New Madrid Fault Line/HAARP

Just putting this up, for info:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muyu4aucZDM&feature=player_embedded#at=11

Very interesting , and put up in January of this year - i.e. before the Japanese disaster. Note what he says about Haiti...

Max Keiser

I first came across Max Keiser a couple of years ago, and have followed his website avidly since then. He's an ex-market trader who apparently defected to the other side, and now spends his time working for Russian and Iranian media outlets, trying to bring the dollar down, and doing a fine jobs of exposing the myths and lies behind the Federal Reserve.

So far, so good. Now comes the intrigue: a while ago Max and his partner Stacy started talking about AGW (anthropomorphic global warming - i.e. we dunnit) and saying that it was cheap credit that was fuelling (excuse the pun) the destruction of the planet and the heating up of the atmosphere. I agree with the first assertion, but not the second, as do many others.

The pair will not entertain any negations of this theory, and to be fair it is their site, and they can say and do what they like, but unfortunately any intelligent attempts to disagree with their opinions get short shrift, even though they are not scientists. Commenters have pointed out that other planets in the solar system are also heating up, 'climategate' has revealed that many scientists have been inventing data, global geo-engineering experiements (to alter the climate) are real but ignored by the financial duo, and even though a fine representation of 'chemtrails' appears behind Max as a subliminal message all the time, he will not talk about it. Justifiable comments about HAARP, in trying to explain the AGW theory, are ignored or deleted.

Now add to this financial intrigue: Max has been advising everyone to buy silver as a way of bringing down one of the biggest banks, JPMorgan Chase, as they have more short positions than there is silver available, and apparently this action can make the bank unable to cover its position. No problem here, either: we have our kilo of silver, FWIW, and would love to bring down an obviously corrupt institution as much as the next man.

Here's where it gets murky: last year (2010) a story appeared about an ex Goldman Sachs employee (another one of the mega-banks run by a criminal cartel) named Andrew Maguire, saying he was about to expose the huge manipulation in the precious metals markets, letting everyone know it was a rigged game. A lot of us know this already, but any extra exposé for this group of criminals would be welcome. Before this AM could give his exposé at a London Conference he was apparently injured in a hit-and-run accident, had a gag-order placed on him and then disappeared.

Max and Stacy both say they had dinner with the mystery trader, and other financial pundits also confirm his existence (Bill Murphy, Paul Coghlan). A few other people in the know about the manipulation of the PM markets have now started to step up and say 'where is this guy/who is this guy/how do we know this is true, etc'. Here's one of the more eloquent doubters, called Rawdoglet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlsBgZ_F5yQ

Plus an engagingly enigmatic You Tuber called the Silverfuturist wades in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucNJnA8adq0&feature=player_embedded

Rather than it just being a case of a few minor disagreements about how to fight the massive corruption at the top of the pyramid (sic), this issue seems to expose a deeper agenda. Add to this the fact that many political and historical pundits are calling the North African 'revolutions' CIA coloured revolutions, while Max insists it's people power alone; add to this the fact that the fearless fighter will not go near the research of 911 by respected physicist Dr Judy Wood (comments are removed) and you end up having a real spider's web of truths, half-truths, information, misinformation and lies.

Finally, Max is keen on bringing down the dollar, and is backing a gold-backed (or at least PM-backed) currency. The trouble is, this is the same agenda as Alan Greenspan and other members of the criminal cabal, and seems to fit right in there with the oft-mentioned globalists goal of a global currency, in the form of IMF Special Drawing Rights or another World Bank-promoted basket of currencies.

So here is the question: is he one of the good guys, fighting the good fight, or is he working to a hidden agenda trying to bring in global governance by the back door, by crashing the existing global currency which is, of course, the dollar reserve? I can understand that the printing of digits on computer screens by the Fed and the Ben Bernank, (the so-called quantitative easing) is going to devalue everything, and cannot go on forever without imploding the system under a mountain of debt, but I cannot get a handle on Max's real agenda, and this Maguire story unfortunately just muddies the waters even further. Any further thoughts on this very welcome.

Financial Terrorists

It should be clear by now to anyone who can read that the international banking sector is the biggest terrorist group in the world. Here Max Keiser gives us the latest straight-talk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRTfex2VQ7g&feature=player_embedded#at=489

@2225 'this is an unsustainable system, and the inevitability of it's collapse has been there almost from the beginning'

PS The Federal Reserve has just given the green light to more bank dividends...

Locavores

By strange coincidence I first heard this word this morning, at a meeting of my local organic farmer's network. Then lo-and-behold, here on the excellent 'Oil Drum' website, an article all about eating local food and energy use:

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/7624#more

Proper Prior Planning...

Here market analyst Chris Martenson tells us to prepare:

'To prepare responsibly, you should do it before a crisis hits, when there are plenty of goods, food, and other necessities available for purchase'.

Admittedly his article is written for an American audience, and in the two days since he wrote it, the stock market seems to be on the way up again. Nevertheless he thinks quantitative easing III is now inevitable, further devaluing the dollar and weakening the ponzi-scheme that is the global economy.

You may feel like a fool buying up all the tins of baked beans in Sainsbury's, but you might be grateful for them sooner than you think:

http://www.chrismartenson.com/blog/alert-nuclear-economic-meltdown-in-progress

Latest From Japan - Blackouts

http://www.collapsenet.com/free-resources/collapsenet-public-access/item/709-eyewitness-account-from-japan-unforeseeable-massive-blackouts

Libya

How much longer can we go on buying our 'caffe lattés', eating our burgers, and shopping at Tesco's, whilst pretending this sort of stuff is not done in our name?:

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/libya-hypocrisy-and-betrayal-by-the-united-nations-by-felicity-arbuthnot/

When The Lights Go Out

Excellent geopolitical up-date, another must-read:

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-17-2011-when-lights-go-out.html

ATM Fees

More from the 'you-couldn't-make-this-stuff-up' Dept.:

http://maxkeiser.com/2011/03/17/jp-morgan-begin-charging-5-atm-fees/

Antigravity

I've mentioned before about Tesla, and his research on anti-gravity technology. There is a lot of military research going on in this field, and therefore it's a murky world of intrigue, but there are scientists who think it is either still possible to have free energy, or that it is already possible.

One of the early promoters of the Tesla technology is John Hutchison, and here I accidentally came across the fact that he's selling his lab on e-bay!! Blimey, maybe someone put the mockers on him:

http://pesn.com/2010/07/11/9501660_Hutchison_selling_anti-gravity_lab_on_eBay/

Also, here an interview with Paul A LaViolette, a physicist who contends here that free enrgy is possible, and that there is a lot more new technology which is kept under wraps:

http://www.redicecreations.com/radio/2011/03/RIR-110315.php

Finally, Dr Judy Wood is proposing on her website that Directed Energy Weapons (using Tesla technology) are what brought down the twin towers. Don't dismiss it unless you've studied it, especially if you're not a scientist:

http://drjudywood.com/

Building 7

There is a lot about this on the internet. It was the third building which was part of the World Trade Centre complex which 'collapsed', but was never hit by any airplanes. Have a look, some interesting material...

Understanding the Implications of Peak Oil

This talk, given back in about 2005, is the definitive talk explaining peak oil, encompassing 911 and going through to what you should do now. In 2011 we are much further down the road to hell, and for those who really want to try to piece this together, this is a good start:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy9JCDchk34&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ1xkYfjfsU&feature=related

For the record, Michael Ruppert is still going today, with a film called 'Collapse' and a blog called 'Collapsenet.com', but had a very near brush with death in Venezuela, since which time he hardly talks about 911.

Mercenary Walks Free

This is what it has come to: you can kill people in cold blood now, be backed by your Government (US), pay money to the victims families, and walk free. How utterly, utterly despicable:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/03/2011316121616279778.html

Anonymous

What to think? Good guys or a hoax? Seekers of justice or a clever publicity stunt? Time will tell, I guess:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEV2CMfhCeo&feature=player_embedded

Some background:

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/20113981026464808.html

Energy Illiteracy

I'm in my 50th year, and in my lifetime I have seen the massive growth of unlimited consumption, packaging, transportation and resource depletion. This was so obviously an unsustainable, untenable and unintelligent way to live, that I have been shocked and surprised at the vast majority of the people who bought into it.

In the West we have stopped being adults, we have reverted (or been reverted if you're a conspiracy theorist who has studied psychology) to childhood, where we don't want to hear bad news, where we only want to play games, amuse ourselves and follow mind-numbing 'entertainment' which includes chat-shows, sports and other inane material. Talk of what is happening politically is practically non-existant amongst the general public. By accident or design (and it hardly matters now which of these is true) discussions of where the energy is going to come from to power all of these non-essential services is never aired - or at least very, very rarely, and certainly not on main-stream television or radio.

This phrase 'energy illiteracy' popped into my head this morning, whilst I was re-picking my tomato seedlings. I now consider growing organic fruit and vegetables to be one of the most important jobs in the world, especially after the nuclear disaster in Japan. Consider all of the other jobs that have been created in the industrialised West, and you will see that most of them can just be blown away in the wind, and they will not matter when it comes to the survival of the human species. Consider, now, the rules and regulations designed to prevent people from having access to good, healthy food, and add to this the natural disasters that can happen unexpectedly and cut off your food and clean water supply, and you will begin to see that knowing how to feed yourself, and those around you, is possibly more important than rocket science.

Quantitative Easing

Or in other words, the Trickle-Up effect:

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2011/3/11_Jim_Rickards_-_QE_is_dead,_long_live_QE!.html

Benjamin Fulford

Mentor or Madman? Insightful or Insane? You decide:

Posted by benjamin

March 16, 2011

The earthquake and tsunami attack on Japan by the criminal corporate Washington D.C. cabal was meant to intimidate the people of the world into submission. Instead, it has provoked a threat by a very powerful group outside of the control of the White Dragon Society to “sink England, Italy and the United States into the ocean.” The White Dragon Society and its allies are appealing for calm and a negotiated solution before the planet earth is destroyed. High level negotiations aimed at accomplishing exactly this are now taking place in Tokyo and Osaka.

Yeah Right

Believe this, you'll believe anything:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110315/wl_nm/us_israel_ship

Pay Rise for Elected Officials

My 'you-couldn't-make-this-stuff-up' folder just burst at the seams:

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_17614760

Systemic Collapse

Just in case anyone is beginning to take this seriously, here is some good advice:

http://www.collapsenet.com/about-us/core-documents/collapse-prep-101

Germany Gets Nuclear Jitters

Blimey! An intelligent political decision! Wonders never cease, but of course this is all just part of the beginning of the end of industrial 'civilization'. We are all entering a grand awakening moment (definition of the word 'apocalypse' apparently - see comments section) where we come out of our cheap-energy-driven stupour, and smell the coffee. Or not:

http://www.collapsenet.com/free-resources/collapsenet-public-access/item/700-somebody-please-answer-this-question?-and-a-head-shot-to-infinite-growth-from-angela-merkel

Rice Farmer

Another great blogger I've been reading for years, I've only just found out that he lives in Japan. On his blog (called 'Rice Farmer') he has been collating articles and writing about the issues of complex societites in relation to peak oil for years. Here he writes an incredibly concise piece which just blows the mega-ponzi scheme that is the global economy out of the water. I suspect his recent dice with death has sharpened his already clear focus. Take heed of this, and prepare yourself:

http://www.collapsenet.com/free-resources/collapsenet-public-access/item/697-the-moral-calculus-of-mega-economics

Dead Fish

My 'you-couldn't-make-this-up' folder is heaving at the moment with ridiculous examples of man's folly. Here is a case in point - dead fish turn up in a marina, ten inches deep, are tested positive for a powerful neurotoxin, and are taken off to be converted into - wait for it - organic compost! Um, question: won't this then enter the food chain?

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-redondo-beach-dead-fish,0,2760912.story

Oh, and by the way, the toxin - domoic acid - causes short-term memory loss, brain damage and sometimes death in humans:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domoic_acid

Bon Appetit!

Agroecology

Trust the UN to come up with a new term that no-one has heard of, to explain how to feed the world. What they are trying to say, in this new report, is that intensive petro-chemical-reliant agrobusiness is not the way forward. Duh! We've been saying that for years, not least of all because it's pretty obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes:

http://www.alternet.org/food/150158/groundbreaking_new_un_report_on_how_to_feed_the_worlds_hungry_ditch_corporatecontrolled_agriculture

However, there is a way to feed the world and save the environment:

http://www.alternet.org/food/150221/leaning_into_veganism%3A_kathy_freston_on_why_eating_more_plant-based_foods_can_save_your_life_and_the_planet/

;)

Inside info on Nuclear Reactors - Greg Palast

A must-read:

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/the-no-bs-info-on-japans-disastrous-nuclear-operators-by-greg-palast/

Cyber Warfare

It keeps getting stranger and stranger, folks. I think Anonymous are the good guys though, and the US Dept. of Defence (DoD) definitely the bad guys:

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/20113981026464808.html

Japan and The Nuclear Industry

Again, please read if you want to hear the latest about the situation in Japan:

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/

Japan - the Latest

As told by Michael Ruppert: about as near to the truth as you are going to get. It is bad, very bad. He has been predicting, detailing and sourcing proof that we are at the beginning of the end of industrial civilisation for years, and here he says - shockingly - that Japan will not be re-built. At this stage I no longer have patience for those who doubt peak-oil and its consequences - to these people I will merely say 'Good Luck'.

Meanwhile, for those who want to hear news that you will not hear on the BBC, here is this week's show:

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-lifeboat-hour/

Energy - got yours?

Another great piece from Dmitri. He's got his year's supply - have you?

http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2011/03/fuel-for-year.html

BDS

This campaign is gathering strength:

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=7zk64gcab&v=001Uw9QefivccJeaYH2litVLFltKzgPFjXQuHAIZcE1lbwYRTOTQfZq4n0kYhdeNFwAz028U41CdRJ_h7YLXz8at8ocuhecCYse3jegBhwjAEE%3D

Berlin Wall

Incidentally, I was born on the same day the Berlin Wall was built - 12th August 1961. I visited it when I was 17, when Checkpoint Charlie was still in place, and a tiny museum next to the wall showed the methods desperate people had used to try to escape to the West. I saw with my own eyes the soldiers with guns on their checkpoint on the other side of the wall. Years later, I witnessed the wall coming down.

Maybe that's why walls resonate deeply with me.

They are not the solution.

Roger Waters

Having never heard of him until an hour ago, I find I am now his biggest fan! Here is an op-ed article he's written, outlining why he has decided to put his head up above the parapet, and encourage other artists to boycott Israel, until something changes:

http://imeu.net/news/printer0020582.shtml

Pink Floyd - The Wall

Here's a fantastic interview with an extremely eloquent Roger Waters from Pink Floyd, where he talks about his long history of interest in walls, from the time when he penned that famous song. An interesting listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UdX5WpRrwtM

Border Crossing in Israel

Here is an e-mail received from a friend who is still in Nablus, teaching English with Project Hope. As you will see, he once worked on a Kibbutz, and wanted to go back there...

"I have tried. I have really tried, to understand Israel and the Israelis. I have tried to put myself in the shoes of people who want a home land. I have tried to feel what it must be like to want a peaceful life, but to live in fear of rockets and suicide bombers. I have tried to put myself in the position of someone whose country feels it is in a constant state of siege. It has not been easy.

Each time I try to understand, I cannot help but feel that I am in the wrong. I might want a homeland for myself, but I don’t think that that excuses me taking away someone elses homeland! And, when I think about my fear of someone else attacking me, I realize that those attacks would be legitimate attempts to fight back against what I or my nation, have done. I feel unable to justify injustice perpetrated by me or on my behalf, just because it suits my needs and whims.

Of course, I may not be a good example! After all, in my own country, I have tried to fight against injustice, inequality, racism, injustice and oppression (not that it got me very far!), so it’s probably inevitable that I would balk at what Israel has done. Maybe those of you out there who are less left or less political than myself can find good cause and understanding. I just can’t!

I am writing this after being escorted to the toilet by an armed security guard (more on this later). He took the opportunity to try to educate what he clearly presumed to be an ill-informed westerner, about the situation which Israel faces. First of all he told me how dangerous it was for me to have been in places like Syria because, if I got stabbed the ambulance would take half an hour to get to me, whilst in Israeli it would only take 10 minutes. The he said that what had happened in Egypt (the overthrow of Mubarek) was very bad because, soon, the Muslim Brotherhood would come to power. Israel is like a bubble of the west in the Middle East, he said (and so, presumably, we should like them). He warned me that we should not trust the Arabs. In Turkey, I was warned, the Muslims are playing a clever game, because they look as though they are being moderate, whilst the generals had been good because they kept the Mulims out of power. Hammas is clever, because they do things for the poor, but then, when they get to power, they are like Iran. The Americans, he told me, had supported the downfall of the Shah of Iran in 1979, and look where that got them – the Ayatollah. Now (clearly he meant foolishly), Obama supported the removal of Mubarek!

I don't know what will happen in these countries, now that they are throwing off the yoke of dictatorship: maybe the regimes will hang on with different faces (and Israel will be happy), or new bosses with new deals, or even extremist islamic groups, or, possibly something really representative of the people, but, what was very clear from this man (and, I believe he represented the dominant thinking in Israel and its government), is that it is not just the Palestinians whose oppression can be justified for the sake of Israeli security! He was clearly happy that oppression should happen all over the Middle East for their sake. There is no limit to which some people are prepared to go for their own sake (Ghadaffi is a case in point). And, as they are the people in the Middle East who actually have nuclear weapons, it’s quite scary. More to the point, in my view, it’s wrong!

Anyway, one of the ways in which I had hoped to reach, at least a less hostile attitude to Israel, was to go to the kibbutz which I had been to some 30 years ago. I doubt if I would have met any of the people who were there then, and it is even less likely that anybody would have remembered me, but I did think that seeing the place where I had had such a good time all that long ago, might remind me that there is something positive, something which can be salvaged from the abomination that is Israel in my mind (of course, I might have found myself in some terrible conversation which simply entrenched my feelings, but I didn’t want to think that!).

The Kibbutz was located just the other side of the wall from Tulkarem, only 20 minutes by servees from Nablus. The first time Jane and I tried to go it was raining heavily and the journey seemed to be more complicated and more costly than we had expected, so we turned back. Consider it a recce! The second time it was Shabbat and I didn’t think that we would have any problem visiting the Kibbutz, what I didn’t realize was that the checkpoint would be closed! The third time one of my classes was cancelled due to holidays and I made arrangements for another to be covered so that I could go on my own.

A Terminal Experience:

The checkpoint at Tulkarem is not like the ones you come across within the West Bank. They are usually where the road is subdivided into lanes, each guarded by one or more guard post. The lanes can be blocked and vehicles can be stopped, but, mostly, these days, you can drive through under the watchful eye of an armed soldier or two. The Tulkarem checkpoint is a gate through the apartheid wall and is more like Qalandiya or Bethlehem, which give access to Jerusalem, only more so! High metal fencing channels people, cattle-like to a bank of football-style turnstiles. They are electronically controlled, with red or green lights to indicate if they are open. Unfortunately, when I arrive, they are all on red, there are Palestinians already waiting. Nobody tell you anything – you just wait patiently for the lights to change. We wait maybe twenty minutes: I am in a good mood and just take things in. I take some photos of normal Palestinian life for the folks back home.

When the lights do change I am fortunate enough to be one of the dozen or so who are able to get through. I have entered what they euphemistically call the terminal. There are no signs of welcome or direction as far as I can see, just exhortations to ‘Keep the terminal clean’, so I just follow the others. There is, however, a loud voice booming over the tannoy, presumably telling people what to do – a contrast to the silence while we have been stood waiting. We walk up corridors through 3 electric gates, one after another. Each one is also on red, fortunately we do not have to wait long, but there is no way of knowing. Then comes the normal airport terminal stuff.

There is an x-ray machine which you put your bags and stuff through, and there is a walk through metal detector, there is also a security woman who tannoys excruciatingly loud instructions from behind armoured glass. She doesn’t like my bag: she tells me to put it through the ‘makina’ another 3 or 4 times; then I have to take everything out of the bag and show her and send it all back through the ‘makina’. She likes the camera even less: I have to take it out the bag and send them through together; then I have to do it again, but placed differently; then I have to do it again; then I have to take the batteries out. It’s Jane’s camera which I am using especially for the visit – I can’t open the batteries! I have to have help from a Palestinian. I put it through again, but she’s still not satisfied; I have to put camera and batteries on a plastic tray at least three times before she is satisfied. All this time the other Palestinians who were with me have had to wait (as well as those outside!). All the Palestinian men travel light, with no bags and only necessary hand held things like phone, money, ID and essential documents; they also take off their belts. I want to tell them that I am sorry for delaying them and for not knowing the ropes – I nod apologetically, but I am too embarrassed to try Arabic. At last I can go!

Through another electronically controlled turnstile, to another airport terminal thing! This time the xray makina is accompanied by a more sophisticated scanner and more tannoyed shouts from behind armoured glass. The Palestinian who helped me with my batteries tells me what to do. I take my belt off and everything is on the machine apart from my ring, necklace and watch. I stand feet apart on orange foot prints with arms raised (as in surrender); the makina closes and scans me; then I have to turn side-on and stand on the pink foot prints and surrender to the makina. The tannoy woman behind the glass doesn’t like my camera, nor does her friend – they want it. My Palestinian friend places it for them in a separate secure side-room. They want to know what I have been taking photos of: “Our travels.” “Have you taken any pictures here?” “Yes, when I was waiting to come in.” Two things occur to me: one that they have cameras watching all over, and probably saw me taking pictures and they didn’t like it; and, two, that they are scanning our pictures and probably copying them. What I don’t remember is that many of the other photos are of Palestinians – maybe they will cross-check them later. Eventually I am allowed through; fortunately, while I have been waiting the Palestinian have been allowed past. I am allowed past, but they are not finished with me yet – there is still the ID check.

One of the advantages of being a foreigner is that you usually get preferential treatment – at Bethlehem and Qalandiya you get passed through with barely a glance (Bethlehem even has an express tourist gate), whereas the Palestinian ID is carefully scrutinized. Here, as well as their ID and a sheaf of accompanying documents, the Palestinians had to provide an electronic hand print, nonetheless they got through quicker than I! I am asked the purpose of my visit and what I was doing in Tulkarem; when I tell them I wasn’t in Tulkarem, but Nablus they want to know why. I tell them Jane and I were staying with friends we’d met in Jerusalem. They ask me to wait then call me back for more questions; this happens several times: “What have you been doing in Israel?”, “How did you get to Nablus?”, “What checkpoint?”, “What were you doing inSyria?”, “Where were you staying inNablus?”, “”What is the address?”, “Who have you been staying with?”, “What are their phone numbers?”, “Why do you want to go to Israel?”, “Do you know anybody on the kibbutz?”, “Where is the kibbutz?”, “Why DO you want to go to the kibbutz?”, “Did your friends give you anything to take to the kibbutz?”, “What do they do?” They ask for and get mine and Jane’s phone numbers and my email and they want information about who I say we have been staying with and all details about them – I am not very forthcoming on this, but give them some basics. After maybe half an hour of this toing and froing they tell me that tourists are not supposed to use this check-point. I said that I didn’t know that. Later I ask how I am supposed to know that and she tells me frankly that you don’t! Eventually she says that she is going to see if she can get permission for me to go through, and leaves her cubical. It is now 3 hours since I first arrived at the ‘terminal’!

It is while I was waiting between questions that I noticed the guy with the guns. They are not IDF (or Israeli Offence Force as the Palestinians call them) but private security firms which man the terminals and sometimes the checkpoints (one of my escorts told me he had come from Nigeria to find work: the political fall out if one of these dies is not as great as if an Israeli soldier dies) . They are prowling on gantry walkways which criss-cross above our head. (When I get home, my landlord tells me that he had got a permit to enable him to go to Tel Avi for his business. He was in the hands-in-the-air-legs-apart-makina and had a cigarette packet in his pocket which was detected by the machine. The next thing he knew was a red laser dot tracing up his front to his forehead and his being told that if he make a wrong move he will be shot. He was directed to a bombproof room with no roof, where he had to strip before being scanned and let go. He said that his permit is still valid for a few days, but he is too frightened to go back just now and will have to apply for another permit.) While I am waiting one of them keeps his beady eye on me and one has to escort me when I need to use the toilet.

While I am waiting a steady stream of Palestinians passes through, mostly, now, heading back from Israel. Many are people who go o Israel to work, though that is discouraged in Israel nowadays, many of them are carrying sacks of oranges on their back. I am reminded of the line of lorries which was queueing at another gate, while we were waiting to enter, and wonder how long they have to wait for. There are Palestinians who go back and to through this checkpoint every day.

Several hours of waiting later I have concluded that they are not discussing whether to let me through a non-tourist checkpoint. I begin to wonder if they are going to deport me. They don’t like the fact that we went to Syria, they don’t like the fact that I was in the West Bank, and they definitely didn’t like me taking the photos. Maybe they are taking so long because they are making arrangements to deport me? Why did they want our phone numbers and my email – what will they do with them? If they are planning to deport me then I have nothing to lose in telling them that I’ve been working for Project Hope, engaged in the treasonous activity of teaching English! At least I’ve had a good innings!

She returns with an armed escort (I am clearly potential dangerous) and tells me that I have to speak over the phone to the security services. More question, about Syria, about where exactly in England we are from, our jobs etc, over and over again. Eventually I tell him that I am teaching at Project Hope. He wants names. Apart from the manager and our landlord, I refuse.

I arrived at 11.20am, I am refused entry six and a half hours later, at 5.50pm. It would have been too late to get to the kibbutz and back by then, anyway, but for some strange reason, the desire to go had somehow ebbed away. I went to the Kibbutz, 30 years ago, ignorant of the real situation, now I am not. I am no longer willing to make the effort to get there (via Jerusalem this time) and I no longer have any belief that my feelings towards Israel can be redeemed. – well done Israel!!!"

This is the sort of on-the-ground information which needs to be spread far and wide, in order that we understand what is happening in that part of the world. Treating other human beings like cattle, or worse, is not going to bring about peace. And I think one party in this 'conflict' knows that full well...

Anonymous

Here's some fantastically uplifting news from those wonderful people at Anonymous. I must admit, the news is getting stranger and stranger, as real life mirrors the Stieg Larsson's book, about hackers who bring down the bad guys. I just hope this is true:

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/hacker-group-anonymous-brings-peaceful-revolution-america-will-engage-civil-disobedience-unt?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29

Also, this blogger mentions that when he lost funding for his website, Anonymous stepped in and pay for his site:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2kiprZTG0g&feature=player_embedded

Israeli Settlers Killed

This story is awful, and all over the mainstream media.

What is missing, however, is balance: unarmed Palestinian children get shot and killed every day by the IDF, and it doesn't make the news (see my blog entry 'Justice will be done'). The situation in Palestine is untenable, and I have been there and seen it for myself. It is a law of physics that if you squeeze something too much, it pops.

Felicity Arbuthnot

Years ago I worked for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Head of Chancery was a Mr Hugh Arbuthnot, this was in 1980 or thereabouts, and he was a keen tennis player. Being the self-appointed Embassy Sports' Rep (in Paris) I used to book his courts for him. A courteous, old-school member of the ruling elite, it would be divine justice if the author of this piece is a relation of his. It would restore some of my faith that not all the members of the ruling aristocracy are hell-bent on world domination! Anyone have any info, let me know:

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/britains-failed-intel-operation-in-libya-her-majestys-bungling-secret-intelligence-service/

Webster Tarpley

Question: would you rather get your news from a duo of air-brushed sycophantic corrupt Fox 'News' presenters, or an bipartisan economic political historian?

Answer:

http://tarpley.net/world-crisis-radio/

Justice Will Be Done

Perpetrators of pure evil will not walk free. Retribution is coming.

http://philosophers-stone.co.uk/wordpress/2011/03/not-guilty-the-israeli-captain-who-emptied-his-rifle-into-a-palestinian-schoolgirl/

Thought For The Day

It is insanity to fight to keep alive a system that is killing us. It's like feeding a virus. Let it go...

Love Police

This is Part 2 of 'People Power', with a few people now starting to wake up to what is going on. Charlie of the Love Police has a blog (below) and by coincidence, at the moment has a letter to him there from a person who has just come back from Palestine. The writer documents what I also saw and experienced, and what I believe we will all be subjected to, if we continue to accept and allow it.

Anyway Charlie of the Love Police is trying to get a movement going in the UK where people stop paying their mortgages, stop paying credit cards bills, taxes, etc. All of this as a non-violent protest movement to show that we do not agree with what is happening in the world - violence and wars funded by banks, for bankers. Good luck with that Charlie, as my recent UK trip showed me that most British people are still completely asleep when it comes to the economic reality of the country:

http://www.cveitch.org/

Also, this blog from a Canadian who is sick of the violence he saw at the G20 protests in Toronto, who is also encouraging non-violent civil disobedience:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56Vcwnbof9I&feature=player_embedded#at=606

He says 'we are on the cusp on something huge'.........and I agree with him! Now is the time, this is the moment!

Count Orlov

Again, this is a blog I've followed for many years: another intelligent, witty, and helpful person who is willing to share his knowledge and advice for free. He's half American, half Russian, and he witnessed first-hand the collapse of the Soviet Union. In a book entitled 'Reinventing Collapse' (which he's just re-releasing with up-dates), he tracks the similarities and differences between the USA and the USSR. The good news is this book exists, the bad news is: the population of the USSR were much, much more prepared than today's American's are.

Here's his blog:

http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/

And here is a half-hour presentation summing it all up for us, in his usual dead-pan style:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrz5ucQACo8&feature=player_embedded

PS He lives on a boat!

Energy Crisis UK

The green energy issue is just a side issue: if an idiot like me could work out years ago that serious decisions needed to be made and invested in, to power a country of 60m people, why can't the Oxbridge elite? We should/could have invested in alternatives (wave/solar/wind) plus encouraged intelligent use of available resources, but instead we went for broke and raped and pillaged other countries first. What we have coming could be called justice from an Iraqi perspective:

http://johnosullivan.livejournal.com/31784.html

Hurrah!! People Power (the beginning...)

The public take over a bank in US:

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/theclog/2011/03/08/d-c-bank-of-america-branch-shut-down-by-protesters/

The public take over a Court in the UK:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMDhhRpdQb4&feature=player_embedded

Michael Ruppert

I have been following this man for well over ten years, when he had a blog called 'From the Wilderness'. He now has a new blog (with a lot of history in between!) called 'Collapsenet.com'. He's written a book I highly recommend, called 'Crossing the Rubicon' which he wrote also over a decade ago, and much of what he predicted has come to pass.

Understanding where we are today is about understanding several things: energy; consumption; resources; politics and psychology, amoungst other things. He got it right back then, and those of us who listened and read his work are much better prepared than most to face the on-coming storm. I feel sorry for those people who are going to get caught up in the storm through no fault of their own, but to all of those who have been willfully living beyond their means and being profligate with the planet's resources - well, you had it coming, and it's coming.

Put simply, it is not/was not possible to live the Western lifestyle for more than a few decades, and without any people in positions of authority who have spines, guts and determination, we were always heading for this moment. Unfortunately, it is a truism that those people who should be in politics are not, whilst those who seek power, fame and fortune rise to the top and fight to the death to try to stay there.

Here is Michael's latest podcast, on a weekly show with the Progressive Radio Network, where he sets out where we're at:

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-lifeboat-hour/

Pensions in USA

Makes for interesting reading, and don't think it couldn't happen to you...

http://247wallst.com/2011/03/04/the-sixteen-states-that-are-killing-their-pensions/

North Africa Revolutions

I haven't written too much about what is happening on the north of the African continent, as I have been waiting to get a handle on what is really going on. Then I read this article, and the mist cleared, as it chimed in with my gut reaction. Let's just hope that they over-play their hand and shoot themselves in the foot, if you'll excuse the mixed metaphores:

http://www.puppet99.com/?p=126

Latest from Palestine

This from a friend who has been teaching English in Nablus for the last six months. I have met people here in the West who think the situation in the West Bank is six of one, half a dozen of the other, in this 60+ year conflict. It isn't. At All:

Hi folks,

I don’t teach in the refugee camps but I do teach the teachers in the UNWRA schools, designated specifically for the children of the refugee camps. In the same way that the camps housing 23 thousand displaced people are a means of ghettoizing people, so is their schooling. The teachers that I teach are dedicated, thoughtful and well educated people, they on the whole earn slightly less than state teachers and the social problems they deal with daily are vast. A survey undertaken by the headmaster showed that 80% of the mothers had never been schooled above the age of eleven and their level of literacy was very poor. The camps were first set up as tents in 1948 but subsequent refugees have joined over the next 20 years (of course a large number in and around 1967) thus the parents of most of the students will themselves have been born into the camps.

The problems they experience relate of course to the behavioral problems of the kids. All my classes have been conversation and because I, and they, are interested in education, I have centred the classes around their experiences. They say that childrens behavior has become worse over the last 5 years and they cite this being to do with the intifada of 2001. They say the children have lost their belief in the future, in their belief that adults can keep them safe and in their need to support their families financially. The children try to make money by working selling on the streets, this is not considered to be a good place to instill good values into the children. Additionally the camps have a higher than normal number of men in prison both by the Israelis and the PA. The families that live in the camps do not have the wide support of a historical base of extended family that other families in Palestine have. In one of the villages we picked olives in, one family amounted to 1000 people all contributing to the collective family pot. The level of unemployment in Palestine is very high and in the camps even higher. Many of the families are dependant on food hand outs from the UN.

The teachers have a very low opinion of the UN. The aid they provide is very minimalist yet at the same time very coercive. There remains the belief that the UN does nothing to help or support the refugees other than a bit of food and very limited health provision. We visited Dheisha Camp near Bethlehem over the weekend (2^nd in size to Balata which is the biggest in Palestine) which has only one doctor to 13,000 people and classes of 60 to each class. To be fair, the school I work in, has an average class size that has recently reduced to 25, but in Balata some classes have to share teachers!

Our guide at Dheisha was late because the Israelis had arrived at 2am looking for a young man that they wanted to question. All of the camps have visits at 2 or 3am from the Israeli soldiers, sometimes just for training manouvers. Even when infrastructure is damaged by their vehicles the UN make no complaint, and are slow to make repairs due to lack of funds.

Now away from refugee camps and on to settlements! Last weekend as I mentioned we went to Bethlehem. When we had been there last time we hadn’t seen any of the town, we had just stayed at the hostel near the Dheisha camp while we went to the Open (Closed) Minds Conference. So with the idea, for me at least, of being tourists and not too political we first had a trip around the camp and then went into the town to do the tourist bit. It is a lovely town, lots of money used to make it pretty for the tourists (the vast majority of whom come by coach from Israel and return without spending much money or time in the West Bank), a lovely market and just to show how small this place is we met a friend from the EAPPI outside the Church of Nativity.

Before we came to Palestine we had contacted an organization called Tent of Nations which is an organic farm project which operates in a similar way to an open farm with youngsters visiting and internationals working with them. We had not heard from them and had subsequently found Project Hope, but as we were in the area we decided to visit them. We were met by the son of the family and taken around by him. Am I glad we did not go there! The farm is on top of a hill, surrounded by settlements on all the hills around, big built up towns, ugly in their western architecture, totally out of keeping with the terraced landscape of a dessert hilly landscape. I have attached some photos that can explain this better. The settlers always build on hills, therefore the farm has been constantly under attack for the last thirty years. They have had countless demolition orders but due to the foresight of the great grandfather of our guide, they have proof of ownership from the ottomans, the British and the Jordanians, thus this has made life difficult for the Israeli government in taking their land. It has nevertheless meant numerous court appearances, huge amounts of legal expenses and restrictions on building, on getting electricity or water to the farm and on developing their educational projects. The owners are Christian (as are many of the Palestinians in and around Bethlehem) and their aim is to recruit volunteers from the three main religions of the region to work together to share ideas and build friendships.

Having become pretty despondent about the fate of Palestinians, probably also affected by the welcome though far from final peace in Egypt (800 deaths in one day) and far more horrendous upheaval in Libya I was not wanting to hear more bad news on our weekend away, but it just shows how total the horror the occupation and constant pressure the people have to live under really is. My feelings of depression is just a blip, after all I can and am leaving, no wonder many people just try to put their head down and deal with their life on a day to day basis ducking the awful reality of other peoples lives and the wider picture of a horrendously hopeless future.

On a much lighter note. We took about 80 kids to see Alice in Wonderland at the Freedom theatre in Jenin, and I attach some photos. The kids were from two of the refugee camps in Nablus, the orphanage I work in and a local village. It was a great trip not that I understood a wood of the play cos obviously it was in Arabic.

The red anemonies are all over, like poppies in England they are considered to the drops of blood from the Palestinian dead. The garden is where one of my students/friends lives at whose house we went to lunch.

Plus I have been working with one of my womens classes to do a presentation about International Womans day tomorrow (now today) and just got a call to say no class because all women to get the day off.Yes!!!!!!!!!! Our class will happen next week instead!

Well it is possible I won’t again write before we leave this much beleaguered land. It will be a big wrench to leave, but I am ready and excited about our next adventure.

Anonymous?

I hope the cavalry are coming, in the form of hackers who can disrupt the Oligarch's evil plans of global financial domination - without firing a shot:

http://www.anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=619

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168772.html

IMF & Greece

IMF go for the jugular in Greece, and try to asset-strip the country. Same for Iceland with their geothermal energy and fisheries (see blog entry). Coming to a country near you?

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Money/Story/STIStory_634471.html

Economic Hitman

This interview with the self-confessed economic hit-man John Perkins gives an overview of where we are today, globally, with lots of good advice on how we, the people, can change our world and make decisions that have an important impact for the future. Well worth an hour of your time:

http://www.redicecreations.com/radio/2011/02/RIR-110217.php

Rooftop Organic Farming

This is as whacky as it is logical:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh5JT6FkA8o

Greece & Israel

Stranger and stranger:

http://www.voltairenet.org/article168625.html

CCTVs

A recent trip around the south of England not only showed to me what this report confirms, but also revealed the extent of various masts - some of them huge - that are now planted everywhere. I have a feeling that they are about more than mobile phones:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1362493/One-CCTV-camera-32-people-Big-Brother-Britain.html

(BTW I hate the Daily Mail, especially for all its sensational celebrity gossip, but for some strange reason it comes out with some good journalism sometimes).

The IRS

Here is the truth about the IRS. The same IRS who shot and killed Willliam Cooper outside his house at elelven o'clock at night:

http://ricoforsheriff.com/irs-liens-and-levys

Report from Hebron

Posted by a friend in Palestine, who has been working for the ISM:

http://palsolidarity.org/2011/02/16825/

Veil Ban in France

This will be very interesting to watch, islamophobia and hypocracy:

http://maxkeiser.com/2011/03/04/sarkozy-aerospace-veil-ban/

Russia says No Libyan Airstrikes

Just for the record, in case anyone out there believes everything the Western media tells them:

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/watch?v=XYesnOD6_gQ&feature=related

NWO versus Islam

http://www.activistpost.com/2011/03/why-banksters-hate-islam.html

Ron Paul

Almost the only American Politician worth listening to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m1J32wABiI&feature=player_embedded#at=93

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34OkbWYcCHI&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD4kayWV1tk&feature=related (from 2008)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM8d_Arjz6g

(this last one is great - he won the CPAC poll by a landslide, although you wouldn't think so from the mainstream media...)

Arab Spring

From Professor of Arab Studies, Columbia University:

http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2011/03/rashid-khalidithe-arab-spring/

Bedouin of the Negev

When I was in Palestine recently, I saw a tiny group of Bedouin, eking out a living with their straggly goats on parched land in the Jordan valley. These once-proud people have roamed these lands for millennia, but now they are forbidden by Israel from moving with their animals, because of 'security'. The impossibility of their situation and the end of some of the world's last nomads is very sad:

http://poorrichards-blog.blogspot.com/2011/03/israel-to-sue-bedouin-residents-of.html

Pakistan/CIA

Here is one of those murky stories that surfaces from time to time, revealing the extent of the skulduggery that goes on in the name of diplomacy. Apparently deadly weapons were found in his hire-car, and he is no doubt not alone. Many people still have a lot of difficulty believing that we in the West regularly hire mercenaries, but here is the proof:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/03/2011338825200889.html

Wisconsin

Latest on what's happening there. Even the Police joined in the protests - there's hope yet!:

http://www.kctv5.com/news/27068609/detail.html

Stuxnet

No real surprise here, but for the record:

http://www.activistpost.com/2011/03/computer-expert-says-us-behind-stuxnet.html

Iceland

I've been away for a while, but a lot has been happening. Listened yesterday to this fascinating interview with an Icelandic Member of Parliament, describing how her country was brought to the edge of destruction, and went from one of the healthiest economies in the world to one of the worst, in a matter of months. As she says, this could happen to any country at any time, and everyone ought to be aware of this fact. In six parts, of ten minutes, well worth the time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUNpIbhaY1Y&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoUtDnoeYlo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Whf_wWkgQBY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gwP7-v5IcY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp2-mpILDIE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHk-UYZuXE4&feature=related

Matt Taibbi

More from this clever young man:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/why-isnt-wall-street-in-jail-20110216?page=1

(see also 'Sub-prime explained' on this blog.)

General Petraeus

I've had a scrap of paper on my office wall for nearly a year now - a result of something I heard on the internet a while ago which struck a chord with me. It says: 'Prediction: General Petraeus for US President 2012'. I'd almost forgotten about it, until I saw this little,snippet, about him resigning his post in Afghanistan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElcyLLn3uXQ

Long-term planned military coup for USA?

http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2011/02/wayne-madsen-gen-petraeus-resigns-from.html

End of Dollar as Reserve Currency

More from the Global Settlement people. Apparently the dollar will be replaced some time this year as reserve currency, which is BIG news! There are rumours in the MSM about the SDR's of the World Bank, which would be more of the same, but more interesting and intruiging is this plan, which will level out the playing field much more, and is being pushed by the Chinese:

http://global-settlement.org/cms/node/6

Plus, here is a sobering hour-long presentation about the consequences of a dollar devaluation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vFAvrv8srE

IDF to Locate in E Jerusalem

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/haaretz-probe-idf-base-to-be-built-in-east-jerusalem-1.343540

Privatisation - UK

We've seen it before, but not on such a scale, and the vast majority of British people don't have a clue how serious this is. It is a continuation of the consolidation of wealth that we are witnessing around the world, where the assets of the general public get sold off to private investors, and the money raised does not even go back to the people who owned the original asset, but into Government coffers and pretty quickly, into off-shore tax-havens. At the same time the Government is using public money to pay out huge bonuses to banks, leaving the public with the bill - a double whammy if ever I saw one.

What will it take for the British to revolt?:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/8113973/Channel-Tunnel-rail-link-sale-begins-UKs-big-sell-off.html

Kenneth O'Keefe

Here's an interview with an American who has denounced his US citizenship and was on the aid to Gaza flotilla that was attacked by the Israeli Army. The BBC give a typical 'attack-poodle' performance, but he stays calm and eloquent to the end, and makes some great points:

http://eddieleaks.org/ken-okeefe-bbc-hardtalk/

New Anti-semitism

An excellent interview that tells it like it is: any criticism of Israel is seen as anti-semitism, and it is political suicide to find fault with Israeli policies. Here we have a dose of the truth, that should be shared and discussed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnRsM1FgVeY&feature=player_embedded

Also, here is a good book, written by an Israeli academic and author:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ethnic_Cleansing_of_Palestine

Palestine - latest news

http://af.reuters.com/article/tunisiaNews/idAFLDE71C0KP20110213?sp=true

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-palestinian-cabinet-to-resign-in-wake-of-mideast-turmoil-1.343218

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-hopes-mubarak-resignation-won-t-affect-bilateral-peace-accord-1.342823

Sub-Prime Explained

Here is a good presentation by Matt Taibbi, wherein he explains in easy-to-understand terms what actually happened with the banks and their predatory lending practices that lead to the sub-prime fiasco. Institutionalised greed with everyone spining and spinning and scared to get off, this fiscal mess has now spiralled out of control:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKLI2gqy-4g&feature=player_embedded

Algeria

Webster Tarpley's latest radio podcast is here, where he asserts that all of these 'revolutions' are instigated by the CIA as part of a long-term plan to destabilize the region. I have a lot of respect for Tarpley, but can the CIA really orchestrate 2 million people on the streets of Cairo? Do they have that much influence? It does appear, however, that the Egyptian Army General was in Washington two weeks ago. Ho-hum. We just have to keep watching and waiting, to see what the end-game is here:

http://tarpley.net/world-crisis-radio/

Here's the latest on the up-rising in Algeria:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/algeria/8320772/Algeria-shuts-down-internet-and-Facebook-as-protest-mounts.html?sms_ss=twitter&at_xt=4d56f1c2c415511f,0

Pensions as Ponzi's

In the US there are 10,000 baby-boomers retiring every day.......and as this article makes very clear, there is not enough money in the system - let alone what has been syphoned off for other schemes - to keep this boat afloat. The writing is on the wall, folks - make your own plans for retirement:

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2011/02/february-12-2011-pensions-treasuries.html

Palestine/ISM

The latest blog entry from a friend in Palestine, working for the International Solidarity Movement:

"Another weekend goes by full of protests and demonstrations. On Friday I went to An Nabi Saleh – the weekly demonstrations there apparently appearing (albeit heavily sanitized) in a recent Louis Theroux documentary – and yesterday to Beit Ummar. Both demonstrations were notable for the relative calm and the restraint of the Israeli army, although in An Nabi Saleh their actions may better be described as a change of tactics than a reduction of force. The military there has been criticised of late for using excessive force – An Nabi Saleh being reputed to be the most dangerous of demonstrations – and, perhaps due to increased media focus, seemed to tone down their efforts at ‘crowd dispersal’. Indeed, it was over an hour-and-a-half before the few soldiers stationed near the city launched any tear gas or shock grenades, and this was only after provocation from the shabab. More worrying was how quickly afterwards you could hear the slight thud of live ammunition, but this – it appears in retrospect – was mainly as a warning, as no one was seriously injured. There were about six detentions, although the three internationals were released immediately after the army withdrew. I’m not as sure as to the fate of the Palestinians.

Similarly, the demonstration in Beit Ummar – also against the continued land grab of the settlers – was relatively calm. A demonstration normally characterised by low turnout and high arrest count, this time (thanks, no doubt, to the large number of television cameras) ended with only a single temporary detention and neither tear gas nor sound bombs used to disperse the crowd. The protestors made it to the perimeter fence of a nearby settlement, the protest leader – Egyptian flag in hand - was able to say his piece for the cameras and, afterwards, everyone was able to go home following what was a genuinely peaceful demonstration. I did note, however, at one point all the soldiers had in their hand a tear gas canister, but it seems their commander thought it more prudent not to give the order to release them whilst the media was present.

Outside Hebron, in the small village of Al-Bwayre, Palestinians are having further problems as the Israeli government gave orders for a nearby illegal outpost –an illegal illegal settlement – to be dismantled, which left around three settler families homeless and very, very angry. They took this out on locals by cutting electricity and pelting their homes with rocks, and their anger and threat of retaliation was such that Israel actually deployed a number of troops to protect the Palestinians – although of course the locals had little faith in the protection of the troops. As such, the ISM and other international groups in Hebron have made sure there has been a constant international presence in the village since the dismantling of the outpost a few days ago.

Last night, it was mine and Bastian’s turn to spend the night with a family there, and so in the evening we set off, sleeping-bags in hand, to the outskirts of Hebron. Once there, we realised we had no idea exactly which house we were meant to go to. Speaking little Arabic, wandering aimlessly around a village after dark with settlers on one side of us and scared Palestinians on the other was not the most comfortable situation, so one of the workers from another organisation – half-Palestinian himself and proficient in Arabic – came out to help us. By the time he arrived, we’d located the house and were with the family, but were nonetheless grateful that he could introduce us and break the linguistic ice which is usually so easily broken with alcohol. Through his Middle Eastern humour though you could tell he was a little worried, as he’d noticed en route that the military presence had completely vanished, and there was now only a low stone wall between the Palestinians and the settlers. And us, of course; an eccentric-looking Frenchman and myself. We drank tea, spoke politics, and laughed, before he left to write up a report on the situation for the UN. The villagers had our phone numbers, and we had our cameras; if any settlers came, we were to ring everyone we knew, and document all we could. That is all we could realistically do in this strange and volatile situation. Bastian and I got into our sleeping bags and settled down for what was to be a cold and uneasy night in the village of Al-Bwayre.

Morning came and, thankfully, nothing had happened. The kids played in the yard, the goats bleated, and the valley looked serene in the morning sun. We packed up and left, checking that they were expecting people back for the school patrol at half-one. Back to Hebron for coffee, bread and hummus, a shower, and rest. Tonight, the village will have as its protection two old ladies from the Christian Peacemaker Team. I sincerely hope tonight is as peaceful as the last, and that my friend’s appeal to the UN to take action on these illegal outposts is successful. I also hope the old dears take enough blankets with them, because that night time air bites a tough chill."

Islamophobia

In a thinly-disguised but coordinated cross-Europe attack, various 'leaders' say 'multiculturalism' has failed (Cameron, Sarkozy, Merkel). They fail to mention the daylight robbery and wealth redistribution that has taken place from the poorest members of society to those at the top, and instead are using classic Macchiavellian divide-and-rule tactics. You'd think everyone would see this for the blatant racism it so obviously is, but unfortunately many people seem unwilling or unable to apply critical thinking:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/09/cameron-scapegoating-muslims-toxic-impact

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/07/editorial-david-cameron-multiculturalism-edl?intcmp=239

Mubarak

This falls into the 'never believe anything until it has been officially denied' camp! Here's a quick up-date from a friend in Palestine on today's historic event:

Mubarak falls and the Middle East celebrates.

We were in the service taxi from Ramallah to Hebron when the news came through: after over a fortnight of protests the Egyptian dictator, Hosni Mubarak, stepped down. We were on our way back from the weekly demonstrations at An Nabi Salah, when the taxi came alive as people finally got confirmation that the protests in Cairo not only were over, but had all been worth it. Despite his bizarre statement last night, hours delayed, in which he still refused to bow to the demands of the people and step aside, tonight he finally bit the bullet and offered his resignation.

He has ceded power to the military and the Supreme Court, who now have to help draw up a new constitution and hold on to the country until elections free and fair elections can be held. In truth, there is a long and troublesome road ahead for the people of Egypt, but Mubarak’s resignation does put an end to the chaos that has been seen across the country, and also stokes the fire of revolution which is beginning to burn in the Arab world.

This is just a short post, as I wanted to get something out today. I’m knackered after today’s demonstration, and have one to go to in Beit Ummar tomorrow, so want to go and collapse on a bed for the next few hours. I will write more when the time is better but, for now, know that something wonderful has happened this evening in the north of Africa and, hopefully, some great things are about to happen across the Middle East.

Directed Energy Weapons (2)

Here is Wiki's page on them. To be sure, the research has continued, under the black ops Military budget, and can occasionally be seen in public places, like tasers to stun us uncooperative members of the public, and the latest 'Active Denial System' which I believe was used against the G20 protesters in Toronto recently, or at least rolled out. What does it do? It can fry you from a distance. Nice. Also, as this Wiki page says (rather coyly), they were used in Iraq, with horrific and unreported consequences:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed-energy_weapon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDoLPD3XfDU&feature=related

Directed Energy Weapons

I'm a regular commenter on Max Keiser's economic and political blog, but for some reason, any posts I make on this topic are not printed, whereas other comments I make are. Hmm, odd, but anyway, here is a copy of my recent post in answer to another commenter's post about the exponential increase in earthquakes:

'The proximity of a brown dwarf would certainly explain the almost EXPONENTIAL increase of Earthquakes and Volcanoes over the last few years' MirrorMirror

Much more likely explanation: Directed Energy Weapons:

http://drjudywood.com/articles/DEW/StarWarsBeam7.html#DEW

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5625257&c=ASI&s=AIR (see para 10, where US is trying to blame China, whilst not admitting to doing it themselves)

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=20369

http://cui.unige.ch/isi/sscr/phys/antim-BPP.html

Global Settlement Foundation

This links to the blog entry below 'Our troubles are over!', and is the origin of those two conference calls. There is apparently going to be a revaluation of currencies with a massive redistribution of wealth and a write-off of certain debts, with those people unable to prove the source of their wealth losing it all. Is it all an elabote hoax, or are there some good guys out there, fighting on behalf of the little guy? Only time will tell, and I've got everything crossed:

http://global-settlement.org/cms/node/6

Controlling Geoengineering

Looks like we're starting to make some headway: from being called conspiracy theorists (yawn) to the set-up of a body looking into the governance of geoengineering. Excellent!

http://www.srmgi.org/

Louis Theroux and the Ultra Zionists

This documentary was on TV recently. You have the settlers' opinions, from the horse's mouth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTszskhUrd0&feature=player_embedded

Pilots for 911 Truth

There is a gathering momentum to this movement, with architects, engineers, physicists, fire-fighters and now pilots asking probing questions about what happened on that day, nearly ten years ago, that changed the course of history:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUbVbmpblFk&NR=1&feature=fvwp

This is in five parts.

PS For the record, mobile telephone calls were not possible from planes to ground, in 2001.

Jews against Zionism

There are many Jewish people trying to work for peace, and who support the Palestinian cause, and who are also against Zionism. Here is an interesting little video which proves the point, outside the AIPAC conference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dSHl3C9kgY&feature=player_embedded

Precious Metals Manipulation

Here's a video by a man whose life has been threatened for exposing the market manipulation in the PM prices - he upset some people in high places:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-92A2rYoB0

http://www.gata.org/

Tahrir Square, Egypt

Here is a copy of an e-mail sent to friends and family of an Egyptian who lives in Kuala Lumpur, but who flew home in solidarity with other Egyptians, to join the demonstrations. Eye-witness testimonies like this are the best media:

"Dear Friends,

Yesterday I went to Tahrir square with my whole family, Mom, dad and my two younger sisters.

As we approached the square we watched thousands marching towards the square, many of whom carried bags with food for protesters.We got down and marched with them till we reached a long queue of people who were getting inspected by regular youth before entering the square, to make sure no weapons or any harmful material. The military was there as well and checked our ID's.

That day in Tahrir we numbered to at least 2 Million. Just observing the scene there seemed as if everyone had an unspoken determination to resist Mubarak's" divide and conquer" strategy.

Sunday was announced as the day of "martyrs" in commemoration of all the protesters who fell since the start of the revolution.

We witnessed the Sunday Coptic Mass and the Muslim Prayer, with both Father and Sheikh sending prayers of blessings for the people's uprising, and people marching and chanting with the Cross and the Qur'an.

Women and girls were hand in hand with men and boys who volunteered to clean up the square and run the field hospital.

Perhaps one of the most telling scenes was the marriage ceremony ( niqah) in the middle of the square between two people who allegedly met during the protests. The whole crowd joined in prayers for them. When the new bride spoke she said: "This square has turned into my home and all of you became my family, I will not find a people more precious than all of you to share my marriage happiness with than you".

I never felt safer in a crowd of 2 Million people in my life than yesterday.Sexual harrassment turned sadly into a reality that accompanied any public gathering in Egypt. This is the same Egypt where today I could stand alone in the middle of a crowd with men passing behind and in front of me without having the slightest fear and not even a single gaze or inappropriate remark.

A young man who accidentally was pushed slightly against my sister turned around and was extremely apologetic. When a group of us young women stood together ,young men gradually started forming a chain around us to protect us, as the masses of people increased.

Abdel-Halim Kandil, a famous political activist and coordinator of the Kefaya political pro-democracy movement, spoke to the crowds yesterday about the process of change, and that as we demand the change of the system we must change as well.

This change is already happening....

As I'm writing you this update, one of the Satellite TV channels is now posting the picture one by one of each martyrer who were killed in cold blood by the regime of Mubarak,most of them 16 and 17 year old, the youngest being killed is a 10 year old boy with two bullets in his body.Rest in piece my brothers and sisters...

Hadil

P.S: Please feel free to share my updates with my name to your contacts and on your blogs. Many thanks to your messages of support and solidarity and apologies for not being able to respond to each of them yet.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update 1:

Dear Friends

Today I flew back to Cairo to join family and friends in this historic uprising againts Mubarak's despotic regime. A few of us on the plane found ourselves in tears just laying our eyes on Cairo as its lights appeared from the sky.

Many of my friends have been camping in Tahrir square all night, while others have been arrested and beaten and humilated.

Yet the determination and strength of everyone is like an earthquake that shook Mubarak's system.

On my way from the airport I passed by at least 10 security checks, including neighborhood watches from ordinary people who sat up all night ,set up fire to warm themselves in the cold and arming themselves with whatever weapons they could find againt thugs and secret riot police who try to terrorize and intimidate people.

I stayed up all night chatting with friends who have been going regularly to tahrir square, sharing stories upon which we cracked up laughing and stories whch made us shed tears.Two of them had just been released from secret police who caught them bringing much needed medical aid and cotton to injured protestors at the square.These were a group of 16-19 year old teenagers, yet this didnt stop the police from terrorizing and assaulting them.

Muhamad Haeikal one of the prominent Egyptian thinkers summarized the whole situation in one beautifull sentence " the ugliest of what is in Egypt tried brutally to kill what is most noble in it".

It was eye opening to all of us, especially the pro-democracy opposition activist like us, that while the world, then UN, the various Human development reports, were telling us how uneducated, poor, corrupt, violent and racist we are, it was amazing to see a humane, noble, conscious and aware people that is humbling to say at least. It is incredible to see how when our ruthless dictators loose their ground, a nobility and love for one own's country emerges.

A picture in the front page on one of the newspaper here was showing a picture of an army solider who was shedding tears beacuse he could not protect the proestors from the violent thugs. The picture is showing one of the protestors whiping away his tears.

Coptic Christians formed human chains around Muslims protecting them while they are performing their friday prayers.

The stories of heroism are incredible, this is the first time in our history we witness riot police being inspected by neighbourhood watch people.

A doctor was sharing, on the funny side, how an old man with more than 30 bones broken still insisted on coming to the square every day! He was begging the man not to return so he can give medical aid to others.

In the middle of all of this, Egyptians did not loose their sense of humor, people chanting and dancing in the millions " Mubarak went crazy' as the tanks stand behind them and try to terrorize them.

There were the stories of Azhar scholars and students joining the protestors in their cloaks , even though the only slogans they knew were from the times of resistance to the british colonial rule, people embraced them laughingly and warmly while carrying them on thier shoulders and chanting.

I will head to the Tahrir square in an hour. Please do share the updates with your contacts and media.

Love,

Hadil

Currency Collapse

"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value -- zero." Voltaire

Here's a 40-minute interview laying out the coming financial collapse, by a financial expert:

http://www.blip.tv/file/4731634

Israel & Democracy

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/02/201126123643463123.html

GEAB

Here's the latest from these clear-thinking folks, who are more often right than wrong:

http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-51-is-available-Systemic-global-crisis-2011-The-ruthless-year-at-the-crossroads-of-three-roads-of-global-chaos_a5775.html

Palestine/Egypt

Another blog entry from a friend in Palestine:

"Today, we enter the 12^th day of protests by people calling for the Egyptian dictator, Hosni Mubarak, to step down. Mubarak has confirmed that he will not seek another term in office, but to say that is to say to the thousands on the streets that he will not move anywhere until September – and this is completely unacceptable to those who have fought so hard to get this far. Even the US president, Barak Obama, has advised that he “listen to what is voiced by the people”; and whilst not explicitly calling for his resignation, his carefully-worded statement is unambiguous as regards to whether Mubarak has the option to stay any longer than absolutely necessary.

What Mubarak must do now is admit defeat and allow a temporary government to preside over the transition to what all hope will be an authentic democracy. A Palestinian I spoke to yesterday - a man I respect and someone who has seen all the worst of the occupation – doubted that anything significant would change: he believed that the people would be offered the vote, but all five names on the ticket would just be more puppets of the US. This was the first time I’d heard a Palestinian voice genuine doubt over the revolution we are seeing – most are too caught up in the euphoria of the moment – but this doubt is borne out of a cynicism formed after many, many fruitless years of violent and non-violent struggle.

Many, however, are optimistic, and a report in the Independent by Robert Fisk suggests that the prospective government and constitution will be negotiated on by a group of 25 political personalities who have both proved their ability and have the respect of the Arab people – including a Nobel Prize-winner, the chairman of the Arab League, an Egyptian-American who has advised Obama, and a professor of Islamic studies who is close to the Muslim Brotherhood. If these people can propose a political system which is acceptable to the Arab people and could be held in good repute throughout the rest of the world, then perhaps we may finally see a beginning to the end of this bastard conflict in the Middle East.

This afternoon, across the West Bank, demonstrations were held to show support for the protestors in Egypt. Here in Ramallah, hundreds gathered in the streets waving Egyptian, Tunisian, and Palestinian flags and chanted “Down with the regime!”, with implicit recognition that the dictators which have ruled across the Middle East are all united by characteristics which have become detestable to the people: the corruption of the leaders; the submission to the US; the disregard for the people; and the sheer, gratuitous wealth of the few who live amongst the devastating poverty of the many. We joined them, and waved our flags, and we shouted what we could. Whilst we were there the protests were peaceful, but as I write this a flash on Maan News states that the protest has been broken up by Fattah supporters. It should be remembered that the PA, too, stand to lose a lot if Mubarak is ousted."

Goldstone Report on Gaza

http://www.alternet.org/world/149792/goldstone_report_details_a_massive_crime_scene_in_gaza/

US Troops go to Egypt

Why?

http://www.businessinsider.com/senior-us-marine-says-multiple-platoons-are-headed-to-egypt-2011-2

Our Troubles are Over!

I'm going to stick my neck out here and post these two conference calls, as I think they are genuine. They concern a re-alignment of the world fiat currencies and an ending of the Federal Reserve's monoploy on printing money, an idea that has been in gestation for 20 years, worked out by the Chinese, who of course hold most of the US's dollar reserves. It's fascinating stuff, and if it's a hoax, it had me fooled:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHrBcRV2c7w

https://www.freeconferencing.com/playback.html?cn=94-43-28-63&e=2243221200000&cid=conferences%2F-17-65-6759-17-65-67-17-65-67-17-65-67126-17-65-67-17-65-6783-17-65-6753122121-17-65-67-17-65-670.mp3

Crime figures....down

http://oskynews.org/?p=9429

Middle East round-up from an expert in the Field

Interesting radio interview with General Hamid Gul of Pakistan - yes, that General Hamid Gul:

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/67275

Chuck Baldwin

This is an incredible interview with an American Pastor, who tells so much truth I was embarassed for him! I hope he has a good flak-jacket, and I notice he's moving himself and his family out to the wilds of Montana: he must have certain ideas about what is going to happen to the USA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY3H9le_FtI

The Origins of Modern Banking

Here's another very good film about the debt-based money system, and what is wrong with it, quoting many famous people throughout the ages who have tried to get us out of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U71-KsDArFM&feature=player_embedded#