"The American Inquisition" by Michel Chossudovsky
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Mort Zuckerman
Sep 12, 2008, 8:51:30 PM9/12/08
to corrupticourts
To: Kathleen <janmu...@earthlink.net>, john....@fda.hhs.gov,
Miss...@aol.com, zerh...@od.nih.gov, Spin...@yahoogroups.com,
kshe...@calea.org, fit...@gmail.com, patrick.f...@usdoj.gov,
model...@sbcglobal.net, jdr...@nejm.org, let...@courant.com,
Jgerb...@cdc.gov, michae...@po.state.ct.us,
con...@po.state.ct.us, executiv...@nytimes.com, managing-
edi...@nytimes.com, news...@nytimes.com, the-...@nytimes.com,
biz...@nytimes.com, for...@nytimes.com, me...@nytimes.com,
nati...@nytimes.com, dv...@cdc.gov, brigidc...@optonline.net,
tr...@hotmail.com, illino...@aol.com, jle...@courant.com,
tinaj...@yahoo.com, jhorn...@fff.org, thomas...@usdoj.gov,
thoma...@po.state.ct.us, kur...@washpost.com,
georg...@washpost.com, p...@allegorypress.com,
commissi...@po.state.ct.us, FalN...@aol.com,
brans...@comcast.net, vts...@comcast.net, o...@po.state.ct.us,
freet...@charter.net, scott....@po.state.ct.us,
govern...@po.state.ct.us, attorney...@po.state.ct.us,
randall...@usdoj.gov
Cc: fra...@ucia.gov, dr-ahma...@president.ir,
eugener...@washpost.com, hor...@courant.com,
bmi...@newstimes.com, tr...@hotmail.com, rast...@aol.com,
billc...@gmail.com, amcg...@rms-law.com, rjmu...@aol.com,
paulcrai...@yahoo.com, sidney_b...@yahoo.com,
criminal...@usdoj.gov, karla.d...@usdoj.gov,
christophe...@usdoj.gov
Subject: The Inquisition....Re: Missy for vice POTUS
Date: Sep 12, 2008 8:48 PM
"Al Qaeda is not an outside enemy but a creation of US foreign policy
and the
CIA"
This is an amazing story (below). It's exactly like what
happens with DCF: False accusations, you're not
allowed to know who your accusers are, you're not
allowed to refute the perjury of the nitwitnesses,
your phone and house is bugged so that the DCF knows
exactly what your defense will be, so they deflect
that by calling all your witnesses and lying their
eyeballs out about you. They change what they're charging
you with as many as three times,... since it is not about
child welfare, but letting you know who owns your
kids, and that, especially, psychotropics are *all*
brain damaging but DCF and DMHAS do not do scientific
reality, since consider... what would place is there
for reality in a world of drunken, sleazy pinheads
who don't want to actually work for a living?
Good story.
All psychotropics are brain damaging, Lyme Disease
is a hoax, as was 911, but the USDOJ and FBI can't
acquire a Y chromosome despite their new expertise
in DNA (anthrax).
But, see, I've already been declared a "Unabomber
terrorist," and the rest of the world is watching.
The Homelames, the State Department and the Pentagon-
every division of the US military already know the world
is watching this Yale's sex-OCD-Perjure-and-Pervery, Yale's
Lyme crymes, the DCF's Drunken Sleazo-rama, and
their Little-Boy-Penis-Biting Show...
It's been good, overall. All anyone has to do to
get a bead on "democracy" is watch what duh DCF gets
away with:
http://www.actionlyme.org/andersonpenisbiter.htm
Including "Military-Type" tortures or stress positions
forced on the little, kidnapped, penis-bitten children:
http://www.actionlyme.org/INKEL_MOTION_APPEARANCE.htm
It's all amazingly here in this Inquisition story.
Kathleen M. Dickson
-------
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10144
9/11 and the "American Inquisition"
by Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, September 11, 2008
Email this article to a friend
Print this article
StumbleUpon Submit
Today's "Global War on Terrorism" is a modern form of inquisition.
It has all the essential ingredients of the French and Spanish
inquisitions.
Going after " Islamic terrorists", carrying out a Worldwide preemptive
war to " protect the Homeland" are used to justify a military agenda.
"The Global War on Terrorism" (GWOT) is presented as a "Clash of
Civilizations", a war between competing values and religions, when in
reality
it is an outright war of conquest, guided by strategic and economic
objectives.
The GWOT is the ideological backbone of the American Empire. It
defines US military
doctrine, including the preemptive use of nuclear weapons against the
"state
sponsors" of terrorism.
The preemptive "defensive war" doctrine and the "war on terrorism"
against Al Qaeda constitute essential building blocks of America's
National
Security Strategy as formulated in early 2002. The objective is to
present "preemptive
military action" --meaning war as an act of "self-defense" against
two categories of enemies, "rogue States" and "Islamic terrorists",
both of which are said to possess weapons of mass destruction.
The logic of the "outside enemy" and the evildoer, allegedly
responsible
for American civilian deaths, prevails over common sense. In the inner
consciousness
of Americans, the attacks of September 11, 2001 justify acts of war
and conquest:
"As was demonstrated by the losses on September 11, 2001, mass
civilian
casualties is the specific objective of terrorists and these losses
would be exponentially
more severe if terrorists acquired and used weapons of mass
destruction." (National
Security Strategy, White House, Washington, 2002)
America's Inquisition
The legitimacy of the inquisition is not questioned. The "Global War
on Terrorism"
justifies a mammoth defense budget at the expense not only of health
and education,
but of virtually every single category of public expenditure.
The "Global War on Terrorism" requires "going after" the terrorists,
using advanced weapons systems. It upholds a preemptive religious-like
crusade against
evil, which serves to obscure the real objectives of military action.
The lies underlying 9/11 are known and documented. The American
people's acceptance
of this crusade against evil is not based on any rational
understanding or analysis
of the facts.
America's inquisition is used to extend America's sphere of influence
and
justify military intervention, as part of an international campaign
against "Islamic
terrorists". Its ultimate objective, which is never mentioned in press
reports,
is territorial conquest and control over strategic resources.
The GWOT dogma is enunciated and formulated by Washington's
neoconservative
think tanks. It is carried out by the military-intelligence
establishment. It is
embodied in presidential speeches and press conferences:
"We've been warned there are evil people in this world. We've been
warned so vividly. ... And we'll be alert. Your government is alert.
The governors
and mayors are alert that evil folks still lurk out there. As I said
yesterday,
people have declared war on America and they have made a terrible
mistake. ... My
administration has a job to do and we're going to do it. We will rid
the world
of the evil-doers," (George W. Bush, CNN, September 16, 2001)
The objective of the "Global War on Terrorism" launched in September
2001
is to galvanize public support for a Worldwide campaign against
heresy. In the eyes
of public opinion, possessing a "just cause" for waging war is
central.
A war is said to be Just if it is waged on moral, religious or ethical
grounds.
The Demonization of Muslims and the Battle for Oil
The US led war in the broader Middle East Central Asian region
consists in gaining
control over extensive reserves of oil and natural gas. The Anglo-
American oil giants
also seek to gain control over oil and gas pipeline routes out of the
region. (See
table and maps below).
Muslim countries possess 66 percent of total oil reserves. (Michel
Chossudovsky,
The "Demonization" of Muslims and the Battle for Oil, Global Research,
Jannuary 4, 2007). In contrast, the United States of America has
barely 2 percent
of total oil reserves. Iraq has five times more oil than the United
States.
Demonization is applied to an enemy, which possesses more than 60
percent of the
world's oil reserves. "Axis of evil", "rogue States", "failed
nations", "Islamic terrorists": demonization and vilification are
the ideological pillars of America's Inquisition. They serve as a
casus belli
for waging the battle for oil.
The Battle for Oil requires the demonization of those who possess the
oil. The enemy
is characterized as evil, with a view to justifying military action
including the
mass killing of civilians. (Ibid)
Historical Origins of the Inquisition
The objective is to sustain the illusion that "America is under
attack"
by Al Qaeda. Under the American inquisition, Washington has a self-
proclaimed holy
mandate to extirpate Islamic fundamentalism and "spread democracy"
throughout
the world.
"Going after Bin Laden" is part of a consensus. Fear and insecurity
prevail
over common sense. Despite the evidence, the White House, the State
Department,
the two Party system, cannot, in the minds of Americans, be held
responsible for
a criminal act (9/11/) resulting in the deaths of American civilians.
What we are dealing with is an outright and blind acceptance of the
structures of
power and political authority.
In this regard, the American Inquisition as an ideological construct,
is, in many
regards, similar to the inquisitorial social order prevailing in
France and Spain
during the Middle Ages. The inquisition, which started in France in
the 12th century,
was used as a justification for conquest and military intervention.
Initially it took the form of a campaign in southern France directed
against the
Cathars and Waldensians, which challenged the teachings of the Roman
Catholic Church.
The Cathar movement was a religious sect which was protected by the
regional feudal
order in southern France, against the dominion of the Catholic Church
and the French
monarchy in Paris. "The Cathars believed they were the true Christians
and
the Catholic Church was a false church, founded by the devil."
In the early 13th Century, "Pope Innocent III declared a crusade
against the
Cathars" at the behest of the French royal family. The crusade was in
fact
a war of conquest under the disguise of a campaign against heresy.
The Inquisition directed against heresy was intended to consolidate
the Monarchy's
territorial control. It provided a pretext to intervene militarily in
south and
southwestern France, using the authority of the Catholic Church as a
façade.
The inquisition became part of a political consensus, carried out by
the Church's
inquisitors, imposed by the ruling feudal order and supported
militarily. Its purpose
was to maintain and sustain the social and political order, extend the
powers of
the central State, subjugate regional powers in France, using the
campaign against
heresy as "a justification to wage war". Sounds familiar?
Today's Inquisitorial Order
Anybody who doubts the legitimacy of the American inquisition (9/11
and the "Global
War on Terrorism") is a heretic conspiracy theorist or an accomplice
of the
terrorists.
The American Inquisition is part of a Bipartisan Consensus. Both the
Democrats and
the Republicans support the American Inquisition.
"Going after Osama bin Laden" is part of the election platform of both
political parties. In fact it is the central component of the election
campaign:
I [Barack Obama] argued for more resources and more troops to
finish the fight
against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made
clear that we
must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in
our sights
(Barack Obama, Acceptance Speech, National Democratic Convention,
Denver, August
2008)
We have dealt a serious blow to al Qaeda in recent years. But they
are not defeated,
and they’ll strike us again if they can. (John McCain, Acceptance
Speech, Republican
National Convention, St Paul, September 2008)
There is an "outside enemy". The Homeland is under attack. Islamic
terrorists
"threaten our way of life". "We must defend ourselves" preemptively
against Osama and his lieutenants.
US Northern Command (Northcom), with headquarters at the Petersen Air
Force base
in Colorado was established in early 2002 to protect America against a
terrorist
attack. It was presented to public opinion as a response to the 9/11
attacks. The
real strategic objectives of Northern Command using sophisticated aero
defense weapons
including nuclear warheads, are not mentioned.
Political Consensus
The mouthpiece of America's inquisitorial order is the Western
corporate media.
People who question the validity of any of these statements or who
have doubts about
who is behind the 9/11 attacks, are considered to be accomplices of
those who threaten
the American Homeland.
In 1232, Pope Gregory IX set up a system of special religious courts
called the
inquisition. The Dominican friars were sent out to find and question
heretics:
"Heresy cannot be destroyed unless heretics are destroyed and ...
their
defenders and [supporters] are destroyed, and this is effected in two
ways: ...
they are converted to the true catholic faith, or ... burned. (Henry
Charles Lea,
A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, p. 535, 1887)
Those who refused to recant, which means give up their heresy, were
burned alive.
Today's Patriot Act, the military courts, the Guantanamo concentration
camp,
the CIA rendition camps, Abu Ghraib, etc., are part of an advanced
inquisitorial
system. Terrorist suspects are held incommunicado. They are tortured,
tried by military
courts and sentenced. They are not given the right to recant.
The objective is not to "make the World safer" by putting the
terrorists
behind bars.
The show trials of the alleged terrorists perform an important social
function.
They are an integral part of Pentagon's disinformation campaign. Quite
concretly,
they give a real face to the enemy. They sustain the illusion, in the
inner consciousness
of Americans, that the "Islamic terrorists" constitute a real threat.
The arrests, trials and sentences of "Islamic terrorists" sustain the
legitimacy of America's Homeland Security State and its inquisitorial
legal
and law enforcement apparatus.
The ultimate objective is to instill in the minds of millions of
Americans that
the enemy is real and the US Adminstration will protect the lives of
its citizens.
Manufacturing Dissent
Washington does not silence its antiwar critics. Quite the opposite.
The inquisitorial
social order allows certain forms of dissent. It is politically
correct under a
"democracy" to condemn US foreign policy in the strongest terms.
What is not allowed is to question the inquisition.
Those who oppose the US Administration are not branded as heretics.
Many "Progressives",
Liberals and Antiwar activists, led by prominent intellectuals, firmly
believe that
Muslims were behind the 9/11 attacks. "We are against the war, but we
support
the war on terrorism."
The New World Order builds a political and media consensus (i.e. the
GWOT) but at
the same time it creates and moulds its own opposition. It establishes
the limits
of dissent. It "manufactures dissent".
The presidential candidates in the bipartisan race are supported by
powerful corporate
interests including the oil companies, Wall Street and the defense
contractors.
At the same time, these same corporate interests, through their
various foundations
(including Ford, Rockefeller, Gates, et al), support and finance a
number of Liberal/Progressive
organizations and alternative media.
9/11 is the cornerstone of the American Inquisition.
The lies underlying 9/11 are accepted by the mainstream antiwar
movement.
US foreign policy is condemned, but the "Global War on Terrorism" is
upheld.
Wittingly or unwittingly, this endorsement of the GWOT by those who
claim to be
opposed to the US administration, provides a legitimacy to the
inquisitorial order,
which underlies the actual practice of US foreign policy.
On the other hand, those who have serious doubts regarding the
official 9/11 narrative,
including the 9/11 Truth Movement, are branded as heretics and
nonbelievers.
The "Just War" theory
The "Just War" theory (justum bellum) has a longstanding tradition. It
has been used throughout history to uphold the dominant social order
and provide
a justification for waging war.
In the case of Afghanistan, 9/11 played a key role in justifying the
invasion. The
war on Afghanistan was considered a "Just War", waged on humanitarian
grounds.
On September 12, 2001, NATO invoked for the first time in its history
"Article
5 of the Washington Treaty - its collective defense clause" declaring
the 9/11
attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) and the Pentagon "to be an
attack
against all NATO members."
Afghanistan was tagged, without a shred of evidence and prior to the
conduct of
an investigation, as the "state sponsor" of the 9/11 attacks. The
invasion
of Afghanistan in early October 2001 was presented as a counter-
terrorism operation
directed against the perpetrators of 9/11 and their state sponsors.
Trade unions, NGOs and many "progressive" intellectuals endorsed the
US-NATO
led invasion. The events of 9/11 played a key role in gaining the
support of various
sectors of American society including the opponents and critics of the
Bush adminstration's
foreign policy.
The war on Afghanistan was prepared prior to 9/11. War preparations
were already
in an advanced stage of readiness. The green light to wage war by the
US and NATO
on Afghanistan was provided within 24 hours of the 9/11 attacks.
The press reports failed to reveal a fact which is known and
acknowledged by military
analysts: a major theater war cannot, under any circumstances, be
planned and carried
out in a matter of 4-5 weeks.
9/11 was used as a justification to carry out a "humanitarian war".
Known
to military analysts, the war on Afghanistan had been planned well in
advance of
the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
The Spanish Inquisition
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Inquisition spread to other parts
of Europe.
In Italy, the inquisition went after nationalist movements in regions
like Lombardy
in the north, Venice, or Sicily. It was used to suppress these
political movements.
In northern France and Germany, the inquisition used the pretext of
small mystical
sects, to intervene politically and militarily. Regional powers
including local
principalities refused to cooperate with the inquisition. In today's
world,
this form of interventionism is carried out by sending in US special
forces to "help
governments" to combat terrorism.
Spain, conquered by Muslims and in part reconquered by Christians in
the 13th Century,
was "religiously heterogeneous, and a tolerance had developed so
Muslims, Christians,
and Jews could live together in relative peace." Toward the end of the
15th
Century, coinciding with a period of political and territorial
consolidation, "Spanish
tolerance changed abruptly. Spain saw the rise of a form of
inquisition more ruthless
and disruptive than anywhere else in Europe." (Bill of Rights in
Action)
The Spanish inquisition was also characterized by a process of
building a consensus,
of going after the heretics and nonbelievers. The inquisition was used
to support
the process of territorial consolidation in the Iberian peninsula. The
objective
was to reinforce the absolute monarchy and the powers of the landed
aristocracy
against the Muslim and Jewish merchant classes.
The Spanish Inquisition was executed at the behest of Queen Isabel,
Reina Catolica.
In 1483, The Reyes Catolicos, Isabel de Castilla and Ferdinando de
Aragon, established
a Council to direct the Inquisition. Tomas de Torquemada, an advisor
to Isabel become
the first General Inquisitor. Torquemado had previously preached
against the Jewish
and Muslim Converts (Conversos). The objective was to repress the
upcoming merchant
classes. "One country, one ruler, one faith" became the mandate of the
General Inquisitor.
Goya's Inquisition
The pope upheld the inquisition, the hidden agenda was the feudal
order and the
Spanish led colonial wars. The Spanish inquisition lasted for 300
years.
Today in America, the General inquisitor is the Secretary of the
Department of Homeland
Security.
The Legal Apparatus
The inquisition in the Middle Ages would collect accusations:
"If two witnesses under oath accused someone of heresy, the
accused person
would be summoned to appear. opinions, prejudices, rumors, and gossip
were all accepted
as evidence. the accused was never told the names of the accusers, nor
even the
exact charges.
Inquisitors examined the accused in secret. Anyone who refused to
confess immediately
was assumed to be guilty. Inquisitors were trained only in religion,
and they would
try to trap the accused with religious questions. For example, an
inquisitor might
ask, "Do you believe what the holy church believes?"
"I am a faithful Christian," the fearful suspect might reply.
"So!" the inquisitor might shout. "We already know you believe
in heresies! You're saying your beliefs are the true Christianity and
the church
is false!" (Bill of Rights in Action)
No lawyers were allowed, because it was considered heresy to defend a
heretic:
"They would torture those who refused to recant. During torture,
the religious
inquisitors would stand by as witnesses to record confessions or take
down the names
of other heretics. The government also carried out the final sentence
of imprisonment
or death.
Those who recanted immediately might receive a fairly light
sentence -- saying
prayers, fasting, being whipped in public, or making a pilgrimage.
Some who recanted
were forced to wear a yellow cross of felt sewn on all their clothing.
The cross
marked them as a former heretic, and many people would stay away from
them in fear.
Many who refused to recant right away were sentenced to prison for
life. If
they refused to recant at all, the Inquisition turned them over to
government authorities
to be burned alive. Some inquisitors were so thorough that they went
after the dead.
If a dead person was accused of heresy, his or her bones could be dug
up and burned.
For most accused heretics, there was no appeal. A few rich or
powerful people
might beg the pope to change a sentence, but for most of the
condemned, the sentence
was final. The families of those sent to prison or to the stake lost
their property.
(Bill of Rights in Action, see also History of the inquisition)
Today's legal system in America has all the essential features of an
inquisitorial
order. Torture is permitted "under certain circumstances", according
to
an August 2002 Justice Department "legal opinion":
"if a government employee were to torture a suspect in captivity, 'he
would
be doing so in order to prevent further attacks on the United States
by the Al Qaeda
terrorist network,' said the memo, from the Justice Department's
office
of legal counsel, written in response to a CIA request for legal
guidance. It added
that arguments centering on "necessity and self-defense could provide
justifications
that would eliminate any criminal liability" later. (See Washington
Post, June
7, 2004)
"Even if an interrogation method might arguably cross the line drawn
in Section
and application of the stature was not held to be an unconstitutional
infringement
of the President's Commander in Chief authority, we believe that under
current
circumstances [the war on terrorism] certain justification defenses
might be available
that would potentially eliminate criminal liability." (Complete August
2, 2002
Justice Department Memorandum in pdf)
Torture
"The Spanish Inquisition was particularly terrifying because of its
inherent
characteristics. The accused never knew who their accusers were. Once
arrested,
the accused heretic's properties were seized."
"These properties were then administered at first by the Crown,
and later
by the General Inquisitor....
Even if the accused was now a devout Christian, he was tried as
severely as
possible because of his roots. The accused was also not allowed to
have a lawyer
or counsel for his defense, and the names of all witnesses were kept
secret from
him (Jason L. Slade, The Spanish Inquisition August 6, 1996)
Torture was the order of the day. The accused were not allowed to have
a lawyer.
The torture methods applied by today's CIA inquisitors bear a canny
resemblance
to the torture techniques used by the Inquisitors in the Middle Ages,
including
the water torment or aselli, commonly referred to in CIA jargon as
"water boarding":
"Because the trials were for spiritual matters, the Church handled
them.
However, the punishments were usually very much physical, so they were
handled by
the state. There were many means of this physical torture for
confession. The two
most famous or infamous were the strappado or pulley, and the aselli
or water torment.(Jason
L. Slade, The Spanish Inquisition August 6, 1996)
Water-boarding then and now
Alfred McCoy reports in the regard that the CIA:
"had often added to their no-touch repertoire physical methods
reminiscent
of the Inquisition's trademark tortures -- strappado, question de
l'eau,
"crippling stork," and "masks of mockery." At the CIA's
center near Kabul in 2002, for instance, American interrogators forced
prisoners
"to stand with their hands chained to the ceiling and their feet
shackled,"
an effect similar to the strappado. Instead of the Inquisition's iron-
framed
"crippling stork" to contort the victim's body, CIA interrogators
made their victims assume similar "stress positions" without any
external
mechanism, aiming again for the psychological effect of self-induced
pain... (Alfred
McCoy, The Hidden History of CIA Torture: America's Road to Abu
Ghraib, Global
Research, December 2004)
In Spain in the 16th Century, the inquisition was accepted. It was a
consensus.
The population was led to believe that it was a good thing and that
torture "served
to purify society".
"A bishop came out and shouted out the names of the condemned.
then the
heretics were led out, wearing black robes decorated with red demons
and flames.
officials of the government tied them to the stake.
"do you give up your heresy against the holy church?" a priest
would
challenge.
anyone who repented would be strangled to death before the fires
were lit. most,
however, stood silent or defiant. the fires were lit, and the square
echoed with
the screams of the heretics and cheers from the crowd." (quoted in
Bill of
Rights in Action, op cit)
Anybody who dared to question the validity of this "war on terrorism"
was himself branded a terrorist and subjected to the anti-terrorist
laws, which
at the time, in Spain, was death.
In today's inquisitorial environment, most people are skeptical
regarding the
official 9/11 narrative, but nobody dares question the validity of the
"war
on terrorism".
"These are bad people, and we must go after them, take them out." The
discourse is almost the same.
The ultimate objective is to subdue the citizens, totally depoliticize
social life
in America, prevent people from thinking and conceptualizing, from
analyzing facts
and challenging the legitimacy of the inquisitorial social order which
rules America.
The Big Lie becomes the Truth. Realities are turned upside down.
War becomes peace, a worthwhile "humanitarian undertaking",
Peaceful dissent becomes heresy.
The objective is to create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity, with
a view to
upholding the New World Order.
In the words of Monthy Python:
"NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and
surprise....
Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless
efficiency....
Our *three* weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless
efficiency...and an almost
fanatical devotion to the Pope....
Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our
weaponry... are such
elements as fear, surprise....
I'll come in again." (Monthy Python, The Spanish Inquisition)
How to reverse the tide?
Undermine the Inquisition;
Reveal the lies behind 9/11;
Break the consensus;
Reveal the Crimes committed by those in High Office;
Unseat the inquisitors:
"Millions of people have been misled regarding the causes and
consequences
of September 11.
Across the land, the image of an "outside enemy" is instilled in
the
consciousness of Americans. Al Qaeda is threatening America and the
world. The repeal
of democracy under the Patriot legislation is portrayed as a means to
providing
"domestic security" and upholding civil liberties.
When people across the US and around the World find out that Al
Qaeda is not
an outside enemy but a creation of US foreign policy and the CIA, the
legitimacy
of the bipartisan war agenda will tumble like a deck of cards...
(Michel Chossudovsky,
America's "War on Terrorism", Global Research 2005)
-----Original Message-----
>From: Kathleen <janmu...@earthlink.net>
>Sent: Sep 8, 2008 8:03 AM
>Subject: Missy for vice POTUS
>
>OMG I love this woman (don't get me wrong). She really should be vice POTUS
and
>Cindy Sheehan POTUS.
>
>Let's make it happen.
>
>And when they get there they can appoint me to Elias Zerhouni's job.
>The FDA will be SO SORRY they ever thought of disclaiming their job
>responsibilities:
>http://www.actionlyme.org/FDA_DISCLAIMS_JOB_RESPONSIBILITY.htm
>
>And BigPharma's gonna move all their HQs to Abu Dabi quicker than you
>can say dopamine to avoid the Inquisition. (I promise not to subject
>these DHHS and USDOJ employees to anything more serious than water boarding
>and naked Palestinian hanging.)
>
>
>Kathleen M. Dickson
>http://www.actionlyme.org
>
>
>http://www.counterpunch.org/beattie09062008.html
>
>Weekend Edition
>September 6 / 7, 2008
>Yes, I Inhaled!
>Missy for Vice POTUS
>
>By MISSY COMLEY BEATTIE
>
>In high school, I was a cheerleader, a member of the National Honor Society
and Beta Club. During summers, I worked at the Dairy Queen.
>
>At the end of my freshman year at a two-year women’s college, the defunct Sullins
in Virginia, I won the humanities academic achievement award.
>
>During my junior year at the University of Kentucky, I wasn’t the least bit
intimidated when tutoring English to the behemoths on the football
team.
>
>As a senior, I worked in a library and held my own with Mr. Melvil Dewey.
>
>Some years later, after going back to school and receiving a master’s degree,
I was facilitator of Make Today Count, a support group for people with
life-threatening
illnesses.
>
>I’m a mother, but must admit to a deficiency in cleverness when naming my children.
Not one is a Track, Willow, Bristol, Piper, or Trig, although Sullins
College was
in Bristol which makes me wonder what I was thinking when I was living
in that dormitory.
Why did it not occur to me that Bristol would be a stellar name for a
child? I guess
I wasn’t thinking about offspring in those days, yet, now, I’m kicking
myself for
foolishly neglecting to conceive of this because I was concentrating,
instead, on
making the Dean’s List.
>
>Really, I’m slightly embarrassed for my children, especially, the two who are
named John, since it is, well, traditional, but there’s some
explaining to do here.
You see, my husband and I had previous marriages. He had a son named
John and so
did I. Then, together, we had Hunter, and, despite the name, neither
of us, ever,
was a member of the NRA. Let me add, here, that I’m a little surprised
Sarah didn’t
name one of her five Hunter or, perhaps, Safari. We chose Hunter
because it’s a
family name, not because we hoped to bag a bear or wolf and display
its head in
our living, dining, or bedroom.
>
>Oh, dear, I digress. I was informing you of my qualifications for leadership
when I went tangential. And not just any leadership. So back to the
crux. Crux?
Crux? What an interesting name for a child. But there I go, wandering
from the point
about my bona fides. I’m talking real deal here, grabbing-the-oars
leadership, as
in that one-heartbeat-away assumption of ultimate power in case, and
perish the
thought, someone, like John already-too-old McChicanery, croaked while
serving as
POTUS. Actually, perish the thought he’ll win the presidency but it’s
a no-brainer
that if he does, he’s not going to the gates of hell to nail bin Laden
when he’s
got Sarah Barracuda Palin who’s salivating to use her own private
arsenal on the
bogeyman. I wonder in which room she’d place Osama’s head.
>
>But back to the point. I’m simply stating a case for my creds. Cred? Hmm, that,
come to think of it, would be an interesting name and so would Potus.
>
>Oops, I forgot to mention, when telling you about the children, that my obstetrician
called my labor “precipitous,” meaning that near my due date, I should
hover close
to the hospital. In other words, I can get the job done pronto, which
is another
important reason I qualify to be one flatline away from calling 1600
Pennsylvania
Avenue home.
>
>Oh, yeah, I’ve gone door-to-door, collecting money for diabetes research, and
I’ve addressed envelopes provided by the American Heart Association
for their drive.
Plus, I had a yard sale once, which, with a little stretch of the
imagination, makes
me a small business owner.
>
>I’m pro-choice, approve of same-sex marriage, was raised in the Baptist Church,
but now subscribe to chaos theory. I believe in teaching sex education
rather than
the failed abstinence only. You can place me on the side of science,
stem-cell research,
the separation of church and state, the right to assemble, the right
to dissent,
and peace. I will never ban or burn your books. Plus, and this is very
important,
I am not a nationalist, nor would I ever bend over for AIPAC.
>
>I can pronounce Iraq, the names of world leaders, like Ahmadinejad, and stare
into the eyes of Putin and recognize he’s smart enough to realize the
US instigated
the Georgia/Russia conflict in an attempt to influence the election.
Kinda like
the reason the neocons are telling us the surge has worked.
>
>So vet me. Come and get me. Bring it on. I’m ready to be swiftboated. In fact,
I’ll go ahead and offer this: Arrested at the US Mission to the UN
while attempting
to deliver a petition for peace exactly seven months after the death
of my nephew
in Iraq, I spent a night in the Tombs in lower Manhattan with fellow
peaceniks Cindy
Sheehan, Medea Benjamin, and Rev. Patricia Ackerman in a filthy cell
along with
the rest of the general, female prison population. Also, I climbed the
steps to
the top of the water tower in Nicholasville, Kentucky more than once
when I was
a teenager and sneaked into the drive-in theater in the trunk of a car
a few times.
>
>Let’s see, now. Is there anything else? Yep, I inhaled.
>
>Missy Beattie lives in New York City. She's written for National Public
Radio and Nashville Life Magazine. An outspoken critic of the Bush
Administration
and the war in Iraq, she's a member of Gold Star Families for Peace.
She completed
a novel last year, but since the death of her nephew, Marine Lance
Cpl. Chase J.
Comley, in Iraq on August 6,'05, she has been writing political
articles. She
can be reached at: Miss...@aol.com
Miss...@aol.com, zerh...@od.nih.gov, Spin...@yahoogroups.com,
kshe...@calea.org, fit...@gmail.com, patrick.f...@usdoj.gov,
model...@sbcglobal.net, jdr...@nejm.org, let...@courant.com,
Jgerb...@cdc.gov, michae...@po.state.ct.us,
con...@po.state.ct.us, executiv...@nytimes.com, managing-
edi...@nytimes.com, news...@nytimes.com, the-...@nytimes.com,
biz...@nytimes.com, for...@nytimes.com, me...@nytimes.com,
nati...@nytimes.com, dv...@cdc.gov, brigidc...@optonline.net,
tr...@hotmail.com, illino...@aol.com, jle...@courant.com,
tinaj...@yahoo.com, jhorn...@fff.org, thomas...@usdoj.gov,
thoma...@po.state.ct.us, kur...@washpost.com,
georg...@washpost.com, p...@allegorypress.com,
commissi...@po.state.ct.us, FalN...@aol.com,
brans...@comcast.net, vts...@comcast.net, o...@po.state.ct.us,
freet...@charter.net, scott....@po.state.ct.us,
govern...@po.state.ct.us, attorney...@po.state.ct.us,
randall...@usdoj.gov
Cc: fra...@ucia.gov, dr-ahma...@president.ir,
eugener...@washpost.com, hor...@courant.com,
bmi...@newstimes.com, tr...@hotmail.com, rast...@aol.com,
billc...@gmail.com, amcg...@rms-law.com, rjmu...@aol.com,
paulcrai...@yahoo.com, sidney_b...@yahoo.com,
criminal...@usdoj.gov, karla.d...@usdoj.gov,
christophe...@usdoj.gov
Subject: The Inquisition....Re: Missy for vice POTUS
Date: Sep 12, 2008 8:48 PM
"Al Qaeda is not an outside enemy but a creation of US foreign policy
and the
CIA"
This is an amazing story (below). It's exactly like what
happens with DCF: False accusations, you're not
allowed to know who your accusers are, you're not
allowed to refute the perjury of the nitwitnesses,
your phone and house is bugged so that the DCF knows
exactly what your defense will be, so they deflect
that by calling all your witnesses and lying their
eyeballs out about you. They change what they're charging
you with as many as three times,... since it is not about
child welfare, but letting you know who owns your
kids, and that, especially, psychotropics are *all*
brain damaging but DCF and DMHAS do not do scientific
reality, since consider... what would place is there
for reality in a world of drunken, sleazy pinheads
who don't want to actually work for a living?
Good story.
All psychotropics are brain damaging, Lyme Disease
is a hoax, as was 911, but the USDOJ and FBI can't
acquire a Y chromosome despite their new expertise
in DNA (anthrax).
But, see, I've already been declared a "Unabomber
terrorist," and the rest of the world is watching.
The Homelames, the State Department and the Pentagon-
every division of the US military already know the world
is watching this Yale's sex-OCD-Perjure-and-Pervery, Yale's
Lyme crymes, the DCF's Drunken Sleazo-rama, and
their Little-Boy-Penis-Biting Show...
It's been good, overall. All anyone has to do to
get a bead on "democracy" is watch what duh DCF gets
away with:
http://www.actionlyme.org/andersonpenisbiter.htm
Including "Military-Type" tortures or stress positions
forced on the little, kidnapped, penis-bitten children:
http://www.actionlyme.org/INKEL_MOTION_APPEARANCE.htm
It's all amazingly here in this Inquisition story.
Kathleen M. Dickson
-------
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10144
9/11 and the "American Inquisition"
by Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, September 11, 2008
Email this article to a friend
Print this article
StumbleUpon Submit
Today's "Global War on Terrorism" is a modern form of inquisition.
It has all the essential ingredients of the French and Spanish
inquisitions.
Going after " Islamic terrorists", carrying out a Worldwide preemptive
war to " protect the Homeland" are used to justify a military agenda.
"The Global War on Terrorism" (GWOT) is presented as a "Clash of
Civilizations", a war between competing values and religions, when in
reality
it is an outright war of conquest, guided by strategic and economic
objectives.
The GWOT is the ideological backbone of the American Empire. It
defines US military
doctrine, including the preemptive use of nuclear weapons against the
"state
sponsors" of terrorism.
The preemptive "defensive war" doctrine and the "war on terrorism"
against Al Qaeda constitute essential building blocks of America's
National
Security Strategy as formulated in early 2002. The objective is to
present "preemptive
military action" --meaning war as an act of "self-defense" against
two categories of enemies, "rogue States" and "Islamic terrorists",
both of which are said to possess weapons of mass destruction.
The logic of the "outside enemy" and the evildoer, allegedly
responsible
for American civilian deaths, prevails over common sense. In the inner
consciousness
of Americans, the attacks of September 11, 2001 justify acts of war
and conquest:
"As was demonstrated by the losses on September 11, 2001, mass
civilian
casualties is the specific objective of terrorists and these losses
would be exponentially
more severe if terrorists acquired and used weapons of mass
destruction." (National
Security Strategy, White House, Washington, 2002)
America's Inquisition
The legitimacy of the inquisition is not questioned. The "Global War
on Terrorism"
justifies a mammoth defense budget at the expense not only of health
and education,
but of virtually every single category of public expenditure.
The "Global War on Terrorism" requires "going after" the terrorists,
using advanced weapons systems. It upholds a preemptive religious-like
crusade against
evil, which serves to obscure the real objectives of military action.
The lies underlying 9/11 are known and documented. The American
people's acceptance
of this crusade against evil is not based on any rational
understanding or analysis
of the facts.
America's inquisition is used to extend America's sphere of influence
and
justify military intervention, as part of an international campaign
against "Islamic
terrorists". Its ultimate objective, which is never mentioned in press
reports,
is territorial conquest and control over strategic resources.
The GWOT dogma is enunciated and formulated by Washington's
neoconservative
think tanks. It is carried out by the military-intelligence
establishment. It is
embodied in presidential speeches and press conferences:
"We've been warned there are evil people in this world. We've been
warned so vividly. ... And we'll be alert. Your government is alert.
The governors
and mayors are alert that evil folks still lurk out there. As I said
yesterday,
people have declared war on America and they have made a terrible
mistake. ... My
administration has a job to do and we're going to do it. We will rid
the world
of the evil-doers," (George W. Bush, CNN, September 16, 2001)
The objective of the "Global War on Terrorism" launched in September
2001
is to galvanize public support for a Worldwide campaign against
heresy. In the eyes
of public opinion, possessing a "just cause" for waging war is
central.
A war is said to be Just if it is waged on moral, religious or ethical
grounds.
The Demonization of Muslims and the Battle for Oil
The US led war in the broader Middle East Central Asian region
consists in gaining
control over extensive reserves of oil and natural gas. The Anglo-
American oil giants
also seek to gain control over oil and gas pipeline routes out of the
region. (See
table and maps below).
Muslim countries possess 66 percent of total oil reserves. (Michel
Chossudovsky,
The "Demonization" of Muslims and the Battle for Oil, Global Research,
Jannuary 4, 2007). In contrast, the United States of America has
barely 2 percent
of total oil reserves. Iraq has five times more oil than the United
States.
Demonization is applied to an enemy, which possesses more than 60
percent of the
world's oil reserves. "Axis of evil", "rogue States", "failed
nations", "Islamic terrorists": demonization and vilification are
the ideological pillars of America's Inquisition. They serve as a
casus belli
for waging the battle for oil.
The Battle for Oil requires the demonization of those who possess the
oil. The enemy
is characterized as evil, with a view to justifying military action
including the
mass killing of civilians. (Ibid)
Historical Origins of the Inquisition
The objective is to sustain the illusion that "America is under
attack"
by Al Qaeda. Under the American inquisition, Washington has a self-
proclaimed holy
mandate to extirpate Islamic fundamentalism and "spread democracy"
throughout
the world.
"Going after Bin Laden" is part of a consensus. Fear and insecurity
prevail
over common sense. Despite the evidence, the White House, the State
Department,
the two Party system, cannot, in the minds of Americans, be held
responsible for
a criminal act (9/11/) resulting in the deaths of American civilians.
What we are dealing with is an outright and blind acceptance of the
structures of
power and political authority.
In this regard, the American Inquisition as an ideological construct,
is, in many
regards, similar to the inquisitorial social order prevailing in
France and Spain
during the Middle Ages. The inquisition, which started in France in
the 12th century,
was used as a justification for conquest and military intervention.
Initially it took the form of a campaign in southern France directed
against the
Cathars and Waldensians, which challenged the teachings of the Roman
Catholic Church.
The Cathar movement was a religious sect which was protected by the
regional feudal
order in southern France, against the dominion of the Catholic Church
and the French
monarchy in Paris. "The Cathars believed they were the true Christians
and
the Catholic Church was a false church, founded by the devil."
In the early 13th Century, "Pope Innocent III declared a crusade
against the
Cathars" at the behest of the French royal family. The crusade was in
fact
a war of conquest under the disguise of a campaign against heresy.
The Inquisition directed against heresy was intended to consolidate
the Monarchy's
territorial control. It provided a pretext to intervene militarily in
south and
southwestern France, using the authority of the Catholic Church as a
façade.
The inquisition became part of a political consensus, carried out by
the Church's
inquisitors, imposed by the ruling feudal order and supported
militarily. Its purpose
was to maintain and sustain the social and political order, extend the
powers of
the central State, subjugate regional powers in France, using the
campaign against
heresy as "a justification to wage war". Sounds familiar?
Today's Inquisitorial Order
Anybody who doubts the legitimacy of the American inquisition (9/11
and the "Global
War on Terrorism") is a heretic conspiracy theorist or an accomplice
of the
terrorists.
The American Inquisition is part of a Bipartisan Consensus. Both the
Democrats and
the Republicans support the American Inquisition.
"Going after Osama bin Laden" is part of the election platform of both
political parties. In fact it is the central component of the election
campaign:
I [Barack Obama] argued for more resources and more troops to
finish the fight
against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made
clear that we
must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in
our sights
(Barack Obama, Acceptance Speech, National Democratic Convention,
Denver, August
2008)
We have dealt a serious blow to al Qaeda in recent years. But they
are not defeated,
and they’ll strike us again if they can. (John McCain, Acceptance
Speech, Republican
National Convention, St Paul, September 2008)
There is an "outside enemy". The Homeland is under attack. Islamic
terrorists
"threaten our way of life". "We must defend ourselves" preemptively
against Osama and his lieutenants.
US Northern Command (Northcom), with headquarters at the Petersen Air
Force base
in Colorado was established in early 2002 to protect America against a
terrorist
attack. It was presented to public opinion as a response to the 9/11
attacks. The
real strategic objectives of Northern Command using sophisticated aero
defense weapons
including nuclear warheads, are not mentioned.
Political Consensus
The mouthpiece of America's inquisitorial order is the Western
corporate media.
People who question the validity of any of these statements or who
have doubts about
who is behind the 9/11 attacks, are considered to be accomplices of
those who threaten
the American Homeland.
In 1232, Pope Gregory IX set up a system of special religious courts
called the
inquisition. The Dominican friars were sent out to find and question
heretics:
"Heresy cannot be destroyed unless heretics are destroyed and ...
their
defenders and [supporters] are destroyed, and this is effected in two
ways: ...
they are converted to the true catholic faith, or ... burned. (Henry
Charles Lea,
A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, p. 535, 1887)
Those who refused to recant, which means give up their heresy, were
burned alive.
Today's Patriot Act, the military courts, the Guantanamo concentration
camp,
the CIA rendition camps, Abu Ghraib, etc., are part of an advanced
inquisitorial
system. Terrorist suspects are held incommunicado. They are tortured,
tried by military
courts and sentenced. They are not given the right to recant.
The objective is not to "make the World safer" by putting the
terrorists
behind bars.
The show trials of the alleged terrorists perform an important social
function.
They are an integral part of Pentagon's disinformation campaign. Quite
concretly,
they give a real face to the enemy. They sustain the illusion, in the
inner consciousness
of Americans, that the "Islamic terrorists" constitute a real threat.
The arrests, trials and sentences of "Islamic terrorists" sustain the
legitimacy of America's Homeland Security State and its inquisitorial
legal
and law enforcement apparatus.
The ultimate objective is to instill in the minds of millions of
Americans that
the enemy is real and the US Adminstration will protect the lives of
its citizens.
Manufacturing Dissent
Washington does not silence its antiwar critics. Quite the opposite.
The inquisitorial
social order allows certain forms of dissent. It is politically
correct under a
"democracy" to condemn US foreign policy in the strongest terms.
What is not allowed is to question the inquisition.
Those who oppose the US Administration are not branded as heretics.
Many "Progressives",
Liberals and Antiwar activists, led by prominent intellectuals, firmly
believe that
Muslims were behind the 9/11 attacks. "We are against the war, but we
support
the war on terrorism."
The New World Order builds a political and media consensus (i.e. the
GWOT) but at
the same time it creates and moulds its own opposition. It establishes
the limits
of dissent. It "manufactures dissent".
The presidential candidates in the bipartisan race are supported by
powerful corporate
interests including the oil companies, Wall Street and the defense
contractors.
At the same time, these same corporate interests, through their
various foundations
(including Ford, Rockefeller, Gates, et al), support and finance a
number of Liberal/Progressive
organizations and alternative media.
9/11 is the cornerstone of the American Inquisition.
The lies underlying 9/11 are accepted by the mainstream antiwar
movement.
US foreign policy is condemned, but the "Global War on Terrorism" is
upheld.
Wittingly or unwittingly, this endorsement of the GWOT by those who
claim to be
opposed to the US administration, provides a legitimacy to the
inquisitorial order,
which underlies the actual practice of US foreign policy.
On the other hand, those who have serious doubts regarding the
official 9/11 narrative,
including the 9/11 Truth Movement, are branded as heretics and
nonbelievers.
The "Just War" theory
The "Just War" theory (justum bellum) has a longstanding tradition. It
has been used throughout history to uphold the dominant social order
and provide
a justification for waging war.
In the case of Afghanistan, 9/11 played a key role in justifying the
invasion. The
war on Afghanistan was considered a "Just War", waged on humanitarian
grounds.
On September 12, 2001, NATO invoked for the first time in its history
"Article
5 of the Washington Treaty - its collective defense clause" declaring
the 9/11
attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) and the Pentagon "to be an
attack
against all NATO members."
Afghanistan was tagged, without a shred of evidence and prior to the
conduct of
an investigation, as the "state sponsor" of the 9/11 attacks. The
invasion
of Afghanistan in early October 2001 was presented as a counter-
terrorism operation
directed against the perpetrators of 9/11 and their state sponsors.
Trade unions, NGOs and many "progressive" intellectuals endorsed the
US-NATO
led invasion. The events of 9/11 played a key role in gaining the
support of various
sectors of American society including the opponents and critics of the
Bush adminstration's
foreign policy.
The war on Afghanistan was prepared prior to 9/11. War preparations
were already
in an advanced stage of readiness. The green light to wage war by the
US and NATO
on Afghanistan was provided within 24 hours of the 9/11 attacks.
The press reports failed to reveal a fact which is known and
acknowledged by military
analysts: a major theater war cannot, under any circumstances, be
planned and carried
out in a matter of 4-5 weeks.
9/11 was used as a justification to carry out a "humanitarian war".
Known
to military analysts, the war on Afghanistan had been planned well in
advance of
the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
The Spanish Inquisition
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Inquisition spread to other parts
of Europe.
In Italy, the inquisition went after nationalist movements in regions
like Lombardy
in the north, Venice, or Sicily. It was used to suppress these
political movements.
In northern France and Germany, the inquisition used the pretext of
small mystical
sects, to intervene politically and militarily. Regional powers
including local
principalities refused to cooperate with the inquisition. In today's
world,
this form of interventionism is carried out by sending in US special
forces to "help
governments" to combat terrorism.
Spain, conquered by Muslims and in part reconquered by Christians in
the 13th Century,
was "religiously heterogeneous, and a tolerance had developed so
Muslims, Christians,
and Jews could live together in relative peace." Toward the end of the
15th
Century, coinciding with a period of political and territorial
consolidation, "Spanish
tolerance changed abruptly. Spain saw the rise of a form of
inquisition more ruthless
and disruptive than anywhere else in Europe." (Bill of Rights in
Action)
The Spanish inquisition was also characterized by a process of
building a consensus,
of going after the heretics and nonbelievers. The inquisition was used
to support
the process of territorial consolidation in the Iberian peninsula. The
objective
was to reinforce the absolute monarchy and the powers of the landed
aristocracy
against the Muslim and Jewish merchant classes.
The Spanish Inquisition was executed at the behest of Queen Isabel,
Reina Catolica.
In 1483, The Reyes Catolicos, Isabel de Castilla and Ferdinando de
Aragon, established
a Council to direct the Inquisition. Tomas de Torquemada, an advisor
to Isabel become
the first General Inquisitor. Torquemado had previously preached
against the Jewish
and Muslim Converts (Conversos). The objective was to repress the
upcoming merchant
classes. "One country, one ruler, one faith" became the mandate of the
General Inquisitor.
Goya's Inquisition
The pope upheld the inquisition, the hidden agenda was the feudal
order and the
Spanish led colonial wars. The Spanish inquisition lasted for 300
years.
Today in America, the General inquisitor is the Secretary of the
Department of Homeland
Security.
The Legal Apparatus
The inquisition in the Middle Ages would collect accusations:
"If two witnesses under oath accused someone of heresy, the
accused person
would be summoned to appear. opinions, prejudices, rumors, and gossip
were all accepted
as evidence. the accused was never told the names of the accusers, nor
even the
exact charges.
Inquisitors examined the accused in secret. Anyone who refused to
confess immediately
was assumed to be guilty. Inquisitors were trained only in religion,
and they would
try to trap the accused with religious questions. For example, an
inquisitor might
ask, "Do you believe what the holy church believes?"
"I am a faithful Christian," the fearful suspect might reply.
"So!" the inquisitor might shout. "We already know you believe
in heresies! You're saying your beliefs are the true Christianity and
the church
is false!" (Bill of Rights in Action)
No lawyers were allowed, because it was considered heresy to defend a
heretic:
"They would torture those who refused to recant. During torture,
the religious
inquisitors would stand by as witnesses to record confessions or take
down the names
of other heretics. The government also carried out the final sentence
of imprisonment
or death.
Those who recanted immediately might receive a fairly light
sentence -- saying
prayers, fasting, being whipped in public, or making a pilgrimage.
Some who recanted
were forced to wear a yellow cross of felt sewn on all their clothing.
The cross
marked them as a former heretic, and many people would stay away from
them in fear.
Many who refused to recant right away were sentenced to prison for
life. If
they refused to recant at all, the Inquisition turned them over to
government authorities
to be burned alive. Some inquisitors were so thorough that they went
after the dead.
If a dead person was accused of heresy, his or her bones could be dug
up and burned.
For most accused heretics, there was no appeal. A few rich or
powerful people
might beg the pope to change a sentence, but for most of the
condemned, the sentence
was final. The families of those sent to prison or to the stake lost
their property.
(Bill of Rights in Action, see also History of the inquisition)
Today's legal system in America has all the essential features of an
inquisitorial
order. Torture is permitted "under certain circumstances", according
to
an August 2002 Justice Department "legal opinion":
"if a government employee were to torture a suspect in captivity, 'he
would
be doing so in order to prevent further attacks on the United States
by the Al Qaeda
terrorist network,' said the memo, from the Justice Department's
office
of legal counsel, written in response to a CIA request for legal
guidance. It added
that arguments centering on "necessity and self-defense could provide
justifications
that would eliminate any criminal liability" later. (See Washington
Post, June
7, 2004)
"Even if an interrogation method might arguably cross the line drawn
in Section
and application of the stature was not held to be an unconstitutional
infringement
of the President's Commander in Chief authority, we believe that under
current
circumstances [the war on terrorism] certain justification defenses
might be available
that would potentially eliminate criminal liability." (Complete August
2, 2002
Justice Department Memorandum in pdf)
Torture
"The Spanish Inquisition was particularly terrifying because of its
inherent
characteristics. The accused never knew who their accusers were. Once
arrested,
the accused heretic's properties were seized."
"These properties were then administered at first by the Crown,
and later
by the General Inquisitor....
Even if the accused was now a devout Christian, he was tried as
severely as
possible because of his roots. The accused was also not allowed to
have a lawyer
or counsel for his defense, and the names of all witnesses were kept
secret from
him (Jason L. Slade, The Spanish Inquisition August 6, 1996)
Torture was the order of the day. The accused were not allowed to have
a lawyer.
The torture methods applied by today's CIA inquisitors bear a canny
resemblance
to the torture techniques used by the Inquisitors in the Middle Ages,
including
the water torment or aselli, commonly referred to in CIA jargon as
"water boarding":
"Because the trials were for spiritual matters, the Church handled
them.
However, the punishments were usually very much physical, so they were
handled by
the state. There were many means of this physical torture for
confession. The two
most famous or infamous were the strappado or pulley, and the aselli
or water torment.(Jason
L. Slade, The Spanish Inquisition August 6, 1996)
Water-boarding then and now
Alfred McCoy reports in the regard that the CIA:
"had often added to their no-touch repertoire physical methods
reminiscent
of the Inquisition's trademark tortures -- strappado, question de
l'eau,
"crippling stork," and "masks of mockery." At the CIA's
center near Kabul in 2002, for instance, American interrogators forced
prisoners
"to stand with their hands chained to the ceiling and their feet
shackled,"
an effect similar to the strappado. Instead of the Inquisition's iron-
framed
"crippling stork" to contort the victim's body, CIA interrogators
made their victims assume similar "stress positions" without any
external
mechanism, aiming again for the psychological effect of self-induced
pain... (Alfred
McCoy, The Hidden History of CIA Torture: America's Road to Abu
Ghraib, Global
Research, December 2004)
In Spain in the 16th Century, the inquisition was accepted. It was a
consensus.
The population was led to believe that it was a good thing and that
torture "served
to purify society".
"A bishop came out and shouted out the names of the condemned.
then the
heretics were led out, wearing black robes decorated with red demons
and flames.
officials of the government tied them to the stake.
"do you give up your heresy against the holy church?" a priest
would
challenge.
anyone who repented would be strangled to death before the fires
were lit. most,
however, stood silent or defiant. the fires were lit, and the square
echoed with
the screams of the heretics and cheers from the crowd." (quoted in
Bill of
Rights in Action, op cit)
Anybody who dared to question the validity of this "war on terrorism"
was himself branded a terrorist and subjected to the anti-terrorist
laws, which
at the time, in Spain, was death.
In today's inquisitorial environment, most people are skeptical
regarding the
official 9/11 narrative, but nobody dares question the validity of the
"war
on terrorism".
"These are bad people, and we must go after them, take them out." The
discourse is almost the same.
The ultimate objective is to subdue the citizens, totally depoliticize
social life
in America, prevent people from thinking and conceptualizing, from
analyzing facts
and challenging the legitimacy of the inquisitorial social order which
rules America.
The Big Lie becomes the Truth. Realities are turned upside down.
War becomes peace, a worthwhile "humanitarian undertaking",
Peaceful dissent becomes heresy.
The objective is to create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity, with
a view to
upholding the New World Order.
In the words of Monthy Python:
"NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and
surprise....
Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless
efficiency....
Our *three* weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless
efficiency...and an almost
fanatical devotion to the Pope....
Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our
weaponry... are such
elements as fear, surprise....
I'll come in again." (Monthy Python, The Spanish Inquisition)
How to reverse the tide?
Undermine the Inquisition;
Reveal the lies behind 9/11;
Break the consensus;
Reveal the Crimes committed by those in High Office;
Unseat the inquisitors:
"Millions of people have been misled regarding the causes and
consequences
of September 11.
Across the land, the image of an "outside enemy" is instilled in
the
consciousness of Americans. Al Qaeda is threatening America and the
world. The repeal
of democracy under the Patriot legislation is portrayed as a means to
providing
"domestic security" and upholding civil liberties.
When people across the US and around the World find out that Al
Qaeda is not
an outside enemy but a creation of US foreign policy and the CIA, the
legitimacy
of the bipartisan war agenda will tumble like a deck of cards...
(Michel Chossudovsky,
America's "War on Terrorism", Global Research 2005)
-----Original Message-----
>From: Kathleen <janmu...@earthlink.net>
>Sent: Sep 8, 2008 8:03 AM
>Subject: Missy for vice POTUS
>
>OMG I love this woman (don't get me wrong). She really should be vice POTUS
and
>Cindy Sheehan POTUS.
>
>Let's make it happen.
>
>And when they get there they can appoint me to Elias Zerhouni's job.
>The FDA will be SO SORRY they ever thought of disclaiming their job
>responsibilities:
>http://www.actionlyme.org/FDA_DISCLAIMS_JOB_RESPONSIBILITY.htm
>
>And BigPharma's gonna move all their HQs to Abu Dabi quicker than you
>can say dopamine to avoid the Inquisition. (I promise not to subject
>these DHHS and USDOJ employees to anything more serious than water boarding
>and naked Palestinian hanging.)
>
>
>Kathleen M. Dickson
>http://www.actionlyme.org
>
>
>http://www.counterpunch.org/beattie09062008.html
>
>Weekend Edition
>September 6 / 7, 2008
>Yes, I Inhaled!
>Missy for Vice POTUS
>
>By MISSY COMLEY BEATTIE
>
>In high school, I was a cheerleader, a member of the National Honor Society
and Beta Club. During summers, I worked at the Dairy Queen.
>
>At the end of my freshman year at a two-year women’s college, the defunct Sullins
in Virginia, I won the humanities academic achievement award.
>
>During my junior year at the University of Kentucky, I wasn’t the least bit
intimidated when tutoring English to the behemoths on the football
team.
>
>As a senior, I worked in a library and held my own with Mr. Melvil Dewey.
>
>Some years later, after going back to school and receiving a master’s degree,
I was facilitator of Make Today Count, a support group for people with
life-threatening
illnesses.
>
>I’m a mother, but must admit to a deficiency in cleverness when naming my children.
Not one is a Track, Willow, Bristol, Piper, or Trig, although Sullins
College was
in Bristol which makes me wonder what I was thinking when I was living
in that dormitory.
Why did it not occur to me that Bristol would be a stellar name for a
child? I guess
I wasn’t thinking about offspring in those days, yet, now, I’m kicking
myself for
foolishly neglecting to conceive of this because I was concentrating,
instead, on
making the Dean’s List.
>
>Really, I’m slightly embarrassed for my children, especially, the two who are
named John, since it is, well, traditional, but there’s some
explaining to do here.
You see, my husband and I had previous marriages. He had a son named
John and so
did I. Then, together, we had Hunter, and, despite the name, neither
of us, ever,
was a member of the NRA. Let me add, here, that I’m a little surprised
Sarah didn’t
name one of her five Hunter or, perhaps, Safari. We chose Hunter
because it’s a
family name, not because we hoped to bag a bear or wolf and display
its head in
our living, dining, or bedroom.
>
>Oh, dear, I digress. I was informing you of my qualifications for leadership
when I went tangential. And not just any leadership. So back to the
crux. Crux?
Crux? What an interesting name for a child. But there I go, wandering
from the point
about my bona fides. I’m talking real deal here, grabbing-the-oars
leadership, as
in that one-heartbeat-away assumption of ultimate power in case, and
perish the
thought, someone, like John already-too-old McChicanery, croaked while
serving as
POTUS. Actually, perish the thought he’ll win the presidency but it’s
a no-brainer
that if he does, he’s not going to the gates of hell to nail bin Laden
when he’s
got Sarah Barracuda Palin who’s salivating to use her own private
arsenal on the
bogeyman. I wonder in which room she’d place Osama’s head.
>
>But back to the point. I’m simply stating a case for my creds. Cred? Hmm, that,
come to think of it, would be an interesting name and so would Potus.
>
>Oops, I forgot to mention, when telling you about the children, that my obstetrician
called my labor “precipitous,” meaning that near my due date, I should
hover close
to the hospital. In other words, I can get the job done pronto, which
is another
important reason I qualify to be one flatline away from calling 1600
Pennsylvania
Avenue home.
>
>Oh, yeah, I’ve gone door-to-door, collecting money for diabetes research, and
I’ve addressed envelopes provided by the American Heart Association
for their drive.
Plus, I had a yard sale once, which, with a little stretch of the
imagination, makes
me a small business owner.
>
>I’m pro-choice, approve of same-sex marriage, was raised in the Baptist Church,
but now subscribe to chaos theory. I believe in teaching sex education
rather than
the failed abstinence only. You can place me on the side of science,
stem-cell research,
the separation of church and state, the right to assemble, the right
to dissent,
and peace. I will never ban or burn your books. Plus, and this is very
important,
I am not a nationalist, nor would I ever bend over for AIPAC.
>
>I can pronounce Iraq, the names of world leaders, like Ahmadinejad, and stare
into the eyes of Putin and recognize he’s smart enough to realize the
US instigated
the Georgia/Russia conflict in an attempt to influence the election.
Kinda like
the reason the neocons are telling us the surge has worked.
>
>So vet me. Come and get me. Bring it on. I’m ready to be swiftboated. In fact,
I’ll go ahead and offer this: Arrested at the US Mission to the UN
while attempting
to deliver a petition for peace exactly seven months after the death
of my nephew
in Iraq, I spent a night in the Tombs in lower Manhattan with fellow
peaceniks Cindy
Sheehan, Medea Benjamin, and Rev. Patricia Ackerman in a filthy cell
along with
the rest of the general, female prison population. Also, I climbed the
steps to
the top of the water tower in Nicholasville, Kentucky more than once
when I was
a teenager and sneaked into the drive-in theater in the trunk of a car
a few times.
>
>Let’s see, now. Is there anything else? Yep, I inhaled.
>
>Missy Beattie lives in New York City. She's written for National Public
Radio and Nashville Life Magazine. An outspoken critic of the Bush
Administration
and the war in Iraq, she's a member of Gold Star Families for Peace.
She completed
a novel last year, but since the death of her nephew, Marine Lance
Cpl. Chase J.
Comley, in Iraq on August 6,'05, she has been writing political
articles. She
can be reached at: Miss...@aol.com
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages