The Inside Straight

John Kerry's "October Surprise" : He "Swiftboats" Himself !

In 2004, the American people demonstrated their wisdom by voting against John F. Kerry. Recent events have shown the wisdom of that choice.

On Monday, October 30,2006 , Senator Kerry attempted to make a "joke":

While addressing a group of college students at a campaign rally in Pasadena, CA., Monday, Kerry suggested that they receive an education or "if you don't, you'll get stuck in Iraq."

The joke, which was a nastily elitist insult to the men and women of our Armed Forces - over 2000 of whom have died in combat - did not go over well with the audience, and did not sit too well with the American people - so the Senator decided to hold a press conference,during which he refused to apologize ,and during which he launched an attack on the Administration.

In short,your basic John Kerry in action : if anything, slightly more rancid than he was during the Vietnam War.

Kerry, once he had resigned his commission , joined the anti-war movement: joining loudly in accusations the servicemen and women still in Vietnam were war criminals. (They, of course, did not have the luxury of submitting resignations and coming home to confront him.)

Today, Kerry showed us-once again-what he is made of. (Good manners prevent me from describing the main ingredient.)

You could call it an "October Surprise" that was not too surprising.

Thank God he was not elected President !

Ma-chi-na - She Take Me Ballot An' Run Venezuela

Coming soon to a polling place near you: Smartmatic/Sequoia voting machines - owned ( in significant part ) by "cat's paws" for the Government of Venezuela.

What's so bad about that ? Hugo Chavez and his merry marauders set them up so that-when someone voted,the government could see who they were,and how they voted.

They also set them up with a database of (probably deceased) "voters" ,and folks with duplicate voting privileges : all of whom (as might be expected) were quite enthusiastic about Hugo Chavez. (Did he not bring them back to life ? Did he not reward loyalty with extra privileges ?)

http://www.vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200604251640

There have been some problems with the existing Diebold machines-very serious,very embarassing ones-but jumping from the frying pan into the fire doesn't sound like a particularly wise option !

Iraq Secular ? Intelligence Files Suggest Otherwise !

Much has been made of the proposition Iraq,under Saddam Hussein,was "strictly secular". Glancing at the captured Iraqi Intelligence Service documents , it is clear-though the regime may have been secular at one time-it had gotten pretty devout after the First Gulf War.

This is a list of captured documents released to the public today. There are two pages, one and one half of which are devoted to religious matters !

Now let's change the subject a bit.

The Iraqi regime was well aware they were unlikely to succeed in defending the nation once Operation Iraqi Freedom began ...so, they issued some top secret instructions.

This letter is in pdf format - one page long. ( It has already been translated.)

If any of the events that followed seem to match the scenario laid out in this letter, you are now better informed than most of the "journalists" now filing jihadist offerings from the safety of their Iraqi hotels.

Too Many Headstones this Halloween !

Driving through the neighborhood today, I noticed some of the Halloween decorations on nearby lawns.

One neighbor had little handmade wooden "tombstones" -painted sort of gray-white,with messages printed on them in black ink ; eg: "My name is Fred. I'm dead."

I thought (very briefly) of putting markers on my lawn...only they would look like military gravestones , and the messages would be different.

We died yesterday because the Media wanted to publicize Abu Ghraib !

We died today because Terrorists watch TV too !

We'll die tomorrow because The Times likes to publish secrets !

We'll die later on because certain politicians encouraged the Enemy !

As I say, I thought about it briefly ,but decided against it .

TOO  SCAREY !  TOO  DISTURBING !!  TOO  TRUE  !!!

Poisoning the Internet Well-Part 2 :Watching the Poison Spread

I had written earlier about how some people - whose motives are dubious to say the least - publish disinformation on the internet, then spread it as widely as possible.

I mentioned a story published in La Prensa Latina - a devotedly Communist paper , located in Havana, Cuba - which claimed :

"LAND GRAB ! BUSH BUYS 98,840 ACRES IN PARAGUAY"

The story was picked up by a Pro-Chavez blogger (Hugo Chavez, that is) -based in the United States. No great surprise there !

Not to be outdone, another US website repeats the lie, adds two more acres -AND-airplanes and troops to the equation. http://www.teambio.org/2006/10/bush-family-98842-acres-and-a-mule/

Americans for Legal Immigration puts its own two cents in :

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=44418

The ever-"trustworthy" Wayne Madsen has published a column-in which the supposed acreage has increased markedly. It is now 42,000 hectares  instead of the original (rounded off) 39,000, and our acreage is well over 100,000 !

(As I pointed out elsewhere, we should soon hear a complaint from The Sunshine Project - another " We hate America " group - alleging America has bombed Paraguay with Viagra/Cialis munitions. How else would the land have increased in size so rapidly ? )

Wayne is the brave journalist who warned us - just in time - of the US nuclear strike on Iran in 2004. You remember that strike, don't you ? Right before the Presidential elections ? No ???

Wayne Madsen is stated to be a Libertarian ,and any resemblance between him and an outright anarchist is just.....wrong !

I'm not sure where he hangs his hat these days,since he told his breathless readers he had to flee Washington to escape death squads.

Oops ! Almost forgot to mention : from his writing, he appears to be a member-even if honorary- of the Alex Jones Truther (AJT) ensemble.

Enough said !

Oops again !! Forgot to mention what started all these hair-raising stories in the first place !!

It seems, on October 9,2006 , Jenna Bush - daughter of the President - visited and had dinner with the family of President Duarte in Paraguay. Also present was the US Ambassador , James Cason.

"Aha !" , bugled some of the conspiracy sites. " What's going on with that ?"

As it turns out, Jenna Bush is a UNICEF volunteer , and will be spending a little time in Paraguay, working with other volunteers to help young folks in that nation.

I'm sure that well-intentioned deed will spark dozens of additional conspiracy reports : blue-helmeted troops from Paraguay landing on our shores : raping our cattle and rustling our women-folk , on the orders of Zionist Bilderbergers , and...(Sob !) I can't go on !!!

Poisoning the Internet Well:Who does it and Why

When stories that are clearly leftist dis-information are posted on the net , and a deliberate attempt is made to suffocate the truth - via "Google-bombing" , you have a pretty good clue as to the motives of those doing the " bombing ".

Google -bombing sets up a "virtual chain reaction" , and - after a day or so - a search for the topic on Google (and other search engines) will turn up hundreds of entries - all leading to the planted story : thus creating the illusion that a total falsehood "must be" at least partially true. (Anything that might contradict this illusion gets buried so deeply you could search for hours to find it : a chore almost nobody is willing to undertake.)

There's nothing new about this technique : Most of us have been told that a lie-repeated often enough-will eventually be accepted as the truth. The only thing that has changed is the technology . Now, instead of using a bullhorn to shout down skeptics , one can post links to spurious information.

A good example of this surfaced recently.

On June 13,2005, Clarin : a leftist Argentine newspaper claimed the US was planning to turn Paraguay into "a second Panama" for US troops. The newspaper went on and on about a US built airport that would be used for B-52 bombers,and claimed 5000 US troops would be stationed there.

The truth was US troops would be engaging in a series of 13 separate joint-training exercises with Paraguay. 10-20 US troops would be involved at a time,for periods of 2-6 weeks; with a maximum US stay of 45 days. The exercises began in July ,2005 , have been ongoing , and are scheduled to end in December, 2006.

But how about that airport ?

"In September 2005, Colonel Elio Antonio Flores, the spokesman for the Paraguayan military, stated that Paraguayan military engineers constructed the airport between 1977 and 1986, not the United States. 

The Mariscal Estigarribia airport was constructed at a time when the Paraguayan government envisioned developing a free-trade zone in its northern Chaco region to help develop the area. The primary cargo aircraft of that era, the DC-8 and Boeing 707, needed very long runways to take off when fully loaded."

Clarin, as might be expected , made no attempt to publish a correction .( In Marxist terms , anything you say that will increase tensions in South America ,and make the hated Norteamericanos look bad is inherently "true" , because it helps The Cause.)

This is the way good Marxists think ; and it comes as no surprise to see assorted left wing sites in the United States pick up this dis-information from their South American comrades and run with it. They are, when all is said and done, pursuing the same goals - even if not precisely on the same team.

What is one to make of it when "right wing" extremists : people who refer to themselves as "true patriots" ( or sometimes "the only true patriots" ); and/or who claim to be devout Libertarians begin parroting stories that are clearly part of the Communist Party "line" ?

They don't limit themselves to Communist screeds , of course. They are perfectly willing to repeat the most vile Middle Eastern propaganda - as long as it is anti-American and anti-Semitic. Some of them even publish viciously anti-American diatribes on Middle East forums , then use links to this garbage to "prove" what they are saying at home.

Another "trusted source" of these curious people is Sorcha Faal : a non-existent Russian scientist ( who may, some suggest, actually be a retired computer programmer/operator named David Booth.Does Mr. Booth have sexual identity problems ? Don't ask. Don't tell.

Another fabricated story is flooding the internet,even as we speak .

The source of this report is La Prensa Latina : a Havana-based newspaper , which,under the direction of the Castro regime , publishes anti-American , pro-Communist propaganda .

La Prensa claims President Bush and his family have purchased 98,840 acres of land in Paraguay - ( Yes, Paraguay again !) - and anonymous officials of assorted non-neighboring countries are in a tizzy because it might affect the balance of power.

The ever reliable and trustworthy Sorcha Faal , has told "her" readers the purchase "has been confirmed by Russian Intelligence" , and is intended to provide President Bush with a place to hide in so he can escape trial for war crimes.

( Sorcha is chock full of such " inside information " , as you will see below. )

http://www.heartcom.org/BioVirus.htm

http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index601.htm

http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index713.htm

The odd collection of hustlers , survivalists , kooks, and nincompoops that make up groups like the Alex Jones "Truthers" positively dote on Sorcha Faal ,and steal "her" material regularly.

I know there is a marketing aspect to much of it : people who have been scared silly are people you can sell survival food, gold coins,garden seeds, health foods,and dismal tracts of real estate to.

There is also a political aspect: you can get folks to join home-grown militias -there's good money in selling commissions to the well-heeled ,you can use them to target and intimidate certain minority groups , and you can de-stabilize your own government in time of war : something, I suppose, the extreme right and extreme left can shake hands on.

Meanwhile, back at the virtual ranch , both groups are doing their level best to poison the well and manufacture their own distorted reality.

Believe it or not, these folks are actually proud of what they are doing !

The Anthrax Attacks-5 Years Later: Lots of Ideological Smoke-No Answers-No Surprise

Five years ago, Americans still reeling from the 9/11 attacks,became aware of a second strike: this one involving anthrax - sent by mail.

After the attacks, Americans were united - in a way that reminded some of us old folks of the World War II years ; but it didn't last - couldn't last in a nation as polarized as ours has become.

Faced with threats from without and within , we have , nonetheless become like positrons and electrons : clashing endlessly in a mad dance of mutual annihilation; bombarding our mutuality with streams of poisonously radioactive rhetoric ; seemingly determined to dissolve the bonds that hold us together.

For the past week, the media has been blitzed with angry articles suggesting we are unprepared for another biowarfare attack . Some of those complaining are the very same people who lashed out in 2003 and 2004 , arguing that the administration was spending too much money, and devoting too much effort to dealing with an "improbable" threat.

Some of the scientists complaining about our lack of progress are the same scientists who inveighed against any bio-defense research : certain members of the Federation of American Scientists , and members of crypto-activist groups like The Sunshine Project.

There are lawmakers , who criticize the FBI because it has not solved the "Amerithrax" case, and brought someone to justice. Some of these same lawmakers howl with indignation any time the FBI actually investigates - as if fearing some malefactor's right to harm us will be infringed upon.

There is the American Public to be considered as well. The whole idea of bio-warfare is so frightening (and repugnant) to us , we just don't want to hear about it. At the same time , there are some who seize upon this deeply-ingrained fear and try to use it as a psychological weapon against us : whispering darkly of CIA ( or Zionist ,or Bilderberg,or Military Industrial Complex - take your pick ) plots against "the Sheep-le" (That's us, in case you hadn't noticed !) that have been uncovered by these "True Patriots".

Some of these "patriots" just want to sell us grossly overpriced "survival supplies",or gold coins, or food supplements,or satellite radio and television hookups, or "marvelous investment opportunities" - (the Alex Jones crowd comes to mind) ; while others are primarily interested in de-stabilizing the United States-by any means that does not involve putting their own skins at risk.

The Media , eager for revenue-generating sensationalism ,has done its part : hawking a mix of pathetic mis-information, and deliberate dis-information : pausing only to posture and preen and prattle about how well it serves the Great Unwashed.

If I seem a wee bit cynical , consider this: five years from today - assuming we are still a functioning society , another cynic will probably "cut and paste" these very words to comment on the still-unsolved Anthrax attacks of 2001.

North Korea's Nuclear Test : Was it Related to Subsequent Earthquakes ?

I've decided to leave this post up: mostly as a reminder to myself that it is quite easy to reach false conclusions when working with limited evidence !

On Monday, October 9,2006, North Korea announced it had conducted an underground test of a nuclear device. This information was confirmed-in part-by seismographic measurements in the USA, Russia,and Japan.

On Tuesday, October 10,2006, there was a 6.0 magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Honshu,Japan : leading Japan to believe - at first - there had been a second North Korean test - because of the similar intensity.

There were two more earthquakes in this vicinity: Thursday, 10/12/06 (4.8 magnitude) and Friday , 10/13/06 (5.3 magnitude).

On Sunday, 10/15/06 , there was a smaller (4.8) event near Hokkaido,Japan.

On the same day (Sunday, 10/15/06) there was a 6.6 magnitude earthquake, centered 9 miles west of Kailua Kona, Hawaii.

On Monday, 10/16/06 , there were two widely-separated earthquakes: One, measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale in the vicinity of New Britain,Papua,New Guinea; the other - a 5.2 temblor - in the Kuril Islands.

On Tuesday, 10/17/06 , there have been ( so far ) two quakes : One - measuring 5.1 -in the Andaman Islands - near India ; the second , measuring 5.4,in New Britain,Papua,New Guinea.

All of the affected areas are situated on unstable tectonic plates - as is North Korea.

Could North Korea's underground nuclear test have created a "tectonic chain reaction" in the Pacific ?

                                  SIGH OF RELIEF TIME !!!

I have a much-better informed comment from a reader on another site, who says it is QUITE  UNLIKELY a nuke would produce such an effect. I'm awaiting his permission to copy his comments.

"I'm not a tectonic specialist, but I do know Hawaii is a hot spot, nowhere near a tectonic boundary. That said, I highly doubt a small, manmade event could have much or anything to do with earthquake events of much larger magnitudes (in terms of energy) elsewhere.

The comment about the earthquake in Japan triggering suspicion about a second nuclear test due to "their similar intensity" is crap-- the Richter scale is logarithmic and therefore a 6 (the Japan earthquake) and a ~4 (NK nuke test) have ground-movement magnitudes that are different from each other by a factor of roughly 100x. you'd also think that other such test by the US would've caused similar chains that we'd have heard about, especially considering that our tests were much,much stronger. Earthquakes happen, and they can happen in chains. However, it's more likely that this is just a case of statistical clustering, as there are millions of earthquakes per year."

I went by news reports generated at the time, as I'm a long way from being well-informed on tectonics ! Nonetheless, I'm glad to hear this was probably coincidence.

Captured Documents Reveal Iraq HAD Re-Started Nuclear Program

Crazy as it may seem: despite all the pressure of inspections ,and the prospects of imminent military action against his brutal regime, Saddam Hussein re-started his nuclear weapons program - as shown in these captured Iraqi Intelligence Service documents - recently translated by "J Veritas" : a naturalized American citizen , who grew up in Lebanon , and whose "first" language is Arabic.

You will see from the documents, this effort was underway as late as 09/18/02. (Outside the United States 09/18/02 is written " 18/09/02" )

"Veritas" ( Joseph Shahda ) has given me permission to reproduce his translation here.

Documents CMPC-2004-003978.pdf and CMPC-2004-002191.pdf contain memos dated from 1999 to 2002 that talk about projects sponsored by the Iraqi Atomic Nuclear Agency to rebuild some of their nuclear facilities and equipment. All the projects were dated after the UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in December 1998.

These facilities and equipments were part of Iraq's clandestine nuclear weapon program before the 1991 Gulf War.Some were destroyed by the bombing and some were dismantled by the UN weapon inspectors.

Rebuilding these nuclear facilities and equipments was totally prohibited per the UN sanctions.

The projects include rebuilding of Iraq Radioactive Waste Treatment Station (RWTS) that was destroyed by bombing during operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Another project was to rebuild the RadioChemistry laboratories. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the RWTS and the RadioChemistry Laboratories were part of Iraq clandestine nuclear program (http://www.iraqwatch.org/un/IAEA/s-1997-779-att-3.htm, see section 3.4 of the link).

Document CMCP-2004-003978 outlines a project by the Iraq Atomic Agency to repair “Furnaces” bearing the Dicosa brand. Nuclear facilities require very specialized “furnaces” and this type of furnace was prohibited according to the UN (http://www.iraqwatch.org/un/IAEA/s-1995-215.htm, see point 57 and 58).

Beginning of partial translation of page 31 of CMPC-2004-003978

In the Name of God the Most merciful the Most Compassionate

The Republic of Iraq

The Iraqi Atomic Energy Agency

Number: 22/7897

Date: 28/9/1999 (09/28/99 our dating)

Administrative Order

Number 6335

Based on the approval of Mr. Chairman of the Agency on 25/9/1999 and the requirement for the job it was decided:

1. The execution of the RWTS project per the direct implementation.

2. The Chairman of the engineering department will be allowed the power of buying and contracting to implement the project and in one single offer up to one million Dinars. (Approx. $330,000. US)

4. The committee of purchasing and offers analysis in the engineering department will execute all the works related to the project.

Signature

Naaem Hussein Muhawesh

The director of Human resources.

28/9/99

End of partial translation of page 31 of CMPC-2004-003978

Beginning of translation of page 10 of CMPC-2004-003978

In the Name of God the Most merciful the Most Compassionate

The Iraqi Atomic Energy Agency, Engineering department

Number: 40/6/228

Date: 4/3/2001

Administrative Order

Number 9

1. A Committee will be formed to fix the Dicosa Furnaces from the gentlemen whose names are listed below and a work plan will be submitted three weeks from the above date.

Dia’a Jalil Hussein (Chairman of the Committee), Farouk Mohamad Saleh (member), Adnan Salim Jerjeis (member), Hadi Ibrahim Jasem (member), Hussein Naif Abed (member), Said Minjel Ayez (member), Saharook Abed Allah Abdan (member)

2. The Chairman of the committee will be allowed the privileges of the Finance department chairman for the purpose of executing the project.

Signature

Dr. Hisham Mahmood Ahmad

Engineering Department Chairman

End of translation of page10 of CMPC-2004-003978

Beginning of translation of page of CMPC-2004-002191

In the Name of God the Most merciful the Most Compassionate

The Iraqi Atomic Energy Agency, Chemistry and Solutions Department

Number: 5000/19/1749

Date: 18/9/2002 (09/18/02)

To: The Engineering Department

Subject: The Radio-Chemistry Laboratories

We confirm our letter numbered 5000/1311 on 13/7/2002 regarding the allocation of required funds to rehabilitate the administration annex of the Radio-Chemistry Laboratories including the shaded roofs and according to the prepared design and descriptions and at a cost of 34 million Dinars. (About $ 10 million US)

Up to now,this work has not started despite the allocation of funds two months ago in addition to the unaccomplished detailed design for the Radio-Chemistry Project.

We would like to point to paragraph (3) from our letter above in which the plan calls for completion the rehabilitation of the administration annex and detailed design for the Radio-Chemistry project before the end of the year 2002 and according to this year investment plan for the Chemistry Department.

We hope to receive the schedule to accomplish the work with all possible speed and not to exceed the end of the year 2002.

With regards…

Signature

Dr. Hisham Mahmood Ahmad

Chemistry and Solutions department Chairman

Date: 18/9/2002 (09/18/02)

Just as a footnote, I've seen several translated Iraqi documents which refer to yearly or two-year plans ; in which goals are set out, and a status report (usually a single sentence or phrase ) is submitted.Iraq was - among other things-a Socialist state, and judging by the sheer volume generated, its key bureaucrats spent a lot of time "covering their butts with paper".

This is a fairly typical example of a two-year plan. It's dated 1999 and deals with IED training and production goals.

So far, the Iraqi documents are a "grab bag" , and you never know what will surface : 16 pages of illegible scrawls, memos about nuclear planning , or "stirring" videos of bulldozers in action !

Thanks again, J Veritas !!

North Korean Nukes: Kim Jong Il's Chess Gambit

There were some sighs of relief when it was announced no "radioactive particles" had been detected in the atmosphere following North Korea's underground test of "an explosive device-said to be a nuke". Perhaps, some said, it was all a false alarm: another bluff by North Korea's Kim Jong Il.

Others were not quite so sanguine. One very knowledgeable source wrote:

" It depends on where and when the sample was taken, what the wind conditions were, and how much got out from inside the mountain.

Tunnel test facilities like that are pretty much cut off from the outside. It's done that way to prevent radiation from escaping and contaminating the surrounding areas.

Plus, most plutonium reaction products have short half-lives. So, unless the air sample was taken within, oh, 48 hours AND all of the fallout from the test got outside, then yeah, the results won't be much higher than background.

I'm not sure that there was anyone outside the mountain to take that sample, and since plutonium is primarily an alpha emitter, I don't believe much would have escaped the mountain.

I still believe it was (a nuke), based on the amount of TNT needed to cause a seismic event of >4.0."

(That amount would be 4.5 acre feet : enough TNT to cover 4.5 acres of ground to a depth of one foot.)

"4.5 Acre-feet of TNT is a crapload that isn't easily moved, stored, or intiated.

TNT is relatively stable and needs a good 'whack' to get it to detonate, especially in cast/pressed form."

In other words ( I suspect ) we are talking about a small nuclear device specifically designed to fit into some of North Korea's heavy-payload,intermediate -range missiles.

Continuing this line of speculation ,we are talking about missiles that could be used against an attacking fleet : missiles that would not require pinpoint accuracy,or even an exceptional nuclear yield to accomplish the goal of keeping that fleet so far removed ,its weapons, aircraft, and any invading troops could not be used against North Korea.

If North Korea could maintain stand-off capability against naval forces, it would be, to a large degree, protected against other air strikes by the close proximity of China - with which it has a near-feudal arrangement.It would not ,of course,be impregnable : no nation is - ever - but it would be safe to pursue its most immediate goal : the re-unification of Korea under Kim Jong Il's terms.

North Korea - logically -has no need to attack anybody - its southern "rival" included. South Korea , which has the food , industry, and worldwide markets the North desperately needs, would see the handwriting on the wall and come to terms rather quickly.

There is already considerable sentiment in the south for re-unification: primed by the memories of the last war, by some of the dictatorial regimes that have come to power; and nurtured by South Korea's increasingly influential Left wing : parts of which are distinguishable from the North Koreans only by geography.

The UN - although it has a South Korean as its Secretary General - is unlikely to do anything to deter North Korea's nuclear gambit , and the United States is equally unlikely to do more than scowl,yowl, engage in political finger-pointing ....and accept the fait accompli as it unfolds.

What will happen afterwards ? Unless we wish to see the rebirth of the old "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" - with different players - we'd better start giving the matter some very serious thought !