[CTRL] Fwd: [ctrl] Save the Gnostics
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: Alamaine, IVe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: October 7, 2007 6:47:44 AM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [ctrl] Save the Gnostics Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/06/opinion/06deutsch.html? _r=2oref=slogin pagewanted=printoref=slogin October 6, 2007 Op-Ed Contributor Save the Gnostics By NATHANIEL DEUTSCH THE United States didn´t set out to eradicate the Mandeans, one of the oldest, smallest and least understood of the many minorities in Iraq. This extinction in the making has simply been another unfortunate and entirely unintended consequence of our invasion of Iraq - though that will be of little comfort to the Mandeans, whose 2,000-year-old culture is in grave danger of disappearing from the face of the earth. The Mandeans are the only surviving Gnostics from antiquity, cousins of the people who produced the Nag Hammadi writings like the Gospel of Thomas, a work that sheds invaluable light on the many ways in which Jesus was perceived in the early Christian period. The Mandeans have their own language (Mandaic, a form of Aramaic close to the dialect of the Babylonian Talmud), an impressive body of literature, and a treasury of cultural and religious traditions amassed over two millennia of living in the southern marshes of present-day Iraq and Iran. Practitioners of a religion at least as old as Christianity, the Mandeans have witnessed the rise of Islam; the Mongol invasion; the arrival of Europeans, who mistakenly identified them as Christians of St. John, because of their veneration of John the Baptist; and, most recently, the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein, who drained the marshes after the first gulf war, an ecological catastrophe equivalent to destroying the Everglades. They have withstood everything - until now. Like their ancestors, contemporary Mandeans were able to survive as a community because of the delicate balance achieved among Iraq´s many peoples over centuries of cohabitation. But our reckless prosecution of the war destroyed this balance, and the Mandeans, whose pacifist religion prohibits them from carrying weapons even for self-defense, found themselves victims of kidnappings, extortion, rapes, beatings, murders and forced conversions carried out by radical Islamic groups and common criminals. When American forces invaded in 2003, there were probably 60,000 Mandeans in Iraq; today, fewer than 5,000 remain. Like millions of other Iraqis, those who managed to escape have become refugees, primarily in Syria and Jordan, with smaller numbers in Australia, Indonesia, Sweden and Yemen. Unlike Christian and Muslim refugees, the Mandeans do not belong to a larger religious community that can provide them with protection and aid. Fundamentally alone in the world, the Mandeans are even more vulnerable and fewer than the Yazidis, another Iraqi minority that has suffered tremendously, since the latter have their own villages in the generally safer north, while the Mandeans are scattered in pockets around the south. They are the only minority group in Iraq without a safe enclave. When Mandeans do seek refuge in the Kurdish-dominated north, they report that they are typically viewed as southern, Arabic-speaking interlopers, or, if their Mandean identity is discovered, persecuted as religious infidels. In Syria and Jordan, Mandeans feel unable to practice their religion openly and, after years of severe deprivation, some have begun to convert simply in order to receive aid from Muslim and Christian relief agencies. Mandean activists have told me that the best hope for their ancient culture to survive is if a critical mass of Mandeans is allowed to settle in the United States, where they could rebuild their community and practice their traditions without fear of persecution. If this does not happen, individual Mandeans may survive for another generation, isolated in countries around the world, but the community and its culture may disappear forever. Of the mere 500 Iraqi refugees who were allowed into the United States from April 2003 to April 2007, only a few were Mandeans. And despite the Bush administration´s commitment to let in 7,000 refugees in the fiscal year that ended last month, fewer than 2,000, including just three Iraqi Mandean families, entered the country. In September, the Senate took a step in the right direction when it unanimously passed an amendment to a defense bill that grants privileged refugee status to members of a religious or minority community who are identified by the State Department as a persecuted group and have close relatives in the United States. But because so few Mandeans live here, this will do little for those seeking asylum. The legislation, however, also authorizes the State and Homeland Security Departments to grant privileged status to other persecuted groups, as they see fit. If all Iraqi
[CTRL] Fwd: [cia-drugs] The Parts Left Out of the Good Shepherd
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: RoadsEnd [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: October 7, 2007 10:23:28 AM PDT To: Cia-drugs Cia-drugs [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: RoadsEnd [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [cia-drugs] The Parts Left Out of the Good Shepherd Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] an excerpt from an article: The Parts Left Out of the Good Shepherd High Times November 2007 pps 42-44 - Can only release some snippets. To read full article need to see November issue of High Times — on stands now, (Barnes Noble carries). Peace, Kris -- The Parts Left Out of the Good Shepherd Hollywood recently released the first behind-the-curtain account of the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency and its relationship with a secret society at Yale University known as Skull and Bones. HIGH TIMES asked the world's leading authority on the group to help us separate truth from fiction. By Kris Millegan I hope you are lucky enough to meet someone you trust. I regret to say. I haven't.—Dr, Fredricks [Michael Gambon] in The Good Shepherd The Good Shepherd is Robert De Niro's effort to mine the dramatic materials at the very real-life nexus of secret societies. intelligence agencies and recorded history, apparently in an attempt to forge a Godfather-style franchise. But one is left wincing at the thought of The Good Shepherd. Part II, given that the film begins and ends with the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and its aftermath, with the assassination of JFK and its attendant wilderness of conspiracy lurking just over the horizon, Will the right people end up washing the blood off their hands in a sequel, laying the action off on some mob operation gone rogue, which then had to be covered up for the good of the country? All just an honest mistake But I seem to be getting ahead of myself. I have often been asked. 'What do you think of the movie The Good Shepherd? And the best response I could usually offer was: Well. I haven't seen it yet. I'd been aware of the film for several years, and followed its progress to the silver screen, but I don't get out much. Then, finally, the DVD version of the film wound its way to our local store, and I picked up a copy to see what I could find. My first viewing brought up a host of indignant furies, all riled at the historical hubris of the tale and the simple fact that most of the characters in it and even the film's central story of betrayal are amalgamations at best, and total confabulations at worst. Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying that you shouldn't watch this movie, As a matter of fact. I recommend it highly — but with caveats, as will soon become clear. snip Nonetheless, it is through the routine spy story that the movie interjects one of its greatest truths, albeit through the lips of a tortured Russian defector stoned on LSD: Soviet power is a myth, a great joke. There are no spare parts; nothing is working — nothing. It's nothing but painted rust. But you, you need to keep the Russian myth alive to maintain your military-industrial complex. Your system depends on Russia being perceived as a mortal threat. It's not a threat. It was never a threat. It will never be a threat. It is a rotted, bloated cow. How might this sobering fact be received by the audience, coming as it does from the mouth of an enemy agent tripped out on acid, appearing in a fictional film based upon an unreliable chronicle? Might it just covertly confirm the reality that many know to be true-but without causing the uproar that such a significant revelation should engender? Around this real-life charade revolve some other themes of the movie, leaving us with an insight into Napoleon's famous dictum: History is a set of lies agreed upon. For when even honorable men lie, who is trustworthy? What is real? Are our secrets safe? Do secrets give us safety? And at what cost? snip [M]en linked to the structures of United States intelligence was how an Italian Senate investigation described the perpetrators of the 1980 Bologna train bombing, an act of terrorism that killed 85 people and injured over 200. The bombing was part of a series of actions carried out over many years in Italy, targeting the political left by essentially blaming and demonizing it for acts done covertly by agents of the right. The plan, known as Operation Gladio, sought to terrorize the populace into voting for strong right-wing governments in order to suppress the left. You had to attack civilians, the people, women, children, innocent people, unknown people far removed from the political game. The reason was quite simple: to force ... the public to turn to the state to ask for greater security was how Operation Gladio participant Vincenzo Vinciguerra put it later during his testimony to Italian authorities. Operation Gladio, which was initially sold as a stay-behind force in case of the
[CTRL] Fwd: Expose on Christian Zionism on national TV Tonight, Bill Moyers
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: October 7, 2007 11:02:18 AM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Fwd: Expose on Christian Zionism on national TV Tonight, Bill Moyers See what's new at AOL.com and Make AOL Your Homepage. From: Jim S. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: October 5, 2007 6:01:24 PM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Expose on Christian Zionism on national TV Tonight, Bill Moyers Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no- win wars, while bringing bankruptcy and economic turmoil to our people.-- Congressman Ron Paul, 1987 BREAKING STORY TONIGHT I suggest you watch Bill Moyers tonight. Here is a short preview with a film clip: http://www.religionnews.com/press02/PR100407A.html ( Chuck Carlson www.whtt.org Msg sent via CWNet - http://www.cwnet.com/ www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Fwd: Miami's Cuban Exiles and Crashed CIA Jet with 6 Tons of Cocaine
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: October 7, 2007 11:46:48 AM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Miami's Cuban Exiles and Crashed CIA Jet with 6 Tons of Cocaine Jet linked to CIA crashes in Yucatan with drug shipment aboard • Incident takes place at a time when that Mexican peninsula is a theater of war among Cuban-American drug traffickers handling the lucrative business of illegal emigration BY JEAN-GUY ALLARD—Granma International staff writer— http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2007/octubre/vier5/40jet-i.html A private jet which crashed in the vicinity of Cancun on September 24 with a cargo of six tons of cocaine and heroin aboard had been utilized by the CIA in recent months for transferring prisoners to and from the U.S. interrogation camp on Guantánamo. The aircraft, a Grumman Gulf Stream II model, with U.S. registration number N987SA, officially belongs to a company in the south of Florida, which bought it just eight days before the presumed accident, the circumstances of which are murky. The mysterious incident, which recalls the large-scale trafficking operations attributed to the CIA in the 80s, came at a time of bloody warfare among Cuban-American drug traffickers who have taken over the lucrative business of the illegal emigration of Cubans in Yucatan. The wave of violence, apparent for some months, reached an alarming level the same weekend of the air crash with the murder of another émigré Cuban in a well known public place in the tourist complex. Press agencies in Cancun and Mexico report how the luxury Gulf Stream II was bought in August from a New York company owned by one William Achenbaum by a Florida company called Donna Blue Aircraft run by two Brazilians, Joao Luiz Malago and Eduardo Dias Guimaraes. Achenbaum’s employees refused to answer questions. Malago and Dias Guimaraes said that they had sold the plane on September 16 to two Florida pilots, Clyde O’Connor and Greg Smith, who paid them – it is not known how – two million dollars in cash. The Federal Aviation Administration is now saying that it was never informed of the sale and that, in consequence, never dispatched any certificate. O’Connor’s company, Execstar Aviation of Fort Lauderdale, is not answering the telephone, according to the Miami press. Two days after the purchase, the aircraft left Fort Lauderdale, Florida for Cancun, Mexico and then for the José María Córdoba aiport in Río Negro, Colombia, 40 kilometers from Medellín, the heartland of Colombian traffickers, from where it returned to Cancun. HAND OF THE CIA The same jet appears on the 2003-2005 list of CIA secret flights established by a European Union commission given the intense traffic of aircraft handled by the U.S. intelligence agency for transferring prisoners, often illegally kidnapped, via various compliant countries. However, the Mexican ¡Por Esto! daily affirmed in its September 29 edition that the CIA used the plane on four occasions in recent months. The national press notes that all files relating to the powerful jet were blocked in the Cancun Airport information system by the airport authorities themselves. In the midst of contradictory reports, it was stated that the pilot, a Mexican by the name of Edick Muñoz Sánchez, had been transferred to the capital for interrogation. But ¡Por Esto! revealed on September 30 that “Edick or Eric Muñoz Sánchez was not known to the Association of Aviation Pilots (ASPA) or to various flying schools in Mexico City. The journalist, known for his investigations, noted: “To date, the Attorney General’s Office has NOT brought before the public opinion that young man initially identified as South American and subsequently as from the Federal District, with white skin and delicate features.” Meanwhile, two other crew members from the plane, a man and a woman, managed to escape from the location of the accident in a truck stolen in Cancun and which reappeared some few hours later in Mérida. The incident illustrates the level of drug trafficking in that part of the Yucatan Peninsula with the complicity of Miami Mafiosi who, for a few years now, have been using Cancun as a playing field. It is not by chance that the accomplices of Luis Posada Carriles selected Isla Mujeres, in the vicinity of Cancun, for rescuing the international terrorist, a fugitive from Venezuelan justice. EVIDENCE POINTS TO MIAMI The Grumman’s forced landing in a forested area of Yucatan in circumstances still to be clarified, occurred hours after the execution of a criminal of Cuban origin in right in the middle of the Cancun hotel area. The man, Maximiliano Rey Mota, aged 43 was linked to the Cuban mafia operating in Quintano Roo. Rey Mota was killed with a single R-15 bullet in the presence of his
[CTRL] Fwd: Blackwater's Eye in the Sky
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: October 7, 2007 11:55:38 AM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Blackwater's Eye in the Sky Blackwater's Eye in the Sky In 1933, the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship in Germany co- opted the Zeppelin business. The Nazis were eager to exploit the popularity of the airships for propaganda. Hermann Göring, the Nazi Air minister, formed a new airline in 1935 which took over operation of airship flights. Zeppelins would prominently display the Nazi swastika on their fins and occasionally tour Germany to indoctrinate the people with march music and Nazi propaganda speeches from the air. http://www.opednews.com/articles/4/ opedne_joe_rath_071003_blackwater_or_bloodw.htm The Blackwater Airships team completed design work at the end of 2006 and is now building the Polar 400 airship. This highly capable RPAV will provide a platform ready to accomodate a wide variety of state-of-the-art surveillance, communications and detection equipment that can record and store events and downlink them in real-time to ground operators. We've all heard of black helicopters. The video in the previous post actually contains footage of one. But black airships? This whole article is most informative. Video of concentration camp being built in the United States http://www.sprword.com/videos/rex84.html See what's new at AOL.com and Make AOL Your Homepage. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/;ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Fwd: [NewPacifica] Letter from Howard Zinn -- PLEASE SIGN SEND
-Caveat Lector- Begin forwarded message: From: Mitchel Cohen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: October 7, 2007 12:08:58 PM PDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [NewPacifica] Letter from Howard Zinn -- PLEASE SIGN SEND Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR MAILING LISTS CONTACTS / FRIENDS A Message from Howard Zinn on behalf of the Committee for an Open Discussion of Zionism Dear Friend: As you may have heard, in late August of this year, The University of Michigan Press, after receiving a series of complaining and threatening emails and letters from an ultra-Zionist group called StandWithUs, an offshoot of Campus Watch, withdrew from distribution Prof. Joel Kovel’s book Overcoming Zionism, published by Pluto Press in London, United Kingdom. Since then, following numerous protests by fellow academics and scholars, The U. of M. Press Executive Board has restored the book to its distribution listings. But, ominously, the Board has indicated its intention to reconsider its contract with Pluto Press in mid October. Overcoming Zionism is a serious, well researched work espousing a humanistic resolution. It is a valuable addition to the growing debate, in and out of American academia, that is re-examining long held assumptions about the sources of conflict in the Middle East. It should be discussed - supported or refuted – but not suppressed. But even more serious is the University’s threat to cancel its distribution contract with Pluto Press. Pluto is a valuable and unique intellectual resource, publishing progressive books of a consistently high quality. It provides an alternative viewpoint essential to discussion and debate of important social issues, such as those concerning Israel/Palestine and the Middle East. The cancellation of Pluto’s contract with the University would be a serious blow to the principles of pluralism, academic freedom and free speech. We urge you to add your voice to those of the many professors and authors that have vigorously protested these actions. We ask that you send a letter or an email to U. of M. Press Executive Board Chair Peggy McCracken with copies to University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman, Dean Janet A Weiss; and Provost Teresa Sullivan, demanding that the University of Michigan Press continue its contract with Pluto Press. Further, we ask that you forward this request for support and suggested support letter to those on any list that you may maintain or have access to. We have prepared a sample letter together with email and postal addressees of University of Michigan Press committee members below. Please send this immediately, or feel free to compose your own. Time is of the essence so please act quickly. Thank you for your kind support. Sincerely, Howard Zinn For the Committee for an Open Discussion of Zionism www.CODZ.org Please send your letters and emails to: Professor Peggy McCracken Executive Board Chair University of Michigan Press University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED][EMAIL PROTECTED] President Susan Coleman University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED][EMAIL PROTECTED] Janet A. Weiss Dean of the Rackham Graduate School and Vice Provost University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1070 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED][EMAIL PROTECTED] Teresa A. Sullivan Provost and Executive Vice-President for Academic Affairs 3074 Fleming Building University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1340 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED][EMAIL PROTECTED] SAMPLE LETTER: Dear Professor McCracken: It has come to my attention that The University of Michigan Press has recently withdrawn its distribution of Prof. Joel Kovel’s book, Overcoming Zionism and has indicated its intention to review, and perhaps cancel, its distribution contract with the publisher of Prof. Kovel’s book, Pluto Press. It is my understanding that these steps were taken immediately following a barrage of complaints from a group called StandWithUs Michgan, an offshoot of the notorious Campus Watch censorship organization. I have heard that distribution of Prof. Kovel’s book has been resumed but that the Pluto Press contract remains under a cloud. Pluto is a valuable intellectual resource, publishing critical and progressive books of consistently high quality. It is a highly respected alternative academic press. Its discontinuation by the U.of M. Press would directly inhibit people’s access to non-mainstream material and would impede critical thought, discussion and debate on important issues, especially those concerning Israel/Palestine and the Middle East. Further, the University’s suspension of its distribution contract with Pluto Press under these circumstances would constitute a flagrant violation of the principles of academic freedom and freedom of speech. I strongly protest against any such move. My high regard for the University of Michigan would be seriously diminished if such a suspension took place and it would affect any future
