Finally Today

trying to compare hearing aids, which do you like better the siemens pro 700 or the oticon? trying to choose my first pair of hearing aids, my hearing lose is between mild and moderate does anyone have any recommendations between the siemens 700 and oticon dual thank you

Why do hearing aids cost so much more then a bluetooth ear piece? IF you look at the two devices it really doesn't seem like the technology is all that different... why in the heck does a hearing aid cost 5,000 bucks compared to a bluetooth thing that you can get for 100 bucks or much less...

How to improve speech intelligibility in hearing aids? Since World War II, people have known that speech intelligibility can be improved by increasing the consonant amplitude compared to that of the vowel. Why isn't this capability incorporated into hearing aids, turning them into understanding aids?

Is there a good website to get ratings for the different brands of very expensive hearing aids? At between 1300 and 4500 dollars for hearing aids I can find no place where the various brands are compared. Consumer reports has not done a comparison for mlgable I am aware of what you are saying about different types of hearing loss. But there are many different brands with a great variety of pricing. As with any product I am sure that some brands are a much better value than others. This is not for me but an elderly parent.

what is the name of that hearing aid thing that lets you hear from far away? It's really cheap compare to a hearing aid and u can hear pretty far away with a machine attached to an earphone.

i want to know how PHONAX Hearing aid compares to SIEMENS Cielo 2 hearing aid? I just need some info on these two hearing aids

Is a hearing loss considered a disability? ? I have about a 25-35% hearing loss. I was wondering if this could be considered a disability or if one has to be completely deaf. I am thinking about it in regards to employment (helping meet that quota) or in owning a business. Before any of you compare diminished sight to hearing loss, they are not the same. People do not bring items closer to you when you wear glasses like they yell when they see you wearing hearing aids.

why are young hearing impairment men treated indiffierent compare to non-disable men by women? like they show pity towards a guy in a wheelchair compare to a guy who is has a hearing aid, or at a party/other outlets they show more interest in men who don't have a hearing aid making them hearing impaired men think they women think they are going to catch a disease or something or not good looking enough when searching mr. perfect.

(1-4) 1. Compare and contrast a cochlear implant and a hearing aid.? 2. How is an ultrasound associated with both sound and light? 3. Related to particles, why does a tuning fork make a louder sound when touching a table versus being held in the air when struck? 4. A piece of cloth appears red under red light, green light, and blue light. What color is the cloth? Explain why it cannnot be any other color.

Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants? If you used to where HA's and now have a CI, how do they compare?

How can people compare christian and muslim extremists? I keep hearing people say "dont punish all of a people because of a small minority of troublemakers". Thats BS. I dont see any muslim country doing anything about muslim terrorists. They harbor them and aid them and support them. Who knows of any mainstream christian that condones the KKK or what Timothy McVey did? To compare the two is not only wrong, its retarded and ridiculous, and any attempt to spare the "innocent" muslim sub-humans by comparing them to truly innocent christians is as backwards thinking as you can get. Im not either Christian nor muslim, I am Aetheist. But if I was forced to follow one or the other, I would choose being a human (Christian).

information on permanent hearing loss in young children? my 10 year old daughter has been informed she will need hearing aids or her hearing will decline .... I would prefer, to hear from those with personal experience or health professionals. I have been informed that my daughter will need hearing aids, but they cannot directly tell me the cause of this .When she was born she had problems due to a blood disorder from me during pregnancy which in turn caused very high billarubin levels however when she was 8 weeks old she had brain stem tests etc to be sure it had caused no permanent hearing loss , she has had probs on and off over the years firstly tonsils and adenoids, then grommets and was told it was fine . hearing tests were normal although she has maintained the past couple of years she often can't make out things so i moved countries had her retested and they say its permanent hearing loss .. what could it be if her tests were clear until now and how does this kind of thing impact on their lives , she is very conscious of it but is worried about permanent hearing loss so will give it a try . I'm basically looking for any advice here and how it impacts children's lives many compare it to just wearing a pair of spectacles is it really that simple ?

Am I being unreasonable? (Regarding hearing loss and parents)? This question has a long back story. If you aren't prepared to read it, then I advise you to read some other question on Y!A. I have a congenital hearing loss (meaning I was born with it). Because I was pretty much the only one with it in my family, I was brought up in the hearing community/world even though it mainly consisted of deceiving people that I'm 'normal'. When my father and I had one of many disputes regarding my hearing, I flat out told him that he didn't understand, and he said that he understood me more than I thought. He says that I could watch TV/films without subtitles/captions if I were not so reliant on it which is completely ridiculous and actually compared it to talking in real life. He sort of goaded me - asking me did I guess what everyone was saying if they spoke to me? Sometimes, yes, I do have to guess when the conditions aren't right but how could you possibly compare real life interaction to dialogue in TV/films? So I asked my father that why is it that when I watch documentaries or films at school (without captioning), I don't understand what's going on? I try hard to comprehend it, sit near the front, but still to no avail - I simply can't follow it. I'm in 10th grade, going into 11th in September. Every single thing that I have watched in school since junior school - no subtitles. So surely with that many hours of watching things with no subtitles I would have gotten better at it? I tried to point this out to my father but of course he didn't listen. He and I are stubborn. I feel like he's forcing me to be like a person with no disability. Maybe he's ashamed. My mother is no better than him - she seems to mock me, saying 'what? what?' on purpose. I regard myself as a patient person. But I'm sick of adults who are hearing patronizing me. There were a few occasions where teachers actually shouted at me when I came to them for help when I didn't understand the work, fully acknowledging that I have a hearing problem. My ex sensory support teacher, in junior school, when we were studying idioms, regarded 'deaf as a post' funny. I didn't think it was appropriate. Even my audiologist - he speaks to me when he has my hearing aids in his hands. My patience is wearing thin and I just want to give up. I've endlessly tried to explain to people exactly what the problem is, but like my father, they just brush it aside and don't attempt to understand. Thankfully I've managed to keep my real emotions out of the way so it wouldn't have caused further problems. I feel like I'm being selfish because I know that there are many people in a worse condition than I'm in. I don't know. But it is not my intentions to be selfish. So, the question: Am I being unreasonable over this? I appreciate everyone who reads this question despite its length. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

I am going to a hearing aid center to be tested tomorrow. I know that my hearing is bad but I wish to know if. Has anyone tried and compared the NaturEar to any of the more expensive custom fitted and higher priced devices? How can I find the best value and performance in hearing aids. I am 62 and my family complains more and more each week. Has anyone tried and compared the NaturEar to any of the more expensive custom fitted and higher priced devices? How can I find the best value and performance in hearing aids. I am 62 and my family complains more and more each week I was fitted with a pair of Unitron BTE (behind the ear) aids costing $2400 each and was not impressed. I might like to try another brand. Where on the internet can I get the best rates for name brand, quality hearing aids?

How can we pressure the mainstream media to report that Obama may have AIDS? If in fact Obama has AIDS, he has been hiding it for a long time now. The media has been complicit in hiding it. I heard this over the radio and on the internet from some credible sources. It truly is sad that even Fox News, far more reliable as a source of truth compared to the other networks, isn't covering this. The people have the right to know if their president has AIDS! Spread the word!

how does the vita-mix blender compare to the kitchen aid blender? I have heard that the Vita-mix blender is better to make nut milk and other raw food things but would the kitchen aid blender work just the same? Thank you! = ]

''help'' i need help with a science project? ''HELP ME'' I HAVE TO DO THIS HUGE SCINCE PROJECT BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO I COULD INVENT A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT TAKE THE MYSTERY OUT OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS MAKE A DUCK FLUTE RECORD SOUND EFFECTS INVESTIGATE STRING TELEPHONES COMPARE SOUND MUFFLES RESEARCH HEARING AIDS MAKE AN AIR CANNON EXPLAIN SOUND MAKING TOYS RESEARCH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS RESEARCH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS RESEARCH HUMEN HEARING AND VOCAL CORDS INVESTIGATE THE ADAM'S APPLE RESEARCH ANIMAL SOUNDS RESEARCH WHALE AND DOLPHIN COMUNICATION RESEARCH BAT NAVAGATION COMPARE ANIMAL EARS HELP WHICH ONE SHOULD I CHOOSE DON'T DO IT FOR JUST HELP ME FIND A TOPIC THIS IS ALL ABOUT SOUND IF YOU HAVE NOT NOTICE

If HIV AIDS was use as a Vaccint, can that cure the problem?Because I had heard that some people are Immune.? I was just curious about the HIV AIDS immune people, they are AIDS free. I heard a case of a little boy who was born with HIV Postive. Later when he became HIV Neg., which mean he is immune to AIDs. He can have sex with people that carry AIDs and none carrier and it can not harm him. I know that people with AIDS in the USA, tend to live longer compare to the one in Africa. Maybe the foods and living style play a role in AIDs. plz, leave opinion...I just want to know what people are thinking?

Does Canada give enough aid compared to other developed countries? This is for my politics class Isu Assignment, just want to hear some of your views on Canadian Foreign aid. Thanks

Why don't celebrities get AIDS? They probably have way more sex with different girls than any average person does, so why don't we hear of them having AIDS. I know Magic Johnson had STD, but it's only one celebrity compared to almost thousands of them. Sometimes it makes you question if AIDS is something that was made up to push religious agenda. I'm just asking.

Do you think democracy is working in South Africa? The only press I hear about Africa is bad press and I think that is because the West is skewed with their views of South Africa. We only hear about crime and AIDS, but never if the fledgling democracy is working. Also: Do you think that perhaps we can compare this new democracy to the beginning of American democracy? After all, democracy came about to escape a cruel monarchy...and we also had violence toward the beginning of our democracy (wars, slavery). South African opinion greatly appreciated. I'd love to hear first hand.

10 pts for help (best answer)! I cant decide which phone, red walkman w580i or red blackjack 2...help!? here is the link that compares them: http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/compare-cell-phones/?LOSGId=&_requestid=19090 and here is some info: walkman w580i: 2.0 MP camera with 4x zoom Video recording and playback Walkman® media player with Shake Control Stereo Bluetooth® 2.0 technology with A2DP AT&T music folder listen to MP3s or streaming radio FM Radio with customizable station presets Multimedia messaging - Send text, photos, and sounds Memory Stick Micro(TM) expandable memory slot Mobile email - AOL®, Yahoo!® and MSN® Download ringtones, games, & graphics Colored light effects for caller ID Pedometer and fitness applications Preloaded games like PacMan & Ms. Pacman Identify songs playing with Track ID(TM) Versatile slim slider design Quad-band world phone MEdiaNet web browser Speakerphone Rated for Hearing Aids: M3, T3 sounds cool, but easily breakable. Black jack 2: Microsoft® Windows Mobile 6 Standard(TM) AT&T Mobile Music and Cellular Video capable Windows Media Player® 10 Mobile Bluetooth® 2.0® wireless connectivity Simultaneous voice and data capabilities Quad-band world phone with tri-band UMTS/HSDPA Slim design PDA with full QWERTY keyboard 2 MP camera with video recording Microsoft® Direct Push for real-time email delivery Microsoft Office Mobile® - Edit Word® and Excel®, view PowerPoint® files Email - Xpress Mail, ActiveSync, and more Synchronize your desktop and calendar wirelessly Instant Messaging - AOL®, Windows Live®, Yahoo!® GPS support for TeleNav Navigator Hands-free loudspeaker and microphone Large 2.4"color LCD screen Video Share calling support Fast loading HTML browser Support for Mobile Backup MEdiaTM Net capable RSS Reader IT HAS A FULL QWERTY KEYBOARD!! really awesome for texting which i plan to do alot, but the w580i has more features.is the walkman w580i breakable? please, if you have either phone, add any concerns you have about your phone or any pros and cons or any experiences ... :) thanks I would loveeeee to have the blackjack 2, but it doesnt have as many features as the blackjack, most oof my friends dont have texting...i think i may want to go with the walkman, if its durable. they also just got this awesome red color...

Financial aid for postgraduate students? (This question is about American universities). I've heard that it's much easier for international postgraduate students to get financial aid compared to undergraduate students. I also know that for certain subjects (medicine, law and business) financial aid isn't available while for others (science, math) it's very easily available. What about education? Would someone who wants to do a master's in education be able to easily get financial aid in the form of grants, teaching assistantships or research assistantships?

Should taxes in America be raised to help rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan? Right now Afghanistan and most of Iraq is in ruins from years of neglect and warfare.It will take unknown Billions of dollars to rebuild them to a stable nation.Shouldn't taxes in America be raised to help in the reconstruction of those countries?I agree that it should.Instead of saying you support the war or that you supporrt the troops this would be a better way of helping those countries. A lot of people compare the war in Iraq to World War II.Right after that conflict there was something called the "Marshall Plan", where the US spent millions of dollars to rebuild western europe.This same approach should be used for Iraq and Afghanistan,there is rebuilding going on now for those countries but it could be done a lot faster with massive US aid.Whenever you hear about big money going towards Iraq it is usually for the Occupation Forces that are there and very little is for the people who live in those countries. Iraq's Oil industry is a long way off from helping to rebuild it's own nation.Northern Iraq is a stable area,but the people there want to break away from Iraq and form their own nation called "Kurdisdan",they have elected officals to Iraq's parliment,and some of it's soldier's are stationed around Iraq,but their long term goal is to form their own country,Turkey will not let that happen and have attacked northern kurdisdan recently,and will probaly do so again.

Why are American children, who have so much as compared to others in the world, so emotionally unstable? It seems to me that the depression rate in American teens/children is getting higher, the crime and drug rate for teens/children is getting higher, the suicide rate is getting higher. Children today seem to have so much more than they did generations ago. And especially more than children in parts of Latin America, Asia, and Africa do. Yet it seems that the American children do not appreciate what they have and are still unhappy. I watched Oprah's program about the school she built in South Africa and after hearing the issues that those girls have to deal with ( being orphaned, rape, Aids, poverty) and yet they still have drive to succeed and appreciate their life but then I look around at American children including my own who have everything and yet want more and are never satisfied or happy. I think back on my childhood and having to eat ketchup sandwiches because that was all that we had but we appreciated it nonetheless. So why are our children, who have it all, still unhappy?

Psychology? The organ of hearing, where sensitive cells respond to auditory stimuli and produce neural impulses, is known as the auditory ossicles. retina ear drum cochlea. oval window The coiled tube in the inner ear that contains the auditory receptors is called the semicircular canal ossicle pinna cochlea oval window In psychology, Gestalt principles are used to explain statistical probabilities somatic behavioral disorders perceptual organization stimulus-detection thresholds altered states of consciousness The part of the eye where the optic nerve leaves the eye is called the retina bipolar cells lens blind spot pupil The function of the lens is to locate an image. focus an image on the retina. combine the location and projection on the blind spot. help coordinate color vision project an image on the cornea. Sensory adaptation is normally most rapid for the sense of vision olfaction taste kinesthesis vestibular That you do not hear the traffic outside your psychology class because you are engrossed in the lecture is a good example of sensory gating parallel processing sensory adaptation selective attention feature detection Frequency is to __________ as amplitude is to __________. compression; rarefaction transduction; intensity rarefaction; compression pitch; loudness loudness; pitch The theory that best accounts for the experience of pain is the: opponent process theory Weber's law trichomatic theory direct perception theory gate-control theory The conversion of electromagnetic energy into a neural impulse involves feature analysis function localization transduction parallel processing phosphenes The change in the curvature of the lens that enables the eye to focus on objects at various distances is called accommodation adaptation conduction convergence consonance If you stand in the middle of a cobblestone street, the street will look coarse near your feet and finer if you look into the distance. This is called texture gradient. linear perspective relative size relative height relative motion A researcher presents two lights of varying brightness to a subject who is asked to respond "same" or "different" by comparing their intensities. The researcher is seeking the weber's law just noticeable difference. absolute threshold. subliminal threshold. minimal threshold Experiments involving infants' perception of 3-D figures, when combined with visual cliff data, suggest that at least some level of depth perception is innate depth perception is heavily dependent on skillful motor coordination. depth perception is almost entirely learned neither innate mechanisms nor learning have much effect on depth perception infants are unable to process depth When struck by light energy, cones and rods in the retina generate neural signals that then activate the parietal lobe ganglion cells bipolar cells ciliary muscle optic nerve fibers When a pair of lights flashing in quick succession seems to an observer to be one light moving from place to place, it is referred to as stroboscopic movement the phi phenomenon autokinetic motion binocular vision induced displacement Mechanical energy of vibrations is tranduced to the electrochemical energy of neural impulses at the: olfactory mucosa cochlea lens retina taste buds The theory of color vision which states that the visual system analyzes information into "either-or" messages is the __________ theory. opponent process primary color gate control young-hemholtz polaroid Conventional hearing aids may restore hearing by: restoring functionality to a badly punctured eardrum amplify vibrations conducted by the facial bones to the cochlea translating sounds into electrical signals wired into the cochlea's nerves stimulating the semicircular canals to transducer sound waves converting sound waves into radio waves. Although sound comes from speakers on the sides of the room, viewers watching a movie perceive the sound coming from the screen. This phenomenon is best accounted for by: visual capture proximity closure opponent-process feature-detection The general function of the bones in the middle ear is to convert the incoming sound from pounds per square inch to decibels is to protect the cochlea is to regulate changes in the air pressure of the inner ear is to transfer sound information from the tympanic membrane to the oval window provide info to the vestibular system A landscape painting shows boats on a lake in the foreground and mountains further away. Of the following, which cue would NOT contribute to your perception that the mountains are further away than the boats in the picture? texture gradient linear perspective relative height retinal disparity interposition A person with sight in only one eye lacks which of the following visual cues for seeing in depth? Retinal disparity Linear perspective Motion parallax Relative size Texture gradient Neural impulses go directly to the cortex without passing through the thalamus from receptors in the sense of: touch sight smell taste hearing Hearing loss caused when the eardrums or ossicles are damaged by disease or injury is called Hunter's notch. conduction deafness gate control damage stimulation deafness. nerve deafness. Your tendency to see the words "went" and "ties," rather than the word "twenties" when you look at T WENT TIES is best explained by the organizing principle of: bottom up processing closure continuity figure-ground proximity The vestibular sense helps keep us from hallucinations eating too much. starving to death. overloading our body temperature falling over. Of the following which is not a basic taste? sweet salty peppery bitter sour Receptors for kinesthesis are located in the: retina joints semicircular canals olfactory epithelium taste buds The tendency to fill in gaps in the perception of a figure is called sensory completion overlap linear perspective figure-ground closure Eleanor Gibson and her colleagues have used the visual cliff to measure an infant’s ability to perceive patterns depth size constancy shape constancy different hues The place in the retina where the optic nerve exits to the brain is called the lens sciera fovea blind spot aqueous humor The fact that objects that are near each other tend to be grouped together is known as closure. continuity similarity proximity neatness The most common form of color blindness is related to deficiencies in the blue-yellow system red-green system process of visual summation bipolar cells secretion of rhodopsin The intensity at which a sound becomes audible for a given individual is known as the individual’s: contrast sensitivity absolute threshold response threshold critical frequency just noticeable difference

Song lyrics please help? I was searching for the lyrics to write in my notebook like I'm copying but suddenly I have a problem... That the search engines have those all the differences in these lyrics... It's Do You Remember by Aaron Carter. http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Do-You-Remember-lyrics-Aaron-Carter/3323A8730A892D5748256C23000F419C http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/a/aaroncarter72/doyouremember457191.html http://www.lyricalcontent.com/5659.html http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/aaron+carter/do+you+remember_10000744.html http://artists.letssingit.com/aaron-carter-lyrics-do-you-remember-dd3rkwl Look at the stanzas carefully and compare. Absolutely I know I should listen in YouTube but I have difficulty in hearing those lines because the music's equalization becomes difficult. I can't get what he's saying. I have my hearing aid as I'm deaf, but I can't put the volume higher because it's a pain in my ear. Please understand. Thanks so much that you helped. Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytl27FcUHug

What is the summer term at a community college like? Like how intense is it?... how many hours per class? How many classes should someone take at once? How is the financial aid? I am already in a CSU campus, I thought that doing some community college classes over the summer would be good to complete my GE requirements. At first I was looking at whether I wanted to do it at my CSU college, but then I heard that I could do it at a community college instead which would be a million times more convenient, especially since it is so close to home. I was also wandering, how does it compare from doing a summer semester at the university campus, because I looked at the classes and the schedules from previous summer terms at the university and it looks very intense, like 4-5 hour classes everyday? It would be nice to at least have some of these questions answered :)

bf keeps comparing me with his best friend...? my bf's best friend is a girl and she is far different from me, a very outspoken and fashionable girl and i'm not but my bf, for some or other reason will pass comments like "you know, miley knows how to cook pasta in microwave, you should learn from her" "you should have asked your lab partner(miley), i like black forest cake not dark coffee" "did not miley tell you that i like ciara not shakira, you need hearing aids" all the time, miley ? what do i do ?

Why do some people think the USA can afford 0bamaCare? Why are our leaders even wasting their time debating it? The United States is in DEBT! I often hear this described as "being broke." NO! We are PAST being broke. We are in DEBT! This needs to be fixed before doing anything else. There was another earthquake this morning and possible tsunamis still to come. The aid we send isn't free, but it is more wisely used (and virtually FREE) compared to the gross waste proposed by 0bamacare. So I ask again, what part of being in debt does 0bama not understand?

How to legally change your name? Has anyone legally changed their name without a lawyer's aid? If so, is the process relatively simple and inexpensive (compared to, say, paying a lawyer to do the paperwork and all)? I hear in order to go about changing your name on your own, you must file a petition first with your local county court before completing other forms? I'm assuming the process wouldn't be any different in the state of California. Any answers will be appreciated. Thanks!

About how will I get for financial aid as a 2nd year? I'm going to be attending my 2nd year in college, and wondering about how much will I get compared to my 1st year in college. I heard that 2nd years don't get as much as first years, but I want to know how much less. I got ~$20,000 my first year from the gov't, so I'm just wondering how much.

Any Possible Chance of Getting Into USC? I am just ending Junior in high school. My GPA is low... a 3.0 unweighted, but I am planning on retaking a few classes online before I file my App. It should bring me up to about a 3.3 or a 3.4. I have many honors and AP classes under my belt and I am planning on taking them again my Senior Year. I am in the Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) Club at my school and I have many hours of volunteer work. I have just been Nationally Certified as a Phlebotomist through a prestigeous Allied Health Program at my school. I've also held down a part-time job for the past two years. Oh.. and before I forget my SAT scores are a 2164. I know that I probably do not stand out as much compared to more accomplished students but I have heard that anyone will be accepted as long as they don't ask for fianacial aid. Is there any truth to this rumor? Under any of these circumstances... do I have any chance?

Please HELP!!? I'm at my wits end. I am a mother of a 13yr daughter. with severe learning disabilities. Her hand- writting ability is at kindergarten level. Her reading ability is 2nd grade at best. Her academics is 3rd grade functional. She has always been delayed in speech and motor skills(she didn't speak until she was 4( (even now its deaf tonal. she does have a mild hearing loss. Nothing that warrants a hearing aid) She has received speech,OT, and physical therapies since she was 2. The problem is not her delays its the fact she is intelligent enough to understand her delays and gets frustrated at her inability to perform or learn like other kids. She is not feeling as smart or as capable as other teenagers and is getting teased) She has begun to lash out verbally(this is not like her. She is always well behaved in class compared to other kids in SLD/ESE). She is BEAUTIFUL, But I feel her sprit is broken she has given up on herself and school she told me she wants to cut class and hide. Basically, She has been to many different types of Drs. And is completely closed minded to them. I was looking more for advice from other parents who have experienced simular issues with their children. and ways they helped them. Thank you

Why is Marbury running into the fire with Michael VIck? Does he just want the press that comes with it? Calling Dog fighting a sport like hunting? ((CBS/AP) NEW YORK New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury defended Michael Vick, calling dogfighting a sport and comparing it to hunting. Marbury spoke Monday about the federal dogfighting conspiracy charges against Vick while promoting his basketball shoe in Albany, N.Y. "I think it's tough," Marbury said, according to Albany TV station Capital News 9. "I think, you know, we don't say anything about people who shoot deer or shoot other animals. You know, from what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors." On Monday, Vick said through a lawyer that he will plead guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture. He also faces possible prosecution in Virginia. "I think it's tough that we build Michael Vick up and then we break him down," Marbury said. "I think he's one of the superb athlete"

Democracy or U.S. interest; what prevails? Over the weekend Pakistan’s Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a State of Emergency because of rising Islamic extremism and he suspended their Constitution and as of this writing some 500 people –including journalists, opposition leaders and judges— have already been arrested in what can only be called a purge against the enemies of Gen. Musharraf. Among those arrested were acting President Javed Hashmi of the Party of former Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif; Asma Jehangir, chairman of the Independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; Hamid Bul, former chief of the Main Intelligence Agency, all critics of Musharraf. But wait! I thought that Gen. Musharraf declared an emergency because of Islamic extremists? How come we haven’t heard of a single Islamic extremist in the list of those he ordered arrested? Worse, I got a report that some 211 Pakistani soldiers held by terrorist groups in tribal territories were freed in exchange for 28 terrorists, including failed suicide bombers just a few days ago. Surely Gen. Musharraf realizes that the whole world knows that his ulterior motive is really to stay in power as long as he wants to. Gen. Musharraf who came to power by virtue of a military coup that he waged against duly elected Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Oct.12, 1999. But knowing that the Supreme Court was about to decide on the fate of his presidency he then threw away Pakistan’s democracy into the wind! There is no doubt that Gen. Musharraf’s popularity has gone so low that he knows too well that he can’t stay in power longer than December. But what’s allowing Gen. Musharraf his tenuous hold in power is the fact that Gen. Musharraf knows that the United States government considers him as their greatest ally in the war against terror. As they say, proof of the pudding is in the eating and since the infamous 9/11 tragedy, the US has given Pakistan a total of US$ 11 billion in mostly military aid. Compare what the US has given to Pakistan and the Philippines. From the very words of Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who said on March 2004: “When I first became President in 2001, I inherited a commitment of military assistance from the US of US$ 1.9 million only. Today, that American assistance to our military support is now US$400 million and still counting.” All told, the Philippines received a total of US$ 145.8 million from 2001 to 2005 in Foreign Military Financing and an additional of US$ 11.5 million in military training. Supposedly for the year 2006, we are slated to get some US$20 million in FMF. Yes, we got the proverbial “drop-in-the-bucket” despite what US President George Bush said during his State visit to the Philippines in Oct. 2004 that we a “Major non-NATO ally in the second front of the war against terrorism” and with this stirring words, he pledged to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines. How I wish that he was sincere in this call. However according to the latest report I got from the Internet, the US delivered US$ 67.6 million in military equipment to the Philippines between the years 2001 to 2003. Truth to tell, that figure could hardly upgrade the entire AFP. Sure we got those new UH-1H Huey helicopters to replace those that fell down because of kite-flying children. But this is nothing compared to what the US gives to Pakistan annually or even the US$ 3 billion a year it gives to Israel! What’s happening in Pakistan today is causing a major embarrassment to the Bush administration as it clearly reveals that the American style of Democracy isn’t really that important to the Americans. Rather more important than having a country follow a democratic process is their adherence to US interests. Remember that old phrase that was often pinned on Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos during his years as a dictator? Americans regarded Pres. Marcos “Pres. Marcos maybe a sonofabitch, but he is our sonofabitch!” While I submit that the majority of Filipinos believe that we are the brown brothers of Americans, however the reality is, we are merely second-class citizens as far as the geopolitical game on the war of terror is concerned. Pakistan still gets the lion’s share of US military aid, while we get peanuts! So much for US democracy. US interests play a higher role in this game. @LUMISHER. The only war they've won is fooling their own people...

new rap.........................? i spit grand forms that stand worn, born out of sand storms rip the wack, take life and give it back like the man scorned mourned, torn with a kiss, with the skills to kill with fists i will enlist, mystics who use their gifts to seal your crypts can't feel your shit, i stay real and spit the holy fire ghost inspired, bolting sky ward, rising to the molten pyre sighting and alighting on the star in the east, the darkness is weak, stark and bleak enter the war in defeat, Hark the diseased reap, bearing the mark of the beast, you can compare to the haire, the farse is impeached scarred and meek, i flip, rip emit sick spit destroy the conformers, abort the order of six six six split misfits, emissions that casue fission at their christening the christain mission causes blistering in those listening envisioning, sentament ending these sent messages emense petenaces that are invent from bent sentances coniniving liars, entice you to twist the bible homicidal, pontias piolets, the slit the vitals stab the faggots of the Vatican, emphatic when we strangle them for mangling the word, perturbing it from different angling i am man with a conciousness that can understand i am stranded, alone among the sand in my hand you think the death of conndemmed is the fault of the rope then you also must believe the word calls for a pope verbs stall what i wrote, allowing inspection conventions, pretentions, view through indentions retention, inventions censured from the outside mouth cries about lies, scielence by federal house spies like why the black copters follow mass slaughters half botcherd cover ups of slashed mayrters mutalaions, greys invations slaying AIDs patients they are staking their claims while we debate waiting erase traces of ancient agents blocking our conciousness stopping the lost crop from asending past necropolis we forget we are spirits, now fear this theorist the choas, arakiel, arkangel, emperical lyricist hearing cryptic dialects at the apex of the pyramid resonance chambers, sentient nature, the searing fist the sphere of tetonic plates, sonic shakes and harmonate with our bones, the limestone calcium carbonate

Why is Obama the Kool-Aid man? I don't understand? Hello everyone, I keep hearing that Obama is the Kool-Aid man. I don't understand. Are they comparing to Jim Jones suicide? I would really appreciate if someone could explain it to me. thanks, Ruthie

colleges full of rich kids? is there someplace online or some information anywhere that lets me know if a college is full of rich people? i really wouldn't want to go to a school full of fancy upperclassmen, but i generally hear that private schools are more generous when they give out financial aid when compared to public schools like UCs. is this true? so i guess that is two questions

WHY DO BLACKS FEEL THEY SHOULD BE COMPENSATED FOR SLAVERY? My family is african, and I'm absolutely grateful that I was born here! We're not no refugees or prisoners of war! Yes our ancestors suffered,but look at the oppurtunities african americans have! We can be whoeva or wateva we want from: lawyer, doctor, teacher, scientist, million dollar rapper, model, actress etc....I'M SICK of hearing people talking about slavery! I nor ma african american family, have neva had to watch our people being slaughtered, starved off of bread, famine or epidemic of aids! American ghettos are pure royalty compared to da conditions in africa! I FEEL REPERATION HAS ALREADY BEEN GIVING TO US! HOW DO YOU FEEL? EDIT: WOOOOW...UNCLE TOM? So half ma family is african and half is african american! I'm AMERICAN just as much as anyone else! Ma native tongue is ENGLISH, and I too have lived in the ghetto! African americans, today, are not robbed of SHYTE AND I'M STANDING ON IT! Nobody made thugs become criminals, young girls pregnant and stupid and people UNEDUCATED PERIOD! Every black american i know in da hood are either content with their situation or too lazy to do something about it! HOW IS THAT BEING ROBBED? EDIT: I THINK IT'S FUNNY THAT I'M BEING CALLED AN UNCLE TOM, CUZ I'M WELL KNOWN ON HERE FOR DEFENDING BLACK PEOPLE BUT I am faaaar from biased! Just becuz I'm black doesn't mean I have to think the same as MOST BLACKS! DON'T NOBODY OWE ME SHYTE! ME AND MA HUSBAND WORK FOR OURS, AND ANYBODY THAT WANA GET AHEAD IN LIFE WOULD DO DA SAME! KISSING AS$ IS NOT MA FORTE, I'M ONE OF DA REALEST BIT*HES YA'LL WULD EVA COME ACROSS ON HERE SO PLEZ DON'T DO ME! BTW: I TALK SLANG CUZ I CAN...SO I DARE YOU TO COMMENT ON IT! HILAL: I'm not african american? Can you prove it? I was born in Paramount, Ca and raised in Compton, SO WHAT DA HE11 IS MA NATIONALITY THEN? WHAT MAKES SOMEONE AA, BEING BRAINWASHED AND IGNORANT? YA'LL WILL ALWAYS AND FOREVA BE SO CALLED "VICTOMS" SO LONG AS YA'LL BLAME SLAVERY! So what someone is racist and unfair towards you...if you let that stop you then YOU ARE YOUR OWN TRAGEDY! I don't look down on anyone, I'm just sick of black americans crying about compensation when so many are just sitting around doing nothing with themselves! IF THIS DON'T APPLY, THEN DON'T COMMENT! STANK: I honor my ancestors by fighting the system and NOT playing victom to society! Do you think our ancestors are proud of our BROTHAS AND SISTAHS that sit around killing each other, getting pregnant w/o being able to care for themselves and being content with living shitty lives? I HONOR MY ANCESTORS BY EDUCATING MYSELF AND ENJOYING THE FRUITS OF THEIR LABORS BECUZ I KNOW I DESERVE IT JUST AS MUCH AS THE WHITE MAN! SHAY: HERE MEANING AMERICA...it's funny how you people talk to me like I'm a foreigner when i was born and lived in the same neighborhoods as you! Yes some aa's have it hard, but how can you blame SLAVERY when success and victory is literally a few books away? How can you make excuses when there are so many successful educated AFRICAN AMERICANS TODAY? JAMAICAN BODY: ask yourself this: WHY AM I MAKING IT AND THEY'RE NOT? I went nights eating off of bologna and noodles, having to heat bath water up on da stove and not having clothes to go to school! I got made fun of for being DIRTY/ UNFORTUNATE IN SCHOOL, so why is these same kids that taunted me now have three kids, in jail, dead, or struggling? I'm far from rich but at least me and ma husband can say we are working for ours and not sitting around waiting for REPARATION because of slavery when we could go to college and make something of ourselves! I don't waNA BE HANDED SHYTE FOR FREE, CUZ I TAKE PRIDE IN SAYING I WORKED FOR MINE! AWL: FOR ONCE I AGREE WIT YOU...I'm always on blacks side, but i refuse to believe that ma people are still down becuz of slavery YEARS AGO OR RACISM! Everybody face racism and prejudiced!

Ethical Reasoning(s) surrounding M.asturbation? I have yet another controversial topic for you to sink your teeth into. I've answered a number of questions posed here surrounding whether m.asturbation is wrong. Yet again, mixed emotions here, given my Christian upbringing. In relation to adolescents, I believe that even if frowned upon, it certainly is the lesser of two evils when compared to indulging in indiscriminate, unprotected (premarital) sex. I have YET to hear of someone contracting AIDS/STDs from self-manipulation. Also, if a man/woman decides to remain single & celibate for his/her entire life, is it unreasonable to expect either of them to totally refrain from that practice? I expect to get some slack over this one but let's try to keep the comments as CLEAN as possible, shall we??? :-) Thanks for your answers thus far. In reference to "What's Your Problem"'s comment, especially regarding this issue relative to adolescents, I'm not negating whether or not m.asturbation should be allowed but simply stating that if you compare m.asturbation to indulging in unprotected, permissive sex, it is a whole less riskier in terms of contracting diseases and by that comparative analysis, would merit being described as the "lesser of the two evils", especially if one regards either practice as sinful.

Why are people comparing homosexuality to murder and pedophilia? Pedophilia is where an adult is attracted and preys on innocent children and takes a child's innocent world and turns it up-side down. Murder is an act in which someone takes the life of another human being. Homosexuality on the other hand, is so incredibly different from the both of these things it's not even funny, homosexuality is simply someone of the same gender being attracted romantically or sexually to the same gender. Nothing more and nothing less. Simple as that. How can you possibly compare these things, does it make you feel more vindicated when you look down your nose on gay men and women? A child doesn't get sexually abused from homosexuality and no body dies from homosexuality. And don't start with the whole AIDS/HIV thing because that disease is not restricted nor is it limited to homosexual men and women, ANYONE can get it, and infact, it's a disease that originated in Africa, not the gay community, so there. Also, don't go off and call this a 'rant'. It is not a rant, I have heard arguments in the past regarding these three things and I feel it is my duty to fill you in on the DETAILS before you start shouting at me, that's why the details section is here. To explain! And before you start with the whole "all sin is equal", how may I ask does someone being killed equate with two people of the same gender loving each other??? James, With pedophiles, gender does not matter. The men who sexually abuse little boys would probably go for a little girl to if they could get their hands on her. Are you saying every gay man on planet earth sexually abuses little boys? That's incredibly ignorant and over-generalizing to the max.

Major boyfriend/Ex problem ! Please hear me out [Read whole story] & give me advice!? Well me and this boy been going out for 2 years. we shared the most memories and we truly loved each other. Last summer we went on vacation we walked the beach at night, layed under the stars, and it wa amazing. were only 16 tho hes bout to b 18. well When skool started again back in september i kind of got sick of him; and i broke up with him , and he seemed to be heartbroken but iwas fine being single etc. it was alright. well i got a bf like in january and my Ex of the 2 yrs messaged me in late february saying he misses me and etc. i ignored him cuz i was with this new guy. but i broke up with this new guy because things started hitting me that nothing wil lever compare to Alex [my ex] i loved him the most . he was the best. period. so i started messaging alex, but begining of march he got a new girlfriend. [funny cuz late february he still wanted me back] but yeah his girlfriend didnt even let him answer she told me to back away he doesnt want me back he never wants to hear from me. n it got me sad; i cried for days and i came to my sences im nothing without him. but i guess karma is really a big bitch. and now alex is spreading all these rumors that i cheated on him im a dirty hore wit aids... as much shyt he talks i cant seem to hate him. on facebook i been giving him the hints how i want him in my statuses that im sad etc. and his gf told me to stop being obsessed and desperate. like how can she tell me that i been with him 2 yrs and her only 2 months. idk what to do. should i stay single? i ahte the single life really. will he come back to me? shes not attractive either but i wont brag im quite cute i mean blonde hair blue eyes decen body. but she is chunky and brown hair not so great. idk they seem to love each other . what do you think ? please help. should i act happy n pretend to enjoy my single life. or should i keep saying im sad and givin him hints making it obvious. idk what to do. and summer is coming up. we were sopose to go n vacation =p i cant talk to him now though. soo. ?

Help with questions for my daughter? My daughter needs help on several questions that she could not find in her readings. I was never excellent in English to be able to help her. 1. According to your textbook, what is the significance of The Ilyiad and the Odyssey for the Greek ancient culture? A) They are seen as the best source of love poetry the culture has. B) They are seen as the basis of the culture's ideas of conduct and of religion. C) They are seen as stories brought in by other cultures in order to eliminate Greek culture by their influence. D) They are seen as irrelevant unless one focused on teaching literature. 2. What is the attitude toward war that, according to your textbook, is common throughout Homer's works? A) War is always an evil that men should work toward eliminating through negotiations and intelligent thought. B) War is the proper occupation of all true men. C) War is both brutal in its violence and attractive in its excitement. D) War is an example of how stupid human beings are, compared to the gods, who do not engage in war. 3. In The Iliad, Achilles sulks in his tent for a while, refusing to fight. Why does he do this? A) Agamemnon refused to free his daughter. B) Achilles was afraid of catching the plague sent by Apollo. C) Odysseus insulted him by calling him stupid. D) Agamemnon took away the prize he had, the young woman Briseis. 4. To escape from the Kyklops, Odysseus tells him that his name is really "Nobody." How did this help him escape? A) "Nobody" was a famous prophet for the Kyklops, so no one suspected him and thus they allowed him to leave the town. B) The Kyklops said "Nobody" was hurting him, so the others did not come to his aid. C) The goddess Athena had been looking for "Nobody," so when Odysseus used this name, she came and spirited him away. D) The men who had planned to deliver Odysseus to the Kyklops didn't realize who he was because he gave them the false name. 5. In The Aeneid, Aeneus leaves Troy supporting his father on his arm and leading his son by the hand. What does this symbolize? A) It shows that warriors become weak when their cities are destroyed. B) It shows that Aeneus carries the past and future with him to the new city. C) It shows that women were not important enough in this culture to save. D) It shows that the gods had deserted this family. 6. Although his wife and mother both try to persuade him not to give up his inherited royal position and live in the forest, Rama (in The Ramayana of Valmiki) goes into the forest. Why does he do this? A) He wants to gather an army in secret to be sure he can conquer his brother, who is trying to steal the kingship. B) He is sulking because his father refuses to talk to him. C) He has decided to become a monk and so doesn't want to be distracted by worldly goods and responsibilities. D) He feels that obeying his father's command is more important than anything else. 7. How does Sita (The Ramayana of Valmiki) get Laksmana to stop guarding her and go off to find Rama? A) She tricks him by pretending to go to sleep. B) She disguises herself as a demon and frightens him off. C) She accuses him of trying to seduce her as soon as Rama is gone. D) She reminds him of his pledge to obey her in all things. 8. The individual stories in The Thousand and One Nights are told in bits and pieces, always stopping just before a major event happens, to be continued the next night. Why is the literary work organized this way? A) The framework of the story is that the storyteller will be killed in the morning, so she stops the tales at an exciting spot in order to get her listener to spare her for one more night, so he can hear the end of the story. B) The stories are taken from old movie and television shows, such as soap operas, that always stop at an exciting part. C) All Arabic literature breaks stories up into tiny parts, to go along with the culture's conception of art. D) The stories were meant to be said aloud, and a speaker cannot talk for very long without growing tired and so has to stop frequently. 9. Is The Thousand and One Nights an epic poem? A) Yes; it is long and has a very heroic figure, the merchant, who conquers demons. B) Yes; it is very formal in language. C) No; it is a narrative instead of a poem and does not have a central heroic figure. D) No; it does not have any supernatural beings in it. 10. What language were the gospels of the New Testament written in? A) Aramaic B) Latin C) Greek D) Egyptian

Could Primary Immunodeficiency explain why my lungs never heal...? I keep thinking it may be COPD or chronic bronchitis...I even compared the cough to AIDS...but knew I test neg for AIDS. So if I stay on anti-biotics but never get past my respiratory problems, does it sound like Primary Immunodeficiency? I just saw a commercial on Headline News. I had never heard of Primary Immunodeficiency before. It does seem to explain what I have been dealing with. Anyone here have any experience with Primary Immunodeficiency or its patients? I have been bronchil my whole life. Right now I have atelectasis or partially collapsed lung. I have been to the doctor twice in ten days. I am going to ask for t cell and b cell count next time I go...January... yes with a collapsed lung...you are definately short of breath...that is how I found out about the collapsed lung...I went in especially beacuse of the short of breath thing. There has to be a BIG reason why I never heal, meds do me no good, and I seem to be constantly sick. I think is PI or CVI. I was around my granddaddy who smoke for years. He eventually died of asbestos cancer which worries me. I could have breathed those fibers from his clothing. He mixed paint for making ceiling board. He worked for Owens Corning.

Are there any inspiring atheists? I can't think of any? I have a project in which I must compare famous inspiring atheists to famous inspiring believers. I always hear stories about inspiring believers of all sorts of religions who devote their lives to social justice and unquestionable love for the less fortunate. A few that I can name off-hand include Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Thich Nhat Hanh, Padre Pio, Father Damien of Molokai, Pope John Paul II, Jeremiah McAuley, and Ignatius de Loyola. And I'm sure that I could find many more than that. Not only that, but I also know many believers who inspire me in my personal life. So my question is, could anyone possibly point out some famous inspiring atheists who’ve led lives similar to Mother Teresa’s or Gandhi’s, or could you share some of your stories about inspiring atheists whom you know personally? Also, do atheists ever go on mission trips to help the AIDS victims in Africa or the poor in South America? Almost everyone healthy enough at my parish has been on at least one of these mission trips, and I was wondering whether atheists ever participate in these types of things. (continued...) I found a site of famous atheists, but none of them seem too inspiring. The most inspiring atheist on this list is Abraham Lincoln. http://www.wonderfulatheistsofcfl.org/Quotes.htm#nietzsche The rest are just famous politicians, scientists, and celebrities. However, none of them really accomplished anything that reveals a deeper passion for the less fortunate and social justice. Yes, a scientist is a necessary and note-worthy profession, but most of them lived isolated lives and never sought to reach out to those in suffering. If I just talked about boring scientists who dedicated their lives to studying in isolation, I think that would misrepresent atheists as a rather dull group of people (considering that I’ll have to compare them to the famous inspiring believers mentioned earlier). But I’d still like to hear of some inspiring atheists you know on a personal level. Thank you, and I’m looking forward to your insights. "just curious"- yes, please do go on, because none of those can be compared to Mother Teresa or Gandhi. I don't think Richard Dawkins is too inspiring. Intelligent? Yes. Inspiring? No. Nemesis- Inspiration in people preaching? Mother Teresa certainly didn't preach. Great Gazoo- I think you gave some good examples, but once again, is Bill Gates comparable to Mother Teresa? To say that he's done more than my whole Church combined is obviously narrowed to the perspective of money donations, and I would still have to say that Mother Teresa's contributions are all together much greater than Bill Gates's. sweet sweet jane- 10 years!? Wow. *You* inspire me. I like your list too. They're all great examples. Don Printninja- You definitely have the most complete list, but many of these people were already on the website that I referenced. And I probably should've but I failed to mention that my audience is primarily comprised of Christians (it's for a potential Christian website), so your reasoning doesn't work out too well for my project, considering that you believe their accomplishments surpass the capabilities of religion. Personally, I agree with that in scientific and political terms, but I know a lot of fundies who wouldn't. lol

10 Reasons why the End Times are clearly upon us. Do you agree? Clearly things are getting worse all around us and the day of Judgement is at hand. Are you ready to answer to Jesus? Here's 10 reasons why this is so 1/ Natural disasters are occuring with more frequency. Are things really getting worse? The Bible doesn't mention a single hurricane in the gulf coast or a single tsunami in the far east back then yet they happen almost every week nowadays. 2/ Disease is on the rise. AIDS is everywhere and it has probably killed more people than anything ever. AIDS is proof that Jesus is coming back soon. He will probably bring with him all those diseases we have eradicated over the years to teach us a lesson about trying to slow down the end times. 3/ There are more wars now than ever. Just look around you! I count *at least* two. Afghanistan and Iraq are just the start. And what about the wars that the government is not telling you about? There may have been wars and death all the time in biblical times but these were mostly started by God so they don't count. 4/ The Bible says Men will be lovers of themselves. That's so true in these last days. There are gays everywhere. Even on TV now. Our enlightened tolerence of people who are born with different sexual persuassions is proof that some of us are deserving of destruction. Homosexuality was a word coined in the 19th century so we didn't even have gay people before then 5/ In the end days there will be many disbelievers in the Lord and the church will splinter into factions. How true is that! This has never happended before and is unique to the age we live in. There are so few believers nowadays - only about 30% of the world (2 billion people). Surely there were more Christians than this before Jesus' time? 6/ The financial crisis is proof that Jesus' return is imminent. We are living in "chaotic times" and I predict that within 18 months most of us will be dead due to the recession. 7/ Children are more disrespectful of their parents than ever before. I mean, I'm sure they probably are because I have only been a kid once and only have that to compare to. Greek scholars wrote of similar problems before even Christ was born but what do they know - they weren't favoured by God! 8/ You hear about our society crumbling all the time on the internet. In fact these reports have exponentially increased in volume on the net over the past 20 years. Before that I don't remember seeing this anywhere on the web. 9/ In these modern times men are filled with greed, selfishness and hatred for one another. Just like the Bible says we would be in the End Times. In Jesus time eveyone was different. Apart from the Jews and the Romans who crucified Him. And before that the Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines and Canaanites. 10/ If Jesus doesn't come back in my lifetime I was be really disappointed. Wanting something to be true is *almost* the same as proving it to be true. Anyone agree? Anyone else noticed that the signs are all there? Jordan B - honestly. I'm ashamed you spent so much time actually addressing my "points". Perhaps I need to be less subtle in future (if indeed there is a future for any of us....)?

Atheists! Do you not concede that the End Times are at hand? 10 reasons why they are.? (repost) Clearly things are getting worse all around us and the day of Judgement is at hand. Are you ready to answer to Jesus? Here's 10 reasons why this is so 1/ Natural disasters are occuring with more frequency. Are things really getting worse? The Bible doesn't mention a single hurricane in the gulf coast or a single tsunami in the far east back then yet they happen almost every week nowadays. 2/ Disease is on the rise. AIDS is everywhere and it has probably killed more people than anything ever. AIDS is proof that Jesus is coming back soon. He will probably bring with him all those diseases we have eradicated over the years to teach us a lesson about trying to slow down the end times. 3/ There are more wars now than ever. Just look around you! I count *at least* two. Afghanistan and Iraq are just the start. And what about the wars that the government is not telling you about? There may have been wars and death all the time in biblical times but these were mostly started by God so they don't count. 4/ The Bible says Men will be lovers of themselves. That's so true in these last days. There are gays everywhere. Even on TV now. Our enlightened tolerence of people who are born with different sexual persuassions is proof that some of us are deserving of destruction. Homosexuality was a word coined in the 19th century so we didn't even have gay people before then 5/ In the end days there will be many disbelievers in the Lord and the church will splinter into factions. How true is that! This has never happended before and is unique to the age we live in. There are so few believers nowadays - only about 30% of the world (2 billion people). Surely there were more Christians than this before Jesus' time? 6/ The financial crisis is proof that Jesus' return is imminent. We are living in "chaotic times" and I predict that within 18 months most of us will be dead due to the recession. 7/ Children are more disrespectful of their parents than ever before. I mean, I'm sure they probably are because I have only been a kid once and only have that to compare to. Greek scholars wrote of similar problems before even Christ was born but what do they know - they weren't favoured by God! 8/ You hear about our society crumbling all the time on the internet. In fact these reports have exponentially increased in volume on the net over the past 20 years. Before that I don't remember seeing this anywhere on the web. 9/ In these modern times men are filled with greed, selfishness and hatred for one another. Just like the Bible says we would be in the End Times. In Jesus time eveyone was different. Apart from the Jews and the Romans who crucified Him. And before that the Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines and Canaanites. 10/ If Jesus doesn't come back in my lifetime I was be really disappointed. Wanting something to be true is *almost* the same as proving it to be true. Anyone agree? Anyone else noticed that the signs are all there? Ermm. No. No, I'm not being serious. I didn't even think I was being subtle.

Another rap son written . SERIOUS STUFF> give feedback. 17 years old.? Enslave the free song 10 (CHORUS) The people at the top the only ones seeing clearly, Their definitely not what they appear to be Im 17, saving the planet means more to me than the majority controlling us through media tyranny enslaving the free (CHORUS) History blurred like a TV without cable Shit occurs when you walk out without the cash on the table You will enable people to be able to rock the cradle Or if your Jewish a ladle You have to begin to realize whats going on worldwide Then you have to decide which side your on theirs or mine Piece of mind time to recline and take in the time People hearing the rhymes not taking the time to read between the lines You have to hear the signs and be able to symbolize Like when your looking directly into the all seeing eye Whether you like it or not you’re a slave to the system Your whole entire life you gave and assist them Like our government gave to aid the Nazi’s mission Buying artillery, gasoline and ammunition Carlyle group financing missles dropped on you No wonder there’s terrorist’s monkey see monkey do The terrorists that are claimed to have appeared aint new There old part of the whole al - CIAida crew Just a few, letting em brew until their all put together like beef stew Cause its all about beef not about a sigh of relief (CHORUS) The people at the top the only ones seeing clearly, Their definitely not what they appear to be Im 17, saving the planet means more to me than the majority controlling us through media tyranny enslaving the free (CHORUS) Anyone a shade darker than me considered a terrorist But the people sitting in our governments don’t compare to this Their the ones pulling the strings the ones that got those things Called nuclear weapons their reppin and the destruction it brings And the bullets that penetrate make you levitate, their heavy weight The bullets that make you faint and sometimes deciding your fate Leavin you trapped in a crate beside someone you relate Every bullet represents one more nail in your way Your attitude has to be positive thinking about prevailing Not failing, like a train moving at fast speeds and derailing People have lighten up enjoy the brighter sides of life Like having a family, maybe son, daughter and wife If more people smoked pot the days wouldn’t feel so long More people would get along, doing more right than wrong Open my mail box wont find anthrax or a pipe bomb Although you may find marijuana a pipe and a bong Or the lyrics to another song the shit just goes on (CHORUS) The people at the top the only ones seeing clearly, Their definitely not what they appear to be Im 17, saving the planet means more to me than the majority controlling us through media tyranny enslaving the free (CHORUS)

a more "discussion" topic about 9/11 (you may hate me but please think about it...)? yes 9/11 was bad but i over heard some people talking about it today at school saying its the worst disaster thats ever happened, (i should've spoke up) but i disagree with that. I mean, yes it was devastating, but i noticed how decicated both cananda and america were to contributing more to poverty and research for AIDS/HIV and vaccination in africa and other countries, but right when 9/11 hit, our complete attention/money/focus was on that and we turned our backs on the countries in even more need. i am not an american citizen, but compare how many people died in 9/11 and then look how many people die in more poor countries everyday (it's probably 10x as much). The people who died in 9/11 and the people who were afflicted with it had/have more privilage than an average citizen in guatamala. it sickens me...but i am curious to see answers and responces to this (i know some may be harsh or maybe some agree) be free to express your answers no matter what content they may be....

I think I need some help any advice!!?? Every day I get online and look up health problems and things that could be wrong with me. My newest thing is HIV. I had an pimple on my arm and convinced myself that I had aids. The more I read the more I tried to relate to it. I even went as far to get me and my boyfriend tested (he's already been tested for all STDS and he thought it made no sense to get tested since we have only been with each other) ...Also cancer, I was convinced I had that because of my weird menstrual cycle. I read about these things every day while at work or at home and find new diseases. I go to the doctors but I'm just convinced they're not doing a good enough job at hearing my concerns and testing me for these things. Every symptom I have is another trip to the doctors, but then I become embarassed and cancel my appoitments when I explain this to my family and they tell me "I'm fine" Recently I went to the docotors for my first pap smear, they asked me to do a repeat in six months and I'm scared to death I have some kind of terminal illness. Actually I'm convinced that I have several different diseases at once but the doctor isn't checking carefully enough no matter what I say. (same thing goes for dentistry/vision/and mental illenesses) I'm tired of the doctor and hospital bills (luckily I have insurance) and I'm tired of thinking I'm going to die from untreated illness that I keep on making myself believe I have it's very, very depressing. Should I see someone about this? Or is this normal or at least mild compared to others? IAnything will help, thanks...

Question regarding horses? Years ago I use to ride and all I knew was not to walk behind a horse. From there I had a love of dogs therefore spent a very long time researching my breed of choice. I now ride again. Have done only for the last month or so, but I want to keep it up, so I am getting myself as prepared as possible. I'm great with dogs, not afraid of the biggest of giants, mainly because I know a tad bit how they "think" [behaviour wise], and plus I watch Abbie my own dog. So it's like hands on experience. I have read like 200 books, 200 pages online, all sorts, but sometimes, hearing it from people face to face - [screen to screen in this case] is sometimes better. So I have began reading this; http://www.equine-behavior.com/Introduction1.htm and I have googled signs of horses' behaviour and other equine topics like food, tack, gaits etc. I have a book by numerous authors, called the Complete Illustrated Horse and Pony encyclopedia which I'm reading too. But can you tell me a little about horse psychology? I am familiar with dogs, but horses are very different. I was that naive and ignorant to compare the animals. I do ride, once a week, and there's a lady who works with my mum who is taking me to her stables and is going to teach me best she can, but behavior wise is there anything I SHOULD really know...or is this something I pick up, as with the dog's you can read and read and read, but you always need the hands on to aid? Thanks. I am very new to this, so don't let this cloud your judgment.. Thanks Spirit Wolf :)

Opinions needed about Verizon vs AT&T? Currently I have verizon, and have stuck with it for about 6 years. However my contract is up and now I'm considering switching to AT&T. However, both phones are similar and the plans are the same just with a few differences. I'm trying to decide what to do. Here's the facts: Verizon- Samsung Rogue. AT&T- Samsung Impression Plan is identical for both companies however with At&t I get a student discount with the University I attend so for the same amount of options on my plan, I'll be getting it a bit cheaper. However the Verizon phone has a regular headphone jack which is nice because I don't use bluetooth. Also my other concern is I've been hearing people comment that AT&T drops calls and Verizon has better coverage. I've always had Verizon and so I don't have anything to compare that statement to. If you have any feedback on which is a better choice either because of the plan or because of the phone, I'd greatly appreciate any input to aid in my decision.

Harvard Question!! plz help!!? hi everyone, i am from Canada and in 2 years I am going to the U.S. for university (undergrad). it has always been my dream to go to somewhere like Harvard, but if i don't get in, it's not the end of the world :) Anyways, i heard that the financial aid there is great..most of the time, Harvard pays for all of it. Both my sister and i want to go; my dad has a prestigious job, however, he works in a small town and doesn't make a lot of money compared to those who work in bustling cities. Of course, i have never asked him how much he makes per year, but i heard that you have to write down your family income on the application. i am afraid that if i apply for financial aid and my dad doesn't tell me exactly how much he makes (we obviously never talk about his salary), then Harvard will find out and not help me out financially. my mom also said that if we don't apply for financial aid, we will be spending about $100,000 per year and we don't have that kind of money!! so i guess what i am wondering is if my dad doesn't tell me how much he makes when it comes time to fill out the application for Harvard, can Harvard find out what he truly makes, and can Harvard not support me financially anymore? we don't really have a lot saved up, and if i get in, i want to go to Harvard knowing that $100 000 (for me and my sis) is not going down the toilet each year. Thank-you so much for answering my question!! All answers are appreciated :)

Is it good to drink milk? The text is too long but worthwhile read....? "MILK" Just the word itself sounds comforting! "How about a nice cup of hot milk?" The last time you heard that question it was from someone who cared for you--and you appreciated their effort. The entire matter of food and especially that of milk is surrounded with emotional and cultural importance. Milk was our very first food. If we were fortunate it was our mother's milk. A loving link, given and taken. It was the only path to survival. If not mother's milk it was cow's milk or soy milk "formula"--rarely it was goat, camel or water buffalo milk. Now, we are a nation of milk drinkers. Nearly all of us. Infants, the young, adolescents, adults and even the aged. We drink dozens or even several hundred gallons a year and add to that many pounds of "dairy products" such as cheese, butter, and yogurt. Can there be anything wrong with this? We see reassuring images of healthy, beautiful people on our television screens and hear messages that assure us that, "Milk is good for your body." Our dieticians insist that: "You've got to have milk, or where will you get your calcium?" School lunches always include milk and nearly every hospital meal will have milk added. And if that isn't enough, our nutritionists told us for years that dairy products make up an "essential food group." Industry spokesmen made sure that colourful charts proclaiming the necessity of milk and other essential nutrients were made available at no cost for schools. Cow's milk became "normal." You may be surprised to learn that most of the human beings that live on planet Earth today do not drink or use cow's milk. Further, most of them can't drink milk because it makes them ill. There are students of human nutrition who are not supportive of milk use for adults. Here is a quotation from the March/April 1991 Utne Reader: If you really want to play it safe, you may decide to join the growing number of Americans who are eliminating dairy products from their diets altogether. Although this sounds radical to those of us weaned on milk and the five basic food groups, it is eminently viable. Indeed, of all the mammals, only humans--and then only a minority, principally Caucasians--continue to drink milk beyond babyhood. Who is right? Why the confusion? Where best to get our answers? Can we trust milk industry spokesmen? Can you trust any industry spokesmen? Are nutritionists up to date or are they simply repeating what their professors learned years ago? What about the new voices urging caution? I believe that there are three reliable sources of information. The first, and probably the best, is a study of nature. The second is to study the history of our own species. Finally we need to look at the world's scientific literature on the subject of milk. Let's look at the scientific literature first. From 1988 to 1993 there were over 2,700 articles dealing with milk recorded in the 'Medicine' archives. Fifteen hundred of theses had milk as the main focus of the article. There is no lack of scientific information on this subject. I reviewed over 500 of the 1,500 articles, discarding articles that dealt exclusively with animals, esoteric research and inconclusive studies. How would I summarize the articles? They were only slightly less than horrifying. First of all, none of the authors spoke of cow's milk as an excellent food, free of side effects and the 'perfect food' as we have been led to believe by the industry. The main focus of the published reports seems to be on intestinal colic, intestinal irritation, intestinal bleeding, anemia, allergic reactions in infants and children as well as infections such as salmonella. More ominous is the fear of viral infection with bovine leukemia virus or an AIDS-like virus as well as concern for childhood diabetes. Contamination of milk by blood and white (pus) cells as well as a variety of chemicals and insecticides was also discussed. Among children the problems were allergy, ear and tonsillar infections, bedwetting, asthma, intestinal bleeding, colic and childhood diabetes. In adults the problems seemed centered more around heart disease and arthritis, allergy, sinusitis, and the more serious questions of leukemia, lymphoma and cancer. I think that an answer can also be found in a consideration of what occurs in nature & what happens with free living mammals and what happens with human groups living in close to a natural state as 'hunter-gatherers'. Our paleolithic ancestors are another crucial and interesting group to study. Here we are limited to speculation and indirect evidences, but the bony remains available for our study are remarkable. There is no doubt whatever that these skeletal remains reflect great strength, muscularity (the size of the muscular insertions show this), and total absence of advanced osteoporosis. And if you feel that these people are not important for us to study, consider that today our genes are programming our bodies in almost exactly the same way as our ancestors of 50,000 to 100,000 years ago. WHAT IS MILK? Milk is a maternal lactating secretion, a short term nutrient for new-borns. Nothing more, nothing less. Invariably, the mother of any mammal will provide her milk for a short period of time immediately after birth. When the time comes for 'weaning', the young offspring is introduced to the proper food for that species of mammal. A familiar example is that of a puppy. The mother nurses the pup for just a few weeks and then rejects the young animal and teaches it to eat solid food. Nursing is provided by nature only for the very youngest of mammals. Of course, it is not possible for animals living in a natural state to continue with the drinking of milk after weaning. IS ALL MILK THE SAME? Then there is the matter of where we get our milk. We have settled on the cow because of its docile nature, its size, and its abundant milk supply. Somehow this choice seems 'normal' and blessed by nature, our culture, and our customs. But is it natural? Is it wise to drink the milk of another species of mammal? Consider for a moment, if it was possible, to drink the milk of a mammal other than a cow, let's say a rat. Or perhaps the milk of a dog would be more to your liking. Possibly some horse milk or cat milk. Do you get the idea? Well, I'm not serious about this, except to suggest that human milk is for human infants, dogs' milk is for pups, cows' milk is for calves, cats' milk is for kittens, and so forth. Clearly, this is the way nature intends it. Just use your own good judgement on this one. Milk is not just milk. The milk of every species of mammal is unique and specifically tailored to the requirements of that animal. For example, cows' milk is very much richer in protein than human milk. Three to four times as much. It has five to seven times the mineral content. However, it is markedly deficient in essential fatty acids when compared to human mothers' milk. Mothers' milk has six to ten times as much of the essential fatty acids, especially linoleic acid. (Incidentally, skimmed cow's milk has no linoleic acid). It simply is not designed for humans. Food is not just food, and milk is not just milk. It is not only the proper amount of food but the proper qualitative composition that is critical for the very best in health and growth. Biochemists and physiologists -and rarely medical doctors - are gradually learning that foods contain the crucial elements that allow a particular species to develop its unique specializations. Clearly, our specialization is for advanced neurological development and delicate neuromuscular control. We do not have much need of massive skeletal growth or huge muscle groups as does a calf. Think of the difference between the demands make on the human hand and the demands on a cow's hoof. Human new-borns specifically need critical material for their brains, spinal cord and nerves. Can mother's milk increase intelligence? It seems that it can. In a remarkable study published in Lancet during 1992 (Vol. 339, p. 261-4), a group of British workers randomly placed premature infants into two groups. One group received a proper formula, the other group received human breast milk. Both fluids were given by stomach tube. These children were followed up for over 10 years. In intelligence testing, the human milk children averaged 10 IQ points higher! Well, why not? Why wouldn't the correct building blocks for the rapidly maturing and growing brain have a positive effect? In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1982) Ralph Holman described an infant who developed profound neurological disease while being nourished by intravenous fluids only. The fluids used contained only linoleic acid - just one of the essential fatty acids. When the other, alpha linoleic acid, was added to the intravenous fluids the neurological disorders cleared. In the same journal five years later Bjerve, Mostad and Thoresen, working in Norway found exactly the same problem in adult patients on long term gastric tube feeding. In 1930 Dr. G.O. Burr in Minnesota working with rats found that linoleic acid deficiencies created a deficiency syndrome. Why is this mentioned? In the early 1960s pediatricians found skin lesions in children fed formulas without the same linoleic acid. Remembering the research, the addition of the acid to the formula cured the problem. Essential fatty acids are just that and cows' milk is markedly deficient in these when compared to human milk. WELL, AT LEAST COW'S MILK IS PURE Or is it? Fifty years ago an average cow produced 2,000 pounds of milk per year. Today the top producers give 50,000 pounds! How was this accomplished? Drugs, antibiotics, hormones, forced feeding plans and specialized breeding; that's how. The latest high-tech onslaught on the poor cow is bovine growth hormone or BGH. This genetically engineered drug is supposed to stimulate milk production but, according to Monsanto, the hormone's manufacturer, does not affect the milk or meat. There are three other manufacturers: Upjohn, Eli Lilly, and American Cyanamid Company. Obviously, there have been no long-term studies on the hormone's effect on the humans drinking the milk. Other countries have banned BGH because of safety concerns. One of the problems with adding molecules to a milk cows' body is that the molecules usually come out in the milk. I don't know how you feel, but I don't want to experiment with the ingestion of a growth hormone. A related problem is that it causes a marked increase (50 to 70 per cent) in mastitis. This, then, requires antibiotic therapy, and the residues of the antibiotics appear in the milk. It seems that the public is uneasy about this product and in one survey 43 per cent felt that growth hormone treated milk represented a health risk. A vice president for public policy at Monsanto was opposed to labelling for that reason, and because the labelling would create an 'artificial distinction'. The country is awash with milk as it is, we produce more milk than we can consume. Let's not create storage costs and further taxpayer burdens, because the law requires the USDA to buy any surplus of butter, cheese, or non-fat dry milk at a support price set by Congress! In fiscal 1991, the USDA spent $757 million on surplus butter, and one billion dollars a year on average for price supports during the 1980s (Consumer Reports, May 1992: 330-32). Any lactating mammal excretes toxins through her milk. This includes antibiotics, pesticides, chemicals and hormones. Also, all cows' milk contains blood! The inspectors are simply asked to keep it under certain limits. You may be horrified to learn that the USDA allows milk to contain from one to one and a half million white blood cells per millilitre. (That's only 1/30 of an ounce). If you don't already know this, I'm sorry to tell you that another way to describe white cells where they don't belong would be to call them pus cells. To get to the point, is milk pure or is it a chemical, biological, and bacterial cocktail? Finally, will the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) protect you? The United States General Accounting Office (GAO) tells us that the FDA and the individual States are failing to protect the public from drug residues in milk. Authorities test for only 4 of the 82 drugs in dairy cows. As you can imagine, the Milk Industry Foundation's spokesman claims it's perfectly safe. Jerome Kozak says, "I still think that milk is the safest product we have." Other, perhaps less biased observers, have found the following: 38% of milk samples in 10 cities were contaminated with sulfa drugs or other antibiotics. (This from the Centre for Science in the Public Interest and The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 29, 1989).. A similar study in Washington, DC found a 20 percent contamination rate (Nutrition Action Healthletter, April 1990). What's going on here? When the FDA tested milk, they found few problems. However, they used very lax standards. When they used the same criteria, the FDA data showed 51 percent of the milk samples showed drug traces. Let's focus in on this because it’s critical to our understanding of the apparent discrepancies. The FDA uses a disk-assay method that can detect only 2 of the 30 or so drugs found in milk. Also, the test detects only at the relatively high level. A more powerful test called the 'Charm II test' can detect drugs down to 5 parts per billion. One nasty subject must be discussed. It seems that cows are forever getting infections around the udder that require ointments and antibiotics. An article from France tells us that when a cow receives penicillin, that penicillin appears in the milk for from 4 to 7 milkings. Another study from the University of Nevada, Reno tells of cells in 'mastic milk', milk from cows with infected udders. An elaborate analysis of the cell fragments, employing cell cultures, flow cytometric analysis , and a great deal of high tech stuff. Do you know what the conclusion was? If the cow has mastitis, there is pus in the milk. Sorry, it’s in the study, all concealed with language such as "macrophages containing many vacuoles and phagocytosed particles," etc. IT GETS WORSE Well, at least human mothers' milk is pure! Sorry. A huge study showed that human breast milk in over 14,000 women had contamination by pesticides! Further, it seems that the sources of the pesticides are meat and--you guessed it-- dairy products. Well, why not? These pesticides are concentrated in fat and that's what's in these products. (Of interest, a subgroup of lactating vegetarian mothers had only half the levels of contamination). A recent report showed an increased concentration of pesticides in the breast tissue of women with breast cancer when compared to the tissue of women with fibrocystic disease. Other articles in the standard medical literature describe problems. Just scan these titles: 1.Cow's Milk as a Cause of Infantile Colic Breast-Fed Infants. Lancet 2 (1978): 437 2.Dietary Protein-Induced Colitis in Breast- Fed Infants, J. Pediatr. I01 (1982): 906 3.The Question of the Elimination of Foreign Protein in Women's Milk, J. Immunology 19 (1930): 15 There are many others. There are dozens of studies describing the prompt appearance of cows' milk allergy in children being exclusively breast-fed! The cows' milk allergens simply appear in the mother's milk and are transmitted to the infant. A committee on nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics reported on the use of whole cows' milk in infancy (Pediatrics 1983: 72-253). They were unable to provide any cogent reason why bovine milk should be used before the first birthday yet continued to recommend its use! Doctor Frank Oski from the Upstate Medical Centre Department of Pediatrics, commenting on the recommendation, cited the problems of acute gastrointestinal blood loss in infants, the lack of iron, recurrent abdominal pain, milk- borne infections and contaminants, and said: Why give it at all - then or ever? In the face of uncertainty about many of the potential dangers of whole bovine milk, it would seem prudent to recommend that whole milk not be started until the answers are available. Isn't it time for these uncontrolled experiments on human nutrition to come to an end? In the same issue of Pediatrics he further commented: It is my thesis that whole milk should not be fed to the infant in the first year of life because of its association with iron deficiency anemia (milk is so deficient in iron that an infant would have to drink an impossible 31 quarts a day to get the RDA of 15 mg), acute gastrointiestinal bleeding, and various manifestations of food allergy. I suggest that unmodified whole bovine milk should not be consumed after infancy because of the problems of lactose intolerance, its contribution to the genesis of atherosclerosis, and its possible link to other diseases. In late 1992 Dr. Benjamin Spock, possibly the best known pediatrician in history, shocked the country when he articulated the same thoughts and specified avoidance for the first two years of life. Here is his quotation: I want to pass on the word to parents that cows' milk from the carton has definite faults for some babies. Human milk is the right one for babies. A study comparing the incidence of allergy and colic in the breast-fed infants of omnivorous and vegan mothers would be important. I haven't found such a study; it would be both important and inexpensive. And it will probably never be done. There is simply no academic or economic profit involved. OTHER PROBLEMS Let's just mention the problems of bacterial contamination. Salmonella, E. coli, and staphylococcal infections can be traced to milk. In the old days tuberculosis was a major problem and some folks want to go back to those times by insisting on raw milk on the basis that it's "natural." This is insanity! A study from UCLA showed that over a third of all cases of salmonella infection in California, 1980-1983 were traced to raw milk. That'll be a way to revive good old brucellosis again and I would fear leukemia, too. (More about that later). In England, and Wales where raw milk is still consumed there have been outbreaks of milk-borne diseases. The Journal of the American Medical Association (251: 483, 1984) reported a multi-state series of infections caused by Yersinia enterocolitica in pasteurised whole milk. This is despite safety precautions. All parents dread juvenile diabetes for their children. A Canadian study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Mar. 1990, describes a "...significant positive correlation between consumption of unfermented milk protein and incidence of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in data from various countries. Conversely a possible negative relationship is observed between breast-feeding at age 3 months and diabetes risk.". Another study from Finland found that diabetic children had higher levels of serum antibodies to cows’ milk (Diabetes Research 7(3): 137-140 March 1988). Here is a quotation from this study: We infer that either the pattern of cows' milk consumption is altered in children who will have insulin dependent diabetes mellitus or, their immunological reactivity to proteins in cows' milk is enhanced, or the permeability of their intestines to cows' milk protein is higher than normal. The April 18, 1992 British Medical Journal has a fascinating study contrasting the difference in incidence of juvenile insulin dependent diabetes in Pakistani children who have migrated to England. The incidence is roughly 10 times greater in the English group compared to children remaining in Pakistan! What caused this highly significant increase? The authors said that "the diet was unchanged in Great Britain." Do you believe that? Do you think that the availability of milk, sugar and fat is the same in Pakistan as it is in England? That a grocery store in England has the same products as food sources in Pakistan? I don't believe that for a minute. Remember, we're not talking here about adult onset, type II diabetes which all workers agree is strongly linked to diet as well as to a genetic predisposition. This study is a major blow to the "it's all in your genes" crowd. Type I diabetes was always considered to be genetic or possibly viral, but now this? So resistant are we to consider diet as causation that the authors of the last article concluded that the cooler climate in England altered viruses and caused the very real increase in diabetes! The first two authors had the same reluctance top admit the obvious. The milk just may have had something to do with the disease. The latest in this remarkable list of reports, a New England Journal of Medicine article (July 30, 1992), also reported in the Los Angeles Times. This study comes from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and from Finnish researchers. In Finland there is "...the world's highest rate of dairy product consumption and the world's highest rate of insulin dependent diabetes. The disease strikes about 40 children out of every 1,000 there contrasted with six to eight per 1,000 in the United States.... Antibodies produced against the milk protein during the first year of life, the researchers speculate, also attack and destroy the pancreas in a so-called auto-immune reaction, producing diabetes in people whose genetic makeup leaves them vulnerable." "...142 Finnish children with newly diagnosed diabetes. They found that every one had at least eight times as many antibodies against the milk protein as did healthy children, clear evidence that the children had a raging auto immune disorder." The team has now expanded the study to 400 children and is starting a trial where 3,000 children will receive no dairy products during the first nine months of life. "The study may take 10 years, but we'll get a definitive answer one way or the other," according to one of the researchers. I would caution them to be certain that the breast feeding mothers use on cows' milk in their diets or the results will be confounded by the transmission of the cows' milk protein in the mother's breast milk.... Now what was the reaction from the diabetes association? This is very interesting! Dr. F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, the president of the association says: "It does not mean that children should stop drinking milk or that parents of diabetics should withdraw dairy products. These are rich sources of good protein." (Emphasis added) My God, it's the "good protein" that causes the problem! Do you suspect that the dairy industry may have helped the American Diabetes Association in the past? LEUKEMIA? LYMPHOMA? THIS MAY BE THE WORST--BRACE YOURSELF! I hate to tell you this, but the bovine leukemia virus is found in more than three of five dairy cows in the United States! This involves about 80% of dairy herds. Unfortunately, when the milk is pooled, a very large percentage of all milk produced is contaminated (90 to 95 per cent). Of course the virus is killed in pasteurisation-- if the pasteurisation was done correctly. What if the milk is raw? In a study of randomly collected raw milk samples the bovine leukemia virus was recovered from two-thirds. I sincerely hope that the raw milk dairy herds are carefully monitored when compared to the regular herds. (Science 1981; 213:1014). This is a world-wide problem. One lengthy study from Germany deplored the problem and admitted the impossibility of keeping the virus from infected cows' milk from the rest of the milk. Several European countries, including Germany and Switzerland, have attempted to "cull" the infected cows from their herds. Certainly the United States must be the leader in the fight against leukemic dairy cows, right? Wrong! We are the worst in the world with the former exception of Venezuela according to Virgil Hulse MD, a milk specialist who also has a B.S. in Dairy Manufacturing as well as a Master's degree in Public Health. As mentioned, the leukemia virus is rendered inactive by pasteurisation. Of course. However, there can be Chernobyl like accidents. One of these occurred in the Chicago area in April, 1985. At a modern, large, milk processing plant an accidental "cross connection" between raw and pasteurized milk occurred. A violent salmonella outbreak followed, killing 4 and making an estimated 150,000 ill. Now the question I would pose to the dairy industry people is this: "How can you assure the people who drank this milk that they were not exposed to the ingestion of raw, unkilled, bully active bovine leukemia viruses?" Further, it would be fascinating to know if a "cluster" of leukemia cases blossoms in that area in 1 to 3 decades. There are reports of "leukemia clusters" elsewhere, one of them mentioned in the June 10, 1990 San Francisco Chronicle involving Northern California. What happens to other species of mammals when they are exposed to the bovine leukemia virus? It's a fair question and the answer is not reassuring. Virtually all animals exposed to the virus develop leukemia. This includes sheep, goats, and even primates such as rhesus monkeys and chimpanzees. The route of transmission includes ingestion (both intravenous and intramuscular) and cells present in milk. There are obviously no instances of transfer attempts to human beings, but we know that the virus can infect human cells in vitro. There is evidence of human antibody formation to the bovine leukemia virus; this is disturbing. How did the bovine leukemia virus particles gain access to humans and become antigens? Was it as small, denatured particles? If the bovine leukemia viruses causes human leukemia, we could expect the dairy states with known leukemic herds to have a higher incidence of human leukemia. Is this so? Unfortunately, it seems to be the case! Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin have statistically higher incidence of leukemia than the national average. In Russia and in Sweden, areas with uncontrolled bovine leukemia virus have been linked with increases in human leukemia. I am also told that veterinarians have higher rates of leukemia than the general public. Dairy farmers have significantly elevated leukemia rates. Recent research shows lymphocytes from milk fed to neonatal mammals gains access to bodily tissues by passing directly through the intestinal wall. An optimistic note from the University of Illinois, Ubana from the Department of Animal Sciences shows the importance of one's perspective. Since they are concerned with the economics of milk and not primarily the health aspects, they noted that the production of milk was greater in the cows with the bovine leukemia virus. However when the leukemia produced a persistent and significant lymphocytosis (increased white blood cell count), the production fell off. They suggested "a need to re-evaluate the economic impact of bovine leukemia virus infection on the dairy industry". Does this mean that leukemia is good for profits only if we can keep it under control? You can get the details on this business concern from Proc. Nat. Acad. Sciences, U.S. Feb. 1989. I added emphasis and am insulted that a university department feels that this is an economic and not a human health issue. Do not expect help from the Department of Agriculture or the universities. The money stakes and the political pressures are too great. You're on you own. What does this all mean? We know that virus is capable of producing leukemia in other animals. Is it proven that it can contribute to human leukemia (or lymphoma, a related cancer)? Several articles tackle this one: 1.Epidemiologic Relationships of the Bovine Population and Human Leukemia in Iowa. Am Journal of Epidemiology 112 (1980):80 2.Milk of Dairy Cows Frequently Contains a Leukemogenic Virus. Science 213 (1981): 1014 3.Beware of the Cow. (Editorial) Lancet 2 (1974):30 4.Is Bovine Milk A Health Hazard?. Pediatrics; Suppl. Feeding the Normal Infant. 75:182-186; 1985 In Norway, 1422 individuals were followed for 11 and a half years. Those drinking 2 or more glasses of milk per day had 3.5 times the incidence of cancer of the lymphatic organs. British Med. Journal 61:456-9, March 1990. One of the more thoughtful articles on this subject is from Allan S. Cunningham of Cooperstown, New York. Writing in the Lancet, November 27, 1976 (page 1184), his article is entitled, "Lymphomas and Animal-Protein Consumption". Many people think of milk as “liquid meat” and Dr. Cunningham agrees with this. He tracked the beef and dairy consumption in terms of grams per day for a one year period, 1955-1956., in 15 countries . New Zealand, United States and Canada were highest in that order. The lowest was Japan followed by Yugoslavia and France. The difference between the highest and lowest was quite pronounced: 43.8 grams/day for New Zealanders versus 1.5 for Japan. Nearly a 30-fold difference! (Parenthetically, the last 36 years have seen a startling increase in the amount of beef and milk used in Japan and their disease patterns are reflecting this, confirming the lack of 'genetic protection' seen in migration studies. Formerly the increase in frequency of lymphomas in Japanese people was only in those who moved to the USA)! An interesting bit of trivia is to note the memorial built at the Gyokusenji Temple in Shimoda, Japan. This marked the spot where the first cow was killed in Japan for human consumption! The chains around this memorial were a gift from the US Navy. Where do you suppose the Japanese got the idea to eat beef? The year? 1930. Cunningham found a highly significant positive correlation between deaths from lymphomas and beef and dairy ingestion in the 15 countries analysed. A few quotations from his article follow: The average intake of protein in many countries is far in excess of the recommended requirements. Excessive consumption of animal protein may be one co-factor in the causation of lymphomas by acting in the following manner. Ingestion of certain proteins results in the adsorption of antigenic fragments through the gastrointestinal mucous membrane. This results in chronic stimulation of lymphoid tissue to which these fragments gain access "Chronic immunological stimulation causes lymphomas in laboratory animals and is believed to cause lymphoid cancers in men." The gastrointestinal mucous membrane is only a partial barrier to the absorption of food antigens, and circulating antibodies to food protein is commonplace especially potent lymphoid stimulants. Ingestion of cows' milk can produce generalized lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, and profound adenoid hypertrophy. It has been conservatively estimated that more than 100 distinct antigens are released by the normal digestion of cows' milk which evoke production of all antibody classes [This may explain why pasteurized, killed viruses are still antigenic and can still cause disease. Here's more. A large prospective study from Norway was reported in the British Journal of Cancer 61 (3):456-9, March 1990. (Almost 16,000 individuals were followed for 11 and a half years). For most cancers there was no association between the tumour and milk ingestion. However, in lymphoma, there was a strong positive association. If one drank two glasses or more daily (or the equivalent in dairy products), the odds were 3.4 times greater than in persons drinking less than one glass of developing a lymphoma. There are two other cow-related diseases that you should be aware of. At this time they are not known to be spread by the use of dairy products and are not known to involve man. The first is bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and the second is the bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV). The first of these diseases, we hope, is confined to England and causes cavities in the animal's brain. Sheep have long been known to suffer from a disease called scrapie. It seems to have been started by the feeding of contaminated sheep parts, especially brains, to the British cows. Now, use your good sense. Do cows seem like carnivores? Should they eat meat? This profit-motivated practice backfired and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or Mad Cow Disease, swept Britain. The disease literally causes dementia in the unfortunate animal and is 100 per cent incurable. To date, over 100,000 cows have been incinerated in England in keeping with British law. Four hundred to 500 cows are reported as infected each month. The British public is concerned and has dropped its beef consumption by 25 per cent, while some 2,000 schools have stopped serving beef to children. Several farmers have developed a fatal disease syndrome that resembles both BSE and CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob- Disease). But the British Veterinary Association says that transmission of BSE to humans is "remote." The USDA agrees that the British epidemic was due to the feeding of cattle with bonemeal or animal protein produced at rendering plants from the carcasses of scrapie-infected sheep. The have prohibited the importation of live cattle and zoo ruminants from Great Britain and claim that the disease does not exist in the United States. However, there may be a problem. "Downer cows" are animals who arrive at auction yards or slaughter houses dead, trampled, lacerated, dehydrated, or too ill from viral or bacterial diseases to walk. Thus they are "down." If they cannot respond to electrical shocks by walking, they are dragged by chains to dumpsters and transported to rendering plants where, if they are not already dead, they are killed. Even a "humane" death is usually denied them. They are then turned into protein food for animals as well as other preparations. Minks that have been fed this protein have developed a fatal encephalopathy that has some resemblance to BSE. Entire colonies of minks have been lost in this manner, particularly in Wisconsin. It is feared that the infective agent is a prion or slow virus possible obtained from the ill "downer cows." The British Medical Journal in an editorial whimsically entitled "How Now Mad Cow?" (BMJ vol. 304, 11 Apr. 1992:929- 30) describes cases of BSE in species not previously known to be affected, such as cats. They admit that produce contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy entered the human food chain in England between 1986 and 1989. They say. "The result of this experiment is awaited." As the incubation period can be up to three decades, wait we must. The immunodeficency virus is seen in cattle in the United States and is more worrisome. Its structure is closely related to that of the human AIDS virus. At this time we do not know if exposure to the raw BIV proteins can cause the sera of humans to become positive for HIV. The extent of the virus among American herds is said to be "widespread". (The USDA refuses to inspect the meat and milk to see if antibodies to this retrovirus is present). It also has no plans to quarantine the infected animals. As in the case of humans with AIDS, there is no cure for BIV in cows. Each day we consume beef and diary products from cows infected with these viruses and no scientific assurance exists that the products are safe. Eating raw beef (as in steak Tartare) strikes me as being very risky, especially after the Seattle E. coli deaths of 1993. A report in the Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research, October 1992, Vol. 56 pp.353-359 and another from the Russian literature, tell of a horrifying development. They report the first detection in human serum of the antibody to a bovine immunodeficiency virus protein. In addition to this disturbing report, is another from Russia telling us of the presence of virus proteins related to the bovine leukemia virus in 5 of 89 women with breast disease (Acta Virologica Feb. 1990 34(1): 19-26). The implications of these developments are unknown at present. However, it is safe to assume that these animal viruses are unlikely to "stay" in the animal kingdom. OTHER CANCERS--DOES IT GET WORSE? Unfortunately it does. Ovarian cancer--a particularly nasty tumour--was associated with milk consumption by workers at Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, New York. Drinking more than one glass of whole milk or equivalent daily gave a woman a 3.1 times risk over non-milk users. They felt that the reduced fat milk products helped reduce the risk. This association has been made repeatedly by numerous investigators. Another important study, this from the Harvard Medical School, analyzed data from 27 countries mainly from the 1970s. Again a significant positive correlation is revealed between ovarian cancer and per capita milk consumption. These investigators feel that the lactose component of milk is the responsible fraction, and the digestion of this is facilitated by the persistence of the ability to digest the lactose (lactose persistence) - a little different emphasis, but the same conclusion. This study was reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology 130 (5): 904-10 Nov. 1989. These articles come from two of the country's leading institutions, not the Rodale Press or Prevention Magazine. Even lung cancer has been associated with milk ingestion? The beverage habits of 569 lung cancer patients and 569 controls again at Roswell Park were studied in the International Journal of Cancer, April 15, 1989. Persons drinking whole milk 3 or more times daily had a 2-fold increase in lung cancer risk when compared to those never drinking whole milk. For many years we have been watching the lung cancer rates for Japanese men who smoke far more than American or European men but who develop fewer lung cancers. Workers in this research area feel that the total fat intake is the difference. There are not many reports studying an association between milk ingestion and prostate cancer. One such report though was of great interest. This is from the Roswell Park Memorial Institute and is found in Cancer 64 (3): 605-12, 1989. They analyzed the diets of 371 prostate cancer patients and comparable control subjects: Men who reported drinking three or more glasses of whole milk daily had a relative risk of 2.49 compared with men who reported never drinking whole milk the weight of the evidence appears to favour the hypothesis that animal fat is related to increased risk of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer diagnosed in US men and is the second leading cause of cancer mortality. WELL, WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? Is there any health reason at all for an adult human to drink cows' milk? It's hard for me to come up with even one good reason other than simple preference. But if you try hard, in my opinion, these would be the best two: milk is a source of calcium and it's a source of amino acids (proteins). Let's look at the calcium first. Why are we concerned at all about calcium? Obviously, we intend it to build strong bones and protect us against osteoporosis. And no doubt about it, milk is loaded with calcium. But is it a good calcium source for humans? I think not. These are the reasons. Excessive amounts of dairy products actually interfere with calcium absorption. Secondly, the excess of protein that the milk provides is a major cause of the osteoporosis problem. Dr. H egsted in England has been writing for years about the geographical distribution of osteoporosis. It seems that the countries with the highest intake of dairy products are invariably the countries with the most osteoporosis. He feels that milk is a cause of osteoporosis. Reasons to be given below. Numerous studies have shown that the level of calcium ingestion and especially calcium supplementation has no effect whatever on the development of osteoporosis. The most important such article appeared recently in the British Journal of Medicine where the long arm of our dairy industry can't reach. Another study in the United States actually showed a worsening in calcium balance in post-menopausal women given three 8-ounce glasses of cows' milk per day. (Am. Journal of Clin. Nutrition, 1985). The effects of hormone, gender, weight bearing on the axial bones, and in particular protein intake, are critically important. Another observation that may be helpful to our analysis is to note the absence of any recorded dietary deficiencies of calcium among people living on a natural diet without milk. For the key to the osteoporosis riddle, don’t look at calcium, look at protein. Consider these two contrasting groups. Eskimos have an exceptionally high protein intake estimated at 25 percent of total calories. They also have a high calcium intake at 2,500 mg/day. Their osteoporosis is among the worst in the world. The other instructive group are the Bantus of South Africa. They have a 12 percent protein diet, mostly p lant protein, and only 200 to 350 mg/day of calcium, about half our women's intake. The women have virtually no osteoporosis despite bearing six or more children and nursing them for prolonged periods! When African women immigrate to the United States, do they develop osteoporosis? The answer is yes, but not quite are much as Caucasian or Asian women. Thus, there is a genetic difference that is modified by diet. To answer the obvious question, "Well, where do you get your calcium?" The answer is: "From exactly the same place the cow gets the calcium, from green things that grow in the ground," mainly from leafy vegetables. After all, elephants and rhinos develop their huge bones (after being weaned) by eating green leafy plants, so do horses. Carnivorous animals also do quite nicely without leafy plants. It seems that all of earth's mammals do well if they live in harmony with their genetic programming and natural food. Only humans living an affluent life style have rampant osteoporosis. If animal references do not convince you, think of the several billion humans on this earth who have never seen cows' milk. Wouldn't you think osteoporosis would be prevalent in this huge group? The dairy people would suggest this but the truth is exactly the opposite. They have far less than that seen in the countries where dairy products are commonly consumed. It is the subject of another paper, but the truly significant determinants of osteoporosis are grossly excessive protein intakes and lack of weight bearing on long bones, both taking place over decades. Hormones play a secondary, but not trivial role in women. Milk is a deterrent to good bone health. THE PROTEIN MYTH Remember when you were a kid and the adults all told you to "make sure you get plenty of good protein". Protein was the nutritional "good guy”" when I was young. And of course milk is fitted right in. As regards protein, milk is indeed a rich source of protein- -"liquid meat," remember? However that isn't necessarily what we need. In actual fact it is a source of difficulty. Nearly all Americans eat too much protein. For this information we rely on the most authoritative source that I am aware of. This is the latest edition (1oth, 1989: 4th printing, Jan. 1992) of the Recommended Dietary Allowances produced by the National Research Council. Of interest, the current editor of this important work is Dr. Richard Havel of the University of California in San Francisco. First to be noted is that the recommended protein has been steadily revised downward in successive editions. The current recommendation is 0.75 g/kilo/day for adults 19 through 51 years. This, of course, is only 45 grams per day for the mythical 60 kilogram adult. You should also know that the WHO estimated the need for protein in adults to by .6g/kilo per day. (All RDA's are calculated with large safety allowances in case you're the type that wants to add some more to "be sure.") You can "get by" on 28 to 30 grams a day if necessary! Now 45 grams a day is a tiny amount of protein. That's an ounce and a half! Consider too, that the protein does not have to be animal protein. Vegetable protein is identical for all practical purposes and has no cholesterol and vastly less saturated fat. (Do not be misled by the antiquated belief that plant proteins must be carefully balanced to avoid deficiencies. This is not a realistic concern.) Therefore virtually all Americans, Canadians, British and European people are in a protein overloaded state. This has serious consequences when maintained over decades. The problems are the already mentioned osteoporosis, atherosclerosis and kidney damage. There is good evidence that certain malignancies, chiefly colon and rectal, are related to excessive meat intake. Barry Brenner, an eminent renal physiologist was the first to fully point out the dangers of excess protein for the kidney tubule. The dangers of the fat and cholesterol are known to all. Finally, you should know that the protein content of human milk is amount the lowest (0.9%) in mammals. IS THAT ALL OF THE TROUBLE? Sorry, there's more. Remember lactose? This is the principal carbohydrate of milk. It seems that nature provides new- borns with the enzymatic equipment to metabolize lactose, but this ability often extinguishes by age 4 or 5 years. What is the problem with lactose or milk sugar? It seems that it is a disaccharide which is too large to be absorbed into the blood stream without first being broken down into monosaccharides, namely galactose and glucose. This requires the presence of an enzyme, lactase plus additional enzymes to break down the galactose into glucose. Let's think about his for a moment. Nature gives us the ability to metabolize lactose for a few years and then shuts off the mechanism. Is Mother Nature trying to tell us something? Clearly all infants must drink milk. The fact that so many adults cannot seems to be related to the tendency for nature to abandon mechanisms that are not needed. At least half of the adult humans on this earth are lactose intolerant. It was not until the relatively recent introduction of dairy herding and the ability to "borrow" milk from another group of mammals that the survival advantage of preserving lactase (the enzyme that allows us to digest lactose) became evident. But why would it be advantageous to drink cows' milk? After all, most of the human beings in the history of the world did. And further, why was it just the white or light skinned humans who retained this knack while the pigmented people tended to lose it? Some students of evolution feel that white skin is a fairly recent innovation, perhaps not more than 20,000 or 30,000 years old. It clearly has to do with the Northward migration of early man to cold and relatively sunless areas when skins and clothing became available. Fair skin allows the production of Vitamin D from sunlight more readily than does dark skin. However, when only the face was exposed to sunlight that area of fair skin was insufficient to provide the vitamin D from sunlight. If dietary and sunlight sources were poorly available, the ability to use the abundant calcium in cows' milk would give a survival advantage to humans who could digest that milk. This seems to be the only logical explanation for fair skinned humans having a high degree of lactose tolerance when compared to dark skinned people. How does this break down? Certain racial groups, namely blacks are up to 90% lactose intolerant as adults. Caucasians are 20 to 40% lactose intolerant. Orientals are midway between the above two groups. Diarrhea, gas and abdominal cramps are the results of substantial milk intake in such persons. Most American Indians cannot tolerate milk. The milk industry admits that lactose intolerance plays intestinal havoc with as many as 50 million Americans. A lactose-intolerance industry has sprung up and had sales of $117 million in 1992 (Time May 17, 1993.) What if you are lactose-intolerant and lust after dairy products? Is all lost? Not at all. It seems that lactose is largely digested by bacteria and you will be able to enjoy your cheese despite lactose intolerance. Yogurt is similar in this respect. Finally, and I could never have dreamed this up, geneticists want to splice genes to alter the composition of milk (Am J Clin Nutr 1993 Suppl 302s). One could quibble and say that milk is totally devoid of fiber content and that its habitual use will predispose to constipation and bowel disorders. The association with anemia and occult intestinal bleeding in infants is known to all physicians. This is chiefly from its lack of iron and its irritating qualities for the intestinal mucosa. The pediatric literature abounds with articles describing irritated intestinal lining, bleeding, increased permeability as well as colic, diarrhea and vomiting in cows'milk-sensitive babies. The anemia gets a double push by loss of blood and iron as well as deficiency of iron in the cows' milk. Milk is also the leading cause of childhood allergy. LOW FAT One additional topic: the matter of "low fat" milk. A common and sincere question is: "Well, low fat milk is OK, isn't it?" The answer to this question is that low fat milk isn't low fat. The term "low fat" is a marketing term used to gull the public. Low fat milk contains from 24 to 33% fat as calories! The 2% figure is also misleading. This refers to weight. They don't tell you that, by weight, the milk is 87% water! "Well, then, kill-joy surely you must approve of non-fat milk!" I hear this quite a bit. (Another constant concern is: "What do you put on your cereal?") True, there is little or no fat, but now you have a relative overburden of protein and lactose. It there is something that we do not need more of it is another simple sugar-lactose, composed of galactose and glucose. Millions of Americans are lactose intolerant to boot, as noted. As for protein, as stated earlier, we live in a society that routinely ingests far more protein than we need. It is a burden for our bodies, especially the kidneys, and a prominent cause of osteoporosis. Concerning the dry cereal issue, I would suggest soy milk, rice milk or almond milk as a healthy substitute. If you're still concerned about calcium, "Westsoy" is formulated to have the same calcium concentration as milk. SUMMARY To my thinking, there is only one valid reason to drink milk or use milk products. That is just because we simply want to. Because we like it and because it has become a part of our culture. Because we have become accustomed to its taste and texture. Because we like the way it slides down our throat. Because our parents did the very best they could for us and provided milk in our earliest training and conditioning. They taught us to like it. And then probably the very best reason is ice cream! I've heard it described "to die for". I had one patient who did exactly that. He had no obvious vices. He didn't smoke or drink, he didn’t eat meat, his diet and lifestyle was nearly a perfectly health promoting one; but he had a passion. You guessed it, he loved rich ice cream. A pint of the richest would be a lean day's ration for him. On many occasions he would eat an entire quart - and yes there were some cookies and other pastries. Good ice cream deserves this after all. He seemed to be in good health despite some expected "middle age spread" when he had a devastating stroke which left him paralyzed, miserable and helpless, and he had additional strokes and d ied several years later never having left a hospital or rehabilitation unit. Was he old? I don't think so. He was in his 50s. So don't drink milk for health. I am convinced on the weight of the scientific evidence that it does not "do a body good." Inclusion of milk will only reduce your diet's nutritional value and safety. Most of the people on this planet live very healthfully without cows' milk. You can too. It will be difficult to change; we've been conditioned since childhood to think of milk as "nature's most perfect food." I'll guarantee you that it will be safe, improve your health and it won't cost anything. What can you lose? es esta pagina link http://notmilk.com/kradjian.html The most important information dissemination my. Not that, but I can make your text too long jajaja. If I write bad is that I am leading a translator jaja

When you're sick of the whole job application process, what then? Right, this is a long one. I have a big yellow box full to overflowing with job applications since I left college as a mature student at the age of 41. I loathe being unemployed, hate sitting on my own in the cottage, would much prefer to be out earning money and meeting people and making use of my talents instead of writing writing writing advice on Y!A. After I left college, I was in the thick of court proceedings trying to win contact to see my children, where I was claiming Legal Aid. If I worked, then I would have had to pay it all back, with barristers at £500 per hour, expert witnesses and hours and hours of solicitor's time. So I could not work until the final hearing. By then, there was a gap in my CV and nobody wanted me. Endless applications, interviews, building up hopes and persuading myself and them that there was nobody in the world better than me for their job. Then three weeks on, a letter saying they were very impressed with me and wishing me luck for the future. Over and over and over again. I did voluntary work with Riding for the Disabled. Anything to get out of the house for 3 years. Then at last a temporary job inspecting toilets. Someone else had pulled out, and did I want it? I was there like a flash, and actually loved it. The attendants were such characters. But the boss was a woman who really preferred to work with women, so when the permanent job came up, they gave it to someone else. 6 months. Then a New Deal admin. assistant job. Filing clerk. One day they asked me - do I know anything about databases? They had a whole load of data on village halls and were fed up ploughing through it all every time someone had a query on the phone. Could I do an on-screen query screen. So I grabbed a book on Access from the library and taught myself. It was done by the time my 13 weeks were up. But a permanent job? No, a woman had applied for it, so they had to give it to her. Only 2 months before I landed this job for a bathroom company fobbing off angry fitters who had not been paid, so that their payment could be delayed a few more weeks and help the company cash flow. They had a policy where they expected their staff not to take their annual leave and lose it at the end of the year. "Going the extra mile" it was called. It was the autumn of 2001, and air fares to the USA had never been cheaper, so I asked to take my holiday in November, during a lull in the work. In the end, they said I could go to America, but not come back. Most people were amazed I survived 6 months working for that company! This did lead on quite quickly to a low-paid temping payroll job at a local hospital. Loved it. There were so many different sets of terms and conditions and working patterns to come to grips with, and within these were exceptions and complications, not to mention regradings, promotions, rule changes. It was like being in a football match where the ball stayed still and the pitch, the goalposts and the stand were moving around in all directions. And everything had to be spot on accurate. Came home with major headaches often, but at least everyone got paid! Because I was temping and they had already appointed women for the permanent position, it came to an end, but fortunately another temporary position materialised immediately sorting out inconsistencies in Government records for a Government department, which lasted until Christmas when they sacked all the casuals. I did not want to go on the dole, preferably never again, so a good friend found me a job in his canal boat timeshare company, which I did off and on for two years. At the end of the second year, it was getting ridiculous sending me 100 miles at company expense to paint a boat when they could get someone locally to do it cheaper, so in the end I was laid off. So then, at the start of 2005, having to do these applications over and over again. By then, my CV was in trouble. The boat job did nothing for my credibility in offices, and it was back to where I was when I left college, except that this time I was approaching 50. Each job in 2005 was a disaster. Taking on any temporary job, however dead-end, however useless, however badly-paid just to get my hand back in. The first temping job travelling over 20 miles to find nothing for me to do, and the boss saying by lunchtime I could go home without offering to pay for my petrol. They needed the help, but they were just not organised enough to get their papers in a state that I could be useful as an agency temp. The second was for a Government department where I had three weeks training in diversity and anti-discrimination and anti-bullying. But the manager was a 30-something woman who had a dislike for middle-aged men and put me in the far corner by the photocopier and spent most of her time with two other temporary staff half my age. One day I was told that my contract was terminated with immediate effect. When I queried why, it was suggested I was not picking things up fast enough compared to the others. The third was a school as a payroll officer. They had a payroll of 350, a turnover of 12 per month, two payroll systems (Sage and an awful thing on Word where you had to use the mouse continuously), and were demanding that working part-time 21 hours a week, I produced a fully accurate live monthly pay run in my first week. I told them I needed 5 days the first week to learn the ropes, understand their systems and the payroll, and that I would want them to correct any mistakes I made on Wednesday, so that I could be sure the payroll was corrected and right by Friday. I actually completed the payrun, but they said on the Wednesday there were too many mistakes, and Head Office would not allow me the extra two days to finish the job, so they got rid of me. Back to the job applications, this time completely demoralised, but still having to sell myself somehow as a brilliant prospect. 50th birthday came. All through 2006, just application after application and the usual story - brilliant application, brilliant presentation at interview, very impressed, and we gave the job to a younger woman who was more appropriate and wishing me every luck for the future. By that time, I was sick of the whole rigmarole and operating on a fortnightly cycle of fed-upness. One week I hated employers, hated my country, hated the society that made such horrible people and just wanted to be shot of the whole employment circus. Not the best frame of mind to sell myself on an application form. So I used that week to highlight possible jobs and no more. Second week, absolutely sick of my own company, sitting at home, getting no further with life or career or making myself in the slightest bit marriageable, and there was nothing for it but to fill in these wretched forms. That worked ok until the Jobcentre put me on a weekly sign-on and sent me into a spiral of serious clinical depression when I just had to sign off JSA and onto Incapacity Benefit for a while. Onto 2007 and at last one of my applications gets somewhere. I was far and away the best application for a job as a filing clerk in a Legal Section in a local authority, and they could not offer it to an equally-qualified woman because none applied. They got round this by telling me at interview that it was not the permanent job they advised, but temporary covering someone who was on long-term sick and was unlikely to return. Unless she came back to work, the job was mine for as long as I wanted it. Good enough - I would use the time to work myself into another position within the local authority. Three weeks into the job, I was getting worried because they were not training me in things I needed to do my job, such as inputting data onto their accounting system. I was also made aware by female colleagues that I was not welcome, and really they were expecting their filing clerk to be a young woman college leaver, rather than a middle-aged man. Then a brown paper packet landed on my desk. It was my terms of employment that had been changed to temporary with monthly termination reviews which was not what we had agreed when I was taken on. I asked for an informal chat to discuss my worries with a friend within the organisation. Instead the admin manager took me and my line manager into a room and told me she was going to ask HR to terminate my employment. I complained to senior management. The result was that I was hounded out and on the day before my termination interview with three line managers, all solicitors, I had a mini nervous breakdown and just stopped functioning. I was advised to accept their offer of one month's pay in lieu of notice and leave immediately. Rather than go on the dole and face more of those wretched applications, during my notice period, I accepted a part-time casual job on minimum wage delivering and collecting cars, which I did until the start of August 2008. It was semi-retirement. The driving was too tiring to manage it five days a week, and safety was paramount, but at least it was a way out of the house and meant no job applications or signing on. I earned very little. In the end they sacked me because someone had complained that I was seen eating my sandwiches during the working day that stretched from 7am until late afternoon. The truth I found out later. The woman general manager of the car delivery company did not like men with beards, and nor did the woman general manager of the agency allocating my work, so they decided that while there was a surplus of agency drivers and not enough work, they could get rid of me. Now I am back at 52 with facing more applications, not having done a proper job now since I left the Government department in 2002. My CV is a wreck and there is a downturn in the economy. If I sign on JSA I have to prove I am actively seeking work, and yet now the whole process is making me very very ill. The doctor wants me to go on stronger antidepressants, but I know the problem is not with my mental health, it's with being totally sick of job applications and the whole cruel process of excluding me from work time and time and time again. What next? My last slender hope is with the good friend who got me the boat job, who might have some other part-time work for me when he gets back off holiday. Yes, of course I am suicidal. I cannot afford to retire without a pension, and nor do I particularly want to. So many middle-aged men must be in precisely the same situation as me, and all they are getting from women, who have no trouble securing well-paid or even modestly-paid careers is "get off your bums, you lazy losers". I am probably a lost cause, and I have to come to terms with that. I know I am not wanted here, people have told me that enough times in their "we wish you every luck in the future". Britain and certainly New Labour only loves women. But what hope and advice is there for others in the same boat reading this? Cari - a splendid example of the very women I have to confront when submitting job applications. I am unemployable. Straight in the bin. Someone tell that to the jobcentre and the Daily Express readers when "actively seeking work" and it would save a lot of futile activity. Now her FACT - can we have a reference to support this? Or is it that men only earn more because on average when in work they put in more hours, like tennis players? Thinking very hard about this one for Best Answer, and will put it to the vote I think. OohBetty is probably closest to what I am doing - procrastinating over suicide and taking bum jobs just to get out of the house. AlMcNeilcan suggesting self-employment, which is fine with a good business plan, domestic support and sufficient self-confidence to put in the hours necessary. ColinT, who has been through the same mill, puts his faith in miracles. They happened with him. They might still happen with me. I'm still waiting. And Cari, who represents those I send my forms to, unnervingly precisely. I am unemployable, should accept my destiny and crawl into the gutter and leave her alone.

Do you belong to the "new Church of Global Warming"? "Aliens Cause Global Warming" A lecture by Michael Crichton California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA January 17, 2003 My topic today sounds humorous but unfortunately I am serious. I am going to argue that extraterrestrials lie behind global warming. Or to speak more precisely, I will argue that a belief in extraterrestrials has paved the way, in a progression of steps, to a belief in global warming. Charting this progression of belief will be my task today. Let me say at once that I have no desire to discourage anyone from believing in either extraterrestrials or global warming. That would be quite impossible to do. Rather, I want to discuss the history of several widely-publicized beliefs and to point to what I consider an emerging crisis in the whole enterprise of science-namely the increasingly uneasy relationship between hard science and public policy. I have a special interest in this because of my own upbringing. I was born in the midst of World War II, and passed my formative years at the height of the Cold War. In school drills, I dutifully crawled under my desk in preparation for a nuclear attack. It was a time of widespread fear and uncertainty, but even as a child I believed that science represented the best and greatest hope for mankind. Even to a child, the contrast was clear between the world of politics-a world of hate and danger, of irrational beliefs and fears, of mass manipulation and disgraceful blots on human history. In contrast, science held different values-international in scope, forging friendships and working relationships across national boundaries and political systems, encouraging a dispassionate habit of thought, and ultimately leading to fresh knowledge and technology that would benefit all mankind. The world might not be avery good place, but science would make it better. And it did. In my lifetime, science has largely fulfilled its promise. Science has been the great intellectual adventure of our age, and a great hope for our troubled and restless world. But I did not expect science merely to extend lifespan, feed the hungry, cure disease, and shrink the world with jets and cell phones. I also expected science to banish the evils of human thought---prejudice and superstition, irrational beliefs and false fears. I expected science to be, in Carl Sagan's memorable phrase, "a candle in a demon haunted world." And here, I am not so pleased with the impact of science. Rather than serving as a cleansing force, science has in some instances been seduced by the more ancient lures of politics and publicity. Some of the demons that haunt our world in recent years are invented by scientists. The world has not benefited from permitting these demons to escape free. But let's look at how it came to pass. Cast your minds back to 1960. John F. Kennedy is president, commercial jet airplanes are just appearing, the biggest university mainframes have 12K of memory. And in Green Bank, West Virginia at the new National Radio Astronomy Observatory, a young astrophysicist named Frank Drake runs a two week project called Ozma, to search for extraterrestrial signals. A signal is received, to great excitement. It turns out to be false, but the excitement remains. In 1960, Drake organizes the first SETI conference, and came up with the now-famous Drake equation: N=N*fp ne fl fi fc fL Where N is the number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy; fp is the fraction with planets; ne is the number of planets per star capable of supporting life; fl is the fraction of planets where life evolves; fi is the fraction where intelligent life evolves; and fc is the fraction that communicates; and fL is the fraction of the planet's life during which the communicating civilizations live. This serious-looking equation gave SETI an serious footing as a legitimate intellectual inquiry. The problem, of course, is that none of the terms can be known, and most cannot even be estimated. The only way to work the equation is to fill in with guesses. And guesses-just so we're clear-are merely expressions of prejudice. Nor can there be "informed guesses." If you need to state how many planets with life choose to communicate, there is simply no way to make an informed guess. It's simply prejudice. As a result, the Drake equation can have any value from "billions and billions" to zero. An expression that can mean anything means nothing. Speaking precisely, the Drake equation is literally meaningless, and has nothing to do with science. I take the hard view that science involves the creation of testable hypotheses. The Drake equation cannot be tested and therefore SETI is not science. SETI is unquestionably a religion. Faith is defined as the firm belief in something for which there is no proof. The belief that the Koran is the word of God is a matter of faith. The belief that God created the universe in seven days is a matter of faith. The belief that there are other life forms in the universe is a matter of faith. There is not a single shred of evidence for any other life forms, and in forty years of searching, none has been discovered. There is absolutely no evidentiary reason to maintain this belief. SETI is a religion. One way to chart the cooling of enthusiasm is to review popular works on the subject. In 1964, at the height of SETI enthusiasm, Walter Sullivan of the NY Times wrote an exciting book about life in the universe entitled WE ARE NOT ALONE. By 1995, when Paul Davis wrote a book on the same subject, he titled it ARE WE ALONE? ( Since 1981, there have in fact been four books titled ARE WE ALONE.) More recently we have seen the rise of the so-called "Rare Earth" theory which suggests that we may, in fact, be all alone. Again, there is no evidence either way. Back in the sixties, SETI had its critics, although not among astrophysicists and astronomers. The biologists and paleontologists were harshest. George Gaylord Simpson of Harvard sneered that SETI was a "study without a subject," and it remains so to the present day. But scientists in general have been indulgent toward SETI, viewing it either with bemused tolerance, or with indifference. After all, what's the big deal? It's kind of fun. If people want to look, let them. Only a curmudgeon would speak harshly of SETI. It wasn't worth the bother. And of course it is true that untestable theories may have heuristic value. Of course extraterrestrials are a good way to teach science to kids. But that does not relieve us of the obligation to see the Drake equation clearly for what it is-pure speculation in quasi-scientific trappings. The fact that the Drake equation was not greeted with screams of outrage-similar to the screams of outrage that greet each Creationist new claim, for example-meant that now there was a crack in the door, a loosening of the definition of what constituted legitimate scientific procedure. And soon enough, pernicious garbage began to squeeze through the cracks. Now let's jump ahead a decade to the 1970s, and Nuclear Winter. In 1975, the National Academy of Sciences reported on "Long-Term Worldwide Effects of Multiple Nuclear Weapons Detonations" but the report estimated the effect of dust from nuclear blasts to be relatively minor. In 1979, the Office of Technology Assessment issued a report on "The Effects of Nuclear War" and stated that nuclear war could perhaps produce irreversible adverse consequences on the environment. However, because the scientific processes involved were poorly understood, the report stated it was not possible to estimate the probable magnitude of such damage. Three years later, in 1982, the Swedish Academy of Sciences commissioned a report entitled "The Atmosphere after a Nuclear War: Twilight at Noon," which attempted to quantify the effect of smoke from burning forests and cities. The authors speculated that there would be so much smoke that a large cloud over the northern hemisphere would reduce incoming sunlight below the level required for photosynthesis, and that this would last for weeks or even longer. The following year, five scientists including Richard Turco and Carl Sagan published a paper in Science called "Nuclear Winter: Global Consequences of Multiple Nuclear Explosions." This was the so-called TTAPS report, which attempted to quantify more rigorously the atmospheric effects, with the added credibility to be gained from an actual computer model of climate. At the heart of the TTAPS undertaking was another equation, never specifically expressed, but one that could be paraphrased as follows: Ds = Wn Ws Wh Tf Tb Pt Pr Pe… etc (The amount of tropospheric dust=# warheads x size warheads x warhead detonation height x flammability of targets x Target burn duration x Particles entering the Troposphere x Particle reflectivity x Particle endurance…and so on.) The similarity to the Drake equation is striking. As with the Drake equation, none of the variables can be determined. None at all. The TTAPS study addressed this problem in part by mapping out different wartime scenarios and assigning numbers to some of the variables, but even so, the remaining variables were-and are-simply unknowable. Nobody knows how much smoke will be generated when cities burn, creating particles of what kind, and for how long. No one knows the effect of local weather conditions on the amount of particles that will be injected into the troposphere. No one knows how long the particles will remain in the troposphere. And so on. And remember, this is only four years after the OTA study concluded that the underlying scientific processes were so poorly known that no estimates could be reliably made. Nevertheless, the TTAPS study not only made those estimates, but concluded they were catastrophic. According to Sagan and his coworkers, even a limited 5,000 megaton nuclear exchange would cause a global temperature drop of more than 35 degrees Centigrade, and this change would last for three months. The greatest volcanic eruptions that we know of changed world temperatures somewhere between .5 and 2 degrees Centigrade. Ice ages changed global temperatures by 10 degrees. Here we have an estimated change three times greater than any ice age. One might expect it to be the subject of some dispute. But Sagan and his coworkers were prepared, for nuclear winter was from the outset the subject of a well-orchestrated media campaign. The first announcement of nuclear winter appeared in an article by Sagan in the Sunday supplement, Parade. The very next day, a highly-publicized, high-profile conference on the long-term consequences of nuclear war was held in Washington, chaired by Carl Sagan and Paul Ehrlich, the most famous and media-savvy scientists of their generation. Sagan appeared on the Johnny Carson show 40 times. Ehrlich was on 25 times. Following the conference, there were press conferences, meetings with congressmen, and so on. The formal papers in Science came months later. This is not the way science is done, it is the way products are sold. The real nature of the conference is indicated by these artists' renderings of the the effect of nuclear winter. I cannot help but quote the caption for figure 5: "Shown here is a tranquil scene in the north woods. A beaver has just completed its dam, two black bears forage for food, a swallow-tailed butterfly flutters in the foreground, a loon swims quietly by, and a kingfisher searches for a tasty fish." Hard science if ever there was. At the conference in Washington, during the question period, Ehrlich was reminded that after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, scientists were quoted as saying nothing would grow there for 75 years, but in fact melons were growing the next year. So, he was asked, how accurate were these findings now? Ehrlich answered by saying "I think they are extremely robust. Scientists may have made statements like that, although I cannot imagine what their basis would have been, even with the state of science at that time, but scientists are always making absurd statements, individually, in various places. What we are doing here, however, is presenting a consensus of a very large group of scientists…" I want to pause here and talk about this notion of consensus, and the rise of what has been called consensus science. I regard consensus science as an extremely pernicious development that ought to be stopped cold in its tracks. Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had. Let's be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus. There is no such thing as consensus science. If it's consensus, it isn't science. If it's science, it isn't consensus. Period. In addition, let me remind you that the track record of the consensus is nothing to be proud of. Let's review a few cases. In past centuries, the greatest killer of women was fever following childbirth . One woman in six died of this fever. In 1795, Alexander Gordon of Aberdeen suggested that the fevers were infectious processes, and he was able to cure them. The consensus said no. In 1843, Oliver Wendell Holmes claimed puerperal fever was contagious, and presented compellng evidence. The consensus said no. In 1849, Semmelweiss demonstrated that sanitary techniques virtually eliminated puerperal fever in hospitals under his management. The consensus said he was a Jew, ignored him, and dismissed him from his post. There was in fact no agreement on puerperal fever until the start of the twentieth century. Thus the consensus took one hundred and twenty five years to arrive at the right conclusion despite the efforts of the prominent "skeptics" around the world, skeptics who were demeaned and ignored. And despite the constant ongoing deaths of women. There is no shortage of other examples. In the 1920s in America, tens of thousands of people, mostly poor, were dying of a disease called pellagra. The consensus of scientists said it was infectious, and what was necessary was to find the "pellagra germ." The US government asked a brilliant young investigator, Dr. Joseph Goldberger, to find the cause. Goldberger concluded that diet was the crucial factor. The consensus remained wedded to the germ theory. Goldberger demonstrated that he could induce the disease through diet. He demonstrated that the disease was not infectious by injecting the blood of a pellagra patient into himself, and his assistant. They and other volunteers swabbed their noses with swabs from pellagra patients, and swallowed capsules containing scabs from pellagra rashes in what were called "Goldberger's filth parties." Nobody contracted pellagra. The consensus continued to disagree with him. There was, in addition, a social factor-southern States disliked the idea of poor diet as the cause, because it meant that social reform was required. They continued to deny it until the 1920s. Result-despite a twentieth century epidemic, the consensus took years to see the light. Probably every schoolchild notices that South America and Africa seem to fit together rather snugly, and Alfred Wegener proposed, in 1912, that the continents had in fact drifted apart. The consensus sneered at continental drift for fifty years. The theory was most vigorously denied by the great names of geology-until 1961, when it began to seem as if the sea floors were spreading. The result: it took the consensus fifty years to acknowledge what any schoolchild sees. And shall we go on? The examples can be multiplied endlessly. Jenner and smallpox, Pasteur and germ theory. Saccharine, margarine, repressed memory, fiber and colon cancer, hormone replacement therap6y…the list of consensus errors goes on and on. Finally, I would remind you to notice where the claim of consensus is invoked. Consensus is invoked only in situations where the science is not solid enough. Nobody says the consensus of scientists agrees that E=mc2. Nobody says the consensus is that the sun is 93 million miles away. It would never occur to anyone to speak that way. But back to our main subject. What I have been suggesting to you is that nuclear winter was a meaningless formula, tricked out with bad science, for policy ends. It was political from the beginning, promoted in a well-orchestrated media campaign that had to be planned weeks or months in advance. Further evidence of the political nature of the whole project can be found in the response to criticism. Although Richard Feynman was characteristically blunt, saying, "I really don't think these guys know what they're talking about," other prominent scientists were noticeably reticent. Freeman Dyson was quoted as saying "It's an absolutely atrocious piece of science but…who wants to be accused of being in favor of nuclear war?" And Victor Weisskopf said, "The science is terrible but---perhaps the psychology is good." The nuclear winter team followed up the publication of such comments with letters to the editors denying that these statements were ever made, though the scientists since then have subsequently confirmed their views. At the time, there was a concerted desire on the part of lots of people to avoid nuclear war. If nuclear winter looked awful, why investigate too closely? Who wanted to disagree? Only people like Edward Teller, the "father of the H bomb." Teller said, "While it is generally recognized that details are still uncertain and deserve much more study, Dr. Sagan nevertheless has taken the position that the whole scenario is so robust that there can be little doubt about its main conclusions." Yet for most people, the fact that nuclear winter was a scenario riddled with uncertainties did not seem to be relevant. I say it is hugely relevant. Once you abandon strict adherence to what science tells us, once you start arranging the truth in a press conference, then anything is possible. In one context, maybe you will get some mobilization against nuclear war. But in another context, you get Lysenkoism. In another, you get Nazi euthanasia. The danger is always there, if you subvert science to political ends. That is why it is so important for the future of science that the line between what science can say with certainty, and what it cannot, be drawn clearly-and defended. What happened to Nuclear Winter? As the media glare faded, its robust scenario appeared less persuasive; John Maddox, editor of Nature, repeatedly criticized its claims; within a year, Stephen Schneider, one of the leading figures in the climate model, began to speak of "nuclear autumn." It just didn't have the same ring. A final media embarrassment came in 1991, when Carl Sagan predicted on Nightline that Kuwaiti oil fires would produce a nuclear winter effect, causing a "year without a summer," and endangering crops around the world. Sagan stressed this outcome was so likely that "it should affect the war plans." None of it happened. What, then, can we say were the lessons of Nuclear Winter? I believe the lesson was that with a catchy name, a strong policy position and an aggressive media campaign, nobody will dare to criticize the science, and in short order, a terminally weak thesis will be established as fact. After that, any criticism becomes beside the point. The war is already over without a shot being fired. That was the lesson, and we had a textbook application soon afterward, with second hand smoke. In 1993, the EPA announced that second-hand smoke was "responsible for approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths each year in nonsmoking adults," and that it " impairs the respiratory health of hundreds of thousands of people." In a 1994 pamphlet the EPA said that the eleven studies it based its decision on were not by themselves conclusive, and that they collectively assigned second-hand smoke a risk factor of 1.19. (For reference, a risk factor below 3.0 is too small for action by the EPA. or for publication in the New England Journal of Medicine, for example.) Furthermore, since there was no statistical association at the 95% confidence limits, the EPA lowered the limit to 90%. They then classified second hand smoke as a Group A Carcinogen. This was openly fraudulent science, but it formed the basis for bans on smoking in restaurants, offices, and airports. California banned public smoking in 1995. Soon, no claim was too extreme. By 1998, the Christian Science Monitor was saying that "Second-hand smoke is the nation's third-leading preventable cause of death." The American Cancer Society announced that 53,000 people died each year of second-hand smoke. The evidence for this claim is nonexistent. In 1998, a Federal judge held that the EPA had acted improperly, had "committed to a conclusion before research had begun", and had "disregarded information and made findings on selective information." The reaction of Carol Browner, head of the EPA was: "We stand by our science….there's wide agreement. The American people certainly recognize that exposure to second hand smoke brings…a whole host of health problems." Again, note how the claim of consensus trumps science. In this case, it isn't even a consensus of scientists that Browner evokes! It's the consensus of the American people. Meanwhile, ever-larger studies failed to confirm any association. A large, seven-country WHO study in 1998 found no association. Nor have well-controlled subsequent studies, to my knowledge. Yet we now read, for example, that second hand smoke is a cause of breast cancer. At this point you can say pretty much anything you want about second-hand smoke. As with nuclear winter, bad science is used to promote what most people would consider good policy. I certainly think it is. I don't want people smoking around me. So who will speak out against banning second-hand smoke? Nobody, and if you do, you'll be branded a shill of RJ Reynolds. A big tobacco flunky. But the truth is that we now have a social policy supported by the grossest of superstitions. And we've given the EPA a bad lesson in how to behave in the future. We've told them that cheating is the way to succeed. As the twentieth century drew to a close, the connection between hard scientific fact and public policy became increasingly elastic. In part this was possible because of the complacency of the scientific profession; in part because of the lack of good science education among the public; in part, because of the rise of specialized advocacy groups which have been enormously effective in getting publicity and shaping policy; and in great part because of the decline of the media as an independent assessor of fact. The deterioration of the American media is dire loss for our country. When distinguished institutions like the New York Times can no longer differentiate between factual content and editorial opinion, but rather mix both freely on their front page, then who will hold anyone to a higher standard? And so, in this elastic anything-goes world where science-or non-science-is the hand maiden of questionable public policy, we arrive at last at global warming. It is not my purpose here to rehash the details of this most magnificent of the demons haunting the world. I would just remind you of the now-familiar pattern by which these things are established. Evidentiary uncertainties are glossed over in the unseemly rush for an overarching policy, and for grants to support the policy by delivering findings that are desired by the patron. Next, the isolation of those scientists who won't get with the program, and the characterization of those scientists as outsiders and "skeptics" in quotation marks-suspect individuals with suspect motives, industry flunkies, reactionaries, or simply anti-environmental nutcases. In short order, debate ends, even though prominent scientists are uncomfortable about how things are being done. When did "skeptic" become a dirty word in science? When did a skeptic require quotation marks around it? To an outsider, the most significant innovation in the global warming controversy is the overt reliance that is being placed on models. Back in the days of nuclear winter, computer models were invoked to add weight to a conclusion: "These results are derived with the help of a computer model." But now large-scale computer models are seen as generating data in themselves. No longer are models judged by how well they reproduce data from the real world-increasingly, models provide the data. As if they were themselves a reality. And indeed they are, when we are projecting forward. There can be no observational data about the year 2100. There are only model runs. This fascination with computer models is something I understand very well. Richard Feynmann called it a disease. I fear he is right. Because only if you spend a lot of time looking at a computer screen can you arrive at the complex point where the global warming debate now stands. Nobody believes a weather prediction twelve hours ahead. Now we're asked to believe a prediction that goes out 100 years into the future? And make financial investments based on that prediction? Has everybody lost their minds? Stepping back, I have to say the arrogance of the modelmakers is breathtaking. There have been, in every century, scientists who say they know it all. Since climate may be a chaotic system-no one is sure-these predictions are inherently doubtful, to be polite. But more to the point, even if the models get the science spot-on, they can never get the sociology. To predict anything about the world a hundred years from now is simply absurd. Look: If I was selling stock in a company that I told you would be profitable in 2100, would you buy it? Or would you think the idea was so crazy that it must be a scam? Let's think back to people in 1900 in, say, New York. If they worried about people in 2000, what would they worry about? Probably: Where would people get enough horses? And what would they do about all the horseshit? Horse pollution was bad in 1900, think how much worse it would be a century later, with so many more people riding horses? But of course, within a few years, nobody rode horses except for sport. And in 2000, France was getting 80% its power from an energy source that was unknown in 1900. Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Japan were getting more than 30% from this source, unknown in 1900. Remember, people in 1900 didn't know what an atom was. They didn't know its structure. They also didn't know what a radio was, or an airport, or a movie, or a television, or a computer, or a cell phone, or a jet, an antibiotic, a rocket, a satellite, an MRI, ICU, IUD, IBM, IRA, ERA, EEG, EPA, IRS, DOD, PCP, HTML, internet. interferon, instant replay, remote sensing, remote control, speed dialing, gene therapy, gene splicing, genes, spot welding, heat-seeking, bipolar, prozac, leotards, lap dancing, email, tape recorder, CDs, airbags, plastic explosive, plastic, robots, cars, liposuction, transduction, superconduction, dish antennas, step aerobics, smoothies, twelve-step, ultrasound, nylon, rayon, teflon, fiber optics, carpal tunnel, laser surgery, laparoscopy, corneal transplant, kidney transplant, AIDS… None of this would have meant anything to a person in the year 1900. They wouldn't know what you are talking about. Now. You tell me you can predict the world of 2100. Tell me it's even worth thinking about. Our models just carry the present into the future. They're bound to be wrong. Everybody who gives a moment's thought knows it. I remind you that in the lifetime of most scientists now living, we have already had an example of dire predictions set aside by new technology. I refer to the green revolution. In 1960, Paul Ehrlich said, "The battle to feed humanity is over. In the 1970s the world will undergo famines-hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death." Ten years later, he predicted four billion people would die during the 1980s, including 65 million Americans. The mass starvation that was predicted never occurred, and it now seems it isn't ever going to happen. Nor is the population explosion going to reach the numbers predicted even ten years ago. In 1990, climate modelers anticipated a world population of 11 billion by 2100. Today, some people think the correct number will be 7 billion and falling. But nobody knows for sure. But it is impossible to ignore how closely the history of global warming fits on the previous template for nuclear winter. Just as the earliest studies of nuclear winter stated that the uncertainties were so great that probabilites could never be known, so, too the first pronouncements on global warming argued strong limits on what could be determined with certainty about climate change. The 1995 IPCC draft report said, "Any claims of positive detection of significant climate change are likely to remain controversial until uncertainties in the total natural variability of the climate system are reduced." It also said, "No study to date has positively attributed all or part of observed climate changes to anthropogenic causes." Those statements were removed, and in their place appeared: "The balance of evidence suggests a discernable human influence on climate." What is clear, however, is that on this issue, science and policy have become inextricably mixed to the point where it will be difficult, if not impossible, to separate them out. It is possible for an outside observer to ask serious questions about the conduct of investigations into global warming, such as whether we are taking appropriate steps to improve the quality of our observational data records, whether we are systematically obtaining the information that will clarify existing uncertainties, whether we have any organized disinterested mechanism to direct research in this contentious area. The answer to all these questions is no. We don't. In trying to think about how these questions can be resolved, it occurs to me that in the progression from SETI to nuclear winter to second hand smoke to global warming, we have one clear message, and that is that we can expect more and more problems of public policy dealing with technical issues in the future-problems of ever greater seriousness, where people care passionately on all sides. And at the moment we have no mechanism to get good answers. So I will propose one. Just as we have established a tradition of double-blinded research to determine drug efficacy, we must institute double-blinded research in other policy areas as well. Certainly the increased use of computer models, such as GCMs, cries out for the separation of those who make the models from those who verify them. The fact is that the present structure of science is entrepeneurial, with individual investigative teams vying for funding from organizations which all too often have a clear stake in the outcome of the research-or appear to, which may be just as bad. This is not healthy for science. Sooner or later, we must form an independent research institute in this country. It must be funded by industry, by government, and by private philanthropy, both individuals and trusts. The money must be pooled, so that investigators do not know who is paying them. The institute must fund more than one team to do research in a particular area, and the verification of results will be a foregone requirement: teams will know their results will be checked by other groups. In many cases, those who decide how to gather the data will not gather it, and those who gather the data will not analyze it. If we were to address the land temperature records with such rigor, we would be well on our way to an understanding of exactly how much faith we can place in global warming, and therefore what seriousness we must address this. I believe that as we come to the end of this litany, some of you may be saying, well what is the big deal, really. So we made a few mistakes. So a few scientists have overstated their cases and have egg on their faces. So what. Well, I'll tell you. In recent years, much has been said about the post modernist claims about science to the effect that science is just another form of raw power, tricked out in special claims for truth-seeking and objectivity that really have no basis in fact. Science, we are told, is no better than any other undertaking. These ideas anger many scientists, and they anger me. But recent events have made me wonder if they are correct. We can take as an example the scientific reception accorded a Danish statistician, Bjorn Lomborg, who wrote a book called The Skeptical Environmentalist. The scientific community responded in a way that can only be described as disgraceful. In professional literature, it was complained he had no standing because he was not an earth scientist. His publisher, Cambridge University Press, was attacked with cries that the editor should be fired, and that all right-thinking scientists should shun the press. The past president of the AAAS wondered aloud how Cambridge could have ever "published a book that so clearly could never have passed peer review." )But of course the manuscript did pass peer review by three earth scientists on both sides of the Atlantic, and all recommended publication.) But what are scientists doing attacking a press? Is this the new McCarthyism-coming from scientists? Worst of all was the behavior of the Scientific American, which seemed intent on proving the post-modernist point that it was all about power, not facts. The Scientific American attacked Lomborg for eleven pages, yet only came up with nine factual errors despite their assertion that the book was "rife with careless mistakes." It was a poor display featuring vicious ad hominem attacks, including comparing him to a Holocust denier. The issue was captioned: "Science defends itself against the Skeptical Environmentalist." Really. Science has to defend itself? Is this what we have come to? When Lomborg asked for space to rebut his critics, he was given only a page and a half. When he said it wasn't enough, he put the critics' essays on his web page and answered them in detail. Scientific American threatened copyright infringement and made him take the pages down. Further attacks since have made it clear what is going on. Lomborg is charged with heresy. That's why none of his critics needs to substantiate their attacks in any detail. That's why the facts don't matter. That's why they can attack him in the most vicious personal terms. He's a heretic. Of course, any scientist can be charged as Galileo was charged. I just never thought I'd see the Scientific American in the role of mother church. Is this what science has become? I hope not. But it is what it will become, unless there is a concerted effort by leading scientists to aggressively separate science from policy. The late Philip Handler, former president of the National Academy of Sciences, said that "Scientists best serve public policy by living within the ethics of science, not those of politics. If the scientific community will not unfrock the charlatans, the public will not discern the difference-science and the nation will suffer." Personally, I don't worry about the nation. But I do worry about science. Thank you very much.

If the media is not liberal then why are they not reporting the progress in Iraq? Evidence of improvement in Iraq. By Bill Crawford An important step in stemming the violence in Iraq is to find a formula to share the country’s oil revenues fairly between the three main groups: Shiite, Sunnis, and Kurds. Iraq is preparing to take a step in the right direction by providing opportunities for foreign oil firms to invest in the country, thereby increasing its output and revenues: The production-sharing agreements (PSAs) would allow oil giants to sign 30-year contracts for extracting Iraqi oil. Under PSAs, the state retains legal ownership of its oil but gives a share of the profits to companies that invest in infrastructure and in operating the wells, pipelines and refineries. The newspaper [the Independent] said that under the draft law, oil companies could recoup 60 to 70 per cent of revenue until initial costs had been recovered, which compares to around 40pc usually. Along the same lines, Lt. General Graeme Lamb, Deputy Commander of Multinational Forces-Iraq, sees 2007 as the year that Iraq moves forward, and says he sees plenty of progress to base his optimism on: Let me give you an example. I was out at Hit the other day, Ramadi. The battalion commander out there, young battalion commander — actually, I suppose he's not that young; he just looks it — had been in Ramadi two years before, had done a full year's tour. As far as he was concerned, he always just seemed to be going backwards. When I saw him the other day, as far as he was concerned, they were making huge progress. Ramadi. Four months ago I don't think there was any policemen in the town. Seven hundred and ninety-one now. They were shot at from a building. Two hundred policemen drawn together surrounded the building, cleared it. Now, that's just an example of some progress. I then look at some of the economic issues. I look at the megawatts of power that are coming on line. I see some of the reconstruction programs that are going out. Now, that gives me a degree of optimism. I see this prime minister. I see this government. I see the challenges they face, and I'm not trying to dismiss the difficulties or trying to give you some sort of political upbeat spin. I don't do optimism. I don't do pessimism. I just do realism as I see it. And I do spend a lot of time out here. I spend a lot of time out here. I got a feel for the Arabs. So it's just the way I see it, and it's not sort of in effect trying to — I don't know — make something out of nothing. I think the situation here — you know, as someone once said — I think it was a field marshal of ours said things are never as good or as bad as you think they are. I just see these in fact at a point in turning. Mosul and al Qaim are other areas where significant progress has been made over the past year. In Mosul, Iraqi police and army forces have brought law and order to a historically violent area: “Yes, there is violence in this city. But, there is violence in American cities that have nearly two million people in their population as well,” said [Maj. Gen. Benjamin R.] Mixon. Recognizing the similar levels of violence in a comparable city in America, Twitty paints an optimistic picture of the current state of Mosul and Ninewa Province. “Amidst the turmoil and issues that persist in Iraq, there is a semblance of peace and normalcy in the north. Ninewa’s leadership works hard to provide its citizens security, build its economy, and implement programs that will continue to keep sectarian violence from the province,” said Twitty. “One thing we cannot do is attempt to put an American standard on any Iraqi city,” said Twitty. “We have to remember that this country lived under a dictator for more than 30 years. The major and significant difference between U.S. cities and Mosul is the use of improvised explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenades, and other military - grade weapons. Anti-Iraqi forces persist in their attacks, but the Iraqi security forces, consisting of the Iraqi Army, border patrol and police, continue to quell those attacks daily,” Twitty continued. Al Qaim was frequently called the “Wild West,” but the Marines cleaned the area up in 2005, and the situation is improving daily: Two years ago, the same streets were fraught with roadside bombs and snipers, and sellers and buyers stayed away. The area was considered too dangerous even for a quick tour by a U.S. general in his armored Humvee. The Al Qaim region routinely was described as an out-of-control "wild west" where the Marines were fighting, with only limited success, to control the smuggling of insurgent fighters and weapons from Syria. Today, Marines walk the downtown beat, chatting with residents, fielding their complaints, encouraging them to contact the Iraqi police if they suspect insurgent activity. In a country studded with areas where the United States either has failed or had only limited progress toward stabilization, Husaybah and the surrounding Al Qaim region stand out as a success, officials said. Unfortunately, the American people aren’t hearing about this, as Army medic Corporal Ignacio Garza observes: Based on his experiences in Iraq, events there are not as bad as the news media make it seem, an Army medic from Adrian said. Cpl. Ignacio Garza, a medic in the 1st Armored Division home on leave after serving in Iraq for six months, said the troops don’t watch television news for war updates because they think none of the networks show an accurate depiction of what’s happening. He said they ignore large parts of the country, including the Kurd-dominated north, that are stable. In fact, if the mainstream media isn’t ignoring a story in Iraq they could just as easily be making one up. For the second time in six weeks, the Associated Press has put out a story from Iraq that isn’t backed by the facts: The Associated Press has again put out an Iraq story detailing events that did not happen. This time, it involves an airstrike that, " killed a family of four during a firefight." However, according to the press desk of Multi-National Forces-Iraq, no air strike happened during that firefight, and MNF-I also reported that which six insurgents were killed by American troops in Baghdad on January 1. This is the second time in roughly six weeks that the AP has been caught fabricating events. Iraqi Security Forces In an operation on January 7, members of the 6th Iraqi army division captured the leader of a cell responsible for kidnappings, murder, IED attacks, and car bombings. Near Baqubah, soldiers of the 5th Iraqi army killed three insurgents during an operation to capture a cell leader. The Iraqi patrol came under fire from men exiting a mosque. They returned fire, killing three. The 1st Iraqi army division assumed tactical command of the 2nd Brigade on January 9. The brigade will operate within Fallujah: “We will be loyal soldiers to defend our precious country and to implement security and stability,” said Brig. Gen. Khalid Juad Khadum, the commanding general of 2nd Brigade. “And this will hit the pages of history in godly words, and we promise Allah that we will take care of this handover and to protect it, God willing, until the last drop of our blood, and Allah is a witness of what we say.” The Iraqi police enlisted 301 recruits during a recent recruiting drive in Fallujah and Habbaniyah. The new recruits will undergo six-week basic training in Jordan. Another 400 were enlisted during a recruiting drive in Ramadi. The situation was far different last year: One year ago a murderous intimidation campaign prevented local Iraqis from enlisting in Ramadi. Recruiting numbers for police were insignificant. More than 1,000 enlisted in the police force last month. Over 800 are expected to enlist in Anbar Province this month. “The local tribes stood up to the intimidation campaign and are taking back their city from the terrorists,” said the Coalition spokesman in Ramadi Marine Maj. Riccoh Player. “Hundreds of Iraqi Police are holding areas cleared by Iraqi and American forces in recent operation in the worst neighborhoods of Ramadi,” said Player. “Building and manning a police station in Ramadi is what progress looks like in a counterinsurgency.” Based on tips from Iraqi civilians, the Iraqi national police, with Coalition forces, detained ten and uncovered several weapons caches during an operation in Baghdad: The operation was the result of tips from local citizens of possible insurgents and weapons caches in the neighborhood. The national police seized three large weapons caches containing one rifle fitted with a silencer, one machine gun, one sniper rifle, assorted small arms ammunition and bomb-making materials. In Fallujah, Iraqi police and army troops captured 47 insurgents during Operation Ar Bead. The operation was planned and executed by Iraqi troops, who have tamed the once restless city: “The district police chief – this was his idea,” said Lt. Col. Race Roberson, the RCT-5 police implementation officer. “It was (an Iraqi Security Forces) operation; they were the owners of it.” ”The police are a strong force, and they will go anywhere at anytime in the city of Fallujah,” Roberson said. The Iraqi army has begun a major operation in Baghdad. Thirty terrorists were reported killed on the first day, including five from Sudan. The 2nd Division of the Iraq army is now operating independently of Coalition forces. In Qasaiba, soldiers of the 5th Iraqi Army Division captured the leader of an insurgent cell operating in the area: The insurgent cell leader is suspected of limiting the travel of Iraqi civilians in the area through intimidation and violent criminal activities. It is also believed the cell leader coordinates and conducts kidnapping, torture and murders of Iraqi civilians and security forces in the area. On January 10, Iraqi soldiers rescued a kidnapping victim: Working on a tip, Iraqi troops from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized) searched for the kidnapping victim’s vehicle. They discovered it on a farm. Upon conducting a cordon and search of the farm, the soldiers found the kidnapped Iraqi in a farmhouse unharmed, with his hands tied. Iraqi Special Security Forces captured two leaders of an insurgent cell during an operation in Al Doura. The cell is responsible for car bombings against civilians in Sadr City and IED attacks against Iraqi security forces. In Tal Afar, Iraqi police killed four insurgents after they came under attack while on patrol. A later search of the area found a weapons cache consisting of 12 RPGs and two mortar shells. Iraqi army special forces captured 19 during an operation targeting the leader of an insurgent cell responsible for attacks against Iraqi civilians and Coalition forces. During two operations in Fallujah, Iraqi soldiers captured six members of al Qaeda. The men are suspected of involvement with IED attacks against Coalition troops and weapons trafficking. Iraqi security forces joined Marines and U.S. soldiers in conducting a successful operation to clean up Ramadi: Iraqi Army, police and Coalition forces seized hundreds of weapons and explosives during the operation, including three mortar systems, 101 mortar rounds, 90 pounds of explosives, eight rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 47 AK-47s, five Dragonov sniper rifles, 26 grenades, 26 mines, 34 artillery rounds, 12 rockets and other items used to attack Ramadi’s security forces and civilians. During the operation 44 enemy combatants were killed and 172 suspected insurgents were detained. The Iraqi army captured a high-level insurgent leader during a raid in Hajjan: The suspect is allegedly an experienced IED builder and an illegal armed group member. He was believed to be training other illegal armed group members how to construct and employ IEDs. Prime Minister al-Maliki has finally been convinced to drop his protection of the Mahdi army. The move came after U.S. officials convinced al-Maliki that the militia was infiltrated by Shiite death squads. In related news, Sadr’s political block is ending its two month boycott of parliament. Two tips led Iraqi national police to a kidnapping victim and a sizeable weapons cache in Baghdad: “This raid was planned and executed entirely by the Iraqi national police,” said Maj. Blaine Wales, the team chief for the 1st Battalion, 7th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi National Police Transition Team. The weapons cache consisted of 31 mortar and artillery rounds, 12 rolls of detonation cord, one can of ball bearings, three blocks of C4 explosive, 100 blasting caps and fuses, two completed improvised explosive devices, multiple batteries of all types, four handheld radios, nine cellular phones and seven completed electronic circuit boards similar to those found in roadside bombs. In eastern Baghdad, an Iraqi patrol found an IED before it could be detonated. In Baghdad, an Iraqi army patrol successfully fought its way out of an ambush: While conducting a routine patrol in Baghdad’s Fahhama neighborhood, an element of the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army was ambushed by a group of insurgents armed with pistols and AK-47s. The patrol immediately returned fire on the men attacking them. Two insurgents were killed and four others wounded in the fire fight. Tips from citizens led Iraqi police to two large weapons caches: The first cache included fifteen 9mm TNT rounds, a dozen 90mm Composition A3 rounds, five 155mm High Explosive rounds, four artillery fuses, six 20mm rockets, and nine RPG rounds among other items. The second cache included two 105mm rounds rigged as improvised explosive devices. Iraqi Police captured the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq’s cell in Samarra during an operation on January 18. Iraqi forces captured two high-level insurgent commanders in separate raids: Special Iraqi army forces, with coalition advisors, captured a high-level terrorist leader today during operations in eastern Baghdad, military officials said. The suspect is allegedly affiliated with Abu Dura and other Baghdad death squad commanders, and is responsible for assassinating numerous Iraqi security forces members and government officials. Military officials said he has also organized kidnappings, torture and murder of Iraqi civilians. During operations in Samarra yesterday, Iraqi police forces with coalition advisors captured the suspected leader of several al Qaeda in Iraq terror cells. The suspect is responsible for directing several IED and small arms attacks against Iraqi security forces, coalition forces and Iraqi civilians. During the operation, combined forces captured an additional insurgent and confiscated IED components, assault rifles and ammunition. In Morocco, security forces have disrupted a cell responsible for recruiting terrorists to fight in Iraq: Moroccan security forces have dismantled a radical cell recruiting volunteers to fight in Iraq and arrested 26 people, the government said on Thursday. In Tal Afar, Iraq forces discovered a tunnel leading below a house where they found a weapons cache consisting of 200 pounds of explosives, more than 125 rockets, and 2,500 rounds of ammunition. Over at the Department of Defense website, a map of Iraq shows the progress made by Iraq’s army over the last year. “Green areas” indicate areas under control of Iraqi forces. The “green areas” increase significantly as the year progresses. Check it out. Security Operations Raids across Iraq targeting al Qaeda resulted in the capture of 25 suspected terrorists. Nine terrorists were killed in a series of raids in Baghdad over the weekend: Nine terrorists, including an al-Qaeda leader, were killed during raids conducted by coalition forces in Baghdad today and yesterday. Also, one terrorist was wounded, and three were detained during the raids. A known al-Qaeda weapons dealer was among those killed during today's Baghdad raid, according to officials. Another terrorist was wounded in the action, while two more were detained. The wounded terrorist was provided first aid and transported to a nearby medical facility. Coalition forces had targeted the weapons dealer, whose body was identified by his wife. In other news, coalition troops killed six terrorists and detained one suspect during a fierce morning firefight in Baghdad yesterday, officials reported. Intelligence reports indicated the targeted location was used as a possible al Qaeda in Iraq safe house for terrorists to conduct operational planning. Another 90 al Qaeda terrorists were killed by American and Iraqi forces during a ten-day operation near Baghdad. A patrol consisting of troops from the 1st Cavalry Division uncovered seven weapons caches in the village of Arab Salman Salman: …uncovered the caches, which included 51 rocket-propelled grenade rounds; 11 RPG launchers; two assault rifles with 13,000 rounds of ammunition; six 57mm rockets; eight plastic explosives; two 120mm artillery shells; two 137mm missiles; 225 pounds of explosives; and other IED-making materials. Iraqi and Coalition troops discovered a weapons cache in Yusufiyah consisting of materials used in the manufacture of IEDs: The cache, which contained a variety of improvised explosive device making items and weapons included six 120mm mortar rounds, a directional charge, five rocket propelled grenade launchers, seven RPG charges, nine RPG rockets, 150 small metal cylinders filled with plastic explosives, 1000 7.62mm rounds, 200 ft. of detonation cord, seven hand grenade fuses, five hand grenade shells, five long-range antennae, 22 transformers, four cordless phones, two cordless phone base stations, two cell phones, 12 cell phone cases with assorted parts and 12 60mm mortar round casings. Twenty-eight suspected terrorists were captured during raids across Iraq which targeted the safe houses of foreign terrorists. Over the past month, paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne have found more than 500 artillery rounds that could have been used to make IEDs or VBEIDs. Reconstruction & Economy If it were any other country, the reconstruction of Iraq would be a huge story. As of December 31, 2006, there are 658 projects underway at a cost of $2.67 billion, 3,026 projects have been completed at a cost of $7.11 billion, and 94 more projects are planned. A $43 million upgrade to the Al Basrah oil terminal is expected to be completed by April. The upgrade includes an emergency shutdown system, control valves, metering system, and fire protection. The upgraded terminal will meet all international safety and metering standards. Twenty hospitals throughout Iraq are currently undergoing $103 million in renovations. A small water project was completed in Dahuk Province. The new water storage tank and pipeline serves more than 1,000 residents of Dahuk. An $8.6 million renovation to the Samawah Railroad Maintenance Center has been completed. The Samawah site is one of two railway maintenance centers in Iraq, and employs more than 250 Iraqis. Iraq’s power grid is now being monitored by a central control system, called SCADA: “The main function of SCADA is to create and maintain a digital connection in order to check the provinces’ power loads and control them easily by connecting them to the central power distribution points,” Perry said. The SCADA system includes input and output signal hardware, controller networks, and communications software. There are 47 primary health-care centers under construction in northern Iraq. The first completed center recently opened in Salah Al Den Province: More than 112,000 people in the Salah Al Den Province are receiving healthcare from the first completed Primary Healthcare Center (PHC) in the north. Built by local construction companies with quality assurance managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this $3.35 million dollar facility provides routine and initial emergency care to patients including X-ray, laboratories and dentistry. Medical supplies and laboratory equipment were included in the contract to make this facility complete and operational. On January 15, three new schools were opened in Mushahidah: an elementary school for girls, a secondary school for girls, and an elementary school for boys: “This is a great example for the projects in this area,” said Shiek Naif Moutlak, the chief of the city council. “We thank the coalition for all they have done and hope for other projects in the area to help the people.” The Pentagon is helping fight unemployment in Iraq by reopening factories that were once owned by Saddam Hussein: Under a new program, the U.S. Defense Department is already helping reopen factories that were owned by Saddam Hussein's government and abandoned by occupation authorities shortly after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The Pentagon may also start providing them with contracts to support U.S. troops. One factory restarted operations in the past two weeks, and nine more are to open by the end of this month, adding some 11,000 Iraqis to employment rolls, a Pentagon official said Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information had not been released yet. The president’s speech this week put Iran on notice that the U.S. was going to work to prevent its interference in Iraq. Iraqi forces took the first step in confronting Iran when they raided Iran’s diplomatic mission in Irbil: Iraqi officials said today that multinational forces detained as many as six Iranians in an overnight raid on Tehran's diplomatic mission in the northern city of Irbil just hours after President Bush gave details about his new military plan for Iraq. The forces stormed the Iranian mission at about 3 a.m., detaining the five staffers and confiscating computers and documents, two senior local Kurdish officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information. Irbil is a city in the Kurdish-controlled north, 220 miles from Baghdad. Japan is preparing to loan Iraq $3.5 billion for reconstruction. In the city of Al Qosh, Medics from the 1st Cavalry Division treated more than 80 people during a humanitarian mission to the city: During the mission, one female physician’s assistant and one female pediatrician medically examined over 80 people; 65 percent children, and 35 percent women. Three dozen soccer balls were distributed to the children of the town, courtesy of a donation from a radio station in the United States, as well as clothing, toys, shoes, and school supplies.

What is the relationship between 911 and Saddam? By The Numbers On September 11th, 2001 4 Flights were hijacked. American Airlines Flight 11 which left Boston's Logan Airport bound for Los Angeles before being piloted into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.American Airlines Flight 77 which left Washington's Dulles International Airport bound for Los Angeles before being flown into the Pentagon. United Airlines Flight 93 which left Newark, N.J., bound for San Francisco before crashing in Stony Creek Township, Pa United Airlines Flight 175 which left Boston's Logan Airport bound for Los Angeles before being piloted into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Why did the mastermind behind the attacks on America of September 11th, 2001 choose these particular flight numbers? MY THEORY ABOUT THE CHOICE OF FLIGHT 93 WAS THAT 1993 WAS THE YEAR IN WHICH SADDAM FIRST TRIED TO ASSASSINATE FORMER PRESIDENT BUSH IN KUWAIT, IT WAS ALSO THE YEAR IN WHICH SADDAM HUSSEIN FIRST TRIED TO DESTROY THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. IT TURNED OUT TO BE AN UNLUCKY NUMBER FOR SADDAM HUSSEIN BECAUSE THE PASSENGERS ON FLIGHT 93 BECAME HEROES AND STOPPED THE PLANE FROM GOING INTO THE WHITE HOUSE. "White House Was Flight 93 Target http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/20/attack/main509535.shtml May 23, 2002 Volunteers in Shanksville this past weekend. (Photo: AP) The San Francisco-bound jet had turned toward Washington and U.S. fighter jets were flying to intercept it when it crashed. All 44 people aboard were killed. (CBS) A high-ranking al Qaeda detainee told investigators the intended target of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed into a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, was the White House. Government sources said Abu Zubaydah, now in U.S. custody, is believed to be the source of the information. He is being interrogated by U.S. officials at an undisclosed location. Investigators have linked Zubaydah directly to hijackers on board Flight 93. United Flight 93 took off from Newark, N.J., and crashed in Somerset County, Pa.. A recorder on the plane and calls made to people on the ground indicate passengers fought for control with the hijackers before it went down. The San Francisco-bound jet had turned toward Washington and U.S. fighter jets were flying to intercept it when it crashed. All 44 people aboard were killed. Officials previously had assumed the White House was a likely target, but said the Capitol and CIA headquarters in McLean, Va., near Washington were other possibilities.Abu Zubaydah is believed to have played a key role in organizing the Sept. 11 attacks, officials said. As al Qaeda's top operational planner, he ran the Khalden camp in Afghanistan, where U.S. investigators have learned many of the Sept. 11 hijackers trained. This suggests Abu Zubaydah may have had direct contact with the hijackers and chosen them for training. He also had telephone contacts with at least one Arab student at U.S. flight schools, according to a July 10, 2001, memo from a Phoenix FBI agent. The CIA, FBI and Pakistani authorities captured and wounded Abu Zubaydah in a raid by in Faisalabad, Pakistan, in March. He is believed to have masterminded the failed millennium bombing plots in Los Angeles and Jordan, and has been linked to failed plots on the U.S. embassies in Paris and Sarajevo. Abu Zubaydah was also indirectly linked, through a web of associations with other al Qaeda members in Europe, to lead Sept. 11 hijacker Mohammed Atta and his cell in Hamburg, Germany. Three members of the Hamburg cell were suicide hijackers; three others are still at large. Ziad Jarrah, believed to be the pilot-hijacker of Flight 93, was a member of the Hamburg cell." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/20/attack/main509535.shtml The first attack on the World Trade Center on February 26th, 1993. The February 26th, 1993 attack marked the 11th anniversary to the day of the declaration by the Reagan-Bush Administration of February 26th, 1982 that Iraq was no longer a state sponsor of terrorism and as such was eligible for American loans and grants, which it subsequently got. The February 26th, 1993 attack also marked the 2nd anniversary to the day of the liberation of Kuwait by the U.S. in the first Gulf War. Remarks at the Commemoration of the Tenth Anniversary of the Liberation of Kuwait Secretary Colin L. Powell Kuwait City, Kuwait (US Embassy) February 26, 2001 The World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists associated with Sheik Rahman on February 26th, 1993. It was Sheik Rahman's group that murdered Egyptian President Anwar Sadat on the 8th anniversary to the day of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, October 6th. Sheik Rahman's son was subsequently found with bin Laden's group in Afghanistan when the U.S. liberated Afghanistan. "White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer: we have real and credible information that the airplane that landed at the Pentagon was originally intended to hit the White House." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010912- 8.html#intended-targets American Airlines Flight 77 which left Washington's Dulles International Airport bound for Los Angeles before being flown into the Pentagon. 7/7 is one way to write the date July 7th On July 7th, 1994 Yasser Arafat, PLO chairman drove from Egypt into Gaza, after 27 years in exile. What Arafat was doing was using the date of July 7th to re-write a perceived wrong he had felt some years earlier on another July 7th. It was on July 7th 1986 that the government of Jordan closed the offices of Yasser Arafat's al-Fatah. Because a bus bombing occurred in London on July 7th, 2005 it struck me that the nation that has endured more bus bombings than any other nation is Israel. There may be a connection between the July 7th, 2005 attacks in London and the terrorists who have targeted Israel with bus bombings for years. Recently terrorists in Iraq murdered Egypt's envoy to Iraq. "Zarqawi group reportedly killed Egyptian ambassador in Iraq Iraq-Egypt, Politics, 7/7/2005 News reports from al-Jazeera and al-Arabia satellite TV stations said that Egypt's top diplomat in Iraq to Iraq, Eyhab al-Sharif, had been executed. Meantime, Al-Qaida organization in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, had threatened in a statement on the Internet to execute the chairman of the Egyptian diplomatic mission al-Sharif. The threat to execute Sharif came a short time after al-Qaida organization in Iraq issued pictures for the identity cards of the Egyptian diplomat as an evidence that they are the ones which kidnapped him. The statement said the legitimate court of al-Qaida organization in Mesopotamia decided to "send the ambassador of the state of Egypt to the Mujahideen (indivduals from Egypt and other states that go to Iraq to fight with the insurgents) to execute the death penalty against him." The statement considered that "the embassies in Baghdad are but monitoring sites to snipe the arriving Mujahideen and preventing them from having access to their brothers in Jihad in the land of Mesopotamia (Iraq) and in Afghanistan." In an attempt to prove that the Egyptian ambassador is their possession, al-Qaida organization published documents including a driving Sharif's license and a work card for him at the foreign ministry and another one for health insurance. On Tuesday the organization claimed responsibility for kidnapping Sharif." American Airlines Flight 11 which left Boston's Logan Airport bound for Los Angeles before being piloted into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Saddam Hussein assassinated his first victim when he was 11 years old. Fixated on the number 11 ever since then he easily focused on the World Trade Center as a target because it looked so much like a number 11 that WPIX TV Channel 11 in New York City used the World Trade Center in its logo for years. The World Trade Center also housed an office of the Bank of Kuwait. Saddam used Rahman's group to punish Sadat for failing to defeat Israel in the attack on Israel of October 6th, 1973. Saddam also used Sheik Rahman's group to hit the Speaker of the Egyptian Parliament during the first Gulf War when Egypt sided with America against Iraq. Saddam, acting like a child who is deprived of a toy, who subsequently breaks that toy, set fire to the Kuwaiti oil fields as he was being driven out of Kuwait during the first Gulf War in 1991. "Aired 9/11/2001 "Baghdad Republic of Iraq TV: These are the fruits of the new US order.[Video of explosion rocking World Trade Center] Panic has spread among US official circles, which evacuated the White House following a series of explosions." "CNN LARRY KING LIVE Aired October 2, 2001 LARRY KING: Have you spoken to your father- in-law? (George Herbert Walker Bush) LAURA BUSH: I've spoken to my father-in-law. They were-they had actually spent that Monday night here.(at the White House) I had just seen them off that morning (9/11/2001) when I got in the car and found out about the first plane.(going into the World Trade Center.)" "CNN LARRY KING LIVE America's New War: Laura Bush Discusses the Impact of September 11 Aired October 2, 2001 - 21:00 LARRY KING: A couple of other things: Have you spoken to your father- in-law? (Not in transcript, but the father in law in question is one George Herbert Walker Bush !!!) LAURA BUSH: I've spoken to my father-in-law. They were-they had actually spent that Monday night here. (not in transcript but "here" means at the White House !!!) LARRY KING: Really? LAURA BUSH: I had just seen them off that morning when I got in the-got in the car and found out about the first plane. LARRY KING: Didn't know that. LAURA BUSH: They were-they were on their way to St. Paul, Minnesota to give a speech, and they were in a private plane, and their plane was diverted to Minneapolis." http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0110/02/lkl.00.html "September 11th, 2001 - The White House is evacuated. White House Sealed" http://www.september11news.com/AAWhiteHouseEvacReuters.jpg "try to avoid having the principal travel by commercial airline on terrorist anniversaries" from "The Art of Executive Protection" http://www.securitymanagement.com/library/000450.html " Saddam tried to kill former President Bush in 1993. Former President Bush's Speech to Congress September 11th 1990. 11 years to the day before September 11th 2001 "In the early morning hours of August 2d,(1990),a powerful Iraqi army invaded Kuwait. The crisis in the Persian Gulf also offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective-a new world order-can emerge." White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer: we have real and credible information that the airplane that landed at the Pentagon was originally intended to hit the White House." "White House Was Flight 93 Target A high-ranking al Qaeda detainee told investigators the intended target of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed into a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, was the White House. Government sources said Abu Zubaydah, now in U.S. custody, believed to be the source of the information." Perhaps the following may explain how Saddam knew where former President Bush might be spending the night of September 10th-11th 2001: "Like everyone else in the United States, the group stood transfixed as the events of September 11 unfolded. Present were former secretary of defense Frank Carlucci, former secretary of state James Baker III, and representatives of the bin Laden family. This was not some underground presidential bunker or Central Intelligence Agency interrogation room. It was the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C., the plush setting for the annual investor conference of one of the most powerful, well-connected, and secretive companies in the world: the Carlyle Group. And since September 11, this little-known company has become unexpectedly important. That the Carlyle Group had its conference on America's darkest day was mere coincidence, but there is nothing accidental about the cast of characters that this private-equity powerhouse has assembled in the 14 years since its founding. Among those associated with Carlyle are former U.S. President George Bush Sr., former U.K. Prime Minister John Major, and former President of the Philippines Fidel Ramos. And Carlyle has counted, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Alsaud of Saudi Arabia, and Osama bin Laden's family among its high-profile clientele." "The White House is bordered on three sides by buildings that are as tall or taller than itself. (OEOB, Treasury, and Blair House.) Beyond these buildings there are still more buildings, that also are taller than the White House. The only flight path that is relatively unobstructed if making a controlled, straight-in approach, is from the south, over the ellipse. Even the Marine helicopter the president uses comes in from this direction and lands on the South Lawn. The problem with flying a plane the size of a 757 or 767 in from this direction is that there's a 555 ft tall structure in the way called the Washington Monument. The Capitol, although a bigger target, is similarly situated. There are buildings on all sides except for the west side, which faces the Mall. Again, for a controlled, straight-in approach, a pilot first would need to avoid the Washington Monument, and then fly straight down the Mall. There is more room to do this, but again, it would take considerable skill. Moreover, the buildings in Roslyn, just across the river from and to the west of the Mall, would have to be cleared, which means the plane's altitude would probably be too high, or the angle of descent too steep to permit a successful attack by anyone other than a skilled, experienced pilot." To indicate September 1990 one might well write or type 9/90 It was in September of 1990 that President George Herbert Walker Bush spoke to Congress on Iraq. On September 11th, 1990 in fact. What of EgyptAir Flight 990? Weeks after the last pile of debris from EgyptAir Flight 990 was pulled from the sea, investigators say they are more convinced than ever of their original theory: The jet was crashed deliberately." "The co-pilot under scrutiny in the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 uttered an Arabic prayer not once but as many as 10 times just before the doomed airliner went down" "Aviation Analyst John Nance Talks About Flight 990 When a commercial aircraft goes into a dive as steep and precipitous as the preliminary radar data seems to indicate." An example of terrorists striking on an anniversary came on October 7th, 2004 in Taba. "Images of Destruction | Taba Hilton Before and After Terrorist Attack on October 7, 2004" According to initial findings Naveh said, a car bomb blew up at the entrance to the Hilton Taba Hotel and there was a combined bomb and shooting attack in two restaurants usually frequented by Israelis in Ras Al-Satan." http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4020867.html On October 7th,2001 "America Retaliates for the September 11 Attacks. October 7, 2001 President George W. Bush Speaks to America After the Strikes Begin. "On October 7th, 1959, Saddam and others attempted, but failed, to assassinate the prime minister of Iraq. Wanted by the Iraqi government, Saddam was forced to flee. He lived in exile in Syria for three months and then moved to Egypt where he lived for three years." http://history1900s.about.com/od/saddamhussein/p/saddamhussein.htm "President Saddam Hussein chairs 48th Cabinet Session Baghdad, Oct. 22, 2001 INA President Saddam Hussein chaired on Sunday the 48th Cabinet session. The Cabinet discussed recent events of Palestinian Intifadha and praised Palestinians brave and persistent struggle for liberating their lands. The cabinet reviewed the current international situation, especially the U.S aggression on Afghanistan. The Cabinet brought back a historic stance Iraq had taken in 1979 when it condemned the military Soviet invasion of Afghanistan though Iraq had then deep relations with the Soviet Union and there was a friendship and cooperation agreement between Iraq and the Soviet Union, yet this had not prevented Iraq from taking the national independent stand rejecting Soviet's behavior. History repeats itself once again in 2001 as Iraq takes the same stance and condemns the US aggression on Afghanistan....this confirms Iraq's principled stance rejecting all forms of foreign intervention and aggressions. The Cabinet discussed issues listed on its agenda and made necessary decisions and recommendations." Saddam loves 11th anniversaries, for instance " Saddam Hussein's speech on the 11th Anniversary of the Great Victory Day In the Name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful Great People, The Valiant of Our Brave Armed Forces, Sons of our Glorious Arab Nation…" "Middle East Correspondent, Robert Fisk: Why was it that the bombing of the two embassies in Tanzania and Kenya occurred on the eighth anniversary to the very day of the first arrival of American troops of the 82nd airborne in Saudi Arabia in 1990?" "The 12th of October 2002 will for the rest of Australian history be counted as a day when evil struck with indiscriminate and indescribable savagery," "On October 12th, 2000 terrorists in a boat laden with explosives carried out a suicide bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in the harbor at Aden, Yemen. In what President Clinton described as a "despicable and cowardly act," 17 U.S. sailors were killed, and over 30 others were wounded." After the liberation of Iraq terrorists struck the Baghdad Hotel on October 12th. If you add 1 to 9 you get 10. If you add 1 to 11 you get 12. Thus the 9/11/2001 attack was presaged by the attack on the U.S.S. Cole on 10/12/2000. The terrorists were engaging in what to them was a private joke regarding their plans for 9/11/2001. "Iraq has the motivation and the means to actively support the Islamist networks of the region*** In the past, there have been intelligence reports of possible cooperation between Iraq and Osama bin Laden. Iraq has already tried to assassinate President Bush Senior in 1993, when he visited Kuwait as a private citizen. In the attack on the USS Cole in Aden (in) October (of 2000), there could have been an Iraqi connection. Iraq has excellent relations with the anti-Western Yemeni Islamists of the Army of Aden-Abyan, whose militants have been arrested by the Yemenite authorities in connection with the attack. Such an attack required long preparations, technical and military skills and good operational intelligence. In addition, the explosive used in the attack was sophisticated, a "shaped charge" like a torpedo or a missile, a device not in use by terrorist organizations, and which may have come from a military stockpile." 4 DAYS BEFORE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 Saddam's Stepson in USA "Authorities said Saffi" (Saddam's Stepson), " triggered red flags for four reasons: the family relationship to the Iraqi dictator; training at an American flight school; arrival on the eve of the Independence Day celebrations; and his only documented prior entry into the United States occurred just four days before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." "Saddam's Stepson to Be Deported Fri Jul 5th 2002 (Saffi) was planning to study at a flight school believed by the FBI to have been used by one of the Sept. 11 hijackers." "US officials state that an FBI investigation had substantiated charges that the Iraqi government plotted the assassination of former President Bush while visiting Kuwait in April 1993." "Terrorist Pilot Met With Iraqi Intelligence Agent By RICK JERVIS Special to The Wall Street Journal Europe Wall Street Journal, Europe October 4, 2001 [With thanks to Laurie Mylroie - Iraq News] PRAGUE-Mohamed Atta, who allegedly crashed the first plane into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, met at least one Iraqi intelligence agent last year in Prague before moving to the U.S., a Czech official close to the investigation said." United Airlines Flight 175 which left Boston's Logan Airport bound for Los Angeles before being piloted into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY 15 December 1988 43/175. Question of Palestine RECORDED VOTE ON RESOLUTION 43/175 A: 123-2-20 Did Anniversary Assassins Strike Again November 22nd 2004 What do you think the chances are that the plane crash which would have killed the 41st President of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush,had he been on board the plane which was enroute from Love Field in Dallas, Texas to pick him up, on the 41st anniversary of the assassination of JFK 11/22/1963 was a botched assassination attempt? Saddam Hussein, who may be running the show from his jail cell, assassinated his first victim when he was 11 years old, took power in Iraq in 1968, made it official 11 years later in 1979, invaded Kuwait 11 years later in 1990 sent bin Laden to assassinate former President Bush 11 years later on 9/11/2001 on the 11th anniversary to the day of the 9/11/1990 Bush speech to Congress on Iraq in which Bush mentioned The New World Order."US plans to dominate the world under the cover of what is called the new [world] order. These are the fruits of the new US order. [Video of explosion rocking World Trade Center] [Description of Source: Baghdad Republic of Iraq Television in Arabic-Official television station of the Iraqi Government." The World Trade Center looked so much like the number 11 that WPIX-TV Channel 11 in New York City used the World Trade Center as its logo. Note 11 times 2 equals 22. The Madrid attacks were done exactly 911 days after 9/11/2001. Sadat, criticized by arafat and Saddam for making peace with Israel, was assassinated on 10/6/1981 exactly 8 years after the 10/6/1973 Yom Kippur War in which he failed to defeat Israel. The American Embassies in Africa were hit on August 8th, 1998, exactly 8 years after the US entered Saudi Arabia in response to Saddam's invasion of Kuwait. A gentlemanly John Connally reaches to remove his hat as Jackie Kennedy enters presidential limousine at Love Field, Dallas, November 22, 1963 Source: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/images/jbc-love.htm The shocking news that narco-terrorists in Colombia plotted to assassinate current President George W. Bush on Monday November 22nd, 2004, the 41st anniversary of the JFK assassination, needs some examination. BCCI, the infamous drug-terror-arms bank that allegedly gave former President Jimmy Carter $10 million for the Carter Library,had offices in Peru, where coca leaves are grown, in Colombia, where the coca leaves are processed into cocaine, and in Castro's Cuba, and Baathist Syria and Baathist Iraq. Banks did not get offices in any of those 3 tyrannies without the approval of the tyrant. "Colombian Rebels Planned to Kill President Bush November 27th, 2004 U.S. National - Reuters By Hugh Bronstein BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - President Bush was targeted for assassination by Colombia's biggest Marxist rebel group this week when he visited the Caribbean port city of Cartagena, a top Colombian official said on Saturday. "According to informants and various sources, we had information indicating that various members of the FARC had been instructed by their leaders to make an attempt against President Bush," Defense Secretary Jorge Alberto Uribe told reporters. He would not be drawn out on the details of the threat. The White House had no immediate comment. The U.S. Secret Service, which protects the president, said it "does not comment or release information regarding our protective intelligence and protective methods." "We do not discuss any alleged threats to our protectees," said Jonathan Cherry, a Secret Service spokesman. There was heavy security in Cartagena when Bush visited the city on Monday(November 22nd, 2004)on his way back from the APEC forum in Chile. Military helicopters packed with armed soldiers flew over Bush's motorcade while naval vessels kept watch offshore. Many shops were shuttered." Source: http://news.yahoo.com/news? tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041127/us_nm/colombia_bush_plot_dc_5 "In early August, 1991, the Committee was provided with documents from the Latin American and Caribbean Region Office (LACRO) of BCCI, describing the offer for sale by the Argentine air force of 22 Mirage aircraft for $110 million. (63) The planned sale was to have been made to Iraq, as part of Saddam Hussein's massive military buildup prior to the Gulf war. BCCI was acting as the broker for the transaction, which was to take place in August or September of 1989...As Robert Mazur, the Customs agent in Tampa who selected BCCI as the target of the Customs money laundering sting testified, BCCI bank executives volunteered methods to enhance and improve his techniques for money laundering, and shortly before the sting ended the operation, offered to introduce Mazur to other potential "cash" customers for money laundering services from Bogota, Colombia...." Source: http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/04crime.htm "The Ba'ath leadership gave the orders for Qasim's assassination...On October 7th,1959, a six-,man assassination squad was waiting...the night before one member of the squad had fallen ill. A new recruit was drafted in...his full name was Saddam Hussein al-Takriti." Page 22 "The Ba'athist led forces...participated in the coup of 8th February 1963...Immediately after the coup, Saddam Hussein returned to Iraq, where he was appointed as the head of Al-Jihaz Al Khas, known popularly as Jihaz Haneen (the Yearning Apparatus), the clandestine intelligence organization of the Ba'ath Party. Saddam proceeded to turn it into an instrument of terror....on 18th November (1963) the army seized power in a swift military coup...the new leadership of the Ba'ath Party...was arrested. However, some of its members immediately collaborated with the new regime..." Pgs 25-26 "7th October 1959 A Ba'athist assassination squad fails to kill Qasim. A member of the team, twenty-two-year old Saddam Hussein, escapes to Syria and then to Egypt...8th February 1963 A Ba'athist coup overthrows Quasim amidst several days of terrible street fighting...18th November 1963 Following bitter infighting between...factions of the Baath, Arif overthrows the Ba'athist regime..." Pages 312-313 "Saddam...inherited from his uncle an admiration for Nazi principles...he was attracted to the ideas of the Ba'ath nationalist movement. The movement had been established in Damascus in 1943" (when Syria was a French colony and Hitler ruled France) "by two Syrians, Greek Orthodox Christian Michel A'flaq and Sunni Muslim Salah al-Bitar. Their philosophy was based on the ideology of German national socialism" (Nazism) "and on Italian fascism." Page 199 "After the Ba'ath Party came to power in February 1963...Saddam was promoted into the Regional Command Council and it was soon found that this was his metier. He was put in charge of a special force responsible for terror and assassination and was an interrogator and torturer in the Qasr al-Nihayyat (`The Palace of the End'). Eyewitnesses say Saddam excelled in creating new methods and revealed a sadistically inventive mind. He designed new instruments of torture and then experimentd with them on his victims. ...By the summer of 1963, Saddam was urging the party to put him in charge of creating a special security apparatus modelled on the Nazi SS. This was the Jihaz Haneen....following nationalisation of banks and certain foreign companies in 1964, the Ba'ath Party instructed Saddam to assassinate the president Abd al-Salam Arif. The proposed assassination was designed to trigger off another Ba'ath coup. Critics say it was a plan on behalf of the CIA but according to some Ba'athist defectors the CIA did not have direct contact with the Ba'ath itself but with army officers who were co-ordinating a joint coup with the party. The main contact with the Americans was Iraq's own ambassador in Washington, Dr. Nasser al-Hanni." Pages 201-203 "The second part of the plot was carried out by the Jihaz Haneen...Members of the Iraqi Jewish community...were...arrested. Eleven of them were among the first fourteen `spies' to be pubicly hanged on 27th January 1969....The public hangings turned into a national holiday with live television and radio coverage, and the Ba'ath Party organized the transport of some hundred thousand `workers and peasants' from outside Baghdad to join in...Families picknicked under trees while watching the hangings. This public orgy of death went on for twenty-four hours..." Page 206 Source: Unholy Babylon-The Secret History of Saddam's War by Adel Darwish and Gregory Alexander St. Martin's Press, New York 1991 ISBN 0-312-06530-2 "Compare the January 1969 show trial with another spectacle organized by the first Ba'thi regime in 1963 and designed to counter the continuing popularity of the ousted president, `Abd al-Karim Qassem, among certain sectors of the Shi'ite population of Baghdad. In the first week of the coup, the citizens of al-Thawra, a suburb of Baghdad, had fought the army and Ba'thist militia in some of the bloodiest street battles in the history of the country. They refused to believe that Qassem had been overthrown....The Ba'ath...dealt with this emotive imagery by televising a lengthy film clip displaying Qassem's bullet-ridden corpse. Night after night, they made their gruesome point. The body was propped up on a chair in the studio. A soldier saunter around, handling its parts. The camera would cut to scenes of devastation at the Ministry of Defence where Qassem had made his last stand. There, on location, it lingered on the mutilated corpses of Qassem's entourage...Back to the studio, and close-ups now of the entry and exit points of each bullet hole. The whole macabre sequence closes with a scene that must forever remain etched on the memory of all those who saw it: the soldier grabbing the lolling head by the hair, came right up close, and spat full face into it. The fear that the Ba'th were trying to instill in this and other instances was brutally direct. The centuries-old message was simple: he is dead, you had better believe it, we can do the smae to you. The fact that it was on television extended its reach..." Pages 58-59. Source: Republic of Fear The Inside Story of Saddam's Iraq by Samir al Khalil Pantheon Books, New York 1989 ISBN 0-679-73502-X "An Afghani tends to a field of heroin poppies, the sale of which provides much of the financing for the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. Afghanistan is the world's No. 1 producer and distributor of heroin, and illicit drug trafficking is the biggest funding source for By Rachel Ehrenfeld / Special to The Detroit News About the author Rachel Ehrenfeld is director of the New York-based Center for the Study of Corruption and the author of "Evil Money" (HarperBusiness) and "Narco-Terrorism" (Basic Books). Moving the money... In the welter of events following the bombing of the World Trade Center in Feb. 26, 1993, few noticed that the first man arrested, Mohammed Salameh—the poor, unemployed illegal immigrant— offered $5 million for bail. Where could he get this kind of money? The judge refused bail. But was the source of Salameh's offer the same as the one that funded the eight men—arrested shortly afterward—who planned to blow up Manhattan's tunnels and bridges and to assassinate public officials? Were the same money sources behind the final attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11? ... For a long time, there has been evidence that terrorist, international drug trafficking and criminal organizations use the same fund-raising methods to enrich themselves. Yet no one seemed to connect the dots. And no one seriously tried to crack down on their financing. Bin Laden's is only one among many hostile international criminal organizations, often state-sponsored, that will do whatever they can to diminish the status of the United States as the only superpower. According to a State Department report, the Taliban, who are at bin Laden's service, has the advantage of controlling the world's largest heroin production and distribution in the world. Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the heroin production soared to hundreds of tons each year. In 1999 alone, the world production of heroin was estimated at 500 metric tons; 400 were produced by the Taliban and available to fund bin Laden and his associates worldwide. First warning The writing was on the wall on July 5, 1991, when the Bank of England shut down what was the most important Islamic bank in the world, the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). This criminal entity was created by the Pakistani Aaga Hassan Abedi "to fight the evil influence of the West"; to help with the creation of the "Islamic Bomb"; to finance all Muslim terrorist organizations; and to launder the money that was generated mostly by illicit drug trafficking and other illegal activities, including arms trafficking. When BCCI went belly up, we learned from thousands of documents that Abu Nidal—the notorious Palestinian terrorist organization that now enjoys the hospitality of Iraq's Saddam Hussein, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hezbollah and bin Laden—had accounts in the bank. By the end of the 1980s, the "special services" provided by BCCI included access to Western humanitarian and international development funds, as well as drug money laundering, secret transfers of cash and bribes. A "Black Network," a special enforcement unit supported by Abu Nidal and other terrorist organizations, operated from Pakistan. The same Pakistan that harbored bin Laden for many years while its officials told the United States that they didn't know his whereabouts. And the same Pakistan that for decades, even according to the State Department's annual report, had been a major drug trafficking and money laundering center. Western blindness Yet, now more importantly, we also discovered that the American and British governments knew and kept the bank open for a long time. The bank "that would bribe God" was able to get away with its criminal activities for decades due to Abedi's clever portrayal of the Muslim nations as victims of Western—and particularly U.S.— "imperialism." And when the bank was shuttered, the accusation in the Muslim/Arab and Third World countries was that the U.S. and the United Kingdom governments closed the bank to curtail the growing fiscal power of Muslim countries. Like Abedi, anti-American, anti-Western terrorist and radical Muslim states and organizations, such as the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, the PLO, Iraq and Iran, use Western democratic rhetoric to their advantage. But it is the willful blindness, mainly toward the growing volume of drug money laundering, exercised by Western bankers on the one hand and Western politicians on the other, that makes money laundering possible, despite the many laws and international conventions to control this phenomenon. The BCCI was the first warning to the West. The second warning about the abuse of European and American financial markets by terrorist organizations, as well as their involvement in the illicit arms and drug trade, was made in February 1994 by the British National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS). The Organized Crime Unit of the NCIS warned that Middle East terrorist groups and states were targeting the financial centers of London, Frankfurt and other Western countries, and that they favor illegal drug trafficking, money laundering and fraud.... Clinton appeasement Despite its stated policy of not negotiating with terrorists, the Clinton administration went out of its way to appease a few of the 20th century's most notorious terror groups: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the PLO and the Irish Republican Army. All are heavily involved in the drug trade. On the eve of the 1993 handshake on the White House lawn between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, Britain's National Criminal Intelligence Service estimated the PLO's ill-gotten gains to total between $8 billion to $10 billion, with an annual income of about $1.5 billion to $2 billion from "donations, extortion, payoffs, illegal arms dealing, drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, etc." Since then, Washington has only aided and abetted the PLO. Since the start of the Oslo process, Arafat has received at least $3 billion more from the United States and the international community, without any serious demand for accountability, according to a report this year to Congress. Arafat, in well-documented instances, has been systematically skimming off portions of these funds, as he has with monies given to him on behalf of the refugees in the camps. The PLO was in the drug trafficking business almost from the beginning. Operating from Lebanon, under Habash's able leadership and assisted by a PLO-owned shipping company SUMUD, the organization exported hashish, opium, heroin and cocaine, first to Europe and later even to the United States and Australia. In return, it obtained weapons for their war against Israel and the West, and amassed a massive treasure trove. In addition, the PLO and Arafat, who enjoy the financial and strategic support of Hussein and bin Laden, have the distinction of being the organization that promoted "suicide bombers" as a weapon. Yet the Clinton administration subsidized a multitude of radical Palestinian groups, ranging from Arafat's Fatah branch of the PLO and its military wing, the Tanzim, to the socialist-nationalist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), headed by George Habash, all with close ties to bin Laden, Iraq and Iran. ...It was the Clinton White House that, despite evidence to the contrary, removed Syria from its list of the drug trafficking countries, to entice Syria to join the "peace process" in the Middle East. The failure of that process and the compromises the United States has made to maintain an illusion of peaceful prospects had no doubt added to the Muslim radical terrorists' resolve to attack what they see as a naive and vulnerable America. In another example of self-delusion, in 1999, then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright suggested a U.S.-led coalition to negotiate with the FARC and supported Colombia President Pastrana's "land for peace" initiative, despite a report from the General Accounting Office that the FARC is running a major international criminal enterprise that, among other things, supplies hundreds of tons of cocaine and heroin to the U.S. black market. This second Clinton "land for peace" initiative gave half of Colombia to the narco-terrorist FARC, while doing nothing to diminish its violence or appetite to control the rest of the country...." Source: http://www.detnews.com/2001/editorial/0109/30/a17-306400.htm Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called the Palestinian Authority a "gang of corrupt assassins and terrorists." "There is an obstacle [to peace] with the gang of corrupt assassins and terrorists that lead the Palestinian Authority," Sharon said in a televised speech in Israel. "The only way to peace is to remove this murderous posse." – Source: New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com Sharon raps Arafat `assassins' By KENNETH R. BAZINET DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Thursday, August 8th, 2002 "Bush back from surprise Iraq trip President Bush has arrived back in the United States after a surprise trip to Baghdad, where he spent two hours with US troops celebrating Thanksgiving Day. Mr. Bush told troops the US would not be swayed by ongoing attacks in Iraq. "We did not charge hundreds of miles into the heart of Iraq, pay a bitter cost of casualties, defeat a ruthless dictator and liberate 25 million people only to retreat before a band of thugs and assassins," he told 600 US soldiers. Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3245584.stm "President Bush and his wife, Laura, along with former president George H. W. Bush, welcome the King and Queen of Spain, Juan and Sofia Carlos, to their ranch Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2004, in Crawford, Texas.(AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)" Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news? tmpl=story&u=/041124/480/txlj10111241820 A small jet chartered to fly former President Bush to Ecuador Monday,November 22nd, 2004 was well below normal altitude when it clipped a toll road light tower and crashed into a muddy field three miles south of Hobby Airport, killing the crew of three.The plane, which belonged to Jet Place Inc. of Tulsa, Okla., came from Love Field in Dallas. It was approaching the runway when the wing and the landing gear on the right side clipped the pole on a tollway road....." "Weeks after the last pile of debris from EgyptAir Flight 990 was pulled from the sea, investigators say they are more convinced than ever of their original theory: The jet was crashed deliberately." http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/egyptair000121.html "The co-pilot under scrutiny in the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 uttered an Arabic prayer not once but as many as 10 times just before the doomed airliner went down" http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/egyptair991121.html "Aviation Analyst John Nance Talks About Flight 990 When a commercial aircraft goes into a dive as steep and precipitous as the preliminary radar data seems to indicate." http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/chat_johnnance110199.html "The White House is bordered on three sides by buildings that are as tall or taller than itself. (OEOB, Treasury, and Blair House.) Beyond these buildings there are still more buildings, that also are taller than the White House. The only flight path that is relatively unobstructed if making a controlled, straight-in approach, is from the south, over the ellipse. Even the Marine helicopter the president uses comes in from this direction and lands on the South Lawn. The problem with flying a plane the size of a 757 or 767 in from this direction is that there's a 555 ft tall structure in the way called the Washington Monument. The Capitol, although a bigger target, is similarly situated. There are buildings on all sides except for the west side, which faces the Mall. Again, for a controlled, straight-in approach, a pilot first would need to avoid the Washington Monument, and then fly straight down the Mall. There is more room to do this, but again, it would take considerable skill. Moreover, the buildings in Roslyn, just across the river from and to the west of the Mall, would have to be cleared, which means the plane's altitude would probably be too high, or the angle of descent too steep to permit a successful attack by anyone other than a skilled, experienced pilot." Imagine the rage and fury of Saddam Hussein "On February 26th, 1982 the Reagan Administration told Congress that it had dropped Iraq from the list of nations that supported acts of international terrorism. Baghdad would now be eligible for American government loan guarantees." source: SPIDER'S WEB: THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOW THE WHITE HOUSE ILLEGALLY ARMED IRAQ by Alan Friedman ASIN: 0553096508 Imagine Saddam's rage and fury when Kuwait was liberated on February 26th, 1991, 9 years to the day after the event described above! Is it any wonder that Saddam would launch the first of his 2 attacks on the World Trade Center on February 26th, 1993, the 2nd anniversary of the liberation of Kuwait City, and the 11th anniversary of the event described above, and that he would launch his 2nd attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001, the 11th anniversary of the Bush I speech to Congress on Iraq. Saddam loves 11th anniversaries, for instance " Saddam Hussein's speech on the 11th Anniversary of the Great Victory Day In the Name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful Great People, The Valiant of Our Brave Armed Forces, Sons of our Glorious Arab Nation…" http://www.index.com.jo/iraqtoday/auguste.html Saddam took credit for the September 11th attacks on America on Baghdad Republic of Iraq Television. Saddam sent his henchman Osama bin Laden to attack America and to assassinate former President Bush, who was at the White House on the morning of September 11th, 2001,just as he had tried to assassinate former President Bush in Kuwait in 1993. That is why Flight 93 was selected to hit the White House on the morning of September 11th, 2001. Fortunately the heroes of Flight 93 stopped that from happening and the plane went down in Pennsylvania. Second Attempt to Assassinate President Bush. We all know that Saddam Hussein attempted to assassinate former President Bush in Kuwait in 1993. Laura Bush, wife of the current President Bush, along with the current President Bush's brothers, his parents, and former Secretary of State Baker were actually in the air enroute to Kuwait when the intelligence came in and their plane was turned back. Then President Clinton later bombed an empty Iraqi intelligence building in retaliation for that attempt in which Saddam's homicide bombers were caught in Kuwait. We believe that the Second Attempt to assassinate former President George Herbert Walker Bush was made by Saddam Hussein using his henchman Osama bin Laden on September 11th, 2001. September 11th, 1990 Dubya's Dad Speaks to Congress on Iraq When September 11th Yes ! September 11th 1990. Exactly 11 years to the day before the infamous September 11th 2001 attacks on America. Saddam's Revenge !!! How clear it is!!! "Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the Persian Gulf Crisis and the Federal Budget Deficit September 11, 1990. We gather tonight, witness to events in the Persian Gulf as significant as they are tragic. In the early morning hours of August 2d, following negotiations and promises by Iraq's dictator Saddam Hussein not to use force, a powerful Iraqi army invaded its trusting and much weaker neighbor, Kuwait. *** The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective-a new world order-can emerge. ***" READ THE WHOLE OF DUBYA'S DADDY'S SPEECH TO CONGRESS ON SEPTEMBER 11TH, 1990 AT http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/ "Note: The President spoke at 9:09 p.m.in the House Chamber at the Capitol.. The address was broadcast live on nationwide television and radio." http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/ Iraq Cheers September 11th Attacks on America "Wednesday, September 12, 2001 Baghdad TV Commentary: US `Reaping Fruits of Crimes Against Humanity' Baghdad Republic of Iraq Television in Arabic 1700 GMT 11 Sep 01 [TV Commentary by Sa'd Yasin Yusuf read by announcer over footage of explosions in New York] [FBIS Translated Text] [With thanks to Laurie Mylorie - Iraq Watch] The American cowboy is reaping the fruits of his crimes against humanity. It is a black day in the history of America, which is tasting the bitter defeat of its crimes and disregard for peoples' will to lead a free, decent life. The massive explosions in the centers of power in America, notably the Pentagon, is a painful slap in the face of US politicians to stop their illegitimate hegemony and attempts to impose custodianship on peoples. It was no coincidence that the World Trade Center was destroyed in suicidal operations involving two planes that have broken through all US security barriers to carry the operation of the century and to express rejection of the reckless US policy. Panic has spread among US official circles, which evacuated the White House following a series of explosions. They also evacuated the Pentagon, the State Department, and Congress and closed down the airports and government institutions. The collapse of US centers of power is a collapse of the US policy, which deviates from human values and stands by world Zionism at all international forums to continue to slaughter the Palestinian Arab people and implement US plans to dominate the world under the cover of what is called the new [world] order. These are the fruits of the new US order. [Video of explosion rocking World Trade Center] [Description of Source: Baghdad Republic of Iraq Television in Arabic-Official television station of the Iraqi Government]" http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3 "BLITZER: That's Osama bin Laden's group. Now you also have some new information, David, about Mohamed Atta. He's the suspected ringleader of the September 11th hijackings. ENSOR: Well, that's right. As you know, he was one of the suicide hijackers who died on September 11th on one of those aircraft. And we had previously reported on September 19th that he met with an Iraqi intelligence official somewhere in Europe. Well, I'm now able to tell you, based on information from U.S. sources, he met not once but twice with Iraqi intelligence officers in Prague in the Czech Republic: once last year in June of 2000 and once in April of 2001." http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0110/10/lkl.00.html Aired 9/11/2001 "Baghdad Republic of Iraq TV: These are the fruits of the new US order.[Video of explosion rocking World Trade Center]Panic has spread among US official circles, which evacuated the White House following a series of explosions." "CNN LARRY KING LIVE Aired October 2, 2001 LARRY KING: Have you spoken to your father- in-law? (George Herbert Walker Bush) LAURA BUSH: I've spoken to my father-in-law. They were-they had actually spent that Monday night here.(at the White House) I had just seen them off that morning (9/11/2001) when I got in the car and found out about the first plane.(going into the World Trade Center.)" http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0110/02/lkl.00.html "Senator Joseph Lieberman: (Saddam) tried to kill former President Bush (in 1993)" http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0401/25/le.00.html Former President Bush Speech to Congress September 11th 1990. 11 years to the day before September 11th 2001 "In the early morning hours of August 2d,(1990),a powerful Iraqi army invaded Kuwait.The crisis in the Persian Gulf also offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective-a new world order-can emerge." http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/ "(White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer: we have real and credible information that the airplane that landed at the Pentagon was originally intended to hit the White House." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010912- 8.html#intended-targets "White House Was Flight 93 Target http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/20/attack/main509535.shtml A high-ranking al Qaeda detainee told investigators the intended target of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed into a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, was the White House. Government sources said Abu Zubaydah, now in U.S. custody, believed to be the source of the information." "Moussaoui Says He Was to Hijack 5th Plane By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer (Monday March 27, 2006) Al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui testified Monday that he and would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid were supposed to hijack a fifth airplane on Sept. 11, 2001, and fly it into the White House. Moussaoui's testimony on his own behalf stunned the courtroom. His account was in stark contrast to his previous statements in which he said the White House attack was to come later if the United States refused to release a radical Egyptian sheik imprisoned on earlier terrorist convictions. On Dec. 22, 2001, Reid was subdued by passengers when he attempted to detonate a bomb in his shoe aboard American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami. There were 197 people on board. The plane was diverted to Boston, where it landed safely. Moussaoui told the court he knew the World Trade Center attack was coming and that he lied to investigators when arrested in August 2001 because he wanted it to happen. "You lied because you wanted to conceal that you were a member of al- Qaida?" prosecutor Rob Spencer asked. "That's correct," Moussaoui said. Spencer: "You lied so the plan could go forward?" Moussaoui: "That's correct." The exchange was key to the government's case that the attacks might have been averted if Moussaoui had been more cooperative following his arrest. Moussaoui told the court he knew the attacks were coming some time after August 2001 and bought a radio so he could hear them unfold. Specifically, he said he knew the World Trade Center was going to be attacked, but asserted he was not part of that plot and didn't know the details. Nineteen men pulled off the Sept. 11 attacks on New York in Washington in the worst act of terrorism ever on U.S. soil. "I had knowledge that the Twin Towers would be hit," Moussaoui said. "I didn't know the details of this." Asked by his lawyer why he signed his guilty plea in April as "the 20th hijacker," Moussaoui replied: "Because everybody used to refer to me as the 20th hijacker and it was a bit of fun." Before Moussaoui took the stand, his lawyers made a last attempt to stop him from testifying, but failed. Defense attorney Gerald Zerkin argued that his client would not be a competent witness because he has contempt for the court, only recognizes Islamic law and therefore "the affirmation he undertakes would be meaningless." Moussaoui at first denied he was to have been a fifth hijack pilot Sept. 11 but under cross examination spoke of the plan that would have him attack the White House. He said Reid was the only person he knew for sure would have been on that mission, but others were discussed. The 19 terrorists on Sept. 11 hijacked and crashed four airliners, killing nearly 3,000 people in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and on the planes. The intended target of the plane that crashed into a Pennsylvania field remains unknown. Moussaoui said he talked with an al-Qaida official in 1999 about why a 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center failed to bring the towers down. He said "was asked in the same period for the first time if I want to be a suicide pilot and I declined." Just before Moussaoui took the stand, the court heard testimony that two months before the attacks that a CIA deputy chief waited in vain for permission to tell the FBI about a "very high interest" al-Qaida operative who became one of the hijackers. The official, a senior figure in the CIA's Osama bin Laden unit, said he sought authorization on July 13, 2001, to send information to the FBI but got no response for 10 days, then asked again. As it turned out, the information on Khalid al-Mihdhar did not reach the FBI until late August. At the time, CIA officers needed permission from a special unit before passing certain intelligence on to the FBI. The official was identified only as John. His written testimony was read into the record. "John's" testimony was part of the defense's case that federal authorities missed multiple opportunities to catch hijackers and perhaps thwart the 9/11 plot. His testimony included an e-mail sent by FBI supervisor Michael Maltbie discussing Moussaoui but playing down his terrorist connections. Maltbie's e-mail said "there's no indication that (Moussaoui) had plans for any nefarious activity." He sent that e-mail to the CIA even after receiving a lengthy memo from the FBI agent who arrested Moussaoui and suspected him of being a terrorist with plans to hijack aircraft. Prosecutors argue that Moussaoui, a French citizen, thwarted a prime opportunity to track down the 9/11 hijackers and possibly unravel the plot when he was arrested in August 2001 on immigration violations and lied to the FBI about his al-Qaida membership and plans to hijack a plane. Had Moussaoui confessed, the FBI could have pursued leads that would have led them to most of the hijackers, government witnesses have testified. To win the death penalty, prosecutors must first prove that Moussaoui's actions — specifically, his lies — were directly responsible for at least one death on Sept. 11. If they fail, Moussaoui would get life in prison. ___ Associated Press Writer Michael J. Sniffen contributed to this report source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060327/ap_on_re_us/moussaoui_14&printer= 1;_ylt=Ags6isPJuz93w2EYYRP9gnVH2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

how airbus gain in market share affect the legitimacy of claims for subsidies? in december 2003, Boeing announced it would go ahead with the development of its latest commercial jetliner, the 7E7, which Boeing will position against Airbus's popular A330 aircraft. The "E" in the Boeing 7E7 stands for 'efficient.' By making extensive use of new composite and engine technology, Boeing hopes to reduce the aircraft's operating costs by as much as 20 percent compared to a traditional design. If it is successful, this will make the plane a potent competitor against the best-selling A330. however, the 7E7, now renamed the 787, is a risky project for Boeing. The aircraft will cost about $7 billion to develop, according to industry estimates, and demand is uncertain. To share the costs and risks of development Boeing has taken on several partners who will help to design and build the 787. Most important among these are a trio of three Japanese companies, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Fuji Heavy Industries. Collectively, these three companies will probably build as much as 35 percent of the 787 by value, including parts of the fuselage, wings, and landing gear. They will ship the finished components to everett, Washington, for final assembly. These three companies are longtime Boeing partners. They contributed about 21 percent by value to Boeing's last new jetliner, the Boeing 777. Although there has been a long history of development subsidies in the commercial aerospace industry, a 1992 agreement between Boeing and Airbus limits the state aid either company can get from their respective governments. Airbus, now a private company, is limited to repayable launch aid that must not exceed one-third of the development costs of a new aircraft. The launch aid has to be repaid only if aircraft sales are high enough for Airbus to turn a profit on the investment in a new plane. As for Boeing, indirect aid from U.S. government agencies such as R&D contracts from the Pentagon and NASA are capped at 4 percent of its total revenues. It is unclear if the 1992 agreement extends to other parties in the projects. The Japenese Aircraft Development Corporation, an association of Japanese aircraft makers, has asked the Japanese government for help with the 787 project. The country's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry has submitted a budget request that would make the 787 a "national project. Newspaper reports put the request at about $1.5 billion. Upon hearing this, Airbus officials were quick to claim that the arrangement could violate several international agreements, including a 1994 WTO prohibition against subsidies that can harm competitors. Behind the scenes, Airbus executives started to urge the European Union to look at the issue and possibly file a case on their behalf. They also noted that Boeing received aid from the states of Washington and Kansas, where its factories are located, and that also constitutes an unfair subsidy that was outside the scope of the 1992 agreement. In mid-2004, the issue became even more contentious when the u.s. government demanded an end to airbus's launch aid. airbus had already been granted lans of 3.7 billion to develop its latest aircraft, the A380 super-jumbo, but what really got attention in america were signs from airbus that it would also build a direct competitor to the 787, the A350, and ask for launch aid to help cover the development costs of that plane. Estimates suggested the lunch aid for the A350 could total $1.3 billion. furthermore, in 2004 airbus surpassed boeing in global market share. American officials felt that given the strength of the company, subsidies were no longer appropriate. In late 2004, the EU and U.S. government entered into negotiations to try to resolve the dispute, but talks ended in March 2005 with no agreement. The dispute now goes to the World Trade Organization, which must rule on the legality of the various subsidies. Meanwhile, Boeing is starting to pile up orders for the 787, and industry observers speculate that the longer launch aid for an airbus competitor is stalled in legal limbo, the less likely Airbus will be to go ahead with the plane.

The South African ideologies behind their FIFA World Cup preparations? I recently read an article regarding the Summer Olympic Games to be held in Beijeng, China this year. What struck me as an interesting topic was their approach to that event when compared to the South African approach to the FIFA World Cup 2010 and the the completely differing ideologies behind preparations. The Chinese have had over 100 000 unpaid volunteers to aid in preparations and have all been groomed in foreign languages, etiquette and basic manners. The SA's on the other hand have said or done nothing other than making plans for cash flow's into the country, get rich quick planning and I have yet to hear of any volunteers aiding in preparation without remuneration. Does the S.A. belief that their event is little more than an opportunity for wealth creation and a cash cow rather than an opportunity to create national pride and practise nation building display a clear misdirection in S.A. priorities and how can they be expected to make a success of that event under such beliefs? Marrs - Is it ignorant for me to ask a question I do not know the answer to? I think it more ignorant for you to attack me based on such. You could have politely informed me of your opinion, yet, again you chose the path of agravation and unecessary aggressiveness, I pity you, your wife must surely have you on an extremely tight lead to result in such frustrations and an out of control inferiority complex.

How did YOU prep for natural childbirth? I am 36 weeks + 4 days pregnant with baby boy #2! I am planning an at home water birth with a midwife. I am very excited, but would be lying if I said I'm not a little scared as well. This is my second child, and I have very healthy and "normal" pregnancies and deliveries. This will be the first time doing it all natural without medicinal aid, and would LOVE to hear from you mamas that have had babies naturally without medicine. How did you prepare? Were you at home or a birthing center? Have you had other children in a hospital with or without medicine? How do home births compare to hospital? Those are just some samples of questions you could answer, or just tell me of YOUR experiences. If you can be specific, please do! I would LOVE to hear and be encouraged! Thank you all in advance for answering!

Is there anyone with boarding School Help!? ok I'm 13 in the 7th grade, and have been wanting to go to a boarding school for some time now. I've found an amazing one Just out side the city that is rather cheap compared to the others I've looked at. I don't know if my parents could afford it but I hear there is Amazing Financial aid available for schools now and days. I have great grades in my school now but just find it to easy! But every time I even think about boarding school my parents pull the old "I don't even want to hear it" So here are my questions... 1)How can I convince my parents to at least seriously consider this 2)How and could I get Finical aid 3)Any reviews of the school (BrookHill Academy in texas) 4)your experience of boarding school Thanks a bunch! I want to go because It's WAY harder than Public Schools, teaches Independance and Responciblities, Helps with college applications, Smaller class sizes( witch means easier to learn) and Most of all College Prep classes are way better in Boarding than Public schools

GLBT rights: I'm sick... and tired...? Why do so many right-wing nuts think we're trying to "turn children gay"? They're so paranoid... they think that we're out to destroy society or something. We just ask for a little acceptance and equality, and they claim that we're communists and are destroying America with our "gay agenda and liberal propaganda". I'm tired of this. I'm so tired... Of having ignorant bastards like them put us down all the time; saying that AIDS is a punishment from God; comparing us to evil sexual predators and child molesters and Nazis, ignoring our rights as citizens... I wish it would all go away... I wish I could one day wake up and not hear stories about school principals being fired for being gay, or young boys being tortured and killed for asking another boy to be his valentine, or young men shot to death in Saudi Arabia just because they fell in love with one another...

Work in Progress, Needs Advice? Please could you read through my story, I understand if you don't have time, I'd just like advice, it's an opening chapter, and definately not the final draft, the ending is somewhat rushed, but it gives the gist of it, but could do with a bit more describing and coversation with the wife. Spelling is unimportant, I have spell checked once about half way through, and I'm bound to have missed things or used wrong tenses, sorry I will fix these, I just wanted to get the words down. I understand also the whole, Mr. landon, Mr. brown can get boring, this will be worked on, first names will be brought in to make reading and typing easier. It's just a bit of fun, nothing serious, something I've worked on for a few months, adding to whenever I get the chance around college. Also the the words when copied in from notebook, got a put out of alignment sorry about this. Thanks for any advice in advance! ---------- 'Thud'...........'Thud'...........'Thud' "Every time I walked several metres down the street, a loud thud echoed from behind me and rang through my ears. I calmly carried on, attempting to not pay attention to the noise. However the only other noise around was the sound of my steps which when compared to the noise following me was like listening for a pin drop on a missile test zone. The noise filled my head like an explosion in a cave, screaming for several moments after entry, bouncing of the sides of my skull, until finally flooding out to carry on down the street. The noise was unbearable, it brought me back to my days at University, trying to revise when everyone else wanted to party. I became an expert at finding quiet places, unlucky for me that skill was of no use to me in this situation. I quickened my pace so I didn't spend more than a couple of seconds out of the light from the street lamps, which where the only thing allowing me to continue, otherwise I would be in complete darkness. Although the noise was unnerving, it wasn't close yet, which meant I had time to examine my surroundings. Probably not the best thing to do, maybe I should have been running away, or even confronting it. I mean, come on I'm thirty two and running away from a noise, it could have been a bunch of kids playing a trick on me." "My eyes swayed from left to right in a similar fashion to a pendulum, I was sure I could have hypnotised someone with them had I met anyone. Walking down the street I found my self drawn to glancing in through the windows of what I thought where shops, houses and restaurants, but the only thing that gave me that impression was the fact it said it above the windows and doors, not from looking through the windows, as I couldn't see anything through them. The windows where painted black from the inside. After trying to find any gap in the paint in the second chemist on the street, I decided I'd have a better chance on the other side of the road. Pushing my self away from the building, I quickly spun around and shot off for the other buildings. Before I knew it I'd lost my footing and got tangled up in bin bags, then I was lying face flat against the concrete. Had I been alone I would have sympathised with my self and laughed it off, But as I said 'had I been alone'. Now don't forget this noise was still following me, it's not like I'd forgotten and was checking out the shops for offers, or the restaurants so I could find a cheap meal deal for my upcoming anniversary." "Oh wait scrap that from your report, just encase my wife finds out I've said it, you'll think she won't but she knows everything about me, even stuff I wouldn't dream of telling her." A tall man was sat in a small room, he had shoulder length brown scraggy hair, his eyes a deep shade of brown looked like they were trying to escape from the sockets. His general look wasn't that appealing. Opposite him was another man, dressed entirely in black from his Sunglasses, to his suit down to his shoes. He sat holding a small burgundy notebook and frantically wrote things down, hoping not to miss a word a Dictaphone lay on the table as well. "You Know what I bet somehow she knew about this, don't ask me how, it's just a feeling." "Mr Landon, I couldn't care less if your wife knew the secrets of eternal youth, or the meaning of life at the moment, I'm sat here listening to some loon, describe a dream he had, about the time he walked down a never ending road, being followed by a noise which I heard you described as being louder than thousands of foghorns going off altogether, in your last interview." Mr. Brown proclaimed. Mr Landon stood hoping to intimidate Mr. Brown by standing over him, unluckily Mr Landon was a short stubby man, and rather than scare him, he seemed to strike his funny bone. "Alan, If I may use your first name" "Yes you may" Mr Landon spat back at him. "I don't mean to insult you, however I have a deadline and I'd like you to get to the point of your tale before we both die of old age. I mean have you actually read all your interviews you've done. Take for example The one you did for the local paper, it was ten pages of utter nonsense, you take anyone's comments on your story as an insult, and the papers turn it round on you and make you look like some escaped mental patient. I suggest after our meeting you just give people the basic facts, people aren't interested in your story and won't sit there reading ten pages." "Hey" Mr Landon carried on the conversation as though Mr. Browns speech hadn't even occurred. "What right have you got to come into my house and say it was a dream or even query me." "I'm going to be frank with you Mr Landon, if it was true I doubt you'd be able to answer any of my questions, because unfortunately I don't know sign language, and a noise that loud surely would have deafened you" At this point Mr. Brown slammed his cup of tea onto the table smashing his saucer, the tea splashed out and landed on his wrist. Though the tea was fresh and still boiling hot he did not flinch at all. "I've had enough of this Alan, your just another one of those people that think they can get money from making up these stupid stories about alien attacks. You do know there's been around 800 in the past month, the past month, for christ sake, all have been found out to be fake, the police, prime minster, general Gundore have all said so. So why should yours be different, You'll be found out soon enough... I'm sure of it" "You haven't even heard all of what happened maybe I could change your mind, now sit back down and allow me to continue. Mr. Brown slunk back into his seat and although he'd rather not listen, out of courtesy he did. "Like I said The reason I was looking through the windows of the buildings was because They where my only way out" Mr. Brown, looked confused. His eyebrows raised and his mouth opened but before he could ask a question, Mr Landon had carried on. "The road looked like it went on for miles. If I carried on walking I'd end up well past my house and probably up in Scotland by time I got to the end. If there was one." "The entire street looked as though it had been deserted many years ago. Rubbish lined the streets waiting for the bin men to come round in the morning, although it did look like they had never been and rubbish piles just ended up getting bigger and bigger. The street carried on for what felt like forever, I came across no other street leading off it, no alleyway, all the houses and shops where packed so close together, the only thing I could do was carry on going forward or turn round to face the noise." "Suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks, up ahead was a body lying in the light of one of the street lights. I ran towards it hoping the person was okay, well actually I was hoping they'd know away off the street. From a distance they looked injured all curled up as though protecting them self. I had to make sure they was OK. As I charged towards the body the noise from behind quickened, as though it knew I had began to run and wasn't risking me getting away. I stopped next to the person and bent down to examine him. I then realised the noise had stopped and I could finally concentrate on him, rather than worry what had happened to it." "The man looked as though he was barely into his mid twenty's, I brushed my hand across the side of his face to see if it would wake him, it felt like I was touching sandpaper, had he ever heard of a razor, you know get the hairs you'd miss with an electric shaver as it just can't get as close. He wouldn't have stubble then. Actually now I think of it maybe it was just part of some fashion trend, he could have been trying to look older as he did have a sort of babyish face. Not that there's anything wrong with trying to look older though I'd prefer looking younger." "Once again Mr Landon you are going off topic, I don't need to know any fashion tips, especially from you, you of all people really don't have any right to judge based on looks and come up with someone's life story just from there appearance, unless you know the man's reason for stubble I couldn't care less." "Now as you can see, I seem to have an empty cup, could you get that wife of yours to fetch another in." "Pass it here, I'll get you a refill, rather than disturb her." "NO! Sorry, it's, just I noticed a bit of dirt on the cup, a new one will do fine." "Suit your self, I'll be back in a moment." Mr Landon stood up and made his way to the kitchen. Mr. Brown then sat back slouched on the sofa, staring into the corner of the room, he nodded once and clamped his teeth together, he repeated this action for the other three corners of the room, and then sat back upright. Mr Landon then came back into the room carrying a tray with a fresh cup of tea on, oblivious to the peculiar activity which had just occurred. "Now I'll carry on, just drink your tea, slow, were getting to the good part." "Instantly the man lying on the floor huddled up grabbed out at my hand and jerked up right, his dark brown eyes fixated on my own. It was like looking into a mirror, they where so clear, I saw myself. I looked confused, my hair was all over the place. As I ran towards the man my hair must have been blown out of place by the wind. I looked confused and I was, I mean it's not everyday I helped a strange person lying injured in the street, being followed by a strange noise on a road that seems to never end." Mr Landon stopped started into his cup of tea as though hoping it would reveal what happened next to him. "I remember thinking, have I gone crazy, was it something I ate or is all this just in my head, maybe it's a dream. I could have fallen over and knocked my head on something and be lying in some hospital bed, but I wasn't. " There was a few moments of silence, still staring at his tea, it was as though Mr Landon had a brainwave and remembered every little detail that happened, and once again he carried on. "My arm started to burn where the man was holding me, a strange sensation like something was coming out from the man's hand and was trying to push me away, even though he was the one holding me." "Get Down!" He shouted. "What do you mean get down." I replied. "Just get out of the way." The man said with a hint of anger in his voice. "Hey I'm only helping you don't worry I'm not going to hurt you." "Yeah well in a minute you'll be getting hurt by something if you don't move." "Is that a thre- "At that moment his other arm slammed into my side, I was sent to the floor and grazed my arm along the concrete. The man looked angry with me, his eyes shot from me and the darkness several times. I had no idea what his problem was but I thought it best I got away. I dragged my self along the street,trying not to draw attention to myself, slowly I got up and with out glancing back I carried on as I would have, if the man hadn't been there." "I was stopped in my track as a screeching pierced through my head, I dropped back to my knees, covering my ears, shaking, I tried to gather my strength and turn around. The noise had stopped, everything was silent, until," 'Thud'....'Thud'....'Thud' "The pace of the noise had quickened, I had no idea why, I glanced back at the man to see he was still there staring down the street. Further in front of him, the street lights began to go off. The night was far from over and the sun was hours away from rising. Either there was something wrong with the lights or it was the noise destroying them." "Now I know the 'noise' wasn't destroying, at the time I didn't know what the noise was, so I referred to the noise as though it was a living thing. I shouted for the man to run, but he paid no attention so I made my way for him. Up ahead the lights where going out faster and faster. It was a race for the man I had helped moments before. I arrived first and attempted to drag him away he wouldn't budge like he was stuck on the spot. There was one street light left until the noise would be on us. The ground was shaking and the thud had been joined by a gentle groaning that felt rather pleasant compared to all the other noises I'd heard that night." "From out of the shadows a large figure strode out and stopped in the light in all it's glory. It was a giant muscular figure with hands and feet at least four times bigger than my own. It's skin was almost flurecant in the light, it had a thin layer of fur growing on it's arms, legs and all over it's back. It had a greeny brown tinge to it's skin accompanied by a pale yellow chest. It's claws where like curved blades able to slice through metal. It's face was still clouded in darkness as it was taller than the lamppost." "The man gazed at it in disgust like it was the most vile thing he'd ever seen but, I felt as though there was something else another reason why he looked at it the way he did. He raised his hand so it was pointed at the creatures face, and let out an almighty scream." "Light shot from his hand and struck the monster square in the face pushing it back with immense strength. It struggled to push it self back and force itself forward. With a flick of the hand to the left the creature was sent into the front of a building, causing bricks and glass to fall to the floor around the creature. I gasped at what I just saw, one man just threw a creature into a building and not flinch at all. It must have been a regular occurrence to the man as he'd already began to stroll towards the creature by time I got myself back to normal. He pulled out a small dagger from his right pocket and took it out of it's protective sleeve. He raised it high above the creature but stopped dead in his tracks, as a second screech bellowed from above the building." "I looked up to see what it was, but I already knew what to expect based on what I just saw. I always tell myself to not think that everything will happen the way I expect it too. Expect the unexpected. Unfortunately at times like this you don't have time to think about anything and that's why I ended up getting thrown through a shop window. As I lay there watching this giant, muscular creature casually walk over to where I lay, I could do nothing. I couldn't move my arms or legs, Fear had me pinned down, because this was the first time I had seen it's face. The creature lowered it's head from out of the darkness and it's grotesque form took shape in front of me. Eyes the size of a clenched fist targeted on me from behind scraggy hair that flopped in front of the creatures face, and being blown about by the gust of air shooting out of it's nostrils. Fangs curved out of it's mouth like tusks, but where as sharp as knifes, except the left one which had broken off half way down. It's mouth opened and closed as though it was simulating eating me." "As it craned it's neck through the window, it's breath awakened my senses and I found myself able to move again, but before I could run, the creatures hand was already around my waist and pulling me from the debris of the smashed up window. Back in the street, suspended upside-down five metres from the ground I took my chance to look around for the stranger I'd helped and in turn had saved my own life, but he was no where to be seen, the only thing I could make out in the distance was the other creature still knocked out at the side of road. Was this the end for me, or will my luck change. With in a split second that question was answered." "From out of the darkness a flash of red slammed into the side of the creature sending it sliding down the street. As I stared closer at the flash of red, my eyes widened in surprise as just down the street was a red double decker bus. The creature was now stumbling back up, it looked at the bus with complete confusion, obviously it hadn't seen one before other wise it would have known they are hardly dangerous." "It seemed to be thinking over whether or not to attack me, or the bus, as though it had learnt from this. I was shocked at my own thoughts and prejudices, just because it wasn't human I believed it wasn't as intelligent but this proved me wrong, this creature wasn't stupid and it was now finding another way to get me. The creature called out as though it was preparing to make it's move. When the whole street was lit up flames engulfing the creature from behind. The creature began to run around fiercly trying to put out the fire but there was no way for it to be put out in the street." "The buildings had caught a blaze, windows where shattering up and down the street. Rubbish that lay piled up at the side of the road was quickly disappearing engulfed by the flames and smoke which was pouring out of the buildings and ontothe street. The bus had slowly began to melt, no one came off and before I knew it all that was left was a large puddle of red liquid in the middle of the street. Had no one been driving or had they perished inside and now where nothing more than a puddle of remains mixed in with those of the bus." "Looking around me I realized I was surrounded by the flames, theyre was no way out, this time I felt for sure help would not arrive, no more buses would come bursting through the flames to pick me up and drive me to safety, no strange men with glowing palms would fly down and away again with me in theyre arms. The idea of this being a dream once again crossed my mind, before a blinding light in front of me emerged from the fire, as it got close the light split into two, on either side of the lights two more pairs appeared, heading straight towards me. Help had arrived, in what form I had no idea, but fear struck me, these lights where not slowing down and if they kept going would hit me, I ran" "Towards the flames was the only way, as far to the side as I could go, I was still in line with the lights furthest to the right, terrified I curled up, placing my head on my knees, tears running down my face. This nightmare was going to be over, the price I'd have to pay though, was my life. I closed my eyes and covered my ears, I didnt want to see or hear the lights approach ready to kill me. However my efforts to drown out any sound where crushed when the sound of tyre's screeching filled my ears. I jumped up onto my feet, and quickly scanned my surroundings. The buildings had disappeared, the road had been replaced with the M25, the lights where those of car headlights, driving down the lanes towards me. I dashed to the side of the motorway just escaping the path of an oncoming lorry." "I kept thinknig to my self, how had I survived again, I should have died at least three times that night, but there I was perfectly safe at the side of the M25, and just a few miles from my house." "Thats where I will have to interupt you Mr. Landon, you are correct, you should have died that night, and theyre where numerous attempts on your life, all failing, I am yet to find out who aided you that night, but where I do, they will suffer the sam consequence for escaping, as you shall." Stone faced, gazing at Mr. Landon a smirk crept across Mr. Browns face. Mr. Brown lept at Mr. Landon, over the coffee table pushing him into his chair. Grabbing him by the throat, Mr. Brown attempted to strangle him. Mr. Landon Pulled off a succesful kick to the unprotected crotch of Mr. Brown. Falling to the ground in pain, Mr. Landon took this time to strike back and protect himself in his own house. Grabbing a conveniently placed lamp from the small table next to the chair he had almost lost his life in, he strook down hard, after the previous events that had happened to him Mr. Landon was not taking any chances and strook Mr. brown on the head a further three times. A blood spattered Mr. Landon stood over the body motionless. His wife came rushing through the kitchen after hearing the fight going on. Dropping her book she had been attempting to read in the bedroom, she dashed for the phone, without asking her husband about the incident, she called for the police. She had feared for the past few days her husband would do something drastic after telling him she thought he's been out all night drinking, rather than fight9ing for his life, and he had punched her for it. the bruise was theyre but her tangerine cxomplexion from cheap beauty products had covered it enough to not cause any suspicions among family and friends. The minutes leadin up to Mr. Landon's arrest, went slowly, his wife sat cradling her husband in her arms, as he wept in disgust of his own actions. Rage had filled him the moment he struck Mr. Brown, he tried to persuade his wife, he hadn't actually done it, something had taken over him and he had no recollection of the event. He tried to explain how he had wanted to kill his wife and he was only protecting her. She knew what had happened and that he was trying to hide the truth from her, the thing is she had started to believe his tale about his mysterious night, after all every time she heard him talk about it, she saw how terrified he was about losing his life, how confused he was about the events and how all he had wanted to do was get home and be with her. She now began to regret ringing for the police, thinking about what to do, would she actually hand over her husband to be sent down for murder, although it was self defense, the courts could find his mental state unnerving and lock him up for his own good. Her concentration was lost when a loud knock from the door echoed through the room followed by. "Open the door, we know your in there" A deep, rough male voice shouted. "Just a moment" She shrieked back. Getting to her feet she pulled up her husband looking him the eye and told him to run. The backdoor was the only way out, either that or through a window. Mr. Landon dashed into the kitchen almost slipping on the freshly mopped floor. He burst through the door, without looking to see if he was being chased, he climbed over the garden fence, and sped off into the woods. Mrs. Landon, got her act together, and confronted the police, in her calmest voice, as not to arouse suspicion, she explained how they had just missed him, and he had ran down the street, knowing full well he had infact gone in the opposite direction. She then gave a fake description of her husband, but only the basic information, giving the excuse she was still in shock and details of what had happened where blurry, so blurry that giving a description of the man she loved was hard to do. The Medics pushed past after spotting Mr. Brown lying in a pool of blood, frantic shouting from both police and medics, filled the house, everything was happening so quickly, Mrs. Landon could not focus on one thing for long before being asked another question by both groups of people. She panicked, and slummped onto her knees, leaning against the front door, tears streaming down her face, she sobbed, saying nothing,she just watched.

I ask Democrates, are we going to stand for the Left wing doing what the are doing?Glenn Greenwald?

Why does the Media Ignore Farrakhan’s Endorsement of Obama? Why does the media constantly protect obama and ties? Remember Michelle Obama's Famous Anti White Paper. Well check this out. And yet the Obama's say they have no ties with Farrakhan. Imagine the media frenzy that would ensue if David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan endorsed John McCain for president. Yet Louis Farrakhan’s endorsement of Barack Obama has been virtually ignored by the mainstream media. Speaking to a convention of the Nation of Islam, Farrakhan not only declared his support for Obama, but also told his followers that Obama was the “Messiah.” [Editor's Note: Editor's Note: See the video of Louis Farrakhan calling Obama "The Messiah" — Go Here Now]. “You are the instruments that God is gonna use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth,” Farrakhan said. “And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn’t care anything about. That’s a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking.” Farrakhan compared Obama to Nation of Islam founder Wallace D. Fard Muhammad, whom Farrakhan says also had a white mother and black father. “A black man with a white mother became a savior to us,” Farrakhan said. “A black man with a white mother could turn out to be one who can lift America from her fall.” Incredibly, only Fox News and a few other news outlets have run Farrakhan’s endorsement. Farrakhan made the statement last February, but it only recently appeared on YouTube. While Obama has no control over who endorses him, the nature of those who express affinity with him provides insight into who he is and what his agenda could be. Obama’s endorsers and supporters range from admitted terrorist William Ayers and Weatherman Underground leader Bernardine Dohrn to Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, the New Black Panthers, the New SDS, and a host of other radical organizations and individuals. Among other things, the New Black Panthers favors releasing all blacks from jails throughout the world and giving blacks reparations for slavery. The group asserts that until that happens, blacks should be exempt from all taxes. The media blackout on Obama’s associations goes back to last January, when Newsmax began running stories on his minister’s sermons and the fact that his church gave an award for lifetime achievement to Farrakhan. When the media finally began picking up the stories in mid-March, the primaries began favoring Hillary Clinton instead of Obama. Farrakhan has called whites “blue-eyed devils” and the Antichrist. He has described Jews as “bloodsuckers” who control the government, the media, and some black organizations. “Do you know some of these satanic Jews have taken over BET [the Black Entertainment Network]?” Farrakhan said in a speech on Nov. 11, 2007. “Everything that we built, they have. The mind of Satan now is running the record industry, movie industry, and television. And they make us look like we’re the murderers; we look like we’re the gangsters, but we’re punk stuff.” The month after that speech, Obama’s minister and friend, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and his Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, honored Farrakhan at a gala, bestowing on him its Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Lifetime Achievement Trumpeteer award. Obama has said he found religion through Wright in the 1980s and consulted him before deciding to run for president. He prayed privately with Wright before announcing his candidacy last year. In the November/December issue of his church’s magazine, Trumpet, Wright heaped praise on Farrakhan, whom he helped in organizing the Million Man March in Washington in 1995. Wright lauded Farrakhan as one of the giants of the African-American religious experience in the 20th and 21st centuries. “When Minister Farrakhan speaks, black America listens,” Wright said. “His depth on analysis [sic] when it comes to the racial ills of this nation is astounding and eye opening. He brings a perspective that is helpful and honest.” Hailing Farrakhan’s “integrity and honesty,” Wright said, “His love for Africa and African-American people has made him an unforgettable force, a catalyst for change, and a religious leader who is sincere about his faith and his purpose.” When no one in the media was picking up Newsmax’s stories on Wright’s award to Farrakhan and his sermons saying America created the AIDS virus to kill off blacks, a reporter for one of the cable news networks told me that if she proposed running such a story, her network would accuse her of “bias against Obama.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha5HEc-vOJs And King you are wrong Actually the klan is supporting obama...get your facts straight before you spew lies. Thankyou.

Mac Vs PC comparing key features? I heard Macs were really gay and couldn't run very many games couldn't upgrade parts ect But i got a mac for video editing and i'm worried if the mac is gay i might get aids. Has this happened to anyone else?

Breast cancer and dairy????????? Snuff smoking is bad, but some comes lung cancer and others do not want to say that smoking is okay?

AMERICA, why exactly should the world be greatful? Every question on this site that calls into question Americas motives in Iraq is met by dumb American answers which call the asker a terrorist symphatiser or unpatriotic, but why exactly should the world be great for what America has done. We hear about how sad it is that troops die every day and that they are heroes, what about the innocent Iraqis who they are killing everyday and who are dying in greater numbers. Is it not aiding terrorists by providing them with a recruitment supply and a training ground you can thank your President for that and if you thought you were hated before 9/11 its nothing compared to the hatred America has stirred up in the world in general since then. Well done to one and all.

Poll: Did you like The Oddysey or The Iliad better? I liked the Iliad better. This was my favorite part: Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another. And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people, because the son of Atreus had dishonoured Chryses his priest. Now Chryses had come to the ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, and had brought with him a great ransom: moreover he bore in his hand the sceptre of Apollo wreathed with a suppliant's wreath and he besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two sons of Atreus, who were their chiefs. "Sons of Atreus," he cried, "and all other Achaeans, may the gods who dwell in Olympus grant you to sack the city of Priam, and to reach your homes in safety; but free my daughter, and accept a ransom for her, in reverence to Apollo, son of Jove." On this the rest of the Achaeans with one voice were for respecting the priest and taking the ransom that he offered; but not so Agamemnon, who spoke fiercely to him and sent him roughly away. "Old man," said he, "let me not find you tarrying about our ships, nor yet coming hereafter. Your sceptre of the god and your wreath shall profit you nothing. I will not free her. She shall grow old in my house at Argos far from her own home, busying herself with her loom and visiting my couch; so go, and do not provoke me or it shall be the worse for you." The old man feared him and obeyed. Not a word he spoke, but went by the shore of the sounding sea and prayed apart to King Apollo whom lovely Leto had borne. "Hear me," he cried, "O god of the silver bow, that protectest Chryse and holy Cilla and rulest Tenedos with thy might, hear me oh thou of Sminthe. If I have ever decked your temple with garlands, or burned your thigh-bones in fat of bulls or goats, grant my prayer, and let your arrows avenge these my tears upon the Danaans." Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer. He came down furious from the summits of Olympus, with his bow and his quiver upon his shoulder, and the arrows rattled on his back with the rage that trembled within him. He sat himself down away from the ships with a face as dark as night, and his silver bow rang death as he shot his arrow in the midst of them. First he smote their mules and their hounds, but presently he aimed his shafts at the people themselves, and all day long the pyres of the dead were burning. For nine whole days he shot his arrows among the people, but upon the tenth day Achilles called them in assembly- moved thereto by Juno, who saw the Achaeans in their death-throes and had compassion upon them. Then, when they were got together, he rose and spoke among them. "Son of Atreus," said he, "I deem that we should now turn roving home if we would escape destruction, for we are being cut down by war and pestilence at once. Let us ask some priest or prophet, or some reader of dreams (for dreams, too, are of Jove) who can tell us why Phoebus Apollo is so angry, and say whether it is for some vow that we have broken, or hecatomb that we have not offered, and whether he will accept the savour of lambs and goats without blemish, so as to take away the plague from us." With these words he sat down, and Calchas son of Thestor, wisest of augurs, who knew things past present and to come, rose to speak. He it was who had guided the Achaeans with their fleet to Ilius, through the prophesyings with which Phoebus Apollo had inspired him. With all sincerity and goodwill he addressed them thus:- "Achilles, loved of heaven, you bid me tell you about the anger of King Apollo, I will therefore do so; but consider first and swear that you will stand by me heartily in word and deed, for I know that I shall offend one who rules the Argives with might, to whom all the Achaeans are in subjection. A plain man cannot stand against the anger of a king, who if he swallow his displeasure now, will yet nurse revenge till he has wreaked it. Consider, therefore, whether or no you will protect me." And Achilles answered, "Fear not, but speak as it is borne in upon you from heaven, for by Apollo, Calchas, to whom you pray, and whose oracles you reveal to us, not a Danaan at our ships shall lay his hand upon you, while I yet live to look upon the face of the earth- no, not though you name Agamemnon himself, who is by far the foremost of the Achaeans." Thereon the seer spoke boldly. "The god," he said, "is angry neither about vow nor hecatomb, but for his priest's sake, whom Agamemnon has dishonoured, in that he would not free his daughter nor take a ransom for her; therefore has he sent these evils upon us, and will yet send others. He will not deliver the Danaans from this pestilence till Agamemnon has restored the girl without fee or ransom to her father, and has sent a holy hecatomb to Chryse. Thus we may perhaps appease him." With these words he sat down, and Agamemnon rose in anger. His heart was black with rage, and his eyes flashed fire as he scowled on Calchas and said, "Seer of evil, you never yet prophesied smooth things concerning me, but have ever loved to foretell that which was evil. You have brought me neither comfort nor performance; and now you come seeing among Danaans, and saying that Apollo has plagued us because I would not take a ransom for this girl, the daughter of Chryses. I have set my heart on keeping her in my own house, for I love her better even than my own wife Clytemnestra, whose peer she is alike in form and feature, in understanding and accomplishments. Still I will give her up if I must, for I would have the people live, not die; but you must find me a prize instead, or I alone among the Argives shall be without one. This is not well; for you behold, all of you, that my prize is to go elsewhither." And Achilles answered, "Most noble son of Atreus, covetous beyond all mankind, how shall the Achaeans find you another prize? We have no common store from which to take one. Those we took from the cities have been awarded; we cannot disallow the awards that have been made already. Give this girl, therefore, to the god, and if ever Jove grants us to sack the city of Troy we will requite you three and fourfold." Then Agamemnon said, "Achilles, valiant though you be, you shall not thus outwit me. You shall not overreach and you shall not persuade me. Are you to keep your own prize, while I sit tamely under my loss and give up the girl at your bidding? Let the Achaeans find me a prize in fair exchange to my liking, or I will come and take your own, or that of Ajax or of Ulysses; and he to whomsoever I may come shall rue my coming. But of this we will take thought hereafter; for the present, let us draw a ship into the sea, and find a crew for her expressly; let us put a hecatomb on board, and let us send Chryseis also; further, let some chief man among us be in command, either Ajax, or Idomeneus, or yourself, son of Peleus, mighty warrior that you are, that we may offer sacrifice and appease the the anger of the god." Achilles scowled at him and answered, "You are steeped in insolence and lust of gain. With what heart can any of the Achaeans do your bidding, either on foray or in open fighting? I came not warring here for any ill the Trojans had done me. I have no quarrel with them. They have not raided my cattle nor my horses, nor cut down my harvests on the rich plains of Phthia; for between me and them there is a great space, both mountain and sounding sea. We have followed you, Sir Insolence! for your pleasure, not ours- to gain satisfaction from the Trojans for your shameless self and for Menelaus. You forget this, and threaten to rob me of the prize for which I have toiled, and which the sons of the Achaeans have given me. Never when the Achaeans sack any rich city of the Trojans do I receive so good a prize as you do, though it is my hands that do the better part of the fighting. When the sharing comes, your share is far the largest, and I, forsooth, must go back to my ships, take what I can get and be thankful, when my labour of fighting is done. Now, therefore, I shall go back to Phthia; it will be much better for me to return home with my ships, for I will not stay here dishonoured to gather gold and substance for you." And Agamemnon answered, "Fly if you will, I shall make you no prayers to stay you. I have others here who will do me honour, and above all Jove, the lord of counsel. There is no king here so hateful to me as you are, for you are ever quarrelsome and ill affected. What though you be brave? Was it not heaven that made you so? Go home, then, with your ships and comrades to lord it over the Myrmidons. I care neither for you nor for your anger; and thus will I do: since Phoebus Apollo is taking Chryseis from me, I shall send her with my ship and my followers, but I shall come to your tent and take your own prize Briseis, that you may learn how much stronger I am than you are, and that another may fear to set himself up as equal or comparable with me." The son of Peleus was furious, and his heart within his shaggy breast was divided whether to draw his sword, push the others aside, and kill the son of Atreus, or to restrain himself and check his anger. While he was thus in two minds, and was drawing his mighty sword from its scabbard, Minerva came down from heaven (for Juno had sent her in the love she bore to them both), and seized the son of Peleus by his yellow hair, visible to him alone, for of the others no man could see her. Achilles turned in amaze, and by the fire that flashed from her eyes at once knew that she was Minerva. "Why are you here," said he, "daughter of aegis-bearing Jove? To see the pride of Agamemnon, son of Atreus? Let me tell you- and it shall surely be- he shall pay for this insolence with his life." And Minerva said, "I come from heaven, if you will hear me, to bid you stay your anger. Juno has sent me, who cares for both of you alike. Cease, then, this brawling, and do not draw your sword; rail at him if you will, and your railing will not be vain, for I tell you- and it shall surely be- that you shall hereafter receive gifts three times as splendid by reason of this present insult. Hold, therefore, and obey." "Goddess," answered Achilles, "however angry a man may be, he must do as you two command him. This will be best, for the gods ever hear the prayers of him who has obeyed them." He stayed his hand on the silver hilt of his sword, and thrust it back into the scabbard as Minerva bade him. Then she went back to Olympus among the other gods, and to the house of aegis-bearing Jove. But the son of Peleus again began railing at the son of Atreus, for he was still in a rage. "Wine-bibber," he cried, "with the face of a dog and the heart of a hind, you never dare to go out with the host in fight, nor yet with our chosen men in ambuscade. You shun this as you do death itself. You had rather go round and rob his prizes from any man who contradicts you. You devour your people, for you are king over a feeble folk; otherwise, son of Atreus, henceforward you would insult no man. Therefore I say, and swear it with a great oath- nay, by this my sceptre which shalt sprout neither leaf nor shoot, nor bud anew from the day on which it left its parent stem upon the mountains- for the axe stripped it of leaf and bark, and now the sons of the Achaeans bear it as judges and guardians of the decrees of heaven- so surely and solemnly do I swear that hereafter they shall look fondly for Achilles and shall not find him. In the day of your distress, when your men fall dying by the murderous hand of Hector, you shall not know how to help them, and shall rend your heart with rage for the hour when you offered insult to the bravest of the Achaeans." With this the son of Peleus dashed his gold-bestudded sceptre on the ground and took his seat, while the son of Atreus was beginning fiercely from his place upon the other side. Then uprose smooth-tongued Nestor, the facile speaker of the Pylians, and the words fell from his lips sweeter than honey. Two generations of men born and bred in Pylos had passed away under his rule, and he was now reigning over the third. With all sincerity and goodwill, therefore, he addressed them thus:- "Of a truth," he said, "a great sorrow has befallen the Achaean land. Surely Priam with his sons would rejoice, and the Trojans be glad at heart if they could hear this quarrel between you two, who are so excellent in fight and counsel. I am older than either of you; therefore be guided by me. Moreover I have been the familiar friend of men even greater than you are, and they did not disregard my counsels. Never again can I behold such men as Pirithous and Dryas shepherd of his people, or as Caeneus, Exadius, godlike Polyphemus, and Theseus son of Aegeus, peer of the immortals. These were the mightiest men ever born upon this earth: mightiest were they, and when they fought the fiercest tribes of mountain savages they utterly overthrew them. I came from distant Pylos, and went about among them, for they would have me come, and I fought as it was in me to do. Not a man now living could withstand them, but they heard my words, and were persuaded by them. So be it also with yourselves, for this is the more excellent way. Therefore, Agamemnon, though you be strong, take not this girl away, for the sons of the Achaeans have already given her to Achilles; and you, Achilles, strive not further with the king, for no man who by the grace of Jove wields a sceptre has like honour with Agamemnon. You are strong, and have a goddess for your mother; but Agamemnon is stronger than you, for he has more people under him. Son of Atreus, check your anger, I implore you; end this quarrel with Achilles, who in the day of battle is a tower of strength to the Achaeans." And Agamemnon answered, "Sir, all that you have said is true, but this fellow must needs become our lord and master: he must be lord of all, king of all, and captain of all, and this shall hardly be. Granted that the gods have made him a great warrior, have they also given him the right to speak with railing?" Achilles interrupted him. "I should be a mean coward," he cried, "were I to give in to you in all things. Order other people about, not me, for I shall obey no longer. Furthermore I say- and lay my saying to your heart- I shall fight neither you nor any man about this girl, for those that take were those also that gave. But of all else that is at my ship you shall carry away nothing by force. Try, that others may see; if you do, my spear shall be reddened with your blood." When they had quarrelled thus angrily, they rose, and broke up the assembly at the ships of the Achaeans. The son of Peleus went back to his tents and ships with the son of Menoetius and his company, while Agamemnon drew a vessel into the water and chose a crew of twenty oarsmen. He escorted Chryseis on board and sent moreover a hecatomb for the god. And Ulysses went as captain. These, then, went on board and sailed their ways over the sea. But the son of Atreus bade the people purify themselves; so they purified themselves and cast their filth into the sea. Then they offered hecatombs of bulls and goats without blemish on the sea-shore, and the smoke with the savour of their sacrifice rose curling up towards heaven. Thus did they busy themselves throughout the host. But Agamemnon did not forget the threat that he had made Achilles, and called his trusty messengers and squires Talthybius and Eurybates. "Go," said he, "to the tent of Achilles, son of Peleus; take Briseis by the hand and bring her hither; if he will not give her I shall come with others and take her- which will press him harder." He charged them straightly further and dismissed them, whereon they went their way sorrowfully by the seaside, till they came to the tents and ships of the Myrmidons. They found Achilles sitting by his tent and his ships, and ill-pleased he was when he beheld them. They stood fearfully and reverently before him, and never a word did they speak, but he knew them and said, "Welcome, heralds, messengers of gods and men; draw near; my quarrel is not with you but with Agamemnon who has sent you for the girl Briseis. Therefore, Patroclus, bring her and give her to them, but let them be witnesses by the blessed gods, by mortal men, and by the fierceness of Agamemnon's anger, that if ever again there be need of me to save the people from ruin, they shall seek and they shall not find. Agamemnon is mad with rage and knows not how to look before and after that the Achaeans may fight by their ships in safety." Patroclus did as his dear comrade had bidden him. He brought Briseis from the tent and gave her over to the heralds, who took her with them to the ships of the Achaeans- and the woman was loth to go. Then Achilles went all alone by the side of the hoar sea, weeping and looking out upon the boundless waste of waters. He raised his hands in prayer to his immortal mother, "Mother," he cried, "you bore me doomed to live but for a little season; surely Jove, who thunders from Olympus, might have made that little glorious. It is not so. Agamemnon, son of Atreus, has done me dishonour, and has robbed me of my prize by force." As he spoke he wept aloud, and his mother heard him where she was sitting in the depths of the sea hard by the old man her father. Forthwith she rose as it were a grey mist out of the waves, sat down before him as he stood weeping, caressed him with her hand, and said, "My son, why are you weeping? What is it that grieves you? Keep it not from me, but tell me, that we may know it together." Achilles drew a deep sigh and said, "You know it; why tell you what you know well already? We went to Thebe the strong city of Eetion, sacked it, and brought hither the spoil. The sons of the Achaeans shared it duly among themselves, and chose lovely Chryseis as the meed of Agamemnon; but Chryses, priest of Apollo, came to the ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, and brought with him a great ransom: moreover he bore in his hand the sceptre of Apollo, wreathed with a suppliant's wreath, and he besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two sons of Atreus who were their chiefs. "On this the rest of the Achaeans with one voice were for respecting the priest and taking the ransom that he offered; but not so Agamemnon, who spoke fiercely to him and sent him roughly away. So he went back in anger, and Apollo, who loved him dearly, heard his prayer. Then the god sent a deadly dart upon the Argives, and the people died thick on one another, for the arrows went everywhither among the wide host of the Achaeans. At last a seer in the fulness of his knowledge declared to us the oracles of Apollo, and I was myself first to say that we should appease him. Whereon the son of Atreus rose in anger, and threatened that which he has since done. The Achaeans are now taking the girl in a ship to Chryse, and sending gifts of sacrifice to the god; but the heralds have just taken from my tent the daughter of Briseus, whom the Achaeans had awarded to myself. "Help your brave son, therefore, if you are able. Go to Olympus, and if you have ever done him service in word or deed, implore the aid of Jove. Ofttimes in my father's house have I heard you glory in that you alone of the immortals saved the son of Saturn from ruin, when the others, with Juno, Neptune, and Pallas Minerva would have put him in bonds. It was you, goddess, who delivered him by calling to Olympus the hundred-handed monster whom gods call Briareus, but men Aegaeon, for he is stronger even than his father; when therefore he took his seat all-glorious beside the son of Saturn, the other gods were afraid, and did not bind him. Go, then, to him, remind him of all this, clasp his knees, and bid him give succour to the Trojans. Let the Achaeans be hemmed in at the sterns of their ships, and perish on the sea-shore, that they may reap what joy they may of their king, and that Agamemnon may rue his blindness in offering insult to the foremost of the Achaeans." Thetis wept and answered, "My son, woe is me that I should have borne or suckled you. Would indeed that you had lived your span free from all sorrow at your ships, for it is all too brief; alas, that you should be at once short of life and long of sorrow above your peers: woe, therefore, was the hour in which I bore you; nevertheless I will go to the snowy heights of Olympus, and tell this tale to Jove, if he will hear our prayer: meanwhile stay where you are with your ships, nurse your anger against the Achaeans, and hold aloof from fight. For Jove went yesterday to Oceanus, to a feast among the Ethiopians, and the other gods went with him. He will return to Olympus twelve days hence; I will then go to his mansion paved with bronze and will beseech him; nor do I doubt that I shall be able to persuade him." On this she left him, still furious at the loss of her that had been taken from him. Meanwhile Ulysses reached Chryse with the hecatomb. When they had come inside the harbour they furled the sails and laid them in the ship's hold; they slackened the forestays, lowered the mast into its place, and rowed the ship to the place where they would have her lie; there they cast out their mooring-stones and made fast the hawsers. They then got out upon the sea-shore and landed the hecatomb for Apollo; Chryseis also left the ship, and Ulysses led her to the altar to deliver her into the hands of her father. "Chryses," said he, "King Agamemnon has sent me to bring you back your child, and to offer sacrifice to Apollo on behalf of the Danaans, that we may propitiate the god, who has now brought sorrow upon the Argives." So saying he gave the girl over to her father, who received her gladly, and they ranged the holy hecatomb all orderly round the altar of the god. They washed their hands and took up the barley-meal to sprinkle over the victims, while Chryses lifted up his hands and prayed aloud on their behalf. "Hear me," he cried, "O god of the silver bow, that protectest Chryse and holy Cilla, and rulest Tenedos with thy might. Even as thou didst hear me aforetime when I prayed, and didst press hardly upon the Achaeans, so hear me yet again, and stay this fearful pestilence from the Danaans." Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer. When they had done praying and sprinkling the barley-meal, they drew back the heads of the victims and killed and flayed them. They cut out the thigh-bones, wrapped them round in two layers of fat, set some pieces of raw meat on the top of them, and then Chryses laid them on the wood fire and poured wine over them, while the young men stood near him with five-pronged spits in their hands. When the thigh-bones were burned and they had tasted the inward meats, they cut the rest up small, put the pieces upon the spits, roasted them till they were done, and drew them off: then, when they had finished their work and the feast was ready, they ate it, and every man had his full share, so that all were satisfied. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, pages filled the mixing-bowl with wine and water and handed it round, after giving every man his drink-offering. Thus all day long the young men worshipped the god with song, hymning him and chaunting the joyous paean, and the god took pleasure in their voices; but when the sun went down, and it came on dark, they laid themselves down to sleep by the stern cables of the ship, and when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared they again set sail for the host of the Achaeans. Apollo sent them a fair wind, so they raised their mast and hoisted their white sails aloft. As the sail bellied with the wind the ship flew through the deep blue water, and the foam hissed against her bows as she sped onward. When they reached the wide-stretching host of the Achaeans, they drew the vessel ashore, high and dry upon the sands, set her strong props beneath her, and went their ways to their own tents and ships. But Achilles abode at his ships and nursed his anger. He went not to the honourable assembly, and sallied not forth to fight, but gnawed at his own heart, pining for battle and the war-cry. Now after twelve days the immortal gods came back in a body to Olympus, and Jove led the way. Thetis was not unmindful of the charge her son had laid upon her, so she rose from under the sea and went through great heaven with early morning to Olympus, where she found the mighty son of Saturn sitting all alone upon its topmost ridges. She sat herself down before him, and with her left hand seized his knees, while with her right she caught him under the chin, and besought him, saying- "Father Jove, if I ever did you service in word or deed among the immortals, hear my prayer, and do honour to my son, whose life is to be cut short so early. King Agamemnon has dishonoured him by taking his prize and keeping her. Honour him then yourself, Olympian lord of counsel, and grant victory to the Trojans, till the Achaeans give my son his due and load him with riches in requital." Jove sat for a while silent, and without a word, but Thetis still kept firm hold of his knees, and besought him a second time. "Incline your head," said she, "and promise me surely, or else deny me- for you have nothing to fear- that I may learn how greatly you disdain me." At this Jove was much troubled and answered, "I shall have trouble if you set me quarrelling with Juno, for she will provoke me with her taunting speeches; even now she is always railing at me before the other gods and accusing me of giving aid to the Trojans. Go back now, lest she should find out. I will consider the matter, and will bring it about as wish. See, I incline my head that you believe me. This is the most solemn that I can give to any god. I never recall my word, or deceive, or fail to do what I say, when I have nodded my head." As he spoke the son of Saturn bowed his dark brows, and the ambrosial locks swayed on his immortal head, till vast Olympus reeled. When the pair had thus laid their plans, they parted- Jove to his house, while the goddess quitted the splendour of Olympus, and plunged into the depths of the sea. The gods rose from their seats, before the coming of their sire. Not one of them dared to remain sitting, but all stood up as he came among them. There, then, he took his seat. But Juno, when she saw him, knew that he and the old merman's daughter, silver-footed Thetis, had been hatching mischief, so she at once began to upbraid him. "Trickster," she cried, "which of the gods have you been taking into your counsels now? You are always settling matters in secret behind my back, and have never yet told me, if you could help it, one word of your intentions." "Juno," replied the sire of gods and men, "you must not expect to be informed of all my counsels. You are my wife, but you would find it hard to understand them. When it is proper for you to hear, there is no one, god or man, who will be told sooner, but when I mean to keep a matter to myself, you must not pry nor ask questions." "Dread son of Saturn," answered Juno, "what are you talking about? I? Pry and ask questions? Never. I let you have your own way in everything. Still, I have a strong misgiving that the old merman's daughter Thetis has been talking you over, for she was with you and had hold of your knees this self-same morning. I believe, therefore, that you have been promising her to give glory to Achilles, and to kill much people at the ships of the Achaeans." "Wife," said Jove, "I can do nothing but you suspect me and find it out. You will take nothing by it, for I shall only dislike you the more, and it will go harder with you. Granted that it is as you say; I mean to have it so; sit down and hold your tongue as I bid you for if I once begin to lay my hands about you, though all heaven were on your side it would profit you nothing." On this Juno was frightened, so she curbed her stubborn will and sat down in silence. But the heavenly beings were disquieted throughout the house of Jove, till the cunning workman Vulcan began to try and pacify his mother Juno. "It will be intolerable," said he, "if you two fall to wrangling and setting heaven in an uproar about a pack of mortals. If such ill counsels are to prevail, we shall have no pleasure at our banquet. Let me then advise my mother- and she must herself know that it will be better- to make friends with my dear father Jove, lest he again scold her and disturb our feast. If the Olympian Thunderer wants to hurl us all from our seats, he can do so, for he is far the strongest, so give him fair words, and he will then soon be in a good humour with us." As he spoke, he took a double cup of nectar, and placed it in his mother's hand. "Cheer up, my dear mother," said he, "and make the best of it. I love you dearly, and should be very sorry to see you get a thrashing; however grieved I might be, I could not help for there is no standing against Jove. Once before when I was trying to help you, he caught me by the foot and flung me from the heavenly threshold. All day long from morn till eve, was I falling, till at sunset I came to ground in the island of Lemnos, and there I lay, with very little life left in me, till the Sintians came and tended me." Juno smiled at this, and as she smiled she took the cup from her son's hands. Then Vulcan drew sweet nectar from the mixing-bowl, and served it round among the gods, going from left to right; and the blessed gods laughed out a loud applause as they saw him ing bustling about the heavenly mansion. Thus through the livelong day to the going down of the sun they feasted, and every one had his full share, so that all were satisfied. Apollo struck his lyre, and the Muses lifted up their sweet voices, calling and answering one another. But when the sun's glorious light had faded, they went home to bed, each in his own abode, which lame Vulcan with his consummate skill had fashioned for them. So Jove, the Olympian Lord of Thunder, hied him to the bed in which he always slept; and when he had got on to it he went to sleep, with Juno of the golden throne by his side. Now the other gods and the armed warriors on the plain slept soundly, but Jove was wakeful, for he was thinking how to do honour to Achilles, and destroyed much people at the ships of the Achaeans. In the end he deemed it would be best to send a lying dream to King Agamemnon; so he called one to him and said to it, "Lying Dream, go to the ships of the Achaeans, into the tent of Agamemnon, and say to him word to word as I now bid you. Tell him to get the Achaeans instantly under arms, for he shall take Troy. There are no longer divided counsels among the gods; Juno has brought them to her own mind, and woe betides the Trojans." The dream went when it had heard its message, and soon reached the ships of the Achaeans. It sought Agamemnon son of Atreus and found him in his tent, wrapped in a profound slumber. It hovered over his head in the likeness of Nestor, son of Neleus, whom Agamemnon honoured above all his councillors, and said:- "You are sleeping, son of Atreus; one who has the welfare of his host and so much other care upon his shoulders should dock his sleep. Hear me at once, for I come as a messenger from Jove, who, though he be not near, yet takes thought for you and pities you. He bids you get the Achaeans instantly under arms, for you shall take Troy. There are no longer divided counsels among the gods; Juno has brought them over to her own mind, and woe betides the Trojans at the hands of Jove. Remember this, and when you wake see that it does not escape you." The dream then left him, and he thought of things that were, surely not to be accomplished. He thought that on that same day he was to take the city of Priam, but he little knew what was in the mind of Jove, who had many another hard-fought fight in store alike for Danaans and Trojans. Then presently he woke, with the divine message still ringing in his ears; so he sat upright, and put on his soft shirt so fair and new, and over this his heavy cloak. He bound his sandals on to his comely feet, and slung his silver-studded sword about his shoulders; then he took the imperishable staff of his father, and sallied forth to the ships of the Achaeans. The goddess Dawn now wended her way to vast Olympus that she might herald day to Jove and to the other immortals, and Agamemnon sent the criers round to call the people in assembly; so they called them and the people gathered thereon. But first he summoned a meeting of the elders at the ship of Nestor king of Pylos, and when they were assembled he laid a cunning counsel before them. "My friends," said he, "I have had a dream from heaven in the dead of night, and its face and figure resembled none but Nestor's. It hovered over my head and said, 'You are sleeping, son of Atreus; one who has the welfare of his host and so much other care upon his shoulders should dock his sleep. Hear me at once, for I am a messenger from Jove, who, though he be not near, yet takes thought for you and pities you. He bids you get the Achaeans instantly under arms, for you shall take Troy. There are no longer divided counsels among the gods; Juno has brought them over to her own mind, and woe betides the Trojans at the hands of Jove. Remember this.' The dream then vanished and I awoke. Let us now, therefore, arm the sons of the Achaeans. But it will be well that I should first sound them, and to this end I will tell them to fly with their ships; but do you others go about among the host and prevent their doing so." He then sat down, and Nestor the prince of Pylos with all sincerity and goodwill addressed them thus: "My friends," said he, "princes and councillors of the Argives, if any other man of the Achaeans had told us of this dream we should have declared it false, and would have had nothing to do with it. But he who has seen it is the foremost man among us; we must therefore set about getting the people under arms." With this he led the way from the assembly, and the other sceptred kings rose with him in obedience to the word of Agamemnon; but the people pressed forward to hear. They swarmed like bees that sally from some hollow cave and flit in countless throng among the spring flowers, bunched in knots and clusters; even so did the mighty multitude pour from ships and tents to the assembly, and range themselves upon the wide-watered shore, while among them ran Wildfire Rumour, messenger of Jove, urging them ever to the fore. Thus they gathered in a pell-mell of mad confusion, and the earth groaned under the tramp of men as the people sought their places. Nine heralds went crying about among them to stay their tumult and bid them listen to the kings, till at last they were got into their several places and ceased their clamour. Then King Agamemnon rose, holding his sceptre. This was the work of Vulcan, who gave it to Jove the son of Saturn. Jove gave it to Mercury, slayer of Argus, guide and guardian. King Mercury gave it to Pelops, the mighty charioteer, and Pelops to Atreus, shepherd of his people. Atreus, when he died, left it to Thyestes, rich in flocks, and Thyestes in his turn left it to be borne by Agamemnon, that he might be lord of all Argos and of the isles. Leaning, then, on his sceptre, he addressed the Argives. "My friends," he said, "heroes, servants of Mars, the hand of heaven has been laid heavily upon me. Cruel Jove gave me his solemn promise that I should sack the city of Priam before returning, but he has played me false, and is now bidding me go ingloriously back to Argos with the loss of much people. Such is the will of Jove, who has laid many a proud city in the dust, as he will yet lay others, for his power is above all. It will be a sorry tale hereafter that an Achaean host, at once so great and valiant, battled in vain against men fewer in number than themselves; but as yet the end is not in sight. Think that the Achaeans and Trojans have sworn to a solemn covenant, and that they have each been numbered- the Trojans by the roll of their householders, and we by companies of ten; think further that each of our companies desired to have a Trojan householder to pour out their wine; we are so greatly more in number that full many a company would have to go without its cup-bearer. But they have in the town allies from other places, and it is these that hinder me from being able to sack the rich city of Ilius. Nine of Jove years are gone; the timbers of our ships have rotted; their tackling is sound no longer. Our wives and little ones at home look anxiously for our coming, but the work that we came hither to do has not been done. Now, therefore, let us all do as I say: let us sail back to our own land, for we shall not take Troy." With these words he moved the hearts of the multitude, so many of them as knew not the cunning counsel of Agamemnon. They surged to and fro like the waves of the Icarian Sea, when the east and south winds break from heaven's clouds to lash them; or as when the west wind sweeps over a field of corn and the ears bow beneath the blast, even so were they swayed as they flew with loud cries towards the ships, and the dust from under their feet rose heavenward. They cheered each other on to draw the ships into the sea; they cleared the channels in front of them; they began taking away the stays from underneath them, and the welkin rang with their glad cries, so eager were they to return. Then surely the Argives would have returned after a fashion that was not fated. But Juno said to Minerva, "Alas, daughter of aegis-bearing Jove, unweariable, shall the Argives fly home to their own land over the broad sea, and leave Priam and the Trojans the glory of still keeping Helen, for whose sake so many of the Achaeans have died at Troy, far from their homes? Go about at once among the host, and speak fairly to them, man by man, that they draw not their ships into the sea." Minerva was not slack to do her bidding. Down she darted from the topmost summits of Olympus, and in a moment she was at the ships of the Achaeans. There she found Ulysses, peer of Jove in counsel, standing alone. He had not as yet laid a hand upon his ship, for he was grieved and sorry; so she went close up to him and said, "Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, are you going to fling yourselves into your ships and be off home to your own land in this way? Will you leave Priam and the Trojans the glory of still keeping Helen, for whose sake so many of the Achaeans have died at Troy, far from their homes? Go about at once among the host, and speak fairly to them, man by man, that they draw not their ships into the sea." Ulysses knew the voice as that of the goddess: he flung his cloak from him and set off to run. His servant Eurybates, a man of Ithaca, who waited on him, took charge of the cloak, whereon Ulysses went straight up to Agamemnon and received from him his ancestral, imperishable staff. With this he went about among the ships of the Achaeans. Whenever he met a king or chieftain, he stood by him and spoke him fairly. "Sir," said he, "this flight is cowardly and unworthy. Stand to your post, and bid your people also keep their places. You do not yet know the full mind of Agamemnon; he was sounding us, and ere long will visit the Achaeans with his displeasure. We were not all of us at the council to hear what he then said; see to it lest he be angry and do us a mischief; for the pride of kings is great, and the hand of Jove is with them." But when he came across any common man who was making a noise, he struck him with his staff and rebuked him, saying, "Sirrah, hold your peace, and listen to better men than yourself. You are a coward and no soldier; you are nobody either in fight or council; we cannot all be kings; it is not well that there should be many masters; one man must be supreme- one king to whom the son of scheming Saturn has given the sceptre of sovereignty over you all." Thus masterfully did he go about among the host, and the people hurried back to the council from their tents and ships with a sound as the thunder of surf when it comes crashing down upon the shore, and all the sea is in an uproar. The rest now took their seats and kept to their own several places, but Thersites still went on wagging his unbridled tongue- a man of many words, and those unseemly; a monger of sedition, a railer against all who were in authority, who cared not what he said, so that he might set the Achaeans in a laugh. He was the ugliest man of all those that came before Troy- bandy-legged, lame of one foot, with his two shoulders rounded and hunched over his chest. His head ran up to a point, but there was little hair on the top of it. Achilles and Ulysses hated him worst of all, for it was with them that he was most wont to wrangle; now, however, with a shrill squeaky voice he began heaping his abuse on Agamemnon. The Achaeans were angry and disgusted, yet none the less he kept on brawling and bawling at the son of Atreus. "Agamemnon," he cried, "what ails you now, and what more do you want? Your tents are filled with bronze and with fair women, for whenever we take a town we give you the pick of them. Would you have yet more gold, which some Trojan is to give you as a ransom for his son, when I or another Achaean has taken him prisoner? or is it some young girl to hide and lie with? It is not well that you, the ruler of the Achaeans, should bring them into such misery. Weakling cowards, women rather than men, let us sail home, and leave this fellow here at Troy to stew in his own meeds of honour, and discover whether we were of any service to him or no. Achilles is a much better man than he is, and see how he has treated him- robbing him of his prize and keeping it himself. Achilles takes it meekly and shows no fight; if he did, son of Atreus, you would never again insult him." Thus railed Thersites, but Ulysses at once went up to him and rebuked him sternly. "Check your glib tongue, Thersites," said be, "and babble not a word further. Chide not with princes when you have none to back you. There is no viler creature come before Troy with the sons of Atreus. Drop this chatter about kings, and neither revile them nor keep harping about going home. We do not yet know how things are going to be, nor whether the Achaeans are to return with good success or evil. How dare you gibe at Agamemnon because the Danaans have awarded him so many prizes? I tell you, therefore- and it shall surely be- that if I again catch you talking such nonsense, I will either forfeit my own head and be no more called father of Telemachus, or I will take you, strip you stark naked, and whip you out of the assembly till you go blubbering back to the ships." On this he beat him with his staff about the back and shoulders till he dropped and fell a-weeping. The golden sceptre raised a bloody weal on his back, so he sat down frightened and in pain, looking foolish as he wiped the tears from his eyes. The people were sorry for him, yet they laughed heartily, and one would turn to his neighbour saying, "Ulysses has done many a good thing ere now in fight and council, but he never did the Argives a better turn than when he stopped this fellow's mouth from prating further. He will give the kings no more of his insolence." Thus said the people. Then Ulysses rose, sceptre in hand, and Minerva in the likeness of a herald bade the people be still, that those who were far off might hear him and consider his council. He therefore with all sincerity and goodwill addressed them thus:- "King Agamemnon, the Achaeans are for making you a by-word among all mankind. They forget the promise they made you when they set out from Argos, that you should not return till you had sacked the town of Troy, and, like children or widowed women, they murmur and would set off homeward. True it is that they have had toil enough to be disheartened. A man chafes at having to stay away from his wife even for a single month, when he is on shipboard, at the mercy of wind and sea, but it is now nine long years that we have been kept here; I cannot, therefore, blame the Achaeans if they turn restive; still we shall be shamed if we go home empty after so long a stay- therefore, my friends, be patient yet a little longer that we may learn whether the prophesyings of Calchas were false or true. "All who have not since perished must remember as though it were yesterday or the day before, how the ships of the Achaeans were detained in Aulis when we were on our way hither to make war on Priam and the Trojans. We were ranged round about a fountain offering hecatombs to the gods upon their holy altars, and there was a fine plane-tree from beneath which there welled a stream of pure water. Then we saw a prodigy; for Jove sent a fearful serpent out of the ground, with blood-red stains upon its back, and it darted from under the altar on to the plane-tree. Now there was a brood of young sparrows, quite small, upon the topmost bough, peeping out from under the leaves, eight in all, and their mother that hatched them made nine. The serpent ate the poor cheeping things, while the old bird flew about lamenting her little ones; but the serpent threw his coils about her and caught her by the wing as she was screaming. Then, when he had eaten both the sparrow and her young, the god who had sent him made him become a sign; for the son of scheming Saturn turned him into stone, and we stood there wondering at that which had come to pass. Seeing, then, that such a fearful portent had broken in upon our hecatombs, Calchas forthwith declared to us the oracles of heaven. 'Why, Achaeans,' said he, 'are you thus speechless? Jove has sent us this sign, long in coming, and long ere it be fulfilled, though its fame shall last for ever. As the serpent ate the eight fledglings and the sparrow that hatched them, which makes nine, so shall we fight nine years at Troy, but in the tenth shall take the town.' This was what he said, and now it is all coming true. Stay here, therefore, all of you, till we take the city of Priam." On this the Argives raised a shout, till the ships rang again with the uproar. Nestor, knight of Gerene, then addressed them. "Shame on you," he cried, "to stay talking here like children, when you should fight like men. Where are our covenants now, and where the oaths that we have taken? Shall our counsels be flung into the fire, with our drink-offerings and the right hands of fellowship wherein we have put our trust? We waste our time in words, and for all our talking here shall be no further forward. Stand, therefore, son of Atreus, by your own steadfast purpose; lead the Argives on to battle, and leave this handful of men to rot, who scheme, and scheme in vain, to get back to Argos ere they have learned whether Jove be true or a liar. For the mighty son of Saturn surely promised that we should succeed, when we Argives set sail to bring death and destruction upon the Trojans. He showed us favourable signs by flashing his lightning on our right hands; therefore let none make haste to go till he has first lain with the wife of some Trojan, and avenged the toil and sorrow that he has suffered for the sake of Helen. Nevertheless, if any man is in such haste to be at home again, let him lay his hand to his ship that he may meet his doom in the sight of all. But, O king, consider and give ear to my counsel, for the word that I say may not be neglected lightly. Divide your men, Agamemnon, into their several tribes and clans, that clans and tribes may stand by and help one another. If you do this, and if the Achaeans obey you, you will find out who, both chiefs and peoples, are brave, and who are cowards; for they will vie against the other. Thus you shall also learn whether it is through the counsel of heaven or the cowardice of man that you shall fail to take the town." And Agamemnon answered, "Nestor, you have again outdone the sons of the Achaeans in counsel. Would, by Father Jove, Minerva, and Apollo, that I had among them ten more such councillors, for the city of King Priam would then soon fall beneath our hands, and we should sack it. But the son of Saturn afflicts me with bootless wranglings and strife. Achilles and I are quarrelling about this girl, in which matter I was the first to offend; if we can be of one mind again, the Trojans will not stave off destruction for a day. Now, therefore, get your morning meal, that our hosts join in fight. Whet well your spears; see well to the ordering of your shields; give good feeds to your horses, and look your chariots carefully over, that we may do battle the livelong day; for we shall have no rest, not for a moment, till night falls to part us. The bands that bear your shields shall be wet with the sweat upon your shoulders, your hands shall weary upon your spears, your horses shall steam in front of your chariots, and if I see any man shirking the fight, or trying to keep out of it at the ships, there shall be no help for him, but he shall be a prey to dogs and vultures." Thus he spoke, and the Achaeans roared applause. As when the waves run high before the blast of the south wind and break on some lofty headland, dashing against it and buffeting it without ceasing, as the storms from every quarter drive them, even so did the Achaeans rise and hurry in all directions to their ships. There they lighted their fires at their tents and got dinner, offering sacrifice every man to one or other of the gods, and praying each one of them that he might live to come out of the fight. Agamemnon, king of men, sacrificed a fat five-year-old bull to the mighty son of Saturn, and invited the princes and elders of his host. First he asked Nestor and King Idomeneus, then the two Ajaxes and the son of Tydeus, and sixthly Ulysses, peer of gods in counsel; but Menelaus came of his own accord, for he knew how busy his brother then was. They stood round the bull with the barley-meal in their hands, and Agamemnon prayed, saying, "Jove, most glorious, supreme, that dwellest in heaven, and ridest upon the storm-cloud, grant that the sun may not go down, nor the night fall, till the palace of Priam is laid low, and its gates are consumed with fire. Grant that my sword may pierce the shirt of Hector about his heart, and that full many of his comrades may bite the dust as they fall dying round him." Thus he prayed, but the son of Saturn would not fulfil his prayer. He accepted the sacrifice, yet none the less increased their toil continually. When they had done praying and sprinkling the barley-meal upon the victim, they drew back its head, killed it, and then flayed it. They cut out the thigh-bones, wrapped them round in two layers of fat, and set pieces of raw meat on the top of them. These they burned upon the split logs of firewood, but they spitted the inward meats, and held them in the flames to cook. When the thigh-bones were burned, and they had tasted the inward meats, they cut the rest up small, put the pieces upon spits, roasted them till they were done, and drew them off; then, when they had finished their work and the feast was ready, they ate it, and every man had his full share, so that all were satisfied. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, Nestor, knight of Gerene, began to speak. "King Agamemnon," said he, "let us not stay talking here, nor be slack in the work that heaven has put into our hands. Let the heralds summon the people to gather at their several ships; we will then go about among the host, that we may begin fighting at once." Thus did he speak, and Agamemnon heeded his words. He at once sent the criers round to call the people in assembly. So they called them, and the people gathered thereon. The chiefs about the son of Atreus chose their men and marshalled them, while Minerva went among them holding her priceless aegis that knows neither age nor death. From it there waved a hundred tassels of pure gold, all deftly woven, and each one of them worth a hundred oxen. With this she darted furiously everywhere among the hosts of the Achaeans, urging them forward, and putting courage into the heart of each, so that he might fight and do battle without ceasing. Thus war became sweeter in their eyes even than returning home in their ships. As when some great forest fire is raging upon a mountain top and its light is seen afar, even so as they marched the gleam of their armour flashed up into the firmament of heaven. They were like great flocks of geese, or cranes, or swans on the plain about the waters of Cayster, that wing their way hither and thither, glorying in the pride of flight, and crying as they settle till the fen is alive with their screaming. Even thus did their tribes pour from ships and tents on to the plain of the Scamander, and the ground rang as brass under the feet of men and horses. They stood as thick upon the flower-bespangled field as leaves that bloom in summer. As countless swarms of flies buzz around a herdsman's homestead in the time of spring when the pails are drenched with milk, even so did the Achaeans swarm on to the plain to charge the Trojans and destroy them. The chiefs disposed their men this way and that before the fight began, drafting them out as easily as goatherds draft their flocks when they have got mixed while feeding; and among them went King Agamemnon, with a head and face like Jove the lord of thunder, a waist like Mars, and a chest like that of Neptune. As some great bull that lords it over the herds upon the plain, even so did Jove make the son of Atreus stand peerless among the multitude of heroes. And now, O Muses, dwellers in the mansions of Olympus, tell me- for you are goddesses and are in all places so that you see all things, while we know nothing but by report- who were the chiefs and princes of the Danaans? As for the common soldiers, they were so that I could not name every single one of them though I had ten tongues, and though my voice failed not and my heart were of bronze within me, unless you, O Olympian Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Jove, were to recount them to me. Nevertheless, I will tell the captains of the ships and all the fleet together. Peneleos, Leitus, Arcesilaus, Prothoenor, and Clonius were captains of the Boeotians. These were they that dwelt in Hyria and rocky Aulis, and who held Schoenus, Scolus, and the highlands of Eteonus, with Thespeia, Graia, and the fair city of Mycalessus. They also held Harma, Eilesium, and Erythrae; and they had Eleon, Hyle, and Peteon; Ocalea and the strong fortress of Medeon; Copae, Eutresis, and Thisbe the haunt of doves; Coronea, and the pastures of Haliartus; Plataea and Glisas; the fortress of Thebes the less; holy Onchestus with its famous grove of Neptune; Arne rich in vineyards; Midea, sacred Nisa, and Anthedon upon the sea. From these there came fifty ships, and in each there were a hundred and twenty young men of the Boeotians. Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, sons of Mars, led the people that dwelt in Aspledon and Orchomenus the realm of Minyas. Astyoche a noble maiden bore them in the house of Actor son of Azeus; for she had gone with Mars secretly into an upper chamber, and he had lain with her. With these there came thirty ships. The Phoceans were led by Schedius and Epistrophus, sons of mighty Iphitus the son of Naubolus. These were they that held Cyparissus, rocky Pytho, holy Crisa, Daulis, and Panopeus; they also that dwelt in Anemorea and Hyampolis, and about the waters of the river Cephissus, and Lilaea by the springs of the Cephissus; with their chieftains came forty ships, and they marshalled the forces of the Phoceans, which were stationed next to the Boeotians, on their left. Ajax, the fleet son of Oileus, commanded the Locrians. He was not so great, nor nearly so great, as Ajax the son of Telamon. He was a little man, and his breastplate was made of linen, but in use of the spear he excelled all the Hellenes and the Achaeans. These dwelt in Cynus, Opous, Calliarus, Bessa, Scarphe, fair Augeae, Tarphe, and Thronium about the river Boagrius. With him there came forty ships of the Locrians who dwell beyond Euboea. The fierce Abantes held Euboea with its cities, Chalcis, Eretria, Histiaea rich in vines, Cerinthus upon the sea, and the rock-perched town of Dium; with them were also the men of Carystus and Styra; Elephenor of the race of Mars was in command of these; he was son of Chalcodon, and chief over all the Abantes. With him they came, fleet of foot and wearing their hair long behind, brave warriors, who would ever strive to tear open the corslets of their foes with their long ashen spears. Of these there came fifty ships. And they that held the strong city of Athens, the people of great Erechtheus, who was born of the soil itself, but Jove's daughter, Minerva, fostered him, and established him at Athens in her own rich sanctuary. There, year by year, the Athenian youths worship him with sacrifices of bulls and rams. These were commanded by Menestheus, son of Peteos. No man living could equal him in the marshalling of chariots and foot soldiers. Nestor could alone rival him, for he was older. With him there came fifty ships. Ajax brought twelve ships from Salamis, and stationed them alongside those of the Athenians. The men of Argos, again, and those who held the walls of Tiryns, with Hermione, and Asine upon the gulf; Troezene, Eionae, and the vineyard lands of Epidaurus; the Achaean youths, moreover, who came from Aegina and Mases; these were led by Diomed of the loud battle-cry, and Sthenelus son of famed Capaneus. With them in command was Euryalus, son of king Mecisteus, son of Talaus; but Diomed was chief over them all. With these there came eighty ships. Those who held the strong city of Mycenae, rich Corinth and Cleonae; Orneae, Araethyrea, and Licyon, where Adrastus reigned of old; Hyperesia, high Gonoessa, and Pellene; Aegium and all the coast-land round about Helice; these sent a hundred ships under the command of King Agamemnon, son of Atreus. His force was far both finest and most numerous, and in their midst was the king himself, all glorious in his armour of gleaming bronze- foremost among the heroes, for he was the greatest king, and had most men under him. And those that dwelt in Lacedaemon, lying low among the hills, Pharis, Sparta, with Messe the haunt of doves; Bryseae, Augeae, Amyclae, and Helos upon the sea; Laas, moreover, and Oetylus; these were led by Menelaus of the loud battle-cry, brother to Agamemnon, and of them there were sixty ships, drawn up apart from the others. Among them went Menelaus himself, strong in zeal, urging his men to fight; for he longed to avenge the toil and sorrow that he had suffered for the sake of Helen. The men of Pylos and Arene, and Thryum where is the ford of the river Alpheus; strong Aipy, Cyparisseis, and Amphigenea; Pteleum, Helos, and Dorium, where the Muses met Thamyris, and stilled his minstrelsy for ever. He was returning from Oechalia, where Eurytus lived and reigned, and boasted that he would surpass even the Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Jove, if they should sing against him; whereon they were angry, and maimed him. They robbed him of his divine power of song, and thenceforth he could strike the lyre no more. These were commanded by Nestor, knight of Gerene, and with him there came ninety ships. And those that held Arcadia, under the high mountain of Cyllene, near the tomb of Aepytus, where the people fight hand to hand; the men of Pheneus also, and Orchomenus rich in flocks; of Rhipae, Stratie, and bleak Enispe; of Tegea and fair Mantinea; of Stymphelus and Parrhasia; of these King Agapenor son of Ancaeus was commander, and they had sixty ships. Many Arcadians, good soldiers, came in each one of them, but Agamemnon found them the ships in which to cross the sea, for they were not a people that occupied their business upon the waters. The men, moreover, of Buprasium and of Elis, so much of it as is enclosed between Hyrmine, Myrsinus upon the sea-shore, the rock Olene and Alesium. These had four leaders, and each of them had ten ships, with many Epeans on board. Their captains were Amphimachus and Thalpius- the one, son of Cteatus, and the other, of Eurytus- both of the race of Actor. The two others were Diores, son of Amarynces, and Polyxenus, son of King Agasthenes, son of Augeas. And those of Dulichium with the sacred Echinean islands, who dwelt beyond the sea off Elis; these were led by Meges, peer of Mars, and the son of valiant Phyleus, dear to Jove, who quarrelled with his father, and went to settle in Dulichium. With him there came forty ships. Ulysses led the brave Cephallenians, who held Ithaca, Neritum with its forests, Crocylea, rugged Aegilips, Samos and Zacynthus, with the mainland also that was over against the islands. These were led by Ulysses, peer of Jove in counsel, and with him there came twelve ships. Thoas, son of Andraemon, commanded the Aetolians, who dwelt in Pleuron, Olenus, Pylene, Chalcis by the sea, and rocky Calydon, for the great king Oeneus had now no sons living, and was himself dead, as was also golden-haired Meleager, who had been set over the Aetolians to be their king. And with Thoas there came forty ships. The famous spearsman Idomeneus led the Cretans, who held Cnossus, and the well-walled city of Gortys; Lyctus also, Miletus and Lycastus that lies upon the chalk; the populous towns of Phaestus and Rhytium, with the other peoples that dwelt in the hundred cities of Crete. All these were led by Idomeneus, and by Meriones, peer of murderous Mars. And with these there came eighty ships. Tlepolemus, son of Hercules, a man both brave and large of stature, brought nine ships of lordly warriors from Rhodes. These dwelt in Rhodes which is divided among the three cities of Lindus, Ielysus, and Cameirus, that lies upon the chalk. These were commanded by Tlepolemus, son of Hercules by Astyochea, whom he had carried off from Ephyra, on the river Selleis, after sacking many cities of valiant warriors. When Tlepolemus grew up, he killed his father's uncle Licymnius, who had been a famous warrior in his time, but was then grown old. On this he built himself a fleet, gathered a great following, and fled beyond the sea, for he was menaced by the other sons and grandsons of Hercules. After a voyage. during which he suffered great hardship, he came to Rhodes, where the people divided into three communities, according to their tribes, and were dearly loved by Jove, the lord, of gods and men; wherefore the son of Saturn showered down great riches upon them. And Nireus brought three ships from Syme- Nireus, who was the handsomest man that came up under Ilius of all the Danaans after the son of Peleus- but he was a man of no substance, and had but a small following. And those that held Nisyrus, Crapathus, and Casus, with Cos, the city of Eurypylus,

Does this facts prove that greeks are stolling Macedonian history?? Macedonia and Alexander were never greeks? Documents of the Continued Existence of Macedonia and the Macedonian Nation for a period of over 2500 years What follows are documents that speak of the continued existence of Macedonia and of the Macedonian nation through the last 25 centuries. Macedonia is clearly distinguished from Greece (Hellas), Thrace, Illyria, Bulgaria, Serbia, and the Macedonians are likewise distinguished as distinct nation from the Greeks, Thracians, Illyrians, Bulgarians, Serbs, Albanians, as nation which continued to exist and survive trough the centuries (makedonika.org). 500 B.C. - 500 A.D. Macedonia and the Macedonians as distinct nation in the works of the ancient Greek, Roman, and Jewish historians, as well in the works of the modern German, French, English, American historians. 586 A.D. From the "Miracles of St. Demetrius of Salonika, I ": "...For if one was to imagine them in a heap, not only the Macedonians gathered in Salonika... Certainly he who inspired the Macedonians with courage..." Mirac. I, 13, p.1285-14; 1313 758-759 A.D. From the Chronographia of Theophanes the Confessor "That year Constantine plundered the Sclavinii throughout Macedonia and subjugated the rest." Theoph., I, p.430, 21-22. From the Chronographia Tripertita by Anastasius Bibliothecarius: "In the eighteenth year of his reign, Constantine enslaved the Sclavinii of Macedonia and he subjugated the rest." A. B., p.282, 20-21. 8th Century From Strabonos Epithomatus: "And now, in that way almost all of Epirus, Hellada, the Peloponnese and Macedonia have also been settled by the Skiti-Slavs." C. Muller, Geographi graeci minores, Paris 1882, p.574. 821-823 A.D. From the letter of Michael II to the honorable Ludwig: "Thomas...having gathered our barges and dromon, had the opportunity to arrive in (some) parts of Thrace and Macedonia." Mansi, Michaelis Belbi et Theophilii....Florentinae, 1759 904 From On the Capture of Salonika by John Cametinae: "...I introduce you to the same, the great and the first city of the Macedonians..." J.K. Begunov, Kozma Prezviter v slavjanskih literaturah, Sofia 1976, p. 297 First half of 10th C. From On the Themes by Constantine Porphyrogenitus: "... So from a kingdom Macedonia turned into a province and now it has reached the position of a theme and strategy." C. Porfirogenito, De thematibus, Citta del Vaticano, 1952. 986 From the History of Leo the Deacon: "...since they robbed the region of the Macedonians mercilessly, destroying all adults.". Leonis Diaconi Historiae, Paris 1864, p. 311. 1041 From the Annals of Bari: "...he had already written to Sicily from where the unfortunate Macedonians, Paulicians and Calbrians arrived." G.H. Pertz, Annales Barenses, Monumenta Germaniae historica, Scriptores V, p.53. 1064 From the Chronicle of John Zonaras: "The Uzians...invaded Macedonia and plundered it, and reached Hellada". Ioannis Zonorae Epitomae historiarum, Vol. VIII, Ed. Th. Buttner-Wobst, Bonnae 1897, p.678. 1072-1073 From the History of Necephorus Vryenius: "...for the Scythians were carrying out sudden attacks in Thrace and Macedonia." Nicephori Bryenii commentarii, Ed. A. Meicke, Bonnae 1836, p.100, 102. 1083-1085 From De expeditione Yerosolymitana by Radulfo Cadonis: "...Beomund Guiscard sailed across the Adriatic and occupied Macedonia." Tancredi in expeditione Yerosolymitana ....Paris, 1854, p.499. c. 1106 From the letter of Theophylactes of Ohrid to Gregorius Camaterus: "...do not retain such a man in the narrow regions of our Macedonia...". Theophylacti, col. 496, B-C. Beginning of 12th Century From the Byzantine satire Timarion: "The day of Saint Demetrius in (Salonika) is as great a festival as the Panathinei in Athens or Panionii in Miletus; it is a grand Macedonian celebration in which not only the Macedonian people gather, but people of all sorts and from all directions: Greeks from different regions of Hellada, the Mizian tribes...". Vizantiiski Vremenik, Moscow VI 1953, p. 367. 1185 "Woe, woe, the city of Salonika is captured, I say, the metropolis of the Macedonians." Ephraimi Chronologici caesares; Ed. J.P. Migne - PG 143 , Paris 1891, p.198. Beginning of 13th C. From the synod records of the Ohrid Archibishopric: "Ioannis Ierakar by birth Macedonian". J. Pitra, Analacta sacra et classica specilegio Solesmensi parta, t. VI Juris ecclesiastici graecorum selecta paralipomena. Parissis et Romae 1891, col. 315. 1246 Ser was one a large city, but the Bulgarian Ivan had demolished when besieging it and other Macedonian cities. Georgii Acropolitae Opera, Recensuit A. Haisenberg vol. I, Lipsiae 1903, p.74-75, 77 1282-1321 ...that king's alliance is certain and unanswering, just as long as he can settle near to Macedonia. While he was spending his time on these (matters), the protostrator Theodore Sinadinus, once freed from the West, arrived in Byzantium. He governed Prilep, the neighbouring regions and the lower Macedonian towns. Ioan Cantacuzeni Historiarum libri IV, Ed. J.P.Migne - PG Paris 1866, p.94 1305 At the battle of Apros in 1305 there were five syntaxeis, differentiated by ethnicity: the Alans and Tourkopouloi in the van, followed by the Macedonians, the Anatolians, the Vlach infantry and the Thelematarioi. The Late Byzantine Army. Mark C. Bartusis 1992. p.256 1326 ...I beleive you know that Strimon...is the largest of all those that biscet Thrace and Macedonia... Nicephore Gregoras, Correspondence. Paris 1927, p.30-50. Middle 14th C. ...Stefan became king of the Tribals. After he had set off from the region of the Ionian Sea, he razed Epidamnus to the ground, went into Macedonia and made Skopje the capital... The king left the city of Skopje, taking with him men experienced in battle and a strong army and subordinated to his rule the places in the vicinity of Kastoria. Then having moved camp, he subjugated all of Macedonia, except for Terma... Laonici Chalcocondiae Historiarum. Ed. J. P. Migne - PG t.CLIX (Paris, 1866) col. 36, B-37, C. 1349 (Code of) the honorable and Christ-loving Macedonian Tsar Stefan, Serbian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Dalmation, Arbanasian, Hungarian Wallachian and indipendent ruler of many other regions and lands... Lj. Stojanovic, Stari srpski zapisi i natpisi. Knj. III, Beograd 1905, p. 41 (nbr.4949). Middle of the 14th C. A Slav inscription from the church of St. George at Upper Kozjak in which a man called Bratan signs himself as being from Macedonia. Z. Rosolkovska-Nikolovska, Crkvata Sv. Georgi vo Goren Kozjak vo svetlinata na novite ispituvanja - Zbornik "Kiril Solunski", Kn. I, Skopje, MANU 1970, p. 222. 15th C. I remember the great subordination under which the Turk holds the emperor in Constantinople and all the Greeks, Macedonians and Bulgarians....As I said earlier, there are many Christians who are forced to serve the Turk, such as Greeks, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Albanians, Esclavinians, Rasians and Serbians... Bertrand de la Brocuiere, Putovanje preko mora, Beograd 1950, p.134-135, 140-141. 13th Century - 15th Century Byzantine historians of the Palaiologan period (13th Century - 15th Century) rarely make any distinction more specific then "Thrace" and "Macedonia". Thus we read of the "Thracians" and "Macedonians", the "Thracian and Macedonian armies", the "army" or "forces from Thrace and Macedonia"… For these historians the border between the two areas was the Nestos River or Kavalla. To the west was Macedonia to the east was Thrace. The Late Byzantine Army. Mark C. Bartusis 1992. p.65 1461-1462 When the enemy forces are battered, no one doubts that the whole of Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, Greece or Attica and the Peloponnese will return to the faithful....Inspired by this example the Thessalians, the Greeks, the Poloponnesians, the Epirans and the Macedonians will all rebel and will win ... Jovan Radonic, Gjurac Kastriot Skenderbeg i Arbanija u XV veku - Spomenik XCV (1942), p. 128-129. August 8th, 1470. The Sultan stopped and spent the night ...in afield that represented the Macedonian border...The River Vardar is nearby, which flows through Macedonia...of which some are Greeks, others Macedonians, Wallachs and even Italians, as well as other nations....Greeks and Macedonians live there... Gio Mario degli Angiolelo, A. Matkovski i P. Angelkova, Nekolku kratki patopisi za Makedonija, Glasnik na INI, VXI/1 (1972), p. 246-247. 1557 ...It is located in Thessaly, which borders on Macedonia, where the plague has reduced much of the population... Nbljudeni na mnozhestvo redki i zabelezhitelni neshta, videni v Grcija, Azija, Judea, Egipet, Arabia i drugi chuzhdi strani ot Pierre Belon d'Man, Sofia 1953, p.132-133; Frenski patepisi za Balkanite, XV-XVIII v. Sofia 1975, p. 95-98. 1566 ...called Jakov; I laboured for much time and many years for this work (in order to contribute) to the holy books. I came out of Macedonia, my fatherland, and I entered.... Lj. Stojanovich, Stari srpski zapisi i natpisi I, p. 203-204. 1579 German ruler Rudolph II to the Pope: ..the deliverer of this letter, don Petar Crnovic...born in Salonika and the other parts of Macedonia... A. Theiner, Vitera monumenta Slavorum meridionalium illustrantia. II. Zagrabiae 1875, p. 70. 1589 Gavril, Archbishop of Ohrid to Archduke Ferdinand of Habsburg: ...the Turk, who from day to day has pursued and blackmailed us and our ancestors ....in the whole of Macedonia, Greece and the nearby countries...then among our countries we have Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, Oltenia... Landesregierungsarchive - Innsbruck, VI 50. 1593 Project by Alexander Komulovic to expel the Ottomans from the Balkans ...In other parts of Epirus and Macedonia almost all are Christians of the Greek ritual... Biblioth. Barberiana cod. mnc. LVIII, 33, - Starine (Zagreb), Knj. XIV (1882), p. 86-87. August 11th, 1607 The Duke of Savoy, Charles Emmanuel I, sends his own man of trust to Macedonia. ...who had arrived from Albania and Macedonia... V. Makrusev, Istoriski spomenici Juznih Slovena i okolnih naroda, Beograd 1882, p. 297-299. April 6-24, 1618 (Senato Secreta. 337. Macedonia) ...The nobility of Macedon do not wish to have anything to do with the king of Spain... Calendar of State Papers and Manuscripts relating to English Affairs existing in the Archives and Collections of Venice and other libraries in Northern Italy, London 1864, Vol XV, p. 201-202. 1624 A letter from Pope Urban VIII to the Archbishop of Ohrid, Porphyrius Palaelogus To the respected brothers Porphyrius Paleologus, Patriarch of Justiniana Prima of Ohrid and the other subordinate archbishops, bishops of Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania and of the other side of Macedonia. A. Theiner, Vetera monumenta Slavorum II, (Zagrebiae 1875), p. 123. 1690 Manifesto of the Austrian Emperor Leopold I to the Nations of the Balkans ...Therefier we kindly call all the people who live throughout Albania, Servia, Mysia, Bulgaria, Silistria, Illyria, Macedonia and Rashka... J. Radonjic and M. Kostic, Srpske privilegije od 1690 do 1792. SAN, Posebna izdanja CCXXV, Beograd 1954, p. 26-27. April 26th, 1690 Letter of protection from Leopold I. ...This is to inform you that two Macedonians, Marko Kraida born in Kosana and Dimitri Georgi Popovic, born in Macedonian Salonika, have told us that the Macedonian people, with respect for our most righteous task, with devotion and zeal towards our service....we graciously accept them under our imperial and royal mercy and in any case and way the above mantioned Macedonian people, cordially recommending to each and all of our willing commanders not to attack the Macedonian people....Issued in Vienna, April 26th, 1690. Representatives: defenders of the Macedonian people.... J. Radonic, Prilozi za istoriju Srba u Ungarskoj u XVI, XVII and XVIII veku. Knj. I, Matice srpske, nbr 25 and 26, Novi Sad 1908, p. 52-53. 1704 The French treveller and writer Paul Luca on Macedonia ...and hour after midnight for Kavalla, which is six miles away and once was a large Macedonian city by the sea coast. We should note that almost all the villages in Macedonia are full of Christians and there are few Turks. A. Matkovski and P. Angelakova, Patuvanjata na francuskiot petepisec Pol Luka niz Makedonija od 1704 do 1714-Istorija v/2 (1969). p. 101. End of 18th C. Reports by the French Consul in Salonika, Felix de Beaujour, about Macedonia. The pashalik of Salonika includes the whole of Lower Macedonia and covers 700 sq. miles....it must be noted that here I am only speaking about the most populated part of Macedonia; since Upper Macedonia and Epirus are less populated....In Macedonia, as in Poland, the peasants die from hunger, while the masters live in abundance of gold... Felix de Beaujour, Voyage militaire dans l'Empire Othoman, I, Paris 1829, p. 127-128. n.1; p.130, 132. 1821 Macedonians pertecipate in the Romanian uprising ...At that time there was a man they called Sludzar Todor who urged all the foreigners (mostly Macedonians) to rebel against the boyar... Marko K. Cepenkov, Makedonsko narodno tvoreshtvo, Kn. X, Skopje 1972, p.308 1846 ...I learnt the Slav alphabet from my father Makedonski, who calls himself so because we are Macedonians, and not Greeks.... Georgija Makedonski, Bogosluzhbena kniga "Opshti minej" - vo crkvata vo s. Radibush, Kriva Palanka, posledna nepagirana stranica. 1851 Bulgarian Comments on the language of J.H. Dzinot ...May the inhabitants of Skopje and those who speak similarly forgive me, but they do not understand our language and cannot speak either... "Bolgarski", Tsarigradski Vestnik, nbr. 55 (6.X.1851, p. 19). 1858 Education in Veles ....Archbishop Antim declared to his peers that all peoples have been enlightened by the Greeks and so it is necessary that Greek should be taught in the schools of Veles, and not Macedonian, since the children alrady know their own language from their home... J. N. Iz Velesa u Makedoniji: Srbski Dnevnik, nbr. 44 (1858) (according to Branislav Vraneshevic, Vojvodinska javnost, p. 320-321). 1865 A note from the priest Demetrius: In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, I, priest Demetrius, was born in the village of Ogut, in the Kriva Palanka region. and held the services in my native village, when in the year of our Lord 1848, the champions of the town of Kriva Palanka employed me as a priest against the will of His Grace, the Greek priest Kir Gavrail. Mr. Mikhail Makedonski interceded most in favor of my appointment, because I'm a Macedonian by birth and hold the services in the Slav language. Such was the Fate of my fatherland Macedonia, to suffer from the Greeks, so that they will not give us peace even today, although everyone knows that Macedonia is an older state then their kingdom. We had our own Slav educators, Cyril and Methodius, who left us our Slav alphabet. They were Macedonians born in Salonika, the glorious capital of Macedonia. Our Greek bishop does not admit this, so we do not want him to be our priest, but we want to have our own arch-priest, a Slav, for time everlasting. Amen. Zapis vo knigata Zitie Svetih vo Krivopalaneckata crkva. Pretposledna nepagirana strana. January 28, 1867 To the Editor of "Makedonija" newspaper: ...The Greeks and the greacomans have met the newspaper with sorrow, since they always tried to hellenize the Macedonians, destroying also the Archibishopric of Ohrid -The Spark of Our Future. Yet, however hard they have tried to stop us from making progress, they could not entirely uproot the feelings of the Macedonians that they are Macedonians. T.I. Kusev, Makedonija, Istanbul, Nbr. I (1/28/1867) March 25, 1870 ...lets us consider those of the present Macedonians who blinded by concealed glow of Hellenic wisdom, accept that they should scorn and revoke their own nationality...the time seems opportune for me to exclaim:Ah, how far away the time really is when Hellas, as everybody calls her today, was subjected to Macedonian authority... Stefan Zahariev, Chitalishte, Istanbul, I/7, 1871, p.214-216. November 30, 1870 ...A teacher named Mr. Shapkarevic...has come to visit me...the same day the books you had sent me...arrived. But as soon as he saw them he said that they should not be taught in the Macedonian schools, since they were in the Bulgarian dialect; and that we should take his books which are in the Macedonian dialect... Pravo of 10/30/1870 (according to B. Koneski, Kon Makedonskata prerodba, p.68). February 1874 A letter from P.R. Slaveykov to the Bulgarian Exarch: Your Grace, I arrived in Salonika on the evening of the 14th of last month (January 1874). I immediately went to meet all the important local people and some others from the other Macedonian towns. My aim was to gather information as son as possible on what was to be necessary for the succes of the mission with which you had entrusted me. I first met Father Averkij Zografski, and the following day Father Petar Dimitrov as well, the local president of the community. I may inform you, Your Grace, that the wind from here, from Salonika, blows and scatters to all sides. These two clergyman, to my mind, are the leaders of the movement fot the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, although one should not neglect Ohrid and to certain extent Bitola, Veles and Skopje either. The Uniate movement here is not without roots, as they think in Constantinople, especially His Grace, Count Ignatiev. During the time I have been in Macedonia I have ascertained the same we had formerly known and written three years ago. Now, as then or twenty years ago, we are dealing with the Macedonian question. In talks with few Macedonian "patriots" I have understood that this movement, which had been only bare words till a few years ago, is now clear and precise thought - "The Macedonians are not Bulgarians" and they persistenly strive, regardless of the price, to obtain a separate church of their own. They also have the support in their separatism of smoe high clergyman in Constantinople, especially His Grace Nathaniel Ohridski, Panariot Plovdivski, and Archimandrite Hariton Karpuzov. I have understood this month from reliable sources that there are letters which arrive every day from Constantinople to the Salonika community, and are then sent to the other communities in the provinces. The letters are written in this spirit. One such letter, which the Salonika community sent to the community of Voden, calls upon the inhabitants of Voden to break off all their relations with theExarchate until the Macedonian Church question is settled, because "now is the moment". Mr. Kuzman Shapkarev from Ohrid, who is well known to us, has done a great deal to spread the idea of the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid; he consatnly travels between Kukish and Ohrid and v.v., but at whose expanse, I do not know. Mr. Dimitar Makedonski, "the Macedonian textbook writer", is no less active, reciving salary as a teacher from the Exarchate and from local Lazarists. Owing to such unreasonable sermons by the Macedonian patriots that the church question has been settled only in favor of the Bulgarians, there is discontent among the people towrds the eparchies of th4 Danube and Adrianople vilayets as well as envy because of the earlier awakening of the Bulgarians. One can especially feel a great resistance against the East Bulgarian variant in literature. A general impression is that the local people think that the Macedonians have been done a great harm with the settlement of the church question in favor of the Danubian and Thracian Bulgarians. This discontent has already grown into distrust of the Exarchate and its higher echalons. and there is an attitude formed that the local Macedonian dialect should be declared a literary language and a Macedonian hiearchy established. Great attention, Your Grace, should be paid to His Grace Nathaniel, who promised the local people taht as soon as he comes to his eparchy he will take steps for the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. He seems to be connected with the Macedonian craftsman in Constantinople, among whom he spreads the news about the agreement with the Patriarchate. For their own part they inform their own people in Macedonia about this. It causes great discontent here. Consequently, separatism has its roots in the secret circle of Constantinople. If you press them there, the commotion wil calm down here. Silence the trumpet, there won't be any echo! The question of Father Nil is a highly delicate one, because he has barricaded himself in Kukush and does not want to return. His ambition seems to have made him to this. He stuffed his head with the thought of becoming the Archbishop of Ohrid ar at least Metropolitan of Salonika. As an Exarchate delegate he spreads the news about the agreement with the Patriarchate as the " most informed person". He decribes the Exarchate to the people as indifferent and passive in saving the Macedonian population from Greek spiritual slavery. Father Nil, who proved to be completely immature, seems to be a hireling of the highest Turkish vilayet authorities. However, his disobidiance to his headquarters began at the moment when he was summoned to return to Constantinople. Instead of obeying orders, he remained waiting there. His disobidiance also comes as a result of the suggestions that have been arriving from Constatinople. He maintains constant relations with Bishop Panaret and Nathaniel especially with the latter, who has suggested he stay in Macedonia until he gets an appointment for Ohrid and arrives in Macedonia. I think that Father Nil should be cast out of Macedonia at any cost and sent to Constatinople, because he is dangerous here. He already acts under the protection of the local Lazarists and the French consul. Thoughts of the restoration of the Archbishop of Ohrid at the moment are most prevalent here, in Salonika. Here the schemes are being devised and here the hotheads are gathering. These thoughts of course are not based upon mature foundation, especially since Midhat-Pasha has been dismissed from Salonika. But they are gradually spreading to northern Macedonia, although they are not very clear. Some say one thing to the people and others say another. There is danger, if steps are not taken from spme authoritative place, of creating a genral ideal. Then the consequences would be much more serious. The best thing would be if His Grace, Count Ignatiev, were to visit Macedonia, because the population feels a secret hope thet only Russia could help them. Tomorrow, with Gos's help, I intend to meet some of the elders from the local community. I shall try to convince them of the groundlessnes of their aspirations for a separarte Church when they already have one in the form of the Exarchate. Certainly the most difficult question will be that of the appointment of bishops of Macedonian origin and especially that of the cheirotonia of Father Hariton. I kiss Your Grace's right hand. Salonika, Fabruary 1874. Your obedient P.R. Slaveykov Another letter from P.R. Slaveykov: Your Grace, I sent you a letter via a trustworthy man two days ago, in which I briefly described to you the situation in Salonika and Macedonia in connection with the unreasonable movement for the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid in union with the Roman Catholic Church. After the meeting with some of the local elders I have understood that there were everywhere wide discussions for a broader plan, namely, to create a Uniate Church in Macedonia. According to reliable sources, only the cheirotonia of Father Hariton is awaited before action will be taken. Until the blessing of the Pope for the proclamation of the Uniate Archbishopric of Ohrid arrives, the bishops with their eparchies will be constituent apart of the Uniate Church with their seat in Adrianople. Then Father Nathaniel will be appointed Archbishop of Ohrid and the following appointments will be made in the eparchies: Father Panaret for the Pelagonia eparchy, Brother Kozma Prechistenski for the Debar eparchy, Father Nil Izvorov for the Salonika eparchy and Father Dorotej for the Skopje eparchy. The other eparchies, for which there are no candidates proposed, will temporarily be governed by the neighboring archpriests. Father Nil will be Bishop of Salonika, Kukush and Voden. Father Hariton, after his ordination, will also become bishop of the Serez and Melnik eparchies. Father Dionisij, as an archimandrite, will temporarily govern the Strumica eparchy. I have personal impression, Your Grace, that nobody here is asking for a real union with the Roman Catholic Church. It is simply a means of restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. Catholic circles also feel this and therefore have no great confidence in the people with whom they are negotiating. So I do not think it is too late to actin order to overcome the discontent, which later could be subdued. The Uniate movement is more dangerous in the places where formerly there was a Union because of similar reasons. Kukush comes in the first place, followed by Dojran with sympathy from Strumica, Maleshevo and Voden. The Salonika, Serez, Melnik and Drama villages lag behind them. There is not any powerful stirring of the Uniate propaganda indeed, but where there is smoke there must be fire. The appointment of Bishop Nil is expected for the fire to blaze forth. The Poljanin eparchy will immediately turn into a Union and the Strumica and Voden eparchies will join in, as well as a huge number of villages in Salonika, Drama, Serres and other eparchies. The other Macedonian eparchies will certainly be shattered, too, first the Veles eparchy and then the Skopje one. The Veles eparchy is also dissatisfied with its bishop, Damaskin, while at the same time the citizens of Veles, aroused by a craving for power, believe that they should govern Macedonia in religious matters. The causes of such a situation in the whole of Macedonia are very obvious. The Macedonian eparchies and towns I have already mentioned are extremely embittered by the serious position of the Church and the people in which they find themselves. The spreading of the idea of restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid upon an Uniate basis is also helped by the French and Austrian consuls, who promise full protection before the Turkish authorities and persecution of the Constantinople Patriarchate. The Greeks themselves indirectly help the spreading of the Union in Macedonia, expecting the Exarchate to become weak because of the Union and thus finding allies in the liquidation of the Catholic propaganda in Macedonia. I have concluded this from the talks I had with the Greek consul in Salonika. He was not in the least worried at the danger of the spread of the Union in Macedonia. On the contrary, Greece is seeking support for its economic and national activity in Macedonia. According to the opinion of the Greek consul, the part of the people who will not accept the Union, disillusioned with the Exarchate, will remain under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate. In the talks I had it was not by chance that the agents and adherents of the Union mentioned that the "Macedonian question" could only be settled through the Union. In order to make full use of the discontent and bitterness of the people against the Exarchate, they strengthen their accusation against the Exarchate. They speak about the Macedonian question upon a religious basis, but at the same time stir up the old separatist trends among the Macedonians - to create a new ethnic region through the Union - in the spirit of Midhat-Pasha's schemes. As the Roman Catholic agents worked out a cultural and national program for the Union in 1860 for the liberation of the Bulgarian people from the Patriarchate, they now also appear with a specific program for the spiritual and national liberation of the Macedonian eparchies through the Union. The Macedonian activists already widely use the expression the Macedonian movement in their language of communication, by which one should understand independent national and church liberation. I must emphasize strongly, Your Excellency, that this is a factor of an important political character - separatism is being spread starting from a religious basis towards a broader national one. After the talks I had with Father Petar Dimov I felt that he has slowly retired from being drawn into the Union. Today he has officially renounced the Union and sent a letter to You expressing his loyalty to the Exarchate. I also talked to Father Averkij. He told me that he would also withdraw from the movement if appointments for the Exarchate bishops were issued by the autumn. My attitude towards these two Church dignitaries was moderate and friendly, because any repressive measures could stir up spirits. .... Your spiritual child P.R. Slaveykov S. Dimevski, Dve pisma na P. R. Slaveykov za makedonizmot. - Razgledi XIV, 5(1972), p.561-566 April 6, 1878 in Salonika To the Right Honorable Austen Henry Layard "...Russian agents are busy in the country, and even here, trying to get petitions that the whole of Macedonia be included in Bulgaria... They tell the people: If you remain out, your state (and you see what it is) will be worse then it was before, while if you attach yourselves to us and our cause, you will get all the benefits accruing to a large and powerful Kingdom, under Russian protection... I remain... Edward B. Barker British Museum, London, Dmss Layard Papers, Vol. LXXXIX Addd. 39.019, 186-187. 1878 From the record of the Imperial Russian secret archives on the arrangement and government of the Balkan regions. ...Count Shuvalev demands that all the necessary measures for pacification of Macedonia be undertaken. For its purpose, it would be desirable to send competent agents there, and to proclaim to the Macedonians on behalf of the Governor, the Emperor, that His Highness is concerned about their fate, as much as for the other Slavs, and they will be granted the same freedom as that of the Bulgarians, now already liberated.... Dokumenti iz sekretnite arhivi na Ruskoto pravitelstvo. Sofia 1893, p.11-12. 1878 The rules of the Macedonian Rebel Commitee of the Kresna Uprising It is well known to all of us that this ill-fated country of ours, Macedonia, owing to the egoistic aims of the Great Powers, was gain left to Turkey after the Congress of Berlin. As a result of that, in certain regions of our fatherland many scenes full full of blood, known to all of us, took place....We rebelled as advocates of freedom. With the blood we shed all over Macedonian fields and forests, we serve freedom, as the Macedonian army of Alexander of Macedon did, with our slogan "Freedom or Death!" The aim of the Uprising in Macedonia 1.The uprising in Macedonia...should be extended all over Macedonia. 2. Those people from Macedonia who feel themselves to be Macedonians and love the freedom of their fatherland are taking part in the uprising. From the private archives of Cyril, Patriarch of Bulgaria, Arch. of Act 2341, AE 50, pp. 30-61. The Residence of the monastery of Dragolevci, Sofia, P.R. Bulgaria. June 8, 1879 Georgi Pulevski to Despot Badzovic: ...The Bulgarians here are playing tricks with us and are turning the water to their mill alongside divine Nathaniel, who is a Macedonian, but rather inclined towards the Bulgarians... Arhiv Srbije (Beograd) Fond: Ministarstvo prosvete, P. nbr. 981/8.VI.1879; Razgledi XIV/10 (1972), p. 1132. March 23, 1881 Manifesto of the Provisional Government of Macedonia: ...our dear Macedonia, our dear homeland is calling upon you: you who are my faithful children, you who are descendants of Aristotle and Alexandar the Great, you in whose veins Macedonian blood flows, do not let me die, but help me!... President Vasil Chomo, Secretary Nikola Trajkov in Kjustendil Centralnii Gosudartsvenii Arhiv Okjabarskii revoljucii i socialtieskoga stroitelstva SSSR, Moskva - Fond Gr.Ignatieva No.730 - opis No. 1, ed.hr.79; Lj. lape, Odbrani tekstovi za istorijata na makedonskio narod, II del, Skopje 1976, p.256-258. May 9, 1888 Salonika. Temko Popov to Despot Badzovic ...I shall try to write to you, as far as possible, in our language, replacing the words I don't know with Bulgarian ones. What else can I do, Despot? While our language could one dictate to the other Slav languages, it has now remained the poorest of all, and like a begger, it serves either Bulgarian or Serbian....Let us no lie to ourselves, Despot, tha national spirit in Macedonia has reached such a stage today that even if Jesus Christ had come to the Earth, he would not have been able to persuade the Macedonian that he was a Bulgarian or a Serb, excepting those Macedonians in whom Bulgarian propaganda has already taken root. In order to convince yourself of this, you must have Bulgarianism in view. Bulgarian propaganda has now been working for 20 years in Macedonia, in the blindest of times - when Hellenism, coming from and entirely alien nation, started to take root in the Macedonian heart; but the Macedonians, seeing a ray of Slavism, rejected everything as if eyeless, without paying attention to the difference. It was sufficient for them to have broken with Hellenism. But what is to be done now i.e. after twenty years of Bulgarian striving, indoctrination and unsparing pecuniary sacrifaces? My dear Despot, everybody does what is natural, but unexpected for the Bulgarians, that is, now every Macedonian admits he is not a Bulgarian and declares loudly his nation, even though he may stilluse Bulgarian means, not having his own, of course. ... Your friend T. Popov Narodna Biblioteka, Belgrade - fond - Jovan Hadzi Vasiljevic II 413/III May 9 1988. 1890 A request by the citizens of Ohrid for the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid To His Holiness, the Great Patriarch, Constantinople, We, loyal subjects to His Majesty, the Emperor Sultan Abdul Hamid II, for a long time did not have freedom for our Church, and since 1872 have become an even more misled flock, for we came under the Bulgarian Exarchate, deceived by Bulgarian propaganda. Thus we became schismatics, as well. ...Apart from the fact that Bulgarians deceived and beguiled us, they also reject our language, change our holy customs and alter our character, too. We cannot tolerate it any more and we do not want our children to curse us and the graves of our forefathers... (signatures of 120 citizens of Ohrid) DA DSIP - Beograd - PPO, F.7, d.6, p.br. 962, 1890. June 22, 1891 Skopje Theodosius, Metropolitan of Skopje, to Archimandrite Dionysius in Sofia. ...our Holy Exarchate headed by His Holiness Exarch Joseph I does everything possible to persuade the wretched Macedonian people that it has good intentions, that it cares for their present and future and that it wants to draw them out of the darkness of national unawareness and create holy Bulgarians of them. But I would not have to persuade you too long, my dearest brother in Christ, that our Holy Exarchate, with its religious and educational activity here, in Macedonia, in fact carries out a most miserable task, it deprives a people of its name and replaces it with another, it deprives them of their mother tongue and replaces it with another, alien one, in order to allow its government and its Bulgarian masters to extend their commerce to foreign territories, too. And what else would you call this, my dear brother, other then a new slavery, even more terrible then the Turkish one? The Turks take the property and the lives of the people, but do not encroach upon their spirit. They destroy the body but respect the soul. And our Holy Exarchate kills the latter, the perpetual... I have written this to you, so that you would not be amazed by my previous letter in which I stated my opinion that we clergyman, Macedonians in origin, should unite and urge our people to awaken, throw off foreign authority, throw off even the Patriarchate and the Exarchate, and spiritually unified under the wing of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, their only true Mother Church. Is it not high time to put an end to the national movements of a single people among which some recognize the Patriarchate, some the Exarchate and some even bow to Mohammed? Is it not high time to put an end to hatred between blood brothers? And how could this be achieved if not by the way of our national Church , by way of the Archbishopric of Ohrid? I shall be sincere, my dear brother in Christ, and shall openly declare to you: we, the Macedonians, to not suffer as much by the Turks, long live our Padishah, as by the Greeks, the Bulgarians and the Serbs, who have set upon us like vultures upon a carcass in this tortured land and want to split it up. ("And they parted Your garments, Jesus")..... ...Theodosius of Skopje Centralen D'rzhaven istoricheski archiv (Sofia) 176, op. 1. arh.ed. 595, l.5-42 - Razgledi, X/8 (1968), p.996-1000. December 4, 1891 Theodosius, Metropolitan of Skopje, to Pope Leo XIII I, the undersigned Metropolitan of Skopje, Theodosius, by God's Mercy head of Skopje eparchy, am submitting this request both in my name and in the name of of the whole Orthodox flock of Macedonia, in which we are begging His Holiness to accept us under the wing of the Roman Catholic Church...Our desire springs from the historical right of the Orthodox Macedonian people to be freed from the jurisdiction of foreign Churches - the Bulgarian Exarchate and the Constantinople Patriarchate - ....The borders of the Archbishopric should conform to the present borders of Macedonia... Archivio della S. Congregazione de Propaganda Fide - Roma: Indice della Potenza - Marzo 1892-93, Somm.XV, f.132-141. August 20, 1892 Serbian Consul in Bitola, Dimitrije Bodi, to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vladan Djordjevic, in Belgrade. I have to inform you, dear Sir, that some intellectualist movement among the local teachers has recently appeared in the town of Kostur, which insists upon rejection of Greek and Bulgarian propaganda, and the introduction of the Macedonian dialect as the language of teaching in the schools. This initiative has in fact been started....If you are interested in these matters, Sir, please answer me with a ciphered telegram. DA - DSIP. P odd.I red 278 (1892). August 26, 1892 Serbian Consul in Bitola, Dimitrije Bodi, to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vladan Djordjevic, in Belgrade. ....I have heard from my own people that the local community at its meeting of 22nd Auguts this year, decided that the teaching in the new 1892/1893 school year should be done in the Macedonian dialect. The town teachers were given the task of working a program for the language teaching and a provisional grammar of the Macedonian dialect.... DA - DSIP. P odd.I red 278 (1892). 1890 Karl Hron: "The Nationality of the Macedonian Slavs": ...From my own studies of the Serbo-Bulgarian dispute I came to the conviction that the Macedonians are an individual nation, both by their history and their language; thus, they are neither Serbs nor Bulgarians... Karl Hron, Das Volksthum der Slaven Makedoniens, Wien 1890, S. 4-5, 15-17, 20, 22,26 1896 Paul Argyriades (A French socialist born in Macedonia): ...Present day Macedonia is one of the European provinces of the Turkish Empire. It borders on the south with Epirus, Thessaly and the Mediterranean, on the east with Thrace and the Mediterranean, on the north with Mount Hemus, Bulgaria and Serbia and with Albania on the west....Macedonia, as the homeland of the two greatest personalities of the Ancient World - Aristotle and Alexander the Great, who conquered the world. should it anew conquer its independence and its autonomy?...And if an autonomous Macedonian administration were to be introduced in this land in ten years only, it would be the earthly paradise of the world...The small states - the Greek, Bulgaria and Serbian ones -argue for the acquisition of Macedonia, using all kinds of proofs - chauvinist and historical - invented in support of their interests, while no one seems to realize that if the historical truth were to be respected, Macedonia should rather have the right to possess all those countries, which would like to devour it, since once it governed and ruled them itself....The Macedonians do not want the kind of caresses which may strangle them. They want to remain Macedonians without any other epithet, guarding for themselves their beautiful Macedonia... Almanach de la Question Sociale. Illustre'. (Paris), Pour 1896, pp. 240-244. 1897 From "Maleshevski Balkan" journal: At Least Do Not Hinder Us There is hardly any harsher situation then that of the Macedonian cause. Aroused by sympathy, feelings and tradition to maintain always the closest links with its direct neighbors, the Bulgarians, Serbs, and others, today it surprises us most mercilessly and makes us repent. Nobody, undoubtedly nobody, would deny the justification of our hopes in the Bulgarians and the Serbs, as people who stand closest to us, as people with the same past as ours, etc. ... From "Maleshevski Balkan", Sofia, I, 16, 1 (1897). 1897 William Gladstone ...Next to the Ottoman Govt. nothing can be more deplorable and blameworthy then jealousies between Greek and Slav, and plans by the States already existing for appropriating other territory. Why not Macedonia for Macedonians, as well as Bulgaria for Bulgarians and Servia for Servians. And if they are small and weak, let them bind themselves together for defence, so that they may not be devoured by others, either great and small, which would probably be the effect of their quarreling among themselves. The Times (London), 6th January 1897, p.12 1898 Petar Mandzukov to Kostadin Kirkov ...Perhaps our slavery would not have been so difficult if various kinds of propaganda had not interfered in our affairs, which under the name of "brothers" and "benefactors" divide brothers from brothers and make the Turks commit the worst of crimes. Those "brothers" of ours do everything possible to prevent the unity of our freedom-loving forces. And what has been the result of such propaganda? Even the true sons of our country, those whoa re really not afraid to sacrifice their lives at the altar of our Fatherland, often wrongly think that the liberation of Macedonia could not be conceived without the interference of this or that state. They go over to the side of this or that people and forget their own people. Instead of uniting their forces in favor of their own people and striving in unison to liberate it from bondage, they cannot agree whom they should serve. We know, Kostadin, that our fatherland differs by its population from one Bulgaria, Greece or Serbia, which are homogenous countries. There are various nationalities and religions in our country. There are Macedonians, Greeks, Wallachians, Turks, Jews, Albanians, even a few Armenians. and let us not forget the Gypsies.... CDIA (Sofia), f.70, on., AE70-74; - Razgledi, X/7 (1968), p.847-851 1900 A. Brutus (A. Drandar): Concerning a movement in Macedonia A considerable section of the European press does not cease to inform us of the immense sufferings undergone by the Christian population of Macedonia....It was the sad fate of that population that made us publish this booklet, based upon our experience and personal observations I had acquired impartially, as a foreigner, during my stay in Macedonia of several years...If one takes a retrospective view of the history of Macedonia to the most ancient of times, one remains amazed by the great role this small country, this classical country par excellance, played in the world....The Macedonian, born in a land to which nature was so favorable, has always longed for heroic feats and aspired to great deeds...Even the glorious cradle of Ancient Hellenism is subjected to the Macedonian kings...We find Macedonians on the Byzantine throne at the time when this empire was at its peak. Following the course of history, we see how the star of Macedonia shone with the same intensity. It plays the chief role in the revival of the Slav people. Thus, the two brothers exalted to apostles, Cyril and Methodius, objects of general admiration for the Slav world, are Macedonians, and owing to the very existence of these two apostles, this small land becomes the cradle of the Slav people to whom it gives its religion and art...The inhabitants of Macedonia do not want to be annexed either to Bulgaria or Serbia, or Greece; they want, they want so strongly, to live a human life in an autonomous country. Their slogan is: Macedonia to the Macedonians. A. Brutus, A Propos d'un Mouvement en Macedonie, Bruxelles 1900, pp.12-13, 15, 56. 1901 A.V. Amfiteatrov: The Land of Discord Each Slav should and is obliged to feel sympathy for Macedonian freedom. But Macedonian freedom cannot be achieved with their own, Macedonian means. The land is too small and weak to fight against the power of Constantinople, which only has to give a sign and tens of thousands of soldiers will attack the Rumalian vilayets and strangle them like mice before Europe could compose itself, even before Europe could know it. Hence, Macedonia cannot be freed with its own forces. Only an evil enemy, an unconscious enemy of Slavism could desire an armed movement in Macedonia now when the land is totally unprepared for an uprising, in circumstances of tied hands of the whole Europe, of Serbo-Bulgarian clashes, of huge preparations of the Turks against the slightest possibilities of movement. Or a real fool. These were the exact words of one of the high-ranking persons deciding the fate of Balkan Slavism in a discussion with me concerning the Macedonian committees. Nobody in Europe, none of the Great Powers can actively intercede in favor of the Macedonians against the Turks at the present moment - except, perhaps, Austria. Bu the very name of Austria causes panic in the Macedonian Slav element, who will allow Austria to reign in Macedonia? For it would be the destruction of all ideas of pan-Slavism, it would be the end of the Eastern Question, it would be the decisive and last victory of the German world over the Slav world. Then, we the Russians, would only be humbly left to falling out of step with that state with the projected historical tasks, with the repudiation of racial ideals - a state similar to modern Italy or Spain, only in greater proportions. The young Slav states, adjacent to Macedonia, are too young and too poor to go into struggle for it. At the same time, these states are disintegrating both from the internal situation and external family hostilities. The Bulgarians and the Serbians cannot stand each other; each consider Macedonia as their lawful property. Neither the Bulgarians nor the Serbs have even the slightest desire to create Macedonia for Macedonia. Enthusiast for an autonomous Macedonia can only be found among the Macedonian natives. Neither the Serb nor the Bulgarian wants the autonomy of Macedonia. As far as the question of whether Macedonia should become Bulgarian or Serbian is concerned, every Bulgarian would tell you with utter sincerity: -It would be better that the Turks ruled there eternally then to give the Serbs a chance to spread towards the Aegean Sea. And the Serb would say: - It would be better that the Turks did there whatever they allow your damned brothers to achieve their Greater Bulgaria from one sea to the other! The question of nationality has not been settled in Macedonia and it is hard to assume that it will ever be settled in a satisfactory manner. If we are to believe Gopcevic and Jasterbov there are almost no Bulgarians - all of the are Serbs. If we are to believe Ofejkov and Miljukov, there are no Serbs, all of them are Bulgarians. It is more probable that where we are dealing with a perfectly branch of Slavs, transitional between the Bulgarians and the Serbs. But that branch taken alone is insufficiently significant to win its freedom and turn itself into a state unit. Consequently, no matter how the question of its nationality is resolved, it is deprived of the possibility to exist, so to say; it is cursed in itself to serve as political material directly for its neighbors, and deviously and indirectly for Europe, which governs its naighbours. The basic reason for the failures of the Macedonian revolutionary organization lies in the fact that it is fed by means that have historically proved their ineffectiveness against state order of a European kind to overthrow the system and authority that have nothing in common with European order; since with the tactics, which have overthrown many European government, it attempts to erase military slavery, which has continued in Macedonia and Old Serbia for five centuries now; since the arms, victorious in the civil war, are also used in external war, because the Turk is not a fellow-citizen and compatriot of the Slavs, but he was, is and will be their external enemy... - They consider me a Bulgarophile, I.A. Zinovjev told me. But it isn't so at all. I behave in perfectly equal manner to all Slavs, and, if a person is decent and likable, it is all the same to me whether he is a Bulgarian, a Serb or a Macedonian. But I am a Russian representative and I have been sent here to protect, first of all, Russian interests. Permanent patronage over the Balkan Slavs is inseparably linked with Russian interests. We are their natural patrons. But this patronage does not mean Russia's following of Slav leaders; patronage is not characterless yielding. However, as far as the Macedonian question is concerned, the Bulgarians, as our most spoilt children in the whole of the Slav world, would like precisely to lead Russia with them where they have blindly started closing their eyes, demanding that the patronage be turned into yielding. The activities of the Macedonian committees, long under the patronage (with) our tolerance of the Bulgarian government, had the following direct calculation: - We shall force the Turks to abandon their reserved behavior they have taken up and borne with difficulty - wit a series of small explosions, murders and blackmails we shall arose the fanatic excitement of the Moslems, the Sultan will be forced to give in to the demands of his subjects of the same faith, and Turkish atrocities will start in Macedonia, blood will be shed, villages will be burnt. For the attainment of the sublime goal it is of no consequence whether fifty or fifty thousand people will be killed - the main thing is: slaughter must be caused, which will in turn cause the necessity of European intervention, and since the protection of the Slavs is the perennial deed of Russia and it will never leave the Macedonian question to Austria - consequently, volens-nolens, Russia shall have to send again hundred of thousands of soldiers to the Balkan Peninsula and achieve the freedom of Macedonia with its bayonets, i.e. it should put the land into the mouth of the Bulgarians. For they don't recognize any other nationality in Macedonia except the Bulgarian one. Consequently, the future freedom of Macedonia for them is either the fulfillment of the Treaty of San Stefano and unification of Macedonia with the Bulgarian Principality, or a creation of a new autonomous Bulgarian body, which will sooner or later be merged with the former into an 'integral Bulgaria'.... Cvetan Stanoevski, Kako ja vidoa Makedonija, Skopje 1978, pp.189-190,193-194. 1902 Appeal of the "National Macedonian-Albanian League" Brother Macedonians! Brother Albanians! ...There is no need that the Bulgarians, the Greeks or others amend our homeland... Executive Committee British Museum (British Library), London, 1902 1902 Nikola Karev to Goce Delchev ...Let us not expect freedom either from the Greeks or the Bulgarians; it is we, the Macedonians, who should fight for our Macedonia ourselves... Neobjaveno pismo, Nova Makedonija, (Skopje), XXIV, nbr.7744 (May 5 1968), p.8 1903 Victor Berard on the Macedonians. The ambition for a small homeland, the egotism of a small nation, is not the ultimate ideal of the Macedonians. To replace Turkish subjugation with Greek, Serbian or Bulgarian dependence does not seem to them to represent some great gain...Until recently France did not know the Macedonians. They were Thracian, Peons, Sclavins for us, a wild and almost a mythical people, that lived somewhere at the bottom of some unknown land for us. We either did not know them or despised them, since we heard of them from the malicious notes of the ancient and modern Greeks... La Revue de Paris, Juin 1903. 1904 A Macedonian Theory Was it so long before the liberation of the Bulgarians that throughout Bulgaria, in answer to the question as to what they were (by nationality), the Bulgarians said they were "Christians" or raya (non-Moslem Turkish subjects)?And even now it is not so rare on occasion to hear a Bulgarian answering in court as to the question of his nationality that he is a "Christian". The notion of nationality has still not become a new accomplishment of his mind. During the Turkish period, the Bulgarian peasant referred to the Bulgarians in the towns as "Greeks" and city lother were "Greek dress" for him. And since the Greeks designated that peasant as a "fat-headed Bulgar", his brother from the town loved to be called a "Hellene", so that he should not be scorned for his real national name. It is not exactly the same case with what Mr. Misirkov elaborates concerning the name of the Macedonian Slav? The name "Bulgar" fell even in Bulgaria to such position which earned only the contempt of the others. This name appeared so empty even in the mouth of the Bulgarians themselves that it became a synonym for "Christian"; the later designated the whole ethnic contents of Bulgarian individual and social consciousness. When our peasant used to say "we are Bulgars", he meant "we are Christians", i.e. Orthodox. The Russian Tsar was a "Bulgarian Tsar" for him not by nationality, but by Orthodox Christianity. A. Teodorov-Balan, Edna makedonska teorija - Periodichesko spisanie (Sofia), LXV (1904), p.818 1907-1908 The Macedonian Villages ...I asked him what language they spoke, and my Greek interpreter carelessly rendered the answer Bulgare. The man himself had said Makedonski. I drew attention to this word and the witness explained that he did not consider the rural dialect used in Macedonia the same as Bulgarian, and refused to call it by that name. It was Macedonian, a word to which he gave the Slav form of Makedonski, but which I was to hear farther north in the Greek form of Makedonike. And so the "Bulgarophone" villagers are no longer willing to admit that they speak Bulgarian. They have coined a new term of their own accord, and henceforth their dialect, until they have got rid of it, is to be known as "Macedonian". My Athenian friends were delighted when I told them of this on my return. It should give even greater pleasure to those Bulgarian agents who are so anxious to see the Macedonians thought they are Macedonians. Allen Upward, The East End of Europe, London 1908, pp. 204-205 June 25, 1910 Archimandrite Neophyte in Skopje to Bulgarian Exarch Joseph in Constantinople: Starting from some time ago, as I have already informed You several times, matters in the eparchy, and especially here have not developed as they should. The Eparchy Council, which, as You know, consists of the town's elders, has decided to send You a letter in which it strongly condemns the candidature of the former Metropolitan of Skopje, Theodosius, and among other things, upon my suggestion writes the following in the protest: "Outraged, we read in the newspapers that a group of villains wishes at any cost to urge the population - the voters of the Skopje Eparchy - to bring back that typical intransigent, Theodosious, as the Metropolitan of the Skopje Eparchy. This is the same Theodosius who 17 or 18 years ago wanted to separate the Skopje Eparchy from the Exarchate and proclaim himself an independent Metropolitan. For this purpose, he then made a special seal on which he deleted the words "Bulgarian Exarchate", so sacred to us, and printed his own baptismal certificates, marriage certificates and other documents; he did not fulfill the circular letters and the orders of the Exarchate, etc. Yet, since at that time there were not such a strong anti-Bulgarian movement among the local Bulgarians, it was possible for the Exarchate to remove this dangerous schismatic in time and thereby preserve the unity of the Bulgarian Church in Turkey. Now this same schismatic, contrary to Exarchist interests, wishes to restore his eparchy and continue his dishonest business of disuniting our Bulgarian people. We protest most strongly against his nomination as Metropolitan of Skopje, because he insults the Bulgarian feeling among the population". Unfortunately, Your Grace, if the Eparchy Council has such people with common sense, this is not the case with some craftsman's circles, which have come under the influence of Mr. Petar Pop Arsov, a teacher, who has taken the idea into his head that he is a leader of the people. He constantly speaks against the Exarchate and its leadership, including myself, and urges the craftsman to support Metropolitan Theodosios' candidature, since he once suffered for defending the interests of the Macedonians. It would not be superfluous if I informed You about another problem, which, I presume, will represent a kind of plot in this whole election propaganda. I have understood from some members of the Council that Krste Petkov, who at one time started "Misirkovism", had requested from certain relative of his, living here in Skopje, that he put him in touch with this teacher, Petar Pop Arsov, in connection with collecting songs about Krale Marko in the Skopje district, and Mr. Pop Arsov was so kind as to agree immediately. I am writing this to you, Your Grace, a justified suspicion that schismatic forces are being brought to life here. The said Mr. Krste Misirkov expressed in a letter to his relative has desire to return to Macedonia, more precisely, to come to Skopje as soon as Macedonia was liberated. The man wished to be a professor at the Skopje university (?!). If this is true, and there are no reasons for lying to me, then You may conclude Yourself what danger threatens the Bulgarian idea in these historic times. Just imagine if the "Misirkovism" of Mr. Krste, the "separatism' of His Grace Theodosius and the "autonomism" of Mr. Petar Pop Arsov joined together! I am of the opinion, Your Grace, upon the basis of the protest by the Eparchy Council (which was, after all, published in the press) that the candidature of His Grace Theodosius should be withdrawn, by which a danger of as yet unseen proportions for the Bulgarian cause in Macedonia would be evaded. I remain Your Grace's younger brother in Jesus Christ and I pray for You. S. Dimevski, Diskusija - K.P. Misirkov i nacionalno-kulturniot razvoj na makedonskiot narod do Osloboduvanjeto - Zbornik Misirkov. Simpozium. Skopje, Institut za makedonski jazik, 1975, pp.338-339. 1905 Sveta Simic, representative of the Kingdom of Serbia in Bulgaria, to Jovan Jovanovich-Pizon, head of the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Belgrade. D. Gruev again visited me last Saturday. D. Hristov also chanced to be in my house, so we spent more then 3 hours in discussion. The Macedonians have been afraid that the Bulgarians and we agreed to divide them, and accordingly they are the only ones left to frown at the Imperial Alliance. They suspect it hides something else. They continually make agreements and preparations but undertake nothing more serious. They constantly send smaller bands and ammunition into their country. All their activity is reduced to this only in present. They would like to make an agreement with us, but such as to sacrifice nothing of what they call their autonomy. They have come to see more and more that there are obstacles before them which they cannot fight successfully, and under the influence of which they continually lose their importance as an authoritative factor in the development of the Maced(onian) question. This is what hurts them immensely. They are divided among themselves, just as before. The differences of their views also intensify their personal hatred, which makes some of them avoid the others, plotting among themselves....Unfavorable rumors reach us from Macedonia, too. The people, craving for freedom, would like to reject their yoke and uncertainty as soon as possible, so that they would be ready for some decisive steps as well, but their distrust both of their leaders and Bulgaria prevent them. Under the influence of the news about the Imperial Alliance a mood has been created in which they would like to be freed from their yoke at any cost, even if they were compelled to come under Bulgaria and Serbia. And if these two did not help them, they would gladly accept Austrian occupation, as well... Arhiv SFR Jugoslavije (Belgrade) - Fond Jovan Jovanovic-Pizon, 80 (1905). 1906 To my brother in arms, Dushan, voyvoda from the village of Bistrica Brother, you should know that I have received your letter and understood all that you wrote me. We have put the people in great trouble, it is true, but who is to blame for this? You say we are to blame, we say you are to blame. As far as I know, ten years have passed (and) has never been over those years any bloodshed between ourselves or division into Serbomans or Bulgarophils. We have been Macedonian fighters and we will fight to the end for the Macedonian people, but we do not fight for Bulgaria or Serbia, nor Greece; they are free and live freely and drink in shaded inns; they have the right to drink so since they shed their blood earlier. We, who come from this Macedonian land should work for Macedonia, because our Macedonian brothers are murdered on the roads and our Macedonian sisters are disgraced by the bloody Turk, by the fat Turk. We are not against any nationality of either Bulgaria, Serbia, or Greece; we should recognize the merit of those who would help us. If there had been any Serbian, Bulgarian or Greek land here, they should not have waited for us to die in the mountains but should have liberated Macedonia with their armies; only then they could have demanded Serbia, Bulgarian or Greek land here... Blazhe Krusheski DA SSID - Fond Izvrshnog odbora Srpske narodne organizacije F-6 (1906) 1912 A.V. Amfiteatrov: Macedonia ...Following the Russian war, Turkey of the old regime finally turned into a "sick man", and the heirs of the executors of the expected will gathered around his death-bed. The future destiny of Macedonia came to depend not as much on the will of Turkey itself as on the sympathies of the European guardians. In the 19th century Europe learned through Germany, Italy and Greece to consider the right to national self-determination a little. Thus, all the states and countries bordering on Macedonia have started intensive propaganda in favor of their nationalities, as it were a race or along jump for an award. They have taken care, as much as they have means and power, to persuade Europe by truth and lies, that allegedly the national self-determination of the Macedonian inclines in their favor, and not in favor of the neighboring nation. In this respect the Bulgarians proved more swift the their rivals. In order to make Macedonia Bulgarian, they had to Bulgarize the Macedonians. Thus, following the Bulgaro-Serbian War of 1885, the greatest powers and considerable sacrifices of the Bulgarian state apparatus were given to the Bulgarization of the Macedonian Slavs. Bulgarian agents were the priests and the teachers; the

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What Banjo should I buy? - Multiple-part Question? I'm interested in attempting to learn the banjo, though I don't know if I want to learn clawhammer/frailing or bluegrass-style. Not wanting to spend too much $$, I went to a local pawn shop where they had one banjo (a Chinese-made Madrain, that had a resonator attached. It came w/ a hard case, a pitch pipe, new GHS strings, and a few picks. The guy said he 'could let it go for $250' - (down from $275). The instrument was obviously used, but frets, head, neck, etc. all checked out visually (no cracks, no warping). 5th string tuner was friction, so I might have an issue there. I've heard that clawhammer is a bit easier to master than Scruggs-style, but does that require an open-back banjo? I'm primarily going to be teaching myself, so if I lose interest, I don't want to be out too much. Any thoughts on this 'smokin' deal'? Any ideas as to music to listen to to compare the two playing styles? Finally, any recommended books/DVD's to purchase to aid this flight of fantasy? I also went to a music store where they had an open-back Epiphone w/ a geared 5th string tuner. It was a nice little banjo for the money. I know open-backs are a bit quieter than those w/ resonators, as well as being lighter. This one only comes with a gigbag. How would this compare to the above? If I do decide to try learning, I'm leaning a bit more towards the new Epiphone. Further thoughts?

Obama agrees with anti-White,anti-Jewish Rev. Wright?or else why not leave that church? Does Obama share the anti-Jewish, anti-White radical ideas of his Rev. Wright? or does he lack the guts and moral jusgement to be a leader, because he stayed with that church 20 years??? Obama had lost my vote and those of my friends. We shall vote Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania primary and please tell others to do so also, or else we shall go McCain if this Obama wins and endangers USA future... Here are some reasons for my change of vote, do you think my choice and edecision is correct? Should we go and tell others not to vote Obama too in order to save America? Is this issue on Barack Hussein Obama's pastor of 20 years a legitimate concern on his character and truthfulness and moral fitness to be leafer, enough reason for me in my decision now to switch my vote from Obama to Hillary Clinton in the coming Pennsylvannia primary? Vote Hillary Clinton, or else I will vote John McCain? Is this character flaw, or does it possibly imply that Obama harbors anti-American, anti-White, anti-Jewish sentiments similar to his racist radical imam of 20 years Rev. Wright and Obama supporters Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam group and Jessee Jackson? Clinton would have left Obama's church By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer Tue Mar 25, 5:53 PM ET Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday she would have left the church that Barack Obama attends if her minister had talked about America the way Obama's pastor has. Clinton's comments to reporters marked a clear shift in her handling of the Obama church controversy, which she had generally avoided until now. Some Democrats see Obama's refusal to dissociate himself from the Chicago church and its recently retired minister, Jeremiah Wright, as his stickiest campaign challenge so far. "I think that given all we have heard and seen, he would not have been my pastor," Clinton said at a news conference in Greensburg, Pa., after being asked if Obama should have left the church. She declined to say what Obama should have done, or whether the subject is now a legitimate topic for her appeals to Democratic superdelegates, the party leaders who will decide whether she or Obama will be the presidential nominee. Over the years, Wright has preached fiery sermons to his predominantly black congregation in which he shouted "God damn America" for its treatment of minorities. He has said the U.S. government invented AIDS to destroy "people of color." He also suggested that U.S. policies in the Middle East and elsewhere were partly responsible for the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Videos of the remarks have circulated widely on the Internet and news programs. In a highly publicized speech last week, Obama sharply condemned Wright's remarks and the preacher's refusal to acknowledge progress in race relations. But the Illinois senator refused to repudiate his longtime spiritual mentor, saying he could no more disown Wright than he could disown his white grandmother. Clinton was ready for the question at her news conference, and read much of her response from notes, unlike her handling of other questions. "We don't have a choice when it comes to our relatives," she said. "We have a choice when it comes to our pastors and the churches we attend. Everyone will have to decide these matters for themselves. They are obviously very personal matters." If Wright were her pastor, she said, "the choice would be clear." Emphasizing that she was saying only how she would have dealt with a minister such as Wright, Clinton added: "I don't think that's negative." Her comments closely tracked those she had made earlier in the day in an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. She and Obama are competing for votes in Pennsylvania's April 22 primary. Clinton indirectly compared Wright's comments to those of radio shock-jock Don Imus, who lost his job as a prominent program's host after making a racial slur about the Rutgers women's' basketball team. Clinton noted that she condemned Imus in a speech at Rutgers. "I said it was time for standing up for what is right, for saying enough is enough," she said of the speech. "While we of course must protect our right to freedom of expression, it should not be used as a license to demean or humiliate our fellow citizens."

Some of you wanted to know how illegals affect us? personally???? Here is ONE example!!!!!!!!!!!!! Catastrophe in Care Hospitals are being crippled by the costs of treating migrants--and that could be just the start of an immigrant-related health crisis By LEO W. BANKS Leo W. Banks One of the many signs on the Naco Highway. Leo W. Banks "It's not unusual to have one UDA (undocumented alien) cost $5,000, and we know we're not going to get that back," says Josie Mincher, emergency room manager at Copper Queen Hospital. Leo W. Banks "Until we have comprehensive immigration reform, we need to bear the health-care costs for undocumented workers, whatever those costs are," says Rev. Tom Buechele. If you drive along Southern Arizona's border with Mexico long enough, you might see a lone illegal wandering the desert. Or maybe he's hunched at the roadside sipping water from his milk jug. What's he doing there, and where are his compatriots, the people he broke into the country with? The uninformed might ask those questions, but those who live with the daily invasion across our open borders can make a pretty good guess what's happening. The fellow got bounced from his group by the coyote-guide. Two transgressions will get an illegal cut loose with certainty: Either he can't pay, or he shows signs of tuberculosis. You think these coyotes are fools? They don't want some hollow-eyed lunger hacking and coughing blood on them. So it's adios, pal, and now you're America's problem. But they know that already. Every illegal realizes that if he makes it to an emergency room in Southern Arizona, or anywhere around the country for that matter, he can get treatment, free of charge. It's federal law, and has been for 20 years. In its evolution, the policy has become a kind of federal health insurance program for illegals, and its rising costs are eating up resources that could otherwise go to poor and uninsured American citizens. It has created a financial nightmare for border hospitals and contributed to cutbacks in services at Tucson hospitals. Is this an outrage? A scandal? Some think it's both. But going back to our active TB sufferer, here's something even worse: The guy can't get treatment anywhere, goes underground and takes a job at a restaurant in Tucson or L.A., and coughs his way to infecting scores of others. Talk about a Hobson's choice. But as with everything in the ongoing crisis of illegal immigration, the hard choices would largely evaporate if the federal government fulfilled its constitutional duty and took control of our border. The threat illegal immigration poses to American public health plays out every day at Arizona's hospitals. Until recently, the issue remained only marginally public, a problem medical people batted around among themselves, not with the media. Even today, several hospitals contacted for this story declined comment. The Copper Queen Hospital in Bisbee, one of the hardest hit, helped break that barrier when CEO Jim Dickson began returning reporters' calls, even though the subject, as he puts it, has become "like the third rail. You don't want to touch it." But his problem had grown severe. Dickson's uncompensated costs for treating illegals rose from $35,000 in 1999 to $450,000 in 2004. His total shortfall now sits at about $1.4 million, a hefty deficit for a 14-bed hospital. To make ends meet, he had to close, in June 2000, the Copper Queen's long-term care facility, and cut back on staff and hours, forcing some employees to take second jobs to survive. The hospital has seen a ray of light, however. In the first months of 2005, the Copper Queen has gone back into surplus, in part because more illegals are in Border Patrol custody when brought in to the hospital. That means the Border Patrol must reimburse the Queen for the cost. In the past, agents would drop injured illegals not in their custody at the ER and take off, sticking the hospital with bills that never got paid. Another reason for the decrease, says Dickson: the Minuteman Project. "It's been terrific for us in April," he says, cutting down on the number of people coming across and therefore the number requiring ER treatment. Dickson says the hospital wrote off about $6,000 in losses in April this year, compared to about $35,000 in April 2004. The central issue, though, remains in place--the hospital has had to scale back health services to American citizens to treat illegals. Bisbee isn't alone. The most comprehensive study on the subject found that 24 counties in four states bordering Mexico wracked up $190 million in unpaid emergency medical bills caring for illegals in the year 2000. The study, commissioned by the U.S.-Mexico Border Counties Coalition, found that California spent $79 million of that; Texas, $74 million; Arizona, $31 million; and New Mexico, $6 million. Bear in mind that these numbers, the best available, are from 2000. We can assume, with increasing rates of crossings since then, the costs are considerably higher today. Nor do the above figures take into account non-border counties. Treating illegals in Maricopa County costs as much as $50 million a year, according to an estimate used by Republican Sen. Jon Kyl. Nationally, American hospitals lose $1.45 billion a year. The Medicare reform bill passed in 2003 allocated $1 billion to reimburse states for federally mandated ER care given to illegals--about $45 million a year of that to come to Arizona over four years. But even that, some hospital staffers say, is little more than a Band-Aid on a huge problem. Ruth Kish, director of patient care services at Copper Queen, expects that under the repayment formula, her hospital will receive only 10 cents of every dollar they spend on illegals. "But every bit helps," says Kish. Another factor: The counties in the above-mentioned study spent an additional $13 million in 2000 on emergency transportation, such as helicopters and ambulances, to pick up illegals injured after sneaking across the line. The Bisbee Fire Department's ambulance responds to about one of these calls a day during the summer, says Chief Jack Earnest. Asked how many of these patients pay up, Earnest wasn't sure, and recommended contacting the billing office in Sierra Vista. The billing office knew exactly how often illegals pay their ambulance bills--never. But there's another category--Mexicans injured in Mexico who call American ambulances for help. By federal law, they have to respond, which makes Bisbee's Copper Queen the trauma center of choice for Sonora's northern frontier. The calls come from Naco, Sonora, the town across the line just south of Bisbee, where, in spite of widespread poverty, cell phones are popular, and everybody knows the Americans are bound by law to treat them. "When we get a call we go, and we don't ask where the person's from," says Earnest. Naco residents needing care go to the port of entry and declare an emergency to American officials. When they're waved through, they're transported to the Copper Queen's ER in Bisbee's ambulance, or they drive themselves in private cars. The policy is called Compassionate Entry, and it applies to hospitals up and down the line. The Copper Queen averages about five such cases a month. Some abuse the privilege, says ER Manager Josie Mincher. She's seen Compassionate Entries with bad sore throats and others who aren't sick at all. One pregnant girl landed in the ER recently complaining of morning sickness. Most are seriously sick, though, and the staff rushes to help, "because that's what we do," says Mincher. But it doesn't take much to blow the budget. "Just walking in the door is $400," says Mincher. "It's not unusual to have one UDA (undocumented alien) cost $5,000, and we know we're not going to get that back. We're playing with monopoly money here." Here's an example of how one patient can wrack up a huge bill: A young Mexican man had a bad auto accident across the line and was taken to Douglas' Southeast Arizona Medical Center with severe neurological problems. After being stabilized there, he was transferred to Barrow's Neurological Center in Phoenix. He spent a costly month there, courtesy of the Center, and was transferred--with a tracheotomy tube in his throat and supplies to clean it, also provided gratis by Barrow's--to a hospital in Hermosillo. That facility kept him less than a day before releasing him to his home in Naco. But for reasons no one can explain, the Hermosillo hospital kept his trach kit and cleaning supplies. As a result, he became septic--a bad infection--and came through the Naco port under Compassionate Entry to the Copper Queen. He spent three days there, then the staff sent him off, with more free supplies, to a clinic in Agua Prieta for continued care. How much did this fellow cost the American health care system? A figure of a quarter-million dollars would surprise no one. Cost to the Copper Queen? Almost $6,000, and they got none of it back. Northern Cochise Community Hospital is in Willcox, far enough from the border that it doesn't get patients crossing the line for health care. But that doesn't mean it escapes the invasion. CEO Chris Cronberg loses about $100,000 a year caring for illegals, mostly those injured in traffic accidents when their loaded vehicle flips while speeding north. "It's not make or break for us," says Cronberg. "But as a small hospital, we depend on cash, and those are dollars that aren't coming in, so it has an impact." The same is true at Sierra Vista Regional Health Center, according to Vice President Marie Wurth. She expects the hospital to lose $250,000 this year treating those who jump the line, get hurt doing it and don't pay their bills. The big squeeze is on in Tucson, too. Tucson Medical Center loses an estimated $4 million every year treating illegals. The corresponding figure at UMC, which includes some foreign nationals, was $3.5 million for fiscal 2004, a $2 million increase from the previous year. Part of that is attributable to UMC, in July 2003, becoming Tucson's only Level One trauma center, meaning it saw the most serious cases. Chief Financial Officer Kevin Burns says the hospital's re-payment rate for treating illegals is about 5 cents on the dollar. "It's very expensive for us and continues to grow," says Burns, who says many illegals, as well as uninsured Americans, use his ER like a primary care physician. "We hear anecdotally that people come here from across the border because they know they can get cared for, and if they present at the ER, they can get that care at no cost." The federal law that put the hospitals on the hook for the medical bills of illegals goes by the acronym EMTALA--Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. It says that anybody who shows up in an ER must get screened, treated and stabilized, regardless of citizenship or ability to pay. But since its passage in 1985, the definition of emergency has evolved to include just about anything, and because Congress didn't fund the requirement, hospitals have had to eat the costs as word has spread that the federal goodie wagon is parked at the ER door. In cities with huge illegal populations, such as Los Angeles, the effects have been disastrous. In its spring 2005 issue, the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons reported that between 1993 and 2003, 60 California hospitals closed because, for several reasons including EMTALA, half of their services became unpaid. Another 24 are near closing, says author Madeleine Pelner Cosman. She also writes that in 1983, before EMTALA, L.A. County put together a trauma network that was "one of America's finest emergency med response organizations." A mere 22 years later--again, in part because of EMTALA--Cosman says the system is coming apart, with most trauma hospitals having left the network, along with physicians, surgeons and others. The law has caused a similar situation in Tucson, on a smaller scale. "With EMTALA, the government created an unfunded national health insurance program, and it has caused real problems in this community," says Dr. Herb McReynolds, who works for a company that manages the ER department for St. Mary's Hospital, which treats a large number of illegals. Lawmakers wrote the legislation to prevent patient dumping--in which one hospital refuses to accept, say, an uninsured woman in labor, telling ambulance personnel to take her to the county hospital instead. It stopped that practice. But it has caused a big increase in the amount of un-reimbursed care that hospitals provide, and in McReynolds' words, "made physicians rethink their careers and lifestyles." "The price of it has come over time, because after so much uncompensated care, it forces physicians off our call list," says McReynolds. "Physicians have a practice to go to the next day and a family, and ask themselves, do I really want to be up at 2 a.m. providing care when I won't get comp, and I can still get sued?" Some docs have removed themselves from on-call lists by going to work at outpatient surgical centers not affiliated with a hospital. Others stay on call, but limit the amount of time they're available. A neurosurgeon might take call one day a week, and that satisfies the law. EMTALA says that you must provide a reasonable amount of coverage, without being strict or specific about how much that is. McReynolds says that EMTALA--in tandem with the malpractice crisis--has caused the loss of medical coverage at many hospitals around the country and in Tucson, including St. Mary's. "Several years ago we had five neurosurgeons on staff here, and now we have two," he says. "We had hand surgery coverage every day, and now we have it one week a month. We used to have full ob-gyn coverage, and now they've left and gone to TMC. We have no ob-gyn and one gynecologist on staff covering emergencies one day a week." With docs all over Tucson running for cover, trying to stay off call and away from ERs, the variety of emergency health care available to Tucsonans has seriously diminished. And here's the most maddening irony of all: The feds now reimburse American hospitals for treating non-paying illegals, but not for treating American citizens. Exception: Those eligible for care under Federal Emergency Services, a fairly restrictive program. For a year and a half now, UMC has approached non-paying illegals in a novel way--it actually reports them to immigration officials. "Some people find that cold, but we have a responsibility to protect this charitable asset (hospital)," says CFO Burns, adding that UMC's status as a public entity requires a different approach. "Our belief is that to the extent people have ability to pay, we expect them to." After triaging and stabilizing an ER patient, the hospital sets out to learn who that patient is, and how he or she plans to pay. To those who are uninsured and underinsured, the hospital offers the option of applying for its innovative Charity Care program. Under it, the hospital charges the patient the same rate it would receive for that service from Medicare, a possible reduction of up to 70 percent. Patients unable to pay at that discounted rate are eligible for further discounts that can tear up the bill entirely. To apply for Charity Care, the patient need only return to the hospital with a W-2 or other documents. Those who cooperate and return with the required documents don't get reported to the feds. But the hospital does report those who take the medical care and run. How many illegals cooperate with this generous offer? Ten percent. Burns says UMC began reporting the 90 percent who don't pay in November of 2003. So far, they've reported 565 persons. Why start reporting? "Maybe a bit of it was born of frustration because people use our resources and make no effort to work with us and pay," he says. "Even if part of the population doesn't pay, I still have to hire new people and buy and upgrade equipment, which costs $15-$20 million a year. When you have these strains on resources, from foreign citizens and as well as Medicaid patients, you have to manage cash flow very carefully." As with most issues related to the illegal invasion, those who live along the Mexican border, the scene of the crime, have the best view. Where health issues are concerned, it's not a pretty sight. Residents say they've come across ground dotted with discarded pills, syringes containing nobody knows what, and used needles. Some report riding horses along creek beds, popular pull-up areas for groups heading north, and finding 70 or 80 piles of human feces, some of it blackened and running with blood. It's as disgraceful as it is disgusting--and it raises a question: What happens when rain washes all this into the water supply? Is it a threat to spread diseases such as hepatitis? Some believe it might be. What happens when cows drink from these contaminated creeks? And what happens when this constant flow of Third World humanity goes north, fanning out all across Arizona and the country? What kind of diseases do they bring with them? ER workers like Mincher live with that question every day. "We protect ourselves best we can," she says, "but if somebody comes in with a contagious disease, I might as well buy the farm, because I don't know what it is. A lot of times, they don't know what they have either. If they came off a ranch in southern Mexico, they've had no immunizations, no health care, nothing." Most of what she sees at Copper Queen--around 75 percent--is orthopedic, falls suffered while jumping fences, for instance. Dehydration, too. Some of these are pregnant women nine months along, who, in Mincher's words, "are so desperate to have their babies born in the U.S., they'll do whatever it takes." She sees cardiac-related cases among illegals who've been given crack, methamphetamine or speed by their coyote so they can keep walking. But she's also treated illegals with active chicken pox, tuberculosis, all varieties of hepatitis and AIDS. The Web and print media are full of stories about the diseases illegals carry, and their effect on American health. But some writers make alarming claims with sketchy evidence at best. In the cases of two diseases, however--Chagas and tuberculosis--the evidence is clearer that they're indeed coming across our border. Chagas, a potentially fatal illness spread by contact with the feces of the reduviid bug, called the "kissing bug," is prevalent in South and Central America. Fifteen million people in that region are infected with the parasite, and 50,000 die of it every year, according to the World Health Organization. A person can be infected for 10 or 20 years or more before showing symptoms, making it particularly insidious. At its most severe, the disease can cause the heart to fail, and literally explode. In the United States? Louis Kirchhoff, of the University of Iowa Medical School, estimates that between 80,000 and 120,000 Latin Americans with Chagas live here. Matching prevalence studies and immigration numbers, Kirchhoff figures about 10 Chagas-infected persons entered every day from Mexico alone in the 1990s. The disease can be transmitted four ways, but for Americans, the most worrisome is the blood supply. In the United States overall, the chance of contracting Chagas from a blood transfusion is small, one in 25,000, according to David Leiby, a research scientist at the American Red Cross in Washington. But in cities with high populations from Latin America, the numbers fall to much riskier levels. In Miami, for example, the chance is one on 9,000. In L.A., 1 in 5,400. Researchers have confirmed seven cases of people contracting Chagas through blood transfusions--five in the U.S., two in Canada--and they say the number of unknown cases is probably much higher. "A rate of one in 5,400 is something we're concerned about," says Leiby, adding that the FDA is still a few years away from a useable blood-screening test. "Chagas is overlooked by the health care system in the United States. Our physicians aren't aware of it and wouldn't recognize it in most cases." Tuberculosis, which also shows up in high rates in Mexico, is migrating north as well. Many assume a place like Cochise County, right on the border and overrun by illegals, would have a high incidence of TB. But it doesn't, says Edith Sampson, of the Cochise County Health Department. "The immigrants only pass through here on the way to Atlanta, or whatever city they're going to," she says. Exactly the problem--which is a big reason why 53 percent of the TB in the United States in 2003 was among foreign-born persons, up from 29 percent in 1993, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In L.A., again because of its huge illegal population, the figure is closer to 80 percent. Only 15,000 Americans suffer from active TB, the only dangerous kind because it can be passed to someone else, usually by coughing and expelling the bacteria from the throat or lungs. That's a small number, but the New York Academy of Sciences estimates that each victim will "infect 10 or 20 or more people--in whom the disease will likely remain latent, creating the potential time-bomb effect." The State Health Department says that Arizona had 295 reported cases of active TB in 2003, a jump from the previous year. Why the increase? More of the disease was found among kids under 5 years old and prisoners. The latter were mostly Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees--in other words, illegals. Sixty-eight percent of Arizona's foreign-born TB cases are from Mexico, says state health. Will TB return to the United States in a big way? It hasn't yet, says Lee Reichman, executive director of the New Jersey Medical School's National Tuberculosis Center. But he adds that with globalization--the ability to get around the world in 20 hours--and because "we can't stop people from getting in to this country, no matter how hard we try," the potential exists for a new epidemic. His particular concern is with multi-drug-resistant TB, fatal in 60 percent of cases. This strain requires a long regimen of costly drugs that illegals are unlikely to take, or have access to. Arizona has a small number of MDR-TB cases, and all of them in the past five years have been among foreign-born persons. "The reason you haven't heard about TB here is that good public health is working," says Reichman. "People who are symptomatic go to physicians, and the physicians don't ask questions. As soon as you have to ID yourself, or say we're going to send you back to Mexico, these people go into hiding and spread more TB. Any physician who cares about being a physician isn't going to ask those questions, because he took an oath to treat sick people." The Copper Queen's Rush Kish says that under Medicare reimbursement guides, her hospital cannot ask patients if they are in the country illegally. But how do you bill the feds to get money back for treating illegals if you can't ask if someone is illegal? Well, you play a little Orwellian word game, probing around the issue with a list of government-approved questions, then make educated assumptions. But the illegal holds the trump card, because he can refuse to answer every question. "We don't know yet what evidence Medicare will accept when we apply for reimbursement," says Kish. "But at least we can begin documenting the enormity of this problem." The question isn't whether those with genuine emergencies should get treatment. Of course they should. In Naco, residents have no access to ER care and many would die if they didn't get to the Copper Queen. The real question is: Who pays? Rev. Tom Buechele, pastor at St. John's Episcopal Church in Bisbee, thinks it's appropriate for the federal government to keep ponying up, as long as American companies "maintain their illegal trafficking in human labor." "Until we have comprehensive immigration reform, we need to bear the health-care costs for undocumented workers, whatever those costs are," says Buechele, who, for almost a year now, has been running a free monthly clinic in Naco, Arizona, catering to the poor and uninsured on both sides of the line. Although they talk a different language, politicians, even Republicans, promote policies that further Buechele's liberal vision. They boast to constituents that they've saved border hospitals by pushing through the Medicare reimbursement plan, which provides a relatively small amount of money over four years. But that's another Hobson's choice, which is to say no choice at all. What do you do, let hospitals go under? Kyl, who pushed to get the reimbursement money, says an emphatic no. "If we want those ERs to be there for us, then we'd better keep them in business," says the Arizona senator. "If our hospitals are required by federal law to treat anybody who comes into the ER, and the federal government has failed to control the border, then it's appropriate for the government to reimburse these hospitals." But some argue that the system as it stands now, with EMTALA firmly in place, is rigged to produce two results: The federal treasury will remain wide open to illegals, and that all but guarantees that more and more of them will bust the line to get here. After all, this is the end of the rainbow for them, where jobs await, education is free, health care is free. Who wouldn't come? And the more they come, the more American health suffers--from such diseases as Chagas and TB, further cutbacks in hospital services to American citizens, and even possible closures. Where's the compassion in that? Copper Queen ER nurse Josie Mincher, herself Hispanic, puts her health, and possibly her life, on the line to treat illegals. Listen to the emotion in her voice as she describes what that's like: "I go to work every day feeling like I'm on a torture wrack. My heartstrings get pulled in one direction by these sick people I want to help. Because I'm Hispanic, I know how they live. And I'm pulled in the other direction, too, thinking that if our hospitals aren't around, where do I take my own kids? "But we have to treat them because of EMTALA. It says that anybody who comes within 250 yards of an ER gets treatment. What would happen to Safeway if the law said anyone who comes within 250 yards of the store gets free food? They'd go out of business. Well, we're a business, too." Mincher's solution? "Send the bills to Mexico. If it affected them financially, they might do something about all these people coming across. My grandparents came here legally, and it took a long time and a lot of money. They respected the law. These people just walk across now. They weren't brought up the same way." Burns at UMC says he wants the U.S. and Mexican governments to work together to find a solution. But, as Kyl cautions, don't expect any breakthrough soon. Mexico benefits far too much from our illegal immigration nightmare--in jobs for its citizens and cash sent home--to step up with money to care for its own people. Until the border brought under control and the invasion stopped, we'll continue to pay the bills of people who illegally tiptoed across the line in the dead of night. This is an article from the Arizona Repuiblic newspaper, NOT something i "made up"!!!! If you don't believe me, LOOK IT UP FOR YOURSELF!!! It's on-line, if you look under Copper Queen hospital!!! And for those of you that can not take the time to READ this article, i can SEE why you are so UNINFORMED on this issue!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Did we lie about pearl harbor? Barack Obama's impetuous minister says the U.S. government lies about virtually everything. He refers to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as "Uncle Clarence," claims he sexually abused Anita Hill and calls the Supreme Court a "closet Klan court" that he says was "stacked" by "Daddy Bush," Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford." He says the U.S. lied about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the CIA jailed Nelson Mandela and that the U.S. government created AIDS to commit genocide against Blacks. http://election.newsmax.com/wright_govlied.html?s=al&promo_code=4A0D-1 And did the Italians kill jesus? Barack Obama's impetuous pastor compares U.S. Marines to Romans who he calls "Italians" and says they persecuted Jesus. http://election.newsmax.com/wright_army.html?s=al&promo_code=4A0D-1 now it seems to me that this is what the rev always preaches so how could obama not hear any of these sermons? someone is sure lying

Why are people jumping on KSA so easily? I see these questions regarding the eight years old girl. Guess it got a lot of attention. Well, I personally do not agree with this at all - but - why are so many people are "jumping" on KSA? First of all, no harm is done to this girl. Are you people aware (and I know that many Indians will read this), that in some parts of India little girls are married to trees and dogs (don't know why, but it's a fact). Do you know why it's forbidden in India to tell expecting parents the gender of the child? Because many of them would have an abortion if it's a girl. Do you know how many baby girls in China are just thrown on the streets to die just because they are girls? Do you know how many Asian parents sell their virgin daughters and little boys to perverts? Never heard about sex tourism? Do you know how many Africans think having sex with a baby or virgin will cure Aids? Do you know in how many countries girls still got circumcised. You do not have to go far. Just go to Sudan or Egypt. But - if anything happens in KSA people do not agree with, there is an outcry and the whole country gets blamed and dammend. Compared to all the above mentioned, this eight years old girl is doing fine by still being with her mother and giving the option of a divorce turning 18 years old. Like I said before, I do not agree with this kind of marriage, but there are worse cases than this. In Saudi Arabia these things happens seldom, while it happens daily that Asian minors are sold to foreign perverts. Whenever a question about KSA is asked which is not visa, tourism or living costs related, it's something negative. and mostly something which happens only once in a while in some rual area. It would be nice if these askers would clean their own door steps before getting into another country's business. Would like to know your opinions. Thanks in advance, edit MOHAMMED YOU: That's my opinion and that's why I can say this. Simple.

Will the liberal media report this success in Iraq?

Listen to what the armed forces have to say about Iraq.? Soldiers’ Voices Listen to what the armed forces have to say about Iraq. Operation Arrowhead Ripper, as the latest American offensive is called, has successfully swept into al Qaeda-infested Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad, killing and capturing hundreds of terrorists. The battles in Iraq and Afghanistan time and time again have resulted in significant, but often untold military successes. Realities on the ground often go unnoticed or under-appreciated. The American soldier has often lacked a voice to articulate his mission and his successes amidst the cacophony of defeat in Congress and public opinion polls. I invited warriors to weigh in with their perspectives, interviewing hundreds of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, many on the battlefields of Iraq. Together, their interviews constitute much of War Crimes: The Left’s Campaign to Destroy the Military and Lose the War on Terror. And the picture they paint of their fellow citizens at home is anything but rosy. “Every day, the enemy changes…only now, the enemy is becoming something new. The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists to Americans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend with our lives. And they do not realize it. But in denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we live and fight, they are isolating the military from society…and they are becoming our enemy. Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the Internet…and there is no outrage but an American soldier kills an Iraqi in the midst of battle, and there are investigations, and sometimes soldiers are even jailed…for doing their job…It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this.” —Sergeant Eddie Jeffers, U.S. Army “Some of the American public have no idea how much freedom costs and who the people are that pay that awful price. I think sometimes people just see us as nameless and faceless and not really as humans…A good portion of us are actually scared that when we come home, for those of us who make it back, that there will be protesters waiting for us and that is scary.”—-Specialist Jason Gilson, U.S. Army “What angers and hurts me as a soldier is that they parade their anti-war views in the face of my brothers and sisters who are recovering from the same battlefield that I fought on and am still fighting on as I type this e-mail. Is there no honor or dignity left in the antiwar movement? Do they have no shame? Do they have no integrity? Do they have no heart? Do they have no soul? I can answer that with a simple no! How can they say they support the troops but protest where they try to recover from war? You interviewed one gentleman, and I use that term loosely, who stated ‘If I was injured I would want someone to speak for me like this.’ Well let me tell him something, we do not want you to speak for us and we do not need you to speak for us!” —Sergeant Mark Leach, U.S. Army “Compared to the shock of the instant, violent death of a squad-mate standing right next to me or the excitement of a child looking at my uniform, the constant barrage of partisan politics, runaway brides and the activities of Paris Hilton seem utterly devoid of importance. I have marines slowly recuperating at hospitals in San Francisco, Washington, Bethesda and San Diego. Who is telling their stories?” —Captain Rory Quinn, U.S. Marines “We daily see the gross distortions. We can’t recognize the caricatures they [the media] scratch out, neither in our fellow soldiers, nor on the battleground. I know they claim to be objective but really they’re nothing more than accomplices in the face of this evil.” —First Sergeant Jeff Nuding, U.S. Army “The troops’ number-one frustration has consistently been the media reporting. The way the press mishandled Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo had a tremendous negative effect on us. It inflamed the Iraqis at a time when we were making great progress in their support and willingness to help.”——Major Eric Egland, U.S. Air Force “We are at war, Representative Murtha, and your actions and conduct give aid and comfort to our enemies…You have dishonored all of those who have fought and died up to the day you stood on the floor of the House of Representatives and demanded that we withdraw immediately. Representative Murtha, you have given aid and comfort to our enemies in a time of war. You have given them hope, which they have fast been losing, due to all of the victories and sacrifice by our sons and daughters on the field of battle in Iraq and Afghanistan. You have been honored by our enemies on the front page of Al Jazeera. . . ” —Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Stark, U.S. Army Listen to these voices. Listen to their clarity and purpose. Have you heard anything lately from Washington, D.C., or in the mainstream media nearly as cogent? As with all wars, America’s fate resides in the hands of the vocal elite manning the editorial desks, congressional offices, and studio back lots. As we approach the birthday of our independence, let us add another voice to the dialogue: the uniformed men and women who, then as now, granted and preserved our freedom. Our way of life is at stake, as is the plight of 25 million Iraqis. Shouldn’t we listen?

You know you are a Pakistani when....? * Your house smells like fried onions. * When you tell your parents you got 98% marks in an exam, and they ask you what happened to the other two percent. * You make tea in a saucepan. * You never buy bin bags, but use your saved grocery bags for it. * You put your clothes in suitcases instead of wardrobes. * You have a 'Singer' sewing machine at home. * Your mother has a minor disagreement with her sister and doesn't talk to her for ten years. * You call an older person you've never met before "uncle". * You hide everything from your parents. * Your mother does everything for you if you are male. * Your relatives alone could populate a small city. * Everyone is a family friend. * You were not that intelligent so you studied computer science or Business instead. * You know no one who has studied music. * You went to a university as far away from home as possible. * You still came back home to live with your parents after you had finished. * You like the meat well done. * You eat onions with everything. * You use chilli sauce instead of tomato ketchup. * You fight over who pays the dinner bill. * You say you hate Indian films(/songs) but secretly watch(/hear) them with your parents. * You order Pakistani food in English language to impress the people you're with but the waiters don't understand you. * You avoid public places when with a member of the opposite sex. * You secure your baggage with a rope. * You get very upset when airlines refuse to accept your luggage which is just 80 lbs. overweight. * You go back to your parents' country and people treat you like a member of the royal family. * You ask your dad a simple question and he tells you story of how he had to walk miles just to get to school. * You are ALWAYS taking off and putting on your shoes wherever you go. * In addition to cooking, you also use oil as a grooming aid. * You have annoying nicknames. * Your parents call all your friends "Beta". (beta=son, beti=daughter) * Your mother measures wealth only in gold and diamonds. * Your parents push the concept of an arranged marriage on you and try to demonstrate how well it works whenever they're not fighting. * Your parents compare you to all of their friends' kids. * If you are living abroad, at least once a week your mom says, "I want to go back to Pakistan". * No one ever seems to call ahead of time to say they are coming over for a visit. * Your parents worry what other people will think if you're not going to be a DOCTOR or ENGINEER. * While living abroad, your parents always say, "It's cheaper in Pakistan.” Amy - if you understood the Pakistani culture then you'd surely find this amusing.

Is character a good reason for me to switch my vote from Obama to Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvannia? Is this issue on Barack Hussein Obama's pastor of 20 years a legitimate concern on his character and truthfulness and moral fitness to be leafer, enough reason for me in my decision now to switch my vote from Obama to Hillary Clinton in the coming Pennsylvannia primary? Vote Hillary Clinton, or else I will vote John McCain? Is this character flaw, or does it possibly imply that Obama harbors anti-American, anti-White, anti-Jewish sentiments similar to his racist radical imam of 20 years Rev. Wright and Obama supporters Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam group and Jessee Jackson? Clinton would have left Obama's church By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer Tue Mar 25, 5:53 PM ET Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday she would have left the church that Barack Obama attends if her minister had talked about America the way Obama's pastor has. Clinton's comments to reporters marked a clear shift in her handling of the Obama church controversy, which she had generally avoided until now. Some Democrats see Obama's refusal to dissociate himself from the Chicago church and its recently retired minister, Jeremiah Wright, as his stickiest campaign challenge so far. "I think that given all we have heard and seen, he would not have been my pastor," Clinton said at a news conference in Greensburg, Pa., after being asked if Obama should have left the church. She declined to say what Obama should have done, or whether the subject is now a legitimate topic for her appeals to Democratic superdelegates, the party leaders who will decide whether she or Obama will be the presidential nominee. Over the years, Wright has preached fiery sermons to his predominantly black congregation in which he shouted "God damn America" for its treatment of minorities. He has said the U.S. government invented AIDS to destroy "people of color." He also suggested that U.S. policies in the Middle East and elsewhere were partly responsible for the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Videos of the remarks have circulated widely on the Internet and news programs. In a highly publicized speech last week, Obama sharply condemned Wright's remarks and the preacher's refusal to acknowledge progress in race relations. But the Illinois senator refused to repudiate his longtime spiritual mentor, saying he could no more disown Wright than he could disown his white grandmother. Clinton was ready for the question at her news conference, and read much of her response from notes, unlike her handling of other questions. "We don't have a choice when it comes to our relatives," she said. "We have a choice when it comes to our pastors and the churches we attend. Everyone will have to decide these matters for themselves. They are obviously very personal matters." If Wright were her pastor, she said, "the choice would be clear." Emphasizing that she was saying only how she would have dealt with a minister such as Wright, Clinton added: "I don't think that's negative." Her comments closely tracked those she had made earlier in the day in an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. She and Obama are competing for votes in Pennsylvania's April 22 primary. Clinton indirectly compared Wright's comments to those of radio shock-jock Don Imus, who lost his job as a prominent program's host after making a racial slur about the Rutgers women's' basketball team. Clinton noted that she condemned Imus in a speech at Rutgers. "I said it was time for standing up for what is right, for saying enough is enough," she said of the speech. "While we of course must protect our right to freedom of expression, it should not be used as a license to demean or humiliate our fellow citizens."

Could ethanol hurt america? The nation's demand for ethanol is not even close to its peak, and yet we are already experiences shortages in supply. This means as a nation, we will have an insatiable demand for corn. Think about how much people want gas. Should we use our food as fuel? Is the lower price of gas worth a higher price in almost all other food items. All corn products, cereal, cornbread,and tons of other food has corn as a filler. Plus lifestock and poultry are fed with corn, so meat and milk prices will go up. Not to mention other vegetables and produce due to the fact that farmers will need incentive not to switch their fields to corn. It seems that our food aid to other countries would take a dive, because after all we need to burn it. This wouldn't really help our image abroad. I'm not for oil, but our ethanol seems to have a lot of issues not discussed. Anyone heard anything about these problems, or do you think they are insignificant compared to our dependency on oil?

I Had to Write This..? 1. Is your Dad an astronaut? Because someone took the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes. 2. You must be tired because you've been running through my dreams all night 3. Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again? 4. Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see! 5. I know I don't look like much now, but I'm drinking milk. 6. Pardon me miss, I seem to have lost my phone number, could I borrow yours? 7. I hope you know CPR, because you take my breath away! 8. Was your dad king? He must have been to make a princess like you. 9. Were you in Boy Scouts? Because you sure have tied my heart in a knot. 10. What does it feel like to be the most beautiful girl in this room? 11. You are the reason men fall in love. 12. I'm writing a term paper on the finer things in life, and I was wondering if I could interview you. 13. If you stood in front of a mirror and held up 11 roses, you would see 12 of the most beautiful things in the world. 14. When I saw you from across the room, I passed out cold and hit my head on the floor, so I'm going to need your name and number for insurance reasons. 15. Do you want to see a picture of a beautiful person? (hold up a mirror) 16. Did it hurt when you fell out of heaven? 17. Can I borrow a quarter? I told my Mom I'd call when I met the girl of my dreams. 18. Do you have a map? I keep getting lost in your eyes. 19. Excuse me, but I think I dropped something, my jaw! 20. Hello, I'm a thief, and I'm here to steal your heart. 21. I'm new in town. Could you give me directions to your apartment? 22. If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together. 23. If I followed you home, would you keep me? 24. Was your father an alien? Because there's nothing else like you on earth! 25. Was your Dad a baker? Because you've got a nice set of buns. 26. You're like a dictionary, you add meaning to my life! 27. Hello. Cupid called. He says to tell you that he needs my heart back. 28. You remind me of a magnet, because you sure are attracting me over here! 29. If you were a laser, you'd be set on "stunning". 30. Excuse me, do you have any raisins? How about a date? 31. Hello. Are you taking any applications for a boyfriend? 32. Can I take your picture? I want Santa to know exactly what I want for Christmas. 33. Is it hot in here or is it just you? 34. Are you related to Mike Tyson? Because you knock me out. 35. If you were a burger at McDonalds, you'd be named McGourgous. 36. Your body must be a Visa, because it's everywhere I want to be. 37. How you doin? 38. Please come here, I'm desperate. 39. Didn't we go to different schools together? 40. Guy: Did you just fart? Girl: No, why? Guy: Because you just blew me away. 41. If I had a nickel for every girl as beautiful as you, I'd have five cents 42. Would you like some visene? Why? So you can see our clear future together. 43. I hear your body is made up of 75% water, man am I thirsty! 44. Do you sleep on your stomach? (No) Can I? 45. I love you, you're the best. 46. If I had a rose for every time I thought of you I'd be walking in a garden forever. 47. You're so sweet I'm getting cavities. 48. If I told you that you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me? 49. If I had a camera, I'd use the whole roll. 50. Your name must be Lucky Charms, cause you're magically delicious. 51. Baby, have you been eaten your Campbell's soup? Because you are looking Mmm, Mmm good! 52. Are you wearing lipstick? Mind if I taste it? 53. If I were bread, would you be my butter? 54. God was showing off when he made you. 55. Is your name Elmo? Because I want to tickle you all over. 56. Could you please step away from the bar? You're melting all the ice. 57. Hi, are you here to meet a nice guy/gal or will I do? 58. Aieeeah! Your eyes glow like the twin suns! 59. You fascinate me more than the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. 60. I'm The Man in Demand 61. There's a star in the sky for every time I think of you 62. Hi, I'm incredibly rich. 63. I've noticed you noticing me and I'm just giving you notice that I've noticed you! 64. Do you have a boyfriend? 65. I know somebody who likes you but if I weren't so shy, I'd tell you who. 66. Pardon me, but what pickup line works best with you? 67. Statistically speaking, the most effective pickup line of all time is "I love you". 68. You must be a parking ticket (or book), because you have fine written all over you. 69. Excuse me, do you have the time? Woman: No. Man: Well I have the time and it says I have time for you alllll the time 70. Can I dip you in chocolate? 71. Roses are red, bananas are yellow, wanna go out with me like a nice little fellow? 72. Hi, what's your name? Did you go to (put in a place) yesterday? (No) Oh right, that was in my dream. 73. I heard milk does a body good but man, how much have you been drinking? 74. If love were a drop of water, I'd be in the Atlantic Ocean. 75. If you were a tear drop, I would never cry for fear of losing you. 76. You know what I fell in? (What?) Love with you. 77. Excuse me, do you have Band-aid? I skinned my knee when I fell for you. 78. Was your Dad in the Air Force? Because you're the bomb. 79. Hi, my name is (insert your name here) 80. Life without you is like a pencil without lead, pointless. 81. I'm a genetic engineer and I need to utilize your body for a stem cell experiment. It shouldn't hurt too bad. 82. My love for you is like diarrhea; I can't hold it in. 83. I think I've seen your picture somewhere. Oh yes, it was in the dictionary under SHA-BAM! 84. You're so hot that you make the sun jealous. 85. Do you know what the square root of 81 is? (Hopefully they say nine) Oh, then you are not just another pretty face. 86. I lost my teddy bear. Can I cuddle with you instead? 87. You're so hot you melt the elastic in my underwear. 88. Hey c'mon now, I'm ugly, you're ugly, it's perfect. 89. Can I borrow your library card, because I'd like to check you out! 90. I should call the police because you're stealing my heart. 91. You're more beautiful than 100 pink flamingos on a golf course. 92. I can't wait until tomorrow. Somehow you get prettier every day. 93. If wishes came true I'd be having dinner with you tonight. 94. Girl: I'm sorry, I can't talk right now, I have a(n) (some instrument) lesson. Guy: (instrument)? I thought angels played harps. 95. Excuse me, you look sexy, what's your name? 96. If beauty were time, you'd be eternity. 97. Baby, you're so sweet, you put Hershey's out of business, and speaking of Hershey's, how about a kiss? 98. You see my friend over there? [Point to friend who sheepishly waves from afar] He wants to know if YOU think I'M cute. 99. ASL? 100. Can I have your heart? I need it to be complete and I don't feel whole without you. 101. It's never easy meeting a complete stranger, especially one as beautiful as you, without being properly introduced. But shall we try anyway? 102. Gently rub the girl's back and say, "I thought angels had wings." 103. You must be the cause of global warming. 104. I don't think a firefighter could put you out. 105. It looks like you need a man in your life. How about me? 106. Um, you have really beautiful...uh...eyes, yea. You are pretty. What I mean is...you have a nice forehead, er ah...Do you believe in when I walk by...(To yourself) Oh man, STUPID STUPID STUPID! 107. Hi, I'm Mr. Right. Someone said you were looking for me. 108. Is your name Pepsi? Because you sure are sizzling. 109. Are you a broom? Because you sure swept me off my feet. 110. If a star fell every time I thought of you, the sky would be black at night. 111. You're looking sharper than a page of Oscar Wilde witticisms that has been rolled up into a point, sprinkled with lemon juice and jabbed into someone's eye. 112. I think we should be lab partners because you and I have chemistry. 113. I don't know if it's igneous or metamorphic, but baby, you rock. 114. Did you know the distance from here (touch one side of the girl's shoulder) to here (touch other side of shoulder so your arm is around her) is the same distance from here (touch same spot last touched) to here (grab her around the waist) 115. Kiss me if I'm wrong, but don't you want to go out with me? 116. You must be Jamaican, because Jamaican me crazy. 117. I thought Veryfine only came in a bottle. 118. (Walk up to them, place an ice cube on the floor and crush it with your foot) Now that we've broken the ice, what's your name? 119. If I were a tear drop I would be born in your eyes, live on your cheeks, and die on your lips. 120. If you're here, who's running heaven? 121. Do you know Karate? Because your body is kickin' 122. I'm going to put this tear of mine in the ocean. When you find it I'll stop loving you. 123. If I were you I would go out with me. 124. Do you work for NASA? Because you're outta this world. 125. Walk up to a girl and look at the tag on the back of her shirt. When she asks what you're doing tell her your checking to see if she was made in heaven. 126. I couldn't pay attention in school (or work) today because I couldn't stop thinking about you. 127. Would you like a coolata, because you are ahota. 128. You're the marshmallows in my Lucky Charms. 129. If I ran McDonald's I'd name a sandwich after you called "The McGorgeous." 130. If I were a gardner, I'd plant your tulips next to mine. 131. Is there an airport near by or is that my heart taking off? 132. Did you hear the latest health report? You need to increase your daily intake of vitamin me. 133. One night I looked up at the stars and thought "Wow, how beautiful." Now that I'm looking at you, nothing else can compare. 134. May I borrow some of the chapstick you're wearing? 135. I have an owie on my lip, will you kiss it and make it better? 136. Hey good lookin' what'chya cookin'? 137. Love is when you don't want to go to sleep because reality is better than a dream. After seeing you, I don't ever want to sleep again. 138. Let's hide behind a rock and get a little bolder. 139. How much does a Polar Bear weigh? Enough to break the ice. Hi, my name is (insert name here). 140. Girl: Have we met before? Guy: Only in my dreams. 141. You better stop, drop and roll right now cause you're on fire! 142. Have you ever heard the Pina Colada song, because I want you to come with me and escape. 143. Watching you is like watching the sun rise with the morning dew, but there is one difference - you're better. 144. Jealousy is for everyone else because they don't have you. 145. If you were a pirate would you put your parrot on this shoulder (touch girl's shoulder) or this shoulder? (touch other shoulder and keep arm there) 146. Ever wonder why you have spaces between your fingers? (A: So my fingers can fit there) 147. Does your Dad own Snapple, because you're made from the best stuff on earth. 148. Let's make like fabric softener and snuggle! 149. If kisses were snowflakes, I'd send you a blizzard. 150. Pick up a pack of sugar and hand it to a girl, saying, "Here, you dropped your name tag." 151. I'll make you a bet - $20 says you'll turn me down. 152. I must be dead because I'm talking to an angel. 153. I knew I recognized you. You look just like my next boy/girl friend. 154. If I was an ice cube, I'd melt standing next to you. 155. Are you a star? Because you always shine when I look at you. 156. This isn't a beer belly, it's a fuel tank for the love machine. 157. Is your name Gillette, because you're the best a man can get! 158. May I have your autograph? Why? For being the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. 159. I memorized every number in the phone book, but managed to lose yours. I'm gonna need to get that. 160. Is your daddy a shoemaker, because you just knocked me off my feet. 161. Drink unsweetened tea or other beverage, and when she asks why, say, "With you here, I don't need sugar." 162. You might not like it when guys swear, but I swear I'm in love with you. 163. My heart is broken...could you fix it for me? 164. I just ate some skittles. Do you want to taste the rainbow? 165. I think God took the pigment out of a leaf and put it in your eyes (for green-eyed person). 166. I think God took the colour out of the ocean and put it in your eyes (for blue-eyed person) 167. I think God took a brown topaz gem and made you eyes out of it. (for brown-eyed person) 168. I bet it was hard for God to make your eyes out of crystal clear ocean water. 169. Either those are your eyes, or you managed to make a contact lens made out of gem stones. Please Don't Remove IT... again By the way i didnt write this, i found it in someone else's answer, i really like them, and had to put them somewhere, i know Word exists, but i dont want someone to see them, if you do not like them, just dont read it, if you do like them leave a comment.. Cheers.. i like #14.. i dont know why this got removed the first time...

Cat has gingivitis, he is 8 months old and is eating raw.? My 8 month old cat has gingivitis the vet said. We are doing a feline luk/aids test to rule that out ( neither of his littermates are positive for it) My friend said it is because I feed raw and not dry kibble. Several articles I read say that there is no benefit to eating dry kibble to prevent gingivitis. One vet article compared it to humans eating pretzels to keep their teeth clean! Also my raw food has bone in it, so he does get crunchy stuff. Today I bought some Feline Greenies to help with his teeth and gums. My dogs get raw marrow bones but i am not sure the cat would appreciate them:) What do others do for gingivitis management, especially interested to hear from those who feed raw? I firmly believe raw to be a safe and healthy diet. The bone he consumes is ground up rather finely. Cats don't eat dry kibble in the wild. It's not their natural diet, so I truly don't think man has improved on nature with the concoction of dry kibble.

Please help me change my thought process!? In my new quest to extinguish pessimism and add compassion and optimism to my personality, I have encountered several road blocks. There are certain aspects of my opinions that seem to be engrained in my DNA. I am willing to admit that I maybe wrong, but how do I change it when it makes sense to me? I don’t want to be a monster. My ideas are compared to communist leaders like that of Hitler, and Castro! This seems a little extreme to me, because I don’t want to incorporate cruelty or hurt people, but I have to appreciate the perception of an outsider so that I may gain insight in my thoughts. I am not a bad person, and to ponder these comparisons, I have to wonder if perhaps Hitler and Castro were not bad people ether. This is incredibly difficult to do because it is comforting to think that they were bad people, just a glitch in the matrix, a model that has been recalled. A few of the issues I have strong, and controversial opinions on are as follows: We are spending a lot of money searching for a cure for HIV/AIDS. I believe it to be an extreme waste. If I am correct, the only way to obtain the disease is through the transfer of bodily fluids, and the gross majority of those infected, are drug users and people who do not practice safe sex. This is especially touchy because I don’t feel sorry for people who contract the disease via broken condom, or the infidelity of a spouse. I believe that contraction of the disease is the inevitable result of societies tolerance for promiscuous behavior and lack of common sense. With a little effort from the community as a whole, this disease is preventable. I believe the lack of a cure should serve as an incentive to take your body and what you put into it more seriously. I feel bad for the people who are suffering from it, the same way I feel bad for people who die in car crashes. I know of other diseases that a significant number of the entire population can contract through no fault of their own, you wake up one morning with cancer, or worse, you wake up one morning and your five year old has cancer. I believe this to be obvious and don’t understand why we waste time and money on this. I understand loved ones are involved, but everyone cant live forever (especially at the rate we consume natural resources) Just like the reason for developing the system they use for determining potential organ recipients. When I was a kid, and we were learning about pollution, and the wasting of natural resources, I was in fourth grade. I went home from school every day that week, in a panic, devising my plan to save the world. My first order of business, was to set all the dogs in the neighborhood free. I had heard somewhere that sugar in the gas tank, or a potato in the exhaust would make the car blow up, and this was my solution for the pollution caused by vehicles. I was planning to recruit other kids in the neighborhood to join my plight, and was already considering how fast we would have to act, and going world wide… my home town wouldn’t be enough. As an adult, I am terrified of my nine year old mind! But I still feel like the planet, and all the animals on it deserve to exist in peace. I wish this to be accomplished by any means necessary, including but not limited to violence. Of course a peaceful means should be attempted initially. However, because time is working against us rather than for us, we cannot wait for the last guy to take his time pulling his head out of his ass. Some people believe that humans deserve more rights, or are dominant in some way. But what a double standard that is! How is it different to say white people deserve more rights than black people. Where does it end if everyone has a different idea of whose life is worth saving? What kind of world do we live in, if the majority cannot agree that all innocent life is sacred? Genocide is a taboo subject when it’s my solution to the cure for starvation but perfectly acceptable when it comes to whales and polar bears. These third world countries have been “starving” since I was a kid, we have been feeding them via charity for more than twenty years. I propose we start sterilizing them at birth. That way, at least the last ones may get a chance to live out their lives having food and medicine. Obviously they are not able to sustain themselves allowing them to die out in peace is not even going to put a dent in the human population.! So as the order goes, the weak are supposed to die out, while the strong are meant to thrive. This is the natural order. Some may argue that I am not being fair, and that such order goes both ways. Let me assure you I understand and acknowledge this. However, it seems to make sense that because we occupy the top of the food chain, we owe a certain responsibility to the rest of the planet not to hoard every single resource this planet offers. I am sure t I wish I could think less! I know that has to be a major cause of my anguish!

Does the North USA really want the South out?