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Date Posted: 10:07:49 11/03/07 Sat
Author: part 2
Subject: Re: November 3, 2007
In reply to: part 1 's message, "November 3, 2007" on 09:45:02 11/03/07 Sat

UNITED STATES

Schumer and Feinstein Will Support Mukasey for Attorney General,
While Judiciary Committee Chairman Says He'll Vote "No"

Nov. 2 (LPAC)--Shortly after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman
Patrick Leahy announced that he will oppose the confirmation of
Michael B. Mukasey to be President Bush's next Attorney General,
two Judiciary Committee Democrats announced their support for the
nominee--likely assuring his confirmation, unless there is a
dramatic shift over the next week.
Despite Mukasay's refusal to acknowledge what everyone
knows--that waterboarding is torture--Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
announced his support for Mukasey, whose nomination he had
sponsored in the first place. Schumer said he had received
{private} assurances from Mukasay that if Congress outlawed
waterboarding (which is totally unnecessary, since the United
States has treated it as a war crime for a hundred years), he
would not approve it.
Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) soon announced her support
for Mukasey, on the grounds that he "is not Alberto Gonzales."
So far, no Republican has indicated a "no" vote on the
nomination, although Sen. Arlen Specter has been critical of
Mukasey. Unless this changes, Mukasey's nomination is likely to
be voted out of committee by an 11-8 vote, and it will then go to
the Senate floor, where it only needs 51 votes to be approved.
Announcing his opposition earlier today, Leahy asked: "When
the United States cannot declare clearly that waterboarding is
torture, that it is illegal, and that it will not be tolerated,
what does that mean to other governments, and what comfort does
that provide the world's most repressive regimes?... What kind of
double standard does America set if we cannot declare
waterboarding to be illegal?" [mjs/ews]

WESTERN EUROPE

Jacques Cheminade: Shields and Swords for the Republic

Nov. 2 (EIRNS)--In the spirit of LaRouche's Homeowners and Bank
Protection Act, former French Presidential candidate Jacques
Cheminade has drafted a national call to protect "our living
standard," since "the financial crash is not any longer limited
to bank accounts and speculative funds, it descends on our
tables, and hits the price of the energy we consume and the cost
of our housing."
Cheminade's call could not arrive at a better moment: 35,000
to 50,000 Frenchmen got hooked up into "negative amortization"
due to adjustable interest rates, while prices of oil,
agricultural goods, and food are skyrocketing. Over a one-year
period, wheat increased by 140%, soy by 67%, powder milk by 67%,
corn by 50%, and butter by 48%. "The world's inventories of
cereals are at their thirty-years low, in the same way as
inventories of wheat were at their lowest at the eve of the
French Revolution," noted Cheminade, adding that the worst has
still to come: "Inventories will run out, prices will skyrocket,
and human suffering will worsen."
President Nicolas "Sarkozy does not want to hurt the
financial interests which are the cause of the catastrophe," says
Cheminade, but something can be done in the name of those
principles of "natural law" that are "inscribed in our
fundamental laws":
1) "The preamble of the French Constitution states that:
"The nation guarantees the individual and the family the
necessary condition for their development," including "health
protection, material security, rest and leisure." "That basic
principle is above any other legislation. It is part of the
'inalienable and sacred rights' established by our victory
against Nazism and also written in the program of the National
Council of the Resistance of March 15, 1944."
2) The French commerce legislation "stipulates in article
410-2 that if prices of goods and services are freely determined
by the interaction of competition, 'the provisions of the two
first indents do not forbid the government, by decree of the
State Council, to undertake temporary measures motivated by a
crisis situation, under exceptional circumstances.'"
From that standpoint, Cheminade defines three immediate
measures of regulation (shields) and seven offensive measures
(swords):
* Consumption: Price regulation according to a "household
basket of goods";
* Housing: Evictions will be frozen, and payments of monthly
rents and amortizations of credits will be capped below 20% of
people's income.
* Transport: Gasoline and other fuel prices will be kept
down by reintroducing a regulation tax (TIPP).
Beyond protective measures, Cheminade outlined seven
political tasks to win that battle:
1) Reject the European "simplified" treaty which blocks
productive credit;
2) Fight for a Eurasian Land-Bridge perspective of mutual
development insuring world peace;
3) Issue sufficient amounts of credit for physical and human
infrastructure expansion;
4) Fight for a new Bretton Woods that puts the current
financial system officially in bankruptcy reorganization;
5) Create a new institution to develop and regulate a fair
use of natural resources;
6) Return to a parity price system in agriculture;
7) Scrap all fiscal advantages for bio-fuels.
Cheminade concluded that "Without this willingness, the
cupidity of a minority will destroy the resources of the future
of all. The choice is between the collapse of life in a organized
form of society or unprecedented development with modern
technologies, equipment and social justice. That choice depends
on us--and on you who have just read this."

Danish Press Covers Gillesberg election campaign poster

COPENHAGEN, Nov. 2 (LPAC)--Whereas during the last election
campaign in Copenhagen, Schiller Institute chairman Tom
Gillesberg's poster was given the "worst poster award" by one of
the Copenhagen tabloids, the culture critics of another major
daily, {Politiken}, gave this campaign's poster the best poster
award.
Today, there was a half-page color picture of Copenhagen
candidate Tom Gillesberg's election poster on the second page of
the culture section, under the small headline, "The election of a
poster." Tom's poster was chosen because it is different than all
the rest, which just have a picture of the candidate and their
name and party. The text follows:
"The art of making an election poster, part 1: It's not
every day that a chairman of the Schiller Institute runs in the
Danish parliamentary elections. Neither is it every day that such
a candidate runs in the election based on the fact that the
financial world will be cleaned out of speculators, that the
national infrastructure budget should be tripled, and that a fast
maglev should be built which will bring people from Copenhagen to
Aarhus in 25 minutes, and further on to Aalborg. Maybe we need to
have the financial crash first for the message to sink in. That's
what's on the poster, where candidate Tom Gillesberg stands out
from a background of both a Great Belt Bridge and a maglev. And
it's not meant as a joke. When you run as an independent, you can
let yourself do more than just unbutton the top button on your
shirt and smile nicely. It would be an overstatement to say that
election posters on the average have much to do with art. But it
can be an art to make them so that they don't drown in the sea.
The one with Tom Gillesberg in front is a little unique, also as
the poster goes."
The funny thing is that on the same day, the Internet
edition of {Ekstrabladet}, the tabloid associated with
{Politiken}, gave Copenhagen suburbs candidate Feride Istogu
Gillesberg the title of "The Most Mystical Election Poster,"
complete with the poster, a link to Feride's home page, and a
satirical description of her poster, which is actually the same
as Tom's but for her picture. The posters can be seen on the
Danish Schiller Institute's election homepage http://www.sive.dk.
Yesterday, in Aarhus, where the LYM chorus is on tour,
candidate Janus Kramer Moeller had a live interview on the
regional affiliate of the main national radio network, and then
the youth sang one of their election songs, which the host was
thrilled about. He was also interviewed by the regional affiliate
of the second national TV network, which tried to equate the
youth chorus and maglev hats with a publicity stunt. TV coverage
has not been confirmed. [mr_]

Who Is Afraid of the Munich Maglev?

Nov. 2 (LPAC)--A demonstration has been set for Saturday in
Munich by the anti-maglev lobby, led by Munich SPD (Social
Democrat) Lord Mayor Christian Ude, the German Trade Union
Confederation (DGB), and other trade unions, the Greens, and
various other organizations, including a so-called "pro-train
initiative." While the deal has been signed and the financing of
the project has been agreed upon just recently between the German
Federal government, the state of Bavaria, the German Railways,
the Munich airport, Thyssen-Krupp, and Siemens, there are all
sorts of efforts to still derail it. The project can start next
Summer. The poster calling for the anti-demonstration has a
fire-spitting (red) maglev with vampire teeth on it.
In opposition, Helga Zepp-LaRouche's Civil Rights Solidarity
Movement party (BueSo) produced as cartoon of a nice looking
maglev, chasing a locust away.
It should be pointed out, that this is a quite singular
German project to be financed by the state--which is exactly what
is needed, but which the hedge funds and speculators hate. This
is one reason why there is such an energetic, hysterical attempt
to stop it, besides the obvious start-up signal effect for the
implementation of this technology in Germany, Europe, and
Eurasia. In this context, it should be remembered, that the city
of Munich was among the first in the 1990s, to open the door for
participation of the municipalities in derivatives (interest
swap) contracts; today, the Stadtsparkasse (City Savings Bank)
Munich is also among those banks, which is trying to push ahead
with the sale of their customers' loans to non-banks.
So, the question must be posed, as the BueSo does in a new
statement, which was sent today to the institutions and press in
Munich, whether the Lord Mayor with his hysterical campaign wants
to deflect from the intertwining of Munich's finances with the
globalized, now collapsing financial system. The BueSo statement
points out the significance of this high-tech infrastructure
project, which presents a chance to change paradigms in favor of
a New Deal policy, versus the alternative of financial crash,
hyperinflation and fascism, if the speculators can roam around
freely. It also says, that if Roosevelt had not implemented the
New Deal, fascism could have never been defeated, and Munich
might still be the "capital of the movement." It ends by asking
Munich citizens to consider, that Ude is just a "'68er," while
the maglev is a "500er."
From the other side, two citizens referenda, one at the time
of the upcoming municipal elections in spring, the other one in
September for the legislative elections, are in the making,
although it is quite doubtful, whether they will succeed in
getting the needed amount of signatures. Then, the airport
management is under attack, since the city of Munich, which
opposes the project, has a 26% stake in the airport consortium
and claims that decisions to expand the airport, require a
unanimous vote of all shareholders (the other ones being the
German state and the state of Bavaria). The other venue, of
course, is Brussels; financial contributions from there are
expected to be 50 million, but doubts are raised whether this
will be done. In a new twist, the discussion is that the deal
might fall through, since Siemens and Thyssen Krupp are both
paying into the project, which would violate "competition" rules,
which the EU competition commissar should look into!
In a probably related move, to put pressure on the airport
management, which is highly favorable to the maglev, since the
Munich airport is located outside any high-speed connections from
Munich, Michael Cramer (European Green Parliamentarian) is
pushing forward a suit against the airport for having subsidized
fuel prices for airlines.
Bavarian Minister President Beckstein, in a long interview
in the {Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung} today, has meanwhile
again confirmed the necessity of the maglev project, stressing
that this is "a German technology project." He also reminded the
readers, that already in the coalition between SPD and Greens in
1998 a maglev line for Germany was agreed upon (not to speak of
the current government's coalition agreement). (efi)

Italian Anti-Derivative Initiative Sabotaged by EU Guidelines

Nov. 2 (LPAC)--The Italian Parliament was supposed to vote on a
bipartisan amendment to the budget law, introducing strict
regulations for derivatives contracts bought by public
administrations (regions, provinces, and communes), but a recent
EU guideline is threatening to take the teeth out of the bill.
First, the amendment was supposed to include three elements:
government supervision prior to contract signing; a 5% cap
related to total debt; and shared risks by customer and bank, in
case the risk penalty exceeds figures included in the contract.
But the first element was eliminated by the conservatives
(probably due to Lega Nord influence) as damaging the
"independence" of local governments. Then, the 5% cap was taken
away; and finally, the speaker for the budget law argued that the
shared risk stipulation could not be introduced, as the new EU
guidelines, called Mifid, in effect starting Nov. 1 throughout
Europe, exclude such a shared risk.
As of yesterday, the conservative co-sponsor of the
amendment, Sen. Cinzia Bonfrisco (FI), still insisted on having
the shared risk provision included in the text. The new EU Mifid
guidelines are a further deregulation of financial activities as,
among other things, it expands the possibility for a larger
category of non-banks and non-funds to sell financial products,
on markets other than the stock exchange. [ccc]

Breakup of Nations

Nov. 2 (LPAC)--For the London {Financial Times} to devote
attention to three particular fronts of the oligarchy's strategy
for the "Breakup of Nations," reflects both processes engineered
by City of London circles, as well as the role of the City
"ministry for propaganda" in spreading self-fulfilling
prophecies. The Balkans, the Caucasus, and, of course, Belgium
are the target of attention. On the Belgian front, next Tuesday
the 1988 record length for a government crisis will be matched,
with 149 consecutive days. The stalemate is being provoked by the
separatist drive on the Brussels district issue, which, if
conceded, can unleash the breakup of Belgium altogether.
The newest development is in Georgia, where Rupert Murdoch
just bought the main opposition TV, and, with it, the main
opposition leader, Patarkatsishvili. Although the current Georgia
government is hostile to Russia, the Kremlin was the first to
react, saying that Murdoch is buying the opposition. The fact is
that Patarkatsishvili is reported to be close to Berezovsky, and
that his long-term plan is to bring monarchy back to Georgia! The
{Financial Times] interviews the head of Murdoch's NewsCorp for
Europe, Marty Pompadur.
In the Balkans, yesterday the head of the Bosnian government
resigned. The whole situation there is rigged from the outside,
if one realizes that the EU High Commissioner for Bosnia is a
Slovenian, Miroslav Lajcak, which guarantees partiality on
post-Jugoslavian affairs from the start. Also, one should ask
whose hand is using the Slovenian glove in this highly intricate
situation, where a regional-only approach is destined to failure.
The EU, by applying policies of supranational government, is
working as a tool of the British Empire.
Bosnian Premier Nikola Spiric, in resigning yesterday, said
that with Lajcak's role, "It does not matter if I am the head of
that state, or Bart Simpson." Apparently, the current issue is
Lajcak's decision to enforce a majority rule system seen by the
"Republika Serbska" as discriminatory.
In the Balkan context, a major provocation was defused by
the Italian government last Monday, when it stopped the planned
issue of a postal stamp featuring the former Italian city of
Fiume (Rijaka), currently part of Croatia. The stamp, planned by
a minister of the previous Berlusconi government, would have
unleashed an uproar in Croatia adding fuel to the flames.
To round out the picture, two days ago, the United States
issued an ultimatum on Kosovo, soliciting the EU and Russia to
agree on a solution for independence at the next meeting on Nov.
10, or the United States will withdraw its troops next January.
That is the message that both Stephen Hadley and Robert Gates
delivered to visiting Italian Defense minister Arturo Parisi on
Oct. 29-30, according to {Il Giornale}. [ccc]

Tremonti Brings Anti-Globalization Show to Leftist Quarters

Nov. 2 (LPAC)--Giulio Tremonti repeated his anti-globalization
show yesterday. This time, he was the guest speaker at the most
left-radical tv show, run on Raidue by a host who is a notorious
jacobin, Michele Santoro. Santoro was evidently impressed by
Tremonti's recent outings at "Porta a Porta," and decided to have
him as the main speaker on the issue of the mounting social
crisis in Italy as a result of increasing home, food, and fuel
prices. Tremonti challenged the other studio guest, the head of
the Adam Smith Society, calling him a "mercantile capitalist" and
at one point saying: "You do not care about peoples' lives, oh
yes, you are an economist."
Tremonti repeated his attack on globalization, free trade,
and the current system bailout. He came very close to saying that
we are headed towards a crash, and said that "only when we all
come back to reason will a solution be found." At the end, the
host asked whether Tremonti's statements did not sound more
"socialist" than the current center-left government. This is a
major change, as the left has always considered him as an enemy
and for instance sabotaged his Action Plan for Growth (Tremonti
plan) in 2001. Tremonti said: "I do not know wheter it is
leftwing or rightwing, but I have a proposal on mortgages," and
repeated his idea of offering a tax relief to banks in exchange
for freezing mortgage rates. [ccc]

RUSSIA

Lugovoy Accuses MI-6 in Litvinenko case

Nov. 2 (LPAC)--On the anniversary of the death of Alexander
Litvinenko, Andrei Lugovoy and his business partner, Dmitri
Kovtun, gave a press conference in Moscow, during which they
claimed that Litvinenko may have been involved in the nuclear
black market while on the payroll of MI6. Kovtun was with Lugovoy
for a business meeting with Litvinenko in London.
According to the London {Times}' report, Kovtun, who
appeared to have aged considerably in the past year, said that
doctors had found a rather large amount of polonium in his body
after Litvinenko's death. He claimed that his death could have
been an accident.
"It's perfectly possible that his death was just an
unfortunate accident, and Britain's MI6 intelligence service
found itself in a ridiculous situation," Kovtun said.
Lugovoy added: "This is a serious possibility that needs
checking. What if Litvinenko grew careless with polonium? How was
his former boss [in MI6] supposed to explain his death?" Lugovoy
accused Litvinenko of being a paid MI6 agent, and said that
Scotland Yard was ignoring evidence that contradicted the case
against him. He said there had been no trace of polonium-210 on
an aircraft that had brought him and Kovtun to London for their
meeting. But traces were found in the office where they had met
Litvinenko and on their seats in the plane that brought them
back. Lugovoy said that this demonstrated that the polonium-210
had originated in Britain and not Russia, as Scotland Yard
claimed. "We wanted British police to pay attention to this, as
the traces lead not from Russia to Britain but {vice versa}," he
said. In addition a SIM card in a mobile telephone handed to
Lugovoy by Litvinenko, which the former said was part of an MI6
attempt to recruit him, had also tested positive for
polonium-210. "There has always been the invisible presence of
the British MI6 around this scandal and they will do everything
to mislead the investigation. They can jump up and down as much
as they want and scream that the British justice system is the
best in the world, but whenever the British spy agency is
involved there can be no talk of objectivity and justice." [dea]

SOUTHWEST ASIA

Istanbul Talks Begin Amidst Turkey's Growing Distrust of the
United States

Nov. 2 (LPAC)--The two-day (Nov. 2-3) Istanbul meeting, which
plans to envision a future Iraq, brought together the foreign
ministers of Iraq's neighbors, the five permanent members of the
UN Security Council, and the Group of Eight nations. This is the
second such meeting, the first one having been held at Sharm
al-Shaikh, Egypt last May.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki on Oct. 31
urged Teheran to help defuse the crisis with Turkey over Kurdish
rebels, and called for Iran's support at a conference on Iraq
this week. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Reza Baqeri
reportedly said on arriving for the early portion of the
conference on Nov. 2, that Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki
will present a "a very important plan for Iraq and the Iraqi
people" at the Nov. 3 talks.
Although a senior Turkish official has promised the local
media that Turkey will not turn this high-level parley into a
single-issue "fight against the PKK," it is evident that the
Turkish officials will let the visiting U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice know what they think of the U.S. role
{vis-a-vis} the PKK terrorists' operations inside Turkey.
On Nov. 5, Turkish Prime Minister Raycep Erdogan will be in
Washington to meet President Bush, and it is almost a certainty
that the threat posed by the PKK terrorists, who, Turkey
suspects, are protected by the United States, will be on the top
of the agenda. It is also a certainty that if Bush does not give
credible assurances to Erdogan, a Turkish military intervention
into northern Iraq will be almost inevitable, said former U.S.
Ambassador to Turkey Mark Parris, while talking to the {Turkish
Daily News}. [RMA]

U.S. Blames Russia and China for Blocking Further Sanctions on
Iran

Nov. 2 (LPAC)--Representing the United States at the Six-Nation
Talks at London on Nov. 2, Undersecretary of State for Political
Affairs Nicholas Burns blamed Russia and China--major trading
partners with Iran--for effectively blocking moves at the United
Nations towards a third sanctions resolution for six months. The
United States imposed economic sanctions last week and has not
ruled out military action against Iran.
The London meeting involved officials from five permanent
members of the UN Security Council (UNSC)--the United States,
Russia, China, Britain, and France--plus Germany. The objective
of the talks was to continue with the push by the United States
and the United Kingdom to discuss imposing a third round of
sanctions on Iran, because of its refusal to stop enriching
uranium. The London meeting took place at a time when Iran was
having discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) on its nuclear program.
Although the six agreed to push ahead with a third round of
UN sanctions against Iran, they decided to meet again on Nov. 19
to assess reports from Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the UN atomic
watchdog, and from European Union foreign policy chief Javier
Solana, before pushing for further sanctions at the UNSC.
Meanwhile, on Nov. 1, upon Saudi King Abdullah's return from
United Kingdom, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said
every effort will be made to avert a military confrontation
between United States and Iran. "We have proposed a solution,
which is to create a consortium for all users of enriched uranium
in the Middle East," Foreign Minister al-Faisal told the Middle
East Economic Digest (MEED).
Indicating that Iran is considering the proposal, Prince
Saud said he envisages building a plant in a neutral country. "We
believe it should be in a neutral country--Switzerland, for
instance," said Prince Saud. [RMA]

West Bank Hamas Leaders and President Abu Mazen Meet in Ramallah

Nov. 2 (EIRNS)--Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met
with four West Bank Hamas leaders at the Muqata compound in
Ramallah, following Friday prayers, reports the Palestinian news
agency WAFA, and the {New York Times}. It is the first time that
Abbas has met any Hamas leaders since the collapse of the
National Unity Government in June, 2007, following allegations
that Fatah faction leaders were plotting the assassinations of
Hamas officials, that led to a Hamas move to oust all Fatah
security and political officials from Gaza locations. The bitter
split led President Abbas--under Bush Administration and Israeli
government pressure--to declare a new government, which dissolved
the elected government of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
According to the {New York Times}, President Abbas today
"hosted a group including Nasser el-din al-Shaer, former Deputy
Prime Minister in the first Hamas government; Ahmed Abu Ruman;
Hussein Abu Qweik; and Ayman Daraghmeh. They first attended
prayers in a mosque in Mr. Abbas's compound, then met in his
office."
The Palestinian Media Centre, affiliated with the PLO, which
President Abbas heads, reported on Nov. 1 that Mr. al-Shaer, has
criticized the Hamas leadership in Gaza. "As for the current
division," reports the PMC, "al-Sha'er called on the factions to
review their stances and look for reasonable solutions to reunite
the Palestinians and overcome the crisis."
Last week at the annual conference of the National Council
on U.S.-Arab Relations, political analyst, Mark Perry, a
co-director of the Conflicts Forum, forcefully called for the
United States to stop its useless boycott of the
popularly-supported Hamas, and to immediately invite the
organization--which won the majority in the 2006 Palestinian
elections to participate in the Middle East peace conference that
Bush called for. Unless Hamas was included, warned Perry, the
Bush meeting in Annapolis was doomed to "oblivion." Perry
compared the Bush administration's stubborn insistence that Hamas
has no support to the 20 years of U.S. relations that recognized
Taiwan as the "real China." (mjs)

Retired General Criticizes U.S. for Allowing PKK To Run
Operations

Nov. 2 (EIRNS)--The retired U.S. general who briefly served as
the Administration envoy to the Kurds in Iraq, criticized the
United States for failing to deliver on promises to Turkey to
combat the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). In a brief interview
to McClatchy Newspapers, Retired Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston
said he was frustrated by the U.S. failure to take action against
the PKK, reported journalist Warren Strobel. "In his first
extended comments since his departure, Ralston told McClatchy
Newspapers that the United States is unwittingly 'driving,
strategically, the Turks and the Iranians together' because both
nations share concerns about violent Kurdish separatist groups,"
wrote Strobel.
Ralston also told the paper, "The U.S. government should
make good on the commitments they have made to the Turks."
These are the first extended comments that Ralston has made
since leaving the position, which Washington sources attribute to
his frustration with the White House. His comments are published
in the midst of an intense two-day conference where the United
States is trying to convince the Turkish government not to cross
the border of Iraq in pursuit of the PKK. The upcoming issue of
{Executive Intelligence Review} will carry a major analysis piece
on the PKK issue. (mjs)

British To Deploy Fleet During Possible Attack on Iran

Nov. 2 (LPAC)--The British Navy announced it will deploy its {HMS
Illustrious} aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf along with a
Type 42 destroyer and a Type 23 frigate next Spring. Also, two
minesweepers and three support vessels will be included. The
entire operation will be called "Operation Orion 08." They will
cruise for six months in the Gulf, Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea.
The London {Daily Telegraph}, in reporting this, writes,
"Their presence may coincide with a crucial period in the West's
confrontation with Iran." It adds, "Observers believe that the
Spring is the last possible moment" for a strike against Iran by
the Bush Administration. [dea]

CENTRAL ASIA

Galloping Pakistan Crisis May Slow Down the Get-Iran Crowd

Nov. 2 (LPAC)--Although the Iran crisis was discussed during U.S.
Commander of CENTCOM, Admiral William J. Fallon's meeting with
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Nov. 1 in Islamabad, it
is evident that the rapidity with which Pakistan and
Afghanistan's security situation has deteriorated during the last
couple weeks, the crisis has forced Pentagon to focus on
Pakistan, and veer away from Iran, at least momentarily. That
became somewhat clearer when U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates pointed out on Nov. 1 that the U.S. military has noticed a
decline in Iran-linked bombs in Iraq.
However, the rapid deterioration of Pakistan's security
situation on its border with Afghanistan has forced Admiral
Fallon to come to Islamabad. It is likely that the U.S. troops,
with the full cooperation of President Musharraf, will make a
sweep through Pakistan's tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier
Province (NWFP), with the intent of securing the area by
eliminating the anti-U.S. and anti-Musharraf militants. Pakistani
media reported that in the past three days, Musharraf has held
several high-level meetings that included all four provincial
chief ministers. The discussions centered on the issue of
extraordinary powers. It is likely that Admiral Fallon will give
the nod to President Musharraf to impose emergency rule in light
of the precarious security situation.
Since mid-October, Pakistan has been ravaged by bombers. On
Oct. 18, the day Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after eight
years of self-imposed exile, a suicide bomber blew himself up,
killing about 140 people. On Oct. 29, an attempt was made on
President Musharraf's life at the garrison town of Rawalpindi, a
few kilometers east of Islamabad. Musharraf escaped unhurt, but
two days later, a suicide bomber blew up an Air Force bus to kill
nine Pakistani Air Force officers, including a squadron leader,
in Sargodha, Punjab. [RMA]

************************************************************
MEXICO OPERATIONS REPORT
NOVEMBER 1, 2007
************************************************************

Today we began our deployment at a stoplight near the office. We
are continuing our regular deployments at the Juarez monument,
carrying with us the Dr. Moon model to explain the Keplerian
atom. Since Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead today, we
displayed a wreath, little skulls, and a tombstone of Finance
Secretary Carstens in the form of an enormous circle, since he is
even fatter than Al-Gordo (aka Al Gore).
Discussions were very good. We concentrated on a "working
psychologist" with the mind of an accountant. His argument was
that we had to seek out people with experience and, above all, to
exercise "quality control" over the people who join the movement,
because if they don't have experience, it will be more difficult,
and we will thus be unable to change the economic system. For
him, everything was a matter of "experience." And so we asked
him, "How do you know that you don't like men? Have you had some
intimate experience with a man and discovered that they don't
please you?" Imagine. A guy who says, Oh yes, I have changed the
world three times. I can do it again. Of course!
The interesting thing about this discussion was that he
returned to leave us his information, a contribution, and to say,
"Perhaps you're right. Perhaps I am too cowardly to do what you
guys do. But I believe that this can be changed."
Well, it was a good experience if we consider that his mind
was changed. Some people change at moments of crisis. On the
other hand, we spoke with a guy who was a university researcher
and said that it is better that the United States is an importer,
since this gives jobs to poor nations. He finally understood that
it is madness to be the importer for nearly 70% of what it
consumes, not only because of the economic dependency it entails
but also because it eliminates the ability to grow if a nation
doesn't have its own productive process.
We spoke with a lot of youth, did some science pedagogicals
and had a lot of fun.
Just a small note:
Those who reacted best to the Jose Lopez Portillo campaign
are the youth. The boomers are often capable of forgetting their
good times by not recognizing that Lopez Portillo was right and
had balls. We are thinking of taking the campaign to another
level, but this will depend on the program of study that we are
having here with regard to the physical economy of 1976-1982, and
now.
Caro, LYM Mexico

*** END OF BRIEFING ***

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