email: timothychilman@yahoo.com

U.S. government documents tell of a planned invasion of Canada. Such a thing has been attempted before.

Quebecois defend against American attack in 1775

The first major military effort of the American Revolutionary War was an invasion of Canada led by Benedict Arnold prior to his turning traitor. In the course of Mr. Madison’s War (1812-1815), several invasions were attempted. It was in 1839 that Americans in Maine challenged Canadians over a border squabble known formally as the Aroostock War and informally as the Pork ‘n Beans War. No shots were fired, but an American cow, a Canuck pig, and a few American militiamen were injured. In 1866, 1870, and 1871, around 800 Americans of Irish extraction sought to deliver a blow in the name of Irish liberty by invading Canada. In the 1866 episode, they traversed the Niagara River and moved to Ontario, bested some Canadian militiamen, and then fled in the face of British soldiers.

The premiere Confederate warship, the CSS Alabama, was built in the United Kingdom

During the War of Northern Aggression (1861-65), the United Kingdom came close to war with the Union. Confederate sympathizers sheltered in Canada, from which they launched raids. One of the ships the United Kingdom built for the Confederates was the CSS Alabama, which destroyed or captured 65 ships. British diplomat Lord Lyons wrote to his superior: “There can, unhappily, be no doubt that three-quarters of the American people are eagerly longing for a safe opportunity of making war with England.” The United Kingdom’s sympathies for the Confederates were the prime reason for the emancipation of slaves by Abe Lincoln – the United Kingdom opposed slavery so British support for Johnny Reb would be undermined. In 1895, President Cleveland threatened the Untied Kingdom with war over a border dispute between Venezuela and British Guiana (present-day Guyana).

In October 1970, in response to Québécois separatist activity, U.S. troops and armor moved to the Canadian border and prepared to occupy Montreal and Ottawa, according to an interview the Royal Canadian Mounted Police director of counter-intelligence gave to the Toronto Star in 1973. The story was confirmed by a nameless Canadian army officer. It is rumored that U.S. armed forces were put on alert at the time of the sovereignty referendum in Quebec in 1980.

The poster for "Canadian Bacon"

The idea of invading Canada has manifested itself in American popular culture. The 1995 film, Canadian Bacon, had American president Alan Alda decide to stimulate the economy through initiating conflict with Diet America. His call to arms was: “Surrender pronto, or we’ll level Toronto.” The 1999 film, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, saw the United States declare war on Canada. 2002 saw the right-wing magazine, the National Review, featured an essay entitled “Bomb Canada: the Case for War,” which suggested the the United States mount a lightning raid on Canada, where something would be blown up, possibly a vacant hockey stadium. Canada would then stop wasting money on the frippery of universal healthcare and instead lavish cash on its underdeveloped military. Author Jonah Goldberg said that this would transmogrify “Canada’s neurotic anti-Americanism” into “manly resolve.”

The website, invadecanada.us, lists many sound reasons for invading Canada, although it says it doesn’t want the permafrost bit. Alaska would be joined to the rest of the United States, for starters – so many Alaskans perpetually complain of being separate from the “continental 48 states.” An invasion could be justified, as so often, by humanitarian reasons: the magnetic north pole is in Canada, and Santa Claus must be protected.

The military hero of the United States is General Douglas MacArthur. That of Canada is Dudley Do-Right. They don't really compare, do they?

Success, the website says, would be guaranteed. The military hero of the United States is General Douglas MacArthur, while that of Canada is Dudley Do-Right. Due to Canada’s French streak, the white flags would be out before U.S. forces even left home.

War Plan Red was a plan to defeat the British Empire. The Empire was Red, while Canada was Crimson. The plan was approved in May, 1930, by the Secretaries of War and the Navy. Its objective was: “ULTIMATELY, TO GAIN COMPLETE CONTROL OF CRIMSON.”

In a joint Army/Navy mission, troops would travel the 370 miles from Boston to St. Margaret’s Bay and seize the port of Halifax early in the war. This would isolate Canadian forces from their British allies: Halifax is the only ice-free port on the east coast, and it was where the transatlantic cable came ashore.

Among the other targets were Montreal, then Canada’s largest city, Quebec, the railroad hub of Winnipeg, and the nickel mines of Ontario. The Navy would take the Great Lakes and blockade Canada’s essential Pacific and Atlantic ports. Power plants near the Niagara Falls would be captured so that, as Peter Carlson put it in the Washington Post, the people of Canada would “freeze in the dark.”

Winnipeg is 60 miles from the U.S. border. Seizure of Quebec and Winnipeg would, the plan said, cripple those Canadian industries which depended on steam power. The plan said that Winnipeg was “the nerve center of the transcontinental railroad,” control of which would effectively separate the eastern and western halves of Canada, and prevent transportation of men, oil, grain, coal, and meat to eastern Canada. British Caribbean possessions would be conquered to prevent a British attack from the south. Carlson added that the plan would “bring these Molson-swigging, maple-mongering Zamboni drivers to their knees!”

War Plan Red assumed the British would capture Hawai’i, the Philippines, the Panama Canal, and Guam.

In 1934, the plan for the U.S. invasion of Canada was changed to include chemical weapons.

An amendment to the plan was made in 1934 in a memo to the Joint Board from Colonel W. Krueger and Commander A.S. Carpender. The U.S. Army was directed to prepare for the use of chemical weapons against Canada. This would, needless to say, be a humanitarian move, as abbreviating the war would save American lives.

The plan anticipated a long conflict as “the RED race” was “phlegmatic” and well-known for its talent for fighting to the bitter end. The British Empire would be greatly assisted by its generous supply of darkies from around the Empire: “Some of the colored races however come of good fighting stock, and, under white leadership, can be made into very efficient troops.”

Invasion of Canada by the United States was enough of a risk that the Canadian military formulated countermeasures. The solution was to attack first, and divert U.S. attention for long enough for British reinforcements to arrive. Defense Scheme No. 1 was drawn up by First World War hero, James Sutherland “Buster” Brown, who loathed Americans. His total annual budget was $1,200, and he entered the United States in plain clothes to take pictures and obtain free maps from gas stations.

Brown proposed the rapid deployment of flying columns to occupy Seattle, Minneapolis, Great Falls, and Albany. Fancy a Republic of New England? Surprise, he said, was more important than preparation. The American military recognized that a number of American beaches such as Ocean City and Rehoboth would be “excellent” locations for British landings.

Defense Scheme No. 1 was withdrawn in 1928, two years before War Plan Red was authorized, but it could have been dusted off. The United States was undeterred. A military expert, Captain H.L. George, testified to Congress that Canada’s thousands of lakes could serve as bases for seaplanes, from which aircraft could take off and bomb Baltimore and Boston. A secret reconnaissance team was sent to Labrador and Hudson Bay to identify concealed Canadian seaplane facilities. George made those wily Canucks sound really scary. He began: “They know now what they are going to bomb. They know where every railroad crosses every river. They know where every refinery lies. They know where every power plant is located. They know all about our water supply systems… Now they are dispersed widely out over this area. Their location is most difficult for us to learn, for our own air force to learn. We have to hunt them up.”

There is a sizable Canadian fifth column within the United States

Canada has always maintained a sizable fifth column within the United States. These days, it is spearheaded by the likes of Mike Myers and Celine Dion. The news departments of the major television networks are riven with Canucks, and in the event of hostilities, the United States could expect to lose the information war, just as it did in Vietnam. These potential insurgents have thoroughly penetrated U.S. society, and you might be sitting next to one right now! As the plan put it, “it would be necessary to deal internally” with these undesirable elements, plus domestic “pacifists” and other professional complainants. We’re talking internment camps.

The weather would be an obstacle to a U.S. invasion of Canada, so all that “Red” forces need do would be to delay the advance by “Blue,” destroying bridges and railroad tracks and the like. War Plan Red conceded that operations between November 1st and April 15th would be “difficult, if not impossible.”

While any army should prepare for every possible eventuality, War Plan Red went beyond the drawing board. Concrete measures were undertaken to facilitate the invasion of Canada. In 1931, the U.S. government dispatched record-breaking flying hero (and Nazi sympathizer) Charles Lindbergh to Hudson Bay to determine the prospects for using sea planes in warfare.

In February 1935, $57 million was allocated to construct three air bases close to the Canadian Border, to allow for pre-emptive attacks on Canadian airfields. They would be given the appearance of civilian airports. This can be seen on p61 of the February 11-13, 1935 Hearings of the House of Representatives Committee on Military Affairs. The testimony was supposed to be secret, but it was published mistakenly and ended up on page one of the New York Times on May 1. The Canadian government protested, but President Franklin Roosevelt gave reassurances that the United States was not considering war.

Prior to his election to President, Theodore Roosevelt said war between the United States and the United Kingdom was "the greatest boon I could confer upon this nation."

Half-a-dozen years before himself being elected president, President Roosevelt’s fifth cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, penned a letter to General James Harrison Wilson on November 5, 1895 which was quoted in The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. It said that “the greatest boon I could confer upon this nation” was a prompt war with the United Kingdom to take Canada. He said, “I will do my very best to bring about the day.” So of course, we believe the other Roosevelt’s protestations.

In August 1935, the United States held what was then its largest ever peacetime mobilization of forces when 36,000 troops converged south of Ottawa and 15,000 were held in reserve in Pennsylvania. The scenario was a vehicle-borne invasion of Canada. It was well-documented by the Souvenir of the First Army Maneuvers: The Greatest Peace Time Event in US History.

In 1939, as the Second World War began, the U.S. Army War College and Naval War College planned an “Overseas Expeditionary Force to Capture Halifax from Red-Crimson Coalition.” War Plan Red received much more attention than War Plan Black, the plan for war with Germany, with whom the United States actually went to war.

When questioned about War Plan Red, the director of the Canada Institute in Washington said, “I’ve never heard of it.” The spokesman for the Canadian Embassy in Washington said, “I remember sort of hearing about this.” The mayor of Sudbury, Ontario, where nickel mines were prime targets of the plan, said, “It’s the first I’ve heard of it.” A Pentagon spokesman said that he was unaware of War Plan Red, but conceded that he would not admit to it even if he were not. The mayor of Winnipeg, another major target, said that weather would cause a U.S. invasion of Canada to end up like Napoleon’s venture into Russia: “I’m quite convinced that you’ll meet your Waterloo on the banks of the Assiniboine River.”

Any invasion of Canada by the United States is likely to begin at Fort Drum, half an hour from the Canadian border. In 1984, Fort Drum accommodated only an engineering battalion, but it was later expanded in the largest Army construction project ever by the Corps of Enginqueers, although there was already a surplus of military bases. Now, Fort Drum is home to a rapid assault light division and a reserve armored division of 30,000 troops.

Perhaps the Canadian Airborne Regiment could have halted a U.S. invasion of Canada, if only it had not been disbanded in 1995.

It would be simplicity itself to seize the Canadian military communications center at Kingston, Ontario and cut Canadian forces off. Taking Highway 2 and Highway 401 would prevent reinforcements from reaching Toronto and the capital of Ottawa. “Surrender pronto, or we’ll level Toronto.” Perhaps the Canadian Airborne Regiment could have stopped it, if only it had not been disbanded in 1995.

Unlike paratroopers or Marines, the 10th Mountain Division is not designed to attack defended borders. It specializes in surprise attack, and is trained and equipped for house-to-house combat and winter warfare. There is a center for urban warfare at Fort Drum. Fort Drum’s troops are not well-disposed to rapid deployment to overseas troublespots because of the area’s chronic bad weather: snowfall is 10 feet on average, and a nearby village boasts the New York State record of 40 feet. The site is actually used for Arctic weather training, and the Corps of Enginqueers found that Fort Drum had the worst weather in all the eastern United States.

The light vehicles and helicopters of the 10th Mountain Division would be considerably better suited to an attack on Ontario or Southern Quebec. Invasion was also planned in 1888, 1893, 1896, 1909, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1916, and 1921. In 1896, the Secretary of the Navy instructed Commodore “Damn the torpedoes! Full steam ahead!” Gridly to evaluate Canadian defenses and plan an invasion. Gridly recommended the attack originate below Ogdensburg, close to present-day Fort Drum. It would have been a surprise attack not preceded by a declaration of war, just like Pearl Harbor. War games in 1910 produced the headline “Canadian Army Crushed” in New York.

The official spokesman for Fort Drum said, “We most certainly are not preparing to invade Canada” and that the idea was difficult to believe. Many Canadian soldiers were training there, he said: “I bumped into a Canadian officer in the bathroom the other day.”

If the United States wished to conduct war against Canada, an excuse could be manufactured, such as the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana in 1898.

It will not be long afore the oil runs out, unrestrained commercialism has left U.S. aquifers too poisonous to supply drinking water, and global warming has turned the U.S. heartland into desert. Then, the United States will gaze north, covetously. A crisis will be manufactured, along the lines of Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction or the USS Maine, and then the United States will invade. It could so easily be flavored as some kind of Christian crusade. The American public can be deceived into allowing its soldiers to be sent anywhere on the flimsiest of pretexts.

War Plan Red acknowledged that the Royal Navy could not

Obesity in the U.S. military has doubled since 2003.

be defeated, and even now it is down to about three ships and NO AIRCRAFT CARRIER, the famed British ingenuity could perhaps pull off a naval blockade to starve the United States of oil. Hey, the United States is rather large and its terrain passable. Mayhaps Mexico could be persuaded to undertake a little irridentism, and bring the Texicans back into the fold. Fuck you, Major General Paul Vallely. U.S. cities are densely populated, and would be highly susceptible to the merest hint of cold steel. Obesity in the U.S. military has doubled since 2003.

The hostile intentions of the United States toward Canada are plain to see, and should they become so evident as to guarantee public support, the United Kingdom would be well-advised to get its retaliation in first, just like with Defense Scheme No. 1. It would be time to send in the lads, and the British Empire would rise again.

Bibliography

“A 1935 US Plan for Invasion of Canada.” Glasnost – Archiv. 1 February 1995. 23 September 2011. <http://www.glasnost.de/hist/usa/1935invasion.html.>
“War Plan Crimson.” Globalsecurity.org. n.d. 23 September 2011. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/war-plan-red-crimson.htm.>
“War Plan Red.” Globalsecurity.org. n.d. 23 September 2011. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/war-plan-red.htm.>
“Why invade Canada?” InvadeCanada.US. n.d. 23 September 2011.
Carlson, Peter. “Raiding the Icebox.” Washington Post. 30 December 2005. 23 September 2011. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/29/AR2005122901412.html.>
Gerrie, David. “War on the ‘Red Empire’: How America planned for an attack on BRITAIN in 1930 with bombing raids and chemical weapons.” Daily Mail. 21 September 2011. 23 September 2011. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2039453/How-America-planned-destroy-BRITAIN-1930-bombing-raids-chemical-weapons.html.>
Rudmin, Floyd. “Bordering on Aggression.” Peace Magazine. n.d. 23 September 2011. <http://archive.peacemagazine.org/v09n2p20.htm.>
Rudmin, Floyd. “Secret War Plans and the Malady of American Militarism.” Counterpunch. 18 February 2006. 23 September 2011. <http://www.counterpunch.org/2006/02/17/secret-war-plans-and-the-malady-of-american-militarism/.>
Soniak, Matt. “America’s Plan to Invade Everyone.” Mental Floss. 21 January 2008. 23 September 2011. <http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/11388.>

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3. China and the Threat of Informationalized War

email: timothychilman@yahoo.com

But he seems like such a nice guy! Photo: IvanWalsh.com

Al Gore seems like a nice guy. He ought to have been president in 2000, he won the Nobel Peace Prize, he was a major stoner back in the 70s,” and he struggles valiantly against climate change. He is, however, also said to be a “crazed sex poodle.”

Molly Hagerty alleges that Gore made sexual advances upon her on October 24, 2006, in the upmarket Hotel Lucia, when Gore visited Portland to deliver a speech on climate change. Hagerty canceled appointments with detectives on December 21 and 26 of that year. Her attorney, sexual misconduct specialist Randall Vogt, canceled another that was scheduled for January 4, 2007, saying that the matter would be dealt with civilly and that his client did not desire publicity. Hagerty’s refusal to be interviewed by detectives dictated that an investigation could not proceed. The police report said, “This case is exceptionally cleared as refuses to co-operate with the investigation or even report a crime.”

On January 8, 2009, Hagerty contacted police again and gave a lengthy, written statement to Detective Molly Daul, who questioned her for more than two hours. Gore had addressed a crowd of close to full capacity at the Rose Garden’s Theater of the Clouds, telling them that human-induced climate change was the greatest moral challenge of our time. Hagerty had been surprised to be told by the hotel’s front desk that she had an appointment with him. He had booked in as “Mr. Stone.” The appointment was for 10:30p.m., but she was told Gore would not be free until 11p.m. When the time came, she knocked on the door of his room, and found herself facing Al Gore. He gave her an embrace which “went on a bit long.” She noted that he had clearly been drinking. She asked what she should call him, and received the reply: “Call me Al.” Hagerty says that Gore strongly recommended that she drink cognac, although she had said that she didn’t drink alcohol.

Al Gore received a massage. Photo: JisikMassage

The massage was divided into sessions of 90 and 75 minutes. Gore, wearing nowt but a sheet, requested abdominal work. He began to moan and “demanded” that his masseuse go lower. “I was shocked, and I did not massage beyond what is considered a safe, nonsexual area of the abdomen… He further insisted and acted angry, becoming verbally sharp and loud… <he> grabbed my hand, shoved it down under the sheet to his pubic hair area, my fingers brushing against his penis and firmly planted my hand on his pubic crest region and said to me ‘There!’ in a very sharp, loud, angry-sounding tone… I went into much deeper shock as I realized it appeared he was demanding sexual favors or sexual behaviors.”

Gore, Hegarty said, asked “for release of his second chakra there” – a hand job. In such circumstances, Hagerty did not wish to merely leave. Her client was “Teflon-coated in terms of his credibility and celebrity status.” She was concerned that if she ran away screaming, she might be shot or Tasered by Gore’s security staff. She did not think anyone would believe she was the injured party, but she did think a word from Gore could ruin her reputation.

So she used acupressure in an attempt to relax Gore to the point of sleeping. Afterward, she went to the bathroom to wash and emerged to pack.

Hagerty said that Gore, now wearing a robe, “pleaded, groped me, grabbed me, engulfed me in embrace, tongue kissed me, massaged me, grabbed my breasts.” She says he engulfed her in an “inescapable embrace.” She called him a “crazed sex poodle” and attempted to distract him with a box of Moonstruck chocolates. He took some, and offered them to her. Hagerty says he cornered her, got his hands on the goods once again, inserted his tongue to her mouth and tried to pull her camisole down.

Hagerty said, “I was distressed, shocked and terrified.” She was, she said, intimidated by the “rotund” figure Gore cut and his “violent temper, dictatorial, commanding attitude.” She said it was in marked contrast to his “Mr. Smiley global warming concern persona.” Hagerty claims Gore attempted to lure her to the bed to listen to the song Dear Mr. President by Pink, which he played on his iPod and to which he sang along. There was further hand-holding, kissing, and crotch-grabbing. She claims she injured her left leg and knee, which subsequently required months of medical care.

Hagerty described Gore as a "crazed sex poodle." Photo: Rafael Amado Deras

Hagerty claims that Gore threw her onto the bed and lay atop her, trapping her. She says she shouted: “Get off me, you big lummox!” before breaking free and exiting under the cover of “humor and a sense of verbal gentle playfulness.”

“I did not immediately call the police as I feared being made into a public spectacle and my reputation being destroyed… I was not sure what to tell them and was concerned my story would not be believed since there was no DNA evidence from a completed act of rape. I did not even know what to call what had happened to me.”

After the encounter, she took a very long shower and brushed her teeth “to get out the GrandMarnier and Al Gore’s tongue and germs out of my mouth.”

Days after the alleged episode, Hagerty communicated telephonically with a close friend, Donna Burleigh. She said that in the course of her work, she had been sexually assaulted by “someone in the higher ups” whom she feared. She fretted that “things are going to come to a head” and that there would be “all kinds of media coverage.” She did not name the guilty party.

Hagerty said separately that to begin with, liberal friends she labeled “the Birkenstock Tribe” dissuaded her from contacting police. One in particular “was basically asking me to just suck it up, otherwise the world’s going to be destroyed by global warming.” She also feared she would not be believed. She finally came forward six weeks after the event to protect other women who might have suffered similar trauma. She said, “He should not get a free pass merely because of his position. People in power are not to be given a license to behave in ways that the rest of us are not.” She added, “This is like people going nuts on the MAX and you want to get off before they beat you up,”

At first, police said that procedural irregularities warranted reopening of the case, although extensive public criticism of the department’s handling of the affair may also have forced the move. A 73-page Confidential Special Report was drawn up, but it was later decided that there was not enough evidence to substantiate the allegations. On June 3, 2010, Hagerty asked for a copy of her statement, which she intended to present to the media.

She said that the incident worsened her pre-existing health problems. Her sleep was disrupted, her work was “more stressful and frightening since the incident,” and she contacted the Portland Women’s Crisis Line, who recommended she speak to police. Burleigh said, “When she got violated, she has not been the same since… She was talking about how she wanted to go to the hospital because she was having panic attacks, then it started getting worse.” She “freaked out” when Gore returned to Portland years later. As Burleigh put it: “She said her predator was back and coming to town.”

The front page of the Enquirer on 29 June 2020. Photo: Anwardotcom2

Burleigh was aware that her friend had solicited a lawyer in order to pursue a civil case, but was rather surprised to see a headline of “AL GORE SEX ATTACK!!!” on the front page of the National Enquirer on June 22, 2010. The week after, the headline was “‘AL GORE IS A PERVERT & SEXUAL PREDATOR.’” Burleigh said, “She’s not out for freakin’ money. This lady, all she wants is this man accountable for his actions.”

Hagerty said, “I did not want to be labeled a gold digger like the women in this situation are often labeled.” Although she was not out for freakin’ money, the Washington Post reported that she received a million dollars from the Enquirer. That esteemed publication routinely pays sources for information, but editor-in-chief Tony Frost said that no payment was made, although a million dollars had been requested. Hagerty refused to reveal whether she had obtained freakin’ money. The Enquirer claimed to have the $540 bill for massage, which included a 20 percent gratuity. The price seems rather high for an appointment with no sexual high jinx. Frost said the Enquirer had got wind of the story from a tip. He added that the Enquirer had performed “a great deal of work” to ascertain the veracity of the story, although Portland police confirmed that this did not include actually speaking to them.

Hagerty owned an african gray parrot.

Burleigh runs S&D Exotic Bird Rescure from her home, and met Hagerty when she brought a Macaw called Toto, which she wanted to find a good home. The bird had been too loud for her apartment. She joined the organization’s board of directors, and helps to place birds through Craigslist. Burleigh said that Hagerty is “a big-hearted person” who kept birds, including African Gray and Quaker parrots.

Pepe Moscoso, a photographer and artist who resides in the same apartment complex in Southeast Portland, said that Hagerty was “very spiritual,” and that they would discuss astrology. She always talked to him and his wife when they walked outside with their daughters.

Neighbor Rusty Pranger said Hagerty was sufficiently friendly that she would stop to say “hi” on the sidewalk. She attempted to speak basic Russian to some immigrant neighbors.

Having allowed three years to elapse since Gore’s supposed indiscretion, Hagerty was considered to face a “tremendous” challenge by investigators and prosecutors. In the words of Sergeant Adam Hofstein, supervisor of the special victims unit of Broward County Sheriff’s Department, “Your forensic evidence is waning, the time weighs on people’s recollections and their credibility.” But he said that all steps would still be taken: “You are still within the statute of limitations. You still have a felony.” The allegations were classed as third-degree sexual abuse, for which the statute of limitations is four years, plus another three if the accused does not reside in the state.

Harry O’Reilly headed a special victims unit in New York prior to his retirement. He now teaches sex crime investigative methods to law enforcement. He says that police might consider message therapy to be a “dubious profession,” that the elapsed time is problematic, and that the accusations do not amount to rape.

Hagerty had been a licensed massage therapist for 12 years. She has a professional diploma from the Oregon School of Massage, has completed training at the Northwest Acupressure Institute, studied preliminary Chinese medicine studies at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, and has a bachelor of science degree in liberal studies from Portland State University.

Hagerty did not follow the usual standard procedure for massage therapists. Massage therapists will tell you that in-room massage can be delicate, as they can never be sure what are the client’s expectations and the location is the client’s territory. If the client behaves inappropriately, the therapist should explain that the massage is therapeutic, and if undesirable behavior persists, the session is terminated. Usually, this will put paid to unwanted advances. Massage schools often spend an afternoon teaching how to respond to such a situation.

Hagerty spoke of a client whose desire for sexual contact was apparent from the beginning: he dimmed the lights, asked for “adductor” (inner thigh) work, moaned, and told her to go lower. Instead of ending the appointment, she said, “Show me what you want to do.” A massage therapist can obviously inform authorities of a client’s behavior, but informing the Enquirer is deeply unethical.

Hagerty’s own behavior after her terrifying ordeal is highly suspect. Days later, she sent the hotel a letter saying: ‘I provide at length additional late-hours’ professional services for your VIP guest per his personal in-person request, with, of course, the utmost of discretion, and did so with only a few hours’ notice… I am more than confident that the guest was completely happy with the professional services I delivered, and will be more than fine with cleaning up the balance due.’

The red-headed Hagerty acknowledges that after the massage, she called Gore and told him to “‘dream of red-haired women.” Hagerty did not act as if she were terrified of Gore.

Gore announced that he was splitting from his wife, Tipper, less than a month before the scandal erupted.

Gore’s attorneys wrote to the Portland Tribune in 2007 to state that Hagerty’s tale was “completely false.” A friend of Gore said that he confirmed a massage had occurred on the night in question, and probably by Hagerty. Gore announced that he was splitting from his wife, Tipper, on June 1, shortly before the scandal erupted, although according to a spokeswoman, the scandal was not the reason for the split, and Tipper believed him to be innocent. The spokeswoman said that Tipper knew that massage had been a key element of Gore’s fitness regimen for “many, many, many years.”

The Portland Tribune reported that Hagerty had a history of falsely accusing people of maltreating her. She failed a polygraph test. The damage to her reputation she feared seems to have been done: a minivan in the parking lot of her apartment complex which neighbors said belonged to her was egged and smeared with white goo. Nor is it the first time she has had man trouble: in 1998, she was refused a restraining order against a former boyfriend.

No civil suit has been forthcoming. It would seem that this particular conspiracy theory does not hold water, and just as well. As one person to comment put it, a sex scandal involving Al Gore is like one involving Lieutenant Commander Data from Star Trek: the Next Generation: technically possible, but unbelievable in the absence of videotape and DNA evidence.

Bibliography

“Al Gore accused of ‘sexually harassing’ massage therapist.” Telegraph. 24 June 2010. 15 September 2011. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/7850976/Al-Gore-accused-of-sexually-harassing-massage-therapist.html.>
Bernstein, Maxine. “Portland massage therapist who accused Al Gore of groping confided in a friend shortly after the 2006 incident.” The Oregonian. 24 June 2010. 15 September 2011. <http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/close_friend_says_portland_mas.html.>
Weiner, Juli. “Majority of Internet Resists Convenient Al Gore–Massage Therapist Puns.” Vanity Fair. 24 June 2010. 15 September 2011. <http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/06/majority-of-internet-resists-convenient-al-goremassage-therapist-puns.>
Wachtel, Katya. “Two More Massage Therapists Accuse Al Gore of Sexual Assault.” Business Insider. 21 July 2010. 15 Septemeber 2011. <http://www.businessinsider.com/two-more-women-accuse-al-gore-of-assault-2010-7.>
“An Inconvenient Rumor: Al Gore Accused of Sexual Assault on Massage Therapist.” The Hollywood Gossip. 23 June 2010. 15 September 2011. <http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2010/06/an-inconvenient-rumor-al-gore-accused-of-sexual-assault-on-massa/.>
Pilkington, Ed. “Al Gore sex assault claim: US police reopen massage therapist’s case.” Guardian. 1 July 2010. 15 September 2011. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/01/al-gore-sex-assault-claim-massage-therapist.>
Shahid, Aliyah. “Former Vice President Al Gore not charged after masseuse’s sexual harassment claim at Oregon hotel.” N.Y. Daily News. 24 June 2010. 15 September 2011. <http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-06-24/news/27068088_1_massage-therapist-claim-unwanted-sexual-contact.>
“Al Gore Recalls a Pleasant, Uneventful Massage.” N.Y. Mag. 25 June 2010. 15 September 2011. <http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/06/al_gore_recalls_a_pleasant_une.html.>
Brown, Anitra. “Thoughts On The Al Gore Massage Scandal.” About.com – Spas. 30 June 2010 15 September 2011. <http://spas.about.com/b/2010/06/30/al-gore-masssage-scandal.htm.>
Taylor, Sophie. “Police reopen Al Gore massage sex assault case.” The First Post. 1 July 2010. 15 September 2011. <http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/65269,people,news,police-reopen-al-gore-massage-sex-assault-case.>
“Al Gore investigated by police after massage therapist accuses him of sexual abuse.” Daily Mail. 1 July 2010. 15 September 2011. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1289014/Al-Gore-accused-massage-therapist-Molly-Hagerty-sexual-abuse-police-reopen-probe.html.>
“Gore ‘Unequivocally’ Denies Allegations That He Groped a Massage Therapist.” Fox News. 1 July 2010. 15 September 2011. <http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/06/30/portland-police-reopen-sexual-misconduct-case-gore/.>
McGee, Tiffany. “Al Gore Accused of Sexual Assault.” People. 24 June 2010. 15 September 2011.<http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20396495,00.html.>

Related posts:

1. This Child Did Not Emerge from the Vagina of this Woman
2. Ooh! It’s Just Like “Clear and Present Danger”!
3. Can Greece Look Forward to a Coup d’Etat?

email: timothychilman@yahoo.com

A Greek flag next to a pleasing body of water, where shit creek would be more appropriate. Photo: Aster-oid

Well, isn’t Greece in a pickle? The country was living beyond its means even before joining the euro, but it borrowed heavily and embarked upon a spending spree after admission. Public spending, including public sector wages, has almost doubled within the last ten years. Tax income has been hampered by widespread tax evasion. This country of 11 million people now has around $470bn of debt – 140 percent of GNP. One conservative politician suggested that the government sell off a few islands to help settle its debts.

In May, Greece was given a bailout of more than $150bn by the European Union and International Monetary Fund, with another $150bn promised in July. Even that has proved insufficient, and Greece is seeking a third installment of $179bn. European banks hold between $50bn and $60bn of Greek debt. Default is very possible.

The British Times newspaper pointed out that the cuts demanded of Greece are of a similar scale to those which resulted from the Treaty of Versailles, which did not have such a good effect on democracy.

The austerity measures required to secure Greece a third bailout are startling. People would retire at 65 rather than 61. Sales tax would be increased from 19 to 23 percent. Property taxes would be raised. Pensions of more than $1,380 a month would be reduced by between 20 and 40 percent. Tax on alcohol, fuel and cigarettes would increase by one third. People would have to work for 40 years to qualify for a pension. Public sector salaries would be reduced by between 20 and 30 percent – around two thirds of the population of Greece is employed by the state. Only a tenth of retiring civil servants would be replaced. 30,000 civil servants would find themselves shelved on less than full pay. Every temporary contract for workers in the public sector would be ended. There would be a new tax of between one and five percent on household incomes. It is no surprise that the suicide rate in Greece has doubled. The British Times newspaper stated that the cuts demanded of Greece are similar in scale to the reparations imposed upon Germany at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. The German reparations were not exactly beneficial to democracy. Hitler used the Treaty as a battlecry.

In an article which attracted feverish attention in Greece and elsewhere, Forbes magazine said that in financial circles it is increasingly said, “half in jest,” that Greece would benefit from a coup d’état. Fuss over the article caused the author to change the title from “The real Greek solution: a military coup” to “The appalling Greek solution: a military coup.”

A policeman afire during rioting in Greece. Photo: filippos_hellas

Is a coup a possibility? A report by the Albert Einstein Institute identified the circumstances under which a coup becomes more likely. First, there is dissatisfaction with the performance of the government. In Greece, this has gone so far as striking and widespread rioting, which has been met by tear gas.

Next, there is no confidence in democratic procedures. George Papandreou’s replacement as Prime Minister of Greece, Lucas Papademos, had never previously held public office. While Papademos received support upon taking office, the urgency of the situation in Greece dictates that the honeymoon will be brief. Anti-austerity campaigners, headed by ever more vocal trade unionists and other leftists, condemned him, saying his appointment was the fruit of the “logic of banks and markets.”

The Albert Einstein Institute said that a coup is more likely if there is a lack of diversification. This is true of Greece, one fifth of whose GDP comes from tourism. A coup benefits from low participation in politics by the citizenry. The government of Greece has acknowledged that the level of political participation is low. For a coup to be successful, soldiers must be more loyal to their officers than to the government. Defense minister Panos Beglitis said that the military was like a “state within a state” and accused its representatives of acting anti-democratically.

The Greek Orthodox Church has been riven by scandal.

On the plus side, a coup is more likely to succeed if non-state institutions are weak, and Greek trades unions are very strong. The Greek Orthodox Church, however, was severely weakened by sex and corruption scandals in 2005. There were photographs of a 91 year-old bishop nekkid and abed with a young lady. One churchman, Archmandrite Iakovos Giosakis, was suspended after being charged with the smuggling of antiquities after valuable icons disappeared from his former diocese. Thanos Dokas, a political scientist, said, “What all of this has confirmed is that corruption is not limited to the public sector.” Homosexuality is rife among senior clerics sworn to chastity, despite the Church describing it as an “abomination.” Greek national identity is inextricably linked to the Church, as it kept Hellenism alive during 400 years of Ottoman rule. 97 percent of people in Greece are Orthodox.

A CIA report warning that the dire situation in Greece could result in a coup was first detailed by the German tabloid, Das Bild. People say the only things in this newspaper which are true are the cover price, the weather, and the sport results, however the report was mentioned by more respectable sources, such as the Turkish newspaper, Daily News & Economic Review, and the website, Business Insider.

In a shock announcement, Defense minister Beglitis, one of Papandreou’s closest allies, announced the dismissal of the chiefs of the Greek National Defense General Staff, army, air force, and navy. Military chiefs are usually replaced every couple of years on the basis of party loyalty, but changes rarely affect the entire military. The British newspaper of the ruling class, the Daily Telegraph, was one of many to speculate that the Papandreou regime replaced its top military leaders with more sympathetic people to prevent the possibility of a coup.

George Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece in 1963

Greece is no stranger to coups. In 1963, George Papandreou, grandfather of the newly ex-prime minister, was himself Prime Minister. Different people wanted to unite Cyprus with Greece (enosis), divide it into Greek and Turkish sections, or be leave Greeks and Turks living together. The Cypriot president, Archbishop Makarios, caused ructions when he attempted to reduce the influence of the Turkish minority upon his government. Turkey rattled sabers and began preparations to invade. President Lyndon B. Johnson is reported to have told the Greek ambassador: “Fuck your parliament and your constitution. America is an elephant. Cyprus is a flea. Greece is a flea. If those two fleas continue itching the elephant they may just get whacked by the elephant’s trunk.” UN peacekeeping troops were deployed, and Turkish Cypriots sent to enclaves.

The United States proposed that Cyprus be united with Greece but with an independent Turkish area containing Turkish military bases and with the island of Kastellorizo given to the Turks. George Papandreou annoyed the United States by rejecting the idea. He then began to release communists who had been held in prison since the end of the civil war in 1949.

Andreas Papandreou, who was strongly disapproved of by the U.S. government, later in life

The United States was wary of the Prime Minister’s son, Andreas, who was educated at Harvard and had been head of the Department of Economics at the University of California at Berkeley. Andreas had returned to Greece with his American wife and his children to participate in his father’s government. Declassified documents revealed that the CIA, fearing a communist resurgence, wished to spend hundreds of thousands of dollar on candidates who could defeat Andreas. The CIA said that he belonged “to the camp of individuals opposed to US interests” and was “particularly strong in his views.” A declassified memo shows that the U.S. embassy believed Andreas would greatly reduce military spending, direct Greece away from NATO, and gravitate to what it mis-spelled as “the Soviet block.” The embassy said Andreas was allied with communists. The State Department disagreed, with Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, remarking that the risk of an operation against Andreas being revealed was considerably greater than any political gain that might result. The truth of the matter was that in the United States, Andreas had worked on the campaigns of Adlai Stevenson and Hubert Humphrey.

King Constantine II of Greece

King Paul died in 1964, to be replaced by the 23 year-old Constantine II, whom some viewed as being in the pocket of his mother. On July 5, 1965, he deposed the government, which was by then in confrontation with the King, the establishment, and the Americans.

Minister of Defense Petros Garoufalias and some officers claimed Andreas was conspiring with young officers to overthrow the government, eject the king, and establish a dictatorship. The operation was said to be called Aspida – “shield” – and it is not certain that it ever existed. George Papandreou requested that King Constantine permit him to take over the Ministry of Defense, but the King declined, claiming the the Prime Minister had a conflict of interest. The Prime Minister offered his resignation, saying he should be allowed to select his cabinet. His resignation was accepted.

A new government was formed by a faction of dissidents from the governing Center Union party known as the July Apostates, or apostasia, which was led by Konstantinos Mitsotaki, who had founded the party. The group had little popular support. The King blamed the political upheaval on communists in his New Year’s Day speech in 1966.

Elections were to be held on May 28, 1967. By the end of 1966, it was obvious that George Papandreou would win, possibly with more of the vote than in the previous election. A group of officers led by Col. George Papadopoulos overthrew the government on 21 April using a NATO plan called Prometheus. Papadopoulos was the liaison officer between the CIA and the Greek intelligence service, the KYP, had been trained in the United States, and had collaborated with the Nazi occupiers in the 1940s. Prometheus was a plan for the neutralization of a communist uprising by the arrest of subversives in the event of an attack by the Soviet Union. Recently, Professor Christopher Pissarides, the Greek-Cypriot Nobel economics laureate, said that when politicians were embroiled in argument, “the military came in and said, ‘Come on now, let’s stop, there’s military rule until you sort it out.”

The five officers who led the coup in Greece in 1967

Four of the five officers who took power were close to the U.S. military or CIA. They were known as “the colonels.” A week later, the U.S. government recognized the dictators. In Britain, there was deep soul-searching over whether to recognize a dictatorship, and it took a whole one more day before recognition was given. Shortly after the coup, the King was photographed taking the hands of the coup plotters.

More than 10,000 people were arrested in the first few days, including politicians, trade unionists, students, and social activists. The coup was justified as a response to the communist threat. Martial law was imposed, including censorship, banning of political parties, beatings, torture, and killing. A sign at the military police building where opponents of the regime were interrogated and tortured said, “He who enters here exits friend or cripple.”

Educational textbooks were re-written. Books by such authors as Shakespeare, Aristophanes, and Chekhov were prohibited. Mini-skirts for wimmen and decadently long hair for men were banned. When Mick Jagger threw red flowers into the crowd at a concert he gave in Athens, he was taken offstage by officials who believed he was showing support of communism. The slogans “Greece is Risen” and “Greece of the Christian Greeks” were used. There was a plan to rebuild the Colossus of Rhodes. The colonels claimed to oppose communism and corruption, but the rising pay of officers showed the true motive for the coup.

The music of the left-wing Mikis Theodorakis, who wrote the scores of Zorba the Greek, Z, and Serpico, was banned on Greek radio. He had led a defunct communist organization, the Lambrakis Youth, and his music was said to serve communism: “These songs arouse passions and cause strife among the people.” A short time later, the man himself was arrested.

The specialties of the junta’s police were beating with rubber hoses, electric shocks, sexual violation, and removal of fingernails. One of the most infamous torturers is said to have told his victims, “Behind me there is the government, behind the government is NATO, behind NATO is the US. You can’t fight us, we are Americans.” In his first press conference, Papadopoulos justified his government’s harsh measures by saying, “We are facing a patient on the operating table. Unless he is tied to the table, he cannot be cured of his illness.”

Tricky Dicky sent "warm love" to the military junta which ruled Greece.

By 1970, Greece was accused of violating human rights by the Committee for Human Rights of the Council of Europe. It withdrew from the body before it could be expelled. In December, 1971, it was announced that Athens would be the home port of the U.S. Sixth Fleet. The junta made a donation of half a million dollars to the election campaign of Tricky Dicky and Spiro Agnew (born Anagnostopoulos). Nixon conveyed “warm love” via Agnew when the latter visited Greece in 1971.

Robert V. Keeley was a political analyst at the U.S. embassy in Greece at the time of the coup and later became ambassador. In his book, The Colonels’ Coup and the American Embassy: A Diplomat’s View of the Breakdown of Democracy in Cold War Greece, he said, “The CIA was in bed with the palace, the army, the Greek intelligence service, the rightist party, the conservative business community, the establishment in general.” The CIA made almost no effort to contact liberal political groups such as the Center Union party.

Papadopoulos abolished the monarchy in 1973, after quashing an attempted counter-coup attempted by the King. The junta lasted until its displacement in a bloodless coup carried out by another group of officers led by Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis, the head of the military police, in 1973. Constitutional rule was restored in 1974.

Some people say the Greek army is not capable of a coup, probably on account of those shoes. Photo: ahtsong

Could this happen again? Pepe Egger, of the London-based consultancy, Exclusive Analysis, said, “The Greek army of today is not likely to even mull coup ideas.” Costas Panagopoulos, head of the ALCO market research company, said, “The army is not even mentioned in polls anymore, because we don’t think it affects the political scene at all.” Constantinos Loukopoulos, a retired Greek general, said the idea of a coup was “total fantasy” and “ludicrous.”

In 2010, the head of the European Commission, Jose Manual Barroso, warned that the debt-ridden countries of southern Europe could fall prey to military coups if public services collapsed. Spain, like Greece, only became democratic in the 1970s.

In Germany’s principal financial daily newspaper, Handelsblatt, editor Gabor Steingart wrote: “If I were from Greece I would be amongst those who are alert and worried. I would keep a wary eye on that military machinery which governed the country until 1974 and which might lie in wait for an opportunity for revenge. We know from many countries: Dr Shock is an enemy of democracy.”

On the high profile British Newsnight television program, a Greek MP was asked if a coup might happen, and he replied: “I hope not.” He did not say “no.”

In recent years, the Greek army has been active during earthquakes and floods. In 2011, it collected garbage which had amassed in Athens due to a strike. A survey showed the army beat the church as Greeks’ favorite institution. The army has endured large payroll cuts, with more to come. Mary Bossis, professor of international security at the University of Piraeus, said, “The army is part of the people, they also suffer from austerity.” There are 156,000 active soldiers and 237,000 reservists, a greater proportion of the population than in Libya or Syria. Spending on the Greek military is the highest in all the European Union – 3.2 percent of GDP, compared to the EU average of 1.6 percent. Marc Ostwald of Monument Securities said that cuts to the military could cause a split within it. And what will happen when there is no money to pay the army?

Tanks on Red Square during the 1991 coup attempt in the Soviet Union; the putschists wrongly believed they would receive public support.

In his 1968 book, Political Order in Changing Societies, Samuel P. Huntingdon listed guardian coups as one type of coup. Here, the putschists claim to be ridding their country of an incurably corrupt regime, improving public order, and/or restoring democracy. Greece cannot hope to function unless it improves tax collection, which is avoided by corruption. A regime promising to hunt tax evaders and corrupt politicians would attract public support. Public order is currently at a low ebb in Greece, and police and soldiers have joined in with rioting. A coup could be justified on these grounds, and hence hope to have some public support. Even if no public support would be forthcoming, conspirators could wrongly believe that it would, as was the case in the Soviet Union in 1991.

The distinguished political scientist, Eric Nordlinger, pointed out that nearly all coups are, in truth, carried out for the military’s own interests: rent-seeking behavior. The Greek military would have much to gain in this respect.

If a coup is to succeed, there must by acquiescence or at least indifference internationally. A coup in Guinea-Bissau succeeded in the face of disinterest. The removal of the top tier of the Greek military went unreported by the Washington Post and New York Times, and perhaps a coup would not attract so much opprobrium.

What would a coup look like? The president does not have the power to dismiss the government, as the British Queen’s representative, the Governor General, did in Australia in 1975. Coups generally occur around August, Christmas, and the New Year, when key staff are on holiday. If enough of the U.S. president and Secretary of State and the Greek experts of the French, British and German foreign ministries are on holiday, reaction will be delayed, and the first few hours are crucial. It is said that the First World War began because key advisers such as those of the Tzar, the French prime minister, and the Austro-Hungarian emperor were not near their posts.

To overcome the larger forces of the incumbent regime, putschists would have to maximize surprise and act quickly. Most successful coups take hold within 48 hours. If there are few rumors of a coup, so much the better: the incumbents will not be on alert. Power in Greece is dispersed throughout the country, so multiple targets would have to be taken. Buildings such as the headquarters of the military and the police and television stations would have to be seized, and the top personnel of the incumbent regime dealt with. Officers who are no part of the coup might not resist as their livelihoods would not be endangered by it.

Protestors during a strike in Greece on 5 May. 2011; Photo: euronews

The British newspaper, the Daily Mail, printed the complaints of ex-pats living in Greece. The article was written by one ex-pat during a 48 hour general strike: banks, government schools, airports, bus and taxi drivers, customs officials, doctors, and bakers were not at work. When gas station staff went on strike, there was no gas for a week. Bear in mind that this scale of industrial action led the establishment, including the army, to contemplate a coup in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. Many young people are emigrating. There is widely perceived to be no hope. A tax collector was quoted as saying, “The Greek people never learned to pay their taxes because no-one is ever punished.” How much support would coup plotters anticipate if they offered to stop the rot by ending industrial unrest and making everybody pay tax?

A military junta might be acceptable to a Europe where the right-wing, Dutch politician Gert Wilders enjoys success.

Would the European Union be happy to have a military regime within its ranks? The rest of Europe shows some signs of going the same way, as the success of the Dutch nationalist, Geert Wilders, the True Finns, and the United Kingdom Independence Party attest.

Greece itself has gone that way. Its government now includes people who would be inclined toward a coup. The coalition government cobbled together by Papademos includes the thoroughly right-wing Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) party. It has been given one ministerial and two deputy ministerial positions. The party says it is “hellenocentric,” rather than racist.

The incoming Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Makis Voridis, was previously the general secretary of the very right-wing National Political Union (EPEN) party, which was founded by the imprisoned coup leader, Papadopoulos. Voridis was expelled by the Law School Student Union and then sued by the National Union of Students for taking part in fascist attacks on other students. Deputy Minister of Development, Adonis Georgiades, was a great fan of the book, Jews: The Whole Truth, which supported Hitler and advocated the extermination of Jews. He plugged the book repeatedly on his television show. The leader of LAOS, Georgios Karatzaferis, was reported by Athens News to have made anti-Senitic remarks. He denies making such comments, but failed to convince the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, which said that LAOS members had “expressed in the past propaganda against the Jews.” The American Anti-Defamation League called LAOS’ inclusion in government “deeply troubling.”

A coup was attempted in Trinidad and Tobago on 27 July 1990 by more than a hundred members of the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen Islamist radical group. The Islamists stormed parliament and a television station, and took the prime minister and all other occupants hostage. One MP, Rawle Raphael, had received three warnings of a coup attempt, but did not pass them on to the National Security Minister or the police because he “believed it was a big rumor and big joke.” Any member of the Greek government who says the prospect of a coup in Greece is a joke just might also find themselves standing before armed men before very long.

Bibliography

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Dardanis, Amanda. “Think we’ve got it bad? Read about the British expats whose lives have become a nightmare in violent, chaotic Greece.” Daily Mail. 27 November 2011. 30 November 2011. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2066527/Think-weve-got-bad-Read-British-expats-lives-nightmare-violent-chaotic-land.html#ixzz1f235I3IH.>
“Does Papandreou Fear a Military Coup in Greece?” International Business Times. 2 November 2011. 6 Novermber 2011. <http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/241915/20111102/greece-papandreou-eu-bailout-military-officers-coup.htm.>
“Greece Government on edge of collapse amid fears of coup as Europe teeters on the brink of financial disaster.” Indepth Africa. 2 November 2011. 6 November 2011. <http://indepthafrica.com/magazine/feature-11/greece-government-on-edge-of-collapse-amid-fears-of-coup-as-europe-teeters-on-the-brink-of-financial-disaster/.>
“Obituaries: George Papadopoulos; Led Military Junta in Greece.” Los Angeles Times. 28 June 1999. 6 November 2011.<http://articles.latimes.com/1999/jun/28/news/mn-50904.>
“The Democratic Shield: How Establishing the Rule of Law Protects Countries from Military Coups.” Kerem Turunc. n.d. 6 November 2011. <http://www.keremturunc.com/DemocraticShield.pdf.>
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Groves, Jason. “Nightmare vision for Europe as EU chief warns ‘democracy could disappear’ in Greece, Spain and Portugal.” Daily Mail. 15 June 2010. 6 November 2011. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286480/EU-chief-warns-democracy-disappear-Greece-Spain-Portugal.html.>
Lamm, Aron. “Amid Crisis, Right-Wing Extremism on Rise in Greece.” Epoch Times. 4 December 2011. 5 December 2011. <http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/amid-crisis-right-wing-extremism-on-rise-in-greece-153223.html.>
Maltezou, Renee and Apps, Peter. “Coup talk ignores changes in Greece.” China Post. 4 November 2011. 6 November 2011. <http://www.chinapost.com.tw/commentary/reuters/2011/11/04/321919/Coup-talk.htm.>
Mattich, Alen. “Greece: Don’t Discount the Role of the Military.” Wall Street Journal. 19 September 2011. 6 November 2011. <http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2011/09/19/greece-dont-discount-role-of-military/.>
Sharp, Gene and Jenkins, Bruce. “The Anti-Coup.” Albert Einstein Institute. n.d. 6 November 2011. <http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations/org/TAC.pdf.>
Williams, Amy. “Greece could face military coup says Steven Cordell.” Citywire. 21 June 2011. 6 November 2011. <http://citywire.co.uk/global/greece-could-face-military-coup-says-steven-cordell/a502154.>
Worstall, Tim. “The Appalling Greek Solution: a Military Coup.” Forbes Magazine. 26 October 2011. 6 November 2011. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2011/10/26/the-real-greek-solution-a-military-coup/.>

Related posts:

1. The British Coup Conspiracy
2. Why the Iranians Hate Us: the Coup of 1953
3. How the United States Narrowly Missed a Coup

email: timothychilman@yahoo.com

Mexican soldiers manning a random checkpoint

Mexico is in a bit of a pickle. In December, 2006, President Felipe Calderon kicked-off a crackdown upon the seven drug cartels which earn $13bn every year from transporting drugs to the United States. The government says that 34,612 people have been killed since then, including drug gang members, security force personnel, and innocent civilians. The death toll of 15,237 last year was the steepest yet. Violence has increased as previously allied drug cartels fight amongst themselves, with most of the action being between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, who were formerly its enforcers, and between the Juárez and Sinaloa cartels. Internecine squabbling by the cartels has resulted in higher prices and lower purity of drugs.

Offshoots of the main cartels have emerged, many in the last year: Mano con ojos, (Hands with Eyes); Mata Zetas (Zeta Killers); Caballeros Templarios (Knights Templar); Cartel de Pacifico Sur (the South Pacific Cartel); Cartel del Centro; and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion. These groups are exceedingly violent as they compete for a slice of turf. Established cartels see them as an enemy, and provide intelligence concerning them to governmental agencies.

Mexican soldiers looking busy

 50,000 soldiers and police have been pitted against the cartels. Records amounts of drugs have been seized, and high-ranking cartel leaders imprisoned or killed. Concern has been expressed over the army’s lack of accountability. The Mexican Human Rights Commission received 3,430 complaints about the military from citizens, alleging rape, torture, arbitrary detention, and theft. Corruption is rife within the police, and the army has sometimes been used in its place: the army replaced police in 22 cities in the middle of June. Reforming the police is expected to take years.

Mass graves have been discovered, the handiwork of cartels, sometimes housing almost 200 bodies. There have been beheadings, faces cut off and sewn to footballs, and bodies hung from bridges. In March, 2010, gunmen suspected of being associated with drug traffickers killed a pregnant U.S. consulate worker and her husband in the violence-riven town of Ciudad Juárez, not far south of El Paso. Gunmen also murdered the husband of another consulate employee and wounded his two young children. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, Jaime Zapata, was killed on a Mexican highway. Suspects in his killing were apprehended thanks to U.S. drones. Government sources in Arizona said that Zetas dressed as SWAT officers were responsible for the murder of a man in Phoenix. In the past, Americans were avoided as their deaths cause excessive fuss.

A cartel operative claims that busloads of people were intercepted, with the elderly killed, young women raped, and able-bodied men told to fight each other to the death with sticks, machetes, and hammers. Survivors were recruited. Such an episode was recounted by Borderland Beat, a blog which concentrates on drug cartels. Peter Hann, a retired FBI agent who worked against the drug cartels, said that killing in this manner is time-consuming, inefficient, and a poor way to recruit people, and seems to have been intended for no more than amusement.

Scores of tunnels have been found, with ventilation, lighting, rails, and pulleys. The most sophisticated was between San Diego and Tijuana, the principal entry point for drugs into California. More than 70 have been found since 2008, more than were discovered in the previous six years. California is a popular location, as its clay-like soil is easily dug. San Diego’s Otay Mesa region is particularly popular due to the number of warehouses on both sides of the border.

The cartels have access to military-grade weapons: a minimum of 12 M4 carbines with grenade launchers have been seized.

Phil Jordan, an ex-CIA operative with contacts in the U.S. intelligence community, said that El Zetas are smuggling military-grade weapons into Mexico. Shipments are made from Alliance Airport in Forth Worth to El Paso and Columbus, after which they are sent south. The DEA’s Aviation Operations Center is at Alliance. Tosh Plumlee, whom we shall encounter again later, said that military-grade weapons were discovered in 2009 in a warehouse. The cartels, Plumlee said, are in possession of handguns, assault rifles, anti-aircraft weapons, grenade launchers, body armor, and night-vision goggles. Jesús Rejón Aguilar, third in line to the Zetas’ throne, said that weapons were purchased in the United States. The weapons have not been found at routine crime scenes, which Plumlee said was because they are being stored until the 2012 Mexican general election.

It has been reported that more than a hundred trucks have been discovered which had been fitted with air conditioning, holes for firing through, and inch-thick armor capable of deflecting machine gun fire,. They provide a psychological advantage over police, intimidate civilians, and have been labeled “narco tanks” by the popular press.

The narco submarine seized in Ecuador

In February 2011, a submarine capable of carrying eight tons of drugs was seized by Colombian troops. Colonel Manuel Hurtado, chief of staff of the Colombian Pacific Command, said it would have taken between six and eight months and around $2 million to build. The previous July, another was seized in neighboring Ecuador.

Los Zetas was established by men who had deserted from Mexican special forces, the Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales. Former members of Guatemalan special forces have also been recruited, many of whom were trained in counter-insurgency by American military advisers during the civil war in Guatemala. A Congressional report in 2008 stated that the cartels are increasingly forging links with established U.S. drug gangs.

Major General Paul E. Vallely (ret.)

The bloodshed in Mexico led Major General Paul E. Vallely (ret.) to suggest that the United States invade Mexico “to protect and secure the American people.” He believes this eventuality would be covered by the Posse Comitatus Act of 1848, and that no laws would be violated. Things are, he says, just like it was in 1846. Vallely is a military analyst for Fox News, and also regularly rails against Islam. Republican presidential frontrunner, Rick Perry, has also suggested that it would be worthwhile to send U.S. troops to Mexico.

Vallely is highly representative of the news-gathering capabilities of Fox. He says that drug-related violence is spilling over from Mexico to the United States, but Juárez was dubbed “the world’s murder capital” by the British Guardian newspaper, while nearby El Paso is the second safest city in the United States. Mexico is a pretty big place, and crime is not exceptionally high in many areas. Its murder rate overall is lower than a number of other countries in the region. In Mexico, it is 18.4 per 100,000 people, while in Brazil it is 25, in Colombia, 37, and in El Salvador, 61.

Vallely said that Mexican drug cartels represented a “clear and present danger” to the United States, and one can imagine the U.S. president saying the exact same thing. And just like in the film, Clear and Present Danger, U.S. Army special forces have been sent to deal with it.

A U.S. Army special forces soldier

There is firm evidence that a U.S. Army special operations task force has been deployed to Mexico to train the Mexican Army in counter-insurgency. This includes training for “wet jobs” – operations where blood is spilled. The allegations were made by a one-time CIA asset with extensive experience, William Robert “Tosh” Plumlee. He flew missions where he carried munitions in one direction and drugs in the other as part of the Iran/Contra operations of the 1980s.

Plumlee has contacts deep in the world of U.S. intelligence. He has in the past attempted to expose CIA involvement with the drug trade. He sent a letter to Sen. Gary Hart in 1991 and testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1990. One of the many to attest to his credibility is ex-DEA undercover operative Mike Levine, who hosts the Expert Witness radio show on Pacifica Radio. He said that government agents respected Plumlee. He has been quoted by the Washington Times and UPI.

Marcos Arturo Beltran Leyva, who was killed by Mexican naval special forces

This special forces unit, Task Force 7, was originally deployed early in 2009, and uncovered a warehouse in Juárez which was owned by drug traffickers and crammed with U.S. weapons and ammunition. It provided crucial intelligence which resulted in a raid on a sweatshop in Juárez which manufactured fake Mexican Army uniforms. It worked with the Mexican Army to uncover a mass grave near Palomas. Thanks to Wikileaks, we know it worked alongside the Mexican Navy in pursuing a major drug trafficker, Arturo Beltran Leyva, who met his maker at the hands of Mexican Naval special forces in December of last year in Cuernavaca.

The Washington Post reported that the United States has deployed special force to 75 countries for training and joint operations, an increase of 15 on the previous year. The Post said the soldiers were sent to Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, but The Nation magazine said they had also been sent to Mexico and Colombia. Plumlee says that troops are present, too, in Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Paraguay, and Peru. The New York Times reported that CIA operatives and U.S. civilian military employees had been posted to a Mexican military base. The Mexican publication El Universal said that U.S. and Mexican special forces engaged in exercises together in Colorado at the start of 2011.

One senior officer said that the Obama administration permitted “things that the previous administration did not.” Another officer said that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue had been “asking for ideas and plans… calling us in and saying, ‘Tell me what you can do. Tell me how you do these things.” An unnamed ex-U.S. government functionary with experience of covert operations said, “Black operations have been going on forever,” adding that if Task Force 7 took part in wet jobs, “It wouldn’t be the first time.” The budget for Special Operations in 2011 was $6.3bn, a rise of 5.7 percent. The Mexican military is already known to receive much funding from the U.S. government.

Evidence of the campaign to free Colombian politican, Ingrid Betancour, who was held be the Colombian FARC guerilla group, which funds itself through drugs. Photo: OliBac

The Economic Development Council for Okaloosa County is a group of Floridan businessmen, including a number of defense contractors. It released a document purporting to be a Defense Department briefing made in May 2009 in Washington, D.C. This said that U.S. special forces were present in 18 Latin American nations including Mexico in 2009. This has never been officially confirmed. The document said that what it calls the 7th Special Forces Group was involved in the rescue from FARC guerillas of three Defense Department contractors and prominent Colombian politician, Ingrid Betancourt, in July 2008. This was reported on the internet but not in the lamestream media.

The document was marked “For Official Use Only,” meaning that it was not intended to be released publicly. It said it was for the benefit of Rep. Jeff Miller, a way-out-there right-wing Republican sympathetic to the Tea Party. His chief of staff, Dan McFaul, said that Miller did not attend a briefing on that day. An article at the website, Narco News, which said that U.S. special operations troops were in Mexico, provoked a heated denial by the Mexican embassy.

In 2008, Dubya put his name to the Merida Initiative, $400 million to fund

A diagram released at the time of the signing of the Merida initiative, showing the areas of influence of the various cartels

Mexico in its War on Drugs. One day after he scrawled his signature, a video emerged of U.S. security contractors training Mexican police in torture. One unfortunate is seen to be hauled through his own vomit, while water is forced up the nose of another, and then his head shoved into a hole containing excrement. This is against Mexican law, just as was Abu Ghraib.

Admiral Eric T. Olson, head of the Tampa-based Special Operations Command, said in a speech that “In some places, in deference to host-country sensitivities, we are lower in profile.” The activities of Task Force 7 are not coordinated with the government of Mexico, which has led to acute political upset between the State Department and the Calderon government. The Justice and State departments pressured Task Force 7 to tone down its reports “so we do not upset Mexico any more than they are already upset.”

U.S. motivations could well be less than wholesome. There is certainly no sign of Harrison Ford. When bumpkin farmers rebelled in Chiapas, Mexico’s poorest state, back in 1994, the United States quickly assisted the government of Mexico in suppressing the uprising. At the time of the Cold War, the United States also trained escuadrones de la muertes – death squads – which dealt with people who supported land distribution. Leaked information said that the U.S. military funded a band of geographers who charted the San Luis Potosi and Oaxaca regions in southern Mexico. Indigenous communities in these regions have for years asserted autonomy. Lt. Col. Geoffrey B. Demarest, the project leader, said that informal, unregulated land ownership is associated with illicit use, including violence. Privatization is obviously the order of the day.

Public backing for President Calderon’s campaign is waning, and many have called for a rethink. He says that he opposes the legalization of drugs, the only sane measure, but would be open to debate on the subject.

Bibliography

“Mexican Drug Trafficking.” New York Times. 3 August 2011. 9 September 2011. <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/mexico/drug_trafficking/index.html.>
“Mexican Drug Wars Update: Targeting the Most Violent Cartels.” Stratfor. 21 July 2011. 9 September 2011. <http://www.stratfor.com/memberships/199326/analysis/20110720-mexican-drug-wars-update-targeting-most-violent-cartels.>
“‘Most Sophisticated’ Drug Tunnel Found On US-Mex Border.” Fox News. 30 November 2011. 2 December 2011.
“Police seize marijuana as Mexico-US drug tunnel found.” BBC. 4 November 2010. 9 September 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11690556.>
“Q&A: Mexico’s drug-related violence.” BBC. 26 August 2011. 9 September 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10681249.>
“U.S. Special Ops Troops Deployed in Mexico, Leaked Briefing Confirms.” The Narcosphere. 5 June 2011. 9 September 2011. <http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/bill-conroy/2011/06/us-special-ops-troops-deployed-mexico-leaked-briefing-confirms.>
“US Special Forces are Operating in Mexico.” Salem News. 26 September 2010. 9 September 2011. <http://www.salem-news.com/articles/september262010/mexico-us-forces.php.>
“US-Trained Assassin Teams Now Deployed in Drug War.” Salem News. 28 August 2011. 9 September 2011. <http://www.salem-news.com/articles/august282011/us—drug-war-bc.php.>
Conroy, Bill. “U.S. Military has Special Ops “Boots on the Ground” in Mexico.” People of Color Organize. n.d. 9 September 2011. <http://www.peopleofcolororganize.com/news/military-special-ops-boots-ground-mexico/.>
De Young, Karen and Jaffe, Greg. “U.S. ‘secret war’ expands globally as Special Operations forces take larger role.” Washington Post. 4 June 2010. 9 September 2011. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/03/AR2010060304965.html.>
Lajeunesse, William. “America’s Third War: The U.S. Cut a Deal With the Sinaloa Cartel, Say Court Documents.” Fox News. 5 August 2011. 9 September 2011. <http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/05/americas-third-wardid-us-cut-deal-with-sinaloa-cartel/.>
Llana, Sara Miller. “Mexican drug traffickers’ latest weapon: ‘monster’ narco-tanks.” Christian Science Monitor. 7 June 2011. 9 September 2011. <http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2011/0607/Mexican-drug-traffickers-latest-weapon-monster-narco-tanks.>
Plumlee, Robert. “Salem-News Photojournalist with Army Task Force 7 in Mexico threatened with arrest.” Veterans Today. n.d. 9 September 2011 <http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/06/23/salem-news-photojournalist-with-army-task-force-7-in-mexico-threatened-with-arrest/.>
Schiller, Dane. “Mexican crook: Gangsters arrange fights to death for entertainment.” Houston Chronicle. 11 June 2011. 9 September 2011. <http://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Mexican-crook-Gangsters-arrange-fights-to-death-1692716.php.>
Valdez, Diana. “Zetas may be smuggling weapons.” El Paso Times. 13 July 2011. 9 September 2011. <http://www.elpasotimes.com/communities/ci_18465182.>
Vallely, Major General Paul. “Chessboard VII: War on the Southern Border.” Family Security Matters. 19 February 2011. 9 September 2011. <http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.8774/pub_detail.asp.>

Related posts:

1. China and the Threat of Informationalized War
2. End the Illegal U.S. Occupation of Hawai’i!
3. The U.S. Plan to Conquer Canada

email: timothychilman@yahoo.com

Michele Bachmann. Photo: Gage Skidmore

The Federalist newsletter, which bills itself as “the most widely read conservative grassroots publication on the Internet,” said that “Obama’s adoring Leftmedia sycophants are promoting the GOP candidates they believe Obama can most readily defeat.” That explains Michele Bachmann.

At first, things were looking good for Bachmann, the thinking man’s Sarah Palin. At the Republican debate in June where she launched her bid for the presidency, she received several bouts of applause for her attacks on President Barack Obama. She managed to mention her accomplishment of fostering 23 children three times. She was the most-sought guest for the next day’s breakfast television shows.

Bachmann has been eclipsed by Mitt Romney (pictured) and Rick Perry. Photo: nmfbihop.

By September, she was fading, and was nigh-on forgotten in debate as Rick Perry and Mitt Romney bickered. While Perry had 32 percent of support and Romney 21 percent, Bachmann’s seven percent put her down there with the also-rans: Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, and Rick Santorum, whose name is now best-known (according to Google) as a term for the frothy mixture of lube and feces which sometimes results from anal sex. Bachmann’s staff in New Hampshire have just all quit, with one going to work for Perry. Bachmann is down, and there can be no better time to kick her.

Bachmann said that her husband was off-limits: “I am running for the presidency of the United States. My husband is not running for the presidency.” But when Barack Obama ran for president in 2008, Bachmann said Michelle Obama was “anti-American” because she had said she had only become proud of her country recently. She also criticized the First Lady’s initiative to promote breast feeding – and not on the wholly reasonable grounds that it messes ladies’ tits up. To a radio show, she said, “Can you imagine if Laura Bush was doing that, out trying to pass her legislation? I think the media would have been after her.” So Bachmann’s husband is fair game.

Bachmann’s husband is “Doctor” Marcus Bachmann. The biography shown on the website of his practice, Bachmann & Associates, lists a master’s degree from Regent University, the Virginian institution established by Pat Roberston, and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Union Institute in Ohio, a correspondence-based school in Cincinnati. He punctuated it as “PhD,” while the American style is “Ph.D.” Obviously a man who know what he’s talking about. I’m just popping out for a can of Coke, a Twinkie, and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Union Institute.

The Union Institute: a pieceashit university

“Doctor” Bachmann acquired his Ph.D. in 1988. The Reauthorization Report on the Union Institute’s Ph.D. program by the Ohio Board of Regents which was released in 2002, said that, at the program, “expectations for student’s scholarship at the doctoral level were not as rigorous as is common for doctoral work.” The program was restructured. In 2004, the Department of Education declared in a letter to the Institute that its Ph.D. in psychology would not be recognized.

Marcus Bachmann is not licensed by the Minnesota Board of Psychology or the Board of Marriage and Family Therapy, although he chose his state well: Minnesota is one of the very few states where it is possible to practice therapy sans license.

In a an interview with the radio show, Point of View, in 2010, “Doctor” Bachmann said, “We have to understand: barbarians need to be educated. They need to be disciplined. Just because someone feels it or thinks it doesn’t mean that we are supposed to go down that road. That’s what is called the sinful nature.”

Marcus countered that he had been speaking of children and the recording was doctored, although that does not explain his earlier comment regarding “the understanding of God’s word on homosexuality”. He said that the comments do not reflect his belief system. There is, however, considerable evidence to the contrary.

Marcus Bachmann's clinic tells gentlemen such as these that, if only they pray hard enough, they can be cured of the abomination that is homosexuality. Photo: Boss Tweed

Andrew Ramirez was 17 years-old when he sought help from Bachmann & Associates over his sexual orientation. He was advised “to read the Bible, pray to God that I would no longer be gay.” He was told that God would forgive him if he were straight.

Ramirez’s alleged dealings with Marcus Bachmann’s clinic were first publicized by The Nation, and were supported by a video taken undercover by the gay rights advocacy group, Truth Wins Out. In the video, a gay man was counseled that with prayer and effort, he could learn to be attracted to wimmen. A counselor was heard to say, “’God designed our eyes to be attracted to the woman’s body, to be attracted to everything, to be attracted to her breasts” and “In terms of how God created us, we’re all heterosexual.”

In November 2005, both Bachmanns delivered presentations to the Minnesota Pastors’ Summit. Mrs. Bachmann’s spoke of the constitutional amendment to prevent gay marriage which she is trying to impose upon Minnesota. “Doctor” Bachmann’s presentation was entitled The Truth About the Homosexual Agenda. One gay activist in attendance said the presentation concluded with the testimony of three people who claimed that they were once gay but had been “cured.” Another attendee remarked that “there was so much bile.”

When asked in an interview with a local newspaper whether his clinic attempted to “pray away the gay,” “Doctor” Bachmann said, “That’s a false statement.” The fact that he is a proven liar should color all his protestations.

The practice of seeking to change an individual’s sexual orientation was comprehensively discredited by the American Psychological Association in 2009. The Association had spent two years looking into the matter, reviewing 83 studies going back to 1960. This approach to therapy was labeled ineffective and possibly harmful. Clinton Anderson, head of the Association’s Office on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender concerns, said to ABC news that his organization had thoroughly examined the matter and discovered no evidence that efforts to convert a person from gay to straight could succeed. Anderson also said, “The harm is that when people are already in distress, and feeling conflict about their religion and their sexuality, to tell them they can change if they work hard enough… just makes their distress and their shame… even worse.”

The rising cost of Medicaid, to which Marcus Bachmann contributed.

As a side note, the Bachmann & Associates clinic has been the principal source of income of the Bachmanns since Michele left her law practice to enter politics. Although she has criticized Medicaid for “swelling welfare rolls,” the clinic accepted more than $150,000 of Medicaid money. The Bachmanns part-own a farm which received $260,000 of federal money between 1995 and 2008, and farm subsidies are welfare for white people.

“Doctor” Bachmann evidently has a “thing” about homosexuality. What could that thing be? Could it be that the gentleman doth protest too much, methinks? Well, he is a large blip on the gaydar of many people.

Jerry Seinfeld mocked the homosexuality of Marcus Bachmann relentlessly. Photo: qiaoqiao2

On The Daily Show, hosts Jerry Seinfeld and Jon Stewart laid into the “Doctor.” Seinfeld said, “He’s so gay Richard Simmons tells him to ‘tone it down.’” Stewart said “Doctor” Bachmann was “so gay he calls Top Gun ‘that volleyball movie’” and he is “an Izod shirt away from being the gay character on Modern Family.”

The pair mocked a video of “Doctor” Bachmann dancing with his spouse at a Des Moines Tea Party meeting. Stewart said the good “Doctor” “dances and sounds not only gay, but center-square gay.” That latter was a reference to Paul Lynde, who sat in the center square of the game show, Hollywood Squares, from 1968 to 1981. He never came out and the media never pressed the issue, but a 1976 People magazine article about him featured Stan Finesmith, his “chauffeur-bodyguard.” In 1978, he was arrested outside a gay bar in Salt Lake City, which cost him his guest-starring rôle in The Donny and Marie Show.

When the video concluded, Stewart said, “That’s the man supposed to be teaching people not to be gay?” It has been said that “Doctor” Bachmann has “a drag queen’s strut.”

Seinfeld and Stewart also made mirth of “Doctor” Bachmann’s voice. The voice is some way short of baritone. As well having a high-pitched voice, “Doctor” Bachmann has a very slight lithp and slurs his words slightly.

Columnist Dan Savage said that Marcus Bachmann had "tiptoed down" the road of homosexuality. Photo: Oregon State University

Dan Savage, who writes the highly popular Savage Love problem page, said in a podcast that the “mincing” “Doctor” Bachmann sounds awfully like an ass bandit. Savage says “Doctor” Bachmann appears to have “tiptoed down” the road of homosexuality, “just a couple of inches… maybe six, maybe seven.”

Cher told her 250,000-plus Twitter followers that “My Gay-Dar is GOING OFF !!!” When she appeared on Current’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann, comedian Janeane Garofalo said, “He seems to be quite gay to me.” Another comedian and New York Times best-selling author and LGBT rights advocate, Kathy Griffin, talked on the Late Late Show about her breasts and then Marcus Bachmann. She said, “Okay, he’s very anti-gay and LGBT rights, and it’s odd, because if you look at him on YouTube, it’s almost as if he himself… or, it’s as if…” Pundit Andrew Sullivan called Bachmann a “ssuper-sserial hunter of gays.” Daily Show co-creator, Lizz Winstead, tweeted that “Doctor” Bachmann was “the white Al Reynolds.” Al Reynolds is the ex-husband of the former host of the View, Star Jones. He spends much time insisting that he is absolutely, certainly, definitely not homosexual.

James Urbaniak, one of The Venture Brothers, said, “It’s pretty much a given that the most vociferously homophobic men are usually repressing something. But, oh Mary, Michele Bachmann’s husband Marcus takes the ever-loving cake.” Television actor Dave Foley tweeted: “How can Michele Bachman be opposed to gay marriage when she is married to gay man.”

Marcus Bachmann sets off people’s gaydar left, right, and center. Can gaydar be trusted? Science says “yes.”

In a series of studies published two years ago in Scientific American, college students were asked whether men in pictures they were shown were gay. In one experiment, the students were shown pictures of 81 men taken from online personal ads. Gaydar was significantly better than mere chance. Research at the University of Toronto said wimmen in particular have the best gaydar, particularly when they are at their most fertile. It is something of an evolutionary necessity that fertile wimmen can eliminate gay men from consideration for fucking.

Michele Bachmann is pretty. Her husband is not. Can you imagine this pair getting it together?

Michele Bachmann is pretty, while Marcus is pudgy and somewhat effeminate, which would accord with theirs being a marriage of convenience. There is likely to be little action between their sheets, however thanks to some ill-advised poses that were captured photographically, we have an idea of what Bachmann sex might look like. For fellatio, there is the photograph  of Michele inserting a 12 inch corn dog to her mouth (she had it with mustard) and for sodomy

If Michele Bachmann sucked cock, it would look like this. Photo: wunderingmania

(no way would intercourse be vaginal) there is the photograph of Michele leaning forward with her ass close to the nether regions of Marcus, who stands erect.

The truth is so very clear: Marcus Bachmann took the road to Sodom. If he walked into the average bar in Texas, he would be lynched

 Bibliography

“Kathy Griffin Hints Marcus Bachmann Is Gay On The Late Late Show.” Huffington Post. 2 September 2011. 21 October 2011. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/02/kathy-griffin-hints-marcus-bachmann-gay_n_946297.html.>
“Marcus Bachmann’s Big Gay Mess.” Gawker. n.d. 21 October 2011. <http://gawker.com/5820437/marcus-bachmanns-big-gay-mess.>
“PHYSICIAN HEAL THYSELF: Michelle Bachmann’s Husband Runs ‘Gay Cure’ Clinic With Taxpayer Funds.” Phawker. 10 July 2011. 21 October 2011. <http://www.phawker.com/2011/07/10/physician-heal-thyself-michelle-bachmanns-husband-runs-gay-cure-clinic-with-taxpayer-funds/.>
Apple, Lauri. “All Kinds of People Weighing in on Marcus ‘Mr. Michele’ Bachmann’s Sexuality.” Gawker. 3 July 2011. 21 October 2011. <http://gawker.com/5817774/all-kinds-of-people-weighing-in-on-marcus-mr-michele-bachmanns-sexuality.>
Broadwater, Luke. “Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart joke that Bachmann’s husband is secretly gay.” Baltimore Sun. 14 July 2011. 21 October 2011. <http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-07-14/entertainment/bal-jerry-seinfeld-jon-stewart-joke-that-bachmanns-husband-is-secretly-gay-20110714_1_marcus-bachmann-michele-bachmann-daily-show-full-episodes.>
Ellicot, Claire. “Women really do have a ‘gaydar’ and can tell a man’s sexuality just by looking at them.” Daily Mail. 24 June 2011. 21 October 2011. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2007337/Gaydar-Women-really-tell-sexuality-just-looking-man.html.>
Gaynor, Gerren Keith. “Hypocrisy? Bachmann’s Husband, Closeted Gay?” Newsone. 18 July 2011. 21 October 2011. <http://newsone.com/nation/ggaynor/marcus-bachmann-gay-marriage/.>
Hilton, Perez. “Michele Bachmann Says Her Husband Is Off Limits.” Perez Hilton. 28 July 2011. 21 October 2011. <http://perezhilton.com/2011-07-28-michelle-bachmann-says-husband-marcus-bachmann-is-off-limits-in-campaign#.TqRLg9RzeEN.>
Lederman, Josh and Strauss, Daniel. “Report: Bachmann’s New Hampshire staff resigns en masse.” The Hill. 21 October 2011. 21 October 2011. <http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-presidential-primary/189057-bachmanns-new-hampshire-staff-quits.>
Nededog, Jethro. “Janeane Garofalo Believes Michele Bachmann’s Husband Is Battling His Own Gay Demons.” Hollywood Reporter. 15 July 2011. 21 October 2011. <http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/janeane-garofalo-believes-michelle-bachmanns-212092 .>
Ross, Brian, Schwartz, Rhonda, Mosk, Matthew, and Chuchmach, Megan. “Michele Bachmann Clinic: Where You Can Pray Away the Gay?” ABC News. 11 July 2011. 21 October 2011. < http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/michele-bachmann-exclusive-pray-gay-candidates-clinic/story?id=14048691.>
Saletan, William. “Read my Lisp.” Slate. 15 July 2011. 21 October 2011. <http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2011/07/read_my_lisp.single.html.>
Spillius, Alex. “Michele Bachmann steals limelight at Republican debate.” Daily Telegraph. 14 June 2011. 21 October 2011. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/republicans/8575667/Michele-Bachmann-steals-limelight-at-Republican-debate.html.>
Tree, Oliver. “Jon Stewart (with help from Jerry Seinfeld) mocks Marcus Bachmann’s gay therapy… as he ‘seems so gay.’” Daily Mail. 14 July 2011. 21 October 2011. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2014755/Jon-Stewart-help-Jerry-Seinfeld-mocks-Marcus-Bachmanns-gay-therapy—Marcus-gay.html.>

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2. China and the Threat of Informationalized War
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The 10 Russian spies caught by FBI.

The operations of a Russian spy ring that was busted more than a year ago by FBI undercover officials can now be seen in declassified videos released by a Freedom of Information Act request.

The FBI thinks their job was recruiting new people to provide information for the ring.

According to counter-intelligence experts, the spies stuck to classic and outdated techniques that were easy to follow.  Video includes a cafe meetup and exchange, a dead drop, and a ‘brush pass’ between one of the spies and a visiting Moscow official.

How could Moscow make such a critical mistake to train their spies to employ simple techniques that would be easily traceable? Could it be that these spies served as decoys meant to occupy all of the FBI’s attention and resources while the true spies went on with their business undisturbed?

Immediately following capture 5 of the spies were exchanged for 5 American spies in Russia.

The FBI named the case ‘Operation Ghost Stories‘ because of the 10 caught spies 6 of them assumed the identity of people deceased.  Video does not include sound.

For all of the data released, check out the FBI’s Ghost Stories Vault.

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Korean fashion. Photo credit of Edward Lynn Nygren

The U.S. is at war: with something.  It has become the catch-all phrase for acts of terrorism and crimes against the country.  It is now used as an excuse for every invasion of privacy and illegal search and seizure.

“Where is a terrorist more apt to be found? Not these days on an airplane, more likely on the interstate” says Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons.  TSA agents are no longer searching Americans only in airports, but now on highways as well.  And how is this act justified? Simple, according to TSA Federal Security Director Paul Armes, “Somebody sees something somewhere and we want them to be responsible citizens, report that and let us work it through our processes to abate the concern that they had when they saw something suspicious.”

Something. Somewhere.  These are the excuses the TSA uses to extend its power.  The agents are hitting the road with Visible Intermodel Prevention and Response (VIPR) agents, giving random inspections.   All on the lookout for “something”.

The “If you see something, say something” campaign is the beginning of the end of American rights and liberties. You can be pulled over for something, searched without a warrant for something, have your personal belongings seized for something, and be detained and jailed for something.  Explicit reasons and proof of evidence has been pushed aside; somebody doing something somewhere has become enough.

Related posts:

1. A Tale of Terrorism by the U.S. Government

A victim of Wall Street greed: average American

On November 9th, 2011, the United States government is planning to seize all TV and radio communications simultaneously at 2 PM.

The reason for the shutdown, according to the government, is to complete the first ever test of the National Security Alert System. This test comes at the hand of President Obama, with power shared among major government divisions such as FEMA, DHS, the FCC, NOAA, and NWS.

Why is the government performing nationwide tests, are they expecting a terror attack or tragedy that the public not yet knows about? The U.S. Intelligence community may have intercepted game plans from rogue organizations outlining attacks in the future and the government wants the country to be ready.

But instead for terrorism, some think the tests are to prepare for civil unrest resulting from the high level of corporate greed and income inequality in the country. Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters are peaceful now, but that could change in coming months as more and more people’s life savings run out because of the impossibility of finding a job.

OWS, like many grass-roots organizations started by common people, is coordinated by social media and communications. If OWS protests turn violent, the U.S. government may want to shut down all communications the protestors have, including TV, radio, and the Internet. This upcoming test will take out at least 2 of these 3 major communications.

With the radio and TV networks down, the public will be blind to any injustice or crimes the government commits to the protestors. This would include unjust evacuation, police brutality, and even murder. Since news networks will be down, none of the public will be able to see these evil acts unfolding and they will remain complacent in their soon-to-be foreclosed homes baking brownies and reading Sports Illustrated.

Here is the official announcement from FEMA about the upcoming seizure of TV and radio.

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A toxic substance?

A staunch supporter of the ban, Tony Caso, declared at a county commission that “Fluoride is a toxic substance… This is all part of an agenda that’s being pushed forth by the so-called globalists in our government and the world government to keep the people stupid so they don’t realize what’s going on.”

Caso is not the only one who opposes fluoride use.  Four of the seven commissioners agreed that the chemical should be removed from the drinking water supply.

Science community is concerned

Doctors and scientists fear the conspiracy is getting out of hand.  Fluoridation is proven to prevent tooth decay with over 60 years of research in its favor.  FDA President Cesar Sabates states, “It is important that community leaders understand that cutting these vital health programs will directly lead to more cavities or tooth decay. This is especially true for low-income children, who have little access to dental services.”

Fluoride fears in popular culture

Beliefs that fluoride is a dangerous substance has been in the public mind for some time.  For instance, in the 1964 movie Dr. Strangelove, main character Jack D. Ripper had this to say about fluoride: “A foreign substance … introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That’s the way your hard-core Commie works.”

Related posts:

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3. Michael Jackson: One Conspiracy After Another

The Texas Republican stands firm with the belief that Obama’s plan is to disrupt the tradition of marriage being between a man and a woman.  ”This president, by virtue of the power to tax, the power to destroy, takes a shot at traditional conventional marriage,” says Gohmert.

According to him, tax credits under the President’s plan would favor unmarried live-in couples.  He goes on to say that these tax credits “may be something nice he’s throwing out for gay folks…”

But to find abominations of same-sex relationships , he need look no further than his own political party.  Since 2006, there has been at least 5 Republican gay sex scandals:

• Mark Foley: Caught sexting teenage boys working for the page program.
• Ted Haggard:  Paid male prostitutes for sex and snorted crystal meth.
• Larry Craig: Solicited sex from an undercover cop in an airport bathroom
• Bob Allen: Paid an undercover cop $20 for a blowjob in a public park restroom.
• Glenn Murphy Jr.: Got young republicans drunk and gave them blowjobs while they were asleep.

Why is Gohmert so concerned with the lives of gay people?  Maybe he is afraid of catching the bug from his fellow congressmen.

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