To: •••@••.•••
Cc: •••@••.•••, •••@••.•••,
•••@••.•••
From: Paul Swann <•••@••.•••>
Date: Sun, 7 Oct 2001 16:19:58 +0000
Subject: [gpcnews] Intellectual self-defence
In the wake of September 11, the media have united to present a
single explanation for the atrocity (Islamic terrorism) and to name a
single perpetrator (Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda terrorist
network).
They may be right, although the evidence that has been made public to
date seems flimsy and highly circumstantial.
<snip>
In "Manufacturing Consent", Noam Chomsky advised us to practice
"intellectual self-defence" against the "web of deceit" and "thought
control" inflicted on the public by the media on behalf of their
paymasters. Fortunately, there are a few academics with integrity on
hand to assist us with the search for truth.
Michael Rowbotham is regarded as one of the world's leading
authorities on global economics and the monetary system. His books
"The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and
Destructive Economics" and "Goodbye America: Globalisation, Debt and
the Dollar Empire", are essential reading for anyone who seriously
wishes to understand the fault lines in the economic systems on which
our societies are so precariously based.
I've met Michael a few times and would describe him as warm, sincere
and deeply committed to the cause of monetary reform. He has worked
hard to build a solid reputation for his work, and has been well
received wherever he has lectured around the world.
It surprised and delighted me when I found a lengthy article of his
on the internet titled "Written In Belief", in which he attempts to
make sense of the September 11 conspiracy theories with reference to
his own area of specialised research.
Michael has gone out on a limb here, and whether history
substantiates his thesis or not is almost immaterial: in presenting a
coherent alternative scenario to that of the mainstream media, he has
shown the kind of courage that each of us must find as we stand up
for truth and justice in a world on the verge of madness.
In his article Michael makes special reference to the work of two
other respected researchers: Richard K. Moore and Michel Chossudovsky,
Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa.
I've known Richard via the internet for about six years, as a
subscriber to his consistently excellent 'cyberjournal'. In addition
to the work that Michael refers to, "Understanding the Events of 11
September: Are we being told the truth about the Trade Center
attacks?", Richard has also written a highly recommended "Guidebook: How the
world works and how we can change it" http://cyberjournal.org/cj/guide/
Michel Chossudovsky's work is also held in high regard by many who've
sought hard information to back up their instinctive concerns about
the threat of corporate, economic and political globalisation.
Michael appends Michel's article "Who Is Osama bin Laden?"
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO109C.html at the end of his own.
<snip>
Please download (and circulate) Michael's article from:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0110/S00021.htm
Alternatively, contact me at <•••@••.•••> for an email version.
For peace,
Paul
--
Daily Global Attunement for Peace
8.45am New York time. Seed thought:
~ May Peace Prevail on Earth ~
Global Peace Campaign
http://www.coliving.org
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
~ Global Peace Campaign ~
Daily Attunement for Peace at 8.45am New York time.
Seed thought: "May Peace Prevail on Earth"
************************************************************************
Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 22:28:39 +0000
From: Paul Swann <•••@••.•••>
Subject: [1/4] Michael Rowbotham: Written In Belief
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0110/S00021.htm
Written In Belief
for Arrietti
By Michael Rowbotham
EDITORS NOTE: Michael Rowbotham is author of two outstanding books
The Grip of Death, a Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and
Destructive Economics 1998 and Goodbye America Globalisation, Debt
and the Dollar Empire 2000. Goodbye America has been described by The
Ecologist as 'essential reading for social and environmental
reformers... Rowbotham's work places him on a par with social
reforming economists EF Schumacher and Henry George'. The Grip of
Death is strongly recommended by David Korten, author of When
Corporations Rule the World, Ed Mayo of the New Economics Foundation,
Herman Daly coauthor of For the Common Good , Professor Bryan Gould,
Vice-Chancellor of University of Waikato and Richard Douthwaite,
author of The Growth Illusion and Short Circuit. His books have been
reviewed in The Ecologist, Resurgence, New Internationalist,
TheTribune, The Tablet, Sustainable Economics, Permaculture Magazine,
Food Magazine, Social Credit and many others. He was speaker at the
March 2001 UK Green Party Conference, and has been secretary of the
UK Christian Council for Monetary Justice.
In this short book, I argue that there is strong evidence that the
events of 11th September represent a terrorism of a kind not
currently being discussed, and include the involvement of agents and
agencies not publicly imagined as being associated with such acts. I
believe that this suspicion, voiced by many others, must be taken
seriously and its public disproof demanded by all concerned citizens
and NGOs.
We simply could not comprehend what was actually happening in front
of our eyes as those planes flew out of the beautiful morning sky and
destroyed so many thousands of lives. We do not fully understand now
and maybe never will. The total deaths will almost certainly never be
known. The spreading grief amongst families who lost loved ones can
be neither counted nor measured nor reconciled. For them, the loss
was so complete and sudden, their grief so unspeakable, the horrific
visual imagery branded in their mind and sight so indelibly that the
angels will have been burned from their sky forever. Only those who
have suffered so calamitous a loss can know its appalling effects on
the soul and the mind, and the very meaning and worth of life itself.
Beyond the sickening personal grief, all is confusion. There is much
contradiction and duality. The first duality is that between the
justified outrage felt by Americans and the motive offered behind the
terrorist attacks. The attacks are being presented as part of the
"jihad" declared against the United States by certain Moslem
fundamentalists; a sacred war in retaliation for sustained American
military policies that have killed many tens of thousands in the
Middle East. Those who died so appallingly in America are therefore
seen as mere casualties of war and no more to be grieved over than
the many who die daily from US military and economic sanctions
against Iraq, or in the Israeli Palestinian conflict. No-one who
watched John Pilger"s excellent BBC documentary on Iraq could forget
the interview with a shepherd who lost his children as a US plane
bombed his herd of sheep. His loss was as palpable and horrifying as
that of any bereaved relative of the World Trade Centre atrocity.
<big! snip>
Only someone who has acknowledged the
vulnerability of his/her own heart and recognised the wrongs that
they have done in their own lives can forgive such a terrible deed.
This leaves us with the problem, still, of blame. There are two
obvious targets for this, both of whom the majority of people
completely fail to acknowledge the existence of. At the risk of being
melodramatic, again in such matters we are clearly in the presence of
good and evil.
This is emphasised by the variety of conclusions one can reasonably hold.
1 If there is a full, conscious conspiracy, it has certainly
exposed itself in the most blatant way through an act of murder
without parallel. This is evil.
2 If there is divided responsibility and a mixture of
manipulation, passivity, self-deception and practised callousness -
seeking to take advantage of past actions that have turned sour -
then it is time these agencies were stopped in their tracks. They are
evil.
3 If the issue of CIA/US finance and/or other agency
involvement turns out to be completely groundless, Chossudovsky"s
well-researched article shows beyond doubt that the situation of
internecine conflict between Islamic fundamentalism and America has
clearly been contributed to heavily by the United States. Through its
perpetual arrogance in covert interference in the domestic affairs of
other nations, the United States cannot escape co-responsibility for
this potentially disastrous situation and should carry the severest
international censure for this, and reap no political reward. It is
time the world grew wise to the dangers of such US government
subterfuge,the legacy of hatred and potential for conflict it creates
and the evil it truly represents.
I retain a completely open mind as to which of the above three best
describes the position we find ourselves in. It could well be that
all three apply in some measure. It is normally the course of history
and passage of time that allows accurate conclusions to be reached
and judgements to be made. Personal involvement is almost to great
for us to analyse ourselves; as individuals we have so much
difficulty in fairly evaluating our own actions. I suggest we do not
have that time and have to find out now, determinedly.
What next?
First of all, the unbelievable has to be made believable and the
enormity of the issue has to be grasped. That is what I have tried to
do in writing this, having scoured the newspapers, internet and
television since the very first day. I have attempted not to include
anything that I felt remotely doubtful, other than the examples I
intentionally offered of what I felt to be rather dubious,
disconnected information.
After the believable has been presented as a possibility, the
seriousness of the allegation is such that even the remote
possibility of its truth simply cannot be ignored. We stand at the
dawn of a new world order. What will that world order be? There seem
to be three options. It could be a world in which regrettable but
necessary international security measures lead us towards a hopefully
benign, more international and stable governance. It could be a world
built on subterfuge, lies and tyranny in which the possibility of
global justice, democracy and decency are buried forever. Or it could
be a world in which a long-standing, powerful and arrogant conspiracy
is wholly or partially unmasked and a new world order of genuine
political and economic democracy is enabled to emerge. The stakes
simply could not be higher.
I urge you to forward this to friends and colleagues rapidly. There
must be public and open dialogue as to whether or not there is a true
conspiracy, or tacit acceptance of terrorist aggression to "free the
world from terrorism", or a breathtaking arrogance in refusing to
admit that such terrorism is the direct legacy of inept and highly
aggressive covert interference in world affairs; which does not fit
the United States and its security agencies for their self-proclaimed
role as global protector. Whatever the outcome, there is a serious
case to answer and censure is unavoidable.
<snip>
--
