species or in bed
with anyone other than Bill."<br />
<br />
Sanders clearly is not in the same camp; clearly the man has more campaign savvy than the grassroots-left favorite single-digit polling Kucinich, which I thought he was. Though it is still very, very early, he is currently polling ahead of Clinton <a href="http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/us_politics/2015/08/poll_bernie_sanders_surges_ahead_of_hillary_clinton_in_nh_44_37">44-37</a> in the pivotal early voting primary state of New Hampshire. He regularly draws crowds in the tens of thousands, whereas the rest of the candidates struggle to regularly draw crowds in the thousands, with the exception of The Donald, who still <a href="http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/jul/15/rachel-maddow/rachel-maddow-says-donald-trump-exaggerated-his-cr/">exaggerates</a> the size of his crowds to try to keep up with Bernie. Momentum is clearly on Senator Sanders' side. When Bernie speaks, his popularity grows.<br />
<br />
There's no such thing as a perfect candidate (philosophically, I think perfect is an imperfect concept), especially in the corrupt unsustainable system we're currently saddled with. Bernie's not about to address what truly ails civilization by changing the way money works so that it's no longer predicated on the debt machine of fiat currency, fractional reserves and compound interest and instead is representative of energy, both the human energy that we produce through our labor and the planet's energy that we utilize. But Bernie has multiple planks in his platform that does address changing the way money is <i>distributed</i> in a significant manner. Reinstating <a href="http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/banking/glass-steagall-act-explained/">Glass-Steagall</a>, breaking up banks that are "too big to fail," taxing Wall Street speculation, ending offshore tax havens and subsidies to Big Business, and fixing the tax code to alleviate systemic inequalities would be a monumental shake-up of the status quo, perhaps the most serious threat since Robert F. Kennedy's run in 1968.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" class="img-responsive img-center" src="http://i.imgur.com/JZWgXeW.jpg" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
It is for this reason that I don't believe the system will allow him to win. Not just because of what he stands for, other people have run for the White House on a similar platform, but because of <u>how many people he is reaching</u>. Rather than wait for Sanders to accrue a significant number of delegates so that he has bargaining power at the Democratic Convention in July at Philadelphia, I believe that powerful interests that stand the most to lose from a Sanders administration will work early to try to sabotage his campaign, which on a personal level would sadly make my vote for him in the California primary on June 7 a moot point. For those who find the possibility of such a 'conspiracy' far-fetched, I would point you to the quote at the top of the page and remind you that the movie <i>All the President's Men</i> was based on a true story.<br />
<br />
I would also like to point out the possibility of a rat-fucking trial balloon being floated this past weekend. During an event in Seattle, activists from #BlackLivesMatter <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/09/430919017/black-lives-matter-activists-commandeer-sanders-speech-in-seattle">commandeered</a> the stage. They urged the crowd to "join us now in holding Bernie Sanders accountable for his actions." Which is kind of strange, considering Sanders was already confronted with this issue at <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/07/20/bernie_sanders%E2%80%99_big_test_can_he_learn_from_his_netroots_nation_conflict_with_black_lives_matter_activists/">Netroots Nation</a> and in response asked #BlackLivesMatter activist <a href="http://www.essence.com/2015/08/12/6-things-bernie-sanders-press-secretary-symone-sanders">Symone Sanders</a> to be his press secretary when he met her three weeks ago. They refused to let anyone else, including Bernie, take the mike so eventually the organizer of the event declared it was over.<br />
<br />
Now, I want to make a point about #BlackLivesMatter: I like and respect them in almost the same way that I like and respect #OccupyWallStreet. Both activist groups have a powerful message and invigorating tools for mobilizing their constituencies. It's just as important to wake Americans up to the reality that black Americans are being killed by police at <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/25/mike-brown-shooting-jim-crow-lynchings-in-common">nearly the same rate</a> as Jim Crow era lynchings as it is to wake Americans up to the reality that 1% of the American population <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/19/world/wealth-inequality/">owns 48%</a> of the wealth. But the problem with both organizations that limit their potential for revolutionary change is that they are both very decentralized, leaderless groups. As someone who participated in the Los Angeles chapter of #OWS outside City Hall, I witnessed first-hand activists sharing space with "libertarians" supporting Ron Paul. (Frankly, I don't see how you can call yourself a libertarian and support denying a woman the right to have control over her own uterus, but I digress.) I've also read about other #OWS chapters having <a href="http://www.politicalresearch.org/2014/02/23/the-right-hand-of-occupy-wall-street-from-libertarians-to-nazis-the-fact-and-fiction-of-right-wing-involvement/#sthash.Jbsd0BPl.dpbs">participation</a> from Oathkeepers, Larouchites and the American Nazi Party. In other words, this type of organization is ripe for infiltration by parties intent on subverting it for less than honorable purposes.<br />
<br />
My suspicion that this infiltration scenario might have happened to the Seattle chapter of #BlackLivesMatter began when I found out that the Facebook page that the two #BLM activists, Marissa Jenae Johnson and Mara Willaford were steering media toward <a href="http://reverbpress.com/politics/black-lives-matter-seattle-protestor-is-a-former-tea-party-palin-fan/">did not exist until the day of the rally</a>. Also troubling was the admission on her personal Facebook page that Johnson used to be a <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2015/08/blm-activist-who-shut-down-sanders-is-radical-christian-sarah-palin-supporter/">Sarah Palin supporter and still calls herself a "radical Christian." </a> But what really stood out for me is that Johnson is also a member of a group operating within #BLM called Outside Agitators 206. The '206' presumably refers to Seattle's area code.<br />
<br />
But what specifically does Outside Agitators 206 stand for? Well, here is a <a href="http://reverbpress.com/politics/black-lives-matter-seattle-protestor-is-a-former-tea-party-palin-fan/">public statement</a> that doesn't appear to hold the same goals as the larger #BLM movement. This is the relevant text of that statement:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
To succeed, the Black Lives Matter Movement must transform the politics of Black America. <b>By
definition, that means declaring war on the Democratic Party, and
forcing Black politicians and activists to choose between the Party and
the people’s struggle.</b></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote>
As usual, the Democrats will try to make Black people more angry at
the terminally racist Republican Party than at the police and local
administration of their (typically) Democrat-run city. Hillary Clinton
is already making noises of empathy with Blacks suffering under the
urban police state. <b>However, the Black Lives Matter movement has
no institutional stake in the victory of either party, but is, in fact,
locked in mortal political struggle with other Black people in the
Democratic Party.</b> These Black Democrats will insist on a truce,
a cessation of agitation against national or local Democrats, until
after the election.</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
In a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQqdNF-BHTw">interview</a>, at about the 29 minute mark, Johnson seems to echo this sentiment by stating, "We actually need to keep pushing people to dismantle the system." The larger question then is are these the genuine sentiments of quasi-anarchists or the underhanded machinations of agent provocateurs? Actually, it could be a combination of both: genuinely committed activists being manipulated by operatives with a vastly different agenda. The answer may lie in the quest that Deep Throat gave to Bob Woodward in <i>All the President's Men</i>: follow the money. Are there any powerful interests that stand to lose billions during a Sanders administration connected with Outside Agitators 206? I'd like to thank <a href="http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38572&start=105#p570641">alwyn</a> from Rigorous Intuition (and <a href="http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38572&start=120#p570643">Project Willow</a> for posting the image) for posting what friend Lassiter Jones found through a traceroute of their IP address and a check of the ownership on <a href="http://cqcounter.com/whois/">cqcounter.com</a> which revealed it was owned by Merck and Co.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="Image" src="http://schirmerstudio.com/photos/ri/merck.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="Image" src="http://schirmerstudio.com/photos/ri/merck2.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
Most attempts that I've seen at debunking are inconclusive. A poster at <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SandersForPresident/comments/3gi8ii/outside_agitators_206_who_caused_the_seattle/">reddit.com</a> posted this, then someone said the arin whois server shows the IP address "is registered to and has been registered to Amazon Web Services" and that the Merck image is "fake information." (Apparently, this self-styled 'debunker' either thinks that cqcounter.com is a fraudulent website or that person really didn't do very thorough research.) But another poster showed that through iplocation.net, that while the ownership is currently Amazon, Merck previously owned the IP as of <a href="http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38572&start=120#p570656">April 22, 2015</a>. So that's at least two different sources making a similar claim.<br />
<br />
So the big question is: when did Outside Agitators 206 begin hosting through this IP address? Unfortunately, because I'm unable to verify their dns registration information, which is private, the question cannot be answered satisfactorily. True, Outside Agitators does have a calendar posting events from <a href="https://outsideagitators206.org/events/2015-01/">January 2015</a>, (thanks to nadinbrzezinski from Democratic Underground for that find) but it's possible any data on their site could have been manipulated at a later date. Bottom line: I can't see the fire. But there's a whole lot of smoke that makes me suspicious. My suspicion is centered on the fact that as one of the largest companies in the Pharmaceutical-Industrial Complex, Merck and Co. certainly would have a vested interest in making sure that Senator Sanders, who has single-payer health care as one of the major planks of his platform, has no chance of winning. Then again, two years ago <a href="http://qz.com/95994/amazon-is-staffing-up-for-its-600-million-cloud-for-spooks/">Amazon landed a $600 million contract</a> to build an entire cloud computing system for the CIA. Pick your poison. If the concept of the government utilizing a private corporation, particularly one dealing with web services, to target an individual that they consider a threat seems unlikely, please remember the revelations from <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2014/06/one-mans-spy-is-another-womans.html">Edward Snowden</a> regarding the wonderful cooperation between the NSA, DIA and CIA and Booz Allen Hamilton, Yahoo, Google, etc., ad nauseum.<br />
<br />
Just to clarify, because I'm unclear of the point of origin of all this smoke, and because, as I've stated my commitment to clarifying the difference between <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/05/conspiracy-theory-vs-hypothesis.html">theory and hypothesis</a>, I'm currently listing this story as a conspiracy hypothesis. But for those who find the possibility that an organization fighting for the rights of black people could be infiltrated and subverted ludicrous, I would like to point to a time in history, the 1960s, where that actually occurred under an FBI program called COINTELPRO. MinM from <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016128434#post13">Democratic Underground</a> and <a href="http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38572&start=105#p570590">Rigorous Intuition</a> brought these observations to my attention in an <a href="https://twitter.com/lisapease/status/630205451242569728">exchange</a> between the great <a href="https://twitter.com/lisapease/status/630199532949671936">Lisa Pease</a> from Probe Magazine and ctka.org. and Marcy Wheeler from emptywheel.net on <a href="https://twitter.com/lisapease/status/630205951841153024">Twitter</a>:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="TweetTextSize TweetTextSize--28px js-tweet-text tweet-text" data-aria-label-part="0" lang="en">
Disrupting speaking events and meetings was one of the top 3 COINTELPRO activities, per this from the Church Comm. </div>
<a class="media media-thumbnail twitter-timeline-link is-preview " data-resolved-url-large="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7rIsdUkAAUn8H.png:large" data-url="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7rIsdUkAAUn8H.png:large" href="https://twitter.com/lisapease/status/630199532949671936/photo/1">
</a><br />
<div class="">
<a class="media media-thumbnail twitter-timeline-link is-preview " data-resolved-url-large="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7rIsdUkAAUn8H.png:large" data-url="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7rIsdUkAAUn8H.png:large" href="https://twitter.com/lisapease/status/630199532949671936/photo/1"><img alt="Embedded image permalink" height="306" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7rIsdUkAAUn8H.png" width="488" />
</a></div>
<a class="media media-thumbnail twitter-timeline-link is-preview " data-resolved-url-large="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7rIsdUkAAUn8H.png:large" data-url="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7rIsdUkAAUn8H.png:large" href="https://twitter.com/lisapease/status/630199532949671936/photo/1">
</a>
<div class="TweetTextSize TweetTextSize--28px js-tweet-text tweet-text" data-aria-label-part="0" lang="en">
Listing of some COINTELPRO techniques, from the Church Committee report </div>
<a class="media media-thumbnail twitter-timeline-link is-preview " data-resolved-url-large="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7whJtVAAAAU4K.png:large" data-url="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7whJtVAAAAU4K.png:large" href="https://twitter.com/lisapease/status/630205451242569728/photo/1">
</a><br />
<div class="">
<a class="media media-thumbnail twitter-timeline-link is-preview " data-resolved-url-large="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7whJtVAAAAU4K.png:large" data-url="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7whJtVAAAAU4K.png:large" href="https://twitter.com/lisapease/status/630205451242569728/photo/1"><img alt="Embedded image permalink" height="294" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7whJtVAAAAU4K.png" width="537" />
</a></div>
<a class="media media-thumbnail twitter-timeline-link is-preview " data-resolved-url-large="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7whJtVAAAAU4K.png:large" data-url="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7whJtVAAAAU4K.png:large" href="https://twitter.com/lisapease/status/630205451242569728/photo/1">
</a>
<br />
<br />
<div class="TweetTextSize TweetTextSize--28px js-tweet-text tweet-text" data-aria-label-part="0" lang="en">
FBI efforts to prevent anti-war groups (and speakers like Bernie?) from speaking: </div>
<a class="media media-thumbnail twitter-timeline-link is-preview " data-resolved-url-large="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7w-FsUYAEz9p5.png:large" data-url="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7w-FsUYAEz9p5.png:large" href="https://twitter.com/lisapease/status/630205951841153024/photo/1">
</a><br />
<div class="">
<a class="media media-thumbnail twitter-timeline-link is-preview " data-resolved-url-large="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7w-FsUYAEz9p5.png:large" data-url="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7w-FsUYAEz9p5.png:large" href="https://twitter.com/lisapease/status/630205951841153024/photo/1"><img alt="Embedded image permalink" height="565" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7w-FsUYAEz9p5.png" width="553" />
</a></div>
<a class="media media-thumbnail twitter-timeline-link is-preview " data-resolved-url-large="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7w-FsUYAEz9p5.png:large" data-url="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CL7w-FsUYAEz9p5.png:large" href="https://twitter.com/lisapease/status/630205951841153024/photo/1">
</a>
<br />
<br />
Ultimately, if this was indeed a rat-fucking trial balloon, it appears that Bernie has popped it with aplomb. In addition to the hiring of Press Secretary Symone Sanders from #BlackLivesMatter that I mentioned before, Senator Sanders has come up with a <a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/">new</a> "racial justice platform" that <a href="http://linkis.com/www.politicususa.com/M2eUK">won him praise</a> from several prominent voices in the #BLM movement. But in no way does this mean that he or anyone in his campaign should let their guard down. There are a number of different tactics anyone seeking to derail his run have at their disposal. Considering what a passionate speaker he is, my guess is that the top tactic to smear him will be to play a dirty trick aimed at making him look "unstable." A good historical example within a presidential campaign would be the one referred to in <i>All the President's Men</i>: the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canuck_letter">Canuck letter</a>.<br />
<br />
In January 1972, Senator Edmund Muskie had won the Iowa primary and had a huge lead in New Hampshire. Then on February 24, 1972, two weeks before the New Hampshire primary, the <i>Manchester Union Leader</i> published a letter implying that Muskie held a prejudice against Americans of French-Canadian descent. Three days before the primary on March 4, Muskie delivered a passionate speech on the steps of the Union Leader offices calling the publisher a liar. The media had a field day reporting this as "the crying speech" even though Muskie claimed it was not tears but snowflakes melting on his face. Though he did end up narrowly winning the primary on March 7, the perception of Muskie as emotionally unstable lead to a defection toward George McGovern, who lost the election to Richard Nixon by a spectacular margin. In October 1972, FBI investigators included the Canuck letter as part of the dirty tricks campaign orchestrated by CREEP (Committee to Re-Elect the President) against Democrats revealed by the Watergate break-in.<br />
<br />
One big difference between now and then is that Muskie was targeted to make way for McGovern who was perceived to be "socialist" because they knew America couldn't elect someone with that label during the Cold War. Now the Democratic-socialist Sanders will be targeted because socialism isn't the boogeyman it used to be; <a href="http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/47-percent-americans-would-vote-socialist-gallup-poll">47% of Americans</a> in a recent Gallup poll said they would vote for a socialist. But one thing that hasn't changed is the <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/08/establishment-radicals.html">Radical Establishment Media</a>'s propensity to malign a presidential candidate as being "unstable." The Fourth Estate doesn't even need a rat-fucking conspiracy to do that. Remember the Dean Scream?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="share-group share-group-1 share-group-last">
<div class="share-btn share-btn-1 ">
<a class="abcnews_comments label-false" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" title="Comments"><span class="at300bs"></span></a></div>
<div class="share-btn share-btn-2 share-btn-last">
<a class="abcnews_print label-false" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" title="Print"><span class="at300bs"></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="sharetools-horizontal" id="shareTop">
</div>
<img src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/GTY_howard_dean_scream_tk_130821_16x9_608.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
I remember. It was January 19, 2004. Howard Dean had just finished third in the Iowa primary. It was disappointing, particularly since his <a href="http://www.people-press.org/2003/12/08/primary-preview-surveys-in-iowa-new-hampshire-and-south-carolina/">poll numbers</a> the month before showed he had a huge lead. So Dean gave a passionate speech to rouse his supporters and keep their spirits high heading to New Hampshire, where he currently was polling in first. It was amazing how the corporate media crucified him, particularly CNN, which showed his climactic “<span class="caps">YEARGH</span>!” over and over, almost in a loop, as the talking heads clucked about his presumed emotional instability. It had a predictable effect: Dean lost New Hampshire and was no longer a serious contender for the nomination.<br />
<br />
How can Bernie guard against such an array of forces whose interests run contrary to his platform? I wish there was a more comprehensive answer beyond just staying vigilant against campaign sabotage. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be concerted efforts, whether legal or not, to break Bernie and scatter his supporters. How he responds and deals with such efforts will be the key to his success or failure. I hope I'm wrong, I'm certainly rooting for him to weather the storm on the horizon. If he does, I sure hope the Secret Service has his back.<br />
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-54525930741987302982015-07-03T13:14:00.000-07:002015-07-03T13:30:31.361-07:00Mad Max: Fury Road - A Carbon Crisis Allegory with Review by Guest Blogger Don CrandallThere have been a number of movies that I've wanted to review over the years that I felt could be deconstructed through the prism of Peak Oil awareness. Previously I did write a <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2010/01/peak-oil-deconstruction-avatar.html">blog post</a> attempting to do that. As my understanding of the interrelationship between Peak Oil and Global Warming increased to where I now refer to both as the Carbon Crisis, I became aware of just how disastrous this ongoing event could potentially become. One of the more extreme apocalyptic scenarios would be if global warming affects our ability to grow food combined with oil depletion destroying our economy, civilization could collapse. With the collapse of civilization, we face a severe nuclear threat, either intentionally (nuclear war) or accidentally (nuclear meltdown).<br />
<br />
But no deconstruction is necessary where the <i>Mad Max</i> movies are concerned. Since its inception with George Miller's 1979 classic <i>Mad Max</i>, we are set in a world teetering on the edge of collapse. The only thing standing in the way of total lawlessness is one good cop, Max Rockatansky. But when his best friend, his wife and his baby are murdered, Max goes over the edge in his quest to get revenge against an ultra-violent motorcycle gang led by the vicious Toecutter. When we next see Max in the 1981 sequel <i>The Road Warrior</i>, what had been a civilization nearing total social breakdown is now a civilization no longer. Why did this happen? The opening narration paints a very vivid picture:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9n29c-q3_8Q/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9n29c-q3_8Q?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0047077/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><span class="character">Narrator</span></a>:
My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I
remember a time of chaos... ruined dreams... this wasted land. But most
of all, I remember The Road Warrior. The man we called "Max." To
understand who he was, you have to go back to another time... when the
world was powered by the black fuel... and the desert sprouted great
cities of pipe and steel. Gone now... swept away. For reasons long
forgotten, two mighty warrior tribes went to war, and touched off a
blaze which engulfed them all. Without fuel they were nothing. They'd
built a house of straw. The thundering machines sputtered and stopped.
Their leaders talked and talked and talked. But nothing could stem the
avalanche. Their world crumbled. The cities exploded. A whirlwind of
looting, a firestorm of fear. Men began to feed on men. On the roads it
was a white line nightmare. Only those mobile enough to scavenge, brutal
enough to pillage would survive. The gangs took over the highways,
ready to wage war for a tank of juice. And in this maelstrom of decay,
ordinary men were battered and smashed... men like Max... the warrior
Max. In the roar of an engine, he lost everything... and became a shell
of a man... a burnt-out, desolate man, a man haunted by the demons of
his past, a man who wandered out into the wasteland. And it was here, in
this blighted place, that he learned to live again.</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
Sounds a lot like the Carbon Crisis with perhaps a bit of nuclear war? This is the background for the milieu of Mad Max, which continued in 1985 with <i>Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome</i>. The whole trilogy is an allegory for our darkest fears about where the Carbon Crisis is collectively taking us. I always felt that out of all the trilogy series of movies that came out around the 1980s (<i>Star Wars</i>, <i>Back to the Future</i>, <i>Indiana Jones</i>), Mad Max was the darkest and grittiest. When I found out that after 30 years a new sequel was coming out, I was curious but felt a bit cautious about getting too excited. I've been burned before by some legendary names: Steven Spielberg, who single handedly coined a "jump the shark" colloquialism for movie series with <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=nuke+the+fridge">"nuke the fridge"</a> through his resurrection of the Indiana Jones franchise with <i>Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull</i>, and George Lucas, who did an entire prequel trilogy for Star Wars that is inferior to the original trilogy on every conceivable level.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://media.comicbook.com/uploads1/2015/05/imperator-furiosa-136004.png" src="http://media.comicbook.com/uploads1/2015/05/imperator-furiosa-136004.png" /><br />
<br />
<br />
Fortunately, <i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i> does not disappoint. I'll let my friend Don Crandall guest blog the review, as his words reflect my feelings:<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I have hope for the future of cinema again. This film is lovingly made for old school (or is it old fart?) movie fans like me, and is done "80's style" in many ways. It's a return to the greatness that made me want to write scripts & move to Hollywood when I was a kid. By "80's style," I mean it's not the ADD generation's churned out, CGI heavy, tell-don't-show, even-good-movies-have-plot-holes-today kinda piece. There's none of that here (well, there is the one scene in the nuclear storm that's CGI, but it looks beautiful.) I was struck hard with a nostalgia that I haven't felt since the 80's, and for some scenes I had to contain giggling like a giddy child. It's cinematic bliss.<br />
<br />
Writer / director George Miller returns to the Mad Max world without missing a beat, unlike others (Lucas, Spielberg, etc) who have botched their own franchises lately. Many reviewers never saw the original 3 films, but they still love this flick, so you don't need to see the old ones. I'd liken it to James Bond, where we now have a new lead actor, and everything's been updated just enough, but it's still a continuation. I'd say the Mad Max films did for modern action & car chase movies what Star Wars did for Sci Fi, and it's so refreshing to now have another worthy film in the canon, perfect in every way.<br />
<br />
I am sensing that very young people may have trouble with the throwback film techniques that today's films have sadly abandoned, things like: establishing tracking shots, long continuous takes to pull the viewer into the scene, action servicing the story instead of being tossed in, practical special effects with next to no CGI, naturally unfolding narrative instead of piles of exposition, no forced humor, etc. I had lost hope I'd ever see these long missed techniques in a big summer movie, but here it is, and it's been sorely missed. Many reviewers are saying it's as if 70 year old veteran George Miller is telling filmmakers like Michael Bay, "This is how it's done, Son."<br />
<br />
About all this "feminism propaganda" talk... Is it feminist? You bet, and that's a good thing. We're talking Sarah Connor from T2, Ripley from Aliens iconic stuff here. Are all men evil in the film, and all women good? Mostly, but that didn't bother me (and it's kinda true, sadly.) You can get that I'm plugging Charlize here, who is the real star of the film. As terrific as Tom Hardy is as Max, Charlize as Furiosa is even better. The film does start out pretty sexist toward women, then slowly redeems itself, and does a 180 (pun intended,) and becomes a superb piece about action heroines (yes, plural.) Hint, hint, take your lady friend to this one!<br />
<br />
The car chases and "vehicular action" are the best ever filmed. Truly, the best. And I'll stress "filmed," not cooked up in cyberspace CGI. There's more action in this one film than all 3 of the other Mad Max's put together. One reviewer stated, "It makes Fast & the Furious look like a Hot Wheels commercial." Is it one long car chase like everyone says? Not a continuous one, but it is an overall pursuit storyline (like Han & Leia's story half in Empire'.) Of course George Miller knows the audience needs a few breathers, and here's where the story & character development the Oscar caliber director and stars shine. Here's also where anyone younger than 30 might shuffle in their seats, as witness by our friend Eric. I've always considered the Mad Max films the "art house" version of a "grind house" movie, and they're clearly foreign films. This new one is in perfect sync with the others.<br />
<br />
Fury Road's over the top, bat shit insane in many ways, from the relentless, jaw dropping stunts and car action to the "world building" of costumes, sets, props, etc. But it doesn't overwhelm you or make you car sick, because you'll savor every shot on screen, every performance, and that wonderful score by Junkie XL (I know, WTF is up with that name?) Many reviewers have used the word "beautiful" to describe the chaos and insanity on screen, and that's accurate. Like the (at least first two) other Max films, this one's a work of art, lovingly crafted, long gestated (I guess the closest thing we've had to this opus in a while is Avatar.)<br />
<br />
For the first time in ten or more years, I can proudly say I honestly loved a film with zero reservations, found zero plot holes, was completely immersed without the distraction of CGI, and best of all, felt like a kid again for 2 good hours.</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<br />
To Don's review, I only want to add my observations I shared with him earlier regarding the allegorical perspective:<br />
<br />
I saw it in beautiful 2D and from my perspective, this was a <i>Road Warrior </i>movie, taking place either sometime right before or right after chronologically. There was definitely a similarity in tone with both <i>Road Warrior</i> and <i>Fury Road</i> right from the beginning; both have a similar narrative exposition. I think I may have even liked the <i>Fury Road</i> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HHzrX9vOFc">expository material</a> a little better as it really went into details that made it clear that this movie is a cautionary tale of a post-Peak Oil, post-global warming, post-nuclear war world. All three crises come sequentially: first Peak Oil, ("Oil Wars") then global warming ("running out of water"? "Water Wars"? Must be pretty hot!) and then the nuclear coup de grace ("thermonuclear skirmish").<br />
<br />
What's great, what's truly timeless about these movies, is that they will <i id="ecxyui_3_16_0_1_1434121210297_3122">always</i> be futuristic. Always, that is, unless the horrifying fiction becomes our reality. If that were to occur, there would be no more movies in what's left of society, storytelling would revert back to oral traditions. What shape would oral traditions of storytelling revert to in a Western culture that has revered moviemaking for the last century? The plots and characters may evolve into the myths that shape the new culture in a society struggling to survive. In other words, Mad Max could become the Odysseus of a dystopian reality. How does that thought strike you?Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-61783714850645734852015-06-12T11:36:00.002-07:002016-03-02T15:01:27.521-08:00Rockefeller Road: Paved With Good IntentionsThe good die young. It's a cliche repeated thousands of times throughout the ages to memorialize the exit of important or beloved people who leave us too soon. But if it's true, is the reverse true of those who stay far too long? Check out this murderer's row of imperial blowhards yet to kick the bucket: President George H. W. Bush just turned 91 today, Henry Kissinger is 92, Andrew Marshall, the "Yoda" of the RAND Corporation whose <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Marshall_%28foreign_policy_strategist%29">proteges</a> include Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, is 93, George Schultz is 94, and Licio Gelli, Grandmaster of the P2 Lodge behind the Banco Ambrosiano scandal and Operation Gladio's "strategy of tension" in Italy, and an original "Black Shirt" fascist who was a liaison between Mussolini's government and the Third Reich, is 96 years old.<br />
<br />
They're all young bucks compared to David Rockefeller. Son of John D. Rockefeller Jr., the only child of original oil monopolist John D. Rockefeller Sr. who lived to be 97, David just turned 100 today. Among his many accomplishments in a century of life on this planet, David is probably most well known for being the chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation and one of the founders of the Trilateral Commission. Perhaps you might be familiar with these quotes that have been splashed across the internet over the years:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/imagenes_sociopol/rockefeller_01.jpg" src="http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/imagenes_sociopol/rockefeller_01.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://www.illuminatirex.com/wp-content/uploads/rockefeller-thanks-new-york-times.jpg" src="http://www.illuminatirex.com/wp-content/uploads/rockefeller-thanks-new-york-times.jpg" />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
That last quote is <a href="http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/europe/item/14041-bilderberg-picked-eu-leader-van-rompuy-calls-for-global-governance-with-russia">reportedly</a> something he said at a Bilderberg conference in 1991. Since all Bilderberg conferences are conducted in secret, it is impossible to authenticate. But as someone who joined the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) as their youngest director in 1949, who is the founder and honorary chairman of such policy groups as Americas Society, Council of the Americas and the previously mentioned Trilateral Commission, and the <i>only membe</i>r of the Member Advisory Group for Bilderberg Meetings, it certainly fits within the character of the first quote. And that quote <b>is</b> authenticated; it is from Rockefeller's own <i>Memoirs</i> that he wrote in 2002 on page 405.<br />
<br />
I suppose it is too easy to read those words of being "proud of" "conspiring" "to build a more integrated global political and economic structure; one world, if you will" as the glib arrogance of an evil overlord who sees himself above reproach. It's certainly something I've been guilty of in the past with many of the other names I mentioned above, it's <i>way</i> too easy to look at the Machiavellian misdeeds of Kissinger or Gelli for example, stamp it as <b>evil</b> and cluck away with moral indignation. But the reality is much more complex. With some exceptions, they usually don't see themselves, or the actions that they take, as being evil at all. They not only see themselves as good people (or when feeling particularly proud, <i>exceptional</i> people) but view their own plans and actions within a visionary or even missionary context.<br />
<br />
To understand David Rockefeller in this context, it is important to understand his brother Nelson Rockefeller. I highly recommend reading <i><b>Thy Will Be Done</b> The Conquest of the Amazon: Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil</i> by Gerard Colby and Charlotte Dennett* for a more thorough comprehension of the phenomenon, particularly how the Rockefeller family worked with actual missionaries William Cameron Townsend and his Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) to pacify tribes where the Rockefellers were attempting to develop the economies of Latin American countries. Both brothers really were the figurative Twin Towers of globalist nation-building during the mid-20th century. Perhaps it should be no surprise then that both brothers were responsible for building the actual Twin Towers, the World Trade Center; according to <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/newyork-rockefeller/">PBS</a>, New Yorkers nicknamed both towers David and Nelson. To some degree, Nelson was the giant in the political sphere and David was his herculean counterpart in the economic sphere, though on many occasions those roles would overlap. In the case of Latin America, it might be helpful to consider Nelson as the Coordinator and David as the Facilitator.<br />
<br />
During World War II, Nelson was head of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (CIAA). It was essentially a propaganda department that would saturate Latin America with news and feature stories by expanding shortwave broadcasting facilities to Latin America, producing newsreels, political cartoons and films featuring American culture with a positive spin. The hidden economic agenda was to draw Latin America into the economic matrix of the war-supplies programs being run by corporate leaders. After World War II, he brought his brother David into a broader development plan for Latin America. As senior vice president of Chase National Bank in 1948, David convinced his uncle, Chase National Chairman Winthrop Aldrich, to found a Latin American Department with David at the helm. Targeting countries that might be soft on communism, David and Nelson selected two for special treatment: Venezuela for its oil and Brazil for its size and natural resources.<br />
<br />
Part of the plan for "development" of its natural resources involved deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, hauling away lumber to be replaced by cattle ranches. Another part included exploration, exploitation and refining of oil. The Rockefeller efforts in this arena began producing results by the 1950s; the CIA became involved in a broad front of covert action as Latin America emerged as an area of the Cold War. Both Rockefeller brothers had extensive CIA connections: David, through associations with Richard Helms and Allen Dulles, whose brother John Foster was an in-law of the Rockefeller family, and Nelson, through chairing the Special Group, which oversaw such CIA activity as spying on American citizens at home, instigation of coups in Iran and Guatemala, and expansion of MKULTRA mind control experiments for programming assassins, among many other reprehensible activities. The Rockefeller efforts produced more results by the 1960s; in 1964, President Joao Goulart was overthrown in a coup after advocating the nationalization of Brazil's mineral resources and replaced with a military dictatorship. The CIA's pointman on this coup was Chief of the Western Hemisphere Division J.C. King, who worked with Nelson at CIAA during the 1940s. King, as CEO of the Amazon Natural Drug Company, scoured the rainforest for samples of poisons and hallucinogenic flora and fauna for potential profits in agricultural, medical and pharmaceutical industries, as well as specimens for MKULTRA mind control experiments.<br />
<br />
In the wake of this coup, as well as instability in other Latin American countries that made them ripe for corporate profits, David Rockefeller stepped up his leadership. In 1965, he became chairman of the finance committee for the National Committee for the Alliance for Progress, chairman of Business Group on Latin America and the International Executive Services Committee. After reporting to President Johnson on his trip to Rio to understand the financial needs of the Brazilian junta's development plans, Johnson appointed David in April 1965 to a special review panel on AID (which often fronts CIA activities) called the General Advisory Committee on Foreign Assistance Programs. This AID review panel gave the Rockefellers strong influence on policy deliberations, along with David's founding of the Council of the Americas, which united more than 200 corporations with more than 80% of U.S. investments in Latin America into a common business front. David used the CFR's influential magazine <i>Foreign Affairs</i> to explain what was happening: the "emphasis on economic development" was restoring the confidence of companies considering investments in Latin America through the removal of tariff protections for local industries and agriculture replaced with free trade in a hemispheric community. Free trade would spur "modernization, diversification and expansion of agriculture" based not on redistribution of land to the peasants who worked it, but on the transformation of landed estates into capital intensive commercial farms using modern machinery and fertilizers for purposes such as a "scientific program of seeding, feeding and breeding" cattle.<br />
<br />
So what was the end result of all this "development"? One result was genocide. More than $62 million worth of Indian property were stolen throughout the decade of the 1960s. Attacks by outsiders using everything from poisoned food to clothing infected with smallpox resulted in deaths of men, women, and children ranging anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000. Another result that continues to this day is the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. This ongoing destruction, which is <a href="http://www.iflscience.com/environment/destruction-amazon-rainforest-visible-space">visible from space</a>, is destroying the origin of 25% of all pharmaceuticals that benefit the world, as well as much of the world's species of plants and animals and whole groups of people. To understand the full importance of this, I'll quote from <i>Thy Will Be Done</i> on page 822-823:<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
The source of much of the world's oxygen lies within the 1 million square miles of the Amazon basin: almost two-thirds of the trees on the planet. Yet, despite this role as as the lung of the earth, much of the Amazon rain forest is being burned down and turned into the source of dangerous increases of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In 1992 Canadian investigators reported that Brazil's rain forest alone was being burned at a rate of an acre every minute; every thirty seconds, an area the size of a football field was being destroyed by fire; every year, the equivalent of one-half the size of California was being devoured by flames.</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Whatever the actual rate of destruction, most observers agree that the gases released into the upper atmosphere are creating a greenhouse effect, allowing the sun's rays to enter and preventing heating from escaping. Soil protected for centuries by the forest's 200-foot-high canopy is now exposed to the sun and increasing doses of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Its fertility has declined, often leaving a sun-baked wasteland and prompting still further slashing and burning of virgin forest. Fortunes are being made, but not by small farmers or would-be settlers.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
That was written in the 90s. How are things 20 years later? The Amazon rainforest has degraded to the point where it is losing the ability to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/31/amazon-rainforest-deforestation-weather-droughts-report">regulate the climate</a>. Depending on <a href="http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/the-amazon-dieback-scenario/">which study</a> you consult, "the lung of the earth" may only be around for a matter of decades, not centuries.<br />
<br />
Whoever said "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" really had no idea how destructive that path could be until Rockefeller Road was paved.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
*Footnote: Not only do I have admiration for Charlotte Dennett for the wonderful book she wrote, but also for being the only nominee to date to run for public office with the platform of prosecuting the Bush administration for murder as detailed by the late great Vincent Bugliosi in his book <i>The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder</i> when she ran for Attorney General in the state of Vermont in 2008. As I wrote in a <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2009/01/afternoon-with-vincent-keep-fighting.html">previous blog entry</a>, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Bugliosi and receiving his autograph on my copy of that book. I know it must have troubled him that more public officials weren't taking that template that he crafted and running with it. That Charlotte Dennett wasn't elected is a loss of justice for everyone.Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-33654452736587030052015-05-26T14:23:00.000-07:002016-10-27T17:46:15.431-07:00"Is this the best we can do?!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k5FCuOqbflU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k5FCuOqbflU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<i>"Is this the best we can do? ... If this is the best we can do? Then our best isn't good enough and
we have to ask some hard questions about our political system."</i><br />
<br />
<br />
While this quote from former Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich is specifically referring to the debate over the creation of Obamacare, I find it a very pertinent question to ask as we see preparations unfold for the 2016 Presidential Election. I'm looking at a range of potential and declared candidates for the upcoming race and despite the vast quantity, I'm finding a dearth of quality. The measure of quality is something I base not just on what they say, not just on what they do, but also how they gather support. Kucinich is a perfect example of this. As a Congressman, I love everything that he said. In that same capacity, I love almost everything that he did. But as a presidential candidate in 2004 and 2008, he did a terrible job gathering support for his campaign. Sad to see a nice guy fall short, but that's the reality of the cold mean world of politics.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/100323-clinton-aipac1.jpg" src="http://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/100323-clinton-aipac1.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
Let's start with the Democrats, or in the case of 2016, Democrat. That is the pitiful reality at play today. Sure, it's fun to cheer the candidacy of Senator Bernie Sanders. It's fun to think that he might really present a "challenge" to the nomination, that in the course of inevitably debating Hillary Clinton during the primaries that he might "push her to the left", or whatever meme you want to push pretending that Sanders' candidacy has viability. But that's all it amounts to: pretending. Barring some unforeseen calamity equivalent to the 2008 Economic Meltdown, this is not a 'change' election, aside from the obvious term limits. And socialism is not the new black. Sanders, in terms of the Democratic nomination for president, is in the same camp as Martin O'Malley, Jim Webb, Lincoln Chafee and anyone else who wants to throw their hat in the ring: next in line in case Hillary Clinton is photographed abusing an endangered species or in bed with anyone other than Bill.<br />
<br />
That's the reality for the Democratic primary season - there is no serious challenger capable of unseating Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party nomination except Hillary Clinton. Any "challenge" to her nomination is in name only. Pardon my lack of enthusiasm, but I'm just not excited that a candidate who voted for the Iraq quagmire we're <i>still</i> embroiled in after 12 years, who hires a <a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/hillary-clinton-hires-former-monsanto-lobbyist-to-run-her-campaign/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=antimedia">former Monsanto lobbyist to run her campaign</a>, and who refuses to take a public stand on <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/greens-face-divide-over-hillary-clinton-and-keystone-117108.html">Keystone XL</a> is the best we can do. But listen to how money talks: Clinton is planning on raising <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/us/politics/hillary-clinton-to-court-donors-for-super-pac.html?referrer=&_r=0">$200-300 million</a> for the Super PACs that back her. There simply is no other potential nominee on her side of the aisle that even comes close to her numbers.<br />
<br />
<img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/politicalhumor/1/S/p/e/1/bushbros.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
What prompted her to do this is that on the <i>other</i> side of the aisle the fundraising is just as blatantly aggressive, primarily from Jeb Bush. Yep, that's reason number two why I'm throwing my hands in the air echoing the Kucinich complaint. <u><i>Really?!</i></u> Reveling in 90s nostalgia can't just be limited to reviving <i>The X-Files</i> and <i>Twin Peaks</i>, we have to have another Clinton-Bush presidential showdown?! Sure, the ideologues on the right can pretend that their commitment to 'purity' will win the day and put Ted Cruz or some other bottom-feeding troglodyte in power, but we all know the truth is that money talks and bullshit walks. The Bush family and money go together like the CIA and plausible deniability. (Actually, all four things go together, don't they?) Jeb already has decided to let his <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/04/21/the-robots-are-here-jeb-bush-and-the-first-super-pac-run-campaign/">Super PAC run his campaign</a>. Though he has refused to release the numbers on his <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/still-undeclared-jeb-bush-touts-record-fundraising-haul-1430140658">record-setting fundraising</a>, it's impressive enough that he has instructed his donors <b>not</b> to donate <a href="http://news.morningstar.com/all/market-watch/TDJNMW2015030495/jeb-bush-asks-donors-to-limit-gifts-to-1-million.aspx?%3Bid=&%3Bt=3">more than $1 million</a>, presumably so they'll have more to give deeper into the campaign. All this from someone who still hasn't declared his official candidacy.<br />
<br />
Plus, this is all a warm-up to the <b>real</b> money yet to be laid out. Not the million dollar contributors, the <i>billion</i> dollar contributors. Bush is reported to have "impressed" casino magnate <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/jeb-bush-george-w-bush-iraq-war-113942.html">Sheldon Adelson</a>. Adelson is one of the GOP's wealthiest donors with a net worth of <a href="http://www.therichest.com/celebnetworth/celebrity-business/men/sheldon-adelson-net-worth/">$27.8 billion</a>. But as far as combined wealth is concerned, nobody beats the Koch brothers. David Koch and his brother Charles are worth <a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/david-koch/">$42.8 billion</a> according to Forbes, though Bloomberg estimates their combined wealth at <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-06/koch-brothers-worth-100-billion-lead-oil-moguls-on-rise">$100 billion</a>. So when the Koch brothers say they are hoping to raise <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-06/koch-brothers-worth-100-billion-lead-oil-moguls-on-rise">$1 billion</a> for their favorite Republican candidates, that may only represent 1 percent of their total net worth. So congratulations to Politico.com for publishing one of the most honest headlines I've seen about the electoral process in years:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="summary">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<header>
<h1>
Koch brothers will offer audition to Jeb Bush</h1>
</header>
<footer class="meta">
<div class="byline">
By <span class="vcard"><a class="url fn" href="http://www.politico.com/reporters/MikeAllen.html" rel="author">Mike Allen</a></span></div>
<div class="timestamp">
<time datetime="2015-04-21T07:06-05:00">4/21/15 7:06 AM EDT</time>
</div>
</footer>
</div>
Charles and David Koch are considering throwing their massive
wealth and sophisticated organization into the Republican presidential
primary for the first time, a potentially game-changing boost that could
make even a second-tier candidate instantly viable.<br />
<br />
In another
surprise, a top Koch aide revealed to POLITICO that Jeb Bush will be
given a chance to audition for the brothers’ support, despite initial
skepticism about him at the top of the Kochs’ growing political
behemoth.<br />
<br />
<div class="story-interrupt format-s pos-alpha predetermined">
<div class="interrupt-item ad is-loaded">
<div class="ad-slot orient-vertical" id="core-twentyten-story_pol-05">
</div>
</div>
</div>
Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Rand Paul and Sen. Ted Cruz debated at
the Koch network’s winter seminar in January, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott
Walker made a separate appearance. Those were the candidates who
appeared to have a chance at the Koch blessing, and attendees said Rubio
seemed to win that round.<br />
<br />
But those four — plus Jeb – will be
invited to the Kochs’ summer conference, the aide said. Bush is getting a
second look because so many Koch supporters think he looks like a
winner. Other candidates, perhaps Rick Perry or Louisiana Gov. Bobby
Jindal, may also get invitations.<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: currentColor; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
Read more: <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/koch-brothers-will-offer-audition-to-jeb-bush-117177.html#ixzz3au1GMIqd" style="color: #003399;">http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/koch-brothers-will-offer-audition-to-jeb-bush-117177.html#ixzz3au1GMIqd</a></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<br />
That's the slimy reality concerning the wealthiest .01 percent: <b><i>they run this country</i></b>. Anyone who wants to be President must pass <u>their</u> <i>audition</i>! Maybe Jeb won't pass the audition. Aside from his <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/jeb-bush-iraq-war-support-misheard-question-117858.html">recent ridiculous flub</a> on the question of the Iraq war, aside from his prior membership in the group that originated the phrase <a href="http://investmentwatchblog.com/in-september-2000-jeb-bush-was-a-pnac-member-who-supported-a-call-for-bioweapons-that-can-target-specific-genotypes-as-a-politically-useful-tool/">"New Pearl Harbor"</a>, the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), where he supported a call for <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a0900paxamericana#a0900paxamericana">"bioweapons that can 'target' specific genotypes...as a politically useful tool"</a> (thanks to temp-monitor at RI for that find), aside from appearing to be even deeper in denial about <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/05/22/3661732/jeb-vs-george-bush-climate-change/">climate change</a> than his brother George W., there is the question of his involvement in narcotics trafficking. There is the recent news of <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/11/21/3594461/jeb-bush-mysterious-businesses/">Jeb's four mysterious companies</a> that all share the same address, yet have never done any known business. While that shady story is not definitive proof, it takes on sinister connotations in light of the claim that <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/03/1199001/-Jeb-Bush-Oliver-North-and-the-Murder-of-CIA-Drug-Smuggler-Barry-Seal-in-1986#">Jeb Bush chaired a meeting attended by Iran/contra conspirators</a> Dewey Clarridge, Richard Secord and Oliver North discussing the assassination of CIA drug smuggler Barry Seal five months before he was assassinated. Then there's that other nagging question <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1328855">Jeff Wells</a> asked: why did Jeb Bush and federal agents seize records from Huffman Aviation, the Florida flight school of Mohammed Atta and other 9/11 hijackers owned by a man whose Learjet was seized with over <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0210/S00214.htm">30 pounds of heroin </a>in July 2000, and <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0212/S00058.htm">fly away on a C-130 cargo plane at 2AM on 9/12/01?</a> What happened to those records? And how did Jeb know where to look less than 24 hours after the attacks?!<br />
<br />
Then again, I'm sure the ultra-wealthy industrialists who run this country already know the answers to those questions and wouldn't bother to put Jeb through the sort of inaugural christening that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8IvKx0c19w">Bill Hicks</a> described over 20 years ago. Jeb already <i>knows</i> his agenda - just look at the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/02/18/jeb-bushs-foreign-policy-team-is-eerily-familiar-in-1-venn-diagram/">foreign policy advisor team</a> he has already compiled. You think that brood of vipers won't be waiting in the wings even if Jeb doesn't win the nomination?! The news isn't that the fix is in, it's <i>been</i> in - and not enough people care to put a stop to what ails us. It's an overall national apathy that <a href="http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2014/05/28/weve-had-more-than-enough-revelations-and-the-american-majority-has-spoken/">Sibel Edmonds</a> has spelled out in grueling detail. We know the "independent" 9/11 Commission was a farce - commissioners Charles Kean and Lee Hamilton wrote a book where they admitted that <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/9-11-commissioners-expose-obstructions/">Pentagon officials were dishonest</a> during their hearing - and nothing is done. The head of the FBI's anthrax investigation said the <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/04/head-fbis-anthrax-investigation-calls-b-s.html">whole thing was a sham</a> - and I hear crickets chirping. Our public officials are bought and sold before their names are even printed on our ballots - and we think calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United will make a difference?! All Citizens United has done is taken a process that normally took in the shadows, behind the billowy curtains of Oz, and rubbed it in our faces. Why? Because it's easier and because, post 9/11, post Patriot Act, they know they can get away with it.<br />
<br />
Focusing on Citizens United ignores the fact that money has always found a way to get their interests represented by the government. It's obvious, I've said it umpteen times on this blog, but I'll say it again: until you change the way money works, you change nothing. So why don't we? Why don't we change the way money works so that, among other things, we can actually have a government of the people, for the people, and by the people? Well, aside from all the examples of apathy I listed above, I'll leave it to George Carlin to explain. His explanation was made almost 20 years ago, but is still timely as it gives a pertinent answer to Dennis Kucinich's question:<br />
<br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Now, there's one thing you might have noticed I don't
complain about: politicians. Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody
says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They
don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another
reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes,
American schools, American churches, American businesses and American
universities, and they are elected by American citizens. <u>This is the best we
can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces:
Garbage in, garbage out.</u> If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going
to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain't going to do any good;
you're just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant
Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it's not the politicians who suck. Maybe
something else sucks around here... like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks.
There's a nice campaign slogan for somebody: 'The Public Sucks. Fuck Hope.”</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rVXekzwkz10/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rVXekzwkz10?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So keep staring at that monitor, folks. You'll see another election. You'll see another war. You'll see another piece of your Social Security stripped away. You'll see another piece of your civil rights stripped away. Because until the lights go out, until our cars don't run, until our climate starts cooking our farmlands to the point we can't grow food for first world citizens, that's exactly where we'll collectively stay. <br />
<br />Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5135408331348381055.post-88756030559899272632015-05-05T07:53:00.001-07:002015-05-07T12:28:05.193-07:00Reviewing Sibel Edmonds: The Lone GladioYears before I began this blog, I had been following Sibel Edmonds' story for clues about what larger, darker truths would be revealed. From the <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lost-in-translation-25-10-2002/"><i>60 Minutes</i> story</a> of her FBI whistleblowing to the gagging by Attorney General John Ashcroft, the <a href="http://letsibeledmondsspeak.blogspot.com/2008/01/sibel-names-names-in-pictures.html">State Secrets Privilege Gallery</a> and <a href="http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7374">sworn testimony</a> in <i>Schmidt v. Krikorian</i>, the story kept getting more vast and labyrinthian. But of all the stories that Sibel Edmonds' time as an FBI translator bore witness to, the story that fascinated me the most concerned what she learned about 9/11. Most of this was detailed in her book <i>Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story</i>, an autobiography of her experience with the FBI. But she has always been meticulous about strictly stating the facts that she uncovered, without resorting to speculation about what those facts mean in the context of the larger question: how did 9/11 really go down?<br />
<br />
She found the perfect venue for elaborating the details of how she thinks it all went down: a fictional novel. <i>The Lone Gladio</i> is a spy thriller written by Sibel Edmonds that deals with her experiences in a fictional manner, but has multiple story lines that weave together in unexpected ways. If I were to approach this as a regular review, I would give this my highest praise for being a genuine page turner, filled with memorable characters, exciting plot twists and riveting confrontations. But rather than approach this as a review of just the book itself, I want to review this through the context of what I have learned about Sibel Edmonds' experience through her public revelations. Specifically, I want to review portions of the book in the context of her revelations in 2013 on <a href="http://www.corbettreport.com/interview-595-sibel-edmonds-on-nato-terrorism-911-and-drug-running/">The Corbett Report</a> about Gladio B, which I <a href="http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/03/synopsizing-sibel-edmonds-evolution-of.html">synopsized here</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://tracesofreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/sibel-lone-gladio.jpg" src="http://tracesofreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/sibel-lone-gladio.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
As Sibel Edmonds alludes to in her interview on The Corbett Report, 9/11 was a Gladio B operation. While I employed my own hyperbole to describe her allusion that 9/11 was an Operation Gladio false flag operation on steroids, a more accurate description in light of what Edmonds has illustrated in <i>The Lone Gladio</i> is that 9/11 was a highly compartmentalized Gladio-within-Gladio operation. Though there is a character in the novel based on Edmonds named Elsie Simon, the character who really does the most to expose the Gladio B network is Gregory McPhearson. Also known as OG 68, his story begins on June 18 2001, working for "the company" in Azerbaijan. Greg seems calm, cool and impenetrable, though when the target of the false flag terror operation he is working on is switched to a Moscow day care center to ensure Russian retaliation against the Chechens, he seems bothered by the possibility of messy, unanticipated consequences. When we see him next, it is October 6, 2003, in Mui Ne, Vietnam. While still outwardly Greg appears the same strong, cold operative, his inward calculations now seem focused <i>against</i> the company. The reason is that since he knows Operation Gladio did 9/11, and he was excluded from involvement, he was considered by the top tier to be not suited or undetermined, and would have to eventually be eliminated. Besides his own safety and security, he has another motive: he fell in love with a beautiful young woman named Mai.<br />
<br />
Part of the fun for me in reading this book was deciphering who some of these people named in the book might be in real life and who some of the organizations named really are. I find it interesting, especially after reading a different book that I hope to review later that addresses memetic propaganda, that Edmonds never refers to 9/11 as 9/11; throughout the book she refers to it as the "2001 attack." The attack was carried out by "al-Hazar", obviously al-Qaeda. Greg found out about it at Frankfurt Airport watching "BCB", or BBC. She refers to it as "a tool of the company", as well as "NCN", or CNN, and "New York Corp", or New York Times. As she writes on page 84, "The entire thing was a supreme cosmic joke. Yes, he was deliberately placed outside the loop: before, during, and after the attack. And why? They knew he'd know, of course; it was Greg and the rest of the company who had created al-Hazar in the first place. They created a brand and coined it with a name that started as a joke among company men, and somehow it had stuck."<br />
<br />
Greg is confronted at his place in Vietnam by an operative begging him to negotiate with the CIA for his life after running afoul of the agency by taping a politician with prepubescent girls that the agency was trying to blackmail. The politician, Donald Keller, seems to me like an improbable cross between Dennis Hastert and Henry Waxman, though with Edmonds' physical description of him and his arrogant protestation, "I am <i>the</i> WHIP.", I couldn't help be reminded of Newt Gingrich. Greg rebuffs the operative, but keeps the DVD evidence of the politician. Desperate to save his life, the operative follows Mai to a coffeehouse to tell her to try to convince Greg to help him. But he is too late; they not only gun him down in the coffeehouse but kill Mai as well.<br />
<br />
For Greg, taking out his woman gives him an even stronger motive to take down Gladio B: <b>revenge</b>. This resolve only increases his methodical and calculated approach. He kills the CIA agent who killed Mai, as well as the pimp responsible for the child prostitutes, in a ritualistic fashion designed to take suspicion off of him. He then travels, posing as a French tourist, to Turkey to kill Mehmet Turkel, a former Turkish lieutenant general involved in narcotics trafficking for Gladio since the 1980s. Based on what Edmonds elaborates on in the six part Gladio B series, I think Turkel is most likely <span class="detail-text">Mehmet Ağar or possibly some Turkish general pissed off by the Hood Event like </span>Hilmi Özkök. Next on Greg's agenda is a trip to Brussels where he deftly carjacks a NATO Colonel, using his identity to sneak into NATO headquarters to kill two Gladio operatives and a State Department liaison named David Perleman. I'm not sure who the Gladio operatives are, but I'm pretty sure the State Department guy is Marc Grossman or Richard Perle. Then Greg flies off to Washington, D.C. to take care of things on the home front.<br />
<br />
As Greg continues his Gladio takedown in the USA, his path crosses fatefully with Elsie Simon. Like Edmonds herself, she is an FBI translator who faces termination when she uncovers criminal activity connected with the Gladio B network. She finds classified documentation of David Perleman and other top government officials holding meetings with, among others, Turkel, Amin al-Zakiri, who as "leader of al-Hazar" is probably Osama bin Laden, and Yousef Mahmoud, who seems to be a cross between Ali Mohammed and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Elsie tries to become a whistleblower, but unfortunately, the Congressperson she decides to blow the whistle to is none other than Donald Keller. Unknown to her, Greg bugged Keller's office, so when he finds out that Elsie has scheduled a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) meeting with Keller's Chief of Staff, he views this complication as a threat to his plans and decides to neutralize her.<br />
<br />
However, after tailing her and learning more about her, Greg decides to not only let Elsie live, but have her help him with his plans. He even reveals personal information about himself to her and how he came to work for Operation Gladio on pages 244-245:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
"I began with the army; Special Forces, and after that, DIA. I have a solid education and a good set of language skills, like you. That moved me to another unit: Joint CIA-Pentagon Operations. A year later, I became one of the chosen ones for the company. That's where I spent the last twenty years."</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
"The company? But that's the agency - the CIA."</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
"Well, yes and no. The company is a special operations unit made up of several units: the Pentagon, on the top; NATO, CIA, and MI6. There are less than two hundred operatives in the company. All divided into their own small units. Separate pockets. Rigidly compartmentalized. The top tier, OGs one to ten, oversees the entire operation without ever coming into direct contact with the bottom units."</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
Elsie tilted her head to the left and began stroking the nape of her neck. "OGs?"</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<i>Don't</i>, Greg thought. He looked into her eyes. "Operation Gladio. Are you familiar?"</div>
<br />
<br />
After detailing how Gladio, which Elsie is aware of, morphed from Cold War false flag operations in Europe to <i>Operation B</i>, utilizing Mujahideen and other Islamic operatives, Greg directs Elsie to a safe motel where she can help him with two parts of his plan - publicizing Gladio B and its role in 9/11 and stopping a new terror attack about to happen in D.C. As they take the steps necessary to accomplish this, Elsie learns more about what the Deep State really is. For anyone who ever had any doubt that George Tenet knew what was coming down the pike on 9/11, this next passage from page 305-306 should erase all doubts:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
Seizing the moment, she'd asked her first question. "How deep does it go, the 2001 attack? Exactly how deep? Do you know?"</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
He had hesitated before answering with a question. "Not sure what you mean...remember what I told you about pockets?"</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
"Yes, about compartmentalization; but I know you know more. You said Gladio, for example, has two or three operatives inside the bureau, never the director himself. We identified two: Assistant Deputy Marshall and Drake; yet what about <i>inside the agency?</i> How many, and how far up?"</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
She could hear him thinking; did he know? "I would guess...at least a dozen. A minimum of twelve OG operatives within the agency. Unlike the FBI, the CIA director is directly involved. I would say somewhere between OG ten and fifteen."</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
"How about the president? Does it go up that high?"</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
She'd heard something like a laugh. "No, it doesn't. Presidents don't <i>want</i> to know. They have a general idea but that's it. No details."</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
"The president doesn't know about 2001? That's impossible."</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
"I didn't say that, did I? Look...they do the same as they do with people like Keller. You can't be president without certain <i>qualifications</i>: criminal background, sex maniac, mafia connections, you name it. Those ingredients are necessary for any viable presidential candidate. Without them, they haven't a chance in hell..."</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
"So we're talking CIA and the Pentagon; then why did you rank the CIA director in the OG teens?"</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
"You're making a false assumption: that the absolute top must exist inside the government. Not so. There are others <i>outside</i> the government, and <i>they</i> are the ones on top. They are the true power that controls the second tier: the government front system - because government is a front. The CIA too sets up front companies; it's strikingly similar. The real power - the Deep State, let's call it - is out and above the actual visible government."</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
She'd heard of the shadow government, but never from a source like this. "Major companies? The military-industrial complex? Oil companies? Is that what you're talking about?"</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
"Some of those; but maybe some others, who serve those companies under what they call their <i>vision</i>. They see themselves as visionaries and consider themselves gods. They analyze and set the agendas. They have one foot in and one foot out, and appear to have every leader's ear. You know them. I believe they would be within the first ten OG ranking."</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
She had been quiet, thinking <i>permanent war</i> and <i>infinite death</i>.</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
"You get the gist. This is what I meant by Gladio Gods, and what they consider collateral damage: a small price paid for their vision..."</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
She didn't need to ask any more questions.</div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: cyan;">
She was ready.</div>
<br />
<br />
Ready, willing, but are they successful? I don't want to give away the ending of this book, (and believe me, I have left out a <b>ton</b> of details, including many important characters and plot lines) but I will say that if you're a fan of how Quentin Tarantino's <i>Inglourious Basterds</i> changed history for the sake of enacting a tasty revenge, you'll get a kick out of how Sibel Edmonds ties it all up at the end of <i>The Lone Gladio</i>.<br />
<br />
If there's any criticism I have of this book, it's regarding the torture. Not that I personally had any problem reading literary descriptions of torture, which Edmonds does get quite graphic about. My issue is that it's become something of a cliche in popular entertainment for the protagonist to torture the antagonist as a crisis approaches and - almost without exception - the antagonist gives up intelligence that solves the crisis. My understanding of reality is that <i>rarely</i>, if <b>ever</b>, has torture produced actionable intelligence to stop an impending terror attack. It's not as cliched as, say, your average TV show; Edmonds does create an extenuating circumstance through which I could buy someone as high up the Gladio food chain as Yousef Mahmoud giving Greg the appropriate intel. I also found it fascinating that through Yousef, we find out the 9/11 patsies didn't believe they were on a suicide mission but were part of a drill. After reading how dubious the description of these patsies being "devout" was in Daniel Hopsicker's <i>Welcome to Terrorland</i>, this is yet another hypothesis Edmonds presents in <i>The Lone Gladio</i> with enough circumstantial evidence to qualify as a valid theory. But getting back to the fictional construct, was torture really necessary to elicit this evidence? Perhaps that question, however you answer it, is part of the conversation Edmonds is hoping to stimulate by writing this book.<br />
<br />
Overall, I have to give this book a high recommendation both for being an extremely suspenseful spy thriller and for digging deeper into how 9/11 happened than any other work of fiction I can think of. I wish my recommendation was enough to give it a wider audience. I suppose it's too much to ask for Hollywood to grow a pair and produce a faithful movie adaptation. But then again, I never thought we would see a movie about <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2014/10/16/kill-the-messenger-rare-truth-telling/">Gary Webb</a> and that got made. There's even a project in the works with Tom Cruise set to play <a href="http://agenda21radio.com/?p=15008">Barry Seal</a>. <br />
<br />
Stranger things have happened.Robert Paulsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208594652127037486noreply@blogger.com0