February 21, 2003 Today's edition of Brought to You by The Bush Junta, Produced and Directed by the CIA, based on an original script by Henry Kissinger, with a cast of billions.... The "Greatest Shew on Earth," no doubt, and if you don't have a good sense of humor, don't read this page! It is designed to reveal the "unseen." If you can't stand the heat of Objective Reality, get out of the kitchen!

Government-backed course is encouraging pupils under 16 to experiment with oral sex, as part of a drive to cut rates of teenage pregnancy. Family campaigners believe that the course, called A Pause, is having the reverse effect by exciting the sexual interest of children. The scheme, which has been pioneered by Exeter University and is backed by the Departments of Health and Education, trains teachers to discuss various pre-sex “stopping points” with under-age teenagers. It aims to reduce promiscuity by encouraging pupils to discover “levels of intimacy”, including oral sex, instead of full sexual intercourse. More than 100,000 children are now taking the course at one in every thirty secondary schools. It forms part of efforts to tackle Britain’s teenage pregnancy rate, which is the highest in Western Europe. Robert Whelan, director of the Family Education Trust, said he hoped that the Sexual Offences Bill, currently going through the House of Lords, would lead to the course being banned. A provision in the Bill would make it an offence for anyone to “arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence”. He said: “I don’t think anyone believes that teaching pupils about oral sex will stop them having full sex — it is more likely to make them want to try it, and it doesn’t protect them from sexually transmitted diseases.” John Rees, programme manager for A Pause, said that he was keen to teach children that “it is acceptable simply to hold hands” and to discover different levels of intimacy. “We make it clear that there are many ways to manage relationships — that it doesn’t all have to be about full sex,” he said. He added that he was “very worried” that the Bill would end the scheme. Lynda Brine, a teacher from a Doncaster comprehensive who recently attended a training day for the course, says in today’s Times Educational Supplement that she was primed to deal with detailed questions about oral and anal sex. “I was amazed. Are these really the sort of questions to which we as a profession should be responding?” she writes. “There was no framework for talking about responsibility or the emotional side of relationships. By following this course, I feel that teachers are implicitly supporting under-age sexual activity.” Comment: I was wondering if the world really had gone mad. I wonder no longer.

Oil, Dollars, Euros And Dead Iraqi's US strategic concerns. Control of Middle Eastern oil resources has always been a matter of strategic concern to the United States. In his famous speech of 1947 when he initiated the Cold War and enunciated the doctrine that now goes under his name, US President Truman referred to the Middle East with its “great natural resources” as among the considerations that motivated the fight against “communism.” In 1974-75, in the midst of the OPEC oil price hikes and the threat of extended oil embargoes, the US administration discussed the possibility of undertaking military action against oil-producing states.

With the fall of the Shah of Iran in 1979, who was installed in a CIA-backed coup against the nationalist Mossadegh government in 1953, the US became increasingly concerned about threats to its interests in the region. Accordingly, in his January 1980 State of the Union address, President Carter warned: “An attempt by an outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.” This new policy, known as the Carter doctrine, he explained was necessitated by the “overwhelming dependence of Western nations on vital oil supplies from the Middle East.” In testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee in 1990, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, defence secretary (now vice-president) Cheney set out the issues involved in the US-led war. “Iraq controlled 10 percent of the world’s reserves prior to the invasion of Kuwait. Once Saddam Hussein took Kuwait, he doubled that to approximately 20 percent of the world’s known oil reserves ... Once he acquired Kuwait ... he was clearly in a position to dictate the future of worldwide energy policy, and that gave him a stranglehold on our economy and on that of most of the other nations of the world as well.” Within days of the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, an even more blunt assessment was delivered by a “senior American official” (believed to be Secretary of State James Baker) in a comment to the New York Times: “We are talking about oil. Got it? Oil, vital American interests.”

In the period since the Gulf War, those interests have become more, not less, important as the figures on the dependence of the US economy on oil imports reveals. And the question of which corporations control the flow of oil is of vital significance, both from an economic and political standpoint. As the American academic Michael T. Klare (author of the book Resource Wars) points out in a recent article [See Foreign Policy in Focus at http://www.fpif.org], one of the key objectives of the present US administration flows from the analysis made by Cheney in 1990. “[W]hoever controls the flow of Persian Gulf oil has a ‘stranglehold’ not only on our economy but also ‘on that of most of that of the other nations of the world as well.’ This is a powerful image, and perfectly describes the administration’s thinking about the Gulf area, except in reverse: by serving as the dominant power in the Gulf, WE maintain a ‘stranglehold’ over the economies of other nations.” How important the maintenance of this dominance has become has been thrown into sharp relief by the recent conflicts between the US and “old Europe”—in particular France and Germany—in the recent period. As Klare emphasises, control over Persian Gulf oil is also “consistent with the administration’s declared goal of attaining permanent military superiority over all other nations” and the need, set out in the administration’s statements on national security policy, to “prevent any rival from ever reaching the point where it could compete with the United States on something resembling equal standing.”

Oil and the US dollar

In addition to the geo-political interests that operated at the time of the first Gulf War and whose importance has increased, not diminished in the intervening period, there is a powerful new reason why the US needs to ensure a “stranglehold” grip on Persian Gulf oil resources. Various media commentators try to deny the connection between oil and the US war drive. They always insist that in the final analysis it does not matter who controls these resources since they still have to be sold on the world market where supplies will be available to the US and other purchasers. Even assuming that the oil market operates in the way suggested (ignoring the question of boycotts, production restrictions to lift prices and other such measures) there is still another issue to be addressed—in what currency the oil contracts will be paid? And this is a question which is acquiring extreme importance for the long-term financial and economic stability of the United States. When the Gulf War was launched in 1990, an historic transformation had recently taken place in the financial position of the US. For the first time since it became the pre-eminent capitalist power in 1914, the US had become an indebted nation. In the decade and a half since then, it has become the most indebted nation in history.

On the latest estimates, US debts to the rest of the world total more than $2.7 trillion, equivalent to more than one quarter of gross domestic product. To finance this debt, the US requires an inflow of around $2 billion per day from the rest of the world. One of the main reasons the US is able to attract such a massive inflow (amounting to around two-thirds of the international surpluses generated in the world economy) is the role played by the dollar as the central international reserve currency. It has been estimated that by the late 1990s more than four-fifths of all foreign exchange transactions and half of world exports were denominated in dollars, with dollars accounting for about two-thirds of all official currency reserves. But the establishment of the euro by the European Union means that a potential rival has emerged on the international economic scene. At first, the continued rise of the dollar meant that the euro was not an attractive proposition. But the situation has changed with the collapse of the US share market bubble. Since the end of 2000, the dollar has fallen by more than 15 percent against the euro. This is leading OPEC producers to consider whether, at some point in the future, it might be worth their while to shift from payments in dollars to euros. In a speech delivered in April last year, Javad Yarjani, head of OPEC’s Petroleum Market Analysis Department, noted that while in most OPEC countries would continue, in the short-term, to demand payment in dollars, OPEC “will not discount entirely the possibility of adopting euro pricing and payments in the future.”

A shift by OPEC to the euro would rapidly confront the US with an economic “nightmare scenario.” Major oil importers would need to transfer some of their funds from US dollars reserves—stocks, bonds and other assets—into euro reserves. This would see a sharp fall in the value of the dollar, possibly setting in motion a further withdrawal of funds as investors became nervous over the value of their dollar assets. Suddenly the burgeoning US debt, which at present plays little or no role in day-to-day financial calculations, would become a factor of considerable importance. In other words, a switch in the financial basis of the oil export market, or a significant part of it, would have major consequences for the global financial position of the US, quite irrespective of whether oil was freely available or the price charged for it. However, if the US were in control of Iraqi supplies, either directly or through a puppet, it would be in a much better position to block any currency shift by the OPEC countries. Consideration of the long-term strategic issues make clear why Washington is being driven to use military means to try to overcome the major economic problems confronting US capitalism.

Who Attacked the USA? News embargo after Israeli link leak!
Stern-Intel (Canada). A US military intelligence source revealed details of an internal intelligence memo that points to the Israeli Mossad intelligence service having links to the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. The intelligence source, who requested his name be withheld, confirmed the internal US intelligence memo circulated four weeks ago described information that pointed to the threat of a covert Israeli operation on US soil to turn mass public opinion against Palestinian Arabs via an apparent terrorist attack on US interests that would give Israel the green light to implement a large scale military onslaught against the Palestinian Arab population. The 11 September attack has been described experts as being too sophisticated for a lone terrorist group to execute. "This attack required a high level of military precision and the resources of an advanced intelligence agency. In addition, the attackers would have needed to be extremely familiar with both air force one flight operations, civil airline flight paths and aerial assault tactics on sensitive US cities like Washington, Stated David Stern an expert on Israeli intelligence operations. The attacks targeted the Pentagon, World Trade Center towers, with the White House and Air Force One also being targets according to the FBI.

"The attacks have certainly turned US public opinion firmly back in Israel's favor after 11 months of Palestinian uprising, heavy criticism of Israel over war crimes allegations and racism a UN conference in Durban. The attacks serve no Arab group or nation's interests but their timing came in the midst of international condemnation of Israel for its policy of death squad assassination of Palestinian political and police figures", added Stern. If verified, the news of Israel's involvement in the US attack will come as no surprise to intelligence experts. The state of Israel has a long history of covert operations against Western targets with attacks on the King David Hotel, USS Liberty, murder of a Scandinavian UN envoy as well as espionage against the US during the Jonathan Pollard case. On Wednesday the US defense department issued a warning to its officials to halt the leak of information on the investigation which it says is happening on a daily basis since the attacks occurred.

Boys, boys, you're all right. Sure, it's Daddy, oil and imperialism, not to mention a messianic sense of righteous purpose, a deep-seated contempt for the peace movement, and, to be fair, the irrefutable fact that the world would be a better place without Saddam Hussein. But there's also an overarching mentality feeding the administration's collective delusions, and it can be found by looking to corporate America's bottom line. The dots leading from Wall Street to the West Wing situation room are the ones that need connecting. There's money to be made in post-war Iraq, and the sooner we get the pesky war over with, the sooner we (by which I mean George Bush's corporate cronies) can start making it. No one in the administration embodies this bottom line mentality more than Dick Cheney. The nugget of truth that former Bush economic guru Lawrence Lindsey let slip last fall shortly before he was shoved out the oval office door says it all. Momentarily forgetting that he was talking to the press and not his buddies in the White House, he admitted: "The successful prosecution of the war would be good for the economy."

To hell with worldwide protests, an unsupportive Security Council, a diplomatically dubious Hans Blix, an Osama giddy at the prospect of a united Arab world, and a panicked populace grasping at the very slender reed of duct tape and Saran Wrap to protect itself from the inevitable terrorist blow-back -- the business of America is still business. No one in the administration embodies this bottom line mentality more than Dick Cheney. The vice president is one of those ideological purists who never let little things like logic, morality, or mass murder interfere with the single-minded pursuit of profitability. His on-again, off-again relationship with the Butcher of Baghdad is a textbook example of what modern moralists condemn as "situational ethics," an extremely convenient code that allows you to do what you want when you want and still feel good about it in the morning. In the Cheney White House (let's call it what it is), anything that can be rationalized is right.

The two were clearly on the outs back during the Gulf War, when Cheney was Secretary of Defense, and the first President Bush dubbed Saddam "Hitler revisited." Then Cheney moved to the private sector and suddenly things between him and Saddam warmed up considerably. With Cheney in the CEO's seat, Halliburton helped Iraq reconstruct its war-torn oil industry with $73 million worth of equipment and services -- becoming Baghdad's biggest such supplier. Kinda nice how that worked out for the vice-president, really: oversee the destruction of an industry that you then profit from by rebuilding. When, during the 2000 campaign, Cheney was asked about his company's Iraqi escapades, he flat out denied them. But the truth remains: When it came to making a buck, Cheney apparently had no qualms about doing business with "Hitler revisited."

When it came to making a buck, Cheney apparently had no qualms about doing business with "Hitler revisited."
And make no mistake, this wasn't a case of hard-nosed realpolitik -- the rationale for Rummy's cuddly overtures to Saddam back in '83 despite his almost daily habit of gassing Iranians. That, we were told, was all about "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." No, Cheney's company chose to do business with Saddam after the rape of Kuwait. After Scuds had been fired at Tel Aviv and Riyadh. After American soldiers had been sent home from Desert Storm in body bags. And in 2000, just months before pocketing his $34 million Halliburton retirement package and joining the GOP ticket, Cheney was lobbying for an end to U.N. sanctions against Saddam.

Of course, American businessmen are nothing if not flexible. So his former cronies at Halliburton are now at the head of the line of companies expected to reap the estimated $2 billion it will take to rebuild Iraq's oil infrastructure following Saddam's ouster. This burn-and-build approach to business guarantees that there will be a market for Halliburton's services as long as it has a friend in high places to periodically carpet bomb a country for it.

In the meantime, Halliburton, among many other Pentagon contracts, has a lucrative 10-year deal to provide food services to the Army that comes with no lid on potential costs. Lenin once scoffed that "a capitalist would sell rope to his own hangman." And, while the man got more than a few things wrong, he's been proven right on this one time and time again: from Hewlett-Packard and Bechtel helping arm Saddam back in the '80s, to the good folks at Boeing, Hughes Electronics, Lockheed Martin and Loral Space whose corporate greed helped China steal rocket and missile secrets -- and point a few dozen long-range nukes our way.

Clearly, our national interest runs a distant second when pitted against the rapacious desires of special interests and the politicians they buy with massive campaign contributions. Oil and gas companies donated $26.7 million to Bush and his fellow Republicans during the 2000 election and another $18 million in 2002. So does it really come as any surprise that Cheney's staff held secret meetings in October with executives from Exxon Mobil, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips -- and, yes, Halliburton -- to discuss who would get what in a post-Saddam Iraq? As they say, to the victors -- and the big buck donors -- go the sp-oil-s.

Here's my bottom line: At a time of war, at what point does subverting our national security in the name of profitability turn from ugly business into high treason?

Anne Gwynn, today, was shot by an IDF soldier, while trying to rescue a child shot for throwing rocks at a tank..
Transcript of KPFA radio broadcast
ANNOTATED LOGS AND AUDIO OF SHOWS

Wednesday, Feb 19, 2003 - Start Audio
-00:00 Dennis Bernstein: introduction: Anne Gwynn shot in Nablus.. in Gaza 12 killed.. a Texas shrimpboat captain *locks down* at the UN..
-00:54 Dennis: I brace myself before I check my phone messages.. today a familiar voice, 65 year old grandmother from Wales, now w special Flashpoints correspondent, Anne Gwynn today shot by an IOF soldier, while trying to rescue a child shot for throwing rocks at a tank.. 10:29PM Anne: this is Anne.. in Nablus.. trying to.. Israeli children firing on children throwing stones.. we were fired on by a tank.. we shouted Stop Stop.. the tank pointed it's cannon at us.. later: we are pinned down I can see down a tankd 80mm barrel.. 11:06PM 3 taxis carrying old people children to safety, three taxis shot.. 11:22PM DENNIS, I WOULD LIKE AMERICANS TO KNOW.. THESE BULLETS CAME FROM YOU.. ONE KILLED ALREADY.. PLEASE, PLEASE US CITIZENS FOR GOD'S SAKE CALL THE WHITE HOUSE.. THIS IS YOUR MONEY PAYING TO SHOOT THESE CHILDREN.. 11:00 I HAVE JUST BEEN SHOT, I AM HOLDING A YOUNG MAN WHO HAS ALSO BEEN SHOT.. WE WERE GOING TO A HOUSE TO PICK UP A YOUNG WOMAN.. THIS IS WHAT YOUR TAX DOLLARS ARE DOING.. OH MY GOD!.. THIS IS A NIGHTMARE.. PROTEST! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!.. 12:47: I was just shot in the leg by an Israeli soldier, the ambulance driver shot in the hand.. I went around the corner to pick up the pregnant woman, and they shot at me again.. I am 65 years old, with grey hair, obviously an international and this is new, they are shooting at us.. they are shooting down the alley.. we are still trying to get the pregnant woman.. later: I am come from the hospital, we are facing the soldier who shot us before, amazing to see this young soldier threatening the lives of so many people.. we have shown we have nothing, hands in the air, and still he says no.. later: we finally got the pregnant woman out.. they were shooting the big cannon from the tank.. a milk drink, we've been here five hours..
-10:12 Dennis: we continue our coverage of the mad Israeli onslaught against Palestinian people.. now w Amani in Gaza City again, about the last 24 hours.. Amani: Apache homicide helicopter shot a rocket and killed three cops trying to stop attacks on Israelis.. and they hit a school.. students not able to go to school today.. more people killed.. today a general strike.. now they (the Israelis) have closed Gaza City.. people not able to go home after work, not able to go back to their families.. Dennis: the Israelis trying to kill off all leadership?.. and steal all the land they can before a possible ceasefire?.. a lot of resistance now?.. why are the people shooting at the Israelis soldiers?.. Amani: a very normal reaction.. they are coming, and the people out in the street to resist.. we are under occupation, this is our land, and we want it back.. this is the situation.. a very basic right of human beings to fight for their own land..

Prime Minister Tony Blair is under investigation leading to possible charges for criminal bribery with George W. Bush as a co-conspirator. Cloak and Dagger has been contacted by reliable bank investigators who have uncovered evidence that British PM Blair was involved in criminal bribery. Blair is now under investigation for accepting large bribes from the Bush oil interests. The evidence consists of bank transfers from George Bush financial interests to PM Blair's personal accounts via the United Arab Emirates where the investigations into criminal bribery against Blair began. The bribery purpose is so that the United Kingdom's PM would be sure to go along with Bush's plan to forcibly seize the Iraqi oil fields while also unseating strongman Saddam Hussein. Part of the bribery plan was to use the Oil fields for collateral to support an out of control US deficit. It is no surprise that the U.S. treasury is alarmed by the declining proceeds of tax receipts. The White House is pushing for massive tax cuts for wealthy Americans at the time of a growing deficit. In recent months the Cloak and Dagger program has exclusively presented on air, details from the moderator and producer Sherman Skolnick, of a Chicago Public Access Cable TV program. Cloak and Dagger has spoken directly with the Investigators who presented the evidence to senior French diplomatic officials today. Bank investigators have shown senior French diplomats documents that corroborate the following.

1-That the scheme to grab Iraqi oil fields was in the works over a year and a half ago when several billion dollars was transferred to bank accounts set up for the private benefit of Blair.

2- Another document shows that Blair and his wife privately profited for arranging for North Korea to have nuclear capability. Skolnick also has stated on his TV show including broadcasting documents showing Hilary Clinton, now U.S. Senator Democrat New York, likewise privately profited from the treasonous North Korean deal.

3- The officials said that this will put Blair to the wall and remove his furniture from 10 Downing Street.

Clinton Admits, "We have a lot to answer for, and he [Saddam] is basically partly our creature."Excerpts From Clinton Interview between former President Bill Clinton and James Fallows, of The Atlantic Monthly, on October 21, 2002."I'm neither fish nor fowl. That is, I believe that he [Saddam Hussein] is very bad. We have a lot to answer for, and he is basically partly our creature. I'm not criticizing President Bush on this because I did the same thing. I've sat there and pontificated about how [Saddam] is the only guy to use chemical weapons on his own people. Yeah he did it, and the Reagan Administration was for him when he did it. Nobody raised a peep then, because he was against Iran. We now know that he got his anthrax strain from an American company while we looked the other way. We also know that, or at least a British journalist has alleged, that Casey [the head of the CIA under Reagan] tried to give him cluster bombs. I don't know if that's true or not 'cause I read it in the British press and you never can tell. I wouldn't give it the same credence I would if I read it there [points at The Atlantic].

I think they [the original Bush Administration] feel badly about abandoning the Shiites. At least we tried to protect the Kurds. And, so... I'd like it if it happened. On the other hand, if it happened as a result of our initiative, it would be a very high price to pay. Because of what I said out here today. We are trying to create a process. I didn't exactly adhere to the Levin view [referring to Senator Carl Levin of Michigan], because I don't think you can treat the UN like a shrine. It is an institution that is still becoming, it's not where we want it to be. We, and others, sometimes cast our veto votes in ways that are more about us than about the global interests. So I think we have to try to give the sanctions one more chance. He's not going to live forever, there are options for regime change short of bombing the living daylights out of them. And we know that these... we know that the inspectors have gotten a ton of stuff out of there. But the effort of trying will bring us together."

Tell you the truth I'm scared. No, not for myself. I'm old enough not to worry about going to war, or living in fear of terrorism, or getting shot in an alley somewhere. I'll most likely be dead when the real action starts (World War III). So why do I shudder when, asked whether Saddam Hussein should be confronted with a final ultimatum, Bush answers: "He knows my feelings. He needs to disarm."? HIS feelings? Since when is a decision to push America into a bloody war prompted by one man's feelings--even a president's-- rather than by analyzed facts and objective discourse. And Congressional approval, to make it at least halfway legal. Bush's "feely" statement is one of many which have seeped through the down-home façade of this Marlboro Man, to gradually reveal a rigid, uncompromising, egocentric mindset about doing things HIS way (including going to war) to the exclusion of all other ways. That "my way" mindset, I submit, is why President Bush is able, with impunity, to brush aside, or not be influenced by, the huge anti-war protest of millions of concerned people around the world. And, as if this international show of anti-war hands weren't enough to give Bush pause, he has the stultifying temerity to call this world-wide protest "well-intentioned, but irrelevant"-the equivalent of a marketing "focus group"---which clearly demonstrates what our president thinks of his fellow Americans' opinion. "You know," mused Bush, "the size of protests is like deciding, well, I'm going to decide policy based upon a focus group. The role of a leader is to decide policy based upon security-in this case, the security of the people." He said this, mind you, as he sends 20,000 more troops to the Persian Gulf, to join the 150,000 American troops already there, but refuses to close our borders to keep out illegal aliens who are devastating our Southwest, draining the resources of our social services, and opening the door to potential terrorists. Hooray for security. Well, I have news for Mr. Bush. As a creative advertising writer for some 30 years I think I know something about focus groups, having been involved in plenty of them. And I can tell you this: if multi-billion-dollar corporations and their advertising agencies didn't see focus groups as being an effective tool in determining public opinion, they would have canned the idea years ago.

A focus group, simply put, is playing a TV commercial to a random gathering of disinterested viewers (much like a jury), and getting their positive or negative comments on it, then either discarding the commercial, or using it, depending on the reactions they get. What does this mean in terms of the president? It means that when Bush calls a major portion of the population's opinion "irrelevant", the equivalent of a "focus group", you can bet the farm that (l) he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. (2) he has no respect for the average American's opinion, (3) he has no intention of backing off, or even reconsidering his "preemptive strike" agenda, and (4) he intends to do it HIS way, or no way. Period. I also find it amusing that President Bush, in planning to attack Iraq unilaterally, is also in the process of thumbing his nose at the United Nations. This is the same United Nations, mind you, that many Americans (including this writer) long ago advocated kicking out of our country because of its anti-American, socialistic promotion of a World Government. Which, by the way, is an irony in itself, given that our political "globalists" were enamored with the idea of having the UN's prestigious, high-rise headquarters located in New York City, the cradle of America's financial power and free enterprise. So you know what I think, Mr. President? It's an either-or situation. Either some faction has you in their pocket, or you're just a nice, not-too-bright guy with an ego on overload. Either way, for a president leading a nation, that's scary. And I don't scare easy. Comment: the answer is actually more simple. Bush is a psychopath he exhibits all the characteristics.

Blair and Bush set to force UN vote over Iraq America and Britain will table a new UN draft resolution next week authorising military force against Iraq, US officials confirmed yesterday. Both governments intend to force a Security Council vote on the long-awaited second resolution before 14 March, the date set by France for new talks on Iraqi compliance with its disarmament obligations. A senior Downing Street source said Tony Blair and President George Bush had discussed the details of "the when and the how" of a second resolution in a 30-minute telephone conversation on Wednesday night. "France has come up with the 14 March date. That may be a bit too far away," the source said. Colin Powell, the American Secretary of State, told Newsnight: "I would expect in the very near future we will be putting down a resolution, more likely next week." But he said he did not think there would be an explicit reference to the use of force in the resolution or a deadline for compliance by Saddam Hussein. The draft is expected to be tabled before Hans Blix, the UN chief weapons inspector, presents his latest report to the Council next Friday. If the 15-member Council approves a new mandate concluding that President Saddam is in "material breach" of demands to disarm, military strikes could be launched in the first week of March. A more likely date would be later in the month. President Bush underlined his determination to confront the Iraqi President with a speech in which he declared that the liberation of Iraq would deliver "the Almighty's gift of freedom" to the world. Comment: If balsphemy exists then Bush's comment above has got to be it. The man is a psychopath, and by the sounds of it is well versed in the tactics employed by Hitler as outlined in his book "Mein Kampf":

"The size of the lie is a definite factor in causing it to be believed, because the vast masses of a nation are in the depths of their hearts more easily deceived than they are consciously and intentionally bad. The primitive simplicity of their minds renders them more easy victims of a big lie than a small one, because they themselves often tell little lies but would be ashamed to tell big ones.

Such a form of lying would never enter their heads. They would never credit others with the possibility of such great impudence as the complete reversal of facts. Even explanations would long leave them in doubt and hesitation, and any trifling reason would dispose them to accept a thing as true.

Something therefore always remains and sticks from the most imprudent of lies, a fact which all bodies and individuals concerned in the art of lying in this world know only too well, and therefore they stop at nothing to achieve this end." ~ Adolph Hitler Mein Kampf

R.I. Nightclub Fire Kills at Least 95 The death toll rose as firefighters searched through the charred shell of the single-story wood building. Gov. Don Carcieri said the number of dead had reached 95 by late Friday afternoon. "This building went up fast — nobody had a chance," said Carcieri, who rushed back to the state from a Florida vacation. It was the deadliest U.S. nightclub fire since 164 people were killed at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky., in 1977. It also came less than a week after 21 people were killed in a stampede at a Chicago nightspot. The '80s hard rock band Great White had just started playing Thursday night when giant pyrotechnic sparklers on stage began shooting up and ignited the ceiling above them and soundproofing near the stage. Some in the crowd said they thought it was part of the act, but the fire quickly spread through the low-ceilinged building, filling it with thick, black smoke. The entire club was engulfed in flames within three minutes, Fire Chief Charles Hall said. Capacity at The Station Concert Club was 300, but Hall said fewer people than that were inside the building. Robin Petrarca, 44, was standing within a few feet of a door, but said she couldn't see the exit because of the billowing smoke. In the rush to escape, she fell and was trampled, but made it out. "There was nothing they could do, it went up so fast," she said. Hall said the club recently passed a fire inspection, but didn't have a city permit for pyrotechnics. The building, which is at least 60 years old, was not required to have a sprinkler system because of its small size. State officials said they had started an investigation and state police had spoken to band members.

The pyrotechnics were used without permission from the club, said Kathleen Hagerty, a lawyer representing club owners Michael and Jeffrey Derderian. "No permission was ever requested by the band or its agents to use pyrotechnics at The Station, and no permission was ever given," she said. The band's singer, Jack Russell, said the manager checked with the club before the show and the use of pyrotechnics was approved. And Paul Woolnough, president of Great White's management company, said tour manager Dan Biechele "always checks" with club officials before pyrotechnics are used. "I'm not going to reply to those allegations, but I do know that the club would have been informed, as they always are," Woolnough said. Biechele could not immediately be located for comment. The owner of a well-known New Jersey nightclub said Great White failed to tell him they were using pyrotechnics for a concert there a week ago. "Our stage manager didn't even know it until it was done," said Domenic Santana, owner of the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. "My sound man freaked out because of the heat and everything, and they jeopardized the health and the safety of our patrons." Most of the bodies were found near The Station's front exit, some of them burned and others dead from smoke inhalation. Hall also said some appeared to have been trampled in the rush to escape.

"They tried to go out the same way they came in. That was the problem," Hall said. "They didn't use the other three fire exits." Many of the injured were taken to Rhode Island Hospital. The governor said at least 25 people were in critical condition at state hospitals with severe burns and suffering from smoke inhalation. The ages of the victims ranged from the teens to the late 30s. "As much as we can prepare for anything like this the stark reality is hard to imagine," said Dr. Joseph Amaral, a surgeon and president of Rhode Island Hospital. "One of the most remarkable things for me is the degree of inhalation injuries that everyone sustained." The blaze broke out at about 11 p.m. during the first song at the concert in West Warwick, about 15 miles southwest of Providence. "All of a sudden I felt a lot of heat," said Russell, the band's singer. "I see the foam's on fire. ... The next thing you know the whole place is in flames." He said he started dousing the fire with a water bottle but couldn't put it out, then all the lights went out. "I just couldn't believe how fast it went up," he said. Russell said one of his band members, guitarist Ty Longley, was among the missing. Firefighters worked through the morning Friday to pull charred bodies from the building as onlookers watched, worried about missing friends."They were completely burned. They had pieces of flesh falling off them," said Michelle Craine, who was waiting to hear about a friend who was missing. "It was the worst thing I've ever seen." It was the second tragedy at a U.S. club in four days. Early Monday, 21 people were killed and more than 50 were injured in the Chicago melee, which began after a security guard used pepper spray to break up a fight.Comment: These tragedies could just be coincidences, but thinking about the comment by the Cs that:"Disasters involve cycles in the human experiential cycle which corresponds to the passage of comet cluster" and tying it in with the fact that comet C/2002 V1 was last here approx 35,000 years ago which just happened to coincide with the beginning of the last major Ice age over Europe and the further comments from he Cs that: "One change to occur in 21st Century is sudden glacial rebound, over Eurasia first, then North America. Ice ages develop much, much, much faster than thought", and the link between changes in weather patterns being linked to a possible pole shift, we can begin to read between the lines and "see the signs" that we seem to be at the threshold of a VERY significant time in our evolution.

Inspectors call US tips "Garbage" While diplomatic maneuvering continues over Turkish bases and a new United Nations resolution, inside Iraq, U.N. arms inspectors are privately complaining about the quality of U.S. intelligence and accusing the United States of sending them on wild-goose chases. CBS News Correspondent Mark Phillips reports the U.N. has been taking a precise inventory of Iraq's al-Samoud 2 missile arsenal, determining how many there are and where they are. Discovering that the al-Samoud 2 has been flying too far in tests has been one of the inspectors' major successes. But the missile has only been exceeding its 93-mile limit by about 15 miles and that, the Iraqis say, is because it isn't yet loaded down with its guidance system. The al-Samoud 2 is not the 800-mile-plus range missile that Secretary of State Colin Powell insists Iraq is developing. In fact, the U.S. claim that Iraq is developing missiles that could hit its neighbors -- or U.S. troops in the region, or even Israel -- is just one of the claims coming from Washington that inspectors here are finding increasingly unbelievable. The inspectors have become so frustrated trying to chase down unspecific or ambiguous U.S. leads that they've begun to express that anger privately in no uncertain terms.

U.N. sources have told CBS News that American tips have lead to one dead end after another. Example: satellite photographs purporting to show new research buildings at Iraqi nuclear sites. When the U.N. went into the new buildings they found "nothing." Example: Saddam's presidential palaces, where the inspectors went with specific coordinates supplied by the U.S. on where to look for incriminating evidence. Again, they found "nothing." Example: Interviews with scientists about the aluminum tubes the U.S. says Iraq has imported for enriching uranium, but which the Iraqis say are for making rockets. Given the size and specification of the tubes, the U.N. calls the "Iraqi alibi air tight." The inspectors do acknowledge, however, that they would not be here at all if not for the threat of U.S. military action. So frustrated have the inspectors become that one source has referred to the U.S. intelligence they've been getting as "garbage after garbage after garbage." In fact, Phillips says the source used another cruder word. The inspectors find themselves caught between the Iraqis, who are masters at the weapons-hiding shell game, and the United States, whose intelligence they've found to be circumstantial, outdated or just plain wrong. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Britain are planning to present a new resolution to the U.N. Security Council on Monday in a bid for support to use force to disarm Iraq. Finishing touches were being put on the resolution on Thursday. Adoption is by no means assured. A majority of the 15 council members are opposed to war at least until U.N. weapons inspectors report in mid-March.

Secretary Powell said a headcount was "academic" because the resolution demanding Iraqi disarmament had not been put forward. Powell, who flies to Japan on Friday for the start of a five-day Asia trip, juggled resolution diplomacy with stressful negotiations with Turkey, a potential key ally in any war. Turkey is balking at U.S. terms for an economic aid package. Powell, who interceded on Wednesday with Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, said he had told the Turkish leader "our position was firm with respect to the kind of assistance we could provide." However, Powell said, "there may be some other creative things we can do." As for the expected U.N. resolution, the Bush administration sees little value in extending inspections and much to worry about in Iraq's connection to al Qaeda and other terror groups. One U.S. official said the projected day for presenting the resolution was Monday but that it could slip a day or two. Powell said, "We won't put a resolution down unless we intend to fight for the resolution, unless we believe we can make the case that it is appropriate." In Baghdad, meanwhile, Iraq allowed another flight by an American U-2 surveillance plane Thursday as President Saddam Hussein's government sought to convince the world that it is cooperating with the weapons inspectors.

In New York, a U.N. spokesman said Iraq also had submitted a list of people involved in the destruction of banned weapons -- a key demand by chief weapons inspector Hans Blix. It was the second flight this week by a U-2 in support of the U.N. inspection program. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said the plane spent six hours and 20 minutes over Iraq's territory, searching for evidence of banned weapons. In regard to the possible basing of U.S. troops in Turkey, Gul said in Ankara that a statement would be made on Friday. He did not elaborate. Powell did not elaborate on the refinements under consideration, but another U.S. official said one approach might be to seek a $1 billion congressional appropriation that would then permit Turkey to obtain loans at preferential U.S.-government rates for many times that amount. Ships carrying equipment for a U.S. infantry division are already at sea. The United States wants to base tens of thousands of soldiers in Turkey to open a possible northern front against Iraq. The dispute with Turkey is one of many problems the Bush administration has as it tries to line up support for an attack on Iraq if Saddam doesn't disarm quickly. Implying the United States might deploy troops elsewhere if terms could not be reached with Turkey, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said "we have to deal with realities, and we will."

Meanwhile, President Bush sought to keep the pressure on the Security Council, telling a suburban Atlanta audience, "Denial and endless delay in the face of growing danger is not an option." The president has said the council risks irrelevance if it does not face up to Iraq's defiance of more than 10 years of disarmament resolutions. Mr. Bush also has said if the council does not approve a second resolution he is prepared to go to war with a "coalition of the willing" -- nations like Britain that agree with him that Iraq's arsenals of biological and chemical weapons pose a threat. Mr. Bush planned to host Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, an ally, at his Texas ranch Friday and Saturday. Another potential ally, Prime Minister Simeon Saxcoburggotski of Bulgaria, is due next Tuesday at the White House. Comment: When is someone going to challenge Bush and Blair on a very fundamental point i.e. that there is NO EVIDENCE to support their accusations against Saddam!! The whole world is being told by the inspectors "Saddam is co-operating" "there is no evidence of WMD", yet Bush Blair and Co continue to state " Saddam must disarm or else" "Saddam cannot continue to threaten the world" Has the whole world gone stark raving mad?! Can no one call a spade a spade anymore? Can no one stand up and say "hang on a minute, what the hell page are you on?!?" Just in case some of you were wondering, in the above article, the "cruder word" that the inspector used to describe US intelligence about the whereabouts of Saddam's "weapons" was "BULLSHIT!"

Comet Side-Effects May Hit Earth Soon COMET BOARD ZAPPED AFTER NASA CAUGHT FAKING IMAGES. 7 Photos Missing in NASA Web Imagery. Massive Solar Flare During Flyby. Comet now on Earth Trajectory? Solar Wind Data Confirm Event ! Ridge Issues Ominous "Get Food" Warning. Comet Discussion Board Zapped After Members caught NASA faking images

MASSIVE SOLAR ERUPTIONS have accompanied the close solar flyby of the comet NEAT Tuesday. One coronal mass ejection plume at 05:00 hours 18 Feb. --Tuesday morning, extended at least 5 million miles from the surface of the sun toward the comet, Other coronal discharges were observed extending in excess of 12 million miles.

In the early hours of Thursday morning around 6:30am the Godlikeproductions.com comet discussion board (linked to the absent Kent Steadmans' CyberspaceOrbit website) inexplicably went offline about
thirty minutes after participants discovered that NASA had been faking webimages of the comet's passage past the sun on the morning of the 18th February.

NASA FAKE A webimage posted by NASA [our copy] from a sequence of 7 missing hourly photos of the comet near the sun, had a telltale partial white comet image below the observed comet location. [ snapshot ] The photo thus shows two positions for the comet. This partial matched the exact position of the comet in later NASA images in the sequence posted from the SOHO satellite. A poster to the comet board placed a link to an animated composite [our copy] showing that NASA's earlier and later images were duplicates and suggesting that a photo editing error had caused the revelaing glitch. Both the discussion board and Godlikeproductions.com website went offline around thrity minutes later. Solar Wind Data from the Space Environment Center now confirm striking changes in speed, temperature and density of the solar wind around the time there was an interruption in the posted web images from the SOHO satellite. Similar changes in magnetic field data and low energy protons have been recorded.

BAD WEATHER EXCUSE - IN ADVANCE A total of 7 hours of data from early Tuesday had been missing from the hourly photographs released by the SOHO project monitoring the comet's passage. Live web imaging experienced interruptions of data by NASA --which in advance was already implausibly citing "weather problems" in the Wash. DC area as the reason. Also, the Goddard space facility displayed a Code RED -- stated to be as a result of weather problems, and which instructed non-emergency staff not to attend Tuesday 18th through Wednesday 19th February.

However the Rt 295, freeway which goes by the NSA and Goddard facilities was clear Wednesday. Indeed, locals informed GuluFuture.com that the freeway is invariably kept open because of the importance of the facilities it serves. In any event, it was 50F in the area Wednesday 19th, and snow had stopped. Also a US military website following the comet's flyby did not provide new images from 11:30pm EST Tuesday until late Wednesday afternoon. The images normally update several times an hour. At one point the website showed pictures from FEB 12th, 2003 in their 5 minute live update.

THE IMPLICATIONS. Given all this, the current image data has highly dubious credibility. The severity of the solar reactions could have torn the comet apart and even without this, the coronal mass ejection could cause significant weather, geomagnetic, and seismic effects on Earth.

One side-effect of the interaction with the sun may be that the orbit of the comet has been flattened. Orbit calculations had indicated it would be directly overhead [image] around Nov. 28, 2003, but if alternative theories about comet composition are correct, then the close flyby could have altered the trajectory disastrously. [ Try 3D orbit calcualtor ] Even if the comet were to miss (likely) then the possible debris field from the close approach to the sun could still pose serious dangers. But electromagnetic and solar wind effects could be felt much earlier. On Wednesday, an ominous statement by Homeland security chief Tom Ridge, recommended American citizens to have "3-days supply of food and water as well as flashlights" in preparation for an "attack."

The Homeland Security site advises:

The new campaign seeks to reduce fears and provide information by providing individuals specific actions they can take to protect themselves, their families and their communities in the wake of an attack, or another emergency situation. Emergency Supply Kit: Start with three days worth of nonperishable food and water. Remember, even if your community is not directly affected by an attack, your life and daily routine may be disrupted. You may need to shelter at home for a couple of days. Roads and stores may be closed - electricity may be turned off - your water supply might be interrupted.

Slightly excessive for a terror attack perhaps?

BEST KEPT SECRET Incredibly, there has been little media advance reporting of this most spectacular comet passage since Hale-Bopp and virtually no reporting of these current solar responses or the gaps in web imaging. However one of the most intriguing aspects of all this, is that only four days ago, Dr. Geoffrey Sommer, of the Rand Corporation in Santa Monica, California said that secrecy might be the best option if scientists were ever to discover that a giant asteroid was on course to collide with Earth.

"Overreaction not just by the public but by policy-makers scurrying around before the thing actually hits because we can't do anything about it anyway ... to a large extent you are better off not adding to your social costs," said Dr Sommer, who is also an adviser on terrorism. That's right, Dr. Sommer works for the Rand Corporation and is also an adviser on terrorism.

BIZARRE NASA MESSAGE RE LIVE WEB IMAGING: "NOTE: The Washington DC metropolitan area is under a snow emergency. If the LASCO team has technical problems with the software that reformats telemetry into images for the web they may not be able to fix it until the emergency is lifted."

SUN DIAMETER EQUALS 870,000 MILES
NEAT DIAMETER EQUALS 348,000 MILES
LENGTH NEAT TAIL EQUALS 5,220,000 MILES
JUPITER DIAMETER EQUALS 88,782 MILES
TO SAY THIS BABY IS BIG IS A LITTLE BIT OF ANUNDERSTATEMENT AS IS ITS TOTAL INVISIBILITY.

Spectacular Comet Hit by Solar Flare? Spectacular images of the recently found NEAT comet show the cosmic voyager more than twice the size of planet Jupiter may have been struck by a massive solar eruption. Images from the SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) satellite, which sits partway between Earth and the Sun and is designed primarily to monitor space weather, have on Tuesday morning shown a massive solar plume extending over a 5 million miles above the sun -seemingly towards the comet. But though the photography is time-lapsed, there are 7 hourly photographs missing from the data released by the SOHO project -meaning it is impossible to determine if the plume later extended to strike the comet.

A coronal mass ejection (CME), already appears to have hit the comet Monday, according to SOHO deputy project director Paul Brekke. The SOHO imaging shows sunlight reflecting off gas and dust from the comet's nucleus and hydrogen solar wind from the sun. The comet has been in LASCO's imaging domain since Sunday. It will begin to move out of the field of view around 5 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 20.KASSANDRA'S COMMENT:
"In Twin Cities tonight, about 6:00 p.m., I saw our comet! To say it is big is putting it midly. To the west and north a bit, you couldn´t miss it low on the horizon. But was anybody but me looking at it in the grocery store parking lot? Nope, nada. Fucking phenomenal. I saw the comet that last passed us 37,000 years ago. To keep this a secret is a CRIME of unprecedented proportions." 2/20/2003 12:56 am EST

"A WEBSURFER'S COMMENT:
"Two days ago a press release comes out of NASA saying they would keep it a secret if an earth-threatening object came along. Now this NEAT comet is swapping spit with the sun and not a word in the media? Kids, there´s no coincidences. I never bought into any of that Zeta Talk crap, but this baby has my attention."

NEW ZEALAND WEBSURFER NZDOOODE COMMENT:"Yeah, I contacted my National newsroom on the 18th and they told me that I was the first to tell them about it *shocked* is the mainstream media asleep or are they liars!??! I saw this 2002V1 comet with my naked eyes on sunset the other night, the sun was obscured by some loud, it was the most amazing sight I have ever seen before, in the sky. A major astronomical event like this, to keep the truth from the public is pure EVIL!! I looked in the sun's direction today and was dazzled by an unusual "very white" saturated light - significantly brighter than usual!! We are getting very red skies at sunrise and at sunset, it's summer here and we just got a forecast for unusual thunder/snow/hail tomorrow.

February 24, 1996
(PZ) I understand that they are building the largest telescope ever on top of a mountain in Peru. Is this telescope going to have the ability to forewarn about the wave?
A: There is the ability to forewarn of the comet cluster, but not the wave, as it is not visible. Question is whether or not warnings will be given due to clandestine and political factors.
(L) Is this comet cluster that's coming, and you've indicated that it could arrive anywhere between 18 years, something like that, is that correct?
A: Maybe.
Q: (L) Now, is this something that can be seen from a great way off?
A: No.
Q: (L) Is this something that's going to impact our particular immediate location, and appear suddenly, as this comet that has flown overhead just did? Nobody saw it until a very short time ago, and all of a sudden everybody sees it?
A: The cluster is a symptom, not the focus.
Q: (V) What is the focus?
A: Wave, remember, is "realm border" crossing... what does this imply? Consult your knowledge base for Latin roots and proceed.
Q: (L) So, the Latin root of realm is regimen, which means a domain or ruler ship or a system for the improvement of health. Does this mean that, and as I assume we are now moving into the STO realm, now, out of the STS realm?
A: Partly.
Q: (L) And also, can I infer from this, that the comet cluster exists in the other realm?
A: Partly.
Q: (L)Well, previously, you had said that the comet cluster would
come before the realm border. Which indicated that the comet...
A: Yes.
Q: (L) Well, how can something so... you said it appears to be one
single large body, and that our government knows that it's on its
way, and that apparently somebody has spotted it. Which direction is it coming from?
A: Direction?
Q: (L) Well, the comet cluster. That comet cluster, is, I am assuming, a real body, in third density experience, right? A part of a real cluster of bodies in third density experience. Is that correct?
A: Cluster can approach from all directions.
Q: (L) So, can I infer from what has been said, that we are going to move into this comet cluster, as into a realm?
A: Border changes rules.

July 4, 1998: First there was the story of the sun's companion brown star which is apparently approaching the solar system, and I would like to know, if possible, details of its orbit; that is, how far it is, what is its speed, and when it will be first seen. Can we know it? Orbit: how close will it come?
A: Flat elliptical.
Q: (A) But how close will it come?
A: Distance depends upon other factors, such as intersecting orbit of
locator of witness.
Q: (L) What is the closest it could come to earth... (A) Solar system... (L) Yes, but which part of the solar system? We have nine planets...which one? (A) I understand that this brown star will enter the Oort cloud... (L) I think they said it just brushes against it and the gravity disturbs it...
A: Passes through Oort cloud on orbital journey. Already has done this on its way "in."
Q: (A) You mean it has already entered the Oort cloud?
A: Has passed through.
Q: (A) So, it will not approach...
A: Oort cloud is located on outer perimeter orbital plane at distance
of approximately averaged distance of 510,000,000,000 miles.
Q: (L) Well, 510 billion miles gives us some time! (A) Yes, but what I want to know...this Oort cloud is around the solar system, so this
brown star, once it has passed through... (L) It must already be in the solar system? (A) No, it could have passed through and may not come closer. Is it coming closer or not? Is it coming closer all the time?
A: Solar system, in concert with "mother star," is revolving around
companion star, a "brown" star.
Q: (A) So, that means that the mass of the companion star is much...
A: Less.
Q: (A) Less?
A: They are moving in tandem with one another along a flat, elliptical orbital plane. Outer reaches of solar system are breached by passage of brown companion, thus explaining anomalies recently discovered regarding outer planets and their moons.
Q: (A) But I understand that the distance between the sun and this brown star is changing with time. Elliptical orbit means there is perihelion and aphelion. I want to know what will be, or what was, or what is the closest distance between this brown star and the sun? What is perihelion? Can we know this, even approximately. Is it about one light year, or less or more?
A: Less, much less. Distance of closest passage roughly corresponds to the distance of the orbit of Pluto from Sun.

Q: (A) Okay. Now, this closest pass, is this something that is going to happen?
A: Yes.
Q: (A) And it is going to happen within the next 6 to 18 years?
A: 0 to 14
Q: (A) Okay, that's it. I have some idea about this. Now, I understand that, either by chance or by accident, two things are going to happen at essentially the same time. That is the passing of this brown star, and this comet cluster. These are two different things?
A: Yes. Different, but related.
Q: (L) Is there a comet cluster that was knocked into some kind of orbit of its own, that continues to orbit...
A: Yes.
Q: (L) And in addition to that comet cluster, there are also additional comets that are going to get whacked into the solar system by the passing of this brown star?
A: Yes.
Q: (A) I understand that the main disaster is going to come from this comet cluster...
A: Disasters involve cycles in the human experiential cycle which corresponds to the passage of comet cluster.
Q: (A) I understand that this comet cluster is cyclic and comes every 3600 years. I want to know something about the shape of this comet
cluster. I can hardly imagine...
A: Shape is variable. Effect depends on closeness of passage.
Q: (L) So, it could be spread out... (A) We were asking at some point where it will be coming from. The answer was that we were supposed to look at a spirograph.
A: Yes.
Q: (A) Now, spirograph suggests that these comets will not come from one direction, but from many directions at once. Is this correct?
A: Very good!!!
Q: (A) Okay, they will come from many directions...
A: But, initial visibility presents as single, solid body.
Q: (A) Do we know what is the distance to this body at present?
A: Suggest you keep your eyes open!
Q: (A) I am keeping my eyes open.
A: Did you catch the significance of the answer regarding time table of cluster and brown star? Human cycle mirrors cycle of catastrophe. Earth benefits in form of periodic cleansing. Time to start paying attention to the signs. They are escalating. They can even be "felt" by you and others, if you pay attention.
Q: (L) We have certainly been paying attention to the signs!
A: How so?
Q: (L) Well, the weather is completely bizarre. The fires, the heat...
A: All areas experience accelerating "freak weather patterns."
Q: (L) Okay, all of these freaky weather patterns and bizarre things going on the planet, how does it relate to the comet cluster and the brown star? Is it related?
A: Human experiential cycle intersects

July 11 1998
Q: (A) Where is the periodic comet cluster?
A: Not visible. It approaches in "scatter pattern," indicating that one or two of the members may have already made the circuit.
Q: (A) We have been told that it will look like one solid object at first.
A: Yes, but not necessarily only one grouping. Will show up first in the region of the Magellanic Clouds.

PAF chief, 16 others die in plane crash * Chief marshals wife, top PAF officers among dead * Committee to investigate cause of crash
* Qaisar Hussain appointed acting chief. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir died with 16 other passengers on board a PAF Fokker aircraft (Air Force-1) as it crashed five minutes before it was due to land at Kohat airbase on Thursday morning.
The wife of ACM Mir, Bilqees, was also killed in the crash. Two senior PAF officers, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Abdul Razaq and AVM Saleem A Nawaz, were also on board Air Force-1, besides Air Commodore Syed Javed Sabir, Air Commodore Rizwanullah Khan, Group Captain Aftab Cheema, Wing Commander Syed Tabassam Abbas and Technician Amad. The chief of air staff took off from Islamabad for an annual inspection of Kohat airbase. It was a routine visit and planned 15 days ago, a spokesman for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Air Commodore Sarfraz Ahmed, told journalists at a briefing at Chaklala airbase. The names of the crew members who also died in the crash are: Squadron Leader Ahmed Yusuf, Squadron Leader Abdul Rab, Squadron Leader Mumtaz Kiyani, Senior Technician Khan Muhammad, Senior Technician Ashraf, Senior Technician Ghazanfar, Technician Fayyaz and Technician Khish Qadam Shah. ACM Mir, 55, was commissioned by the PAF in 1967 and was appointed chief of air staff in November 2000. The funerals of all those who died in the crash will be held at Chaklala airbase at 10am today (Friday). President informed in GHQ: President General Musharraf was informed of the crash while he was addressing army officers at the GHQ in Rawalpindi. Jamali cancels visit: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali cancelled his visit to Sindh and returned to Islamabad immediately after the incident.The PAF spokesman said there was no apparent technical problem as the aircraft was checked and declared flight worthy and the weather was also fit for flying.

However, AFP reported that local residents said the weather was foggy. There was thick fog and bad weather in the morning, Ghulam Nabi Bangash, who witnessed the crash, told the news agency. I heard the roaring of the plane and all of a sudden the plane crashed with a big bang. Commodore Ahmed did not categorically rule out the possibility of sabotage, saying nothing could be said before an inquiry was completed. A high-level inquiry board has been constituted to investigate the cause of the accident. The board will submit its report to the government. Air Vice Marshal Khalid Chaudhry is to head the committee. The BBC reported that the plane had crashed into a mountain, but the PAF spokesman said to say anything at this point in time would be speculation. He said Air Marshal Qaisar Hussain had been appointed as acting chief of air staff and the PAF was functioning as normal. Commodore Ahmed said the aircraft, which belonged to the PAF's VIP squadron, took off at 8am and had last contact with Kohat Air Traffic Control (ATC) at 8.27am, to request descent from cruise altitude. He said after this call the aircraft lost contact and crashed. He said the wreckage of the aircraft was found 17 nautical miles east of Kohat in hilly terrain. He said the air chief always travelled in this aircraft. There are no survivors. The bodies have been recovered and identified he said, adding that there was no panic or complaint call from the aircraft. He said accidents were part of aviation and the PAF's record was far better than many other forces in the world. He said 11 PAF aircraft had crashed last year, while this was the second crash of the current year. The board of inquiry will examine all aspects of the accident. QFS member comments: This looks very suspicious. First the Iranian crash, now the Chief Marshall of Pakistan's Air Force, his wife and a number of high-ranking officials are killed in an aircraft accident. It could, I suppose, be coincidence.... However, remembering what I read in the investigation of 9-11 connections between a General Mohmoud Ahmed and the Bush gang, causes the wheels of scepticism to turn. Looks like the PTB are assassinating anyone who could stand in their way or may have an inkling of the Truth related to the real reason for this war.

NATO Sends Extra AWACs To Help Guard Skies Of America. Following a request by the United States, NATO's North Atlantic Council today approved the deployment of two E3 Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft to join five other AWACs aircraft of this type already operating in support of U.S. homeland security. NATO AWACs aircraft have been conducting operations over the US since 9 October 2001. They are based at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. This deployment is one of the most visible examples of NATO's reaction to the terrorist threat faced by all Allies. It has enabled the US to use its own AWACs aircraft for operations elsewhere. The commitment of two further AWACs aircraft to join NATO's first operational deployment in the US demonstrates the Alliance's determination to play a full part in the campaign against terrorism. NATO will nonetheless continue to meet its operational responsibilities elsewhere, especially in the Balkans, in part because of the willingness of France and the United Kingdom to employ their national AWACs aircraft in this role. Comment: In an effort to counteract the obvious bias and disinformation being spread by the media on behalf of the government, I suggest that in the above article and from now on, whenever you read the words "campaign against terror" or "war against terror" or "war on terror" just mentally substitute the words "the grand deception". You will begin to get a much more accurate representation of what is actually going on and who the main players are. On the same point, the below quote is worth reading again: "Today Americans would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order; tomorrow they will be grateful. This is especially true if they were told there was an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead with world leaders to deliver them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well being granted to them by their world government." -- Henry Kissinger speaking at Evian, France, May 21, 1992 Bilderburg meeting. Unbeknownst to Kissinger, his speech was taped by a Swiss delegate to the meeting.

February 20, 2003 Today's edition of Brought to You by The Bush Junta, Produced and Directed by the CIA, based on an original script by Henry Kissinger, with a cast of billions.... The "Greatest Shew on Earth," no doubt, and if you don't have a good sense of humor, don't read this page! It is designed to reveal the "unseen." If you can't stand the heat of Objective Reality, get out of the kitchen!

Prime Minister Tony Blair is under investigation leading to possible charges for criminal bribery with George W. Bush(43) as a co-conspirator. Cloak and Dagger has been contacted by reliable bank investigators who have uncovered evidence that British PM Blair was involved in criminal bribery. Blair is now under investigation for accepting large bribes from the Bush oil interests. The evidence consists of bank transfers from George Bush financial interests to PM Blair's personal accounts via the United Arab Emirates where the investigations into criminal bribery against Blair began. The bribery purpose is so that the United Kingdom's PM would be sure to go along with Bush's plan to forcibly seize the Iraqi oil fields while also unseating strongman Saddam Hussein. Part of the bribery plan was to use the Oil fields for collateral to support an out of control US deficit.It is no surprise that the U.S. treasury is alarmed by the declining proceeds of tax receipts. The White House is pushing for massive tax cuts for wealthy Americans at the time of a growing deficit.In recent months the Cloak and Dagger program has exclusively presented on air, details from the moderator and producer Sherman Skolnick, of a Chicago Public Access Cable TV program.Cloak and Dagger has spoken directly with the Investigators who presented the evidence to senior French diplomatic officials today. Bank investigators have shown senior French diplomats documents that corroborate the following.

1-That the scheme to grab Iraqi oil fields was in the works over a year and a half ago when several billion dollars was transferred to bank accounts set up for the private benefit of Blair.
2-Another document shows that Blair and his wife privately profited for arranging for North Korea to have nuclear capability. Skolnick also has stated on his TV show including broadcasting documents showing Hilary Clinton, now U.S. Senator Democrat New York, likewise privately profited from the treasonous North Korean deal.
3-The officials said that this will put Blair to the wall and remove his furniture from 10 Downing Street.

Rumsfeld: Human shields' use is war crime -- With around 30 Western volunteer "human shields" now in Baghdad and more on their way, Pentagon officials Wednesday warned that any Iraqi military personnel who put those civilians at risk would be violating international law and could face war crimes charges. Comment: yeah tell Israel about it Rummy, you two-faced hypocritcal psychopath.

'Sept 11 attack was Jewish conspiracy' Radical Muslim Abu Hamza has astonishingly claimed that a Jewish conspiracy destroyed the Twin Towers. The Egyptian-born preacher made the bizarre claim in the wake of the conviction of a student in Germany for acting as the 11 September attackers' banker. Hamza claimed Moroccan student Mounir al-Motassadek, jailed for the maximum 15 years for being an accessory to 3,000 murders, had been framed by German police trying to meet performance targets. The outburst came at a public appearance in Bethnal Green last night by Hamza, who has been barred from preaching at Finsbury Park mosque. Hamza also claimed that the US was prepared to "invade Turkey" as part of its alleged attempt to seize control of the Middle East's oil, and accused "Zionists" and American fundamentalist Christians of worshipping the Antichrist. He told how he he believed the World Trade Center was not brought down by planes hijacked by al Qaeda but by Jewish extremists packing the buildings with explosives. "We are sure it was a Zionist plot," he said. "From the way the building collapsed you could see the building has been demolished from the inside because there is no way the whole building would just collapse like that." And the hook-handed cleric, who is being investigated over allegations of housing benefit fraud, accused Jews and Christians of a wider conspiracy to bring an end to Islam.

Russia Says Inspectors Are Being Pressed In an indirect attack on the United States and Britain, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Thursday that U.N. weapons inspectors were being pressured to provide a pretext for war on Iraq. Ivanov did not say who was applying the pressure, which he said aimed "to provoke them (inspectors) to discontinue their operations in Iraq ... or to pressure them into coming up with assessments that would justify the use of force." It was clear, however, he was referring to Washington and ally Britain. Both have said Iraq has had sufficient time to comply with U.N. resolutions on disarming voluntarily and oppose a long extension of the U.N. inspections regime. Ivanov called on the international community "to help rather than put pressure" on the inspectors. "The faster we receive concrete results from the international inspectors' activities, the greater the chances of a political settlement of the situation," Ivanov told reporters. Russia, which holds a veto on the Security Council, has consistently called for the Iraq crisis to be solved through diplomacy and has pushed for the extension of U.N. weapons inspectors' work, a position at odds with Washington's attempts to rally support for a military strike. Ivanov urged Baghdad to "show maximum openness" with the inspectors, who began work in November after the council passed resolution 1441. Russia has been playing both sides of the Iraq issue recently, on the one hand urging Washington to tone down rhetoric and at the same time demanding Baghdad cooperate with inspectors. Recent inroads at the United Nations by countries calling for a peaceful solution and peace rallies around the world seem to have emboldened Russia to more harshly criticize the United States and Britain. The Russian Foreign Ministry praised this week's debates on Iraq in the United Nations, saying in a statement that they confirmed "the broad support in the world for Russia's approaches aimed at continuing political efforts for a peaceful solution of the Iraq problem through the United Nations and the Security Council."

Washington and London are drawing up a new resolution to put forward soon to the Security Council that U.S. officials say will be tough and test the council's resolve on Iraq. It's not known, however, if the resolution will call for use of force to disarm Baghdad. Ivanov said it was premature to discuss Moscow's reaction to a possible new resolution, but he said Russia had not given up its right to a veto. "All permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have the right to veto, including Russia. But each has to show its responsibility in exercising this right," Ivanov said. In an interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera published Thursday, Ivanov said that "if a new resolution was meant to give "authorization to the use of force, then we believe it's harmful." But, he told the paper, "Russia's duty today is not to split the Security Council, but to keep its unity as much as possible." Russia does not rule out considering any new draft resolutions if they support the inspections and implementation of resolution 1441," he told reporters in Moscow. On Wednesday, a visiting U.S. congressman, Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., said he was confident that Russia would not stand in the way of U.S. military action against Iraq - in part because Moscow is keenly interested in recovering $7-8 billion in Soviet-era debt owed by Baghdad. In the Corriere della Sera interview, Ivanov warned that using force against Iraq could make other countries, like North Korea, feel threatened - ultimately pushing them to develop their own chemical and biological arsenals. "There could be a proliferation of insecurity," he said. "It's a very dangerous logic."

Simple Math for Dumb Americans. According to the opinions of many U.S. citizens, as of late, Americans are becoming less and less popular with the World community. President W. would have us all believe that the European population, once believed to be our cousins overseas, is becoming increasingly hostile toward Americans. Fact of the matter is, he couldn't be farther from the truth. The United Nations has been unabashedly fighting the Bush administration's toddler-like desire to invade Iraq all year. Even longtime U.S. supporter, Germany, has become increasingly vocal in its disagreement with Bush's Iraqi policy. Even perennial chicken-shits, the French, are standing up to W.'s increasingly repetitive calls for a "unilateral, U.N. attack." In a recent editorial for The Nation, columnist Eric Alterman reports that even though Spain's staunchly conservative government has been in support of Bush's plans for Iraqi invasion, the Spanish people have been protesting the allegiance.

Recently, 48 Hours, 20/20, MSNBC and CNN have all run programs investigating this growing perception that Europeans are progressively becoming more and more anti-American. Surprisingly, America's T.V. journalists were unable to find much commentary from the World community that could be labeled as anti-American. I don't remember exactly which Abercrombie & Fitch-clad reporter in the field, for which program, went to which country. I do remember that none of them--and these jokers went everywhere from Milan to Mogadishu--could find any strong anti-American sentiment, outside of the occasional Muslim extremists, of course. They did run into a lot of normal, average people (who just happen to live outside of America) who were not only more educated on Bush's foreign policy, but were not real pleased with it. They were not, however, anti-American.

According to the increasingly conservative crowd hanging out around Washington D.C. these days, if you do not agree with the president's foreign policy, you are anti-American--regardless of where you live. National news agencies perpetuate this myth by showing citizens of other countries protesting W.'s policies and labeling them as "anti-America(n) protests." Once again, they couldn't be farther from the truth. The saddest lesson to be learned, however, was not that the Bush administration is trying to paint anti-war sentiment as anti-American, but that most of the foreigners interviewed by any one of the news programs not only exhibited their superior knowledge of international politics, but they were far more informed on American politics than most Americans.

The fact that people who don't even live in this country are more up on American current events of import (this doesn't include any news run on the E! Channel) and that they are protesting against the policies of our government in greater number, and at a greater volume than our own citizens, is frightening--but not in the way Washington D.C., and your television, would have you believe. These facts are frightening because everyone on the planet seems to be more aware of the global consequences of Bush's international policies than Americans. What's even more terrifying is that W.'s spin-doctors are using this ignorance to garner support for his now-imminent invasion of Iraq.

In case you're wondering why Europeans are against an American invasion of Iraq, it's mainly due to W.'s many other foreign policy blunders. W. may see an invasion of Iraq as a mission of mercy for the world, but the world ain't having it. Many Europeans are understandably disgusted with W.'s refusal to sign any strategic or anti-ballistic missile treaty that involves America's disarming. Refusing to limit one's own nuclear arsenal while simultaneously demanding that another country disarm itself smacks of hypocrisy regardless of what God you pray to. Not surprisingly, W., in his narrow-minded self-righteousness, fails to see this comparison. I say, if being against war, and specifically W.'s oil-mongering war, makes me un-American, then "Vive la France!"

Israeli dailies urge America to launch war against Saddam With most estimates that an American attack on Iraq is now no more than weeks away, Israeli newspapers devote much of their news space to Israel’s preparations for the anticipated war in the Gulf. In an interview with the Tel Aviv daily Yediot Ahronot, Chief of Staff Moshe (Bougie) Yaalon says Israel has the capacity to strike back hard if attacked by Iraq, adding that he believes the American invasion will cause an “earthquake” in the Middle East. Maariv says the assessment is that the US will attack sooner rather than later, and that the Israel Air Force will be on red alert from next week. The paper also quotes Major-General Amos Gilead, the coordinator of government activities in the Palestinian territories, as saying “dormant terrorist cells” are awaiting orders from Baghdad. Yediot Ahronot reports that an attack was averted Thursday when two Islamic Jihad members were captured north of Nablus, and a Hamas man who was traveling with them was shot dead when he tried to escape. It adds that two other members of the cell were captured later in Nablus, and that the aim was a car or suicide bombing in the Sharon area. Maariv highlights Labor Party leader Amram Mitzna’s victory in the party bureau, which voted unanimously against joining Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s new government. In the columns, the main subject is Iraq. In Maariv’s Sabbath supplement, columnist Dan Margalit criticizes the opponents of American action in Iraq and warns that “if Saddam Hussein’s regime is allowed to survive, a terrible war may be averted, but the war that will inevitably come later will be much more terrible.” “Saddam’s removal has become a necessity,” Margalit asserts. “If America holds back now, he will be intoxicated with success and encouraged to launch aggression after aggression against his neighbors, and more extreme Islamic elements will compete with him in testing the patience of the West, which it perceives as rotten and hollow. “The Romans,” Margalit concludes, “said that ‘if you want peace, prepare for war.’ In the reality of 2003, this saying must be adapted to ‘if you want peace, go to war.’” Margalit’s colleague at Maariv, Ben Caspit, warns that “with Saddam’s execution orders signed and sealed by President George W. Bush and delivered by Secretary of State Colin Powell in his UN Security Council presentation, the Iraqi leader is like a wounded and trapped animal, his motivation to wreak damage at its highest ever level. The question we must all ask is whether he is still capable of causing damage. “Bush has to come back from Baghdad with Saddam’s scalp,” Caspit maintains. “Any other result would be perceived as a stunning and dangerous victory for world terrorism and a resounding American defeat. Bush doesn’t intend to make the same mistake as his father, and he intends to go all the way, regardless of the cost. The juggernaut is already underway and it won’t stop in Baghdad. Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, North Korea and Al-Qaeda are all in its sights. Saddam is first, because he is the most accessible, convenient and hated target.”

Caspit explains that “in his besieged headquarters in Ramallah, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat sits with bated breath, holding thumbs for Saddam. He realizes that his future is directly linked to Saddam’s fate. Iraq has been increasing the flow of funds to the Palestinians, trying to heat up the atmosphere. All this will come to an end on the day after the war. But, will there be a critical mass that will carry Arafat to his end as well? “Sharon would love to see Arafat join Saddam in oblivion, enabling him to declare a historical victory and to set in motion his version of a peace process.” In Yediot Ahronot, Palestinian affairs analyst Roni Shaked ascribes more complex motives to Arafat. “Despite his solidarity with Saddam, Arafat sees the war as an opportunity, and hopes to enjoy the fruits of a new order in the Middle East after the American operation. The big demonstrations organized by Hamas in Palestinian towns are an embarrassment, as is the Iraqi financial assistance for the families of the suicide bombers. Arafat’s people have been trying to calm things down, removing large portraits of Saddam from the streets of Palestinian towns. He wants Palestinian protests to look like those in America ­ sympathy for the Iraqi people, not its leader.” Surveying Palestinian expressions of solidarity with Saddam and the Iraqi people, Shaked notices that “unlike 1991, they aren’t calling for the bombardment of Tel Aviv, or preparing to dance on the rooftops as the Scuds fly over. This time they want to appear more prudent and responsible. The Palestinian leadership fears that supporting Iraq could undermine and weaken the prospects for the realization of their vision of a Palestinian state.” At the same time, Shaked observes, “the Palestinians are anxious over the possibility that with the world’s attention on Iraq, Israel will exploit the opportunity to hit out at them, to conquer Gaza, and even to carry out a mass expulsion to Jordan. On the margins, especially in intellectual circles, there are voices saying that the war on Iraq should be used as a pretext to end the intifada.”

In his interview with Alex Fishman in Yediot Ahronot, Chief of Staff Yaalon also sees a possible end to the intifada after the American invasion of Iraq. He says it will cause a “regional earthquake” and “create a new regional order ­ a new regional architecture. If successful, it will have a positive effect and strengthen all the pragmatic elements in the region. Remember, the last intifada ended in 1991, with the Gulf War.” In the interview, Yaalon also sees a connection between the American war on Iraq and the situation along Israel’s northern border, and says that after the war there will have to be changes there too. “Lebanon,” he complains, “has become a platform in the service of the Syrians and the Iranians, for creating tension in the north and for fueling Palestinian terror. The fact is, Lebanon is being exploited as a platform for exerting pressure on Israel.” “At the moment,” Yaalon writes, “the situation in the north is relatively stable. The Syrians are worried that if there is an escalation, the Syrian Army may be tested by the Israeli Army. That is a ball game the Syrians don’t want to get into. On the other hand, Hizbullah have to keep explaining why things are so quiet. Therefore, from time to time they launch an attack of one kind or another.” The bottom line for the chief of staff is that the situation, as it exists today, is intolerable and, he says, it will have to change, either by diplomacy or by military force. Writing from Washington, Maariv political analyst Chemi Shalev finds profound political significance in the fact that Israel’s dead astronaut Ilan Ramon has become an “all-American hero,” and says the outpouring of emotion in America after the astronaut’s death has raised Israeli-American ties to a new level, which could have an impact on the post-Saddam Middle East. “Just as on Sept. 11 (2001) the fanatical extremists, who rejoiced at the astronaut’s death, are suffering from conceptual blindness,” Shalev writes. “For although Israel suffered the loss of Ramon the individual, it has been greatly strengthened by its deep penetration into the heart of the American consensus. From now on, not only common interests and shared values, not only a strategic alliance, but a brotherhood of blood. “The emotional sway in America toward Israel includes numerous groups that up till now didn’t know much about or take any interest in the vagaries of the Middle East,” Shalev continues. “For a public which sees the world in terms of black and white, evil and good, Israel has been indisputably placed on the side of the seekers of freedom and good.” This, he argues, “is especially significant with regard to speculation on the day after the American war on Iraq. With public opinion so warm toward Israel on the eve of the opening of a new presidential election season, even a far less friendly president than Bush would think twice about hurting the apple of the American eye. “Chance, cruel fate and the malfunction of the spaceship Columbia’s heat protecting tiles have created such a fund of goodwill that only a particularly extreme and inept Israeli government would be able to lose it. Sharon also knows this. That’s why he is making such an effort to escape the Israeli voters’ verdict, which almost foisted a government like that on him.” Comment: This guy is 100% deluded.

Oil, Currency and the War on Iraq It will not come as news to anyone that the US dominates the world economically and militarily. But the exact mechanisms by which American hegemony has been established and maintained are perhaps less well understood than they might be. One tool used to great effect has been the dollar, but its efficacy has recently been under threat since Europe introduced the euro. The dollar is the de facto world reserve currency: the US currency accounts for approximately two thirds of all official exchange reserves. More than four-fifths of all foreign exchange transactions and half of all world exports are denominated in dollars. In addition, all IMF loans are denominated in dollars. But the more dollars there are circulating outside the US, or invested by foreign owners in American assets, the more the rest of the world has had to provide the US with goods and services in exchange for these dollars. The dollars cost the US next to nothing to produce, so the fact that the world uses the currency in this way means that the US is importing vast quantities of goods and services virtually for free. Since so many foreign-owned dollars are not spent on American goods and services, the US is able to run a huge trade deficit year after year without apparently any major economic consequences. The most recently published figures, for example, show that in November of last year US imports were worth 48% more than US exports. No other country can run such a large trade deficit with impunity. The financial media tell us the US is acting as the ‘consumer of last resort’ and the implication is that we should be thankful, but a more enlightening description of this state of affairs would be to say that it is getting a massive interest-free loan from the rest of the world. While the US’ position may seem inviolable, one should remember that the more you have, the more you have to lose. And recently there have been signs of how, for the first time in a long time, the US may be beginning to lose.

One of the stated economic objectives, and perhaps the primary objective, when setting up the euro was to turn it into a reserve currency to challenge the dollar so that Europe too could get something for nothing. This however would be a disaster for the US. Not only would they lose a large part of their annual subsidy of effectively free goods and services, but countries switching to euro reserves from dollar reserves would bring down the value of the US currency. Imports would start to cost Americans a lot more and as increasing numbers of those holding dollars began to spend them, the US would have to start paying its debts by supplying in goods and services to foreign countries, thus reducing American living standards. As countries and businesses converted their dollar assets into euro assets, the US property and stock market bubbles would, without doubt, burst. The Federal Reserve would no longer be able to print more money to reflate the bubble, as it is currently openly considering doing, because, without lots of eager foreigners prepared to mop them up, a serious inflation would result which, in turn, would make foreigners even more reluctant to hold the US currency and thus heighten the crisis. There is though one major obstacle to this happening: oil. Oil is not just by far the most important commodity traded internationally, it is the lifeblood of all modern industrialised eco