February 16, 2007
by Justin Rasimondo
It was the tail-end of a bleak November, 2001: a pall of shocked numbness hung over the country, and a rising war hysteria had nearly everyone cowed. Americans were just beginning to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and focus on what had happened, and how to react. It was very early on the morning of the 23rd when, scanning the headlines, I came across a Washington Post story by John Mintz: "60 Israelis Detained on Tourist Visas Since Sept. 11." Odd, I thought, why go after the Israelis, probably the least likely suspects?
The subhead was even more intriguing. “Government Calls Several cases ‘of Special Interest,’ Meaning Related to Post-Attacks Investigation." Apparently organized groups of Israelis had been arrested, and "dozens" held without bond. Inquiries to the Justice Department had yielded this response:
“In several cases, such as those in Cleveland and St. Louis, INS officials testified in court hearings that they were ‘of special interest to the government,’ a term that federal agents have used in many of the hundreds of cases involving mostly Muslim Arab men who have been detained around the country since the terrorist attacks.
“An INS official who requested anonymity said the agency will not comment on the Israelis. But he said the use of the term “special interest” means the case in question is “related to the investigation of September 11th.”
It wasn’t some anti-Semetic conspiracy crank sitting in his parents’ basement, or Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first linked Israeli nationals to the events of 9/11: it was the U.S. government, specifically its law enforcement arm.
This I found utterly astonishing, because it was clear to me, at that point, that there was a link, albeit one largely unknown in its specifics. Why else were the feds casting their nets around for Israelis rather than Arabs, Persians, and, yes, Muslims?
There was more. The original Post piece was updated: the number of detained Israelis had risen to 120. I had been following the story in this space, and noting its significance, in the weeks before Carl Cameron broadcast his famous four-part report on Fox News, which exposed the extensive Israeli spy network in this country and opened with this electric charge:
“There is no indication that the Israelis were involved in the 9-11 attacks, but investigators suspect that the Israeli’s may have gathered intelligence about the attacks in advance, and not shared it. A highly placed investigator said there are – quote- “ tie-ins” But when asked for details, he flatly refused to describe them, saying, - quote- “evidence linking these Israelis to 9-11 is classified. I cannot tell you about evidence that has been gathered. It’s classified information.”
The story, as it developed in the months- and years- to come, sent me down an investigative path that has yet to reach its endpoint. What we know is this: in the months prior to 9/11, bands of Israelis posing as "art students" [.pdf] had carried out what seemed like a coordinated probing of U.S. government facilities, including locations not known to the public. A secret government report detailing the activities of the “art students”- and their background as highly trained in explosives and the art of telecommunications interception- was leaked to the media, and the story was again in the headlines. But not for long.
This is potentially one of the most important 9/11-related stories ever reported, and yet the number of serious investigative pieces done on it can hardly be counted on the fingers of one hand. Antiwar.com has been following this from the outset, and you can go here for a complete archive of my columns on the subject, plus mainstream media pieces.
Of particular interest is the coverage by The Forward, the oldest newspaper of the Jewish community in North America. They reported on one key aspect of the Israeli-9/11 connection: the story of the five employees of a moving van company apprehended hours after the twin towers were struck. They had been observed in Liberty State Park, New Jersey, overlooking the Hudson, with a clear view of the burning towers. A woman had seen them from the window of her apartment building overlooking the parking lot: they came out of a white van, and they were jumping up and down, high-fiving each other with obvious glee. Their mood, it could be said, was celebratory. They were also filming the towers as they burned, and taking still photos.
The woman capped the cops, who put out a “be on the lookout” alert. I’ll let Christopher Ketcham, author of a blockbuster new report appearing in Counterpunch, tell the rest of the story:
"At 3:56 p.m., twenty-five minutes after the issuance of the FBI BOLO, officers with the East Rutherford Police Department stopped the commercial moving van through a trace on the plates. According to the police report, Officer Scott DeCarlo and Sgt. Dennis Rivelli approached the stopped van, demanding that the driver exit the vehicle. The driver, 23-year-old Sivan Kurzberg, refused and 'was asked several more times (but) appeared to be fumbling with a black leather fanny pouch type of bag.’ With guns drawn, the police then ‘physically removed’ Kurzberg, while four other men- two more men had apparently joined the group since the morning- were also removed from the van, handcuffed, placed on the grass median and read their Miranda rights. They had not been told the reaons for their arrest. Yes, according to DeCarlo’s report, “this officer was told without question by the driver (Svan Kurzgers) ‘We are Israeli. We are not your problem. Your problems are our problems. The Palestinians are the problem.’ Another of the five Israelis, again without prompting, told Officer DeCarlo—falsely—that ‘we were on the West Side Highway in New York City during the incident.”
This is, I believe, the most detailed account yet published of what actually happened that fateful day, and Ketcham clearly shows that the Israelis were certainly aware of why they had been stopped. The cops practically had to drag them out of the van at gunpoint, and it is surely suspicious that they immediately started denying any role in “the incident.” How did they know they weren’t being stopped for a traffic violation? No wonder they were held for 71 days, mostly in solitary confinement, and interrogated. Some repeatedly failed polygraph tests when questioned about possible surveillance activities. The FBI agents who interrogated them reportedly called them "the high-fivers," because of their odd behavior at Liberty State Park.
The Forward confirmed that the company they ostensibly worked for, Urban Moving Systems, of Weehawken, New Jersey, was in all likelihood a Mossad front. Dominik Suter, the owner, fled to Israel the day after a police raid on his office. The five detained Israelis were sent back to Israel, where they claimed to be innocent victims of harassment. Here they are on an Israeli talk show. Of course they don’t mention
any of the above, or that they were found to have multiple passports in their possession, along with $4,700 stuffed in a sock and maps of New York City highlighted in certain spots. Ketcham quotes one local law enforcement official as saying
“It looked like they’re hooked in with this, it looked like they knew what was going to happen when they were at Liberty State Park."
Ketcham, utilizing the public record, news reports, and his own sources, has painted the clearest portrait yet of the "urban mover" Mossad cell, and how they shadowed the five hijackers who took over American Airlines flight 77, which struck the Pentagon to such devastating effect. Living, working, and socializing within a six-mile radius of Bergen County, these two groups circled each other until, on 9/11;, as a dark pall fell over Manhattan and much of the rest world, one applauded the others’ handiwork.
Ketchum’s story of how the FBI investigation was scotched by high-ups to outrage every patriotic American citizen. He cites a source at ABC News- which covered this story on 2020 in a treatment I consider a whitewash- as saying, “They feel the higher echelons torpedoed the investigation into the Israeli New Jersey cell. Leads were not fully investigated.
The same source agrees with the general assessment of CIA officers, and intelligence experts such as James Bamford and Vincent Cannistraro, that Urban Moving Systems was a covert Israeli intelligence-gathering operation, most likely engaged in electronic interception and other means of spying on radical elements within Northern New Jersey’s Muslim milieu. In the course of this, and given their geographical proximity, it is not beyond reason to posit that the Urban Movers were watching the future hijackers, listening to their phone conversations, reading their emails, and otherwise keeping fully apprised of their activities. What made the Israelis jump for joy, as one counterintelligence officer is said to have put it, is that "The Israelis felt that in some way their intelligencehad worked out- i.e., they were celebrating their own acumen and ability as intelligence agents.”
The story of how this line of investigation was suppressed, both in the law enforcement community and in the media, is a saga in itself. I know that Ketcham worked on this story long and hard, and had supposedly firm commitments from both Salon.com and The Nation to publish his work. Both projects were killed at the last minute, in one case an hour before it was scheduled to run. What’s particularly stupid, in the case of Salon, is that they ran his previous piece, on the “Israeli Art Student Mystery,” years ago- and now refuse to follow up their own story.
As for why the government investigation into the Israeli connection was scotched, Ketcham cites a former CIA counter-terrorism officer: "There was no question but that [the order to close down the investigation] came from the White House."
I have to tell you that it hasn’t been easy following this story over the years. I was told in the beginning, and in no uncertain terms, that this line of investigation is forbidden, that it’s “too hot to handle,” and, implicitly, that the truth and the facts have to take second place to political correctness. To even mention this story, in certain quarters, is considered prima facie evidence of anti-Semitism. Case closed.
In spite of a determined effort on the part of some to redifine anti-Semitism to constrain critics of Israel government actions, there is an equally determined pushback- a real movement to treat Israel as a nation like any other. That is, a nation with its own interests, which, if truth be told, it pursues aggressively, and not only in the occupied territories and Lebanon, but also right here in the U.S. The story of Israel’s underground army in America- and its foreknowledge of the 9/11 terrorist attacks- is based on facts, not fantasies, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with anti-Semitism—and everything to do with establishing the full context of the worst terrorist attack in our history.
9/11 was the opening shot of a battle we are still fighting to this day, as our soldiers fall in Iraq, and the hints of a new front in our endless “war on terrorism” – Iran- are hardly subtle. That signal event launched the war hysteria that only lately has begun to peter out.
One of the major reasons why the public has turned against the Iraq war has been the revelation that the "intelligence" we acquired about Iraq’s alleged "weapons of mass destruction" was manipulated, cherry-picked, and outright falsified in order to make the case for the invasion. If it turns out that the Israelis really did know – that they picked up "chatter" from the groups they were watching, and gained fairly detailed knowledge of the hijackers’ plans – it will alter how we think about 9/11, and change our perception of the perpetual war that ensued.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Cluster Bombs
The government of Norway is hosting an international meeting of 40 nations this week, hoping to successfully ban the manufacture and use of cluster bombs. The USA is NOT participating, which is a crying shame.
Cluster bombs remain on battlefields for years, more often (98% of the time, according to Handicap International) injuring or killing innocent children and farmers. The Norwegian government is hoping to enact a ban similar to the Ottawa Convention which restricts the use of land mines.
Norway took the lead on the anti-cluster bomb campaign afer the Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) in November of 2006 failed to agree to begin negotiations on a ban.
"We are talking about munitions with inhumane consequences," said Raymond Johansen, a senior Norwegian foreign ministry official. "We hope this conference will lead to a very efficient action plan on how to proceed with this."
Norway, which plans to replicate the anti-landmine campaign that won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, hopes to push through a ban by 2008.
Cluster munitions comprise a variety of weapons that disperse anywhere from 10 to several hundred submunitions, or bomblets, over a target area.
They can be dropped from aircraft or fired in artillery shells or missiles and have been used in conflicts around the world, from Vietnam to Afghanistan. The bomblets often remain unexploded and endanger civilians for decades after conflicts.
Especially noteworthy was Israel's use of up to one MILLION cluster bombs dropped over largely Christian civilian population centers in southern Lebanon last summer, AFTER the cease-fire was scheduled. The most damning point was that Israel wanted to obtain a new, improved cluster bomb model from the US military, but had to use up its existing supply of US-manufactured cluster bombs to obtain the new model! Unfortunately for Israel, the world was paying attention at this latest atrocity. And appropriately recoiled.
Particularly illustrative was Israel's feeble attempt to paint dropping one MILLION cluster bombs as "within Israel's right to defend herself" -- WTF? The chutzpah meter just pegged. That is too fuckin' much.
Cluster bombs remain on battlefields for years, more often (98% of the time, according to Handicap International) injuring or killing innocent children and farmers. The Norwegian government is hoping to enact a ban similar to the Ottawa Convention which restricts the use of land mines.
Norway took the lead on the anti-cluster bomb campaign afer the Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) in November of 2006 failed to agree to begin negotiations on a ban.
"We are talking about munitions with inhumane consequences," said Raymond Johansen, a senior Norwegian foreign ministry official. "We hope this conference will lead to a very efficient action plan on how to proceed with this."
Norway, which plans to replicate the anti-landmine campaign that won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, hopes to push through a ban by 2008.
Cluster munitions comprise a variety of weapons that disperse anywhere from 10 to several hundred submunitions, or bomblets, over a target area.
They can be dropped from aircraft or fired in artillery shells or missiles and have been used in conflicts around the world, from Vietnam to Afghanistan. The bomblets often remain unexploded and endanger civilians for decades after conflicts.
Especially noteworthy was Israel's use of up to one MILLION cluster bombs dropped over largely Christian civilian population centers in southern Lebanon last summer, AFTER the cease-fire was scheduled. The most damning point was that Israel wanted to obtain a new, improved cluster bomb model from the US military, but had to use up its existing supply of US-manufactured cluster bombs to obtain the new model! Unfortunately for Israel, the world was paying attention at this latest atrocity. And appropriately recoiled.
Particularly illustrative was Israel's feeble attempt to paint dropping one MILLION cluster bombs as "within Israel's right to defend herself" -- WTF? The chutzpah meter just pegged. That is too fuckin' much.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
ZOG: Zionist Occupation Government
The hate that (used to) dare not speak its name
Xymphora
February 17, 2007
In the last six months, we’ve made enormous advances in understanding the unwholesome hold that Zionists have over the American government, and I am optimistic that the truth will continue to come out (six months from now, people behind the curve are going to look quite silly). Just recently, those who were brave enough to point out the massive influence of the Lobby weren’t just considered to be mistaken, or even crazy. The issue was literally unspeakable (at least in polite society). Zionism was the hate that dare not speak its name. The Zionists don’t yet realize that they lost the battle and the war once these issues became debatable.
The United States is currently under a Zionist Occupation Government. Still don’t believe me? This past week the Democrats started to exercise their newly acquired power with a hearing of the Middle East Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the 'next steps in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process.’ Do you think they invited Jimmy Carter? Bishop Tutu? Nelson Mandela? An neutral expert on the Middle East? A Palestinian? Nope. The three invitees – the only three invitees – were (drum roll, please):
Daniel Pipes (who, it is claimed, was forced on the committee as a witness by the Republicans);
Martin Indyk; and
David Makovsky.
Makovsky works for the ultra-Zionists at WINEP (the Lobby’s think tank). Indyk, the original founder of WINEP and a former research director at AIPAC, is the Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution (Saban is the Israeli who is biggest donor to the Democrats and thus the leading member of the Jewish Billionaires Club). I really don’t need to describe Daniel "brown-skinned peoples cooking strange foods and maintaining different standards of hygiene" Pipes. Indyck comes across as moderate but non-committal, Makovsky as a complete hard-ass, and Pipes as absolutely, over-the-top, insane. I imagine the three of them arriving at the hearing arm-in-arm, deftly performing Jewish folk dances, singing Hava Nagila, waving the Israeli flag, and sporting their medals from Israeli for service to Zionist colonialism. For guys like these, a 'debate’ about the Palestinians consists of a discussion of the appropriate caliber of ammunition to use to shoot Palestinian children in the face. It is not unreasonable to wonder why all the witnesses are on one side of the issue (and for similar shenanigans – more of the 'diet plan’ – from the same bunch of politicians, see here). Is Congress just the New Knesset?
From the comments to the excellent note by Daniel Levy linked to above (and see also here), I select that of madison1776 (emphasis throughout in red):
"So the Jewish Committee chair Tom Lantos (Likud-CA) and the Subcommittee chair Gary Ackerman (Likud-NY) will hold a hearing on the I-P conflict with David Makovsky (a former US citizen now an Israeli who works for the AIPAC cutout, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy), Martin Indyk (an Australian brought to the US by indicted AIPAC spy, Steve Rosen, to work as his assistant at AIPAC and somehow became a US citizen and our ambassador to (not from) Israel) and Daniel Pipes (National Socialist-Philadelphia).
Thar's it! No Arab-Americans. No Palestinians. Not even one goddam gentile.
Is this a joke.
AND by the way, the staff director of the committee is David Makovsky's brother, Alan Makovsky.
I am not making this up."
and Mark Weinberg:
"This in nuts. As a Jew and a Zionist, I believe that this type of arrogance – using the US congress as a venue to promote right-wing zionist propaganda – is going to blow up in all our faces someday.
How dare they? Does it ever occur to Lantos or Ackerman that they are Americans (sort of, in Lantos's case) and should act like it.
This is truly disgusting. Read 'The Truth About Camp David’ by Clanton Swisher to find out whose these characters are.
God, as a Jew, this is just embarrassing. It's like a bunch of Catholics holding hearings on birth control with the witnesses being Father Mulcahy, Msgr. Herlihy, and Cardinal O'Connor.
Madison 1776 is mad. The real Madison would puke."
I really have to wonder what evidence would be required to prove the existence of the ZOG to those hold-outs who still refuse to believe it.
:: Article nr. 30718 sent on 17-feb-2007 19:35 ECT
www.uruknet.info?p=30718
:: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Uruknet .
Xymphora
February 17, 2007
In the last six months, we’ve made enormous advances in understanding the unwholesome hold that Zionists have over the American government, and I am optimistic that the truth will continue to come out (six months from now, people behind the curve are going to look quite silly). Just recently, those who were brave enough to point out the massive influence of the Lobby weren’t just considered to be mistaken, or even crazy. The issue was literally unspeakable (at least in polite society). Zionism was the hate that dare not speak its name. The Zionists don’t yet realize that they lost the battle and the war once these issues became debatable.
The United States is currently under a Zionist Occupation Government. Still don’t believe me? This past week the Democrats started to exercise their newly acquired power with a hearing of the Middle East Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the 'next steps in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process.’ Do you think they invited Jimmy Carter? Bishop Tutu? Nelson Mandela? An neutral expert on the Middle East? A Palestinian? Nope. The three invitees – the only three invitees – were (drum roll, please):
Daniel Pipes (who, it is claimed, was forced on the committee as a witness by the Republicans);
Martin Indyk; and
David Makovsky.
Makovsky works for the ultra-Zionists at WINEP (the Lobby’s think tank). Indyk, the original founder of WINEP and a former research director at AIPAC, is the Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution (Saban is the Israeli who is biggest donor to the Democrats and thus the leading member of the Jewish Billionaires Club). I really don’t need to describe Daniel "brown-skinned peoples cooking strange foods and maintaining different standards of hygiene" Pipes. Indyck comes across as moderate but non-committal, Makovsky as a complete hard-ass, and Pipes as absolutely, over-the-top, insane. I imagine the three of them arriving at the hearing arm-in-arm, deftly performing Jewish folk dances, singing Hava Nagila, waving the Israeli flag, and sporting their medals from Israeli for service to Zionist colonialism. For guys like these, a 'debate’ about the Palestinians consists of a discussion of the appropriate caliber of ammunition to use to shoot Palestinian children in the face. It is not unreasonable to wonder why all the witnesses are on one side of the issue (and for similar shenanigans – more of the 'diet plan’ – from the same bunch of politicians, see here). Is Congress just the New Knesset?
From the comments to the excellent note by Daniel Levy linked to above (and see also here), I select that of madison1776 (emphasis throughout in red):
"So the Jewish Committee chair Tom Lantos (Likud-CA) and the Subcommittee chair Gary Ackerman (Likud-NY) will hold a hearing on the I-P conflict with David Makovsky (a former US citizen now an Israeli who works for the AIPAC cutout, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy), Martin Indyk (an Australian brought to the US by indicted AIPAC spy, Steve Rosen, to work as his assistant at AIPAC and somehow became a US citizen and our ambassador to (not from) Israel) and Daniel Pipes (National Socialist-Philadelphia).
Thar's it! No Arab-Americans. No Palestinians. Not even one goddam gentile.
Is this a joke.
AND by the way, the staff director of the committee is David Makovsky's brother, Alan Makovsky.
I am not making this up."
and Mark Weinberg:
"This in nuts. As a Jew and a Zionist, I believe that this type of arrogance – using the US congress as a venue to promote right-wing zionist propaganda – is going to blow up in all our faces someday.
How dare they? Does it ever occur to Lantos or Ackerman that they are Americans (sort of, in Lantos's case) and should act like it.
This is truly disgusting. Read 'The Truth About Camp David’ by Clanton Swisher to find out whose these characters are.
God, as a Jew, this is just embarrassing. It's like a bunch of Catholics holding hearings on birth control with the witnesses being Father Mulcahy, Msgr. Herlihy, and Cardinal O'Connor.
Madison 1776 is mad. The real Madison would puke."
I really have to wonder what evidence would be required to prove the existence of the ZOG to those hold-outs who still refuse to believe it.
:: Article nr. 30718 sent on 17-feb-2007 19:35 ECT
www.uruknet.info?p=30718
:: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Uruknet .
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Interesting article on diamonds
I'm going to begin storing information I find interesting or useful on this blog. Why not?
I found a link to this article on digg.com the other day:
http://worldandnews.blogspot.com/2007/02/what-you-didnt-know-about-diamonds.html
I found a link to this article on digg.com the other day:
http://worldandnews.blogspot.com/2007/02/what-you-didnt-know-about-diamonds.html
Monday, February 12, 2007
What You Didn't Know About Diamonds
Want an easy way to save 3+ months’ salary? Don’t buy a diamond engagement ring. If your fiancée, friends and family scream hellfire, calmly explain:
It’s just marketing. The whole “A Diamond is Forever” and the idea of a diamond engagement ring is not an ancient tradition to be revered and followed. It is Sprite’s “Obey Your Thirst.” It is Nike’s “Just Do It.” It is Gary Dahl’s “Pet Rock.” Not only did De Beers understand it had to control supply (buying up and closing down any diamond mine discovered), they had to control demand. They had to make it sentimental. And Americans were the perfect suckers. They targeted the US specifically for our marketability. This campaign is less than 70 years old yet has become so ingrained in our culture that the diamond engagement ring has become the ultimate symbol of how much the relationship, the girl, and love itself is worth.
Diamonds aren’t rare. Fine, using marketing tactics can’t be blamed since that’s part of the game of capitalism. But another part of the game is competition. It’s all well and good if marketers can convince consumers to buy them instead of the competition based on a nice slogan, but the competition should be there to protect the consumer. All gems are valued based on their rarity (as are most things in life). But diamonds are abundant. De Beers has a huge vault where they keep most of the world’s supply of diamonds. If it ever got released into the market, the way it would be if they weren’t a monopoly, diamonds would be worth nothing. It’s literally a pretty rock.
Diamonds have no resale value. The reason a “diamond is forever” is because you’re basically stuck with it. You’ll never be able to resell it except to a pawn shop. Even a jeweler (the few who would be willing to buy it) would offer a fraction of what you paid.
Synthetic diamonds will flood the market. Synthetic or “cultured” diamonds are already being made and within the next few years, will be efficiently made for the mass market. These are real diamonds. They are made in a machine that replicates the environmental forces that make diamonds. The only difference is that they’re better. They have less flaws. And they cost a fraction of the going rate. Want a 2-carat pink diamond? That’ll be a few thousand dollars.
Moissanite looks just like a diamond. Jewelers had to upgrade their equipment to detect Moissanite from diamonds when it came into the market. It’s undetectable with the naked eye. And it’s actually more brilliant. A 1-carat ring is under $1000.
Who is the ring for, anyway? Seriously. As The Dilettante so poignantly put it, “For women, comparing jewelry is our phallic posturing contest: look at how big MY dic….er, I mean, diamond is.” It’s fun to show off for about 30 seconds. After that there is little to show for the debt incurred for the shiny piece of rock. That money could have gone into furniture, an amazing trip (or many nice ones), your future kids’ college funds!!
Are these reasons still not enough? Watch Blood Diamond. It is high time Hollywood dared to broach the subject of diamonds, especially when they had a hand in marketing it to the public in the first place. Blood Diamond, is an explicit example of the blood and war that has spanned the entire history of the De Beers’ diamond cartel. The story of Sierra Leone isn’t an isolated event, nor is the conflict over just because the movie says there’s peace in Sierra Leone now.
What are conflict/blood diamonds? Conflict/blood diamonds are used by rebel groups to fuel conflict and civil wars, and by terrorist groups to finance their activities.
The Kimberley Process is just PR. It’s an agreement that is supposed to prevent conflict diamonds from getting into the market but ended up being more of a PR stunt since it’s based on a system of self-policing. The UN reported in October 2006 that due to poor enforcement of the Kimberley Process, $23 million of conflict diamonds from Cote d’lvoire alone entered the legitimate market. Sure De Beers won’t buy diamonds coming out of Cote d’lvoire, but they’ll turn a blind eye to the smuggling of diamonds from there through Ghana and Mali where they are certified as being conflict-free.
Percentage in the market. During the height of the diamond conflict in the 1990s, the diamond industry reported that no more than 4% of the diamonds in the market were conflict diamonds, when in reality it has been shown to be closer to 15% .
Asking for conflict-free certificates is not enough. In April 2006 after a scathing report by Partnership Africa Canada about activities in Brazil, an internal review showed that 49 of 147 Kimberley Process certificates were fraudulent. Besides these fraudulent certificates, real certificates could still be issued if conflict diamonds were smuggled and mixed with legally traded ones before being certified.
Children in India are cutting and polishing the diamonds. Children in India can become “bonded” – forced to work to pay off the debts of their family. These children end up working in the diamond factories.
Children in conflict zones are being used as soldiers. The images in Blood Diamond with child soldiers are very real. They are drugged and brainwashed to handle the manslaughter they are forced to do.
Jennifer Connelly says in the movie Blood Diamond, “People back home would not buy a diamond if they knew it cost someone their hand.” Now you know.
Bump in the road lately. I bought into the forecast of rain this past weekend, so naturally no rain fell and the sun broke through the clouds on Sunday afternoon, which has to be my least favorite thing. Sun breaking through clouds makes me panic. Yesterday it actually rained HARD at a forty-five degree angle. For about two minutes.
I had to make reparations in the Inselkampf game I've been playing. So that set back my plans to build a colonization ships. Also: no more football. And an $880 bill from the divorce attorney. And I'm out of wine. And I'm out of firewood.
So I was feeling pretty brought down for a couple of days, there. Sucked.
Bought $60 worth of Chinese food and watched the Westminster Dog Show Monday and Tuesday nights. Chinese food seems to make me pass out. Too much sugar or MSG or something? I really didn't feel well.
I had GAINED weight when I weighed in on Tuesday morning, yesterday. Today I'm down 2.5 lbs. Better. That means I've lost 60 pounds. Not bad. Keep going. Don't get derailed. Don't get all bummed out.
Anyway. I finally scraped together enough gold in the game to commence building a colonization ship. That ought to be ready to go about 1:30 this afternoon. Looking forward to that. Really been enjoying this game.
A week or two ago Krista Ross had e-mailed and mentioned a graphic design opening at the company she works for. I can't see how I could work and take care of the kids.
Diane came by on Monday or Tuesday afternoon, ostensibly to see what my city of birth was for a passport application. She seems adamant about extracting "her equity" out of hte house. Fuck off and die, Diane. I need the house to raise the kids in. This is what they know as their home. Fuck off and DIE. I'm beginning to understand why there's a metal detector at the family courthouse building.
$880 to the attorney for having gone over the basic facts of my case AGAIN. I'm getting fucked by the attorney. I really am. Now I understand why everyone hates attorneys.
Sitting here listening to Howard Stern on the computer feed. It was easier to have an FM headset and listen to him that way. I could move away from the computer. Last week I'd be exercising and listening in the bedroom. This week I feel freaked out and just want to sit here and waste my time on the computer.
Stocks are up a bit. If I earn $77 I'll have covered the commission fees and broken even. Stay tuned.
The future doesn't look great as far as money goes. I'm spending money running the house and raising the kids. I haven't seen one fucking dime from Diane. Not one penny.
I'm going to go back to Inselkampf and watch gold roll in at three units a minute or something. Just sit here until 1:45 when it's time to go and get Cassidy.
This is real life, eh? Oh well. Could be much worse. Hang in there.
I had to make reparations in the Inselkampf game I've been playing. So that set back my plans to build a colonization ships. Also: no more football. And an $880 bill from the divorce attorney. And I'm out of wine. And I'm out of firewood.
So I was feeling pretty brought down for a couple of days, there. Sucked.
Bought $60 worth of Chinese food and watched the Westminster Dog Show Monday and Tuesday nights. Chinese food seems to make me pass out. Too much sugar or MSG or something? I really didn't feel well.
I had GAINED weight when I weighed in on Tuesday morning, yesterday. Today I'm down 2.5 lbs. Better. That means I've lost 60 pounds. Not bad. Keep going. Don't get derailed. Don't get all bummed out.
Anyway. I finally scraped together enough gold in the game to commence building a colonization ship. That ought to be ready to go about 1:30 this afternoon. Looking forward to that. Really been enjoying this game.
A week or two ago Krista Ross had e-mailed and mentioned a graphic design opening at the company she works for. I can't see how I could work and take care of the kids.
Diane came by on Monday or Tuesday afternoon, ostensibly to see what my city of birth was for a passport application. She seems adamant about extracting "her equity" out of hte house. Fuck off and die, Diane. I need the house to raise the kids in. This is what they know as their home. Fuck off and DIE. I'm beginning to understand why there's a metal detector at the family courthouse building.
$880 to the attorney for having gone over the basic facts of my case AGAIN. I'm getting fucked by the attorney. I really am. Now I understand why everyone hates attorneys.
Sitting here listening to Howard Stern on the computer feed. It was easier to have an FM headset and listen to him that way. I could move away from the computer. Last week I'd be exercising and listening in the bedroom. This week I feel freaked out and just want to sit here and waste my time on the computer.
Stocks are up a bit. If I earn $77 I'll have covered the commission fees and broken even. Stay tuned.
The future doesn't look great as far as money goes. I'm spending money running the house and raising the kids. I haven't seen one fucking dime from Diane. Not one penny.
I'm going to go back to Inselkampf and watch gold roll in at three units a minute or something. Just sit here until 1:45 when it's time to go and get Cassidy.
This is real life, eh? Oh well. Could be much worse. Hang in there.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Windy with clouds
Waiting impatiently for my resources in Inselkampf (Island Struggle) to develop until I can afford to commence building a Colonization ship. Enjoying that game a lot.
GAINED weight from two weeks ago. So I'm not eating today. Or tomorrow. Or the day after.
I'm often paralyzed, I just sit here and play that game or read Stern Fan Network or Salon.com. Up until last week I exercised sometimes in the morning while listening to Howard Stern.
I think I'm about even with my Scottrade stocks. Plus all those $7 fees.
What else? Nothing else.
Krista Ross had e-mailed and let me know that the company she works for in Poway had a graphic design opening. I can't see how I can run the house and be with the kids and work 40 hours a week during the school year, and the summer is another matter altogether.
Another ten years to go. I cannot believe that Cassidy is only eight years old and in second grade. It seems like I've been raising Cassidy for thirty or thirty-five years. I love her and Flynn. It just seems like I've been raising them forever.
Diane stopped by yesterday to ask which city I was born in. Apparently that's a question on the US Passport application form. I thought that was odd. She's planning a trip to Mexico for two weeks with her friend/roommate Gail. I can't remember ever taking a vacation with any roommate. Hmm.
April 19th is the new date to appear in court. Hopefully we can keep this house. Otherwise I want to fucking SOAK her for support, make it a poison pill. Just fuck off and go away forever. It's been a long, long wait for this to shake out. It will be a relief either way. Just to have it over with.
I wonder if my most recent attack fleet has captured any resources? Time to go check the game again.
GAINED weight from two weeks ago. So I'm not eating today. Or tomorrow. Or the day after.
I'm often paralyzed, I just sit here and play that game or read Stern Fan Network or Salon.com. Up until last week I exercised sometimes in the morning while listening to Howard Stern.
I think I'm about even with my Scottrade stocks. Plus all those $7 fees.
What else? Nothing else.
Krista Ross had e-mailed and let me know that the company she works for in Poway had a graphic design opening. I can't see how I can run the house and be with the kids and work 40 hours a week during the school year, and the summer is another matter altogether.
Another ten years to go. I cannot believe that Cassidy is only eight years old and in second grade. It seems like I've been raising Cassidy for thirty or thirty-five years. I love her and Flynn. It just seems like I've been raising them forever.
Diane stopped by yesterday to ask which city I was born in. Apparently that's a question on the US Passport application form. I thought that was odd. She's planning a trip to Mexico for two weeks with her friend/roommate Gail. I can't remember ever taking a vacation with any roommate. Hmm.
April 19th is the new date to appear in court. Hopefully we can keep this house. Otherwise I want to fucking SOAK her for support, make it a poison pill. Just fuck off and go away forever. It's been a long, long wait for this to shake out. It will be a relief either way. Just to have it over with.
I wonder if my most recent attack fleet has captured any resources? Time to go check the game again.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Cloudy Thursday
30% chance of rain today, 70% tomorrow. I think what that means is that it'll rain tonight and no one will see it happen. It rains a lot at night here.
Got the kids up, dressed, fed and to school. Went to the Post Office, mailed some paperwork to Marc Shular's office. Bought gasoline. Went to Target since I'd seen a really well-produced ad for Target last night, I wanted to buy water for the aquariums, but they had $0.99 per gallon water -- not much of a deal. Went to Albertson's and bought water and groceries. Went to the new Henry's Market and bought more protein powder. In a larger container, so my hand can fit inside of it.
Home again.
That's about it.
Got the kids up, dressed, fed and to school. Went to the Post Office, mailed some paperwork to Marc Shular's office. Bought gasoline. Went to Target since I'd seen a really well-produced ad for Target last night, I wanted to buy water for the aquariums, but they had $0.99 per gallon water -- not much of a deal. Went to Albertson's and bought water and groceries. Went to the new Henry's Market and bought more protein powder. In a larger container, so my hand can fit inside of it.
Home again.
That's about it.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
The Court of the Crimson King
Up all night, baking cinnamon bread. Me, the cats, the dishwasher. Good enough.
.
.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Meeting with lawyer this afternoon
Shitting bricks. Julie (?) from Marc Shular's office called me yesterday and asked if I could meet with Marc Shular today at 1:20. I don't know what to expect.
Ironed a shirt, put on my suit and tie. Just been pacing for hours.
Not dressed to do housework or exercise.
Go pick Cassidy up at 11:15. A 1:20 appointment means I need to take her with me.
Hopefully it won't be a long meeting, especially since Marc Shular charges $300 an hour...
Anxious, nervous... will we be able to keep this house? Will the divorce ever be finalized? Could Diane just not kill herself? I do not want to sell this house, we bought this house in order for the kids to live here while they go through school. I do not want to have to re-purchase this house for three times what we paid for it.
If that happens, then I want Diane to COMPLETELY FUND the increased house payment. Every fucking penny of it.
What a wreck. I did not intend to end up as a single parent.
Ironed a shirt, put on my suit and tie. Just been pacing for hours.
Not dressed to do housework or exercise.
Go pick Cassidy up at 11:15. A 1:20 appointment means I need to take her with me.
Hopefully it won't be a long meeting, especially since Marc Shular charges $300 an hour...
Anxious, nervous... will we be able to keep this house? Will the divorce ever be finalized? Could Diane just not kill herself? I do not want to sell this house, we bought this house in order for the kids to live here while they go through school. I do not want to have to re-purchase this house for three times what we paid for it.
If that happens, then I want Diane to COMPLETELY FUND the increased house payment. Every fucking penny of it.
What a wreck. I did not intend to end up as a single parent.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Here we are
Got the kids up, dressed, fed and to school. Stopped at Target. They were sold out of the plastic bins I wanted. Shit. Went to the Post Office to mail a gas meter wrench to Kelly. The Post Office is closed today so that we can reflect on how severely Gerald R. Ford fucked over the United States of America. It's a fascist holiday.
So here I am. The house is empty. I miss the kids.
Go make the kids' beds.
My weight was 282 this morning, which annoys me. That's a GAIN of 1.6 pounds from two weeks ago. Fucking food season. Time to just not eat any longer. Water and a can of soup in the evening. And a bottle of wine. I've lost nearly fifty pounds since the end of August.
That's great, but I have a hundred pounds to go.
One pound at a time. Two weeks at a time. Two Tuesdays from today I'll weigh myself again. 282 is a lot better than 330. And the scale stopped functioning above 330.
Donated $2,000 to Seva on New Year's Eve. Deduct that from my taxes, if possible. Hopefully I'll have enough money to pay the taxes. Wait and see.
Opened a saving account at Bank of America. Opening an account at Scottrade. Need to mail a check in to fund that account.
Need to establish and fund 529a accounts for the kids. I have a Health Savings Account that I need to fund.
I have $,$$$ credit card debt. Need to address that.
Need to produce and market stickers or greeting cards, make money. Just do it. Just start. Just do it.
What else? The divorce may be completed someday. It's all still up in the air, which means that I'm not sure if we can stay in our house. I have yet to see even one penny from Diane to help with the kids. Diane owes me over twenty thousand dollars.
::
So here I am. The house is empty. I miss the kids.
Go make the kids' beds.
My weight was 282 this morning, which annoys me. That's a GAIN of 1.6 pounds from two weeks ago. Fucking food season. Time to just not eat any longer. Water and a can of soup in the evening. And a bottle of wine. I've lost nearly fifty pounds since the end of August.
That's great, but I have a hundred pounds to go.
One pound at a time. Two weeks at a time. Two Tuesdays from today I'll weigh myself again. 282 is a lot better than 330. And the scale stopped functioning above 330.
Donated $2,000 to Seva on New Year's Eve. Deduct that from my taxes, if possible. Hopefully I'll have enough money to pay the taxes. Wait and see.
Opened a saving account at Bank of America. Opening an account at Scottrade. Need to mail a check in to fund that account.
Need to establish and fund 529a accounts for the kids. I have a Health Savings Account that I need to fund.
I have $,$$$ credit card debt. Need to address that.
Need to produce and market stickers or greeting cards, make money. Just do it. Just start. Just do it.
What else? The divorce may be completed someday. It's all still up in the air, which means that I'm not sure if we can stay in our house. I have yet to see even one penny from Diane to help with the kids. Diane owes me over twenty thousand dollars.
::
Monday, January 01, 2007
New Year's
1. Finish painting/repainting the kitchen and laundry room
2. Get drain installed on side of house -- dry and tight
3. HVAC inspection and repair -- the little bathroom gets most of the AC and heat.
4. Double-glazed windows on the bedroom window, the big bathroom windows, the kitchen window box, the sliding glass door and Flynn's room.
5. Resolve divorce?
6. Keep lawn hydrated
7. Skylight/sun tube in laundry room? Exhaust fan tube exists.
8. Kid 529a plans and fund them
9. HSA funding
10. Scottrade.com enroll
11. Conserve money
12. Kids can ride their bicycles
13. Weight around 180 by September
14. Develop artwork. Produce and package and market stickers.
15. There is no number 15.
2. Get drain installed on side of house -- dry and tight
3. HVAC inspection and repair -- the little bathroom gets most of the AC and heat.
4. Double-glazed windows on the bedroom window, the big bathroom windows, the kitchen window box, the sliding glass door and Flynn's room.
5. Resolve divorce?
6. Keep lawn hydrated
7. Skylight/sun tube in laundry room? Exhaust fan tube exists.
8. Kid 529a plans and fund them
9. HSA funding
10. Scottrade.com enroll
11. Conserve money
12. Kids can ride their bicycles
13. Weight around 180 by September
14. Develop artwork. Produce and package and market stickers.
15. There is no number 15.
End of regular season games
For some reason I thought there was one more NFL game on tonight. Last night's game was the final NFL regular season game. Shit.
Four wild card playoff games next Saturday and Sunday.
Wow. Christmas is over, football season is over (except for the playoffs). Yipes. Not good.
Drank too much wine last night and turned off the lopsided football game and went to lie down. Thought there was one more pro game tonight for some reason. That doesn't make sense now that I think about it. There are three college bowl games on today.
I need to take down the last few Christmas decorations. And the lights on the front of the house. Can I just pull those down and throw the lights away? I do not want to climb that ladder again. This was the final year for lights on the front of the house, it's just too scary and dangerous. I'll put some lights around the garage door this Christmas.
I bought that 16-foot ladder to hang and remove the Christmas lights. I think that I've met my obligation and that I don't have to climb that ladder any more. I do not like climbing that ladder.
Wow, 2007. Another year. Everything dries up after Christmas. I removed the Christmas tree on Saturday while the kids were with Diane. Filled up the trash can with the branches, saving the trunk for a year or so. Didn't burn last year's trunk yet. I like saving the tree trunk for some reason.
So Christmas is over again. I loved having the kids home for two weeks. I am not looking forward to getting them up and to school on time tomorrow morning.
I wish I had any good memories after about 1987. Certainly the failed ten-year marriage to Diane is not a high point in my life. I love the kids dearly but they're endless work. Raising the kids is all that I'm doing. I was happy to finally get the cats. I like the cats a lot.
Oh well. Press on. See what this year holds.
Four wild card playoff games next Saturday and Sunday.
Wow. Christmas is over, football season is over (except for the playoffs). Yipes. Not good.
Drank too much wine last night and turned off the lopsided football game and went to lie down. Thought there was one more pro game tonight for some reason. That doesn't make sense now that I think about it. There are three college bowl games on today.
I need to take down the last few Christmas decorations. And the lights on the front of the house. Can I just pull those down and throw the lights away? I do not want to climb that ladder again. This was the final year for lights on the front of the house, it's just too scary and dangerous. I'll put some lights around the garage door this Christmas.
I bought that 16-foot ladder to hang and remove the Christmas lights. I think that I've met my obligation and that I don't have to climb that ladder any more. I do not like climbing that ladder.
Wow, 2007. Another year. Everything dries up after Christmas. I removed the Christmas tree on Saturday while the kids were with Diane. Filled up the trash can with the branches, saving the trunk for a year or so. Didn't burn last year's trunk yet. I like saving the tree trunk for some reason.
So Christmas is over again. I loved having the kids home for two weeks. I am not looking forward to getting them up and to school on time tomorrow morning.
I wish I had any good memories after about 1987. Certainly the failed ten-year marriage to Diane is not a high point in my life. I love the kids dearly but they're endless work. Raising the kids is all that I'm doing. I was happy to finally get the cats. I like the cats a lot.
Oh well. Press on. See what this year holds.
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