[cia-drugs] Military to crack down on human smuggling by US contractors
April 23, 2006 WASHINGTON -- The top U.S. commander in Iraq has ordered sweeping changes for privatized military support operations after confirming violations of human-trafficking laws and other abuses by contractors involving possibly thousands of foreign workers on American bases, according to records obtained by the Tribune. Military to crack down on human smuggling by US contractors http://mparent.livejournal.com/7976409.htmlJosh Marshall Comments on 'A Spy Speaks Out' - 60 Minutes: The Niger Forgeries http://mparent.livejournal.com/7975533.htmlRelated: A Spy Speaks Out - 60 Minutes - "One of the Great Policy Mistakes of All Time" (With Video) http://mparent.livejournal.com/7973840.html QA: Money, Politics Corruption http://mparent.livejournal.com/7974945.html Inspectors Find More Torture at Iraqi Jails: US Pledge Broken http://mparent.livejournal.com/7974768.html Iran: The US Intelligence Reports vs. the Neocon Claims http://mparent.livejournal.com/7973522.html Today's Newswire http://mparent.livejournal.com/2006/04/24/ MARC PARENT CRIMES AND CORRUPTIONS OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER NEWS http://mparent.livejournal.com/ http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/14409 http://www.dailykos.com/user/ccnwon 7 bucks a month. This is Huge Yahoo! Music Unlimited Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS Visit your group "cia-drugs" on the web. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[cia-drugs] 100,000 Spies Worldwide...
Upcoming Reason Events Reason in Amsterdam, 2006 The Grand Amsterdam HotelAugust 23-26, 2006 With Trey Parker and Matt Stone,creators of the hit show South Park,Time magazine's Andrew Sullivan, Reason magazine Editor-in-Chief Nick Gillespie, and Reason Senior Editor Jacob Sullum REGISTER NOW!Join Reason in Amsterdam for a three-day conference on the contemporary struggle for freedom in Europe, featuring: » Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park, which George Foster Peabody Award judges recently labeled “TV's boldest, most politically incorrect satirical series” in awarding them a Peabody» Andrew Sullivan, Time blogger, columnist and author of the forthcoming book The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It; How to Get It Back» Bruce Bawer, While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within» Boudewijn Bouckaert, President, Nova Civitas (Belgium)» Peter Cohen, Ph.D., retired Director of the Centre for Drug Research at the University of Amsterdam» Veronique de Rugy, American Enterprise Institute » Nick Gillespie, Reason magazine Editor-in-Chief and editor of Choice: The Best of Reason» Andrei Illarionov, former economic advisor to Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation» Mart Laar, former Prime Minister of Estonia» Julian Morris, Executive Director, International Policy Network (UK)» Johan Norberg, In Defense of Global Capitalism» David Nott, President of Reason Foundation» Ján Oravec, President, F.A. Hayek Foundation, Bratislava (Slovakia)» Natašha Srdoc-Samy, President, Adriatic Institute for Public Policy (Croatia)» Carlo Stagnaro, Istituto Bruno Leoni (Italy)» Jacob Sullum, Senior Editor, Reason magazine and author of Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use Amidst the beauty of Amsterdam's canals, flower markets and colorful people, attendees of Reason in Amsterdam, 2006 will enjoy a unique opportunity to learn about the contemporary struggle in Europe from prominent European and American intellectuals. After a kick-off dinner on Wednesday, August 23, attendees will enjoy two days of formal sessions on everything from tax harmonization and Dutch social policy to the threat of radical Islam (the preliminary schedule is here). On Saturday, August 26, attendees will have the option of participating in a wide range of group activities, including tours of the Anne Frank House, the van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum and the Rembrandthuis, where Rembrandt van Rijn's 400th birthday will be commemorated this year by four major exhibitions of the celebrated artist's work. Click Here to Register for Reason in Amsterdam, 2006Click Here for More Program Information More Information:•The Grand Amsterdam Hotel•Travel Information•Amsterdam and Freedom•Sponsorship Opportunities•Preliminary Schedule•Registration For more information, please contact: Paul FeineReason Foundation(949) 363-8052Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Click Here to REGISTER NOW! "The Prediction Exchange: Progress in Promoting the Sciences and Useful Arts" Tom W. Bell, Professor of Law, Chapman UniversityThursday, April 2012:00 pm - 1:15 pm(Bring a sack lunch; dessert and drinks provided)RSVP to Mary Toledo 310-391-2245 or[EMAIL PROTECTED]Reason Foundation3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Suite 400Los Angeles, CA 90034What is a prediction exchange--and how would it promote progress in the sciences and useful arts? Chapman University Professor Tom Bell, a nationally recognized authority on prediction markets, will discuss his latest research on how prediction exchanges would support transactions in a with prediction certificates, each one of which promises to pay its bearer in the event that an associated claim about science, technology, or public policy comes true. Like other, similar markets in information, the prediction exchange would aggregate, measure, and share the opinions of people paid to find the truth. » return to top Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS Visit your group "cia-drugs" on the web. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
Re: [cia-drugs] [Fwd: [rcnewschat] Fw: America: From Freedom to Fascism] OT 2 some
Sorry for the late posting, but Dr. Gianni Hayes will be interviewing Aaron Russo on June 7, 2006. See the following for details: June 7th. Darrell Bock, who wrote Breaking the DaVinci Code, will be on from 8:00-9:00EDT, and Aaron will be on right after him, from 9:00-10:00pm. Log onto http://www.theamericanvoice.com If you have iTunes, use it. Gianni DeVincent Hayes, Ph.D. - Host, radio show: Wed. 8:00-10:00pm http://www.theamericanvoice.com - Speaker: National International - Author, 15+ books; syndicated online columnist--articles - Media: on dozens of radio, TV shows in newspapers magazines http://www.creative-services.com Peace, Arlene Johnson Publisher/Author http://www.truedemocracy.net -Original Message- From: Max Robinson [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Apr 17, 2006 4:37 PM To: Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [cia-drugs] [Fwd: [rcnewschat] Fw: America: From Freedom to Fascism] OT 2 some I've been waiting for this to be released and I can't wait to see it myself. As soon as I can, this will be played on my public access (10:00 PM Thursdays) spot over and over. Original Message Subject: [rcnewschat] Fw: America: From Freedom to Fascism Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 09:50:41 -0400 From: Vanessa [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In case you haven't already seen this. Peace, Vanessa - Original Message - *Sent:* Friday, April 14, 2006 2:18 PM *Subject:* Fw: Corrected -- A request from the Moneychanger Dont worry about ActiveX controls on this page, if it pops up. Rock Dear Readers: /?Oh, my God, I had no idea!?/ That?s what the audience is saying as they walk out of Aaron Russo?s new film, /America//: From Freedom to Fascism. /Their voices are hushed. Some faces are pale and wet with tears, sick at what they?ve discovered. Many are red, angry to learn for the first time that they have been robbed -- their country, their rights, and their very future have been stolen from them and their children. But it may all end right there ? all Aaron?s work, all his sacrifice, all his vision, all the possibilities to make a real change in America, unless we pitch in and help him. Let me explain. Everything in the world was stacked against this movie. What major studio would back a movie this controversial? A movie that exposes the entire Federal Reserve scam the income tax fraud, and the IRS? A movie that catches a former IRS commissioner boasting that the IRS isn?t subject to Supreme Court decisions? A movie that publicizes government brutality against protestors? A movie that reveals how America was swindled out of her gold reserve? A movie that pulls back the curtain on the coming police state in the US, with its plans to tag everyone with a national ID card and implant an RFID chip in every man, woman, and child? A movie that lays bare the whole New World Order? Warner Brothers and MGM and Fox wouldn?t touch that project with a thirty foot pole, let alone put up money to make the movie. Those giant corporations ? already in bed with big government ? would never produce or release that movie. So without asking for anybody?s help, Aaron Russo set out to make this film, because he knew /it had to be made./ He put up 100% of the money to make the film. He invested two years of his life. He laid his name and his reputation on the line. Not just for the sake of his own freedom, but for yours, too, and your children?s, and for millions of Americans who don?t know /sic ?em from come here/ about what their government really does, or the tyranny that government has already mapped out for them. Aaron made this movie so everyone in America would understand, so people would really /get it./ And when they see the movie, /they do. /(You can view a trailer for the movie at www.freedomtofascism.com http://www.freedomtofascism.com/.) Let me make something plain. This is not a movie that divides, but a movie that /unites./ Aaron does /not /work like Michael Moore, who plays to the Left to increase polarization. Aaron?s movie plays to the /whole/ country. It doesn?t take sides. It?s not Democrat or Republican, it?s not left, not right, but /dead on./ /Now Aaron Russo needs our help. /The money and the years have been spent, the movie has been made, the test audiences are raving about it, distribution has been arranged, but Aaron still needs our help. The movie must still be marketed and advertised. It must be promoted and supported by TV, newspaper, and radio advertising /to get it out to the largest audience possible, /to every nook and cranny in America, every city, every town, every hamlet, every corner of America. How could a single movie be that important? Because it will change forever Americans? false perception of how things work here. Everybody has to see this movie. This is the tool we?ve been waiting for. It?s
Re: [cia-drugs] 100,000 Spies Worldwide...
The thing that will free western Europeans is knowledge of The Illuminati since those families have controlled Europe for centuries. Somebody else said that, not me. I'm only repeating it because I know that it is true. Most people in western Europe don't even know about the Bilderbergs, which is a cover organization for The Illuminati, so how on earth could the people know about those who have caused decent western Europeans so much harm? Peace, Arlene Johnson Publisher/Author http://www.truedemocracy.net Presently in Dublin, Ireland -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Apr 24, 2006 12:46 PM To: cia-drugs@yahoogroups.com Subject: [cia-drugs] 100,000 Spies Worldwide... Upcoming Reason Events Reason in Amsterdam, 2006 _The Grand Amsterdam Hotel_ (http://www.thegrand.nl/) August 23-26, 2006 With Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of the hit show _South Park_ (http://www.southparkstudios.com/) , Time magazine's _Andrew Sullivan_ (http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish) , Reason magazine Editor-in-Chief _Nick Gillespie_ (http://www.reason.com/gillespie/gillespiebio.shtml) , and Reason Senior Editor _Jacob Sullum_ (http://www.reason.com/sullum/sullumbio.shtml) _REGISTER NOW! _ (http://www.reason.org/events/registration.php) Join Reason in Amsterdam for a three-day conference on the contemporary struggle for freedom in Europe, featuring: � Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park, which George Foster Peabody Award judges recently labeled ?TV's boldest, most politically incorrect satirical series? in awarding them a Peabody � Andrew Sullivan, Time blogger, columnist and author of the forthcoming book The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It; How to Get It Back � Bruce Bawer, While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within � Boudewijn Bouckaert, President, Nova Civitas (Belgium) � Peter Cohen, Ph.D., retired Director of the Centre for Drug Research at the University of Amsterdam � Veronique de Rugy, American Enterprise Institute � Nick Gillespie, Reason magazine Editor-in-Chief and editor of Choice: The Best of Reason � Andrei Illarionov, former economic advisor to Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation � Mart Laar, former Prime Minister of Estonia � Julian Morris, Executive Director, International Policy Network (UK) � Johan Norberg, In Defense of Global Capitalism � David Nott, President of Reason Foundation � J�n Oravec, President, F.A. Hayek Foundation, Bratislava (Slovakia) � Nata?ha Srdoc-Samy, President, Adriatic Institute for Public Policy (Croatia) � Carlo Stagnaro, Istituto Bruno Leoni (Italy) � Jacob Sullum, Senior Editor, Reason magazine and author of Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use Amidst the beauty of Amsterdam's canals, flower markets and colorful people, attendees of Reason in Amsterdam, 2006 will enjoy a unique opportunity to learn about the contemporary struggle in Europe from prominent European and American intellectuals. After a kick-off dinner on Wednesday, August 23, attendees will enjoy two days of formal sessions on everything from tax harmonization and Dutch social policy to the threat of radical Islam (the preliminary schedule is _here_ (http://www.reason.org/events/amsterdam_program.shtml) ). On Saturday, August 26, attendees will have the option of participating in a wide range of group activities, including tours of the _Anne Frank House_ (http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?pid=1lid=2) , the _van Gogh Museum_ (http://www2.vangoghmuseum.nl/vgm) , the _Rijksmuseum_ (http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/index.jsp?lang=en) and the _Rembrandthuis_ (http://www.rembrandthuis.nl/cms_pages/index_main.html) , where Rembrandt van Rijn's 400th birthday will be commemorated this year by four major exhibitions of the celebrated artist's work. _Click Here to Register for Reason in Amsterdam, 2006 _ (http://www.reason.org/events/registration.php) _Click Here for More Program Information_ (http://www.reason.org/events/amsterdam_program.shtml) More Information: ? _The Grand Amsterdam Hotel_ (http://www.reason.org/events/moreaboutamsterdam.shtml#moreaboutamsterdam3) ? _Travel Information_ (http://www.reason.org/events/moreaboutamsterdam.shtml) ? _Amsterdam and Freedom_ (http://www.reason.org/events/moreaboutamsterdam.shtml#moreaboutamsterdam2) ? _Sponsorship Opportunities_ (http://www.reason.org/events/sponsorship.shtml) ? _Preliminary Schedule_ (http://www.reason.org/events/amsterdam_program.shtml) ? _Registration_ (http://www.reason.org/events/registration.php) For more information, please contact: Paul Feine Reason Foundation (949) 363-8052 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) _Click Here to REGISTER NOW! _ (http://www.reason.org/events/registration.php) The Prediction Exchange: Progress in Promoting the Sciences and Useful Arts Tom W. Bell, Professor of Law, Chapman University Thursday,
[cia-drugs] Quakers Others Under Surveillance?
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/04/24/c1a_TRUTH_0424.html E-mail landed Truth Project on Pentagon's 'credible' threat list By Tony Doris Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Monday, April 24, 2006 LAKE WORTH With the zap of a single e-mail, a group of graying peaceniks known as The Truth Project was catapulted into the clutches of the mightiest military power on earth. The group and its activities mostly handing out leaflets at local high schools and meeting at Lake Worth's Quaker Meeting House were branded a credible potential threat by the Pentagon, its existence posted in a secret electronic gallery of suspected terrorists. The Pentagon has since apologized but why The Truth Project's two dozen or so middle-age members were considered a credible threat has remained a mystery. Unlike other, more visible protest groups, they worked within government channels politely requesting Palm Beach County school system permission to spread their message on campus. The military now says The Truth Project was brought to the Pentagon's attention by a concerned citizen who dispatched an e-mail on Nov. 13, 2004. While not offering specifics, Commander Gregory Hicks, a Pentagon spokesman, said the e-mail probably was forwarded to federal authorities by a local police agency. Wherever it came from, the e-mail ended up with the FBI and then the Army's 902nd Military Intelligence Group the Defense Department's biggest, most comprehensive counterespionage unit. Based at Fort Meade, Md., and with agents in Orlando and Miami, the intelligence group's main mission is protecting military bases from infiltration. It also enforces a little-used federal law that makes it a crime to obstruct military recruitment during times of war. Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison. Until Sept. 11, 2001, the 902nd focused on protecting bases overseas. After the attacks, its anti-terror mission expanded to U.S. soil. Like other counterespionage groups, it keeps tabs on potential threats across the nation, downloading the information into a database called TALON (Threat and Local Observation Notice), accessible to law-enforcement agencies responsible for homeland security. Late last year, some of the electronic watch list was obtained by an NBC News team. The contents kicked a tripwire of public outrage. The rag-tag Truth Project, along with a handful of other once-obscure pacifist groups listed in the TALON database, were thrust into the still-raging national debate over domestic spying authorized by the Bush administration. The truth group's leader, who participated in anti-Vietnam War sit-ins as a youth, ended up testifying in Washington before a Democratic congressional panel in January. The ensuing political storm prompted the Pentagon to purge its electronic databases of groups such as The Truth Project. I'm all for the administration having all the powers necessary to fight terror, said U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, a Boca Raton Democrat who participated in hearings on the issue. But they don't have unbridled authority to spy on Americans that had nothing whatsoever to do with terror. Fighting terrorism while respecting individual rights is a difficult balance, said U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw, a Fort Lauderdale Republican whose district includes a slice of Palm Beach County. As we increase our security, some of our civil rights have to be given up, Shaw said. One of the reasons we're so vulnerable is we have such an open society. It's a close call, but the bottom line is that our law enforcers and our prosecutors have to use good judgment and respect the rights of individuals. The Truth Project is headed by Rich Hersh of Boca Raton, a former writing professor at Florida Atlantic University who spent the better part of his 59 years acting on causes from napalm to the North American Free Trade Agreement. His graying hair shows how long it's been since he and fellow protesters took over the administration building at the University of Florida to protest the Vietnam War. A lot of us thought, with Nixon out, we'd achieved major victories, he said. But the stuff just went underground. His latest project was inspired by his daughter, Darcy, who came home excited after talking with U.S. Marine recruiters at her high school about a career flying fighter jets. Hersh said he believed the recruiter hadn't given his daughter the whole story. He also was troubled to learn, from subsequent research, that the recruiters were allowed to collect student addresses and phone numbers from the schools. Hersh and his group asked school district officials in polite letters, calls and in scheduled appointments for permission to present alternative viewpoints and distribute opt-out forms to help students keep their personal information from recruiters. We don't go in and dis the Army or the Navy, Hersh said. We just ask kids to think for themselves. The group provided school lawyers with case law
[cia-drugs] Mexican writer's book on pedophiles exposes abuses, and puts her in peril
http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2006/04/wont-you-come-home-reno-harnish.html#comments Anonymous said... Repressed sexually society exhibits these traits Russian psychologist, Ivan Pavlov conducted a series of experiments on dogs. Most of us are familiar with the theory of conditioning, taught in Psychology 1001. Dogs were given food after a bell was rung. The bell, after several times, caused the dog to salivate (anticipate food), whether or not the food followed. The sound produced hunger in the dog. Two separate stimuli, applied within seconds of each other will create an involuntary response in the brain. Many of his experiments went beyond the conditioning. He was able to produce nervous breakdowns in dogs and other animals, again, by association. The hungry animal would go for the food and he would apply painful shocks, extremely loud noises, blasts of scorching heat or other stimuli creating a survival verses fear/pain situation. This created neurosis and mental illness in the animals, in the same way ALL societys has ruined the mental health of billions by enforcing the abstinence of sexual intercourse and denying other normal and natural needs. Sexuality is equal to the life force; abstinence creates neuroticism. That is why it everywhere. Mexican writer's book on pedophiles exposes abuses, and puts her in peril By S. Lynne Walker COPLEY NEWS SERVICE April 4, 2006 CANCUN, Mexico – The moment that changed journalist Lydia Cacho's life came on a humid, moonless night in the tropical resort of Cancun. A 19-year-old, her voice broken by sobs, repeated to Cacho what she had told police. A Cancun businessman had sexually abused her for years, she said, and her younger sister had been molested at the man's oceanfront villa, too. LUIS J. JIMÉNEZ / Copley News Service Journalist Lydia Cacho left a Cancun jail last month, followed by a federal agent assigned to protect her. Cacho must register often to show she has not skipped bail on libel charges. The girl's accusations – and Cacho's response – set into motion a series of events that has exposed a tangled web of wealth and power reaching across Mexico. The Cancun businessman, Jean Succar Kuri, has been jailed for two years in Arizona, fighting extradition to Mexico. The governor of Puebla state is being pressured to resign. And Cacho is facing criminal libel charges that could send her to prison. Cacho, the 42-year-old author of a book published last year about a network of pedophiles, has become as much a part of the story as the children she set out to save. The founder of a battered women's shelter in Cancun, Cacho found herself in a harsh and unwelcome spotlight when she published allegations of rape and child pornography against Succar, 61, a Lebanese national who is a legal U.S. resident and owns three homes in Southern California. Cacho, who studied at the Sorbonne and speaks four languages, included graphic interviews with Succar's alleged victims. Some said they met Succar when they were as young as 5 years old. Her book, “The Demons of Eden,” also detailed a covertly filmed conversation released by Mexican law enforcement in which Succar acknowledges to one of his alleged victims that fondling little girls is his “vice.” Cacho's work sparked a nationwide controversy and a strong denial from Succar's San Diego attorney, Charles Goldberg, who said, “There's an awful lot of evidence to indicate that the charges were fabricated, or exaggerated.” Six of the seven alleged victims have since retracted their accusations, he said. Succar's next hearing was scheduled for today before a federal judge in Phoenix. In December, Cacho was arrested on libel charges outside her Cancun office and driven 1,000 miles to a jail in Puebla. During the harrowing, 20-hour ride, she said, police officers tormented her by hinting of a plan to rape and kill her. Although she was released unharmed on $7,000 bail, Cacho's experience underscores the physical and legal dangers faced by Mexican journalists. Under Mexico's antiquated libel laws, truth is not an absolute defense because reporters must also prove they did not intend to damage the image of their subject. Conviction can result in a prison sentence. Isabel Arvide, 54, was given a suspended one-year sentence in March and ordered to pay $19,000 in punitive damages after a judge in the northern state of Chihuahua convicted her of libeling a former Chihuahua state attorney general. Mexico's libel law “totally limits the freedom of _expression_, not just of journalists, but of any Mexican citizen,” said Guillermo Cuen, a Mexico City attorney representing Cacho. Lured to a villa The girls told Mexican authorities that it was in Villa 1 at the Solymar condominium in Cancun's posh hotel zone where they were photographed, filmed and sexually molested. LUIS J. JIMÉNEZ / Copley News Service Cancun attorney Verónica Acacio held up a tabloid with a photo of a woman called Emma, an alleged victim
[cia-drugs] 'Rich killers' stalk City of Lost Girls
http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2006/04/wont-you-come-home-reno-harnish.html#comments http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1075952,00.html 'Rich killers' stalk City of Lost Girls Sandra Jordan reports from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, where one campaigner is battling the authorities to expose the powerful men she believes to have murdered 100 women. Sunday November 2, 2003 The Observer Ciudad Juarez is known as 'the city of the dead girls'. In 10 years almost 400 women have been murdered in this city on the border between Mexico and El Paso, Texas, and the killings continue. Now a courageous Mexican-American journalist is alleging a group of six businessmen is behind the slaughter. Described as 'untouchables', their wealth puts them above the law. Their motive is said to be blood sport. The border has always been violent, but organised crime exploded in 1993 when the Carrillo-Fuentes drug cartel, known as the Juarez Cartel, took control. It is the most powerful cartel in Mexico, and the most brutal, being responsible for trafficking most of Latin America's drugs into the US. In daylight, the narcos smuggle their loads across three bridges that link Juarez with El Paso. Law enforcers on either side have the choice, according to one former trafficker, of being 'very rich, or very dead'. Cartel members live in garish mansions in the Golden Zone of Juarez, a far cry from the shanties where most of the city's two million residents subsist. The narcos pay millions of dollars in bribes to stay above the law and Juarez has become one of the money-laundering capitals of the world. Narco money has built 'legitimate' businesses and made Juarez the fourth-largest city in Mexico. The rise of the cartel coincided with the feminicido, the female murders. The first victim was Angelica Luna Villalobos; her body was dumped in the Alta Vista neighbourhood in 1993. Since then, 370 women have been killed. Some deaths may be attributed to domestic violence or random crime. But more than a third of the women were raped before death. Most victims are tortured and mutilated. Sometimes the killer leaves a signature; a breast or a nipple is sliced off. The bodies are then dumped in wasteland. The average age of the victims is 16; all were poor. Their deaths, says Amnesty International, 'have no political cost to the authorities'. Many suspects are in custody, but the killings go on. Human rights organisations accuse the authorities of incompetence, and there have been allegations of torture used to obtain false confessions. Women are frightened to go out, day or night, reminded of danger by the pink crosses marking places where bodies were found. Only prostitutes come out at night - to cater to the Americans from an army base in El Paso. Prostitutes can earn $100 a day compared to the $30-$60 weekly wage of a factory worker. 'This is a dangerous job,' said Sandrita, 19, 'but it's safer than working in a maquila (factory). Most of the girls who disappear have worked in the maquilas. At least we get protection from the police.' Hundreds of factories - often internationally owned sweatshops - have drawn tens of thousands of women here from all over Mexico to seek work. The police have often blamed the girls for the abductions, accusing them of behaving sluttishly. Public pressure forced the maquila bosses to provide buses to ferry the girls home safely. A mother of one of the victims took The Observer to a cross that marked where her 17-year-old daughter's body was dumped. The girl disappeared after leaving work to catch a bus home. Like other victims, she had been gang-raped and strangled. Her left breast had been severed and her body, covered in bite marks, was badly beaten. Diana Washington Valdez has investigated the murders for five years for the El Paso Times. Courageous in the mould of Veronica Guerin, the investigative journalist murdered in Ireland, she has gone on the record about the killers' identities. In doing so, she knows she is putting her life on the line. In her book, Harvest of Women, to be published next year, Washington exposes the seedy underworld of Juarez's narco-traffickers. 'The girls are carefully screened,' she says. 'They're always a safe bet. Disposable women. They are watched in advance for suitability - young and poor.' Washington's accusations are based on her research and on leaks from the FBI and Mexican investigators. 'Mexican federal authorities have conducted investigations, which reveal who the killers are,' she claims. 'Five men from Juarez and one from Tijuana who get together and kill women in what can only be described as blood sport. Some of those involved are prominent men with important political connections - untouchables.' The chosen victims are so young, explains Washington, to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. Underlings supply new victims: 'They capture the girls and bring them to their masters.' Washington alleges at least 100 women have
