March 6-13, 2006
Whole Body Health
March 20, 2006
March 27, 2006
A shocking new scientific study by British scientists Dr. Chris Busby and Saoirse Morgan asks: "Did the use of uranium weapons in Gulf War II result in the contamination of Europe?"
High levels of depleted uranium (DU) have been measured in the atmosphere in Britain, transported on air currents from the Middle East and Central Asia. Scientists cited the U.S. bombing of Tora Bora, Afghanistan in 2001 and the "Shock and Awe" bombing during Gulf War II in Iraq in 2003 as one of the main reasons.
In the 1950s the British government had established an air monitoring facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston to measure radioactive emissions from British nuclear power plants and atomic weapons facilities.
Ironically, AWE was taken over three years ago by Halliburton, which at first refused to release key data as required by law to Busby.
An international expert on low-level radiation, Busby serves as an official advisor on several British government committees. He recently co-authored an independent report on low-level radiation with 45 scientists with the European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR) for the European Parliament.
Busby was eventually able to get Aldermaston's air monitoring data from Halliburton by filing a freedom of information request using a new British law that became effective Jan. 1, 2005. Critical data from 2003 was missing, however, so he had to obtain the information from the Defense Procurement Agency.
Aldermaston is one of many nuclear facilities throughout Europe that regularly monitor atmospheric radiation levels transported by sand, dust storms and air currents from radiation sources in North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.
After the "Shock and Awe" campaign in Iraq in 2003, very fine particles of depleted uranium were captured along with larger sand and dust particles in filters in Britain. These particles traveled in seven to nine days from Iraqi battlefields as far away as 2,400 miles.
The radiation measured in the atmosphere quadrupled within a few weeks after the beginning of the 2003 campaign, and at one of the five monitoring locations, the levels twice required an official alert to the British Environment Agency.
In addition, according to Busby, the Aldermaston air monitoring data provided a continuous record of depleted uranium levels in Britain from other recent wars.
Extensive video news footage of the 2003 Iraq war, including Fallujah in 2004, provided evidence that the United States has illegally used depleted uranium munitions on civilian populations. These military actions are in direct violation of not only international conventions but also violate U.S. military law because the United States is a signatory to The Hague and Geneva conventions and the 1925 Geneva Gas Protocol.
Depleted uranium weaponry meets the definition of a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) in two out of three categories under U.S. Code Title 50, Chapter 40 Sec. 2302. After action mandates have also been violated such as U.S. Army Regulation AR 700-48 and TB 9-1300-278, which requires treatment of radiation poisoning for all casualties, including enemy soldiers and civilians.
In the mainstream press, British officials have attempted to counter the study by blaming the elevated uranium levels on "local sources." Anonymous statements by government scientists used by the media thus far, however, have been contradicted by evidence disclosed in the report.
Naturally occurring uranium in the crust of the Earth is only 2.4 parts per million and could not become concentrated to the high levels measured in Britain. As far as nuclear power plants are concerned, the lowest levels of uranium measured at monitoring stations around Aldermaston were actually taken at the facility, which designs and tests nuclear weapons—meaning this could not possibly be a source.
Atomic weapons facilities would be more likely to produce plutonium contamination, which was not reported as a contaminant.
This wasn't the first time a noted scientist has discussed global pollution from the use of DU.
Dr. Keith Baverstock, an expert on radiation, exposed a World Health Organization (WHO) cover-up on depleted uranium. Baverstock leaked an official WHO report that he had written for the organization but was never published. He warned in the report about the environmental contamination from tiny DU particles formed from U.S. munitions.
In addition, Dr. Katsuma Yagasaki, a Japanese physicist at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, estimated that the atomic equivalent of at least 400,000 Nagasaki bombs has been released into the global atmosphere since 1991 from the use of DU munitions. He said it is mixed in the atmosphere in one year.
DU PROFITS
As if Busby's report is not bad enough, a new book by a leading scientist notes who is making billions from nightmare armaments.
Dr. Jay Gould revealed in his book The Enemy Within that the British royal family privately owns investments in uranium holdings worth over $6 billion through Rio Tinto Mines in Australia. The mining company was formed for the British royal family in the late 1950s by Roland Walter "Tiny" Rowland, who was known as the queen's banker and the master financial manipulator behind billionaire Robert Maxwell's fortune.*
The Rothschilds are also profiting enormously from their control of the price and supply of uranium globally.
The ubiquitous Halliburton just recently finished construction of a 1,000-mile railway from the mining area to a port on the north coast of Australia to transport the ore.
The queen's favorite American buccaneers, Dick Cheney and the Bush family, are tied to her through uranium mining and the shared use of DU munitions in the Middle East, Central Asia and Kosovo.
The role that such diverse groups and individuals as the Carlyle Group, George H.W. Bush, former Carlyle CEO Frank Carlucci, Los Alamos and Livermore labs, and U.S. and international pension fund investments have played in proliferating depleted uranium weapons is not well known. God save the queen from her complicity in turning planet Earth into a death star.
Leuren Moret is an international expert on the environmental effects of depleted uranium and has worked at two U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories.
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In Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, the astrologer and soothsayer Spurinna warned the Roman emperor: "Beware the ides of March." Caesar decided to ignore the man (calling him "a dreamer") and his warning. While Shakespeare's characters had a specific date in mind, in 2006 we should consider the whole month.
On March 20, Iran is scheduled to open its oil bourse, an oil exchange that will begin trading oil in euros rather than U.S. dollars - a historic event that has U.S. economists worried about the future of the U.S. financial system and the American empire.
No longer will countries have to hold U.S. dollars to purchase oil. Consequently, they will be able to dump their reserves of dollars on the world market. Many economists are predicting that this will have the effect of further weakening the dollar and will likely mean higher inflation as the price of goods imported into the United States goes sky-high.
In the old days, the dollar was backed by gold (it was truly as good as gold) but President Nixon in 1974 closed the "gld window." Later, silver was phased out, resulting in the dollar becoming nothing more than a piece of paper.
One of the ways in which the one-worlders have been propping up the value of the dollar is by ensuring that oil is traded in U.S. currency. This works only so long as the folks selling their oil will accept printed paper for their petroleum.
Aside from the fact that we are shedding American blood in defense of Zionist Israel, we also had to go to war against Saddam Hussein because in 2000 he was insisting that Iraqi oil be traded in euros.
When President Bush, on behalf of the neo-cons and Zionist within America, invaded Iraq, which was not a threat to America, one of the first things young George did was to reverse Saddam's policy and revert to selling Iraqi oil in dollars again.
To hide the fact that the dollar is declining in value, and that the printing presses are running day and night, the Fed announced that it is no longer going to report the M3 money supply beginning March 23 - three days after Iran's oil bourse opens for business. M3 is the broadest measure of how much money is circulating in the United States at any given time.
Recently Israel announced it would bomb Iran if it continues its nuclear program. However, this remains to be seen, as Iran and Russia have negotiated a deal which moves nuclear activity out of Iran and onto Russian soil.
Rounding out the month of March, there are reports not that a silver exchange traded fund is in the works. This will result in a furry of activity on the silver market. It is worth noting that commodity prices, including precious metals, tend to rise when the value of the dollar drops.
Today, as a cocksure Bush repeatedly cites recent figures showing
economic growth and low unemployment, he appears blind to the
impending danger and would be wise to heed the words of Shakespear's
soothsayer. Just before Ceasar's demise, he sees the man in a
crowd and confidently says to him, "The ides of March have
come." "Aye, Ceaser," the fortuneteller reminds
him, "but not gone."
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Many Americans are upset by the thought of a Dubai-based corporation running port operations in several major American cities. The company involved now has agreed to delay taking over those operations while the Bush administration and Congress settle their differences and address the ire of the American people.
There's nothing necessarily wrong with a company from the United Arab Emirates being involved in U.S. port operations. After all, Islamic terrorists have lived in many European countries and nobody suggests that EU corporations should be similarly disqualified.
But this is not a matter of one foreign company buying another and taking over existing operations in the United states. The Dubai company, DP World, is owned by the government of the United arab Emirates. It is in essence an agent of a foreign government which raises questions: Does DP World truly operate like any corporation, answering to a board of directors, serving shareholders, and working to boost profitability? Or does it serve the foreign policy and economic goals of the United Arab Emirates?
This is not a true free market transaction, but rather a marriage of multinational corporate and state interests. And surely the American people should have a say over foreign governments doing business here, especially when that business affects port security.
It's important to note the administration did not bother to consult with Congress or the state governors involved. The Treasury Department approved the purchase with no congressional oversight whatsoever. While many applaud unchecked presidential authority when it comes to war in Iraq, wiretapping and other national security matters, they now demand that Congress overturn a unilateral administration decision. The lesson learned is that everybody likes presidential power when they agree with how it's used. When they don't, they rediscover that the constitution authorizes congress to make policy after all.
Why can't an American company take charge of America's ports?
There also is an important states' rights issue involved in this controversy. Why are Treasury bureaucrats in Washington making decisions about port security? Most American ports are owned by U.S. states, cities or local port authorities, not the federal government. Do Treasury Department personnel 1,500 miles away really know that's best for the ports of Galveston or Freeport?
I strongly support those governors who have indicated they
do not intend to allow the federal government to dictate who will
run their ports. I hope Texas state officials display the same
determination and resist a potentially dangerous federal dectate
regarding the operation or our ports.
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I have a lot of optimism in 2006 in terms of health trends. Things are starting to turn around out there, especially with public awareness about the dangers of prescription drugs and the dangers of specific food ingredients such as hydrogenated oils.
I'm seeing major shifts in consumer demand reflected in the inventory at retailers. For example, at Price Costco warehouses, you can now buy free-range organic chicken broth, which is something that certainly wasn't there a couple of years ago. It doesn't even have yeast extract or MSG in it.
We now find companies like Kraft reformulation most of their foods - 97.5 percent to be exact - to be free of hydrogenated oils and trans-fatty acids. This is a major change that I believe can have profound health consequences on the general public, especially on newborns and infants.
This is due to the fact that hydrogenated oils are so deadly to the human body that eliminating many of them from the food supply will have far-reaching effects.
On the one hand, Kraft is to be applauded for making this change, but on the other hand, Kraft sure dragged its feet for a long time. Obviously, it could have made these changes years ago, but it chose to do so only as the deadline for trans-fat food labeling approached, so I'm not giving Kraft the thumbs-up on ethics, although it is a step in the right direction to eliminate trans–fats from most of its food products.
Virtually all food manufacturers are reformulating their products now to be free of trans-fatty acids. As consumers are becoming aware of the dangers of hydrogenated oils, more and more people will choose to avoid products containing these oils, meaning those products won't sell very well, and manufacturers will also be forced to reformulate them.
One downside to all of this is that the FDA has allowed companies to avoid complying with the law by taking advantage of the loophole that says they don't have to comply as long as they use labels printed before Jan. 1, 2006. Of course, a lot of the food companies printed lots of labels toward the end of 2005, creating a huge inventory of labels so they could use them throughout 2006 as a workaround for the food labeling law.
I'm not surprised that the FDA would allow companies to take advantage of that loophole, of course, since the FDA hardly ever asks food manufacturers to do anything that might protect public health.
It ould be even more positive if the FDA outlawed hydrogenated oils and trans-fats. This is an ingredient that should, by any measure, be illegal. In fact, the World Health Organization encouraged member nations to ban this ingredient in the late 1970s. We've gone almost 30 years in the United states, poisoning our children and the rest of our population with hydrogenated oils, even thought the science was already clear that this was a harmful ingredient.
I'm also seeing some major trends in terms of people noticing the dangerous effects of prescription drugs. A lot more people are aware of problems with prescription drugs, and they are actively seeking alternatives.
Almost every day, people I talk to at meetings or at social functions are more and more concerned with their health, and they're concerned about the correlations between processed food and disease. This is a major change, because just five years ago, most people didn't care and had no clue that food was even related to health. Still today, perhaps a majority of the population hails to recognize these connections, but a growing number of people are aware of them, and they are making healthful changes.
Another big improvement in the health awareness of the Western population is the new research surrounding vitamin D.
We are now realizing in the scientific community that vitamin D is a miracle-class "anti-cancer drug." I call it a "drug jokingly because, of course, it's not a drug. It's a hormone manufactured in your own skin from exposure to sunlight, but his one nutrient is, in my opinion, the super nutrient. It is the most powerful single nutrient found in the human body, because all by itself, it reduces the risk of some cancers by 50 percent. That blows away any prescription drug on the market and anything that's ever been created by any pharmaceutical company. Nothing comes close to the power of vitamin D to stop cancer.
The cancers that I'm referring to are prostate cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer. Vitamin D is also extremely powerful at halting the progression of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, schizophrenia, depression, gum disease and even neuromuscular disorders.
I also think 2006 will be a year in which we're going to make some additional progress in educating people about the healing potential of foods.
Suddenly people are recognizing that food should be your medicine, and they are learning about the hidden medicine found in foods. Of course, I'm one of the many passionate people out there attempting to spread the word about this, and we are winning the information race. By "we," I mean those of us in the natural health community who are educators and practitioners of natural health.
We even see cereal companies switching to whole grains now, instead of processed grains. Things are changing out there. People are questioning the policy of water fluoridation. People are questioning the sanity of mass vaccinations. People are questioning the safety of mercury fillings, which are, shockingly, still used by dentists today. Finally, people are waking up to the reality of natural health.
The Internet is making all of this possible, and it's freedom of speech that provides the environment in which all of this can take place. So whatever you do in 2006 to improve your health, make sure you also continue to support the Internet.
Support freedom of speech and citizen journalism, support the web sites that are bringing you the information that helps you improve your life, and support the companies in the nutritional industry that are providing these incredible life-saving, disease-reversing products. These are companies like New Chapter, which is doing some pioneering work, and the Amazon Herb Company which is bringing powerful disease-reversing rainforest herbs to the United States and elsewhere.
Support the companies and the people who are making your life better by empowering you with information that can change your life. Stop spending money with companies that are harming your health like junk food manufactures, chain restaurants and, of course, pharmaceutical companies and surgeons who promote unnecessary drugging, radiation and surgery. Spend your oney wisely. Vote with your dollars, and you can participate in this change in consumer awareness and consumer demand that will ultimately lead us to a healthier, happier and more intelligent civilization.
That's my outlook for 2006. I think it's going to be a great year for our collective health, and as we continue this public education effort, we will reach more people and change more lives for the better. Together, we will positively impact millions of people. And by "together," I mean you me, and all the other health freedom pioneers working today, including Dr. Julian Whitaker, Dr. Russell Blaylock, Dr. Gabriel Cousens, Dr. Bruce west, the Citizens Commission on Human rights, Dr. Gary Null, Dr. Joseph Mercola, Jon Barron, dr. James Duke, author Jean Caper, the National Health Federation. The Life Extension foundation, Dr. Jonathan Wright, raw foodist David Wolfe and far too many to list here.
Together, we are fighting health oppression, censorship and the over medication of the people while championing a new era of health freedom.
"Health ranger" Mike Adams host his
own nutrition web site at www.healthranger.org.
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There's no sugarcoating the message. A growing number of activists and legislators in New Mexico are invoking state's rights to ban the FDA-approved artificial sweetener, aspartame, which many medical experts contend is a carcinogen that is poisoning Americans.
To sweeten the pot, state Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino (D-Albuquerque) recently sponsored legislation prohibiting the sale in the state of all food products and drinks containing the popular chemical sugar substitute sold under the brand names of NutraSweet and Equal. Ortiz y Pino's legislation maintains that no food containing the sweetener could be "manufactured, sold or delivered in New Mexico starting July 1."
Many doctors are now coming forward to admit that aspartame is highly toxic, and, in objective scientific studies, it has been linked to brain damage and cancer.
Ralph G. Walton, M.D., the medical director at Safe Harbor Behavioral Health in Erie, Pa., recently wrote an introductory letter for a booklet, which cites his studies on aspartame, that is going out to schools and doctors' offices. In it, he noted:
"The diet food industry and the FDA are fond of saying that aspartame is ‘the most studied product in history', with an outstanding safety record. In fact, however, virtually all the studies in the medical literature attesting to its safety were funded by the industry, whereas independently funded studies, now numbering close to 100, identify one or more problems."
Walton writes that aspartame is "a multipotential toxin and carcinogen" that can alter brain chemistry, increase seizures and bring on bouts of panic and depression.
"The methyl ester component of aspartame is metabolized to methanol, which in turn is broken down into formic acid and formaldehyde," Walton writes. "Methanol can lead to serious eye problems, formic acid and formaldehyde are potent carcinogens."
Noted physician Dr. H.J. Roberts, M.D. has written directly to Gov. Bill Richardson on the need to ban aspartame. Roberts wrote in a letter: "Aspartame should not have been approved in the first place. It was approved arbitrarily and unilaterally on the advice of in-house FDA scientists. However, the General Accounting Office and a public board of inquiry both agreed that it should not be approved."
He added: "After more than 20 years of clinical encounters and research and newer information, we now know that it constitutes an imminent public health hazard. New Mexico should be given credit for a lot of courage in looking into this matter, because the federal government has not pursued it in any way it should have considering the large number of complaints."
Santa Fe art gallery owner Stephen Fox has been the driving force behind the call to get rid of aspartame in New Mexico.
According to dr. Carolyn dean, the statute Fox cites for the New Mexico initiative is "a food shall be deemed to be adulterated ...it it contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious...if it contains any added poisonous or added deleterious substance which is unsafe, and ...if it consists in whole or in part of ....decomposed substance, or if it is otherwise unfit."
Dr. Dean is a medical doctor and naturopath.
Fox's petition is currently before the Environmental Improvement Board (EIB), the state body that regulates food, water and other environmental concerns.
The EIB, however, has postponed a hearing on aspartame pending a statement from the state attorney general regarding the question of state's rights, namely "does a state regulatory body have the power to override FDA approval?"
Even if the legislation fails, activists should feel satisfied that, at the very least, they are bringing much-needed attention to a noxious chemical substance and that aspartame is finally getting its just deserts.
The founding managing editor of American
Free Press, Christopher J. Petherick, has written many detailed
exposes on government policy, political reform, free trade and
American interventionism. In his free time, Christopher is an
amateur blacksmith, bowhunter, recreational farmer and avid history
buff.
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Until just recently, the Swiss firm Hoffman La Roche, German manufacture BASF and Dutch company DSM produced millions of tons of vitamin C in plants across the United States. But that has come to an end, as cheap labor and little government regulation in communist China have forced them to shut their doors. At this time, there are said to be five companies producing ascorbic acid in China. Between them they produced 60 percent of the amount sold in the United states last year. Their yearly capacity is said to be 43,000 tons of ascorbic acid. A planned $51 million plant with a capacity of 25,000 tons will add to this capacity.
There are two production processes now in use: the newer one, involving dual fermentation, was developed in China and has been licensed to several western manufacturers. It has lower costs and makes less use of toxic solvents and reagents than the older one, which only uses a single fermentation process.
Eastman Chemical is reported to have developed an alternative single-step process, but whether it intends to license patents or build a plant to compete with the Chinese could not be determined at this time.
Lower labor and capital costs and less governmental concern with environmental considerations give Chinese companies a big advantage over those in the United States.
From the point of view of free traders and multinational firms, it is more profitable for the Chinese to take over the mob of supplying Americans with vitamin C and other consumables like shoes, blue jeans and TV sets. But does it make sense for the rest of us?
U.S. Navy Capt. Alfred T. Mahan, who wrote in the late 19th century about sea power, noted that both Spain and Portugal, which had been great powers, lost their standing as a result of importing the things they needed from other countries. When gold and silver from the New World caused inflation, it was cheaper to buy things from England. Losing their ability to make what they needed in their own countries caused them to decline and they never regained their status.
Holland, which was never able to satisfy her own needs with internal production, suffered a similar fate. She was forced to surrender when cut off from imports by a British naval blockade in the Fourth Angle-Dutch War (1780-84).
The supply of vitamin C could become vitally important to us in the event of influenza pandemic or a similar assault by another disease vector. Not only the health and well-being of the general citizenry, but the effectiveness of our armed forces could be compromised. Remember about 500,000 Americans, including 40 percent of our soldiers in World war I, were casualties of the Spanish flu. Almost certainly this vulnerability arose because their bodies wire deficient in vitamin C.
Shouldn't we consider these history lessons in deciding how dependent we should allow ourselves to become on other countries, whose interests may conflict with our own?
There are, of course, natural sources of vitamin C. Orange juice, when squeezed freshly, provide about 200 mg in an eight-ounce glass. Also, peppers and rose hips can provide high amounts of vitamin C, but these are pretty expensive sources of relatively small amounts.
A tea derived from the herb boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) would be a more practical source of therapeutic doses. It used to be readily available from farms in the early 1900s, but is not so available now.
Wholistic physicians suggest echinacea, mushroom extracts like beta 1,3/1.6 glucan, astragalus and other supplements to boost immune systems. Also, eucalyptus oil can be inhaled through a cloth if there is exposure to airborne viruses on airplanes or in crowded stores. Homeopathic nosodes made from the same strains of viruses the CDC thinks most likely to cause flu have been used to good effect; however, they are probably not effective against bird influenza.
European black elderberry extract has been shown, in placebo-controlled
tests, to reduce the duration of flu episodes. It stops the virus
from replicating, giving your immune system more time to react.
Taken immediately at the start of flu symptoms it has been found
to work well against the usual kinds of influenza, and there is
reason to believe that it may counteract bird flu.
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Health authorities who warned that a flu pandemic might already be brewing via the January 2005 issue of Forbes Magazine, are most likely beating the drums to justify taxpayer dollars being spent on the vaccine industry.
According to the Jan. 12 Financial Times, Congress has appropriated $3.8 billion for FY 2006 to combat the Asian flu. Unfortunately the capacity of that industry is limited. In the event of a pandemic there won't be enough for all of us. Some say that there will only be enough vaccines to immunize key government officials, caregivers, vaccine industry workers and other so-called "high priority groups" because bird flu (H5N1) is more potent than the usual flu virus.
Still, there is a possibility that flu shots may have a down side. It should be noted that the preservative used in flu vaccines is thimerosal. It contains 50 percent ethyl mercury. This is an extremely toxic substance, which many believe is a cause of autism in infants. Lawsuits alleging neurological damage to children from vaccines containing thimerosal have been filed in the United States and Canada. In 2001, it was removed from most pediatric vaccines.
The flu is a viral disease. There have been many different flu viruses in the past, and there will probably be many more in the future because they mutate easily. A great many of the human flu viruses originate in the Far east where birds of various types including ducks and chickens live in close proximity to pigs. Pigs have receptors for both bird and human flu viruses and their bodies provide a suitable environment for viral interchanges. Migratory birds then carry these viruses around the world.
In 1918 a normal strain of Soanish Flu, H1N1, was circulating in the United States in the spring. It reached the battlefield in Europe by summer and became lethal. Within 18 months, after killing between 20 and 50 million people, it lost its lethality. It is still circulating around the world.
A completely new strain to which no one was immune, H2N2, which contains the same neuraminidase protein as the 1957 virus, killed 34,000 people in the United States.
The H5N1 flu strain, about which there is so much concern, has had a devastating effect on birds and animals, but few human deaths since its discovery in 1997. Most of these have occurred among people who handled diseased birds. Outbreaks have followed railroad lines and borders indicating that the illegal poultry trade is spreading the virus. Raw duck blood has also been identified as a source of infection. The fact that this strain has the same neuminidase protein as the Spanish flu may mean that humans will have some immunity to it when, as and if it becomes transmissible between us. The 1968 flu only killed half as many people ad the 1957 variety.
It makes sense to be informed of the risks and the alternatives and to make plans to protect yourself. Fortunately and effective, low cost, natural alternative may be within our grasp.
In the late 1940s, Dr. Frederick Klenner, widely considered to be the leading authority on the clinical use of vitamin C, found that compounds of vitamin C, such as ascorbic acid, easily find their was into cells. When they find flu viruses inside they combine with the protein coat to form a repressor factor. The repressor factor inactivates the nucleic acid and stops the replication. Ascorbate also contributes to the enzymatic breakdown of the viral nucleic acid and may act to convert the flu virus to an impotent L-virus, which cause the walls of infected cells to disrupt.
Evidently Klenner's research points the way toward a kinder, gentler and less expensive medical response to flu pandemics.
Other physicians confirmed his results. Robert F. Cathcart, III, M.S. in California published an article in Medical Hypotheses in 1981, which summarized his experience with ascorbic acid and ascorbates. He writes:
"Over the past 10-year period I have treated over 9,000 patients with large doses of vitamin C. The effects of this substance, when used in adequate amounts, markedly alter the course of many diseases. Stressful conditions of any kind greatly increases utilization of vitamin C. Ascorbate excreted in the urine drops markedly with stresses on any magnitude unless vitamin C is provided in large amounts. However a more convenient and clinically useful measure of ascorbate need and presumably utilization is the bowel tolerance. The amount of ascorbic acid which and be taken orally without causing diarrhea when a person is ill sometimes is over 10 times the amount he would tolerate if well. This increased bowel tolerance phenomenon serves not only to indicate the amount which should be taken but indicates the unsuspected and astonishing magnitude of the potential use that the body has for ascorbic under stressful conditions."
In his paper Cathcart notes that normal bowel tolerance limits of four to 15 grams per day can increase to 150 grams per day, when a patient has influenza, and to over 200 grams per day when he has viral pneumonia.
Klenner and Cathcart found that influenza viruses could be defeated with large doses of ascorbic acid or ascorbates.
Perhaps tests of the effectiveness of vitamin C against the flu virus, under the direction of people familiar with its use, might provide the country with a more effective, less expensive and safer alternative to the vaccine program. A head to head test against a flu vaccine might also be useful.
Since people who depend on their diets for their supply of ascorbates have limited amounts in their body stores, perhaps only 5 grams, they can quickly approach pre-scurvy conditions when flu viruses start to replicate. This leaves them with a less than adequate response to disease and stress. Limiting their intake to the recommended daily allowance leaves them vulnerable to disaster in a flu epidemic.
During the flu epidemic of 1918, the Klenner family survived in Pennsylvania while scores of their neighbors died. Klenner believed that the bitter tea prepared from the herb boneset, which they drank at the first sign of a cold or fever, was responsible for their survival. He hound that they were taking between 10 and 30 grams of ascorbate, depending on body weight. Children took less. Adults took more. This may be anecdotal evidence but it is not inconsistent with the knowledge that ascorbate is an antiviral material. Taking a lot of vitamin C at the first sign of a cold or fever, as the Klenners did in 1918, just might give us a better chance of surviving a potential flu pandemic now.
Faced with the inability of our medical establishment to protect our collective health, despite hundreds of millions of dollars expended yearly on vaccines, we need to consider taking responsibility for our own survival as individual. Kenner's successes in counteracting the effects of a large number of viruses with a simple, inexpensive substance give us a practical alternative.
Finding adequate supplies of ascorbic acid in the event of a pandemic may not be easy. Production, as is the case with a myriad of other important products, is concentration in china. About 60 percent of our needs for this substance were supplied from china this year. It is no longer manufactured in the United States. In case of a pandemic this year, our 300 million people will be competing with China's 1.2 billion for China's production.
Klenner's demonstrated ability to defeat a wide variety of
viruses, many of which had lethal capabilities, using large quantities
of an inexpensive substance, should interest public health authorities.
His experiments, which have already been successfully duplicated
by others. Warrant posthumous publication in The American Medical
Association Journal, where they can be exposed to mainstream
physicians as acceptable therapies.
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April 15 is once again approaching
and with it the necessity of filling out your tax return. It is
a good time to reflect on the taxes you do pay—and especially
on the taxes you may soon be forced to pay.
Throughout the year you paid federal taxes through withholding, including Social Security payroll taxes. You also paid state income taxes, unless you're fortunate enough to live in Texas or another state without an income tax. You paid local property taxes. You paid local sales taxes and numerous miscellaneous taxes on your vehicles and gasoline and so many other things. Like most people, you probably feel taxed to death by all these layers of taxes.
Well, hold on to your wallets, because the United Nations once again has launched a plan to impose a whole new level of global taxes on us.
The latest UN tax scheme was revealed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January. At this conference of the world's financial elite, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) unveiled a UN plan to take $7 trillion from developed nations for use by the UN to save the rest of the world from all of its problems.
The United Nations remains determined to rob from wealthy countries and, after taking a big cut for itself, send what's left to the poor countries. Of course, most of this money will go to the very dictators whose reckless policies have impoverished their citizens.
According to the international bureaucrats of the UN, wherever poverty exists in the rest of the world, it is always our fault. According to them, our prosperity comes not from hard work, legal protection of property rights and our capitalist system, but rather because we exploit the poor of the Third World. Somehow, it's always our fault.
Where will the $7 trillion to fund the latest UN scheme come from? Much of it is to come from a UN-imposed fine on countries that in the UN's judgment are polluting too much. This attack on productivity will slow our economy and lead to a loss of jobs in the United States.
The UN global tax plan also resurrects the long-held dream of the "Tobin Tax," and doubles the targeted income from such a tax to a whopping $3 trillion.
The "Tobin tax," named after the Yale professor who proposed it, would be imposed on all worldwide currency transactions. Such a tax could prove quite lucrative for the UN, given the vast amount of currency that trades hands at certain times.
It also might be a politically acceptable starting point, because most average people do not engage in cross-border currency transactions. A dangerous precedent would be set, however: the idea that the UN possesses legitimate taxing authority to fund its operations.
Since I was elected to Congress I have been fighting continuously against these UN efforts to pick your pocket. In the 109th Congress I successfully amended the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act of 2005 to prohibit any of the funds in the act from being used by the UN to develop or publicize any proposal concerning taxation or fees on any United States person to raise revenue for the UN or any of its specialized or affiliated agencies.
I also introduced H.R. 1017 in the current Congress, which would permanently prohibit United States contributions to the United Nations if that organization develops, implements or publicizes any proposal to tax Americans.
Of course, my preference is that the United States end its participation in the corrupt UN entirely, and I introduce H.R. 1146 in every Congress to do just that.
But until my colleagues are willing to take this important step, I will continue to offer measures like my amendment last year to help protect your hard-earned money from the greedy hands of the globalist United Nations.
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A day after illegal aliens protested pending immigration legislation, a new report showed they are the most crime-prone segment of society.
If the nation's 24 counties bordering Mexico were a t1st state, they would rank number one in crimes, mainly due to immigration and drug arrests, according to a study released in Washington March 8.
"We have many challenges to address, and our problems have a significant import on the nation as a whole," said Greg Cox, president of the U.S./Mexican border Counties Coalition and a San Diego County supervisor.
The report, At the Crossroads: Border Countries in Transition, was prepared by the University of Texas at El Paso's Institute for Policy and Economic Development.
The coalition "was founded nearly a decade ago because of the high costs border counties bear to incarcerate criminal illegal aliens and to provide emergency medical care," Cox said.
The study cites the border region's high dropout rates, heavy dependence on federal assistance and high rates of tuberculosis and diabetes. Border counties rated second in the nation in the incidence of TB, third in deaths from hepatitis and last in insurance coverage for adults and children.
DEMONSTRATIONS
Meanwhile, criminal aliens carrying signs reading ‘I'm not a criminal" rallied outside the U.S. Capitol March 7 to express opposition to pending legislation intended to protect U.S. borders. They called the Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act (H.R. 4437), sponsored by Rep James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) "anti-immigrant."
Protesters said they had a turnout of 20,000. Police said it was 5,000. The protest was supported by the foreign ministers of 11 Latin American countries who sent lobbyists to Washington to influence so-called immigration reform proposals.
The foreign ministers, who met to plan strategy in Cartagena, Colombia, were from Colombia, Mexico, Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
Every year, documented and undocumented migrants from these
countries send an estimated $32 billion to relatives at home,
according to U.S. authorities.
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The unAmerican thought police operating on American soil have struck once again. This time their victim is veteran Christian evangelist dale Crowley, Jr. who has been the host of two popular radio programs broadcast over WFAX 1220-AM radio in the Washington area for the last 20 years.
Crowley was told by Doris Newcomb, president and general manager of WFAX, that his Saturday morning broadcast, "Focus on Israel," was terminated immediately. He was not even given an opportunity to bid farewell to his longtime listeners.
The program was canceled by the WRAX management because supporters of Israel had complained to the radio station about Crowley's criticisms of Israel.
Over the years Crowley has been critical of Israel. He has dared to broadcast facts about efforts by the Israeli government to curtail the work of Christian missionaries in the Holy Land, even to the extent, as Crowley has pointed out, of laws introduced in the Israeli parliament that would penalize Christians who engage in missionary work among the Israelis, requiring that those convicted of evangelism be sent to jail.
In addition, Crowley has used his WFAX broadcast to tell Christians in the Washington area of how the Israelis have oppressed Christian Palestinians, uprooting them from their homes, vandalized Christian churches in the Holy Land, and otherwise made life difficult for Christian Palestinians and other Christian Arabs in the Middle East.
Crowley has upset many supporters of Israel by pointing out that under the thinking of such Christian supporters of Israel as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Tim LaHaye, a New York-born Jewish atheist has more right to live in the holy city of Jerusalem than a Palestinian Christian minister whose family has lived there for 1,000 years.
For daring to speak truths such as this, Crowley's "Focus on Israel" program has been banned from the airwaves by the management of WFAX radio, although it's quite clear, according to observers who have been investigation the matter, that there was heavy-handed pressure brought to bear on WFAX.
Ironically, Crowley first began "Focus on Israel" in collaboration with the late Haviv Schieber, a Polish-born Jew who emigrated to Palestine in the 1920s and became the first mayor of Beersheva. The town is near the location of what became the site of Israel's supposedly "holy" facility where that nation has produced nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Since Crowley's friend Schieber was a no-holds-barred anti-communist, Schieber broke with Israel, critical of Israel's behind-the-scenes collaboration with the Soviet communists.
Seeking political refuge in the United States, Schieber became friends with Crowley and his wife Mary. After several years of working with the Crowleys, Schieber converted to Christianity, a fact that delighted many WFAX listeners. In fact, Schieber died in Crowley's home, just shortly after telling Crowley that he had seen a vision of Jesus Christ welcoming him home.
Yet the christian management of WFAX has bowed to the demands of the Zionist lobby and is silencing Crowley, a missionary who brought an Israeli Jew to Christ.
What is all the more astounding, to Crowley's Christian supporters at least, is th WFAX management has advised Crowley, in addition that he is likewise not permitted to talk about Israel" in future broadcasts of "The King's Business," his daily program which is broadcast Monday through Friday.
Since the term "Israel" is mentioned in the Bible over 2,250 times, if Crowley is not allowed to mention that term, it will obviously make it difficult for him to talk about the Scriptures.
In the meantime, WFAX critics note, there are pro-Israel broadcasters appearing on WFAX, such as one Sid Roth for example, who repeatedly praise Israel.
Advocates of the First Amendment, who wish to express their views on this matter, may contact WFAX manager Doris Newcomb at (703) 532-1220 or write: Doris Newcomb, 161 Hillwood Ave., Suite B, Falls Church, Va. 22046 or email wfax@wfaxam.com.
A journalist specializing in media critique,
Michael collins Piper has lectured on these topics in places as
diverse as Malaysia, Japan, Canada, Moscow and Abu Dhabi.
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While the nation's attention is focused on the jillions of illegal aliens, mostly Mexicans, who are entering illegally across the southern border, little attention is being given to thousands of Asians, particularly Chinese, who are also sneaking into the country. Now, there are growing concerns that some may be linked to Chinese intelligence.
A U.S. Border Patrol officer, who spoke with American Free Press on the condition of anonymity to protect his job, said tens of thousands of illegal aliens from Asia are in the United States and the number is growing rapidly. He said he knows of no official figures but he believes it to be in the tens of thousands.
Undocumented migrants from Asia are entering in a number of ways. Some cross over the Mexican border, blending in with the avalanche of other illegals. Others are crossing over the U.S.-Canadian border.
For years, Asian illegals have crossed into the United States through the St. Regis Indian Reservation, which is located along the border in the vicinity of Massena, N.Y., in the extreme northern part f the state.
The reservation straddles the border, which extends for miles along the St. Lawrence River and St. Lawrence Seaway, which allows passage of ships from the Atlantic into ports located on the Great Lakes.
The St. Regis Indians cross the U.S.-Canadian border without having to provide identification. It has been reported that some illegal Asian aliens exploit this to cross over the border with them.
Reports show that Chinese illegals enter the United States after flying or traveling by ship to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Canadian government allows them to enter without documentation under Canada's loose immigration laws. The Illegals then melt into U.S. cities never to be heard from again.
Immigration officials also say, every year, thousands of Chinese illegals enter through Wilmington, N.S., and Charleston, S.C., aboard ships from the Far East.
On immigration official told American Free Press that countless Chinese illegals find jobs along the East Coast in"Chinese restaurants" that have sprung up in communities all along the Interstate 95 corridor that extends from North to South.
"They get jobs in these restaurants, whose owners don't much care about their alien status," the official said.
"Today," he said, "when it comes to ‘Other than Mexican' most attention is given to people who enter the U.S. from the Middle East, due to the terrorism situation."
However, he said, it is well known that the communist Chinese maintain active spy rings that target U.S. military science laboratories and American industries and facilities producing computer and other high tech electronic equipment.
"No one has a clue as to how many Chinese spies are getting into the country but we would be foolish to think that the Chinese are not taking advantage of the relative ease in getting into the U.S.," a military expert told AFP.
Through reverse engineering and other means the Chinese are copying everything that has traditionally been made in America, from computer software to clothes to hammers, with no regard for patent laws.
"While it might seem harmless enough for the Chinese to
be copying and then exporting to the U.S. Such things as simple
hand tools," the immigration official said, "it should
be remembered that most Chinese industry is controlled by the
Chinese military, which means that even the income from a handsaw
made in China may be contributing to the modernization of the
Chinese armed forces."
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The unAmerican thought police operating on American soil have struck once again. This time their victim is veteran Christian evangelist Dale Crowley, Jr. who has been the host of two popular radio programs broadcast over WFAX 1220-AM radio in the Washington area for the last 20 years.
Crowley was told by Doris Newcomb, president and general manager of WFAX, that his Saturday morning broadcast, "Focus on Israel," was terminated immediately. He was not even given an opportunity to bid farewell to his longtime listeners.
The program was canceled by the WFAX management because supporters of Israel had complained to the radio station about Crowley's criticisms of Israel.
Over the years Crowley has been critical of Israel. He has dared to broadcast facts about efforts by the Israeli government to curtail the work of Christian missionaries in the Holy Land, even to the extent, as Crowley has pointed out, of laws introduced in the Israeli parliament that would penalize Christians who engage in missionary work among the Israelis, requiring that those convicted of evangelism be sent to jail.
In addition, Crowley has used his WFAX broadcast to tell Christians in the Washington area of how the Israelis have oppressed Christian Palestinians, uprooting them from their homes, vandalized Christian churches in the Holy Land, and otherwise made life difficult for Christian Palestinians and other Christian Arabs in the Middle East.
Crowley has upset many supporters of Israel by pointing out that under the thinking of such Christian supporters of Israel as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Tim LaHaye, a New York-born Jewish atheist has more right to live in the holy city of Jerusalem than a Palestinian Christian minister whose family has lived there for 1,000 years.
For daring to speak truths such as this, Crowley's "Focus on Israel" program has been banned from the airwaves by the management of WFAX radio, although it's quite clear, according to observers who have been investigating the matter, that there was heavy-handed pressure brought to bear on WFAX.
Ironically, Crowley first began "Focus on Israel" in collaboration with the late Haviv Schieber, a Polish-born Jew who emigrated to Palestine in the 1920s and became the first mayor of Beersheva. The town is near the location of what became the site of Israel's supposedly "holy" facility where that nation has produced nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Since Crowley's friend Schieber was a no-holdsbarred anti-communist, Schieber broke with Israel, critical of Israel's behind-the-scenes collaboration with the Soviet communists.
Seeking political refuge in the United States, Schieber became friends with Crowley and his wife Mary. After several years of working with the Crowleys, Schieber converted to Christianity, a fact that delighted many WFAX listeners. In fact, Schieber died in Crowley's home, just shortly after telling Crowley that he had seen a vision of Jesus Christ welcoming him home.
Yet the Christian management of WFAX has bowed to the demands of the Zionist lobby and is silencing Crowley, a missionary who brought an Israeli Jew to Christ.
What is all the more astounding, to Crowley's Christian supporters at least, is that WFAX management has advised Crowley, in addition, that he is likewise not permitted to talk about "Israel" in future broadcasts of "The King's Business," his daily program which is broadcast Monday through Friday.
Since the term "Israel" is mentioned in the Bible over 2,500 times, if Crowley is not allowed to mention that term, it will obviously make it difficult for him to talk about the Scriptures.
In the meantime, WFAX critics note, there are pro-Israel broadcasters appearing on WFAX, such as one Sid Roth for example, who repeatedly praise Israel.
Advocates of the First Amendment, who wish to express their views on this matter, may contact WFAX manager Doris Newcomb at (703) 532-1220 or write: Doris Newcomb, 161 Hillwood Ave., Suite B, Falls Church, Va. 22046 or email wfax@wfaxam.com.
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Free Press - 645 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Suite 100 Washington,
D.C. 20003
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As impeachment gains support in Congress and throughout the country, Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Ver.) points out that Democrats must regain control of both houses of Congress in the November election for there to be any chance of ousting President Bush.
Sanders, who supports impeachment, noted that Republican majorities in both chambers would prevent any such action at this time. The purpose of raising the issue now is to build momentum and educate Congress and the public, he said.
"For those people who are outraged by the conduct of the Bush administration—it's my view that all of our energy must go into the November elections, with the goal of ending Republican control of the House and Senate," Sanders said.
Sanders has announced that he will be running for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. James Jeffords, also an independent.
Republicans hold a 55 to 44 majority in the Senate and a 31-seat margin in the House. Democrats would have to win big in the Senate races to rustle up the two-thirds majority required to convict if the House impeaches the president.
Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) introduced a motion to censure Bush on March 13. Censure is the harshest action short of impeachment Congress can take.
Feingold indicated strongly that censure should be followed by impeachment. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has called for a committee to consider impeachment in the House. Feingold's censure resolution cited Bush's warrantless terrorist-surveillance program.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) called for an immediate vote to put Democrats on the record, but Democrats invoked rules to prevent floor action and the proposal was referred to the Judiciary Committee.
Feingold, in proposing censure, said Bush was breaking the law by ordering eavesdropping in the United States without warrants.
"This is one of the most blatant attempts in American history by a president to violate the law, to boast about the fact that he had violated the law, to continue to violate the law and to mock anyone who questions it," Feingold said. "That has to be answered. Otherwise, our system of government has changed in a very tragic way."
Bush, Feingold said, "authorized an illegal program to spy on American citizens on American soil, and then misled Congress and the public about the existence and legality of that program."
Feingold's resolution states that "the United States Senate does hereby censure George W. Bush, president of the United States, and does condemn his unlawful authorization of wiretaps of Americans."
In announcing his resolution a day before introducing it, Feingold said "We all believe there should be wiretapping in appropriate cases—but the idea that the president can just make up a law, in violation of his oath of office, has to be answered."
Feingold suggested Bush may deserve to be impeached without directly calling for such action. "This is certainly more serious than anything President Clinton was accused of doing," Feingold said. "It's reminiscent of what President Nixon was not only accused of doing but was basically removed from office for doing."
Nixon resigned in August1974 to avoid impeachment in the legendary Watergate scandal. Clinton was impeached by the House for lying about an affair he had with an intern but was acquitted by the Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) commended Feingold "for bringing this to the attention of the American people. We need a full and complete debate." Reid said he wanted to examine the resolution before endorsing or rejecting it.
IMPEACHMENT TOWN
On the national front, three other towns in Vermont have joined Newfane, VT. in calling for Bush's impeachment. Dummerston, Marlboro and Putney voters also approved impeachment resolutions on March 7. Earlier, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted seven to three in favor of an impeachment resolution.
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Top level Bush administration officials such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may be subpoenaed to appear as witnesses in one of the biggest and most under-reported spy scandals to rock Washington in Decades. The reason the affair has not been headline news across the country is it concerns a powerful Israeli lobby group with direct links to the White House and to major congressional figures.
That organization is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and it can count among its friends Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and many of the most powerful legislators on Capitol Hill.
As a lobby group, AIPAC has no equal and boasts a huge budget. It enjoys tax-free status and counts 60,000 of the wealthiest donors in the nation on its rolls. It also has direct links to the state of Israel, and that is where the scandal comes in. According to the FBI, two of its top executives gave American secrets on Iran to Israeli agents based at the Israeli embassy in Washington.
At the center of the story is a former U.S. defense official who has already paid the price for treachery - Lawrence Franklin. Franklin worked in the Defense Department under Douglas Feith and had access to America's secret Middle East policies. It was his ability to acquire documents related to America's intentions regarding Iran that most interested the Israelis. On jan. 20, Franklin was sent to prison for 12 years by a federal judge in Virginia for handing over top-secret information to officials at AIPAC.
The FBI is now charging that two senior executives from AIPAC, Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, targeted Franklin and over a period of time acquired documents from him, which they passed to three diplomats in the Israeli embassy in Washington, one of whom was a military intelligence representative. It has been reported that all three Israeli officials met with Franklin, including the military intelligence figure.
At Franklin's hearing, which received minimal publicity, the former Pentagon analyst pleaded guilty in a deal that will allow him to keep half his Defense Department pension. In return for that, he has so far cooperated with authorities and will give evidence against Rosen and Weissman when their trial opens on April 26.
However, the witness box at the trial of Rosen and Weissman may see much more high-profile figures that Franklin if defense lawyers for the two AIPAC executives have their way.
Lawyers for Rosen and Weissman want to interview Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, National security Adviser Stephen Hadley, former deputy to Colin Powell at the State Department, Richard Armitage and a host of others including Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni. The presumed purpose of having these senior people testify would be to demonstrate that AIPAC staff regularly meets with and lobbies senior U.S. Government officials and routinely shares information with representatives of the Israeli government.
Ironically, the three Israeli diplomats named by the FBI as contacts for the Rosen and Weissman spy ring will not testify at next month's trial. They are now in Israel and, having diplomatic immunity, have refused to be interviewed by the FBI.
In a further snub, representatives of the Israeli government, when approached by the FBI, coolly told agents to send the questions directly to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, which would forward them to the diplomats.
One of the more starling aspects of the case is the lack of coverage by the mainstream media. It has all of the making of a great drama featuring a highly influential lobby organization that is closely connected to the U.S. government and involves a nation that claims to be America's greatest ally but still steals our secrets. But because Israel is under the microscope, the Establishment media has all but ignored it.
When the story first broke, AIPAC used its money, power and wide range of media contacts to dismiss the federal probe and to suggest there was nothing irregular about the meetings its staff regularly had with administration officials and others in Washington. The Anti-Defamation League went one step farther, claiming that the investigation of AIPAC was motivated by anti-Semitism.
But, in March 2005, once Rosen and Weissman were charged as co-conspirators with Franklin, AIPAC changed its tune. It terminated the two executives, citing as a reason that they had not acted in a manner fitting their positions in the organization.
Attorneys for Rosen and Weissman reportedly intend to argue at trial that their clients acted in conformity with the requirements of their jobs and that they were unaware that acquiring information from Franklin, and handing it over to agents of Israel, was illegal.
Such an argument could provide ammunition to critics who have long said AIPAC's relationship with a foreign power, namely Israel, and its considerable role as a lobbying organization in Washington, violate U.S. law and are contrary to the interests of the United States.
Despite all of this, AIPAC has managed to keep the story from grabbing headlines across the United States. They have used a strategy of constantly promoting the joint interests of Israel and America and have encouraged congressmen to praise the AIPAC lobbying effort. Recently, when Cheney made the controversial comment that Iran could face "meaningful consequences" he did so at an AIPAC-sponsored gathering.
There is probably a great deal we will never know about the findings of the long and extensive FBI probe. Some of law enforcement's wiretaps may have been directed at the Israeli embassy in Washington, as well as at AIPAC figures beyond Rosen and Weissman.
If lawyers for the two sacked AIPAC executives have their way
and successfully subpoena the likes of Miss Rice, the mainstream
media in this country may finally sit up and tell Americans about
a story that has all the elements of a spy drama involving agents
of a foreign power, wiretaps. Powerful lobbyists and treachery
that strikes at the very heart of our government.
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Today our national debt stands at $8.2 trillion, which represents about $26,000 for every man, woman and child in America. Interestingly, the legal debt limit is only $8.18 trillion, a figure that was reached a few weeks ago. This means the Treasury Department must ask Congress to raise the debt limit very soon, most likely as part of a larger bill so it can be hidden from the American people.
Raising the debt ceiling is nothing new. Congress raised it many times over the last 15 years, despite the supposed "surpluses" of the Clinton years. Those single-year surpluses were based on accounting tricks that treated Social Security funds as general revenues. In reality the federal government ran deficits throughout the 1990s, and the federal debt rose steadily.
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made it easier to obscure the extent of federal debt. He endorsed a change in the law that redefined Social Security and veterans pensions. In reality those obligations are debts, just like any other bill that must be paid in the future. But Greenspan urged renaming these obligations "intergovernment accounts," which magically changed them from debts to "accrued liabilities." This semantic shift frees up of room under the debt ceiling for more borrowing.
Debt and credit, wisely used, can be proper tools for individuals and business. In a free society, however, we can never view expansion as a proper goal for government. Unlike a private business, our federal government should not be seeking out new ways to increase the scope of its dubious "services." Any government that consumes at least 25 percent of the American economy and still can't balance its books is a government that vastly overspends.
I disagree with the supply-side argument that government debt doesn't matter. The Issue is not whether the Treasury has sufficient current income to service the debt, but rather whether a government that spends so much ultimately will destroy its own economy. Debt does natter, especially to future generations that will be asked to pay for our extravagance.
When government borrows money, the actual borrowers - big-spending administrations and politicians - never have to pay it back. Remember, administrations come and go, members of Congress become highly paid lobbyists, and bureaucrats retire with safe pensions. The benefits of deficit spending are enjoyed immediately by politicians, who trade pork for votes and enjoy adulation for promising to cure every ill. The bills always come due later, however. Nobody ever looks back and says, "Congressman so-and-so got us into this mess when he voted for all that spending 20 years ago."
For government, the federal budget is essentially a credit card with no spending limit, billed to somebody else. We hardly should be surprised that Congress racks up huge amounts of debt. By contrast, responsible people restrain their borrowing because they will have to pay the money back.
It's time for the American taxpayers to understand that every
dollar will have to be repaid. We should have the courage to face
our grandchildren knowing that we have done all we can to end
the government spending spree.
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