She was bad to the bone.

The Middle East Theodor Herzl is considered the father of Zionism. He felt that Jews across the world would always be susceptible to anti-Semitism as long as there was no Jewish state. Arab nationalism was a simple idea, which consisted of a search for a long lost Arab identity. For hundreds of years, the Arabs had been under the leadership of the Ottoman Empire. At the early part of the 20th century, there was a possibility for these two movements to co-exist. This is a story of that lost opportunity. In the beginning of the 20th century, about a half million Arabs lived in Palestine along with about 50,000 Jews. The budding discontent within the Ottoman Empire provided the new Zionist movement with its first real choice. Should they work with the Arabs against the Turks and join the upcoming revolt or should they try to acquire an international charter for a Jewish homeland? Unfortunately, the early Zionists sided with the Turks, but a small minority advocated working with the Arabs. The Arab leaders faced a dilemma of their own. Should they work with the new settlers or oppose them? This is not as unusual as it sounds today. The early deputies of Palestine spoke of the common Semitic heritage among the two people. But Jewish leaders felt that getting along with the Arabs was secondary to the establishing of a Jewish homeland. What they needed was the help of a European state to help them establish a charter. At first, Herzl went to the Sultan but the conversations went nowhere. Then, he approached Kaiser Wilhelm who considered the idea briefly but the Kaiser was rigid anti-Semite and eventually sided with the Turks. Finally, Herzl turned to the British, who liked the idea because it was a way to extend the British control and protect the Suez canal. Nothing happened until the outbreak of the first world war, which opened the doors of opportunity for the Jewish state. In November of 1917, the Zionists achieved their aim with the Balfour Declaration. There were many reasons for the British decision, including an effort to engage the United States in the war, the fear of Bolshevik revolution and those who saw this as a way to maintain a foothold in the Middle East. The leader of the Arabs was Emir Faisel. Faisel was fighting the Turks with the hopes of creating a great Arab kingdom and was aided in this by T.E. Lawrence, who was a British agent in Cairo. Lawrence was extremely anti-French and saw the Arab Nationalist movement as a way to cheat the French and extend British control over the area. Faisel, for his part, was sympatric with the aims of a Jewish state. He felt it should be part of his great kingdom. In a letter to Felix Frankfurter he stated: "We know the Arabs and Jews are racial relatives. We shall do everything we can, as far as it depends on us, to assist the Zionist proposals by the Peace Conference, and we shall welcome the Jews with all our hearts on their return home." This was no idle boost. Two months earlier Faisel and Welzmann, who was now the leader of the Zionist movement, had drawn up such a plan under the guidance of Lawrence. The agreement never happened, as the French invaded Damascus and drove Faisel out of Syria. The Zionists were rewarded by the British and talk of a great Semite state disappeared. But the possibilities were still there and it was a defining moment that was missed which the people of the Middle East have paid for ever since. Sources: Israel Without Zionism, Uri Avnery

Standard Oil and the Nazis William Teagle was a giant of a man, standing 6'3" tall and weighing over 260 pounds. Teagle had risen quickly through the ranks of John D. Rockefeller's Chase Manhattan and later moved on to Standard Oil. There he avoided scandal after scandal of price fixing schemes. Teagle enjoyed Cuban cigars and Nazi politics and was a major contributor to the Nazi party along with Dutch Shell. Teagle also established early relations with I.G. Farben. I.G. Farben was the German industrial giant who had become rich by arming the Nazi war machine and would soon become a business partner. Teagle's business interests with I.G. Farben caused him to visit Berlin frequently. It was at this time he hired Ivy Lee, the father of public relations, to help him gain information regarding the United States government's reaction to the Nazi military build up. When Hitler came to power, Teagle made sure that Standard Oil maintained its ties with Germany. Goring's planes could not fly without the lead additive tetraethyl so Standard, DuPont and General Motors made sure that he had it. In fact, during the Battle of Britain, Great Britain actually had to pay royalty rights to Standard through the French while Goring's planes bombed London. Because of the bad publicity, Teagle turned the account over to the Paris office and made sure their tankers were using a Nazi crew. Before the United States entered the war, Standard Oil would ship their oil tankers through Vichy, North Africa. An example of this can be found in an incident where British ships seized a oil tanker headed for Casablanca. Cordell Hull demanded that the vessel be released and when it was, the ship went on to Africa, soon followed by six additional freighters. Summer Welles, a State Department official, accused Standard refueling stations in Mexico and South America with supplying the Nazi's. In Nicaragua, Standard was caught delivering Nazi propaganda. The list goes on and on. On June 15, 1943 Joseph Flick sent Cordell an astonishing list of oil sales showing Standard subsidiary firms shipping fuel to Aruba. The list was then sent to Fascist Spain and later on to Germany. Standard then sued the United States government for seizing synthetic rubber patents and using them to aid the Nazi's who were developing different synthetic products. Judge Charles E. Wyzanski gave his verdict, which reflected that he had decided against Standard. The final word came when Standard appealed the case. Judge Charles Clark words were quite harsh: "Standard Oil can be considered a national enemy in view of its relationship with I.G. Farben after the United States and Germany had become active enemies." Oil companies have no loyalty. Sources: Trading With the Enemy, Charles Higham

The Election of 1876 While we sit and ponder who will be the next president of the United States, it might be useful to look at the last time an election was this close. It was in 1876, the centennial year of the United States, and it pitted Samuel Tilden against Rutherford B. Hayes. The states of things at this time was not good for the country was in a severe depression. Also, the corruption of the Grant administration caused many to feel that it was time to end Republican rule. The South had never accepted the emancipation of black people and had fought it tooth and nail during reconstruction. It was during this time that the Ku Klux Klan was born and black voter's, along with their Republican supporters, were attacked throughout the South. It was only the presence of federal troops that kept Republicans in power. The election of 1876 was so close that it was impossible to tell who had won and to make matters worse, Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida each had different two different sets of results. The Klan had attacked black voters and their white supporters during the election and ballot boxes were stuffed throughout the region, so when all the dust cleared, it was still impossible to see who had won. Early returns had seen Tilden gain the lead but as the counting continued, Hayes closed the gap and appeared to have won. When it was all over, Hayes had gained 185 electoral votes, which was enough to win the election, but Tilden had won the popular vote. Republican officials had invalidated many of the Democratic votes in the South because of the violence and the Democrats challenged the result. There was even talk about another civil war, and the headline "Tilden or War" appeared on more than one democratic newspaper. This was definitely a crisis and despite the rhetoric, neither side had the stomach for another war. Tilden was a man who feared disorder and seemed to resign himself to defeat. Grant didn�t help matters at all. He felt that the 15th amendment had been a mistake and had done little or nothing to stop the terror of black people in recent years. He felt, as many Republicans did, that the party would be better served if it sought the aid of former members of the Whig Party rather than black people and their white supporters in the South. Something had to be done so a commission to solve the matter was established, consisting of 15 members, five from the House, five from the Senate and five Supreme Court justices. The split was even between Republicans and Democrats except for the Supreme Court members where the GOP had an advantage of one vote. What the South wanted more than the election of Tilden was home rule in their states, so a deal was made whereby Hayes would win the election and in return federal troops were to be removed from the South. In an 8 to 7 vote, Hayes was elected president. While Hayes himself pledged loyalty to black voters and promised to protect them, Congress refused to appropriate any money for the troops. In the South, the Democrats now cut government programs drastically, and in addition, schools, hospitals and other government services were closed. By 1890, black people had lost their right to vote and an apartheid system took over in the South that would not be removed until the 1960�s. While Hayes would not send troops to the South, he would send federal troops to break the strike of 1877. The election was an overall disaster for the United States. To win, the Republicans had forsaken the rights of black people and spit on the bravery of those who had fought and died for the Union cause. The Democrats established a rule of terror in the South and the idea of democracy in the United States became a hypocritical joke. Things have changed in the United States since then. Whoever wins this election will not face the possibilities of another civil war. It is a testament to the strength of our democracy that people like you and I can make jokes about the election. However, in 1876, it was no joke. Sources: Reconstruction, Eric Foner Rutherford B. Hayes, Ari Hoogenbrook

Hugh Thompson, American Hero Hugh Thompson was the son of an electrical worker and a military man. His father served in the army and later, for thirty years, in the navel reserve. Thompson's parents taught him to stand up for other people and once he defended a physically handicapped boy from a group of young bullies who made fun of the unfortunate youngster. After high school, he joined the navy for three years, but later switched to the army and entered officer school. He became a helicopter pilot and was sent to Vietnam in 1967. On March 16, 1968, Thompson was sent to cover American troops advancing on the village of My Lai. He saw no hostile fire from the ground so he went back to the base to refuel. But on the ground something horrible had begun, the infamous massacre at My Lai. Many of the men would not follow the orders of the Commanding Officer Lieutenant Calley. In fact, one man shot himself in the foot rather than carry out the orders to kill. When Thompson returned, he was shocked to see what was happening on the ground. "We started noticing all those bodies everywhere," said Thompson. "Your thinking, 'What happened here?' This little thing in your mind is saying what happened, but you don't want to believe it because it looks bad...I can remember thinking, 'Dammit, isn't this what the Nazi's did?'" Thompson saw a young girl rolling along the ground, obviously in great pain, and radioed for help. During this time a soldier walked up to the girl and executed her. Lieutenant Calley was goading his men to open fire. He had driven the villagers into a ditch, and with the help of Paul Meadlo, began to slaughter the Vietnamese. Blood and body parts flew everywhere and when it was all over, fifty Vietnamese men, woman and children lay dead on the ground. Thompson knew it was time to act. He flew down and gathered help from some of the soldiers on the ground. They sought to protect another group of villagers who had been thrown into a ditch by the Americans and awaited a similar fate. Thompson had seen enough and when a group of American soldiers approached an elderly couple and a small child fearfully hiding from the crazed Americans, Thompson's humanity told him not to let this madness continue. "I was going to save them. I set the aircraft down this time between the civilians and the Americans and told my people if they open up, you open up." The soldiers, who had followed Calley's orders, felt a sigh of relief since they would not be forced to kill anymore. News of the massacre spread among the troops. In fact, Thompson's heroism most likely saved other lives, because the Mi Lai massacre was part of a larger search and destroy operation designed to clear out suspected communist hamlets. When he landed, Thompson angrily reported what he had seen to his superiors. The army conducted an investigation of its own which was led by Colon Powell. Powell tried to whitewash the whole thing, denying that the massacre occurred, but the army and Powell were unsuccessful in their cover-up. Twenty-five men were tried for murder and rape at My Lai but only Calley was convicted and was later pardoned by Richard Nixon. Two years ago, Thompson received the Soldiers Medal, which is awarded for actions on the battlefield not related to combat with the enemy. Hugh Thompson now goes around the country speaking about that horrible day. He is an American hero who knew what the right thing to do was, and did it. Sources: Lecture by Hugh Thompson

George Seldes: Tell the Truth and Run. George Seldes lived to the ripe old age of 104 and is considered to be the link between the muckrakers and the current alternative press. Seldes was a lifetime critic of the press who often attacked the "prostitution of the press." He took on all the powers of his age, including the Tobacco companies in the 1940's, Mussolini and his American supporters in the 1920's, Charles Randolph Hearst, J. Edgar Hoover, Joseph McCarthy and the Communist Party. Seldes never backed away from a fight and, in fact his book "Tell the Truth and Run" aptly describes his incredible life. George Seldes was born in 1890 and grew up with his Jewish immigrant family in a cooperative farming community in New Jersey. Seldes came of age in the era of the muckrakers, which was also a time when journalists reported on and exposed the injustices of the American system. George got a job at the Pittsburgh Leader, at the age of 18, for the grand salary of $3.50 a week. But the era of muckraking was short- lived as the rich bought the magazines that published these writers and expansion of advertising caused a self imposed censorship by the major papers. News was now big business and there was no room for those who were critical of the system. Seldes found himself a job as a war correspondent for the Chicago Tribune where he reported back on the war, however the close censorship by the army disturbed him. Once, after the armistice, he reported favorably on the defeated German army for he saw them as people and humanized their situation. This action brought down the wrath of General John Pershing who threatened to court martial him. Seldes was also one of the first journalists to be allowed inside the Soviet Union. He wrote about what he saw, which did not sit well him with the Communist Party of the new Soviet Union and they soon asked him to leave their country. When Seldes was assigned to Italy to report on the newly created Fascist government of Benito Mussolini, he immediately reopened the story about the assassination of the Socialist opposition leader. This angered Mussolini and he began to exert pressure on Seldes. The newspapers back home supported El Duce's government while the liberal New York Times compared him favorably with Jefferson and Adams. Mussolini's corporate state appealed to publisher's like Hearst and asked him to write columns for his papers. Seldes was finally kicked out of Italy so he returned to the US to write about the disputes between the United States and Mexico regarding oil. Seldes had the nerve to tell both sides of the story for which he was promptly fired by the Chicago Tribune. At the age of forty, he began to publish his newsletter called "In Fact." Seldes refused advertising money for his publication to show that he would not be beholden to the whims of those advertisers who sought to censor the news. He took on the Tobacco companies in the early 1940's, long before anyone else would. Seldes reported studies about the dangers of tobacco while newspapers and magazine's took tobacco's money and refused to report findings of the medical community. The mainstream press had the same information that Seldes had but they didn't have his integrity. The same thing went for the FBI. Seldes wrote about the bureau abuses while the mainstream press lionized the corrupt FBI Czar. When the hateful demagogue Senator Joseph McCarthy began his red-baiting campaign. Seldes accurately stated that the "press chains have made McCarthy a hero." While reporters knew that McCarthy's allegations about communists were suspect, their editors were on McCarthy's side. George Seldes was only interested in the truth. Seldes understood that the attacks were aimed, not at the communists, but at the New Deal. Finally, Seldes was forced to close his publication and started having difficulties in getting his books published. But he had influenced people like I.F. Stone, Ralph Nadar, Howard Zinn and many others. At the age of 90, he appeared in the film "Reds" where he spoke about radical journalist Jack Reed. George Seldes was one the rare people who criticized the press and also exposed their prejudices and destroyed their lies about objectivity. When George Seldes died, the press lost one its most harshest critics and the public lost one of its most honest defenders. Sources: Film Documentary, Tell the Truth and Run

A Brief History of the early Drug Trade The Opium Trade began in 1500, when Portuguese merchants first introduced the practice of smoking opium. Opium in its early days was used as a painkiller and for recreation. The Chinese believed that smoking opium was barbaric and soon banned its use. In the 1600's, the drug was introduced to the people of Persia and was later imported to England by Queen Elizabeth's trading company. It was distributed throughout England by the crown, making the historic queen of England the first renown drug dealer, which is how the empire acquired most of its fortune. The Dutch then introduced the blending of tobacco and opium in its quest to gain a foothold in the emerging drug trade. However, the British East India Company cut them off quickly by controlling the growing process in Bengal to assume control of the trade. The Chinese tried to stop importation, as the drug epidemic soon reached staggering proportions, but by that time the British had achieved a monopoly on the drug. In India, growers were forbidden to sell opium to anyone other than the British East India Company, giving the British government a free hand on the drug commission. While the Chinese sought to ban the drug, the crown sought other avenues of distribution and soon opium was being grown for importation into the United States and Europe. Some Americans, like John Cushing, invested heavily in the trade. In fact, one of the most famous families of America, the Astors' of New York, bought tons of the drug which was then sent to England for sale. This is one of the ways they acquired their fortune and in effect became a part of the drug cartel. Considering today's laws, maybe we should confiscate their property which was, in part, gained through the sale of opium. The Chinese tried to fight back but the drug lords, under the guise of the British government, soon declared war on China and the Opium Wars began. By 1841, the Chinese were defeated and were forced to pay a large indemnity to the crown and surrendered possession of the city of Hong Kong to the British. Now, the British sought to increase their markets and their profits and by the end of the second Opium War in 1856, the Chinese are forced to legalize opium while the addiction rates in China skyrocketed. Efforts were begun at this time to limit its use. The effects of opium were so devastating that laws were soon passed in the United States and Britain to regulate its use and to prohibit importation. Finally, after 150 years of failed attempts to rid its country of the drug, the Chinese were successful in forcing the British to stop the importation of opium to China. However, the damage was already done and many lives were wrecked by the British search for wealth. The monarchy of England stands today as a beneficiary of the drug trade. The profits were enormous for the crown and today hardly anyone remembers them as the drug traders they were. So next time you see all that pomp and circumstance remember who they are, the descendants of drug lords, and try not to be impressed. Sources: The Corporation of Public Broadcasting

The Plague When people speak of the "Black Death," they are usually referring to the 14th century calamity which killed about 30 percent of the population of Europe. The Europeans believed they were being punished by God and that the plague was a sign of the Apocalypse. We know now that it was caused by a lack of adequate health precautions and ignorance. Because people feared that the end of the world was near, farmers refused to plant crops, alcoholism rose and civil disruption resulted in many deaths. Althought this was catastrophic, another plague occurred when the Europeans settled in the new world and has been misunderstood over the years. The warmer climates of Africa, Asia and Northern Europe have always been the breeding ground for disease, so people moved to colder climates to avoid them. As people migrated across the then drained Bering Straits, the crossing served as a kind of incubator so the first immigrants of America may have been the most healthy people ever to live on the planet. Many of the diseases, tuberculosis, cholera, small pox that come from animals did not exist in the new world because there were no cows, horses, pigs or chickens, because they had not been brought over. This when coupled with the superior hygiene practices by the regions habitants made the natives a remarkably healthy race. They lived largely in villages as opposed to the densely populated areas like London, where raw sewage flowed through the streets. But the health of the natives in the new world ironically proved to be their Achilles heel. They had not built up a resistance to the diseases that were brought from Europe and Africa. In 1617, a couple of years before the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, fishermen landed on the Massachusetts coast and came upon the natives of the new world. This contact would result in the worst health catastrophe in the history of the world, for within three years, the plague wiped out ninety percent of the coastal population. Those that did survive fled the area, so when the pilgrims arrived, all they saw were empty villages. Robert Cushman, a British eyewitness, said that only about one in twenty survived the plague. The ground was covered with the bones and skulls of the natives because there was no one left to bury them. The Europeans took this as a sign of God while the natives, much like the survivors of the plague in Europe, felt that their Gods had abandoned them. Robert Cushman reported, "those that are left, have their courage much abated, and their countenance is dejected, and they seem as a people afraid." This scenario was repeated again and again when natives came across Europeans and contributed to the Aztecs succumbing to the Spaniards. Disease traveled across the entire new world and many populations were destroyed. It is estimated, on the high end, that 100 million people lived in the new world at the time of Columbus, while others claim there were only 20 million living at the time. When you consider that George Catlin estimated that in 1840 only two million out of 14 million remained, you can see the results of the epidemics that plagued the people of the new world. By 1880, because of war and disease, only 250,000 natives had survived. The numbers are astounding. What can we learn form all of this? One thing we should learn is that it was disease, and not a superior culture, that was the dominant factor in the conquering of the new world. Sources: Lies My Teacher Told Me, Loewen

Sidney Reilly: Ace of Spies The strange story of Sidney Reilly began in Odessa, Russia. Reilly was born on March 24, 1874 as Georgi Rosenblum, and later became a linguist who learned to speak seven different languages. This ability served him well throughout his years as a spy. He soon was recruited by M16 and assumed the name of Sidney Reilly. Reilly began his work for the British in the Russo/Japanese wars and later was assigned to help with the creation of British petroleum. With the outbreak of World War I, Reilly became the Czar of Russia's arms agent. At that time, Russia was a huge, but very backwards power, whose industrial capacities were not strong enough to fight a modern war. During these years, Reilly earned commissions of over one million dollars. He also shiped inferior munitions to the Russians while his cost cutting schemes earned him millions more. His activities created suspicion, however, the evidence of any wrong doing was destroyed in the "Black Tom" explosion of 1916. Did Reilly have anything to do with the tragedy in New Jersey that killed hundreds of people? He certainly had the motive. With the Bolshevik victory in Russia, Reilly was sent to help foster and counter revolution. In additon, he worked to assassinate Lenin with the help of British representative Bruce Lockhart. Under the urging of Winston Churchill, working as first lord of the Admiralty, the allies invaded the new Soviet regime. They hoped to work with anti-bolshevik forces and forced the collapse of Lenin's government. It was at this time Lenin formed the Checa under the leadership of Felix Dzerzhinsky. The plans of the British were soon exposed by Dzerzhinsky, which destroyed their hopes for a counter revolution for the time being. The question still remained, was Reilly a spy? If he was working for the British, his efforts would be a disaster. However, if he is working for the Russians, as some have suggested, then Reilly was the most clever double agent in history. The arrest of Boris Savinkoff provided an interesting opportunity to look at this question as to whether Reilly was indeed a double agent. Boris Savinkoff was a long time anti-czarist terrorist who became part of the British attempts to overthrow the Russian Revolution. Reilly was working with Savinkoff at the time he was arrested by the Russian secret police and Savinkoff was given a very public trial. There, he spilled the beans about the British efforts and the names of everyone involved, except for Reilly. In the trial, Savinkoff was not asked, nor did he volunteer, any information about Reilly. The question then became why nobody asked about Reilly? It is believed that Reilly was captured and executed by the Trust, a large deception operation run by the secret police of Felix Dzerzhinsky, when he entered Russia in 1925. But bank records of Reilly's provided quite a different scenario. Reilly had been transferring money to Swiss banks in early 1924 and now, the amounts stood in the millions. Could Reilly have offered his services to the new regime and promised them contacts with other business people willing to do business with the Russians? The Soviets were desperately strapped for cash. It is unlikely that they would have killed a man who had access to millions and could deliver millions more for any business willing to work with the Bolsheviks. Could Reilly have become the middle man for the Russians and, in fact, become a Soviet agent? Robin Lockhart, son of Bruce Lockhart, thought so. He contends that Reilly went to work for the Russian secret police and was the infamous first man who recruited famous double agent Kim Philby. We will never know, however, we do know that when Ian Fleming was in Russia in 1930, he asked questions about Reilly. Years later, Fleming created the character James Bond. Coincidence; I think not! Interviews with John Long and Richard Spence.

Just what is a Yankee Doodle? So "Yankee-Doodle went to town." And just why should anyone care? Why would anyone ever sing such goofus-like lyrics? "Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni." Really? You must be kidding! In fact it's ironic that Americans proudly sing a song that originally mocked them and their notion that they should be free and independent. It originated as a 14th century nonsense song in Holland about a silly character named "Yankee-Doodle." English school children adopted it to make fun of Oliver Cromwell. In the same spirit the British troops fighting against the colonists in the American Revolution poked fun at their adversaries with the song. But wouldn't you know it! The Americans not only shot from behind trees at the Redcoats marching in the open in formation, they also turned their own song against the British troops, making of them not macaroni but mincemeat. (Source: JUST CURIOUS, JEEVES by Jack Mingo and Erin Barrett)

Enigma The Enigma cipher machine was used by the German armed forces during World War II. The Germans believed that their coding device was impregnable due to its sophisticated nature. It's rotating rotors were changed regularly, once a day after World War II began and over three times a day afterward, so even if the allies captured one of the machines the infor- mation gained from the machine's capture would be useless to them. This proved to be a great error for the Nazi's and helped lead to their defeat in the World War II. The allies were able to intercept messages and use this knowledge to their advantage. This information was especially useful in the North Atlantic and helped turn the tide of the war. In 1932, the Polish "Buroszfrow" was able to break into the code with the help of the French. The French provided docu- ments, stolen by one of their agents, which were then used for decoding. As war approached in Europe, the Germans began to change their operating procedures for transmission. They not only changed the keys and rotors but they increased the frequency of the changes. When Poland was overrun in 1939, and France followed a year later, the task was left to the British to continue the work done by the Polish and French. The capture of German weather ships and the help of American intelligence aided the British effort. The use of the enigma gave the British and Americans a great advantage. By 1942, they were deciphering an average of 39,000 messages a month from the Nazi forces. At first, the Allies shared their information, but not their decoded enigma machines, with the Soviets. In 1943, the Soviets captured there own machine, which at first was thought to be a typewriter, and began to use it. Knowing this, the British then sent them another machine to go along with the first and began to help the Soviets. This information was crucial in the Soviet liber- ation of Nazi held territory, which would cumulate with the capture of Berlin. What is really remarkable about the whole thing is the sec- recy regarding the breaking of enigma. Thousands of people had access to the Ultra secrets, and the Germans captured many, yet none of them betrayed those secrets. In all some 30,000 men and women knew of the success in breaking the codes. But it was not until 1967 that some of the information came out, and not until 1974, was the whole story told. The Germans used the enigma throughout the war and from 1926 to 1945, about 100,000 machines were delivered to their forces. They never suspected the allies had their codes. It is a test- ament to the men and women of the allied forces that the sec- rets of enigma never leaked out. Our government and military are always worried about free citizens leaking information and that we are not capable of having privileged information. But citizens can be trusted. In the end, it was the commanders who wrote books about the enigma, not the ordinary men and women who worked that finally told the story. The ordinary citizen had kept their lips sealed. Sources: The Encyclopedia of Espionage. Norman Polmar and Thomas B. Allen

http://www.lossless-audio.com/usa/index0.php Site Overview This site aims to provide a basic outline of important, but too often unknown to the public consciousness, information relating to US foreign policy around the world over the past few decades - information which should perhaps be kept in mind when looking at the current direction the US is taking in its foreign policy. All information is backed up with links to articles / sources from around the web, to allow for quick verification. A few highlights of recent US Foreign Policy ... CIA's overthrow of democratic governments in Guatemala, Brazil, Chile, Guyana, Iran, Indonesia and Congo. CIA's overthrow of Iraq's government in 60's and installation of Saddam. US terrorism in Nicaragua leading to condemnation by the World Court. CIA training and support of death squads and repressive secret police in Iran, Indonesia, El Salvador, Chile, Guatemala and Vietnam.

http://hoffmanshome.com/native/ The intent of this page is to provide fascinating information about the Natives of North America, that I can almost guarantee you have never heard or thought about before. Unfortunately, this is due to the Euro-Centric nature of our history books. I was spurred to the creation of this page by the most interesting book I have ever read, titled, Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James W. Loewen. I read this book literally slack jawed. I had thought that I knew a good deal about the history of this country. Well I didn't & wanted to share with you the most interesting facts I found, in the briefest manner possible. I sincerely urge you to read the book however! It is anything but boring & is truly essential reading.

http://www.buckyogi.com/footnotes/subject.htm footnotes to history Artificial Islands- For some reason, the late 1960s saw a rash of artificial islands declared independent nations. None of the platform nation projects were successful, and with the clarification of international law under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, it appears that individuals, corporations, and other non-state entities may never gain the right to erect new sovereign entities on unclaimed or artificial territory. Well, it was fun while it lasted. See Abalonia, Atlantis, Minerva, New Atlantis, New Utopia, Isle of the Roses

Forgotten History of the Western People From the Earliest Origins Mike Gascoigne This book, published in October 2002, covers most of my current research into ancient history. "It is not often that a really good book comes our way, but Gascoigne�s Forgotten History is certainly one of them." full text... Bill Cooper, author of After the Flood. Published in Creation, the Journal of the Creation Science Movement, Vol. 13, No. 8, May 2003. "This book provides a survey of many ancient traditions from the ancient near east, the classical world and the British Isles." full text... Michael Tunnicliffe, Manchester Ancient Egypt Society. "...a picture of our past that is very different than the one taught in most schools." full text... Pat Franklin, Sub-Editor of the Surrey-Hants Star. See also the PDF version. "When I was given this book, I had a difficult time putting it down... this book is a wonderful accompaniment to other texts and offers a critical look at obscure texts not often discussed in more mainstream history books... a roadmap through people and stories of our roots." full text... Robin McDonald, Eclectic Homeschool Association. "This book is an attempt, like some others before it, to survey ancient mythological texts and compare them to Biblical accounts... it makes Jonah a lot more understandable..." full text... TheologyWeb Campus, Recommended Reading List. See also the archive copy, in case the main forum topic disappears. "...Mike shows that there is only one true history and that is the history presented in Bible." full text... Martin Emerson, Light in the Darkness.

Colombia protests against Farc kidnappings Hundreds of thousands Colombians across the world marched to call for an end of the scourge of kidnapping and the 44-year civil conflict in what was perhaps the greatest demonstration in this blood-soaked nation's history. In Paris, former hostage Ingrid Betancourt took the stage and shook her hips to Colombian music, leading the crowd in chants of "Freedom for all" at a concert dedicated to captives held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). The French capital's Place du Trocadero was awash in the red, yellow and blue colours of the Colombian flag. Miss Betancourt, the 46-year-old French-Colombian politician who was rescued three weeks ago in a daring operation carried out by Colombian agents. "This is a special day for us all," said Ms Betancourt. "Just 20 days ago I was in the jungle listening to the radio for news from my family, fighting to survive. Now we must remember those still being held." Hours later, in Bogota, the Colombian capital, hundreds of thousands massed on the streets. "This is an historic moment for us," said Cristina Jimenez, 37, a university lecturer, as she marched. "We are for the first time building a civil society, crying out with one voice." "Libertad, Libertad (Liberty, Liberty)", was the cry that echoed off the high rises in Bogota as people marched to reject the kidnapping and violence meted out by Colombia's Marxist rebels. Whilst there have been demonstrations in the past the protests were given new impetus by the successful rescue of Miss Betancourt and 14 other hostages snatched from the hands of Farc rebels. Twelve 12 Colombians and three US defence contractors were liberated in a bloodless coup for Oxford-educated president, Alvaro Uribe, who now enjoys 85 per cent approval ratings and may be positioning himself to run for a third term in office. Farc are still holding 25 political hostages whom they want to exchange for hundreds of their comrades in prison. Some of those held have spend more than a decade in their jungle prisons, chained to trees at night and forced to march constantly to avoid army patrols and US monitoring aircraft that search relentlessly for their locations. Often forgotten are around 700 people being held for ransom by the rebel group.