El Boom: class curriculum in 'the magical, marvelous real'

Abracadabra.

This word of medieval magic is traced to a mythical Persian sun god, summoned to the magician's aid. But also, in numerology its letters add to 365, so that it encompasses the entire year, and the powers of the 365 attendant spirits of the Lord. It is not a corruption of the Cabalistic Hebrew habraha dabar, bless the object.

***

This course will, essentially, attempt an understanding of the literature termed "magical realism," or lo real maravilloso, translated literally from the Spanish as "the marvelous real."

Further, the course will be a half-reading, half-writing , half-discussion class. Since this is a course for writers, examination will consist of testing both the literature and ourselves by responding with creative and interesting writing. We will do this to better understand and show how the literature provokes. We will not set out to imitate the literature, but to widen the road--to find something in this literature of and for ourselves, and to move in that direction.

I will ask as prerequisites a substantial literature background and, at very least, two creative writing courses, including an advanced creative writing class--fiction, poetry, or drama.

Each member of the class will be responsible for the reading list, one book not on the list, and the extra book's author--or a topic related to that book.  I'll ask that you prepare a short report on both the extra book and its author for the class. I will provide a separate list of these books from which to choose.  All readings will be in English, though some of you may choose to explore the original languages. The course will cover some North American and Eastern European works, but Latin/South American writers will constitute the majority. We will also look to some early influences on this literature, particularly Surrealism and Dada.

In a word, this will be a class in "el boom." (This is not to be confused with John Lee Hooker, who just recently passed away, and his fine song "Boom Boom," memorable in its own right for its uncompromising lyric: "Boom boom boom boom, boom boom boom boom....")  This is the recent Literature of, and a Welcome to, the New World.

Try this as a starting point: Monday, Sunday, Saturday, Friday, Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday, Monday.

You know the words, and you know the pattern. But listening to these words backward: If that shakes us up, if that surprises us, imagine what else might be possible--all in the middle of what is absolutely familiar.

If we assign only names and not numbers to the days of the week, if we do not get older, or younger, but simply see Monday again, we have some new sense of time--still ordered, but moveable in more than one direction. Looked at this way, in this particular order above, what is routine or mundane starts to look odd, almost misspelled, and not so easy to say. Time is for those who have watches, and look there. Or Time is for those who notice things, and look there.  Time as quantity or quality--this is a new way to think about time.  It's things like this that we'll be discussing.

So begins the adventure of the New, made of what is Old. Magic, maybe, out of the regular. The magical, the marvelous, real. Or, the more or less real: approximate reality, heavy on the leeway. Reality driving down the leeway freeway. It is all in where we look, and even more so in the value we assign to that glance.

Don't worry, or think that you are lost. It's too late. In these worlds, you are never lost, because to be lost you need to know where you have been, which may not be where you thought. You will not--cannot--get lost; you will, simply, always be somewhere. Perhaps this requires a new kind of patience; but, its reward, too, is a new kind of seeing. This is the equation of writers. This is the best poem, the best part of the story, the strongest moment in a play: being somewhere.

Our job, out of all of this, will be simple. Our plan will be to find movement in standing still. This will be a wonderful class.

 

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Operation AJAX, and the Begining of the National Security State

The CIA in Iran from Policy to Coup

 

"... Operation AJAX, represents more than a single foreign policy decision, but rather a paradigm shift away from democracy, congressional oversight, and transparency of government, toward secret policy and covert actions carried out by the executive branch and the national security apparatus.
The plot to overthrow the Mossedegh government in Iran originated within the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), and in the fall of 1952, SIS meet with CIA’s Near East and Africa Division (NEA) representatives in Washington. Iran was not on the agenda, but after British intelligence brought up the possibility of a “joint political action to remove Prime Minister Mossedegh,” the NEA committed to studying the proposals

 

[ ... ]

Another good example of the limited knowledge about Operation AJAX within the U.S. government is a State Department memo entitled “Proposed Course of Action with Respects to Iran” detail diplomatic strategies to end the oil crisis in Iran. The memo that is dated August 10th 1953, was issued just 9 days before Mossedegh was overthrown, and indicates that many within the State Department were in the dark on what was going on in Iran.
Operation AJAX, though a CIA operation, had Ambassador Loy Henderson, and General H. Norman Schwartzkopf, playing critical roles.

The U.S. embassy in Tehran was utilized for a number of purposes as AJAX unfolded. The current Iranian administration has published a total of 77 volumes of “Documents from the Den of Spies” since the student take over the U.S. Embassy in 1979, offered up a huge cache of classified documents showing clandestine operations were centered in and around the Embassy.
Schwartzkopf was brought in to pressure the Shah, with whom he had an excellent relationship during WWII, into signing the firmans, royal decrees, one to dismiss Mossedegh and one to appoint Gen. Zahedi (Roosevelt 147-149). The military played other supporting roles from transportation of agents, to making clandestine approaches to number of ‘operational assets.’
The CIA’s own history of the affair mentions that the possibility that ‘blowback’ is likely to result from the overthrow of Mossedegh. The rise of the Shah and his brutal regime, secured by SAVAK, the secret police, which was created and supported by Israel and CIA (Roosevelt 9), surely contributed to the social tension that exploded in the 1979 Iranian Revolution. In the long run the CIA’s first overthrow was a mistake, but Operation AJAX became in many ways the blueprint for future covert operation carried out by the Agency in the Cold War and beyond. After Roosevelt debriefed the British government, including Winston, an SIS aid approached Roosevelt with a folder covered in ribbons and sealing wax, and told Roosevelt “that [the folder] represented approval of a project on which they had previously been turned down by the Foreign Office and that this reversal of the Foreign Office was due to the success in Iran

[ ... ]

Dr Donald Wilber, the author of the Clandestine Service History: Overthrow of Premier Mossedegh of Iran, and a key planner and strategist of Operation AJAX, as quoted by the New York Times, had this to say about Operation AJAX and its effect on subsequent CIA covert operations: “If this history had been read by the planners of the Bay of Pigs, there would have been no such operation,” and “in hindsight, one might wonder why no one from the Cuban desk ever…read the history ..."

 

[ full article ]

 

"There are no experts"

"... Perhaps the best oracles we can consult are systems analysts like Erwin Laszlo. Laszlo studies chaos theory and believes global civilization is a few years away from what he calls “the chaos point.” According to Laszlo, we are at a “crucial decision-window” of instability. “When we reach the point of chaos,” Laszlo tells us, “the stable ‘point’ and ‘periodic’ attractors of our systems will be joined by ‘chaotic’ or ‘strange’ attractors.” These “strange attractors” will propel us, like booster rockets, to evolutionary development or entropic debauch. In other words, we should prepare ourselves for the unknown and inexplicable.

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In Third World countries, currency crises — often brought about by predatory speculation — frequently lead to frozen bank accounts and long breadlines, followed by a change of currency that creates immense profit for the banks and the government. Of course, many believe that such a thing could never happen here. Recently, there have been rumors of a plan to form an American version of the European Federation, uniting Mexico, the U.S. and Canada under a new currency, the “Amero,” and a new constitution, devised by the bankers. ..."

 

Daniel Pinchbeck: 'The Almighty Amero'

'On The Road': 50 years later

"... there are more than a few places where the author and his friends set down their knapsacks for more than a day and now is a good time to trace Kerouac's road. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of his masterpiece "On the Road," and chances are your local bookstore is stocking the just-published "scroll" version of "On the Road" from Viking Press, which is the book in its raw manuscript form.

Anyone looking to travel in Kerouac's footsteps should start in the Northeast, in his hometown of Lowell, Mass., where he was a football star at Lowell High School. The town frequently appears in his work. His character Doctor Sax lurked around Lowell's old textile mills — now part of the National Park system — and the city served as the backdrop for Kerouac's books "Vanity of Duluoz" and "Visions of Gerard."

[ ... ]

It took Lowell awhile to embrace Kerouac, but the town now readily promotes their most famous son. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of "Lowell Celebrates Kerouac," Oct. 4-7. Or take your own walking tour of Kerouac's Lowell. ..."

[ full article ]

 

Jack Kerouac slept where?

Road trip is a contrast between then and now of Beat writer’s novel

[ full article ]

Shiny side out

Inside the Mind Control Conspiracy

 

For many years, national security experts, prominent scientists, and probably Dennis Kucinich, have received hundreds of e-mails that begin something like this: “I am surveilled, harassed and gangstalked everywhere I go 24/7/365.”

 

I’ve certainly received them, and Defense Tech has gotten its fair share, too.

The letters typically state that the person is a victim of an organized mind control plot that involves weapons that beam voices into their head; shoot powerful pain rays at them; and often includes around-the-clock harassment and monitoring. One of the common claims is that the people are targeted by microwave weapons.

What do most people do with these letters? Defense writer William Arkin says he hits the “delete” button when he gets those e-mails. Jon Ronson, author of the wonderfully wacky Men Who Stare at Goats has stated that mind control is an area that he doesn’t “want to get into.” (This from a gifted writer who interviewed a man who believes the world’s leaders are extraterrestrial lizards in disguise.)

What do I do with these letters? I read them, and this Sunday’s Washington Post Magazine has a cover story based on my nearly year-long investigation into their claims.

I try to raise what I think are some fascinating questions about the Pentagon’s involvement in microwave weapons and the auditory effect (which could be used to send sounds or voices into people’s heads).

As for whether there's any evidence that hundreds, if not thousands of people, are being targeted by microwave weapons, well, read for yourself.

-- Sharon Weinberger

P.S. You might also want to reread David Hambling’s fascinating take of recent bio-electromagnetic weapon work here.

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From the mind control mart to an airport near you?

"... The future of U.S. anti-terrorism technology could lie near the end of a Moscow subway line in a circular dungeon-like room with a single door and no windows. Here, at the Psychotechnology Research Institute, human subjects submit to experiments aimed at manipulating their subconscious minds.

Elena Rusalkina, the silver-haired woman who runs the institute, gestured to the center of the claustrophobic room, where what looked like a dentist's chair sits in front of a glowing computer monitor. "We've had volunteers, a lot of them," she said, the thick concrete walls muffling the noise from the college campus outside. "We worked out a program with (a psychiatric facility) to study criminals. There's no way to falsify the results. There's no subjectivism."

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has gone to many strange places in its search for ways to identify terrorists before they attack, but perhaps none stranger than this lab on the outskirts of Russia's capital. The institute has for years served as the center of an obscure field of human behavior study -- dubbed psychoecology -- that traces it roots back to Soviet-era mind control research.

What's gotten DHS' attention is the institute's work on a system called Semantic Stimuli Response Measurements Technology, or SSRM Tek, a software-based mind reader that supposedly tests a subject's involuntary response to subliminal messages. ..."

[ full article ]

Report from Iron Mountain

http://educate-yourself.org/nwo/reportironmountain1.shtml

 

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

Top Censored Stories of 2006-2007

#1 No Habeas Corpus for “Any Person”

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) ushered in military commission law for US citizens and non-citizens alike. Text in the MCA allows for the institution of a military alternative to the constitutional justice system for “any person” arbitrarily deemed to be an enemy of the state, regardless of American citizenship.

“Who Is 'Any Person' in Tribunal Law?” Robert Parry, Consortium, 10/19/2006
http://consortiumnews.com/2006/101906.html

“Still No Habeas Rights for You” Robert Parry, Consortium, 2/3/2007
http://consortiumnews.com/2007/020307.html

“Repeal the Military Commissions Act and Restore the Most American Human Right” Thom Hartmann, Commondreams, 2/12/2007
http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0212-24.htm

#2 Bush Moves Toward Martial Law

The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 allows the president to deploy military troops anywhere in the United States and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities in order to "suppress public disorder.”

“Bush Moves Toward Martial Law” Frank Morales, Uruknet, 10/26/2006
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=27769

#3 AFRICOM: US Military Control of Africa’s Resources

In February 2007 the White House announced the formation of the US African Command (AFRICOM), a unified Pentagon command center in Africa. Presented as a humanitarian guard in the Global War on Terror, the real objective is procurement and control of Africa’s oil and its global delivery systems.

“Understanding AFRICOM” Parts 1-3, b real, MoonofAlabama.org 2/21/2007
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2007/02/understanding_a_1.html

#4 Frenzy of Increasingly Destructive Trade Agreements

The US and European Union (EU) are vigorously pursuing increasingly destructive trade and investment agreements outside the auspices of the WTO, resulting in unprecedented exploitation, loss of livelihood, displacement, and degradation of human rights and environments.

“Signing Away The Future” Emily Jones, Oxfam, 3/2007
http://www.oxfam.org/en/policy/briefingpapers/bp101_regional...

“Free Trade Enslaving Poor Countries” Sanjay Suri, IPS coverage of Oxfam Report, 3/20/2007
http://ipsnews.org/news.asp?idnews=37008

#5 Human Traffic Builds US Embassy in Iraq

The enduring monument to US liberation and democracy in Iraq is being built by forced labor. Contractors subcontracting to the US State Department are using bait-and-switch recruiting practices to smuggle Asian workers into brutal and inhumane labor camps—in the middle of the US-controlled Green Zone.

“A U.S. Fortress Rises in Baghdad: Asian Workers Trafficked to Build World's Largest Embassy” David Phinney, CorpWatch, 10/17/2006
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14173

#6 Operation FALCON Raids

Under Operation FALCON—Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally—more than 30,000 “fugitives” were arrested in the largest dragnets in the nation's history. Over 960 state, local and federal agencies were directly involved. Only promotional coverage supplied by the DOJ was ever aired. We have yet to be told who these fugitives were and what became of them.

“Operation Falcon and the Looming Police State” Mike Whitney, Uruknet, 2/26/2007
http://uruknet.info/?p=m30971&s1=h1

“Operation Falcon” SourceWatch, Updated 11/18/2006
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Operation_FALCON

#7 Behind Blackwater Inc.

Blackwater, the most powerful mercenary firm in the world, is the company that most embodies the privatization of the military industrial complex. Bush’s contracts with Blackwater have allowed the creation of a private army of more than 20,000 soldiers, operating with almost no oversight or effective legal constraints, to deploy in nine countries and aggressively expand its presence inside US borders.

“Our Mercenaries in Iraq: Blackwater Inc and Bush's Undeclared Surge” Jeremy Scahill, Democracy Now! 1/26/07
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/26/1559232

#8 KIA: The US Neoliberal Invasion of India

The Knowledge Initiative in Agriculture, quietly signed by Bush and India’s Prime Minister Singh, trades India’s agricultural sector for US nuclear technology. The KIA allows for the grab of India’s seed sector by Monsanto, its trade sector by giant agribusiness ADM and Cargill, and its retail sector by Wal-Mart.

“Vandana Shiva on Farmer Suicides, the U.S.-India Nuclear Deal, Wal-Mart in India” Democracy Now! 12/13/2006
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/13/1451229

“Genetically Modified Seeds: Women in India take on Monsanto” Arun Shrivastava, Global Research, 10/9/06
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&c...

“Sowing Trouble: India's ‘Second Green Revolution’” Suman Sahai, SciDev.Net, 5/9/06
http://www.scidev.net/content/opinions/eng/sowing-trouble-in...

#9 Privatization of America’s Infrastructure

More than 20 states have enacted legislation allowing public-private partnerships to build and run highways. We will soon be paying Wall Street investors, Australian bankers, and Spanish contractors for the privilege of driving on American roads.

“The Highwaymen” Daniel Schulman with James Ridgeway. Mother Jones, 2/2007
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/01/highwaymen.h...

“Bush Administration Quietly Plans NAFTA Super Highway” Jerome R. Corsi, Human Events, 6/12/2006
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=15497

#10 Vulture Funds Threaten Debt Relief for Poor Nations

Vulture funds, as defined by the IMF, are companies that buy up the debt of poor nations cheaply, when it is about to be written off, and then sue for the full value of the debt plus interest—which might be ten times what they paid for it. Otherwise known as “distressed-debt investors,” these companies profit off plunging impoverished nations into crippling debt.

“Vulture Fund Threat to Third World” Greg Palast with Meirion Jones for BBC Newsnight, 02/14/2007
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17070.htm

#11 The Scam of “Reconstruction” in Afghanistan

Much of the US tax money earmarked to rebuild Afghanistan actually ends up going no further than the pockets of wealthy US corporations. Paychecks for overpriced, and often incompetent, American “experts” under contract to USAID go directly from the Agency to American bank accounts. Seventy percent of the aid that does make it to a recipient country is carefully “tied” to the donor nation for further fraud and exploitation.

“Why It's Not Working in Afghanistan” Ann Jones, Tomdispatch.com, 8/27/06
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=116512

“Afghanistan Inc: a CorpWatch Investigative Report” Fariba Nawa, CorpWatch, 10/6/06
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13518

#12 Another Massacre in Haiti by UN Troops

On December 22, 2006 more than 30 unarmed Haitian civilians, including women and children, were killed by extensive and indiscriminate gunfire from UN “peacekeeping” forces, reportedly as collective punishment for a massive demonstration days earlier calling for the return of President Aristide.

“UN in Haiti: Accused of Second Massacre” Haiti Information Project, Haiti Action, 1/21/2007
http://www.haitiaction.net/News/HIP/1_21_7/1_21_7.html

“Haiti: Poor Residents of Capital Describe a State of Siege” Wadner Pierre and Jeb Sprague, IPS, 2/28/07
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36772

#13 Immigrant Roundups to Gain Cheap Labor for US Corporate Giants

In the wake of 9/11, Immigration Customs Enforcement has conducted raids and roundups of “illegal” immigrants under the rubric of preventing terrorism and keeping our homeland safe. The real goal, however, is to replace the immigrant work force in the US with a tightly regulated, exploitive guest-worker program.

“Migrants: Globalization’s Junk Mail?” Laura Carlsen, Foreign Policy in Focus, 2/23/07
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4022

“Which Side are You on?” David Bacon, Truthout, 1/29/07
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907L.shtml

“Workers, Not Guests” David Bacon, The Nation, 2/6/07
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/020607LB.shtml

#14 Impunity for US War Criminals

A last minute adjustment to the Military Commission Act of 2006 redefined torture, removed the harshest definition of war crimes, and exempts the perpetrators from prosecution for such offences dating back to November 1997. The source of this provision is, however, a mystery. The White House denies any involvement or knowledge regarding the insertion of such language into the MCA.

“A Senate mystery keeps torture alive, and its practitioners free” Jeff Stein, Congressional Quarterly, 11/22/06
http://public.cq.com/public/20061122_homeland.html

#15 Toxic Exposure Can Be Genetically Transmitted to Future Generations

Research suggests that our behavior and our environmental conditions may program sections of our children’s DNA. New evidence about how genes interact with the environment suggests that many industrial chemicals may be more ominously dangerous than previously thought. One researcher points to a revolution in medicine: “You aren't eating and exercising just for yourself, but for your lineage.”

“Some Chemicals are More Harmful Than Anyone Ever Suspected” Peter Montague, Rachel's Democracy & Health News #876, 10/12/06
http://www.precaution.org/lib/06/ht061012.htm

#16 No Hard Evidence Connecting Bin Laden to 9/11

Osama bin Ladin’s role in the events of September 11, 2001 is not mentioned on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” notice. Six years later the FBI spokesperson explains, “The reason 9/11 is not mentioned on Osama bin Laden's Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11…”

“FBI says, ‘No hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11’” Ed Haas, Muckraker Report, 6/6/06
http://www.teamliberty.net/id267.html

#17 Drinking Water Contaminated by Military and Corporations

Corporations, municipalities, and the US military are using America’s waters as their dumping ground —often with little or no accountability. The average major facility discharges pollutants in excess of its permitted limit by over 275 percent, nearly four times the legal limit, while more than 40 percent of US waterways are already unsafe for swimming and fishing.

“Factories, Cities Across USA Exceed Water Pollution Limits” Sunny Lewis, Environment News Service 3/24/2006
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2006/2006-03-24-05.asp

“Military Waste In Our Drinking Water” Sunaura Taylor and Astra Taylor, AlterNet, 8/4/2006
http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/39723/

#18 Mexico’s Stolen Election

US interests were significantly invested in the outcome of Mexico’s 2006 presidential election in which overwhelming evidence reveals massive fraud.

“Evidence of Election Fraud Grows in México,” Chuck Collins and Joshua Holland, AlterNet, 8/2/2006
http://www.alternet.org/story/39763

“Mexico: The Political Volcano Rumbles” Revolution, 9/10/06
http://revcom.us/a/060/mexico-volcano-en.html

#19 People’s Movement Challenges Neo-Liberal Agenda

In Latin America, massive opposition to US economic domination has demanded that populist leaders and parties take control of national governments, building powerful alternatives to neo-liberal exploitation.

“Is the US Free Trade Model Losing Steam?” American Friends Service Committee, Trade Matters, 5/3/06
http://www.afsc.org/trade-matters/trade-agreements/LosingSte...

“Economic Policy Changes With New Latin American Leaders” Mark Weisbrot, International Herold Tribune, 12/28/06
http://www.cepr.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&i...

“Is Hugo Chaves a Threat to Stability? No.” Mark Weisbrot, International Affairs Forum, 3/31/07
http://www.cepr.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&i...

#20 Terror Act Against Animal Activists

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act of 2006 expanded the definition of “terrorism” to include acts that interfere, or promote interference, with the operation of an animal enterprise. Over 160 groups opposed this Act on grounds that its terminology is dangerously vague and poses major conflict to the US Constitution.

“The AETA is Invidiously Detrimental to the Animal Rights Movement (and Unconstitutional as Well)” David Hoch and Odette Wilkens, Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, 3/9/07
http://www.vjel.org/editorials/2007S/Hoch.Wilkens.Editorial....

“US House Passes Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act With Little Discussion or Dissent” Will Potter, Green is the New Red, 11/14/06
http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/2006/11/13/aeta-passes-...

“22 Years for Free-Speech Advocates: Six Animal Rights Activists Given Lengthy Prison Sentences for Running Website” Budgerigar, Earth First! Journal, 11/06
http://www.earthfirstjournal.org/article.php?id=6

#21 US Seeks WTO Immunity for Illegal Farm Payments

The July 2006 Doha round of WTO negotiations broke down over the contentious issue of farm trade and the unrestricted opening of markets to agricultural products. In a last-minute proposal, one not included on the original agenda, the US insisted that all trade agreements include a special “Peace Clause” that would make its use of illegal farm subsidies immune from prosecution by the countries affected.

“Canada launches WTO case on US subsidies” Eoin Callan, Financial Times, 1/9/2007
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/5debac74-9f9b-11db-9e2e-0000779e2340...

“US seeks “get-out clause” for illegal farm payments” Oxfam, 6/29/2006
http://www.oxfam.org/en/news/pressreleases2006/pr060629_wto_...

#22 North Invades Mexico

The number of North Americans living in Mexico has soared from 200,000 to 1 million (one-quarter of all US expatriates) in the past decade. With more than 70 million American baby-boomers expected to retire in the next two decades, experts predict “a tidal wave” of migration. The land rush is sending up property values to the detriment of locals whose children are consequently driven into slums or forced to emigrate north.

“Border Invaders: The Perfect Swarm Heads South” Mike Davis, TomDispatch.com, 9/19/2006
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=122537

#23 Feinstein’s Conflict of Interest in Iraq

Dianne Feinstein is involved in monumental conflicts of interest as she promotes and exploits the Global War on Terror. As a member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, Senator Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions of dollars to her husband's military construction firms, while consistently voting to fund US military proliferation.

“Senator Feinstein’s Iraq Conflict” Peter Byrne, Bohemian, 1/24/2007
http://www.bohemian.com/metro/01.24.07/dianne-feinstein-0704...

#24 Media Misquotes Threat From Iran’s President

A mistranslated quotation attributed to Iran’s President Ahmadinejad, which threatened that, “Israel must be wiped off the map,” has been spread around the world. Ahmadinejad’s actual statements, however, were significantly less threatening.

“‘Wiped Off The Map’ - The Rumor of the Century” Arash Norouzi, MohammadMossadegh.com, Global Research, 1/20/2007
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&c...

“Full Text: The President of Iran's Letter To President Bush” Translated by Le Monde, Information Clearing House, 05/09/06
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12984.htm

#25 Who Will Profit From Native Energy?

The US government and energy industry intend to market a shift away from dependence on foreign energy by deregulating and stepping up their exploitation (“development”) of wind and solar resources located on Native American reservations.

“Native Energy Futures” Brian Awehali, Lip Magazine, 6/5/06
http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/featawehali_nativefuture...

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