Saturday, September 28, 2013

4 decades after war ended, Agent Orange still ravaging Vietnamese




The affects of Agent Orange in Vietnam are felt through the generations 

 By Drew Brown | McClatchy Foreign Staff
DA NANG, Vietnam — In many ways, Nguyen Thi Ly is just like any other 12-year-old girl. She has a lovely smile and is quick to laugh. She wants to be a teacher when she grows up. She enjoys skipping rope when she plays.
But Ly is also very different from other children. Her head is severely misshapen. Her eyes are unnaturally far apart and permanently askew. She’s been hospitalized with numerous ailments since her birth.
Her mother, 43-year-old Le Thi Thu, has similar deformities and health disorders. Neither of them has ever set foot on a battlefield, but they’re both casualties of war.
Le and her daughter are second- and third-generation victims of dioxin exposure, the result of the U.S. military’s use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, when the U.S. Air Force sprayed more than 20 million gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides over parts of southern Vietnam and along the borders of neighboring Laos and Cambodia. The herbicides were contaminated with dioxin, a deadly compound that remains toxic for decades and causes birth defects, cancer and other illnesses.
To this day, dioxin continues to poison the land and the people. The United States has never accepted responsibility for these victims – it denies that Agent Orange is responsible for diseases among Vietnamese that are accepted as Agent Orange-caused among American veterans – and it’s unclear when this chain of misery will end.
On Thursday, President Barack Obama will meet with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang at the White House, only the third meeting between chief executives of the two countries since Vietnam and the United States established diplomatic relations in 1995.
The two countries share many contemporary concerns. The White House says Obama plans to discuss cooperation on regional issues and trade, plus other U.S. priorities such as climate change and human rights. The two countries share a strong common interest in countering China, which has become increasingly assertive over potentially oil-rich areas of the South China Sea.
Many Vietnamese say it’s time for the United States to do more to address the issue of Agent Orange and its victims, so that the last tragic chapter of the Vietnam War finally can be closed.
Le Thi Thu’s father served in the North Vietnamese army and was wounded in Quang Tri province, one of the most heavily sprayed areas of the country.
“Before he went to war, my father had two children: my older brother and sister,” said Le, who was born in 1970. “They were normal. But after he came back, he had me.”
“I could see the differences in myself and others right away,” she recalled. “When I was a small child, I felt pain inside my body all the time. My parents took me to the hospital, and the doctors determined that I had been affected by Agent Orange.”
When her daughter Ly was born, “we knew right away” Agent Orange was to blame, Le said.
The Vietnam Red Cross estimates that Agent Orange has affected 3 million people spanning three generations, including at least 150,000 children born with severe birth defects since the war ended in 1975.
“During the war, we were hostile, but after the war ended, we normalized our relations and are now building a strategic partnership between Vietnam and the United States,” said retired Col. Thai Thanh Hung, the chairman of the 16,500-member Da Nang Veterans Association. “We no longer have hatred towards the Americans and the U.S. government, but we want this one lingering and remaining issue to be addressed, which is that the United States help solve the Agent Orange and dioxin problem. That’s why we’re keeping an eye on this issue, to see if the United States is really interested in healing the wounds or not.”
The most significant event to date occurred last August – 37 years after the war ended – when U.S. contractors began a project to remove dioxin from 47 acres of contaminated soil at the Da Nang International Airport, which was one of the largest U.S. bases during the war.
The $84 million effort, which is expected to take until the end of 2016 to complete, has been hailed as an important milestone in U.S.-Vietnamese relations. The airport is one of the most heavily contaminated areas in the world, with dioxin levels measuring more than 365 times the acceptable limits set by the United States and other industrialized countries.
Observers say that while the project represents a long overdue first step, more work needs to be done. More than two dozen other known or potential dioxin “hot spots” have been identified at former U.S. bases. Also left unresolved is the thorny issue of how best to help Vietnamese who’ve been sickened and disabled because of Agent Orange and dioxin exposure.
U.S. aid for these people so far has amounted to a pittance. According to the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, only $11 million of the $61.4 million that Congress has allocated since 2007 – a year after then-President George W. Bush pledged to help clean up contaminated areas – has been earmarked for public health programs in Vietnam.
U.S. officials caution that the money is to help people with disabilities “regardless of cause,” and isn’t specifically for Agent Orange victims. This semantic sleight of hand outrages many American veterans of the war, who say the United States has a moral obligation to help Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange, just as sick and dying U.S. veterans have received government help for the last two decades.
“There’s a hypocrisy there,” says Chuck Searcy, who served in Vietnam as an intelligence analyst during the war and has lived in Hanoi since 1998, heading up a project to clear battlefields of unexploded ordnance, which also continues to kill and maim Vietnamese. “It’s a glaring disconnect, and it’s embarrassing because the whole world can see it.”
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says that all 2.8 million Americans who served “boots on the ground” in Vietnam from 1962 to 1975 were exposed to Agent Orange and other herbicides, which were in use from 1961 to 1971. They qualify for compensation if they become sick from any of 15 illnesses presumed to have been caused by their exposure. The VA also recognizes another 18 birth defects in the children of female veterans.
In 2011, the last year for which data was published, the VA paid nearly $18 billion in disability benefits to 1.2 million Vietnam-era veterans, including 303,000 who received compensation for diabetes mellitus, the most common of the 15 diseases associated with herbicide exposure.
U.S. officials have long held, however, that there’s no proof that Agent Orange is to blame for the same diseases and birth defects in Vietnam.
“Few independent studies have been conducted in Vietnam to assess possible health effects on the local population,” said Chris Hodges, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi. “The lack of validated data and scientific review makes it difficult to estimate accurately the number of actual or potentially affected people or the extent of related health effects.”
In many ways, the fight for recognition of Vietnam’s Agent Orange victims mirrors the 20-year struggle that U.S. veterans endured before Congress granted them compensation in 1991.
Hoping to emulate a case that resulted in a 1984 settlement requiring Dow Chemical, the Monsanto Corp. and other Agent Orange manufacturers to pay $197 million in damages to sick U.S. veterans, a group of Vietnamese victims sued in 2004, only to have the same federal judge dismiss their case a year later, saying the companies were immune because they were following government orders. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case in 2009.
As occurred with U.S. veterans, momentum in Congress appears to be shifting favorably toward the Vietnamese. In 2011, lawmakers directed the U.S. Agency for International Development to develop a plan for assisting Vietnam with Agent Orange programs in the coming years. The agency hasn’t yet released its proposals.
For its part, Vietnam has put into motion a set of steps that it says will “fundamentally solve” its problems with Agent Orange by 2020. The document, signed in June 2012 by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, outlines preferential treatment for all ailing veterans who fought against the Americans, monthly stipends and health coverage for families with disabled members and special care for pregnant women from contaminated areas.
The Aspen Institute, a Washington-based research center, has called on the United States to spend $450 million over 10 years to clean up Vietnam’s dioxin hot spots, restored damaged ecosystems and expand health care for people with disabilities.
It’s unclear how much Congress is willing to do. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., introduced a bill last month that would commit the United States to cleaning up all remaining sites and would provide assistance to help Vietnam give better health care and other resources to Agent Orange victims. An identical bill introduced two years ago failed to make it out of committee.
Searcy, the former intelligence analyst who lives in Hanoi, points out that after nearly 40 years, Vietnam’s expectations of the United States remain modest.
“The Vietnamese have never demanded that the U.S. do for the Vietnamese what they’ve done for U.S. veterans,” he said. “But the Vietnamese have left the door open to do what’s fair.”
“I think it’s possible to bring some closure to this within the next decade,” he added.

Brown is a McClatchy special correspondent.

 SOURCE: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/07/22/197318/4-decades-after-war-ended-agent.html#.Ukc_34aUTAI


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Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/07/22/197318/4-decades-after-war-ended-agent.html#storylink=cpy
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Monsanto's chemicals still ravaging human victims as Agent Orange continues to cause cancer




by: Ethan A. Huff

 More than 40 years later and the unspeakable devastation caused by Monsanto's Agent Orange herbicide, at least 20 million gallons of which was indiscriminately dumped on Vietnamese rainforests and crop fields during the Vietnam War by the American military, is still a grim reality for the likely millions of people and their children still suffering its consequences. New reports indicate that untold numbers of Vietnamese civilians, former soldiers and others exposed to the highly toxic chemical back in the 1960s and 1970s continue to develop terminal illnesses like cancer, as well as suffer from all sorts of other herbicide-induced health horrors.

One such human victim is 60-year-old Trai Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant who fled Vietnam after the war and came to the U.S. to try to rebuild a new life for himself. Today, Trai suffers from serious tremors and is currently undergoing conventional chemotherapy treatments for an aggressive and rare form of cancer that he believes is a direct result of exposure to Agent Orange. According to Mercury News, Trai is capable of doing little else besides resting on his bed at home these days, which is hardly the better life he envisioned living.

Nguyen Thi Ly, a 12-year-old girl currently living in Da Nang, Vietnam, an area near a former U.S. military base that is now considered to be an Agent Orange "hot spot," has a similar story. Both Nguyen and her mother, Le Thi Thu, currently suffer from severe birth defects on their heads and faces and chronic pain as a result of Agent Orange exposure. And Le and her daughter are second- and third-generation victims of exposure to dioxin, the believed-to-be primary toxic ingredient in Agent Orange, illustrating that damage from the chemical is, indeed, long-term and perpetual.

"To this day, dioxin continues to poison the land and the people," writes Drew Brown for McClatchy about the severity of the situation some four decades since the defoliant was first released. "The United States has never accepted responsibility for these victims -- it denies that Agent Orange is responsible for diseases among Vietnamese that are accepted as Agent Orange-caused among American veterans -- and it's unclear when this chain of misery will end."

Laundry list of diseases admittedly caused by Agent Orange exposure

These accepted diseases, which are now recognized by the government as being caused by Agent Orange dioxin (at least in some populations), include soft tissue sarcoma, both non- and Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chloracne, respiratory cancer, prostate cancer, AL amyloidosis, Parkinson's disease, ischemic heart disease, type-2 diabetes and spina bifida in the children of exposed individuals.

This list is especially concerning due to the fact that at least three million people spanning three generations, including at least 150,000 children born with severe birth defects since the end of the war in 1975, are believed to have been poisoned by Agent Orange during the war, according to the Vietnam Red Cross. This means that there are literally populations the size of large cities still suffering throughout the world as a result of this Monsanto chemical, many without proper compensation.

Chemical industry wants to bring Agent Orange back and spray it on US crops

Meanwhile, the chemical industry is once again pushing for Agent Orange to be introduced into civilian populations, this time in the form of a crop chemical known as 2,4-D. As we first reported back in 2011, 2,4-D is a dioxin chemical similar to the original Agent Orange formula, which is extremely toxic. And Dow AgroScience is right now urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to deregulate the chemical solution, which contains a Monsanto additive, without proper safety testing, which would allow it to be sprayed on conventional U.S. crops.

Are the continued horrors of the first Agent Orange experiment not enough for these disease and death monsters to relent in their endless pursuit of polluting the world with deadly chemicals? When will this nightmare cease?

Sources for this article include:

http://www.mercurynews.com

http://www.mcclatchydc.com

http://www.naturalnews.com

SOURCE: http://www.naturalnews.com/042208_Agent_Orange_Monsantos_chemicals_cancer.html#ixzz2gDqK7vYK
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Introduction to the Israel Lobby (AIPAC)




The Israel lobby is one of the most powerful and pervasive special interest groups in the United States. It consists of a multitude of powerful institutions and individuals that work to influence Congress, the president, academia, the media, religious institutions, and American public opinion on behalf of Israel.
Please be sure to scroll down to see the entire list of organizations.
This lobby played a major role in the creation of Israel and continues to exert strong influence on US foreign policy, often in ways that harm American interests and security. It was a major factor in promoting the Iraq war, it continues to advocate for war with Iran, and it has played a central role in fostering Islamphobia in the United States.
The lobby is not one unified organization, but rather it consists of numerous institutions with various agendas. Some differ in orientation, emphasis, or political views, but all promote a strong and often dangerous and dishonest pro-Israel slant in the American media and government. 
Furthermore, lobbying the government on behalf of Israel proves to be very very lucrative for directors of many of these organizations, who earn very large salaries. The director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Abe Foxman, earns close to $700,000 per year.
Below are some of these organizations. (This section is still being compiled, so please check back for future additions.)
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC): AIPAC is the most prominent governmental lobbying organization on behalf of Israel. Fortune Magazinetypically rates it as the second most powerful lobby in the U.S. AIPAC frequently writeslegislation for members of Congress, which extraordinarily large majorities of both parties typically endorse. It has a $100 million endowment and annual revenue of about $60 million and spends about $2-3 million each year in lobbying Congress. AIPAC’s annual conventions are typically a who’s who of high government office from both parties pledging their loyalty to Israel.
Pro-Israel Political Action Committees (PACs): AIPAC does not give campaign contributions itself but instead uses a campaign finance network consisting of around thirty Pro-Israel Political Action Committees (PACs), which AIPAC is constantly signaling. Only four of these PACs have names that indicate their true agenda, such as ‘Allies for Israel’ or ‘World Alliance for Israel.’ The rest have innocuous names like ‘National Action Committee’ or ‘Heartland PAC.’ Constituents usually don’t realize their candidates are receiving money from PACs that advance the interests of a foreign government.
Usually a PAC can only donate $5,000 for a primary and $5,000 for general elections. But with thirty "unaffiliated" PACs marching in lockstep behind AIPAC, this can balloon up to $300,000 for any given candidate. The extent of this influence remains hidden from view. They also use "bundling," which means taking various individual donations and handing them over en masse to a candidate, so that on the books it shows up as several individual donations, but everyone except the FEC understands who’s really controlling the money.
A 1996 book called Stealth PACs reports that "in 1988, Israel’s lobby had 78 PACs spending more than $5.5 million to bribe Congress to vote more aid for Israel. That was more than total contributions together of the two next largest special interests in the United States—the real estate lobby and the teamsters."
During the 2010 elections, Israel-affiliated contributions were the third highest of any special interest at nearly $3 million (with almost equal amounts given to Democrats and Republicans). But because that number was broken into pieces and hidden behind unrelated names, pro-Israel contributions didn’t "officially" make the top twenty.
One example is Washington Pac, founded by Morris Amitay, former head of AIPAC. Its website states: "...over three million dollars has been carefully distributed on a bipartisan basis to Senators, Representatives, and candidates... Its Capitol Hill location enables the PAC to meet with Representatives and Senators on an almost daily basis.  The Advisory Board holds regular luncheons with U.S. Senate candidates, and the PAC’s newsletter has earned an esteemed reputation for its analysis of the U.S. Senate races."
The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs reports on this topic frequently. To learn more, see their list of pro-Israel PAC contributions to candidates in 2010.
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (CoP): This group of 51 Zionist organizations also advocates on behalf of Israel, including a focus on Iran. It had revenues of over $2.2 million in 2011. All members of the CoP sit on AIPAC’s executive committee. The Conference of Presidents focuses on lobbying the Executive branch while AIPAC concentrates on Congress.
The American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF): AIEF is a subsidiary of AIPAC that takes Congressional Representatives on all-expense-paid trips to Israel. In August 2011, 81 members of Congress from both parties took trips to Israel with the AIEF. Its annual budget is over $26 million, and its executive director, Richard Fishman, is officially "not compensated," but he receives $395,000 annually from affiliates. Roll Call reports that in 2012 "The American Israel Education Foundation spent more than $650,000 last year — more than any other group — to send more than 60 lawmakers and staffers to Israel for tours of Jerusalem, seminars on Israeli politics and discussions of asymmetric warfare, according to congressional travel filings."
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP): WINEP is a highly influential think tank that pushes Israel-centric Middle East policies. It was founded by a former AIPAC employee, and while it claims to promote a "balanced and realistic" understanding of the Middle East, it is "funded by individuals deeply committed to advancing Israel’s agenda." It is frequently called upon by both the government and the media to provide "expert" analysis on Middle East issues. Its 2010 revenues were $9.4 million, and its net assets total $23.5 million. Former AIPAC member MJ Rosenberg stated: "I was working at AIPAC and it was Steve Rosen who cleverly came up with the idea for an AIPAC controlled think-tank that would put forth the AIPAC line but in a way that would disguise its connections." More information is here.
Anti-Defamation League (ADL): The ADL bills itself as a civil rights institution devoted to stamping out anti-Semitism. But in practice, it regularly works to promote Israeli interests and attacks virtually any prominent person who criticized Israel and labels them "anti-Semitic." It has also been involved in a large spying operation against American citizens who opposed the policies of Israel and the Apartheid regime in South Africa. It is an architect of "hate crimes legislation" that may effectively criminalize criticism of Israeli policies. The ADL is a member of the CoP with revenues of around $60 million and net assets of over $115 million. Abe Foxman, it's national director, makes $688,280 per year.
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (aka Stand for Israel): Founded in 1983 by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein "to promote understanding between Jews and Christians and build broad support for Israel," it promotes advocacy for Israelamong mostly right-wing Christians. It has annual revenues of nearly $100million.
Christians United for Israel (CUFI): CUFI is a right-wing Evangelical Christian organization founded by John Hagee to advocate for American support for Israel based largely on Biblical prophecy. It has a nationwide membership of over one million advocates for Israel who can be called upon to flood their Congressmen with letters and phone calls at the slightest hint of legislation not approved by Israel. CUFI has high-level contacts within the Israeli government, including with the Prime Minister, who sometimesspeaks at their events.
Simon Wiesenthal Center: According to its website: "The Simon Wiesenthal Center is a global Jewish human rights organization that confronts anti-Semitism, hate and terrorism, promotes human rights and dignity, stands with Israel, defends the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations." It has "a constituency of over 400,000 households" in the US. It is headquartered in Los Angeles, with  offices in New York, Toronto, Miami, Chicago, Paris, Buenos Aires, and Jerusalem." In 2011 it had an annual budget of $24 million and net assets of $67 million.
The Israel Project: Founded in 2003, the Israel Project specializes in pro-Israel propaganda targeting the press and the American public. In 2009, a secret handbook commissioned by The Israel Project and written by Republican pollster and strategist Frank Luntz, "The Global Language Dictionary," was exposed by two Newsweek reporters. The handbook crafts language and talking points for Israel advocates in simplistic, diversionary, and dishonest ways. The organization has 70 employees and an $11 million annual budget. In 2011 it opened additional bureaus in India and China and launched a website in Arabic.
Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces (FIDF): This American organization supports the Israeli armed forces. It hosts lavish fundraisers and has fourteen regional offices in the U.S. and one in Latin America. FIDF also brings hundreds of Israeli soldiers to the U.S. every year to lecture at synagogues, universities, and schools in order to increase American support for Israeli policies. It has annual revenues of around $60 million and net assets of $80 million.
Hadassah (Women’s Zionist Organization of America): Founded in 1912, Hadassah is "a volunteer organization that inspires a passion for and commitment to its partnership with the land and people of Israel." It has chapters across the U.S. and "more than 330,000… Members, Associates and supporters." It regularly advocates on behalf of Israel and is currently pushing anti-Iran legislation. It has annual revenues of nearly $100 million and $400 million in net assets.
America’s Voices in Israel (AVI): A project of the Conference of Presidents, AVI works to "strengthen American understanding of and support for Israel by inviting U.S.-based radio talk show hosts to see Israel and broadcast their programs live from Jerusalem." It also brings celebrities and other "opinion makers" on guided tours of Israel.
The Jewish Agency for Israel: The name is often shortened to just "The Jewish Agency." According to its website, founded in 1929, this links "Jews around the world with Israel as the focal point... " Major activities include Jewish Zionist education and building a global Jewish community. "In addition to extensive programs in Israel, it operates in close to 80 countries on five continents through a network of over 450 emissaries, including hundreds of formal and informal educators.
The world Jewish community participates in the Jewish Agency's decision-making process through the Assembly, its supreme governing body, and its Board of Governors, which is responsible for policy making and oversight." The Jewish Federations of North American are a fundraising partner, with individual Jewish Federations from numerous American cities listed.
  • James S. Tisch: Chairperson of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors. According to its website, Tisch is President and Chief Executive Officer of Loews Corporation, chairman of the Board of Directors of Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc., a member of the Board of Directors of CNA Financial Corporatio, a director on the board of the General Electric Company, Chairman of the Board of WNET, parent of WNET Channel 13 and WLIW Channel 21, a member of the Board of Directors of The New York Public Library, serves on the Executive Committee of the Partnership for New York City, a Trustee of the Mount Sinai Medical Center, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, President and Chairman Emeritus of Federation Employment and Guidance Service (F.E.G.S.), past Chairman of the Board of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, past Chairman of the Board of United Jewish Communities, past President of UJA-Federation of New York, and a former director on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The Foundation for Jewish Camp: This nonprofit foundation states on its website that in in Jewish camps "Israeli culture is celebrated through song, food, art, and dance," and reports, "The magic of Jewish camp is rooted in its 24/7 atmosphere" and says that "connection to Israel" is "entwined with basketball, arts and crafts and swimming." It notes that some camps are particularly "focused on Zionism and the role of Israel in Jewish life." It reports that in one of these, CAMP INC., "Israel education will be embedded in the program as campers learn about Israel through the lens of their entrepreneurial sector. Campers will learn from high-level mentors, teachers, and business pioneers.  Camp Inc., under the direction of Josh Pierce, will be operated by the Boulder JCC." Another, URJ 6 POINTS SCIENCE ACADEMY  "will immerse them in a vibrant Jewish community filled with Jewish music, Shabbat experiences, and living connections to Israel." It states that the Academy, the 14th in the Union for Reform Judaism’s camp system, will be located in the Boston, MA area. Funding comes from a grant of $8.6 million jointly funded by The Jim Joseph Foundation and the AVI CHAI Foundation.
The Jim Joseph Foundation: This is a DBA of the Shimon Ben Joseph Foundation, which faqs.org reports has assets of $837,220,914. Its website reports that among the activities its sponsors is "Israel Education," which includes "twinning day schools with schools in Israel; integrating Israel education with learning taking place in general studies courses; and showcasing Israel’s arts and culture so students and teachers are in direct contact with what is happening in Israel today."
The Avi Chai Foundation: According to its 2010 form 990 report it had total assets of $614,997,808. One of its primary North American focuses, according to its website, is "Promoting Jewish Peoplehood and Israel." It states: "Israel studies and Israel advocacy have become centerpieces of AVI CHAI’s peoplehood efforts in North America. All of the day schools receiving support from AVI CHAI have agreed to include in their materials, as an expression of their own philosophy, the following statement:
“The creation of the State of Israel is one of the seminal events in Jewish history. Recognizing the significance of the State and its national institutions, we seek to instill in our students an attachment to the State of Israel and its people as well as a sense of responsibility for their welfare.”
Stand with Us: Stand with Us has headquarters in Los Angeles and chapters in Israel, Europe, Britain, Australia, and South Africa. Its annual budget is at least $4 million, though this may only cover the U.S. section. It has a number of divisions, including StandWithUsCampus, StandWithUs International,United4Freedom, Stand4Facts, LearnIsrael, Librarians for Fairness, andEmerson Fellows. Student leaders are trained to advocate for Israel on campuses around the country. The organization has erected numerous pro-Israel, anti-Palestinian billboards around the U.S. “Israelis invested $57 billion in U.S. Companies” is one of them. For a deconstruction of this billboard go here.
Emergency Committee for Israel (ECI): The Israeli newspaper Haaretzreports:
Washington observers may feel there is no obvious shortage of pro-Israel lobbyists in the city—but a group of leading American conservatives thinks otherwise and has set up a new campaign group to attack President Obama over his ‘anti-Israel’ stance. 
The Emergency Committee for Israel presents a potent combination of Republican Party neoconservatives and Evangelical Christians. The new group’s board includesWeekly Standard Editor William Kristol and Gary Bauer, a former Republican presidential candidate who leads the group American Values, as well as Rachel Abrams, a conservative writer and activist.
The Committee produced an advertisement against Ron Paul that ran in South Carolina because of Paul’s opposition to U.S. aid to Israel and other countries. ECI is currently funding tens of thousands of dollars worth of anti-Obama advertising.
Leona M. and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust: The trust fund isvalued at between $4 billion and $8 billion. Among the main areas its grants support are programs focused on "the security and development of Israel."
According to Jewish Week:
"[Leona Helmsley] left instructions for her charitable trust fund... to benefit dogs. But the courts ruled that the Leona and Harry Helmsley Trust Fund she had established after her husband’s death was not legally bound to fund animals only, and that its grants should be directed solely at the discretion of the trustees she had appointed.
Fortunately for the State of Israel, Mrs. Helmsley chose Sandor (Sandy) Frankel, 69, a local Jewish attorney who worked closely with her the last 18 years of her life, to be one of the four trustees who now oversee that major trust. Frankel, who is married to an Israeli and has visited Israel frequently since he was a teenager, is proud to say that he has a passion for the Jewish state.
Among the projects receiving its multi-million grants was a new press center in Israel. At its opening Frankel announced:  “Our hope is that with the opening of the club’s doors, the press will flock here, and will accurately report” on the country and its people.
AMIT: According to its website: "Founded in 1925, AMIT is the world's leading supporter of religious Zionist education and social services for Israel's children and youth, nurturing and educating Israeli children to become productive, contributing members of society." It has numerous chapters throughout the U.S. It sponsors lectures about Israel, holds screenings of Israeli films, participates in pro-Israel parades, etc. In 2011 its annual expenses were over $8 million and its net assets were $11,705,151. Its executive vice president was paid $120,292.
Jewish Community Relations Councils, Jewish Federations,Hillels
Similar organizations promote Israeli interests in virtually every city in the United States. Click here for an example of a Jewish Federation pressuring a conference that criticizes Israel. 
Jewish and Zionist community organizations:
  • Jewish Council for Public Affairs 
  • Jewish National Federation (JNF)
  • Zionist Organiation of America (ZOA)
  • American Jewish Committee (AJC)
  • World Jewish Congress
  • Friends of Aish Hatorah
  • Chabad 
Political organizations and think tanks:
  • Republican Jewish Coalition
  • National Jewish Democratic Council
  • Foundation for Defense of Democracies
  • JINSA
  • Saban Center at Brookings
  • Center for Security Policy, neo-con brain center
  • Foreign Policy Initiative (PNAC 2.0)
  • MEMRI (claims to provide "objective" translations of Arabic and Iranian media, but in fact it selectively and sometimes inaccurately translates to serve Israel’s propaganda interests)
Organizations that target students and youth:
Additional groups:
  • Elad, Ateret Cohanim, and other settler groups 
Influential Pro-Israel Individuals
An example of such an individual is the current US Ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro, who gave a speech in which he detailed his extremely close, life-long ties to Israel, concluding: "[A]s a committed Jewish American, with deep roots in the American Jewish community and warm bonds of affection with Israel, I will have an opportunity to draw on those associations to help make the U.S.-Israel relationship, strong as it is, even stronger in the years ahead." He stated that "ensuring Israel’s future" drives all US policies.
Howard Berman, Democratic Congressman from California, acknowledged in a 2008 interview with the Forward, "Even before I was a Democrat, I was a Zionist." He went on to explain that "an interest in the Jewish state" was one of the main reasons he first sought a seat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where he is the top Democrat. Berman, who is known as "the Congressman from Hollywood," also told the Forward, "He is particularly keen on getting the House more involved in Iran-related issues."
Stuart Weitzman, Shoe designer, donated $1 million to Maccabi USA. The Maccabiah is an Olympics-style competition held every four years in Israel.
Other individuals include:
There’s no card to carry that says one is part of the Israel lobby. But taken as a whole, this sampling of powerful pro-Israel organizations demonstrates how information is systematically skewed before it reaches the American public. Politicians and journalists are systematically harassed, often losing jobs, if they step out of line.
There is no comparable pressure from the Arab-American side, much less from stateless Palestinians, who have no army, little money, and very little cultural influence or PR savvy. By contrast to the $3 million given by pro-Israel PACs in 2010, the two Arab-American PACs—Arab American Leadership Council PAC and Arab American Political Action Committee—gave a total of $36,500.

AIPAC letter about lobbying for US military force in Syria here:  AIPAC will be lobbying in favor of Congress authorizing the President to use military force in Syria. We need your help to persuade members of the Senate and House to join Speaker Boehner, House Majority Leader Cantor, House Democratic Leader Pelosi, House Democratic Whip Hoyer, and many others in both chambers, in support of this bipartisan resolution .http://www.councilforthenationalinterest.org/news/israellobby/item/3159-aipac-letter-about-lobbying-for-us-military-force-in-syria
Council for the National Interest Facebook Page Here:  https://www.facebook.com/councilforthenationalinterest
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GLOBAL WARMING IS A HOAX !!!!



THE UNITED NATIONS BLAMES HUMANS FOR GLOBAL WARMING! 

 They claim that some cities could eventually be underwater in the near future. The Mainstream Media (MSM) talking heads are once again, complicit with their scripted lies. 

 The United Nations, aka One World Government, is using the Global warming scam to steal our money and line their own pockets. Climate change is the perfect excuse to control the actions of the entire world. It's the only vehicle where the behavior of one affects the behavior of everyone. It's much easier to institute one world government global rule this way. 

Here's  a few SIMPLE questions that formed in a very simple mind.
Why do we still tolerate the United Nations on American soil? 
Why are we still members? 
Why do we pay the lions share of it's expenses?

SPECIAL REPORT: More Than 1000 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims – Challenge UN IPCC & Gore

“Any reasonable scientific analysis must conclude the basic theory wrong!!”  — NASA Scientist Dr. Leonard Weinstein who worked 35 years at the NASA Langley Research Center and finished his career there as a Senior Research Scientist. Weinstein is presently a Senior Research Fellow at the National Institute of Aerospace.

Climate Depot Exclusive: 321-page 'Consensus Buster' Report set to further chill UN Climate Summit in Cancun READ HERE:  http://www.climatedepot.com/2010/12/08/special-report-more-than-1000-international-scientists-dissent-over-manmade-global-warming-claims-challenge-un-ipcc-gore-2/

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The end of the petrodollar


From A Sheep No More: This article was translated from Dutch to English.
Peter B. Meyer

The end of the petrodollar

BY PETER B. MEYER ON FEBRUARY 5, 2013 
If Washington allows the printing presses run faster and keeps interest rates low, China understands that the U.S. Treasury for the long term is a losing investment. According to senior officials in Beijing, China between 2003 and 2010, some $ 271 billion lost by its bell went into U.S. Treasuries. And in June 2011, reported China's National Development and Reform Commission that another $ 578 billion will lose if they continue with these huge sums in the American debt.

End of Petro Dollar
Therefore, the Chinese government is now taking drastic measures to protect their wealth. They are not only going to get out of Treasuries. Their money back They sacrifice some short-term losses for long term gains. The International Business Times revealed a secret alliance with Russia that the mainstream media did not publish, together they launch the ultimate attack on the American supremacy. The last major U.S. export machine to attack and take, called the petrodollar. Ultimate source of global domination of the last 40 years away It is the beginning of an economic war between the U.S. and China, which will lead to the end of the 30-year bull market in U.S. government bonds.
To protect the petrodollar, the U.S., Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi slain and now impose sanctions on Iran, parties that do not respect the Petro Dollar. But with the swollen U.S. debt, which China now owns about 3.5 trillion dollars in U.S. currency, provides the perfect opportunity to get. America down the Bretton Woods agreement, made ​​the U.S. dollar the reserve currency of the world . This international game-changer gave the United States a clear economic advantage, but with a caveat, to prevent the Fed would not spoil, reckless dollars galore had every dollar the Fed crowds covered by gold and can be redeemed based on the standard rate of € 35/ounce.
petrodollar_system_iraq_libya_iran_fascism_war_empire
But of course, the bustle FED lot more dollars than it had in gold to exchange, because of the huge expenses by conducting wars, the rest of the world suspicious about the ability of America to pay. All dollars in gold So many countries started the gold that was promised to demand.Then in 1971, President Nixon acknowledged that they would not be able to fulfill those obligations to do so he closed the gold window. This was actually the first American bankruptcy and caused a rapid decline in the value of the dollar. Causing oil prices rose. Inflation rose to 15% and higher. At the same time, GDP fell by 3.2% and the unemployment rate reached 9%.
The government imposed wage and price controls, causing gasoline shortages arose. But in 1973, when Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, devised a brilliant plan. America had great military power and Saudi Arabia that could be used to protect their huge oil empire. Kissinger exchanged the military might of America against the promise of Saudi Arabia to sell in U.S. dollars. Oil only That meant that every country wanted to buy oil from OPEC, was forced to use dollars. So when every other country that wanted to buy oil from the Middle East, was the first convert their currency into U.S. dollars. And since oil is used in all modern economies - and the Saudis a major player in the oil trade - this set the U.S. in a unique situation.
Countries around the world were first export goods and services to America to receive they needed to buy. Petrodollars America on the other hand could just dollars "print" to buy. Their own oil This meant that the huge U.S. deficits could enter the trade because they export the most valuable commodity in the world, the U.S. dollar. Until the early 1970s, America was the world's largest creditor. But from the beginning of the 1980s they began their first trade deficits to rise. And since the 1990s, their trade deficits become many trillions of dollars.
With the aim to earn that others needed to buy oil dollars flooded these countries the U.S. market with cheap cars, cheap TVs, cheap clothes, and in the opposite direction engulfed the U.S. simply the world with increasingly cheap dollars. An important condition was also agreed, OPEC countries were obliged to invest in U.S. government bonds, the demand for government debt raised, which the U.S. government could continue to borrow with reckless abandon and as the largest bond bull market created their profits, which the world has ever seen. But it was not only the government that borrowed money.
Consumers also borrowed for 14 trillion dollars, supplemented with 11 trillion dollars in corporate bonds, 17 trillion dollars in financial debt and $ 90 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities such as Social Security and Medicare - it helps all contribute to the $ 140 trillion dollars the total U.S. debt - which is about 10 times as greater as the total domestic U.S. production.
The whole house of cards is maintained by the simple agreement in 1973 with the establishment of the petrodollar, which is actually now the main problem for the U.S. to maintain that. That was the reason to make war against Gaddafi and now Iran war because they are against the petrodollar. The smart Chinese see this as their best chance to defeat the United States and the end of the golden age of America to usher in an era of Chinese dominance. In the year 2008 gave the world a good example of what happens when the national Credit is repealed.The U.S. government spent trillions on bailouts and stimuli to prop up the economy. The same dynamics happening again, but on a much, much larger scale, in the bond.
Greenspan
Simply, the Chinese are preparing to release the biggest source of the address of their U.S. Treasuries-off and thus China has the U.S. in their grip. Americans are stuck in the past, burdened by the promises made years ago on claims. On the contrary, China is preparing for the future, with a full attack on the U.S. supremacy and their PetroDollars.
So far, China has announced since 2009 nothing about the size of their gold reserves, no one knows the true extent of it and the need for China to acquire gold. But in 2009 China Youth Daily quoted Ji Xiaonan advisor to the Council of State, when he said: "We advised that the Chinese gold reserves in the next 3-5 years to reach 6,000 tons and 10,000 tons possible in 8-10 years."
That would be the PBOC's largest gold holder to make the world, ahead of the approximately 8,000 tons of gold reserves of the U.S. - and all that gold is still present? This puts China in a perfect position to its role as a world economic leader to take over the U.S. who received this role by Bretton Woods. About
China knows that she can do this alone. Just as the U.S. 60 years ago, they must build global support for their initiative. For this, they have a wonderful plan designed in three ways contributes to, to come. Closer to their goal
China does more than just raw materials purchases on the open market. It also provides support and investment in resource-rich countries such as Africa and South America. And this for three immediate benefits to benefit: 
1. To achieve that they need to support a rapidly growing economy means 
2. To get rid of the massive amounts of rapidly depreciating dollar 
3. To get powerful allies in their pursuit of world domination. Around the world
In defense of Petro Dollar, the U.S. has a hidden agenda to counter China's action: The now retired U.S. Secretary of State - Hillary Clinton recently stated: The limit of Asian growth and dynamism is central to American economic and strategic interests.
The military intervention of France in Mali may seem at first glance, to have little to do with the U.S. "pivot" to Asia. But first as an exclusively French intervention, supposedly meant to be a UN sanctioned and African-led affair began as an exclusively French affair, it has now become a Western intervention. It is increasingly clear that it is intended to strengthen based on the requirements for U.S. 'Asia pivot''s strategic interests.
As the British Prime Minister David Cameron recently declared the crisis in Mali "will require an answer instead of months needed for years, even decades."
"One need look no further than the intervention in Mali to see if grateful assistance for the West. The al Qaeda threat All attention to the fight against al Qaeda in northern Mali provides the perfect cover for the U.S. and its Western junior partners to continue. Their grand strategy of containment against China And with China increasingly in competition with Western interests in Africa, one understands the neocolonial sudden urge of the West. "
With this comprehensive explanation will be clear that there is a dirty game going on, and if you want this to be a victim you should take action now. By simply following what China is doing, buying gold and silver as the creditworthiness of the U.S., EU and Japan deteriorate by the day. For these reasons, you should also have a position in gold and silver, otherwise you will find yourself in the poorhouse against the rest of the foolish.
Ask yourself: Are you ready if China carries out its last action which the dollar, the euro, and the yen collapse? Are you prepared when the oil and food prices skyrocket? Are you ready if China uses its financial power and the main aspects of your financial life dictates? Do not think that this is not going to happen.
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