By Tim O'Shea

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Oil Pipeline

In this 1998 meeting, Congress was told about the importance of developing the infrastructure to extract a newly discovered supply of oil in the five countries surrounding Afghanistan, an immense storehouse that may represent a whopping 5% of the world's oil and gas reserves.

So the plans to get this oil to market involve building an immense pipeline system, comparable to the Alaskan pipeline, that would carry the oil to ports on the Caspian Sea. But before the construction on this huge project gets under way, the investors want to be sure that unstable factions don't have the opportunity to blow up the pipeline any time they take it into their heads to have a little jihad barbecue, for whatever reason. Keep in mind, the pipeline itself is estimated to cost about $2.5 billion.

The countries involved are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Because of the geography, one of the prime routes for the proposed 1000-mile pipeline goes right across Afghanistan. In this 1998 hearing, Congress stated that the US definitely supports the idea of the pipeline, but would not be in favor of moving ahead until the government of Afghanistan is "stabilized."

To give an idea of the resources involved here, they're talking about 236 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and as much as 200 billion barrels of oil. For this reason one of the oil reps states flatly that construction will not be started until there is a "single Afghan government."

As long as we're talking money here, it was also brought up in this hearing that major quantities of the world's opium and heroin are being produced "all over Afghanistan." Sounds like a rerun of Vietnam - though never mentioned in the popular press, the politics of opium figured heavily into the marketing of that little conflict. (Webb, also Air America)

Here's a quote from Congressman Rohrabacher from that hearing. He's speaking to the oil reps:

"...let me warn you that if the pipeline is constructed before there is a government that is acceptable at a general level to the population of Afghanistan ..., that your pipeline will be blown up. There is no doubt about that. I have been in and out of Afghanistan for 15 years. These are very brave, courageous people.

"If they think they are being stepped on, just like the Soviets found out, they are going to kick somebody back. They are not going to lay down and let somebody put the boot in their face. If the government that is receiving the funds that you are talking about is a government that is not accepted by a large number of people in Afghanistan, there will continue to be problems."

So billions and billions of dollars can be generated by stabilizing this wild country And until that stability can be guaranteed, the whole project is on hold. Bombing target areas will not stabilize an area. What is necessary is a ground invasion to wipe out any opposition to a new government which will supposedly be obedient to the wishes of the victors.

Oversimplification? Maybe not. What was the Gulf War about? Now maybe we'd be hammering Afghanistan even if they didn't have all this oil, just because of 9/11. But this way sure works out well for everyone - we get revenge, moral vindication, and a sea of oil - all from the same invasion. Just call the arms sales an added bonus. And the opium? Well, when in history has the military been uninterested in that stuff?

What a fortunate confluence of circumstances has dovetailed these two agendas: revenge and oil. I'm sure it's just a happy coincidence... And the fact that gas has dropped almost a dollar a gallon -- - that doesn't have anything to do with anything, right? Somebody want to interpret that?

So where does domestic bioterrorism fit into all of this? Maybe it doesn't. But it certainly is a convenient distraction to draw attention away from the occupation of Afghanistan. And in some twisted, illogical way, to justify it.

The Real Terror: Loss of Civil Liberties

Benjamin Franklin: "Those who are willing to give up freedom for security deserve neither."

There is no argument that we have just witnessed some horrific events in the past few months: 9/11, anthrax mailings, and the marketing of these disasters by anyone who could find an angle. But terrible as it is, all of this will pass. And we'll have sad memories that time will gradually mute - a human survival mechanism. What must not be muted, what must not be glossed over and dismissed, in this writer's opinion, are the permanent legal effects that are being wrought from the wreckage.

Isn't it weird that talking about the Constitution has become associated with extremism and wackiness? The witless, shallow columnists, like dogs barking for a biscuit, across the board rush to toe the line: they assure us of the necessity for exchanging freedom for "security." Journalists can only advance by maintaining a consistent image, right? Original thinking, critical thinking - practically any thinking - is rarely rewarded in the field of propaganda.

Try this experiment: ask any high school senior what the Bill of Rights is. Go ahead.

Tell them you'll give them a dollar for each of the first 10 amendments they can name. Or ask any adult, for that matter. Don't worry, your money's safe. Talking about constitutional rights makes people nervous, perhaps because subconsciously they realize how badly we've screwed up.

In case you forgot, the Constitution is the contract that was drawn up between the people and the government when this country was set up. The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution, and is its foundation. Goes something like this here:

"The Conventions of a number of the States having, at the time of adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added, and as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution;

Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States; all or any of which articles, when ratified by three-fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the said Constitution, namely:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VI

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Blood of Our Ancestors - Blood of Our Children

Now read these over. Again. Looks like 1, 2, 4, and 6 are pretty much gone. Try assembling 1000 people in a public place to talk about anything. Try keeping Social Services out of your house if they have a shred of gossip that they "need to check out." Try starting your own newspaper. Try driving downtown in your pickup with a shotgun in the gunrack.

Try asking the policeman for probable cause the next time you are stopped in a California suburb for a "routine police inspection." All these are basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution. I don't remember that they ever got repealed. Paid for with the blood of our ancestors, we just let them go without a whimper. A thousand little laws, compromises, and decisions have whittled them down to a fraction of their original intent.

Do you imagine that the above Bill of Rights could pass through today's Congress and be ratified? These are the ideals that put this country out of the reach of fascism, communism, socialism, absolute monarchy, totalitarianism and military dictatorship - in short from the types of governments that had prevailed all throughout history.

Now before you start looking for your CD of America the Beautiful, ask yourself this question: if these other types of government were to try and creep back in, are they going to advertise as what they really are? Wouldn't it be smarter, more sophisticated for the wolf to wear wool - Italian wool if possible? Well dressed, well educated, well spoken.

And what are they going to be talking about? How they are going to protect us, for our own good. How even though we give them over half our money now, they need more - to protect us from these NEW threats.

Today the government occupies far too much of our lives and our thoughts. We don't need to be waiting till tomorrow's news to find out what else the government plans to do for us in exchange for our personal freedom. Or to find out which part of their job they screwed up that is going to require the creation of -- MORE government. Or what newly imagined threat might be coming soon.

This country was originally built on a concept that is all but forgotten today: the definition of sovereignty. It just means who's in charge. According to the Constitution, the people are sovereign - not the government. The government exists and operates by consent of the people, not vice versa. But gradually, chip by chip, law by law, things got reversed.

Now we live in fear of the government, the IRS, the state government, the county government -- all these 40% of the people feeding at the trough, ruling the other 60%. We're so far out of balance -- so far off our original course.

When vaccines are required by law, it mixes together groups that should be separate: lawmakers and vaccine makers. Whether it's anthrax, AIDS, smallpox, or chickenpox - mandating untested, unsafe, ineffective vaccines weakens us physically, economically, culturally, genetically, and spiritually.

Psychiatrist and author Thomas Szasz puts it this way:

"We have become a prosperous nation by separating the economy and the state, not by making the state the source of employment, as have the communists, with the disastrous results now known to all... "we can become a healthy nation only by separating medicine and the state, not by making the state the source of health care, as have the communists with similarly disastrous results."

Most people feel that government should be concerned only with basic things: building roads, maintaining schools and hospitals, maintaining a military presence strong enough to protect us from foreign bad guys - things like that. But it got too big, too invasive, too self-serving. Now the roads and the schools and hospitals are neglected in favor of the real business of government - oil, drugs, war gear, social programs, and biggest of all: the self-replication of MORE government.

And to distract the people from these operations, the power of media to shape our consciousness has become supreme. So now we have thought crimes, and crimes of incorrect attitude, lawsuits won on the basis of hearsay and circumstantial evidence from paid "experts." And we have let the government into our homes, into our heads, into our lives.

We forgot that this is our country, not theirs. It's a country where good people should have the right to earn a living, live their lives, and be left alone. It's all there, in those old hemp documents.

US Military Turned Against American People

A major transformational shift has recently occurred in which the military has become arrayed against our own people. The legal precedents now being violated were originally set forth back in Civil War times in a law called the Posse Comitatus Act. And that's exactly what it provided: that the military could not be employed against our own people but was to be reserved for use against foreign enemies.

Lately we are hearing all about Bush's plans to grant the police and the military sweeping powers of home entry, quarantining, occupation, seizure of property, and forcible inoculations based on the suspicion of terrorism or the possible consequences of bioterrorism.

"Suspected exposure" is all that's necessary, in the case of biological agents, to set these forces in motion. Search warrants are to be suspended, suspects held without bail, accusation alone is cause for arrest - and anyone who objects these new powers is "unpatriotic."

This new plan was described in the 25 Nov 01 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle, your typical rubberstamp newspaper. The article talks about the CDC's instant obedience to Tommy Thompson's request for new legislation to support this new loss of personal rights. The weird thing about it was the way the article read:

" The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rushed out the proposed legislation, at the request of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson... " - Tansey

So, when did the CDC become a lawmaking body? The Centers for Disease Control - those are the scientists whose job it is to study diseases. The top people in CDC are enmeshed with the FDA and the management of the pharmaceutical giants, an association which no one even tries to hide. So now the drug companies are going to determine social policy, with the force of law?

Besides the threats to personal privacy and sovereignty, an equal menace inherent in the new legal proposals that are being kicked around is the possibility of weakening the existing rights of exemption from vaccination, which parents currently possess in all states but two. Never before in history have so many forces been lined up against the idea that an individual's bloodstream is personal, private, and sacrosanct.

The Good News

Here's what passes for good news these days: it is highly improbable that these neo-Nazi programs for biological "defense" will ever be implemented in real life. Several reasons why not:

1. The extremely low likelihood of future incidents of mass biowarfare
2. Even sheep have limitations of how much control they'll accept
3. The difficulty of getting individual states to comply with laws that treat the American people themselves as the enemy
4. Opposition from legal groups like the ACLU

So before we get too depressed and start checking ticket prices for Nevis and the Seychelles, we should remember that all this "prevention" and "preparation" isn't about real life situations. It's about spending money beforehand. That's all they really want.

A recent example is that in Jan 2001 - 8 months before 9/11- the DoD spent $143 million of your money on a program to train the National Guard how to mobilize and quarantine American cities in the event of biological emergencies. After months of snafus, the program was abandoned as a complete disaster and a waste of money, because it was totally unworkable. (DOD, Report D-2001-043 31 Jan 2001)

The point is, the money gets spent and nothing really changes much. This is practically the running theme throughout Miller's new book Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War. Years and years of "committee work" and "research" - trillions of military, scientific, and congressional dollars, with little or no tangible results.

Preview of Coming Attractions

We're already in the middle of it - 9/11 has catapulted us to a new stratum of saturation with the "new" vaccine awareness. Every day you will read new articles, see new stories about how vaccines are coming to save us - just in time. It's biggest money - $6 billion from Bill Gates, more from other private investors, and the bottomless trough tapped by the NIH, Tommy Thompson, the FDA, the CDC, and anyone else who can stake a claim.

This machine will undoubtedly dominate media. So now that you've read this chapter, be admonished. You know the game. Vaccines don't save anyone from anything. Is it only about money? To the extent that money is a measure of power and influence, I guess so.

We are the most vaccinated people not only in the world, but in the entire history of the world. The 40 vaccines mandated for American children by the time they're 16 - these are just the beginning, compared to what's coming down the pike. What can we do about it?

Educate ourselves to the potential dangers, and to our remaining rights of exemption. Even those who believe in vaccines can benefit from the exemption forms - signing those documents gives the parents the power to choose which vaccines they want for their children, and when.

Buy the new vaccine sales pitch? What's the downside if they're wrong? What's the track record on vaccines - the real one? Where are the studies? How important is the human bloodstream to the future of our species?

Will to Power

In light of what's being served up these days, the original contention at the end of The Doors of Perception stands: wouldn't we be better off not watching any TV or reading mainstream news copy? It's not a medium for information; it's a means of distraction and control.

Too bold?

Well, think how the current contrived economic slump was catapulted by a thousand junior college mentality columnists in a thousand newspapers across the country every day for months on end, each one trying to come up with a slightly new spin on how bad things were going to get.

Day after day, on and on they hammered, until 3 trillion dollars worth of private assets vaporized - disappeared. Most of it was after-tax dollars. People lost years of savings; for many, their life savings - the hopes and dreams for a better future. That was power.

Oh, the media didn't cause all that, you say? They just reported it? There's a good sheep.

Whatever you think about you bring about: thought creates reality. We must guard our brain input, because that determines our focus, and our focus determines our accomplishments. Maybe Nietzsche was right - this world is nothing more than a will to power. By sucking up the evening news, we are pushed aside by a smoothly orchestrated will to power which may not have our interests in mind.

Just consider: what would happen if we actually stopped buying newspapers and glossy magazines and watching the idiotically banal TV news shows, anchored by these simian cyborg newscasters, reading their lines?

What would we really be missing if we ignored all that and just focused on personal and business goals that are of our own design - not on some knee jerk reaction to whatever newly-imagined fear in the area of business or world events MIGHT be coming in the very near future. It's mostly lies and angles and spin and 'framing issues' anyway.

All the energy of worrying about what if -- might be turned into productive forward-planning activity. And what if everyone began to think like this, began to think that in America we still have an enormous amount of freedom and initiative to build our lives. And this freedom NOT to listen to the programmed conditioning is a real source of power.

Turn it off. Disconnect. Rent videos. Don't bring newspapers and magazines into your home, except to line the parrot cage. Instead of wasting time reading insipid cookie-cutter newspapers and monodimensional glossy magazine articles, buy a book. Whoa. How about a classic? TV news? Fine. As long as the MUTE button is pressed. Stop listening. Stop being passively programmed. Guard your cerebral cortex input. Have a conversation. Have an idea. Play chess. Or music. Live your own life.

But how will I know what's going on, you ask?

Exactly, grasshopper.

Tim O'Shea

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