De ware aard van de oorlog tegen het terrorisme...

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Bremner, Bird and Fortune

Bremner, Bird and Fortune is an award-winning satirical British television programme produced by Vera Productions for Channel Four, uniting the longstanding satirical team of John Bird and John Fortune ("the Two Johns") with the satirical impressionist Rory Bremner.

The show, which started in 1999, is currently in its 12th series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremner,_Bird_and_Fortune

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Op zondag 27 januari 2008 17:18 schreef Stupendous76 het volgende:

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En waar kennen we Monsanto dan nog meer van? --> klik

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Olieprijs weer boven de 100 dollar

Uitgegeven: 21 februari 2008 10:29
Laatst gewijzigd: 21 februari 2008 10:29

SINGAPORE - De prijs van een vat ruwe olie is donderdag op de oliemarkt in Singapore door de grens van 100 dollar per vat gebroken. Volgens analisten zijn geruchten dat de Organisatie voor Olie-Exporterende Landen (OPEC) volgende maand besluit de productie omlaag te brengen, de oorzaak van de prijsstijging.

Een vat ruwe olie kostte donderdagochtend 100,14 dollar. In de elektronische handel bereikte de prijs eerder een record van 101,32 dollar.

In januari bereikte de olieprijs in New York gedurende de handel voor het eerst een prijs van meer dan 100 dollar per vat (van 159 liter). Na signalen dat de Verenigde Staten op een recessie afstevenen, daalde de olieprijs weer. Recent zijn de prijzen weer aan het oplopen. Afgelopen dinsdag sloot de olieprijs in New York voor het eerst boven de 100 dollar.

Kartel

De OPEC, die voorziet in 40 procent van 's werelds olieproductie, hield bij de vorige vergadering begin februari de productie gelijk. Dat gebeurde ondanks verzoeken van de VS en Europa om een verhoging. Het oliekartel is beducht voor een lagere vraag als gevolg van de slechte economische omstandigheden in de VS.

Er zouden nu binnen de organisatie stemmen opgaan om bij de volgende vergadering de productie naar beneden te brengen.

Bron: http://www.nu.nl/news/144(...)n_de_100_dollar.html

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Op zondag 27 januari 2008 18:02 schreef OpenYourMind het volgende:

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Het pattenteren van gewassen en varkens om zo een monopoliepositie op de voedselmarkt te krijgen. Dit lukt ze ook aardig onder andere doordat Monsanto heel veel vrienden op strategische plaatsen heeft. (zie bovenstaande link van Stupendous76)

Documentaire van Ter Zake.
Ter Zake - Monsanto patenteert varkens

Dit lijkt off topic, maar uiteindelijk gaat het allemaal over dezelfde kliek die d.m.v. het economische systeem en het samensmelten van intelligence, big business, bankiers en corrupte politici een nieuwe wereld orde nastreven in handen van enkele organisaties.

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The Hand-Over That Wasn't: Illegal Orders give the US a Lock on Iraq's Economy

Officially, the U.S. occupation of Iraq ended on June 28, 2004. But in reality, the United States is still in charge: Not only do 138,000 troops remain to control the streets, but the "100 Orders" of L. Paul Bremer III remain to control the economy.

These little noticed orders enacted by Bremer, the now-departed head of the now-defunct Coalition Provisional Authority, go to the heart of Bush administration plans in Iraq. They lock in sweeping advantages to American firms, ensuring long-term U.S. economic advantage while guaranteeing few, if any, benefits to the Iraqi people.

The Bremer orders control every aspect of Iraqi life — from the use of car horns to the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Order No. 39 alone does no less than "transition [Iraq ] from a … centrally planned economy to a market economy" virtually overnight and by U.S. fiat.

Although many thought that the "end" of the occupation would also mean the end of the orders, on his last day in Iraq Bremer simply transferred authority for the orders to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi — a 30-year exile with close ties to the CIA and British intelligence.

Further, the interim constitution of Iraq, written by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, solidifies the orders by making them virtually impossible to overturn.

A sampling of the most important orders demonstrates the economic imprint left by the Bush administration: Order No. 39 allows for: (1) privatization of Iraq's 200 state-owned enterprises; (2) 100% foreign ownership of Iraqi businesses; (3) "national treatment" — which means no preferences for local over foreign businesses; (4) unrestricted, tax-free remittance of all profits and other funds; and (5) 40-year ownership licenses.

Thus, it forbids Iraqis from receiving preference in the reconstruction while allowing foreign corporations — Halliburton and Bechtel, for example — to buy up Iraqi businesses, do all of the work and send all of their money home. They cannot be required to hire Iraqis or to reinvest their money in the Iraqi economy. They can take out their investments at any time and in any amount.

Orders No. 57 and No. 77 ensure the implementation of the orders by placing U.S.-appointed auditors and inspector generals in every government ministry, with five-year terms and with sweeping authority over contracts, programs, employees and regulations.

Order No. 17 grants foreign contractors, including private security firms, full immunity from Iraq's laws. Even if they, say, kill someone or cause an environmental disaster, the injured party cannot turn to the Iraqi legal system. Rather, the charges must be brought to U.S. courts.

Order No. 40 allows foreign banks to purchase up to 50% of Iraqi banks.

Order No. 49 drops the tax rate on corporations from a high of 40% to a flat 15%. The income tax rate is also capped at 15%.

Order No. 12 (renewed on Feb. 24) suspends "all tariffs, customs duties, import taxes, licensing fees and similar surcharges for goods entering or leaving Iraq." This led to an immediate and dramatic inflow of cheap foreign consumer products — devastating local producers and sellers who were thoroughly unprepared to meet the challenge of their mammoth global competitors.

Clearly, the Bremer orders fundamentally altered Iraq's existing laws. For this reason, they are also illegal. Transformation of an occupied country's laws violates the Hague regulations of 1907 (ratified by the United States) and the U.S. Army's Law of Land Warfare. Indeed, in a leaked memo, the British attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, warned Prime Minister Tony Blair that "major structural economic reforms would not be authorized by international law."

Bron: http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0805-07.htm

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Iraqi Order 81 Update It is Even Worse Than Originally Reported

"Prior to the U.S. invasion, agriculture in Iraq was flourishing. The Fertile Crescent had developed a system of farming that was the envy of the world. Now, under Occupation, centuries of progress have been destroyed, almost overnight."

On August 8, 2005 Reuters reported that the Iraqi seed supply is at risk. Below is an excerpt from the Reuters report.

"... The war in Iraq destroyed the country's seed industry, putting the country's domestic food supply at risk, the United Nations food agency said on Monday as it appealed for aid to rebuild farming.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation said it needed $5.4 million to help the agriculture ministry rebuild a seed industry destroyed by the fighting and looting.

"Iraq had a relatively stable and functioning public-sector-controlled seed industry before the war in 2003. After the war, research and seed production facilities have greatly deteriorated," FAO said in a statement.

Iraq can now cover only 4 percent of its demand for quality seeds from its own resources....

If no immediate action is taken, serious seed shortages can be expected in the near future, threatening the country's food security...."

How convenient...perfect timing. What a break for U.S. corporations, such as Monsanto. First outlaw the seeds and then destroy them, or did it happen the other way around. Were the seeds destroyed first and then outlawed? This news story has thus far received very little attention.

The news story about the Iraqi Orders has been virtually ignored by the U.S. press. Order 81 is just one of 100 Orders that have been imposed on the people of Iraq by the U.S. government. These orders are sometimes referred to as the Bremmer Orders. No one in the U.S. or Iraq was ever allowed to cast a vote in the ballot box for any of these Orders. This says a lot about the kind of democracy that the U.S. is imposing on the people of Iraq.

The important information about Iraqi Order 81 is that it was designed to have a major impact on the way farming is done in Iraq. This order prohibits Iraqi farmers from using the methods of agriculture that they have used for centuries. The practice of saving seeds from one year to the next is now illegal in Iraq. Order 81 wages war on Iraqi farmers. They have lost the freedom to choose their own methods of agriculture. The legalese in which the orders are written creates confusion about their exact meaning, but the desired result is obvious. Order 81 prohibits the farmers from using their own seeds, on their own farms, to grow their own crops.

Prior to the U.S. invasion, agriculture in Iraq was flourishing. The Fertile Crescent had developed a system of farming that was the envy of the world. Now, under Occupation, centuries of progress have been destroyed, almost overnight.

The food chain has been under worldwide assault by U.S. corporations for some time now. The Master Race of corporations has seized control of the very essence of life itself. We are now in the age of Genetically Modified Doomsday Seeds. The USDA was complicit in the development of these bastard seeds.

This is not a new phenomenon. It has been a gradual takeover. Remember Percy Schmeiser, the Canadian farmer, who was sued by Monsanto? Not enough people stood up for Percey, so then they came for other farmers. In fact, Monsanto has sued so many farmers that a national hotline (1-888-FARMHLP) has now been set up to assist them.

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Why did the U.S. destroy the seeds? Did the Pentagon mistake the seeds for bombs and WMD's? Think of that as a headline for tomorrow's paper, "CIA confuses pomegranate seeds with WMD's." This sounds like a comedy "headline" from the Leno show. If the survival of thousands of people was not an issue, we could all laugh at the absurdity of this saga. The propagandists will try to convince the world that the destruction of the Iraqi seeds was just a mistake, an accident of war...collateral damage. Iraqi Order 81 proves otherwise. Iraqi Order 81 is proof that the U.S. had a strategic plan which would insure that U.S. corporations would not have to compete with the Iraqi farmers. U.S. corporations don't like competition. The idea of free markets is just a myth. The Predatory Capitalism of the U.S. could not survive without the threat of the military behind it.

Can it be denied that U.S. corporations are seeking total control of the food supply of the planet? After all of the seeds that are owned by farmers are destroyed, it will be necessary for the farmers to purchase them. Those most likely to profiteer are U.S. seed companies. General Smedley Butler was right. War is still a racket.

Bron: http://world.mediamonitor(...)_originally_reported