[cia-drugs] Ruble-denominated oil exchanges could launch in 2007 - expert
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060511/48003539.html Ruble-denominated oil exchanges could launch in 2007 - expert 18:25 | 11/ 05/ 2006 MOSCOW, May 11 (RIA Novosti) - Oil and petrochemical exchanges denominated in rubles could be launched in Russia as early as next year, the head of the presidential administration's expert department said Thursday. In his annual state of the nation address to parliament Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin said that a ruble-denominated oil and natural gas stock exchange should be set up in the country. "Next year, all [the exchanges] could start operating," Arkady Dvorkovich said Thursday. "The ruble must become a more widespread means of international transactions. To this end, we need to open a stock exchange in Russia to trade in oil, gas, and other goods to be paid for with rubles," Putin said Wednesday. A gas exchange would be set up after gas market liberalization, Dvorkovich said. He said proposals for metals, forest-products and fish exchanges would be developed. "Trade in rubles will create a demand for rubles. This will be a real step to achieve ruble convertibility," Dvorkovich said. In his Wednesday's address, Putin urged work on achieving ruble convertibility sped up and completed by July, six months ahead of the original January 1, 2007 deadline. Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM SPONSORED LINKS United state bankruptcy court western district of texas United state life insurance United state patent United state patent search United states patent office United state flag 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] Fwd: Boston Tee Party
Begin forwarded message:From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Date: May 7, 2006 6:25:30 PM PDTTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: Boston Tee Party Our monarch, above the lawBy Scot LehighBoston Globe | May 2, 2006Has George W. Bush come to believe he's king?That's the question that springs to mind upon reading Charlie Savage's front-page report in Sunday's Globe detailing the president's sotto voce assertion that he can disregard laws if he thinks they impinge on his constitutional powers.That novel claim resides in the ''signing statements" the administration issues outlining its legal interpretation of laws the president has signed -- interpretations that often run contrary to the statute's clear intent.As Savage reports, Bush has registered hundreds of those reservations, adding them to statutes on subjects ranging from military rules and regulations to affirmative action language to congressionally mandated reporting requirements to protections Congress has passed for whistle-blowers to legal assurances against political meddling in government-funded research.Bush's position reduces to this: The president needn't execute the laws as they are written and passed, but rather, has the right to implement -- or ignore -- them as he sees fit. (Were it not for our pesky written Constitution, perhaps George II could take his cue from Charles I, dismiss Congress, and rule -- ah, govern -- without any legislative interference whatsoever.)Even members of the president's own party have balked at that claim.After Republican Senator John McCain succeeded in passing a ban on the torture of detainees in US custody, forcing it upon an unwilling White House, the president's signing statement made it clear he thought he could disregard the law if he deemed it necessary. That brought a pointed rebuke from McCain and fellow Republican Senator John Warner.Other presidents have periodically appended signing statements to legislation, setting the objectionable precedent that Bush has followed here. But as Savage reports, this president has taken it to a new level, issuing such statements on more than 750 laws, or on more than 10 percent of the bills he has signed.Rendering Bush's assertion more worrisome is this reality: Because so much of what this administration does is shrouded in secrecy, it's hard to know which laws are being followed and which are being ignored.That makes it difficult for matters to ripen into a court challenge, notes Boston attorney Harvey Silverglate. ''He is setting it up so that the people hurt by what this administration is doing are unable to get to court, because it is secret," Silverglate says.We certainly do know that this president is ready to ignore even established laws if he finds them too cumbersome. Although the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 prohibits warrantless eavesdropping on Americans, Bush has authorized such snooping. In trying to justify that, the administration has claimed that Congress's post-Sept. 11 resolution authorizing force against terrorists somehow imparted the authority for warrantless wiretapping.That's farfetched, and members of the president's own party have said as much.Congressional figures of both parties have signaled a willingness to consider the president's concerns with a wiretap-approval process that is already all but pro forma.The White House, however, has displayed little interest in meaningful compromise.Bush has a recourse if he doesn't agree with a newly passed law, of course: He can veto it. (So far he hasn't exercised that prerogative even once.)But the president shouldn't be allowed to quietly disregard or reinterpret provisions of a law he dislikes, for in doing so, he is not protecting his own authority, but rather usurping the legitimate power of Congress. Further, his assumption that it is within his purview to decide whether a law is constitutional treads on ground that is the clear province of the Supreme Court.Thus far, the Republican congressional leadership has been dismayingly compliant. But one Republican unwilling to let Bush interpret the law as he sees fit is Senator Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.Specter, who is pushing legislation to have the closed-door FISA court rule on the constitutionality of Bush's wiretapping program, noted last week that he had filed -- but would not seek an immediate vote on -- an amendment to block funding for any domestic eavesdropping until the administration provides Congress with much more information.It speaks volumes about the attitude of this White House that a member of the president's own party would have to make such a move to protect bedrock constitutional principles.Yet it will probably take something much more dramatic than Specter's tentative threat to remind George W. Bush that he's president, and not king. Scot Lehigh's e-mail address is [EMAIL PROTECTED]. © Copyright 2005 The New York Times Compan
[cia-drugs] Plum Island May Be Moving to Colorado
Plum Island has been invited out to La Junta Colorado near Ft. Carson. Homeland Security is hoping Plum Island will be working in conjunction with Ft. Carson with combined military training and research. The area is home to large cattle production. Patricia Doyle http://www.lajuntatribunedemocrat.com/articles/2006/03/23/local_news/news03.txt Salazar pushes for National Bio Agro Defense facility to come to Lower Arkansas Valley By MIKE HARRIS - Thursday, March 23, 2006 2:46 PM MST Rep. John Salazar (D-Colo.) is pushing for the Lower Arkansas Valley to become home to a bio defense facility. On March 21, Salazar made official a possible economic development project that has been worked on behind the scenes for a month or two, according to Wayne Snider, who is heading up the city's economic development efforts. Salazar, in a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Defense Secretary Michael Chertoff, asked that the Lower Arkansas Valley be considered as a possible location for the establishment of a new National Bio Agro Defense Facility. According to Snider the facility has the potential to create more than 200 high-tech, high-paying jobs, which is not only good for La Junta, it's good for the region. The letter to Secretary Chertoff was in response to a request for assistance from community leaders in Otero and Bent counties in trying to get this project located in the valley. “As the U.S. representative for much of the Lower Arkansas Valley, I believe the Lower Arkansas Valley would be a great place to establish this new and very important facility,” said Salazar. Salazar said that the communities of the valley have ample space for growth and access to highway infrastructure. Salazar added that these communities are close to Fort Carson, where the facility could be used in conjunction with military training and research. “The Lower Arkansas Valley is home to a large concentration of cattle production, and La Junta, Colo., is one of the nation's largest livestock marketing areas. It should also be noted that Colorado State University, which is one of the nation's leading agriculture colleges, is located in Fort Collins, Colo., and they have branch campuses and extension offices located in the region,” Salazar said in the letter. The new facility is expected to replace the aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York. According to the Department of Homeland Security's Web site, “The Plum Island Animal Disease Center is an essential component of the national strategy for protecting U.S. agriculture from a bioterrorist attack involving the intentional introduction of foreign animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, as described in the Homeland Security Presidential Directive, ‘Biodefense for the 21st Century.'” Both DHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture conduct programs at the Plum Island Facility as part of an integrated agro-defense strategy. The Plum Island Facility is being replaced because it is now 50 years old and is becoming increasingly more costly to maintain. Additionally, the laboratory and test space in the current facility is insufficient to support the increasing levels of research and development needed to meet concerns about accidental or intentional introduction of foreign animal diseases into the country and isn't appropriate for zoonotic disease research. The Lower Arkansas Valley is just one possible location, but according to Snider and others it fits the bill for DHS' needs. Snider said that it's not yet clear what will happen and whether or not the new facility will come to the valley as everything is in the preliminary stages right now. According to the DHS Web site, “The options for a location, or locations, for the biocontainment facilities have not been identified at this time, but will be considered during the conceptual design study. DHS will continue to work closely with USDA and Health and Human Services throughout the conceptual design process, which will also include ongoing consultation with other key stakeholders including professional societies and industry groups. “Experts from DHS, USDA and HHS, will review the key programmatic requirements for each of these options in order to assess key facility determinants such as the amount and type of required laboratory and support space. DHS will also conduct a design solicitation in the coming months in order t be able to better estimate the costs of key components of such a facility, such as biocontainment laboratories, support space, and administrative space.” http://www.emergingdisease.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5963&start=0 ~~~ Welcome to the NEW EmergingDisease.org Website We’re thrilled to introduce and welcome you to the NEW website and home of EmergingDisease.org. The site for Emerging Disease. Take a tour of our new and exciting home. Read the ‘What’s new’ and the ‘Upcoming enhancements’ sections. Take a spin on our new forum/message
[cia-drugs] The Psychic Mafia
Wednesday, April 12, 2006 The Psychic Mafia "Through his relationship with Andrija Puharich and others, (i.e., Bearden,Sarfatti, et al.) in what he called a "psychic mafia", the UNICORN (Einhorn's name for himself, punning on his name) assumed a key role in the task of alerting our people about the implications of the revolution in Einhorn's universe, those factors included the undeniability of UFO's the startling discoveries in quantum physics, and the inevitability of the new world order-- shaken loose by the Aquarian transformation"Picknett and Prince The Stargate Conspiracy p. 117 Eddie "The Rat" Rizzo gives you the lowdown on how some of the biggest New Age families operate. Eddie an ex New Age racketeer found himself in jail whilst seeking out new marks in Europe. In an attempt for a plea bargain, Eddie revealed some highly controversial information on New Age mob operations. Unfortunately no-one was listening.. Enter Sammy Woods, a respected US journalist with twenty years reporting experience and a few documentaries under his belt. Sammy found out about Eddies dilemma via a friend in Portugal. A quick visit over the pond and Sammy decided to start a website and go public with the highly inflammatory material, citing the publics right to know. Due to some extraordinary efforts on Sammy's part, extradition proceedings to the USA were quashed in a Portugese court of law. To this day Eddie remains at large in Europe with several US, Canadian and Brazilian warrants against his name, several New Age families would also like to know his whereabouts since ratting them out. When Eddie went public he found it, "a weight off my shoulders", and in gratitude for Sammy's legal efforts, he continually supplies Sammy with details on a weekly basis from anonymous internet cafes across Europe. Not content with taking things at face value, Sammy backs up Eddie's information with various links and long deleted web pages.Here are the categories we plan to cover: THE DONS My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator. - Michael Corleone (The Godfather) The noun "don" has 5 senses in WordNet. We have selected one that most closely relates to our subject:3. don, father -- (the head of an organized family)THE SOLDIERSSoldier: the bottom-level member of an organized Family, as in "foot soldiers." The Boss of the Family told you you're gonna be Santa Claus. You're Santa Claus. - Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri (The Sopranos)Under soldiers we find: GUNS FOR HIRE The noun "gun for hire" has 8 senses in WordNet. We have selected one that most closely relates to our subject: 1. gunman, gunslinger, hired gun, gun, gun for hire, triggerman, hit man, hitman, torpedo, shooter -- (a professional killer who uses a gun)In this sense we're using the term "guns for hire" for those actively promoting disinformation. Clouding the web with tales of dubious credibility in order to erect a smoke screen that hides the "real purpose". Guns for Hire can also be 100% Pure Kook GOLDKOOKS: [Usenet; originally and more formally, net.kook]Term used to describe a regular poster who continually posts messages with no apparent grounding in reality. Different from a troll, which implies a sort of sly wink on the part of a poster who knows better, kooks really believe what they write, to the extent that they believe anything. The kook trademark is paranoia and grandiosity. Kooks will often build up elaborate imaginary support structures, fake corporations and the like, and continue to act as if those things are real even after their falsity has been documented in public.-The Jargon LexiconThen there are Classic False Flag operations, DISINFORMATION, Black Propaganda. etc. which devolve onto more "organized" structures that we can call: THE RATPACK "We're not setting out to make Hamlet or Gone with the Wind. The idea is to hang out together, find fun with the broads, and have a great time. We gotta make pictures that people enjoy. Entertainment, period." - Frank Under this Category we find: The AXIOM FACULTYA real rogue's gallery. Dons, Soldiers, Wannabees and Kooks all found here.The Axiom Faculty Experience: "Children, everybody, here's what to do during war: In a time of destruction, create something. A poem. A parade. A community. A school. A vow. A moral principle. One peaceful moment." --Maxine Hong Kingston, from The Fifth Book of Peace " And lets rake in a lotta dough"- Eddie Rizzo THE UNIVERSAL SEDUCTION Really weird loosely organised group, not quite a family and yet enough Dons and Wannabees to have a really swell time.The Universal Seduction Gig: I beg your pardon, I never promised you a Rose Garden- Loretta Lynn http://anti-cointelpro.blogspot.com/2006/04/psychic-mafia.html ~~~ Who is JJ Hurtak? http://anti-cointelpro.blogspot.com/2006/04/who-is-jj-hurtak
Re: [cia-drugs] Russian tycoon Berezovsky held, questioned for 8 hours in Brazil
I don't think the entire series ever got out. It was supposedly to be 9 segments. http://edward.hraunfjord.org/ BBC_Russian_Godfathers_I_The_Fugitive_TVRip_DivX_CO.avi http://edward.hraunfjord.org/ BBC_Russian_Godfathers_II_The_Prisoner_TVRip_DivX_CO.avi http://edward.hraunfjord.org/ BBC_Russian_Godfathers_III_The_Politician_TVRip_DivX_CO.avi On May 6, 2006, at 21:56, Duncan M. Roads wrote: > yeah I knew someone would ask, sorry, I should have put that in the > email. > > The series is called "Russian Godfathers" > Part 1 was all about Berezovsky, and seemed fairly presented > Part 2 was all about Khordokovsky, and portrays him as a nice guy/ > victim of a terrible corrupt Putin > > can't wait for the other parts. > > Did a google search and found the following: > > http://www.mininova.org/tor/172929 > http://www.sbs.com.au/whatson/index.php3?id=1236 > http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,1655229,00.html > > > Duncan > > > On 07/05/2006, at 12:29 PM, Vigilius Haufniensis wrote: > > yeah, and brazil puts the B in BRICS. > where can i get a copy of this documentary? whats the title? > > > - Original Message - > From: Duncan M. Roads > To: cia-drugs@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 9:32 PM > Subject: Re: [cia-drugs] Russian tycoon Berezovsky held, questioned > for 8 hours in Brazil > > From memory, Berezovsky was also referred to as the 'kingmaker' in > Russian politics, or the 'grey cardinal'. He was the guy who > selected Putin and groomed him for office. Imagine his annoyance > when Putin turned on him. > > We have had an excellent UK-based documentary on Berezovsky vs > Putin, and I couldn't help but come out favouring and admiring Putin. > > Anyway, at the very end of the doco we got to see who Berezovky's > latest partner was - drum roll - Neil Bush!! > > The documentary series is all about the many oligarchs that Putin > has removed from power in Russia, and is very current. What the > documentary does not say, but is patently clear, is that Putin has > been particularly keen to remove Jewish oligarchs from controlling > Russian assets or Russian influence. > > Needless to say, you can expect more anti-Russian sentiment > emerging from the UK and the USA. So far, the worst thing the doco > makers could find to throw at Putin, was that he was 'given' a > private yacht by someone he favoured. Berezovsky meanwhile, > portrayed as the victim or underdog, is a multibillionaire, > confined to parts of Europe, Israel and the UK, is being chased by > Russian security, and is shown to be a heartless scammer of > investors' money across Russia. (No wonder Putin kicked him out) > > Duncan > > On 07/05/2006, at 8:15 AM, Vigilius Haufniensis wrote: > > http://en.rian.ru/world/20060506/47518311.html > > Russian tycoon Berezovsky held, questioned for 8 hours in Brazil > 12:19|06/ 05/ 2006 > > > RIO DE JANEIRO, May 6 (RIA Novosti) - Fugitive oligarch Boris > Berezovsky was detained in Brazil and questioned for eight hours > over money laundering suspicions, the Russian Consulate General said. > > "Boris Berezovsky was taken off a flight [to London] and invited > for questioning, in line with a court decision, as a person of > interest for Brazilian investigating bodies," the Consulate General > said. > > Brazilian prosecutors said they suspected Berezovsky, who is wanted > in Russia on massive embezzlement and fraud charges and has lived > in London since 2003, of running MSI Ltd. via his agent, Iranian > businessman Kia Joorabchian. Sport investment agency MSI, the > general sponsor of one of Brazil's most popular soccer clubs, > Corinthians, is suspected of laundering money via football clubs. > > Brazil's financial watchdogs have been monitoring the company on > suspicion of laundering money since 2005. > > Police could not find Berezovsky at a stadium in Sao Paulo where he > was reported Thursday night to be watching a match between > Corinthians and Argentina's River Plate that ended 1:3 and was > followed by a major scuffle. But he was detained at Sao Paulo's > airport next morning. > > Berezovsky was questioned via an interpreter and in the presence of > his lawyer, and was released eight hours later. > > The Consulate General said Berezovsky was carrying a British > passport issued in the name of Platon Yelenin. Prosecutors seized > two laptops, cell phones, and documents as part of the MSI/ > Corinthians investigation. > > In an interview with Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper in May 2005, > Berezovsky said he would build a new stadium for the club and an > entertainment center for concerts, shows, and other events. The > newspaper quoted Berezovsky, who said he would invest $50 million > in the project. > > Russian newspapers said Friday that Berezovsky's business interests > in the country also extended to the air carrier industry. > > Berezovsky, formerly a co-owner of Ru
[cia-drugs] Tens of millions of terr-ists in America
Tens of millions of terr-ists in AmericaNSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls ---And you thought I was paranoid.Those 800 Haliburton concentration camps will help protect the US against these terrible people. ;-)AT&T, Verizon, BellSouth volunteer dataFirst you give the basteds your money, then they sell you out. Ain't American capitalism great? I bet they get a nice big tax break for that! (Expect Wall Street bribes to the GOP to skyrocket)Did you know, "One major telecommunications company declined to participate in the program: Qwest."Change your service - NOW!Here's the Qwest customer service website.--NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls Updated 5/11/2006 12:30 AM ET By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAY The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY. The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans most of whom aren't suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: The NSA record collection program "It's the largest database ever assembled in the world," said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency's goal is "to create a database of every call ever made" within the nation's borders, this person added. For the customers of these companies, it means that the government has detailed records of calls they made across town or across the country to family members, co-workers, business contacts and others. The three telecommunications companies are working under contract with the NSA, which launched the program in 2001 shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the sources said. The program is aimed at identifying and tracking suspected terrorists, they said. The sources would talk only under a guarantee of anonymity because the NSA program is secret. Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, nominated Monday by President Bush to become the director of the CIA, headed the NSA from March 1999 to April 2005. In that post, Hayden would have overseen the agency's domestic call-tracking program. Hayden declined to comment about the program. The NSA's domestic program, as described by sources, is far more expansive than what the White House has acknowledged. Last year, Bush said he had authorized the NSA to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls and international e-mails of people suspected of having links to terrorists when one party to the communication is in the USA. Warrants have also not been used in the NSA's efforts to create a national call database. In defending the previously disclosed program, Bush insisted that the NSA was focused exclusively on international calls. "In other words," Bush explained, "one end of the communication must be outside the United States." As a result, domestic call records those of calls that originate and terminate within U.S. borders were believed to be private. Sources, however, say that is not the case. With access to records of billions of domestic calls, the NSA has gained a secret window into the communications habits of millions of Americans. Customers' names, street addresses and other personal information are not being handed over as part of NSA's domestic program, the sources said. But the phone numbers the NSA collects can easily be cross-checked with other databases to obtain that information. Don Weber, a senior spokesman for the NSA, declined to discuss the agency's operations. "Given the nature of the work we do, it would be irresponsible to comment on actual or alleged operational issues; therefore, we have no information to provide," he said. "However, it is important to note that NSA takes its legal responsibilities seriously and operates within the law." The White House would not discuss the domestic call-tracking program. "There is no domestic surveillance without court approval," said Dana Perino, deputy press secretary, referring to actual eavesdropping. She added that all national intelligence activities undertaken by the federal government "are lawful, necessary and required for the pursuit of al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorists." All government-sponsored intelligence activities "are carefully reviewed and monitored," Perino said. She also noted that "all appropriate members of Congress have been briefed on the intelligence efforts of the United States." The government is collecting "external" data on domestic phone calls but is not intercepting "internals," a term for the actual content of the communication, ac
[cia-drugs] Security issue kills domestic spying inquiry
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12727867/ Security issue kills domestic spying inquiry NSA wont grant Justice Department lawyers required security clearance Updated: 8:41 p.m. ET May 10, 2006 WASHINGTON - The government has abruptly ended an inquiry into the warrantless eavesdropping program because the National Security Agency refused to grant Justice Department lawyers the necessary security clearance to probe the matter. The inquiry headed by the Justice Departments Office of Professional Responsibility, or OPR, sent a fax to Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., on Wednesday saying they were closing their inquiry because without clearance their lawyers cannot examine Justice lawyers role in the program. We have been unable to make any meaningful progress in our investigation because OPR has been denied security clearances for access to information about the NSA program, OPR counsel H. Marshall Jarrett wrote to Hinchey. Hincheys office shared the letter with The Associated Press. Jarrett wrote that beginning in January 2006, his office has made a series of requests for the necessary clearances. Those requests were denied Tuesday. Without these clearances, we cannot investigate this matter and therefore have closed our investigation, wrote Jarrett. Hinchey is one of many House Democrats who have been highly critical of the domestic eavesdropping program first revealed in December. In February, the OPR announced it would examine the conduct of their own agencys lawyers in the program, though they were not authorized to investigate NSA activities. Bushs decision to authorize the largest U.S. spy agency to monitor people inside the United States, without warrants, generated a host of questions about the programs legal justification. The administration has vehemently defended the eavesdropping, saying the NSAs activities were narrowly targeted to intercept international calls and e-mails of Americans and others inside the U.S. with suspected ties to the al-Qaida terrorist network. Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM SPONSORED LINKS United state bankruptcy court western district of texas United state life insurance United state patent United state patent search United states patent office United state flag 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] U.S. war exercises threaten Caribbean
http://www.workers.org/2006/world/caribbean-0518/ U.S. war exercises threaten Caribbean May 20 protests to demand: Hands off Cuba and Venezuela By Cheryl LaBash Published May 10, 2006 11:51 PM Even as a nuclear-powered U.S. war fleet and 6,500 Marines are conducting maneuvers in the Caribbean that threaten Cuba, Venezuela and other anti-imperialist countries throughout the Americas, another kind of mobilization is occurring across the globe. On May 20, demonstrations from Austria to Australia, from Brazil to Canada, will coincide with a march in Washington, D.C., to demand U.S. hands off Venezuela and CubaManos fuera de Venezuela y Cuba. The situation is urgent. According to the Cuban newspaper Granma, the scope of the U.S. military maneuvers dwarfs even the Pentagons naval deployment during the October 1962 missile crisis. Similar maneuvers in the past were used to gather information needed to launch aggression, like the exercises that preceded the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983. They can also be used to send a direct threat, as the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, which is published in the heavily militarized Hampton Roads area, noted in a March 28 article: Some defense analysts suggested that the unusual two-month-long deployment, set to begin in early April, could be interpreted as a show of force by anti-American governments in Venezuela and Cuba. The presence of a U.S. carrier task force in the Caribbean will definitely be interpreted as some sort of signal by the governments of Cuba and Venezuela, said Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute, a pro-defense think tank in Washington. If I was sitting in the Venezuela capital looking at this American task force, the message I would be getting is America still is not so distracted by Iraq that it is unable to enforce its interests in the Caribbean, Thompson said. Radio Havana says this ominous show of force will be followed by yet another maneuver in the Caribbean involving 4,000 NATO troops and lasting from May 23 to June 15. Students, labor, [EMAIL PROTECTED] mobilize Who is answering the call to be in the streets on May 20? New York high school students have filled two buses and are getting a third. The New York Health and Hospital Union, 1199 SEIU, printed leaflets that were passed out at the massive May 1 boycott demanding full rights for all immigrants and at the April 29 march to bring the troops home from Iraq. Cuban Americans and Bolivarian Circle activists are traveling to D.C. from Miami. Other marchers will be converging on the capital by van from Detroit and Atlanta, by bus from Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Richmond, Va., and other areas, and by car and metro in Washington, D.C. They intend to say no in person to new anti-Cuba and anti-Venezuela measures planned by the U.S. government. May 20 is also African Liberation Day. Particularly noteworthy is the collaboration with ALD organizers, who are sharing their stage and sound at the Malcolm X Park gathering site with this mobilization. There will also be strong participation of African-American organizations and leaders, including Peoples Hurricane Relief, All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party and People of African Descent in Solidarity with Venezuela. Actor Danny Glover, anti-war leader Cindy Sheehan and author Noam Chom sky are all recent endorsers who have been invited to speak. The march will begin by greeting the Cuban Interests Section and then proceed to the quasi-governmental National Endowment for Democracy, which has heavily funded the right-wing opposition in Venezuela, on its way to Lafayette Park across from the White House. On the West Coast, a march in Los Angeles will gather at the downtown Federal Building at noon on May 20. Audio addresses from national leaders of both Bolivarian Venezuela and Cuba will be aired in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Other invited speakers are attorneys Leonard Weinglass and Jose Per tierra, Reverends Lucius Walker and Luis Barrios, Colombian trade unionist Gerardo Cajamarca, and Elma Beatriz Rosado, widow of slain Puerto Rican freedom fighter Filiberto Ojeda Rios. Weinglass represents Antonio Guerre ro, one of the five Cuban anti-terrorists held unjustly in U.S. prisons. Jose Pertierra represents the government of Venezuela in extradition proceedings against Luis Posada Carriles, an admitted terrorist who is wanted in Venezuela for the 1976 mid-air bombing of a Cubana airlines flight that killed 73 people, including a young fencing team. The struggle to Free the Cuban Five and extradite Posada will be featured at the activity. Other themes include stopping U.S. intervention and hostile campaigns against Venezuela, ending Washingtons economic and political war against Cuba, allowing U.S. citizens and legal residents to travel freely to Cuba, normalizing U.S.-Cuban relations, closing the Guantanamo torture camp and returning Guantanamo to Cuba, and stoppi
[cia-drugs] Intelligence Brief: U.S. Refrains from Confronting North Korea
___Power and Interest News Report (PINR)http://www.pinr.com[EMAIL PROTECTED]+1 (312) 242-1874--11 May 2006--Intelligence Brief: U.S. Refrains from Confronting North Korea Drafted By: http://www.pinr.com On September 19, 2005, negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program culminated in the "statement of principles." The agreement came after two years of negotiations between the countries involved in the "six-party talks," namely North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia, and the United States. The agreement stipulates that Pyongyang will terminate its nuclear weapons program, destroy its current nuclear warheads, and comply with inspections from the International Atomic Energy Agency. For its part, the United States announced that it was not planning to invade or attack North Korea and that it would not forward deploy nuclear weapons in South Korea. The agreement, however, states that the parties involved in the talks are obligated to assist North Korea with its energy needs. Shortly after signing the document, Pyongyang demanded that the signatories build a nuclear power plant in North Korea to meet its energy needs as a condition for Pyongyang dismantling its nuclear weapons program. Since these demands, the agreement has fallen apart and North Korea remains a self-declared nuclear power (the CIA estimates that North Korea possesses at least one to two nuclear weapons).The only states that have any sense of urgency in resolving this issue are Japan and the United States, as both countries have the most to lose from a nuclear-armed North Korea. For instance, despite Beijing's commitment to the six-party talks, it has not placed significant pressure on North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. China is responsible for the majority of North Korea's food and energy supplies. By exercising its control of the supply levers, Beijing could pressure Pyongyang into pursuing certain foreign policy directions. Instead, Beijing has failed to act aggressively.For example, trade between North Korea and China set new records in 2005. The trade volume between the two countries hit US$1.58 billion, an increase in 14 percent from 2004. Out of that amount, $1.08 billion consisted of North Korean imports from China, a rate that increased by 35 percent from 2004. For North Korea, trade with China accounts for more than half of its total imports and exports; these figures demonstrate North Korea's dependence on China.Beijing's lack of pressure on Pyongyang is likely due to it being more concerned about the collapse of the North Korean government than with the country's nuclear weapons program. As PINR explained in May 2005, the collapse of the North Korean government "would flood China with refugees and force China to spend vital resources rebuilding the North." According to this May 2005 report, it appears that Beijing is "pursuing a policy of preventing North Korea from testing a nuclear weapon -- which might force Washington's hand -- while at the same time allowing North Korea to keep this threat active; as long as ambiguity over its nuclear weapon program exists, outside states will be less willing to take military action against Pyongyang due to concern over its possible nuclear weapon capability." [See: "Intelligence Brief: North Korea"]Indeed, when Washington last requested Beijing cut off energy and food supplies to North Korea in May 2005, Beijing refused, stating, "The normal trade flow should not be linked up with the nuclear issue. We oppose trying to address the problem through strong-arm tactics." Furthermore, Beijing warned that no country involved in the six-party talks should "say or do anything that is not in favor of continuing the six-party talks."Along with China, the current South Korean government has also refrained from placing excessive pressure on Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. This policy has distanced Seoul from Washington, adding significant tension to a once-strong alliance. This strain recently surfaced when Washington's human rights envoy to North Korea, Jay Lefkowitz, contributed an article to the Wall Street Journal where he expressed concern about a new industrial park in the North Korean city of Kaesong that is operated by 15 South Korean companies that are utilizing cheap North Korean labor. Lefkowitz implied that "worker exploitation" was occurring; his comments drew an unusual condemnati
