sci.energy.hydrogen

JerryD(upstateNY) wrote:
> Here are some other Nobel Peace prize winners......
> 2002.....Jimmy Carter, the president whose policies gave us gas lines and
> 17% interest rates.
>


I realize that has been the popular rant. But truthfully, Carter was a
better than average president. Following an unpopular, expensive war,
hit with a total oil embargo, a hostage crisis and a military controlled
by right wing ideologues.


Nixon's inflation was so bad, he implemented wage and price
controls--very unpopular, very much a failure. The Vietnam War had a
severe draining,straining effect on the economy, as well as on the
psyche of the nation. The nation Carter inherited was beset by civil
unrest, hyper inflation, high unemployment as all those just-released
soldiers set out to find jobs. Volker, chairman of the Fed, raised
interest rate to 12%, and we began to get a handle on things as the
inflation rate began to slow.


More detailed, scholarly discussions of the effects of economic blowback
from the Vietnam War on the American economy are available. And they
don't all occur immediately--some of the effects take decades to arise.
Bush's Occupation of Iraq (paper cost so far "only" $600 billion or so)
over the next 30 years will cost us $3 trillion as Iraq veterans begin
to apply for the benefits available to them. It took the Fed nearly a
decade before sound fiscal policy was able to restore balance to the
economy. The high interest rates were a bitter pill to swallow, and
Carter accepted blame he didn't deserve.


Carter didn't create the problem with Iran. Blame that on Eisenhower,
who propped up the bloody Shah of Iran even though Iranian citizens
were begging for America's help in establishing an American-styled
Democracy. Yes, Carter made a mistake when he extended a compassionate
hand to the dying Shah after he was overthrown. This royally pissed off
all Muslims. Hostages were taken. This led to the infamous October
Surprise. Which led, a while later, to the infamous Iran-Contra scandal.

THE OCTOBER SURPRISE

The Iran-Contra scandal can be traced to the October Surprise during the
1980 Presidential election between incumbent Jimmy Carter and Ronald
Reagan. In the fall of 1980, Carter was marginally leading Reagan in the
polls with the election right around the corner. The release of hostages
before election day presumably would have insured the election for
Carter. The Reagan team conspired to negotiate a deal with Ayatollah
Khomeini of Iran. Campaign manager William Casey and George Bush met
with Iranian Prime Minister Bani-sadr in Paris in October, only weeks
before the election and with Carter having a slight lead over Reagan.
Part of the deal cut between the Reagan team and Iran was to provide
military weapons which Iran desperately needed in its war with Iraq. As
it turned out, the 52 American hostages remained captive in Teheran.
Carter's popularity continued to plummet, enabling Reagan to be elected
in November, and ironically the hostages were returned at 12 o'clock
noon on January 21, 1981 when Reagan was inaugurated.

The first meeting regarding arms-to-Iran occurred in July 1980 in
Barcelona, Spain and not in Madrid as was initially reported. The
Republican team met at the Hotel Princess Sofia and at the Pepsico
International headquarters. The American team was led by Republican
campaign director William Casey, who months later was to be named CIA
chief by Reagan, and by Robert McFarlane, who later became National
Security adviser under Reagan. Three months after Barcelona, a more
important meeting took place in Paris. CIA agent Richard Brenneke
testified that Bush was in Paris on Sunday, October 19, 1980 when he met
with members of the Khomeini regime to consummate an arms package to
Iran. Bush, along with Casey and other government officials, flew to
Paris on a BAC 111 on Saturday evening, October 18. The plane arrived in
Paris on Sunday morning October 19 at 8:40 a.m. European time.

While in Paris, the Republican team gave $40 million to the Iranian
government as a gesture of good faith that the Reagan team was serious
in dealing with the terrorist Khomeini government -- and that the 52
American hostages should remain captive until after the November
election. After the meeting, Bush had to quickly return to the United
States in order to deliver a speech at the Washington Hilton Hotel. He
departed France in an SR-71 reconnaissance plane, piloted by Gunther
Russbacher. The plane was refueled by an Air Force tanker nearly 2,000
miles out of Paris. The entire return flight to the United States was
less than two hours.

When news of the Paris meeting leaked out, the CIA moved quickly to
cover-up Bush's meeting. CIA agent Frank Snepp wrote an article in the
Village Voice, stating that the SR-71 pilot, Gunther Russbacher, was not
capable of flying an SR-71 and, therefore, his allegations were false.
However, in an interview between government whistle-blower Rodney Stich
and Russbacher, it was very clear that Russbacher had been trained in
flying the SR-71.

Several other witnesses corroborated the story that Bush was present in
Paris. Ari Ben-Menashea, a member of Israel's Mossad and involved in the
transfer of arms to Iran, stated that Bush was at the meeting. Also,
Iranian Prime Minister Bani-sadr produced documents indicating that Bush
was present. On the other hand, CIA agent Donald Gregg, who was on the
flight to Paris, failed a polygraph test when asked about Bush's presence.

The Secret Service unequivocally denied the fact that Bush was in Paris.
Yet, the agency refused to allow any of its agents who were assigned to
Bush at that time, to testify. Justice Department prosecutors called two
Secret Service agents who swore that Bush was in Washington, D.C. on
that weekend. The Secret Service claimed that Bush was in Pennsylvania
on Saturday, October 18; however, the agency did not produce any
evidence to indicate Bush's activities on the following day.

Under pressure by the Republicans, both the House and the Senate
initially refused to investigate the October Surprise. However,
eventually in 1991, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee made a token
gesture and superficially did look into allegations of improprieties.
The investigation was virtually blocked, since the committee prevented
investigators from traveling to Europe to interview witnesses; denied
subpoena power to investigators; limited the time frame of the
investigation; and limited the funds to investigate alleged
illegalities. The investigation died due to lack of effort.

Five months after the October Surprise and two months into his first
term, Reagan gave CIA chief Casey the green light to begin clandestine
activities to attempt to overthrow the Nicaraguan Sandinista government.
For three years the Contras only killed innocent Nicaraguans and were
incapable of seizing any villages. This frustration, coupled with the
American public's opposition to Reagan's dirty war, influenced Congress
to cut off aid to the Contras.




> 2001.....The United Nations....The most useless organization in the world.
> 1994....Yasser Arafat.......A TERRORIST !!
> 1988....The UN peace keeping forces....Those troops who stand by and watch
> the Serbs kill a million or so Muslums or a couple million Africans.
>

Carter did in fact deserve to win the Nobel Prize, although he did not:
the award went to Israel's Begin and Egypt's Sadat. Arafat was awarded
the prize in an effort to further advance the peace process begun by
Jimmy Carter. Arafat was a scumbag: he played a game, promoting peace
with his mouth, then a few moment's later, typing instructions to his
army of terrorists.


UN peacekeepers are not permitted to engage in open warfare. They are
there to keep the sides separated. Say you're a minimum wage security
guard working a bar and the two biggest bums in the place begin to
fight. You aren't big enough to beat either man, so you do what you can
to restore peace, you try to keep their buddies from joining in.
William Clinton ended the ethnic cleansing in Europe--against the strong
opposition of the Republicans and their talking heads.
...


I notice you haven't produced anything to prove that global warming is a
fallacy. Don't bother. Big oil pocketed $150 billion in profits last
year alone: they can sure as hell by a roomful of unscrupulous shills
that'll say anything they want. But their words cannot refute the
scientific evidence. And I know that a listing of 10,000 top ranked
scientists with scruples who speak the truth that global warming is real
and that mankind is at the very least one of the primary causes will not
influence your opinion. You have too much invested in George and the
republicons...you will defend their malfeasance and incompetence to your
last breath.

I must point out, however, that even George has finally seen the light.
Your boy george believes that global warming is real.



> gringo wrote:.. You are aware that Gore won a Nobel prize for the quality
> and accuracy
> of his film, aren't you?<<<
>
>
>> No he didn't.
>> There is nothing of quality or accurate in his film.
>> He won because the Liberal Nobel prize committee gives it to a prominent
>> liberal every year.
>>
>
>


--
"Sarah, if the American people had ever known the truth about what we Bushes have done to this nation, we would be chased down in the streets and lynched."
--- George Herbert Walker Bush, in an interview with Sarah McClendon, 1992