“MUTI” KILLINGS

                                              

 What is “Muti?” Muti (pronounced mu:ti) is a zulu word that means traditional African medicine or magical charms.1 It is a word most commonly used in southern Africa to represent African medicine. It specifically means African medicine involving the use of human body parts. 2  Muti and the use of human body parts Human body parts are used in muti to support the belief that regular muti medicine will be more effective if human body parts are involved. The body parts are often taken from live victims. This is because it is believed that the screams of victims being hacked enhances the potency of the medicine. 3 Muti victims are mostly children and most recently in East Africa, persons with albinism. Body parts of muti victims are not only traded locally, but are also often transported across borders of various countries where there is demand. Why? Simon Fellows, author of a 2008 report titled Trafficking Body Parts in Mozambique and South Africa explains that where human-organ-muti is found, there is often the belief that such muti is a source of wealth and business prosperity. 4 70% of people surveyed by Fellows in Mozambique and South Africa for example, believe “that body parts make muti medicine more effective and that such medicine can solve any problem, from poverty to health issues." 5  Albino Killings are Muti Killings The use of albino body parts for muti is part of a larger practice in the use of human body parts for muti. 6 Conservative estimates in the past decade show general muti- related killings of 30 persons per year in southern Africa. 7 Muti killings specific to 2  persons with albinism is higher however. In East Africa, between 2007 and 2010, scores of persons with albinism have been killed. A more accurate estimate would be higher given that not all cases are reported. Also when one takes into account the link of muti to poverty and the rising rates of poverty on the sub continent, a higher number of victims of muti is likely more accurate.8 Why Now? Muti killings have been going on for decades and in some cases, for centuries on various parts of the African sub-continent. The degree and extent and whether these killings have intensified or abated are questions that are not easily answered. This is because muti activities are often shrouded by a “code of silence” which makes reporting, and the necessary prosecution and investigation all the more difficult.9 The silence in muti-use and trading is made worse by the fact that the consumers of muti medicine often remain a mystery.  International Help There is a UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, (“the Trafficking in Persons Protocol”) signed in the year 2000.10 This is the Protocol that comes close to covering trafficking in human organs. Article 3 (a) of the protocol defines Trafficking in Persons as  the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation . Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. [Italics Added] In essence the protocol prevents human trafficking in the event that the victim is alive and the purpose of movement of that victim is to remove body parts. The protocol does not cover the issue of movement of body parts that have been 3  removed without any of the coercive elements above.11 It is this gap in this international protocol that calls for stronger responses to muti from governments at the national level.  National Response In line with our mandate here at UTSS, the following presents national responses only to those muti-related killings of persons with albinism. Tanzania In July 2010, The High Court of Mwanza, Tanzania convicted 50 year old, Kazimiri Mashauri and sentenced him to death for the brutal murder of a 5 year old girl with albinism. The girl was mutilated and killed for the purposes of muti-related beliefs. 12 Other similar trials are currently underway in Tanzania. Burundi 5 men accused of murdering and selling body parts of persons with albinism are jailed in Burundi. Of the 5, 1 was found guilty of "planning and carrying out the killings" and sentenced to life in jail. The other 4 were found guilty of attempted murder and kidnapping. Their jail terms ranged from 7 to 15 years. 13 UTSS’ Stance on Muti Under The Same Sun condemns use of the human body for muti purposes. Particularly, UTSS condemns the targeting and killing of any human being, including persons with albinism.  At UTSS, our members of staff on the ground in East Africa and North America are working hard to ensure the health, safety and well-being of persons with albinism in sub Saharan Africa. We are doing this through several programs in education, health and public awareness. We are also inviting governments to condemn muti killings while asking national governments in East Africa to investigate, try and punish those behind this gruesome trade.
Source: underthesame sun Tanzania

The 25 most difficult questions you'll be asked on a job interview

Being prepared is half the battle.

1. Tell me about yourself.

Since this is often the opening question in an interview, be extra careful that you don't run off at the mouth. Keep your answer to a minute or two at most. Cover four topics: early years, education, work history, and recent career experience. Emphasize this last subject. Remember that this is likely to be a warm-up question. Don't waste your best points on it.

2. What do you know about our organization?

You should be able to discuss products or services, revenues, reputation, image, goals, problems, management style, people, history and philosophy. But don't act as if you know everything about the place. Let your answer show that you have taken the time to do some research, but don't overwhelm the interviewer, and make it clear that you wish to learn more.

You might start your answer in this manner: "In my job search, I've investigated a number of companies. Yours is one of the few that interests me, for these reasons..."

Give your answer a positive tone. Don't say, "Well, everyone tells me that you're in all sorts of trouble, and that's why I'm here", even if that is why you're there.

3. Why do you want to work for us?

The deadliest answer you can give is "Because I like people." What else would you like-animals?

Here, and throughout the interview, a good answer comes from having done your homework so that you can speak in terms of the company's needs. You might say that your research has shown that the company is doing things you would like to be involved with, and that it's doing them in ways that greatly interest you. For example, if the organization is known for strong management, your answer should mention that fact and show that you would like to be a part of that team. If the company places a great deal of emphasis on research and developments emphasize the fact that you want to create new things and that you know this is a place in which such activity is encouraged. If the organization stresses financial controls, your answer should mention a reverence for numbers.

If you feel that you have to concoct an answer to this question - if, for example, the company stresses research, and you feel that you should mention it even though it really doesn't interest you- then you probably should not be taking that interview, because you probably shouldn't be considering a job with that organization.

Your homework should include learning enough about the company to avoid approaching places where you wouldn't be able -or wouldn't want- to function. Since most of us are poor liars, it's difficult to con anyone in an interview. But even if you should succeed at it, your prize is a job you don't really want.

4. What can you do for us that someone else can't?

Here you have every right, and perhaps an obligation, to toot your own horn and be a bit egotistical. Talk about your record of getting things done, and mention specifics from your resume or list of career accomplishments. Say that your skills and interests, combined with this history of getting results, make you valuable. Mention your ability to set priorities, identify problems, and use your experience and energy to solve them.

5. What do you find most attractive about this position? What seems least attractive about it?

List three or four attractive factors of the job, and mention a single, minor, unattractive item.

6. Why should we hire you?

Create your answer by thinking in terms of your ability, your experience, and your energy. (See question 4.)

7. What do you look for in a job?

Keep your answer oriented to opportunities at this organization. Talk about your desire to perform and be recognized for your contributions. Make your answer oriented toward opportunity rather than personal security.

8. Please give me your definition of [the position for which you are being interviewed].

Keep your answer brief and task oriented. Think it in terms of responsibilities and accountability. Make sure that you really do understand what the position involves before you attempt an answer. If you are not certain, asks the interviewer; he or she may answer the question for you.

9. How long would it take you to make a meaningful contribution to our firm?

Be realistic. Say that, while you would expect to meet pressing demands and pull your own weight from the first day, it might take six months to a year before you could expect to know the organization and its needs well enough to make a major contribution.

10. How long would you stay with us?

Say that you are interested in a career with the organization, but admit that you would have to continue to feel challenged to remain with any organization. Think in terms of, "As long as we both feel achievement-oriented."

11. Your resume suggests that you may be over-qualified or too experienced for this position. What's your opinion?

Emphasize your interest in establishing a long-term association with the organization, and say that you assume that if you perform well in his job, new opportunities will open up for you. Mention that a strong company needs a strong staff. Observe that experienced executives are always at a premium. Suggest that since you are so well qualified, the employer will get a fast return on his investment. Say that a growing, energetic company can never have too much talent.

12. What is your management style?

You should know enough about the company's style to know that your management style will complement it. Possible styles include: task oriented (I'll enjoy problem-solving identifying what's wrong, choosing a solution and implementing it"), results-oriented ("Every management decision I make is determined by how it will affect the bottom line"), or even paternalistic ("I'm committed to taking care of my subordinates and pointing them in the right direction").

A participative style is currently quite popular: an open-door method of managing in which you get things done by motivating people and delegating responsibility.

As you consider this question, think about whether your style will let you work happily and effectively within the organization.

13. Are you a good manager? Can you give me some examples? Do you feel that you have top managerial potential?

Keep your answer achievement and task-oriented. Rely on examples from your career to buttress your argument. Stress your experience and your energy.

14. What do you look for when you hire people?

Think in terms of skills. Initiative and the adaptability to be able to work comfortably and effectively with others. Mention that you like to hire people who appear capable of moving up in the organization.

15. Have you ever had to fire people? What were the reasons, and how did you handle the situation?

Admit that the situation was not easy, but say that it worked out well, both for the company and, you think, for the individual. Show that, like anyone else, you don't enjoy unpleasant tasks but that you can resolve them efficiently and -in the case of firing someone- humanely.

16. What do you think is the most difficult thing about being a manager or executive?

Mention planning, execution, and cost-control. The most difficult task is to motivate and manage employees to get something planned and completed on time and within the budget.

17. What important trends do you see in our industry?

Be prepared with two or three trends that illustrate how well you understand your industry. You might consider technological challenges or opportunities, economic conditions, or even regulatory demands as you collect your thoughts about the direction in which your business is heading.

18. Why are you leaving (did you leave) your present (last) job?

Be brief, to the point, and as honest as you can without hurting yourself. Refer back to the planning phase of your job search. Where you considered this topic as you set your reference statements. If you were laid off in an across-the-board cutback, say so; otherwise, indicate that the move was your decision, the result of your action. Do not mention personality conflicts.

The interviewer may spend some time probing you on this issue, particularly if it is clear that you were terminated. The "We agreed to disagree" approach may be useful. Remember hat your references are likely to be checked, so don't concoct a story for an interview.

19. How do you feel about leaving all your benefits to find a new job?

Mention that you are concerned, naturally, but not panicked. You are willing to accept some risk to find the right job for yourself. Don't suggest that security might interest you more than getting the job done successfully.

20. In your current (last) position, what features do (did) you like the most? The least?

Be careful and be positive. Describe more features that you liked than disliked. Don't cite personality problems. If you make your last job sound terrible, an interviewer may wonder why you remained there until now.

21. What do you think of your boss?

Be as positive as you can. A potential boss is likely to wonder if you might talk about him in similar terms at some point in the future.

22. Why aren't you earning more at your age?

Say that this is one reason that you are conducting this job search. Don't be defensive.

23. What do you feel this position should pay?

Salary is a delicate topic. We suggest that you defer tying yourself to a precise figure for as long as you can do so politely. You might say, "I understand that the range for this job is between $______ and $______. That seems appropriate for the job as I understand it." You might answer the question with a question: "Perhaps you can help me on this one. Can you tell me if there is a range for similar jobs in the organization?"

If you are asked the question during an initial screening interview, you might say that you feel you need to know more about the position's responsibilities before you could give a meaningful answer to that question. Here, too, either by asking the interviewer or search executive (if one is involved), or in research done as part of your homework, you can try to find out whether there is a salary grade attached to the job. If there is, and if you can live with it, say that the range seems right to you.

If the interviewer continues to probe, you might say, "You know that I'm making $______ now. Like everyone else, I'd like to improve on that figure, but my major interest is with the job itself." Remember that the act of taking a new job does not, in and of itself, make you worth more money.

If a search firm is involved, your contact there may be able to help with the salary question. He or she may even be able to run interference for you. If, for instance, he tells you what the position pays, and you tell him that you are earning that amount now and would like to do a bit better, he might go back to the employer and propose that you be offered an additional 10%.

If no price range is attached to the job, and the interviewer continues to press the subject, then you will have to respond with a number. You cannot leave the impression that it does not really matter, that you'll accept whatever is offered. If you've been making $80,000 a year, you can't say that a $35,000 figure would be fine without sounding as if you've given up on yourself. (If you are making a radical career change, however, this kind of disparity may be more reasonable and understandable.)

Don't sell yourself short, but continue to stress the fact that the job itself is the most important thing in your mind. The interviewer may be trying to determine just how much you want the job. Don't leave the impression that money is the only thing that is important to you. Link questions of salary to the work itself.

But whenever possible, say as little as you can about salary until you reach the "final" stage of the interview process. At that point, you know that the company is genuinely interested in you and that it is likely to be flexible in salary negotiations.

24. What are your long-range goals?

Refer back to the planning phase of your job search. Don't answer, "I want the job you've advertised." Relate your goals to the company you are interviewing: 'in a firm like yours, I would like to..."

25. How successful do you you've been so far?

Say that, all-in-all; you're happy with the way your career has progressed so far. Given the normal ups and downs of life, you feel that you've done quite well and have no complaints.

Present a positive and confident picture of yourself, but don't overstate your case. An answer like, "Everything's wonderful! I can't think of a time when things were going better! I'm overjoyed!" is likely to make an interviewer wonder whether you're trying to fool him . . . or yourself. The most convincing confidence is usually quiet confidence.

PHOTOS  OF DAR ES SALAAM

PHOTOS BY STUART HURCTRINSON

In Germany, about 33 percent of children born in 2010 were born out of wedlock, compared to only 15 percent in 1993.​—ÄRZTE ZEITUNG and THE LOCAL, GERMANY.

According to 2010 census data, 69.4 percent of children in the United States live with two parents, 23.1 percent live with their mother only, 3.4 percent live with their father only, and 4.1 percent do not live with a parent.​—U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, U.S.A.


Natural disasters cost the global economy an estimated $380 billion (U.S.) in 2011. The Japanese earthquake was the “costliest disaster of all time, with losses of $210 billion​—not including the nuclear incident at Fukushima.”​—NEW SCIENTIST, BRITAIN.


Worldwide, the most frequently stolen food item is cheese. Just over 3 percent of the world’s retail supply is lost every year, mainly as a result of shoplifting and employee theft.​—CENTRE FOR RETAIL RESEARCH, BRITAIN.

“The proportion of Google searches that include the word ‘porn’ has tripled since 2004.”​—THE ECONOMIST, BRITAIN.

“When a young [Russian] woman gets married, . . . the likelihood that her husband is going to strike her, or that their fights will get physical, is around 60 percent.”​—MOSKOVSKIYE NOVOSTI, RUSSIA.

“One in seven UK based scientists or doctors has witnessed colleagues intentionally altering or fabricating data during their research or for the purposes of publication.”​—BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL, BRITAIN.

“The number of cancer survivors in the U.S. has quadrupled since 1971 to about 12 million . . . The increase in survivors can be attributed in large part to earlier diagnosis through screening, more effective treatment and improved follow-up care.”​—UC BERKELEY WELLNESS LETTER, U.S.A.

 

The Fascination With Doomsday

The Fascination With Doomsday
DOES the future make you nervous? If so, you are not alone. From ancient times, people have speculated about the things to come, and many have concluded that the outlook is not exactly rosy. The prospect of doomsday, or the end of the world, has intrigued and fascinated people for millenniums.
Consider, for example, recent fiction. Comics, TV, hundreds of movies, and thousands of books weave tales of impending doom. There seems to be no end to the forces ready to pounce upon and lay waste to humanity​—killer robots, monsters of all sorts, aliens, zombies, ghosts, dragons, apes, birds, mutant rats, and giant wasps. Hardly would anyone take such stories seriously!
Of course, other stories and theories make some people much more nervous. Some of these claim to be scientific. One foretells that the earth’s entire crust will experience a massive shift that will result in immense tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Another holds that the planets will come into a straight alignment and that this will cause the sun’s solar winds to intensify and wreak havoc on earth. Still another asserts that earth’s magnetic poles will suddenly reverse and cause radiation from the sun to kill us all. Don’t worry. These things will not happen. Still, such scenarios continue to captivate the imagination of many.
What about the countless books and doomsday Web sites that predict  that the world will end on December 21 of this year? One claim is that a supposed planet named Nibiru (or Planet X) is on a collision course with the earth and will reach here in December 2012. This and other theories unsupported by fact have been linked to interpretations of an ancient Maya calendar, which, according to some, ends at the winter solstice of 2012.
Persuaded by similar predictions of disasters, some have built shelters in their backyard or, at considerable expense, have reserved quarters in underground community bunkers. Others have moved to the mountains and have become self-sufficient, living “off the grid,” independent of public utilities, such as water, heat, or electricity.
Of course, there are those who will have none of this. They scorn the idea of an imminent end of the world. Scientists at NASA, for example, assert: “Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.”
It would be a mistake, however, to conclude that humanity faces no peril or that only the gullible believe that doomsday is something more than the stuff of fiction and fantasy. Will doomsday really come? If so, how and when?
Source:Awake magazine

“Nearly half of cancers diagnosed in the [United Kingdom] each year​—over 130,000 in total—​are caused by avoidable life choices including smoking, drinking and eating the wrong things.”​—BBC NEWS, BRITAIN.




“An immense, increasingly sophisticated illegal trade in wildlife parts conducted by organized crime [is] decimating the world’s most beloved species . . . on a scale never before seen.”​—WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY, U.S.A.









People who on average spend six hours each day watching TV can expect to live 4.8 years less than those who watch no TV. Put another way, every hour of TV reduces a sedentary adult’s life expectancy by about 22 minutes.​—BRITISH JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE, BRITAIN.







In Germany, over 90 percent of women whose unborn child is diagnosed with Down syndrome opt for an abortion.​—DER TAGESSPIEGEL, GERMANY.

The Stresses of City Life
Research indicates that “city dwellers respond more violently to stress than do people from small towns,” says the Polish magazine Przekrój. “Cities are places of exposure to an excessive number of stimuli,” explains psychotherapist Mieczysław Jaskulski of Warsaw’s Psychoeducation Laboratory. “For city dwellers, the risk of anxiety attacks is 21 percent higher than for those living in the countryside, and for mood disorders, 39 percent higher.” How can city dwellers cope? “Do not get upset about things that are beyond your control,” “leave work at work,” “go out for a walk,” and “do not be afraid to take a vacation,” suggests Przekrój.

                        How Much Does Facebook Retain?

An Austrian law student wanted to know how much data about him had been stored by the world’s largest social network during his three-year membership, so he requested a copy. Facebook sent him a CD containing 1,222 pages of data. As reported by the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, the student said: “Everything had been stored​—every message, every chat, including sensitive information about friends.” Included was information that he was sure he had deleted!

New BoT 40bn/- rip-off revelations:What exactly the auditors said

THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam

SENIOR officials at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) are reported to have colluded in orchestrating a massive fraud involving foreign exchange funds to the tune of almost $30.8m (approx. 40bn/-), it has now been verified.

According to the findings of a BoT audit conducted by the international firm Deloitte & Touche last year, the rip-off is believed to have been facilitated through clear falsification of key documents.

As already reported by THISDAY, the uncovered fraud was with regard to payments made by the central bank to a certain, little-unknown Dar es Salaam-based company going by the name of Kagoda Agriculture Limited.

This company was paid by the BoT a total sum of $30,732,658.82 on the basis of 12 deeds of assignment it had purportedly signed with the government's foreign creditors.

Deloitte & Touche, which up to last year was the central bank’s regular external auditor, are understood to have stumbled upon the irregularities in the BoT’s external payment arrears account number 99915091 01.

At the time of the audit for the year ending June 30, 2006, this particular account had a balance of 131.95bn/-.

Following are excerpts (quoted verbatim) from a four-page letter from Deloitte & Touche to the BoT governor Dr Daudi Ballali, dated September 4, 2006, highlighting a catalogue of perceived anomalies in the payments made to Kagoda Agriculture Limited:

There are 12 deeds of assignment all signed between September 10, 2005 and November 5, 2005. The above time period appears too short to have negotiated and signed assignments of debts with 12 different foreign creditors from across the globe.

All the deeds of assignment were signed in Dar es Salaam before the same B.M. Sanze, an advocate & notary public & commissioner of oaths. Five of these deeds were signed on October 19, 2005 and four were signed on October 18, 2005. This implies that all the foreign creditors travelled to sign these deeds on more or less the same day. A search of the immigration records might be necessary to determine whether or not this was so.

There are two deeds of assignment signed on October 18 (2005) relating to two German companies, viz, Lindeteves J Export BV and Hoechst for a total amount of 1,164,402.76 euros. However, this currency was incorrect and the BoT wrote to Kagoda Agriculture Limited informing them that the correct currency should be Deutsche Marks. The same letter also advised of the release of 8,196,673,600.53/- to Kagoda Agriculture Limited. The latter company (Kagoda) submitted new deeds of assignment dated November 3, 2005, two days after being notified.

We find it highly unusual and doubtful that a foreign creditor assigning such significant amounts of money would sign off for the wrong currency. In addition, it appears the bank (BoT) failed to institute an investigation when it picked up an anomaly with the currency. Instead, the same (BoT) later went on and released 8.2bn/- to the said (Kagoda) company. It is also striking that the foreign creditors’ directors allegedly were either still in the country or returned to Tanzania within two days to sign the revised guarantees. Again, a search of the immigration records might be necessary to verify this claimed chain of events. All 12 deeds of assignment have the same terms and wording for all the different foreign creditors. This does not appear normal or realistic as different companies are likely to insist on different clauses.
None of the deeds of assignment are on company letterheads or have the contact details for the company representatives.
All agreements were signed only on the last page by the alleged representative of the 12 global creditors. This is not normal practice as legal documents are usually signed or initialled on each page for identification.

The 12 deeds are supposed to have the common seal of the foreign creditor company, as well as that of Kagoda Agriculture Limited. Our examination of the seals for the 12 foreign creditors from all over the world shows the seals to be identical to that of Kagoda Agriculture Limited except for the names of the companies. This appears highly unusual and suspicious.

Fiat Veicoli Industriali (Italian company), Valmet (USA company), Adriano Gardella S.P.A (Italian company). All the deeds of assignment for these three companies had the common seal missing despite the agreements indicating that they had been affixed.

The deeds of assignment for Valmet, a USA company was for $2,398,439.96 but the agreement was signed for by Patrick Kevin, whose position in the company was given as ’’accountant.’’ This appears highly implausible that such a large contract would be signed by the company’s accountant.

The deed of assignment for Daimler Benz AG was signed by a director by the name Christopher Williams. However, his signature was signed W Christopher.
A company search of the public records conducted by us (Deloitte & Touche) on the 12 companies mentioned above revealed that a number of them had ceased to exist in the format set out in the agreements before the dates mentioned in the agreements. For example, Hoechst AG became Aventis in 1999, Daimler Benz AG became Daimler Chrysler AG in 1998, Fiat Veicoli Industriali became Industrial Vehicle Corporation (IVECO) on January 1, 1975, Mirrlees Blackstone became MAN B&W Diesel Limited from 2002/03 and Valmet became Metso Paper from May 10, 2000. It is highly doubtful that these companies would sign deeds of assignment in 2005 in the names of the old companies.

The search did not reveal any companies under the names NS Boma and Lindeteves J. Export BV, although this might not necessarily be conclusive. None of the names mentioned on the deeds of assignments could be linked to the companies found in the company search. Direct phone calls to Valmet (now Metso Paper) in the USA, Mirrlees Blackstone (now Man B&W Diesel Limited) in the UK and Daimler Benz AG (now Daimler Chrysler) in the USA revealed that they were not aware of any individuals who had the names stated in the agreements.

The letter to Ballali, signed by one Samuel Sithole in his stated capacity as lead audit and engagement director of Deloitte & Touche in South Africa, further notes that ’’the use of old names for companies, and the speed with which the transactions were approved, could also suggest collusion with senior employees within the bank (BoT).’’ Deloitte & Touche also expressed concern over how the Kagoda company, formed on September 29, 2005, was ’’able to be paid $30.8m within five to six weeks of its formation.’’

’’We are not aware of any background checks performed by the bank (BoT). It is also difficult to accept that the same company was able to negotiate and conclude contracts worth $30m with separate foreign creditors from Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, England, France, USA and Japan in this brief period,’’ said the letter.

The auditors advised Ballali to order ’’an immediate and thorough investigation’’ of the matter and suspend the BoT employees involved in the transactions for the period of the investigation, to avoid the possibility of files being tampered with.

However, no central bank employee has ever been suspended over the issue, and it was not until a year later that another auditing firm, Massawe Ernst & Young, was hired to audit payments made from the same BoT external payment arrears account during 2005/06.

The findings of this much-anticipated ’special audit’, conducted as a result of much prodding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and various donor countries, are yet to be made public.
source :jamiiforum

Mrijuana and Illuminati - The Marijuana Conspiracy

The Marijuana Conspiracy
The Real Reason why Hemp is Illegal

by Doug Yurchey

And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land.

— Ezekiel 34/29

Pot is NOT harmful to the human body or mind. It typically does NOT send users into addiction rehab programs. Marijuana does NOT pose a threat to the general public. Marijuana is very much a danger to the oil companies, alcohol, tobacco industries and a large number of chemical corporations. Various big businesses, with plenty of dollars and influence, have suppressed the truth from the people.

POT is ILLEGAL BECAUSE BILLIONAIRES WANT to REMAIN BILLIONAIRES!

Did you know it is estimated that hemp has approximately 25,000 uses? From food, paint and fuel to clothing and construction materials, hemp is used. There are even hemp fibres in your Red Rose® and Lipton® tea bags. And several cars made today contain hemp.

 
 
The oldest relic of human industry is a piece of hemp fabric (canvas) found in ancient Mesopotamia dating back to approximately 8000 B.C. The oldest surviving piece of paper was made over 2000 years ago in China and was also made from hemp fibre. In 2500 B.C. the pharaohs used hemp in the construction of the great pyramids.
 

 

Hemp was so important in England in the 16th century that King Henry VIII passed a law in 1553 which fined farmers who failed to grow at least one quarter acre of hemp for every 60 acres of arable land they owned. There was even a time in history for over 200 years when you could pay your taxes in America with hemp. In 1850 there were more than 8,300 hemp farms in the United States.

Every 3.6 seconds someone in the world dies of hunger. Hemp seeds are the most nutritious and economical solution to end world hunger. With an 80 percent concentration of “good fats” our bodies need for good health maintenance and protein with all eight amino acids plus optimum dietary fibre, hemp truly is a “perfect balance” food source [ Health Benefits of Hemp Seed ]. Nature has provided the essential nutrients for restoring and maintaining optimal health in a power-packed seed that is gluten, cholesterol and sugar free. Pure, natural, raw shelled hemp seed – the best single food source of protein, essential fats, vitamins and enzymes on the planet.[ Online source of hemp foods: http://www.healing-source.com ]The first diesel engine was designed to run on vegetable oils, one of which was hemp oil. In the 1930s Henry Ford produced an automobile composed of 70 percent hemp plastic which also ran on hemp based fuel and oil. In 2001 the “Hempcar” circled the North American continent powered by hemp oil.

The paintings of Rembrandt (1606- 1669), Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) and Thomas Gainsborough (1727- 1788) were painted primarily on hemp canvas, often with hemp oil based paint. Over 50 percent of all chemical pesticides sprayed are used in the cultivation of cotton. Hemp is eight times stronger than cotton and more air-permeable. Hemp can grow vigorously (up to 16 feet) in 100 days without the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides… healthier for your skin and the environment.

One acre of hemp can produce as much raw fibre as 4.1 acres of trees. Pulping hemp for paper would produce a strong paper that lasts incredibly long and doesn’t yellow with age. Also, using hemp as a raw source for paper would eliminate the need to cut down our dwindling old-growth forests which contribute to climate control and clean the air we breathe. [ Source: the Hempola Trivia Trail ].

The real reason Cannabis has been outlawed has nothing to do with its effects on the mind and body
“MARIJUANA is DANGEROUS”

Pot is NOT harmful to the human body or mind.Marijuana does NOT pose a threat to the general public. Marijuana is very much a danger to the oil companies, alcohol, tobacco industries and a large number of chemical corporations. Various big businesses, with plenty of dollars and influence, have suppressed the truth from the people.

The truth is if marijuana was utilized for its vast array of commercial products, it would create an industrial atomic bomb! Entrepreneurs have not been educated on the product potential of pot. The super rich have conspired to spread misinformation about an extremely versatile plant that, if used properly, would ruin their companies.

Where did the word ‘marijuana’ come from? In the mid-1930s, the M-word was created to tarnish the good image and phenomenal history of the hemp plant…as you will read. The facts cited here, with references, are generally verifiable in the Encyclopedia Britannica which was printed on hemp paper for 150 years.

• All schoolbooks were made from hemp or flax paper until the 1880s; Hemp Paper Reconsidered, Jack Frazier, 1974.
• It was LEGAL TO PAY TAXES WITH HEMP in America from 1631 until the early 1800s; LA Times, Aug. 12, 1981.
• REFUSING TO GROW HEMP in America during the 17th and 18th Centuries WAS AGAINST THE LAW! You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow hemp from 1763 to 1769; Hemp in Colonial Virginia, G. M. Herdon.
• George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers GREW HEMP; Washington and Jefferson Diaries. Jefferson smuggled hemp seeds from China to France then to America.
• Benjamin Franklin owned one of the first paper mills in America and it processed hemp. Also, the War of 1812 was fought over hemp. Napoleon wanted to cut off Moscow’s export to England; Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer.
• For thousands of years, 90% of all ships’ sails and rope were made from hemp. The word ‘canvas’ is Dutch for cannabis; Webster’s New World Dictionary.
• 80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin.
• The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross’s flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp; U.S. Government Archives.
• The first crop grown in many states was hemp. 1850 was a peak year for Kentucky producing 40,000 tons. Hemp was the largest cash crop until the 20th Century; State Archives.
• Oldest known records of hemp farming go back 5000 years in China, although hemp industrialization probably goes back to ancient Egypt.
• Rembrants, Gainsboroughs, Van Goghs as well as most early canvas paintings were principally painted on hemp linen.
• In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees. Plans were in the works to implement such programs; Department of Agriculture
• Quality paints and varnishes were made from hemp seed oil until 1937. 58,000 tons of hemp seeds were used in America for paint products in 1935; Sherman Williams Paint Co. testimony before Congress against the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.
• Henry Ford’s first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the CAR ITSELF WAS CONTRUCTED FROM HEMP! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, ‘grown from the soil,’ had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel; Popular Mechanics, 1941.
• Hemp called ‘Billion Dollar Crop.’ It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars; Popular Mechanics, Feb., 1938.
• Mechanical Engineering Magazine (Feb. 1938) published an article entitled ‘The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop that Can be Grown.’ It stated that if hemp was cultivated using 20th Century technology, it would be the single largest agricultural crop in the U.S. and the rest of the world.

 
The following information comes directly from the United States Department of Agriculture’s 1942 14-minute film encouraging and instructing ‘patriotic American farmers’ to grow 350,000 acres of hemp each year for the war effort:

‘…(When) Grecian temples were new, hemp was already old in the service of mankind. For thousands of years, even then, this plant had been grown for cordage and cloth in China and elsewhere in the East. For centuries prior to about 1850, all the ships that sailed the western seas were rigged with hempen rope and sails. For the sailor, no less than the hangman, hemp was indispensable…

…Now with Philippine and East Indian sources of hemp in the hands of the Japanese…American hemp must meet the needs of our Army and Navy as well as of our industries…

…the Navy’s rapidly dwindling reserves. When that is gone, American hemp will go on duty again; hemp for mooring ships; hemp for tow lines; hemp for tackle and gear; hemp for countless naval uses both on ship and shore. Just as in the days when Old Ironsides sailed the seas victorious with her hempen shrouds and hempen sails. Hemp for victory!’

Certified proof from the Library of Congress; found by the research of Jack Herer, refuting claims of other government agencies that the 1942 USDA film ‘Hemp for Victory’ did not exist.

Hemp cultivation and production do not harm the environment. The USDA Bulletin #404 concluded that hemp produces 4 times as much pulp with at least 4 to 7 times less pollution. From Popular Mechanics, Feb. 1938:

‘It has a short growing season…It can be grown in any state…The long roots penetrate and break the soil to leave it in perfect condition for the next year’s crop. The dense shock of leaves, 8 to 12 feet above the ground, chokes out weeds.
…hemp, this new crop can add immeasurably to American agriculture and industry.’

In the 1930s, innovations in farm machinery would have caused an industrial revolution when applied to hemp. This single resource could have created millions of new jobs generating thousands of quality products. Hemp, if not made illegal, would have brought America out of the Great Depression.

William Randolph Hearst (Citizen Kane) and the Hearst Paper Manufacturing Division of Kimberly Clark owned vast acreage of timberlands. The Hearst Company supplied most paper products. Patty Hearst’s grandfather, a destroyer of nature for his own personal profit, stood to lose billions because of hemp.


In 1937, Dupont patented the processes to make plastics from oil and coal. Dupont’s Annual Report urged stockholders to invest in its new petrochemical division. Synthetics such as plastics, cellophane, celluloid, methanol, nylon, rayon, Dacron, etc., could now be made from oil. Natural hemp industrialization would have ruined over 80% of Dupont’s business.

The Marijuana Conspiracy

Andrew Mellon became Hoover’s Secretary of the Treasury and Dupont’s primary investor. He appointed his future nephew-in-law, Harry J. Anslinger, to head the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

Secret meetings were held by these financial tycoons. Hemp was declared dangerous and a threat to their billion dollar enterprises. For their dynasties to remain intact, hemp had to go. These men took an obscure Mexican slang word: ‘marihuana’ and pushed it into the consciousness of America.

Media Manipulation

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A media blitz of ‘yellow journalism’ raged in the late 1920s and 1930s. Hearst’s newspapers ran stories emphasizing the horrors of marihuana. The menace of marihuana made headlines. Readers learned that it was responsible for everything from car accidents to loose morality.

Films like ‘Reefer Madness’ (1936), ‘Marihuana: Assassin of Youth’ (1935) and ‘Marihuana: The Devil’s Weed’ (1936) were propaganda designed by these industrialists to create an enemy. Their purpose was to gain public support so that anti-marihuana laws could be passed.

Examine the following quotes from ‘The Burning Question’ aka REEFER MADNESS:

 

• a violent narcotic.
• acts of shocking violence.
• incurable insanity.
• soul-destroying effects.
• under the influence of the drug he killed his entire family with an ax.
• more vicious, more deadly even than these soul-destroying drugs (heroin, cocaine) is the menace of marihuana!

Reefer Madness did not end with the usual ‘the end.’ The film concluded with these words plastered on the screen: TELL YOUR CHILDREN.

In the 1930s, people were very naive; even to the point of ignorance. The masses were like sheep waiting to be led by the few in power. They did not challenge authority. If the news was in print or on the radio, they believed it had to be true. They told their children and their children grew up to be the parents of the baby-boomers.

On April 14, 1937, the Prohibitive Marihuana Tax Law or the bill that outlawed hemp was directly brought to the House Ways and Means Committee. This committee is the only one that can introduce a bill to the House floor without it being debated by other committees. The Chairman of the Ways and Means, Robert Doughton, was a Dupont supporter. He insured that the bill would pass Congress.

Dr. James Woodward, a physician and attorney, testified too late on behalf of the American Medical Association. He told the committee that the reason the AMA had not denounced the Marihuana Tax Law sooner was that the Association had just discovered that marihuana was hemp.

Few people, at the time, realized that the deadly menace they had been reading about on Hearst’s front pages was in fact passive hemp. The AMA understood cannabis to be a MEDICINE found in numerous healing products sold over the last hundred years.

In September of 1937, hemp became illegal. The most useful crop known became a drug and our planet has been suffering ever since.

Congress banned hemp because it was said to be the most violence-causing drug known. Anslinger, head of the Drug Commission for 31 years, promoted the idea that marihuana made users act extremely violent. In the 1950s, under the Communist threat of McCarthyism, Anslinger now said the exact opposite. Marijuana will pacify you so much that soldiers would not want to fight.

Today, our planet is in desperate trouble. Earth is suffocating as large tracts of rain forests disappear. Pollution, poisons and chemicals are killing people. These great problems could be reversed if we industrialized hemp. Natural biomass could provide all of the planet’s energy needs that are currently supplied by fossil fuels. We have consumed 80% of our oil and gas reserves. We need a renewable resource. Hemp could be the solution to soaring gas prices.


The WONDER PLANT

Hemp has a higher quality fiber than wood fiber. Far fewer caustic chemicals are required to make paper from hemp than from trees. Hemp paper does not turn yellow and is very durable. The plant grows quickly to maturity in a season where trees take a lifetime.
 
 

ALL PLASTIC PRODUCTS SHOULD be MADE from HEMP SEED OIL. Hempen plastics are biodegradable! Over time, they would break down and not harm the environment. Oil-based plastics, the ones we are very familiar with, help ruin nature; they do not break down and will do great harm in the future. The process to produce the vast array of natural (hempen) plastics will not ruin the rivers as Dupont and other petrochemical companies have done. Ecology does not fit in with the plans of the Oil Industry and the political machine. Hemp products are safe and natural.

MEDICINES SHOULD be MADE from HEMP. We should go back to the days when the AMA supported cannabis cures. ‘Medical Marijuana’ is given out legally to only a handful of people while the rest of us are forced into a system that relies on chemicals. Pot is only healthy for the human body.

WORLD HUNGER COULD END. A large variety of food products can be generated from hemp. The seeds contain one of the highest sources of protein in nature. ALSO: They have two essential fatty acids that clean your body of cholesterol. These essential fatty acids are not found anywhere else in nature! Consuming pot seeds is the best thing you could do for your body. Eat uncooked hemp seeds.

CLOTHES SHOULD be MADE from HEMP. Hemp clothing is extremely strong and durable over time. You could hand clothing, made from pot, down to your grandchildren. Today, there are American companies that make hemp clothing; usually 50% hemp. Hemp fabrics should be everywhere. Instead, they are almost underground. Superior hemp products are not allowed to advertise on fascist television. Kentucky, once the top hemp producing state, made it ILLEGAL TO WEAR hemp clothing! Can you imagine being thrown into jail for wearing quality jeans?

The world is crazy…but that does not mean you have to join the insanity. Get together. Spread the news. Tell people, and that includes your children, the truth. Use hemp products. Eliminate the word ‘marijuana.’ Realize the history that created it. Make it politically incorrect to say or print the M-word. Fight against the propaganda (designed to favor the agenda of the super rich) and the bullshit. Hemp must be utilized in the future. We need a clean energy source to save our planet. INDUSTRIALIZE HEMP!

The liquor, tobacco and oil companies fund more than a million dollars a day to Partnership for a Drug-Free America and other similar agencies. We have all seen their commercials. Now, their motto is: ‘It’s more dangerous than we thought.’ Lies from the powerful corporations, that began with Hearst, are still alive and well today.

The brainwashing continues. Now, the commercials say: If you buy a joint, you contribute to murders and gang wars. The latest anti-pot commercials say: If you buy a joint…you are promoting TERRORISM! The new enemy (terrorism) has paved the road to brainwash you any way THEY see fit.

There is only one enemy; the friendly people you pay your taxes to; the war-makers and nature destroyers. With your funding, they are killing the world right in front of your eyes.

HALF a MILLION DEATHS EACH YEAR are CAUSED by TOBACCO. HALF a MILLION DEATHS EACH YEAR are CAUSED by ALCOHOL. NO ONE HAS EVER, EVER DIED from SMOKING POT!!

In the entire history of the human race, not one death can be attributed to cannabis. Our society has outlawed grass but condones the use of the KILLERS: TOBACCO and ALCOHOL. Hemp should be declassified and placed in DRUG stores to relieve stress. Hardening and constriction of the arteries are bad; but hemp usage actually enlarges the arteries… which is a healthy condition. We have been so conditioned to think that: Smoking is harmful. That is NOT the case for passive pot.

Ingesting THC, hemp’s active agent, has a positive effect; relieving asthma and glaucoma. A joint tends to alleviate the nausea caused by chemotherapy. You are able to eat on hemp. This is a healthy state of being.

{One personal note: During the pregnancy of my wife, she was having some difficulty gaining weight. We were in the hospital. A nurse called us to one side and said: ‘Off the record, if you smoke pot…you’d get something called the munchies and you’ll gain weight.’ I swear that is a true story}.

The stereotype for a pothead is similar to a drunk, bubble-brain. Yet, the truth is one’s creative abilities can be enhanced under its influence. The perception of time slightly slows and one can become more sensitive. You can more appreciate all arts; be closer to nature and generally FEEL more under the influence of cannabis. It is, in fact, the exact opposite state of mind and body as the drunken state. You can be more aware with pot.

The pot plant is an ALIEN plant. There is physical evidence that cannabis is not like any other plant on this planet. One could conclude that it was brought here for the benefit of humanity. Hemp is the ONLY plant where the males appear one way and the females appear very different, physically! No one ever speaks of males and females in regard to the plant kingdom because plants do not show their sexes; except for cannabis. To determine what sex a certain, normal, Earthly plant is: You have to look internally, at its DNA. A male blade of grass (physically) looks exactly like a female blade of grass. The hemp plant has an intense sexuality. Growers know to kill the males before they fertilize the females. Yes, folks… the most potent pot comes from ‘horny females.’

The reason this amazing, very sophisticated, ET plant from the future is illegal has nothing to do with how it physically affects us…..

…POT is ILLEGAL BECAUSE BILLIONAIRES WANT to REMAIN BILLIONAIRES!

PS: I think the word ‘DRUGS’ should not be used as an umbrella-word that covers all chemical agents. Drugs have come to be known as something BAD. Are you aware there are LEGAL drugstores?! Yep, in every city. Unbelievable. Each so-called drug should be considered individually. Cannabis is a medicine and not a drug. We should DARE to speak the TRUTH no matter what the law is.

PS

In 2005, this writer penned ‘The Real Reason Marijuana is Illegal’ and it became (by far) my most popular article. Translated into Italian, French, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Bulgarian and even Japanese, the responses were overwhelming. Its premise was ‘marijuana’ became illegal NOT because it was a danger to the mind and body. No, the real reason is that Big Business wants us to use petrochemicals and fossil fuels. They have little interest in NATURAL solutions. THEY have suppressed the truth concerning cannabis and purposely created the ‘menace of marijuana.’ Why? So they remain high profiteers while destroying our environment in the process.

Once people read the news of what has been kept from them, the truth, the reactions were outrage and disbelief at our federal authorities. Hemp used properly for all of its INDUSTRIAL purposes, as it was always meant to be utilized, could…?

SAVE THE WORLD! We need not cut down another tree. We need not have to rely on Oil Companies anymore.

So many people wrote to me and said the suppression of hemp is ‘insane.’ Surely, governments know the potential of pot. They understand how cannabis hemp could solve the energy crisis; they know biodegradable plastics could be produced from the hemp plant; they realize it would be a safer, cleaner world filled with (inexpensive) quality products…if only we were federally given the green light to INDUSTRIALIZE HEMP! Governments are well aware of the MEDICINAL value for ‘weed.’ New cloths, papers and plastics would be super durable. They could easily create nutritional FOOD products for a starving world. BUT…when did a better mousetrap ever see the light of day?

Now, with soaring gas prices bleeding us for every dollar inflating all prices, we need a cheap (renewable) fuel and energy source more than ever. Imagine hemp gas. The price of it would not be sky high since we have a limitless supply of hempen energy. Federal (guarded) hemp fields could be farmed and directed to produce a cheap/clean gasoline. Hemp fibers and oil were utilized during WWII for rope-moorings, parachutes and lubrication. Why not use hemp gasoline NOW when we are at another critical point in time? Why does hemp technology remain clandestine?

Why is there a war in the Middle East over oil? Do you really think it’s a coincidence that George Bush is an oilman and remains steadfast against bringing our troops home? Hemp petroleum is the way to alleviate us from dependency on foreign oil. That is a wonderful dream, cannabis as the means to bring our troops home!

Email replies to the original article mainly asked WHY? Why don’t the authorities appreciate the profits to be made from hemp products? Money rules the world, so why don’t the industrialists make it legal? Tax hemp, regulate it, make it legal not for altruistic purposes but for their own high profits! The planet and its people would be much healthier. Why the HELL isn’t this done?

There are no easy answers. Generally, my reply to these readers scratching their befuddled heads was ‘secret societies.’ We are not educated on how the world really functions. We grow up watching movies and television where the good guys always win. We are trained to think that our government is good and out for the benefit of all. Films portray the heroes as CIA, FBI, NSA agents or obedient soldiers and police. We are given the false hope that governments care. Please do not be so naïve as to think this is true.

Power was never in the hands of the people. It is almost foolish to think that we, the general masses, control anything. Do you really think petitions work or writing to your congressional representative?

The truth is governments only care about themselves; we are their enemy and they need to control us (because we have the numbers) any way they can…with religion, bogus science, television, news, propaganda, commercials or via the abolition of MARIJUANA.

Instead of THEM industrializing hemp to save the planet…they have banned it. They have created a monster out of the very thing that is a precious gift to the world. NO, it does not make sense at all. However, it is understandable in the insane, Bizarro, backwards world that we live in. Apparently, any good thing is always destroyed. (Ever hear of Nikola Tesla?) Why? The answer must be POWER and CONTROL. The ‘haves’ do not want to give anything to the ‘have-nots.’ These are policies from the Dark Ages; they remain alive and well to this day. Research Secret Societies and you might understand.

They invented the monster of MARIJUANA. (‘If we do not have an enemy, they will create one’). They had to change the word since the world would never have been turned against HEMP. For thousands of years going back to the wisdom of the Egyptians, hemp was employed for the betterment of the human race. Enter ‘marihuana’ in the 1930s; just when farm machinery improved that would have made hemp the first ‘billion dollar crop!’

Have we grown up enough to see that they have pulled the wool over our eyes? We can no longer afford to be silent lambs. We have to speak up loud and strong and do what we can to spread the truth. What can we do? Share the information, wake people up to the true facts and suppressed knowledge concerning hemp. Eventually, when the pro-hemp people become the large majority, then, the world will change for the better. In the end, we will win.

A very important aspect of those email responses to my original article came in the form of personal stories. These testimonials answer the question: Does hemp help or hurt? Now, this writer could not please everyone on such a controversial subject. Not all the emails contained high praise. There were those anti-hemp fanatics spouting rhetoric from every commercial from the ‘Partnership of a Drug-Free America.’ Some stated it causes ‘lung cancer’ as they tried to educate me on the ‘toxins’ in marijuana.

Well, there are no toxins in hemp. I would love to tell Judge Judy, who is always yelling for someone to take a hair follicle test, the reason why THC stays in your system for so long. (And it’s ‘hemp’ not ‘marijuana’). If it were a toxin, a poison or some foreign substance, the body would immediate reject it and expel it. The body does NOT. It knows THC, the active ingredient of hemp, is GOOD. As mentioned before, there are essential fatty acids in hemp seeds. There are other sources in nature for these essential acids, but eating hemp seeds is a great source of (important) proteins. Our own bodies tell us the truth. Shouldn’t we listen to the truth within ourselves rather than the garbage broadcasted over television?

Seriously, the pro emails compared to the con emails ran 100 to one. For every one who blasted me, calling me names (these were from mainly young people)…there were about a HUNDRED administrators, educators, some scientists, activists and average people who related their (positive) private stories to me. Many claimed that normal medical procedures and doctors failed them miserably. The ONLY relief from their illnesses was illegal hemp. Here is a peek into some of the best and positive emails over the last two years. They are anonymous and edited, but they are real with the date I received them:

6/20/05 I was diagnosed with an AVM (Arterio Venous Malformation), a neuro-illness that causes me to have fits. On my second appointment with my neuro surgeon we went through the list of narcotics I was using at the time (marijuana). With that she gave me a sly look and said ‘off the record Mr. ____, this will actually reduce your blood pressure and can only be beneficial for your epilepsy. But I didn’t tell you that.’

6/23/05 I took a college class in drug use, it was about street drugs, not pharmaceutical drugs. I learned that, at one time, marijuana was legal and was prescribed by MDs and dispensed by pharmacists for a variety of health problems – you know: HTN, insomnia, glaucoma, asthma, etc. I was told that the government decided to impose a $25 tax on MDs who prescribed it and a $35 tax on pharmacists who dispensed it. In protest, both groups elected to stop dealing with it. In response, Pres. Harriman included marijuana in his Narcotics Act of 1914: It was called the Harriman Act. They lumped it in as a class 4 narcotic meaning that there was no medical use for it, even though it’s not a narcotic and no one had any indication that it was harmful in any way. In the class, we were shown pictures, taken during the early part of the century, of children smoking a joint…which, we were told, they could purchase for 5 cents, OTC, at any pharmacy, perfectly LEGAL – they were called ‘muggles.’

6/18/05 You didn’t mention the most important reason why there is a continuing battle against legalization of marijuana, that is because it actually is used to treat sick people with pain successfully and with no serious side effects, something the legal drug industry hasn’t accomplished with all their patented expensive **** they call medication. They don’t want to loose their chokehold on the billions of dollars they make with this phony medication that could be replaced with an herb anyone can grow in their backyard.

6/18/05 I have been smoking pot since 1962 and I am now 83. I wish I had started when I was a teenager. Good for you.

6/18/05 I have a lot of respect for cannabis as I have used it medically for a spinal injury for several years recently, when all else failed, as doctors gave me narcotic drugs to relieve pain, and these drugs never worked and I was in such severe pain even with their drugs. Cannabis was the only pain reliever that worked. I have done a bit of research myself and found that cannabis is listed under a narcotic and this must be taken off the list that the United States has placed it as narcotic as opium, heroin, cocaine is totally ridiculous and bogus. I feel that if it was taken off the list and proved to the DEA, FDA, or whoever else…that it isn’t a narcotic then we can get some headway on this wonderful, helpful plant. If it wasn’t for cannabis I wouldn’t have healed…The AMA is the worst, the most horrendous of all, because they encourage the doctors to prescribe drugs that lead to the deterioration of the body. Yes, it is a conspiracy, from the beginning, that the corporations don’t want hemp to be grown. If they did, the logging industry would be wiped out. I live in southern Oregon and it is the biggest industry here…

6/19/05 I’m a 41 year old victim of Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disease that kills people usually around 32 years old. I have the worst type of genetic mutation but still alive at the amazement of my Doctor. The reason? Maybe HEMP! I use it in a moderate way, around 2-3 times a week, usually eating it, and the benefit of that medicine is very good for me. Cystic Fibrosis kills people by pneumonia. An effect of hemp is drying mucus secretion so it kills bacteria by starvation. Even better: an antioxidant property of hemp that prevents lung tissue degradation. Another characteristic of Cystic Fibrosis is destruction of the digestive system, especially pancreas, stomach, liver and intestine. That is appetite inhibiting. I’m often eating because of holy hemp. It avoids me from losing too much weight and helps my defense against the constant lung infection. If my doctor knew the truth, he’d surely start hemp harvesting for sure!

6/20/05 I am a Disabled Veteran who spent 17 years taking the VA’s Medication. I moved to Arizona; and a Pima Indian Medicine Man gave me an ‘herb’ to use as a tea to lower my blood pressure. Within 3 weeks it had

gone from 210/146 to 130/70. Obviously, I quit the Government Medication and I now participate in the interesting hobby of home gardening of herbal cures for the ills of mankind! By the way, just so you don’t think I’m ‘a doper,’ I served 8 years in the USAF, 2 years as a Palm Beach County FL Police Officer and then 17 years as a Paramedic. I have a Masters of Theology degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. Thanks for having the guts to publish THE TRUTH.

6/23/05 Doug, I also referred Montel Williams to your article about hemp ‘marijuana’ because he has multiple sclerosis and wants to legalize marijuana for medicinal purpose since it seems to help ms folks with pain. Since he has a TV talk show, I thought maybe he would give your article some publicity.

6/30/05 I am bipolar and when I smoke I am calmer then I am on my pills. I also have fibromyalgia and when in pain I grab my trusty friend Pot; it helps me function and eat. If I didn’t have it, I would be dead years ago. Some days I can hardly make it down the stairs because of the ache and pains in my joints. Also, I suffer from severe migraines where I can’t even open my eyes because I am light sensitive then my head pounds. I have been on many narcotics from vicodin to oxycottin and they all make me feel worse than smoking a damn joint. Only in America would they make a plant so beneficial to humankind, the most dangerous ‘drug’ in all the land. If I didn’t go score I would be in pain and would never be able to walk out to get my mail. My fiancé gets upset since I can’t work but she knows I can’t help it. I want to work. I want to be the breadwinner of the family, but physically I cannot maintain standing for more than a few moments before I feel like I am passing out because of the pain. I went to numerous doctors and told them that pot helps me…all of them said since I live in Ohio, they cannot do anything for me besides narcotics…but I cannot smoke a joint…that is rubbish in my book.

7/31/05 I don’t know if you have thought about this before, but after all the research I have done, it is my opinion that JFK was assassinated over hemp. He was a known user for his back pain, he fired Anslinger as soon as he got into office and it was said he was going to legalize it in his 2nd term. He never made it to his 2nd term. Maybe you can dig a bit more on your end and see what you come up with to support this theory of mine. It makes sense, don’t you think? Keep educating people one day at a time…it’s our only shot.

11/18/05 The actual truth that the oil giants do not want anyone to know is that most ‘non producing’ oil fields (for example, Derrick Island off Louisiana) have been found to have mysteriously refilled themselves after closing them down. This is because the vast majority of oil is not biotic but abiotic. The planet’s crust produces billions of new gallons of crude annually and this is refilling the fields pumped out in almost every case. That is why Saudi Arabia just doubled the estimate of its known reserves over its predictions of 10 years ago. The wells keep refilling themselves due to planetary mechanics. Biotic oil is a discredited theory. There was never enough biomass in any prehistoric period to produce the amount of petroleum we have already consumed on this planet to date.

1/7/06 The most important health benefits come from smoking (or otherwise consuming) hemp/cannabis plant material which contains high levels of the active ingredients (THC, etc.) The higher the level of active ingredients, the more medicinal and beneficial it is. This is highly effective medicine, with no negative side effects, which is being denied to people in desperate need because of a pack of lies!

12/10/06 Weed is unprocessed and natural, as opposed to other processed drugs. I have eaten hemp seeds and have even had hemp oil and see the unspoken benefits from them even before I was planning to research the subject.

12/10/06 Maybe by the time I retire I can smoke a joint in peace, not fearing the Police and my government. But, other times it just seems hopeless, but I refuse to believe that money is the most powerful force in our Universe…there must be some room for truth.

12/16/06 I am a recreational therapist working for a state operated drug treatment center. If I were to speak in these terms, I doubt I would remain in favor of those above me.

2/2/07 As a medical marijuana user for many years, I would not be here without it. I was a vegetable on the prescribed medication and don’t remember 2 whole years of my life while I was on morphine. Now I live a full and active life, running a business and bringing up a family. Is it too late to change views? I do hope not because it has so much to offer.

Above are some of the best comments from hundreds of replies. My article was far from perfect. I thank those more informed on plants than myself that told me there are other plants that physically reveal their sex such as the holly plant. Many criticized my belief that cannabis had an extraterrestrial origin. That conclusion came out of decades of studying our ancestors of prehistory. My studies have shown a completely new genesis for the human race where we have lost great knowledge. (It may have been advanced HUMANS that created Earthly animals and plants). Cannabis Sativa and all of its infinite and vital uses may be evidence that some great intelligence (with a plan) manufactured it. ‘Chance’ cannot account for its abundant purposes. To some people, the existence of hemp might be proof of the existence of GOD!

Source:Jamiiforums

 

Rwanda defence chief leads DR Congo rebels, UN report says

Rwanda's defence minister is effectively commanding a rebellion in the Democratic Republic of Congo, UN experts say.

The confidential report, leaked to Reuters agency, says Uganda is also backing the M23 rebels, who have been fighting the DRC's army since April.
The document builds on a UN report published in June which accused Rwanda of supporting the insurgents.
Rwanda and Uganda strenuously deny supporting the rebellion.
The BBC's Barbara Plett, at the UN, says that during the past two decades Rwanda has backed armed groups in the east of DR Congo as a way to fight Hutu rebels who fled there after the genocide of the 1990s.
Some accuse Rwanda of using militias as proxies in an on-going battle for the region, which is rich in minerals, our correspondent adds.
'Co-ordinated the rebels' The latest report by the UN Security Council's Group of Experts provides more details of Rwanda's alleged continued involvement.
It says M23 leaders "receive direct military orders" from Rwanda's chief of defence staff, Gen Charles Kayonga, "who in turn acts on instructions from the minister of defence", Gen James Kabarebe.

It also says Kigali has supplied the M23 with heavy weapons and stepped up recruitment for the group.
Both Rwandan and Ugandan officials have strongly denied the accusations made in the report.
Olivier Nduhungirehe, a senior Rwandan diplomat at the country's UN mission, said the United Nations experts had been "allowed to pursue a political agenda that has nothing to do with getting at the true causes of conflict in the eastern DRC".
Uganda's foreign minister, Henry Okello Oryem, told the BBC that the UN was seeking to blame others for the failure of its own peacekeeping force in the eastern Congo.
But the the DRC's ambassador to the UK, Kikaya Bin Karubi, said the UN "must act" on the basis of the report.
He told the BBC's Newsday programme: "When the chief of staff of an army, a minister of defence of a country creates a rebellion, supplies weapons, sends troops to fight against a legitimate government across the border, I think this is serious."
The report - seen by Reuters news agency on Tuesday - says army units from Rwanda and Uganda have helped M23 expand its control of territory in eastern DR Congo.
"Both Rwanda and Uganda have been supporting M23," according to the 44-page report.

"While Rwandan officials co-ordinated the creation of the rebel movement as well as its major military operations, Uganda's more subtle support to M23 allowed the rebel group's political branch to operate from within Kampala and boost its external relations," it said.
The UN report says former Congolese General Bosco Ntaganda controls the rebellion on the ground and M23 leader Col Sultani Makenga is in charge of co-ordination with allied groups.
But it says M23's de facto chain of command culminates with Rwanda's defence minister