tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68386673276527439672024-03-13T13:46:32.195+00:00CLASS WARFAREMusings, articles and sundry postings of a Geordie class warrior, adhering to the Orwellian maxim: "During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.comBlogger331125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-20700025689592268652016-10-03T22:11:00.002+01:002016-10-03T22:11:45.474+01:00Jeremy Corby and Clause 4<div style="text-align: center;">
<h3>
<b>From the September 2015 issue of <i>The Socialist Standard</i></b></h3>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> </i><img alt="" class="imagecache imagecache-300_pixels_wide imagecache-default imagecache-300_pixels_wide_default" height="455" src="https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/sites/default/files/imagecache/300_pixels_wide/George_bernard_shaw.jpg" title="" width="300" /></div>
<h1 class="title" style="text-align: center;">
Clause Four Resurfaces</h1>
<h1 class="title" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">As we go to press, it is with the Labour Party leadership battle
raging and its four contenders spouting all manner of promises to secure
votes. At the forefront of this contest is the long-serving and perhaps
unusually principled left wing MP, Jeremy Corbyn. For a Labour MP, he
is as radical as they come and a genuine throwback to the days when
Labour was considered by many in Britain to be ‘socialist’. His attack
on everything Blairism has come to represent, his stance on nuclear
weapons, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and many social issues, has
won him much support, a lot of it from other parties on the left.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In early August came news that Corbyn was championing Labour's old
Clause 4 – its supposed socialist commitment to common ownership of
production, distribution and exchange. ‘Corbynmania’ kicked in almost
overnight, with social media sites buzzing with news that ‘socialism’
was back on the agenda, whilst the rightwing press, big business and big
Labour donors have done all in their power to discredit him and
anything to do with old Labour.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Liz Kendall, another Labour leadership contender and avid Blairite
said: 'Life has moved on from the old Clause 4 in 1994, let alone 2015.
We are a party of the future, not a preservation society.' Big Labour
donor and businessman Assem Aklam, who swelled Labour’s coffers with
£300,000 in donations, said he would stop funding the party if Corbyn
became leader, announcing that he would not back a 'dead horse'.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Fabianism</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Nostalgic workers, who mourn the demise of Clause 4 in the 1990s,
would do well to remind themselves of its authors and who they actually
were – the Fabian Society – and what they actually thought about the
working class. Perhaps the closest we come to a definition of the
Fabians is Engels' description of them as 'a clique united only by their
fear of the threatening rule of the workers and doing all in their
power to avert the danger.' What danger? A danger that had been
prophesised by the ILP when they wrote 'that should there be a workers'
revolt in Europe, there is nothing save a narrow strip of sea between us
and what would then be the theatre of a great human tragedy.'</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">With Engels description in mind, however, we can begin to set Clause 4
in its real context. For it was penned in November 1917, when news of
the Bolshevik takeover in Russia was still making news in Britain, when
there were uprisings in Germany, Hungary and Ireland, when the
Bolsheviks were arguing the case of peace with Germany, when workers all
over Europe were war weary and sick of the social problems the war was
creating, when crime rates in Britain were spiralling and when the
ruling elite were beginning to realise that the Britain the soldiers
would return to would not be, as Lloyd George had promised, 'a land fit
for heroes'.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The fear of insurrection amongst the ruling elite – amongst whom the
Fabian Society considered themselves – was real enough. The Fabians had
in fact felt such qualms for thirty years, seeing in the working class
not a mass of exploited workers, impoverished workers, in whose united
strength resided their own emancipation, but rather a seething mass of
potential revolutionary fervour that must be contained at all costs.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In the 1890s, Beatrice Webb could expect 'no hope from these myriad
of deficient minds and deformed bodies – what can we hope but brutality,
madness and crime?' Two decades later, her views had not changed, for
she saw unions as nothing but 'undertrained and underbred workers'.
Bernard Shaw even toyed with a solution – 'sterilisation of the masses' –
an idea later to be taken up by Churchill and Hitler.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">From the outset, the Fabians did not wish to abolish capitalism and
thus remove themselves from their privileged positions. They wanted to
reform capitalism, to soften some of its harsher effects, to make
capitalism worker-friendly. They wanted peaceful, gradual change from
capitalism to what Shaw was to describe as 'state socialism'.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Rejecting the Marxian view that the state was a manifestation of the
domination of the capitalist class, the Fabians believed the state to be
impartial, neutral, to be used by anyone who could take power. However,
the idea of the workers taking control was anathema to everything they
stood for.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Their idea of socialism was one in which the state was controlled by
experts and professionals 'like themselves' – trained in the new social
sciences. They were, it appears, technocrats, believing that the
technical administration of society should take the place of party
politics. They certainly did not believe that the upsurge of protest
against capitalism could be led by a class-conscious majority intent on
social change in their own interest.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Moreover, the Fabians did not care who took their ideas on board and
even harboured the notion of selling their wares to the Conservatives
and Liberals.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">They were arrogant, held the workers in contempt, feared them and
were more than guilty of the charge of blatant class collaboration.
Neither was Clause 4 written out of a genuine sympathy or empathy with
the workers and with a view to changing the existing social system. It
was penned to assuage, to pacify that section of society that was
beginning to nurture the idea that it was time it took matters into its
own hands.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Clause 4 was penned in an attempt to persuade that section of society
that posed a threat to the ruling class that their lot could be
bettered if they put their faith in an elite, an intellectual vanguard,
who would work on their behalf in parliament and at a time when workers
elsewhere were attempting to change society themselves, even if this was
proving to be without any foresight.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>State capitalism</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Clause 4 did not mean socialism, only ever state-run capitalism, the
nationalisation of capitalist industry, which would continue to be run
according to the dictates of the profit system, only by a
state-appointed board, not by private capitalist firms.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The 'common ownership' clause, which would eventually be reproduced
on every Labour Party membership card was nothing short of a Fabian
blueprint for a more advanced, as they saw it, form of capitalism, and
with its adoption the Labour Party became the foremost advocate of state
action to control and humanise the operation of private enterprise –
which has nothing to do with socialism, because the profit system and
its myriad shortcomings still exist and workers are always subject to
the worst excesses of its contradictions.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">To be sure, the idea of 'socialising' the means of production and
distributing wealth was by no means a new idea in 1918. The notion had
been mooted by previous Labour Party conferences and, although the idea
attracted a lot of support, it never appeared in the party's
constitution. Whilst many a delegate regarded themselves as socialist,
it was believed that such a blatant expression of 'socialism' would be a
vote-loser.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This is an important point, as it shows that the Labour Party then,
as now, was not so much interested in promoting ideas that threatened
the hegemony of the capitalist class, but in securing the most votes.
What made it possible, and indeed urgent, that the Labour Party should
adopt Clause 4, without it being an electoral liability, was the
radicalisation of workers brought about by war. But the time would come
when Clause 4 was seen as an electoral liability.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Electoral liability</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In 1955, Labour had lost 1.5 million votes compared with the 1951
election. Conservative seats rose from 319 to 345 seats and Labour's
share fell from 293 to 277. At the 1959 election, Labour lost a further
196,000 voters, whilst the Tory tally rose by 448,000. One Labour
commentator, Douglas Jay, speaking of nationalisation, said: 'We are in
danger of fighting under the label of a class that no longer exists.'</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">After the 1959 defeat, the then Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell decided
there had to be some serious changes in Labour Party policy. At a
specially summoned post-election conference, previous defeats were
discussed. Gaitskell declared: 'In my opinion capitalism has
significantly changed, largely as a result of our own efforts and the
changing character of the Labour Party. Importantly, he argued, Labour
had lost votes through its identification with common ownership – Clause
4'. Conference listened quietly, but cries of derision greeted his next
words: 'Standing as it does on its own, this clause cannot possibly be
regarded as adequate ... it implies that the only precise object we have
is nationalisation, whereas we have many other socialist objectives.'</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Although Gaitskell's idea to drop Clause 4 was supported by many, including Bevan, it was quickly rejected.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Seemingly, it was Mrs Thatcher who eventually brought the question of
Clause 4 back to the debating table, when she decided to privatise
anything that stood still long enough to be privatised.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In 1983, the Labour Party manifesto claimed that common ownership
would be expanded. The following year, the party conference passed a
resolution on a show of hands that reaffirmed: 'Clause 4 Pt 4 of the
Labour Party constitution is the central aim of the Labour Party,' and
called for 'repossession of all parts of the public sector privatised by
the Tories.'</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">At the 1985 conference, Roy Hattersley asked for support for a
resolution on 'the need to extend social ownership and democratic
planning into a significant number of key organisations, in banks,
manufacturing, new technology and the service sector.' Conference
obliged. It also supported a resolution which called on 'the next Labour
government to return all privatised services ... and all privatised
industries to public ownership, and to repeal any privatisation
legislation.'</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">By the time of the 1987 election, though Labour pledged to take back
only BT and British Gas under 'common ownership', neither company would
be in line to be nationalised. Instead, existing shares would be
converted into new bonds, including varieties of ‘deep bonds’, designed
to be attractive to institutional shareholders. Again, at the 1987
conference, the NUM moved a resolution to renationalise all industries
privatised by the Tories. The union block votes were wheeled in and the
motion was lost 3,869,000 to 2,397,000 votes. Within a few short years
there was a gradual acceptance of Tory ideas that would continue.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Another nail in the coffin of 'common ownership' through
nationalisation was the support for increased share ownership. Bryan
Gould, Labour's campaign manager in 1987 argued, in an amazing piece of
Tory logic: 'The idea of owning shares is catching on and, as
socialists, we should support it as one means of taking power from the
hands of the few and spreading it more widely.'</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Enter Tony Blair</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">After three successive defeats at the polls, many in the Labour Party
were now intent on burying Clause 4. One thing was certain, argued new
Labour leader Tony Blair – if Labour was to stand a chance of winning
the next election, Clause 4 as it stood had to be ditched. Blair
declared this to be his intention at Conference 1994 and the party's new
Clause 4 appeared in March 1995 in time for a specially summoned
conference on April 29th.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The vote was put to the membership whether Clause 4 should be
reworded. Jarrow CLP became the first to vote in favour of holding on to
the original Clause 4, but only three more would oppose it. Blair's
new version won the day. A discussion document – Labour's Objectives:
Socialist Values in a Modern World – had been available before the vote.
If Labour Party members had studied it – Clause 4 aside – many would
probably have resigned in the belief that it was penned by Margaret
Thatcher. The document explained that the idea of common ownership only
came about because 'there was a genuine revulsion at the sheer anarchy
and exploitation associated with the free market of Victorian
capitalism.' The reference to 'Victorian capitalism' was a clever piece
of trickery, giving the reader the idea that capitalism in the 1990s was
no longer 'anarchic' and was now worker-friendly.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And what of the new Clause 4? Again we could see regurgitated the
same old lie that 'The Labour Party is a democratic socialist
party'...which aims to put 'power, wealth and opportunity in the hands
of the many' which was something Thatcher had claimed privatisation was
doing. This startling new 'socialist' objective claimed 'we work for a
dynamic economy' in which ' the enterprise of the market and the rigour
of competition are joined with the forces of partnership and cooperation
to produce the wealth the nation needs.' Little wonder the Sun could
announce (of Blair) 'He speaks our language.' Little wonder that when
Labour took power, Thatcher could proudly inform a gathering of the Tory
faithful that Tony Blair was her 'greatest achievement'.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">It was a mammoth achievement for the Tories, so much so that Labour continued to lurch further to the right year on year.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Never was socialist</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">For over a hundred years this journal has been arguing that Labour
was never socialist. Even with Clause 4 being held up as a sign of its
commitment to real change in the interest of the many, it has always
been a party of capitalism and, in office, ever willing to serve as the
executive arm of the capitalist class, never hesitant to use the might
of the state to club the workers into submission whenever they became
uppity, whether using troops to break strikes, creating the Special
Patrol Group, internment in Northern Ireland or supporting and indeed
initiating myriad conflicts throughout the world, from World War I,
right through the Vietnam War and up to the invasion of Iraq and
Afghanistan. For over 110 years, Labour has hoodwinked the workers, and
endlessly led them down the blind alley of reformism, always mindful
that its real allegiance was to the master class who own and control
society.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Make no mistake. A Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn would make no
departure from the historical record. Its task would be primarily to try
to make capitalism – a system based upon the exploitation of one class
by another – work in the interests of the exploited. Labour, under
Corbyn, would not really control the economy, it would control him. The
historical record shows that if the dictates of capital demanded, the
workers would have to be lied to, betrayed and made out to be villains
of the peace and a threat to the economic interests of the country. No
Labour leader to date has failed to be cast in a mould created by the
capitalist class, no matter how noble their intentions.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">If workers are really attracted by ideas of common ownership they
would do well to realise that a party which has stood uncompromisingly
and unwaveringly for real common ownership and, more, real democratic
control of the earth's natural and industrial resources, is still in
existence – the Socialist Party. Moreover, you will find no aspiring
leaders within the Socialist Party, slugging it out and making rash
promises to the membership, only a membership of equals in which Party
affairs are decided democratically by the membership.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Neither are we keen on reforming capitalism or prostituting our
principles on the high altar of opportunism as Labour has been doing
since its inception and will continue to do even with Corbyn as leader.
We seek the abolition of capitalism and all it represents, replacing it
with a system of society in which money has been abolished, class
antagonism eradicated and in which each person has free access to the
necessaries of life.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><b><b><b>************************************************************</b></b></b></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Clause IV of the Labour Party Constitution, as originally drafted in 1918 and subsequently amended</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Objects</u></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">1. To organise and maintain in parliament and in the country a political Labour Party.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">2. To cooperate with the General Council of the Trades Union
Congress, or other kindred organisations, in joint political or other
action in harmony with the party constitution and standing orders.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">3. To give effect as far as possible to the principles from time to time approved by the party conference.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">4. To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of
their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be
possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of
production, distribution, and exchange, and the best obtainable system
of popular administration and control of each industry or service.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">5. Generally to promote the political, social and economic
emancipation of the people, and more particularly of those who depend
directly upon their own exertions by hand or by brain for the means of
life.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Inter-Commonwealth</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">6. To cooperate with the labour and socialist organisations in the
commonwealth overseas with a view to promoting the purposes of the
party, and to take common action for the promotion of a higher standard
of social and economic life for the working population of the respective
countries.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u>International (Gaitskell amendment in 1959?)</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">7. To cooperate with the labour and socialist organisations in other
countries and to support the United Nations and its various agencies and
other international organisations for the promotion of peace, the
adjustment and settlement of international disputes by conciliation or
judicial arbitration, the establishment and defence of human rights, and
the improvement of the social and economic standards and conditions of
work of the people of the world.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-43900088629306032232012-01-10T21:41:00.003+00:002012-01-10T21:48:02.462+00:00The US School System - The dumbing down of America<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;">Charlotte Iserbyt is to be greatly commended for having put together the most formidable and practical compilation of documentation describing the deliberate dumbing down of American children by their education system. Anyone interested in the truth will be shocked by the way American social engineers have systematically gone about destroying the intellect of millions of American children for the purpose of leading the American people into a socialist world government controlled by behavioral and social scientists.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"> <p> What is so mind boggling is that all of this is being financed by the American people themselves through their own taxes. In other words, the American people are underwriting the destruction of their own freedom and way of life by lavishly financing through federal grants the very social scientists who are undermining our national sovereignty and preparing our children to become the dumbed-down vassals of the new world order. It reminds one of how the Nazis charged their victims train fare to their own doom.</p> <p> One of the interesting insights revealed by these documents is how the social engineers use a deliberately created education crisis to move their agenda forward by offering radical reforms that are sold to the public as fixing the crisis which they never do. The new reforms simply set the stage for the next crisis, which provides the pretext for the next move forward. This is the dialectical process at work, a process our behavioral engineers have learned to use very effectively. Its success depends on the ability of the change agents to continually deceive the public which tends to believe anything the experts tell them.</p></span><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"><p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/m2AEZosrqaw" allowfullscreen="" width="480" frameborder="0" height="360"></iframe></p></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"><p>Dowload the ebook <a href="http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/MomsPDFs/DDDoA.sml.pdf">Dumbing Down of America</a><br /></p></span></div><br /></div></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-12467497972190943642011-06-01T23:05:00.003+01:002011-06-01T23:19:57.824+01:00The death of Osama bin Laden and its implications<div align="justify"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cvn0HZw0UD8/Tea4aKuIVWI/AAAAAAAABEM/wdzrtBCsWL8/s1600/bin-bush.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 250px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 389px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613376745257850210" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cvn0HZw0UD8/Tea4aKuIVWI/AAAAAAAABEM/wdzrtBCsWL8/s400/bin-bush.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The May 1<sup>st</sup> presidential announcement of the execution of Osama bin Laden has been fêted as a great tactical victory by the White House, by Western governments and the world’s media. The longed-for news saw a wave of nationalistic, back-slapping hysteria in the </span><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> and the killing has served as a sorely needed propaganda tool to enhance the standing of the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> military in the eyes of the domestic public.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Despite world-wide celebrations and Obama’s rise in popularity at home and the propaganda value of the killing, there is no evidence that the death will have any impact on the flagging military and political situation of the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> in </span><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">South Asia</span></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">, the </span><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Middle East</span></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"> and other theatres of high tension.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The Socialist Party are not conspiracy theorists, but we note that the initial White House<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>bin Laden story was so amateurishly broadcast, that within three days it had been altered several times, making it seem that Obama was involved in a game of Chinese whispers with his <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>advisors. And what stands out is the nonchalant and haughty clumsiness of this and similar official announcements, as if the White House has become so convinced of its ability to hoodwink us that practically no attempt is made to make reports credible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So long as the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> has an agenda then it can be sold with any version of a story, regardless of its credibility.</span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></p></span></span><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">So just what agendas does the news of a dead bin Laden story help promote? Well, firstly, and not surprisingly, within a few hours of Obama’s statement, CIA director Leon Panetta ominously suggested that bin Laden’s death would trigger new 9/11-type attacks from al Qaedians seeking revenge for the death of their leader. Paradoxically this can only increase the demand for more profits from the military-industrial complex, whose lobbyists will waste no time in promoting the case for more investment in the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> war machine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Homeland Security jumped on board and posited that the killing of bin Laden would inspire “homegrown violent extremists” (inclusive of environmentalists and anti-war protestors) to acts of political fanaticism.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Helping with the post-Osama spin, Senator Hilary Clinton seemed all too keen to help boost the profits of the military/security complex and the authority of Homeland Security, by asserting that bin Laden’s death was testament that the war on terror was paying off and must be allowed to carry on, unfettered, until the enemies of the US are no more.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Elsewhere, others in the Obama administration quickly seized on the Pakistan achievement to promote their own sinister agenda, with Americans reliably informed that their doubts on the use of torture were misplaced and that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>bin Laden was actually found as a direct<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>result of information gleaned by the CIA’s torture of captives<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Some have suggested the death of bin Laden affords the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> an escape strategy from </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Afghanistan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">, bringing closure to a decade of embarrassment in the country. To be sure, the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">’ attempts to create a pliant puppet regime in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Kabul</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;"> are failing. The Taliban, indeed, al Qaeda, is no nearer defeat than ten years ago and still notching up US casualties. Quite significantly, in the latter regard, at Kabul airport on 29<sup>th</sup> April, nine high-ranking US military officers were assassinated by a "reliable" Afghan fighter pilot That this attack happened in an ostensibly high security area, implies that no place in Afghanistan is secure from attack by the Afghan resistance, that anyone is vulnerable, and that not even allied Afghan military personnel can be trusted. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">With the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> tied down in an unpopular war in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Afghanistan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">, domestic woes rising and his political standing falling, it would seem Obama was desperate for a military success story, moreso considering 9/11 is now a decade ago and years of rampant military expenditure are factoring high in the current budget deficit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Undoubtedly, the ‘War on Terror’ will continue to serve many interests, with politicians promoting the concept at every opportunity to justify overseas military excesses and to keep the public in a state of mild panic. It is thus worth looking at the concept of terrorism itself and to judge the definers by their own definition.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></o:p></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The US Army Manual definition of terrorism is “the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence, to attain goals that are political, religious or ideological in nature, through intimidation, coercion or instilling fear.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">This is quite close to the British government’s definition, which is “</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;font-family:Arial;" lang="EN-US" >the use, or threat, of action which is violent, damaging or disrupting, and is intended to influence the government, or intimidate the public, and is for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological case.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;font-family:Arial;" lang="EN-US" ><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;font-family:Arial;" lang="EN-US" ><span style="font-size:100%;">When these two definitions are considered, then it becomes clear that the very creation of government terrorist-related propaganda, pumped daily by a fawning media, is itself an act of terrorism on us. Make no mistake, the war on terror is intended to frighten us – to get us all paranoid about a freedom-loathing bogeyman who is just waiting to come and destroy all we hold sacred – and to get us to fall in line behind the wider objectives of US and British foreign policy, which are in reality the objectives of a small corporate elite who really call the shots in both countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;font-family:Arial;" lang="EN-US" ><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;font-family:Arial;" lang="EN-US" ><span style="font-size:100%;">George Bush was every bit the terrorist when he introduced the “Shock and Awe” strategy of 2003 and indeed when he announced “Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists”. Likewise with Tony Blair who announced to a terrified British public that Saddam could reach Britain with his WMDs within 45 minutes – a fact that that later proved to be total fallacy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">It is, perhaps, important to set the war on terror in context. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">America</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">, for 45 years, terrified us with the threat of the Soviet menace, meanwhile expanding its reach all over the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">When the Kremlin’s empire collapsed, </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">America</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> suddenly found itself deprived of its hegemonic credentials, no longer able to use its anti-communist passport to interfere in global affairs from </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Cuba</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Vladivostok</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;"> – the end of the cold war meant it was stamped null and void.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It now needed a new propaganda framework through which to assert its authority on the international stage, a new enemy, a new bogeyman to protect us all from – and the first bogeyman who reared his head was Saddam Hussein, who invaded Kuwait within two years of the Berlin Wall falling, sparking the first Gulf War and the start of the US obsession with Iraq that has lasted 20 years. Saddam would later be joined by Osama in 2001 after 9/11, the events of which all of us are now over-familiar with.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Notably, the language and jargon used to discuss the war on terror, all its definitions, is chosen by the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> political elite. Likewise it is the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> that gets to delineate the ideology of the enemy, whether it be fascist or communist or militant Islamic. In the case in question it would have been insensitive in the extreme to declare a war on Islam, so </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">North Korea</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> had to be incorporated into Bush’s ‘Axis of Evil’, less the entire Islamic world rise up against the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">USA</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoListBullet" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoListBullet" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> has certainly benefited from the war on terror, extending its reach like no empire in history. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>It now has in excess of 700 military bases around the world, and these bases can be found in 177 of the world’s 193 UN recognised countries. More likely, it seems the war on terror has everything to do with full spectrum dominance and the desire of the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> capitalist elite to control the world’s mineral wealth, trade routes, foreign markets, areas of influence and to maintain the strategic sites from which all these sources of profit can be defended. Little wonder there are many who claim that if Osama bin Laden did not exist, it would be necessary to create him to get into <st1:country-region><st1:place>Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Then why </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Afghanistan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">? The </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family:Arial;">Caspian</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family:Arial;">Basin</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">, which the country borders, contains an estimated $12 trillion dollars worth of oil. It is not the case that he </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> wants this oil for itself, but needs a presence in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Afghanistan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> to be able to control just who does have access to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">There are real contenders for </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> economic supremacy, namely </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">India</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">, </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> and </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">China</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">, all with a growing and insatiable thirst for oil to lubricate the wheels of their own profit machines. By controlling as much oil as they can, the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> gets to stack the odds in its own favour.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But before you can mobilise to take over the world’s scarce resources you first need to terrify your people. You need them on your side. You need their consent, their support and their approval of you as the champion of freedom.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is why George Bush could so cleverly tell the American people: “They hate our freedom, our freedom of religion, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with one another,” and that “you are either with us or with the terrorists.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This was not just Orwellian double-speak. This tactic came straight from Nazi Germany and from Joseph Goebbels:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the state can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie ... The truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the state.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Since </span><st1:date month="9" day="11" year="2001"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Sept. 11, 2001</span></st1:date><span style="font-family:Arial;">, the governments of George W. Bush and Barack Obama and Tony Blair have told and repeated a “lie big enough" to confirm Joseph Goebbels' statement, and the American and British people have come to believe it. It is the "War on Terror."<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Whilst we were informed that the invasions of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Afghanistan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> and </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Iraq</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> were in retaliation for 9/11, it is now clear that the Bush administration had them clearly in mind upon taking office, and set in motion as early as </span><st1:date month="2" day="3" year="2001"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Feb. 3, 2001</span></st1:date><span style="font-family:Arial;">, some seven months before 9/11 and thus had nothing to do with terrorism.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">9/11 presented a fantastic opportunity. In the ensuing anger and bewilderment, the bush administration could disguise its objective and the true nature of its intended wars and swing into action.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">In </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Afghanistan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">, the duplicity of the "War on Terror," however, is clearly revealed if we consider a few simple facts:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">In </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Afghanistan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> the state was overthrown instead of capturing the terrorists. Taliban offers to hand over Osama bin Laden, if the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> could provide proof he was responsible for 9/11, were dismissed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Neither the CIA nor the FBI have ever stated that Osama bin Laden was behind 9/11. Although bin Laden was on the FBI’s list of most wanted men, it was for something unrelated.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">A quite recent survey in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Afghanistan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">’s </span><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Helmand</span></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"> province found that 97% of people interviewed had not heard of 9/11 almost 10 years after the event.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The War on Terror has not only validated the US passport<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>- <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>allowing it to play the role of globo-cop to further the interests of its own capitalist elite -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>pushing aside anyone who gets in its way -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>it has also strengthened the hand of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the state at home also. For out of the war on terror came the Patriot Act (USA) and the Terrorism Act (</span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Britain</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">) which put civil disobedience on a par with a felony. Any one of us can now be charged under anti-terror legislation if we step out of line and challenge the power of the state and, with it, the capitalist system which it overseas.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Orwell’s words come only too readily to mind when contemplating White House pronouncements:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Who controls the present controls the past. Who controls the past controls the future.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-58895667615921500882011-02-21T23:28:00.004+00:002011-02-21T23:36:33.015+00:00Poem - Thoughts after watching pickets on TV<div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;">Well, this site has been inactive too long, not least because I couldn’t remember the bloody password or email address that opened it and also, its fair to say, that my spirit has been kicked to f**** for some time.<br /><br />Anyway, this is me re-launching Class Warfare with a recently unearthed poem that I penned twenty-plus years ago, in the wake of the Battle of Orgreave.<br /></span><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576289891624465650" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KGeM2RHpVq8/TWL2HKrgtPI/AAAAAAAABD8/zNDNtn4dZbQ/s320/miners84orgreave-jhdr%255B1%255D.jpg" /> <p align="center"><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>Thoughts after watching pickets on TV</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Disheartened miners knew just who to blame.<br />Perhaps they found analogy in Scargill’s name –<br />a vengeful shark? “But then, just when w’ thought that it<br />was safe t’ go back in t’ pit, w' saw’<br />a comrade gettin' fisted off the law.<br />‘E nearly got away but slipped in horse’s shit”<br /><br />Most viewers watched with empathy the charge<br />of mounted police on humble moles and serg-<br />eants urging desk-acquainted cops, “advance and cosh.”<br />The angry pickets, lacking MUFTI train-<br />ing, hurled abuse and bricks and sticks in vain.<br />It seems they weren’t as disciplined, nor half as posh.<br /><br />I watched in shock the state-rewarded thrust<br />Of wooden batons on some miner’s crust.<br />His temple spewed the colour of his politics.<br />He grabbed a sound recordist’s coat and said,<br />while pointing to his coal-seem-gaping head,<br />“I ‘ope your bleedin’ camera’s catchin’ all of this.”<br /><br />What was that army beating shields and chant-<br />ing one in unsion? Some muffled rant<br />intended to un-nerve their foe? Will right-wing press<br />explain away the carnage here without<br />the commie imagery – the front page clout<br />at Marx – neglecting to include the Russian mess?<br /><br />Will evolution give the miners thick-<br />er skulls to help absorb those downward sick-<br />ly thuds, or elongate the long arm of the law?<br />Will miners one day grow immune to pain,<br />or will they calmly compromise and gain<br />a mole’s buck teeth, his quite efficient digging paw? </span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> JB</span></p>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-36464474642471912462009-09-25T17:32:00.007+01:002009-09-25T18:03:24.906+01:00BNP elected official gets arse kicked for telling porkies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/Srz3soGcn-I/AAAAAAAABDk/QXtlFV9HXxU/s1600-h/barnbrook-225x300.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 244px; height: 325px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/Srz3soGcn-I/AAAAAAAABDk/QXtlFV9HXxU/s320/barnbrook-225x300.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385451600479035362" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Richard Barnbrook</span> - the BNP's third highest elected official and their only member of the London Greater Assembly (pictured doing a Monty Python Holy Grail impression) - <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6846492.ece">has been exposed fabricating two murders in a high profile BNP campaign</a>. He has been found guilty of bringing both the Greater London Authority and the Barking and Dagenham Council into disrepute - his lies show the depths the BNP are willing to stoop to in their propaganda war.<br /></div></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Because of</span><span> the s</span><span>everity</span><span> </span><span>of his l</span><span>ies, </span><span>Barnbrook has been suspended by the Council for a month, forced to submit a wri</span><span>tt</span><span>en a</span><span>pology </span><span>to the Greater London Authority and made to undertake "training." This is just the tip of the iceberg - the BNP has been capitalising on fear for years in an attempt to take </span><span>over working class communitiues But this time is different - this time we have proof in black and white that their campaign is entirely based on fear, falsehood and hatred.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Barnbrook is right to be concerned about people in Barking and Dagenham who carry blades, and who think nothing at all about posing for pictures with them.</p>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-22017875584168528632009-01-23T13:51:00.003+00:002009-01-23T13:56:59.051+00:00Biden and Powell Warn of a Generated Crisis<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Nostradamus, eat your heart out! Colin Powell and Joe Biden, both on the same day, <span style=""> </span>are talking about a crisis that will occur in January 2009, on or around the 22nd. Can someone define a “generated crisis”? All that's missing from these videos is reference to the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
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<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cEv-gX1Or74&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cEv-gX1Or74&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b6z80LtgsEU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b6z80LtgsEU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></p> Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-67623741592474674792009-01-17T22:35:00.008+00:002009-01-17T22:44:19.905+00:00Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SXJdysYe7QI/AAAAAAAABBs/yO6mF5_evn4/s1600-h/DVD23.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 293px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SXJdysYe7QI/AAAAAAAABBs/yO6mF5_evn4/s320/DVD23.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292395637602446594" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="">
<br /></b></st1:place></st1:country-region></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="">U.S.</b></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><b style=""><span style="font-size:130%;"> Media & the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict</span><o:p></o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal">Sut Jhally & Bathsheba Ratzkoff / <st1:country-region><st1:place>U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> / 2003 / 80 min</p><p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></p> <meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This pivotal documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites--oil, and a need to have a secure military base in the region, among others--work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Through the voices of scholars, media critics, peace activists, religious figures, and Middle East experts, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land carefully analyzes and explains how--through the use of language, framing and context--the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza remains hidden in the news media, and Isr<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SXJeMIXsReI/AAAAAAAABB0/GlsZ_3dT8KU/s1600-h/soldiers483.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 153px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SXJeMIXsReI/AAAAAAAABB0/GlsZ_3dT8KU/s320/soldiers483.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292396074612049378" border="0" /></a>aeli colonization of the occupied terrorities appears to be a defensive move rather than an offensive one. The documentary also explores the ways that <st1:country-region><st1:place>U</st1:place></st1:country-region><st1:country-region><st1:place>.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> journalists, for reasons ranging from intimidation to a lack of thorough investigation, have become complicit in carrying out <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s PR campaign. At its core, the documentary raises questions about the ethics and role of journalism, and the relationship between media and politics.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Interviewees include Seth Ackerman, Mjr. Stav Adivi, Rabbi Arik Ascherman, Hanan Ashrawi, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, Neve Gordon, Toufic Haddad, Sam Husseini, Hussein Ibish, Robert Jensen, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Karen Pfeifer, Alisa Solomon, and Gila Svirsky.
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<br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-5293917261584022246&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed> <span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-80559995344528750562009-01-16T17:28:00.008+00:002009-01-16T17:48:50.836+00:00New York Zionists celebrate the deaths of Gazan children<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0cm; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} span.lead {mso-style-name:lead;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:Arial;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:Arial;" >This film perhaps makes more sense in light of the US political elite’s response to the bloodshed in </span><st1:city style="font-weight: bold;"><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Gaza</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XeYDxXLidrI&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XeYDxXLidrI&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">You just knew in advance of<span style=""> </span>the vote on US Resolution 1860 on the 8th January that it was going to be shit on by the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">. Of the 101 Israel-related irresolutions voted on at the UN, 65 have been critical of<span style=""> </span>Israel; none of<span style=""> </span>the Palestinians. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> has observed none of them. The </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> has scuppered them all. What is instructive is that the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> so blatantly looked for the tiniest breach of <span style=""></span>UN resolution <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>to launch a war on </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Iraq</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span class="lead"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Ironically, Condoleza Rice who assisted in the preparation of the aforementioned resolution was eventually instructed not to vote fort it. Seemingly, according to the boastings of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, when he heard the US intended to vote on the resolution he demanded to get Bush on the phone, and refused to back down after being told that Bush was at that moment giving a lecture in Philadelphia. In double-quick time, Bush interrupted his lecture to answer Olmert's call, so Olmert has claimed, and to be told which way the </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span class="lead"><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="lead"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> was expected to vote at the UN.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span class="lead"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span class="lead"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Now cast your mind back a few years. On <span style=""> </span>the morning of September 11th, President Bush is interrupted while reading a story to school children and told the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family:Arial;">World</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family:Arial;">Trade</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family:Arial;">Center</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"> had been hit------and he went on reading. Hit for the second time by a<span style=""> </span>plane, that is – having been informed before he entered the class that one plane had already hit the twin towers. The </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> was so clearly under attack by hijacked planes and Bush sat for seven more minutes, the book <span style="font-style: italic;">My Pet Goat,</span> being far more interesting.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Now, here we have Olmert calling Bush and demanding he comes to the phone and Bush responds in an instant? Jeez, who is cracking the whip in the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">USA</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Israeli politicians have been boasting for years about the respect they command in the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> and their power and influence there.</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> Consider the line form my last posting: “A member of the Israeli war party once commented that </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:state><st1:place>New York</st1:place></st1:state></span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family:Arial;"> has only two Senators representing it in Congress.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p>LIkerwise, you needed no crystal ball to know that The House of Representatives would vote in support of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">. Indeed, they voted 390-5 for a resolution that backed </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> in its </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Gaza</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;"> onslaught, affirming "</span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">'s right to defend itself against attacks from </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Gaza</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;">." A day earlier, the Senate overwhelmingly supported </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> and its right to defend itself against terrorism.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> <span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">The US Senate (8th January) <span style=""> </span>voted 100% on a non-binding resolution promoted by the influential Israeli lobby AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee), and effectively endorsing </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">’s war on </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Gaza</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;">. The resolution, entitled “A resolution expressing solidarity with </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">’s defense against terrorism in the Gaza Strip” recognizes “the right of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> to defend itself against attacks from </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Gaza</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;">” and reaffirms “the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">United States</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;">’ strong support for </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> in its battle with Hamas”.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Is it any wonder New York Zionists can thus celebrate on the streets? Is it any wonder they feel so unashamed of their ostentatious shows of jingoism, when Israeli state violence is so clear;ly endorsed by Congress and indeed the president?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Oh, here’s Bush again, having been told that a second plane had hit the twin towers:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5WztB6HzXxI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5WztB6HzXxI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-90364248064903374352009-01-12T10:55:00.009+00:002011-02-21T22:39:19.186+00:00The Zionist House of Representatives<?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:smarttagtype name="City" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="State" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="country-region" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="place" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><object id="ieooui" classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D"></object><style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style><br /><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal">A member of the Israeli war party once commented that <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:state><st1:place>New York</st1:place></st1:state> has only two Senators representing it in Congress. <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> has fifty. The same goes for the House. Of Reprobates s. They just voted a "two thumbs" up for <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s military assault on <st1:city><st1:place>Gaza</st1:place></st1:city>.<br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div>It's hard to get Congress to agree on anything, especially in matters relating to the future and physical and economic health of the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region>. However, one thing both sides of the aisle can agree on - consistently and overwhelmingly - is that anything the Israeli war party wants to do is fine by them.<br /><p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:+0;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal">You really should see this following video.</p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gC45eEqd6xs&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gC45eEqd6xs&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal">Regardless of his politics, you just have to admire Ron <span style="font-size:+0;"></span>Paul for telling it like it is – in this instance that Hamas was largely an Israeli invention and that militant Islam can be placed at the doorstep of US foreign policy.<br /></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4Z6vMAoFwf4&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4Z6vMAoFwf4&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></p>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-16971555461162209342009-01-07T12:10:00.002+00:002009-01-07T12:14:35.073+00:00Uncensored Video Report From a Doctor In a Gaza Hospital<span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Dr . Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor in Gaza, tells Sky News that the number of civilians injured and killed in Gaza proves that Israel is deliberately attacking the population.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ev6ojm62qwA&rel=0&border=1&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ev6ojm62qwA&rel=0&border=1&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Transcript:</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;">“Just a little bit more than an hour ago the Israelis bombed the central fruit market in Gaza city and we had a mass influx of about 50 injured and between 10 and 15 killed. At the same time they bombed an apartment house with children playing on the roof and we had a lot of children also. So this is really like speaking from the dumps of Inferno, it’s like hell here now, and it’s been bombing all night. Until now close to 500 people have been killed and the number of casualties is getting to 2,500 of which 50% are children and women.<br /> <br /> Are your hospitals reaching capacity? Can you deal with these people?<br /></div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> We have been doing surgery around the clock. I have just talked with one of my colleagues in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit), he's not been sleeping for three days and the hospital is completely overcrowded, we are running 6 - 7 Ors (Operating Rooms) and there are injuries you just don’t want to see in this world… children coming in with open abdomens and legs cut off. We just had a child that we had to amputate both legs and an arm. And their only crime is being civilians and Palestinians living in Gaza. The relief now is not more doctors and more drugs; the relief now is to stop the bombing immediately, this cannot go on, it’s a disaster.<br /></div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> You’ve talked about the civilians, the women, the children, the men who aren’t involved in this, but are you also getting casualties that are Hamas fighters?<br /></div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> To be honest, we came on New Year’s Eve in the morning. I’ve seen one military person among the tenths… I mean hundreds that we’ve seen and treated, so anybody who tries to portrait this as a totally clean war against another army are lying. This is an all-out war against the civilian Palestinian population in Gaza, and we can prove that with numbers. And you have to remember that the average age of the Gaza inhabitants is 17 years, it’s a very young population, and 80% are living below the poverty limit of the UN. So this is a poor and very young people, and they are able to escape absolutely nowhere, because they cannot flee like other populations can in war time, because they are fenced in and they are in a cage, so they’re bombing 1.5 million people in a cage… young people, poor people and, you know, you cannot separate between the civilians and the fighters in such a situation.”</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-48290208324485978602009-01-01T14:53:00.003+00:002009-01-01T14:58:27.003+00:00Barak Obama - No Real Change in the Whitehouse<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SVzZIobIiFI/AAAAAAAABBQ/jn2RFki6j28/s1600-h/page1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SVzZIobIiFI/AAAAAAAABBQ/jn2RFki6j28/s320/page1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286338804939524178" border="0" /></a><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">Judging by the ubiquitous media-generated euphoria that greeted the Barak Obama victory in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> presidential election, you could be forgiven for thinking that the class struggle had ended in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Across the globe, the world’s media intimated that this was the dawn of a new age and hundreds of millions of workers breathed a sigh of relief, convinced President Obama will now undo all the wrongdoing carried out by President Bush and generally improve the quality of their lives and the safety of the planet.
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<br />The first thing to note, however, is that this had been the most expensive American election so far. The pooled cost of the Republican and Democratic campaigns was a cool $1 billion. The McCain camp raised $340 million whereas the Obama team secured $640 million.While Obama’s team boasted that most of their money came from small $100 and $200 donors, in truth the great bulk of his financial support came from Wall Street and the US corporate elite and was way in advance of that given to John McCain, suggesting the US capitalism plc feels its profits are best protected via Obama. The <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> power elite bankrolled the Obama campaign and for no other reason than that they know he will have to repay their loyalty.
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<br />An estimated 64 percent of the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> electorate turned out to vote – a record by all accounts - 62.3 million votes. The majority of the extra voters were Blacks and Latino, not only drawn to the ballot box by the longing to oust a reactionary Republican regime, or by Obama’s promise of ‘change’ but, moreover, because Obama was non–white. Socialists could only watch on and comment that this election was not a race issue, but a class issue and lament their selective amnesia. One time Secretary of State Collin Powell rose through the ranks covering up the <st1:place>My Lai</st1:place> massacre and famously presented false evidence to the UN in furtherance of the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> justification for the invasion of <st1:country-region><st1:place>Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Consider too his successor Condoleezza Rice, the zealous maid-servant to Bush’s imperialist strategy.
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<br />To be sure, Obama was not breaking any mould, despite his hope-fused rhetoric. The vast majority of voters, indeed workers the world over, were heartily fed up with Bush’s wars, his imperialist conquests, the US disregard for international law and the increasing pariah status this had earned America and sincerely wanted to see the back of it. The signs, however, that Obama was more of a wolf in sheep’s clothing were already there, not least in the Senate where he sanctioned every increase in funding for the <st1:country-region><st1:place>Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> war that George Bush requested.
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<br />Furthermore, like Bush, Obama is a supporter of the death penalty. He is pro-pollutant nuclear and coal industries and, whilst the Guardian could optimistically run a headline “Obama will move to veto Bush laws” (10 November), has not mentioned eradicating repressive legislation such as the Patriot Act, homeland security, the Military Commissions Act,<a name="bottom"></a> internet control, and wiretapping and spying on the US populace.</p><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">It certainly looks like the Bush administration’s imperial ambitions will continue under Obama. He has already spoken about building up <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> military power by 20,000 troops and has declared his intention to cut troop numbers in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> and transfer them to a surge in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> and indeed spread war to nuclear armed <st1:country-region><st1:place>Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. All of this will be, as under Bush, carried out to further the interests of a profit-hungry corporate elite and veiled in pompous patriotic oratory about spreading democracy and American values and fighting the “war on terror.” Undoubtedly, Obama will soon be using the hackneyed theme of social unity to wage the class war internally and abroad on behalf of a small power elite.
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<br />He also undertaken, to “isolate Hamas”, elected in democratic elections that were verified by an international team of observers and, picking up the baton from Bush, used his first press conference as president-elect to likewise cock a snook at the US National Intelligence Estimate and evidence presented by the IAEA on Iran’s nuclear intentions, and accused Iran of the "development of a nuclear weapon" and vowed "to prevent that from happening."
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<br />If Obama apologists think President Obama will put a halt to the blood letting they are going to be sorely disappointed. Make no mistake; whilst the left are fond of castigating Republicans as the masters of war, the truth is that historically the Democrats have started far more wars than the GOP. More recently, under the last Democrat to hold office, President Clinton, one million Iraqis are said to have died under US enforced sanctions, 500, 000 of them children. Sorties over <st1:country-region><st1:place>Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> were flown every single day <st1:city><st1:place>Clinton</st1:place></st1:city> was in power. <st1:country-region><st1:place>Yugoslavia</st1:place></st1:country-region> was mercilessly bombed and a much needed pharmaceutical plant in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region> was bombed on the pretext that it was manufacturing Chemical weapons, and villages in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> were flattened because Bin-Laden was presumed to be living there. And who could forget the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> invasion of <st1:country-region><st1:place>Somalia</st1:place></st1:country-region>, with troops storming the beaches live on prime time TV!
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<br />Who will make up the Obama administration is at the time of writing speculation, though we do know his Chief of Staff is Israeli army veteran Rahm Emanuel, popularly viewed as Likudist hawk and that his National Securtiy Adviser will be architect of the Mujahedeen Zbigniew Brzezinski.
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<br />Not only is Obama incapable of ushering in significant change, bar a few miserly reforms, but neither is there anyone he can bring to his administration capable of bringing the change that was so promised in his election campaign for no other reason that changers do not get confirmed by the Senate. There exist quite influential interest groups – the AIPAC, the military security complex, Wall Street etc to hinder the advancement of such undesirables
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<br />The hope many have in Obama to implement policies that will benefit the class that matters is misplaced. His political rawness means he will be manipulated by more experienced advisers, little different from the neo-cons, maybe even key figures from the Bush administration, and pressured by a corporate elite who funded his victory to execute policies that fit in with their own agenda.
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<br />The outcome of US elections carries one truth: namely that whichever candidate becomes president, he has but one remit once in office – to further the interests of the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> corporate elite. It’s just not a feasible option for any newly elected president to entertain any idea other than guaranteeing a safe playing field for the domestic profit machine and doing what’s needed to try to ensure the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> maintains its global hegemonic status.</p> Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-1019270158185261562008-12-24T12:01:00.001+00:002008-12-29T12:05:16.196+00:00Hemp In a Sane Society (2)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SVi8TbfhHII/AAAAAAAABBA/chAhIPeqNF4/s1600-h/hemp.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 323px; height: 311px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SVi8TbfhHII/AAAAAAAABBA/chAhIPeqNF4/s400/hemp.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285181204702764162" border="0" /></a><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Wikipedia informs us that the custom of putting up a Christmas tree can be traced to 16th century Germany, though neither an inventor nor a single town can be identified as the sole origin for the tradition, which was a popular merging of older traditions; in the Cathedral of Strasbourg in 1539, the church record mentions the erection of a Christmas tree.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Back then the guilds started putting up Christmas trees in front of their guildhalls: a Bremen guild chronicle of 1570 reports how a small fir was decorated with apples, nuts, dates, pretzels and paper flowers, and erected in the guild-house, for the benefit of the guild members' children, who collected the dainties on Christmas day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">But, nuff of that bollocks…after all the Xmas tree is used to help the workers decorate their homes during the festival of the birth of the Christ-child, to help them numb the pain of their oppression. Whilst many will defend the growing of conifers for use during Xmas festivities, there is another “green tree” of sorts, which has had a bad press and which needs far more promotion by workers – a wee tree that has countless uses and benefits; one that could feed and clothe and help house millions of the world's poor and increase the standard of living for everyone., and which this blog has covered in the past. Just one snag, for various reasons, our masters oppose its mass cultivation. The following film explains…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;">
<br /><u1:p></u1:p><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i6HESjH-Zsg&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i6HESjH-Zsg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;">
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<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Why is the massively valuable and versatile hemp plant illegal in the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:country-region><st1:place>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> and indeed elsewhere? Three reasons. Making hemp illegal:
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<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <span style="font-size:100%;">1. Provides make-work for a vast army of "law enforcers" who then are available to be used for other social control work </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> 2. Protects the market share of numerous well organized lobbies: alcohol makers, plastics and chemical manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and cotton growers (still a powerful economic force in </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> 200 + years after the Civil War.) </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> 3. Gives fascist minded politicians yet another way to control the population</span><u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div> Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-23430877029614786842008-12-22T12:05:00.005+00:002011-02-21T22:38:22.838+00:00Zombie Nation - mass neuro-toxicity<?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:smarttagtype name="PlaceName" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="PlaceType" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="City" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="country-region" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="place" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><object id="ieooui" classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D"></object><style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style><br /><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:red; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Two themes I often return to on this site are mind control and food adulteration. This video focuses on both. It commences with a Dr Russell Blaylock talking about the “chemical dumming down of society” to make people generally gullible, unable to think for themselves and dependent on governments and moves onto mass neuro-toxity via mercury poisoning and <a href="http://class-warfare.blogspot.com/2008/02/mad-redmeech-close-comrade-of-class.html"><span style="color:black;">water fluoridation </span></a>(a theme covered elsewhere on this site). The film also refers briefly to the work of <a href="http://class-warfare.blogspot.com/2008/01/edward-bernays-assassin-of-democracy.html"><span style="color:black;">Edward Bernays </span></a>(again covered elsewhere on this site), a champion of water fluoridation.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><?xml:namespace prefix = u1 /><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Bernays helped the <a title="Aluminum Company of America" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum_Company_of_America"><span style="color:black;">Aluminum Company of America</span></a> (Alcoa) and other special interest groups to convince the American public that water fluoridation was safe and beneficial to human health. This was achieved by using the <a title="American Dental Association" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dental_Association"><span style="color:black;">American Dental Association</span></a> in a highly successful media campaign.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><?xml:namespace prefix = u2 /><u2:p></u2:p><?xml:namespace prefix = u3 /><u3:p></u3:p></span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Call it conspiracy theory if you want, but if our leaders thought there were chemicals they could get us to ingest on a daily basis, chemicals that could indeed “dumb is down”, make us more manageable, do you think they would hesitate in using them?</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family:Arial;">The film cites a source I’m yet to confirm, although there are many references to it in cyber space. It suggests that the fluoridation of water was first introduced in nazi concentration camps and quotes a Charles Perkins, a chemist, who wrote the following to the Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 2nd 1954: 'in the 1930s, Hitler and the German Nazis envisioned a world to be dominated and controlled by a Nazi philosophy of pan-Germanism. The German chemists worked out a very ingenious and far-reaching plan of mass control, which was submitted to, and adopted by, the German General Staff. This plan was to control the population in any given area through mass medication of drinking water supplies. By this method they could control the population in whole areas, reduce population by water medication that would induce sterility in women and so on. In this scheme of mass control sodium fluoride occupied a prominent place.'Still with Bernays, these quotes from his 1928 book <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_%28book%29"><span style="color:black;">Propaganda</span></a> show why he was so useful to the ruling elite of his day, and indeed right now.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WS3h9J0B0ac&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WS3h9J0B0ac&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Still with Bernays, these quotes from his 1928 book <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_%28book%29"><span style="color:black;">Propaganda</span></a> show why he was so useful to the ruling elite of his day, and indeed right now.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">p37<br />The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u3:p></u3:p><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">We are governed, our minds molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u3:p></u3:p><u2:p></u2:p><u2:p></u2:p>Our invisible governors are, in many cases, unaware of the identity of their fellow members in the inner cabinet.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u3:p></u3:p><u2:p></u2:p><u2:p></u2:p>They govern us by their qualities of natural leadership, their ability to supply needed ideas and by their key position in the social structure. Whatever attitude one chooses toward this condition, it remains a fact that in almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons-a trifling fraction of our hundred and twenty million-who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">It is not usually realized how necessary these invisible governors are to the orderly functioning of our group life. In theory, every citizen may vote for whom he pleases. Our Constitution does not envisage political parties as part of the mechanism of government, and its framers seem not to have pictured to themselves the existence in our national politics of anything like the modern political machine. But the American voters soon found that without organization and direction their individual votes, cast, perhaps, for dozens of hundreds of candidates, would produce nothing but confusion. Invisible government, in the shape of rudimentary political parties, arose almost overnight. Ever since then we have agreed, for the sake of simplicity and practicality, that party machines should narrow down the field of choice to two candidates, or at most three or four.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u3:p></u3:p><u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><u3:p></u3:p><u2:p></u2:p><u2:p></u2:p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">In theory, every citizen makes up his mind on public questions and matters of private conduct. In practice, if all men had to study for themselves the abstruse economic, political, and ethical data involved in every question, they would find it impossible to come to a conclusion without anything. We have voluntarily agreed to let an invisible government sift the data and high-spot the outstanding issue so that our field of choice shall be narrowed to practical proportions. From our leaders and the media they use to reach the public, we accept the evidence and the demarcation of issues bearing upon public question; from some ethical teacher, be it a minister, a favorite essayist, or merely prevailing opinion, we accept a standardized code of social conduct to which we conform most of the time.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">It might be better to have, instead of propaganda and special pleading, committees of wise men who would choose our rulers, dictate our conduct, private and public, and decide upon the best types of clothes for us to wear and the best kinds of food for us to eat. But we have chosen the opposite method, that of open competition. We must find a way to make free competition function with reasonable smoothness. To achieve this society has consented to permit free competition to be organized by leadership and propaganda.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">p59<br />Who are the men, who, without our realizing it, give us our ideas, tell us whom to admire and whom to despise, what to believe about the ownership of public utilities .. about immigration who tell us how our houses should be designed, what furniture we should put into them, what menus we should serve at our table, what kind of shirts we must wear, what sports we should indulge in, what plays we should see, what charities we should support, what pictures we should admire, what slang we should affect, what jokes we should laugh at?</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">p60<br />A presidential candidate may be "drafted" in response to "around popular demand," but it is well known that his name may be decided upon by half a dozen men sitting L.. around a table in a hotel room.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u2:p></u2:p><u2:p></u2:p>p61<br />A man buying a suit of clothe imagines that he is choosing, according to his taste and his personality, the kind of garment which he prefers. In reality, he may be obeying the orders of an anonymous gentleman tailor in </span><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:city><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:city><st1:place>London</st1:place></st1:city></span></st1:place></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;">. This personage is the silent partner in a modest tailoring establishment, which is patronized by gentlemen of fashion and princes of blood. He suggest to British noblemen and others a blue cloth instead of gray, two buttons instead of three, or sleeves a quarter of an inch narrower than last season. The distinguished customer approves of the idea.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u2:p></u2:p><u2:p></u2:p>But how does this fact affect John Smith of </span><st1:city><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:city><st1:place>Topeka</st1:place></st1:city></span></st1:place></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;">?</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u2:p></u2:p><u2:p></u2:p>The gentleman tailor is under contract with a certain large American firm, which manufactures men's suits, to send them instantly the designs of the suits chosen by the leaders of <st1:city><st1:place>London</st1:place></st1:city><st1:city><st1:place>Boston</st1:place></st1:city>, and </span><st1:city><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:city><st1:place>Philadelphia</st1:place></st1:city></span></st1:place></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;"> wear them. And the </span><st1:city><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:city><st1:place>Topeka</st1:place></st1:city></span></st1:place></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u2:p></u2:p> fashion. Upon receiving the designs, with specifications as to color, weight, and texture, the firm immediately places an order with the cloth makers for several hundred thousand dollars' worth of cloth. The suits made up according to the specifications are then advertised as the latest fashion. The fashionable men in New York Chicago, man, recognizing this leadership, does the same.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u3:p></u3:p><u2:p></u2:p>Women are just as subject to the commands of invisible government as men. A silk manufacturer, seeking a new market for its product, suggested to a large manufacturer of shoes that women's shoes should be covered with silk to match their dresses. The idea was adopted and systematically propagandized. A popular actress was persuaded to wear the shoes. The fashion spread. The shoe firm was ready with the supply to meet thee created demand. And the silk company was ready with the silk for more shoes.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u2:p></u2:p><u2:p></u2:p>p63<br />The new profession of public relations has grown up because of the increasing complexity of modern life and the consequent necessity for making the actions of one part of the public understandable to other sectors of the public. It is due, too, to the increasing dependence of organized power of all sorts upon public opinion. Governments, whether they are monarchical, constitutional, democratic or communist, depend upon acquiescent public opinion for the success of their efforts and, in fact, government is government only by virtue of public acquiescence. Industries, public utilities, educational movements, indeed all groups representing any concept or product, whether they are majority or minority ideas, succeed only because of approving public opinion. Public opinion is the unacknowledged partner in all broad efforts.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">The public relations counsel, then, is the agent who, working with modern media of communications and the group formations of society, brings an idea to the consciousness of the public.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u2:p></u2:p>p71<br />The systematic study of mass psychology revealed t7 students the potentialities of invisible government of society by manipulation of the motives which actuate man in the group. Trotter and Le Bon, who approached the subject in a scientific manner, and Graham Wallas, Walter Lippmann, and others who continued with searching studies of the group mind, established that the group has mental characteristics distinct from those of the individual, and is motivated by impulses and emotions which cannot be explained on the basis of what we know of individual psychology. So the question naturally arose. If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing about it?</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">p73<br />If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious cooperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway. But men do not need to be actually gathered together in a public meeting or in a street riot, to be subject to the influences of mass psychology. Because man is by nature gregarious he feels himself to be member of a herd, even when he is alone in his room with the curtains drawn. His mind retains the patterns which have been stamped on it by the group influences.</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u3:p></u3:p><u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p> </p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><u3:p></u3:p><u2:p></u2:p><u2:p></u2:p>p.74<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">But when the example of the leader is not at hand and the herd must think for itself, it does so by means of clichés, pat words or images which stand for a whole group of ideas or experiences. Not many years ago, it was only necessary to tag a political candidate with the word interests to stampede millions of people into voting against him, because anything associated with "the interests" seemed necessary corrupt. Recently the word Bolshevik has performed a similar service for persons who wished to frighten the public away from a line of action.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">By playing upon a old cliché, or manipulating a new one, the propagandist can sometimes swing a whole mass group emotions.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">p75<br />It is chiefly the psychologists of the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><st1:place><st1:placetype><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:place><st1:placetype>school</st1:placetype></st1:place></span></st1:placetype></st1:place></st1:placetype></st1:place> of <st1:placename><st1:placename><st1:placename><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:placename>Freud</st1:placename></span></st1:placename></st1:placename></st1:placename></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">( who have pointed out that many of man's thoughts and actions are compensatory substitutes for desires which has been obliged to suppress. A thing may be desired not for its intrinsic worth or usefulness, but because he has unconsciously come to see in it a symbol of something else, the desire for which he is ashamed to admit to himself. A man buying a car may think he wants it for purposes of locomotion, whereas the fact may be that he would really prefer not to be burdened with it, and would rather walk for the sake of his health. He may really want it because it is a symbol of social position, an evidence of his success in business, or a means of pleasing his wife.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">This general principle, that men are very largely actuated by motives which they conceal from themselves, is as true of mass as of individual psychology. It is evident that the successful propagandist must understand the true motives and not be content to accept the reasons which men give for what they do.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">p75<br />Human desires are the steam which makes the social machine work. Only by understanding them can the propagandist control that vast, loose-jointed mechanism which is modern society.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">p84<u3:p></u3:p><u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">... while, under the handicraft of small-unit system of production was that typical a century ago, demand created the supply, today supply must actively seek to create its corresponding demand. A single factory, potentially capable of supplying a whole continent with its particular product, cannot afford to wait until the public asks for its product; it must maintain constant touch, through advertising and propaganda, with the vast public in order to assure itself the continuous demand which alone will make its costly plant profitable. This entails a vastly more complex system of distribution than formerly.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">p109<br />No serious sociologist any longer believes that the voice of the people expresses any divine or specially wise and lofty idea. The voice of the people expresses the mind of 3 the people, and that mind is made up for it by the group leaders in whom it believes and by those persons who understand the manipulation of public opinion. It is composed of inherited prejudices and symbols and clichés and verbal formulas supplied to them by the leaders.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u2:p></u2:p>Fortunately, the sincere and gifted politician is able, by the instrument of propaganda, to mold and form the will of the people.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u3:p></u3:p><u1:p></u1:p>p110<br />The political apathy of the average voter, of which we hear so much, is undoubtedly due to the fact that the politician does not know how to meet the conditions of the public mind. He cannot dramatize himself and his platform in terms which have real meaning to the public. Acting on the fallacy that the leader must slavishly follow, he deprives his campaign of all dramatic interest. An automaton cannot arouse the public interest. A leader, a fighter, a dictator, can. But, given our present political conditions under which every office seeker must cater to the vote of the masses, the only means by which the born leader can lead is the expert use of propaganda.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u2:p></u2:p>Whether in the problem of getting elected to office or in the problem of interpreting and popularizing new issues, or in the problem of making the day-to-day administration of public affairs a vital part of the community life, the use of propaganda, carefully adjusted to the mentality of the masses, is an essential adjunct of political life.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">p119<br />It is not necessary for the politician to be the slave to the public's group prejudices, if he can learn how to mold the mind of the voters in conformity with his own ideas of public welfare and public service. The important thing for the statesman of our age is not so much to know how to please the public, but know how to sway the public.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">p120<br />Good government can be sold to a community just as any other commodity can be sold.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">p120<br />One reason, perhaps, why the politician today is slow to take up methods which are a commonplace in business life is that he has such ready entry to the media of communication on which his power depends.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">The newspaperman looks to him for news. And by his power of giving or withholding information the politician can often effectively censor political news. But being dependent, every day of the year and for year after year, upon certain politicians for news, the newspaper reporters are obliged to work in harmony with their news sources.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">p123<br />Propaganda is of no use to the politician unless he has something to say which the public, consciously or unconsciously, wants to hear.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">p123<br />The criticism is often made that propaganda tends make the President of the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><st1:country-region><st1:place><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:country-region style="FONT-FAMILY: arial"><st1:place>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region></st1:place></st1:country-region></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Arial;"> so important that he becomes not the President but the embodiment of the idea of hero worship, not to say deity worship. I quite agree that this is so, but how are you going to stop a condition which accurately reflects the desires of a certain part of the public? The American people rightly sense the enormous importance of the executive's office. If the public tends to make of the President a heroic symbol of that power, that is not the fault of propaganda but lies in the very nature of the office and its relation to the people. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-37756286764303203112008-12-21T00:25:00.006+00:002008-12-21T00:38:30.402+00:00EARTHLINGS (DOCUMENTARY)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SU2NKztZYgI/AAAAAAAABAo/mfocLQS7-_0/s1600-h/Earthlingsdocumentary.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 234px; height: 319px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SU2NKztZYgI/AAAAAAAABAo/mfocLQS7-_0/s320/Earthlingsdocumentary.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282033154794283522" border="0" /></a><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:red; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} span.style12 {mso-style-name:style12;} span.style14 {mso-style-name:style14;} span.style21 {mso-style-name:style21;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">I've embedded this must-see film in the <a href="http://socialist-tv.blogspot.com/">Socialist TV blog</a> and, having just watched it for a second time, am convinced it needs a wider airing. This is one serious film - though if you’re squeamish keep away from it. I think our relationship with other earthlings is something socialists have never considered fully in their imaginings of a future society. Will we eat meat, fish? Will we wear leather? There are few better places to start that debate than by watching this important documentary
<br />
<br />The website created to promote it says<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b><span class="style12"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.earthlings.com/?phpMyAdmin=BaXY%2CnWUdZhBEQrDkuZJLUrMqr5" title="Earthlings">EART</a><a href="http://www.earthlings.com/?phpMyAdmin=BaXY%2CnWUdZhBEQrDkuZJLUrMqr5" title="Earthlings">HLIN</a><a href="http://www.earthlings.com/?phpMyAdmin=BaXY%2CnWUdZhBEQrDkuZJLUrMqr5" title="Earthlings">G</a><a href="http://www.earthlings.com/?phpMyAdmin=BaXY%2CnWUdZhBEQrDkuZJLUrMqr5" title="Earthlings">S</a></span></span><span class="style14"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> is a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee <a href="http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/cast-crew.php">Joaquin </a><a href="http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/cast-crew.php">Phoe</a><a href="http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/cast-crew.php">nix</a> (GLADIATOR) and features music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist <a href="http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/cast-crew.php">Moby</a> .</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=6361872964130308142&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style="">
<br /><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">With an in-depth study into pet stores, puppy mills and animals shelters, as well as factory farms, the leather and fur trades, sports and entertainment industries, and finally the medical and scientific profession, <span class="style21"><a href="http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/trailer-streaming.php" title="Animal Humane Society">EARTHLINGS</a></span> uses hidden cameras and never before seen footage to chronicle the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Powerful, informative and thought-provoking, <span class="style21"><a href="http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/review-press.php" title="Treatment of Animals">EARTHLINGS</a></span> is by far the most comprehensive documentary ever produced on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests. There are many worthy animal rights films available, but this one transcends the setting. <span class="style21">EARTHLINGS</span> cries to be seen. Highly recommended!
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<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span class="style21"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span class="style21"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/trailer-streaming.php" title="Nature Animals">EARTHLINGS</a></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> has taken five years to produce. What began as a series of Public Service Announcements on spaying and neutering pets, evolved into a feature-length film on every major animal-related issue. Writer/Director <a href="http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/cast-crew.php">Shaun Monson</a> began the process by shooting footage at animal shelters in South </span><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Central L.A.</span></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">, </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Long Beach</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;"> and </span><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">North Hollywood</span></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">. The PSAs were soon completed as his interest moved to other problem areas, like food and scientific research. In time, he accumulated a small library of material from several animal welfare organizations, and started editing. The process was a slow one. As footage gradually came in, Joaquin's narration was recorded (in stages), and a soundtrack was added. Along with all of Moby's music, some original pieces were also written for the film. In 2005, <span class="style21"><a href="http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/earthlings.php" title="Animal Welfare Society">EARTHLINGS</a></span> premiered at the<a href="http://artivists.org/the-artivist-awards" target="_self"> Artivist Film Festival</a>, (where it won Best Documentary Feature), followed by the <a href="http://www.bifilmfestival.com/biffpress.html" target="_self">Boston International Film Festival</a>, (where it won the Best Content Award), and most recently at the <a href="http://www.sdff.org/" target="_self">San Diego Film Festival</a>, (where it won Best Documentary Film, as well as the <a href="http://isawearthlings.com/about.html">Humanitarian Award</a> to <span style="color: rgb(255, 51, 0);">Joaquin Phoenix</span> for his work on the film). <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-8079710203338731582008-12-14T22:04:00.013+00:002008-12-17T22:59:53.630+00:00Shoes hurled at Bush<div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;">My God, what on earth could have incensed this Iraqi journalist - Muntadar al-Zeidi - to hurl his shoes at the world's greatest defender of freedom and democracy, namely President George W Bush? Said Bush, moments later: "I dunno what the guy's cause is." Hmmm, maybe the 1.3 million dead Iraqis since Bush authorized an invasion of Iraq on behalf of US oil interests? Its a toughie. Jeez, some reporters are just so damned unappreciative<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object style="font-family: arial;" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pvf60G1m1Wo&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pvf60G1m1Wo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Nonchalantly, Bush said that all he knew was that it was a size 10. I also take a size 10 and have a penchant for Dr Marten boots, and I know I'd not have missed. Seriously though, how many people o</span><span style="font-family:arial;">n this planet would have just loved to see that first shoe hit Bush straight in the mouth, dislodging a row of teeth and sending them hurtling down his throat.? That figure must run into at least 5 billions. Bush also said: "This doesn't represent the Iraqi people". What? Well...er...not if 10 million of them regret the shoe was not filled with dynamite, Mr Bush. A shoe in the mouth for this merchant of death and destruction? Nothing compared to what should be done to the gloopy, blood-soaked bastard.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />The journalist screamed as he threw shoes: "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog!! This is from the widows, orphans, and those killed in Iraq!" </span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> No doubt this poor journalist will now be banged up for kissing </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Bush thus. I'd give the guy a medal and a horseshoe to throw next time. Meanwhile this and</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> similar videos on Youtube will be the most viewed and shared in years (as I write, this one had 245 hits)</span><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SUWcIQZiXEI/AAAAAAAABAQ/F6k93sSwvJQ/s1600-h/Shoes+hurled+at+Bush.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 581px; height: 459px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SUWcIQZiXEI/AAAAAAAABAQ/F6k93sSwvJQ/s400/Shoes+hurled+at+Bush.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279797803816737858" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-40110403484770250232008-12-09T18:19:00.012+00:002008-12-13T18:31:23.511+00:00Bugger Christmas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST7BzjbVOPI/AAAAAAAAA_A/hhZnQmlz2MA/s1600-h/Dead_Santa.2+bmp.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 489px; height: 387px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST7BzjbVOPI/AAAAAAAAA_A/hhZnQmlz2MA/s400/Dead_Santa.2+bmp.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277868904752167154" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >They’re closing down Woolworths in Jarrow, indeed all over the country; sacking in excess of some 30,000 workers. The company has gone into administration, with debts of £385 million. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday gone, the Jarrow branch had a sale on – 50% off everything, so naturally the place was choc-a-block, with queues stretching all the way back to the River Tyne (I know, I exaggerate, but you get the picture). People stood in the queue with their arms full, looking impatient and frustrated. Christmas only weeks away and these poor workers here looked sick of their lives, all of them hoping they can get through thi</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">s period of unfettered, wallet-emptying consumerism with their sanity in tact.</span></span>
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<br /></div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The usual thing round here, bar the credit cards and the loan from the DWP social fund (that is if you’re on income support, otherwise you can fuck off and apply for a crisis loan, in which case they’ll tell you ever louder to “fuck off”) is the Provident loan. They give their loans to anyone, no questions asked and the interest rate is a staggering 68%. I know parents who have taken out a loan from the social fund as well as the “provi” loan. The former is interest-free and is deducted from your benefits at source. The two together amount to a hefty millstone when you’re struggling to survive on benefits.</span>
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<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">So, if you’re on state benefits, it’s like your whole year centres on Xmas day, if not preparing for it then paying for it and having to do without essentials just to meet the loan agreements. You get your loans out just before Xmas and 50 weeks later you’re still paying them off and doing without other essentials throughout that period.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I jest not – for many families, Jesus Christ, or rather what takes place in his name, has them skint year in, year out. I know parents who quite literally dread this time of year, who curse</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> its approach. Do they know it’s Christmas? as Bob Geldof and friends once sang? Too fucking right they do – they pay for it every day of their adult lives</span><span style="font-size:100%;">.
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<br />And how this wonderful consumer society serves the poor; forever exposing the emptiness of our lives and kindly providing the means by which our lives can be enriched, provi</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ng that we </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">too can enjoy happiness over Christmas, just like the well-to-dos. As the Citizen Advice Bureau has found, interest on this ‘happiness’ can rise to as much as 1800 per cent a year – a happiness that’s cheap at half the pri</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ce…eh?
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<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">And just where the fuck would we be without the advertising industry who continually alert us to needs we never even knew we had and who constantly remind us that our lives are really less satisfactory than we had hitherto imagined? </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I looked through an electrical store recently and was amazed to find items I honestly never even knew existed. Jeez, where’ve I been this last year? Thank God for PSPs, </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Nintendos, ipods, male face creams and the myriad gadgets we have amazingly managed to live without for 2 million years. Just how the fuck did our species survive without them? Sheesh! Consider this - ac</span><span style="font-size:100%;">cording to the Worldwatch Institute, we have used more goods and services since 1960 than in all the rest of human history! Have all of these pleasure-inducing goods contributed to a general human happiness? No, over the same period, 25-year-olds in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> have become ten times more likely to be afflicted by depression. The WHO recently estimated that by the end of the decade depression will be the second commonest dis</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ease in the developed world.
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<br />The unrelenting onslaught of advertising exerts constant press</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ure on parents in particular who, fearful their kids will be labelled, belittled and humiliated if their pressies are not up to scratch when they compare notes in the school yard, are more than ready to satisfy the most outlandish wants and bugger the cost and inconvenience for the next 52 weeks. To hell if </span><span style="font-size:100%;">that present you’ve just paid £250 for will end up in a cupboard after a few weeks, the novelty having worn off </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">– </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">to be sold for £50 on ebay in a few months time – you just can’t let the neighbours know your hard up.</span>
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<br />And the sad thing is, we all know Christmas marketing is j</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ust one big profit-oriented scam, benefiting manufacturers, stores, and huge corporations, while driving individuals into debt. We all know it’s a game of winners and losers. You don’t need a degree in ethics to realise that the Chrimbo "wish lists" and "gift exchanges", the giving in que demeans the real concept of giving. We know this annual orgy of consumption – 40% of what we buy is binned, unused – is detrimental to the environment, filling landfills with useless packaging and discarded gifts. We know Christmas means misery for millions of families, depression for hundreds of thousands – the Samaritans say they receive an 8% increase in calls between Christmas day and New Year. Yet still we tag along with the da</span><span style="font-size:100%;">mned charade, still we passively acquiesce i</span><span style="font-size:100%;">n the</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> madness. Even socialists take it seriously, for fuck’s sake. I know SPGB members, my comrades, who actually send out the conventional Christmas cards.
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<br />Seems the workers just need this annual fix, this distraction from the rat race, even if they do know its all bollocks
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<br />Me, as ever I’m pissed off with the unified bleatings of friends, family and associates, who mockingly call me "Scrooge" when I fail to fully endorse their ritual orgy of consum</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ption or utter the hackneyed “are you set for Christmas yet?” type of remark. For I’m one of those dole wallahs with kids and grandkids, a single-parent to boot, </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">who can say “Jesus Christ has got me skint.” And being a devout atheist, a Marxist, it smarts just that little bit more when you know you have to fucking conform – and phone up the ‘provi woman’ - just to save your kin humiliation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" >So forgive me if you hear me say “Fuck Christmas! Stick yer Chr</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">istmas tree up yer arse and put a match to that wee straw-filled manger.” To be sure, the class war is not suspended at Christmas as the religiously devout and profit mongers would have us believe. Indeed, the shameless robbery of our class is only accentuated when there are profits to be had</span>.</span></p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">
<br /></span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">If you’re looking for</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> that anti-Xmas card, make your own like</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> I do and use these pics below, courtesy of class warfare. Click to enlarge. Happy solst</span><span style="font-size:130%;">ice :-)</span></p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST63pS0qZSI/AAAAAAAAA-o/v8xs0zcFUSA/s1600-h/Santa-Trauma+kid.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 519px; height: 341px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST63pS0qZSI/AAAAAAAAA-o/v8xs0zcFUSA/s400/Santa-Trauma+kid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277857733380039970" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST64BRZpq5I/AAAAAAAAA-w/XuNOCxhlL9Q/s1600-h/Xmas+card+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 377px; height: 533px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST64BRZpq5I/AAAAAAAAA-w/XuNOCxhlL9Q/s400/Xmas+card+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277858145315171218" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST8TW6ug2YI/AAAAAAAAA_I/gZOkX32SUqE/s1600-h/Jesus+levitates.jpg">
<br /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST-RChdq9EI/AAAAAAAAA_g/D_UiUzcikes/s1600-h/elephant+baby.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 549px; height: 388px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST-RChdq9EI/AAAAAAAAA_g/D_UiUzcikes/s400/elephant+baby.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278096760830096450" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST-QeaHEwaI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/l48toix_EnA/s1600-h/dinner+plates.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 393px; height: 560px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST-QeaHEwaI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/l48toix_EnA/s400/dinner+plates.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278096140380979618" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-742489447261912832008-12-08T23:52:00.007+00:002008-12-09T09:22:46.732+00:00Hemp in a Sane Society<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST25R-RjkgI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/Po3jkptqGfM/s1600-h/SOCIALISM-HEMP.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 589px; height: 143px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/ST25R-RjkgI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/Po3jkptqGfM/s400/SOCIALISM-HEMP.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277578056773636610" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Any socialist will tell you of the insanity of modern production, of the great barrier to commonsensical productive methods and the use of natural resources in the service of humanity - namely profit - and of planned obsolescence and waste. One thing the establishment of world socialism will usher in is environmentally sustainable resources and eco-friendly productive processes and within a system in which the artificial barriers to production have been removed. And one natural resource that will undoubtedly be widely cultivated for the use of humanity is hemp. Hemp is a weed – most commonly associated perhaps with marijuana – but it has tens of thousands of uses. Watch, if you will these videos below.<br /><br />Imagine a building material that is stronger than cement yet SIX TIMES lighter? Better yet, one of its key ingredients is the waste product of a plant that literally grows like a weed and is 100% environmentally safe and friendly – hemp. Well, Big Brother says we can't have it - because it's "dangerous to society."<br /><br />The manufacture of traditional cement is incredibly energy intensive, so much so that many cement companies seek and receive legal variances to not only burn coal, but also medical waste and used automobile tires as fuel for their kilns.<br /><br />After oil refineries and chemical plants, cement factories are the most polluting factories in the world, spewing tons of micro-particles containing toxins like arsenic and mercury into the air.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2cGRc0WZt7k&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2cGRc0WZt7k&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vxd64t6H3_4&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vxd64t6H3_4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />To be sure, the mass growing of hemp in no way implies that workers everywhere will be stoned all day long. Industrial hemp contains less than 1% of THC the psychoactive component of marijuana. So, trying to get high on industrial hemp is akin to trying to get drunk on Irn Bru.<br /><br />Hemp is the world's strongest natural fibre. It has been used to make cloth and rope for over 10,000 years. Hemp was the first crop ever cultivated for textile production.<br /><br />Hemp cloth is stronger, longer lasting, more resistant to mildew, and cheaper to produce than cloth made of cotton. Hemp ropes are known for their strength and durability. The original Levi Strauss jeans were made from a hempen canvas<br /><br />In 1941 the Ford motor company produced an experimental automobile with a plastic body composed of 70% cellulose fibres from hemp. The car body could absorb blows 10 times as great as steel without denting. The car was designed to run on hemp fuel. Because of the ban on both hemp and alcohol the car was never mass produced.<br /><br />Then hemp production started to impinge on other people’s profits and the big money people struck out to protect their interests. Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst led the crusade to ban hemp. Hearst owned millions of acres of prime timber land and a machine that simplified the process of making paper from hemp had just been invented. Hearst used his power as a publisher to create public panic about the evils of hemp and marijuana. Another big money player Pierre DuPont held patent rights to the sulfuric acid wood pulp paper process. In 1937 DuPont patented nylon rope made from synthetic petrochemicals. Along with Duponts backer Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon the big money people prevailed and near the end of 1937 Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. By placing a prohibitively high tax on hemp production it destroyed the industry. This was done to protect these big money interests of the timber, petrochemical, and cotton industries. Hemp was briefly re-legalized during W.W.II. The U.S. government produced the movie Hemp for Victory to encourage farmers to grow hemp.<br /><br />Industrial hemp can replace cotton. Cotton is typically grown with large amounts of chemicals that are harmful to people, wildlife and the entire environment. Close to 50% of all the world's pesticides are sprayed on cotton. Hemp grows well in a wide variety of climates and soils. It requires far less fertilizer and pesticides than most commercial crops.<br /><br />All parts of the hemp plant are useful. Hemp can be used to produce everything from fuel to soap. The oil from hemp seeds has the highest percentage of essential fatty acids and the lowest percentage of saturated fats.<br /><br />Industrial hemp can yield 3-8 dry tons of fibre per acre. This is four times what an average forest can yield. It can replace wood fiber and help save our forests. Trees take approximately 20 years to mature - hemp takes 4 months. Paper made from hemp lasts for centuries, compared to 25-80 years for paper made from wood pulp.<br /><br />Moreover, hemp is the perfect source for fuel. It produces more biomass than any other plant. It further can be used as a highly nutritious food source and in the production of medicines.<br /><br />Needless to say, at the moment the mass cultivation of hemp, though it makes sound commonsense and helps solve a hundred human needs, will be opposed because it interferes with powerful interests. But fear not; the master class will not have it their own way forever. Socialism and the mass cultivation of hemp is on the cards as soon as the workers wake up and organise. And if the master class want to battle it out for the future of the planet, I'm sure we can find a first use for that hemp-based rope - nooses to hang the buggers with.</div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-53416879609781657102008-12-07T14:58:00.003+00:002008-12-07T15:04:19.345+00:00Advance copy of Identity<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/STvljPUG1tI/AAAAAAAAA94/Rl8HlheaBpo/s1600-h/Identity.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/STvljPUG1tI/AAAAAAAAA94/Rl8HlheaBpo/s400/Identity.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277063781963716306" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">A friend on the "inside" copied me this. Click image to enlarge</span>.<br /></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-24952568662052656082008-12-03T09:19:00.006+00:002008-12-09T09:53:11.763+00:00BNP finally come clean in Voice of Freedom<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/STZRhQfKh6I/AAAAAAAAA9o/6cWYxjJwu7k/s1600-h/Voice+of+Freedom_BNP.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/STZRhQfKh6I/AAAAAAAAA9o/6cWYxjJwu7k/s400/Voice+of+Freedom_BNP.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275493645314328482" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Click on image to enlarge</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify; font-weight: bold;"><span>As referred to above, here is the <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Young, Nazi and Proud</span> video. The ending, where Mr Collett is confronted with remarks that he made earlier in the programme, is classic - rather reminds me of something Omar Khayyam wrote: </span><span style="font-style: italic;">'The moving finger writes; and, having writ moves on; nor all your piety nor wit shall lure it back or cancel half a line. Nor all your tears wash out a word of it.</span>' Way to go, you Nazi bastard!<br /></div><br /><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-7842826632184074561&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-84113336630237227642008-11-22T00:11:00.000+00:002008-11-22T00:13:53.337+00:00Meanwhile in Berlin......<div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BIa221hsArg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BIa221hsArg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-50029011777599739732008-11-19T23:15:00.006+00:002008-11-20T20:49:33.098+00:00BNP Membership list now globally available<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SSSsw2Oy6HI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/I9bwOp0aw3A/s1600-h/Publication1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 307px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SSSsw2Oy6HI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/I9bwOp0aw3A/s400/Publication1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270527419121592434" border="0" /></a><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="stockticker"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} h2 {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0cm; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-outline-level:2; font-size:18.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:red; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The worst kept secret of all time</span>
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<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/nov/19/bnp-list"><i style="">Guardian</i></a> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">today and most papers this week have covered the <st1:stockticker>BNP</st1:stockticker> membership list leak. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">To the dismay of the <st1:stockticker>BNP, </st1:stockticker> their entire membership list, hitherto supposedly a secret on a par with the true assassins of JFK, was posted on the internet, allegedly by a disgruntled ex-member of high rank. The organisation, needless to say, has suffered a collective panic attack, afraid people will know who they are. I personally was surprised to see there were 25 listed in my Jarrow parliamentary constituency - I thought there were more judging by the numbers turning up at their local meetings.
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<br />The list has been kept a secret on the left with activists reluctant to share it – so much for free access to the benefits of civilisation (or in this case uncivilisation) – and, whilst it has been removed from <st1:country-region><st1:place>UK</st1:place></st1:country-region> sites, it is available from overseas sites via: <a href="http://wikileaks.org/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">http://wikileaks.<wbr>org/</span></a><o:p></o:p> The Wikileaks links to the said list have proved so popular that the site crashed tonight and the home page ran a</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">simple message: </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Wikileaks is overloaded by readers looking for the BNP membership list.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:100%;" >Whether this gauges the number of people curious to see if old Mrs Jones down the road is a closet storm trooper, or if the site is being accessed by </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:stockticker><span style="font-weight: normal;">BNP</span></st1:stockticker></span><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:100%;" > members keen to see their name in print is anyone’s guess.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The list is even available on the <a href="http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4517770/British_National_Party_%28BNP">Pirate Bay</a> and <a href="http://www.mininova.org/tor/2023013">Minova</a> torrent sites and as I write have 225 and 190 seeders</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;">respectively. News now is that the membership list will be given away free with <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sun</span> this coming Saturday</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >.
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<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> The membership list </span></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">has now even been </span><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://www.localgibson.com/bnp/">google postcoded</a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">. You simply type in your postcode and find out your nearest neo-nazi</span></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">. Click on their name and a map appears directing you to their home. No doubt the members of</span></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://www.antifa.org.uk/">Antifa</a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> are having a</span></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">field day.</span><o:p style="font-family: times new roman;"></o:p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> </span></span><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link style="font-family: times new roman;" rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: times new roman;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: times new roman;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: times new roman;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Bloody marvellous when its easier to locate your closest fash than your nearest PayPoint outlet - you'll know what I mean if you're trying to get your gas card charged up in Hebburn</span>
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<br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Of course, its not the socialist way to suggest BNP members are supporters are targeted. Whilst their ideas are noxious and abhorrent, they can never be countered by violence or the threat of it, regardless of the violence they are associated with, not least because they are a symptom of class society and the myriad social problems it throws up. The BNP can only be defeated on the battlefield of ideas and this site provides plenty of ammunition in this regard.</span>
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<br /></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0cm; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >And if you believe that your average BNPer will give you an intellectual run for your money, consider this piece from the</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > Scotsman</span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >, and reported on the </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://www.stopthebnp.org.uk/index.php?location=news&art=1027">Stop the BNP</a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> site:</span> </span>
<br />
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> </div><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">"The brightest children go on to vote Liberal Democrat or Green, according to a survey.</span></p><div face="times new roman" style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">"The study by <st1:place><st1:placename>Edinburgh</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>University</st1:placetype></st1:place> researchers has found that childhood intelligence is linked to voting preferences and political involvement in adulthood.The study – which looked at voting patterns in the 2001 general election – found that those with higher IQ ratings were more likely to vote Lib-Dem or Green in an election.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">"The survey – including cognitive tests at ages five and ten – was followed up with a study of voting habits at 34. Those who voted Green had an average IQ of 108.3, with Lib-Dem voters just behind at 108.2.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Conservative and Labour voters were further behind – with scores of 103.7 and 103.0 respectively, while voters for Welsh nationalist Plaid Cymru scored an average of 102.5. Scottish National Party voters had an average IQ of 102.2. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The research also showed that British National Party voters had the lowest average intelligence – scoring just 98.4</span>. Non-voters were found to have an average IQ of 99.7."</span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Class Warfare can only lament that no socialist was included in the research</span></span>
<br /></span></div>
<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-84625351616064165562008-10-29T16:55:00.003+00:002008-10-29T17:00:46.002+00:00Tainted Food Alert in the US (video)<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">In <st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region>, ANYTHING made with Chinese-manufactured milk powder before September 14th was PULLED from their store shelves. In the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region>, these products are still being sold!</p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="">
<br />Foods at risk</b>: ANY food manufactured in <st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region> and potentially any food containing milk powder. US food manufacturers imported millions of pounds of milk powder from <st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region> before September 14th. The FDA continues to this allow to be sold. This includes chocolate, cookies, cakes, and even things like packaged macaroni and cheese.
<br /><!--[endif]--></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><b style="">Background</b>
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<br />Mike Mozart is a product designer who also runs a video blog about new developments in the toy industry. His reviews are normally light, cheerful affairs and completely apolitical.
<br /><!--[endif]-->
<br />If he appears distraught, it's because he is. Tis is serious. Mozart has discovered that the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> is the ONLY country that still permits potentially melamine-contaminated food on its shelves. Even <st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region> has removed these products from its stores. <span style=""> </span>This poison that killed and injured thousands of people, mainly children, may be in US food.</p><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A few facts:</span>
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<br />1. Melamine was added to food products manufactured in <st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region> to simulate protein content. These food products were imported into the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> by the ton.
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<br />2. Melamine itself is bad, but much worse - and not reported - is that melamine is an industrial product, not a food product and often comes contaminated with a wide range of dangerous industrial toxins.There is no such thing as ‘food grade’ melamine. None of it is suitable for food.
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<br />3. The widespread practice of adding melamine to powdered milk products has killed and seriously injured thousands of children in <st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Melamine injuries children by damaging their kidneys. There has already been a reported spike in kidney stones in American children.
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<br />Last year, when melamine was found in pet food sold in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> and traced to death in animals, it was headline news. This news, potentially far more serious, is being censored.
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<br />4. The Chinese government knew this contaminated food was on the shelves killing children and said nothing so as not to put a damper on the "Olympic spirit."
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<br />5. As much 20 MILLION POUNDS of food manufactured in <st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region> that contains milk powder was imported into the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> this year. Also, it's not clear how many <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> food manufacturers use milk powder manufactured in <st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region> in their products.
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<br />6. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refuses to test for melamine contamination - or if is has, refuses to make the results of these tests available to the public. Further, the FDA refuses to force food manufacturers to remove the contaminated food from its shelves, something they are completely capable of doing.
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<br />7. Why is this being done?
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<br />Mozart theorizes: a) to prevent a scandal before the election and b) to avoid further deterioration of the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> stock market. He could have added another: profit before human safety.
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<br />Are these motivations plausible?
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<br />Needless to say, the FDA has demonstrated over and over again throughout its history that it is a political agency designed to protect well connected corporate <span style=""> </span>law breakers and has next-to-zero interest in the public welfare. Knowing the parties involved - <st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the FDA, the Bush administration, the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> news media, and corporate <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> - you can be sure that none of them can be trusted to look out for the welfare of the workers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nUB79WJ9ktQ&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nUB79WJ9ktQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></p> Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-80852176638175676872008-10-28T15:51:00.005+00:002008-10-28T16:42:08.122+00:00Vote Rigging in the US<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="time"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; 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margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="time"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="time"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">We all know the story of the 2004 <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> presidential election. The exit polls showed Bush was in for a kicking at the polls; John Kerry was to be the next US president, winning by a million-and-a-half votes, but by <st1:time hour="0" minute="0">midnight</st1:time> in US the news was that Bush was in the lead and, next day, lacking legal evidence to contest the results, Kerry conceded and bowed as Bush took the helm for another term.<span style=""> </span>Bush was officially given a mandate to continue shredding the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> constitution, increasing his own powers and those of the surveillance state, while pandering to the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> corporatocracy and the merchants of war.<o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p>
<br /></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Those who cried foul were dismissed as conspiracy theorists by the press and nutters in “tin foil hats” by the GOP. <span style=""> </span>The news media, Congress, and the Democratic Party, whilst well aware of the nationwide <span style=""> </span>irregularities on election day, <span style=""> </span>have never even attempted to do anything about it. Likewise, here’s a government hearing - never reported by the news media - that sums up the status of the security of the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> voting system, while being<span style=""> </span>suggestive of <span style=""> </span>a vote rigging scam that should have sent Bush not to the White House but into the dustbin of history.<o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p>
<br /></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JEzY2tnwExs&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JEzY2tnwExs&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">The possibility of rigged voting machines aside, there was undoubtedly a colossal and synchronised attempt to subvert the popular will of the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> people. All over the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Across the country, Repuke election personnel used a wide range of illegal and unethical tactics to fix the election. <o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p>
<br /></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">In <st1:state><st1:place>Ohio</st1:place></st1:state> alone, at least 357,000 voters, the vast majority of them Democratic, were prevented from casting ballots or did not have their votes counted in 2004 - more than enough to shift the results of an election decided by 118,601 votes. <span style=""> </span>Indeed, a staggering <i>one in every four</i> Ohio citizens who registered to vote in 2004 turned up to cast their vote only to discover that they were not listed on the rolls, thanks to GOP efforts to stem the unprecedented flood of Democrats eager to cast ballots. And that doesn’t even take into account the troubling evidence of outright fraud, which indicates that upwards of 80,000 votes for Kerry were counted instead for Bush. That alone is a swing of more than 160,000 votes -- enough to have put Kerry in the White House. But <st1:state><st1:place>Ohio</st1:place></st1:state> was not unique. Irregularities were reported all over the country with voters finding they had been disenfranchised via registration challenges, faulty machines, turned away because voting queues were too long <span style=""> </span>or one of the many other hurdles put in their way by Repuke election officials.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p>
<br /></o:p></p> <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12;" >If this film is anything to go by the Repuke’s will be doing all in their power to see McCain takes over from Bush. Not convinced? Check out these films previously posted on this blog <a href="http://class-warfare.blogspot.com/2008/02/electonic-voting.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">here</span></a> :<span style=""> </span>Don't be too surprised if McCain and Palin "win" next week. No matter how unlikely the outcome, the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12;" >US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12;" > news media stands ready to pump out a plausible </span></div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span> <span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span> <span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-11760523405084634992008-09-01T21:33:00.004+01:002008-09-01T22:01:10.244+01:00Recycle Life (Shelley's art project)<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">I'm posting this for my daughter Shelley. This was her final project of a three year art course at College. Anyway, she passed with a triple distinction, being also the only one on the course to choose to do a film. She even went to the lengths of getting the logo she designed tattooed onto her ankle.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Hope you do well when you start Uni this month, bonny lass</span>. Love you xx<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Oh, for anyone reading this, she'd be obliged if you could share her link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuXYVLTisW4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuXYVLTisW4</a> Thanks.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XuXYVLTisW4&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XuXYVLTisW4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838667327652743967.post-40527084284479524282008-08-28T23:19:00.011+01:002008-09-07T16:56:17.401+01:00US Combat Troops - Comfortably Numb<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SLckpR6-6cI/AAAAAAAAAnc/gxfBFYKpS5s/s1600-h/Prozac+army.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3TsuLwgS94/SLckpR6-6cI/AAAAAAAAAnc/gxfBFYKpS5s/s400/Prozac+army.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239696983072893378" border="0" /></a><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOHNBI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0cm; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-weight: bold;">I’ve written several times on this blog about the mental state of combat troops; i.e. about their colossal suicide rate or about <span style="color:black;">the way the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color:black;">US</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color:black;"> <span style=""> </span>Department of Defence is toying with the idea of medicating soldiers to desensitise them to combat trauma. For instance</span><i><span style="color:black;">
<br /></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-weight: bold;"><i><span style="color:black;">
<br /></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://class-warfare.blogspot.com/2008/02/hidden-cost-of-allied-invasion-of-iraq.html">Hidden cost of the allied invasio</a><a href="http://class-warfare.blogspot.com/2008/02/hidden-cost-of-allied-invasion-of-iraq.html">n</a> and <o:p></o:p><a href="http://class-warfare.blogspot.com/2008/01/in-us-department-of-defence-is-toying.html">Guilt Free Soldier </a> and<o:p> </o:p><a href="http://class-warfare.blogspot.com/2007/11/suicide-epidemic-among-us-veterans.html">Suicide epidemic among US vets</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://class-warfare.blogspot.com/2007/11/suicide-epidemic-among-us-veterans.html">
<br /></a> <span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My argument has always been the same, namely that humans are not naturally aggressive, that we are not predisposed to dish out violence <span style=""> </span>and that governments, realising this, will do anything to conceal the true cost of war, particularly with regards combatants and their inability to handle the stress of front line combat. Today’s <a href="http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2435589.0.Prozac_army_20_000_troops_suffer_stress.php"><i style="">Herald</i></a> informs us that one in six American soldiers in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> and one in eight in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>, that the Pentagon claims to know of, are on daily doses of prescription antidepressants, sleeping pills or painkillers to help them cope with the stresses of combat. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Herald</span> reports:</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">“The findings mean that at least 20,000 troops are on medication such as Prozac or diamorphine while serving in the front line or on equally dangerous convoy escort or driving duties in conflicts where insurgents regularly target the supply chain.<o:p></o:p></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">“While the vast majority would have been barred automatically from combat roles in earlier wars on medical and safety grounds, the pressure to provide up to 200,000 soldiers at any given time for the two major deployments has led to a relaxation of the rules.<span style="color:red;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">“The Pentagon admitted that medication was tolerated because those sent to <st1:country-region><st1:place>Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> or <st1:country-region><st1:place>Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> were 'younger and healthier than the general population' and had been screened for mental illnesses before enlisting.”</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Common sense suggests that the real reason that medication is tolerated is because the US has garrisons totalling 180,000 men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan alone; there to secure its control of world oil, resources and to start dismissing those found to take mind-controlling <span style=""> </span>drugs, or giving them administrative posts, as is the case in the British army, means the only way they could maintain their oil empire is via conscription. And if your troops are comfortably numb, then what the fuck so long as they are doing their job and keeping open the oil pipelines. Which means that any legit or self-prescribed<span style=""> </span>drug that keeps a soldier deployed and fighting also saves money on training and deploying replacements. But there is a downside: the number of soldiers requiring long-term mental-health services back home soars with repeated deployments and lengthy combat tours and this costs $$$$. But what the hell, there are profits to be had and natural resources to secure.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Drug use is nothing new by any means. If soldiers are not self-mediating then their top brass are seeing they are psychologically fit to kill people they have no real grievance with. Generals, history shows, have plied their troops with medicinal palliatives at least since George Washington ordered rum rations at <st1:place>Valley Forge</st1:place>. During World War II, the Nazis fuelled their blitzkrieg into <st1:country-region><st1:place>France</st1:place></st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region><st1:place>Poland</st1:place></st1:country-region> with the help of an amphetamine known as Pervitin. The U.S. Army also used amphetamines during the Vietnam War.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, mental trauma has become so common that the Pentagon may expand the list of "qualifying wounds" for a Purple Heart — historically limited to those physically injured on the battlefield — to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).</p>
<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01301285955635624621noreply@blogger.com0