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Our School Is All About Team Spirit
Lee Tae-woo
By Lee Tae-woo
I have seen a lot, heard a lot and felt a lot throughout my first year at Korea University (KU). The one thing that really struck me, however, as something unique that KU possesses, is the spirit of the school
Lunch times during my first semester of freshman year were always filled with appointments to meet with senior students. It was nothing unusual, as all newcomers were trying to create their own agendas. Seniors were eager to meet with their junior colleagues, talk over a meal about school life and give out sound advice whenever needed. Such camaraderie, which is created ever since the first day of school, is the element I believe that forms the basis of KU’s unique school spirit.
Then there was the ``Ko-Yon Festival’’ pitting our Korea University against Yonsei University. The two schools are longstanding rivals and companions on Korea’s advanced academic scene. The festival is literally a series of sporting competitions between the two, ranging from soccer and baseball to rugby. However, the true attraction of the festival is not so much about the scores but the cheering.
Some may think of it simply as a collective expression of support for their teams, but there is much more to it. The moment they cheer, the crowd becomes one. And I mean ``one’’ as in a single entity that shares its spirit with every individual involved in that stadium. People who come to witness this event are struck at what they see and hear, because they never have seen a crowd so enthusiastic for their teams. Soon, even those spectators who don’t belong to either of the schools become part of the cheering crowds. They say some things are possible in life, others impossible. I am a person who experienced something impossible that day. I shared my spirit with thousands of people.
To create a tradition is not an easy thing. To make a tradition that no one else possesses is even harder. Many universities may take the words ``school spirit’’ lightly. Korea University uses school spirit because it is already there, visible and palpable among its students, professors and menial workers who belong to our school.
The writer is expected to enter his second year at Korea University’s Business School after studying in Brussels, Belgium; Washington, D.C.; and Abidjan, Ivory Coast. _ ED.
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Home Food Your Favorite Burger Chain Just Donated a Bunch of Money to the...
Photograph by Natalie B. Compton
Your Favorite Burger Chain Just Donated a Bunch of Money to the Republican Party
In-N-Out just dropped $25,000 into the GOP’s coffers
Orange County is shaping up to be one of the hottest political battlegrounds going into the midterm elections–and, it appears, Irvine-based In-N-Out Burger has cast their vote early. The corporation gave $25,000 to the California Republican Party this week, according to a public filing on the Secretary of State’s website.
The filing was spotted by Washington, D.C.-based journalist Gabe Schneider, who shared it on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
In-N-Out added a new item to their secret menu. https://t.co/VtaCOuiNRp pic.twitter.com/tCRYqFGDEB
— Gabe Schneider 🗞 (@gabemschneider) August 29, 2018
It’s certainly not the first In-N-Out Republican contribution. The fast food chain has a long history of donating to political causes. In 2017 and 2016, the company donated $30,000 per year to the California GOP for general party expenses.
In some areas of California, Republicans seem to be playing defense in 2018, even in areas where they’ve comfortably held seats for long periods of time. If they can continue to out-fundraise and out-spend progressive challengers in those competitive districts, they may be able to hold on.
In-N-Out isn’t a one-party burger shop, though. The corporation has also given $50,000 this year to a PAC known as Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy. That group is as pro-business as the name implies, but, as the Sacramento Bee reported in 2014, it was founded by David Townsend, a political operative who identifies as a centrist Democrat.
RELATED: Rep. Lieu Says He Struggled Not to Use “Swear Words” in Trump-Putin Statement
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Whale’s Tale Makes 5,042 Tacos In One Day
June 27, 2014 / James Kelly
By Arielle Dollinger
adollinger@longislandergroup.com
The tacos that Long Islander News described in a May Foodie article to “look like party rooms, dressed in fried onion and guacamole streamers” have been popular menu choices from the inception of The Whale’s Tale's “Taco Tuesdays” four seasons ago, according Sosh Andriano, owner of the casual Northport restaurant on Route 25A.
Each season, he said, the low-key dockside restaurant breaks records for the number of $2 tacos it sells on the third day of the week.
Two years ago, the record hovered around 2,000 in one day. Last season, the record jumped to 3,200, with an hour-and-a-half wait for takeout. On June 17, the staff made 4,273 tacos. A week later, 5,042.
“Torture Tuesday is what we all jokingly call it,” said Andriano, a Hawaii native and graduate of Northport High School.
Last week’s effort took 31 people working at once, Andriano said: two guys managing the parking lot, five guys prepping, 10 guys cooking, seven servers, and multiple managers and bar tenders.
“That day was so crazy, we went through about 400 pounds of chicken, and around 8:30 I was down to my last 20 pounds,” he said. “I called a restaurateur friend of mine.”
Andriano borrowed 80 pounds of chicken to make it through the night. The restaurant gets food deliveries daily now.
During the off season, Andriano added 8 or 9 feet of equipment, he said, in an effort to add flatbreads to the menu and to focus on the restaurant’s new dockside delivery program. On Tuesdays, that new equipment turns into a takeout station to avoid further backup.
“Every year in the off season, I manage the business like a coach would manage a football team,” he said. “Our off season allows us to look at what was successful… and where we can improve.”
With the use of the takeout station, last Tuesday’s busiest wait was around two and a half hours.
“As exciting as it is, all of it is worth nothing if we can’t manage it correctly and make sure that people are safe, to make sure that the food is coming out properly,” the restaurant owner said. “I don’t want to compromise the brand by just slopping things together.”
There is a method. Andriano and his crew come in at 8 a.m. to start prepping. The kitchen is stocked with Red Bull on ice, for its workers.
“The kitchen probably consumes two cases of Red Bull on a Tuesday,” Andriano said.
Though the atmosphere is easy-breezy, the work is serious. Hired staff is required to complete 40 hours of training before beginning work.
“If one of the 31 people makes a mistake on that night, they could throw a cog in the wheel that we would never be able to recoup from,” he said. “We just don’t have room for error.”
The number-one seller is the Fish Taco, with the Filet Mignon taco and the new-this-season Korean Steak Taco coming up behind it. Typically, tacos are $8.50 or $9.50 per pair.
Production is about the rotation, Andriano said. Food comes in, food is prepped, food is handed out.
On his computer, he puts together a product mix report – the report takes the previous three weeks of supply orders, adds them together and divides to find the median. Andriano then orders supplies accordingly.
“The weather last week was just perfect,” he said. “Taking that into consideration and just being so plugged into this business and just knowing it, I was pretty much dead on.”
Save for the chicken borrowing and a couple of produce runs.
Most of the revenue on a Taco Tuesday comes not from tacos, Andriano explained. At $2 a piece, the tacos are sold almost at cost. About two-thirds of the Tuesday revenue comes from the bar.
“The two-dollar tacos is a marketing thing for us,” he said.
And, he said, he thinks that people come more for the novelty of the day than for just the tacos.
This season, Andriano has also been brewing his own beer. The entire first-run of his brew was gone in a week and a half. By the end of next week, he will have 14 barrels of the next summer brew.
The taco record is not quite enough to bring complacency to The Whale’s Tale. Andriano said the restaurant will launch its breakfast program this weekend.
June 27, 2014 / James Kelly/ Comment
The Foodies
Cow Harbor Champ In Hot Water
Fighting LIPA Has A Cost
Check out the newest issue, published july 11, 2019.
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Forthcoming Apple car to hit street, retail in 2020, report claims
updated 10:12 am EST, Fri February 20, 2015
Bloomberg, citing sources, points to six-year development timetable
Adding more fuel to the fire, reports are circulating today that Apple is aiming for a 2020 delivery of its rumored electric car. The six-year timetable for commencement of work to delivery is about par for experienced manufacturers, but industry analysts say that Apple may be jumping the gun on release a bit, with them expecting that a newcomer to the industry generally takes up to 10 years for the first models to roll off the production line. It is worth noting that all reports on the matter -- and subsequent quotes from others -- are speculative in nature, as the company has not confirmed anything.
Bloomberg quoted unnamed sources who pointed to Apple's timetable for the release, with little else to back up the time estimate. Apple CEO Steve Jobs was rumored to want to build an Apple Car at some point, but this was only made public after his death, and may be apocryphal.
Business Insider quotes a tipster's email, claiming that Apple has hired engineers away from Tesla for vehicle development. The recent Apple hiring of designer Marc Newson, confirmed by Newson's LinkedIn profile, lends credibility to the idea that Apple may be working on a vehicle concept. Newson designed the 021C Ford concept car, a design called "Apple-ish" by analysts.
The Wall Street Journal claimsthat Apple executives are in the midst of discussions with "contract manufacturers for high-end cars." MacObserver, without giving any specific quotes, cites its own sources confirming the effort.
It should be mentioned that Apple, and other Silicon Valley companies, can and often have started development on a product and ultimately not shipped, for whatever the reason. A quick perusal of recent history suggests that more Apple executives now work for Tesla than the other way around, with Apple trying to stem the tide.
While Apple has a solid distribution chain, it would either have to partner with existing dealerships to sell any vehicle it produced, or build out its own series of dealerships -- which we see no evidence of at this early stage. It is also possible that Apple has only the intention of designing a concept car and then licensing the design to established companies. At this point, Apple's electric vehicle would have to fight the consumer inertia of the lowest prices for gasoline in over a decade -- a problem that Tesla is having right now, having lost over $300 million in the last year, with little or no profit expected in the next year.
Please, Apple, make it looking nicer than the ugly Toyota Prius.
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Despite a snowstorm, the 4 Star Edition Quartet rehearsed March 9 and sang with their usual gusto. From left are Mark Bowman, tenor; Bob Lessel, lead; Dan Henke, bass; and Russell DeMar, baritone.
By Regina Villiers. Originally published March 24, 1999 in The Suburban life, added March 13, 2019.
Music has always flowed through the souls of Madeira’s DeMar family. They’ve always amused and entertained themselves without cable TV, which is amazing.
In the late 1800’s more than 100 years ago, the Madeira Cornet Band entertained around the area. The heart of the band consisted of DeMar family names-George, Clason, Clint, Clyde, and Zachary Taylor. Their succeeding generations also became musicians, such as Cliff, son of Clint. Cliff became well known in music circles.
Russell, the only DeMar living in Madeira, is keeping the DeMar tradition in music alive. He is one fourth of the 4 Star Edition, a quartet that is becoming more and more popular in the Cincinnati area.
The 4 Star Edition started back in 1979 when four members of the Delta Kings became a bit dissatisfied and decided to go out on their own. They called themselves the Chester Park Quartet for about six years. They reorganized in 1985 and became the 4 Star Edition.
The personnel have changed over the years, but two of the original members are still with the quartet, and both are lifetime Madeira residents.
Russell DeMar has lived in Madeira all his life, as did his parents, Howard and Nora, and his grandparents before them. The DeMar name in Madeira is a distinguished tradition. Russ is an original member of the quartet and sings baritone with them.
Dan Henke also is an original member of the group and is a lifetime Madeira resident. Dan is a retired teacher and administrator at Sycamore High School. He also coached basketball there for 17 years. Dan sings bass with the group.
When the quartet reorganized in 1985 and became the 4 Star Edition, they took in a new member, Bob Lessel.
Though Bob now lives in Loveland, he grew up in Madeira, on Dee Street, and graduated from Madeira High School in the early 1970s where he was an integral part of the band and everything musical.
Bob sings lead for the quartet and does a superb performance on solo parts, such as in the Ray Stevens’ novelty song, “Mississippi Squirrel.”
Mark Bowman is the newest member of the 4 Star Edition, since 1996, and he’s described by the others as the “musician” of the group. He has a good deal of musical experience and was a member of the May Festival Chorus. He sings tenor with the quartet and adds his musical expertise.
Mark lives in Blue Ash, but is building a new home in the Mason area.
Though they sing without accompaniment, the 4 Star Edition is not a true barbershop quartet in the traditional sense. The two young members, Bob and Mark, keep them current. They do novelty songs and lots of music from the 1960s, such as music of the Beach Boys. They also do a lot of 1940s and 1950s music.
Their repertoire is extensive, and they can sing for three hours without repeating themselves.
As did the Madeira Cornet Band over a hundred years ago, they meet each week in each other’s homes and sometimes, at the Madeira Presbyterian Church. The recent March 9 snowstorm did not deter them. All showed up that night for rehearsal, where they ran through such songs as “I Can Dream, Can’t I?,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Jeepers Creepers,” and “Mississippi Squirrel.”
And as did the Madeira Cornet Band the quartet also entertains around the area and gets paid for it, making them professional musicians.
They sound professional, too. They are good.
Last year, they made about 35 appearances in the Tri-State. They entertain at parades, political rallies, corporate banquets, company picnics, and other events in Central Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southern Indiana. They have become a mainstay of the Taste of Blue Ash and the Blue Ash Memorial Day Parade.
Last year, at the WGUC studios, they recorded a jingle for Jim Tarbell’s Broadway Commons baseball stadium campaign. The jingle was played on local radio stations.
Christmas is always their busiest season. They did about 11 Christmas shows last December.
This year’s schedule is growing and shows them to be even busier.
One opening day for the Reds, April 5, the quartet will be singing ‘ballgame” songs in the Atrium downtown, which they also did last year. That night they will entertain at a corporate dinner in Newport.
April 9 will find them at Cincinnati Gardens to sing the National Anthem before the Mighty Ducks hockey game.
May 6, they will entertain at a Kenwood Country Club golf outing. And on May 31, they will do a repeat performance at the Blue Ash Memorial Day Parade, where they’ll again ride and sing in a red Saab convertible.
They’ll go to Vandalia in June, and on August 27-28, they’ll again sing, as wandering strollers, in the afternoons at the Taste of Blue Ash.
These are only a few of the events on their calendar for this year. Life gets busier and more fun for the guys all the time.
And maybe the music will just keep on going and will never die.
Though they no longer live in this area, new DeMars are coming on. Russell’s son and grandchildren are very much into music.
And at almost every rehearsal, Mark Bowman’s son, Stewart 5, comes along, too. He’s growing up with the music and has begun to sing “tag” lines with the group at rehearsals.
Here’s hoping the music keeps going round and round forever, and that it comes out here.
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DAP commends Anwar for his emergency financial package as a step in the right direction to restore badly-battered confidence in the past five months and calls for withdrawal of 1998 Budget and submission of a second 1998 Budget with more comprehensive measures to set the country on the course of economic recovery
- Finance Bill 1997
(Dewan Rakyat, Monday): DAP commends Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for announcing the emergency financial package last Friday which was a step in the right direction to restore badly-battered confidence in the past five months, but it is not comprehensive enough to fully restore confidence and it should have been announced as a second budget in Parliament at the end of October when it was clear that the 1998 Budget had failed to restore confidence
I had in fact proposed on October 30 in a speech during the Sungai Bakap by-election in Penang that Anwar present a second 1998 Budget in Parliament on November 5 during his winding-up of the budget debate, as the 1998 Budget presented by Anwar on Oct. 17 had failed to address the fundamental issue of restoring confidence in the Malaysian economy or to check twin currency and stock market crisis, as both the Malaysian stock market and the ringgit have embarked on a sharp decline ever since the budget presentation.
If Anwar had heeded the DAP advice in early November, confidence in the government’s stewardship of the national economy in the face of the economic crisis would not have plummeted to such a depth, with the markets sending the ringgit down to a new low of 3.865 against the US dollar on Friday (5th December) against 3.17 a day before the 1998 budget on Oct. 16, while the KLSE Composite Index had plummeted to the lowest point of 512 as compared to 802.02 just before Anwar stood up in Parliament to present his budget.
Anwar’s emergency financial package on Friday had been better received than his 1998 Budget on Oct. 17, as while both the currency and stock markets reacted negatively to the 1998 budget, Anwar’s 4 p.m. media conference announcement on Friday checked the unprecedented decline of the ringgit to 3.8650 against the US dollar and strengthened it to 3.6950 an hour later.
The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's benchmark index finished with a late rally triggered by Anwar's announcement and closed up 31.51 points, or 5.47 percent, at 607.40, the first time it closed above 600 points since 19th November. Before Anwar announced the measures, the index had been at about 572 points.
Although the markets have given their "thumbs up" with their positive response to Anwar’s emergency financial package, the measures proposed are still not comprehensive enough to fully restore confidence, which is most crucial and critical in any government strategy to put the Malaysian economy back on the track of recovery and revival.
When I called for a second budget on Oct. 30, I had made various proposals to be included in the second budget, such as:
Renegotiation of the North-South Expressway contract to remove the right of PLUS to increase toll rate every year for the next 21 years until 2018.
Policy announcement that Malaysia would be lodging an official claim of compensation from Indonesia for the billions of ringgit of losses caused to the economy, environment and health of the people as a result of the national haze disaster caused by the raging thousands of forest and plantation fires in Indonesia.
Announcement of the cancellation and not just the postponement of mega-projects like the Northern Regional International Airport on a reclaimed island in Kedah, the Kuala Lumpur Linear City Project, the Cameron Highlands - Fraser's Hill - Genting Highlands Road Project and the Straits of Malacca, Malaysia - Indonesia Bridge.
I welcome Anwar's second 1998 budget, although the Malaysian economy and the people would have been saved from the worst of the financial devastation and losses suffered during this period if he had heeded my advice and come out with the emergency financial package five weeks earlier.
In his second 1998 budget, Anwar revised downward the government projection for economic growth next year to 4%-5%, when only seven weeks ago, the projected growth for next year was 7%. The government has decided on a new target for the current accounts deficit, lowering from 4% of the GNP as proposed by the 1998 budget to 3% of GNP.
The government attitude of "growth-at-any-price" is completely unsustainable and the country must focus on sustainable development instead. The question is whether the government would have to further reduce such a growth projection as suggested by some financial analysts and economists if the government is unable to fully restore confidence among investors, both national and international.
To achieve these objectives, Anwar announced a cutback of at least 18% of Federal government expenditure in 1998, beginning with an immediate 10% cutback across the board of both operating and development expenditure and 8% on a more selective basis.
I welcome this cutback as signifying that the government is, for the first time since the five-month economic crisis, becoming more serious in recognising the magnitude of the crisis which had afflicted the country and people.
Federal government spending cutback should not hurt the poor especially in areas such as health, social welfare and education
During the Parliamentary debate on the 1998 Budget on October 20, I had criticised the 1998 Budget for missing the opportunity to send out a clear message to the country on the need for belt-tightening.
I said that although the Government had reduced expenditure in the 1998 Budget by trimming the allocations of ministries and departments by two per cent, the operating expenditure for 1998 of RM45.6 billion would be well above the 1997 Budget allocation of RM42.7 billion, while the development estimates for 1998 of RM18.5 billion would also be above the 1997 Budget allocation of RM17.3 billion. The total 1998 budget of RM64.1 billion would still be much higher than the total 1997 budget at RM59.9 billion.
I said that a very clear message that the government was serious about belt-tightening was to ensure that the 1998 Budget would be at least two per cent less than the 1997 budget, which would have meant a 1998 Federal Budget (operating plus development expenditure) of around RM58 billion.
My proposal that there must be an actual cutback in federal government spending next year as compared to the 1997 Budget except for essential expenditures affecting education and health was ignored at the time.
I therefore welcome the emergency financial package which would aim at a 18 per cent cutback in federal government spending next year, which would mean a cutback of at least RM11.6 billion from the 1998 budget of RM64.1 billion, so that the revised 1998 federal government spending would be in the region of RM52.5 billion - which would make it even lower than the original 1996 budget of RM55.4 billion.
The government however must ensure that the 18 per cent across the board cut in Federal operating and development expenditure does not hurt the poor especially in areas such as health, social welfare and education.
It is the upper echelons of the public service which should be made to bear the burden of the cutbacks in Federal expenditure. I therefore seek a clear-cut assurance from the Finance Minister that the cutbacks would not impose avoidable hardships on the poor and that the government would continue to invest in training and skills acquisition programmes which could bring long-term benefits to the country.
It is important, however, that the second 1998 budget which includes the emergency financial package announced on Friday and other austerity measures, should be properly enacted so as not to raise questions as to their propriety, legality or even constitutionality.
Parliament, for instance, should not be by-passed and MPs, whether government or opposition, should jealously guard the parliamentary prerogative to be the final authority in the land to decide on annual federal government spending.
As the 1998 Budget presented by Anwar to Parliament on Oct. 17 had not been approved by Parliament when the government announced last Friday a RM11.6 billion cutback of at least 18 per cent in the proposed 1998 Federal Government spending, the right and proper course would have been for Anwar to withdraw his original 1998 Budgetary proposals in Parliament and present a second 1998 budget which incorporates the RM11.6 billion cutback and other austerity measures.
There should be the fullest parliamentary debate on the second 1998 budget and at least four full days should be set aside for this purpose. This is why I have suggested an extension of the current meeting of Parliament by at least two weeks , to debate the need for an emergency second set of budgetary proposals to supplement the 1998 budget (as well as the proposed National Economic Action Council) and to allow MPs to do justice to the 13 government bills on the Parliamentary Order Paper awaiting debate and enactment.
I can understand that the emergency nature of the currency crisis last Friday demanded immediate remedial action. The crisis was sparked off by the announcement by the Prime Minister in Langkawi the previous day that Malaysia would proceed with the RM10 billion land bridge project linking northern peninsula and southern Thailand despite the ringgit's depreciation, raising the question as to the government's commitment in September to shelve or delay mega-projects.
As a result, there was another incident in the catalogue of self-inflicted haemorrhage of confidence on a day when Asian currencies rallied against the US dollar in reaction to the news that South Korea had finally secured agreement on a US$57 billion IMF-backed assistance package, except for the Malaysian ringgit. The ringgit went into a free-fall, touching an all time-low of 3.7300 on Thursday and 3.8650 at 4 p.m. on Friday, until the self-inflicted haemorrhage of confidence was stanched by Anwar with his announcement of the emergency financial package. Otherwise, the ringgit would have continued in its free fall and nobody would have been surprised if it should fall below US$1-RM4.00 level last Friday itself.
Of course, if Anwar had announced some of the measures of the emergency financial package very much earlier when the 1998 Budget had failed to restore confidence, then the ringgit's free-fall last Friday would not have occurred. We must admit that the financial disaster last Thursday and Friday was not inevitable, but preventable and avoidable.
Hope that the government has ended the "denial factor" and is ready to take Malaysians into its confidence that there is a full-blown economic crisis, with the Malaysian economy likely to get worse before it gets better
Anwar’s media conference last Friday announcing the emergency financial package was the first time in the past five months that the government had admitted that the country was facing an economic crisis and that the people would suffer a lot of pain before the economic crisis could be resolved.
Only last month, local editors were directed not to use the word "crisis" in the local mass media so as not to alarm Malaysians.
I hope the government has ended the "denial factor" phase of the economic crisis and is ready to take Malaysians into its confidence that there is a full-blown economic crisis, with the Malaysian economy likely to get worse before it gets better
Malaysians will remember that when Anwar presented the 1998 Budget in Parliament on October 17, Barisan Nasional leaders like the MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Ling Liong Sik and the Gerakan President, Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik competed with each other as to who could give the most superlative praise for Anwar’s budget as the "painless way to overcome current economic problems" and to boost confidence. Datuk Ling described it as "another good and caring budget".
In actual fact, the 1998 budget was a failure as it failed in its paramount task of restoring confidence in the economy. Immediately after the budget presentation, both the stock market and the ringgit continued in their downward slide, with the KLSE Composite Index falling from some 800 points to a low of 512 and the Malaysian ringgit falling from 2.72 to 3.8650 against the US dollar.
It is time that the government be open, frank and honest with Malaysians, tell the people that the country is in the thick of a grave economic crisis and that there is no way Malaysia can come out of the crisis without suffering a lot of pain, hardships and sacrifices.
When Dr. Tan Seng Giaw and I met the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in Langkawi on Saturday and exchanged views on the national economic crisis, we stressed that any austerity drive must not only be evenly spread among all Malaysians, regardless of rank or status, government leaders must be seen to be setting the example in belt-tightening. The government, however, has still to convey its seriousness that it is everyone who must be involved in the austerity campaign and not just the public at large.
This is why incidents like the RM6.3 million renovation in Selangor, RM5 million renovation for the Selangor Mentri Besar’s residence and RM1.3 million for the Mentri Besar's office, on the one hand, and the decision of the Tampin District Council to plunge the area into darkness by cutting off electricity supply for four hours every day from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. to save RM80,000 electricity bill a month, regardless of safety and security of the residents or law and order in the district, had sent very wrong signals nation-wide!
The Federal Government must communicate to both the Selangor and Negri Sembilan State Governments its extreme disapproval of such lopsided examples of austerity - and although the decision on the RM6.3 million renovation for the Selangor Mentri Besar's residence and office were decided before the economic crisis, it was such wasteful extravagance which were among the factors contributing to the present national crisis.
With the economic crisis, starting with the twin currency and stock market crisis, and worries that it would spread to the property and banking sectors, the government should have prepared the people to expect the Malaysian economy to get worse before it can get better.
Since the start of the economic crisis, the value of the Malaysian stock market has fallen by 55 per cent while the Malaysian ringgit has depreciated by more than 50 per cent when the Malaysian currency reached its all-time low of 3.8650 to a US dollar on Friday.
This means that RM100,000 in the stock market before the economic crisis would now be worth only RM45,000, and if this sum has to be converted into foreign currency, whether US dollar or British pound, it would be worth only RM22,500 as compared to its value before the economic crisis!
Before the economic crisis, a Malaysian parent can support two children studying overseas with RM100,000 a month. But now, this sum if invested in the stock market, hit by both the stock market and ringgit crisis, cannot even support one person studying overseas for half a month as it has shrivelled to 22.5 % of its previous value and would be worth only RM22,500 when converted into US dollar or British pound. This illustrates the gravity of the financial crisis faced by all Malaysians with children studying overseas!
This, however, is not the only adverse consequence of the national economic crisis. After the Gongxi Raya next month, the prices of essential commodities would increase, with reported 35% increase for sugar and 40% increase for flour, threatening a new inflationary spiral in the country - which will bring great hardships to the poor and the fixed-income groups, like pensioners.
Can we ensure that latest by the year 2,000, Malaysia would be in full economic revival?
During the parliamentary debate on the 1998 budget, the government and Barisan Nasional backenchers put up a false front, refusing to acknowledge that the country was facing a grave economic crisis, which had been aggravated by many self-inflicted wounds of the government, whether of commission or omission. The whole gravity of the national economic crisis was further trivialised when Parliament was transformed into a 10-minute Parliament, with MPs limited to 10 minutes each during the Budget debate on the various Ministry allocations.
I will give one example to illustrate the government's "denial syndrome" which led it to Parliament being used to downplay the gravity of the economic crisis. The Prime Minister has gone all over the world to make use of every available international forum to highlight the iniquities of currency manipulators, pointing out that US$30 billion (RM108 billion) had been "stolen" from Malaysians as a result of the currency crisis.
In Parliament however, government leaders take a different line. Last week, for instance, during the debate on the Foreign Ministry allocations for the 1998 budget, when the DAP MP for Kepong, Dr. Tan Seng Giaw, referred to the US$30 billion (RM108 billion) loss suffered by Malaysians as a result of the currency crisis, the Deputy Finance Minister, Datuk Dr. Affifuddin Omar interjected to say that this was "mere paper loss".
The contradictory versions by government leaders about the US$30 billion (RM108 billion) losses suffered by Malaysians as a result of the currency crisis, raising the question as to whether it is a genuine or a mere paper loss, shows that the government has still to grasp with the problem of tackling the perceptions related to investor confidence in Malaysia and that unlike other countries like Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea, Malaysia is not yet prepared to end all brave talk and to "bite the bullet" to adopt painful financial and macroeconomic adjustments and reforms so that Malaysia can be put on track towards economic recovery and revival.
Parliament must make amends. Let all MPs, whether government or opposition, face up to the stark reality that Malaysians and the real economy are going to suffer great pain, hardships and even suffering in the coming months.
The question is how long the economic crisis is going to last – two, three or more years, and what has to be done by the government and the people to ensure that the economic crisis is the shortest possible, that latest by the year 2,000, Malaysia would be in full economic revival.
The government must realise that finally it is the people’s unity and commitment which can turn the economic crisis around – and this is why the government must be prepared to listen to the views, concerns, hopes and fears of the people as expressed through their MPs in Parliament.
Ministers must end the "denial syndrome" and stop pinning all the blames for our national economic crisis on external factors, refusing to acknowledge the series of avoidable self-inflicted wounds, whether the 100 "designated securities", the establishment of a RM60 billion fund to prop up the stock market, the threat of the use of the Internal Security Act against financial analysts and journalists writing unfavourable reports about the Malaysian economy, arbitrary interpretation of trading rules by the FIC, intemperate outbursts by the Prime Minister in international forums although knowing they would have the effect of causing a collapse of the currency and the stock market, the UEM-Renong deal and the take-over of Bakun dam project by the government, the latest being RM10 billion land bridge project announcement.
Government Ministers should also stop claiming that there were nothing wrong with government policies, claiming that the same policies had made the country's economy robust with strong fundamentals.
We do not seem to want to learn from the lessons of other countries, like South Korea where the same policies which had enabled it to achieve a meteoric rise from a war-torn nation to the world's 11th largest economic powerhouse, with a gross domestic product larger than Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia combined, earning South Korean admission into the exclusive ranks of the world's rich nations' club, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) last December, has transformed the Asian Tiger into an Asian beggar with a unprecedented US$57 billion IMF bail-out.
We cannot just blame George Soros for every deterioration of our economic crisis, whether it be the bloodbath in the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange after the UEM-Renong deal which proved to be a national catastrophe or the free fall of the Malaysian ringgit after Mahathir's land-bridge announcement.
While Malaysia should continue to press in world forums for international rules to regulate the global currency markets, our topmost agenda must be to stop the downward slide of the ringgit and the stock market and to get the national economic recovery seriously back on track.
The single greatest challenge today is for Malaysia to end the five-month long non-stop haemorrhage of confidence, embark on a programme of restoring confidence through financial, economic and political reforms by uniting Malaysians to take some of the IMF bitter medicine without having to seek IMF bail-out such as crack down on corruption and cronyism, government and corporate transparency.
I told Mahathir during our meeting in Langkawi on Saturday that one of the reasons why the government has not been able to restore confidence is the problem of information deficit. The tragedy about the information deficit in Malaysia is that Malaysians now depend on foreign mass media for news, analysis and information on the Malaysian economic crisis, with the local media treated with great skepticism - although some foreign mass media often contain misleading reports.
The Government should stop treating Malaysians as if they are children who could not handle bad news. Malaysians should be trusted as capable of handling such bad news and to exercise judgement as to what to believe. The authorities should realise that there is nothing worse than manipulating or suppressing such "bad news", which is not only impossible in this era of Information Technology, but would give such "bad news" even greater currency, credibility and weight - which would be completely counter-productive to the paramount objective of restoring confidence during the economic crisis.
In fact, the government, if it is sincere and serious about wanting Malaysia to be in the forefront of information revolution, should start dismantling the restraints on press freedom to allow for the emergence of a more democratic polity.
The DAP supports the government's stand not to seek IMF help as an IMF bail-out would tantamout to Malaysia surrendering her national sovereignty as well as having to accept terms which would be very harsh and unacceptable in disregarding social justice for the people. However, Malaysia must be able to prescribe and take some of the bitter medicine IMF would have prescribed such as financial and economic reforms as well as greater government and corporate transparency and an all-out war against corruption - in other words, IMF bitter medicine without IMF.
It has rightly been said that in nearly every economic crisis, the cause is political, not economic. The most important question, therefore, is whether the government has the political will to carry out financial, economic and political reforms to overcome the economic crisis.
Anwar announced last Friday that there would be no bail-out of troubled companies. Although the stock market rebounded strongly this morning, registering a 87.7 point jump in the KLSE CI, closing at 695.10 at the close of this morning's trading, and which ended the day’s trading with an increase of 69.07 points concluding at 676.47, whether this rally could be sustained would depend on whether the government is prepared to fully "bite the bullet" and to take all the "bitter medicine" to restore the economic health of the nation.
For instance, Malaysians would like to know whether there would be any bail-out of the 27-year-old "economic wonder-boy" who, without any corporate background or experience, could embark on a RM1.2 billion corporate acquisitions depending on the support of his "uncles".
To convince Malaysians that the government is now prepared to abandon the "denial syndrome" and to bite the bullet, it should announce a comprehensive package of measures, including:
Cancellation of the RM60 billion Fund announced in September to prop up share prices;
Cancellation and not just postponement of mega-projects, like the Northern Regional International Airport, the Malaysia-Sumatra bridge, the Kuala Lumpur Linear City and the Camerons-Gentings-Fraser Hill Highlands Highway, which together cost over RM50 billion.
Suspend the repeal of the Rent Control Act until after the end of the economic crisis.
All-out war against corruption with the immediate enforcement of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997.
Review the New Economic Policy (NEP).
Ensure that the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) is a nationally unifying force to spearhead national economic recovery by undertaking financial, economic and political reforms which are necessary for the success of any national revival plan and to allow the NEAC to deal with the causes and not just the symptoms of the national economic crisis.
During our meeting in Langkawi, Mahathir told Seng Giaw and me that the government has no intention to have Opposition parties represented in the NEAC, which would be chaired by him, with Anwar as deputy chairman, and membership comprising the economic ministers and representatives from various sectors of society.
As I understand it, the NEAC would be a hybrid Council, having the executive powers of the Cabinet though it would have to report periodically to Cabinet on measures to address the national economic crisis. Cabinet Ministers have clearly fallen down on their responsibility as national stewards, to the extent that another body has to be appointed to share and even supersede Cabinet responsibilities. The time has clearly come for a major Cabinet reshuffle, for the infusion of new blood into a Cabinet, and the replacement of several Ministers who seem to be quite lost in a fast-changing world brought about by information technology and globalisation.
Finally, whatever the final powers and structure of the NEAC, this council must be answerable to Parliament, and a mechanism must be established to formalise such a relationship of accountability to Parliament by the NEAC.
(8/12/97)
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Mohad Zahir and Rais Yatim are both wrong in the constitutional controversy and muddle over the appointment of Gani as the new Attorney-General and both should apologise to Parliament and the nation for their double mistakes
(Penang, Tuesday): I am flabbergasted by the bald claim of “I am right” by the Speaker, Tun Mohamed Zahir Ismail when he was asked by the DAP Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Kerk Kim Hock in Parliament yesterday on his summary rejection in chambers of DAP MP for Seputeh, Teresa Kok’s motion of urgent, definite public importance last week on the constitutionality and propriety of Datuk Abdul Gani Patail’s appointment as the new Attorney-General and the statement by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Dr. Rais Yatim to Malaysiakini that the Speaker was “not privy to the constitutional procedures undertaken by the government in the appointment of the new attorney general” when rejecting Kok’s motion.
If Rais was right, then Zahir was wrong in making two assumptions as the basis for rejecting Kok’s motion, viz: firstly, that Gani has not yet been appointed the new Attorney-General and secondly, that the Prime Minister has not yet invoked Article 145(1) of the Constitution to advise the King on the appointment of the
new Attorney-General - as the Speaker used the term “sedang dibuat” instead of “telah dibuat” to describe the process under Article 145(1).
However, Rais has insisted that his announcement of 19th November 2001 on the appointment of Gani as the new Attorney-General was right, proper and valid, that the Speaker was mistaken in his views as he was “not privy to the constitutional procedures undertaken by the government in the appointment of the new attorney general”, stressing:
“There is no confusion (over the appointment). The appointment of Abdul Gani as announced before will go on. I do not think that the speaker was privy to the procedures.”
The constitutional muddle and conundrum about the constitutionality and propriety of the appointment of Abdul Gani as the new Attorney-General, and whether such an appointment has actually been made in accordance with Articles 38(6) and 145(1) of the Constitution, cannot be resolved like a school-children’s spat depending on who has a louder voice with a stronger knuckle to have the last chest-thumping say of “I am right!”
Zahir and Rais are both degrading a momentous issue of great constitutional and national importance - with Zahir declaring in Parliament yesterday that Rais was wrong as “According to the parliamentary meeting procedures, I am right" while Rais insists outside Parliament that it was Zahir who was wrong as he was not privy to the constitutional procedures undertaken by the government in the appointment of the new attorney general.
Actually, Zahir and Rais are both right in that they were both wrong on the momentous constitutional issue of the appointment of the new Attorney-General.
Zahir was right when he claimed that “According to the parliamentary meeting procedures, I am right", as under the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders, the Speaker’s ruling in Parliament is final unless it is overturned by a substantive motion in the House to review the decision, which is virtually impossible to do as illustrated by Kok’s new substantive motion under Standing Order 43 to review and overturn the Speaker’s decision to reject her earlier motion - as her substantive motion will never see the light of day and will not be given time for debate!
Rais was also right when said the Speaker was “not privy to the constitutional procedures undertaken by the government in the appointment of the new attorney general”.
But Zahir was wrong when he sought to arrogate to himself the power and right to pronounce on any subject in the country, for his power to make “final and conclusive” rulings as Speaker is confined only to the four walls of Parliament and limited to the interpretation of any of the Standing Orders or upon any matter of practice, and not an absolute power and unfettered right to make pronouncements on anything under the sun - in any event, the Speaker’s power is subject to review and repudiation by the House by way of a substantive motion.
Thus, when Zahir rejected Kok’s motion on the ground that the Yang di Pertuan Agong had not yet appointed Gani as the new Attorney-General and that the Prime Minister had not advised the King on this appointment under Article 45(1), the Speaker was not interpreting any Dewan Rakyat Standing Order or parliamentary practice.
Under the circumstances, he should not rely on his interpretation, understanding or guess-work about the constitutional provision and convention surrounding Article 45(1), but must base his decision solely on the facts of the case - whether Gani had been appointed the new Attorney-General by the Yang di Pertuan Agong and if not, whether such advice for the appointment had been tendered to the King by the Prime Minister under Article 45(1) - a pure question of yes or no, and not what should have been!
The Speaker should not have plucked from “thin air” assumptions as to what had happened in the controversy over the appointment of Gani as the new Attorney-General to reject Kok’s motion, but must be informed of the actual situation by the Prime Minister’s Department - which can only be from Rais, the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister.
The fact that Rais could openly declare that the Speaker was not “privy to the constitutional procedures” in the appointment of the new Attorney-General is confirmation that the reasons given by the Speaker in rejecting Kok’s motion were fatally flawed unless Zahir could say that he was informed by none other than the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister!
Zahir had completely misconstrued his role as Speaker in entering the ring of Parliament as a “player” when he should be holding the ring like an impartial and independent referee to ensure that the parliamentary players, whether Barisan Nasional, Barisan Alternative or DAP keep to the rules of the game.
But Rais was also wrong in insisting that his announcement of November 19, 2001 on the appointment of Gani as the new Attorney-General immediately after Datuk Seri Ainum Mohd Saaid had met him for 35 minutes with her letter of resignation was proper, valid and constitutional.
This was because there was no way Article 145(1), not to mention Article 38(6), of the Constitution could be complied with to permit Rais to validly and legally make the announcement of the appointment of a new Attorney-General on the very same day as Ainum’s submission of her resignation without showing utter contempt to the Constitution, the Yang di Pertuan Agong and even the Conference of Rulers, as the various actions that must be taken under the Constitution to appoint the new Attorney-General after Ainum had submitted her resignation to Rais include at least the following seven separate steps:
the formal acceptance of Ainum’s resignation by the proper authority as Rais is not the proper authority;
the selection of the new Attorney-General, which must not be an arbitrary or fickle decision but a deliberate consultative process based on informed criteria in keeping with the principles of accountability and transparency;
Cabinet advised of the Prime Minister’s selection;
Conference of Rulers informed of the resignation and vacancy of the office of Attorney-General so that it is at liberty to tender “advice on any appointment” under Article 38(6)(b) of the Constitution.
the tendering of the Prime Minister’s advice to the Yang di Pertuan Agong;
the acceptance of the advice by the Yang di Pertuan Agong; and finally,
the appointment of the new Attorney-General by the Yang di Pertuan Agong.
It is just unthinkable that all these seven steps, not to mention others, could be completed and complied with in the short time between Rais’ receiving Ainum’s letter of resignation and his press conference on the same day to announce Gani’s appointment as the new Attorney-General. The Conference of Rulers, for instance, had not met during this period and would only meet on December 12 to, among other things, elect the new Yang di Pertuan Aong.
Both Zahir and Rais are therefore wrong in their actions, positions and claims in the constitutional controversy, muddle and conundrum over the appointment of Gani as the new Attorney-General and both should apologise to Parliament and the nation for their double mistakes.
This is why the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad should end the most unseemly constitutional muddle which has been compounded by the double wrongs committed by Rais and Zahir, by confirming that the decision to appoint a new Attorney-General to succeed Ainum is still an open and not a closed subject.
Mahathir should reconsider his intention to appoint Gani as the highest law officer of the land as never before in the nation’s history has the proposed appointment of the new Attorney-General plunged the country into a new crisis of confidence in the system of justice in Malaysia.
There had been the past example of an Attorney-General leaving office under a cloud, but never before had there been a single case of an Attorney-General assuming office under a cloud!
In these circumstances, the Prime Minister and all Cabinet Ministers should place public confidence in the administration of justice above all other considerations and decide whether justice and the national interests could be served in proceeding with the intention to appoint Gani as the new Attorney-General.
In such a review, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet should seek the widest consultation of views from all sectors of society, in particular the Judiciary, the Bar Council, Parliamentarians, political leaders and representatives of the civil society.
I find it most shocking that up to now, the Bar Council had been conspicuously silent on the issue of the appointment of a new Attorney-General, which is not only most uncharacteristic of the Bar Council but at variance with its professional and statutory duties to protect and promote the cause of justice, and in particular, to ensure the uninterrupted restoration of a just rule of law and a truly independent judiciary in Malaysia. It is time for the Bar Council to speak up!
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Michigan Institute of Urology News Headlines
MELVILLE, N.Y. – FOR years, research on prostate cancer has sought an approach to screening that is more individualized than a one-size-fits-all measurement of the level of prostate-specific antigen in a man’s blood. These efforts are now paying off.
That’s why it’s time to re-evaluate the nation’s current approach to prostate cancer. Even though we anticipate 221,000 new diagnoses this year, and 28,000 deaths, recommendations drafted in 2010 and finalized in 2012 strongly discourage PSA screening men without symptoms for this disease.
Those decisions didn’t take into account adaptations that urologists have made to help better identify patients likely to develop deadly prostate cancers. Some tools, called PSA derivatives, were being developed as early as the mid-1990s, and all have been refined since.
The Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MUSIC) recently earned a Best of Blue Clinical Distinction Award from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. MUSIC was selected from more than 30 entries from Blues plans across the nation to receive the top honor for clinical programs that improve quality and outcomes.
Michigan Institute of Urology Offers Exclusive BPH Treatment in Michigan
MIU Rezum Cryotherapy Pressrelease
Prostate Cancer Survivorship Event
MIU is proud to be the first urology clinic in the state to offer state of the art treatment with the use of MonaLisa Touch®
MIU’s James Relle awarded UroLift Center of Excellence Designation
Now available at Michigan Institute of Urology, UroCuff; a simple. painless and non-invasive diagnostic test for male urinary disorders. Read more here
MIU’s Dr. Jason Hafron discusses his use of the most advanced treatments to help men with prostate cancer with CBS News
The Leading Edge of Urologic Care
© Michigan Institute of Urology, P.C.
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This site works better with Javascript
On Ice - Honor Stats
Member of Stanley Cup Champions Dallas Stars (1999)
Named the Dallas Professional Athlete of the Year by the Dallas All-Sports Association in June (1998)
Was awarded the Tom Landry Award of Excellence in Volunteerism by UCP in (1998)
Member of Team USA Olympic squad (1998 & 2002)
Named NHL Player of the Month for March and October (1997)
Selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game but could not due to injury (1994, 1997)
Member of World Cup Champions Team USA (1996)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1993, 1998, 1999, 2000)
Named to NHL All-Rookie team (1989-90)
privacy policy : Copyright © 2000-2002 Mike Modano Foundation All rights reserved.
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USA. 2015.
Director – Kenneth Branagh, Screenplay – Chris Weitz, Producers – David Barron, Simon Kinberg & Allison Shearmur, Photography – Haris Zambarloukos, Music – Patrick Doyle, Visual Effects Supervisor – Charley Henley, Visual Effects – MPC (Supervisor – Patrick Ledda) & Rodeo Visual Effects Company, Special Effects Supervisor – David Watkins, Makeup Design – Naomi Donne, Production Design – Dante Ferretti. Production Company – Disney/Allison Shearmur/Beaglepug/Kinberg Genre.
Lily James (Cinderella), Richard Madden (Prince/Kit), Cate Blanchett (Lady Tremaine), Sophie McShera (Drizella Tremaine), Holliday Grainger (Anastasia Tremaine), Stellan Skarsgård (Grand Duke), Derek Jacobi (The King), Helena Bonham Carter (Fairy Godmother), Nonso Anozie (Captain), Ben Chaplin (Cinderella’s Father), Hayley Atwell (Cinderella’s Mother), Eloise Webb (Young Cinderella), Rob Brydon (Master Phineas)
Young Ella grows up with loving parents and is shattered when her mother dies. As Ella grows into adulthood, her father takes a new wife in Lady Tremaine who moves into the house with her two self-absorbed daughters Drizella and Anastasia. Ella’s father then dies of an illness while away on a business trip. Lady Tremaine can only think of how this means financial ruin for her. The servants are dismissed and Ella is forced to act as domestic help. She is banished to the attic where her only friends are the mice and animals she talks to. The sisters nickname her Cinderella because of the ashes from the fireplace smudged on her face. One day, Ella is in the woods and meets the prince, thinking him merely a servant at the palace. They are both charmed by one another and he heeds her request to spare the deer he and his men hunt. Captivated by her, he holds a ball to find a wife, asking all in the land to come in the hope that she will be there. However, Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters, who intend to snag the prince for themselves, refuse to let Ella go and tear up the dress she has made for herself. Left behind, Ella is surprised by the appearance of her Fairy Godmother who transforms a pumpkin into a coach and Ella’s mice and lizard friends into attendants. Ella makes a stunning entrance to the ball and charms the prince. However, the requirement of the spell is that she leave by midnight and she flees, leaving behind only one of her glass slippers. The prince then sets out to search the land to find who will fit the slipper. However, Lady Tremaine is determined to prevent this and locks Ella away.
The fairytale adaptation has found a new life in the 2010s where it has been repurposed as a series of dark fantasies for adults with the likes of Red Riding Hood (2011), Mirror Mirror (2012), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013), Jack the Giant Slayer (2013), Beauty and the Beast (2014), Into the Woods (2014) and Maleficent (2014), as well as the tv series Grimm (2011-7), Once Upon a Time (2011-8) and Beauty and the Beast (2012-6).
This version has been placed in the hands of Kenneth Branagh. Born in Ireland, Branagh rose through the ranks of the Royal Shakespeare Company, making his name as an actor on British television during the 1980s and then exploding out onto cinema screens with his dynamic adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Henry V (1989), which saw him nominated for Oscars as both Best Director and Best Actor in his directorial debut. Branagh has been a frontline name as an actor since then and has made a number of films as a director, returning to Shakespeare several times with the likes of Much Ado About Nothing (2003), Hamlet (1996), Love’s Labor Lost (2000) and As You Like It (2006). He has directed a number of other works including the reincarnation film Dead Again (1991), his own version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994), a modernised adaptation of the Mozart opera The Magic Flute (2006), the remake of Sleuth (2007), the Marvel Comics superhero film Thor (2011), the reboot of the Tom Clancy spy series Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), the remake of Murder on the Orient Express (2017) and the Young Adult adaptation Artemis Fowl (2020). The surprising name on the script is that of Chris Weitz who, along with his older brother Paul, was co-writer of Antz (1998) and went onto the enormously successful American Pie (1999) directed by Paul. As a directing team, the Weitz’s made Down to Earth (2001) and About a Boy (2002), as well as co-wrote The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000). Chris made his solo directorial debut with the fantasy film The Golden Compass (2007) and then went onto the Twilight sequel New Moon (2009).
Cinderella (Lily James) arrives at the ball by coach
As the dark fantasy fairytale films of the 2010s made their way through the classics, it was inevitable that Cinderella would get adapted. It, after all, holds the record as the one story that has been adapted to the screen the greatest number of times. The IMDB tells me that the character of Cinderella has been played by 208 different actresses. These run the gamut from two different versions from Georges Melies back in the 1890s/1900s, a 1914 version with Mary Pickford, The Glass Slipper (1955) with Leslie Caron, the musical The Slipper and the Rose (1976) with Richard Chamberlain, to modernised updatings like If the Shoe Fits (1991), A Cinderella Story (2004) and After the Ball (2015), the sex-reversed Jerry Lewis comedy Cinderfella (1960), the wittily deconstructed EverAfter (1998) and the awful comic take Ella Enchanted (2004), as well as Cinderella turning up as a character in fairytale crossovers such as The 10th Kingdom (2000), the Shrek films, Once Upon a Time and Into the Woods. There has even been Cinderella Moon (2010), a version that takes place in China, and adult versions like Grimm’s Fairy Tales for Adults (1970), Cinderella (1977) and Cinderella 2000 (1977). The most celebrated version amongst these is probably the Disney version Cinderella (1950), which I would argue is not one of their greater classics, but has attained that position in many people’s minds.
There is a certain problem seeing Cinderella conducted as a dark adult fairytale. Many of the other tales lend themselves to it – Beauty and the Beast is a dark romance, Red Riding Hood readily lends itself to being a werewolf story, Hansel and Gretel with the witch trying to eat children is a horror story waiting to be told, Snow White with its sinister stepmother attempting murder and sorcery is another. On the other hand, Cinderella is very much a feelgood tale – its arc is that of the downtrodden girl whose purity of heart triumphs over mean-spiritedness and has riches and the hand of the prince delivered to her doorstep. It is not a dark romance, nor filled with horror elements, it is a tale that offers a sweetly uplifting belief in goodness, pure-heartedness and true love winning out. There is very little in it you can deconstruct or turn on its head without severely disrupting the central arc of the story.
Cinderella (Lily James) and Prince Charming (Richard Madden)
That is why Kenneth Branagh and Chris Weitz stay with the basics. They tell the story is surprisingly traditional ways, doing almost nothing to change any of the elements or show them with a darker spin. Indeed, it becomes a stretch to classify Cinderella among the run of dark adult fairytales. The surprise is that Branagh and Weitz conduct this version as a remake of the 1950 Disney version. This leaves Cinderella sitting among the spate of live-action remakes of Disney properties that we have had in the last few years – see the likes of The Jungle Book (1994), 101 Dalmatians (1996) and the subsequent The Jungle Book (2016), Pete’s Dragon (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Mary Poppins Returns (2018), Aladdin (2019), Dumbo (2019), Lady and the Tramp (2019) and The Lion King (2019). The most obvious influence is of course the live-action Maleficent, which was not another version of Sleeping Beauty so much as a reinterpretation of the Disney version Sleeping Beauty (1959). The plot here closely adheres to the 1950 film – retaining the names given to the two stepsisters; elements like Cinderella talking to the animals that are later transformed into her attendants by the Fairy Godmother; and the climactic scenes where she is locked away in the attic by the Wicked Stepmother so as to prevent her from being found during the Prince’s quest for the wearer of the glass slipper. The version even retains the use of the song Bippity-Boppity-Boo.
The problem that Cinderella has is that it is such a well-told tale that every aspect of the story is familiar to any member of the audience over the age of ten. The experience of watching is akin to sitting through a performance of a Shakespearean play where you can recite the lines by rote. There is a sense of familiarity to almost every aspect of the film as the script strikes off beat after beat without varying from the standard. The question then is what can a new version of the story offer to an audience that is different to any other telling in the past. The answer would seem to lie in looking at Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespeare adaptations – there he was working with stories that were familiar through centuries-repeated retellings but managed to enliven them over previous film versions by taking them away from being merely filmed stage plays and giving them glorious cinematic life.
The Wicked Stepmother (Cate Blanchett) (c) and Wicked Stepsisters – Sophie McShera (l) and Holliday Grainger (r)
Similarly here, Branagh gives us a beautifully cinematic Cinderella. The scenes in the father’s house are exquisitely dressed and costumed – the camera’s wanderings through each of the rooms are like mini-masterpieces of English country home interior decoration. When it comes to the palace scenes, Branagh loves the pageantry of the guards lined up in uniform and the courtiers in formal dress, or gives us romantic interludes in beautifully laid-out gardens. The ball becomes a wonderful cinematic piece set up solely for Lily James’s resplendent entrance. The result is an adaptation that moves well, looks good and stirs the emotions in all the places it should. It doesn’t have quite enough of these elements to be a great film but by the same token is by no means an unenjoyable airing of the familiar either.
Amongst the cast, Lily James has a plain beauty as Cinderella. The film outfits her with costuming, hair and makeup so that the part comes to life. On the other hand, she never feels like someone filling the part in the way that makes the romance soar, the emotions come off the screen, or you cheer on her fire and spunk. As the Wicked Stepmother, Cate Blanchett takes the opportunity to chew the scenery in grand fashion – in one of its more original touches, the script even outfits her with intriguing pieces of back motivation. The one who owns the show however is Branagh’s former girlfriend Helena Bonham Carter who gives an appealingly quirky and eccentric airing of the role of the Fairy Godmother in the way only she can.
(Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett), Best Supporting Actress (Helena Bonham Carter) and Best Cinematography at this site’s Best of 2015 Awards).
Trailer here
Actors: Lily James, Richard Madden, Cate Blanchett, Sophie McShera, Holliday Grainger, Stellan Skarsgård, Derek Jacobi, Helena Bonham Carter, Nonso Anozie, Ben Chaplin, Hayley Atwell, Eloise Webb, Rob Brydon
Themes: Fairytales, Romance, Fairies, Magic Spells, Animal Transformation, Animation in Live-Action, Films of 2015
Maleficent (2014)
Thor (2011)
Barbie of Swan Lake (2003)
Dead Again (1991)
Mowgli (2018)
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)
Descendants (2015)
Attack on Titan (2015)
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A New Digital Land Grab Has Begun—But Only If You Have An Arabic, Russian, Or Chinese Dictionary
Leo Mirani | Quartz | October 24, 2013
“Today marks an historic moment, not only for the New gTLD Program, but for the Internet as a whole,” wrote Akram Atallah of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in a blog post last night. ICANN is a body that oversees the domain naming system that enables navigation around the web—it’s how computers know where to go when you type in qz.com.
OpenSpecimen Streamlines Management of Biospecimen Data
By Srikanth Adiga | March 13, 2015
OpenSpecimen is an open source biobanking informatics platform that permits users to enter and retrieve data concerning the collection, storage, quality assurance, and distribution of biospecimens. Its most important feature is the ability to collect high-quality, standards-based data specific to a disease or set of study requirements. OpenSpecimen, previously known as caTissue, was initially developed with U.S. National Cancer Institute funding under the caBIG program. When the caBIG program closed down in 2011, Krishagni Solutions continued the development and support of caTissue while maintaining the open source nature of the product. In 2014, Krishagni renamed the product to OpenSpecimen to indicate that the product can support any disease (i.e. not just cancer) and any specimen type (i.e. not just tissue)...
Plan VI - OSEHRA Launching Internationalized Version of VistA
Press Release | OSEHRA | August 28, 2018
OSEHRA is pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative to create an internationalized version of the VistA Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. Originally developed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VistA is periodically released to the public via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and enhanced by the OSEHRA community to create OSEHRA VistA, an open source resource for the entire EHR community. The internationalization effort, dubbed Plan VI, aims to expand VistA capability by making it compatible with various different languages and creating a reference implementation for global use.
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Natural gas becomes something Mexico, US can agree on as capacity soars
By: Javier E. David | CNBC
The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is confronting two major policy challenges with Mexico in the form of tighter immigration controls and potential NAFTA renegotiation.
However, there's something already flowing across the border that is proving its weight in gold to both countries.
Vast amounts of U.S. natural gas, a product of the shale revolution, is being shipped in increasing capacity to feed Mexico's burgeoning nat gas demand. In the wake of its 2013 energy reforms, the country has been gradually reshaping its oil and gas sector, with much of its energy needs being met by its neighbor to the north.
Last year, Mexico's Energy Ministry set a goal to triple its gas imports from the U.S. over five years, as part of a plan to bolster its own energy infrastructure. Among developed nations, U.S. nat gas prices are by far the least expensive. In a recent report, the International Energy Agency said the globalizing of the natural gas market will eventually make U.S. prices "a global reference point."
Citing Mexico's growing energy needs, the Energy Information Administration said this week that U.S. pipeline capacity to ship nat gas exports south of the border stood at 7.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) — which may double within the next few years.
The U.S. shipped more than 1.7 trillion cubic feet of nat gas in 2015, most of that via pipeline, with Mexico absorbing around 1 trillion of that amount, EIA data show — a sum that's nearly tripled since 2010.
"The expansion of the U.S. cross-border pipeline network into Mexico has been driven primarily by strong growth in Mexico's natural gas demand in the power sector, declining domestic production and the lower prices of U.S. pipeline gas compared with more expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports," the EIA wrote in a blog post on its website.
Just from Texas's Eagle Ford shale formation alone, natural gas shipments to Mexico are projected to hit 3.4 bc/f a day by 2020, according to a 2015 report by the Texas Railroad Commission. It's part of the world's largest economy's rapid transformation into an energy superpower — a path that got a big jolt earlier this year when the U.S. began shipping LNG abroad for the first time ever.
The dynamic is such that U.S. energy producers, on pace to churn out more than 77 bcf/d in natural gas collectively this year, have eagerly embraced Mexico buying U.S. natural gas — even in the face of brewing battles over NAFTA and border security.
"Shipping gas to Mexico creates jobs in the U.S. ... it's good for the U.S. economy for Mexico to be buying our gas," said Joel Moser, founder and CEO of Aquamarine Investment Partners, an investment and private equity firm. He enumerated several reasons why Mexico is an attractive target for U.S. shale gas.
"While we could probably use all that gas for our own energy needs, we don't have the vast pipeline network," Moser said. "Mexico is physically contiguous and there's pipeline infrastructure ... so there's no surprise they're becoming net buyers of this resource."
The EIA noted that the build-out of domestic pipeline export capacity to Mexico is being met by the country's own expansion of its gas infrastructure. U.S. pipeline exports to Mexico "have increased significantly over the past several years, and are beginning to gradually displace Mexico's LNG imports," the agency added.
Shipping in nat gas via pipeline is a more attractive and cost-effective proposition than converting it to liquid.
The economics of LNG storage and shipment are daunting, and the cost of creating new facilities frequently run in the tens of billions of dollars. Data from the International Gas Union showed that the average unit cost of creating new LNG import capacity nearly doubled between 2010 and 2014.
As a consequence, energy experts project the U.S. to continue to be an immediate beneficiary of Mexico's energy needs, even though constructing new pipelines come with their own set of problems.
"Mexico's economy has grown, it has a huge population and there's a lot going on," said Moser. "While there's shale gas in Mexico too, people are trying to figure out how to exploit it ... and we've got a lot more natural gas than they do."
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Discussion: Wilderness Survival, For Dummies?
I particularly enjoyed last weeks discussion about the effect the journey has on the destination. This week though, I'd like to ponder staged "wilderness survival" in the vein of Man vs. Wild and Suriviorman. Long before the popularity of these shows when I worked in a bookstore, I noted impractical survival books always sold better than practical backpacking books. There seems to be something romantic to those of us of the north american persuasion about going out and being self sufficient in the woods. Unlike hiking and backpacking though it seems to have less to do with a reverence for nature and more to do with the joy of self-reliance.
This past March a man died attempting to follow what he had seen on TV which raises many serious ethical questions on the subject of putting yourself in survival situations intentionally. Do people craving adventure in their lives put themselves in "survival situations" just to fill that void? What interest does "surviving" in the wilderness have to you?
This Week in the Backcountry
Tuesday: Hikers Guide to Weather and Clouds
Wednesday: How-To: Summer Backpacking Checklist
Thursday: Redwood National Park: Trillium Falls Trail
Randy August 30, 2010 at 8:26 PM
I understand your point about practicality vs. sensationalism, if that’s the right word. But I like some of these shows. I have noticed this year these types of shows include new disclaimers about having support, and that sometimes they are presented with situations in order to demonstrate techniques. But that’s just being honest. I always consider them to be interesting, but primarily entertainment. I think its fine to learn a few things, even though I would never tempt fate by intentionally placing myself in danger. Bottom line, “don’t try this at home”. But people do all kinds of crazy things after seeing movies, or TV, or listening to music, or other media. I don’t think the show, or an artist, can be responsible for that. I will be watching my favorites.
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A Bakewell Media Publication
Home News Lynching Memorial Draws 100,000 Visitors in First 3 Months
Rev. Jackson Discusses Voter Suppression, Trump Victory and Moving Forward
Published on Thursday, 15 December 2016 14:41
Written by Brandon I Brooks
By Brandon I Brooks
“We have to keep going,” said Reverend Jesse Jackson to all those anxious about the coming Donald Trump era in the United States.
“Deep water doesn’t make you drown. You drown because you stop kicking.”
Jackson spoke to the Sentinel/L.A. Watts Times recently about the factors contributing to Trump’s victory and the strategies needed to navigate through the pending administration’s potentially harmful policies.
“[Hillary Clinton] had a two and a half million vote margin victory,” Jackson told the Sentinel.
“Yet, the loser won and the winner lost because of something called the electoral college, a group of overseers of the popular vote. If this were in South Africa or Mexico, or Britain or France and the loser had a two and a half million vote win and yet the loser won, it would be incomprehensible.
“The rules must be changed. We must wipe out the electoral college. It has no useful function in today’s world of one person one vote…”
Widespread voter suppression tactics were also a contributing factor, Jackson said.
“They may come in the form of voter ID. They may come in the form of only one day to vote,” he explained.
“Take a state like California or Pennsylvania you only have one day to vote. Given the distance that people have to travel to work in California… many people leave (for work) before the polls open or come home after the polls are closed. That is a form of voter suppression. Making precincts less accessible is also a form of voter suppression.”
Trump he said, spent lots of time accusing Democrats of voter fraud but no evidence of fraud was ever found. However, there was plenty of evidence pointing to voter suppression tactics. These tactics chip away at the civil rights African Americans and other minorities fought so hard for in this country.
“We got the right to vote in 1965 for the first time in 85 years,” said Jackson.
“But we’ve been denied the protected right to vote. The crown jewel of [the African American] struggle is the protected right to vote. But in Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Michigan [during this election] there was voter suppression.
“We want the protected right to vote.”
And, the first issue when it comes to that Jackson explained, is Trump’s potential pick for attorney general, Jeff Sessions.
“The attorney general determines, voting, women’s rights, workers’ right to organize…,” Jackson said.
Sessions, a four-term Alabama Republican has been described as a “hard-liner” on free trade and immigration, arguing that prospective immigrants don't have constitutional protections. He has opposed efforts to overhaul prison sentencing, back off the war on drugs and legalize marijuana.
“We must protest vigorously against Jeff Sessions.,” he said.
“He has made it very clear that he does not support the voting rights act. We cannot have an attorney general who is against the voting rights act, arguing the case to diminish it in front of the Supreme Court.”
In addition to the AG issue, Jackson listed several other issues that will absolutely need to be addressed during the Trump administration’s term, in order to maintain a safe level of human rights in the United States. He mentioned things like changes in voting policies and procedures, gaining more access to media ownership for African Americans, more roundtables on urban policy and fighting to keep the Affordable Healthcare Act in place.
“In the future we should have supervised Federal elections, not states’ rights,” Jackson said.
“Number 2, 18-year-olds should be automatically registered to vote. Number 3, there should be voting on all campuses. Number 4, we should have pictures on ballots so people can see who they are voting for…
“The second issue is telecommunications. We must have our share of media ownership. The third is healthcare. They plan to replace affordable health care without an alternative. If it’s repealed it must be replaced immediately. Twenty two million people now have affordable health care because of Obamacare.
“Those persons losing their healthcare may never recover. People will die between the time when they kill it in January and the three years before it comes up again. They will have debt issues, etc. We should fight for affordable health care.
“We need to fight to wipe out student loan debt and make education affordable and accessible again. We should demand an urban policy. We need a White House conference on urban policy to address the causes and cures of violence. We need to address things like the impact of poverty and plans to rebuild cities torn apart by homelessness.
“If we maintain our will to fight back, we can win even though the odds are against us…”
Jackson turned 75 earlier this year, and on December 17, he will be here in Los Angeles to continue the celebration at the Beverly Hilton hotel.
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UNFPA Response in Yemen: Monthly Situation Report #05 May 2019
24.1M In need of some form of assistance
14.3M In acute need
19.7M Lack access to basic health services
14.4M In need of protection
3.3M Internally displaced
6.0M Women of reproductive age (15-49 yrs)
1.0M Pregnant women malnourished
120,000 Women and girls at risk of violence
Levels of humanitarian need continue to stagger in Yemen. Fighting sporadically escalated in different parts of the country leading to spikes in displacement and civilian casualties. As of May some 36,506 families have been displaced across Yemen since the beginning ofthe year.
Hajjah is one ofthe most conflict-affected governorates in Yemen. Between February and May, fighting displaced 33,949 families (about 203,694 people). Displaced families are scattered across more than 300 sites. In the face of such displacement, UNFPA has scaled up its response and developed preparedness plans to respond to any future large-scale displacement. Through the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), led by UNFPA, 30,504 families were provided with RRM kits. UNFPA is also supporting 12 health facilities in Hajjah to provide lifesaving reproductive health services.
The Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) continues to be seriously under-funded. By May, only 13.6 per cent of funds with $572 million received against the overall requirements of $4.19 billion, less than 80 per cent of what had been received in by May 2018. UNFPA’s response received US$33.7 million ofthe US$110.5 million required, by end May. A funding shortage could jeopardize the expansion of reproductive health and women’s protection services.
By May 2019, UNFPA’s response provided reproductive health services to more than 300,000 women and girls with 261 health facilities supported across the country to provide emergency obstetric care and essential reproductive health supplies. UNFPA is also the sole provider of lifesaving reproductive health medicines in Yemen. In addition, UNFPA response provided protection services for more than 20,000 survivors of different forms of violence, with 20 safe spaces and six shelters established across the country.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/unfpa-response-yemen-monthly-situation-report-05-may-2019
Responding to epidemics in large-scale humanitarian crises: a case study of the…
Outbreak update – Cholera in Yemen, 7 July 2019
Republic of Yemen: Shelter/NFIs Fact Sheet, June 2019
Shelter Cluster Theory of Change (ToC), Yemen 2019 – 2020
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What does science say about the effects of meditation?
Source: Medical News Today | Maria Cohut
Practicing meditation or mindfulness techniques is, at least anecdotally, supposed to smooth your way to a happier, more healthful life. But what does science say about these practices?
What does research say about the effects of meditation and mindfulness? We investigate.
Meditation "keeps our minds and hearts calm, peaceful, and loving, i.e., in the right place," a casual practicant of mindfulness and meditation told Medical News Today.
Indeed, most people who become interested in meditation are drawn to it thanks to the widespread notion that it will help them feel calmer, more balanced, and less exposed to the effects of daily stress.
Meditation is by no means a new practice. In fact, it has been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and a part of diverse cultures. Originally, meditation had strong ties with religion — not just Buddhism, with which people usually associate it — but also with Christian practices.
Indeed, many people today with different religious beliefs like to incorporate meditation as a spiritual practice.
One person even told us that, for her, meditation amounts to a "combination of focused thought and conversation with God," while also providing a set "[t]ime to listen for the 'still, small voice' of calm."
Mostly, however, and especially in Western countries, meditation has moved away from its spiritual and devotional roots, becoming more of a straightforward practice for mental health and general well-being.
There are many types, including loving-kindness meditation, mindfulness meditation, and transcendental meditation.
Mindfulness has also branched out as a series of practices involving focusing on small details in the present moment. The aim is to help a person stay rooted in the here and now and de-escalate unwelcome feelings or moods, such as episodes of anxiety.
People who engage with mindfulness techniques and meditation often allege that these practices allow them to boost or maintain various aspects of their well-being. But what has research found about the effects of meditation on the mind and the body, and are there any potential harms involved? In this Spotlight feature, we investigate.
1. Resilience to stress
One of the top reasons that people cite when claiming that meditation is beneficial is that it allows them to get rid of the stress that accumulates on a daily basis due to job or family pressures.
Meditation can make you more resilient in the face of daily stress.
A study that researchers associated with the Center for Wellness and Achievement in Education in San Francisco, CA, conducted last year confirms that people who practice transcendental meditation reported feeling less stressed at work than peers who did not meditate.
During transcendental meditation, typically, a person focuses on and repeats a mantra — a special word, sound, or phrase — which is meant to help the mind settle down. But why would meditation have a positive effect on our minds' and bodies' reactions to stress?
A previous study, published in 2017, reveals that meditation — alongside other mind-body interventions — is associated with lower levels of the molecule "nuclear factor kappa B," which influences the regulation of gene expression.
The team who conducted that research explains that our bodies typically produce that molecule in response to stress and that it, in turn, activates a series of pro-inflammatory cells called "cytokines."
High cytokine activity contributes to many physical and mental health problems, including abnormal inflammation, cancer, and depression.
"Millions of people around the world already enjoy the health benefits of mind-body interventions like yoga or meditation, but what they perhaps don't realize is that these benefits begin at a molecular level and can change the way our genetic code goes about its business," says the study's lead researcher, Ivana Buric, from Coventry University in the United Kingdom.
Mindfulness 'shows promise in reducing pain and distress'
Other evidence, also uncovered in 2017, indicates that meditation, alongside yoga, promotes stress resilience by increasing levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that protects nerve cell health and helps regulate metabolic processes.
Similarly, recent research — published in Evidence-Based Mental Health, a BMJ journal — shows that mindfulness is about as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in relieving the symptoms of chronic pain associated with conditions such as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis.
"While CBT is considered to be the preferred psychological intervention of [chronic pain], not all patients with [this type of pain] experience a clinically significant treatment response," the research authors write, recommending that:
"[A]n additional solution may be to offer patients mindfulness-based stress reduction [therapy], since it shows promise in improving pain severity and reducing pain interference and psychological distress."
2. Improved self-control
Meditation and mindfulness seem to improve, not just a person's resilience to stress factors, but also their overall mental health.
Mindful eating can be a useful weight management strategy.
For instance, one study looked at the effects of mindfulness on women who experienced depression, anxiety, and mood swings following menopause.
The authors found that this practice helped the participants minimize the effects of these emotional and psychological symptoms.
"The goal during mindful moments is not to empty the mind but to become an observer of the mind's activity while being kind to oneself," says the study's lead author, Dr. Richa Sood.
"The second step," she goes on, "is to create a pause. Take a deep breath and observe one's own space, thoughts, and emotions nonjudgmentally. The resulting calm helps lower stress."
Robert Wright, an author and former visiting lecturer at the University of Princeton in New Jersey, argues that there is a clear reason why mindfulness and meditation practices allow a person to fight anxiety and other mood disorders.
In his most recent book, Why Buddhism Is True, Wright writes that human beings have evolved "to do certain things that helped our ancestors get their genes into the next generation — things like eating, having sex, earning the esteem of other people, and outdoing rivals."
For this, our brains have developed a reward system, which makes us want to seek experiences that we find pleasurable — eating, drinking, and having sex.
A weapon against addiction
In itself, this mechanism is meant to help us not only survive but thrive. However, it can also lead to addiction if, for instance, the brain gets "stuck" in an unhelpful feedback loop with a pleasurable stimulus.
Research shows that meditation and mindfulness techniques can help a person fight back against those unhelpful impulses and gain more self-control. Thus, a study from 2015 found that people who smoked were able to cut down on their smoking after taking up mindfulness training.
Similarly, research published in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology in 2017 showed that people who usually engaged in heavy drinking consumed 9.3 fewer units of alcohol, which is the equivalent of around 3 pints of beer, in the week that followed brief mindfulness training.
Mindfulness, research suggests, also helps people who want to lose weight. "Mindful eating," as it is called, teaches people to become aware of their eating-related impulses in the moment and to truly become aware of the sensation of every bite.
A study from last year confirmed that participants who attended three or four mindfulness sessions were able to lose about 6.6 pounds (3 kilograms), on average, over 6 months, while peers who attended fewer sessions only lost around 2 pounds (0.9 kilograms), on average.
3. A healthier brain
"Meditation, when practiced regularly, can rewire the neural pathways in the brain," Dr. Sanam Hafeez, a licensed psychologist based in New York, told MNT.
Meditation can help keep the brain young.
"Studies indicate that meditating even 20 minutes per day for a few weeks was already enough to start experiencing the benefits," she explained.
Indeed, numerous studies have found that meditation can also help maintain brain health and neuroplasticity — the capacity of brain cells to form new connections.
In one study, researchers followed 60 individuals, who were experienced meditators, for 7 years. The investigators found that the participants not only saw improved stress resilience but also better attention.
These benefits, the researchers say, lasted for a long time, and the people who meditated most frequently did not present the attention problems that come with age.
Research published in 2017, in the journal Mindfulness, also found that mindfulness meditation, alongside a type of yoga practice, was associated with better executive functioning and improved vigor.
And these practices may actually reduce the risk of dementia, according to a study from the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. Its senior author, Dr. Helen Lavretsky, even goes so far as to suggest that "regular practice of yoga and meditation could be a simple, safe, and low-cost solution to improving your brain fitness."
4. Are there any unwanted effects?
Nevertheless, although so many people and so many studies point to the benefits of meditation, some individuals feel put off by the practice, saying that, rather than helping them improve their own well-being, it triggers unwanted emotions.
One person told MNT:
"I've tried several meditation apps and videos, as well as tried to meditate with a person in real life, and every time the problem is the same — when asked to focus on my own breath, I get very anxious."
Some people experience anxiety and other unwanted effects during meditation.
"Because focusing on my physiological states is often the source of my anxiety, [it] gets me spinning because I start wondering if my states are 'normal' [...] Like, is my breathing normal or am I having a breathing problem? Does my chest hurt or am I having a heart attack?" she explained.
Another person told us, "Meditation makes me hypersensitive to everything — like sounds and movements — and it stresses me out!"
There is research to indicate that these are not unique cases. In one study, the results of which appear in PLoS One, the investigators surveyed 342 individuals who practiced mindfulness and meditation either casually, by themselves, or as part of meditation retreats.
The surveys indicated that 25.4 percent of the participants reported experiencing unwanted effects of varying degrees of severity. These included symptoms of anxiety or panic attacks, physical pain, depersonalization, symptoms of depression, and dizziness.
The investigators note that most of the unwanted effects — 41.3 percent — occurred during individual, not group, practice. They also report that 17.2 percent of the unwanted effects took place in the course of focused attention meditation and that 20.6 percent occurred when a person meditated for longer than 20 minutes.
According to the researchers, 39 percent of these unwanted effects did not last long and were not severe enough to require medical intervention.
The authors of a review analyzing the findings of other studies that reported potential adverse effects of mindfulness practices argue that "rather than mindfulness per se, [...] it is a lack of understanding of the nuances of mindfulness among some instructors — and the subsequent poor teaching of mindfulness — that is likely to pose the greatest risk to patients."
As a result, they recommend that individuals interested in these kinds of practices pick their instructor after conducting careful background research.
Moreover, they say that therapists wishing to incorporate mindfulness into their clinical practices should, for added safety, "undergo supervised mindfulness training for a period of at least 3 years [...] prior to attempting to administer mindfulness in a treatment context."
As for individuals who have attempted mindfulness or meditation, but are not seeing any improvements, Dr. Hafeez advises patience. "As with many things we do to improve life, the results are not always immediate," she told MNT.
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| Oct. 1, 2012
Catholic Doctors Tackle How to Survive in an 'Increasingly Toxic Culture'
At the annual Catholic Medical Association conference, Bishop Robert Vasa says the current health-care crisis is ‘a clarion call’ for Catholic doctors in the U.S.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Conscience rights' protection and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contraception mandate were the topics foremost on the minds of medical professionals gathered in St. Paul, Minn., for the Catholic Medical Association’s (CMA) 81st educational conference.
The Sept. 26-29 conference, which drew more than 600 attendees, featured prominent speakers who shared the history of the present cultural battle and how to bear witness to the truth and bring it to bear on the practice of medicine.
Papal biographer George Weigel spoke on the crisis of modernity, author Brian Gail spoke on the life sciences’ challenges, First Things editor Russell Reno spoke about bringing faith into the public square, and Jesuit Father Robert Spitzer, president of the Napa Institute, presented ways to use the new media for evangelization.
“The Catholic Church stands in the way of the sexual revolution — efforts to redefine marriage, access to abortion and reproductive technology and mercy killings,” said Reno. “Our increasingly aggressive adversaries will continue to use their political muscle to push us out of the way.”
“These are critical times,” said Bishop Robert Vasa of Santa Rosa, Calif. “Whether or not a physician is practicing in line with the teachings of the Church, they’re going to be forced to do something they may not want to do.”
“This is a clarion call for America,” added Bishop Vasa. “American Catholics, and in particular American Catholic physicians, have to wake up to the fact that they can no longer presume that their individual choices about how they practice medicine in this country will be respected.”
“We are in a very dangerous crisis,” agreed John Brehany, executive director of the CMA. “We see a deeply hostile government entering into the health-care sphere. We see an increasingly toxic culture. We know we’re heading into a time of great challenges. The Western world is facing economic challenges built up by social programs combined with the aging baby-boom generation. That is daunting.”
Physicians, nurses and medical students at the conference expressed similar concerns and anxiety about their ability to carry out their work.
Dr. James Brooke from Dickinson, N.D., spoke about a doctor’s ability to provide authentic health care for women.
“I’m not interested in providing birth-control pills for everyone,” said Brooke. “It’s not quality care to provide birth-control pills for women. That’s a lie.”
“Yet if you stand up and talk about these things, you’re painted as a bigot.”
Dr. Jeff Blickenstaff, a rural family physician from Perham, Minn., admitted that he is very concerned about the HHS contraception mandate and how it will impact his practice. Blickenstaff said he hasn’t prescribed contraception since his conversion to Catholicism in 1999.
“Catholic doctors, nurses and hospital administrators are being attacked because others cannot hear the tiny cries of the defenseless,” said Teresa Collett, a professor of law at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. “The youngest of all is not a creature of value or concern, except for its utility for scientific experiments.”
Collett provided an overview of the conscience-protection rule put into place by the federal government in 2008, which was later rescinded by the Obama administration.
“The 2008 regulation offered a remarkably broad understanding of protection for all health-care personnel and volunteers,” described Collett. “One of the first acts of the new administration was to withdraw those protections. The new rule gutted the 2008 rule.”
CMA Boot Camp
According to Dr. John Lane, CMA's president, when the association’s members were surveyed, they indicated that the most pressing issue was the formation of medical students. To that end, the CMA is offering a new program to help Catholic medical students. The association has created the CMA Boot Camp, a four-day course offered in partnership with St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, where students will receive an intensive immersion in the life of the faith, the teachings of the Church and practical training on how to apply these in the art and science of medicine. The inaugural Boot Camp will be offered in June 2013.
“One thing a lot of people don’t consider is that, as they’re trying to expand health care for everyone, they’re asking doctors to violate their consciences,” said Tim Jay, a second-year medical student at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Jay was one of 67 medical students attending the conference.
“The government has stripped conscience protection, and medical schools are asking students to look at ethics as relative," Jay said. "There is a demand for principled doctors, but our system isn’t producing them.”
“Physicians are being coerced to do things that they know are wrong, such as prescribing contraceptives, abortion or prescribing a lethal dose of medication,” said Bishop Vasa. “They’re told that their individual conscience doesn’t matter, that they must do these things, and if they do not, they may lose their ability to practice medicine.”
“Those who are standing on the sidelines who think the mandate will not touch them are either naive or foolish,” added Bishop Vasa. “They may think they don’t have a dog in this fight, but it won’t stop at contraception.”
In many ways, the conference had the feel of a retreat, with many speakers concentrating on the spiritual aspect of practicing medicine.
“Catholic health care needs more saints like Dr. Gianna Beretta Molla and Dr. Joseph Moscati, and they weren’t produced by conferences like this, but through their daily work,” said Father Joseph Johnson, pastor of the Church of the Holy Family in St. Louis Park, Minn., “We need to learn to love better.”
Other speakers, such as Legionary Father John Bartunek and Bishop Lee Piché, stressed the importance of witnessing the Catholic faith.
“The world is becoming increasingly hostile to the Gospel,” auxiliary Bishop Piché of St. Paul and Minneapolis told the members. “We are called to be witnesses by carrying out the task of living out a daily martyrdom.”
There was a significant emphasis on upholding the Church’s teachings in medicine, especially with regard to the life issues.
“There will be no renewal without a bold proclamation of the eternal truths regarding the sacred transmission of human life,” Gail, the author of Fatherless, told the attendees. “You are at the epicenter of this culture war. You are who this remnant turns to for help. In the face of the life-sciences revolution and the soul- and life-deadening consequences of abortion, contraception and in vitro fertilization, advance a culture of life in your practices.”
Tim Drake is the Register’s senior writer.
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→ Ghosts and Ghouls:
→ Share Your Paranormal Ghost Stories & Experiences
Question Regarding Paranormal Phenomena
Started by sirrusz , Apr 02 2018 09:01 PM
#1 sirrusz
sirrusz
GS Member
I haven't been back to the Hotel San Carlos in Phoenix since December of 2016. After staying there for three years, there are subtle differences that nobody else would notice if they weren't paying attention. (New clothes I never bought, items from stores I don't shop at, movies have come out during different years, conversations I've had have happened in a different way, events have changed, etc...) I was going over some of the videos I took while I was at the hotel. Please, watch these videos with headphones. Almost as soon as it starts, it sounds like, "Time line one. Time line two. Time line three. Time line four."
https://www.youtube....h?v=HCIB2NxEVGw
The video was taken after February in 2016. I was trying to see if I could get the woman from room 704 to show up again, but I didn't know what I was looking for. There are EVPs throughout a lot of the videos I took.
https://www.youtube....h?v=fRHazfYxpsA
As soon as this next video starts, there's a strange noise as I walk down the hallway. The camera shakes as though I just bumped into something. But, there's nothing there. It sounds like an object being shifted in a certain direction.
https://www.youtube....h?v=-jSypVvZah8
The lady in room 704 turned out to be the static in the center of the room. The staff at the hotel referred to the hallway to room 704 as "the haunted hallway". Guests have reported hearing evil laughter in the hallway, but I had never heard anything like that in my time there. Whoever was whispering EVPs in the hallway was trying to help me.
My question is this... Is it possible for the energy from paranormal phenomena to shift you into a different timeline? I've never heard of this before, and I can't find any information on the effects of long term exposure to paranormal phenomena online.
A lot of the videos I took will play on my computer, but they won't upload online. There are a lot of bizarre glitches in the videos. I had over twenty of these videos. With many of them, I had to take screen-capture videos of the videos in order to upload them. This was the second video I took in December of 2016. All of these videos are from room 720. Notice the items on the table.
https://www.youtube....h?v=Pj-Uf2ui8g0
Now, watch this.
https://www.youtube....h?v=jnDqJQ7ITfg
That's my music-box-doll on the table from a previous visit. I'm standing in the hallway using the hotel's wifi connection with my laptop to take the video. The crazy part is...I NEVER brought that music-box-doll with in December... What is that on the table? Why is it moving? Why is it making sound? Why does it keep moving when it only has two minutes worth of sound? It's like the room suddenly decided to rewind time so that it looked like it did during one of my previous visits. It's an imperfect copy of my previous visit. The only thing I moved in this video was the bag on the bed, and I tilted the camera slightly before leaving the room. On top of this, all the sound in the room suddenly stops at 09:15. And it's a deafening silence that continues throughout several of these videos. Look at the energy in the room as it builds up. (The static) Watch the mirror in the room. It's like...some kind of huge discharge of energy. Most people would look at it, and think it was an effect from the camera lens.
https://www.youtube....h?v=bc8HqsaJilE
https://www.youtube....h?v=m4NUYc6xqyg
https://www.youtube....h?v=MieA2HTnHDs
The twenty first video had the most glitches. This was all I was able to capture. This was all that would upload. You can see part of a kneck, and a silhouette of a head, from the woman in room 720.
https://www.youtube....h?v=pVHUSOjCFp4
If you encounter a glitch, like the bump noise I heard in the hallway, or you experience long term exposure to paranormal energy, can those kinds of things twist/shift time and space around you so that things are different. (Like a glitch in the movie, "The Matrix") The first video I listed was taken in March of 2016, and I stayed at that hotel until December of 2016. (10 months) If there are four timelines you cross on the way to room 704, then 4X10=40. According to certain timeline theories, what would this mean? Did I die 40 times, and now I'm in a 40th imperfect copy of my original timeline? (It's the same concept as the plot from "Back To The Future 2". A character in the movie creates a glitch that causes an alternate timeline to exist.) It would explain why a lot of stuff is different, but I'm not certain if it's the paranormal energy or something in the hallway that's causing it to happen. Unfortunately, I have no way to test this theory... I think scientists are still working on ways to measure the ripples in the ripple effect that cause string theory. I'm also unsure if any level of psychic protection can stop the glitches from happening.
On a side note, I did manage to figure out what the spirits at that hotel were doing at that location. The ley lines under the building intersect causing a massive vortex of energy. The spirits are there to absorb that energy. There are a lot of spirits at that hotel who really do want help. If they move on, and no one absorbs the energy, does the energy build up to a point where it becomes dangerous to the city? I think that's part of the reason why many of them can't move on even though they want to move on.
Watch the wall on the right in the video. https://www.youtube....SypVvZah8 Does it move slightly to the left?
I found my old forum topic where I was asking about this subject. I clicked on the link https://io9.gizmodo....-alte-896376482
"Actually, there may be a way to test it. MWI implies the quantum immortality hypothesis — the argument that a version of us will always observe the universe — even in the most improbable of circumstances. To test the MWI, all one needs to do is attempt suicide based on a 50/50 probability schema. According to the theory, a version of you will survive 50 successive 50/50 suicide attempts — but it's a one in quadrillion chance. The trick, of course, is to live the life of that particular version of you. Good luck."
Really? You test an alternate timeline by surviving fifty suicide attempts? ::FACEPALM:: I have no intention of attempting suicide.
I'm developing a thoery about life in general. My theory is that everything in life starts with a tv trope. This link was a lot more helpful. http://tvtropes.org/...ternateTimeline
#4 KlaineyGStudy
Thank you for the time and information you put into your post. You might be interested in reading about Burt Goldman. He claims he is able to Quantum jump into alternate universes and learnt things from alternate versions of himself.
Visit us here: Facebook or Twitter
Bizarre Cases of Inter-Dimensional Doorway Devices and Time Machines
https://www.youtube....h?v=8qinuOPg2vo
If I really was in an alternate timeline, what exactly would need to happen for the changes I've experienced to occur in a different way? If a movie suddenly came out during a different year with a different line of dialogue, then the script would have to have been altered to get the different dialogue and the director of the movie would have to make the movie during a different time. The same thing would have happened in the original timeline, but the series of events that progressed would have happened in a different way. So...entering an alternate timeline means that certain things happen slower, or faster, because of the progression of events that lead up to those things? Then the conversations I've had with people, the ones that have been changed, would make sense. Butterfly effect, right?
For example, I remember the movie, "The Crow", having come out in 1995. (I had a friend in high school during 1996 who was obsessed with the movie.) Brandon Lee died in 1994 during the filming. I remember that they LITERALLY had the last few scenes to shoot before he died. I remember that he was killed in the action scene where the villain, and all of his henchmen, were shooting at Brandon Lee's character around a long table. The actual scene where he was killed was edited out, and was destroyed. Now, the movie suddenly came out during 1994, and Brandon Lee died in 1993, and a lot of people are saying that it was a different scene in the movie where he died. (A lot of people are saying Brandon Lee died during the scene where the henchmen are murdering his girlfriend.) The circumstances of his death are still the same in this timeline. It was still a prop gun that killed him. But, it's like events have played out differently.
Scroll down to the comments section in the link. https://www.youtube....h?v=lMp7ZCGVLmo
What else would need to happen for things like this to occur?
I found this sketch comedy about time travel.
https://www.youtube....h?v=whLM3ECh1nI
So, let's say that they went to alternate timelines instead of traveling back in time. What would they have to change in order for things to have happened in a different way? Their time machine was always almost finished, they always had certain grocery items, they always developed the desire to use the time machine, etc... If their timelines had different conversations, or different events, but their timelines still resulted in having them still use a time machine, then what exactly was changed in order to still bring them to that moment in the present? (They were born a few seconds sooner or later? Did they have to be born, go to school, reach the present, make a time machine, etc...?)
sirrusz, on 04 April 2018 - 09:11 AM, said:
It is a bit like the Mandela Effect. I am not sure what would need to happen to for things to change
I also know I have listened to the same news channel throughout the day and heard the same tragedies reported differently from hour to hour. We also only retain a certain amount of what we read, see or, hear and that also diminishes with time.
#10 sirrusz
The place is a haunted hotel.
TV Trope: Haunted Hotel http://tvtropes.org/...in/HauntedHouse
It was built on indian burial ground.
TV Trope: Indian Burial Ground http://tvtropes.org/...ianBurialGround
There is no buried treasure. The area is not a walking wasteland. The building is not surrounded by dead trees and blackened grass. There is no soul eating. But there is vampiric draining. The spirits survive off the vortex energy in the basement. They can also feed off life energy. It's not soul eating. They feed off emotions, like fear. The people that die at the location become part of a collective due to a forced fusion dance. (This is seen in the movie remake of "House On Haunted Hill". These spirits can also show up as mysterious mist. If you listen closely, you can hear them whisper.
TV Trope: Vampiric Draining http://tvtropes.org/...ampiricDraining
TV Trope: Life Energy http://tvtropes.org/...Main/LifeEnergy
TV Trope: Emotion Eater http://tvtropes.org/...in/EmotionEater
TV Trope: Forced Fusion Dance http://tvtropes.org/...ain/FusionDance
TV Trope: Mysterious Mist http://tvtropes.org/.../MysteriousMist
TV Trope: Whispering Ghosts http://tvtropes.org/...hisperingGhosts
There are no secret passages. There are no endless corridors. But, there is a haunted hallway on the seventh floor, and it is a reality warper with cosmic entities that bend the laws of physics to suit whatever their needs are.
TV Trope: Alien Geometry http://tvtropes.org/...n.AlienGeometry
TV Trope: Reality Warper http://tvtropes.org/...n/RealityWarper
TV Trope: Cosmic Entity http://tvtropes.org/...in/CosmicEntity
If they do feed off of positive emotions, in all likelihood their gimmick is to drain the ability to feel these emotions from their victims, turning them into empty shells. (Hence, the suicides at the hotel.) These people get no kick from champagne. Mere alcohol doesn't thrill them at all. It's the taste of someone else's emotions that does it for them. An emotion eater is someone who draws psychic nourishment or power from another person's emotions, and will usually do what they can to instill those emotions in others. However, these people, the spirits, understand how much energy to draw upon. They only take what they need. This happens when a range of characters with different moral view points come together into a conflict. Many of the spirits at this location died, because of financial failure. They felt Deus Angst Machina.
TV Trope: Empty Shells http://tvtropes.org/...Main/EmptyShell
TV Trope: Get No Kick From The Champagne http://tvtropes.org/...usic/ColePorter
TV Trope: Blue And Orange Morality http://tvtropes.org/...dOrangeMorality
TV Trope: Deus Angst Machina http://tvtropes.org/...eusAngstMachina
The building acts as a psychological torment zone that drives people to suicide. It distracts you while moving locations. (The movement could be an alternate timeline, or a wall moved slightly left.)
TV Trope: Psychological Torment Zone http://tvtropes.org/...icalTormentZone
TV Trope: Driven To Suicide http://tvtropes.org/...DrivenToSuicide
TV Trope: Mobile Maze http://tvtropes.org/...Main/MobileMaze
The architecture is both malevolent, and benevolent. The house is a sapient house.
TV Trope: http://tvtropes.org/...entArchitecture
TV Trope: http://tvtropes.org/...in/SapientHouse
Sometimes however, it can be stopped the moment the victim says "I'm Not Afraid of You!" and/or reaches an emotional epiphany.
TV Trope: I'm Not Afraid Of You http://tvtropes.org/...mNotAfraidOfYou
All of this makes sense up until this point...
Why are there alternate timelines? What does paranormal phenomena need with alternate timelines? If the building was alive, as in Genius Loci, it would need to feed. If it kills a guest, then the guest is gone. BUT, if it creates alternate timelines with multiple versions of the same person, could it feed off the alternate versions of that person indefinitely without them knowing about it?
TV Trope: Genius Loci: http://tvtropes.org/...Main/GeniusLoci
TV Trope: Alternate Timeline http://tvtropes.org/...ternateTimeline
Edited by KlaineyGStudy, 06 April 2018 - 04:55 AM.
To fix text colour
I apologize. I don't know why some of my text shows up dark.
#12 MrsFrootloops
MrsFrootloops
Lead Moderator
Location:My House
Interests:Anything artistic, baking, cooking, waffles, comics, games, hamsters, and um, things lol.
It does that sometimes if you are copying and pasting stuff.
There is something else I haven't considered. Look at this video again. There's a mirror at the end of the hallway. Watch the mirror. Does it look like I just suddenly moved left as I walk down the hallway? https://www.youtube....h?v=-jSypVvZah8
Quantum jumping was mentioned... Is it possible for a human being to do this without knowing that they're doing it? (I don't think I have superpowers, but I would have to check a few more things.)
#14 KlaineyGStudy
sirrusz, on 05 April 2018 - 06:19 PM, said:
Your movements and your reflected image in the mirror seems to mirror your journey down the hallway. I can't see anything startling. As for Quantum Jumping, I haven't read anything about people not being aware they are doing it but I suppose anything's possible.
#15 Snickers
I agree with Klainey, it sounds a lot like the Mandela effect.
Don't tell me that I didn't see what I saw, or didn't hear what I heard.......Snickers
Back to Share Your Paranormal Ghost Stories & Experiences
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About Parndon Mill
Please click any image to see slideshow galleries.
Parndon Mill, nestling on the banks of the river Stort on the outskirts of Harlow, is a centre for creative activity. Since the sixties it has been occupied by artists and craftsmen who have gradually restored the premises. On the top floor of the mill there are studios for painting, sculpture, weaving, calligraphy and print making, the first and second floors being occupied by designers in various fields and architects. Workshops on the ground floor include the skills of guitar making, ceramics and glass blowing, fusing and casting, while in the outbuildings and old stables a variety of other crafts flourish, including jewellery, porcelain and carpentry and there is a blacksmith who in his spare time is restoring a Dutch barge.
The history of Parndon Mill goes back some time. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Successive buildings have stood on the site, milling flour from the grain grown on the rich farmland around. Flour can be very combustible and there have been numerous fires over the years; the last one in 1897 destroyed the mill. Construction on the current building was completed in 1900. A state of the art flat turbine mill wheel was installed in 1904. It is still in position in the wheelhouse, but stopped turning in 1960 when the well respected miller Neville Smith died. For a few years Bill Twynham, who was a great character, produced animal foods at the mill and continued with the coal business. It then became empty and disused and was taken over by the Harlow Development Corporation who erected a security fence, allowed the weeds to grow and searched for a new purpose for the buildings. Something to do with the arts was favoured.
In 1968 Sally Anderson was earning a living making pottery in her Harlow Corporation home and desperately looking for a studio. A colleague from the Technical College told her about Parndon Mill. At first sight there it was, overgrown and desolate in the late summer rain. And it seemed enormous. The mill building on four floors and the six bedroom house were surrounded by three acres of elderberry bushes and broken trees intertwined with brambles. These almost hid the numerous outbuildings. Here was rather more than a potential one man pottery studio but of course it could all be shared by other artists.
So the vision evolved and the work started. There was plenty of space, so this was traded for goods and services. Before long Roger Lee came to take a few photos and was given a small studio in return for numerous jobs to do. He never left. All the wiring was condemned so there was no electricity except to pump water from the well. A wire sneaked from the pump gave one light in the kitchen. The first priority was to wire up the kilns and get the pottery going. It had to be candles at bedtime for a long while yet. To see a light in every window of the mill was still a dream.
The factory inspector insisted that the open staircases of the mill be enclosed before spaces on the upper floors were let. Health and Safety and the Fire Inspector also made stipulations. Harlow Council imposed business rates. It soon became apparent that reasonable rents for the studios would be necessary to make ends meet so, as well as fine artists, tenants who ran businesses based on craft and design moved in. From those early days, Alan the blacksmith and Barry the carpenter are still here. Eventually one Autumn day when the clocks changed and it was dark before the end of the working day, there was the mill, all lit up.
On New Year's Day 1970 Sally Anderson received a commission for tiles for all the bathrooms in an international hotel in London. It was a huge project. Sally Anderson (Ceramics) Ltd was formed and in due course Roger Lee became a director of the Company. Being already general manager at the Mill, part time stockman, odd job man and general factotum, Roger describes himself as wearing many hats. Now Roger and Sally were in the tile business and this was to be a continuing success for many years to come. For over thirty years they designed and manufactured tiles for palaces, luxury liners, prestigious hotels and indoor swimming pools.
In May 2004 Sally and Roger decided to retire from manufacturing tiles. The studios where the tiles were made have now been refurbished as workshops including three glass studios. For a long time it had been an ambition to have glass artists working at the mill and especially a hot glass studio. The only suitable space for this was the mill's old boiler house which latterly had been the kiln room for the tile business. It is now a fully equipped studio for glass blowing.
In the early days one of the very first priorities at Parndon Mill was to open a gallery to sell the work from the pottery and other artists and craftsmen, but other commitments overtook this venture. Now at last the area which was the tile showroom has been converted to The Gallery at Parndon Mill which presents a series of exhibitions displaying a wide variety of paintings, original prints, sculpture and skilled craftwork, all of a consistently high standard. Most of the work shown is chosen from the many talented artists and craftsmen who live and work in the vicinity including, of course, those who have studios at the Mill. An annual exhibition of works of art in glass exhibits pieces by some of the best artists in this popular medium. The Gallery has become a focus for the resident artists and for others from the area, and as it is open to the public five days a week, it can no longer be said that Parndon Mill is Harlow's best kept secret.
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Press Press Releases The Way Forward: Portland Story Theater’s Armchair Adventurer series returns with Nansen of the North
The Way Forward: Portland Story Theater’s Armchair Adventurer series returns with Nansen of the North
Lawrence Howard’s New Solo Show in the Fertile Ground Festival
PORTLAND, OR ‒ January 1, 2017 ‒ Fridtjof Nansen was an originator, an outside-the-box thinker, a Renaissance man in every sense of the word. His story is a story for our times about a man who believed that there is only one way to go in life: forward. Nansen’s story captured the imagination of Lawrence Howard, creator of the Armchair Adventurer series, who, for the first time ever, is telling an epic tale of the Arctic. A captivating performer, Howard holds audiences spellbound and has been called “the Homer of Portland” and “the master of nonfiction on the stage.” Nansen of the North is the seventh installment of Lawrence Howard’s highly successful Armchair Adventurer series. This 90-minute one-man show takes place at Portland Story Theater’s new venue, the Fremont Theater, on four nights, January 20th, 21st, 27th and 28th, and is part of the city-wide Fertile Ground Festival.
Nansen’s approach was completely unconventional. In 1893, the Norwegian explorer sailed his ship to the New Siberian Islands and deliberately allowed it to be frozen into the Arctic pack ice. Until that moment, being frozen into the pack ice was essentially a death sentence. The tremendous forces of the Arctic ice had crushed and sank dozens of ships and sent the sailors on board them to icy graves. But this ship was different. This ship was The Fram, which means “forward” in Norwegian, and it was the strongest wooden vessel ever contrived. Specially built with a rounded hull and two pointed ends, Fram was designed to pop up out of the clutches of the ice. There was no place for the ice to get hold of her, no way she could be crushed. Nansen had theorized the existence of an east-to-west current across the Arctic Ocean. His radical plan was to work with that current and allow it to carry him straight to the greatest geographical prize of his day: the North Pole.
Before Shackleton and Amundsen and Scott ever dreamed of the regions of ice and snow, Fridtjof Nansen emulated the ways of the Greenland Inuit and became the father of polar travel, the oracle, the one who showed them all how it could be done. Nansen, the twelve-time Norwegian cross-country ski champion. Nansen, a pioneer in neurobiology who described the structure of the central nervous system. Nansen, who made the first-ever crossing of Greenland on skis. Nansen, who locked his ship in the ice and set a new record for the Farthest North. Statesman. Diplomat. Humanitarian. One of the founders of the League of Nations. The League’s first High Commissioner for Refugees. Nobel Peace Prize winner. Nansen, who famously said, “It is better to go skiing and to think about God than it is to go to church and think about skiing.” Nansen of Norway. Nansen of the North.
Like all the other stories in the Armchair Adventurer series, Nansen of the North is crafted to transport audiences into the scenes of one of history’s greatest adventure. Beginning in 2008 with the highly acclaimed Shackleton’s Antarctic Nightmare, the Armchair Adventurer series has gone on to include Alone on the Wide Shores of the World, the story of Douglas Mawson’s Antarctic journey; Polar Opposites, the epic tale of Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott and their race for the Pole; as well as recounting the infamous and mysterious 1885 murder trial of John “Babbacombe” Lee, “the man who could not be hanged;” The Essex, the real-life story of a whaling ship that was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale in 1820 and was the inspiration for Herman Melville’s Moby Dick; and the story of the Ross Sea Party, those valiant men on the other side of Antarctica who gave everything they had to lay down the precious depots of food and fuel for Shackleton’s trans-Antarctic party. Carefully researched and enthusiastically performed, Nansen of the North is not history lesson, but a gripping story.
Nansen of the North will be performed January 20th, 21st, 27th and 28th at Portland Story Theater’s new venue, The Fremont Theater, located at 2393 NE Fremont. There will be live music each night when the doors open at 7:00. The performance begins at 8 pm. Young adults 15+ are welcome provided they are accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Tickets are available through Portland Story Theater’s Arts People Ticketing or through Fertile Ground’s Box Office Tickets.
For more information about this show, visit Armchair Adventurer shows.
Visit our press page for press clippings from past performances by Lawrence Howard.
This show is part of the Fertile Ground Theater Festival. Portland Story Theater will honor ten Fertile Ground festival passes at each performance. Visit Nansen of the North on Fertile Ground.
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New report shows over 40% of US workers are ‘contingent’ employees
By Justine Hofherr @Jhofherr29
Boston.com Staff | 05.27.15 | 4:57 PM
http://www.boston.com/jobs/news/2015/05/27/workers-are-contingent/tRPFvQmrTL3eK4ysd3gobP/story.html
The number is up from 35.3 percent of workers in 2006.
The number of “contingent” U.S. employees, or workers who don’t have traditionally secure jobs, is growing, according to a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the report found the number of contingent workers rose from 35.3 percent in 2006 to 40.4 percent in 2010, a shift probably related to the 2007-2009 recession, the GAO says. Workers considered contingent include agency temps, on-call workers, independent contractors, self-employed workers, and standard part-time employees.
Most of the growth was attributed to part-time workers, who went from making up 11.9 percent of the labor force in 2005 to 16.2 percent in 2010.
Why are they hired?
Employers may hire contingent workers for a variety of reasons. They may want to adapt to workload fluctuations, meet employees’ requests for part-time hours, temporarily screen workers for permanent positions, or save on wage and benefit costs.
The GAO did not measure whether workers took contingent jobs by choice or out of necessity, but said that some government officials and labor analysts are concerned that “contingent employment relationships may have long-term adverse consequences for workers and government programs.”
Reports last year indicated more Americans than ever were “involuntary” part-time workers.
These types of workers often do not receive employer-provided retirement and health benefits, and might not have job-protected leave, so they experience job instability more often than full-time employees.
A large portion of contingent workers are also more likely to be “younger, Hispanic, have no high school degree, and have low family income.” They report feeling “less satisfied” with their benefits and employment arrangements than standard full-time workers, the report says.
Public cost?
When workers do not receive health or retirement benefits, they’re more likely to turn to needs-based programs like Medicaid, according to the GAO. Federal and state public assistance programs then shoulder costs traditionally covered by employers.
Of course, not all contingent employees are unhappy with their job situation. As Forbes notes, “self-employed folks and independent contractors are pretty happy with their situation overall, compared to other contingent workers.” That’s because these workers are usually enjoying the freedom and independence of running their own business. For example, only 7.5 percent of self-employed people said they’d prefer different employment, compared to 48.3 percent of on-call workers and day laborers, Forbes reports
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Perry Junior League Bylaws
General Powers
The Board of Directors shall manage the business affairs and the funds of Perry Junior League.
Organization/Mission
Perry Junior League, Inc. (hereinafter also referred as “League”) is a private not-for-profit organization incorporated within the state of Georgia, in the city of Perry. The mission of Perry Junior League shall be to provide baseball and softball playing opportunities to area youth, implant in its players the ideas of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage, and respect for authority so that they grow to be good, decent, healthy, and trustworthy citizens.
The Board of Directors shall consist of nine (9) voting Directors. Each appointed Director shall hold office for at least (2) years or until a qualified successor is elected by a majority vote of the current voting Board of Directors. Any member or parent in good standing with the League or community may be appointed to fill a Director’s position. Any elected or appointed (interim) member of the Board of Directors who shall absent him/herself from (2) consecutive Board meetings, unless previously excused by the President, may be deemed to have resigned as a member of the Board of Directors and may be replaced in accordance with the provisions stated in these Bylaws. The Board of Director’s shall have the power to remove any Director of the League at any regular Board meeting by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the existing Board. A Director may be removed for any reason of documented conduct not in the best interest of the League, or for failure, refusals, or inability to perform the official duties of the office. The Board shall serve without financial compensation with the exception that children of the Board shall play for free for the term of office.
President – Christy Bridges
Vice President – Amy Dixon
Girls Director – Cindy Neal
Boys Director – Ashley Roberson
Secretary – Lydia Gordon
Facilities Director – Rusty Ransom
Policies and Procedures & Head Umpire – Joey Hendricks
IT Director – Derek Peters
Treasurer – Jonathan Peacock
Duties and Powers
The duties of the President shall include, but are not limited to:
Presiding at all formal meetings of members and the Executive Committee
Serving as the official representative of the League.
Serving as the tiebreaker vote on the interpretation and intent of the Constitution, Bylaws, and Rules of Play.
Serving as a member and Chairman of the Board of Directors during his/her tenure.
Overseeing all day to day functions of the League.
Filing any necessary state, federal, or other reports or paperwork in a timely manner necessary to maintain the corporate and legal status of the League.
Review, oversight, and approval of all duties assigned to other elected Officers that affect the proper management of the League.
Assisting in all functions brought forth by Perry Junior League including registrations, tournaments, fundraisers, etc.
The duties of the Vice President shall include, but are not limited to:
In case of the absence or disability of the President, and provided he/she is authorized by the President or Board to so act, the Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President, and when so acting, shall have all the powers of that office, and shall have such other duties as from time to time by be assigned by the President of the Board of Director
Shall work with the Safety Officer to investigate all reported injuries to players, managers, coaches, or spectators and to file any necessary and appropriate Injury Reports and Insurance Claims.
Shall work with the Secretary and Treasurer to obtain sufficient and necessary insurance policies for the League.
Shall, along with the Directors of Baseball and Softball, be responsible for the preparation of the game schedules for each league and age division and the accompanying umpire schedules.
Boy’s Director:
The duties of the Boy’s Director shall include, but are not limited to:
Performing all duties and exercising all powers for the Baseball program.
Becoming the acting liaison for the coaches and managers in the baseball program and reporting all necessary information to the Board of Directors.
Assisting all coaches and managers in day to day functions of the baseball program.
Serving as a member of the Board of Directors during his/her tenure as Boy’s Director.
Keeping up to date with the rules and regulations brought forth by Dixie Youth Baseball.
Serving on the Executive Committee and on the Grievance Committee for the tenure of this position.
Girl’s Director:
The duties of the Girl’s Director shall include, but are not limited to:
Performing all duties and exercising all powers for the Softball program.
Becoming the acting liaison for the coaches and managers in the softball program and reporting all necessary information to the Board of Directors.
Assisting all coaches and managers in day to day functions of the softball program.
Serving as a member of the Board of Directors during his/her tenure as Girl’s Director.
Keeping up to date with the rules and regulations brought forth by Dixie Softball Organization.
The duties of the Secretary shall include, but are not limited to:
Contact all Board members and notify them of meetings.
Record and publish the minutes of all meetings.
Maintain an official record of all Board of Directors’ meetings and activities.
Help prepare coaches packets, folders, and handouts and assist League Directors with registration information and procedures.
Be present for all meetings including drafting of regular season teams as well as all-star team selection.
Keep track of the coach’s seniority list.
Be responsible for all official Perry Junior League Documents.
Facilities Director:
The duties of the Facilities Director shall include, but are not limited to:
Manage facility service providers.
Oversee overall safety, maintenance, cleanliness, and sanitation of entire facility.
Liaison with groundskeeper and other service providers.
Report areas in need of repair and conduct minor repairs and maintenance.
Visit facilities off hours to determine playability of fields.
Policies and Procedures:
The duties of the Policies and Procedures Director shall include, but are not limited to:
Establishing and chairing a Grievance Committee for the resolution of any member or team disputes and protests.
Keeping By-Laws up to date and communicating any changes needed to the Board of Director’s.
Keeping up to date with current rules and regulations set forth by Dixie Youth Baseball and Dixie Softball Organization and working with both the Boys and Girls directors to establish and post league optional rules that may vary from Dixie League Play.
Becoming familiar with Boys and Girls Umpires.
Serve on the Board of Director’s and Grievance Committee during tenure as Policies and Procedures Director.
Shall work with the Executive Board members to investigate all reported injuries to players, managers, coaches, or spectators and to file any necessary and appropriate Injury Reports and Insurance Claims.
Investigate any reports of unsafe or hazardous conditions at the park and determine steps to correct said condition.
Make known his recommendations of needed repairs to the Grounds/Equipment Committee and follow-up to insure the repairs are completed.
The duties of the treasurer shall include, but are not limited to:
Accounting monthly for all dues and moneys collected by the League, which includes providing monthly bank statements to the President and during board meetings.
Accounting monthly for all disbursements made by the League.
Having custody of cashbox and any other petty cash managed by the League.
Depositing all money of the League in such bank as shall be specified by resolution of the Board of Directors.
Collecting of all dues and money owed the League.
Account for all expenses as well as any income from dues, concessions, and fundraising activities.
Information Technology (IT) Director:
The duties of the IT Director shall include, but are not limited to:
Update website with announcements and other important information
Send email updates to parents
Provide support for registration activities
Park Committees: Duties and Powers
Managers Committee:
Shall consist of three (3) members including one Executive Team member that will provide oversight and direction to the group.
Recruit and accept applications for League Commissioners, managers, and coaches for the new season.
Assist Baseball/Softball Directors with selecting current season coaches.
Assist the Vice-President, Baseball /Softball Directors to arrange and conduct a
Managers meeting with all managers prior to the start of a new season.
During the playing season, shall observe the conduct of the managers and coaches to insure all League policies and Dixie Youth Rules and Regulations are being followed.
Investigate complaints concerning managers and coaches and make a report to the President or the Board of Directors.
Maintain a copy of the official Dixie Youth book of Rules and Regulations and assist the Vice-President, Baseball or Softball in communicating all rules, including any Park rules, to the managers in each age division and to the umpires prior to the start of a new season.
Insure the attendance of each manager at any seminars or other training that may be required by the Board of Directors.
Grounds and Equipment Committee:
Shall consist of four (4) members and be provided oversight and direction by the Facilities Director. One member shall be designated the Equipment Manager.
Shall be responsible for the care and maintenance of the playing fields, buildings, fences, parking lots, and grounds.
Shall work with the managers and coaches to insure that they understand the proper procedures for preparing the playing field before each game and maintaining the playing field after a game.
Report to the Board of Directors the need for supplies, equipment, or repairs necessary for the care and maintenance of the fields, etc.
Maintain all field Equipment in field houses.
Distribute and collect playing equipment (helmets, catching gear, balls, etc.) to each manager.
Fundraising Committee:
Shall consist of three (3) members; one of whom shall be designated the Fundraising Manager.
Shall investigate ways and methods to raise funds for the League including team sponsorships.
Shall review and evaluate projects for raising money including raffles and other fund-raising activities.
Shall supervise any approved fund-raising activities and deliver all funds to the Treasurer for deposit into the League account.
Maintain a list of sponsors of the League.
Shall provide a list to the Vice-Presidents, Baseball and Softball, of all sponsors that are sponsoring teams to insure the placement of names on the team uniforms.
Plan and coordinate the Opening Day Ceremonies including contacting vendors, speakers, guests, etc.
Exclusive Powers
The Board of Directors shall have the following exclusive powers.
Enforcement of the penalties for violation of the League rules.
Prescribe additional duties for any of the Directors in addition to those set forth in these Bylaws.
To set fees and criteria for membership and sponsorship at its discretion.
The Board, in addition to the foregoing specific powers, shall have the power to manage all affairs of the League and to act on any and all questions relating in manner whatsoever thereto, and to make all contracts necessary for the proper transaction of all League business, upon a vote of not less than two-thirds.
Be responsible for the preparation of annual IRS reports, including the hiring of a CPA if necessary.
The majority of members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum at any meeting and the majority vote of those present shall govern except during special circumstances set forth by the President of the Board.
© Perry Junior League. All rights reserved.
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Home > Government unveils £20bn plan to revitalise NHS in England
Government unveils £20bn plan to revitalise NHS in England
By louis_1
Theresa May and the chief executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, have announced a new ten year plan for the NHS. It is hoped that the long term plan, which is focused on prevention and early detection, may save up to 500,000 lives.
In essence the plan will give an additional £20 billion to the NHS in England by 2023/24. The additional £20 billion cash injection will be spread out over five years up until 2023/24 representing a 3.4% increase year on year.
While £2.3 billion of the £20 billion made available will be channelled into mental health, GP and community care is set to receive £4.5 billion over the next five years. However concerns have been raised as to the extent to which the 3.4% increase will help in restoring the vitality of the NHS.
Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research and Economics at the Health Foundation commented: “A funding increase of £20.5 billion per year to NHS England’s budget by 2023/24 is around 3.4%. This will help stem further decline in the health service, but it’s simply not enough to address the fundamental challenges facing the NHS, or fund essential improvements to services that are flagging. Increases of at least 4% a year are the minimum needed to tackle the backlog of financial problems from eight years of austerity.”
Furthermore unions have warned that staff shortages may act as a hindrance to the government’s ambitions. Strikingly one in 11 positions in the NHS remain vacant. Unison head of health Sara Gorton commented: “Without the staff, there is no NHS. Ministers must say more about how they plan to address the staffing shortages.”
Significantly Brexit may heighten cause for concern. While Theresa May has suggested that the new funding is being paid for by a Brexit dividend, it is feared that an end to freedom of movement may intensify issues relating to staff shortages as a significant proportion of workers earn below the £30,000 a year threshold which would make them eligible to work in the UK. Around 5% of the NHS workforce is from Europe.
In speaking to the BBC, NHS England chief Simon Stevens noted that the NHS plans to train between 25% and 50% more nurses. He added that “We've got to do a better job of looking after the staff that we have. I think people are under huge stress and pressure. We've got to change the way the health service works.”
Louis Goss
by louis_1Published on 08/01/19 at 12:04pm
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NHS< funding
Source URL: http://www.pharmafile.com/news/519784/government-unveils-plan-revitalise-nhs-england
[2] http://www.pharmafile.com/system/files/theresa_may_msc_2018_0.jpg
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Phone Scams Continue to be a Serious Threat, Remain on IRS “Dirty Dozen” List of Tax Scams for the 2016 Filing Season
WASHINGTON — Aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain a major threat to taxpayers, headlining the annual "Dirty Dozen" list of tax scams for the 2016 filing season, the Internal Revenue Service announced today.
The IRS has seen a surge of these phone scams as scam artists threaten police arrest, deportation, license revocation and other things. The IRS reminds taxpayers to guard against all sorts of con games that arise during any filing season.
"Taxpayers across the nation face a deluge of these aggressive phone scams. Don't be fooled by callers pretending to be from the IRS in an attempt to steal your money," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “We continue to say if you are surprised to be hearing from us, then you're not hearing from us.”
"There are many variations. The caller may threaten you with arrest or court action to trick you into making a payment,” Koskinen added. “Some schemes may say you're entitled to a huge refund. These all add up to trouble. Some simple tips can help protect you."
The Dirty Dozen is compiled annually by the IRS and lists a variety of common scams taxpayers may encounter any time during the year. Many of these con games peak during filing season as people prepare their tax returns or hire someone to do so.
This January, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) announced they have received reports of roughly 896,000 contacts since October 2013 and have become aware of over 5,000 victims who have collectively paid over $26.5 million as a result of the scam.
"The IRS continues working to warn taxpayers about phone scams and other schemes," Koskinen said. "We especially want to thank the law-enforcement community, tax professionals, consumer advocates, the states, other government agencies and particularly the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for helping us in this battle against these persistent phone scams."
Scammers make unsolicited calls claiming to be IRS officials. They demand that the victim pay a bogus tax bill. They con the victim into sending cash, usually through a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. They may also leave “urgent” callback requests through phone “robo-calls,” or via a phishing email.
Posted by NFS at 12:30 AM No comments:
Insure Your Love
We insure a lot of things in our lives: our cars, our homes, our valuable. But what about something less tangible, such as your love for family? Can you insure that?
Insure Your Love Today. Contact our office to review your plan today. Happy Valentine's Day from NFS.
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Choosing the Correct Filing Status
It’s important to use the right filing status when you file your tax return. The status you choose can affect the amount of tax you owe for the year. It may even determine if you must file a tax return. Keep in mind that your marital status on Dec. 31 is your status for the whole year. Sometimes more than one filing status may apply to you. If that happens, choose the one that allows you to pay the least amount of tax.
Here’s a list of the five filing statuses:
Single. This status normally applies if you aren’t married. It applies if you are divorced or legally separated under state law.
Married Filing Jointly. If you’re married, you and your spouse can file a joint tax return. If your spouse died in 2015, you can often file a joint return for that year.
Married Filing Separately. A married couple can choose to file two separate tax returns. This may benefit you if it results in less tax owed than if you file a joint tax return. You may want to prepare your taxes both ways before you choose. You can also use it if you want to be responsible only for your own tax.
Head of Household. In most cases, this status applies if you are not married, but there are some special rules. For example, you must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for yourself and a qualifying person. Don’t choose this status by mistake. Be sure to check all the rules.
Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child. This status may apply to you if your spouse died during 2013 or 2014 and you have a dependent child. Other conditions also apply.
The “Filing” tab on IRS.gov can help with many of your federal income tax filing needs. Use the Interactive Tax Assistant tool to help you choose the right filing status. For more on this topic see Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information. Go to IRS.gov/forms
to view, download or print the tax products you need.
For further assistance in deciding which filing status you qualify for, please contact our office.
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It Takes a Genius To Do Your Taxes, Right?
No, it doesn't take a genius to do your taxes.
A do-it-yourself tax software ad says "it doesn't take a genius to do your taxes." That is quite correct. It doesn't take a genius to do your taxes.
It also doesn't take a genius to do the wiring in your house nor does it take a genius to install a toilet. It doesn't take a genius to make a soufflé; and it does not take a genius to change the brakes on your car.
All of these things you can certainly do yourself. If you figure them out without training or experience, you may luck out and not get electrocuted, or flood your house, or serve an embarrassing dessert to your guests, or hit something because your brakes fail.
Yes, you can certainly do your own taxes, but you don't know what you don't know. The IRS knows this about do-it-yourselfers, and give those tax returns more scrutiny.
You don't need us to do your taxes and you also don't need insurance on your house. But, once your house is in flames and your tax return under scrutiny, you're going to wish you had spent the money.
What You Think Your Tax Software Costs?
The initial price of tax software ranges from $29.95 to $104.99. While that doesn't sound expensive, it's a small part of the total cost. The true cost of tax software is more than just the price you pay at checkout.
How Much Is Your Time Worth?
You've got better things to do than taxes. According to the IRS, tax filers spend 13 hours on average preparing and filing their taxes (per IRS Source). If your average household income is $50,000, that's $312 of your time. That's a lot of money! The average time is takes to do taxes using a tax advisor is 2 hours, that's a great savings.
The Earned Income Tax Credit: Often Missed
The Earned Income Tax Credit has helped workers with low and moderate incomes get a tax break for 40 years. Yet, one out of every five eligible workers fails to claim it. Here are some things you should know about this valuable credit:
Review Your Eligibility. If you worked and earned under $53,267, you may qualify for EITC. If your income or family situation has changed, you should review the EITC eligibility rules. You might qualify for EITC this year even if you didn’t in the past. If you qualify for EITC you must file a federal income tax return and claim the credit to get it. This is true even if you are not otherwise required to file a tax return. Don’t guess about your EITC eligibility. Use the EITC Assistant tool on IRS.gov. The tool can help you find out if you qualify for the credit. It can also estimate the amount of your EITC.
Know the Rules. You need to understand the rules before you claim the EITC, to be sure you qualify. It’s important that you get this right. Here are some factors you should consider:
If you are married and file a separate return you do not qualify for EITC.
You must have a Social Security number that is valid for employment for yourself, your spouse, if married, and any qualifying child listed on your tax return.
You must have earned income. Earned income includes earnings from working for someone else or working for yourself.
You may be married or single, with or without children to qualify. If you don’t have children, you must also meet age, residency and dependency rules. If you have a child who lived with you for more than six months of 2015, the child must meet age, residency, relationship and the joint return rules to qualify.
If you are a member of the U.S. Armed Forces serving in a combat zone, special rules apply.
IRS Issues Nine Out of 10 Refunds in less than 21 Days
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded taxpayers that it issues 90 percent of refunds in less than 21 days. The best way to check the status of a refund is online through the “Where’s my Refund?” tool at IRS.gov or via the IRS2Go phone app.
"As February approaches, more and more taxpayers want to know when they can expect their refunds," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "There aren't any secret tricks to checking on the status of a refund. Using IRS.gov is the best way for taxpayers to get the latest information."
Many taxpayers are eager to know precisely when their money will be arriving, but checking "Where's My Refund" more than once a day will not produce new information. The status of refunds is refreshed only once a day, generally overnight.
"Where’s My Refund?" has the most up to date information available about your refund. Taxpayers should use this tool rather than calling.
Taxpayers can use “Where’s My Refund?” to start checking on the status of their return within 24 hours after IRS has received an e-filed return or four weeks after receipt of a mailed paper return. "Where’s My Refund?" has a tracker that displays progress through three stages: (1) Return Received, (2) Refund Approved and (3) Refund Sent.
The IRS2Go phone app is another fast and safe tool taxpayers can use to check the status of a refund. In addition, users can use the app to find free tax preparation help, make a payment, watch the IRS YouTube channel, get the latest IRS news, and subscribe to filing season updates and tax tips. The app is free for Android devices from the Google Play Store or from the Apple App Store for Apple devices.
Posted by NFS at 7:40 AM No comments:
Aid & Attendance: Caring for our Aging Veterans
By Robert Deschene, Esq
As a nation, we owe our veterans a huge debt of gratitude for their selfless service and sacrifice for our country. It is truly a debt we can never fully repay. What we must do is ensure that they receive the respect and dignity they deserve when it comes time for them to receive long-term care at the end of their lives. For that reason, the government offers qualified veterans many forms of financial assistance, such as pensions, home loans, life insurance, and education grants (through the GI Bill).
What is Aid & Attendance?
One of the lesser known programs available to some wartime veterans is called Aid and Attendance (A&A), which is administered by the Veterans Administration (VA), and which assists elderly or disabled veterans (or their surviving spouses) pay for the costs of long-term care, whether in-home care or in an assisted living facility or nursing home. A&A provides a veteran up to $1,758 in tax-free benefits per month to a veteran, $1,130 to a surviving spouse, or $2,085 to a couple.
To qualify for A&A, the veteran’s disability need not be service-related. He or she must have served at least 90 days on active duty, one day of which was during a “time of war” (i.e., World War II, the Korean conflict, or the Vietnam or Gulf Wars), and not have received a dishonorable discharge. (Until the President or Congress officially declares an end date, the Gulf War is considered ongoing.) A surviving spouse must have been married to the veteran for at least one year, or had a child together and cohabited until the veteran died.
Limits on Assets
An applicant must provide a written evaluation from their doctor describing a medical condition which makes them unable to care for themselves (e.g., dressing, bathing, cooking, eating, leaving home), and must disclose his or her assets and income. Unlike Medicaid, which normally requires applicants to have less than $2,000 in assets to qualify for long-term care benefits, A&A has no fixed dollar cut-off for assets. Instead, the question is a subjective one, evaluating whether the applicant has sufficient “net worth” to pay for his or her own medical expenses for the remainder of their lives. Like Medicaid, A&A does not count the home, a vehicle or personal belongings as assets, but other assets – like savings accounts, investments, and retirement accounts – are considered. The VA assesses each application on a case-by-case basis, looking at the applicant’s particular circumstances, such as income, other medical and non-medical expenses, and life expectancy. While many elder law attorneys suggest capping your assets at $80,000, the subjective “net worth” standard makes it difficult to predict whether an A&A application will be approved.
If the applicant has too many assets, he or she might be able to transfer them to an irrevocable trust or to your children in order to qualify for A&A. Note, however, that these transfers might disqualify you from other benefits, such as Medicaid, if you need to enter a nursing home within five years of the transfer.
Robert Deschene, Esq.
Limits on Income
An A&A applicant (or surviving spouse) also must have limted income. A&A limits a veteran to about $21,000 in annual income, $13,500 for a surviving spouse, or $25,000 for a couple. Countable income includes any earned income (like wages), but also unearned income such as investment income, annuities, pension, and Social Security. You are then allowed to deduct from this gross income amount all unreimbursed medical expenses. These would include the out-of-pocket cost of an assisted living facility or nursing home, home health services, health insurance or Medicare premiums, and the cost of prescriptions.
Approval of an A&A application may take several months, but payments will be made retroactively to the date of application.
Posted by NFS at 10:55 PM No comments:
IRS to Parents: Don’t Miss Out on These Tax Savers
Children may help reduce the amount of taxes owed for the year. If you’re a parent, here are several tax benefits you should look for when you file your federal tax return:
Dependents. In most cases, you can claim your child as a dependent. You can deduct $3,950 for each dependent you are entitled to claim. You must reduce this amount if your income is above certain limits. For more on these rules, see Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information.
Child Tax Credit. You may be able to claim the Child Tax Credit for each of your qualifying children under the age of 17. The maximum credit is $1,000 per child. If you get less than the full amount of the credit, you may be eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit. For more, see Schedule 8812 and Publication 972, both titled Child Tax Credit.
Child and Dependent Care Credit. You may be able to claim this credit if you paid for the care of one or more qualifying persons. Dependent children under age 13 are among those who qualify. You must have paid for care so that you could work or could look for work. See Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, for more on this credit.
Earned Income Tax Credit. You may qualify for EITC if you worked but earned less than $52,427 last year. You can get up to $6,143 in EITC. You may qualify with or without children. Use the 2014 EITC Assistant tool at IRS.gov to find out if you qualify. See Publication 596, Earned Income Tax Credit, to learn more.
Six Tips on Whether to File a 2015 Tax Return
Most people file a tax return because they have to, but even if you don’t, there are times when you should. You may be eligible for a tax refund and not know it. Here are six tips to help you find out if you should file a tax return:
General Filing Rules. Whether you need to file a tax return depends on a few factors. In most cases, the amount of your income, your filing status and your age determine if you must file a tax return. For example, if you’re single and under age 65 you must file if your income was at least $10,300. Other rules may apply if you’re self-employed or if you’re a dependent of another person. There are also other cases when you must file. Go to IRS.gov/filing to find out if you need to file.
Premium Tax Credit. If you enrolled in health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace in 2015, you may be eligible for the premium tax credit. You will need to file a return to claim the credit. If you chose to have advance payments of the premium tax credit sent directly to your insurer during 2015 you must file a federal tax return. You will reconcile any advance payments with the allowable premium tax credit. You should receive Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement, by early February. The form will have information that will help you file your tax return
Tax Withheld or Paid. Did your employer withhold federal income tax from your pay? Did you make estimated tax payments? Did you overpay last year and have it applied to this year’s tax? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you could be due a refund. But you have to file a tax return to get it.
Earned Income Tax Credit. Did you work and earn less than $53,267 last year? You could receive EITC as a tax refund, if you qualify, with or without a qualifying child. You may be eligible for up to $6,242. Use the 2015 EITC Assistant tool on IRS.gov to find out if you qualify. If you do, file a tax return to claim it.
Posted by NFS at 9:59 PM No comments:
Identity Theft Is an Ongoing Concern and on the IRS Annual “Dirty Dozen” List of Tax Scams to Avoid
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued a filing season alert warning taxpayers to watch out for identity theft at tax time and highlighted the crime as the first scam in the agency’s “Dirty Dozen” series.
Over the course of the past year, as part of the Security Summit initiative, the IRS partnered with states and the tax industry to enhance coordination and create a more secure system for taxpayers.
Security Summit participants, including the IRS, will regularly share details of fraudulent schemes detected this season so industry and government have the same information and can adjust accordingly to provide increased protection. Many changes will be invisible to the taxpayer, but the more than 20 shared data elements are critical to making sure the IRS, states and industry can better verify the taxpayer and the legitimacy of the tax return.
“Our collaborative efforts with the Security Summit have given the IRS additional tools to stop fraudulent returns at the door," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "The criminals continue to look for increasingly sophisticated ways to breach the tax system. While the IRS has improved prevention and detection efforts, we’re calling on taxpayers to protect their private information so thieves can’t steal personal data to file fraudulent returns."
The IRS also joined with industry and states on a public awareness campaign to provide taxpayers with easy tips to better protect themselves. The “Taxes. Security. Together.” campaign includes YouTube videos, Tax Tips and fact sheets to help taxpayers stay safe online.
“We urge people to use caution when viewing e-mails, receiving telephone calls or getting advice on tax issues because scams can take on many sophisticated forms," Koskinen said. "Keep your personal information secure by protecting your computers and only giving out your Social Security numbers when absolutely necessary."
Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses your stolen Social Security number to file a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund. While the IRS has made significant strides over the past several years to address this issue, it remains a top concern for the IRS, which is why identity theft remains on the Dirty Dozen list again this year as the IRS works to protect taxpayers and help victims.
In the most recent three fiscal years, Criminal Investigation (CI) helped convict approximately 2,000 identity thieves. In fiscal year 2015, the IRS initiated 776 identity theft related investigations, which resulted in 774 sentencings through CI enforcement efforts. The courts continue to impose significant jail time with the average months to serve in fiscal year 2015 at 38 months— the longest sentencing being over 27 years.
The IRS understands that identity theft is a frustrating, complex process for victims. While identity thieves steal information from sources outside the tax system, the IRS is often the first to inform a victim that identity theft occurred. The IRS is working hard to resolve identity theft cases as quickly as possible.
For more information, please contact our office for your free guide entitled "Taking Charge - What To Do If Your Identity is Stolen".
Have You Seen Your Social Security Card Lately?
We strive to provide you world-class service. With that in mind, Social Security rolled out a new service that allows some of our customers to request a replacement Social Security card online.
The new online version of the Application for a Replacement Social Security Card allows people in some states to request a replacement card online through our secure my Social Security portal without traveling to a field office.
Currently available in the District of Columbia, Michigan, Nebraska, Washington, and Wisconsin, it’s an easy, convenient, and secure way to request a replacement card online. First, you’ll need to create a my Social Security account. When you open a my Social Security account, we protect your information by using strict identity verification and security features. The application process has built-in features to detect fraud and confirm your identity. In certain cases, security experts at Social Security will contact you to ensure it is a legitimate application. We only issue a replacement card if there’s no suspicion of fraud and then we only mail it to a verified address.
To take advantage of this new service option, you must:
Have or create a my Social Security account;
Have a valid driver’s license in a participating state or the District of Columbia (or a state-issued identification card in some states);
Be age 18 or older and a United States citizen with a domestic U.S. mailing address (this includes APO, FPO, and DPO addresses); and
Phone Scams Continue to be a Serious Threat, Remai...
IRS Issues Nine Out of 10 Refunds in less than 21 ...
IRS to Parents: Don’t Miss Out on These Tax Savers...
Identity Theft Is an Ongoing Concern and on the IR...
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Slambovian Circus of Dreams to play Vilar Center Sept. 28
The Vilar Performing Arts Center (VPAC) welcomes the quirky band The Slambovian Circus of Dreams on Monday, Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
The music of The Slambovian Circus Of Dreams has been variously described as “hillbilly-Floyd,” “folk-pop,” “alt-country, roots-rock,” and “surreal Americana;” a clear indicator of its singularly indescribable uniqueness. Single tickets to The Slambovian Circus of Dreams are $25 or you can purchase an Underground Sound Pass for $100 (includes 7 shows & 7 drinks); both options are on sale now at the VPAC Box Office (970.845.8497/ www.vilarpac.org). The VPAC is located under the ice rink in Beaver Creek Village (68 Avondale Lane, Beaver Creek, Colorado).
The Slambovian Circus of Dreams are: Joziah Longo (lead vocals, guitars, harmonica), multi-instrumentalist Tink Lloyd (accordion, cello, flute, theremin), Sharkey McEwen (guitars, mandolin, backing vocals), and Eric Puente (drums, percussion).
Together since the late ’90s where they met in art school, they settled in Sleepy Hollow, New York, and formed The Slambovian Circus of Dreams. The band has toured nationally and abroad since forming in 1998. Known for their electrifying live performances, and critically acclaimed original music, they have an extremely devoted fan base.
The Slambovian Circus of Dreams’ music throws in elements of Incredible String Band, Neil Young, The Band, Dylan, and maybe even some Frank Zappa as well. This past spring the band finishes a year long tour of the U.K., US and Canada where they spread their contagious brand of quirky Americana promoting their album A Box of Everything – their Sony Red distributed ‘greatest hits you never heard’.
Soon unleashing their hauntingly signature songs on the world once again, the bands next studio album, A Very Unusual Head, is scheduled for release in early 2016. The new songs should knit into the band’s classics like an old paisley quilt wrapped around a very large family. The ultimate DIY’ers, the band runs its own label and has previously released 4 critically acclaimed studio albums and one ‘greatest hits’, A Box of Everything released in 2014, The Grand Slambovians (2010), The Great Unravel (2008), 2004’s double-disc Flapjacks from the Sky, and A Good Thief Tips His Hat (1998).
For the uninitiated, the band’s all over the map melodic avant folk conjures Tom Petty, Dinosaur Jr., and a fuller Buffalo Tom. Equal parts Washington Irving and Woodstock, the band taps a broad palette of styles ranging from dusty Americana ballads to huge Pink Floydesque cinematic anthems. Playing art school roots-rock, trad folk and a moody but uplifting americana, they possess an extensive instrumental arsenal (accordion, cello, mandolin, theremin).
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California Desert, Show Open: Episode 201
Montserrat Spain, Show Open: Episode 202
Lost At Sea, Show Open: Episode 203
Our crews go to the world’s most remote locations to bring you Discovery’s most adventurous husband & wife show: Man Woman Wild.
Every episode takes Myke and Ruth Hawke to a new location around the globe: From the uninhabitable, volcanic island of Montserrat to the unforgiving, searing heat of death valley. The Hawkes also brave the harsh, desolate terrain of Tasmania and find themselves stranded at sea on a small boat without water.
“The will to survive” has been Myke Hawke’s mantra as he’s embarked on hundreds of missions to some of the world’s hairiest places, including combat zones where he’s had to live in the shadows while trekking his way out of dense jungles and arid deserts. Captain Myke Hawke, or “Hawke” as he’s known, is one of the premier survival experts in the world. His training as a Green Beret has taught him that there is no situation that he can’t handle. At least until now.
In the first show of it’s kind, we take one of the world’s elite survival experts and send him out into the great outdoors with the one person he thought he’d never have to survive the wild with… his wife. Ruth has spent the last decade embarking on wild journeys of her own as a journalist and videographer. She’s spent months by herself filming the rural tribes of Borneo and has explored the farthest-reaching corners of the world from Africa to Asia and beyond. Now, she’s agreed to take on her toughest documentary assignment yet… filming her husband as they head into some of the most challenging places on Earth.
Together they fight for survival, often merely with a knife and the clothes on their back to protect them. They demonstrate first hand what it takes to come out alive by crafting shelter with local materials, ingeniously creating fire from scratch, hunting & foraging for scarce food and most importantly, finding life’s most critical element, water.
Together they overcome treacherous terrain and sleepless nights as they
battle the elements and hold onto “the will to survive.” Each episode sees them travel to a new destination for a week and try to survive the elements and each other.
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Home > North > Akureyri
Akureyri is situated in north-east Iceland, on the longest fjord in the country and is surrounded by mountains reaching 1000-1500 m. Akureyri is about 60 km south of the Arctic Circle, but summer days can reach 25°C. Winters, however, bring heavy snowfall and cold weather, with calm and still weather also being common.
The northerly position of Akureyri has had a considerable influence on the community that has sprung up there. Despite the geographical isolation there has always been contact with the outside world, firstly through trade and then through export, chiefly of seafood products. It is thought that Eyjafjörður was settled by Helgi the Lean and his wife Þorunn around 890.
The history of the town is very closely linked to trade and services. Trade began in Akureyri in the 16th century but it was not until 1760 that merchants began living there year round. In 1862 Akureyri was granted its municipal rights and the population was around 300.
Akureyri is the largest community outside the capital area, with around 15,000 inhabitants. Akureyri is the centre of trade and services in northern Iceland and its economic life is very varied. Its facilities for conferences and meetings are some of the best in rural Iceland. The town's role as a centre of learning is increasing, particularly after the opening of the University of Akureyri in 1987.
Cultural life and entertainment are flourishing in Akureyri. It has a symphony orchestra, theatres, art museums, cafés, restaurants and night-clubs. There is a wide range of shops in the town, offering brand-name products.
Sports and leisure activities are also well-catered for. Akureyri swimmingpools are fabulous and heated with hot water from deep in the earth. There are several gyms, golf courses, sports grounds and the skiing area is the best in the country. Akureyri is truly a winter sports enthusiast's paradise. The town boasts an excellent skating rink, superb cross-country skiing trails through an ever-changing landscape and fantastic slopes for slalom skiers and snowboarders. There are several skiing competitions, including international ones, held over the winter. Jeep and snow mobile trips are readily available to individuals and groups.
The town's verdant surroundings have earned Akureyri the name the Green Town. Within the town limits there is a forested area (Kjarnaskogur) which is a popular recreational area both in summer and winter. The area offers a number of walking and cross-country skiing trails.The Botanical Garden is the most northerly one of it´s kind in the world, with a great number of plants and flowers. This is a particularly popular attraction for overseas tourists.
Eyjafjordur, with Akureyri at its centre, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. There are a great number of hiking trails, many of them mapped. Horse-riding trips are popular, as are jeep and snowmobile trips. There is excellent deep see fishing and angling in the lakes and rivers.
The most northerly golf course in the world is located in Akureyri. Every June there is an international competition called the Arctic Open which attracts a number of overseas players. The competition has gained attention overseas because competitors play through the night in the midnight sun. There are also a great number of cultural and artistic events.
Akureyri lies within easy reach of a host of interesting places, including Godafoss, Dettifoss, Hrisey and Grímsey, an island bisecting the Arctic Circle. There is a wide range of accommodation available in Akureyri and the surrounding area. Akureyri offers everything large town has to offer but still manages to retain its small town appeal.
www.eyjafjordur.is
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Nigeria: Army Retires 51 Officers
Abuja — Nigerian Army, yesterday, retired 51 senior officers, with their retirement letters stipulating that they proceed on terminal leave with effect from December 31, 2012.
Vanguard gathered that many of the officers protested to the Presidency and National Assembly over the retirement, claiming it did not follow the terms and conditions of service of the Armed Forces.
A breakdown of the retired officers shows that 12 Major-Generals, 24 Brigadier-Generals and 15 Colonels were served letters.
Among those retired is the former UN Force Commander in South Sudan, Major-General Moses Obi; Commander Infantry Centre Corps, Jaji, Major-General M. D. Isah, who also doubled as Cantonment Commander of Jaji Cantonment that was recently breached by suicide bombers.
However, Army Spokesman, newly-promoted Major-General Mobolaji Koleoso, said the retirement of General Isa had nothing to do with the Jaji bomb blast as he was already due to go.
He said the board of inquiry report on the Jaji incident was being studied and that Nigerians will be informed of the outcome at the appropriate time.
Reacting to the anonymous text message making rounds in the public domain alleging forceful retirements of some officers, Koleoso, Director of Army Public Relations, noted that it was not common for the Army to respond to such insinuations, but noted it was necessary to exercise the right of response in this case to put the facts before the public.
We followed rules, regulations– Army
According to him, the administration of the Nigerian Army, NA, as in any organisation, is governed by rules and regulations.
He said the 51 officers retired had been notified earlier in the year of their retirement, adding that most of them had voluntarily written regarding same.
Subsequently, the Army Council approved their retirement from service having attained the mandatory age ceiling for each rank.
He said retirement from any noble profession, especially the Army, was considered a noble exit, which every officer hoped and prayed for.
“To turn around to give such a milestone exercise a negative flavour is, to say the least, mischievous,” he said.
Among those who put in paper for voluntary retirement is Major-General Olayinka Akinyemi, Chief of Policy and Plans, Army Headquarters. He added that the present leadership will continue to uphold its core values.
He said in line with the Chief of Army Staff, COAS’s vision of transforming the NA into a force better able to meet contemporary challenges and President Jonathan’s transformation agenda, the NA will continue to abide by extant rules and regulations.
Koleoso said: “The NA uses this medium to advise anybody aggrieved over the decisions of the Army Council to take advantage of the relevant provisions in the Harmonised Terms and Condition of Services Officers, 2012 (Revised) to appeal to the C-in-C through the Chief of Defence Staff and stop banking on ethnic and religious sentiments to pursue personal ambitions.
“Also, Nigerian Army under the leadership of Lt.-Gen. O. Ihejirika, is a united, cohesive and focused institution and will remain steadfast in the discharge of its national responsibilities, especially in its present fight against terrorism.”
On terrorist attacks
Speaking on terrorist attacks, the Army Spokesman said terrorists wanted to create problems by attacking churches and killing Christians, adding that if Christians had not held back, it would have ignited a religious war, which no country ever survived.
He said there had been cordon and search operations everywhere in the north and the south.
According to him, it is why Nigerians have had a peaceful Christmas and will equally have a peaceful New Year.
General Koleoso added that though the cordon and search and roadblocks were not intended to harass or intimidate civilians, the measure put in place had recorded a lot of successes.
He urged Nigerians to be patient as the measures might cause some delays, but that it was for the safety of all.
Category: Africa News
« Gambia: Imam Held Incommunicado
P-Square, Tuface, Others Storm Oraifite for Blast Blast 2012 »
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The Orphan Spoiler Is Hilarious
It’s too early to say whether any supposed spoilers are actually legitamate for the movie the Orphan, but it’s apparantly:
I know what’s wrong with Esther.
SPOILER ALERT! DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANNA KNOW!
She is really a 33-year-old woman who was born with proportional dwarfism which causes her to have the appearance of a child. She also happens to be a former prostitute, who had wealthy paedophiles for clients. The reason why she has her neck covered is because she was once in asylum and she struggled so much in her straitjacket that it left with her deep scars on her neck.
Maybe it’s just me, but that’s one of the stupidest/funniest plot twists ever -although it still doesn’t say why she’s so down to kill her whole adopted family.
Personally, I think this movie not only looks like a piece of crap, but it’s also offensive to adoption supporters everywhere.
27 Responses to “The Orphan Spoiler Is Hilarious”
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REEL + CLIPS
DIRECTORIAL WORK
RYAN CARAWAY
"THE BOWERY IS DOWN" TO BEGIN SHOOTING IN 2018
Get Back Here is teaming up with Changing Film Productions for the indie romantic comedy The Bowery Is Down.
Directed by Ryan Caraway. Written by Ryan Caraway and Jonathan Custodio.
Synopsis: An abrasive apartment painter's romantic life is thrown into focus when an Italian photographer lands at his doorstep, thinking the place as hers.
"HOLD ME!" COMING IN 2017
Principal Photography has wrapped on "Hold Me!", an adaptation of selected vignettes from Jules Feiffer's play by the same name. Written & directed by Ryan Caraway. Produced by Jonathan Custodio. Get Back Here Productions.
Synopsis: Father Bernard's sermon goes a little off track.
BY JINGO (2015)
Written and directed by Ryan Caraway.
Starring Ryan Caraway, Ashleigh McCloskey, Matthew Scanlon and Mark Coffin.
Synopsis: In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, a disturbed laborer struggles to rebuild for his wife and their unborn child.
BY JINGO
HEADLINE CLOSING NIGHT FILM
NOVEMBER 1: 4:45PM
SCANDINAVIA HOUSE ON PARK AVENUE
NORDIC INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
NOTES ON THE PRODUCTION
BY JINGO, which began Principal Photography on February 2, 2013, was shot on unique areas of the Long Island coast where small seaside communities were dealing with and living in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The effects of the storm—socially, economically, and environmentally—are addressed in the film’s story and help to capture the disparity and devastation of local sceneries and used in juxtaposition to the film’s stark narrative. The heart of BY JINGO lies in its characters’ struggle to provide on the fringes of society and come to terms with the life they were born into.
Ryan Caraway and Jonathan Custodio met at as students in Boston, Massachusetts. Their friendship and desire to make personal films was the basis for the production, which began in October 2012. “We were never really part of any group, we were always kind of at the outside of things, so it was always easier for us and I guess natural that we went off and did our own thing in the way that I, and especially Ryan, felt they needed to be done,” Custodio explains.
With a working script, Caraway set out to form what would become the BY JINGO family—a group of ambitious men and women from different career trajectories who were eager to put their thumbprints on the world of feature films. A young director of photography, Stefan Fernandez, was among the first to join the project. Caraway met Fernandez on the set of the short film, “And That’s What I Call Love”, establishing an instant rapport. They shared a passion for film, literature, and a desire to make personal work that would simultaneously be filled with life and illuminate contemporary times. Meetings were held in coffee shops throughout Manhattan and Hoboken until a simple visual pattern developed.
Looking to create a working environment that reflected the immediacy and spontaneity of theatrical rehearsals, Caraway assembled the majority of BY JINGO’S cast out of relationships formed while in the conservatory program at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the group workshops led by Cotter Smith in Tribeca. The remaining players were either former collaborators or close friends who were looking to contribute their own voices to a narrative that was open to change.
Three months after Hurricane Sandy, when ocean waters crossed the barrier beaches, eroding protective dunes and leveling the populated neighborhoods that are adjacent to Shinnecock Bay, the cast and crew moved into the dilapidated house that served as the film’s main set at the end of Bayside Avenue in East Quogue, New York. “We wanted the most authentic set possible, which, in this case, was moving into a house that was destroyed with the furniture that was still in it, with water stains on the couches and patio furniture as your dining room table”, Caraway elaborates.
The production reflected the living situation. Circumstances were often harsh due to the unpredictable winters that occur along the South Shore. The four-man crew, comprised of Caraway, Fernandez, Custodio and Nick Fugazy, worked around the clock to capture every nuance of the story, including the local landscapes of East Quogue, Southampton, and Sag Harbor. Shooting days usually began before sunrise and often went late into the night or even the next morning.
To capture the authenticity of local sceneries and Long Island’s agricultural bed, the production shifted to a working farm off Route 104 in East Quogue, New York. Run by Ed Densieski, whose family has had stakes on the South Fork for over ninety years, Densieksi Farm provided the perfect backdrop for the film’s counter-narrative. The cast and crew were granted full access to the structures and facilities that populate the 256-acre property, allowing for a wider range of storytelling. “We needed a counter-balance to the confines of the house and being able to film the farm from a variety of vantage points allowed us to show the full scope of this world and open up that part of the narrative to a much wider sense of space,” Fernandez explains. The cast and crew would regularly jump into the middle of operations to provide small glimpses into day-to-day functions. Mr. Densieski provided invaluable contributions to the film, not only in his generosity, but also in his ability to provide a realistic sense of detail.
After a dawn to dusk shoot on April 28, 2013, principal photography completed along the beaches of Southampton, New York.
Post Production began in Los Angeles the following September. Caraway and his editor, Alexander Harrison Jacobs, first worked to lay the entire narrative out and then deconstruct it to its emotional core: the relationship between Sean and Cassie. The process took seventeen variations of the film, with scenes constantly being placed, shifted, cut or re-cut to match the methodical pacing of the script and bring new life to the story. Because Caraway used alternate setups and altered dialogue for many of the scenes, the additional material could be blended together to form new sequences or be left to stand on its own. One scene in particular appears in all three variations in which it was filmed.
Across the entire production, through all the setbacks and small victories, one unfaltering credo remained: that every single person in the BY JINGO family was trusted to translate Caraway’s vision the way they felt it needed to be expressed, to use their voices and their craft to tell a story that never could have been told by one person on his own.
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Alan Stoddart
FIA confirms Halo system for use in 2018 FIA Formula One world championship
The FIA has announced that all Formula One cars will be fitted with the Halo cockpit protection system for the 2018 season. The safety system has been designed to reduce the risk of injury from debris or other objects striking the driver’s head, and was trialled by a number of teams during Grand Prix practice sessions last year.
“Following the unanimous agreement of the [Formula One] Strategy Group, in July 2016, to introduce additional frontal protection for Formula One and the repeated support from the drivers, the FIA confirms the introduction of the Halo for 2018,” the FIA said in a statement.
The FIA added that the support of teams would enable the design to be enhanced further. “Having developed and evaluated a large number of devices over the past five years, it had become clear that the Halo presents the best overall safety performance,” it said.
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An artist's interpretation of an asteroid belt in the closest known planetary system, Epsilon Eridani,
via Mashable.
Do you remember that meteor explosion above Chelyabinsk, Russia, that happen almost a year ago? That meteor, even though it was a small one, injured more than 1,400 people and it was an unequivocal reminder that the skies are filled with thousands of potential catastrophes-in-waiting. Contrary to the expected, Eric Larsson in Mashable tells us, "we don't employ hundreds of people to monitor for space rocks around the clock. Often our fate lies in the hands of amateur observers and research teams, some of which staff teams of eight or fewer." But there are some asteroid hunters out there, like Stephen Larson, a senior staff scientist at the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona, who has been tracking asteroids since 2004, basically trying to save, you know, the planet. Read this intersting story in Mashable. E.T.P. 20'
*This piece is part of Mashable Spotlight, which presents in-depth looks at the people, concepts and issues shaping our digital world.
Photo via The Guardian.
"Researchers have created genetically modified monkeys with a revolutionary new procedure that enables scientists to cut and paste DNA in living organisms. . . The feat was applauded by some researchers who said it would help them to recreate devastating human diseases in monkeys, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The ability to alter DNA with such precision is already being investigated as a way to make people resistant to HIV. But the breakthrough is controversial, with groups opposed to animal testing warning that it could drive a rise in the use of monkeys in research. One critic said that genetic engineering gave researchers "almost limitless power to create sick animals". Read full article in The Guardian. E.T.P. 8'
Labels: asteroid, DNA, eric larsson, genetics, meaningful procrastination, monkeys, science, space, the procrastinator some times
The Procrastinator (some) Times Sunday 23rd of Feb...
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GROUNDHOG DAY SPECIAL
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Closing the Skills Gap: Chase Launches $75 Million Career Training Initiative
Apr 21st, 2016
"Economic opportunity is increasingly out of reach for millions of young people," Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon explains in a news release. "It is a crisis that only 60% of students in high-poverty urban school districts graduate from high school and that more than five million young people are out of work and school. Without the right skills or education, they find themselves stuck in low-skill, low-wage jobs or unemployed. We are in investing in high-quality career-focused education programs so that more young people have a shot at real economic opportunity."
In recent years, “the skills gap”-that is, the gap between the skills employers need and those that young workers bring to the table-has grown wider. It’s a trend that threatens to leave many promising young workers behind.
But what if we invested in those young workers to give them the training they need to compete for jobs in today’s global marketplace? The $75 million “New Skills for Youth” career readiness initiative, spearheaded by JPMorgan Chase, aims to do just that.
“Economic opportunity is increasingly out of reach for millions of young people,” Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon explains in a news release. “It is a crisis that only 60% of students in high-poverty urban school districts graduate from high school and that more than five million young people are out of work and school. Without the right skills or education, they find themselves stuck in low-skill, low-wage jobs or unemployed. We are in investing in high-quality career-focused education programs so that more young people have a shot at real economic opportunity.”
According to Chase, “1 out of 3 American companies have openings for which they can’t find qualified workers.” At the same time, there are an estimated 5.5 million young people, aged 16-24, who are neither working nor in school, with youth unemployment at 11% overall. Among young African Americans, that number rockets to and 22%.
That divide suggests that expanding access to quality career education programs, to provide the technical and professional skills today’s marketplace demands, would be a win-win for both workers and employers, as well as for the U.S. economy at large.
It’s against that backdrop that the New Skills for Youth initiative was launched. Chase developed the concept as a way to expand access to career pathway programs for young workers.
In a recent USA Today op-ed, Dimon and Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland in Baltimore County, make the case that the education and corporate sectors need to work in concert to bridge the skills gap.
“Educators need to recognize that businesses have a high demand for skilled workers, whether they’re robotics technicians or licensed practical nurses, and better align what they teach with the skills employers desperately need,” Dimon and Hrabowski write. “Likewise, business leaders need to support the education system as it strives to teach today’s skills and help students develop into critical thinkers and life-long learners. Many students who start on a technical training path will have opportunities to go on to earn four-year degrees in the years to come.”
The New Skills for Youth initiative has two key components. First, Chase is working with the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium on a nationwide grant program encouraging states to design and implement new career training programs. Information on how to apply is at http://www.ccsso.org/Resources/Programs/Career_Readiness_Initiative.html.
The first phase of grants, totaling $2.5 million announced at the end of March, was secured by twenty-four states and the District of Columbia. The grants allow the states to, “develop detailed career readiness action plans, which are an essential step to expanding economic opportunity for young people.”
Ohio Interim State Superintendent, Lonny Rivera stated upon receiving the grant, “It’s more important than ever that students receive a career-focused education. We’re excited to catapult our initial groundwork to an innovative and bold level where students are engaged and excited about learning, ultimately leading to a seamless transition to college and careers.”
The initiative’s second prong provides targeted investments in career-training programs. Chase says the goals will be “to increase the number of students, especially low-income young people, who earn meaningful postsecondary and workforce credentials. Effective programs will be aligned with the needs of emerging industries that are looking for skilled workers to fill good-paying jobs in the growing global economy.”
Communities that received Phase One grants are now also eligible to apply for Phase Two grants in the fall of 2016 where states will receive up to $2 million over three years to implement the plans they developed in Phase One.
By tracking the successes and shortcomings of these programs, Chase seeks to identify workable models for career training and education that can be implemented in other environments.
As a leader in the financial industry, Chase recognizes that a strong economy requires expanding opportunities for everyone. Particularly in a time of slow global growth, it’s critical that the private and public sectors work together to address the skills gap and help young workers prepare for the jobs of today and tomorrow. The New Skills for Youth initiative is one promising start toward addressing the skills gap.
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Sinlung / Manipur
ZUF Rebels 'Rape' 4 School girls in Manipur
Imphal, Oct 19 : Four tribal schoolgirls were allegedly raped by two cadres of the underground Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) who had defected in Manipur's Tamenglong district on October 5.
The rapes were known after the girls came to Imphal and spoke to reporters at a conference on Wednesday. A senior ZUF leader said both the cadres had defected from the party and there was a price on their heads.
One of the culprits shot himself with his gun in front of one of the victims inside the quarters of a chowkidar of the Manipur irrigation and flood control department office at Khoupum village in Tamenglong.
The four Zeliangrong girls are students of classes VI-X. They were returning from school when they heard gunshots. They were afraid of being hit by stray bullets and took shelter in a nearby house, the girls told reporters.
"Minutes after the firing stopped, we came out of the house. Just then, the two cadres carrying guns shot at the ground near us. They dragged us inside the chowkidar's quarters," one of the girls said.
The cadres locked two of the schoolgirls in the toilet and raped the other two, said a girl. Later, they dragged out the two girls from the toilet and raped them, too.
After raping the girls, one of the cadres pointed his gun to his head and threatened to kill himself along with one of the victims. He then shot himself and the terrified girl managed to run out of the room.
On hearing the gunshot, the other cadre rushed out and fled, the victims said.
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Marianska Hora
It is one of the oldest and most important pilgrimage places in Slovakia. In 1955 the Pope John Paul II visited the place during his stay in Slovakia. On the steep hill it is situated the church of the Virgin Mary built in gothic style. The church was promoted to Basilica Minor in 1984.
Markusovce
Over the country it dominates the church of St. Micheal in first-gothic style of the 13th century. Nearby, there are preserved remains of a castle from 13th century, too, but they are not open to the public now. In the village is situated the Renessaince manor house of 1643 built Frantisek Mariassy and reconstructed between the 1773 and 1775 in rococo style. Inside it is an exposition of historic furniture. The manour house is encircled by the beautiful French park with a summer house called "Dardanelles" constructed between 1775 and 1778. Today inside the summer house it is an exposure of the musical instruments and the concerts of classic music are carried out.
Open: May-September, Tu/Su: 9.00 - 17.00
October-April, Tu/Fr,Su: 8.00 - 16.00
Dravce
The first written record of the village dates back to 1263, in an historical document that is indicated like a place of the royal falcon breeders. In the village it is situated a gothic stone bridge of the 15th century and an early gothic church from the 13th century that it dominates the country. In the church, there are several wall paintings from the late 13-th and the middle of the 15-th century.
Spissky Stvrtok
The first written reference to the village is from the year 1263 and its name derive from the markets, which used to take place on Thursdays (thursday in Slovak means stvrtok). In the country is situated the St. Ladislav's church with one nave, built in gothic style in 1404. In 1473 the chapel of the Zapolsky family is attached to the church. Its architecture belongs to the masterpieces of Slovak Gothic.
Spissky Hrhov
The first written record of the village dates back to 1278. In the village are situated the arched bridge in stone of the first part of 19th century and the Gothic church built in the 15th century. The tower of the church was restored in 1708 in renaissance style and ended with the attic. In the country is also situated the Neo-Baroque manor house, built between 1893 and 1895 with one evocative facade and one external very elegant staircase, in front of the entrance.
The archaeological discoveries testify that the territory of the town were settled already in the New Stone Age. The first written record of the town dates to 1269, when the king Bela IV gave to Kezmarok the town rights and later rights of a free royal town. The historical nucleus was declared an Urban Preservation Area in 1950.
The important monuments of the town are:
The Wooden articular church - it was built in 1717 with the floor plan of a Greek cross without use of iron nails in baroque style. Inside, the church is like a Baroque jewel box, carved from wood and scented like a cedar closet. The roof is a continuous mural, painted sky blue with billowy white clouds and pink angels. It is one of the most evocative churches in Slovakia.
The Town hall - was originally built in the gothic style in 1461. In 1541 - 1555 it was rebuilt in the renaissance style, in 1641 the tower was erected. After a fire in 1779 another - this time classicist reconstruction took place.
The Holy Cross Basilica - it was built in first part of the 13th century and in years 1444-1498 it was rebuilt in gothic style. The inner equipment of the church was originally much richer than it is today - the amount of 11 original gothic altars has slowly decreased to 5 in 1803. In 1868-70 the church was recnonstructed and new neo - gothic altars were assembled from older parts - statues, crosses and paintings. In 1998 the Holy Cross Church was given the status Basilica minor.
The New Evangelical church - it was constructed between the 1872 and 1894. It is the red-green color church built in Eclectic style with bizantine, Romanesque and renaissance elements. The church consists of a bell tower high 65 m. In the church there is also the tomb of Imrich Thököly, the leader of anti-Hasburg uprising.
The Kezmarok Castle - the castle whitewashed to lime was built around 1462 and more late surrounded by the wall of the renaissance fortifications decorated with delicate battlements. Between 1657 and 1658 were constructed the chapel. The Kezmarok castle belonged in the period of 1679 to the Thököly family, which made to reconstruct the castle like summer residence. In the 1702 castle it was bought from the city. Today the castle houses the section of the Museum of Kezmarok dedicated to archaeology, the local history and the historical furnishings.
The town walls - they come from the half of 14th century and consist of two walls, in that period between two walls it was built a water's moat. Of the original walls it has saved a gothic bastion.
The territory of the Slovak Paradise is rich in natural beauties. In this national park there are narrow canyons, waterfalls, beautiful caves, gorges, paths. The rugged canyons could are passable thanks to ladders and chains that have been installed to carry hikers along dizzying heights over cascades and boulder-sterwn stream beds. The Hornad river during thousands of years created here the canyon called Prielom Hornadu, 7 km long, where it is possible to do rafting.
The most famous cave of the Slovak Paradise is the Dobsinska Ice Cave (Dobsinska ladova jaskyna) that it is icluded in the natural patrimony of the Unesco. The tourist paths carry the visitors of the national park to admire the attractive panorama of the rocky formations. Between the most beautiful sights there are the Tomasovsky view (Tomasovsky vyhlad) and the Needle (Ihla). In addition to natural beauty, the National Park of Slovak Paradise is rich in flora and fauna..
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#CLT20, #ChampionsLeague-Cricket, #ChampionsLeague
Text Flag as inappropriate
CL T20 – enough of T20 already!
There are international T20 series between test playing nations, and the T20 world cup, and the two month long IPL, and country club T20 tournaments in Australia, South Africa, Pakistan and England, and then there is the Champions League T20. Cricketing tournaments are now being organized and played with such alarming frequency throughout the year that the audience is on the verge of becoming bored by the game of cricket. Not to mention the toll it is taking on the physical fitness of the players.
With the commercialization of cricket in parallel to the advent of the shortest version of the game, cricket is slowly becoming a game which is being played without using a bat or a ball. The ego clashes of cricketing boards of different nations and the money pumping capacity of the sponsors have become the main factors in deciding which, when, by whom and how many times a cricketing tournament should be organized and played. The exclusivity, class and traditionalism associated with the game has long been lost in this web of commercialization.
CL T20 is yet another T20 tournament which is the brainchild of the Indian, Australian and South African cricket boards. Initiated in 2008, this tournament was conceptualized as a strategy to cash in on the popularity of T20 cricket, especially the Indian Premiere League. Pitting a couple of country club teams of each of these countries against each other, this tournament offers the highest prize pool of $6 million, the highest for a club cricket tournament in the history of cricket. However, due to inter-cricket board politics and dictatorship, this tournament, which offers the highest prize money to its winners, is not open for all country clubs to participate. As far as competitive cricket is concerned, this trend is certainly not healthy.
The aim of country club cricket tournaments is to provide a platform to domestic players to perform on a national stage and increase their visibility to be considered for selection in the national team. Individual country club tournaments in various countries and the IPL have to a certain extent managed to achieve this. However, cricket is now being played in excess, the focus shifting from generating talent to generating money. CL T20 is a perfect example of this transition. Ironically, the effect on players has reversed - over fatigued, exposed to fixing scandals and excessive post-match parties associated with CL T20-like tournaments is honing talents different from those required on the field.
Haven’t we had enough of cricket already? Haven’t the “investors” of these tournaments and the participants too made enough money to last them a lifetime? Isn’t it high time that we stop making a mockery of cricket and let the poor game be?
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Can a dark horse win the Champions League this time?
Sachin Tendulkar: Truly Deserves to be called the Cricketer of the Generation
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Get Ready for NBA Free Agency Fireworks
With less than a week away from NBA free agency beginning, all the rumors swirling about this player or that player or this team or that team will be put to bed, as the biggest names in the NBA make their plans for the future public information. Of course, LeBron’s “Decision: 3.0” is the headline-grabber, but he’s by no means the only superstar debating where to suit up in the Fall of 2018. Here’s some of the biggest and most intriguing names on the market; and my thoughts on how things may wind up going once the bell rings on July 1:
Potential Suitors
Los Angeles Lakers: All signs point to La La Land as the ultimate destination for LeBron. The Hollywood lifestyle, playing for an all-time great franchise, and learning under the media mogul and NBA legend Magic Johnson are elects that no other city can offer. It doesn’t hurt, mind you, that the Lakers can bring in two more max free agents or position themselves to be players in the market in 2019.
Cleveland: The Cavs have shown the willingness to revamp their roster on the fly in order to please The King. They would no doubt do it again this summer if it means he stays put in Cleveland. Adding a piece like Kemba Walker in a deal with Charlotte has been reported by The Sporting News as enticing to LeBron. Also, we can’t forget that Kawhi Leonard could be shipped out of San Antonio. Anyone who says the Cavs roster will prohibit James’s return in 2018 doesn’t realize that rosters can change in the blink of an eye in the NBA.
Philadelphia: This one is interesting because Philly worked so hard to tank and tank and tank for years in order to acquire all this young talent through the draft. Now that it all seems to be coming together, here comes the notion of adding LeBron (and all that he brings — good and bad). Would his presence agitate the team’s current — and future — stars, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons? Would he be up and outta there in two or three years — and what would be left in Philly? In my opinion, the Sixers need a younger top-5 talent to keep that championship window open for longer. You know, Kawhi Leonard could be available, right?
Houston: The Rockets, I believed, positioned themselves a couple weeks ago as the front-runners for LeBron’s services. Since then, however, the likelihood of GM Daryl Morey abandoning his plan on how to dethrone Golden State seems slimmer and slimmer by the day. Houston was a Chris Paul hamstring away from the NBA Finals. Re-sign CP-3 and Clint Capela and run this thing back one more time.
While he’s not a free agent yet, Kawhi must be mentioned here due to the fact he’s entering his final year of a contract that he can opt out of following the 2018-19 season. Oh, there’s the whole “I want to be traded” thing, too, that we shouldn’t gloss over. Bottom line is if the Spurs want him for the remainder of his deal, they got him. If Gregg Popovich views this as too much of a distraction or thinks it’s more beneficial to the franchise to trade Kawhi and get what they can, then they’ll do that. It’s all up to the Spurs here. Kawhi has said his peace.
As I stated earlier, the Cavs and Sixers would be wise to inquire and see if there’s a deal that can be struck. Teams in the East are going to be competing for second place behind the Boston Celtics for the foreseeable future — why not make a deal now that puts you on that same level? It’s not often a top-5 talent becomes available.
Possible Suitors:
Los Angeles Lakers: It’s no secret that George’s dream is to play for the Lakers. His Pacers teammates knew it and now all the league and it’s fans know it. It’s no secret whatsoever that a LeBron-George combo in L.A. has been bandied about for months.
Oklahoma City: Uniting with LeBron in L.A. and creating a power team to challenge the Warriors is likeliest scenario; but OKC is pushing hard to keep PG-13 as Russell Westbrook’s running mate with the Thunder. Marc Stein spoke to Dan LeBatard and said he believed George would in fact stay in Oklahoma City. The 5-time All Star could be in the market for a 2-year contract worth $60 million, with an opt-out clause that would allow him to test the market again in a year.
Philadelphia: I say this because I’ve thought it for months. Don’t sleep on the Sixers going after George. He’s a safer fit in their system than LeBron is, in my opinion. And if the Sixers are truly trying to keep up with Boston, they’ll need to make at least one splash this summer.
New Orleans: It makes sense for the Pelicans to re-sign the big man. But an achilles injury is the scariest to come back from and they may not want to get into a bidding war if another franchise offers the max — and I’d fully expect a team like Dallas to do so.
Dallas: The Mavs have the money to spend and the desire to win now. They traded for the best player in the NBA Draft, as I saw it, in Luka Doncic, and they could easily be the most improved team in the league next season by adding another piece in free agency.
Possbile Suitors:
Houston: It seemed all year like a fore gone conclusion that Paul would re-sign with the Rockets this offseason. However, a hamstring in Games 6 and 7 of the Western Conference Finals and some missed games in the regular season has apparently given pause to the franchise and whether they want to tied up a max deal in an injury-prone point guard for the next how ever many years. I’d expect a two-year deal to get worked out where Paul gets his money. The Rockets are still the only ones who have any chance in the West of stopping the Warriors. And without CP-3, they have a significantly worse chance.
Los Angeles Lakers: Teaming up with LBJ in L.A. became the talk of the internet a couple weeks ago. Depending how talks go between Paul and the Rockets, this possibility cannot at all be ruled out.
Dallas: Teams like Dallas, Chicago, Sacramento, and Philadelphia could offer Smart the type of contract he desires. The Mavs have declared a “win now” attitude so Mark Cuban likely would be willing to outbid the competition. Dallas could be in a decent spot with a transformed roster heading into 2018-19.
Boston: The Celts won’t match anything beyond the $12 to 14 million range. Danny Ainge values Smart’s intangibles, but at what price?
Chicago: The Bulls have the money to spend and rumors are that they’d prefer to spend it now instead of waiting to be major players in the summer of 2019. Bringing Smart’s grit and tenacity to Chicago might be what the franchise needs. But it will overpay.
Listen to the Sports Talk Center Podcast, episode 42, here:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/sportstalkcenterpodcast/Episode_42.mp3
Author Brian GoodwinPosted on June 24, 2018 Categories NBALeave a comment on Get Ready for NBA Free Agency Fireworks
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McFadden: Congress, president should return to Washington now
By Abby Simons
August 14, 2014 — 5:17pm
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike McFadden said Thursday that both President Obama and Congress should return to Washington from their respective breaks to address the country's immigration crisis and the conflict in Iraq.
"You have the president giving a press conference from Martha's Vineyard and it sends the wrong message. We continue to have a humanitarian and security crisis on the border." McFadden said from north-central Minnesota, where he was closing out a tour of the state's 87 counties. "We've got to get these things solved and I think it's inappropriate for people to go on vacation."
McFadden, an investment banker from Sunfish Lake, handily won Tuesday's primary to take on Democratic Sen. Al Franken.
An official August break for Congress has been on the books since 1970, Congress can return mid-recess if both houses agree to it, although it's rare, according to the Washington Post. The last time was nearly a decade ago to pass emergency legislation to assist people devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Obama returns to Washington on Sunday.
McFadden said the current crises warrant it. Asked what he would do at the border, McFadden said "I don't know what the exact solution is, but I think it's along the lines of what the (Texas Sen. John) Cornyn bill is trying to push forward, which significantly accelerates the hearings for these children so they're not stuck in limbo."
Cornyn authored the HUMANE Act, which focuses on unaccompanied children crossing the border.
On the day the Missouri State Highway Patrol said it would take over security in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb that's been a hotbed of protests since a police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, McFadden called the situation "troubling."
"I'm keeping a close eye on the situation, and I only know what everybody else knows," McFadden said. "It's very troubling when you have people from the press getting arrested, and I think someone in Missouri needs to take charge. It's a concerning development"
Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison and other lawmakers have called for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the incident. Obama has also called for an investigation and made remarks on the ongoing protests and urged "peace and calm" while an investigation continues.
McFadden's comments come the day after he stumbled over whether he would support increasing the gas tax to fund transportation infrastructure.
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Minnesota now offers 'X' for gender option on driver's licenses • State + Local
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History of the Branch
Your Elected Reps
Join the SNP
Maryhill and Springburn SNP is a constituency branch of the SNP, which covers the Maryhill and Springburn Scottish Parliamentary constituency. The constituency was created in 2011 from a merger of parts of the Glasgow Maryhill, Glasgow Springburn and a small part of the Glasgow Anniesland constituencies. The parts of Glasgow Anniesland were Kelvindale and Kelvinside that had previously been in Glasgow Hillhead before 1997.
In 2016, Bob Doris made history by becoming the first ever SNP MSP for Maryhill and Springburn. Getting 55.5% of the vote on a 13.7% swing. One of the highest in Glasgow.
In 2011 candidate Bob achieved 2nd place on a 41.8% of the vote on a 9.8% swing.
In 2007, Bob and the SNP had achieved a vote of 32.1%.
In 2003, Bill Wilson came 2nd on a vote of 19.9%. Bill Wilson achieved 30.98% of the vote behind Labour on 49.78% in 1999.
For Westminster the constituencies that fall within the branch boundaries are Glasgow North and Glasgow North East, both now held by the SNP following the 2015 General Election. Patrick Grady won Glasgow North on a 28.9% swing, gaining 53.1% of the vote.
In the eastern half of the branch Anne McLaughlin won Glasgow North East with a record-breaking 39.3% swing and 58.1% of the vote.
Looking back at the historic constituencies, which make up most of the area covered by the present day branch, Maryhill was held by Labour MP William Hannan from 1945-74. In 1966 the SNP fielded Hugh MacDonald as a candidate who achieved 11% of the vote; A.C.W. Aitken achieving a similar result in 1970s. The mid-70s marked a high point for the SNP in this constituency and many others, with A. MacIntosh achieving 24% in February 1974 and 29% in the October general election. The 1979 election and the 1980s represented the lean years for the party with D. McGlashan, Iain Morrison, and G. Roberts all receiving between 7 and 11% of the vote. The final election of the Glasgow Maryhill constituency in 2001 saw Alex Dingwall come 2nd on 15.9% of the vote.
In the old Glasgow Springburn constituency Angus MacIntosh polled 9.2% for the SNP in 1964. William J Morton stood 3 times in the constituency achieving a highpoint in 1974 first with 22.8% in February then 28.3% in October. This fell back to 12.6% in 1979. J.F. McLaughlin polled 8.1% in 1983; a young Brendan O’Hara came second on 10.2% in 1987. Things began to recover for the SNP in the early 90s with Stuart Miller gaining 19.5% of the vote in 1992, John R. Brady 16.5% Sandy Bain 19.4 in 2001 before the seat was abolished.
The growth of the SNP since 2007 continues across the constituency with a strong independence referendum result for Yes closely followed by the record-breaking achievements in the 2015 General Election.
To read the history of the SNP then click here
Glasgow’s for Europe
Investing in our city: Second …
The dangers of No Deal Brexit
Refugee (Family Reunion) Bill
Glasgow’s GROWING Places…
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Copyright © SNP Maryhill & Springburn 2019 | Website design by Ross McStay | Admin Login Page
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« Money Alone Won’t Solve the Greek Crisis
Können wir uns Hegemonialmächte heute noch leisten? »
Some Thoughts on the “DSK Affair”
Von Michael Liebig; weitere Beiträge von Michael Liebig finden Sie hier: michaelliebig
By Michael Liebig
All in all, Bill Clinton was a good American President. Yet, in 1998 President Clinton was almost impeached because he had an extramarital affair with a young woman, Monica Lewinsky, and had initially lied about it. All in all, Dominque Strauss-Kahn was a good, maybe a very good Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Yet, DSK – as he is often called – had to resign as IMF chief after being charged with sexually assaulting a room maid at a Sofitel hotel in Manhattan. DSK resigned on May 19, 2011, two days earlier US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner had publicly demanded his resignation.
I don’t know what really happened in that New York hotel room. DSK categorically denies the charges of sexual assault. Whatever happened, the “DSK affair” and its media orchestration by the US authorities appears rather strange.
According to the French polling agency CSA, 57% of the Frenchmen think that DSK was the victim of a plot. Do Frenchmen have a cranky disposition towards “conspiracy theories”? Well, political scientists know that conspiracy theories – opposite to conspiracy ideologies – often do have a base in reality. Most political action is intrinsically “conspiratorial”: Some political actors get together and jointly decide that something needs to be done. Not infrequently, some political actors “conspire” to get rid of another actor holding an important position. Also not infrequently, the orchestration of a “scandal” – exploiting the weaknesses of the targeted person – is the way to that end. On April 28, 2011, DSK met – off the record – with journalists of the French daily Liberation. After DSK’s arrest in New York, Liberation reported that DSK had then said he feared a sexual set-up which would be turned into scandal ruining his career. Already in 1999, DSK had to resign as French Economics Minister in the midst of accusations that he was involved in political corruption – two years later he was acquitted in court and rehabilitated.
Background to the “DSK Affair”
While it is presently impossible to determine whether DSK committed a crime or not, the question can be raised if there are conflicts of interests which could potentially constitute the background for a desire to politically neutralize DSK? Here, the following issues can be considered:
The 2012 Presidential elections in France, for which DSK was a likely candidate of the Socialist Party – with good chances of defeating the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.
The policy shift of the DSK-led IMF away from the neoliberal paradigm and its transformation into an institution reflecting the multipolar world system, i.e. the real weight of rising powers like China, India or Brazil.
The debt crisis of the United States and the role of the IMF in that
The role of the IMF vis-a-vis the debt crisis in the Eurozone’s southern rim: Greece, Portugal and potentially Spain.
I will focus on the last three issues. After DSK became the IMF’s Managing Director in 2007, he moved the IMF – gradually – away from the almost exclusive policy focus on financial deregulation, privatization of state assets, labor-market “flexibility” and fiscal austerity. These neoliberal “structural adjustments” were at the center of IMF policies in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia prior to DSK’s tenure at the IMF.
On May 5, 2011, Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz wrote an article, titled “The IMF’s Switch in Time”, noting: “It appears that a new IMF has gradually, and cautiously, emerged under the leadership of Dominique Strauss-Kahn… But an even more important change is the link that the IMF has finally drawn between inequality and instability… As Strauss-Kahn concluded in his speech to the Brookings Institution shortly before the Fund’s recent meeting: ‚Ultimately, employment and equity are building blocks of economic stability and prosperity, of political stability and peace. This goes to the heart of the IMF’s mandate. It must be placed at the heart of the policy agenda.‘ Strauss-Kahn is proving himself a sagacious leader of the IMF. We can only hope that governments and financial markets heed his words.” Two weeks after Stiglitz published these sentences, Strauss-Kahn was gone.
DSK had opened up the IMF towards the new rising powers of Asia and Latin America, increasing their weight in the IMF’s policy making by increasing their “quota” of voting rights and accepting their more state-dirigiste economic, monetary and trade policies. DSK has clearly foreseen the emergence of a multipolar world monetary system, transcending the role of US dollar as the world reserve currency. DSK promoted the expanded use of the IMF’s unit of account, “Special Drawing Rights” (SDR), based on a currency basket of US dollar (44%), euro (34%), yen (11%) and British Pound (11%); and he wanted the Chinese yuan to be included in the basket. Reportedly, DSK wanted the next IMF head to come from one of the emerging powers.
Washington has a Problem with the IMF
Little attention has been given to the fact, that the arrest of DSK coincided with the “technical default” of the United States when its public debt reached the debt ceiling of $14.294 trillion set by the US Congress. Since May 14, it’s only through accounting tricks that the US government can pay its soldiers, civil servants or private contractors. Of course, Congress will raise the debt ceiling further – it has done so 12 times since 1995. But, US public debt – the budget deficit in the current fiscal year is $1.5 trillion – is unsustainable. The world’s biggest military and political power is at the same time the No 1 debtor nation. Since more than two decades, a significant part of US public debt has been financed by foreigners – Japanese, Chinese, Arabs and Europeans.
On April 19, 2011, the rating agency Standard & Poors had downgraded the outlook on US public debt from “stable” to “negative”, meaning that the US government could loose its AAA credit rating in the next two years. As share of GDP, US public debt is comparable to that of Greece: roughly 10% of GDP. And, like Greece, the American government can no longer rely on financial markets for selling its debt titles – the American central bank has to step in. Sofar, the Federal Reserve has bought US Treasury bills worth more than $1000 billion – and it does so by printing money.
When the Greek debt crisis erupted full force in the first quarter 2010, the ensuing “rescue package” was put together by the European Union and the IMF. Interestingly, the DSK-led IMF adopted a more flexible and longer-term position than the EU with respect to the conditionalities of the Greek rescue package. Yet, Greece is under the “supervision” of the IMF (and the EU). And here we come to the neuralgic point: Something similar might happen to the USA.
Unthinkable? Given the condition of US state finances, its vast and protracted balance of payment and trade deficit (and the dim prospect of their improvement), America’s foreign creditors might demand IMF “supervision” over US public finances. In the past, whenever a country had such severe fiscal and current account problems, the IMF moved in. Thus, the USA would undergo a variation of the very IMF “treatment” that US governments had fully backed earlier in respect to indebted countries like Brazil, Russia, South Korea or Turkey, just to name a few. One needs little imagination to realize that coming under IMF “supervision” would mean a “worst case scenario” for the United States government and financial community. Preventing or at least delaying that, would be top priority for America.
I think the assumption is not farfetched that DSK was determined to reshape the IMF in a way that it would not recoil from “supervising” US state finances. The same goes for the assumption that other powers quietly backed him in that. Therefore, the United States‘ paramount interest would be to use all means at its disposal in order to preempt such a constellation.
DSK told Liberation that he intended intended to resign as IMF Managing Director later this year in order to run for the French Presidency. But DSK would have been in a very strong position to influence the decision who would succeed him as IMF head.
Time will tell whether the indicated policy/personality conflicts at the IMF are relevant and valid for understanding the possible background of the “DSK affair”.
The “Eurozone Crisis”
Fact is that over past weeks international media attention has been focused on the renewed “Eurozone crisis” – Portugal and Greece – and then of course the “DSK affair”itself, while the financial situation in the United States remained a secondary issue. On May 19, the chief economist of the ECB, Jürgen Stark, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: The media and political discussion on the latest “Greek crisis” was “launched in London and New York” by “certain circles there” pursuing “their own interests”. Indeed, a most remarkable statement for a central banker.
No doubt, the Greek debt crisis is a serious matter, but one should put things into perspective. One should consider the economic weight of Greece within the EU: 1,9% of total EU-GDP. (Portugal 1.4%, and Ireland 1.2%). The problems of these three countries – plus Spain – are rather obvious: Joining the Eurozone currency union meant plentiful and cheap credit available to private and public actors there. Some of that cheap credit was used productively, notably for hard and soft infrastructure projects. But much of it was spent unproductively, notably for real estate speculation, instead of technology investments; a mushrooming state bureaucracy (combined with rampant tax evasion); and in the case of Greece outsized military spending. Both the real estate bubbles and rising public debt became unsustainable. A correction was inevitable: Unpleasant, painful for the majority of the population, but no catastrophe as, for example, the earlier case of Turkey’s crisis and recovery has demonstrated. As the Eurozone “South” has lost the advantage of price-vectored competitiveness via currency devaluations, it must focus now on achieving technology-driven competitiveness. The renewal and expansion of the manufacturing base is key for Southern Europe together with new economic cooperation efforts towards Latin America, Middle Eastern and Asian countries.
I think one can safely assume that the “Northern” Eurozone countries with a strong manufacturing base and export performance will continue to back financially the “South” – including an orderly debt reduction. Sooner than later, the creditor banks will have to cancel a certain percentage of the outstanding debt by stretching maturities, reducing interest rates or partial write-offs. Such re-negotiations of sovereign debt are nothing spectacular and dramatic – the banks involved should have known the risks.
In a multipolar world in which the center of gravity is moving to Asia, the European Union simply cannot afford a zone of economic and possibly political instability on its Southern flank. The geo-economic and geopolitical realities dictate European cohesiveness – irrespective of unending frictions and brawls in EU politics of the day.
Watch the Chinese at the IMF
Turning back to the IMF and the “DSK affair”: The interim head of the IMF is the American John Lipsky. The next IMF Managing Director will either come from Europe or from an “emerging country”. Chancellor Merkel said Germany and the EU want a European, adding: “We know however that in the medium-term the emerging countries are entitled to have the post of the IMF head as well as the post of the head of the World Bank.” Whoever will be the next IMF Managing Director, he or she will face a very serious conflict of interest with the United States and the daunting task of the building a multipolar world monetary system.
DSK, the man who “re-invented” the IMF, is out. But we should not forget that, in March 2009, the head of the Chinese Central Bank, Zhou Xiaochuan, presented a comprehensive plan for new multipolar world monetary system – a plan that is very close to DSK’s ideas for the IMF. The “Zhou Plan” created an uproar, then the issue seemed to fade away. But the Chinese think and act in long-term. Sooner than later, the “Zhou Plan” will be back on the IMF’s agenda. Meanwhile, we can only hope, albeit with trepidation, that DSK will get a fair trial.
Freitag, 20. Mai 2011 um 20:21 | Tags: Europa, Finanzkrise | Kategorie: Mitgeteilt | Keine Kommentare für diesen Beitrag mehr möglich Diesen Beitrag drucken
Michael Liebig
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Fixing the shape of the Stars and Stripes
The flag of the United States of America is so instantly recognisable and ubiquitous that it is hard to believe its design was only formalised in 1912. On the 24th June 1912, President Taft signed Executive Order 1556 stipulating the correct proportions of the flag and specifying the proper arrangement and orientation of the stars.
Until then, the basic design was well known – there were always thirteen horizontal stripes alternating in red and white and a blue canton featuring as many white, five-pointed stars as there were states. But within these parameters there remained a great deal of flexibility in how Old Glory was designed, a flexibility that was used to political effect both during and after the American Civil War.
In the north, anger at the southern cessationists manifested itself in flags with a ‘southern-exclusionary star count’. At a strike, the 14 rebellious states are removed from the banner, suggesting that their actions had forever removed them from the bounds of union and amity with the others.
At the other side of the country, southern pride and defiance was marked in flags that buried the Confederate Flag’s diagonal cross of stars amidst the other stars in the blue canton.
These, and other flag designs, were highlighted in Andrew Graham-Dixon’s excellent Art of America, repeats of which can be seen on BBC Four.
← The magnetic Mr Dickens
Are Zurich? If not, live somewhere else →
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Dreamracer DVD review
Dreamracer DVD
It’s an off-road race for cars, trucks and motorcycles that runs for two weeks around South America. It used to start in Paris on New Year’s Day and finish in the capital of Senegal, but the competitors got sick of bullet holes in their cars and the French organisers got sick of the terrorist threats so they shifted the whole thing across the Atlantic for 2009 and took the Dakar name with them.
Aussies started competing after the organisers provided a little financial encouragement for their 20th anniversary in 1997.
A 28-year-old ‘rookie’ from Gawler called Andy Haydon made the most of the opportunity and finished third. This year, a 27-year-old rookie from Newcastle called Toby Price finished third.
In between those two there’s been a steady trickle of Aussies prepared to risk their marriages, mortgages and lives to attempt the race. In 2006, Andy Caldecott from Keith, SA, became one of the 20 riders to have died in the race’s 37 years.
Moving the Dakar to South America and starting the rally a bit later in January has made it easier for Antipodeans to get to and one of those has been Christophe Barriere-Varju, whose efforts are chronicled in Dream Racer. Christophe has several things going for him: he is self-employed, he’s unmarried, he can read the French route directions used on the Dakar, he’s already attempted the rally four times and he has been a successful motocrosser in a former life on the Ivory Coast.
On the other side of Dream Racer is Simon Lee, a Sydney advertising agency executive who dreams of making a film but has a wife, second child on the way and no money to be traipsing across South America in a hire car with a camera crew. The problem is it’s 2010, sponsors don’t have any money and Christophe only scrapes together the $50,000 to enter after the organisers extend the deadline. “I have to get the money,” he says.
KTM sells the 690 Rally he’s lined up to someone else, he’s still carrying a “one pack” (instead of a six-pack) after breaking his arm the year before, both his training machines end up out of action, he can’t afford to pay a mechanic to go over to Buenos Aires … you get the picture.
“The guys a bonafide lunatic,” says Lee. “I just want to make a movie.”
There are certainly parallels here with Race to Dakar, featuring Charlie Boorman, but this is a ridgy-didge, dinky-die, shoestring Aussie effort, not some slick British co-production. Christophe is doing his own mechanical work and marking his own route sheets for the next day before grabbing a bite to eat and a few hours’ sleep in a tent. Simon does all his own filming, spends half the night recharging batteries and backing up footage and gets up before dawn to make sure Christophe’s helmet camera and microphone are working and film him setting off for the day.
Christophe injures his back on Day Six and tears a tricep on Day 11. He doesn’t go to the doctor because he fears he won’t be allowed to continue. You can feel the pain when he has to lift the heavy rally bike out of the sand every time he drops it. His video diary is of someone much older. This might be an adventure ride, but only for masochists.
Unlike Boorman, Christophe finishes, which certainly helps this award-winning film. “On a string. We did it on a string. You just hang on to it even if it starts falling apart. No matter what, you just hang on to it,” he says.
What we don’t hear is that he finished third in class and 56th overall or that he’s still hooked on Dakar four years later, but perhaps that’s as it should be.
Our rating: 4/5 stars
Availability: All good motorcycle stores and DVD retailers
Web: www.Dreamracer.com.au
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SQL Server 2014 Reporting Services Seminar offered by Software Skills Training, Inc.
SQL Server 2014 Reporting Services Seminar
Presented by Software Skills Training, Inc.
Bring this seminar on-site to your facility for groups of 10 or more.
This course introduces Microsoft's SQL Server Reporting Services 2014 (SSRS) utility.
This course introduces Microsoft's SQL Server Reporting Services 2014 (SSRS) utility. It begins with a discussion of the Reporting Services architecture and how to set up Reporting Services servers. Students will install and configure Reporting Services, and perform hands-on exercises where they create various types of reports, including basic table-based reports, parameterized reports, drilldown reports, linked reports, sub-reports, matrix reports (pivot tables), free-form reports and reports with charts and gauges. Students learn how to group data and add subtotals and totals to reports, as well as how to add custom calculations using the built-in functions or using custom functions written in .NET. Also demonstrated are all of the data sources for reports that Reporting Services supports including: SQL Server databases, Access databases, XML files, Oracle databases, data warehouses and Analysis Services data cubes.
Report Models, and how they can support end users creating ad-hoc reports, are covered and students practice with them in comprehensive hands on exercises. This includes a demonstration of Report Builder, which is a free report authoring tool from Microsoft. The course ends with a complete overview of Report Server administration, including how to deploy and secure reports, how to schedule automatic report generation and delivery, how to backup reports, how to store previous copies of reports in history folders, and how to maintain and troubleshoot Report Servers.
Course Prerequisites: Familiarity with database concepts, Windows desktop navigation and software installation techniques. Attendance at HOTT's SQL Programming course or Microsoft Transact-SQL Programming course is highly recommended although not required.
Creating, Deploying and Securing Reports
Working with Input Parameters
Adding Drilldown Capabilities
Linking Reports
Rendering Reports as Excel, Word or PDF Files
Using Report Models and Report Builder
Automating the Creation and Delivery of Reports
Administering and Troubleshooting Report Servers
Reporting Services Architecture
All Report Server Components Defined
Review of the Report Server Databases
Managing the Report Manager Web Interface
Report Lifecycle Step by Step
Creating Basic Reports
Creating Table Reports
Formatting Options
Adding Headers and Footers
Using Subtotals and Formulas
Adding Charts and Gauges
Using Lists for Free-Form Reports
Paging and Sorting
Managing Data Sources
Advanced Report Features
Setting Up Input Parameters
Adding Custom Report Navigation
Adding Drill-Down for Master-Detail Reports
Using Sub-reports
Adding Conditional Formatting
Matrix Reports
Pivoting Data with Matrix Controls
Adding Multiple Data Regions
Grouping and Sorting
Adding Subtotals
Adding Custom Aggregate Formulas
Using the TablixControl
Implementing Report Models
Understanding Report Models
Defining and Deploying Report Models
Setting Friendly Names for Source Data
Managing and Securing Report Models
Report Builder Utility
Creating Reports with Report Builder
Connecting to Report Models
Adding Charts and Gauges in Report Builder
Differences Between SQL Server Data Tools and Report Builder
Reporting Services Security
Organizing Reports in Folders
Setting Permissions on Reports and Folders
Managing Security Roles
Securing Data Sources and Report Models
Logging Activity on the Report Server
Automating Report Creation and Delivery
Creating Snapshot Reports
Storing Previous Versions of Reports
Caching Reports to Improve Performance
Defining Subscriptions to Automate Report Delivery
Rending Reports in Excel, MS Word or as a PDF
Hiding Reports from Users
Adding Custom Code
Querying the Report Server
Creating Custom Data Extensions
Creating Command Objects
Creating Data Reader Objects
Generating Report Definition Language
.NET Integration with Reporting Services
Writing User-Defined Functions in .NET
Using Custom Functions
Referencing .NET Libraries
Managing Report Servers from .NET Applications
Accessing SSRS from .NET Applications
Retrieving Report Items
Listing Report Metadata
Using the ReportViewer Control in ASP.NET Applications
Software Skills Training, Inc.
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Administrators
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ZF unveils prototype 5- tonne electric truck 07 May 2019
ZF Japan has unveiled an electric light commercial vehicle, designed for the Japanese market. The prototype has been developed by the engineering team at ZF’s tech centre in Yokohama, collaborating with a team in ZF HQ in Germany.
Called the CeTrax lite, it is based on ZF’s electric drive for passenger vehicles and is an electric drive for light commercial vehicles with a gtw of up to 7.5 tonnes.
The compact driveline unit has a total weight of 120kg.
“The beauty of our new E-drive module is that it can be installed in existing internal combustion engine (ICE) models and therefore converted to a fully electric vehicle without major modifications to the chassis and axles. This is thanks to our ‘plug-and-drive’ concept,” says Robert T Seidler, head of R&D at ZF Japan.
The system is proven, he adds, as the electric drive system for passenger cars is already in series production in the market.
An asynchronous motor equipped with the prototype truck generates 150kW and 380Nm, giving the same level of performance as ICEs in this class while also realising local zero emissions and low noise output.
“The new prototype is made by replacing the conventional ICE driveline of the most commonly used LCVs in Japan with ZF’s CeTrax lite – that is to say, trucks with a 5 tonne gvw and load capacity of 2 tonnes,” says Seidler.
“Starting from this vehicle, ZF will continue to move towards electrification in Japan, as well as globally, while endeavouring to meet the specific requirements of commercial vehicle manufacturers and fleet operators.”
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The Journal of History Spring 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS
This is the second of three parts exposing the One World Government, decent people's enemy. It is taken from https://tabublog.com/2014/01/18/revisionist-history-7-owners-of-empire-the-vatican-the-crown-and-the-district-of-columbia/ and corroborated by 3 other websites .
Arlene Johnson Editor-in-chief
For those of you who having difficulty believing the information presented in this article, I fully understand. For the first 57 years of my life, I would not have believed in the possibility that a shadow government could exist. Three years ago my world view changed. While on vacation in Mount Shasta, I came across a book titled “Global Conspiracy” that seemed strangely out of place in a metaphysical book store. I had never heard of the author before – some guy named David Icke. I scanned through the book and frankly didn’t believe 99% of what I read. But, I saw one thing that caught my attention in that I knew that I could easily verify Icke’s assertion. I did my own research and turned out what Icke had stated was true. That led me down a rabbit hole and many, many hundreds of hours of independent research. ~ Ross Pittman http://consciouslifenews.com/verified-warnings-presidents-about-invisible-government-running-allegiance-people/1136001/****
The Trinity of the Global Empire
Why is Washington D.C. not a State and legally a separate city-state entity apart from the United States of America? Why is the one square mile of the City of London, which has all the banks, with its own Mayor, a separate city-state entity from all other England?
Why does the Vatican have its own country code, where the entire city-state entity is guarded by Swiss Guards and shares no laws with Italy? Where Switzerland has never been involved in wars, where banksters go for secret accounts to hide their wealth???
The aforementioned city-states listed above are sovereign, corporate entities not connected to the nations they appear to be part of. In other words, the City of London (that is the square mile within Greater London) is not technically part of Greater London or England, just as Vatican City is not part of Rome or Italy. Likewise, Washington DC is not part of the United States that it controls.
These sovereign, corporate entities have their own laws and their own identities. They also have their own flags. Seen below is the flag of Washington DC. Note the three stars, representing the trinity of these three city-states, also known as the Empire of the City. (There is also high esoteric significance to the number 3.)
So how are these three cities ultimately connected? We must first go back to the Knights Templar and their initial 200-year reign of power. The Knights Templar were first called “the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon.” This is a blatantly misleading title, considering the immense wealth and power of the Templars, who operated 9,000 manors across Europe and owned all the mills and markets.
It was the Templars that issued the first paper money for public use in Europe, establishing the fiat banking system we know today. In England, the Templars established their headquarters at a London temple, which still exists today and is called Temple Bar. This is located in the City of London, between Fleet Street and Victoria Embankment. The aforementioned “Crown,” to be exact, is the Knights Templar church, also known as the Crown Temple. It is the Crown Temple that controls the legal/court system of the US, Canada and many other countries. All bar associations are directly linked to the International Bar Association and the Inns of Court at Crown Temple in the City of London.
Anytime you hear somebody refer to the Bar Association, they are talking about a British/Masonic system that has nothing to do with a country’s sovereignty or the constitutional rights of its people. This is why, when you go to court in the US, you see the US flag with a gold fringe, denoting international rule. The government of the United States, Canada, and Britain are all subsidiaries of the crown, as is the Federal Reserve in the US. The ruling Monarch in England is also subordinate to the Crown. The global financial and legal system is controlled from the City of London by the Crown. The square mile making up the center of Greater London is the global seat of power, at least at the visible level.
Washington DC was established as a city-state in 1871 with the passage of the Act of 1871 , which officially established the United States as a corporation under the rule of Washington, which itself is subservient to the City of London. Corporations are run by presidents, which is why we call the person perceived to hold the highest seat of power in the land “the president.” The fact is the president is nothing more than a figurehead for the central bankers and transnational corporations (both of which themselves are controlled by High Ecclesiastic Freemasonry) that really control this country and ultimately call the shots.
Washington DC operates under a system of Roman Law and outside of the limitations established by the US Constitution. Therefore, it should not be a surprise that the name Capitol Hill derives from Capitoline Hill, which was the seat of government for the Roman Empire. If you look at the wall behind the podium in the House of Representatives, you will notice that on either side of the US flag is the depiction of bundles of sticks tied together with an axe. These are called fasci, hence the root word of fascism. This was the symbol of fascism in the Roman Empire, as it was under the Nazis and still is today. It is not a coincidence that these symbols are featured on the floor of Congress.
Most U.S. citizens believe the United States is a country and the president is its leader, but the U.S. is not a country, it is a corporation, and the president is not our leader, he is the president of the corporation of the U.S. The president, along with his elected officials work for the corporation, not for the American People.
So, who owns the giant U.S. corporation? Like Canada and Australia, whose leaders are prime ministers of the queen, and whose land is called crowned land, the U.S. is just another crowned colony. Crowned colonies are controlled by the empire of the three city states. Thus, the U.S. is controlled by the three city states “There exists a shadowy government with its own Air Force, its own Navy, its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of national interest, free from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself.” – Daniel K. Inouye, US Senator from Hawaii, testimony at the Iran Contra Hearings, 1986
These 3 City-States belong to no Nation and pay no taxes.
They have their own separate laws, own police, mayors, post offices. Their own separate flags and their own separate identities.
The Religious Control: The Vatican. pop. 1,000 people.
Own newspaper, postal service, library, pop. 1,000. Own army of Swiss Guards and own prison. Rules over 2 billion people. Wealth is held by Bank of England (Rothschild) and Federal Reserve Bank (private corporation.)
The Banking Control: The City of London aka The Crown 11,000 people.http://intheknow7.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/empire-states-geostrategic-powercenters-part-2-of-3/
1694 by William of Orange known as ‘The Crown’. The ‘Crown’ is not owned by the Westminster and the Queen or England. “The City of London has been granted various special privileges since the Norman Conquest, such as the right to run its own affairs,[20][21] partly due to the power of its financial capital. These are also mentioned by the Statute of William and Mary in 1690.[22] City State of London is the world’s financial power centre and wealthiest square mile on earth — contains Rothschild controlled Bank of England, Lloyd’s of London, London Stock Exchange, ALL British banks, branch offices of 385 foreign banks and 70 US banks. It has its own courts, laws, flag and police force — not part of greater London, or England, or the British Commonwealth and PAYS ZERO TAXES! City State of London houses Fleet Street’s newspaper and publishing monopolies (BBC/Reuters), also HQ for World Wide English Freemasonry and for worldwide money cartel known as The Crown… For centuries the Bank of England has been center of the worlds fraudulent money system, with its “debt based” (fiat currency) – the Rothschild banking cartel has maintained tight-fisted control of the global money system through The Bank for Intl. Settlements (BIS) International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, the central banks of each nation (Federal Reserve in their American colony), and satellite banks in the Caribbean — they determine with the stroke of pen the value of ALL currency on earth; it is their control of the money supply which allows them to control world affairs (click here for Federal Reserve owners) — from financing both sides of every conflict, through interlocking directorates in weapon manufacturing companyes, executing global depopulation schemes/crusades/genocide, control of food supply, medicine and ALL basic human necessities – they have groomed their inaudibility through control of the so-called “free press” and wall themselves off with accusations of anti-Semitism whenever the spotlight is shone upon them — their Zionist tentacles reach into every major financial transaction on earth…unchecked power!
The Crown is NOT the Royal Family or British Monarch — The Crown is the private corporate City State of London — its Council of 12 members (Board of Directors) rule corporation under a mayor, called the LORD MAYOR… legal representation provided by S.J. Berwin
A Committee of 12 men rule The Jewish Vatican. They are known as “The Crown.” The City and its rulers, The Crown, are not subject to the Parliament. They are a Sovereign State within a State. The City is the financial hub of the world. It is here that the Rothschilds have their base of operations and their centrality of control: * The Central Bank of England (controlled by the Rothschilds) is located in The City.
* All major British banks have their main offices in The City.* 385 foreign banks are located in The City.* 70 banks from the United States are located in The City .* The London Stock Exchange is located in The City.* Lloyd’s of London is located in The City.* The Baltic Exchange (shipping contracts) is located in The City.* Fleet Street (newspapers & publishing) is located in The City.* The London Metal Exchange is located in The City.* The London Commodity Exchange (trading rubber, wool, sugar, coffee) is located in The City.
Every year a Lord Mayor is elected as monarch of The City. The British Parliament does not make a move without consulting the Lord Mayor of The City. For here in the heart of London are grouped together Britain’s financial institutions dominated by the Rothschild-controlled Central Bank of England. The Rothschilds have traditionally chosen the Lord Mayor since 1820. Who is the present day Lord Mayor of The City? Only the Rothschilds’ know for sure… How the City of London Came Into Power Inside England
ENTER THE ROTHSCHILDS
MAYER AMSCHEL BAUER OPENED a money lending business on Judenstrasse (Jew Street) in Frankfurt Germany in 1750 and changed his name to Rothschild. Mayer Rothschild had five sons. The smartest of his sons, Nathan, was sent to London to establish a bank in 1806. Much of the initial funding for the new bank was tapped from the British East India Company of which Mayer Rothschild had significant control. Mayer Rothschild placed his other four sons in Frankfort, Paris, Naples, and Vienna.
In 1814, Nathanael Rothschild saw an opportunity in the Battle of Waterloo. Early in the battle, Napoleon appeared to be winning and the first military report to London communicated that fact. But the tide turned in favor of Wellington. A courier of Nathan Rothschild brought the news to him in London on June 20. This was 24 hours before Wellington’s courier arrived in London with the news of Wellington’s victory. Seeing this fortuitous event, Nathan Rothschild began spreading the rumor that Britain was defeated. With everyone believing that Wellington was defeated, Nathan Rothschild began to sell all of his stock on the English Stock Market. Everyone panicked and also began selling causing stocks to plummet to practically nothing. At the last minute, Nathan Rothschild agents began buying up the stocks at rock-bottom prices.
This gave the Rothschild family complete control of the British economy – now the financial centre of the world, and forced England to set up a revamped Bank of England with Nathan Rothschild in control.Ruling ‘Committee of 300’ for The ‘Crown’ names included in the London based corporation are names like: Rockefellers, Gore, Greenspan, Kissinger, Krugman (NYTimes), Powell, Gates, Buffet, Bush, etc. Why are these ‘Americans’ on a foreign committee…because the Crown STILL owns the UNITED STATES CORPORATION, private corporation!
The Journal of History - Spring 2011 Copyright © 2011 by News Source, Inc.
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Home SAUDI ARABIA > Saudi National Day
Saudi Arabia — A leading regional player
P.K. Abdul Ghafour
ASIAN economic giant Saudi Arabia is a leading player in the region in terms of combating terror, providing humanitarian assistance to victims of natural calamities and civil wars and stabilizing international oil market. It hosts nearly eight million pilgrims who come for Haj and Umrah every year and more than 10 million foreign workers.
Saudi Arabia marks its 87th National Day on Sept. 23 when we commemorate the marvelous efforts of King Abdul Aziz and his men to unify the Kingdom, setting the stage for establishing a modern Islamic state. Since then Saudi leaders have been working hard to drive the Kingdom to greater progress and prosperity.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, who ascended the Saudi throne on Jan. 23, 2015, has been the Kingdom’s driving force as he established strong relations with the United States, Russia, China, Japan, France, India and other countries. He worked relentlessly to strengthen the unity and solidarity of Saudi people.
Perhaps, the Kingdom’s hosting of three major summits — Saudi-US, US-GCC and US-Islamic — was its outstanding achievement this year. US President Donald Trump, leaders and representatives of 55 Arab and Muslim-dominated countries took part in the conferences held in Riyadh seeking unity in the fight against terrorism.
Islam stands for coexistence
King Salman opened the summit, telling world leaders that Islam provided the best example for coexistence and “will always be the religion of mercy and coexistence.” He denounced extremists who distorted the true picture of Islam.
“We all, peoples and countries, reject in every language and in every form damaging the relations of Muslim countries with friendly countries and profiling countries based on a religious or sectarian basis,” the king told the summit leaders.
Trump, who was on his first foreign visit after becoming the president, said the US was seeking a coalition of nations in the Middle East with the aim of “stamping out extremism.” The president said the overwhelming majority of victims of terrorist attacks were the “innocent people of the Arab, Muslim and Middle Eastern nations,” pointing out that “95 percent of the victims of terrorist attacks were Muslims.”
The president said the US was prepared to stand with those leaders in the fight against extremists, but that those countries should take the lead, urging them to drive extremists “out of your places of worship. Drive them out of your community. Drive them out of your holy land.” He also called on religious leaders to condemn attacks in the name of religion, but insisted that “this is not a battle between different faiths.”
The US president’s speech in Riyadh had a new tone, which was quite different from his anti-Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric during the election campaign.
“Trump reached out to the Muslim world with a new message, calling for peace, hope and unity. I think this is something that will resonate among Arab leaders, particularly those who were attending the summit today and their support is going to be crucial for the fight against Daesh (so-called IS),” said a media person who covered the summit.
During Trump’s visit Saudi Arabia and the US signed a series of agreements, including an arms deal worth almost $110 billion, described as the largest in US history. He also signed a memorandum of understanding with GCC on countering terror financing.
Trump said he was “honored to be received by such gracious hosts like King Salman, continuing King Abdul Aziz’s legacy.” He added: “I bring the message of love from the US — that is why I chose Saudi Arabia for the first foreign trip. US vision is one of peace, security and prosperity in the Middle East region and throughout the world.”
Tehran responsible for instability
Trump lashed out at Tehran, saying the “Iranian regime is responsible for so much instability in the region,” and that it “funds arms, trains militias that spread destruction and chaos.” The US leader also spoke of how “the Iranian regime has spearheaded terrorism since Khomenei’s revolution.”
On Aug. 20, Saudi Arabia took practical steps for establishment of the US-Gulf Anti-terrorism Financing Center as part of implementing terms and conditions of the joint agreement signed during the summit in Riyadh in May 2017. The Riyadh-based center will monitor, and share information, regarding both outgoing and incoming financial transactions to the Middle East and North Africa.
Haj 2017 a big success
The successful management of this year’s Haj pilgrimage was another major achievement. More than 2.5 million Hajis took part in the event, the largest gathering of Muslims in the world. The Saudi government mobilized all its human and material resources to make the annual pilgrimage a resounding success without any major security incidents.
King Salman expressed his happiness over the successful Haj operation and thanked the Almighty for granting Saudi Arabia the honor of serving pilgrims and visitors to the Two Holy Mosques and the holy sites. “Since Saudi Arabia’s foundation, its kings have exerted maximum efforts to serve pilgrims and visitors, and will continue to do so as this is a source of pride for the country and its citizens,” he said.
Despite the Kingdom’s dispute with Qatar over terror funding, King Salman ordered the reopening of the border and relaxed flight restrictions to help Qatari pilgrims perform Haj. The king has permitted “the entry of Qatari pilgrims to the Kingdom through Salwa border crossing to perform Haj, and to allow all Qatari nationals who wish to enter for Haj without electronic permits,” said a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
King Salman also ordered that jets belonging to Saudi airlines be sent to Doha airport “to bring all Qatari pilgrims on his expenses.” The Salwa border crossing had been shut after Saudi Arabia along with Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE, severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing Doha of supporting Islamist extremist groups.
The government deployed more than 300,000 military and civil personnel to ensure safety and security of the Guests of God. About 6,000 surveillance cameras were erected in the holy sites to watch for any violations while three Inspire 2 drones transmitted photos of the holy sites around the clock to the security control and command center.
The Ministry of Health said as many as 10,531 pilgrims received medical treatment at its four general hospitals in Mina while 27,726 were treated at its 26 health centers. About 400 hospitalized pilgrims were transported in ambulance vans to Arafat, 391 were admitted to hospitals and over 1,000 Hajis were treated for sunstroke.
Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah announced that this year’s Haj season is free from epidemic diseases. During this Haj season, the Ministry of Health equipped 25 hospitals in Makkah, the holy sites and Madinah and 158 health centers and appointed 31,000 health practitioners and administrators on Haj duty.
He added that the health teams provided vaccine and preventive treatment against polio and meningitis to more than 700,000 pilgrims. Medical and therapeutic services were provided to more than 465,738 pilgrims while 566 Hajis underwent cardiac catheterization, 28 open heart surgery and 1,520 renal dialyses.
Entertainment revolution
The establishment of the General Authority for Entertainment (GAE) was instrumental in bringing about a revolution in entertainment. It organized 26 special programs with the participation of international entertainment companies like Blue Man Group and Artists Gallery to celebrate Eid Al-Adha. The programs covered 13 major Saudi cities as part of GAE’s move to entertain citizens and residents across the Kingdom.
The authority wanted to organize entertainment programs with high quality content, improve relations between citizens and families and enhance the quality of their lives. “We wanted to meet the expectations of citizens,” said a senior official, who requested anonymity, while talking about Eid programs.
He said the move to organize a variety of attractive entertainment programs in different parts of the Kingdom would not only boost the economy, but also create thousands of new jobs for young Saudi men and women and provide new investment opportunities. “It goes in line with the Vision 2030,” he added.
The government has promised a shake-up of the Kingdom’s cultural scene with a set of Vision 2030 reforms announced by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, aimed at creating jobs and opening up Saudis’ lifestyles.
The changes are also intended to capture up to a quarter of the $20 billion currently spent overseas by Saudis, who are accustomed to traveling abroad to see shows and visit amusement parks in nearby tourist hub Dubai or further afield.
Ahmed Al-Khatib, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, said conservatives who criticize the reforms are gradually learning that most Saudis, a majority of whom are under 30, want these changes.
His goal was to create entertainment that “will be like 99 percent of what is going on in London and New York,” although he noted that after decades of cultural conservatism such change could not be rapid.
Al-Khatib said the GEA’s activities have created 20,000 jobs so far after only seven months, and can surpass targets set out last year in the Vision 2030. He predicts the share of Saudi spending on entertainment will triple to 8 or 9 percent by 2030.
The Kingdom’s most ambitious leisure project to date is a giant entertainment city being planned for outside the capital Riyadh, which would aim to draw regional visitors with resorts, golf courses, car racing tracks and a Six Flags theme park.
KSA returns to World Cup
Saudi Arabia’s qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Japan in the group qualifiers was another landmark achievement. With this glittering victory, the Saudis finished second in Group B of the third round of Asian World Cup qualifying, booking their ticket to the soccer extravaganza in Russia next summer.
Fahad Al-Muwallad’s second-half winner against Japan at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah took Saudi Arabia to its fifth World Cup. The half-time substitute smashed a fierce shot into the top corner of the net on 63 minutes to secure Group B’s second automatic qualifying spot for the Saudis ahead of Australia on goal difference.
The final whistle started celebrations at the packed stadium, with players lifting each other into the air and embracing Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk as traditional Arabian music played. The Saudis join Iran, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Belgium and hosts Russia in the 32-team tournament, which will take place from June 14 to July 15, 2018.
The epic of a nation
Crown Prince’s ‘impressive reforms’ lauded
Not just history, we’re celebrating our future
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The Global Rat Race
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Thread: The Global Rat Race
25th February 2015, 10:35 PM #331
Is America Still on F. A. Hayek's Road to Serfdom?
By Richard Ebeling - February 17, 2015
A little more than seventy years ago, on March 10, 1944, there appeared in Great Britain one of the most amazing and influential political books of the twentieth century, The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich A. Hayek, which forewarned of socialist trends in Britain and America that ran the danger of leading to tyranny if taken to their logical conclusions.
Written during the Second World War, Hayek's main and crucial thesis was that many of the ideological and economic trends that had culminated in the triumph and tragedy of German Nazism could be seen developing and taking hold in Great Britain, where Hayek was then living, and also in the United States.
Hayek did not argue that either Great Britain or America were inevitably and irretrievably heading for a totalitarian state exactly like the National Socialist regime then existing in Hitler's Germany, and against which the combined economic and military strength of Great Britain and the United States were at that moment in mortal combat.
But as I shall try to explain, the threat against which Hayek was warning was that there were certain underlying political philosophical and economic policy currents at work in these two bulwarks of Western civilization that if continued ran the risk of moving these countries further away from being societies of freedom.
Great Britain and the United States, Hayek argued, were increasingly becoming politically controlled and managed states in which the individual human being faced the danger of being reduced to a cog in the machine of governmental planning. Individual liberty would be lost in societies of socialist paternalism and centralized economic direction of human affairs.
The Life and Contributions of F. A. Hayek
Friedrich August von Hayek was born on May 8, 1899 in Vienna, in the now long gone Hapsburg Empire of Austria-Hungary. While still a teenager he served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War, seeing military action on the Italian front. When released from military service shortly after the end of the war in November 1918, he entered the University of Vienna in an accelerated program that enabled him to earn a doctorial degree in jurisprudence in 1921. Two years later in 1923, he earned a second doctoral degree in political economy from the University of Vienna.
Hayek's first international reputation was as one of the most highly regarded economists of the 1920s and 1930s, the years between the two World Wars. With the assistance and support of his mentor and friend, the well-known Austrian economist, Ludwig von Mises, Hayek became the founding director of the Austrian Institute for Business Cycle Research in 1927, a position that he held until the summer of 1931.
Hayek was invited to deliver a series of lectures at the London School of Economics in January 1931 on what has become known as the Austrian theory of money and the business cycle, which resulted in his being offered a professorship at the London School, a position that he accepted and took up in the autumn of 1931.
His lectures were published shortly after under the title, Prices and Production. Along with his other writings during this period of the 1930s, he was soon recognized as one of the foremost monetary and business cycle theorists in the English-speaking world, and as a leading critic of the emerging new Macroeconomics of the Cambridge University economist, John Maynard Keynes.
Also in the 1930s and 1940s, Hayek was an outspoken critic of socialism and government central planning, editing and contributing to a collection of essays on Collectivist Economic Planning (1935); his two most famous writings on this theme during this period were his book, The Road to Serfdom (1944) and an article on "The Use of Knowledge in Society" (1945).
At the beginning of the 1950s, Hayek moved to the University of Chicago here in the United States. But his attention had turned from economic theory and policy in the narrow sense to the broader problems of social and political philosophy and the nature of societal order and the competitive market system. These interests culminated in two major works, The Constitution of Liberty (1960) and Law, Legislation, and Liberty that appeared in 3-volumes between 1976 and 1979.
In recognition for his work on monetary and business cycle theory and his analysis of social evolution and the institutional structures of human society, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974. Friedrich Hayek died on March 23, 1992, at the age of 92.
Growing Collectivism in Great Britain and America
As I pointed out, when The Road to Serfdom was published Great Britain and the United States were engulfed in a global war, with Nazi Germany as the primary enemy and Soviet Russia as their primary ally. In 1944 the British had a wartime coalition government of both Conservative and Labor Party members, with Winston Churchill as its head. During these war years plans were being designed within the government for a postwar socialist Britain, including nationalized health care, nationalized industries, and detailed economic planning of both industry and agriculture.
For the eight years before America's entry into the war Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal had transformed the United States through levels of government spending, taxing, regulation, and redistribution the likes of which had never before been experienced in the nation's history. Many of the early New Deal programs had even imposed a network of fascist-style economic controls on private industry and agriculture; the only thing that prevented them from being permanently in place were a series of decisions by the Supreme Court that declared most of these controls unconstitutional in 1935.
At the same time, the Soviet Union was frequently portrayed as a model – however one rather rough around the edges – of an ideal socialist society, freeing "the masses" from poverty and exploitation. The Nazi regime, on the other hand, was usually depicted as a brutal dictatorship designed to maintain the power and control of aristocratic andcapitalist elites that surrounded Hitler.
Nazism an Outcome of Bismarck's Welfare State
Hayek's challenge in The Road to Serfdom was to argue that German Nazism was not an aberrant "right-wing" perversion growing out of the "contradictions" of capitalism, as Marxists and many other socialists insisted.
Instead, Hayek documented, the Nazi movement had developed out of the "enlightened" and "progressive" socialist and collectivist ideas of the pre-World War I era in Imperial Germany, ideas that many intellectuals in England and the United States had praised and propagandized for in their own countries in the years before the beginning of the First World War in 1914.
Large numbers of American graduate students went off to study at German universities in the 1880s, the 1890s, and the first decade of the 20th century.
They returned to the United States and spoke and wrote about a new and higher freedom observed in Germany, a "positive" freedom provided through government welfare state paternalism rather than the mere "negative" freedom of individual liberty in the form of absence of coercion in human relationships as practiced in America.
It was in Bismarck's Germany during the last decades of the 19th century, after all, that there had been born the modern welfare state – national health insurance, government pension plans, regulations of industry and the workplace – and a philosophy that the national good took precedence over the interests of the "mere" individual. In this political environment Germans came to take it for granted that the paternalistic state was meant to care for them from "cradle to grave," a phrase that was coined in Imperial Germany.
Two generations of Germans accepted that they needed to be disciplined by and obedient to the enlightened political "leadership" that guided the affairs of state for their presumed benefit. Beliefs in the right to private property and freedom of exchange were undermined as the regulatory and redistributive state increasingly managed the economic activities of the society for the greater "national interest" of the German fatherland.
The German government restricted competition and fostered the creation of monopolies and business cartels under the rationale of directing private enterprise into those avenues serving the higher interests of the German nation as a whole.
Germany's trade with the rest of the world was hampered by taxes and tariffs designed to shift German industry and agriculture into those forms the government considered most useful to prepare the nation for greater self-sufficiency during the war that was expected to come, and which finally broke out in 1914.
By 1933, Hayek argued, fifteen years after Germany's defeat in the First World War, when Adolf Hitler came to power during the Great Depression, the German people not only accepted the idea of the "führer principle," – the belief that people should follow and obey the commands of the political leaders of the nation – but many in German society now wanted it and believed they needed it. Notions about individual freedom and personal responsibility had been destroyed by the philosophy of collectivism and the ideologies of nationalism and socialism.
But Hayek's main point was that this tragic history was not unique or special to the German people. The institutional changes that accompanied the implementation of socialist and interventionist welfare-state policies potentially carried within them the seeds of political tyranny and economic servitude in any country that might follow a similar path.
Government Planning Means Control Over People
The more government takes over responsibility for and control over the economic activities of a society, the more it diminishes the autonomy and independence of the individual. Government planning, by necessity, makes the political authority the ultimate monopoly, with the power to determine what is produced and how the resulting output shall be distributed among all the members of the society.
Belief in and expectation of government paternal care from the everyday vicissitudes of life, employment, and enterprise, Hayek insisted, weakens the spirit of self-reliance and independence. It makes for a more passive people who lose any sense of a loss of personal freedom and autonomy, as they increasingly cannot imagine a world in which government does not guaranteed many if not most of the necessities and amenities of human existence.
But it is not only economic independence that is lost as the government extends the safety nets of welfare statism and expands regulatory and planning control over society.
What personal and intellectual freedom is left to people, Hayek asked, when the government ownership of industry or heavy-handed regulation of business has the ability to determine or influence what books will be printed or movies will be shown or plays will be performed? What escape does the individual have from the power of the state when the government controls everyone's education, employment, and consumption?
He also warned that the more that government plans production and consumption, the more the diverse values and preferences of the citizenry must be homogenized and made to conform to an overarching "social" scale of values that mirrors that hierarchy of ends captured in the central plan.
Each Free Man an End in Himself and a Means to Others' Ends
One of the hallmarks of a free society in which people associate and cooperate through the networks and institutions of the market economy is that each individual is at liberty to peacefully pursue those interests, inclinations, and desires that suggest themselves as a source of personal meaning and happiness for him.
The more developed and complex the market society becomes with a growing population, the more there will emerge and develop diverse conceptions of the good life among people.
In the competitive market order there is no need or necessity for society-wide agreement about desired ends and goals among its members. In the division of labor of the market order, individuals earn the living that enables them to have the financial wherewithal to pursue the self-interested purposes that give value and meaning to their own lives by specializing in the production and sale of goods and services that serve as the means to the desired ends of others.
Thus, in the liberal, free market society, every man is an end in himself with his own chosen scale of values reflecting what he considers important and worthwhile. And each can try to attain those values by producing and supplying others in trade with the goods and services that serve as the means for trying to achieve their respectively chosen ends.
Fulfilling the Government Plan Requires Obedience by All
One of Hayek's central points was the fact that a comprehensive system of socialist central planning would require the construction and imposition of a detailed system of relative values to which and within which all in the society would have to conform, if "the plan" imposed by the government was to succeed.
This was the origin of Hayek's warning that government central planning ran the danger of becoming tyranny and a new form of "serfdom," since any meaningful dissent in word or deed could not be permitted without threatening the fulfillment of the goals of the government's plan. All would have to be assigned to their work, and be tied to it to assure that "the plan" met its targets.
Even dissent, Hayek warned, becomes a threat to the achievement of the plan and its related redistributive policies. How can the plan be achieved if critics attempt to undermine people's dedication to its triumph? Politically incorrect thoughts and actions must be repressed and supplanted with propaganda and "progressive" education for all.
Thus unrestricted freedom of speech and the press, or opposition politicking, or even observed lack of enthusiasm for the purposes of the state becomes viewed as unpatriotic and potentially subversive.
Rule of Law or Unequal Treatment for Equal Outcomes
In addition, the classical liberal conception of an impartial rule of law, under which individuals possess equal rights to life, liberty, and the peaceful acquisition and use of private property, would have to be replaced by unequal treatment of individuals imposed by the political authorities to assure an ideologically preferred redistributive outcome.
In the free society, equality of individual rights under rule of law inevitably means an inequality of economic outcomes. Men widely differ in how they use and take advantage of their equal rights to life, liberty and property. We all know that people are far from being the same in terms of inherited traits and potentials, as well as attitudes and inclinations concerning acquiring an education, working hard, and being willing to make personal sacrifices in the present for some hoped for and possible greater benefits in the future.
In addition, our fellow men value more highly some things than others and are willing to pay more to get them. This means that some of us, as a result of intelligent forethought in deciding what occupations and trades to undertake, the education and skilled talents to acquire, as well as general circumstances and even a bit of luck, will earn higher salaries than those who market less valued goods and services in the eyes of the buying public.
To make people more "equal" in terms of the economic outcomes that emerge in the marketplace requires people to be treated very differently by the political authority responsible for that equalization.
In the foot race of life, it is inevitable that some will speed ahead of others in terms of financial and other forms of social success. But if the government is assigned the task to reduce these disparities, then it must place weights on the ankles of some in the form of taxes and regulations to slow down their outdistancing the others, while those others must be allowed to cut across the field in the form of wealth transfers, subsidies or other special treats provided by the government so they can catch up with or get ahead of those in front of them on the racecourse of society.
But, asked Hayek, by what benchmark, other than prejudice, caprice, or the influence of interest groups, would or could the planners make their decisions concerning who would be treated better and who worse in the form of government interventions, regulations, redistributions and controls? How will it be found out who is more deserving or meritorious for government differential benefits at the expense of others?
Who is more deserving? The man to whom things such as learning and luck often seem to come easily but who has eight children, a sick wife and an elderly mother to care for? Or a man to whom luck never comes, has to work hard for everything he finally gets but has only himself and a one high school honors student daughter to take care of?
And if it is replied that the answer to that requires detailed gradations of evaluation and judgment, then in whose evaluating and judging eyes and on what standard or benchmark of relative merit, deservedness and neediness shall the decisions be made by those in government?
The means available are always insufficient to attain all our desired ends, and some in the society will invariably consider any politically decided trade-offs in these matters to be unfair, unjust, and uncaring.
Whether a dictatorial minority or a democratic majority makes such decisions, there is no escape from the imposition of advantages and disadvantages given to or imposed on different members of the society by those in political authority, and upon whom the individual becomes dependent and subservient for the social and material fortunes and misfortunes of much if not all of his life.
Why the Worst Get on Top
Finally, in one of the most insightful chapters in the book, Hayek explained why, in the politicized society, there is a tendency for "the worst to get on top." Fulfillment of the government's plans and policies requires the leaders to have the power to use any means necessary to get the job done.
Thus those with the least conscience or fewest moral scruples are likely to rise highest in the hierarchy of control. The bureaucracies of the planned and regulated society attract those who are most likely to enjoy the use and abuse of power over others.
One form of this in Hitler's Nazi Germany was known as what was called "working towards the Fuhrer." In 1934, a senior Nazi government official told his subordinates, "It is the duty of every single person to attempt, in the spirit of the Fuhrer, to work towards him." And, "the one who works correctly towards the Fuhrer along his lines and toward his aim will in future as previously have the finest reward . . . "
As historian Ian Kershaw explained in his biography, Hitler, 1889-1936 – Hubris (199 , "The way to power and advancement [in the Nazi regime] was through anticipating the 'Fuhrer's will', and, without waiting for directives, taking initiatives to promote what were presumed to be Hitler's aims and wishes."
As Kershaw continues, "Through 'working towards the Fuhrer', initiatives were taken, pressures created, legislation instigated -- all in ways which fell in line with what were taken to be Hitler's aims and without the dictator necessarily having to dictate."
In this instance, the government bureaucrat was stimulated by his superiors to anticipate Hitler's will in instituting policies and actions in the hope for material gain and promotion within the Nazi hierarchy, and to do so with often brutal ruthlessness to the misfortune of many helpless victims.
Those who pursue such careers and who are willing to introduce and implement whatever policies necessary in the name of explicit or implicit government goals will be those who often care little about the unethical and immoral conduct that holding such political positions will require of them.
But there are others who may be led to do things in their government role and position that as a private individual in their personal life they would consider immoral or unethical behavior. This often is due to a person's confidence of patriotic purpose and belief in his superior understanding of what must be done regardless of the violation of other people's rights or the sacrifices imposed on other members of society to attain the greater "national" or "social" good.
With the realization that it is a controversial subject, let me suggest that a type of person who searches out employment and specialized surveillance work in the National Security Agency because he truly believes that there are potential "enemies" everywhere threatening harm to the "homeland" is highly likely to be a person who gives few second thoughts about whether intruding into the privacy of ordinary people's emails, phone conversations, text messages, and private computer documents is unethical, illegal or even simply "bad manners."
Indeed, the more zealous among such types of individuals will at the end of their workday not lose sleep due to a guilty conscience that a human being's privacy rights have been violated. He is more likely to be thinking of tomorrow's day of work and how he can find ways to do it even more effectively, regardless of high much more other people's rights and privacy might have to be abridged in the attempt to attain the highly allusive goal of "national security."
Indeed, way back in 1776, the famous Scottish economist, Adam Smith, warned about such people in government, when he said that nowhere would such political power "be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it."
Men are easily subject to arrogance and hubris, and never is that human weakness so to be feared as when government has the power that allows such individuals to practice their pretensions of superior knowledge and wisdom over their fellow human beings.
The Continuing Relevance of The Road to Serfdom
It may be asked how relevant remains Hayek's arguments and warnings more than seventy years after the appearance of The Road to Serfdom? After all, Nazi- and Soviet-style totalitarian socialism, with their attempts to comprehensively control and plan every facet of human life, and with a ruthlessness and violence unsurpassed in any period of modern history, are now things of past. They are closed chapters in the history of the 20th century.
First, as I said earlier, Hayek never claimed and went out of his way to insist that he was not forecasting that Western nations like Great Britain or the United States would become carbon copies of either Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union.
What he did say was that the more governments extended their power and control over the personal, social and especially economic affairs of the private individuals of society, the less freedom of choice and decision-making would the individual continue to retain in his own hands.
The less flexible and dynamic would become the society, with the greater the direction of production, investment and employment under the influencing hand of government agencies, bureaus and departments.
The wider the net of welfare state dependency and guarantees for the circumstances of everyday life, the weaker would become the sense of initiative, self-reliance, and risk-taking to improve one's own life.
The type of serfdom that has increasingly enveloped parts of human life in the Western world was, in fact, anticipated with concern and fear by the 19th century French social philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, in his study of Democracy in America published in the 1830s:
After having thus taken each individual one by one into its powerful hands, and having molded him as it pleases, the sovereign power extends its arms over the entire society; it covers the surface of society with a network of small, complicated, minute, and uniform rules, which the most original minds and the most vigorous souls cannot break through to go beyond the crowd; it does not break wills, but it softens them, bends them and directs them; it rarely forces action, but it constantly opposes your acting; it does not destroy, it prevents birth; it does not tyrannize, it hinders, it represses, it enervates, it extinguishes, it stupefies, and finally it reduces each nation to being nothing more than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.
I have always believed that this sort of servitude, regulated, mild and peaceful, of which I have just done the portrait, could be combined better than we imagine with some of the external forms of liberty, and that it would not be impossible for it to be established in the very shadow of the sovereignty of the people.
The Freedom We have Lost
Ask yourself, what corners of your daily life, in its most mundane and important aspects, are not controlled, regulated, planned, and overseen by the guiding hand of government?
Americans are free to say whatever they want – as long as it does not offend any ethnic, gender or racial group. They can pursue any career they choose – as long as they have been certified or licensed and have successfully passed inspection by an army of state regulators.
Americans may come and go as they please – as long as they have been approved for a government-issued international passport, declared whether they are carrying more than $10,000 in currency, reported all taxable or forbidden items they wish to bring into the country, and have not attempted to visit any foreign lands declared off-limits by the state.
They may buy whatever satisfies their fancy – as long as it has been manufactured, packaged, and priced according to government standards of safety, quality, and fairness, and as long as it has not been produced by a foreign supplier who exceeds his import quota or who offers to sell it below the state-mandated "fair market price."
Americans may go about their own affairs – as long as they send their children to government schools or private schools approved by the state; as long as they do not attempt to employ too many of a particular ethic, gender, or racial group; as long as they do not attempt to plan fully for their own old age rather than pay into a mandatory government social security system.
They may enter into market relations with others – as long as they do not pay an employee less than the government-imposed minimum wage; as long as they do not attempt to construct on their own property a home or a business in violation of zoning and building ordinances; that is, as long as they do not try to live their lives outside the permissible edicts of the state.
And Americans freely take responsibility for their own actions and pay their own way – except whey they want the state to guarantee them a job or a "living wage"; except when they want to state to protect their industry or profession from competition either at home or from abroad; except when they want the state to subsidize their children's education or their favorite art or the preservation of some wildlife area, or the medical research into the cure of some hated disease or illness; or except when they want the state to ban some books, movies, or peaceful acts between consenting adults rather than trying to change the behavior of their fellow men through peaceful persuasion or by personal example.
That many who read such a list of lost freedoms in the United States will be shocked that anyone should suggest that the state should not be concerned with many or all of these matters shows, I would suggest, just how far we have come and are continuing to go down a road to serfdom.
Restoring a Philosophy of Individual Rights
Yet, a hundred years ago before the First World War, when the citizens of the United States still lived under the influence of 19th century classical liberalism with its emphasis on individual liberty, free enterprise, limited government and voluntary association to service and solve many of the "social problems" of modern society, most people would have strongly opposed anyone who suggested that the government should envelope society with such a vast spider's web of paternalistic plans, regulations, controls and redistributions.
It would have been considered "socialistic" and "un-American," and not only by some supposed "right-wing fringe group" but by a wide consensus of the American people as a whole.
If we are to find a way to get off this road to paternalistic serfdom that has been weakening an understanding and draining existence out of the free society, the first task is to appreciate how this came about and what its implications can be.
Most importantly, the immorality of collectivism, with its insistence that the individual must live and sacrifice his life for "the tribe, "the nation," "the society" must be wholeheartedly challenged and rejected. And in its place we must recover a sound and rational philosophy of individual rights that defends and respects the right of every human being to live his own life for himself as the core ethical concept in all human relationships.
As part of undertaking this task, Friedrich Hayek's Road to Serfdom still serves an invaluable role in explaining how this road was first entered upon, what it led to in the middle decades of the 20th century and why government planning and regulation carries within it a loss of personal freedom and choice, and undermines the human spirit of creative thought and self-responsibility from which have come all the great accomplishments of mankind.
This is why The Road to Serfdom remains a classic of political and economic ideas that still speaks to us in our own time, and why anyone who values liberty and fears for its diminishment and loss can do no better than to open its pages and absorb its lessons.
(The text is based on a talk delivered at the College of Coastal Georgia, St. Simon Island, Georgia, February 12, 2015.)
15th April 2015, 09:43 PM #332
How do you avoid being manipulated by the Globalists?
BEYOND LEFT AND RIGHT — WHERE DO WE GET OUR NEWS?
Sat, 11 Apr 2015 08:00:00 PDT
By Foster Gamble
People are often asking us at Thrive, “Where do you get your news? And how do you sort out what’s true?” Following is a commentary on political tribalism vs. ethics and critical thinking, and at the end of this blog is a partial list of the many sources that we continually review.
I spend about 40 hours a week researching the current state of the world, both the problems and the solutions. I track the funding of the sources I rely on, as well as their political affiliation. One of my favorite ways to learn and to hone my critical thinking is to expose myself to “expert” sources that disagree with one another. Rarely do I end up agreeing 100% with any source of news or analysis. But agreement is not what I’m after. It’s understanding the patterns that underlie the events, and culling out the principles from which to generate lasting solutions.
When considering any source of news, I ask a few fundamental questions:
What do they want me to believe?
What is their proposed or implied solution?
Does it rely on violence and coercion/political power or ethical principles?
What strategies and tactics are offered to achieve their stated goal?
Who funds the research or the outlet?
SHARED VALUES — DIFFERENT FAILED STRATEGIES
Other than the small number of banking elite who seek total global domination, almost everyone I’ve met shares a desire for a world that has thriving people and a robust and healthy environment. The disparity comes in when figuring out how to achieve these shared values.
One thing that most people from both ends of the political spectrum are good at is shining a light on the weaknesses, the contradictions, the corruption and the immorality of “the other side.” And that is one of the main reasons why I listen to so many of them. Another is that listening to corporate and foundation-funded news shows me not so much what is happening, but what the big institutions and the financial elite want me to believe is going on and how they want me to think about it.
At the grand scale of highly visible and highly funded political news, we have people like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Fox News on the right. On the left we have CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, Rachel Maddow, Amy Goodman, Thom Hartman, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher and Jon Oliver. (I know…I haven’t been able to find right wing humor shows either… I think they balance that out with the domination of AM radio by very serious Religious Fundamentalists.) Then there are some whose commentary and philosophy lifts off the plane of partisan politics, and while they are often unaware of transition strategies or other important distinctions, they get into the realm of rational, universal ethics and their practical application — people like Stefan Molyneux, Lew Rockwell and Larken Rose.
The biggest commercial players, including the nightly news and the Sunday TV talk shows are punctuated by a blitz of commercials from: the pharmaceuticals (Merck, Pfizer, Bayer…), the banks (Chase, Citigroup, B of A…) and the military industrial complex (Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrup Grumman, Halliburton…). So whose drum do you think they are marching to?
I see the headlines in various online newsletters that I receive, as they expose abuses of power by the Fed, FDA, NSA, CIA, Big Pharma, Ag, Media, the military and the government… the schemes, scams, corruption and wars being cited are almost identical. Often a newcomer would not know what political viewpoint was being represented until usually, near the end of the article, when it’s time to say some version of, “And the solution is…vote in ourenlightened leaders. They’ll fix it.”
Except that they never have…and when looking logically, I cannot see that they ever will. When the Right is in charge, we get more war, more consolidation of corporate power and more patriarchal restrictions on social freedoms. And, of course, more wealth and power to the bankers and politicians.
When the Left is in charge, we get more taxes, more people rendered dependent on welfare, more inept, disempowering government control of healthcare, education, the media, etc. And, of course, more wealth and power to the bankers and politicians.
In fact, partisan politics has taken us to the brink of nuclear, financial and environmental catastrophe. Almost every region on Earth has been broken into “nation states” and those which have moved beyond dictatorship all have “parties” which battle each other through propaganda, bribes and votes (often rigged) to claim the power to rule. For some period of time a collective of individuals with a name, a slogan and an ideology tell us what we have to and cannot do in our lives. After the resulting dissatisfaction, another group eventually gets “voted in” and the rules change a little.
Meanwhile the suffering of people, the depletion of resources, the elimination of species and languages, and the degradation of the environment all grow, and yet most people continue to think that if they could only get their party in charge, things would get better. But it doesn’t. Throughout history it gets worse as the deceptions, the weapons and the tyranny grow.
The bottom line is that adhering to political party dogma undermines critical thinking. It pits individuals against each other — to trap them inside a never-ending game of “I’m right and you’re wrong” so that we don’t see what is really going on and create the true, lasting solutions.
I believe it’s time to step back and take a profoundtranspartisan look — into and beyond politics itself, if we want to survive and thrive. The word “transpartisan” is not yet in most dictionaries. That’s a telltale sign. It should be. Let’s help launch its widespread use.
The military uses the word “partisan” to describe someone who is “a member of a party of … troops engaged in harassing an enemy.”
The civilian definition is “a person who shows a biased, emotional allegiance to a group, party or cause.”
After literally decades of nearly full-time research and analysis, I am convinced that partisan politics is designed to distract us from a fundamental question: How did some people get the power to rule others? I realize that having some group in power is supposed to be a given in our global culture, but so is fiat currency. That doesn’t make it legitimate, or good for people.
THE BIRTH OF OUR CURRENT SYSTEM
How did it happen? Most often people just assume that because we’ve always had parties, this is the best we can do. Certainly democracy is better than the royalty-based tyranny and subsequent dictatorships it has evolved from, but that doesn’t mean it’s the endpoint. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” The Norman conquest of England and the key Battle of Hastings in 1066 is what resulted in King George of England having authority over the colonies, which later became the states, which later became the nation. This whole ‘power over’ paradigm stems from the conquering of a people and region by force of arms.
In essence, violence is at the very foundation of government and the partisan politics that support it. As Stefan Molyneux said, “It’s not just the abuse of power that’s the problem, it’s the power to abuse.”
Involuntary power over others has always been achieved by force, and to this day is maintained by the threat of violence. You will be imprisoned if you do not agree to the terms imposed by those who claim power. I believe unequivocally that this can and must change. With the level of weaponry and the dangerous ideology that supports its use, it seems high time to consider solutions that are truly non-violent.
NON-AGGRESSION PRINCIPLE
This is where the Non-Aggression Principle comes in, and why we at Thrive are devoting our time and resources to the further discovery and implementation of what Gandhi referred to as Hind Swaraj — self-governance — based on the principle that no one can violate another against their will. This provides a system for accountability, where those who assault, deceive, and steal from others or pollute the resources upon which we all depend are personally liable for the violations they cause. This, rather than more partisan politics, is what we believe can and will bring lasting peace and further our true conscious evolution.
History has proven that results reflect the means of any action. We may achieve temporary control through coercion, but we never achieve lasting peace. And yet Left and Right so-called solutions are equally responsible for coercive strategies that leave individuals fundamentally disempowered. On the Left, it’s by consolidating domination over education, finance, media and everything else related to personal well being into the hands of government at the expense of individual rights. On the Right, they want to control us in the boardroom, the bedroom, and on the battlefield — by supporting unfair advantage with crony corporatism (with its subsidies and bailouts) and war-mongering on behalf of the multinational corporations, as well as religious and social intolerance.
THE DRAW OF THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT
It seems many are drawn to be on the team of Certainty on the right. The dismissive condescension and righteous anger of a Limbaugh, O’Reilly or Hannity is like a safe haven for the uninformed. Be on the Red team and avoid their disdain.
On the Left, Social Acceptability is an especially subtle but mighty club. A good chuckle feels great in the face of on-going disasters, and siding with the biting sarcasm and partisan irony of new comics like Stewart, Maher or Oliver is comforting, as long as you agree with their view that Liberals should rule. Be on the blue team and you’re both in on the joke and obviously superior to the stupidity and evil of the Right.
So what is the advantage of reading and following so many of them? Why do I put myself through the discomfort and ordeal of wading through a ton of propaganda to find the kernels of truth and value? Because in addition to benefitting from their analyses of what is lacking from the other’s perspective, I believe each worldview offers something of great significance in helping us transition to a truly free world.
The Progressive ethic leans toward helping those most in need and bringing more integrity to current systems. Some examples of actions that align with the Liberal agenda AND help move toward personal empowerment are getting rid of corporate personhood, ending the Federal Reserve’s ability to make up money out of nothing and charge taxpayers interest on it, and introducing the Precautionary Principle, where corporations and governments are required to prove the safety of a new development rather than that being the responsibility of those impacted by their policies — GMOs being a good example.
As for traditional Conservatism, (as distinguished from Neocon deception and coercion), they have important ideas about shrinking government to the protection of individual rights and the commons such as water, air and fisheries. They often support a return to sound currencies which would help return real wealth to the people from which it has been stolen, through taxes and inflation.
BEYOND LEFT AND RIGHT
Beyond left and right there is a means, an end, and an insight, called Liberty. This is not about nationalism, patriotism or dominating others through some hallowed State. This is where people care for themselves and each other through voluntary associations that operate with nonviolation as the core principle. Complete Liberty, orVoluntaryism, refers to a society of free association. It does not argue for the specific form that voluntary arrangements will take, only that the initiation of force (except in true self-defense) be abandoned so that individuals in society may flourish. In this model of Liberty, the means determine the end; people cannot be coerced into freedom. No institution controls a monopoly on a single currency, so wealth stays in the hands of actual people, which allows them to support the services they choose.
On April 18th, 2015, in our ThriveTogether event, we will take a look at some of the compelling mouthpieces from the left and right that I believe keep the masses so enthralled and deluded. We will unpack the philosophy and strategies of figures like Russell Brand, Amy Goodman, Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh, Chris Hedges, Ron and Rand Paul, Bill Maher and others to help highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each, and ultimately shine light on the path to individual sovereignty and the process of wading through news sources that can help us get there.
As requested, here is a partial list of resources that we read and watch regularly. Please remember we are neither saying any of these sources are absolutely reliable nor that we agree fully with any particular person or organization. We believe they are all useful to gaining a full picture and strategy from which to forge the new future we believe is possible.
Feel free to recommend other sources and tell us why you find them to be of value. Thank you!
Sources for News and Perspectives — In America
In addition to this list, we are grateful to have well-informed and courageous contacts who share important news and trends with us confidentially, before they become mainstream news. For reasons of privacy and security, we will not be sharing their names.
Larken Rose
The Daily Bell
Kaiser Report — Max Kaiser
Unfiltered News — G. Edward Griffin
The Dollar Vigilante — Jeff Berwick
Trends Research — Gerald Celente
Corbett Report — James Corbett
The Stossel Report — John Stossel
Adam vs The Man — Adam Kokesh
GLOBAL DOMINATION AGENDA
Infowars — Alex Jones
Project Camelot — Kerry Cassidy
No More Fake News — Jon Rappoport
Fred Burks
Natural News — Mike Adams
Naturals Solutions Foundation — Dr. Rima Laibow
GeoEngineering Watch — Dane Wigington
Institute for Responsible Technology — Jeffrey Smith
Freedom’s Phoenix — Ernest Hancock
Protect Your Family from EMF Pollution — Jeromy Johnson
The Center for Media and Democracy
PRWatch
The Center for Public Integrity
National Review Online
Peter Schiff Radio
Solari Report — Catherine Austin Fitts
Jim Willie
JC Collins
Arthur M. Young
Resonance Project — Nassim Haramein
Cosmometry — Marshall Lefferts
Global BEM
Future Energy News — Tom Valone
Infinite Energy Magazine
Revolution-Green — Mark Dansie
Peswiki — Sterling Allen
Spirit Science
Forbidden Knowledge TV
Next World TV
Crop Circle Connector
Connection Magazine
Institute of Noetic Sciences
Gaiam TV
Shift Network
Conscious Life News — Ross Pittman
David Wilcock (also covers finance, science, ancient and extra-terrestrial cultures as well as current events)
MAINSTREAM NEWS
RT (pro-Russia bias, but good source of candid international news)
CNN (Left)
Fox (Right)
MSNBC (Left)
ABC (Left)
NBC (Left)
CBS (Left)
New York Times (Left)
Wall Street Journal (Right)
Washington Post (Bi-partisan but not transpartisan as we define it)
Comprehensive Understanding
Thrive Movement
Alternative News Project
Last edited by pywong; 15th April 2015 at 10:13 PM.
12th December 2015, 09:55 PM #333
Five Charts That Show American Exceptionalism Is a Myth
1. Stagnant wages,
2. Inefficient health care,
3. Plutocratic politics,
4. Education,
5. Foreign aid
Some dour commentary from Jeremy Grantham.
Luke Kawa LJKawa
December 11, 2015 — 1:51 AM MYT
Jeremy Grantham says the U.S. is not OK.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Jeremy Grantham, chief investment strategist at GMO, has some bad news for Americans.
From health care, to politics, to education, to the economy, the U.S. is far from a standout, he says.
And before the nation can resolve its challenges, Americans must first acknowledge them.
"We are dealing today with important issues, one so important that it may affect the long-term viability of our global society and perhaps our species," the strategist writes in his latest quarterly letter. "It may well be necessary to our survival that we become more realistic, more willing to process the unpleasant, and, above all, less easily manipulated through our need for good news."
In the letter, Grantham presents a dozen exhibits that cast doubt on the notion of American exceptionalism. We've highlighted five that jumped out:
Stagnant wages
Other advanced economies—especially France—are crushing the U.S. when it comes to real wage growth, Grantham says:
"For the 50 years I have been in America, Business Week and The Wall Street Journalhave been telling us how incompetent at business the French are and how persistently we have been kicking their bottoms," he writes.
Inefficient health care
"And watch out for when the Turks, Poles, and Czechs cut back on smoking, for then we may find our way to the bottom of the list," quips Grantham.
Plutocratic politics
"The probability of a bill passing through Congress is affected by the general public’s enthusiasm or horror. In a nutshell, not at all!" he writes. "The financial elite, on the other hand, can double the chance of a bill passing or, much more disturbingly, can completely block passage."
Are our children learning?
The U.S. doesn't crack the top 10 in two segments of the STEM educational grouping.
Illusions of foreign aid grandeur
"Now, I do not think I have met a single American who does not believe that the U.S. government is generous in its foreign aid," writes Grantham. "Yet, it just ain’t so, and by a remarkable degree."
However, there's one area in which the U.S. has been exceptional: corporate profitability. And that enduring dynamic has been crimping GMO's returns, as Ben Inker, co-head of asset allocation, readily admits.
"As a firm that has consistently underweighted the U.S. versus non-U.S. markets for the last couple of decades, what we at GMO seem to have gotten wrong is continually fading U.S. profitability back toward that of the rest of the world and its own longer history, while U.S. profitability has instead moved higher," he wrote.
Watch Next: U.S. Economic Growth Outlook: 'Perhaps, Eventually'
U.S. Economic Growth Outlook: 'Perhaps, Eventually'
Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.
4th January 2016, 09:55 PM #334
Six Former US Presidents Warn About ‘Invisible’ Shadow Government
Posted on January 3, 2016 by Sean Adl-Tabatabai in Conspiracies // 2 Comments
Six former U.S. Presidents have warned the public about an invisible “shadow government” secretly running the United States behind the scenes, who have an “incredibly evil intent”.
Over the last 214 years, past Presidents and political leaders have tried to warn the public that the U.S. government is under the control of an “invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people.”
Hiduth.com reports:
They “virtually run the United States government for their own selfish purposes. They practically control both parties… It operates under cover of a self-created screen [and] seizes our executive officers, legislative bodies, schools, courts, newspapers and every agency created for the public protection.”
As a result, “we have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated, governments in the civilized world—no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and the duress of small groups of dominant men.”
The sources for the above quotes (and more) are listed below. All of the quotes in this article have been verified as authentic and have associated links to the source materials. Also included below are statements made by David Rockefeller, Sr, former director of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and Federal Reserve Chairman’s Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke that appear to confirm some of the warnings.
Warnings About the Invisible Government Running the U.S.
The warnings listed below, which appear in chronological order, began with our first president – George Washington. The last president to speak out was JFK, who was assassinated. Read what they and other political leaders have said about the invisible government.
George Washington wrote that the Illuminati want to separate the People from their Government
“It was not my intention to doubt that, the Doctrines of the Illuminati, and principles of Jacobinism had not spread in the United States. On the contrary, no one is more truly satisfied of this fact than I am. The idea that I meant to convey, was, that I did not believe that the Lodges of Free Masons in this Country had, as Societies, endeavoured to propagate the diabolical tenets of the first, or pernicious principles of the latter (if they are susceptible of seperation). That Individuals of them may… actually had a seperation [sic] of the People from their Government in view, is too evident to be questioned.” – George Washington, 1st President of the United States (1789–1797), from a letter that Washington wrote on October 24, 1798, which can be found in the Library of Congress. For an analysis of Washington’s warning, see the article “Library of Congress: George Washington Warns of Illuminati”
“I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.” —Thomas Jefferson, dent of the United States (1801–1809) and principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence (1776), in a letter written to John Taylor on May 28, 1816
“A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various powerful interests, combined in one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in banks.” – John C. Calhoun, Vice President (1825-1832) and U.S. Senator, from a speech given on May 27, 1836
Note that it appears that Washington’s and Jefferson’s concerns regarding bankers and separation of the people from the government was realized by 1836. This fact was confirmed in a letter written by FDR in 1933 (see below) in which he wrote that “a financial element in the large centers has owned the government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson.” Jackson was the seventh president of the United States (1829-1937). Calhoun served as Jackson’s vice-president from 1829-1832.
“Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.”— Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, An Autobiography, 1913 (Appendix B)
“A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men… [W]e have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated, governments in the civilized world—no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and the duress of small groups of dominant men.” – Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, The New Freedom, 1913
“Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men’s views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.” – Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, The New Freedom, 1913
“The real menace of our Republic is the invisible government, which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy legs over our cities, states and nation… The little coterie of powerful international bankers virtually run the United States government for their own selfish purposes. They practically control both parties, … and control the majority of the newspapers and magazines in this country. They use the columns of these papers to club into submission or drive out of office public officials who refuse to do the bidding of the powerful corrupt cliques which compose the invisible government. It operates under cover of a self-created screen [and] seizes our executive officers, legislative bodies, schools, courts, newspapers and every agency created for the public protection.” – New York City Mayor John F. Hylan, New York Times, March 26, 1922
“Mr. Chairman, we have in this country one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Banks. The Federal Reserve Board, a Government board, has cheated the Government of the United States and the people of the United States out of enough money to pay the national debt…Mr. Chairman, when the Federal Reserve act was passed, the people of the United States did not perceive that a world system was being set up here… and thatthis country was to supply financial power to an international superstate — a superstate controlled by international bankers and international industrialists acting together toenslave the world for their own pleasure.” – Congressman Louis T. McFadden, from a speech delivered to the House of Representatives on June 10, 1932
“The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States (1933–1945), in a letter to Colonel Edward M House dated November 21, 1933, as quoted in F.D.R.: His Personal Letters, 1928-1945.
“Today the path to total dictatorship in the U.S. can be laid by strictly legal means… We have a well-organized political-action group in this country, determined to destroy our Constitution and establish a one-party state… It operates secretly, silently, continuously to transform our Government… This ruthless power-seeking elite is a disease of our century… This group…is answerable neither to the President, the Congress, nor the courts. It is practically irremovable.” – Senator William Jenner, 1954 speech
“The individual is handicapped by coming face-to-face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists. The American mind simply has not come to a realization of the evil which has been introduced into our midst. It rejects even the assumption that human creatures could espouse a philosophy which must ultimately destroy all that is good and decent.” —J. Edgar Hoover, The Elks Magazine, 1956
“The very word “secrecy” is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings… Our way of life is under attack. Those who make themselves our enemy are advancing around the globe… no war ever posed a greater threat to our security. If you are awaiting a finding of “clear and present danger,” then I can only saythat the danger has never been more clear and its presence has never been more imminent… For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence–on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day.It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations. Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed.” — John F Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, from a speech delivered to the American Newspaper Publishers Association on April 27, 1961 and known as the “Secret Society” speech (click here for full transcript and audio).
“The Rockefellers and their allies have, for at least fifty years, been carefully following a plan to use their economic power to gain political control of first America, and then the rest of the world. Do I mean conspiracy? Yes, I do. I am convinced there is such a plot, international in scope, generations old in planning, and incredibly evil in intent.” Congressman Larry P. McDonald, November 1975, from the introduction to a book titled The Rockefeller File.
“There exists a shadowy government with its own Air Force, its own Navy, its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of national interest, free from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself.” – Daniel K. Inouye, US Senator from Hawaii, testimony at the Iran Contra Hearings, 1986.
“A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves…” – John C. Calhoun
“… owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“… one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank.“ – Louis T. McFadden
In an interview with Jim Lehrer that was aired on PBS’ News Hour on September 18, 2007 that you can watch on YouTube, formal Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said, essentially, that the Federal Reserve was above the law and that no agency of government can overrule their actions:
Jim Lehrer: “What is the proper relationship, what should be the proper relationship between a chairman of the Fed and a president of the United States?”
Alan Greenspan: “Well, first of all, the Federal Reserve is an independent agency, and that means, basically, that there is no other agency of government which can overrule actions that we take. So long as that is in place and there is no evidence that the administration or the Congress or anybody else is requesting that we do things other than what we think is the appropriate thing, then what the relationships are don’t frankly matter.”
The fact that the Fed is above the law was demonstrated by current Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, during his appearance before Congress on March 4, 2009 (as shown in this video). Senator Bernie Sanders asked Bernanke about $2.2 trillion in American tax dollars that was lent out by Federal Reserve. Bernanke refused to provide an answer:
Senator Sanders: “Will you tell the American people to whom you lent $2.2 trillion of their dollars? … Can you tell us who they are?”
Bernanke: “No”
David Rockefeller and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
“We have a well-organized political-action group in this country, determined to destroy our Constitution and establish a one-party state…” – William Jenner
“The Rockefellers and their allies have, for at least fifty years, been carefully following a plan to use their economic power to gain political control of first America, and then the rest of the world.” – Larry P. McDonald
In 1921 the stockholders of the Federal Reserve financed an organization called the “Council on Foreign Relations” (CFR). A full discussion on the CFR is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that the CFR likely plays a prominent role in the invisible government that we have been warned about. The CFR is alleged to be the arm of the Ruling Elite in the United States. Most influential politicians, academics and media personalities are members. The CFR uses its influence to push their New World Order agenda on the American people.
David Rockefeller, Sr is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. Rockefeller began a lifelong association with the CFR when he joined as a director in 1949. In Rockefeller’s 2002 autobiography “Memoirs” he wrote:
“For more than a century ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents such as my encounter with Castro to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as internationalists and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure — one world, if you will. If that’s the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it.”
James Warburg, son of CFR [Council on Foreign Relations] founder Paul Warburg, delivered blunt testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on February 17, 1950:
“We shall have world government, whether or not we like it. The question is only whether world government will be achieved by consent or by conquest.”
“THE AMERICAN MIND SIMPLY HAS NOT COME TO A REALIZATION OF THE EVIL WHICH HAS BEEN INTRODUCED INTO OUR MIDST. IT REJECTS EVEN THE ASSUMPTION THAT HUMAN CREATURES COULD ESPOUSE A PHILOSOPHY WHICH MUST ULTIMATELY DESTROY ALL THAT IS GOOD AND DECENT.” —J. EDGAR HOOVER
Because of a deep rooted beliefs that the U.S. government is “for the people” and the protector of the free world, many will reject the notion of an evil shadow government. When our beliefs are challenged or when two beliefs are inconsistent, cognitive dissonance is created. It’s human nature to try to hold our beliefs in harmony with our world view and avoid disharmony (or dissonance).
For those of you who having difficulty believing the information presented in this article, I fully understand. For the first 57 years of my life, I would not have believed in the possibility that a shadow government could exist. Three years ago my world view changed. While on vacation in Mount Shasta, I came across a book titled “Global Conspiracy” that seemed strangely out of place in a metaphysical book store. I had never heard of the author before – some guy named David Icke. I scanned through the book and frankly didn’t believe 99% of what I read. But, I saw one thing that caught my attention in that I knew that I could easily verify Icke’s assertion. I did my own research and turned out what Icke had stated was true. That led me down a rabbit hole and many, many hundreds of hours of independent research.
So, keep an open mind, do your own research, and use discernment. Beware that there is a ton of disinformation on the internet, much of which is intentionally placed to confuse the public. At a CFR meeting on geoengineering (see the article “Millions Spent to Confuse Public About Geoengineering“), M. Granger Morgan stated (it’s captured on video for you to see and hear for yourself):
“FIRST OF ALL, OF COURSE, THERE IS A LOT OF MONEY GETTING SPENT TO MAKE SURE THAT A VERY SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE PUBLIC STAYS TOTALLY CONFUSED ABOUT THIS. AND, I MEAN, IT’S BEEN REALLY QUITE PERNICIOUS. BUT THERE’S BEEN LITERALLY TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS SPENT ON EVERY LITTLE THING THAT COMES ALONG THAT MIGHT, YOU KNOW, RELATE TO SOME UNCERTAINTY.”
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
In addition to doing your own research, please spread the word, and get involved. The Thrive Solutions Hub is an excellent place to join with others who are taking positive action steps expose corruption and to create a world in which we can all thrive. You can watch the full Thrive movie on YouTube here.
18th January 2016, 07:23 PM #335
Pepe Escobar:
The Top 8 US financial universe - JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, US Bancorp, Bank of New York Mellon and Morgan Stanley - is 100% controlled by only TEN shareholders. And only FOUR companies take part in ALL major decisions: BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard and Fidelity.
The Fed is made up of 12 banks, represented by a board of seven, which includes members of those four.
So the Fed is actually controlled by four PRIVATE companies: BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard and Fidelity. These are the real financial Masters of the Universe as they control US - and global - monetary policy.
Welcome to the real matrix.
Revealed – the capitalist network that runs the world
The 1318 transnational corporations that form the core of the economy. Superconnected companies are red, very connected companies are yellow. The size of the dot represents revenue
(Image: PLoS One)
AS PROTESTS against financial power sweep the world this week, science may have confirmed the protesters’ worst fears.An analysis of the relationships between 43,000 transnational corporations has identified a relatively small group of companies, mainly banks, with disproportionate power over the global economy.
The study’s assumptions have attracted some criticism, but complex systems analysts contacted by New Scientist say it is a unique effort to untangle control in the global economy. Pushing the analysis further, they say, could help to identify ways of making global capitalism more stable.
The idea that a few bankers control a large chunk of the global economy might not seem like news to New York’s Occupy Wall Street movement and protesters elsewhere (see photo). But the study, by a trio of complex systems theorists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, is the first to go beyond ideology to empirically identify such a network of power. It combines the mathematics long used to model natural systems with comprehensive corporate data to map ownership among the world’s transnational corporations (TNCs).
“Reality is so complex, we must move away from dogma, whether it’s conspiracy theories or free-market,” says James Glattfelder. “Our analysis is reality-based.”
Previous studies have found that a few TNCs own large chunks of the world’s economy, but they included only a limited number of companies and omitted indirect ownerships, so could not say how this affected the global economy – whether it made it more or less stable, for instance.
The Zurich team can. From Orbis 2007, a database listing 37 million companies and investors worldwide, they pulled out all 43,060 TNCs and the share ownerships linking them. Then they constructed a model of which companies controlled others through shareholding networks, coupled with each company’s operating revenues, to map the structure of economic power.
The work, to be published in PLoS One, revealed a core of 1318 companies with interlocking ownerships (see image). Each of the 1318 had ties to two or more other companies, and on average they were connected to 20. What’s more, although they represented 20 per cent of global operating revenues, the 1318 appeared to collectively own through their shares the majority of the world’s large blue chip and manufacturing firms – the “real” economy – representing a further 60 per cent of global revenues.
When the team further untangled the web of ownership, it found much of it tracked back to a “super-entity” of 147 even more tightly knit companies – all of their ownership was held by other members of the super-entity – that controlled 40 per cent of the total wealth in the network. “In effect, less than 1 per cent of the companies were able to control 40 per cent of the entire network,” says Glattfelder. Most were financial institutions. The top 20 included Barclays Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and The Goldman Sachs Group.
John Driffill of the University of London, a macroeconomics expert, says the value of the analysis is not just to see if a small number of people controls the global economy, but rather its insights into economic stability.
Concentration of power is not good or bad in itself, says the Zurich team, but the core’s tight interconnections could be. As the world learned in 2008, such networks are unstable. “If one [company] suffers distress,” says Glattfelder, “this propagates.”
“It’s disconcerting to see how connected things really are,” agrees George Sugihara of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, a complex systems expert who has advised Deutsche Bank.
Yaneer Bar-Yam, head of the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI), warns that the analysis assumes ownership equates to control, which is not always true. Most company shares are held by fund managers who may or may not control what the companies they part-own actually do. The impact of this on the system’s behaviour, he says, requires more analysis.
Crucially, by identifying the architecture of global economic power, the analysis could help make it more stable. By finding the vulnerable aspects of the system, economists can suggest measures to prevent future collapses spreading through the entire economy. Glattfelder says we may need global anti-trust rules, which now exist only at national level, to limit over-connection among TNCs. Sugihara says the analysis suggests one possible solution: firms should be taxed for excess interconnectivity to discourage this risk.
One thing won’t chime with some of the protesters’ claims: the super-entity is unlikely to be the intentional result of a conspiracy to rule the world. “Such structures are common in nature,” says Sugihara.
Newcomers to any network connect preferentially to highly connected members. TNCs buy shares in each other for business reasons, not for world domination. If connectedness clusters, so does wealth, says Dan Braha of NECSI: in similar models, money flows towards the most highly connected members. The Zurich study, says Sugihara, “is strong evidence that simple rules governing TNCs give rise spontaneously to highly connected groups”. Or as Braha puts it: “The Occupy Wall Street claim that 1 per cent of people have most of the wealth reflects a logical phase of the self-organising economy.”
So, the super-entity may not result from conspiracy. The real question, says the Zurich team, is whether it can exert concerted political power. Driffill feels 147 is too many to sustain collusion. Braha suspects they will compete in the market but act together on common interests. Resisting changes to the network structure may be one such common interest.
When this article was first posted, the comment in the final sentence of the paragraph beginning “Crucially, by identifying the architecture of global economic power…” was misattributed.
The top 50 of the 147 superconnected companies
1. Barclays plc
2. Capital Group Companies Inc
3. FMR Corporation
4. AXA
5. State Street Corporation
6. JP Morgan Chase & Co
7. Legal & General Group plc
8. Vanguard Group Inc
9. UBS AG
10. Merrill Lynch & Co Inc
11. Wellington Management Co LLP
12. Deutsche Bank AG
13. Franklin Resources Inc
14. Credit Suisse Group
15. Walton Enterprises LLC
16. Bank of New York Mellon Corp
17. Natixis
18. Goldman Sachs Group Inc
19. T Rowe Price Group Inc
20. Legg Mason Inc
21. Morgan Stanley
22. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc
23. Northern Trust Corporation
24. Société Générale
25. Bank of America Corporation
26. Lloyds TSB Group plc
27. Invesco plc
28. Allianz SE 29. TIAA
30. Old Mutual Public Limited Company
31. Aviva plc
32. Schroders plc
33. Dodge & Cox
34. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc*
35. Sun Life Financial Inc
36. Standard Life plc
37. CNCE
38. Nomura Holdings Inc
39. The Depository Trust Company
40. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
41. ING Groep NV
42. Brandes Investment Partners LP
43. Unicredito Italiano SPA
44. Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan
45. Vereniging Aegon
46. BNP Paribas
47. Affiliated Managers Group Inc
48. Resona Holdings Inc
49. Capital Group International Inc
50. China Petrochemical Group Company
* Lehman still existed in the 2007 dataset used
Graphic: The 1318 transnational corporations that form the core of the economy
(Data: PLoS One)
1st March 2016, 11:22 PM #336
These 13 Families Rule The World: The Shadow Forces Behind The NWO
By conspiracyclub -
The shadow forces behind the New World Order (NWO) are following a slow-paced agenda of total control over mankind and our planet’s resources. David Icke coined it the “Totalitarian Tip-Toe,” because “they” are making very small steps towards our complete and definitive enslavement.
As a result, the masses remain relatively unaware of the fact that their liberties are being gradually taken away, while the power of the NWO octopus grows steadily.
The shadow forces behind the NWO agenda
Somewhere near the very top of the pyramid, an extremely elitist organisation known as the Council of the 13 families orchestrates all of the major world events. As the name suggests, the Council consists of the top 13 most influential families on Earth.
Rothschild (Bauer or Bower)
Cavendish (Kennedy)
Hapsburg
Romanov
Sinclair (St. Clair)
Warburg (del Banco)
Windsor (Saxe-Coburg-Gothe)
(Personally, I suspect that this may not be the complete list and some very powerful lineages are still unknown to us).
The Rothschild dynasty is unquestionably the most powerful – visible – bloodline on Earth and their estimated wealth is around $500 trillions!
They exercise their power through the world banking empire, which is almost entirely owned by them.
The most important institutions that work hard to establish the NWO and completely enslave our species, are:
The City of London (finance, controlled by the Rothschilds) – NOT part of the UK;
The US Federal Reserve (finance – private bank, owned by the Rothschilds) – NOT part of the USA;
The Vatican City (indoctrination, deception and scare tactics) – NOT part of Italy;
Washington D.C. (military, mind programming, brainwashing and depopulation) – NOT part of the USA;
All of the above institutions function as individual states, operating under their own laws, hence there is no court of law on Earth that could ever prosecute them.
The multitude of Secret Societies in existence today, operate as branches of a mega corporation, which is owned by the Council of the 13 families.
Even though they have been handsomely rewarded for their work, the members of these secret societies are not members of the “elite” bloodlines, they don’t know who theirmasters are and they have no idea what the real agenda is.
The brainwashing
Another mass-enslavement tool that they are using against us, is the so called educational system. Schools are no longer what they used to be and children are learning to memorize without thinking and obey without questioning.
In fact, this established educational system is extremely expensive to keep operational and obsolete in the age of the internet.
“Why obsolete?” you may ask. Because the internet gives us free access to almost infinite amounts of information.
So why are we still paying huge amounts of money for governmental education? Because the world’s “elite” require that our children learn conformity and inside-the-box thinking.
What can we do about it?
Mankind’s faith is hanging in the balance right now, as the control of the NWO octopus spreads. On the one hand, we are very close to our complete enslavement, while on the other hand, we could easily crumble to the ground their pyramid of power, by simply uniting against their deception in a peaceful revolution of minds, hearts and souls.
I’ve asked myself for years what their greatest weapon of enslavement is. Is it poor education combined with constant indoctrination? Is it the fear generated by religion? Is itthe fear of being punished (jailed or killed) by the system, or is it the invisible enslavement of the monetary system?
In my opinion, all of the above combined had a huge impact on our society and the way we think, but their biggest weapon is hands-down the financial system!
Currency slaves
The financial system has stealthy enslaved our species and now we are being used as currency slaves. We work from 9 to 5 every day, in boring and depressing environments, not stimulated by anything creative or constructive.
In most cases, the sole motivation for going to work, is the next paycheck — and no matter how hard we work, we never seem to have enough money.
Have you ever wondered why mega-corporations (reaping $billions/year in profits) pay dozens of millions to their CEOs and as close as possible to the minimum wage to the rest of the employees?
This has been carefully designed, because a person that is constantly “on the edge,” will never have time for self-education, introspection and – eventually – spiritual awakening.
Isn’t this our main purpose on Earth? To become spiritual beings (and by spiritual, I obviously don’t mean religious) and complete the incarnation cycle?
“They” don’t need educated people, who are capable of critical thinking and have spiritual goals. No, this kind of people are dangerous to the establishment!
“They” want obedient “robots,” just intelligent enough to operate the machines and keep the system running, but stupid enough never to ask questions.
Money is the eye of the “devil”
All of the world’s biggest problems have their roots deeply embedded in the financial plague: wars are profitable, diseases are profitable, Earth’s plundering is profitable, human slavery and inhumane working conditions are profitable.
Our leaders have been corrupted by money and mankind’s collective mission on Earth has been hijacked by money.
So why do we need the financial system, in the first place? Actually, we don’t need it (at least, not anymore). The planet doesn’t charge us a cent for using its natural resources and we have the technology to extract them without physically working a day.
22nd May 2016, 03:40 AM #337
This is how the US Federal Reserve con the Rats. Their 2% target inflation is bull-shit.
The Inflation Targeting Scam And Why It Guarantees The Mother Of Financial Meltdowns
By David Stockman
The estimable Martin Feldstein put the wood to the Fed in a recent op ed and in so doing hit the nail directly on the head. He essentially called foul ball on the whole inflation targeting regime and the magic 2.00% goalpost in part due to the measuring stick challenge.
A fundamental problem with an explicit inflation target is the difficulty of knowing if it has been hit.
That problem is plainly evident in the chart below. You could very easily make the argument that goods prices are beyond the Fed's reach because they are set in the world markets and by the marginal cost of labor in China and the EM.
Therefore the more domestically driven CPI index for services such as housing, medical care, education, transportation, recreation etc. is the more relevant yardstick. Alas, if there is something magic about 2.00%, why then, mission accomplished!
On a five-year basis, services inflation is up at 2.2% annually, and during the past year it has heated up to 3.2%.
Then again, if the Fed were not comprised of power-hungry apparatchiks looking for any excuse to intrude in the financial markets and dominate their hourly behavior, it might well recognize the merit of what we have termed "CPI Using Market Rent" (box).
That's because the regular CPI gives a 25% weighting to the OER (owners equivalent rent), which is more than a little squirrely. The BLS actually asks a tiny sample of homeowners what they would charge per month if they were to rent out their castle.
They have no clue! So the BLS plugs some survey questionnaire noise into an algorithm and calls it 25% of the entire damn index!
To improve upon this nonsense, we just swapped out the OER in the chart above and replaced it with an asking rent index that a private vendor provides to real clients in the housing rental business. The results get us exactly to the title of Feldstein's post called "Ending the Fed's Inflation Fixation".
After all, can any adult really believe that there is any significant difference between 2.0%and 1.9% on a five-year trend basis? Or even that 1.6% is a significant "miss" that adversely impacts an $18 trillion economy during a year where the global collapse of oil and commodities has clearly temporarily depressed the overall CPI index?
So why is it that the Fed insists on the PCE deflator less food and energy to measure its inflation policy target. Is it technically or theoretically superior to the dozens of alternative measures available, including the internet based Billion Prices Project index, which is based on scrapping massive numbers of high frequency transaction prices from the internet each day?
Not in the slightest. Bernanke and his disciples and successors embraced the PCE less food and energy deflator solely because at least in recent years it has been the shortest inflation measuring stick around. It's about staying in the game, period.
These people are all about justifying a regime of financial market domination that is a complete historical anomaly and a wellspring of price falsification, malinvestment, rampant speculation and dangerous trolling for yield. And the smoking gun, in fact, is the data scrapped from the billions of actual transactions prices which course through cyberspace daily.
The chart below shows that consumer inflation has long been running above 2.0% in the real world of transactions. The light orange line plunged below the 2% marker only when global crude oil dropped from $100 per barrel to $40.
Folks, that's not undershooting the target from below. That reflects, in fact, just the opposite.
Namely, that the world's central banks have enabled so much cheap, uneconomic credit in recent years that massive excess energy and commodity investments have generated a condition of chronic over-supply, and therefore deflationary commodity price trends. So the temporary plunge in consumer prices is yesterday's monetary policy errors at work, not a reason for central banks to keep interest rates lashed to the zero bound today.
Indeed, the rank intellectual dishonesty of the Fed's "2 percenters" is even more dramatically demonstrated below. The level of the overall consumer inflation index, regardless of which one you choose, is a function of its components. That is, the overall index value is a weighted average statistical derivative.
Yet the two driving forces on the CPI since inflation targeting was officially adopted in 2012 have been medical care services and consumer energy products like gasoline and heating oil.
As it happened, during the 48-month period ending in April 2016, the medical services component rose by 2.9% per annum while energy has dropped by 7.7% per year. Neither of these component changes are driven by some Keynesian either called "aggregate demand" in the domestic economy, or anything else the central bank can remotely influence or manipulate.
Instead, energy prices are driven by long-cycle supply, demand and capacity balances and short-cycle inventory movements in the $80 trillion global GDP; and medical prices are driven by third party payer machinations in the nation's $3 trillion bureaucracy-encrusted medical care delivery system.
Indeed, throw in the BLS's phony OER component with these two items and you have 40% of the weight in the CPI and only slightly less in the PCE deflator. Given this, is it even remotely rational to believe that the deliberations and interventions of the FOMC have anything to do with the second decimal place outcome on the overall CPI of 1.19% annually during the last four years?
You might conclude that our monetary politburo consists of feckless and befuddled academics and apparatchiks who are tilting at inflation windmills, but you would be mainly wrong.
The truth is, these are power-hungry bureaucrats who have usurped their charter in manner so brazen and excessive as to be fairly described as a coup d etat. There is absolutely nothing in the elastic and aspirational language of the Humphrey-Hawkins Act that requires this kind of fanatical pursuit of 2.00% inflation or a 4.99% U-3 rate, either.
And that gets us to the even more important point in Feldstein's post regarding the real function of the Fed with respect to inflation. That is, its true inflation mandate is not about two-decimal point undershooting from below on a monthly basis; it's being vigilant about a breakout of inflation to the upside on a trend basis.
With a margin of error that large, it makes no sense to focus monetary policy on trying to hit a precise inflation target. The problem that consumers care about and that should be the subject of Fed policy is avoiding a return to the rapidly rising inflation that took measured inflation from less than 2% in 1965 to 5% in 1970 and to more than 12% in 1980.
Although we cannot know the true rate of inflation at any time, we can see if the measured inflation rate starts rising rapidly. If that happens, it would be a sign that true inflation is also rising because of excess demand in product and labor markets. That would be an indication that the Fed should be tightening monetary policy.
Here's the thing. Feldstein has been at this game since the late 1960s and knows a thing or two about how economies work and what central banks can and cannot do with their primitive tools of money market pegging, yield curve management and wealth effects pumping and puts.
What they can't do is micromanage the GDP or fine-tune the short-term rate of wage, price, production and job gains on domestic ledgers that are rooted in an integrated global economic and financial system. Attempting to do so will only result in more price falsification in the financial markets and inflation of financial asset values. As Feldstein argued,
.......but interest rates remain excessively low and are still driving investors and lenders to take unsound risks to reach for yield, leading to a serious mispricing of assets. The S&P 500 price-earnings ratio is more than 50% above its historic average. Commercial real estate is priced as if low bond yields will last forever. Banks and other lenders are lending to lower quality borrowers and making loans with fewer conditions.
When interest rates return to normal there will be substantial losses to investors, lenders and borrowers. The adverse impact on the overall economy could be very serious.
That's right, but "serious" is not the word for it.
What is coming down the pike is the Mother Of All Financial Meltdowns. And this time it will be evident to the world as to who is responsible for the resulting carnage.
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PROGRAMME AND TICKETS
LITTLE WA
PUBLISHINGS
Back to: Index Of Work
Slices - Alvin Lucier
Throughout the course of the performance a cellist plays a series of fifty-three single tones spanning the normal range of the instrument, from C2 to E6, in seven sets of permutations. As he does so, corresponding tones in the orchestra enter and leave while the cello tones are sounded, forming simultaneities of various textures and densities.
In Sections 1, 3, 5, and 7, the orchestral players, starting from a 53note cluster, drop out, one by one, as they are sounded by the cellist, leaving a single tone at the end. In Sections 2, 4, and 6, the players enter as the cellist plays their tones, gradually building up the full cluster.
Slices was written for cellist Charles Curtis. It was first performed on 29 August 2007, by the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra with Petr Kotik, conductor, and Charles Curtis, solo cello, as part of the Ostrava Days Music Festival, Czech Republic.
Copyright © Alvin Lucier (BMI)
Distributed by Material Press, Frankfurt am Main
© 2019 Warsaw Autumn
Project: Rytm Interactive
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Home CITY POLITICS REGION CULTURE ENTERTAINMENT SPORT EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL NEWS INTERVIEW GALLERY ANALYTICS ANNOUNCEMENTS
By “NGO Center” Civil Society Development NGO
The first and second phases of the “School Energy Auditors Detachments” are summarized
The EU-funded project “School Energy Auditors Detachments” was launched in November 2018. It is implemented in the framework of the sub-grant “The EU for Civil Society: Energy Energy Efficiency in the Communities of Armenia” by the “NGO Center” Civil Society Development NGO is a member of the “National Social Housing Association”.
The goal of the project is to contribute to the development and dissemination of energy efficiency culture in Vanadzor and neighboring 4 rural communities.
The program will last for 6 months and it is full of interesting events. The first and second parts of the project have already been completed, during which training and awareness meetings have taken place.
In the first phase of the project, “detachments of energy auditors” composed of 5-7 schoolchildren were formed at 11 schools in Vanadzor. As Vahe Khachikyan, Public Affairs Officer at the NGO Center notes: “The project envisioned to include 10 schools at the beginning, with 5 pupils from each one, but at the start of the project, when we had meetings with the administrations of the schools, they showed great interest and when we selected 10 schools we also received calls from other schools that they would like to be included and we included one more participant”. At this stage of the project, energy auditors were trained on topics such as "Energy Efficiency", "Energy Audit" and after that, they were trained as trainers to successfully implement the next stage of the project. It was interesting to have 50 pupils from 10 schools, but we had a total of about 70 pupils participating in the training.
The next stage of the project was a series of trainings on "Energy Efficiency" on the "Equality" principle. The trainings were conducted by the schoolchildren who were trained in the trainings organized by the NGO Center.
Trainings based on the principle of Equality have been organized in 11 beneficiary schools as well as 4 schools of rural communities Shahumyan, Gugark and Bazum. About 500 people participated in these courses: “It is noteworthy that there are schools that offer and initiate more than one class in their schools, which proves the importance of the topic and the correct targeting of the program,” - Vahe mentions.
At the next stages of the project it is envisaged that energy auditors will conduct monitoring and energy audit at their schools. Based on the problems identified as a result of the audit, each school will submit its initiative to the NGO Center, and the commission will select top 5 initiatives and will finance them. It is also planned to organize a flash mob and “Energy Efficient School Project” competition.
A Draw in the Iberian Peninsula Derby
Armenia – Italy: 0:4. No Comments
Meeting-Discussion with the Participation of the Expert Team of the Council of Europe
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PUTTING SEX ABUSE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CONTEXT
- "Separating facts about clergy abuse from fiction" by Thomas G. Plante, Ph.D., ABPP (Psychology Today, August 23, 2018)
- "Is priestly celibacy the cause of clerical sex abuse? Not likely, victim says" by Elise Harris (Catholic News Agency, February 8, 2015)
- "He that is without sin, let him cast the next stone – enough already" by Ed Koch (JPost.com, April 8, 2010)
- "Pope Francis: 'Stop Using Church as Sexual Abuse Scapegoat'" by Dr. William Oddie (Crisis Magazine, March 12, 2014)
- "Clerical child sex abuse has nothing whatever to do with celibacy'" by Dr. William Oddie (Catholic Herald (UK), December 19, 2014)
- "Celibacy does not create sex offenders" by Anthony Fisher (MercatorNet, December 16, 2014)
- "Sexual abuse not worse in Catholic Church" by Stephen May (Easton Journal and Enterprise, June 22, 2014)
- "Mean Men" by Pat Wingert (Newsweek, April 7, 2010)
- "How serious is the 'predator priest' problem?" by Philip Jenkins (USA Today, June 7, 2010)
- "The myth of the pedophile priest: A researcher puts scandals in context" by Philip Jenkins (Zenit, March 11, 2002)
- "10 myths about priestly pedophilia" by Deal Hudson (Zenit, April 17, 2002)
- "'Blame Woodstock' and the Catholic Sex Abuse Crisis" by Joseph Lawler (The American Spectator, May 18, 2011)
- "Six important points you don’t hear about regarding clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church" by Thomas G. Plante, Ph.D., ABPP (Psychology Today, March 24, 2010)
- "A Perspective on Clergy Sexual Abuse" by Thomas Plante, Ph.D., ABPP (Department of Psychology, Santa Clara University, April 7, 2010)
- "Does Celibacy Increase Sex Abuse?" by Ross Douthat (NYTimes.com, April 8, 2010)
- "How the New Atheists are abusing the truth: Did Catholic priests really rape 10,000 children over the past 50 years, as respectable media outlets claim? No, they didn't." by Brendan O'Neil (spiked-online.com (UK), September 13, 2010)
- "Church wasn't the only institution to fail to tackle abuse, says Widdecombe" by Ed West (Catholic Herald (UK), June 11, 2013)
- "Church Gets an Unfair Rap: Pope has been at forefront of change" by George Weigel (Philadelphia Inquirer, April 4, 2010)
- "Catholic bashing and pedophile priests" by Michael Medved (wnd.com, March 25, 2002)
- "Making Amends" by Michael Winters (Slate.com, March 22, 2010)
- "The liberal media have it out for the Catholic Church" by S.E. Cupp (New York Daily News, April 6, 2010)
- "Church has learned to protect children" by Wayne Laugesen (Colorado Springs Gazette, April 21, 2012)
- "Catholic child abuse in proportion" by Andrew Brown (The Guardian (UK), March 11, 2010)
- "Not all the news is fit to print: What the media missed in the sexual-abuse scandal" by Hon. Patrick J. Schiltz (Commonweal, April 15, 2003) (**highly recommended**)
SEX ABUSE IN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
- "Teachers who sexually abuse students still find classroom jobs" (USA Today, December 2016)
- "Abusive teachers move from school-to-school" (USA Today, December 2016)
- "Investigation: Broken discipline tracking systems let teachers flee troubled pasts" (USA Today, February 2016)
- "Society tolerates rampant sex abuse in schools" (The Gazette (Colorado Springs), March 11, 2014)
- "Sex abuse spans spectrum of churches" by Mark Clayton (Christian Science Monitor, April 5, 2002)
- "Keeping Sex Predators Out of Schoolrooms" by Campbell Brown (Wall Street Journal, January 16, 2014)
- "Teacher Sex Abuse: Why Repeat Offenders Are So Common" by Andrew J. Rotherham (Time.com, March 1, 2012)
- "Sexual Misconduct Plagues US Schools" (Associated Press, October 2007)
- "Sex Abuse Laws Can Fail School Kids" (Associated Press, October 2007)
- "Secret Shame of Our Schools: Sexual Abuse of Students Runs Rampant" by Douglas Montero (New York Post, July 30, 2001)
- "Silently Shifting Teachers in Sex Abuse Cases" by Diana Jean Schemo (New York Times, June 18, 2002)
- "Sex abuse still rampant in public schools: It's almost as if nobody cares" by Wayne Laugesen (USA Today, November 29, 2010)
- "Schools cut secret deals with abusive teachers" by Amy Hsuan, Melissa Navas, and Bill Graves (The Oregonian, February 17, 2008)
- "How Many Kids Are Sexually Abused by Their Teachers? Probably millions" by Brian Palmer (Slate.com, February 8, 2012)
- "Teachers Unions Go to Bat for Sexual Predators" by Campbell Brown (Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2012)
- "Sex Abuse by Teachers Said Worse Than Catholic Church" by Jon E. Dougherty (NewsMax.com, April 5, 2004)
- "Where the present sex abuse emergency is located" by Melissa Nussbaum (NCRonline.org, April 15, 2010)
- "Schools facing Catholic Church-like wave of scandal?" by Gloria Goodale (Christian Science Monitor, February 10, 2012)
- "Sex Abuse Scandal Rocks Public Schools" by Bill Donohue (NewsMax, October 31, 2013)
- "5,000 child molesters: the US scout movement's guilty secret" by Guy Adams (The Independent, October 31, 2011)
- "Medics' sex abuse may top Church scandals" by Evelyn Ring (Irish Examiner, March 7, 2012)
- "Missionary child abuse, long unspoken of, emerges from the shadows" by Manya A. Brachear (Chicago Tribune, June 17, 2013)
- "USA Swimming Coaches Molested, Secretly Taped Dozens of Swimmers" by Megan Chuchmach and Avni Patel (ABC News Investigation, April 9, 2010)
- "Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature" by Dr. Charol Shakeshaft (U.S. Department of Education, 2004)
- "Pedophiles Are Not National News – When They're Gay Rights Pioneers" by Tim Graham (NewsBusters.org, January 30, 2014)
- "Experts: Pedophiles in Hollywood a bigger problem than ever" by Hollie McKay (FoxNews.com, October 30, 2013)
- "Billy Graham's Grandson Says Protestants Abuse Kids Just Like Catholics" by Josiah Hesse (Vice.com, August 25, 2017)
THE SEX ABUSE LITIGATION INDUSTRY
- "Sex, God & Greed" by Daniel Lyons (Forbes.com, June 9, 2003)
- "Paid to Picket" by Daniel Lyons (Forbes.com, June 15, 2003)
- "Changing the Rules: Selective justice for Catholic institutions" by L. Martin Nussbaum (America, May 15, 2006)
- "Priests 'Credibly' Accused?" by Thomas G. Guarino (First Things, November 6, 2013)
- "Kicking the Dead and Collecting Cash?" by David F. Pierre, Jr. (These Stone Walls, May 23, 2012)
- "Shakedown: How Catholics Are Getting Ripped Off in the Name of Justice" by Francis X. Maier (Crisis, May 2006)
- "Canon Law and False Abuse Allegations, Part II" by Cathy Caridi, J.C.L. (Canon Law Made Easy, May 2013)
- "Sacrificing Priests on the Altar of Insurance" by David A. Shaneyfelt and Joseph P. Maher (Homiletic & Pastoral Review, February 24, 2015)
RESPONDING TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
- "Hick Journalist of the Year: Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times" by Pacheco (The Catholic Legate, April 7, 2010)
- "The New York Times vs. The Pope: A Case of Selective Journalism?" by David Rosen (CounterPunch, April 16-18, 2010)
- "The Pope and the New York Times" by William McGurn (Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2010)
- "Scoundrel Time(s)" by George Weigel (First Things, March 29, 2010)
- "Anti-Catholicism, Again" by Joseph Bottum (The Weekly Standard, May 3, 2010)
- "Shame on the NYTimes" by Michael Sean Winters (America, March 26, 2010)
- "Church of the 'Times'" by Kenneth L. Woodward (Commonweal, May 7, 2010)
- "The Greatest Scandal of All: Should we be surprised by anti-Catholicism in the media?" (Aleteia, May 7, 2013)
- "Maureen Dowd Is an Idiot" by Rod Dreher (Real Clear Religion, April 30, 2012)
- "On sexual abuse scandal, pope gets a bad rap" by Michael Gerson (Washington Post, April 7, 2010)
- "What Went Wrong" by George Weigel. (Newsweek, April 2, 2010)
- "A Papal Conversion" by John L. Allen, Jr. (New York Times, March 27, 2010)
OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS AND OTHER RESOURCES
- "The Nature and Scope of the Problem of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950-2002" (John Jay College study, June 2004)
- "Child Sexual Abuse: A Review of the Literature" (John Jay College, June 2004)
- "The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010" (John Jay College study, May 2011)
- "2010 Annual Report: Findings and Recommendations: Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" (CARA/USCCB, March 2011)
- "2011 Annual Report: Findings and Recommendations: Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" (CARA/USCCB, April 2012)
- "2012 Annual Report: Findings and Recommendations: Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" (CARA/USCCB, May 2013)
- "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" (aka "The 2002 Dallas Charter") (USCCB, 2002-2005)
- "The Pope Meets the Press: Media Coverage of the Clergy Abuse Scandal" (The Pew Forum, June 11, 2010)
- IrishSalem.com: False allegations of child abuse against Catholic Church in Ireland and elsewhere
- The Archdiocese of Philadelphia replies to the 2005 grand jury report: Charges of "cover-ups" and "concealment" are "categorically false"
- "Sex Offender Myths in Print Media: Separating Fact from Fiction in U.S. Newspapers" (Western Criminology Review, 2012) (**highly recommended**)
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A national garden and premier horticultural attraction for local and international visitors, Gardens by the Bay is a showpiece of horticulture and garden artistry that presents the plant kingdom in a whole new way, entertaining while educating visitors with plants seldom seen in this part of the world, ranging from species in cool, temperate climates to tropical forests and habitats.
Gardens by the Bay comprises three distinctive waterfront gardens – Bay South, Bay East and Bay Central:
Bay South, the largest of the three gardens, opened in 2012. With its award-winning cooled conservatories and iconic Supertrees, Bay South has placed Singapore squarely on the international map and is a source of national pride. Within Flower Dome, the ever-changing floral displays including crowd favourites such as Tulipmania, Orchid Extravaganza and Blossom Beats bring the beauty and diversity of the plant kingdom to life for all to enjoy.
Bay East, the second largest, offers a tranquil respite from the bustling city and a stunning view of the Singapore skyline even as it unfolds over the next century. This green space is open to the public and has immense potential for future development as a waterfront garden.
Bay Central is the garden which will serve as a link between Bay South to Bay East when developed, with a 3km waterfront promenade boasting stunning views of the city.
While plant displays remain the focal point of Gardens by the Bay, engaging programmes and excellent service form key pillars in enhancing the Gardens’ overall visitor experience.
The Gardens’ calendar - filled with signature festivals, music concerts and movie screenings, sports and community events, and educational workshops and school programmes – draw a wide spectrum of visitors to the Gardens. With more than 30 million visitors to date, Gardens by the Bay continues to refresh and refine its offerings, to make the Gardens a place that everyone can enjoy.
Some of the Must see attractions at the Garden by the Bay:
OCBC Skyway
There’s nothing quite like a stroll along the OCBC Skyway. At a height of 22 metres and surrounded by panoramic vistas of the Gardens and Marina Bay skyline, this 128-metre-long aerial walkway is an experience not to be missed.
Enter the Cloud Forest, a mysterious world veiled in mist. Take in breath-taking mountain views surrounded by diverse vegetation and hidden floral gems. And learn about rare plants and their fast-disappearing environment.
Flower Dome
Step into the Flower Dome and stand in awe. Spectacular and innovative, it is the largest glass greenhouse in the world as listed in the 2015 Guinness World Records! Be amazed by changing display of flowers and plants from the Mediterranean and semi-arid regions.
Supertree Grove
Measuring between 25 and 50 metres tall, these iconic tree-like vertical gardens are designed with large canopies that provide shade in the day and come alive with an exhilarating display of light and sound at night.
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Video Of St. Cloud Mall Stabbings Released, FBI Calls Attack ‘Premeditated’ [VIDEO]
WJON Staff
ST. CLOUD - Federal and local officials have taken the unusual step of releasing video footage from the St. Cloud Crossroads Mall stabbings. The incident on Saturday, September 17th left 10 people hurt, and the suspect Dahir Adan dead.
Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall says at a news conference Thursday showing the video at this time in the investigation is something they would not normally do, but in the interest of transparency they decided to go ahead and release the video footage.
Also, Special Agent with the FBI Rick Thornton says Adan may have become radicalized recently and that the attack likely was premeditated. He says Adan 'went from being a high achieving student with a lot of friends, to being withdrawn and flunking out of college almost overnight'. Adan took interest recently in Islam, and encouraged his female relatives to be more religious.
Investigators were told that said Adan yelled "Islam, Islam" and "allahu akbar" during the attack.
They've interviewed at least 180 people in their investigation. The FBI also continues to review Dahir Adan's electronic devices, however his iphone is locked and they haven't gotten access to his cell phone yet.
Meanwhile, the attorney for the family of Adan says his relatives had no idea he expressed interest in Islam and was planning last month's attack as authorities have indicated. Abdulwahid Osman says the family did not see a change in Adan's behavior as investigators have claimed.
Adan's parents and other close family members viewed video evidence from the mall attack earlier Thursday. Adan's parents said that is "not the son they knew" and that it is beyond their understanding that he committed the crime.
Adan texted his boss at about 6:45 p.m. that night and said he could not make it in work. At 8:07 p.m. he left his home enroute to the mall. He was involved in a hit and run with a bicyclist on his way to the mall. He arrived at the Crossroads Center parking lot at about 8:13 p.m. The first 911 call came in at 8:14 p.m.
Kendall says her role is to determine if the use of deadly force was necessary by part-time Avon police officer Jason Falconer. She says no criminal action will be filed against officer Falconer.
The attacks started outside the mall near Complete Nutrition, then Dahir Adan continued inside the mall toward Target and Macy's. Adan, armed with two steak knives, ran into Macy's followed by Falconer. Twelve witnesses say they heard Falconer order Adan to drop his weapons. A total of 10 rounds were fired by Falconer with six striking Adan.
St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis says we should continue to remember the victims of the mall stabbings. He says he's had a chance to speak to each of the 10 victims.
Thirteen different agencies - 126 different people - responded to the Crossroads mall that night. Ninety-five separate 911 calls were made regarding the mall stabbings incident.
The case is completely in the hands of the FBI now. The role of the St. Cloud Police Department and the Stearns County Attorney's Office is complete.
photo by WJON.com's Alex Svejkovsky
Categories: St. Cloud News, Videos
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50+ World > Entertainment > Biography > Pages From Rip Torn’s Life
Biography,
Memorial,
Update: Rip Torn has died on July 9, 2019, at the age of 88. Cause of death is unknown. He is survived by his third wife Amy Wright and their two children (Katie Torn and Claire Torn), his children with his second wife, actress Geraldine Page (daughter Angelica Page, twin sons Tony Torn and Jon Torn), and his oldest daughter Danae Torn, from his first marriage to actress Ann Wedgeworth. Both his first and second wives pre-deceased him - Geraldine Page died in 1987, while Ann Wedgeworth died in 2017.
(Rip Torn 1973 The President's Plane is Missing)
Early Pages From Rip Torn's Life
It was a dark and stormy night....
Just kidding, no one knows what the weather was like when actor and comedian Elmore Rual Torn, Jr. (Rip Torn) was born on February 6, 1931 in Temple, Texas. He was known throughout his life by the nickname 'Rip' based on a generations-old family tradition. Through his mother Thelma (nee Spacek), Torn's first cousin was actress Sissy Spacek.
Rip Torn served in the U.S. Army Military Police after graduating from drama studies at the University of Texas. According to a 1980 People Magazine interview with his fellow Texas native and University of Texas graduate Ann Wedgeworth in 1980, Rip met the aspiring actress after seeing a picture and telling a friend the he was going to meet and marry her. Rip torn did marry Ann Wedgeworth in 1956 when Torn was 25, and moved to New York to pursue careers on Broadway, after Rip got his first Hollywood feature film Baby Doll (1956) under his belt. A daughter - Danae Torn (b. 1957) - and success on stage followed, but Ann said the marriage didn't work out because "We both had violent tempers...we were too mean to live together." Rip Torn and Ann Wedgeworth divorced in Mexico in 1961.
Meanwhile, Rip Torn told The New York Times in 2006 that he had met older actress Geraldine Page while understudying for the role of Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Broadway (1955). Rip said he met the twice-divorced Geraldine Page at the Actors Studio in 1955 and asked for a lick of her ice cream.
Page said that the couple didn't attend parties together. "We get along marvelously unless we get exposed to other people...Rip is volatile and I'm quiet, which is maddening."
Geraldine Page and actor Rip Torn were co-stars onstage in Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), and in the movie.
Rip Torn's Movie and Television Pages
Rip Torn co-starred with actor Christopher Plummer in the TV movie Johnny Belinda (1958); some 40 years later, both Christopher Plummer and Rip Torn, now senior citizens, would be in the featured film The Insider (1999).
Below, Rip Torn guest-starred on an episode of suspense series Thriller in 1960.
(Rip Torn 1960 Thriller)
Geraldine Page and Rip Torn were married in 1963 and had three children - actress Angelica Torn (b.1964), who now goes by the name Angelica Page, and twin sons Anthony & Jonathan Torn (b. 1965). The married couple shared a mailbox TORN-PAGE, and a mutual enjoyment of gardening.
Their house got crowded a year later when Rip's cousin Sissy Spacek lived with them while getting started in the world of New York theatre and music at age 17.
(Rip Torn 1965 12 O'Clock High)
Rip continued to act in movies and television, and co-starred in the TV thriller The President's Plane is Missing (1973) with Buddy Ebsen (Barnaby Jones), Dabney Coleman, and Joseph Campanella. He played manipulative country western singer Maury Dann in Payday (1973), as shown in the Payday movie trailer below.
Rip Torn's Complicated Family Pages
In 1976, 45-year-old Rip Torn was starring in Hamlet in an off-Broadway play and took a fancy to the 19-years-younger actress playing Ophelia, Amy Wright.
Amy Wright told People Magazine that although Torn wanted to be with her, she didn't want to break up his marriage to Geraldine Page. Geraldine and Rip Torn founded the Sanctuary Theater Workshop in New York that year and Amy began acting in plays with Geraldine Page, making the situation awkward and complex. According to Amy in an 1989 interview with People Magazine,
"Gerry was willing to act with me for Rip's sake...I was jealous of her for certain reasons—for being a better actress, for being married to Rip and having known him for so many years, and she was jealous of me for other reasons. We both suffered."
Although the company disbanded a year later, the off-stage relationships continued. "Gerry and Rip had their life, and Rip and I (Amy) had our life."
When interviewed by People Magazine in 1986, Geraldine and Rip were sharing their home with Rip's grown daughter Danae, their daughter Angelica, and her toddler son. Amy was living separately with her 3-year-old daughter by Torn, Katherine (Kate), making 55-year-old Grandpa Rip Torn a father again. In the interview Geraldine Page insisted that Amy Wright was not a threat to her marriage, and Rip Torn referred to his "independent" life. Geraldine Page was 62 when she died in 1987 at their Manhattan home, leaving Rip Torn a widower.
(Rip Torn 1993 Photo: Alan Light)
For her part, in 1989 Amy Wright said
"He (Rip Torn) is the only one who knows about both. I don't think Gerry ever saw the baby or if she ever wanted to."
Amy gave birth to their second daughter Claire in 1992, and many sources indicated the couple married, although no wedding date was confirmed.
Professional Acclaim and Alcoholism
Much of Rip Torn's acting career has been characterized by "almost" great roles on film and stage, and was likely hampered by his alcoholism and volatile temperament.
Still, he has more than 80 feature film credits to his name between 1956 and 2013.
He has many supporting actor roles in films such as Defending Your Life (1991), co-starring with Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, and Lee Grant. Below, Albert Brooks, Rip Torn and Meryl Streep are featured in the movie trailer for Defending Your Life.
Other memorable roles for Rip Torn after becoming a senior were in the movies Men in Black (1997) and the 2002 Men in Black sequel. He earned an Academy Award Best Supporting Actor nomination for his portrayal of Marsh Turner in Cross Creek (1983). Rip Torn last appeared on Broadway in The Young Man From Atlanta (1997).
Younger fans may remember Rip Torn best for his portrayal of Artie in the comedy series The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998). Rip Torn was nominated every year for a Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy Award for his performances on The Larry Sanders Show, and won in 1996.
An avid gun collector, septuagenarian senior citizen Rip Torn made headlines for a drunken episode in 2010, when, armed with a handgun, he broke into a Connecticut bank that had a colonial facade and was arrested. Apparently he thought it was his own home in Connecticut that he was trying to get into; Torn had previously acquired 3 drunk driving convictions. Rip Torn's daughter Angelica indicated her father would be attending rehab after the incident.
Rip Torn was interviewed on InnerViews circa 2010.
Rip Torn's last appearances onscreen was in the film Bridge of Names (2012). His last page has now been turned, and this chapter is over.
Note: This article was first published in 2016 with the title Celebrating Seniors - Rip Torn Turns 85. It has been updated with new & additional content.
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frank wicks March 31st, 2019 at 4:43pm
I'm 81 - theater - acting, directing , playwright, and would love to hang out with 88 year old Torn. We'll drink lemonade! (Saw him in "Sweet Bird" on Broadway in 1959)
L Garou November 24th, 2016 at 1:25am
You can take the man out of Texas, but you can't takeTexas out of the man..
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Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. ...
Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. ...
Huram also made the pails, the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of God: the two pillars, the bowls and the two capitals on top of the pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on top of the pillars, and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the pillars.read more. Share Your Faith Products Gifts
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: ...
"You shall have no other gods before Me. "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,read more. Share Your Faith Products Gifts
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. Cite this page: Editor: Stephen Smith. Publication date: May 9, 2019. Publisher: OpenBible.info. Scripture Images
Now King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. He was a widow's son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill for doing any work in bronze So he came to King Solomon and performed all his work. He fashioned the two pillars of bronze; eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of both. read more. Christian Art and Gifts
Character Of WickedRevelation, Necessity Ofevangelism, nature ofSatan, Power OfSpiritual Warfare, Enemies InImagination, Evil SchemingPresent Evil AgeNames And Titles For SatanRevelation, Responses ToShiningUnbelief, Nature And Effects OfLikenessFalse ReligionUnbelief, Sourced InSatan, As DeceiverSpiritual Blindness, Consequences OfPrincehood Of SatanSatanticImage Of God
Of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. ...
The porch which was in front of the house was as long as the width of the house, twenty cubits, and the height 120; and inside he overlaid it with pure gold. He overlaid the main room with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and ornamented it with palm trees and chains. Further, he adorned the house with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim.read more. Share Your Faith Products Gifts
and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. "And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of testimony, and the mercy seat upon it, and all the furniture of the tent, the table also and its utensils, and the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering also with all its utensils, and the laver and its stand, the woven garments as well, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, with which to carry on their priesthood; the anointing oil also, and the fragrant incense for the holy place, they are to make them according to all that I have commanded you." The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. 'Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. Scripture Image
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: ... Christian Art and Gifts
Practice hospitality to one another (those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ’s body.] And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as representing Him). - 1 Peter 4:9 (AMPC) Scripture Images
“You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ...
SWA sells only 100% ready to go wall decals made out of the highest quality materials. And while it can take up to a month to get a cheap vinyl wall decal from China that doesn’t even work, we typically get your wall art to you in less than a week. Customers near us, often get them the next day. That’s because we ship most orders the same business day when ordered before noon PST. Share Your Faith Products Gifts
Glory of ChristOther BlindingChrist's Own GloryAgeControlling Your ThoughtsUnbelieversPerfection, DivineCommitment, to the worldChrist, Names ForSatan, Kingdom OfSatan, Titles ForThe Light Of ChristDarkness, As A Symbol Of SinCultsRevelation, In Ntevil, origins ofSpiritual Warfare, Causes OfHeart, Fallen And RedeemedBlindingSpiritual Blindness, Results Of Sin Scripture Image
Utilizing crafts and activities can be very helpful to your Sunday School classroom. Children love to create, and take home items to share with their friends and family. Best of all, when you keep your craft thematic with your Bible lesson you’re sending children off with a helpful reminder of the days instruction. Our Bible crafts are designed to make it easy for you to incorporate hands on activity during your lessons. We’ve included preparation suggestions as well as corresponding activities that you can tie in to round out your day.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. Scripture Images
It was carved with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces, a man's face toward the palm tree on one side and a young lion's face toward the palm tree on the other side; they were carved on all the house all around. From the ground to above the entrance cherubim and palm trees were carved, as well as on the wall of the nave. The doorposts of the nave were square; as for the front of the sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other. The altar was of wood, three cubits high and its length two cubits; its corners, its base and its sides were of wood And he said to me, "This is the table that is before the LORD." The nave and the sanctuary each had a double door. Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. Also there were carved on them, on the doors of the nave, cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the front of the porch outside. There were latticed windows and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch; thus were the side chambers of the house and the thresholds. Christian Art and Gifts
“Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.” And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” ... Scripture Image
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. ... Share Your Faith Products Gifts
“Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.” And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” ...
Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. ... Scripture Images
19 designers and 31 writers invested their energy and creativity to this collection, each riffing on the timeless, inspired words of Scripture. Each designer worked hard to capture the essence of each verse in its historical and cultural context, and to design in a way that makes clear the way in which the original readers would have understood it. Then, after each design was complete, a writer reflected on each piece of art and the verse that inspired it. The result is 100 pairs of art and devotional that illuminate the words of Scripture. Share Your Faith Products Gifts
Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return." Scripture Image
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"Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. "This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. "You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Scripture Image
Glory of ChristChrist AtoningThe Effect Of The Word Of GodChrist's Own GloryimagepersonalityThe Beauty Of NatureGod On HighRight Hand Of GodRadiancyGod Sustaining CreationPower Of Christ, ShownHand Of GodGod, Living And Self sustainingRight SidesSalvation, Nature OfKnowledge, Of Jesus ChristCreatorGod's Glory In Jesus ChristMediatorGod, Power OfGod, Glory Of Share Your Faith Products Gifts
If you would like to read some Christian 'Poetic' Housewarming Card Verses & Housewarming Poems, click on, 'Christian Housewarming Card Verses'. If you are searching for a particular card verse, then click on, 'Christian Card Verses' where I have many verses categorized for many different occasions. To visit the 'In God's Word' index page, click on the back button below. The index page has links to scriptures categorized on many different topics. Please click on the 'Share With Friends' button above, if you want to send this page to a friend. Remember, there is more Christian poetry in the 'Christian Poetry Pages' section, also Christian Poetry for Special Occasions in the 'Special Occasion Poetry' section. Scripture Image
Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. On the top of the stand there was a circular form half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its stays and its borders were part of it. He engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around.read more. Share Your Faith Products Gifts
“Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. ... Scripture Images
The house that I am to build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him? So now send me a man skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, trained also in engraving, to be with the skilled workers who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided. Christian Art and Gifts
“You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ... Christian Art and Gifts
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. Cite this page: Editor: Stephen Smith. Publication date: May 9, 2019. Publisher: OpenBible.info. Christian Art and Gifts
Being one of the industry leaders for over a decade, we know more about vinyl wall decal than most companies out there. We have learned by trial and error and from amazing feedback from our awesome customers. We are Amazon Professional Sellers, Ebay Power Sellers, and Ebay Top Sellers, and sell through at least 15 other sites online. However, you will typically get our best pricing here at our website plus it is definitely easier to find specific wall arts here than at most sites. Scripture Image
The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” ... Scripture Images
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Glory of ChristOther BlindingChrist's Own GloryAgeControlling Your ThoughtsUnbelieversPerfection, DivineCommitment, to the worldChrist, Names ForSatan, Kingdom OfSatan, Titles ForThe Light Of ChristDarkness, As A Symbol Of SinCultsRevelation, In Ntevil, origins ofSpiritual Warfare, Causes OfHeart, Fallen And RedeemedBlindingSpiritual Blindness, Results Of Sin Christian Art and Gifts
It isn’t always easy to completely overhaul your house for all the seasons, but it is easy to change out a piece of artwork here and there. I’m in love with all the free printable scripture art options you can find online these days. If you want a pretty yet inexpensive way to decorate these choices are perfect for you! Looking for a thoughtful gift, these would be perfect. Scripture Image
He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits. There were nets of network and twisted threads of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. The capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. There were capitals on the two pillars, even above and close to the rounded projection which was beside the network; and the pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around both capitals. Thus he set up the pillars at the porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz. On the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished. Now he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in circumference. Under its brim gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, completely surrounding the sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the rest. It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward. It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold two thousand baths. Then he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was four cubits and its width four cubits and its height three cubits. This was the design of the stands: they had borders, even borders between the frames, and on the borders which were between the frames were lions, oxen and cherubim; and on the frames there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the basin were cast supports with wreaths at each side. Its opening inside the crown at the top was a cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. The four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. On the top of the stand there was a circular form half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its stays and its borders were part of it. He engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around. He made the ten stands like this: all of them had one casting, one measure and one form. He made ten basins of bronze, one basin held forty baths; each basin was four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin. Then he set the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south. Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished doing all the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of the LORD: the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; and the ten stands with the ten basins on the stands; and the one sea and the twelve oxen under the sea; and the pails and the shovels and the bowls; even all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were of polished bronze. In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; the weight of the bronze could not be ascertained. Solomon made all the furniture which was in the house of the LORD: the golden altar and the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold. Thus all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the LORD was finished And Solomon brought in the things dedicated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD. Scripture Images
This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died. ... Scripture Image
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
It was carved with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces, a man's face toward the palm tree on one side and a young lion's face toward the palm tree on the other side; they were carved on all the house all around. From the ground to above the entrance cherubim and palm trees were carved, as well as on the wall of the nave. The doorposts of the nave were square; as for the front of the sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other. The altar was of wood, three cubits high and its length two cubits; its corners, its base and its sides were of wood And he said to me, "This is the table that is before the LORD." The nave and the sanctuary each had a double door. Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. Also there were carved on them, on the doors of the nave, cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the front of the porch outside. There were latticed windows and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch; thus were the side chambers of the house and the thresholds. Scripture Image
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The Elves & The Shoemaker
A-Tissue! A-Tissue!
The Ugly Duckling & Other Tales
Rooted Moon International Theatre Festival 2015- The Journey to Sardinia
Our journey to Sardinia started back in April. George knew that some graduates from the East 15 BA World Performance course were setting up this festival in Sardinia and asked me if I would like to produce a piece of new theatre for the occasion. This sounded exciting and was something that would really put our skills in inter-cultural theatre to the test. We spent many an hour on Skype, trying to come up with a piece of theatre that was physical and contained little or no use of the English language. Throughout this period of uncertainty, I had a strange storyline at the back of my mind, a storyline involving a corridor of portraits and a missing picture. I told George this very vague storyline and together we came up with ‘Portrait’- the idea was born.
The next step was trying to collaborate on this project with miles of the country between us, George being in Lowestoft and me being in Devon. We did most of the marketing through the fabulous internet, starting a Kickstarter campaign in May. Every day was nerve-racking, we watched the campaign and tried to spread the word as best as possible. At last, after 28 days and many generous donations, we did it, over £600 raised- we were going to Sardinia! We booked our flights and accommodation immediately and then all that was left was to create the show.
First, George came to Devon and we rehearsed where and when we could, mainly focusing on the prop and set creation. I moulded and created the pirate mask on George and he created the shadow puppets. We also in this first week managed to perform a previous show ‘Traveller’s Tales’ in a school in Devon- let’s just say it was a busy time for us both!
Week two was spent at The Seagull in Lowestoft, a fabulous community arts centre. We were so grateful to have one space to ourselves for a week and we managed to achieve so much in this time. Although we still had tonnes of props and puppets to make, we created the physical backbone behind the piece and managed to finalise most of our soundtrack. In amongst the preparation for Sardinia came an opportunity to perform at The Yard theatre in Hackney as part of Theatre Full Stop’s evening ‘Destination Eclectic’. This was the perfect opportunity for us to push ourselves and create something to show to the audience that we could get feedback on before Sardinia. Two days of rehearsal was spent prior to this evening and we were so grateful for all the support we were given by the other artists and audience on the night. One thing we took away from this evening was to re-work the ending of the piece, something we spent time on before Sardinia.
And then….we were off! On the 6th August we boarded the plane at Gatwick and flew to Sardinia where we were greeted by the lovely John-James Chandler and Char Brockes. We were taken to our apartment and the festival began! It was scorching weather, certainly not the easiest to rehearse in but luckily the festival was at night and so it was much cooler. We were so overwhelmed by the response of the audience on the first night. Although we had some parts of the piece that needed to be re-done for the purpose of performing outside and on grass, we were generally very pleased with the response and felt exciting for the next two days.
The next two days whizzed by as we spent the days developing the piece and the nights watching other artists and performing ‘Portrait’. Although we had our ups and downs, we have learnt so much about performing in a country where the audience don’t speak the same language as you. By the third evening, we decided to perform short snippets of ‘Portrait’, almost like little Commedia dell’arte lazzi. Due to the performance taking place outside and the audience walking around the park freely, this style of performance was much more successful and we managed to keep a large crowd of both adults and children for the majority of our performance. We have managed to simplify the piece, getting rid of the unnecessary and keeping the quality. Hopefully, this is something we can continue to do now we are back in the UK.
We have some more performances of ‘Portrait’ lined up over the next few weeks and we shall announce the dates shortly. George and I can only thank you all for your support during our development and we look forward to seeing you at one of our performances soon!
Content by Above Bounds 2016
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Press Release - May 1, 2013
Air Lease Corporation Announces the Placement of Two New Boeing 777-300ERs with Korean Air
LOS ANGELES, California, May 1, 2013 — Today Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) announced long term lease agreements with Korean Air for two new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which are scheduled for delivery in November 2014 and May 2015.
"We are very pleased to lease two new Boeing 777-300ERs to Korean Air, one of the world's leading airlines, to support their long haul twin-aisle fleet growth. These two 777-300ERs add to the two new Boeing 737-800s already leased by ALC to Korean Air, thereby significantly growing our valued business relationship,” said John Plueger, Air Lease Corporation’s President and Chief Operating Officer.
ALC is an aircraft leasing company based in Los Angeles, California that has airline customers throughout the world. ALC and its team of dedicated and experienced professionals are principally engaged in purchasing commercial aircraft and leasing them to its airline partners worldwide through customized aircraft leasing and financing solutions. For more information, visit ALC's website at www.airleasecorp.com.
Strategic Planning and Investor Relations
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Exhibit Showcases Medieval Liturgical and Musical Manuscripts
Categories: Faculty News, Catholicism, Centers and Institutes, Research, and General News
Sacred Music at Notre Dame: The Voice of the Text, an exhibition in the Hesburgh Libraries Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, highlights the University’s holdings in medieval liturgical manuscripts that contain music. The manuscripts from the 11th through 15th centuries originate from various regions in France, Germany, Austria, and Italy. They inclued a a psalter, a liturgical calendar, a gradual, and a diurnal.
The Paradox of Generosity
The notion of generosity, and the ways in which we deal generously—or not—with our friends, family and communities—is the heart of the book, The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson, which is based on empirical data collected during five years of research as part of the Science of Generosity Initiative. The research draws on a survey of 2,000 Americans, 60 in-depth interviews with individuals across 12 states, and more than 1,000 photographs and other visual materials. The conclusion Christian Smith, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Sociology, draws is that there’s a direct correlation with happiness and generosity. “The more generous Americans are, the more happiness, health and purpose in life they enjoy,” he says.
Cities in the Desert: Anthropologist Rahul Oka Studies Trade in African Refugee Camps
Categories: Faculty News, Internationalism, Centers and Institutes, Research, and General News
Rahul Oka, Ford Family Assistant Professor of anthropology at Notre Dame, has conducted five seasons of ethnographic research in the 90,000-person Kakuma Refugee Camp, in the Turkana District in northwest Kenya, where refugees from war—from southern Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Congo and Uganda—co-exist.
ND Design Students’ Project Receives Sappi ‘Ideas that Matter’ Grant
Categories: Faculty News, Arts, Internationalism, Centers and Institutes, Undergraduate News, and General News
Collaboration among University of Notre Dame faculty and students, Sedlack Design Associates, and Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns has resulted in a $50,000 Sappi Ideas that Matter grant to together+, a campaign to combat xenophobia in South Africa.
Benedict Giamo Publishes Book on Homeless Crime
Categories: Faculty News and General News
It started with a bare-bones wire service story that ran in the newspaper in late July 2006—a body had been found along the north bank of the Kansas River in Topeka, and four homeless people had been charged with kidnapping and felony murder. Benedict Giamo, associate professor of American studies, who has written extensively on homelessness in America, found himself fascinated with the story of the life and death of David Owen, 38, an advocate for the homeless and a registered lobbyist.
The Professor, the Monsignor and Sherlock Holmes
Categories: Faculty News, Research, and General News
Life is full of coincidences that in fiction would seem incredible. The story of Michael J. Crowe’s new book, Ronald Knox and Sherlock Holmes: The Origins of Sherlockian Studies has a startling number of coincidences—and just as many unlikely University of Notre Dame connections.
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Action Committee For Women In Prison
Advocates for the humane, compassionate treatment of all incarcerated women.
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Only in America.
The United States is the only country in the world that sentences juveniles — individuals younger than 18 years old — to life in prison without parole. On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union and Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute argued in front of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that children convicted of serious crimes don’t deserve such a severe sentence.
“You need to have sentences that are intended to rehabilitate a child,” Deborah LaBelle, an attorney with the ACLU, told The Huffington Post. “You need to incarcerate them for the least amount of time to achieve that goal.”
Among the cases being highlighted by the groups is that of Juwan Wickware, who was 16 when he participated in a robbery that resulted in the death of a Flint, Mich., pizza delivery man.
Prosecutors said that on April 7, 2010, Wickware and another teen, Donqua Williams, shot at Michael Nettles — Williams with a .40-caliber pistol and Wickware with a .22-caliber rifle, according to Michigan Live.
A .40-caliber bullet was found in Nettles and .22-caliber bullet casings were found at the scene. “It is absolutely clear Juwan didn’t shoot him,” said LaBelle.
LaBelle explained to HuffPost that to be convicted of felony murder in Michigan, one need not be directly responsible for killing someone, but merely complicit in a felony crime that results in another person’s death.
“If you’re in concert, or you’re engaged in a plan, and a murder results, they find that you’re involved in a felony murder,” LaBelle said. “Even if you’re not the person who committed the homicide, you get the same sentence.”
Wickware, who had no previous convictions, was found guilty of felony murder.
In 2012, shortly before Wickware was sentenced, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory sentences of life without parole for juvenile offenders constituted cruel and unusual punishment. But the court did find that judges could use discretion in imposing the sentence.
In August 2012, when Genesee Circuit Judge Archie Hayman sentenced Wickware to life without parole (as heard in the video above), Hayman said he was “convinced that it is the right thing to do in this particular situation.”
A jury found Williams, Wickware’s accomplice, to be not guilty, after a woman who was in the deliveryman’s Jeep on the night of the slaying said she thought a third man killed Nettles.
Today in the U.S., more than 2,600 people are currently serving sentences of life without parole because of crimes they committed as children, LaBelle said.
The ACLU believes the sentence should be banned outright for juvenile offenders, and Labelle cited the United Nations Commission Against Torture’s determination that the sentence was tantamount to torture in such circumstances. The Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also found that the application of the sentence is tinged with racial inequities.
But proponents of the practice contend that sometimes the punishment isn’t about rehabilitation.
“The one thing that we don’t know is what the potential of the life would be that was snuffed out in the crime,” Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel told NPR in 2012. “The hypothetical of who might be rehabilitated in prison is a hard one to analyze, but there have to be some circumstances under which these persons can serve life without parole.”
Former Alabama Solicitor General John Neiman agreed.
“As a moral matter, it is okay for a government to say, ‘Even if there is a possibility that someone will rehabilitate themselves, if a person commits a sufficiently egregious crime, then they just deserve a very severe sentence,'” Neiman told NPR.
But to LaBelle, the issue is not just about ending an overly cruel, unproductive and misguided sentence — she said the practice also hurts America’s international reputation.
“It undermines the country’s human rights record and position in the world,” LaBelle said. “It deprives them of moral authority when they’re willing to throw children in prison until they die.”
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Meditation in prison.
When a person is released from prison the chance they’ll be rearrested within the next three years hovers between 62% and 78% depending on a number of variables. It’s no wonder, when you consider that, instead of offering enough programs that prepare an individual to re-acclimate to life on the outside, they foster an environment of tension and hostility. That’s no fault of prison officials, who struggle with low budgets and the problem of dealing with homicidal psychopaths on a daily basis, but the issue has forced many of them to find creative solutions that actually help inmates examine their own behavior.
Enter meditation. So-called corrections centers across the country have begun adopting different kinds of meditation in an attempt to help convicts shift their focus from taking a shiv in the mess hall to just chilling out.
Amanda Abrams, whose spent years practicing and studying mindful meditation, wrote in the Washington Post that she volunteered at a Washington DC area jail intending to help inmates notice “thoughts, emotions and sensations that arise without judging them — a deceptively difficult practice. In recent years, scientists have shown that meditation switches on genes linked to immune functioning, increases gray matter in the brain, rewires neural pathways — not to mention boosts happiness, lowers stress, improves concentration and leads to increased compassion.”
She describes working with instructor Craig Ehrlich, who asks an intimidating inmate known as King to tell the newer inmates what they can expect from the class.
King — a.k.a. Cappuccino, a.k.a. Harvey Washington — is, with several months in the group, its longest-standing member.
“Meditation is about learning to observe yourself,” King explains. “You focus on your breathing, or on something else like your body or the sounds around you, and you get out of the cycle of being caught up in your thoughts. It helps you see things more clearly — you get to know yourself better.”
Only a fraction of the more than 2 million incarcerated Americans participate in these classes, either because of their own behavior, there isn’t enough room, or prison administrators won’t allow it. The William E. Donaldson Correction Facility has proven to be an exception to that rule. The prison located outside Birmingham has the reputation of being the toughest in Alabama, although a growing number of inmates have used meditation to harness their impulses.
From a 2011 article by the Associated Press:
Warden Gary Hetzel doesn’t fully understand how the program called Vipassana (which is pronounced vuh-’POSH-uh-nuh) can transform violent inmates into calm men using contemplative Buddhist practices.
But Hetzel knows one thing.
“It works. We see a difference in the men and in the prison. It’s calmer,” he said of the course that about 10 percent of the prison’s inmates have completed.
The word Vipassana means “to see things as they really are,” which is also the goal of the intense 10-day program using the meditative technique that dates back 2,500 years.
The courses begin with three days of breathing exercises – the prisoners learn to focus on bodily sensations so intently they feel the exhalations on their upper lip. Students are required to not speak to each other.
On Day 4, students are told to begin letting their deepest thoughts percolate up through their consciousness so they can sense the effects on the body, like tension or anger. The ultimate goal is to learn not to react to those sensations.
Students are forced to grapple with their innermost selves. Some men are brought to tears; a few have thrown up. It’s not unusual for half of the students or more to quit or be sent back to the prison population for disobeying the rules.
There seems to be evidence that the various kinds of meditation are helping convicts. The question is a frustrating one for volunteers though in part because there is still so little understanding. Amanda Abrams was able to speak with Fleet Maull, the founder of the Prison Mindfulness Institute, which provides resources to nearly 200 groups that teach meditation to inmates.
“There are more and more people on the outside who are getting interested in taking meditation programs into prisons and jails,” Maull says. Out of the 2.4 million people incarcerated, he estimates the number of offenders taking meditation at 50,000. Getting an exact figure is difficult; many of the organizations that lead courses are small and don’t keep robust records, he says.
The answer to whether the courses have long-term effects is tricky. Research has shown a decrease in substance abuse and negative emotions among offenders, and a concomitant increase in self-esteem and well-being. But the most important information doesn’t exist.
“Recidivism data” — that is, numbers showing how many offenders return to jail within three years — “is obviously the gold standard, because that’s the goal,” Maull says. “But it takes time: You have to work with people who are getting out soon, and you have to follow them.” His group is applying for funding to make a long-term study of offenders after they leave prison.
There’s no doubt in Maull’s mind that meditation has the capacity to turn people around. “We have huge amounts of anecdotal evidence,” he says. “We’ve seen people move from lives that are in chaos and out of control to ones where they have a sense of agency; they’re able to be skillful in their relationships and to move forward in their lives.”
One powerful ally they’ve found is director David Lynch. Lynch is probably as well known for his dedication to transcendental meditation (TM) as he is for freak show movies like Eraserhead and Blue Velvet. His foundation, which has the support of Paul McCartney, George Stephanopolous, and others, has campaigned to bring TM to schools, the military, and now prisons.
The Archipelago of Pain
We don’t flog people in our prison system, or put them in thumbscrews or stretch them on the rack. We do, however, lock prisoners away in social isolation for 23 hours a day, often for months, years or decades at a time.
We prohibit the former and permit the latter because we make a distinction between physical and social pain. But, at the level of the brain where pain really resides, this is a distinction without a difference. Matthew Lieberman of the University of California, Los Angeles, compared the brain activities of people suffering physical pain with people suffering from social pain. As he writes in his book, “Social,” “Looking at the screens side by side … you wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.”
The brain processes both kinds of pain in similar ways. Moreover, at the level of human experience, social pain is, if anything, more traumatic, more destabilizing and inflicts more cruel and long-lasting effects than physical pain. What we’re doing to prisoners in extreme isolation, in other words, is arguably more inhumane than flogging.
Yet inflicting extreme social pain is more or less standard procedure in America’s prisons. Something like 80,000 prisoners are put in solitary confinement every year. Prisoners isolated in supermaximum facilities are often locked away in a 6-by-9-foot or 8-by-10-foot barren room. They may be completely isolated in that room for two days a week. For the remaining five, they may be locked away for 23 hours a day and permitted an hour of solitary exercise in a fenced-in area.
If there is communication with the prison staff, it might take place through an intercom. Communication with the world beyond is minimal. If there are visitors, conversation may be conducted through a video screen. Prisoners may go years without affectionately touching another human being. Their only physical contact will be brushing up against a guard as he puts on shackles for trips to the exercise yard.
The justification cited for prolonged periods of isolation is that the inmate, for whatever reason, poses a significant threat to others… . I’d focus on making sure that every isolation decision could be defended rationally.
In general, mammals do not do well in isolation. In the 1950s, Harry Harlow studied monkeys who had been isolated. The ones who were isolated for longer periods went into emotional shock, rocking back and forth. One in six refused to eat after being reintegrated and died within five days. Most of the rest were permanently withdrawn.
Studies on birds, rats and mice consistently show that isolated animals suffer from impoverished neural growth compared with socially engaged animals, especially in areas where short-term memory and threat perception are processed. Studies on Yugoslav prisoners of war in 1992 found that those who had suffered blunt blows to the head and those who had been socially isolated suffered the greatest damage to brain functioning.
Some prisoners who’ve been in solitary confinement are scarcely affected by it. But this is not typical. The majority of prisoners in solitary suffer severely — from headaches, an oversensitivity to stimuli, digestion problems, loss of appetite, self-mutilation, chronic dizziness, loss of the ability to concentrate, hallucinations, illusions or paranoid ideas.
Marissa Alexander retrial or not?
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida woman could end up in prison for 60 years when she’s retried for firing a shot in the direction of her estranged husband and two of his children.
Marissa Alexander, 33, was convicted in 2012 on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 20 years — three counts served concurrently. An appeals court tossed the conviction, saying Circuit Judge James Daniel made a mistake in shifting the burden to Alexander to prove she acted in self-defense.
During jury instructions, the judge said Alexander must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that her husband was abusive toward her.
The case drew national attention after Alexander was denied immunity under Florida’s “stand your ground” law.
Alexander’s supporters are angry that the state is seeking triple the original sentence.
“It’s unimaginable that a woman acting in self-defense, who injured no one, can be given what amounts to a life sentence,” Free Marissa Now spokeswoman Helen Gilbert said. “This must send chills down the spine of every woman and everyone who cares about women and every woman in an abusive relationship.”
Assistant State Attorney Richard Mantei told the Florida Times-Union (http://bit.ly/1hBxMEQ ) the state is simply following sentencing laws in seeking 60 years.
The same court that ordered Alexander’s retrial ruled that when a defendant is convicted of multiple counts from the same crime, judges must make the sentences consecutive, not concurrent.
“Absent a plea agreement, if convicted as charged, the law of the State of Florida fixes the sentence,” Mantei said. “At this time, Ms. Alexander has rejected all efforts by the State to resolve the case short of trial.”
Attorney Bruce Zimet said it would be a miscarriage of justice to put his client in prison for what likely amounts to a life sentence.
Alexander’s case has inspired the so-called “warning shot” bill that will be considered once the state Legislature convenes in Tallahassee on Tuesday.
Alexander said she fired the warning shot a few days after giving birth. Her estranged husband, Rico Gray, accused her of having an affair and questioned whether the baby was his. She says she locked herself in the bathroom until he broke through the door and shoved her to the floor. She ran into the garage, found a gun in a car and fired a “warning shot” after he said he would kill her.
Prosecutors say the shot hit the wall, not the ceiling, and could have hit Gray or his children. At one point they offered Alexander a plea deal of three years in prison. She turned that down and chose to go to trial.
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Ghana to get additional oil and gas project funding from World Bank group
The World Bank Group says two of its units would provide another $517 million to Ghana in debt and guarantees to support the country’s $7.7 billion Sankofa gas project, an integrated offshore oil and natural gas project.
The financing adds to a $700 million World Bank guarantee package announced in July and brings the institution’s total financing to around $1.217 billion for the offshore project, whose gas component is set to open in 2018.
The International Finance Corporation has committed a loan of $235 million and is arranging another $65 million in debt.
Guarantees by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, another world bank institution, will support commercial borrowing needs for the project and will be issued for up to 15 years.
China to mine in Ghana’s forest reserve despite agitations
Ghana’s Prez says Africa-Europe ties only ‘enriched Europe’
The new pledges bring the World Bank Group’s financing share of the offshore oil and natural gas project to about 16 percent.
Ivorian opposition seeks return to political mainstream in polls
Buses attacked, burned on way to evacuate besieged Syrian villages
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Yes That's "Old Town Road" in the First Trailer for 'Rambo: Last Blood'
Rambo returns to theaters this September
Sylvester Stallone is gonna ride 'til he can't no more. The 72-year-old actor has released the first teaser trailer for the fifth installment in the Rambo franchise, called Rambo: Last Blood.
"I've lived in a world of death" he says in his gravel growl as the notes of "Old Town Road" from Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus ring out behind him. "All these years I've kept my secrets, but the time has come to face my past."
Related: Lil Nas X Buys Billy Ray Cyrus a Maserati to Celebrate "Old Town Road"
The high-octane remix of the viral Country Trap song might be surprising at first, but the western open roads and the actual horses in the scenes from the film actually make it a perfect fit. It's further proof that it's Lil Nas X's world and we're just living in it. "Old Town Road" is currently the number one song in the country. It's been that way for eight weeks. The video for the song has been viewed over 87 million times since it debuted two weeks ago.
ITS OUT!!!https://t.co/fxEpsWndSI pic.twitter.com/MB5o3pNtwx
— nope (@LilNasX) May 17, 2019
According to a release, Rambo: Last Blood finds Vietnam veteran Rambo journeying to Mexico to rescue a friend's daughter from a Mexican cartel. The movie went through several stages following the fourth installment, at one point even being a prequel, with production eventually halted in 2016. However in May of 2018 the film was back on, and filming started in Bulgaria in October.
Rambo: Last Blood is the sequel to 2008's Rambo, and is directed by Adrian Grunberg. It is in theaters on September 20th.
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Yume Miru Happa
This is Hisaya Nakajo's first tankoubon, and it contains 4 one-shot complete stories. The first one takes up most of the volume, while the other 3 are much shorter and finish off the book. The main story, 'Yume Miru Happa,' is about a country girl named Futaba who moves into a building in the city where she gets free rent in exchange for some light cooking and cleaning. She is in the city to go to school, somethings her parents wanted her to do. Futaba quickly becomes entangled in the relationship between Zakuru, the guy who she lives with and is doing the cooking for, and his friend Masato. Masato is very nice to Futaba, but what is his relationship with Zakuru? The next story is about a 17 year old tomboy named Natsume...
#69 most popular 1995
夢みる葉っぱ
Yumemiru Happa
The Dreaming Leaf
This is Hisaya Nakajo's first tankoubon, and it contains 4 one-shot complete stories. The first one takes up most of the volume, while the other 3 are much shorter and finish off the book. The main story, 'Yume Miru Happa,' is about a country girl named Futaba who moves into a building in the city where she gets free rent in exchange for some light cooking and cleaning. She is in the city to go to school, somethings her parents wanted her to do. Futaba quickly becomes entangled in the relationship between Zakuru, the guy who she lives with and is doing the cooking for, and his friend Masato. Masato is very nice to Futaba, but what is his relationship with Zakuru? The next story is about a 17 year old tomboy named Natsume who realizes she has feelings for a childhood friend of hers. But the fact that she has always been a tomboy seems to make up a lot of her worries. The last 2 stories are also great high school romances.
source: http://niko-niko.net/hanakimi/author.html
Ryoichi Kijima
Hisaya Nakajo
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Click to copyhttps://apnews.com/72667968ad3a4bb4a89ab466fddbf332
Civil wars
Yemeni rebels say they will halt rocket fire at Saudi Arabia
By AHMED AL-HAJ and BRIAN ROHANNovember 19, 2018
FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2017, file photo, Houthi Shiite fighters guard a street leading to the residence of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen. A senior leader from Yemen’s Houthi rebels says that for the sake of peace efforts the group will halt rocket fire into Saudi Arabia, its larger northern neighbor who is leading a U.S.-backed Arab coalition to restore Yemen’s internationally recognized government. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File)
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s Shiite rebels said Monday that they will halt rocket fire into Saudi Arabia for the sake of peace efforts, answering a key Saudi demand in the latest push to stop the civil war in the Arab world’s poorest country.
But the rebels also said they had fired a ballistic missile into Saudi Arabia overnight in response to an attempted border incursion and a Saudi airstrike, and that they reserved the right to respond to attacks.
For the past three years, a U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition has been waging war against the Iran-aligned rebels, known as Houthis, to restore Yemen’s internationally recognized government. The rebels say they have long been excluded from that government and aim to rectify historic grievances.
Rebel leader Mohammed Ali al-Houthi announced in a statement that the rebels had ordered the cessation of rocket and drone attacks on the Saudis and forces loyal to the United Arab Emirates, a leading coalition member, at the request of U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths.
“We are ready to freeze and stop military operations on all fronts in order to achieve peace,” al-Houthi said. He mentioned the rockets specifically as part of a longer statement in which he blamed the United States for being the main driver behind “the aggression” against Yemen.
The Houthis swept down from northern Yemen in 2014 and captured the capital, Sanaa, with the help of forces loyal to longtime strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had been forced from power by an Arab Spring-inspired popular uprising. Saleh was killed in internal fighting between the Houthis and their allies last year.
The government fled Sanaa in early 2015, and Saudi Arabia, citing fears that its nemesis Iran was trying to make inroads on the Arabian Peninsula, began launching airstrikes against the rebels in March of that year.
Riyadh formed a coalition of Sunni Arab states, including the UAE, Kuwait, Egypt and Sudan, and launched ground assaults on several fronts but failed to take the capital. After major setbacks, including the death of some elite officers, it outsourced the ground fighting to local troops, including a group trained by the UAE in the south.
Tens of thousands of people are believed to have been killed in the war, and two-thirds of Yemen’s 27 million people rely on aid. More than 8 million are at risk of starvation in what has become the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.
The latest Saudi-led offensive, which began in the summer, has been focused on capturing the key rebel-held port city of Hodeida, through which almost all of Yemen’s food and desperately needed humanitarian aid flows.
A U.N. draft resolution circulated by Britain on Monday urges the warring parties to relaunch peace talks and take urgent steps to address the humanitarian crisis. It also calls for an immediate cease-fire around Hodeida.
Griffiths, the U.N. envoy, announced on Friday that both sides had agreed to attend talks in Sweden “soon” aimed at ending the conflict. The internationally backed government said Monday that it would attend, but also insisted the Houthis do so “unconditionally.”
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, in an annual policy speech Monday, called Yemen a “priority” and said he supports a U.N.-sponsored political solution to end the war. But he also railed against the Houthis, saying Saudi Arabia was supporting the Yemeni people against the “aggression of Iranian-backed militias.”
The coalition has long demanded the rebels withdraw from all major cities they have taken, which the Houthis refuse to do.
It was not immediately clear to what extent the Houthi move to stop missile fire into the kingdom would halt the overall violence. While the guns have gone silent inside central Hodeida, fighting continues on its outskirts and elsewhere in the country, and several previous peace initiatives have failed.
International outrage over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in October focused attention on the war in Yemen, leading the U.S. to scale back its support for the coalition and call for a cease-fire by the end of this month.
But the U.S. call for a truce was immediately followed by a renewed coalition onslaught on Hodeida, with dozens of fighters and civilians killed on both sides. A week later, the stalemate resumed, with the Houthis still firmly dug in on the city’s outskirts.
Rohan reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.
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Apple's iPhone 5s Is Now The No. 1 Handset With All 4 US Carriers
by Joe White
Apple's iPhone 5s handset is now the No. 1 smartphone with all four of the major U.S. carriers, and what's more, the iPhone 5c isn't doing too bad, either. Having overtaken the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy S4, the seventh-generation iPhone 5s is the most popular handset at AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile stores, all of which started selling the smartphone on Sept. 20. Though the news isn't surprising (iPhone 5s sales are known to have been incredibly strong, remember?), perhaps what is more interesting is the popularity of the iPhone 5c. The news comes from Canaccord and reached us from Fortune, who explains that Apple's colorful smartphone is presently the second most popular handset for both AT&T and Sprint. For Verizon and T-Mobile, however, it takes the No. 3 spot, after Samsung's flagship smartphone. The iPhone 5c came under a degree of criticism following its launch, due mainly to the pricing of the handset. Leading up to Apple's iPhone media event, analysis had indicated that the iPhone 5c was to be a "low-cost" smartphone that would do particularly well overseas, in developing nations such as China and India. As such, the confirmed price of the iPhone 5c came under fire. Since, retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart, and Radio Shack have reduced the price of the smartphone, while Apple has attempted to draw attention to color - rather than price - in a recent iPhone 5c billboard campaign. It seems, though, that despite initial concerns, consumers are nevertheless purchasing a lot of iPhone 5c handsets. In fact, Canaccord claims that the only reason the Galaxy S4 took the No. 2 spot with Verizon and T-Mobile is due to a clever price reduction initiated by Samsung in June. This, the research explains,
combined with Samsung's aggressive marketing and effective advertising campaign for its existing and new high-tier smartphones, such as the recently-launched Galaxy Note 3, could potentially help Samsung reduce high-tier smartphone share losses to Apple in October despite the strong iPhone 5s and 5c demand.
Apple hasn't released sales figures for individual iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c handsets, so analysts are left guessing the exact sales numbers for each model. Have you purchased an iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c? See also: Apple's "iWatch" Could Add $1 Billion In Profits During The First Year Of Release, Shelf Control: In Honor Of The Anniversary Of Poe's Death, Get iPoe For Free Today, and Adventures For iPhone Updated With Improved Evernote Syncing And More.
The AppAdvice Week In Review: A Tale Of Two iPhones And More On The iPad 5 Debut
AT&T Abandons Traditional Per-Device Plans In Favor Of Mobile Share
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Just another APTN Sites site
About Dreamcatcher Bios
Dreamcatcher Bios tells the life stories of amazing, globally successful game changers and how their spirit got them to the top. These Indigenous heroes tell the stories of the tribulations they endured and the eventual triumphs that they celebrate. Learn about their ambitions and goals, the challenges they faced, and the adversities they overcame, to make it big as the inspirational actors, athletes, astronauts, and musicians we all know and love.
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Workers Comp Myths and facts from our freinds at LexisNexis
10 Myths and Facts About Workers' Compensation Posted by LexisNexis Workers' Comp Law Community Staff The LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation Law Community and the award-winning blog Work Comp Roundup have teamed up to present some common myths and facts about workers’ compensation. Our contributors represent different segments of the workers’ compensation industry. Questions and comments for our contributors are encouraged. Note that myths are listed below in random order and not in order of importance, since the degree of “importance” depends on the reader and his or her stake in the workers’ compensation system. Workers Compensation Myths Rodin's Thinker MYTH #1: Large Discount Networks Are the Key to Success in Workers’ Compensation Managed Care “Crisis” was the single word most often associated with workers’ compensation back in the early 90’s. The unprecedented rise in medical costs sent employers in search of innovative solutions. A few progressive companies looked at the health care model to better control medical costs and began to adapt the concept of networks to Workers’ Compensation. Most employers theorized that the more providers you had in your network the better your penetration rate and this would produce a better savings. However, today’s reality presents a very different picture. We have found, over time, that while penetration and savings rates are good things, the real keys to a sustainable reduced medical cost are controlling utilization and targeting specialties such as pharmacy, physical therapy, high end radiology and other specific services. Instead of an increase in cost per treatment or per unit cost of a service such as a doctor’s visit, it is the amount of services and the types of services being used driving medical inflation. Thus, a broad based discount network, getting you discounts off of the charged amounts, has plateaued in terms of effectiveness in controlling medical cost. The answer to workers’ compensation networks is based on a multi-tiered, multi-layered customized approach that addresses all of the dimensions of the cost equation at a jurisdictional and customer specific level. Only by using objective metrics can you identify the needs and cost drivers to build network solutions that are unique and specific to employers medical cost problems. This approach requires finding the right strategic partners and applying proprietary clinical intervention triggers that maximizes the reduction in total loss costs (claim and medical) to produce the optimal claim outcome. Kenneth F. Martino President and Chief Executive Officer Broadspire Services, Inc. www.choosebroadspire.com Atlanta, GA MYTH #2: The Employer’s Role Ends Once the Workers’ Comp Claim Is Paid Once an injured employee’s workers comp claim is paid, the employer’s most important role begins. The employer should maintain frequent contact with the employee to monitor their healing progress. By doing so, the employer will be able to gauge when the injured employee will be able to begin the return to work program. According to the 2009 RIMS Benchmark Survey, 86% of companies have a return to work program. However, many small to mid-sized companies lack efficient programs that enable recovering employees to return to work in a limited, but productive role. Most smaller companies feel that setting up a return to work program will require too much effort for the few injuries that occur each year. This is simply not true. Return to work programs reduce the number of lost work days for just about every employee involved. By doing so, it accomplishes two goals. First, it reduces the company’s future increases in workers’ comp or disability insurance since such policies pay out large claims for lost wages. Therefore, by reducing lost wages, claims will drop, which will reduce premiums. Second, return to work programs are directly correlated to productivity benefits. On average, individuals receiving disability benefits are paid between 50% and 70% of their normal wage. By bringing employees back to work at 100% pay, the company is only paying 50% to 30% more while benefitting from 40 productive hours each workweek. It is in the best interest of the employer to keep close contact with the injured employee during their recovery phase. Using a return to work program not only makes sense from a financial standpoint, but it’s the right thing to do. It enhances the employee’s recovery both physically and psychologically. Emily Holbrook Editor, Risk Management Blog: Co-Editor, Risk Management Monitor MYTH #3: Workers’ Compensation Claims Improve With Age Too frequently, I see adjusters treat complex claims like fine wine. They put the file in the back of their cellar (filing cabinet) and hope that, over time, it will become more palatable. They expect that the medical treatment will diminish, the demand will become more reasonable, and the situation will somehow improve to make resolution of the case easier. Working for an excess carrier we see nothing but complex claims. I can tell you with great certainty that these cases do not improve over time. The longer a person is out of work, the greater the chance they will NEVER return to work. According to Bureau of Labor statistics, if an employee is off work for an occupational illness for more than one year, there is only a 25% chance they will return to work. If they are off work for two years, there is almost no chance of a successful return to work. In addition, medical costs ALWAYS increase over time. Over the last 10 years, medical inflation has been over 48%. Thus, even if the treatment regime stays consistent, your medical costs will go up. Unfortunately, the medical regime usually does not stay consistent. There are always new drugs available to treat a condition, or new treatment options being introduced. These new treatments and drugs usually cost significantly more than the established treatment and drugs they are replacing. Since the situation will continue to worsen, the best time to try and settle the claim or take steps to mitigate the loss is NOW! The additional resources and funds you spend today in resolving complex claims can result in significant savings in the future when those claims are no longer sitting in the filing cabinet. Mark Walls Assistant Vice President – Claims Safety National www.safetynational.com MYTH #4: Technology Will Cure All of Our Ills There are many exciting technological changes on the horizon, and much discussion about how fast and efficient our world will be. Indeed, the possibilities are tremendous, but only if that technology is integrated and used intelligently. Technology, like any tool, must be used with skill and purpose. Give a running chainsaw to a monkey, and the results will not be pretty. All you’ll gain is utter devastation and a highly agitated monkey. The same rules apply for the implementation of new technology based systems. Too many companies use process based decisions to conduct technology selection, when they should be focusing on end result goals. New gizmos should not be used just because they are new – they should be used because they help an organization meet a need, and drive the company to successful goal attainment. Technology selection should start with two basic questions: 1) What are we trying to accomplish? This, of course, contains a broad set of queries. What are the pain points? Where are our production bottlenecks? What do we need to stay competitive? What costs need reducing? A successful company will involve their “front line” employees in this discussion, and eliminate any disconnects between reality and upper management’s perception of reality. 2) What do we need to solve the issues we just identified? It is a simple idea. Identify the needs, and work with those actually tasked with doing the job to determine what will meet them. It is from this point that a company can begin to define specifically what solutions it should be looking for. A final warning: Technology will likely take your company mobile in the coming years. Having a plan to separate and protect your employee’s personal lives will not only make you an employer of choice, it will keep many agitated monkeys off your back. Robert Wilson President & CEO, WorkersCompensation.com, LLC www.workerscompensation.com Blog: From Bob’s Cluttered Desk Related Articles: I Saw The Future Of Workers’ Comp Today Workers’ Comp 20/20: Tethered by Wireless – The Future Office Without Walls Become a “Tech Translator”: National Unemployment Rate for Technology Jobs Is 3.3% MYTH #5: Because FECA Is So Different From State Workers’ Compensation Systems, Private Sector Case Management Best Practices Won’t Work There are many differences between the federal and most state workers’ compensation systems. The federal system features include: Federal agency inability to choose a third party administrator. (All federal workers’ compensation claims are managed by the Department of Labor.) There are no settlements – injured federal workers currently have the right to be paid workers’ compensation for life if unable to return to work. (There is legislation pending that would impact this.) 45 days of continuation of regular pay by the employing agency early in traumatic injury claims. (There is legislation pending that would impose a 3-day waiting period for this continuation of pay) No system for routine utilization review. (There are certain requirements currently for Prior-Authorization but not for Second Opinions or IME’s; there is pending legislation that would require regular independent medical evaluations.) Free choice of treating provider Limited clinical resources available to the Department of Labor Claims Examiners, who make all adjudication and ongoing benefits decisions. These differences are frequently cited as reasons that private sector case management best practices won’t work in a federal environment; however, evidence suggests otherwise. Several federal agencies have experienced significant improvement in the performance of their workers’ compensation program when they adopted industry best practices such as: Agency directed telephonic case management Early intervention Focused legacy case management programs Ancillary networks including but not limited to pharmacy benefits management, physical therapy, durable medical equipment and diagnostic radiology Stay-at-Work and Return-to-Work initiatives Internal data and trend analysis including but not limited to chargeback audits and the new federal agency performance metrics, POWER (Protecting Our Workers and Ensuring Re-employment). http://www.dol.gov/owcp/dfec/power/ Agencies that have adopted these and other best practices and aggressively monitor and manage ALL open cases have lower costs and disability case rates than agencies that take a more passive approach, relying on Department of Labor and monitoring cases for return to work issues. Marianne Cloeren, MD, MPH, FACOEM Medical Director, Managed Care Advisors, Inc www.MCAcares.com MYTH #6: The Vast Majority of All Medical Reports Using the AMA Guides Are Inaccurate This assertion has been repeatedly made any time a version of the AMA Guides has first been adopted in a state that mandates its use in a state’s workers’ compensation system. California adopted the 5th Edition of the AMA Guides in April 2004. Within a year, a cottage industry of “expert” reviewers developed in which the recurring mantra was that the vast majority of medical reports written by treating or evaluating physicians were not “accurate.” The fact of the matter is that the authors of the AMA Guides were careful in stating that the Guides is intended for reference by physicians as a guideline only, and each physician should use his or her own clinical judgment in determining an accurate permanent impairment rating. On page 1 of the 5th Edition, the authors state: “The purpose of this fifth edition of the Guides is to update the diagnostic criteria and evaluation process used in impairment assessment, incorporating available scientific evidence and prevailing medical opinion. Chapter authors were encouraged to use the latest scientific evidence from their specialty and, where evidence was lacking, develop a consensus view.” First of all, this directive is misleading. The WPI ratings in all versions of the AMA Guides are not based on any scientific research, epidemiological studies, clinical trials or any other objective analysis. They are “consensus derived”, which means that someone voted on adopting WPI ratings based on some undisclosed criteria and without even discussing minority views of physicians. In real medical science, “prevailing medical opinion” can be totally wrong. Second, there is no correlation between a given WPI rating and loss of function or effects of impairment on activities of daily living. Even the definition of “ADLs” has changed between the different versions of the Guides, with different WPI ratings for the same medical conditions between different versions of the Guides. Third, the diagnostic criteria for ratable impairments have changed since the 5th Edition of the AMA Guides was published in 2000. Current diagnostic criteria for hypertension and complex regional pain syndrome are examples where those listed in the 5th Edition are completely obsolete. The point is that even the individual authors, editors, contributors and followers of the AMA Guides, regardless of version, cannot profess to be any more qualified to write an “accurate” report than any other physician. Each version of the Guides states that the determination of whether an injury or illness results in a permanent impairment requires a medical assessment by a physician. See 5th Edition, section 1.2a, page 2. How can any so-called “expert” reviewer say that the vast majority of medical reports that use the AMA Guides are inaccurate when the reviewer has not performed an assessment of the patient? In California, reports written by these “experts” who review and critique medical reports are not admissible at the WCAB, and cause significant consternation among reputable treating and evaluating physicians who have a deep understanding of the AMA Guides and case law that mandates certain interpretations and applications of the language in the Guides. Hopefully, other states like Illinois will develop similar case law. Robert G. Rassp, Esq. Law Office of Robert G. Rassp Blog: The Rassp Report Rassp, The Lawyer’s Guide to the AMA Guides and California Workers’ Compensation (LexisNexis) MYTH #7: CMS’ Approval of an MSA Is Binding CMS offers a written opinion for workers’ compensation settlements meeting its review criteria as to whether an amount set aside for future medical expenses adequately protects Medicare’s interests in the settlement of an insurance claim. The program is voluntary, and the evaluation process fairly generic in that it applies a standard of care rather than meets the individual needs of the claimant, while frequently disregarding the legal issues resulting in the decision to settle the claim. Because of this, an amount deemed adequate by CMS will generally be more than an individualized plan, and that differential is representative of the inherent cost of the approval. However, what is the value of that approval? The WCMSA approval process is not mandated by any law or regulation, state or federal. It is administered at the sole discretion of CMS with no official appeal process. Just as participation is completely voluntary, nothing requires CMS to render an opinion if it elects not to do so. And most disturbing, CMS can apparently change its opinion post-settlement based solely upon a request by the claimant. There are documented occurrences of CMS altering its approval, both higher and lower, based upon claimants presenting new evidence post-settlement, regardless of the fact that these settlements were already funded by the carriers and approved by the state agencies. So if CMS’ opinion is not binding upon itself, it is certainly not binding upon any of the parties to the settlement unless and until the amount approved is mutually accepted by all parties and incorporated into the state approved settlement agreement. If the parties disagree with CMS, they are free to settle on their own terms, documenting in the agreement that while CMS’ opinion was obtained, it was disregarded for valid legal and/or medical reasons. Medicare has no rights in the insurance settlement itself to assert a claim for future inchoate medical expenses that have not, and may not ever, occur. It is undisputed that Medicare is not obligated to make payments for post-settlement related medical care, hence our acceptance of the need for an MSA when future medical care is anticipated. However, unless and until Medicare makes a conditional payment or denies benefits due to its secondary payer exclusion, it has no legal claims against any of the parties to the settlement within its reach under the MSP. And if an MSP situation arises, the parties affected will have access to the Medicare appeal process to dispute the benefit denial or reimbursement demand, which is more than is afforded an adverse MSA determination by CMS at the time of settlement. So long as MSAs are reasonable and defensible, CMS cannot create a greater obligation upon the parties than existed under state law simply because the claimant is a Medicare beneficiary. If you don’t like CMS’ opinion, disregard it and settle upon your own terms with the understanding that you may someday have to overcome the burden of proving why it was disregarded. Better yet, stop asking for the opinion in the first place. Jennifer C. Jordan, Esq., General Counsel MEDVAL, LLP www.medval.com Blog: The Official Medicare Set Aside Blog and Information Resource Jordan, The Complete Guide to Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance (LexisNexis) MYTH #8: Doctors Prescribe Narcotic Pain Medications Because of Concerns They May Be Sued If They Don’t Treat Pain The dramatic rise in the number and amount (morphine equivalents) of narcotic pain medications has been well publicized in 2011. A tipping point materialized where social commentators and observers triggered the start of a national conversation. Even the White House joined the discussion in April 2011. Yet, when pressed, some physicians claim they are legally obligated to prescribe addictive pain medications or they will be civilly liable. This justification is essentially baseless. But, even if true, it does not explain why Americans consume 80% of all opiates and 99% of all the hydrocodone dispensed world-wide. Current narcotics available for doctors to prescribe to patients are up to one hundred times more powerful than morphine. A lucrative business model treating pain erupted across the country. Addiction increased demand, which led to a secondary black market further fueling demand. Physicians’ choice to prescribe high levels of narcotics is not just antidotal; one California study revealed that 1% of California doctors prescribed 42% of morphine equivalence. Some states (Texas and Florida for example) are passing laws regulating pill mills (pain clinics and other facilities that primarily treat pain with drugs). Pharmacies have refused to fill oxycotin prescriptions. One national pharmacy recently informed several Florida doctors it would no longer fill their prescriptions for schedule two narcotics. States are also focusing their efforts on drug repackagers and physician dispensers. States and even some businesses are changing their practices in light of the new business of prescribing narcotics. Fear of litigation does not appear to be a driving force in narcotic drug prescribing patterns. Rather, market forces appear to motivate some physicians to augment their practices with different business models and strings of income. These same market forces may be influencing the creation and market placement of these products by their manufacturers. But that conversation is for another day. Stuart D. Colburn, Esq., Shareholder Downs Stanford, P.C. www.downsstanford.com MYTH #9: Workers’ Compensation Costs Are Out of Control Although we often hear that workers’ compensation is “out of control”, that is not really the case. While it is true that some companies have high workers’ compensation costs, for many it is not a problem at all. The general perception is that workers’ compensation costs are skyrocketing because attorneys receive contingency fees, labor unions refuse to cooperate, and there are unfavorable state laws. In reality, these things generally are not the cost drivers of high workers’ compensation costs. There are many unionized companies in every state – including those states considered the worst – that have high-risk workplaces that are susceptible to a greater than average number of accidents and mishaps, but do not have high workers’ comp costs. The real cause of high workers’ comp costs is “lack of control.” When companies don't "take charge" of the workers’ compensation process in their workplace by implementing policies and procedures to direct what occurs immediately after an injury, then employees – by default – are in control of their own claims and tend to stay out of work longer than necessary. In many of these situations, the claim lasts longer than the injury, and the time out of work is disproportionate to the length of the disability. Companies with a tight post injury procedure dictate what happens from the moment of the injury to when the injured employee returns to work. For example, employees immediately telephone a triage nurse if they are injured, and employers make a first day phone call to the employee, send a get well card, carefully select medical facilities and direct injured employees there (where permitted by state law), offer all injured employees transitional duty assignments temporarily while they are recovering, and conduct weekly meetings to discuss obstacles. The entire process is posted nearby whether employees sit in an office, drive a vehicle, or work in another setting, such as at a restaurant or on a construction site. Companies look elsewhere for the cause of the problem, but they never look in the mirror! Forget about what you "can't do" and start working on what you "can do." Rebecca Shafer, Esq. President, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. www.WCManual.com www.LowerWC.com MYTH #10: The Exclusive Remedy Defense Is Being Eroded Like initial newspaper stories noting Mark Twain’s death, reports of the demise of the exclusive remedy doctrine or defense have been “greatly exaggerated.” Sure, there’s the occasional “success,” usually with somewhat quirky facts [e.g., Anderson v. A.J. Friedman Supply Co., Inc., 416 N.J. Super. 46, 3 A.3d 545 (2010); $7 million verdict to spouse who, like her husband, was employed by an asbestos-using firm, but who contended she contracted mesothelioma as a result of “bystander exposure” from washing her husband’s asbestos-laden work clothes]. A close look shows the exclusivity defense is, however, alive and well. For example, in spite of the fact that Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, and a handful of other states [see Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 103.04] allow “intentional” tort actions against employers where the employers’ actions are “substantially certain” to cause injury, far fewer than one in ten reported decisions show success for plaintiff/employees. Consider also the following recent unsuccessful actions filed by employees against employers: Welch v. Ameriprise Financial, Inc., 2010 Minn. App. Unpub. LEXIS 852 (Aug. 24, 2010); widow’s tort action against husband’s employer for failure to provide defibrillators. Teasley v. Freeman, 2010 Ga. App. LEXIS 592 (June 28, 2010); widow of slain deputy killed in a Georgia courthouse by escaping convict. Brown v. Cassens Transp. Co., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101660 (S.D. Mich., Sept. 27, 2010) and Jackson v. Sedgwick, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22792 (E.D. Mich., Mar. 11, 2010); general failure to use RICO Act as end-run around exclusivity. Walters v. Flathead Concrete Prods., Inc., 2011 MT 45, 2011 Mont. LEXIS 48 (Mar. 16, 2011); mother’s wrongful death action barred by exclusivity in spite of small ($3,000) death benefits for non-dependent parents. Vacha v. North Ridgeville (City of), 2011 Ohio 2446, 2011 Ohio App. LEXIS 2098 (May 23, 2011); rape by co-worker. Soto v. Nabisco, Inc., 2011 PA Super 249, 2011 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3753 (Nov. 21, 2011); products liability suit against employer fails, even under “dual persona” doctrine. Exclusive remedy provisions within state acts have been a core component of the workers' compensation "bargain" since the initial enactment of state workers' compensation laws in 1911. Injured workers have occasionally experienced buyers' remorse since then, but the essential equilibrium established between employers and employees in those early compensation acts remains an enduring characteristic of our current system. Thomas A. Robinson, J.D. Blog: WorkCompWriter.com © Copyright 2011 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
Posted by Law Offices of James F. Aspell. P.C. at 7:00 AM 2 comments:
Workers Comp Myths and facts from our freinds at L...
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Keizer Christian celebrates 54 years with KHC exhibit
Posted on October 9, 2017 October 6, 2017 by Candace Johnson
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Keizer Christian Church is celebrating its 54th anniversary this month and the congregation is celebrating with a special service on Sunday, Oct. 8, all of it coincides with a new display at the Keizer Heritage Museum.
Kim Free, wife of Keizer Christian’s new pastor, Erik, led the charge to get the display into the museum and is hoping it paves the way for the church itself, at 6945 Wheatland Road N., to become an official historical point of interest in the city.
“It was either the third or fourth church in Keizer to have its own building, and it’s the only one that still contains part of the original structure,” Free said.
Keizer Christian Church, which is associated with the Disciples of Christ, held its first services in October 1963 at the Keizer Grange Hall. The congregation built a home of its own on the corner of Lockhaven Drive Northeast and River Road North between 1966 and 1968. When Albertson’s bought that property in 1984, the original structure was moved to its current location.
“The original building was split in half and a new sanctuary and offices were built between the two halves. The old sanctuary is now a community space and the space that was the school is still our preschool,” Free said.
The move was not without its harrowing moments. After finding a local mom-and-pop operation that was willing to move the building to the new site at half the cost a Portland firm wanted to charge, multiple obstacles presented themselves.
“They started down River Road and found out that the building was too wide and they had to clear some branches and trees, they got a little further and had to call the power company to lift the power lines so the church could go under them. Finally the cable broke and the building went sliding down the hill on Wheatland and into somebody’s fence,” Free said.
The church has video of the whole thing, but Free said her husband found the camera operator to be the most humorous aspect of the fiasco.
“We were watching it together and he couldn’t believe the camera person didn’t curse the whole time all of this was happening,” Free said.
The exhibit in the Keizer Heritage Museum features several artifacts from throughout the church’s history. Many are tied to missionary work members of the congregation have performed in Congo and Ecuador, but the highlights are a Communion set and a large clay tile featuring a Biblical scene.
“They are made from clay that came out of the creek behind the church when it was on River Road. The school children dug the clay out and a local artist made the plaques and communion set with design input from the students,” Free said.
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Archive for the 'The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership That Transformed T' Category
“The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership That Transformed The New York Yankees” with Steve Steinberg
Posted in The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership That Transformed T on May 30th, 2015 Comments
“Ruppert and Huggins were the principal figures in the transition of the Yankees from an afterthought on the New York baseball scene to the nation’s greatest sports dynasty of the twentieth century.” -Marty Appel
From the team’s inception in 1903, the New York Yankees were a floundering group that played as second-class citizens to the New York Giants. With four winning seasons to date, the team was purchased in 1915 by Jacob Ruppert and his partner, Cap “Til” Huston. Three years later, when Ruppert hired Miller Huggins as manager, the unlikely partnership of the two figures began, one that set into motion the Yankees’ run as the dominant baseball franchise of the 1920s and the rest of the twentieth century, capturing six American League pennants with Huggins at the helm and four more during Ruppert’s lifetime.
The Yankees’ success was driven by Ruppert’s executive style and enduring financial commitment, combined with Huggins’s philosophy of continual improvement and personnel development. While Ruppert and Huggins had more than a little help from one of baseball’s greats, Babe Ruth, their close relationship has been overlooked in the Yankees’ rise to dominance. Though both were small of stature, the two men nonetheless became giants of the game with unassailable mutual trust and loyalty. The Colonel and Hug tells the story of how these two men transformed the Yankees. It also tells the larger story about baseball primarily in the tumultuous period from 1918 to 1929 -- with the end of the Deadball Era and the rise of the Lively Ball Era, a gambling scandal, and the collapse of baseball’s governing structure -- and the significant role the Yankees played in it all.
On a Thursday evening in May, Steve Steinberg took us back in time. Listen in to our Clubhouse conversation...
Steve Steinberg is a baseball historian and coauthor (with Lyle Spatz) of “1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York.”
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How a Small Band of Allied Sailors Defeated the U-boats and Won the Battle of the Atlantic
Ed Offley
The United States experienced its most harrowing military disaster of World War II not in 1941 at Pearl Harbor but in the period from 1942 to 1943, in Atlantic coastal waters from Newfoundland to the Caribbean. Sinking merchant ships with impunity, German U-boats threatened the lifeline between the United States and Britain, very nearly denying the Allies their springboard onto the European Continent--a loss that would have effectively cost the Allies the war.
In Turning the Tide, author Ed Offley tells the gripping story of how, during a twelve-week period in the spring of 1943, a handful of battle-hardened American, British, and Canadian sailors turned the tide in the Atlantic. Using extensive archival research and interviews with key survivors, Offley places the reader at the heart of the most decisive maritime battle of World War II.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY MAR 21, 2011
WWII's Battle of the Atlantic, where Admiral D nitz's U-boats attempted to starve Great Britain into capitulation, was one of many crucial points in that conflict that were indispensable to Allied victory. If the Germans had succeeded in interdicting its maritime lifeline, Britain would not have become the Allies' "unsinkable aircraft carrier" and staging point for invasion, which in turn meant that there would have been no second front in France, and this in turn could have lead Stalin to make a separate peace with Hitler. By examining two actions against Allied convoys in March and May 1943, Offley (Scorpion Down) demonstrates how the Allies were more responsive to changing technological and tactical conditions, while the Kriegsmarine was hampered by a failure to recognize the same changes and by a culture that encouraged reporting inflated results; curiously, both opponents had cracked the other's codes, but the Allies made better use of the intelligence. The author focuses on individual combatants, from the lowest ranks to the highest, emphasizing the human elements and making for an extremely readable text that should appeal to neophytes as well as professionals.
More Books by Ed Offley
The Burning Shore
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View eBook
The Way to Paradise
Faber, 2003 - Painters - 373 pages
"Flora, the illegitimate child of a wealthy Peruvian father and a French mother, grows up in poverty and, after fleeing a brutal husband, journeys to Peru to demand her inheritance. On her return, she makes her name as a popular writer and a champion of the downtrodden, setting herself the arduous task of touring the French countryside to recruit members for her Workers' Union. Paul, a struggling painter and stubborn visionary, abandons his wife and five children for life in the South Seas. Although he has his pick of teenage lovers and paints some of his greatest works, Paul's dreams of paradise are poisoned by syphilis, the stifling forces of French colonialism, and a chronic lack of funds."--BOOK JACKET.
User Review - gbill - LibraryThing
The interleaved stories of Flora Tristan, a woman and worker’s right advocate in 1840’s France, and her grandson Paul Gauguin, the post-impressionist painter who became famous for his work done in ... Read full review
User Review - technodiabla - LibraryThing
I just finished The Way to Paradise by Mario Vargas Llosa. What a fantastic novel! This is the first Llhosa I've read and I'm hooked. The Way to Paradise is a dual fictionalized biography of Paul ... Read full review
The Way to Paradise: A Novel
Mario Vargas Llosa was born in Arequipa, Peru on March 28, 1936. He studied literature and law at the National University of San Marcos and received a Ph.D from the University of Madrid in 1959. He is a writer, politician, and journalist. His works vary in genre from literary criticism and journalism to comedies, murder mysteries, historical novels, and political thrillers. His books include The Time of the Hero, The Green House, Conversation in the Cathedral, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, The Feast of the Goat, and The War of the End of the World. He has received numerous awards including the Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize, the Premio Leopoldo Alas in 1959, the Premio Biblioteca Breve in 1962, the Premio Planeta in 1993, the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1994, the Jerusalem Prize in 1995, and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010.
Title The Way to Paradise
Author Mario Vargas Llosa
Translated by Natasha Wimmer
Publisher Faber, 2003
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Prey is getting a multiplayer expansion next week
Chris Sutton December 6, 2018 No Comments
Prey, the survival horror first-person shooter that was developed by Arkane Studios and released in 2017, is getting a multiplayer expansion next week.
The multiplayer mode will be titled Typhon Hunter, and it will be added to the game on December 11th. In Typhon Hunter, one player will take control of Morgan Yu—the protagonist from the single player story—while another five players will take on the role of Mimics, one of the various types of the alien lifeforms known as the Typhon that the player encounters during the story. Anybody who has played through the story of Prey will know that Mimics have the ability to disguise themselves as any item (although, even if you haven’t played Prey, the clue is in the name) and they enjoy jumping out at you when you get up close.
Well, Typhon Hunter will be no different; the player that takes control of Morgan Yu will be tasked with hunting down and killing all Mimics before the timer runs out using nothing more than a wrench or a pistol, while the players that are in control of the Mimics will be able to hide in plain sight, disguising themselves as any item then jumping out on Morgan when he gets up close. Mimics have the choice of either waiting it out until the timer runs down, or turning the hunter into the hunted and trying to take Morgan down. Yes, playing as a Mimic does sound more fun than playing as Morgan; scaring the shit out of somebody is always great fun. Typhon Hunter will be available on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=90&v=TLucCtAxTXE
Video can’t be loaded: Prey – Official Typhon Hunter Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=90&v=TLucCtAxTXE)
Also available in the update for PS4 and PC players will be TranStar VR, a single-player escape room mode designed exclusively for VR. TranStar VR will be set a few days before the events of Preys single-player story, and will see players take control of a number of various TranStar employees in numerous different scenarios, tasked with solving puzzles in a few memorable locations on Talos I, namely the Yellow Tulip, the Sim Labs, and Morgan’s Office.
Typhon Hunter VR will also be added to the game in early 2019, allowing the VR-loving players among us to experience the new Typhon Hunter mode in virtual reality, which could require a few extra pairs of underwear. Typhon Hunter will be available for free to all players who either own the Digital Deluxe Edition of Prey (which contains all updates) or bought the Mooncrash expansion that launched back in June.
You can read all about the update here.
If you haven’t played Prey then I highly recommend it. Although it has a pretty clichéd story, it’s a memorable single-player experience that is both fun and downright frightening at times (particularly that bloody Nightmare), and it’s open world style makes the game more immersive than other first-person shooters. I really enjoyed Prey, and this new update will give you even more for your money.
Golf Story
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Rimini (province)
Cattolica is a peaceful, picturesque town, with its tree-lined streets, elegant fountain-adorned squares, and characterful old harbor. There's no shortage of amenities to get your teeth into here, with relaxed cafes, gelato vendors, and restaurants serving up fresh, local seafood.
The real star attraction, however, is the town's golden sandy shore, which sits before the warm waters of the Adriatic Sea. When you're able to tear yourself away, you can find a little culture at the Piazza della Repubblica, see fierce sharks at the Cattolica Aquarium, or join in with the town's many colorful summer festivities.
Trending now in Cattolica
10 Things to Do in Cattolica in a Day
Cattolica is the quieter alternative to Rimini on the Adriatic Sea. Many prefer this relaxing seaside resort over the other coastal towns, for its smaller summer crowds. Even so, it’s only around 12 minutes’ train ride from the main hub of Rimini on the southernmost end of the Eastern Riviera.
The whole coastal length of Cattolica similarly features a variety of spaggia and bagni (serviced beaches and beach clubs) where the whole family can have a fun time in the Italian sun. Here, we show you all the great things to do in Cattolica in a day or two, including a mix of leisure and even historical sightseeing in the centre of town.
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HR Professionals | 3 min read
Other than the opportunity to learn and grow, if there’s one expectation placed on universities and colleges, it’s safety. Students, staff, and parents want to feel secure on campus and protected from physical and emotional harm.
Unfortunately, cybersecurity is becoming a growing source of insecurity at educational institutions across the nation.
What you need to know about the Georgia Tech breach
Recently, the Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as “Georgia Tech,” announced an investigation into what appears to be a massive data breach. As many as 1.3 million people, including past and current students, applicants, and staff, may be affected.
Last month, the school discovered a hack that may have exposed victims’ Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information.
In the Cyber Security Notification posted on the university’s website, the college revealed:
“The information illegally accessed by an unknown outside entity was located on a central database. Georgia Tech’s cybersecurity team is conducting a thorough forensic investigation to determine precisely what information was extracted from the system, which may include names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and even birth dates.”
Breaches on the rise in the education industry
This marks the second data breach at the school in less than a year. Last July, Georgia Tech mistakenly emailed personal information for nearly 8,000 students to other students. Social Security numbers were not exposed in the first breach, but other personal information — including birth dates, phone numbers, and grade-point averages — was compromised.
Georgia Tech is far from alone.
Higher education institutions have come increasingly under attack in the past few years. Incidents were up by more than 100 percent in 2017, compared to 2016. And it’s not just large campuses.
Three private colleges — Oberlin, in Ohio; Grinnell, in Iowa; and Hamilton, in New York — all had their applicant databases hacked, according to a recent article in the Washington Post. That same week, a second report documented attacks on more than two dozen universities in the U.S. and elsewhere in an alleged attempt to steal military-related research.
Why the sudden upsurge in attacks?
Large-scale data breaches have hit a variety of large companies and institutions, including healthcare systems and financial firms. Why have colleges and universities become the next target of choice? More importantly, what steps can these organizations take to protect their employees?
A target-rich environment
The type of personal data stolen in the Georgia Tech case is gold on the dark web. Educational institutions typically request and store sensitive financial data and personally identifiable information like Social Security numbers and addresses for both students and their parents.
Cybercriminals can easily sell the information to identity thieves who open new lines of credit and financial accounts, drain existing bank accounts, and conduct other criminal acts. Further, the compromised data is often used to blackmail victims.
Who’s protecting the data?
Hacking into an individual server, even one housed at a tech-savvy institution, long ago became routine. That’s why cloud-based data storage seemed ideal for protecting sensitive information.
However, even if the third party hosting the data follows proper cybersecurity protocols, there is one variable they can’t control: human error. In fact, this is actually the number one cause of data breaches.
How can educational institutions protect their employees?
While identity thieves, hackers, and cybercriminals are targeting educational organizations in record numbers, there are steps universities can take to protect their employees.
If you’re a broker with clients in the education industry, you might start by reading our complimentary one-sheet, “How Identity Theft and Data Breaches Affect the Education Industry.” It’s loaded with important information you can use when speaking with clients about the risks of today’s digital era and arming them with the knowledge they need to protect their employees.
Are you an employer in the education industry? Consider reading our downloadable guide, “HR Guide to Employee Data Protection and Identity Theft Prevention.” It includes a number of tools and resources you can use to keep your employees safe.
Need further assistance? That’s why we’re here. Feel free to contact us today.
What Is Identity Theft Protection and How Can an Employee Benefit Help?
By Meghann Carroll | 11 min read
C-Suite’s Imperative: Offer Identity Theft Protection to Employees as a Benefit
Facebook might pay a fine, but is your company paying the price?
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Division: Education
Kay Gingras
Kay grew up in Ferguson, MO. She often tells students, “I’m from Missouri, you’ve got to show me”. She attended the University of Missouri for 3 years before transferring to and eventually graduating from the University of Colorado with a degree in Biology. She completed a Master’s of Science in Education from Brigham Young University…
Read moreShare
Ryan Newman
Ryan Newman teaches US History and Government at Center for Change. He has taught with Alpine School District for 10 years and currently teaches AP United States History at Pleasant Grove High School. Ryan received his bachelors degree from Utah Valley University and his Master’s Degree from Western Governors University. During the summer Ryan works…
Elayne McArthur
Elayne has eight years of teaching and leadership experience. She was a Social Studies Teacher in Alpine School District’s Alternative Education Program, Summit High School. She was a member of Summit High School’s Professional Development Team for three years. She served as Summit’s lead teacher in control of academic curricular alignment, collaboration with Summit and…
Julie Bouche
Julie Bouche currently works as the English teacher at Cascade Mountain High School after working five years in Alpine School District teaching at both Timpanogos and Pleasant Grove high schools. She got her teaching degree from BYU in English with minors in history teaching and Spanish, and then got her Master’s degree from Capella University….
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‘How Do You See Me’ Wants People To Ask Questions About Stereotypes
Filed Under:Art Exhibit, Edelman Gallery, How Do You See Me, Photography
CHICAGO (CBS) — A new art exhibit in Chicago asks a provocative question: How do you see me?
It features the work of three photographers that hopes to challenge racial stereotypes and biases.
“I want people to be confronted by him. I want you to be able to look him in the eyes, ” said Alana Airitam.
The artist left nothing to chance in her photos, even her desire to hang them at eye level.
(Credit Alanna Airitam/CBS)
“It’s important because so often black men don’t get the dignity of being looked directly in the eyes. So this creates a humanity for him,” Airitam said.
Done in a 17th century Dutch Masters style, Airitam wants her portrait photos to challenge the common perception of black people.
“Countering that narrative that we usually get about black people and it’s showing that we’re so diverse and so beautiful in our own way,” said Airitam.
Endia Beal worked in the very office used as the background for all the photos of young women of color.
“These women are presenting their authentic selves,” said Beal. “I felt judged. I was a spectacle, the elephant in the room that no one wanted to talk about.”
She wanted people to answer the question that is the title of the exhibit.
“‘How Do You See Me?’ forces the viewer to think about their own biases, their own perspectives. At the end of the day, we’re talking about the ideas that make people beautiful, those cultural experiences,” Beal said.
Via Skype, photographer Medina Dugger explained how she highlighted bright, colorful images of hairstyles in Nigeria.
“Hopefully it will help people be a little more accepting of differences,” said Dugger.
The exhibit can be seen at the Edelman Gallery. The photographs will be on display through October 27.
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Two Women Attacked With Stun Guns In Daylight Robberies
Filed Under:Crime, Little Italy, Noble Square, robberies, Stun Gun
CHICAGO (CBS) — Two women were knocked to the ground with stun guns and robbed in a pair of incidents in broad daylight in the past week in Noble Square and Little Italy.
Police said the first robbery happened Thursday afternoon, as a woman was walking into a home in the 700 block of South May Street around 4:35 p.m. Someone came up behind her, and used a stun gun on her, knocking her to the ground.
The attacker then stole some of her personal belongings and ran away.
Three days later, a 25-year-old woman was walking in the 1200 block of North Cleaver Street around 4 p.m., when someone shocked her with a stun gun, knocking her to the ground.
The robber stole the woman’s personal belongings and fled the scene, according to police.
Neither woman suffered serious injuries.
No one was in custody Wednesday morning. Area North detectives were investigating.
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Chris Enns in Apple | October 11, 2011
People Buying iPhone 4S As a Tribute to Steve Jobs
If you are a tech/financial writer and really believe that people would pre-order the iPhone 4S as a tribute to Steve Jobs (apparently in record numbers), you should start looking for other work.
Sure, the worldwide outpouring of grief/memories of Steve Jobs’ death is impressive and is on a scale unheard of outside your typical celebrity death (i.e. Michael Jackson), but people aren’t so moved that they’re going to drop hundreds of dollars to purchase a device AND sign up for a $50+/month contract out of respect for said device’s creator’s passing.
But no one foresaw that the tech genius Jobs would suddenly pass away, only one day after iPhone 4S was released. Jobs’ demise stirred sadness and grief around the world and it’s believed that Jobs’ untimely death has rocketed demand for iPhone 4S from consumers.
Unreal.
Via Daring Fireball.
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January 16, 2019 / 3:37 PM / 6 months ago
Brazil ethanol pipeline owner eyes corn-based fuel makers
Marcelo Teixeira
SAO PAULO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Logum, the company operating Brazil's sole ethanol pipeline, is looking to expand the system into central Brazil to reach more plants and possibly the nascent corn-based ethanol industry, which is expected to grow.
Chief Executive Wagner Biasoli told Reuters Logum has secured financing for an expansion to link new mills in the state of Minas Gerais, boost delivery to Sao Paulo state and reach total capacity of 6 billion liters per year.
Next up are the center-west states Goiás and Mato Grosso, some of the largest grain producers in the country, he said, adding that new biofuel incentives taking effect in 2020 should help to boost demand for ethanol.
Logum is joint owned by state oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA along with sugar and ethanol producers Raízen and Copersucar. The co-owners closed a deal late last year to buy out engineering firms Odebrecht and Camargo Correa, increasing their stakes from 20 percent to 30 percent each. Financial details were not disclosed.
The exit of Odebrecht and Camargo Correa, two companies ensnared in Brazil's largest-ever corruption scandal, opened the way for state development bank BNDES to extend a credit line of 1.8 billion reais ($483.64 million) for the expansion.
The next frontier is corn-based ethanol.
"I've been to Mato Grosso last week. We are looking at the possibility to extend our pipeline to Cuiabá," said Biasoli, referring to the capital of Brazil's top grains state.
Biasoli cited market forecasts of corn ethanol growing to 1 billion liters in Mato Grosso this year from 300 million liters in 2018. "The state is expected to reach 5 billion liters in the next three to five years," he said.
There are several projects under way to produce ethanol from corn in Mato Grosso, a state that has sharply increased its corn output. The movement is changing the Brazilian ethanol industry, which has long been focused on sugar cane.
Logum currently moves 2.5 billion liters of ethanol per year, mainly from the Ribeirão Preto region to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro markets. It also moves ethanol to ships on the Rio coast for export or supplying northeast Brazil.
Transportation costs have been one of the major hurdles to expanding ethanol output in central Brazil. Current production is mostly sold locally instead of being trucked some 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) to southeastern markets and export terminals. ($1 = 3.7218 reais) (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira Editing by Susan Thomas)
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All posts tagged non-fiction
Citizenfour - (2014 movie)
disliked, documentaries, entertainment, intelligence, Movies, non-fiction, reviews, the past
Entertainment > Movies >
https://citizenfourfilm.com/
A documentary on, and interviews with, Edward Snowden.
I suppose it has some interesting material, and certainly the topic is great, but as a viewing experience this movie is boring as fuck.
You may also want Citizenfour - (2014 movie) foreign subtitles
Crumb - (1994 movie)
biographies, biography movies, culture jamming, disliked, documentaries, entertainment, intelligence, Movies, non-fiction, reviews, the present
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/crumb/
A documentary about Robert Crumb.
A lineage of broken genetics is passed on to children, one of whom drew odd things oddly and got famous because normies couldn't or wouldn't do it. He got and stayed famous because he got there first. Everyone fawns over him to be cool.
There's a lot of anti-consumerism, anti-industry and general cultural critique. Unfortunately, the whole thing gets interesting only in the latter third, and the good cultural critique is scattered throughout that.
All things considered, this isn't a great movie, an interesting person or an interesting topic. For people unaware of the reality, this shows the broken side of certain kinds of artist.
The Red Pill - (2016 movie)
documentaries, entertainment, intelligence, liked, loved, males, Movies, non-fiction, non-fiction movies, reviews, the present
(on Wikipedia - warning: ideological bias)
http://www.theredpillmovie.com/
A feminist's documentary about men's (human) rights.
A refreshing piece of work, with the intellectual morals to actually talk to the men's rights advocates being talked about. The contrast between "the sides" is truly astonishing.
Band of Brothers - (2001 show)
action television, dead, entertainment, liked, military, military television, non-fiction, reviews, television, television shows inspired by books, the past
Entertainment > Television >
http://www.hbo.com/band-of-brothers
Follows a unit in the 101st Airborne Division during World War 2.
Quite a good story. It's full of faces I know. Great acting and spectacular realism.
Note: This video style is shaky.
The Pacific - (2010 show)
Seven Years in Tibet - (1997 movie)
Brad Pitt, China, entertainment, evil, fiction, liked, Movies, movies inspired by books, non-fiction, politics, reviews, the past, Tibet
A mountaineer in India gets captured by the British during World War II, fleeing until circumstances bring him in the company of the Dalai Lama in Tibet.
A story about a man, until it nosedives straight into the politics of the hostile takeover that turned Tibet into an autonomous region in communist China.
Based on Seven Years in Tibet - (1954 book), by Heinrich Harrer
aka the movie that got Brad Pitt banned from China.
The Prince - (1910 book), by Niccolò Machiavelli
books, dead, dead-tree books, evil, Glances, intelligence, liked, Niccolò Machiavelli, non-fiction, owned, philosophy, softcover books
Entertainment > Reading >
A tactically-minded man creates an instruction manual for action and understanding in the realm of high-lords of kingdoms.
At under 70 pages, this book may be thin but it's incredibly dense. I found myself reading paragraphs three times before moving on. Although nothing in it surprised me, I can still easily recommend it. It's been, somehow, given a bad name. I only found a slight tinge of "evil" creeping in at about the half-way mark, but nothing inexcusable.
I understood it well enough to add strong commentary, and to give much improved explanation in the latter half which draws from the former. It's interesting to me that the author himself didn't catch on to the trends in his own advice.
Like The Art of War - (~476 BC book), by Sunzi, people have interpreted this text for all manner of uses such as the business world.
1910 translation by N. H. Thompson
Originally published in Volume 36 of The Harvard Classics.
Bushido - (1924 book), by Minoru Tanaka
books, dead, dead-tree books, Glances, Japanese, liked, Minoru Tanaka, non-fiction, owned, philosophy, samurai entertainment, softcover books
Entertainment > Reading > samurai >
A book on Bushido, the old way of the samurai, as created in conversation with an old master-turned-monk.
In a time when the others were softening up, a samurai who had lost his master and left to live in a monastery spoke in hushed tones to a friend about the old ways he grew up in. Although he and others insisted the manuscripts be burned, the promises were broken when they were kept secret. They would be later compiled and published, and even later translated from its original Japanese.
A particularly interesting book. Although most of it is definitely not directly-applicable today, I think anyone who already has a sufficient "wisdom" (whatever that means) will find bits and pieces of insight.
Properly titled Bushido - The Way of the Samurai
Propaganda (1928), by Edward Bernays
books, dead, dead-tree books, disliked, education, Edward Bernays, evil, Glances, history, intelligence, non-fiction, owned, philosophy, softcover books
The author works to sell the notion of propaganda as a skill and service, inventing what is best described as "ethical propaganda". He used this to manufacture his relevancy and sell his career. This book is particularly interesting in that the author and what he writes can itself be understood by what is written. The teaching can be used on itself.
Its first half is boring as hell to me, but I guess it would have been fascinating back then. A little after the half-way point it has grown very dark, talking about leaders instead of elected officials and manipulation instead of representation.
It does show its age in a number of places, but its stories are trivially generalizable.
So far I guess I'd put this on an intellectual's book shelf, though it all seems obvious and not even particularly collectible. I'm not sure if it would "red pill" an everyday person or even be interesting to one.
ISBN 9-780970-312594
The Myth of Sisyphus (1955 book), by Albert Camus
Albert Camus, books, dead, dead-tree books, French, Glances, insanity, intelligence, liked, non-fiction, owned, philosophy, softcover books, todo
TODO - re-read and especially the other essays.
Not the cover of my edition.
I'm either stupid or arrogant to say that this isn't particularly good. I'll have to re-read it yet again before I can either give a description or a proper opinion.
1942 - The Myth of Sisyphus
First translated into English in 1955.
(other essays noted below) TODO
Properly titled The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays
ISBN 9 780679 733737
Nightwork - (2003 book), "by" T. F. Peterson
books, dead, dead-tree books, Glances, hackers, history, liked, loved, non-fiction, oldschool, owned, softcover books, T. F. Peterson
hacks.mit.edu
A book on a particular aspect of culture and events in the history of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
It glimpses into one aspect of "playful hacking", pranks and practical jokes.
Properly titled Nightwork - A history of hacks and pranks at MIT
"Institute Historian T. F. Peterson" is likely a play on the MIT cultural acronym "IHTFP".
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Published on Data Blog
New 2015 edition of World Development Indicators shows 25 years of progress, but much left to do
Neil Fantom
Masako Hiraga
We’re pleased to announce that the 2015 edition of World Development Indicators (WDI) has been released. WDI is the most widely used dataset in our Open Data Catalog and it provides high-quality cross-country comparable statistics about development and people’s lives around the globe. As usual you can download or query the database, read the publication and access the online tables.
While the seasoned WDI user will know that the database is updated quarterly and historical versions are also available, for those new to the WDI, the annual release of a new edition is an opportunity to review the trends we’re seeing in global development and to take stock of what’s been achieved.
Varied progress across regions and Millenium Development Goal Targets
Click for interactive MDG Dashboard
The year 2015 is when the world aimed to achieve the targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals. Some have been met. The rate of extreme poverty and the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water were both halved between 1990 and 2010, five years ahead of schedule. Similarly, the targets on gender equality in primary and secondary education and the incidence of Tuberculosis are projected to be met by 2015, although gender disparity remains prevalent in other areas such as economic empowerment and decision making.
But some targets have not been achieved, and the aggregates used to measure global trends can mask the uneven progress in some regions and countries.
For example, there’s been weaker progress on education and health-related MDGs. The primary school completion rate reached 90 percent by 2009, but progress is slightly off track to meet the target of a universal completion rate by 2015. Progress toward MDGs related to infant, child, and maternal mortality is also insufficient, and these goals will not be achieved without additional effort.
Want to know more? The interactive MDG Dashboards use WDI data to show whether the MDGs have been achieved by indicator, region, or country, and highlight the differences between countries and regions that underlie the trends.
New indicators, maps and tools for 2015
The WDI team works closely with development professionals around the world to curate data relevant to their work. This years edition includes new indicators on: Shared Prosperity, which shows that many countries have seen growth in income or consumption among the bottom 40 percent of the population in their welfare distribution; Statistical Capacity, which measures improvements in the strengths of national statistical systems; and Particulate Matter Concentrations which show that in many parts of the world, exposure to air pollution is increasing rapidly.
This year we’ve also introduced maps into the print publication and the updated WDI DataFinder Apps will launch later this month and continue to offer multilingual access to view tables, charts and maps that you can share via email and social media.
The Post-2015 Agenda
This will be the last edition of World Development Indicators that reports on the Millennium Development Goals in the current manner. A new and ambitious set of goals and targets for development—the Sustainable Development Goals—will be agreed at the UN General Assembly in September 2015. Like the Millennium Development Goals before them, the Sustainable Development Goals will require more and better data to monitor progress and to design and adjust the policies and programs that will be needed to achieve them.
World Development Indicators is the result of a collaborative effort between the World Bank Data team, our colleagues across the institution, over 50 partner agencies and the statistical offices of more than 200 economies. We thank them all for their support, without which the WDI would not be possible.
Next week we’ll be featuring a series of posts focussed on each of the Millenium Development Goals, stay tuned, and if you have any questions you can reach us on @worldbankdata or via our help desk.
WDI Resources
A complete list of resources is available on the WDI Product Page
Access the Online Tables
View the print publication
Download the Database in XLS and CSV format
Query and visualize WDI Data using Databank
Directly access the data via the API
Download the Apps for iOS and Android (updates coming at the end of April)
#DataViz
Manager, Development Data Group, World Bank
More Blogs By Neil
Senior Statistician/Economist
More Blogs By Masako
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clinics & coaching
The Clagett Regatta Provides the "Best"
The venue here in Newport for The Clagett Clinic and Regatta is world renowned and the best coaches will be sharing their advice and sailing skills with out sailor athletes.
Below is a list of coaches for The Clagett Regatta 2019:
Betsy Alison
The coaching team is led by Betsy Alison is the Paralympic Coach of the US SAILING Team Sperry TopSider. Her focus is the development of national team athletes in the three Paralympic sailing events in preparation for the 2016 Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and beyond.
Betsy is a five-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year and was inducted in the 2011 inaugural class of the National Sailing Hall of Fame. She was twice honored as USOC Coach of the Year 1999 and 2008.
Brian Todd
Brian was awarded the Sail Nova Scotia Sailor of the Year for 2012 for his a significant contribution to the sport. Brian was a coach with both the National and Provincial sailing teams, working with Sail Nova Scotia and Sail Canada for over 20 years, leading the Canadian sailing team to gold and bronze medals at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. London was his second Paralympic Games.
He also has coached windsurfing and skiing and has coached at one Olympic Games, five Canada Games and one Pan Am Games and Countless Worlds Championships in various classes. Brian’s athletes have won medals at all the sailing Games he has coached at except the 1984 Olympics. Brian is currently a Vice President of the International Association for Disabled Sailing and a member of the IFDS Executive Committee. When there is no wind for sailing, Brian loves cycling. As an athlete, Brian sailed in the Finn class and was a national team member from 1973-76.
Dave Perry
Dave Dellenbaugh
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Rock Star Whiskeys
Mackmyra / Suntory / Heaven's Door Spirits / Jack Daniel's / Blackened Whiskey
Since the beginning of the craft whiskey boom of the early-to-mid '10s, a handful of rockers have partnered with distilleries to launch their own line of the spirit. We're taking a look at them -- although not a taste, sadly -- in the gallery below.
Most of the acts took an active role in the creation of their whiskies. Bob Dylan, for example, told the distiller that he wanted the double-barrel version of his Heaven's Door whiskey to evoke "that sweet, musty smell of a barn." And the bottles include representations of his own ironworks, a particular hobby of his. Scorpions' Rock N Roll Star single malt pays tribute to their homeland by being finished off in casks used to make German sweet cherry wine.
Then there's Metallica's Blackened. Drummer Lars Ulrich said that before they got into the business, “We felt it was important to be able to look our fans in the eyes and go, ‘This is something that we started from the beginning and it’s something that has at least, for better or worse, a Metallica touch to it.'”
Distiller Dave Pickerell picked up on that and came up with an aging process he called "Black Noise," where he blasted Metallica's music in the room where they were being finished in black brandy casks. The sounds, Pickerell claimed, causes the whiskey "to seep deeper into the barrel, where it picks up additional wood flavor characteristics."
Motorhead have twice partnered with distilleries, including one with Lemmy's preferred Jack Daniel's that launched less than a month after his death in December 2015. And Suntory created one for the Rolling Stones that uniquely blended whiskeys made in years that were of significance to the band's history. Read all about them below.
Next: Top 10 Whiskey Songs
Source: Rock Star Whiskeys
Filed Under: Booze
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News » National
Arlington County Set to Outline Expanded Trans Students' Rights
by Sam Cronin
EDGE Media Network Contributor
The Arlington County neighborhood of Crystal City may be the site of a new Amazon headquarters (Source:AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
Virginia has been a major battleground recently in the debate on transgender students' rights. Gavin Grimm, a trans boy from Gloucester County has sued his school system after being barred from using the bathroom which aligned with his gender identity, and the case is set to go to trial in July. Several other counties including Fairfax, Arlington, Falls Church and Alexandria have all signed a brief outlining their support for his rights and for his case.
Recently, Arlington County has indicated it will set out more concrete rules surrounding the rights and protections of students based on gender identity. Once the new guidelines take effect, Arlington will join D.C. Public Schools and Montgomery and Frederick counties in Maryland which already have rules on the subject. The school system would be the first in Northern Virginia to have rules in place on transgender students' rights.
WTOP News reports: "The proposed policy implementation procedure, or PIP, is the result of input from various school district models and focuses on a range of issues, including how students should be addressed, implementing dress codes that aren't gender specific, allowing all students to participate in sports and creating gender neutral restrooms."
Assistant Superintendent Tara Nattrass indicated the importance of the new policy, citing troubling statistics. "The American Academy of Pediatrics cited a national survey that said 54% of transgender students have been verbally harassed in school and 24% have been physically assaulted."
A member of the Arlington Parent Coalition shared a survey which indicated many students have concerns about the new guidelines. "Of the 90 students surveyed, 87% said they oppose or strongly oppose the policy due to religious beliefs, the impact this could have on women's athletics and the possibility of students who disagree with being stigmatized," according to WTOP.
However, according to the Washington Post, many supporters were present at the announcement.
"Students, parents and advocates packed the board meeting to loudly back the plan, waving miniature LGBT and transgender pride flags to signal agreement with the nearly three dozen speakers who proclaimed support," the Post reports.
The rules are said to take effect this summer, meaning they will be in place in time for the 2019-2020 school year, according to the Washington Post.
Popular Stories in News
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Tag: Vaccine Safety
In the 1960s and early 1970s many babies were sacrificed to produce the rubella vaccine. Hysterotomy was performed on women who chose to have an elective abortion in order to provide fetal tissue. The research took place over a period of years.
This rubella vaccine (included in the MMR) was approved in the U.S. by the FDA in 1979. The approval was based on study groups, comparing 3 different preparations of the live attenuated rubella virus for effectiveness. The 834 children receiving the MMR were followed for 42 days. Just 42 days to assess the safety for administering to all toddlers.
Why was there such a dramatic efforts to develop this vaccine? In 1964-65 there was an epidemic of rubella in the U.S. that caused birth defects in pregnant women. Dr. Stanly Plotkin isolated the rubella virus from aborted fetal tissue.
Currently, the virus strain (RA 27/3) found in the rubella vaccine most commonly used around the world was developed by Dr. Stanley Plotkin and colleagues at the Wistar Institute.19 The RA27/3(rubella abortus,twenty-seventh fetus, third tissue extract) virus strain was obtained from a female human fetus in a series of twenty-seven abortions in the United States:
Scientific research was devoted to producing a vaccine. The first vaccine was developed from kidney cells from a monkey. But a couple of researchers at the Wistar Institute in Pennsylvania were pursuing a vaccine that could be grown on human cells.
Abortion was illegal in the United States at that time, so fetal tissue was provided by Dr. Sven Gard of the Karolinska Institute Medical School in Stockholm, Sweden.4 Dr. Erling Norrby, who later served as chairman of the department of virology and dean of the medical faculty at the Karolinska Institute, was a graduate student there during this period. He dissected many of the aborted fetuses.
For the initial research the Wistar Institute received dissected tissue from 19 elective abortions done in Sweden. Finland was also participating in the research (35 women had abortions by hysterotomy for one study).
Timo Vesikari wrote about his part in rubella research. in late 1966, I was incredibly lucky to meet Antti Vaheri (later Professor of Virology) who had just returned to Finland from the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia with all the latest knowledge in rubella research . . . An important open question was whether the live attenuated vaccine would cross placenta same way as wild type rubella virus. The crucial study was to be done in Finland, away from potentially damaging publicity in the US, with Dr. Fred Robbins, a Nobel Laureate, as the godfather of the project. Under the seniors I was to do much of work: vaccinate pregnant women prescreened to be seronegative for rubella and scheduled to have a legal abortion a week or two later. The plan was to isolate rubella (vaccine) virus from the products of conception and, in fact, we succeeded in doing that.
A healthy pregnancy of a married couple was selected by Dr. Sven Gard for the abortion–the female fetus that would provide the line of cells, WI-38, for the rubella vaccine.
This vaccine developed off of aborted fetal cells is part of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. The hysteria about the measles has renewed public controversy over the MMR. Even though there is no current concern about rubella, this combination vaccine is the only one available for the measles in the U.S.
Years of research and a multitude of abortions led to the rubella portion of the vaccine. Researchers have a lot invested in this vaccine. Perhaps too much invested?
The concern about rubella was the possible effect that the virus could have on a developing fetus–effects on the heart, eyes, brain–multiple organs. There was great concern about the effect on a growing fetus.
You would expect that there would be similar concern about the possible effects of the live attenuated vaccine on a toddler. At 15 months a child’s immune system is still developing.
In 1979 the FDA approved the combined vaccine for all children based on study groups that inoculated healthy children, age 10 months to 8 years, with three different forms of the rubella vaccine. The focus was on the effectiveness of the vaccine. Children that participated in the study could not have an allergy to eggs or chicken and had to be free of a sensitivity to neomycin.
834 healthy children of various ages were given the MMR vaccine. Some of the children developed fevers and a variety of complaints. They were followed for 42 days and no more–even though some continued to have symptoms. The usual phase III of clinical trials lasts much longer.
The documentation of the studies done during a 4 month period in 1978 were obtained by RFK jr. and Del Bigtree via a FOIA request. You can access the study here.
The controversy over the MMR vaccine remains today because parents are observing side effects in their children that are not being acknowledged by the medical community.
In 1986 Congress passed a law to prevent any law suits against the pharmaceutical companies when a child was injured by a vaccine. No lawsuits, no investigation, no discovery. The only recourse that a parent has is to petition the vaccine court (which is conducted by the federal government). If a parent can supply sufficient documentation of death or disability due to the vaccine, the parents receive a payment from the government. To date the vaccine court has paid out more than 4 BILLION dollars.
Dear reader, please understand that there are legitimate spiritual and medical concerns about the MMR vaccine. In addition to adequate safety testing for pharmaceutical products, informed consent, discussion of risks and benefits of any medical procedure, and religious liberty must be part of health care.
Leiva, Rene M.D. “A Brief History of Human Diploid Cell Strains” National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 6.3 (Autumn 2006), 443-451
Vaheri, Antti; Oker-Blom, Nils; Vesikari, Timo; Seppala, Markku “Isolation of Attenuated Rubella-Vaccine Vaccine Virus from Products of Conception and Uterine Cervix” New England Journal of Medicine 286(20) 1071-4. June 1972
Vesikari, Timo “From Rubella to Rota Virus, and Beyond” Human Vaccines and Immunotherapies; 11(6): 1302-1305. June 2015
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service, Food and Drug Administration. Reference Nos 76-316, 77-303, 77-304
photo courtesy of Arek Socha at pixabay.com
Author CarolPosted on July 2, 2019 July 2, 2019 Categories Abortion, VaccinesTags Abortion, MMR, Rubella Vaccine, Vaccine SafetyLeave a comment on Is a Clinical Trial of 42 Days Enough to Establish Vaccine Safety?
Two Different Viewpoints on Faulty Vaccines
On July 27ththe Wall Street Journal published an article titled China’s Vaccine Scandal. Parents in China have led protests on behalf of their children. I read through the article noting several paragraphs.
Over the past couple of weeks parents in China have learned that a compulsory public-health program injected an unknown number of children with substandard vaccines. They are understandably furious. . . .
Chinese are particularly angry because similar cases have happened in recent years, followed by promises to crack down. In 2010 and 2013 hundreds of children were hospitalized and several died from faulty vaccines. Chinese companies have used official connections to avoid accountability for producing a range of defective products that kill and maim.
Today, July 31st, The New York Times published an article titled Angry Parents Protest in China Over Bad Vaccines for Children. The tone and conclusion of this article was a little different. Here are a few paragraphs:
The protest followed reports this month that hundreds of thousands of children across China had been injected with faulty vaccines for diptheria, tetanus and whooping cough. . . .
While the vaccines were not harmful, officials say, they left children at risk of contracting illnesses that they should have been protected against. . . .
Public officials say that the problems at the two companies [pharmaceuticals] could lead to a broader backlash against vaccines in China, where an aggressive immunization effort in recent decades has helped eliminate polio and drastically reduce the spread of other diseases.
These two articles demonstrate different perspectives on the same situation. Vaccine safety is extremely important issue. I pray that the government in the United States would look carefully at vaccine safety. The pharmaceuticals have been relieved of any liability for harm to children. Who is going to make sure that profit doesn’t become more important than the health of children?
Author CarolPosted on July 31, 2018 March 19, 2019 Categories Health, VaccinesTags Chinese Vaccines, New York Times, Vaccine Safety, Wall Street JournalLeave a comment on Two Different Viewpoints on Faulty Vaccines
Required Vaccine Safety Reports Were Not Done
Parents have differing opinions about childhood vaccines. That is okay. I am a nurse and my children received the recommended vaccines in the 1980s and 1990s. But my daughter had vaccine reactions and eventually developed fibromyalgia.
Because of my family’s experience with vaccine reactions I support informed consent and parent involvement in decisions about vaccines.
It is good to understand the history behind our current vaccination program. In 1986 the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act was passed. So many lawsuits were taking place because of vaccine injuries that pharmaceuticals were relieved of any liability. Instead the government would compensate for vaccine injuries. More than 3.7 billion dollars has been paid out through this program.
Robert F. Kennedy has spent years researching vaccines, the ingredients in vaccines and the impact on childrens’ health. He looked at the law that was passed in 1986 and realized that the law included a mandate for improved vaccine safety. The law required that the department of Health and Human Services submit reports to congress regarding the studies done and progress made for safer vaccines.
In August of 2017 a FOIA request was made for these reports. The result of the FOIA request for these reports has been made public. The reports cannot be found. It appears that they were never done.
Today the prompt for Five Minute Friday is: DONE
Author CarolPosted on July 13, 2018 March 19, 2019 Categories Health, VaccinesTags Vaccine Injury Compensation Act, Vaccine Safety1 Comment on Required Vaccine Safety Reports Were Not Done
Moms for Vaccine Safety
At the beginning of the 19th century, in the city of Chicago, the health of young children was in perilous condition. The health of both women and children needed focused attention.
In 1916, for example, Chicago’s death rate for children under 2 years of age was 141.4 per 1,000 live births, as compared with 129.3 for Detroit, 88.3 for Philadelphia, 58.1 for New York and 49.4 for Boston.
“Enteritis under 2” remained as one of the top ten causes of death reported by the Illinois state Board of health each year from 1902 to 1913, and dramatic increases in childhood diarrheal diseases continued to be identified in the hot summer months.*
Lack of proper sanitation and hygiene contributed to the illness. Malnutrition was another factor. The educated women in Chicago responded to this health crisis. Women from Hull House, the Chicago Women’s Club, women physicians and social workers became involved.
A broad coalition of public health practitioners, social welfare advocates, and women’s rights supporters argued that a sound and democratic future depended on mother’s ability to produce and maintain a robust citizenry.**
Since that time improved sanitation, indoor plumbing, purified water, pasteurization of milk and improved hygiene have made a difference. Public health classes on infant care and nutrition have benefited young mothers.
In addition, the discovery of antibiotics to treat infections has saved lives. These wonderful medicines were eventually overused. Doctors have learned that not every ear infection should be treated with antibiotics. When antibiotics are overprescribed they lose their effectiveness: bacteria become resistant and increasingly difficult to treat.
Is the same thing happening with the heavy use of vaccines? Is the immune system—intricately designed by God—being impaired by too many vaccines?
Photo by Naypong@FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Currently 1 in 68 children has been diagnosed with the autism spectrum. Children have more allergies and are being diagnosed with immune system disorders. It is shocking that research data indicating a relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism was destroyed. Click here for a news article.
The number of vaccines recommended for children by age six has dramatically increased. If you count up the doses of each type of vaccine, there are 39 to be administered by age six. Click here for the recommended vaccine schedule.
Each vaccine injection contains adjuvants. These are additions like mercury and aluminum, which stimulates the immune system to respond. What is the cumulative effect of these additives? We are concerned about mercury in the environment—and yet it is injected into the bodies of young children? Click here for an interview with Robert Kennedy Jr. regarding his research into mercury in vaccines.
Vaccines should be evaluated by their benefits and risks. Why does an infant need to receive a vaccine (hepatitis B) for a sexually transmitted disease? Click here for a school nurse’s concern about the hepatitis B vaccine.
A group of researchers, doctors and parents are working together for the robust health of children in the United States. A petition for vaccine safety is available on-line.
Click here to join the voices of many others who have concerns about vaccine safety.
*Lynne Curry, Modern Mothers in the heartland: Gender, Health and Progress in Illinois, 1900 – 1930, Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Press, 1999. p. 19.
**Ibid. p.1
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Author CarolPosted on March 7, 2017 March 8, 2017 Categories Health, Parenting, VaccinesTags International Women's Day, Vaccine Safety, White House Petition, Women's History Month4 Comments on Moms for Vaccine Safety
When You’re in the Middle You Need to Pray
Today I am joining Kate Motaung for Five Minute Friday: We write fast and free, for five minutes flat. The prompt is MIDDLE.
In the photo above my husband and I are sitting in the middle of our grandchildren. This is a wonderful place.
In our extended family we are in the middle of youth and aging. My mother is gradually drifting away as dementia progresses. This is hard. Our family is facing change.
As a nation we are in the middle, between the current administration and the next. Next week we will have a new president, but divisiveness in our country continues. We are in a period of change. How will it work out?
There is bright spot. The new administration is planning to take a careful look at the controversial issue of vaccines. As a grandmother (and nurse) I am concerned about the health of children. I am encouraged that Robert Kennedy Jr. will be leading a commission on vaccine safety. Vaccines have their place, but are children receiving too many, too soon?
You can read about my experience and concern regarding the MMR here.
In all periods of change we need to pray for wisdom, pray for our families, pray for our nation, pray for our government leaders.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6
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Author CarolPosted on January 13, 2017 March 19, 2019 Categories Family, Health, VaccinesTags A New President, Robert Kennedy Jr., Vaccine SafetyLeave a comment on When You’re in the Middle You Need to Pray
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« * Lisa Danley … Duties and difficulties of investigating and prosecuting biocrimes … “after a decade of investigation, the FBI failed to conclusively attribute the Amerithrax attacks to a perpetrator.”
* GAO: With regard to this form about the 52 rabbits posted by Dr. Ivins on October 4, 2001 in his lab notebook, the name of the other person should be disclosed; the form attached Animal Protocol B01-11 to be followed. »
* Laurie Garrett: FBI did not fully pursue evidence that might link the attacks to al-Qaida
Posted by DXer on September 22, 2012
This entry was posted on September 22, 2012 at 7:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. Tagged: *** 2001 anthrax attacks, *** Amerithrax, *** Dr. Bruce Ivins, *** FBI anthrax investigation, al Qaeda and anthrax, I Heard the Sirens Scream by Laurie Garrett, Laurie Garrett. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
138 Responses to “* Laurie Garrett: FBI did not fully pursue evidence that might link the attacks to al-Qaida”
In his e-book marketed to his contacts on Linked-In, Vahid Majidi disagrees. He says that the FBI, for example, interviewed all of the people known to have contact with Mohammed Atta and was able to exclude them as mailer. Okay, Vahid. How did you exclude Atta’s lead accomplice Adnan El-Shukrijumah — given that you didn’t know where he was and yet knew that he had come from KSM’s house to the United States sometime after September 1, 2001. And why didn’t the FBI provide the documents relating to El-Shukrijumah to the 911 Commission?
If you can’t answer that, then just sit over in the corner.
It’s 10 o’Clock — Do You Know Where Your Bubonic Plague Is?
Spilled smallpox, missing SARS, and rogue scientists with mutant H1N1. If you’re not scared, you should be.
• BY LAURIE GARRETT
• JULY 10, 2014
Of course, USAMRIID would prove to be the first lab compromised, as its Maryland facility came under scrutiny for possible culpability in the anthrax mailings of 2001. As the FBI bore down upon the Army lab, it was revealed that dozens of dangerous pathogen samples were unaccounted for; researchers were in the habit of taking samples with them as they traveled or relocated to other facilities, and record-keeping was sloppy, at best. Eventually, the FBI concluded that the mailings of anthrax were executed by a USAMRIID biologist, Bruce Ivins, who committed suicide on July 29, 2008. As I detailed in my 2011 book, I Heard the Sirens Scream, controversy continues to shroud every aspect of the FBI investigation except, perhaps, one: The fact that USAMRIID was incapable of providing reasonable biosecurity.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/07/10/it_s_10_o_clock_do_you_know_where_your_bubonic_plague_is_smallpox
I was at a book sale once and a customer highly praised Laurie Garrett’s book on plague. She is a very well-regarded, award-winning public health writer.
But I also am a big fan of the scientists at USAMRIID who stood tall in defense of Bruce Ivins when it might have been easier for them to shy away from the matter.
In 1997 and 1998, folks were just getting used to the new CDC regulation relating to transfer of Ames — and transfers of Ames within RIID to other researchers, as Bruce explained, were never recorded.
We all should be slow not to appreciate the difficulty of inventory control in the case of pathogens where even a smidgeon surreptitiously taken can then be grown.
The FBI’s 4 morph analysis — based as it was on an illusory process of elimination starting with up to 300 (and not merely 100) — and that was just at USAMRIID — was always a crock.
Report on the Potential Exposure to Anthrax Centers for Disease Control Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/integrity/docs/Final_Anthrax_Report.pdf
—A laboratory scientist in BCFB laboratory noticed small flakes of material on the MALDI-TOF plate and took it to a chemical hood in that room and used a nitrogen air stream to blow off the flakes. This is regarded as a potential for aerosolization of the material.
—Preparation of the MALDI-TOF plate included vortexing the extract material, which is a potential for aerosolization of the material. he vortexing is high-powered spinning of the liquid to prepare for further testing.
Dr. Vahid Majidi dismisses the opinion of this leading, Pulitzer Prize-winning health journalist. Heck, she must believe that the moon landing was fake, right? It couldn’t be that the gaps in evidence are so huge that people aren’t persuaded. It couldn’t be that he has — in black and white pages of his book — proved he is clueless about the dating analysis that was done by 2002.
The FBI should disclose to GAO the documents and the FBI’s findings relating to Shukrijumah’s before and after 9/11.
Florida Terror Mom: My Son a ‘Good Boy’; ‘A Force for Good’
Mother of Adnan Shukrijumah Says al Qaeda Only Trying to ‘Wake Up’ US with Attacks
By VIC WALTER and BRIAN ROSS
The Florida mother of one of the FBI’s most wanted terrorists, Adnan Shukrijumah, says her son is a “good boy” and that al Qaeda attacks are justified as a “wake-up” to America for its failure to respect God.
“Is okay for anybody to do something to wake up a nation or a person when they see them go wrong,” Zurah Adbu Ahmed told ABC News.
“The intention is to alarm America,” she said, “to recognize that America has forgot about God Almighty and he is the one in rule and control.”
US law enforcement and intelligence officials say her 35-year old son fled his Broward County, Florida home one month before the 2001 terror attacks and has since emerged in Pakistan as a top commander for al Qaeda.
The United States has posted a $5 million reward for information on his whereabouts and he was recently added to the FBI’s most wanted terror list.
Shukrijumah’s mother said she is not bothered if her son is part of al Qaeda because it is a “force for good.”
In July, Shukrijumah was indicted by a federal grand jury in New York for his alleged role in “a terrorist plot against New York city’s subway system” and other targets in the US and the United Kingdom.
US officials said Shukrijumah met with Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad in Pakistan and other “Western operatives.”
Shukrijumah’s mother, 49, who still lives in the Broward County city of Miramar, says she has not seen or heard from her son since he left the United States but is confident he is being falsely accused by the FBI.
“They want to do mischief in the land and they stick it on my son,” she said.
Says US Was Behind 9/11 Attacks
She said her son was born in Saudi Arabia and grew up there before the family moved to Florida in 1996, when Adnan was 21.
He attended a community college in Broward County but became upset with the way women dressed, his mother said.
“He said, ‘The woman’s body is something very treasureable. You’re not supposed to let it open so anybody and everybody could look to it.'”
In 2001, several of the 9/11 hijackers attended a Broward County mosque run by her now-deceased husband, according to US law enforcement officials. Her son Adnan was reported to have spent time with hijack team leader Mohammed Atta prior to the attack.
Mrs. Abdu Ahmed disputes any connection with her son and, in fact, denies al Qaeda was behind the 9/11 attacks.
“I think the USA itself did it,” she told ABC News.
She said she wants to tell fellow Muslims and others in her community to stand up for al Qaeda.
“You should not believe that al Qaeda or my son is a terrorist. This is something to scare you and make you hide under the table.”
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/terror-mom-son-good-boy-force-good/story?id=11601852&page=1
With each message, Zawahiri reminds us that he is not a moral person. In urging the kidnapping of innocents, he brings great shame to his sister, Heba, the microbiology professor, and his mother.
First Published: 2012-10-27
Zawahiri: Egyptian government corrupt, pro-American
Qaeda leader urges Egyptians to restart their revolution to press for Islamic law, calls on Muslims to kidnap Westerners.
Middle East Online
Zawahiri said liberating Omar Abdul Rahman, an Egyptian cleric jailed in the United States for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center attack, and inmates at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay was an “obligatory duty for every Muslim.”
Comment: I have long argued that this relates strongly to the motive in the anthrax mailings.
The extradition of Egyptian islamists has been one motive for Zawahiri’s crimes over the past quarter-century. In 1993, Abdel Sattar was 33. The US Post Office employee was a member of the board at Abu Bakr mosque in Brooklyn. He was already a close associate of Abdel-Rahman. In talking to a Washington Post reporter, he took a zigzag ride to a place chosen at random at the last minute. He explained that bad things likely would happen if the blind sheik was not released. In December 1994, Algerian Islamic militants seized control of an Air France jetliner in Algiers in an unsuccessful bid to crash it into Eiffel Tower on Christmas Day. The hijackers demanded the release of the blind sheik.
The United States State Department, on its webpage, explains that the Egyptian Islamic Jihad “[h]as threatened to retaliate against the United States for its incarceration of Shaykh Umar Abd al-Rahman and, more recently, for the arrests of its members in Albania, Azerbaijan, and the United Kingdom.” As one informant would later testify, Al Qaeda leadership, then in Khartoum, Sudan, found the blind sheikh’s arrest “very sad and.. very bad.” They concluded they had “to do something.. They talk about what we have to do against America.”
Blind sheik Abdel-Rahman spoke to Mary Anne Weaver, author of the seminal A Portrait of Egypt: A Journey Through the World of Militant Islam in the mid-1990s. Abdel-Rahman first went to Peshawar in 1985. He left from Peshawar for a trip into Afghanistan after being released after three years in an Egyptian prison after Sadat’s assassination. He settled into the back seat of the U.S.-supplied camouflaged truck shortly after prayers, helped into a flak jacket by his friend, Afghan resistance leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Hekmatyar was receiving half of the CIA’s financial support even though he was one of the most anti-US leaders in the resistance against Soviet occupation. Mary Anne Weaver wrote in The Atlantic Monthly in 1996: “They had much in common: both were exceedingly charismatic religious populists; both had committed their lives to jihad, or Islamic holy war; both were fiery orators. They were both given to elliptical, colorful turns of phrase, and their shared message was clear: the imperative to overthrow a secular government — whether in Afghanistan or Egypt — and establish an Islamic state.” Weaver recounts that joining them in the truck was Mohammed Islambouli, the brother of Sadat’s assassin. The 60 CIA and special forces officers in Peshawar considered Abdel-Rahman an asset. In preaching jihad, Abdel-Rahman travelled to Islamic centers in Germany, England, Turkey, and the United States.
Weaver explained that Sheikh Omar’s closest friend in Peshawar was Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, a highly respected Palestinian. He was killed by a car bomb in 1989. Azzam established the Service Office, which he led until November of 1989, which like its sister office at the Alkifah Refugee Center, on Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue, recruited Arab volunteers. Islambouli headed the office after Azzam’s death. Mohammed Islambouli had been a student of Sheikh Omar’s at the Upper Egyptian University of Asyut. WTC 1993 prosecutor McCarthy explained in a 2008 book: “In Peshawar, both in 1985 and several times thereafter, Abdel Rahman would enjoy the august company of his former student Mohammed Shawky al-Islambouli, a fixture there. A rising jihadist star in his own right, Shawky’s prominence owed much to his mythogenic brother…”
By the time Weaver wrote her article for the Atlantic Monthly, Mohammed Islambouli had joined a cell with KSM in planning the aircraft and other attacks on the US and was with him in Doha, Qatar.
In December 1995, the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad was attacked by a devastating car bomb following threats from militant Egyptian Islamist groups who demanded that the government of Pakistan stop extraditing their members who had stayed in Peshawar when the war came to an end. The groups also demanded that the United States release Sheikh Abdel-Rahman who had been imprisoned in connection with a plot to blow up New York City landmarks.
In a booklet written by al Zawahiri, distributed among his colleagues in Pakistan and Afghanistan, al Zawahiri discussed the reasons that led to Egyptian Islamic Jihad to blow up the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad. He criticized all branches of the Egyptian government from the Minister of Information, to the army and police forces, the justice system, the public prosecutor’s office, and the religious scholars. But his harshest criticism was directed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was responsible for pursuing jihad members abroad and kidnapping and extraditing them. In September 2000, in an interview with an Arabic-language television station, Usama Bin Laden called for a “jihad” to release the “brothers” in jail “everywhere.” In the book he wrote at the time of the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings, he explained that the reason for the attack on the Egyptian embassy in Pakistan in 1995 was because Egypt had been extraditing fundamentalists from Pakistan. When surveillance of the US embassy showed that it was perhaps too difficult a target, the Egyptian embassy was targeted as a symbol. Zawahiri wrote in the Fall 2001 that : “It left the embassy ruined as an eloquent and clear message.”
An FBI 302 memo dated December 30, 1996 relating to intelligence gathered from the jailed WTC 1993 plotter Ramzi Yousef — the one associated with the subtilis expert in 1993 by telephone records — reflected the same warning of a hijack-of-an-aircraft-to-free-the-blind sheik plot.
Bin Laden’s 1996 declaration of war on the United States complained of the arrests of Sheik al-Hawali and another colleague. In an interview, Bin Laden conducted with CNN’s Peter Arnett in 1997, Bin Laden told Arnett: “When the Saudi government transgressed in oppressing all voices of the scholars and the voices of those who call for Islam. I found myself forced, especially after the government prevented Sheikh Safar Al-Hawali and some other scholars, to carry out a small part of my duty of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.” The views of these two sheiks were promoted by the US-based charity, Islamic Assembly of North America (“IANA”).
In a public relations debacle for the islamists, on or about November 17, 1997, six terrorists shot and stabbed a group of tourists visiting an archaeological site in Luxor, Egypt. Fifty-eight tourists were killed along with four Egyptians. The terrorists left leaflets explaining their support for the Islamic Group and calling for the blind sheik’s release. The torso of one was slit and a leaflet inserted: “No to tourists in Egypt.” It was signed “Omar Abdul Rahman’s Squadron of Havoc and Destruction — the Gama’a al-Islamiya, the Islamic Group.” Intelligence concluded that Bin Laden had financed the operation and that Luxor was ordered by Egyptian Islamic Group military commander Mustafa Hamza.
Dale Watts, Chief of the FBI’s International Terrorism Section, explained in a 1998 Statement Before the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee: “There is an indication that the November 1997 attack on foreign tourists in Luxor, Egypt, was apparently an example of this type of interwoven violence. The ambush appears to have been carried out in an attempt to pressure the United States into releasing Sheik Rahman, who is serving a life sentence in federal prison for his part in planning attacks against the president of Egypt and several sites in New York City. ”
In 1998, the blind sheik issued a fatwa directing that Americans be killed to avenge his imprisonment. During the trial relating to bombing the U.S. embassies in Africa, one witness testified that Abdel Rahman smuggled a flier from prison calling on Muslims to avenge indignities he sustained as a prisoner. “Oh people, oh men of Allah, rise up from your deep slumber. .. Rise up and see justice done,” the sheik wrote in a letter smuggled out of prison.
Zawahiri gave the same motivation for the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa. In 1998, the “Information Office of the Jihad Group in Egypt” issued a statement — a copy of which was received by Al-Hayat — entitled “About the extradition of three of our brothers.” It said that “the US government, in coordination with the Egyptian government, arrested three of our brothers in some East European states.” The statement said: “The accusation leveled at our three brothers was participation in a group declaring jihad against the United States and Israel and their trade, and cooperation with the mujahidin in Kosovo outside US influence.” It continued: “We are interested in briefly telling the Americans that their message has been received and that the response, which we hope they will read carefully, is being [prepared], because we — with God’s help — will write it in the language that they understand.”
Three days later, 220 people at the embassies, mostly Africans, were killed. Zawahiri deemed many were working on intelligence matters against islamists in the region. In response to a retaliatory cruise missile strike after the embassy bombings, Zawahiri told a Pakistan journalist by satellite phone that “The war has only just begun.” The phone had been bought by a charity worker in Columbia, Missouri who later lived with the father of the leader of the Virginia Paintball defendants Royer.
In the Spring and Fall of 1999, the Blind Sheik’s assistant, Sattar, was in telephone communication with Deputy Military Commander Mustafa Hamza, the blind sheik’s successor Taha, Yassir al-Sirri, and al-Zayat. They spoke on conference calls about the blind sheikh’s withdrawal of his support for the cease fire. Although suspecting his phone was wiretapped, Post Office employee Sattar continued to talk vaguely in code about these issues with these people, all of whom were closely connected to al-Zawahiri. This was the period Zawahiri moved forward his anthrax planning and there was a public dialogue between Bin Laden and a London cleric’s call for a holy biowar.
On September 21, 2000, an Arabic television station, Al Jazeera, televised an interview with Osama Bin Laden, Ayman Zawahiri, and Islamic leader Abu Yasser (of the Islamic Group and Al Qaeda), and Mohammed Abdel Rahman (the blind sheik’s son), during which they pledged jihad to free Abdel Rahman. They urged that his followers avenge the “insult” paid him by his imprisonment for conspiracy to commit murder. Bin Laden vowed “to work with all our power to free our brother, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, and all our prisoners in America, Egypt, and Riyadh. Bin Laden told his followers to remember Nosair, the man who assassinated Rabbi Kahane. In an audio overlay, Mohammed was heard saying “avenge your sheik” and “go to the spilling of blood.”
When Abdel-Rahman visited Peshawar in the late 1980s and early 1990s Abdel-Rahman stayed in a large house outside of Peshawar with Mohammed Islambouli and Zawahiri. Al-Timimi would speak alongside Abdel-Rahman’s son at IANA conferences in 1993 and 1996. Alarm bells should have gone off when Al-Timimi in the late 1990s first started walking down the hallways with famed Russian bioweaponeer and former USAMRIID head Charles Bailey. There is no indication that they did. Indeed, Ali Al-TImimi received a letter of commendation from the White House for his classified work in 1999 for the Navy while at SRA with Charles Bailey, the former USAMRIID acting commander.
Zawahiri wrote in Knights Under the Banner of the Prophet published at the time of the second anthrax mailing that he agreed with the supporter of the “blind sheik” who said: “the Egyptian Government is guilty of a major shortcoming by not intervening to safeguard the shaykh, guarantee his humanitarian rights inside the US jail, and find a solution to his case because, in the final count, he is an Egyptian national, a Muslim scholar, and a professor at Al-Azhar university. Finally he is a blind and sick old man. His continued detention and the inhuman way in which he is treated will continue to be a source of tension on all levels.
The ruling shura (council) of Egyptian Islamic Jihad in the mid-1990s had 14 members, including three in London. Two of those three, Adel Abdel Bari and Ibrahim Eidarous, at the time of the anthrax mailings, were the ones who had announced that the 1998 embassy bombings were in retaliation for the detention of the blind sheik and Sheik al-Hawali. They were in Belmarsh prison fighting extradition to the United States for alleged involvement in the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. Ahmed and Mohammed Abdel-Rahman, two of the Egyptian sheikh’s 13 children, were named as co-conspirators in the September 11 attacks.
In late May 2000, Post Office employee Sattar had telephone conversations with Islamic Group leaders in which he explained that Abdel Rahman (1) did not object to a return to “work” (terrorist operations); (2) agreed that the IG should escalate the issues in the media; (3) advised the IG to avoid division within the IG’s leadership; and (4) instructed the IG to hint at military operation even if the group was not ready for military action.
On October 4, 2000, US Postal employee Sattar called the Vanguards of Conquest publicist in London, Al-Sirri, and read to him a fatwa to be issued under Abdel Rahman’s name entitled, “Fatwah the Killing of Israelis Everywhere,” which Al-Sirri agreed to distribute. The next day, the fatwa appeared on a web-site operated by Al-Sirri.
On or about November 21, 2000, Al Jazeera featured a meeting of Bin Laden, Zawahiri and Taha under a banner that read “Convention to Support Honorable Omar Abdel Rahman. The three pleaded “jihad to free Abdel Rahman from incarceration in the United States. Mohammed Abdel Rahman, the blind sheik’s son, was heard urging others to “avenge your Sheikh” and “go to the spilling of blood.” But the blind sheik’s plight was also of concern to alleged Al Qaeda operatives in the US.
Members of an alleged Detroit, Michigan terror cell had an angry conversation in June 2001 about Abdel Rahman’s imprisonment. Similarly, the Government’s Indictment of the Buffalo defendants explained that one of the reasons motivating the terrorists actions was that “al Qaeda opposed the United States Government because of the arrest, conviction and imprisonment of persons belonging to Al Qaeda or its affiliated terrorist groups or those with whom it worked.”
IANA writer Kamal Habib, the founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, was in charge of the “National Campaign to Release Detainees.” It perhaps was inevitable that IANA would be caught in the crossfire just as was Abdel-Rahman’s attorney Lynne Stewart. Al Al-TImimi had been on the board for the publication in Pittsburgh for which Kamal Habib had written.
As a source, the August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief titled “Bin Laden Determined to Attack in the U.S.” mentions “a senior EIJ member” living in California. The reference is to former US sergeant Ali Mohammed, Ayman Zawahiri’s head of intelligence. The references in the PDB to the threat of aircraft hijacking in an attempt to free blind sheik Abdel-Rahman were perhaps underscored a month later when, the week before 9/11, the Taliban government offered to exchange eight Christian missionaries in exchange for Sheik Abdel-Rahman. Whether viewed as blackmail or retaliation, the detention of the blind sheikh and numerous other detainees in custody prior to 9/11 figured as an important part of the motive for all the terrorist attacks by the Salafist-Jihadis for years leading up to the anthrax mailings.
Zawahiri should have realized long ago that his immoral crimes relating to the detention of Abdel-Rahman have been precisely been reason that the blind sheik could not be released. He seems to be using the issue only for PR purposes given that his actions have the opposite effect.
In April 2005, Moussaoui confessed to a plot to fly a 747 into the White House if the United States government refused to free the blind sheikh. Bin Laden had considered hijacking a plane in an attempt to flee the blind sheikh but determined it was impractical.
In the Amerithrax Third Squad’s testing of the theory that a supporter of the Salafist-Jihadis mailed the anthrax, concern for detention of blind sheik Abdel-Rahman should have been a major factor. Instead, new investigators cobbled together a complicated, nebulous theory of motivation based on subsidiary items that misrepresented the evidence — such as incorrectly identifying the letters that were double-lined. A forensic report not yet disclosed using magnification at 200X or 400X would have shown that a letter necessary to their imagined code was not in fact double-lined. By simply focusing on a scientific issue as simple as examination of handwriting under 400X magnification, the GAO could expose the FBI’s complicated and ever-changing theory as to motivation to be mistaken.
Inference as to motivation is most reliably inferred based on the express statements of an individual as to his motivation. Here, the psychiatrists relied on — as their central witness — his counselor for a few sessions in July 2000 who imagined herself controlled by an alien who had implanted a microchip in her butt and gave her instructions each night.
In my opinion, Amerithrax is the greatest failure in the history of intelligence analysis. It will be the legacy of all these United States officials who have continued to stand in the way of a sounder analysis.
FBI officials seem mainly focused on moving on to higher paying jobs in the private sector.
Whether paintings or people, giving into the demands of extortionists only leads to more thefts and kidnappings.
BROOKINGS –
Opinion | October 25, 2012
No Transfer for the Blind Sheik
In last month’s Wall Street Journal, Michael Mukasey — the last of President George W. Bush’s three attorneys general, and, before that, a federal judge — wondered ominously:
Are senior Obama administration officials considering transferring to Egypt a poisonously influential Islamist cleric serving a life term in federal prison for trying to unleash a war of urban terrorism in the United States? That’s the impression several officials have given over the past three months, apparently out of fear that if the cleric dies in U.S. custody, American outposts in the Middle East could be overrun by vengeful mobs.
The Islamist in question is Omar Abdel Rahman, or the “Blind Sheik,” as he is better known. As a district judge, Mukasey presided over the latter’s trial, and imposed a life sentence for the Blind Sheik’s role in a conspiracy that included, among other things, the murder of a conservative New York rabbi and the World Trade Center bombing.
Lifetime incarceration has not diminished the Blind Sheik’s status among Islamists. As Mukasey notes, while in jail, the Sheik issued a fatwa that bin Laden later cited as justification for the 9/11 attacks. He still has backers in his U.S.-designated terrorist group, Gama al Islamiyah, and Egypt’s new President, Mohammed Morsi, also reportedly has called for the Sheik’s release. But contrary to speculation by Mukasey and others, all this suggests that Rahman won’t be leaving his federal pen in North Carolina. Another reason is that the Secretary of State has denied any talk or consideration of a transfer. Ditto spokespeople for the Justice Department and the National Security Council.
Skeptics like Mukasey are not persuaded. They note, for example, that one member of Gama al Islamiyah – who now is a member of Egypt’s parliament – was allowed to travel to the White House and urge the Sheik’s transfer. That seems to worry Andrew McCarthy, the man who prosecuted the Blind Sheik. In a column last week for the National Review, McCarthy batted away the Administration’s denials, and hinted that our feckless White House nevertheless might arrange for a handoff, sometime between election day and the next Administration’s swearing in.
So neither the Blind Sheik’s sordid biography nor White House denials are enough to discredit the rumors of an ill-advised transfer? Then here is another, more fundamental reason to credit the Administration’s position, and to dismiss alarmist claims by McCarthy, Mukasey, and their ilk: the law. Close your eyes and try to imagine for a moment that, in an election year, the president has opened up backchannel talks with the Egyptian government. Assume further that these are not diplomatic dangles, and that the President truly wishes to whisk the Blind Sheik away, immediately after votes have been tallied in November. How can he do that, exactly?
Certainly not through the Department of Justice’s international prisoner transfer program. Federal statutes authorize the attorney general to transfer federal prisoners to foreign jails, provided that a transfer treaty has been concluded between the United States and the receiving state. (Different rules apply to wartime detainees, like the men held at Guantanamo, but the Blind Sheik doesn’t fall into that category.) But no U.S-Egypt transfer treaty exists, and Egypt is not party to either of the two major multilateral transfer agreements which the United States has signed. Thus, if he wishes to adhere to longstanding practice, President Obama first would have to negotiate a treaty with Egypt; persuade two thirds of the Senate to bless the deal; and then ship the Islamist preacher off to live out his days in an Egyptian prison. That is a nonstarter for obvious reasons.
Could the White House avoid the usual regime for international transfers—that is, by claiming the unilateral power to relocate the Blind Sheik, notwithstanding the absence of a treaty or authorizing legislation? Maybe, though the President’s authority here is unsettled. The executive branch has discretion over where prisoners may be held, but that doesn’t obviously include the discretion to move a convict from a domestic jail to a foreign one. And in any case, a unilateral transfer would mean gutting a longstanding policy for the sake of an especially noxious jihadist, and justifying the departure to a skeptical public and an equally skeptical Congress.
That brings us to the president’s authority to issue pardons and to commute sentences. Though legally unbounded, the power’s exercise is subject to severe political constraints, of which this Administration is acutely aware. And suffice it to say that the politics of pardoning a convicted terrorist, upon the request of an Islamist radical, and in the name of placating Islamists abroad, are really, really bad – bad enough to make any president balk.
But that’s only if we accept the premise behind Mukasey’s and McCarthy’s claims – that an irresponsible transfer could happen any day now, our national security be damned. Again, there are good reasons to doubt that premise. And when we consider the legal rules – which Mukasey and McCarty must know well, given their prior jobs – the truth seems pretty clear: the premise is false.
The Blind Sheik, a duly convicted prisoner and member of a far-reaching terrorist conspiracy, isn’t going anywhere.
Al Qaeda Leader Calling for Kidnappings to Secure Blind Sheik’s Release
By Elizabeth Murphy | October 31, 2012 2:27 pm
http://www.mainjustice.com/2012/10/31/al-qaeda-leader-calling-for-kidnappings-to-secure-blind-sheiks-release/
Ayman al-Zawahiri appears in the two-hour video posted on several jihadist websites, saying the kidnappings are necessary so as not to “spare any efforts” to free the cleric, who was an ally of Osama bin Laden and whose followers were convicted in the 1993 attempted bombing of the World Trade Center.
The Barack Obama administration and the Justice Department recently refuted speculation that they were considering transferring the convicted cleric to Egypt to appease new President Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who called for his release. The cleric “will serve the rest of his life in prison,” a joint DOJ-State Department letter to eight GOP lawmakers recently said.
The manual I cited in the past states: “Write a letter to the victim mentioning very exciting and very interesting news,” it reads. “Wipe the envelope from the inside with silicone sealant,” it goes on, “so it would not kill the mailman.”
Kurt spends 4 pages of the densely packed discussion of the Manchester Manual in the endnotes in support of his point that Cheney’s statement was mistaken. His argument, however, is a straw man argument — Cheney’s statement, as phrased, is 100% correct and would refer to Volume 11 of the Encyclopedia of Afghanistan Resistance.
A new volumes, number 11, was devoted solely to chem-bio and it was that volume 11 of the Encyclopedia Resistance that gave the instruction on poisonous letters and instructed that the inside of the envelope be covered with a silicone sealant to avoid killing the mailman.
CNN.com – Transcripts
It turns out that the Al Qaeda terrorists already have a dreadful recipe book on … “Wipe the envelope from the inside with silicone sealant,” it goes on, …
www-cgi.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0111/15/ltm.01.html
Target: Terrorism: Look at Al Qaeda’s Dreadful Recipe Book
Aired November 15, 2001 – 09:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Just this morning comes word that Taliban leader Mullah Mohamed Omar in an interview with the BBC said a plan is already under way to destroy America. It turns out that the Al Qaeda terrorists already have a dreadful recipe book on how to do just that.
Chapter and verse now on this exclusive report from Mike Boettcher.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The extent of Al-Qaeda’s operational knowledge was once contained in these, the never before seen 10-volume Encyclopedia of Afghan Resistance, which the intelligence service of an anti-terrorism coalition partner allowed CNN to videotape.
In the foreword to each volume this: “To the beloved brother Osama bin Laden, who fought in Afghanistan with his should and his money, who still resists there and presses forward with the Jihad until now.” Inside platitudes give way to precise instruction in a variety of lethal techniques. “Killings from Close Range” the title of one, with a section on ambushes, complete with diagrams. Another volume is called “bomb and land mines.” The explosive volume contains directions on how to set detonators into blocks of TNT and plastic explosive.
(on camera): Since the mid 1990s, the Encyclopedia of Jihad has been the guidebook for Al Qaeda operations.
But now CNN has learned a new and even more frightening volume has been added to the collection. The recently publish 11th book in the collection, distributed on CD-ROMs to Al Qaeda cells, is a how-to manual on chemical and biological terrorism. CNN was permitted by an intelligence agency that intercepting the volume to inspect the entire almost 500-page document, and was given three chapters of the manual, in order to prove it’s existence.
It is currently analyzed by Western intelligence agencies. It’s not known how many copies of the CD were produced. Precise, deadly formulas packed with new volume. All can be made from ingredients readily available to the public. For example, a chapter entitle “Purifying Manure” describes a clear-cut goal — quote — “To acquire pure forms of ammonium nitrate without any foreign substances in order to prepare RDX,” a powerful explosive compound.
The poisonous letter is the title of one section … Write a letter to the victim mentioning very exciting and very interesting news,” it reads. “Wipe the envelope from the inside with silicone sealant,” it goes on, “so it would not kill the mailman.”
In the chapter called “Science of Explosives,” precise chemical formulas are followed by step-by-step instructions in the manufacture of lethal weapons of mass destruction.
Biological warfare sections of the new volume give exact formulas for the production of deadly toxins botulinum and ricin. But there was no evidence of instructions on how to make or distribute anthrax.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOETTCHER: Have they been utilizing the formulas, well, coalition sources tell CNN that within the past two years, at least six complete laboratories that could be used to make chemical or biological weapons have been purchased by Al Qaeda. Half of them sent from the United Arab Emirates, and the other half from the Ukraine, and the most recent three purchases were made earlier this year — Paula.
ZAHN: Mike, how long the U.S. government been aware of the existence of these manuals?
BOETTCHER: Well the Encyclopedia of Afghan Resistance, or sometimes it referred to as the Encyclopedia of Jihad, has been around for quite a few years, and it’s been held in the vaults of intelligence services. It’s a complete how-to manual, contains a lot of various things, as you saw there, also first aid. But as they have progressed in their knowledge, they have come out with specific new volumes, and this number 11 devoted solely to chem-bio.
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/central/11/14/chemical.bio/
Evidence suggests al Qaeda pursuit of biological, chemical weapons
November 14, 2001 Posted: 11:58 p.m. EST (0458 GMT)
From Mike Boettcher
(CNN) — Coalition intelligence agencies say they have discovered evidence of transactions involving sophisticated laboratory equipment, along with a new bioterrorism manual distributed to cells of the al Qaeda terrorist network.
The extent of al Qaeda’s operational knowledge was once contained in the 10-volume Encyclopedia of Afghan Resistance, which has been the template for actual and planned terrorism attacks against a variety of targets worldwide. (View pages from the manuals)
Also drawing scrutiny is a camp outside Jalalabad, Afghanistan, that coalition intelligence sources tell CNN was bin Laden’s main chemical and biological training facility.
Called abu-Khabab after the Egyptian chemical-biological weapons expert who directed it, the camp is one of seven that spies have been monitoring that once formed the heart of al Qaeda’s terrorist training.
After September 11, large trucks were seen coming and going from the complex and were presumed to be moving equipment to new, unknown locations, CNN has learned. The camps are now believed to be mostly abandoned.
CNN has been told al Qaeda does have new equipment to work with: at least six new laboratories that could be used to make chemical and biological weapons, according to a coalition intelligence agency.
That agency said that three labs were purchased earlier this year by the Wafa Humanitarian Organization, whose U.S. assets were frozen after the government included it among several groups it identified as supporters of terrorism.
The laboratory equipment was shipped from the United Arab Emirates to Afghanistan, according to the coalition intelligence agency.
A second al Qaeda acquisition of sophisticated scientific equipment took place in 1999, according to the same sources. In that transaction, three labs were purchased from the Ukraine and sent to Afghanistan, the sources said.
Still other evidence comes from a 1999 boast by a terrorism suspect alleged to be a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, a radical group with links to Bin Laden’s al Qaeda network. Jihad was responsible for the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
On April 19, 1999, in a chaotic Egyptian courtroom, Ahmed Salamah Mabrouk spoke before his sentencing hearing to Egyptian reporter Mohammed Salah, considered to be his country’s top al Qaeda expert.
Through a caged-in section of the courtroom where defendants are kept, Mabrouk — who was charged in a terrorism conspiracy — admitted al Qaeda’s success in obtaining chemical and biological weapons.
“He told me that Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri have access to chemical and biological weapons,” Salah said.
Although Mabrouk didn’t specify what those weapons were, he said they came from countries in Eastern Europe, Salah said.
“He also said that these chemical and biological weapons are already in the possession of some of the members of the organization, but (bin Laden lieutenant Ayman Al-Zawahiri) and bin Laden issued strict orders that they’ll never be used except in extreme emergency situations,” he said.
Comment: Note that Mabruk, al-Najjar and Montasser Al-Zayat expressly said that Dr. Ayman was going to use anthrax — to retaliate for the rendering of senior Egyptian Islamic Jihad leaders.
Thus, Kurt’s mistake on this — although a 4 page digression in his book limited to discussing only the “Manchester Manual” — goes to the heart of the failure in intelligence analysis relating to the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings.
Franklin County marshals forces for anthrax drill
By DENISE RAYMO
Press-Republican
ST. REGIS FALLS — Minor computer glitches were all that slowed a anthrax-exposure drill Friday that tested the preparedness of Franklin County Public Health staff.
The state plans to evaluate how well counties have benefited from state-issued disaster-preparedness funding provided following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x1684126400/Franklin-County-marshals-forces-for-anthrax-drill
Comment: That’s an amazing amount of money in rural areas wasted on anthrax drills when it would have cost just one dollar to copy the pages showing that Dr. Ivins was doing the scheduled research that involved killing the 52 rabbits on those nights.
Mass Vaccination Drill in Rochester [MN]
(ABC 6 NEWS) — Events like Hurricane Sandy often leave large amounts of people needing help. So Thursday, hundreds filled RCTC’s Field House to prepare for a mass vaccination.
“We’re using a scenario where there was an anthrax exposure,” said Pete Giesen, with Olmsted County Public Health.
More than a thousand employees from Olmsted, Wabasha, and Filmore counties were bussed in to participate in the simulation.
First, the participants would fill out paperwork, then receive a bottle of antibiotics, and get a vaccination.
And since Thursday was just practice, the pill bottles were filled with candy. The vaccines were flu shots.
http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S2820565.shtml?cat=10219
Here is the full-text of the earlier (from June 2012, I think)
“Have We ‘Met the Enemy’ “? in Science by David A. Relman. He was the Vice-Chairman of the NAS panel reviewing the FBI’s science.
http://211.144.68.84:9998/91keshi/Public/File/41/335-6068/pdf/540.full.pdf
http://www.omicsonline.org/2157-2526/2157-2526-3-114.php?aid=7657
A Mathematical Model of Bioterrorist Attack Risk Assessment
Radosavljevic Vladan1,2, Belojevic Goran3 and Jovanovic Larisa4*
1Headquarters of The Serbian Medical Corps, Serbia
2Military Academy, Belgrade, Serbia
3Institute of Hygiene and Medical Ecology, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia
4University Alfa, Belgrade, Serbia
*Corresponding author: Jovanovic Larisa, PhD
University ALFA, Palmira Toljatija 3, Belgrade, Serbia
Received April 17, 2011; Accepted July 10, 2012; Published July 16, 2012
The model is applied on the US anthrax attack in 2001. Mathematical modeling is also proposed to express the risk of human losses in a bioterrorist attack. The model may be helpful in predicting and preventing bioterrorist attacks.
This paper presents a mathematical model of BTRA that includes vulnerability analysis of targets and feasibility analysis of perpetrators, agents and means/media of delivery. It is also used to express the risk of human losses in a bioterrorist attack. The model may helpful in predicting and preventing BAs.
Comment: Let’s instead get back to 2 + 2.
From National Academies Press (2012):
Propositioning Antiobiotics for Anthrax Attack
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=5se2LwvTdK8C&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=anthrax+Qaeda&ots=MtX6eVOkrL&sig=AqoVDMMYrPu6sfrIlOlp6Fg2Lyc#v=onepage&q=anthrax%20Qaeda&f=false
The YouTube video above is a trailer to the new Ben Affleck movie about the CIA’s effort to craft a reality to accomplish the mission.
Has that been done in Amerithrax?
If so, does the CIA think any of the targets have been fooled by the Ivins fairy-tale? Why?
From Fall 2001 onward, wouldn’t any US-based targets of surveillance have been so hard to be impenetrable? With people like Sufaat and Rauf Ahmad key opportunities to push the door open in a highly compartmentalized operation? How can Director Mueller claim that he did all he could in March 2002 when he went to Malaysia to gain access to Sufaat given that the funds continued to flow to Malaysia and yet the FBI did not even obtain its interview until November 2002? With any country, absent cooperation, shouldn’t the appropriations spigot be turned off?
Wouldn’t any deception solely serve the purpose of CYA relating to the death of a USAMRIID scientist and the various egregious conflicts of interest that were allowed to continue?
The Senate report asks the question: To what extent have the local fusion centers (and their undercover informants) been part of the problem rather than part of the solution? To what extent have they actually undermined effective counterterrorism efforts through shoddy intelligence analysis? To what extent have they violated First Amendment rights? I don’t know the answer and don’t have a view on the question overall. In fact, I don’t know where the line is drawn between work done exclusively by the Amerithrax Task Force and the work done by the local fusion centers. (My sense is that the Task Force kept its insights and opinions very closely held). I only have the opinion that the analysis in Amerithrax was shoddy (e.g., to not interview Yazid Sufaat prior to November 2002 and to not know of his involvement in Al Qaeda’s anthrax program; to not obtain the 16 pages until March 2005; to rely on a key witness, Judith McLean, who received her instructions from an alien each night who had implanted a microchip in her butt; and to intentionally and misleadingly omit all mention of the 52 rabbits as the reason Dr. Ivins had to be in the lab those nights etc.)
An action under Section 1983 for damages, both compensatory and punitive, lies for violation of the rights guaranteed under the First Amendment.*/
*/ The right to petition the government is separate from the right of free expression.
Copyright (c) 1986 University of Cincinnati Law Review.
54 U. Cin. L. Rev. 1153
LENGTH: 21021 words
ARTICLE: “SHALL MAKE NO LAW ABRIDGING . . .”: AN ANALYSIS OF THE NEGLECTED, BUT
NEARLY ABSOLUTE, RIGHT OF PETITION
NAME: Norman B. Smith *
* LL.B., Harvard Law School, 1965; Senior Partner, Smith, Patterson, Follin,
Curtis, James & Harkary. Research and editorial assistance of Theresa M.
Munson, student of the Vermont Law School, is gratefully acknowledged.
LEXISNEXIS SUMMARY:
… The right of petitioning is an ancient right. … Under the Petition of
Right, parliament used petitioning to gain popular rights from the king. …
Part VI traces the development of the petition clause in the first amendment and
discusses the popular reaction to the suppression of petitioning, speech, and
press rights under the Sedition law. … … In our
representative democracy with universal adult suffrage and constitutional
guarantees of free speech and press, the separate and vital right of petitioning
is often overlooked or is assumed not to differ from speech and press rights.
… Petitioning historically and textually is a separable right from speech and
press, and the interests served by petioning go to the very heart of the
principle of popular sovereignty. …
X. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO PETITION
Petitioning historically and textually is a separable right from speech and
principle of popular sovereignty. For these reasons, petitioning must be
regarded as an extremely valuable right. Exceptions imposed on free speech and
press must be critically examined before being held applicable to petitioning.
However, only the core petitioning activities of drafting, circulating, and
presenting petitions are subject to the higher degree of protection; other
conduct, including holding public assemblies and publicizing the contents of
petitions, should be judged under the less exacting standards that apply to
speech, press, and assembly.
It cracks me up that every guy handed a bomb to blow up a building it turns out that it was an undercover.
I’d let an undercover do graphics for a website (if he was willing to not charge me for looking at my zoo photos) but the minute he handed me a dud, I’d say thanks but no thanks.
Bangladeshi man arrested after allegedly trying to blow up Fed building in NYC
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/10/17/feds-arrest-man-who-tried-to-blow-up-federal-reserve-bank-in-nyc-sources-say/#ixzz29aehYlMn
The 21-year-old suspect, Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, attempted to detonate what he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb in front of the Fed building on Liberty Street, but the device was a fake supplied to him by undercover FBI agents who had been tracking his activity, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force said Wednesday afternoon.
A federal law enforcement official told Fox News that there was no evidence Nafis was directed by Al Qaeda to carry out this attack, though he appears to have thought he was working for the terrorist group.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/10/17/feds-arrest-man-who-tried-to-blow-up-federal-reserve-bank-in-nyc-sources-say/#ixzz29aen5Cpj
Man accused of plotting to blow up Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Last Updated: 19 minutes ago
• By: CNN Wire
NEW YORK – Federal authorities running a sting operation arrested a 21-year-old Bangladeshi national with alleged al Qaeda ties who, they say, was planning to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with what he believed was a 1,000-pound bomb, officials said Wednesday.
Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/national/man-accused-of-plotting-to-blow-up-federal-reserve-bank-of-new-york#ixzz29ai8kLoF
Just as punitive damages are available in an action under Section 1983 for violation of the First Amendment, punitive damages would be available for violation of clearly established standards relating to the lawyer-client relationship.
And understand the purpose of the NSA warrantless wiretapping. The Bush White House cut the DOJ out of the loop (including the Amerithrax Task Force) and engaged in warrantless wiretapping of Ali Al-Timimi and his network and charity contacts — the lawlessness prevented an effective investigation of Amerithrax.
Although not licensed in New York State, she understands that the statute of limitations is tolled for so long as she is out of the country in Afghanistan.
Now who sent these people and why? Was it an agency of the Bush Administration? I regularly had explained that the Bush Administration would not have won a second term if had it been known that it was Andrew Card’s former assistant, Al-Timimi — not Saddam — who had been given unfettered access to the largest microbiological repository in the world.
The bacteriological section of that repository had been supervised by the man, a collection scientist Jason Bannan, who became the FBI’s lead scientist in Amerithrax.
It was the FBI’s other lead scientist who had made a dried powder out of Ames out of Flask 1029 — not Bruce Ivins. The multi-million dollar genetics effort narrowing the field at USAMRIID from 700 to 300 was just an expensive dog-and-pony show.
The lead prosecutor’s daughter came to represent Al-Timimi pro bono.
The government would argue that conflicts of interest were unavoidable because of the small field. (Don’t look now but there are lots of lawyers in D.C.)
Al-Timimi had been given a letter of recommendation for classified work for the Navy while at SRA with Charles Bailey in 1999.
So did the Bush Administration take advantage of the fact that they had special insights into Al-Timimi’s charity given Mr. Card’s personal connection? No. They cut the DOJ out of the loop and engaged in warrantless NSA wiretapping. See 9th circuit court decisions.
Simultaneously, they tried to take a wrecking ball to or gain leverage over all those who dared point out that they had allowed US biodefense to be infiltrated by allowing Al-Timimi to share a suite with the leading DARPA-funded Ames anthrax researchers. They sought — in the most outrageous ways possible — to gain leverage over those who would dare say that the Emperor had no clothes.
Well, the Emperor still is buck naked. And I like to think of myself as swinging a ping pong paddle a lot harder than Tom Hanks or Bruce Ivins. Moreover, as I have often said, they have no secrets and never did.
Consider the recent Berkeley study of terrorism by the numbers — concerning use of undercovers and informants.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/08/terror-trials-numbers
Now picture those same tactics in support of a hide-the-ball operation motivated by CYA (and collecting a paycheck) that went way beyond withholding key documents under FOIA.
There are undercover operations and there are undercover operations. A couple of rules of thumb:
First, never target the whistleblower. That may get you into a lot of trouble and may lead to a multimillion dollar judgment for punitive damages under Section 1983 and also whistleblower laws. Certainly it is worth an article proposed to Mother Jones. Check your mail each day for the complaint drafted off the grid. Although litigation is uncertain, it is a lot more satisfying and is more likely to make up financially for the years of harm you have caused than hearing a constant stream of transparent lies known to be false.
Two, never actually get under the covers.
Because if the government is so lousy at intelligence analysis — as it seems to be — then you probably don’t actually understand what’s going on — any more than the government did before 9/11. Open source intelligence analysis and document examination was what was needed in Amerithrax. If the Bush Administration could cut DOJ out of the loop with NSA wiretapping, it is only those actually responsible who should suffer the consequences.
And if the public and busy reporters find it hard to process elaborate factual backgrounds — and they do — any aerosol attack with anthrax will prompt people to look for answers and to understand the missteps in analysis that led to the mess known as Amerithrax. (It was the head of FBI counterterrorism who wrote me and described it as a mess.) And I of course keep all emails. As well as audio and video.
A bio explains that David Wise is the coauthor of The Invisible Government, the book about the Central Intelligence Agency that became the number-one best seller in the United States and has been widely credited with bringing about a reappraisal of the role of the CIA in a democratic society. He is also the author of Cassidy’s Run: The Secret Spy War Over Nerve Gas, (Random House 2000), Molehunt: The Secret Search for Traitors that Shattered the CIA (Random House, 1992), The Spy Who Got Away (Random House, l988), a book about the CIA’s first defector to the Soviet Union, The American Police State (Random House, 1976), and The Politics of Lying (Random House, 1973). What does Mr. Wise think about the recent study of the use of undercovers and informants reported in Mother Jones?
In my opinion, Amerithrax represents a scandal way bigger than Watergate.
Watergate just involved some unlawful wiretapping of a political opponent.
Amerithrax represented some unlawful wiretapping that served to obstruct justice (for political reasons) in connection with an existential threat faced by the country.
The Administration clearly had authority to conduct wiretapping of Al-Timimi and his network under FISA — but they resorted to warrantless NSA wiretapping as part of playing hide-the-ball with respect to the dropped ball on the anthrax threat that would have kept the Bush Administration from winning a second term.
Ask yourself: In the argument between Mueller and Card about NSA wiretapping, the NYT Lipton in his book BUSH LAW, as I recall it, said that there was a related aspect that had not come out yet.
Isn’t this it? The motivation for the NSA warrantless wiretapping of Al-Timimi and his charity network?
With respect to other constitutional violations, note that an action against federal agencies is actual what is known as a Bivens action rather than Section 1983 claim — although the same law applies. A Bivens action is governed by the same statute of limitations as 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 actions. See Kurinsky v. United States, 33 F.3d 594, 599 (6th Cir.1994), cert. denied, — U.S. —-, 115 S.Ct. 1793, 131 L.Ed.2d 721 (1995); Industrial Constructors Corp. v. United States Bureau of Reclamation, 15 F.3d 963, 968-69 (10th Cir.1994); Van Strum v. Lawn, 940 F.2d 406, 410 (9th Cir.1991); Bieneman v. City of Chicago, 864 F.2d 463, 469-70 (7th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1080, 109 S.Ct. 2099, 104 L.Ed.2d 661 (1989); Chin v. Bowen, 833 F.2d 21, 23-24 (2d Cir.1987). A Bivens action as “the federal law analogous to Sec. 1983,” Vennes v. An Unknown Number of Unidentified Agents, 26 F.3d 1448, 1452 (8th Cir.1994), cert. denied, — U.S. —-, 115 S.Ct. 721, 130 L.Ed.2d 627 (1995. “[A]n action under Bivens is almost identical to an action under section 1983, except that the former is maintained against federal officials while the latter is against state officials,” Christian v. Crawford, 907 F.2d 808, 810 (8th Cir.1990) (per curiam). Because of the similarities between section 1983 and Bivens actions, Bivens actions are governed by the same statute of limitations as section 1983 actions.
The limitations period for a section 1983 action is governed by the statute of limitations for personal injury actions in the state in which the claim accrues. See Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 280, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 1949, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985).
If and when Ayman Zawahiri attacks America with an aerosolized anthrax attack on a major city, there needs to a full-bore criminal investigation of the obstruction of justice relating to Amerithrax — by a Special Prosecutor.
The man on the telephone was telling me that he was under a gag order and that the FBI likely was wiretapping his telephone. Dr. John Ezzell was the FBI’s anthrax specialist who first examined the finely powderized anthrax sent to the United Senators Leahy and Daschle in the Fall of 2001. It was July 2009. He had returned my call from moments earlier. When he called, I was on the other line continuing a message on his voicemail. He confirmed that he made dry powdered anthrax at USAMRIID’s Ft. Detrick for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (“DARPA”) using Ames supplied by Bruce Ivins from the infamous Flask 1029.
Dr. Ezzell explained in a blog in response to my description: “The anthrax spores that my lab prepared for DARPA were dead spores. At no time have I ever prepared live virulent dried spores. Secondly.. the spores I prepared were snow white, ultra pure and were light and “fluffy” where as the spores in the Daschle and Leahy letters were tan, not ultra pure and were different in their physical characteristics. The spores prepared for DARPA were prepared in accordance with all regulations and were to used to test mass spectrometer detectors for biological threat agents. Neither I nor DARPA did anything wrong or illegal in this matter.”
Beginning in 1996, Dr. Ezzell also worked for the FBI’s Hazardous Materials Response Unit. After coming under suspicion, Dr. Bruce Ivins wrote an email to his colleague and friend Patricia Fellows saying that he had heard that the aerosolized anthrax made by Dr. Ezzell for DARPA was the closest match to the anthrax mailed in Fall 2001 that Dr. Ezzell had examined.
Dr. Ivins then emailed a superior on December 18, 2006 about what he heard about the FBI at a party. Ivins expressed concern that something might have been taken or altered from his B3 stocks. Ivins was told by email from the superior to not talk about it — that the FBI situation was under control. But it turned out not to be under control. Dr. Ivins’ colleagues were ordered not to talk to him beginning November 2007. He was removed from the base by armed escort in late July. Bruce Ivins took his life on July 29, 2008. It now has been over four years since the FBI said that the geeky dead guy was the sole suspect in the anthrax mailings. The case was officially closed in late February 2010. The trail of evidence that should have led Amerithrax investigators to the infiltration of DARPA and US biodefense dated back to the time of the mailings. It was discernable from “open source” intelligence.
Ali Al-Timimi’s current defense counsel, MSNBC commentator and First Amendment scholar Jonathan Turley, says the FBI considered his client an “anthrax weapons suspect.” In 2001, Ali worked alongside researchers at the DARPA-funded Center for Biodefense who invented a process to concentrate using silanized silica in the culture medium which then was removed from the surface of the spore by repeated centrifugation. Professor Turley wrote: “He has worked with the government, including White House chief of staff Andrew Card…”
After an October 2001 bombing raid at a Qaeda camp in Darunta, Afghanistan US forces found 100+ printed, typed, handwritten pages of documents that shed light on Al Qaeda’s early anthrax planning. The Defense Intelligence Agency provided me the documents under the Freedom of Information Act. The documents confirmed that it was Zawahiri’s plan to use established specialists and the cover of universities and charities as cover for weaponizing anthrax. From early on, the evidence suggested that charity is as charity does. 90 of the 100 pages are the photocopies of journal articles and the disease handbook excerpts. When Vice President Cheney was briefed on the documents in late 2001, he immediately called a meeting of FBI and CIA. “I’ll be very blunt,” the Vice President started. “There is no priority of this government more important than finding out if there is a link between what’s happened here and what we’ve found over there with Qaeda.”
A June 1999 memo from Ayman to military commander Atef said that “the program should seek cover and talent in educational institutions, which it said were ‘more beneficial to us and allow easy access to specialists, which will greatly benefit us in the first stage, God willing.’ ”Thus, in determining whether Al Qaeda was responsible for the anthrax mailings in the Fall of 2001, the FBI and CIA had reason to know,based on the growing documentary evidence available by mid-December 2001, that Al Qaeda operatives were likely associated with non-governmental organizations and working under the cover and talent in universities.
Sometimes rather than being truly invisible or on the “dark side,” an enemy is merely hiding in plain sight. Sometimes an enemy is hidden by inappropriate redactions or highly classified, compartmentalized, operations intended to avoid embarrassment to decision-makers or to further personal agendas. Most intelligence is “open source.” Sunshine is the best disinfectant.
In compartmentalized operations intended to avoid embarrassment to decision-makers or to further personal agendas, the FBI sometimes uses undercover informants in a way that grossly violates the United States Constitution “Right to Petition” under the First Amendment.
An experienced science writer, Garrett discusses the FBI’s key genetics experts debunk the FBI’s argument that the genetics points to Ivins in particular.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/dxer-a-washington-post-story-does-not-take-into-account-that-the-genetics-experts-dr-fraser-liggett-and-dr-keim-say-there-are-major-holes-in-the-genetics-case/
Claire Fraser-Liggett: the genetic analysis of the spores in Ivins’ flask do not indicate Ivins is guilty
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/clair-fraser-liggett-the-genetic-analysis-of-the-spores-in-ivins-flask-do-not-indicate-ivins-is-guilty/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/noah-schactman-did-the-feds-nab-the-wrong-guy-lmw-the-fbis-publicly-revealed-evidence-could-not-convict-ivins-the-2001-anthrax-case-needs-to-be-re-opened/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/the-genetics-inquiry-just-narrowed-things-from-over-700-to-up-to-377-individuals-who-had-access-to-ames-during-the-time-of-the-2001-mailings/
http://articles.courant.com/2011-02-15/news/hc-anthrax-investigation-0216-20110215_1_amerithrax-anthrax-expert-martin-hugh-jones-anthrax-attacks
FBI estimates that up to 377 had access required elimination (allowing for some duplication who had access in both 1425 and 1412). US Taylor falsely claimed that only 100 needed to be eliminated — only those with access at Building 1425.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/dr-henry-heine-former-colleague-of-dr-bruce-ivins-freed-of-the-gag-order-interviewed-on-his-last-day-at-usamriid
John Ezzell, the FBI’s anthrax expert, prior to 9/11, made a dried aerosol using Ames supplied by Bruce Ivins and sent to Johns-Hopkins Applied Physics. Did those spores show a silicon signature?
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/12/10/john-ezzell-forthrightly-to-my-way-of-thinking-heroically-answered-all-my-dxers-questions-relating-to-the-darpa-research-in-which-flask-1029-the-“murder-weapon”-to-borrow-us/
Ivins’ email of 6-28-05 that discusses powder deemed closest to attack anthrax … in which Ivins says, “but I told ??? we didn’t make spore powder”
Dr. Ivins discusses missing Ames anthrax in this email.
The FBI removed the original of Lab Notebook 4010 (and other notebooks that were subpoenaed) without leaving a copy. Why won’t the FBI produce the relevant pages from the lab notebooks it took?
The FBI never disclosed the email withheld for 2 years that shows Dr. Ivins knew that 5 ml of virulent Ames had been taken from Building 1412.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/a-new-email-withheld-for-2-years-shows-that-ivins-recognized-that-some-of-his-ames-was-missing
The location of the flasks (initially there were two flasks) was carefully whited out so as to change its location from Building 1412 to Building 1425. That change violated USAMRIID protocol about record-keeping.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2009/07/25/usamriid-rmr-records-flask-1029/
Dr. Ivins wrote someone about the Ames missing from building 1412 and questioning his colleague about the autoclaving of samples there.
What happened to the other slant sent from Texas, or interviews the original researcher who obtained the slants from Texas who then went to work for the CIA?
Dr. Ivins expressed concern to a superior that he was missing samples — only to be told to shut up. Who was the superior telling Ivins that everything was under control?
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/from-dxer-infiltration-of-u-s-biodefense-bruce-ivins-concern-that-he-was-missing-samples/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2009/07/28/bruce-ivins-we-cant-make-any-assurances-that-we-have-exactly-what-were-supposed-to-have/
When did Southern Research Institute first obtain virulent Ames and from whom?
Research on the corona plasma discharge and sonicator on Ames spores supplied by Bruce Ivins was conducted for DARPA. S DARPA aerosol studies using dried powder were done. Given the performance of the dried aerosol, the technical question of whether the floatability is due to use of a CPD or sonicator should be addressed by the scientific experts.
The FBI let USAMRIID General John Parker’s false claim that USAMRIID did not make dried powder stand — when the FBI and the scientists overseeing the investigation knew its own expert had made dried powdered aerosol using Ames.
Vanguards of Conquest
The February 2001 PDB From The CIA To President Bush: The Late January 2001 Threat To Use Mailed Anthrax In Retaliation For The Detention Of Senior Egyptian Islamic Jihad/ Vanguards of Conquest Leader Mahjoub
In late January 2001, the Immigration Minister in Canada and the Justice Minister received an anthrax threat in the form of anthrax hoax letters. The letters were sent upon the announcement of bail hearing for a detained Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader Mohammad Mahjoub. Mahjoub had managed Bin Laden’s farm in Sudan. Minister Caplan had signed the security certificate authorizing Mahjoub’s detention. After arriving in Canada in 1996, Mahjoub continued to be in contact with high level militants, including his former supervisor, reputed to be Bin Laden’s chief procurer of weapons of mass destruction. In February 2001, the CIA briefed the President in a Presidential Daily Brief (“PDB”) on “Bin Laden’s Interest in Biological and Radiological Weapons” in a still-classified briefing memorandum. Like the PDB on Bin Laden’s threat to use planes to free the blind sheik, the February 2001 PDB illustrated Richard Clarke’s suggestion that most intelligence is open source. The PDB likely will be found to address the detention of Mohammad Mahjoub, his status in the Vanguards of Conquest/ Egyptian Islamic Jihad, and threats of revenge relating to the conviction and sentencing of senior militant Egyptians. There was little about Ayman’s plan to use anthrax against US targets in retaliation for rendering of EIJ leaders that was not available to anyone paying attention.
A February 14, 2001 memo from the CIA, produced in April 2012 to the National Security Archives under FOIA, explains: “Bin Ladin and his associates have experimented by crude means to make and deploy biological agents…Bin Ladin has sought to acquire military-grade biological agents or weapons,” said one of the documents dated 2001. CIA Director Tenet testified that by 9/11, seventy senior Egyptian militants had been rendered. Ayman Zawahiri’s brother Muhammad had been rendered to Cairo from Yemen. The documents show that Ayman’s anthrax planning moved forward in earnest that month. Muhammed in interviews this month — to include CNN — says that there is no ideological difference between him and his brother.
On October 5, 2001, Mahjoub’s bail was denied. Someone then rushed to carry out the earlier threat. They mailed a finely powdered anthrax to the two United States Senators they perhaps deemed most responsible for the rendition of Egyptian Islamic Jihad leaders and appropriations to Egypt and Israel. The Government Accountability Office should ask for an unredacted copy of the February 14, 2001 CIA memo on the planned use of anthrax in retaliation of rendering and detention of IG and EIJ leaders. Amerithrax would be seen with entirely new eyes.
Anthrax Lab Technician’s Service With Malaysia’s Former Biological Warfare Program
Al Qaeda’s former lab director Yazid Sufaat is on Facebook. He accepted my “friend” request. He tells me that what he did was for the love of Allah. He says the plan is on the way. He tells me that he realizes that by addressing these issues he may “jack” himself up. Hank Crumpton, a former CIA officer and top counterterrorism official, says Yazid Sufaat’s “mission was bio-attacks against American targets.”
A March 23, 2012 article reporting on an interview with Yazid Sufaat explained:
“Among the longest-serving ISA detainees in history, Yazid, currently under travel, asset and arms deals sanctions imposed by the United Nations, believes his incarceration has to do with his “expertise.” Trained as a biochemist on a government scholarship in the United States, this top student of the Royal Military College who retired as a captain with the army was part of a biological warfare programme under the Defence Ministry. Yazid was hesitant to reveal details about the government’s “secret” programme which was later scrapped, describing it “a long story.”
“When they (the police) first took me in, I didn’t tell them (about the government programme). I didn’t want them to know, didn’t want the liability to fall on the government, to pass the buck to someone else.”
“Finally, they managed to get a report from their ‘friend’ and they wanted me to clear things up. I didn’t want to clarify (anything), so they took my wife in,” said the father of four.
His wife, Sejahratul Dursina@Chomel Mohamed, was held under ISA for two months and after this was placed under a movement restriction order for six years. It was his wife who graciously noted to his other friends that I was an attorney who thought Al Qaeda was behind the anthrax mailings. While courteous, Yazid declined to answer the many substantive questions I posed noting his Fifth Amendment rights to avoid incriminating himself.
” ‘If you want to be released from ISA, just follow what they say and admit to all the charges… I refused to do so and they kept me for seven years… because I don’t want to sing (Negara-ku).’
” ‘I don’t want to sing. Why should I (when) the country had betrayed me?’ Yazid asked. …”
“The other two individuals linked to 9/11 who stayed in the Sungai Long condominium were Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi – two of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which slammed into the Pentagon.”
“The duo, according to the United Nations, had stayed at Yazid’s condominium in January 2000 to attend what the UN termed an “al-Qaeda conference” in Kuala Lumpur.”
” ‘I was not there. At that time I was in Pakistan and Afghanistan, building a hospital there,’ Yazid said.”
“Next to the hospital, he said, was a laboratory where he is accused of developing biological weapons.”
A leaked Guantanamo Bay document posted on Wikileaks noted that a Yemeni detainee said Yazid had “poor lab techniques”. But Yazid said that he was in fact “successful” in developing some “bugs.” He says the laboratory was destroyed when the Northern Alliance forces bombed Kandahar. “I can still find (anthrax) if I want to, but what for? It has no commercial value.
What is the root problem reflected in the recent Senate report on fusion centers and the violation of First Amendment rights?
Is the problem that, for example, the local officers who meet and talk freely upstairs in the private room at Rocky’s on North Salina didn’t turn in their homework as students?
Does local law enforcement select for good analysts? Or people who like walking around their old neighborhood with a gun.
I have no idea. But in Amerithrax, I saw crap analysis, lies and out-of-control hide-the-ball and shredding of documents with respect to the study involving 52 rabbits that explained why Dr. Ivins was in the lab in late September and the first week of October 2001.
If the DOJ and US Attorney would make such a grossly misleading argument — claiming Ivins had no reason to be in the lab the first week of October — what is the limit of the lies they think justified? What is the limit of the lies that they think can get away with? If two AUSAs in DC don’t think the Constitution requires that they turn over 302s of witnesses (on the grounds that they are not prior statements), what are the Consttitutional standards followed by the office? If there was widespread cheating on the open book about how to lawfully conduct an investigation, might that result in a situation where the investigators should have been more scrupulous in doing and turning in their homework on compliance with the United States Constitution?
Life is a matter of keeping a series of agreements.
The Congressional report needs study– to include a good case study in which the documents are obtained in civil litigation. … before they are shredded (such as the civil deposition of Patricia Fellows and Mara Linscott was shredded).
US intel effort named citizens, not terrorists
By: EILEEN SULLIVAN | Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) A multibillion-dollar information-sharing program created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 has improperly collected information about innocent Americans and produced little valuable intelligence on terrorism, a U.S. Senate report concludes. It portrays an effort that ballooned far beyond anyone’s ability to control.
What began as an attempt to put local, state and federal officials in the same room analyzing the same intelligence has instead cost huge amounts of money for data-mining software, flat screen televisions and, in Arizona, two fully equipped Chevrolet Tahoes that are used for commuting, investigators found.
“The … investigation could identify no reporting which uncovered a terrorist threat, nor could it identify a contribution such fusion center reporting made to disrupt an active terrorist plot,” the report said.
When the program did address terrorism, it sometimes did so in ways that infringed on civil liberties. The fusion centers have made headlines for circulating information about the American Civil Liberties Union, activists on both sides of the abortion debate, war protesters and advocates of gun rights.
One fusion center cited in the Senate investigation wrote a report about a Muslim community group’s list of book recommendations. Others discussed American citizens speaking at mosques or talking to Muslim groups about parenting.
The bipartisan report is a scathing evaluation of what the Department of Homeland Security has held up as a crown jewel of its security efforts. The report underscores a reality of post-9/11 Washington: National security programs tend to grow, never shrink, even when their money and manpower far surpass the actual subject of terrorism. Much of this money went for ordinary local crime-fighting.
Homeland Security says the report is outdated, inaccurate and too focused on information produced by the program, ignoring benefits to local governments from their involvement with federal intelligence officials.
Because of a convoluted grants process set up by Congress, Homeland Security officials don’t know how much they have spent in their decade-long effort to set up so-called fusion centers in every state. Government estimates range from less than $300 million to $1.4 billion in federal money, plus much more invested by state and local governments. Federal funding is pegged at about 20 percent to 30 percent.
Despite that, Congress is unlikely to stop the funding. That’s because, whether it stops terrorists, the program means politically important money for state and local governments.
A Senate Homeland Security subcommittee reviewed more than 600 unclassified reports over a one-year period and concluded that most had nothing to do with terrorism.
No evidence of criminal activity was contained in those reports. The government did not circulate them, but it kept them on government computers. The federal government is prohibited from storing information about First Amendment activities not related to crimes.
“It was not clear why, if DHS had determined that the reports were improper to disseminate, the reports were proper to store indefinitely,” the report said.
What strain of anthrax does the US imagine Yazid Sufaat to have been using?
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/wikileaks-guantanamo-doesnt-the-united-states-know-the-strain-of-the-virulent-anthrax-used-in-one-or-more-of-the-al-qaeda-labs-for-which-sufaat-and-his-assistants-were-vaccinated-based-on-in/
An Ivins Theory merely Hatfill Theory Redux. The “Hatfill Theory” was part of the same unstoppable train wreck as the “Ivins Theory.” There was a change of cars (investigators), but it was the same flawed train of reasoning and the investigators never overcame the earlier truncated emphasis of the investigation.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/the-hatfill-theory-was-part-of-the-same-unstoppable-train-wreck-as-the-ivins-theory-there-was-a-change-of-cars-investigators-but-it-was-the-same-flawed-train-of-reasoning-and-the-inve/
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2011/05/25/the-circumstantial-case-against-bruce-ivins-gets-weaker/
Anthrax Redux: Did the Feds Nab the Wrong Guy? March 24, 2011
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/03/ff_anthrax_fbi/
Amerithrax lead prosecutor Daniel Seikaly pled the Fifth Amendment in connection with the leaks relating to Hatfill or notes that his daughter represented “anthrax weapons suspect” Ali Timimi pro bono.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/who-does-former-prosecutor-daniel-seikaly-and-his-daughter-ali-al-timimis-former-defense-counsel-think-is-responsible-for-the-anthrax-mailings-of-fall-2001/
The United States Government Knew That Al Qaeda Was Seeking To Use Powderized Anthrax As A Weapon And So It Was Negligent To Allow Ali Al-Timimi Work Alongside the DARPA-funded Researchers
A laptop evidencing Al Qaeda’s intent on using powderized anthrax as a weapon was seized in Baku in July 1998. Two months later, Dr. Ken Alibek, then Program Manager, Battelle Memorial Institute, testified before the Joint Economic Committee on the subject of “Terrorist and Intelligence Operations: Potential Impact on the U.S. Economy” about the proliferation of know-how. Dr. Alibek noted that “[t]here are numerous ways in which Russia’s biological weapons expertise can be proliferated to other countries.” Indeed. Sometimes such proliferation is funded by DARPA and any student who wanted to apply to work in the building could submit an application. One applicant accepted was this Salafist preacher seeing signs of the coming day of judgment and the inevitable clash of civilizations. He had been mentored by the sheik named in Bin Laden’s declaration of war in 1996. In 1999, Al-Timimi had a high security clearance for work for the Navy. His father worked at the Iraqi embassy.
Dr. Alibek testified before the House Armed Services Committee Oversight Panel on Terrorism again in May 2000 about the issue of proliferation of biological weapons. He explained: “Terrorists interested in biological weapons are on the level of state-sponsored terrorist organizations such as that of Osama bin Laden; on the level of large, independent organizations such as Aum Shinrikyo; or on the level of individuals acting alone or in concert with small radical organizations.”
Dr. Alibek in 2003 told me he knew Ali was a hardliner. More recently he described Ali as a fanatic. Dr. Alibek explained to the Congressional Committee in May 2000: “When most people think of proliferation, they imagine weapons export. In the case of biological weapons, they picture international smuggling either of ready-made weapons material, or at least of cultures of pathogenic microorganisms. However, this area of proliferation is of the least concern. Even without such assistance, a determined organization could obtain virulent strains of microorganisms from their natural reservoirs (such as soil or animals), from culture libraries that provide such organisms for research purposes, or by stealing cultures from legitimate laboratories.” American Type Culture Collection, the largest microbiologist depository in the world, co-sponsored Ali’s bioinformatics program. Dr. Alibek explained: “The proliferation issue is particularly complex for biological weapons. In many cases, the same equipment and knowledge that can be used to produce biological weapons can also be used to produce legitimate biotechnological products.”
By 2001, Al-Timimi was allowed access to the American Type Culture Collection (“ATCC”), the most diverse microbiological repository in the world and allowed to work alongside staff at the DARPA-funded Center for Biodefense. The Center for Biodefense personnel were working under the largest biodefense award in history. Delta (avirulent) Ames was supplied by NIH and work with virulent Ames was done at Southern Research Institute in Frederick, Maryland under a subcontract.
The lead FBI scientist, Jason Bannan, was the collection scientist for the bacteriology division at ATCC to which Ali Al-TImimi had unfettered access. No vetting was done in allowing access to the largest microbiological collection in the world.
Al-Timimi had supervised Cairo-based militants writing for the Pittsburgh-based Assirat and then for IANA. One of them, Kamal Habib, was the founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and a friend of Ayman Zawahiri. The Cairo-based writers Kamal Habib and Gamal Sultan approached the blind sheik Abdel Rahman about starting a political party in early 1999. On March 1 and 2, 1999, Lynne Stewart and translator Yousry visited Abdel Rahman in prison in Rochester, Minnesota and relayed the proposal. On March 6, 1999, the first press reports about anthrax appeared quoting the blind sheik’s Cairo lawyer, Montasser al-Zayat, and two key detainees in a massive trial al-Zayat was defending. Attorney Zayat and the two defendants explained that Ayman likely was going to use anthrax against US targets to retaliate against the rendering and detention of the Egyptian militants.
On March 9, 1999 following the visit in prison at which the political idea had been proposed, Abdel Rahman issued a statement rejecting a proposal that the Islamic Group form a political party in Egypt. That day, the Islamic Group military commander Mustafa Hamza spoke with the blind sheik’s liaison, US Post Office employee Abdel Sattar. The next month, the Blind Sheik’s publicist Sattar spoke with Taha, the IG head close to the Taliban and Bin Laden, in a three-way call with Cairo attorney Al-Zayat. Sattar also spoke on the telephone with Vanguards of Conquest spokesman Al Sirri (based in London). From the beginning, the weaponization of anthrax for use against US targets was inextricably linked to the detention of senior militant Egyptian leaders, including the blind sheik.
Ayman Zawahiri’s brother Muhammad was rendered to Cairo in April 1999. Mamdouh Ismail, Al-Zayat’s co-founder of a key reform party, represented the Al-Zawahiri family in connection with Muhammad’s rendition and detention. Ayman Zawahiri and Muhammad’s sister, Heba, a Pharmacology Professor at Cairo Medical, were concerned that he might be mistreated by Egyptian security services. A recent graduate from the same department, Tarek Hamouda, soon was working alongside Bruce Ivins with virulent Ames at Ft. Detrick.
Bruce Ivins had supplied the virulent Ames strain of anthrax to Ann Arbor researchers. One of the researchers, Dr. Hamouda, obtained his PhD in microbiology from Cairo Medical in 1994. He and his wife came to the United States to settle that year. By 1998, he was working on a DARPA-funded project involving nanoemulsions and a biocidal cream. In December 1999, he and two colleagues travelled to a remote military installation in Utah, Dugway, to test its effectiveness in killing aerosolized anthrax surrogates. An April 2001 report describing testing at Dugway concluded that the best performing decontamination agents were from University of Michigan, Sandia National Laboratories, and Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLNL). The FBI first was faxed the 16 pages describing the research on March 2005.
Dead Certain At The Bush White House That Al Qaeda Was Responsible
Biographer Draper in Dead Certain reports that on October 4, 2001, Bush teared up during a speech at the State Department thanking them for their hard work after 9/11. Back at the White House, Bush motioned Fleischer into the Oval Office. “A Boca Raton tabloid editor had checked into a Florida hospital yesterday, Bush told Fleischer. Anthrax. The veil of resoluteness fell away from the president. His shoulders were hunched. Fleischer had never seen him more upset. Neither man said a word — neither had to: This was it, the second wave.”
Then, immediately after the October 5 denial of bail of the Vanguards of Conquest #2, someone mailed, on or about October 6, 2001, very fine powdered anthrax to US Senators Leahy and Daschle. Dr. Bruce Ivins would later describe the Daschle powder like “dust in the sunlight.” Dr. Ivins graded the Daschle powder an “A,” Leahy a “B”, and the New York powder a “C.”
An infant visiting ABC was one of the first affected, which should have been prohibited (haram) in anyone’s book. Five people died, including an elderly woman and a hospital worker.
The August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief (”PDB”) to the President Bush had explained that Bin Laden planned to hijack some aircraft as part of an effort to free the blind sheik. A little noticed December 1998 PDB to the same effect to President Clinton, however — declassified and included in the 911 Commission Report — had reported that the aircraft and attacks were being planned by the brother of Sadat’s assassin, Mohammed Islambouli. Islambouli was in a cell with Khalid Mohammed (”KSM”), who by November 2001 had come to lead the cell planning anthrax attacks in the United States. The anthrax was sent on the date of Sadat’s assassination and the date the Camp David Accords were approved. Sadat’s peace with Israel was a key reason the militants killed Sadat.
‘I think the seminal event of the Bush administration was the anthrax attacks,’ someone close to the president told Jacob Weisberg, the editor-in-chief of the online daily
magazine, Slate. ‘It was the thing that changed everything. It was the hard stare into the abyss.’”
“Dick Cheney was the strongest advocate of the possibility of attack and the need to prepare for it.” After 9/11, the Secret Service began monitoring the air inside and outside the White House — the chimneys of bio-detectors were visible from the front lawn. Cheney reportedly began traveling with a biohazard protective suit. At some point, fifty members of the mail-handling staff in the executive office buildings were taking Cipro.
“By August [2003], Hambali had been captured, and had reportedly gave information leading to the revelation that Al Qaeda had been in the process of producing high-grade anthrax….”
In any case, it predictably triggered renewed fears in the White House, where Bush and Cheney hammered the Agency for more details and chastised the FBI for doing too little to root out domestic sleeper cells.”
Jacob Weisberg in the 2008 The Bush Tragedy writes. “Inside the administration, the October bioterror attacks had a greater impact than is generally appreciated — and in many ways greater than 9/11. Without the anthrax attacks, Bush probably would not have invaded Iraq.” He explains: “The anthrax attacks in New York and Washington created a sense of vulnerability that was in many respects greater than the mass murder at the World Trade Center and Pentagon. As horrific as September 11 was, it was a discrete crime, whose perpetrators were quickly identified and pursued. The anthrax letters, by contrast, killed only a few people, but remained unsolved.”
Cheney in particular was so stricken by the potential for attack that he insisted that the rest of the National Security Council undergo a gruesome briefing on it on September 20, 2001. When the White House sensor registered the presence of such poisons less than a month later, many, including Cheney, believed a nightmare was unfolding. “It was really a nerve-jangling time,” the former official said. In time, the Situation Room alarm turned out to be false. But on October 22, the Secret Service reported it had what it believed to be additional traces on an automated letter-opening device used on White House mail.”
http://www.lahaonline.com/articles/view/41551.htm
في ذكرى أفظع جريمة إرهابية
وصف تشرشل القرن الماضي بالقرن الفظيع، ولا يبدو أن القرن الحالي سيكون أقل فظاعة إذا حكمنا عليه بما استهل به من حادث 11 سبتمبر، وتداعياته الرهيبة التي لا يبدو لها في الأفق نهاية.
ولا يساوي فظاعة هذا الحدث الإجرامي إلا غرابته، وغموضه، وبقاء الأسئلة التي يثيرها التفسير الرسمي، الذي قدم له، معلقة دون جواب، وذلك بالرغم من مرور عشر سنوات على وقوعه.
وليست الغرابة ناشئة عن مجرد عجز دولة كالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية عن الكشف عن حقيقة جريمة خطيرة وقعت على أرضها، فاغتيال الرئيس كيندي، ومحاولة اغتيال الرئيس ريجان مثلان شاهدان على أن الغموض في مثل هذه الجرائم لا يعتبر أمرا غير عادي.
كما أن الغرابة ليست ناشئة عن العجز عن الوصول إلى أسرار جريمة منظمة كهذه الجريمة، فالجرائم المنظمة في العادة يراعى في التخطيط لها، وفي تنفيذها، أقصى درجات السرية والخفاء، وإذا وقعت هذه الجرائم بمساهمة قوة ذات نفوذ بالغ، فمن الطبيعي أن تبذل مثل هذه القوة ذات النفوذ أقصى ما تستطيعه للتعمية على الجريمة، والحيلولة دون الكشف عن أسرارها، وأن لا تقل قدرتها في ذلك عن قدرتها على تنفيذ الجريمة.
أما حين تكون الجريمة من الجرائم التي تقع تحت ما يسمى (إرهاب الدولة)، أي حينما تكون الجهة المسؤولة عن ملاحقة الجريمة وكشفها هي نفسها مسؤولة عن ارتكابها، فإن عدم الكشف عن حقيقتها أو تقديم صورة زائفة عنها يكون حينئذ هو الأمر الطبيعي المعتاد.
وليست الغرابة في حدث 11 سبتمبر فيما حفل به التفسير الرسمي، المقدم له، من تناقضات ومحالات منطقية، بل الغرابة في سهولة قبول الناس للتفسير الوحيد الذي قدم للحادث، والذي يتلخص في أن شخصاً على بعد آلاف الأميال، (وكانت اتصالاته وحركاته، منذ وقت سابق ليس بالقصير، تحت سيطرة المجاهر الاستخبارية لعدة دول متعاونة تستخدم أبلغ وأحدث تقنيات التجسس) استطاع أن يحيّد الدفاعات لأقوى دولة في التاريخ، وأن تخدمه عشرات الصدف فيستطيع التخطيط للحادث وتنفيذه، والتعمية على آثاره بدون مساعدة قوة محلية ذات نفوذ عال وبالغ.
حينما نستبعد الاحتمال الميتا فيزيقي، إذ لا يتصور أن تعين المعجزة أو الكرامة أو خرق العادة على ارتكاب الجرائم، فإن لاعقلانية التسليم بالتفسير المقدم من الإدارة الأمريكية للحادث، أوضح من لاعقلانية التفسير ذاته.
وفيما يلي بعض المعلومات التي قد تعين على الإجابة عن الأسئلة التي أثارها التفسير الرسمي المقدم للحادث والتي لم يُجب عنها حتى الآن:
1- منذ عهد مكيافيلي لم يعد غريبا على الحكومات والأنظمة السرية في أوروبا وأمريكا ممارسة ما يسمى (بالحرب القذرة dirty war)، ولكن رعاية للجانب الغير أخلاقي لهذه الممارسات، فإنها كانت دائما تحاط بأبلغ درجات السرية والإخفاء، ولذلك فإن إعلان رئيس دولة تصريحا تتناقله وكالات الأنباء بأنه سوف يمارس “الحرب القذرة” في حربه القائمة اعتبر سابقة تميز بها القرن الحالي.
2- تحت مادة Terrorism وعند الكلام على ما يسمى (بإرهاب الدولة) أشارت الإنسايكلوبيديا البريطانية Encyclopedia Britannica إلى الاتهامات المتبادلة بين طرفي الحرب الباردة (الاتحاد السوفيتي والولايات المتحدة الأمريكية) من قيام كل طرف بتنفيذ عمليات إرهابية، أو المساعدة على تنفيذها، ضد الطرف الآخر أو الحكومات الموالية له، وذلك طوال مدة الحرب الباردة بين الطرفين.
3- وعندما صدر في عام 2004 كتاب NATO’s Secret Armies: Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe لمؤلفه العالم والكاتب السويسري) دانيل جانسر(Ganser Daniele ، كشف عن حقائق كانت خفية أظهرتها فيما بعد الوثائق، فعند بداية الحرب الباردة بين “العالم الحر” والاتحاد السوفيتي، كانت الاستخبارات الأمريكية، والاستخبارات البريطانية تعاونتا على إنشاء تنظيم مليشيات تُزوّد بالتدريب والأسلحة والذخائر والمتفجرات، وكان الهدف في البداية أن تكون حركات مقاومة في المدن فيما لو قامت حرب وهاجم حلف وارسو إحدى المدن في غرب أوروبا، وجد هذا التنظيم تحت اسم جلاديو Gladio وتألفت من هذا التنظيم شبكة في كل بلدان حلف الأطلسي، بل تجاوزت الشبكة ذلك إلى البلدان المحايدة كسويسرا والسويد، وفيما بعد استخدم هذا التنظيم بالاتفاق مع الحكومات في القيام بأنشطة إرهابية شملت تفجيرات وأعمال عنف في إيطاليا وبلجيكا وفرنسا، كان الهدف منها أن تنسب للحركات اليسارية فتشوه سمعتها وتفقدها تعاطف الجمهور، وكان من أبرزها عملية تفجير قنبلة في غرفة الانتظار في محطة بولونيا Bologna في عام 1980 وقتل فيها 85 شخصا، ونسبت في وقتها إلى تنظيم ”الألوية الحمراء“ وصارت معروفة بها لمدة طويلة قبل أن تكتشف حقيقتها، وقد حققت هذه العملية هدفها، وهو فقدان الحركة اليسارية في إيطاليا تعاطف الجمهور معها.
وكما جاء في تقرير برلمان روما بنتيجة التحقيق في عمليات “جلاديو”: [إن هذه المذابح والتفجيرات وعمليات العنف كانت منظمة أو بمشاركة ودعم شخصيات من داخل المؤسسات الحكومية الإيطالية، وكما ظهر مؤخراً من قبل رجال من استخبارات الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية].
4- وقبل شهر تقريبا من حادث 11 سبتمبر 2001 صدر كتاب (جيمس بامفوردJames Bamford ) المعنون Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency وقد كشف الكتاب، بناء على الوثائق خططا كان قد قدمها الجيش الأمريكي بعد فشل عملية خليج الخنازير إلى وزير الحرب الأمريكي روبرت مكنمارا، إذ كان الجيش الأمريكي في ذلك الوقت متلهفاً على إيجاد مبرر يقنع الرأي العام المحلي والدولي بغزو كوبا، كان من ضمن هذه الخطط قصف سفينة حربية أمريكية في جوانتنامو، أو قصف مدينة أمريكية على الساحل الشرقي للولايات المتحدة أو ضرب مركبة رائد الفضاء الأمريكي (غلين) عند عودته، أو إسقاط طائرة مدنية أمريكية، تطير فوق كوبا، ويعلن فيما بعد بأنها تحمل طلابا في رحلة مدرسية، بحيث تنسب هذه الأعمال إلى الحكومة الكوبية، وتبرر عملية عسكرية ضدها، ولكن أيا من هذه الخطط لم تنفذ لسبب غير معروف.
5- بعد حادث 11 سبتمبر مباشرة تحدث الخبراء العسكريون عن دقة ومهارة المناورات التي قام بها الطيارون المختطفون للطائرات الأربع، ولا سيما الطائرة التي هاجمت مبنى البنتاجون إذ حسب الوصف الحكومي للهجوم كانت الطائرة قادمة من جهة البيت الأبيض، واستطاع الطيار أن يتجه إلى مبنى البنتاجون، ولكن بدلاً من أن يهاجم الجناح الذي أمامه، والذي كان مشغولاً بالمكاتب أو يسقط الطائرة فوق المبنى، وكلا الهدفين كان أيسر نسبياً، لجأ الطيار إلى تحقيق هدف أصعب فتجاوز مبنى البنتاجون، ثم دار راجعا بزاوية 272 درجة ونزل رأسياً من ارتفاع شاهق حتى قارب مستوى الأرض، وهاجم الجناح الخالي من المكاتب والذي كان تحت الصيانة، وهكذا لم يخسر البنتاجون سوى عسكري واحد.
أكد الخبراء في ذلك الوقت أن مثل هذه العملية لا يستطيع أن يقوم بها إلا طيار حربي عالي التدريب، بالغ الكفاءة.
6- لم تمض ثلاثون ساعة على الحادث إلا وكانت الصور الكاملة للأخوين أمير وعدنان بخاري، الطيارين السعوديين، تملأ شاشات التلفزيونات في الولايات المتحـدة وفي العالم، ويتكرر عرضها بإلحاح يوم الأربعاء التالي ليوم الحادث، وعرف العالم كله أن الإدارة الأمريكية تمكنت من التعرف على هوية إثنين من الطيارين الانتحاريين، ولكن بعد ما ظهر أن أحد الأخوين الطيارين لا يزال على قيد الحياة وأن الآخر كان مات قبل أكثر من سنة، لم يعرف ذلك إلا النادر من الناس.
ولم يعرف الناس أنه في يوم الأربعاء نفسه، عندما كان التلفزيون يلح في فترات متقاربة على إظهار صورة الأخوين بخاري، والتأكيد بأنهما الطياران اللذان هاجما مبنى التجارة، كانت المباحث الأمريكية قبضت على الطيار عدنان بخاري، وبقي رهن التوقيف والتحقيق عدة أيام، وكان مصدر في الخطوط السعودية أخبر جريدة الشرق الأوسط بعد خمسة أيام من القبض عليه بأن الخطوط السعودية تتابع التحقيقات التي تجري مع عدنان، ولكن ليس هناك ما يدل على أن أحداً تمكن من الاتصال بعدنان بعد القبض عليه، وأثناء التحقيق معه.
وبعد القبض على الطيار عدنان بخاري كانت الاستخبارات الفلبينية بالتعاون مع الاستخبارات الأمريكية تستقبل في مطار مانيلا الطائرة السعودية في رحلتها 780 القادمة من جدة، وتقبض على قائد الطائرة محمد عمر بخاري ولم يفرج عنه إلا بعد أربعة أيام وبعد أن كانت صور الأخوين أمير وعدنان بخاري قد اختفت عن الظهور في التلفزيون الأمريكي.
السؤال: هل يمكن أن يكون ما حدث خطأ غير مقصود؟
(العبرة) أن الإعلام القوي في نطقه، كما هو في سكوته، استطاع بصورة مدهشة أن ينسي العالم هذا الحادث، وكأنه لم يحدث.
بعد فترة قصيرة من الحادث نشرت الإدارة الأمريكية صور تسعة عشر شخصا مسلماً قيل إنهم هم المتهمون باختطاف الطائرات الأربع، ونشرت كامل هوياتهم؛ الصورة، والاسم، وتاريخ الميلاد، في الصحف وعلى حوائط المباني العامة وعلى جدران المطارات العالمية.
لم يسأل أحد فيما بعد لماذا غاب الطياران الأخوان بخاري عن هذه القائمة؟.
وقيل: إن الإدارة الأمريكية اهتدت إلى تعيين هوية المتهمين بالاختطاف، وأن من بينهم أحد عشر شخصاً من الجنسية السعودية، بينهم أربعة طيارين، وفي الأيام التالية بعد نشر هذه القائمة ظلت الصحف السعودية يومياً تتلقى إعلان واحد أو أكثر من المشمولين في القائمة يصرحون بأنهم لا يزالون أحياء، وأنهم وقت الحادث كانوا خارج الولايات المتحدة وقبل أن تمضي أيام على الحادث صرح وزير الداخلية في المملكة العربية السعودية أنه حتى وقت التصريح ظهر أن سبعة من المتهمين “الانتحاريين”، بينهم الأربعة الطيارين، لا يزالون أحياء، وبعد صدور هذا التصريح بيومين نشرت الصحف السعودية إعلان شخص ثامن من المشمولين في القائمة بأنه لا يزال حياً.
وفيما بعد أعلنت الإدارة الأمريكية عن وجود جواز سفر سعودي لأحد الخاطفين قرب ركام البرجين المتهدمين نجا “بمعجزة” من الحريق، ولما سخر العالم من هذا التفسير توقفت الإدارة الأمريكية عن تكرار قصة معجزة الجواز، ولكن لم يسأل أحد فيما بعد عن حقيقة هذا اللغز: كيف وصل جواز سفر شخص مفقود إلى الإدارة الأمريكية؟، ولماذا؟، وبأي وسيلة؟.
وقد بقيت صور الانتحاريين (الأحياء) معروضة للجمهور مدة طويلة دون أن تمحى من قائمة المتهمين، كان من هؤلاء الأحياء أربعة طيارين من السعوديين.
7- بعد أن فقدت قوائم الاتهام الطيارين السعوديين الستة، لم يبق بين الذين لم يعلن عن وجودهم أحياء طيارٌ مؤهل لأن يقوم بالمناورات التي قامت بها الطائرات، ولاسيما الطائرة التي قيل أنها صدمت مبنى البنتاجون.
وقد كان الرئيس حسني مبارك وهو طيار سابق للطائرات المقاتلة، قال في وقت الحادث: إنه لا يمكن أن يقوم بهذه المناورات، حسب الرواية الرسمية، إلا طيارٌ حربي طويل الخبرة وعالي التدريب، وكذلك قال مثل هذا القول الرئيس بوش الصغير عند اجتماعه بفريق من المسلمين الأمريكان بعد الحادث[1]، فأصبحت الرواية الرسمية للحادث تتحدث عن أمر لا تفسير له إلا أن يكون قضية ميتافيزيقية أو قضية خرافية.
لقد قيل أن أربعة من المتهمين قد التحقوا بمعهد تدريب للطيران، ولكن مستوى معرفتهم باللغة الإنجليزية وتدربيهم في معهد التدريب لم يرتق بهم إلى إمكانية الإقلاع بطائرة التدريب الصغيرة، كما صرح بذلك مدير معهد الطيران، وقد ظلت تكرر معلومة أن هؤلاء المتدربين كانوا يعبرون عن عدم حاجتهم للتدريب على الإقلاع والهبوط، وإنما التدريب على قيادة الطائرة وتوجيهها في الجو، ظلت هذه المعلومة تكرر مدة طويلة حتى نفاها المسؤولون عن التدريب.
إن قيام هؤلاء الأشخاص بمستوى تأهيلهم المذكور بمناورات الطيران والهجوم بحسب ما جاء في وصف الروايات الرسمية واحدة من العديد من خوارق العادة التي صاحبت حادث 11 سبتمبر، كما وردت في الروايات الرسمية، ولكن غرابة هذه الخوارق لم تكن بأعجب من سهولة تصديق الناس بوقوعها في هذا العصر الموصوف بعصر العلم والعقلانية والتحيز ضد الغيبيات والميتافيزيقيات صحيحها وباطلها.
8- لم يكن الهجوم على برجي التجارة ومبنى البنتاجون كافيا لإدخال الخوف من الإرهاب الإسلامي على قلب الرجل العادي في أمريكا، فلم يمض شهر بعد حادث 11 سبتمبر حتى شغل العالم كله برسائل توجه داخل الولايات المتحدة إلى رجال الكونجرس وكبار الصحفيين تحمل هذه العبارة “الموت لأمريكا، الموت لإسرائيل، الله أكبر” مصحوبة داخل المظروف بمسحوق وباء الجمرة الخبيثة Anthrax، وتسبب ذلك في إصابة وموت عدد من المواطنين الأمريكيين، ودخل الرعب كل بيت في أمريكا الشمالية، وأقبل الناس على التطعيم ضد (الجمرة الخبيثة) وشحت الطعوم في مخازن الأدوية، وتعاقدت الحكومة الكندية مع إحدى الشركات لإنتاج تطعيمات ضد الجمرة الخبيثة بمبلغ مليون دولار، وتغيرت إجراءات تداول البريد ليس في أمريكا وحدها بل في العالم، وكان حديث الإعلام وكبار السياسيين طوال ذلك الوقت عن الإرهابيين المسلمين الذين وصلوا إلى إنتاج السلاح البيولوجي واستعماله.
وبعد أكثر من شهر عندما كشفت خبيرة السلاح البيولوجي الدكتورة (باربرا روزمبرج Dr. Barbara Hatch Rosenberg) أن المسحوق الذي استعمل في الرسائل من إنتاج معامل الجيش الأمريكي ومخزونها، وأن التقنية التي وصلت إلى إنتاج هذا النوع من المسحوق بدرجة من النقاء تبلغ ترليون جرثومة في الجرام الواحد، هذه التقنية لم توجد لدى دولة أخرى غير الولايات المتحدة.
بعد هذا الكشف سكتت الضجة، ونسي الناس الرعب الذي ظل يلفهم، كما نسوا قضية الأموات والمصابين، وكان التفسير البديل الذي قدم للناس: أن المسؤول عن هذا العمل هو في الغالب شخص وطني!! مخلص!!، أراد أن ينبه الأمة بصورة عملية عن خطر امتلاك الإرهابيين المسلمين للسلاح البيولوجي.
وفي شهر أغسطس 2008 تناقلت مصادر الأخبار[2] أن وزارة العدل الأمريكية وجهت الاتهام بالمسؤولية عن إرسال الرسائل وما نتج عنها إلى العالم (senior biodefense researcher) العامل في مختبرات الجيش الأمريكيUnited States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID (بروس. إى. آيفنز) Bruce Edwards Ivins وذلك بعد مضى بضعة أيام على موته.
أغرب ما في الحكاية، أن ما كشفت عنه خبيرة السلاح البيولوجي، بعد أكثر من شهر، كان لابد معروفا للإدارة الأمريكية من اليوم الأول – إن لم تكن هي نفسها متورطة في العملية- ولكن الدولة الديمقراطية لم تُسئل من قبل البرلمان، ولم تُحاسب عن وضع الشعب في حالة فزع ورعب من الإرهابيين المسلمين لمدة أكثر من شهر، وعن تغييب الحقيقة، وتزييفها، عن طريق الإعلام وتصريحات السياسيين.
9- بالرغم من الجهود المبذولة طول السنوات الماضية في محاربة الإرهاب الإسلامي، والتي ليس من أقلها الشحنات الكبيرة والمستمرة من المشتبه فيهم الذين يختطفون ويرسلون إلى ما يسمى بالمواقع السوداء Black Sites حيث مراكز التعذيب في دول الاتحاد السوفيتي السابقة – بما فيها أشنع مركز للتعذيب في العالم في أوزبكستان وبعض الدول في الشرق الأوسط، وذلك تحت عذر الحاجة للحصول على معلومات فإن أسرار حادث 11 سبتمبر لا تزال في المرحلة التي وصفها مدير المباحث الفيدرالية الأمريكية بعد عدة أشهر من الحادث بقوله[3]: [إن الخاطفين لم يتركوا أي أثر يظهر صلتهم بالغير، ولم نجد في أمريكا أو في أفغانستان قصاصة ورق تدل على شيء من ذلك].
إن شحنات المرشحين للتعذيب التي ترسل للمواقع السوداء، والتي تتوقف في المطارات الأوروبية وتغض الحكومات الأوروبية النظر عنها، لا تؤشر فقط إلى المستوى الأخلاقي الذي بلغته الدولة المتحضرة في أمريكا وأوروبا فيما يتعلق بالقيم الكونية بل تكشف عن غرائب ما كان يمكن أن تصدق لولا أنها وقعت، وإلاّ من كان يصدق بأن الإدارة الأمريكية بالتعاون مع الجهات الأمنية الكندية تختطف مواطناً كنديا من أصل سوري ثم تشحنه إلى سوريا (محور الشر كما تسمى) ليتم استجوابه تحت إمكانيات التعذيب، ولما تأكدت الأجهزة السورية المختصة بأن ليس لدى الرجل ما يمكن أن يكون موضع اهتمام الحكومة السورية أو الحكومة الأمريكية أطلقت سراحه، مما اضطر معه رئيس الحكومة الكندية إلى الاعتذار، والاعتراف بأن هذه العملية نقطة سوداء في تاريخ الحكومة الكندية، وأن تعوض الحكومة الكندية الرجل عن البلاء الذي تعرض له جسميا ونفسيا بمبلغ عشرة ملايين دولار كندي.
بقية المقال في الحلقة القادمة بإذن الله
Zawahiri’s Planned Use of Charities And Universities As Cover
On August 20, 2001, Saleh Hussayen, who would soon be appointed minister of the Saudi government and put in charge of its two holy mosques, arrived in the United States to meet with some of this country’s most influential fundamentalist Sunni Muslim leaders. In Ann Arbor, he met with officials of the Global Relief Foundation and Islamic Assembly of North America. IANA promoted the views of Bin Laden’s sheiks. On the night before September 11, Hussayen stayed at a Herndon, Virginia hotel where three of the Saudi hijackers stayed.
As a Detroit Free Press headline explained in 2004, “Unproven weapons claim led to Islamic charity raid in [mid-December] ‘01.” Global Relief Founder (”GRF”) co-founder Rabih Haddad was associated with Bin Laden’s Makhtab al-Khidamat, which was headed by Mohammed Islambouli in Peshawar. The government froze the assets of the GRF on December 14, 2001, saying it was a financial conduit to terrorists. The 911’s Terrorist Financing Monograph notes that GRF’s newsletter openly advocated a militant interpretation of Islam and armed jihad. The 911 Commission reports that the FBI suspected the Executive Director of being affiliated with the blind sheik’s Egyptian Islamic Group. The 911 Commission explains: . “In early 2000, Chicago informed Detroit that GRF’s executive director, Chehade, had been calling two Michigan residents. One of these subjects was considered GRF’s spiritual leader and the other, Rabih Haddad, was a major GRF fund-raiser.”
Its Chairman, Ann Arbor, Michigan community leader Rabih Haddad, was arrested in mid-December 2001 for overstaying his visa. Haddad taught twice a week at an Ann Arbor school and was an assistant to the leader at Ann Arbor’s mosque. He was an imam there. Rabih Haddad was a fundraiser for the mosques in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and for the Ann Arbor chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Congressman John Conyers, Jr, of Michigan joined several newspapers in suing to force the government to open the hearings. After a visit by Congressman Conyers in March 2002, Mr. Haddad was removed from solitary confinement and placed with the general prison population.” Mr. Haddad’s lawyer, Ashraf Nubani, of Northern Virginia, said at the time that his client travelled mostly to Pakistan as part of his relief efforts. Haddad refused to testify before a grand jury unless granted full immunity.
The New York Times reported that “Prosecutors said they were keeping some evidence secret to protect terrorism investigations.” Haddad’s lawyer arranged the pro bono representation for the Virginia Paintball defendants, including Al-Timimi, who came to be represented pro bono by the daughter of the former lead Amerithrax prosecutor Daniel Seikaly.
The FBI had a better relationship with the CIA in the investigation of BIF than with GRF. The 9/11 Commission noted that “[t]he Chicago agents believed the CIA wanted to shield certain information from the FBI because of fears of revealing sources and methods in any potential criminal litigation in the United States.” Chicago agents benefited from the New York Office files on the two charities but the New York FBI office personnel were overwhelmed and working their own leads. The Illinois-based investigations remained an intelligence gathering exercise with no thought given to a criminal prosecution to disrupt the financing of Al Qaeda until after 9/11.
In mid-October 2001, Dr. Martin Hugh-Jones of Louisiana State University told an NPR reporter that an insider could have taken some anthrax from a lab. ” ‘If I were to guess,’ he says, ‘it was probably some summer intern talking to a friend in a local bar. The friend said, “Could you get me some?”‘ Hugh-Jones noted that various groups had been scouting for anthrax for years.
In January 2003, the Chairman of Ann Arbor-based Islamic Assembly of North America, which promoted the views of Bin Laden’s sheiks, was arrested for bouncing a $6,000 check. Dr. Bassem Khafagi operated International Media Group out of his home. Before 911, according to the counsel for Falls Church scientist Ali Al-Timimi, Ann Arbor resident Khafagi was asked about Al-Timimi “purportedly at the behest of American intelligence. [redacted ] He was specifically asked about Dr. Al-Timimi’s connection to Bin Laden prior to Dr. Al-Timimi’s arrest. Clearly, such early investigations go directly to the allegations of Dr. Al-Timimi’s connections to terrorists and Bin Laden — [redacted]” Khafagi was a good friend of microbiologist Ali Al-Timimi and his personal papers were later found in Al-Timimi’s residence.
Dr. Tarek Hamouda at NanoBio in Ann Arbor thanked Louisiana State University researchers for making space available for the research. The LSU researchers had provided four characterized strains while Bruce Ivins had provided virulent Ames. After the anthrax mailings, “We’ve had subpoenas left, right and center. We were inspected twice by the CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]. Hugh-Jones told a reporter. “The FBI is frequently calling in. We’re cooperating closely.”
The Ann Arbor researchers in December 1999 went to Dugway, a military installation in the remote Utah desert to demonstrate the effectiveness of their biocidal cream on an aerosolized anthrax surrogate.
In late August 2001, NanoBio moved in to its new offices from less impressive digs in the basement of a bank. Bruce Ivins had supplied its University of Michigan researchers Ames strain three years earlier for DARPA-funded biodefense research.
Infiltration of the Military and Biodefense
Among the supporters of these militant islamists were people like US scientist Ali Al-Timimi and Pakistan scientist Rauf Ahmad who blended into society and were available to act when another part of the network requested it. Two letters — one typed and an earlier handwritten one — written by a scientist named Rauf Ahmad detailed his efforts to obtain a pathogenic strain of anthrax. He attended conferences on anthrax and dangerous pathogens such as one in September 2000 at the University of Plymouth co-sponsored by DERA, the UK Defense Evaluation and Research Agency. In October 2009, historian Christopher Andrew published an official history of MI5 in which he reported that MI5 had found money and equipment in Rauf Ahmad’s luggage as he left the September 2000 conference.
A handwritten letter from 1999 is written on letterhead of the oldest microbiology society in Great Britain. The 1999 documents seized in Afghanistan by US forces by Rauf describe the author’s visit to the special confidential room at the BL-3 facility where 1000s of pathogenic cultures were kept; his consultation with other scientists on some of technical problems associated with weaponizing anthrax; the bioreactor and laminar flows to be used in Al Qaeda’s anthrax lab; a conference he attended on dangerous pathogens cosponsored by UK’s Porton Down and Society for Applied Microbiology, and the need for vaccination and containment. Rauf had arranged to take a lengthy post-doc leave from his employer and was grousing to Zawahiri that what the employer would be paying during that 12-month period was inadequate.
One typed memo reporting on a lab visit, which included tour of a BioLevel 3 facility, where there were 1000s of pathogenic samples. The memo mentioned the pending paperwork relating to export of the pathogens. The documents were provided to me by DIA under the Freedom of Information Act. In various email exchanges with Rauf over time, he invariably told me little and always ended up asking if there was money available for a sabbatical in the United States.
Taliban supporter Al-Timimi was a graduate student in the same building where famed Russian bioweapon Ken Alibek and former USAMRIID head Charles Bailey worked at George Mason University. The three worked at the secure facility at Discovery Hall at the Prince William 2 campus. Dr. Alibek and Dr. Bailey headed a biodefense program funded by DARPA. In the US, to infiltrate the military all one needed to do was to go to graduate school. Al-Timimi had a top security clearance and had worked for SRA International doing mathematical support work for the Navy. In 2000 and 2001, Timimi was a graduate student in computational sciences. His field was bioinformatics.
Al-Timimi tended to travel to give speeches on interpretation of the koran during semester breaks. Al-Timimi’s speeches are widely distributed on the internet and tend to focus on religious rather than political issues. A district court judge would say that Al-Timimi’s later speeches tended to favor violent jihad. After 9/11, they reportedly were removed from the website of the Center he had founded. The night of 9/11, he got in a heated debate with some colleagues. He said while islamically impermissible, the targeting of civilians was not impermissible where they were used as a shield. Others thought that it was reckless to say that so soon after the 9/11 attack when emotions were so inflamed.
Years earlier, the blind sheik’s son, Mohammed Abdel-Rahman was scheduled to come from Afghanistan to speak at the IANA 1993 conference alongside Ali Al-Timimi and former EIJ member Gamal Sultan. Al-Timimi was scheduled to speak alongside the blind sheik’s son again in 1996, the year Bin Laden issued his Declaration of War against the United States. In July and August 2001, Ali was scheduled to speak in Toronto and London alongside “911 imam” Anwar Awlaki and unindicted WTC 1993 “unindicted co-conspirator” Bilal Philips. His wife Ziyana, when I spoke to her by telephone, was very gracious. Absent consent of Ali’s counsel, however, she could not answer the substantive question why Ali had a high security clearance for SRA in 1999 for work for the Navy. He received a letter of commendation from the White House for his work.
Malaysian Yazid Sufaat, who told his wife he was working for a Taliban medical brigade when he went to Afghanistan, got the job of anthrax lab director instead of Rauf. Yazid Sufaat tells me by Facebook chat that what he did was for the love of Islam. He says that the plan “is on the way.” He explains that he was part of the Malaysian biological weapons program before that country signed the nonproliferation treaty. He did not tell interrogators because he felt he had been betrayed by his country.
Kurt Eichenwald in 500 DAYS (2012) refers to Alawi’s claim that Sufaat had poor lab techniques even though the detainee assessment emphasizes that Alawi regularly lied and refused to cooperate on the subject of anthrax. Alawi was a charity worker helping Sufaat with financing from Karachi. Kurt nowhere mentions that Sufaat was part of Malaysia’s biological program. Yazid, in contrast, tells me that he could work magic.
EIJ Military Commander’s Claims About Ayman’s Anthrax Plans
The CIA has known of Zawahiri’s plans to use anthrax since July 1998, when the CIA seized a disc from Ayman Zawahiri’s right-hand, Ahmed Mabruk, during his arrest outside a restaurant in Baku, Azerbaijan. At the time, Mabruk was the head of Jihad’s military operations. Mabruk was handed over to Egyptian authorities. A close associate and former cellmate in Dagestan in 1996, Mabruk was at Ayman’s side while Ayman would fall to his knees during trial and weep and invoke Allah. Their captors reportedly did not know the true identity of the prisoners. After Mabruk’s capture in Baku, Azerbaijan, the CIA refused to give the FBI Mabruk’s laptop. FBI’s Bin Laden expert John O’Neill, head of the FBI’s New York office, tried to get around this by sending an agent to Azerbaijan to get copies of the computer files from the Azerbaijan government. The FBI finally got the files after O’Neill persuaded President Clinton to personally appeal to the president of Azerbaijan for the computer files. FBI Special Agent Dan Coleman would later describe the laptop as the “Rosetta Stone of Al Qaeda.” O’Neill died on 9/11 in his role as head of World Trade Center security. He died with the knowledge that Ayman Zawahiri planned to attack US targets with anthrax — and that Zawahiri does not make a threat that he does not intend to try to keep.
At the time, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (”DTRA”) set up a program at Lawrence Livermore to combat the Bin Laden anthrax threat. The CIA also snatched Egyptian Al-Najjar, another senior Al Qaeda member (a shura or policy-making council member). Al-Najjar reportedly had been working for the Egyptian intelligence services. Al-Najjar confirmed Ayman’s intent to use anthrax as a weapon against US targets in connection with the detention of militant islamists in a sworn lengthy confession. Even Zawahiri’s friend, Cairo lawyer Montasser al-Zayat, the blind sheik’s attorney, announced in March 1999 that Bin Laden and Zawahiri were likely to resort to the biological and chemical agents they possessed given the extradition pressure senior Movement leaders faced. That week, and thoughout that year, Al-Zayat was in touch by telephone with US Post Office employee Sattar and Islamic Group leaders about the group’s strategy to free the blind sheik. An islamist who had been a close associate of Zawahiri later would explain that Zawahiri spent a decade and had made 15 separate attempts to recruit the necessary expertise to weaponize anthrax in Russia and the Middle East.
EIJ military commander Mabruk was in regular contact with Mahmoud Jaballah, who was in Toronto beginning May 1996. Although Mabruk changed his location every few months, Jaballah kept aware of his whereabouts through his contacts with Jaballah’s brother-in-law Shehata. Shehata was in charge of EIJ’s “special operations.” When Mabruk was arrested and imprisoned in Dagestan along with Zawahiri, Jaballah was told on December 13, 1996 that Mabruk was “hospitalized.” That was code for “in jail” and, for example, is the code used by Zawahiri in emails on the same subject. Jaballah raised funds for Mabruk’s release and coordinated these collection efforts with Shehata. Indeed, it was Jaballah’s brother-in-law Shehata who brought the money to Dagestan to arrange for Zawahiri’s and Mabruk’s release.
Correspondence between Mabruk and Jaballah in 1997 reported on Jaballah’s recruitment efforts. Mabruk, EIJ’s military commander, was pleased. Jaballah confirmed with Shehata and Mabruk his view of the reliability of the individuals he had recruited. His reported that his recruits were affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Zawahiri and the Vanguards of Conquest sought to recreate Mohammed’s taking of mecca by a small band through violent attacks on Egyptian leaders.
The cause of the Egyptian militants had suffered a serious setback with the murder of tourists at Luxor. After the public relations debacle of Luxor, and after the August 1998 US embassy bombings, al-Qaeda actively sought religious and legal opinions from Movement scholars around the world who might help rationalize the killing of innocents.
A February 1999 letter signed by “Army of Suicidals Group 66, Bin Laden Militant Wing” threatened anthrax attacks against Westerners if they stayed in Yemen beyond a 11-day ultimatum ending February 27, 1999. Investigators considered a possible connection to the attempted extradition to Yemen of the London-based Egyptian Islamic preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri. Memos in the Spring of 1999 from Zawahiri to Egyptian Mohammed Atef, Al Qaeda’s military commander, and former Cairo police sergeant, indicate that Ayman was a close student of the USAMRIID anthrax program. He believed that the Koran instructed that a jihadist should use the weapons used by the crusader. “What we know is that he’s always said it was a religious obligation to have the same weapons as their enemies,” former CIA Bin Laden unit counterterrorism chief Michael Scheuer once explained.
The most senior Vanguards of Conquest leader in North America was Mohammad Mahjoub. Mahjoub had known Essam Mohamed Hafez Marzouk. Marzouk had trained the 1998 embassy bombers. Marzouk was one of those picked up in Azerbaijan in August 1998. For a time, Marzouk had lived in Canada in British Columbia. After initially denying he knew Marzouk, Mahjoub testified in 2001 that earlier he had lied and said he knew and had been in contact with him. Canadian Vanguards member Jaballah claimed that Mahjoub was in regular contact with Marzouk.
87 of the 107 defendants in the 1999 “Returnees from Albania” trial in Cairo were Vanguards members. Mahjoub was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 15 years. The group swore that it would seek revenge in retaliation for the convictions in that case.
In early February 2001, the CIA briefed President Bush on what was known about Al Qaeda’s anthrax plans. The bail for Vanguards of Conquest #2 was denied on October 5, 2001. The anthrax mailer then sent especially deadly anthrax to the people in the symbolic position of appropriations to Egypt and Israel and the rendering of senior Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Egyptian Islamic Group leaders.
Infiltration Of The ATCC-Sponsored Program At GMU’s Discovery Hall Housing The DARPA-Funded Center For Biodefense
On March 14, 2001, former USAMRIID deputy commander Ames researcher Charles L. Bailey and famed Russian bioweaponeer Ken Alibek filed a patent application for a process to treat cell culture with hydrophobic silicon dioxide. Dr. Bailey was in Room 156B of GMU’s Discovery Hall at the Center for Biodefense. Ali Al-Timimi, an associate of radical Saudi sheik al-Hawali, considered to be Bin Laden’s spiritual mentor, was a graduate student who worked in the same building. Ali Al-Timimi was the most celebrated speaker of the charity Islamic Assembly of North America (”IANA”). The IANA website had published the fatwa “Provision of Suicide Operations,” dated June 19, 2001, that stated: “The mujahid [or warrior] must kill himself if he knows this will lead to killing a great number of the enemies or demolishing a center vital to the enemy or its military forces. In this new era, this can be accomplished with the modern means of bombing or bringing down an airplane on an important location that will cause the enemy great losses.” On August 26, 2001, IANA’s website http://www.islamway.com published a propaganda statement that encouraged individuals to join arms against the West titled “An Invitation to Jihad,” stating that “[t]he mujahid brothers will accept you with open arms and within a period of two weeks you will be given commando training and will be sent to the frontline.”
In mid-December 2001, the US arrested US-based Al Qaeda biochem operative Ali Al-Marri, who had arrived on September 10, 2001 and was nominally a student living in Macomb, Illinois. Al-Marri had lived in Macomb the previous summer and had traveled to New York City to join with UK operative Dhiren Barot to case NYC helicopters and financial institutions. Authorities had learned of calls he made from Illinois to KSM’s assistant al-Hawsawi. He had the imam at the local mosque store the computer in his basement and then ship it to Washington.
Beginning December 2001, Ali Al-Timimi was on GMU staff and paid $70,000 a year. Officials learned of communications between Al-Timimi and Bin Laden’s spiritual adviser, radical Saudi sheik al-Hawali. Al-Timimi’s attorney, for example, says that Al-Timimi and Al-Hawali spoke on September 16, 2001 and September 19, 2001. They later spoke in coordinating a letter to members of Congress on the first anniversary of the anthrax letters to the Senators and helping Moussaoui with his defense.
In March 2002, a crude biological weapons site was found in Afghanistan. U.S. forces discovered a site near the southern Afghan city of Kandahar that appeared to be an Al Qaeda biological weapons lab under construction. Zawahiri’s plan, evidenced in the documents found previous in the Fall, was to move the location of the lab every 3 months.
In February 2011, the National Academies of Sciences reported:
“In December 2010-January 2011, the FBI first made available to the Committee “AMX Weekly Science Updates” and a newly de-classified document that described the collection and analysis of environmental samples from an undisclosed site outside the continental United States (OCONUS) for the presence of B. anthracis Ames (FBI/USDOJ, 2011, FBI Documents, WFO Report). This work was performed as part of the anthrax letters investigation. Few details were made available to the committee.
At least three sample collection missions were conducted by the FBI and/or partners from the intelligence community at an overseas site because of information about efforts by Al Qaeda to develop an “anthrax program” (FBI/USDOJ, 2011). In May 2004, the FBI and partners from the intelligence community visited an overseas location at which they had been told an anthrax program had been operating, and brought back swab and swipe samples to the United States. None of the samples grew B. anthracis after incubation in culture media. However, three swab samples were reported as positive for B. anthracis and for B. anthracis Ames-specific sequences by PCR, including swabbings from the outside of an unopened medicine dropper package, a sink, and a sink drain hose. Repeat testing of these three positive samples as part of a group of 15 blinded samples, including soil samples, water blanks and non Ames Bacillus species, again yielded positive results for two of the three same samples (and for none of the other samples).
However, not all replicates of the DNA extracts from the positive samples gave positive results. Apparently, an earlier collection mission to this site, prior to May 2004, by others in the intelligence community had also yielded samples with positive PCR results for B. anthracis
DNA and negative culture results. As a result of these findings, a third collection mission was conducted in November 2004 and this time large portions of the site were returned intact to the United States, including the entire sink, drain, and associated plumbing that had been the source of the positive March 2004 samples. These items were extensively sampled, and again tested for both viable B. anthracis and for B. anthracis DNA. This time, according to the June 2008 declassified document, all the tests were negative (FBI Documents, WFO Report).
The committee was provided only fragmentary information about and limited primary data from this work and received them very late in our study. We consider these data to be inconclusive regarding the possible presence of B. anthracis Ames at this undisclosed overseas site. Several scientific and technical issues should be explored in more detail, such as the performance characteristics of the assays, whether or not the assays were validated for use with these sample types, the degree to which samples or sample locations gave repeatedly positive results, interpretation of inconsistent positive results, whether or not the Ames genetic mutations in the anthrax letters were detected in any of these overseas samples, and the natural distribution of B. anthracis strain types in this overseas geographic region.”
As he described to ABCNEWS, Dr. Alibek and other scientists in March 2002 took lie detector tests. He had to answer questions including “Did you do it?” and “Do you know who did it?” Alibek reports that he passed the test. Although Dr. Alibek offered his services to the FBI Director in a letter, the response was that they already had a large group working on it. In late June 2002, quoting unnamed law enforcement officials, the Associated Press reported that up to 200 polygraph tests had been given to current and former employees of the Battelle Institute and of Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, where scientists have developed a powdered form of anthrax for testing biological defense systems. It was Dugway that provided the simulant used in testing after the 2001 threat letter relating to the detention of Mahjoub, the former manager of Bin Laden’s farm in Sudan. The DARPA-funded Dr. Alibek and Dr. Bailey had both worked for Battelle as consultants. Dr. David Franz advises that in 2001, if a researcher wanted to test a biodefense project, if it was inside, it could be done at either West Jefferson, Ohio facilty or at the Dugway facility managed by Battelle in Utah. But if it was an outside testing, it would be done in Utah. I did not think to ask Dr. Franz about testing at SRI (of which he had been Vice-President) — when I asked him if SRI had virulent Ames in Fall 2001 he declined to respond.
In August 2002, Afghan police found a store of chemicals in a house in Kabul formerly occupied by a Saudi non-governmental organization, the WAFA Humanitarian Organization. Local media reports called it a terrorist laboratory. “Some containers and documents have been found by the police authorities,” a spokesman for international peacekeepers said. One local report said that the discovery included 36 types of chemicals, explosive materials, fuses, laboratory equipment and some “terroristic guide books.” It said the laboratory was found in a residence in the diplomatic area of Kabul in a building that had been used by an Arab national who headed the group prior to 9/11. WAFA was a militant supporter of the Taliban. Documents found in WAFA’s offices in Afghanistan revealed that the charity was intimately involved in assassination plots against U.S. citizens as well as the distribution of “how to” manuals on chemical and biological warfare. U.S. officials have described WAFA as a key component of Bin Laden’s organization.
In 2002, a man named Singh tried to purchase over the internet a wireless video module and a control module for use in an unmanned aerial vehicle (”UAV”). He chose an airborne video system with a camera and transmitter able to transmit video images from a UAV back to a receiver from as far as 15 miles away. The video camera could be used in military reconnaissance and in helping aim artillery and other weaponry across enemy lines. Singh placed his order from England, but the company was unable to confirm Singh’s overseas credit card. Two young men from Northern Virginia, Chapman and Khan, who were among the group later known as the “Virginia Paintball Defendants,” assisted him in completing the purchases. As the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals later explained, the pair “attended the Dar al Arqam Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia where Ali Timimi, a primary lecturer, spoke of the necessity to engage in violent jihad against the enemies of Islam and the ‘end of time’ battle between Muslims and non-Muslims.” In the summer of 2002, Singh visited Virginia, staying first with one of them and then with the other. Ali Timimi was unindicted co-conspirator number 1 in the Virginia Paintball Case, and was only later identified by Prosecutors (and then separately indicted).
Ali Timimi drafted a letter from dissident Saudi sheik Hawali dated October 6, 2002. He had it hand delivered it to every member of the US Congress just before their vote authorizing the use of force against Iraq. Although drafted by Al-Timimi, the letter was sent from Bin Laden’s sheik al-Hawali and warned of the disastrous consequences that would follow an invasion of Iraq. Rm 154A in George Mason’s Discovery Hall (down from former USAMRIID head Dr. Bailey in Rm 156B) would be Victor Morozov’s room number when he first assumed Timimi’s phone number in 2004 (and before he moved to a newly constructed, adjacent building). Morozov was the co-inventor with Dr. Bailey of the related cell culture process under which the silica was removed from the spore surface. A faculty member who would consult with Ali suggests that it instead was Rm. 154B, in the middle of the office suite.
Former Jama’a al-Islamiya leader wants pardon, not retrial
Al-Masry Al-Youm
Tahseen Bakr
Former Jama’a al-Islamiya leader Ahmed Refa’i Taha told the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper Friday that he wanted to be pardoned, rather than released pending a ruling in a case in which he is accused of terrorist activities outside and inside Egypt.
The Beni Suef Criminal Court decided to release Wednesday four Jamaa al-Islamiya leaders pending a ruling in the case of the “Returnees from Albania.”
A military court had formerly sentenced the defendants to death.
The case was referred to a civilian court after Parliament amended the military judiciary law and canceled the president’s power to refer civilians to military courts.
The Returnees from Albania are accused of being jihadists who flocked to the Balkans after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 under the pretext of supporting the resistance. Some returned to Egypt while others moved in the early 1990’s to allegedly fight with the Muslim residents of Balkan countries.
The Egyptian authorities charged the defendants with attempting to overthrow a regime, killing civilians, and targeting tourism and Christians.
Along with Taha, Jama’a al-Islamiya Shura Council member Osman al-Samman, group leader Mostafa Hamza, and brother of former President Mohamed al-Sadat’s assassin Showky al-Islambouli were released. The Beni Suef Criminal Court adjourned the case until Wednesday, 5 November to give the defendants’ lawyers time to study the case.
Taha expressed dissatisfaction with his release pending retrial.
Mohammed Al-Islambouli Finally Surfaces
Kenneth Katzman in “Terrorism: Near Eastern Groups and State Sponsors, 2001,” CRS Report for Congress, September 10, 2001 explained that past plotting by the bin Laden network suggests that “the network wants to strike within the United States itself.” Mr. Katzman explained in the September 10, 2001 report to Congress:
“The following Egyptian Islamist figures have been named SDT’s: (1) Shaykh Umar Abd al-Rahman, who was acquitted in 1984 of inciting Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s assassination, is in a medical detention facility in Missouri following his October 1995 conviction for planning terrorist conspiracies in the New York area; (2) Ayman al-Zawahiri, about 50, who is a top lieutenant of bin Ladin (see below) and was convicted in Egypt for the Sadat assassination, (3) Rifa’i Taha Musa, about 47, another top aide of bin Ladin; … and (6) Muhammad Shawqi Islambouli, about 46, the brother of the lead gunman in the Sadat assassination. Islambouli, a military leader of the Islamic Group, also is believed to be associated with bin Ladin in Afghanistan.”
Muhammad Islambouli is connected to both Midhat Mursi (aka Abu Khabab) and blind sheik’s son Mohammed. Islambouli was a former student of blind sheik Abdel-Rahman. The CIA and FBI knew all of this on September 10, 2001. The IANA charity was promoting the views of Bin Laden’s sheiks who had been expressly the subject of the 1996 Declaration of War. Handing over the “keys to the kingdom” to a scientist working with Bin Laden’s sheik and actively supporting the Taliban — or even storing them in the same building — was not a good idea.
In October 2006, the Al Qaeda spymaster Al-Hakayma, who had written about the Amerithrax investigation, announced that the Egyptian Islamic Group had joined Al Qaeda. In his introduction on the tape, Al-Zawahiri said the Egyptian Islamic Group was led by Mohammed al-Islambouli, the younger brother of Khaled al-Islambouli, the militant who assassinated Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat in 1981. Islambouli fled Egypt in 1988. Mohammed al-Islambouli worked for Maktab al-Khidmat (Bureau of Services) in Peshawar. Maktab al-Khidmat was established by Azzam, Bin Laden’s mentor, and financed by Bin Laden. The blind sheik would stay with Islambouli and Zawahiri in a large house outside Peshawar when he visited from Brooklyn. Islambouli was deputy leader of the Islamic Group. Islambouli told the press that the group would continue its holy war against the Egyptian government.
In early 1993 he moved 100 miles west to Jalabad, Afghanistan from Peshawar upon a crackdown on Arab fighters. In 1993, the US and Egypt was putting pressure on ISI to deal with the same militants everyone had welcomed repelling the Soviets from Afghanistan. Islambouli was sentenced to death in absentia in 1993. The CIA noted in a December 4, 1998 President Daily Briefing to President Clinton that Islambouli was involved in planning the attacks on the US involving aircraft and other attacks in retaliation for the detention of the blind sheik Abdel-Rahman. According to the PDB, someone from Saudi Arabia was expected to travel to the United States to meet with other Egyptian Islamic Group members to discuss options. At one point, Islambouli was thought to have spent much of his time in Algeria under the assumed name Mahmoud Youssef.
In January 2007, Muhammad Hanif, a spokesman for the Taliban, spoke quietly to the camera. Taliban leader Mullah Omar, he said, was living in Quetta under the protection of the Pakistan ISI. In a press conference, the governor of the province on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan reported that they had found packets of powdered anthrax in his home upon his arrest. As reported by Afghan Islamic Press news agency and translated by BBC Worldwide Monitoring, the Governor said: “A biological substance, anthrax, was also seized from those arrested. They planned to send the substance in envelopes addressed to government officials.” The claim has not been confirmed or corroborated.
In March 2007, Khalid Mohammed confessed before a military tribunal that “I was directly in charge, after the death of Sheikh Abu Hafs [Atef] of managing and following up on the cell for the production of biological weapons, such as anthrax and others, and following up on dirty-bomb operations on American soil.
In late March 2007, islamist attorney Mamdouh Ismail was arrested. Egyptian authorities accuse Mamdouh Ismail, a prominent defender of islamists and former EIJ member who had been imprisoned for 3 years after Sadat’s assassination, of working with Ayman as a key liaison with Iraqi and Yemeni jihadis. The prosecution claimed that Attorney Ismail linked the Al Qaeda leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan with networks in Algeria, Iraq and Yemen. Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution also charged Ismail with leading what officials termed al Qaeda’s “Egyptian Project,” an effort to revive al Qaeda in Egypt. Ismail was the attorney for Egyptian biochemist al-Nashar, a polymerization expert who owned keys to the bomb flat of the 7/7 London subway bombers. Al-Nashar had been a student in North Carolina in 2000 where Al-Timimi’s group had a branch.
But it’s a new day. Now the President of Egypt can be expected to pardon Taha and Islambouli. Maybe if FBI had not messed up Amerithrax, the Salafists supporting the jihadis had not won a democratic election in Egypt.
Motive: The Need To See Things Through Your Adversary’s Eyes
On the issue of motive and the reason Senators Daschle and Leahy would have been targeted — they are commonly simplistically viewed as “liberals.” Zawahiri likely targeted Senators Daschle and Leahy to receive anthrax letters, in addition to various media outlets, because of the appropriations made pursuant to the “Leahy Law” to military and security forces. That money has prevented the militant islamists from achieving their goals. Al Qaeda members and sympathizers feel that the FBI’s involvement in countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the Philippines undermines their prospects of establishing a worldwide Caliphate. The Fall 2001 letter from Al Qaeda spokesman al- Kuwaiti, directed to the American public — but which was not released until 2006 — claimed that the green light had been given for a US bio attack (1) from folks who were US-based, (2) above suspicion, and (3) who had access to US and UK government and intelligence information. He explained: “There is no animosity between us. You involved yourselves in this battle. The war is between us and the Jews. You interfered in our countries and influenced our governments to strike against the Moslems.”
Senator Leahy was Chairman of both the Judiciary Committee overseeing the FBI and Appropriations Subcommittee in charge of foreign aid to these countries. In late September 2001, it was announced that the President was seeking a blanket waiver that would lift all restrictions on aid to military and security units in connection with pursuing the militant islamists. This extradition and imprisonment of Al Qaeda leaders, along with US support for Israel and the Mubarak government in Egypt, remains foremost in the mind of Dr. Zawahiri and men like Islamic Group leaders Mohammed Islambouli and Rafa Taha. At the height of the development of his biological weapons program, Zawahiri’s brother was extradited pursuant to a death sentence in the “Albanian returnees” case. It’s hard to keep up with the stories about billion dollar appropriations, debt forgiveness, and loan guarantees to countries like Egypt and Israel and now even Pakistan. Those appropriations pale in comparison to the many tens of billions in appropriations relating to the invasion of Iraq. Salafist-Jihadi supporters had a motive.
The anthrax that infected the first victim, Bob Stevens, is thought by some to have been contained in a letter to AMI, the publisher of tabloids — in a goofy love letter to Jennifer Lopez enclosing a Star of David and proposing marriage. A report by the Center for Disease Control of interviews with AMI employees (as well as detailed interviews by Rutgers Professor Leonard Cole) supports the conclusion that there were not one, but two, such mailings containing anthrax. (The letters were to different AMI publications — one to the National Enquirer and another to The Sun).
Just because Al Qaeda likes its truck bombs and the like to be effective does not mean they do not see the value in a deadly missive. As Brian Jenkins once said, “terrorism is theater.” A sender purporting to be islamist sent cyanide in both early 2002 and early 2003 in New Zealand and ingredients of nerve gas in Belgium in 2003. There’s even a chapter titled “Poisonous Letter” in the Al Qaeda manual.
A former leader of an armed Islamic group in Libya, Numan Bin Uthman, recently wrote an open letter Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2007 indirectly revealing that the purpose of the anthrax in the first place was deterrence against the invasion of Afghanistan. Bin Uthman, alluding to a Summer 2000 meeting over several days in Kandahar at which these issues discussed, argued that the strategy of using nonconventional WMD to deter an invasion of Afghanistan was a misguided and failed strategy. Use of such weapons, he explained to Zawahiri, merely contributed to both the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Zawahiri’s April/May 1999 Memos To Al Qaeda’s Military Commander Atef and Interest In Anthrax and Pesticides
George Tenet, in At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA, summarized:
“The most startling revelation from this intelligence success story was that the anthrax program had been developed in parallel to 9/11 planning. As best as we could determine, al-Zawahiri’s project had been wrapped up in the summer of 2001, when the al-Qaida deputy, along with Hambali, were briefed over a week by Sufaat on the progress he had made to isolate anthrax. The entire operation had been managed at the top of al-Qai’da with strict compartmentalization. Having completed this phase of his work, Sufaat fled Afghanistan in December 2001 and was captured by authorities trying to sneak back into Malaysia. Rauf Ahmad was detained by Pakistani authorities in December 2001. Our hope was that these and our many other actions had neutralized the anthrax threat, at least temporarily.”
In an April 1999 memorandum, Zawahiri wrote that “the destructive power of these [biological] weapons is no less than that of nuclear weapons. ***[D]espite their extreme danger, we only became aware of them when the enemy drew our attention to them by repeatedly expressing concern that they can be produced simply.” Demonstrating that Al Qaeda’s knowledge and expertise was still at a very early stage despite the grand statements and threats the earlier year, the memorandum read:
“To: Muhammed Atef
From: Ayman al-Zawahir
Folder: Outgoing Mail
I have read the majority of the book [an unnamed volume, probably on biological and chemical weapons] [It] is undoubtedly useful. It emphasizes a number of important facts, such as:
1) The enemy started thinking about these weapons before WWI. Despite their extreme danger, we only became aware of them when the enemy drew our attention to them by repeatedly expressing concerns that they can be produced simply with easily available materials.
b) The destructive power of these weapons is no less than that of nuclear weapon
c) A germ attack is often detected days after it occurs, which raises the number of victims.
d) Defense against such weapons is very difficult, particularly if large quantities are used.”
Ayman continued: “I would like to emphasize what we previously discussed—that looking for a specialist is the fastest, safest, and cheapest way [to embark on a biological- and chemical-weapons program].
Simultaneously, we should conduct a search on our own.*
** Along these lines, the book guided me to a number of references that I am attaching. Perhaps you can find someone to obtain them.”
The memorandum goes on to cite mid-twentieth-century articles from, among other sources, Science, The Journal of Immunology, and The New England Journal of Medicine, and lists the names of such books as Tomorrow’s Weapons (1964), Peace or Pestilence (1949), and Chemical Warfare (1921). The April 1999 email to Atef indicated Ayman had read one USAMRIID author’s description of the secret history of anthrax reported by USAMRIID — the book was called Peace or Pestilence.
That letter and Dr. Ayman’s background reading was 2 1/2 years before the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings. Post-9/11, we have had the same history avidly reported to us by critics of the biodefense industry. Ayman, well-aware of USAMRIID’s history with anthrax, may have had an operative or some other sympathizer arrange to obtain the US Army strain that would point the public and authorities to this history — confounding true crime analysis at the same time providing moral justification for the use anthrax under the laws of jihad. His interpretation — alluded to in the repeated citation to a particular koranic verse — was that jihadists should use the weapons used by their enemies.
In Afghanistan, Zawahiri was assisted by Midhat Mursi (alias Abu Khabab). In his late 1940s, Mursi had graduated from the University of Alexandria in 1975. An Egyptian chemical engineer, he ran the camp named Abu Khabab. Intelligence reportedly indicates that Midhat Mursi had for some time been linked to the Kashmir-based Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba. According to a May 7, 1999 email, the modest amount of $2,000 to $4,000 had been marked for “startup” costs of the program. A letter dated May 23, 1999 written by one of Zawahiri’s aliases mentions some “very useful ideas” that had been discussed during a visit to the training camp Abu Khabab. “It just needs some experiments to develop its practical use.” Especially promising was a home-brew nerve gas made from insecticides and a chemical additive that would help speed up penetration into the skin. Midhat Mursi was widely reported and believed to have been killed in a January 2006 bombing raid in Pakistan — at a high-level terror summit at which Zawahiri’s son-in-law was also killed. But a year-and-a-half later, the Washington Post matter-of-factly announced:
“U.S. and Pakistani officials now say that none of those al-Qaeda leaders perished in the strike and that only local villagers were killed.” Midhat Mursi later was killed in a missile strike in the summer of 2008.
Al Qaeda’s experimentation with its chemical weapons has been featured on the nightly television news picturing a dog being put to death. Director of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies and former U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq, Jonathan Tucker, an expert retained by the government to determine the chemical used in the video, opined that it was hydrogen cyanide. As journalist John Berger explained of the tapes: “US intelligence said al-Qaida’s chemical weapons programme was centered in Darunta camp. The mastermind behind experiments was allegedly Egyptian Midhat Mursi, who ran a section of the camp known as Khabab, and who worked mainly with Egyptians. Experts said that all but one of the voices on the tapes shown yesterday by CNN spoke in Egyptian accents. KSM had non-pilot hijackers practice how to slit passengers’ throats by making the hijackers practice killing sheep, goats, and camels in connection with the planned “Planes Operation.” Did the Amerithrax perpetrators similarly practice killing animals?
Ahmed Ressam testified at his trial in New York that he participated in experiments using cyanide gas pumped into an office building ventilation system at a training camp run by bin Laden in Afghanistan. Abu Khabab camp was within the Darunta Camp, which also included the Assadalah Abdul Rahman camp, operated by the son of blind cleric Omar Abdel Rahman. Ayman liked the idea to make a home-brew nerve gas from insecticides and a chemical additive that would help speed penetration into the skin. In a June 1999 memo, however, he talked about building labs (with one being closed every three months so it can be moved and replaced by another), and planned to have them covered with oil paint so they might be cleaned with insecticides. It was not something that needed to be classified and yet was not disclosed to the NAS committee.
In my opinion, although I appreciate that reasonable people can disagree, Amerithrax represents the greatest failure in the history of intelligence analysis (because it presents an existential threat and the missteps should have been traced and corrected).
Egyptian Abu Khabab killing rabbits with poisons under during the month before 9/11 at a camp outside Kabul.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/experiments-led-by-egyptian-abu-khabab-killing-rabbits-with-poisons-under-during-the-month-before-911-at-a-camp-outside-kabul/
There was training in late 2001 at the training camp outside Kandahar to introduce poison into water systems.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/in-late-2001-the-training-camp-outside-kandahar-in-training-to-introduce-poison-into-water-systems-what-was-the-poison-contemplated/
Ayman had lots of peer reviewed literature in his possession.
The documents dating from April 1999 showing that Ayman Zawahiri’s plan was to recruit a specialist. Who else did Ayman Zawahiri succeed in recruiting?
This Zawahiri correspondence with infiltrating scientist that was part of parallel compartmentalized cell operation. Who else did Ayman attempt to recruit (besides the schoolmate and close friend of Bruce Ivins’ co-worker)?
The lifelong friends of Dr. Tarek Hamouda, supplied virulent Ames by Bruce Ivins, actively denounce their former medical school associate Ayman Zawahiri as a fanatic – one serving as President of CAIR-St. Louis and the other as author of INSIDE JIHAD. After the FBI first obtained in 2005 the documents relating to Dr. Hamouda’s work with Dr. Ivins, did they contact Dr. Hamid who reports he was recruited into the Egyptian Islamic Group by Ayman Zawahiri while in medical school? Did they contact his brother who publicly announced that he could not identify a sleeper cell if he did not know about it?
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/the-lifelong-friends-of-dr-tarek-hamouda-supplied-virulent-ames-by-bruce-ivins-actively-denounce-their-former-medical-school-associate-ayman-zawahiri-as-a-fanatic-one-serving-as-president-of-ca/
Open September 1999 Letter From a London Radical Sheik Calling For Holy Biowar And Bin Laden’s Response
In early September 1999, the London Sunday Times reported that London Sheik Omar Bakri Muhammad, a friend of Abu Hamza, the mullah with metal claws for hands, in an open letter read out in mosques across Britain and published on the internet, called on Osama Bin Laden to use biological weapons against America and its allies. Sheik Omar Bakri posted his open letter to Bin Laden on his own website and read in mosques in Sheffield, Bradford, Leicester and London. When US officials complained, the letter was taken off the internet. “Using any biological weapons in self-defence is, in Islam, permissible, and I believe that we are currently operating under a defensive jihad. Obviously, we regret what could happen to innocent people, but there are always people who are war casualties or, if you like, victims of war.” He recommends that biological weapons be used against the “occupiers” of holy lands.
Youssef Bodansky, the director of the Congressional United States Task Force on Terrorism, said: “Bakri knows that his letter will be acted upon and that is why he has written it.” He told the Sunday Times Bin Laden had taken encouragement from Bakri’s message and had issued a reply that was read out in mosques in Pakistan and Britain.
“I Successfully Achieved The Targets” Assistance Of Pakistan Scientist Rauf Ahmad In 1999 And 2000
George Tenet in his May 2007 In the Center of the Storm says: “Al-Qa’ida spared no effort in its attempt to obtain biological weapons. In 1999, al-Zawahiri recruited Pakistani national Rauf Ahmad to set up a small lab in Khandahar, Afghanistan, to house the biological weapons effort. In December 2001, a sharp WMD analyst at CIA found the initial lead on which we would pull and, ultimately, unravel the al-Qa’ida anthrax networks. We were able to identify Rauf Ahmad from letters he had written to Ayman al-Zawahiri. … We located Rauf Ahmad’s lab in Afghanistan. We identified the building in Khandahar where Sufaat claimed he isolated anthrax. We mounted operations that resulted in the arrests and detentions of anthrax operatives in several countries.”
Delivering the James Smart Lecture, entitled “Global Terrorism: are we meeting the challenge?” at the headquarters of the City of London Police, Ms. Manningham-Buller, the head of MI5, said: “Western security services have uncovered networks of individuals, sympathetic to the aims of al-Qa’ida, that blend into society, individuals who live normal, routine lives until called upon for specific tasks by another part of the network.” She concluded: “The threats of chemical, biological and radiological and suicide attacks require new responses and the Government alone will not achieve all of it; industry and even the public must take greater responsibility for their own security.”
In 1999, a scientist from Porton Down had reported to sfam members on a conference in Taos, New Mexico in August that included a talk by Tim Read, (TIGR, Rockville, USA) and concerned the whole genome sequencing of the Bacillus anthracis Ames strain. The Ames strain may have been a mystery to many after the Fall 2001 mailings, but not to motivated Society for Applied Microbiology (“SFAM”) members, one of whom was part of Ayman Zawahiri’s “Project Zabadi.”
As described by Dr. Peter Turnbull’s Conference report for SFAM on “the First European Dangerous Pathogens Conference” (held in Winchester), at the September 1999 conference, the lecture theater only averaged about 75 at peak times by his head count. There had been a problem of defining “dangerous pathogen” and a “disappointing representation from important institutions in the world of hazard levels 3 and 4 organisms.” Papers included a summary of plague in Madagascar and another on the outbreak management of hemorrhagic fevers.
Dr Paul Keim of Northern Arizona University presented a paper on multilocus VNTR typing, for example, of Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis. There were more than the usual no-show presenters and fill-in speakers.
The Sunday at the start of the Organization of the Dangerous Pathogens meeting in September 2000, which the SFAM director confirmed to me that Rauf Ahmad also attended, was gloomy. Planning had proved difficult. The overseas delegates included a sizable contingent from Russia. The organizers needed to address many thorny issues regarding who could attend. One of the scientists in attendance was Rauf Ahmad. The Washington Post reports: “The tall, thin and bespectacled scientist held a doctorate in microbiology but specialized in food production, according to U.S. officials familiar with the case.”
Les Baillie the head of the biodefense technologies group at Porton Down ran the scientific program. Many of the delegates took an evening cruise round Plymouth harbor. The cold kept most from staying out on the deck. Later attendees visited the National Marine Aquarium — with a reception in view of a large tankful of sharks. Addresses include presentations on plagues of antiquity, showing how dangerous infectious diseases had a profound that they changed the course of history. Titles include “Magna pestilencia – Black Breath, Black Rats, Black Death”, “From Flanders to Glanders,” as well as talks on influenza, typhoid and cholera. The conference was co-sponsored by DERA, the UK Defence Evaluation and Research Agency.
Les Baillie of Porton Down gave a presentation titled, “Bacillus anthracis: a bug with attitude!” He argued that anthrax was a likely pathogen to be used by terrorists. As described at the time by Phil Hanna of University of Michigan Medical School on the SFAM webpage, Baillie “presented a comprehensive overview of this model pathogen, describing its unique biology and specialized molecular mechanisms for pathogenesis and high virulence. He went on to describe modern approaches to exploit new bioinformatics for the development of potential medical counter measures to this deadly pathogen.”
Bioinformatics was the field that Ali Al-Timimi, who had a security clearance for some government work and who had done work for the Navy, entered by 2000 at George Mason University in Virginia.
Despite the cold and the sharks, amidst all the camaraderie and bonhomie no one suspected that despite the best efforts, a predator was on board — on a coldly calculated mission to obtain a pathogenic anthrax strain. The conference organizer Peter Turnbull had received funding from the British defense ministry but not from public health authorities, who thought anthrax too obscure to warrant the funding. By 2001, sponsorship of the conference was assumed by USAMRIID. USAMRIID scientist Bruce Ivins started planning the conference held in Annapolis, Maryland in June 2001 three years earlier, immediately upon his return from the September 1998 conference.
According to the Pakistan press, a scientist named Rauf Ahmad was picked up in December 2001 by the CIA in Karachi. The most recent of the correspondence reportedly dates back to the summer and fall of 1999. Even if Rauf Ahmad cooperated with the CIA, he apparently could only confirm the depth of Zawahiri’s interest in weaponizing anthrax and provided no “smoking gun” concerning the identity of those responsible for the anthrax mailings in the Fall 2001. His only connection with SFAM was a member of the society. He was not an employee. The Pakistan ISI, according to the Washington Post article in October 2006, stopped cooperating in regard to Rauf Ahmad in 2003.
I have uploaded scanned copies of some 1999 documents seized in Afghanistan by US forces describing the author’s visit to the special confidential room at the BL-3 facility where 1000s of pathogenic cultures were kept; his consultation with other scientists on some of technical problems associated with weaponizing anthrax; the bioreactor and laminar flows to be used in Al Qaeda’s anthrax lab; and the need for vaccination and containment. He explained that the lab director noted that he would have to take a short training course at the BL-3 lab for handling dangerous pathogens. Rauf Ahmad noted that his employer’s offer of pay during a 12-month post-doc sabbatical was wholly inadequate and was looking to Ayman to make up the difference. After an unacceptably low pay for the first 8 months, there would be no pay for last 4 months and there would be a service break. He had noted that he only had a limited time to avail himself of the post-doc sabbatical. I also have uploaded an earlier handwritten letter from before the lab visit described in the typed memo. The Defense Intelligence Agency provided the documents to me, along with 100+ pages more, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). 90 of the 100 pages are the photocopies of journal articles and disease handbook excerpts.
The Washington Post, in an exclusive groundbreaking investigative report, recounts that the FBI’s New York office took the lead U.S. role — and its agents worked closely with the CIA and bureau officials in Pakistan in interrogating Rauf. Though not formally charged with any crimes, Rauf agreed to questioning. While the US media focused on the spectacle of bloodhounds alerting to Dr. Steve Hatfill and the draining of Maryland ponds, this former Al Qaeda anthrax operative provided useful leads. But problems began when the U.S. officials sought to pursue criminal charges, including possible indictment and prosecution in the United States.
In earlier cases, such as the orthopedic surgeon Dr. Amer Aziz who treated Bin Laden in the Fall of 2001, the Pakistani government angered the Pakistani public when it sought to prosecute professionals for alleged ties to al-Qaeda. In the case of Amer Aziz, hundreds of doctors, engineers and lawyers took to the streets to demand his release. In 2003, the Pakistanis shut off U.S. access to Rauf. By then, I had noticed the reporting of his arrest in a local Pakistan news article about the raid of a compound of doctors named Khawaja and published it on my website. According to Pakistani officials, there was not enough evidence showing that he actually succeeded in providing al-Qaeda with something useful. Since then, the Post reports, Rauf has been allowed to return to his normal life. Attempts by the Post to contact Rauf in Lahore were unsuccessful. Initially the government agency had said an interview would be possible but then backpedaled.
“He was detained for questioning, and later the courts determined there was not sufficient evidence to continue detaining him,” Pakistan’s information minister told the Post. “If there was evidence that proved his role beyond a shadow of a doubt, we would have acted on it. But that kind of evidence was not available.” Yazid Sufaat got the job handling things at the lab instead of Rauf Ahmad. More importantly, Zawahiri, if keeping with his past experience, would have kept things strictly compartmentalized — leaving the Amerithrax Task Force much to do.
“You are dead! Bang”: Ayman’s Plan To Use Charities And Universities As Cover In Weaponizing Anthrax
Among the correspondence written by Rauf Ahmad seized in Afghanistan, there are handwritten notes about the plan to use NGOs, technical institutes and medical labs as cover for aspects of the work, and training requirements for the various personnel at the lab in Afghanistan.
Two Pakistani nuclear scientists founded Ummah Tameer-e-Nau in June 2000. “Reconstruction of the Muslim Ummah,” or “UTN,” an Islamabad-based organization whose stated purpose was to conduct relief and development work in Afghanistan. UTN built a flour mill in Kandahar and purchased land in the Kandahar region. UTN business cards from the organization carry the motto “Build to Help, Help to Build.” After the fall of the Taliban, coalition forces and the media began to search UTN facilities in Kabul. It was in November that it was reported by The Economist that the “House of Anthrax” had been found.
Documents found by journalists in November 2001 at a villa in Kabul occupied by UTN suggested brainstorming seminars on anthrax had been held to include diagrams suggestive of a plan to use a helium-filled balloon to disperse anthrax across a wide area. The nondescript two-story villa occupied by the Pakistani aid group was in a quiet residential neighborhood of Kabul where a number of international charities were located. One downloaded document had the picture of former Secretary Cohen holding up a 5 pound bag of sugar. There were details about the U.S. military’s vaccination program downloaded from a Defense Department site on the Internet and other Defense Department documents relating to anthrax. There were 10 copies each of most of the documents. On the floor, there was what appeared to be a disassembled rocket alongside a helium canister, as well as two bags of powder. A detailed diagram scrawled in black felt tip pen on a white board shows what appears to be a balloon rising at various trajectories, alongside a fighter jet that is apparently shooting at the balloon. Beside the jet are the words, “You are dead, bang.”
There were also pictures of ground missiles linked by lines to the balloon. Mathematical calculations indicated the height at which the balloon would fly, the distance from which it would be shot down and the area over which its contents would be dispersed. Beside one of the balloons is the word “polystyrene” and beside another the word “cyanide.” Loose sheets of paper containing scribbles of missiles and balloons were strewn around the house, indicating those attending the seminar had been taking notes and doing calculations.
Although people can reasonably disagree on the conclusion to be drawn of the drawing on the white board showing aerial dispersal of anthrax by balloon, the drawings should be understood in the context of Ayman’s research and reading on the subject. One email from Ayman to Atef lists Peace or Pestilence as one of the books he had read. The author argued that said science should combat disease, not find devious ways to spread it. That book included a description of the Japanese research on anthrax leading up to WW II and the US concern that anthrax was being dispersed by balloons being sent to the US on high hot air currents. Unit 731 experimented extensively with anthrax bombs and hot-air balloons filled with the deadly disease. In late 1944, aerosol scientists at Ft. Detrick (then known as Camp Detrick) were alarmed when news of some large balloons, as large as 150 feet around, had been sighted silently floating over populated areas. Within a few months, over 250 balloons had been discovered in nine western states. The balloons are known only to have been armed with an incendiary device and killed and injured only a very few people.
A senior CNN producer who visited many UTN and Al Qaeda houses in Afghanistan, found the documents linking UTN to Jaish e Muhammad, the Army of the Prophet Mohammad, the Pakistani militant group that had been listed as a terrorist organization by the US on October 12, 2001. Other documents linked UTN to the Pakistan-based Saudi charity WAFA Humanitarian Organization and Al Rashid Trust, two other non-governmental organizations with ties to al-Qaeda that were designated on September 23, 2001 as supporters of terrorism. The New York Times reported on the search of the home by US personnel. A group of men armed with pistols, reportedly Americans, wearing gas masks, rubber gloves and boots, then came to remove powdered chemicals. The men had instructed the guards posted by National Alliance to not go in the home because the chemicals could be dangerous. The room that had been littered with papers was empty and had been swept or vacuumed by the Americans.
September 10, 2001 “Risk Assessment of Anthrax Threat Letters”
After the January 2001 anthrax threat, a Canadian research team undertook to assess the risk. The report titled “Risk Assessment of Anthrax Threat Letters” issued September 2001. The Canadian study found considerable exposure to those in the room resulted when such a letter was opened. Bacillus globigii spores (in dry powder form) were donated by the US Department of Defense (Dugway Proving Ground, Utah). Stock concentration powder was -1 x 10 11 cfu/gm. The anthrax sent to the Senators had a smaller particle size –tending toward a uniform 1 micron, subject to clumping that easily broke apart. Bacillus globigii (BG) spores are routinely used as a simulant for Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) spores. “The letter was prepared by putting BG spores in the center of a sheet of paper, folding it over into thirds, placing the folded sheet into the envelope and sealing using the adhesive present on the envelope. The envelope was then shaken to mimic the handling and tumbling that would occur during its passage through the postal system.” The aerosol, produced by opening the BG spore containing envelope, was not confined to the area of the desk but spread throughout the chamber. Values were almost as high at the opposite end of the chamber, shortly after opening the envelopes. 99% of the particles collected were in the 2.5 to 10 µm size range. The report explained: “In addition, the aerosol would quickly spread throughout the room so that other workers, depending on their exact locations and the directional air flow within the office, would likely inhale lethal doses. Envelopes with the open corners not specifically sealed could also pose a threat to individuals in the mail handling system.”
More than 80% of the B anthracis particles collected on stationary monitors were within an alveolar respirable size range of 0.95 to 3.5 µm. Thus, the simulant performed very well. Those who continue to argue that the Daschle product was so advanced beyond what the US could do are mistaken. The CIA and CSIS apparently feared that the Vanguards of Conquest would use the good stuff. Yazid Sufaat tells me on Facebook that he could perform magic.
The CIA knew EIJ intended to use anthrax — from the proclamations of Jaballah’s friend, the captured military commander Mabruk and Jaballah’s brother-in-law’s former law partner al-Zayat. Authorities knew Al Qaeda was getting technical assistance from scientists — and that many of the senior Egyptian leaders had advanced or technical degrees. The specifications provided by Dugway perhaps involved treated fumed silica and a spraydryer (with a last critical step reserved to be done at Dugway) may have been based on what Al Qaeda might send with a little help from their friends.
Canadian officials explained they e-mailed the study to the CDC soon after reports of the discovery of anthrax at the American Media Inc. headquarters in Florida. The e-mail, however, was never opened, reports the lead CDC anthrax investigator, who regrets that he never read the email. “It is certainly relevant data, but I don’t think it would have altered the decisions that we made.” At one point, about 2,000 CDC employees were working on the anthrax matter. This Canadian report was perhaps the single most important scientific data point for the CDC to take into account. It certainly was one of the most important reports for the FBI to take into account.
Bail was denied by decision on October 5, 2001. Then highly potent anthrax was sent the next day just as had been promised. But Ayman apparently had returned to the target of his greatest interest — rather than a Canadian immigration minister, he and Shehata and their colleagues targeted the minister who oversaw the Department of Justice and appropriations to Egypt and Israel, and who gave his name (”the Leahy Law”) to the law that permits continuing appropriations to Egypt in the face of allegations of torture. Zawahiri never makes a threat he doesn’t intend to try to keep.
Bill Patrick, who often worked with George Mason University students in northern Virginia, had written a report in 1999 for a consultant SAIC at the request of Dr. Steve Hatfill. As one bioterrorism expert commented about the report: “Anytime you pick something up like this, and it seems to layout the whole story for you months or years before the fact, your immediate response is to step back and say ‘whoa, something may be going on here. “Our attacker may very well have used this report as something of a — if not a template, then certainly as a rule of thumb.”
The Canadian experiments in 2001 showed that if anthrax spores were finely powdered, a letter could release thousands of lethal doses of the bacteria within minutes of being opened. Furthermore, large amounts of material leaked out of sealed envelopes even before they were opened. By then, more than two dozen federal government employees knew of the Canadian studies, which showed that a real anthrax threat letter was a far more dangerous weapon than anyone had believed. Within days, a dozen more people were informed of the now highly relevant experimental findings. Over the course of the next decade, one FBI investigative squad was focused on people who may have known of the study — such as William Patrick’s friend, Dr. Steve Hatfill. Another squad would be focused on the usual suspects and their friends. For the next seven years, the investigation would be shrouded in great secrecy.
Then in grand fashion, in early August 2008, the United States Attorney Taylor stood up at the podium and in effect announced that the FBI had screwed the pooch — and the pooch liked it.
In spinning the cotton candy “Ivins Theory” and arguing that Dr. Ivins had no reason to be in the lab that first week in October 2001, the United States Attorney and AUSAs had to stuff 52 rabbits down a hat.
Taliban Interest In The Anthrax Vaccine Laboratory
In October 2001, the Taliban emissary to Pakistan denied any involvement in the anthrax mailings, saying “We don’t even know what anthrax is.” The Taliban had long denied having any interest in biological or chemical weapons research. The next month, however, reporters were tipped off by a senior official of the Northern Alliance to check out the Institute of Veterinary Vaccine Production in Kabul run by the Minister of Agriculture. The lab was repeatedly targeted by bombers but the closest of 13 B-52 bombs landed 50 feet away, causing craters. There was a walk-in incubator to develop bacteria. The equipment used to make vaccines was taken away the day before the bombardment began. The cement walls of the building were cracked. Doors were blasted off their hinges. Shards of glass were strewn on the floor. At the end of one corridor on the second floor a reporter and photographer from The Mirror (UK) were led into a small office. The word “anthrax” was scribbled on an unbroken test tube. A sign read “to be safe than sorry” — the word “better” had fallen off. When AP journalist Kathy Gannon and a photographer stood in front of a glass bottle labeled in English “anthrax spore concentrate” in the two-story building, the photographer’s reflection shone back.
The scientists explained that their work at the lab was intended only to develop animal vaccines. Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that “the one place where the only vial that had English on it said ‘anthrax’ kind of gives you pause.” (I asked Yazid Sufaat about a bottle with a brown slurry that had been harvested in early June 2001 but he politely declined to answer). The scientists complained that much of the anthrax vaccine on hand had expired and that they were having trouble getting the supplies they needed to produce more. Before 9/11, private companies in India and Iran had been their main suppliers. Shipments were halted after Sept. 11, and the laboratories had to rely on their stocks.
Mullahs oversaw the anthrax vaccine laboratory much to the consternation of the scientist in charge of the lab. The mullahs had ordered that the lab be moved to Kabul so that they could oversee it. According to one British press report, much of the laboratory staff had disappeared some months before 9/11 and their whereabouts were unknown. The Institute once had a staff of 45 and one of Afghanistan’s most modern buildings. The scientists gathered before an AP journalist and photographer pointed to a large clear container that held concentrated anthrax spores. The scientists explained that the Taliban had taken a keen interest in their work. Although he was famed for his ability to recite the koran and not scientifically inclined, the Minister of Agriculture would come and inspect what they were doing. The head of the lab explained, “He and his Taliban superiors were interested in the technical detail of what happened here, although they had no background in science.” The International Committee of the Red Cross and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization provided the scientists technical help. The head of the lab noted that the Taliban could have obtained the knowledge to handle and develop anthrax.
The Taliban Minister of Agriculture hated the West. “We’d rather have been running the labs on our own,” the lead scientist explained. “But the mullahs were in charge of everything and we couldn’t stop them learning about our activities. There was always a danger information could get into the wrong hands.” The lab was first built in a northern province in 1993 with equipment from India. Scientists infected three sheep to study the results in developing new vaccines. They told a reporter from the Mirror that they buried the carcasses 30 feet down away from any water supplies. “This was very dangerous work, though we knew what we were doing. We developed the technology of how to keep anthrax bacteria and how to develop it for use in vaccines.” “I would be suspicious of the anthrax research and any research during the Taliban (period) because they were under the control of Osama and al-Qaida,” the deputy head of Northern Alliance military intelligence, told the Associated Press. “We have strong evidence of their involvement in chemical weapons,” he added. “We believe that they were using government facilities, like the Ministry of Agriculture, to do their research in terrorism.”
A source who worked at the factory told the Mirror (UK): “There’s no doubt the Taliban were planning chemical or biological warfare against the West. I believe anthrax might have been first on their list.” It was the American Taliban John Walker Lindh who reported the battlefield rumor that the next wave would be a chemical or biological attack.
An Unclassified Summary of Evidence for the Administrative Review Board for Guantanamo detainee Sangaryar summarized: “The detainee was in possession of anthrax powder and an unspecified liquid poison that he planned to distribute to Al Qaida and Taliban operatives in preparation for future attacks on the United States and Coalition forces. The poison attacks were to target water sources, to include reservoirs.”
Hambali, Anthrax Lab Tech Yazid Sufaat And The Anthrax Bomb Maker
George Tenet in his May 2007 In the Center of the Storm says Sufaat was “the self-described ‘CEO’ of al-Qai’da’s anthrax program.” Tenet reports that “Sufaat had impeccable extremist credentials” and “[i]n 2000 he had been introduced to Ayman al-Zawahiri personally, by Hambali, as the man who was capable of leading al-Qai’da’s biological weapons program.”
The 9/11 Commission Report explained:
“Hambali played the critical role of coordinator, as he distributed al Qaeda funds earmarked for joint operations. In one especially notable example, Atef turned to Hambali when al Qaeda needed a scientist to take over its biological weapons program. Hambali obliged by introducing a U.S.-educated JI member, Yazid Sufaat, to Ayman al Zawahiri in Kandahar. In 2001, Sufaat would spend several months attempting to cultivate anthrax for al Qaeda in a laboratory he set up near the Kandahar airport.”
Participants at a key meeting in Kuala Lumpur in January 2000 included Hambali, two of the 9/11 hijackers, Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almidhar, Cole planner Attash aka Khallad, and others. Tawfiq Bin Attash was a long time Bin Laden operative. The Yemeni first went to Afghanistan in 1989. He came to lead Bin Laden’s bodyguards and was an intermediary between Bin Laden and those who carried out the bombing of the Cole in October 2000. Attash also had been a key planner in the 1998 embassy bombings, serving as the link between the Nairobi cell and Bin Laden and Atef. Khalid Almhidhar, one of the 9/11 hijackers, was from Saudi Arabia but was a Yemeni national. Almhidhar was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment against Zacarias Moussaoui. Al-Hindi, who along with Jafar the Pilot would later case the NYC landmarks, had gone to Kuala Lumpur with Attash. While not at the meeting with the hijackers, they met Hambali shortly after.
Yazid Sufaat says he paid $35,000 to Zacarias Moussaoui (and that was in addition to a $2,500 monthly stipend). The money was paid under the cover of a company managed by his wife named Infocus Tech. After authorities found a letter signed by Yazid Sufaat purporting to authorize Zacarias Moussaoui as its marketing representative, authorities went looking for Sufaat. But by then, he had left for Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to his wife, he went to Pakistan in June 2001 because he wanted to do his doctorate in pathology at the University of Karachi. Dursina had attended Sacramento State with Sufaat. It was her mother who encouraged Yazid’s religious studies. According to his wife, Sejarhtul Dursina, “He had planned to set up a medical support unit in Afghanistan, near Kandahar.” Kandahar is where Al Qaeda established its anthrax lab and where extremely virulent (but unweaponized) anthrax, according to author Suskind, was found at a home identified by Hambali after his capture.
In a 2 hour filmed interview with a Malaysian publication, Yazid Sufaat explained that while in the Malaysia Armed Forces, from which he retired as Captain, he worked on biological weapons. (Malaysia ratified the Biological Weapons Convention in 1991 and so its program presumably was abandoned by that time.) Sufaat is unrepentant about 9/11 or the offensive use of biological weapons.
Sufaat graduated from California State University, Sacramento in 1987. He received a bachelors degree in biological sciences, concentrating on clinical laboratory technology, with a minor in chemistry. Sacramento State biological sciences professor Robert Metcalf taught Sufaat a food microbiology class in the spring of 1986. Sufaat joined the Malaysian army, where he was a lab technician in the Malaysian biological weapons program for as much as five years. He says he declined to tell his interrogators of his bioweapons experience because he felt that he had been betrayed by his country by being detained. In August 1993, he set up his own company, Green Laboratory Medicine that tested blood for the army.
The 9/11 Commission Report notes that Sufaat started work on the al Qaeda biological weapons program after he participated in JI’s December 2000 church bombings. In December 2001, Sufaat was arrested upon returning from Afghanistan to Malaysia where (his wife says) he had been serving in a Taliban medical brigade.
Malaysian officials sought to minimize the role of the former Captain in its Armed Forces. Sufaat merely was a foot soldier who provided housing and false identification letters and helped obtain explosives. “I would put it this way: If Hambali [Al Qaeda’s point man in Southeast Asia] was the travel agent, Sufaat was the guy at the airport holding up the sign.”
Sufaat admits to having purchased 4 tons of ammonium nitrate to build a truck bomb for the Singapore cell. The Malaysian officials report that they believe that Sufaat had no knowledge of what the hijackers who stayed at his condominium or Zacarias were planning. That is consistent with the principles of cell security ordinarily followed — also evasion in interrogation. At a minimum, however, the established facts relevant to the Amerithrax investigation show that in the Summer and Fall of 2001 an Al Qaeda supporter who had assisted in the 9-11 operation — and who was a lab technician working with anthrax — was in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Was he the fellow perceived as Filipino who the journalist met in Afghanistan in the Fall of 2001 bragging about his ability to manipulate anthrax? According to Sufaat’s attorney, Sufaat gave two FBI agents no fresh evidence during a 30-minute interrogation finally conducted in November 2002 (where they mainly wanted to know how he knew Zacarias). The U.S. has asked for his extradition in connection with hosting of the two 9/11 hijackers, but Malaysia refused. President Bush once emphasized that US officials did not fully appreciate Sufaat’s role in Al Qaeda’s anthrax program until after KSM’s capture in March 2003.
Communicating with me by Facebook and chat, Yazid Sufaat tells me he can work magic.
As described in US News, a former reporter from the Kabul Times actually may have met a Filipino carrying papers from Zawahiri and bragging about his ability to manipulate anthrax. The man may have been Hambali’s lieutenant, Muklis Yunos, who had been Hambali’s right-hand man and was in charge of special operations for the Philippine Moro Islamic Liberation Front (“MILF”). British reporter Philip Smucker explained that the Afghan reporter working with him spoke fluent Arabic and made regular undercover trips into Afghanistan from Pakistan. He had visited three functioning al Qaeda camps at grave risk to his life. Smucker explains that his colleague had landed in a Kabul hotel with a Filipino scientist who had a signed letter from al Qaeda’s number two, Dr. Ayman al Zawahiri, authorizing him to help the network develop biological weapons. The man at the hotel had described his own efforts to develop an “anthrax bomb.” Filipino Muklis Yunos was an explosives expert who had participated with Yazid Sufaat in the December 2000 church bombings. Upon his arrest in May 2003, Philippine intelligence said he had received anthrax training in Afghanistan.
Perhaps he was who the journalist encountered.
Yazid Sufaat and his lab assistant worked at Omar Hospital in May 2001 while the equipment was en route to the lab being established at Kandahar.
The Detainee Assessments on this subject are part of the public record and so why did they not inform the discussion? Is the GAO report going to be similarly bereft of highly relevant information?
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/marwan-hadid-al-suri-who-was-assisting-yazid-sufaat-at-omar-hospital-in-may-2001-and-then-helped-set-up-the-anthrax-lab-in-kandahar-later-that-month-was-killed-in-2006-in-northwestern-pakistan-m/
The Mid-February 2003 Capture of Al Qaeda WMD Committee Member Mohammed Abdel-Rahman And Related Capture Of KSM
Authorities closed in on KSM in Spring 2003. When arrested, US citizen and NYC resident Uzair Paracha said he had met in February 2003 a chemistry professor who was supposed to help Al Qaeda with biological and chemical weapons. It was a big break, therefore, when the son of the imprisoned blind sheik, Abdel Rahman, was captured in Quetta, Pakistan in mid-February 2003. Mohammed Abdel-Rahman from Afghanistan spoke alongside Ali Al-Timimi at IANA conferences in 1993 and 1996. The blind sheik’s son Mohammed Abdel-Rahman had recently had been in contact with Khalid Mohammed, Al Qaeda’s #3. Two weeks after Mohammed’s capture, authorities raided microbiologist Ali Al-Timimi’s townhouse in Alexandria, VA, and searched the residence of a couple of PhD level drying experts in Idaho and Upstate NY, along with various others associated with IANA. Anthrax spray drying documents were found, both on a computer and in hard copy.
In June 2003, a UN report explained that Al-Qaeda has a “WMD Committee,” which according to the report, “is known to have approached a number of Muslim scientists to assist the terrorist network with the creation and procurement of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons.” Mohammed Abdel Rahman, a member of the 3-member WMD committee, knew Ali Al-Timimi. Ali Al-Timimi conducted a summer camp at a park in Frederick, Maryland over the years. The kids liked the outdoors and ponds. Ironically, the FBI searched the park’s ponds more than once claiming that Dr. Hatfill had once suggested that someone could weaponize anthrax and discard the equipment in a pond.
March 2003 Arrest Of Bacteriologist Dr. Abdul Qadoos Khan
On March 1, 2003, authorities announced that Khalid Mohammed had been captured 400 miles from Quetta, in Islamabad. A walk-in to the CIA, the Egyptian said he was upset that Al Qaeda had attacked the United States. An unnamed Egyptian reportedly received $25 million for providing the information about Khalid Mohammed. Authorities said he had been in the car that drove KSM to a safe house that night. Agents quickly raced him back through the streets as he made out landmarks, leading them to KSM, who was being harbored in the home of bacteriologist Abdul Qadoos Khan.
Khalid Mohammed had hands-on responsibility for planning 9-11. Reports of the arrest described his role in various operations over the years, including the thwarted “Operation Bojinka” in the Philippines in 1995. At that time, Philippine authorities searching a seized laptop computer found a letter signed by “Khalid Shaikh Bojinka” that threatened to attack American targets “in response to the financial, political and military assistance given to the Jewish state in the occupied land of Palestine by the American government.” The letter, apparently written by Mohammed and his associates, threatened to not only attack aircraft, the principal plot underway, but threatened to launch a chemical attack if an imprisoned co-conspirator was not released from custody. Khalid Mohammed reportedly played a substantial role in trying to build Al Qaeda’s expertise in biological and chemical weapons. It turned out that he knew quite a bit about the process for weaponizing anthrax.
The Dr. Abdul Qadoos Khan ran a respected cardiology institute called Hearts International. Dr. Khan and his wife, according to early accounts, had been at a wedding in Lahore. The family reports that at 3 a.m on Saturday, a squad of around 20 officers burst into the home.
The day after the raid of the Khan’s home, authorities also detained another of the microbiologist’s sons for questioning, a major in the Pakistan Army, though he was not arrested. Pointing at a large cage of blue and green budgies on the patio, Mrs. Khan, Ahmad’s mother, said: “These are his life. Ahmed is a very simple person. He had no job, he hardly went out, just to the mosque to pray. He never traveled and his main thing was pets. He loved pets. “Ahmed can’t be a terrorist,” a neighbor who was a Colonel in the Army said. “He’s a goof, simple in the head.” The son reportedly receives a stipend from the UN’s Farm and Agriculture Organization for having a low IQ due to lead poisoning.
Ahmed Qadoos’ mother was an activist for the ladies’ wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan’s biggest religious party. Ramzi Binalshibh, the 9/11 plotter arrested in Karachi, and Abu Zubaydah, were both found in houses belonging to JI members. The father’s role came to be all the more important when the documents relating to the processing of anthrax for use as a weapon.
The Capture Of Al-Hawsawi With Anthrax Spraydrying Documents On His Laptop
The documents indicated that Al Qaeda leaders may already have manufactured some of them. The documents at the Qadoos home reveal that Al Qaeda had a feasible production plan for anthrax. Confronted with scanned handwritten notes on the computer, Mohammed reportedly began to talk about Al Qaeda’s anthrax production program. KSM, however, denies that it was his computer. He says it was the computer of his assistant, Mustafa Hawsawi, who was captured at the home the same day. In 2001, before departing for the UAE, Al-Hawsawi had worked in the Al Qaeda media center Al Sahab (Clouds) in Kandahar. The letter containing the first anthrax went to the American Media in Florida had blue and pink clouds on it.
Hawsawi worked under KSM who in turn worked for Zawahiri. Al-Hawsawi was a facilitator for the 9/11 attacks and its paymaster, working from the United Arab Emirates. He sent thousands of dollars to Bin Al-Shibh the summer of 2001. After 9/11, he returned to Afghanistan where he met separately with Bin Laden, Zawahiri and spokesman Abu Ghaith. KSM worked closely with al-Hawsawi. The fact that the anthrax spray drying documents were on that computer, however, and that Al-Hawsawi had worked for Al Sahab in Kandahar in 2000, serves to suggest that the undated documents predated 9/11, particularly given that extremely virulent anthrax was later found in Kandahar. Al-Hawawi in turn worked with Aafia Siddiqui’s husband-to-be, KSM’s nephew Al-Baluchi, in the UAE in the summer of 2001. The two provided logistical support for the hijackers.
Hawsawi worked as a financial manager for Bin Laden when he was in Sudan. Egyptian Islamic Jihad shura leader Mahjoub was Bin Laden’s farm manager in Sudan. Mahjoub was the subject of the anthrax threat in January 2001 in Canada, upon announcement of his bail hearing. The day after Mahjoub’s bail was denied on October 5, 2001, the potent stuff was sent to US Senators Daschle and Leahy.
The Washington Post explained that “What the documents and debriefings show, the first official said, is that “KSM was involved in anthrax production, and [knew] quite a bit about it.” Barton Gellman in the Post explained that Al Qaeda had recruited competent scientists, including a Pakistani microbiologist who the officials declined to name. “The documents describe specific timelines for producing biochemical weapons and include a bar graph depicting the parallel processes that must take place between Days 1 and 31 of manufacture. Included are inventories of equipment and indications of readiness to grow seed stocks of pathogen in nutrient baths and then dry the resulting liquid slurry into a form suitable for aerosol dispersal.” The documents are undated and unsigned and cryptic about essential details.
In addition to establishing him as paymaster for the hijackers, Al-Hawsawi’s computer disks reportedly also included lists of contributors worldwide, to include bank account numbers and names of organizations that have helped finance terror attacks. In press accounts, one unnamed government official confirmed that the information has yielded the identities of about a dozen suspected terrorists in the US. In his substituted testimony in the Moussaoui case, Al-Hawsawi says he became part of Al Qaeda’s media committee in Afghanistan in about July 2000. Hawsawi lived at the media office. For about 4-5 months in 2000, Hawsawi worked as a secretary on al Qaeda’s media committee. Hawsawi’s role “was to copy compact discs and reprint articles for the brothers at the guesthouse in Qandahar. After 2000, Hawsawi worked at the direction of Sheikh Mohammed, transferring funds, and procuring goods.” KSM joined the committee in February 2001.
The first time that Hawsawi was asked to become involved in operational activities was about March 2001, when he took his second trip to the UAE. Although Sheikh Mohammed did not use the word “operation,” Sheikh Mohammed told Hawsawi that he would be purchasing items, receiving and possibly sending money, and possibly meeting individuals whom Hawsawi would contact or who would contact him.
Khalid Sheik Mohammed told Hawsawi that Hawsawi would be in contact with individuals called ‘Abd Al-Rahman (Muhammad Atta) and the “Doctor” (Nawaf al-Hazmi). Atta called Hawsawi four times while Atta was in the US. Hawsawi says he was never in contact with Hani or Nawaf while in the US. On September 9, Ramzi bin Shibh told Hawsawi the date of the planned operation and urged that he return to Pakistan. He flew out on 9/11 and after a night in Karachi, flew on to Quetta. Hawsawi stated repeatedly that he never conducted any activity of any type with or on behalf of Moussaoui and had no knowledge of who made Moussaoui’s travel arrangements.
Documents, however, reportedly show that al-Hawsawi worked with the Dublin cell to finance Moussaoui’s international travel. Hamid Aich was an EIJ operative there who once had lived with Ressam, the so-called millennium bomber, in Canada. The indictment of Zacarias Moussaoui named al-Hawsawi as an unindicted co-conspirator. Moussaoui unsuccessfully tried to call KSM and Hawsawi as witnessses. Microbiologist Ali Al-Timimi had spoken with Bin Laden’s sheik about helping with Moussaoui’s defense.
Hawsawi has said that it was Qahtani who was to have been “the 20th hijacker” rather than Moussaoui. Qahtani, Hawsawi said, had trained extensively to be one of the “muscle hijackers.” Atta went to pick Qahtani up at the Orlando airport but immigration officials turned Qahtani away. Al-Hawsawi said he had seen Moussaoui at an al-Qaeda guesthouse in Kandahar, Afghanistan, sometime in the first half of 2001, but was not introduced to him and had not conducted any operations with him. At Moussaoui’s trial, the government pointed to FAA intelligence reports from the late 1990s and 2000 that noted that a hijacked airliner could be flown into a building or national landmark in the U.S. Such an attack was viewed “as an option of last resort” given the motive of the attack was to free blind sheik Abdel Rahman. Flying a plane into a building would afford little time to negotiate.
Zacarias Moussaou was in Karachi with anthrax lab tech Yazid Sufaat on February 3, 2001 when they bought air tickets through a local travel agency for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They left on a flight for KL on February 8, 2001. Moussaoui began at the Norman, Oklahoma flight school on February 26, 2001. KSM says that Moussaoui’s inquiries about cropdusters may have related to Hambali and Sufaat’s work with anthrax.
Another reason not to overlook Hawsawi’s possible role in an anthrax operation is his contact with al-Marri. Al-Marri, who entered the country on September 10, 2001, was researching chemicals in connection with a “second wave.” Al-Marri was also drafting emails to KSM. Although al-Marri denies being in contact with Hawsawi, phone records show otherwise. E-mail evidence also confirms messages drafted by al-Marri to KSM. An article by Susan Schmidt in the Washington Post on al-Marri notes that al-Marri picked up $13,000 in cash from al-Hawsawi. Al-Marri made the mistake of opening the briefcase containing the money in bundles and peeling off a few hundred dollars to pay his bail after being stopped on a traffic charge a couple days after 9/11.
In applying to school, he would not provide a home address or sign the application. “He was a very pugnacious individual,” the administrator told the Post. He was calling students. A number of people reported him as acting suspicious in the heightened sensibilities after 9/11. One student from whom he sought help was the local mosque imam, graduate student Jaloud. Jaloud curiously reports that he did not remember him as the fellow he had taken to the airport 90 minutes away in the summer of 2000, or the fellow he had argued about shipping the computer, or the fellow who had then put him to the expense of shipping the computer to Washington. Jaloud reports when questioned in 2005, he told the Saudis that he did not remember the address in Washington where he sent the computer.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/capture-of-mustafa-hawsawi-and-laptop-with-anthrax-spray-drying-documents/
Why did FBI failed to disclose that Jdey was detained and released as the same time as Moussaoui?
2003 Capture Of Hambali And Sufaat’s Assistants And The Reported Seizure Of “Extremely Virulent” (But Unweaponized) Anthrax
Muklis Yunos was arrested on May 25, 2003. Agents reportedly became suspicious when an ambulance pulled over and delivered Yunos, who was wearing a plaster cast on a leg as part of a disguise. According to other reports, he was also wearing facial bandages. An Egyptian missionary accompanying him, Al Gabre Mahmud, was apparently on an international terrorist watchlist. Authorities became suspicious when the two went to the wrong gate (and did not go to the one typically used for medical transport). The pair then objected when officials wanted to remove some of the mummy-like bandages. AP reported that a police intelligence dossier describes him as “a fanatic of the extreme fundamentalist movement” who received training in an Al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan, including lessons on the use of anthrax as a biological weapon. He is described as about five foot three and with the features of a Japanese-Korean. According to one report, Yunos initially was cooperating with authorities over a bucket of spicy Kentucky Fried Chicken, complaining about the arrogance and unhelpfulness of MILF leadership.
Hambali was arrested in mid-August 2003 in Thailand. Hambali had fled Malaysia with his wife, Lee, not long after 9/11. His wife and her sister had studied at the school of Bashir, JI’s religious leader. He told his mother they were moving to Thailand. Hambali worked and his wife studied Arabic. Over the next two years, he also spent time in Cambodia and Myanmar. Soft-spoken and polite, the neighbors said he kept to himself in the apartment building.
His wife, an ethnic Chinese Malaysian who converted to Islam, was also detained. After being shipped to Jordan, where he was harshly interrogated, Hambali eventually began providing information about Al Qaeda’s anthrax production program. He told interrogators that the terror network had what author Ron Suskind describes as an “extremely virulent” strain of anthrax before the September 11 attacks. In the autumn of 2003, Suskind claims, U.S. forces in Afghanistan found a sample of the virulent anthrax at a house in Kandahar. Pulitzer Prize winning author Ron Suskind writes: “One disclosure was particularly alarming: al Qaeda had, in fact produced high-grade anthrax.
Hambali, during interrogation, revealed its whereabouts in Afghanistan. The CIA soon descended on a house in Kandahar and discovered a small, extremely potent sample of the biological agent.”
Suskind wrote:
“Ever since the tense anthrax meeting with Cheney and Rice in December 2001, CIA and FBI had been focused on determining whether al Qaeda was involved in the anthrax letter attacks in 2001 and whether they could produce a lethal version that could be weaponized. The answer to the first was no; to the second, ‘probably not.’ Though the CIA had found remnants of a biological weapons facility — and blueprints for attempted production of anthrax — isolating a strain of virulent anthrax and reproducing it was viewed as beyond al Qaeda’s capabilities.”
Suskind continued:
“No more. The anthrax found in Kandahar was extremely virulent. What’s more, it was produced, according to the intelligence, in the months before 9/11. And it could be easily reproduced to create a quantity that could be readily weaponized.”
“Alarm bells rang in Washington. Al Qaeda, indeed, had the capabilities to produce a weapon of massive destructiveness, a weapon that would create widespread fear.
Based on the additional information being provided in 2003, authorities also captured two mid to low level technicians — an Egyptian and a Sudanese. President Bush has explained that these mid-to low level technicians were part of a Southeastern Asian based cell that was developing an anthrax attack on the United States.
In Fall of 2006, President Bush explained:
“KSM also provided vital information on al Qaeda’s efforts to obtain biological weapons. During questioning, KSM admitted that he had met three individuals involved in al Qaeda’s
efforts to produce anthrax, a deadly biological agent — and he identified one of the individuals as Yazid. KSM apparently believed we already had this information, because Yazid had been captured and taken into foreign custody before KSM’s arrest. In fact we did not know about Yazid’s role in al Qaeda’s anthrax program.
Information from Yazid then helped lead to the capture of his two principal assistants in the anthrax program.”
Despots, Democracy and the Cease-Fire Initiative After the Luxor Massacre
Although the proposal in the Spring 1999 by IANA writers Kamal Habib and Gamal Sultan to channel their activities into nonviolent activities was rejected by the blind sheik, they were not deterred. “There is something new that is trying to storm and overcome old, traditional ideas and play a political and social role in society, ‘ Kamal Habib told author Anthony Shadid in 1999. Shadid is the author of the 2002 Legacy of the Prophet: Despots, Democrats, and the New Politics of Islam. Violence, Habib explained to the author, was understandable where Sadat had left no room for participation it did not sanction. Sadat had visited and made peace with Israel. The month before Sadat was gunned down Sadat had ordered the arrest of 1500 people. Over twenty years, the lesson learned by these sons of the Movement was that violence had not led to power. The “attacks hurt not only the not only the Islamic movement but also Islam itself as da’wa and as a religion.” In prison, their goal in interpreting the koran turned to deciding “what to take, what to leave, what to build on and what to add to.”
Former militants, in particular, were responding to the public revulsion over the 1997 murder of 58 tourists at Luxor. Kamal Habib and Gamal Sultan sought to form the Reform Party while the lawyers al Zayat and Mamdouh Ismail sought to form the Islamic Party. “We have been through a violent clash between the state and members of the Islamist groups and saw the negative consequences of this violence. We have learned from bitter experience that we must reorder our priorities.” Shariah would be the law of the land — but it would be brought about by democratic, nonviolent means.
The Cairo-based Kamal Habib wrote for the “The Straight Path” (Assirat) out of Pittsburgh and then for IANA’s quarterly journal. Kamal Habib was Ayman’s friend. Habib had founded the Egyptian Islamic Jihad by bringing together several cells, including Ayman’s cell which by then had as many as 40 members. One of the members of the advisory board of Assirat was Ali Al-Timimi. Al-Timimi was a colleague of famed Russian anthrax head Ken Alibek and former USAMRIID Deputy Commander and Acting Commander Charles Bailey, a prolific anthrax researcher (judging by the publications bearing his name as a co-author) who worked with the Ames anthrax strain.
IANA’s quarterly publication, Al Manar al-Jadeed (in Arabic) was written by EIJ and IG founders and other deep thinkers of the movement during the 1998-2001 period. Its pages in Arabic chronicled a running dialogue on this question of the role of violence. (Two of the three main contributors were IG and EIJ founders respectively). The editor, Gamal Sultan, was behind the proposal in 1999 to renounce violence involving an attempt to form the Reform Party. Sultan viewed his effort as a pragmatic recognition that the militants had been so infiltrated by the intelligence services that it wasn’t practical to engage in violence. But, more broadly, it was in recognition of the fact that violence had not worked. Others took a different approach. They just tightened their application of the principles of cell security.
The US-based charity IANA, as the result of the Cairo-based talent that they had writing for their main journal, was in the middle of the issue of conditions of the blind sheiks’ detention and a public debate by former members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad as to whether the violent means favored by jihadists could be channeled into nonviolent means. In January 1999, Gamal Sultan and Kamal Habib wrote the blind sheik, through his paralegal Sattar, seeking a fatwa agreeing to participation in a political party by Movement members. In addition to key supporter Kamal Habib, Gamal Sultan’s main partner in seeking to found the Reform Party was Salah Hashem, founder of the Egyptian Islamic Group and a chief proponent of the cease-fire initiative.
In March 1999, upon the visit by attorney Lynne Stewart, the blind sheik indicated that he thought the effort pointless and rejected the idea of a political party. At the same time he withdrew support for the cease-fire initiated by the imprisoned Islamic Group members in 1997. In his opening argument in the prosecution of US postal employee Sattar, the federal prosecutor explained: “What was Abdel Rahman’s view on an Islamic Group political party? He flatly rejected the idea. In other words, we will prove to you that Abdel Rahman from prison and while subject to the SAMs, with the assistance of these defendants, directed the Islamic Group to remain outside the law, to remain a terrorist organization.”
The co-founder of the other proposed party, Cairo lawyer Montasser Al-Zayat, deferred to the blind sheik’s pronouncement. Al-Zayat later explained that any political participation, let alone in parliamentary elections, was sinful. Al Zayat then promptly announced in March 1999 that Ayman likely was going to use weaponized anthrax against US targets to retaliate against the rendering of EIJ leaders. Abdel-Rahman’s Cairo lawyer, Montasser al-Zayat, announced the intention to use anthrax in the press on March 6, 1999.
Zawahiri in April 1999 pressed the current Islamic Group leader Taha for news and the implications and details of the ceasefire initiative and the proposal to establish a political party. Taha had been maintaining contact with the blind sheik’s paralegal Sattar, as had Cairo attorney Al-Zayat and Islamic Group military commander Mustafa Hamza. In public and in private teleconference calls set up by US Post Office employee Sattar, Cairo lawyer Al-Zayat played “good cop” to the “bad cop” played by IG leader Taha in faraway Afghanistan.
In a letter to Taha, Ayman discussed the party sought to be cofounded in 1999 by IANA editor Gamal Sultan and IANA writer Kamal Habib.
Zawahiri in his letter to the Islamic Group head Taha wrote:
“I also want to ask you about your personal stance on this issue. Abu Khalid (Mohammed Islambouli, brother of President Sadat’s killer) tells me he has resigned because he doesn’t want to face the consequences of this latest initiative. I am also informed, by Abu Hazim (the current leader of Islamic Jihad’s Shura Council) that the outcome of this proposal will hinge on solving the disagreements between our brothers in jail on how to run Islamic Jihad. He also told me this declaration sought to calm matters so our imprisoned brothers do not contradict those outside and complicated matters further. In effect, they have continued to issue announcements while you remain silent. This is why I am interested in finding out your position on this matter.”
There were close parallels between the debate raging among Ayman and the EIJ shura members in secret emails dating to 1998 and 1999 and the content of IANA’s Cairo-based quarterly publication Al Manar al Jadeed (in Arabic). Leading lights in the Movement contributed to the dialogue that extended from 1998 through 2000. The publication Al Manar al-Jadeed was funded by the Ann Arbor-based IANA which in turn got most of its funding from sources in Saudi Arabia. Al-Timimi was IANA’s most celebrated speaker and the colleague of two of the world’s leading anthrax researchers.
Al-Timimi had been on the advisory board of the related publication Assirat for which IANA writers Sultan and Habib were the leading writers. Al-Timimi thus was close to the intellectual and tactical debates raging in 1999 about cease-fire declared in Egypt, nonviolence and democracy, the release of the blind sheik and other detainees, and the “near” vs. “Far” enemy issue. He was similarly close to the announcement of the intent to use anthrax to retaliate for the rendition of the blind sheik and other detainees.
When the FBI searched Al-Timimi’s townhouse, they found Khafagi’s personal papers. Some pretty weighty and focused tactical matters involving Egyptian politics were discussed in the Arabic-language Al Manar al Jadeed — to include the role of violence and whether democracy could be a vehicle for imposing shariah.
IANA’s webmaster Sami al-Hussayen once pleaded by email that Al-Manar Jadeed was out of control, printing what they wanted and then sending IANA the bill, while risking getting IANA officials in trouble (which then, in fact, happened). For example, IANA websites published a fatwa in June 2001 saying it was a duty to kill as many as possible, such as by flying a plane into a building. IANA websites prominently distributed the views of Sheik al-Hawali who was working closely with both Sami and with GMU computational biologist Ali Al-Timimi.
In late March 2007, al-Zayat’s co-founder of the Islamic Party, Mamdouh Ismail, was arrested. The Egyptian government
alleged Ismail was the conduit between Ayman Zawahiri and jihadists in Yemen, Iraq and Egypt. The alleged intermediary between Zawahiri and Mamdouh Ismail was the Al Qaeda’s spymaster, Al-Hakayma, who had written the 2002 treatise on intelligence. That treatise included a description of the Amerithrax investigation and was dedicated to those who are up at late night working to bring victory to Islam. Mamdouh Ismail was the attorney who volunteered to represent the expert in functionalized polymers.
Ironically, although Zabadi was Ayman’s program, the anthrax letters — in showing some restraint — represented a compromise between his desire to attack the “Far Enemy” and the wishes of the many who opposed him and thought that EIJ should remain focused on Egypt and should avoid the targeting of civilians. The anthrax letters confirmed abandonment of the cease-fire while escalation in the media just as blind sheik Abdel-Rahman had urged. The anthrax letters followed the same modus operandi as the al Hayat letters to newspapers in DC and NYC and people in symbolic positions relating to detention of the WTC plotters. Thus, the one thing that seems clear is that the anthrax mailer and processor likely are supporters of the blind sheik. While they know and respect Zawahiri, they may view Zawahiri as a murderous fanatic and view democracy as a viable vehicle for imposition of shariah. Perhaps among the 300,000 telephone calls intercepted with blind sheik supporters in Florida or the 85,000 conversations involving Sattar in New York, the authorities already have taped phone calls made with the anthrax plotters.
The Cairo Medical School Dropout Trained To Recruit US Operatives And Make Booby-Trapped Letters (1989-1998)
Lance Williams of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote an eye-opening profile of Khalid Dahab, a Cairo Medical School drop-out who recruited US operatives for Al Qaeda. He was trained by Bin Laden’s head of intelligence, former US Army Sergeant Ali Mohammed. Ali Mohammed had recruited him while he was student at Cairo Medical in the early 1980s. The article was based on statements made in a Cairo court proceeding.
Williams reports that Bin Laden personally congratulated Dahab, an Egyptian- born US Citizen, a Silicon Valley car salesman and member of Zawahri’s Egyptian Islamic Jihad/Vanguards of Conquest, for recruiting Islamist Americans into al Qaeda. The account of Dahab’s confession was first published in the October 10, 2001 edition of the London-based Arabic language newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat. Ali Mohamed was also a Silicon Valley resident. Ali Mohamed had traveled to Afghanistan in the mid-1990s to report to Bin Laden on the success the two were having in recruiting Americans. Bin Laden told them that recruiting terrorists with American citizenship was a top priority.
Ali Mohamed has admitted role in planning the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, killing more than 200 people.
Williams wrote: “Dahab’s confession supports the view of many terrorism experts that al Qaeda has “sleeper” operatives on station in the United States for future terrorist attacks.” Khaled Duran, an author and terrorism expert who has written about the Silicon Valley cell, said the recruits would be expected to “fade into the woodwork” until the organization needed them, he said.
Handsome and outgoing, Dahab spoke excellent English. He said he was from a wealthy Alexandria family. His mother was a physician and he was planning a career in medicine.
“But Dahab told acquaintances he had been radicalized by a tragedy that happened when he was a schoolboy: his father, he claimed, had been among 108 people killed in the 1973 crash of a Cairo-bound Libyan Arab Airlines plane that was shot down by Israeli fighter jets when it strayed over the Sinai Peninsula, which at the time was occupied by Israel. He claimed that his father’s death — and Egypt’s failure to avenge it — had turned him against the Egyptian government and against Israel and the United States, as well. He said he was drawn toward Islamic Jihad, a radical movement that had assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981 in an effort to remake Egypt into a fundamentalist Muslim state.”
Williams reports that it was while a medical student in about 1984, according to his confession, that Dahab met Mohamed, who then was an officer in the Egyptian commando forces and a Jihad operative planning to emigrate to the United States. Dahab came to the United States in 1986, obtaining a student visa by saying he wanted to study medicine. He rented an apartment in Santa Clara, where Ali Mohamed now lived with his American wife. He dropped the name Dahab, calling himself Khaled Mohamed or Ali Mohamed, the same name used by the man who had recruited him.
“In 1995, using a fake passport and identity documents, Dahab and Ali Mohammed smuggled Zawahiri into the US from Afghanistan for a covert fund-raising tour. Dahab reports that part of the money financed the bombing of the Egyptian Embassy in Pakistan. Dahab also said that at Mohamed’s direction he had gone to terrorist camps in Afghanistan in 1990 and trained guerrilla fighters to fly hang gliders. He said Egyptian Islamic Jihad was planning a hang glider assault to liberate imprisoned Jihad leaders, some of whom had been locked up since the assassination of Sadat.”
Egyptian Islamic Jihad later canceled the attack, Dahab said in his confession.
Williams continues: “Meanwhile, Dahab said Mohamed gave him military training and taught him how to make letter bombs. Dahab said he had also worked as an al Qaeda communications specialist, aiding terrorists inside Egypt by patching through their calls to other operatives in Afghanistan and the Sudan. This helped the terrorists plan operations while avoiding electronic surveillance by Egyptian security forces who routinely wiretapped calls between Egypt and countries that harbored jihad terrorists.
Also in the 1990s, Dahab said, he and Mohamed were told to begin recruiting U.S. citizens of Middle Eastern heritage. Dahab said the recruitment project had first been outlined to him by an al Qaeda fighter named Abdel Aziz Moussa al Jamal, who, according to Arabic press accounts, surfaced in Islamabad, Pakistan, serving as translator for Taliban envoy Abdul Salam Zaeef. On another visit to Afghanistan, Dahab said, he and Mohamed discussed the project with Zawahiri and bin Laden.” “Dahab told Egyptian authorities he and Mohamed had found 10 recruits, all of them naturalized U.S. citizens who had been born in the Middle East. The account of the confession did not name the recruits or provide other details about them.”
In August 1998, Dahab was in Egypt when al Qaeda mounted suicide attacks on the embassies in East Africa. Back in the U.S., Ali Mohamed was arrested for complicity in the attack and pled guilty. .
In October 1998, the Egyptian military moved to crush Islamic Jihad by arresting more than 70 of the organization’s leaders. Dahab decided to flee, and on Oct. 28 booked a flight to the United States. According to Dahab acquaintances, Egyptian security police boarded the plane shortly before takeoff and took him away in handcuffs. Dahab confessed his involvement with al Qaeda and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.”
Sleepers, the former head of Bin Laden’s intelligence (and a former US Army sergeant) Ali Mohammed testified, “don’t wear the traditional beards and they don’t pray at the mosques.” An Al Qaeda encyclopedia, Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants, advises sleepers to “have a general appearance that does not indicate Islamic orientation,” and for men not to wear a beard. The book also instructs sleepers not to denounce unjustice faced by the ummah, and not to use common Islamic expressions such as “peace be on you,” nor to go to Islamic locations, such as mosques.
Consider the example of another “sleeper” or operative, Tarik Hamdi of Herndon, Virginia. ABC News employed him to help secure an interview with bin Laden in early 1998. ABC News transported Hamdi to Afghanistan, unaware that his real purpose in going there was to carry a replacement battery to bin Laden for the satellite telephone he would later use to order the embassy bombings in East Africa. ABC was also unaware that the CIA had planted a listening device in the phone. The successful CIA operation, however, did not serve to prevent the planning of the embassy operation. Ironically, it facilitated it. If we don’t learn from history, we are bound to repeat it.
The Cairo Medical School Alum Who Was Zawahiri’s Tour Guide On His Last US Tour
In 1995, Ayman came once again to the United States where he was accompanied by US Army Sergeant Ali Mohammed on his travels to California, then Brooklyn, then the Washington, D.C. area. Who did he visit in Washington, D.C.? Zawahiri traveled to the US in 1991 and 1995 under an alias (though the dates are disputed). Zawahiri sometimes was accompanied by two brothers, a New Jersey pharmacist and a California doctor, Ali Zaki (a fellow Cairo Medical alum who denies knowing who Zawahiri was). They were joined by a former US Army sergeant and key Al Qaeda operative, Ali Mohammed. In Santa Clara, Ayman reportedly stayed at the home of Ali Mohammed, even though Mohammed had recently been subpoenaed to testify about what he knew about Bin Laden’s activities. Dr. Zaki says he was a good friend of Ali Mohammed and that it was widely known that Ali Mohammed was a liaison between the islamists in Afghanistan and the CIA. In one of his trips, he also reportedly went to Texas. One of the most important starting points of the FBI’s Amerithrax investigation should have been to trace the contacts that al-Zawahiri made on his last trip to the United States. He met with supporters associated with the Maktab Khidmat al-Mujahidin (the Al-Mujahidin services office) in the US.
The troubles of Cairo Medical School graduate (’71), San Jose physician Ali Zaki, over taking Ayman Zawahiri and Bin Laden’s head of intelligence around the US in 1995 had just about faded from memory. In January 2000, a new problem then reared its head. In 1999, he had prescribed $164,000 in prescriptions for Viagara, a syringe of a drug for renal insufficiency and a vial for hypogonadism. (Bin Laden suffered from renal insufficiency.) The California Board governing physicians found that Dr. Zaki violated regulations because no patient was named and he had kept no records. The drugs were ordered ostensibly for a fictitious business MedChem. When an investigator went to check out the listing it was the address at 550 Bevans Drive it turned out to have been a recently closed deli called Landmark Gourmet Delicatessen. Owned by Hasan Ibrahim, the business had been evicted.
According to the decision, the drugs reportedly were for resale abroad. If they were intended for Afghanistan, someone must have expected a lot of action with some virgins. Elzahabi in the September 2009 interview with journalist Colin Freeze was confident that God would find the time to provide him with the 72 virgins to which he felt he was entitled for keeping quiet about the 3 individuals whose picture he was shown. Perhaps erectile dysfunction was common tin Afghanistan because of the cold, harsh conditions and the stress in that line of work. One of the allegations in the January 21, 2000 “Accusation” alleged that “On or about June 15, 1999, respondent ordered 100 bottles of Viagara, 30 tablets per bottle, at 100 milligram strength.” Cost: $164,000. Memories: Priceless. The public reprimand issued in August 2001 and is available online at the State agency’s website.
Hallmark Greetings: Egyptian Islamists’ Earlier WTC Letter Bombs To Washington DC And New York City Newspapers And Symbolic Targets
A memo seized in the 1995 arrest proposed flying an explosive laden plane into CIA headquarters. Anyone reading the Washington Post in the mid-1990s read about the plan to fly a plane into CIA headquarters over their morning coffee. The earlier plot to fly an airliner into the Eiffel tower by some Algerians connected to Bin Laden was also notable. Condi Rice professes not to have imagined the threat even though it was publicly known and even a threat at the G-8 conference.It’s important that as a country we learn from our mistakes and not pay short shrift to the evidence on the issue of modus operandi relating to Zawahiri’s planned use of anthrax.
This was not the first time the Egyptian islamists sent letter bombs to newspaper offices in connection with an attack on the World Trade Center. NPR set the scene. It was January 2, 1997, at 9:15 a.m. at the National Press Building in Washington, D.C. The employee of the Saudi-owned newspaper Al Hayat began to open a letter. It was a Christmas card — the kind that plays a musical tune. It was white envelope, five and a half inches by six and a half inches, with a computer-generated address label attached. It had foreign postage and a post mark — a postmark appearing to be from Alexandria, Egypt. It looked suspiciously bulky, so he set it down and called the police. Minutes later they found a similar envelope. These were the first two of four letter bombs that would arrive at Al Hayat during the day. A fifth letter bomb addressed to the paper was intercepted at a nearby post office. They all looked the same. Two similar letter bombs addressed to the “parole officer” (a position that does not exist) arrived at the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth. It seemed evident how some Grinch had spent the holidays in Egypt.
Egyptian Saif Adel (Makawwi), thought to be in Iran, was involved in military planning. Adel was a colonel in the Egyptian Army’s Special Forces before joining Al Qaeda. He helped plan the 1998 attacks on the welcome any Muslim who wants to join us, and if Makkawi wants to [join us], he will be welcomed to the Vanguards march, but through the organizational channels. But if words are not coupled with actions, we tell him: Fear God, and you can use a different name other than the Vanguards to speak on its behalf.” The spokesman denounced Makkawi’s authority to speak for the group, referring to the January 5th statement it had made denying responsibility. The spokesperson for the Vanguards of Conquest apparently was Post Office employee Sattar’s friend, Al-Sirri, based in London.
The FBI would not speculate as to who sent the letters or why. But this was your classic “duck that walks like a duck” situation. As NPR reported at the time, “analysts say that letter bombs are rarely sent in batches, and when they are it’s generally prompted by politics, not personal animus.” Al Hayat was a well respected and moderate newspaper. It was friendly to moderate Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt. That, without more, was accurately discerned by observers at the time as sufficient to make the newspaper outlet a target of the militant islamists. The newspaper, its editor explained, does not avoid criticizing militant islamists. The Al Hayat Editor-in-Chief explained: “We’ve been opposed to all extremists in the Arab world, especially the fundamentalists.” Mohammed Salameh, a central defendant in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was sent to Leavenworth in 1994. The other three Egyptian extremists convicted in the bombing were sent to prisons in California, Indiana and Colorado. Like the blind sheik Abdel-Rahman, Salameh had complained of his conditions and asked to be avenged. The Blind Sheik was particularly irked that the prison officials did not cut his fingernails.
Abdel-Rahman was convicted in 1995 of seditious conspiracy, bombing conspiracy, soliciting an attack on an U.S. military installation, and soliciting the murder of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. His followers were indicted for plotting to bomb bridges, tunnels and landmarks in New York for which Rahman allegedly had given his blessings. The mailing of deadly letters in connection with an earlier attack on the World Trade Center was not merely the modus operandi of militant islamists, it was the group’s signature. It’s their calling card. Khaled Abu el-Dahab, a naturalized American, from Silicon Valley, in a confession detailed in an Egyptian defense ministry document dated October 28, 1998, explained that he was trained to make booby-trapped letters to send to important people, as well as asked to enroll in American aviation schools to learn how to fly gliders and helicopters. He was a friend of Ali Mohammed, the former special forces officer in the Egyptian army and former US Army Sergeant. The modus operandi of these militant supporters of the blind sheik was known to be planes and booby-trapped letters.
The Al Hayat reporters and editor were not expressing an opinion — though the owner did lay out various possibilities (e.g., Iraq, Iran etc.). The owner of the paper had commanded Saudi forces during the Persian Gulf War, when Bin Laden was so upset about American troops on the Arabian peninsula. Moreover, al Hayat had recently opened up a Bureau in Jerusalem, giving it a dateline of Jerusalem rather than al Quds, which some thought blasphemous. But none of the other possibilities would plausibly explain why the letter bomb was sent to Leavensworth where three of the WTC 1993 defendants were imprisoned, including Ramzi Yousef’s lieutenant who had asked that his mistreatment be avenged. (That was the criminal genius who returned to Ryder to reclaim his deposit after blowing up the truck at WTC). Egyptian security officials argued that the letters were sent from outside of Egypt, the stamps were not available in Egypt, and that the postmark was not Alexandria as reported. Whatever the place of mailing, the sender likely was someone who was upset that KSM’s and Ramzi Yousef’s associates had been imprisoned, to include, most notably, the blind sheik. Whoever is responsible for the anthrax mailings, it is a very good bet that they are upset the blind sheik is detained. That should be at the center of any classified profile of the crime.
On December 31, 1996 Mohammed Youssef was in Egypt — having gone to Egypt months before. The al Hayat letter bombs related to the detention and alleged mistreatment of the blind sheikh and the WTC bombers were sent 10 days earlier — on the Day of Measures. In 2006, he was named as co-defendant with Hassoun, Daher, Padilla and Jayyousi. Youssef was born in Alexandria. Kifah Jayyousi’s “Islam Report” over the years — distributed by Adham Hassoun in Florida and Kassem Daher in Canada — expressed outrage at detention/extradition due to terrorism law and also what he perceived as attacks on his religion by some newspapers. His headlines on the internet groups blazed “Just In! First Muslim Victim of New Terrorism Law!: US Agents Arrest Paralegal Of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman Without Charge Prepares To Hand Him To Egyptian Regime,” soc.religion.islam, dated April 27, 1996 and “Islam Report (Newspaper Attacks Our Religion! Act Now!,” soc.religion.islam, Apr. 16, 1996.
After the Al Hayat letter bombs to newspapers in DC and NYC and people in symbolic positions, in January 1997, both the Blind Sheikh and his paralegal, Sattar, were quoted in separate articles in Al Hayat (in Arabic) denying that they or their supporters were responsible. The Blind Sheikh commented that al Hayat was fair and balanced in its coverage and his supporters would have no reason to “hit” them.
The same sort of counterintuitive theory was raised in connection with the earlier letter bombing of newspapers to DC and New York City and people in symbolic positions. Sattar noted that the bombs were mailed on December 20, one day before the brief in support of the blind sheik on appeal. He questioned whether someone (like the FBI) was trying to undermine the appeal’s prospects. This time, Mr. Sattar did not need any help making the argument with respect to the anthrax letters. Numerous people with political or other agendas rushed to do it for him. In accusing Dr. Ivins on the occasion of his death, the FBI embraced the same sort of theory — that is, when it was not grasping at other untenable theories relating to college sororities, incorrectly perceived anti-abortion views, or imagined financial motive.
In September 2006, in a Sahab Media production called “Knowledge is for acting,” there is a clip in which Al Quds editor Atwan refers to his visit with Bin Laden in 1996 (see also his 2006 book The Secret History of al Qaeda). He says that Bin Laden was planning to attack America “and America prisons in particular.” That was an apparent reference to the Al Hayat letter bombs sent to newspapers and prisons in January 1997. There were recurrent references to Abdel-Rahman in the tape.
Use of Code
In planning 9/11, Atta used code in instructing Ramzi Binalshibh to send “the skirts” to “Sally”. The 9/11 Commission Staff explained that the coded reference to “Sally” referred to sending money to Zacarias Moussaoui. (Ramzi then sent Zacarias $14,000). Former CIA Director Tenet in his 2007 book Center of the Storm included Ramzi Binalshibh along with KSM and Hambali as among al-Qa’ida’s leadership “linked to the group’s highly compartmentalized chemical, biological, and nuclear networks.”
Atta and Ramzi Binalshibh used coded phrases as they approached 9/11 to include:
Faculty of Fine Arts/arts = Pentagon
Faculty of Town Planning/architecture = World Trade Center
Faculty of Law / law = The Capitol
politics = White House
White Meat = Americans
Terminal = Indonesia
Market = Malaysia
Hotel = Philippines
Village = Egypt
The CSIS has explained that EIJ operative Jaballah used code in discussing operational or sensitive matters. For example, in a discussion with a Pakistan-based contact, with whom he was discussing acquiring false documents, he requested help in acquiring a “green outfit.” In describing Mabruk’s detention in Dagestan, and seeking funds to get him out, he told Florida cell member in Alberta, Canada, that the “medicine” needed was expensive and that it would cost $15,000. Daher commented that when the “patients” were Arab it seemed a lucrative trade. Similarly, US supporters of Abdel-Rahman in the 1990s used “Food and Beverage Industry” to refer to the FBI. It is worth considering, then, whether code was used in the anthrax letters. In the conversations that the blind sheikh’s spokesman, Sattar, had with people like the blind sheik’s successor Taha, EIJ/Vanguards of Conquest al-Sirri, and the blind sheikh’s son, they used the same language found in emails between Zawahiri and the Yemeni cell in email. If a brother was in the hospital, it meant he was in prison. If he had an accident, it meant perhaps that Egyptian security services had killed him.
KSM and Clouds (As Sahab)
The letter sending the first anthrax reportedly had clouds pictured on it. The flagship of American Media, Inc., National Enquirer, described the letter sent AMI as follows:
“Bobby Bender came around the corner with this letter in the upturned palms of his hands,” said photo assistant Roz Suss, a 13-year Sun staffer. “It was a business-size sheet of stationery decorated with pink and blue clouds around the edges. It was folded into three sections, and in the middle was a pile of what looked like pink-tinged talcum powder.”
In admitting that he had taken over supervising the development of anthrax for use against the US upon Atef’s death (in November 2001), KSM separately noted that “I was the Media Operations Director for As-Sahab or ‘The Clouds,’ under Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
Jennifer Lopez Letter and Atta’s “Jenny” Code
The letter sent to AMI in Florida sought to dissuade Jennifer Lopez from a planned marriage. A wedding or marriage is well-known Al Qaeda code for an attack. The sender said how much he loved her and asked her to marry him. Stevens noted at the time it was especially off the wall given that the Sun did not deal with celebrities, which was the subject of the sister-paper Globe. Stevens’ fellow photo editor Roz Suss was looking over his shoulder: “With that Bob says to me,” Hey, I think there’s something gold in here. It looks like a Jewish star sticking out of the powder.” I walked up behind him and reached over his shoulder. I pulled this little star out of what looked like a mound of powder in this letter. I remember it as a fine white powder.” “It looked like something from a Cracker Jacks box,” she says. She picked it out of the powder and tossed it in her wastebasket. Stevens’ colleague Bobby Bender has a different recollection. He says he opened a letter to Jennifer Lopez, recalls handling a large envelope to Jennifer Lopez, care of the Sun. In it was a cigar tube containing a cigar, a small Star of David charm, and something that seemed like soap powder. Hambali and two al-Qaeda minions considered attacking an Israeli restaurant, with a Star of David above it, in the Khao San Rd. backpacker area in Bangkok.
A December 1998 Presidential Daily Brief to President Clinton explained: “An alleged Bin Ladin supporter late last month remarked to his mother that he planned to work in ‘commerce’ from abroad and said his impending ‘marriage,’ which would take place soon, would be a ’surprise.’” The December 1998 PDB continued: “‘Commerce’ and ‘marriage’ often are code words for attacks.” Of course, sometimes, a young man just wants to tell his mom he’s got a job or warn her that she may not approve of the woman he intends to marry. Similarly, sometimes folks who write to tabloids are merely commenting on JLo’s impending nuptials.
Jennifer Lopez’s fame had withstood a number of under performing movies, to include the movie “The Cell” in the year 2000. In the movie, following a trail of bodies, an FBI agent tracks down and captures a disturbed serial killer. Before the killer can reveal the whereabouts of his next victim (a woman trapped in a cell on the verge of drowning), he falls into a coma. Enter beautiful FBI psychologist Lopez, who uses a radical link to the killer’s brain that could destroy her own sanity. “Her mission: Find the cell’s location before time runs out, and avoid getting trapped inside the killer’s head.” According to an early National Enquirer, Stevens held it up to his face and then put it down on the keyboard (where traces of anthrax were found). The publisher’s wife was the real estate broker who rented to two of the hijackers.
The heaviest concentration was in the mailroom on the first floor, with positive findings in many cubicles throughout the first floor. The second floor had positive traces mainly in the hallways. The third floor had the fewest positive traces. The FBI has a theory that the spores were distributed on copy paper, perhaps having fallen onto an open ream of paper in the mailroom where it was stored. Perhaps instead spores could have been spread by a vacuum cleaner and collected at copier machines because of the electrostatic charge and the fans on the machines.
Mrs. Stevens recently explained: “They get strange letters sometimes, and the consensus seems to be that if Robert wasn’t wearing his glasses and if it was something funny, he would hold the letters up to his face. They think perhaps that’s how he got it. Just bad luck.” The key expert evidence on this issue of the Jennifer Lopez letter thus far is the New England Journal of Medicine in which Stevens’ doctor concludes that the letter, opened 9/19 and resulting in symptoms appearing 9/30, evidenced an incubation period consistent with inhalational anthrax.
A CDC report discusses a second letter of possible interest thought to have been opened on September 25 by a different woman who was exposed. The jury will have to remain out unless and until there is more information on the letter(s) that transmitted the anthrax to AMI. The FBI went back to AMI in August 2002. A February 2003 article in Esquire says the “cops and the doctors” have concluded that there were two letters, following two different paths, with one having been mailed to an old address of the National Enquirer before being forwarded. If there were two different letters, were they to two different AMI publications? That would make sense — with one directed to the Sun and one directed to the National Enquirer.
What does the J.Lo letter tell us about the sender, or senders? J.Lo is what they used to call a “sex bomb” — and the biggest one at the time. She had international fame. The vehicle had a “weird” love letter, a Star of David, maybe a cigar. Who had “issues” and weird obsessions with women, sex (with a cigar being a crude symbol) and Jewish symbolism? Atta, for example, had strict instructions in his will about what women would be allowed to do at his funeral. Follow the anomalies.
Two of the hijackers had subscriptions to AMI publications, as did Al Qaeda operative al-Marabh. Boston cab driver Al-Marabh had been in contact with the hijackers, to include Alghamdi who rented an apartment from the wife of the AMI publisher. Atta was seen at the apartment of Al-Marabh and his uncle (the co-founder with Jaballah of an islamic school in Toronto in the Spring of 2001. After coming to Canada in 1996, Jaballah spoke with Ayman regularly on Ayman’s satellite phone.
”In The Hearts Of Green Birds” (Inside Green Birds)
It was widely published among the militant islamists that martyrs go to paradise “in the hearts of green birds.” The stamp’s image of a green-blue colored bird was designed by artist Michael Doret. Mr. Doret provided me “a file made directly from the original art [he] created, so the color is an accurate representation of the printed envelope.” Michael advises me that the color of the eagle is a “teal” or greenish-blue.
In the very interview with Al-Jazeera in which they admitted 9/11, and described the codes used for the four targets for the planes, KSM and Ramzi Binalshibh admitted to the Jenny code, the code for representing the date 9/11, and used the symbolism of the “Green Birds.” Osama Bin Laden later invoked the symbolism in his video “The 19 Martyrs”, describing a hijacker as “A man of worship who enjoined good and forbade evil. His body was on earth but his heart roamed with the green birds that perch beneath the Throne of the Most Merciful.”
A FAQ on Al Qaeda’s website, the Azzam Publications website, explained that “In the Hearts of Green Birds” refers to what is inside. The actual Arabic word used in the Hadith is not Qalb (heart) but it is Jowf which can mean any of interior, inside, or heart (as in center). There was a video based on the hadith with the title “In The Hearts of Green Birds” about foreign mujahideen who had been martyred in Bosnia. The audiocassette was created in August 1996 and its 3rd edition was released in January 1997. The azzam.org website selling the “In the Hearts of Green Birds” audiocassette was shut down after 9/11 because authorities thought it might contain codes and instructions to militants. British and US intelligence sources reportedly suspected that some of Azzam.com’s jihad photos and graphics contain messages embedded with a technology known as steganography. The code instead perhaps was there for all to see on the stamps of the lethal missives being sent.
In early Fall 2001, the Azzam.com website was mirrored by someone who lived 6 miles from the mailbox where the anthrax was mailed. He was indicted in Spring 2007 for income tax invasion. To the left of the advertisement for the “Green Birds” video, you’ll see the description of al-Hawali’s imprisonment. The imprisonment of al-Hawali and certain other scholars was the “Cover Theme” (which includes a related article on the torture of prisoners in Saudi prisons). GMU computational biology grad al-Timimi drafted a letter for al-Hawali and had it hand-delivered to every member of Congress on the first anniversary of the anthrax mailings.
Of course, given that the symbolism used in this regard in the anthrax mailings had an origin in religious writing, there is no direct tie with the website — the tie could be with the hadith. The London webmaster once said that the FBI allowed it to remain up (while it moved from server to server) for another year hoping to get leads on supporters.
Even Zarqawi invoked the imagery in a 60-minute audio message:
“The martyrs rejoice in the bounty provided by God. Their souls are inside the bodies of green birds that fly in heaven.”
Bin Laden was using “Green Birds” in the same way he used the repeated phrase “Looming Tower” to hint of what was to come with the planes attack on the World Trade Center. He would say
“Wherever you are, death will find you
even in the looming tower.”
In a prerecorded tape aired October 7, 2001, at the time of the anthrax mailing to the Senators, Bin Laden said “The winds of faith have come.”
An advertisement for “In The Hearts of Green Birds” sold by Al Qaeda’s website read: “In the Summer of 1996, Azzam Recordings released the first audio tape of its kind to be produced in English. The name of this tape was: ‘In the Hearts of Green Birds.’ It outlined some of the stories of these men. This tape was so successful, that it spread, by the Will of Allah, throughout many Muslim homes in the UK, North America and Australia. Due to popular demand, in the Summer of 1997, Azzam Recordings produced the sequel to this tape: ‘Under the Shades of Swords.’ The Virginia Paintball defendants really liked videos like “In the Hearts of Green Birds” and found them inspirational.
The US Attorney and AP created the impression that the Federal Eagle stamp was uniquely sold in Ivins’ post office (near USAMRIID) when it in fact was sold throughout Maryland and Virginia. This misstatement by the US Attorney (picked up by AP) was as great as any misstep in connection with a “Hatfill Theory”.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/postofficeissuegraphic.jp
“Greendale School”
”Greendale School” is the return address of the anthrax letters to Senators Daschle and Leahy. In December 2002, the Arabic paper London Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that correspondence on Zawahiri’s computer (which was obtained by the Wall Street Journal) shows Zawahiri uses “school” as code for Egyptian Islamic Jihad. The letter was found on Al Zawahiri’s computer. The letter was designed to look innocent. It was dated 3 May 2001 and signed “Dr. Nour, Chairman of the Company.” Nour is one of Zawahiri’s aliases. In this context, it was Egyptian Islamic Jihad, not Al Qaeda, of which he was Chairman.
“We have been trying to go back to our main, previous activities. The most important step was the opening of the school. We have made it possible for the teachers to find openings for profitable trade.”
The letter read
“To: Unknown
Folder: Letters
The following is a summary of our situation: We are trying to return to our previous main activity. The most important step was starting the school, the programs of which have been started. We also provided the teachers with means of conducting profitable trade as much as we could. Matters are all promising, except for the unfriendliness of two teachers, despite what we have provided for them. We are patient. (This refers to an internal dispute with two senior London Egyptian islamists).
As you know, the situation below in the village [Egypt] has become bad for traders [jihadis]. Our Upper Egyptian relatives have left the market, and we are suffering from international monopolies. Conflicts take place between us for trivial reasons, due to the scarcity of resources. We are also dispersed over various cities. However, God had mercy on us when the Omar Brothers Company [the Taliban] here opened the market for traders and provided them with an opportunity to reorganize, may God reward them. Among the benefits of residence here is that traders from all over gather in one place under one company, which increases familiarity and cooperation among them, particularly between us and the Abdullah Contracting Company [bin Laden and his associates]. The latest result of this cooperation is the offer they gave. Following is a summary of the offer: Encourage commercial activities [jihad] in the village to face foreign investors; stimulate publicity; then agree on joint work to unify trade in our area. Close relations allowed for an open dialogue to solve our problems. Colleagues here believe that this is an excellent opportunity to encourage sales in general, and in the village in particular. They are keen on the success of the project. They are also hopeful that this may be a way out of the bottleneck to transfer our activities to the stage of multinationals and joint profit. We are negotiating the details with both sides.”
The full message, decoded, is thought to say:
“We have been trying to go back to our military activities. The most important step was the declaration of unity with al-Qaeda. We have made it possible for the mujahideen to find an opening for martyrdom. As you know, the situation down in Egypt has become bad for the mujahideen: our members in Upper Egypt have abandoned military action, and we are suffering from international harassment.”
“But Allah enlightened us with His mercy when Taliban came to power. It has opened doors of military action for our mujahideen and provided them with an opportunity to rearrange their forces. One benefit of performing jihad here is the congregation in one place of all mujahideen who came from everywhere and began working with the Islamic Jihad Organization. Acquaintance and cooperation have grown, especially between us and al-Qaeda.”
In December 2002, the Arabic paper London Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that correspondence on Zawahiri’s computer (which was obtained by the Wall Street Journal) shows Zawahiri uses “school” as code for “Al Qaeda.”
Dr. Jean Rosenfeld, a researcher associated with the UCLA Center for the Study of Religion, and an expert on the symbolism of religious extremist movements, wrote me: “Greendale’ to me signified a conscious choice to use the symbolic color of Islam.” She continued: “The franked eagle on the envelope of the anthrax letters was identical to the one I caught on a documentary that showed a one-second shot of the site where Sadat was assassinated –- the huge eagle above the podium where he was when he died. That assassination was of great significance to Egyptian Jihad and produced the pamphlet by Faraj that justifies “fard ‘ayn”/individual duty as the basis of jihadist doctrine.” She explained that Al Qaeda “is rooted in Egypt and Salafism, not Saudi Arabia and Wahhabism. Al-Zawahiri, I believe, is intensely nostalgic for the Nile Valley.”
The CIA factbook explains that the color green — such as used by anthrax lab technician Yazid Sufaat in naming his lab “Green Laboratory Medicine,” and by the mailer who used the return address “Greendale School” – is the traditional color of islam. Green symbolizes islam, Mohammed and the holy war. In its section on Saudi Arabia, and the “Flag Description,” the CIA “Factbook” explains that the flag is “green with large white Arabic script (that may be translated as There is no God but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God) above a white horizontal saber … ; green is the traditional color of Islam.”
An intelligence document first released in 2007 involves an operation by EIJ members headed by Atef and including Saif Adel in which the group headed to Somalia to work at developing a new base of operations. The group was called The Green Team. “Greendale School” was used as the return address in the letters and likely is code referring to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. The stamp on the prestamped envelopes was of a green bird. For a video depicting the Green Bird’s point of view and invoking Allah’s guidance to “the straight path,” see this video “The 3D Kabah – A green birds eye view.” The koranic “Green Birds” reference is from the sentence relating to being set on “The Straight Path.” Timimi, the graduate student who had access to the Alibek/Bailey patent about concentration using silanized hydrophobic silica, advised the EIJ founder Kamal Habib in writing for the publication called Assirat Al-Mustaqeem (“The Straight Path”).
Likely for the same reason, Al Qaeda anthrax lab technician Yazid Sufaat and Zacarias Moussaoui used the name Green Laboratory Medicine as the name of the company that he used, for example, to buy 4 tons of ammonium nitrate, and that he used to cover his anthrax production program. Green dale refers to green “river valley” — Egypt, Cairo, Egyptian Islamic Jihad and/or Egyptian Islamic Group. Put it all together and you have their new official name (though the American press does not use it) — Qaeda al Jihad. At the Darunta complex where jihadis trained, recruits would wear green uniforms, except for Friday when they would be washed.
Given that using the same address helps the second recipient receiving the letter to identify it and avoid opening it, the perp would have no reason to use the same address unless he was communicating something and wanted to draw attention to it.
Adham Hassoun and Kassem Daher used “school” as code. Canadian businessman Daher is an associate of EIJ member Jaballah, who was detained in Canada and had maintained regular contact with Ayman by satellite telephone after coming to Canada in 1996. “Is there a school over there to teach football?” Hassoun asked, using what the FBI says is code for jihad.
The Amerithrax Task Force explanation of Greendale is as follows:
“The investigation into the fictitious return address on envelopes used for the second round of anthrax mailings, “4th GRADE,” “GREENDALE SCHOOL,” has established a possible link to the American Family Association (AFA) headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi. In October 1999, AFA, a Christian organization, published an article entitled “AFA takes Wisconsin to court.” The article describes a lawsuit filed in federal court, by the AFA Center for law and Policy (CLP), on behalf of the parents of the students at Greendale Baptist Academy. The articles focuses on an incident that occurred on December 16, 1998, in which case workers of the Wisconsin Department of Human Services went to the Greendale Baptist Academy. The article focuses on an incident that occurred on December 1, 1998, in which case workers of the Wisconsin Department of Human Services went to the Greendale Baptist Academy in order to interview a fourth grade student. The case workers, acting on an anonymous tip that Greendale Baptist Academy administered corporal punishment as part of its discipline policy, did not disclose to the staff why they wanted to interview the student. The case workers interviewed the student in the absence of the student’s parents and informed the school staff that the parents were not to be contacted. The AFA CLP filed suit against the Wisconsin Department of Human Services, citing a violation of the parents’ Fourth Amendment rights.”
[D]onations were made to the AFA in the name of “Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Ivins” on eleven separate occasions beginning on December 31, 1993. After an approximate two year break in donations, the next donation occurred on November 11, 1999, one month after the initial article referencing Greendale Baptist Academy was published in the AFA Journal. It was also discovered that the subscription to the AFA Journal, in the name of ‘Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Ivins,’ … was active until March 2005.”
The logical fallacy is that Ivins would have had no reason to use the same address unless he was sending a message he wanted to be received. There was no audience that reasonably would have perceived the message being sent. He had no reason to send such a message. The theory was fine for an affidavit in support of a search of a residence — but not on which to close a case.
Ayman Zawahiri used “school” to refer to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
Allusion to Both Atta and Genomic Sequencing of Ames Strain
The writing of the text of the letter is also interesting in that the “As” and “Ts” are double-lined — to suggest ATTA, the lead hijacker.
When the US Centers for Disease Control first identified that the Ames strain had been used in the mailing to Florida in October 2001, Keim and his colleagues at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) had nearly finished a project to sequence Bacillus anthracis— specifically, the chromosome of an anthrax isolate from a laboratory in Porton Down, U.K.Ayman had a microbiologist attending Porton Down-sponsored conferences at which presentations were made about the sequencing of Ames. The letter writer appears to have even double-lined A’s and T’s in the letters accompanying the anthrax possibly to simultaneously allude to Atta and the genomic sequence.
As explained at the Porton Down conferences attended by Ayman’s operative Rauf Ahmad, Keim’s research team eventually discovered 60 new ‘markers’ in the Bacillus anthracis genome—DNA sequences that may vary from one isolate to another. These include insertions or deletions of DNA, and short sequences that are repeated at different lengths in the genome known as VNTRs (variable-number tandem repeats). A decade earlier, it had been determined that one of three proteins comprising anthrax toxin, and the first nucleotide sequence to be reported from B. anthracis (by USAMRIID authors no less), had a consensus TATAAT sequence located at the putative -10 promoter site. It is greek to us but apparently something with meaning to the person who drafted the letter. Perhaps the sender was saying that the bacteria was pathogenic unlike what had been sent to the Canadian immigration minister six months earlier.
When authorities determined that the anthrax had not been genetically modified so as to be resistant to antibiotics, Condi Rice told the President: “That’s the best news you’ve had as president.” Years later, at trial for sedition, GMU microbiology grad student Ali Al-Timimi read “Genome Technology.”
The coded e-mail Faris wrote back to KSM suggesting that the idea of removing bolts from the span of the Brooklyn Bridge was not a viable idea was but one of many examples of the simple codes used by Al Qaeda operatives. Sometimes the code might be as simple as Adham Hassoun’s “stuff” for the local soccer team in places like Bosnia or his references to a young man who wanted to go out and get some “fresh air” [go join the jihad]. Sometimes it might be Iyman Faris’ reference to the weather or Ramzi Binalshibh’s “shirts” for Sally. Sometimes it might be a reference to Greendale School or a marriage proposal to Jenny such apparently in the case of the anthrax mailings. The CIA reports that wedding is Al-Qaeda-speak for an event. That, according to New York Times journalists, is why the CIA got so anxious to have the Buffalo boys arrested. Apart from an email about a “big feast,” the young men from Buffalo had started talking about a planned wedding. Interpreting such code is not without risk. The CIA kicked down the door in Bahrain and dragged him away from the altar to the horror of his bride-to-be.
But putting aside this question of nuptials, impending or annulled, the fact remains that the sender of the anthrax letters would have had no reason to use the same address on the second letter unless he was communicating something. That identical return address, in fact, helped authorities locate and intercept the letter to a Senator. All of the coding together may have served to tell the world, for example, that Mohammed Atta and the others were going to fly to paradise in a green bird and that the anthrax was courtesy of the Vanguards of Conquest. If you mistreat our prisoners or continue appropriations to Israel and Egyptian regimes, we may attack Washington, D.C. and New York City with aerosolized anthrax. You act at your peril. Zawahiri simultaneously framed the US Army by using the “Ames strain” while telling them who did it. Now that 911 imam Anwar Aulaqi has formally urged that it would be islamically permissible to kill a million civilians, this is not the time to be distracted by a bag of stained panties found in the basement of the residence of some USAMRIID scientist.
In contrast, not even the expert the FBI consulted as to its theory of the code thought that its theory passed the “giggle test.” As suggested by the expert (who authored the book relied upon), the agent who contrived the theory relied upon as part of an Ivins Theory, had to treat a letter that was not in fact doublie-lined as if it were. Agent Steele thus divined that the message was PAT FNY. Dr, Ivins threw out a code book after there was questioning on the issue for the same reason the average reasonable person might throw out things that the FBI might misconstrue or use in concocting a mistaken theory. Or that they might use to smear him. For the same reason, in spring of 2008 he threw out semen stained panties. As with the hide-the-ball played by the DOJ in hiding the documents relating to the work with the 52 rabbits on those critical nights — pretending that Dr. Ivins had no reason to be in the lab — on this subject there seems to be no limit to how the DOJ prosecutor will be allowed to spin evidence and selectively present and withhold documents.
The only expert interviewed by the FBI about the code in the letters for which documents were produced disagreed with the FBI’s theory of code in the letters and that all the letters needed for the FBI’s interpretation of the code were NOT in fact double-lined. Once this understood, one realizes what a crock of a case the FBI concocted.
Summer 2001 Inquiries About Cropdusters and Helicopters
Expert Kohlmann reports that “The LeT [Lashkar-e-Taiba] has also displayed persistent efforts at aimed at obtaining remote control drone aircraft, presumably in order to gather reconnaissance on enemy positions. Kohlman quotes a November 2000 Taiba Bulletin that quotes a LeT representative boasting “Lashkar-e-Taiba also made a remote control aeroplane that was caught in Occupied Kashmir. We are developing the modern technology.”
Authors Schwartz and University of Minnesota Professor Osterholm explained in December 2000: “Dozens of Websites offer information on new and used crop-dusting planes and equipment that can be fitted to almost any plane or even trucks. Most of the equipment can be found on those sites produce a highly controlled mist spray, with nozzles that can set the droplet size precisely.”
“A quick call to the toll-free number for a state university’s agricultural service (listed, naturally on its Website) revealed that powder dispersal systems, while less popular than wet systems, are still available. One Website even provides a handy guide to the area one would expect to cover using various particle sizes, wet and dry — from thousand micron particles to half-micron particles capable of drifting almost four hundred miles.”
It was no small irony that by the time the paperback version came out in September 2001 just a few miles away Zacarias Moussaoui had in fact downloaded such materials onto his laptop.
President Bush, at a press conference on October 11, 2001 said: “We received knowledge that perhaps an al-Qaeda operative was prepared to use a crop-duster to spray a biological weapon or a chemical weapon on American people, and so we responded. We contacted every crop dust location, airports from which crop-dusters leave. We notified crop-duster manufacturers to a potential threat. We knew full well that in order for a crop-duster to become a weapon of mass destruction would require a retrofitting, and so we talked to machine shops around where crop-dusters are located.”
Mohammed Atta and Zacarias Moussaoui reportedly made inquiries about cropdusters and a cropdusting manual was found among Moussaoui’s belongings. Ahmad Ressam, an Al Qaeda terrorist caught in the United States, revealed that Bin Laden was personally interested in using low flying aircraft to disperse biological agents. In early June 3, 2003, a CIA report concluded that the reason for Atta’s and Zacarias Moussaoui’s inquiries into cropdusters was in fact for the contemplated use in dispersing biological agents such as anthrax. Moussaoui, however, has confessed only to a plot to fly a 747 into the White House if the United States government refused to free the blind sheikh. On August 13 and 15, 2001, Moussaoui was getting practice on a 747 simulator in Minneapolis and thus the evidence has always remained ambiguous.
in an interview with ABC News, Johnelle Bryant, a USDA employee, provided this very dramatic account of a meeting with Atta in connection with a loan he wanted for $650,000 to start a cropdusting business. Anthrax likely can be delivered using the nozzle setup that some USDA official says Atta imagined (as explained by Secretary Cohen some years ago). Secretary Cohen’s remarks were found in the Kabul home with papers relating to the aerial delivery of anthrax.
Some investigators on the team prosecuting Zacarias Moussaoui thought he wasn’t expected to take part in the 9/11 plan as such or fly into the White House as prosecutors would allege in January 2003, but that instead he was expected to use a cropduster. In an e-mail dated July 31, 2001, after receiving $14,000 from Ramzi Binalshibh, Moussaoui inquired of a Minnesota school concerning a 6 month or year long cropdusting course. Although French intelligence suggests that there was a separate hijacking plot (of an international airline) to occur later, in light of the e-mail, use of a cropdusting plane may have been an alternative plan at least as of the end of July 2001. Khalid Mohammed reportedly has told his interrogators that Moussaoui was to be part of a second wave of attacks. He said that Moussaoui’s interest in cropdusters may have related to Yazid Sufaat’s work on anthrax.
In a coded communication in the summer of 2001, KSM told Ramzi Binalhibh to send the “skirts” to “Sally”, apparently referring to sending funds to Zacarias Moussaoui. Moussaoui may have been considered as a substitute if one of the pilots, who had developed a strained relationship with Atta, dropped out.
It’s unknown what role Atta’s roommate, pilot Ramzi Binalshibh, would have played if he had succeeded on one of his four attempts to get into the country. Ramzi Binalshibh was Atta’s former roommate in Germany and was captured in Karachi, Pakistan on September 11, 2002. The government deleted the two allegations regarding cropduster inquiries from the indictment of Moussaoui. Although the move was never explained, it was likely because in his defense he was relying on a July 31, 2001 e-mail seeking to sign up for a cropdusting course that would take 6 months to a year. Moussaoui was attempting to use the e-mail to argue that it demonstrated that he was not part of the 9/11 conspiracy.
On September 19, 2001, an FBI agent asked a federal judge in Colorado for permission to search an e-mail account named “greenlab@usa.net” that Sufaat had given Moussaoui to use. The address on the letters to the Senators was Greendale School.
The FBI is currently looking for a diminutive Saudi Arabian, Adnan Shukrijumah, who, at least according to some reports, was trained as a pilot and was last known to have been in Miami in late 2001. The Saudi Arabian from Florida is said to be at the level of Atta. A federal undercover agent has reported that he saw El-Shukrijumah with Atta. Jdey, also hotly sought by the FBI, was one of two other pilots who for unknown reasons were not still candidates for the first wave.
Target Acquired: Al Qaeda’s Spymaster on Amerithrax
As explained by author Peter Lance in Triple Cross, after the 1998 embassy bombings, a ten-member federal team secretly entered the California residence of Ali Mohamed, Zawahiri’s former head of intelligence. They copied Mohamed’s hard drives and removed a series of CD-ROM and floppy disks. A memo titled “Cocktail” appeared to be a draft manual on sleeper cell structure.
The file on cell structure read in part:
“Every member knows how to do everything.
Every member has a legal job as a cover (Student, worker, trade).
Safety is the main concern, so the contingency plan is very important. Before working on the target you have (to) specify a rally point to meet in case of separation for any reason.
The communications between the different groups are conducted through the dead drop only.
Each group does not know anything about the other group, even Majmouat (the word means “the collected” or “the collection”). Al-qeyada does not know how many group(s) under its leadership. Only the group know each other because the members of one group only working with each other.”
Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim took on Ali Mohammed’s role. His alias is easier to remember — Abu Jihad al-Masri. Al Masri means the Egyptian. Also known as Al-Hukaymah, he was the author of the description of the Amerithrax investigation in 2002. Born in 1961, Abu Jihad al-Masri joined the Egyptian Islamic Group in 1979. He was arrested in 1981 after Sadat’s assassination. He once was arrested alongside the blind sheik Abdel-Rahman. Hukaymah is reportedly connected to the blind sheikh’s successor Taha, the Islamic Group head who was in close touch in 1999 and 2000 with the NY-based US postal employee Sattar, the blind sheik’s “surrogate.” Al-Hukaymah dedicated the treatise “[t]o the pious and the hidden who are not known when they come and who are not missed when they disappear — To those whom their God will answer when they pray to Him. To all the eyes that are vigilant late at night to bring victory to this religion.”
The introduction of the 152-page book starts:
“The Manhattan raid led to a radical change in the perception of American Security. After the northern half of the continent had been isolated from the rest of the world and its threats by two oceans, it now came from inside. The surprise hit the symbols of American power in its economic and security dimensions.”
Published at al-Maqreze Center for Historical Studies website (www.almaqreze.com) by the one-time EIJ shura member al-Sibai, the section on the anthrax investigation appears to have been written in 2002.
“The Anthrax Scandal:
Over many months, there was an excited search for the person responsible for the worst biological terror attack on American soil. Six letters sent by mail to Leahy, Daschle, Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, The New York Post and of the Amerithrax investigation in 2002. Born in 1961, Abu Jihad al-Masri joined the Egyptian Islamic Group in 1979. He was arrested in 1981 after Sadat’s assassination. He once was arrested alongside the blind sheik Abdel-Rahman. Hukaymah is reportedly connected to the blind sheikh’s successor Taha, the Islamic Group head who was in close touch in 1999 and 2000 with the NY-based US postal employee Sattar, the blind sheik’s “surrogate.” Al-Hukaymah dedicated the treatise “[t]o the pious and the hidden who are not known when they come and who are not missed when they disappear — To those whom their God will answer when they pray to Him. To all the eyes that are vigilant late at night to bring victory to this religion.”
Over many months, there was an excited search for the person responsible for the worst biological terror attack on American soil. Six letters sent by mail to Leahy, Daschle, Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, The New York Post and from his wife’s foreign inheritance, and the CIA never required meaningful corroboration. So we should not be that surprised when an “Islamic hardliner” (to borrow Dr. Alibek’s description to me) is given access to Center for Biodefense and ATCC facilities, to include a DARPA program funded by DARPA involving virulent Ames. Perhaps the focus should not be on more money for biodefense but on doing a better job at maintaining security. Perhaps focus should be on avoiding proliferation of know-how.
Al-Hukaymah reportedly was Ayman’s connection to Mamdouh Ismail, an Egyptian defense attorney and a former member of “the Jihad group” who since the 1980’s has represented various Egyptians accused of terrorism offenses in Egypt. Mamdouh Ismail represented al-Nashar, the biochemist who was an expert on polymerization and had a key to the 7/7 bomber’s flat. Ismail was one of several hundred rounded up following the assassination of Anwar al-Sadat in 1981. He served three years. He represented Ayman Zawahiri’s family in connection with the rendition and detention of Ayman’s brother Muhammad in the Spring of 1999. Ismail was arrested on March 29, 2007.
In 1999, Ismail was refused permission to establish an Islamist political party with the help of fellow lawyer attorney al-Zayat. After the blind sheik said in March 1999 that an attempt through a political party should not be attempted, Al-Zayat and Mamdouh Ismail deferred the blind sheik’s decision. Attorney Ismail publicly objected to a reconciliation between Cairo and Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
The two had worked with EIJ shura member al-Sibai before he took refuge in the UK. Mamdouh Ismail then was accused by the Mubarak regime of complicity in an “Egyptian project” of al-Qaeda, taking his orders from Ayman al-Zawahiri via al-Qaeda propaganda chief al-Hukaymah and the UK-based EIJ publicist Hani al-Sibai. Both al-Hukaymah and Al-Sibai denied the charge. Al Sibai considers himself historian of the movement and published his diaries in Al Hayat in 2004. He is at al-Maqreze Center for Historical Studies website that published the treatise that included the discussion of Amerithrax.
Al-Hukaymah was apparently killed in a missile strike in late October 2008. Cairo-based IANA writer Kamal Habib says that the man was a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad that had assassinated Sadat but was part of a second generation, not part of the first generation responsible for the assassination. Al-Hukaymah (also known as Abu Jihad al-Masri) was said by US authorities to operate in Iran as the head of media and propaganda for al-Qaeda, and to also maybe “be the Chief of External Operations for al Qaeda”.
Al-Hukaymah appeared in an August 2006 as-Sahab (al-Qaeda) video to announce the merger of al-Qaeda with part of the Egyptian Islamic Group. Ayman al-Zawahiri introduced him. The video claimed that al-Hukaymah joined al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya in 1979 and was arrested in connection with the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Al Sadat in 1981. He subsequently rearrested several times in various countries. Zawahiri claimed in that video that Muhammad al-Islambouli (brother of assassin Khalid al-Islambouli) had joined al-Qaeda with al-Hukaymah.
In addition to the analysis of the American intelligence community, the next month al-Hukaymah wrote a short piece entitled Towards A New Strategy in Resisting the Occupier that appeared on a jihadist website. Abu Jihad Al-Masri emphasized the need to consider public opinion in planning operations. The Taliban attempted to kill a 14 year-old young woman in Afghanistan this week who had been advocating for the right of girls to attend school. Although unsuccessful, the spokesman said the group would do it all over again. They apparently did not get the memo about concerning oneself with public relations.
Zawahiri’s Booklet On “Covert Operations”
Mark A. Gabriel, PhD, once taught at Al-Azhar in Egypt. He wrote a very lucid book Journey Into The Mind Of An Islamist Terrorist. He discusses a booklet Zawahiri wrote titled COVERT OPERATIONS which is available online in Arabic. The Nigerian underpants bomber Abdulmutallab wrote his father asking “when is lying allowed to deceive the enemy?”
If you want to know how Zawahiri views deceit on such issues as battle plans and spying, read his own words online.
Gabriel explains:
“Ayman al-Zawahiri leads a busy terrorist organization, and he must solve practical problems. For example, he may want some Al-Qaeda members to blend in and live in the United States. If these men wore full beards and went to ultraconservative mosques to pray, they they would arouse suspicion and get put on a watch list. Instead, al-Zawahiri would want these operatives to go undercover and blend into society. However, these devout Muslims will not go undercover unless they believe they have permission to do so from the teachings of Islam. As a result, al-Zawahiri wrote a booklet titled COVERT OPERATIONS, which goes deep into Islamic teaching and history to describe how deceit can be a tool in Muslim life.”
The entire book by al-Zawahiri is posted in the Arabic language website for al-Tawheed Jihad (The Pulpit of Monotheism and Jihad). Zawahiri concluded that “hiding one’s faith and being secretive was allowed especially in time of fear from prosecution of the infidels.” Indeed, his student group in Cairo in the 1970s was known as the “shaven beards.” The founder of one of the cells merged with Ayman’s to form the Egyptian Islamic Jihad then wrote for Al-Timimi’s charity IANA.
Al-Zawahiri discussed two specific ways Muhammad used deceit in battle: (1) keeping battle plans secret, and (2) spying. The author writes: “Al-Zawahiri specifically gave radicals permission not to pray in the mosque or attend Friday sermons if it would compromise their position.” He noted that Al-Zawahiri sealed his argument with a very important quote from Ibn Taymiyyah (who was quoted by Al-Timimi upon his his indictment). Ever the practical man, Muhammad approved lying in three circumstances (1) during war, (2) to reconcile between two feuding parties, and (3) to a spouse in order to please her.
Ali Al-Timimi’s former fellow Falls Church imam Anwar al-Aulaqi in “44 Ways To Support Jihad” similarly urges that a lot of jihad work by its nature is secret and clandestine in nature. He advises that everything should be on a need-to-know basis (in other words, don’t tell your wife). Secrecy and cell compartmentalization was a key organizing principle of how the anthrax mailings were accomplished.
16 critical pages which were not obtained by the FBI until February 2005 — those pages involved distribution of Ames to a former Zawahiri associate.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/dxer-reports-that-ivins-hosted-one-egyptian-visitor-in-the-b3-who-was-the-lifelong-friend-of-a-former-egyptian-islamic-jihad-member-a-schoolmate-recruited-by-ayman-zawahiri/https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/from-dxer-documents-related-to-university-of-michigan/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/newly-released-ivins-emails-show-that-no-record-was-kept-of-transfers-to-former-zawahiri-associate-because-it-was-done-at-usamriid/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/tracking-dr-ivins’-rmr-1029-anthrax-more-questions-for-um-and-lsu-researchers/
Sailing The Good Ship Anthrax
USAMRIID released some emails by Bruce Ivins discussing the difficulties of planning the Fourth International Conference on Anthrax in Annapolis. The first of the emails was from September 1998, upon his return from the conference at Plymouth. In June 2001, the good ship anthrax sailed in Annapolis, Maryland, the “sailing capital of the world.” The 4th International Conference on Anthrax was held at St. John’s College in historic Annapolis, Maryland, June 10 – 13, 2001. The conference was organized by the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and managed by the American Society for Microbiology. The 74-foot classic wooden schooner was named WOODWIND. Martin Hugh-Jones had convened the conference along with Peter Turnbull, the Porton Down scientist who had led the UK conferences attended by Ayman Zawahiri’s scientist, Rauf Ahmad. Reports of livestock and national park outbreaks were followed by a summary by Dr. Turnbull. Other anthrax notables who spoke included senior USAMRIID scientist Dr. Ezzell, who had one of the first looks at the Daschle product, and Dr. Paul Keim, who would play a key role in the genetic investigation.
Theresa Koehler from the Houston Medical School gave a talk titled “The Expanding B. anthracis Toolbox” while Timothy Read from The Institute of Genome Research summarized research on The B. Anthracis Genome. Houston Medical School, the UK’s biodefense facility Porton Down, and Pasteur Institute each fielded three presenters. UK scientists presented on the characteristics of the exosporium of “the highly virulent Ames strain.” Researchers from Columbus, Ohio and Biological Defense Research Directorate (BDRD) of the Navy Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, assisted by Porton Down scientists from the UK, demonstrated that inoculated mice survived a challenge with b.anthracis spores. Researchers used b.anthracis containing a plasmid with a mutated lethal factor.” Dr. Phil Hanna from University of Michigan presented, as he did at the conference attending with Rauf Ahmad.
A Kazakhstan Ministry of Health scientist presented on the re-emergence of anthrax in Kazakhstan. Upon the break-up of the Soviet Union the first job offer Ken Alibek fielded was the position of Minister of Health in Kazakhstan. He protested when he realized that his new employer just wanted to do what the Soviets had been secretly doing in an illegal and massive bioweapons program he had supervised as its First Deputy. After the KGB asked to meet with him, he asked to schedule the meeting in two weeks, so that he might visit his parents, and then found a secret expedited way of coming to the United States.
Pakistan Rauf Ahmad had been the predator looking for the Ames strain and consulting on weaponization techniques at the UK conferences in 1999 and 2000. In January 2002, FBI Assistant Director Van Harp told the 40,000 members of the American Society for Microbiology that it was “very likely that one or more of you know this individual.” They very likely did.
Over the years, when I have made email contact with Dr. Ahmad, the exchange drops each time it becomes clear I’m not in a position to offer him money for a sabbatical in the United States. Unlike Yazid Sufaat, who tells me he was motivated by religion, Dr. Ahmad was motivated by money.
My friend from DIA who at the D.C. conference spoke on the compartmentalization of Al Qaeda’s anthrax program — who was not authorized to say where he worked currently — once told me that Rauf Ahmad visited England each year. (You’ll recall that in addition to the correspondence we have between Rauf Ahmad and Dr. Zawahiri I’ve uploaded, the MI5 official history explains that they found equipment in his luggage as he was leaving one of those conferences.)
Who did Rauf Ahmad know and visit in London?
Was he in contact with members of the EIJ cell (before they were arrested)? What do the phone records show?
If the FBI did not interview Yazid Sufaat for nearly the full first year after his capture, when did they first interview Rauf Ahmad?
Why does the US give billions in aid to countries who do not cooperate with such witnesses?
Radical Islamist Abu Hamza al-Masri pleads not guilty
From Richard Roth and Olivia Smith, CNN
updated 5:07 PM EDT, Tue October 9, 2012
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/09/justice/us-abu-hamza-case/index.html
My friend also says that Rauf Ahmad attended other conferences around Europe. What is the full list of conferences attended by Rauf Ahmad?
Who did Rauf Ahmad know at USAMRIID? Why isn’t that part of the public record upon the disclosure in Amerithrax? For example, why don’t we know whether Bruce Ivins, who attended the England conferences, knew Rauf Ahmad.
Rauf Ahmad wrote Dr. Zawahiri and said he had made an internet contact and that he had learned some tricks in processing.
An undercover in the background of the al-Hamza saga also has a story to tell.
A forgotten Hamzanama
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-forgotten-hamzanama/article4000037.ece
Hassaine was attacked and beaten up by Qatada’s men after they found out he was spying on him. He wants to sue MI5 for £1million for dropping him “like a hot stone” and failing in its “duty of care” to him after his cover was blown. More significant, however, is why he thinks MI5 dumped him: because it did not want to prosecute Qatada.
“I gave the British authorities everything they could possibly want about Abu Qatada — and for what?” he asked in a newspaper interview.
Hamza and Qatada are not the only ones with whom MI5 had cosy links. Two other alleged extremists — Khaled al-Fawwaz and Adel Abdul Bary — extradited to the U.S. along with Hamza have also revealed their contacts with the agency. One analyst wrote that the two men “benefited from the reluctance of the British authorities to clamp down on the growing number of Islamist extremists who were using London as a base to advocate violent confrontation with the West.”
Khaled al-Fawwaz’s lawyer told the High Court during a hearing on his appeal against extradition that he was in regular contact with MI5 in the mid-1990s. He said when his client asked MI5 if he would be breaking the law by remaining in contact with Osama bin Laden after his 1996 declaration of war on the U.S., he was told it would be okay so long as the two did not discuss any criminal conduct.
The cloak-and-dagger world of spooks has always fascinated writers and film-makers. British novelist Ian McEwan’s new book, Sweet Tooth, is a brilliant spoof on the workings of MI5 — the cynical ploys it gets up to, the ruses it is capable of pulling off, the webs of deceit it can weave — and how for all the bluster and swagger it can often get it disastrously wrong. While McEwan’s story is about MI5’s Cold War shenanigans, perhaps one day someone would offer a literary take on its Hamza project. Suggested title: Sour Taste.
I’ve uploaded Rauf Ahmad’s notes and handwritten letter (he was one of the scientists working for Ayman Zawahiri).
The typed correspondence from a later visit by Rauf Ahmad indicating that he had successfully achieved the targets. (And, no, Milton L. did not systematically refute the matter in discussing the correspondence in his book – he avoided quoting this critical language altogether!)
Ali Al-Timimi: Ken Alibek’s Suitemate
An article in GMU Gazette, in “CAS Holds Terrorism Briefing on Capitol Hill,” dated October 16, 2001 stated: “On Friday, October 12, the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) hosted a legislative briefing on terrorism, bioterrorism, and extremist movements on Capitol Hill. The briefing provided legislators and their staffs with comprehensive background information on Islam, al-Qaeda and the Taliban, bioterrorism, and information security.
Ken Alibek, affiliate faculty member at George Mason and president of Advanced Biosystems Inc., addressed chemical and biological warfare issues. Alibek served as first deputy chief of defense of the civilian branch of the Soviet Union’s offensive biological weapons program.” Ali Al-Timimi was knowledgeable about Islam, the Taliban and information security. Indeed, he was actively recruiting for the Taliban and was communicating with Bin Laden’s sheik and the so-called fellow Falls Church “911 imam” Anwar Aulaqi at the time.
The “Teflon Terrorist” And Risk Of Infiltration
In 2000, IANA radio ran an item “CIA to Monitor Foreign Students.” The item as published on the IANA website read: “American anti-terrorism policies are ‘seriously deficient according to the US National Commission on Terrorism, a body created by Congress after the bombing of 2 US embassies in East Africa.'”
In November 2007, FBI Director Mueller gave a speech in which he warned against the need to guard against spies at universities, who for example, may have access to pre-patent, pre-classification biochemistry information.
“Al Qaeda is tremendously patient and thinks nothing about taking years to infiltrate persons in and finding the right personnel and opportunity to undertake an attack.”
Infiltrator Ali Mohamed was the “Teflon terrorist.” Ali Mohammed, an EIJ member who was associated with the unit that killed Sadat, had an alibi for the Sadat assassination. He was at an officer exchange program studying at the JFK Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Green Beret and Delta Force officers trained there. After he was forced out of the Egyptian Army for his radical beliefs, he went to work at Egyptair. As a security advisor, where he learned how to hijack airliners. He then joined the CIA and the US Army. He was a supply sergeant at the US Army’s Fort Bragg. He lectured Green Beret and Delta Forces on the middle east. He stole high resolution maps from the map shack and brought them to Zawahirii in Afghanistan. In 1989, Ali Mohamed traveled from Fort Bragg to train men that would later commit WTC 1993. When Ali Mohammed traveled to Brooklyn, he stayed with Islamic Group and Abdel-Rahman’s bodyguard Nosair, the man who would assassinate Rabbi Kahane in 1990.
In 1991, when Bin Laden wanted to move from Afghanistan to Sudan, Ali Mohammed served as his head of security and trained his bodyguards. Along with a former medical student, Khalid Dahab, Ali Mohamed recruited ten Americans for “sleeper cells.” After the 1998 embassy bombings, when FBI agents secretly swarmed his California residence, they found a document “Cocktail” detailing how cell members should operate. Even Al Qaeda central would not know the identity of members and different cells would not know each other’s identity. It was Ali Mohamed who was the source for the December 4, 1998 PDB to President Clinton explaining that the brother of Sadat’s assassin, Islambouli, was planning attacks on the US. In November 2001, did the Quantico profilers know of this egregious history of infiltration and harm flowing from treating the Nosair case as a “lone wolf” rather than an international conspiracy? One man’s “lone wolf” experiencing howling loneliness is another man’s Salafist operating under strict principles of cell security and “need-to-know.”
A former FBI agent in the New York office who asked not to be identified, told author Peter Lance: “Understand what this means. You have an Al Qaeda spy who’s now a U.S. citizen, on active duty in the U.S. Army, and he brings along a video paid for by the U.S. government to train Green Beret officers and he’s using it to help train Islamic terrorists so they can turn their guns on us. By now the Afghan war is over.”
Not even Ali Mohammed, however, could boast the letter of commendation from the White House once given Ali Al-Timimi, previous work for White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, or a high security clearance. Ali Mohammed did not even have a security clearance but was merely a supply sergeant at the base where Special Operations was located. ‘Dr. Ali Al-Timimi’s Support Committee’ in an email to supporters dated April 5, 2005 explained: “This is a summary of the court proceedings that took place yesterday April 4th 2005. We will send a summary everyday inshallah. *** “In his opening statement, Defense attorney Edward B. MacMahon Jr. said that Al-Timimi was born and raised in Washington DC. He has a degree in Biology and he is also a computer scientist, and a mathematician. He worked for Andrew Card, who’s now the White House chief of staff, at the Transportation Department in the early 1990s.”
There was an elephant in the room no one talked about. A colleague of famed Russian bioweaponeer Ken Alibek and former USAMRIID Deputy Commander Charles Bailey, a prolific Ames strain researcher, has been convicted of sedition and sentenced to life plus 70 years in prison. He worked in a program co-sponsored by the American Type Culture Collection and had access to ATCC facilities, as well as facilities of the DARPA-funded Center for Biodefense at George Mason University then run by Dr. Alibek and Dr. Bailey. The bionformatics grad student once had a high security clearance for mathematical support work for the Navy.
Many commentators have long held strong and divergent opinions of what has been published in the media about Amerithrax and their political views. But it turns out that they apparently have just been seeing the elephant in the living room from a different angle. Actually, they’ve just been in a position to see the elephant’s rump from outside the living room door. One US law professor, Francis Boyle, who has represented islamists abroad, first publicized the theory that a US biodefense insider was responsible. He has served as legal advisor to the Palestinian Liberation Organization and as counsel for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Separately the theory was adopted by professor Barbara Rosenberg. But Professor Boyle and Rosenberg were not so far from the truth — just incorrect as to motive. The documentary shows that Zawahiri’s plan was to infiltrate the US and UK biodefense establishment, and the evidence shows that is exactly what he did.
In a June 2005 interview in a Swiss (German language) weekly news magazine, Ken Alibek addresses the anthrax mailings:
A. “What if I told you Swiss scientists are paid by Al Qaeda? You could believe it or not. It has become somewhat fashionable to disparage Russian scientists. Americans, Iraqis, or whoever could just as well be involved with Al Qaeda. Why doesn’t anyone speculate about that?”
Q. “But could one of your students build a biological weapon in the garage?”
A. “Let me reply philosophically: Two hundred years ago, it was unthinkable to believe that people would be using mobile telephones, wasn’t it? Everything changes. Our knowledge grows, and technology develops incredibly quickly. … I am not saying that a student is in a position to build a biological weapon all by himself. But the knowledge needed to do it is certainly there.”
No one who responded to my inquiries ever knew Al-Timimi to ever have been involved in any biodefense project. For example, former Russian bioweaponeer Sergei Popov did not know of any such work by Al-Timimi. Anna Popova had only seen him in the hall on a very rare occasion. Dr. Alibek thought of him as a “numbers guy” rather than a hands-on type. Given that the FBI knows what Al-Timimi had for dinner on September 16, 2001 and lunch on September 17, it is very likely that the past years have involved a continued search for the mailer and/or processor. His attorney emphasizes that while they searched for materials related to a planned biological attack when they searched his townhouse in late February 2003, they came up empty.
DOD official Peter Leitner, who also taught at GMU, supervised a 2007 PhD thesis by a graduate student that explores biosecurity issues at GMU. The PhD biodefense thesis on the vulnerability of the program to infiltration explains:
“As a student in the biodefense program, the author is aware that students without background checks are permitted to work on grants, specifically Department of Defense, that has been awarded to NCBD under the Department of Molecular and Microbiology at GMU. Students are also permitted to do research separately from work in the lab for their studies. Work and studies are separate, but related by the lab. Thus, student access, research and activities go unchecked and unmonitored. Students have access to critical information and technology.”
The author explains:
“A principal investigator (PI) may hire a student based on a one on one interview, post doctoral or masters interest, technical abilities, publications, previous work and lab experience, whether student qualifications match the principal investigator’s current research, whether there is a space, and if the timing is right. There is no formal screening process or background check that the author is aware of for teaching or research assistantships.”
Other students took a “red cell” approach that have corroborated the findings of the thesis. Proliferation leads to great risk of infiltration. LSU researcher Martin Hugh-Jones explained: “There were no more than ten labs in the nation working with the organism, and now
it’s about 310—and they all want virulent strains. In the old days virtually everyone was paid by Department of Defense to do their research because that’s the only place where money came from because the organism wasn’t thought to be of economic importance. Now that it’s a bioterrorist threat and money’s available for research, experts have come out of the walls. The whole damn thing is bizarre.”A 2004 Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services report: “Serious weaknesses compromised the security of select agents at the universities under review. Physical security of select agents at all 11 universities left select agents vulnerable to theft or loss, thus elevating the risk of public exposure.”
Dr. Leitner in a letter to the Fairfax County Police Department wrote:
“Now we see that Sergeant Rasool was the subject of a several-year long investigation – in fact, he was under investigation at the time he lodged his complaints against us — and was recently convicted of a very serious security breach involving misusing FBI databases to assist another person under FBI investigation for Federal terrorism charges.” Fairfax County Police Department Sergeant Rasool sought to stop the training work being done by Dr. Leitner, who taught biosecurity work at George Mason University’s Center for Biodefense.
Ali Mohammed, the head of intelligence for Egyptian Islamic Jihad who had a document on his computer seized by the FBI that outlined principles of cell security that would be followed, trained Dahab, a Cairo medical drop-out, to make deadly letters.
The Egyptian visitor in the B3 who was the lifelong friend of a former Egyptian Islamic Jihad member, a schoolmate, recruited by Ayman Zawahiri.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/dxer-reports-that-ivins-hosted-one-egyptian-visitor-in-the-b3-who-was-the-lifelong-friend-of-a-former-egyptian-islamic-jihad-member-a-schoolmate-recruited-by-ayman-zawahiri
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/dxer-reports-that-ivins-hosted-one-egyptian-visitor-in-the-b3-who-was-the-lifelong-friend-of-a-former-egyptian-islamic-jihad-member-a-schoolmate-recruited-by-ayman-zawahiri/
Who does Ismail Diab think is responsible for the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings?
GMU Center for Biodefense: Discovery Hall
Ali Al-Timimi worked at George Mason University’s Discovery Hall throughout 2000 and 2002 period. The Mason Gazette in “Mason to Pursue Advanced Biodefense Research” on November 17, 2000 had announced: “The School of Computational Sciences (SCS) and Advanced Biosystems, Inc., a subsidiary of Hadron, Inc., of Alexandria, are pursuing a collaborative program at the Prince William Campus to enhance research and educational objectives in biodefense research. The article noted that the program was funded primarily by a grant awarded to Advanced Biosystems from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). A 2007 GMU PhD thesis explains that the “An Assessment of Exploitable Weaknesses in Universities” by Corinne M. Verzoni offices and research located in Discovery Hall, making this an attractive building on the Prince William Campus to target for information and technology.” The 2007 PhD student biodefense student explained: “Discovery Hall currently has BSL 1, 2 and 2+ labs in which students work with attenuated and vaccine strains of Fracella tularemia, anthrax and HIV. GMU will eventually have new biological labs featuring a BSL-3 lab which will have anthrax and tularemia.”
Instead of starting a center from scratch, GMU chose to join forces with Dr. Alibek and Dr. Bailey’s existing research firm, Hadron Advanced Biosystems Inc. Hadron was already working under contract for the federal government, having received funding from DARPA. Dr. Alibek told the Washington Post that he and Bailey had spent their careers studying an issue that only recently grabbed the country’s attention, after the anthrax mailings the previous fall. Dr. Bailey and Alibek met in 1991, when a delegation of Soviet scientists visited USAMRIID at Ft. Detrick. Dr. Bailey explained that the purpose of the tour was to show the Soviets that the US was not developing offensive biological weapons. Bailey said he tried to engage Alibek in conversation but Alibek remained aloof. Alibek, for his part, explains that he was suspicious of this American smiling so broadly at him. A year later, Alibek would defect to the US and reveal an illegal biological program in the Soviet Union of a staggering scope. Alibek says that one reason he defected was that he realized that the Soviet intelligence was wrong — that the US research was in fact only defensive.
Former USAMRIID Deputy Commander and Acting Commander Ames researcher Bailey coinvented, with Ken Alibek, the process to treat cell culture with hydrophobic silicon dioxide so as to permit greater concentration upon drying. He was in Room 156B of GMU’s Discovery Hall at the Center for Biodefense. The patent application was filed March 14, 2001. Rm 154A was Victor Morozov’s room number when he first assumed Timimi’s phone number in 2004 (and before he moved to the newly constructed Bull Run Hall). Morozov was the co-inventor with Dr. Bailey of the related cell culture process under which the silica was removed from the spore surface.
One ATCC former employee felt so strongly about lax security there the scientist called me out of the blue and said that the public was overlooking the patent repository as a possible source of the Ames strain. ATCC would not deny they had virulent Ames in their patent repository pre 9/11 (as distinguished from their online catalog). The spokesperson emailed me: “As a matter of policy, ATCC does not disclose information on the contents of its patent depository.” Previously, though, the ATCC head publicly explained that it did not have virulent Ames and certainly the FBI has operated under that understanding.
George Mason University, Department Listings, accessed August 17, 2003, shows that the National Center For Biodefense and Center for Biomedical Genomics had the same mail stop (MS 4ES). The most famed bioweaponeer in the world was not far from this sheik urging violent jihad in an apocalyptic struggle between religions. Dr. Alibek’s office was Rm. 156D in Prince William 2. The groups both shared the same department fax of 993-4288. Dr. Alibek advises me he had seen him several times in the corridors of GMU and was told that he was a religious muslim hard-liner but knew nothing of his activities. At one point, Timimi’s mail drop was MSN 4D7.
Charles Bailey at 3-4271 was the former head of USAMRIID and joined the Center in April 2001. He continued to do research with Ames after 9/11. Dr. Alibek reports that shortly after the mailings, he wrote FBI Director Mueller and offered his services but was advised that they already had assembled a large group. A 2004 report describes research done by Dr. Alibek and his colleagues using Delta Ames obtained from NIH for a research project done for USAMRIID. There were two grants from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency from 2001. One $3.6 million grant dated to July 2001 and the other was previous to that.
Ali Al-Timimi had the same telephone number that Dr. Victor Morozov of the Center for Biodefense would later have when he joined the faculty and occupied the newly constructed Bull Run Building, which opened in late 2004 (Rm. #362). Dr. Morozov focuses on the development of new bioassay methods for express analysis, high-throughput screening and proteomics. He has recently developed a new electrospray-based technology for mass fabrication of protein microarrays. Dr. Morozov is currently supervising a DOE -funded research project directed at the development of ultra-sensitive express methods for detection of pathogens in which slow diffusion of analytes is replaced by their active transport controlled and powered by external forces (electric, magnetic, gravitational or hydrodynamic). His homepage explains that: “A variety of projects are available for students to participate in “*** 7. Develop software to analyze motion of beads. 8. Develop software to analyze patterns in drying droplets. 9. Develop an electrostatic collector for airborne particles.”
Al-Timimi obtained a doctorate from George Mason University in 2004 in the field of computational biology — a field related to cancer research involving genome sequencing. He successfully defended his thesis 5 weeks after his indictment. Curt Jamison, Timimi’s thesis advisor, coauthor and loyal friend, was in Prince William II (Discovery Hall) Rm. 181A. The staff of Advanced Biosystems was in Rm. 160, 162, 177, 254E and several others. Computational sciences offices were intermixed among the Hadron personnel on the first floor of Prince William II to include 159, 161, 166A, 167, 181 B and 181C. Rm. 156B was Charles Bailey, former commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, who was head of the Center for Biodefense. Defense contractor Hadron had announced the appointment of Dr. Bailey as Vice-President of Advanced Biosystems in early April 2001.
“Over 13 years, Dr. Bailey had served as a Research Scientist, Deputy Commander for Research, Deputy Commander and Commander at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute. As a USAMRIID scientist, he designed and supervised the construction of BL-3 containment facilities. His hands-on experience with a wide variety of pathogens is chronicled in 70 published articles. During his 4 years with the Defense Intelligence Agency, he published numerous articles assessing foreign capabilities regarding biological weapons.” When I asked Dr. Bailey to confirm Al-Timimi’s room number relative to his own, his only response was to refer me to University counsel. Counsel then never substantively responded to my inquiry regarding their respective room numbers citing student privacy. Ali’s friend and thesis advisor, Dr. Jamison never responded to an emailed query either. GMU perhaps understandably was very nervous about losing the $25 million grant for a new BL-3 regional facility to be located very near our country’s capitol.
Dr. Charles Bailey for DIA wrote extensively on the the biothreat posed by other countries (and presumably terrorists). He shared a fax number with Al-Timimi. What came over that fax line in Spring and Summer of 2001? At some point, Dr. Al-Timimi, Dr. Alibek and Dr. Bailey also shared the same maildrop. It certainly would not be surprising that the two directors who headed the DARPA-funded Center for Biodefense — and had received the biggest defense award in history for work with Delta Ames under a contract with USAMRIID — would have been briefed on the threat of mailed anthrax. The reports on the study on the effectiveness of the mailed anthrax in the Canadian experiment was reported in private briefings in Spring and Summer of 2001. An insider thus was not dependent on the published report later that Fall. (The date on the formal report is September 10, 2001). The 1999 short report by William Patrick to Hatfill at SAIC on the general subject was far less important given that it did not relate to actual experimental findings.
It is common sense that while someone might use as a model something they had surreptitiously learned of — they would not use as a model something in a memo that they had commissioned (such as Hatfill commissioned the SAIC study). Thus, it was rather misdirected to focus on the 1999 SAIC report commissioned by Dr. Hatfill rather than the 2001 Canadian report. The Canadian report related to the anthrax threat sent regarding the detention of Vanguards of Conquest #2 Mahjoub in Canada. Mahjoub had worked with al-Hawsawi in Sudan (the fellow with anthrax spraydrying documents on his laptop). The anthrax threat in late January prompted the still-classified Presidential Daily Brief (“PDB”) in early February 2001 by the CIA to President Bush on the subject.
In Fall 2001, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (”AFIP”) had detected silicon dioxide (silica) in the attack anthrax — with a characteristic big spike for the silicon. No silica was observable on the SEMs images that Dr. Alibek and Dr. Matthew Meselson saw. The Daschle product was “pure spores.” Was silicon dioxide used as part of a microdroplet cell culture process used prior to drying to permit greater concentration? As explained in a later related patent, the silica could be removed from the surface of the spore through repeated centrifugaton or an air chamber.
Dr. Alibek and Dr. Bailey had filed a patent application in mid-March 2001 involving a microdroplet cell culture technique that used silicon dioxide in a method for concentrating growth of cells. The patent was granted and the application first publicly disclosed in the Spring of 2002. Weren’t the SEMS images and AFIP EDX finding both consistent with use of this process in growing the culture? It’s been suggested informally to me that perhaps the silicon analytical peak was due to silanol from hydrolysis of a silane, used in siliconizing glassware. But didn’t the AFIP in fact also detect oxygen in ratios characteristic of silicon dioxide? Wasn’t the scientist, now deceased, who performed the EDX highly experienced and expert in detecting silica? Hasn’t the AFIP always stood by its report. In its report, AFIP explained: “AFIP experts utilized an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (an instrument used to detect the presence of otherwise-unseen chemicals through characteristic wavelengths of X-ray light) to confirm the previously unidentifiable substance as silica.” Perhaps the nuance that was lost — or just never publicly explained — was that silica was used in the cell culture process and then removed from the spores through a process such as centrifugation. The applicants in March 2001 for an international patent relating to vaccines were a leading aerosol expert, Herman R. Shepherd, and a lonstanding anthrax biodefense expert, Philip Russell.
Dr. Morozov is co-inventor along with Dr. Bailey for a patent “Cell Culture” that explains how the silicon dioxide can be removed from the surface. Perhaps it is precisely this AFIP finding of silicon dioxide (without silica on the SEMs) that is why the FBI came to suspect Al-Timimi in 2003 (rightly or wrongly, we don’t know). The FBI would have kept these scientific findings secret to protect the integrity of the confidential criminal/national security investigation. There was still a processor and mailer to catch — still a case to prove.
After 9/11, intelligence collection takes precedence over arrests. As Ron Kessler explains in the new book, Terrorist Watch, many FBI officials feel that they are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t. Outside observers are constantly second-guessing them about how to proceed rather than trusting that they are in the best position to balance the competing considerations of national security, intelligence gathering, the pursuit of justice, and the safeguarding of civil liberties. Above all, in disclosing the theory of access to know-how, the FBI has needed to protect the due process rights of Al-Timimi while he defended himself on other charges.
An example from October 2006 of equipment that went missing from GMU’s Discovery Hall was a rotissery hybridization oven belonging to the Center for Biomedical Genomics. “This equipment can be used to manufacture biological agents and genetically modified agents, which could potentially be used as biological weapons,” Corinne Verzoni explained in her PhD 2007 thesis. “Upon hearing about instances or missing equipment in Discovery Hall, the author contacted campus security who was unaware of instances of missing equipment. Missing equipment should be reported to the equipment liaison. Missing equipment may not be reported to campus security because labs tend to share equipment. Equipment also goes missing because it is not inventoried if it is under $2,000.”
One of her other examples was equally dramatic:
“A DI system is a de-ionized water system, which removes the ions that are found in normal tap water. The assistant director for operations noticed the DI system in Discovery Hall was using the entire 100 gallons in two days, which is an enormous amount of water for the four DI taps in the whole building. According to the assistant director for operations, it is difficult to calculate the reason for that much water since no leak was found. A large amount of water used over a short period of time for unknown reasons could indicate that the research is being conducted covertly.”
“A student with legitimate access to Discovery Hall,” she explained, “has easy accessibility to equipment. A student with access to the loading dock could steal equipment on the weekend when campus security is not present in Discovery Hall. A student could also walk out of the entrance with equipment on the weekend without security present.” She concluded: “The events at GMU demonstrate opportunity to create a clandestine lab, the ability to sell items illegally, or the ability to exploit school equipment.” In a late September 2001 interview on NPR on the anthrax threat, Dr. Alibek said: “When we talk and deal with, for example, nuclear weapons, it’s not really difficult to count how much of one or another substance we’ve got in the hands. When you talk about biological agents, in this case it’s absolutely impossible to say whether or not something has been stolen.”
Al-Timimi’s prosecution was remanded while the defense is given an opportunity to discover any documents that existed prior to 9/11 about al-Timimi and to address an issue relating to NSA intercepts after 9/11. Ali’s defense counsel explained to the federal district court, upon a remand by the appeals court, that Mr. Timimi was interviewed by an FBI agent and a Secret Service agent as early as February 1994 in connection with the first World Trade Center attack. The agents left their business cards which the family kept. Defense counsel Johnathan Turley further explained that “We have people that were contacted by the FBI and told soon after 9/11 that they believed that Dr. Al-Timimi was either connected to 9/11 or certainly had information about Al Qaeda.”
Al-Timimi worked for SRA in 1999 where he had a high security clearance for work for the Navy. At a conference on countering biological terrorism in 1999 sponsored by the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. Dr. Alibek was introduced by a former colleague of Dr. Bailey:
“Dr. Llewellyn: This is rather strange because I just met Dr. Alibek today. He was introduced to me by Dr. Charlie Bailey, who now works for SRA. But Charlie and I were associated with the Army Medical Research and Development Command Defense Program for over 20 years.”
When I emailed Dr. Bailey in December 2007 to confirm Ali had the room right near his at Discovery Hall and whether he had worked with Al-Timimi at SRA he politely referred me to counsel and took no questions. Dr. Alibek and Dr. Popov have told me that Ali is not known to have worked on any biodefense project. Dr. Popova told me I should direct any such questions to Dr. Bailey. Dr. Bailey told me I should direct any questions to University counsel. University counsel declined to answer any questions.
Anthrax in the New York Post letter was 10% silica or silicates but importantly does emphasize that the government had long been told that if they find the person growing anthrax in silicates, they may have found their perpetrator.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/promed-post-by-dr-martin-hugh-jones-an-oft-quoted-and-much-respected-anthrax-expert-and-promed-moderator/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/congressman-jerrold-nadler-complains-to-fbi-director-robert-mueller-that-answers-to-questions-he-first-asked-in-september-2008-regarding-silicon-content-in-the-anthrax-in-several-of-the-2001-attack-le/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/fbi-now-admits-the-silicon-concentration-in-the-attack-anthrax-is-too-high/
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/26/2237197/congressman-presses-fbi-for-anthrax.html
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/05/19/2887751/fbi-lab-reports-on-anthrax-attacks.html
The Technical Review Panel Summary notes that the NY Post sample had apparently been treated with hydrophilic silica. The term “weaponization” is used as a straw man to avoid the potential key probativeness of the silicon signature.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/unclassified-formerly-secret-technical-review-panel-meeting-summary-14-nov-2001/
USG does not explain how Dr. Ivins’ processing could have resulted in the Silicon Signature.
To credit that the silicon signature did not relate to “weaponization” – as Laurie and many of us do — does not avoid the fact that it is potentially highly probative, and without more tends to be exculpatory of Dr. Ivins. For example, if it relates to “microencapsulation” using hydrophilic silica, that might be a huge lead.
It is important to recognize that none other than government-funded experts Weber and Velsko, key experts on the nonmicrobiological signature signature, think that further study is warranted to determine the source of the Silicon Signature.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/greg-gordon-mcclatchy-the-apparent-failure-of-the-fbi-to-pursue-this-avenue-of-investigation-raises-the-ominous-possibility-that-the-killer-is-still-on-the-loose-stuart-jacobsen-it-is-outrag/
The 2006 Arrest Of Falls Church “911 Imam” And Fellow Salafist Lecturer Awlaqi
In March 2002, fellow Falls Church iman Anwar Aulaqi — known as the “911 imam” — suddenly left the US and went to Yemen, thus avoiding the inquiry the 9/11 Commission thought so important. (Eventually Aulaqi would be banned from entering both the UK and US because of his speeches on jihad, martyrdom and the like). Upon a return visit in Fall 2002, “Aulaqi attempted to get al Timimi to discuss issues related to the recruitment of young Muslims,” according to a court filing by
Al-Timimi’s attorney at the time, Edward MacMahon. McMahon reports that those “entreaties were rejected.” After 18 months in prison in Yemen in 2006 and 2007, he was released over US objections, where he says he was subject to interrogation by the FBI. By 2010, when the United States announced that there was authorization to attempt to kill Anwar Aulaqi, he had long since gone into hiding after acknowledging his role in the Ft. Hood shooting and attempt to bring down an airliner flying into Detroit.
Al-Timimi’s counsel explained in a court filing unsealed in April 2008: “[911 imam] Anwar Al-Aulaqi goes directly to Dr. Al-Timimi’s state of mind and his role in the alleged conspiracy. The 9-11 Report indicates that Special Agent Ammerman interviewed Al-Aulaqi just before or shortly after his October 2002 visit to Dr. Al-Timimi’s home to discuss the attacks and his efforts to reach out to the U.S. government.”
Falls Church imam Awlaqi (Aulaqi), who met with hijacker Nawaf, reportedly was picked up in Yemen by Yemen security forces at the request of the CIA in the summer of 2006. British and US intelligence had him and others under surveillance. Al-Timimi would speak alongside fellow Falls Church imam Awlaqi (Aulaqi) at conferences such as the August 2001 London JIMAS and the August 2002 London JIMAS conference. They would speak on subjects such as signs before the day of judgment and the like. Dozens of their lectures are available online. Unnamed U.S. officials told the Washington Post in 2008 that “they have come to believe that Aulaqi worked with al-Qaida networks in the Persian Gulf after leaving Northern Virginia.” One official said: “There is good reason to believe Anwar Aulaqi has been involved in very serious terrorist activities since leaving the United States, including plotting attacks against America and our allies.” “Some believe that Aulaqi was the first person since the summit meeting in Malaysia with whom al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi shared their terrorist intentions and plans,” former Senate Intelligence committee chairman Bob Graham wrote in his 2004 book “Intelligence Matters.”
Awlaqi was hired in early 2001 in an attempt by the mosque’s leaders to appeal to younger worshipers. Born in New Mexico and raised in Yemen, he had the total package. He was young, personable, fluent in English, eloquent and knowledgeable about Middle East politics. Hani Hanjour and Nawaf Al Hazmi worshiped at Aulaqi’s mosque for several weeks in spring 2001. The 9/11 commission noted that the two men apparently showed up because Nawaf Hazmi had developed a close relationship with Aulaqi in San Diego. In 2001, Awlaqi came to Falls Church from San Diego shortly before Nawaf did. Awlaqi told the FBI that he did not recall what Nawaf and he had discussed in San Diego and denied having contact with him in Falls Church.
The travel agent right on the same floor as Al-Timimi’s Dar Arqam mosque organized trips to hajj in February 2001. San Francisco attorney Hal Smith was Aulaqi’s roommate. Mr. Smith tells me that he was very extreme in his views when speaking privately and not like his smooth public persona. “Aulaqi is deep into hardcore militant Islam. He is not a cleric who just says prayers and counsels people as some of his supporters have suggested.” Sami al-Hussayen uncle checked into the same Herndon, VA hotel, the Marriot Residence Inn, on the same night — September 10, 2001 as Hani Hanjour and Nawaf al-Hazmi, and another hijacker. Hussayen had a seizure during an FBI interview and although doctors found nothing wrong with him was allowed to return home. During his trip to the US, al-Hussayen had visited both “911 imam” Aulaqi and Ali Al-Timimi.
The unclassified portion of a U.S. Department of Justice memorandum dated September 26, 2001 states “Aulaqi was familiar enough with Nawaf Alhazmi to describe some of Alhazmi’s personality traits. ”
The Washington Post explains that “After leaving the United States in 2002, Aulaqi spent time in Britain, where he developed a following among young ultra-conservative Muslims through his lectures and audiotapes. His CD “The Hereafter” takes listeners on a tour of Paradise that describes “the mansions of Paradise,” “the women of Paradise,” and “the greatest of the pleasures of Paradise.” In London, after leaving the United States, he spoke at JIMAS and argued that in light of the rewards offered to martyrs in Jennah, or Paradise, Muslims should be eager to give his life in fighting the unbelievers. “Don’t think that the ones that die in the sake of Allah are dead — they are alive, and Allah is providing for them. So the shaheed is alive in the sense that his soul is in Jennah, and his soul is alive in Jennah.” He moved to Yemen, his family’s ancestral home, in 2004.” Before his arrest in Yemen in mid-2006, Aulaqi lectured at an Islamist university in San’a run by Abdul Majid al-Zindani, who fought with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and was designated a terrorist in 2004 by the United States and the United Nations.
Law enforcement sources told the Post that Aulaqi was visited by Ziyad Khaleel, who the government has previously said purchased a satellite phone and batteries for bin Laden in the Aulaqi and Ali Al-Timimi.
Law enforcement sources told the Post that Aulaqi was visited by Ziyad Khaleel, who the government has previously said purchased a satellite phone and batteries for bin Laden in the 1990s. The Post explains: “Khaleel was the U.S. fundraiser for Islamic American Relief Agency, a charity the U.S. Treasury has designated a financier of bin Laden and which listed Aulaqi’s charity as its Yemeni partner. A Washington Post article explained: “The FBI also learned that Aulaqi was visited in early 2000 by a close associate of Omar Abdel Rahman, the so-called Blind Sheik who was convicted of conspiracy in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and that he had ties to people raising money for the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, according to Congress and the 9/11 Commission report.”
He then was released and came to be at the center of a controversy concerning what the FBI should have known and shared about Hasan, the Ft. Hood shooter. The next month he was alleged to have been involved with the planned bombing of a airliner flying into Detroit.
Awlaki eventually was killed pursuant to an order of the President of the United States.
What did Awlaqi, detained in mid-2006 and held for a year and a half, tell questioners, if anything, about his fellow Falls Church imam and fellow Salafist conference lecturer Ali Al-Timimi?
WIRED has had some interesting articles about an undercover agent that was aimed at targeting Awlaki — Awlaki, according to this man’s claims, was set up to marry a wife who would be carrying a bugged cosmetics case. And it got pretty far. It was only at the last minute that Anwar put a further restriction on what she could bring.
Wired notes that the story is not corroborated but I tend to credit it.
And I know I was being crabby about undercover agents and professional informants (like “Mo” in Austen who collected $344,000 over 5 years) but I appreciate that they do an important and difficult job.
It’s hard to debate merits or policy on a subject about which so little is known or can be publicly verified.
It seems that the key difference is that an undercover agent knows what is going on whereas an informant is not told the big picture — or pretty much anything — by the law enforcement agent.
A professional informant thus can cause a lot of unnecessary disruption that is not warranted — like being blindfolded in the china shop of someone else’s personal life.
Alleged CIA Mole Says He Played Matchmaker for al-Qaida Propagandist
By Robert Beckhusen
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/10/awlaki-bride/
Anwar Aulaqi was coordinating with Ali Al-Timimi who shared a suite with the two leading Ames researchers.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/02/27/attorney-jonathan-turley-regarding-his-client-al-timini-is-this-the-kind-of-connection-it-is-critical-for-the-house-committee-to-investigate/
While the US government focused on Anwar Al-Aulaqi, the media continued to overlook Aulaqi’s connection to fellow Falls Church imam, a scientist sharing the suite with the leading bioweapons Ames anthrax researchers with whom defense counsel says Aulaqi was coordinating.
Ali Al-Timimi had unfettered access to the largest microbiological repository in the world where the bacteriology collection scientist was the future head of the Amerithrax science investigation who would guide the NAS review and the production of documents from the FBI to NAS.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/aaa_aulaqi-new-2-turley-re-al-timini.jpg …https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/anthraxandalqaeda_discoveryhall.jpg
Dr. Zawahiri accomplished the attack on the US “structure” he intended. With the planes, Al Qaeda struck the US trade dominance (World Trade Center) and its military might (Pentagon). With the anthrax, some US-based supporter(s) of the goals of Zawahiri rounded out the field that they imagine provides support to Israel — the legislative branch and media. Analogous letter bombs were sent in connection with the earlier attack on the World Trade Center and the imprisonment of the Blind Sheikh and militant islamists responsible for that attack and a related plot. Thus, relying on the postal service to send its deadly missives in connection with an earlier attack of the World Trade Center is not only Al Qaeda’s modus operandi, it is its signature.
The two FBI investigative squads were compartmentalized and not even aware what the other investigative squad was doing, how was there seamless cooperation between the CIA and FBI? How can the investigators on the one squad judge the quality of their analysis? How can the scientists on the third forensics squad know how they are being used in putting out the spin? In light of politicization of the US DOJ, how can one say that the compartmentalization has not been used to serve political or personal or financial interests — rather than a legitimate law enforcement purpose.
Dr. Ayman’s plan established by the documentary evidence seized in Afghanistan was to use the cover of charities and universities. That’s exactly what he did.
In the Washington, D.C. area, Taliban supporter Ali Al-Timimi worked in the same building as famed Russian bioweaponeer Ken Alibek and former USAMRIID Deputy Commander and Acting Commander Charles Bailey, who had co-invented a process using silanized hydrophobic silica to lead to greater concentration of a biological agent. Dr. Bailey has been a prolific Ames anthrax strain researcher. Dr. Alibek and Dr. Bailey had multimillion dollar grants from DARPA funding a contract with USAMRIID with Delta Ames supplied by NIH.
NSA intercepts showed that Ali Al-Timimi was working with Bin Laden’s sheik al-Hawali, who had been the subject of Bin Laden’s 1996 Declaration of War and his 1998 claim of responsibility for the embassy bombings. Timimi has been sentenced to life plus 70 years before his conviction was reversed and remanded. Bilal Philips had been Ali’s mentor. The father of Jafar the Pilot (Adnam El-Shurijumah ) in turn had been Bilal Philips’ mentor. Ali Al-Timimi shared a fax machine with famed Russian anthrax bioweaponeer Ken Alibek and former USAMRIID deputy commander Charles Bailey. They are listed as authors on various articles reporting biodefense research using virulent Ames strain of anthrax. Dr. Bailey had worked with the Defense Intelligence Agency (”DIA”) for years on threat assessment of biological weapons. Both he and Dr. Alibek had consulted for Battelle, world renown for its expertise on anthrax aerosols. They had co-authored the patent filed in mid-March 2001 on concentrating biological agents using silica in the growth medium that was still confidential as of Fall 2001. Both Dr. Bailey and Ali Al-Timimi had a high security clearance while working at SRA in 1999. Al-Timimi was doing work on a Navy contract.
CIA Director Tenet, in a May 2007 book, notes that the CIA was startled to learn that the anthrax planning had been done in parallel with the 9/11 planning. Indeed, it was the laptop of Hawsawi, who was KSM’s assistant who sent and received money from the hijackers, that had the anthrax spraydrying documents on it. In June 2003, a UN report explained that Al-Qaeda “WMD Committee” — Mohammed Abdel-Rahman was one of its three members — “is known to have approached a number of Muslim scientists to assist the terrorist network with the creation and procurement of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons.” Al-Timimi was one such scientist but there were others.
The anthrax operation was likely led by Mohammed Islambouli, who had been in a cell with KSM in connection with the planned attacks on the US using aircraft and other means. Islambouli’s role and his planned visit to the US in preparation for the attacks was the subject of the December 4, 1998 Presidential Daily Brief by the CIA to President Clinton. If we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. The job of journalists, however, is news, not analysis. So journalists understandably needed to wait until they are told these things by the government. Unfortunately, they never were. Sometimes the government’s interest in the fruits of intelligence activity causes them to forego explaining what is really going on or in seeking a criminal prosecution. Sometimes it is a bureaucrat’s attempt to cover his ass or a politician’s effort to stay in office. Sometimes it is is just a failure to connect the dots. The solution to Amerithrax, however, has been there for all to see — most intelligence is open source. And in the case of the correct analysis of the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings, failure is not an option.
Sunshine is the best disinfectant.
Disturbing questions haunt the anthrax killings inquiry
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/05/19/2888302/disturbing-questions-haunt-anthrax.html
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20110520_9829.php
http://my.firedoglake.com/jimwhite/2011/05/20/fbi-ignored-hid-data-potentially-excluding-bruce-ivins-as-anthrax-killer/
In particular, GAO should address the documentary evidence produced in May 2011 that now shows what Dr. Ivins was doing in the B3 and instead bought into the FBI’s mistaken narrative that Ivins had no reason to be in the B3 on those nights.
Given her expertise lies in science writing, and she likely is not daunted by lab notebook pages, she could usefully turn to them now to our great benefit.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/05/14/the-newly-released-lab-notebook-pages-demonstrate-dr-bruce-ivins-was-tending-to-dead-animals-on-the-nights-he-alleged-was-preparing-dry-anthrax-in-light-of-an-ivins-theory-being-demolished-by-suc/
It is important that the GAO not overlook the 302 interview statement that checking the health of the animals typically would take 2 hours and was a one person job. This is important background in understanding the lab notes produced on May 11, 2011.
The depositions in the civil matter are a rich source of sworn testimony.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/statements-by-scientists-in-florida-court-case-raise-doubts-regarding-the-fbi-conclusion-that-dr-bruce-ivins-prepared-the-anthrax-used-in-the-2001-attacks/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/excerpt-from-plaintiffs-filing-in-amerithrax-civil-suit-explaining-why-dr-ivins-is-not-perpetrator-dr-byrnes-deposition/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/excerpt-from-plaintiffs-filing-in-amerithrax-civil-suit-explaining-why-dr-ivins-is-not-perpetrator-dr-andrews-deposition/
US Attorney Taylor in explaining Ivins’ overtime in Fall 2001, including November and December, did not realize that new rules in 2002 precluded such overtime, working alone in B3. In his FOIA to the Army, David Willman did not seek access records from the earlier or later period and I don’t see that Ms. Garrett submitted any FOIAs to Army (and I don’t know offhand about DOJ).
Source: “An eye on safety” by Alison Walker … http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/special_sections/detrick/day3.htm
“Better enforcement … In 2002, USAMRIID officials mandated a two-person rule, which creates peer pressure to follow safety protocol by requiring material be handled by two people of equal experience, training and qualification. USAMRIID is phasing out the rule due to space and staff limitations, replacing the physical presence of another person with video surveillance.”
Weaponized anthrax that Dr. Ivins reportedly had been shipped to Ft. Detrick and then went missing. When? What are the details?
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/will-it-take-congressional-subpena-power-to-fill-in-the-blanks-in-the-email-asking-about-weaponized-anthrax-that-came-to-detrick-and-then-was-shipped-out-and-some-was-missing/
How was the FBI was able to exclude Abderraouf Yousef Jdey as the mailer if the FBI doesn’t know where he was and, according to former top CIA analyst Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Jdey was released before the mailings.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/how-was-the-fbi-able-to-exclude-abderraouf-yousef-jdey-as-the-mailer-if-the-fbi-doesnt-know-where-he-was-and-according-to-former-top-cia-analyst-rolf-mowatt-larssen-jdey-was-released-before-the/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/11/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/03/28/ken-dillon-asks-…-who-was-the-real-anthrax-mailer-the-key-people-in-the-anthrax-mailings-were-not-bruce-ivins-or-steven-hatfill-his-predecessor-as-the-fbis-target-instead-they-app/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/04/page/2/
Tthe FBI failed to disclose that the photocopier mentioned in the Amerithrax Summary could be excluded as the source of the Amerithrax letters. That is the sort of evidence that makes for a strong scientific case — or demolishes one. This is different from the less the much less significant issue of “tracks” made by the photocopier gripper.
In the Summer 2006, the “911 Imam” Awlaki (Aulaqi) from Falls Church, Virginia was arrested in Yemen and held for 18 months. Awlaki met both in San Diego and in Falls Church with hijacker Nawaf who had been at the planning meeting in January 2000 at the condo of anthrax lab director Yazid Sufaat. 911 planner Ramzi Bin-al-Shibh had the telephone number of Awlaki’s mosque. CIA Director Tenet in his 2007 book says authorities were startled to find that the anthrax planning had been done in parallel with the 9/11 planning and that Ramzi Bin-al-Shibh had a CBRN role. The Falls Church “911 Iman” Awlaki would speak alongside fellow Falls Church imam Ali Al-Timimi and Bilal Philips about the signs of the coming day of judgment. In August 2001, he spoke with Ali Al-Timimi in London along with unindicted WTC 1993 conspirator and recruiter Bilal Philips.
As the FBI’s Ivins Theory stands based on evidence disclosed to date, Amerithrax looks to have been a total mess. There needs to be a full-blown review of the Amerithrax Investigation by either Congress, a Committee or Inspector General. For starters, the FBI and various agencies need to comply with the Freedom of Information Act. If the United States government is so inefficient in producing documents under FOIA, it does not bode well for its efficiency in sharing information internally. Efficiency in sharing of information is critical to “connecting the dots.”
Anyone not part of the solution is part of the problem.
Dr. Ivins’ first therapist, Judith M. McLean, who writes of how she acquired her psychic abilities in her book available for sale on Amazon.com — from a being from another planet …
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/david-willman-relies-extensively-upon-dr-ivins-first-therapist-judith-m-mclean-who-writes-of-how-she-acquired-her-psychic-abilities-in-her-book-available-for-sale-on-amazon-com/
In addition to helping the FBI with Amerithrax, the psychic relied upon the government prosecutors and investigators helped with 911 by her astral travelling and retrieval of etheric body parts at Ground Zero … She reports she was granted her psychic abilities by a being claiming to be an extraterrestrial …
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/in-addition-to-helping-the-fbi-with-amerithrax-the-psychic-relied-upon-by-david-willman-helped-with-911-by-her-astral-travelling-and-retrieval-of-etheric-body-parts-at-ground-zero/
Dr. Greg Saathoff, who gave the key psychiatric report about Dr. Ivins and after his death justified their approach arguing that Dr. Ivins likely was guilty, is a longtime partner of FBI Quantico and instead spins his report as independent.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/dr-saarthoff-presenting-today-on-amerithrax-is-an-fbi-consultant/
Former lead investigator Agent Lambert once expressed in a memo to Director Mueller that the compartmentalization of the investigative squads ordered by Director Mueller would prevent investigators from connecting the dots. But early on she had written for Newsday about the difficulties of coordinating a complex investigation between agencies.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2009/10/17/former-amerithrax-lead-investigator-richard-lampert-compartmentalization-within-the-amerithrax-task-force-would-inhibit-our-ability-to-connect-the-dots-among-the-three-squads-investigating/
“Waly Samar” who was a microbiologist connected to the WTC 1993 participants (including Ramzi Yousef) based on phone records and reportedly lived in the Trenton area in 2001 — an estimated 20 miles from the mailbox. I called and left a message last week but hadn’t hear back.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/laurie-mylroie-in-a-2001-book-described-a-waly-samar-who-was-a-microbiologist-connected-to-the-wtc-1993-participants-based-on-phone-records-was-he-the-subtilis-expert-allegedly-connected-to-al/
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/former-amerithrax-investigator-bradley-garrett-who-took-the-lead-on-the-hatfill-searches-rode-on-the-plane-with-ksms-nephew-wtc-bomber-ramzi-yousef-upon-his-rendering-to-the-us-how-did-agen/
A pharmacist Najmut Tariq in New York City was connected to Al Qaeda anthrax program.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/al-qaeda-anthrax-operative-new-york-pharmacies
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/the-fbi-has-previously-explained-that-it-ruled-out-various-scientists-alleged-to-have-connections-to-al-qaeda-and-ansar-al-islam-andor-its-anthrax-program-among-those-who-the-fbi-is-confident-cou/
You’ll recall that it was McClatchy that emphasized the potentially critical importance of b. subtilis contaminant found in the Brokaw and New York Post anthrax letters … not connected to Dr. Ivins … and substantially ignored by the FBI. The public is expecting great things from McClatchy/Frontline/ProPublica.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/greg-gordon-raises-importance-of-b-subtilis-contaminant-in-the-brokaw-and-new-york-post-anthrax-letters-not-connected-to-dr-ivins-substantially-ignored-by-the-fbi/
Ayman Zawahiri had an extensive recruiting network for his anthrax planning and the announcement of his plans in March 1999, including the blind sheik’s son who spoke alongside Ali Al-Timimi and was on Al Qaeda’s 3-member WMD society. Did the blind sheik’s son recruit Ali Al-Timimi?
Court testimony revealed Mo [Mohammed] has been paid more than $340,000 since taking the assignment. Agent Holstead says he remains on government payrolls.
Updated 10/01/2012 11:01 PM
Federal agents used Yassine cousin in money laundering case
By: John A. Salazar
http://austin.ynn.com/content/top_stories/288594/federal-agents-used-yassine-cousin-in-money-laundering-case/
The issue of the use of paid informants in Amerithrax has not been told yet — but it may very well be.
But if Amerithrax is the greatest failure in the history of intelligence, one can ask: were the paid informants part of the problem or part of the solution?
If the Bush Administration and DOJ is guilty of a botching Amerithrax for the purpose of CYA, weren’t the paid informants just people they sent out to ensure that they were successful?
If DOJ’s informants were only half as good as my informants, they would have solved Amerithrax in 2002.
This is a case where an FBI agent was promised a large amount of money for causing an investigation to be shut down.
There would be no basis for telling an Amerithrax prosecutor that she could not interview a jihadi in jail because a deal had been cut in another, unrelated matter because that deal would not legitimately prevented inquiry into Amerithrax.
This is why we have GAO. GAO needs to address whether AUSA Lieber’s discretion in this matter was curtailed by a supervisor.
Lured by Promises of Wealth, F.B.I. Agent Was Drawn Into Fraud Scheme, Prosecutors Say
By RUSS BUETTNER
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/nyregion/lured-by-promises-of-wealth-fbi-agent-was-drawn-into-fraud-scheme-prosecutors-say.html?_r=0
ANTHRAX AND AL QAEDA: THE INFILTRATION OF US BIODEFENSE
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3459068
Terrorist Threats, Past And Future
I Heard The Sirens Scream: How Americans Responded To The 9/11 And Anthrax Attacks By Laurie Garrett Seattle (WA): Amazon, 2011 533 pp.; $5.99 (e-book)
Julio Frenk1,* and
Octavio Gómez-Dantés2
1Julio Frenk (JFRENK@hsph.harvard.edu) is dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston, Massachusetts. From 2000 to 2006 he served as the minister of health of Mexico, where he led a reform effort aimed at enhancing health security in a comprehensive way.
2Octavio Gómez-Dantés (ocogomez@yahoo.com) is a senior researcher at the National Institute of Public Health in Cuernavaca, Mexico. He has written on global health topics since the 1990s.
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/31/9/2147.full
Anthrax and the FBI
• Last Updated: 4:24 AM, October 23, 2011
• Posted: October 23, 2011
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/anthrax_and_the_fbi_36aNmZJGENZCAPCmvdbIrK
GAO got off to a very late start and a reporter says one should not expect much from it.
Given that GAO did not have the resources to delve too deeply into the science, the priority should have been on obtaining and disclosing documents — at the very least, conducting detailed interviews on things such as examination of the rabbits, photocopy toner, etc. and releasing the interviews.
The science did not narrow the field dramatically in any event but the science and available evidence relating to the research with the rabbits was exculpatory in major ways but concealed by the DOJ/FBI.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/08/1129353/-NYT-Falsely-Claimed-Ivans-Anthrax-Killer
Sat Sep 08, 2012 at 12:50 PM PDT
NYT Falsely Claimed Ivins Anthrax Killer
In today’s New York Times International Herald Tribune, Graham Allison, Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, considers the modern “Living in the Era of Megaterror.” In this article Graham falsely claimed that federal employee Bruce Ivins was responsible for the anthrax killings that terrorized the U.S. in 2001. ***
Ultimately, the FBI’s case against Ivins was confirmed to lack evidence.
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You searched for: Concepts Believe Remove constraint Concepts: Believe Format Text Remove constraint Format: Text Places France Remove constraint Places: France
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This I Believe 17
1. Attuning the Listening Ear
Charles Taft talks about God's love and the necessity to strive to be worthy of his love but understanding one's imperfections as well, and how he tries to connect the sublime with the more practical aspects of life through hard work and introspection.
2. A Good and Useful Life
Barry Bingham explains the effect that war had on his upbringing and how contemplation while in the Pacific Islands led him to the awareness that he must work to the best of his ability to earn and deserve God's friendship, as must all people.
3. White Is Made of Many Colors
Caroline Duer describes most of her beliefs through a poem she wrote which emphasizes the value of enjoying simple pleasures, showing kindness and courtesy, working, avoiding excessive caution, meeting obligations, being courageous, showing tolerance, and avoiding regrets, for "the day is dark; it may be fair tomorrow." This episode is a rebroadcast of an earlier airing.
4. That Little, Inner Voice
Lily Pons describes how she learned to deal with stage fright, and how an inner voice helped her persevere to become an opera singer.
5. A New Birth of Freedom
Maximilian Hodder describes his experiences in prewar Poland, as a prisoner sent to a Siberian concentration camp, and as an immigrant to America, and summarizes his beliefs with the conviction that humanity is more good than evil, that individuals have a right to live the life of their choice, and that he has the responsibility to work to end oppression.
6. This I Believe
Edward Mann describes the simple truths that he believes are the root of his happines; faith in God, service to others, and friendships.
Theodore Heubener describes how he came to believe that suffering had a purpose, either as the result of a person's transgression of the natural order of the universe, or as the basis through which one's character is formed.
Denis Brogan explains that he doesn't share the certainty or types of belief that many adherents of world religions claim, but he does believe that love is better than hate, and that the love of friends gives meaning to life.
Edmond Rieder describes how his experiences with hotel guests have established his belief in the basic goodness of people, and he believes that praticing the Golden Rule and trying his best at his endeavors has led to satisfaction.
10. Antidote for War
Ben Burman describes his beliefs in the value of kindness, the importance of striving for artistic excellence, and the utility of humor as an anecdote to pretension and tyranny. Audio also contains advertisement for "This I Believe" book.
11. This I Believe
Holgar Johnson, President of the Institute of Life Insurance, explains the importance of adapting to change for progress, and lists some of his beliefs such as: faith in honesty of people, respect for people, the importance of compassion, taking action for one's self, and the belief in a higher power. This essay also contains an advertisement for a This I Believe LP album.
Dr. Edgar Worthington, Secretary general of the Scientific Council of Africa, describes his belief in the mutability of beliefs and how his personal beliefs eveolved out of traditional religious dogma into a wider appreciation for nature and beauty and principles irrespective of doctrine. He also describes his perspective of Africa as an European immigrant to the country.
Boris Pregel, President of Canadian Radium and Uranium Corporation, relates some of his experiences in Europe up to World War II to explain why charity, altruism and selflessness areso vital to his personal beliefs and adds that it is also important to live by ones beliefs to maintain dignity.
Wilfred Penfield, Rhodes scholar, professor of neurology at McGill University and director of the Montreal Neurological Institute, describes his feeling of purpose and destiny when his boat was torpedoed during World War I and the relationship between science and religion.
Lucile Watson recounts her childhood discovery of the knowledge that she could change herself for the better, and, after successes with simple things such as maintaining her hair and quitting nail-biting, she developed a philosophy for life, including a belief that God was in everything and made everything.
Carr Liggett describes his belief that Jesus' Gospel is the way to happiness, and his uncertainities regarding the faith of his parents, as well as his beliefs in the importance of freedom, in accepting life and the world as we find it, and in tolerating and understanding others.
David Schoenbrun talks about his introduction to Descartes and Philosophy; the importance of doubting and questioning to liberty and his life; and how, contrary to assumption, his doubt is based on and strengthens his faith and spirituality.
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NBC Sports Regional Networks Add Live, Local Major League Baseball Streaming
NBC Sports regional networks now offer subscribers access to stream their MLB teams, on multiple platforms, at no additional cost. Photo: AP Images
NBC Sports Regional Networks today announced an agreement with MLBAM to stream local market MLB games, as well as pre- and postgame shows, beginning with the 2017 regular season. This new streaming offering is available at no additional cost to authenticated pay TV subscribers of NBC Sports Group’s CSN regional sports networks (RSNs). This local initiative advances NBCUniversal’s implementation of "TV Everywhere," which strives to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home, and on multiple platforms.
CSN’s local streaming allows authenticated viewers in their respective markets to live stream games and related programming that is carried by their pay TV provider of the Chicago Cubs (CSN Chicago), Chicago White Sox (CSN Chicago), Philadelphia Phillies (CSN Philadelphia), Oakland Athletics (CSN California) and San Francisco Giants (CSN Bay Area). Game broadcast schedules will be announced at a later date.
"This is a home run for our local sports fans," said David Preschlack, President, NBC Sports Regional Networks, and NBC Sports Group Platform and Content Strategy. "We are constantly looking for ways to better serve our fans and provide comprehensive coverage of their favorite teams. With the addition of MLB in-market streaming rights, they don’t have to miss a pitch."
The addition of MLB authenticated in-market streaming completes the local streaming portfolio for the NBC Sports Regional Networks, which also includes local NBA and NHL live streaming. The RSNs first introduced NBA streaming in 2014 and last fall announced the addition of NHL in-market streaming, beginning with the 2016-17 season.
The NBC Sports Regional Networks now have partnerships for in-market streaming of the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, San Jose Sharks, San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s (CSN Bay Area/CSN California); Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox (CSN Chicago); Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals (CSN Mid-Atlantic); Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia Phillies (CSN Philadelphia); and Boston Celtics (CSN New England).
Authenticated CSN subscribers can access live MLB, NBA and NHL games, as well as other sports programming, anywhere in the United States. During the 2017 MLB season, all in-market MLB games will be streamed on the respective local CSN regional network site on PCs as well as on the NBC Sports app—NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets and connected TVs. The NBC Sports app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.
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Guns, Public Spaces, and the Arming of the Commons
How should those concerned with economic justice orient ourselves to the discussion about school shootings and the availability of firearms? Many vocal revolutionary lefties have taken the position that “if the cops and white supremacists have guns, we need them too,” and although I don’t necessarily disagree with the principle of revolutionary self-defense (and support oppressed groups defending themselves by whatever means they think necessary), I think it’s important to reflect on the kind of world we are trying to build, as well as the way gun proliferation manifests itself in the capitalist political economy.
Public conversations about safety and security are not exactly self-conscious of their own kierarchic biases; think of how the silly “free range parenting” debate ignores the condition of communities of color, for whom there are often no “free ranges” where children are not in danger of being harassed or murdered by police. Likewise with the debate about whether to allow lethal weapons into public spaces. Liberals will ignore how gun laws hurt oppressed communities. Conservatives will ignore how the weapons industry and the myth of the armed white savior celebrate racist violence against those same communities. I also agree that all laws, including the regulation of firearms, fall harder and more capriciously on people of color—and are often constructed with that very aim. So I’m not looking to extend the hand of a deeply corrupt (even if occasionally redemptive) state onto those communities. At any rate, I’d prefer to debilitate or eliminate the private arms industry rather than punish individuals for possessing guns.
The reason my wrath is reserved for the arms industry is that they make a hell of a lot of cash while lobbying for the wholesale saturation of public and private spaces with guns. Gun lobbyists want guns to be an intrinsic facet of the very structures of everyday life. Besides being an overwhelmingly lethal vision of life, the arming of the Commons is contemporaneous with the privatization, the enclosure, of the Commons. Spaces ruled by the constant threat of lethal violence can be neither free nor cooperative. In the privatize-and-arm paradigm (for the forces behind privatization are absolutely allied with the agenda of the NRA and gun universalists), each affluent home is a well-armed fortress, less-affluent homes depend on the good graces of the wealthier classes (for whom they work anyway), businesses are all lethally armed, able not only to eliminate individual, pathologically disaffected worker-assailants, but also to intimidate workers from collective actions like strikes or slowdowns. In a world where no spaces are unarmed, and people cannot exist in mutual vulnerability, there are no truly public spaces.
Like privatized public spaces, armed public spaces substitute physical force for mutual deliberation, making hierarchies inevitable and participatory governance impossible. So it’s especially disturbing that advocacy of firearm security is focused on turning the “soft targets” of public schools (an especially vulnerable and valuable part of the Commons) into “hard targets.” The construction of the fearful student, the existentially insecure youth, is a fast track to the commodification of life. By defining the lack-of-firearm as a condition of insecurity, we invite the incursion of a warrior class into our already materially overdetermined class relations. All of this makes sense against a backdrop of creeping incipient fascism and neoliberal privatization economics. “Whether wielded by heavily armed police, mass shooters or right-wingers,” Sean Larson writes, “the sheer volume of guns in the U.S. serves to militarize underlying social conflicts.”
That political economy of weaponization is manifest across many current points of the gun debate. So when the White House and Department of Justice promise to aid in the training of armed teachers, they will undoubtedly award firearm training contracts to for-profit gun school cronies. A cluster of banks with proven records of racism and/or criminality–Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Fifth Third Bank–are providing financial support to arms corporation Remington, as it slogs through bankruptcy. Other banks have refused to do so, citing public perception and general decency. Conservative lawmakers, put off by insurance companies’ risk market-based reluctance to insure schools where teachers carry firearms, are considering forcing those companies to provide the insurance, an irony several layers deep. Here in Wyoming, gun manufacturing businesses prop up a piece of the state’s conventional economy, and business groups welcome the prospect of new gun manufacturers setting up shop in the Cowboy State.
All of this is part and parcel of an economy based on extraction and exploitation. Citing Pamela Haig and Richard Hofstadter, Sean Larson’s amazing article traces the gun market to the desperation of arms manufacturers when wars end. It begins immediately after the Civil War, when
major gun manufacturers were faced with a dilemma: how to create a civilian gun market when the major demand from the military had fallen off sharply . . . in the 1870s, Winchester advertised its Model 66 as useful for “Indian, Bear or Buffalo hunting.” These early links between gun sales and imperial expansion, however, were nothing compared to the cultural campaigns launched a few decades later . . . During the [First World] war, contracts for the U.S. and allied militaries drastically expanded gun production facilities. But planners were already anticipating the postwar problem of, as Haag puts it, “too many guns and too much capacity for too little demand.” Looking ahead to an era of mass production and diminishing practical need for guns, sales and marketing teams set out to construct and reinforce an ideal gun consumer . . . gun manufacturers took the opportunity to monetize racism and fears of radicalism by advertising “riot guns” to business owners looking to protect their shops from “disturbances, either racial or political,” and promoting their firearms as the only surefire way to protect the “industrial life of the nation.” Such overt efforts to militarize existing class conflicts were part and parcel of a broader plan that Winchester called “the biggest and most carefully planned national advertising campaign ever undertaken by any firm of gun makers in the world.”
And so has it continued and evolved.
It’s impossible for me not to see the entire conversation around the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shootings, and the rash of similar shootings, through this lens of capitalism, privatization, enclosure, and militarization. Thinking about how the warrior culture is embedded in materially hierarchical societies, I think about how the gunman, Nikolas Cruz, was a member of the Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program, as were some of his victims. That program’s Parkland-based marksmanship team was partially funded by the National Rifle Association, meaning that gun lobbyists essentially helped train the assailant and wish also to help train those who try and deter or kill future assailants. I can’t even view stories about the non-responsive, seemingly paralyzed sheriff’s deputies who didn’t even try to stop Nikolas Cruz, without wondering whether they were deadened to the danger of the lethality of Cruz’s weapon, or aware of that danger to the point of being terrified, even as LEOs. There are no good decisions in lethalized spaces, and a society wishing to incentivize good decisionmaking should not saturate such spaces with deadly weapons.
Illustration: The Gun Factory, by Joseph Pennell – Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum; Photo: Brooklyn Museum, Public Domain
Posted in Violence on March 31, 2018 by cowboysonthecommons. Leave a comment
On Banking, Heitkamp Forgets Where She Lives
Elizabeth Warren is in a bloody fight with the handful of Democrats who support new GOP legislation to roll back Dodd-Frank requirements on banks. The new legislation loosens regulations for smaller “community” banks, but also for the biggest, too-big-to-fail, often criminal banks at the top of finance capital’s food chain. One of the Democrats joining the GOP in that rollback effort is North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp, who said of Warren on this matter, “She doesn’t live where I live.”
But Heitkamp lives in the state with the country’s only public, state-owned bank, the Bank of North Dakota. And although she told The Atlantic‘s Russell Berman a sob story about “Democrats [watching] as smaller banks and lenders in their states have been eaten up by larger institutions, due in part to the added burden of regulations created by Dodd-Frank,” there are a couple of half-truths at play here, and Heitkamp should know better.
First, Dodd-Frank has been little more than an exacerbating factor on what was already a steep decline in community bank viability. As J.V. Rizzi wrote in American Banker a few years ago:
There are many things to dislike about the Dodd-Frank Act. Causing the demise of community banks, however, is not one of them . . . the number of community banks with assets under $100 million dropped from 13,000 in 1995 to 2,625 in 2010–before Dodd-Frank was enacted. The number of small community banks had dropped under 1,900 by 2014.
Second, and even more to the point of why Heitkamp’s position is so weird: the Bank of North Dakota has kept community banks alive in that state through financial support for community bank loans, and regulatory compliance support. The results have been astounding if one compares North Dakota’s community banking scene to the rest of the country. I once explained why in a blog post I wrote for the Public Banking Institute:
Public banks offer unique benefits to community banks, including collateralization of deposits, protection from poaching of customers by big banks, the creation of more successful deals, and . . . regulatory compliance. The Bank of North Dakota, the nation’s only public bank, directly supports community banks and enables them to meet regulatory requirements such as asset to loan ratios and deposit to loan ratios. . . . [I]t keeps community banks solvent in other ways, lessening the impact of regulatory compliance on banks’ bottom lines.
We know from FDIC data in 2009 that North Dakota had almost 16 banks per 100,000 people, the most in the country. A more important figure, however, is community banks’ loan averages per capita, which was $12,000 in North Dakota, compared to only $3,000 nationally. . . . During the last decade, banks in North Dakota with less than $1 billion in assets have averaged a stunning 434 percent more small business lending than the national average.
Stacy Mitchell reached a similar conclusion:
With 89 small and mid-sized community banks and 38 credit unions, North Dakota has six times as many locally owned financial institutions per person as the rest of the nation. And these local banks and credit unions control a resounding 83 percent of deposits in the state — more than twice the 30 percent market share that small and mid-sized financial institutions have nationally.
And so did Ellen Brown, who provides some background on how BND was mandated to help with compliance:
In order to help rural lenders with regulatory compliance, in 2011 the BND was directed by the state legislature to get into the rural home mortgage origination business. Rural banks that saw only three to five mortgages a year could not shoulder the regulatory burden, leading to business lost to out-of-state banks. After a successful pilot program, SB 2064, establishing the Mortgage Origination Program, was signed by North Dakota’s governor on April 3, 2013. It states that the BND may establish a residential mortgage loan program under which the Bank may originate residential mortgages if private sector mortgage loan services are not reasonably available. Under this program a local financial institution or credit union may assist the Bank in taking a loan application, gathering required documents, ordering required legal documents, and maintaining contact with the borrower.
So Heitkamp’s invocation of North Dakota is curious. I can’t say I’m surprised though: BND has saved conservative North Dakota’s financial ass countless times, but state officials and electeds hate acknowledging this–in fact, they almost never do in mainstream contexts.
Warren’s criticism of the new Senate bill is sound. The bill ultimately exempts all but only the top 12 banks in the country from regulations and stress tests. The worst thing Warren is guilty of in this instance is believing (or acting as if she believes) that for-profit banking can be saved at all. We can have that debate another time (I personally believe capitalism makes the consolidation or death of small banks inevitable without massive state intervention). But Heidi Heitkamp’s omission of her own state’s success in propping up an otherwise anemic community bank industry is, to use current parlance, sad.
Matt Stannard writes on cooperative economics, law, and sustainable farming. He was policy director at Commonomics USA and a board member of the Public Banking Institute.
Posted in Public Banking on March 14, 2018 by cowboysonthecommons. Leave a comment
Activists Urge California Public Bank Not Limit to Cannabis Revenue
Grassroots public banking activists respond to CA Treasurer’s Request for Information
Commonomics USA (the organization I used to be policy director for, and for which I still serve as a consultant), along with public banking advocacy groups from Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, and Eureka, California, have written a response to California Treasury Secretary John Chiang’s Request for Information concerning a public bank in California, which was written after a year’s worth of public hearings on California’s cannabis banking problem.
That RFI (an RFI is a standard business and governmental procedure made prior to undertaking large projects) was released in late January. But there was a problem with it: It did not reflect the public demand that sparked it. And, given the final direction and gestures of the Working Group, that was a surprise and disappointment.
It should be noted (I’m presently working on a longer piece telling this story) that the public banking movement overwhelmed, and fundamentally changed the focus of, what was initially a reluctant Cannabis Banking Working Group. In early sessions of the CBWG hearings, Chiang went out of his way to instruct participants not to advocate for public banks in general; early scholars invited to the San Diego session insisted public banks were not feasible, and the Working Group was even, at times, jovially dismissive of the idea.
But everywhere the CBWG went, members of the public, during the open comment periods, insisted not only that the Working Group consider a public bank for cannabis revenue, but that it consider a public bank categorically. While Chiang continued to insist that comments be limited to the problem of banking cannabis revenue, members of the public ignored that limit and advocated for the general benefits of public banking.
Chiang’s eventual response was impressive: Rather than further scolding members of the public, the Working Group announced a previously unscheduled hearing in Los Angeles devoted exclusively to the question of public banks, and further, that such a discussion should not be limited to cannabis revenue, but be inclusive of general arguments for and against public banking.
I continue to admire Chiang for that piece of brave leadership (among the privileged, public banking is still seen as a fringe movement, even after New Jersey’s new governor, Phil Murphy, campaigned on creating one in that state). Chiang could have taken a safer way out. Many of us are glad he didn’t.
Nevertheless, the Working Group’s RFI does limit itself to “studying the various administrative and operational structures for organizing a public bank or state-backed financial institution to serve the cannabis industry.” And this has raised the ire of the many groups across California demanding divestment from big private banks and the embrace of a radically democratic model of public finance (more radically democratic, even, than anticipated by the rather conservative, fossil fuel-supporting, pro-police state Bank of North Dakota).
The letter in response, linked below, argues that the best way to envision a public cannabis bank is by envisioning a public bank that is not limited to cannabis:
We invite you to share our vision: a network of public banks (intrastate municipal/regional banks and interstate state banks) that provides a distinct alternative to depositing public monies into Wall Street banks, reflects California’s environmental priorities and social values, and becomes California’s legacy for future generations.
Public banking, at its core, is a shift in the state’s role from mainly providing bank regulatory oversight to also providing banking services, thereby addressing commercial banking market failures. Public banking shares the original ambitions of the postal service, delivering mail to every household, and the rural electrification program, electrifying all of rural America. In our envisioned network, each public bank will provide banking services to its defined community – filling gaps where the market has failed to fully provide affordable deposit, credit, and other investment services. State banks would provide low-cost (probably internet-based) deposit services to large segments of the unbanked population and create pools of credit for large infrastructure projects, affordable housing, and student loans. Municipal and regional banks would focus on developing the small business lending and local investment market; developing financially-responsible alternatives to predatory financial schemes, such as bail bonds and payday lending; and financing local infrastructure projects, including renewable energy and disaster recovery.
The failure of the market is profound and more widespread than is commonly understood. The lack of banking services for the cannabis industry is only one example of this failure. Over 20% of California households are un/underbanked, as documented in 2015 by the FDIC. And, given the ongoing disaster recovery efforts in northern and southern California, the lack of immediate and affordable credit for municipal governments as these communities struggle to rebuild after the fires and floods is a clear shortcoming of the market. Unfunded infrastructure, unfunded new Community Choice Energy organizations, and unfunded affordable housing for public service workers can be financed through a state or municipal public bank. Finally, the state’s revenue shortfall and liquidity crisis during the Great Recession, made worse by the refusal of banks to honor the state-issued IOUs, is another critical example of the need for credit. Without a broader vision, this particular public bank effort by your office may be perceived as exclusive or discriminatory. Such a perception so early on in the public bank feasibility process may be cause for otherwise avoidable resistance from both the public and the Federal Reserve, which may view a public bank “dedicated entirely, or predominantly, to the cannabis industry” as concentrated deposit risk. Moreover, since the Federal Reserve is tasked with addressing financial inclusion, it may be receptive to an expanded definition of financial inclusion based upon a critical analysis of the market failures of the commercial banking system.
While the letter includes specific suggestions that will be helpful to the cannabis industry (such as automated retail cannabis payments), its larger message is that a whole-state, economic and ecological justice approach to public banking is advantageous for the limited policy objective of cannabis banking, because more stakeholders will sign on, and even because the Federal Reserve will be more likely to entertain giving a Master Account Number to a broadly-mandated bank than a narrow one whose only purpose is to circumvent (or, to put it more charitably, make up for the gaps in) federal law. Thus, the response letter suggests “conduct[ing] an ‘intersection’ study throughout state government and its agencies that identifies the specific state social, economic, and environmental policy objectives that a public bank can achieve.”
The letter may be downloaded here:
030218 Letter in Response to RFI
Posted in Public Banking on March 3, 2018 by cowboysonthecommons. Leave a comment
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Crossover Connection
Articles Post New Entry
Poker Night at the Inventory
Posted by degdeg18 on December 30, 2013 at 5:35 PM comments (0)
Poker Night at the Inventory is a poker video game series developed by Telltale Games. It essentially plays like their other poker series, Telltale Texas Hold'em, but with added cameos of characters from many different properties, such as Sam & Max and Team Fortress. Essentially, you have to take out 4 characters in order to win a cash prize, o...
Super Tokusatsu Wars 2001
Super Tokusatsu Wars 2001 is a tactical RPG for the PlayStation developed by Japan Art Media and published by Banpresto, which was released in Japan in 2001, hense the title. In the game, the story progresses whether you take the METAL or BIO routes, as you choose characters based on those predicaments. There are numerous characters you can meet and fight, both normal s...
Super Hero RPG Series
The Super Hero RPG series is a series of RPGs that crosses over heroes from both mecha anime and tokusatsu shows, as well as starring some Bampresto originals. The cast effectively makes this series a spin off of both The Great Battle and Super Robot Wars. It features characters like Gundam, Ultraman, Kamen Rider, the Space Sheriffs of Metal ...
Battle Stadium D.O.N.
Battle Stadium D.O.N is a Japanese brawler for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 featuring characters from three popular Weekly Shōnen Jump manga series, Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto, hence the D.O.N. Similar to Dream Mix TV, D.O.N. uses a combined health gauge, which means decreasing the health of one player will in turn increase th...
PlayStation Move Heroes is a 2011 action-adventure platformer developed by Nihilistic Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 video game console utilizing the PlayStation Move. It is a cross-over of the Jak and Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper franchises to form a roster of six main characters, each character havi...
Soul Series
The Soul Series is a weapon-based fighting game series by Namco Bandai. There are six installments of the series with various spin-offs. Originally released as an arcade game with Soul Edge in 1996, and later ported to consoles. As time went on, recent versions of the series have been released for consoles only and have eventually included online modes. The whole point of t...
J-Stars Victory VS
Posted by degdeg18 on December 29, 2013 at 11:50 AM comments (0)
J-Stars Victory VS is an arena brawler and a Spiritual Successor to the Jump Stars series. The game was created to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Weekly Shonen Jump. The game features 2-on-2 player combat where the player teams up with a friend or the computer to fight against an opposing team. Each team also has a third slot left for summoning a support character. Each team ...
Namco High
Namco High is a Dating Sim by Namco Bandai and Homestuck author Andrew Hussie that stars the Cousin of the Prince from Katamari Damacy as they navigate the romantic ins and outs of high school. It features characters from Namco Bandai's library as well as a few characters from the webcomic Homestuck. Six of the characters are free, and you can get others by ...
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CUPE PEI STATEMENT – National Day of Rememberance and Action on Violence Against Women
Posted on December 6, 2018 by souellette
CUPE PEI STATEMENT ON DECEMBER 6, 2018
December 6th is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
We pause to remember the 14 young women who were singled out and murdered because they were women on that day in 1989 at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique. Most of them were engineering students. One of the victims, Maryse Laganière, was a CUPE member who worked at the school.
We also remember the 10 Island women who since 1989 have been killed by partners or someone who knew them. We mourn the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and the countless others throughout Canada and around the world whose lives were cut short by gender-based violence or who still experience it.
After decades of activism, much work still remains. We must recommit to ending gender-based violence and continue the struggle for gender equality. “First mourn. Then work for change”. Those words are the call to action on the December 6th monument in Summerside, established by the PEI Federation of Labour.
The labour movement continues to advocate for better socio-economic supports and services for survivors of gender-based violence. A positive step was taken in 2018, with the amendment of PEI’s employment standards legislation to include a new leave for workers who need time to deal with the consequences of domestic, intimate partner or sexual violence. If this change is proclaimed and comes into force, workers who have experienced this kind of violence will be able to take up to three days of paid leave and another seven days of unpaid leave. Some other provinces, including New Brunswick, offer five days of paid leave.
What can you and your local do to make a difference?
Learn more about the issues and support groups working for change:
Check out the steps for taking action on the 2018 Purple Ribbon Campaign blog (https://mclist.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b9407fb045791ad0a86185b8f&id=486e1954ec&e=e5158fdd05) and website (https://mclist.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b9407fb045791ad0a86185b8f&id=b3a22941ab&e=e5158fdd05
See the video series “Make it Your Business!” produced by PEI Family Violence Prevention Services (http://www.fvps.ca/ – Resources), working with the PEI Rape and Sexual Assault Centre, the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women and other partners in the Mayor of Charlottetown’s Purple Ribbon Task Force on Family Violence Prevention with financial sponsorship from CUPE National. The videos offer short, practical scenarios to help bystanders recognize signs of family violence in public places and workplaces and get tips on how to safely take action.
For more on the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, see the website of Native Women’s Association of Canada, https://www.nwac.ca/mmiwg/ ; For services available to survivors, Women’s Shelters Canada, http://endvaw.ca/
Bargain protection for victims of domestic, intimate partner and sexual violence in your collective agreement, improving on the leave provisions in employment standards legislation. Check out the CUPE guide at https://cupe.ca/domestic-violence-and-workplace-bargaining-guide and the resources on the Canadian Labour Congress website: http://canadianlabour.ca/issues-research/domestic-violence-work
Participate in one of the December 6th Memorial Services:
Charlottetown, 12:00 noon, Thursday, December 6
Memorial Hall, Confederation Centre of the Arts (venue sponsor) Richmond Street.
The special service will include a Mi’kmaw opening ceremony and prayers by Julie Pellissier-Lush, address by Paxton Caseley of Our Turn, poetry by Lily Levesque, music by the Gaia singers and Dylan Menzie accompanying on piano. Family members, dignitaries, and community activists will light candles in remembrance of those whose lives were cut short because they were women. Everyone is welcome to attend. Contact Michelle at 902-368-4510 / info@peistatusofwomen.ca Organized by the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women.
Summerside, 12:00 noon, Thursday, December 6
Trinity United Church, 90 Spring Street, Summerside.
Service with guest speaker Hon. Tina Mundy For more information, call 902-436-9856
Organized by the East Prince Women’s Information Centre.
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Virginia Marti College of Art and Design
Associates Colleges
75 Applicants
45% Full-Time
2 Graduates
Virginia Marti College of Art and Design is a higher education institution located in Cuyahoga County, OH. In 2016, the most popular Bachelor's Degree concentrations at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design were .
In 2016, 33 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design. 75.8% of these degrees were awarded to women, and 24.2% awarded men. The majority of degree recipients were white (21 degrees), 2.63 times more than then the next closest race/ethnicity group, black or african american (8 degrees).
The median undergraduate tuition at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design is $16,380, which is $9,060 more than the national average for Associates Colleges ($7,320).
Associates Colleges: High Transfer-High TraditionalAssociates Colleges
In 2016, the cost of tuition at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design was $16,380. The cost of tuition at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design is $9,060 more than than the overall (public and private) national average for Associates Colleges ($7,320).
This chart compares the tuition costs of Virginia Marti College of Art and Design (in red) with those of other similar universities.
In 2016 Virginia Marti College of Art and Design had an average net price — the price paid after factoring in grants and loans — of $22,963. Between 2015 and 2016, the average net price of Virginia Marti College of Art and Design grew by 1.25%.
This chart compares the average net price of Virginia Marti College of Art and Design (in red) with that of other similar universities.
The average yearly cost of room and board at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design was of $7,353 in 2016. During the same period, the average yearly cost of books and supplies was $1,500. The cost of room and board decreased by 0.122% between 2015 and 2016. The cost of books and supplies did not change during the same period.
This chart compares the average student costs at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design (in red) with that of similar universities.
76% of undergraduate students at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design received grants or loans in 2016. This represents a growth of 5.56% with respect to 2015, when 72% of undergraduate students received financial aid.
This chart compares the average award discount at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design (in red) with that of other similar universities.
N/A Default Rate
In N/A the default rate for borrower's at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design was N/A%, which represents N/A out of the N/A total borrowers.
Virginia Marti College of Art and Design received 75 undergraduate applications in 2016, which represents a 168% annual growth. Out of those 75 applicants, 74 students were accepted for enrollment, representing a 98.7% acceptance rate.
There were 169 students enrolled at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design in 2016, and N/A% of first-time enrollees submitted SAT scores with their applications.
Virginia Marti College of Art and Design has an overall enrollment yield of 60.8%, which represents the number of admitted students who ended up enrolling.
Accepted Out of 75
In 2016, the undergraduate acceptance rate of Virginia Marti College of Art and Design was 98.7% (74 admissions from 75 applications). This is higher than the acceptance rate of 2015, which was 89.3%. Between 2015 and 2016, the number of applicants grew by 168%, while admissions grew by 196%.
This chart compares the acceptance rate of Virginia Marti College of Art and Design (in red) with that of other similar universities.
N/A% of enrolled first-time students at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design in 2016 submitted SAT scores with their applications.
Virginia Marti College of Art and Design has a total enrollment of 169 students. The full-time enrollment at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design is 76 students and the part-time enrollment is 93. This means that 45% of students enrolled at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design are enrolled full-time.
The enrolled student population at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design, both undergraduate and graduate, is 43.2% White, 35.5% Black or African American, 7.69% Two or More Races, 6.51% Hispanic or Latino, 1.18% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0% Asian, and 0% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders.
Students enrolled at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design in full-time Undergraduate programs are majority White Female (39.5%), followed by Black or African American Female (27.6%) and White Male (7.89%). Students enrolled in full-time Graduate programs are majority N/A, followed by N/A and N/A.
The total enrollment at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design, both undergraduate and graduate, is 169 students. The full-time enrollment at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design is 76 and the part-time enrollment is 93. This means that 45% of students enrolled at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design are enrolled full-time compared with 36.5% at similar Associates Colleges.
This chart shows the full-time vs part-time enrollment status at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design (in red) compares to similar universities.
Retention rate measures the number of first-time students who began their studies the previous fall and returned to school the following fall. The retention rate for full-time undergraduates at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design was 36%. Compared with the full-time retention rate at similar Associates Colleges (60%), Virginia Marti College of Art and Design had a retention rate lower than its peers.
This chart shows the retention rate over time at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design (highlighted in red) compares to similar universities.
The enrolled student population at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design is 43.2% White, 35.5% Black or African American, 7.69% Two or More Races, 6.51% Hispanic or Latino, 1.18% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0% Asian, and 0% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders. This includes both full-time and part-time students as well as graduate and undergraduates. By comparison, enrollment for all Associates Colleges is 46.8% White, 24.4% Hispanic or Latino, and 13% Black or African American.
Any student who is studying in the United States on a temporary basis is categorized as a "Non-Resident Alien", and the share of those students are shown in the chart below. Additionally, 9 students (5.33%) did not report their race.
In 2016, 17 more women than men received degrees from Virginia Marti College of Art and Design. The majority of degree recipients at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design are white (21 degrees awarded). There were 2.63 times more white graduates than the next closest race/ethnicity group, black or african american (8 degrees).
The most common Bachelor's Degree concentration at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design is N/A, followed by N/A and N/A.
The most specialized majors across all degree types at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design, meaning they have significantly more degrees awarded in that concentration than the national average across all institutions, are Visual & Performing Arts (20 degrees awarded), Business (12 degrees), and Communications (1 degrees).
The most common jobs for people who hold a degree in one of the 5 most specialized majors at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design are Accountants & auditors (1,096,181 people), Miscellaneous managers (834,093 people), Financial managers (437,477 people), Marketing & sales managers (357,486 people), and Chief executives & legislators (355,212 people).
The most specialized majors at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design are Visual & Performing Arts (20 degrees awarded), Business (12 degrees), and Communications (1 degrees).
The highest paying jobs for people who hold a degree in one of the 5 most specialized majors at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design are Physicians & surgeons, Dentists, Dental hygienists, Chief executives & legislators, and Other healthcare practitioners & technical Occupations
The most common industries for people who hold a degree in one of the 5 most specialized majors at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design are Elementary & secondary schools (681,092 people), Insurance carriers & related activities (579,730 people), Banking & related activities (516,566 people), Computer Systems Design (482,254 people), and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges (480,628 people).
IPEDS uses the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) standard, so the categories may not match the exact concentrations offered by Virginia Marti College of Art and Design.
N/A degrees awarded
In N/A, the most common bachelors degree concentration at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design was N/A with N/A degrees awarded.
This visualization illustrates the percentage of degree recipients from bachelors degree programs at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design according to their major.
In 2016, 8 degrees were awarded to men at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design, which is 0.32 times less than the number of degrees awarded to females (25).
This chart displays the gender disparity between the top 5 majors at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design by degrees awarded.
In N/A, 3 degrees were awarded to men at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design in Commercial & Advertising Art, which is 0.5 times less than the 6 female recipients with that same degree.
In N/A, 11 degrees were awarded to women at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design in Fashion Merchandising, which is 11 times more than the 1 male recipients with that same degree.
In 2016, 15% of students graduating from Virginia Marti College of Art and Design completed their program within 100% "normal time" (i.e. 4 years for a 4-year degree). Comparatively, 45% completed their degrees within 150% of the normal time, and 60% within 200%.
The following chart shows these completion rates over time compared to the average for the Associates Colleges Carnegie Classification group.
Highest Graduation Rate (40%)
The student demographic with the highest graduation rate at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design is Female and White (40% graduation rate). Across all Associates Colleges, Asian Female students have the highest graduation rate (67.2%).
The most common race/ethnicity at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design is white (21 degrees awarded). There were 2.63 times more white recipients than the next closest race/ethnicity group, black or african american (8 degrees).
The most common race/ethnicity and gender grouping at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design is white female (15 degrees awarded). There were 2.5 times more white female recipients than the next closest race/ethnicity group, black or african american female (6 degrees).
Virginia Marti College of Art and Design has an endowment valued at nearly $N/A, as of the end of the 2015 fiscal year. The return on its endowment was of $0 (N/A%), compared to the 1.4% average return ($43.5k on $3.12M) across all Associates Colleges.
In 2015, Virginia Marti College of Art and Design had a total expenditure of $2.66M. Of that $2.66M, they spent $1.45M on salaries and $2.66M on benefits.
Virginia Marti College of Art and Design employs N/A N/A, N/A N/A, and N/A N/A. Most academics at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design are N/A (N/A), N/A(N/A), and N/A (N/A).
The most common positions for non-instructional staff at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design are: Management, with 3 employees, Sales and related, with 3 employees, and Computer, Engineering, and Science with 2 employees.
Virginia Marti College of Art and Design has an endowment valued at about $N/A, as of the end of the 2015 fiscal year. The endowment of Virginia Marti College of Art and Design stayed 0% from the previous year. The value of their endowment was $N/A approximately the same as than the median endowment of Associates Colleges according to the Carnegie Classification grouping.
This line chart shows how the endowment at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design (in red) compares to that of some similar universities.
The small bar chart below shows the endowment quintiles for all universities in the Associates Colleges: High Transfer-High Traditional Carnegie Classification grouping.
As of 2015, Virginia Marti College of Art and Design received $0 in grants and contracts from the federal government, $0 from state grants and contracts, and $0 from local grants and contracts.
The bar chart shows the share of the primary expenses at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design over time, and the line chart shows the expenditure for solely salaries and benefits over time compared to the median for the Associates Colleges Carnegie Classification grouping.
This tree map shows all of the primary expenses of Research at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design as a share of total expenditure.
In 2015, Virginia Marti College of Art and Design paid a median of $1.45M in salaries, which represents 54.5% of their overall expenditure ($2.66M) and a 8.06% growth from the previous year. This is compared to a 0% growth from 2013 and a 0% growth from 2012.
The median for similar Associates Colleges is 17.1M (52.8% of overall expenditures).
In 2015, Virginia Marti College of Art and Design paid a total of $319k to 5 employees working as instructors, which represents 22% of all salaries paid.
This is compared to a median of $4.44M (31%) for similar Associates Colleges.
N/A Employees
In N/A, the most common positions for instructional staff at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design were N/A with N/A employees; N/A with N/A employees; and N/A with N/A employees.
In N/A, the most common positions for non-instructional staff at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design were Management with 3 employees; Sales and related with 3 employees; and Computer, Engineering, and Science with 2 employees.
In N/A, the most common demographic for instructional staff at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design was N/A with N/A employees, N/A with N/A employees, and N/A with N/A employees.
This chart shows the gender split between each academic rank present at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design.
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Posts Tagged ‘Willard Marshall’
A baseball snapshot is a souvenir of a day at the ballpark. Taken not by a professional photographer, but by a fan capturing a moment in time. The name of the fan who took this snapshot is unknown, lost now to time. That fan’s memory of the game, however, as captured in the photo, remains.
A Fan’s Souvenir Of A Day At The Ballpark
It is evident the fan was sitting in box seats along the third base side of the playing field. The photo captures a play at second base. If you know your old time ballparks, perhaps the arched windows and the GEM BLADES sign on the outfield wall is all you need to know to identify the ballpark.
If not, there are other clues as well. A section of the scoreboard announces: “Cinni Here Tues May 14 Night Game 8:15 PM.”
Cinni Here Tues May 14 Night Game 8:15 PM.
To solve the riddle, all that needs to be done, it would seem, is search online for a mid-century Tuesday May 14th Cincinnati Reds road game that started at 8:15 pm. However, a search of both baseballreference.com and baseball-almanac.com turned up empty. No such game was listed on either website.
I emailed the photo to a friend of mine, Bernard McKenna, a professor at the University of Delaware and a man who knows both baseball and historical research. Professor McKenna started with an informed guess that the ballpark was the Polo Grounds. Other known photos of that ballpark featured both the arched windows and the outfield signage.
But what about the game being played? The photo could not have been taken prior to 1940 because the first night game at the Polo Grounds was played May 25, 1940. The photo could not have been taken after 1952 because, according to the scoreboard, Boston is playing Philadelphia that day, and the Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1953 (unless of course the scoreboard was referencing the Red Sox playing the A’s).
Detail of Scoreboard
Baseballreference listed road games played by Cincinnati against the New York Giants on May 14th during the 1942 and 1952 seasons. However, the games and scores identified on the scoreboard did not match any of the games those years played prior to May 14, 1942, or May 14, 1952.
Searching the New York Times database, Professor McKenna discovered that a game scheduled between Cincinnati and the Giants at the Polo Grounds for May 14, 1946, was rained out and played the following day. Assuming the eventual rainout game is the one noted on the scoreboard, 1946 was the year the snapshot was taken. Checking the Giant’s game results for 1946, there was an April 28, 1946, game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants played at the Polo Grounds. Here is the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NY1/NY1194604282.shtml.
The Brooklyn Dodgers lineup, as identified on the scoreboard (listed under the moniker “VIS”) matches up with the box score for that game: Whitman (15), Stanky (12), Reiser (27), Walker (11), Stevens (36), Furillo (5), Anderson (14), Reese (1), and Behrman (29). The other games listed on the scoreboard match up as well, Cleveland and New York, the Cubs and St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
Giant Buddy Blattner Sliding Into Second Base While Dodger Pee Wee Reese Awaits The Throw
As for the action in the photo, this is what Professor McKenna determined from the scoreboard and the box score:
From the scoreboard, we know that it is the bottom of the second. The box score states that Giant Bill Rigney, hit a home run in the 2nd inning with two runners on base and one out. No other runs scored that inning. But who were the runners on base when Rigney hit his home run? The scoreboard identifies the player at bat as number 10, which, for the Giants, was Buddy Kerr. The box score indicates that both Kerr and teammate Bob Joyce sacrificed to advance runners that inning (the box score reads “SH” (sacrifice hit)). The box score suggests that Joyce reached base successfully in that inning with his SH and not Kerr, because Joyce only reached base once that game, scoring a run. As such, he had to have been on base when Rigney hit the homer.
Willard Marshall and Buddy Blattner also batted that inning in front of Kerr and Joyce. Marshall did not reach base that inning because, according to the box score, he never scored a run. He reached base one time that game on a walk. Had he been caught stealing that inning, it would have been reflected in the box score, and if Kerr or Joyce bunted into a force play with Marshall on base, the box score would have read FC (fielders choice) not SH. Blattner, on the other hand, reached base three times that game, with two hits and one hit by pitch. He also scored three runs. As such, it would appear that Blattner, along with Joyce, was on base when Rigney homered.
In the photo, a runner is sliding into second base. That runner must be Buddy Blattner, the first Giant to successfully reach base that inning, because the snapshot shows no runner going to third. As such, Kerr’s SH has advanced Blattner to second. Kerr was put out at first base and the throw to second was was either late or there was no there was no throw.
Thus, our fan’s snapshot has captured Buddy Blattner, the Giants second baseman sliding successfully into second, while the Dodgers shortstop Pee Wee Reese awaits the throw from first after Buddy Kerr’s successful sacrifice. Joyce subsequently would advance Blattner to third while reaching base as well on a SH. Both eventually would score on Rigney’s home run.
Although the identity of the fan who took this photo is unknown, the snapshot captured the fan’s memory of that game. We now know that the game was played on April 28, 1946. The memory of the unknown fan has come back to life, with just a little bit of research (and an assist from websites such as baseballreference.com and baseball-almanac.com). If anyone reading this knows of someone who attended the Giants/Dodgers game at the Polo Grounds on April 28, 1946, let me know.
Tags: Autonomy of a baseball snapshot, baseball snapshot, baseballreference.com, Bernard McKenna, Bill Rigney, Bob Joyce, Brooklyn Dodgers, Buddy Blattner, Buddy Kerr, deadballbaseball.com, Gem Blades, New York Giants, Polo Grounds, snapshot, Willard Marshall
Posted in New York ballparks, Polo Grouinds | Comments (0)
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EMIR REFIT – A Review of Recent Changes (What was Included, What’s Not)
By Pauline Ashall | on February 18, 2019 |
The financial markets now has clarity on some of the areas the EMIR REFIT programme and in particular, some of the changes as they pertain to small financial counterparts, CCP clearing among pension funds and trade reporting requirements. In this Q&A, Pauline Ashall, Partner at Linklaters in London, offers us a review of the recently announced changes. This interview is based on the podcast interview, which you can listen to here or via the DerivSource iTunes channel.
Q. Can you give us a brief overview of the background to the EMIR Refit and the current status?
A. EU legislation usually contains a provision for the European Commission to review how it’s operating in practice, and to report to the European Parliament and Council on possible changes. In the case of EMIR, the Commission’s review has led to 2 separate legislative proposals. These are generally referred to as EMIR REFIT and EMIR 2.2 (which relates to regulation of CCPs). Today’s discussion will just cover EMIR REFIT.
The EMIR REFIT Regulation is so called because it is part of the Commission’s Regulatory Fitness and Performance, or REFIT, Programme. The aim was to make targeted amendments to EMIR, to make compliance more proportionate and less onerous, especially for non-financial counterparties, or NFCs.
The draft Regulation amending EMIR to make the REFIT changes is now in near to final form following a number of trilogue meetings among representatives of the Commission, Parliament and Council. Final political agreement was reached at a meeting on 5 February, though further technical meetings are taking place this month to finalise some details such as phase-in periods. The latest draft text of the Regulation on which the political agreement was reached has now been released, and what I want to cover is based on that text, not all of which is yet in agreed form.
Q. What is the expected timetable going forward?
A. The Regulation is expected to be formally adopted in March or April. It will then be published in the Official Journal (probably in May or June) and come into force 20 days later. However, some of the changes won’t take effect immediately but are to be phased-in over a period of time. This is particularly important for the changes relating to reporting of transactions.
Q. Isn’t this timing problematic? Some of the issues that REFIT is meant to address are already live.
A. It was originally thought that, as the EMIR REFIT changes were less controversial than those relating to regulation of CCPs, the REFIT changes could be made quite quickly. However, it’s nearly 2 years since the REFIT proposal was first published and the delay in finalising it has caused problems. For example, REFIT will extend the EMIR exemption from clearing for pension schemes – but that exemption already expired last August. So in the meantime pension schemes and their counterparties are relying on informal statements from the European Supervisory Authorities that they don’t expect national regulators to prioritise compliance with the clearing obligation for pension schemes. This is usually referred to as “regulatory forbearance”. This informal regulatory forbearance is rather unsatisfactory from a legal perspective, but is the best that can be achieved as the European Supervisory Authorities don’t have formal power to grant waivers, along the lines of the no-action letters issued by the CFTC in the U.S.
There are various other examples of regulatory forbearance being granted pending EMIR REFIT coming into force, that I’ll mention later.
Q. I understand that a particularly topical example of regulatory forbearance relates to the backloading obligation. Can you explain this?
A. Yes, this is the requirement under EMIR to report, to a trade repository, historic transactions that were in place when EMIR came into force but were no longer in place when the reporting obligations were phased-in. This obligation is being repealed by REFIT. However, the obligation came into force yesterday (12 February)! But at the end of January, the European Securities and Markets Authority issued a statement indicating that it expected national regulators to show forbearance in enforcing the obligation, pending REFIT coming into force. The FCA in the UK has confirmed that it will do so. Therefore, in practice, there is no need for these historic trades to be reported.
Q. What about the other changes in REFIT on reporting of transactions?
A. As for the other changes on reporting – the general intention was to make things easier for NFCs. Whether the changes do so is another matter.
First, there will be an exemption from reporting of intra-group transactions involving a NFC, if certain conditions are met. While this is helpful in principle, the conditions are quite stringent and not all NFCs will be able to rely on them. The conditions are that both counterparties must be subject to consolidation and centralised risk management, and the exemption is not available if they have a parent undertaking that is a financial counterparty. It’s necessary to notify your national competent authority if you want to rely on this exemption.
Second, in the case of transactions between a financial counterparty and a small NFC (a NFC-), the FC will, after a phase-in period, become responsible and legally liable for reporting both sides of the transaction to a trade repository.
This is a big change from the current position. In practice, FCs often do agree to make reports for a NFC, but they do this as a delegate of the NFC without taking on legal liability for the accuracy of the reports. And the NFC will usually appoint a single FC to make reports for it, which reports will be made to a single trade repository. This is very different from a NFC- relying on each FC that it transacts with to report the transactions with that FC, which may involve reports being made to a range of different trade repositories.
Financial counterparties have substantial concerns about this change. ISDA advocated moving from dual-sided reporting to a requirement for single-sided reporting, so that only the financial counterparty would make the report, but it would report a single data set, and not be responsible for reporting on behalf of its counterparty. However, FCs will instead be responsible for accurately reporting both sides of the transaction. The NFC- will need to provide the FC with details about the NFC- that the FC cannot reasonably be expected to possess.
From the point of view of NFC-s, the changes are perhaps not so helpful either. As I’ve already mentioned, NFC-s will already have arrangements in place to report transactions. Even if they are willing for FCs to be responsible for reporting future trades, NFC-s will probably need to maintain the ability to make their own reports (directly or via a delegate), to cater for transactions where the counterparty is not a FC, and the exemption for intra-group transactions does not apply. For example, transactions with non-EU banks. There are provisions in REFIT that contemplate reports being made on behalf of NFC-s by financial counterparties outside the EU, but this is dependent on various equivalence determinations that are not yet in place, so those provisions can’t be relied on any time soon.
NFCs may also prefer to continue with their current reporting arrangements even for transactions with FCs. They will be allowed to do so, but they would have to notify this to every FC that they transact with.
In a number of respects, REFIT just postpones issues on reporting to a later date – it requires the Commission to carry out a further review into the reporting of exchange-traded derivatives under EMIR and MiFIR respectively.
Q. How does REFIT affect the scope of mandatory clearing for derivatives?
A. By way of background, the clearing obligation is still being phased-in for Category 3 FCs and for NFC+s.(Category 3 FC means FCs with uncleared derivatives portfolios of less than EUR 8 billion)
The problem with rolling out the clearing obligation for these counterparties is that the volume of their clearable contracts generally, or in a particular asset class, may be quite small. So they face difficulties in finding clearing members willing to take them on as clients. And indirect clearing is not a solution, as indirect clearing models aren’t really operating in the OTC derivatives area. Therefore, the clearing obligation for Category 3 FCs has already been deferred, to June of this year.
Under EMIR REFIT there will be a new exemption from the clearing obligation for small FCs. Small FCs for this purpose does not mean all Category 3 FCs, but only FCs whose derivative portfolios don’t exceed any of the clearing thresholds that have been set for determining whether a NFC is a NFC+ or a NFC-. The threshold for interest rate derivatives is EUR 3 billion and for credit derivatives is EUR 1 billion.
In calculating whether the thresholds are exceeded by an FC, there is no carve-out for hedging contracts – all OTC derivatives need to be taken into account, at group level.
This exemption for small FCs is very welcome, but there were concerns that such FCs wouldn’t be in a position to take advantage of this exemption before the clearing obligation starts to apply to them in June. The exemption may not be in force by then, or small FCs will not have been able to run the calculations necessary to demonstrate that they fall below the thresholds. So ESMA has indicated that regulatory forbearance should be available i.e. FCs that expect to be able to rely on the small FCs clearing exemption should not be required to start clearing derivatives pending the exemption becoming available.
Turning to NFC+s – currently, if a NFC is an NFC+ because it exceeds the clearing threshold for one class of derivatives, it needs to clear all classes of derivatives that are subject to mandatory clearing. Following the REFIT changes, a NFC+ will only be subject to the clearing obligation with respect to the relevant asset class for which the clearing obligation is exceeded. So if it exceeds the threshold for credit derivatives but not interest rate derivatives, it will only need to clear credit derivatives. As the requirement for NFC+s to clear interest rate products came into force on 21 December, regulatory forbearance has again been granted, so NFC+s that don’t exceed the threshold for clearing interest rate products don’t need to clear such products, pending the REFIT changes coming into force.
Q. What about the clearing obligation and pension schemes?
A. As for pension schemes, some of them will be small FCs, so able to rely on the exemption from clearing for small FCs. For larger pension schemes, REFIT will provide further transitional relief from the clearing obligation, potentially for a maximum period of 4 years. REFIT requires work to be carried out to try and resolve, before the transitional relief expires, the practical difficulties that pension funds currently face in clearing derivatives. This mainly relates to the need to hold liquid assets to post as margin.
Q. Any other changes relating to mandatory clearing?
A. There are also some changes applying to clearing members and CCPs. Clearing members that provide clearing services to clients are concerned about the new obligation to provide their services on fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory and transparent terms. What this means in practice will be spelled out in more detail in delegated legislation to be made by the Commission, and the new obligation will therefore be phased-in.
Finally on clearing – there will be new provisions allowing the obligation to clear a particular type of derivative to be suspended in certain exceptional circumstances, for periods of 3 months at a time. up to a maximum of 12 months. If the clearing obligation is suspended, the trading obligation under MiFIR for the relevant derivative can be suspended as well. This is a welcome change.
Q. What about margining for uncleared derivatives – are there any changes in this area?
A. As regards margining of uncleared derivatives, the main “issue” that needs to be addressed is that the margin rules under EMIR cover a broader range of products than are covered by the margin rules in other parts of the world. In other words, they cover FX forwards and swaps and, when the current derogation expires in 2020, will cover equity options and index options as well.
The application of the margin rules to FX derivatives was due to come into effect at the beginning of January last year. Separate from the EMIR REFIT review, draft technical standards were published in December 2017, to carve-out certain FX forward transactions from the scope of variation margining. This applies to all transactions except those where both parties are credit institutions or investment firms. It is not clear to me why the Commission has not yet adopted those technical standards. The industry is relying on regulatory forbearance for the time being to avoid margining of those transactions, pending the technical standards coming into force.
The REFIT Regulation itself just adds a new recital to EMIR acknowledging the need for international consistency as regards the scope of margining requirements with respect to FX forwards and swaps, and other classes of derivatives. It remains to be seen whether this will lead to exemptions being introduced in future for equity options and index options, before the current derogation from margining expires.
As part of REFIT, there was a proposal by the European Parliament to exempt NFC+s from margining uncleared transactions in asset classes where the clearing threshold is not exceeded. However, this has not been agreed. I don’t think this is particularly significant, as there are not many NFC+s, and they will already be posting and receiving margin on their uncleared derivatives transactions.
There will be a new requirement for regulators to validate the procedures that firms have in place to comply with the margining requirements. This will include validation of initial margin models used by firms.
Q. What about the implications of Brexit for EMIR REFIT?
A. If a withdrawal agreement is agreed, with an implementation period to the end of 2020, as EMIR REFIT is phased-in during that period, it will apply in the UK as if the UK was still a member of the EU.
In the event of a no-deal Brexit, only EU legislation that is in force and applying as at exit day will be onshored as part of UK law under the European Union Withdrawal Act. Therefore, If the UK leaves the EU at the end of March without a withdrawal agreement, EMIR will be onshored, but without the EMIR REFIT changes.
There is a separate piece of legislation, The Financial Services (Implementation of Legislation) Bill, giving the Treasury power, after exit day, to bring into force various pieces of EU legislation that are currently in progress but not yet in force – and these include EMIR REFIT.
In practice, I expect that the UK would, following a no-deal exit, choose to enact the EMIR REFIT changes. The Treasury has said that “domesticating [REFIT] will ensure that UK firms do not suffer competitive disadvantage in comparison to EU firms”.
Q. Are there any other aspects of EMIR REFIT you think are relevant to mention to our readers?
A. Overall, I think that EMIR REFIT is something of a missed opportunity.
There were a number of proposed amendments, particularly from the European Parliament, that have not been included in the final compromise. Some of these were changes for which the derivatives industry had lobbied, such as an exemption from EMIR for all central banks, not just those central banks that have been approved by the Commission by delegated act.
And in some respects, REFIT just provides for more work to be undertaken, with a view potentially to further changes in the future. For example, on reporting, and on a possible exemption from the clearing requirement for post-trade risk reduction exercises such as compression. ISDA had advocated for this exemption to be adopted now.
So while the REFIT changes will require firms to overhaul their existing practices, particularly as regards reporting of derivatives and classification of counterparties, the benefits of the exercise, including for non-financial counterparties, don’t seem all that great.
Q. If you were to give a rating personally on EMIR REFIT with 1 being poor and 10 being excellent, what rating would you give it?
A. I think 5 or 6. I think it is helpful in a number of respects but it doesn’t go as far as it might have done. And I think that the changes on reporting, which is certainly very unpopular with the industry, are also likely to really not to achieve what they were intended to do.
Tags: EMIR
ESMA Proposes a Regulatory Change to Support the Brexit Preparations of Counterparties to Uncleared OTC Derivatives
November 15, 2018 - 0 Comment
EMIR Margin Requirement for FX Forwards: What You Need to Know
October 4, 2017 - 0 Comment
RegTek Solutions Launches EMIR-Ready
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Partner in the firm's Derivatives and Structured Products Group. She was previously a regulatory specialist, advising banks, securities houses and other financial intermediaries on regulation of their businesses, in the UK and European Union and, for six years, in the Asia Pacific Region. She focuses on all forms of derivatives, both securitised and OTC, with particular emphasis on equities, funds and commodities. Particularly experienced in the areas of prime brokerage, collateral management, repos and stocklending.
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Manual lens does not get recogniced: Beroflex zoom 500mm
Added by Simon Harhues over 3 years ago. Updated over 3 years ago.
Niels Kristian Bech Jensen
simon@vmubuntu1510:~$ exiv2 --version
exiv2 0.25 001900 (64 bit build) [...]
simon@vmubuntu1510:~$ exiv2 -pt /tmp/fotos/101_2212/_IGP9304.DNG | grep Lens
Exif.PentaxDng.LensType Byte 3 M-42 oder keine Linsen
Exif.PentaxDng.LensInfo Undefined 69 0 0 0 0 119 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
simon@vmubuntu1510:~$ exiv2 -pt /tmp/fotos/101_2212/IMGP2252.DNG | grep Lens
Exif.PentaxDng.LensInfo Undefined 128 0 0 128 119 0 0 15 160 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tested with two Pentax bodies. I'm not sure if it is possible to improve the recognition of manual lenses. But now it look pretty generic and not suitable for e.g. lensfun.
The lens is physically labeled as:
BEROFLEX -5°- 1:8 f=500mm ⌀67 846585
It is a fixed 500mm zoom lens, the aperture reaches from 8 to 32.
As the raw files are rather big, I've uploaded them to: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3jxyf0free1oewb/AADbZD8kV07dGNTRNxoUxsFRa?dl=0
I grant you all rights to use them for the further development of exiv2 or other FOSS software.
Updated by Robin Mills over 3 years ago
Assignee set to Robin Mills
Target version set to 0.26
Thanks, Simon. I'll investigate and update this issue report.
Updated by Niels Kristian Bech Jensen over 3 years ago
It is not possible to identify manual lenses since they do not communicate with the camera body. Hence there are no lens metadata available in the file to help identification.
Assignee changed from Robin Mills to Niels Kristian Bech Jensen
Estimated time set to 1.00 h
I don't know what a manual lens is. However if there is no metadata, nothing can be done.
This comment on #1141 seems equally valid for this issue. http://dev.exiv2.org/issues/1141#note-4
Updated by Simon Harhues over 3 years ago
Agreed. Thanks for looking at it!
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Author: usb
To foster a love of art in children, we must teach it at primary school
usbPrimary
It’s no secret that arts subjects are increasingly being deprioritised in many schools, and that there’s a fall in the number of pupils taking arts subjects at GCSE. Yet the arts matter, not only to individual learning but to the UK as a whole: the creative industries currently contribute £84.1bn a year to the economy. Enthusiasm for art…
t’s scary and unfair: why I’m striking over university pensions
usbUniversity
As members of the University and College Union, including myself, gear up for the upcoming wave of strikes, I find myself wondering how we should communicate to students and the wider public what we’re doing and why. I find this a very difficult subject to broach. I love teaching and care deeply about my students. We’ve…
Why our Young Labour conference ‘excluded’ straight, white, able-bodied men
usbStudent life
Politics is not just anyone’s game. Typically, if you want to play, you have to be a certain type of person. You only have to glance at parliament to see that straight, white, able-bodied men are disproportionately overrepresented. That’s why, as the leaders of the Labour party’s youth movement, running our annual Equalities Academy has been one…
Students Aren’t Learning About Slavery
When it comes to the history of slavery in the U.S., the central role it played in shaping the country and its continued impact on race relations, students don’t know much. In fact, only 8 percent of high school seniors can identify slavery as the central cause of the Civil War, according to a report…
College System Pushes Many Graduates Into Middle Class
A year ago, a group of prominent economists led by Raj Chetty of Stanford Universitycame out with a splashy piece of research measuring exactly how much each college in the nation helps working-class kids rise up the economic ladder. (Splashy for nerdy education circles, at least. See here and here.) It was a giant data project, tracking how much…
Tennessee Nails Student Growth
usbUncategorized
In a new map of the U.S. that details student academic growth, Tennessee is a bright green beacon in a sea of purple. “If you are looking for Tennessee on a student growth map, just look for the bright green rectangle in the mid South,” Kevin Huffman, former state education chief of Tennessee, said on Twitter. “That’s us.”…
Studies Shed Light on Merits of Montessori Education
Montessori schools have many loyal devotees and they’re certainly rising in popularity among American parents. But are they any better than traditional schools, or other progressive teaching philosophies? You’d think we’d know the answer to that question by now. Montessori schools have been around for more than a hundred years, dating back to Maria Montessori’s…
Baltimore Schools Shuttered Amid Heating Crisis
Public schools in Baltimore were closed Thursday after the Baltimore Teachers Union demanded they be shuttered until officials can properly assess and fix heating problems that came to a head this week amid consecutive days of freezing weather. “Kids can’t learn and teachers can’t teach in freezing classrooms and in schools with no heat, frozen…
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to Congress: Make School Funding More Equitable
Teacher Loraine Wilson, top right, helps bundle up pre-kindergarten students as they wait to be picked up at the end of a school day at Lakewood Elementary School in Baltimore on Jan. 9, 2018. The recent spell of cold weather exposed the poor state of school buildings in many big-city East Coast districts, including Baltimore. (Patrick…
Michigan Students Count Way to a College A
At the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, about 8,000 students have earned their ordinary course grades in an unusual way. They start out the semester with a zero, but each has the opportunity to earn an A by racking up points. The professor determines how many points each assignment or test is worth, and there’s…
When class sizes fall so does teachers’ pay
Duke and Duchess of Sussex support Morocco girls’ school
Could changes in university funding limit student places?
Female genital mutilation: Children to be taught dangers
Lecturers at 64 UK universities go on strike in bitter row over pensions
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The Bomb
Touring in support of his seventh full-length album, The Message at the Depth, DJ Krush talks about musical abstraction and geopolitical anxiety.
[ April 25, 2003 / Department: interviews / Leave a comment ]
DJ Krush had concerns about touring, and he wasn’t keeping them to himself. Before traveling from his native Japan to the United States in the spring of 2003, he posted a message on his website:
I’m a bit reluctant to go on a US tour especially right now. … I have this feeling that something terrible might happen during this US tour… When the Oklahoma bombing by terrorists took place back the mid-90[s], I was in NY recording my album, and I read about it on the newspaper at the studio. I saw a photograph of a baby charred with fire being carried by a fireman who seemed to be in a complete loss. My mind went white as well. So I made a track I entitled “OCE 9504” and included it on the album I was making, Meiso. Then that World Trade Center attac. [sic] Only 2 days before that, I was at the foot of that very building doing a photo session for a hiphop magazine. I flew back home, right before that terrorist attack happened, so it was through the news on TV back at home that I saw what had happened. I just couldn’t believe I was there only 2 days ago, truly shocking. And I still remember like yesterday, how my children sitting beside me stared at the TV screen without a word. My last album, Zen, its US street date was September 11. … I know it’s gonna be a long tour in a lot of ways. I feel an unpleasant air surrounding the Earth.
The tour, due to start February 15, 2003, would support a new Krush album, The Message at the Depth. His seventh full-length, it was released in September 2002 on Sony Japan, and on Red Ant in the U.S. on February 11.
It’s evident from the lyrics on the record that geopolitics were on Krush’s mind long before the tour commenced. One track, “Song for John Walker,” features members of Anticon rapping about John Walker Lindh, the “American Taliban.” Another, sung by vocalist Angelina Esparza, “Alepheu (truthspeaking),” begins with memories of the war between Japan and the U.S.
The tour brought Krush to New Orleans for a March 17 show. He was on his way to Miami, where he would perform at the Winter Music Conference, the dance-music community’s biggest annual stateside event. He was unable to conduct an interview that day, due to the lack of a translator, so he called from Miami three days later, the day after the war began.
Krush has distinguished himself as one of Japan’s premiere DJs and producers, known for his richly nuanced industrial textures and unlikely syncopations. For each album, Krush has called upon rappers and singers to enliven his tracks, as well as guest musicians. Also on The Message at the Depth are vocalists Anti-Pop Consortium (on “Supreme Team”), reggae rhythm section Sly and Robbie (on “The Lost Voices”), and Japanese rapper Inden (on “Taki No Tabiji,” or “Journey of Time”).
On the phone from Miami, Krush talked about DJing in today’s political climate, about employing computers for the first time on the new album, and about his preference for vocal-less tracks when performing live.
A transcript of the interview, lightly edited, appears below.
Marc Weidenbaum: At the concert you played in New Orleans on March 17 of this year, you opened the show with cacophony, with layers of noise. Is that the way you’re generally starting your shows these days?
DJ Krush: I always do that. I basically want to make my own start line for my set, and I use sounds like that to tell everybody it’s not the past DJ, it’s my set now. It gives it a starting point for me, and I think for the crowd.
Weidenbaum: It sounded like those tumultuous moments at the end of rock songs, or like an orchestra tuning up.
Krush: It has all kinds of instruments, from Japanese taiko to flutes, to percussion, to drums, and then on my left turntable I mix some stronger flute into that whole jamboree of sound. It is part of a song that has all of that in it.
Weidenbaum: I wonder if the audience was disoriented by the concert being less dance-oriented than your recordings might have suggested it would be. The concert was less about pop and rap and more about “sound art” and “sound sculpture.” Are you actively trying to surprise with these sounds, or are the recordings simply one aspect of where your head’s at?
Krush: When I was a DJ in regular clubs, my job was to make everybody dance, but right now I don’t feel that is what I do. And I feel bad for the audience members who really wanted to dance, because that’s not what I do. I like your term “sound art” because I want the audience to feel the air of DJ Krush, the atmosphere of DJ Krush, and if we can share that in a room, that’s what I want to get across, rather than have people raising their hands and going crazy and dancing. My interpretation of the atmosphere, the air, of what I want to get across is the basis of my DJ set.
Weidenbaum: The CD of yours I listen to most often is Kakusei, which consists almost entirely of instrumental tracks, and I was glad the concert focused on instrumentals.
Krush: [Laughs] I enjoy making and also DJing instrumental tracks, because I consider making music like this, it’s almost like I build the pool up with water and I actually swim in the pool — it’s under my control and I can basically sculpt every aspect of the instrumental. I do a lot of songs with singers and rappers also, but the process then is: I build the pool, I may fill the pool up with water, but it’s almost like letting the rapper swim in my pool. So, these are very different types of production, and I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Weidenbaum: It would be great if you’d release the instrumental versions of your albums that had vocals on them, like Meiso.
Krush: I think that would be a great idea. I would love for people to listen to an instrumental version of the tracks I made for vocalists and rappers.
Weidenbaum: The new record is political, most notably with the “Song for John Walker,” or John Walker Lindh, that you recorded with Anticon. I wondered if you avoided playing many vocal songs at the New Orleans show, in order to give people a break from politics, given that war was looming that night.
Krush: Yes, it had a little to do with it, of my not playing those tracks. But at the same time, also, I tend to play more instrumental tracks in my DJ sets, because having lyrics in the room, those words become staples or “strong points” of the flow of the set, and a lot of times that gets in the way of what I’m trying to achieve, a one hour and a half flow. I tend to play less rapping or vocalist tracks. A lot of people get upset, but that’s the way I set up my DJ set. I like the fact that instrumentals leave a lot to the audience’s imagination, and everybody can imagine for themselves what it means or where they want to go, and that freedom — even when I’m in the audience — I love to do that, so that’s what I try to do.
Weidenbaum: Kakusei is great background music. Whenever I travel, I carry a copy with me.
Krush: I’m so happy to hear that, because that was a very difficult and serious undertaking for me, that record, and if you like it so much as to take it where you go, that makes me very happy.
Weidenbaum: One of the things I love about the track in Japanese, “Journey of Time,” is how abstract it sounds. Because I understand no Japanese, the vocal took on the feeling of the cut-up vocals used by Amon Tobin and Prefuse 73. Are you comfortable knowing that the lyrics will be unintelligible to the majority of your audience.
Krush: Even when I, as not an English speaker, listen to an American, or English, rapping track, you feel if it’s cool or not, and that’s what it’s all about. If you really want to know what they’re saying on “Journey of Time,” it’s on my website, and it’s easy to find, but I think the purpose of having a Japanese rapper on there is to keep it abstract, to see what people feel or can get out of something like that. I think a lot of people in the world aren’t used to listening to other languages, and I think it’s another spectrum.
Weidenbaum: In some ways, that track fits in better with your instrumental work than the “Alepheuo (truthspeaking)” track does, because it’s in English.
Krush: I totally understand what you’re saying.
Weidenbaum: This record surprised me. It differs more from your previous records than they had from their predecessors. The new record is harder, more assertive, the beats more straightforward — not rudimentary, but strong and strong-willed. With the political nature of some of the songs, does that all come together? Are those coming from the same part of him?
Krush: It probably does have a lot to do with what I was feeling when I was making the record — some politically, some not. Also, I started using some computers in my work, which I had never done before, so that may have made it a little stronger in that sense, from analog to digital. I didn’t plan for it that way, I didn’t set out to make a political record, but maybe those feelings kind of found their way into the music and into the record that I made.
Weidenbaum: The way I’d describe it is that the music on the new record is less background and more foreground.
Krush: [Laughs] Yeah, the way you describe it — my music used to be in the “mid-part” of the stage, but on this record it’s come up front. That’s probably true.
Weidenbaum: How much of what you played at the New Orleans show was your own music, and how much was other people’s music?
Krush: Of course, some of my tracks, some by other Japanese artists, American artists. I also played a record from a group in the Andes that I like. Miles Davis was in there.
Weidenbaum: There were some great moments with trumpet sounds, where the trumpet would get multiplied, layered, like in a prism. Was that something you were doing right there, with effects?
Krush: For the Miles track, I was doing it right there, the effects, the echo and all that.
Weidenbaum: Is your live setup just two turntables and an effects-mixer?
Krush: That’s all. The mixer, a Vestax PMC 20SL, has an effects box and also a sampler, so I can sample on the spot as I go along. They don’t sell it anymore. It’s probably like 15 years old. There was a sampler in there, but it was so expensive, it wasn’t a hit product. Mixers now are a lot smaller, but I use this one.
Weidenbaum: There was one moment when you were using just one turntable and the mixing board — was that for show, to have fun as a performer, or was it an experiment to see how much you could do with a small amount of equipment?
Krush: I don’t really remember. How I do it, or what I do, is different every time. I may have just wanted to do that at that point it time.
Weidenbaum: Are you anxious to get back to Japan, given what’s going on?
Krush: I’m watching CNN in Miami, but what is going on?
Weidenbaum: It’s seems like it’s mostly air and missile attacks so far. It doesn’t seem like the troops have gotten close yet to Baghdad.
Krush: So it’s started, huh?
Weidenbaum: Yeah.
Krush: Nobody in Miami cares. Seems like they’re partying.
Weidenbaum: Japan is a country that was rebuilt by the U.S. after World War II, which is somewhat analogous to what’s going on in Iraq — do your parents have memories of that period of time in Japanese history?
Krush: I’ve been on the road for so long — in answer to your earlier question, I do want to go back home. And the things you just asked me, I probably do want to sit down with my parents and talk about that, because you don’t get to do that in your everyday life, but you bring up a good point, something I probably want to do when I get back.
Weidenbaum: Do you compose on the road?
Krush: I used to. A lot of music does come into my head on tour, and up until this tour I used to have my portable computer, where I would put in ideas, what I felt that day. But with the security at the airports, I didn’t this time; I didn’t bring my PC, because I’d be late for all my flights. This time I haven’t been able to do that, but up until this tour I have. I have to think about how to put these thoughts in my head down, somehow, but again, I don’t want my computer to get broken, and for it to take three hours to get it through security check. I hope I can remember the ideas I have on this tour, but my mind isn’t as strong as a computer.
Weidenbaum: I have wondered if you feel an affinity with Beat Takeshi?
Krush: I respect his work very much. I feel close to him somehow. His father is a painter — not an artist, but a carpenter-painter — and my father is a carpenter-painter. I met Takeshi one time, before I even started making music, when I was myself a carpenter, and I met him in the outskirts of Tokyo. He was already big back then, and I shook his hand.
Weidenbaum: There’s a certain parallel between your work and his. Both draw from American street — or hip-hop — culture, and both involve an urban, philosophical, deadpan picture of Japanese society.
Krush: It’s the first time anyone has put it to me that way, but maybe. Takeshi is a lot older and has more experience than I have, but it’s an interesting observation.
Weidenbaum: Money Mark started as a carpenter, too.
Krush: I didn’t know.
Weidenbaum: Yeah, he was a carpenter for the Beastie Boys when they first moved from New York to Los Angeles — that’s how he met them.
Krush: I do tile; I do brick; I paint. Call me anytime. In my closet at home I still have all the tools. All my equipment these days, though, is turntables.
Weidenbaum: During the New Orleans concert, there was a point early on when you stopped between tracks. People applauded. This wasn’t just a momentary dramatic pause, but it was as if one piece of music had come to an end, and another distinct work was yet to begin. That was much more like a concert than a DJ set, because in a traditional DJ set one tends to segue from one track to another. Did you do this because you don’t see yourself as a DJ, per se, but more as someone working in the realm of popular music, of concert music?
Krush: I don’t really think about it that much, of what kind of artist I am. I just like it when something stops, and then you go on a different journey with sound. No grand concept there. It’s different every time. It’s a little like painting. With paint, if you make a mistake, you can white it out or whatever, but sound, once you throw it out there, it fades for a period of time. It’s like that, and it’s different every time I get up there to paint the room with sound. It really feels good, stopping everything, like I did, to change where I’m going with the music. I’d love for you to see my other live performances, which I do with live musicians, and which is a totally different experience. I do a lot of these things in Tokyo, but it’s hard to take it on the road, with trumpet players and other musicians. That’s another deal I’d love for you to see. It’s more freestyle. Sometimes I provide the beat. Sometimes a percussion player provides the beat. I may have a trumpet player on stage, but I may actually play the trumpet part. It’s almost like jazz.
Related link: DJ Krush's homepage, mmjp.or.jp/sus/krush.
Widescreen Ambient Music
[ April 25, 2003 / Department: the crate / Leave a comment ]
Over the course of four full-length CDs, Steve Roach‘s Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces (Projekt, 2003) extends itself beyond the traditional realm of music. The sheer mass of sound — in terms of length as well as depth — is a challenge for listeners hung up on such arcane concerns as “song” or, for that matter, “melody.” Roach refutes such preconceptions with a ritual hum that will resonate in the body cavity and the imagination as much as it will in the ear.
These four CDs are the result of Roach’s long-running communion with his computer, which is no less a tool in his ambient toolbox than are his deeply echoing electric guitar or his pulsing, aboriginal didgeridoo. For more than 20 years, Roach has probed sounds for their essence, recording over 50 solo and collaborative albums in the process. Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces was made on a computer, but it is not computer music, per se. It is indifferent to the metronomic synchronization inherent in most digital media. Instead, Roach pulls pure cloudstuff from his sonic source material, sounds that never quite begin or end, but just float and flow.
The album alternates between existential epiphanies and industrial dread, and it’s a triumph of widescreen ambient music that defies the listener’s sense of proportion and scale. At a low volume, it’s an aural scent, a background flavor; played loud, though, it’s a whole other world, reproduced with detail and precision. Despite this otherworldly aura, at times figments from our world surface, as with the birdsong that enlivens the track “Wren and Raven.”
Mille Plateaux Debut from Canadian Glitch-meister
Glitch is the word, have you heard? The term “glitch” is shorthand for the use, by electronic musicians, of bits of sonic material that mimic the sounds associated with everyday technology that has ceased functioning effortlessly. The most common example of glitch in pop music is what sounds like the repetitive skipping of scratched CDs. This tenacious electronica technique — found in music by Oval, Autechre, Matmos and many others — is less a genre than it is a flavor. And in the hands of Tim Hecker, glitch is more than just an Information Age trope — it’s got move, it’s got meaning. Hecker can turn what sounds like a broken record into a background groove, and he can make those repetitions sound less like echoes and more like premonitions — less like a reflexive mechanical effect and more like a compositional salvo. On the opening track of Presents Radio Amor (Mille Plateaux, 2003), “Song of the Highwire Shrimper,” the glitchy repetition comes in the form of single notes that ping slowly in a kind of decay, or quite suddenly as if something has short-circuited and a switch is being flicked on and off with great anxiety. Hecker has managed to find in this repetition a common ground with solo piano music — not only the minimalism of Philip Glass and Michael Nyman, but the romantic etudes of a century or two earlier. His repetitions almost always have an arc, and when that arc is slow it has the elegance of a rolling object coming gently to rest. In terms of sheer hyperactivity, the album’s eighth track, “The Stair Compass,” is its most glitch-intensive — with all that quiet buzzing, it could easily accompany a documentary about termite infestation. Hecker’s trick is that his sounds, for all their furious friction, meld into something as soft as wool. The track that follows, “Azure Azure,” has the same sort of textural, almost visceral, richness, but it achieves this with a more monotonic haze.
Big Ben, or another London clock tower quite like it, bangs at the opening of Sound Polaroids (Bip-Hop), an album credited to Scanner + Tonne. The record contains five tracks that take field recordings from specific cities and transform them into music — or, allowing for an absence of traditional melody in favor of a montage-like effect, what is referred to as “sound art.” There may not be another sample on the album as self-evident as the Big Ben gong, but verisimilitude is not the Sound Polaroids album’s apparent goal. If the point were merely to reproduce a city, we’d have documentary footage. Instead, what we get is a grab bag of sound, somewhere between the random exigencies of memory and the fluid spectrum of channel surfing, all filtered through varied signals and noises.
Sometimes, such as toward the end of the “Milano Mix,” this is akin to overlapping ham radio channels, with snatches of conversations doing battle with static. More often, the sampled real world is splayed atop the rhythms of clubland. In “Tokyo Mix,” for example, overheard Japanese chatter cements the location at the track’s opening, but that momentary comfort — that sense of orientation — is upended with a sudden downward shift in tone; we’re taken underground, or so it feels, as the beat takes on the jitters of chronic arrhythmia and the music becomes foreboding. A sixth track, simply titled “Tonne Mix,” offers no specific locale. The NYC track is credited, at least in part, to Stephen Vitiello, whose pre-9/11 recording of a creaky World Trade Center was included on the CD of the Whitney Museum’s 2002 Biennial Exhibition.
Scanner is Robin Rimbaud, who made his reputation with a series of recordings that lent atmospheric musical backdrops to conversations ripped from thin air thanks to a police scanner, hence his moniker. That agenda is alive and well in this collaboration, which projects each city as a hallucinatory sum of its suggestive aural parts. Tonne is Studio Tonne, aka Paul Farrington, who provided technological services to Springheel Jack, Monolake and others before producing his own recordings and performances. Like Brian Eno’s hour-long Thursday Afternoon CD, Scanner + Tonne’s Sound Polaroids album is merely the isolated sound of a multimedia presentation, but it easily stands on its own. The live performance from which the album is drawn involved interactivity on the part of the audience, who could influence the installation by way of “clapping, shouting, stamping their feet,” according to the album’s brief liner notes.
[ Tag: sound-art / Leave a comment ]
R2D2’s Idea of Dance Music
“You can’t beat radio,” says an upbeat voice at the start of the song “Radio,” the opening track of Oki-Doki‘s eight-song album Vila Kula, on the Denmark-based Jenka Music label — the same folks who previously gave us the strong debut of Sofus Forsberg. What follows is R2D2’s idea of dance music: florescent baubles of synthesized pop that rush by with the effervescence of a fountain drink and the bright colors of a spring fashion show. If “Radio” is all beeps and burps, then “Jenka,” the track that follows it, vastly defies initial expectations. “Jenka” may start with a lullaby melody and rhythm, the sort of thing that accompanies battery-operated mobiles — but less than a minute in, a few gentle pauses make way for a far more ambitious composition. Not only does that synthesized beep of a melody calm down — a few key notes providing a thoughtful riff — but about two thirds of the way through the song, what sounds like an electric guitar solo quietly appears and slowly veers close to the foreground. The solo is just the sort of thing that might have spiced up a Steely Dan song way back when.
It’s downright energizing to hear what Oki-Doki manages to do with the simplest of sounds, just the sort of enjoyably saccharine pitter patter that will remind listeners of Trio (famous for the pointillist oldie, “Da Da Da”); despite the music’s playpen palette and its echo of new-wave pop, there’s nothing infantile about it. On a track titled “PW,” the tune is rendered with just enough verve to leave it up to the listener’s imagination as to whether it’s being played by hand, or if it is simply being triggered by a pre-programmed computer. Occasionally, acoustic elements make their presence heard, as with the guitar that is eventually outlined with electric beats on “Pop the Catfish.” Simply put, you can’t beat Oki-Doki’s Vila Kula.
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Bentalha massacre
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A woman cries outside the Zmirli Hospital, where the dead and wounded had been taken after a massacre in Bentalha.
At the village of Bentalha (Arabic: بن طلحة), about 15 km south of Algiers, on the night of September 22–23, 1997, more than 200 villagers (according to Amnesty International) were killed by armed guerrillas. The number of deaths reported ranged from 85 (initial official estimate) to 400 (The Economist).
2 Massacre
3 Responsibility
Algerian massacres in 1997
Massacres in which over 50 people were killed:
Thalit massacre 3–4 April
Haouch Khemisti massacre 21 April
Daïat Labguer (M'sila) Massacre 16 June
Si-Zerrouk massacre 27 July
Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre 3 August
Souhane massacre 20–21 August
Beni-Ali massacre 26 August
Rais massacre 29 August
Beni-Messous massacre 5–6 September
Guelb El-Kebir massacre 19 September
Bentalha massacre 22 September
Sid El-Antri massacre 23–24 December
Wilaya of Relizane massacres 30 December
In 1997, Algeria was at the peak of a brutal civil conflict that had begun after the military's cancellation of 1992 elections set to be won by the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS). Bentalha, a town a few km south of Baraki (see map), a satellite town of Algiers, voted FIS in the elections, and many inhabitants were initially in favor of the Islamist guerrilla groups which began fighting the government after the elections' cancellation; some joined them. Initially, the guerrillas in the area belonged to the revived Armed Islamic Movement (MIA) and various independent groups; after 1994, these were integrated into the larger Armed Islamic Group (GIA). The army had a strong presence in the area, with a post on the eastern entrance of the town, a number of roadblocks, and a barracks on the north side of Baraki. The GIA too had a strong local presence; between 1994 and 1996, they walked the streets of Bentalha openly, and killed people associated with the government. The government established a "Patriot" communal guard of about ten people in Bentalha in June 1996.
On August 29, 1997, about 200 people were killed just a few kilometers to the southeast in the Rais massacre. Rumors spread that more massacres were coming soon. For ten days before the event, howling as of jackals (which are not found in the area) was heard every night, and helicopters circled overhead daily
Massacre[edit]
On September 22, at 11:30 pm, explosions rocked the Hai el-Djilali neighborhood on the southwest side of Bentalha, and attackers began pouring in from the orange groves to the neighborhood's southeast. They began methodically going from house to house and slaughtering every man, woman, and child they found within. Screams and alarms filled the air as a helicopter circled overhead. The attackers were armed with machine guns, hunting rifles, and machetes; some, according to Nesroullah Yous (see below), were dressed in dark combats, some in the Islamists' trademark kachabia, with balaclavas and beards. They recognized some of the locals, calling them by name. They proceeded, bashing babies into walls[citation needed], cutting off limbs, cutting throats, raping and then killing women.
Meanwhile, according to Amnesty International, "Survivors say that as the massacre took place, armed forces units with armoured vehicles were stationed outside the village and stopped some of those trying to flee from getting out of the village." This account is corroborated by Yacine, a survivor interviewed by the BBC - who says that "at midnight... army vehicles appeared near the scene, but the soldiers did not intervene"[1] as well as by Nesroullah Yous, who adds that they even stopped locals outside the quarter from coming to their aid. The killers continued proceeding through Hai el-Djilali from house to house until about 5 am, when they departed unmolested.
A photo later dubbed "The Bentalha Madonna", taken by Hocine Zaourar, circulated widely and won the World Press Photo award in 1997.[2] It showed a grieving Algerian woman waiting outside Zmirli Hospital, and has become an icon of the massacre, comparable to The Falling Soldier of the Spanish civil war.[3]
Responsibility[edit]
Responsibility for this massacre and that of Rais was claimed by the Armed Islamic Group in a press release from London on September 26 (according to Agence France-Presse.) Fouad Boulemia, a leading GIA member, was sentenced to death on August 1, 2004 (for the second time; he had also been found guilty of killing FIS leader Abdelkader Hachani) for involvement in the massacre.[4] The local GIA leader, Laazraoui, was shot dead in October 1997, as another GIA member, Rachid "Djeha" Ould Hamrane, had been earlier; the latter's sister, Nacira, was imprisoned, and was quoted by Le Matin as saying that "At Bentalha, they cut the throats, I collected jewellery from the corpses," adding that "To save the families of the 'terrorists,' I pointed out the homes of sympathizers who should not be massacred." She is quoted as saying "They told me I must follow the path of my brother, if not they would kill me. Some days before the attack on Bentalha I went to Ouled Allel where there was a meeting but I was with two other women in the kitchen and heard nothing... When they had finished, their chief Laazraoui told us we each had a mission. They told me to go to Bentalha...and point out the houses of our elements, the houses of the terrorists, then look for the jewellery that only women would know where it was hidden... my mother and two other women had the job of stripping the dead of their valuables." (Reuters, Oct. 9). (Laazraoui, spelled as Al-Azraoui, is identified by Yous as the local GIA emir from 1995 to 1997, although he claims that none of the survivors recognized Azraoui's men among their attackers.)
However, some have raised questions about the possibility of government involvement, in light of the army's apparent refusal to help. Most notably, one survivor, Nesroullah Yous, eventually emigrated to France, where he published a book, Qui a tué à Bentalha?, recounting his own experience and arguing that the GIA had been infiltrated and taken over by the Algerian government, possibly following the Tazoult prison escape. This book was banned in Algeria. A particularly suggestive element of his account is the words he claims to have heard the guerrillas saying, suggesting that they knew the soldiers stationed outside would do nothing, and cared little for religion:
"The soldiers won't help you! We have the whole night to rape your women and children, drink your blood. Even if you escape today, we'll come back tomorrow to finish you off! We're here to send you to your God!"
He does not claim to have seen certain evidence of the killers' identity, but feels that the circumstantial evidence for government involvement is overwhelming. Hugh Roberts summarizes the latter:[5]
"how the authorities refused requests from Bentalha's residents for arms with which to defend themselves; how the security forces treated the local Islamist groups with a degree of indulgence that the civilian populations found incomprehensible; how, on the night of the massacre, most of the members of the local 'patriot' militia had been sent away for some relaxation in a coastal resort on the orders of the local army commander; how, during the massacre itself, the security forces were stationed on the edge of Bentalha and were aware of what was going on; how the neighbourhood of Haï El-Djilali, where Yous himself lived and which was specifically targeted by the attack, was repeatedly illuminated by huge projectors recently installed in a nearby field by the police, as if to light the attackers' way; how a military helicopter hovered over the scene throughout much of the six hours that the massacre lasted; how troops manning the roadblock at the entrance to Bentalha stopped civilians from nearby villages from coming to the rescue and even reportedly shot dead a policeman who tried to do his duty in this respect; and how the assailants were allowed to stroll out of Bentalha and escape down the main road south, the security forces making no attempt to intercept them, although well placed to do so."
Opponents of this position argue that the question of "who kills?" is obscene, and that the murderers are known to be Islamist guerrillas; for instance, Zazi Sadou of the Algerian Assembly of Women for Democracy claims in Communalism Combat, April 1998 that:
"The leaders of the massacre in Bentalha are known to everyone. They are Laazaraoui and Ould Hamrane, whose sister Nacera, also a terrorist, was arrested the day after the massacre by the patriots in the village... Together with other women, she took part in the massacre and was responsible for identifying which families should be murdered and the accomplices who should be spared. Later, she and the other women looted the gold and cash of their victims. On the day of her arrest, her testimony was made public before photographers and the press. The majority of the terrorists identified by the inhabitants of Hai Rais, Bentalha, Larbaa, Sidi Moussa, are activists of the FIS".[6]
Likewise, Yous and Habib Souaidia were denounced by Algerian TV on 16 April 2001 as "those who would profit from this confusion in wanting to exonerate the armed groups and discredit the State institutions which had saved the country from fundamentalist barbarism."[7]
Among Western academics too, the question has proved controversial. Hugh Roberts, for instance, says that "Qui a tué à Bentalha? drives a coach-and-four through the [holes in the] official version by recounting in detail the events which preceded the massacre as well as the massacre itself", although he also notes that "He suggests that they may have been a special commando or death-squad, and this suggestion has attained a large currency in recent years. It has to be said, however, that he does not and arguably could not establish this for a fact."[5] On the other hand, Bernard-Henri Lévy calls it "troubling, but not convincing."
List of massacres in Algeria
^ "Under The Gun". Archived from the original on 2004-11-23.
^ https://books.google.com/books?id=dvpC_lp7rEcC&pg=PA216&lpg=PA216&dq=world+press+photo+bentalha&source=bl&ots=Fvt8ltbBrx&sig=UayIjmk4xsbCp8DujXvos8jll3E&hl=da&sa=X&ei=QfbMULjzFsXHsga7moGwDQ&ved=0CDUQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=world%20press%20photo%20bentalha&f=false
^ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/prize-winners-independent-photographers-shine-at-world-press-photo-contest-and-take-nikons-fashion-photographer-of-the-year-title-1144642.html
^ "Algerian rebel gets death sentence, again". Archived from the original on 2005-11-11.
^ a b Hugh Roberts 4 Archived May 15, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
^ Zazi Sadou (April 1998). "While the state negotiates peace with 'islamic' extremists, ordinary Algerians refuse to concede ground to butchers". Retrieved 2012-03-21.
^ Welcome matoub.net - BlueHost.com Archived February 9, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
"Human Rights Watch report". Archived from the original on 2008-11-13.
"Amnesty International report". Archived from the original on 2003-10-13.
Dossier: Le massacre de Bentalha
"Plus de trois ans après le massacre de Benthala, les rescapés du massacre témoignent contre l'oubli et le mensonge" (in French). Archived from the original on 2004-11-06.
Fighting the fanatics - a letter
ArabicNews
Survivor's account of mass murder
Je sais qui a tué: Temoignages sur Bentalha reçues par l'association Djazairouna de Blida
List of Algerian massacres of the 1990s
List of massacres
Coordinates: 36°38′54″N 3°04′44″E / 36.6483°N 3.0788°E / 36.6483; 3.0788
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bentalha_massacre&oldid=906809219"
Algerian massacres of the 1990s
1997 in Algeria
Conflicts in 1997
Mass murder in 1997
September 1997 events
Wikipedia articles with style issues from March 2011
All articles with style issues
Articles with multiple maintenance issues
Articles with unsourced statements from February 2012
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Eremophila mitchellii
False sandalwood
Eremophila mitchellii habit
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Genus: Eremophila
E. mitchellii
Benth.[1]
Synonyms[2]
Bontia mitchellii (Benth.) Kuntze
Pholidia mitchellii (Benth.) Wettst.
Eremophila mitchellii, known commonly as false sandalwood and several other names, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a glabrous large shrub or small tree with flaky bark, white or cream-coloured flowers and is capable of root suckering. It is widespread and common in New South Wales and Queensland where it is sometimes a serious pest of grazing land, however essential oils from the plant have been shown to have valuable properties and have been commercially exploited.
2 Taxonomy and naming
3 Distribution and habitat
5.1 Indigenous use
5.2 Essential oils
5.3 Horticulture
5.4 Wood
5.5 Uses
Eremophila mitchellii is a glabrous large shrub with a few main stems, or small tree which sometimes grows to a height of 10 m (30 ft) high although more regularly in the range 2 to 6 m (7 to 20 ft). It has light grey bark which often flakes into small pieces, sometimes curling at the edges. The branches and leaves are glabrous and some parts are often sticky due to the presence of resin and the leaves are aromatic when crushed. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches and are linear to lance-shaped, mostly 24–55 mm (0.9–2 in) long, 2–5.5 mm (0.08–0.2 in) wide, slightly sticky, have a distinct mid-vein on the lower surface and often have a hooked tip.[2][3][4][5]
The flowers are borne in groups of 2 or 3 in leaf axils on glabrous, sticky stalks 4.5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. There are 5 white to cream-coloured, sometimes pinkish sepals which are lance-shaped with a rounded end and mostly 4–9.5 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long. The petals are 10–18 mm (0.4–0.7 in) long and joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is usually white or cream-coloured, sometimes pale pink and has spots inside the tube. The petal tube is mostly glabrous except for the inside of the tube which is filled with long soft hairs. Two of the stamens are fully enclosed in the tube while the other two sometimes extend slightly past its end. Flowering mainly occurs mainly from September to November, sometimes earlier and is followed by fruits which are oval-shaped, usually 4–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and have a crusty covering.[2][3][4][5]
E. mitchellii flowers and foliage near Bourke after rain.
Taxonomy and naming[edit]
The species was first formally described in 1848 by the botanist George Bentham and the description was published in Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia.[1][6] The specific epithet (mitchellii) honours the explorer and surveyor, Thomas Mitchell.[2]
Other common names applied to this species include buddah, buddha, budtha, sandalwood, native sandalwood, false sandalwood, bastard sandalwood, sandalbox and rosewood balvory.[2]
Distribution and habitat[edit]
False sandalwood is found to the west of the Great Dividing Range and north of Hillston in New South Wales and in eastern Queensland where it grows in a range of soils and is common in most types of woodland.[2]
This species invades pasture land in New South Wales and Queensland and its cultivation is prohibited in Western Australia.[7] The plant quickly regrows from roots remaining in the ground after clearing and rapidly invades from seeds. Native scale insects from the genus Pulvinaria (Hemiptera:Coccidae) have been shown to be able to kill E. mitchellii but need to be physically applied to the plant.[8]
Indigenous use[edit]
Aboriginal people used false sandalwood to treat rheumatism[9] and the smoke from burning the leaves for general medicinal purposes.[10]
Essential oils[edit]
False sandalwood contains essential oils including bicyclic sesquiterpenes known as eremophilanes.[9] The oil is extracted by steam distillation and has been used as a mild analgesic and as an aromatic additive in toiletries. It is active against some pathogenic microorganisms including Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium and Candida albicans when undiluted and against Salmonella at a concentration of 1%. The oil is also an effective termicide which has been marketed as Termilone.[11] A product known as "Buddha Wood Essential Oil" is also marketed.[12]
Horticulture[edit]
Eremophila mitchellii is not widely cultivated but may be suited for dry climates in full sun and well-drained soil.[4]
Wood[edit]
The timber from false sandalwood is suited for woodturning, although it is very hard, and it retains a pleasant scent for a long time, even after sealing. Its oil content allows it to be polished to a high gloss.[13]
Joseph Maiden's 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that "The leaves are eaten by stock. The seeds of several species are eaten by emus."[14]
^ a b "Eremophila mitchellii". APNI. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
^ a b c d e f Chinnock, R.J. (Bob) (2007). Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae (1st ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 218–220. ISBN 9781877058165.
^ a b Chinnock, Robert J. "Eremophila mitchellii". Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney: PlantNET. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
^ a b c "Eremophila mitchellii". Australian Native Plants Society Australia. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
^ a b "Eremophila mitchellii". Lucid Key Server. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
^ Mitchell, Thomas Livingstone (1848). Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia. Sydney. p. 31. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
^ "Eremophila mitchellii Benth". Government of Western Australia Department of Agriculture and Food. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
^ Julien, Mic; Sparks, David (2012). Biological control of weeds in Australia. Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing. pp. 256–258. ISBN 9780643099937. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
^ a b Beattie, Karren D.; Waterman, Peter G.; Forster, Paul I.; Thompson, Dion R.; Leach, David N. (2011). "Chemical composition and cytotoxicity of oils and eremophilanes derived from various parts of Eremophila mitchellii Benth. (Myoporaceae)". Phytochemistry. 72 (4–5): 400–408. doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2010.12.011. PMID 21227474. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
^ Richmond, G.S. (1993). "A Review of the Use of Eremophila (Myoporaceae) by Australian Aborigines" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 15 (2): 103. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
^ Williams, Cheryll J. (2013). Medicinal plants in Australia. Kenthurst, N.S.W.: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 298–300. ISBN 9781922013507.
^ "Buddha Wood Essential Oil". "Essentially Australia. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
^ "False sandalwood". "Turning Trees into Toothpicks". Retrieved 17 February 2016.
^ J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney.
Wikidata: Q3056122
Wikispecies: Eremophila mitchellii
APNI: 114380
EPPO: EMHMI
GRIN: 15363
NSWFlora: Eremophila~mitchellii
Plant List: kew-2792306
POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:585196-1
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eremophila_mitchellii&oldid=848233463"
Eremophila (plant)
Flora of New South Wales
Flora of Queensland
Plants described in 1848
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