Bin Laden’s Latest Video–Harbinger for Wider Islamo-Christian War?

American free press

Like distant thunder and lightning that warn of an approaching storm, recent events strongly suggest a false-flag attack on the Catholic Church–either in the form of an assassination on the Pope himself or a terrorist attack on the Vatican–may soon be in the works for those wishing to widen the present ‘clash of civilizations’ between the Christian and Muslim worlds for Israel’s benefit.

Like most of the moves Israel makes in her great game of chess, events are thought out–not just minutes in advance, but sometimes decades. In her drive to become the dominant power (first in the Middle East and then in the world) the necessity of knocking all competing powers out of the game–be they political, religious, or both–is obvious. This being the case, the fact that the followers of Islam and Christianity together encompass over ½ of the world’s 6 billion people means they represent a clear and present danger to the hegemonic designs of Zionism, which means they must be brought down, and given the fact that Israel cannot win a war against such overwhelming numbers, the best way to achieve this is having the 2 sides wipe each other out while the Jewish state sits back and watches from the sidelines.

The ‘clash of civilizations’ idea is nothing new. Militant, bigoted and irrational Israel-firsters such as Daniel Pipes, Normon Podhoretz, Martin Kramer and many others acting as unregistered agents for the Jewish state have been piling up the cordwood of an Islamo-Christian holocaust now for many years. At first generalized to non-Catholic denominations (meaning fundamentalist, apocalyptic-minded Protestants who found favor with Twilight Zone ideas such as the rapture and other poorly-interpreted passages from the Book of Revelations) now the agenda seems to be centered on bringing the Catholics into the battle for Israel’s benefit as well.

The reasons and benefits for doing so are obvious. The Catholic church–despite dealing with declining numbers in recent years–still has over a billion followers world-wide who swear obedience and loyalty to the Pope. In addition, the church and the countries that are principally Catholic in their orientation have not been as ‘enthusiastic’ as Tel Aviv and Washington DC would like when it comes to fighting the ‘war on terror.’ The previous Pope, John Paul II, as much as he is faulted by conservative elements within the Catholic laity, was nevertheless outspoken in his opposition to the war in Iraq.

How then does a creature such as Israel go about changing the minds of a billion Catholics worldwide and induce them into signing on to a new crusade against over a billion Muslims? Well, borrowing a catch-phrase used by Jewish interests in suckering the American people into going to war in Iraq for Israel’s benefit, it would be a ‘cakewalk’, meaning the simple matter of a well-placed bullet or a well-placed bomb. The Pope being shot by a Muslim fanatic with ties to Al Qaeda, Hezbollah or Hamas or a bomb going off in the headquarters of the Catholic church (St. Peter’s in Rome) and within minutes there would be 1,000 million Catholics world-wide calling for a new crusade against Islam, goaded along of course by a Zionist media and its now-infamous mouthpieces. The Israeli prime minister and his entire cabinet would be in front of every camera around the world, wiping crocodile tears from their eyes, denouncing the tragedy and promising to assist in whatever way possible with what the Church needed in ‘dealing’ with the situation. Rabbis everywhere (taking a break from their Talmudic studies that describe Jesus as a sorcerer and his mother a prostitute) who in recent years have been working feverishly trying to confuse Christians about the truly demonic, anti-Christian and anti-Gentile nature of Zionism and its ugly Frankenstein child Israel would take center stage in the western media, shaking their heads and saying ‘tsk, tsk, tsk…what a tragedy…Well, now you Catholics know what we Jews have been dealing with for years’. Protestant ministers, who centuries ago ‘decoded’ all the end-times prophecies and concluded that the Vatican and its leader are the predicted anti-Christ would put such inflammatory statements to the wayside in favor of bringing their fellow hell-bound Catholics into the anti-Islamic/pro-Zionist fold.

Those who would scoff at such a scenario, saying no evidence for such a plan exists should pay better attention to the news, both past and present. Keep in mind that this was already tried once before with the failed assassination of John Paul II by Mehmet Ali Agca, a ‘crazed Muslim fanatic’ (said by Israel’s intelligence service Mossad to be working for Iran) right in the heart of St. Peter’s Square. As the old saying goes, ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,’ and just as in the case of the USS Liberty and Israel’s unsuccessful attempt in bringing the US onboard as hired gun for the Jewish state, 9/11 went off without a hitch, and ‘the rest is history,’ as they say.

More important than this however is the recent past, and particularly the history of the last 2 years. The publishing of the now-infamous ‘Mohammed cartoons’ throughout ‘Christian’ Europe a few years ago was no accident, nor was it all about ‘freedom of speech’. In every country they appeared, laws exist making the ‘incitement’ of racial and religious hatred a crime. Hundreds are rotting in prisons throughout Europe at this very moment for telling the ugly truth as it pertains to Israel, Zionism, Judaism, Jewish influence or the sancta sanctorum, the Holocaust. The cartoon depictions of the prophet Mohammed were insulting enough, as Islam forbids such caricatures, but the image of him with a lit fuse coming out of his Turbin-clad head cannot be seen in any other light other than one of deliberate provocation.

Now, as if all the uproar weren’t enough the first time around and as if there weren’t anything more newsworthy to report, these same ‘Christian’ countries recently decided to re-print these cartoons in February 2008. Of the more important reactions emanating from all of this this was a taped message from none other than former CIA asset Osama Bin Laden himself where he calls for jihad on Europe and mentions Pope Benedict XVI by name, saying the reprinting of the cartoons came “in the framework of a new Crusade in which the pope of the Vatican has played a large, lengthy role’ . He further warned of ‘severe’ reprisals from the Muslim community, saying ‘The response will be what you see and not what you hear, and let our mothers bereave us if we do not make victorious our messenger of God.’

Important in this latest development is that the organization doing the translating for this latest message was none other than SITE–the ‘Search for International Terrorist Entities’ Institute based in Bethesda, Maryland. Long known to be an Israeli intelligence associated group, SITE was co-founded by Rita Katz, daughter of a convicted Israeli spy hanged by Saddam Hussein who herself moved to Israel. Upon coming to America she took up shop with the likes of Steven Emerson, arch-Neocon and slavish supporter of Israel who makes his living lecturing on the dangers of ‘militant Islam’. It should be remembered that–almost as if Emerson had a crystal ball hooked up to Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv–he predicted an attack on America shortly before 9/11 by–surprise, surprise–Osama Bin Laden.

Besides the publication and re-publication of the cartoons, there is the Regensberg incident taking place September 2006 where Benedict XVI read a speech on Islam resulting in what became an international uproar. Benedict was quoted saying ‘Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.’ Although quoting someone else’s words in the speech, nevertheless agents in the Zionist media–eager to create as much heat from this event as possible–made the most of it for weeks. In the ensuing uproar, death threats were issued against his person by individuals claiming to be Muslims. Priests and nuns were killed around the world. In the West Bank and Gaza, 6 Christian churches were set on fire. Palestinian Christians living near the churches said it was not the work of Muslims, but rather Jews who obviously wanted to blame the Muslims.

In Iraq, once home to one of the largest Christian communities in the Middle East, several churches were bombed. A previously unknown group calling itself Kataab Ashbal Al Islam Al Salafi threatened to kill all Christians in Iraq if the Pope did not apologize to Muhammad within three days. The Iraqi militia Jaish al-Mujahedin (Holy Warriors’ Army) announced its intention to “destroy their cross in the heart of Rome… and to hit the Vatican.“

Recently (and suspiciously) the Zionist media took an obvious extreme interest in the elevation of Iraqi Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho to the College of Cardinals (the body responsible for electing a new pope) by Pope Benedict XVI in November. In an age where the only thing one hears from the Jewish press concerning the Catholic Church are the lurid stories of priest sex abuse cases and subsequent cover-up by the Vatican, the amount of attention paid to this story was unusual, to say the least. Shortly thereafter and following a noticeable amount of press coverage concerning him, he was kidnapped and later found dead and, naturally, Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda was blamed. It is interesting to note that those who knew Rahho said he was a vocal opponent of the war and occupation of his country.

Finally, there is the recent ‘baptism’ by Benedict XVI of Magdi Allam, Egyptian-born critic of Islam and pro-Israel spokesman. Allam, as deputy director of Corriere Della Sera newspaper has made a name for himself in recent years for his lambasting of Islam (which he calls inherently violent and backwards) and for his praise of the Jewish state in his book ‘Long Live Israel’. Pretending to abandon Islam (which he admitted to never practicing) and choosing as his baptismal name ‘Christian’, the service was performed during Easter mass at the Vatican and was televised around the world a mere 2 days after the message from Bin Laden was made public. Muslim groups in Italy were puzzled as to why so much attention was put on the event and why so much secrecy surrounded it beforehand. He has since received death threats for his ‘conversion’ and the fact that Benedict XVI performed the ritual only adds to the image the Zionists are trying to paint of the head of the Catholic church as an enemy of Islam.

Mention the word ‘Fatima’ and Catholics worldwide understand its significance. It is the event in the early 1900’s where 3 peasant children in Portugal claimed to have received warnings from the Virgin Mary about an apocalyptic future. The first 2 warnings were revealed, but the third appeared to have been altered to fit a particular political agenda before being released many decades later. When it was finally released a few years prior to 9/11, it warned that the Pope would be shot down and killed. Some prophecy-wonks immediately seized on the previous attempted assassination of John Paul II, despite the fact that he lived through it in contravention of the prediction. There is little doubt then that if indeed Benedict is killed, the Zionist media will make the most of this third warning, using it to add even more noise to the anti-Muslim war drums that will be pounding within the Catholic world. Further, they will be sure to point out the fact that ‘Fatima’ was the name of the daughter of Mohammed, the founder of the same religion with which the ‘Christian West’ finds itself at war today.

In sum what exists here are all the ingredients for a major false-flag attack taking place against Rome by some ‘Middle Eastern’ group tied to Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda with the end result being an enraged and highly-polarized Catholic world marching headlong into George Bush’s ‘Crusade against terrorism’. If there is anything than can be said about the Zionists and how they do business, it is that there is a certain amount of predictability to it all. They lay the groundwork…The stage is set perfectly and they go to great lengths in preparing the public for any soon-to-take-place changes through a program of subtle yet powerful media conditioning.

With this in mind then, the one phrase all people should call to mind if and when these events come to fruition is not necessarily the ‘I told you so’ all are destined to hear coming from media mouthpieces in the aftermath, but rather the motto of Israel’s intelligence service Mossad that has made assassinations, bombings and false flag attacks its tricks of the trade which is ‘By way of deception, thou shalt do war.’

© 2008 by Mark Glenn

William F. Pepper - An Act of State

The following is a hypertext transcript of William Pepper speaking on the release of his new book

William F. Pepper - An Act of State
The Execution of Martin Luther King

La-Z-Boy, Whirlpool Moving Hundreds Of Jobs To Mexico

Workers at Dayton, Cleveland Facilities Get Notices
April 3, 2008

La-Z-Boy and Whirlpool are moving jobs to new plants in Mexico, bringing job losses to hundreds of workers in Dayton and Cleveland.

La-Z-Boy employees in Dayton were told today that the cutting and sewing operation is being moved to Mexico.

Kathy Liebmann, La-Z-Boy spokesperson, said the Dayton facility has over 2,000 employees, but she did not have a breakdown on those in cutting and sewing. A La-Z-Boy employee said it was around 750.

Ms. Liebmann said La-Z-Boy is closing a plant at Tremonton, Utah, but will keep its other plants open, including the one at Dayton. She said the 400 production jobs at the Utah plant will be spread over the other five plants.

She said workers in cutting and sewing will have an opportunity to train for available production jobs.

Ms. Liebmann said the Mexico plant is slated to open in January.

Meanwhile, some 350 Whirlpool employees are losing their jobs at the former Maytag facility in Cleveland.

Those jobs are also going to Mexico as well as to Oklahoma.

Ms. Liebmann said the transition will take place over the next 18-24 months.

La-Z-Boy makes recliners and other furniture.

Kurt L. Darrow, La-Z-Boy’s president and chief executive officer, said, “Speed to market for custom orders is a tenet of our brand promise to the consumer and the strength of our U.S. facilities enables us to deliver on that promise. With its proximity to the U.S. and the lower cost structure inherent in a Mexican-based operation, we made the decision to transition our domestic cutting and sewing operations while streamlining the assembly aspect of production in the United States.

"Our new Mexican facility will be able to rapidly supply our domestic plants with cut-and-sewn fabrics and leather for custom orders and will complement the existing cut-and sew program from China, which supplies our U.S. manufacturing operations with kits for our high-volume SKUs.

“Once we made the decision to transition the domestic cut-and-sew
operations to Mexico, we analyzed our remaining total capacity. With the floor space created by consolidating six cut-and-sew operations into one in Mexico, and with our manufacturing facilities dedicated solely to production, we determined we could service our existing and future demand with one less facility. Importantly, our remaining facilities will be able to increase their capacity utilization as a result of this change. Therefore, we made the difficult decision to close our Tremonton, Utah, facility.

"We are confident this reallocation of resources, combined with the many changes we have made to our production processes, will continue to strengthen our operations. We regret the impact these moves will have on the families and lives of those employees affected and greatly appreciate the contribution of each employee and thank them for their years of dedicated service.”

Mr. Darrow added, “With the normal attrition rate at our production facilities and the time with which we plan to transition our cutting and sewing operations, employees working in that capacity will have the opportunity to learn new skills and be considered for other positions within their facilities as they become available, particularly as we shift production from Utah.”

Following the closure of its Utah facility, La-Z-Boy’s upholstery segment will have a total of 5.5 million square feet of upholstery manufacturing space in North America, including 4.8 million in the United States and 700,000 square feet in Mexico and will employ approximately 8,000 people in those facilities.

Mr. Darrow said, “With the breadth and size of our operation, we will
ensure that our dealers and their customers will continue to receive excellent service with ontime deliveries as we transition production between facilities. Additionally, our manufacturing footprint will allow us to flex our capacity as we execute on our strategic growth plan.”

The Utah facility, which is approximately 675,000 square feet, will be idled after operations cease and will be marketed for sale. As a result of these actions, La-Z-Boy will take a pre-tax restructuring charge in the range of $17 - $20 million, or $0.20 to $0.24 per share. This charge will be principally for severance and other benefit costs and will also include training costs to begin production in the other facilities, the write-down of certain fixed assets and other associated costs.

As the plant is closed and the cut-and-sew operations are transferred, these charges will be incurred as follows: $2.0 - $2.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008; $9 million-$10 million in fiscal 2009; and the balance in 2010.

Once these moves are completed, the company expects to realize in excess of $25 million in annual cost savings, with the full benefit beginning in fiscal 2011.

Wall Street brokerages borrowing $38.1 billion a day from Federal Reserve

WASHINGTON -- Big Wall Street investment companies are stepping up their borrowing a bit from the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented emergency lending program.

The Federal Reserve reports Thursday that those firms averaged $38.1 billion in daily borrowing over the past week from the new lending program. That compared with $32.9 billion in the previous week and $13.4 billion in the first week the lending facility opened.

The program, which began on March 17, is part of the Fed’s effort to aid the financial system.

The Fed, for the first time, agreed to let big investment houses temporarily get emergency loans directly from the central bank. This mechanism, similar to one available for commercial banks for years, will continue for at least six months. It was the broadest use of the Fed’s lending authority since the 1930s.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues opened the facility as it raced to deal with the sudden crash of the venerable Wall Street firm Bear Stearns, which was on the brink of bankruptcy. Fearful that other investment firms could be in jeopardy given the intense fear that gripped the markets at that time, the Fed moved to give investment firms a place to go for overnight cash loans.

The lending facility is seen as similar to the Fed’s “discount window” for commercial banks, where the Fed acts as a lender of last resort. Commercial banks and investment companies pay 2.5 percent in interest for overnight loans from the Fed.

Banks also stepped up their borrowing from the Fed’s discount window. Banks averaged $7 billion in daily borrowing for the week ending April 2. That compared with $550 million the previous week.

Travel Tips For Packing Luggage - Packing Tips For Your Vacation

Terrie Bryan

Sponsor: IM Travel Consultants

Before you head out on your next vacation, here are some travel tips for packing luggage.

If you have babies in diapers, pack an extra suitcase just with diapers. As you use them up on your trip, you can have some extra space for items you may purchase.

To quickly spot your luggage at baggage claim, buy the most obnoxious loud color you can find. This will help you in two ways. One, you will be able to easily find your bags, and two, anyone thinking to steal someone's luggage will not pick such an obvious color.

Another tip to easily find your luggage is to tie a bright ribbon on the handle or wrap it around your bags.

If you are flying, do not pack any sharp objects into your carry-on luggage unless you never want to see the item again. It will be permanently donated to the airport.

If anyone asks to take your luggage, be sure they are who they say they are. Ask for identification. Thieves sometimes go around impersonating tour guides.

It's a good idea to put an emergency set of clothes and toiletries into your carry-on just in case your bags get lost. But no sharp objects, don't forget.

You may think a wheeled bag looks geeky as opposed to a nice shoulder bag when it comes to carry-ons, but after traipsing all over the airport with your heavy bag, especially if it contains such things as a laptop or other electronics, you will be thankful for the wheeled geeky carry-on!

On an airplane, sometimes the storage area under the seats is narrower in the aisle seat. So for more storage, get a window or middle seat.

For more travel tips for packing luggage, try to pack only what you love. If the clothes have been hanging in your closet for months and you never wear them, what makes you think you will wear them on a trip? This is a mistake I have made countless times. So stick with what you love, you'll travel lighter and actually use what you take along with you.

It is worthwhile to purchase quality luggage. I know it's tempting to cut corners by purchasing your luggage at a discount store, but in the long run it will pay for itself. You'll make it to destination after destination with all your belongings intact.

Don't forget to check with your airline for their particular weight limits for luggage. All the travel tips in the world won't be helpful if you are packing 75 pounds of clothes into your luggage when the weight limit is 50 pounds.

Remember that you can usually do some laundry at your hotel or travel destination. This may help you pack a little lighter.

To avoid wrinkles, try rolling your clothes instead of folding.

Pack some comfortable shoes, or better yet, wear them and pack plenty of comfy socks. Especially if you plan to do a lot of walking.

Don't forget your prescription medications as well as a list of them which you should keep with you.

Don't put valuables into checked luggage if possible. Keep them with you or in your carry-on bags.

I hope you can use the travel tips for your next trip and be better prepared when packing your luggage.

Report: Lawmakers Have Nearly $200M Invested In Companies Doing Defense-Related Work

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress have as much as $196 million collectively invested in companies doing business with the Defense Department, earning millions since the onset of the Iraq war, according to a study by a nonpartisan research group.

Not all the companies in which lawmakers invested are typical defense contractors. Corporations such as PepsiCo, IBM, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson have at one point received defense-related contracts, notes the report by the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics.

The center's review of lawmakers' 2006 financial disclosure statements suggests that members' holdings could pose a conflict of interest as they decide the fate of Iraq war spending. Several members earning money from these contractors have plum committee or leadership assignments, including Democratic Sen. John Kerry, independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman and House Republican Whip Roy Blunt.

The study found that more Republicans than Democrats hold stock in defense companies, but that the Democrats who are invested had significantly more money at stake. In 2006, for example, Democrats held at least $3.7 million in military-related investments, compared to Republican investments of $577,500.

Overall, 151 members hold investments worth $78.7 million to $195.5 million in companies that receive defense contracts that are worth at least $5 million. These investments earned them anywhere between $15.8 million and $62 million between 2004 and 2006, the center concludes.

It is unclear how many members still hold these investments and exactly how much money has been made. Disclosure reports for 2007 aren't due until this May. Also, members are required to report only a general range of their holdings.

According to the report, presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain did not report any defense-related holdings on their filings; Hillary Rodham Clinton did note holdings in such companies as Honeywell, Boeing and Raytheon, but sold the stock in May 2007. All three candidates are members of the Senate.

Earning dividends from companies tied to the military "could be problematic" for lawmakers who oversee defense policy and budgeting, noted the center's Lindsay Renick Mayer. Avoiding every company with a military contract, however, would not be easy for an investor.

"So common are these companies, both as personal investments and as defense contractors, it would appear difficult to build a diverse blue-chip stock portfolio without at least some of them," Mayer wrote

Kerry, D-Mass., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is identified as earning the most _ at least $2.6 million between 2004 and 2006 from investments worth up to $38.2 million.

Spokesman David Wade said Kerry, who staunchly opposes the war in Iraq, is one of many beneficiaries of family trusts that he doesn't control. Wade also noted that Kerry does not sit on the Appropriations Committee, which has direct control of the defense budget.

"He has a 24-year Senate record of working and voting in the best interests of our men and women in the military, not of any defense contractors," Wade said.

Lieberman, I-Conn., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and a member of the Armed Services Committee, held a considerably smaller share at $51,000. A spokesman said the senator, who supports continued operations in Iraq, is "careful to make his policy decisions based only on what is best for the country."

A spokesman for Blunt, R-Mo., a senior member of House GOP leadership who held at least $15,000 in Lockheed Martin stock in 2006, said the insinuation that lawmakers' votes might be affected by their portfolios is "offensive." Like Lieberman, Blunt has been a fierce supporter of the war.

"I don't pretend to speak for other offices, but I am fairly certain that no member would consider their personal finances when voting on issues as important as sending our men and women in uniform into harm's way," said Blunt spokesman Nick Simpson. The Lockheed Martin stock was given to Blunt's wife by her mother, he said.