Krishna Consciousness

The United Nations, they have created a society for unity of the nations, but actually that is not unity. That is another way of encroaching upon others' property.

LOCKE.HAY                   John Locke                  Philosophy
Prabhupada: Yes, yes. Tena tyaktena bhunjitha: everything belongs to God. Just like the father has got many sons and the father is the proprietor of the house. He gives one son, "This is your room," the other son, "This is your room." So the obedient son is satisfied what the father allows to him. Others, those who are not obedient, they want to disturb other brother  that "This room also belongs to me." That creates chaos and confusion in the world. The United Nations, they have created a society for unity of the nations, but actually that is not unity. That is another way of encroaching upon others' property. Therefore there is no peace, unless they accept God is the Supreme proprietor. And we must be satisfied with the allotment God has given to us. Then there is no trouble. But the trouble is that we are not satisfied with the allotment given to us. That allotment can be understood by language or similar culture. So why one should encroach upon others' property which is allotted by God? That creates disturbance. So this so-called modern civilized man, first of all they create disturbances, and then they want to make some adjustment. Of course, for the good of a certain people, if somebody encroaches... But they do not know what is good. They encroach upon others' property for their personal sense gratification. Otherwise, if for the good of the local people somebody, some (indistinct), just like the Aryans, they conquered over many islands or places, but that was for the good of them. Just like the Pandavas, they also ruled over, but the Pandavas were God conscious devotees and they made everyone enlightened in God consciousness. That kind of encroachment. Just like Lord Ramacandra went to Ceylon, or Lanka, and conquered over it, because Ravana was a demon. So He conquered, Lord Ramacandra conquered over the property of Ravana, and gave it to Vibhisana, but He did not take anything. Just like Krsna conducted, managed this Kuruksetra war personally, but the kingdom was given to Yudhisthira. He did not encroach. So this kind of encroachment is all right, that everyone should be Krsna conscious, everyone should be highly elevated in spiritual life. For spreading this civilization, encroaching on others' property is quite fit. But if one encroaches upon others' property for self-aggrandizement, for stealing for his own sense gratification, that is sinful.

Although professing democracy, they want to be kings themselves. Thus they compete for votes by bad propaganda.

LoB 44   In the autumn season all the reservoirs of water are full of lotus flowers. There are also flowers that resemble the lotus but are of a different class. Among them is a flower called kumuda. When the sun rises, all the flowers but the kumuda blossom beautifully. Similarly, lotuslike men take pleasure in the advent of a responsible king, but men who are like the kumuda do not like the existence of a king.

  In this age of Kali the people want their own government, because the kings have become corrupt. Formerly it was not like that. The sons of kings were trained under the guidance of a good brahmana-acarya just as the Pandavas and the Kauravas were put under the instruction of the qualified brahmana professor Sri Dronacarya. Princes were rigidly trained in politics, economics, the military arts, ethics and morality, the sciences, and, above all, devotional service to the Lord. Only after such good training were the princes allowed to be enthroned. When such a prince became king, then too he was guided by the advice of good brahmanas. Even in the Middle Ages, Maharaja Candragupta was guided by the learned brahmana Canakya Pandita.
   In a monarchy, one man sufficiently trained was competent enough to conduct alone the business of the state. But in a democracy no one is trained like a prince; instead, politicians are voted to responsible posts of administration by diplomatic arrangements. In place of one king or supreme executive officer, in a democracy there are so many quasi-kings: the president, the ministers, the deputy ministers, the secretaries, the assistant secretaries, the private secretaries, and the undersecretaries. There are a number of parties--political, social, and communal--and there are party whips, party whims, and so on. But no one is well enough trained to look after the factual interests of the governed. In a so-called democratic government, corruption is even more rampant than in an autocracy or monarchy.
   Men who want to flourish in the guise of servants of the people do not want a good king at the head of the state. They are like the kumuda flowers, which do not take pleasure in the sunrise. The word ku means "bad," and mud means "pleasure." Persons who want to exploit the administrative power for their own self-interest do not like the presence of a good king. Although professing democracy, they want to be kings themselves. Thus they compete for votes by bad propaganda and take pleasure in having politics but no king. Thieves and dacoits also take no pleasure in the presence of a good king, but it is in the interest of the people to have a well-trained king as the head of the state.

At the present moment there are different parties in the democratic government, but everyone is busy trying to keep his post or trying to keep his political party in power. The politicians have very little time to think of the welfare of the citizens.

SB 4.12.10 P   Dhruva Maharaja Goes Back to Godhead                             

                                  TEXT

                       athayajata yajnesam
                    kratubhir bhuri-daksinaih
                      dravya-kriya-devatanam
                     karma karma-phala-pradam

                             SYNONYMS

   atha--thereafter; ayajata--he worshiped; yajna-isam--the master of sacrifices; kratubhih--by sacrificial ceremonies; bhuri--great; daksinaih--by charities; dravya-kriya-devatanam--of (sacrifices including various) paraphernalia, activities and demigods; karma--the objective; karma-phala--the result of activities; pradam--who awards.

                           TRANSLATION

   As long as he remained at home, Dhruva Maharaja performed many great ceremonial sacrifices in order to please the enjoyer of all sacrifices, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Prescribed ceremonial sacrifices are especially meant to please Lord Visnu, who is the objective of all such sacrifices and who awards the resultant benedictions.

                             PURPORT

   In Bhagavad-gita (3.9) it is said, yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra loko 'yam karma-bandhanah: one should act or work only in order to please the Supreme Lord, otherwise one becomes entangled in the resultant reactions. According to the four divisions of varna and asrama, ksatriyas and vaisyas are especially advised to perform great ceremonial sacrifices and to distribute their accumulated money very liberally. Dhruva Maharaja, as a king and ideal ksatriya, performed many such sacrifices, giving very liberally in charity. Ksatriyas and vaisyas are supposed to earn their money and accumulate great riches. Sometimes they do it by acting sinfully. Ksatriyas are meant to rule over a country; Dhruva Maharaja, for example, in the course of ruling, had to fight and kill many Yaksas. Such action is necessary for ksatriyas. A ksatriya should not be a coward, and he should not be nonviolent; to rule over the country he has to act violently.
   Ksatriyas and vaisyas are therefore especially advised to give in charity at least fifty percent of their accumulated wealth. In Bhagavad-gita it is recommended that even though one enters the renounced order of life, he still cannot give up the performance of yajna, dana and tapasya. They are never to be given up. Tapasya is meant for the renounced order of life; those who are retired from worldly activities should perform tapasya, penances and austerities. Those who are in the material world, the ksatriyas and vaisyas, must give charity. Brahmacaris, in the beginning of their lives, should perform different kinds of yajnas.
   Dhruva Maharaja, as an ideal king, practically emptied his treasury by giving charity. A king is not meant simply to realize taxes from the citizens and accumulate wealth to spend in sense gratification. World monarchy has failed ever since kings began to satisfy their personal senses with the taxes accumulated from the citizens. Of course, whether the system is monarchy or democracy, the same corruption is still going on. At the present moment there are different parties in the democratic government, but everyone is busy trying to keep his post or trying to keep his political party in power. The politicians have very little time to think of the welfare of the citizens, whom they oppress with heavy taxes in the form of income tax, sales tax and many other taxes--people sometimes have eighty to ninety percent of their income taken away, and these taxes are lavishly spent for the high salaries drawn by the officers and rulers. Formerly, the taxes accumulated from the citizens were spent for performing great sacrifices as enjoined in the Vedic literature. At the present moment, however, almost all forms of sacrifice are not at all possible; therefore, it is recommended in the sastras that people should perform sankirtana-yajna. Any householder, regardless of his position, can perform this sankirtana-yajna without expenditure. All the family members can sit down together and simply clap their hands and chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Somehow or other, everyone can manage to perform such a yajna and distribute prasada to the people in general. That is quite sufficient for this age of Kali. The Krsna consciousness movement is based on this principle: chant the Hare Krsna mantra at every moment, as much as possible, both inside and outside of the temples, and, as far as possible, distribute prasada. This process can be accelerated with the cooperation of state administrators and those who are producing the country's wealth. Simply by liberal distribution of prasada and sankirtana, the whole world can become peaceful and prosperous.
   Generally in all the material sacrifices recommended in the Vedic literature there are offerings to the demigods. This demigod worship is especially meant for less intelligent men. Actually, the result of such sacrifice goes to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana. Lord Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (5.29), bhoktaram yajna-tapasam: He is actually the enjoyer of all sacrifices. His name, therefore, is Yajna-purusa.
   Although Dhruva Maharaja was a great devotee and had nothing to do with these sacrifices, to set an example to his people he performed many sacrifices and gave all his wealth in charity. For as long as he lived as a householder, he never spent a farthing for his sense gratification. In this verse the word karma-phala-pradam is very significant. The Lord awards everyone different kinds of karma as the individual living entities desire; He is the Supersoul present within the heart of everyone, and He is so kind and liberal that He gives everyone full facilities to perform whatever acts one wants. Then the result of the action is also enjoyed by the living entity. If anyone wants to enjoy or lord it over material nature, the Lord gives him full facilities, but he becomes entangled in the resultant reactions. Similarly, if anyone wants to engage himself fully in devotional service, the Lord gives him full facilities, and the devotee enjoys the results. The Lord is therefore known as karma-phala-prada.

No one retires from political life unless forced to do so. How can such low-grade men do good to the people? The result is corruption, intrigue and hypocrisy.

SB 1.12.18 P         Birth of Emperor Pariksit                             

                                  TEXT

                           sri-rajovaca
                     apy esa vamsyan rajarsin
                     punya-slokan mahatmanah
                      anuvartita svid yasasa
                      sadhu-vadena sattamah

                             SYNONYMS

   sri-raja--the all-good king (Maharaja Yudhisthira); uvaca--said; api--whether; esah--this; vamsyan--family; raja-rsin--of saintly kings; punya-slokan--pious by the very name; maha-atmanah--all great souls; anuvartita--follower; svit--will it be; yasasa--by achievements; sadhu-vadena--by glorification; sat-tamah--O great souls.

                           TRANSLATION

   The good King [Yudhisthira] inquired: O great souls, will he become as saintly a king, as pious in his very name and as famous and glorified in his achievements, as others who appeared in this great royal family?

                             PURPORT

   The forefathers of King Yudhisthira were all great saintly kings, pious and glorified by their great achievements. They were all saints on the royal throne. And therefore all the members of the state were happy, pious, well behaved, prosperous and spiritually enlightened. Under strict guidance of the great souls and spiritual injunctions, such great saintly kings were trained up, and as a result the kingdom was full of saintly persons and was a happy land of spiritual life. Maharaja Yudhisthira was himself a replica of his ancestors, and he desired that the next king after him become exactly like his great forefathers. He was happy to learn from the learned brahmanas that by astrological calculations the child would be born a first-grade devotee of the Lord, and more confidentially he wanted to know whether the child was going to follow in the footsteps of his great forefathers. That is the way of the monarchical state. The reigning king should be a pious, chivalrous devotee of the Lord and fear personified for the upstarts. He must also leave an heir apparent equally qualified to rule over the innocent citizens. In the modern setup of the democratic states, the people themselves are fallen to the qualities of the sudras or less, and the government is run by their representative, who is ignorant of the scriptural mode of administrative education. Thus the whole atmosphere is surcharged with sudra qualities, manifested by lust and avarice. Such administrators quarrel every day among themselves. The cabinet of ministers changes often due to party and group selfishness. Everyone wants to exploit the state resources till he dies. No one retires from political life unless forced to do so. How can such low-grade men do good to the people? The result is corruption, intrigue and hypocrisy. They should learn from the Srimad-Bhagavatam how ideal the administrators must be before they can be given charge of different posts.

So people will be very much embarrassed by two things: one thing is taxation, and another thing will be scarcity of food.

760708ed.wdc              Conversations
Prabhupada: How there can be, because the democracy? You are corrupt, therefore your government is corrupt. You correct yourself, the government will be automatically corrected. If you are rascals, the government will be rascals. The government means elected. So if you are not rascal, you'll not elect another rascal to take charge of the government affairs. But because you are rascal, you'll send another rascal. So how can you expect good government? You do not know whom to select. And besides that, the whole population is rascal, sudra. So anyone you elect, if he's by qualification he's a sudra, worker, he's not intelligent person, he's not brahmana, he's not ksatriya. Actually, the legislative assembly, or in your country, Senate? They should be all brahmanas. They give advice. Formerly this was the system. Although it was monarchy, even Lord Ramacandra or similar kings, they were not ruling independently--they were taking advice from learned brahmanas, sages. So the legislative assembly should be composition of intellectual brahmanas. Then the other administrators, the President or the minister, they should be ksatriyas. In this way, if social organization is made, then there will be perfect peace. If sudras are allowed to rule over, what they know? Their only aim is that so long he is in the office, "Let me collect some money," that's all. And that will be the latest atmosphere, dasyu-dharmabhih. Rajanyair dasyu-dharmabhih. All the government men will become thieves and rogues. Dasyu, dasyu means thieves and rogues. So as the thieves and rogues capture you on the street and ask "Whatever you have got, give, otherwise I shall kill you," so this will be the position in the Kali-yuga. It is happening now. You cannot have any private property; everything you have to declare. Otherwise, it will be taken by force. So people will be very much embarrassed by two things: one thing is taxation, and another thing will be scarcity of food. In this way, all the people all over the world will be embarrassed, so much so that they will leave their home, hearth and home, acchinna-dara-dravina yasyanti giri-kananam. Being separated from family and property, they will take shelter in the hilly ranges or in the forest to get relief. This will be the position. Harassment, so much harassment, by nature, by government. So therefore for complete happy society, this Krsna consciousness movement is essential. All intelligent persons, they should join this movement and reform the present social, political, religious. All field of activities, they should reform. Then people will be happy. Not only happy in this life, but also next life. Unfortunately, the present education does not provide knowledge of next life. There is no such education. They are kept in darkness like cats and dogs. They do not know that there is life after death, and we get our next life according to our present activities--karmana daiva-netrena. These things are unknown. Very risky life. If I am prime minister in this life or president, and if I am going to become a dog next life, then what is the benefit of becoming prime minister or president? And nature's law is that you get your next life according to the mentality at the time of death. So if I have acted like cats and dogs throughout whole life, naturally I shall think like cats and dogs at the time of death. Then next life is cats and dogs. So I may be worshiped here in a statue, that "Here is our beloved prime minister," and next life, I'm barking as a dog. Then what is the benefit?

In the name of democracy, rogues and thieves fool the innocent populace into electing them to the most important posts in the government.

SC 14                   Betrayed by Leaders  
Whatever the heads of society do, people generally follow. The government or king is like a father to the citizens. A father will never tolerate the killing or injuring of his children. He will give up his own life trying to attack the person threatening his children. Yet today crime is rampant. The government spends billions of dollars, but the citizens have no security in their lives. The government is answerable to the citizens because it must protect and provide for them. If the government is incapable or corrupt, then what is the position of the citizens?
   The king, or in modern times the government, should act as the guardian of the citizens by teaching them the proper goal of life. The human form of life is especially meant for attaining self-realization, realization of one's relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The duty of the government, therefore, is to take charge of training all the citizens in such a way that they will gradually be elevated to the spiritual platform and realize their relationship with God. This principle was followed by kings like Maharaja Yudhisthira, Maharaja Pariksit, Lord Ramacandra, Maharaja Ambarisa, and Prahlada Maharaja.
   Unfortunately, today's government leaders are generally dishonest and irreligious, and thus all the affairs of the state suffer. In the name of democracy, rogues and thieves fool the innocent populace into electing them to the most important posts in the government. Recently this has been proven in America, and as a result the citizens condemned the President and dragged him down from his post. This is only one case out of many.
   In Kali-yuga, people have no shelter. Due to corrupt government, they are uncertain of their lives and property. The mass of people should always feel secure because of the government's protection. Therefore, how regrettable it is for the government itself to cause a breach of trust and put the citizens in difficulty for political reasons. We saw during the partition days in India that although Hindus and Muslims had been living together peacefully, manipulation by politicians suddenly aroused feelings of hatred between them, and thus the Hindus and Muslims killed one another over politics. This is a sign of Kali-yuga.
   Another symptom of Kali-yuga is the abominable practice of animal slaughter. In this age animals are kept nicely sheltered, completely confident that their masters will protect them, but unfortunately as soon as the animals are fat, they are immediately sent for slaughter. Such cruelty is condemned by Vaisnavas like the Visnudutas. Indeed, hellish conditions of extreme suffering await the sinful men responsible for such cruelty. One who betrays the confidence of a living entity who takes shelter of him in good faith, whether that living entity be a human being or an animal, is extremely sinful. Because such betrayals now go unpunished by the government, all of human society is terribly contaminated. The people of this age are therefore described as mandah sumanda-matayo manda-bhagya hy upadrutah. As a consequence of such sinfulness, men are condemned (mandah), their intelligence is unclear (sumanda-matayah), they are unfortunate (manda-bhagyah), and therefore they are always disturbed by many problems (upadrutah). This is their situation in this life, and after death they are punished in hellish conditions.

When disobedient leaders lead the disobedient people, the whole atmosphere of the administration becomes polluted and full of dangers, as when a blind man leads several other blind men.

LoB 2    The scorching heat of the sun evaporates water from the seas, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, and there is little water anywhere. The people become thirsty and always look overhead for rain, but in despair. Yet just at the right moment, torrents of rain begin to fall everywhere in the land, even on the hard stones, and the land becomes overflooded.

  The welfare state imposes upon its citizens scorching taxes in various forms--income tax, sales tax, land tax, terminal tax, excise tax, customs tax, and so many other taxes. But in due course, when the taxes accumulate into a large sum of money, they are utilized for the welfare of the citizens in various ways. Nonetheless, sometimes it happens that the benefits of the taxes fall like rains on stone-hearted men in the state who are unable to utilize the money properly and who squander it for sense gratification.
   The common man supposes the unequal distribution of rain to represent nature's wrath for our sinful acts. There is truth in this. Thus to have an equal distribution of state-raised taxes, the citizens need to be scrupulously honest and virtuous. They should be honest in the payment of taxes to the state and should have honest representatives to look over the administration. In the modern setup of democratic states the citizens can have no cause for grievances, because the whole administration is conducted by the people themselves. If the people themselves are dishonest, the administrative machinery must be corrupt. Although a damned government of the people may be given a good or fancy name, if the people are not good they cannot have good government, regardless of which party governs the administration. Therefore good character in the consciousness of the mass of people is the first principle necessary for a good government and equal distribution of wealth.
   In ancient days the kings were taught lessons in political philosophy by ideal teachers, and the citizens from village to village were taught the principles of self-realization according to the Vedic codes for both the material and the spiritual upliftment of society. Therefore the citizens were God conscious and honest in their dealings, and the kings were responsible for the welfare of the state. The same basic principles are accepted in the democratic governments of the present day, for the irresponsible party of the people is always voted out of power and must yield to the responsible party for a better government. In the cosmic administration there is only one party, which consists of the servants of God, and the responsible deities of the various planets maintain the cosmic laws in terms of the orders of the Supreme Lord. But the people suffer on account of their own folly. And what is that folly?
   In Bhagavad-gita it is said (annad bhavanti bhutani parjanyad anna-sambhavah yajnad bhavati parjanyo yajnah karma-samudbhavah) that people should perform yajnas, or sacrifices for the satisfaction of the Supreme. The Supreme is all-pervading. Therefore people must learn to perform yajnas to satisfy the all-pervading Supreme Truth. There are different yajnas prescribed for different ages, and in the present age of iron industry the yajna that enlightens the mind of the masses for God consciousness is recommended. This process of yajna is called the sankirtana-yajna, or mass agitation for invoking man's lost spiritual consciousness. As soon as this movement is taken up through spiritual singing, dancing, and feasting, the people will automatically become obedient and honest.
   Obedience is the first law of discipline. The people have become disobedient to the laws of God, and therefore neither rain nor wealth is equally distributed. A man who is ultimately disobedient cannot have any good qualifications. When disobedient leaders lead the disobedient people, the whole atmosphere of the administration becomes polluted and full of dangers, as when a blind man leads several other blind men. The state taxes, therefore, should be spent to build the character of the people in general. That will bring happiness to the citizens of the state.

Krsna will arrange a fight between the demons in which all their military power will be engaged and both parties will be annihilated

SB 9.24.59 P Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead                             

                                  TEXT

                      aksauhininam patibhir
                     asurair nrpa-lanchanaih
                       bhuva akramyamanaya
                       abharaya krtodyamah

                             SYNONYMS

   aksauhininam--of kings possessing great military power; patibhih--by such kings or government; asuraih--actually demons (because they do not need such military power but create it unnecessarily); nrpa-lanchanaih--who are actually unfit to be kings (although they have somehow taken possession of the government); bhuvah--on the surface of the earth; akramyamanayah--aiming at attacking one another; abharaya--paving the way for diminishing the number of demons on the surface of the earth; krta-udyamah--enthusiastic (they spend all the revenue of the state to increase military power).

                           TRANSLATION

   Although the demons who take possession of the government are dressed like men of government, they do not know the duty of the government. Consequently, by the arrangement of God, such demons, who possess great military strength, fight with one another, and thus the great burden of demons on the surface of the earth is reduced. The demons increase their military power by the will of the Supreme, so that their numbers will be diminished and the devotees will have a chance to advance in Krsna consciousness.

                             PURPORT

   As stated in Bhagavad-gita (4.8), paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam. The sadhus, the devotees of the Lord, are always eager to advance the cause of Krsna consciousness so that the conditioned souls may be released from the bondage of birth and death. But the asuras, the demons, impede the advancement of the Krsna consciousness movement, and therefore Krsna arranges occasional fights between different asuras who are very much interested in increasing their military power. The duty of the government or king is not to increase military power unnecessarily; the real duty of the government is to see that the people of the state advance in Krsna consciousness. For this purpose, Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (4.13), catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah: "According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me." There should be an ideal class of men who are bona fide brahmanas, and they should be given all protection. Namo brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya ca. Krsna is very fond of brahmanas and cows, The brahmanas promulgate the cause of advancement in Krsna consciousness, and the cows give enough milk to maintain the body in the mode of goodness. The ksatriyas and the government should be advised by the brahmanas. Next, the vaisyas should produce enough foodstuffs, and the sudras, who cannot do anything beneficial on their own, should serve the three higher classes (the brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas). This is the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead so that the conditioned souls will be released from the material condition and return home, back to Godhead. This is the purpose of Krsna's descent on the surface of the earth (paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam).
   Everyone must understand Krsna's activities (janma karma ca me divyam). If one understands the purpose of Krsna's coming to this earth and performing His activities, one is immediately liberated. This liberation is the purpose of the creation and Krsna's descent upon the surface of the earth.Demons are very much interested in advancing a plan by which people will labor hard like cats, dogs and hogs, but Krsna's devotees want to teach Krsna consciousness so that people will be satisfied with plain living and Krsna conscious advancement. Although demons have created many plans for industry and hard labor so that people will work day and night like animals, this is not the purpose of civilization. Such endeavors are jagato'hitah; that is, they are meant for the misfortune of the people in general. Ksayaya: such activities lead to annihilation. One who understands the purpose of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, should seriously understand the importance of the Krsna consciousness movement and seriously take part in it. One should not endeavor for ugra-karma, or unnecessary work for sense gratification. Nunam pramattah kurute vikarma yad indriya-pritaya aprnoti (Bhag. 5.5.4). Simply for sense gratification, people make plans for material happiness. Maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan (Bhag. 7.9.43). They do this because they are all vimudhas, rascals. For flickering happiness, people waste their human energy, not understanding the importance of the Krsna consciousness movement but instead accusing the simple devotees of brainwashing. Demons may falsely accuse the preachers of the Krsna consciousness movement, but Krsna will arrange a fight between the demons in which all their military power will be engaged and both parties of demons will be annihilated.

Hillary Clinton Advisor Claims Earth Faces Overpopulation Despite Birth Dearth

by Steven Ertelt

LifeNews.com Editor
April 1,2009 

 

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- An advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claims the Earth faces overpopulation problems even though dozens of nations are seeing too few births to support an aging population. While some nations are following the new 4-2-1 population model Nina Fedoroff claims the planet has too many people.

The new model is seeing nations like Japan, many countries in Europe, and even the United States seeing one child who will be expected to support two parents and four total parents and grandparents.

The model shows how nations like Canada, England, Japan, Russia and others are facing acute worker shortages and problems putting enough money into social and government systems from workers to support retirees.

Still, Fedoroff told the BBC One Planet program that humans had exceeded the Earth's "limits of sustainability."

"We need to continue to decrease the growth rate of the global population; the planet can't support many more people," she claimed. "There are probably already too many people on the planet."

"We have six-and-a-half-billion people on the planet, going rapidly towards seven," she complained.

Fedoroff's comments fly in the face of evidence from across the globe.

Japan faces such strong

underpopulation problems

that companies are more frequently letting their workers leave work early: to go home and make babies. The Japanese birth rate, currently at 1.34, is well below the 2.0 threshold needed to maintain a nation's population.

The Bank of Japan index underscores the problems by showing that the demand for labor is at its highest level in 16 years. By 2030, the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research estimates the Japanese workforce will shrink 20 percent.

With fewer babies born over the years, the agency says 40 percent of Japan's population will be 65 or older by 2050 -- more than doubling the current ratio.

 

Barry McLerran, producer of "Demographic Winter," a documentary on underpopulation problems, sees the abortion-underpopulation problem playing out in Russia as well.

"Russia has one of the lowest birth rates in the world at 1.17 children per woman," he told LifeNews.com. "A nation needs a birth rate of 2.0 just to replace current population."

"Because of its low birth rate and early deaths -- due to disease and other factors -- Russia is losing approximately 750,000 people a year," he explained.

Most demographers generally believe that Russia's current population of 144 million will fall to 115 million by 2050. But Murray Feshbach, with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, thinks Russia's population will drop to 101 million and could go as low as 77 million by mid-point in this century.

Phillip Longman, a senior fellow with the New America Foundation, also counters the claims from the Clinton aide.

"Yes, human population is still growing in some places dramatically so. But at the same time, a strange new phenomenon is spreading around the globe, one whose very existence contradicts the deepest foundations of our modern mind-set," he says.

"Starting in the world's richest, best-fed nations during the 1970s,and now spreading throughout the developing world, we find birthrates falling below the levels needed to avoid long-term, and in many instances, short-term, population loss," he adds.

Longman says the phenomenon has spread beyond Europe and Asia to Latin America.

"Brazil is an aging nation that no longer produces enough children to replace its population.The same is true of Chile and Costa Rica. Joining them over the next 10 to 20 years, the U.N. projects, will be many other countries Americans still tend to associate with youth bulges including Mexico, Argentina, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Algeria, Kuwait, Libya and Morocco," he explains.

"Birthrates have declined so quickly in Mexico that its population of children younger than 15 has been in free-fall since 2000 and is expected to drop by one-third over the next 40 years," Longman concludes.

The U.N. projects that world population could begin declining as early as 2040.

Vedic Perspective

740606LE.GEN                 Lectures
Bhagavad-gita it is said,

                      sarva-yonisu kaunteya
                     sambhavanti murtayo yah
                     tasam mahad-yonir brahma
                      aham bija-pradah pita

So Krsna, or God, claims that He is the seed-giving father of all these living entities. So as the father makes provision for maintenance of the sons and children, so God is not incapable. He has made provision for all these living entities. But when we mismanage, we become varna-sankara, there is calamity. So far I have studied--I am touring all over the world--there are enough place uncultivated. Especially I have seen in Australia and Africa, there is enough place that is not being utilized. In India also, there are enough places still. That is not being utilized. And Bhagavad-gita says, annad bhavanti bhutani. The maintenance of the living entities--bhutani means living entities--can be done by production of food grains. Annad bhavanti bhutani. Then parjanyad anna-sambhavah. And then it is said, parjanyad anna-sambhavah, yajnad bhavati parjanyo yajnah karma-samudbhavam. This formula is given in the Bhagavad-gita, that living entities, it doesn't matter whether animal or men, they are flourished, they are raised very nicely, provided there is anna. Anna means food grain. So we can produce enough quantity of food grains all over the world.And if we actually produce food grains, we can feed ten times of the population which are at present. But unfortunately, we are not producing food grains. That is the problem. It is not the problem of overpopulation. It is the problem that we are not producing food grains. This is clearly stated, that unless you have sufficient food grains, how you can maintain? They have taken a policy that they would not... Especially in the Western countries, I see that they will not produce food. They will raise some cattles and send them to the slaughterhouse for eating. This policy is going on. And this is not a very good policy. You produce your food grain. Why you should kill the innocent animals and eat them?

Conversation with Srila Prabhupada

 

World Hunger, the Crisis Inside the Economic Crisis

By Sonni Efron

As food prices skyrocket, the jobs and wages of the poorest are being devastated. But will the developed world act when it's focused on averting a financial meltdown?

The economic crisis has now spread from Wall Street to Main Street to the places where there are no streets.

In slums and shacks around the world, hunger is gnawing again as job opportunities shrink but food prices do not. Global cereal prices are 71% higher than they were in 2005, according to the International Monetary Fund, but the wages of many workers are falling.

This is a disaster for the bottom billion, the one out of six humans living on less than $2 a day. But as always, the poor have a problem getting our attention -- especially when the rich have lost half their wealth.

Today's attention deficit is this: Starving children with bloated bellies make for horrific video footage, and the world opens its wallet. But chronic malnutrition, degradation and misery -- suffering that causes real pain but falls short of mass famine -- is being pushed off the front pages by the frightening global economic news.

Last year, skyrocketing food prices sparked violent protests in 30 countries and scared many more into making generous donations. The United States doubled its contribution to the U.N. World Food Program. Saudi Arabia handed over a check for $500 million. All told, the world kicked in an extra $2.3 billion. As a result, the U.N. program was able to add 30 million people to the rolls of those being fed, and disaster was averted.

But it was a short-term fix. The chronic, underlying causes of food insecurity haven't been addressed. So warnings that hunger is growing again should come as no surprise.

What is perplexing is that on the global market, prices of such food commodities as maize, wheat and rice have fallen by 35% to 50% in the last year (although they are still 50% higher than in 2005, according to the International Monetary Fund). Oil prices have collapsed too. Yet the price of food at the retail level around the world shows no signs of falling.

How can this be? The causes are myriad: pricing lags, hoarding, speculation, war, profiteering, food export controls, droughts in China and Argentina, and the age-old reluctance to lower prices, which economists call "stickiness."

As usual, in the poorest places the situation is stickiest.

In Afghanistan, a standard food basket cost 73% more in October than it did a year earlier. In February, the charity Mercy Corps found that Afghan families were skipping meals, eating boiled turnips instead of bread and pulling their boys out of school to shine shoes in the market. One family married off a young daughter even earlier than planned to collect the wedding gift from the groom's family -- $160.

In Tajikistan, more than a third of the nation's gross domestic product comes from remittances sent home from migrant workers in Russia, according to the World Bank. As the global economic crisis and the fall in oil prices ravage Russia, those workers are being fired. This also has become a problem in remittance-dependent Haiti, Jordan and Kyrgyzstan -- three countries where instability could create bad political problems for their neighbors.

In Zambia, whenever the world price of copper declines, unemployment rises. Copper mined there is exported for use in the production of computers, refrigerators, autos and machinery, and slumping industrial demand caused the price of copper to plummet 54% last year. That means more hunger in Zambia, where nearly half of all children under 5 have stunted growth.

World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick has called for the developed countries to set aside 0.7% of stimulus funds for vulnerable countries. This is sensible: It's always far cheaper to prevent hunger, increase production and position food stocks where famines may loom than it is to buy food on the open market during panics, when prices jump. But how much is the developed world willing to invest in foreign food security when its governments are running up record deficits to stimulate their own economies?

The World Food Program says it will need $6 billion this year, $1 billion more than in 2008. So far, it's only raised 10% of that. Of course, it will take vastly more -- and more than money -- to fix the long-term problems that create hunger: under-investment in agriculture and food infrastructure, particularly in Africa; urban development on farmland; and climate change, which will make all of the problems worse.

And then there's the unchecked population growth that eats up whatever gains many poor countries manage to make.

If the Group of 20 leading and developing nations meeting in London this weekend pushes the food problem to the back burner to focus only on financial stabilization, the annual begging for emergency food aid -- the most expensive, least sustainable form of foreign aid -- will never end. And neither will the suffering.

Vedic Perspective

Just as a calf can derive milk from a cow, all living entities--including animals, birds, bees, reptiles and aquatics--can receive their respective foods from the planet earth, provided that human beings are not asat, or adhrta-vrata, as we have previously discussed. When human society becomes asat, or ungodly, or devoid of Krsna consciousness, the entire world suffers. If human beings are well-behaved, animals will also receive sufficient food and be happy. The ungodly human being, ignorant of his duty to give protection and food to the animals, kills them to compensate for the insufficient production of grains. Thus no one is satisfied, and that is the cause for the present condition in today's world.
Srimad Bhagavtam 4.18.9-10 Purport Prthu Maharaja Milks the Earth Planet by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Time to settle the “flying saucers” question

 

 

MOSCOW. (Andrei Kislyakov, for RIA Novosti) - So do UFOs with little green men inside exist or not? CNN supposedly filmed a UFO moving at a great speed from the right to the left during the inauguration of President Barack Obama. (But those who watched the replay say it was a bird.)

After that, former President Clinton's White House Chief John Podesta, now one of Obama's closest associates, demanded that the thick UFO files be made public.

The number of UFO sightings has dramatically increased in recent times. According to Britain's Ministry of Defense, there were supposedly 285 UFO sightings in the UK in 2008, double the figure for 2007, when the number of alleged UFO sightings was reckoned at 137.

UFOs attacking Ukraine. Video UFO seen over Moscow during Russia - Netherlands match. Video

The defense departments of the United States and the Soviet Union scrupulously registered alleged sightings of UFOs for decades. American ufologists say that the U.S. authorities were quite serious about the UFO question in the 1940s through 1960s.

Project Blue Book, terminated in 1969, had two goals:  to determine if UFOs were a threat to national security, and to scientifically analyze UFO-related data.

The USAF concluded that UFOs are not a threat to national security. Paradoxically, the military still refuse to provide information about UFOs for security reasons.

Ufologists insist that the USAF must give them access to certain documents, such as Project Moon Dust and Project Blue Fly.

Project Moon Dust was started in 1953, ostensibly to recover "returning space debris." Operation Blue Fly was launched to facilitate expeditious delivery to Foreign Technology Division of moon dust and other items of great technological intelligence interest. It is assumed that they were in fact connected with UFOs.

According to ufologists, the U.S. military also have kept the bodies of extraterrestrials who died in spaceship crashes over the United States.

The most widely known of such episodes, the Roswell Incident, took place in New Mexico on July 2, 1947, when an object crash-landed on a ranch approximately 75 miles northwest of Roswell, leaving a large field of debris.

The local air base at Roswell investigated the incident and announced that they had recovered a "flying disk." In fact, the crash was seen by a number of people. There were allegedly alien bodies found in the disk, but the film showing their autopsy was later denounced as a fraud.

If UFOs existed and military units were investigating them, there should also be a place for their deployment. This is Area 51, also known as Groom Lake, a secret military facility about 90 miles north of Las Vegas. At the center of it there is a large air base the government will not discuss about. The Roswell story speaks of alien bodies and wreckage being taken to a "Hangar 18" in Area 51.

Space photographs of the area show a huge landing strip crisscrossing the area and strange circles that can be interpreted as traces of landing of huge "flying saucers." Ufologists are convinced that this is so.

As President, George W. Bush  moved Area 51 from the Nevada jurisdiction to that of the Pentagon and Washington. Slightly more than 10 years ago, civilian aircraft were prohibited to fly over the area.

The archives of the former Soviet Union are filled to capacity with data about contacts with extraterrestrials. They contain records of over 20,000 UFO sightings. The Academy of Sciences and the Defense Ministry both undertook investigations under the secret project names of Setka, Galaktika and Gorizont.

It is even said that "competent agencies," meaning the secret services, established contact with aliens and waited for their arrival to Earth. The media is now writing about a team of General Staff officers and academicians waiting for the arrival of an UFO in the Kyzylkum desert in June 1991.

Clearly, humans will always strive to search for beings of humanoid form in the Universe. But it is also apparent that apart from tall tales about "little green men" there are also facts that logically point to the presence of alien intelligence on the Earth.

In this case, maybe the time has come for the U.S. and Russian authorities to declassify information on unidentified flying objects and their masters?

Vedic Perspective

SB 4.20.35-36 P Lord Visnu' s Appearance in the Sacrificial Arena of Maharaja Prthu
  In modern so-called scientific society the idea is very prevalent that there is no life on other planets but that only on this earth do living entities with intelligence and scientific knowledge exist. The Vedic literatures, however, do not accept this foolish theory. The followers of Vedic wisdom are fully aware of various planets inhabited by varieties of living entities such as the demigods, the sages, the Pitas, the Gandharvas, the Pannagas, the Kinnaras, the Caranas, the Siddhas and the Apsaras. The Vedas give information that in all planets--not only within this material sky but also in the spiritual sky--there are varieties of living entities. Although all these living entities are of one spiritual nature, in quality the same as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they have varieties of bodies due to the embodiment of the spirit soul by the eight material elements, namely earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and false ego. In the spiritual world, however, there is no such distinction between the body and the embodied. In the material world, distinctive features are manifested in different types of bodies in the various planets. We have full information from the Vedic literature that in each and every planet, both material and spiritual, there are living entities of varied intelligence. The earth is one of the planets of the Bhurloka planetary system. There are six planetary systems above Bhurloka and seven planetary systems below it. Therefore the entire universe is known as caturdasa-bhuvana, indicating that it has fourteen different planetary systems. Beyond the planetary systems in the material sky, there is another sky, which is known as paravyoma, or the spiritual sky, where there are spiritual planets. The inhabitants of those planets engage in varieties of loving service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which include different rasas, or relationships, known as dasya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vatsalya-rasa, madhurya-rasa and, above all, parakiya-rasa. This parakiya-rasa, or paramour love, is prevalent in Krsnaloka, where Lord Krsna lives. This planet is also called Goloka Vrndavana, and although Lord Krsna lives there perpetually, He also expands Himself in millions and trillions of forms. In one of such forms He appears on this material planet in a particular place known as Vrndavana-dhama, where He displays His original pastimes of Goloka Vrndavana-dhama in the spiritual sky in order to attract the conditioned souls back home, back to Godhead.

Another Look at the Too-Big-To-Fail Problem

By Sudeep Reddy

March 31, 2009, 10:15 AM ET

Gary Stern, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, has had the ultimate I-told-you-so year at the central bank.

His book, “Too Big To Fail: The Hazards of Bank Bailouts,” addresses the problems that arise when banks become too large, create risks to the financial system and then require government rescues to save the economy.

 

Stern

The book originally came out five years ago. That’s at least four years before bailouts of Bear Stearns, Citigroup, Bank of America, AIG and hundreds of banks that have received government money to help stay afloat.

In a speech at the Brookings Institution today, Stern kicked off his remarks (titled “Better Late Than Never”) with this line: “Destiny did not require society to bear the cost of the current financial crisis.”

Brookings this year is re-releasing the book (by Stern and co-author Ron Feldman), but Stern doesn’t seem terribly confident of the prospects for addressing the too-big-to-fail problem quickly. “I am quite concerned that policymakers may double-down on previous decisions,” he says, and some ideas in the current environment “will waste valuable time and resources.”

Stern offers a three-point approach for reducing the size and scope of spillovers from a firm’s failure to prevent the need for intervention:

1) Early identification: Central banks and other bank-supervision agencies can conduct failure simulation exercises to identify problems around derivatives contracts, resolution regimes and overseas operations. One option would be to require too-big-to-fail firms to prepare documentation of their ability to enter the functional equivalent of a prepackaged bankruptcy.

2) Prompt corrective action: Bank supervisors would take actions against a bank as its capital falls below certain triggers. “Closing banks while they still have positive capital, or at most a small loss, can reduce spillovers in a fairly direct way,” he says.

3) Communication: Policymakers must communicate that creditors may be put at risk of loss.

The re-release of Stern’s book comes as the Obama administration, the Federal Reserve and Congress discuss a new resolution regime for major financial institutions (similar to the FDIC’s power over banks).

While Stern says society will be better off with it, he doubts that approach “will correct as much of the [too-big-to-fail] problem as some observers anticipate.” The FDIC resolution regime, he says, does not put creditors at banks at sufficient risk of facing losses. “A new regime will not, by itself, put an end to the support we have seen over the last 20 months.”

Vedic Perspective

SB 1.19.4 P     The Appearance of Sukadeva Gosvami  
The life of a human being is a chance to prepare oneself to go back to Godhead, or to get rid of the material existence, the repetition of birth and death. Thus in the system of varnasrama-dharma every man and woman is trained for this purpose. In other words, the system of varnasrama-dharma is known also as sanatana-dharma, or the eternal occupation. The system of varnasrama-dharma prepares a man for going back to Godhead, and thus a householder is ordered to go to the forest as vanaprastha to acquire complete knowledge and then to take sannyasa prior to his inevitable death. Pariksit Maharaja was fortunate to get a seven-day notice to meet his inevitable death. But for the common man there is no definite notice, although death is inevitable for all. Foolish men forget this sure fact of death and neglect the duty of preparing themselves for going back to Godhead. They spoil their lives in animal propensities to eat, drink, be merry and enjoy. Such an irresponsible life is adopted by the people in the age of Kali because of a sinful desire to condemn brahminical culture, God consciousness and cow protection, for which the state is responsible. The state must employ revenue to advance these three items and thus educate the populace to prepare for death. The state which does so is the real welfare state. The state of India should better follow the examples of Maharaja Pariksit, the ideal executive head, than to imitate other materialistic states which have no idea of the kingdom of Godhead, the ultimate goal of human life. Deterioration of the ideals of Indian civilization has brought about the deterioration of civic life, not only in India but also abroad.

Spanish court considers trying former US officials

By PAUL HAVEN (Associated Press Writer)

From Associated Press

March 29, 2009 1:03 AM EDT

MADRID, - A Spanish court has agreed to consider opening a criminal case against six former Bush administration officials, including former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, over allegations they gave legal cover for torture at Guantanamo Bay, a lawyer in the case said Saturday.

Human rights lawyers brought the case before leading anti-terror judge Baltasar Garzon, who agreed to send it on to prosecutors to decide whether it had merit, Gonzalo Boye, one of the lawyers who brought the charges, told The Associated Press.

The ex-Bush officials are Gonzales; former undersecretary of defense for policy Douglas Feith; former Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff David Addington; Justice Department officials John Yoo and Jay S. Bybee; and Pentagon lawyer William Haynes.

"The charges as related to me make no sense," Feith said Saturday. "They criticize me for promoting a controverial position that I never advocated."

Yoo declined to comment. A message left at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco where Bybee is now a judge was not immediately returned. A message left at Chevron Corp. in San Ramon, Calif., where Haynes reportedly works as an attorney was not immediately returned.

Spanish law allows courts to reach beyond national borders in cases of torture or war crimes under a doctrine of universal justice, though the government has recently said it hopes to limit the scope of the legal process.

Garzon became famous for bringing charges against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998, and he and other Spanish judges have agreed to investigate alleged abuses everywhere from Tibet to Argentina's "dirty war," El Salvador and Rwanda.

Still, the country's record in prosecuting such cases has been spotty at best, with only one suspect extradited to Spain so far.

When a similar case was brought against Israeli officials earlier this year, Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos assured his Israeli counterpart that the process would be quashed.

Even if indictments are eventually handed down against the U.S. officials, it is far from clear whether arrests would ever take place. The officials would have to travel outside the United States and to a country willing to take them into custody before possible extradition to Spain.

The officials are charged with providing a legal cover for interrogation methods like waterboarding against terrorism suspects at Guantanamo, which the Spanish human rights lawyers say amounted to torture.

Yoo, for instance, wrote a series of secret memos that claimed the president had the legal authority to circumvent the Geneva Conventions.

President George W. Bush always denied the U.S. tortured anyone. The U.S. has acknowledged that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described plotter of Sept. 11, and a few other prisoners were waterboarded at secret CIA prisons before being taken to Guantanamo, but the Bush administration insisted that all interrogations were lawful.

Boye said he expected the National Court to take the case forward, and dismissed concerns that it would harm bilateral relations between the two countries.

He said that some of the victims of the alleged torture were Spaniards, strengthening the argument for Spanish jurisdiction.

"When you bring a case like this you can't stop to make political judgments as to how it might affect bilateral relations between countries," he told the AP." It's too important for that."

Boye noted that the case was brought not against interrogators who might have committed crimes but by the lawyers and other high-placed officials who gave cover for their actions.

"Our case is a denunciation of lawyers, by lawyers, because we don't believe our profession should be used to help commit such barbarities," he said.

Another lawyer with detailed knowledge of the case told the AP that Garzon's decision to consider the charges was "a significant first step." The lawyer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

There was no immediate comment from Garzon or the government.

The judge's decision to send the case against the American officials to prosecutors means it will proceed, at least for now. Prosecutors must now decide whether to recommend a full-blown investigation, though Garzon is not bound by their decision.

The proceedings against the Bush Administration officials could be embarrassing for Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has been keen to improve ties with the United States after frosty relations during the Bush Administration.

Zapatero is scheduled to meet President Barack Obama for the first time on April 5 during a summit in Prague.

---

Associated Press writers Harold Heckle in Madrid and Lisa Leff in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Vedic Perspective

SB 1.14.41 P      The Disappearance of Lord Krsna
                             TEXT 41

                               TEXT

              kaccit tvam brahmanam balam
              gam vrddham roginam striyam
              saranopasrtam sattvam
              natyaksih sarana-pradah

                             SYNONYMS

   kaccit--whether; tvam--yourself; brahmanam--the brahmanas; balam--the child; gam--the cow; vrddham--old; roginam--the diseased; striyam--the woman; sarana-upasrtam--having approached for protection; sattvam--any living being; na--whether; atyaksih--not given shelter; sarana-pradah--deserving protection.

                           TRANSLATION

   You are always the protector of the deserving living beings, such as brahmanas, children, cows, women and the diseased. Could you not give them protection when they approached you for shelter?

                             PURPORT

   The brahmanas, who are always engaged in researching knowledge for the society's welfare work, both materially and spiritually, deserve the protection of the king in all respects. Similarly, the children of the state, the cow, the diseased person, the woman and the old man specifically require the protection of the state or a ksatriya king. If such living beings do not get protection by the ksatriya, or the royal order, or by the state, it is certainly shameful for the ksatriya or the state. If such things had actually happened to Arjuna, Maharaja Yudhisthira was anxious to know about these discrepancies.

Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Support Call for Global Currency

By Lilian Karunungan and Aloysius Unditu

March 27 (Bloomberg) -- China’s call for a global reserve currency to take the place of the dollar has won the support of central bank chiefs in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, who argue it would help curb volatility and foster trade.

“We need a currency that is stable by volume and value so that world trade and investment can be more stable,” Bank Indonesia Governor Boediono told reporters in Jakarta today. “Trade transactions using one currency that’s dependent on the condition of a single country’s economy is dangerous.”

China’s central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan this week urged the IMF to expand the use of Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, and move toward a “super-sovereign reserve currency.” Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz two days ago said it’s “a viable proposal that should be considered,” while Bank of Thailand Governor Tarisa Watanagase today said it may benefit developing nations to have an alternative to the dollar.

“It does show that the topic has come up and there seems to be some support here in Asia for it,” said Thomas Harr, a senior currency strategist at Standard Chartered Plc in Singapore. “Asian central banks have been diversifying out of U.S. dollars for some time and they’re concerned about the sustainability of the U.S. financial system.”

The financial crisis has shown the need for a new international monetary system and creating a global currency should be the main priority as this would prevent “excessive” money printing by any single nation posing a risk to inflation worldwide, Bank of China Ltd. Vice President Wang Yongli wrote today in the Financial News. The state-controlled lender is the world’s third-biggest bank by market value and the Chinese- language Financial News is affiliated with the central bank.

U.S. Debt Sales

The U.S. Treasury will issue $2.5 trillion in new debt this year as the government boosts spending to help end a recession, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicts. China, the biggest foreign buyer of U.S. debt, has about $740 billion of Treasuries and Premier Wen Jiabao this month said he is “worried” about the holdings and wants assurances they will be safe.

The U.S. has blocked expansion of the drawing-rights system over the past 12 years, according to the IMF’s Web site. SDRs act as a unit of account, reflecting contributions from members, rather than a currency. Their value is based on a basket that includes the dollar, the euro, the yen and the pound. One SDR was recently equivalent to $1.50872, down from $1.54781 at the start of the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Vedic Perspective

Unfortunately, on earth there is such a scarcity of gold that the governments of the world try to keep it in reserve and issue paper currency. Because that currency is not backed up by gold, the paper they distribute as money is worthless, but nevertheless the people on earth are very proud of material advancement. In modern times, girls and ladies have ornaments made of plastic instead of gold, and plastic utensils are used instead of golden ones, yet people are very proud of their material wealth. Therefore the people of this age are described as mandah sumanda-matayo manda-bhagya hy upadrutah (Bhag. 1.1.10). In other words, they are extremely bad and slow to understand the opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They have been described as sumanda-matayah because their conceptions are so crippled that they accept a bluffer who produces a little gold to be God. Because they have no gold in their possession, they are actually poverty-stricken, and therefore they are considered unfortunate.

Srimad Bhagavatam 5.16.20-21 Purport by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada    

A Description of Jambudvipa

Ex-Bush admin official: Many at Gitmo are innocent

By ANDREW O. SELSKY (Associated Press Writer)

From Associated Press

March 19, 2009 9:47 PM EDT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Many detainees locked up at Guantanamo were innocent men swept up by U.S. forces unable to distinguish enemies from noncombatants, a former Bush administration official said Thursday.

"There are still innocent people there," Lawrence B. Wilkerson, a Republican who was chief of staff to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, told The Associated Press. "Some have been there six or seven years."

Wilkerson, who first made the assertions in an Internet posting on Tuesday, told the AP he learned from briefings and by communicating with military commanders that the U.S. soon realized many Guantanamo detainees were innocent but nevertheless held them in hopes they could provide information for a "mosaic" of intelligence.

"It did not matter if a detainee were innocent. Indeed, because he lived in Afghanistan and was captured on or near the battle area, he must know something of importance," Wilkerson wrote in the blog. He said intelligence analysts hoped to gather "sufficient information about a village, a region, or a group of individuals, that dots could be connected and terrorists or their plots could be identified."

Wilkerson, a retired Army colonel, said vetting on the battlefield during the early stages of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan was incompetent with no meaningful attempt to determine "who we were transporting to Cuba for detention and interrogation."

Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman, declined to comment on Wilkerson's specific allegations but noted that the military has consistently said that dealing with foreign fighters from a wide variety of countries in a wartime setting was a complex process. The military has insisted that those held at Guantanamo were enemy combatants and posed a threat to the United States.

In his posting for The Washington Note blog, Wilkerson wrote that "U.S. leadership became aware of this lack of proper vetting very early on and, thus, of the reality that many of the detainees were innocent of any substantial wrongdoing, had little intelligence value, and should be immediately released."

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney fought efforts to address the situation, Wilkerson said, because "to have admitted this reality would have been a black mark on their leadership."

Wilkerson told the AP in a telephone interview that many detainees "clearly had no connection to al-Qaida and the Taliban and were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pakistanis turned many over for $5,000 a head."

Some 800 men have been held at Guantanamo since the prison opened in January 2002, and 240 remain. Wilkerson said two dozen are terrorists, including confessed Sept. 11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was transferred to Guantanamo from CIA custody in September 2006.

"We need to put those people in a high-security prison like the one in Colorado, forget them and throw away the key," Wilkerson said. "We can't try them because we tortured them and didn't keep an evidence trail."

But the rest of the detainees need to be released, he said.

Wilkerson, who flew combat missions as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and left the government in January 2005, said he did not speak out while in government because some of the information was classified. He said he feels compelled to do so now because Cheney has claimed in recent press interviews that President Barack Obama is making the U.S. less safe by ordering Guantanamo closed and reversing other Bush administration policies.

The administration is now evaluating what to do with the prisoners who remain at the U.S. military base in Cuba.

"I'm very concerned about the kinds of things Cheney is saying to make it seem Obama is a danger to this republic," Wilkerson said. "To have a former vice president fearmongering like this is really, really dangerous."

Vedic Perspective

Simply some rogues and thieves and demons, by threats... It is a country of, what is called? Terrorism. A terror.
750323AR.MAY                Prabhupada Lectures

US births break record; 40 pct out-of-wedlock

By MIKE STOBBE (AP Medical Writer)

From Associated Press

March 18, 2009 8:12 PM EST

ATLANTA - Remember the baby boom? No, not the one after World War II. More babies were born in the United States in 2007 than any other year in the nation's history - and a wedding band made increasingly little difference in the matter. The 4,317,119 births, reported by federal researchers Wednesday, topped a record first set in 1957 at the height of the baby boom.

Behind the number is both good and bad news. While it shows the U.S. population is more than replacing itself, a healthy trend, the teen birth rate was up for a second year in a row.

The birth rate rose slightly for women of all ages, and births to unwed mothers reached an all-time high of about 40 percent, continuing a trend that started years ago. More than three-quarters of these women were 20 or older.

For a variety of reasons, it's become more acceptable for women to have babies without a husband, said Duke University's S. Philip Morgan, a leading fertility researcher.

Even happy couples may be living together without getting married, experts say. And more women - especially those in their 30s and 40s - are choosing to have children despite their single status.

The new numbers suggest the second year of a baby boomlet, with U.S. fertility rates higher in every racial group, the highest among Hispanic women. On average, a U.S. woman has 2.1 babies in her lifetime. That's the "magic number" required for a population to replace itself.

Countries with much lower rates - such as Japan and Italy - face future labor shortages and eroding tax bases as they fail to reproduce enough to take care of their aging elders.

While the number of births in the U.S. reached nearly 4.3 million in 2006, mainly due to a larger population, especially a growing number of Hispanics, it's not clear the boomlet will last. Some experts think birth rates are already declining because of the economic recession that began in late 2007.

"I expect they'll go back down. The lowest birth rates recorded in the United States occurred during the Great Depression - and that was before modern contraception," said Dr. Carol Hogue, an Emory University professor of maternal and child health.

The 2007 statistical snapshot reflected a relatively good economy coupled with cultural trends that promoted childbirth, she and others noted.

Meanwhile, U.S. abortions dropped to their lowest levels in decades, according to other reports. Some have attributed the abortion decline to better use of contraceptives, but other experts have wondered if the rise in births might indicate a failure in proper use of contraceptives. Some earlier studies have shown declining availability of abortions.

Cultural attitudes may be a more likely explanation. Morgan noted the pregnancy of Bristol Palin, the unmarried teen daughter of former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The young woman had a baby boy in December, and plans for a wedding with the father, Levi Johnston, were scrapped.

"She's the poster child for what you do when you get pregnant now," Morgan said.

Teen women tend to follow what their older sisters do, so perhaps it's not surprising that teen births are going up just like births to older women, said Sarah Brown, the chief executive for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Indeed, it's harder to understand why teen births had been declining for about 15 years before the recent uptick, she said. It may have been due to a concentrated effort to reduce teen births in the 1990s that has waned in recent years, she said.

The statistics are based on a review of most 2007 birth certificates by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The numbers also showed:

-Cesarean section deliveries continue to rise, now accounting for almost a third of all births. Health officials say that rate is much higher than is medically necessary. About 34 percent of births to black women were by C-section, more than any other racial group. But geographically, the percentages were highest in Puerto Rico, at 49 percent, and New Jersey, at 38 percent.

-The pre-term birth rate, for infants delivered at less than 37 weeks of pregnancy, declined slightly. It had been generally increasing since the early 1980s. Experts said they aren't sure why it went down.

Among the states, Utah continued to have the highest birth rate and Vermont the lowest.

CDC officials noted that despite the record number of births, this increase is different from occurred in the 1950s, when a much smaller population of women were having nearly four children each, on average. That baby boom quickly transformed society, affecting everything from school construction to consumer culture.

Today, U.S. women are averaging 2.1 children each. That's the highest level since the early 1970s, but is a relatively small increase from the rate it had hovered at for more than 10 years and is hardly transforming.

"It's the tiniest of baby booms," said Morgan in agreement. "This is not an earthquake; it's a slight tremor."

Vedic Perspective

Prabhupada: All right, trying. But you women, you cannot see that this so-called equal right means cheating the woman. Now I say more clearly that a woman and man meets. Now they become lover. Then they have sex, and the woman becomes pregnant, and the man goes away. The simple woman, she has to take charge of the child and beg from government alms, "Please give me money." This is your independence. Do you admit this is independence, that the man makes the woman pregnant and he goes away without any responsibility, and the woman cannot give up the child, she maintains, begging from the government or she tries to kill the child? Do you think it is very good independence? What is your answer?
Woman: To... Whether or not it is good to kill a child? Is that the question?
Prabhupada: Yes, they are killing now, abortion.
Devotee: He wants to know that kind of independence.
Woman: For the child?
Devotee: For the woman.
Prabhupada: For the woman.
Devotee: This is liberation. She has an affair with a man, and she gets pregnant. The man leaves. Then she has to beg alms from the government to support the child...
Prabhupada: Or kill.
Devotee: Or she kills the child. So is that good or bad?

750713r2.phi              Conversations

An american pharma Baxter vaccine against flu found contaminated by H5N1 virus in several European countries

Submitted by

tumetuestumefai...

on Wed, 03/04/2009

 

 

This message wouldn't probably be published in American MSM. So I'll allow myself to make an excerpt from this articles in Czech:

Here

,

Here

 and

Here

.

 

The Czech company Biotest near from Prague got from Austria a testing batch of the new flu vaccine for 2009 from the american company Baxter. In february they have found that the vaccine was contaminated by the H5N1 - Avian flu virus, which is on the list of the possible biological weapons and is one of the most dangerous biological agents on the Earth - with more than

60% death rate

. All the testing animals in Biotest were subsequently destroyed and all the workers in the company were put in quarantine. Luckily nobody contracted the disease. Subsequently the same problem of the Baxter vaccines contamination with H5N1 was found in the laboratories in Slovenia, Austria and Germany, which confirms that the source of the contagion was in fact the Baxter vaccine, which could be very probable, because Baxter is one of the companies, which are developing the vaccines against H5N1.

 

 

First the company Baxter was evoking the 'trade secret" and refused to comment how the H5N1 virus got into the vaccines, but then, when it was already clear that the source of the contagion is in fact the Baxter vaccine, their representative then confirmed, that the contaminated vaccine was produced by Baxter laboratories for the company AVIR Greenhills and distributed by Austrian company Ortha. And on the end he even said that the material sent to the Czech republic, Austria, Slovenia and Germany was in fact a pure H5N1 sent by accident - maybe to mask the previous assumption, that it was in fact an ordinary flu vaccine, which was contaminated. If it was in fact the pure H5N1 or contaminated vaccine is still not clear.

 

Already weeks all the sanitation officials kick around in all the countries where the contaminated vaccine was found. Czech authorities now will hopefully proceed with the prosecution against all companies involved and of course the suit for criminal negligence and public menace against Baxter is still on the table.

 

But was this just a criminal negligence or it was an attempt to provoke pandemia using vaccination against flu to spread the disease - as happened with the anti-B hepatitis vaccination with vaccines containing the HIV virus in US? - and then cash for the vaccines against H5N1 which Baxter develops? How could on Earth a virus as H5N1 come to the ordinary flu vaccines? Don't they follow even basic precautions in the american pharma companies? - As they didn't in this case

here

 and even after they learned their medicals are contaminated with HIV, they sold them to Europe and East. Am I just a paranoid or is

David Rivera

 

right?

Vedic perspective

You are engaged in some research work, tapasya, for what purpose? Now, finding out some deadly bone. A very big scholar, very big research student... So that is called asura. He has got some scientific knowledge, but he's busy to find out a nuclear weapon, how to kill other enemies. This is the research work. No. That is demonic. The same knowledge can be utilized for finding out God. That is mahatma. This is the difference.

 

 

750205BG.HAW                Prabhupada Lectures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Venezuela seizes plant amid fear of rice shortage

'There is not enough rice in Venezuela'

CARACAS - The Venezuelan government took control of a second rice processing plant Monday, in a bid to halt worsening shortages of the product, state television reported.

It is the second seizure in a matter of days, after President Hugo Chavez accused the sector of choking supply as it tries to evade government price controls.

The latest plant to be seized, Mary, provided 27 per cent of national production, VTV television reported. The move follows a takeover of the privately owned Alimentos Polar in the central state of Guarico at the weekend.

"It is a supervisory, a control measure. It is necessary to ensure that rice reaches consumers," Wilmar Castro, the governor of the central state of Portuguesa, told the channel.

Army Colonel Carlos Osorio said the Mary facility had run afoul of grading regulations.

"We have found plants which have adjusted all of their production to evade (price) regulations," he said. "We want to guarantee that the plants continue to distribute regulated products to the population."

The Venezuelan government has said it will inspect 52 plants across the country.

Light Industry and Commerce Minister William Contreras said the measure was temporary, but warned the firms may be seized for good.

"This measure will apply for a maximum of 90 days, until the situation stabilizes, but if business opposes this type of move then it will move from supervision and oversight in each area to expropriation," he said.

"There is sufficient rice production in the country, maybe even a surplus" said Contrearas, adding that the government was acting under a constitutional article which addresses production stability of basic food stuffs.

But Jose Gonzalez, head of Fedecameras, a trade group, said that in recent years Venezuela had been transformed from an exporter to an importer of the cereal.

"The government says that in 2008 it produced 1.4 million tons of rice. In truth it produced one million," he said.

"Before 2004 we exported somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 tons of rice a year, supplying the Colombian market," Gonzalez said.

Polar's owners said they would challenge the government's move.

According to the firm's legal adviser, Guillermo Bolinaga, the one dollar per kilo price fixed by the government represents "half the cost of production."

He added that the real problem was that "there is not enough rice in Venezuela."

© Copyright (c) AFP

Vedic Perspective

Otherwise there be chaos and that is the position at the present moment. People are not happy. Although there is enough money in Western countries. Enough enjoyable things. And we see in other countries like Australia and Africa, there is enough potency of producing food and grains and milk. So this rascal proposition that population has increased, there is scarcity of... These are all rascal proposition. God has enough potency to give you ten times food you want. But because we have created chaos in the world, without following the Krsna consciousness, there is trouble.

721230BG.BOM     Prabhupada  Lectures

World Agricultural Forum meets in Africa for the first time

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Fedyashin) - On February 24-26, the World Agricultural Forum (WAF) will take place in Uganda's capital Kampala. It is going to discuss what to do about agriculture to enable it to feed the whole of humanity rather than its minority.

This is the first time the forum is convened in Africa. It used to be held in St. Louis, Missouri, where its headquarters is located. Missouri is part of America's agricultural belt, and plays host to the headquarters of several major American agro corporations. The WAF is a young organization, and its activities are somewhat ambiguous. It was established in 1998. Out of 192 UN members, 110 countries, including Russia, regularly take part in its work. Its meetings are attended by heads of state and government, politicians, ministries, scientists, and experts from the most diverse spheres with any link to agriculture, journalists, and leaders of the biggest national and transnational corporations. The WAF can be called the agricultural Davos. Like Davos, it does not make any binding decisions. It is rather a discussion club.

Hunger remains a major problem. Despite all meetings and summits, the world's advanced nations prefer not to notice it. As before, it is rampant on "the outskirts." In UN estimate, since the 2007 Rome summit on food security, the number of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition has risen from 850 million to about 970 million. Now the problem will be aggravated by the banking crisis and shortage of loans.

Until now the gist of the orthodox view was as follows: The idea that developing nations should feed themselves is obsolete; the best way to ensure their food security is by importing cheap American and European agricultural products. It did not do any good for Africa and Asia but made them totally dependent on these food imports. Now the authors of this idea are trying to resolve the problem. Experts of the UN program International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development are warning that world agriculture needs capital repairs, a complete change in trade in food products, and a change in the pattern of subsidizing agricultural production.

Vedic Perspective

We are creating disturbances. By God's creation, everything is nice. Everything is fine. Take, for example, within this planet, there is sufficient place to grow food for all the population. Not only all the population at the present moment, but if the population increases ten times, twenty times, still, there is sufficient place to produce food for them. We are traveling all over the world three times a year, and we see in Australia and Africa and other countries, there are so much vacant places. And food can be produced, enough food can be produced. Enough milk can be available for feeding all this population. That is God's arrangement. But the difficulty is that we are quarreling amongst ourself. I am thinking Indian. Somebody's thinking "I am an American." Somebody's thinking "I'm Australian." "You cannot come here. You, I cannot allow you to come to my country." The immigration department. Therefore, the difficulty. By God's arrangement, there is everything complete. But I am disturbing. I am encroaching upon God's property: "This is mine." Therefore there is disturbance. Therefore the only solution of the whole world problem is Krsna consciousness. There is no other solution. The only solution. Krsna consciousness means when people will be educated to understand that this planet does not belong to America or India and Africa. Everything belongs... Sarva-loka-mahesvaram. As Krsna says, "I am the proprietor of all the planets." When you understand this, that is Krsna consciousness. Then there will be peace.
721122BG.HYD               Prabhupada  Lectures

Protestors in Crimea throw eggs at Khrushchev's portrait

17:55 | 19/ 02/ 2009

SIMFEROPOL, February 19 (RIA Novosti) - People rallying in Simferopol on Thursday on the 55th anniversary of the transfer of Crimea from Russia to Ukraine threw eggs at a portrait of a Soviet leader who orchestrated the change.

Nikita Khrushchev, who grew up in Ukraine, made the Crimean Peninsula part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1954. The region, which covers 26,100 sq km, was until then a part of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic.

"Crimea was stolen from Russia. Give it back, or Russians in Crimea will do it for you," urged Alexander Svistunov, a local parliament member and leader of the Russian Bloc party.

The organizers said some 500 people took part in the rally, one of the three held in Simferopol on Thursday, although police said no more than 300 people gathered in front of the government building.

Participants in another protest demanded that Ukraine's government observe the rights of Russian residents of the peninsula and appealed to the authorities in Moscow to allow people born in the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic to hold dual citizenship.

In the third protest, activists of the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine picketed the Ukrainian president's office in the Crimea demanding initiatives to establish a union between Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

"We demand a union between Russia, Ukraine and Belarus - only then will the Russian population of Crimea reconcile itself with the illegal transfer of the peninsula," said Valery Ivanov, one of the organizers.

Crimea, which has a predominantly Russian-speaking population, has been the focus of frequent disputes between the Russian and Ukrainian leaderships, particularly over the Russian Black Sea Fleet's lease of the Soviet-era Sevastopol naval base.

Since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, elements in Crimea have unsuccessfully sought independence from Ukraine. A 1994 referendum in the region supported demands for a broader autonomy and closer links with Russia.

Trial for Iraqi ‘Shoe-Thrower’ Starts, Then Adjourns

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON

Published: February 19, 2009

BAGHDAD — The first day of the trial of

Muntader al-Zaidi

, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush at a news conference in Baghdad two months ago, offered few surprises on Thursday but no shortage of commotion.

As Mr. Zaidi, 30, was escorted into the courtroom on Thursday morning, the crowd — family members, politicians, lawyers, even some Iraqi reporters — erupted into applause, shouting, weeping and ululating, drawing a rebuke from the judge. The courtroom was perhaps even more raucous when, after roughly an hour and 15 minutes, the head judge declared the trial adjourned until March 12 and Mr. Zaidi and his police escorts passed through the crowd.

“I salute such a brave man,” declared a cheering police officer who was on duty in the courthouse. “He should not be on trial.”

Mr. Zaidi, who has become a folk hero to much of the Arab world and whose actions led to copycat shoe attacks outside

Iraq

, appeared far from reluctant to deliver his half hour of testimony.

“In that moment, I saw nothing but Bush, and I felt the blood of the innocents was flowing under his feet while he was smiling that smile,” said Mr. Zaidi, who was draped in an Iraqi flag scarf that a relative had handed to him. “I felt that this person was the reason for the killing of my people and I am a part of these people, so I tried to pay him back even a small or a simple part of what he committed.”

Mr. Zaidi’s assertion that he was spontaneously moved to act was undercut somewhat by his admission that he had planned to throw something at Mr. Bush at a previous news conference that he was, in the end, unable to attend, in Amman, Jordan.

Mr. Zaidi, who has been jailed since the Dec. 14 news conference in Baghdad, is charged with assaulting a foreign leader, a charge serious enough to place his trial in Iraq’s Central Criminal Court, a special judicial body set up for major crimes, including terrorism. His lawyers — all 25 of them — contend that he did not intend to harm Mr. Bush and was simply expressing his constitutionally protected opinion when he threw the shoes and exclaimed, “This is the farewell kiss, you dog!”

In his testimony, Mr. Zaidi contended that Mr. Bush had not been a guest in the country because the conference was in the Green Zone, which was controlled by the American military at the time. The law under which Mr. Zaidi is charged specifically refers to a foreign leader being on a “formal visit.” Early in the trial, Mr. Zaidi’s lawyers briefly debated with the judge whether Mr. Bush’s visit had been a formal one.

Later in the trial, the head judge of the three-judge panel declared the adjournment so that the court could ask the Iraqi cabinet if Mr. Bush’s visit had been formal or informal.

With such a high-profile case, the court itself is to some degree on trial. Human rights groups have criticized the court in the past for what they say is its failure to ensure fair and speedy trials, and Mr. Zaidi has claimed that he was beaten while in custody. Iraqis have accused the judiciary of having partisan leanings, particularly in favor of the government and party of Prime Minister

Nuri Kamal al-Maliki

.“It puts the Iraqi judiciary in a critical situation, said Zayneb Kareem al-Kinani, a member or Parliament who was among several attending in support of Mr. Zaidi, “either proving its independence, integrity and impartiality from political influence or proving its failure.”

Also, on Thursday, Iraq’s Parliament met to choose a new speaker, but was unable to do so.

Ayad al-Sammaraie, the candidate of Tawafiq, the largest Sunni bloc, received 136 votes, a comfortable majority of those present, but two votes short of a majority of the full 275-member Parliament. Members of Tawafiq immediately argued that Mr. Sammaraie’s majority was sufficient, but many others in Parliament, including some who had voted for him, said it was clear that an absolute majority had to be reached.

The previous speaker, Mahmoud Mashhadani, stepped down in December amid loud complaints about his leadership style.

The final official results for seat allocations from recent provincial elections were announced Thursday and largely followed previously announced results.

Mr. Maliki’s party holds a solid majority on the councils of Iraq’s two largest cities, Basra and Baghdad. In Karbala, Yousef Majid al-Habboubi, a moderate Shiite who was the clear winner of the popular vote with 17% of the vote, won only one seat on the 27-member council because he ran independently of any party. Mr. Maliki’s party and another local party gained nine seats each, despite winning roughly two-thirds as many votes.

In Anbar, once one of the most dangerous provinces in Iraq, the party of the

Awakening movement

, the tribal groups that fought

Al Qaeda

, officially came away the winner with eight seats, followed by the Iraqi National Project, with six. Although the Awakening party won the most seats, it did not win a majority of the 29 seats and therefore needs to form a coalition with other parties to exert power.

Right after the election, some Awakening leaders threatened violence when the Iraqi Islamic Party claimed to have swept Anbar’s election, as it did in 2005 when most Sunnis boycotted the vote. The leaders toned down their rhetoric as early results showed the former governing party did not do nearly as well as it said.

Still, tensions have not been defused; even the winning parties must forge a ruling coalition, and this process could expose tribal rivalries and personal feuds.

Riyadh Mohammed and Tariq Maher contributed reporting.

British Scientists Condemn Using Children in GM Food Trials as Unacceptable

by Sean Poulter

Children have been used as 'lab rats' in GM rice trials that were carried out in breach of ethics rules drawn up in response to the medical crimes of Nazi Germany, it is claimed.

Youngsters aged 6-10 were fed so-called Golden Rice, which has been modified to contain enhanced levels of beta carotene or vitamin A.

The rice is being developed to combat Vitamin A deficiency, which is linked to damage to the sight, poor brain development and immune system failure.

However high consumption can also have harmful toxic effects and cause birth defects.

Critics are furious that the GM rice was not put through animal feeding trials to ensure it was safe before being given to children.

The decision to use the children has been condemned as 'completely unacceptable' by a group of 22 scientists - all GM critics - from Britain and around the world.

They claim it is indicative of moves by the biotech lobby, led by the USA and biotech firms, to force GM food into the mouths of the world without proper assessment.

The project was financed and run through the US National Institutes of Health and involved children in China and America.

The scientists have written an open letter to the team behind the experiments, condemning the way they were conducted.

It states: 'We are writing to express our shock and unequivocal denunciation of the experiments being conducted by your colleagues which involve the feeding of genetically modified Golden Rice to human subjects.'

The letter says there has been 'woefully inadequate pre-clinical evaluation' of the rice.

The scientists argue there is a large body of evidence showing GM food production can trigger gene mutations which 'can result in health damaging effects when GM food products are fed to animals'.

The letter adds: 'Our greatest concern is that this rice, which is engineered to overproduce beta carotene, has never been tested in animals'.

It says there is evidence that certain chemicals derived from beta carotene 'are both toxic and cause birth defects'.

Critics of the GM experiments says the Nuremburg code states that children under 10 are not considered legally capable of giving consent to participation in such experiments.

They say the code also requires that human guinea pigs should not be used if scientists have an alternative experimental method.

Thirdly, experiments on humans should not be conducted until tests with animals have identified potential hazards.

Among the leading bodies behind the GM Golden rice project are the biotech company Syngenta, the Rockefeller Foundation and the charitable foundation set up by Microsoft boss Bill Gates.

The list of signatories to the protest letter includes Malcolm Hooper, emeritus professor of medicinal chemistry at Sunderland University, who said: 'This type of experimentation is frightening - children as lab rats - it is not on.'

Another is Prof David Schubert, of the Salk Institute of Biological Studies, San Diego, who said: 'It is completely immoral to feed this rice to children without proper safety testing...It's like putting a new drug on the market with no toxicology or safety trials.'

Other signatories include Prof Carlo Leifert, director of the Tesco Centre for Organic Agriculture at Newcastle University; and Dr Stanley WB Ewen.

Dr Ewen was involved in rat feeding trials in Scotland in 1999 which linked GM potatoes to harmful toxic effects.

Dr Brian John, of GM Free Cymru said: 'These irresponsible and dangerous trials must be stopped immediately, and the Golden Rice Project team must put its much-vaunted product through a full and transparent testing process before it is allowed to pass the lips of any other human being.'

Project manager at the Golden Rice Organisation, Dr Adrian Dubock, denied that the Nuremburg Code has been breached. He said the feeding trials had been approved by independent ethical review panels.

'Parents were not given financial rewards for their children's participation - to avoid undue pressure on poor families - but children were rewarded with school bags and pencils and paper as a thank you for participating,' he said.

Dr Dubock said 6,000 people around the world die every day due to illnesses related to failing immune systems where Vitamin A deficiency is a factor.

'The Golden Rice contains the food colours found everywhere in coloured natural foods and the environment...There is no possible way the trials could do any harm to the participants.'

Dr Dubock said animal experiments would not have helped. 'As humans are the designed beneficiaries of Golden Rice, animal testing could not answer the questions posed,' he said.

This appears odd as all GM foods, which are designed to be eaten by humans, are required to go through animal testing by food safety authorities in many countries.

© 2009 Associated Newspapers Ltd

"lonely web-surfer" psy-op

 

Headline Australian wildfire suspect a lonely web-surfer

 

Headline Fire suspect a lonely web-surfer

 

Headline Australian wildfire suspect a lonely web-surfer

Headline Australia wildfire death toll reaches 200

Tasers potentially lethal, RCMP head tells MPs

A revised RCMP policy that restricts how officers can use Tasers recognizes the stun guns can cause death, especially when fired on "acutely agitated" individuals, the head of the Mounties said Thursday.

RCMP Commissioner William Elliott told a House of Commons public safety committee in Ottawa that the force introduced the policy on conductive energy weapons, or CEWs, to officers in June 2008.

"The RCMP's revised CEW policy underscores that there are risks associated with the deployment of the device and emphasizes that those risks include the risk of death, particularly for acutely agitated individuals," Elliott told the committee.

Under the amended policy, an officer is only permitted to use a stun gun if he or she is in physical danger or the public is in danger.

It means Mounties can no longer shock people who are simply "actively resistant" to officers' orders, the commissioner said.

"We've now made it very clear that the only time the use of a Taser can be justified is where there is a threat, either to our officers or members of the public," he told reporters after his appearance before the committee.

The RCMP has more than 1,100 Tasers in use by more than 3,000 officers. In the wake of several high-profile incidents involving Tasers, critics and the RCMP's civilian watchdog accused the Mounties of relying on the weapons too much in policing and firing them on people who pose no threat.

Arizona-based Taser International, which makes virtually all the stun guns currently being used by police forces, has said its products — which are intended to incapacitate people with an electric shock — have a higher safety margin than Tylenol.

Elliott told reporters Thursday that stun guns are a "serious use of force," but added he believes the weapons are "far, far less lethal and far, far less dangerous" than conventional firearms, based on the experience of his force, other police agencies and available scientific data.

"I do not think there is any evidence that Tasers kill but certainly we have had some incidents where shortly after a Taser was deployed individuals died," Elliott said, "and certainly there is a distinct possibility that the deployment of the Taser and the experience generally contributed to the individual's death."

The Mounties haven't spoken to the supplier about what the force's policy should be, he said.

In January, the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, a civilian oversight body, announced it would investigate every case in which a person died after being jolted by an RCMP Taser.

Paul Kennedy, the commission's head, said the probe would cover about 10 deaths, but the exact number of cases to be examined had yet to be determined because the commission lacked a precise count.

Change brought in last year, commissioner says

Elliott dismissed suggestions by members of the committee that the force had delayed informing politicians and the public about the new policy.

"I think that the media certainly has been advised on numerous occasions over the last several months with respect to the changes that we were adopting," he said.

He noted Parliament has been suspended twice since the policy was introduced, preventing him from briefing MPs on the changes.

"There was no committee for us to provide the update to," he said.

The old policy instructed police to follow the standard use-of-force framework, which outlines when certain approaches are warranted. In the past, RCMP officials have said the policy meant an officer could use his or her own discretion to decide when to deploy a Taser.

"I certainly think that there are incidents that, if they occurred today, a Taser will not be used, where if they occurred some months ago, a Taser would be used," Elliott said.

No cause for concern, MPs told

Elliott also said 60 RCMP stun guns have been tested since the CBC and Radio-Canada reported in December that an independent test of Tasers manufactured before 2005 found some of the devices produced a higher level of electricity than the manufacturer promises.

Of the 41 Tasers tested by a U.S. laboratory commissioned by the broadcasters, four delivered significantly more current than Taser International says is possible. In some cases, the current was as much as 50 per cent stronger than specified on the devices.

Elliott said the force's own independent tests have so far turned up no cause for concern, but he would keep MPs informed as testing continued.

In response to the CBC/Radio-Canada report, Taser International said the U.S. laboratory tests commissioned by the broadcasters are "flawed."

The Canadian Medical Association has raised concerns in the past about police departments relying on the manufacturer's claims of safety, and has called on police departments to open their databases to researchers.

'It's a dangerous world out there'

RCMP officers are still required to report each stun gun firing or threat to fire, as well as to justify the use as a reasonable and necessary response to a threat to an officer or to public safety, he noted.

The force is committed to submitting quarterly and annual reports on Taser use incidents, the commissioner said.

The commissioner also said officers will now refresh stun gun training each year instead of every two years, but the RCMP did not adopt the all-party committee's call to reclassify the stun gun as an impact weapon.

Elliott said that's because it's already considered a prohibited firearm with clear policy restrictions for its use. He said the contentious weapons save lives.

"It's a dangerous world out there, and our officers are called upon to respond to situations involving threat with alarming regularity," he said.

Police use of Tasers has generated intense public concern after Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died at Vancouver International Airport more than a year ago. An RCMP officer shot him with a Taser shortly before his death.

British Columbia called an inquiry that has also been looking at the use of Tasers and the circumstances surrounding Dziekanski's death.

Unredacted documents reveal prisoners tortured to death

Stephen C. Webster
Published: Thursday February 12, 2009
The American Civil Liberties Union has released previously classified excerpts of a government report on harsh interrogation techniques used in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. These previously unreported pages detail repeated use of "abusive" behavior, even to the point of prisoner deaths.

The documents, obtained by the ACLU under a Freedom of Information Act request, contain a report by Vice Admiral Albert T. Church, who was tapped to conduct a comprehensive review of Defense Department interrogation operations. Church specifically calls out interrogations at Bagram Air base in Afghanistan as "clearly abusive, and clearly not in keeping with any approved interrogation policy or guidance."

The two unredacted pages from the Church report

may be found here

.

The ACLU's release comes on the same day as

a major FOIA document dump by three other leading human rights groups

: Documents which reveal the Pentagon ran secret prisons in Bagram and Iraq, that it cooperated with the CIA's "ghost detention" program and that Defense personnel delayed a prisoner's release to avoid bad press.

"In both cases, for example, [prisoners] were handcuffed to fixed objects above their heads in order to keep them awake," reads the document. "Additionally, interrogations in both incidents involved the use of physical violence, including kicking, beating, and the use of "compliance blows" which involved striking the [prisoners] legs with the [interrogators] knees. In both cases, blunt force trauma to the legs was implicated in the deaths. In one case, a pulmonary embolism developed as a consequence of the blunt force trauma, and in the other case pre-existing coronary artery disease was complicated by the blunt force trauma."

In a press release, the ACLU summarized the documents as detailing, "[An] investigation of two deaths at Bagram. Both detainees were determined to have been killed by pulmonary embolism caused as a result of standing chained in place, sleep depravation and dozens of beatings by guards and possibly interrogators. (Also reveals the use of torture at Gitmo and American-Afghani prisons in Kabul).

"[An] investigation into the homicide or involuntary manslaughter of detainee Dilar Dababa by U.S. forces in 2003 in Iraq.

"[An] investigation launched after allegations that an Iraqi prisoner was subjected to torture and abuse at 'The Disco' (located in the Special Operations Force Compound in Mosul Airfield, Mosul, Iraq). The abuse consisted of filling his jumpsuit with ice, then hosing him down and making him stand for long periods of time, sometimes in front of an air conditioner; forcing him to lay down and drink water until he gagged, vomited or choked, having his head banged against a hot steel plate while hooded and interrogated; being forced to do leg lifts with bags of ice placed on his ankles, and being kicked when he could not do more.

"[An] investigation of allegations of torture and abuse that took place in 2003 at Abu Ghraib.

"[And an] investigation that established probable cause to believe that U.S. forces committed homicide in 2003 when they participated in the binding of detainee Abed Mowhoush in a sleeping bag during an interrogation, causing him to die of asphyxiation."

"A large portion of the torture, maiming, and murder of detainees occurred under authority issued under secret rules of engagement in the Pentagon,"

wrote Scott Horton

, a contributing editor with Harper's magazine. "Much of this flowed through Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone, a figure who has so far evaded scrutiny in the torture scandal and now serves as vice president for strategy of QinetiQ North America, a subsidiary of the United Kingdom-based defense contractor QinetiQ. Even the Senate Armed Services Committee review fails to get to the bottom of Dr. Cambone, his interrogations ROEs for special operations units he controlled, and the death, disfigurement and torture of prisoners they handled. This is one of many reasons why a comprehensive investigation with subpoena power is urgently needed. But full airing of the internal investigations already conducted by the Department of Defense is an essential next step."

The ACLU's catalog of documents relating to torture under the Bush administration

may be found here

.

 

 

 

 

Evidence of torture 'buried by ministers'

Judges condemn secrecy over files detailing treatment of suspect by CIA

• Richard Norton-Taylor

• The Guardian,Thursday 5 February 2009

• Article history

Binyam Mohamed, a UK resident held in Guantánamo Bay. Photograph: PA

The government was accused last night of hiding behind claims of a threat to national security to suppress evidence of torture by the CIA on a prisoner still held in Guantanamo bay.

An unprecedented high court ruling yesterday blamed the US, with British connivance, for keeping the "powerful evidence" secret, sparking criticism from lawyers, campaigners and MPs, who claimed the government had capitulated to American bullying.

Two senior judges said they were powerless to reveal the information about the torture of Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian-born British resident, because David Miliband, the foreign secretary, had warned the court the US was threatening to stop sharing intelligence about terrorism with the UK.

In a scathing judgment, Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones said the evidence, and what MI5 knew about it, must remain secret because according to Miliband, the American threats meant "the public of the United Kingdom would be put at risk".

The judges made clear they were unhappy with their decision, but said they had no alternative as a result of Miliband's claim. Their ruling revealed that Miliband stuck to his position about the threat to the UK even after Barack Obama signed orders two weeks ago banning torture and announcing the closure of the Guantánamo Bay prison camp.

Last night Miliband seemingly backtracked on his office's submission, saying there had been no threat by the US to break off intelligence co-operation. "It's American information and it is for the Americans to decide whether to publish their information," Miliband told Channel 4 television.

Clive Stafford Smith, director of Reprieve, the legal charity and human rights group which acted for Mohamed, said last night: "The US is under a legal duty to investigate the crime of torture, not to suppress evidence that it happened ... For the foreign secretary to give in to these illegal demands by the Bush administration is capitulation to blackmail, pure and simple."

Yesterday's ruling was the latest in unprecedented court hearings into the abduction of Mohamed, who was seized and held incommunicado in Pakistan in 2002 before being secretly renditioned to Morocco, where he says he was tortured. He was subsequently flown to Afghanistan before being sent to Guantánamo Bay. He has been on hunger strike and the US and UK are discussing his possible return to the UK.

The ruling, studded with thinly disguised attacks on the attitude of the foreign secretary and the American authorities, came after the judges last year invited the Guardian and other media groups to overturn Miliband's refusal to disclose information in the documents given to him by the US. In a telling passage, the judges said: "Given [the documents'] source and detail, they would ... amount to powerful evidence". None of the contents at issue could possibly be described as sensitive US intelligence, they said.

In further stinging comments they said: "Moreover, in the light of the long history of the common law and democracy which we share with the United States, it was, in our view, very difficult to conceive that a democratically elected and accountable government could possibly have any rational objection to placing into the public domain such a summary of what its own officials reported as to how a detainee was treated by them and which made no disclosure of sensitive intelligence matters.

"Indeed we did not consider that a democracy governed by the rule of law would expect a court in another democracy to suppress a summary of the evidence contained in reports by its own officials ... relevant to allegations of torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment, politically embarrassing though it might be." The judges said yesterday: "It is plainly right that the details of the admissions in relation to the treatment of [Mohamed] as reported by officials of the United States government should be brought into the public domain."

They urged the Obama administration to reconsider the US position and also said that parliament's intelligence and security select committee must investigate the case in line with extended powers the committee had been granted by Gordon Brown. But the judges noted that the committee meets in private and the prime minister can censor its reports.

The judges also emphasised that, as the Guardian reported last year, Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, had asked the attorney general to investigate possible "criminal wrongdoing" by MI5 and the CIA over Mohamed's treatment.

A spokesman for Lady Scotland, the attorney general, said last night the matter was "still under consideration".

In earlier rulings judges described the American attitude in the case as "deeply disturbing". Miliband is expected to stand by what he told the high court, in a Commons written statement today. He is also expected to repeat the government's condemnation of torture.

A spokesman for the US state department said: "The US thanks the UK government for its continued commitment to protect sensitive national security information and preserve the long standing intelligence-sharing relationship that enables both countries to protect their citizens. The US investigates allegations and claims of torture ... such as those raised by Binyam Mohamed."

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said last night: "Despite best efforts to shine a light on the grubbiest aspects of the 'war on terror', the Foreign Office has claimed that the Obama administration maintained a previous US threat to reconsider intelligence sharing unless our judges kept this shameful skeleton in the closet. We find this Foreign Office allegation ... surprising." David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, said it implied that torture had taken place and British agencies may have been complicit.

Full-page advertisement placed in a Redding, California paper recently by a group of concerned citizens

Obama Reverses Abortion Funds Policy

Last Edited: Friday, 23 Jan 2009, 6:04 PM EST
Created On: Friday, 23 Jan 2009, 5:40 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama on Friday quietly ended the Bush administration's ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option.

Liberal groups welcomed the decision, while abortion rights foes criticized the president.

Known as the "Mexico City policy," the ban has been reinstated and then reversed by Republican and Democratic presidents since Ronald Reagan established it in 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.

A White House spokesman, Bill Burton, said Obama signed an executive order on the ban, without coverage by the media, late Friday afternoon. That was in contrast to the midday signings with fanfare of executive orders on other subjects earlier in the week.

Obama's action came one day after the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.

The Bush policy had banned U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of Agency for International Development funds, from going to international family planning groups that either offer abortions or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion. The rule also had prohibited federal funding for groups that lobby to legalize abortion or promote it as a family planning method.

Both Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who will oversee foreign aid, had promised to do away with the rule during the presidential campaign. Clinton visited the U.S. Agency for International Development on Friday but made no mention of the step.

Obama has spent his first days in office aggressively signing executive orders reversing Bush administration policies on issues ranging from foreign policy to government operations. TV cameras were invited in for Wednesday's announcements on ethics rules and for Thursday's signing of orders on closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and banning torture in the questioning of terror suspects.

In a move related to the lifting of the abortion rule, Obama also is expected to restore funding to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), probably in the next budget. Both he and Clinton had pledged to reverse a Bush administration determination that assistance to the organization violated U.S. law.

The Bush administration had barred U.S. money from the fund, contending that its work in China supported a Chinese family planning policy of coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization. UNFPA has vehemently denied that it does.

Organizations that had pressed Obama to make the abortion-ban change were jubilant.

"Women's health has been severely impacted by the cutoff of assistance. President Obama's actions will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, abortions and women dying from high-risk pregnancies because they don't have access to family planning," said Tod Preston, a spokesman for Population Action International, an advocacy group.

Anti-abortion groups criticized the move.

"President Obama not long ago told the American people that he would support policies to reduce abortions, but today he is effectively guaranteeing more abortions by funding groups that promote abortion as a method of population control," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee.

Obama also is expected at some point to lift or ease restrictions on federal money for stem cell research, an issue that divides people along similar battle lines, but there was no word about any action on that Friday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has expressed interest in pressing legislation on stem cells in the first 100 days of the new Congress if the new administration doesn't act.

Some scientists want broader use of embryonic stem cells than is currently allowed, hoping for new treatments for many diseases. Obtaining stem cells from four- or five-day-old embryos kills the embryos, and many opponents see that as taking life.

Vedic Perspective

TLK Vs 41  Taking Shelter of Krsna, the Supreme Controller

There is no possibility of being liberated from suffering without taking shelter at Krsna's lotus feet. People are thinking that they can relieve suffering through abortion, by killing the child within the womb. In this way they are committing one sin after another and becoming more and more entangled. Consequently the aborted living entity will have to enter into the womb of another mother in order to undergo the birth that he is destined to take. Then, when he enters the womb of another mother, he may again be killed, and for many years he may not be allowed to see the light of the sun. In this Kali-yuga, people are becoming so sinful that there is no possibility of rescue unless one takes to Krsna consciousness. The entire human civilization is falling into the illusory fire of maya. People fly into the fire just like moths. When there is a beautiful fire, moths come from a long distance, enter it and go pop, pop, pop. In this way one dies, takes birth and suffers and dies again.

 

Trial date set for Iraqi who threw shoes at Bush

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN

The Associated Press

February 08, 2009

The Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at former President George W. Bush will face trial Feb. 19 on the original charge of assaulting a foreign leader, a judicial official said Sunday.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi, 30, who is considered a hero by many Iraqis for his bizarre protest, has been in custody since the Dec. 14 outburst at Bush's joint news conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

He had been due to face a trial in December on a charge of assaulting a foreign leader but his defense team won a delay as it sought to reduce the charges to simply insulting Bush.

But Bayrkdar told The Associated Press that the trial will begin on Feb. 19 and the charge of assaulting a foreign leader will stand.

The case became a focus for Iraqis and others in the Muslim world who resent the U.S. invasion and occupation. Thousands demonstrated for al-Zeidi's release and hailed his gesture, which came in the waning days of the Bush administration.

But it also embarrassed al-Maliki, who was standing next to Bush at the time. Neither leader was injured.

The judicial spokesman refused to say what penalties al-Zeidi could face if convicted, saying 'it's up to the court.' The defense has said the assault charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Al-Zeidi's brother, Dhargham, said the family has not yet been informed of the trial date.

He also reiterated complaints that relatives and lawyers have been denied access to al-Zeidi, saying authorities turned down the family's request to meet with al-Zeidi on Thursday.

'This court works according to orders from the Cabinet,' the brother said, expressing fear that al-Zeidi could face the death penalty. 'He has been deprived of his simplest rights.'

Al-Zeidi's family claims he was beaten and tortured in detention.

The case's investigating judge has said the journalist was struck about the face and eyes, apparently by security agents who wrestled him to the floor after he hurled his shoes, forcing Bush to duck for cover.

One brother who visited al-Zeidi last month said he appeared in good shape and his wounds had healed.

Vedic Perspective by Prabhupada

That is the desire of Krsna, or God, that the state executive head should be as pious as Maharaja Yudhisthira. That is the scheme. Unfortunately, people do not want that. They have now discovered this democracy. Democracy... "Demon-cracy." Shortcut of "demon-cracy" is "democracy." All the demons and rogues, they gather together, somehow or other votes, and occupy the seat, and the business is plundering. The business is plundering. If we talk very much upon this, it will not be very favorable, but according to sastra... We, we talk according to sastra, that the democracy means assembly of rogues and plunderers. That is the statement in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Dasyu-dharmabhih. The government men will be all dasyu. Dasyu means plunderer. Not pickpocket. Pickpocket, somehow or other, if you do not understand, takes something from your pocket, and the plunderer, or the dasyu, he catches you and by force, "If you don't spare your money, I shall kill you." They are called dasyu.
   So the, in the present age of Kali, the government men will be dasyu. This is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Dasyu-dharmabhih. You can, we can see practically. You cannot keep your money. You earn with hard labor, but you cannot keep gold, you cannot keep jewelry, you cannot keep money. And... They will take it away by laws. So they make law that... Yudhisthira Maharaja was just quite opposite. He wanted to see that every citizen is so happy that they are not troubled even by excessive heat and excessive cold. Ati-vyadhi. They are not suffering from any disease, they are not suffering from excessive climatic influence, eating very nicely, and feeling security of person and property. That was Yudhisthira Maharaja. Not only Yudhisthira Maharaja. Almost all the kings, they were like that.

 

Doctor investigated in botched abortion

TAMPA — Eighteen and pregnant, Sycloria Williams went to an abortion clinic outside Miami and paid $1,200 for Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique to terminate her 23-week pregnancy.

Three days later, she sat in a reclining chair, medicated to dilate her cervix and otherwise get her ready for the procedure.

Only Renelique didn’t arrive in time. According to Williams and the Florida Department of Health, she went into labor and delivered a live baby girl.

What Williams and the Health Department say happened next has shocked people on both sides of the abortion debate: One of the clinic’s owners, who has no medical license, cut the infant’s umbilical cord. Williams says the woman placed the baby in a plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.

Police recovered the decomposing remains in a cardboard box a week later after getting anonymous tips.

“I don’t care what your politics are, what your morals are, this should not be happening in our community,” said Tom Pennekamp, a Miami attorney representing Williams in her lawsuit against Renelique (ren-uh-LEEK’) and the clinic owners.
The state Board of Medicine is to hear Renelique’s case in Tampa on Friday and determine whether to strip his license. The state attorney’s homicide division is investigating, though no charges have been filed. Terry Chavez, a spokeswoman with the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office, said this week that prosecutors were nearing a decision.

Renelique’s attorney, Joseph Harrison, called the allegations at best “misguided and incomplete” in an e-mail to The Associated Press. He didn’t provide details.

The case has riled the anti-abortion community, which contends the clinic’s actions constitute murder.

“The baby was just treated as a piece of garbage,” said Tom Brejcha, president of The Thomas More Society, a law firm that is also representing Williams. “People all over the country are just aghast.”

Even those who support abortion rights are concerned about the allegations.

“It really disturbed me,” said Joanne Sterner, president of the Broward County chapter of the National Organization for Women, after reviewing the administrative complaint against Renelique. “I know that there are clinics out there like this. And I hope that we can keep (women) from going to these types of clinics.”

According to state records, Renelique received his medical training at the State University of Haiti. In 1991, he completed a four-year residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Interfaith Medical Center in New York.

New York records show that Renelique has made at least five medical malpractice payments in the past decade, the circumstances of which were not detailed in the filings.

Several attempts to reach Renelique were unsuccessful. Some of his office numbers were disconnected, no home number could be found and he did not return messages left with his attorney.

Williams struggled with the decision to have an abortion, Pennekamp said. She declined an interview request made through him.

She concluded she didn’t have the resources or maturity to raise a child, he said, and went to the Miramar Women’s Center on July 17, 2006. Sonograms indicated she was 23 weeks pregnant, according to the Department of Health. She met Renelique at a second clinic two days later.

Renelique gave Williams laminaria, a drug that dilates the cervix, and prescribed three other medications, according to the administrative complaint filed by the Health Department. She was told to go to yet another clinic, A Gyn Diagnostic Center in Hialeah, where the procedure would be performed the next day, on July 20, 2006.

Williams arrived in the morning and was given more medication.

The Department of Health account continues as follows: Just before noon she began to feel ill. The clinic contacted Renelique. Two hours later, he still hadn’t shown up. Williams went into labor and delivered the baby.

“She came face to face with a human being,” Pennekamp said. “And that changed everything.”

The complaint says one of the clinic owners, Belkis Gonzalez came in and cut the umbilical cord with scissors, then placed the baby in a plastic bag, and the bag in a trash can.

Williams’ lawsuit offers a cruder account: She says Gonzalez knocked the baby off the recliner chair where she had given birth, onto the floor. The baby’s umbilical cord was not clamped, allowing her to bleed out. Gonzalez scooped the baby, placenta and afterbirth into a red plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.

No working telephone number could be found for Gonzalez, and an attorney who has represented the clinic in the past did not return a message.

At 23 weeks, an otherwise healthy fetus would have a slim but legitimate chance of survival. Quadruplets born at 23 weeks last year at The Nebraska Medical Center survived.

An autopsy determined Williams’ baby — she named her Shanice — had filled her lungs with air, meaning she had been born alive, according to the Department of Health. The cause of death was listed as extreme prematurity.

The Department of Health believes Renelique committed malpractice by failing to ensure that licensed personnel would be present when Williams was there, among other missteps.

The department wants the Board of Medicine, a separate agency, to permanently revoke Renelique’s license, among other penalties. His license is currently restricted, permitting him to only perform abortions when another licensed physician is present and can review his medical records.

Should prosecutors file murder charges, they’d have to prove the baby was born alive, said Robert Batey, a professor of criminal law at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport. The defense might contend that the child would have died anyway, but most courts would not allow that argument, he said.

“Hastening the death of an individual who is terminally ill is still considered causing the death of that individual,” Batey said. “And I think a court would rule similarly in this type of case.”

Vedic Perspective

JSD 6.5             Slaughterhouse Civilization
They are sending animals to the slaughterhouse, and now they'll create their own slaughterhouse. [Imitating gunfire:] Tung! Tung! Kill! Kill! You see? Just take Belfast, for example. The Roman Catholics are killing the Protestants, and the Protestants are killing the Catholics. This is nature's law. It's not necessary that you be sent to the ordinary slaughterhouse. You'll make a slaughterhouse at home. You'll kill your own child--abortion. This is nature's law. Who are these children being killed? They are these meat-eaters. They enjoyed themselves when so many animals were killed, and now they're being killed by their mothers. People do not know how nature is working. If you kill, you must be killed. If you kill the cow, who is your mother, then in some future lifetime your mother will kill you. Yes. The mother becomes the child, and the child becomes the mother.Mam sa khadatiti mamsah. The Sanskrit word is mamsa. Mam means "me," and sa means "he." I am killing this animal; I am eating him. And in my next lifetime he'll kill me and eat me. When the animal is sacrificed, this mantra is recited into the ear of the animal--"You are giving your life, so in your next life you will get the opportunity of becoming a human being. And I who am now killing you will become an animal, and you will kill me." So after understanding this mantra, who will be ready to kill an animal?

Newborn baby 'thrown out with the trash ALIVE after botched abortion'

By Mail Foreign Service

Last updated at 4:30 PM on 06th February 2009

A young mother has accused a Florida clinic of botching her abortion, allowing her child to be born alive - then putting the baby into a plastic bag and throwing her out with the trash.

Now Sycloria Williams is suing Dr Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique and the abortion clinic's owners in a case that has shocked both sides of the abortion debate.

Aged 18, Ms Williams went to an abortion clinic outside Miami and paid $1,200 for Dr Renelique to terminate her 23-week pregnancy.

Picture posed by model. A Florida doctor is being sued after a botched abortion which saw a newborn infant allegedly thrown out alive with the trash

Three days later, she sat in a reclining chair, medicated and ready for the procedure.

But Dr Renelique did not arrive in time - and, according to Williams and the Florida Department of Health, she went into labour and delivered a live baby girl.

Then, Ms Williams and the Department of Health claim, one of the clinic's owners - who has no medical licence - cut the infant's umbilical cord.

Ms Williams says the woman placed the baby in a plastic bio-hazard bag and threw it out.

Police recovered the decomposing remains in a cardboard box a week later after getting anonymous tips.

An autopsy revealed air in the baby girl's lungs - proving that she was born alive and breathing.

'I don't care what your politics are, what your morals are, this should not be happening in our community,' said Tom Pennekamp, a Miami attorney representing Ms Williams in her lawsuit against Dr Renelique and the clinic owners.

The state Board of Medicine is to hear Dr Renelique's case in Tampa today and determine whether to strip his licence.

Against all odds: In this iconic image of the abortion debate, the tiny feet of Amillia Taylor, the world's youngest premature baby to ever survive, are seen in the doctor's hand. Amillia was born at just 21 weeks and six days

The state attorney's homicide division is investigating, though no charges have been filed.

Terry Chavez, a spokeswoman with the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office, said this week that prosecutors were nearing a decision.

Dr Renelique's attorney, Joseph Harrison, called the allegations at best 'misguided and incomplete'. He didn't provide details.

The case has riled the anti-abortion community, which contends the clinic's actions constitute murder.

'The baby was just treated as a piece of garbage,' said Tom Brejcha, president of The Thomas More Society, a law firm that is also representing Ms Williams. 'People all over the country are just aghast.'

Even those who support abortion rights are concerned about the allegations.

'It really disturbed me,' said Joanne Sterner, president of the Broward County chapter of the National Organization for Women, after reviewing the administrative complaint against Dr Renelique.

'I know that there are clinics out there like this. And I hope that we can keep (women) from going to these types of clinics.'

According to state records, Dr Renelique received his medical training at the State University of Haiti. In 1991, he completed a four-year residency in obstetrics and gynaecology at Interfaith Medical Center in New York.

New York records show that Dr Renelique has made at least five medical malpractice payments in the past decade, the circumstances of which were not detailed in the filings.

Several attempts to reach Dr Renelique were unsuccessful. Some of his office numbers were disconnected, no home number could be found and he did not return messages left with his attorney.

Ms Williams struggled with the decision to have an abortion, Pennekamp said. She declined an interview request made through him.

She concluded she didn't have the resources or maturity to raise a child, he said, and went to the Miramar Women's Center on July 17, 2006.

Sonograms indicated she was 23 weeks pregnant, according to the Department of Health. She met Dr Renelique at a second clinic two days later.

Dr Renelique gave Ms Williams laminaria, a drug that dilates the cervix, and prescribed three other medications, according to the administrative complaint filed by the Health Department.

She was told to go to yet another clinic, A Gyn Diagnostic Center in Hialeah, where the procedure would be performed the next day, on July 20, 2006.

Ms Williams arrived in the morning and was given more medication.

The Department of Health account continues as follows: Just before noon she began to feel ill. The clinic contacted Dr Renelique. Two hours later, he still hadn't shown up. Williams went into labour and delivered the baby.

'She came face to face with a human being,' Pennekamp said. 'And that changed everything.'

The complaint says one of the clinic owners, Belkis Gonzalez came in and cut the umbilical cord with scissors, then placed the baby in a plastic bag, and the bag in a trash can.

Ms Williams' lawsuit offers a cruder account: She says Ms Gonzalez knocked the baby off the recliner chair where she had given birth, onto the floor.

The baby's umbilical cord was not clamped, allowing her to bleed out.

Ms Gonzalez scooped the baby, placenta and afterbirth into a red plastic bio-hazard bag and threw it out.

No working telephone number could be found for Ms Gonzalez, and an attorney who has represented the clinic in the past did not return a message.

At 23 weeks, an otherwise healthy foetus would have a slim but legitimate chance of survival. Quadruplets born at 23 weeks last year at The Nebraska Medical Center survived.

An autopsy determined Williams' baby — she named her Shanice — had filled her lungs with air, meaning she had been born alive, according to the Department of Health. The cause of death was listed as extreme prematurity.

The Department of Health believes Dr Renelique committed malpractice by failing to ensure that licensed personnel would be present when Ms Williams was there, among other missteps.

The department wants the Board of Medicine, a separate agency, to permanently revoke Dr Renelique's license, among other penalties. His license is currently restricted, permitting him to only perform abortions when another licensed physician is present and can review his medical records.

Should prosecutors file murder charges, they'd have to prove the baby was born alive, said Robert Batey, a professor of criminal law at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport.

The defence might contend that the child would have died anyway, but most courts would not allow that argument, he said.

'Hastening the death of an individual who is terminally ill is still considered causing the death of that individual,' Mr Batey said. 'And I think a court would rule similarly in this type of case.'

Vedic Perspective

SB 6.16.14 P   King Citraketu Meets the Supreme Lord

In this verse the word bala-hatya-hata-prabhah is to be particularly noted. The practice of killing children has existed in human society for a long time--since time immemorial--but in the days of yore it was very rarely performed. At the present moment, however, in this age of Kali, abortion--killing of the child within the womb--has become very common, and sometimes a child is even killed after birth. If a woman performs such an abominable act, she gradually loses all her bodily luster (bala-hatya-hata-prabhah). It is also to be noted that the ladies who had committed the sinful act of administering poison to the child were very much ashamed, and according to the directions of the brahmanas, they had to undergo atonement for killing the child. Any woman who has ever performed such an infamously sinful act must atone for it, but no one now is doing that. Under the circumstances, the women responsible must suffer in this life and the next. Those who are sincere souls, after hearing this incident, should refrain from such child-killing and should atone for their sinful activities by taking to Krsna consciousness very seriously. If one chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra without offenses, all of one's sinful actions are surely atoned for immediately, but one should not commit such deeds again, for that is an offense.

China fights drought with chemical cloud-seeding

By JOE McDONALD (Associated Press Writer)

February 08, 2009 10:20 AM EST

BEIJING - Parts of China's parched north got light rain after authorities fired shells loaded with cloud-seeding chemicals into the sky, but there was no end in sight for its worst drought in five decades, the government said Sunday.

Beijing has declared an emergency across China's north, where 4.4 million people lack adequate drinking water and winter wheat crops are withering.

"The drought situation will not be eased in the near future," said a national weather bureau statement.

Some areas got a sprinkling of rain and sleet Saturday and Sunday after clouds were hit with 2,392 rockets and 409 cannon shells loaded with chemicals, the weather bureau said. It said clouds were thin and moving out of the region, making conditions poor for more rainmaking.

Rainfall in northern and central China is 50 percent to 80 percent below normal, according to the Flood Control and Drought Relief Office. The official Xinhua News Agency said the drought that started in November threatens up to half the wheat crop in eight provinces - Hebei, Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi and Gansu.

On Saturday, one county in Shaanxi got 0.9 inches (23 millimeters) of precipitation, while other areas received less than 0.2 inches (5 millimeters), the weather bureau said. On Sunday, about 0.08 inches (2 millimeters) fell.

The state television midday news Sunday showed farmers with parched wheat seedlings that were barely ankle-high.

Beijing has promised 86.7 billion yuan ($12.6 billion) in aid to struggling farmers. That will add to the strain on government finances as it carries out a multibillion-dollar stimulus package to boost slowing economic growth.

Premier Wen Jiabao inspected drought relief work in Henan over the weekend and said ensuring a good harvest was critical to the success of the stimulus, the Xinhua News Agency and state television reported.

Wen visited a village where soldiers and police were helping farmers irrigate crops with water from a tank truck. The premier was shown using a hose to water a field and talking to farmers.

"This is an extremely big drought. It is a test of our party committees, government and leaders at all levels," Xinhua quoted Wen as telling local leaders.

Rural hardship is politically sensitive at a time when 20 million migrants have returned home after losing jobs because of the economic slump. The communist government is trying to curb the potential for unrest by pressing companies to avoid more layoffs.

The Agriculture Ministry said the drought also is to blame for an outbreak of a fungal disease called stripe rust that attacks wheat. It said the disease can cut output by up to 40 percent.

Water Resources Minister Chen Lei said water levels in the Yellow River, a key source for farms and a string of cities, are down 20 percent to 40 percent, the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily reported.

Across eight provinces, irrigation has brought water to about half the 11 million hectares (26.5 million acres) of drought-affected wheat crops, the Agriculture Ministry said Sunday on its Web site.

Vedic Perspective

770127r2.bhu
Prabhupada: So we have to challenge them like that. And as soon as you challenge, "Yes, wait millions of years." That's all.
Satsvarupa: They say, "Actually we are working on that, how to make rain."
Prabhupada: Hm?
Satsvarupa: They'll say, "Yes, actually we are working on that problem of making rain."
Prabhupada: What is the working? People are suffering; you are working. There is a Bengali proverb, sate kusti dolpe gelun.(?) There was a big fair. One has to go there. So he began to dress himself nicely. So the time occupied for dressing, in the meantime the fair was finished. (laughs) Sate kusti kolpe gelun.(?) These are practical. You need immediately water. These rascals say, "Yes, wait. Wait for future."
Satsvarupa: "Wait and give us billions of dollars. Research."
Prabhupada: Yes, yes. Why shall I wait? Immediately necessary. You have no such power to evaporate the water and make into cloud and distribute. Very easily it is being done. Then why don't you accept somebody's doing that?
Satsvarupa: If a scientist will accept there is God, then there is no harm in making scientific progress.
Prabhupada: Then they will hear the words of God, Bhagavad-gita. Then everything will be solved. Yajnad bhavati parjanyah. Then he will hear. They will chant Hare Krsna and there will be rain.

U.K. Court Rules to Keep Detainee Documents Secret

Citing U.S. Threats on Intelligence Sharing, Judges Will Not Release Information on Guantanamo Inmate

By Mary Jordan 

Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, February 5, 2009

LONDON, Feb. 4 -- Two British High Court judges ruled against releasing documents describing the treatment of a British detainee at the Guantanamo Bay prison, but made clear their reluctance, saying that the United States had threatened to withhold intelligence cooperation with Britain if the information were made public.

"We did not consider that a democracy governed by the rule of law would expect a court in another democracy to suppress a summary of the evidence . . . relevant to allegations of torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment, politically embarrassing though it might be," Justice John Thomas and Justice David Lloyd Jones wrote.

The judges decided not to release information, supplied to the court by U.S. officials, concerning the treatment of Binyam Mohamed, 31, an Ethiopian-born British resident who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002. 

The decision touched off a wave of anger at Washington from the floor of Parliament to the offices of human rights groups.

"The government is going to have to do some pretty careful explaining about what's going on," said David Davis, a top Conservative Party leader, speaking in the House of Commons.

Davis said it appeared the U.S. government had "threatened" the British government about the repercussions if details of the case were made public. "Frankly, it is none of their business what our courts do," he said.

"The ruling implies that torture has taken place in the Mohamed case, that British agencies may have been complicit, and further, that the United States government has threatened our High Court that if it releases this information the U.S. government will withdraw its intelligence cooperation with the United Kingdom," Davis said.

Mohamed was initially charged with planning a "dirty bomb" attack in the United States. Those charges were later dropped, but Mohamed has been held at the Guantanamo detention center in Cuba since September 2004 after allegedly confessing to being an al-Queda operative. 

Mohamed says that evidence against him is based on confessions obtained by torture at the hands of U.S. officials and allies in "secret prisons" in Morocco and Afghanistan and later in Guantanamo. 

Wednesday's ruling was part of a long-running legal battle by Mohamed's attorneys, who argue that he has committed no crime and is a victim of torture and rendition by U.S. officials, with British cooperation.

Attorneys for several British and American news media organizations petitioned the court to release the information it had about Mohamed's treatment, which had been redacted from a court ruling last summer.

On Wednesday, the judges turned down the request to release the documents, saying that the United States continued to threaten to punish Britain by withholding intelligence cooperation if the court released details of Mohamed's treatment.

Clive Stafford Smith, Mohamed's attorney, told reporters that by not disclosing the evidence, Britain was guilty of "capitulation to blackmail."

"It is hardly Britain's finest hour," he said. "As the judges say, it is up to President Obama to put his money where his mouth is. He must repudiate his predecessor's reprehensible policy."

Officials in Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said they are unaware of any threat from the Obama administration to withhold cooperation. "We have not engaged with the new administration on the detail of this case," a Brown spokesman told reporters.

Also Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, urging her to clarify the Obama administration's position on the Mohamed case and to reject what it described as the Bush administration's policy of using false claims of national security to avoid judicial review of controversial programs.

Anthony D. Romero, head of the ACLU, said, "The latest revelation is completely at odds with President Obama's executive orders that ban torture and end rendition, as well as his promise to restore the rule of law."

Vedic Perspective

740529mw.rom              Conversations
Just see. All freedom lost. All freedom lost. It is a government of terrorism, that's all. And whatever the Communists do, simply by terrorizing that's all. They have no gentleman's method. Terrorizing. (break) ...misleading other rascals that "You come this way; you will be happy." And the rascals are being misled. They are accepting. This is going on. Andha yathandhair upaniyamanah. The blind man is asking other blind men, "Come on, I shall cross you the street." But because he is rascal, he does not ask, "Sir, you are also blind. how will you lead us?" They cannot inquire. Or he does not know that "This man is asking me, who is willing to take the leadership, he is also blind." This blind man does not know, do not know. They do not know. This is going on. 

Italian President slams racist attack on Indian

LONDON/ROME: The Italian president has called for a stop to xenophobia and racist violence as outrage grew after an Indian man was beaten and set on

fire near Rome.

Navtej Singh Sidhu, a 35-year-old homeless construction worker, was Wednesday fighting for his life after being attacked while sleeping rough at a train station at the seaside town of Nettuno near Rome Sunday.

Police have arrested two adults and a minor, who have confessed to pouring petrol on him and setting him on fire.

President Giorgio Napolitano condemned the attack, saying it was one of many such "horrifying episodes" seen in Italy.

"By now, these cannot be considered as isolated events but as alarming symptoms of a widespread trend that is unfortunately growing," he said.

"I appeal strongly to those who have institutional, cultural and educational responsibility to commit themselves fully to putting a stop to any display of xenophobia, racism and violence."

Police said the three men admitted they had attacked the Indian immigrant in order to "cap off" a night on the town, fuelled by drugs and alcohol, by doing something "sensational, to experience an intense emotion", the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Italy has seen a string of racist attacks over the last year, including the burning of gypsy camps in Naples in May and the killing of an immigrant from Burkina Faso in September in Milan.

A Chinese immigrant was beaten up by teenagers while waiting for a bus in Rome in October and a young student from Ghana was beaten by Parma traffic police who mistook him for a drugs pusher.

Meanwhile, Italian Jewish leaders expressed solidarity with Sidhu.

"When we [Jews] are the object of hostile acts, we receive support from all sides, and we want to do the same in this case," said Rome's Jewish community president, Riccardo Pacifici.

"We feel a vital part of Italy and join in protest with everyone against such actions," said Rome's chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni.

Sidhu has severe burns on more than 40 percent of his body, said Dr. Paolo Palombo of Sant'Eugenio hospital in Rome.

Indian diplomats in Rome, who have spoken to Sidhu, say his condition remains critical and that he will be operated upon Friday.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno visited Sidhu in hospital and assured Indian diplomats he would receive the best possible treatment.

Vedic Perspective

Srimad-Bhagavatam

6.1.49 Purport by Srila Prabhupada

 A man engages in sinful activities because he does not know what he did in his past life to get his present materially conditioned body, which is subjected to the threefold miseries. As stated by Rsabhadeva in Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.5.4), nunam pramattah kurute vikarma: a human being who is mad after sense gratification does not hesitate to act sinfully. Yad indriya-pritaya aprnoti: he performs sinful actions simply for sense gratification. Na sadhu manye: this is not good. Yata atmano 'yam asann api klesada asa dehah: because of such sinful actions, one receives another body in which to suffer as he is suffering in his present body because of his past sinful activities.
   It should be understood that a person who does not have Vedic knowledge always acts in ignorance of what he has done in the past, what he is doing at the present and how he will suffer in the future. He is completely in darkness. Therefore the Vedic injunction is, tamasi ma: "Don't remain in darkness." Jyotir gama: "Try to go to the light." The light or illumination is Vedic knowledge, which one can understand when he is elevated to the mode of goodness or when he transcends the mode of goodness by engaging in devotional service to the spiritual master and the Supreme Lord.

US accused of threatening Britain over terrorism 'torture evidence'

The US Government has threatened to halt intelligence co-operation with Britain in a row over the alleged torture of a 'terrorism' detainee at Guantanamo Bay being made public.

 

By Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor(Telegraph.co.uk)
Last Updated: 4:54PM GMT 04 Feb 2009

 

Binyam Mohamed, a British resident held at the American base, has launched a legal challenge in the High Court in London for documents detailing his treatment to be made public.

However, two judges ruling on the case said that David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, had advised that releasing the documents could lead to America withdrawing intelligence co-operation.

This, it was warned, could lead to Britons facing a “very considerable increase in the dangers they face” from terrorism.

The judges reveal that the secret documents at the centre of the case “give rise to an arguable case of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”. It is also disclosed that a British intelligence official may have been present when Mr Mohamed alleges he was tortured. The judgement raises the prospect of criminal charges being brought against British officials.

Mr Mohamed, who was born in Ethiopia, sought political asylum in Britain in 1994 and was granted leave to remain in this country. He was captured in Pakistan in 2002 while attempting to return to London on a false British passport.

The Muslim convert was initially questioned by MI5 before being passed to the Americans. He was then held “incommunicado, initially in Pakistan and then at secret and undisclosed locations until May 2004”. He claims he was subjected to “extraordinary rendition to Morocco where torture continued in a severe form”.

Between May and September 2004, Mr Mohamed made confessions to his involvement with Al-Qaida and plotting terrorist attacks. He was initially charged with terrorist offences, including a dirty bomb plot, although the charges have now been dropped.

He has been on hunger strike for much of the past month and is expected to be released shortly and returned to Britain.

Today’s judgement reveals that the High Court was minded to release the information – provided by both the American and British Governments – describing his treatment since being captured.

But, the judges said that in the opinion of the Foreign Secretary there is a real risk that, if the redacted paragraphs were restored, then "the US Government, by its review of the shared intelligence arrangements, could inflict on the citizens of the United Kingdom a very considerable increase in the dangers they face at a time when a serious terrorist threat still pertains".

They said they had to find a balance

between national security on the one hand and the public interest in open justice, safeguarding the rule of law, free speech and democratic accountability.

"In the circumstances now prevailing, the balance is served by maintaining the redaction of the paragraphs from our first judgment," they said.

"In short, whatever views may be held as to the continuing threat made by the US Government to prevent a short summary of the treatment of Mohamed being put into the public domain by this court, it would not, in all the circumstances we have set out and in the light of the action taken, be in the public interest to expose the UK to what the Foreign Secretary still considers to be the real risk of the loss of intelligence so vital to the safety of our day-to-day life."

It was also revealed that Mr Miliband had recently checked and that Barack Obama’s administration was standing by the threat.

Vedic Perspective : "Guests of Time"

The Real Peace Formula by Srila Prabhupada

   Every living entity is searching after peace. That is the struggle for existence. Everyone, from the aquatics to the highest form of human being--from the ant up to Brahma, the first creature of this universe--is searching for peace. That is the main objective. Lord Caitanya said that a person who is in full Krsna consciousness is the only peaceful man because he has no demands. That is the special qualification of a person who is in Krsna consciousness. He is akamah. Akamah refers to those who have no desire, who are self-sufficient, who have nothing to ask and who are fully peaceful. Who are they? They are the devotees who are situated in Krsna consciousness.
   All others fall into three classes. One class is bhukti, those who are hankering after material happiness and enjoyment. These people want to eat, drink, be merry and enjoy. There are different modes of enjoyment according to the body. People are searching after sense enjoyment on this planet, on other planets, here, there and everywhere. Their main object is to gratify the senses. That is called bhukti. The next class is those people who are fatigued or frustrated in sense gratification and therefore want liberation from this material entanglement. And then there are those who, in search of knowledge, speculate about what the Absolute Truth is. Thus there are some who want sense enjoyment, and others, the salvationists, who are seeking liberation. The salvationists also have some desire, the desire to be free from this material entanglement. Then there are those who are yogis; they are searching after mystic perfection. There are eight kinds of mystic perfection which grant the ability to become the smallest, to become the heaviest, or to get whatever one desires. Ordinary persons who are after sense gratification and those who are salvationists or who are after mystic perfection all have some demand. But what about the devotees? They have no demands. Because they simply want to serve Krsna, they are waiting for the order of Krsna, and that is their satisfaction. If Krsna wants the devotees to go to hell, they are prepared to go to hell. And if Krsna says, "You come to Me," they are prepared to go. They have no demands. This is the perfectional stage.
   There is a very nice verse in which a devotee prays: "I shall simply be conscious of You, my dear Lord, Krsna conscious, free from all mental demands." Actually, because we are in material bondage, we have many demands. Some people want sense gratification, those who are a little more elevated want mental satisfaction, and those who are still more refined want to show some magic jugglery of power in this world. They are all in material bondage in different capacities. Therefore, a person who is Krsna conscious prays to the Lord: "My dear Lord, when shall I be fully absorbed in Your thoughts or Your service?" "Your thoughts" are not simply abstract, concocted speculation; it is a practical mode of thought. "I shall become peaceful." All mental concoction--I want this, I want that--will be completely eradicated.
   We are hovering over the mental plane. We have given power of attorney to the mind, and the mind is driving us--"Come here, go there." One has to stop such nonsense. "I shall simply be Your eternal servitor. And I shall be very cheerful, for I have my master." All others who are not in Krsna consciousness are guideless. They are their own guides. The person who is Krsna conscious has the supreme guide; therefore, he has no fear. For example, as long as a child is under the care of his parents he has no fear. But as soon as he becomes free, he finds many impediments. This is a crude example, but similarly, when one becomes completely free from all mental concoction and engages one hundred percent in Krsna consciousness twenty-four hours a day, he will be peaceful at once. That is peace.
   Therefore, Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that those who are Krsna conscious, because they have no demands, are actually peaceful. Those who are after sense enjoyment, salvation and yogic mystic perfection are always full of anxiety. As long as one is full of anxiety, one should know that he is still under the grip of material nature. And as soon as one is free from all anxiety, one should know that he is liberated. This fearful anxiety exists because we do not know Krsna, the Supreme Lord, the supreme controller. Instead, we have other conceptions, and therefore we are always anxious.
   There are many examples, such as Prahlada Maharaja. He was only five years old, a pet child, but because he was a devotee of the Lord, his father became his enemy. This is the way of the world. As soon as one becomes a devotee of the Lord he finds so many obstacles. But those obstacles will not hinder one or be impediments on the path. We should always be personally prepared to become Krsna conscious. Otherwise, there is only the kingdom of maya, illusion. Maya will try to defeat us as soon as she sees, "Oh, here is a living soul going out of my grip." As soon as one becomes Krsna conscious and fully surrenders unto the Supreme Lord, he has nothing more to fear from this illusion. The Krsna conscious person is the perfectly peaceful person.
   Everyone wants peace in the world. The peace marchers do not know how to obtain peace, but they want peace. I read a speech of the Archbishop of Canterbury in which he said, "You want the kingdom of God without God." This is our defect. If you want peace at all, then accept that peace means to understand God. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita. Unless you are in touch with the Supreme Lord, Krsna, you cannot have peace. Therefore, we have a different peace formula. The real peace formula is that one must know that God is the proprietor of all this universe, including the United States of America. He is the proprietor of Russia, He is the proprietor of China, He is the proprietor of India, of everything. But because we claim that we are the proprietors, there is fighting, there is discord, there is disagreement, and how can there be peace?
   First of all, one has to accept that God is the proprietor of everything. We are simply guests for fifty or a hundred years. We come and go, and while one is here, he is absorbed in this thought: "This is my land. This is my family. This is my body. This is my property." And when there is an order from the Supreme for one to leave his home, his property, his body, his family, his money and his bank balance and it is all gone, one has to take another place. We are under the grip of material nature, and she is offering different kinds of bodies: "Now, my dear sir, you accept this body." We accept an American body, an Indian body, a Chinese body, a cat's body or a dog's body. I am not the proprietor even of this body, yet I say that I am this body. Actually, this is ignorance. And how can one have peace? Peace can be had when one understands that God is the proprietor of everything. One's friends, one's mother, one's mother's father and the President are all guests of time. When this knowledge is accepted, then there will be peace.
   We are searching for a friend to give us peace and tranquillity. That friend is Krsna, God. Just make friendship with Him; you'll find everyone to be your friend. Because God is situated in everyone's heart, if you make friendship with God, He will dictate from within so that you will also be treated in a friendly way. If you make friendship with the police commissioner, you receive some advantage. If you make friendship with President Nixon, everyone will be your friend because everyone is under the President. If you want something from any officer, simply call President Nixon, and he will say, "All right, look after this man." Everything is taken care of. Just try to have friendship with God, and everyone will be your friend. If all people understand this very nice fact, that God is everyone's friend and that He is the supreme proprietor, they will become peaceful. That is explained also by Lord Caitanya.
   In Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Caitanya-caritamrta, or any Vedic literature or any other literature in any other religion, the same fact is presented: God is the proprietor. God is the only friend. If you understand this, then you'll have peace. This is the peace formula. As soon as you encroach on God's property, calling it your own, material nature, the police action, will be there: "You are not the proprietor." You can simply have what is allotted to you by God.
   Your business is to elevate yourself to perfect Krsna consciousness and nothing more. If you deviate from this law, if you don't accept this principle, if you want to enjoy more, then you have to suffer more. There is no question of forgetting. Therefore, Lord Caitanya says, "One who is Krsna conscious has no demands. Thus he is at peace."
   Those in Krsna consciousness do not know anything more than Krsna. Actually only those who are Krsna conscious are peaceful, unafraid of anything. They are neither in heaven nor in hell nor anywhere but with Krsna, so for them everything is Vaikuntha, without fear. Similarly, Lord Krsna as Paramatma, Supersoul, lives everywhere. He lives in the heart of a hog also. The hog eats stool, but that does not mean that because the Supreme Lord is in the heart of the hog, He is also subjected to such punishment. The Lord and His devotees are always transcendental to the modes of material nature. Persons who are completely Krsna conscious are very rare and very peaceful. Out of millions and millions of people, it is very difficult to find one who is actually Krsna conscious; this position of Krsna consciousness is so rare. But Krsna Himself, as Lord Caitanya, seeing the pitiable condition of the present day, is directly giving free love of Godhead.
   Yet because love of God is being given freely and so easily, people do not care for it. My spiritual master used to say that if you take a langera mango, which is a first-class, topmost quality mango in India, very costly, very sweet and very tasteful, and go from door to door and try to distribute it freely, people will doubt: "Why has this man brought this langera mango? Why is he trying to distribute it freely? There must be some motive behind it." Similarly, Lord Caitanya distributed this Krsna consciousness langera mango very cheaply, but people are so foolish that they think, "Oh, they are simply chanting Hare Krsna; what is there to it? This is meant for the foolish, who cannot speculate and do not have any higher standard of knowledge." But that is not so. It is said: "Out of millions and millions of people, only a few are interested in Krsna consciousness." Do not neglect this information; it is very rare, and if you practice Krsna consciousness, your life will be successful. Your mission in human life will be fulfilled. This seed of Krsna consciousness is very rare and very valuable. Lord Caitanya said that innumerable living entities are wandering and transmigrating in the 8,400,000 species of life, one after another. Out of so many, one may come who is fortunate, who has spiritual fortune.
   Sometimes devotees of the Lord go from door to door. Their policy is to go as beggars. So in India, beggars, especially sannyasis, are very much respected. If a sannyasi comes to a house to beg, he is very well received: "Swamiji, what can I do for you?" The devotee beggar won't ask for anything, but whatever one can give, even one capati, makes one spiritually rich. That man who offers a capati to a pure devotee who comes to his door is made spiritually rich. When one is advanced in spiritual wealth, he offers a good reception to devotees as far as possible. According to the Vedic system, even if your enemy comes to your house, you have to receive him in such a way that you will forget that he is your enemy. That is the general system for receiving a pure devotee who has sacrificed everything for the Lord.
   These are instructions for householders. The householder should come out of his home during noontime and call out for anyone who is hungry to please come and take the food. Only if no one comes in answer to his call can the chief of the household take his meals. There are so many rules and regulations just to train a man to become godly. They are not superstitious or superfluous. The human being should be trained to be godly. Because he is part and parcel of God, he is given the chance to be trained. This training is given because some day or other the person may be Krsna conscious.
   If by chance during this training he meets a teacher who is a saintly person and a pure devotee of the Lord, then by such a contact he becomes pure. Therefore, Lord Caitanya said that the fortunate person who has had some spiritual asset in his past dealings will seek the association of a pure devotee. The seed of Krsna consciousness is received by the mercy of guru, the spiritual master, and by the mercy of Krsna. When the spiritual master and Lord Krsna will that a person must have Krsna consciousness, then the seed very nicely fructifies. That spiritual asset makes one fortunate, and thus he becomes spiritually enlivened, and then he meets a bona fide spiritual master, and, by the grace of the spiritual master, he can receive the seed of Krsna consciousness. That is his inner urge: "Where can I get this association? Where can I get this awareness?"
   This process is recommended; it is the general process of spiritual advancement. Krsna is within you, and as soon as Krsna sees that you are very sincere, that you are seeking, He sends a bona fide spiritual master. This combination of Krsna and the spiritual master is the cause of one's receiving the seed of Krsna consciousness. The seed is there. If you have a very nice seed of a rose bush, what is your duty? If you have a seed of any nice plant, it is your duty not to lock it up in the safety vault of a bank. Your duty is to sow it in the ground. Where should you sow that seed? If you have information of Krsna consciousness, you just sow it in your heart. Not in this earth, but in the earth within yourself. And after sowing a seed you have to pour a little water on it, so that water is hearing and chanting. Once the seed is sown in the heart, just pour on a little water, and it will grow.
   This process should not be stopped by the thought that because one is initiated there is no need of hearing and chanting. It should go on continuously. If you stop pouring water on a plant, it will dry up, it will not produce any fruit. Similarly, even if you are highly elevated in Krsna consciousness, you cannot stop this process of hearing and chanting because maya is so strong, so powerful, that as soon as she sees, "Ah, here is an opportunity," at once you will dry up. By the process of pouring water, that plant of Krsna consciousness grows. How does it grow? There is a limit to every plant you see; it grows and grows and grows, but there is a limit where it stops growing. But the plant of Krsna consciousness grows in such a way that it does not rest in any part of this material universe because a Krsna conscious person is not satisfied with planetary facilities in any part of this material universe. Even if you offer him Siddhaloka, where the inhabitants are so powerful and elevated that they can fly in the sky without airplanes, he will not be satisfied.
   There is a planet, Siddhaloka, according to Srimad-Bhagavatam, where the inhabitants do not need airplanes or spacecraft to fly from one planet to another. Above Siddhaloka there are many other planets. I saw that the latest modern opinion is that every star is a sun, and there are different planetary systems, solar systems; but according to Vedic literature there are innumerable universes which are separate identities. The limit of this universe is the outermost sky. The modern scientist says that each and every star is a sun. But Vedic literature does not say that. Vedic literature informs us that there is only one sun in each universe, but there are innumerable universes, and thus there are innumerable suns and moons. The highest planet of this universe is called Brahmaloka. And Lord Krsna says, "Even if you approach the highest planet, you have to come back again." Sputniks and astronauts are going very high, and here on earth people are clapping; but after just a brief time they come down again. However one may clap, he cannot do more than that. Similarly, those who are materialistic can go high up to Brahmaloka where Brahma is, but those who are Krsna conscious will reject even that. They neglect even the impersonal brahmajyoti. They don't care for it.
   The covering of this universe is far, far greater than this space which we are now in. The outside of the universe is ten times the space within, so one has to penetrate that covering, and then reach Viraja, the Causal Ocean. The Buddhist philosophical perfection is to reach that Viraja. When this material existence is completely finished, it is called viraja, according to Vedic language. But the Krsna conscious person not only penetrates the covering of this universe, but after he reaches that Causal Ocean, which is the neutral position, he continues. The plant grows so nicely from Brahmaloka to Viraja to the spiritual sky, and even when that plant reaches the spiritual sky, it is not satisfied with any Vaikuntha planet.
   The highest planet in the spiritual sky is Krsnaloka. It is just like a lotus flower, where Krsna is standing. And there, when the plant finds Krsna's lotus feet, it rests. Just as a creeper grows and grows and grows and at last attaches itself to something and then expands, when the devotional plant gets to the lotus feet of Krsna, it expands. As soon as this Krsna consciousness creeper captures Krsna's lotus feet, it takes shelter. "There. Now I have finished my journey. Let me expand here." To expand means to enjoy Krsna's association. There the devotees are satisfied.
   That creeper has to go on, and thus those who are already in Krsna consciousness, if they have their natural growth, relish the fruit of that creeper even in this life.
   If you continue this chanting and hearing process, you will grow and grow and actually reach Krsna's lotus feet and there relish His association.

Shoe: man charged for throwing shoe at Chinese Prime Minister

Telegraph.co.uk 2:42PM GMT 03 Feb 2009

The man, who has not been named, had been charged with a public order offence and will appear in court in Cambridge on February 10, a police spokeswoman said.

He is alleged to have disrupted a lecture given by Mr Wen at Cambridge University on Monday.

Onlookers said a shoe was thrown from the audience and landed several yards away from the Chinese leader.

The protestor screamed: "This is a scandal."

He was then bundled out of the concert hall by university security staff.

As he was dragged out he shouted: "How can the university prostitute itself with this dictator?"

Mr Wen hesitated for a few moments in his speech before continuing.

He said: "This despicable behaviour cannot stand in the way of friendship between China and the UK."

He received a round of applause from the audience, who were apparently mostly Chinese students.

Police said a man was arrested shortly after the incident and charged last night.

Mr Wen had been asked to speak to an invited audience by Cambridge University.

Police mounted a large security operation and protesters raising concerns about Chinese policy in Tibet and human rights in China were kept well away from the premier as he arrived.

A demonstrator threw an egg when the premier arrived for an engagement in London at the weekend and police said they did not want any repeat of such attacks

But demonstrators complained that the police operation was "over the top" and designed to keep them out of Mr Wen's view.

The insult mimicked that of an Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoe at George Bush while the American President was speaking in Baghdad.

Vedic Perspective from Ancient Texts of Srimad-Bhagavatam

Krsna appears in this world for two purposes, paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam: to protect the innocent, religious devotees of the Lord and to annihilate all the uneducated, uncultured asuras(demons), who unnecessarily bark like dogs and fight among themselves for political power. It is said, kali-kale nama-rupe krsna avatara. The Hare Krsna movement is also an incarnation of Krsna in the form of the holy name (nama-rupe). Every one of us who is actually afraid of the asuric(demonic) rulers and politicians must welcome this incarnation of Krsna: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Then we will surely be protected from the harassment of asuric rulers. At the present moment these rulers are so powerful that by hook or by crook they capture the highest posts in government and harass countless numbers of people on the plea of national security or some emergency. Then again, one asura defeats another asura, but the public continues to suffer. Therefore the entire world is in a precarious condition, and the only hope is this Hare Krsna movement. Lord Nrsimhadeva appeared when Prahlada was excessively harassed by his asuric father. Because of such asuric fathers--that is, the ruling politicians--it is very difficult to press forward the Hare Krsna movement, but because Krsna has now appeared in His holy name through this movement, we can hope that these asuric fathers will be annihilated and the kingdom of God established all over the world. The entire world is now full of many asuras in the guise of politicians, gurus, sadhus, yogis and incarnations, and they are misleading the general public away from Krsna consciousness, which can offer true benefit to human society.

{Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.3.21}

Protester hurls shoe at Chinese PM during UK visit

By MARTIN BENEDYK (Associated Press Writer)

From Associated Press

February 02, 2009 10:41 PM EST

CAMBRIDGE, England - A protester hurled abuse and then a shoe at China's premier Monday while he delivered a speech on the global economy at Cambridge University at the end of his trip to Britain.

The protester leapt up from his seat near the back of a crowded auditorium, blew a whistle and yelled that Premier Wen Jiabao was a "dictator" before throwing the shoe toward the stage.

"How can this university prostitute itself with this dictator here, how can you listen ... to him unchallenged," the man shouted.

Like the now-famous incident when an Iraqi reporter threw his shoes at former President George W. Bush in December, the gray athletic shoe missed its intended target.

Unlike Bush, Wen, who was standing on a stage behind a podium, did not need to duck. He merely paused for a few seconds before he continued with his speech. One of his aides quietly stepped on to the stage, picked up the shoe and took it away.

Security staff escorted the protester out of the auditorium. He was arrested and taken to a police station for questioning on suspicion of committing a public order offense, said police spokeswoman Shelly Spratt.

"The university is a place for discussion, debate and considered argument, not for shoe throwing," said Tim Holt, a university spokesman.

The shoe-throwing incident came at the end of a three-day visit dogged by demonstrations over human rights and Chinese policy in Tibet. Security was tight at the university and police kept a group of about 20 demonstrators away from the premier when he arrived for his speech.

Shoe throwing has become a globally recognized form of protest since the case involving Bush. Iraqi reporter Muntadhar al-Zeidi was scheduled to face trial in December on a charge of assaulting a foreign leader, but the court date was postponed after his attorney filed a motion to reduce the charges. He remains in custody in Baghdad.(end story)

Vedic Perspective From the Ancient Texts of Srimad-Bhagavatam

The presidents and chief executives in the age of Kali are simply tax collectors who do not care whether religious principles are observed...Srimad-Bhagavatam predicts that in Kali-yuga the government will be entrusted with dasyu-dharma, which means the occupational duty of rogues and thieves. Modern heads of state are rogues and thieves who plunder the citizens instead of giving them protection. Rogues and thieves plunder without regard for law, but in this age of Kali, as stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam, the lawmakers themselves plunder the citizens. The next prediction to be fulfilled, which is already coming to pass, is that because of the sinful activities of the citizens and the government, rain will become increasingly scarce. Gradually there will be complete drought and no production of food grains. People will be reduced to eating flesh and seeds, and many good, spiritually inclined people will have to forsake their homes because they will be too harassed by drought, taxation and famine. {Srimad-Bhagavatam  5.2.1}

RECENT CHEMTRAIL PHOTOS

recent chemtrail photos

recent chemtrail photos

Our process is different, that "I am limited. My endeavor is limited. My knowledge is limited. So I cannot realize the unlimited by these limited resources." (w/ chemtrail photos)

740531rc.gen              Conversations This is called humbleness, submissive. Generally, the jnanis, yogis, they are thinking that they can do something by their own endeavor. Our process is different, that "I am limited. My endeavor is limited. My knowledge is limited. So I cannot realize the unlimited by these limited resources." This is our first submission, jnane prayasam udapasya, that "I am limited; I am not unlimited." That's a fact. So how can I know the unlimited by my limited activities? This is our first submissiveness. Just like in the Vedic literature it is stated that Maha-Visnu, the plenary expansion of Govinda, from His breathing innumerable universes are coming and going. Yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah. So we cannot conceive even of this universe. And innumerable universes are coming and going during the breathing period of Maha-Visnu. And that Maha-Visnu is the plenary expansion of Govinda. So this is the position of Govinda. So therefore our process is not to try by our limited endeavor to understand the unlimited. This is our first proposal. Better be submissive and hear from the Lord or from the representative of the Lord about Him.

11 new species discovered in remote Vietnam

By Emily Beament

Published: 26 September 2007

Two types of butterfly and a red-spotted snake are among 11 new species discovered in tropical forests in Vietnam, it was revealed yesterday.

The species, which include five orchids and three other plants, are exclusive to the remote forests in the Annamites Mountains of Thua Thien Hue, commonly known as Vietnam's "green corridor".

Another 10 kinds of plant, including four orchids, are still being examined and are also thought to be new species.

The discoveries have come in the same province where several mammal species were discovered in the 1990s, and could represent the "tip of the iceberg" said Chris Dickinson, WWF's chief technical adviser in the area.

"You only discover so many new species in very special places and the 'green corridor' is one of them," he added.

The new snake is called the white-lipped keelback and has a yellow-white stripe along its head with red dots covering its body. It lives by streams and catches frogs and other small animals.

Three of the new species of orchid have no leaves and live on decaying matter, like fungi,  while the other new plants include an aspidistra with almost black flowers, and a yellow-flowered species of arum with funnel shaped leaves.

One of the new butterflies, which is among eight to have been discovered in the province since 1996, is a skipper which has quick, darting flight habits. All the new species were discovered in the past two years.

But the WWF warned that endangered species in the area, which is one of the last remaining lowland wet evergreen forests in the south-east Asian country, are under threat from illegal logging, hunting, extraction of natural resources and development.

The "green corridor" is home to many threatened plants and animals, including one of the world's most endangered primates, the white-cheeked crested gibbon, the WWF says.

It is also considered to be the best place to conserve the Saola – a unique type of wild cow which was discovered by scientists only in 1992.

Hoang Ngoc Khanh, director of Thua Thien Hue provincial forest protection department, said: "The area is extremely important for conservation and the province wants to protect the forests and their environmental services, as well as contribute to sustainable development."

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VHP to launch movement for cow protection

VHP to launch movement for cow protection

Statesman News Service
BHUBANESWAR, Oct. 8: The VHP today warned the chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik by saying that it will launch a cow protection movement from Hinjili, the home constituency of the CM which records the highest in terms of illegal transport and slaughter of cattle.
Addressing a press conference here today, the VHP leader Mr Subhas Chauhan alleged that the BJD-BJP government in the state is calluos and insensitive. Despite repeated appeals and petitions to curb such an illegal trade, the government has done nothing.
Setting a two months ultimatum, Mr Chauhan said: “If we do not see any perceptible change in the attitude of the government, we will soon launch a movement against all the illegal cattle transporters and traders.

Armed Feds Question Bloggers In Brown Case

Armed Feds Question Bloggers In Brown Case
Manhunt ensues as Marshals search for alleged "hit list" Prison Planet | October 9, 2007
Paul Joseph Watson

  Armed federal agents paid a visit to blogger Michael Hampton's home on Friday, detaining everyone inside the house for 90 minutes, to ask questions about an alleged hit list of federal judges in relation to supposed revenge attacks in the aftermath of the Ed and Elaine Brown arrests.

The visit was part of a manhunt taking place in and around Manchester, New Hampshire, which also ensnared members of the Free State Project who had protested on behalf of the Browns.

"Marshal John Bolen of the U.S. Marshals Office of Protective Intelligence traveled to Manchester, N.H., to investigate threats of violence allegedly made against Steven McAuliffe, a federal judge in the district court in Concord, and other federal officials in the area. He brought along with him other marshals and agents who would only say that they were with the Treasury Department," writes Hampton in his account of the incident.

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CHEMTRAIL SUNSCREEN TAUGHT IN US SCHOOLS

A is for Apple.

B is for Boy.

C is for Chemtrails. 

At least this is what one American father found while paging through his child's science book. SmT was astonished to find seventh graders being taught about chemtrails. And geoengineeering their home planet.

Anyone with question about the "spray programs" he now says, "should perhaps just ask their kids."

The chemtrails section is found in the Centre Point Learning Science I Essential Interactions science book. Under "Solutions for Global Warming", section 5.19 features a photo of a big multi-engine jet sporting a familiar orange/red paint scheme.

The caption reads: "Figure 1- Jet engines running on richer fuel would add particles to the atmosphere to create a sunscreen".

The logo on the plane says: "Particle Air".

"I kid you not," SmT insists. "Why did I spend all of that time doing research when I could have just asked my kids?"

Helping habituate children to a life under lethal sunshine and "protective" spray planes, this trippy textbook urges young readers to "Use Sun Block". But its authors are referring to a sunscreen spread across the sky.

"Could we deliberately add particles to the atmosphere?" asks the text, before helpfully suggesting that "Burning coal adds soot to the air."

You might be old enough to recoil at such a notion. But in a country where down is up and wrong is right, your kids could be learning that what used to be bad and a bummer is a now good thing! 

RUNNING ON EMPTY
"Be real interesting to see the politics of the folks putting this out." SmT suggests.

In the current White House, those politics are as "crude" as invading oil-rich Iraq over a bogus nuclear threat - while permitting Pakistan to export atom bomb materials to terrorist organizations in return for the chance at an election-boosting capture of Osama bin Laden by US forces in the Hindu Kush later this month. [New Yorker Mar1/04]

Why shouldn't the same petrol politics produce textbooks for children inheriting a nightmare? Led by a piggish petroleum president, with most major nations cutting back, US oil consumption is rising as steeply as supplies of cheap crude are collapsing.

The coal connection is this: In order to briefly "stretch the glide" of the fast-looming end of cheap oil that will utterly transform life as we know it, America's unelected oil president recently revoked pollution regulations on more than 2,000 of the nation's biggest polluting coal-fired power plants.

Ironically, this move - like so many others made by an oil-addled White House - will only hasten an Earthwreck as shattering to all onboard as a lurching square-rigger striking a rocky reef. Except our spaceship is surrounded by the cold, irradiated vacuum of deep space.

It turns out that a single 150-megawatt coal-burning power plant produces more emissions than 300,000 cars. Termed an "Extreme Human health Hazard" by the EPA, microscopic coal particles also rot lungs, stop hearts, kill lakes, choke cities - and stunt the lives of school kids with deadly sulphuric acid rain. [AP Aug27/03; LA Times Aug28/03]

Airborne soot also blocks sunlight, lowering greenhouse temperatures. Volcanic eruptions like Krakatoa and Pinatubo - and globe-circling soot from 1,000 burning oil wells during Desert Storm - belched enough sulphur into the stratosphere to cause a plunge in world temperatures, temporarily slowing global warming. 

World scientists looking at deliberately putting megatons more sulphur into a closed, recirculating atmosphere already smoggy enough to depresses orbiting astronauts, decided that a sulphur sunscreen is not a swift idea.

But not this Jr. High science text. "Creating either kind of sunscreen would be cheap," it tells young readers. As if "cheap" is the only consideration.

Even this claim is bogus. SmT says he looked, but the section on the downstream costs associated with the health and environmental effects of massive coal pollution - or the 10 million tons of a chemical sunscreen suggested by the late Edward Teller - "seemed to have been left out."

Ditto "the cost to the solar industry". Or cumulative impacts on kids, critters and plants on which our future depends.

Roseland council member David Snyder was taken to St. Joseph County jail and held overnight after an incident during a Roseland council meeting.

Roseland council member David Snyder was taken to St. Joseph County jail and held overnight after an incident during a Roseland council meeting. He was released after the prosecutor's office reviewed the police report and decided to drop the felony charge, clearing way for Dorothy Snyder to bail him out. David Snyder was put in jail after David Snyder was ejected from a budget meeting Friday night, before being taken to the ground outside by a Roseland police officer. The melee started because David Snyder protested after being given only one minute to speak by council member Charlie Shields. After a heated argument, laced with profanities, Shields kicked Snyder from the meeting. Snyder slowly walked from the meeting, escorted by Officer Jack Tiller. When he got into the lobby, turned and said something to Tiller who appears to shove Snyder who falls hard into the glass door and outside. NewsCenter16's camera then shows David Snyder on the ground outside the town hall with Officer Tiller on top of Snyder. There are calls for Snyder to stop resisting as the officer appears to pound Snyder's head. David Snyder was then taken to the hospital to be checked out before being taken to jail. Roseland town council member David Snyder is calling for the resignation of a town marshal after a fight at Friday night's meeting. Snyder says while he was being arrested, he became a victim of police brutality. A felony charge of battery of a police officer was dropped. The St. Joseph County prosecutor's office reviewed the police reports Saturday morning, dropped that charge but left two misdemeanor charges. That meant he could bond out of jail. Now he’s recovering at home. On that home, signs calling for the Snyders to leave still remain after vandalism months ago, and with those it may be a surprise to learn that some are actually "siding with the Snyders." David Snyder said, “I'm a victim of a rogue cop a cop that should no longer be wearing a badge and he should no longer be on the streets. He is a danger to society. There were only two real witnesses to the fight. Snyder who was kicked out of the meeting who says, “I’m walking out of the conference room and Jack is breathing down my back and somebody yells at me to turn around and look at them. And I say to Jack ‘Oh the bully is still whatever’ and he is just goes ballistic. Just ballistic and he shoves me shoves me through the door. I pass out and come to and he is pounding on me.” The other witness was Marshal Jack Tiller. NewsCenter16 tried talking to him, but his wife answered the door. When we asked for his side of the story, she responded “We'll you guys have smeared his name enough thank you.” She added the video does not show all that happened. Some say, such as council member Ted Penn who declined an on camera interview said in the time chaos erupted, David got a punch in. But David claims that’s not the case and he is considering a lawsuit against the town. “I think that when someone is victimized and brutalized by a police officer that is a good potential,” Snyder added.” Snyder says he will have to appear in court in October.

Missouri: Police Stake Out Brett Darrow Home

Missouri: Police Stake Out Brett Darrow Home

The Newspaper | September 26, 2007

A young Saint Louis, Missouri motorist faces trouble with local police upset at the national attention his September 7 video of an out-of-control officer has drawn to ongoing problems within area law enforcement agencies. On Sunday, Brett Darrow filmed a Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department cruiser staking out his home.

"It was the first time I've seen it," Darrow told TheNewspaper. "But my neighbor said he's seen a lot of police down our dead end street since all of this happened."

When Darrow walked outside to his 1997 Nissan Maxima, he noticed two officers sitting in a marked squad car, numbered 65. There is little question as to why the officers were there.

"As I got into the car, he started to pull up the street and he and his partner just stared me down," Darrow explained.

The patrol car drove away as Darrow started his car and followed. Because his camera had been set to capture night-time footage, the first 45 seconds of the video is obscured. It does, however, capture the police car making questionable turning maneuvers in order to get away. Members of the police community are on the record regarding their desire to stake out Darrow's home and harass the twenty-year-old. In late June, users of St. Louis CopTalk, an unofficial forum for Saint Louis area law enforcement, posted Darrow's home address along with messages containing apparent death threats in retaliation for the young motorist's taping of a DUI roadblock in November and a traffic ticket in June. One CopTalk user repeating the address wrote, "Every copper, City and County, should etch this little punks [sic] name in their [sic] memory. Brett Darrow, [address deleted], city of St. Louis." (View screen capture of post)

This month, however, scandals within the Saint Louis Police Department which otherwise would have been a local story, gathered national attention and fueled additional resentment. Some $40,000 in cash turned up "missing" from the police evidence room on September 17. The city of St. George was forced to fire Sergeant James Kuehnlein for his threat to "come up with reasons" to "lock up" Darrow. An investigation into whether Kuehnlein's actions merit criminal charges is under way. Darrow met on Monday with a Saint Louis County Police Department detective.

"I quickly learned that this was about finding something I did wrong and not the officer," Darrow said.

Despite the official harassment, Darrow has been comforted by an unexpected level of support from the general public. Motorists who recognized him from various television interviews have stopped to thank him or give him the "thumbs up." A judge also dropped charges from the June traffic stop after a Saint Louis police officer failed to show up at a trial where Darrow had been prepared to defend himself with video evidence.

Buddhist Monks Defy Assembly Ban : Wednesday September 26, 2007 9:31 AM

Buddhist Monks Defy Assembly Ban

Wednesday September 26, 2007 9:31 AM

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Security forces fired warning shots and tear gas canisters while hauling Buddhist monks away in trucks Wednesday as they tried to stop anti-government demonstrations in defiance of a ban on assembly.

The junta had banned all public gatherings of more than five people and imposed a nighttime curfew following eight days of anti-government marches led by monks in Yangon and other areas of the country, including the biggest protests in nearly two decades.

A march toward the center of Yangon followed a tense confrontation at the city's famed Shwedagon Pagoda between the protesters and riot police who fired warning shots into the air, beat some monks and dragged others away into waiting trucks. Tear gas also was used. 

The latest developments could further alienate already isolated Myanmar from the international community and put pressure on China, Myanmar's top economic and diplomatic supporter, which is keen to burnish its international image before next year's Olympics in Beijing.

But if the junta backs down, it risks appearing weak and emboldening protesters, which could escalate the tension.

When faced with a similar crisis in 1988, the government harshly put down a student-led democracy uprising. Security forces fired into crowds of peaceful demonstrators and killed thousands, traumatizing the nation.

The potential for a violent crackdown already had aroused international concern, with pleas for the junta to deal peacefully with the situation coming from government and religious leaders worldwide. They included the Dalai Lama and South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, both Nobel Peace Prize laureates like detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

On Wednesday, about 5,000 monks and 5,000 students along with members of the party headed by detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi set off from Shwedagon to the Sule Pagoda in the heart of Myanmar's largest city but were blocked by military trucks along the route.

Other protesters at the Sule Pagoda were confronted by warning shots.

Some carried flags emblazoned with the fighting peacock, a key symbol of the democracy movement in Myanmar. The march proceeded quietly with protesters praying rather than chanting.

About 100 monks stayed behind at the eastern gate of the Shwedagon, refusing to obey orders to disperse after riot police there failed to dislodge them despite employing tear gas, batons and warning shots.

Witnesses said an angry mob at the pagoda burned two police motorcycles.

In Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, dozens of soldiers and riot police stopped some 300 monks and 30 nuns from entering the Mahamuni Paya Pagoda. After a heated confrontation, the clergy marched toward the city where other security forces were waiting. 

``We are so afraid; the soldiers are ready to fire on civilians at any time,'' a man near the pagoda said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Authorities announced the ban on gatherings and a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew through loudspeakers on vehicles cruising the streets of Yangon and Mandalay Tuesday. The announcement said the measures would be in effect for 60 days.

Myanmar's imposition of new restrictions after a week of relative inaction by the military government throws down a challenge to its opponents, testing their mettle when faced with almost certain arrest.

It was not clear what the penalty for defying the curfew would be. But breaking the section of the law restricting gatherings carries a possible jail term of two years.

A comedian famed for his anti-government jibes became the first well-known activist rounded up after the curfew was imposed. 

Zarganar, who uses only one name, was taken away from his home by authorities shortly after midnight, with family members saying authorities told them the 45-year-old had been ``called in for temporary questioning.''

Zarganar, along with actor Kyaw Thu and poet Aung Way, led a committee that provided food and other necessities to the Buddhist monks who have spearheaded the protests. He earlier had been imprisoned twice and his comedy routines were banned for their satirical jokes about the regime.

The fates of the actor and poet were not immediately known.

President Bush on Tuesday announced new U.S. sanctions against Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, accusing the military dictatorship of imposing ``a 19-year reign of fear'' that denies basic freedoms of speech, assembly and worship.

``Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma,'' Bush said in an address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Bush said the U.S. would tighten economic sanctions on leaders of the regime and their financial backers, and impose an expanded visa ban on those responsible for human rights violations and their families.

The European Union also threatened to strengthen existing sanctions against the regime if it uses violence to put down the demonstrations. 

The protests could bring increased scrutiny on China's close relations with Myanmar. China is the country's major trading partner and Chinese energy companies are investing in exploration of natural gas in Myanmar.

Myanmar has about 19 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, only about 0.3 percent of the world's total reserves, according to BP's Statistical Review of World Energy at the end of 2006. Although it doesn't currently export gas to China, its supply could potentially help feed a rapidly growing Chinese economy hungry for energy.

The current protests began Aug. 19 after the government hiked fuel prices in one of Asia's poorest countries. But they are based in deep-rooted dissatisfaction with the repressive military rule that has gripped the country since 1962.

The protests were faltering when the monks took the lead last week, assuming the role of a moral conscience they played in previous struggles against British colonialism and military dictators.

At least 35,000 Buddhist monks and sympathizers defied official warnings Tuesday and staged another anti-government march.

``The protest is not merely for the well-being of people but also for monks struggling for democracy and for people to have an opportunity to determine their own future,'' one monk told The Associated Press. ``People do not tolerate the military government any longer.'' He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of official reprisals.

On Monday, a massive monk-led protest drew as many as 100,000 people in Yangon - the biggest street protest since the failed 1988 uprising.

The head of the country's official Buddhist organization, or Sangha, issued a directive Monday ordering monks to stick to learning and propagating the faith, saying young monks were being ``compelled by a group of destructive elements within and without to break the law,'' the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

Hell on earth: The 10 most polluted places on the planet. {Illustrated}

Hell on earth: The 10 most polluted places on the planet

London Independent | September 16 2007

SUMGAYIT, AZERBAIJAN

Affected people: 275,000
Pollutants: Organic chemicals, oil, heavy metals including mercury.
Source: Petrochemical and industrial sites

Once a Soviet centre of industry and the location of more than 40 rubber, chlorine and pesticides factories, Sumgayit is now home to piles of untreated sewage and mercury-contaminated sludge. Cancer rates are up to 50 per cent higher than the rest of Azerbaijan and a birth defects are common.

SUKINDA, INDIA

Affected people: 2,600,000
Pollutants: Hexavalent chromium and other metals
Source: Chromite mines and processing

Home to 97 per cent of India's chromite deposits, Sukinda's mines spew out millions of tons of waste rock into the rivers that residents drink from. A quarter of nearby residents have pollution-related illnesses

TIANJIN, CHINA

Affected people: 140,000
Pollutants: Lead and other heavy metals
Source: Mining and processing

Tianjin, one of China's largest lead-production bases, has no pollution controls. Forced to breathe air with 10 times the legal levels of lead, residents suffer lower IQs, impaired growth and brain damage.

CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE

Affected people: Initially 5.5m, now disputed
Pollutants: Radioactive dust
Source: Meltdown of reactor core in 1986

From 1992 to 2002, 4,000 youngsters born in and around the 19-mile exclusion zone that still exists around the destroyed reactor developed thyroid cancer. Five million people still live in contaminated areas.

DZERZINSK, RUSSIA 

Affected people: 300,000
Pollutants: Chemicals and toxic by-products, including Sarin and VX gas. Also lead, phenols.
Source: Cold War-era chemical weapons manufacturing. The principal site of chemical weapons production during the Cold War, Dzerzinsk is now a centre of chemical manufacturing. Over a period of 70 years until 1998, 300,000 tons of chemical waste were dumped, leaching almost 200 chemicals into groundwater. The drinking water is heavily contaminated and the life expectancy for men is just 42.

NORILSK, RUSSIA

Affected people: 134,000
Pollutants: Air pollution - particulates, sulphur dioxide, heavy metals (nickel, copper, cobalt, lead, selenium), phenols, hydrogen sulphide.
Source: The mining and processing of nickel and other related metals.

The snow is black in Norilsk, and 16 per cent of child deaths at the former Siberian slave labour camp are caused by respiratory illnesses related to the city's mining operations. Residents at the world's largest heavy metals smelting complex suffer a horrifying range of illnesses including respiratory illnesses and lung cancer. Birth defects are common.

VAPI, INDIA

Affected People: 71,000
Pollutants: Chemicals, heavy metals
Source: Industry estates

At the end of India's 400 km-long "Golden Corridor" of industrial estates, Vapi has more than 50 factories producing petrochemicals, fertilisers, dyes and paint, discharging dangerous levels of pollutants into the groundwater. Doctors report a high incidence of respiratory diseases and spontaneous abortions.

KABWE, ZAMBIA

Affected people: 255,000
Pollutants: Lead, cadmium
Source: Lead mining and processing

Children in Kabwe still bathe in the heavily polluted river that runs from the town's lead mine, which ran without safeguards from 1902 to 1994. Many have blood lead levels considered fatal.

LINFEN, CHINA

Affected People: 3,000,000
Pollutants: Fly-ash, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, arsenic, lead.
Source: Automobile and industrial emissions

Linfen's residents are forced to breathe the toxic output from hundreds of unregulated mines, factories and refineries. Clinics report an explosion in bronchitis, pneumonia and lung cancer.

LA OROYA, PERU

Affected people: 35,000
Pollutants: Lead, copper, zinc, sulphur dioxide.
Source: Heavy-metal mining and processing

The US owners of a metallic smelter in this mining town have failed to clean up the plant, which exposes residents to toxic emissions and waste. Ninety-nine per cent of children living in or around La Oyroya have blood lead levels that exceed safe limits and acid rain caused by sulphur dioxide in the air has decimated vegetation in the area.

Iraqis Reject Blackwater Mercenary Thugs. Private army thrown out of Iraq after years of unimpeded killing

Iraqis Reject Blackwater Mercenary Thugs
Private army thrown out of Iraq after years of unimpeded killing

Infowars.net | September 19 , 2007
Steve Watson

After years of running riot in Iraq with impunity, the license of private contractor company Blackwater USA has been revoked by the Iraqi government, and the company has been banned from operating in the country all together according to reports, a move that will see the withdrawal of tens of thousands of armed mercenaries from Iraq.

CNN reports :

Iraq's Interior Ministry has revoked the license of Blackwater USA, an American security firm whose contractors are blamed for a Sunday gunbattle in Baghdad that left eight civilians dead. The U.S. State Department said it plans to investigate what it calls a "terrible incident."

In addition to the hundreds of thousands of US troops in Iraq, The Bush administration has deployed a shadow army of private contractors.

Earlier this summer it was reported that the number of U.S.-paid private contractors in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops, with more than 180,000 civilians -- including Americans, foreigners and Iraqis -- working in Iraq under U.S. contracts, according to State and Defense Department figures obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Blackwater USA, which has a 6,000 acre training facility as part of its headquarters in North Carolina, is one such company that currently has tens of thousands of heavily armed mercenaries stationed in Iraq who are accountable to no one and have hit the headlines on multiple occasions.

In March 2004, four Blackwater personnel died in a grisly attack in Iraq in Falluja, west of Baghdad. The Four, all of whom were military veterans, were ambushed, killed, mutilated and had their charred remains strung from a bridge overlooking the Euphrates River in an incident that sparked shock and outrage.

However, after Blackwater refused to share information about why and how they were killed, and callously told the families of the men that they would need to sue to get any information, a lawsuit was filed, marking the first time a company has been sued for deaths in the line of work. Blackwater has since attempted to reverse the situation and sue the families for $10 million to silence them and keep them out of court.

By the end of 2004 Blackwater's president, Gary Jackson, was bragging to the press of "staggering" 600 percent growth. "This is a billion-dollar industry," Jackson said in October 2004. "And Blackwater has only scratched the surface of it.". This prompted outrage that security in Iraq is partly (and we now know mostly) in the hands of private companies who profit from the continuation of conflict and chaos.

In 2005 the LA Times reported that Private security contractors, including Blackwater, have been involved in scores of shootings in Iraq, but none have been prosecuted despite findings in at least one fatal case that the men had not followed proper procedures. Instead of facing any kind of accountability, contractors suspected of reckless behavior are simply sent home with the full knowledge of U.S. officials.

Last February one Blackwater employee got into an argument with an Iraqi security contractor working for the Vice President as a security guard. It is not cleared what transpired but the Blackwater employee emptied the entire magazine of his pistol into the Iraqi. Rather than being arrested and sent to prison for murder the contractor was simply returned to the US and dropped from the payroll.

Most recently, a Congressional Research Service report stated that a news article discussing an incident in which a Blackwater guard shot dead an Iraqi driver in May 2007 quoted an Iraqi official's statement that the Iraqi Interior Ministry had received four previous complaints of shootings involving Blackwater employees.

Everyday Iraqis have dubbed the mercenaries "Mossad" and many have gone on record to state that they have witnessed Blackwater contractors killing innocent people in the street without a care.

Blackwater USA does not hide the fact that it has hired fascist thugs�for instance, Chilean commandos, �many of who had trained under the military government of Augusto Pinochet,� according to Blackwater head honcho Gary Jackson . Other investigative journalists have alleged that Blackwater is engaged in recruiting U.S. trained former soldiers and police officers from Colombia as well as Filipino mercenaries .

According to Ken Silverstein of Harper's Magazine , Blackwater also has a "revolving door" with the CIA and the Pentagon and is engaged in "aggressively recruiting" top CIA officials. In 2006 Silverstein wrote:

"A number of senior CIA and Pentagon officials have taken top jobs at Blackwater, including firm vice chairman Cofer Black, who was the Bush Administration's top counterterrorism official at the time of the 9/11 attacks (and who famously said in 2002, 'There was before 9/11 and after 9/11. After 9/11, the gloves came off'),"

The Nation's Jeremy Scahill has also pointed out the many ties that Blackwater has to the GOP:

Blackwater's success in procuring federal contracts could well be explained by major-league contributions and family connections to the GOP. According to election records, Blackwater's CEO and co-founder, billionaire Erik Prince, has given tens of thousands to Republicans, including more than $80,000 to the Republican National Committee the month before Bush's victory in 2000. This past June, he gave $2,100 to Senator Rick Santorum's re-election campaign. He has also given to House majority leader Tom DeLay and a slew of other Republican candidates, including Bush/Cheney in 2004. As a young man, Prince interned with President George H.W. Bush, though he complained at the time that he "saw a lot of things I didn't agree with--homosexual groups being invited in, the budget agreement, the Clean Air Act, those kind of bills. I think the Administration has been indifferent to a lot of conservative concerns."

Blackwater contractors were also used by the Department of Homeland Security in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They were authorized to carry loaded automatic assault weapons, make arrests and use lethal force if it was deemed necessary, a fact that had Constitutionalists up in arms:

"This vigilantism demonstrates the utter breakdown of the government," says Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights. "These private security forces have behaved brutally, with impunity, in Iraq. To have them now on the streets of New Orleans is frightening and possibly illegal."

For more information on Blackwater watch the short piece below from Jeremy Scahill, who has also authored a book titled Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army .