Another Violent Protest in D.C.

Did Mandela's Son Die of AIDS?

Former South African president Nelson Mandela says that his eldest son, Makgatho, "died of AIDS." It's a tragedy. But other stories did not directly say that he had "died of AIDS." Here's how the Washington Post put it: "Former South African president Nelson Mandela announced Thursday that his son, Makgatho Mandela, 54, had died that morning of illness related to AIDS..." The Post also said, "A spokesman for the Mandela family, Isaac Amuah, said in a phone interview that the immediate cause of Makgatho's death was complications from a gallbladder operation. But he said that AIDS was a contributing factor and that Mandela was determined to portray the death as resulting from AIDS to demystify the disease."

What is going on here?

Nevertheless, AP ran a story saying that the anti-apartheid icon had revealed "the cause of his son's death" and had appealed "for greater openness about the disease."

Greater openness when AIDS was a "factor" but not the real cause?

This is not just an academic discussion. In Africa, you don't need to test positive for HIV to be have AIDS.  If you are thin, have pneumonia, are sweating, vomiting, or coughing, you can have AIDS. This is the Banqui definition of AIDS.  According to Anita Allen, writing at Red Flags Weekly, there are 30-odd diseases under the Banqui definition - TB, malaria, leprosy, STD’s, dysentery, Hepatitis, meningitis, pneumonia - even cervical cancer - "which if you think about it is the opposite of the cell death caused by a virus."

Post Runs Puff Piece About Toker

Inside the Washington Post "puff" piece about retiring NORML head Keith Stroup is the following: "He loves the weed. He smokes it nearly every night. He comes home from work, pours a glass of chardonnay, lights up a joint and turns on the TV news." And does he watch Dan Rather?

The NORML advisory board includes David Boaz of Cato, Bll Mahr of HBO, and Nadine Strossen of the ACLU. Boaz is also a member of the Independent Gay Forum.

The NORML board includes   Ms. Barbara Ehrenreich, who writes a regular column for Time.

The Other Disaster: Radio Show on Phony AIDS Figures

Sharon Hughes recently interviewed me on the subject of the U.N., AIDS funding, and the phony figures on AIDS. She has a great show, "Changing Worldviews."  You can find a link to it here. The U.S. has spent $150 billion on AIDS -- and much of it may have been wasted.

Robin Wright on How to Concoct the News

Robin Wright of the Post has patented a brand of reporting in which she masks her charges behind anonymous sources. Today's story is another example:

Bush Is Urged to Quickly Outline Foreign Policy Goals; But President May Encounter Hurdles Finding Resources for Outreach in Second Term, Experts Say

Who are the experts?

Here are some of the actual "sources" from the article- 

say U.S. officials and foreign policy analysts, U.S. officials and foreign policy analysts say, U.S. officials say, U.S. officials say, a senior State Department official said, the official said,  U.S. and European analysts say,

Where was Kofi?

Our media have wanted to know why President Bush was allegedly too slow in publicly responding to the tidal wave disaster. But where was Kofi?

James Langton of the London Telegraph reports, "UN officials went to great lengths to conceal the whereabouts of Kofi Annan, the organisation's general secretary, who was on holiday when the tsunami struck and did not surface in New York until Thursday. In fact, it was revealed that, Mr Annan spent Christmas at the holiday home of James Wolfensohn, the president of the World Bank and a critic of the Bush administration, who owns a 160-acre ranch in the resort of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.Only a handful of Mr Annan's most trusted advisers were allowed to know his location. One official said: He did not want to be seen frolicking in the snow. It wouldn't look good.' So anxious were UN staff that his first interview, which was with the CNN cable news channel almost three days after the tsunami struck, was conducted by telephone, via the UN's headquarters, and producers of the show were not told where Mr Annan was speaking from."

No Tidal Waves Here

A Pakistan newspaper reports:

"UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is being criticised for having continued his vacation for three days after the giant tsunami devastated a dozen countries rather than return to his UN headquarters. Annan was vacationing at the ski resort of Jackson Hole, Wyoming."

Newsmax reported that Jonathan Hunt of Fox News questioned Annan:

"I think a lot of people are asking exactly why you waited three days on vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, before you decided to fly back to New York in the face of this extraordinary crisis," Hunt asked during a Thursday press conference in New York.

"Could you give us a full explanation of your thinking on that?" Hunt continued. "Secondly, what kind of signal does that 72-hour delay send to the nations to which you are now appealing for greater help?"

Obviously irked by the inquiry, Annan replied:

"First of all, there was action. It wasn't inaction. We live in a world where you can operate from wherever you are. ... You don't have to be physically here to be dealing with the leaders and the governments I have been dealing with. You don't have to be physically here to be discussing with some of the agencies; that we have done."

The angry secretary-general then barked: "I don't have to be sitting in my office to take action. I think the same goes for you in your profession."

The World Bank headquarters, estimated to cost $160 million, is quite something.

Abid Aslam of IPS Reported: "Gold leaf adorns a curved wall in an executive dining room at
the Bank's gleaming new headquarters just west of the White House, in a neighbourhood known as Washington's Wall Street district. The dining room nestles deep in the bowels of the 314-million-
dollar building. Although officials deny it is Bank president James Wolfensohn's private domain, architectural and catering staff call it ''the president's dining room.''

At an estimated 25 dollars per sq. foot, the gold leaf on the wall cost some 3,600 dollars. This is ''not an extravagant amount'' and is similar to the cost of vinyl wall covering, a Bank spokesman says.

For this sum, however, the government-audited, non-profit Alameda County Community Food Bank in California could provide some 9,090 meals to the homeless and to poor people with AIDS,
according to Tom Gleeson, the group's development director."

Pot Linked to Insanity; More on AARP and Dope

Our piece "From Pot to Porn to AARP" has struck a nerve in the pro-dope community.

Joyce Nalepka adds the following: Sometime ago, we requested permission to submit an educational article on "medical pot cigarettes" knowing that, if given the facts, grandparents would be our strongest allies.  AARP had no interest. We asked AARP's policy folks to support us in our effort to get an Express Preemption bill to stop the "Medical pot initiatives."  John Rother, Director of Strategy and Policy told me, "We may oppose you on Libertarian grounds.  We're more likely to stand with NORML since AARP may want to pass its own initiatives in the future." 

So was it surprising that three-quarters in the poll would vote for "medical marijuana?" No.

One of our best pieces on the hoax known as medical marijuana can be found here. Arne Steinberg notesthat no one has ever applied to the FDA with scientific proof or studies that have shown marijuana is a medicine that is "effective" for any illness, or that it is "safe." Because there is no such evidence. Here's one for you:

Will Soros Vacate Planet Earth?

After a success of sorts in Ukraine, Soros is getting nothing but bad news. First, the government of Kazakhstan has made charges of tax evasion against the Soros group there.  Then the President of Tajikistan. Imamali Rahmanov, said the Soros network was guilty of underwriting efforts to "destroy the Tajikistan administration."

Meanwhile, Soros personally seems to be doing nothing here. His www.georgesoros.com site is dormant. "This site is not currently being updated," it says.

AARP, LaRouche Oppose Private Social Security Accounts

The AARP and Lyndon LaRouche have announced a campaign against private personal accounts for Social Security, even though the system was originally designed to provide such accounts to individuals. Larouche, a former Marxist and convicted felon who always runs for president, is issuing a mass pamphlet entitled "Bush's Social Security Privatization: A Foot-in-the-Door for fascism." Meantime, AARP, described by the New York Times as "the influential lobby for older Americans," is spending $5 million on an advertising blitz to defeat the Bush plan. In fact, as we disclosed, AARP The Magazine has been taken over by the counter-culture. Older Americans would be horrified if they knew.

The $100 Million Mystery

I asked Kay King, Director, Congressional and Public Affairs for the U.S. Institute of Peace, about who in Congress supported $100 million for a headquarters for this group.

Her response:

Mr. Kincaid --

In answer to your question about the USIP headquarters project, a broad
cross-section of individuals, including current and former Board
members, have worked with Congress since the Institute's early years to
secure funding for the headquarters project. The initiative gained
momentum in 1992 when Congress approved legislation that allowed the
Institute to raise private money for the permanent headquarters. In
1996, Congress authorized the Department of the Navy to transfer to the
Institute the land at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street
to use as a site for the headquarters building. Funding for the design
and construction of the building was included in the FY2005 omnibus
appropriations bill with the support of the leadership and members of
the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

I hope this proves helpful.

Yours,
Kay

I replied:

That's helpful, but not specific enough. You say, "Funding for the design
and construction of the building was included in the FY2005 omnibus
appropriations bill with the support of the leadership and members of
the House and Senate Appropriations Committees." Who are these leaders and
members? Every member of the committees?

Thank you.

According to her bio, King served as senior legislative assistant for foreign and defense policy to Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-Delware) and worked at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and on the editorial staff of Foreign Affairs magazine.

I haven't heard back from her.

Meanwhile, Fred Hiatt of the Washington Post reports on the institute's work in Iraq. It's a story of courage. But I still don't understand why we need an official Institute of Peace to do the job, and why they need a $100 million headquarters.