GORDON DUFF: YEARS OF DECEIT: US OPENLY ACCEPTS BIN LADEN LONG DEAD
December 5, 2009 posted by Gordon Duff · 128 Comments
screenhunter_10_dec._05_11.01_320BIN LADEN NEVER MENTIONED IN McCHRYSTAL REPORT OR OBAMA SPEECH
“HUNT FOR BIN LADEN” A NATIONAL SHAME
By Gordon Duff/STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor
Conservative commentator, former Marine Colonel Bob Pappas has been saying for years that bin Laden died at Tora Bora and that Senator Kerry’s claim that bin Laden escaped with Bush help was a lie. Now we know that Pappas was correct. The embarrassment of having Secretary of State Clinton talk about bin Laden in Pakistan was horrific. He has been dead since December 13, 2001 and now, finally, everyone, Obama, McChrystal, Cheney, everyone who isn’t nuts is finally saying what they have known for years.
However, since we lost a couple of hundred of our top special operations forces hunting for bin Laden after we knew he was dead, is someone going to answer for this with some jail time? Since we spent 200 million dollars on “special ops” looking for someone we knew was dead, who is going to jail for that? Since Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney continually talked about a man they knew was dead, now known to be for reasons of POLITICAL nature, who is going to jail for that? Why were tapes brought out, now known to be forged, as legitimate intelligence to sway the disputed 2004 election in the US? This is a criminal act if there ever was one.
In 66 pages, General Stanley McChrystal never mentions Osama bin Laden. Everything is “Mullah Omar”now. In his talk at West Point, President Obama never mentioned Osama bin Laden. Col. Pappas makes it clear, Vice President Cheney let it “out of the bag” long ago. Bin Laden was killed by American troops many many years ago.
America knew Osama bin Laden died December 13, 2001. After that, his use was hardly one to unite America but rather one to divide, scam and play games. With bin Laden gone, we could have started legitimate nation building in Afghanistan instead of the eternal insurgency that we invented ourselves.
Without our ill informed policies, we could have had a brought diplomatic solution in 2002 in Afghanistan, the one we are ignoring now, and spent money rebuilding the country, 5 cents on the dollar compared to what we are spending fighting a war against an enemy we ourselves recruited thru ignorance.
The bin Laden scam is one of the most shameful acts ever perpetrated against the American people. We don’t even know if he really was an enemy, certainly he was never the person that Bush and Cheney said. In fact, the Bush and bin Laden families were always close friends and had been for many years.
What kind of man was Osama bin Laden? This one time American ally against Russia, son of a wealthy Saudi family, went to Afghanistan to help them fight for their freedom. America saw him as a great hero then. Transcripts of the real bin Laden show him to be much more moderate than we claim, angry at Israel and the US government but showing no anger toward Americans and never making the kind of theats claimed. All of this is public record for any with the will to learn.
osama_bush_capturedHow much of America’s tragedy is tied with these two children of the rich, children of families long joined thru money and friendship, the Bush and bin Laden clans.
One son died in remote mountains, another lives in a Dallas suburb hoping nobody is sent after him. One is a combat veteran, one never took a strong stand unless done from safety and comfort. Islam once saw bin Laden as a great leader. Now he is mostly forgotten.
What has America decided about Bush?
We know this: Bin Laden always denied any ties to 9/11 and, in fact, has never been charged in relation to 9/11. He not only denied involvement, but had done so, while alive, 4 times and had vigorously condemned those who were involved in the attack.
This is on the public record, public in every free country except ours. We, instead, showed films made by paid actors, made up to look somewhat similar to bin Laden, actors who contradicted bin Ladens very public statements, actors pretending to be bin Laden long after bin Laden’s death.
These were done to help justify spending, repressive laws, torture and simple thievery.
For years, we attacked the government of Pakistan for not hunting down someone everyone knew was dead. Bin Laden’s death hit the newspapers in Pakistan on December 15, 2001. How do you think our ally felt when they were continually berated for failing to hunt down and turn over someone who didn’t exist?
What do you think this did for American credibility in Pakistan and thru the Islamic world? Were we seen as criminals, liars or simply fools? Which one is best?
This is also treason.
How does the death of bin Laden and the defeat and dismemberment of Al Qaeda impact the intelligence assessments, partially based on, not only bin Laden but Al Qaeda activity in Iraq that,not only never happened but was now known to have been unable to happen?
How many “Pentagon Pundits,” the retired officers who sold their honor to send us to war for what is now known to be domestic political dirty tricks and not national security are culpable in these crimes?
I don’t always agree with Col. Pappas on things. I believe his politics overrule his judgement at times. However, we totally agree on bin Laden, simply disagree with what it means. To me lying and sending men to their deaths based on lies is treason.
Falsifying military intelligence and spending billions on unnecessary military operations for political reasons is an abomination. Consider this, giving billions in contracts to GOP friends who fill campaign coffers, and doing so based on falsified intelligence is insane. This was done for years.
We spent 8 years chasing a dead man, spending billions, sending FBI agents, the CIA, Navy Seals, Marine Force Recon, Special Forces, many to their deaths, as part of a political campaign to justify running American into debt, enriching a pack of political cronies and war profiteers and to puff up a pack of Pentagon peacocks and their White house draft dodging bosses.
How many laws were pushed thru because of a dead man?
How many hundreds were tortured to find a dead man?
How many hundreds died looking for a dead man?
How many billions were spent looking for a dead man?
Every time Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld stood before troops and talked about hunting down the dead bin Laden, it was a dishonor. Lying to men and women who put their lives on the line is not a joke.
Who is going to answer to the families of those who died for the politics and profit tied to the Hunt for Bin Laden?
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Europeans warned to stop drinking milk due to radioactive fallout
Europeans warned to avoid drinking milk or eating vegetables due to high radiation levels
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...)
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(NaturalNews) The radiation risk from Fukushima is "no longer negligable," says CRIIRAD, the French research authority on radioactivity. It is now warning expectant mothers and young children to avoid drinking milk or rainwater. They should also avoid certain types of vegetables and cheese due to the dangerously high levels of radiation they may contain thanks to the radioactive fallout spreading across the globe (http://www.euractiv.com/en/health/r...).
CRIIRAD now says that eating these items qualifies as "risky behavior." And yet, in practically the same sentence, the organization claims there is "absolutely no need" for anyone to take iodine tablets.
That's right: There's so much radiation in the food that you probably shouldn't eat it. But all that radiation is so harmless that you don't need to protect yourself from it with iodine. It's amazing how these people think they can have it both ways.
The institute goes on to say that drinking rainwater might be dangerous, but standing in the rain is perfectly safe. There's actually some sense to this, as ingesting radioactive water is indeed far more dangerous than merely being drenched in it. But U.S. nuclear authorities make no such distinction, by the way.
Here comes the mass irradiation of the food supply
Despite these warnings, the real issue that few are willing to acknowledge so far is that Fukushima fallout will continue for many more months. And during this fallout, there will be a cumulative load of radiation raining down upon the grasses, fruits and vegetables that make up the global food supply. How high those levels get is anyone's guess, and those animals that feed upon those grasses -- such as cattle, goats and sheep -- will tend to further concentrate the radioactivity, producing milk and meat products that are far more radioactive than the grasses upon which they fed.
This is a very sad circumstance, of course, because it means that the corn-fed, factory-farmed cattle will probably be LESS radioactive than the open-range grass-fed cattle whose beef products are usually far better for you. Although I'm not personally someone who consumes beef, I'm a big supporter of those who choose grass-fed beef over the corn-fed factory farmed beef.
Bring your Geiger counter to the fresh produce section
What I'm beginning to wonder in all this, however, is how high the radioactivity of the entire food supply is going to become. Are we looking toward a day when we have to being Geiger counters to the grocery store?
Will we soon have two bins of apples at the store called "Pre-Fukushima" and "Post-Fukushima?"
And for all those people who have already stored food, good for you! All the food you stored before Fukushima is obviously not radioactive, and there may come a day when non-radioactive food commands a huge price premium.
For those still looking to acquire and store non-radioactive healthy foods, check out www.StorableOrganics.com where you can find organic foods and superfoods sealed in steel cans for long-term emergency preparedness. The entire inventory there is "Pre-Fukushima," by the way.
For those who haven't stored any food, you might start thinking about what you're going to eat if Fukushima suffers yet another explosion and a massive cloud of radioactive isotopes gets dropped onto the food production lands of the world. This situation will only get worse before it gets better.
And sadly, even growing your own food is no solution to all this, because your own gardens are just as susceptible to radiation fallout as commercial crop lands. Only those who grow food in greenhouses will be largely protected from the fallout. Maybe it's a good time to buy some sprouting seeds, too, because you can sprout seeds in your own kitchen and grow them free of radiation. In just 3 days, you can turn a pile of seeds into a nutritious sprout salad. Add some avocado and balsamic vinegar and you have a delicious lunch!
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032050_radioactive_food_nuclear_radiation.html#ixzz1JcUhKB8R
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...)
9060Share
Share/Save/Bookmark
It's free! Get the Health Ranger's email newsletter
Your email privacy is 100% protected.
(NaturalNews) The radiation risk from Fukushima is "no longer negligable," says CRIIRAD, the French research authority on radioactivity. It is now warning expectant mothers and young children to avoid drinking milk or rainwater. They should also avoid certain types of vegetables and cheese due to the dangerously high levels of radiation they may contain thanks to the radioactive fallout spreading across the globe (http://www.euractiv.com/en/health/r...).
CRIIRAD now says that eating these items qualifies as "risky behavior." And yet, in practically the same sentence, the organization claims there is "absolutely no need" for anyone to take iodine tablets.
That's right: There's so much radiation in the food that you probably shouldn't eat it. But all that radiation is so harmless that you don't need to protect yourself from it with iodine. It's amazing how these people think they can have it both ways.
The institute goes on to say that drinking rainwater might be dangerous, but standing in the rain is perfectly safe. There's actually some sense to this, as ingesting radioactive water is indeed far more dangerous than merely being drenched in it. But U.S. nuclear authorities make no such distinction, by the way.
Here comes the mass irradiation of the food supply
Despite these warnings, the real issue that few are willing to acknowledge so far is that Fukushima fallout will continue for many more months. And during this fallout, there will be a cumulative load of radiation raining down upon the grasses, fruits and vegetables that make up the global food supply. How high those levels get is anyone's guess, and those animals that feed upon those grasses -- such as cattle, goats and sheep -- will tend to further concentrate the radioactivity, producing milk and meat products that are far more radioactive than the grasses upon which they fed.
This is a very sad circumstance, of course, because it means that the corn-fed, factory-farmed cattle will probably be LESS radioactive than the open-range grass-fed cattle whose beef products are usually far better for you. Although I'm not personally someone who consumes beef, I'm a big supporter of those who choose grass-fed beef over the corn-fed factory farmed beef.
Bring your Geiger counter to the fresh produce section
What I'm beginning to wonder in all this, however, is how high the radioactivity of the entire food supply is going to become. Are we looking toward a day when we have to being Geiger counters to the grocery store?
Will we soon have two bins of apples at the store called "Pre-Fukushima" and "Post-Fukushima?"
And for all those people who have already stored food, good for you! All the food you stored before Fukushima is obviously not radioactive, and there may come a day when non-radioactive food commands a huge price premium.
For those still looking to acquire and store non-radioactive healthy foods, check out www.StorableOrganics.com where you can find organic foods and superfoods sealed in steel cans for long-term emergency preparedness. The entire inventory there is "Pre-Fukushima," by the way.
For those who haven't stored any food, you might start thinking about what you're going to eat if Fukushima suffers yet another explosion and a massive cloud of radioactive isotopes gets dropped onto the food production lands of the world. This situation will only get worse before it gets better.
And sadly, even growing your own food is no solution to all this, because your own gardens are just as susceptible to radiation fallout as commercial crop lands. Only those who grow food in greenhouses will be largely protected from the fallout. Maybe it's a good time to buy some sprouting seeds, too, because you can sprout seeds in your own kitchen and grow them free of radiation. In just 3 days, you can turn a pile of seeds into a nutritious sprout salad. Add some avocado and balsamic vinegar and you have a delicious lunch!
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032050_radioactive_food_nuclear_radiation.html#ixzz1JcUhKB8R
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
GORDON DUFF: NYC DIRTY BOMB “DRILL” – LARGEST IN NATIONAL HISTORY…IS IT A DRILL?
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/04/06/nyc-dirty-bomb-drill-largest-in-national-history-is-it-a-drill/
GORDON DUFF: NYC DIRTY BOMB “DRILL” – LARGEST IN NATIONAL HISTORY…IS IT A DRILL?
April 6, 2011 posted by Gordon Duff · 19 Comments
NUCLEAR LOCKDOWN IN NEW YORK
“CENSORED” TERROR “DRILL” MOST COSTLY IN HISTORY
“More checkpoints per square mile than Baghdad”
By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor
Busloads of police were brought into New York, some from distant communities. The national press, generously called the “mainstream media” reported none of this today. There was a defacto news blackout about the scale and nature of what is happening in New York City today.
Checkpoints have been set up around New York, a city closed down, “tight as a tick.” We are told the “drill” is designed to test the ability to detect “dirty bomb”materials but intelligence sources tell us that the idea of a “dirty bomb” is something out of TV drama and phony White House briefings.
“About a million ‘dirty bombs’ went off in Japan and you can read about it this week on page three of the shopping guide. Next week it will be on the comic page. New Yorkers have had the same illnesses that the Japanese are now concerned about for years, results of an unreported ‘nuclear event’ sometime around 2001 or so. We know hundreds are dead and thousands are sick and it never made the sports page, much less ‘page three.’
Dirty bombs are a ‘pipe dream.’ Real nuclear weapons are out there. Why use something cumbersome and hardly as lethal or dangerous as the scare mongers rant about when newer nuclear weapons fit in a shopping bag.”
The biggest terror “drill” in American history, the biggest security crackdown ever and nothing is reported other than a few moments of local traffic report from CBS New York featured below.
The story in New York is that the city is testing its capability of detecting a “dirty bomb” or other “radiological device.” At a time when most municipalities are flat broke, busted, New York is spending an unprecedented amount, in what is said to be a drill. The city is hunting four “imaginary terror groups.”
On the methods used to detect radiation, Dr. Doug Rokke, former top Pentagon WMD expert and VT staffer told this reporter:
The standard equipment and rad detection procedures just does not work that is why we created, tested,validated, issued specialized rad equipment (AN PDR 77 with RPO kit) and techniques during DU (depleted uranium) project for which I as the director.
We modified he existing an pdr 77 to do this work.
You can have lots of junk there to create serious med problems and never find it using conventional equipment and swinging meters in the wind .
TV coverage shows sheepish residents and commuters cowed into unquestioning acceptance.
Intelligence reports, however, place real alert levels “off the scale,” in particular for weapons that are far more threatening than “dirty bombs.”
However, those same intelligence reports make absolutely no mention of any Arab based groups, despite very purposeful attempts to create background for such an attack. That has been done recently through, in particular, these acts which now appear to be carefully staged:
* The Terry Jones Koran burnings, some have been killed already, thousands are flocking to join the Taliban and Americans are said to be targeted around the world because of this. Jones has broken laws and there has been no attempt to rein him in. Jones now appears to be something very different than he pretends to be. Jones is a devout Zionist, “Israeli firster” and follower of the bizarre apocalypse heresy that infects many of America’s religious extremists. Jones now appears to have “handlers.” Jones worked in Europe for 30 years. Nobody knows what he did there but he is hardwired to the top of America’s Neocon elite.
* The Raymond Davis incident now appears to have been a purposeful provocation with a pre-staged scenario meant to destabilize Pakistan and recruit terrorists. Corrupt members of police agencies and key government and court officials were already in the pockets of the rogue “CIA” elements responsible. These were not CIA and Davis has never been CIA. We are told the Davis’ organization was responsible for the Mumbai attacks.
* The republishing of photographs depicting murders in Afghanistan by American troops, photos of no news value, meant only as a backdrop to a new “terror attack” on New York City.
* Infiltration and control of peace groups by Israeli agents in what they describe as an “anti-delegitimization campaign.” In documents received by Veterans Today, much more sinister implications are revealed, including bizarre and frightening intelligence operations against Judge Goldstone and others who question Israels policies that many deem “apartheid.”
Just weeks ago, Israeli military intelligence announced it had created a special unit to monitor, confront, and possibly hunt down, individuals and bodies suspected of “delegitimizing” Israel abroad. In light of this, perhaps quite a few of the faint-hearted felt standing up to Israel was not worth it...Ilan Pappe’, University of Exeter
The intelligence reports may not have mentioned Arabs as terrorists but they did refer to the Israeli military intelligence group mentioned above as having more components than simply hunting down and killing dissidents and academics.
THE THREAT – GAZA BLOCKADE TO BE REDEFINED AS “PIRACY”
The pre-staging is there but what is driving it? American troops began withdrawing from combat in Afghanistan 6 weeks ago, abandoning key areas to the Taliban, though casualties have, particularly since the Terry Jones Koran burning, been higher than ever.
In Libya, according to Neocon “wingnuts,” America is assisting Al Qaeda, the mythical and non-existent terror organization created by the Department of Justice, in taking over from the Khadaffi regime.
The biggest real threat is to “status quo” in Israel. With most of the Palestinian population expelled, replaced by one million “guest workers” from the Philippines, Thailand and across Asia, Gaza, now a virtual ghetto, has been bombed daily. The new government in Egypt, always subject to a military threat from Gadaffi on the western flank, is likely to take a hardline with Israel on what they see as treaty violations by Israel. It is unlikely that the new Egyptian government will accept the legitimacy of the Gaza blockade Israel is currently enforcing, a blockade which required the full cooperation of Mubarak’s regime.
According to international law, there can be no blockade without full control of all borders. With Mubarak gone, Israel’s blockade of Gaza, should Egypt choose, and they are expected to do just that, will have no legal foundation. The Congress of Paris in 1856 established applicable international law covering blockades. Any blockade that can’t be enforced is considered a “paper blockade” and “sporadic attacks on shipping or commerce” are considered “piracy.”
As soon as Egypt opens their border with Gaza, Israel’s blockade is immediately reclassified as piracy.
BLAMING IRAN IS KEY
Piers Morgan of CNN may have “let the cat out of the bag” this week with his “interview” of Jesse Ventura. Out of nowhere, Morgan went on a rant about the need to attack Iran in order to protect Israel. The context, oddly enough, was his insertion of this call to arms in the midst of an anti-war discussion with activist Ventura. Morgan’s continual use of “everybody knows” to insert Israeli intelligence agenda and talking point items showed something beyond desperation:
YouTube - Veterans Today -
Morgan’s task, carefully coordinated with Israeli military intelligence, AIPAC and “wingnut” websites like “FamilySecurity…” is to make certain that when, not “if” but “when” an massive terror disaster hits America, all eyes turn to Islam and Iran or Iran and Pakistan.
The NYPD seems, however, to have not gotten the message and “bent over” as needed.
You might ask why New York is always the target. You might ask who controls so much of the infrastructure of the city and has the ability to derail any criminal investigation and even civil litigation.
Intelligence sources indicate that there are far more than four “fictional” terror cells in New York City today. Some are said to have the appearance of ties to Islam. As with the “crotch bomber” and the “Times Square Fizzler,” a look beneath the surface says something very different.
Good luck NYPD.
GORDON DUFF: NYC DIRTY BOMB “DRILL” – LARGEST IN NATIONAL HISTORY…IS IT A DRILL?
April 6, 2011 posted by Gordon Duff · 19 Comments
NUCLEAR LOCKDOWN IN NEW YORK
“CENSORED” TERROR “DRILL” MOST COSTLY IN HISTORY
“More checkpoints per square mile than Baghdad”
By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor
Busloads of police were brought into New York, some from distant communities. The national press, generously called the “mainstream media” reported none of this today. There was a defacto news blackout about the scale and nature of what is happening in New York City today.
Checkpoints have been set up around New York, a city closed down, “tight as a tick.” We are told the “drill” is designed to test the ability to detect “dirty bomb”materials but intelligence sources tell us that the idea of a “dirty bomb” is something out of TV drama and phony White House briefings.
“About a million ‘dirty bombs’ went off in Japan and you can read about it this week on page three of the shopping guide. Next week it will be on the comic page. New Yorkers have had the same illnesses that the Japanese are now concerned about for years, results of an unreported ‘nuclear event’ sometime around 2001 or so. We know hundreds are dead and thousands are sick and it never made the sports page, much less ‘page three.’
Dirty bombs are a ‘pipe dream.’ Real nuclear weapons are out there. Why use something cumbersome and hardly as lethal or dangerous as the scare mongers rant about when newer nuclear weapons fit in a shopping bag.”
The biggest terror “drill” in American history, the biggest security crackdown ever and nothing is reported other than a few moments of local traffic report from CBS New York featured below.
The story in New York is that the city is testing its capability of detecting a “dirty bomb” or other “radiological device.” At a time when most municipalities are flat broke, busted, New York is spending an unprecedented amount, in what is said to be a drill. The city is hunting four “imaginary terror groups.”
On the methods used to detect radiation, Dr. Doug Rokke, former top Pentagon WMD expert and VT staffer told this reporter:
The standard equipment and rad detection procedures just does not work that is why we created, tested,validated, issued specialized rad equipment (AN PDR 77 with RPO kit) and techniques during DU (depleted uranium) project for which I as the director.
We modified he existing an pdr 77 to do this work.
You can have lots of junk there to create serious med problems and never find it using conventional equipment and swinging meters in the wind .
TV coverage shows sheepish residents and commuters cowed into unquestioning acceptance.
Intelligence reports, however, place real alert levels “off the scale,” in particular for weapons that are far more threatening than “dirty bombs.”
However, those same intelligence reports make absolutely no mention of any Arab based groups, despite very purposeful attempts to create background for such an attack. That has been done recently through, in particular, these acts which now appear to be carefully staged:
* The Terry Jones Koran burnings, some have been killed already, thousands are flocking to join the Taliban and Americans are said to be targeted around the world because of this. Jones has broken laws and there has been no attempt to rein him in. Jones now appears to be something very different than he pretends to be. Jones is a devout Zionist, “Israeli firster” and follower of the bizarre apocalypse heresy that infects many of America’s religious extremists. Jones now appears to have “handlers.” Jones worked in Europe for 30 years. Nobody knows what he did there but he is hardwired to the top of America’s Neocon elite.
* The Raymond Davis incident now appears to have been a purposeful provocation with a pre-staged scenario meant to destabilize Pakistan and recruit terrorists. Corrupt members of police agencies and key government and court officials were already in the pockets of the rogue “CIA” elements responsible. These were not CIA and Davis has never been CIA. We are told the Davis’ organization was responsible for the Mumbai attacks.
* The republishing of photographs depicting murders in Afghanistan by American troops, photos of no news value, meant only as a backdrop to a new “terror attack” on New York City.
* Infiltration and control of peace groups by Israeli agents in what they describe as an “anti-delegitimization campaign.” In documents received by Veterans Today, much more sinister implications are revealed, including bizarre and frightening intelligence operations against Judge Goldstone and others who question Israels policies that many deem “apartheid.”
Just weeks ago, Israeli military intelligence announced it had created a special unit to monitor, confront, and possibly hunt down, individuals and bodies suspected of “delegitimizing” Israel abroad. In light of this, perhaps quite a few of the faint-hearted felt standing up to Israel was not worth it...Ilan Pappe’, University of Exeter
The intelligence reports may not have mentioned Arabs as terrorists but they did refer to the Israeli military intelligence group mentioned above as having more components than simply hunting down and killing dissidents and academics.
THE THREAT – GAZA BLOCKADE TO BE REDEFINED AS “PIRACY”
The pre-staging is there but what is driving it? American troops began withdrawing from combat in Afghanistan 6 weeks ago, abandoning key areas to the Taliban, though casualties have, particularly since the Terry Jones Koran burning, been higher than ever.
In Libya, according to Neocon “wingnuts,” America is assisting Al Qaeda, the mythical and non-existent terror organization created by the Department of Justice, in taking over from the Khadaffi regime.
The biggest real threat is to “status quo” in Israel. With most of the Palestinian population expelled, replaced by one million “guest workers” from the Philippines, Thailand and across Asia, Gaza, now a virtual ghetto, has been bombed daily. The new government in Egypt, always subject to a military threat from Gadaffi on the western flank, is likely to take a hardline with Israel on what they see as treaty violations by Israel. It is unlikely that the new Egyptian government will accept the legitimacy of the Gaza blockade Israel is currently enforcing, a blockade which required the full cooperation of Mubarak’s regime.
According to international law, there can be no blockade without full control of all borders. With Mubarak gone, Israel’s blockade of Gaza, should Egypt choose, and they are expected to do just that, will have no legal foundation. The Congress of Paris in 1856 established applicable international law covering blockades. Any blockade that can’t be enforced is considered a “paper blockade” and “sporadic attacks on shipping or commerce” are considered “piracy.”
As soon as Egypt opens their border with Gaza, Israel’s blockade is immediately reclassified as piracy.
BLAMING IRAN IS KEY
Piers Morgan of CNN may have “let the cat out of the bag” this week with his “interview” of Jesse Ventura. Out of nowhere, Morgan went on a rant about the need to attack Iran in order to protect Israel. The context, oddly enough, was his insertion of this call to arms in the midst of an anti-war discussion with activist Ventura. Morgan’s continual use of “everybody knows” to insert Israeli intelligence agenda and talking point items showed something beyond desperation:
YouTube - Veterans Today -
Morgan’s task, carefully coordinated with Israeli military intelligence, AIPAC and “wingnut” websites like “FamilySecurity…” is to make certain that when, not “if” but “when” an massive terror disaster hits America, all eyes turn to Islam and Iran or Iran and Pakistan.
The NYPD seems, however, to have not gotten the message and “bent over” as needed.
You might ask why New York is always the target. You might ask who controls so much of the infrastructure of the city and has the ability to derail any criminal investigation and even civil litigation.
Intelligence sources indicate that there are far more than four “fictional” terror cells in New York City today. Some are said to have the appearance of ties to Islam. As with the “crotch bomber” and the “Times Square Fizzler,” a look beneath the surface says something very different.
Good luck NYPD.
Don’t Let Your Child Be the Next Victim of This Deadly Vaccine
Don’t Let Your Child Be the Next Victim of This Deadly Vaccine
Posted By Dr. Mercola | April 05 2011 | 61,354 views
Share3810
Email to a friend
Email to a friend : 1234
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This video was created as a plea to Merck, the FDA and the CDC to stop all Gardasil vaccination. The evidence of harm caused by the Gardasil vaccine is overwhelming and not worth the very questionable benefit.
The Greater Good looks behind the fear, hype and politics that have polarized the vaccine debate in America today. The film re-frames the emotionally charged issue and features many different perspectives, including the voices of families whose lives have been touched by vaccine reactions, so there is an opportunity for a compassionate, rational and scientific discussion about vaccination.
Visit the Mercola Video Library
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) has issued an alert to Washington state residents about a bill that recently passed the state legislature and is headed for the Governor’s desk. The legislation threatens your fundamental right to make informed, voluntary decisions about vaccination. It requires doctors and nurses to personally sign all religious or personal belief exemptions to vaccination filed with the state.
According to NVIC:
"If this bill becomes law, it will put doctors, nurses and other medical personnel in the legal position of acting as inquisitors of religious beliefs held by fellow citizens, which is an invasion of privacy and a de facto violation of First Amendment rights.”
Sources:
Examiner February 14, 2011
NVIC February 13, 2011
The Greater Good Movie
Optus Zoo March 20, 2011
Posted By Dr. Mercola | April 05 2011 | 61,354 views
Share3810
Email to a friend
Email to a friend : 1234
Previous
Next
This video was created as a plea to Merck, the FDA and the CDC to stop all Gardasil vaccination. The evidence of harm caused by the Gardasil vaccine is overwhelming and not worth the very questionable benefit.
The Greater Good looks behind the fear, hype and politics that have polarized the vaccine debate in America today. The film re-frames the emotionally charged issue and features many different perspectives, including the voices of families whose lives have been touched by vaccine reactions, so there is an opportunity for a compassionate, rational and scientific discussion about vaccination.
Visit the Mercola Video Library
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) has issued an alert to Washington state residents about a bill that recently passed the state legislature and is headed for the Governor’s desk. The legislation threatens your fundamental right to make informed, voluntary decisions about vaccination. It requires doctors and nurses to personally sign all religious or personal belief exemptions to vaccination filed with the state.
According to NVIC:
"If this bill becomes law, it will put doctors, nurses and other medical personnel in the legal position of acting as inquisitors of religious beliefs held by fellow citizens, which is an invasion of privacy and a de facto violation of First Amendment rights.”
Sources:
Examiner February 14, 2011
NVIC February 13, 2011
The Greater Good Movie
Optus Zoo March 20, 2011
The Arab Risings, Israel and Hamas
from STRATFOR
The Arab Risings, Israel and Hamas
April 12, 2011 | 0850 GMT
PRINTPRINT Text Resize:
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Readers Comment on STRATFOR Reports
By George Friedman
There was one striking thing missing from the events in the Middle East in past months: Israel. While certainly mentioned and condemned, none of the demonstrations centered on the issue of Israel. Israel was a side issue for the demonstrators, with the focus being on replacing unpopular rulers.
This is odd. Since even before the creation of the state of Israel, anti-Zionism has been a driving force among the Arab public, perhaps more than it has been with Arab governments. While a few have been willing to develop open diplomatic relations with Israel, many more have maintained informal relations: Numerous Arab governments have been willing to maintain covert relations with Israel, with extensive cooperation on intelligence and related matters. They have been unwilling to incur the displeasure of the Arab masses through open cooperation, however.
That makes it all the more strange that the Arab opposition movements — from Libya to Bahrain — have not made overt and covert cooperation with Israel a central issue, if for no other reason than to mobilize the Arab masses. Let me emphasize that Israel was frequently an issue, but not the central one. If we go far back to the rise of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and his revolution for Pan-Arabism and socialism, his issues against King Farouk were tightly bound with anti-Zionism. Similarly, radical Islamists have always made Israel a central issue, yet it wasn’t there in this round of unrest. This was particularly surprising with regimes like Egypt’s, which had formal relations with Israel.
It is not clear why Israel was not a rallying point. One possible explanation is that the demonstrations in the Islamic world were focused on unpopular leaders and regimes, and the question of local governance was at their heart. That is possible, but particularly as the demonstrations faltered, invoking Israel would have seemed logical as a way to legitimize their cause. Another explanation might have rested in the reason that most of these risings failed, at least to this point, to achieve fundamental change. They were not mass movements involving all classes of society, but to a great extent the young and the better educated. This class was more sophisticated about the world and understood the need for American and European support in the long run; they understood that including Israel in their mix of grievances was likely to reduce Western pressure on the risings’ targets. We know of several leaders of the Egyptian rising, for example, who were close to Hamas yet deliberately chose to downplay their relations. They clearly were intensely anti-Israeli but didn’t want to make this a crucial issue. In the case of Egypt, they didn’t want to alienate the military or the West. They were sophisticated enough to take the matter step by step.
Hamas’ Opportunity
A second thing was missing from the unrest: There was no rising, no intifada, in the Palestinian territories. Given the general unrest sweeping the region, it would seem logical that the Palestinian public would have pressed both the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Hamas to organize massive demonstrations against Israel. This didn’t happen.
This clearly didn’t displease the PNA, which had no appetite for underwriting another intifada that would have led to massive Israeli responses and disruption of the West Bank’s economy. For Hamas in Gaza, however, it was a different case. Hamas was trapped by the Israeli-Egyptian blockade. This blockade limited its ability to access weapons, as well as basic supplies needed to build a minimally functioning economy. It also limited Hamas’ ability to build a strong movement in the West Bank that would challenge Fatah’s leadership of the PNA there.
Hamas has been isolated and trapped in Gaza. The uprising in Egypt represented a tremendous opportunity for Hamas, as it promised to create a new reality in Gaza. If the demonstrators had succeeded not only in overthrowing Hosni Mubarak but also in forcing true regime change — or at least forcing the military to change its policy toward Hamas — the door could have opened for Hamas to have increased dramatically its power and its room to maneuver. Hamas knew that it had supporters among a segment of the demonstrators and that the demonstrators wanted a reversal of Egyptian policy on Israel and Gaza. They were content to wait, however, particularly as the PNA was not prepared to launch an intifada in the West Bank and because one confined to Gaza would have had little effect. So they waited.
For Hamas, a shift in Egyptian policy was the opening that would allow them to become militarily and politically more effective. It didn’t happen. The events of the past few months have shown that while the military wanted Mubarak out, it was not prepared to break with Israel or shift its Gaza policy. Most important, the events thus far have shown that the demonstrators were in no position to force the Egyptian military to do anything it didn’t want to do. Beyond forcing Mubarak out and perhaps having him put on trial, the basic policies of his regime remained in place.
Over the last few weeks, it became apparent to many observers, including the Hamas leadership, that what they hoped for in Egypt was either not going to happen any time soon or perhaps not at all. At the same time, it was obvious that the movement in the Arab world had not yet died out. If Hamas could combine the historical animosity toward Israel in the Arab world with the current unrest, it might be able to effect changes in policy not only in Egypt but also in the rest of the Arab world, a region that, beyond rhetoric, had become increasingly indifferent to the Palestinian cause.
Gaza has become a symbol in the Arab world of Palestinian resistance and Israeli oppression. The last war in Gaza, Operation Cast Lead, has become used as a symbol in the Arab world and in Europe to generate anti-Israeli sentiment. Interestingly, Richard Goldstone, lead author of a report on the operation that severely criticized Israel, retracted many of his charges last week. One of the Palestinians’ major achievements was shaping public opinion in Europe over Cast Lead via the Goldstone Report. Its retraction was therefore a defeat for Hamas.
In the face of the decision by Arab demonstrators not to emphasize Israel, in the face of the apparent failure of the Egyptian rising to achieve definitive policy changes, and in the face of the reversal by Goldstone of many of his charges, Hamas clearly felt that it not only faced a lost opportunity, but it was likely to face a retreat in Western public opinion (albeit the latter was a secondary consideration).
The Advantage of Another Gaza Conflict for Hamas
Another Israeli assault on Gaza might generate forces that benefit Hamas. In Cast Lead, the Egyptian government was able to deflect calls to stop its blockade of Gaza and break relations with Israel. In 2011, it might not be as easy for them to resist in the event of another war. Moreover, with the uprising losing steam, a war in Gaza might re-energize Hamas, using what would be claimed as unilateral brutality by Israel to bring far larger crowds into the street and forcing a weakened Egyptian regime to make the kinds of concessions that would matter to Hamas.
Egypt is key for Hamas. Linked to an anti-Israel, pro-Hamas Cairo, the Gaza Strip returns to its old status as a bayonet pointed at Tel Aviv. Certainly, it would be a base for operations and a significant alternative to Fatah. But a war would benefit Hamas more broadly. For example, Turkey’s view of Gaza has changed significantly since the 2010 flotilla incident in which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish civilians on a ship headed for Gaza. Turkey’s relationship with Israel could be further weakened, and with Egypt and Turkey both becoming hostile to Israel, Hamas’ position would improve. If Hamas could cause Hezbollah to join the war from the north then Israel would be placed in a challenging military position perhaps with the United States, afraid of a complete breakdown of its regional alliance system, forcing Israel to accept an unfavorable settlement.
Hamas had the same means for starting a war it had before Cast Lead and that Hezbollah had in 2006. It can still fire rockets at Israel. For the most part, these artillery rockets — homemade Qassams and mortars, do no harm. But some strike Israeli targets, and under any circumstances, the constant firing drives home the limits of Israeli intelligence to an uneasy Israeli public — Israel doesn’t know where the missiles are stored and can’t take them out. Add to this the rocket that landed 20 miles south of Tel Aviv and Israeli public perceptions of the murder of most of a Jewish family in the West Bank, including an infant, and it becomes clear that Hamas is creating the circumstances under which the Israelis have no choice but to attack Gaza.
Outside Intervention
After the first series of rocket attacks, two nations intervened. Turkey fairly publicly intervened via Syria, persuading Hamas to halt its attacks. Turkey understood the fragility of the Arab world and was not interested in the uprising receiving an additional boost from a war in Gaza. The Saudis also intervened. The Saudis provide the main funding for Hamas via Syria and were themselves trying to stabilize the situation from Yemen to Bahrain on its southern and eastern border; it did not want anything adding fuel to that fire. Hamas accordingly subsided.
Hamas then resumed its attack this weekend. We don’t know its reasoning, but we can infer it: Whatever Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria or anyone else wanted, this was Hamas’ historic opportunity. If Egypt returns to the status quo, Hamas returns to its trap. Whatever their friends or allies might say, missing this historic opportunity would be foolish for it. A war would hurt, but a defeat could be turned into a political victory.
It is not clear what the Israelis’ limit is. Clearly, they are trying to avoid an all-out assault on Gaza, limiting their response to a few airstrikes. The existence of Iron Dome, a new system to stop rockets, provides Israel some psychological comfort, but it is years from full deployment, and its effectiveness is still unknown. The rockets can be endured only so long before an attack. And the Goldstone reversal gives the Israelis a sense of vindication that gives them more room for maneuver.
Hamas appears to have plenty of rockets, and it will use them until Israel responds. Hamas will use the Israeli response to try to launch a broader Arab movement focused both on Israel and on regimes that openly or covertly collaborate with Israel. Hamas hopes above all to bring down the Egyptian regime with a newly energized movement. Israel above all does not want this to happen. It will resist responding to Hamas as long as it can, but given the political situation in Israel, its ability to do so is limited — and that is what Hamas is counting on.
For the United States and Europe, the merger of Islamists and democrats is an explosive combination. Apart, they do little. Together, they could genuinely destabilize the region and even further undermine the U.S. effort against jihadists. The United States and Europe want Israel to restrain itself but cannot restrain Hamas. Another war, therefore, is not out of the question — and in the end, the decision to launch one rests with Hamas.
The Arab Risings, Israel and Hamas
April 12, 2011 | 0850 GMT
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Readers Comment on STRATFOR Reports
By George Friedman
There was one striking thing missing from the events in the Middle East in past months: Israel. While certainly mentioned and condemned, none of the demonstrations centered on the issue of Israel. Israel was a side issue for the demonstrators, with the focus being on replacing unpopular rulers.
This is odd. Since even before the creation of the state of Israel, anti-Zionism has been a driving force among the Arab public, perhaps more than it has been with Arab governments. While a few have been willing to develop open diplomatic relations with Israel, many more have maintained informal relations: Numerous Arab governments have been willing to maintain covert relations with Israel, with extensive cooperation on intelligence and related matters. They have been unwilling to incur the displeasure of the Arab masses through open cooperation, however.
That makes it all the more strange that the Arab opposition movements — from Libya to Bahrain — have not made overt and covert cooperation with Israel a central issue, if for no other reason than to mobilize the Arab masses. Let me emphasize that Israel was frequently an issue, but not the central one. If we go far back to the rise of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and his revolution for Pan-Arabism and socialism, his issues against King Farouk were tightly bound with anti-Zionism. Similarly, radical Islamists have always made Israel a central issue, yet it wasn’t there in this round of unrest. This was particularly surprising with regimes like Egypt’s, which had formal relations with Israel.
It is not clear why Israel was not a rallying point. One possible explanation is that the demonstrations in the Islamic world were focused on unpopular leaders and regimes, and the question of local governance was at their heart. That is possible, but particularly as the demonstrations faltered, invoking Israel would have seemed logical as a way to legitimize their cause. Another explanation might have rested in the reason that most of these risings failed, at least to this point, to achieve fundamental change. They were not mass movements involving all classes of society, but to a great extent the young and the better educated. This class was more sophisticated about the world and understood the need for American and European support in the long run; they understood that including Israel in their mix of grievances was likely to reduce Western pressure on the risings’ targets. We know of several leaders of the Egyptian rising, for example, who were close to Hamas yet deliberately chose to downplay their relations. They clearly were intensely anti-Israeli but didn’t want to make this a crucial issue. In the case of Egypt, they didn’t want to alienate the military or the West. They were sophisticated enough to take the matter step by step.
Hamas’ Opportunity
A second thing was missing from the unrest: There was no rising, no intifada, in the Palestinian territories. Given the general unrest sweeping the region, it would seem logical that the Palestinian public would have pressed both the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Hamas to organize massive demonstrations against Israel. This didn’t happen.
This clearly didn’t displease the PNA, which had no appetite for underwriting another intifada that would have led to massive Israeli responses and disruption of the West Bank’s economy. For Hamas in Gaza, however, it was a different case. Hamas was trapped by the Israeli-Egyptian blockade. This blockade limited its ability to access weapons, as well as basic supplies needed to build a minimally functioning economy. It also limited Hamas’ ability to build a strong movement in the West Bank that would challenge Fatah’s leadership of the PNA there.
Hamas has been isolated and trapped in Gaza. The uprising in Egypt represented a tremendous opportunity for Hamas, as it promised to create a new reality in Gaza. If the demonstrators had succeeded not only in overthrowing Hosni Mubarak but also in forcing true regime change — or at least forcing the military to change its policy toward Hamas — the door could have opened for Hamas to have increased dramatically its power and its room to maneuver. Hamas knew that it had supporters among a segment of the demonstrators and that the demonstrators wanted a reversal of Egyptian policy on Israel and Gaza. They were content to wait, however, particularly as the PNA was not prepared to launch an intifada in the West Bank and because one confined to Gaza would have had little effect. So they waited.
For Hamas, a shift in Egyptian policy was the opening that would allow them to become militarily and politically more effective. It didn’t happen. The events of the past few months have shown that while the military wanted Mubarak out, it was not prepared to break with Israel or shift its Gaza policy. Most important, the events thus far have shown that the demonstrators were in no position to force the Egyptian military to do anything it didn’t want to do. Beyond forcing Mubarak out and perhaps having him put on trial, the basic policies of his regime remained in place.
Over the last few weeks, it became apparent to many observers, including the Hamas leadership, that what they hoped for in Egypt was either not going to happen any time soon or perhaps not at all. At the same time, it was obvious that the movement in the Arab world had not yet died out. If Hamas could combine the historical animosity toward Israel in the Arab world with the current unrest, it might be able to effect changes in policy not only in Egypt but also in the rest of the Arab world, a region that, beyond rhetoric, had become increasingly indifferent to the Palestinian cause.
Gaza has become a symbol in the Arab world of Palestinian resistance and Israeli oppression. The last war in Gaza, Operation Cast Lead, has become used as a symbol in the Arab world and in Europe to generate anti-Israeli sentiment. Interestingly, Richard Goldstone, lead author of a report on the operation that severely criticized Israel, retracted many of his charges last week. One of the Palestinians’ major achievements was shaping public opinion in Europe over Cast Lead via the Goldstone Report. Its retraction was therefore a defeat for Hamas.
In the face of the decision by Arab demonstrators not to emphasize Israel, in the face of the apparent failure of the Egyptian rising to achieve definitive policy changes, and in the face of the reversal by Goldstone of many of his charges, Hamas clearly felt that it not only faced a lost opportunity, but it was likely to face a retreat in Western public opinion (albeit the latter was a secondary consideration).
The Advantage of Another Gaza Conflict for Hamas
Another Israeli assault on Gaza might generate forces that benefit Hamas. In Cast Lead, the Egyptian government was able to deflect calls to stop its blockade of Gaza and break relations with Israel. In 2011, it might not be as easy for them to resist in the event of another war. Moreover, with the uprising losing steam, a war in Gaza might re-energize Hamas, using what would be claimed as unilateral brutality by Israel to bring far larger crowds into the street and forcing a weakened Egyptian regime to make the kinds of concessions that would matter to Hamas.
Egypt is key for Hamas. Linked to an anti-Israel, pro-Hamas Cairo, the Gaza Strip returns to its old status as a bayonet pointed at Tel Aviv. Certainly, it would be a base for operations and a significant alternative to Fatah. But a war would benefit Hamas more broadly. For example, Turkey’s view of Gaza has changed significantly since the 2010 flotilla incident in which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish civilians on a ship headed for Gaza. Turkey’s relationship with Israel could be further weakened, and with Egypt and Turkey both becoming hostile to Israel, Hamas’ position would improve. If Hamas could cause Hezbollah to join the war from the north then Israel would be placed in a challenging military position perhaps with the United States, afraid of a complete breakdown of its regional alliance system, forcing Israel to accept an unfavorable settlement.
Hamas had the same means for starting a war it had before Cast Lead and that Hezbollah had in 2006. It can still fire rockets at Israel. For the most part, these artillery rockets — homemade Qassams and mortars, do no harm. But some strike Israeli targets, and under any circumstances, the constant firing drives home the limits of Israeli intelligence to an uneasy Israeli public — Israel doesn’t know where the missiles are stored and can’t take them out. Add to this the rocket that landed 20 miles south of Tel Aviv and Israeli public perceptions of the murder of most of a Jewish family in the West Bank, including an infant, and it becomes clear that Hamas is creating the circumstances under which the Israelis have no choice but to attack Gaza.
Outside Intervention
After the first series of rocket attacks, two nations intervened. Turkey fairly publicly intervened via Syria, persuading Hamas to halt its attacks. Turkey understood the fragility of the Arab world and was not interested in the uprising receiving an additional boost from a war in Gaza. The Saudis also intervened. The Saudis provide the main funding for Hamas via Syria and were themselves trying to stabilize the situation from Yemen to Bahrain on its southern and eastern border; it did not want anything adding fuel to that fire. Hamas accordingly subsided.
Hamas then resumed its attack this weekend. We don’t know its reasoning, but we can infer it: Whatever Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria or anyone else wanted, this was Hamas’ historic opportunity. If Egypt returns to the status quo, Hamas returns to its trap. Whatever their friends or allies might say, missing this historic opportunity would be foolish for it. A war would hurt, but a defeat could be turned into a political victory.
It is not clear what the Israelis’ limit is. Clearly, they are trying to avoid an all-out assault on Gaza, limiting their response to a few airstrikes. The existence of Iron Dome, a new system to stop rockets, provides Israel some psychological comfort, but it is years from full deployment, and its effectiveness is still unknown. The rockets can be endured only so long before an attack. And the Goldstone reversal gives the Israelis a sense of vindication that gives them more room for maneuver.
Hamas appears to have plenty of rockets, and it will use them until Israel responds. Hamas will use the Israeli response to try to launch a broader Arab movement focused both on Israel and on regimes that openly or covertly collaborate with Israel. Hamas hopes above all to bring down the Egyptian regime with a newly energized movement. Israel above all does not want this to happen. It will resist responding to Hamas as long as it can, but given the political situation in Israel, its ability to do so is limited — and that is what Hamas is counting on.
For the United States and Europe, the merger of Islamists and democrats is an explosive combination. Apart, they do little. Together, they could genuinely destabilize the region and even further undermine the U.S. effort against jihadists. The United States and Europe want Israel to restrain itself but cannot restrain Hamas. Another war, therefore, is not out of the question — and in the end, the decision to launch one rests with Hamas.
Monday, April 11, 2011
George Soros looks to establish new global finance system
http://rt.com/news/george-soros-new-world/
George Soros looks to establish new global finance system
permalink email story to a friend print version
Published: 10 April, 2011, 04:14
Edited: 10 April, 2011, 19:45
VIDEO: http://rt.com/news/george-soros-new-world/
George Soros, founder and chairman of the Open Society Institute and a billionaire investor (AFP Photo / Spencer Platt)
(18.3Mb) embed video
A new global economic policy is on the table at a meeting in the American town of Bretton Woods. Economists, finance experts and scholars from across the world are gathered at the conference, held by billionaire George Soros.
The chosen venue has great historic significance – this was the setting of the famous Bretton Woods Conference of 1944, which set the monetary system for the world as we now know it.
This is where the International Monetary Fund and what is now the World Bank were established, with the US dollar becoming the reserve currency for the world at this same conference.
Back in 1944 it was the United Nations that got together the allied countries towards the end of World War II. However, today it is a very different story.
This time it is billionaire George Soros bringing together two hundred intellectuals, with the belief that the current economic thinking and the current world monetary policy systems are no longer working.
Since the financial collapse shook the globe and reverberated all across the world, there hasn’t been anything to replace the old system, something which might reflect the new world, where the US is not the one singular power that dictates economic policy.
The idea among the thinkers in Bretton Woods is that there needs to be a system which reflects the fact that we live in a multi-polar world, a system which brings developing nations into the conversation. Many of those nations with booming economies have become rivals to developed nations such as the United States.
“So, you come to 2010, and for the first time virtually for nearly 200 years America and Europe – that’s the United States of America and the 27 members of the European Union, for the first time are being outproduced, outmanufactured and outexported, and also, interestingly, outinvested by the rest of the world,” former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the conference.
One of the key problems economists are now facing is the necessity to develop new, more efficient, ways of dealing with enormous financial deficits, particularly America’s skyrocketing debt. The United States is paving the way with more than one trillion dollars of deficit each fiscal year, adding up to more than 14 trillion dollars in debt – a problem which the US political leadership does seem to be eager to deal with.
Dollar diminishing in significance – Soros's think-tank
Robert Johnson, the executive director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, George Soros' think-tank, which is leading the conference, in his opening speech questioned the effectiveness of current financial governance and called for measures to restore trust in the system.
“At this time, I do not think people are trusting governments after financial bailouts. I do not think they trust experts by and large… That’s the nature of the problem, that’s why INET was formed,” he told RT.
However, Johnson says it is not so easy to come up with a recipe to regain the trust of people who feel betrayed by the billion-dollar bailouts around the world.
“I’m particularly concerned about the United States, which is at the center of the world system. The middle class in the United States is feeling compressed. They are experiencing what you might call a social death, while two to three per cent are doing very, very well,” he continued. “Almost all of the gains from 1979 to the present, perhaps more than 100 per cent, have gone to the top one per cent, and that’s just not sustainable, and that is not inspiring of trust.”
Commenting on the current situation with the dollar as the world's reserve currency, Johnson said that the prevailing view among delegates at the conference is that the dollar is diminishing in significance for various reasons:
“The dollar is diminishing in significance, somewhat for natural reasons, because the United States is the smaller proportion of the world economy, as the emerging countries, like Russia, Brazil, India and China, grow,” he said.
At the same time, Johnson continued, the dollar may be suffering from the fact that leaders in the United States have not paid enough attention to strengthening the underlying economic conditions, such as infrastructure, education, scientific research and maintenance of demand.
“If you have a damaged and diminished population, damaged infrastructure and… paltry or non-existent investment, you are not going to have a strong economy, and the dollar will be a reflection of that,” Robert Johnson concluded.
Gerald Epstein, Professor and Chair of Economics at the University of Massachussetts at Amherst, says emerging countries and financial regulators have much heavier responsibilities in the face of the global financial crisis.
“We need global cooperation to get us out of that current crisis, but also to help us to make a transition to a new type of economy where power is more widely dispersed around the world,” he said, “an economy that can deal with climate change and make the green transition that we need.”
George Soros looks to establish new global finance system
permalink email story to a friend print version
Published: 10 April, 2011, 04:14
Edited: 10 April, 2011, 19:45
VIDEO: http://rt.com/news/george-soros-new-world/
George Soros, founder and chairman of the Open Society Institute and a billionaire investor (AFP Photo / Spencer Platt)
(18.3Mb) embed video
A new global economic policy is on the table at a meeting in the American town of Bretton Woods. Economists, finance experts and scholars from across the world are gathered at the conference, held by billionaire George Soros.
The chosen venue has great historic significance – this was the setting of the famous Bretton Woods Conference of 1944, which set the monetary system for the world as we now know it.
This is where the International Monetary Fund and what is now the World Bank were established, with the US dollar becoming the reserve currency for the world at this same conference.
Back in 1944 it was the United Nations that got together the allied countries towards the end of World War II. However, today it is a very different story.
This time it is billionaire George Soros bringing together two hundred intellectuals, with the belief that the current economic thinking and the current world monetary policy systems are no longer working.
Since the financial collapse shook the globe and reverberated all across the world, there hasn’t been anything to replace the old system, something which might reflect the new world, where the US is not the one singular power that dictates economic policy.
The idea among the thinkers in Bretton Woods is that there needs to be a system which reflects the fact that we live in a multi-polar world, a system which brings developing nations into the conversation. Many of those nations with booming economies have become rivals to developed nations such as the United States.
“So, you come to 2010, and for the first time virtually for nearly 200 years America and Europe – that’s the United States of America and the 27 members of the European Union, for the first time are being outproduced, outmanufactured and outexported, and also, interestingly, outinvested by the rest of the world,” former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the conference.
One of the key problems economists are now facing is the necessity to develop new, more efficient, ways of dealing with enormous financial deficits, particularly America’s skyrocketing debt. The United States is paving the way with more than one trillion dollars of deficit each fiscal year, adding up to more than 14 trillion dollars in debt – a problem which the US political leadership does seem to be eager to deal with.
Dollar diminishing in significance – Soros's think-tank
Robert Johnson, the executive director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, George Soros' think-tank, which is leading the conference, in his opening speech questioned the effectiveness of current financial governance and called for measures to restore trust in the system.
“At this time, I do not think people are trusting governments after financial bailouts. I do not think they trust experts by and large… That’s the nature of the problem, that’s why INET was formed,” he told RT.
However, Johnson says it is not so easy to come up with a recipe to regain the trust of people who feel betrayed by the billion-dollar bailouts around the world.
“I’m particularly concerned about the United States, which is at the center of the world system. The middle class in the United States is feeling compressed. They are experiencing what you might call a social death, while two to three per cent are doing very, very well,” he continued. “Almost all of the gains from 1979 to the present, perhaps more than 100 per cent, have gone to the top one per cent, and that’s just not sustainable, and that is not inspiring of trust.”
Commenting on the current situation with the dollar as the world's reserve currency, Johnson said that the prevailing view among delegates at the conference is that the dollar is diminishing in significance for various reasons:
“The dollar is diminishing in significance, somewhat for natural reasons, because the United States is the smaller proportion of the world economy, as the emerging countries, like Russia, Brazil, India and China, grow,” he said.
At the same time, Johnson continued, the dollar may be suffering from the fact that leaders in the United States have not paid enough attention to strengthening the underlying economic conditions, such as infrastructure, education, scientific research and maintenance of demand.
“If you have a damaged and diminished population, damaged infrastructure and… paltry or non-existent investment, you are not going to have a strong economy, and the dollar will be a reflection of that,” Robert Johnson concluded.
Gerald Epstein, Professor and Chair of Economics at the University of Massachussetts at Amherst, says emerging countries and financial regulators have much heavier responsibilities in the face of the global financial crisis.
“We need global cooperation to get us out of that current crisis, but also to help us to make a transition to a new type of economy where power is more widely dispersed around the world,” he said, “an economy that can deal with climate change and make the green transition that we need.”
New Particle Discovered in Illinois Collider?
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979199056
New Particle Discovered in Illinois Collider?
by Chuck Larlham, GATHER, April 07, 2011 06:30 PM EDT
The new particle is not the "God Particle," as the popular press is wont to call the long sought "Higgs Boson." The physicists at the soon-to-be-retired Tevatron Particle Collider in Illinois think they have found a particle so new that it will change all of physics... or not. While tossing protons and anti-protons at each other at near the speed of light, the physicists at the Tevatron were doing an experiment for which they knew the results. As do all good scientists, they were trying to prove themselves wrong... and boy did they ever!
The results of the experiment are analyzed statistically, using a program that measures mass against the number of particles produced. The experiment is repeated continually with the same material until the entire miniscule mass of experimental material is used up. The result is always a near-perfect statistical curve, except for that odd little 'bump' in the data that couldn't possibly be there... but it was. It was the perfect "Now, that's funny..." moment that every scientist spends his or her career hoping for. The data and results are reliable to "three sigmas," a statistical term that means there's about one chance in a thousand that the "bump" is just a statistical anomaly. But this bump looks very real, and if it is... all of physics changes.
If this bump is real, all of physics changes because the only way this "bump" can exist is if it shows the existence of a whole new particle. And if it does, the only way that new particle can exist is if there is a "fifth force" in the universe. Physicists have been trying to come up with a "Unification Theory" for the known four forces: gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. This one would be similar to the strong nuclear force, but operate at much higher energies.
About 20 years ago, a couple of Fermilab physicists predicted such a force, and a "slew of particles" to go with it. The science is just a tad esoteric for the non-physicists among the readers, for what the physicist called the "Technicolour Force." The upshot is that it may render the Higgs Boson unnecessary, but it will not provide the basis for a unifying theory that brings all the forces together. It will just make that effort more difficult.
=================================================================
RELATED:
Tevatron data suggests new, unknown particle—but not - Ars Technica
Strange Particle Created; May Rewrite How Matter's Made
FermiLab Physicists May Have Found New Particle - NYTimes.com
Exotic new particles reported found
Fermilab Physicists Have Detected A Possible New Particle or New Force
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-04/fermilab-physicists-may-have-found-new-particle-or-new-force
New Particle Discovered in Illinois Collider?
by Chuck Larlham, GATHER, April 07, 2011 06:30 PM EDT
The new particle is not the "God Particle," as the popular press is wont to call the long sought "Higgs Boson." The physicists at the soon-to-be-retired Tevatron Particle Collider in Illinois think they have found a particle so new that it will change all of physics... or not. While tossing protons and anti-protons at each other at near the speed of light, the physicists at the Tevatron were doing an experiment for which they knew the results. As do all good scientists, they were trying to prove themselves wrong... and boy did they ever!
The results of the experiment are analyzed statistically, using a program that measures mass against the number of particles produced. The experiment is repeated continually with the same material until the entire miniscule mass of experimental material is used up. The result is always a near-perfect statistical curve, except for that odd little 'bump' in the data that couldn't possibly be there... but it was. It was the perfect "Now, that's funny..." moment that every scientist spends his or her career hoping for. The data and results are reliable to "three sigmas," a statistical term that means there's about one chance in a thousand that the "bump" is just a statistical anomaly. But this bump looks very real, and if it is... all of physics changes.
If this bump is real, all of physics changes because the only way this "bump" can exist is if it shows the existence of a whole new particle. And if it does, the only way that new particle can exist is if there is a "fifth force" in the universe. Physicists have been trying to come up with a "Unification Theory" for the known four forces: gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. This one would be similar to the strong nuclear force, but operate at much higher energies.
About 20 years ago, a couple of Fermilab physicists predicted such a force, and a "slew of particles" to go with it. The science is just a tad esoteric for the non-physicists among the readers, for what the physicist called the "Technicolour Force." The upshot is that it may render the Higgs Boson unnecessary, but it will not provide the basis for a unifying theory that brings all the forces together. It will just make that effort more difficult.
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RELATED:
Tevatron data suggests new, unknown particle—but not - Ars Technica
Strange Particle Created; May Rewrite How Matter's Made
FermiLab Physicists May Have Found New Particle - NYTimes.com
Exotic new particles reported found
Fermilab Physicists Have Detected A Possible New Particle or New Force
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-04/fermilab-physicists-may-have-found-new-particle-or-new-force
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