AZZ!!! mi rendo conto solo adesso che ieri mattina - quand'ero ancora sbronza e freddolosa dopo la notte precedente sleeping rough sotto una nevicata eccezionale - due barbutissimi presunti talebani spacciantisi per bengalesi mi hanno chiesto per la strada indicazioni circa il 724, cioe' il bus che collega gli aeroporti di Heathrow, Luton e Stansted.

E io cogliona ho gentilmente indicato loro la fermata! :( merd
Se adesso succede qualcosa, per favore non datemi la colpa!

Confido che essendo i due talmente idioti (ed estremamente barbuti) da non trovare una fermata del bus, beh, speriamo bene non abbiano trovato manco un aeroporto. Poi magari in un aeroporto lasciano transitare loro e a me invece mi arrestano, ma cosi' va la vita, che ci volete fare...

La vita da senzatetto non e' facile d'inverno. dopo una notte gelida e umida ci si rifugia a passare la giornata al caldo in biblioteca, da dove vi scrivo. ma apre alle 10 del mattino e per ore e ore si trema dal freddo.

Nel rifugio notturno ci sono persone molto interessanti sulle quali si potrebbe scrivere un libro. per esempio, tra i numerosi scarcerati ci sono i dipendenti da eroina, o crack, o alcool e tabacco come me, ma non avrei mai pensato ci potessero essere intossicati dal gioco d'azzardo. almeno questo vizio non ce l'ho, ma pare sia altrettanto grave in termini di tossicodipendenza.

E ce n'e' di tante nazionalita': un turco appunto drogato dallo scommettere; un classico, banale ubriacone irlandese; un eroinomane locale appena rilasciato dopo avere scontato una pena per rapina (e lo si direbbe un tipo perfettamente per bene dall'aspetto se all'occhio attento non lo tradisse il continuo tremore delle gambe).

Le carceri (o il carcere, boh?, mai capito se singolare o plurale) fanno schifo come quelle italiane o americane (comunque meglio di quelle tailandesi, mi dice la scoreggiatrice nel letto di sopra). fatto sta che che una preferirebbe stare in galera piuttosto che in questo rifugio puzzolente.

La 19-enne stupenda negraccia Gloria e' incinta (data prevista il 2 maggio: suggerisce niente?) e anche lei senzatetto, ma considerata l'eta' e lo stato di gravidanza hanno un occhio di riguardo per lei. giustamente. anch'io. vorrebbe fare la stilista di moda e in cella disegna. ma anche scrive la storia di come fu abbandonata dal padre nell'infanzia.

Sentite questa, non ci crederete ma vi giuro e' vero: una notte tra noi senzatetto lei si rivolge a me per correggerle l'inglese. notate: normalmente tende a conversare con gli altri di colore, ma per correggerle l'inglese scritto ha scelto di chiedere a me. ne sono stata onorata, gratificata, e ovviamente ho fatto un lavoro ad alto livello come lei si aspettava da me. se e quando un giorno leggerete un bestseller sulla storia della vita di Gloria, teenager incinta, sappiate che la "correttrice di bozze" fu la vostra MW.

PS: se proprio devo tornare in galera, come sembra destino, perlomeno sara' perche' mi tolgo la soddisfazione di sistemare qualche banchiere. qualcuno di quelli che prendono bonus di milioni per far fallire una banca dopo l'altra mentre io e Gloria (adolescente incinta) facciamo la fame senzatetto. ancora due o tre settimane, poi sparo.
Got lots of money? Then don't pay any tax

More than one in four of Britain's biggest companies do not pay any corporation tax, and many are using tax avoidance measures to get round the rules.

That is the shocking conclusion of a House of Commons report published this week.

A host of "tax advisors" have invented ever more imaginative schemes to help large companies slash their bills, the watchdog warns.

These methods include British-based companies transferring their assets to low-tax countries and paying tax there.

The report concludes that the Revenue & Customs (HMRC) tax collectors, who are supposed to act against illegal scams, are under resourced and poorly trained.

The government says it is determined to claw back its lost money. It is a pity then that in recent years it has cut thousands of HMRC jobs.

© Copyright Socialist Worker (unless otherwise stated). You may republish if you include an active link to the original and leave this notice in place.
US used nuke during Iraq Iran War

source: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=73177§ionid=351020101

Rafsanjani: US nuked Iraq in 1991
Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:04:07 GMT
A senior Iranian cleric has urged an inquiry into a report that the US dropped a small nuclear bomb on an area near the Iraq-Iran border.

Speaking at the Friday prayers sermon, former Iranian president and currently Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said, "The bomb blast killed many people and spread cancer and other diseases in the area but no news items have been published about it."

Rafsanjani noted that the footage of the attack, which allegedly took place in a region between Iraq's Basra and Iran's border in 1991, was broadcast by an Italian television channel earlier this month.

He said that even though the report has not been officially confirmed, it was expected to receive widespread media coverage but it was censored in the media.

"If it the report turns out to be true, then the US should be asked why it has resorted to such a crime to punish the then-bankrupt Iraqi government," Fars news agency quoted Rafsanjani as saying.

The coalition forces from 34 countries led by the US launched the Persian Gulf War (2 Aug 1990-28 Feb 1991) to return Kuwait to the control of the Emir of Kuwait.

The nuclear bombing Rafsanjani was referring to was based on a claim by US war veteran Jim Brown who said that the US dropped a five-kilotonne nuclear bomb on 27 February 1991, the last day of the first Iraq-US War. Brown made the accusation during an interview included in a 30-minute current affairs report broadcast by Italian state news channel RaiNews24 on October 9.

RaiNews24 says it has conducted an independent inquiry and discovered that "a seismic event took place on that day equal to a five-kilotonne blast", citing as its source the online archives of the International Seismological Center, a non-profit UK-based organisation, as confirmation of its research according to Adnkronos International (AKI).

The documentary included an interview with an Iraqi doctor, Jawad al-Ali, who told RaiNews24 that before the beginning of the first Gulf War in 1989 there were 32 cases of tumours, while in 2002 the number had risen to 600 in the Basra area as reported by AKI on 8 October.

Al-Ali also told RaiNews24 that tumours that used to affect older citizens had started to impact younger children. He then showed alleged photos of the tumours in the documentary.
Beginning of Hyperinflation Hard Cash
Investor Walter K. Eichelburg Sees Hard Times

By Florian Godovits
Epoch Times German Staff
Oct 26, 2008

GERMANY—Hard-Cash investor Walter K. Eichelburg, predicted the mortgage bubble bust and insolvency of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the United States in an early 2007 Epoch Times interview. He made himself available for another interview with The Epoch Times.

Epoch Times (ET): Mr. Eichelburg, what can we learn from today’s crisis?

Walter K. Eichelburg (WKE): This [crisis] is a progression of the entire economic system. Everything repeats itself. My thinking is that for every investment there is a specific time frame within a cycle, which one must recognize. If one acts at about the right time, one can make a good living. But, I must tell you that I’m not here to save the world. What I’m doing here is educating the investor. I discovered that the true problem is not the business, but the information. There is a pent-up demand for correct information and that is what I want to satisfy.

ET: Would you share which area of information we need to address?

WKE: You must ask for different information than from today’s “Bubble-Media.” I have studied the history from the Dutch ‘Tulip Crash’ (1624-1636), and it always repeats itself over and over again. The values are artificially pushed up by easy borrowing, which brings investors running – the money comes in for a time and then the insiders quickly exit shortly thereafter, the bubble bursts. It is always the same scenario. There is something else, called a Kondratiev cycle [1]. A Kondratiev cycle lasts from 50 to 70 years and is present in any national economy where credit (borrowing) is available. If one invested 5 cents one-hundred years ago, during the time of Franz Josef [2], one would have a shilling today [3]. But, after about 1,460 years, one would have a globe of gold – which in truth is not possible. Common sense says that at some point in time, there must be at a bottoming out. This is cyclical and was discovered by the Russian scientist Kondratiev. So, [according to his theory] we are in the spiraling downward phase. This is generally called the Kondratiev Winter. These cycles expand and contract slowly. Therefore very few people notice it. But, a seasoned investor must be able to recognize these contractions. A man in Canada arranged these cyclical movements by the four seasons. A different investment ideal governs during each of these business seasons. Such a phase generally lasts between 10 and 20 years. If one does not change ones investment strategy one will suffer enormous losses.

ET: Can you explain about today’s Kondratiev cycle?

WKE: The present German Kondratiev cycle began in 1948 with the monetary reform. In the beginning, credit is granted prudently. Therefore, there is little inflation. The “growth cycle” began in 1966. Borrowing activities were on the rise, but it was still on the positive side. That continued until 1980. Then, we saw the Kondratieff-maturity cycle. This is the ideal time for trading with paper money, such as stock and bond issues, as well as property types of transactions. Their price depends on credit availability.

ET: Can you explain please? Perhaps using Iceland’s growth as an example?

WKE: For us, there was only one creditworthy entity—that was the state. And now the state was also fully tapped. That means, when the state loses its creditworthiness and their guarantees are worthless, it will crash. There is something that Robert Rubin, the former U.S. treasury secretary said, when he was asked what he wanted to be in his next life. He responded, “The bond market.” Why? “The bond market controls everything.”

ET: Why is this the case?

WKE: Because interest and credit terms control everything. The reason for an economy to crash is because the bond market collapses. This is the reason.

ET: What do you think about the situation in other countries?

WKE: It was rumored in Austria that the SPO [Social Democratic Party of Austria] politician Hannes Swoboda said the following, “If the 100 billion Euro used for guarantees granted by the State were called, the Austrian State would be bankrupt. This is what could happen and that would be a catastrophe. And the Americans are running out of money. That means they monetize government bonds like crazy.

ET: What do you mean by monetize [4]?

WKE: What is the United States doing? The government sells bonds to the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, and the bank then has money. A bond is not the same as money. One has to be careful about this point. This is called monetizing. It is not important if it is through borrowing activities or through time debentures. The importance lies in the fact that the central bank generates the money.

ET: Do central banks print the money?

WKE: In the past they printed money, now it is done electronically.

ET: Is it known which bank will fail and which will not?

WKE: Today, no one can predict which institution is safe and which is not. One does not know which bank will collapse first; perhaps Raiffeisen [Raiffeisen International Bank Holding AG] is going to be the first one, or perhaps Constantia Privatbank [5]. No one can predict it.

ET: What about the bank managers? Don’t they know?

WKE: No, they themselves have no clue. I couldn’t believe my eyes and thought that it was completely irrational when Raiffeisen International assumed the Russian Oligarchs Oleg Deripaska debt, held by the Deutschen Bank AG. Banks are just like small investors.

ET: In the past, the currency was backed by gold. Does it mean that this increases the risk of bankruptcy?

WKE: As I mentioned earlier, the last solvent creditor – the State -- was drawn into the crisis. If the banks go under and need to call on the guarantees, then the state will collapse. That can be seen in Iceland, Hungary, the Ukraine and other countries. Then, they sell-off the government bonds for currency, which is now worthless. If that happens then all has reached the end.

ET: What does this mean for the public?

WKE: The collapse happens because all the money is worthless. There will be hyperinflation at the supermarket. Then hunger will begin.

ET: What do you suggest an investor should do?

WKE: Don’t keep paper money. The Euro has become toilet paper, and the Franc is not better off. I suggest that people have sufficient food, buy an acre of arable land and invest in gold. Gold is still cheap at US$3,000 an ounce.

Notes

[1] The Kondratiev wave/cycle theory was discovered by Nikolai Dmitriyeivich Kondratiev (1892-1938), a Russian economist. Proponents of the Kondratiev wave theory note it successfully predicted the 1929 stock market crash based on the 1870 crash. The Kondratiev wave is also referred to as the Kondratiev cycle.”

[2] Franz Josef was the oldest son of Archduke Franc Karl and crowned Emperor of Austria in 1848 at the age of 18.

[3] A shilling is a coin formerly used in the United Kingdom.

[4] When one monetizes, one converts government debt from bonds to currency. The currency is then used to buy products or services.

[5] Constantia Privatebank was taken over by five Austrian banks. The Austrian Central Bank has told Reuters that “the bank was relevant to Austria's financial health because it had a fund subsidiary managing 10 billion Euros (US$13.5 billion) in client assets.”
And now the Manchurian microchip
source: http://cryptome.info/0001/manchu-chip.htm

And now the Manchurian microchip
Robert Eringer October 18, 2008 7:13 AM

The geniuses at Homeland Security who brought you hare-brained procedures at airports (which inconvenience travelers without snagging terrorists) have decreed that October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. This means The Investigator -- at the risk of compromising national insecurities -- would be remiss not to make you aware of the hottest topic in U.S. counterintelligence circles: rogue microchips. This threat emanates from China (PRC) -- and it is hugely significant.

The myth: Chinese intelligence services have concealed a microchip in every computer everywhere, programmed to "call home" if and when activated.

The reality: It may actually be true.

All computers on the market today -- be they Dell, Toshiba, Sony, Apple or especially IBM -- are assembled with components manufactured inside the PRC. Each component produced by the Chinese, according to a reliable source within the intelligence community, is secretly equipped with a hidden microchip that can be activated any time by China's military intelligence services, the PLA.

"It is there, deep inside your computer, if they decide to call it up," the security chief of a multinational corporation told The Investigator. "It is capable of providing Chinese intelligence with everything stored on your system -- on everyone's system -- from e-mail to documents. I call it Call Home Technology. It doesn't mean to say they're sucking data from everyone's computer today, it means the Chinese think ahead -- and they now have the potential to do it when it suits their purposes."

Discussed theoretically in high-tech security circles as "Trojan Horse on a Chip" or "The Manchurian Chip," Call Home Technology came to light after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched a security program in December 2007 called Trust in Integrated Circuits. DARPA awarded almost $25 million in contracts to six companies and university research labs to test foreign-made microchips for hardware Trojans, back doors and kill switches -- techie-speak for bugs and gremlins -- with a view toward microchip verification.

Raytheon, a defense contractor, was granted almost half of these funds for hardware and software testing.

Its findings, which are classified, have apparently sent shockwaves through the counterintelligence community."

It is the hottest topic concerning the FBI and the Pentagon," a retired intelligence official told The Investigator. "They don't know quite what to do about it. The Chinese have even been able to hack into the computer system that handles our Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system."

Another senior intelligence source told The Investigator, "Our military is aware of this and has had to take some protective measures. The problem includes defective chips that don't reach military specs -- as well as probable Trojans."

A little context: In 2005 the Lenovo Group in China paid $1.75 billion for IBM's PC unit, even though that unit had lost $965 million the previous four years. Three congressmen, including the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, tried to block this sale because of national security concerns, to no avail. (The PRC embassy in Washington, D.C., maintains a large lobbying presence to influence congressmen and their staffs through direct contact.)

In June 2007, a Pentagon computer network utilized by the U.S. defense secretary's office was hacked into -- and traced directly back to the Chinese PLA.

A report presented to Congress late last year characterized PRC espionage as "the single greatest risk to the security of American technologies." Almost simultaneously, Jonathan Evans, director-general of MI5, Britain's domestic security and counterintelligence service, sent a confidential letter to CEOs and security chiefs at 300 UK companies to warn that they were under attack by "Chinese state organizations" whose purpose, said Mr. Evans, was to defeat their computer security systems and steal confidential commercial information.

The Chinese had specifically targeted Rolls-Royce and Shell Oil.

The key to unlocking computer secrets through rogue microchips is uncovering (or stealing) source codes, without which such microchips would be useless. This is why Chinese espionage is so heavily focused upon the U.S. computer industry.

Four main computer operating systems exist. Two of them, Unix and Linux, utilize open-source codes. Apple's operating system is Unix-based.

Which leaves only Microsoft as the source code worth cracking. But in early 2004, Microsoft announced that its security had been breached and that its source code was "lost or stolen."

"As technology evolves, each new program has a new source code," a computer forensics expert told The Investigator. "So the Chinese would need ongoing access to new Microsoft source codes for maintaining their ability to activate any microchips they may have installed, along with the expertise to utilize new hardware technology."

No surprise then that the FBI expends much of its counterintelligence resources these days on Chinese high-tech espionage within the United States. Timothy Bereznay, while still serving as assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division, told USA Today, "Foreign collectors don't wait until something is classified -- they're targeting it at the research and development stage." Mr. Bereznay now heads Raytheon's Intelligence and Information Systems division.

The PRC's intelligence services use tourists, exchange students and trade show attendees to gather strategic data, mostly from open sources. They have also created over 3,500 front companies in the United States -- including several based in Palo Alto to focus on computer technology.

Back in 2005, when the Chinese espionage problem was thought to be focused on military technology, then-FBI counterintelligence operations chief Dave Szady said, "I think the problem is huge, and it's something we're just getting our arms around." Little did he know just how huge, as it currently applies to computer network security.

The FBI is reported to have arrested more than 25 Chinese nationals and Chinese-Americans on suspicion of conspiracy to commit espionage between 2004 and 2006. The Investigator endeavored to update this figure, but was told by FBI spokesman William Carter, "We do not track cases by ethnicity."

Excuse us for asking. We may be losing secrets, but at least the dignity of our political correctness remains intact.
US in another breach of international law, say Moscow

Russia criticizes U.S. sanctions against arms exporter

MOSCOW, October 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's foreign minister said on Friday that the sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia's state-run arms exporter contravene international law, and will harm ties with Washington.

The economic sanctions against Rosoboronexport were imposed under the U.S. Non-Proliferation Act on Iran, North Korea and Syria.

"The United States introduced these sanctions without any basis in international law. We will take this into account in our relations with the United States," Sergei Lavrov told a news conference.

Sanctions were also imposed on the same grounds against Venezuela, China, North and South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Syria, as well as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

Washington says the sanctions target firms that sell items that could "make a material contribution to the development of weapons of mass destruction or cruise or ballistic missile systems."

Lavrov insisted that the sanctions would not force Russia to make concessions on Iran's nuclear program.

"If some people in Washington think that this will make Russia more amenable to U.S. approaches with regard to the Iranian nuclear problem, they are mistaken," he said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in an official statement on Friday that the sanctions against Rosoboronexport were "an unfriendly act" that would harm discussions on the Iranian nuclear issue.

"We consider this recurrence of American unilateral sanctions against a Russian organization to be an unfriendly act, which will have a negative impact on our dialogue with Washington, including in the context of discussions of the Iran Six international mediators on the resolution of the Iranian nuclear problem," the statement said.

The ministry also said: "It is high time for the United States to make up its mind on whether it is ready to continue cooperation within the Iran Six, working on the basis of coordinated approaches."

The Iran Six international mediators are Russia, the U.S., China, France, Great Britain, and Germany.

The sanctions against Rosoboronexport are valid for two years, and bar any U.S. aid, contracts or arms sales to the blacklisted entities. The order was signed on October 16, and came into effect on Thursday.

A Rosoboronexport representative on Friday called the sanctions a "manifestation of unethical competition."

"We view the imposition of sanctions with regard to the sole Russian facilitator of arms sales as a manifestation of unethical competition," Vyacheslav Davydenko told reporters.

The company said in an official statement that it links the U.S. sanctions to the rise in Russian arms exports.

"The United States is deliberately trying to use administrative resources to hold Russia back in the implementation of foreign trade and foreign policy activities, in particular in the sphere of military-technical cooperation with foreign states," Rosoboronexport said.

The company noted that the U.S. State Department announced the sanctions almost immediately after the publication of results showing Russian arms exports grew 23% in the first nine months of 2008. The company said this "did not suit the United States, frustrating its plans."

In July and December 2006, the United States also imposed sanctions on Rosoboronexport for allegedly passing on equipment to Iran that could be used to develop weapons of mass destruction.
Australian PM Kevin Rudd - “Nuke strike would make 9/11 insignificant” and other weird warnings

source: http://www.dailynewscaster.com/2008/10/21/australian-pm-kevin-rudd-nuke-strike-would-make-911-insignificant/

Australian PM Kevin Rudd - “Nuke strike would make 9/11 insignificant” and other weird warnings

October 21st, 2008
By: D. H. Williams @ 6:38 PM - EST

Over the last 72 hours there has been a strange melange of cryptic messages leaked from world political leaders about what could be in store for America over the next few months. These predictions of impending doom come from England, France, Australia and the United States. In each case there has been a press releases or news expose’ predicting huge and building threats emerging from faceless enemies in shadowy places. Crisis will lead to unpopular decisions by Barack Obama.

Joe Biden set the stage at a Seattle fund raiser for VIP’s last Sunday when he told the audience about an “international crisis” that will test Barack Obama’s Presidency should he be elected. Biden told the top Democratic donors that a “generated crisis” will develop within six months and Barak Obama will need the help of community leaders to control the population as unpopular decisions are made and Americans resist. Biden speaking at the fundraiser, “I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate, And he’s gonna need help. And the kind of help he’s gonna need is, he’s gonna need you - not financially to help him - we’re gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be apparent that we’re right.”Colin Powell and Madeline Albright confirm Biden’s warnings.

Biden’s ominous language at the Seattle Sheraton are followed with statements by long time establishment insiders Colin Powell and Madeline Albright both say there is a massive crisis on the horizon and Biden was simply making a “statement in fact.” “The problems will always be there and there’s going to be a crisis which will come along on the 21st, 22nd of January that we don’t even know about right now.” Powell told Meet the Press. Premonitions of dire consequences emerge from Europe.

Meanwhile in Great Britain were they are trying desperately to pass a draconian measure allowing for the 42 day imprisonment of any citizen without charges or access to bail. Lord West, adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown on national security says, “There is another great plot building up again and we are monitoring. It dipped slightly and is now rising again within the context of severe. The threat is huge. We have done all the things that we need to do, but the threat is building - the complex plots are building,” Lord West like Biden, Albright and Powell does not elaborate on the precise details of the threat or the source of his intelligence information just that the situation is dire. Across the channel from England you have the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warning the press that he believes Israel will strike Iran before they can develope nuclear weapons completley ignoring the fact that the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed El Baradei, said that Iran lacks the key components to produce an atomic weapon. Israel is believed to have 300 to 400 tactical nuclear weapons ready for deployment at a moments notice and is under no real threat from Iran who has never attacked another nation and has a defense budget equivalent to 1% of the United States. It’s a miracle there hasn’t been a nuclear catastroph.

Only a few hours ago Agence France-Presse published a press release about the Sydney meeting of the international Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament presided over by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who said that the world is facing a threat that will dwarf the September 11 attacks. “The devastation that could be wreaked by one major nuclear weapons incident alone puts 9/11 and almost everything else [in] to the category of the insignificant,” Rudd said. Members of the commission warned of reaching an avalanche of danger due to the high number and general lack of control over nuclear devices and components.Former Australian Foreign Minister in the Labor Government Gareth Evans says it’s “really a bit of a miracle” referring to one the 13,000 to 16,000 nuclear weapons known to exist not being detonated, presumable by “terrorist” causing a catastrophe. What are they preparing us for?Why are there so many high level politicians around the world in a seemingly coordinated effort warning of huge threats and developing crisis’ that may include a nuclear device? Are they preparing the masses for an event or series of events that have been in the making for some time? Is the public being prepared for new and forming enemies with a potential to plunge the entire world into war? Prior to 9/11 William Kristol’s Project for a New American Century called for a “catalyzing event - like a new Pearl Harbor” to bring about a “transformational” change in U.S. foreign policy and military spending.Many believe a false flag strike on a major western city involving a nuclear device would be the Holy Grail to those who are working so hard to manifest “transformational” change on the world stage bringing with it the complete political, economic and military transformation toward fascist world government.
fonte: voltairenet.org

Intervista a Balthasar Glättli

La minaccia del terrorismo è un pretesto per limitare le libertà

di Silvia Cattori

*La Confederazione, al pari di altri Paesi europei, non ha mai subito alcun attentato di matrice islamica. Eppure tutti si allineano alle direttive degli Stati Uniti ed enfatizzano una presunta minaccia terroristica per entrare in guerra e autorizzare i servizi segreti a sorvegliare più intensamente e in maniera sistematica i propri cittadini.

Balthasar Glättli, 36 anni, parlamentare di Zurigo, racconta in quest’intervista come ha scoperto di essere sorvegliato e schedato dai servizi segreti e invita ogni concittadino a verificare di non esserlo.

Dopo lo scandalo delle schedature, che nel 1989 aveva rivelato come 900.000 tra singoli cittadini e organizzazioni fossero sorvegliati dalla polizia federale e da quelle cantonali, si profila una scandalo analogo.

Benché la legge non consenta alcuna sorveglianza sulle attività politiche, gli svizzeri ogni tanto scoprono che il tal giornalista o il tal parlamentare compare sugli schedari dei servizi segreti. E scoprono pure che in queste investigazioni illegali sono coinvolte società private.

A sette anni dagli attentati del 2001, la guerra dichiarata dagli Stati Uniti al terrorismo continua ad avere anche in Svizzera conseguenze disastrose sui diritti fondamentali dei cittadini.

La schedatura generalizzata dei cittadini si estende ormai a tutti i Paesi sedicenti democratici. Basta opporsi alla guerra contro i musulmani scatenata dall’asse Tel Aviv-Washington per essere sospettati dai servizi segreti di connivenza con il terrorismo e vedere la propria vita privata sconvolta da pedimenti e da intercettazioni della posta elettronica e delle telefonate.

Noi pensiamo che tutti coloro che non hanno niente da rimproverarsi e che si vedono umiliati da questi controlli devono denunciarlo pubblicamente, affinché questo immonda struttura poliziesca crolli.

Balthasar Glättli, 36 anni, parlamentare di Zurigo, racconta in quest’intervista come ha scoperto di essere sorvegliato e schedato dai servizi segreti e invita ogni concittadino a verificare di non esserlo.

17 ottobre 2008

Depuis Berne (Suisse)

Guerre globale au «terrorisme»

Silvia Cattori: Come ha scoperto di essere sorvegliato dai servizi segreti ? [1]

Balthasar Glättli: A fine marzo 2008, insieme ad altre associazioni e persone che lavorano nei nostri uffici [2], abbiamo controllato se i nostri nomi figuravano nella bancadati del Servizio d’Analisi e Prevenzione, perché avevamo avuto il sospetto di essere schedati. Così abbiamo inviato una richiesta al signor Thür, che è “L’incaricato federale alla protezione dei dati e alla trasparenza”.

Il 17 luglio 2008 ci è stato risposto che la mia associazione non c’era nell’elenco degli schedati, ma io personalmente sì [3], e c’ero sin dal 2005, quando avevo chiesto al municipio di Zurigo l’autorizzazione a manifestare a sostegno del popolo palestinese. Tengo a precisare che la manifestazione si svolse senza incidenti.

Silvia Cattori: E manifestare per la Palestina è un motivo sufficiente per essere schedati dalla polizia?

Balthasar Glättli : La legge federale istitutiva delle Misure a tutela della sicurezza interna (Mesures visant au maintien de la sûreté intérieure, LMSI), del luglio 1998, dice chiaramente che nessuno può essere sottoposto a sorveglianza né schedato a causa del proprio impegno politico [4]. Salvo che in un caso: quando l’esercizio dei diritti politici dissimula azioni estremiste o terroriste.

Silvia Cattori: Se ho ben capito è la sua attività di difesa dei diritti dei palestinesi che è all’origine della sua sorveglianza e della sua schedatura.

Balthasar Glättli: Sì, è l’unica ipotesi che posso fare, sulla base delle poche informazioni in mio possesso. La legge non mi consente di dare un’occhiata alla scheda poliziesca che mi riguarda: ho ricevuto solo un estratto dal citato signor Thür, cui ho accennato, che si limita a confermare che sono sorvegliato e schedato.

Silvia Cattori: Ma questa schedatura rivela che la polizia perseguita i cittadini per delitto di opinione! Non è una grande novità per la Svizzera?

Balthasar Glättli: Lo è. Secondo l’organizzazione Diritti Fondamentali [5] io sono il primo svizzero a beneficiare di una tale trattamento.

Silvia Cattori: Per verificare se si è sorvegliati basta inoltrare una domanda?

Balthasar Glättli: Sì, basta inviarla all’Incaricato Federale. Si noti che questo funzionario non ha il potere di consultare la bancadati delle schedature, può solo verificare, a richiesta di un cittadino, se il nome di questo cittadino vi figura e, se è il caso, può leggere la scheda e scoprire quando e in quali circostanze la polizia ha iniziato a sorvegliare questa persona. Ma l’Incaricato Federale deve rispondere a questa persona con una lettera standard che si limita a dire che il Servizio d’Analisi e Prevenzione ha agito in conformità alla legge, nulla più. Se l’Incaricato scopre che la polizia non ha raccolto le informazioni nel rispetto della legge, deve chiedere all’Ufficio Federale di correggerle. Soltanto nel caso in cui l’interessato si è visto rifiutare, a causa di questa schedatura, un posto nell’amministrazione federale [6], l’Incaricato può, a titolo eccezionale, dargli un estratto della scheda. Benché questa eccezione non sia il mio caso, l’Incaricato mi ha inviato comunque l’estratto e quindi ho potuto avere conferma di essere schedato da oltre tre anni.

Silvia Cattori: È perché l’Incaricato si è trovato dinanzi alla schedatura di un uomo politico che ha scelto di dirle più del dovuto? Per rendere le schedature politiche di dominio pubblico?

Balthasar Glättli: L’Incaricato Federale è indipendente sia dalla politica sia dalla pubblica amministrazione. Dunque penso che il signor Thür abbia deciso di assumersi le proprie responsabilità di avvocato del popolo e non della pubblica amministrazione. Del resto il suo ruolo è proprio questo.

Silvia Cattori: L’articolo di legge che permette di spiare persone sospettate della «preparazione o esecuzione di atti rilevanti di terrorismo» non si presta a questo genere di abusi ?

Balthasar Glättli: Il rischio di abusi esiste, alimentato dal modo di agire della sicurezza interna. Tali abusi possono essere ridotti rispettando tre condizioni: 1) consentire a tutti di controllare il contenuto della propria scheda; 2) conferire adeguati competenze e poteri alla Commissione parlamentare di controllo; 3) dotare l’Incaricato Federale di poteri e di personale di controllo. Sono tre esigenze espresse già quando scoppiò il primo scandalo delle schedature, ma che sono state ignorate.

Silvia Cattori: Dal momento che altri politici, oltre a lei, sono stati posti sotto sorveglianza [7], significa che la Svizzera è entrata in un sistema di controllo poliziesco peggiore di quello che aveva conosciuto tra il 1960 e il 1990 ? Questo peggioramento non lascia supporre disfunzioni democratiche a diversi livelli?

Balthasar Glättli: Sì. Lo scandalo delle schedature del 1990 ha rivelato l’esistenza di una vera e propria polizia politica, non soltanto a livello federale, ma anche a livello cantonale, come a Zurigo, per esempio, dove ci fu un’inchiesta sull’attività della polizia politica comunale. In seguito una Commissione di Gestione (CdG) locale fu incarica di controllare l’attività della polizia federale e i dati da questa raccolti.

Silvia Cattori: È vero che la polizia ha scehdato 110.000 sospetti?

Balthasar Glättli: La cifra non è ufficiale, ma credo che potrebbe rivelarsi superiore.

Silvia Cattori: Che cosa conta di fare adesso?

Balthasar Glättli: Voglio vedere tutto il contenuto della mia scheda ed esigerò dall’Ufficio Federale la cancellazione di tutto ciò che è stato indebitamente raccolto sul mio conto. È una vicenda incredibile: mi hanno messo sotto sorveglianza; dunque mi sospettano di avere legami con il terrorismo, mentre non sono che un semplice militante, un iscritto al partito ecologico Verde, che svolge azione politica alla luce del sole. Il mio caso dimostra che la polizia federale sta passando il limite, che questa polizia non accetta di adeguarsi alle regole chiaramente stabilite dalla legge.

Silvia Cattori: Pensa di incoraggiare tutti coloro la cui opinione o la cui attività è suscettibile di interessare la polizia, a conoscere la loro situazione in tema di schedature? Ci sono forze politiche, associazioni con le quale pensate di agire per esigere dalle autorità che pongano un termini a queste attività illegali?

Balthasar Glättli: Sì, la nostra associazione intende divulgare questa faccenda delle schedature per spingere i cittadini a informarsi se sono sorvegliati o se sono oggetto di schedature abusive. È imperativo che il maggior numero di persone possibile chieda all’Incaricato Federale, il signor Thür, di verificare se sono schedate. Siamo ovviamente consapevoli che oggi, con gli archivi elettronici, è più difficile verificare come stanno le cose rispetto al precedente scandalo delle schedature. Per questo esigeremo dal Consiglio Federale che adotti tutte le precauzioni affinché la polizia politica non possa modificare il contenuto delle schede. È altresì imperativo che tutte queste informazioni raccolte illegalmente siano sottratte al Servizio d’Analisi e di Prevenzione e consegnate agli archivi federali. Ciò per assicurare che questo servizio di polizia non vi abbia più accesso e non possa in alcun caso cancellare le tracce di tutta questa attività illegale. Secondo la legge, i dati e i dossieri divenuti inutili o destinati a essere distrutti devono essere depositati negli archivi della Confederazione [8], in modo che la polizia non li possa modificare. Chiediamo inoltre che tutte le schede siano esaminate e che, dopo un certo tempo, possano diventare accessibili non soltanto a coloro che fanno ricerche scientifiche ma anche agli stessi schedati.

Silvia Cattori: Che cosa si aspetta dalle autorità locali e federali?

Balthasar Glättli: [...] Spero che le nostre iniziative conducano a un cambiamento di politica da parte di Berna. Per il momento, per quanto posso giudicare dalle dichiarazioni di Urs von Daeniken, capo della Divisione principale del Servizio d’Analisi e di Prevenzione, le cose non sembrano andare nel verso giusto. A un giornalista del Sonntag Blick che gli chiedeva perché mi avesse posto sotto sorveglianza e schedato soltanto per aver chiesto l’autorizzazione a una manifestazione pacifica, ha risposto: «Abbiamo avuto le nostre buone ragioni per schedarlo». La stampa locale ha ripreso le dichiarazioni di Daeniken (che le ha in sostanza confermate), secondo cui il problema non sono le schedature ma i limitati mezzi di controllo di cui dispone la polizia per «proteggere gli svizzeri dal terrorismo».

[...] Silvia Cattori
giornalista svizzera.
Icelandic Shoppers Splurge as Currency Woes Reduce Food Imports

By Chad Thomas

Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -

- After a four-year spending spree, Icelanders are flooding the supermarkets one last time, stocking up on food as the collapse of the banking system threatens to cut the island off from imports. ``We have had crazy days for a week now,'' said Johannes Smari Oluffsson, manager of the Bonus discount grocery store in Reykjavik's main shopping center. ``Sales have doubled.'' Bonus, a nationwide chain, has stock at its warehouse for about two weeks. After that, the shelves will start emptying unless it can get access to foreign currency, the 22-year-old manager said, standing in a walk-in fridge filled with meat products, among the few goods on sale produced locally. Iceland's foreign currency market has seized up after the three largest banks collapsed and the government abandoned an attempt to peg the exchange rate. Many banks won't trade the krona and suppliers from abroad are demanding payment in advance. The government has asked banks to prioritize foreign currency transactions for essentials such as food, drugs and oil. The crisis is already hitting clothing retailers. A short walk from Bonus in the capital's Kringlan shopping center, Ragnhildur Anna Jonsdottir, 38, owner of the Next Plc clothing store, said she can't get any foreign currency to pay for incoming shipments and, even if she could, the exchange rate would be prohibitively high. ``We aren't getting new shipments in, as we normally do once a week,'' Jonsdottir said. ``This is the third week that we haven't had any shipments.'' Bankrupt Iceland's 320,000 inhabitants have enjoyed four years of economic growth in excess of 4 percent as banks and businesses expanded abroad, buying up companies from brokerages to West Ham United soccer club. Now, the three biggest banks, Kaupthing Bank hf, Landsbanki Island hf and Glitnir Bank hf have collapsed under the weight of about $61 billion in debts, 12 times the size of the economy, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The central bank, or Sedlabanki, ditched its attempt to peg the krona to a basket of currencies on Oct. 9, after just two days, citing ``insufficient support'' in the market. Nordea Bank AB, the biggest Scandinavian lender, said the same day that the krona hadn't been traded on the spot market, while the last quoted price was 340 per euro, compared with 122 a month ago. ``There is absolutely no currency in the country today to import,'' said Andres Magnusson, chief executive officer of the Icelandic Federation of Trade and Services in Reykjavik. ``The only way we can solve this problem is to get the IMF into the country.'' Imports Dependency The International Monetary Fund sent a delegation to the island last week. Prime Minister Geir Haarde said on Oct. 9 his country may ask it for money after failing to get ``the response that we felt that we should be able to get'' from European governments and central banks. The state will also start talks with Russia over a possible 4 billion-euro ($5.5 billion) loan. Iceland's rugged, treeless terrain, a barren stretch of volcanic rock, geysers and moss, means the country imports most food, other than meat, fish and dairy products. Magnusson said last week that one of Iceland's largest supermarket chains was unable to get any foreign currency to make purchases abroad and another retailer's electronic payment didn't go through. Iceland will begin to see shortages of ``regular goods'' by the end of the week if nothing changes, he said. ``We are struggling to make the economy survive from hour to hour,'' Magnusson said. ``There is an enormous amount of capital that wants to get out of the country.'' Sedlabanki told lenders on Oct. 10 that residents who want foreign currency should first prove they need the money for traveling by providing documentation for their trip. Essential Goods Wholesalers are demanding that importers pay before any goods are shipped, said Knutur Signarsson, head of the Reykjavik-based Federation of Icelandic Trade. Under normal circumstances, wholesalers abroad would extend credit for 30 to 90 days, he said. ``Many of them ask us to pay cash before they send the goods to Iceland,'' Signarsson said. ``Because of the situation, Iceland has become a country that no one trusts any longer.'' Bogi Thor Siguroddsson, owner of Johan Roenning, an import and retail business which has about 7 billion krona ($71 million) in annual sales, says he's instructed his purchasing managers to only import the core goods, including light bulbs, lamps and electrical cables, they need to serve their customers. ``It's enough to have the credit crisis,'' he said. ``Then you have the currency crash. Unfortunately, we have shown that we can't handle it ourselves.'' Food Inflation Icelanders, whose per capita gross domestic product is the fifth highest in the world, according to the United Nations 2007/2008 Human Development Index, will have to tighten their belts. Shoppers are paying more for the goods they do get. The cost of fruits and vegetables, nearly all of which are imported, have gone up about 50 percent in recent months, said Steinunn Kristinsdottir, a 33-year-old Reykjavik resident who was leaving the Bonus store with her cart full. ``This situation really has been a bit troubling for people,'' she said. ``They don't know what's going to happen.'' To contact the reporter on this story: Chad Thomas in Reykjavik, Iceland, via the Helsinki newsroom at cthomas16@bloomberg.net.
A glimpse of our future: empty supermarkets in Iceland!

Icelandic Shoppers Splurge as Currency Woes Reduce Food Imports

By Chad Thomas, Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -

- After a four-year spending spree, Icelanders are flooding the supermarkets one last time, stocking up on food as the collapse of the banking system threatens to cut the island off from imports. ``We have had crazy days for a week now,'' said Johannes Smari Oluffsson, manager of the Bonus discount grocery store in Reykjavik's main shopping center. ``Sales have doubled.'' Bonus, a nationwide chain, has stock at its warehouse for about two weeks. After that, the shelves will start emptying unless it can get access to foreign currency, the 22-year-old manager said, standing in a walk-in fridge filled with meat products, among the few goods on sale produced locally. Iceland's foreign currency market has seized up after the three largest banks collapsed and the government abandoned an attempt to peg the exchange rate. Many banks won't trade the krona and suppliers from abroad are demanding payment in advance. The government has asked banks to prioritize foreign currency transactions for essentials such as food, drugs and oil. The crisis is already hitting clothing retailers. A short walk from Bonus in the capital's Kringlan shopping center, Ragnhildur Anna Jonsdottir, 38, owner of the Next Plc clothing store, said she can't get any foreign currency to pay for incoming shipments and, even if she could, the exchange rate would be prohibitively high. ``We aren't getting new shipments in, as we normally do once a week,'' Jonsdottir said. ``This is the third week that we haven't had any shipments.'' Bankrupt Iceland's 320,000 inhabitants have enjoyed four years of economic growth in excess of 4 percent as banks and businesses expanded abroad, buying up companies from brokerages to West Ham United soccer club. Now, the three biggest banks, Kaupthing Bank hf, Landsbanki Island hf and Glitnir Bank hf have collapsed under the weight of about $61 billion in debts, 12 times the size of the economy, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The central bank, or Sedlabanki, ditched its attempt to peg the krona to a basket of currencies on Oct. 9, after just two days, citing ``insufficient support'' in the market. Nordea Bank AB, the biggest Scandinavian lender, said the same day that the krona hadn't been traded on the spot market, while the last quoted price was 340 per euro, compared with 122 a month ago. ``There is absolutely no currency in the country today to import,'' said Andres Magnusson, chief executive officer of the Icelandic Federation of Trade and Services in Reykjavik. ``The only way we can solve this problem is to get the IMF into the country.'' Imports Dependency The International Monetary Fund sent a delegation to the island last week. Prime Minister Geir Haarde said on Oct. 9 his country may ask it for money after failing to get ``the response that we felt that we should be able to get'' from European governments and central banks. The state will also start talks with Russia over a possible 4 billion-euro ($5.5 billion) loan. Iceland's rugged, treeless terrain, a barren stretch of volcanic rock, geysers and moss, means the country imports most food, other than meat, fish and dairy products. Magnusson said last week that one of Iceland's largest supermarket chains was unable to get any foreign currency to make purchases abroad and another retailer's electronic payment didn't go through. Iceland will begin to see shortages of ``regular goods'' by the end of the week if nothing changes, he said. ``We are struggling to make the economy survive from hour to hour,'' Magnusson said. ``There is an enormous amount of capital that wants to get out of the country.'' Sedlabanki told lenders on Oct. 10 that residents who want foreign currency should first prove they need the money for traveling by providing documentation for their trip. Essential Goods Wholesalers are demanding that importers pay before any goods are shipped, said Knutur Signarsson, head of the Reykjavik-based Federation of Icelandic Trade. Under normal circumstances, wholesalers abroad would extend credit for 30 to 90 days, he said. ``Many of them ask us to pay cash before they send the goods to Iceland,'' Signarsson said. ``Because of the situation, Iceland has become a country that no one trusts any longer.'' Bogi Thor Siguroddsson, owner of Johan Roenning, an import and retail business which has about 7 billion krona ($71 million) in annual sales, says he's instructed his purchasing managers to only import the core goods, including light bulbs, lamps and electrical cables, they need to serve their customers. ``It's enough to have the credit crisis,'' he said. ``Then you have the currency crash. Unfortunately, we have shown that we can't handle it ourselves.'' Food Inflation Icelanders, whose per capita gross domestic product is the fifth highest in the world, according to the United Nations 2007/2008 Human Development Index, will have to tighten their belts. Shoppers are paying more for the goods they do get. The cost of fruits and vegetables, nearly all of which are imported, have gone up about 50 percent in recent months, said Steinunn Kristinsdottir, a 33-year-old Reykjavik resident who was leaving the Bonus store with her cart full. ``This situation really has been a bit troubling for people,'' she said. ``They don't know what's going to happen.'' To contact the reporter on this story: Chad Thomas in Reykjavik, Iceland, via the Helsinki newsroom at cthomas16@bloomberg.net.
516 trillion $ derivative bubble to explode

PAUL B. FARRELL

Derivatives the new 'ticking bomb' Buffett and Gross warn: $516 trillion bubble is a disaster waiting to happen

By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch, 7:31 p.m. EDT March 10, 2008

"Charlie and I believe Berkshire should be a fortress of financial strength" wrote Warren Buffett. That was five years before the subprime-credit meltdown. "We try to be alert to any sort of mega-catastrophe risk, and that posture may make us unduly appreciative about the burgeoning quantities of long-term derivatives contracts and the massive amount of uncollateralized receivables that are growing alongside. In our view, however, derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction, carrying dangers that, while now latent, are potentially lethal."

That warning was in Buffett's 2002 letter to Berkshire shareholders. He saw a future that many others chose to ignore. The Iraq war build-up was at a fever-pitch. The imagery of WMDs and a mushroom cloud fresh in his mind. Also fresh on Buffett's mind: His acquisition of General Re four years earlier, about the time the Long-Term Capital Management hedge fund almost killed the global monetary system. How? This is crucial: LTCM nearly killed the system with a relatively small $5 billion trading loss. Peanuts compared with the hundreds of billions of dollars of subprime-credit write-offs now making Wall Street's big shots look like amateurs. Buffett tried to sell off Gen Re's derivatives group. No buyers. Unwinding it was costly, but led to his warning that derivatives are a "financial weapon of mass destruction." That was 2002. Derivatives bubble explodes five times bigger in five yearsWall Street didn't listen to Buffett. Derivatives grew into a massive bubble, from about $100 trillion to $516 trillion by 2007. The new derivatives bubble was fueled by five key economic and political trends: Sarbanes-Oxley increased corporate disclosures and government oversight Federal Reserve's cheap money policies created the subprime-housing boom War budgets burdened the U.S. Treasury and future entitlements programs Trade deficits with China and others destroyed the value of the U.S. dollar Oil and commodity rich nations demanding equity payments rather than debt In short, despite Buffett's clear warnings, a massive new derivatives bubble is driving the domestic and global economies, a bubble that continues growing today parallel with the subprime-credit meltdown triggering a bear-recession. Data on the five-fold growth of derivatives to $516 trillion in five years comes from the most recent survey by the Bank of International Settlements, the world's clearinghouse for central banks in Basel, Switzerland. The BIS is like the cashier's window at a racetrack or casino, where you'd place a bet or cash in chips, except on a massive scale: BIS is where the U.S. settles trade imbalances with Saudi Arabia for all that oil we guzzle and gives China IOUs for the tainted drugs and lead-based toys we buy. To grasp how significant this five-fold bubble increase is, let's put that $516 trillion in the context of some other domestic and international monetary data: U.S. annual gross domestic product is about $15 trillion U.S. money supply is also about $15 trillion Current proposed U.S. federal budget is $3 trillion U.S. government's maximum legal debt is $9 trillion U.S. mutual fund companies manage about $12 trillion World's GDPs for all nations is approximately $50 trillion Unfunded Social Security and Medicare benefits $50 trillion to $65 trillion Total value of the world's real estate is estimated at about $75 trillion Total value of world's stock and bond markets is more than $100 trillion BIS valuation of world's derivatives back in 2002 was about $100 trillion BIS 2007 valuation of the world's derivatives is now a whopping $516 trillion Moreover, the folks at BIS tell me their estimate of $516 trillion only includes "transactions in which a major private dealer (bank) is involved on at least one side of the transaction," but doesn't include private deals between two "non-reporting entities." They did, however, add that their reporting central banks estimate that the coverage of the survey is around 95% on average. Also, keep in mind that while the $516 trillion "notional" value (maximum in case of a meltdown) of the deals is a good measure of the market's size, the 2007 BIS study notes that the $11 trillion "gross market values provides a more accurate measure of the scale of financial risk transfer taking place in derivatives markets." Bubbles, domino effects and the 'bad 2%' However, while that may be true as far as the parties to an individual deal, there are broader risks to the world's economies. Remember back in 1998 when LTCM's little $5 billion loss nearly brought down the world's banking system. That "domino effect" is now repeating many times over, straining the world's monetary, economic and political system as the subprime housing mess metastasizes, taking the U.S. stock market and the world economy down with it. This cascading "domino effect" was brilliantly described in "The $300 Trillion Time Bomb: If Buffett can't figure out derivatives, can anybody?" published early last year in Portfolio magazine, a couple months before the subprime meltdown. Columnist Jesse Eisinger's $300 trillion figure came from an earlier study of the derivatives market as it was growing from $100 trillion to $516 trillion over five years. Eisinger concluded: "There's nothing intrinsically scary about derivatives, except when the bad 2% blow up." Unfortunately, that "bad 2%" did blow up a few months afterwards, even as Bernanke and Paulson were assuring America that the subprime mess was "contained." Bottom line: Little things leverage a heck of a big wallop. It only takes a little spark from a "bad 2% deal" to ignite this $516 trillion weapon of mass destruction. Think of this entire unregulated derivatives market like an unsecured, unpredictable nuclear bomb in a Pakistan stockpile. It's only a matter of time. World's newest and biggest 'black market'The fact is, derivatives have become the world's biggest "black market," exceeding the illicit traffic in stuff like arms, drugs, alcohol, gambling, cigarettes, stolen art and pirated movies. Why? Because like all black markets, derivatives are a perfect way of getting rich while avoiding taxes and government regulations. And in today's slowdown, plus a volatile global market, Wall Street knows derivatives remain a lucrative business. Recently Pimco's bond fund king Bill Gross said "What we are witnessing is essentially the breakdown of our modern-day banking system, a complex of leveraged lending so hard to understand that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke required a face-to-face refresher course from hedge fund managers in mid-August." In short, not only Warren Buffett, but Bond King Bill Gross, our Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the rest of America's leaders can't "figure out" the world's $516 trillion derivatives. Why? Gross says we are creating a new "shadow banking system." Derivatives are now not just risk management tools. As Gross and others see it, the real problem is that derivatives are now a new way of creating money outside the normal central bank liquidity rules. How? Because they're private contracts between two companies or institutions. BIS is primarily a records-keeper, a toothless tiger that merely collects data giving a legitimacy and false sense of security to this chaotic "shadow banking system" that has become the world's biggest "black market." That's crucial, folks. Why? Because central banks require reserves like stock brokers require margins, something backing up the transaction. Derivatives don't. They're not "real money." They're paper promises closer to "Monopoly" money than real U.S. dollars. And it takes place outside normal business channels, out there in the "free market." That's the wonderful world of derivatives, and it's creating a massive bubble that could soon implode. Comments? Yes, we want to hear your thoughts. Tell us what you think about derivatives: as "financial weapons of mass destruction;" as a "shadow banking system;" as a "black market;" as the next big bubble dangerously exposing us to that unpredictable "bad 2%."
"The Frame" e' un nuovo servizio artistico 24-ore ad alta definizione senza pubblicita', che mostra immagini di famosi artisti in tutto il mondo - dice Peter Bissonette ai suoi abbonati in tutto il mondo dal suo studio a Calgary, in Alberta, Canada. "The Frame" trasformera' il vostro televisore in una immagine virtuale che riportera' in casa vostra le piu' grandi opere d'arte. Quando i tuoi ospiti e vicini di casa vedranno un Monet, un Picasso, un Van Gogh nel vostro salotto, proveranno un profondo senso di invidia,

"Negli anni scorsi la Shaw Communications ha donato ai suoi abbonati il Caminetto, l'Albero di Natale e la Tacchino-TV [per il giorno del ringraziamento, ndr]. Questi video hanno dato l'ispirazione per The Frame, lanciata sul canale Shaw 225 in alta definizione, e durante l'autunno in altri importanti mercati. La premiere di The Frame offrira' agli amanti dell'arte stupefacenti immagini di 16 gallerie con musica ritmica per dare l'umore a tutti questi magici temi artistici. Le gallerie ruoteranno ogni 30 minuti e le immagini cambieranno ogni 30 secondi".
Taliban leader killed by SAS was Pakistan officer
From The Sunday Times
October 12, 2008
Christina Lamb in Kabul

British officials covered up evidence that a Taliban commander killed by special forces in Helmand last year was in fact a Pakistani military officer, according to highly placed Afghan officials.

The commander, targeted in a compound in the Sangin valley, was one of six killed in the past year by SAS and SBS forces. When the British soldiers entered the compound they discovered a Pakistani military ID on the body.

It was the first physical evidence of covert Pakistani military operations against British forces in Afghanistan even though Islamabad insists it is a close ally in the war against terror.

Britain’s refusal to make the incident public led to a row with the Afghan president Hamid Karzai, who has long accused London of viewing Afghanistan through the eyes of Pakistani military intelligence, which is widely believed to have been helping the Taliban.

“He feels he has been telling everyone about Pakistan for the past six years and here was the evidence, yet London refused to release it, because they care more about their relations with Islamabad than Kabul,” said a source close to the president. “He knows Britain is worried about inflaming its large Pakistani population, but that is no excuse.”

So furious was Karzai that he threatened to expel British diplomats. When some months later he was informed by the governor of Helmand that British officials were secretly negotiating with the Taliban, he expelled two men and accused Britain of wanting to set up a training camp for former Taliban fighters.

Karzai will visit London next month for talks with Gordon Brown in an attempt to repair the strained relations between the two countries.

“He is very sad about the breakdown of relations with Britain,” said the source. “He loves British culture and poetry, had a British education [at a school in India], likes tea in the afternoon and thinks Gordon Brown is a very decent man, not a cheat.”

British officials in Kabul refused to comment on the allegation that they had covered up the discovery of a Pakistani soldier. They insisted Karzai’s government had been informed of the negotiations with the Taliban, adding that “the camp was just a place for them to be reintegrated, learn about hygiene and things”.

During the war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s, officers from Pakistani military intelligence regularly accompanied Afghan mujaheddin inside Afghanistan and directed operations.

The Afghan claims of Pakistani involvement in Helmand were backed by a senior United Nations official who said he had been told by his superiors to keep quiet after Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN apparently threatened to stop contributing forces to peacekeeping missions. Pakistan is the UN’s biggest supplier of peacekeeping troops.

The coalition’s refusal to confront Pakistan changed after the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul last July, when 41 people were killed. According to both British and US intelligence, phone intercepts led directly back to an Afghan cell of Pakistan’s military intelligence.

The past month has seen US forces carry out bombings and a ground raid on Pakistani territory. Claims of Pakistan’s involvement were rejected by Asif Durrani, the country’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul. “Afghanistan wants to blame someone else for its problems and Pakistan is just the whipping boy,” he said.

However, repeated accusations from Karzai about Pakistan’s active support for the Taliban have been backed by a senior US marine officer.

Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Nash, who commanded an embedded training team in eastern Afghanistan from June 2007 to March this year, told the Army Times that Pakistani forces flew repeated helicopter missions into Afghanistan to resupply a Taliban base camp during a fierce battle in June last year. Nash said: “We were on the receiving end of Pakistani military D-30 [a howitzer]. On numerous occasions Afghan border police checkpoints and observation posts were attacked by Pakistani military forces.”

Comments by Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith in The Sunday Times last week that a decisive military victory against the Taliban was not possible and negotiations should be opened have received widespread backing.

General Jean-Louis Georgelin, France’s military chief, said: “There is no military solution to the Afghan crisis and I totally share this feeling.”

Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, who initially dismissed the brigadier’s comments as “defeatist”, said on Friday that the US was now prepared to back talks with the Taliban.

The deadly toll

— 120 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002

— At least 4,200 Afghans, including 1,450 civilians, have died this year alone

— Total cost of British operations in the Afghan war from 2001 to 2008 has been £3.2 billion
"All'inizio il paziente era riluttante a dirci come lo schiaccianoci si fosse incastrato sul suo pene" - ha detto ai giornalisti il Dr Daud Abdul Rahim dell'ospedale Sultanah Aminah di Johar Baru - "ma era chiaramente in grave disagio. La nostra priorita' era di rimuoverlo, ma perfino dopo avere asciugato il sangue e rimosso la pelle sulla parte superiore del pene, non potevamo liberarlo. cosi' abbiamo chiamato i pompieri specialisti, che alle 11 di sera del venerdi' sono finalmente riusciti a rimuovere lo schiaccianoci".

"Quando il paziente si e' ripreso, ci ha rivelato cosa fosse successo. E' un saldatore, e ha tentato di incrementare la lunghezza del suo pene prima del suo fidanzamento la settimana seguente, inchinandosi su se stesso con lo schiaccianoci appeso. Che tuttavia gli e' rimasto appeso durante un'erezione e avrebbe certamente sofferto di cancrena se non fossimo stati capaci di rimuoverlo".

"Curiosamente, e' il secondo caso in una settimana che riguarda oggetti incastrati al pene. Lunedi' scorso i pompieri furono convocati al centro medico dell'Universita' della Malaysia per aiutare nella rimozione di un anello di acciaio dal pene di un paziente. In quel caso se l'era infilato nella credenza che avrebbe accresciuto la sua potenza sessuale, ma ha avuto un inatteso effetto collaterale. E' ancora troppo presto per dire se in entrambi i casi ci saranno conseguenze a lungo termine".

[The Star (Malaysia), 31.08.08]
"Il lubrificante dei preservativi Number One Plus è la più efficace cura per l'acne che io abbia mai provato" - ha detto ai giornalisti Tep Kemyoeurn, 29 anni, a Phnom Penh - "Dopo che l'ho usato per tre giorni, tutta la mia acne s'è asciugata e se n'è andata. Excellent! Migliaia di donne lo usano qui, e ottengono ottimi risultati. Semplicemente passi i preservativi lubrificati sul tuo viso ogni sera, e dopo 3 o 4 giorni la tua acne scompare come per magia! Li usano anche la mia zietta e le mie sorelline. E se dici alle infermiere straniere che lavori nell'industria del sesso, ti danno tutti i preservativi lubrificati che vuoi".

Questi preservativi con un lubrificante a base di acqua sono distribuiti gratuitamente in tutta la Cambogia nel contesto di un programma di prevenzione dell'AIDS del Population Service International (una organizzazione sanitaria parzialmente finanziata dal governo britannico). "Ho provato molti diversi medicamenti per l'acne, ma nessuno ha avuto alcun effetto" - ha detto un'altra donna ai giornalisti - "poi alcuni amici alla fabbrica dove lavoro mi hanno parlato di Number One Plus, così ho detto alle autorità sanitarie di essere una prostituta, e loro me ne hanno dato un bel pacchettoncio. Adesso che lo uso ogni notte, la mia pelle resta pulita".
US crisis: martial law in the pipe
source: waynemadsenreport.com
October 8-10, 2008 -- FEMA sources confirm coming martial law

WMR has learned from knowledgeable Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sources that the Bush administration is putting the final touches on a plan that would see martial law declared in the United States with various scenarios anticipated as triggers. The triggers include a continuing economic collapse with massive social unrest, bank closures resulting in violence against financial institutions, and another fraudulent presidential election that would result in rioting in major cities and campuses around the country.

In addition, Army Corps of Engineer sources report that the assignment of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) to the Northern Command's U.S. Army North is to augment FEMA and federal law enforcement in the imposition of traffic controls, crowd control, curfews, enhanced border and port security, and neighborhood patrols in the event a national emergency being declared. The BCT was assigned to duties in Iraq before being assigned to the Northern Command.

On April 3, 2008, WMR reported on a highly-classified document regarding the martial law scenario: WMR has learned from knowledgeable sources within the US financial community that an alarming confidential and limited distribution document is circulating among senior members of Congress and their senior staff members that is warning of a bleak future for the United States if it does not quickly get its financial house in order. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is among those who have reportedly read the document.

The document is being called the "C & R" document because it reportedly states that if the United States defaults on loans and debt underwriting from China, Japan, and Russia, all of which are propping up the United States government financially, and the United States unilaterally cancels the debts, America can expect a war that will have disastrous results for the United States and the world. "Conflict" is the "C word" in the document. The other scenario is that the federal government will be forced to drastically raise taxes in order to pay off debts to foreign countries to the point that the American people will react with a popular revolution against the government. "Revolution" is the document's "R word".
Are gangs stockpiling heroin worldwide?
Map of the week: The mystery of the missing opium.
see map at source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2008/10/map_of_the_week_the_mystery_of.html

Mark Easton 8 Oct 08, 11:27 AM GMT

It's a mystery that has got British law enforcement officials and others across the planet scratching their heads. Put bluntly, enough heroin to supply the world's demand for years has simply disappeared. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) describes the situation as "a time bomb for public health and global security".This week's Map of the Week comes courtesy of the UNODC. It shows their latest estimate of opium production in Afghanistan - another bumper year.A crop of 7,700 tonnes will produce around 1,100 tonnes of heroin - it basically works on a 7:1 ratio.The mystery is that the global demand for heroin is less than half that. In other words, Afghanistan only needs to produce 3,500 tonnes to satisfy every known heroin user on the planet.

Look at the graph, though. For the past three years, production has been running at almost twice the level of global demand.The numbers just don't add up.There are two credible theories.

Theory 1: A large and undocumented market has opened up in countries which don't want to admit the problem. Russia has long been in denial over the scale of its heroin problem and the same may be true in emerging drug markets like Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. The Iranians are certainly increasingly anxious about the opium fields on their doorstep. Border guards and police have been involved in deadly shoot-outs with smugglers with experts suggesting that there are now a million heroin users in Iran.But the over-supply is so great that it is hard to conceive of it all disappearing in to the blood-streams of new addicts in Tehran and Ashgabat.

Theory 2: Vast quantities of heroin and morphine are being stockpiled. Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UNODC is convinced that is the only explanation. In a recent bulletin he issues an urgent order: 'Find the missing opium.' "As a priority, intelligence services need to examine who holds this surplus, where it may go, and for what purpose" he says. "We know little about these stockpiles of drugs, besides that they are not in the hands of farmers."Further credibility is given to the stockpiling theory in that 'farm-gate' prices for opium remain pretty stable at about $70 per kilo.So where are the thousands of tonnes of drugs that the UNODC describe as a "time bomb"? Well a clue, perhaps, comes from a senior law enforcement official who told me that British undercover teams in Afghanistan are reporting seizures of "enormous quantities of precursors".

Precursors are the chemicals required to turn base opium into heroin. The intelligence suggests that, rather than export opium to established drug laboratories in, for example, eastern Turkey, smugglers are processing the crop in Afghanistan.The likelihood is that vast quantities of heroin are being warehoused somewhere close to the fields where the opium grows.But there is another mystery surrounding the heroin market at the moment. If the international drug cartels are so awash with product that they are prepared to risk hiding billions of dollars worth, why are there shortages on some British streets?

That is the peculiar state of affairs revealed in Drugscope's recent trends survey."Some areas are experiencing outright shortages or shortages of good quality heroin. The quality of street heroin had dropped in 12 of the 20 town and cities surveyed, with five areas - Penzance, Cardiff, north London, Luton and Birmingham - noticing a shortage of the drug on the streets" the report says. The field-work, conducted in July and August, finds shortages had typically been in place for two months - a longer stretch than is usual in a market well known for its peaks and troughs.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) believes the heroin shortage in some parts of the country could have been sparked by a rise in the price of UK wholesale heroin. "Current intelligence suggests that some criminal groups are having difficulty getting hold of what they perceive to be good quality heroin. "One theory is that smugglers are using new routes, increasingly distributing heroin through East Africa. The switch in tactics may have led to a temporary pause in supply which is being felt in the UK. But very few would claim the shortages are the result of police activity. The Drugscope survey concludes that "street level drug enforcement had little long-term impact on illegal drug markets." At best, operations only disrupt the flow of drugs for a few days or weeks and merely displace drug use and drug dealing for a short time. One serious anxiety is that the economic downturn will herald a new wave of drug misuse. The recession in the 80s coincided with the British heroin epidemic. In the US it was crack cocaine. It is not just that people turn to drugs to blot out the misery of a downturn. If the crisis pushes up unemployment, it is likely that, deprived of a legitimate way to make a living, some may turn to an illegitimate source.

Perhaps a global downturn is what the drug cartels, with their huge stockpiles of heroin, have been waiting for.

Update: Since posting this article the Serious Organised Crime Agency has been in touch. SOCA has a number of undercover operatives in southern Afghanistan. They tell me this: "Whilst the cultivation and production of opium in Afghanistan is in decline, intelligence suggests there is considerable stockpiling of narcotics by Afghan criminal networks in order to control prices in the growing markets in Russia, China and within the local region." I also understand that Nato's top operations commander is calling for more aggressive tactics against the opium trade in Afghanistan. US General John Craddock will tell Defence Ministers gathering in Budapest that troops should focus on "high-end" targets like drug dealers and laboratories. Some Nato ministers, however, are concerned that any crackdown would prompt a violent backlash against allied troops.
"Avevo bevuto tutto il pomeriggio prima che il rapinatore mi attaccasse" - ha detto ai giornalisti di Dortmund Rolf Mittelhaus, di quasi 200 kg di peso - quindi non capivo esattamente cosa stesse succedendo al momento - "ricordo che pretese denaro brandendo una pistola, poi udii una sonora esplosione ma non vidi alcun fuoco e non provai alcun dolore. Un paio di giorni più tardi pensai che avrei dovuto riportare il furto del mio portafoglio alla polizia, che mi consigliò un esame medico nel caso avessi riportato ferite. Fu così che scoprii essere stato sparato nel petto".

Un portavoce della polizia ha successivamente spiegato che "un medico ha scoperto il proiettile incastrato in rotoli di grasso attorno allo stomaco di Herr Mittelhaus. Aveva a malapena bucato la pelle ed è semplicemente caduto durante l'esame di routine. Il colpo sarebbe stato probabilmente fatale se Herr Mittelhaus fosse stato più magro, ma i rotoli di grasso attorno al suo corpo hanno semplicemente assorbito l'impatto del proiettile. E così, in questa occasione, l'obesità morbida [*] si è dimostrata un salvavita".

[Austrian Times, 08/09/08]

[*] = "Morbid" in inglese non significa esattamente morbido come in italiano, quanto piuttosto morboso, quindi la "morbosa, malsana obesità si è dimostrata un salvavita"...
"Oltre diecimila persone vengono a ballare in questa città ogni fine settimana" - ha detto ai giornalisti Stef van Dongen del Club Watt a Rotterdam - "e si curano dell'ambiente tanto quanto chiunque altro. Un nightclub medio usa 150 volte di più elettricità di un normale appartamento, ma non dev'essere necessariamente così. Quando balli, generi un gran quantità di energia scuotendo il pavimento, e noi abbiamo sviluppato un modo di catturare il movimento della gente danzante per trasformarlo in energia elettrica: fa tutto parte del concetto di Sustainable Dance Club, abbreviato SDC".

"Usiamo una tecnologia chiamata induzione elettromagnetica, cioè una rete di molle e magneti sotto la pista da ballo, che converte il movimento meccanico all'ingiù in energia elettrica. Ma non volevamo la pista essere troppo rimbalzante, altrimenti potrebbe aver fatto perdere l'equilibrio ai danzatori, per cui ha una tolleranza di circa un centimetro, che è sufficiente a generare dai 5 ai 10 watt di elettricità per danzatore. Il nostro eco-club necessita di circa 2mila persone danzanti contemporanemente per mantenere le luci accese senza bisogno di corrente elettrica addizionale".

"Così come l'imbrigliare potenza solare ed eolica, e raccogliere la pioggia per le tubature, il concetto SDC ci avrebbe reso possibile riciclare abiti persi per usarli nell'isolamento, e abbiamo anche provato un piano per raccogliere il sudore dei danzanti e usarlo come acqua per i cessi. Ma quest'ultimo si è dimostrato impraticabile quando abbiamo capito che sarebbero occorsi due giorni di 30mila ballerini energici per un solo sciaquone"

[Der Spiegel, 18/08/08]
Enquête sur les réseaux d’influence états-uniens
Quand la CIA finançait les intellectuels italiens
par Federico Roberti
source: voltairenet.org/fr

Faisant suite à un article que nous avions publié en 2003 à propos du financement des intellectuels européens durant la Guerre froide, Federico Roberti revient sur le cas précis de l’intelligentsia italienne. Loin d’être superflu, ce bref rappel historique nous montre que les choses n’ont guère changé et que les auteurs à la mode ne sont souvent que des mercenaires de la plume.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 septembre 2008

En pleine Guerre Froide, le gouvernement des États-Unis consacra de grandes ressources à un programme secret de propagande culturelle adressé à l’Europe occidentale, réalisé avec une extrême discrétion par la CIA. L’acte fondamental en fut l’institution du Congress for Cultural Freedom (Congrès pour la liberté de la culture), organisé par l’agent Michael Josselson entre 1950 et 1967 [1].

À son point culminant, le Congrès avait des bureaux dans trente cinq pays (dont certains hors de l’Europe) et des dizaines d’intellectuels y émargeaient; il publiait une vingtaine de revues prestigieuses, organisait des expositions artistiques, des conférences internationales de haut niveau et récompensait des musiciens et autres artistes par des prix et reconnaissances variées. Sa mission consistait à dégager les intellectuels européens de l’étreinte du marxisme, en faveur de positions plus compatibles avec l’american way of life, en facilitant la poursuite des intérêts stratégiques de la politique extérieure étasunienne. Les livres de certains écrivains européens furent lancés sur le marché éditorial à l’intérieur d’un programme anticommuniste explicite.
Parmi eux, en Italie, Pane e Vino (Pain et Vin) de Ignazio Silone, lequel réalisa ainsi sa première apparition porté par le gouvernement étasunien. À vrai dire, pendant son exil en Suisse en temps de guerre, Silone avait été en contact avec Alan Dulles, à l’époque chef des services secrets étasuniens en Europe, et dans l’après-guerre inspirateur de Radio Free Europe, autre création de la CIA sous le masque du National Committee for a Free Europe; en octobre 1944, Serafino Romualdi, un agent de l’OSS (Office of Strategic Services, le précurseur de la CIA), fut envoyé sur la frontière franco-suisse avec la mission d’introduire clandestinement Silone en Italie. Silone, avec Altiero Spinelli et Guido Piovene, représenta l’Italie à la conférence fondatrice du Congress qui s’était tenu à Berlin en 1950, pour laquelle Michael Josselson était arrivé à obtenir un financement de 50.000 $ à partir des ressources du Plan Marshall. Elle fut dénoncée publiquement par Jean-Paul Sartre et Albert Camus qui, invités, refusèrent d’y participer.
Au début, parmi les présidents honoraires du Congrès, tous philosophes d’une pensée euro-atlantique naissante, nous trouvons, aux côtés de Bertrand Russell, Benedetto Croce. Celui-ci, à 80 ans, était vénéré en Italie comme un père noble de l’antifascisme, ayant ouvertement défié Mussolini. Au moment du débarquement allié en Sicile, il avait sûrement été un contact utile pour William Donovan, le plus haut responsable des services étasuniens de l’époque. La section italienne du Congrès, dénommée Association italienne pour la liberté de la culture, fut instituée par Ignazio Silone à la fin de 1951 et devint le centre de lancement, y compris et surtout d’un point de vue logistique et économique, d’une fédération d’environ cent groupes culturels tels que l’Unione goliardica dans les universités (Union estudiantine), le Mouvement fédéraliste européen d’Altiero Spinelli, les Centres d’Action Démocratique, le mouvement Comunità d’Adriano Olivetti et divers autres. Elle publia la prestigieuse revue Tempo Presente (Temps Présent) dirigée par Silone lui-même et par Nicola Chiaromonte, et d’autres moins connues comme Il Mondo, Il Ponte, Il Mulino et, plus tard, Nuovi Argomenti. Dans son groupe dirigeant, à côté de laïques comme Adriano Olivetti et Mario Pannunzio, se trouvait aussi Ferruccio Parri, le père de la gauche indépendante. Puis, en position plus abritée, des hommes politiques de souche actionniste et libéral-démocrate comme Ugo La Malfa. Un des bureaux du Congrès avait été ouvert à Rome au palais Pecci-Blunt, où Mimì, la maîtresse de maison, animait un des salons les plus fermés et mieux fréquentés de la capitale. À deux pas de la demeure historique du palais Caetani qui, avant de devenir tragiquement célèbre pour avoir vu, sous ses fenêtres, le dernier acte de l’enlèvement de Moro, voyait régner une autre reine des salons, la mécène étasunienne, liée aux milieux du Congrès, Marguerite Chapin Caetani. Celle ci, avec sa revue Botteghe oscure, fut la promotrice de pas mal de noms de la littérature et de la poésie italiennes du 20ème siècle. Son gendre, le hasard faisant bien les choses, était Sir Hubert Howard, ex-officier des services secrets alliés, spécialisé dans la guerre psychologique et en relation d’amitié très fraternelle avec le neveu du président Roosevelt: ce Kermit Roosevelt qui, d’abord au sein de l’OSS puis recruté par la CIA, fut parmi les tenants les plus acharnés de la guerre psychologique.

Une des plus étroites collaboratrices de Caetani était Elena Croce, fille du philosophe Benedetto, dont le mari Raimondo Craveri, agent des services secrets partisans, désignait les politiciens fiables, après la libération, à l’ambassade étasunienne. Elena, elle, sélectionnait les hommes de culture à qui il valait la peine de parler. Les relations les plus cosmopolites pouvaient se tresser chez eux: on y rencontrait aussi bien Henry Kissinger que le futur président de Fiat, Gianni Agnelli, mais surtout ce monde régnait le magnat de la finance laïque italienne, fondateur de Mediobanca, (don) Raffaele Mattioli. Les Étatsuniens avaient une telle confiance dans le commandatore Mattioli qu’en 1944, la guerre étant évidemment encore en cours, ils avaient déjà discuté avec lui des programmes pour la reconstruction. En plus de financer abondamment la culture, don Raffaele prêta des attentions aussi discrètes que non désintéressées même au PCI, avec lequel il avait déjà ouvert des réseaux au cours du Ventennio [2].

Voilà donc qu’en Italie, en plus de la loge P2 et de Gladio [3], il existait aussi un anticommunisme très tenace, mais éclairé, progressiste et même de gauche. Le réseau du Congrès en était la façade publique ou, si l’on préfère, présentable.

Les ressources pour la propagande culturelle euro-atlantique furent trouvées de façon vraiment géniale. Aux débuts du Plan Marshall, chaque pays bénéficiaire des fonds devait contribuer en déposant dans sa propre banque centrale une somme équivalente à la contribution US. Puis un accord bilatéral entre le pays en question et les États-Unis permettait que 5 % de cette somme devint propriété étasunienne: c’était justement cette part des «fonds de contrepartie» (environ 10 millions de dollars annuels sur un total de 200) qui fut mise à disposition de la CIA pour ses projets spéciaux. Environ 200.000 dollars de ces fonds, qui avaient déjà joué un rôle crucial dans les élections italiennes de 1948, furent destinés à financer les coûts administratifs du Congrès en 1951. La filiale italienne, par exemple, recevait mille dollars mensuels qui étaient versés sur le compte de Tristano Codignola, le dirigeant de la maison d’édition La Nuova Italia.

La liberté culturelle ne revint pas bon marché. En dix sept années de fondation, la CIA allait pomper au Congrès et en projets corrélés au moins dix millions de dollars. Une caractéristique de la stratégie de propagande culturelle fut l’organisation systématique d’un réseau de groupes privés «amis» dans un consortium officieux: il s’agissait d’une coalition de fondations philanthropiques, entreprises et privés qui travaillait en collaboration étroite avec la CIA pour donner à celle-ci une couverture et des canaux de financement dans le but de développer ses programmes secrets en territoire européen. En même temps, l’impression était que ces «amis» n’agissent que sur leur propre initiative. En gardant leur statut de privés, ils apportaient le capital de risque pour la guerre froide, un peu comme ce que font depuis un certain temps les ONG soutenues par l’Occident à peu près partout dans le monde.

L’inspirateur de ce consortium fut Allen Dulles, qui, dès le mois de mai 1949, avait justement dirigé la formation du National Committee for a Free Europe, initiative, en apparence, d’un groupe de citoyens privés américains, et en réalité un des projet les plus ambitieux de la CIA. «Le département d’État est très heureux d’assister à la formation de ce groupe» annonça le secrétaire d’État Dean Acheson. Cette bénédiction publique servait à occulter les vraies origines du Comité et le fait qu’il opérait sous le contrôle absolu de la CIA, qui le finançait à 90 %. Ironie du sort, le but spécifique pour lequel il avait été créé, à savoir faire de la propagande politique, était catégoriquement exclu par une clause de l’acte de fondation. Dulles était bien conscient que le succès du Comité allait dépendre de sa capacité «à apparaître comme indépendant du gouvernement et représentatif des convictions spontanées de citoyens amants de la liberté».
Le National Committee pouvait vanter un ensemble d’adhérents de très haut relief public, des hommes d’affaires et des avocats, des diplomates et administrateurs du Plan Marshall, des magnats de la presse et des metteurs en scène: de Henry Ford II, président de General Motors, à madame Culp Hobby, directrice du Moma; de C.D. Jackson de la direction de Time-Life à John Hughes, ambassadeur près de l’OTAN; de Cecil B. De Mille à Dwight Eisenhower. Tous ceux là étaient «au courant», c’est-à-dire appartenaient en toute connaissance au club. Son effectif, dès la première année, comptait plus de 400 membres, son bilan se montait à presque deux millions de dollars. Un bilan à part, de 10 millions, fut réservé à la seule Radio Free Europe, qui en l’espace de quelques années allait avoir 29 stations de radiodiffusion et transmettait en 16 langues; faisant fonction aussi de chaîne pour l’envoi d’ordres au réseau d’informateurs présents au-delà du Rideau de Fer.

Le nom de la section chargée de recueillir des fonds pour le National Committee était Crusade for Freedom et le jeune acteur qui en était le porte-parole s’appelait Ronald Reagan… [4]

L’utilisation de fondations philanthropiques s’avéra le moyen le plus efficace pour faire parvenir des sommes d’argent conséquentes aux projets de la Cia, sans alarmer les destinataires sur leur origine. En 1976, une commission nommée pour enquêter sur les activités des services secrets étasuniens rapporta les données suivantes, relatives à la pénétration de la CIA dans les fondations: pendant la période 1963-1966, des 700 donations supérieures à 10 000 dollars distribuées par 164 fondations, 108 au moins furent totalement ou partiellement des fonds de la CIA. Il est encore plus remarquable que des financements de la CIA soient présents dans presque la moitié des prodigalités faites par ces 164 fondations, durant cette même période, dans le domaine des activités internationales. On pensait que les fondations prestigieuses, comme Ford [5], Rockefeller et Carnegie, assuraient «la forme de financement occulte la meilleure et la plus crédible». Cette technique s’avérait particulièrement opportune pour les organisations gérées de façon démocratique, étant donné qu’elles doivent pouvoir rassurer ses propres membres et collaborateurs ignares, ainsi que les critiques hostiles, d’être en mesure de compter sur des formes de financement privé, authentique et respectable – soulignait une étude interne de la CIA elle-même, remontant à 1966. De plus, à l’intérieur de la Fondation Ford, on institua une unité administrative spécifiquement habilitée à s’occuper des rapports avec la CIA, qui devait être consultée à chaque fois que l’agence voulait utiliser la fondation comme couverture ou canal financier pour n’importe quelle opération. Cette unité était formée de deux fonctionnaires et du président même de la fondation, John McCloy, lequel avait déjà été secrétaire à la Défense et président, dans l’ordre, de la Banque Mondiale, de la Chase Manhattan Bank, propriété de la famille Rockefeller et du Council on Foreign Relations [6], ainsi qu’avocat de confiance des Sept Sœurs [7]. Beau curriculum, il n’y a rien à dire.

Un des premiers dirigeants de la CIA à soutenir le Congrès pour la liberté de la culture fut Frank Lindsay, vétéran de l’OSS qui, en 1947, avait écrit un des premiers rapports internes où l’on recommandait aux États-Unis de créer une force secrète pour la Guerre froide. Dans les années 1949 à 1951, en tant que directeur-adjoint de l’Office of Policy Coordination (OPC), département spécial créé à l’intérieur de la CIA pour les opérations secrète, Lindsay devint responsable de l’entraînement des groupes Stay Behind en Europe, mieux connus en Italie sous le nom de Gladio> [8]. En 1953, il passa à la Fondation Ford, sans pour autant perdre ses contacts étroits avec ses ex-collègues des services.

Quand en 1953, Cecil B. De Mille accepta de devenir conseiller spécial du gouvernement étasunien pour le cinéma au Motion Picture Service (MPS), il se rendit au bureau de C. D. Douglas, qui allait plus tard écrire de lui: «Il est complètement de notre côté et (…) il est bien conscient du pouvoir que les films américains ont à l’étranger. Il a une théorie, que je partage pleinement, selon laquelle l’utilisation la plus efficace des films américains s’obtient non pas avec le projet d’une pellicule entière qui aborde un problème déterminé, mais plutôt par l’introduction dans une œuvre «normale» d’un morceau de dialogue approprié, d’une boutade, une inflexion de la voix, un mouvement des yeux. Il m’a dit que chaque fois que je lui donnerai un thème simple pour un pays ou une région déterminés, il trouvera le moyen de le traiter et de l’introduire dans un film».

Le Motion Picture Service, inondé de financements gouvernementaux au point de devenir un véritable entreprise de production cinématographique, donnait du travail à des réalisateurs-producteurs qui étaient au préalable examinés, et assignés à un travail sur des films faisant la promotion des objectifs des États-Unis, et devant atteindre un public sur lequel il fallait agir à travers le cinéma. Le MPS fournissait des conseils à des organismes secrets sur les films appropriés pour une distribution sur le marché international; il s’occupait, en outre, de la participation étasunienne aux divers festivals qui se déroulaient à l’étranger et travaillait avec zèle pour exclure les producteurs étasuniens et les films qui ne soutenaient pas la politique extérieure du pays.

Le principal groupe de pression pour soutenir l’idée d’une Europe unie étroitement alliée aux États-Unis était le Mouvement Européen, qui chapeautait de nombreuses organisations, et qui couvrait une série d’activités destinées à l’intégration politique, militaire, économique et culturelle. Conduit par Winston Churchill en Grande-Bretagne, Paul-Henri Spaak en France et Altiero Spinelli en Italie, le mouvement était attentivement surveillé par la CIA à travers une couverture qui s’appelait American Committee on United Europe [9].

La branche culturelle du Mouvement Européen était le Centre Européen de la Culture, dirigé par l’écrivain Denis de Rougemont. Un vaste programme de bourses d’études destinés à des associations d’étudiants et de jeunes fut réalisé, parmi lesquels l’European Youth Campaign, fer de lance d’une propagande pensée pour neutraliser les mouvements politiques de gauche. Quant à ces libéraux internationalistes fauteurs d’une Europe unie autour de ses propres principes internes, et non conforme aux intérêts stratégiques étasuniens, ils n’étaient pas mieux considérés ensuite que les neutralistes; voire comme les porteurs d’une hérésie à détruire.

En 1962, la notoriété du Congrès pour la liberté de la culture attira aussi des attentions qui n’avaient rien de ce qi avait été recherché par ses inspirateurs. Pendant le programme télévisé de la BBC, «That Was The Week That Was», le Congrès fut l’objet d’une pénétrante et brillante parodie pensée par Kenneth Tynan. Elle commençait par la boutade: «C’est l’heure, les nouvelles de la Guerre froide dans la culture». Il continuait ensuite en montrant une carte représentant le bloc culturel soviétique, où chaque petit cercle indiquait une position culturelle stratégique: des bases théâtrales, des centres de production cinématographique, des compagnies de danse pour la production de missiles «balletistiques» intercontinentaux, des maisons d’édition qui lancent d’énormes tirages de classiques à des millions de lecteurs esclavagisés, en somme, où que l’on regardât un endoctrinement massif en plein développement. Et on demandait: nous, ici en Occident, avons-nous une capacité effective de riposte? La réponse était oui, il y a ce bon vieux Congrès pour la liberté de la culture soutenu par l’argent étatsunien qui a équipé un certain nombre de bases avancées, en Europe et dans le monde, fonctionnant comme têtes de pont pour des représailles culturelles. Bases masquées avec des noms de code — comme Encounter — la plus connue des revues parrainées par le Congrès- abréviation, ironisait-on, de Encounterforce Strategy. Entrait alors en scène un porte-parole du Congrès, avec une liasse de revues qui représentaient à ses dires une sorte d’OTAN culturel dont l’objectif était l’enraiement culturel, c’est-à-dire mettre un mur d’enceinte autour des rouges. Avec une mission historique: celle de parvenir au leadership mondial des lecteurs, quoi qu’il arrive, «nous au Congrès ressentons comme notre devoir de tenir nos bases en état d’alerte rouge, 24 heures sur 24». Une satire mordante et impeccablement documentée, qui causa des nuits d’insomnie à Michael Josselson, l’organisateur du Congrès.

Pendant l’été 1964, surgit une question assez préoccupante. Au cours d’une enquête parlementaire sur les exemptions fiscales faites aux fondations privées, dirigée par Wright Patman, on découvrit une fuite d’informations qui identifiait 8 de celles-ci comme des couvertures de la CIA. Elles n’auraient été rien d’autre que des boîtes aux lettres à quoi ne correspondait qu’une adresse, affrêtées par la CIA pour recevoir de l’argent d’elle-même, de façon apparemment légale. Quand l’argent arrivait, les foundations faisaient une donation à une autre fondation largement connue pour ses activités légitimes. Contributions, ces dernières, qui étaient enregistrées comme il se doit selon la norme fiscale en vigueur dans le secteur non lucratif, sur des imprimés appelés 990-A. L’opération se concluait pour finir avec le versement de l’argent à l’organisation prévue par la CIA pour le recevoir.

Les informations filtrées par la commission Patman ouvrirent, ne fut-ce que pour un bref moment, une brèche dans la salle des machines des financements secrets. Certains journalistes particulièrement curieux, comme par exemple ceux de l’hebdomadaire The Nation, réussirent à rassembler quelques morceaux du puzzle, en demandant s’il était légitime que la CIA finançât, par ces méthodes indirectes, divers congrès et conférences dédiés à la «liberté culturelle» ou que quelque important organe de presse, soutenu par l’Agence, offrît de grasses récompenses à des écrivains dissidents de l’Europe orientale. De façon surprenante (surprenante ?), pas un seul journaliste ne pensa à enquêter ultérieurement. La CIA exécuta une sévère révision de ses techniques de financement, mais ne jugea pas opportun de reconsidérer l’utilisation des fondations privées comme véhicules de financement des opérations clandestines. Au contraire, selon l’Agence, la vraie leçon à tirer à la suite de ce scandale suscité par la commission Patman, était que la couverture des fondations pour distribuer les financements devait être utilisée de façon plus étendue et professionnelle: avant tout en déboursant des fonds même pour des projets réalisés sur le sol des États-Unis. Michael Josselson, à partir de la fin de cette année-là, essaya de protéger sa créature des révélations, en pensant même en changer le nom, et alla jusqu’à chercher à trancher les liens économiques avec la CIA en les remplaçant in toto par un financement de la Fondation Ford. Tout cela ne servit à rien d’autre qu’à différer une sortie désormais inscrite. Le 13 mai 1967 se tint à Paris l’assemblée générale du Congrès pour la liberté de la culture qui en signa la fin substantielle, même si les activités se traînèrent, péniblement et sur un ton plutôt mineur, jusqu’à la fin des années soixante-dix.

En fait il s’était passé ceci: la revue californienne Ramparts, en avril 1967, avait publié une enquête sur les opérations secrètes de la CIA, malgré une campagne de diffamation lancée à ses dépens, au moment où l’agence avait eu connaissance du fait que la revue était sur les traces de ses organisations de couverture. Les découvertes de Ramparts furent promptement relayées dans la presse nationale et suivie d’une vague de révélations, faisant émerger aussi les couvertures à l’extérieur des États-Unis, à commencer par le Congrès et ses revues. Avant même les dénonciations de Ramparts, le sénateur Mansfield avait demandé une enquête parlementaire sur les financements clandestins de la CIA, à laquelle le président Lindon Johnson répondit en instituant une commission de trois membres seulement. La commission Katzenbach, dans son rapport conclusif émis le 29 mars 1967, sanctionnait toute agence fédérale qui aurait secrètement fourni assistance ou financements, de façon directe ou indirecte, à toute organisation culturelle publique ou privée, sans but lucratif. Le rapport fixait la date du 31 décembre 1967 comme limite pour la conclusion de toutes les opérations de financement secret de la CIA, en lui donnant ainsi l’opportunité de concéder un certain nombre d’attributions finales conséquents (dans le cas de Radio Free Europe, cet apport allait lui permettre de continuer à émettre pendant deux années supplémentaires).

En réalité, comme il s’en déduit d’une circulaire interne sortie ensuite en 1976, la CIA n’interdisait pas les opérations secrètes avec des organisations commerciales étasuniennes ni les financements secrets d’organisations internationales avec des sièges à l’étranger. Nombre des restrictions adoptées en réponse aux événements de 1967, plus que représenter une nouvelle conception des limites aux activités secrètes des services, apparaissent plutôt comme des mesures de sécurité destinées à empêcher de futures révélations publiques qui puissent mettre en danger les délicates opérations de cette même CIA.

On en reparlera ?

Federico Roberti

La principale source des informations présentées dans cet article est le livre de Frances Stonor Saunders: Who Paid the Piper? - CIA and the Cultural Cold War, 1999, Granta (version française: Qui mène la danse? La CIA et la guerre froide culturelle, 2003 Denoël).
Cet article a initialement été publié en italien par Eurasia - Rivista di studi geopolitici.
Version française : Marie-Ange Patrizio
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[1] «Quand la CIA finançait les intellectuels européens», par Denis Boneau, Réseau Voltaire, 27 novembre 2003.
[2] Les 20 ans du régime fasciste, ndt
[3] «Stay-behind: les réseaux d’ingérence américains», par Thierry Meyssan; «Le terrorisme non revendiqué de l’OTAN», entretien de Daniele Ganser avec Silvia Cattori, Réseau Voltaire, 20 août 2001, 29 décembre 2006. Rapport Andreotti sur l’Opération Gladio, document daté du 26 février 1991.
[4] «Ronald Reagan contre l’Empire du Mal», Réseau Voltaire, 7 juin 2004.
[5] «La Fondation Ford, paravent philanthropique de la CIA» et «Pourquoi la Fondation Ford subventionne la contestation», par Paul Labarique, Réseau Voltaire, 5 et 19 avril 2004.
[6] «Comment le Conseil des relations étrangères détermine la diplomatie US», Réseau Voltaire, 25 juin 2004.
[7] Les «sept sœurs» désigne le groupe des sept sociétés occidentales qui contrôlaient quasiment tous les marchés mondiaux du pétrole, NdT.
[8] Cf. note 3.
[9] «Histoire secrète de l’Union européenne», Réseau Voltaire, 28 juin 2004.