31 October, 2009
The AP WIRE Lampooned
Updated: with new info on Obama admin concealing Bush crimes (the title is the link)
30 October, 2009
28 October, 2009
R.Crumb does Genesis
“Genesis has lust, inebriation, nudity, polygamy, harlots, men pimping their wives, masturbation, penis cutting, sex with a 90-year-old woman who gives birth, sodomy, incest and a father who offers his virgin daughters up for strangers to rape.”
http://www.truthout.org/1025091
R.Crumb does Genesis
by: Kelpie Wilson, t r u t h o u t | Book Review
I confess that I am one of those feminists who finds a lot to like in the work of Robert Crumb. If his early work in the underground comics movement expressed a "sexual rage" as he calls it, well those were the times to get it all out of your system. Besides, how could I not love an artist so appreciative of the real bodies that women have - big butts, thunder thighs and all?
So, it came as a surprise to learn that this warrior of the id and defender of the flesh has produced an illustrated version of Genesis. That's right, the Bible. What would he do with it? Obviously, Crumb would portray the cruel and jealous God of the Old Testament as some version of the cynical, abusive Mr. Natural, holding secret orgies in Heaven with Devil Girl, and he would base his Abraham on Flakey Foont, Mr. Natural's pathetic sycophant.
But that's not how Crumb did it. On this one, he played it (mostly) straight. And why not? If you have never read Genesis from start to finish, you might not be aware that the stories are as full of sexual perversity and surreal plot points as any comic book. Genesis has lust, inebriation, nudity, polygamy, harlots, men pimping their wives, masturbation, penis cutting, sex with a 90-year-old woman who gives birth, sodomy, incest and a father who offers his virgin daughters up for strangers to rape.
That's a lot of great material for an artist like Crumb, and the genius of his Genesis is that he portrays it all - every word and every illustration is given equal weight. That's not how they taught it to us back in Sunday school. Our Bible coloring books had only selected scenes: Noah and his animals, but never Noah lying passed out drunk and naked in his tent. And even when we outgrew the Sunday school cookies and punch and graduated to wafers and wine, we still never heard about Abraham selling his wife Sarah to Pharaoh in exchange for cattle, gold and slaves. It was a kind of scam for the couple, and they did it more than once, targeting King Abimelech of Gerar next and getting cattle, sheep, slaves and land in return.
Crumb's compositions are cinematic and the rendering of detail is deliciously fine. One is amazed at how well the text adapts to the comic book form with its speech balloons and narrative boxes. The "sweet" Crumb comes through here with tenderly drawn and emotionally insightful expressions. And the faces! Where did he get them all? Each individual in the "begats" is unique. They are all raw, rich and human.
Some years ago, when Bill Moyers convened an interfaith dialogue on Genesis, it was the human dimension of the stories that he found so gripping: "Because their emotions and struggles are so real," Moyers said, "the people of Genesis come to life in every generation, and their stories live on."
Scholars have often said that the Hebrew texts are the first example of written history. Earlier writing from Sumeria recorded myths (including the flood story), genealogies, laws and accounts, but the Hebrews were the first to write a narrative history of their people. Before the "people of the book," the common culture of a clan or tribe was formed exclusively by oral tales and images.
Images are fundamentally different from words. Leonard Shlain, in his book "The Alphabet Versus the Goddess," lays out a theory about this difference and the impact it has had on cultural evolution. Shlain thought that writing stimulated left brain, linear, cause-and-effect thinking, associated with males, while a focus on images produced a more intuitive and holistic style of thought, associated with females.
The "people of the book" crusaded against images, as their God warned them away from the "alien gods" of other people. The most interesting scenes in Genesis revolve around the struggles within the tribe of Abraham over images and other vestiges of goddess worship, for clearly these stories are about a people in transition. And this is where Crumb's work becomes important.
By rendering every letter of Genesis faithfully into images, Crumb has given us a blank canvas on which to color new meaning. Combining words and images together allows us to escape the fundamentalism of either one alone. Shlain discusses this fundamentalism in his chapters on the Protestant Reformation in 16th century Europe. The Catholic Church had never allowed free access to the Bible texts. Only ordained priests were authorized to read and interpret the Bible for congregations. The only direct access people had to the stories was the depiction of selected stories in church windows and other decorations. Then along came the printing press, making the Bible available to lay people, and Martin Luther declared "every man is his own priest." But liberating the Bible from church control courted chaos, and there was suddenly no room for any interpretation at all. Bible literalism was born. And since no one really knew how to respond to incidents like Abraham selling Sarah to Pharaoh, or Lot offering his virgin daughters to a ravenous mob, those stories are generally ignored by all.
Crumb's Genesis does not let you ignore the problem stories - they are imaged just as faithfully as all the others.
Continue reading at:
http://www.truthout.org/1025091
http://www.truthout.org/1025091
R.Crumb does Genesis
by: Kelpie Wilson, t r u t h o u t | Book Review
I confess that I am one of those feminists who finds a lot to like in the work of Robert Crumb. If his early work in the underground comics movement expressed a "sexual rage" as he calls it, well those were the times to get it all out of your system. Besides, how could I not love an artist so appreciative of the real bodies that women have - big butts, thunder thighs and all?
So, it came as a surprise to learn that this warrior of the id and defender of the flesh has produced an illustrated version of Genesis. That's right, the Bible. What would he do with it? Obviously, Crumb would portray the cruel and jealous God of the Old Testament as some version of the cynical, abusive Mr. Natural, holding secret orgies in Heaven with Devil Girl, and he would base his Abraham on Flakey Foont, Mr. Natural's pathetic sycophant.
But that's not how Crumb did it. On this one, he played it (mostly) straight. And why not? If you have never read Genesis from start to finish, you might not be aware that the stories are as full of sexual perversity and surreal plot points as any comic book. Genesis has lust, inebriation, nudity, polygamy, harlots, men pimping their wives, masturbation, penis cutting, sex with a 90-year-old woman who gives birth, sodomy, incest and a father who offers his virgin daughters up for strangers to rape.
That's a lot of great material for an artist like Crumb, and the genius of his Genesis is that he portrays it all - every word and every illustration is given equal weight. That's not how they taught it to us back in Sunday school. Our Bible coloring books had only selected scenes: Noah and his animals, but never Noah lying passed out drunk and naked in his tent. And even when we outgrew the Sunday school cookies and punch and graduated to wafers and wine, we still never heard about Abraham selling his wife Sarah to Pharaoh in exchange for cattle, gold and slaves. It was a kind of scam for the couple, and they did it more than once, targeting King Abimelech of Gerar next and getting cattle, sheep, slaves and land in return.
Crumb's compositions are cinematic and the rendering of detail is deliciously fine. One is amazed at how well the text adapts to the comic book form with its speech balloons and narrative boxes. The "sweet" Crumb comes through here with tenderly drawn and emotionally insightful expressions. And the faces! Where did he get them all? Each individual in the "begats" is unique. They are all raw, rich and human.
Some years ago, when Bill Moyers convened an interfaith dialogue on Genesis, it was the human dimension of the stories that he found so gripping: "Because their emotions and struggles are so real," Moyers said, "the people of Genesis come to life in every generation, and their stories live on."
Scholars have often said that the Hebrew texts are the first example of written history. Earlier writing from Sumeria recorded myths (including the flood story), genealogies, laws and accounts, but the Hebrews were the first to write a narrative history of their people. Before the "people of the book," the common culture of a clan or tribe was formed exclusively by oral tales and images.
Images are fundamentally different from words. Leonard Shlain, in his book "The Alphabet Versus the Goddess," lays out a theory about this difference and the impact it has had on cultural evolution. Shlain thought that writing stimulated left brain, linear, cause-and-effect thinking, associated with males, while a focus on images produced a more intuitive and holistic style of thought, associated with females.
The "people of the book" crusaded against images, as their God warned them away from the "alien gods" of other people. The most interesting scenes in Genesis revolve around the struggles within the tribe of Abraham over images and other vestiges of goddess worship, for clearly these stories are about a people in transition. And this is where Crumb's work becomes important.
By rendering every letter of Genesis faithfully into images, Crumb has given us a blank canvas on which to color new meaning. Combining words and images together allows us to escape the fundamentalism of either one alone. Shlain discusses this fundamentalism in his chapters on the Protestant Reformation in 16th century Europe. The Catholic Church had never allowed free access to the Bible texts. Only ordained priests were authorized to read and interpret the Bible for congregations. The only direct access people had to the stories was the depiction of selected stories in church windows and other decorations. Then along came the printing press, making the Bible available to lay people, and Martin Luther declared "every man is his own priest." But liberating the Bible from church control courted chaos, and there was suddenly no room for any interpretation at all. Bible literalism was born. And since no one really knew how to respond to incidents like Abraham selling Sarah to Pharaoh, or Lot offering his virgin daughters to a ravenous mob, those stories are generally ignored by all.
Crumb's Genesis does not let you ignore the problem stories - they are imaged just as faithfully as all the others.
Continue reading at:
http://www.truthout.org/1025091
24 October, 2009
MANTONG and PROTONG
The Mad Genius of Richard Shaver & Stanislav Szukalski
by Robert Guffey
On October 16, 2009, I had the privilege of attending one of the oddest gallery shows in recent Southern California history entitled “Mantong and Protong: Richard Sharpe Shaver and Stanislav Szukalski.” This exhibit was the brain child of curator Brian Tucker, director of the Pasadena City College Art Gallery. Though modest in size, limited to two rooms the size of an average studio apartment, the exhibit itself possessed a scope that was almost cosmic in nature. Though Shaver and Szukalski were no doubt unaware of each other’s existence, both have a great deal in common. Tucker was perceptive enough to notice these subtle links and build an entire show around them.
Both, in the end, could be considered Outsider Artists. Much of their work was completed well outside the scrutiny of the modern art world. Indeed, it’s doubtful that either individual perceived the bulk of their work to be “art” in any traditional sense of that word. Their art objects were merely adjuncts to a utilitarian goal: to prove a scientific theory considered to be off-the-wall by mainstream society.
Both men achieved some level of fame early in their lives. In 1943, at the age of 36, Shaver became infamous among American science fiction fans for a series of outlandish articles and stories he wrote for Ray Palmer, editor of Amazing Stories Magazine. Shaver claimed he was in contact with monstrous beings who lived beneath the Earth. Some of these beings were called “Deros,” short for “Detrimental Robots.” These Deros had been beaming messages into Shaver’s head for quite some time. They had even taught him about the hidden history of the human race, including a long lost ur-language called “Mantong,” the source of all human language existing on Earth in the present. To the dismay of rationalist science fiction fans the world over, hordes of readers began writing letters to the magazine insisting that Shaver was correct—they, too, had received messages from the subterranean Deros! What became known as “The Shaver Mystery” continued to be a popular, though extremely controversial, topic in science fiction fandom for a period of about ten years. Eventually, however, Shaver drifted into obscurity and began turning his attention to even stranger pursuits.
One of these endeavors resulted in a series of almost surrealist paintings and photographs based on images Shaver claimed to have discovered imprinted on the interior of ancient rocks. Some of these pieces bear titles that would seem right at home in an exhibit of Robert Williams paintings, e.g.: “Action Photo of a Crazy Codfish Attacking A Lugubrious Flounder Taken At Forty Fathoms.” Shaver claimed that the destruction of a pre-Deluge civilization had somehow been recorded as images stored within these rocks. Shaver painted what he saw in a valiant attempt to help the rest of the human race witness the apocalyptic images that—he felt—should have been plainly obvious to anyone with eyes to see.
According to Tucker, in the 1960s Shaver even went so far as to mail a couple of his rocks to President Lyndon Johnson along with a note urging the President to assign a team of scientists to study these hidden images before the Russians beat America to the punch. President Johnson’s reaction to this letter is not known, but one hopes those Shaver rocks are still sitting unobtrusively on a mantle in the Oval Office.
Like Shaver, Stanislav Szukalski also achieved some measure of fame in his younger days. According to Tucker, Szukalski was “a celebrated artist from Poland […] best known for his detailed and elaborately symbolic sculptures that combined elements evocative of European avant-garde and Meso-American iconography.” Like Shaver, Szukalski spent the latter part of his life constructing a unified field theory of human pre-history. The ultimate outcome of this theory was the 1982 book Behold the Protong! in which he claimed to have discovered the root of all language, known as “the Protong.” Like Shaver, he believed the human race was at war with an evil group of beast-like creatures who represented the devolution of the human race; in this case, the creatures were the result of humans mating with Yetis millennia ago. Like Shaver, Szukalski’s works would have been completely lost if not for the untiring efforts of a small group of admirers who didn’t wish to see his unique oeuvre tossed into the dumpster.
Szukalski himself cut up his voluminous notes and drawings with a razor blade in order for them to be seen more clearly on video during an interview conducted by Glenn Bray, the man responsible for preserving much of Szukalski’s work. Shaver’s equivalent to Glenn Bray in his own life was the aforementioned editor, Ray Palmer. If not for Palmer, who published many of Shaver’s paintings in his 1975 book The Secret World, the entirety of Shaver’s work would have been completely unknown. Indeed, some of Shaver’s paintings were turned over and used by its creator as signs advertising his pottery business; one of them was even used a doggie door! Tucker cleverly includes photos of these paintings’ backsides next to the original in order to demonstrate how little regard the artist himself had for his own work.
Though both achieved a certain measure of fame—or at least notoriety—early on, Shaver and Szukalski ended their lives as true Outsider Artists. Like Henry Darger (an Outsider Artist if ever there was one), both Shaver’s and Szukalski’s major works were destined to have been lost forever if not for the intervention of mere luck and happenstance. It makes one wonder how many other mad geniuses have had the work of a lifetime discarded by unsympathetic relatives or landlords annoyed by their former tenant’s unbearable eccentricities.
Fortunately, one can witness in person—for a short time—a slight fragment of the inner lives of these two mad geniuses at the Pasadena City College Art Gallery, at least until November 14, 2009, the day the exhibit closes. One hopes that some canny publisher will see the exhibit and commission Brian Tucker to produce a book-length version of MANTONG & PROTONG so future generations can marvel at the eerie synchronicities linking the intense, chimerical visions of these two unique 20th century artists.
[For more information regarding this exhibit call 626-585-7238.]
by Robert Guffey
On October 16, 2009, I had the privilege of attending one of the oddest gallery shows in recent Southern California history entitled “Mantong and Protong: Richard Sharpe Shaver and Stanislav Szukalski.” This exhibit was the brain child of curator Brian Tucker, director of the Pasadena City College Art Gallery. Though modest in size, limited to two rooms the size of an average studio apartment, the exhibit itself possessed a scope that was almost cosmic in nature. Though Shaver and Szukalski were no doubt unaware of each other’s existence, both have a great deal in common. Tucker was perceptive enough to notice these subtle links and build an entire show around them.
Both, in the end, could be considered Outsider Artists. Much of their work was completed well outside the scrutiny of the modern art world. Indeed, it’s doubtful that either individual perceived the bulk of their work to be “art” in any traditional sense of that word. Their art objects were merely adjuncts to a utilitarian goal: to prove a scientific theory considered to be off-the-wall by mainstream society.
Both men achieved some level of fame early in their lives. In 1943, at the age of 36, Shaver became infamous among American science fiction fans for a series of outlandish articles and stories he wrote for Ray Palmer, editor of Amazing Stories Magazine. Shaver claimed he was in contact with monstrous beings who lived beneath the Earth. Some of these beings were called “Deros,” short for “Detrimental Robots.” These Deros had been beaming messages into Shaver’s head for quite some time. They had even taught him about the hidden history of the human race, including a long lost ur-language called “Mantong,” the source of all human language existing on Earth in the present. To the dismay of rationalist science fiction fans the world over, hordes of readers began writing letters to the magazine insisting that Shaver was correct—they, too, had received messages from the subterranean Deros! What became known as “The Shaver Mystery” continued to be a popular, though extremely controversial, topic in science fiction fandom for a period of about ten years. Eventually, however, Shaver drifted into obscurity and began turning his attention to even stranger pursuits.
One of these endeavors resulted in a series of almost surrealist paintings and photographs based on images Shaver claimed to have discovered imprinted on the interior of ancient rocks. Some of these pieces bear titles that would seem right at home in an exhibit of Robert Williams paintings, e.g.: “Action Photo of a Crazy Codfish Attacking A Lugubrious Flounder Taken At Forty Fathoms.” Shaver claimed that the destruction of a pre-Deluge civilization had somehow been recorded as images stored within these rocks. Shaver painted what he saw in a valiant attempt to help the rest of the human race witness the apocalyptic images that—he felt—should have been plainly obvious to anyone with eyes to see.
According to Tucker, in the 1960s Shaver even went so far as to mail a couple of his rocks to President Lyndon Johnson along with a note urging the President to assign a team of scientists to study these hidden images before the Russians beat America to the punch. President Johnson’s reaction to this letter is not known, but one hopes those Shaver rocks are still sitting unobtrusively on a mantle in the Oval Office.
Like Shaver, Stanislav Szukalski also achieved some measure of fame in his younger days. According to Tucker, Szukalski was “a celebrated artist from Poland […] best known for his detailed and elaborately symbolic sculptures that combined elements evocative of European avant-garde and Meso-American iconography.” Like Shaver, Szukalski spent the latter part of his life constructing a unified field theory of human pre-history. The ultimate outcome of this theory was the 1982 book Behold the Protong! in which he claimed to have discovered the root of all language, known as “the Protong.” Like Shaver, he believed the human race was at war with an evil group of beast-like creatures who represented the devolution of the human race; in this case, the creatures were the result of humans mating with Yetis millennia ago. Like Shaver, Szukalski’s works would have been completely lost if not for the untiring efforts of a small group of admirers who didn’t wish to see his unique oeuvre tossed into the dumpster.
Szukalski himself cut up his voluminous notes and drawings with a razor blade in order for them to be seen more clearly on video during an interview conducted by Glenn Bray, the man responsible for preserving much of Szukalski’s work. Shaver’s equivalent to Glenn Bray in his own life was the aforementioned editor, Ray Palmer. If not for Palmer, who published many of Shaver’s paintings in his 1975 book The Secret World, the entirety of Shaver’s work would have been completely unknown. Indeed, some of Shaver’s paintings were turned over and used by its creator as signs advertising his pottery business; one of them was even used a doggie door! Tucker cleverly includes photos of these paintings’ backsides next to the original in order to demonstrate how little regard the artist himself had for his own work.
Though both achieved a certain measure of fame—or at least notoriety—early on, Shaver and Szukalski ended their lives as true Outsider Artists. Like Henry Darger (an Outsider Artist if ever there was one), both Shaver’s and Szukalski’s major works were destined to have been lost forever if not for the intervention of mere luck and happenstance. It makes one wonder how many other mad geniuses have had the work of a lifetime discarded by unsympathetic relatives or landlords annoyed by their former tenant’s unbearable eccentricities.
Fortunately, one can witness in person—for a short time—a slight fragment of the inner lives of these two mad geniuses at the Pasadena City College Art Gallery, at least until November 14, 2009, the day the exhibit closes. One hopes that some canny publisher will see the exhibit and commission Brian Tucker to produce a book-length version of MANTONG & PROTONG so future generations can marvel at the eerie synchronicities linking the intense, chimerical visions of these two unique 20th century artists.
[For more information regarding this exhibit call 626-585-7238.]
21 October, 2009
15 October, 2009
Political Astrology of the U.S. by Don Grabau
This series of videos deals with the birth chart of the United States and how it relates to current health issues which include the H1N1 flu virus and vaccinations and the ongoing health care debate.
Finally, the first youtube videos from Don Grabau. www.StarpathVisions.com
Tune in to Don Grabau at the links below to learn more about da House of Neptune!
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHSfPd5OlNI&feature=related
“Love is the universal ground of all being.” Trust and faith in your government and in other people, the kind of faith a child has, that the universe supports you. Fantasy, make-believe, or the negative side of that, so much fantasy, lying, and deception on the part of government and legislators.
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ_LzSoVn5M
The empire is deteriorating. Propaganda and war. The tendancy is for the imagination to degenerate under aggressive Mars, the military. Lying and mystification is accelerated. Neptune is a dreamy energy which prefers connection. Virgo deals with careful distinctions and separation. So the tendency is to create confusing foggy unclear language which goes round and round in circles; obfuscation in communication. America’s idealistic Aquarius (European heritage) is now confused. The masked aggression (propaganda) of the “founding” era continues and is being turned against America karmically in the House of Neptune.
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_o-MSiv1wk
“The collective mood of the country is controlled by Neptune.” What to expect in 2010 and 2011. The country is in a massive swab of Neptune energy. What does this mean? Escapism, lying and betrayal on the part of legislators and government. We’re in a collective state of aggression (war) and aggressive legislation, especially regarding vaccines. How do we trick it out of its stance of wars in Af-Pak, Iraq, Iran? The empire is policing the world with its propaganda, which is all about money. The country is out of the hands of the people and is being run by corporations. Elections are a scam. The ideals of the Declaration are on center stage and we have to recreate it anew.
Finally, the first youtube videos from Don Grabau. www.StarpathVisions.com
Tune in to Don Grabau at the links below to learn more about da House of Neptune!
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHSfPd5OlNI&feature=related
“Love is the universal ground of all being.” Trust and faith in your government and in other people, the kind of faith a child has, that the universe supports you. Fantasy, make-believe, or the negative side of that, so much fantasy, lying, and deception on the part of government and legislators.
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ_LzSoVn5M
The empire is deteriorating. Propaganda and war. The tendancy is for the imagination to degenerate under aggressive Mars, the military. Lying and mystification is accelerated. Neptune is a dreamy energy which prefers connection. Virgo deals with careful distinctions and separation. So the tendency is to create confusing foggy unclear language which goes round and round in circles; obfuscation in communication. America’s idealistic Aquarius (European heritage) is now confused. The masked aggression (propaganda) of the “founding” era continues and is being turned against America karmically in the House of Neptune.
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_o-MSiv1wk
“The collective mood of the country is controlled by Neptune.” What to expect in 2010 and 2011. The country is in a massive swab of Neptune energy. What does this mean? Escapism, lying and betrayal on the part of legislators and government. We’re in a collective state of aggression (war) and aggressive legislation, especially regarding vaccines. How do we trick it out of its stance of wars in Af-Pak, Iraq, Iran? The empire is policing the world with its propaganda, which is all about money. The country is out of the hands of the people and is being run by corporations. Elections are a scam. The ideals of the Declaration are on center stage and we have to recreate it anew.
14 October, 2009
if you like Iraq and Afghanistan, you'll love Iran
The military option for dealing with Iran remains on the table, President Obama repeatedly reminds us. The Pentagon hustles to modify our B-2 stealth bombers to carry a newly developed bunker-busting bomb that can destroy hardened underground targets, such as Iran's newly acknowledged enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom. Israeli President Netanyahu promises that "Iran will not acquire nuclear arms, and this implies everything necessary to carry this out." And pundits from the neoconservative editorial writers at The Washington Post to the neoprogressive Arianna Huffington continue to proclaim that a nuclear Iran would pose "an existential threat" to the Jewish state, a claim that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak refuses to buy.
Why think of war? The world has heard no evidence that Iran has nuclear weapons, and only an unproved case that it is pursuing them. Yet, we are already getting set for the airstrikes that former Vice President Dick Cheney never got the chance to unleash. It's absurd and far more dangerous than our political leaders have bothered to explain.
"After you've dropped those bombs on those hardened facilities, what happens next?" asks retired four-star Gen. Anthony Zinni. "What happens if they decide, in their hardened shelters with their mobile missiles, to start launching those? What happens if they launch them into US bases on the other side of the gulf? What happens if they launch into Israel, or somewhere else? Into a Saudi oil field? Into Ras Laffan, with all the natural gas? What happens if they now flush their fast patrol boats, their cruise missiles, the [unclear] full of mines, and they sink a tanker, an oil tanker? And of course the economy of the world goes absolutely nuts. What happens if they activate sleeper cells? The MOIS, the intelligence service - what happens if another preemptive attack by the West, the US and Israel, they fire up the streets and now we got problems. Just tell me how to deal with all that, okay?"
In this excerpt from his remarks to the New America Foundation in September, General Zinni shows how military planners think ahead. "Because," he says, "eventually, if you follow this all the way down, eventually I'm putting boots on the ground somewhere. And like I tell my friends, if you like Iraq and Afghanistan, you'll love Iran."
http://www.truthout.org/1014096
Why think of war? The world has heard no evidence that Iran has nuclear weapons, and only an unproved case that it is pursuing them. Yet, we are already getting set for the airstrikes that former Vice President Dick Cheney never got the chance to unleash. It's absurd and far more dangerous than our political leaders have bothered to explain.
"After you've dropped those bombs on those hardened facilities, what happens next?" asks retired four-star Gen. Anthony Zinni. "What happens if they decide, in their hardened shelters with their mobile missiles, to start launching those? What happens if they launch them into US bases on the other side of the gulf? What happens if they launch into Israel, or somewhere else? Into a Saudi oil field? Into Ras Laffan, with all the natural gas? What happens if they now flush their fast patrol boats, their cruise missiles, the [unclear] full of mines, and they sink a tanker, an oil tanker? And of course the economy of the world goes absolutely nuts. What happens if they activate sleeper cells? The MOIS, the intelligence service - what happens if another preemptive attack by the West, the US and Israel, they fire up the streets and now we got problems. Just tell me how to deal with all that, okay?"
In this excerpt from his remarks to the New America Foundation in September, General Zinni shows how military planners think ahead. "Because," he says, "eventually, if you follow this all the way down, eventually I'm putting boots on the ground somewhere. And like I tell my friends, if you like Iraq and Afghanistan, you'll love Iran."
http://www.truthout.org/1014096
2010 Astrotheology Calendar
The 2010 Astrotheology Calendar—brought to you by Astrotheology Press, a division of Stellar House Publishing—provides valuable and amazing information about holidays celebrated from ancient times to today that are largely based in astrotheology and nature worship. In addition to recording a number of fascinating celebrations from a variety of cultures marked on various days of each month, the Astrotheology Calendar highlights certain dates in the accompanying explanatory text. These highlighted days include the solstices, equinoxes and "cross-quarter days," as well as various dates that reflect important developments in the field of comparative religion and mythology.
For example, many people nowadays know that "Christmas" is not really the day when Jesus Christ was born. Rather, Xmas is a remake of an ancient winter-solstice celebration. In the Astrotheology Calendar are included a number of other important winter-solstice celebrations, such as the births of Mithra and Horus-Aion, as well as that of the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu. Also explored in this calendar are many other revelations of how Pagan festivities celebrated in such places as Rome, Greece, Egypt and the British Isles, were likewise Christianized by the Catholic Church.
Created by independent scholar of comparative religion and mythology D.M. Murdock, author of The Christ Conspiracy, Suns of God, Who Was Jesus?, Christ in Egypt, The Gospel According to Acharya S and Jesus as the Sun throughout History, there has never been anything like the Astrotheology Calendar before.
This calendar is actually a book with 47 pages consisting of 13 full-page images, This cool calendar has a bibliography of almost 100 sources, along with 44 citations/footnotes—very unusual for a calendar!
The 2010 Astrotheology Calendar was not only written by D.M. Murdock/Acharya S, but also designed and typeset by her, while she likewise created/worked up the images and covers as well. Again, never has there been a calendar like this one—the 2010 Astrotheology Calendar is a unique creation you will want to have!
The 2010 Astrotheology Calendar contains information never-before published in any of Acharya's books and provides a fascinating and striking view of how certain aspects of comparative religion have developed over the centuries, including and especially as concerns the deliberate appropriation and Christianization of various Pagan holidays.
A one-of-a-kind creation that will make a wonderful gift for anyone curious about the roots of religious beliefs, as well as comparative religion and mythology extending back into the hoary mists of time.
Available at Stellar House Publishing
http://stellarhousepublishing.com/2010calendar.html
Or at Amazon.com.
For example, many people nowadays know that "Christmas" is not really the day when Jesus Christ was born. Rather, Xmas is a remake of an ancient winter-solstice celebration. In the Astrotheology Calendar are included a number of other important winter-solstice celebrations, such as the births of Mithra and Horus-Aion, as well as that of the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu. Also explored in this calendar are many other revelations of how Pagan festivities celebrated in such places as Rome, Greece, Egypt and the British Isles, were likewise Christianized by the Catholic Church.
Created by independent scholar of comparative religion and mythology D.M. Murdock, author of The Christ Conspiracy, Suns of God, Who Was Jesus?, Christ in Egypt, The Gospel According to Acharya S and Jesus as the Sun throughout History, there has never been anything like the Astrotheology Calendar before.
This calendar is actually a book with 47 pages consisting of 13 full-page images, This cool calendar has a bibliography of almost 100 sources, along with 44 citations/footnotes—very unusual for a calendar!
The 2010 Astrotheology Calendar was not only written by D.M. Murdock/Acharya S, but also designed and typeset by her, while she likewise created/worked up the images and covers as well. Again, never has there been a calendar like this one—the 2010 Astrotheology Calendar is a unique creation you will want to have!
The 2010 Astrotheology Calendar contains information never-before published in any of Acharya's books and provides a fascinating and striking view of how certain aspects of comparative religion have developed over the centuries, including and especially as concerns the deliberate appropriation and Christianization of various Pagan holidays.
A one-of-a-kind creation that will make a wonderful gift for anyone curious about the roots of religious beliefs, as well as comparative religion and mythology extending back into the hoary mists of time.
Available at Stellar House Publishing
http://stellarhousepublishing.com/2010calendar.html
Or at Amazon.com.
THE REVEREND AT ROSWELL: A CHAPLAIN AT THE CRASH?
by Anthony Bragalia
The enormity of suddenly being confronted with sky-fallen craft and beings from another world near Roswell, NM in July of 1947 was no doubt spiritually shattering. The psychological impact of such an event had to have been deep and lasting. Everything must have come into question relative to man's place in the universe. Newly-acquired information indicates that the Roswell Base Chaplain at the time -Reverend Elijah H. Hankerson- may have provided needed support to those that were not prepared to deal with such a momentous event. There are three telling elements to the Hankerson saga:
- Just days after the crash Reverend Hankerson was shipped out of Roswell Army Air Field and was replaced by a Catholic priest of higher rank
- Hankerson and his wife Annie kept from their children the fact that he was ever even stationed at Roswell. The family is stunned.
- Hankerson may have made a "silent confession" to them at the end of his life, possibly hinting at his involvement
THE CHAPLAIN AND THE TRAUMA
We can only guess at the "coping mechanisms" that had to be instantly developed by those who viewed the crash. The Chaplain would have likely been there to help cope with this sudden trauma. Chaplains in the U.S. armed services have a special role in our nation's military. Two very important functions of the Chaplain are to provide spiritual counseling and assistance in emergency situations. Required to be available whenever called upon, they help individuals in times of continuing crisis as well as in ministering to those distraught by a sudden and recent event causing physical or mental challenge. In the 1940s. there were no "trauma psychologists." This role was assumed by men of the cloth. As part of the team of "first responders" to an air accident, they provide needed support, hope and encouragement. They pray over the dead- and they calm and assure the living who are suffering from a traumatic incident.
What could have been more traumatic than seeing dead non-human pilots who commanded a craft of entirely unknown construction, spread out in pieces on the desert floor?
The trauma was measurable.
- Dee Proctor, the child-witness to the crash with rancher Mac Brazel died a morbidly obese, divorced, raging alcoholic who rarely spoke and hid behind his mother Loretta for decades like he was still a child. Dee died young of coronary attack, holding in his heart a secret to great to bear.
- CIC Agent Sheridan Cavitt (at the scene with Marcel) was affected. His lawyer-son Joseph Cavitt said his father would get angry whenever the Roswell incident was brought up. He said his father had "issues" and that "it was like having half of a father."
- Other psychological casualties included RAAF Intelligence Agent Jesse Marcel Sr. himself. In his recent book "The Roswell Legacy" Marcel's son Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr. revealed for the first time that Roswell had impacted his father adversely- Marcel Sr. became an alcoholic after the crash!
- Rancher Mac Brazel left the area after the crash moving to Tularoosa. Many (including interviewed ranch hands) said that Mac was never the same afterwards. He "steamed" when the crash was brought up -even years later- refusing to utter a word about it.
- Roswell Sheriff George Wilcox appears like a "deer in the headlights" in a photo of him appearing in the Roswell Daily Record after the crash. He never ran for office again, never sought another term. Deputies B.A. Clark and Tommy Thompson said that he was never the same. Inez Wilcox ran for the office instead- loosing the election and her husband's attentions after the crash. Neighbor Rogene Cordes told me that George was "a changed man with a changed marriage because I understand he was made to do things he did not want to do."
But what of the military men at the scene? In the newly revised "Witness to Roswell" book, author Tom Carey relates the story of PFC Elias Benjamin. Benjamin replaced an MP for guard duty that has seen the bodies. Benjamin said the MP "had gone crazy." Scars were left and emotions were tattered. Memories were forever emblazoned with the sight of the unearthly- and lives were forever changed in an instant.
REVEREND ELIJIAH H. HANKERSON
The role of a Chaplain at Roswell was an aspect that was not considered or examined by early Roswell researchers. Though military officers, ranchers and others were contacted about their possible knowledge of event surrounding the 1947 crash, no one ever considered the Chaplain, and what he knew. Given the significant role that a Chaplain would have played, I decided to track down any information that might lead to the identity of the Roswell Army Air Field Base Chaplain at the time.
Recently, through working with the US Army Chaplain Corps -and with assistance from the Executive Director of the US Army Chaplain Museum at Ft. Jackson, SC- I have conclusively identified the Base Chaplain at RAAF in July of 1947 as Reverend Elijiah H. Hankerson. Rev. Elijah Hankerson was a Black man and a National Baptist. Hankerson began his military career in 1944 and passed in 1990. However, I have located and contacted his daughter- Esther.
Elijah and his wife Annie lived off-base at 601 E. Summit in Roswell. Though Hankerson is mentioned in the RAAF Yearbook, he is not pictured.
Hankerson was replaced as Base Chaplain of RAAF on July 10, 1947 (just days after the event.) Hankerson was shipped out to a location in the South Pacific after the crash. He was replaced by a Catholic Priest, Captain/Father William B. Benson. Benson spoke five languages. His appointment to the base to replace Hankerson was sudden and not planned. The timing of this is interesting, to say the least. Less than a week after the crash, Hankerson was told he had to leave- and base officials brought in someone new.
Continue reading at
http://www.ufocon.blogspot.com/
The enormity of suddenly being confronted with sky-fallen craft and beings from another world near Roswell, NM in July of 1947 was no doubt spiritually shattering. The psychological impact of such an event had to have been deep and lasting. Everything must have come into question relative to man's place in the universe. Newly-acquired information indicates that the Roswell Base Chaplain at the time -Reverend Elijah H. Hankerson- may have provided needed support to those that were not prepared to deal with such a momentous event. There are three telling elements to the Hankerson saga:
- Just days after the crash Reverend Hankerson was shipped out of Roswell Army Air Field and was replaced by a Catholic priest of higher rank
- Hankerson and his wife Annie kept from their children the fact that he was ever even stationed at Roswell. The family is stunned.
- Hankerson may have made a "silent confession" to them at the end of his life, possibly hinting at his involvement
THE CHAPLAIN AND THE TRAUMA
We can only guess at the "coping mechanisms" that had to be instantly developed by those who viewed the crash. The Chaplain would have likely been there to help cope with this sudden trauma. Chaplains in the U.S. armed services have a special role in our nation's military. Two very important functions of the Chaplain are to provide spiritual counseling and assistance in emergency situations. Required to be available whenever called upon, they help individuals in times of continuing crisis as well as in ministering to those distraught by a sudden and recent event causing physical or mental challenge. In the 1940s. there were no "trauma psychologists." This role was assumed by men of the cloth. As part of the team of "first responders" to an air accident, they provide needed support, hope and encouragement. They pray over the dead- and they calm and assure the living who are suffering from a traumatic incident.
What could have been more traumatic than seeing dead non-human pilots who commanded a craft of entirely unknown construction, spread out in pieces on the desert floor?
The trauma was measurable.
- Dee Proctor, the child-witness to the crash with rancher Mac Brazel died a morbidly obese, divorced, raging alcoholic who rarely spoke and hid behind his mother Loretta for decades like he was still a child. Dee died young of coronary attack, holding in his heart a secret to great to bear.
- CIC Agent Sheridan Cavitt (at the scene with Marcel) was affected. His lawyer-son Joseph Cavitt said his father would get angry whenever the Roswell incident was brought up. He said his father had "issues" and that "it was like having half of a father."
- Other psychological casualties included RAAF Intelligence Agent Jesse Marcel Sr. himself. In his recent book "The Roswell Legacy" Marcel's son Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr. revealed for the first time that Roswell had impacted his father adversely- Marcel Sr. became an alcoholic after the crash!
- Rancher Mac Brazel left the area after the crash moving to Tularoosa. Many (including interviewed ranch hands) said that Mac was never the same afterwards. He "steamed" when the crash was brought up -even years later- refusing to utter a word about it.
- Roswell Sheriff George Wilcox appears like a "deer in the headlights" in a photo of him appearing in the Roswell Daily Record after the crash. He never ran for office again, never sought another term. Deputies B.A. Clark and Tommy Thompson said that he was never the same. Inez Wilcox ran for the office instead- loosing the election and her husband's attentions after the crash. Neighbor Rogene Cordes told me that George was "a changed man with a changed marriage because I understand he was made to do things he did not want to do."
But what of the military men at the scene? In the newly revised "Witness to Roswell" book, author Tom Carey relates the story of PFC Elias Benjamin. Benjamin replaced an MP for guard duty that has seen the bodies. Benjamin said the MP "had gone crazy." Scars were left and emotions were tattered. Memories were forever emblazoned with the sight of the unearthly- and lives were forever changed in an instant.
REVEREND ELIJIAH H. HANKERSON
The role of a Chaplain at Roswell was an aspect that was not considered or examined by early Roswell researchers. Though military officers, ranchers and others were contacted about their possible knowledge of event surrounding the 1947 crash, no one ever considered the Chaplain, and what he knew. Given the significant role that a Chaplain would have played, I decided to track down any information that might lead to the identity of the Roswell Army Air Field Base Chaplain at the time.
Recently, through working with the US Army Chaplain Corps -and with assistance from the Executive Director of the US Army Chaplain Museum at Ft. Jackson, SC- I have conclusively identified the Base Chaplain at RAAF in July of 1947 as Reverend Elijiah H. Hankerson. Rev. Elijah Hankerson was a Black man and a National Baptist. Hankerson began his military career in 1944 and passed in 1990. However, I have located and contacted his daughter- Esther.
Elijah and his wife Annie lived off-base at 601 E. Summit in Roswell. Though Hankerson is mentioned in the RAAF Yearbook, he is not pictured.
Hankerson was replaced as Base Chaplain of RAAF on July 10, 1947 (just days after the event.) Hankerson was shipped out to a location in the South Pacific after the crash. He was replaced by a Catholic Priest, Captain/Father William B. Benson. Benson spoke five languages. His appointment to the base to replace Hankerson was sudden and not planned. The timing of this is interesting, to say the least. Less than a week after the crash, Hankerson was told he had to leave- and base officials brought in someone new.
Continue reading at
http://www.ufocon.blogspot.com/
11 October, 2009
10 October, 2009
“Visions”
by Cindy Sheehan
Today, a President of the largest violently military empire in the world, won the Nobel Peace Prize while his nation is mired in wars in three countries where his actions have oftentimes made things worse.
Let’s also make this clear that the Nobel prizes are supposed to be awarded for work done the previous year (2008), so that means Obama was awarded the prize for campaigning for the presidency of the USA, where his “vision” (platform) was consistently pro-more war. The nominations are also due by February 1st. Ten days after the inauguration and about a week after a drone in Pakistan killed over 3 dozen innocent people.
He was awarded the prize for his “vision” for a “nuclear free world.”
Let’s examine this. Probably at least a few billion people on this planet have that same “vision” and I know thousands have been working on this “vision” for decades, beginning right around the time, the USA dropped two of the WMD on Japan.
I also have this “vision,” but my vision extends to include “conventional” WMD like bunker buster bombs, drone bombers, and white phosphorous: WMD that are being used in the Middle East right now.
I have the “vision” of a nuclear free world, but there are many of us savvy people who know that the USA has been waging a nuclear war in the Middle East for a couple of decades now at least with the low grade WMD of depleted uranium. The USA used DU in Kosovo and the Balkans, also.
We billions of us have the “vision” but only one person in this world has his finger on the triggers of almost 10,000 active nuclear weapons, and that is Barack Obama. You know, the one who was just awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the one who has threatened Iran with military nuclear power if the leaders of that country even dare to get one atomic bomb.
Obama has the power, but his “vision” has not reduced the world’s nuclear arsenal by one bomb. However, his “vision” has so far been responsible for killing 300 US service member and thousands of the unfortunate inhabitants of the countries we are occupying and destroying.
Former Premier of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev and former President, Jimmy Carter were awarded the tainted Prize after Gorbachev bombed the Holy Crap out of Afghanistan and Carter’s regime’s covert support of the freedom fighters in Afghanistan gave rise to: Taliban, al Qaeda, War Lords and the Northern Alliance. So the Nobel Peace Prize Committee is sending the message to Afghanistan, that if anyone is responsible for killing mass amounts of them, then he will be awarded a Prize.
It’s true, Obama did not begin the wars, but he is sending more troops to all theaters. That doesn’t sound too peaceful to me. Torture, indefinite detention, “crippling sanctions,” threats towards Venezuela and Iran; silent support of a military coup that overthrew a democratically elected President in Honduras and so on, ad nauseum, are all the “accomplishments” of this Nobel Laureate.
I was tear-gassed and chased down by US stormtroopers in Pittsburgh for wanting to express my opinion when the leaders of the G20 were assembled a couple of weeks ago. I saw those same imperial stormtroopers shoot children with rubber bullets or bean-bags filled with steel b.bs in the Empire’s new game of, not protest suppression, but protester attack. Are these the actions of a country that is “led” by a Nobel Laureate?
It also comes to me that I chained myself to the White House fence last Monday and was arrested, along with 61 others, protesting the Laureate’s war polices, as he met with his “War Council.” Five hundred more of us were there. We were and still all are adamantly opposed to the war policies of The Laureate.
What does that make us candidates for?
The Bizzarro World Peace Prize?
The only “vision” that has come true today, is George Orwell’s 1984: War is Peace; Ignorance is Strength and Freedom is Slavery.
We can’t allow the fact that Obama has been awarded a prize that oftentimes goes to mass murderers anyway, be the final nail in the coffin of the US anti-war movement.
As far as I am concerned, this Prize that was a slap in the face to true peace workers around the world, changes nothing.
http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com/2009/10/visions-by-cindy-sheehan.html
Today, a President of the largest violently military empire in the world, won the Nobel Peace Prize while his nation is mired in wars in three countries where his actions have oftentimes made things worse.
Let’s also make this clear that the Nobel prizes are supposed to be awarded for work done the previous year (2008), so that means Obama was awarded the prize for campaigning for the presidency of the USA, where his “vision” (platform) was consistently pro-more war. The nominations are also due by February 1st. Ten days after the inauguration and about a week after a drone in Pakistan killed over 3 dozen innocent people.
He was awarded the prize for his “vision” for a “nuclear free world.”
Let’s examine this. Probably at least a few billion people on this planet have that same “vision” and I know thousands have been working on this “vision” for decades, beginning right around the time, the USA dropped two of the WMD on Japan.
I also have this “vision,” but my vision extends to include “conventional” WMD like bunker buster bombs, drone bombers, and white phosphorous: WMD that are being used in the Middle East right now.
I have the “vision” of a nuclear free world, but there are many of us savvy people who know that the USA has been waging a nuclear war in the Middle East for a couple of decades now at least with the low grade WMD of depleted uranium. The USA used DU in Kosovo and the Balkans, also.
We billions of us have the “vision” but only one person in this world has his finger on the triggers of almost 10,000 active nuclear weapons, and that is Barack Obama. You know, the one who was just awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the one who has threatened Iran with military nuclear power if the leaders of that country even dare to get one atomic bomb.
Obama has the power, but his “vision” has not reduced the world’s nuclear arsenal by one bomb. However, his “vision” has so far been responsible for killing 300 US service member and thousands of the unfortunate inhabitants of the countries we are occupying and destroying.
Former Premier of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev and former President, Jimmy Carter were awarded the tainted Prize after Gorbachev bombed the Holy Crap out of Afghanistan and Carter’s regime’s covert support of the freedom fighters in Afghanistan gave rise to: Taliban, al Qaeda, War Lords and the Northern Alliance. So the Nobel Peace Prize Committee is sending the message to Afghanistan, that if anyone is responsible for killing mass amounts of them, then he will be awarded a Prize.
It’s true, Obama did not begin the wars, but he is sending more troops to all theaters. That doesn’t sound too peaceful to me. Torture, indefinite detention, “crippling sanctions,” threats towards Venezuela and Iran; silent support of a military coup that overthrew a democratically elected President in Honduras and so on, ad nauseum, are all the “accomplishments” of this Nobel Laureate.
I was tear-gassed and chased down by US stormtroopers in Pittsburgh for wanting to express my opinion when the leaders of the G20 were assembled a couple of weeks ago. I saw those same imperial stormtroopers shoot children with rubber bullets or bean-bags filled with steel b.bs in the Empire’s new game of, not protest suppression, but protester attack. Are these the actions of a country that is “led” by a Nobel Laureate?
It also comes to me that I chained myself to the White House fence last Monday and was arrested, along with 61 others, protesting the Laureate’s war polices, as he met with his “War Council.” Five hundred more of us were there. We were and still all are adamantly opposed to the war policies of The Laureate.
What does that make us candidates for?
The Bizzarro World Peace Prize?
The only “vision” that has come true today, is George Orwell’s 1984: War is Peace; Ignorance is Strength and Freedom is Slavery.
We can’t allow the fact that Obama has been awarded a prize that oftentimes goes to mass murderers anyway, be the final nail in the coffin of the US anti-war movement.
As far as I am concerned, this Prize that was a slap in the face to true peace workers around the world, changes nothing.
http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com/2009/10/visions-by-cindy-sheehan.html
Osama Bin Laden: Dead or Alive?
by David Ray Griffin
Is Osama bin Laden still alive? I have dealt with this question in a recent little book entitled Osama bin Laden: Dead or Alive? The present essay summarizes the main points of this book.
Since the transference of power from the Bush administration to that of Barack Obama administration, the question of whether bin Laden is dead or alive has become more important.
Although George W. Bush famously said that he wanted Osama bin Laden “dead or alive,” he made clear that he was not serious about this. Besides stating that he was not concerned about bin Laden, he demonstrated this by diverting most of America’s military resources to Iraq. Bush could, of course, be unconcerned about bin Laden because he knew that, besides the fact that bin Laden had nothing to do with 9/11, he was probably dead anyway.
I do not know what President Obama and his people think about these matters, but their rhetoric presupposes that bin Laden was responsible for 9/11 and is still alive.
In November 2008, for example, a Washington Post story said:
“President-elect Barack Obama . . . intends to renew the U.S. commitment to the hunt for Osama bin Laden. . . . ‘This is our enemy,’ one adviser said of bin Laden, ‘and he should be our principal target.’”
In his White House address of March 27 of this year, President Obama said:
“[A]l Qaeda and its allies - the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks - are in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the U.S. homeland from its safe-haven in Pakistan. . . . [A]l Qaeda and its extremist allies have moved across the border to the remote areas of the Pakistani frontier. This almost certainly includes al Qaeda's leadership: Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.”
Obama has appealed regularly to these intelligence estimates, which have invariably claimed that bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan, somewhere along its border with Pakistan. This claim has been used to justify the extension of US military activity into Pakistan, with the result that people now speak of the “AfPak war.”
One way to argue against this war is to point out that, if these intelligence experts do not even know whether bin Laden is alive, they certainly cannot know where he is and what he is thinking.
There are, to be sure, other good arguments against the this war, and many critics are making these arguments. But to point out that bin Laden is almost certainly dead provides an argument that goes to the heart of the publically articulated rationale for this war.
Of course, another way to argue against this war would be to point out that bin Laden had nothing to do with 9/11. But even though our own FBI has admitted that it “has no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11,” a large part of the American population has been conditioned to reject all revisionism about 9/11 out of hand. As we saw recently with “the Van Jones affair,” people are considered unfit for public service if they once signed a document suggesting that the official account of 9/11 might not be fully true.
My little bin Laden book is primarily for people who, besides assuming that Osama bin Laden was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, also believe that the AfPak war is justifiable because we need to prevent him from planning another attack. Many such people will turn against the war if they become aware of convincing evidence that bin Laden is almost certainly dead. There is considerable evidence for this conclusion.
This evidence is of two types: objective evidence and testimonies.
Objective Evidence that Bin Laden is Dead
The objective evidence includes the following facts:
First, up until mid-December 13, 2001, the CIA had regularly been intercepting messages between bin Laden and his people. At that time, however, the messages suddenly stopped, and the CIA has never again intercepted a message.
Second, on December 26, 2001, a leading Pakistani newspaper published a story reporting that bin Laden had died in mid-December, adding:
“A prominent official in the Afghan Taleban movement . . . stated . . . that he had himself attended the funeral of bin Laden and saw his face prior to burial.”
Third, bin Laden had kidney disease. He had been treated for it in the American Hospital in Dubai in July 2001, at which time he reportedly ordered two dialysis machines to take home. If you have ever wondered what bin Laden was doing the night before the 9/11 attacks, CBS News reported that he was being given kidney dialysis treatment in a hospital in Pakistan. And in January of 2001, Dr. Sanjay Gupta said – based on a video of bin Laden that had been made in either late November or early December of 2001 – that he appeared to be in the last stages of kidney failure.
Fourth, In July of 2002, CNN reported that bin Laden’s bodyguards had been captured in February of that year, adding: “Sources believe that if the bodyguards were captured away from bin Laden, it is likely the most-wanted man in the world is dead.”
Fifth, the United States has since 2001 offered a $25 million reward for any information leading to the capture or killing of bin Laden. But this reward offer has produced no such information, even though Pakistan has many desperately poor people, only about half of whom have been supportive of bin Laden.
Testimonial Evidence that Bin Laden Is Dead
In addition to this objective evidence, we had considerable testimony in 2002, from people in position to know, that bin Laden was dead, or probably so. These people included:
• President Musharraf of Pakistan;
• Dale Watson, the head of the FBI’s counterterrorism unit;
• Oliver North, who said: “I'm certain that Osama is dead. . . And so are all the other guys I stay in touch with”;
• President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan;
• Sources within Israeli intelligence, who said that any new messages from bin Laden were “probably fabrications”;
• Sources within Pakistani intelligence, who “confirmed the death of . . . Osama Bin Laden” and “attributed the reasons behind Washington's hiding news on the death of Osama Bin Laden to the desire of the hawks of the American administration to use the issue of al-Qaida and international terrorism to invade Iraq.”
For this reason, perhaps, the stories about the demise of bin Laden largely came to an end in the latter part of 2002, when the United States was gearing up for its attack on Iraq. From then until now, there have been few such stories.
Recently, however, two former intelligence officers have spoken out. In October 2008, former CIA case officer Robert Baer suggested in passing during an interview on National Public Radio that bin Laden was no longer among the living. When Baer was asked about this, he said: “Of course he’s dead.”
In March of 2009, former Foreign Service officer Angelo Codevilla published an essay in the American Spectator entitled “Osama bin Elvis.” Explaining his title, Codevilla wrote: “Seven years after Osama bin Laden's last verifiable appearance among the living, there is more evidence for Elvis's presence among us than for his.”
This is an excellent article, with only one serious flaw. In 2007, Benazir Bhutto, being interviewed by David Frost, referred to Omar Sheikh as “the man who murdered Osama bin Laden.” Codevilla cited this statement as further evidence that bin Laden is dead. But Bhutto had simply misspoken: She had meant to say “the man who murdered Daniel Pearl,” which is the standard way of referring to Omar Sheikh. That she misspoke was shown the next day, when she told CNN: “I don’t think General Musharaf personally knows where Osama bin Laden is.” Ten days later, speaking to NPR, she reported having asked a policeman assigned to guard her house: “Shouldn’t you be looking for Osama bin Laden?” This flaw aside, Codevilla’s article provides good support for his claim that the widespread belief in bin Laden’s continued existence is not backed up by evidence.
What about the “Messages from Osama bin Laden”?
Many people, of course, assume that there is a lot of evidence that bin Laden is still alive, namely, the dozens of audio tape and video tape “messages from bin Laden” that have appeared since 2001. These tapes provide good evidence, however, only if they are authentic. The longest chapter of my book is devoted to this question.
I show, in the first place, that the technology for making fake audio and video tapes is now so advanced that even experts can be fooled. So although the press regularly tells us that intelligence agencies have authenticated the latest bin Laden tape, it is virtually impossible to prove a tape to be authentic.
It is sometimes possible, however, to prove a tape to be a fake. For example: If the person hired to play bin Laden writes with his right hand; if he is much heavier and darker than bin Laden was in a tape made about the same time; if he has fatter hands and shorter fingers; if his nose has a different shape. And if, in discussing the Twin Towers, he says that the fire melted the steel, whereas the real bin Laden would have known that a building fire cannot melt steel. I am speaking here of the video that was allegedly found by US troops in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, in November 2001, which is widely known as the “bin Laden confession video.”
Also obviously fabricated was the “October Surprise” video, which appeared on October 29, 2004, just in time to help George W. Bush get reelected. One clue that it was a fake, aside from its timing, is provided by its language. Bin Laden’s own messages were saturated with references to Allah and the Prophet Mohammed. But in this October Surprise video, Allah was mentioned rarely and the only “Mohammad” mentioned was Mohamed Atta. Also, whereas undoubtedly authentic bin Laden messages portrayed worldly events as cause or at least permitted by Allah, the speaker on this October Surprise video gave a purely secular account of events, even telling the American people: “Your security is in your own hands.”
The most obviously faked video is one that, appearing in 2007, was identical to the October Surprise video of 2004, except that the bin Laden figure now had a completely black beard, leading me to call it the video from “Blackbeard the Terrorist.” Although pundits tried, with straight faces, to explain why bin Laden might have dyed his beard, or put on a fake one, this video was best treated with the respect it deserved by a YouTube video featuring a actor wearing a very long, very black, beard, and saying:
Hello, long time no see. It is me, Osama bin Laden. And no, this not to be confused with just-for-men hair color commercial. . . . I make this video to prove to world that me still alive and kicking.
This video is very funny. But there is, of course, nothing funny about the fact that obviously fake bin Laden videos have been used, and are still being used, to justify the AfPak war, which continues to kill dozens if not hundreds of innocent people each week, including women and children attending weddings and funerals.
Conclusion
If my little book, by showing that bin Laden has probably long been dead, can help shorten this war, it will have served its main purpose.
Its other main point, to which a separate chapter is devoted, is that these fake bin Laden tapes appear to be simply one part of an extensive propaganda operation, in which the US military intelligence is using tax dollars – illegally – to propagandize the American public, with the aim of furthering the militarization of America and its foreign policy.
I hope my little book will stimulate the 9/11 truth movement, along with the anti-war movement in general, to take on more fully the task of exposing this propaganda effort, to which a growing portion of our tax dollars is being devoted.
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15601
Is Osama bin Laden still alive? I have dealt with this question in a recent little book entitled Osama bin Laden: Dead or Alive? The present essay summarizes the main points of this book.
Since the transference of power from the Bush administration to that of Barack Obama administration, the question of whether bin Laden is dead or alive has become more important.
Although George W. Bush famously said that he wanted Osama bin Laden “dead or alive,” he made clear that he was not serious about this. Besides stating that he was not concerned about bin Laden, he demonstrated this by diverting most of America’s military resources to Iraq. Bush could, of course, be unconcerned about bin Laden because he knew that, besides the fact that bin Laden had nothing to do with 9/11, he was probably dead anyway.
I do not know what President Obama and his people think about these matters, but their rhetoric presupposes that bin Laden was responsible for 9/11 and is still alive.
In November 2008, for example, a Washington Post story said:
“President-elect Barack Obama . . . intends to renew the U.S. commitment to the hunt for Osama bin Laden. . . . ‘This is our enemy,’ one adviser said of bin Laden, ‘and he should be our principal target.’”
In his White House address of March 27 of this year, President Obama said:
“[A]l Qaeda and its allies - the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks - are in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the U.S. homeland from its safe-haven in Pakistan. . . . [A]l Qaeda and its extremist allies have moved across the border to the remote areas of the Pakistani frontier. This almost certainly includes al Qaeda's leadership: Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.”
Obama has appealed regularly to these intelligence estimates, which have invariably claimed that bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan, somewhere along its border with Pakistan. This claim has been used to justify the extension of US military activity into Pakistan, with the result that people now speak of the “AfPak war.”
One way to argue against this war is to point out that, if these intelligence experts do not even know whether bin Laden is alive, they certainly cannot know where he is and what he is thinking.
There are, to be sure, other good arguments against the this war, and many critics are making these arguments. But to point out that bin Laden is almost certainly dead provides an argument that goes to the heart of the publically articulated rationale for this war.
Of course, another way to argue against this war would be to point out that bin Laden had nothing to do with 9/11. But even though our own FBI has admitted that it “has no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11,” a large part of the American population has been conditioned to reject all revisionism about 9/11 out of hand. As we saw recently with “the Van Jones affair,” people are considered unfit for public service if they once signed a document suggesting that the official account of 9/11 might not be fully true.
My little bin Laden book is primarily for people who, besides assuming that Osama bin Laden was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, also believe that the AfPak war is justifiable because we need to prevent him from planning another attack. Many such people will turn against the war if they become aware of convincing evidence that bin Laden is almost certainly dead. There is considerable evidence for this conclusion.
This evidence is of two types: objective evidence and testimonies.
Objective Evidence that Bin Laden is Dead
The objective evidence includes the following facts:
First, up until mid-December 13, 2001, the CIA had regularly been intercepting messages between bin Laden and his people. At that time, however, the messages suddenly stopped, and the CIA has never again intercepted a message.
Second, on December 26, 2001, a leading Pakistani newspaper published a story reporting that bin Laden had died in mid-December, adding:
“A prominent official in the Afghan Taleban movement . . . stated . . . that he had himself attended the funeral of bin Laden and saw his face prior to burial.”
Third, bin Laden had kidney disease. He had been treated for it in the American Hospital in Dubai in July 2001, at which time he reportedly ordered two dialysis machines to take home. If you have ever wondered what bin Laden was doing the night before the 9/11 attacks, CBS News reported that he was being given kidney dialysis treatment in a hospital in Pakistan. And in January of 2001, Dr. Sanjay Gupta said – based on a video of bin Laden that had been made in either late November or early December of 2001 – that he appeared to be in the last stages of kidney failure.
Fourth, In July of 2002, CNN reported that bin Laden’s bodyguards had been captured in February of that year, adding: “Sources believe that if the bodyguards were captured away from bin Laden, it is likely the most-wanted man in the world is dead.”
Fifth, the United States has since 2001 offered a $25 million reward for any information leading to the capture or killing of bin Laden. But this reward offer has produced no such information, even though Pakistan has many desperately poor people, only about half of whom have been supportive of bin Laden.
Testimonial Evidence that Bin Laden Is Dead
In addition to this objective evidence, we had considerable testimony in 2002, from people in position to know, that bin Laden was dead, or probably so. These people included:
• President Musharraf of Pakistan;
• Dale Watson, the head of the FBI’s counterterrorism unit;
• Oliver North, who said: “I'm certain that Osama is dead. . . And so are all the other guys I stay in touch with”;
• President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan;
• Sources within Israeli intelligence, who said that any new messages from bin Laden were “probably fabrications”;
• Sources within Pakistani intelligence, who “confirmed the death of . . . Osama Bin Laden” and “attributed the reasons behind Washington's hiding news on the death of Osama Bin Laden to the desire of the hawks of the American administration to use the issue of al-Qaida and international terrorism to invade Iraq.”
For this reason, perhaps, the stories about the demise of bin Laden largely came to an end in the latter part of 2002, when the United States was gearing up for its attack on Iraq. From then until now, there have been few such stories.
Recently, however, two former intelligence officers have spoken out. In October 2008, former CIA case officer Robert Baer suggested in passing during an interview on National Public Radio that bin Laden was no longer among the living. When Baer was asked about this, he said: “Of course he’s dead.”
In March of 2009, former Foreign Service officer Angelo Codevilla published an essay in the American Spectator entitled “Osama bin Elvis.” Explaining his title, Codevilla wrote: “Seven years after Osama bin Laden's last verifiable appearance among the living, there is more evidence for Elvis's presence among us than for his.”
This is an excellent article, with only one serious flaw. In 2007, Benazir Bhutto, being interviewed by David Frost, referred to Omar Sheikh as “the man who murdered Osama bin Laden.” Codevilla cited this statement as further evidence that bin Laden is dead. But Bhutto had simply misspoken: She had meant to say “the man who murdered Daniel Pearl,” which is the standard way of referring to Omar Sheikh. That she misspoke was shown the next day, when she told CNN: “I don’t think General Musharaf personally knows where Osama bin Laden is.” Ten days later, speaking to NPR, she reported having asked a policeman assigned to guard her house: “Shouldn’t you be looking for Osama bin Laden?” This flaw aside, Codevilla’s article provides good support for his claim that the widespread belief in bin Laden’s continued existence is not backed up by evidence.
What about the “Messages from Osama bin Laden”?
Many people, of course, assume that there is a lot of evidence that bin Laden is still alive, namely, the dozens of audio tape and video tape “messages from bin Laden” that have appeared since 2001. These tapes provide good evidence, however, only if they are authentic. The longest chapter of my book is devoted to this question.
I show, in the first place, that the technology for making fake audio and video tapes is now so advanced that even experts can be fooled. So although the press regularly tells us that intelligence agencies have authenticated the latest bin Laden tape, it is virtually impossible to prove a tape to be authentic.
It is sometimes possible, however, to prove a tape to be a fake. For example: If the person hired to play bin Laden writes with his right hand; if he is much heavier and darker than bin Laden was in a tape made about the same time; if he has fatter hands and shorter fingers; if his nose has a different shape. And if, in discussing the Twin Towers, he says that the fire melted the steel, whereas the real bin Laden would have known that a building fire cannot melt steel. I am speaking here of the video that was allegedly found by US troops in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, in November 2001, which is widely known as the “bin Laden confession video.”
Also obviously fabricated was the “October Surprise” video, which appeared on October 29, 2004, just in time to help George W. Bush get reelected. One clue that it was a fake, aside from its timing, is provided by its language. Bin Laden’s own messages were saturated with references to Allah and the Prophet Mohammed. But in this October Surprise video, Allah was mentioned rarely and the only “Mohammad” mentioned was Mohamed Atta. Also, whereas undoubtedly authentic bin Laden messages portrayed worldly events as cause or at least permitted by Allah, the speaker on this October Surprise video gave a purely secular account of events, even telling the American people: “Your security is in your own hands.”
The most obviously faked video is one that, appearing in 2007, was identical to the October Surprise video of 2004, except that the bin Laden figure now had a completely black beard, leading me to call it the video from “Blackbeard the Terrorist.” Although pundits tried, with straight faces, to explain why bin Laden might have dyed his beard, or put on a fake one, this video was best treated with the respect it deserved by a YouTube video featuring a actor wearing a very long, very black, beard, and saying:
Hello, long time no see. It is me, Osama bin Laden. And no, this not to be confused with just-for-men hair color commercial. . . . I make this video to prove to world that me still alive and kicking.
This video is very funny. But there is, of course, nothing funny about the fact that obviously fake bin Laden videos have been used, and are still being used, to justify the AfPak war, which continues to kill dozens if not hundreds of innocent people each week, including women and children attending weddings and funerals.
Conclusion
If my little book, by showing that bin Laden has probably long been dead, can help shorten this war, it will have served its main purpose.
Its other main point, to which a separate chapter is devoted, is that these fake bin Laden tapes appear to be simply one part of an extensive propaganda operation, in which the US military intelligence is using tax dollars – illegally – to propagandize the American public, with the aim of furthering the militarization of America and its foreign policy.
I hope my little book will stimulate the 9/11 truth movement, along with the anti-war movement in general, to take on more fully the task of exposing this propaganda effort, to which a growing portion of our tax dollars is being devoted.
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15601
09 October, 2009
Strange Days
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed to have Jewish past
The short note scrawled on the card suggests his family changed its name to Ahmadinejad when they converted to embrace Islam after his birth. The Sabourjians traditionally hail from Aradan, Mr. Ahmadinejad's birthplace, and the name derives from "weaver of the Sabour", the name for the Jewish Tallit shawl in Persia. The name is even on the list of reserved names for Iranian Jews compiled by Iran's Ministry of the Interior.
A London-based expert on Iranian Jewry said that "jian" ending to the name specifically showed the family had been practicing Jews. During this year's presidential debate on television he was goaded to admit that his name had changed but he ignored the jibe."
Source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/6256173/Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-revealed-to-have-Jewish-past.html
Most, if not all "world leaders" are simply actors performing an assigned, staged role in service to the ever-evolving socioeconomic global designs of the Rothschild-controlled central banking cartel. From studying the current demographic trends and political policies their present primary programme seems to be the deliberate transformation of "first world" states into dysfunctional, de-industrialized third world systems. Whether this is for good or ill, only future generations of lobotomized sluggards will be able to attest.
Ahmadinejad's vitriolic attacks on the Jewish world hide an astonishing secret, evidence uncovered by the Daily Telegraph shows.
"A photograph of the Iranian president holding up his identity card during elections in March 2008 clearly shows his family has Jewish roots. A close-up of the document reveals he was previously known as Sabourjian--a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver.The short note scrawled on the card suggests his family changed its name to Ahmadinejad when they converted to embrace Islam after his birth. The Sabourjians traditionally hail from Aradan, Mr. Ahmadinejad's birthplace, and the name derives from "weaver of the Sabour", the name for the Jewish Tallit shawl in Persia. The name is even on the list of reserved names for Iranian Jews compiled by Iran's Ministry of the Interior.
A London-based expert on Iranian Jewry said that "jian" ending to the name specifically showed the family had been practicing Jews. During this year's presidential debate on television he was goaded to admit that his name had changed but he ignored the jibe."
Source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/6256173/Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-revealed-to-have-Jewish-past.html
Most, if not all "world leaders" are simply actors performing an assigned, staged role in service to the ever-evolving socioeconomic global designs of the Rothschild-controlled central banking cartel. From studying the current demographic trends and political policies their present primary programme seems to be the deliberate transformation of "first world" states into dysfunctional, de-industrialized third world systems. Whether this is for good or ill, only future generations of lobotomized sluggards will be able to attest.
08 October, 2009
Anarchy, you’re soaking in it.
http://www.fr33agents.com/1036/anarchy-youre-soaking-in-it/
By Teresa
Many people have imagined what the world would be like without government. I used to worry about it… Would there be tyranny of the rich? Would the mafia take over? Then I realized, we’re already there.
There are a number of gangs that claim to be in charge of various geographic regions. Occasionally, they go to war with each other. These gangs establish protection rackets to fund their operations, and they supplement those funds through deals with business associates to force competition out of the market.
I don’t grant special privileges to some gangs over others just because they call themselves government. However, I notice what people in these gangs do and I work around them whenever possible. Sometimes, I pretend to go along with them until I’m in a safer place. I notice the actions of each individual, regardless of whether they’re wearing a costume or badge.
Since I’ve been seeing the world more clearly, I see also that gangs don’t rule the world. Take a look around you and see all the ways people interact with each other freely… People selling goods at farmer’s markets… People exchanging services with friends and neighbors… People going to rummage sales and getting their nails done.
Individuals who interact with each other freely far outnumber individuals in gangs that call themselves government. What’s more, there are a number of people within these gangs who refuse to initiate violence. I’m inspired by these and all of my fellow inhabitants on this planet who interact freely every day.
My vision for a free world: We’re soaking in it.
05 October, 2009
Media for 9/11 Petition
Whereas the official account of 9/11 has been used as a pretext for two major wars and occupations, for the erosion of the civil rights of US citizens, and to justify torture and extraordinary rendition;
Whereas the 9/11 Commission was neither “nonpartisan” nor “independent,” as it claimed, but was run by Philip Zelikow, who was closely aligned with the Bush-Cheney White House (as documented in “The Commission” by New York Times reporter Philip Shenon);
Whereas the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which prepared the official reports on the World Trade Center collapses, was also not independent, being an agency from 2001 to 2008 of the Bush-Cheney Department of Commerce;
Whereas US and international public opinion polls indicate widespread skepticism of the official narrative and support for a new investigation into the events of 9/11;
Whereas many professional organizations—including Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Firefighters for 9/11 Truth, Intelligence Officers for 9/11 Truth, Lawyers for 9/11 Truth, Medical Professionals for 9/11 Truth, Pilots for 9/11 Truth, Political Leaders for 9/11 Truth, Religious Leaders for 9/11 Truth, Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice, Scientific Panel Investigating Nine-Eleven, and Veterans for 9/11 Truth—have questioned the official accounts of the events of 9/11 and called for a truly independent investigation;
Whereas there is an enormous amount of independently researched evidence that contradicts the official account of 9/11, some of which has been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals; and
Whereas the corporate-controlled mass media have failed to inform the public of this evidence and the existence of these professional organizations, instead portraying all those who challenge the official account as “conspiracy theorists.”
Therefore, We, the Undersigned:
Call for the convening of a truly independent inquiry into the events of September 11, 2001, with full subpoena and investigatory powers;
Call on the United States Congress and the US Federal Communications Commission to require the corporate media to live up to their responsibility to report evidence related to 9/11 in an objective, impartial manner; and
Call on Congress and the FCC to protect all media workers who seek to report information about 9/11 that challenges the official account.
Sign the petition here:
http://mediafor911truth.org/10/
Whereas the 9/11 Commission was neither “nonpartisan” nor “independent,” as it claimed, but was run by Philip Zelikow, who was closely aligned with the Bush-Cheney White House (as documented in “The Commission” by New York Times reporter Philip Shenon);
Whereas the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which prepared the official reports on the World Trade Center collapses, was also not independent, being an agency from 2001 to 2008 of the Bush-Cheney Department of Commerce;
Whereas US and international public opinion polls indicate widespread skepticism of the official narrative and support for a new investigation into the events of 9/11;
Whereas many professional organizations—including Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Firefighters for 9/11 Truth, Intelligence Officers for 9/11 Truth, Lawyers for 9/11 Truth, Medical Professionals for 9/11 Truth, Pilots for 9/11 Truth, Political Leaders for 9/11 Truth, Religious Leaders for 9/11 Truth, Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice, Scientific Panel Investigating Nine-Eleven, and Veterans for 9/11 Truth—have questioned the official accounts of the events of 9/11 and called for a truly independent investigation;
Whereas there is an enormous amount of independently researched evidence that contradicts the official account of 9/11, some of which has been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals; and
Whereas the corporate-controlled mass media have failed to inform the public of this evidence and the existence of these professional organizations, instead portraying all those who challenge the official account as “conspiracy theorists.”
Therefore, We, the Undersigned:
Call for the convening of a truly independent inquiry into the events of September 11, 2001, with full subpoena and investigatory powers;
Call on the United States Congress and the US Federal Communications Commission to require the corporate media to live up to their responsibility to report evidence related to 9/11 in an objective, impartial manner; and
Call on Congress and the FCC to protect all media workers who seek to report information about 9/11 that challenges the official account.
Sign the petition here:
http://mediafor911truth.org/10/
SOCORRO UFO HOAX EXPOSED
New articles by Anthony Bragalia! This means any research based on or relying on a real landing at Socorro will have to be re-examined. Does this also call Roswell into question?
THE SOCORRO UFO HOAX EXPOSED! (Famous 1964 sighting was a college prank) by Anthony Bragalia
http://ufocon.blogspot.com/2009/09/socorro-hoax-exposed-famous-1964.html
SOCORRO UFO HOAX PART 2: GETTING CLOSER TO THE CULPRITS by Anthony Bragalia
http://www.ufocon.blogspot.com/
THE SOCORRO UFO HOAX EXPOSED! (Famous 1964 sighting was a college prank) by Anthony Bragalia
http://ufocon.blogspot.com/2009/09/socorro-hoax-exposed-famous-1964.html
SOCORRO UFO HOAX PART 2: GETTING CLOSER TO THE CULPRITS by Anthony Bragalia
http://www.ufocon.blogspot.com/
03 October, 2009
Don't fear the Reaper!
http://www.truthout.org/093009B?n
The drones are coming. Readers of the Syracuse Post-Standard know that the drones (a.k.a. Reapers) are arriving at the local New York Air National Guard Base at Hancock Airport.
These Reapers are a new level of aerial warfare. They are high-flying, sharp-shooting, 36-foot-long robots. They are crewless - remote-controlled - aircraft. Although they are unmanned, drones do have "pilots." Those pilots operate in front of computer screens in ground control rooms far from any target.
Last year the former congressperson for the district, James Walsh (R-New York), hailed the arrival of the Reaper. Not only will it provide a few jobs, but, Walsh said, this killer allows pilots to be "literally fighting a war in Iraq and at the end of their shift be playing with their kids in Camillus" (P-S, 25 June 2008, page A1).
Drone surveillance covers the US/Mexico and US/Canada borders. In Gaza, the Israeli Air Force uses them to assassinate Palestinians. In its various overseas wars, the US military has come to depend on drones to assassinate humans while bombing vehicles and buildings. Drones preying on Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan are piloted from Creech Air Base in Nevada. Beginning this November, Reapers will also be piloted from Central New York.
Because drones seem - in the short term and within narrow contexts - to reduce US casualties, some cheer them on. However - and this is essential - drones make war easier to initiate and perpetuate. The folks back home wouldn't even need to hear about the drones' brave deeds. No thought-provoking body bags - at least not here at home.
Like many other high-tech weapons, drones are indiscriminate: they can kill offensively or defensively, invaders or resisters. They kill combatants and non-combatants, adults and children. Because most victims are civilian, drones are terrorist weapons.
Terror isn't just something "they" do. Perpetrators of terrorism can have dark skin or light, be "Islamic" or "Christian." Terrorists can be state or non-state actors. Terrorist budgets can be scanty or vast. Terrorist weapons can be low-tech or high-tech. They can be launched from land, sea or air.
Like other forms of aerial warfare, drones may well spawn reactive terrorism. Because they kill and maim civilians primarily, drones incite hatred. Such hatred could lead to retaliatory strikes either today or when victims' survivors come of age. Those strikes could target any of the hundreds of US military bases bestriding the globe.
They could also target any of the domestic bases from which the drones are piloted. Like it or not, without the consent of local communities, Central New York is becoming part of the battleground and Central New Yorkers ought to be aware that hosting drones may have blowback.
Besides being indiscriminate, aerial warfare is cowardly. Think about the various devices of aerial maiming and massacre (napalm, white phosphorus, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, cruise missiles). For decades, aerial warfare has been the weapon of rich, powerful, high-tech nations bullying poor, weak, low-tech nations. Apart from a steely will to resist, these latter nations have few defenses. So corrupted now is any notion of military honor that our war-besotted culture no longer even thinks about a "level playing field." Seldom are warplanes used to defend a nation from attack or from threats to its sovereignty. Generally warplanes - robotic or not - are the aggressor, the violator of others' sovereignty.
Drones raise cowardice to new heights. Unlike World War II bombardiers or pilots of other pre-robotic aircraft, drone pilots take no risk. Anti-aircraft artillery will never reach them. They shoot goldfish in a goldfish bowl.
http://www.truthout.org/093009B?n
The drones are coming. Readers of the Syracuse Post-Standard know that the drones (a.k.a. Reapers) are arriving at the local New York Air National Guard Base at Hancock Airport.
These Reapers are a new level of aerial warfare. They are high-flying, sharp-shooting, 36-foot-long robots. They are crewless - remote-controlled - aircraft. Although they are unmanned, drones do have "pilots." Those pilots operate in front of computer screens in ground control rooms far from any target.
Last year the former congressperson for the district, James Walsh (R-New York), hailed the arrival of the Reaper. Not only will it provide a few jobs, but, Walsh said, this killer allows pilots to be "literally fighting a war in Iraq and at the end of their shift be playing with their kids in Camillus" (P-S, 25 June 2008, page A1).
Drone surveillance covers the US/Mexico and US/Canada borders. In Gaza, the Israeli Air Force uses them to assassinate Palestinians. In its various overseas wars, the US military has come to depend on drones to assassinate humans while bombing vehicles and buildings. Drones preying on Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan are piloted from Creech Air Base in Nevada. Beginning this November, Reapers will also be piloted from Central New York.
Because drones seem - in the short term and within narrow contexts - to reduce US casualties, some cheer them on. However - and this is essential - drones make war easier to initiate and perpetuate. The folks back home wouldn't even need to hear about the drones' brave deeds. No thought-provoking body bags - at least not here at home.
Like many other high-tech weapons, drones are indiscriminate: they can kill offensively or defensively, invaders or resisters. They kill combatants and non-combatants, adults and children. Because most victims are civilian, drones are terrorist weapons.
Terror isn't just something "they" do. Perpetrators of terrorism can have dark skin or light, be "Islamic" or "Christian." Terrorists can be state or non-state actors. Terrorist budgets can be scanty or vast. Terrorist weapons can be low-tech or high-tech. They can be launched from land, sea or air.
Like other forms of aerial warfare, drones may well spawn reactive terrorism. Because they kill and maim civilians primarily, drones incite hatred. Such hatred could lead to retaliatory strikes either today or when victims' survivors come of age. Those strikes could target any of the hundreds of US military bases bestriding the globe.
They could also target any of the domestic bases from which the drones are piloted. Like it or not, without the consent of local communities, Central New York is becoming part of the battleground and Central New Yorkers ought to be aware that hosting drones may have blowback.
Besides being indiscriminate, aerial warfare is cowardly. Think about the various devices of aerial maiming and massacre (napalm, white phosphorus, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, cruise missiles). For decades, aerial warfare has been the weapon of rich, powerful, high-tech nations bullying poor, weak, low-tech nations. Apart from a steely will to resist, these latter nations have few defenses. So corrupted now is any notion of military honor that our war-besotted culture no longer even thinks about a "level playing field." Seldom are warplanes used to defend a nation from attack or from threats to its sovereignty. Generally warplanes - robotic or not - are the aggressor, the violator of others' sovereignty.
Drones raise cowardice to new heights. Unlike World War II bombardiers or pilots of other pre-robotic aircraft, drone pilots take no risk. Anti-aircraft artillery will never reach them. They shoot goldfish in a goldfish bowl.
http://www.truthout.org/093009B?n
02 October, 2009
Thoughts on the Controversial Galician Trawler UFO Video
Thoughts on the Controversial Galician Fishing Boat UFO
Although the “Galician Fishing Boat UFO” video has all the marks of a “Blair Witch Project” event, it appears to have been embraced by the UFO community as proof of extraterrestrial visitation. Angel Rodriguez, director of Spain’s GEIFO organization, is a former officer in the Spanish Navy and suggests that the video is actually showing a fishing boat being warned away from an area where naval aviation maneuvers are about to take place, hence the helicopter and the dropping of a marker buoy into the water (the “UFO” that plunges into the ocean, as in a Gerry Anderson TV production)
“Military maneuvers,” writes Rodriguez in his Universo Prohibido group, “are always notified, and target areas, while usually permanent, are often only activated when exercises are about to occur, and must be drawn on nautical charts. When target practice is about to occur, navigation is forbidden in these waters during the indicated times. There are always fishermen who refuse to abide by these warnings, or who pay no mind to these notices and sneak into the area. It becomes necessary to chase them out to avoid turning them into accidental targets.”
Rodriguez explains that Spain’s Instituto Hidrográfico de la Marina publishes “Navigation Notices” which have been employed by GEIFO when investigating its own UFO cases if these have taken place over the sea or in the vicinity. The most controversial of all these cases was the Conil Incident, a CE-3 that allegedly involved the presence of humanoids on Los Bateles beach.
“In this case [meaning the Galician video] there is the possibility that the trawler was expelled from the target practice area and that the images were manipulated by adding a UFO. What’s curious about this Galician case is the expectations it has raised, with thousands of people interested in the subject. There are numerous partisans in favor and against it. It would appear that it has not been accepted as real in the UFO community, except for some exceptions. Many may consider this to be a promotional device for some movie production, which would be financially feasible, given the interest it has caused. There are others who believe that it is a garden variety hoax, like many that have come about since the early days of ufology.”
“Manipulations of this sort,” he goes on to add, “have caused photographs as well as film and video to become suspect, or considered unreliable as proving the reality of the phenomenon, given the ease with which hoaxes can be confected, especially nowadays using computer software, which makes detecting these frauds very difficult.”
Readers will remember some fascinating computer hoaxes – very convincing ones – featured in some of the Robert Kiviat productions of the 1990s, including one of a pair of UFOs, flying in tandem, over the palm-tree filled littoral of a tropical city. Such creations are a staple on YouTube and they include an amazing depiction of Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon from Star Wars caroming over Mexico City in broad daylight. Such is the degree achieved by computer imaging.
Mr. Rodriguez draws our attention to a number of specific points that lead him to believe that there is less than meets the eye in Galician Fishing Boat UFO video:
1) The tone of voice of the sailor who allegedly expresses his bewilderment. He repeats the questions excessively, and the sound demonstrates that his surprise is exaggerated, making it unconvincing. “He is acting for the camera and he’s a bad actor.”
2) The erasure of the names of the vessel from the lifesavers, to keep it from being identified and making investigation impossible.
3) The erasure of the sailor’s face, for the same reason.
4) The total absence of data – no date or time of the event, no position of the vessel or the place where the alleged event occurred, to hinder investigations.
“There is no data to enable a minimum of research,” Rodriguez goes on to say. “It is adduced that this is for safety reasons, as the crew fears for its safety after having seen something that is supposedly very secret. This is, in fact, a very foolish explanation, because they would have been plainly identified by the authorities that allegedly intercepted them. If these were the maneuvers of a military flying disk, or a pursuit of a strange object my interceptors, as the video seeks to purvey, the authorities would have taken very drastic measures and the news would have never become public. A patrol boat would have intercepted the trawler and the elements of a search and seizure detachment would have come aboard. The trawler would have been towed to a naval facility and the rest is best left to the imagination.”
The director of GEIFO is therefore unconvinced by this sensationalistic video. “In short, I believe nothing about this case. Even the helicopter and the planes could be fake. Everything can be manipulated.”
Although the “Galician Fishing Boat UFO” video has all the marks of a “Blair Witch Project” event, it appears to have been embraced by the UFO community as proof of extraterrestrial visitation. Angel Rodriguez, director of Spain’s GEIFO organization, is a former officer in the Spanish Navy and suggests that the video is actually showing a fishing boat being warned away from an area where naval aviation maneuvers are about to take place, hence the helicopter and the dropping of a marker buoy into the water (the “UFO” that plunges into the ocean, as in a Gerry Anderson TV production)
“Military maneuvers,” writes Rodriguez in his Universo Prohibido group, “are always notified, and target areas, while usually permanent, are often only activated when exercises are about to occur, and must be drawn on nautical charts. When target practice is about to occur, navigation is forbidden in these waters during the indicated times. There are always fishermen who refuse to abide by these warnings, or who pay no mind to these notices and sneak into the area. It becomes necessary to chase them out to avoid turning them into accidental targets.”
Rodriguez explains that Spain’s Instituto Hidrográfico de la Marina publishes “Navigation Notices” which have been employed by GEIFO when investigating its own UFO cases if these have taken place over the sea or in the vicinity. The most controversial of all these cases was the Conil Incident, a CE-3 that allegedly involved the presence of humanoids on Los Bateles beach.
“In this case [meaning the Galician video] there is the possibility that the trawler was expelled from the target practice area and that the images were manipulated by adding a UFO. What’s curious about this Galician case is the expectations it has raised, with thousands of people interested in the subject. There are numerous partisans in favor and against it. It would appear that it has not been accepted as real in the UFO community, except for some exceptions. Many may consider this to be a promotional device for some movie production, which would be financially feasible, given the interest it has caused. There are others who believe that it is a garden variety hoax, like many that have come about since the early days of ufology.”
“Manipulations of this sort,” he goes on to add, “have caused photographs as well as film and video to become suspect, or considered unreliable as proving the reality of the phenomenon, given the ease with which hoaxes can be confected, especially nowadays using computer software, which makes detecting these frauds very difficult.”
Readers will remember some fascinating computer hoaxes – very convincing ones – featured in some of the Robert Kiviat productions of the 1990s, including one of a pair of UFOs, flying in tandem, over the palm-tree filled littoral of a tropical city. Such creations are a staple on YouTube and they include an amazing depiction of Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon from Star Wars caroming over Mexico City in broad daylight. Such is the degree achieved by computer imaging.
Mr. Rodriguez draws our attention to a number of specific points that lead him to believe that there is less than meets the eye in Galician Fishing Boat UFO video:
1) The tone of voice of the sailor who allegedly expresses his bewilderment. He repeats the questions excessively, and the sound demonstrates that his surprise is exaggerated, making it unconvincing. “He is acting for the camera and he’s a bad actor.”
2) The erasure of the names of the vessel from the lifesavers, to keep it from being identified and making investigation impossible.
3) The erasure of the sailor’s face, for the same reason.
4) The total absence of data – no date or time of the event, no position of the vessel or the place where the alleged event occurred, to hinder investigations.
“There is no data to enable a minimum of research,” Rodriguez goes on to say. “It is adduced that this is for safety reasons, as the crew fears for its safety after having seen something that is supposedly very secret. This is, in fact, a very foolish explanation, because they would have been plainly identified by the authorities that allegedly intercepted them. If these were the maneuvers of a military flying disk, or a pursuit of a strange object my interceptors, as the video seeks to purvey, the authorities would have taken very drastic measures and the news would have never become public. A patrol boat would have intercepted the trawler and the elements of a search and seizure detachment would have come aboard. The trawler would have been towed to a naval facility and the rest is best left to the imagination.”
The director of GEIFO is therefore unconvinced by this sensationalistic video. “In short, I believe nothing about this case. Even the helicopter and the planes could be fake. Everything can be manipulated.”
01 October, 2009
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