A Time to Reassure People and A Time to Scare the Cr*p Out of Them

Jenna Orkin

Might it sometimes be appropriate for the government to lie in order to reassure the public? Asked this question during a Court of Appeals hearing yesterday in Benzman vs. EPA, the case brought by residents, students and office workers exposed to and in many cases sickened by the environmental hazards following 9/11,* EPA lawyer Alisa Klein answered, "Yes."

Competing interests such as the economy or the "return to normalcy" [sic] might supercede that of public health, she argued.

There's no question that Ms. Klein accurately represented EPA's position. In addition to their compelling urge to reopen Wall St. ASAP after 9/11, the protocols they have developed to respond to a dirty bomb also take into account the economic import of the area exposed, regardless of the fact that an area that's important to the economy will also be more densely populated.

Accepting, for the moment, the mindbending reasoning that requires us to be reassured by a government which has admitted that it will lie whenever it feels like it, let us turn now to some situations in which said government has seen fit not to reassure us but in fact, to scare the sh*t out of us.

The lead-up to the Iraq war, when Condoleeza Rice dropped a metaphorical bomb into the conversation with her allusion to a mushroom cloud, comes to mind, as do the "Hoo-oo-oo - Be very afraaaaid" references at the time to chemical and biological weapons labs.

Ditto Iran, up until last week.

Then there are all those toys with kooties and that contaminated toothpaste from China. I'm not saying they're safe. I'm just wondering why they've garnered such prompt headlines while the press on American products such as Zonolite has traditionally been sluggish, never mind Agent Orange and depleted uranium. Some of the interests that have rightly decried lead-contaminated toys from China have, on the other hand, put up the strongest resistance to changing the lead laws in New York City housing, for example. (Also compare the press on avian flu with that on the numerous offenses of the American food industry.)

And remember the good old days of Homeland Security orange alerts and Osama's sneak previews? The ones that tended to come just before an election or some other sensitive event?

They don't fall into the category of reassurance but doubtless those in charge knew what they were doing those times also.

The government may not be consistent about wanting to reassure us but it certainly is consistently entertaining.


*I am one of the original plaintiffs in the case.

The Light Goes on for Ben Stein About Goldman Sachs
"Goldman has a fascinating culture. It is sort of like what I imagine the culture of the K.G.B. to be. You always put the firm first. The long-ago scandal of the Goldman Sachs Trading Corporation, which raised hundreds of millions just before the crash of 1929 to create a mutual fund, then used the fund’s money to prop up stocks it owned and underwrote, was a particularly sad example. The fund, of course, went bust.
Now, obviously, Goldman Sachs does many fine deals and has many smart, capable people working for it. But it’s not the Vatican....(Ed:??)
...Should Henry M. Paulson Jr., who formerly ran a firm that engaged in this kind of conduct, be serving as Treasury secretary? Should there not be some inquiry into what the invisible government of Goldman (and the rest of Wall Street) did to create this disaster, which has caught up with some Wall Street firms but not the nimble Goldman?"
Paulson Finds Bush's Treasury No Career Enhancer Like Goldman
Gulf Pegs to Dollar in Question
BBC on Sino/U.S. Economic Warfare
NY Times Series on Global Warming Trends
Ice Free Passage Possible in Arctic by 2010
Algae Emerges as Potential Fuel Source
It works particularly well if you don't have to breathe at the same time.
Manhattan Turns to New Jersey to Fulfill its Need for Electricity

Peak Oil in Time Magazine
...and Moneyweek
Peak Oil is now officially mainstream. Congratulations and condolences, all.
UN Warns of Climate Related Setbacks
"Some economists and development experts criticized the report yesterday, saying that a quick, costly shift away from fossil fuels, the main source of emissions, could actually backfire, blunting the climb toward prosperity that they say is a prerequisite for action to improve environmental quality.
Another reason for focusing on economic growth and increased ability to withstand climate shocks, this camp says, is that risks are rising not only because of warming but also because population growth in poor places is greatly increasing how many people are exposed to today’s climate-related hazards."
So you see, we have to increase the population to create economic growth to take care of our overpopulation problem.

Backyard Gardens Shelter Europe's Orphan Seeds
Kennedy Assassination Anniversary
Cogent argument with scholarly links from oilempire.us
Will Europe Impose Exchange Controls to Head Off Disaster?
Bet Your Bottom Dollar Tensions Will Follow
Digital Gold as Replacement for Dollar
Never Enough Gold Jewelry
Attack on Liberty Dollar Also Seized Metal Dies in Idaho
Our Diseased Monetary Bloodstream
Drums of War with Iran: Nuclear Weapons or Compound Interest?

Peak Oil Makes Mainstream Debut
Wall St. Journal Acknowledges Peak Oil Without Quite Admitting It
Govt Plans to Divert Oil Into Reserve
U.S. Secretly Aids Pakistan in Guarding Nuclear Weapons
OPEC Blunder Reveals Saudi-Iran Rift
Saudi Minister Warns of Dollar Collapse
We Don't Want Your Dollars
Gulf States Set to Depeg Their Currencies
The Krongard Brothers' Latest Caper
Liberty Dollar Office Raided
Mistakenly Disclosed Affidavit Outlines Case Against Liberty Dollar
China's Spying Called Threat by U.S. Panel
"...inadvertently outsourcing the manufacturing of key weapons and military equipment??"

Gov't Plans to Divert Oil into Reserves
Al Qaeda Threatens Shopping Malls in Christmas Season
Just as airport threats put a damper on flying during the travel season a year ago, this latest report is an effective means of destroying demand.
9/11 Truth Labelled with Terrorists at Congressional Hearing
Needless to say, the hearing focussed on the shakier and downright loony evidence as opposed to the valid evidence put forth by FTW and allied websites.
National Special Security Events
Aid to Musharef is Usually Untraceable Cash Transfers
African Oil and Chinese Arms
FEMA to Workers: What's good enough for the citizens of New Orleans may not be good enough for you.
Technofix to Create Cheap, Abundant Hydrogen
Slow Volcano Power
Former Giant Treks Cross Country for 9/11 Workers
Saudi Prince Buying Flying Palace Jet
...But he worked really hard for it.

Matt Simmons Spells it Out
When the author of Twilight in the Desert says he should have made a stronger case, get ready for a rocky ride.
CDC Director Denies She Was Censored on Climate Report
How the U.S. Could Profit From Following Iceland's Example
Sewage Island Twice the Size of Texas in Pacific
Spoof on Cap and Trade
The Future of Solar-Powered Homes
China's Deep Sea No Easy Waters for CNOOC
Beyond Binary Thinking
An important philosophical underpinning to arguments about Peak Oil and 9/11. If people understood the concepts that FTW ally Mark Robinowitz puts forth here, the disinfo agents would vanish tomorrow.
Gulf States and the Dollar Link
Gold will Rocket to 1000$ an Ounce
More Arguments on Why the U.S. Won't Attack Iran

SEC Eyes Goldman Sachs' Good Fortune
As the world watches the once almighty U.S. dollar implode, it can be somehow reassuring to read the few people who understand and are willing to divulge what's really going on.

The author of the article above, John Crudele, has FOIA'ed the President's Working Group on Financial Assets - mentioned in the article and known to its would-be intimates as the Plunge Protection Team - with tragicomic results that have provided fodder for an ongoing saga. This group of masters of the universe is the financial equivalent of the National Energy Policy and Development Group, the equally elusive and powerful enclave whose meeting minutes the Sierra Club, among others, sought in vain to obtain.

Why Kuwait Wants to Shift to Heavy Oil
One guess.
OPEC May Launch Currency Basket
Clearcutting the Climate Conference
Thanks, Global Warming!
Written without irony in a usually astute and subtle publication. But the prospect of profit makes demons of the best of us.
White House May Stop Distribution of Anti-Radiation Pills
They're such a downer, after all.
Global Warming Could Kill Half of All Plant and Animal Species
California Plans Global Warming Suit Against EPA
London Review of Books on True Motives of Iraq Invasion
U.S. Disclosure Cited as Proof of Gold Cartel's Price Capping Efforts

Bhutto's Husband Blames Pakistani Intelligence for Attack
Pentagon Backs Plan To Beam Solar Power from Space
Megadroughts May Have Driven Human Evolution
Teaching Peak Oil to People with Limited English
"Dave," who manages this website, teaches ESL in China. Having taught ESL in New York, I'm intrigued by his ambitions for a number of reasons, the first being that people who've sacrificed to come to the U.S. don't like to hear that they might be better off back home. On the other hand, they're less invested in the belief that America is an honorable country. Many of them have reason to know better.


Moment of Zen:

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888


1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111=12345678987654321

Biofuel Plans to Hit Water Supply in India, China
UN Rapporteur Calls for Moratorium on Biofuels
Peering Into Investors' Skulls
Who's Ben Chatting With About the Economy?
Inconvenient Truths About Al Gore
How Global Warming Will Save Us From Peak Oil
Tongue-in-cheek response in Salon to New York Times article critiqued in this blog several weeks ago.
Five Ex-Communist Countries Sign Oil Pipeline Deal Bypassing Russia

New Frontiers in Computer Technology

Where Has All the Oil Gone? (Wall Street Journal)
A Quest for Energy in the Globe's Remote Places
"There are no easy barrels left."
"[T]he world’s fast-rising use of fossil fuels, by contributing to global warming, could eventually make the Arctic more accessible for oil and gas production."

Belgian Court Reportedly Reopens Case Against Total in Myanmar
Myanmar is the latest in a series of conflicts that appear to be about democracy and oppression but are really about oil. Not that the oppression isn't real; just that world censure is selective.

Kurds Reach New Oil Deals, Straining Ties with Baghdad
The tri-partite division of Iraq -Kurdish in the North, Sunni in the middle and Shia in the South - proceeds according to FTW prediction and Neocon plan.

Nuclear Industry Gets Burst of Energy: GAO Report
Equatorial Guinea Energy Profile
U.S. Called Lax at Handling Bio Hazards
Marshals Arrest NH Tax Evaders
What would the late Aaron Russo have said about this? Perhaps the couple in question (and now in custody) were inspired by his movie.
Pataki Named to Global Warming Task Force
Fall of the Consumer Economy
All That Glisters [sic] May Not Be Gold

At Least Someone Has Energy To Burn: Man Circumnavigates Globe on Own Power
We may all need to take a leaf from his book and a deep breath.