What a Wonderful World This Can Be

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD THIS CAN BE: Solution for a Planet in Crisis

2007-05-21T08:14:00.000-06:00

By Bertha Stoller-Fields

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Quotes

2007-05-21T08:12:00.000-06:00

"Nations spend more than half their revenues to kill each other's citizens".

Bertrand Russell, 1957.

“I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the press of the human mind. As that becomes more developed more enlightened and new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinion change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors".

Thomas Jefferson

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing".

Edmond Burke

"The world needs open hearts and open minds, and it is not through rigid systems, whether old or new, that these can be derived."

Bertrand Russell 1957, Why I am not a Christian.

We must create who we want to be rather than merely imitate whowe have recently been"....."We must fundamentally change the way we think"...."We need a nonviolent assumption of the power of the soul to heal the pain of a world that has forgotten it has one."

Marianne Williamson 1997
The Healing of America

PREFACE

2007-05-21T08:10:00.003-06:00

The purpose of this book is to persuade the people of the world to take the action needed to save the human race from the destruction that is inevitable if current demagogues continue to govern. An overview of the incredible violence caused by the lust for power and greed throughout the ages must motivate THINKing individuals to develop an intelligent, equitable and nonviolent system of global behavior if life on this planet is to survive.

In this 21st century, human beings in developed countries, despite having access to the best education and freedom of thought, tolerate corruption by career politicians, bureaucrats, corporate criminals, and pretentious religious leaders who are unwilling to make permanent changes that might interfere with their control. Others in under-developed countries are ruled by power-hungry dictators, terrorists and fanatics who, under the guise of religion, make fear their weapon of mass destruction.

Having produced technology that has made it possible to communicate with each other throughout the world in a matter of seconds, it is astonishing that peaceful existence has been a monumental failure as humans continue to bring misery and death to each other. Without a complete change in global attitude our young are destined to witness the destruction of planet earth.

There is not one single aspect of life as we currently live it that can be pronounced as successful, or functioning with truth, honesty, compassion, fairness, equality, tolerance, spirituality, generosity and love. Despite thousands of years of established religion, and national and international political institutions which were to provide life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all citizens, we are not any closer to co-existing. Instead, we are victims of the very institutions that were designated to act on our behalf.

Many authors and speech-makers have told us what needs to be healed, but not how to find and implement a cure. It is analogous to doctors of medicine who provide few cures, but are satisfied with prescribing outrageously expensive drugs whose side effects can be more serious than the original illness.

Cave drawings dated as early as 13,000 BCE depict war. All there is to show for the history of aggression is an incredible waste of lives, property and the lost opportunity to live in an endless age of PEACE, knowledge, love, and achievements beyond imagination. THINKing people must come to the realization that it is necessary to remove all of the current forms of government, educational and financial institutions, military, established religions, and replace them with a completely different way of life that reflects human spirituality, with a deep desire for peaceful existence.

THINK of the stupendous amount of planetary revenue that could be amassed if we no longer needed rulers, elected or self-appointed government and religious leaders, their seats of government and symbols of power, massive cathedrals, secret police and intelligence agencies, tax collectors, penal institutions, endless court procedures that affect neither truth nor justice and duplication of bureaucracies benefiting national, state, county, and local officials. The public pays their salaries and lifetime pensions which they allocated to themselves.

THINK of how that wealth could be used instead, for all of the basic needs for all of the people, with colossal amounts remaining for superb education, careers, health and medical research, family enjoyment, safety and comfort, even luxuries.

It is too late to expect governments to repair the current system with its destructive actions. There is no time for political committees to pretend to study solutions but have no desire to change. Everyone knows of man's inhumanity to man, but make no protest or efforts to initiate practical ideas. Everyone knows what is wrong and what we ought to be, but no one has envisioned a new world completely different from what we are currently experiencing.

Despite opinions of disheartened naysayers, the worst of whom strongly believe that changes are impossible, not only do nothing themselves, but encourage others to join them. Moreover, changes are not only possible, they have been occurring constantly through the ages. The difference is that they change for worse, not for better.

There is a solution and it must begin now, while current and potential wars, self-dealing, natural disasters and global warming are on the brink of obliterating human life on earth. We must open our minds and imagine how life could be more humane and equitable with an entirely new way of self-government, economic opportunity, education, spiritual and social needs, truth in a new justice system, health care and PEACE ON EARTH. We need to "throw the baby out with the bath water," and start with new babies worldwide who will be educable by age four, to become the new humanity. In that four year period, we must rebuild the base from which their lives will evolve.

The fundamental plan for global change must be derived from changing our system of education throughout the world, so that it becomes the base for the most effective, affordable and acceptable structure that will be the ultimate guide for all global activity. Fortunately, this plan is underway as nations are coming together to study each other’s methods.

The entire concept depends on awareness and understanding that tyrants who were given or seized power throughout the ages, have manipulated, deceived and violated the people. To overcome the defects we will need to accept a unique method by not electing, but selecting and employing qualified people who will be thoroughly educated and trained to perform their public duties, and who will be unable to wield power and privilege beyond what the people allow.

The first step is to persuade those who say that the earth's problems are "too complex to be solved," that with daily practice to be generous, compassionate and loving to each other, we can change the world. Cynics may scoff, but people throughout the world have come together in every major disaster; earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunami, forest fires and the September 11, 2001 attack on the U.S., to bring emergency supplies and medical help, which has generated global brotherhood, respect and gratitude.

The next step is to remove current, fanatic nationalism that is responsible for war and tremendous waste of lives and the planet’s resources. A realistic, nonviolent plan must be designed to remove those who will refuse to relinquish the power and privilege they have guarded for themselves for centuries, and replace them with a new system of self-government.

A precise plan as to how to fund the new system and maintain a responsible global, fiscal policy will be described in detail.
This book will concentrate on how rulers, governments, political and religious institutions have misused power; how world-trade methods, and modern corporate practice and greed have influenced the global economy which directly affect how we support our families. We must etch deeply into our minds how greed and lust for power resulted in the extremely inequitable distribution of global wealth through the ages.

Those who do not think changes are possible only need to remember that all of the changes to improve our society have been brought because a single individual refused to accept the worst violations of human rights.

Abraham Lincoln emancipated more than a million slaves; Mohandas (Mahatma)* Ghandi’s doctrine of nonviolence brought freedom to India; a seamstress, Rosa Parks and an obscure minister Martin Luther King, Jr. dedicated their lives to obtaining civil rights in the United States; Betty Friedan helped women liberate themselves; a worker Lech Walesa of Gdansk, Poland resisted the Soviet Union and Mikail Gorbechev recognized that it was impossible to sustain the enormous cost of the Cold War against a new military build-up by the Reagan administration, and the people tore down the Berlin wall to free their countries from communism. Jimmy Carter rose from the presidency of the United States to a higher calling and recently was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Individuals in spiritual congregation and affluent celebrities devoted to wiping out disease and poverty in Africa and elsewhere in the world are making differences with courageous and rational solutions.

If Americans were able to free themselves from British rule, if colonies freed themselves from European powers, if the Soviet Union collapsed and became separate nations, if China now embraces capitalism, and if new democracies and republics can emerge within a lifetime, there is reason to believe that necessary profound changes can be accomplished within the lifetime of a new generation.

This work is undertaken with the firm belief that our progeny will live a “good life” in synthesis with the true spirituality that resides in the hearts of mankind.

Bertha Stoller Fields, 2007

2007-05-21T08:10:00.002-06:00

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE - POPULATION/CONTINENTS

CHAPTER TWO - NATURAL RESOURCES

CHAPTER THREE - THE COST OF THE MADNESS OF WAR

CHAPTER FOUR - THE FAILURE OF GOVERNMENTS

CHAPTER FIVE - RELIGION

CHAPTER SIX - EDUCATION

CHAPTER SEVEN - HEALTH/MEDICINE

CHAPTER EIGHT - ECONOMY/CORPORATE BEHAVIOR

CHAPTER NINE - JUDICIAL SYSTEM

CHAPTER TEN - MILITARY

CHAPTER ELEVEN - PEACE MOVEMENT

CHAPTER TWELVE - TERRORISM-THE DILEMMA OF THE MIDDLE EAST

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - NOVEMBER 6, 2006 ELECTIONS - IRAQ STUDY

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - PLAN TO CHANGE TO PLANETARY AND CONTINENTAL PANELS FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT

AFTER WORD

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES

INDEX

INTRODUCTION

2007-05-21T08:08:00.001-06:00

After the first four years of the George W. Bush administration it became apparent that the chilling mind-set of mesmerized members of congress, his right-wing and conservative supporters, caused a shut down in logical thinking. The silence is deafening in America's acceptance of how far respect for the United States has descended around the world.

Seventy percent of the nation does not approve of George W. Bush and despite a slight majority of the new Democratic Congress in the 2007 election, significant changes are not in sight. The grievous flaw in our Constitution is not being able to discharge an acting president who is destroying the country.

After September 11, 2001, nations were sincerely sympathetic about the disaster of the terrorist attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. In 2006, the United States is despised throughout the world.

Judging from the hesitancy of the U.S. media to ask pertinent questions, there is little doubt that some rights have already been lost. Using the fear tactic, the Bush administration has made nefarious changes in the Homeland Security Act that rob Americans of privacy rights and the accepted rule of law.

July 30, 2006, Americans learned from the CBS program 60 Minutes, that the Bush administration has prohibited scientists from speaking freely about the threat to the planet through global warming. They have been ordered to submit press releases for approval from the White House. Whole sentences, paragraphs and pages have been deleted to minimize the warnings of the approaching disaster. Jim Hanson, a scientist working for the government, told us only ten years remain to restrict the use of fossil fuels or there will be no chance to save the planet from coastal flooding, loss of water supply as snow no longer falls in the northwest, unbearable climate and environmental changes.

The following morning no one in the U.S. seemed to be alarmed. There were no news reports about this loss of right to free speech, people did not gather to seek action, no phone calls, no e-mail, so it is obvious that people do not believe the scientists, and are putting their trust in the "steadfast" president (description by Senator McCain (R) of Arizona).

How does one apologize to our progeny for the destruction we have allowed to be brought to the planet we inherited, but failed to safeguard and improve? They are destined to an abysmal quality of life if they survive.

AUTHOR'S BLOGS ON THE INTERNET
(Edited to conserve space)

Blog site: www.livejournal.com/users/bert_fields

The purpose of the following blog entered August 21, 2004 was to alert everyone to the dangers of four more years of George W. Bush.

1. DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA

Since casting my first vote in 1948, no election has been as crucial to the immediate and future needs of our country. In 2000, the United State Supreme Court's ruling allowed Mr. Bush to become what should be considered, "acting" president. Republicans apparently agree with this assumption, as only once in this campaign has the word "re-elect" been used in connection with this president.

Only days away from the Republican convention, it is amazing that supporters of Mr. Bush, media pundits, well-educated, former leaders and experienced members who have been in Congress too long, have not understood how badly our country has been damaged these past four years.

None have had the courage to question Mr. Bush's mental ability or analytical skills needed to make the monumental decisions that will be needed to bring about changes so carefully detailed in the 9/11 Commission Report. Anyone who has read or even scanned the contents should know that this "acting" president will not be able to safeguard this or any other country, or repair the harm he has done to domestic conditions.

Mr. Bush has dumbed-down America to his intellectual level measured by his inarticulate speeches, accepted as "gaffes," and in his apparent inability to 'think on his feet.' He has been unable to communicate or explain his own positions when responding to his opponent's ideas, not even in defense of his dogmatic and failed war in Iraq. He only repeats that he will stay the course, and that opponent Senator Kerry will not.

His gaffes are fodder for late-night show comedians. In his use of the word "feces" when he surely meant fetuses" in an anti-abortion speech, and his response to Senator Kerry's reference to a possible draft, pounding the lectern, "there will be a draft" which was opposite to what he meant to say. There was an embarrassed silence while someone told him he misspoke.

In a television debate he said he wasn't concerned and didn't think about Osama bin Laden then later denied he made that statement. What other gaffes has he made during meetings, perhaps with his own staff and military officers which might have led to misunderstandings of what he was ordering them to do?

We are accustomed to reports of a candidate's physical health. Are we not entitled to hear the opinion of psychologists as to what Mr. Bush's body language and facial expressions signify, and how they evaluate his mental health?

This "acting" president inherited excellent financial conditions which he squandered during this four year term. Former President Clinton's writes in his book, "My Life [page 891]; "My last State of the Union address was a joy to deliver. We had more than twenty million new jobs, the lowest unemployment rate and smallest welfare rolls in thirty years, the lowest crime rate in two years, the lowest poverty rate in twenty years, the smallest federal work-force in forty years, the first increase in adoptions and 150,000 young people who had served in AmeriCorps. Within a month we would have the longest economic expansion in American history and by the end of the year we would have the three consecutive surpluses for the first time in fifty years."

The billion dollar surplus left to Mr. Bush was depleted, and defense spending increased by 50 percent, from $354 billion to about $547 billion according to the 9/11 Commission Report, [p.361], creating a record deficit. What did Bush say when he took office? "I inherited a recession." Democrats did not challenge Bush's statement.

Former President Clinton wrote [p.935], "after Mr. Bush's election, he came to the White House for the same meeting I had with his father eight years earlier. He was putting together an experienced team from past Republican administrations who believed that the biggest security issues were the need for national missile defense and Iraq. I told him that based on the last 8 years, I thought his biggest security problems in order, would be Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda; the absence of peace in the Middle East; the standoff between nuclear powers India and Pakistan, and the ties of the Pakistanis to the Taliban and al Qaeda, North Korea; and then Iraq. He listened to what I had to say without much comment, then changed the subject to how I did the job."

Can it be more clear that Mr. Bush decided to invade Iraq before he was even inaugurated and before the 9/11 attack? There are many questions that voters need answered before they step into the booth to make their choice for president on November 2, 2004.

Who is really running this administration? Mr. Bush appointed his father's staff, including Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, Dick Cheney to name a few. Do these Republicans have more loyalty to their party than to their country?

Why when we were so close to finding Osama bin Laden and ending his reign of terror did Mr. Bush leave this task to other forces, reduced our participation, and instead used our military resources to invade Iraq? Would a few more weeks of U.N. inspection reveal what we now know to be a lie regarding weapons of mass destruction controlled by Saddam Hussein? Are Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen and Egypt among the coalition countries and how many of their troops are fighting this threat of mass destruction in their own neighborhood?
Why would Mr. Bush put our troops in harm's way, causing the death of more than a thousand, injury to thousands more and unreported number of casualties and suffering of the Iraqi people, as well as the destruction of public utilities and infrastructure?
This 'acting' president created a war and then with enthusiasm proclaimed himself to be a "war president" as though it were a badge of honor. The 9/11 Commission reports that "polls in 2002 show the support in our fight against terrorism plummeted. Fifty percent of our friends in Egypt decreased to fifteen percent, and in Saudi-Arabia to twelve percent, and two-thirds of the countries from Indonesia to Turkey were fearful that the United States would attack them. Favorable ratings for the U.S. have fallen from sixty-one percent to fifteen percent in Indonesia, and from seventy-one percent to thirty-eight percent among Muslins in Nigeria. Does this indicate that Mr. Bush is correct in claiming, "we are safer now."
Has Mr. Bush read the U.S. Constitution, specifically in relation to the powers of the presidency? Does it say anywhere that his job is to bring democracy to the rest of the world, whether they ask for it or not?
Does our Constitution give Mr. Bush the power to decide the areas of research scientists are allowed to conduct based on his religious beliefs, especially limiting discovery of stem-cell applications that might cure many diseases and afflictions?
Does our Constitution give Mr. Bush the power to decide personal relationships such as same-sex marriage?
Does our Constitution give Mr. Bush or Congress the power to impose their views as to what a woman is allowed to do with her own body. Does Bush's pro-life view coincide with the number of lives lost due to his mistakes in not learning more about terrorist activity, and by launching a war against one man. It took two weeks to capture Saddam Hussein who was executed after a lengthy trial. During the preparation time he received better medical care than many children and elderly people in the United States.
Can anyone really believe that the tax cuts for the rich who make global investments, were better than middle and lower-income families who would increase daily expenditures to improve their local economies? Does this decision reflect his MBA degree?
Does Mr. Bush understand that the Constitution specifically separates Church and State and that whether or not he is a God-fearing man has nothing to do with the power of his presidency? Is his morality on a higher level in waging a catastrophic war than that of President Clinton's personal behavior? Was the break-in at Democratic headquarters for which President Nixon took responsibility and resigned, as horrible as the huge numbers killed and maimed due to Mr. Bush’s war?
Is Mr. Bush accountable for motivating the increase of gasoline consumption by granting tax incentives to buy SUVs, notwithstanding record-setting prices, and increased environmental problems.
Suburbia's "Security Moms," formerly called "Soccer Moms," said on television that they intend to switch their vote to Mr. Bush because he will better protect them from terrorists than his opponent Senator Kerry... Duh moms....who will protect your children from the enormously influential National Rifle Association lobby which refuses to ban automatic weapons. Deranged adults can bring weapons to your schools and kill your children; or help people to buy handguns that their children bring to school and randomly kill and injure other children or accidentally kill themselves or friends while playing at home? Is this not the realty of what is currently occurring on streets, at workplaces and in schools?
To repossess our democracy, we must elect a president who will understand and follow the recommendations of the 9/11 commission, that it be the responsibility of the presidency to completely reorganize all of our security agencies, at the same time preserving our civil liberties.
When you vote ask yourself whether or not you and our country are better off today than four years ago? It was a question I asked in the Grass Roots Public Opinion Poll which I conducted for a national newspaper chain all during the Reagan administration. (Signed) Bfields747@aol.com

BLOG, APRIL, 2006 (Edited)
SEND TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IF YOU AGREE

This is the most troubled time in U.S. history. It seems to be the government vs. the people. More than ever, Republicans are exhibiting a much greater loyalty to their party than to the country. Democrats are leaderless, exhibit no backbone, no plan or direction, no voice but to "support" the president, notwithstanding that seventy percent of U.S. citizens do not approve of his actions. Democrats "go along" and seem to be more fearful of being accused of not supporting the president than to come up with solutions germane to issues of concern to the people.

One can only conclude that you have failed in your duty to your constituents and thereby have lost your legitimacy. Did you know or forget that your job is to balance the power of the executive branch? You, not the president are the lawmakers. It is not your job to blindly support the president, especially when he has led us on the path to destruction.

Did you know as reported in April 3, 2006 edition of U.S. News & World Report, "that after he decided to invade he told Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon to carry out the mission as they saw fit?" The report said he then timidly followed Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney's recommendations. Where was the Congress to monitor their senseless and ill-planned war?

If you know anything about our Constitution, there is no provision for the president to "bring democracy to the world." The president is charged with the duty to defend our country. If you agree that this was a preventive war and continue to believe that he really thought that Iraq had the capability to attack us and had the intelligence data to prove it, you are on the same intelligence level as the president. When George W. Bush declared war on Osama Bin Laden and his terrorists, he gave him legitimacy as the head of a government. bin Laden and his organization should have been dealt with as international criminals.

Even with a supposedly huge turn-out for elections, and training to develop their own security force in Iraq, there is no functioning government. Are you prepared to approve funds requested by Iraq's new leaders at the January, 2006 World Economic Forum in Davo, Switzerland, for a program similar to the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after World War II?

Senators McCain and Biden's solutions to end the war in Iraq as reported in the Readers' Digest were thoughtless and an embarrassment. Did it occur to any one of you, that the only way to end this war and the historic conflict among and between the Sunnis, Shi’as and Kurds is to separate them into three countries and divide the profits from oil production according to the population in each country?

We have seen in our lifetimes the division of Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, and others, into individual nations.

It is obvious that none of you bothered to learn the history of Islam. Do you know that Muhammad did not leave instructions as to his successor which is why the Sunnis and Shi'a have been enemies since his death. Did you know that the seat of Islam was once in Damascus and moved to Baghdad because of this conflict? These groups have lived apart in different parts of Iraq for centuries, with limited integration in some city neighborhoods. Many have already fled to Syria since the U.S. invasion, leaving behind their homes and possessions.

George W. Bush says Iraq is not engaged in a civil war while their newly elected prime minister said a civil war is in progress. Which one is to be believed?

More people seem to be resigned to the dumbing-down of America to the president's level, providing fodder for comedians, while none of you legislators seem to have the fortitude to turn things around. Your committee hearings as seen on C-Span are lackluster with partisan questioning and acceptance of refusals to answer, that it seems you are all merely going through the motions.

If you do not carefully regulate the influence and practices of lobbyists, especially to enrich their weapons-manufacturer clients, you are war criminals and we will never achieve global peace. Along with global warming which you and the president have ignored, this planet will not survive a nuclear, or even another conventional weapon world war.

Shame on all of you for allowing September 11 to make you so fearful that you are willing to trade our freedom for "security" while innocent civilians and young soldiers are dying every day in Iraq. Our airport security system is absurd and inefficient and an example of what a police state looks like, while public utilities are not secure.

Have any of you investigated who at our embassies are screening people's applications for visas to enter the United States? Who carefully checks their visas before they board a plane or ship? Who checks their visas when they arrive at our air or sea ports? Does anyone know where these people stay when they enter? Are they tracked down if they overstay their visa date? How many of these people are unaccounted for in the United States who might actually be a security risk?
How does it help the U.S. economy to pay $6.5 billion to Dubai and a British corporation to manage our ports? How could contracts have been awarded without bids from American companies? Or, in learning of the Dubai contract, did anyone have an intuitive, if not educated awareness of "hali burton tosis"? How did the president and his vice president Dick Cheney keep this secret? Why was the sub-government bureaucracy, permitted to make this momentous decision? George W. Bush defended the transaction, and Senator First, without knowing the facts, said he thought the president is "probably right." What was right about it? Did it have anything to do with the president's family dealings with Middle East oil interests?
As for erosion of our rights, where is "equal under the law" in giving tax cuts to the wealthiest? Would not middle-class taxpayers immediately put the money back into our economy right here in the U.S. paying huge gas-heating bills and automobile fuel, credit card debt, mortgages, property taxes, medicines, utilities, clothing, food, school supplies, children's needs, perhaps a movie?.
How are the rich spending their windfall? Perhaps large amounts are in safety deposit boxes, if not in Swiss bank accounts. Has it occurred to any one of you to initiate national sales tax for luxury items so that wealthy loop-hole users would pay an equitable share?
When will you become aware of markets that are growing in China, India and Korea, throughout Asia and Russia? Many nations are ahead of us in education, specifically math and science. We will wonder how and why we became the fourth wealthiest country in the world. if not fifth or sixth. What happened to the funds Representative Henry Hyde was supposed to use to reform the judicial system? Has our current system anything to do with truth and justice? Other than lawyers, who are the beneficiaries of final judgments? All lawyers are familiar with the courthouse statement, "the worst settlement is better than a trial." It is beyond understanding that representatives of a civilized people accept the building of more and more prisons without any significant rehabilitation and treatment programs.
Only Senator Feingold (D) Wisconsin had the courage to seek censure of a president who has broken the law with secret wire-tapping, violating our right to privacy. Who knows what else is being kept secret? Changes to the Homeland Security Act are equally insidious.
If you don't have the courage to seek censure, than at least demand this president's resignation with the clear understanding that he must take with him all of his father's cronies who designed and carried out his orders. According to the article in U.S. News and World Report, April 3, 2006 it appears that they have actually been running the government, with the president as a figurehead. It describes his hands-off style, quoting him, "I put a lot of faith and trust in my staff...I look for people who are smart and loyal and who share my conservative philosophy. My job is to set the agenda...and then delegate much of the process to them. The final decision often rests with me, but their judgment has a big influence..... I am loyal to my friends, so it is sometimes hard to say no." How does that statement stand up to his loyalty and duty to his country and its citizens?
The president's plan to relieve the burden of the cost of medicine for the elderly is becoming a tremendous windfall for pharmaceutical and insurance industries. Americans have been very generous in contributing to medical research for many years, and if universities are working on cures, how does the industry attribute its outrageous prices for drugs to the "cost of research" while Europe and Canada can provide them at one-third or one half the price in the U.S.? The president can't explain the plan, and I doubt any one of you can.
It is impossible to respect your positions as representatives of the people when not one of you speaks out to contradict the president's statement that he "inherited a recession" from the Clinton administration. Not one Senator came forward to support the House bill challenging the Supreme Court's decision that put George W. Bush in office.
And, on this third anniversary of our invasion of Iraq, the president speaks out on the White House lawn upon returning from a weekend at Camp David, bragging how we freed the Iraqis and helped them achieve a democracy with the election of a new government. At the same time, the elected prime minister in Iraq clearly states that a civil war is being waged there now. Despite the elections, a government has yet to be formed and American troops are still casualties. .
Last and perhaps most important, is the silence these many years regarding the enactment of a limited term for the presidency, but not the legislature. Obviously you have been able to stay in office for many years past your effectiveness, if you ever were even mildly effective.. Most of your terms are spent fund-raising to remain in office. The necessity to raise millions of dollars to campaign to serve one's country is in itself a travesty in a democracy. You have allowed this democracy to erode incrementally, with your own purposes in mind.
If you truly loved our country you should seek resignations from those who blindly followed the party line, rather than represent their constituencies.

I would very much appreciate if you respond with answers to the following questions.

1. What was your schedule this past week that was of benefit to your constituency?_____________________________________________

2. Since you have been a U.S. Senator which bill(s) did you author and which was your most significant contribution and when did that occur?

3. How much money do you have in your next election campaign funds?_____________________

4. How much time do you expect you will spend from now to November for fund-raising and campaigning? _________________________________

Any comments would be appreciated. BFields747@aol.com

(No response was received from any member of congress.)

CHAPTER ONE

2007-05-21T08:07:00.000-06:00

POPULATION/CONTINENTS

As of January 18, 2006 the world population was 6,492,233,251, .an increase of 100,000,000 since July 1, 2005. The land surface per continent as seen below, must house these billions, as well as future generations. In addition to housing, space must be provided for supporting facilities such as, schools, work places, agriculture, hospitals, trade centers, and a myriad of services.

Fig.1 POPULATION AND AREA OF THE SEVEN CONTINENTS

Location----------2005/pop. ------- 2000/Pop.-------1950/Pop.-----------% of World

Asia ------------3,913,842,171 ------3,686,061.632 -------1,436,893,576 ------60.7
Africa ----------891,437,541 --------803,234,623 ---------227,332,997 --------13.8
Europe ---------729,341,014 --------72,934,730 -----------546,415,793 --------11.3
N. America -----512,422,558 -------487,223.694 ----------220,857,588 --------7.9
S. America -----371,271,037 --------348,336,602 ----------111,384,890 --------5.8
Australia -------32,744.469 ---------30,744,658 -----------12,476,128 ---------0.5
Antarctica -----------Scientific research - no permanent population-----------------
World population -6,451,058,790 ----6,085,527,778 ---------2,555,360.972

Location-------------Area (sq.mi.) ---------------Area (Km) -----------% of World

Asia ---------------32,027,230 ------------------11,979,676 --------------21.4
Africa --------------29,805,045 -----------------11,507,789 ---------------20.6
Europe ------------22,825,905 -----------------8,813,128 ----------------15.7
N. America ---------21,393,762 ------------------8,260,174 ---------------14.8
S. America ---------17,522,371 -------------------6,765,422 ---------------12.1
Australia & Oceania- 8,428,702 -----------------3,254,338 -----------------5.8
Antarctica ---------14,000,000
World ------------145,003,018 ----------------55,985,956

A cursory analysis of Fig.1 provides a valuable comparison of populations per continent and the disparity in available space. For example, Asia’s population of 60.7 percent lives on 21.4 percent of the land. Africa with 13.8 percent of the population has more space per capita at 20.6 percent of the land. Therefore, if we hope to save the planet, we would need to motivate people who are living on over-populated continents to seek opportunities on a continent with more space. This is not a new idea that would cause monumental problems. It has been going on for centuries, as people moved across the sea when economic conditions were thought to be better, which continues to this day.

Fig. 2. THE UNITED NATIONS POPULATION DIVISION ESTIMATED THE FOLLOWING:

1 A.D. 300 million
1804 1 billion
1927 2 billion
1950 3 billion
1964 4 billion
1973 5 billion
1999 6 billion

Population grew from 50 million in 1000 BC to 300 million in 1 A.D., to 700,000,000 by 1804. The most rapid growth occurred in the 18th, 19th, 20th centuries. Currently 40 percent of the land mass is used for crops and livestock, compared to 25 percent a century ago. Continued growth will require brilliant engineering and innovative construction for residential and commercial use.
Perhaps it was a Divine Plan for the creation of 28 oceans and thousands of lakes and rivers on the planet as a natural resource for equitable use by all its inhabitants. The Atlantic, Pacific, the Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Bering Sea, Labrador Sea, Beaufort Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic, Aegean Sea, Red Sea, Amundsen Sea, Sea of Ohotsk, Sea of Japan, Timor Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea, Andaman Sea, Arafura Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Ross Sea, Davis Sea, Weddell Sea, Caribbean Sea, Hudson Bay, Persian Gulf, Gulf of California and nearby islands might be sites for developments to re-populate the poorest of each continent’s inhabitants.
The planet’s water supply is diminishing as this new housing is built without protection for the environment. Global warming, largely due to consumption of fossil fuel is no longer speculation, but scientific fact. The Pacific Northwest can no longer depend on melting snow-caps for its water supply, as less snow falls in the Cascade Mountains. Weather conditions are changing due to higher temperatures so that droughts occur where there has been plenty of water. Coastal floods are inevitable as ocean ice sheets melt.
Rain forests are also disappearing and air quality has been deteriorating for decades, which U.S. President George W. Bush, along with other national leaders choose to ignore. Former U.S. Vice President, Al Gore, produced a documentary released in 2006, "An Inconvenient Truth" providing a most profound report of global-warming which citizens of the planet must not allow world leaders to ignore.
What have global leaders been doing to prepare for such disasters? They have learned nothing from the terrible lack of preparation and mobilization of so-called Home Security Agencies and FEMA in the Katrina hurricane of 2005. U.S. President George W. Bush along with other national leaders choose to ignore attempts by responsible nations to acknowledge the danger to the planet. A method of removal of these governments for the survival of the planet is detailed in the following chapters.
. In this age of new technology, it should be possible to turn man-made islands, (i.e. off-shore oil rigs) and thousands of large and small lakes and major rivers into habitable space.
China has been introducing a new existence to its population. Construction of high-rises in all major cities is providing housing for people moving from ancient sections now being demolished in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games. In Beijing which will be the major venue, architecturally imaginative new stadiums and other facilities will remain to serve the population for many years. This will be instrumental in launching a continental re-birth in Asia.
At the same time, China has constructed the world’s largest and costliest dam across the Yangtze River to control devastating floods that have caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and erosion of land. Even before the western world protested that farmers along the river would lose their land, space was left between buildings to cultivate crops as they have done for centuries. Now they have modern living accommodations, with indoor plumbing, heating, and amenities that rural farmers had never experienced. Moreover, construction of the dam will provide electricity for a population the size of New York, Washington, D.C and much of the U.S. eastern seaboard.
How is it financially possible for such a massive building boom for a country under communism? One of the most likely answers is that since they have not been at war for more than thirty years, they can fund universities to graduate over 350,000 engineers each year, and instead of losing a generation to war, have an unending labor force to manufacture goods sold all over the world. China has embraced capitalism so that there are countless new millionaires.
However, China is facing problems that have relatively simple solutions if they act with alacrity. In the courageous event in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1985, which has been erased from Chinese historic studies, students in China were protesting corruption in the communist party and demanding a voice in the government. Corruption remains and is likely to affect the skyrocketing economy.
Peasants in rural China have almost no part in the new wealth and no educational opportunities. To avoid unrest, the government must increase the low peasant wage for a more equitable share of the new wealth, and provide education for rural children. Farmers have come into the cities and with self-funding programs not actually approved by the government, have grown and function throughout China. The government has held tight rein over its people, but as long as their businesses do not employ more than five people, they do not interfere. They realistically reason that peasants must come into the economy to prevent protests, but even more important to continue growth of the economy.
As they continue to prosper the new wealth will enable the people to purchase their own output now sold throughout the world, but which is now too expensive locally. They will then become the largest market in the world. If this nation with over a billion people can change, there is hope that a new planetary system can be a reality.
Dialogue with Taiwan is imminent to prevent dissent from slowing the progress of their new economy. Another problem is China’s near fifty year occupation of Tibet which is damaging China’s world image. The exiled Dalai Lama now residing in India, has captured the affection of the western world by his nonviolent approach to freeing the Tibetan people. His efforts on behalf of human rights and world peace resulted in the Nobel Peace Prize.
Civilization has yet to experience a good life with peace and prosperity. Philosopher Bertrand Russell defined a good life as "one inspired by love and guided by knowledge," and, "the good life must be lived in a good society and is not fully possible otherwise." We will need to know with whom it will be shared, where it will take place and what goals and time schedules must be planned and met.
How is it possible with such enormous global wealth, much of the world population still does not have adequate food, shelter, clothing, medical care, education? For years we have seen atrocious pictures on television of starving and malnourished babies in Africa. Hospitals, as the western world knows them are not imagined in the poorest areas. Those who are barely able, must walk for days to reach medical care. Even if they make the journey, equipment and medicine are so woefully inadequate, with almost no resources to train staffs, that few survive.
Victims of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases suffer before our eyes yet there have been no extensive programs to build clinics and train local people to provide care. Few programs are in place to clear land, dig wells to grow crops and raise livestock. This shameful lack of global effort to erase such devastating poverty should weigh heavily on the consciences of all planetary inhabitants.
Formerly healthy African tribes lived in successful, smaller agricultural societies in higher, drier regions away from mosquito infested rivers. Under colonial rule they were forced into building the railroad, mining and other slave-labor in extremely crowded conditions, so that they, too, perished. Today, at least 500 children under the age of five die from malaria.
Even while the people of Africa starve, the cost of war in Sudan is somehow funded. Sporadic hostilities occur, subside and break out in neighboring nations. Where do warring parties find funds to obtain weapons and supplies to support troops?
Currently, Uganda's children sleep in shelters fearful of a cult-like insurgency who murder, rape and enslave them. Two-thousand people have died by violence and disease since 2000. Ninety-nine percent are afraid to leave crowded camps to return to their homes and land. This is three times deadlier than the situation in Darfur in Sudan. However, U.S. aid to Darfur is $150 million and in Uganda, $7 million.
The imbalance emanates from a flawed system of humanitarian aid which has no logical plan. Apparently, as in other disastrous undertakings, the U.S. does not have a system ready to act in accordance with events and emergency needs. Nor is there word from the United Nations as to how this body is solving another human disaster.
The modern world is on the brink of nuclear war; terrorism caused by religious fanatics is unimaginably brutal and violent, and world leaders continue to seek the same solutions that have neither resolved nor changed man’s inhumanity to man. The solution lies in a planetary mission for universal humanitarian aid to all people, administered by planetary and continental panels, not governments or elected officials who repeatedly prove that they are abysmally unfit to be in control.
Compassionate activists through the centuries have had to pull the majority of the affluent population into recognizing the basic needs of many. Were it not for not-for-profit local and international charities, conditions would be even more catastrophic. Unbelievably, a basic standard of living is still not met in under-developed countries. Even the powerful United States of America and the second, third and fourth wealthiest nations in Asia have pockets of poverty in many of their regions.
Nationalist, imperialist and totalitarian governments have utterly failed their people, and have brought death, destruction and misery to civilization. Republics and democracies have failed to adhere to their pledge of equality under the law, are depriving citizens of inalienable rights to free speech, practice of religion, non-discrimination of race or gender and protection of property rights, and instead condone fraudulent election processes, taking no action to reform the electoral process.
Over 70 percent of the population of the Republic of the United States are against the policies of the president and his party which is in control of Congress. They are more loyal to their party than to the country and their constituents. There is no way to remove them before their terms expire for they control the impeachment process, which is the only method for removal. Investigations of bribery and corruption, indictments, trials and sentencing of government officials are underway throughout the country, not only in Congress.
We can begin the process of change by thinking of ourselves as citizens of the planet, residing on the continents of our choice, with permanent or temporary exchanges of residences with other continental citizens. Hundreds of thousands are leaving the U.S. to return to Asia because economies are improving, while U.S. financial growth stagnates (but not for the wealthy).
Top priority should be given to the U.S. current chaos over the 11-13 million illegal immigrants who crossed the border from Mexico. They have come to find work to support their families and the work they find is menial labor that U.S. citizens refuse to do. The median wage in Mexico in 2004 was $1.86, compared to $9 per hour in the U.S. The Mexican government would rather receive the dollars sent back to their impoverished families than develop their own economy.
There are no true victims, but sanctimonious lawmakers many of whom place themselves above the law are dismayed that the border was crossed without permission and are labeling these hard workers as "criminals." At risk are their children who are not documented. Through no fault of their own, now as productive adults they have questionable status. Bills, amendments to bills to "protect" the border are currently being debated in Congress, as each party seeks favor with voters in the November 2006 election, desperate to keep their jobs in the Senate and the House.
The proposal is to build a 2,000-mile fence costing millions of dollars. Note that these are the people who decried Israel's attempt to build a fence to keep out suicide bombers. There can be no assurance that this will be an effective way to stop illegal immigration. Another plan is to fine those who are in the U.S. illegally $2,000, and then give them guest worker status, or send them back to wait their turn for permission to emigrate. Another plan is to punish the people who employ them, which puts small businessmen in the position of enforcing the law, which is not their right, duty or inclination.
While the president and congress are in a mad race to keep hard working Mexicans out, they have completely failed homeland security. Their plan to prevent another terrorist attack is to spy on communications of millions of U.S. Citizens, while those who entered from the mid-east are nowhere to be found or identified. Apparently U.S. embassies in foreign lands have failed in their duty to control visas granted to visitors.
The first nation that required immigrants to seek permission to cross its border, should have been a warning as to how far the lust for power would encroach on the freedom of movement anywhere on the planet.

NEW DEMOGRAPHICS
As seen at the beginning of this chapter, world population grew from 1000 BCE's 50 million to 1999's six billion. World population has not grown as much as it has shifted. That is why the change to self-government in a planetary system is more timely now, and as other manifest destinies, is almost a coincidence that a change could well save the planet in crisis. Where western Europe's birth rate is decreasing, new populations of immigrant Muslims are emerging. This is already causing problems in the capitals of France, Spain and Germany. Japan's population is shrinking, too. With their high cost of living, immigration would be much slower. (U.S. News and World Report (October 2, 2006).
China is having a problem they should have anticipated when they limited couples to one child. Sons were preferred, so that girls were given up for adoption. I returned from a trip to China in 2003 in a planeload of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen, accompanied by their adoptive American families. They were from one year to 18 months old, healthy and delightfully smiling and reaching out for attention. According to the pediatrician who supervised the trip, this was an immense improvement over their condition only a few months before.
Since the edict of one child per family, the boy-children have grown into teens and young adults, but there are few girlfriends, or girls of marriageable age. China is looking to their own provinces to bring potential brides to the cities, before they start to look to other countries. ((U.S. News & World Report). The mingling of cultures could start the process of change and would be a good omen for peaceful co-existence.
From the first census in 1790 the population of the U.S. was 4 million, by 1930 it gained 100 million, another 100 million by 1967, and by the first of October, 2006 will reach 300,000,000.* The phenomenal growth was 20 million added since 2000. What is interesting is that the U.S. has become a true melting pot, which for almost 200 years was made up of descendants of European immigrants.
The trends are new migration and immigration. Immigration to the U.S. has more than doubled since 1980. Illegal entry has more than tripled and they are 30 percent of the foreign-born population.*
It is common practice to move from state-to-state in the U.S. depending upon opportunities for new jobs, retirement choices, cost of living, education and family requirements. If an area loses population, it is forced to lower its cost of living and can be replaced with new immigrants and people from across the country, who might be experiencing financial instability, or escaping disasters such as hurricane Katrina, in 2005.
Migration from the mid-west and northeast to the south and west, has seen a significant shift in the population. Boise, Idaho has grown seventy-nine percent since 1990. Hewlett Packard, computer equipment and Micron, a manufacturer of superconductors, provide employment. Boise enjoys an affordable cost of living, and unemployment is a low three percent.
Immigrants from Mexico and Latin America are changing the ethnic composition throughout the country. Fort Wayne, Indiana is now thirteen percent Hispanic, about 16,500, along with immigrants from Rwanda, Portugal and Honduras. The current problem concerning some 12 million illegals from Mexico has been brewing for months, with debates between Democrats and Republicans as to how to absorb or deport them and build costly fences to keep them out.
There has been no word from incumbent members of Congress who when they awaken, will be made very uncomfortable as they recognize the need to expect redistricting. A new president, other than a white-Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) is also possible in the near future, perhaps 2008.
The shifting population includes 12.4 percent of the elderly, and a whole new generation of baby-boomers (77 million) who prefer warmer climates. The median age is 36.5 and could be 39 by 2030. Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Idaho are the fastest growing states. Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas were the fastest growing between 2004-2005.
With this aging comes increased funding for Medicare and Social Security which will become even larger entitlement programs. Republicans can't wait to be reelected so that they can cut these entitlements. However, if nation-states are abolished and there are no longer wars, the United States would have $450 billion dollars this year alone. Total world savings for weapons, along with income from natural resources, would guarantee everyone on the planet a truly financially secure lifestyle and old-age existence.
The logical solution to relentless violence is in the recognition of the seven continents as” our land.” We should begin by removing all national borders on each continent so that we become accustomed to THINKing not as nationals, but as continental and planetary citizens. This should not be a monumental problem because it is already a reality on several continents. For example, North America with its individual states, need only remove the border between Mexico, Canada and Central America to be continental citizens. To begin, these governments could come together to coordinate programs to ease global warming, or initiate equitable trade opportunities.
Europe has already united in its common market and currency, and the former Soviet Union changed to individual nations and only need to remove their national borders to become one continent with Europe.
Population increases are not new to the U.S. The flow of Europeans from colonial times, some 50 million after Napoleonic Wars, post-wars I and II, continues in the current largest wave of immigration in history. Each nation’s system of granting citizenship to immigrants can be vastly different. In the U.S. it is easier, compared to Europe's more stringent requirements. As Europe's population continues to decline due to aging and lower birth rates, they will need to review their immigration policies.
THINK how we could advance civilization if there were only six languages, one for each continent, except Antartica, with one global language for the purpose of official communication. In a new system of global education, primary grades would include mandatory language courses so that we will be able to understand each other without translators. Children in Africa now can speak at least four different languages of nearby tribes. There would be continental agreements to retain and celebrate cultural differences as we travel throughout the planet, the same as we do today.
The cost of duplication of national governments and bureaucracies can be greatly reduced under the administration of high level employees guided by separate contracts with each continent. Funding for this new concept can be even more simple than all of the bureaucratic tax agencies, regulatory departments in all of the nations, principalities, states, provinces, cities, counties, townships, suburbs, and villages.
THINK, if 6.5 billion people had a per capita income of $10,000 annually, the total would be $650 trillion. This is realistic in the current vast revenue of a global economy.
The implementation of the new concept will be seen in the Chapter Plan for Planetary and Continental Self Government, which will describe development of an overall concept of global changes.
The mission would be to establish on each continent, equal opportunities and facilities to live with dignity in peace and nonviolence in a new world.
We have already seen these types of panels in action, in social and cultural organizations. Primarily they are the fund-raisers for not-for-profit corporations who have enriched our lives with museums, orchestras, hospitals, medical research, services for the elderly, as well as organizers of children's sports and entertainment, and those working for PEACE in the world, among them volunteers of the Peace Corps. We should honor them above all elected officials.

CHAPTER TWO

2007-05-21T08:06:00.000-06:00

CHAPTER TWO

NATURAL RESOURCES

A new plan must begin with planetary ownership of all of the earth’s natural resources including oil, gas, water, forests, precious stones, coal, minerals, solar and wind power, and any natural materials found in soil or water. There are no monopolies or cartels controlling the use of the sun, sky and oceans. The earth was not created for a few dynasties, hostile nations and corporations to enjoy immeasurable wealth, while the rest of the world remains silent in this inequitable ownership.

The collected wealth of current holders of the world’s resources is so vast that their descendants could live for centuries in the same extreme luxury that one sees when the royal families of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other oil producing nations take over several floors of the most exclusive hotels in New York, Paris and Beijing. The hundreds of palaces for all members of the royal families and enormous mansions of corporate executives and world leaders are symbols of insatiable greed. Prices rise, profits rise, avarice knows no limits, so that world-wide consumers experience financial hardship or extreme poverty.

There should be no question that wealth is deserved by those who start their own businesses, patent inventions, provide services, work hard, take risks and provide jobs to sustain the global economy.

However, it could not have been a Divine Plan for the taking of natural resources by so few to receive tremendous profits from materials they did not produce themselves, whether it is oil, diamonds, coal, or any substances that are part of the natural world. It is time to place profits from natural resources in a planetary bank to fund a global rebirth of whole new methods and procedures to assure a “good life” of peace and prosperity for all.

This plan clearly is not a welfare or socialist form of living or welfare for those who can work. It is to provide basic needs for the poor, and equitable education to level the playing fields so that everyone who has the ability and stamina can meet their goals.

This is not the taking of production of food and livestock that owners of farmland, or those who are in the process of developing and creating products such as ethanol and alternative fuel, through their own efforts. It is not a natural resource if the owner of land plants the seed and harvests the crop that produces the product, just as the manufacture of automobiles, clothing and other goods emanate from physical and mental labor.

Those most likely to oppose planetary ownership, would repeatedly invoke the “c” word (communism) to place fear in the hearts of the gullible. Public ownership of natural resources is already a reality. We pay water bills directly to cities and villages because they initiate, supervise building and maintenance of treatment plants and pipelines with tax revenue. Communism has not resulted.

Of course an outcry would emanate from global corporations if the people prevail in the right to own natural resources. These organizations have already earned profits far beyond what stockholders ever imagined. Exxon-Mobile reported a staggering $36 billion profit in 2005, and is far ahead of that in the first quarter of 2006. Their CEO Lee Raymond, received a $400 million retirement package as the prices of oil increases everyday.

June 18, 2006, a CBS program on PBS disclosed that the government leased public property for private companies to produce oil and gas for a 12 percent royalty. No payment has been received.

In 1995 when oil was $20 per barrel, deep water drilling was booming. The Clinton administration allowed companies to drill on public property for oil and natural gas. Their profits went up 400 percent in five years. Total royalties should have been $34 billion, but “loopholes” helped them to avoid making payment. At that time someone forgot (writer’s italics) to include the royalty term in the renewed leases which cost taxpayers $10 billion.

George W. Bush said in his campaign that oil companies did not need tax breaks. In 2004, he gave a company rights to drill in shallow water, but no royalties have been paid. Then on May 11, 2006, he and Congress awarded the industry a huge $7 billion permanent tax break.

Representative George Miller (D California) said "it was the train robbery of all time." The House recently passed a bill to renegotiate the royalty to "get a better deal" and have passed it on to the Senate, but was not yet on the agenda at this writing.

A government employee has been trying for seven years to collect royalties on behalf of U.S. taxpayers. He states there are currently problems with audits of oil companies’ records, but the government has actually reduced the number of audits by half. He clearly states that cheating and lying are occurring, but he has been pressured into curtailing his investigation.*

The Kerr-McGee Corporation in their current suit against the government says they should not have to pay any royalties. This would be a loss to taxpayers of some $60 billion. If they win, other oil companies will sue and their record-breaking profits will be astounding.

How much and for how long should planetary citizens accept the inequity of ownership of our natural resources by a relatively few families or corporations?

It will be interesting to see if petroleum corporations will obtain the support of the current Bush administration to gain control of the ethanol or any alternative fuel industry in the United States. Will the people remain silent?

There has been little or no thought of the public good in all of the years since discovery of the planet’s natural resources. There are Rhodes scholars awarded by the early wealth of Britain’s Cecil Rhodes, owner of diamond mines in Africa. Unless a new plan is conceived, there is no chance that conditions in the world will change from poverty and war, to equal opportunity and peace.

With the discovery of oil fields, national governments are turning their new-found wealth into political power. In South America Bolivia’s new president Evo Morales, called out the troops on May Day, 2006 and nationalized the country’s gas industry.*

Venezuela’s President Chavez increased government control of oil production which is 80 percent of its revenue. The opposition party did not participate in the election. They fear his contacts with Cuba’s dictator Fidel Castro and that he wants to create a modern socialistic society. He intends to use the revenue for political purposes, that is to influence other South American countries towards socialism. This threatens the stability of the western hemisphere and the potential for future war. IT DOES NOT HELP THE PEOPLE NOW.

Russia provides nearly half of Europe’s natural gas and a third of its oil.* U.S News & World Report writes, “when the new Gazprom pipeline under the Baltic Sea is ready, Europe will depend on Russia for up to 80 percent of its gas, giving it enormous leverage over the Continent.” The conclusion can only be that Russia will be reborn as a super-power.

The U.S. is behind a $4 billion, 1,000-mile pipeline for Caspian Sea oil in Azerbaijian which borders on Iran. The president of Azerbaijan since 2003, succeeded his father in what is thought to have been a questionable election. Its poor human rights methods are overlooked because of their strategic location.

Iraq has already told the United States that to be a viable nation they would need to share in the profits of their oil production. On June 14, 2006, President Bush said oil in Iraq “belonged to the Iraqi people.” Now we should demand that he declare the same for Americans that the oil produced in the U.S. and off-shores be owned by the American people. The oil field recently found five miles below the surface of the Mexican gulf could be the most lucrative of all oil fields. One tremendous advantage would be not having to purchase any more oil from the middle-east. The disadvantage is that instead of reducing fossil fuel consumption, it will undoubtedly increase, especially if supply results in reduced prices of gasoline.

There have been no reports as to what has happened to the profits during the many years of Saddam Hussein’s regime. A short time after the invasion, $6 million dollars in cash was found in one of his palaces. Are we to believe that was his entire estate, or is it more likely the rest is in numbered accounts in Swiss and other global banks?

Nigeria owns its oil production but only a few enjoy the profits while the rest of the population suffers poverty. In the background, rebel agitation threatens production which could cause an increase in the already record-breaking price of crude oil. The U.S. receives 1 million barrels daily and China is courting Nigeria as a source for its increasing consumption.

The developments of new regimes whether or not they arise from democratic elections, does not assure equitable distribution of profits from natural resources within their own countries. Therefore, it is even more urgent to change control of natural resources into a planetary and continental system.

In the U.S and Canada new frontiers are opening to remove oil from sand and shale, heretofore thought to be too costly a process. A coal mining family enterprise first received a $100 million energy grant, and $47 million in state tax credits, and almost a year ago received $490 million federal loan guaranties to develop the process of liquid fuel from coal, equivalent to about 10 percent of current U.S. oil production. A fair repayment of expenditures incurred by the owners for this development, subtracting the government handout, would be the responsibility of the new planetary system of ownership.

Meanwhile government alliances change, oil prices rise, politicians blame each other and the turmoil becomes more disturbing. It is mandatory that the system change in order to prevent the violence that will certainly come as nations exhaust patience to diplomatically prevent war.

Corporate owners of natural resources will use whatever tactics and amounts of money necessary to prevent planetary ownership. Even with the promise of fair and reasonable compensation this will be the biggest obstacle for planetary change. However, it is all the more reason that an equitable share be realized, and time for multi-national corporations to stop running governments.

We should keep in mind that consumption of oil is increasing due to heavier vehicles on the road; that eventually supply will diminish and the cost of available oil will be so high that only the wealthy will be able to afford it. What will 200 million vehicles owners in the U.S. use for fuel?

Early in his administration, Congress supported George Bush's decision to give a seven percent tax break to those who purchased SUVs. This was without regard to warnings of global warming caused by fossil fuel emissions. Auto manufacturers apparently are convinced that bigger and heavier vehicles are more marketable than the 200,000 new hybrid models they produced in 2005. They are not producing enough new mechanisms to adapt current autos to accept alternate fuel.

China’s five percent ownership of automobiles has increased to 25 percent in three years. Buick has become the major manufacturer of autos in China. Do American and other foreign auto-makers believe that China will continue to depend on them as ownership increases? They have the capability to immediately establish factories to produce any product they know will add to their remarkable economy.

Even if the supply of petroleum decreases, revenues will remain the same as prices rise. In the meantime, consumption must be greatly reduced until new fuel and methods of transportation replace current vehicles. As more nations use oil revenue for political purposes, their power will increase the potential for war in the near future.
An entirely new system of mass transportation must be undertaken. Banning automobiles from the business centers of major cities throughout the world can work. In some places such as New York City and Chicago, taxis are the mode of travel. Chicagoans and visitors are riding free trollies to all sections of the city. High parking fees, new bicycle paths and improved mass transit in the downtown area encourage less use of autos. The best effects are reductions in dependency on oil, in pollution and as important, healthy exercise for desk-bound workers.

The emphasis here on the oil industry is due to the extreme impact of rising prices and violence associated with the need for oil. This is not to diminish the immense value of other natural resources; water, wind and solar power, coal, copper, steel, precious metals, nonmetallic minerals such as sulfur, quartz, mica, asbestos, calcium phosphate, fertilizer minerals, as well as strategic materials of uranium, rubber, timber.

The end of corporate, individual and national ownership of natural resources is absolutely necessary to bring equitability to the world economy. These resources will become the property of the entire planet, with the share of ownership equal to its percentage of the world’s population. For example, Asia with 21.4 percent of the world population would receive 21.4 percent of the profit from natural resources. Periodically, based on the planetary census, this distribution of ownership would be reviewed and adjusted accordingly.

In administering a new system of ownership of natural resources, each tier of new planetary and continental panels could be established by experienced production personnel. They would be responsible for training managers who would replace them as needed. They would be required to submit resumes of their experience, undergo investigation of their backgrounds and commitment to planetary ownership, and adhere to guidelines set down by these panels.

Another panel of continental citizens holding college degrees in each enterprise would become overseers, which would rotate from time to time, so that no person or department could gain power over another. If the people hired do not perform in accordance with the terms of their contract which would be made public, they would be discharged and the next qualified persons would take their places. Proven misconduct would be punishable according to revised judicial and criminal justice systems.

All of the planning sessions would be seen on global television, so that all planetary citizens will be informed of all of the activity. There would be no closed sessions of any decision-making meetings.

Salaries and payments made to all planetary and continental panel personnel, corporations and other suppliers will be deposited in planetary bank accounts, and would be made public in certified annual financial reports by professional accountants and economists.

The system of new ownership of natural resources would be reflected in a new way of life. Global citizens would have peace of mind instead of the daily worries of being able to afford necessities. Bad behavior resulting from hardship in making a living would certainly change when stress is removed. There would be more focused on creative projects, on being good students and parents, as well as simply being better neighbors. In other words, if there is nothing to be angry about, there would be no reason for crime and violence. The most important goal would be no corruption.

At the end of the fiscal year, if there are deficit expenditures, each continent would levy taxes on gross income from whatever source derived, starting on a scale above average income to replace the deficit, (no loopholes or special interest deductions). There would be no filing of tax returns. Planetary banks would be authorized to automatically deduct payment from personal accounts if needed. Surpluses in the planetary budget would be retained for a planetary referendum as to how these funds could be spent or credited to the people.

Each person would have the right to retain their private business operations and personal holdings, except for inordinate amounts of real estate that might be needed for agriculture, schools and public facilities. The planetary bank would purchase the property for resale subject to flawless public domain laws.

There is no question that it is time for natural resources to belong to the people. Revenues would supply basic needs so that poverty on the planet would be erased. Individuals would decide their own futures.

CHAPTER THREE

2007-05-21T08:05:00.000-06:00

THE COST OF THE MADNESS OF WAR

How do we try to make sense of man’s idea that war solves problems among nations? History shows repeatedly that ending a war is only a temporary cease-fire. Alliances change within a lifetime, enemies become friends, friends become enemies, and the violence continues. There have been only a few times when there was peace on earth. In fact, “peace” is a word that is rarely heard, but when used, it is a pejorative, such as “peace- nik.” However, supporters of wars are recognized as honored “patriots.”

The origin of war, is thought to have emerged from groups of nomadic hunters who at first relied upon each other for hunting and gathering, and then might have changed to aggression as climate, open land and prey changed. By the Paleolithic Age, about two million years ago, until about 13,000 B.C.E groups were hunting with spears and by the Neolithic period between 8,000 - 4,000 BCE. were using the bow and arrow.

The first recorded defensive fortifications were in Jericho in the Jordan Valley in 7,000 B.C.E. Between 3,500-3200 B.C.E Mesopotamia (Iraq) built walls around its cities. During 3,000 to 2000 BCE, farmers built ditches and walls around their cities in China and India to protect their land, and city-states were protecting their trade routes to the Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean.

Weapons evolved to cross bows, battering rams, chariots, elephants, horses and body armor, daggers, rifles, machine guns, sailing ships, motorized vehicles, tanks and, aircraft, then nuclear weapons. Gas was used in WW 1 leaving veterans with permanent disability. In the late 1930s and early ‘40s, Hitler used gas to engineer the most atrocious genocide in history in the murder of 6,000,000 Jews and an additional 7,000,000 that he considered to be imperfect for his Aryan race. The Russian dictator Stalin murdered even more. Saddam Hussein used gas against the Kurds in Iraq in the recent past, and it is thought that many nations maintain reserves.

The history of constant war shows there were few permanent benefits for the population. For a limited time individual rulers gained more power, slaves and treasures, before they were retaken in ensuing wars. Everyone on both sides suffered the ravages of war. The killing and maiming not only of soldiers, but entire cities and villages were destroyed along with crops and livestock, causing disease and famine to continue for many years.

To contemplate the madness of war, a deep awareness of the history and outcome of war should be studied. Only then would enough people be activated to dedicate their lives to prevent this perpetual violence, no matter what degree of intelligence or abilities they can contribute.

The United Nations organization which was created for this purpose is instead the body whose wheels turn so slowly as to exacerbate the conflict. The strength of super-powers, national greed and accumulation of personal wealth of the leaders, rulers and politicians who are its members are perpetuated.

Where are the thinkers in these governmental bodies, or in academia to provide innovative concepts that will produce true peace-keepers?

Many looked on as anti-war demonstrators during the Vietnam War in 1960-70s were treated as unpatriotic, rabble-rousers by law enforcement agencies and National Guards throughout the United States. The song, “Give Peace a Chance” became a standard for the younger generation who no longer trusted anyone over 30, and especially governments. Adults finally caught on that they were right to demand peace and nonviolence which was achieved in 1973.

The following is an alphabetical list of the “famous” wars. Repetitive wars to take and retake ancient lands and empires are too numerous to report here. There were only a few times in history that there were brief periods of peace which will be seen in the final chapters.

Fig.3
Anglo-Boer War Indian Wars Russo-Turkish War
Arab-Israeli War* Iraq-Iran War* Seven Weeks War
Chinese-Japanese War Korean War* Spanish-American War
Civil War-America Mexican War Spanish Civil War
Cold War* Peasants' War Succession War
Crimean War Pelopennesian War Thirty Years War
Crusades Persian Gulf War 1991* Vietnam*
Franco-Prussian War Punic Wars War of 1812
French & Indian War Revolutionary War War of the Roses
Hundred Years War Russo-Japanese War World Wars I & !!
Fig.4 EARLIER WARS AND CAMPAIGNS

B.C.E.
2770-1700 Ionians invade Greek mainland and integrated with the population. Invasion of desert people in Egypt -Standisin, Elamite, Akkadian, Sumeria, Amorites,Hittites, Hykos, Sea People, Persia under Xerxes invaded Greece.

1490-1400 The Cretan supremacy ended. Tuthmosis III fought 17 campaigns against Syria and Palestine.

1365-1330 Assyrian rulers control Babylon

1309-1291 Sethos1 Fought the Hittites and left conclusion to his son Ramses II-1279

1213 Ramses ll spends the first ten years of his reign to conclude that war.

1200 Trojan War. Power falls to Phoenician traders.

1115 Greece and the Achaeans fall to uncivilized conquering hordes.

1077 Tilgath-Pileser l extends his rule through northern Syria to the trading lands of the Mediterranean and successors rule to 627 BC.

850-600 Sicily, Southern Italy, Black Sea dotted with Greek cities. Democracy places political power in the people. It survives in a few smaller cantons of Switzerland today. It is the Homeric period - the Iliad and the Odyssey about 800 B.C., religion is almost absent, hospitality is strong, with rare occurrences of human sacrifice of prisoners.

550-525 Cyrus the Great, Persia’s first great ruler invaded Egypt

539- 326 Wars continue. Xerxes invades Greece. Alexander the Great rules; Chandra Gupta of China has 600,000 infantrymen, 10,000 calvary, 9,000 elephants

A.D.
1000-1500 Chinese Predominance - establishing professional armies.

1453 - Siege of Constantinople

1588 - England and the Spanish Armada

1631 - Battle of Breitenfeld

1665-1700 Britain and other powers prevent Louis IV from placing Philip
of Argon on the Spanish throne.

1727 -Spanish forces attack Gibraltar

1730 Hapsburgs surrender control of Naples and Sicily to Don Carlos of Spain who later became king of Spain.

1735 France and Savoy against Italy

1739 - Britain declares war on Spain

1761 - Spain declares war on Britain

1762- Britain’s amphibious attack led to the occupation of Havana, “Key to the Caribbean”

1813 Napoleon - .Battle of Leipzig, 460,000 soldiers

And so it continued from 13,000 BCE with battles that have names, such as the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of the Bulge, Battle of Mulvern Hill, Battle of Gallipoli, Battle of Dien Bien Phu, Battle of Stalingrad, a total of some 170. Then there were some 35 sieges, among them, the Siege of Delhi, the Siege of Jerusalem, the Siege of Hsiang-yang. The Siege of Luxembourg, the Siege of Syracuse, the Siege of Tyre. The devastation of war in ancient times, pales in comparison to war from 1812 to the present time.

Fig.5 UNITED STATES AT WAR IN THE 19TH CENTURY
1812- Britain seized U.S. merchant ships off France. U.S. thought British in Canada were inciting Indian attacks on pioneers.
Outcome: Essentially a draw, No territorial gains by either side.
Cost:$90 million - $2.2 billion in 2002 currency.**
Start of War: June 18, 1812
End of War: Dec. 24, 1814
Troops deployed: 286,730
Casualties: 6,785

Mexican War - U.S. declared war to defend U.S. Annexation of Texas and establish the Rio Grande as its border. U.S. saw a chance to acquire California, Arizona, New Mexico, parts of Colorado, Utah, Nevada,
Outcome: Mexico surrendered. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo established the Rio Grande border and ceded 1.2 million square miles to the U.S. Cost: $70 million - $1.1 billion in 2002 currency.**
Start of War: May 13, 1846
End of War: February 2, 1848
Troops deployed: 78,435
Casualties: 17,435

American Civil War - Issue of slavery polarized the country along section lines. When Republican Party objected to slavery, 11 southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy.

Outcome: The end of hostilities and rebuilding of the south. Slavery ends. Not until 1963 did civil rights movements result in some legal rights for descendants of emancipated slaves. Many now serve in national, state and local governments, hold executive jobs in large corporations and the military, but poverty and racial discrimination continues.
Cost: $5.2 billion combined - $62 billion in 2002 currency**
Start of War: April 12, 1861
End of War: April 9, 1865
Union Troops deployed: 2,213,263
Casualties: 646,392
Confederate Troops deployed: 1,064,200
Casualties: 335,524

Spanish American War - Cuban rebels started fighting for their independence from Spain. The USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor killing 260 men on board. The US declared war on Spain.
Outcome: US and Spain signed a peace treaty granting Cuba its independence, surrendering Puerto Rico and Guam to America and allowing the US to purchase the Philippine Islands. America paid $20 million. Cost:$400 million - Over $9.6 billion in 2002 currency **
Start of war: April 19, 1898
End of War: December 10, 1898
Troops deployed: 306,760
Casualties: 4,108

Fig.6 UNITED STATES AT WAR IN THE 20th CENTURY

WORLD WAR 1 - England and France were at war with Germany since 1914. The U.S. did not intervene until German submarine attacked U.S. merchant ships. President Wilson concluded that a German victory would crush his dream of a peaceful international order.***
Outcome: Germany and its allies surrendered, signing the Treaty of Versailles. New nations were formed in Europe.
Cost: $16.8 billion. - $190.6 billion in 2002 currency**
Start of War: April 6, 1917
End of war: June 28, 1919
Troops deployed: 4,734,991
Casualties: 320,518

WORLD WAR II - Germany and Japanese aggression against their neighbors in Europe and Asia seen as a threat to United States security. US provided materials to Britain, but did not otherwise intervene until Japan attacked the US fleet in Pearl Harbor Hawaii.

Outcome: Russian army entered Berlin which was later divided into separate zones for America, Britain, France and Soviet Union. Hitler committed suicide. Japan surrendered days after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Political events led to the Russians blocking Berlin from U.S. Aid. President Truman ordered an airlift to provide food for Berliners. Marshall Plan - U.S. rebuilds Europe.
More people were killed in this war between 1937 and 1945 than ever before, and in all of the wars combined throughout the ages. The method of killing was the most atrocious, brutal and cruel ever devised by man. The appalling statistics reveal: most victims were civilians, at six million Jews in Hitler’s “final solution,” twenty million Russians (about half murdered by Stalin), 3 million Poles, 1.5 million Yugoslavians, 350,000 British, 200,000 Americans, missing and unidentified, for a total of some 40 million human beings.
Cost: $185.4 billion -$2.8 trillion in 2002 currency.*
Start of War: December 8, 1942
End of War: August 14, 1945
Troops deployed: 16,112,566
Casualties: 1,077,245
Non-violent Cold War U.S. and Western Europe against the spread of communism by the Soviet Union and in Asia. The Cold war ends in 1989 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, without armed conflict. Soviet Union divided into separate nations.

KOREAN WAR - Communist North Korea encouraged by the Soviet Union and China invaded democratic South Korea. United States persuaded the United Nations to send an international army.
Outcome: Cease fire brought a status quo - the demilitarized zone still follows the 38th parallel.
Cost:$54 billion - $335.9 billion in 2002 currency.**
Start of war: June 25, 1950.
End of war: July 27, 1963
Troops deployed: 5,720, 000
Casualties: 139,858

VIETNAM WAR -: U.S. believed in the so-called “domino theory” that if Vietnam came under the control of a communist government, communism would spread throughout Southeast Asia. Advisors were sent to help the South Vietnamese against the North in the late 50s-early 60s.
Outcome: College Students start protest, later joined by public against the war divided the country. Guerilla warfare was unfamiliar to American military. Paris Peace Accords signed and the U.S. withdrew, but continued to provide financial and military aid to South Vietnam. The North engulfed the South and remains in control to this day.
Cost: $111 billion - $494.3 billion in 2002 currency..**
Start of War: Mid-1960s in actual battle
End of War: January 27, 1973
Troops deployed: 8,744,000
Casualties: 211,512:

PERSIAN GULF WAR - Iraq invaded Kuwait and President George H.W. Bush relied on advisors Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to minimize the number of troops needed to force Iraq to withdraw.
Outcome: Iraq withdraws, regime does not change..
Cost: $61 billion ($53 billion pledged by allies)
Start of War: January 17, 1991
End of War: February 28, 1991
Troops deployed: 697,000
Battlefield casualties: 148
Non-battlefield casualties: 145

TOTAL COST OF U.S. WARS IN 20TH CENTURY: $420.2 billion.
TOTAL COST OF U.S. WARS IN 2002 CURRENCY: $4.5 trillion (does not include Persian Gulf war or invasion of Iraq)

Fig.7 UNITED STATES AT WAR IN THE 21st CENTURY

IRAQ WAR - 2003 United States invades Iraq. Americans were lied to by the Bush administration, charging Iraq with hiding weapons of mass destruction. George W. Bush declared victory on May 3, 2003. However hostilities continue to this writing. Reasons given were changed to “bringing democracy to the Iraqi people” by the reasons for the action Commander-in-Chief. He admits “mistakes were made.”

Hostilities continue. American and coalition troops remain deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sunni and Shi’a insurgents attack each other in Iraq.
Start of war: March 18, 2003,
Today is the fourth year anniversary of the war. No End of War is in sight despite new Democratic Party’s weak efforts to end the war. “New strategy” declared by George W. Bush increases number of U.S. Troops currently in Iraq by some 40,000.
Cost: $176 billion:
Cost to date (Spring, 2006): additional $310 billion; Bush requests additional $4 billion to continue.
Troops deployed: 160,000
Casualties: over 3,000 of March, 2007.
No figures available for civilian deaths and injuries. Commander-in-Chief Bush, thinks 30,000 "more or less."

If future historians are able to correctly determine the truth regarding the reasons the U.S. invaded Iraq, it will be more than U.S. citizens and the world who witnessed the event were allowed to learn from the Bush administration.

George W. Bush took office in January, 2001 as president, in accordance with the United States Supreme Court ruling* which did not permit a recount of votes in Florida. There were ballot errors and other election irregularities in the state where the president's brother is governor. Democratic candidate, former Vice President Al Gore received more votes. The damage done to the U.S. during the George W. Bush administration will be visible for many years to come when all of the facts come to light.

On September 11, 2001, nine months after Bush’s inauguration, al Qaeda terrorists using four hijacked commercial aircraft, attacked the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., two brought down the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York, as stunned American watched on television. A fourth aircraft destined for the White House or the Capitol, crashed in the woods in Pennsylvania by heroic action of the passengers. They heard of the attacks on their cell phones while on the doomed plane, and knowing they would not survive in any case, rushed the hijackers, caused the plane to crash in a field in Shanksville, PA, and saved the nation’s capitol from further destruction. The cost in human lives was over 3,000.

George W. Bush sent forces to Afghanistan to find al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, declared “war on terrorism” to “bring him to justice.” Concentrated bombing of caves and other possible hideouts failed to capture or kill bin Laden. It is not clear as to when or if George W. Bush stopped seeking bin Laden, or how it came to pass that the Afghans and other coalition troops, including Iran, took over the task of seeking out and fighting the terrorists. There is no confirmation whether bin Laden is alive. As of July 24, 2006, the U.S. and British forces agreed to send 900 more troops to reinforce the 3,600 NATO troops in Afghanistan.

The Taliban who had supported bin Laden were supposedly defeated, and Afghanistan has become a democracy. The latest news is that the Taliban again started hostilities in southwest Afghanistan and is also moving into Pakistan which is not cooperating in seeking them out.

In a strange repetition of history, almost all of the staff in the administration of George H.W. Bush (referred to in the press as “41”) who declared war against Iraq in the Persian Gulf in 1991, are now in the Bush ‘43’ administration. Dick Cheney former Secretary of Defense, became Vice President in the current administration; Donald Rumsfeld became Secretary of Defense and both now conduct this current war. General Colin Powell, head of the military for Bush-41, became Secretary of State and Condoleeza Rice was appointed National Security Advisor under the younger Bush. She was promoted to Secretary of State upon Colin Powell’s resignation. After the November 6, 2006 election disastrous to Republicans, Donald Rumsfeld was asked to step down. He has been replaced by Robert Gates, former CIA boss also in the Bush-41 administration.

Among many questions; why was National Security Advisor, Ms. Rice rewarded for her failure to know conditions leading up to the September 11 attack? Why was she not aware of the truth about weapons of mass destruction? She was briefed about the Osama bin Laden threat, but claimed the Clinton administration did not leave plans as to how to deal with it. This was untrue, as reported in Richard Clarke’s book Against All Enemies. According to a documentary on ABC-TV September 11, 2006 she restructured security advisor Richard Clarke's job when he was zeroing in on the location of bin Laden. The film raised many questions and suspicions as to the handling of the investigation of Osama bin Laden which could have prevented the tragedy of 9/11/01.

Instead of focusing on destroying al Qaeda, President Bush decided to invade Iraq. It was the first time in American history that the United States was the aggressor against a foreign nation. Americans and the world ask why was Bush in such a hurry to wage war, and why he disdained diplomacy and the United Nations efforts to do its job in keeping the peace?

The reason for the attack has become so convoluted that the American public, Congress and possibly the president and his staff do not understand or cannot explain it. At first we were told that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction despite the United Nations report that concluded there were none.

After Bush declared victory in Iraq, the Central Intelligence Agency admitted that the information regarding weapons of mass destruction was wrong. It is not clear if that was when the president changed the reason for invading Iraq was because Saddam Hussein supported Osama bin Laden's attack on the U.S. When there was no proof of that action and the truth emerged, the president decided the real reason for the invasion was to "bring democracy to the Iraqi people and to the middle east."

However, Americans should be questioning the legality of his action. The Constitution clearly states that the president must defend the United States, but there is no provision that the president or Congress has the power or duty to bring democracy to the world.

Hussein was deposed, escaped the United States army and coalition troops. He was found cowering in a hole near his home, and was taken prisoner. After two years of preparation, his trial was underway, fraught with his bizarre behavior in disrespecting the judicial process He still believes he is the legitimate leader of Iraq. Lawyers have been murdered, judges threatened and Hussein shouts out his displeasure in the courtroom. He was sentenced to death by hanging in early November 2006.

Elections were held in early in 2006. Iraqis voted for a democratic government, then decided the prime minister wasn’t acceptable and a new prime minister was appointed to serve until 2010. On May 20, 2006, several key positions were filled to complete the governing body.

In the meantime, the U.S. has been training Iraqis to handle their own security. When they are ready to take over, the U.S. will withdraw its troops. With its own democratic government, there does not yet seem to be any improvement in the possibility that peace will 'break out.' Every day, insurgents kill American troops and Iraqis with home-made explosives strapped to the bodies of suicide bombers or hidden along roads to detonate when military convoys pass, at Mosques, markets, and police stations. The question as to whether or not a civil war is in progress has two answers. An Iraqi spokesman says the Sunnis and Shi’as, long-time enemies are at war, while George W. Bush says there is no civil war.

In a World Economic Forum in Savo, Switzerland on January 26, 2006, newly elected Iraqi leaders said they would “negotiate with the U.S to withdraw coalition forces, when their government is in place and when they have built their own security.” They also said they would need support with a financial program similar to the Marshall-Plan after WWII to repair infrastructure destroyed by U.S. bombing.
President Bush often reminds us that Iraqis are grateful for their freedom. Has there been a declaration by the new Iraqi government that verifies this assumption? There is no mention as to the status of women who do not seem to be included in the government. We know little about how the country is being rebuilt after relentless bombing at the start of the war, nor is there any information as to oil production and whether profits will contribute to the cost of restructuring Iraq. There is little reporting as to how to resolve the age-old enmity between Sunnis and Shi’as will be seen in Chapter - Religion.

The startling disclosure in former President Bill Clinton’s book, My Life, revealed that before his inauguration and before the September 11, 2001 attack, Bush told Clinton in the traditional visit of the president elect (in this case appointed) with a sitting president, that his second priority was Iraq (the first was missile defense). Clinton did not tell the American public that his response was that Iraq should be the last of some ten priorities. He apparently did not tell his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton either, for if he did, why would she have voted along with other Democrats to declare the war that Bush wanted?

If it was because of a sense of tradition that Clinton did not divulge their conversation, it is a deplorable, misguided decision for a nonessential custom which has caused death and injury to thousands of troops and Iraqi civilians.

Moreover, it is evident that it was not “weapons of mass destruction” or “to bring the terrorists to justice,” but for some unknown purpose. Americans and people in other nations have guessed the real reason was to enrich the Bush family’s connection with oil producing middle-east regimes. As evidence, on May 11, 2006, a bill was passed in the Senate that gave $7 billion in permanent tax cuts to the oil companies. President Bush had warned he would veto a tax bill if it did not contain the cut for oil companies.* This is astonishing as gas prices have soared in the past few months. Exxon-Mobil had a $36 billion record-high profit in 2005, which is even higher in the first quarter of 2006, while Exxon’s CEO received a bonus-retirement package of $400 million.

It is unforgivable that members of Congress have failed in their oath and duty to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Nowhere in the Constitution of the United States, does it give the duty and the power to the president or Congress to bring democracy to the world. They should not have declared war, nor should they have neglected their duty as the law-making branch to balance the power of the Executive branch, in this case to curb the senseless decisions of the Bush presidency.

It would be interesting if someone would bring a case against both the Executive and Legislative branches for unlawfully declaring war against a nation that did not have the capability of attacking the United States, and for causing a war to change their government to a democracy. However, with the recent partisan Supreme Court appointments by the Bush administration, it is unlikely that justice would be done.

After the September 11 attack, the world expressed sympathy for the devastation suffered by the U.S. Unfortunately, this support has turned to hatred. In Bush's 2002 State of the Union speech he mentioned Saddam Hussein eleven times and bin Laden not at all. The arrogance of "shock and awe" in war and America's plan to transform the entire Middle East caused fear among our friends. The seventy-five percent favorable attitude towards the U.S was eighty-three percent negative in 2003. Pakistan's backing for the U.S. war dropped to sixteen percent, twelve percent in Jordan, seventeen percent in Turkey and thirty-two percent in Lebanon. It is reported that al Qaeda has moved its headquarters to Pakistan from Afghanistan.

Another unresolved conflict is whether or not Iraq and Iran who share a 100,000 kilometer border, and were at war at the end of the 20th century can form an alliance. On September 12, 2006, Iraq and Iran leaders met. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice expects Iraq will express support of the U.S. Iran urged the need to join forces for the future as they will be in the region longer than the U.S. Another meeting is scheduled November 26, 2006.

Therefore, everything that can be done, must be tried to remove the leaders who are threatening the survival of the planet.
The total cost of wars for the United States from the war of 1812 to the current Iraq war is 3 trillion, three-hundred and twenty seven billion, 600 million dollars. ($3,327,600,000,000.)

The total cost of all other wars, battles and sieges cannot be calculated without records. Under-reported wars, such as the 14-year civil war in Liberia ended in 2003, with no reports of the cost of loss of property, crops, homes, schools, buildings, infrastructure that have always been destroyed in war. It is far beyond cogent reason that war has been tolerated these thousands of years.

Nor can we measure the suffering of soldiers through the ages not only from combat wounds, but from malnutrition, contaminated food and water, infectious diseases, filthy hospitals, fatal insect bites, dysentery, lack of medicine, sleep deprivation, traumatic disorders, every discomfort that can be brought to battlefields, and atrocities suffered as prisoners of war.

It is governments that make the decision to go to war, sometimes with little provocation, and without the consent of the people. The solution to permanently end violence depends on removal of governments as we know them. We must have a new system of education and renewal of principles and behavior, so that mankind will no longer need to be represented by politicians, or divided by religions in support of “Just” Wars and who mandate rituals that have little to do with the spirituality within us.

President Bush declared victory with a huge banner “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” unfurled on the fo’castle of an aircraft carrier in May, 2003, 8 weeks after the invasion. The fighting has not stopped, and in fact has been increased by Muslim insurgents. Everyday, American troops and an untold number of civilians are killed by home-made bombs. Americans are calling for all troops to return home.

The president’s approval rating is down to thirty percent, and his own party, who so solidly supported all of his disastrous decisions, are backing away now, in order to save their jobs. The November, 2006 elections was a strong statement by the people that they no longer support the war in Iraq. Americans express the same concern for loss of freedoms in the security measures he has pushed through Congress in his “war on terrorism.”

If funds applied to war in the 19th, 20th and 21st century, had instead been applied to peace, all of the basic needs of all of the people on the planet could have been met. Interrupt your reading here and THINK about the awesome possibility of just such a goal.

The following chapter questions the necessity for governments as we know them, that spread hatred, violence and distrust throughout the world and how vacillating alliances support violence. Recently, Iran was in the U.S. coalition in its "war on terrorism." There is a logical and organized way to replace them with wiser, more efficient, honest, productive and creative management by global peace-makers.

CHAPTER FOUR

2007-05-21T08:04:00.000-06:00

THE FAILURE OF GOVERNMENTS

An analysis and comparison of the progression of war from ancient times to the present, concludes that the cause and extraordinary cost is due to what can only be analyzed as a relentless global madness.

One might comprehend if thousands of years ago hunters and gatherers attacked each other because food was scarce and one group had more than the other; or, if one group had arable land to grow food, and the other did not; or, if one group was more advanced than another and knew how to acquire and use land to develop farms and cities. Instead of learning from advanced people, marauding tribes would fight and take the crops, and destroy the land so no one had food in the months and years to come.

As civilization became more sophisticated, instead of choosing peace over war, people used their knowledge to produce iron for weapons and armor. To this day, huge profitable industry thrives on the manufacture of weapons and munitions, unimaginable in early times "Nations spend more than half their revenues to kill each other's citizens" wrote philosopher Bertrand Russell in 1957. The key word for the failure to live in peace is the establishment of “nations.”

We have the opportunity to learn the truth about the paradigm of war, as we live in a history-making period of a war in progress. The U.S. Constitution in Article I, Section 8 (11-16) permits only the Congress to declare war, raise and support armies and a navy, with appropriations for no longer than two years.”

Did the Congress declare war on al Qaeda’s leader Osama bin Laden and his gang of terrorists? If al Qaeda is not a sovereign nation was it lawful to send troops to Afghanistan that did not attack the U.S.?

This military action might be a violation of the Constitution and world law. Would the U.S. Supreme Court hear a case against the government. Will the international court bring action against the Bush administration as war criminals?

While there is no question as to defending the United States from future acts of terrorism, the President continually refers to the “war on terrorism” and bestows upon himself the dubious honor of being a “war president.” He chose to ignore world opinion, and strangely enough did not seek advice from his father, former president Bush-(41) who had foreign relations experience. Instead he relied on the Father of his religious faith.

On November 27, 2002, 14.5 months after the devastating attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Public Law 107-306. was enacted. The purpose was to determine why the nation was unprepared, and how to avoid future attacks.

An able panel comprised of five Democrats and five Republicans came together to present a plan to reorganize intelligence and security agencies to prevent future attacks. Their comprehensive 428-page book “The 9/11 Commission Report” provided details of this tragic event, with recommendations for changes in all departments of the government. It is incomprehensible that their measures have not been followed to the letter.

The Bush-(43) invasion of Iraq lacked substantial intelligence connecting Saddam Hussein to al Qaeda. Dick Cheney recently reaffirmed the report that the CIA told the president, it was a "slam-dunk" certainty. In fact, terrorists in the 9/11 attack were from Saudi Arabia, from which Osama bin Laden’s family wealth originates and he uses to fund al Qaeda. The connection between the Bush and royal families in the middle east might also be a defining factor.

The attempt to re-organize U.S. intelligence agencies has been floundering, as new directors come and go; Homeland Security has proven to be anything but secure as seen in the Katrina hurricane disaster. Federal Emergency Management was so ineffective that three years later the gulf states have not fully recovered.

The department of Homeland Security, and the Patriot Act have brought into existence a diminution of freedoms, with unlawful spying on millions of citizens in violation of the Constitution’s provision of privacy and recently new unconstitutional authority to interfere with the balancing power of the judiciary branch.

Neither Congress nor the President have the duty or the power to bring democracy to the world. We would need to know the exact wording of the declaration to invade Iraq to learn exactly what Congress was told. We learned of the lies regarding weapons of mass destruction, but do not know why Congress continued to support the president’s request for even more funds, when the United Nations and other sources repeatedly said there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Congress and the President are stubbornly “staying the course,” as over 3,000 American troops and untold thousands of civilians have been killed and maimed, as casualties continue daily. Today marks the fourth year since the invasion, longer than U.S. participation in World War 11, with no end in sight.

Despite our military might, the mission has not been accomplished as Bush-43 boasted a few weeks after the invasion. We have not prevailed, but worse, caused a civil war between Sh’ias and Sunnis, destroying the infrastructure and the lives of millions of Iraqis. Moreover, the lack of intelligence regarding the insurgency is further evidence of unconscionably poor planning and preparation.

Why were American intelligence agencies and special military units who were trained for covert operations unable to devise a mission including all of the world’s national security entities to capture Hussein and bin Laden? These conditions make it obvious as to the need for all of the Congress and the President to resign, and in the interim of planetary transition, members of the 9/11 Panel should take control. Congress should take full responsibility for its actions and resign along with the President.

Equally difficult to understand is how the generals of the most powerful military in history could have been convinced they are defending America by invading Iraq. How does that action pertain to finding the terrorists who planned the attack on the World Trade Center in New York? We were told that the search was in progress in Afghanistan. No mention of the connection of Iraq to the terrorists attack of September 11, 2001 was made at that time.

We are immersed in the history of soldiers’ bravery on the battlefields and the brilliant generals who led them. We are all brainwashed into glorifying false patriotism which in truth was and continues to be individuals’ lust for power. All through history ordinary men responded to the call to arms from their governments and monarchs, as a normal event in life as if it were a sport or contest. They marched off to the battlefields. Unlike ancient times when kings led their armies into battle, modern generals and their aides remain behind the lines planning strategy.

Egypt and Mesopotamia (Iraq) before 2000-1000 BCE were agricultural societies, ruled by divine kings, supported by military aristocracies and a powerful class of priests in strong religious systems. With such advancement, how did the notion of war dominate over the idea of peaceful dialogue between governments to resolve disputes?

Four hundred years pass before the Age of Reason begins in 610-480 B.C.E, philosophy and science originate with seven wise men, Thales of Miletus, Anaximandr, Anaximenese, Pythagoras Heraclitus, Parmenides and Empedocles. From these thinkers came theories of what the world is made of, mathematics, music, medicine, astronomy, the harmony of opposites, the origin of man, the origin of striking gold for money, and map-making.

Pythagoras might well have been the world’s first protester. In 532 BC he left his town of Samos, because he could not bear the oppressive rule of Polycrates, who was a close ally of Amasis, King of Egypt.

There is no indication that these philosophers had influence in waging war. How were the rules of war determined and by whom? Where did they learn battle strategies, logistics, the manufacture of weapons. Were wars declared before attempts to settle grievances; how did they start and end?
A brief summary of the history of long-forgotten wars brought on by kings, and their short-lived victories is as follows:
Miletus fell to invading Persians (Iran), who then took Sardis in 544 BC.
Sparta invaded their neighboring tribe of Messenians and reduced them to a race of servants. Sparta was transformed into a military camp, with the goal of education to produce disciplined soldiers. Corinth engaged in trade and was known as the place of amusement.

Greeks were neighbors to the Phoenician city of Carthage, which together with Xerxes invaded Greece in 480 BCE. Athens displaced Corinth and Syracuse brought Athens down. City-states controlled territory of their neighbors. Thebes and Sparta sided against Athens, and when the Spartans won, Thebes switched sides and supported Athens. Greece fell to Alexander and later to Rome. As if to mock the war-makers, most of these kingdoms and empires, city-states and tribes no longer exist.
Then came the age of three of the greatest thinkers in Greek philosophy, Athenians, Socrates, 469-399 BCE, his student Plato 428-348 BCE and Plato’s student Aristotle 384-322 BCE.

Plato, following the earlier Olympian triparte division of the classes of society, wrote in “The Republic” that the ideal was to divide the people into three classes: the guardians (government), the soldiers and the common people, which explains how this inequitable structure originated, so that waging war was an expected aspect of life. In that period, Bertrand Russell says, “Philosophy and science as we know them are Greek inventions.

The rise of Greek civilisation which produced this outburst of intellectual activity is one of the most spectacular events in history. Nothing like it has ever occurred before or since. Within the space of two centuries, the Greeks poured forth in art, literature, science and philosophy an astonishing stream of masterpieces which have set the general standard of Western Civilisation.”

Two-thousand years later we have not evolved intellectually. Far from ideal governments we now have power-hungry, greedy and corrupt governments, and classes have degenerated further into the privileged, violent and apathetic segments of the population. We are no different from the nations that no longer exist. Without deep and permanent changes in behavior and removal of tainted governments we can expect the same in our lifetime.

Apathetic citizens In the United States, have relinquished their voice in self-government yet remain attached to the democratic system of government. There is no such entity except for Switzerland that might have one canton completely democratic.

The United States is a Republic, whose representatives no longer seek the ideas or consent of their constituencies in issues that come before the Congress. They follow their party line, and are concerned with only one goal and that is to be reelected. The United States has the lowest rate of involvement in the electoral process than any other nation, at about eleven per cent for local elections and at most seventy-five percent in national elections. The largest and most consistent number of voters are the elderly. Younger voters rarely come out to vote, low percentages in presidential elections every four years who rarely know the issues, irrespective of the harm the wrong person in office can do.

The people of all governments are supporting officials and bureaucrats paying salaries and lifetime pensions from income, property, sales and hundreds of other taxes on utilities, transportation, etc., (see copy at the end of this chapter of e-mail currently circulated in the U.S.) levied by: federal, state, county, city, municipalities, townships, towns and villages. These bodies are the sub-governments that actually run the country. Do we need so many guardians in the civil service?

Exactly what do the elected officials of these myriad governmental bodies accomplish that could not be achieved by efficient continental management of all public programs by highly educated, paid professionals throughout the world, (Chapter 14 Plan).

In the current U.S. two-party system, the electoral process is so flawed, that voters are frustrated and disillusioned as to the value of their vote. It is no longer viable in a country that in earlier times was made up of European immigrants and their descendants with similar characteristics and cultures. It is now truly a “melting pot” of people from all over the world, with such diversity, that if not managed by professionals as suggested above, only a parliamentary system with multiple parties could be deemed democratic. A parliament could be a temporary solution in the transition period from this unworkable nationalistic system, to professional providers of planetary and continental services.

For a government that is presumed to be the finest example of democracy, the United States is the least equal in campaigning for elective office. In short, if a candidate is not independently wealthy, or does not have access to wealthy contributors, irrespective of a superior education and capability there is no chance to run for office.

The expense is formidable to hire campaign managers, consultants, staff, advertising, access to media, printing of banners, printed material and travel. With no legal limits on expenditures, the largest amount of money decides the winner. Incumbent candidates spend a great deal of the people’s time in fund-raising and for the next election many will raise at least $40 million.

Not only does this preclude the best qualified from serving, but it places the winner in an obligatory position to contributors as periodic investigations and trials of corrupt officials prove. Powerful lobbies such as the National Rifle Association are behind legislation that prevents out-lawing of automatic weapons and hand guns, which are used in killings everyday in the United States.

Currently, members of Congress are under investigation for corruption. Representative (R) David Cunningham was recently convicted of bribery involving lobbyist Abramoff who had unlimited contact with members of congress. At least three others are under investigation. This alone should convince us that we are ready for a new system of government that would be incorruptible, and more efficient.

The system is further flawed by gerry-mandering, when politicians find a way to re-district their states to increase the power of their parties, as manipulated in Texas by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, currently under criminal investigation.

It remains a mystery to anyone who does not have a lust for power, as to what is so extraordinary about being elected to lead a super or even lesser power. For example, in the United States why would individuals be willing to beg for contributions in order to campaign for election.Their opponents are from their own political party, and then they face the opposition party. They advertise terrible things about each other in their campaigns, and if they are nominated, we outsiders are supposed to forget the things they said. If true, why would anyone vote for them?

If elected they must live a life under scrutiny. Their compensation is less than they could earn in the private sector. They must have the temerity to impose their beliefs upon people who were against their candidacy, and cannot avoid polarizing the people with almost every issue and decision.

There are few visible benefits for a U.S. President. Living in the White House for which they need to pay personal expenses; access to Air Force One plane; hosting heads of state at White House dinners; and, having staff people around who address him as Mr. President, akin to “your majesty,” The deference exhibited by the congressional body that is supposed to oversee and balance his power is demeaning in a democracy (republic). The greatest prize must be that the lust for power is satisfied.

A president might not have any military experience, but becomes the Commander-in-Chief, which in the case of the current president, is a frightening probability of what might happen in the two remaining years of his term. George W.Bush, is an example of a leader lacking in wisdom, judgment, and intelligence, who has made life and death decisions based on lies and his personal religious beliefs. His decision to invade Iraq has brought chaos and civil war to the Iraqi people so that conditions are as bad if not worse than under the leader he brought down. The majority of the Iraqi people want the coalition troops (they are now saying "occupiers") out of their country.

Should the security of a nation depend upon the political party in the majority? They have the power to declare war, to decide how vast revenues are spent, and pass legislation which is good for the rich, but not the poor, with only a whimper from the minority party? Unless treason, a crime or misdemeanor is committed there is no way to remove a U.S. president from office no matter how badly he performs, no matter what damage he does to the image of the United States.

Fortunately, the power lasts eight years at most before returning to the life of an almost ordinary citizen. All traces of his presence are removed from the oval office and he returns to a life of little or no importance compared to world attention and adulation of his staff of supporters. If he is disliked, there is jubilation. Then the new administration takes over and if the opposing party gains control, it begins to undo as much of the previous administration's accomplishments as possible.

The best example of the worst behavior was the enormous budget surplus left by the Clinton administration, which the Bush administration managed to turn into a colossal deficit in his six years in office. What it will be at the end of his term in 2008 will be incomprehensible.

What exactly is the role of members of the U.S. Congress? Are they lawmakers? For over two hundred years, they have enacted laws regulating every aspect of living, including what individuals may do with their own bodies, their own families, their own careers, even whom they want as life partners. How many more laws does a civilization need?

The legislative branch of government is supposed to balance the power of the executive branch, but most members have been in office for so many years, they have lost sight of the nature of their duty and oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the Unites States. They have become so partisan that if the president’s party is in the majority, they simply rubber stamp his requests, especially the 2006 Congress, so that the future of the peace and economy of the nation is in great peril.

Anyone addicted to watching television’s C-Span which shows live, sessions of both the House and the Senate, must be under-whelmed by what they seem to be doing. In the end, just what do these elected officials accomplish? Debates and speeches to gain support for legislation are conducted before an empty house. As stated in his book, The Audacity of Hope, Senator Barak Obama (D)IL said, “no one is listening.”

Special committees convene to approve appointments or question cabinet members, but privileged by their status invoke “classified information” or “compromising homeland security” refuse to answer. The committee rarely ask tough questions if the person or agency they are examining is a fellow party member.

The Constitutional fact is that members of Congress are elected by voters in their home states, yet they make decisions that affect the lives of all Americans. That is what happened when they rubber-stamped the Bush-43 administration invasion of Iraq. A change in the Constitution might be to put issues that affect the states in the hands of the House, and matters concerning the nation in the hands of the Senate. Citizens would have a better chance to contact their representatives in both houses regarding proposed legislation, instead of the nit-picking that takes place to agree on the same legislation which is costly and a waste of time to enact important law.

Next we look at local governments in the U.S. Governors for each state; mayors for a multitude of cities, villages and towns; county presidents; and, township supervisors, most duplicating services that few accomplish efficiently, some with corruption, at enormous public cost.

Even more astonishing are nations that have parliaments, among them, England, Spain, Monaco, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Thailand and a few smaller nations, who continue to maintain monarchies at great public cost for palaces, castles, country estates, and the privileges that attach, for the sake of tradition. These monarchies should be ended. Monarchs could retain their personal real property and wealth, and during the transition to a planetary system, if the people agree, maintain their royal households before becoming global citizens. Monarchs have been deposed many times in history, most fatally, by their own families. Heirs to some thrones have been restored, recently in Spain with the coronation of King Juan Carlos.

Monarchies, despotic political leaders and insurgents are the forces that since recorded history have caused wars, inexpressible violence and destruction. THINK, by reinventing the entire global structure so that there will be no nations, there will be no uncontrolled authority to order invasions. Improved education will enable global citizens to develop wisdom to live together with neighbors as friends, not enemies.

As suggested in previous chapters, there is no logical reason to believe that current governments cannot be systematically disbanded. It has happened throughout history; nations conquered nations and changed the rules; coups from within, then they, too, changed the rules so that enemies once friends, and friends once enemies formed new alliances.

The history of war exhibits no rational reason for humanity to bring such horror to each other. We must examine violence of governments against governments, not people against people, not for sustenance, but only to annihilate a culture or civilization that refuse to accept an imposed way of life contrary to their own belief.
The major threat to the planet is the fanatic followers of Islam who want to conduct jihad against nations and all believers of religions, including their fellow Muslims, that do not agree with their religious extremes.

New oil-rich nations are planning to influence developing nations to accept their political ideologies, which poses another threat to peace among all nations.
THINK - how the same violent pattern of nation against nation will continue until it is too late to save the planet. Notwithstanding, the historic warriors and generals of all of the wars, from ancient times to George Washington, to 1848 when Guiseppe Garibaldi participated in the turmoil in Europe, to Robert E. Lee, to Pershing of WWI, Eisenhower, MacArthur, Montgomery, Rommell of WWII, Colin Powell, and many more, nothing changed in history in man’s inhumanity to man. It is in progress at this moment.

THINK - of a planetary system without governments, but with administrators of departments who are employed to prioritize public services for continental citizens. Each continent would have a panel authorized to make contracts and bids as agreed upon, and with the direct consent of the people.
THINK - how civilization would advance if there were only six languages, one for each continent, (Antarctica would be global) for the purpose of communicating without translators.
THINK - how we would agree to retain and celebrate cultural differences as we travel throughout the planet, just as we do today.
THINK - how the tremendous cost of duplication of government bodies throughout the world, their symbols of power, waste and corruption, that could be used instead to fund all of the basic needs and pleasurable activities of all of the people in the world.
THINK - how recent changes in ideology and geography occurred in our lifetime with fewer dire results than that of war.
THINK - of how current databases and new technology can make practical physical changes by removing national borders; accounting for natural resources and distribution of production; and, fewer bureaucracies that can make it easier to establish and maintain a new planetary system.
A new system of self-government is needed NOW. An unintended subtle message came from 2007 budget hearings which subsequently provided huge tax cuts for the petroleum industry. In opposition to the tax cut, Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein produced a chart showing budget allocations needed for entitlements such as social security, medicare and other benefits for lower-income people. One could see Republican Senator Orrin Hatch salivating at the possibility of reduction of these benefits in the next Republican Congress. Do Republican members of Congress think they are there to favor corporations or to serve the American people?

An important by-product would be the absence of the Internal Revenue Service, which is intrusive, aggravating and unlawful in many respects, especially in violation of "equal under the law." Loopholes are designed for the super-rich, while low and middle-income wage-earners fear audits. Myriad pages of instruction to file correctly require the expertise of costly tax lawyers or tax service businesses. Taxes would only be collected if revenue from natural resources falls short of allocated budget expenditures. As suggested earlier, continental banks would initiate an efficient system of billing taxpayers according to percentages of specified income, (no loopholes for deductions by special interests)..

The following poem has been circulated through e-mail:

“At first I thought this was funny...........then, I realized How True it is!!".
Tax his land, tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.
Tax his tractor, tax his mule,
Teach him taxes is the rule.

Tax his cow, tax his goat,
Tax his pants, tax his coat.
Tax his ties, tax his shirts,
Tax his work, tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco, tax his drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.
Tax his booze, tax his beers,
If he cries, tax his tears.

Tax his bills, tax his gas,
Tax his notes, tax his cash.
Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough.

If he hollers, tax him more,
Tax him until he's good and sore.
Tax his coffin, tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.

Put these words upon his tomb,
"Taxes drove me to my doom!"
And when he's gone, we won't relax,
We'll still be after the inheritance TAX,
Hey maybe you'll get a refund!!
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel permit tax Gasoline Tax (50 cents per gallon here)
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax Interest expense (tax on the money)
Inventory tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road usage taxes (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone federal excise tax
Telephone federal universal service fee tax
Telephone federal, state and local surcharge taxes
Telephone minimum usage surcharge tax
Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax
Telephone state and local tax
Telephone usage charge tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
Oh and we must never forget Capital Gains Tax

COMMENTS: Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and our nation was the most prosperous in the world, had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What happened?

CHAPTER FIVE

2007-05-21T08:02:00.002-06:00

RELIGION
Religion as defined in the World Book Dictionary:
1. A belief in God or gods.
2. Worship of God or gods.
3. A particular system of religious belief and worship.
4. A matter of conscience.

Spirituality as defined in the World Book Dictionary
1. Having to do with the spirit or soul.
2. Caring much for the things of the spirit or soul.
3. Of or having to do with spirits
4. Having to do with belonging to a church
5. A devotion to spiritual instead of worldly things
6. The fact or quality of being spiritual being neither corporeal nor material.

Number of people on the planet who believe in organized religions:

Christian 1,965,993,000
Catholics 100,000,000
Muslim 1,179,326,000
Hindu 767,424,000
Buddhist 356,875,000
Tribal 244,164,000
New 99,191,000
Sikh 22,874,000
Daoist 20,050,000
Jewish 13,800,000
Confucius 5,067,000
Shinto 3,571,000
Parsi 479,991
Total believers: 4,493,864,991
Non-Religion 766,572,990
Atheist 146,499,019

The enigma of religion is that if there are 4,693,864,991* people in the world who according to the above definitions practice a specific organized religion, how is it that constant war, not peace has been practiced for at least 15,000 years? Logic dictates that this total, far out-number those who do not practice, so there must be a reason that religious people condone war. Is it possible that church leaders and governments are the killers and the public is so mesmerized or indoctrinated that they blindly follow or lack the courage to protest? Do they believe that it is the will of God to bring death and destruction to each other? If practitioners believe God is merciful, just and wise, how then do they use His name to justify violence?
All organized religions provide leaders to assist or intervene in communication with God. They also apply specific rules as to how to communicate with God in accordance with their interpretation of the rituals in their scriptures. However, very few religions allow their followers to choose or remove their leaders, whose judgment must be trusted without objection. We will analyze the above definitions, to determine whether a clear understanding of the differences can lead to a method of emphasizing the practice of love, compassion, and human kindness as the best approach to eliminate violence, and to work for peace.
The history of religion could well shed light on whether or not established religion has been more harmful to humanity, than if mankind was left to practice human kindness to satisfy the innate spirit. This would involve direct communication with God without ancient dogma, distorted treatises, ritual and instruction as to the best way to make contact. In fact, a trend is already starting with home-church, similar to home-schooling.
The fundamental truth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam is the belief in the One God theology and that they are descended from the Prophet Abraham. The fatal difference is that two-thousand years ago, Christians added Jesus Christ, not as a prophet but as the Son of God, thus violating Judaism and Islam’s belief in One God. Because of this one difference, believers have been killing each other with extreme violence and cruelty in so-called “Just” wars. An enigma is that there has been two-thousand years of controversy regarding the history of Jesus as a man or as a God.
The third definition of religion as a particular system is correct as far as it goes. What should be added is the truth about how religious leaders dictate the right way to worship.
When people first came together to try to understand the mystery of their surroundings, how life and death occurs, they started the belief in an unseen creative force that later was identified as "God." There were special rules to follow in order to gain favor with this Creator
Different ways were found to accomplish this and in order to be special, various leaders made up rituals and explanations so that everyone could be taught to be worthy of favor. That belief became so strong that they felt everyone should follow exactly as directed. This caused the separation of different beliefs or "religions" and with it came intolerance, chaos, hatred and war.
Changes that are desperately needed are attitudes of true tolerance and respect, whether or not there is agreement as to the creeds and tenets of the various beliefs. Most believers agree that One God is the Creator, and, truly spiritual followers in the New Thought movement have been saying for over a hundred years, "One God, many paths."
It is the second part of religion that fanatical thinking emerges, which is in the methods of rituals, the way we communicate with God, belief in specific Prophets, belief in a Son of God, and belief in Saints. There are different rules for decorating the church altar, specific rules for actions and classifications of sins. Almost all religions, except Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism believe in Heaven. Christians and Muslims claim they know the way to Heaven, but have yet to behave in a manner to insure acceptance if they get there.
The differing power of church leaders, from monarchs to a Pope, to Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Ministers, Rabbis and Caliphs is one of the causes of all of the chaos and unspeakable brutality. They enjoy their power and instead of teaching and practicing true spirituality, tolerance and respect, they strive to raise and maintain their positions by sanctioning “just” wars and jihads.
The most devastating wars have been those to force changes in rituals that do not mirror their own. What a terrible price to pay for such insignificant acts.
Buddhists, Jainists and Quakers are the only faiths that have made the attainment of permanent peace a vital part of their doctrine. There is a subtle movement of believers towards adding other doctrine to their creed, humorously identified as Jew-Budd or Buddish, and adopting the theory of Forgiveness as a Healer, presented by Gerald G. Jampolski, M.D. and Diane V. Cirincione, Ph.D; and Conscious Evolution of Barbara Marx Hubbard.
Divisiveness within the same religion was seen early on in history and much suffering could have been prevented had emperors and religious leaders not lusted for extreme power and wealth. Prior to the one God theology, ancient civilizations believed in different gods to take care of all needs from kitchen gods to sex goddesses, which might explain why there were fewer wars.

JUDAISM

The written theology of One God started with Hebrews in the development of Judaism nearly four-thousand years ago. Hebrew Scriptures provide the stories about people and God, and precise law as to how to behave. It evolved into various sects. They were Zealots and Zadokites descended from King David, who lived near Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, and Pharisees, Essenes, Sadducees, Mystics and more.
Judaism prohibits proselytizing, so it is unlikely they started wars to force others to worship in the same way. They defended themselves against Syrians, and later countless times against Christians, relentless Roman wars and the final destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, in 70 AD. Jews were expelled from Jerusalem and not permitted to reenter.
They moved to Egypt and joined a large community of some 300,000 Jews already established and somewhat influential. Israel had been part of the Ptolemaic empire in the 7th century BCE. They assimilated and learned Greek culture and language. Services in the synagogue were conducted in Greek. Two Jewish generals were in the army of Cleopatra III and Jewish soldiers served the pharaohs. Egypt had removed the border between Israel from 302 BCE to 198 BCE (yes, this can be done in this age to save the planet).
Therapeutae, a Jewish mystic sect founded in Egypt, did not need a temple in which to worship. They prayed at dawn and dusk and every seventh day heard talks from senior members and prayed together outdoors. Every fifty days they had a festival of simple food, prayers and formed a choir of men and women to sing psalms, just as they do today. Their tradition of Jubilee every 50-years includes forgiving all debts, as instructed by God, "to return every man unto his possessions."
The Jewish Temple of Yawheh was built on Elephantine Island in the Nile at Aswan. The town was destroyed 400 BCE., was rebuilt and again destroyed. A second temple built by Osiias III or IV in Egypt was kept almost secret, to avoid any quarrels with supporters of the Temple in Jerusalem. It was led by the Zadokites, descendants of King David, who were sons of the true Levitical priests. The site Tell el-hehudieh known as the Mound of Judaea, is 20 miles from Cairo. It is expected to be covered over soon with the expansion of a nearby suburb, Shibin al Qabatur. It was on the road from Judaea to Heliopolis which is the site of the Cairo airport. It is important to note the location of a functioning temple in Egypt during Jesus’ lifetime.
Judaism continues despite expulsion from England, European countries, pograms in Russia, genocide in the German holocaust, individual acts of anti-semitism in the U.S. and Arab suicide bombers in Israel. The division in ritual further evolved into Orthodox, (strict interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures), Hasidic, Conservative, Reform, Messianic and Revisionists.

CHRISTIANITY

Christianity's path originated with Jesus, a devout Jew, who came to Jerusalem two days before Passover as the Messiah. A seemingly innocuous question as to whether or not he was anointed before entering Jerusalem has created centuries of controversy and chaos. The differing versions of the history of Jesus the man and Jesus the Son of God has complicated understanding of straightforward doctrine. The different versions evolved into intolerance, then hatred, then violence. Jewish followers of Jesus along with non-Jews known as Gentiles, established Christianity two thousand years ago. From that time to this, relentless wars have been waged.
In 325 A.D. Roman Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea and the divinity of Jesus was made official. Christians added the New Testament according to the gospels of disciples Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John completed in 300 A.D. There are no documents that confirm that Jesus said he was the Son of God. Hebrew Scriptures were retained which are now referred to by Christians as the Old Testament. Jews and Christians both held that worship of God outside their respective churches and synagogues was idolatry.
Later in history, Christians divided into different practices which now consist of Roman Catholic, Protestant, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Evangelical, Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventist, Pentecostal, Mennonite, Unitarian, Religious Science, New Thought and smaller sects of these divisions.
Recent books promulgate thought-provoking and belief-shattering new information according to newly discovered documents. A whole new profile of Jesus refutes Judas' role in the betrayal of Jesus. The document discovered some ten years ago and recently made public states that Jesus gave clear instructions to Judas to betray him so that he could leave his mortal life. A new book, The Gospel of Judas describes an entirely different history of Judas, not as a betrayer, but as Jesus' friend.
The gospel of Judas describes this conversation with Jesus, "I know who you are and where you have come from. You are from the immortal realm of Barbelo and I am not worthy to utter the name of the one who has sent you." Barbelo is the exalted realm of the divine, beyond this world who often assumes the role of our Mother in Heaven (from Sethian Texts), 'Barbelo' is said to be derived from Hebrew - four is arba, god is el. It is said she conceived from God, in pure light and the Supreme Triad is Mother, Father, Child.
A few weeks later a new debate about a completely different role for Jesus appears April 17, 2006 in U.S. News and World Report. James Tabor, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina says, “Jesus in partnership with his cousin John the baptizer, saw himself as the founder not of a new religion but of a worldly royal dynasty as descendants of King David.” Tabor said it was supposed to occur during their time of life, and that Jesus had established a provisional government with 12 tribal officials and named his brother James, not Peter, as his successor. James later did become the leader of the early Christian movement.
A fictional book by Dan Brown made into a movie recently, The DaVinci Code is the inference that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married which is offensive to Catholic leaders. They urged people to boycott the film, which only added to record-breaking box-office receipts.
Now, in 2006 comes a definitive new book The Jesus Papers by Michael Baigent, author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail who charged Dan Brown in court with plagiarism regarding his fictional plot in the DaVinci Code. Baigent fills in the time that is unaccounted for in Jesus’ life; his teen years and as a young man. The family plan was to move to Egypt so that Jesus could study Judaism and learn what it meant to be a messiah of Israel. As noted above there was a functioning temple and a large, influential Jewish community.
It begs the question as to whether the Therapeuatae mystics who were descended from King David, could have been the source of Jesus’ study of the Egyptian Far-World which they believed existed along with the world of the living. Is this where the idea of resurrection took hold?
Baigent makes an astounding case against the divinity of Christ. None of the early versions or gospels mention a virgin birth. He makes the case that Mary Magdalene as Jesus’ wife could have anointed him. In Jesus's time it was a Jewish man's unconditional duty to marry. If he had been unmarried it could have been used against his teachings.
Margaret Starbird in her book, The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, says that it was prophesyzed that Mary would be given sovereignty and royal power over the House of Israel, and as the wife of Jesus was known as ‘Mary the Great,” which coincides with Tabor's view of Jesus' coming to be King of Israel.
Baigent states that Dr. Douglas Bartlett of Oxfordshire, England in 1982 told him of a manuscript providing proof that Jesus survived the crucifixion and was still alive in 45 A.D. Supposedly Jesus was given a sedative before the crucifixion made of opium, belladonna and hashish known then as an anesthetic.
In the gospel of Mark, Joseph of Arimethea was said to have gone to Pilate to request the body of Christ. According to the gospels of Luke and Mark, the wealthy and influential Joseph, who with Nicodemus, quickly removed Jesus from the cross and brought Him to the nearby tomb which was owned by Joseph. They returned late that night and brought spices, myrrh and aloes. None of these items was known to be used in embalming. Mary Magdalene and Mary, “mother of James”, came to the tomb after the Sabbath with spices and ointments. Mary Magdalene disappears from history after the crucifixion. We are to understand that Jesus ascended to Heaven, but Baigent says the family fled into Egypt and then departed a few weeks later for an old Jewish community in the town of Narbonne, France.
. Other writers and archaeologists also have hinted at the inaccurate history of Jesus as the Son of God, and the Vatican’s attempts to deny other versions of Jesus as a man, causing researchers to search for other sources.
A very important discovery of jars in Nag Hammadi Egypt in 1945, contained previously unknown gospels about Jesus' teachings in different words from those of the New Testament. Researchers trust the authenticity of documents such as the Dead Sea Scrolls found in Qumran in 1947 that are original and untouched by leaders of opposing religions. Countless documents worth millions of dollars are held in private collections, in various museums, universities, monasteries and in the Vatican library which is the guardian of teachings about Jesus. It is a mystery that no documents written by Jesus himself have been discovered. As a teacher is it possible that he could not write or cause his dogma to be written?
Baigent makes no pretense of trusting the Vatican as guardian of documents that do not agree with their accepted doctrine. He clearly states that the Jesus tradition is Jewish, the Christ myth is not. He says that the Vatican maintains its position through suppression and manipulation of expression. He thinks, "at some state the pressure will become too much and the entire construction will collapse under the weight of erroneous assumptions, blatant untruths and deliberate misreadings."
He points to the first record of 386 A.D., when Pope Damasus I orders his secretary to revise the text of the Bible to support his claim that the 'apostolic see' is a continuous descent from the apostles. In 367 A.D. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, declares that all non-canonical books in Egypt be destroyed.
In 1902 Pope Leo XIII established the Pontifical Biblical Commission to control the work of theologists. This commission was linked to the Inquisition of the 12th century that acted as an investigatory body and then became the executioners of heretics in Spain in 1492. In 1907 Pope Pius X banned modernists from access to Christian documents. In 1908 the Commission became the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. In 1965 it changed again to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The current Prefect, Monsignor William Levade, followed Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who became Pope in 2005.
The history of the Inquisition is as shameful as modern day genocide. Their first major battle was the destruction of the Cathar Church in 1244. They then turned to a campaign of eradicating those who did not practice as the Vatican instructed; earliest was the Knights Templar; in the 14th century against Franciscans and a hundred years later against Jews and Muslims in Spain. They were especially brutal in seeking converts who returned to their previous beliefs. The Inquisitors condemned witchcraft all over Europe and in over 150 years burned 30,000 women.
Baigent cites the present Pope's dogmatic approach that no new material will change the Catholic belief, "Revelation terminated with Jesus Christ....Truth cannot be created through ballots," (if arguments arise regarding putting ideas of theology to a vote)." Baigent says further,"There is little hope that Ratzinger (the current Pope) will pull back from the stance that the Vatican provides the only path to hope."
In a recent book, What Jesus Meant by Garry Willis,Professor of History Emeritus at Northwestern University, Jesus is depicted as poor, coming from illiterate parents, who was not a model son, and a problem for his brothers and sisters. When he was 12 years of age, he slipped away from the family in Jerusalem. His distraught parents find him three days later in the Temple. When his mother asks how he could do this, Jesus answers, "why would you look for me?" Willis writes, "We are told that his brothers and sisters later considered him "mad." Jesus spoke Aramic and needed to learn Hebrew in order to study the Scriptures.
According to the gospel of Mark, Jesus appears out of nowhere when he was about thirty and announces "That God's reign has arrived." The gospels contain nothing about the intervening years. Willis believes that what Jesus meant is clearly laid out in the gospels. "He did not found a church or advocate politics. The reign of heaven is himself, the avenue of access to the Father." Willis adds, "but heaven's reign makes deeper and broader demands, the demands not only of justice but of love."
It is interesting too, that Jesus called upon married men to carry his message. Women were active along with their husbands as Peter and his wife; and Prisca and Aquiline. There are no documents to prove that he advocated celibacy. Jesus also warned people to not pray in hiding and to not babble like pagans. This coincides with the Therapeutae Mystics who needed no temples but prayed outdoors.
The above citing of new books is not meant to stir dissent of any personal beliefs. It is meant to urge that thought be given to cease obedience to religious leaders' dogma, and concentrate on individual spirituality which is the most likely path to communicating with God.

ISLAM

Muhammad, who founded Islam (“to submit”) in 610, did not represent himself as a god and is considered by Muslims to be a prophet. Like Moses, he received his communications or visions from the one God Allah, and related the revelations so they could be written by a scribe. Muslims accept this as being God’s perfection of the beauty of Arabic writings, which became the Quran, meaning “recitation” The Quran which is a book of instructions of how to live in obedience to God, is different from the Bible which tells stories about the acts of God.
Mohammed recognized the legitimacy of both Judaism and Christianity and did not force conversion to Islam when they invaded and conquered Christian nations. They did demand that their political power be accepted by the vanquished and levied a tax on those who remained.
Islam adhered to Hebrew Scriptures in strict teaching of the necessity to yield to God for everlasting peace. They believe unequivocally all that is necessary is an Islamic ruler who will enforce the law to achieve the order created by God. They were ruled by caliphs who succeeded Muhammad and ruled until 750. It is an accepted conclusion that they followed the Prophet for political, not entirely religious reasons. A document called the Medina Charter, Khilafah al-'Alam al-Islami, was created by Muhammad to provide rules for the conduct of war. There are 57 clauses. In pertinent part, it starts with, "This is a document from Muhammad the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), governing relations between the Believers i.e. Muslims of Quraysh and Yathrib and those who followed them and worked hard with them. They form one nation - Ummah."
Following are some of the principles that pertain to present-day conditions that if honored by Muslims, would force terrorists and insurgents to immediately cease their killing and destruction in the name of Allah.
Third: "In case of war with anybody they will redeem their prisoners with kindness and justice common among Believers. (Not according to pre Islamic nations where the rich and the poor were treated differently)."
Fifth: "In case of war with anybody all parties other than Muslims will redeem their prisoners with kindness and justice according to practice among Believers and not in accordance with pre-Islamic n[a]tions.
Tenth: "The Believers, who fear Allah, will oppose the rebellious elements and those that encourage injustice or sins, or enmity or corruption among Believers."
Eleventh: "If anyone is guilty of such act all the Believers will oppose him even if he be the son of any of them."
Sixteenth: "Those Jews who follow the Believers will be helped and will be treated with equality.(Social, legal and economic equality is promised to all loyal citizens of the State)".
Seventeenth: "No Jew will be wronged for being a Jew."
Eighteenth: The enemies of the Jews who follow us will not be helped."
Thirtieth: "The Jews of Bani Awf will be treated as one community with the Believers. The Jews have their religion. This will also apply to their freedmen. The exception will be those who act unjustly and sinfully. By so doing they wrong themselves and their families."
Thirty-first: "The same applies to Jews of Bani Al-Najjar, Bani Al Harith, Bani Saeeda, Bani Jusham, Bani Al Aws, Thaalba, and the Jaffna, (a clan of the Bani Thaalba) and the Bani Al Shutayba."
Thirty-fourth: "Those in alliance with the Jews will be given the same treatment as the Jews."
Thirty-eight: "If anyone attacks anyone who is a party to this Pact the other must come to his help."
Thirty-ninth: "They (parties to this Pact) must seek mutual advice and consultation.
Fifty-two: "The Jews of al-Aws, including their freedmen, have the same standing, as other parties to the Pact, as long as they are loyal to the Pact. Loyalty is a protection against treachery."
This document is especially important in that Muslims are clearly obligated to come to Israel's side against Hamas, Fatah and all other Muslim terrorists. It means, too, that Muslims are obligated to stop Sunnis and Shiites from killing each other in Iraq, specifically as decreed in the tenth.
Muhammad fled to Mecca then to Medina in 632 when his life was in danger because he would not compromise his belief in strict adherence to God's message. It is thought that the revelations changed during that time to allow defense of one's home, but not to initiate violence.
This change is later reflected in the portions of the Quran referring to Medina and Mecca. At this point, politics and religion merged because it would become necessary to reform society to obey God’s law. It started out to respect the rights of other religions, but Muslims are less tolerant of Christians because their disciples diminished the meaning of One God, by worshiping Jesus not as a prophet but the Son of God. They were more tolerant of Jews as the “people of the Book” who maintained the One God theology. It is remarkable that from 600 until 1948 Jews received better treatment under Muslim rule than in Europe.
After Muhammad’s death, Arab conquests transformed the world almost within the span of one generation. Syria fell in 634-36, Egypt in 642, India in 664, Carthage in 697; and, Spain in 711-12. However, the Byzantine Empire was not conquered until 1453 by the Ottoman Turks.
The division of Muslims into Sunni and Shi’a resulted from a rift regarding the succession of Muhammad. Sunnies supported Mohammed's father-in-law, Shi'a favored descendants of Ali, the prophet's son-in-law. Their descendancy was from the clans of Abbasids and Umayyads.
Sunni, the orthodox party was in control and drove the Shi’a out of Damascus. Sunni’s influence dominates in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and North Africa.
The Shiites, largely Persians, moved the capital from Damascus to Baghdad. This new dynasty appealed to fanatical sections of Islam and are now in the majority in Iraq, Iran, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Azerbaijan and south Asia. They are further divided into the Ismailies and Druze sects.
An Islamic moderate group has emerged to seek reconciliation of the sects and to co-exist with secular governments. They know the value of education and believe in a more liberal treatment of women. It is a wonder that they have not yet prevailed. As far back as the 7th century women were granted political, legal and social rights that were unheard of in ancient Europe. Countries with the largest number of Muslims, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey have elected a female head of government Israel, too, elected a female. Of the Christian nations, England, Ireland, and Germany have elected females as head of government. The U.S. and France have not.

HINDUISM, JAINISM, BUDDHISM

Hinduism, the major religion of India, worships a plurality of gods, looks upon the cow as a sacred animal, regards certain rivers and pools as holy and accepts Brahmanical supremacy in a caste system. It has divided into different sects, some believe in Vishnu, the sustainer, Shiva the destroyer or bringer of grace, and Sakti the Goddess. Some acknowledge the other’s deities, such as Ganesa, a patron of learning and new enterprises, and Varuna, upholder of moral law. Hindu Scriptures called “hearings” consist of the Vedas, the first and most sacred Hindu text, and the Puranas, “remembering,” the Mahabharata, and the Bhagavadgita.
Hinduism is dominated by the mystical understanding of the Atman; the eternal self inherent in all beings, the essence of life, or spirit itself. Hinduism provides a profound explanation of how everything fits together. Brahman is the contact that opens the way to inner awareness of the self, on the same level as contact with Yahweh, God, Allah of other traditions. Atman is Brahman and Brahman is Atman. Brahman is also perceived as intelligence. In Hinduism, the person who passes through this life.

is an immortal, divine being who slowly awakens from ignorance of self and remembers one's true identity which is to be Brahman
Where other traditions are waiting to meet up with God, or the second coming of Christ, Hindus seek and complete their spiritual journey when they find god within themselves.
Jainism, another division occurred when Hindus who rejected sacrificial rituals as cruelty to animals and the caste system of the Vedas, created the Upanishads as scripture. Jains do not believe in the power of gods to intervene in human aspects of life and that there is no god as creator.
Buddhism, also formerly Hindu, came into existence from the teaching of The Enlightened One Gotama Siddhartha’s principle of nonviolence. He did not claim to be a divine being, but his message was to follow the middle path as the only way to reach Nirvana. His followers renounced the power of war, and to live according to law (dharma) Only with the absence of greed and anger, could there be permanent peace, happiness and security.
Religious wars were equally devastating and long-lasting, as seen in the chapter Cost of the Madness of War. There were battles as described in the Bible, and then more frequently and more brutal starting with the coming of Christianity, as follows:

170 BCE Ruler of Syria invades Judaea and Egypt. Onias III, high priest of the temple flees to Egypt with many priests. Establishes a Jewish temple in Egypt.

169 BCE. Syrians invade Judaea a second time. Temple is looted.

167 BCE. Syrians again invade, massacre populace of Jerusalem and rededicate the Temple to Zeus. The Temple Priest Mattathias and his sons begin a revolt against the Syrians.
A.D.
66-73 Roman army under Vespasian invades Judaea

115 Revolt in Alexandria is led by Lucuas, the "King of the Jews."the Jewish community in Egypt is destroyed.

131 Simon Bar Kochba leads revolt in Judaea. (133) Nine to twelve Roman legions invade Judaea from the north. (135) Jewish forces are defeated. The Roman emperor Hadrian changes the name of Judaea to Palaestina (now Palestine).

250 Christians are persecuted under the Roman emperor Decius Bishop Fabin of Rome executed.

258 The Roman emperor Valerian orders the execution of all Christian clergy.

303 Persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Diocletian followed by death and destruction.

390 Army of Gauls lay siege to and destroys much of Rome.

410 Visgoths sack and destroy Rome.

The Crusades began in 1083, to bring Christianity to Arabs and the established Islamic religion. Muslims had little knowledge of Western Europe and did not differentiate between the Franks, English, Germans and saw all as part of the Byzantine Empire.
Christian Europe attacked Jerusalem in the Third crusade led by Germanic Holy Roman Emperor and Kings of France and England. The Ottoman Turks saw their expansion of the realm of Islam that brought their armies to the gates of Vienna in the sixteenth century as a jihad.
Crusades as military expeditions authorized by the Pope to retake Jerusalem came to end in 1291, having little significance in the Muslim world. Christian mentality that saw Islam as an inferior religion to be countered by force, continued in Spain until 1492 and in the Austrian and Russian wars against the Ottoman Turks.
The era of religious turmoil in Europe began with the Lutheran Reformation in 1517 and ended with the Treaty of Westphalia. It was the first formal recognition that a state is absolutely sovereign within its borders and that all states are legally equal irrespective of size.
Lutheran and Roman Catholics within the multitude domains and city-states of German kings, ended with the Peace of Gusburg which recognized the unity of Christendom and initially eased conflicts.
The major religious wars came later, the French war of religion in 1528; the Thirty years war in Germany 1618-48 and the Puritan Revolution in England 1641 - 1649.
Wars of Religion had long been seen as a just cause for war against heretics and kings who corrupted their people from true to false religion. Spain's Philip II, Austria's Ferdinand II, Sweden's Gustave Adolphus, and England’s Oliver Cromwell saw their wars as battles for God. Scottish Calvinist theologian John Knox 1514-1572 used Old Testament examples to provide a theological defense of tyrannicide of England’s Catholic Queen Mary. In excommunicating Elizabeth I of England, the papal secretary wrote that she “was the cause of so much injury to the Catholic Faith and loss of so many million souls, there is no doubt that whosoever sends her out of the world with the pious intention of doing God service, does not sin but gains merit."
Dynasty rivalries, the Dutch and Swiss seeking independence, and the efforts of the Jesuits to recover lost lands and the Calvinists waged wars to extend their influence.
The history of religion in America is astonishing in view of primary school information, that it was founded by immigrants seeking freedom of religion. Thomas Jefferson was the most effective advocate for separation of church and state. As the author of the Declaration of Independence, he mentions God four times, however, there is no mention of God in the Constitution.
There was no freedom of religion in the lives of early settlers. Connecticut's legal code said, "Whoever shall worship any god other than the Lord shall be put to death." The penal code of the Massachusetts colony called for the death penalty for a Catholic priest who returned there after being banished. Of course, we all know the history of the Salem Massachusetts witches who were severely punished by zealots. In the 1880s Seventh Day Adventists paid fines and served time in jail for working on their farms on Sunday. Rhode Island was the only colony to allow Quakers inside its borders
While Americans give the public impression that we are a tolerant people, the truth is as shameful now, as it was in early history. We have church burnings, swastikas painted on synagogues and violence against Muslims who are not terrorists, but good citizens. There are racial, ethnic and economic divisions in society. Anti-semitism erupts in violence in attacks on individuals.
The U.S. has its religious demagogues in the likes of Jerry Falwell and his "moral majority," Pat Robertson, and Louis Farakan. Presidents make no pretense of their reliance on God to make decisions. President Eisenhower started an annual prayer breakfast. Congressmen make their belief in religion a cornerstone for seeking reelection.
As governor of Texas, George W. Bush, when he was campaigning for the presidency, declared "Jesus Day" on June 10. His recent hypocritical decision to veto the bill to fund stem-cell research which has the potential of saving millions of lives by curing diabetes, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, diseases of the nervous system and countless other disabilities, currently incurable, is based on his religious belief. He said he was not going to allow a poor moral decision during his presidency. However, he also said "we must be very careful to not destroy life to save others. All lives are precious." When asked how many civilians died in his war on Iraq, he answered off-handedly, "30,000 (pause) more or less." His ignorance of the Constitution's separation of church and state, goes unchallenged.

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Religious beliefs alone did not cause all wars. Except for Buddhists, Jainists and Quakers, leaders of all faiths have been responsible for sanctioning or supporting so-called “just” wars. What is unthinkable is that their motives were not to preserve their faith, but to safeguard their positions of power and privilege. Other than the religious organization of Friends, few have made the attainment of permanent peace a vital part of their doctrine.
In his book The Mystic Heart, the late, beloved Brother Wayne Teasdale, a lay monk who combined the traditions of Christianity and Hinduism in building common ground between religions, censures spiritual and religious leaders for remaining silent when human rights are abused. He courageously rebuked the Catholic Church and the Vatican for absenting itself from the moral struggle with Hitler's regime. Under the leadership of Pope Pius XII (1939-1958,) the Church adopted a policy of complete silence regarding the Nazis and the Holocaust. "Rome's lack of leadership in this area represents the worst, most inexcusable moral failure in the history of Christianity. Had the Vatican given a vigorous witness against the evils of anti-Semitism and the policies of the Nazis, Hitler's war plans may have been derailed and the Holocaust might never have happened!"
He points out, too, that Christianity had actually nurtured anti Semitic sentiments since the first century in the break with the Jewish community in Jerusalem. These feelings through nearly twenty centuries of hatred for the Jewish people, was the soil in which Hitler's obscene brutalization of the Jews developed. Brother Wayne wrote ,"unfortunately the Vatican is repeating this same mistake with Tibet and its much-oppressed people. It has done the same with East Timor and a number of countries in Latin America where it has embraced ruthless dictatorships. The same Pope Pius XII who presided over the Catholic conspiracy of silence on the plight of the Jews, was reigning when the Chinese army overran Tibet in 1950. No Vatican official has ever addressed the sufferings of the Tibetan people or what the Chinese have done to Tibet."
If established religions do not come together to intercede in indescribable national tragedies, and do not take the opportunity to contribute substantially to the merging global cry for peace, then religion is of no use to its over four billion adherents.
As of this moment, a religious war is taking place. U.S. President, George W. Bush declared war on Osama bin Lauden and his al Qaeda terrorists in response to their attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. Three-thousand Americans were killed. Similar terrorist attacks have occurred in other major cities; London, Madrid and in Indonesia since then. It is not known if bin Laden survived bombardments in Afghanistan, where he was reported to be living in caves. If bin Laden is still alive, he is determined to force everyone to follow all of the rules of the Quran.
On June 6, 2006, the deadliest terrorist, Abu Musab Zarqawi was killed by U.S. bombs when he was located in a remote farmhouse in Baqubah in Iraq. Zarqawi did not join al Qaeda, but started his own gang in Iraq to fight against U.S. troops and Iraqi Shiites who support the U.S. invasion of 2002. Another terrorist has already taken his place.
As mentioned earlier, it is still puzzling as to why George W.Bush gained Congress' support for a speedy invasion of Iraq at the same time he was at a war with al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan. The report of Iraq having weapons of mass destruction negated by United Nations inspectors was ignored by the Bush-Cheney administration and when it was established that there were no such weapons, they changed the reason for the invasion, "to bring democracy to the Iraqi people."
The Constitution of the United States gives power to Congress to declare war to defend the United States, but it is questionable as to whether it gives power to the government to wage war in order to change another country's political or religious ideologies by force.
The planet is on the verge of a huge catastrophic conflict. Completely new nonviolent action must be taken, not ineffective reform, nor for the same people at the same world-wide conferences who only agree to come back next year to solve the problem of intolerance and war. Therefore, we need to practice spirituality in its true form of devotion to spiritual instead of worldly things, and to remember the fact or quality of spirituality is "being neither corporeal nor material."
Knowing the difference between religion and spirituality is the path to saving mankind's life on the planet. The key action is to find the love, human kindness and compassion that was put into our hearts and minds when we were born, which is the basic thinking of Hindus.
Intelligent separation from those who will not be reconciled to any form of cooperation and tolerance can be accomplished through repopulating special regions on the continents for those who would voluntarily choose to live among like-minded people only.
If all of the church-going fervor could be channeled into human kindness and compassion, there would be happiness and joy throughout the planet. This condition is already in progress, thanks to the people who volunteer their time to help others. They raise funds for poverty-stricken nations, provide care to the sick and elderly, to be mentors to troubled children, made possible the enjoyment of the arts and hundreds of others services to young and old. In fact, these are the people who should come together to become the nucleus of the planetary and continental panels to administer the change to self-government.
In the transition period, believers can worship with their families and friends at home or in open areas. Leaders of established religions should begin to turn the wealth of their respective ownership of real estate and works of art into providing funds to aid children, the chronically ill, the homeless, the elderly and those in poverty.
With all of the bad news of the world in danger, the best news of the century is the announcement on June 26, 2006 of the loving generosity of Bill and Melinda Gates of the Microsoft Corporation, and the famous financier Warren Buffitt, the wealthiest people in the world. They will be spending most of their billions on helping the poor and especially treating malaria which kills thousands of children and HIV/AIDS victims each day. They are expecting to allocate $3 billion per year for inoculations, supporting research of tropical diseases, and medical treatment of known illnesses and advanced education. Blessings of God, Jesus, Allah, all of the Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism, Jainists and Buddha, all of the prophets, spirits, and angels, as well as people of the world, upon them.
The most important message is that if together we recognize and respond to the guidance of the spirit within us, we can bring more love, compassion and peace to all living creatures in the world, than any ritual or sermon, not for appearance of our goodness, but for what comes from our hearts.

CHAPTER SIX

2007-05-21T08:02:00.001-06:00

EDUCATION

The good news about education today is that nations are coming together to design curriculum and systems that will provide all students with equal opportunities for access to equal education. This is exactly what is needed to develop a planetary/ continental system to achieve equity in education in the 21st century.
A hopeful sign for successful change is the progress nations made in 1996 and 1997, in attempting sweeping changes. The National Association of World Council of Comparative Educational Societies, included Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Columbia, Egypt, Hungary, India, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Spain. Others who met were England, Wales, the U.S. and middle-eastern and Asian nations. They discussed issues and exchanged comparative studies regarding various practices in order to reach a consensus of what educational systems should be like to meet global challenges. Japan had produced one of the most successful educational systems after WW II, which others nations were trying to emulate.
The dialogue that took place on this global level should have been headline news. The lack of media coverage of educational activity is astonishing in view of the one goal that all the people in the world have in common, that is to educate their children.
Most of the countries in the world are working towards entering and becoming a major part of the global economy To reach this goal they must prepare their children for the future.
Governments should be embracing the emerging conditions of global economies which are successfully connecting to each other’s diverse societies. Equality of educational opportunities must be achieved or there will be no end to civil unrest, terrorism and war.
The global economy and interconnected societies must cooperate to solve problems in education around the world. The problems are the same; administration, financing massive education, equality of educational opportunities and outcomes for different social groups, especially women, minorities, rural, low income and impoverished.
All nations are seeking superiority in math and science to develop and advance technology, which can only be achieved through the best possible educational experience.
Multi-national corporations are moving away from loyalty to their countries, and focusing on becoming global citizens. They will be providing good jobs for people with education all over the globe. Some old isolationist Americans especially, are reluctant to even think globally, in fear of losing their super-power status. Conservatives are fearful of dealing with people who are not exactly like them.
Tremendous leaps in technology and communication leave no choice but to go with the trend or be left behind. Major cities around the world urge their people to learn English as the best way to find a job that leads to participation in the global economy. It is inevitable that developing nations will not tolerate a few countries dominating world economy, leaving them outside looking in. The potential for increased violence should not be ignored.
Africa is the poorest continent of all despite its vast oil resources. Some 44 nations exist there, with only a few privileged classes having enormous wealth. Constant civil unrest and war, along with indescribable poverty. There are no schools in many areas so that illiteracy is rampant. Schools, where they exist, have dirt floors, no chairs or desks, no textbooks, no pencils or writing paper. Teachers have not been adequately educated, but do the best they can under the worst of conditions. Equal educational opportunities for all of Africa would without doubt conquer poverty, and the world would benefit by adding a healthy new trade partner.
“Shadow participation” is the term used to describe tutoring, extra courses and home-schooling. Three fourths of students in forty nations are involved to improve math skills. Denmark, England, Norway, Germany, Sweden and France have the lowest number of student attending non-traditional schools at about 20 percent, compared to 40 percent in the U.S.
Home-schooling of more than a million students has encouraged parents to speak out for a better public educational system. They are joining together to establish private schools, with innovative educators, who are dedicated to their calling They are fearful, too, of the violence at schools in both wealthy and poor neighborhoods, as well as the influence of drugs and unacceptable social behavior.
The history of education clarifies the current disparity in access to education world-wide. The first formalized system was influenced by religion with the purpose of learning to read scriptures. The earliest was 3000 BC when the children from upper-class families in Egypt and Sumeria (Turkey) were taught by temple priests.
Formal schools were established in China in the Han period 202 B.C.E. 220 A.D under the Confucian influence. Buddhists produced the first books in 868. Athens and Rome also provided education for the children of wealthy citizens.
Christian missionary schools were established for children of the British who ruled India, and in America almost all education was in the hands of the clergy. Harvard and Yale were founded as centers for the education of ministers. In 1833 a few women were permitted to attend Oberlin College in Ohio. Parents would gather funds to pay those who had received higher education to teach their children.
The U.S Constitution makes no reference to education, despite the fact that the founders were highly educated men. The establishment of education was left to the several states. Massachusetts had compulsory education in 1852 and some states set aside acreage in each township to be used for schools.
State funding is derived largely from property taxes which causes the disparity in students receiving a good or bad education. Recently, state lotteries were initiated with mandatory use of receipts for education. Some say instead of augmenting state budgets, allocations have been reduced so that lottery receipts pay much of the school budget. A disproportionate share is allocated to administration and for pensions.
Post-war U.S. enactment of the G.I. Bill of Rights opened the door to thousands of veterans to tuition-free college enrollments. After they received their degrees they entered fruitful employment and were founders of successful family and corporate businesses, resulting in the biggest economic boom in American history.
Other nations were not as fortunate. In Europe entire cities were destroyed and the U.S. provided the Marshall Plan for restructuring which earned the respect of the free world. This motivated European nations to come together to form the European Union to function as one in global trade, even introducing new currency used by all member nations.
After World War II the most famous scientists in Europe emigrated to the U.S., some escaping Nazi Germany, Albert Einstein and Edward Teller among them. Von Braun the rocket scientist, came after the war. Who will take their places in generations to come?
The bad news is that the U.S. system is not working, despite huge amounts of money allocated to education. Irrespective of the fact that the Constitution does not leave education in the hands of the federal government, the current Bush administration initiated a concept of "no child left behind." It is a controversial method of memorization for repeated testing, instead of students being taught to think and analyze. There are no opportunities for questions and answers, or time to digest, consider and debate. Teachers don't like it, but if they fail to follow the government's guidelines, the school will not receive federal funding. It has had a devastating effect on a whole new generation.
It should awaken parents of students and activate educators to pay attention to poor ratings and the age-old tradition of better education for children of the wealthy. Much work is needed to reverse this paradigm if generations to come are to enjoy a quality of life that the generation who entered school in the 1930s experienced, many who did not even attend college, yet achieved financial goals.
Public education in the U.S costs a staggering $440 billion annually but does not produce the results that were accomplished in depression years. Then a schoolroom had a blackboard, a pull-down map and screen, a movie projector and a piano, with a dedicated teacher who was not paid by check or cash, but in scrip, in order to purchase necessities.
Schools in high income neighborhoods can afford additions and new buildings, better teacher pay, textbooks and supporting services, compared to minimum funding in low-income areas where school buildings are crumbling, some teachers are not qualified to teach some of the subjects they are assigned and there is an absence of special tutorial services.
Now, as a result of the September 11 attack, homeland security policies deny admission to foreign students whose higher tuition kept costs lower for local students. Unfortunately, they are going to other countries to study. Some 250,000 Chinese have returned home to their booming economy and to continue post-graduate studies at their highly advanced universities. This reversal in the population of scientists and technicians is reflected in the fact that ten years ago, the U.S. issued 10,000 patents, down to 4,000 in 2005.
Education is in crisis, but the same failed remedies continue. Education Secretary Margaret Spelling, at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee for Education, requested an additional $380 million to strengthen math and science because students are not adequately prepared for college.
Thirteen governmental agencies handle 270 programs; grants from foundations try to solve some of the problems by providing teachers with additional training because many are teaching subjects they know nothing about. Thus the U.S. is woefully near the bottom of educational achievement. (Readers Digest, December 2005, p. 111)
In May 2006 when the budget which provided the big tax break for oil companies passed, the Bush administration removed the tuition tax credit for families of children enrolled in college. Announced on television’s C Span, not one Congressman voiced displeasure about this ominous return to privileges for rich corporations but not for working families. Moreover, tuition costs and interest on loans have increased so that financial aid for college attendance leaves graduates over $100,000 in debt. They either postpone marriage, or new families can be strapped for years of debt.
No nation has the best educational system; each has its strengths and weaknesses. Despite huge funding, the U.S. is not at the top of any of the ratings in achievement. China as a supplier of goods to all nations does not educate its peasant farmers’ children. If and when they receive education and have jobs and become consumers, China will be the wealthiest nation in the world.
The arrogance of the U.S. expressed by Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House, June 7, 1995, “We’re the only country complicated enough, sophisticated enough, big enough to lead the human race” (New York Times, June 8, 1995) received the following reply from Adam Przeworski (Comparative Education, Edited by Robert F. Arnove and Carlos Alberto Torres. “The Neoliberal Fallacy, Journal of Democracy 3, no. 3, July 1942 p. 45-49. Joel Sanoff article).
“Neoliberal ideology,emanating from the U.S.and various multi-national agencies, claim the choice is obvious as to one path to development (of education). If Martians were asked to pick the most efficient, humane systems on earth, it would certainly not choose the countries that rely most on markets. The U.S. is a stagnant economy in which real wages have been constant for more than a decade, and the real income of the poorer 40 percent of the population has declined. It is an inhumane society in which 11.5 percent, 28 million people, including 20 percent of the children live in poverty. It is the oldest democracy on earth but has the lowest participation rates in their electoral process in the democratic world, and the highest per capita prison population in the world." Others comment that “since they believe they are right, they can tell everyone what to do, but do not learn.”
In the U.S. more efforts are placed in selecting the "best universities" when in fact all universities can be "best." If started in lower education, dedicated teachers, parents who demand that their children focus on daily attendance, and instill a love of learning they, too, can motivate high achievement.
Different ethnic groups can be identified by their dedication to learning. Jewish people have been educated in many lands as they were expelled and forced to be productive wherever they were able to go. Asian families have long been known for demanding excellence in studies from their children. The middle-eastern culture for thousands of years introduced education to the world.
Unfortunately, many American families do not make the same demands on their children regarding study. More often, they succumb to demands for material possessions, what they wear on their bodies rather than what they put in their minds. If they are accepted at college, many need remedial work in basic studies.
Too much emphasis is on money-making sports, especially football, social events, and vacations such as "spring-break." This practice alone every year results in some tragic event when inexperienced teen-agers venture into unknown areas and indulge in substance abuse and other unacceptable behavior.
If students focused more energy on the true reason they enrolled in higher education, there is no doubt that all of their intellectual challenges would become an expected part of the process of learning.
The veiled class war on many campuses caused lifetime resentment. Low-income students witness the luxury some of the privileged enjoy, while they were barely able to survive. Elite fraternities and sororities, a long-time tradition, were designed to achieve class superiority. It is one of the most divisive practices in global society. Graduates rely on alumni members of their league as contacts for better jobs than those who do not have access to sources of wealth.
Emotional damage can be done to the privileged as well when they enter the post-graduate world and find they cannot compete. More awards and recognition of scholarship could help level the academic playing field for both children of wealth, the middle class and lower-income families.
In the U.S. the new system established by the George W. Bush administration of “no child left behind,” has had a devastating effect on a whole new generation. Teachers abhor the method which is so standardized that it frowns on innovative approaches to encourage students to think. Much work is needed to reverse this paradigm if generations to come are to enjoy a quality of life obtained through education that current generations who did not even go to college, have experienced.
An age-old adage when it is impossible to repair damages is to “throw the baby out with the bath water” and start all over again. A continental system of education with the same curriculum, scheduling and equal achievement goals, adding content germane to their cultures and environment need not be difficult. As mentioned above, nations have already come together seeking to achieve this goal.
A whole new global system must be created to place emphasis on equal opportunities for all children to receive an equal education and it must begin with the planet’s most significant assets, its teachers. Their importance cannot be overstated. It is obvious that the most dedicated, well-trained teachers should be the highest paid professionals in the world. There can be no doubt that without teachers there would be no teachers, no scientists, no health care, no law, no industry, no trade, no transportation, no engineers, no housing, no communication, no research, no writers, no books, no films, no communication. We would still be cave dwellers, hunters and gatherers which might be the fate of any survivors if violence continues on this planet.
The first goal of education should be educating all people in the world to be able to acquire six basic needs: employment, food, shelter, clothing, education and a healthy environment. When those needs are met, self-respect rises so that incentives to maintain or improve status contribute benefits to the global economy. If the world continues to lack financial balance, there can be no motivation for cooperation between nations, which reduces market potential and stimulates causes for war.
We must change the educational system to prioritize teaching of skills to achieve acceptable social behavior, develop artistic talents, proclivity for business, agriculture, law, medicine, health, and restructuring cities and environs. Emphasis should be placed on learning nonviolence, and to abhor corruption, dishonesty and intolerance. THINK of how such awareness and knowledge can bring civility, beauty and convenience to the world.
A new educational system must focus on building the character of all students. From the first day in school, children should learn about honesty, compassion, acceptable behavior and manners, ethics. with emphasis on nonviolence.
Recruitment of high quality people into the profession of teaching, then giving them the support they need to become accomplished teachers is the first step to making the change, as mentioned above.
Stanford researcher H.M. Collins discovered that leaders who ignited transformations from good to great were not innovative geniuses, but good judges of talent who were able to assemble teams of people who could work together. He wrote, “Success had little to do with innovation of product or process. Finding begins with the ‘who’ rather than the ‘what.’ The process needs the right people to execute the vision. The right people don’t need to be managed or fired up; they will be well motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and be part of creating something great. In addition to talented, intelligent, passionate people in the profession, great education needs engaged citizens, who must shape an agenda that takes seriously the reality that teaching is demanding emotional, spiritual and intellectual labor and that teachers need to be cared for by the institution of school in ways that keep them alive for their students, attentive to their colleagues and excited by the subject matter they teach,”
Compare the value of teachers to today’s highest paid “stars” in the entertainment field, as well as Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of multi- national corporations whose primary function is to make profits for stockholders, and manage a labor force. However, they are also responsible for the failures that have led to record-breaking corporate bankruptcies and federal investigations, some resulting in criminal charges of fraud and corruption. Not a single trade union or the media deplore the disparity in sacrifices of workers who take cuts and loss of benefits to save their jobs, while CEOs magnanimously cut their multi-million dollar salaries in half, (if that much) and then depart with rewards for their failure, with stock options and “golden parachutes.”
Compare this astonishing condition to the potential of 97 percent of all of the students on the planet, who upon completion of their formal education will contribute to the global economy. The remaining three percent must be saved from falling by the wayside by finding them early enough to change their direction. Is there any doubt that this concept of the highest pay for teachers whose results support all of the people in the world, is more valuable than any CEO, any world leader, any medical doctor, any entertainer, and all of the drug-dealers and weapons manufacturers who are destroying the world?
Just as the true value of teachers must be recognized, the entire educational system in the world must be completely reorganized. While steps were being taken by global programs with educators working together to plan and measure results of new thinking, the disparity in wealth increased, as the “rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” We must ask the wealthiest nations, how they expect to retain their wealth, if their marketplace does not grow as a result of failure to adequately educate their under-privileged children.
U.S. News and World Report, February 20, 2006,Two Guys and a Dream, Susan Headen’s story about Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, who started teaching fifth graders in inner-city Houston 14 years ago. They founded Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) a national network of public schools that has posted stunning achievement gains and shattered all manner of myths about the academic capabilities of minority kids.”
They overcame institutional barriers to gain the freedom to teach the way they wanted, according to belief in high standards, hard work and a focus on results. Their premise is simple, do whatever it takes to learn. Students, parents and teachers sign contracts establishing school hours from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. plus Saturday morning. With an extra month in the summer, they receive over 60 percent more class time.
If two professionals are able to motivate students despite the rigorous requirements, there is no end to what global participation will be able to accomplish in time to prepare students for a new system of self- government.
To catch up with those who have had advantages since birth, such as homes with books, parents who have had college educations and insist on good study habits, educators recommend a “Downside Up” version in which the under-privileged should now receive the best teachers and facilities.
Dedicated teachers could turn this into a level playing field, but many students are lost before the change takes place. Drop-out rates show 2,500 student leave high school every day. About a million drop out every year, which is a tremendous loss in productivity and wages in the lifetime of one generation. Over four-thousand are arrested every day and 68 percent of the prison population do not have a high school diploma.
Decisions need to be made to establish priorities to correctly initiate and function in a whole new educational concept. The following matters need to be discussed, and implementation agreed upon:

How to apply global natural resources to fund equal access to a good education?
How will changing educational goals affect society and culture?
How will students be taught to resolve conflicts rising from diverse political systems and theological regimes while the planet is in transition to an awakening world of peace?
What will be the common emphasis?
How will local culture fit into the new system?
How will the new system start?
Will children continue to be taught according to their age level, or will classes be customized depending on individual focus and learning skills?
What if one is a late bloomer and another is ahead, and by what measurable degree?
How will we separate dedicated students from those who have not been motivated to love to learn?
Where will enjoyment of socializing be placed in the priority list?
How will nonviolence and conflict resolution be taught?
How do we motivate and engage parents and families in the education process?
Do we test or find another way of measuring comprehension and retention?
What can we do about adult education for those who have been outside of the world communities of literacy?
How do we prepare for the underprivileged to catch up?

Teachers and students need to have a role in deciding what goes on in school. Not only is it a good lesson in democracy, but having a voice assures involvement in the process. Every person needs to feel their viewpoints are respected. These viewpoints can be developed into enthusiasm and encouragement to formulate new ideas and procedures, exactly what are needed to succeed in any endeavor.
We do not know the terror our children are experiencing in this current culture of violence. World-wide distribution of computer games, television and films, influence children to commit murder and suicide. A good teacher can recognize these fears, and bring them out in the open which could prevent the terrible tragedies occurring on school premises, as well as actions of young gangs in their neighborhoods.
Americans have no reason to be complacent and confident that its educational system is the best. Records show otherwise. (Educating for Humanity, edited by Mike Seymour). Fifteen-year-old U.S. students were 24th out of 28 countries in math, and 24th out of 40 countries in science. Fourth-graders start out ahead but fall behind by the time they enter the 8th grade.
Regarding the amount of math homework teachers give per week in 39 nations, the. U.S. is 26th at slightly under 2.5 hours per week. Highest at over 3.2 hours are Israel, Cyprus, Singapore, the Russian Federation, Greece, and Thailand. Romania is highest at over 5.5 hours.
There are world-wide differences in number of days students attend school, from 280 days in Singapore, Japan 243, Germany 240 and down to the U.S. at 180. Two-month summer vacations leave many children with no supervision and boredom leading to trouble. Two weeks should be enough time, especially for children of working parents if they cannot afford expensive camps, travel and special activities.
Studies indicate that most children need more sleep. They can be seen boarding school buses at 7 a.m. and in northern climates barely able to stay awake in the daybreak darkness. They are caught up in rush-hour traffic, inhaling toxic fumes from standing vehicles and are not in a prepared state of mind for lessons. Hours should be changed to 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Buildings should remain open until 9 p.m. as a place of activity for the entire community. It would be an excellent opportunity for shared community responsibility between educators, social services and local businesses. Not only parents but leaders in all fields should be available to participate in counseling, helping troubled youths to solve problems. Businesses should provide personnel to counsel students as they pass from one level of learning to another, to help them determine the path to their life’s work.
Its multi-purpose use for after school tutoring, clubs and sports, music, art, community service projects, as well as adult education emphasizes the importance of education for its own sake, as a challenge to open minds to all cultures, customs, languages, and lifestyles when the community connects.
Another function would be a medical clinic on Saturdays for preventative medicine, inoculations, maintenance of healthy diets and exercise and mental health, especially in a community where under-privileged families do not have access to affordable medical care.
All children should have equal opportunity to enter pre-school, primary and secondary schools in their own regions, without charge. As mentioned in Chapter - Natural Resources, funding would be more than adequate if global profits were equitably divided among the six inhabited continents and for Antarctica which would be reserved for scientific research, especially needed in the current crisis of global warming.
One size does not fit all. Reality is that children learn in different ways, are interested in different things and need to be prepared for different lives. Parents should be asked what talent and interests they notice in their child. They all recognize some unique quality and disposition. This information provides the teacher with a custom-made approach to each child, so that the best of their capabilities are recognized and nurtured.
Each child’s needs and interests should determine what is taught. It is important to encourage developing continental regions to prioritize education now to begin to teach job skills that will make goods and services affordable. Otherwise, a global trade imbalance would become a problem.
After needs are determined and goals set, a specific plan must be agreed upon. This new system should be administered by seven agencies according to their continental environment, climate, population, available water, arable land, water, and natural resources. It would be part of the new system of no national borders, no elected or appointed leaders or officials, as described in Chapter - Failure of Governments.
Each continent would agree to teach in the language spoken by the majority of its population. Pre-schoolers should be taught in that language. If they already speak the majority language, they would learn the language of the nearest continent.
In the first year of primary school, every child would learn the language of one of the neighboring continents; in the second year, the second language would be taught, and so on through primary school, so that by the sixth year they would have six continental languages. In the 7th and 8th year, all students would learn the language which has been chosen to be used globally. English is already used by all nations in air traffic control and for global business meetings. By the time they enter high school and college, they would be prepared to function in any place in the world.
At the same time, language studies are taking place, the curriculum should include study of the culture, geography and history starting with elementary information, appropriate to the level of learning ability. No matter what the level is, all continents would follow the same amount of time allocated to each discipline. For example, kindergartners, if attending half-day, would have language in songs and film, as well as practice in language skills. On alternate days, they would be taught the importance of learning the cultures of their classmates with emphasis on appreciating differences as a way of learning to prepare for the study of ethics and law regarding ownership, (a toy, a pencil, a book), learning about their community and how people need to help each other to have a “good life.”
At all levels, every day, there should be reference to the importance of family responsibility, emphasizing ways to help their parents and teachers, how to welcome newcomers and share their friends. This pattern should continue through primary school, so that by the eighth year, students are actually involved in community service, or are aware of their responsibility to make some contribution for the benefit of others.
All primary school students should be receiving the basics in reading writing and arithmetic, gradually being introduced to higher mathematics. By the fifth year, science should become a regular part of the curriculum. Computer training should not begin until the 7th year, and should be prohibited from being used for homework.
Too many students today rely on equipment or tools to learn math, but have no understanding of the dynamics and analytical thought that provide the answers to mathematical problems. Learning how to analyze math has a multi-purpose goal. It is the foundation for problem solution in all disciplines and aspects of life. On September 12, 2006, it was announced that teaching basic math will replace calculators upon which elementary school children have come to rely.
The same should be applied to developing writing skills. Vocabulary and spelling ability must be ingrained through the use of extensive reading, writing and language skills. Computers for word processing should not be introduced until at least the seventh grade of elementary school.
The policy of testing during the school year should be thoroughly reviewed so that there can be global consensus as to a chosen method. In Downside Up: Getting Education Right, Ronald G. Veronda’s view of grading calls attention to the emphasis on the requirement of constant testing, major to the Bush concept of “no child left behind” which teachers deem detrimental:
“Grading is a part of current structure where children are judged by grades to emphasize success or failure. Grading actually stops motivation. The power of non-judgment is much more effective than the built-in judgment of the current educational system which stops learning. The educational design should put responsibility for learning not on the child alone, but on the educator and parents. Its view is focused on preparing students for the material measurable world only. Anything that begins with limitations can only hope for limited success.”
This view should apply to final exams as well. Parents and teachers should have discussions that would determine the best choices for individual students. Teachers should evaluate the student’s progress by monitoring all through the school year. If some students are falling behind, tutorials should be available immediately. They might not progress at the same speed in every class, perhaps passing to the next level in one subject, but not another. That is why consideration must be given to advancement based not on the tradition of age, but on ability.
High school should become the preparatory facility for higher education. If introduction to math and science have been successful in primary school, advanced math and science should begin. Language skills should be fairly advanced as well so that building on primary school experience "finishing touches" should complete the preparation for the next four years.
Within the next 10 years, scientists will be retiring. A college education is becoming even more difficult to attain. Only six percent of students are planning to study engineering in the U.S., down from 36 percent 10 years ago. Some 75,000 engineers graduate annually in the U.S. compared to China’s 500,000. This number is said to include auto mechanics and other technical skills. It is estimated that by 2010, ninety percent of the scientists in the world will be Asian. China’s goal is to turn 100 universities into world-class learning centers.
If college attendance is not planned, there should be technical schools offering courses in needed job skills from business to construction, to agriculture and food preparation, and public services. If students are uncertain as to what they want to do, they should be encouraged to go into the work force and try different career opportunities and return for training in their career preference.
Upon entering colleges and universities, students should be prepared to focus on a specific calling. Higher learning should focus entirely on studies pertaining to the profession they have chosen. It is likely that if separate facilities were provided to teach medicine, law, engineering, business, journalism, performing arts, focus on individual study would cut the time to earn a degree, saving costs to parents on limited income. Many universities have separate departments now but there are too many conflicting activities that cause some students to fail or drop-out.
All college students should have the opportunity to study at universities on other continents in exchange programs. In any event, courses should be the same so that everyone is on equal footing in their profession. The people who love learning should be encouraged to participate in any program that suits their ability.
The plan for a new system of education is perhaps the most vital to meet the planetary crisis head on. It is the opportunity to begin a whole new cycle of values, from the basic need for knowledge to live in a new planetary system of self-government, to the goal of a peaceful co-existence as an undeniable right.
It is important that the goal of all educational planning be the design of a program from pre-school through college that would provide equal hours of courses of study and preparation for career choices on all continents. How students apply themselves should be constantly evaluated and changes made as needed.
To develop a whole new system of life on the planet depends entirely on the educational process, starting with a new generation who have not been tainted by greed and violence. Children are compassionate in their care of pets, for their friends well-being as they tend to care for each other at unexpected times. They are loyal to their friends, and if treated with dignity, they respond in kind.
They are gifted in their creative ability and when they know their best efforts are expected for specific tasks, they exhibit pride in their accomplishment. They can be loving and gentle and they appreciate personal attention more than the latest toy.
We have a good start with the meeting of global minds to develop equal opportunities for a new generation to receive the best possible education. Innovative new courses of study, with the best teachers possible, a global community where everyone contributes to the success of each student, of parents interest and guidance, in facilities conducive to focusing attention on challenging ideas, can become reality.
An important element is how global thinking will be applied to students with special abilities, high I.Qs, and those on the opposite end who have learning and behavioral problems.
We should have learned from history that unequal educational opportunities have prevented what the world could have been. We have seen how ample funding was not available, but dedicated teachers provided the motivation and discipline for a better education than is now available despite more than current adequate funding.
The problem lies with taxpayers failing to demand accountability for expenditures of billions of dollars in the U.S. and throughout the world. The disproportionate share of administration, instead of high wages for teachers is so out of control, that it is no wonder that schools are crumbling, textbooks and minimal supplies are not available.
It is more likely that the cost of education will be greatly reduced if we adopt global curricula, methods, procedures, school hours, reasonable goals, opportunities for the best and the brightest, irrespective of status or income.
The greatest change should come with the participation of corporate leaders to become teachers periodically, to donate their services in giving lectures or workshops in their own school districts. The entire community can surely benefit if it comes together to motivate children to be the best possible students.
Every child on the planet from the first day they enter school until their highest educational experience, must be required to demonstrate acceptable social behavior, and be powerfully motivated to adhere to a creed of nonviolence. We should then expect a tremendous increase in responsibility for achievement by students encouraged by their parents and communities.

CHAPTER SEVEN

2007-05-21T08:01:00.001-06:00

HEALTH/MEDICINE

The subject of global health appears to be one of the lowest agenda items in meetings of heads-of-state. Economic summits, of course, are in abundance throughout the world, but rarely do we hear of medical experts meeting to evaluate world health conditions. The U.N. lacks significant programs to eradicate diseases in third-world countries.
In the U.S. it would be rare to encounter anyone, irrespective of age, who does not suffer from a physical disorder. From asthma, diabetes, gastronomic, heart, hypertension, nervous system, to multiple forms of cancer, treatment but no cure is available except in some cases for surgical procedures. Machines make diagnosis easier and emergency hospital care prevents sudden death. Life span has increased, but quality of a drug-free, healthy life style is far from what is expected to be the “golden years of aging.”
Many states and local governments have Medicaid insurance programs for the poor with funding from the federal government. However county hospitals are over-crowded and do not always have adequate medical help.
The national Medicare program to insure seniors 65 and over is not sufficient for retirees on fixed incomes. In Plan A the monthly premium is deducted from social security benefits. The governments pays 80 percent of hospital costs after an annual deduction of $1,000 and 20 percent is co-paid by the insured. An option may be included to pay for Plan B which covers doctor’s fees after an annual deduction of $130, and is paid in the same percentages as Plan A. The annual-cost-of-living increase in social security monthly payment is almost erased by rising medical costs
The cost of medication became so expensive that many seniors on fixed income were forced to choose between medicine and food or other basic needs. A new plan (D) devised by the Bush administration was so confusing that only one-third enrolled by the May 15, 2006 deadline. A penalty has been added for those who might decide to participate later.
Seniors choose from about 50 insurance companies and pay them a monthly premium. Medicare pays a specified portion, depending upon the drug prescribed and the recipient makes up the difference. Monthly premiums vary from $10 to $50.
President Bush handed insurance and pharmaceutical companies an assured trillion dollar revenue. There apparently is no clause in this deal which would safeguard prices. In fact, he agreed to not negotiate for lower prices for medication. Despite an MBA degree he does not know that he could have dealt from the position of strength on behalf of millions of recipients.
The greed of one company, Humana who had the obligation to provide information regarding their plan went too far. When called for price information, they tried to transfer the call to an agent to set up an appointment at home to sell more insurance. When refused, they hung up without providing the requested information. By coincidence the very next day their telemarketing call urged setting up an appointment. When refused, they abruptly hung up.
More vexing, on July 2, 2006, two months after the deadline to enroll, it was reported that the elderly should expect a rise in monthly insurance premiums and in the price of medication. On September 13, 2006 an announcement was made to expect a substantial increase in monthly premiums, and seniors with over $80,000 of annual income would pay substantially higher amounts. For some on limited income or social security only, a possible $100/month addition to health care costs will be devastating. The drug plan was then in effect for only six months!
With unspeakable greed, in mid November, 2006, notices were sent to all who enrolled in the plan, that prices had increased and the option to seek other companies was offered. In other words, the process to obtain the cost of premiums and drugs must start again. Since patients do not expect cures, but rely on the national mantra, “doctors treat by reaching for their prescription pad,” there is no choice but to comply with the new plan. There has been no comment from the White House.
A glimmer of hope is in the election of November 7, 2006. Independents and many Republicans showed their disgust, so that Democrats are in control of both houses. One of their priorities is to fix this ill-conceived plan.
It has taken more than 2,000 years for the practice of medicine to evolve. Science began in the sixth century BCE in Greece. Mesopotamia (Iraq) had standardized medical procedures which the Greeks adopted. Babylonians and Egyptians made scientific discoveries in astrology and astronomy; Egyptians developed mathematics and produced surgical instruments, medication and developed medical ethics; Hippocrates’ case histories were collected in 250 BCE in which surgery was discussed.
In the second millennium BCE China had a remedy for cough and lung ailments. Ulcers and malaria were treated. They also believed that a red tipped tongue indicated heart problems. Arab-Islamic medicine was established in 832 BCE.
Public medical service originated in the early Roman empire when physicians were appointed to various towns and institutions. It was best in connection with the army where there was an adequate supply of medical attendants who were well-trained. The fall of the Roman Empire interrupted the practice of medicine as society changed into a feudal system. Hard peasant labor resulted in sickness and early death.
Church leaders became critical of medical practice, including dissections, and it was more important for the dying to be blessed by a priest than to have a doctor present. Monasteries became medical centers, more important than universities until 1300. Surgery in the middle ages was described in literature that raised standards.
Modern science started in the Renaissance and the Reformation broke the church’s hold on learning about 1315. In 1400 and 1500, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Turkey were finding treatments for syphilis, smallpox, and pharmacy was rediscovered. Ancient texts of the Greeks and Romans described the use of drugs, and new discoveries came from the New World.
North and South America had no outside contact for 10,000 years so that infectious disease was unknown. Transmission of disease from animals to humans became more prevalent with Europe’s discovery of America. Travel and trade with other communities became more common so that diseases were easily transmitted.
Instruments were invented, the telescope preceded microscopes before 1294. The Dutch made eyeglasses, the stethoscope, the iron lung and catheters followed.
Inoculation against smallpox was first reported in Turkey in 1721, and was carried on in Boston at the same time. In 1768 the Royal Court of Vienna was inoculated, as were Catherine the Great of Russia and her 200 servants. George Washington insisted that all troops in the Revolutionary War in 1776 be inoculated.
Americans who studied abroad, returned to establish medical colleges in Pennsylvania, Benjamin Rush in Massachusetts 1765-1769. Edinburgh in Scotland became the principle source of educated physicians for England. William S. Hunter opened the first obstetrics school in England in 1776.
Surgery in the field of cardiology was practiced in the nineteenth century and in 1912 James Herrick of Chicago diagnosed the classic signs of symptoms of coronary arterial occlusion. In 1918 Bousfield published the first ECG designed by Enthoven of Germany which was put in use on a patient during an angina attack In 1928 Cambridge Scientific Instrument Co. of London built the first portable string electrocardiograph. Heart medication came into existence.
Bismarck established the first compulsory sickness insurance in Germany in 1883. Employers were required to pay 33 percent and workers 66 percent of the cost of medical treatment. In 1884 work accidents were included. The first pension plan was established for the retirement age of 65. People with income above minimum were not required to participate in a compulsory insurance plan, and paid for private health care. Belgium and Holland followed with plans based on the guild system. Austria adopted the German system in 1888 in answer to Marxist complaints about economic problems of the poor.
The king of Sweden decreed local parishes must sustain its sick and support its poor. By 1800, twenty-one hospitals were established and counties assumed responsibility for the sick while the parishes continued to care for the poor. A private health care system did not exist and in 1913 only two private hospitals in the country took care of the wealthy. Mandatory insurance was instituted beginning with an old-age pension. Health insurance was added to the program in 1995 and trade unions became involved in the insurance program.
Norway had a similar system. Government had provided health care for its citizens for many years. In 1953 almost 90 percent were covered, by private insurance programs for members of fraternal organizations and labor unions. In 1956 automatic health insurance was provided for the entire population. Hospital care is now free for all.
France never adopted the Bismarck system although some industries had their own health and pension plans. England eventually adopted another model after WWII. Maternity benefits now also cover the taxi ride to the hospital. Canada has had a national health program for some 40 years.
In earlier times, European countries were more compassionate in recognizing the need for medical care. The wealthy received better care while the poor had almost no attention, accept for the charitable work of social and spiritually oriented people. This greatly improved in more recent history.
The early history of medical care in the United States, far behind that of Europe, is not a source of pride. The medical profession as a whole is slow to accept new ideas and doctors carefully guarded their discoveries of successful treatments. Even today, research is kept secret from the competition to develop new drugs and the wait for government approval of a new treatment can take years. While the cultures of most of the world in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries were highly developed, those who came to America were not the elite, the well-educated or the rich. Almost anyone could become a doctor without education. They could earn money for having apprentices observe their practice which was hardly a substitute for a formal medical education available in Europe.
Only after conditions in America began to improve by 1700 did doctors come from other countries to teach medicine. However, since the first printing press was not in use until 1639 at Harvard College and in Virginia in 1851, medical literature was not available. When printing presses were used, they were under strict scrutiny because of puritan values.
Very little attention was paid to education. Between 1607 and 1776 of 3,000 physicians, fewer than 400 had medical degrees from Europe. The first medical college was opened in Philadelphia in 1765, the second was King’s College in New York in 1767. Harvard Medical School was established in 1783 and Dartmouth in 1797. There were seven medical colleges in 1813 and a degree was the only requirement to license in most states. Students seldom had access to actual medical treatment until the Civil War. A medical degree could be obtained within one year. Diplomas were sold, the term of ‘quackery’ was adopted for those who obtained fraudulent documents.
Treatment was absent any medical discoveries in Europe and when new methods were proven to save lives, American physicians refused to follow. The example of the Semmelwiess method of merely washing hands between patients was ignored, and the laundering of surgical gowns worn in surgery took decades before it became protection against infections
In recent history, more advances were made in medicine due to war. Treating wounded soldiers has been re-organized so that there are more survivors than could have been imagined long ago. They can be treated while they are being evacuated by helicopters to the nearest hospital. Communication of new surgical techniques between doctors distant from each other has made it possible for more soldiers to survive without losing limbs or suffering permanent disability A new surgical breakthrough was announced on July 31, 2006 using robots for intricate surgery in treating soldiers wounded in battle, which will now be used in treating prostate cancer, with many new procedures due to follow
For-profit HMOs appeared on the New York Stock Exchange. The Reagan and George Bush-41 administrations were convinced that private care should be a capitalist model and made no attempts to ease medical expenses. Enormous sums would be collected from corporate employee health plans and stock market investors benefited from dividend payments. Medical groups subcontracted all health care delivery to doctors and hospitals. In 1998 some California medical groups became insolvent due to complicated plans.
The U.S., the wealthiest nation in the world, does not have national health care insurance for 46 million citizens. Catastrophic illnesses have wiped out entire family savings, and even a short illness for working-class families without insurance cannot hope to repay the astronomical bills that accumulate.
Some corporate benefits for employees include insurance, but costs are rising so fast that some are being cut. Some unions have been able to obtain health care benefits for members, but changing jobs or retirement can result in loss of insurance. Racial and ethnic bias in hiring, results in inequitable insurance coverage, with some 70 percent of whites insured, compare to 55 percent of African-Americans. To its great credit, Illinois recently passed the first program to insure all of its children by the efforts of Democratic Governor Blagojovich, who was re-elected November 7, 2006.
. A severe blow to medical progress was administered single-handedly by the president of the United States, George W. Bush on July 21, 2006. He vetoed financing of stem-cell research, admittedly based on his religious beliefs. Millions of lives could be saved and the quality of life improved which is now denied by the president who does not recognize the constitutional separation of church and state. Just as outrageous is that there were not enough votes in Congress to override his veto.
His hypocritical claim of extreme devotion to the value of life is not reflected in his invasion of Iraq. He does not know how many Iraqis died as a result of his endless war. Fortunately, with Democrats in control in January the next priority is to approve funds for stem-cell research. If Bush-43 tries a veto there will be enough votes to overcome his decision.
An interim system before a completely new global medical plan is designed, would be for the United Nations to reclaim its original promise, that is to act on behalf of the people of the world by making stem-cell research its priority. It could bring together the best medical scientists in the world, equip laboratories with the latest technology and expert staffs. Another plan could be to join forces with California governor’s Schwarzenager’s state-funded stem-cell research.
There would be no greater benefit to the world economy than the investment in the health and welfare of all of the people. Beginning with health care for poverty-stricken continental inhabitants, an entire cycle of survival would evolve into a huge marketplace administered by healthy people. Their energy will consume all manner of goods and services, recreation, and funds for preventative health care and any medical emergency.
At the same time, groups such as Doctors Without Borders, should form continental training programs to establish hospitals, clinics and medical schools for qualified graduates of secondary schools as described in the Chapter - Education. This is not a monumental task, as buildings and palaces when no longer needed to house government bureaucracies and monarchs as described in the Chapter - Governments, will be transformed into health care centers.
For decades it has been an issue that arises in Congressional hearings around the time that national elections are about to be held. The solution for national health care is to provide all uninsured citizens with at least the same Medicare plan as that for the elderly. Payment for premiums could be deducted from their wages or earned income, just as withholding taxes and contributions for social security.
Medical malpractice insurance poses a serious problem. Harking back to 1768 in England, damages were paid for injuries caused by the neglect or lack of skill of physicians and surgeons. Abraham Lincoln brought suit on behalf of a client against a medical imposter in 1851. In 1923 medical insurance cost $10 per year. It did not pay damages but provided legal assistance. In 1930 the few malpractice suits were largely from complications of the use of x-rays.
Malpractice insurance rates have increased more than 1000 percent. In 1972 insurance coverage collapsed and malpractice went from $3,500 per year to $35,000. Many insurance companies were dissolved. Doctors placed signs in waiting rooms informing patients that they did not carry malpractice insurance in order to keep their fees low.
The powerful American Medical Association has been lobbying for caps on damages, for which the Bush administration has been seeking legislation. Patients do not have much sympathy for doctors’ insurance costs because they feel that they should have been policing their own bad doctors and are aware that many doctors are stockholders in insurance companies. Nurses, however, who are underpaid for their hard work and long hours, also carry malpractice insurance because of the current rush to sue every one who might bear responsibility for damages as a result of malpractice.
What is needed is a solid plan for continental health care with exchange treatments that might be more advanced in one country, and specialties further advanced in another.
A planetary and continental system could be a marvel of combining and exchanging research programs, as well as doctors exchanging patients from continent to continent when equipment and treatment better suits the patient. New technology and instant communication is already working, so that whole groups of people needing care on one continent can be treated by a doctor on another continent. It would be a matter of re-organizing hospitals so that each tier has a specific part in the scope of all medical care.
Some doctors in the U.S. are returning to making home calls. Others are establishing what are called “concierge” privileges which limits their practice to the more affluent who pay an annual membership fee for a specified number of visits.
Interestingly, in China doctors do not have separate offices. They are hospital staff and when medical attention is needed, patients go directly to the hospital. Pre-natal care is provided as well as pediatric services. Insurance programs are available through government employment agencies. Advertising for insurance programs can be seen on billboards in Beijing.
The idea of continental plans should not be difficult to implement, considering that wealthy people have been coming to America and Americans going to Europe for treatment for many years. Nowadays many Americans are going to other countries for less costly excellent treatment, and at the same time enjoy a vacation abroad. The ultimate goal is a global system for health care of all of the people.

CHAPTER EIGHT

2007-05-21T08:00:00.001-06:00

ECONOMY/CORPORATE BEHAVIOR

The corporate world established a global system shortly after World War II. However, it has gone in the same direction of greed and power of the relatively few early super-rich, (known in history as "robber barons") who have kept much of the world in poverty. Statistics show that corporations are a mere 2-5 percent of the population, but they rule the world through commerce.
It is no wonder that in the U.S. the Bush Administration is comprised almost entirely of former corporate executives, compared to past administrations consisting mainly of lawyers. Consider the work experience of President George W. Bush who owned an oil company and a major league baseball team. His administrators starting with Vice President Dick Cheney, former CEO of Haliburton (which happened to receive huge contracts to rebuild Iraq); was also on the Board of Directors of Electronic Data system, Proctor and Gamble and Union Pacific. Chief of staff Andrew Card had been General Motors chief lobbyist in Washington for several years.
Secretary of State formerly National Security Advisor, Condoleeza Rice, was on the boards of Chevron Oil and Transamerica and became Provost for Stanford University,
Former secretary of state, Colin Powell, was a director of Gulfstream Aerospace and America Online.
Defense chief Donald Rumsfeld, was CEO of G.D. Searle Pharmaceutical for seven years, at General Instruments for 3 years, and Director of Kellogg, Sears Roebuck, Chicago Tribune, and Gulfstream Aerospace.
Former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill was chairman of Alcoa, and director of Lucent Technologies.
Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans is the son of a Shell Oil manager. He was CEO of Tom Brown, a Texas Oil company.
Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao was, manager at Citicorp and Bank of America and director of Clorox, Dole Foods and Northwest Airlines. Is it difficult to surmise where these folks will land at the end of the Bush administration?
This clearly shows the direction of global business, compared to the more diversified Clinton appointees, Secretary of State Warren Christopher a corporate lawyer and director of Lockheed Martin, Southern California Edison and First Interstate. Bank; Secretary of Defense Les Aspin was part of a family-owned business, Secretary of the Treasury, Lloyd Bentsen inherited his wealth and was head of his own insurance company; Secretary of Treasury Robert Rubin worked for Goldman Sachs. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich was a Harvard professor.
Evidence of a viable planetary/continental system of self-government can be seen in the enormous profitability of multi-nationals which have evolved into this new global corporate class of business and society. A new global plan would revoke their charters granted by state governments and reissue them for their original purpose to provide public service. There would be tight control, and financial accountability of those corporations doing the people's business. Separate charters would be issued to corporations to conduct private business, but with regulations that protect the people from unfair trade practices.
Corporations existed before they were used for business purposes. In the ancient world, they developed towns, guilds, churches, universities and colonies. The legal authority given to the state to create a corporation is old law. If not recorded, corporations were recognized by custom. A corporation is a fictitious legal person who may sue and be sued, may hold or transfer property and exists independent of its individual members. Shareholders are not liable for the debts of the corporation.
Affiliate corporations are rarely identified. They consist of brother- sister corporations that could be controlled by another company; investment companies; parent; charitable; non-profit; foreign; municipal; public; subchapter S; dormant that are inactive but legal, capable of being reactivated; clearing, where all of the capital stock is held by or for national securities exchanges or associations; collapsible, formed for manufacture, construction or purchase of property.
In England, authority from the crown was essential. In 1688 Parliament was given the power to grant monopolies and special privileges. In the 16th and 17th centuries trading companies made commerce possible. Commercial monopolies gave rise to the perpetual wealth of the aristocracy. It was socially incorrect for noblemen to mention "work" which was a lower-class word, or discuss finances outside of custom houses. The main purpose of establishing the colonies in America was to provide materials to be sent to England for manufacture.
After 1776, 250,000 immigrants settled west of the mountains creating the need for public roads, public transportation and bridges. As the nation expanded new towns were built, systems to supply water were essential, docks were needed for seaports and river transportation. To fund projects for public service, in 1791 the Bank of the United States was granted the first federal charter. Four-fifths of the capital stock was provided by private investors, and one-fifth came from the federal government. The bank was the depository for federal funds and provided credit and short-term loans.
State-created corporations contracted to build and maintain public facilities. A uniform banknote currency was supported to facilitate purchasing of land and materials. As no banks existed in the colonies before the revolution, fiscal policy was copied from English banks and from the experience of immigrants from other European countries.
Alexander Hamilton favored private capital as the best means to accomplish long-term public projects. New York issued 165 charters for internal construction of turnpikes. Cheap land and expanding markets for agricultural products would make railroads profitable. Establishing manufacturing was considered to be patriotic when the war of 1812 reduced imports. Capital was scarce so state government granted tax exemptions and other privileges to the half-dozen millionaires. Soon after, general commerce became big business
Then abuse crept into state legislatures through lobbying which infected Congress. Scandals were becoming common, and sadly they continue today. Newspapers report them, cover the court trials and perpetrators go to jail after long-lasting appeals. There are no reports of anyone recovering losses. President Jackson and farmers tried to combat special privileges with strategy to obtain equal terms for all, along with free competition. Industrialization swiftly changed business structures. Most businesses operated without office staffs, but when corporations merged, they evolved to chief executive officers, presidents, chairmen, directors, vice presidents, upper and lower-level management, and white-collar workers. Accounting departments became necessary having their own staffs led by a chief financial officer. Then departments led by vice-presidents were created to manage production, sales, advertising, personnel and various lesser departments. This created jobs and also the opportunity for fraud and mismanagement. Smaller companies either merged or went into bankruptcy.
In 1890 the Anti-Trust Law was enacted in answer to public outcry due to newspaper editorials. It has been known erroneously as the "Sherman" Anti-Trust Law, so named for John Sherman, brother of General William Tecumseh Sherman of Civil War fame. John was a U.S. financier and statesmen, elected to Congress from Ohio from 1854 to 1877. He was appointed by President Hayes as head of the Treasury Department. The Sherman Act also enacted in 1890 year, provided for the purchase of silver and the issuing of treasury notes.
Collusion in trust agreements fanned the flames further, so that clauses were added to make restraint of trade and illegal monopoly, misdemeanors. The biggest companies in America were American Tobacco, International Harvester and DuPont. U.S. Steel was the first billion dollar corporation. Teddy Roosevelt known as the "trust buster," would not let corporations put themselves above the law. He had a vendetta against John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil who did not support his candidacy, but he did favor those tycoons who supported him.
President Woodrow Wilson strengthened anti-trust laws with the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) and the Clayton Act in the second wave of mergers between World Wars I and II. Because of the depression from 1927 to 1935, there was a let-up in enforcement of anti-trust laws.
Conglomerate mergers after World War II were the third wave, with 1951-55 higher than any 5-year period. The New York Stock Exchange played a vital role in mergers as thousands of new stockholders entered the market. Corporations divide their capital stock into shares which can be purchased by a large number of investors so that each could subscribe a relatively small amount. Classes of shares were redefined and some were stripped of voting rights. Former President Dwight Eisenhower, after World War II warned that the military-industrial complex would become a new form of government.
Today, it seems the government has forgotten about the Anti-Trust Law. The recent surge of mergers of Exxon-Mobil, AT&T-SBC, AT&T & Cingular mobile phone; AT&T & Lucky Dog 10-10 international calls, (Ma Bell's breakup apparently did not have a permanent effect - AT&T apparently held SBC long before its customers were told); Exelon-PSEC; PA-NJ-IL gained 7 million electric and 2 million gas consumers; Buffitt's MidAmerica and Pacific Corp. 3 million electric and gas customers in 10 states and 3.6 million overseas; 3.7 million electric and 1.7 million cable companies in mi-western states and Canada; Constellation & FPL at $9.4 billion; and Cinergy & Duke, $9 billion.
Competition has been diminishing so that consumers are doomed to regress to "robber baron days." The White House boasts about the booming economy. It does not make clear who the beneficiaries are of this happy event. Nicor Gas tripled the cost of natural gas for Illinois consumers. Regulation of electric power companies expired in Illinois at the end of 2006. Com Ed has advised consumers to expect rising prices.The Illinois legislature failed to approve extending the regulation, but are preparing a compromise to cap increases at 22 percent. Com Ed had a record profit of some $2 billion last year. They claim they could not afford to keep up with repairs if they didn’t get the increase. Who and how many legislators did their lobbyists reach?
With fuel oil at record-breaking prices and profits, fear of inflation is expected to cause interest rates to increase. The media is silent and there is no public outcry for federal, state, city and other local governments to lower or put a moratorium on gasoline taxes. Revenue from this source has probably "gone through the roof," yet officials say they need funds for education.
The down-turn in the housing market has already lasted almost a year. Sellers are taking huge losses if they are able to sell, and related industries such as manufacturers of furniture, appliances and building materials also remain silent. Real estate agents are not helping the situation, and appraisers have a standard of ignoring differences in condition of interiors, location and other important factors, instead relying only on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms advertised.
As described in previous chapter, pharmaceuticals already enjoying huge profits, are raising the cost of some medications.
Two-thirds of corporate business is now conducted in the U.S. Global corporations, Intel, IBM, Microsoft, General Electric have expanded into Asia.* Buick has become a major manufacturer of autos in China.
The future of the next economic super-powers is almost here. China and Japan own 40 percent of all U.S. treasury securities. The total, along with other foreign nations who loan money for the Bush Administration to wage war is $2.2 trillion debt. China's share is growing most rapidly, in 2004 to a $480 billion share in U.S. securities*
America's government debt grew by $1.7 billion a day in 2004, reaching $7.5 trillion. In 2004, Americans' shopping-spree debt of $9.5 trillion in mortgages, automobile loans, credit cards and other personal debts, an unbelievable $84,454 per household has never been higher.
The Clinton administration used low interest rates to pay the national debt, kept annual budgets in balance and produced a surplus, while the Bush administration set record budgets, slashed taxes for the wealthy, and caused budget deficits that may never be paid off by our children and their children.
The North American Free Trade Agreement passed in 1994 was supposed to turn Mexico into a magnet for world capital.* Mexico lost 218,000 jobs when 500 of 3,700 export-only maquiladors closed between 2001 and 2003. Workers earn less than they did in 1993. This triggered the illegal immigration furor. They came to Chicago increasing its growth to some 700,000. Then Chicago lost about 100,000 manufacturing jobs in 2003. Employment dropped to 622,000 in 23,000 factories. Americans feared U.S. manufacturing would lose to cheap Mexican labor, but both countries lost to China.
China's entry into the World Trade Organization does not assure their compliance with the WTO's currency provisions, due to European countries efforts to align themselves with China, and the U.S. favoring its own ties with China.
Wiser economic heads have not prevailed in preventing the U.S.'s downward spiral. Uncontrolled indebtedness leads to the kind of crises experienced by Argentina and Brazil, and leaves the U.S. with no way to save itself from economic destruction. Not only will the U.S. suffer, but countries that depend upon its trade, could go under, too, hurling the world into an economic depression.
The U.S. is falling behind in research and development. Corporations blame poor education. Students are opting for sports and exercise majors rather than electrical engineering. India, China and South Korea are promoting their world-class universities. Singapore is becoming a world-class biomedical research and development country. Scientists from around the world are going there to work on stem-cell research, which President Bush vetoed on July 18, 2006 with the blind loyalty of Republican party supporters. The president and congress have ignored the fact that there is no provision in the Constitution to allow them to decide issues based on personal religious beliefs, nor does it mention the duty of the president is to decide what is moral. Americans are too apathetic to do anything about demanding compliance with constitutional law.
The U.S. is behind Hong Kong where 60 percent of their consumers get TV ultra-speed broadband, computers, video on demand. Two dozen cities in China are installing tracking systems for cargo arriving in seaports and air terminals. Credit card memory chips are reducing fraud in Europe and Asia. The U.S. internet provider, Earthlink, partners with South Korea for new business. Cell phones are functioning as credit cards in new technology.
General Motors' financial problems stem from huge buy-outs to reduce its production costs for 30,000 workers, who according to union terms must be paid even if robots are doing their jobs. Toyota has overtaken them. An old American slogan was "what is good for GM is good for the country." Hopefully, this does not mean that GM’s battle to prevent bankruptcy will be America’s future..
High cost scientific technology in semiconductors, telecommunication, nanotechnology and internet services have gone overseas. American companies are looking for talent in the countries whose educational systems produce scientists. Lower pay for scientists in developing countries, is of course, an incentive. This picture will soon be reversed. Instead of nations coming up to the U.S. standard of wages, the U.S. will be lowering wages, seeking out-sourcing from future successful overseas corporations. A frightening new twist as of 2005 is that there has been a 20 percent increase in foreign corporations purchasing factories and buildings in the U.S.
Indiana toll roads have been turned over to a foreign corporation to collect tolls for the next 75 years. The state expects to receive $3.8 billion to repair roads and bridges. Management of U.S. seaports are already in foreign control made possible by the stealth of the Bush administration most recently for an English corporation based in Dubai, one of the richest countries in the world.
Six of the top technology companies are based in the U.S., fourteen are based in Asia. Price Waterhouse Chairman, Dennis Nally reports that the spread of more American companies going into other countries opens new experience for American executives, engineers and scientists. To absolve corporate abandonment of American workers, he explains, "It is a tremendous opportunity to do a lot of things outside of the U.S. in places with growth rates such as in China and Brazil."* Half of IBM's 190,000 engineers and technical experts work and live overseas.
Speculation is that the U.S. economy is not what it seems as information from the White House is not to be trusted. Actually the rich have become richer and the poor poorer* according to charts in U.S. News & World Report. Jobs that are being "created" by this administration can be attributed to minimum wage fast-food chains, and low-pay retail sales positions.
The early trust placed in corporations is no longer justified. Today, corporations exist to serve the greed and power of corporate executives over and above stockholders' dividends, and the public good. Corporations today actually harm the public good by polluting the environment and in fraudulent practices that cause bankruptcies, so that investors, hard working loyal employees suffer loss of pensions, jobs and life savings.
In the U.S. corporate fraud has been in the headlines for almost a decade, with some CEOs under indictment and others brought to justice and serving time in federal prisons.
Enron's CEOs, the late Ken Lay, and Jeff Skilling were found guilty in June 2006 on all counts of criminally causing the largest failed corporation in U.S. history. They brought financial disaster to their employees who lost their investments in Enron stock, as well as their pension funds. Ken Lay did not apologize for gigantic personal benefits in travel, vacations, parties and the luxuries of the rich and famous, all at the expense of stockholders and employees, as well as victims of huge utility bills in California. Enron brought destruction to a prestigious accounting firm for its role in falsifying the true value of Enron. Millions of dollars have been spent on legal fees, which will be greatly increased for the appeals process, before their prison sentences commence. Ken Lay suffered a massive heart attack and passed away on July 5, 2006.
We have heard of the acts of MCI moguls, Milliken, and overpaid CEOs who failed their companies and gone to jail, others departed with extraordinary "golden parachutes". The recent retirement of Exxon-Mobil's CEO with $400 million in cash, and stock options is another example of corporate greed and corruption.
“Major management fraud is all about leveraging positional power and is an interrelated top-down phenomenon-fraud for the organization leads to fraud against the organization, and vice versa,” writes John D. O’Gara.
With tools available for internal audit functions in what seems to laymen to be complicated arithmetic, it is astonishing that CFOs are not always meticulous in avoiding the risk of the appearance of criminal behavior. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is responsible for oversight of corporate management and accountability. When corporate criminal acts went too far, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted in 2002 that made significant changes to financial reporting. Reports were to be provided both quarterly and annually on internal control over financial reporting and scrutiny of monitoring methods in every aspect of corporate activity. It remains to be seen whether and/or how, manipulators will be able to circumvent these controls.
The end of July, 2006 was the fourth anniversary of the signing of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Jim Quigley, CEO of the Big Four accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche answers the complaints of "too complicated, too expensive and too time consuming....and making a killing in skyrocketing accounting fees," with, "the law is not only on the right track but should be expanded." Another crisis is looming, that of corporate backdating of stock options with some 60 companies under investigation.
It would seem that anyone who majored in economics and finance surely must be aware of how to identify specific types of management fraud. Yet, the worst offenders claim they did not know what was going on in their own organization for which they were paid millions to manage.
There are categories of corporate fraud against the organization, starting with management, deliberate corruption, accounting fraud, false billing, price-fixing, set-up bids, bribery, tax evasion even with generous tax breaks from communities urging them to come and create jobs. The motivation behind corporate fraud is greed beyond comprehension. Corporate leadership is the most lucrative and respected position in the business world, but even the most jaded manipulators must be dumb-founded at their outright criminal activity.
Symptoms of management fraud are aberrations in Profit & Loss statements that can hide debit or windfall profits that do not appear in the books, but show adequate profits. Another is when an organization is decentralized with middle management having control over both accounting and operations. If there is fraud at the top, it is understood that there is fraud at other levels.
There is no question that investors should benefit with dividends for a reasonable, even generous return. However, when profits come from gauging and dishonest corporate practices and stockholders fail to control their corporate executives they should be held liable and return ill-gotten gains to those who have been damaged by the criminal activity. Changes need to be made to multi-nationals who have no loyalty or compassion for employees and investors who are at risk of losing all of their assets due to greed and their audacity to think they can fool all of the people all of the time.
Moreover, corporate indifference to the state of a fragile environment is equal to the damage they do to belief in ethics, safety in the work-place, safety in the use of their products, and ignorance as to their global responsibility. Michael Moore, producer and director of investigative documentaries, who is a thorn in the side of corrupt practitioners, produced a film about the inside of corporate behavior that is so shocking as to wonder how they continue to function at all.
Some corporations quietly paid fines for damage to the environment and to the health of the nation. He discloses the huge fines paid by companies such as Exxon in the Valdez oil spill at $125 million. General Electric fined $9.5 millions, IBM $8.5 million, Kodak $20 million, Pfizer $20 million, Sears $6 million and other companies: Unocal, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Roche Pharmacy.
Monsanto Corporation covered up agricultural practices, such as using hormones to feed livestock that affect human health; live hog operations polluting the rivers in North Carolina. Whistle-blowers are discharged when they contact authorities to report unconscionable activity, and are forced to fight costly legal battles to prove their allegations of the damage corporations are doing to the biosphere.
Complaints of inefficiency of corporations in serving customers, identity theft, e-mail scams and outright crime against the elderly have increased dramatically. Yet, little has been done to find solutions. A recent health-endangering experience with the Chase Bank reflects what could be happening to the elderly, who rather than suffer a stroke because of stress, comply with payment requests whether or not they are due or owed. In a separate incident, a scheme was reported on ABC-TV in which a Texas judge was a victim of fraudulent overdue bills.
Following is the anatomy of a loan from the Chase Bank in answer to an enticing sign in the bank for a home equity loan at 4.7 percent interest. For some reason it was not available, but another higher interest loan at 6.65 percent was offered in its place. The explanation was so garbled that it would have put the old medicine man ploy to shame. The borrower discovered a pre-payment penalty of $400, was included in the loan without her agreement. The account manager apparently “forgot” that she intended to sell her condominium within the next few months and could not have agreed to that term. With the help of Senator Obama and the U.S. Currency Department, Chase removed the penalty Almost every month another type of error appeared. A separate payment made towards the principle was “mistakenly” applied to interest. A letter of apology was sent when the error was corrected.
The borrower cancelled automatic monthly payments and made the next payment by mail, at the same time withdrawing all funds to close her Chase accounts, but they “automatically” deducted another payment. They then charged $5 per day for the overdraft even though she no longer had accounts there. They later credited the charges. Apparently what they meant was that they cancelled the charge.
Then a Chase teller called to advise that her interest rate would increase because she cancelled the automatic payment. There was no such rule or understanding. After several aggravating calls, an executive consultant apologized and said the charges would be credited. Then she realized that Chase was charging interest per diem instead of per annum as specified in the loan document. Somewhere in the small print in the loan document was the term "simple interest on a per diem basis." Instead of the principal and interest decreasing with each payment, the amounts differ every month. One month, more of the payment is applied to principal, less to interest, but the next month more is applied to interest and less to principal. Account summaries do not match up with their monthly statements.
As a result of the stress, she had a heart attack and made an emergency visit to the hospital, learning for the first time the high cost of ambulances, hospital bills and medication. It became obvious that the elderly accept the outrage, but cannot risk life to challenge unlawful claims. Other petty issues such as delaying payment of certificates of deposit need investigation. Litigation as suggested by the U.S. Currency Department could be costly and deadly.
The elderly, have experienced the same difficulties pertaining to various financial situations but do not or cannot cope with the stress. A phone clinic was held at the public library in our county seat to explain the myriad charges submitted on AT&T phone bills. One-hundred percent of the attendees were elderly. AT&T was trying to collect a $65 bill which they had already received electronically. MCI charged for long distance service which was not requested and is making harassing phone calls for the $26 which this same victim refuses to pay. They have now engaged a collection agency, who called once and then sent a threatening letter. Many people are targets of e-mail scams, snail-mail offers for credit no interest credit cards, but fail to provide information regarding transfer fees and that if the card is used for additional purchases a 16.99 percent interest is charged. Some e-mail purporting to be from a credit card company request updating information and personal data, which they use to steal identity.
CBS's 60 Minutes broadcast on June 11, 2006 was a warning. An individual wanted to check the safety of applying for a credit card by mail. He deliberately tore the application he received from Chase into very small pieces, pasted it back together so that it was obvious it had been destroyed, and sent it back to Chase with his parents' address. He received the card in the mail at his parents' home and when he called Chase to let them know how they had put him in jeopardy, they responded it was probably scanned by a machine that didn't know its condition. They apologized and promised it would not happen again.
Off-shore banking practices consist of money-laundering schemes for drug trafficking, funding terrorists and for nefarious business and criminal purposes. With all of the bribery and corruption, it is doubtful that powerful corporations will police themselves and stop this enabling system from continuing to poison legitimate commercial endeavors. Stronger and quicker intervention is needed.
Global corporations are a reality. All that is needed is Planetary/Continental oversight. Corporate charters should be granted for specified periods of time and if they fail to perform lawfully their charters should be immediately revoked.
When everyone earns a living wage, a whole new market will be created and benefit corporations. This has been initiated in China as opportunities grow for their poor, rural population to come to industrial cities to become part of the labor force. Asia is in an extraordinary economic boom. as trade agreements between China, India, Russia, North and South Korea, and Africa proliferate.
In the U.S. baby-boomers are coming to retirement age, education is failing to produce the trained people we need to sustain our economic power, while the current president squanders revenue on an unwanted war.

CHAPTER NINE

2007-05-21T07:59:00.000-06:00

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

The genius of the Constitution of the Republic of the United States of America is in the provision for the balance of power among three branches of government; the Legislative, the Executive and the Judicial.
The first article of the Constitution creates Congress consisting of the House of Representative and the Senate. It clearly defines and describes their terms in office, powers and duties, among them the power to declare war, raise and support armies and to raise and maintain a navy but no appropriation of money to that use shall be longer than two years.
The second article creates the executive power vested in a president, with defined terms in office (later amended), the electoral process, and enumerates powers and duties. The oath of office specifies that the president preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States. The president becomes the commander in chief of the armies and navy and the militia of the several states when they are called into the service of the United States.
The third article vests the whole judicial power of the United States in one supreme court, and such inferior courts as Congress shall, from time to time, ordain and establish. The article merely states that judges of the supreme and inferior court, shall hold their offices during good behavior. There is no reference to age limits, elections or appointments or length of terms in office.
In the distribution of this power, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction, in all cases affecting ambassadors other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party. In all other cases, the supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction."
The Bill of Rights amended the Constitution so that equality under the law, and freedom of speech and religion, are among the most precious elements of the liberty that Americans cherish. Unfortunately, from 2000 to January, 2007, the Republican party was in the majority and was unashamedly so partisan that frustrated Democrats and Independents meekly capitulated. It will probably go down in history as the worst political period since the birth of the nation.
There is no duty stated in the Constitution for any branch of government to depose leaders of other nations, declare war on individuals or organizations, nor to bring democracy to the world.
Two wars are in progress. The first is the "war on terrorism" in response to the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001, by an organization of terrorists, not by a sovereign nation. The second is a war on Iraq to "bring democracy to the world," so described by George W. Bush. Did the Judicial branch question the legality of either or both wars? The American Bar Association nibbled at the idea of bringing a suit against the president for violating citizens' constitutional privacy rights. They did not include the legality of the "war on terrorism" or the invasion of Iraq. At this writing no action has been taken even for loss of privacy rights in the name of security. World-wide sympathy for the victims of 9/11 could have been the catalyst to bring together police and intelligence agencies of all nations to locate the killers and bring them to justice. Congress and the president legitimized a gang that should have been treated as murderers, not as a sovereign nation.
Now in its the fifth year of war in Iraq, our troops are in greater danger than when George W. Bush proclaimed the invasion of Iraq a victory. Former President Clinton's book, My Life, reveals that when Bush visited the White House soon after the Supreme Court ruled he was president, before his inauguration and before 9/11, they talked about dangers facing the nation. Bush said Iraq was his second priority, missile defense his first. Clinton pointed out eight higher priorities which drew no response from Bush.
It is possible that George W. Bush has a secret agenda, which only an investigation might expose. The Judicial branch of government should intervene to determine responsibility of U.S. intelligence agencies that gave false reports to the Bush administration, to the country and the United Nations of Saddam Hussein's intention to use weapons of mass destruction against the United States.
An analysis of the actions of the executive and legislative branches concludes there is no logical reason why the public has not demanded the resignation of the president and his congressional supporters. Had this been a parliamentary government, there would have been a call for a new government at least three years ago.
If they do not resign and if impeachment proceedings do not start, the judicial branch should be called upon to remove them through legal means. However, since the Supreme Court failed in its duty by making the controversial decision that put Bush in office despite serious irregularities in the 2000 presidential election, it is unlikely that it will act.
President Richard Nixon had the character to resign when the country became so polarized, that his impeachment was inevitable. Was the Watergate scandal as bad as the havoc and deaths Bush-43 has caused? Congress tried to remove Bill Clinton for a moral offense. Was that worse than the destruction and hatred of America that George W. Bush has caused?
In its fifth year, Iraq is in a civil war, more American troops have been deployed to continue this senseless war; the end of terrorism has not been achieved, yet members of Congress continue to support the president. They admit, "Yes, there have been mistakes, but our troops must stay until the new Iraqi government takes over." How does that meet the constitutional requirement that they are there to defend the United States? Dumbed-down America's intelligence did not question Iraq's capacity to cross an ocean and attack the U.S as accomplished by the terrorists.
However, there is little hope that the judicial branch will do its duty. Federal judges are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of Congress. It was key Supreme Court justices appointed by previous Republican administrations that put George W. Bush in office.
Congressional hearings in 2006 to consent to Supreme Court appointees make a mockery of the system. The two recent appointees, refused to respond to substantive issues, stating that any comment could impair their ability to adjudicate in future trials.
April, 2007, turmoil again rises between the president and Congress regarding the firing of U.S. prosecutors by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales despite excellent performance ratings. The issue seems to be whether they were fired because they were prosecuting corrupt Republicans. Congress is seeking information and wants to issue subpoenas for the appearance of Gonzales, and specific Bush staff members, which the president vows to fight up to the Supreme Court. He is willing to "permit" them to appear off the record, with no oath to tell the truth, and to submit only documents he chooses. It is under the guise of "executive privilege" but the "steadfast" president and his cronies probably have a great deal to hide. The Judicial branch does not invoke its balance of power.
Gonzales appeared before the Senate Judicial Committee, and 71 times said he did not remember meetings regarding the firings. Even Republicans on the committee registered disgust with his obviously false testimony and suggested he resign. If his testimony was honest, what does it say for the mental capability of the Attorney General? George W. Bush's response was that he did the best he could, and was in full support of his continuance as Attorney General.
A previous acting attorney general announced his resignation on May 18, 2007. He revealed that when Attorney General Ashcroft was in serious medical condition, members of Bush's staff including Gonzales, were sent to his hospital room to urge him to over-ride the decision of the acting attorney general to refuse subpoenas to tap citizens' phones. Ashcroft refused their request.
Recently Congress passed a bill changing the Homeland Security and Patriot Acts, which diminish the role of the judicial branch. The Patriot Act would allow the president to replace U.S. attorneys without the advice and consent of Congress as provided in the Constitution. It was reported that the Patriot Act was illegally used to obtain personal information about U.S. citizens. Thousands of phone and medical records were obtained without the signature of a judge. While American troops die in Iraq to give them freedom, Americans are losing theirs.
There is a flaw in the Constitution. The Attorney General and judges for the supreme court should not be appointed by the president, nor should attorney generals "serve at the president's pleasure." They should be electied, the same as the other branches. The Judicial would then truly be a balancing power. At this moment, it appears that current Attorney General Gonzales does not know that his job is to serve the people of the United States, not the president who has his own legal counsel on staff in the White House.
The Judicial should have its own investigative body to prevent the legislative and executive branches from unlawful actions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency can no longer be trusted to act objectively and efficiently. The impeachment process does not address corruption and blind partisanship, which is far from the founding fathers' view of misdemeanors by representatives of government.
Moreover, this is not exactly an over-worked entity. The Supreme Court hears comparatively few cases, about 5 percent of requests for certiorari. They have clerks who read motions and research the law. Certiorari is not a matter of right, but what the court in its discretion decides to hear. Attorneys are allowed 45 minutes to present their case. The Supreme Court will not hear cases that are governed by state constitutions, such as taking of private property for public use. They are not in session during summer months.
The Supreme Court is supposed to adjudicate actions between individual states, interstate commerce, and some political issues. At most it is more active in matters of commerce than in matters of justice and truth. There is nothing in the Constitution giving them the power to adjudicate personal matters, such as Roe v. Wade re abortions, or same sex marriages and certainly, not to rule in a civil matter of the late celebrity Anna Nicole Smith in her suit for her late husband's estate. They denied certiorari in a case against a condominium board citing unlawful actions, which affects condominium owners in all of the states. (Publication of this case is planned for 2008).
The lower court system is so badly flawed that it needs to be completely restructured. In reality only the wealthy have access to the judicial system, except for very limited legal aid and a few pro bono cases required by the bar association. Only the courageous and hardy can appear pro se.
Small claims court is of little help for the elderly who do not know the process and/or cannot cope with stress, and immigrants who cannot read or speak English. The judicial system, abetted by members of congress and state legislators most of whom are former lawyers, have made it possible for lawyers to deliberately complicate the system, extending pre-trial hearings and trials for years which of course creates enormous legal bills.
State and county judges are not elected, but they appear on ballots asking only whether a specific judge should be retained. It takes perseverance to learn whether a judge is competent enough to keep his position.
Filing fees are low, but retainers for attorneys are seldom under $2,500 for simple civil cases. That is just to start. There is no limit as to the number of billable hours, and usually one-third of a settlement is part of their legal fees. Legal fees for court appearances are astronomical, and if attorneys are late for hearings, the judge puts them at the end of the docket, so that they may charge for half a day in court, at what would have been only a few minutes had they appeared on time.
The efficiency of clerks of the court is remarkable in the handling of limitless volumes of records for each case. However, law firms' staff create strategies to delay or fail to comply with court orders, sometimes under guise of "mistakes," then another 30-days might be granted for correction. The courthouse adage, "the worst settlement is better than a trial," speaks volumes as to the ordeal of seeking justice in states' judicial systems.
In fact, the judicial system has nothing to do with justice or even truth. It is about settlements in civil cases, and plea bargaining in criminal cases, except for wealthy defendants who can afford attorneys. The power of judges is beyond that of other elected officials. In many cases, the success or failure of a day in court depends upon the personal mood of the judge. He/she has no obligation to be courteous, much less patiently explain or clarify rulings on motions or orders. As if the stress of a court action is not enough, plaintiffs and defendants must cope with cantankerous individuals who wield the power of an ancient monarch. There are a few judges who show respect and compassion for the case before them.
Occasionally a judge will lose patience and go against one of the parties by ruling in favor of the opposition on important issues. One example is a judge in Lake County, Illinois who gave explicit instructions to an attorney which is prohibited, as to how to file a motion. "Don't forget to include case law," but would not tell the pro se party the number of days needed to meet the deadline to file an appeal. "I think", she said, "thirty days, but look it up." This was the same judge who denied a motion in the discovery process to inspect books and records of defendant Condominium Board, when state law and association bylaws clearly provide that home-owners are entitled to inspect books and records.
Cases appear in Equity Courts which take years to come to trial. Delaying tactics are the norm as lawyers make more money in civil cases because money or real property is involved. Other cases are weak in substance at the outset which should have been dismissed, but are allowed to come to costly trials.
The judicial system condones racial discrimination. Paul Simon, the late, Illinois Congressman in his book Healing America, pointed out the ratio of offenders on death row as 31 percent Afro-American inmates who murdered whites, but 1 percent of whites who murdered blacks.
In Florida; 47 percent of blacks and 24 percent of whites arrested for the murder of whites received the same sentences. There are no defendants on death row for killing a black person. In Illinois in 2002, 67 percent on death row were people of color who are only 13 percent of the population. In 1998, 98 percent of chief prosecuting attorneys were white and only one percent were African-Americans.
In July, 2000, European parliaments went on record urging the U.S. to drop the death penalty. Since 1990 six nations have executed prisoners for crimes committed when they were under the age of 18. Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the U.S as of August, 2002, had the most with 80 on death row.
Former Illinois governor, George Ryan, commuted sentences of prisoners on death row, to life imprisonment. Some incarcerated for many years were found to be innocent and were released. He learned that trials were so tainted that he could not be sure that inmates awaiting death had actually committed the crime.
Governor Ryan was found guilty of charges of fraud in an auto licensing scandal while he was Secretary of State. He was sentenced to six years in prison. The Court of Appeals deferred starting his sentence until his appeal of the trial verdict is heard. His pensions and social security benefits have been revoked. The trial was tainted by the conduct of two jurors. They were both replaced after eight days of deliberation. The trial judge refused to declare a mistrial.
Governor Ryan in his late 70s, and although suffering medical problems, the federal court shows little mercy. His trial is an example of what is wrong with a jury system, especially of non-peers rendering a decision.
Scandals of corruption in the judicial system erupt from time-to time. Any of the parties to an action who is suspicious that a judge has been bribed or otherwise influenced a case, may seek a judicial review from the state. Some resign before any hearings are scheduled.
States vary in their laws and punishment, so that a crime in one state receives greater or lesser punishment than another. As a result many are incarcerated due to incompetent public defenders who urge a plea bargain irrespective of guilt or innocence. One such case, a guest at the home of a single father was accused of child molestation by the mother seeking custody of their 5-year old who had been visiting the father. The accused had seen the child for a few minutes during the visit. He has had a nightmare experience which has not yet ended.
Many are urged to plea bargain if a state was known for its draconian sentences. Some having had no contact with such proceedings receive a few years of probation. Others on parole are railroaded for misunderstanding legal jurisdiction and in what is blatantly a miscarriage of justice, might not have been notified of hearings, and are returned to prison for failing to appear in the original court. Documents are “misplaced” when moved from prison to prison, and between half-way houses in various cities. A probation officer can keep a prisoner incarcerated if he/she refuses to admit guilt to the charge.
What amounts to an insane approach to punishment, the waste of human lives is so appalling, that perhaps thousands of imprisoned people might be innocent. What is so evil about the plea-bargaining system is that it makes a mockery of the law. No trial is held before incarceration. Innocent until proven guilty is a false premise. Suspects are kept in jails for long periods of time while awaiting trial. If found innocent, the experience can only cause bitterness, and turn thoughts into action for revenge.
The lesson is, without funds for legal fees, low-income and the poor who are arrested for probable cause have little chance of finding truth or justice in the criminal system. Unless they admit they committed the crime whether they did or not, they are not likely to receive probation. This policy also was the reason parents of two sons who said they had molested them and recanted when they were of age, had also been denied parole because they were steadfast in their claim of innocence. They won their freedom after serving ten years.
An absurd case was the trial and sentencing of mogul Martha Stewart, which had no victim and no losses for anyone but the defendant. The whole case seemed to stand on her lying to a government agent. She was not under oath. There is no indication that she had been charged with a crime when questioned, nor was she given her Miranda rights. Her broker told her about stock she owned that could be a loser. She sold the stock avoiding a million dollar loss, but she and the broker after a lengthy trial were sentenced to prison, then house arrest.
The value of her company's stock fell. However, upon her release, the value of her stock increased and she was worth as much as when she was incarcerated. The lesson here is, don't buy stock or ask your broker for advice or service, and don't talk to federal agents without your attorney present.
There is an uncanny acceptance of the length of time for a case to be adjudicated and for sentences to be carried out. It is beyond reason that in this age of rapid communication and the ability to store immeasurable amounts of data on computer disks, the ancient system endures. Tons of paper for unlimited motions requiring multiple copies, file folders and boxes, and if appealed, ten times the number, cause whole forests to be destroyed.
Attorneys carry huge briefcases to hearings and for trials, pile box upon box onto furniture-delivery dollies to make the trip to the courtroom. Courthouses have huge rooms for holding files that are being used in current trials, but if full, attorneys load the dollies again for their return the next day in court. In the case of a Las Vegas hotel fire, the records were held on one floor of the huge Century building.
Recent news is that Federal Courts in Chicago are beginning to allow filing by submitting computer disks, perhaps the beginning of a more efficient, less costly method. Clerks and judges in lower courts have computers so that records filed with the clerk of the court could be stored on discs, just as motions on paper. Discs could be sent in advance to all parties and brought to the courthouse, instead of mailing huge envelopes containing printed copies of motions and/or responses. It is almost culture shock to see people using computers at the courthouse to research cases, and then to stand in line for clerks to go to the huge record room and return with arms full of folders.
The law school notion about the virtue of the adversarial system in the search for truth, does not exist. The law is not about truth. It is about negotiation, compromise and manipulation. It doesn't deal in guilt or innocence. It concerns only those who can afford to litigate. It depends upon an experienced lawyer to find flaws and turn them to their advantage. An inexperienced or not so bright opponent has no chance against a seasoned law firm or government-funded prosecutors. In rare cases, a pro se person can defeat a seasoned lawyer.
The Grand Jury step in investigation and indictment procedures is a one-sided event in which the defendant has no legal representation, and comes up against seasoned prosecutors. This is perhaps one of the first flaws in the judicial system. It could not hurt a case if the defense attorney was present, unless the prosecution has not done its work.
The jury system is impaired to the extent that it is supposed to be made up of peers of the parties involved. Jury selection takes up much time before both sides are satisfied. Juries are rarely the peers of litigants in civil or criminal cases. Without the professional ability to know elements of law and procedures, as well as understanding human behavior, it is a feeble system that permits destruction of the human soul, in deciding guilt or innocence especially in capital crime cases. Most cases are decided on the "reasonable man" theory. Society is in such disarray that "reasonable" behavior differs between high-low income, educated vs. uneducated.
Two-million convicts are in a penal system that fails to provide rehabilitation. It accomplishes nothing but misery, brutality, death, and increased recidivism. Gangs run prisons, terror reigns against inmates who try to stay away from them, but with no place to hide, they are attacked, raped and murdered.
Prison guards must be mentality sound to withstand dealing with convicts as a full-time job. It should be no wonder if they descend to the level of the inhumane life of inmates.
In Cook County, Illinois there was enough evidence to prosecute a sheriff who allowed torture of suspects in the '70s and '80s to admit guilt, but the statute of limitations ran out, therefore no trial. .Coincidentally, this case was reopened only a week ago. Another case over a year ago, in which a prison guard accused of helping inmates escape from the county jail who was awaiting trial, has vanished from the news, - outcome unknown.
Laws have become tougher so that the number of prisons in California alone increased from 13 to 31 with 160,000 incarcerated. They have begun to send inmates to other state prisons due to overcrowding. Families are unable to visit and life becomes even more difficult for the very people who need help. Some 24,000 guards earn about $100,000 each including overtime and sick pay. The inconceivable annual budget of $5 billion is beyond understanding in view of what is the most ineffective system ever devised.
A whole new idea of punishment and rehabilitation must be undertaken. Prisons as we know them should be abolished. The current World Court could be the catalyst in devising a whole new planetary and continental judicial function.
Cases should be entered in computers that would be capable of evaluating all elements relating to probable cause, elements of a crime, evidence and witnesses. A panel of judges would determine if computer-rendered verdicts applied. It is more likely that this method would be more efficient and correct than a panel of jurors having little or no knowledge of law. Instead of inflicting different punishment for the same crime by hundreds of nation-states, there would be global justice.
Instead of prisons there would be villages for inmates on uninhabited islands off of each of the continents to separate hard-core criminals from those who might be rehabilitated. The various island villages should include all materials needed to take care of themselves, such as building their own lodging, growing their own food and raising livestock. They should have light manufacturing equipment to make their own clothing, and for tools to maintain facilities. Spare time would be used for courses of study geared specifically for rehabilitation. This could result in savings of billions of dollars currently spent world-wide.
One of the best arguments for the change is the stupidity of treating drug users as hardened criminals. To paraphrase the law, "you are ruining your life by taking drugs. We have caught you using drugs, so now we are going to put you in jail where we can really ruin your life."
A user who robs someone for money to supply the habit is responsible under existing criminal law and the punishment is deserved. However, if anyone uses drugs and does not commit a crime, why is that the government's business? That same question should be asked of any victimless crime such as prostitution and punishment for parents who cannot control errant children.
There are over two million prisoners in the United States and uncounted numbers throughout the world. The U.S. government spends about $15,000 per inmate per year. This is an astronomical amount that if used wisely for rehabilitation and education would be of immeasurable value to the world.
The jacket on John Grisham’s non-fiction book, The Innocent Man, published in 2006, states, “If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.” It is the true story of cases in Oklahoma where innocent men were given life sentences and the death penalty for crimes they did not commit. Grisham states, “Oklahoma was the first state to adopt death by lethal injection. After thirteen years without an execution, in 1990 the
death chamber was used again. Since 1990, Oklahoma executed more convicts on a per capita basis than any other state. No place, not even Texas comes close.”
Grisham was motivated to write his book, after reading Robert Mayer’s book, the Dreams of Ada, about the conviction of a suspect based on a dream he told to police in Ada when he was interrogated. Mayer was appalled by the actions of the police and by the legal proceedings at the trial of the suspect and his alleged accomplice.

CHAPTER TEN

2007-05-21T07:58:00.001-06:00

MILITARY

We have covered the armies of ancient times in earlier chapters, and found that they were conquerors and guards for their rulers when not at war. The primary intention of military training was not aggression, but to defend territory, except for ”just” wars approved by religious leaders. Military training is a relatively recent phenomenon.
In those times, kings led their troops into battles, compared to modern times when generals conduct the war behind the lines to plan strategy, while volunteer troops or inductees fight and die in battle,
The purpose of the following brief history is to emphasize that military academies originated less than 200 hundred years ago. It should not be difficult to retrain cadets for peacetime activity. There is a crisis facing the planet and these institutions must create entirely new training and equipment, as well as a whole new philosophy of co-existence in peace and nonviolence.
The first military academy was formed in Russia by Peter I in 1698. The first cadet corps was founded in 1732. They were reorganized in 1863 as military gymnasia, and again revised in 1882. Their first naval academy was founded in 1827. On the eve of World War I, Russia had 6,000 cadets in training. In 1918 after the Communist revolution, the first Soviet military academy was founded in Moscow. They had the highest number of military academies in modern history.
Great Britain established a military academy at Woolwich in 1741 and in Dartmouth in 1863, and later at Sandhurst The combined strength of the Royal Military Academy at the beginning of the 1960s was nearly 1,000 cadets, the average age 17-20. The Royal Air Force College was formed in 1920. By the start of World War II more than 1,000 officers passed through it and 400 were left on the active list by the end of the war.
In 1802 Napoleon founded the Ecole Speciale Militaire which was transferred to Saint-Cyr near Versailles in 1808. From its foundation until 1957, 510,000 graduated of which 11,000 were killed in action. Its air force academy was formed in Versailles in 1935 and was transferred to Salon-de-Provence in 1937, too late to defend against the German onslaught in World War II.
The general military academy was founded in Spain in 1882 at the Alcazar of Toledo which was instrumental in the civil war in the 20th century. Naval and air academies are recent. They train 60 and 75 respectively, for a period of five years.
Italy trains 600 yearly from ages 17 to 27. It has a naval and air force academy, both offering 4-year courses. Germany revived its training after 1952, which was curtailed as a condition of surrender in World War II. Now it has a naval and air force academy as well.
The Koninklijke Militarie Academy in the Netherlands was founded in Breda in 1828. Their naval academy was founded in 1854. In Belgium the Brussels Ecole Royale Militaire trains officers for arm, navy and air, and gendarme nationale.
West Point Military Academy in New York state, was established as part of the corps of engineers in 1802. It was the first engineering school. In 1812 by act of Congress it became a military training facility so that the new country would not need to rely on foreign military technicians as they did in the Revolution. It is now under the supervision of the department of the army. The naval academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1845 under secretary of the Navy, George Bancroft became a major training center. The president, vice president and members of Congress may nominate candidates for entrance. All must take exams and undergo over-all evaluation. An additional number can be appointed each year from the regular navy and marine corps from reserves and for sons of service personnel and special sources, all by competitive exams.
The Coast Guard Academy, located at New London, Connecticut, was founded by an act of congress in 1876. Prior to World War II, it had a corps of 200-300 cadets which now numbers about 500-600. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy was founded in 1938 when lend-lease started, shipping supplies to England after the start of World War II.
The Air Force Academy was authorized by Congress in 1954 at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver. In 1958 Its permanent site was constructed near Colorado Springs. The full authorized strength was 1,512 cadets. Congressional nominees fill 85 percent of the vacancies of each class.
Long-time hatred between Christians, Jews, Arabs and new Islamic fundamentalists against all other religions, are always ready to unleash blows against each other, contrary to basic Hebrew Scriptures which they agree upon that says, "Thou shalt not kill."
Troops are engaged in battle in Iraq, Afghanistan, with a cease-fire in 2006 between Israel and the Hezbollah as an underground militia in Lebanon. Since then there have been continuing hostilities, bent on the destruction of Israel by the Hamas, Fattah and Hezbollah factions of the PLO, as well as the president of Iran.
There have been few periods of peace in the region since 1948. Africa has been at war for decades. More troops are deployed in areas throughout the world to prevent outbreaks of war, as in Bosnia, and Turkey. Navy vessels patrol the high seas ready to answer a battle call. Weapons manufacturers and arsenals are busy with preparations for the future wars.
Now we must "turn swords into plowshares" or there will be nothing left to protect or defend. It is clear that the United Nations will not and cannot stop the madness. Assuming that it is agreed by the majority of citizens throughout the world that a planetary/continental system shall be a new peaceful way of living, all panels must immediately be formed to establish global authority.
A dramatic end to the practice of war that has impeded an utopian existence throughout the history of mankind, would be the gathering and disposal of all weapons of mass destruction under the domain of planetary and continental panels. Arsenals could be retained on the continents for conventional weapons and equipment in the event of insurrection, terrorist attacks or a plot to install a dictatorship in any region on earth. Most important would be control of all surveillance equipment and satellites to monitor potential dangerous activity.
Control would rest with planetary and continental panels who would change personnel and rotate positions so as to prevent attempts by any individual or groups from seizing power. Periodic inspections would be televised so that all citizens would know that they are safe.
The ultimate goal would be destruction of all weapons of mass destruction so that never again would there be war on the planet.
It is understood that those currently in power will do all they can to prevent a new system, but they are in relatively small numbers compared to global population. Only with one voice can their intervention be overcome.
A military panel consisting of retired generals, officers and combat troops who have experienced the horrors of war must be the first arm of the panels proposed here. They must rely on all military departments of every nation to come together to implement a cease-fire everywhere on the planet. If the United Nations shows determination to participate in the change, they could be an important asset in paving the way for change. If they do not cooperate, it would be mandatory for the first panel to take possession of United Nations headquarters for the new system supported by the planetary military.
All military operating funds from all nations must be placed in the planetary bank, with allocations of funds to carry out the gathering of arms, as the first budget item.
This will seem impossible to accomplish, but after all, funds are kept in banks and banks are run by people. They must be assured that all depositors have agreed to the transfers to the new planetary bank.
The next immediate transfer of funds would be from owners and producers of natural resource facilities. Private organizations will be compensated for releasing funds and turning over production to the appropriate planetary department. If taking over assets can be accomplished by war, certainly the same can be accomplished for peace.
The military should be renamed “peacekeepers” which would have even greater importance in peaceful times. Their first duty would be to gather weapons, then transporting funds to banking facilities, and guarding valuable property from various sites, to begin functions throughout the world. They would carry out any other designated security programs, either permanent or temporary assignments.
They would be deployed on every continent and their primary role would be the intelligence force that would man satellite vigilance of any activity on the planet that warns of violence.
A very high priority would be to find cells of terrorists whose beliefs have caused death and destruction to those who do not follow their interpretation of the Koran These fundamentalists are well-funded, surprisingly highly educated in the use of sophisticated electronic technology, have many believers ready to self-destruct for their cause, and are training thousands of the very young to hate all those who oppose them. There is no question, unless the world unites, that would be greatest threat.
Military (peacekeepers), would be called upon to be auxiliary police in the event of any crisis that threatens the peace, no matter where it occurs.
Their next priority would be as immediate rescuers in natural disasters throughout the world. It would also be their responsibility to maintain depots of supplies to handle any emergency on any continent. It would be organized as networks of transport when needed for evacuation, distribution of food and medical supplies and personnel where needed. They would be guards for any public facilities under construction and repair.
They would also be assigned to various law-enforcement agencies as needed in times of crisis or to control criminal activity. A major goal would be to eradicate drug production. They would also be responsible for guarding penal villages established by a new judicial system.
They could be good-will ambassadors, changing continents frequently so that citizens would not become fearful of their power or duties. They could be valuable in assisting in catastrophes from fire-fighting to teaching, to caring for the dislocated. This would not be unusual, as we have volunteer fire-fighters and good Samaritans in communities throughout the world, engaging in social causes, as well as professional duties.
Arsenals will be guarded by rotating peace-keepers from different regions to prevent attempts to seize control. Arsenals would be protected so that they could not to be opened unless an emergency is declared and the planetary and continental panels activate security devices.
Re-training of combat troops to learn skills needed for peacekeeping would be natural to troops who befriended children and people in countries where they were deployed as combatants and as security forces. They would have a key role in maintaining nonviolence in the new system.
There would be no commander in chief. A planetary panel would be the overseer of continental peacekeeping departments. Each continent would be responsible for creating departments led by executive officers educated and trained for the purpose of maintaining sufficient programs and equipment to accomplish peacekeeping activities.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

2007-05-21T07:51:00.002-06:00

PEACE MOVEMENTS

Peace movements appear briefly throughout history. Ancient times saw invasions of city-states, before the formation of nations. Empires were born, expired and sometimes re-born. There were dark ages, ages of enlightenment, renaissance, age of reason, but wars continued. As seen in the chapter Cost of the Madness of War, man’s ingenuity increased productivity in killing through the evolution of weapons that became so proficient that today, thousands can be killed with the press of a button.
It seems that usually after a war when man recognizes the waste of human life and property and the futility of war, the idea of peace would be brought out and examined, then unresolved, was scheduled for future consideration so the next war could start. Even before the One God theology and Prophets appeared, opponents were convinced that their God or gods were on their side.
The only religions totally committed to permanent peace are Buddhism, Jainism and Friends. Their practice of nonviolence has never changed. Buddhists do not believe in a deity in the image of man. It exists with the certainty that each individual has the inner spirituality to treat one another with compassion, kindness and love. They have followed the teachings of Gotama Siddhartha, known as Buddha or the enlightened one who lived from 563-480 B.C. He said violence results from acting on the false presumption that material things have permanence that can bring happiness.
The goal of Buddhism is to pass through life, death and rebirth to reach Nirvana which leads to peace, discernment and enlightenment. He taught that everyone could “act for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, and out of compassion for the world.” Were this the philosophy of all mankind, peace would be instantaneous and permanent.
Islam is both political and religious and believes to achieve peace everyone in the world must worship and obey God’s law. They do not consider this to be a man-made theology, but universal natural law as birth, life and death. In war, victory or defeat are the decisions of Allah alone.
Islam was not as intolerant of other religions in its early history as the extremists of today. They recognized the differences in theology as they spread throughout the region through war. People in the vanquished countries were not forced to convert, but had to pay taxes. Christians in Egypt and Lebanon were not persecuted, nor were Jews. As noted earlier, they were recognized as “People of the Book.” However, if either religion resisted political control they would be enslaved.
Islam regulated how to deal with peace treaties with non-believers. They distinguished between holy wars and those challenging political and economic issues. They were not in constant war, as their rapid spread might imply. They actually were seeking stability of their growing order. The enmity between Sunni, Shi’a and Kurd in this modern time has changed reasonable tolerance to violence in Iraq, with fundamentalists seeking world domination and the acceptance of Islam by all of the people.
In the Age of Enlightenment between 1648-1789, a few thinkers for the first time asked the question whether man was inherently violent or could new thought produce plans for procedures to end wars. This might have been the inner sense leading to the development of diplomacy. Voltaire charged that organized religion instigated men to war and pardoned them for killing, maiming and looting. His peace efforts were negated by his personal actions of condoning acts of war.
England was at the forefront for peace in Europe in the middle ages. Medieval and Renaissance poets wrote about the blessings of peace compared to the horrible destruction of war. England had peace during the reign of Henry VII and Elizabeth I until 1588, James I and Charles 1 from 1602 until 1640 and from 1713 until 1739. They were the vanguard in the balance of power theory, that a strong army and navy could maintain the peace.
Peace movements tried to embody the history of peaceful times and to seek impartial negotiators to settle differences to avoid war. Dante was one who hoped to achieve the same through the Holy Roman Emperor. In the early seventeenth century neither Catholics nor Protestants trusted a papacy to mediate. Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands had formed leagues to keep the peace.
An attempt to adopt international law to keep the peace was begun by French priests Emeric Cruce and Charles de Saint-Pierre, English Quakers William Penn and John Eilers, and philosophers Jean Jacques Rousseau, Kant and Jeremy Betham. None of the planners thought to involve the people in a peace process, instead relying on a king’s self interest to save their realms.
Kant’s peace plan was perhaps the most brilliant. He analyzed the type of government that has the power and incentives to declare war. He recognized that two branches of a government would be needed to divide the power to make the decision between war and peace, and that division could only be accomplished in a republic. His definition of a republic is that all citizens had natural rights and the government is bound to comply with their rights. He prophesied that republics would become the universal form of government, whether under a monarchy or democracy, because it was the “moral nature of humanity.” He foresaw the growth in the number of republics that would result in a “federation based on the law of nations.” Unfortunately, European nations ignored the peace planners and so atrocious wars continued. In the United States only Congress may declare war, so that presidents needed their support which generally was given, especially if the same party was in the majority.
As for the current invasion of Iraq, President Bush should be impeached and prosecuted for war crimes, including members of Congress who supported his decision without making certain that the information he gave them was true. We know now that it was false, and he had no information about the strength of Islam insurgents, who at this writing are increasing in strength and financial resources, are killing their own people and American troops in terrorist activity. Americans are too apathetic and indifferent to the state of the republic, that no action will be taken. This provides some insight into the rise of Hitler and his unspeakable crimes.
It is unlikely that even if efforts were made to seek impeachment or resignation of the president and vice-president, the conservatives in the judicial system would not likely render justice, especially since the partisan appointments of two supreme court justices in 2006 by George W. Bush. As to those in government having some interest in peace, their own special interests whether secular or religious, and their re-election agendas, preclude any protests.
Evangelical Christians and Quakers in Britain and America after the destruction wrought by Napoleon’s wars, founded peace societies to oppose all wars. Conscientious objection became an attempted path to peace. In the 1830s Britain’s peace societies emphasized secular utilitarian rhetoric to replace alliance systems with international diplomacy. Richard Cobden’s peace reform was linked with free trade to encourage national cooperation. In 1850 the English Whig party came out against wars that were waged, not to defend their country but to increase their power among nations. People provided money for the cause of peace, but had no political influence.
In America, William Lloyd Garrison who fought for the emancipation of slaves was labeled a radical who reformed the American Peace Society. Another society was created by Elihu Burritt (1810-1879) to persuade men to refuse to serve in any war. While some 100,000 joined the effort they had almost no impact on decisions to go to war. In 1898, Jan Gottlieb Block of Poland predicted the outbreak of war in Europe that would result in millions of deaths and devastation for years to come. Monarchs and generals mocked the prediction. The peace-makers tried to convince the people to demand the end of war. This was the first time that the word “pacifists” identifies peace-makers. “Militarism” was meant as a negative description of war mongers, but some welcomed war as a path to manhood in building strength and heroism.
In 1899 Tsar Nicholas I of Russia called for a conference of all nations at the Hague to discuss disarmament. It opened with twenty-six nations attending. The second conference in 1907 increased to forty-seven with more Latin American countries. The Germans would not allow disarmament discussion and threatened to walk out. They rejected binding arbitration and could not agree on even the smallest compromises. The third conference scheduled for 1915 did not take place. Conflicts arose between socialists and the middle-class before they could work together. Karl Marx could not envision permanent peace unless the working class would be the next rulers.
America and Europe cooperated in peace movements from 1870 to 1913, with its strength largely in the U.S., Britain and France. They excluded Poland which had been divided into Prussia, Russia and Austria Hungary. They ignored the middle-east even though Buddhists were dedicated to nonviolence, and Muslims separated holy wars from political conflict.
Despite the ambiguity of Europeans’ self-image as civilized, peaceful people, they divided Africa and the Balkans into their own territories, peacemakers tenaciously held to their mission. They failed to prevent World War I, but the Red Cross, the Geneva Convention were created, and an international peace movement was emerging.
The peace movement in America between 1900 and 1917 attracted politicians and affluent business leaders such as Andrew Carnegie. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace sponsored conferences and publicaions for peace and provided funds to build the World Court at the Hague in Holland, that was strongly supported by the American peace makers. Support for the movement was surprisingly in agreement by presidents, their cabinets and members of Congress. Even conservative Republican politicians were for stabilization of international law.
It took on a surprisingly political character, as pacifists and social workers could at the same time address the need for reform and an opportunity for greater participation in democracy. Women’s suffrage was related to the peace movement as a path to influence world affairs, too long conducted in almost privileged secrecy.
Pacifists were forced to choose between peace or freedom as Germany and Japan had already begun their takeover in Europe and Asia. Since that time peacemakers were silenced as seen earlier regarding Vietnam, and currently in the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Only recently have Americans begun to protest en masse in cities throughout the country.
Now the decision of North Korea and Iran to develop nuclear capability supposedly for commercial use, threatens to destroy Israel and they are not afraid of the United States or the United Nations' power to stop their nuclear proliferation. Several decades ago Israel secretly flew over Iraq and carried away its Oserak nuclear reactor facility in Baghdad.
The grandchildren of Mahatma Gandhi, Ela and Arun Gandhi, following in his footsteps are among the most dedicated peacemakers in the world. Ela is a member of the South African Parliament. Since 1999 she has published the newspaper, Satyagraha - In Pursuit of Truth to promote Gandhian values. Its focus is on The Gandhi development Trust (GDT), established August 19, 2002 to build a spirit of reconciliation, to help create a common nationhood, to create a culture of peace and nonviolence, to work on issues of development and empowerment, to promote a deeper idea understanding of democracy, to promote human values, to learn from and about history, to mobilize the community to work for change through the inspiration of their heritage. Her daughter, Ashish Ramgbin has joined in her work in the following projects: The world Conference on Religion and Peace; Participative Development Initiative, Domestic Violence Helpline.
Arun Gandhi and his wife, Sununda co-founded the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. He and Dr. Barbara Fields, Executive Director of the Association for Global New Thought, (AGNT) are co-directors, of the Gandhi and King: Season for Nonviolence, inaugurated in 1997 on their 50th and 30th memorial anniversaries. It is an annual 64-day program of workshops and programs pertaining to methods to promote nonviolence. Thirty-two states in America along with nine nations in South America, Asia, Africa, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka have proclaimed this date.
They recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Season for Nonviolence with a unique peace train pilgrimage from Los Angeles to San Jose April 18-21, 2007. On board were the Gandhi, King and Chavez families and international leaders of several peace movements for open discussion and conversation with some 200 travelers, who were joined in a conference the next day in San Jose by 200 more. It was the first time that the families of the leaders who started and continued to educate the world came together in the cause of nonviolence. Ironically, a most violent attack by one troubled student who killed 32 students at Virginia Tech University, occurred two days before the pilgrimage. A potential peacemaker, Ohio's Democratic Congressman, Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, campaigned for the presidency in 2000 with the unique promise to establish a peace department in the cabinet with power equal to the war department. He is again a candidate for the presidency in 2008. THINK of how much better off the planet might be today compared to what it has become during the term of the "war" president George W. Bush, if a peacemaker had been president.
Author and lecturer, Marianne Williamson founded the Peace Alliance to support a legislative initiative to establish a United States Department of Peace. There are groups in 31 states.
William L. Ury has been a tireless worker for twenty-five years. He co-founded with president Jimmy Carter, the International Negotiation Network, a non-government body seeking to end civil wars around the world. The former president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing Egypt and Israel to the peace-table, and again in 2006 for his work in diplomacy with nations in crisis.
A major event scheduled to take place in 2008 in the mid-east, the Abraham Path Initiative, is co-chaired by Mr. Ury, and Dr. Barbara Fields, who is a recipient of several peace awards. The purpose is to open up a route in the middle-east retracing the footsteps of the prophet Abraham. As the spiritual forefather of Jews, Christians and Muslims, Abraham is the unifying point for over three billion people who consider themselves part of the family of Abraham. The Abraham Path will underscore Abraham’s universal messages of oneness, unity, faith, justice, peace and hospitality toward all. To launch the event, people in 50 cities in the U.S. and abroad are participating in local Abraham walks, to bring religious healing to all three faiths.
There are hundreds of world-famous figures who are actively involved in similar peace making projects. It is this enlightened group that can motivate their followers, who will in turn motivate the next generations to study this new concept and guide it toward reality with the express purpose of enlarging their mission to permanently end war and save the planet.
President Bill Clinton used his post-presidential years to raise funds for the tsunami disaster victims in Indonesia in 2005, and surprisingly joined forced with senior George Bush-41, his former opponent, to wipe out HIV/AIDS in Africa.
There are two choices left to inhabitants of Planet Earth. One is to be relentless in contacting all influential and active friends to participate in, and demand a global peace movement to begin immediately. The other choice is do nothing and continue to live in fear of threats to world security
The present United Nations building in New York would be one of the six excellent planetary meeting places when the current system of government changes to peaceful existence.
There are hundreds of organizations, congregations, study programs, books, research journals, undergraduate and graduate university programs, and publications, professional societies and associations, networks, coalitions and federations, cultural exchange and service-oriented groups and other peace and conflict resolution groups. If you are moved to participate, details are available on the website www.socialpsychology.org/peacehtm.#generalnonviolence.

CHAPTER TWELVE

2007-05-21T07:51:00.001-06:00

TERRORISM-THE DILEMMA OF THE MIDDLE EAST

September 11, 2006 - the fifth anniversary of the second attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Three-thousand victims are being memorialized in ceremonies at "ground zero" and in communities throughout the U.S. President George W. Bush proclaimed that U.S. citizens "are safer today, but not yet safe." This is deceptive and understates true conditions. Despite the billions of dollars spent by the huge bureaucratic Homeland Security force, the president admits the end is not yet in sight.
There are so many holes in the security system that it is a miracle al Qaeda terrorists have not attacked again. According to various media sources, seaports do not have a system that can inspect all shipments into U.S. power plants, water and public facilities are vulnerable to sneak attacks, and illegal entry into the U.S. is rampant due to ineffective immigration control. Terrorist cells have been found in Germany and Britain, and there is no doubt that there are hundreds more in the U.S. and throughout the world. The second in command of al Qaeda yesterday gave more devastating warnings of future attacks on the U.S. and Israel.
Terrorist attacks over the last two decades appear to have been planned at intervals when nations fail to react. One Hezbollah suicide bomber killed 240 American servicemen in barracks in Lebanon in 1983. The first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993 and the federal building bombing by American terrorists in Oklahoma were mourned. In response to 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya, Tasmania and Nairobi, and on the vessel, U.S.S. Cole in 2000, President Clinton ordered the "Infinite Reach" bombing operation in the Sudan and Afghanistan, targeting areas associated with al Qaeda.
The attacks by terrorists are growing in frequency, emboldened by the failure of the United Nations and cautious governments to act. Total casualties due to terrorist acts since the late 20th century, are 75,201-103,664 in the Philippines, Africa and Iraq.
In response to the treachery of 9/11, Americans supported the "war on terrorism" and on October 7, 2001, U.S. and NATO troops mobilized in Afghanistan to find Osama bin Laden. They bombarded caves and Taliban territory where he might be hidden. Some subordinates have been killed. Those captured are locked away in various prisons, yet to be brought to justice.
It was thought the Taliban had been vanquished and on December 22, 2001, following United Nations' sponsored negotiations conducted in West Germany, the U.S. installed a multi-ethnic interim government in Afghanistan as a peace-keeping force, with elections of a permanent government to take place in 2003.
Afghanistan was promised $1.05 billion in economic aid, and no interference with its local politics which reflects the lust for power by tribal factions. Warlords compete for control of the lucrative opium trade which supports world-wide drug addiction and funds al Qaeda. Pashtans, in the south formerly connected to royalty, dominate. Tajiks, Uzebeks and Hazras control the northwest, and Hazarjats central Afghanistan.
The Taliban in Afghanistan is re-emerging in greater strength. Just a few days ago, September 7, 2006, two bombings occurred in the capital city of Kabul, another was announced today.
With increased financial support from radical Muslims, the Taliban intends to depose the new democratic government which had been making progress in restructuring Afghanistan. NATO commanders are asking for helicopters, transport planes and additional 2,500 troops to meet the new strength.* President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf agreed to a truce with tribal leaders of the north and will not allow American or other foreign troops to pursue the Taliban into Pakistan. He apparently fears an Iraqi-like occupation by American troops. It is thought that Osama bin Laden now survives somewhere in Pakistan.
Since the beginning of 2006, terrorist bombings resulted in deaths in a train derailment in Spain, in a British subway, an Egyptian resort, hotels in Indonesia, suicide bombing and rocket attacks on Israel, and in Iraq's cities by insurgents against their own people, on American and coalition troops.
Five years later, what is so chilling is that there are no confirmed reports as to the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden while his video tapes surfaced from time to time. Despite the most advanced satellite technology which has the capability of spotting individuals from space, surveillance has been unable to pinpoint activity as simple as trucks bringing water, food and weapons, that would uncover al Qaeda's hideouts. The poppy fields seen by satellites remain in production.
Abu Mussaud Zarqawi the terrorist leader in Iraq, was killed in a bombing raid of his secret meeting place, uncovered by an intelligence source.
The war on terrorism was succeeding in Afghanistan with Americans in full support of the mission. Afghanistan had a democratic government with a promising prosperity, until George W. Bush changed priorities. History will show his foreign policy decision produced the planetary crisis of the 21st century, if not the beginning of the end of the planet.

THE INVASION OF IRAQ
There should be no question that had the strength of American and U.N. and NATO forces remained focused on Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden would have been captured and the terrorist threat ended. Instead, Bush’s manic invasion of Iraq in 2003 its true purpose still unknown, the world is far less safe than before 9/11. What is known is that his true motives have been veiled by lies.
It would be far more difficult today for a new approach with new leaders and renewed cooperation of threatened nations due to the change in sympathy for the 9/11 disaster. What could have been an international cooperative effort of intelligence agencies and police departments, as well as special forces, is no longer viable under this Bush administration.
. More Americans have been killed in Iraq than died in the attack of 9/11. Iraqi civilian deaths have not been counted. Yet, the rubber-stamping Congress, a cowed press and dumbed-down citizens have not demanded the resignation or impeachment of George W. Bush, who violated the Constitution in waging a war to "bring democracy to the world" which Bush proclaims to be his mission.
The result of the war on Iraq is that Saddam Hussein has been deposed. His trial and execution took more than three years. Other than some $6 million found at the beginning of the invasion in one of his palaces, many millions more than likely reside in numbered accounts in international banks. Does the Bush administration know the whereabouts of these funds that could be used to repair the infrastructure U.S. bombs destroyed?
Why did Bush ignore the United Nations' affirmation that Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction? Only recently, in a press conference, a reporter shouted out, "What did Iraq have to do with the terrorists?" and the president quickly responded "nothing." There is some element very wrong here, either in the president's recollection or in his mental ability, or in his moral character to be unable to tell the truth. In any case, he too, is a danger to the planet.
Even worse is the inflexible policy to "stay the course." No one has questioned what that policy means. An ineffective press fails to seek information as to what that course is, what are the end goals and how and when they must be met. Is this administration talking about endless occupation, or until Iraq and the middle-east are entirely restructured? Is there any idea as to how many years will be considered to complete the "course."
Encouraged by Republican senators, such as McCain of Arizona who says mistakes have been made, but does not explain who made them and what they are, they shamelessly accuse Democrats and anyone who want the troops home of being unpatriotic. He plans to be the next president in 2008 and voters should beware of his loyalty to party rather than to the country.
With profound arrogance both President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on May 29, 2006, admitted they were wrong about the weapons of mass destruction, and that they didn’t know enough about the strength of the Iraqi insurgency. As to the apathetic or ignorant American public, and its spineless representatives who fear to appear as though they don't support the president, they won't be re-elected, no apology, no resignations are forthcoming. It is surprising that the British have not called for a new election to remove Mr. Blair.
An investigation is needed of Iraqi’s opposition politician Ahmad Chalabi, who allegedly misled the U.S. about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. We need to know to what extent reports were mishandled by intelligence agencies and how they were used to make a case for war. Bush has refused to meet with the moderate former President of Iran, Mohammud Khatomi, who might have shed some light on Iraq’s weapons, as well as how the anti American current Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came into power and defies the world regarding nuclear proliferation.
All incumbent members of Congress who voted for the war on Iraq should not be reelected, or if their terms are not completed should be impeached for failure in their duty to balance the power of the executive branch. Along with the president they should be tried in the World Court for the deaths of more than three-thousand American troops and "coalition" forces, as well as Iraqi casualties. The Bush administration is putting out feelers for retroactive legislation that would protect them from prosecution for war crimes.
At last American voters on November 7, 2006 expressed their disapproval of the president’s “stay the course” strategy in Iraq. Many Republicans for the first time in their lives voted Democratic. The Democratic Party now controls both houses, albeit by a very narrow margin. The first five months have not brought the wars to a conceivable end. The president and his cronies stubbornly adhere to "winning" without explaining what do they want to win. Are they saying that the sacrifice of more than 3,000 American lives is in vain because deposing Saddam Hussein is not a "win" or they did not "win" when millions of Iraqis elected a new government?
Neighboring nations in the middle-east, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, and other Arab nations sent no troops despite the danger that Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction were in their neighborhoods. Israel was told to stay out of the conflict.
A transition planetary panel must take charge of the departure of all coalition forces from Iraq, and establish authority to seek out and isolate insurgents. The coalition should leave behind conventional weapons and supplies in control of the panel, to provide security, and to end the Sunni-Shia conflict.
A huge majority of Iraqis want American troops they call"occupiers" out of the their country. More active than the elected officials, Shiite cleric Moqtade al Sadr leads the protesters. The dilemna is that he and his Islamic militias demand that all the people strictly adhere to his fundamentalist view of the Koran. If Iraqis are grateful to be a democracy, they will immediately put in place their own seurity forces so that coalition forces can withdraw. Otherwise, the Taliban, and militants will continue to threaten, if not dominate the world.
By coincidence (which has been occurring all through the writing of this book) as I write this portion, surprising news report on CNN, September 12, 2006, shows Iraqi prime-minister, Nouri al-Maliki and Iran's president,Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, greeting each other in Iran. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice says al-Maliki will express his satisfaction with their new democracy, while Ahmadinejad, points out that they will be in the region much longer than the U.S. and that they should form an alliance.
He is offering to come to Iraq to help eradicate the insurgency. However, since Iran and Iraq are predominantly Shia, the Sunnis formerly under Hussein will more than likely see this as a threat. It can be expected that hostile activity in Iraq will increase as a result of this meeting. Immediate cooperation for global self-government is mandatory, if their alliance is an indication of the alliances that could destroy those who do not convert to Islam.
Those who say change is too slow, that the idea for global self government is not an option, must be reminded of the history of Iraq and Iran. Their conflict goes back many centuries, but recent history is their war from September 22, 1980 to August 20, 1988 over the dominance of the Persian Gulf. It resulted in one million casualties approximately one half million each, costing over $1.19 trillion (US equivalent).
Iraq invaded Iran in response to Ayatollah Khomeni’s demand to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Iraq had early successes, helped by $200 million worth of helicopters purchased from the U.S. This war ended in a stalemate.
When Hussein came into power, al-Maliki, now prime minister, fled to Syria, then to Iran and there became involved in politics. He returned when Hussein was deposed and became the leader of the Dawa party. He was appointed to succeed the transitional government replacing Ibrahim al-Jaafari of the same party. Maliki’s 37-member cabinet was approved by the National Assembly until 2010.
At this moment, CNN is reporting that the new Iraqi government has been going after al Qaeda in the Anbar Ramadi province, and needs more troops and weapons. Is this what Iran is offering? Will this cause the onset of a full civil war with nations coming to the aid of the Sunnis? Islamic believers have forgotten the Medina Charter created by Mohammed, prohibiting Muslims from killing Muslims.
Just reported (September 13, 2006) 8:45 a.m. central time): Casualty tolls are 16 members of the Taliban near Kandahar, more suicide bombing in Baghdad. Iraqi health ministry reports they received 1,800 Iraqi civilian bodies in July, 2006 and 1,500 in August.

NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION
The imminent danger is Iran's current determination to develop nuclear power supposedly for commercial use. Another threat of nuclear proliferation comes from North Korea. In July 2006, it launched a test missile which almost reached Japan. Both countries said they won't be stopped by the United Nations or the United States. In the meantime, China and Russia are supposed to be discouraging North Korea from further tests, but little news has been forthcoming as to their progress.
The Bush administration refuses to talk to the presidents of Iran and North Korea. Vice President Cheney, says, "we don't negotiate with evil; we defeat it," and prevents any diplomatic talks from taking place, even after six-party talks arrived at a rare agreement on broad principles.* In other words, Cheney is telling the world, that everyone must do as the Bush administration says and then there will be dialogue. While they are in power, can the U.S. be trusted to lead the world?
On May 31, 2006, Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice in an interview with PBS, repeated Vice-President's Cheney’s policy in answer to Iranians wanting to know if they would be secure against a U.S. attack.
Iran’s reprehensible threat should be controlled by the United Nations, not the U.S. alone. Surely the “war president” Bush will not make the same mistake as he has in Iraq by failing to meet with the Iranian president. If he continues on this path, there is certainly going to be an even more devastating war with Iran and its allies which no country in the middle-east and possibly the United States or the planet will survive.
To end World War II, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan. Hundreds of thousands of lives were saved at the cost of thousands in Japan. World leaders apparently have learned nothing from history.
Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said he would wipe Israel off the map and has threatened the U.S. If he achieves his nuclear goal, is there any doubt that he would release this terror on Israel? How much fall-out would kill everyone in neighboring nations in the middle-east and when would the land be free of radiation to re-populate?
Global chaos and uncertainty continues with North Korea in a stand-off regarding nuclear proliferation; tribes and insurgents, are active in African genocide; nations form alliances then change again depending upon whether or not they are seeking “favorable” status from the super powers. THINKing people must realize that current conditions are worse since the start of the 21st century, only seven years ago. We should no longer trust the "decider" as President Bush describes himself.

ISRAEL/ARAB/BRITISH MANDATE/RUSSIAN INFLUENCE
The following brief history of the British empire's mandate in Palestine, their departure after World War II, and between the United Nations’ creation of Israel as a nation in 1948, will provide some insight into the latest middle-east crisis of July 12, 2006. Their role was as insidious as any government in history and clearly exacerbated the terrible enmity between Arabs and Jews in Israel.
The British were in control and could have prevented the deadly conflict between Arabs and Jews, when the Arabs tried to drive Jews into the sea, blocked roads and ambushed Jews bringing food in convoys to their starving people in the old quarter of Jerusalem. Burned-out trucks remain as memorials along those roads to Jerusalem.
Not only did the British refuse to intercede on the side of non violence, they exacerbated the situation by looking the other way when the Jews were in extreme danger, driven from kibbutzim by the Arabs, and as Jewish terrorists responded by raids on Arab villages.
In the book, O Jerusalem by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, actual events are reported in this bitter struggle in 1948. Nokrashy Pasha, Prime Minister during the reign of Egyptian King Farouk, was assured by their army general Mohammed Haidar Pasha that they were ready for a war against the Jews when the British departed and "would parade in Tel Aviv in two weeks."
Sir Ronald Campbell, the British ambassador to Egypt, told the Prime Minister that his government did not approve of the coming clash of arms in Palestine as they were resigned to accepting partition as decided by the United Nations. However, he said, "should it be Egypt's decision to enter a war against the Jews, Great Britain would not oppose her efforts, nor hinder the movement of Egyptian forces." Then added, "should Egypt decide to go to war and find herself in need of additional munitions and armaments, His Majesty's government was prepared to allow the Egyptian Army access to the Suez Canal supply depots on two conditions. The first was discretion, the second was that the two nations continue satisfactory progress toward a solution to the problem which most concerned them, the Sudan."
This devious agreement was of itself senseless in view of British warnings that the Jews were organized and courageous. Egyptians said they first needed to find their way to Tel Aviv as they had no road maps of Palestine. One man was assigned to steal fifty maps from the Land Settlement Department so they could start to plot a route.
Intervention by the British was to check the Jewish advance in the port of Jaffa adjacent to Tel Aviv. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin gave Sir Gordon MacMillan a direct, unequivocal order "to bloody well put troops in there and get Jaffa back for the Arabs."
British government officials had agreed to give Transjordanians enough ammunition for a thirty-day war. Unofficially, the Arab Legion had been able to get a good deal more. For six weeks the British had been dumping their spare ammunition into the Dead Sea, much of it instead landed into the waiting trucks of Arab legionnaires.
The fighting started immediately upon British withdrawal. Positions were taken and retaken in Jerusalem and at various villages and kibbituzim. Since May 14, 1948, the United States had been seeking a cease-fire call but was persistently thwarted by the British. They knew the Arabs were on the brink of substantial gains and were in no hurry to see the end of the fighting. A senior diplomat told an American colleague, "the situation should be allowed to seek its own level for a while." Egyptian forces did not favor the cease-fire appeal, confident of its ability to "parade in Tel Aviv."
Finally on May 22, 1948 the U.S. and Soviet Union pushed a cease-fire appeal through the Security Council threatening severe sanctions if it was not followed, despite British attempts to prevail.
Details of Pacepa’s allegations that the Soviets have been behind terrorist activity are described as follows:
After 1967: International terrorism conceived at Soviet’s Lubyanka KGB headquarters.
1968-1978: Romania sent two cargo planes every week to Palestinian terrorists in Lebanon.
1969 - KGB transformed airplane hijacking as an instrument of terror. 82 hijackings carried out by KGB. General Aleksandr Sakharovsky, who created Romania’s intelligence structure boasts “airplane hijacking is my own invention.”
November 1969 - Armed attack on El Al office in Athens, 1 dead - 14 wounded. This office was adjacent to Olympic Airlines owned by Aristotle Onassis. This “success” prompted a plan to kill Jews in airports, train stations and other public places. By end of ‘60s the KGB was deeply involved in mass terrorism against Jews, carried out by various Palestinian client organizations.
The history of Britain's treatment of Jews apparently had not changed since they expelled them in 1290 A.D. British colonizers' historic boast until modern times was "the sun never sets on the British Empire." The queen of England, Elizabeth II continues to reign in Canada, Australia, Northern Ireland, Bermuda, albeit with little power.
As if this intolerance and treachery were not enough, a former Communist General, Ion Mihai Pacepa, reveals how the Soviets masterminded Arab terrorism supplying outmoded weapons to Arab terrorists, and now to the rest of the world. Russian Footprints,World Jewish Digest, October, 2006. Merely twenty years after the Soviets joined with the U.S. for a cease-fire between Arab and Jews in 1948, their terrorist activity affirms their this anti-Israel policy. The following attacks against Israel and the US prevail to this day.
1971 - KGB operation called Tayfun (typhoon) to destabilize Western Europe. The Baader-Meinhof, the Red Army Faction and other KGB sponsored Marxist organizations unleashed a wave of anti-American terrorism.
1972 - May 30. Ben Gurion Airport, 22 dead - 76 wounded.
1974 - December. Tel Aviv movie theater, 2 dead - 66 wounded.
1975 - March. Tel Aviv Hotel - 25 dead, 6 wounded.
May. Jerusalem bomb. 1 dead - 3 wounded.
July 4. Zion Square, Jerusalem. 15 dead, 62 wounded.
December 23. Richard Welsh, CIA Station Chief killed in Athens.
1978. - April. Brussels Airport. 12 wounded
May. El Al plane in Paris. 12 wounded
1979 - June. American General Alexander Haig, Commander of NATO, injured in bomb attack in his vehicle in Brussels.
1989 - September. General Frederick K. Kroesen - commander of U.S. forces in Europe barely survived a rocket attack.
November - Alfred Herrhausen, pro-American Chairman of Deutsche Bank killed during grenade attack.
1990 - July, Hans Neusel, a pro-American state secretary in West German interior ministry wounded during an assassination attempt.
1992 - Kremlin decides to turn Islam World against U.S. and Israel. It was a vicious plan to “instill a Nazi-style hatred of Jews and turn the emotions into a terrorist bloodbath.” Code name was SIG (Sionistskiye Gosudarstva) or Zionist government. The plan was within the Communist Romanian sphere of influence in Libya, Lebanon and Syria.
General Pacepa’s mission was to find Islamic ethnic groups and train them in disinformation and terrorist operation, infiltrate countries in the Romanian sphere. Before he left Romania in 1978 he had sent 500 undercover agents to Islamic institutes. Over 4,000 agents spread throughout the Islamic world were masters of propaganda and lies, to lay the foundation for the anti Israel/Jewish/American terrorism present today.
2000 - Former officers of KGB and Soviet Red Amy took over the Kremlin and Russia’s government.
2001 - September 11. Russian President Vladimir Putin, former head of the KGB was the first leader of a foreign country to express sympathy to President Bush for “terrible tragedies of terrorist attacks.”
2002 - March. Putin moved back into terrorist business, re-instituting sales of weapons to Iran’s dictator, Ayatollah Khamenei; constructed a 1,000 megawatt nuclear reactor at Bushehr, with a uranium conversion facility to produce material for nuclear weapons. Russian technicians helped Iran develop the Shahab-4 missile of 1,250 mile range which can carry a nuclear or germ warhead anywhere in the Middle East or Europe.
May. NATO foreign ministers approve partnership with Russia, who wants to be admitted to the World Trade Organization. The hope is that first it must get out of the terrorism business and convince Iran to renounce nuclear weapons. Russia is as much at risk as all countries within the 1,250 Iranian missile range. When exactly did the Cold War end?
2006 - July 12. Hezbollah in southern Lebanon attacks Israel with Soviet Kalishnikovs and Katyushas, Russian Fajr-1 and Fajr-3 rockets, Russian AT-5 Spandrel antitank missiles and Kornet antitank rockets. They had been hidden underneath schools, hospitals, residences, and public places. The weapons abandoned by Hezbollah were marked: “Customer: Ministry of Defense of Syria. Supplier: KBP, Tula, Russia.”
Israel had removed soldiers from Lebanon in 1984, in an agreement that Lebanon would protect the border. Instead of eradicating the Hezbollah terrorists who were occupying their land, the Lebanese government said they intended to support their attack on Israel. The Lebanese government has not recognized the ultimate grave danger to their own country if it were controlled by these terrorists openly supported by Syria and Iran. Did they not in recent history expel Syria from Lebanon?
Is there any wonder that Israel's fury has escalated to a firm commitment to end the terror of suicide bombers who regularly crept into Israel and killed civilians since 1948? A month before the current attack, Hamas terrorists killed two Israeli soldiers and captured a third. Israel retaliated with attacks on Gaza. The familiar tactic of torment and reprisal is no surprise since the creation of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Israel dropped leaflets to tell Lebanese civilians and tourists when they would be bombing, and to leave the area. Hezbollah and Hamas did not warn the Israelis when they would attack.
We have watched the violence in the mid-east since 1948. No matter what efforts are made by the U.S. to bring peace to the region, suicide bombers frequently enter Israel find their way to crowded areas of people going about their daily lives, kill themselves and everyone in proximity. Israel retaliates, kills their Hamas leaders and more suicide bombers are recruited to carry on the cycle.
A cease-fire is currently in effect, but Israelis feel there is little hope that it will hold. The best that can be said for American and British support of Israel in the recent conflict is that they did nothing. At least they acknowledged that Israel had a right to defend itself. They did not interfere with Israel's action to destroy as much of the Hezbollah as possible in Lebanon. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan deplored “Israel’s excessive force.”
Israelis are seeking the resignations of prime minister, Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and General; Dan Halutz, for not waging a decisive war against Hezbollah. Cautious of world opinion, Israel purportedly used only five percent of its military capability. The criticism emanates from being "perceived as helpless in the face of a sub-state terrorist organization" and "created the impression that it has become a country that is not defendable," as reported in World Jewish Digest, September, 2006. In fact, "Israel is a strong country, but the very creation of an image of weakness means defeat".
Do Americans equate the action of Hezbollah's attack on Israel with the terrorist attack of September 11? Suppose an anti-American group in Canada or Mexico launched continuous rocket attacks across the border into the United States. If Syria and Iran supplied these rockets would that not be a legitimate reason for the US to defend itself against them?

ISLAM
The major threat to the planet is the fanatic followers of Islam who want to conduct jihad against nations and all religions, including their fellow Muslims, who do not agree with their religious extremes. In a recent tape an al Qaeda's subordinate stated that if all the people in the world would convert to Islam, terrorist acts would end.
The number of Muslims in the world (see Religion chapter), some 1,179,326,000 is twenty-five percent of the world's believers. Of this number, it is estimated that ten percent, 179,326,000 are militants. Can 75 percent of the people prevail over Islamic terrorists? The answer is probably negative in that seventy percent of Americans who detest Bush's policies, have not been able to deter him from "staying the course" in Iraq.
The recent publication of former CIA director George Tenet’s book, At the Center of the Storm, is beyond astonishing and as described on the book jacket, is a “whirlwind of actions, accusations and recriminations that emerged in the wake of 9/11 and the Iraq war.” It is an accounting of what might be the truth, then lies, then white-washing, then all of the actors protecting their turf, contradictions about what was done and a strangely obsessive practice to protect and support the actions of George W. Bush -43. The numerous revelations demand an immediate thorough investigation, not by politicians, but by the judicial system or the U.S. will no longer be viable as a democracy.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

2007-05-21T07:50:00.000-06:00

NOVEMBER 7, 2006 ELECTIONS

In summarizing the George W. Bush administration’s efficacy since taking office in 2000, the few domestic issues addressed were income tax cuts for the wealthy and $7 billion in tax cuts for the oil industry. He also devised one of the most confusing, costly drug plans for the elderly. The Constitution left education to the various states, but he thought up the policy of “no child left behind” which teachers deplore and describe as a method to pass tests, but not how to develop the ability to think and analyze, the very goal for all education
His foreign policy has been disastrous. The war against terrorism approved by Congress was supported by most world governments who sympathized with the terrible act of September 11, 2001 which caused the loss of 3,000 civilians and destruction of the World Trade Center in New York. American and UN forces were successfully eradicating al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan, when suddenly George W. Bush decided to invade Iraq. The reason was to find their weapons of mass destruction (which did not exist). He changed the reason to depose Saddam Hussein and “bring him to justice” which was achieved when an Iraqi tribunal sentenced Hussein and his half-brother to death.
Bush then stated the goal was to “bring democracy to Iraq.” He has yet to be challenged in the courts as to whether the Constitution provides this power to the presidency.
More than 3,000 American troops have been killed and thousands injured in what is now the fifth year of war. In the civil war between sectarian Shiites and Sunnis which evolved in this new democracy, soldiers and Iraqi civilians are killed every day by car bombs and suicide bombers throughout Baghdad and other cities.
Nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea, adds to the number of nations who already have such weapons. While Iran claims it is for domestic use, there is no doubt they mean it to be for the destruction of Israel and possibly against the western world. North Korea already has tested its nuclear capability.
A glimmer of hope arises for those of us who have been demoralized, frustrated and inexpressibly saddened by the misery and hatred unleashed by the actions of the worst president in the history of the United States.
The November election made it clear that U.S. voters, albeit not a record number participating, want an end to the war in Iraq and control by Republicans, as notorious as the “do nothing Congress’ of Truman years.
On December 7, 2006 Senators from California, Maryland and Washington were begging for the passing of a bill to save agriculture in their states and throughout the country. Losses were in billions of dollars because the illegal Mexican immigration issue prevented finding labor to harvest their crops. All three pointed out how the entire economy is affected by this loss. Consumers seeking change to healthier diets face higher prices for produce, due to the reduced supply. More food is imported than exported, adding to the enormous U.S trade deficit. They recited a list of domestic bills of great importance which this Republican Congress refused to bring to a vote.

IRAQ STUDY GROUP
After the November 7th elections, President Bush apparently realized that the people were against continuing war in Iraq. He chose to ignore the low 30 percent approval ratings of his actions for over a year. He decided to ask his father’s key staff to form an advisory committee for a solution to the disaster in Iraq. He fired Donald Rumsfeld, the controversial Defense Secretary and replaced him with Robert Gates, former CIA director in both Bush-41 and Bill Clinton administrations.
The sobriquets “steadfast,” “war president,” “decider” which George W. Bush applies to himself are manifestations of an inexplicable stubbornness to “stay the course,” in an ill-conceived war to depose one man, Saddam Hussein of Iraq. As the situation worsened he was asked if he consulted with his father, former president George H.W. Bush who accomplished his mission in Iraq to force Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait. Bush-43 said he consulted with the Father of his faith.
Despite the “thumping” (the word Bush used in the loss of control of the Senate and House on November 7), Bush-43 persists in his proclamation that troops will not leave Iraq until they have done the job. “The job” has yet to be clearly defined.
On December 6, 2006: the group comprised of five Republicans and five Democrats, former Secretary of State James Baker, former Congressmen Lee Hamilton, Alan Simpson, Charles Robb, Lawrence Eagleburger, William Perry, former presidential advisors, Edwin Meese, Leon Panella, Vernon Jordan; and, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, announced their plan.
Chairman, James Baker said, “We do not recommend to stay the course. In our opinion, that approach is no longer viable. The situation is grave and deteriorating.”
The panel agreed unanimously on every one of the 79 issues they are proposing to Bush-43. Emphasis is on the hardship Iraqis are suffering; attacks continue at an alarming rate, economic development is not working and U.S. influence is diminishing. The cost in American lives is over 2,900 and 21,000 wounded. Four-hundred billion dollars has been spent to depose Saddam Hussein and to “bring democracy to Iraq.” The cost to continue the war is expected to reach $2 trillion.
The policy change is for Iraqis to govern, sustain and defend themselves. New approaches are to move combat troops out and for Iraq to initiate prompt national conciliation; immediate diplomatic efforts to benefit the region including Iran, Syria, Egypt, gulf states, U.N. Security Council, and the European Union as a support group for stability in Iraq. Thus far, the U.S. president refuses to talk to Iran until they agree to give up their nuclear capability. Lee Hamilton said, “You cannot look at this area of the world and pick and choose among the countries that you're going to deal with. Everything in the Middle East is connected to everything else.”
The study group said the partition of Iraqis is not an option, with no explanation as to why. With daily bombings, the continuing slaughter of the population is at its worst. U.S. General Abizaid agrees and said the Sunni territory would turn into a haven for al Qaeda.
Is it possible this could be a blessing? Would it not be better to be able to find them within the Sunni region and take concentrated military action to capture or eradicate them?
The Shiites and Kurds would have their own autonomous regions and the oil fields would be separate from the three sects. Oil production and distribution of profits could be controlled by elected officials from each of the new territories. Where there have been inter-marriages, there should be a choice of residency. Over a million Iraqis have already chosen to move to Syria and Jordan, despite lack of jobs and unaccustomed financial hardship because they are desperate for the safety of their families.
There would be the hope that with a taste of autonomy and shared wealth, perhaps attitudes would change, so that Iraq might be unified in the future.
President Bush’s somewhat lukewarm response after his meeting with the panel, was, “This report will give us all an opportunity to find common ground for the good of the country.” He says he will act in a “timely” fashion which is predicted by his spokesman, Tony Snow to be sometime in January, 2007. The panel acknowledges that the word, “victory” does not appear in the document because their goal is to avoid catastrophe, not winning.
There is no alternative if the president chooses to ignore their advice. It is clear that the priority of the president and his supporters, including Senator McCain, is to “win,” not to end the violence and save lives in the middle-east. There is a strong feeling that more troops will be deployed in Iraq, not withdrawn.
One wonders what the president is thinking when no matter what questions are asked by the media, he responds with the same “I am not going to pull troops out until the job is done.” Then he tries to clarify his position with odd remarks, such as, “we find ourselves in a war,” as though he has just discovered that a war is in progress. Does that mean he doesn’t know or remember he started that war?
There is no doubt that the president is letting us know he read the first part of the study, as he repeats, “The policy change is for Iraqis to govern, sustain and defend themselves.” These words have become the mantra for staff members who might be questioned by the media. There is no doubt that he intends to continue this deadly struggle despite the will of the people
When they reconvene in January, Congress needed to determine its true role as lawmakers, and as overseers of the executive branch. Thus far they are becoming the masters of compromise.
They must revise the electoral process. New law to limit amounts spent on campaigns which should be federally funded would eradicate obligations to individuals and lobbyists, precluding bribery and corruption.
Terms of office for Congress should also be limited as they are in the presidency, for a true balance of power. An option could be an amendment to permit re-election after an interim of two or three terms out of office. It is clear that our founding fathers did not intend for the country to be ruled by career politicians. Senator Byrd at age 90, his more than fifty years in office does not represent a democratic system of government.
Rules of Congress must change so that members are present to hear debates and know the bills that are presented for legislation. Their $165,000 yearly salaries for one and a half days in Washington during the brief time in session, is a travesty to hard-working minimum wage people.
Former House Republican majority leader Dick Armey said, “Republicans became more interested in saving the majority than in making good policy.” * The oath to serve in Congress should be changed so that their primary loyalty is to the country while serving their term, not their party.
Most important is that they remove the practice of adding “pork” to bills that are unrelated to a proposed new law.
They should reduce their very generous pensions and benefits at least until they practice fiscal responsibility, and until all Americans have equal opportunity of education and health care.
Another Republican presidency in 2008 will assure the continuance of the Republican partisanship. These past seven years have been government by a dictatorship rather than a democracy.
A battle is being waged in the House to end the war in Iraq. Not all Republicans continue to support the president's new strategy of sending more troops to Iraq, which is now in progress despite the panel's report, and the opinion of seventy percent of the people. Their goal repeated endlessly, is to "win", but not to save lives.
After almost five months of posturing, the Democratic Congress, with some Republicans agreeing, 51-46, will submit a bill to the president, Tuesday, May 1, 2007 to end the war in Iraq and begin withdrawal of troops. They have set dates for the Iraqi government to take over. Complete withdrawal of American troops is designated for the beginning of 2008. The president vetoed the bill. It is unlikely that there will be enough votes to overcome the president's veto. This "democracy" is badly damaged.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

2007-05-21T07:47:00.002-06:00

PLAN FOR PLANETARY AND CONTINENTAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

There are six billion people currently living on the planet earth. A reasonable estimate would be that a minimum of ten percent or 60 million good people in all cultures consistently work for the benefit of others. They can be found in all fields of endeavor, bringing sustenance and spiritually-motivated acts of kindness, as well as compassion and hope through their profound humanitarian programs. Without them civilization would have long vanished from the earth.
It is for these people that the following guidelines for planning, establishing and maintaining a new system of global self-government are provided. They are destined to be the founders of a nonviolent civilization to replace governments that for thousands of years have brought war and unspeakable cruelty to the world.
The realization of the birth of true freedom and democracy will depend upon the wisdom of these compassionate people who, with the consent of the people, will dedicate themselves to the principles of inalienable rights, including but not limited to peace, freedom, and equality under the law.
It is time to call upon them to organize into tiers of planetary and continental panels to effectively divide responsibility in setting realistic goals of the new system, with focus and dedication to nonviolence and peace.
First, Nobel Peace Prize recipients would be the equivalent of “founding fathers and mothers” who come from regions all over the world. Their first action would be to call a cease-fire wherever war and violence is taking place in the world; to end all armed conflict irrespective of the power of any country.
To accomplish this, they would need to gather together the chief military leaders of armies existing in all of the countries of the world. Their mission would be to gather and document all conventional and nuclear weapons in their assigned regions and transport them to fail-safe armories on each continent If facilities do not exist in specific regions, they would be authorized to convert government properties for needed space.
Only the first tier of founders could authorize opening of arsenals if there are signs of terrorist activity or individuals trying to seize power over people anywhere in the world. After these facilities are sealed, the latest technology must be applied to security measures to prevent access without explicit permission. To assure neutrality, none would be guarding their own country’s arsenal. These military leaders henceforth would be known as Peacekeepers.
Their function would be to guard all seaports, airports, railroad centers, bridges and roads to major cities on each continent. There must be simultaneous control of satellite surveillance devices to monitor compliance with the cease-fire. Peacekeepers would be authorized to enforce the order by closing borders of violators, allowing only the delivery of food and medicine to sustain life.
The second tier of founders would be leaders who have participated in peace movements, and studies for nonviolent resolution of conflict, such as members of the 9/11 commission, the Iraq Study Group, executives of not for-profit foundations who fund peace-keeping activities and other extraordinary, humane and permanent programs.
The third tier would be former presidents, prime ministers and ambassadors to the United Nations, experienced in democracy, to act as consultants approved by the first and second tier of founders.
A nucleus of peacemakers should find each other through websites and establish a database to contact all of the people who qualify for the first three tiers. Invitations would be sent to attend a meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York which would be chaired by the first tier of founders. For planning purposes it is suggested that the first three tiers be known as the Planetary Panel. Nobel Peace Prize Recipients would be Planetary Directors. The Planetary Panel would be comprised of all three tiers representing all of the disciplines described below.
This Planetary Panel should be duplicated on each continent and be comprised of people who have received honors similar to the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as those who have established national and local peace and humanitarian not-for-profit foundations. The third tier could be comprised of former governors, and other local officials approved by the Planetary Panel. This group would be known as Continental Panels. Their additional important function would be to establish and maintain an equitable system of law and order pertaining to their local cultures, not covered by the Planetary system, but to not deviate from the principles of the Planetary Panel.
Further organization should duplicate the original panel so that management of each tier’s function would be efficient, and effective for training purposes to serve on both Planetary and Continental Panels as the new system matures. The important principle would be that all participants would have equal power pertaining to their function, so that there would never be just one person to lead.
The initial meeting should begin the process of developing a mission statement and to write a global Constitution. The Constitution could follow those currently in place, except that there would be no individual leaders. All of the panel members would be paid salaries similar to corporate structure, such as a CEO, financial and management officers. Their staffs would be hired by personnel offices, both planetary and continental, to carry out the actual functions of each of the departments listed below. We currently know this function as a bureaucracy. However, the difference will be that there will be no political payoffs. All personnel would need to have specific qualifications in order to be eligible for consideration to be hired.
As seen in Chapter Natural Resources, the method of funding would be derived from all of the world’s natural resources, strictly managed and overseen by all of the designated panels. Any corruption or dishonesty would be punishable by strict laws.
All panels would be authorized to negotiate with each out-going nation regarding accounting and turning over funds to the Planetary Bank. Equitable distribution of funds or materials would be arranged by panels that would categorize and oversee needs of each continent, until banking facilities have been established.
They should have the authority to sanction those individuals and nations that refuse to cooperate. All individuals who are combatants in current wars should be granted amnesty when they turn in their weapons, and permitted to enjoy a new start in the new system along with all other global citizens. This method was successful at the end of the American Civil War in 1865.
Former government officials, ordained leaders of any organized religion, corporate executives, chiefs of any branch of the military should NOT be among the founders. After the system has been organized, they would have the same right to apply for employment by submitting resumes, citing education and experience.
There is no reason for any domestic economic, educational or any other activity to be interrupted or curtailed. National government officials will be the only segment of the world population that will be required to stand down when planetary and continental panels are in place. All local governments would remain in place, until both the Planetary and Continental panels organize the departments that will serve public needs.
Incentives for leaders and monarchs to step down without use of violence could include lifetime housing and financial support commiserate with their current status except if they are found guilty of war crimes and/or genocide. These benefits would cease at the end of their lifetime and not be passed down to their children. Available palatial housing would be assigned on each continent of their choosing. The cost would be far below that of waging war. The importance is to establish a new system, not to punish the powerful.
It is not the purpose of this plan to seek out leaders to replace former leaders. Personnel will interact to the extent that no one will be in the position of individual power. They will rotate in chairing panels so that one does not prevail over others.
To start developing departments to serve the public, expertise will be needed in the following fields:
1. Geography, demographics and statistics to analyze and plan population per continent, and to plan a method of removal of national borders on each continent.
2. Production of all natural resources. Those qualified to be in the first three tiers should gather together their colleagues and bring them into the new system. Their qualifications would be higher education in the required disciplines, and belief in nonviolent existence.
3. Educators: pre-school, primary, secondary, colleges, universities.
4. Medical, including hospital administrators, primary care physicians, surgeons, nurses, medical technologists, directors of all health care institutions, medical research scientists, psychologists and psychiatrists from each country on every continent.
5. Corporate, including but not limited to, banking and finance, industry, energy, natural resources, environment, agriculture, business and technology.
6. Scientists
7. Civil and criminal judicial procedures experts: lawyers, judges, law school professors, directors of penal institutions.
8. Those who served in the military and in law enforcement would be qualified to keep the peace and administer lawful procedures to provide security and safety from criminal activity.
9. The balance of priorities and required staff of Planetary and Continental Panels is unconditional. The number of staff would depend upon the size of population. Additional personnel would be permitted for larger populations per continent, but no region, community or continent would have power over another.
Thirty days should be adequate to compose and print the first draft of the Mission Statement and Constitution. All panels must agree to all provisions of the Constitution. If unanimous approval is not forthcoming, disagreements would be settled by the first tier of founders, with thorough explanation as to how they arrived at their decision.
After all conditions are confirmed, the first draft of the documents will be printed and distributed for further evaluation before it is submitted for approval by the entire Planetary Panel. No more than six months should be needed to complete these documents. They need not be original thinking. The best of existing governing principles should be adapted to the new system. The worst of existing governing principles could be readily identified and discarded.
After the first meeting of the three tiers in the Planetary Panel, attendees return to their continents to contact highly qualified people in their disciplines to meet within 30 days. Each discipline will have workshops as to how they will function in removing national borders, population resettlement as needed, or distribution of funds derived from natural resources, and utilizing existing databases and websites pertaining to each discipline.
A standing rule, should be that all meetings start with a plenary session to set the agenda, and all disciplines should report their progress and status. Then day-long workshops should be held to implement plans and ideas produced by adhering to the agenda.
Many issues and questions will be presented and the experience of the founders should determine priorities. Both Planetary and Continental Panels should be prepared to determine how to apportion geographic regions on each continent according to its population, environment, and resources to support every community. The goal would be to assure that all inhabitants would be able to earn the necessities of life - food, shelter, clothing, education, that none would live in poverty. All panels would encourage participation by all of the people.
Terms of accountability, financial reports, budget allocations and expenditures should be specific in content as well as in setting dates for production of fiscal documents from each discipline for public perusal.
A personnel department should be established and described in the Constitution.
Each discipline should follow the same protocol, with dates for periodic meetings of Planetary and Continental panels, with no less than two combined meetings per year.
In the event that government leaders currently in control refuse to relinquish their positions, public meetings should be held in every country on all of the continents, under the inalienable right of the people to abolish that government and to institute the new form of government.
In the interim, sitting local governments should be asked to cooperate with planetary decisions to speed the process of development of the new system and be paid a reasonable compensation. They would be required to turn over to the Planetary Panel all revenue, records and documents in their possession for immediate deposit in the First Planetary Bank.
The purpose of the new system is to assure equal self-government. Job description should determine salary and be the same for each continent. For example, in production of natural resources specific skills should be the determining factor such as scientists compared to unskilled labor performance to be evaluated according to a firm set of ethics, efficiency, attitude and results. No individual will be singled out for any purpose except as incentives for greater success in their jobs.
It is important that banking and national resources work together as the most important element in funding the new system. Realistic budgets should be proposed and approved by both Planetary and Continental Panels.
The first step after the gathering, planning and arrival of the new planetary and continental managers would be for all national rulers and officials to relinquish their offices immediately. If at all possible current members of the bureaucracy that have excellent performance report should be retained. The important benefit would be their experience. They would maintain regular business hours, have the same vacation benefits and would require no time off for campaign fund-raising or ceremonial functions.
With removal of national borders on each of the continents and with technology in communication constantly improving, all of the people could have a direct voice in the evaluation of public service. Private enterprises would be retained and new ones encouraged.

IMPORTANT WORDS OF CAUTION
An important element of a new system is to clearly proclaim that its function is to institute and maintain equal access to basic essentials of life in a nonviolent environment. To do so, it will collect funds to perform the duties of specific departments established for the sole purpose of bringing equal opportunity to the people.
In no way should it interfere with personal business, spiritual beliefs, social behavior, moral or life choices, by any citizen on the planet. For example, individual decisions as to when and whom to marry, whether or not to bear children, permission to operate a vehicle, permission to travel from continent to continent, dress codes or personal health and hygiene. Individuals will be free to make their own choices, limited only by the new system’s goal of safety and nonviolence.
Other elements should be the province of citizens in their local communities as to their own behavior. Should any group choose to live in isolation, or refuse to reside among people of different religions or lifestyle, they should be allocated land in specific regions set aside for that purpose. If any behavior harms another citizen or their property, existing laws may be applied to remove perpetrators of such crimes to islands described in the chapter Judicial System.
Whenever possible, the new system should utilize existing facilities and departments that can be readily adapted so that there is no waste of time and materials by duplicating efforts.
Extreme caution and emergency rules should be enforced if one person or one group attempts to become the "leader." The ultimate goal is to put into place for each discipline a permanent plan that only needs to be brought up to date, due to changing technology, of shifts in population.
The principal goal is equality under the law, all of the freedoms of a true democracy and reliance on the experience, expertise and dedication by all panel members and staff. Should there be any conflict or controversy, Planetary and Continental panels should immediately convene to address them.
Planetary and Continental Panels should provide public distribution of all plans, along with information as to how people can address grievances for immediate resolution.

PLANETARY/CONTINENTAL GOALS

1. The goals of a new planetary/continental system for self government are as follows:
a) Structure a system whereby power comes from the people who shall authorize planetary/continental panels of experts to function on their behalf in accordance with binding, legal contracts.
b) The people shall verify their vigilance of all departments and agencies. They would be asked to come to a polling place annually, to vote on the performance of all panels. This would be similar to the current system of voting to retain judges, but they would have information and financial reports of each of the agencies providing public services. If they have not participated, they would not be eligible to receive planetary benefits derived from natural resources, or from approved financial programs. If they are infirm or need assistance to comply, it would be necessary for the appertaining department to provide this help.
c) Specific educational, character, family values, work experience, ethics and moral standards will be requirements to apply for planetary and continental employment.
d) Equitable opportunities must be available to all global citizens.
e) There shall not be any positions of individual power or leadership not authorized by the people at annual planetary meetings, either in person or by electronic means.
f) All global citizens have the right to contact any and all planetary and continental departments to submit suggestions, questions and complaints at no cost or restrictions.
g) All global citizens have the right to receive annual financial statements, proposed budgets, electronic inspection of books and records, and specific department reports upon request, including documents pertaining to topics or subjects under investigation by authorized investigatory agencies, with the codicil that investigation is not conviction.
h) Secret meetings would be unlawful. Any debates and decision making meetings must be open to public viewing on a C-span system of communication. Schedules of such meetings to be available on global websites.
i) Any attempts to seize power or establish separate political parties and leadership roles shall be unlawful, resulting in fines and/or confinement on continental islands maintained for that purpose.

DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
A model plan for the establishment and organization of specific departments and their agencies shall be the same for all planetary and continental panels and staffs. Only the numbers of employees shall vary in accordance with size of population on each continent and by area or region but no department will have more standing than another. All departments will have the same practices and methods of financial accountability, communication, employment, and operations. Each department would receive established databases pertaining to their discipline to maintain and improve. They would be available for public scrutiny, except for personal information that might put families of staff at risk.
They would propose salaries for each executive position, with merit or cost of living increases as approved by Planetary and Continental panels.
To clarify the function of the new system, the following departments could be considered equivalent to entities such as the U.S. Cabinet or historic bureaucracies that have always kept records, counted the gold in treasuries and grain in storage city-states in event of a siege.
1. Peacekeepers. To immediately implement a global cease-fire; then a plan to control and destroy weapons for mass destruction. Maintain control of continental arsenals with conventional weapons to be used to prevent insurgency, individuals seeking to seize power over the people, or any disturbance to the population as enacted by Planetary and Continental Panels only if nonviolent procedures fail. Emphasis will be placed on its on its primary function as fact-finding body and, investigation of any movements threatening the peace on any of the continents. Approval of the use force to keep the peace, must be agreed upon by Planetary and Continental Panels The people must be fully apprised of any such danger and steps that are planned to keep the peace.
The department will determine how current military education and practices will be used and enhanced to establish conditions of command and rank to function as peace and security officers. Peacekeepers should be trained and at the ready, to provide rescue and management of disaster areas.
2. Finances. Executives would administer budget, expenditures and provide strict accountability. They will have the authority to retain bank officers who believe in the new nonviolent system. They will establish and oversee planetary and continental banks to collect and disburse revenue from natural resources and if emergencies occur, collect taxes. There can be no deficit spending except for emergencies. All departments must submit and make public, budgets for analysis and review by the appropriate departments.
3. Natural resources. Establishes a sub-agency for each resource, i.e. Collection of revenue from all natural resources under the administration of both panels. All revenue to be deposited in planetary banks. Will monitor supply and demand, and prices so that operation of departments and equal distribution of a percentage of profits for basic needs and public service are correct and adequate.
4. Education. To determine curriculum for all levels of education, from pre-school, elementary, secondary, trade, university and adult programs. To survey and establish facilities for schools and universities. To set standards and requirements for employment of teachers. To establish schedules for school attendance, number of days, number of hours, vacations, and global holidays.
5. Health and Medicine. To determine all requirements of training for doctors, nurses and technicians. To establish continental hospital and clinic facilities, working with education department to utilize schools as centers on weekends for the practice of preventative medicine. To establish and operate medical research laboratories. To work with appropriate departments for development of equipment and new medical breakthroughs.
6. Science and Engineering. To establish centers for scientific research and application of physical science to maintain continental environmental standards from global warming to use of alternative fuel and new methods of public transportation to replace fossil fuel for automobiles; and to maintain all public infrastructures and utilities, i.e. from purifying water, disposal of waste.
7. Agriculture. To establish facilities for research to enable farmers to produce safer food products, including grain, fruits, vegetables, livestock, seafood and fish. To establish and maintain health and sanitation regulations for shipments of foods between continents. To work with other departments to provide information regarding healthful consumption, preparation and storage of food products.
8. Corporate supervision. To regulate corporations so that panels of public service are not victimized by corporate greed. To oversee corporate profits to protect investors, with reasonable compensation for executives and to enforce laws pertaining to financial accountability by public corporations. To be responsible for lawful bidding for contracts pertaining to services and/or materials purchased by any of the planetary and continental departments or their agencies.
9. Trade and Commerce. To regulate trade and commerce between continental public and private sectors to prevent unfair and unlawful trade practices.
10. Transportation. To maintain highways, and public transportation facilities. To oversee privately operated airlines, bus terminals and train stations to maintain at their own expense, facilities and security. Repair and construction crews to provide service as needed on all continents. To coordinate activities of the private sector who wish to form continental travel and entertainment facilities and services. To encourage continental travel and cultural studies.
11. Museums and Public Performing Arts. To oversee maintenance of existing museums and establishment of new facilities requested by the people.
12. Housing. To provide home-building services as needed in areas of poverty, until all basic needs are met. After all global citizens are provided with basic housing needs, the department will regulate occupancy of safe and sanitary housing on all continents
13. Law and Justice. To establish an entirely new system of law pertaining to public safety and justice. This department will be responsible for all global and continental police protection. No individual shall commit a crime against another without coming before judicial panels (no juries) within a specific time period, to determine innocence or guilt. If found guilty the panel will determine punishment according to specific continental judgment which must be the same for all citizens irrespective of status or wealth. Peacemakers would be available to assist any police activity as needed for public safety.
14. Services for Children, Family, Elderly and Employment. While the purpose of the new planetary system is to take government out of the personal lives of its inhabitants, specific segments of the population need assistance and counseling to receive basic human needs, protection in cases of abuse and neglect.
They are the young, old, infirm, mentally or intellectually disadvantaged. This should not be considered welfare or financial aid programs for able-bodied citizens responsible for their own care. This department should provide counseling, training in parenting, social behavior to prevent unlawful activity, and job skills as needed.
This department should encourage communities to recognize and report conditions endangering life and property for those unable to improve conditions through human kindness and compassion from their families and neighbors. We have seen countless such acts by global citizens who voluntarily provide financial aid and comfort after natural disasters.
15. Communication. To establish systems to distribute information to the global public, through all media, websites, permanent television channels similar to C-Span, on 24/7 schedule. It would schedule upon request by the media, interviews with executives and their staffs at reasonable times. and regularly schedule press conferences, as well as special conferences for important announcements. Information shall be distributed equally to all media prohibiting leaking of information to favored media for "scoops." If media fails to provide information to its viewers or readers, the department will hold it own press conference on its own news channel.

PRIVATE SECTOR
The above departments must be administered with equal opportunity for all global citizens. Specifically, no community or continental entity shall be given preferential treatment.
All activity relating to religious and spiritual groups throughout the planet shall have the freedom to practice as they believe with no interference and/or preference by any of the above departments. It will be unlawful for any to interfere with another. For tax purposes, established religions will be treated as other for-profit organizations. Communities should be encouraged to establish programs to understand and tolerate individual choices and practices.
All private enterprises shall be free from department regulation except for unfair employment or trade practices.
No agency will have the right to determine whether adults over the age of 18 may use any substance such as alcohol, drugs or tobacco unless its use becomes a public nuisance or danger, or when committing a crime.
No department will have the right to determine personal choices made by adults over 18 regarding birth, death by euthanasia, marriage, family values, unless their choices endanger the community. Parents have the right and responsibility to determine what is best for their children, unless there is child endangerment or physical abuse.
No department will be given the responsibility of determining moral or ethical values for any citizen except for obscene public behavior.
The purpose of this system of self-government is to protect global citizens from exploitation by illicit and greedy entities, and from interference with private choices made by global citizens that are not the business of governments. Properly established departments to enforce laws are recognized by the people as the authorities to keep the peace, provide security for global citizens, and to insure freedom of individuals.
The new system is not intended to regulate the amount of wealth individuals accumulate in lawful business or investment. It intends to remove poverty from the planet, by assuring individuals of at least basic necessities. It also leaves to the people, the extent of government and law they choose to approve for their continental regions, which should be ratified by planetary and continental panels in public meetings, TV broadcasts and electronic access.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES

2007-05-21T07:42:00.000-06:00

1. Internet World Population
2. World Almanac, 2006
3. Why I am Not a Christian, Bertrand Russell
4. World Economic Forum, Savo, Switzerland, 1/28/06
5. World Book 2006
6. ABC TV program 20/20 January 20, 2006.
7. ABC - Winfrey/Anderson January 30, 2006
WAR
1. World Book 2006
2. U.S News & World Report* 1/30/06-2/06/06
3. History of War, Pursuit of Power William Hardy `McNeill, 1982
4. World Jewish Digest, Charles Krauthammer, August, 2006
5. Of Arms and Men1989, U. Of Chicago Press
6. My Life, Bill Clinton
FAILURE OF GOVERNMENTS
1. Why I am Not a Christian. Bertrand Russell
2. John Negroponte - u.S. Director of Intelligence Report to Senate Intelligence committee, 2/03/06
3. Smithsonian Magazine 2/06
4. The Healing of America,* Marianne Wiliamson, 1997, Simon/Schuster
RELIGION
1. Wisdom of the West, Bertrand Russell
2, Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
3. Jesus Papers, Michael Baigent
4. What Jesus Meant, Garry Willis
5. The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, Margaret Starbird
6. History of Christian, Jewish, Hindus, Buddhist & Muslims: Perspectives,
for War and Peace, J. William Frost, Volumes I and II.
7. World Religions Today - John. L. Esposito, Darrell J. Fasching and Tom Lewis.
8. The Mighty and the Almighty*, Margaret Albright
9. Ethics for a New Millenium - His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
10. Autobiography - His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
11. Healing America* Paul Simon.
12. The Mystic heart - Brother Wayne teasdale, 1999
EDUCATION
1. Educating for Humanity, Mike Seymour, Paradigm Publications
2. National Differences, global Similarities, World Culture and the Future of Schooling, David P. Baker and Gerald K. Letendre, Stamford Social Science, Stamford, CA.
3. Comparative Education. - A Dialectic of the Global and Local, Edited by Robert F. Arnove and Carlos Alberto Torres, Rowman & Littlefield
4. Higher Education Restructuring in Era of Globalization, Daniel Schugurusky.
5. Political Economy of Education Reform, Edward H. Berman
6.America's Brain Drain Crisis, Kathryn Wallace, Readers' Digest 12/05..**
HEALTH/MEDICINE
1. Health Care Policy in an Age of New Technoligies, Kant Patel and Mark Rushefsky, M.E. Sharpe, Armour, N.Y.,
2. A Brief History of Disease, Science and Medicine, Michael T. Kennedy, M.D. FACS published by Writers' Collective, Cranston. R.I.
CORPORATE
1. Corporate Fraud, John D. O'Gara case Studies in Detection and Prevention. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
2. How to Comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 4004, Asessing the Effectiveness of Internal Control, Michael Ramos
3. Corporate documentary - Michael Moore (DVD)
4. Business in the United States, Readers' Digest 12/05
6. The Global Class War: How America's Bi-partisan Elite Lost Our Future and What it Will Take to Get it Back, Jeff Faux, John Riley & Sons, Publ.
7. China, Inc.: How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and The world, Ted C. Fishman, Scribner.
8. Michael Moore - Corporations documentary
JUDICIAL
1. Story of The Law, Rene A. Wormser, Simon & Schuster, New York
2. Courts and Trials Christopher E. Smith
3. State of Fear, Michael Crichton
TERRORISIM
1. THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT
2. Against All Enemies, Richard Clarke, 2004.
TERRORISM
1. 9/11 Commission Report
2. Against All Enemies - Richard Clarke, 2002.
AFTERWORD
1. O Jerusalem, Larry Collins, Dominique Lapierre, 1972, Simon/Schuster
2. The Road to Armageddon , Larry Collins, Dominique Lapierre "
3. Watchdog of Democracy? Helen Thomas, Simon & Schuster
OTHER SOURCES
Encyclopedia Britannica - more than one chapter
Internet - Google, Wikepedia
Broadcasting: PBS, CNN, C-SPAN 1 & 2, CBS, NBC, CNBC ABC, FOX
*More than one chapter subject.
**Readers' Digest, November,2005-May, 2006-More than one subject

INDEX

2007-05-21T07:40:00.000-06:00

* The index and page numbers may not follow the order of this blog.

Age of Enlightenment, - 70
Age of Reason, 51
Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud, 6
AMA, 56 -
al-Maliki, 76, 77
al Qaeda, 4, 16, 18, 37, 74 81 -
al sadr, Moqtada, 76
Anti-Trust Law- 34, 55
Armey, Richard 83
Aschcroft, Attorney General, 61
Aspin, Les, 53
Association for Global New Thought- AGNT, 70
Ayatollah Khomeni, 76

Bancroft, George, 67
Baker, James, 82
Bentsen, Lloyd- 53
Berlin Wall-vi
Biden, Senator, vii
Blair, Tony, 75
Buddhism, 29, 37, 40, 70
Buffitt, Warren, 37, 55. 96
Bush, George W. iii,iv,vi,vii,viii, 2,7,8,9, 15, 16
17, 18, 20, 23, 36, 37, 40,42,48, 51, 83, 56, 60
61, 73, 75, 76, 77, 81, 82, 93, 95, 97
Bush, George H.W. - 15, 21, 81, 94
Byrd, Richard Sen. 83

CBS- iii, 7, 59, 98
CIA-17, 80, 94
CNN-76,77,94,98
C-Span- vii, 23, 24,41,45,88,95
Card, Andrew, 53
Carnegie, Andrew, 72
Carter, Jimmy -ii, 73,
Castro, Fidel, 8
Chase Bank, 58
Chavez, Venezuela 8, 47
Cheney Dick, v, vi, vii,15,16,20,37,53,77,95,98
Cirincione, Diane , 29
Clarke, Richard -16
Clinton, Bill, iv, v, viii, 17, 55, 60, 61, 73, 74,
81, 95, 97
Clinton, Hillary Rodham, 17, 95
Clooney, George- 96
Corporations:
Microsoft, 55, General Motors, 65
Exxon-Mobil 7, 18, 55, 57, 58
Sears, 58
American Tobacco, 54
DuPont,, 54
Delphi Auto Parts, 95
Com Ed, Intel, General Electric, 55
Toyota, IBM, 58
Earthlink, 56
Monsanto , 56, 58
Enron, 57
Nicor, 55
MCI, 57, 58
General Eectric, Kodak, Pfizer, Unocal,
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Roche
Pharmaceutical, Sears, 58
Corporate Mergers, 55
Countries:
Afghanistan, 15, 37,74, 75, 81, 93
Brazil-, 39, 55, 56
China- ii, vii, 3, 5, 9, 11, 40, 41, 49, 55, 59
Egypt, v, 21, 39, 49, 70
Japan, 5, 24, 55
Mexico , immigration, 4, 5, 6, 55
Nigeria, v, 8, 9
Monaco 73
Pakistan 5, 59
Saudi Arabia v, 63
Spain, 24, 37
Tibet, 34
Turkey v, 18, 19
Yemen 4, 63
Cunningham, David, 97

Dalai Lama, 3
Damascus, 34
Darfur, 3
DaVinci Code, 31
Dead Sea Scrolls 85-90
DeLay, Tom, 70
Deloite/Touche, 57
Doctors Without Borders, 51
Dubai, vii

Einstein, Albert, 40
Evans, Donald, 53

Falwell, Jerry, 36
FBI, 62
Feingold, Senator, iii
Feinstein, Diane Senator, 25
Fields, Barbara, 72, 73
FEMA, 2 95
Fleischer, Ari, 94
Freidan, Betty, ii

Gandhi, Mahatma ii, 72
Gandhi, Ela 7
Gandhi, Arun 72
Gandhi, Sunanda 72
Garibaldi, Giseppi, 25
Gates, Bill, Melinda, 39, 96,
Gates, Robert, 81
Generals, 75
Eisenhower, Dwight, 25, 36, 55
Haig, Alexander, 79
Lee, Robert E., 25
McArthur, Douglas 25
Montgomery, 25
Pacepa, Ion Mihai, 79
Pershing, 25
Rommel, 25
Sakharovsky, Aleksndr, 78
Washington, George 25, 49
Gergen, David, 96
G.I.Bill of Rights, 40
Gingrich, Newt 41
Gorbachev, Mikail, ii,
Gonzales, Albert, 61, 62, 96
Gore, Albert, 2, 16
Grass Roots Poll, vi
Greek Philosphers 66,67

Hamilton, Alexander 54
Hamilton, Lee, 82
Hanson, Jim, iii
Hatch, Orrin, 25
Hezbollah, 74, 79, 80
Hebrew Scriptures, 33
Hitler, 11, 37
Holocaust, 39
Home Schooling, 40
Homeland Security, iii, 2, 20, 21, 61
Hubbard, Barbara Marx 29
Hunter, Willliam 49
Humana 48
Hussein,Sadam v, 8, 11, 17, 18, 6, 76, 77, 71
Hyde, Henry, vii
Iraq, Study Group 81
IRS, 35
Israel/Arab Conflict, 77-80

Jackson, Andrew, 54
Jains , 29, 33, 37
Jampolski, Gerald.M.D. 29
Jesus, 29, 30, 32, 32, 33
Jordan, Vernon 82

Katrina hurricane, 2, 5, 20, 95
Katami, Mohammad, 76
Kerr-McGee Corp. 8
Kerry, John, iv
King, Martin Luther, Jr., ii, 72
Kings
Bismarck, 49
David, 30,
Ferdinand, 36
Carlos, Juan, 24
Charles 1, 40
Constantine , 30
Farouk, 78
Henry 11, 70
James, 70
Philip II, 36
Tsar Nicholas 71
KIPP, 1 43
Kochba, Simon Bar, 35
Kucinich, Dennis, 72

Lay, Ken 57
Leno, Jay , 95
Levade, Wm, Monsignor, 32
Lincoln, Abraham, ii, 51

Magdalene, Mary, 32
Matthews, Chris , 94
Marshall Plan 49
Marx, Karl, 71
McCain, John, Senator, iii, vii, 75, 82, 97
Mecca 34
Medicaid, 48
Medina Charter , 33, 77
Meese, Edwin, 82
Military Acadamies, 67, 68
Milliken , 57
Miller, George Rep. 8
Mohammed 33, 34
Monarchies , current 24
Morales, Evo 8
Moore, Michael, 59
Musharraf, Pevez, 74

NAFTA, 55
Nally, Dennis 56
Napoleon , 67
National Rifle Assoc. 23
New thought
Nixon , Richard , 61, 94
Nobel Peace Prize , ii, 3, 84

Obama,, Barak 24, 58
Oceans,1 2
O’Day Connors, Sandra 82
Olypics, 2
Osama bin Laden , iv, v, vi, 16, 17, 18,
20, 37, 75, 97
O’Neill, Paul , 53

Parks, Rosa . ii
Patriot Act, 21, 61
Pentagon. vi
Penn, William 71
Philosophers, 21, 22, 71
Powell, Colin, v, 16, 28, 53
Pontifical Biblical Cmte. , 32
Popes: 32, 37
Putin, Vladimir , 79

Quakers , 29, 36
Queens
Catherine , 49
Elizabeth I and 1I. 70, 79
Mary, 36
Qumran , 32

Ramgbin, Ashish, 72
Raymond, Lee, 7
Reagan, Ronald ii, 50
Reich, Robert 53
Religion, number of adherents, 28
Rhodes, Cecil , 8
Rice, Condolezza , v, 16, 18, 53, 76, 77, 94
Robertson, Pat 36
Roman Medicine , 40
Roosevelt, Theodore , 54
Rubin, Robert , 53
Rumsfeld. Donald, v, vi, at, 16, 53, 82, 96
Rush, Benjamin 49
Russia, 37, 187, 239
Ryan, George IL Gov. 63

Sarbanes-Oxley, 57
Schwartzenager, Arnold CA. Gov. 51
Shadow Participation, education , 39
Sheehan, Cindy, 98
Sherman, John , 54
Sherman, William Tecumseh, 54
Simon, Paul , 63
Simpson, Alan 82
Skilling, Jeff , 57
Smith, Nicole 62
Soccer Moms, vi
Spelling, Margaret 41
Stem cell research 51
Stewart, Martha , 64
Stuart, Jon, 95

Taliban, v, 16, 74, 76, 77
Teasdale, Wayne Brother, 38
Teller, Edward, Dr. 40
Terrorism, recent history, 78, 79
Thomas, Helen, 94., 95
Tiananmen Square, 2

United Nations, v, 3, 11, 17, 51, 73, 75
United States :
Supreme Court Court , iv, 61, 62
Congress, iv, 4, 5, 7, 9, 18, 19, 20,
21, 23, 24, 60, 61
Constitution, v, vi, 18, 20, 24, 37, 40, 60

Vatican , 32,
Von Braun , 4-

WTO, 56, 79
Wade, Mitchell , 97
Walesa, Lech , ii
Wars:
Ancient, 12, 35
U.S. , 13, 14, 15
Cost, 15
Religious , 35,36, 37
Battles Sieges, 13
Persian Gulf , 15
Invasion of Iraq, 75, 76, 77
Williamson, Marianne, 73
Willis, Gary 92, 93
Wilson, Woodrow, 54
Wolfowitz, Paul, 96
Woodword, Bob, 94
World Court , 65
World Economc Forum, vi, 17

Zarqawi, Abu Mussaud, 37, 75

DEDICATION

2007-05-21T07:30:00.000-06:00

The inspiration for this book is derived from the union of my son Dr. Kenneth Fields, a professor at the University of Peking in Beijing and his beautiful, talented Chinese wife YuHongMei, who performs with her group in China and globally as erhu soloist of the Chinese National Orchestra. She is associate professor at the Conservatory of Music in Beijing. They presented me with my first grand-daughter on November 24, 2006 and the planet must be saved for her sake.
Also, to my daughter Dr. Barbara Fields for her dedication to peace for the past decade as Executive Director of the Association for Global New Thought, innovator of the Season for Nonviolence and the Abraham Pilgrimage, and to AGNT Leadership Council and members for their roles as peacemakers.
To my grandsons, Andrew and Gregory Reck, who are growing up in the 'expat' community of Americans, experiencing excellent educations at international schools in Thailand, Egypt and Argentina. They kindled the flame of enlightenment through the global friendships they have formed and cherish.
To my nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, great- great nieces and great-great nephews, I offer a plan that will make it possible for them to live forevermore in a world of nonviolence and peace. Some are currently attending universities in the mid-west, others recently received degrees; some are in high school, others have a few years more of grade school.
They are seventy-eight members, soon to be eighty, of second, third and fourth generations descended from Sylvia and Ruben Stoller of Chicago, their four sons, and four daughters, Siegels, Samuelsohns, Newmans and Fields.
They are all intelligent, beautiful and handsome, warm and loving individuals, born and raised with love, respect and dignity. They deserve to survive the madness that governments have exhibited throughout the ages, now more dangerous and threatening than ever before. Only an immediate new way of life will save all global inhabitants.
And, thank you to my friends who listened with patience, and with or without agreement of my views, provided the motivation to complete this book. They are my best friends, the first for 75 years, Elaine Simcovits Pastko; for sixty-two years, Shirley Penefsky Root; Phyllis Birnbaum Kipnis, for fifty years Bernice Friese Frankel; for thirty years Judy Chesson, and my treasure, Debra Reck .
Special thanks to the staffs of the Illinois College of Lake County Library, Grayslake, and the Fox Lake Library for their research assistance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

2007-05-21T07:29:00.000-06:00

Bertha Stoller Fields started in journalism while in high school, at the Chicago Times during WWII. She then started full-time after graduation and enrolled at Northwestern University night school. After the Times was purchased by Marshal Field it became the Sun-Times; with ownership changing several times since that time.
She took time out to have three children, then through a family tragedy was left to raise them as a single parent. They are excellent human beings, well educated and successful in their career choices.
She became export manager of a machinery company in Milwaukee that helped create a trade surplus during the Johnson administration.
Ms. Fields in 1965-72 was associated with Americans Building Constitutionally a not-for-profit organization created to teach wealthy taxpayers how to set up foundations and trusts to provide financing of services for the public good.
She returned to journalism through publication of newsletters at O'Hare airport as editor, and Miami International Airport as editor and publisher.
In 1973, she became newspaper analyst for the Scripps League Newspaper chain in Santa Barbara, CA, which was later sold to the Pulitzer family. She created the Grass Roots Public Opinion Poll and covered the White House during the Reagan administration, as well as major political events. She also conducted readership surveys and marketing studies, and helped improve content and format of the newspapers in the League. She started her own company providing similar services to some 50 newspapers throughout the U.S. During this time she attended law school in Santa Barbara at night.
She has traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, the middle-east, the Soviet Union and China.
Not enjoying retirement, she became registrar at the Association for Global New Thought, when they started conferences known as the Awakened World series. It is recognized internationally for its programs teaching nonviolence.
Before beginning her book, Ms. Fields was engaged in 5 years of litigation versus her condominium board, and representing herself, prevailed over 28 attorneys. She is planning a book about that experience.
Her priority is a novel which in essence is a sequel to depict life in a planetary/continental system of government.