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The Agora: Leading the Canadian Print Media Revolution
In Canada, a handful of corporations control nearly all news media. As the consequences of this monopoly on information become increasingly apparent, dependence on these outlets for reliable and relevant information becomes unacceptable. The cynicism and apathy built up within this society are now in need of remedy. With the development of the internet it has become possible for anyone to bypass the monopoly of big media and get the word out on an endless range of issues. This technology has rapidly ignited a renaissance in freedom of expression. The paper you hold in your hands is dedicated to carrying this renaissance through into a full blown revolution in the realm of print media. We provide a professional platform to all the news and views you have not been seeing in the dying corporate press. We are committed to a revival of true print journalism. We also strive to provide workable solutions and ideas for action. In order to accomplish these goals while retaining integrity, Agora abides by an open source philosophy of content generation. This means that no one voice may use money or undue influence to drown out the others. To be sure we do not become beholden to any one editorial bias, our editorial crew has been populated with feisty humans to disagree on practically everything. After all, who knows better what information you should or should not be exposed to: A few monolithic corporations? The Government?...Or You?
The Great Escapism Naomi Wolf
The Riot Dog Garth Turner
One World Fundraiser Katherine Marion
Ponerology 102 Harrison Koehli
Health & Science The Doctor Is IN, with Dr. Eldon Dahl Raw Milk, is it really bad for you?, by RawNu Science Confirming Ancient Knowledge by Dr. Tom Chalko Project Explores The Internet of Things, by Physorg.com Permaculture Chapter 2, by Jesse Lemieux Chi, The Basis of True Health, by Richard Stacel Monsanto’s Deadly Gift To Haiti, by Jean Yves Urfie Do You Really Need Those Eyeglasses?, by Wray Herbert Ponerology 102, Snakes In Suits, by Harrison Koehli The Resonance of Reality, by Marie D. Jones & Larry Flaxman What In The World Are They Spraying Part I by Michael J Murphy Eco Labels on Products Often Just Lies by Dave Guttierrez Vaccines, Vets are better than Doctors, by Dr Sherry Tenpenny
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Gulf Rig Disaster Worse Than Told? Mike Adams
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News Atlas 30 Dogs of the World Unite, by Lu Lee 7 Is Gulf Oil Rig Disaster Far Worse Than We’re Being Told? by Mike Adams 19 The Riot Dog, by Garth Turner 17 Unless You’re Rich or Rioting, No-One Cares What You Think by Sid Ishon 10 Go, Lemmings, Go! by Dee Nicholson 20 The Great Escapism by Naomi Wolf 29 When False Flags Don’t Fly by James Corbett 25 EU Collapsing like the Tower of Babel, by Paul Joseph Watson 28
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Vatican’s Dark Crows K. Annett
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Raw Milk; is it really bad for you? Or really; is it really really good for you!
by RawNu
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mong my vegan/vegetarian friends “everyone knows” that Dairy is bad for you (even as we secretly binge on cheese and ice cream). At several points in the last ten years I have followed a raw vegan diet (hence my handle, “Rawnu”). When I was in my twenties, I had severe lactose intolerance; I could not digest milk or ice cream at all. But, did you know that most people with severe lactose intolerance can digest raw milk quite easily? When I heard that, I knew I had some research to do. As late as the 1920’s, all milk was raw milk. Raw milk was enjoyed as an essential, beneficial food, especially for growing children. Milk was good - and a safe plentiful milk supply was considered vital to our national health and well-being. In the early part of the last century, many of today’s common illnesses were rare. One hundred years ago, family doctors would often go their whole careers without ever seeing a patient with significant coronary artery disease, breast or prostate cancer. This is not the case today. Furthermore, as scientists such as Western Price, D.D.S., have discovered, there were pockets of extremely healthy, longlived people scattered about the earth who used dairy products in various forms as the staple of their diets; evidence that milk and its products are amongst the most healthful foods human beings have ever encountered. That is, when the
milk is raw organic milk, and the milk products are made from raw organic milk. In his book, “Don’t Drink Your Milk”, Frank Oski, M.D. chairman of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University blames health problems in children on the consumption of (pasteurized) milk. These symptoms include everything from acute and chronic ear infections to constipation, asthma, eczema, etc. One might well ask here where is the key to the truth in these findings? Could it be drug & hormone-adulterated, boiled (pasteurized) milk that is the real health problem? Perhaps the famous experiments of Dr. Frances Pottenger, done in the 1940’s can help solve this mystery. In these experiments Dr. Pottenger fed similar groups of animals (usually cats) a diet of only milk. Half ate cooked milk only(i.e., pasteurized); the other (lucky) half ate uncooked only (i.e., “raw” milk). The results were both conclusive and astounding. Those animals that ate raw milk did well, lived long, happy, active lives free of any signs of degenerative disease. Those that ate pasteurized milk suffered from acute illnesses (vomiting, diarrhea) and succumbed to the same degenerative diseases now endemic in our modern world. By the third generation, a vast majority of the cats were infertile and exhibited “anti-social” behavior. In short, medically speaking, they exhibited similar symptoms to many modern North American humans. Since the 1940’s, the “qualities” of milk (raw and pasteurized), have been extensively studied to try to find an explanation for these dramatic differences. Before heating, milk is a living food rich in colloidal minerals, rich in the enzymes necessary for the absorption and utilization of the sugars and fats in the milk. Raw milk has an enzyme, phosphatase which allows the body to actually absorb the calcium from the milk; raw milk has lactase, an enzyme which allows for the digestion of lactose; and raw milk has beneficial bacteria and lactic acids which allow these beneficial bacteria to implant in the intestines. All of these qualities are lost in the heating of milk! It then becomes rotten, with precipitated minerals which can’t be absorbed (hence osteoporosis); with sugars that can’t be digested and with fats which are toxic. A Raw milk fast was frequently prescribed as a therapeutic cure in the 1920’s.
William Osler, M.D., quoting from George Cheyne, wrote, “Milk and sweet sound blood differ in nothing but color: milk is blood.” Now this ‘white blood’ is illegal. Milk Therapy was used in the pre-insulin days to treat diabetes; as well as eczema, intestinal worms, allergies, arthritis, and other afflictions. Rarely is anyone truly allergic to grassfed cows’ milk (feeding high protein feeds to the cows changes the milk, making it more allergenic). If the cows are dirty, drugged with hormones, kept inside and given grain rather than good grass to eat; then obviously we are not talking about acceptable raw milk. ‘GIGO’. Garbage In Garbage Out. Fresh, organic raw milk from clean cows is a living, unprocessed, whole food. Compare this to supposedly “healthy” soy milk which has been washed in acids and alkali, pasteurized, then allowed to sit in a box for months. This is health food? Health Canada maintains that drinking unpasteurized milk is dangerous. “Any possible benefits are far outweighed by the serious risk of illness from drinking raw milk,” says their website They say that raw milk can harbor harmful bacteria, including Salmonella, E. Coli and Listeria, which can cause human illness and even death. It is currently illegal to sell unpasteurized milk in Canada. Although it is undoubtedly beneficial to destroy dangerous pathogens in our milk, pasteurization amounts to throwing the baby out with the bathwater, destroying all probiotic bacteria and enzymes in the process. After pasteurization, milk needs to be fortified with vitamins; an attempt to put back in what was destroyed in its processing. Pasteurization also destroys the chemical make-up of calcium found naturally in raw milk, according to Dr. Group and it destroys all the vitamin C. The bottom line, when you boil all of this down is the realization that the most beneficial constituents of raw milk are extremely heat sensitive. They are destroyed by the heat of pasteurization. The irony is that these are the very same ingredients that have anti-microbial, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties - thus raw milk has its own inherent protection - and once the milk is pasteurized, this “natural protection” is gone, and micro-organisms are free to multiply unimpeded. Thus raw milk sours, while pasteurized milk rots.
Critics accuse Health Canada of being in bed with the Milk Industry. Since large scale distribution of raw milk is problematic, due to raw milk’s delicate nature; getting grass-fed raw milk from safe, small-scale producers around the country would be a threat to Big Dairy. The raw milk campaigners say money rather than consumer safety is the real concern here. So what’s a freedom-loving, health-seeking citizen to do? Where do I go, what do I do, to get real milk, (without getting arrested), now that real raw milk is a “controlled substance”? Share Agreements: Cow Shares, Herd Shares Dairy regulations forbid consumers their right to true nutritional sustenance. In order to obtain raw milk in stores or directly from farmers, consumers are entering into ‘Share Agreements’ with the farmer. In a cow share or herd share agreement, consumers pay a farmer a fee for boarding what is, their very own cow, (or share of a cow). They pay the farmer to act as “agister”. ‘’Agist’ in contract law is the taking of other men’s cattle onto one’s own ground at a certain rate. The farmer therefore merely cares for other peoples cows and milks their cows for them. The cow share owner therefore ‘obtains’ (but does not purchase) her milk from her own cow. This arrangement is similar to arrangements of owning a share in a racehorse or a bull. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of BC, acting on a complaint from the Fraser Health Authority ordered Chilliwack-based dairy, ‘Home On The Range’ to halt it’s flow of raw milk. The raw milk still flows, due partly to the Cowshare principle. Gordon S. Watson, a spokesperson for ‘Home on The Range’, maintains, “It is incorrect to say that we are ‘defying’ the Supreme Court order. From the start, we operated in accordance with the Milk Industry Act, and we still do.” See www.RealMilk.com for a taste of raw milk freedom. ‘Rawnu’ is an old soul who has enjoyed many nourishing incarnations thanks to the patience and generosity of loving, healthy grassfed cows.
Protect the Old Landmarks Review by Drew MacDonald
Alex Morrison, Making Beer More Expensive (installation view), 2010 | photo: Blaine Campbell. Courtesy Artspeak.
A
lex Morrison is a Vancouver artist who has come into his own: his art projects are restless in their variety, and his imaginative powers continue to challenge: as much can be gathered from his latest project, which is entitled, Making Beer More Expensive. The project deals with the convoluted history of Vancouver’s Gastown – a site where the authentic and inauthentic blend to form a bizarre reflection of Vancouver’s actual and desired history. This project, undertaken in conjunction with ARTSPEAK, is maybe not so coincidentally located at 233 Carrall Street – the heart of Gastown. Through Morrison’s own admittance, this is a radical departure from his previous artistic endeavours. Blending architectural criticism, social commentary, and visual display, the project documents the gentrification of Gastown and the manipulation of its history. Sorting through this “theatre of history,” as Morrison articulated it during his Artist Talk, seems to have been the particular challenge of the project. His restlessness, however, would not let him shy away from this challenge. And regardless of this break from previous artistic projects, his imagination is still looking for a confrontation – a way to challenge. The ARTSPEAK
biography – written by the Catriona Jeffries Gallery – captures the rebellion encoded in his work: “Politically inflected, Morrison’s work troubles notions of authenticity, particularly when the ‘authentic’ is absorbed into the mainstream.” Gastown, he seems to urge, should not just be accepted, but instead, questioned: specifically, who and what are responsible for the changes in Gastown, and why has beer become more expensive? But Morrison is not only an artist. He is an artist who is interested in art that “examines urban built environments and their subcultures” (Catriona Jeffries Gallery). This places him within the tradition of the artist as architectural-social critic. Therefore, his reference to the Victorian critic and artist John Ruskin, during the Artist Talk, should not be surprising. Ruskin was fascinated with the history of specific forms of architecture and their ability to preserve the human. Ruskin writes, in The Seven Lamps of Architecture, that, in regard to historic buildings, “[w]e have no right whatever to touch them. They are not ours. They belong partly to those who built them, and partly to all the generations of mankind who are to follow” (201). The structures are not important in themselves, instead, because they maintain the presence of the human hand that
has long since stopped creating. And Morrison’s most powerful piece on display is, in this way, very Ruskin. That piece is this: a wooden sign, hanging outside the gallery, which references the King James Bible. The sign reads (and cautions): “Remove Not the Old Landmarks.” Through this piece Morrison both engages in the tradition of Ruskin and moves beyond. The reason being, Morrison – due to his understanding of the complexities of Gastown’s ‘history’ – is aware that ‘old’ is not a fixed term: indeed, the ‘theatre of history’ has a director, actors, and a script. These players dictate what is old and what should be preserved. The sign seeks preservation but leaves the specifics of that preservation ambiguous. And it is Morrison’s commentary on history that makes him such an important artist for Vancouver. The city, it seems, is constantly at battle with its relatively brief documented history. Morrison’s art reflects this tension through its questioning: what are the old
landmarks of Vancouver? Are they the current building’s facade – or – the silent foundations and walls that lay hidden behind hastily laid plaster and pre-fabricated stone? Morrison does not wish to make a definitive statement about history; instead, he wishes to question history and those who suggest that it is an authoritative record free from manipulation. And to the visitor of project, Morrison asks them to read through the artificial history of Gastown, to realize that history which has escaped the politically motivated re-imagining of the site. Morrison wants the viewer to see the destitute homeless of another Gastown, where instead of beer, aftershave was drank and despair embraced in substitute for a debauched night out. These ghosts of Gastown are present: but one must possess a careful eye and a tuned ear. These ghosts – and Morrison – will tell you why beer has become more expensive.
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Vancouver
may/june 2010
People Who are Rad
O
ur city is filled with people who are rad; people who are driven, who have a passion and pursue it. These people are creating ways to survive financially without compromising their ideals; they are busting their asses on projects that exist for their own sake. They are entrepreneurs, rogues and dreamers. They create venues and build obscure machines. People who are rad have rejected mediocrity in pursuit of a self determined life. They are the builders of our culture; and they deserve to be recognized.
Lu Lee Photos by Rachel Bee
T
he good folks at Agora decided it would be good to share some health care options with you through this column, and as one who is devoted to wellness, and to helping others understand how to achieve it, I am most pleased to help them do that. I’ve been fascinated by the miracles in natural things all my life, so it was a gentle segue indeed for me to become a naturopathic doctor. But it was also important to me to delve deeply into the precise formulations of the essential nutrient remedies that would maximize the body’s use of these precious substances, because day by day our food supply is becoming so depleted of its natural goodness, and our lifestyles so much more stressful, that almost everybody is deficient in something. I have devoted years of experimentation and study to find the best possible ways to counteract the damages today’s world can do to our miraculous organisms, our bodies. Restoring the body to health is like tuning a fine automobile: it must have the proper fuel mixture, its ability to absorb and use this fuel must be at optimum levels, and as always, our awareness of its condition acts like the mechanic you trust with your precious baby in the driveway, as he analyzes and tweaks it into top performance -- preferably before, rather than after, a problem arises. To me, staying healthy is very logical, much like maintaining anything else in life. You just give the body what it needs, and pay attention to it, as you would care for a child, or any treasured thing. Your love and attention of the vehicle that allows you to move through your life will assure that it will get you where you need to go; your neglect and disrespect of it will end with dire consequences. Whether we’re talking about supplementing your diet for health maintenance, or restoring your health from a condition of deficiency, the process is essentially the same: assess the condition of the body, clean out toxicity where it is found, and feed the body the precise elements it requires. I also make a point of recommending the best and speediest ways in which to deliver these elements where they are needed, because the longer it takes, the longer the body
must suffer; certain formulations have advantages over others, because they are more bioavailable, and thus are much more efficient in the healing process. I know it isn’t easy in this upside-down world to make time for anything at all, and it’s equally hard to make time for yourself and your health. But humans face a horrible compote of toxicity, with which their bodies must cope, in an unprecedented assault on our health. Whether it’s air pollution, processed foods, herbicides, pesticides, adulterated water, or just plain old garden-variety stress, these days we must make time to take care of ourselves. If we don’t, who will? Here in this column I will attempt to give you an understanding of some of the body’s health needs, and what happens when deficiencies occur. The more you know, the more you are empowered to handle whatever your life throws at you: when they said the truth would set you free, they weren’t kidding. It’s my goal to give you another perspective, and options for you to explore as you choose how you are going to manage your health care. From there, you are in the driver’s seat, which is where you should be. Of course, I am restricted in the amount of help I can offer through this medium: I cannot make a diagnosis by letter, nor could any other physician. But I can share with you my knowledge and experience, as information, and help you find directions which you may not have considered, and which may offer you better health consequences than you thought possible. This information is a starting point from which your own good decisions can make a tremendously positive impact on your health, if you take the opportunity to do your due diligence and inform yourself. Educating yourself as to how to treat your body, and deciding for yourself what is best, is not just your right, it is your responsibility. I’m here to make it easier for you in any way I can, so if you have a question I can help with, please send it to me via the email listed here, or by letter to me in care of Agora Magazine. I will answer as space and time allow. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
Robert Pederson
R
obert Pedersen opened his tiny book/coffee shop in the DTES with the style I have come to expect from him. On December 19th 2007, Solder & Sons opened it’s doors with a launch party featuring a performance by Stefan Udell. It is hard to imagine his tiny rustic space being used as a party space, but this is the magic of Robert’s world. He throws what he calls “socials” on Thursday nights, featuring music and dancing, and from the look of him on Friday morning, perhaps a few spirits. Solder & Sons is a simple space dominated by a wall of books. Something resembling a loft space for elves holds a giant tropical plant that stretches towards the window. The ceiling is strange and old, made up of what looks like two by fours laid on their edges. His setup is minimal, a juicer and an espresso machine; electrical problems in
the building rule out any more equipment. But Robert is happy with what he has, he is always ready for a chat, or to make what is possibly the best Americano in Vancouver. He recently pulled back from a restaurant project because he couldn’t bear the time it took away from his hobbies. Like all rad people Robert keeps busy, he likes bikes and badminton. He makes books and performs with a band called Glaciers. (with Lief Hall and Jeff Allport) I was surprised that this soft spoken, clean cut coffee aficionado listed crabbing as his number one hobby. That’s right, catchin crabs and eatin um up is at the top of Robert’s list. Go meet Robert, go browse his bookselves and drink one of his magical americaos. If you are lucky you may fall into his world. Solder & Sons is located at Main & Cordova and is open Tuesday to Saturday 9am -4pm.
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Dogs of The World Unite! You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Chains! by Lu Lee
M
ove over Colton Harris-Moore, revolutionaries of the world (armchair or otherwise) have a new cultural icon. Media, bloggers and activists alike have been giggling like school girls over the Greek mutt commonly referred to as Kanellos, which means cinnamon in Greek. Photos of Kanellos, also known as Rebel Dog or Riot Dog, are all over the internet, some dating back to 2008 when the current unrest in Greece began in earnest. The popularity of this rogue puppy is undeniable. At the time of this writing, he has almost 20, 000 facebook fans, a Greek tumblr site, tribute videos and live action footage on Youtube and even a photo feature in The Guardian UK. The financial crash of 2008 hit indebted Greece particularly hard and recent developments have caused more unrest on the
notoriously riotous streets of Athens. Conditions for a substantial (euro110 billion, $142 billion CAD) bailout by the IMF have been accepted by the Greek government. In keeping with the IMF’s policy to force neo-liberal reforms on struggling nations, these conditions include cuts to the pay and pensions of civil servants and hikes in consumer taxes. This proved unacceptable to the Greek people who took to the streets last week in what turned into a destructive and deadly clash with police. Riot Dog was there. The most recent photos posted on thisblogrules.com, dated May 5, show Riot Dog leading the pack as masked protesters rush what we assume is a police line. Another photo shows him standing guard over a woman who is confronting an armed
police line 60’s style (sitting down on the pavement in front of them) yet another captures him in action, keeping his eyes on police while his human comrade throws an unseen projectile. The most impressive account of Riot Dog’s fearlessness is a Youtube video1, dated March 11, 2010, where he is seen charging and taunting the police after they have shot off what appears to be tear gas. He is also seen mocking police along with the protesting Firefighters on March 26th 2009.2 A personal favourite shows him smugly snoozing on a downed line of police tape. The furry freedom fighter is all the more interesting because his true identity is unknown. Some sources claim he is the spitting image of another dog, the original Kanellos, a fixture of Athens demonstra-
tions who died in action in 2008, some say that the dog in question is actually called Loukanikos. Media reports have emphasized that there is no way of knowing for sure if Riot Dog is one or many. Anarchist sources claim that he is a well known tramp on the streets of Athens, a local favourite welcome in all of the many squats and radical community spaces thriving there. Regardless of whether he is Kanellos or Loukanikos, one stray or two; the world needs Riot Dog. He is a hero for a people who have lost faith in humanity. Riot Dog is the embodiment of joyous autonomy; a beast with no master, willing to brave tear gas and batons, wagging his tail as he charges the riot squad.
The Vatican’s Dark Crows Come Home to Roost
by Kevin D. Annett
Whoever would harm one of these little ones, it would be better if a millstone was tied around his neck and he was cast into the sea. - Jesus Christ, quoted in Luke
T
here’s a joke circulating in Rome these days, that Pope Benedict is considering having his title changed to “Innocent” in anticipation of his upcoming trial for aiding and abetting child rapists in the Catholic church. It’s no joke, really. When I and a handful of people tried to hold a memorial service for children who died in Catholic Indian schools outside the Vatican this past Easter, we were swarmed by fifteen state police and halted from our witness. The church, and its accomplices in government, know very well that they are on the verge of facing criminal charges that could bring down the church. That’s the optimistic scenario. What’s more likely, according to Vatican sources, is that the church will swing a deal and have the Pope retire for “health reasons” and take the fall for what the international media are calling the worst scandal to hit the Vatican since its diplomatic concordat with Adolf Hitler in 1933. The Pope, Joseph Ratzinger, is not a popular guy, even in Catholic circles. A German, former Hitler Youth member, and arch reactionary who led the church’s Inquisition against liberals in Catholic ranks for decades, Ratzinger was fondly known as “Joe the Rat”
among his fellow Cardinals. But he has a lot of power, and authored the policy, still in place, that compels clergy to suppress evidence when children are raped by priests: a criminal act which has lawyers for rape victims smacking their lips. “The man should be on trial” stated one American jurist last month. “The Pope not only ordered priests to silence rape victims, but he moved rapists around within the church, and he protected them. That much we know. Doing that in one country is one thing, but Ratinzinger ordered it done in other countries, which is known as international obstruction of justice. That’s a crime against humanity under international law.” The image of Interpol or local police arresting the Pope when he touches down in other countries is more than compelling, but Vatican lawyers insist that as a “head of state”, Ratzinger has diplomatic immunity from any kind of prosecution. The Vatican, it seems, has never heard of the Nuremburg Trials. “That’s not going to stop me from arresting him” declared Paddy Doyle to me last month, at a protest outside the Irish Parliament in Dublin. Doyle is a survivor of church torture who has become an international spokesman for victims. “I’m going to be there in the front row when the Pope does his mass in London this September. I’ll drive my wheelchair right
“When I and a handful of people tried to hold a memorial service for children who died in Catholic Indian schools outside the Vatican this past Easter, we were swarmed by fifteen state police and halted from our witness.” -Kevin Annett
into him and arrest him, and let them try to stop me!” declared Doyle to TV cameras and cheering supporters, prior to his meeting with Irish government officials and demanding legal sanctions against the Catholic church. People like Paddy Doyle are stepping forward in greater numbers these days, for their time has clearly come. I had the honor of meeting many of them in my recent tour to Europe, where I began to rally them into an international campaign to bring charges against the Roman catholic church in international courts. The murder and torture of generations of children in church run facilities happened across the world, according to the same type of church-government collusion that characterized Indian residential schools here in Canada. Indeed, in 2004, the Canadian government actually sent officials to Ireland to give politicians there advice about how to contain and co-opt the growing movement of church victims in Ireland. “You Canadians are very good at excusing yourselves for your mass murder of Indians. Clearly our government has a lot to learn from you, and as a result, it’s been very successful at avoiding prosecution for how it helped the church kidnap and exploit little children” described Mary McKinney, a human rights activist, to me during my sojourn in Dublin. For generations, Catholic orphanages in Ireland, England and other nations ran sweat shops where children as young as four worked as slave labor producing rosary beads and other religious artifacts: just like in Canadian Indian residential schools. And the death rate in these facilities was remarkably constant, hovering between one third and one half of all the little inmates. “The church must pay back what they stole from these children and their forced labor. They must point out where the dead are buried, too” declared Sean Hennessey, an Irish lawyer for victims, last year. “What the church made off these children exceeds a billion dollars, just in our country alone. We demand real reparations, and jail terms for the church officers, not merely token gestures.” How to make the Vatican accountable under the law is another matter. As in Canada, the church has so far evaded any criminal charges for the death and torture of
children under its care. And yet this issue will not go away, any more than a government and church-appointed “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” (TRC) in Canada will shove under the rug a century of crimes in Indian residential schools. For the scale of the crime is enormous. According to Ojibway Chief Louis Daniels in Winnipeg, who will be protesting outside the first official TRC forum in that city on June 15, the time for lies is over. “I was tortured in a United Church residential school and saw my friends murdered there, and now I’m supposed to not name the names of their murderers in front of the TRC. And I can’t sue the church, or bring charges against it. It all proves that we’ll never get justice in the white man’s system. We need the UN or someone to come in here and charge Canada with genocide. Just like what happened in other countries.” Chief Daniels will be part of a delegation of native elders who will travel with me back to Europe in September to link with other survivors of church crimes in Ireland, England, Germany and Italy. And he’ll stand outside the Vatican with me to help exorcise a spirit of lies and murder from the oldest institution in history. Says Chief Daniels, “The church is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. But we’re all waking up to that now. Their time is over.” .................................................................. Kevin Annett is a community minister in the downtown eastside of Vancouver, and a founder of The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared. For more information see the website www.hiddenfromhistory.org Read and Hear the truth of Genocide in Canada, past and present, at this website: www.hiddenfromhistory.org , and watch Kevin’s award-winning documentary film UNREPENTANT on the same website.
8
Vancouver
may/june 2010
Water War Crimes (
Part 3
From Premier Bennett to Premier Campbell by John carten and Karen Gibbs In Part One of the Water War Crimes – The Traitors Within - we explained to you the behind the scenes manipulation in Ottawa and Victoria which intended to confer a bulk water export monopoly on a company known as W.C.W. Western Canada Water Enterprises Ltd that was linked to a group of high level insiders connected to the governments of Canada and British Columbia. In Part Two of the Water War Crimes – 9 Dead Judges Don’t Lie – we explained how the strategy of the Governments both in Ottawa and Victoria evolved into a personal attack on the lawyer representing Sun Belt Water Inc and the woman who was assisting him, how they turned the tables on their adversaries, how several of those adversaries fled their high positions and how eleven of those adversaries suddenly started dropping dead - some in circumstances that suggest murder or suicide. In this, Part Three of the Water War Crimes, - Premier Bennett to Premier Campbell – we will provide you with an insight into British Columbia politics that has never been revealed before and reveal to you what is going on right now and what the future holds. Firstly, the reader should remember that the issues go back to the late 1960’s when the North American Water and Power Alliance, the NAWAPA, was first conceived and laid out by Parson’s Engineering of Los Angeles, California. Essentially, the NAWPA was a Columbia River Basin Management Scheme on a grander scale. The project was do-able and the benefits to both Canada and the United States were immense. The only major hurdle was political – the project required the co-operation of the government of several states, one Canadian province, and both national governments. At the Federal level, five Canadian Prime Ministers, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell, Jean Chretien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper have played a public role in the saga of the WaterWarCrimes. If the reader wishes to review the roles of these Prime Ministers they should visit our web site The Water War Crimes http://www.waterwarcrimes.com. In this is article, we are going to describe the role of the provincial premiers and their cronies. The Water War Crimes span the regimes of seven British Columbia Premiers, Bill Bennett, Bill Vander Zalm, Rita Johnson, Michael Harcourt, Glen Clark, Dan Miller, Ujjal Dosanjh and Gordon Campbell. Premier Bill Bennett It can be fairly argued that the Water War Crimes began under the tenure of Premier Bill Bennett’s from 1975 to 1986. Under the leadership of Premier Bill Bennett, the government of British Columbia entered the field of regulating the export of fresh water by developing a scheme of regulatory charges on water licenses issued for export purposes. The scheme was arguably unconstitutional because export policy is reserved to Canada’s federal government under the Constitution Act 1867. The regulatory scheme had the practical and, probably, intended affect of diminishing competition for and tending to create a monopoly position in favour W.C.W.Western Canada Water Enterprises Ltd. a company with close links to the Social Credit Party. Further, on March 21, 1986, the British Columbia crown corporation, Ocean Falls Corporation, entered a water export contract with W.C.W. granting rights of access to water for export from Link Lakes near Ocean Falls. The contract was contrary to the regulatory scheme under the Water Act and was not made available to anyone else. Ocean Falls Corporation was immediately dissolved on March 31, 1986, by an Order in Council approved by Mr. Bennett’s cabinet. These events suggest that Mr. Bennett’s government was embarked on a course of conduct that favoured W.C.W. as early as March 1986. Coincidental in time with this transaction, shares
in W.C.W. were acquired by a company out of Switzerland whose ownership the RCMP refused to investigate. However, it sure looks like someone received a benefit. Shortly after the original favours for W.C.W. were put in place, Premier Bennett retired from politics. Premier Bill Vander Zalm If the Water War Crimes started under Premier Bill Bennett, they were taken to a higher level of duplicity by Premier Bill Vander Zalm who became Premier of British Columbia in1986. On September 25, 1989, the Government of British Columbia, again, acting illegally and operating outside the authority of the Water Act, signed a new and hugely more beneficial agreement with W.C.W. Western Canada Water Enterprises Ltd. Four days later, the Canadian law firms of Clark Wilson, McMillan Binch and McCarthy Tetrault closed a financial transaction that saw $4.2 million dollars invested in W.C.W. in exchange for 4 million shares. Approximately, one half, or 50 %, of those shares went to offshore accounts that the RCMP also refused to investigate. Although W.C.W. was a public company, the material terms of the contract were a closely guarded secret and never disclosed to the market. This was insider trading at its finest, facilitated by the Government of British Columbia under the leadership Premier Bill Vander Zalm and three of Canada’s top law firms. In addition, eighteen months later, on March 15, 1991, four days after Sun Belt Water Inc. were selected by the Goleta Water District to supply fresh water from
British Columbia [because the price was $50 million less over seven years], Premier Vander Zalm and his Minister of the Environment, Cliff Serwa, destroyed all competition to W.C.W., by a Cabinet Order that gave it an exclusive bulk water export monopoly through the creation of an illegal moratorium on the issuance of new permits to acquire water for export purposes. The Order was ratified by David Lam, the Lieutenant Governor, the Queen’s Representative, on March 18, 1991. With the secret contract and the moratorium by Order In Council, Premier Bill Vander Zalm, his cabinet and the Queen’s representative, violated the Water Act, the Canada US Free Trade Agreement, the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs and enacted measures that were intended to restrict or lessen competition and have the practical effect of creating a monopoly, in the USA, all of which amounted to contravention of American legislation aimed monopolistic trade practices. A few weeks later, Premier Vander Zalm
resigned as premier when a provincial conflict of interest report found he had mixed private business with his public office in the sale of the gardens. He was charged with criminal breach of trust, but found not guilty in B.C. Supreme Court in 1992.
Prince Of Pot, can be extradited for the cross border crime of conspiring in Canada, to sell and distribute marijuana seeds in the United States, then all members of Premier Bennett’s and Premier Vander Zalm’s cabinets and various insiders at the Ministries involved in British Columbia could, in theory, be indicted for conspiring with another The Sherman Anti Trust Law person to monopolize “trade or commerce with a and the Cover Up: foreign nation”, i.e. Canada.. If the members of the cabinets of Premier So, now you understand why successive govBennett and Premier Vander Zalm knew that they ernments have covered it up. were embarked on a scheme to benefit insiders by creating a monopoly situation in the American Premier Rita Johnson market, then they were, very probably, collecRita Margaret Johnston became Canada’s tively guilty of engaging in a conspiracy to com- first woman premier of any Canadian province mit a criminal act in the United States, regardless in 1991 when she succeeded Premier Bill Vander of the violation of any provisions of the Canada Zalm who was forced from office by scandal. US Free Trade Agreement, the GATT or British Although her term in office was brief, under Columbia’s Water Act. her leadership the Government of British ColumThe American law governing anti-competi- bia continued the illegal restrictions on fresh wative practices is known as the Sherman Antitrust ter exports and the violations of the Canada US Act. It was passed in 1890 and continues to be Free Trade Free Trade Agreement and the GATT, the law in the United States today. Sections one perpetuated the effective monopoly created by the and two set out the general offences. previous regimes again in an apparent violation of Section 1: the Sherman Anti Trust legislation. The Govern“Every contract, combination in the form ment of British Columbia continued the disguise of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint that the moratorium on bulk water exports was an of trade or commerce among the several States, environmental measure when, in fact, it was part or with foreign nations, is declared to be ille- of a business strategy. gal.”[14] Premier Johnson’s government was defeated Section 2: in the 1991 general election and she retired from “Every person who shall monopolize, or political life. attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize Premier Michael Harcourt any part of the trade or commerce among the sevPremier Michael Harcourt came to office in eral States, or with foreign 1991 and, under his leadership, the Water War nations, shall be Crimes entered a new, more sinister phase. Firstdeemed guilty ly, the violations of the Water Act, the Canada US of a felo- Free Trade Agreement and the GATT, were conny [. tinued by a series of unlawful Orders In Council . . that continued the moratorium on the export of fresh water. Secondly, Premier Harcourt’s government developed a strategy of concealment of evidence and fraud on the court in response to the lawsuit launched in the British Columbia courts by Sun Belt Water Inc. This strategy was also a violation of the “fair and equitable treatment” provisions of the NAFTA. Thirdly, Premier Harcourt’s government developed the strategy of defeating the Sun Belt Water Inc. lawsuit in the courts by a personal attack against its Canadian lawyer, Mr. Carten, who practiced law in Comox, on Vancouver Island. The reader is referred to the Water War Crimes web site http://www. waterwarcrimes.com for more details on this strategy. Premier Michael Harcourt resigned as premier in February 1996, as the result of the Bingogate Scandal in which an NDP politician stole ]”[15] money from a charitable organization to use for T h e political purposes. great fictional Mr. Harcourt was never charged but the polidetective, Sherlock tician, David Stupich, entered a plea of guilty and Holmes, once observed that was sentenced to 18 months of house arrest by a “the difference between a professional criminal politically appointed judge of British Columbia’s and an amateur criminal is that the professional Provincial Court who was specially selected by puts on his disguise before he commits the crime, the Attorney General for that hearing. The total the amateur afterwards”.Following this princi- sum looted was estimated to be $1 million and ple, one can fairly conclude that Premier Vander was never returned. The case was generally reZalm and his cabinet were amateurs because the garded as fixed. Mr. Stupich was granted a light disguise, i.e. the nonsensical position that the sentence in exchange for his agreeing to maintain moratorium on the export of bulk water was im- his silence about other political corruption he was posed for environmental reasons, was a disguise aware of. adopted after the crime had been committed. Premier Glen Clark Of course, everyone is considered innocent Under the leadership of Premier Glen Clark, until proven guilty and we aren’t saying, for sure, the Government of British Columbia continued that Bill Vander Zalm and his cabinet committed the cover up of the Water War Crimes, continued a crime but, it sure looks that way. In addition, if the illegal restrictions on fresh water exports, conone fairly examined the record of favours, direct tinued the violations of the Free Trade Agreement, and indirect, conferred by Premier Bill Bennett the NAFTA and the GATT, continued the strategy and his cabinet on W.C.W. it would not be unrea- of concealment of evidence and fraud on the court sonable to conclude they were embarked on ex- in the Sun Belt Water Inc. lawsuit. actly the kind of scheme the Sherman Anti Trust But all of this was not enough to stop the Sun Act was designed to prevent in the United States. Belt case from moving forward. In legal theory, if Mark Emery, the so-called However, Premier Clark had played football
may/june 2010 in his high school days. There is an old saying in football. The best defense is a good offence. So, Premier Clark adopting that football saying as his motto and went on the offensive. Firstly, his government increased the scale of the corruption in the courts to include perjury. Secondly, his government increased the intensity of the personal attack on Sun Belt Water’s legal counsel. Mr. Carten was thrown in jail for 40 days at a trial where he was prohibited from calling witnesses, his assets were looted by a crooked court decisions, his law practice was destroyed and the Attorney General attempted, but failed, to have him disbarred. At the same time, the Government of British Columbia launched a despicable attack on Ms Gibbs, an innocent mother of five children, who was seen to be assisting Mr. Carten. Her assets were looted and her law case was transferred to the Alberta courts so she would be financially drained to fight it long distance or be forced to leave the province. On the public stage, Premier Clark adopted the rhetoric of anti-Americanism. He openly applauded the illegal, potentially explosive, three day blockade of an Alaskan Ferry in Prince Rupert, a port on the north coast of British Columbia that nearly saw American warships sent to break the blockade and rescue the 300 or more, mostly Americans, who had been detained by what can be fairly regarded as an act of piracy. In an equally dangerous act of political brinkmanship, never before seen in Canada, Mr. Clark, unilaterally, canceled the lease at the underwater submarine torpedo resting range near Nanoose, on Vancouver Island, in order to deny the US Navy the use of the facility under a long term agreement with Canada’s armed forces. Escalating his war with America, Premier Clark sought to increase the bargaining position of the insiders he worked for by introducing formal legislation that prohibited the export of fresh water in containers larger than a five gallon bucket. The legislation violated, both the GATT and the NAFTA, and was illegal under Canada’s constitution which reserves to the Federal Government matters of trade policy - such as the size of the containers in which trade will take place. Mr. Clark was now on the radar screen of Uncle Sam in a big way. He was an embarrassment in Ottawa and he needed to be removed for reasons that went far beyond the issue of water exports. In a complex set of circumstances that involved alleged agents of the Liberal Party of Canada, then under the leadership of Prime Minister Jean Chretien, the Liberal Party of British Columbia, then under the leadership of Gordon Campbell, and the co-operation of Mr. Clark’s Attorney General, Ujjal Dosanjh, Premier Clark was removed from office. The ostensible basis for the coup d’ etat against Premier Clark was his allegedly having received a benefit in exchange for the granting of a casino license. Criminal charges were brought against Mr. Clark and the public was distracted by a “show trial” that is regarded by astute observers as fixed by insiders with the Ministry of the Attorney General and the local judiciary. Mr. Clark was in a position to bargain because he had knowledge of some of the players in the Water War Crimes who attempted to profit from a government created bulk water export monopoly and he exchanged his silence for an acquittal. Mr. Clark was found not guilty but was scolded by the trial judge for bad judgment to show that the “show trial” was justified. Mr. Clark retired from politics and took up employment with British Columbia billionaire, Jim Pattison, who plays trumpet in his local church and donates to worthy causes including, presumably, the rehabilitation of Premier Glen Clark. Premier Dan Miller Dan Miller became Premier to permit the convention to proceed where Ujjal Dosanjh could undergo the legitimizing process of a party convention prior to officially taking over as Premier. He was a minor player in the Water War Crimes due to his position in Glen Clark’s cabinet and his brief tenure as Premier. He did nothing in particular to aggravate what had already been done but he did nothing to solve the problems created. Premier Ujjal Dosanjh Mr. Dosanjh began his role in the Water War Crime as Attorney General of British Columbia, a post he was first appointed to by Michael Harcourt in August 1995 and a post he continued to hold when Glen Clark took over as Premier. As Attorney General, Mr. Dosanjh, was a senior officer in the chain of command responsible for the policies of fraud, concealment of evidence,
fraud on the court, in the Sun Belt Water Inc. lawsuit and the “switch and bait tactics” employed against Sun Belt water Inc. by first, luring the company into false negotiations for settlement, then canceling those negotiations when it realized Sun Belt Water Inc. did not have the resources to litigate. Under Mr. Dosanjh’s tenure as Attorney General, several court cases were manipulated against Mr. Carten and Ms. Gibbs. Mr. Dosanjh was installed as Premier at a political convention that was packed by supporters of the Liberal Parties of Canada and of British Columbia. He was Premier from February 2000 to June 2001. Mr. Dosanjh left provincial politics after his party was suffered a humiliating defeat in the general election in May 2001 but was resurrected, at the Federal level in 2004, when he was recruited by then Prime Minister Paul Martin, along with the former Deputy Minister to Premier Bill Vander Zalm, David Emerson. As Deputy Minister, Mr. Emerson would have been fully conversant with most of the internal government manipulations related to bulk water exports. Along with former Deputy Attorney General, Stephen Owen, Mr. Martin had three key water export insiders from British Columbia on his team. The clear implication was that Prime Minister Paul Martin was preparing to do go into the water export business. Premier Gordon Campbell Gordon Campbell linkages to the Water War Crimes run deep. Some of Mr. Campbell’s closest supporters, Patrick Kinsella, Paul Fraser, Lyall Knott, and Peter Brown are closely linked to W.C.W. Patrick Kinsella the unregistered lobbyist that achieved recent prominence in the Basi Virk prosecution has been a key adviser to Gordon Campbell. According to documents found in the files of W.C.W., in 1990-91, Mr. Kinsella’s company, the Progressive Group, advised Western Canada Water to engineer a water export monopoly by creating a moratorium on the issuance of competitive bulk water export licenses. On its face, it was brilliant advice to a client. It screwed the
competitors and put W.C.W. in a monopoly position in the US market. Unfortunately, a conspiracy in Canada to violate the laws of the United States is an extraditable offence – ask Mark Emery. Another Campbell supporter, Lyall Knott, a lawyer with the Vancouver law firm of Clark Wilson was legal counsel for W.C.W. when it negotiated its illegal bulk water export contract with the government of British Columbia. We can’t say Lyall knew the contract was illegal but, if he was as smart a lawyer as he boasts he is, then he probably knew the contract was contrary to the Free Trade Agreement, the GATT, and the Water Act. Lyall Knott was recently appointed to the International Joint Commission which deals with water issues between Canada and the USA. Campbell supporter, Paul Fraser was also legal counsel at Clark Wilson when W.C.W., negotiated the illegal contract for bulk water exports. Co-incidentally, two of the lawyers with the Ministry of the Attorney General who negotiated that deal, Jack Ebbels and Colin McIvor, were subsequently hired by Paul Fraser. Lloyd Axworthy, who covered up the WaterWarCrimes, at the federal level was also hired by Paul Fraser’s law firm. When Margaret Annett, the former president of W.C.W. sued by Aquasource Ltd., she hired Paul Fraser to represent her. Paul Fraser was later appointed by Premier Campbell to be Conflict of Interest Commissioner and, most
recently, to be the Freedom of Information Commissioner. Peter Brown, nicknamed Peter Rabbit, is a big financial backer of Premier Gordon Campbell. Peter’s company, Canaccord Capital Ltd. was the brokerage firm that raised funds to finance W.C.W., the company that had an illegal contract for bulk water exports with the British Columbia Government and that engaged in insider trading in a big way. It is an open question as to whether or not Mr. Brown was a participant in the scheme to create a monopoly in violation of United States law or whether or not his firm was a party to the insider trading scheme. Premier Campbell was also advised by Mr. Stan Hagen who had been in the cabinet of Bill Vander Zalm when the Government of British Columbia conferred illegal favours on W.C.W. and, at that time, Mr. Hagen had advised a couple of investors in Snowcap Waters Ltd. that W.C.W. was likely to succeed because it was backed by “really big money”. About a year after Campbell was installed as Premier, the Vancouver Sun reported (Fri June 14, 2002) that “really big money” in the form of world class billionaire, David Rockerfeller, flew into Vancouver and had had meetings with Premier Gordon Campbell and Sustainable Resource Management Minister Stan Hagen. Mr. Rockerfeller may have been a disgruntled investor in W.C.W. through a New York depository institution linked to Mr. Rockerfeller, Cede and Company, that in March 1991, owned about 7 million shares in W.C.W. If Mr. Rockerfeller or a company linked to him had been an investor in W.C.W., then he probably did not expect to be cheated by a group of small time, incompetent crooks from British Columbia . Nor did he expect to embark upon a venture with assets that were essentially stolen, and therefore doomed to failure, and he may have come to British Columbia to recover his losses. Mr. Hagen dropped dead from a sudden heart attack shortly after a meeting with Premier Gordon Campbell, in January, 2009, and a few short months later, Chief Judge Hugh Stansfield also dropped dead. In a recent conversation, Mr. Colin Beach, president of Aquasource Ltd., advised that he was told by William Pearce a lawyer acting for the Government of British Columbia that the BC cabinet had directed him not to release certain documents to Aquasource Ltd. as part of the litigation process. In addition, Premier Campbell and his former Attorney General, Wally Oppal, refused to investigate allegations against Provincial Court Chief Judge Hugh Campbell Stansfield when he was clearly out of control and are presumed to have played a role in the nasty, underhanded, malicious prosecution of Mr. Carten because he was exposing more of the criminal mis-conduct by government offices and employees that was related behind the Water War Crimes.
Vancouver
9
Anybody with even rudimentary observation and analytical skills knows that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has not been courting Premier Campbell because he likes the guy. Governor Schwarzenegger represents a group of people, the population of California – 40 million or so, who desperately need more fresh water. British Columbia is part of the solution to that problem. However, Mr. Schwarzenegger had some help from President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper who collectively put the muscle on Premier Campbell and the criminal gang inside the Government of British Columbia. It is a reasonable speculation that the American and Canadian authorities agreed not to prosecute British Columbia politicians, civil servants and business people involved in the WaterWarCrimes in exchange for access to water from British Columbia. In recent months, the project to deliver fresh water to the United States has moved ahead rapidly. Under cover of the Olympics, Governors of Californian, Oregon and Washington State traveled to Vancouver to sign important bilateral agreements with British Columbia. The public spin was that these agreements were about energy and, in some ways that is true because vast amounts of clean energy will be generated from the vast amount of fresh water that will flow down hill through strategically placed power dams on its way to the American southwest. During the same period, Premier Campbell flew to Montana where he and the Governor signed the agreement to manage the Flathead Lake watershed that will be a transit area in the system that will deliver additional water to the American southwest and Mexico. Moving according to schedule, shortly after these agreements were signed, Premier Campbell announced that the plans to build the Site C Dam in the Peace River were being revisited and the provincial government put that project on the fast track. The Site C Reservoir is a key link in the North American Water and Power Alliance, NAWAPA, overall water distribution. As a further indication of the serious commitment to this project that only outside pressure could bring to bear, Premier Campbell co-incidentally announced that because Site C is a so-called clean energy project it will not be subject to the usual environmental assessment procedure but will be reviewed and approved by cabinet. Again, environmentalism is being used as a ruse to justify a course of political action. The water from this, to be created, man made lake behind the Site C Dam, together with the water in Williston Lake, another man-made lake, will be the two of the larger lakes in a series of lakes and new rivers stretching from Alaska and the Yukon to California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada Texas and Mexico delivering massive quantities of clean fresh water to Canada’s thirsty neighbours and generating huge amounts of clean renewable energy. What Is Premier Gordon Campbell Doing The future is unfolding. Now, and What Does the Future Hold? This was prepared for submission by John In our opinion, Premier Campbell got Carten and Karen Gibbs. For further background his marching orders from the American gov- or information visit: ernment last year after President Obama was Water War Crimes elected. President Obama’s science adviser is http://www.waterwarcrimes.com from California and he knows how desperate the situation is in California.
10
Vancouver
may/june 2010
Unless you’re rich or rioting, no-one cares what you think by
I
n the April/May Issue, The Agora printed an anonymous “Message to the Olympic Protestors”.
Dear Sid Ishon and concurrent olympic protestors.... Your all narcisistic douchebags, You spread hate and violence throughout the city, like an autistic kid playingwith fire, your minds are unable to grasp the reproccusions of your actions, nor will you learn from them. Your hypocritical rallies are a joke, you stand around all proud and prolific, provoking police timidly behind a wall of like-minded bitches whilst you scream sanctimonous sh*t about how much money the government has wasted on police for the olympics? What the f$ck?! Dont act like you give a sh*t to gain respect from your peers or for a chance to brush up against a cop, so you can go home and convince yourself and others that in a spontanious act of rebellion you may of actually hit a middle-aged badge-sporting HUMAN (who, in this pathetic paradox, isonly at your police protest cause you are) which has in turn raised ‘awareness’ and definately made a difference, and wasnt just an act of sordid repieve for your edified ego. When it comes to your disdainful, dissident, deluded plan as how to help the impoverished ones with nothing but your embarassingly pedestrian, prosiac picket signs and apathetic self-righteous sing-alongs... Grow the f*ck up, if you actually cared you would get out there, volunteer and actually make some personal sacrifice to help the less fortunate... not just take the moral highground on your few days off and then crawl back to your fatuous selfabsorbed lives of credulous obiesance to the man.. You fake f*cks! The majority of educated people within the world realise that the olympics will inevitably have a bad affect on any country that is holding it. Thank you! -Anonoymous Of course this elicited a response from Mr. Sid Ishon...
W
ists with too neighbourhood anarch y dl en fri ur yo of e on Sid Ishon is include smashing od health. His turns-on go n ow s hi r fo s ion ed for in many op icians who’ve been retir lit po ng hi nc pu ly om for the threat the state and rand ugh our streets. He lives ro th d rte co es un lk wa ll learn years and logic that humanity wi all st ain ag s pe ho d an of a good example s ... . The struggle continue before it destroys itself
hoo! My first hate-mail at the agora, masochist milestone! Let’s take a look ... Even though this is a stream of consciousness rant, I think it makes some important points about the pitfalls of empty ritual in protest culture. I have to acknowledge the idea of a subculture that revolves around protesting can damage the credibility of whatever cause is the issue of the day. The flipside of that coin is that there’s only so many folks who are willing and able to invest large portions of their lives in resistance politics. Eventually, you’ll start to recognize the same faces over and over again, and it’s arguably a subculture. Difficult to deny that, and from this, you get all these stereotypes that anonymous mentions, along with other clichés like “summit hopping” and “professional protestors”. (ie. People with the resources and free time to travel around and show solidarity with whomever.) The other important point is about how peaceful marches and witty protest signs do very little to affect change and help victims of gross injustice. Much like voting, it allows part of the population their cathartic little moment, to feel like they’re participating, and then go right back to business as usual. This is why I personally advocate more direct tactics, but it’s easy to forget that large marches are part of a dialogue that otherwise won’t get on to the television screens. Many of those people at the marches are out there every day, doing political work that doesn’t make the news. The distinction is the difference between symbolic and everyday resistance. One is consciously using the media to propagate ideas, the other is about harm reduction and building alternatives to the institutions as they stand today. Is there any substance to these stereotypes? Yes and no, but ultimately it’s just one more ideological weapon used by hostile media. The proof is in how easy it is to reverse the spin. Isn’t it admirable that someone would travel hundreds or thousands of miles to support a bunch of total strangers based on
ideals alone? Aren’t large peaceful marches that briefly highlight social issues better than the deafening silence? Isn’t doing SOMETHING always better than doing fuck-all jack-shit nothing?! Of course it is, as long as you don’t use a few days of symbolism to duck the responsibility of actually engaging in your community. Back to you anonymous, you nailed me, of course I’m a narcissistic douchebag. I’m a writer! Next you’re going to tell us water’s wet and the sky gets dark at night. But you’re wrong about many of the other folks who did olympic resistance work, they’re much too busy fighting every day for a better world to waste time arguing with the likes of you, so it falls to jerks like me. The serious organizers I know grasp the repercussions of their actions just fine, but you don’t really elaborate, hell if I know what your perception of cause and effect is, or what you think are the lessons to be gleaned. But you do seem dangerously naive about the dynamic between police and dissidents. A perfect example is this ridiculous idea that a hundred skinny anarchists had any effect whatsoever on the bloated security budgets. That money was spent long before we had any plans to confront the state in the streets, it’s big business and “integration” of the security industry. You’re reading it backwards, putting effect before cause. Also, our “acts of rebellion” were far from spontaneous, a core group of organizers worked for years to bring everything together. The police state will continue to dupe tax payers into writing blank cheques regardless of whether or not people give them a reason. A little riot allows them to splash footage of “hatred and violence” around to spook middleclass folks and try to justify where the money went; but you’re a sucker and a tool if you buy it. These decisions are made independent from the situation in the streets, and usually many years beforehand. You were robbed, and they’re laughing all the way to the bank. Pigs in fancy suits sleeping on top of piles of your money, the REAL olympic legacy.
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EAST VANITY PARLOUR NOSTALGIC. BADASS. new website launching may 2010
www.eastvanityparlour.com info@eastvanityparlour.com
As for cops being human ... got to be careful with this one out of respect for my editors ... In my humble opinion, sporting a badge or uniform automatically mortgages your humanity. While there are still sometimes humans inside those goofy-looking outfits, their humanity is at odds with everything they stand for, and tends to evaporate into alcoholism and latent hatred for their fellow man. If you’re currently a human wearing a uniform, you have my pity for as long as your humanity lasts. As opposed to my sympathy and empathy, which I reserve for victims of the state, your employer. Many times I’ve had police and military admit to me that they know their bosses are crooks. You’d have to be pretty fucking oblivious to think otherwise. It’s axiomatic. If you’re a uniform that acknowledges you’re just part of the largest gang on the planet, you have my grudging respect for your intellectual honesty if nothing else. You know who else hated uniforms? Einstein. Look it up, it’s true. Want to see a top-brass decorated uniform admit everything he stood for is bullshit? Read up on Smedley Butler. That fucker has military bases named after him. Check MATE. So anonymous, tell me where exactly is this majority of educated people who realize the Olympics were/are bullshit? Care to explain why they didn’t do anything about it? Are they too busy or just politically incompetent or what? Maybe they got confused when sending polite letters and petitions to their member of parliament didn’t accomplish anything? Maybe they should fuck off rather than criticize those of us who actually bothered to resist, doing their dirty work for them. Feb. 12th was the big peaceful march on the opening ceremonies, lots of parents pushing strollers and the like, and if I didn’t see them there (at least in spirit) then who the fuck cares what they think? Nobody. Not Vancouver, not VANOC and least of all, me. If quietly acquiescing to social ills is your idea of maturity, I want to be forever young. ... and oh yeah, I almost forgot, feel free to mail us a cheque for funds to make protest signs that meet your lofty standards of graphic design. I’m always banging the same drum when I talk about the Feb. 13th demo. If you’re chasing objective reality like me, if you want a clear picture and not just dogmatic sound bytes, then FORGET VIOLENCE vs NONVIOLENCE. It’s a dead-end street, a false duality that ignores crucial information and kills a healthy discourse. Not to mention it tries to discount the most significant force for change throughout human history. (a fool’s errand, safe to say) Violence will always exist, and if we can’t talk about it intelligently and honestly, it will just be that much more random and unchecked. “Grow the fuck up” is always good advice. Ask what violence, by who, and why. Then you can begin to chase the truth.
April/may2010 2010 may/june
Vancouver
11
Permaculture
Chapter 2
Concepts and Themes in Design As we understand from Chapter 1, permaculture is an ethical system of design that produces a stable and secure place for humans and all other living things. Chapter 2 is about the models we use as examples for design. What are the principles of these systems and what are our directives as designers? First things first. What is a working definition of SUSTAINABLE? Sustainable: Any system which produces and stores enough energy and resources to provided for its ongoing maintenance and reproduction. It is a simple as that. Sustainability is not about a bunch of feel-good gobbledygook. It is about energy and how it is stored and shared within a system. If a system requires a constant input of energy for its maintenance it is not sustainable. Energy is all things: heat, light, water, people, soil, trees, animals, wind, electricity, fuel, sound, cash... using this definition we can make a quick assessment of the sustainability of any system. It is important to note that in the development of sustainable systems, we must make a significant investment of energy. Particularly when dealing with degraded systems such as our cities, agricultural lands and clear-cut forestry. Permaculture is about the design and implementation of systems that produce more resources and energy over their lifetime than was originally expended in their implementation. Is our system of industrial production and distribution sustainable? This diagram illustrates the basic pattern of the industrial system. It is in constant need of resources and energy input, necessitated by the constant flow of energy out of the system. The waste stream is the most critical component of this system. Without loss from the system there is no need for the consumer to purchase new products. There are no bad guys in this system, it’s just the way it is. We all collectively choose it and we all have the power to collectively change it if we want to. Recall the permaculture ethic: earth care people care return of surplus We must change the pattern of our society, since the industrial system is fundamentally and systematically destroying every ecosystem on the planet. This pattern is only 10,000 years old. If you want to see the end result, take a trip to the Middle East. That region was not always the harsh, arid climate it is today, with its damaged and salted soils. We can choose to render every square millimeter of this planet into a barren wasteland. It will just take a lot of energy to do it. To borrow the words of Albert Einstein, we cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. While there are many great and beneficial things that have come out of the industrial pattern, it is not and never will be a pattern for sustainable society. The concept of the consumer is not part of a sustainable future. If we are going to turn the boat around we all must become producers rather than consumers: people producing the things we need, and returning surplus back to the earth and others. What do we have as an example of sustain-
by Jesse Lemieux
able? Ecosystems fit the definition of sustainable What is the basic pattern? Below a diagram outlining the basic pattern form of an ecosystem. It is by no means a perfect energy storage system--some energy is always lost. This system has energy input from the sun and climate. So long as the sun shines this system will continue to function. The important thing to note about this diagram is the connecting lines between different system elements. These lines represent an exchange of “service.” There is no free lunch--everything returns. More importantly, everything “gardens”, meaning that all species, ourselves included, have an impact. All species play a role in the evolution of the system. We all have a function. Ecosystems are not just about a diversity of things, but also about a diversity of interactions. We can put together an incredibly diverse set of species. However, if they do not function to support each other, the system will
by the yields of another. 2. Every critical function must be suported by multiple elements within the system. 3. Every element in the system must serve multiple needs in the system. It is that simple. If we all follow these most basic of design directives in even a fraction of how we spend our lifetimes we will have already been far more positive than what has been done. In fact we can do no worse that the industrial system. Our definition of sustainable made use of the term “resources.” From the perspective of designing patterns to details we must take look at the term “resources” and what it means for our design directives. Resources fall into 5 broad categories: 1. Those which increase with modest use (pastures, wood coppice systems) 2. Those unaffected by use (the wind, a view, water used to turn a water wheel) 3. Those that degrade if not used (an annual vegetable crop, information) 4. Those that are reduced by use (fossil fuels, deep aquifers) 5. Those that degrade other resources if used (nuclear power, herbicide, insecticides, artificial fertilizers, weapons) Design Directives for Ethical Real World Design The majority of resources used must come from categories 1, 2 and 3. Use category 4 resources modestly in the development of categories 1, 2 and 3. Avoid category 5 resources at all costs. At any give point in time, our design implementation options are limited by our current resource set. We cannot spend money we don’t have and we cannot eat food we have not grown. When making decision about how to invest our resources (time, money, energy, materials etc.) we must have a very clear path forward. Below is a set of directives that has never let me down. Of course in the world of credit and global distribution networks we can spend money we do not have and eat food we have not grown. That is why permaculture starts with the ethic. A conscious choice to divest ourselves from a destructive system and investing ourselves into the design of productive systems.
rapidly simplify. Survival is not about competition and brutal struggle to the top of an imaginary food chain. The species that place themselves in most service to the whole are the ones that survive. At this moment in time, human beings are choosing to place themselves in the least service to the planetary biosphere. Unless we make the personal choice to change, we will compete our species into extinction. Our species is one of choice and we are masters of assembly. We are not destined to be net negative on the planet. Given this basic Directives for order of Investment and all-important understanding of systems First, invest in elements that produce enevolution and function, we can choose to as- ergy and resources semble endlessly productive and absolutely Second, invest in elements that save on abundant human habitat. energy and resources Third, invest in elements that consume How do we design systems energy and resources that are sustainable? Following the ecosystem model we have To sum it all up, permaculture is really all the information we need to design and im- about our first step. If our first move is towards plement sustainable human habitat. the benefit of living systems, which we are Permaculture best practice: all a part of, all subsequent steps will follow Design patterns to details. So when look- along the same path. With clients it is often ing at the function of sustainable systems we the case that they need help knowing where to must use the same approach. All we need is to start. Here’s 10 acres... what do we do with it? understand the basic principles of sustainable As a desystems. signer my job Basic Principles of Natural systems: is to give the -everything is connected to everything project sustainelse able direction--a -every function is supported by many starting point elements for evolution as -every element serves many functions the user’s needs, Simple yet profound. Are these princi- experience and ples useful? No. Principles are not very useful skill set changes things, as they are nothing more than passive through time. observation. Being people of action, permacWater is the ulture designers need directives. We must turn foundation for these principles into directives. all life on the planet. KnowPermaculture Design Directives for ing that fact, as real world design permaculture 1. The needs of one element must be met designers we
can follow a very simple set of design priorities. Directive of Real World Design Priority water access structures At the very least follow this progression and you will not go wrong. It does not matter the scale location or climate. Always think “water, access, structures”. Water and where it is coming from and where it is going are the most important energy consideration of any design. As much as 40% of all the energy consumed by cities is used to move water around. A practical example: A home garden design in Surrey BC. In fact it is the first design I ever implemented on Canadian soil. A garden pathway trench dead level end to end. Multi functional, this pathway is both access and water harvesting in one element. During a rain event water from the roof is discharged distributes into the pathways and spreads evenly along the length of the garden. Because of this design the garden is evenly fertile and moist from end to end. Material from the pathway trench was used to increase the soil depth of the planting bed. The pathway was back filled with bark mulch. Drain rock would have been preferable, but was too expensive for the client. (In hindsight I should have pushed harder for drain rock as the pathway would have also functioned as drainage during periods of excessive water. Live and learn, that’s what permaculture is all about. There is no punishment for mistakes only opportunities for learning.) We invested in some legume cover crop seeds and seeded out at twenty times the recommended rate. The first yield of this system is lots of living nitrogen rich mulch. This was never turned in just chopped and and mulched around the crop plants inside. What we have replicated with this strategy is the weed pattern in natural systems. After any soil disturbance there is a flush of rapidly growing soil repairing plants. Weeds seed out in the tens of thousands and so should we. By the end of the summer, four months after the initial dig, my client had a garden full of veggies and didn’t spend a day weeding. I have yet to meet a person who likes weeding, so why do we design gardens that need weeding? Weeds are working to feed the soil, repairing it after our damage. When we pull weeds we damage the soil over and over and over again rapidly reducing the available nutrients in the system. If we follow the patterns of nature we feed soils back into health and evolve self managing and endlessly productive systems. Next time you see a weed in your garden, pause before you pull it. Stop for a moment or two, try to identify it. Ask your self what is the repairing function of this plant? Can I replicate that function with a food plant? What can I learn from this plant? Be sure to check in next month when we cover Chapter 3 “Methods of Design.” Happy Gardening.
12
Vancouver
may/june 2010
Mendacity and Bloodshed at the University of Victoria as Thousands of Abandonded Pet Rabbits are Slaughtered on Campus by Roslyn Cassells
O
nce again, the University of Victoria has come to international attention…not for its academic performance…but for its ruthless attacks on the vulnerable. The latest example is their decision to kill the large population of abandoned pet rabbits on campus. Like a mutant Wizard of Oz character, missing both a heart and a brain, the university is unwilling to embrace non-lethal solutions put forward by the community…instead preferring to shoot the friendly creatures. But, like the disabled student the university tried to evict from student housing even though he was still actively studying, and the homeless man students called “the Professor” who for years recycled university garbage in the absence of an effective ecological institutional waste management program, the rabbits have found their place in the hearts of UVic students, staff, and faculty. The treatment of students, staff, and the public who are opposed to the killing by campus administration has made many realize that this is a political issue, and an extreme case of abuse of authority, not just an animal welfare and ecological concern. In addition to subtle and not-so-subtle verbal warnings, a heavyhanded and repressive administration has handed out threatening letters to those on campus (and off) stating their intention to stifle dissent over the rabbit killing through academic and non-academic sanctions, non-renewal of employment contracts, and legal action. After the recent midnight bulldozing of the community garden ordered by the administration, there are many who have questioned their ethics and actions. Despite statements that the university is committed to environmental leadership and community consultation, their actions have spoken volumes about their true intent, and the mendacious nature of the current administration. A leaked report from UVic’s Finance and Operations department illustrates the strategy used to manufacture public consent for the killing. “Trapping may, however, be a necessary precursor to a shooting program in order to improve the defensibility of shooting…” wrote the exterminator hired by U Vic in his 2008 report. This opening excerpt speaks to the university’s desire to maintain the appearance of doing their due diligence on the rabbit issue, without any genuine interest in or intention of diverting from their planned course of killing the rabbits. The university continually refers to its “attempts” or others’ “failed” attempts at resolving the problem using non-lethal means…and holds this up as their justification for a kill. In fact the university has not done it’s due diligence and there are a number of obvious examples of this. To make matters worst, university officials have repeatedly and knowingly disseminated misinformation about the rabbits for years, with the express purpose of manufacturing the public’s consent for a mass kill. Ignoring, undermining, and misrepresenting various initiatives put forward over the years by the community, UVic maintains a stance of wilful ignorance with respect to fea-
sible non-lethal alternatives. The deliberate sabotage of the university funded Feral Rabbit Pilot Project is a case in point. While the university presents this as a “failed attempt,” those involved directly in the project said they were making good headway when the university cancelled the project part way through. Excluding the contractor Common Ground from negotiations with the Ministry of Environment, the university ensured the project lacked the necessary permits required under provincial law, despite the Ministry’s willingness to issue same. Other purposefully inaccurate comments the university repeats about the program include the cost per rabbit as being over $300, when in fact much of the work was done for free by concerned veterinarians. In fact, Victoria veterinarian Nick Shaw, who owns a string of veterinary clinics, has repeatedly offered the university his services to neuter all the campus rabbits free of charge. One wonders why the university went first to an exterminator (LGL Environmental Consulting Ltd.) and an animal experimenter (Michele Martin of the BC Cancer Agency) instead of their own biology department for answers to their questions. If their true intent was to foster community and ecology, why does the university not consult with their own academics, students, and staff…as well as the community at large? UVic has been approached repeatedly over the years by rabbit rescue groups, willing to sterilize and rehome the animals free of charge. Had the university accepted any of these offers when they were made, the population of rabbits would never have increased to its current number. This would have provided the university with an opportunity to partner with the community in leadership in ecological matters, instead of becoming an international pariah due to their cruelty and ignorance. In an attempt to starve the rabbits to death while pretending to “do something“ about the rabbit population, the university posted signs on campus telling people not to feed the hungry animals. Students and staff have names for “their rabbits” and the rabbits they feed have come to depend on their daily meal to survive. Those trying to help the rabbits are living in a state of cognitive dissonance. On one hand they can see and feel the need of these vulnerable creatures who they walk by every day. On the other hand they have been told by their employer or university to ignore their obvious needs, with the rabbits hopping after them expectantly. This has caused a toxic work and study environment at UVic, a serious workplace stress issue ignored by workplace health and safety officials on campus. The university has also been poisoning baby rabbits and other animals, using a highly toxic anti-coagulant called bromadiolone. This compound, which is ten times stronger than warfarin, is being used around buildings and in wooded areas accessible to wildlife. This is a violation of federal and provincial laws and regulations, and a good example of UVic’s disregard for the ecology. The poison, which remains in the system for around 28 days, is passed on to predators (such as crows, hawks, owls, coyotes, fox, cats and dogs) who eat the effected prey species (such as baby rabbits, red squirrels, black squirrels, field The university has also been poisoning baby rabbits and other ani- mice and birds) mals, using a highly toxic anti-coagulant called bromadiolone. This who have died compound...is being used around buildings and in wooded areas acces- from the poison, sible to wildlife. This is a violation of federal and provincial laws and or are weakregulations, and a good example of UVic’s disregard for the ecology. ened from inter-
nal bleeding and slow to escape the predators. Bromadiolone poisoning causes much pain and suffering, and the university should be held accountable for its widespread use of this dangerous compound. Federal and provincial environment officials, and the BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (the body that enforces the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act) must enforce their respective laws, acts, and regulations in this clear-cut case of deliberate and dangerous misuse of a dangerous substance causing suffering and death to protected, red-listed, and endangered wildlife as well as non-target species that fall under the jurisdiction of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The shooting, trapping, and poisoning of female rabbits has the additional consequence of the slow and agonizing deaths of their nursing babies, whose painful and lingering deaths occur deep in their burrows away from public scrutiny. Grounds crew have been told to fill in the burrows with earth. This will smother the inhabitants and prevent remaining babies from appearing above ground, their suffering visible to all. Other municipalities have instituted nonlethal sterilization programs in combination with bylaws to prohibit the sale of fertile rabbits in pet stores. In Trap, Neuter, Release plans, the rabbits are adopted, relocated, or released following their surgery. In places where there are colonies of released sterilized animals, the population gradually reduces through attrition, and maintains an overall improved health profile. Now the standard in the civilized world, TNR has been dismissed and ignored by campus administration. This, despite the success of similar programs elsewhere, most recently at Long Beach College in California. There, an on-campus clinic and adoption site has been established, and vets and volunteers donate their time. Calgary, Vernon, and Kelowna have instituted humane non-lethal rabbit control programs which have been well-received in their local communities. Kelowna, in fact, initially took a regressive approach, hiring a contractor to kill the abandoned pet rabbits in their community. For a period of two years, rabbits were cruelly exterminated in the city. Neighbours fought neighbours, debates became disturbances, protests grew and grew, property was vandalized, tourists noticed and took the story home with them, and the city became the butt of editorial cartoons far and wide. When a Youtube video of one of the exterminators stomping a rabbit to death went viral, Kelowna city council was forced to back down and stop the bloodbath. Roxanne Woldenga, a humane rabbit control contractor from Kelowna commented in April: “Victoria is about to go through an ugly, heartbreaking chapter in its history for no better reasons than the ego and ignorance of those who have been placed in positions of responsibility for the lives and deaths of UVic’s… rabbits.” Wodenga advises a communitybased approach is necessary for the rabbits to be saved, commenting “In the end, Kelowna adopted a humane solution of live capture, sex separation, foster programs for appropriate animals and sanctuaries for those remaining. Food, care and bedding are provided by a combination of public and private funds and volunteer labour. Of the original fifteen hun-
“Dave Turpin, Why do you hate me?” -Anonymous UVic Rabbit dred feral rabbits condemned to die, more than one thousand were saved.” A petition of over 1500 signatures was presented to the university in April and a number of others are currently doing the rounds. A plethora of media reports, face book pages and websites abound with information on this issue, and people from all sectors of society are expressing their concerns and getting involved. Internationally, a boycott of the University of Victoria is being organized, and other universities and animal welfare groups are contacting U Vic to express their opposition to their killing plan. On an individual basis, many alumni have expressed their horror and anger at their alma mater’s regressive stance. Current and prospective students have stated their decision to withdraw their registration, and elementary and high school students are getting involved in the issue as well. Tourism is being effected as the word spreads internationally, and UVic and the city of Victoria have become the butt of editorial cartoons and the subject of satire. The rabbits are paying with their lives for the cruelty, ignorance, and morally bankrupt behaviour of those at the highest levels of the University of Victoria. President Dave Turpin (pres@uvic.ca), Chancellor Murray Farmer, Chair Board of Governors Ray Protti (both at usec3@uvic.ca), and Vice President Finance and Operations Gayle Gorrill (vpfo@uvic.ca). These are the individuals who are responsible for this horror. Ray Protti, prior to his installation at U Vic, was the Director of CSIS in Ottawa, and the CEO of the Canadian Bankers Association. As individuals, as administrators, their legacy will be one of violence and cruelty...their losses will be personal, professional, academic, and economic. The blood of these gentle animals is on their hands, and the reputation of the University of Victoria will be tarnished forever. Barry Penner, a UVic alumnus is also BC’s Environment Minister (env.min@gov.bc.ca or barry.penner.mla@gov.bc.ca ) Sara Dubois is the BCSPCA’s Wildlife Services manager sdubois@spca.bc.ca and Marci Moriarty is the BCSPCA’s Head of Cruelty Investigations mmoriarty@spca.bc.ca and Craig Daniel is the CEO of the BCSPCA cdaniel@spca.bc.ca The federal Minister of the Environment is Jim Prentice Jim.Prentice@ec.gc.ca A number of initiatives are underway to help the rabbits, and more information and the most current updates can be found on the Action for UVic Rabbits face book page. If you have trouble finding the page, go to Roslyn Cassells facebook and I will send you the link or email me (see below). The Rabbit Advocacy of BC website at www.rabbitadvocacy.com is also a good source of information. A rabbit email alert has been set up and anyone wanting to help the rabbits and stay informed on this issue can send a request to roslyncassells@yahoo.ca to be added to this list. Roslyn Cassells is a BC based social justice activist and Canada’s first elected Green. She is an ardent animal and human rights activist, and writes, teaches and campaigns for positive social, economic and ecological change everywhere.
may/june 2010
Vancouver
13
Ponerology 102: Snakes in Suits T
he criminal psychopath has been observed and studied for almost a century. But except for a short mention by Cleckley, the idea of a successful psychopath—ordinary by almost all external standards—has remained shrouded in that pervasive “conspiracy of silence”. As this series progresses, it will become clear why this is the case and what exactly are the ramifications of such a dangerous gap in knowledge and awareness. So far the only in depth presentation of the problem of successful psychopaths has been Paul Babiak’s and Robert Hare’s book Snakes in Suits, published in 2006. The book is essential reading, and has the potential to save your life, literally. The information it contains is universal and can be applied to interactions on any social level. Babiak, as an industrial and organizational psychologist, encountered his first corporate psychopath in 1992. By studying operators like “Dave” in the corporate environment, Babiak not only brought into focus the methods by which psychopaths infiltrate and ascend the corporate ladder of success, he shattered previous illusions about what was and wasn’t possible for psychopaths to accomplish. Many in the industry thought psychopaths wouldn’t be able to succeed in business. They thought that psychopaths’ bullying and narcissistic behaviors would be off-putting to potential hirers, and that their abuse and manipulations would inevitably lead to failure within the company. In fact, the so-called “experts” couldn’t have been more wrong. They seemed to have neglected the uncanny ability of psychopaths to present an image of extreme normality, and even excellence to their victims. And that is what we are to them: victims, potential “marks”, suckers. Against the prevailing beliefs and hubristic assumptions, Babiak found that psychopaths were readily accepted into the management ranks of prominent companies, even experiencing career success. Their extreme narcissism was apparently mistaken as a “positive leadership trait”, and the murky morality and internal chaos typical in mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers seemed perfect for their type. Not only would they do well under the pressure—not having the ability to feel fear or stress—the potential personal rewards were too great to refuse, for the business and the psychopath. As Babiak put it, “the lack of specific knowledge about what constitutes psychopathic manipulation and deceit among businesspeople was the corporate con’s key to success.” (SiS, xiii) Ironically, the very traits sought by corporations and other powerful entities are often the ones that do bring about their inevitable demise (witness the fall of Bernie Madoff, Enron, Nazism). And they are the traits we have been conditioned to see as ideal. For example, through the “rose-colored glasses” of those who do not know better, conning and manipulative become “persuasive” and “influential”; coldhearted behavior and lack of remorse become “action oriented” and the “ability to make hard decisions”; fearless and impulsive become “courageous” and “high-energy”; lack of emotions becomes “strong” and “controls emotions”. (The Psychopath, eds. Herve and Yuille, 419) In short, when we call a psychopath “persuasive and courageous” we should actually be charging a commission for doing the psychopath’s PR for him, because that is all it is. It’s like selling bleach and calling it holy water! On paper these qualities may look promising, but as coworkers, and especially as bosses, psychopaths are domineering, intimidating, frightening, and dangerous. Quick to take credit for others’ work and to hire and fire employees on a whim, they tolerate only praise, are extremely short-sighted, and genuinely lack the insight that makes a good leader. One psychopath, de-
scribed by Babiak, was “unwilling and perhaps unable to acknowledge that any of her decisions could have any negative consequences for the business.” (SiS, 12) Even when leading superficially “normal” lives, psychopaths still cause problems in ways that fly under the radar of the law— economically, psychologically, emotionally. H o w do they do it? By analyzing corporate cons, Babiak discovered the basic methods psychopaths use to operate in a hierarchical, corporate environment. But no matter in what environment the psychopath finds himself—a romantic relationship, a corporate strategy, a planned heist, an election campaign, a political coup … the list of possibilities is endless—he uses the same, three-phase “Assessment–Manipulation–Abandonment” routine on his victims. In the first phase, the psychopath assesses the value of his “ally” and potential patsy—what he or she can do to further the psychopath’s aims. Psychopaths are experts at identifying and pushing others’ “buttons”, their “likes and dislikes, motives, needs, weak spots, and vulnerabilities.” (SiS, 37) Others’ strengths are utilized and weaknesses exploited. Next, the psychopath uses messages carefully crafted for the specific target, utilizing information gathered in the Assessment Phase. He then adapts his manipulation to accommodate any new feedback from
Bernie Madoff the target in order to maintain full control. Babiak and Hare write: “They often make use of the fact that for many people the content of the message is less important than the way it is delivered. A confident, aggressive delivery style—often larded with jargon, clichés, and flowery phrases— makes up for the lack of substance and sincerity in their interactions with others … they are masters of impression management; their insight into the psyche of others combined with a superficial—but convincing—verbal fluency allows them to change their personas skillfully as it suits the situation and their game plan. They are known for their ability to don many masks, change “who they are” depending upon the person with whom they are interacting, and make themselves appear likable to their intended victim.” (SiS, 38) Sounds an awful lot like the work done by intelligence agencies, doesn’t it? Psychopaths also use a variety of manipulation techniques, for example, gaslighting, which causes normal people tend to doubt their own perceptions. “Amazingly, more often than not, victims will eventually come to doubt their own knowledge of the truth and change their own views to believe what the psychopath tells them rather than what they know to be true.” (SiS, 51) The psychopath ruthlessly exploits his victims, using them to acquire money, position, control, and power.
by Harrison Koehli http://www.redpillpress.com/
When a person has ceased to be useful, they are discarded in the final, Abandonment Phase. Loyal to none, this often has devastating effects on those who were deceived by the psychopath’s façade of lies and “good intentions”. Whether a spouse who has been drained emotionally, an old woman whose bank account has been emptied, or a “friend” whose connections have finally paid off, the psychopath inevitably throws them out and moves on to the next target. Within the corporate world, Babiak identified a more elaborate fivephase variation of this dynamic. First, psychopaths use their charm and gift of gab to feign leadership qualities, thus gaining entry into the company. Once hired, they identify possible targets and rivals among coworkers—from talented but naïve peers whose work can be stolen to secretaries who control access to important executives—in the assessment phase. Babiak describes the four groups of people that psychopaths employ in their games. Pawns are ordinary coworkers who have “informal power and influence”, and who are deftly manipulated by psychopaths into wanting—or needing—to support and please them. Patrons are high-level individuals with formal power. By developing rapport with patrons, psychopaths secure protection from the attacks of lower-level workers who see through the mask. Patsies are pawns who have lost their usefulness and have thus been discarded. Lastly, organizational police are individuals like auditors, security, and human resources staff who are more experienced in detecting manipulation in the work place. (TP, 417) In the third, manipulation phase, psychopaths create and maintain their “psychopathic fiction”, setting up positive disinformation about themselves and negative disinformation about others using the network of pawns, patrons and “useful idiots” that they create. By creating conflict among the other employees, they divert attention away from themselves, preferring to operate behind the scenes and above the storms that they create and manage. In the confrontation phase, psychopaths discard rivals and pawns (now patsies), frequently using techniques of character assassination, framing, and other tactics using so-called “facts” that deviate significantly from the truth. They get away with this by relying on the highly placed patrons with whom they are now cozy. And in the final, ascension phase, they ultimately unseat their patrons, taking for themselves the positions and prestige of those who once supported them. (TP, 418–20) In the psychopath’s game, people exist solely to be manipulated, and he pursues his aims at any cost, even if that means backstabbing everyone who supported him in his ascent. Interest in corporate psychopaths has risen significantly in the last decade, largely due to the publicity of corporate frauds and scandals like Enron in 2001 and Madoff in 2009. Oddly, given the number of political scandals and their striking similarities to their corporate cousins, the idea that psychopaths infiltrate governments—with disastrous results—has yet to receive the attention it deserves. In fact, the political massacres that are occurring today—the dark aspects of human history that both fascinate and repel us—and the corruption that inevitably leads to them, have their roots in the presence of psychopaths in positions of power and influence. Psychopaths can be found in prison for all sorts of violent and predatory crimes against individuals, including white-collar crime. University programs, academic societies, conferences, professional textbooks and manuals, all exist to get a handle on the problem and aid in prevention of these sorts of crimes. But what about their role in crimes against humanity? I haven’t been able to find one academic paper examining the role of psychopathy in politics, whether in so-called democratic systems or overt dictatorships. Just as researchers at first
doubted the ability of psychopaths to succeed in business, and the problem remained unexamined, the problem of psychopathy in politics remains steadfastly ignored. Political scientists refuse to look at psychopathy, and psychopathy experts refuse to look at politics. The results of such blindness are evident in history—and the present—for anyone to see. Genocides, dictatorships, state-sanctioned torture, “war without end”, political assassinations, death squads, corruption, blackmail, spying on civilians, “state secrets”, illegal “espionage”, and on and on. The situation is odd, considering the fact that experts have made it increasingly clear that psychopaths can occupy prominent positions in all professions: law, business, medicine, psychology, academia, military, entertainment, law enforcement, even—and perhaps especially— politics. As Babiak and Hare explain it, “Many [psychopaths] do manage to graduate from college or obtain professional credentials, but in most cases it is less through hard work and dedication than through cheating, getting others to do their work, and generally “working the system.”” (SiS, 47) The Madoff case offers a great many implications concerning not only Wall Street, but the political scene as well. Many suspected or knew of fraud for years, but remained silent. Conveniently, Madoff’s niece was married to a senior compliance official at the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2005 and Madoff himself bragged about his close relationships with SEC regulators. Madoff’s firm had close ties to Washington’s lawmakers and regulators, with Madoff sitting on the board of the Securities Industry Association, and Madoff’s brother sitting on the board of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). In Creswell’s and Thomas’s piece for the New York Times, a close associate of Madoff’s relates that “He once mentioned to me that he spent one-third of his time in Washington in the early 1990s, late 1980s.” Not only was Madoff’s fund a perfect money laundry for potential co-conspirators, he was protected by his close ties to the “organizational police” of the SEC. According to Babiak and Hare, “The level and intensity of psychopathic intimidation often keeps those who have been abused from coming forward.” (SiS, 52) By controlling underlings and wooing regulators, Madoff protected himself from exposure. It was only after his arrogance got the better of him that it all fell apart. But Madoff is only a symptom of a systemic problem that affects humanity from the level of interpersonal relationships to heights of political control. The “garden-variety psychopath” maneuvers for control and power in a relatively limited sphere of influence: from his immediate family to the wider group of coworkers and chance victims. Criminally versatile psychopaths move from victim to victim, acquiring a tally of women emotionally and physically destroyed; elderly people bilked of their life savings; charities robbed of their donations; children tortured and mutilated. The corporate psychopath not only affects everyone in the company’s staff; his misdeeds have the potential to ruin the lives of thousands. But the political psychopath, in a position of the utmost prestige, power, and influence, has the potential to rule—and ruin—empires. His influence reaches level of society and his decisions have the potential to affect billions.
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Vancouver
may/june 2010
Artist Spotlight Being The Change We Wish To See In The World
by Katherine Marion
“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving individuals. We all must work for our own improvement and at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity.” - Madame Marie Curie
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NE WORLD ART SHOW showcasing local Vancouver luminaries in the art scene; Michael Malcolm, Jimmy Cummins, Raymond Chow and over 60 featured and fearless artists; bodypainting beautiful Blanche McDonald models, auctioning off spontaneous works of the bold and brilliant brush, to genereously donate 100% of all proceeds, directly to charity. www.MonikaBlichar.com , artist and ingenius promoter, held her own, as founder, fundraiser, poet, painter and artistic workshop leader, of newly created MAB Ventures, at this magical May 1st success story of a fundraising extravaganza. With Polish parents, once relegated to a refugee camp, one young wise woman already holds compassion considerably close. After the recent devastating earthquake in Haiti, this January, already helping hundreds of Haitian homeless, special needs children find a home, through the thought - provoking efforts of Matt Chambers of www.SafeWaterNexus. org. Conscious collaboration with Erin K Productions and a bevy of beautiful art works displayed, gallery style, throughout two levels of Science World.
Grazyna Wolski, with her painting of Haiti’s national flower, the Hibiscus
Monica Blichar and Katherine Marion
With Matt’s near to surprise special guest appearance on enter stage, there was a sacred hush. Enthralled to hear the outstanding story of how even UNICEF has duly and divinely noted Mr. Chambers endearing efforts in creating a safe and healing sanctuary,”Joshua’s Village Project.” Sharing his sincere and synergistic rev-
elations that his own son is also a special needs child, “requiring the help of 4 nurses, around the clock.” One devoted Daddy, co-creates a more conscious community and unconditionally helps so many needy others whom no longer or never did have anything or anyone to look after them. A precious life-saving endeavour that has become a new paradigm for an ailing planet. Janine Jones - www.janinejones.ca had a few carefully chosen words of wisdom, to speak, from her well appointed mini gallery, under lights finely directed at a tiny black cocktail dress and beyond life-size works of amazing acrylic art. Standing boldly and brightly, in front of her impassioned streaks of blood red and indigo purple; wearing matching rouge high heels, once boundy and self confident brunette, began speaking of what really heals. An artist whom is healing herself through her own art; revealing, “ We are all struggling in our own way to be seen and heard. Some for art, some for life.” Upon closing of one truly enchanting show, regretfully making my way out of a painters treasure trove of cascading color and consciousness, I decided to speak to a lovely woman who’s glorious work I have been blessed to see, artfully hung, upon the walls of various local Vancouver business’. Grazyna Wolski, had awoken one morn, deciding to literally define her next painting with her highest intentions. “May Love and Light Surround You”, became the title of this upstanding charity show-piece. Purity flowing from the touched and ten-
derest parts of a happy heart offering conscienteous contribution. Doing the research to discover that the national flower of Haiti is the Hibiscus, she set to work to literally create a glowing example of truth. One more spirited artist unveiling her own continued contributions of valiant values and immense integrity,”so we can see the beauty of that country and not only the disaster.” Can you even slow down .. possibly stopping your busy life, in a justifiable soulsearing second, and simply just imagine ... for a meandering moment, making un-earthly time stand still .... a world where every single person is really seen and felt as the rarest work of art worth saving? There are vast and varied, far-ranging causes for deepest concern, right here in our own “most beautiful city in the world.” We are the ones whom must open our dusty closets of closed and clouded-over eyes. Choosing to place our hands on open hearts and give from where it really counts. Knowing we can make a defining difference, rather than further defiling, abandoning or betraying one more neglected child or another forgotten country. Yes, we are all ONE-KIND! Katherine Marion www.Supernaturalwoman.com www.3rdEyeFoto.com
www.flickr.com/3rdeyfoto
Janine Jones
may/june 2010
Vancouver
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Burlesque Beauties The Agora is proud to showcase a Bu x o m B u r l e s q u e B o m b s h e l l eve r y m o n t h .
T h i s M o n t h we i n t r o duce The East Vanity Girls
The Agora Presents: The East Vanity Girls!
Photos by Rachel Bee
East Vanity Parlour Is Located at Kingway and Broadway, right next to Budgies Burritos. They specialize in vintage and nostalgic hairstyles, but also do killer cuts and colors. Their promo video can be found here http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=5dLBjOw9mTg and is defiantly worth a watch. They have recently added a waxing company downstairs called Sugar Box which offers all kinds of waxing services as well as the new and exciting phenon known as Vigazaling. (rhinestones on your you know what) The Proprietress of East Vanity Parlour, Kristi Johanson (aka. Kalia Peacock), is a talented stylist and established Bulesque Dancer. The Agora introduces you to The girls of East Vanity Parlour.
Kalia Peacock – They would have “educational reviews” where the women would stand on stage naked, no strip tease, no moving. It was to study anatomy! *giggles all round*
Candy Curves – Burlesque is based on social commentary and doing all kinds of crazy things! Sometimes people forget that strip tease is only one genre of burlesque, it’s social commentary, it’s jokes about life, it doesn’t always mean taking your clothes off.
Spooksy de Lune – I heard a funny story; in the 30’s and 40’s, when the burlesque girls didn’t like each other, they would crush up glass and put it in their powder, their face powder!
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Vancouver
may/june 2010
What In The World Are They Spraying? Part I Countercurrents.org
W
hat would you say if you were told that airplanes were regularly spraying toxic aerosols in the skies above every major region of the world? That is exactly what a group of protestors were claiming outside of the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting that was held in San Diego from February 18-22. However, inside the convention center was a different story. The scientists gathered to discuss the “plausibility” of implementing various Geoengineering campaigns throughout the world, all under the pretext that the Earth has a manmade global warming problem that can be solved in-part by spraying aerosol aluminum and other particles into the sky to block the sun. When these scientists were asked about the possibility of existing aerosol programs; they stated that no aerosol spraying programs have been implemented to date. A little confused? Why would protestors gather outside of a meeting making claims that world-wide aerosol programs were under way if scientist were only now discussing the possibility of implementing these programs? Could it be that one of these groups is being deceived? Mauro Oliveira, the Webmaster of Geoengineeringwatch. org, was one of the protestors. He claimed that the program for Stratospheric Aerosol Geoengineering (SAG), AKA chemtrails, has been well under way around the world. As a matter of fact, Oliveira stated that witnesses from around the globe claim that heavy aerosol spraying is occurring almost every day over just about every city. He went on to explain the difference between a contrail and a chemtrail. He stated that when a jet airplane flies at a certain altitude, a visible trail of streaks of condensed water vapor sometimes form in the wake of the aircraft. This is called a contrail. Contrails are normal and usually dissipate in a few seconds. They are very similar to when we breathe in cold weather.
According to Oliveira, what occurs behind a SAG plane spraying aerosols is quite different. What can be seen is a thick white line also called a chemtrail that lingers in the sky for several hours. The SAG lines are sprayed into the upper atmosphere and then spread out forming what then appear to be clouds. The particles from these aerosols then fall to the ground where they enter our soil and water and can also be inhaled. Another group of protestors had traveled over 10 hours from a small Shasta County community in Northern California. They became concerned about SAG when many from this community began to see dramatic changes not only in the sky, but also on the ground. Trees were dying, grass was not growing and many farmers
of Lake Shasta with samples from the Pit River arm tributary that tested over 4,610 times the maximum contamination level of aluminum allowed in drinking water in the state of California. Also, peer reviewed scientific studies conclude that bio-available aluminum, now found in huge quantities in rain world-wide, is very harmful to flora and thus the eco-system. Ironically, these are the same substances the scientists are considering implementing in the various potential “future” aerosol spraying campaigns that were being discussed at the meeting.
A large number of other protesters became interested in SAG after experiencing burning eyes, migraine headaches, anxiety, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and
were having difficulty getting any crops to grow on their farms. The crisis prompted biologists from the community to take action by testing the soil. The results were shocking. Aluminum, barium and other elements were found to be up to thousands of times higher than normal limits. Such high quantities lead to unhealthy PH levels in the soil which can be deadly to ecological life systems. These shocking results led to additional testing
other health problems on days that airplanes were allegedly witnessed spraying aerosols in the sky. Deborah Whitman, Founder and President of the non-profit environmental
organization Environmental Voices and also Producer of the documentary “Sky Lines” is no stranger to these symptoms. She has been hospitalized over 51 times on what she calls “heavy spraying days”. Whitman has committed her life to helping people who claim to be experiencing similar problems resulting from aerosol spraying and gets calls from all over the U.S. in response to her website and documentary. Her recommended health tips can be found at www.environmentalvoices. org. Other indicators that possibly validate the claim that SAG is connected to health problems are the respiratory mortality rate, which has risen from eight on the list of mortality to third in the past five years, and the fact that Alzheimer’s and other illnesses linked to aluminum have continued to rise around the globe at astronomical rates since the inception of the alleged spraying. The AAAS meeting hosted some of the world’s leading geo-engineering scientists. With years of education and even more experience in their respected fields, the scientists looked at geo-engineering issues from many angles. Workshop subjects ranged from, the effectiveness of geo-engineering to potential problems and even touched upon the issue of ethics. According to independent reporter Stewart Howe of Los Angeles, all of the scientists seemed to be looking for solutions to what they believe is the problem of global warming. Howe stated that the scientists appeared to be carefully weighing both the pros and cons of SAG when presenting potential campaigns to address the man-made global warming theory. Many were actually advocating alternative methods to combat this issue due to the potential risks of SAG that include droughts, ozone depletion, less solar power, decimated weather patterns, military use of technology and other various environmental impacts. Howe said, “after witnessing the aerosol spraying for years, I was surprised by the discourse among scientists.” Stewart went on to say that he believes that most of the scientists attending seemed to be separated from the knowledge of any current SAG deployment. As a matter of Continued next page
Exposing Tyranny Since 1991 North America’s Largest and Finest Collection of Alternative Information Order online or call 1-800-294-5250
may/june 2010
Michael J. Murphy is a journalist and political activist from the Los Angeles area whose work focuses on issues that go beyond the interest of the Corporate mainstream media. Michael’s interviews include; Chelene Nightingale (California Governor candidate), Mark Reed (California congressional candidate), Bill Hunt (Orange County Sheriff candidate), Jenny Worman (California congressional candidate), Stewart Rhodes (Oath Keepers, Founder) and Ed Asner (Actor “Mary Tyler Moore”, “Lou Grant” and “UP”). Michael has also made a series of short films that address controversial political issues. He can be reached at 310.431.8890 or whtagft@hotmail.com.
Now he has a Facebook page with 4,000 fans and a YouTube video with Greek rock music. He’s called the riot dog. He is a threat.
ORGA ED
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y, my. A hung Parliament in Britain. Fat-fingered traders in America. Debt contagion in Europe. Mayhem on currency markets. Housing Armageddon on the horizon. Global stock shock. And a riot dog named Cinnamon. There may well be a bankerly resolution to the Euro debt crisis this weekend – some august agreement aimed at showing
NT
by Garth Turner
money is fleeing to the US dollar and bonds. That has cratered commodities like oil and currencies like ours. The worlds’ political class is now hoping its ass can be saved in the streets of Athens. If only Greeks would stop believing they are being scapegoated by the financial establishment, the thinking goes, this might be contained. If the eleven million people who created civilization would just shut up, accept pension and salary cuts, more taxes and a dimmer future, then we can all get back to normal. If the citizens and taxpayers of countries from Greece to Britain, America and Canada would only understand it’s now their responsibility to bail out their leaders for their dodgy decisions and borrowed billions, order could be maintained. I mean, why can’t young people accept the fact they will have brutish and overtaxed lives so the Boomers who rule them can retire with dignity? What’s with these people? And the dog. What the hell does that mean? In Athens this past week, as police battled demonstrators, a yellow dog named Cinnamon just kept on showing up. He barked as they yelled. He was gassed and shot at. He fronted the crowd and dared the police line.
CERTIFI
The riot dog
markets another global credit meltdown is not on. At least for now. And it might do the trick, leading to a bargain-hunting rally next week. But it won’t last. Economies almost everywhere are wallowing in debt. The expedient and political solution to last year’s flirt with deflation was to print and spend unheard of quantities of money while dropping interest rates so low they were irresistible. The result was predictable. Both governments and families are now saddled with debts it will take a lifetime to repay. Or maybe never. Like Greece. The fear is that a default by Greece on its massive debt would gut German banks, destabilize Europe’s big economies and infect Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy. Meanwhile Britain ’s economy sucks and just when a strong hand’s needed on the tiller, nobody is in control. Stock markets fear this could spiral out of control, which is why
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fact when asked about current SAG operations, leading geo-engineering scientist Ken Caldiera replied that he was unaware of any current aerosol spraying operations and when prompted to explain the long lingering trails left behind planes, he stated that they are simply normal contrails from jets. David Keith, another leading scientist and expert in the field of geo-engineering, discussed the well-funded studies that have been conducted to predict potential future risks as well as benefits associated with geoengineering. Some of the potential benefits include a cooler planet, and the reduction of melting sea ice and rising sea levels. Keith discussed what aerosol particles would be most effective in achieving the stated goals of the SAG program. He went on to say that initially sulfur was considered, however, aluminum is more effective and can be used by adding ten to twenty mega-tons per year into the stratosphere. When asked about health related studies that have been conducted to predict the potential risks of adding the particles in our air, Keith stated that many studies have been completed and indicate few risks. However, when asked specifically about the use of aluminum as an aerosol, he said “we haven’t done anything serious on aluminum, so there could be something terrible that we will find tomorrow that we haven’t looked at.” After the meeting, Keith showed consideration to the protesters by initiating a discussion about the SAG program outside where the protestors were standing. When confronted with concerns about SAG deployment from the group, he went on to say that he shared similar views and is against any deployment until proper research is completed to determine potential risks of aerosol spraying. He also went on to say that he is unaware of any current SAG operations, but, would be willing to look at any scientific proof if presented to him. As the skies around our world continue to change, there is strong evidence that points toward current deployment of massive aerosol operations. Could it be that scientific data and studies are being used to implement premature full-scale SAG programs with-out the knowledge of the top scientists who are involved with the research? If so, what kind of ethical considerations can we expect from the geo-engineering community in the future? It is hard to believe that the strange white lines in the skies witnessed around the world and the toxic elements found in the soil, water and air are from an unrelated source. We the people, in partnership with the scientific community need to challenge not only the environmental and health risks associated with SAG but also the numerous world-wide allegations about current deployment. It is imperative that we become educated and involved in uncovering the truth of this alleged crime against both nature and humanity. The future of our planet depends on it. As concerns continue to grow around the world about this issue, additional information including meet-up groups can be found on various chemtrail and geo-engineering websites.
Vancouver
GREDIE
From Denman Island With Love
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World
may/june 2010
Science Confirming Ancient Knowledge: Kirlian Photography & The GDV
by Dr Tom Chalko http://sci-e-research.com/
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n the history of Science, developing of a new instrument has always resulted in new understanding of Reality. Microscope, telescope, X-rays, camera, laser, computer - without these instruments the modern science is powerless. Recently a new instrument came to being - a solid state computerised Gas Discharge Visualisation (GDV) camera for bioelectrography. The GDV technique is based on so-called Kirlian effect, named after Semion Kirlian and his wife, who first recorded and studied stimulated electro-photonic images around various objects.
lated and recorded Kirlian images it seems possible to quantify whether a person is stressed, tired or unwell and determine bio-energetic electro-photonic performance of the body and mind. In brief, stress and other negative factors seem to disrupt the uniformity, coherence and the magnitude of the human electro-photonic glow measured with the GDV instrument. Even though the pattern recognition methodology of the electro-photonic glow is still at an early stage of development, extensive clinical trials conducted across Russia since 1997 demonstrated that the correlation between the GDV and conventional diagnostic techniques can be as high as 98%. Following clinical trials and the recommendation of The Russian
“Bio-electrography has the potential to serve as an extremely powerful and comprehensive medical diagnostics tool, capable of showing malfunctions of the body and mind long before any physical symptoms become evident.” Internationally distinguished physicist, Prof Konstantin Korotkov from St. Petersburg Tech University in Russia studied the information aspect of stimulated electro-photonic emissions around the human body and other objects for several decades, following his personal contacts with Semion Kirlian. He found, that in order to be able to extract reliable and repeatable information from the recorded electro-photonic glow it was necessary to optimise the apparatus. In particular it was necessary to minimise the influence of the ambient temperature and humidity, use a semiconductor camera rather than a photographic process for recording images and optimise pa-
rameters of the process of stimulation of electrophotonic emissions. In 1996 Prof Korotkov developed a range of instruments for stimulation, recording and processing of electro-photonic images and called his technique Gas Discharge Visualisation (GDV). Gas Discharge Visualisation technique, as any other perturbation method used in science, has tremendous potential for extracting information about objects being studied. One of the most significant applications of the GDV technique today is assisting health professionals in quick and accurate assessment of human state and in comparing effectiveness of various therapies. Diagnostic potential of GDV technique Prof Korotkov confirmed earlier observations of other researchers, such as Semion Kirlian, Dr Mandel from Germany and Prof Milhomens in Brazil, that the stimulated electro-photonic glow around human fingertips contained astonishingly coherent and comprehensive information about the human state - both physiological and psychological. For example, by analyzing correctly stimu-
Academy of Science the GDV technique and equipment have been approved since 1999 by health authorities in Russia for general clinical use without limitations. The current approval can be viewed here. Today GDV systems of Prof Korotkov are in use in some 20 countries. The GDV diagnostic system of Prof Korotkov is based on stimulating and recording 40 ms of the electro-photonic glow around all ten fingertips, one at a time. Using clinically verified charts and methods developed by Prof Korotkov it seems possible to determine, not only what happens in the human body, but also where it happens – by examining specific sectors of the electro-photonic glow. Clinically verified sectors of the Kirlian glow around human fingertips seem to contain information about relative b i o - e n e rg e t i c performance of various organs. Bio-electrography has the potential to serve as an extremely powerful and comprehensive medical diagnostics tool, capable of showing malfunctions of the body and mind long before any physical symptoms become evident. By utilising the potential of bioelectrography it should be possible to take preventive measures, rather than wait until emergency treatments and surgery are required.
The Energy Field program is designed to process EPC/GDV image and build a model of the human energy field using the information obtained from 10 EPC/GDV images of human fingers. Creation of energy field is based on a diagnostic map showing a correlation between the areas of glow of separate sectors of fingers and different systems and organs of the human body.
cited to glow Decoding information It is well known, that from a single drop of blood we can obtain a wealth of information about many processes that occur in the human body. In a similar fashion - stimulated electrophotonic GLOW recorded around sufficiently many fragments of the human body (typically 10 fingertips) - seems to contain information about nearly every major organ and function of human organism. This information seems encoded in the shape and location of the electrophotonic glow. There seem to be several peculiar things about this information, however. One of them is that the actual disease and the fear of that disease seem to cause very similar defects in the electrophotonic glow. The other is that shortly after death disease indicators in the electrophotonic glow seem to disappear, even though tumors and other material aspects of the disease remain in the body. The above seems to suggest that the information encoded in the electrophotonic Kirlian glow comes directly from our consciousness rather than from the physical body. Significant degree of conscious control over the Kirlian glow during meditation and various forms of concentration seems to confirm the above and indicate that our consciousness may be electro-photonic to begin with. GDV Applications
analysis can be performed in seconds, without a need to undress a patient. The weakest organs/subsystems in the body/mind system can be identified at a glance as a disruption in harmony and coherence of the recorded electrophotonic glow. GDV sofware assists in data analysis. The speed, accuracy and comprehensiveness of GDV diagnostics are stunning. They cannot be matched using any other human state monitoring technology available on Earth today. 2. Monitoring response to treatment Since electrophotonic GDV images contain comprehensive information about human state at the moment of recording, they can be used to monitor human response to treatments. It doesn’t actually matter what treatment you choose to investigate using GDV. It can be chemical/hormonal, herbal or homeopatic medicine, accupuncture, remote healing or a placebo treatment. GDV technique enables us to explore and quantify response of any person to any treatment. A typical procedure involves recording a person’s initial state and the state after the treatment has been applied. In most cases it is obvious within a few minutes whether the treatment has a positive, disruptive or neutral effect for a given person. It is important to minimize all other influences during the test. 3. Estimating treatment effectiveness
By recording the human state at some time intervals after a treatment has been applied (typiGDV system of Prof Korotkov has uner- cally minutes or hours), it is possible to estimate gone extensive clinical trials in Russia and its if the treatment has a temporary or a systematic diagnostic accuracy has been found to be bet- effect on the human state. ter than 95%. The system has been approved by 4. Comparing therapies Russian Academy of Science for use in medical industry without limitations. GDV acceptance Safety of Kirlian recording GDV method of human state assessment in Finland and Sweden will soon be followed in enables comparing various therapies and estiother advanced countries. mating the best therapy for any given person/ Bio-electrography should be not only safe On the basis of the above, the most obvicondition. for humans, but the electrical field that is used should not disturb the subtle processes in 5. Testing new treatments the body (and mind) that we try to extract the information about. Since electrophotonic GDV glow For these reasons the electrical field seems to reflect the state of human conenergy that is used to stimulate the glow sciousness, rather than just the body, it should be as minimal as possible. is possible to estimate the effect of a new In modern devices (such as GDV treatment BEFORE actually applying it. instruments of Korotkov) this is accomFor example, it is sufficient for a perplished using very short (microsecond) son to hold a medicine in his/her hand and pulses, reducing the excitation time (@50 IMAGINE taking it to estimate what would ms) and observing only a small part of the human body (typically one fingertip) at a Bio-photonic emittance of leaf happen if the medicine was really taken. This method is being used to study time. Safety demonstration of the GDV camera ous application of the GDV system is an aid in the effectiveness and applicability of homeoelectrical excitation system: human nose ex- medical diagnostics. GDV data acquisition and patic medicines at Melbourne College of Natural Medicine in Australia. 1. Diagnostics of human state
may/june 2010
Is Gulf oil rig disaster far worse than we’re being told?
Reports about the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill have been largely underestimated, according to commentators, including Paul Noel, a Software Engineer for the U.S. Army at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. He believes that the pocket of oil that’s been hit is so powerful and under so much pressure that it may be virtually impossible to contain it. And Noel is not the only person questioning the scope of this disaster. A recent story from the Christian Science Monitor (CSM) reports that many independent scientists believe the leak is spewing far more than the 5,000 barrels, or 210,000 gallons, per day being reported by most media sources. They believe the leak could be discharging up to 25,000 barrels (more than one million gallons) of crude oil a day right now. The riser pipe that was bent and crimped after the oil rig sank is restricting some of the flow from the tapped oil pocket, but as the leaking oil rushes into the well’s riser, it is forcing sand with it at very high speeds and “sand blasting” the pipe (which is quickly eroding its structural integrity). According to a leaked National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration memo obtained by an Alabama newspaper, if the riser erodes any further and creates more leaks, up to 50,000 barrels, or 2.1 million gallons, per day of crude oil could begin flooding Gulf waters every day. When this disaster first occurred, the media downplayed it. BP spokespersons were quick to claim that the leakage was minimal and that crews would eventually be able to contain it. But as time went on, it became clear that things were not under control and that the spill was far more serious than we were originally told. (Gee, sound familiar? Remember Katrina?) Yet some of the media reports still seem more like press releases than actual reporting because they continue to repeat what the public relations cleanup crews (pun intended) would like the public to believe rather than what’s actually happening. Reality, it seems, has a nasty habit of interfering with corporate spin. Cap and trade becomes “cap and pray” The New York Times yesterday reported that BP is working on a large containment dome that is intended to cap the leak and catch the escaping oil so that it can be safely pumped to the surface. Meanwhile,
crews are said to be working on fixing the broken blow-out preventer valve that should have stopped the leak from happening in the first place, but they have been unsuccessful thus far. Almost every report says that BP is doing everything it can to contain the spill and stop the leak, even though the company claims it is not technically at fault. According to an article from the U.K. Daily Mail, BP’s CEO Tony Hayward recently responded to the cleanup efforts by explaining, “This is not our accident but it is our responsibility to deal with it.” Swiss-based Transocean is the company that actually owned and operated the sunken rig. It manned the rig with its own crew and BP just leased it from Transocean (which makes you wonder why BP is so willing to take full responsibility for everything). BP says that it’s working on a relief well, but that it could take up to three months to complete. Until then, the company is trying several different approaches to at least slow the leak and hopefully stop it altogether. Mind you, almost all of the information about the spill from day one has come directly from BP which obviously has every incentive to downplay the true environmental destruction that could be caused by this oil spill. Even the word “spill” is incorrect. This isn’t some ship of oil that spilled into the ocean -- it’s a “volcano” of oil spewing from the belly of Mother Earth herself. It’s under extremely high pressure, it’s spewing a huge volume of oil directly into the ocean, and there so far seems to be no human-engineered way of stopping it (short of setting off an underground nuclear bomb near the well site). Addressing the unanswered questions According to the CSM article, environmental risk models are normally performed for pollutants like crude oil, yet not one model has yet been released for this incident by BP or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Many are wondering why this crucial information has not been made public. Could it be because the results of the model might seem too catastrophic? Neither has there been an adequate explanation given for exactly why the oil rig exploded... twice! Some reports indicate that the crews responsible for properly cementing the well casing didn’t do it right. Others suggest that the oil deposit was just
too large and under too much pressure for the equipment to handle it. (Be careful where you poke around the planet if you can’t handle what comes out, right?) It’s also important to note that, according to a recent New York Times article, Halliburton was actually the company responsible for all the cementing work on the rig, which brings a third party into the picture. BP’s federal permits allowed the company to drill up to 20,000 feet deep, but according to one of the workers who was onboard the rig during the explosion, drilling in excess of 22,000 feet had been taking place. This same worker is said to handle company records for BP, but BP has denied these allegations. BP has declined to comment, however, on other allegations that the spill happened because it chose not to install necessary deep-water valves which would have acted as a last resort seal of protection in the event of an emergency. Several other allegations include suspicions that the crews allowed gas to build up in the well bore and that the rig operator tried to detach too quickly from the well, causing a disruption. BP, Halliburton and Transocean have all indicated that they are continuing to investigate the situation. When companies investigate themselves, however, the truth rarely comes out. The possibility of an extinction event? It’s hard to say exactly what’s going on in the Gulf right now, especially because there are so many conflicting reports and unanswered questions. But one thing’s for sure: if the situation is actually
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much worse than we’re being led to believe, there could be worldwide catastrophic consequences. If it’s true that millions upon millions of gallons of crude oil are flooding the Gulf with no end in sight, the massive oil slicks being created could make their way into the Gulf Stream currents, which would carry them not only up the East Coast but around the world where they could absolutely destroy the global fishing industries. Already these slicks are making their way into Gulf wetlands and beaches where they are destroying birds, fish, and even oyster beds. This is disastrous for both the seafood industry and the people whose livelihoods depend on it. It’s also devastating to the local wildlife which could begin to die off from petroleum toxicity. Various ecosystems around the world could be heavily impacted by this spill in ways that we don’t even yet realize. There’s no telling where this continuous stream of oil will end up and what damage it might cause. Theoretically, we could be looking at modern man’s final act of destruction on planet Earth, because this one oil rig blowout could set in motion a global extinction wave that begins with the oceans and then whiplashes back onto human beings themselves. We cannot live without life in the oceans. Man is arrogant to drill so deeply into the belly of Mother Earth, and through this arrogance, we may have just set in motion events that will ultimately destroy us. In the future, we may in fact talk about life on Earth as “pre-spill” versus “post-spill.” Because a post-spill world may be drowned in oil, devoid of much ocean life, and suffering a global extinction event that will crash the human population by 90 percent or more. We may have just done to ourselves, in other words, what a giant meteorite did to the dinosaurs.
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t occurred to me a while back what a sorry state humanity is in, not just because our entire civilization is on the verge of rude upheavals, not just because an elite group of so-called power brokers are taking liberties with our liberties, but because we are, in a word, basically incompetent. You heard me. We are outright incompetent, and it is by design. For at least the past century, we have been herded into this state by a constant flow of innovation in technology of all sorts, and a barrage of propaganda encouraging us to buy some widget or other, to “make life easier”. While writing my book Body Talk, about a year ago, I was doing some wishful thinking about moving out to farm country and becoming self-sufficient, and realized how terribly insufficient my knowledge of farm life was. Daunting indeed were the images of dealing with wells, haying, mucking out stalls, and having to feed ravenous mouths, including my own, all by myself. It was a “Yikes!” moment. What really was mind-blowing to me was that my generation (I’m a baby boomer) was the last to learn any traditional skills of homemaking, and it was scant education, at best. But our kids and grandkids are not being taught how to take care of themselves: it is now expected that each of them will amass all the conveniences as they grow up, so they won’t need to know those basic things, like how to boil water. Our kids, rather, are being fed rather pointed sex education at an earlier and earlier age, so when they graduate, they will know every possible permutation of sexual acts, deem them all to be perfectly acceptable as long as they don’t result in pregnancy or disease, and, with finality, divorce the sex act from the prerequisites of love, trust, respect, and honour. Public education has become a mind-dissolving compote of what they call “Outcome-Based Education”, to produce exactly the kind of little worker bees the elite want to stock their hive with honey, not self-reliant, logical individuals who value their God-given freedom, thank you very much. This debilitation of society has eroded our ability to care for ourselves, without the “guidance and supervision” of government, because it has eroded our ability to think for ourselves. Perhaps worse, it has eroded our ability to trust ourselves, our families, and each other, and made us reliant upon authorities big and small for the tiniest details of our lives. Right now the nations of the world are being sown together in a massive web of trade groups, which are on track for tripping over
GO, LEMMINGS, GO! each other’s http://maxfawcett.wordpress.com/2009/12/ rect attack jurisdicon Ontartions. This, io’s Green of course, Energy will necesAct, and sitate the it would creation virtually of a supereliminate group to the rights take care of farmof all those ers to save, inevitable reuse and trade agreesell seed, ment colliproviding sions, all of biotech, which have pharmaceuto be hontical, pestioured, all of cide, seed which carry and grain “internacompanies tional oblipowerful gations”. new tools to “ O h essentially dear, oh decide who dear, what should farm do we do and how.” now?”, will Think moan the pundits of globalism, knowing full about it: how does CETA interact with well the battle is won, stifling their whoops NAFTA? Note that whatever obligations we of glee and wringing their hands. And of have with the US and Mexico must be honcourse the answer to that is to “unite the oured, or else. So what if our obligations world and promote peace” under one set of to CETA don’t allow us to honour NAFTA, rule(r)s, none of whom give a rat’s behind or vice versa? And to how many of these what anyone thinks in Fort Erie. individual agreements has Canada become Doubters need to check the trade agree- obligated? ment our provincial and federal government And how, pray tell, does one solve negotiators are grinding out now: the full gridlock like this? World government, of text of CETA, the Canada-European Union course. Problem-reaction-solution, a DaEconomic and Trade Agreement, is pub- vid-Ickean scenario if ever there was one. lished at http://nauresistance.org. Canada’s government is, as we speak, slathering grease on the skids, and it’s all downThe site’s April 19th press release hill from here, folks. Say good-bye to your states: “The CETA has been called the most assumed right to live as you please, because whatever offends some trade partner like, say, the European Union, will become illegal in a hot second. What is truly staggering about all this is the ease with which it has been accomplished, and how completely vulnerable the masses significant bilateral trade negotiation since have become. Their overwhelming refusal NAFTA and the first to involve the provinc- to try adding two and two is creating a fues in negotiations. Controversial provisions ture of virtual enslavement, yet they go on, in the draft text would open Canada’s tele- oblivious to their plight. communications sector to full foreign ownership, stop municipal governments from As I write in Chapter Two of “Body implementing local or ethical procurement Talk” (soon to be released as an E-book): strategies, and require a burdensome necessity test for prudential financial or banking With all our “conveniences of a modern measures designed to protect countries and standard of living”, we have debilitated ourconsumers for the kinds of crashes we saw selves to the point where we no longer know globally in 2008. The text also presents a di- how to grow and cook our own food, how
By Dee Nicholson
to store it, how to prepare for long winters, how to sew, how to build, how to repair. We “let George do it”. And as a result, most of us don’t know how to do anything constructive any more. Worse, we have concentrated our labour to the benefit of a few, working for a pittance relative to what we create to fill the pockets of others. What we don’t have, we borrow to pay for, agreeing to the same compound interest that Einstein called “the most negative force on the planet”. We don’t change anything, so nothing changes. In such a state, we are living in disability, vulnerable to anything that comes, and looking to “George” to fix it all. This George has a lot of different faces: he is the banker, the lawyer, the government, the priest, and the media mogul, to name a few. He steps in to fill the void of incompetence that our convenience has created. His focus is money and/or power. He has no motivation to make our lives better, only to enrich his own. Yet we obligingly hand him all control over our life decisions, in the belief that as long as we conform, we will be relatively okay. Relative to what? Think about it: how can we find that elusive inner peace people keep talking about, if our attention is fixed on false solutions? How can we think for ourselves, decide what is best, if the decisions are made outside ourselves? How can we live in physical and emotional health, when we don’t know how? And what is this “freedom” they say we enjoy? By letting faceless authorities decide what is good for us, we lose all concept of what that is. And that is the inconvenient truth, the real one, not the Al Gore version. Our submission to living a preconceived life – one that was preconceived not by us, but by “George” – is a submission to what we now see as a “higher power”, but not the Higher Power referred to in church and AA. You must understand that to live life according to “the way it is” is to deny absolutely any possibility of being part of anything meaningfully larger than ourselves. It is to become hopeless. It is to die inside ourselves, to ourselves, and particularly, to our true selves. It is also to hand carte blanche to those who want to make money and power for themselves, over our dead bodies, and know they can do it because they know how debilitated we truly are. After all, they made us into what we have become. But know this: we let them. The convenience of falling in line with “the way it is” makes us clearly analogous to lemmings, those small Arctic critters which furiously mate, raise their young, and proceed to the nearest tall cliff where they leap into the sea to their deaths, by the thousands. Go, lemmings, go. Lemming Cartoon Image Source:
LETTERS TO THE EDITORS: Theft by stealth Canadians need to consider what inflation does to all of us. What it has done to the dollars/budgets being spent on health care, education, and everything else we have come to expect. It has impacted every citizen in this country regarding incomes. One U.S. dollar this year, 2010, would have been worth $2.64
U.S. in 1980, a rate of inflation of report done by the Certified General 164.1%. Accounts Association of Canada. John Maynard Keynes who was Conversly a $60,000.00 U.S in- an economic advisor to presidents, come today would have been worth prime ministers, and even dictators $22,717.35 U.S.in 1980. A loss of explained: 62.1% to today’s citizens. The situ“By a continuous process of inflation, governments can confiscate, ation for Canadians is the same. Is it any wonder that Canadians secretly and unobserved, an impornow have the highest debt living in tant part of the wealth of their citiadvanced countries according to the zens. By this method, they not only
confiscate, but they confiscate arbitrarily; and while the process impoverishes many, it actually enriches some. The process engages all of the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner that not one man in a million can diagnose.” Stephanie McDowall Nanaimo, B.C.
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A new report released by the Na-
tional Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement reveals that Americans’ exposure to radiation has increased more than 600 percent over the last three decades. Most of that increase has come from patients’ exposure to radiation through medical imaging scans such as CT scans and mammograms. Most patients have no awareness of the dangers of ionizing radiation due to medical imaging scans. Virtually no patients -- and few doctors -- realize that one CT scan exposes the body to the equivalent of several hundred X-rays (http://www.naturalnews.com/023582. html), for example. Most women undergoing mammograms have no idea that the radiation emitted by mammography machines actually causes cancer by exposing heart and breast tissue to dangerous ionizing radiation that directly causes DNA damage. Even low doses of radiation can add up to significant increases in lifelong cancer risk. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (2007) found that survivors of the 1945 atomic bombs unleashed on Japan during World War II still faced significant increases in lifetime cancer risk. And the levels of radiation
to which these particular study subjects were exposed is equivalent to receiving only two or three CT scans, explains an ABC News story (http:// abcnews.go.com/ Health/Cancer...). Yes, it’s true: A couple of CT scans can expose your body to as much radiation as standing a few miles from an atomic bomb explosion. This is a simple scientific fact. Is modern medicine priming the population for a wave of future cancers? Exposure to CT scans and mammograms today can lead to cancer much later in life. As ABC News reports, Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, says, “Radiation exposure from these scans is not inconsequential and can lead to later cancers.” Thanks to the widespread use of medical imaging scans, hospitals are also becoming a major source of nuclear waste material. See the NaturalNews report on that topic here: http://www.naturalnews.com/025711.html This material can be seized by terrorists and used to make dirty bombs. Thus, hospitals are now a major source for potential tools for terrorists. The bottom-line question in all this is simple: Are medical imaging devices causing more harm than good? And do mammograms actually create future cancer patients by causing cancer in the breast? In my view, the answers to both these questions are a resounding YES. Medical imaging does more than just detect cancer, it also causes cancer! And that’s in the financial interests of the drug companies and cancer clinics that profit from treating cancer.
Monsanto’s deadly gift of 475 tonnes of genetically-modified seeds to Haitian farmers Haiti’s earthquake on 12 January this year has been a lucky business break for some. The transnational firm Monsanto is offering the country’s farmers a deadly gift of 475 tonnes of genetically-modified (GM) seeds, along with associated fertiliser and pesticides, which will be handed out free by the WINNER project, with the backing of the US embassy in Haiti. Do Haitians know Monsanto made the “Agent Orange” defoliant sprayed over Vietnam by US planes during the war there, poisoning both US soldiers and Vietnamese civilians? Do Haitians know that these GM seeds have been declared dangerous by many countries? They often come in kits along with a Monsanto herbicide called “Roundup,” which contains glyphosate. In my native Brittany, it has already polluted the water table. But Monsanto insists its product is biodegradable. It is being sued for this by anti-frauid officials in Lyon. A former employee of Monsanto, Linda Fischer, has just been named to head the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which monitors environmental issues. It’s like giving a cat the job of looking after a mouse’s welfare. Monsanto has already begun distributing its GM maize seeds around Gonaïves, Kenscoff, Pétionville, Cabaret, Arcahaie, Croixdes-Bouquets and Mirebalais. Soon there will be only Monsanto seeds in Haiti. Then it will be goodbye to farmers’ independence. Monsanto recently invested $550 million in Brazil to manufacture the Roundup herbicide in the northeastern state of Bahia. But the country seems to be fighting back against the firm. Monsanto is publicising the seeds as a generous gift. But Haitian farmers wishing to use them for future harvests will have to pay royalties to Monsanto. The Monsanto representative in Haiti is Jean- Robert Estimé, who served as foreign minister under the Duvalier family’s 29-year dictatorship. Fr. Jean-Yves Urfie is a member of the Holy Spirit Order and former chemistry teacher .at Collège Saint Martial, Port-au-Prince.
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Project explores the ‘internet of things’
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esearchers from University College London have developed a digital tool that allows people to attach memories to objects in the form of text, audio or video. Dashboard Best Practices - Quickly Create Valuable Dashboards. Download Your Free White Paper Now. - www. LogiXML.com The team at UCL’s Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) is part of the ‘Tales of Things’ project, a collaboration between five universities. ‘Tales of Things’ encourages users to ‘tag’ objects with digital media using the sort of technology found in Oyster Cards and bar codes. Users can upload an image of the object and an associated memory in the form of text, audio or video to the project’s website - talesofthings.com - or using a dedicated iPhone application. Once the user has entered this information they receive a unique barcode which they can attach to the object. Objects are tagged using RFID tags and QR Codes, which are used in products such as the Oyster Card and on consumer goods. This code can be read by taking a photograph from a mobile phone or webcam, linking the object back to its entry on the website. The tags will enable future generations to have a greater understanding of the object’s past and offer a new way of preserving social history. Researchers hope the project will offer a new way for people to place more value on their own objects in an increasingly disposable economy. The project explores the implications of the ‘internet of things’ - the idea of a network of objects traceable at anytime. Dr Andy Hudson-Smith, from the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, said: “CASA has built the technology for the project, allowing the construction of a database suitable for the ‘internet of things’. “It has developed the concept of making QR Codes read/writable for the development of memories and custom built an iPhone application to interact with any tagged object. “UCL has tagged BBC Broadcasting House as part of the Radio 4 show Click On - the first building in the world to record the memories of its occupants. “The project has notable potential, in terms of both global research and commercial opportunities.” The project is part of research run by TOTeM, a collaboration between UCL, Edinburgh College of Art, Brunel University, the University Of Dundee and the University of Salford.
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Do you really need those eyeglasses? Do you really need those eyeglasses? Do you really need those eyeglasses? Do you really need those eyeglasses? Do you really need those eyeglasses? Do you really need those eyeglasses? Agora Loves You Agora Loves You
Association For Psychological Science
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ost of us use the numbers 20/20 unthinkingly, basically as a synonym for good vision. We take it on faith that 20/20 is an accurate measure of some biological reality. But how straightforward is visual acuity in fact? After all, those eye charts in your optometrist’s office measure not only the sharpness of the image on your eye’s retina, but also your brain’s interpretation of that information. How much liberty does the interpreting mind take with this biological reality? New research is beginning to focus on the psychological dimensions of vision— with some surprising results. The studies are from the Harvard University laboratory of Ellen Langer, whose books Mindfulness and Counterclockwise challenge many of our assumptions about our physical limitations—especially the limitations we associate with aging. In the new studies, Langer and her colleagues manipulated various beliefs about vision to see if mind-set can affect something as basic as eyesight. Langer’s experiments are always innovative. In one of the vision studies, for
example, she started with the widespread belief that Air Force pilots have excellent vision. That’s not an unfounded belief in fact, because 20/20 vision is a prerequisite for fighter pilot training. To exploit this belief, she recruited a group of students from MIT’s ROTC program, many of who aspire to be pilots. She tested their vision with standard eye charts, and then asked some of the volunteers to “become pilots” by flying a flight simulator. She specifically instructed them to actively imagine themselves as pilots, as they used the throttle, compass and other trappings of an actual cockpit to execute flight maneuvers. They even wore green army fatigues to enhance their role-playing. No mention was made of vision, neither to the “pilots” nor to the controls, who merely sat in a stationary cockpit. After a short time, Langer surreptitiously measured all the volunteers’ vision. She had four aircraft “approach” from the front, each with a serial number on the wing. The volunteers were told to read the serial numbers on the four wings which, unbeknownst to them, were the equivalent of different lines on an eye chart. Langer was in effect administering the optometrist’s standard eye exam, under the guise of flight simulation. And what did she find? Unmistakably, the “pilots” showed greater improvement in vision. Four of ten volunteers could see better after playing pilot, compared to none of the controls. Langer reran this experiment, in one case telling the controls they could motivate themselves to have better vision and in another actually giving them eye exercises. But the pilots still outperformed them. In other words, simply believing that pilots have good vision was enough to sharpen the volunteer-pilots’ eyesight. This was obviously an elaborate ex-
periment, and the number of volunteers was necessarily small. So Langer decided to explore the question in a completely different way. In a second experiment, she exploited the belief that athletes have good vision—again not an unreasonable assumption since vision generally enhances coordination. To test this idea, she tested the eyesight of a larger group of volunteers, then had some of them do jumping jacks, while others simply skipped around them room. She wanted all of the volunteers to be equally aroused physically, but she figured that psychologically, jumping jacks would be seen as more athletic than skipping. And indeed when she retested their eyesight, the results echoed those from the pilot study. Fully a third of the volunteers had better vision after acting athletically; only one of the skippers showed such improvement. Now keep in mind that the volunteers did not in fact differ at all on athleticism. All that differed was their psychological mind-set, as a result of jumping or skip-
ping. And it appeared that psychology was enough to sharpen their view of the world. Langer ran a final experiment, this one using the actual optometrist’s eye chart—or versions of it. She wanted to test the power of two common beliefs that most of us take with us when we have our eyes examined: One, that it will be easy to read the top lines of the eye chart. And two, that it will be increasingly difficult to read the farther down the chart one reads. I think it’s fair to say that most adults share those beliefs. But what if the chart is switched around? That’s what Langer did. She created two eye charts that looked in most ways like the standard chart, except for this: In one case, the letters became not smaller but progressively larger moving down the chart. In the other, the chart started not with the huge E, but with a line that would normally be about two-thirds of the way down. In other words, she administered eye exams that exploit fundamental assumptions about optometrists’ eye charts. And again, psychology trumped biology. As reported on-line this week in the journal Psychological Science, the volunteers saw letters that they normally couldn’t see when the chart was shifted or reversed. They believed they would be able to read the top of the chart, and so they did—regardless of the actual font size. Taken together, these experimental results suggest that our vision may be compromised, at least in part, by our mindless beliefs.
Wray Herbert also writes regularly for the Huffington Post, where this article first appeared. His book, On Second Thought: Outsmarting Your Mind’s Hard-Wired Habits, will be published by Crown in September.
Eco-labels on products are often just lies
by David Gutierrez of NaturalNews.com
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n a recent feature, Mother Jones Magazine calls attention to the fact that many “green” or “socially responsible” claims made on product labels are meaningless or deceptive, even when accompanied by a certification seal. Meaningless claims are those that allude to weak or nonexistent standards. For example, there is no process for certifying a product as “cruelty free,” “hormone free,” “no additives,” “hypoallergenic,” “green,” “earth smart” or “nature’s friend.” This means that a piece of steak prominently labeled as “hormone free,” “additive free,” and “cruelty free” could contain food coloring and come from a cow that was only allowed to move when it was time for its hormone injection. Other deceptive claims include “natural” -- which only means that a food does not contain artificial flavors, preservatives
or other synthetic ingredients -- and “biodegradable,” which only means that a product must be made from ingredients that “return to nature.” “Nontoxic” products are certified to not cause poisoning if ingested, but may still be carcinogenic or cause other long-term health effects. “Fragrance free” products are those with no noticeable smell but may contain any number of chemicals, while “free range” poultry came from birds that had “access” to the outdoors for the majority of their lives. This does not mean that the animals ever saw the outside, and has no meaning at all if applied to eggs or meat from a mammal. Some standards, while real enough, are still deceptive and may include significant loopholes. For example, wood and paper products certified under the industry-created Sustainable Forestry Initiative
may come from clearcut forests or pesticide-intensive tree farms. “Dolphin Safe” tuna may be produced by killing any number of sea turtles or other endangered species, and companies making products certified “Carbonfree” simply paid someone to “offset” their greenhouse gas emissions. The practice of carbon offsets has garnered heavy criticism for allowing companies to keep emitting the same amount of carbon dioxide by simply paying someone else for conservation practices they would have engaged in anyway -- thereby leading to no reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions. The practice has been parodied on the Web site www.cheatneutral. com.
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by Marie D. Jones and Larry Flaxman
What if the true nature of reality was a lot like an onion, made up of layers upon layers of different levels of reality that, when peeled back, exposed a creative, self-regenerating, web-like core? An infrastructure that contains the whole of all that is, was and ever will be. A source from which everything is interconnected within a grid-like framework. As modern theoretical physicists search for a unified “Theory of Everything” that will condense the four fundamental forces of nature into one mathematically sound truth, those who dare to explore the paranormal have also begun to search for a cohesive theory which may assist in explaining the vast unknown. How do such things UFOs, ghosts, poltergeists, cryptids, mysterious energy vortices, remote viewing, psi abilities, clairvoyance, mind over matter, teleportation, and many other unexplained phenomenon happen? Where do they come from? What is the mechanism that triggers their manifestation within our simple, three-dimensional reality? With new discoveries in the cutting edge sciences of quantum theory, brain research, and consciousness studies, that “paranormal theory of everything” may be much closer than we think. And, more exciting, that same theory may also be the veritable Holy Grail sought by physicists and scientists in their attempts to understand how the universe works… not to mention, how we as human beings work. Behind all the excitement is what the authors of this article call “The R Word.” Resonance. Vibration. Frequency. “Jiggle.” Resonance is, according to answers.com “a matter of one object or force getting in tune with another object. One literal example of this involves shattering a wine glass by hitting a musical note that is on the same frequency as the natural frequency of the glass. Though people seldom witness it directly, the entire world is in a state of motion, and where solid objects are concerned, this motion is manifested as vibration. When the vibrations produced by one object come into alignment with those of another, this is called resonance. Resonance helps to explain all manner of familiar events, from the feedback produced by an electric guitar to the cooking of food in a microwave oven.” Increasingly, more and more scientists, as well as paranormal researchers, are looking to resonance as a comprehensive model that may bridge the gaps between science and the supernatural, the normal and the paranormal, and perhaps go one step further to explain every facet of reality in between. This theory may indeed center on the vibratory nature of matter as it relates to both the
natural and “unnatural” worlds, as well as on harmonics and sound. Resonance and sound are such important concepts that they have even been linked to nearly every manner of mysterious phenomena reported the world over, including ghosts, UFOs, and energy vortices. Even such hallowed sites as sacred temples, edifices and monuments such as the Pyramid at Giza are not immune! In fact, some believe that the Great Pyramid may have been designed to act as a giant resonating structure attuned to the vibrational frequency of the Earth itself. But if resonance is the basis for the Theory of Everything, or at least the best
for a continuously variable state of consciousness. Is it then possible that paranormal phenomena is observed when the brain is experiencing a specific momentary assembly of large numbers of neurons at just the right time to create an altered state of perception? According to Giulio Tonon, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, in a November 2004 article in the BMC Neuroscience Journal “Consciousness poses two main problems. The first issue is understanding the conditions that determine to what extent a system has conscious experience. For instance, why is our consciousness generated by certain parts of our brain,
theory we have to explain much of what we consider to be “anomalous” or “paranormal,” then how does it work? As scientists are discovering, the brain appears to act more as a receiver for information, with consciousness choosing what information will be perceived and shaped into reality. What the “mind” resonates with often becomes our reality. This is the foundation for the popular interest in the Law of Attraction as “the secret” to achieving one’s dreams and goals. Yet the brain may also work in tandem with consciousness to perceive a specific frequency, that found in the infrasonic range, to “see” a ghost or sense a presence in the room, evidenced by the research of Vic Tandy, Michael Persinger and others who used sound and frequency as a means to facilitate paranormal “spookiness.” Research conducted over the last decade has shown irrefutable evidence that the nature of consciousness is associated with the degree of consciousness present and the number of neurons in the brain actively assembled in a synchronized state. This state generally lasts only for a few milliseconds, and then the neurons re-assemble, allowing
such as the thalamocortical system, and not by other parts, such as the cerebellum? And why are we conscious during wakefulness and much less so during dreamless sleep? The second problem involves the understanding of the exact conditions that determine what kind of consciousness a system has. For example, why do specific parts of the brain contribute specific qualities to our conscious experience, such as vision and audition?” Perhaps, as physicist Amit Gotswami suggests, consciousness is the ground of all being. “When we act in the world we really are acting with causal power. This view does not deny that matter also has causal potency — it does not deny that there is causal power from elementary particles upward, so there is upward causation — but in addition it insists that there is also downward causation. It shows up in our creativity and acts of free will, or when we make moral decisions. In those occasions we are actually witnessing downward causation by consciousness.” The link becomes the vibratory synchronization of consciousness with action, to create, as the Secret tells us, that which we
wish to physically manifest. Yet our consciousness needs something to tap into to create these resonant frequencies, and that is where the Grid comes into play. The concept of the Zero Point Field as a sort of grand, ground universal state of energy has swept the scientific community, but we authors propose that this grand, ground state acts more like a grid, with layers upon layers of levels of reality that can be accessed only when resonance is applied. And the vehicle with which we can move about the Grid is our consciousness. This suggests, as well, that other “beings” or life forms are moving about the Grid, too, and could explain the entire gamut of paranormal phenomena, from aliens to apparitions, as well as psi abilities like remote viewing, ESP and precognition. Within the Grid, there is no linear time, and anyone able to tap into this field of information theoretically should be able to access the past and future. Reality is all encompassing, and yet, remains veiled – seemingly always out of grasp of our full comprehension. One thing remains constant, however: the connection between resonance and “everything.” If we ourselves are resonance in human form, it behooves us to find what we feel in tune with, and avoid what causes us a sense of disharmony and disorder. Perhaps, the entire Universe operates this way… always seeking out that which it is aligned with to create new matter, new energy, new life. Does that resonate? Marie D. Jones and Larry Flaxman are the authors of “The Resonance Key: Exploring the Links Between Vibration, Consciousness and the Zero Point Grid,” and “11:11 – The Time Prompt Phenomenon: The Meaning Behind Mysterious Signs, Sequences and Synchronicities.”
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aChi: The Basis of True Health SS T
by Richard Stacel
oday nearly everyone it seems has some kind of health issue. If it’s not a serious internal illness like cancer, tumors or heart disease, then it’s joint or mobility issues, inability to focus or any of thousands of different ailments afflicting people today. Of course, the human body is an immensely complex work of art and biology, and the more complex something gets, the higher the probability of something going wrong. This is evidenced by the fact that there are so many tens or hundreds of millions of people who simply don’t feel well. The reasons for this are actually simpler than most are ready to believe. The mainstream media makes everything so complex and convoluted that many have a hard time believing simple things such as what foods you eat, deep breathing, exercise and meditation can deeply alleviate so many of their chronic health issues. It’s obvious that the truth about what really causes illness and what the true regulator of health and healing is will never come from mainstream sources. While more and more are coming to understand the role that nutrition plays in disease and healing, even this is only a secondary reason for illness and health. It’s true that if our environment were pure and we were eating a variety of truly healthy, organic and raw foods in their natural state this alone would keep us healthy and barring accidents guarantee us a strong, healthy and long life. But there is still something more to why those foods are healthy that most either don`t talk about or simply don`t understand to the degree necessary to truly benefit. With all the advertising out there trying to push a new pill that will cure all your ills, it can be very easy to get confused even for those of us who know what is hype and what is real. You often have to dig deep and long to find the real truth. The Chinese in their search for the “elixir of immortality” researched everything from minerals, herbs, various drug and mineral combinations, some of which would be considered complex even by todays standards. Much of this was done by a group known as the Taoists monks. Taoism is one of the three major religions of China along with Confucianism and Buddhism. The Taoists were often some of the most practical, realistic and scientific. They were searching for anything and everything they could find to help them live as long as possible. They did this not because they were afraid of death, but because the longer they could keep the body alive, the more time they had to cultivate their spiritual training and achieve oneness with the universe. In their centuries of constant research they discovered a tremendous amount of vital information that is still in use today. It was after many thousand of deaths through mineral and drug experiments that they discovered that the true “Elixir of Immortality” was not in any external potion, mineral, drug or even herbs, but it was already inside the body in the form of one’s own life force or chi. For those who may already be somewhat familiar with the principles of Chinese medicine and chi theory, this may not be too much of a surprise. If you`ve practiced Chinese medicine or other eastern and natural healing methods then you know how important your life force is to your well-being. This is
from serious illness and most importantly, prevent such illnesses from occurring in the first HoustonShaolinTemple.net place. not simply a belief but is something very When man first started to go into space real that is constantly being backed up by and orbited the earth in the 60’s, NASA nomodern research in the fields of physics and ticed that their astronauts were getting famedicine. We are not only a physical being tigued very quickly once they switched over but a spiritual, or quantum physical being as well. We have a physical body and an en- to their internal oxygen stores. NASA was ergy or spirit body. We are more than mere hard pressed to discover just why this was crude matter, but living matter with life, occurring as it was vital to the continuation of the space program. After spending some thoughts, spirit energy and more. As the physicist Fritz-Albert Popp has time analyzing the difference between earth also come to understand, our bodies are in- air and the pure air they were storing in their deed store houses for bio-luminescent ener- oxygen tanks, they finally realized that the gy and this is in fact how all our cells com- pure air the astronauts were breathing was municate. This is the reason why sunlight is devoid of a critical element that is abundant so vital for health and healing. While this in normal earth air...ions. Specifically, negaknowledge is a far cry from what western tive ions. They learned that the potential medicine would have us believe, it is none- gradient or electrical potential of the air in theless true. The western medical complex the capsules was near zero, whereas on earth tries to convince everyone that a human be- it was far stronger. It`s also known that the potential gradiing is nothing more than a mechanism that ent of the air is much stronger in the country is not capable of self healing, or at least than it is in large cities. It’s also very strong certainly not without their interventions in the mountains and near the oceans due through drugs and surgery. to the actions of waves, water and sunlight In times of catastrophic accidents or which generate large amounts of negative acute illness, surgery and drugs can be life ions. Negative ions are also generated after savers and it`s good we have them. But in thunderstorms which is what gives the air the vast majority of health issues today such that pure, strong, fresh and energetic quality intervention is simply not needed. When the afterwards. Static electricity and lightning, right energy techniques, nutrition and other which is really just a powerful static dishealing techniques are employed the body charge, are all proof of the energetic quality can and will heal itself according to it`s own that exists in the air. blueprint. So, what NASA did to solve the fatigue Western medicine takes the mechanisproblem is install negative ion generators in tic view of the body, that the body is like their space capsules and space shuttles to any machine and that since machines can’t ionize the air and fill it with negative ions, repair themselves, neither can your body. thus solving the problem of space fatigue. Even when the body is shown to heal countNegative ions and/or chi interact with less times once it’s given the right nutrients the body at the cellular level. The electroand conditions, most western doctors still magnetic field of cells has a very selective stubbornly refuse to believe that the body force field as part of their defense mechahealed without some so called “wonderful nism which allows various nutrients and drug” of their own creation. waste material to enter and leave the cell but If a person is ever healed of anything keeps pathogens, viruses and bacteria out. serious such as cancer, tumors or the like, This field performs a similar function to the they stubbornly, blindly and arrogantly cellular walls. This is also why making sure conclude automatically that the person was “misdiagnosed”. Either way it shows the that we get enough EFA’s or Essential Fatty failure of most western medicine when deal- Acids in our diet like Olive Oil, Coconut ing with non-communicable internal illness. oils and other Omega-3 oils are so vital. When we eat foods with hydrogenated If they misdiagnosed it in the first place or oils for example, they disrupt the function they could not cure it no matter what it was, of the cell walls not only on a physical level either way this shows the abysmal failure of but an energy level too. That’s because hytheir techniques and approach. drogenated oils are only one molecule away from being plastic and are in fact a type of The Magnet & The Astronaut celluloid plastic. Plastics are pretty good inThe reason that Chi is the most impor- hibitors of electrical energy flow. So the cell tant single factor in your health is because wall not only loses its physical barrier but your entire body is essentially a large bio- its EM shield is compromised as well. This electric magnet. It’s known that without leaves each cell open to being invaded, muthese magnetic fields, life could not occur. tated and destroyed from within. The stronger we can make that EM Cells have an electromagnetic field (EM) field of our cells, the stronger is the energy and it`s this field of energy that keeps each flowing through our bodies and the greater cell alive. The stronger the EM field, the is our immunity and resistance to invaders stronger each cell is and the more resistant it is to decay and death. Chi is a type of bio-electric energy, but it’s not the type that can be measured with a volt meter. It exists in a slightly different plane and level but still strongly interacts with this world. Whatever lexicon we use to describe it, the human body has and needs this life force to survive. When cultivated, this life force can enable one to perform great feats of strength, power, and healing. For health purposes it enables one to heal
organs are energized and communicate with our brains (An EM generator). This makes our bodies much more resistant to disease, degeneration and decay. As the martial artists learned, not only is health and resistance greatly increased, but even ones physical strength and toughness of body can be greatly increased through focusing on the chi or EM energy of the body. The latter is a big part of how advanced martial artists practicing the disciplines of advanced Iron shirt or Iron body do in fact make their bodies so tough that baseball bats, bricks and even knives and other edged weapons can not penetrate them. Through years of specialized training techniques including deep diaphragmatic breathing, meditation and certain physical exercises, the body can eventually become so tough that anything less than a gunshot will not penetrate or damHoustonShaolinTemple.net
age the body or even skin. Chinese martial artists have been responsible for greatly advancing the understanding of Chi, which has in turn been applied to the fields of health and healing. This is why in teaching and lecturing over the years many martial arts masters with deep understanding of energy science talk so much about chi. Because, in order to truly get to the root of all health issues and restore life, the chi must be built up, purified, and its flow and balance increased. In the presence of a body with a calm, relaxed mind all of these will occur at a far higher rate than normal. This is why learning to calm the mind is so important to health and longevity, as modern research is constantly reaffirming. As a human being you know that you’re not just a mechanism or some biological robot. You have feelings, thoughts, emotions, dreams, aspirations and a desire to learn, create and expand all the time. These are qualities of the ghost in the machine, not the machine itself. A machine may be able to be programmed to emulate those actions and emotions, but it doesn’t truly posses them because such experiences are spiritual qualities that no machine could attain. Western medicine, steeped in increasingly outdated newtonian physics, loves to explain feelings and emotions simply in terms of physical causes; claiming them to be nothing more than hormones, neurons firing or chemical reactions. It`s the ebb and flow of ones chi that is giving all cells, hormones and neurons in the body the bio-electric power they need to perform the jobs for which they were created. Without chi, the body is dead. Just as a robot or cyborg would be dead without the electrical current animating it’s mechanisms. Breathing techniques coupled with a calm, relaxed mind are the most effective methods to build up and increase our energy reserves and thus our life force. When we do physical exercise we are HoustonShaolinTemple.net also building up more of this energy, which and disease. This EM energy along with is why exercise is so important to health. But light (A type of EM energy itself) is how our the Chinese were Continued next page
may/june 2010 never big on heavy, hard, tiring exercises except under certain controlled conditions and on a limited basis. This is good news since most people don`t like to lift huge amounts of weight. This is especially important at the higher levels of energy cultivation where maintaining certain energy levels in the body becomes very important and is especially true for the higher spiritual practices of enlightenment. Everything that is done in the modern lifestyle, from sitting in office buildings with very poor air circulation of ion dead air, to having too many machines doing work for us, eating processed dead foods, all pollute and destroy the balance of our bio-energy. This also greatly drains our limited stores of enzymes needed for digestion and immune activity. Chronic stress, fear, and worry all set up a situation in our body where chi is constantly being drained and scattered at an incredible rate. This is another reason why so many people either age prematurely or suffer from chronic fatique and low immunity. This is also another major cause of infertility in both men and women which is something we`re seeing more and more of today. When we were born we received a certain amount of energy called Yuan Chi or “Original Chi” from our parents at conception. The strength, purity and quality of this chi is determined by the health of the parents at the time of conception. The mental and emotional state of the parents at this time is also critical to the developing fetus. Western science is now beginning to understand this through the field of Epigenetics. Epigenetics is a relatively new field of genetic study that now understands that your genetics do not control the body as was taught for so long, but that it`s really the mind along with it`s thoughts, beliefs and emotions that determines the modality of gene expression and dna/protein interaction (See the work of Bruce Lipton Phd, for more on Epigenetics and the earth changing implications of this new field). This is in perfect accord with an ancient Chi-gung axiom which states “The mind controls the chi and the chi controls the body”. The Taoists and martial artists have known this for thousands of years, which hopefully gives you a little idea into just how far ahead of conventional western medicine they are in the true understanding of the human body. The good news is that even if you didn`t inherit such great energy and genetics from your parents there are many steps that you can take to strengthen and improve your own energy and health. The majority of those handicaps can be overcome with proper attention to diet, learning to breath correctly, calming the mind, exercise and other lifestyle changes. By charging up more and more of that battery in your lower abdomen where energy is stored in the human body we can greatly enhance and strengthen our energy flow and thereby our health. Breathing exercises such as the 8 pieces of brocade, chi-gung meditation and other energy generation techniques will greatly improve the four main characteristics of our chi which are the quantity, quality, balance and flow of our energy. Truly, the best way to understand these concepts is through practice, for that is the easiest way to experiencially understand that chi energy is indeed real and just how effective it can be in enhancing all aspects of your life. This is what happens when we have the deep understanding and the proper view of noy only health and healing, but of human existence itself. Health, strength and peace of mind can be achieved using these simple and ancient methods, making the human experience something so much more enjoyable than you might now believe possible. The end result of this is not only far greater health and energy, but freedom from all the fear, worry, and doubt that so often keep us from achieving our goals in life.
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When False Flags Don’t Fly James Corbett The Corbett Report http://www.corbettreport.com/
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hose who have studied history know that nothing invigorates and empowers an authoritarian regime more than a spectacular act of violence, some sudden and senseless loss of life that allows the autocrat to stand on the smoking rubble and identify himself as the hero. It is at moments like this that the public— still in shock from the horror of the tragedy that has just unfolded before them—can be led into the most ruthless despotism: despotism that now bears the mantle of “security.” Acts of terror and violence never benefit the average man or woman. They only ever benefit those in positions of power. This is why Nero fiddled while Rome burned: it gave him a chance to throw the Christians to the lions and rebuild the capital of the Roman Empire in his own image. This is why Hearst and the warmongers of the emerging American Empire were delighted by the destruction of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor: it gave them the excuse they needed in order to rouse the public into supporting the Spanish-American War. This is why Israel attacked the U.S.S. Liberty in 1967 during the Six Day War, strafing and torpedoing it relentlessly for hours in a vain attempt to send it to the bottom: the Israelis believed that the loss of the Liberty could be blamed on Egypt and draw the Americans into war. This is why there are hundreds of documented examples of governments staging attacks in order to blame them on their political enemies. In every civilization, in every culture, in every historical period, authoritarians have known that spectacular acts of violence help to further consolidate their own power and control. And sadly, throughout history there have been all too many willing to allow attacks to occur, to pretend that attacks have occurred or even to attack their own population in order to further their political agenda. To think that such staged provocations and false flag attacks no longer occur would be as unrealistic as believing that human nature itself has changed, that powerful people no longer seek to increase their power, that influence is never used for deceit or manipulation, that lies are no longer told to satisfy greed or slake the thirst for control. It is to believe that our society is immuned from those things that we have seen in every other society in every other era. In short, it is a dangerous delusion. The people are once again learning the power of this delusion. They are learning the extent to which they have been lied to. They are once again studying their history. The Russians are learning how the FSB was caught planting bombs in Moscow in the 1990s during a terror scare that swept Putin into power and stirred the public into supporting the Second Chechen War. They are learning how their autocratic exPresident came to power campaigning on the graves of those his old FSB cronies had killed. The Israelis are learning how Mossad
has been caught time and again posing as the very Muslim terrorists they claim to be opposing. They are learning how Israel uses the specter of terror to further extend their blank cheque drawn on American funds to expand their police state at home and maintain their hardline stance, the world’s sixth-largest nuclear superpower supposedly threatened by the possibility that one of their neighbours may one day obtain a single nuclear weapon. The British are learning how their SAS officers were caught dressing up as Arabs in Iraq, driving around with trucks full of munitions, shooting at police to stir up ethnic tensions and insure that permanent bases could be built in the region. They are learning how Haroon Aswat, the supposed mastermind behind the 7/7 bombings, was working for British Intelligence.. They are learning how British military intelligence took part in IRA bombings. The Indians are learning how the Mumbai attack was helped by an U.S. Agent who is cooperating with investigators so that he won’t face questioning by foreign authorities. The Canadians are learning how their own provincial police dressed up as protestors in 2007 and threatened violence against other police in order to force a crackdown on peaceful protests. And the Americans are learning that there were multiple bombs found, dismantled and taken out of the Alfred P. Murrah building on April 19, 1995. They are learning that Timothy McVeigh had written a letter to his sister in which he claimed to be in the Special Forces for the U.S. Army. They are learning the bombing was being directed by FBI informants, just as the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was. They are learning about 9/11 and the Gulf of Tonkin and Operation Northwoods and their own Army Counterinsurgency Manuals that teach officers how to commit false flag attacks to blame on their enemies. In short, the people are learning the truth. And now we see the same build-up to a false flag event taking place that we saw in 1995. At that time the U.S. had a corporate media desperate to fling mud at anyone concerned by the actions of their government, and it had a government that was desperately unpopular in the face of growing dissatisfaction. Today we see the exact same factors at play. If anything, the situation today is worse
than it was in the run-up to the Oklahoma City Bombing, with media consolidation meaning that groups of concerned citizens like the Oath Keepers are being attacked by the controlled minions on both the left and the right. And now it is not just the militia that is being demonized by the establishment: it is veterans and gun owners, third party supporters and libertarians, anti-war protestors and human rights campaigners, people who are upset with the government giving trillions to the banks that have engineered our current financial crisis in the first place. In short, everyone is now a potential terrorist, according to the governmental and media agencies that deign to limit our range of acceptable opinion and control dissent. Even the word ‘terrorist’ means something more than it did back in 1995, after the false flag anthrax attack allowed the passage of the Patriot Act, after the boogey of AlCIAda gave the NSA the opportunity to announce that they were collecting everyone’s emails and everyone’s telephone calls, after the former Homeland Security Secretary came out and admitted that the Bush administration had made up terror threats in order to scare the people into supporting the government, now we know what the real definition of terrorism is. It is governments scaring their own populations into line. But there is something else that’s different now from what it was in 1995. The people are learning something else about terrorism: they are not terrorists for speaking out against their government. They are not terrorists for wanting the government to stop selling their children into servitude to pay bankers their bonuses. They are not terrorists for pointing out that the FBI and the CIA and Mossad and MI6 are behind every major terrorist event. The people are not terrorists because they do not want to see more death. They do not want more destruction, the spilling of the blood of their fellow citizens is not in their interests. Death and destruction only ever serves the governmental and financial and industrial interests who always grow in power and wealth in the wake of every tragedy. Time and again, the people pay with their lives, and the governments and the banks and the war machine only grows and prospers. The people do not want terrorism because it does not benefit them. It only benefits the existing power structure. And this time, if there is another staged event to blame on the government’s enemy of the day, the people will know who to blame.
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Inside The LC: The Strange but Mostly True Story of Laurel Canyon and the Birth of the Hippie Generation By Dave McGowan
Part I “There’s something happening here What it is ain’t exactly clear”
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oin me now, if you have the time, as we take a stroll down memory lane to a time nearly four-and-a-half decades ago – a time when America last had uniformed ground troops fighting a sustained and bloody battle to impose, uhmm, ‘democracy’ on a sovereign nation. It is the first week of August, 1964, and U.S. warships under the command of U.S. Navy Admiral George Stephen Morrison have allegedly come under attack while patrolling Vietnam’s Tonkin Gulf. This event, subsequently dubbed the ‘Tonkin Gulf Incident,’ will result in the immediate passing by the U.S. Congress of the obviously pre-drafted Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which will, in turn, quickly lead to America’s deep immersion into the bloody Vietnam quagmire. Before it is over, well over fifty thousand American bodies – along with literally millions of Southeast Asian bodies – will litter the battlefields of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. For the record, the Tonkin Gulf Incident appears to differ somewhat from other alleged provocations that have driven this country to war. This was not, as we have seen so many times before, a ‘false flag’ operation (which is to say, an operation that involves Uncle Sam attacking himself and then pointing an accusatory finger at someone else). It was also not, as we have also seen on more than one occasion, an attack that was quite deliberately provoked. No, what the Tonkin Gulf incident actually was, as it turns out, is an ‘attack’ that never took place at all. The entire incident, as has been all but officially acknowledged, was spun from whole cloth. (It is quite possible, however, that the intent was to provoke a defensive response, which could then be cast as an unprovoked attack on U.S ships. The ships in question were on an intelligence mission and were operating in a decidedly provocative manner. It is quite possible that when Vietnamese forces failed to respond as anticipated, Uncle Sam decided to just pretend as though they had.) Nevertheless, by early February 1965, the U.S. will – without a declaration of war and with no valid reason to wage one – begin indiscriminately bombing North Vietnam. By March of that same year, the infamous “Operation Rolling Thunder” will have commenced. Over the course of the next three-and-a-half years, millions of
will be dumped on the people of Vietnam in what can only be described as one of the worst crimes against humanity ever perpetrated on this planet. Also in March of 1965, the first uniformed U.S. soldier will officially set foot on Vietnamese soil (although Special Forces units masquerading as ‘advisers’ and ‘trainers’ had been there for at least four years, and likely much longer). By April 1965, fully 25,000 uniformed American kids, most still teenagers barely out of high school, will be slogging through the rice paddies of Vietnam. By the end of the year, U.S. troop strength will have surged to 200,000. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world in those early months of 1965, a new ‘scene’ is just beginning to take shape in the city of Los Angeles. In a geographically and socially isolated community known as Laurel Canyon – a heavily wooded, rustic, serene, yet vaguely ominous slice of LA nestled in the hills that separate the Los Angeles basin from the San Fernando Valley – musicians, singers and songwriters suddenly begin to gather as though summoned there by some unseen Pied Piper. Within months, the ‘hippie/flower child’ movement will be given birth there, along with the new style of music that will provide the soundtrack for the tumultuous second half of the 1960s. An uncanny number of rock music superstars will emerge from Laurel Canyon beginning in the mid-1960s and carrying through the decade of the 1970s. The first
Jim Morrison
to drop an album will be The Byrds, whose biggest star will prove to be David Crosby. The band’s debut effort, “Mr. Tambourine Man,” will be released on the Summer Solstice of 1965. It will quickly be followed by releases from the John Phillips-led Mamas and the Papas (“If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears,” January 1966), Love with Arthur Lee (“Love,” May 1966), Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention (“Freak Out,” June 1966), Buffalo Springfield, featurB-52 Bomber ing Stephen Stills and Neil Vietnam Young (“Buffalo Springfield,” October 1966), and The Doors (“The Doors,” January 1967). One of the earliest on the Laurel Canyon/Sunset Strip scene is Jim Morrison, the enigmatic lead singer of The Doors. Jim will quickly become one of the most iconic, controversial, critically acclaimed, and influential figures to take up residence in Laurel Canyon. Curiously enough though, the tons of bombs, missiles, rockets, incendiself-proclaimed “Lizard King” has another ary devices and chemical warfare agents claim to fame as well, albeit one that none
of his numerous chroniclers will feel is of much relevance to his career and possible untimely death: he is the son, as it turns out, of the aforementioned Admiral George Stephen Morrison. And so it is that, even while the father is actively conspiring to fabricate an incident that will be used to massively accelerate an illegal war, the son is positioning himself to become an icon of the ‘hippie’/ anti-war crowd. Nothing unusual about that, I suppose. It is, you know, a small world and all that. And it is not as if Jim Morrison’s story is in any way unique.
Frank Zappa During the early years of its heyday, Laurel Canyon’s father figure is the rather eccentric personality known as Frank Zappa. Though he and his various Mothers of Invention line-ups will never attain the commercial success of the band headed by the admiral’s son, Frank will be a hugely influential figure among his contemporaries. Ensconced in an abode dubbed the ‘Log Cabin’ – which sat right in the heart of Laurel Canyon, at the crossroads of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Lookout Mountain Avenue – Zappa will play host to virtually every musician who passes through the canyon in the mid- to late-1960s. He will also discover and sign numerous acts to his various Laurel Canyon-based record labels. Many of these acts will be rather bizarre and somewhat obscure characters (think Captain Beefheart and Larry “Wild Man” Fischer), but some of them, such as psychedelic rocker cum shock-rocker Alice Cooper, will go on to superstardom. Zappa, along with certain members of his sizable entourage (the ‘Log Cabin’ was run as an early commune, with numerous hangers-on occupying various rooms in the main house and the guest house, as well as in the peculiar caves and tunnels lacing the grounds of the home; far from the quaint homestead the name seems to imply, by the way, the ‘Log Cabin’ was a cavernous five-level home that featured a 2,000+ square-foot living room with three massive chandeliers and an enormous floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace), will also be instrumental in introducing the look and attitude that will define the ‘hippie’ counterculture (although the Zappa crew preferred the label ‘Freak’). Nevertheless, Zappa (born, curiously enough, on the Winter Solstice of 1940) never really made a secret of the fact that he had nothing but contempt for the ‘hippie’ culture that he helped create and that he surrounded himself with. Given that Zappa was, by numerous accounts, a rigidly authoritarian controlfreak and a supporter of U.S. military ac-
tions in Southeast Asia, it is perhaps not surprising that he would not feel a kinship with the youth movement that he helped nurture. And it is probably safe to say that Frank’s dad also had little regard for the youth culture of the 1960s, given that Francis Zappa was, in case you were wondering, a chemical warfare specialist assigned to – where else? – the Edgewood Arsenal. Edgewood is, of course, the longtime home of America’s chemical warfare program, as well as a facility frequently cited as being deeply enmeshed in MK-ULTRA operations. Curiously enough, Frank Zappa literally grew up at the Edgewood Arsenal, having lived the first seven years of his life in military housing on the grounds of the facility. The family later moved to Lancaster, California, near Edwards Air Force Base, where Francis Zappa continued to busy himself with doing classified work for the military/intelligence complex. His son, meanwhile, prepped himself to become an icon of the peace & love crowd. Again, nothing unusual about that, I suppose. Zappa’s manager, by the way, is a shadowy character by the name of Herb Cohen, who had come out to L.A. from the Bronx with his brother Mutt just before the music and club scene began heating up. Cohen, a former U.S. Marine, had spent a few years traveling the world before his arrival on the Laurel Canyon scene. Those travels, curiously, had taken him to the Congo in 1961, at the very time that leftist Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was being tortured and killed by our very own CIA. Not to worry though; according to one of Zappa’s biographers, Cohen wasn’t in the Congo on some kind of nefarious intelligence mission. No, he was there, believe it or not, to supply arms to Lumumba “in defiance of the CIA.” Because, you know, that is the kind of thing that globetrotting ex-Marines did in those days (as we’ll see soon enough when we take a look at another Laurel Canyon luminary). Making up the other half of Laurel Canyon’s First Family is Frank’s wife, Gail Zappa, known formerly as Adelaide Sloatman. Gail hails from a long line of career Naval officers, including her father, who spent his life working on classified nuclear weapons research for the U.S. Navy. Gail herself had once worked as a secretary for the Office of Naval Research and Development (she also once told an interviewer that she had “heard voices all [her] life”). Many years before their nearly simultaneous arrival in Laurel Canyon, Gail had attended a Naval kindergarten with “Mr. Mojo Risin’” himself, Jim Morrison (it is claimed that, as children, Gail once hit Jim over the head with a hammer). The very same Jim Morrison had later attended the same Alexandria, Virginia high school as two other future Laurel Canyon luminaries – John Phillips and Cass Elliott. “Papa” John Phillips, more so than probably any of the other illustrious residents of Laurel Canyon, will play a major role in spreading the emerging youth ‘counterculture’ across America. His contribution will be twofold: first, he will coorganize (along with Manson associate Terry Melcher) the famed Monterrey Pop Festival, which, through unprecedented media exposure, will give mainstream America its first real look at the music and fashions of the nascent ‘hippie’ movement. Second, Phillips will pen an insipid song known as “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair),” which will quickly rise to the top of the charts. Along with the Monterrey Pop Festival, the song will be instrumental in luring the disenfranchised (a preponderance of whom are underage runaways) to San Francisco to create the Haight-Asbury phenomenon and the famed 1967 “Summer of Love.” Before arriving in Laurel Canyon and opening the doors of his home to the soonContinued next page
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to-be famous, the already famous, and the infamous (such as the aforementioned Charlie Manson, whose ‘Family’ also spent time at the Log Cabin and at the Laurel Canyon home of “Mama” Cass Elliot, which, in case you didn’t know, sat right across the street from the Laurel Canyon home of Abigail Folger and Voytek Frykowski, but
let’s not get ahead of ourselves here), John Edmund Andrew Phillips was, shockingly enough, yet another child of the military/ intelligence complex. The son of U.S. Marine Corp Captain Claude Andrew Phillips and a mother who claimed to have psychic and telekinetic powers, John attended a series of elite military prep schools in the Washington, D.C. area, culminating in an appointment to the prestigious U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis
Charles Manson After leaving Annapolis, John married Susie Adams, a direct descendant of ‘Founding Father’ John Adams. Susie’s father, James Adams, Jr., had been involved in what Susie described as “cloak-and-dagger stuff with the Air Force in Vienna,” or what we like to call covert intelligence operations. Susie herself would later find employment at the Pentagon, alongside John Phillip’s older sister, Rosie, who dutifully reported to work at the complex for nearly thirty years. John’s mother, ‘Dene’ Phillips, also worked for most of her life for the federal government in some unspeci-
Sir John Adams
fied capacity. And John’s older brother, Tommy, was a battle-scarred former U.S. Marine who found work as a cop on the Alexandria police force, albeit one with a disciplinary record for exhibiting a violent streak when dealing with people of color. John Phillips, of course – though surrounded throughout his life by military/ intelligence personnel – did not involve himself in such matters. Or so we are to believe. Before succeeding in his musical career, however, John did seem to find himself, quite innocently of course, in some rather unusual places. One such place was Havana, Cuba, where Phillips arrived at the very height of the Cuban Revolution. For the record, Phillips has claimed that he went to Havana as nothing more than a concerned private citizen, with the intention of – you’re going to love this one – “fighting for Castro.” Because, as I mentioned earlier, a lot of folks in those days traveled abroad to thwart CIA operations before taking up residence in Laurel Canyon and joining the ‘hippie’ generation. During the two weeks or so that the Cuban Missile Crisis played out, a few years after Castro took power, Phillips found himself cooling his heels in Jacksonville, Florida – alongside, coincidentally I’m sure, the Mayport Naval Station. Anyway, let’s move on to yet another of Laurel Canyon’s earliest and brightest stars, Mr. Stephen Stills. Stills will have the distinction of being a founding member of two of Laurel Canyon’s most acclaimed and beloved bands: Buffalo Springfield, and, needless to say, Crosby, Stills & Nash. In addition, Stills will pen perhaps the first, and certainly one of the most enduring anthems of the 60s generation, “For What It’s Worth,” the opening lines of which appear at the top of this post (Stills’ follow-up single will be entitled “Bluebird,” which, coincidentally or not, happens to be the original codename assigned to the MK-ULTRA program). Before his arrival in Laurel Canyon, Stephen Stills was (*yawn*) the product of yet another career military family. Raised partly in Texas, young Stephen spent large swaths of his childhood in El Salvador, Costa Rica, the Panama Canal Zone, and various other parts of Central America – alongside his father, who was, we can be fairly certain, helping to spread ‘democracy’ to the unwashed masses in that endearingly American way. As with the rest of our cast of characters, Stills was educated primarily at schools on military bases and at elite military academies. Among his contemporaries in Laurel Canyon, he was widely viewed as having an abrasive, authoritarian personality. Nothing unusual about any of that, of course, as we have already seen with the rest of our cast of characters. There is, however, an even more curious aspect to the Stephen Stills story: Stephen will later tell anyone who will sit and listen that he had served time for Uncle Sam in the jungles of Vietnam. These tales will be universally dismissed by chroniclers of the era as nothing more than drug-induced delusions. Such a thing couldn’t possibly be true, it will be claimed, since Stills arrived on the Laurel Canyon scene at the very time that the first uniformed troops began shipping out and he remained in the public eye thereafter. And it will of course be quite true that Stephen Stills could not have served with uniformed ground troops in Vietnam, but what will be ignored is the undeniable fact that the U.S. had thousands of ‘advisers’ – which is to say, CIA/Special Forces operatives – operating in the country for a good many years before the arrival of the first official ground troops. What will also be ignored is that, given his background, his age, and the timeline of events, Ste-
phen Stills not only could indeed have seen action in Vietnam, he would seem to have been a prime candidate for such an assignment. After which, of course, he could rather quickly become – stop me if you’ve heard this one before – an icon of the peace generation. Another of those icons, and one of Laurel Canyon’s most flamboyant residents, is a young man by the name of David Crosby, founding member of the seminal Laurel Canyon band the Byrds, as well as, of course, Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby is, not surprisingly, the son of an Annapolis graduate and WWII military intelligence officer, Major Floyd Delafield Crosby. Like others in this story, Floyd Crosby spent much of his postservice time traveling the world. Those travels landed him in places like Haiti, where he paid a visit in 1927, when the country just happened to be, coincidentally of course, under military occupation by the U.S. Marines. One of the Marines doing that occupying was a guy that we met earlier by the name of Captain Claude Andrew Phillips. But David Crosby is much more than just the son of Major Floyd Delafield Crosby. David Van Cortlandt Crosby, as it turns out, is a scion of the closely intertwined Van Cortlandt, Van Schuyler and Van Rensselaer families. And while you’re probably thinking, “the Van Who families?,” I can assure you that if you plug those names in over at Wikipedia, you can spend a pretty fair amount of time reading up on the power wielded by this clan for the last, oh, two-and-a-quarter centuries or so. Suffice it to say that the Crosby family tree includes a truly dizzying array of US senators and congressmen, state senators and assemblymen, governors, mayors, judges, Supreme Court justices, Revolutionary and Civil War generals, signers of the Declaration of Independence, and members of the Continental Congress. It also includes, I should hasten to add – for those of you with a taste for such things – more than a few high-ranking Masons. Stephen Van Rensselaer III, for example, reportedly served as Grand Master of Ma-
sons for New York. And if all that isn’t impressive enough, according to the New England Genealogical Society, David Van Cortlandt Crosby is also a direct descendant of ‘Founding Fathers’ and Federalist Papers’ authors Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. If there is, as many believe, a network of elite families that has shaped national and world events for a very long time, then it is probably safe to say that David Crosby is a bloodline member of that clan (which may explain, come to think of it, why his semen seems to be in such demand in certain circles – because, if we’re being honest here, it certainly can’t be due to his looks or talent.) If America had royalty, then David Crosby would probably be a Duke, or a Prince, or something similar (I’m not really sure how that shit works). But other than that, he is just a normal, run-of-the-mill kind of guy who just happened to shine as one of Laurel Canyon’s brightest stars. And who, I guess I should add, has a
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Crosby by David O’Keefe
real fondness for guns, especially handguns, which he has maintained a sizable collection of for his entire life. According to those closest to him, it is a rare occasion when Mr. Crosby is not packing heat (John Phillips also owned and sometimes carried handguns). And according to Crosby himself, he has, on at least one occasion, dis-
Steven Van Rensselaer III charged a firearm in anger at another human being. All of which made him, of course, an obvious choice for the Flower Children to rally around. Another shining star on the Laurel Canyon scene, just a few years later, will be singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, who is – are you getting as bored with this as I am? – the product of a career military family. Browne’s father was assigned to post-war ‘reconstruction’ work in Germany, which very likely means that he was in the employ of the OSS, precursor to the CIA. As readers of my “Understanding the F-Word” may recall, U.S. involvement in post-war reconstruction in Germany largely consisted of maintaining as much of the Nazi infrastructure as possible while shielding war criminals from capture and prosecution. Against that backdrop, Jackson Browne was born in a military hospital in Heidelberg, Germany. Some two decades later, he emerged as … oh, never mind. Let’s talk instead about three other Laurel Canyon vocalists who will rise to dizzying heights of fame and fortune: Gerry Beckley, Dan Peek and Dewey Bunnell. Individually, these three names are probably unknown to virtually all readers; but collectively, as the band America, the three will
Ventura Highway
score huge hits in the early ‘70s with such songs as “Ventura Highway,” “A Horse With No Name,” and the Wizard of Oz-themed “The Tin Man.” I guess I probably don’t need to add here that all three of these lads were products of the Continued Page 29
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When It Comes to Vaccines, Veterinarians Are Better Than Human Doctors By Dr Sherri Tenpenny
www.drtenpenny.com
www.osteomed2.com
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eterinarians and pediatricians have a great deal in common. Both are highly qualified medical professionals with similar credentials and years of education. Both often struggle to determine what is wrong with their patients since pets, like little people, cannot communicate what hurts. Their jobs are not easy, but the premise of their work is simple: Support the health of those in their care and abide by the oath: “First, do no harm.” Wellness checkups for babies and pets are often synchronized with routine vaccination schedules. For human patients, this
is where discussions with the doctor can
turn dark. Parents are aware of others who have been discharged from a medical practice for questioning vaccines and are wary of bringing up their concerns. Their fears are not unfounded. According to a 2005 survey of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), when faced with parents who refuse immunization, pediatricians reported that they always (4.8%) or at least sometimes (18.1%) tell parents that they will no longer serve as the child’s physician. Pet owners, on the other hand, have latitude to discuss their vaccination concerns. In many cases, refusing a vaccination has the full support of their vet. When it comes to dogs, veterinarians can tailor the vaccination schedule to the pet. The Canine Vaccine Guidelines and Recommendations offer suggestions about shots for puppies and adult dogs. The guidelines recognize vaccination as a medical procedure that needs to be individualized based on the animal’s geographic and lifestyle exposure. Veterinary professional organizations allow flexibility and encourage doctors to extend vaccination intervals whenever necessary for safety of the pet. Most veterinarians agree house pets should be assessed yearly and vaccines –if given at all – should be tailored to an animal’s age, health, and lifestyle. This position is supported by two associations, the American Association of Feline Practitioners and the Academy of Feline Medicine. The Advisory Panel on Feline Vaccines has guidelines for the selection vaccinations for cats. Feline shots fall into two basic categories: those recommended for most cats, and those recommended for only a few cats. Both of these organizations encourage cat owners to develop a good relationship with their veterinarian so their cat’s vaccination schedule can be openly discussed. Veteranarians limit the number of vaccines given to puppies on a single visit.
A study of more than 1,200 dogs found evidence that vaccine-associated adverse events were significantly greater with each addition vaccine given per office visit. Vets are cautious about giving multiple vaccines on one office visit. Unlike their animal doctor counterparts, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) endorses universal immunization and follows a one-size-fits-all vaccination schedule. The AAP not only assumes all vaccines are necessary; pediatricians assume that all children can equally tolerate all vaccines given according to a standard schedule. As many as six doses – and 18 vaccine antigens—can be given at the same time. The Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that if a dose is not administered “on time” at the routine two, four and six month checkups, the shot should be given at the next visit. Every dose is considered to be so essential that the ACIP has created a ‘catch up’ schedule for children who have missed even one shot. To by-pass the psychological concerns of parents when multiple shots are given at one time, manufacturers have created combination vaccines, such as Pediarix and Comvax, to trick parents into believing that their baby is “only” getting one shot at a time. Pediarix is actually three vaccines in one shot (DTaP, hepatitis B and polio) and Comvax combines the hepatitis B and HiB vaccine into one shot. The ACIP states that, “The use of combination vaccines is preferred over separate injections of its equivalent vaccine components”. Both the ACIP and the AAP overlook a potentially serious problem with combination shots: If a reaction occurs, it is impossible to determine which vaccine caused the side effect.
Animal doctors have figured this out. The Association of Feline Practitioners recommends using single dose vaccines because “increasing the number of antigens in a vaccine also increases the probability associated adverse events.” Most pediatricians seem to have a “vaccinate no matter what” approach to childhood immunizations rather than individualizing the schedule. The AAP encourages pediatricians to “work individually and collectively to ensure that all children receive all childhood immunizations on time.” This includes giving vaccines to children, even when they are sick. According to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) most recent “General Recommendations for Vaccination”, published in 2006, there are few reasons for delaying vaccination. In fact, the guidelines state, “Among the most common conditions often inappropriately considered contraindications for vaccination are diarrhea, minor upper-respiratory tract illnesses (including otitis media) with or without fever, mild-to-moderate local reactions to a previous dose of vaccine, current antimicrobial therapy, and the convalescent phase of an acute illness.” Pediatricians, at the behest of the CDC and the AAP, follow the CDC’s instructions to use of every encounter as an opportunity to vaccinate. When animals are sick, most vets err on the side of safety. To minimize the risk of a reaction, vaccines are delayed until the pet is healthy. According to PetEducation. com, the decision to vaccinate a sick animal should be made on an individual basis. The vet performs a physical examination and possibly obtains laboratory tests to aid in the Continued next page
EU Is Collapsing Like Tower Of Babel
Paul Joseph Watson PrisonPlanet.com
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onument Securities Chief Economist Stephen Lewis says the chaos in Greece could lead to collapse of the European Union, bringing down with it the dangerous assumption that structures of global governance provide stability in times of financial peril, but the World Bank and IMF vultures will be waiting as ever to feed on the remains of a dying country. Striking Greek workers and civil servants have violently protested their government’s acceptance of the terms of an EU-IMF bailout, which sacrifices their future prosperity in a trade off for an attempt at stabilizing the Euro zone as a whole, a damning indictment of how global governance, which was introduced under the justification of maintaining financial stability, has had the exact opposite effect, with the virulence of the contagion from Greece threatening to spread to Portugal, Spain and Italy. “There can be little wonder that the bailout finds little favor with Greek popular opinion,” Lewis said. “It must be obvious to Greek citizens that its terms pay scant regard to their future prosperity, which is being sacrificed in an increasingly forlorn hope of preserving a stable currency for the use of citizens in other member-states.” Europe’s debt crisis has seen the Euro single currency plunge against the U.S. dollar, while riots were also a contributing factor to yesterday’s alarming U.S. stock market
plunge, which at one stage saw the Dow Jones shed almost 1000 points. BNP Paribas are now predicting that the Euro will hit parity against the U.S. dollar within 12 months, a level not seen for eight years. “While we have had one of the most bearish forecasts in the market, these previous projections now appear too moderate given the current developments,” states the BNP report. Economist Lewis firmly lays the blame for the chaos on internationalists who conned European nations into surrendering their sovereignty to the European project under the delusion that the architecture they were trading for their national self-determination
would protect their country from precisely the kind of strife now unfolding. “The guilty men are the eurocrats who stubbornly refuse to recognise that their fanciful construction is collapsing like a Tower of Babel,” Lewis told CNBC. Lewis also forecasts that the riots and the violence show no signs of abating, so long as the globalists insist on forcing Greece into bondage by implementing the draconian terms of the EU-IMF loan which has now been passed by Parliament. “Since most Greeks appear to think their government’s debts were incurred in the first place as a result of the nefarious activities of a ruling elite, the chances of their settling down to fulfil the terms of the bail-
out seem remote at best,” he said. As was first documented by investigative reporter Greg Palast, what is happening in Greece is a familiar blueprint for how the IMF and World Bank habitually pillage and take over national countries and their economies. Palast uncovered World Bank documents explaining how the IMF and World Bank deliberately fan the flames of violence and social unrest by raising prices on food, oil and the cost of living, causing riots which then lead to a virtual collapse of society which they then swoop in to exploit. “The IMF riot is painfully predictable,” Palast quotes former World Bank chief Joe Stiglitz. When a nation is, “down and out, [the IMF] takes advantage and squeezes the last pound of blood out of them. They turn up the heat until, finally, the whole cauldron blows up,” as when the IMF eliminated food and fuel subsidies for the poor in Indonesia in 1998. Palast uncovered how the riots were “written into the plan” by the IMF and World Bank and that “social unrest” was required to cause a financial panic, allowing for global corporations to then be able to buy up infrastructure on the cheap. “The IMF riots (and by riots I mean peaceful demonstrations dispersed by bullets, tanks and teargas) cause new panicked flights of capital and government bankruptcies,” writes Palast. “This economic arson has it’s bright side – for foreign corporations, who can then pick off remaining assets, such as the odd mining concession or port, at fire sale prices.”
may/june 2010 decision. Not so with children. According to the CDC, a routine physical exam and taking a temperature is no longer a prerequisite before vaccinating. If a child appears in the doctor’s office, vaccination should proceed. Many vets are concerned about the potential for side effects and complications from unnecessary shots and boosters. They order a blood test, called a titer, to determine the need for additional vaccinations. A vaccine titer is test that measures the level of an antibody in the blood, a component usually induced by vaccination. A titer is reported as a ratio of one to a number. The higher that number, the better. For example, a titer of 1:5 is a low titer, and generally implies a susceptibility to disease. A titer of 1:1,000,000 is a very high titer, and implies immunity. It is generally accept that a high titer indicates further vaccination is unnecessary. son
Vets vs Peds: A Interesting Compari-
Unlike the AAP which routinely denies any connection between vaccines and adverse events, the Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents (COBTA) at the American Veterinary Medical Association concludes that vaccines can cause problems and should be individualized. The following is an excerpt of their policy: “There are insufficient data available to scientifically determine a single best vac-
cination protocol regimen for application to all animals globally. Despite significant advances in our knowledge of antigens and antigen presentation, gaps still remain in our understanding of the immune system’s acute and chronic reaction to multiple vaccinations. The body of knowledge surrounding the genetic variability within individual breeds or species and the resulting idiopathic responses to vaccination (including vaccine-associated adverse reactions), is increasing but remains too inconclusive to make specific recommendations appropriate for all patients. Consequently, COBTA believes that a customized approach to recommended vaccination protocols is the safest and most effective method to medically address the increasing diversity in patients presented for immunization.” It appears that veterinarians are more prudent about vaccination than their pediatrician counterparts. It’s time for pediatricians, the AAP, the CDC, the ACIP and all others involved with human vaccination programs to acknowledge that vaccines have risks and can cause serious harm, including death. If animal doctors can work with owners to individualize vaccination schedules, to avoid over-vaccinating though vaccine titers, and to encourage participatory care, human doctors need to start doing the same. Parents need to demand care that is as good for their children as it is for their pets.
The Great Escapism by Naomi Wolf Naomi Wolf is a political activist and social critic whose most recent book is Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries.
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EW YORK – Barack Obama, however mixed his accomplishments to date as US president, has sought to rebrand America and reclaim its former signature asset: its ability to embody universally admired values. As popular culture is usually the way those values are transmitted, it is worth considering what it is about American cinema, music, and popular literature that makes them so compelling to many other parts of the world. After all, much of what America once monopolized in Hollywood movies and other pop-culture exports is now being reproduced locally. Bollywood competes with California in terms of glamorous stars and big production numbers; Japan and South Korea mint their own pop singers and fashion trends. But consider Entourage, the American TV show that centers on a rising male film star and his posse of dudes. Or a recent article in The New Yorker about two scruffy young chefs who have set out across the country to start the great adventure of running their own crazy restaurant, called Animal. Or Swingers, the 1996 worldwide hit movie about a twenty-something guy in Hollywood and his band of male friends who drag him to Las Vegas to mend his broken heart. One of America’s last competitive cultural exports, it seems, is the post-adolescent male escape fantasy. Ever since Huck Finn took his friends down the Mississippi River on a raft,
American men have created and consumed fantasies of setting out with their males friends for parts unknown, or of traveling in an all-male group to have adventures closer to home. In the 1950’s, Jack Kerouac took his buddy careening across the country in On the Road. A decade later, Ken Kesey took his buddies, the Merry Pranksters, across the country in the other direction in their painted bus (granted, with female hangers-on). From Easy Rider in the 1960’s to the Harold and Kumar movies today, the “buddy film” – typically involving travel-based adventure – has become an established genre. Savvy American politicians even make use of it for their own purposes. Both John McCain and George W. Bush cleverly tapped into this fantasy – with its easy bonhomie and absence of wives and kids – to capture the hearts of the male journalists aboard their campaign buses, who could imagine themselves once again as tough, unfettered, and venturesome Kerouac figures. President Obama even gave the actor who played Kumar a job in the White House (which he has now left to return to Hollywood). As you survey the rest of global culture, the male-escape scenario is hard to spot emerging from any other place. Save for the recent hit film 3 Idiots, Bollywood doesn’t send groups of Indian guys off on merry, irresponsible adventures. Male protagonists in French films don’t take off together in convertibles for the Pyrenees; they stay home
Continued from page 27 ligence community. Beckley’s dad was the Mickey Dolenz c o m mander of the n o w defunct W e s t Ruislip USAF b a s e near London, England, a facility deeply immersed in intelligence operations. Bunnell’s and Peek’s fathers were both career Air Force officers serving under Beckley’s dad at West Ruislip, which is where the three boys first met. We could also, I suppose, discuss Mike Nesmith of the Monkees and Cory Wells of Three Dog Night (two more hugely successful Laurel Canyon bands), who both arrived in LA not long after serving time with the U.S. Air Force. Nesmith also inherited a family fortune estimated at $25 million. Gram Parsons, who would briefly replace David Crosby in The Byrds before fronting The Flying Burrito Brothers, was the son of Major Cecil Ingram “Coon Dog” Connor II, a decorated military officer and bomber pilot who reportedly flew over 50 combat missions. Parsons was also an heir, on his mother’s side, to the formidable Snively family fortune. Said to be the wealthiest family in the exclusive enclave of Winter Haven, Florida, the Snively family was the proud owner of Snively Groves, Inc., which reportedly owned as much as 1/3 of all the citrus groves in the state of Florida. And so it goes as one scrolls through the roster of Laurel Canyon superstars. What one finds, far more often than not, are the sons and daughters of the military/ intelligence complex and the sons and daughters of extreme wealth and privilege – and oftentimes, you’ll find both rolled into one convenient package. Every once in a while, you will also stumble across a former child actor, like the aforementioned Brandon DeWilde, or Monkee Mickey Dolenz, or eccentric prodigy Van Dyke Parks. You might also encounter some former mental patients, such as James Taylor, who spent time in two different mental institutions in Massachusetts before hitting the Laurel Canyon scene, or Larry “Wild Man” Fischer, who was institutionalized repeatedly during his teen years, once for attacking his mother with a knife (an act that was gleefully mocked by Zappa on the cover of Fischer’s first album). Finally, you might find the offspring of an organized
and urbanely have affairs. Nor does Japanese pop culture manufacture escape fantasies aimed at Japanese men. Yet men all over the world tune in to American-made fantasies of male bonding and male escape – escape from the bonds of work and domesticity, and, if only for a youthful period of the male lifespan, from long-term commitment to women themselves. This fantasy, derived, no doubt, from American history – from westward expansion and Manifest Destiny, from the Gold Rush and a settlement policy that valorized staking a claim to the wilderness and subduing it – is powerfully appealing to men in general, and to many women as well. Indeed, American women have recently begun to film and export their own versions of this fantasy – starting with the groundbreaking 1991 film Thelma and Louise and continuing in a growing trend of girl-group travel and escape packages. Other countries’ lack of male escape fantasies in their popular culture may be no less historically rooted: less transient, more traditional societies will not
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crime figure, like Warren Zevon, the son of William “Stumpy” Zevon, a lieutenant for infamous LA crimelord Mickey Cohen. All these folks gathered nearly simultaneously along the narrow, winding roads of Laurel Canyon. They came from across the country – although the Washington, DC area was noticeably over-represented – as well as from Canada and England. They came even though, at the time, there wasn’t much of a pop music industry in Los Angeles. They came even though, at the time, there was no live pop music scene to speak of. They came even though, in retrospect, there was no discernable reason for them to do so. It would, of course, make sense these days for an aspiring musician to venture out to Los Angeles. But in those days, the centers of the music universe were Nashville, Detroit and New York. It wasn’t the industry that drew the Laurel Canyon crowd, you see, but rather the Laurel Canyon crowd that transformed Los Angeles into the epicenter of the music industry. To what then do we attribute this unprecedented gathering of future musical superstars in the hills above Los Angeles? What was it that inspired them all to head out west? Perhaps Neil Van Dyke Parks Young said it best when he told an interviewer that he couldn’t really say why he headed out to LA circa 1966; he and others “were just going like Lemmings.” To Be Continued … David McGowan is the author of Derailing Democracy: The America the Media Don?t Want You to See (Common Courage Press, 2000) and Understanding the F-Word: American Fascism and the Politics of Illusion (Writers Club Press, 2001), as well as the webmaster at the Center for an Informed America (www. davesweb.cnchost.com). In his latest book, Programmed To Kill, Dave takes a fresh look at the lives of many of America’s most notorious accused murderers, focusing on the largely hidden patterns that suggest that there may be more to the average serial killer story than meets the eye.
warmly welcome homegrown films and pop songs about local young men taking off and fleeing their responsibilities. But, judging by the appetite shown worldwide for this narrative, it seems clear that identification with such adventures is almost universal. It seems to speak to a deep longing in men – and in the women who also enjoy these films and TV shows – for a time in one’s life when one could dash toward freedom, adventure, and self-reinvention, unencumbered by social ties and family obligations. At its best, this genre is part of America’s gift to the rest of the world. At its worst, it is part of America’s curse. That whiff of careening, heedless adolescent fecklessness is part of what makes the archetypal American male presence alarming when he is equipped with a global cudgel. To the rest of the world, those same qualities are part of his charm only so long as he stays safely up on the screen. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2010. w w w. p r o j e c t - s y n d i c a t e . o r g
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~News Blitz~ || World Headlines Of The Month || India studies yogic power for life withChina’s busy blogosphere no harout food binger of political freedom, open speech: study AFP reported: University of Buffalo: “The long-haired and bearded yogi, Prahlad Jani, has been sealed in a hospital in the western city of Ahmedabad where he is under 24-hour observation by 30 doctors and will be subjected to a series of medical tests.” “The observation from this study may throw light on human survival without food and water,” doctor G. Ilavazahagan, director of India’s Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS)” “‘If you’re busy with something you don’t feel hunger, thirst, or the heat and cold,’ said Sri Sahaj Muni Maharaj, who took daily glasses of warm water during his fast which ended on May 1998.” “‘I’m busy contemplating the infinite,’ he told India’s Outlook magazine one month “A study by communication researchbefore the end of his experiment.” ers at the University at Buffalo confirms what was made evident by the very public Google-Chinese government dispute over Watching the watchers: Researchers Internet censorship: the fact that China’s Study National Efforts to Censor Traffic cyberculture is changing and growing rapon the Internet idly is no harbinger of political freedom and open speech in that country.” Physorg.com reported: “The study responds to claims that widespread use of blogs threatens Chinese “Assistant Professor of Computer Sci- government control over democratic disence Jed Crandall and Ph.D. student Jong course, free speech and civil rights in ChiChun Park are preparing to go to Genoa, Italy na’s traditionally closed society.” this summer to present their latest findings on “Some hold that advanced technology Internet Censorship to the 30th International and the free flow of information make the Conference on Distributed Computing Sys- Internet uncontrollable,” Hong says, “but tems.” there has apparently been no diminution in “Their latest paper titled, “Empirical Chinese government surveillance, and InStudy of a National-Scale Distributed In- ternet censorship could continue to be one trusion Detection System: Backbone-Level of the most pervasive barriers to regime Filtering of HTML Responses in China,” change.” outlines their investigation of the way the “Hong and Wang acknowledge that “the Chinese government has tried to censor in- rapidly transforming blogosphere could be formation via the internet.” a catalyst for social change and organized “An increasing number of nations are political discourse.” However, they add that trying to shield at least some elements of the the battle between the Chinese authoritarian internet from their citizens. In a Washington government, which wants censorship and Post story Google’s chief legal office says supremacy, and Internet activists seeking to more than 40 governments censor informa- overcome governmental control, will contion today. The company reports on its blog tinue for the foreseeable future.” that Google products are blocked at least partially in about 25 countries. Countries have Schwarzenegger Tells Leno He Still a long list of reasons for censorship. Some Wants to be President try to block child pornography, some try to block hate speech. Some try to block sensiInfowars.com reported: tive political information. But Crandall says it’s very difficult for countries to completely block anything.” Politicians share personality traits with serial killers Los Angeles Times reported: “Using his law enforcement experience and data drawn from the FBI’s behavioral analysis unit, Jim Kouri has collected a series of personality traits common to a couple of professions.” “Kouri, who’s a vice president of the National Assn. of Chiefs of Police, has assembled traits such as superficial charm, an exaggerated sense of self-worth, glibness, lying, lack of remorse and manipulation of others.” “These traits, Kouri points out in his analysis, are common to psychopathic serial killers.” “But — and here’s the part that may spark some controversy and defensive discussion — these traits are also common to American politicians. (Maybe you already suspected.)”
“Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Hitler loving former actor and California governator who likes to wear a Totenkopf belt buckle, told Jay Leno last night that if the states passed a constitutional amendment allowing foreign-born citizens to run for president, he’d throw his hat in the ring.” “As far back as 2004, Schwarzenegger told “60 Minutes” he wished he could run. That same year, GOP Senator Orin Hatch of Utah, a Schwarzenegger ally, even introduced a constitutional amendment to try to make it possible.”
Teen girls bribed to get Gardasil vacObama Jokes about Killing People cine with shopping vouchers via Drones Ethan A. Huff reports: The British National Health Service (NHS) has begun bribing teenage girls between the ages of 16 and 18 to get Gardasil vaccines. Officials are giving shopping vouchers worth the equivalent of roughly $70 to girls who agree to get jabbed with the vaccine, which has been implicated in numerous cases of severe harm and death. Officials from NHS Birmingham East and North have initiated the pilot program which is costing taxpayers the equivalent of about $35,000. No parental consent is required in order for young girls to participate in the program. Many governments around the world have been pushing Gardasil through national campaigns designed to scare and entice
Economic Policy Journal reported: “At Saturday night’s White House Correspondence Dinner, President Obama delivered some very funny lines (written by others), but about 10 jokes in he jokes about killing people via drones.” “Now, if I am actually killing people (and sometimes hitting innocents) with drones, I would think basic decency would prevent me from joking about drones on a nationally broadcast event.” “As a matter of fact, I can’t see how you could ever joke about drones, if you really take seriously the fact that you put killer drones in the air to kill people.” Here’s what the President said: “The Jonas Brothers are here; they’re out there somewhere. Sasha and Malia are huge fans; but boys, don’t get any ideas. Two words for you: predator drones. You will never see it coming. You think I’m joking?” Making Rain Clouds With Lasers Wired.com reported:
women into getting the vaccine. The U.K. is no exception, as it continues to push for all girls between 12 and 18 years old to receive the shots, despite outcry from concerned citizens over the dangers of the vaccine. The latest pilot program scam, however, essentially bribes young girls to get the vaccine with public funds. “[The project is] a serious misuse of taxpayers’ money,” said Norman Wells, Director of Family and Youth Concern, a national educational trust in the U.K. that researchers the causes and consequences of family breakdown. To make matters worse, Gardasil is not even effective at preventing the HPV virus for which it is being marketed. According to Dr. Diane Harper, lead researcher for the development of both Gardasil and Cervarix, said in an interview that the vaccines do little to reduce cervical cancer rates. According to her, seventy percent of all HPV infections subside on their own within a year, and 90 percent subside within two years without any treatment. Only half of the remaining ten percent will even develop into cervical cancer. Harper also admitted that current preventive measures are already effectively reducing the number of cases of cervical cancer and that, even if most girls received the vaccine, Gardasil would not even be able to match what traditional care is already doing. Add to this the mounting number of girls who have been seriously injured, paralyzed, or have died from the vaccine, it is hard to believe that any government agency gets away with promoting, or even mandating, the toxic snake oil. Merck, the manufacturer of Gardasil, has been working very hard to get the vaccine mandated for all young girls and has even begun to target young boys. At a cost of roughly $500 a pop, it becomes disturbingly clear why many politicians and government agencies are cooperating with Merck to market the dangerous and ineffective vaccine.
“Shooting lasers at the sky can make the germ of a rain cloud, a new study shows. In an experiment that smacks of science fiction, scientists used a high-powered laser to squeeze water from air, both indoors and out.” “Although the technique is unlikely to be an instant rainmaker anytime soon, it could plant the seeds for more eco-friendly cloud manipulation.” “‘This is the first time that a laser was used to condense water from both laboratory experiments and from the atmosphere,’ says Jérôme Kasparian of the University of Geneva, a coauthor of the study. The work appeared in the May 2 Nature Photonics.” Japan’s “Solar Yacht” Is Ready to Ride Sunbeams Through Space
blogs.discovermagazine.com reported: “On May 18, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) says, it will launch into space a “solar yacht” called Ikaros—the
may/june 2010
Continued from previous page Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun (named, of course, in honor of Icarus in Greek mythology). JAXA plans to control the path of Ikaros by changing the angle at which sunlight particles bounce off the silver-coloured sail.” “Actually, the solar sail is a dual-purpose system, taking advantage of both the pressure and the energy of sunlight. The sail, which is less than the thickness of a human hair and 66 feet in diagonal distance, will catch the actual force of sunlight for propulsion as a sailboat’s sail catches the wind. But the solar sail is also covered in thin-film solar cells to generate electricity. And if you can make electricity, you can use it to ionize gas and emit it at high pressure, which is the propulsion systems most satellites use.” “Potential velocity using a solar sailor has been theorized to be extremely high. “Eventually you’ll have these missions lasting many years, reaching speeds approaching 100,000 mph, getting out of the solar system in five years instead of 25 years,” said Louis D. Frieman, the Executive Director of the Planetary Society [Clean Technica]. The society has toyed around with its own solar sail.”
Many soy veggie burgers contain toxic hexane Ethan Huff, citizen journalist
A recent study put out by the Cornucopia Institute (CI) explains the truth behind most processed soy products that are sold as health foods. Many veggie burgers, which are often touted by soy-enthusiasts as being healthier than meat, are actually made from highly processed soybeans that have undergone treatment with hexane, an EPA-registered air pollutant and neurotoxin. Soy is a fairly recent phenomenon on the Canadian landscape, h a v i n g “Hexane is a common
by-product of refining gasoline”
Humans Interbred with Neanderthals, Study Suggests emerged as an alleged health food within the past several decades and growing in popularity to epic proportions. Truthfully, soy is merely a cheap crop that industrial agriculture can grow easily and use in a variety of applications. Many vegetarians swear by veggie burgers, most of which are made by soy, because they believe the fake meat is healthier than animal meat. But actually, most brands of non-organic soy burgers use “textured vegetable protein” and “soy protein isolate”, two examples of highly-processed soy product that are used in other soy products. Clara Moskowit of LiveScience report- And in order to remove the fat from the soy, manufacturers essentially give soybeans a ed: hexane “bath” in order to separate the protein from the oil. “Humans today could be part NeanderAccording to CI’s senior researcher thal, according to a new study that found our Charlotte Vallaeys, hexane is very commonancestors interbred with an extinct hominid ly used on non-organic soy products, even species some millennia ago.” “The researchers looked at DNA samSyria Accuses UN of Intervening in ples from humans living today, and found Its Internal Affairs signs of leftover Neanderthal genes introduced from this interbreeding. They looked Global Research reported: at genetic data from almost 2,000 people around the world, and calculated how much genetic variation existed between samples. The results indicate that some extinct group of hominids mixed their genes with ours at two points in history, Hunley said.” GMO alert: U.S. attempting global censorship of GMO food labeling by Mike Adams, NaturalNews.com I received an urgent alert from Jeffrey Smith today about a dangerous situation taking place right now at the international CODEX conference. The U.S. is attempting to push its agenda to censor all GMO labeling of foods everywhere around the world. This would result in a global GMO cover-up as consumers are left in the dark about whether their foods and grocery products are genetically modified or not. Please understand that the U.S. is attempting to outlaw non-GMO labeling of foods, thereby making it illegal for a nonGMO food product to even claim “nonGMO” on the label. If the U.S. succeeds in this global GMO cover-up, the FDA could seize any products in the USA that make “non-GMO” claims. Additionally, the USA could file lawsuits through the World Trade Organization against any country that allows non-GMO labeling or claims on its products. These powerful, dangerous corporations are willing to do anything to achieve their global agenda, including forcing GMO censorship on the entire world.
ones that appear to be “natural”. “If a non-organic product contains a soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, or textured vegetable protein, you can be pretty sure it was made using soybeans that were made with hexane,” she explains. Hexane is a common byproduct of refining gasoline. Exposure to the chemical among those who work with it has caused skin and nervous system disorders. And yet most conventional soybeans are submerged in the stuff and sold as food. For a full list, please consult the full CI study, “Behind the Bean”.
“Syria on Thursday complained that UN officials are interfering in its internal affairs and accused them of “improper conduct.” In identical letters to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Security Council President, Japan, Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari complained that Ban’s latest report on resolution 1559 mentioned recent visits to Syria by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hezbollah Secretary-General Said Hassan Nasrallah.” “Syria ‘believes that this constitutes unacceptable interference in Syria’s internal affairs and its foreign relations in as much as those are sovereign matters that do not concern the UN. We further believe that meetings that take place in Syria do not fall within the scope of resolution 1559,’ Ja’afari said in his letters.”
Most conventional soybeans have also been genetically modified, making them even worse for your health. Unless specifically labeled non-GMO or organic, it is almost definite that a soy ingredient is GMO. Contrary to popular belief, unfermented soy is not particularly healthy, even when it is organic. It contains phytoestrogens that can negatively alter hormonal levels and lead to health problems. Unfermented soy is also difficult to digest and can be rough on the body. Most Asian countries that are thought to use soy regularly actually use it primarily as a condiment in its fermented form. When soy is fermented, most or all of its toxins are removed, making it safer to consume. If you do choose to eat soy, be sure it is organic, non-GMO, and hexane-free. And if possible, make sure it is fermented and eat it sparingly.
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Canada-EU deal will affect more than trade ed:
Ken Lewena of The Toronto Star report-
“It’s unsettling to know that even on the heels of the recent free-trade themed Canada-EU summit in Brussels, most Canadians haven’t a clue that our federal and provincial governments are negotiating with the European Union what could be the largest, most significant bilateral trade deal in history.” “Any government that proposed seismic policy shifts of this nature would certainly be subject to intense public debate and political backlash. Many of these rule changes — long sought by corporate lobbyists and private business interests — simply wouldn’t fly. “But the strategy employed by the ruling Conservatives has been to couch these reforms in a supposedly non-controversial trade deal with a community of nations that presumably enjoy a standard of living on par, if not better, than our own. Give it a fancy name. And move quickly to avoid major public scrutiny.” GM flax contamination now detected in 35 countries organicconsumers.org reported
Last September, the Flax Council of Canada (FCC) announced that an unapproved variety of genetically modified flax was detected in food products in Europe. The GM flax variety was identified as FP967 or “Triffid,” which had been developed in Canada, but was never commercialized and has been illegal to grow in Canada since 2001. Since the initial announcement last September, GM flax contamination has been reported in 35 countries. The contamination has decimated Canada’s flax exports to Europe, which buys 70% of Canada’s flax exports worth an estimated $321 million (Canadian). The European Union has zero tolerance for unapproved GMOs. More than six months later disturbing questions remain about the GM flax contamiU.S. Food Prices ‘Spiraling Out of nation... Control’ World Health Organization Moving The Trumpet reported: Ahead on Billions in Internet and Other “U.S. food prices jumped by 2.4% in Taxes March 2010 in the largest monthly leap in George Russell of FOXNews.com remore than 26 years, and the sixth consecuported: tive monthly increase.” “The National Inflation Association “The World Health Organization is mov(NIA) issued an alert to its members April 22 warning that the sharp upswing in U.S. ing full speed ahead with a controversial food inflation will soon lead to a situation plan to impose billions of dollars in global as severe as that currently plaguing India.” consumer taxes on such things as Internet Here are some of the most startling activity and everyday financial transactions year-over-year price increases in the U.S. like paying bills online — while its spending soars and its own financial house is in disarmarkets: ray.” “Almost casually, the panel’s report * Fresh and dry vegetables up 56.1% notes that the fundraising effort would in* Fresh fruits and melons up 28.8% volve global changes in legal structures — * Eggs for fresh use up 33.6% and policing. As the report puts it: “Introduc* Beef and veal up 10.7% ing a new tax or expanding an existing tax * Dairy products up 9.7% may require legal changes, nationally and “In the alert, the nia reminded its mem- internationally and ongoing regulation to enbers that it has long predicted food sector sure compliance.”” inflation, but admitted having ‘never anticipated that it would spiral so far out of control this quickly.’” “The rising prices, alongside pandemic unemployment, have nudged tides of Americans onto the food stamp program. After the 14th consecutive monthly increase, 39.4 million Americans are now enrolled in the program. This figure is up 22.4% from one year ago, and the U.S. government is now paying out more to Americans in entitlement programs than it collects in taxes.”
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