I can’t reload that earlier thread anymore, so here’s a new one. From The Boston Globe:

Coakley: I oppose more US troops to Afghanistan

The Democratic front-runner in the race to succeed the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy issued a statement saying, “I believe we should begin the process of bringing our troops home.”

Coakley has said repeatedly she trusted President Barack Obama but would wait to hear him make his case if he wanted to increase the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.

Yet two days before Obama is scheduled to address the nation on the subject, Coakley said “based on what I know now,” she does not support a troop increase….

Coakley said she is “very concerned” the case for more troops still has not been made. And she believes there is no evidence Afghan President Hamid Karzai “is a legitimate or trustworthy partner.”

We need a President with guts. Of course the last time we had a President who had the courage to speak up to the generals, he was shot down on the street in Dallas.

Ray McGovern at Truthout:

as he studied the options, cost and likely outcomes, Kennedy came to see U.S. intervention in Vietnam as a fool’s errand. Few Americans are aware that, just before he was assassinated, Kennedy had decided to pull all troops out of Vietnam by 1965.

The Pentagon was hell bent on thwarting such plans, and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara found it an uphill struggle to enforce the President’s will on the top brass. Senior military officers were experts at “slow-rolling” politicians who favored a course that the Pentagon didn’t like.
When in May 1962 Kennedy ordered up a contingency troop-withdrawal plan, it took more than a year for the military brass to draw one up.

[....]

Assistant Press Secretary Malcolm Kilduff, to whom fell the task of announcing President Kennedy’s death on Nov. 22, 1963, told James Douglass, author of JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters, that Kennedy’s mind was fixed on Vietnam the day before. Instead of rehearsing for a press conference that day, Kennedy told Kilduff:

“I’ve just been given a list of the most recent casualties in Vietnam. We’re losing too damned many people over there. It’s time for us to get out. The Vietnamese are not fighting for themselves. We’re the ones who are doing the fighting.
“After I come back from Texas, that’s going to change. There is no reason for us to lose another man over there. Vietnam is not worth another American life.”

Kennedy never returned from Texas and the war went on. Sadly, Obama is no John Kennedy.

Gracias al USHistoryBlog.com, me entero de la existencia de “100 Great Moments in American History You Can Catch on YouTube”, un recurso que podría resultar de gran ayuda para quienes estén interesados o involucrados en la enseñanza de historia norteamericana.  Publicado por OnlineSchool.com, 100 Great Moments in American History You Can Catch on YouTube es una lista de vínculos a  cien vídeos procedentes de YouTube relacionados al desarrollo histórico de los Estados Unidos.

La lista que compone 100 Great Moments in American History está subdividida en ocho categorías. La primera es titulada Inauguraciones presidenciales y recoge vídeos de la inauguración de varios presidentes estadounidenses, entre ellos, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon y Barack Obama. Vínculos mundiales, la segunda categoría, recoge vídeos  de eventos de historia norteamericana de trascendencia mundial como el ataque a Pearl Harbor, el caso Watergate y el 11/9. La tercera categoría –Asesinatos históricos–  está dedicada al tema  de los asesinatos políticos y destacan aquí los vídeos relacionados a la muerte de Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martín Luther King, Robert Kennedy y John Lennon. La cuarta categoría es titulada Discursos históricos y recoge los famosos “fireside chat” de Franklin D. Roosevelt y discursos de Malcom X, Ronald Reagan y George W. Bush, entre otros. La quinta categoría es titulada Momentos fuera de este mundo y agrupa vídeos asociados a la carrera espacial (el lanzamiento del Sputnik, el alunizaje, el desastre del transbordador Challenger, etc.). La sexta categoría  nos lleva al mundo cultural, pues agrupa vídeos relacionados a la historia musical estadounidense como la llegada de los Beatles a los Estados Unidos, Woodstock, las presentaciones de los Jackson 5 y los conciertos de Black Sabbath. La penúltima categoría atiende un elemento muy importante de la cultura norteamericana: los deportes. Aquí encontramos vídeos de la pelea de Cassius Clay y Sonny Liston, la victoria del equipo de hockey norteamericano sobre el soviético en las Olimpiadas de  Invierno de 1980 y la participación de Michael Phelps en las Olimpiadas de 2008. La última categoría –Momentos televisivos– agrupa vídeos relacionados con la historia de la televisión estadounidense: I Love Lucy, Star Trek, Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, MTV,  The O´Reilly Factor, Survivors, etc.

A pesar de que la selección de algunos vídeos podría ser cuestionada, 100 Great Moments in American History You Can Catch on YouTube constituye una herramienta útil para la enseñanza y el estudio de la historia de los Estados Unidos.

Norberto Barreto Velázquez,

Lima, Perú, 29 de noviembre de 2009

Sarath Fonseka was born on December 18,1950.This number adds up to 9.Incidentally,the election date has been declared on 27th(2+7=9).Number 27 is the fate number of Fonseka

Election will be held on January 26..Is the date related to fonseka?Yes!

On January 26,2010 He will be 59 years and 40 days old.The numbers adds up to 99,which represents 9(9+9=18,1+8=9).

So,does it mean that the election augur well for Fonseka?

If Fonseka wins the election he will be the 7th President.

Number 7 is also related to him.

The occult number of Sarath Fonseka is 47 which adds up to 2.Numerologically,numbers 2 and 7 are inter-related.

The occult number of George W Bush is 47.He was the 43rd Us President(4+3=7).

The occult number of Barack Obama is 26(2+6=8).He is the 44th US President.

The name Abraham Lincoln carries the occult number 43(4+3=7).He was the 16th US President(1+6=7).

Just one more example:-

The occult number of John F Kennedy is 53(5+3=8).See,he was the 35th US President(3+5=8).

To put it briefly,it seems that the election augurs well for Fonseka

Bereits seit 1941 / 1942 gibt es in den USA auf Anweisung von Präsident Franklin D. Roosevelt ein Programm, dass die Kriegsführung mit biologischen Waffen untersuchen sollte. Das ganze nannte sich “biological warfare program” – in einigen Publikationen auch als “bacteriological warfare” bezeichnet – und umfasste sowohl die Produktion und Lagerung von acht verschiedenen biologischen Kampfstoffen, sowie über 150 Versuche an lebenden Objekten, so z.B. Gefängnisinsassen und Kriegsdienstverweigerern – aber auch Versuche in öffentlichen U-Bahnen! Unglaublich? Ja, aber leider wahr…

Als das Programm zu Beginn des 2. Weltkriegs in’s Leben gerufen wurde, war es ursprünglich nur zur Verteidigung gedacht, d.h. man wollte die Möglichkeiten, Soldaten und Bevölkerung gegen biologische und chemische Angriffe zu schützen, untersuchen. Aber im Laufe der Jahre wurde ein Kurswechsel vollzogen und ab dem Jahr 1956 untersuchte man auch den eigenen Einsatz biologischer und chemischer Waffen. Dazu gehörten auch die Entwicklung eigener Kampfstoffe – die u.a. zum berüchtigten “Agent Orange” im Vietnamkrieg führten.

Aus einem “Spiegel”-Artikel aus dem Jahr 1977 geht hervor, dass im Rahmen dieses Programms z.B. auch Tests an der unwissenden Bevölkerung durchgeführt wurden. So wollte man beispielsweise untersuchen, wie sich Aerosole im U-Bahn System ausbreiten. Dazu benutzte man eine Glühbirne, die aus einem fahrenden Zug geworfen wurde.

Sie war gefüllt mit angeblich harmlosen Bakterien des Typs Serratia marcescens. “Es verteilte sich gut durch das gesamte U-Bahn-System”, berichtete der Pentagon-Angestellte Charles A. Senseney. “Wir begannen unten um die 14. Straße herum und machten Stichproben bis hinauf zur 58, Straße — und überall war eine ganze Menge Aerosol.”

Allerdings stellte sich später heraus, dass diese Bakterien doch nicht so ungefährlich waren, wie vom Militär behauptet!

Insgesamt 239 Mal – davon unglaubliche 27 mal in der Öffentlichkeit – wurde mit den Bakterien “Serratia marcescens” oder “Bacillus subtilis variant niger” (auch Bacillus globigii genannt) oder den “Fungus aspergillus fumigatus” getestet, wie man einen bakteriologischen Krieg offensiv führen und wie man sich dagegen verteidigen kann: mindestens acht amerikanische Städte und Militäreinrichtungen sind zwischen 1950 und 1966 bakteriologischen Scheinangriffen ausgesetzt gewesen!

Gesundheitliche Auswirkungen, die nach Bekanntwerden dieser und weiterer Versuche in Zusammenhang mit den Tests gebracht wurden:

• während bakteriologischer Tests in Fort McClellan, Alabama, habe sich die Anzahl der Fälle von Lungenentzündung in der Umgebung verdoppelt
• nach Versuchen in Key West, Florida ist ein Anstieg von Lungenentzündung um das Zehnfache und ein Anstieg dadurch bedingter Todesfälle um das Siebenfache zu verzeichnen gewesen
• der bei Versuchen in Mechanixburg, Pennsylvania, eingesetzte Fungus aspergillus fumigatus sei keineswegs harmlos, sondern könne Aspergillose hervorrufen, eine seltene Krankheit, zu deren Symptomen Asthma-Attacken oder Infektionen der äußeren Gehörgänge zählten
• 1967 waren nach Versuchen im Bundesstaat Utah 6400 Schafe eingegangen, weil Schwaden von Nervengas ihre Weideplätze überweht hatten -Schwaden, die ebensogut eine Stadt hätten erreichen können
• ebenfalls in Utah waren Antikörper der venezolanischen Pferde-Gehirnhautentzündung entdeckt worden, einer Krankheit, die gemeinhin in diesen Breiten Amerikas nicht vorkommt. Amerikas Bürger waren offensichtlich jahrzehntelang als Meerschweinchen wider Willen und ohne Wissen mißbraucht worden

Ein Unterprogramm, welches auch auf der englischen Wikipedia zumindest Erwähnung findet und grob beschrieben ist, war die “Operation Whitecoat”. Im Rahmen dieser geheimen Operation, die von 1954 – 1973 durchgeführt wurde, nahmen mehr als 2.300 Personen Teil – größtenteils Kriegsdienstverweigerer, die zwar Angehörige der US-Armee waren, aber im medizinischen Dienst eingesetzt wurden. Es wird zwar beschrieben, dass die Personen freiwillig teilnahmen – allerdings ist auf der englischen Wiki-Seite auch zu lesen, dass viele der ursprünglichen Teilnehmer einen Sitzstreik durchführten, um mehr über die die Gesundheitsgefährdung der Tests zu erfahren! An deren Stelle wurden anschließend Männer der Glaubensgemeinschaft der Adventisten für die Versuche angeheuert.

Während der Tests wurden die Probanten u.a. den Erregern des Q-Fiebers, Milzbrand, Hasenpest, Bauchtyphus und Hirnhautentzündung ausgesetzt. Es wird zwar immer wieder darauf hingewiesen, dass es bei den Tests keine Todesfälle gab – allerdings steht in der englischen Wiki auch zu lesen, dass die Armee nur von 1.000 der 2.300 Teilnehmer die Adressen hat, so dass es schwierig sein dürfte, eine seriöse Aussage über die Langzeitschäden der Tests zu treffen.

Hier ein Spiegel-Artikel aus dem Jahr 1977, der sich dem biological warfare Programm widmet. Da mir beim Querlesen einige Tippfehler aufgefallen sind, die im eingescannten Original nicht vorhanden waren, habe ich den Scan auch nochmals als PDF bereitgestellt, der hier runterzuladen ist.

Enorme Bedrohung für die Welt

Die US-Armee experimentierte mit bakteriologischen Waffen

Pest, Gelbfieber, Milzbrand und Fleckfieber können durch Kampfstoffe verbreitet werden, die Amerikas Armee von 1949 bis 1969 erprobte — und auch heute noch nicht aus ihrem Programm gestrichen hat. Ein Unterausschuß des US-Senats untersucht zur Zeit diese Praktiken, die zu einer Reihe mysteriöser Unfälle führten.

Der Feind ist unsichtbar, nur unter dem Mikroskop auszumachen. Er flutet durch U-Bahn-Schächte in New York, hängt über dem National Airport und dem “Greyhound”-Busbahnhof von Washington, kriecht durch Autobahntunnels in Pennsylvania.

Wer ihm begegnet, muß sich übergeben, wird ohnmächtig oder fällt um, auf der Stelle tot.

So oder ähnlich jedenfalls würde es nach Meinung amerikanischer Militärs und Wissenschaftler — aussehen, wenn es denn wider alles Erwarten zum BW-Ernstfall käme.

BW steht für biological oder bacteriological warfare, den Krieg mit biologischen oder bakteriologischen Waffen, dem die meisten Staaten der Welt zwar feierlich abgeschworen haben, auf den Amerikas Politiker und Militärs aber doch vorbereitet sein möchten.

Und so probten Militärs und Wissenschaftler den BW-Ernstfall — am lebenden Objekt, an Menschen, Tieren und Pflanzen.

Beispiel: Unter den Straßen von New York, im Südteil von Manhattan, wurde eine Glühbirne aus einem fahrenden Zug geworfen. Sie war gefüllt mit dem Treibstoff Aerosol und angeblich harmlosen Bakterien des Typs Serratia marcescens. “Es verteilte sich gut durch das gesamte U-Bahn-System”, berichtete der Pentagon-Angestellte Charles A. Senseney. “Wir begannen unten um die 14. Straße herum und machten Stichproben bis hinauf zur 58, Straße — und überall war eine ganze Menge Aerosol.”

Insgesamt 239 mal — 27mal in der Öffentlichkeit, im übrigen auf verschiedenen Militärbasen in den USA — suchten die Tester zwischen 1949 und 1969 nach Erkenntnissen, wie man einen bakteriologischen Krieg offensiv führen und wie man sich dagegen verteidigen kann. Und fast immer setzten sie dabei, neben phosphoreszierenden Teilchen, neben Schwefeldioxyd und Seifenblasen, die Bakterien Serratia marcescens oder Bacillus subtilis variant niger (auch Bacillus glöbigii genannt) oder den Fungus aspergillus fumigatus ein — nach Ansicht der Army-Wissenschaftler harmlose, in der Umwelt weitverbreitete Stoffe.

Zahlen und Einzelheiten stehen in einem zweibändigen Report, den die U.S. Army im Februar abschloß und im März veröffentlichte — nachdem amerikanische Journalisten zuvor erste Einzelheiten der bis dahin geheimgehaltenen Versuche enthüllt und berichtet hatten, im Gefolge der Tests seien amerikanische Staatsbürger gestorben oder schwer erkrankt.

Mindestens acht amerikanische Städte und Militäreinrichtungen, so um die Jahreswende die auf Long Island im Staate New York erscheinende Tageszeitung “Newsday”, seien zwischen 1950 und 1966 bakteriologischen Scheinangriffen ausgesetzt gewesen.

Unverändert hatten die Militärs den Wirkstoff Serratia marcescens benutzt, obwohl der längst in den Verdacht geraten war, schuld am Ausbruch einer Infektion in San Francisco gewesen zu sein, der ein Mensch zum Opfer fiel.

Während bakteriologischer Tests in Fort McClellan, Alabama, habe sich die Anzahl der Fälle von Lungenentzündung in der Umgebung verdoppelt.

Nach Versuchen in Key West, Florida. sei ein Anstieg von Lungenentzündung um das Zehnfache und ein Anstieg dadurch bedingter Todesfälle um das Siebenfache zu verzeichnen gewesen.

Und der bei Versuchen in Mechanixburg, Pennsylvania, eingesetzte Fungus aspergillus fumigatus sei keineswegs harmlos, sondern könne Aspergillose hervorrufen, eine seltene Krankheit, zu deren Symptomen Asthma-Attacken oder Infektionen der äußeren Gehörgänge zählten.

“Wenn man mich konsultiert und gefragt hätte”, zitierte “Newsday” den Arzt Dr. Libera Ajello vom US-Zentrum für Seuchenkrontrolle in Atlanta, “welchen Aspergillus ich für Scheinangriffe mit biologischen Waffen benutzen würde, wäre Fumigatus der letzte gewesen, den ich vorgeschlagen hätte, weil wir wissen, daß er pathogen (krankheitserregend) ist”.

Mit einem Male kamen auch frühere BW-Versuche wieder hoch. 1967 waren nach Versuchen im Bundesstaat Utah 6400 Schafe eingegangen, weil Schwaden von Nervengas ihre Weideplätze überweht hatten -Schwaden, die ebensogut eine Stadt hätten erreichen können.

Und ebenfalls in Utah waren Antikörper der venezolanischen Pferde-Gehirnhautentzündung entdeckt worden, einer Krankheit, die gemeinhin in diesen Breiten Amerikas nicht vorkommt. Amerikas Bürger. soviel schien sicher, waren jahrzehntelang als Meerschweinchen wider Willen und ohne Wissen mißbraucht worden.

Zwar dementierte die Army sofort: “Es gibt keinerlei Hinweise”, daß die Versuche “an irgendeinem der Testorte Tod durch Lungenentzündung verursachten”. Und in ihrem Report versucht sie, verständlicherweise, die “Newsday”-Enthüllungen herunterzuspielen: mit ärztlichen Gutachten, Attesten und wiederholten Hinweisen auf die “bemerkenswert gute Sicherheitsbilanz”.

Wohl seien im Fort Detrick, Maryland, dem Zentrum der amerikanischen BW-Forschung, drei Laborarbeiter ums Leben gekommen. 456 Personen hätten dort, 48 in anderen Labors Infektionen erlitten, aber das sei “besser als jeder industrielle Durchschnitt”. Die drei Todesfälle stellen eine niedrigere Sterblichkeitsrate dar als in irgendeiner anderen (verfügbaren) Übersicht über Laborinfektionen.

Tatsächlich aber bestätigt der Armee-Report im wesentlichen die ersten Presseberichte — und er verrät sogar noch ein wenig mehr: Seit Präsident Franklin D. Roosevelt 1941/42, kurz nach dem Eintritt der USA in den Zweiten Weltkrieg, das BW-Programm in Auftrag gab,

• produzierten und lagerten die USA acht bakteriologische Kampfstoffe zum Einsatz gegen Menschen, darunter Viren und Bakterien, die Papageienkrankheit, Pest, Gelbfieber, Milzbrand und Fleckfieber auslösen;
• veranstalteten US-Wissenschaftler über 150 Versuche am lebenden Objekt — mit Häftlingen des Staatsgefängnisses von Ohio und, im Rahmen der “Operation Weiße Weste” (operation whitecoat), mit Kriegsdienstverweigerern der Sieben-Tage-Adventisten: Alle Testpersonen hatten sich freiwillig für Versuche mit pathogenen Stoffen zur Verfügung gestellt.

Peinlich genau listete die Army in ihrem Report jeden einzelnen Versuch auf — eingeschlossen die Zahl der Testpersonen. die Dauer des in dem einen oder anderen Fall erforderlichen Krankenhausaufenthaltes sowie das Ziel der jeweiligen Versuchsreihe. Nur über 21 “geheime Projekte”, an denen höchstens jeweils zehn Personen beteiligt waren, wurde der Schleier nicht gelüftet.

Ihren ersten Höhepunkt erreichte Amerikas BW-Rüstung 1956. Damals glaubten die Amerikaner aus einer Rede des Sowjetmarschalls Schukow auf dem 20. Parteitag der KPdSU herauslesen zu können, die Sowjets würden im Ernstfall bakteriologische und chemische Waffen zur Massenvernichtung einsetzen.

Daraufhin warfen die USA ihr 15 Jahre lang nur auf Verteidigung gegen BW-Angriffe gerichtetes Konzept über Bord und beschlossen, sich nun auch selbst auf den möglichen Einsatz bakteriologischer und chemischer Killer vor zubereiten. Die Entscheidung über der Einsatz sollte ausschließlich dem Präsidenten vorbehalten bleiben.

Fortan wurde die Produktion offensiver BW-Killerwaffen verstärkt und auch die Fests am lebenden und toter Objekt — wie Weizen- und Reispflanzen — intensiviert.

Ausdrücklich bestätigte die Eisenhower- Regierung kurz vor den Präsidentschaftswahlen von 1960 noch einmal den Kurswechsel zur offensiven bakteriologischen Kriegsführung — und fand eifrige Schüler in der folgenden Kennedy-Administration.

Im Mai 1961 bereits, vier Monate nach Amtsantritt der neuen Regierung. wies Verteidigungsminister Robert S. McNamara, heute Präsident der Weltbank, die Vereinigten Stabschefs an. die Einsatzmöglichkeiten bakteriologischer und chemischer Waffen zu analysieren und alle möglichen Anwendungsbereiche in Erwägung zu ziehen”.

Ein umfassendes Programm antworteten die Stabschefs, werde vier Milliarden Dollar kosten — was den damaligen Forschungsdirektor des Pentagon und heutigen Verteidigungsminister der Carter-Regierung, Harald Brown, nicht davon abhielt, “entschieden dem Standpunkt der Vereinigten Stabschefs zuzustimmen, daß diese Waffen ein großes Potential darstellen”. Im Pine Bluff Arsenal im Bundesstaat Arkansas wuchsen bald darauf die Vorräte an bakteriologischen Kampfstoffen, die unter anderem -weil Dauerkühlung vonnöten war — in 273 Iglus gelagert wurden. In anderen BW-Instituten wurde eifrig an der Entwicklung neuer Waffen geforscht.

Dazu gehörten auch jene Herbizide. die Amerika bald darauf im Vietnamkrieg einsetzte, um den Dschungel Südostasiens zu entlauben. Das waren “war im Wortsinn keine bakteriologischen Waffen — doch Amerika geriet in den Augen der Weltöffentlichkeit zunehmend in den Verdacht, in Vietnam einen bakteriologischen Krieg zu führen. Am 25, November 1969 schließlich. nicht zuletzt unter dem Druck der Vereinten Nationen, verpflichtete sich Präsident Richard Nixon für die Vereinigten Staaten zum absoluten Verzicht auf den Einsatz bakteriologischer Waffen.

Ein Ende der Experimente mit BW-Kampf- oder — Ersatzstoffen aber bedeutete das keineswegs. Zwar wurden bis Februar 1973 bakteriologische Kampfstoffe vernichtet, die Produktionsstätten sterilisiert und entweder an die Privatindustrie oder an andere Regierungsbehörden verkauft. Von der Vernichtung ausgenommen jedoch wurden solche Wirkstoffe, die erforderlich sind für die defensive BW-Forschung” (Army-Report>.

Die beiden blauen Report-Bände der Army sind denn auch offensichtlich nur ein Teil der ganzen Wahrheit –Grund genug für einen Unterausschuß des Senats (Vorsitzender: Edward Kennedy), hearings über das gesamte System der bakteriologischen Kriegsführung Amerikas zu beginnen.

Gleich zu Beginn der Beratungen veröffentlichte Kennedy selbst die Zusammenfassung eines bis dahin geheimen CIA-Berichts über die Erfahrungen des Geheimdienstes mit bakteriologischen Waffen.

Der CIA-Vorläufer OSS, so ergab sich daraus, hatte zumindest einmal bakteriologische Kampfstoffe sogar eingesetzt: Um die Teilnahme des deutschen Reichsbankpräsidenten Hjalmar Schacht an einem Wirtschaftstreffen zu vereiteln, wurde ihm eine Lebensmittel-Vergiftung verabreicht.

Es war vermutlich das erste Eingeständnis, daß auch die USA schon offensiv bakteriologisch Krieg geführt haben — wenngleich nicht enthüllt wurde, wann und wie die OSS-Agenten dem deutschen Finanzmann die Lebensmittelvergiftung verpaßten.

Und wenig später enthüllte der BW-Experte Lowell Poule, ein Spezialistenteam aus Fort Detrick habe 1969/ 1970 einen Scheinangriff gegen die Klimaanlagen des Capitols und des Weißen Hauses sowie gegen Trinkwasser in einem Bundesgebäude geführt. Poule: “Wären die Teams der Army richtige Terroristen gewesen, der Präsident und der ganze Kongreß wären umgekommen.”

Einzelheiten dieser Versuche — die von der Army sofort dementiert wurden — sowie anderer Tests von Army und CIA will Poule in einem Buch veröffentlichen, das noch in diesem Jahr erscheinen soll.

Auch die Protokolle der Kennedy-Hearings werden binnen kurzem gedruckt vorliegen und den Army-Report gewiß ergänzen — vielleicht auch dort, wo jetzt nur sybillinisch steht: Im Interesse einer wirksamen Verteidigung Amerikas gegen einen BW-Angriff können Scheinangriffe veranstaltet werden, wenn zusätzliche Daten nötig sind”.

Will heißen: Auch nach dem Verzicht Amerikas auf den Einsatz bakteriologischer Waffen, auch nach der Veröffentlichung des Army-Reports könnte es durchaus sein, daß wieder angeblich harmlose Bakterien durch U-Bahn-Schächte und Autobahntunnel fluten.

Dr. Alexander D. Langmuir, über 20 Jahre lang einer der führenden Männer des Zentrums für Seuchenkontrolle in Atlanta:,, Der bakteriologische Krieg stellt nach wie vor eine enorme Bedrohung für die Welt dar, die Vereinigten Staaten benötigen daher ein fortlaufendes BW-Programm.”

DER SPIEGEL 21 / 1977

Alle Rechte vorbehalten

Vervielfältigung nur mit Genehmigung der SPIEGEL-Verlag Rudolf Augstein GmbH & Co. KG.

 

Neben diesem Artikel habe ich auch noch einen Text aus der NZZ Folio gefunden, den ich hier einstellen möchte. Er beschreibt den Ablauf eines der o.g. “operation Whitecoat” Experimente mit Q-Fieber Erregern aus Sicht des Probanten Lloyd Long. Mir persönlich ist er zwar etwas zu unkritisch (alles Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen) – aber um einen etwas besseren Einblick in die Versuche zu bekommen, vielleicht ganz interessant.

NZZ Folio 04/03

Das Experiment — Atmet ruhig, ganz ruhig

Am 12. Juli 1955 sassen 30 Adventisten auf Barhockern in der Wüste: ein Biowaffentest auf Amerikanisch.

Von Reto U. Schneider

ALS DIE SIRENE kein zweites Mal heulte, wusste Lloyd Long, dass es in dieser Nacht ernst galt. Vor sechs Tagen war der 18-Jährige mit einer Gruppe Freiwilliger in der Nähe des Testgeländes Dugway in der Wüste Utahs angekommen. Seither spielte sich jeden Abend dasselbe Prozedere ab: Kurz vor Sonnenuntergang wurden er und die andern Männer von einem Lastwagen abgeholt und in ein verlassenes Stück Wüste gefahren. Dort wuschen sie sich unter provisorischen Freiluftduschen, zogen sich frische Kleider an und gingen mit einer Decke unter dem Arm an ihren zugewiesenen Platz: zu einem der barhockerähnlichen Stühle, die in einer fast einen Kilometer langen geraden Linie auf dem gepressten Sand bereitstanden. Auf Podesten zwischen den Hockern hatte es Käfige mit Rhesusaffen und Meerschweinchen.

Immer wenn die Sirene losging, musste Lloyd Long in Richtung des Bergs Granite Peak blicken und ruhig atmen. «Denkt daran», hatte Oberst William Tigertt, der für das Experiment verantwortliche Armeearzt, gesagt, «wenn ihr die Pumpen hört, atmet ruhig. Atmet ganz ruhig.» Normalerweise ging die Sirene dann ein zweites Mal los: das Zeichen, dass das Experiment wegen schlechter Windbedingungen nicht durchgeführt werden konnte. Die Männer wechselten wieder ihre Kleider und wurden zu den Baracken gebracht.

Doch in dieser Nacht des 12. Juli 1955 war der Wind ideal. Eine leichte Brise wehte vom Granite Peak her, und Lloyd Long konnte die Pumpen hören, die etwa einen Kilometer von ihm entfernt einen knappen Liter Bakterienbrühe in die Nacht sprühten. Für den Test war der Erreger des Q-Fiebers ausgewählt worden, das starke Kopf- und Muskelschmerzen und hohes Fieber verursacht. Die Krankheit verläuft meistens harmlos, doch durchschnittlich einer von dreissig Erkrankten starb damals daran. Lloyd Longs Gruppe bestand aus dreissig Leuten.

Long spürte kaum etwas vom dünnen Nebel, der über ihn wegzog. Erst als Leute in Schutzanzügen auftauchten, wusste er, dass es vorbei war. Er musste duschen, sich unter eine Ultraviolettlampe stellen, die verbleibende Mikroben abtötete, und noch einmal duschen. Seine Kleider wurden verbrannt. Darauf wurde die ganze Gruppe nach Fort Detrick in der Nähe von Washington geflogen. Der erste und nach Aussagen der amerikanischen Armee bis heute einzige Freisetzungsversuch mit biologischen Waffen an Menschen ging in die zweite Phase.

Die amerikanische Regierung wusste damals, dass Japan im Zweiten Weltkrieg umfangreiche Experimente mit Biowaffen gemacht hatte, und sie vermutete, dass auch Moskau ähnliche Versuche durchführte. Öffentlich verurteilten die USA die biologischen Waffen zwar, doch im Geheimen begannen sie 1943 selber daran zu forschen. Als Hauptsitz der Wissenschafter diente Fort Detrick. Dort wurden Tierversuche gemacht, um die Eignung verschiedener Krankheitserreger als Waffen zu prüfen und Impfungen für die eigene Truppe zu entwickeln. Doch vom Tier auf den Menschen zu schliessen, war schwierig. Die Militärs kamen zum Schluss, dass nur Tests mit Menschen sie weiterbringen konnten.

Dass Menschen in der Medizin als Versuchskaninchen eingesetzt werden, ist nicht ungewöhnlich. Jedes Medikament wird vor seiner Einführung von Versuchspersonen eingenommen. Diese Tests hatten einzig die Nuance, dass dabei nicht versucht wurde, Leute mit einem Medikament zu heilen, sondern sie mit einem Erreger krank zu machen. Doch solange das mit dem Einverständnis der Betroffenen geschah, sahen die Leute in Fort Detrick kein Problem.

In der amerikanischen Armee gab es eine Gruppe von Soldaten, die sich besonders gut für diese Aufgabe eigneten. Die Männer der Glaubensgemeinschaft der Adventisten leisteten zwar aus religiösen Gründen keinen Dienst mit der Waffe, waren aber aussergewöhnlich gesund: Sie rauchten nicht und tranken weder Alkohol noch Kaffee. Zudem waren viele von ihnen Vegetarier. «Man musste sich nicht fragen, ob sie Symptome zeigten, weil sie Samstagnacht betrunken waren», beschrieb ein Kirchenmann die Vorzüge des seriösen Lebenswandels für die medizinische Forschung.

Oberst Tigertt kontaktierte die Kirchenführung, die sich schnell von der Ehrenhaftigkeit der Aufgabe überzeugen liess und den Plan, Adventisten für die Tests zu gewinnen, offiziell guthiess. Zwischen 1955 und 1973 meldeten sich 2200 junge Männer für diesen Dienst. Der Codename für die 153 streng geheimen Experimente – unter anderem mit Milzbrand, Hasenpest, Bauchtyphus und Hirnhautentzündung – lautete Operation Whitecoat.

Die ersten Tests waren jene Q-Fieber-Experimente, an denen Lloyd Long teilnahm. Vor dem Freilandversuch in Utah kam allerdings der «Eight Ball» zum Einsatz, eine dreizehn Meter hohe Hohlkugel aus rostfreiem Stahl in Fort Detrick, die die Angestellten nach der schwarzen Kugel im Pool-Billard benannt hatten.

Wenn Tests anstanden, betraten die Adventisten die telefonzellengrossen Kammern am Rand des «Eight Ball». Dort zogen sie sich Atemmasken an, die mit dem Inneren der Kugel verbunden waren. Ein Techniker konnte dann ferngesteuert Bakterien oder Viren im Innern der Kugel versprühen. Die Männer atmeten das Gemisch eine Minute lang ein und wurden dann sofort auf die Krankenstation gebracht, isoliert und beobachtet.

Dasselbe geschah nach der Rückkehr aus Utah: Die Männer warteten in Einzelzimmern mit Fernsehern, Büchern und Spielen auf die hämmernden Kopfschmerzen, die den Ausbruch des Q-Fiebers ankündigten. Etwa ein Drittel der Männer wurde tatsächlich krank. Die Schwere der Symptome war abhängig davon, ob sie bei den vorangegangenen Experimenten mit dem «Eight Ball» immun geworden waren. Auch die Position ihres Hockers in der Wüste war entscheidend. Lloyd Long, am Rand positioniert, war nach einem Tag im Bett wieder fit. Alle Versuchsteilnehmer wurden wieder vollkommen gesund.

Heute sind die meisten Whitecoat-Veteranen stolz auf ihren Einsatz. «Ich kenne keinen, der dabei war und später das Gefühl hatte, betrogen worden zu sein», sagt Lloyd Long, jetzt 66-jährig und pensionierter Versicherungsagent. Einige der Whitecoat-Freiwilligen werden seit dem Anschlag auf das World Trade Center und der wachsenden Angst vor Bioterrorismus regelmässig von Journalisten interviewt. Zwar gibt es Stimmen, die die engen Beziehungen zwischen der Armee und der Kirche der Adventisten kritisieren, auch wurde bereits in den sechziger Jahren die Frage aufgeworfen, ob eine Kirche, die Gewaltlosigkeit predigt, ein Biowaffenprojekt unterstützen dürfe. Gemessen an den damaligen Bräuchen, stellen Ethiker der Operation Whitecoat aber gute Noten aus. Die Freiwilligen wurden wiederholt über die Risiken informiert und konnten jederzeit aussteigen. Trotzdem würden solche Experimente heute kaum mehr bewilligt: Das Risiko für ein so empfindliches Organ wie die Lunge ist einfach zu gross.

Die in die Wüste entlassenen Bakterien wurden am nächsten Tag vom Sonnenlicht getötet. Von den zusätzlichen Meerschweinchen, die man am Highway 40, 55 Kilometer vom Testgelände entfernt, placiert hatte, erkrankte keines.

 

Last but not least noch der aktuelle Eintrag aus der englischen Wikipedia zur “Operation Whitecoat”:

Operation Whitecoat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Operation Whitecoat was the name given to a secret operation carried out by the US Army during the period 1954-1973, which included conducting medical experiments on volunteers nicknamed “White Coats”. The volunteers, all conscientious objectors and many members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, consented to the research before participating. The stated purpose of the experiments was to defend troops and civilians against biological weapons, and it was believed that the Soviet Union was engaged in similar activities.

Experiments

Over 2300 U.S. Army soldiers, most of which were trained medics, contributed to the experiment by allowing themselves to be infected with viruses and bacteria that were considered likely choices for a biological attack. Whitecoat volunteers were exposed to Q fever, yellow fever, Rift Valley fever, Hepatitis A, Yersinia pestis (Plague), tularemia (rabbit fever), and Venezuelan equine encephalitis and other diseases. Also referred to as “white coats”[1], the volunteers were then treated for the illnesses to determine the effectiveness of antibiotics and vaccines. Some soldiers were given two weeks of leave in exchange for being used as a test subject. These experiments took place at Fort Detrick which is a US Army research center located outside Washington, D.C.[2]

This experiment is a good example of the proper employment of informed consent as dictated by the Nuremberg Code. The volunteers were allowed to consult with outside sources such as family and clergy members before deciding to participate. The participants were required to sign consent forms after discussing the risks and treatments with a medical officer. Of the soldiers that were approached about participating, 20% declined.[3] Much of the testing remains classified and Fort Detrick allows no visitors. Not even ex-soldiers who were exposed as part of the tests can visit.

Results

Many of the vaccines that protect against bio-warfare agents were first tested on humans in Operation Whitecoat.[4]

According to USAMRIID, the Whitecoat operation contributed to vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for yellow fever and hepatitis; investigational drugs for Q fever, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Rift Valley fever, and tularemia. USAMRIID also states that Operation Whitecoat helped develop biological safety equipment including hooded safety cabinets, decontamination procedures, fermentors, incubators, centrifuges, and particle sizers.[5]

US accountability office report

The United States Government Accountability Office issued a report on September 28, 1994, which stated that between 1940 and 1974, the United States Department of Defense and other national security agencies studied hundreds of thousands of human subjects in tests and experiments involving hazardous substances.

A quote from the study:

“ Many experiments that tested various biological agents on human subjects, referred to as Operation Whitecoat, were carried out at Fort Detrick, Maryland, in the 1950s. The human subjects originally consisted of volunteer enlisted men. However, after the enlisted men staged a sitdown strike to obtain more information about the dangers of the biological tests, Seventh-day Adventists who were conscientious objectors were recruited for the studies.[6] ”

Long term health effects

No Whitecoats died during the tests, nor are there any known post-test deaths attributable to the experiments.[1] The Army only has addresses for 1000 of the 2300 people known to have volunteered.[4] Only about 500 (23%) of the whitecoats have been surveyed and the military chose not to fund blood tests.[1] A handful of respondents claim to have lingering health effects[4], and at least one subject claims to have serious health problems as a result of the experiments.[1]

See also

• US Senate Report on chemical weapons
• Project SHAD
• Tuskegee Syphilis Study
• US Biological Weapon Testing

Notes

1. “Operation Whitecoat“. PBS Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. 2003-09-24.

2. “Hidden history of US germ testing“. BBC. February 13 2006.

3. Stephenson, Jeffery; Arthur Anderson (2007). “Ethical and Legal Dilemmas in Biodefense Research” (pdf).

4. Snyder, David; staff researcher Bobbye Pratt (2003-05-06). “The Front Lines of Biowarfare“. Washington Post.

5. Linden, Caree (2005-06). “USAMRIID Celebrates 50 Years of Science”. U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.

6. “Staff Report prepared for the committee on veterans’ affairs December 8, 1994 John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia, Chairman.“.

External links

• The Living Weapon, chapter 8 about Operation Whitecoat, from the American Experience documentary video
• Adventist Volunteers Lauded on “Operation Whitecoat” Anniversary – Adventist News Network
• O’Neal, Glenn (December 19, 2001). “The risks of Operation Whitecoat” (subscription required). USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/bioterrorism/2001-12-20-whitecoat-sidebar.htm.
• Linden, Caree Vander United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases celebrates 50-year research tradition March 3, 2005 “Operation Whitecoat served as a model for the ethical use of human subjects in research”

Concluded

Sustainche today was surprised in receiving substantial help in fully understand Germany’s National Strategy for Sustainable Development. The Federal Government was handed over a report prepared by a team of international experts reviewing the present German National Strategy for Sustainable Development. Well, to make it short: The expert team does not consider the strategy to be a strategy, not to mention that they can’t recognize a comprehensive and cross-cutting vision for the future, which they deem necessary until the year 2050. Sustainche is not surprised to reading something as strong as this ! 

Sustainche fully agrees that the document For a Sustainable Germany is far away from what he personally would consider being a vision. A well-known vision is for example when United States President John F. Kennedy in 1961 announced that until the end of the decade Americans will walk on the moon and will safely return to Planet Earth … which – by the way – is perfect objective formulation.

For Polar Bear Sustainche a vision is more than a technical description of individual isolated pieces; it is rather a mosaic of nicely designed, comprehensive and cross-cutting objectives and full of positive energy and joy which makes people say: WOW, YES, we want to discover this unknown territory ! Sustainche is sure that if Christopher Columbus would just have told his comrades how to technically build a ship to cross the great ocean, they would have never ever arrived in America … which at that time they thought to be the Indies ! “If you want to realize a vision, you need to implant a GREAT wish deep in the heart ! Only than the entire universe will provide support”, Sustainche thinks and Aristotle would add: “The whole is more than the total of its individual pieces.” 

So, we return to joy and happiness … which seems to be a major problem in Germany … . Of course, we know that Polar Bear Sustainche has a very special understanding of happiness; this includes simply to ‘zivej’ … However, Sustainche knows that also some human mammals perceive that gross national happiness (GNH) is more appropriate than gross national product (GNP) to describe the quality of life. The term gross national happiness (GNH) was coined in 1972 by Bhutan’s former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who has opened up Bhutan to the age of modernization, soon after the demise of his father, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk. It signaled his commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan’s unique culture based on Buddhist spiritual values. Gross national happiness is the unifying vision for Bhutan’s five-year planning process and all the derived planning documents that guide the economic and development plans of the country. While conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective, the concept of GNH claims to be based on the premise that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The four pillars of gross national happiness (GNH) are the promotion of sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance. “How nice !” Sustainche is happy  

Germany’s National Strategy for Sustainable Development does not know words like joy and happiness. This is although ‘quality of life’ is indeed mentioned ! However, what is understood as to be quality of life ? The indicator areas outlined are: Economic prosperity (gross domestic product per capita and growth – of course !), Mobility (Is it … ?), Farming (Bravo !), Air quality (Yes !), Health (Wow … hunting smokers !), Nutrition (Yeah !) and Crime (Burglaries in homes … hmmm … strange Germans; do they think that quality of life is improved if there arrives only one bandit per year in your home ?). “This is a rather technical perception, isn’t it”, Sustainche wonders. 

In a widely cited study, ‘A Global Projection of Subjective Well-being: A Challenge to Positive Psychology?’ by Adrian G. White of the University of Leicester in 2007, Bhutan ranked 8th out of 178 countries in Subjective Well-Being, a metric that has been used by many psychologists since 1997. In fact, it is the only country in the top 20 “happiest” countries that has a very low gross national product (GNP). 

By the way: “Happy” Germany is ranked 35th … “GNP” Germany is ranked 4th …

I’m sure glad my name isn’t Jesse Kennedy Jr., or something to that effect. Do you recognize just how tragedy-laden this family’s history has been? (Note: the graphic I made below is not even the full timeline of Kennedy tragedies)

I mean, what are the odds?

Pretty unbelievable, right? According to NTSB* statistics, the chances of being killed in a plane crash are 52.6 million: 1. Wow. So you’ll notice above that 4 Kennedy family members were killed in plane crashes over a time period spanning just 55 years…AND Edward was in a plane crash, but survived (although his aide was killed in that very same crash).

I mean, this is remarkable. Remarkable to the point where I honestly cannot fathom it. This family has had quite literally the worst “luck” ever. At the risk of sounding esoteric (my favorite opener to a sentence), there is some higher power going on here–something beyond our understanding of the natural 3-dimensional world. I will leave it at that, without attempting to philosophize as to what is going on here, but regardless, I’m glad I’m not a Kennedy.

*Accidents and Accident Rates by NTSB Classification 1995-2004 DOT Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 1995- 2004

Catholics bound by the moral law can agreeably participate in the secular political system where civil law may contradict the moral. But in no sense should the civil law intrude upon the conscience of the Catholic and require his compliance… nor frankly can the Catholic inflict the Church’s morals on the state beyond what is understood as the democratic process.

It is important to accept this as Murray’s wise guide-and nothing more. It certainly didn’t mean that Murray recommended that Catholics surrender their consciences and bow to unjust civil law. Far from it. But this is what John F. Kennedy implied when he addressed the Houston ministerial association in a speech written by one John Cogley, who ultimately left the Church. In his speech Kennedy assuaged the Protestant ministers by saying that he would not inflict his Church’s views on the country, that he would serve as president who happened to be Catholic-not as a Catholic president. This sounded dangerously scandalous to one of Catholic formation-except that Kennedy added this which I paraphrase: if an issue ever arises where civil action contradicts my religious conscience, I shall resign. That was enough to close the credibility gap.

Not that the John Kennedy we have come to understand would allow his Catholicism to interfere with his duties. In fact it is commonly known now that he did in fact allow sexual immorality to coincide with his duties and in fact it is still an open question as to whether his immorality… his promiscuous attentions to a young woman also the mistress of a Mafia chieftain… did him in! I shall not digress further! [Laughter].

… “There are two powers by which this world is chiefly ruled: the sacred authority of the Popes and the royal power. Of these the priestly power is much more important because it has to render account for the Kings of men themselves at the Divine Tribunal. For you know that although you have the highest place in dignity over the human race, yet you must submit yourself faithfully to those who have charge of divine things and look to them for the means of your salvation… For if in matters pertaining to the administration of public discipline, the bishops of the Church, knowing that the Empire has been conferred on you by divine instrumentality, are themselves obedient to your laws, lest in purely material affairs contrary opinions may seem to be voiced, with what willingness I ask you, should you obey those to whom is assigned the administration of divine mysteries?”

Read the article

Mientras expresamos nuestra gratitud, no debemos olvidar nunca que la apreciación más grande no es pronunciar palabras, sino vivir acorde con ellas.

John F. Kennedy.

No es exactamente lo que digas, sino lo que estés dispuest@ a hacer… y, sobre todo, lo que quieras hacer a partir de ahora. Expresa tus metas, pero especialmente llévalas a cabo.

Abolish the Federal Reserve System – A Huge Impediment to Human Freedom, Dignity and Progress

This blog is full of odes to the dignity and greatness of humanity, and blessings for those who have labored in anonymity and persecution to bring about this potential in all beings for the benefit of mankind. As a result, it has been littered with the refuse of the bigoted and unintellectual comments of those who precisely have struggled to prevent mankind from developing freedom from servitude. True to their technique of dissimulation, that have set about accusing others of the very thing they seek, and, as George Orwell so delicately imaged it, continued to misuse language deliberately and frankly calling white “black” and day “night”, so as to keep the very systems in place which hold back human progress.

But something very important has happened this month in American history, perhaps as important as the Civil War if not more so, in that it involves the potential unraveling of the world slavery system –

The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 (H.R. 1207), a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives of the 111th United States Congress by Congressman Ron Paul (TX-14). The bill proposes a reformed audit of the Federal Reserve System (the “Fed”) before the end of 2010. I would encourage each and every American to support this bill and restore our free government.

The Federal Reserve Act (ch. 6, 38 Stat. 251, enacted December 23, 1913, 12 U.S.C. ch.3) is the act of Congress that created the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States of America, which was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson. Before the 1913 establishment of the Federal Reserve, the banking system had dealt with periodic crises (such as in the Panic of 1907) by suspending the convertibility of deposits into currency. The system nearly collapsed in 1907 and there was an extraordinary intervention by an ad-hoc coalition assembled by J. P. Morgan. The bankers demanded in 1910-1913 a central bank to address this structural weakness. The supposed idea [as illustrated by the critical scene in the Jimmy Stewart Christmas movie It's a Wonderful Life (1946)] is to create a reserve of wealth to prevent bank runs. Let us say that Mr. Smith, a rich man, puts one million dollars into Bank XYZ. Now let us say the same Mr. Smith, now near death, has some sort of religious crisis and suddenly fears going to hell. He decides, therefore, to withdrawal his one million dollars all at once and give it away, so as to guarantee a trip to heaven. The problem is that Bank XYZ has actually loaned Mr. Smith’s money in the meantime to Ms. Hamptom’s flower business, the Gomez family’s mortgage, etc. So the bank doesn’t actually have the money at the bank to cover Mr. Smith’s sudden need for a withdrawal. If enough people does this at once, say because of a sudden fear about the future of the economy or whatever, that’s called a bank run. Similar situations in the past, such as in 1907, have caused severe economic crisis and a critical loss of confidence in the bank industry, currency as a means of trade, etc. In times of economic crisis, individuals often want to withdraw their money to put it into tangibles such as land or gold. This tendency has a way, from the bank industry’s point of view in particular, of magnifying sudden panics or losses of confidence in what is essentially a house of cards. The Federal Reserve was supposedly created to thereby serve as a pool of funds that Bank XYZ could call upon to honor Mr. Smith’s sudden withdrawal. In that way, it was supposed to stabilize the United States against economic crisis. Unfortunately, there were no crises to defend against except for a suspect and immoral usury system being shaken anyway, and all the Federal Reserve System really did was create a system of world-wide slavery and episodic economic crisis. By merely asking the Federal Reserve to have transparency, to show us, the American people what they really are and what they are really doing and for whom, Ron Paul has subtlety and cleverly forced the hand of a most corrupt and evil system of domination by an immoral few at a time when their machinations are most visible in their effect and most susceptible to destruction.

Federal Reserve System is “an independent entity within the government, having both public purposes and private aspects”. In particular, neither the Federal Reserve System nor its component banks are overseen or controlled by the US Federal Government, but bluntly act as loan-sharks to banks across the US.
According to the Federal Reserve acts and amendments over the years, there are presently five different parts of the Federal Reserve System:
1.The presidentially appointed Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, a governmental agency in Washington, D.C.
2.The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which oversees Open Market Operations, the principal tool of national monetary policy.
3.Twelve regional privately-owned Federal Reserve Banks located in major cities throughout the nation, which divide the nation into 12 districts, each with its own nine-member board of directors.
4.Numerous other private U.S. member banks, which have required amounts of stock in their regional Federal Reserve Banks, which does pay dividends like any other stock, but cannot be bought or sold publicly on the stocks.
5.Various mysterious advisory councils which provide some sort of sinister coordination or planning to this multi-tentacled and unaudited process.

It is widely believed that Woodrow Wilson rushed the system into law after election largely for the economic benefit of financial entities that contributed heavily to his election campaign. Oddly enough, while he is often portrayed as being pushed into this by lust for power and with remorse, as being our only president with a PhD, he left behind political writings that reveal a distaste for freedom and a desire for a more tyrannical system which abolished the founding father’s system of branches of government with checks and balances long before he ever held office. Under the influence of Walter Bagehot’s The English Constitution, Wilson saw the United States Constitution as pre-modern, cumbersome, and open to corruption. He wrote in the early 1880s:
“I ask you to put this question to yourselves, should we not draw the Executive and Legislature closer together? Should we not, on the one hand, give the individual leaders of opinion in Congress a better chance to have an intimate part in determining who should be president, and the president, on the other hand, a better chance to approve himself a statesman, and his advisers capable men of affairs, in the guidance of Congress?”

The first chairman of the Fed, McAdoo, was an entrepreneur. He was the president of the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Company, which built the tubes connecting Manhattan and Hoboken and operated by PATH today. He worked on Wilson’s 1912 presidential campaign as noted earlier. Wilson named him Treasury Secretary in 1913. And in March 1914, he became engaged to Wilson’s daughter. So the president was also his soon-to-be father-in-law, quite the incestuous relationship with controlling monetary policy Wilson had hoped to have in the first place. In fact, in the picture beginning this article, McAdoo’s armband is worn to commemorate the death, four days earlier, of his mother-in-law, Ellen Axson Wilson, and some say the death of capitalism and human freedom in general. Interesting other facts about the above picture are that the standing gentleman is Paul Warburg of Hamburg, Germany, of a successful Jewish banking family. He is also of the family banking firm of M.M. Warburg & Company, still a member bank of the Fed, and chairman of Wells Fargo, still receiving Fed handouts to this day. He is also the founder of the Brookings Institute, still one of the aforementioned advisory councils of the Fed to this day!

In addition to controlling the American economy, the Federal Reserve has the authority to act as “lender of last resort” by extending credit to depository institutions or to other entities in unusual circumstances involving a national or regional emergency, such as an economic crisis, where failure to obtain credit would have a severe adverse impact on the economy.

Through its discount and credit operations, Reserve Banks provide liquidity to banks to meet short-term needs stemming from seasonal fluctuations in deposits or unexpected withdrawals. Longer term liquidity may also be provided in exceptional circumstances. The Fed is able to make money through these loans by charging a rate, known as the discount rate (officially the primary credit rate).

By making these loans, the Fed serves as a buffer against unexpected day-to-day fluctuations in reserve demand and supply. This contributes to the effective functioning of the banking system, alleviates pressure in the reserves market and reduces the extent of unexpected movements in the interest rates. For example, on September 16, 2008, the Federal Reserve Board authorized an $85 billion loan to stave off the bankruptcy of international insurance giant American International Group (AIG). The Federal Reserve System’s role as lender of last resort is criticized for shifting risk and responsibility away from lenders and borrowers and placing them on others, namely us middle-class taxpayers, in the form of taxes and/or inflation. This enables the banks and companies that are bailed out to avoid responsible management at our expense, and enables the banks that are doing the rescuing to actually profit from these transactions at our expense, not through any penalty or consequence of the offending institution.

Interestingly, the Fed also has over $11 billion in gold, which is a holdover from the days the government used to back US Notes and Federal Reserve Notes with gold. This means that in times of economic crisis, when tangibles such as gold rise greatly in value, the Fed sees a profit in the rise of the value of its holdings. The Fed has approximately a tenth of the world’s gold, and the member banks are estimated to trade approximately 75% of the world’s foreign exchange trade, or Forex market, while at the same time being able to control the value of the dollar vis a vis other currencies at will. The value of gold held by the Fed at this time of high gold value is around $310 trillion, and represents almost 80% of the world’s gold supply, which can be bought or sold as needed.

So what we are talking about is a group of private banks and companies in the hands of a few families, a surprising number of which are not United States corporations or citizens, many of whom have a similar degree of control over their own countries economic policy and national banking, capable of profiting greatly by economic crisis which they are capable of manufacturing by means of their hold of the reins of economic policy. In fact, the periodic economic cycles we are experiencing over time are in fact a by-product of the policy of those capable of profiting from these crises.
The Federal Reserve’s control of interest rates is an unnecessary and counterproductive interference in the economy. Rates should be naturally low during times of excessive consumer saving (because lendable money is abundant) and naturally high when high net volumes of consumer credit are extended (because lendable money is scarce). These critics argue that setting a baseline lending rate amounts to centralized economic planning, and inflating the currency amounts to a regressive, incremental redistribution of wealth.

Austrian School economists focus on the amplifying, “wave-like” effects of the credit cycle as the primary cause of most business cycles. They assert that inherently damaging and ineffective central bank policies, like those of the Federal Reserve, are the predominant cause of most business cycles, because they tend to set interest rates unnaturally low for too long, resulting in excessive credit creation, speculative “bubbles” and unnaturally low savings. The business cycle unfolds in the following way. Low interest rates tend to stimulate borrowing from the banking system. This expansion of credit causes an expansion of the money supply, through the money creation process in a fractional reserve banking system. This in turn leads to an unsustainable “monetary boom” during which the “artificially stimulated” borrowing seeks out diminishing investment opportunities. This boom results in widespread failed investment, causing capital resources to be misallocated into areas which would not attract investment if the money supply remained stable. The global economic crisis of 2008 represents an example of the Austrian business cycle theory’s dependability.
It is also a widely-accepted criticism of the Fed, first proposed by Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz, that the Fed exacerbated the 1929 recession, sparking the Great Depression. After the stock market crashed in 1929, the Fed continued to contract the money supply and refused to save struggling banks threatened with runs from failure; this mistake, critics charge, allowed what might have been a relatively mild recession to explode into catastrophe, as discussed in their work A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960. The Great Depression was caused by the fall of the money supply. Friedman & Schwartz note that “[f]rom the cyclical peak in August 1929 to a cyclical trough in March 1933, the stock of money fell by over a third.” The result was what Friedman calls the “Great Contraction” — a period of falling income, prices, and employment caused by the choking effects of a restricted money supply. The mechanism suggested by Friedman and Schwartz was that people wanted to hold more money than the Federal Reserve was supplying. People thus hoarded money by consuming less. This, in turn, caused a contraction in employment and production, since prices were not flexible enough to immediately fall.

The current Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, even acknowledged this in a 2002 speech:

Let me end my talk by abusing slightly my status as an official representative of the Federal Reserve. I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression. You’re right, we did it. We’re very sorry. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again.

I think I would prefer to audit their actions in the future rather than take their “good word,” especially as it has occurred repeatedly since then, particularly when the next generation of beneficiaries of these few families needs to yet again harvest the work and ideas of the world for the continuation of their parasitic life-cycle.

In a 2002 interview with Peter Jaworski, Friedman said that ideally he would “prefer to abolish the federal reserve system altogether” rather than try to reform it, because it was a flawed system in the first place. He would prefer to replace the organization with a mechanical system that would increase the money supply at some fixed rate, and thought that “leaving monetary and banking arrangements to the market would have produced a more satisfactory outcome than was actually achieved through government involvement.” I would have to agree. But I must say that Ron Paul’s urgent plea that the American people at least be allowed to be informed as to the workings of the Federal Reserve is certainly logical and virtually unarguable, especially if the workings of the Fed involve the periodic construction of waves of starving families and ruined lives for the benefit of a few families around the world, as they appear to.

You see, there is no witchcraft. The controlling influences are a handful of WASP and Jewish families, about 50/50, who no doubt boringly and dutifully attend their weekly church or synagogue services. After all, what need is there for the drinking of goat’s blood or black masses when you can watch infants starve and grown men bleed tears for their dying wives while you dine on gold-leaf cake? The organization of Adam Weishaupt and it’s members such as Goethe and the founding fathers like Thomas Jefferson in their Joseph Campbellian embrace of humanism have little to do with these fascist machinations. Indeed the forces of the Enlightenment, the lovers of classical culture, and Jesuits and Catholic scholars such as myself and John Kennedy have always stood in stark battle against the forces of totalitarianism and degradors of human freedom. This is why John Kennedy was shot in the first place, for railing against the Fed and endorsing human freedom, potential and the brotherhood of man. Compare this to Woodrow Wilson, author of the Federal Reserve, abolisher of the design of our illuminated founding fathers, and acknowledged Klansman. Listening to the speech below, remember that Kennedy was killed for daring to cry out for change, and let his martyrdom not be in vain. Join Ron Paul and myself and call your representative today and insist on transparency for the Federal Reserve and begin the end of human slavery to a greedy and unintelligent few.

“i thank god for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees & for the blue dreams of sky & for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” — e.e. cummings

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough” — Oprah Winfrey

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero

“I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.” — Woody Allen

“I do not think we have a “right” to happiness. If happiness happens, say thanks.” — Marlene Dietrich

Jax

“Purring is not so different from praying. To a tree, a cat’s purr is one of the purest of all prayers, for in it lies a whole mixture of gratitude and longing, the twin ingredients of every prayer.”  — Kathi Appelt (The Underneath)

“I am as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best. “ — Walt Whitman

“When we find someone who is brave, fun, intelligent, and loving, we have to thank the universe.” — Maya Angelou

“Everyday, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.” — Dalai Lama XIV

“In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.” — Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia)

“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude. “ — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.” — Kahlil Gibrán (The Prophet)

GiGi

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy: They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” — Marcel Proust

“Be present in all things and thankful for all things” — Maya Angelou

“Fell in love with a beautiful blonde once. Drove me to drink. And I never had the decency to thank her. ” — W.C. Fields

“True forgiveness is when you can say, ‘Thank you for that experience.’” — Oprah Winfrey

“Gratitude is a ‘heart’ memory” — French Proverb

“He was still too young to know that the heart’s memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good, and that thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burden of the past.” — Gabriel García Márquez (Love in the Time of Cholera)

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” — Albert Schweitzer

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ” — John F. Kennedy

“I tell you this, my friends, in the experience of my life time, the failure and the pain have certainly outstripped the triumphs. But this has not destroyed my faith — my faith in reason, in truth, in human solidarity — but, on the contrary, it has made it indestructible. I see the hope of the world in you. And, from my heart, I thank you.” — Frida Kahlo

“Thank you, God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough.” — Garrison Keillor

Happy Thanksgiving!

photo: (inconnu)

Un rare moment de détente entre les deux hommes.

Forty-six years ago, yesterday, John F. Kennedy was shot. Forty-six years ago, Wednesday, John F. Kennedy was buried at Arlington Cemetary. Forty-six years ago, Thursday, this article by Jimmy Breslin ran in the New York Herald Tribune:

Washington — Clifton Pollard was pretty sure he was going to be working on Sunday, so when he woke up at 9 a.m., in his three-room apartment on Corcoran Street, he put on khaki overalls before going into the kitchen for breakfast. His wife, Hettie, made bacon and eggs for him. Pollard was in the middle of eating them when he received the phone call he had been expecting. It was from Mazo Kawalchik, who is the foreman of the gravediggers at Arlington National Cemetery, which is where Pollard works for a living. “Polly, could you please be here by eleven o’clock this morning?” Kawalchik asked. “I guess you know what it’s for.” Pollard did. He hung up the phone, finished breakfast, and left his apartment so he could spend Sunday digging a grave for John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

It’s a classic, and short, if you haven’t read it. Do so here.

My wonderful friend Buffy, who now lives in Lebanon, sent the following Thanksgiving wish which I’d like to share with you.

John F. Kennedy was assassinated 44 years ago today. Texas is the reason.

It’s a bit in poor taste, I know, but today’s song is Bullet by the Misfits. I always misheard the lyric “Kennedy’s shattered head hits concrete” as “Kennedy’s shattered head: it’s complete.” It’s a creative mishearing. Lyrically, I think “Bullet” is one of Glen Danzig’s best, though he can’t refrain from sexual morbidity for long and ends the song with a verse about having sex with Jackie O. (But as we shall see, sex and death both attend accounts of the Kennedy King-Killing.)

For an extreme antigovernment libertarian-type with an attraction to revisionist history, I’m actually not much of a Kennedy conspiracy buff. My accquaintance with the facts of the assassination and the figures involved come primarily through works of ficiton. First is JFK, which I regard as a truly brilliant film, whatever its relation to the actual facts (and which I actually watched earlier today- my brother was assigned to write a paper on a historical film and picked this one off a list of suggestions and was unaware that it was the exact date of the assassination). Second is the Don DeLillo novel Libra, which presents the thesis that I’ve always wanted to see: that there was a conspiracy and Oswald did it (though that’s not really what the book is about). George Will famously, and fatuously, dismissed the novel as “sandbox existentialism”. I think it’s more lunchpail postmodernism myself. It’s pretty good. Come to think of it, DeLillo and Oliver Stone have a lot in common: each has made the only serious attempts at depicting football in fiction (Stone in the movie Any Given Sunday and DeLillo in the novel End Zone), and  both have a great deal of talent that they squander at least half the time. Finally, if you really want to wade in the wierd end of the pool, there’s the Grand Poobah of Paranoia James Shelby Downard’s “King-Kill 33: Masonic Symbolism in the Assassination of John F. Kennedy“, which employs language-analysis, mythology, and geography to show that the assassination was a ritual murder by the ubiquitous secret society. Enough to make Richard Hofstadter blow his stack. Of course you cannot take Downars seriously, but that does not mean he is not supremely entertaining.

I’ve long toyed with the idea of doing a half-joking essay presenting a Downardian reading of Stone’s JFK. Outlandish enough on its surface, the film is downright uncanny if you know how to watch it. With Downard’s thesis in mind watch, for instance, the long scene at the heart of the film where Costner’s as Jim Garrison talks to his Black Ops informant, Donald Sutherland’s X. They’re sitting on a park bench in front of the Washington monument. X urges Garrison to think about the big picture by asking the age-old cui bono: “Who had the motive? Who had the means to cover it up? Who?” At this precise moment, the film cuts to a wide shot of the monument. A certain breed of conspiracist believes the obelisk to be an important masonic/satanic phallic symbol, and central to the supposed occult layout of Washington D.C. (Obelisks as phallic symbols and occult architecture and city planning play an important role in another brilliant work of paranoid fiction, Alan Moore’s graphic novel about Jack the Ripper From Hell.) Watch closely also a scene where one of Garrison’s investigators is talking to a contact in New Orleans during one of those weird parades they have where everybody dresses up as a skeleton. Just as the contact reveals that the suspected co-conspirator and member of the New Orleans gay underworld Clay Bertrand was actually respected business figure Clay Shaw, one of the procession of the dead jumps out and spooks the two; then a cut to another meeting of Garrison’s team and one of them saying, “this is spookier than we thought”. Moments like that are like an alchemical element working throuhout the film. Spooks and death working just underneath the surface.

And don’t think I didn’t get a little shiver when I saw that this Sunday entry happened to be number 33.

I should reiterate, and underline (this is the internet, after all), that I am a conspiracy skeptic. My interest in paranoia is largely an aesthetic one (which is not to say that the Officially Accepted Narrative is not, as per usual, pure fantasy ficiton as well). My own hatred of the National Security State by no means rests on who killed Kennedy or why, and anyway I follow Gore Vidal in thinking that the coup d’état took place in 1947, not 1963.

Are they serious? Notwithstanding the question of why anyone with a brain would go into a church in this day and age, much less to take communion, but do you mean to tell me that someone can’t take communion because they support abortion rights? Is this (the Catholic Church) the same group of clowns who tortured and slaughtered countless thousands of innocent people? Now, hundreds of years later, they’re anti-abortion because abortion is murder? Murder; the Vatican knows more about murder than most. They’ve been responsible for more murders than just about any other group in history!

What a bunch of con artists these church “officials” are! How can they look in the mirror while they shave in the mornings; the Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, et al, knowing the kind of criminal organization they belong to?

Is it any wonder I hate religions? TGO

Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The nephew of ex-president John F. Kennedy, a US lawmaker, has been barred from receiving communion at his Catholic church due to his support for abortion rights, a newspaper reported Sunday.

US Representative Patrick Kennedy, son of the late senator Edward Kennedy, was told of the move by Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin, according to The Providence Journal newspaper in the US state of Rhode Island.

Kennedy represents a district in Rhode Island in the US Congress.

“The bishop instructed me not to take communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me communion,” the paper quotes Kennedy as saying in a telephone interview.

Kennedy said the bishop had explained the penalty by telling him that he was not a good practicing Catholic because of the positions that he had taken as a public official, particularly on abortion, the report said.

The congressman declined to say when or how Tobin told him not to take the sacrament or whether he had obeyed the bishop?s injunction, the report said.

Tobin, through a spokesman, declined to address the question of whether he had told Kennedy not to receive communion, The Journal noted.

But the bishop?s office moved quickly to cast doubt on Kennedy?s related assertion about instructions to priests in Rhode Island.

“Bishop Tobin has never addressed matters relative to public officials receiving holy communion with pastors of the diocese,” the paper quotes the bishop’s spokesman Michael Guilfoyle as saying.

Communion is a church ritual that involves the sharing of bread and wine meant to represent the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

John F. Kennedy was the country’s first Catholic president.

I loved you once in silence . . .

Yes, today has been one of the most lonely days I believe I have lived through in a long time. Memories, memories of Camelot long since gone. Camelot revisited. A broken heart today. Much the same heart I’m sure Caroline Kennedy feels as well. We both have lost our “Sweet Camelots” over the last few years of our lives.

For those not aware, today is the anniversary of the death of President John F. Kennedy. How do I remember this date, especially being that I am so stinking horrible with history? Because this date is also my mother’s birthday. She turned 78 today. Not that she probably even had an idea it was her birthday or the anniversary of the assasination of President Kennedy.

For years I was so close to my grandparents, and so hurt I was left behind when my mother remarried, that I would only allow myself to love her in silence. Why? I would ask myself this question many times? I guess I will never know. I did not choose to ask my grandparents, and I would not ask my mother either. A few sessions of counseling helped me realize where the distance came between my precious mother and I.

Not until she became so ill in December 2008, and I spent much time at the hospital and ER with her, did I realize how very, very much she loved me. I believe she felt leaving me with my grandparents I loved was not only for my happiness, but also probably for my safety from my abusive biological father. She knew as long as I was with my grandfather, no harm would ever come to me. I now believe her decision was a self-less act of love . . . isn’t it sad only old age makes us so much wiser?

Did I get to see her today? No, I did not. I have not been able to go see her because of this stinking accident I had in July, and then today because of this horrible cold. I could not risk giving her, or another elderly patient at the nursing home, this cold.

I still have my mother with me, but I might as well not. Dementia has taken over her mind, and I’m not even sure she will know me when I do get to see her. She lives a real Camelot fantasy life with each remaining day of her life. She does not even realize I almost died in July at the hospital.

Mom and Lady — Lady looks like my Tinkerbell

I miss those crazy calls several times a day, I miss the hugs as I would leave from visiting her, I miss the homecooked meals I shared with her, I miss that twinkle in her eyes when she talked about her two grandsons and her great-grandchildren, I even miss her love for that crazy doll collection . . . my heart misses her so much it hurts.

Yes, John and Caroline lost their precious father on November 22nd many years ago, but I lost my precious mother today. Both were Camelot lost, and both died from loss of their brains. One went fast, but the one I love is going slowly.

Mom, happy birthday, I do love you. I wish I had realized it many, many years ago! How I wish I could go back in time to those days of Camelot again, but now I can only have memories of Camelot Revisited.

Yes, that is me in the zoo picture with my mother. I would love to be skinny like that again too! I had to make you laugh at the end. Thanks for reading and allowing me to share my deepest feelings on this lonely November 22nd, 2009.

“We flung wide our prison door. . . And now we have twice the pain than we had known before” . . . What a poetic way of describing the pain that is love . . .

I’ve posted a blog at TulareCountyAtheists.com about Rhode Island’s Bishop Thomas Tobin and his recent order to deny communion to Representative Patrick Kennedy.  Kennedy recently voted against the Stupak amendment to the health care bill currently before Congress, and the Bishop decided that this meant Kennedy was supporting abortion in violation of the Church’s orders to Catholic politicians.  Read my blog here.

Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Tobin has instructed priests under his control to refuse communion to Representative Patrick Kennedy, on the same day as the 46th anniversary of the assassination of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy.  Since 2004, Roman Catholic Bishops have threatened to withhold communion from politicians who vote in favor of issues the Catholic Church has decided they should be against.

With this action, Bishop Tobin continues the Church’s march away from fighting poverty and oppression,  and towards shrill demagoguery over social issues like stem cell research, abortion, and same sex marriage.

Catholic services in Washington D.C. have threatened to pull out of the city, abandoning the poor, after the District approved legislation recognizing same sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.    Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington D.C. wrote an article in today’s (Nov 22, 2009) Washington Post that essentially says they will halt many of their projects if the law comes into effect (Congress must approve first).  Read the Bishop’s article here.

So now it appears that in the name of “religious freedom”, that no Catholic can have a political position that conflicts with the Church’s beliefs, and political jurisdictions that recognize or allow same sex marriage will be without the Church’s programs.  Essentially, if you won’t play by their rules, they’ll take their toys and leave.

I wonder what Jesus would think about that.  If he existed.

Communion article here.