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China, Russia Wary Over US Plan to Shoot Down Satellite
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
February 18, 2008

(CNSNews.com) - A year after China shot down one of its own orbiting satellites in an unannounced anti-satellite weapon test, China is objecting to plans by the U.S. to destroy a damaged American satellite that is heading for Earth.

The Pentagon says it hopes within the coming week to destroy the spy satellite, which is carrying toxic rocket fuel that could potentially harm anyone near its landing location, if it's left to fall on its own.

The plan is to shoot it down just before it enters the atmosphere, using a surface-to-air missile fired from a U.S. Navy warship in the Pacific. If allowed to hit the atmosphere, it would break apart, be unpredictable and virtually impossible to engage, Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a press conference last Thursday.

Russia at the weekend accused the U.S. of wanting to test a space weapon under the pretext of shooting down the damaged satellite.

"The impression arises that the United States is trying to use the accident with its satellite to test its national anti-missile defense system as a means of destroying satellites," Russia's defense ministry said. Moscow is strongly opposed to the deployment of a U.S. missile defense shield in central Europe.

China joined the criticism Sunday, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying the government was "highly concerned" and closely watching the developing situation. Liu Jiachio said China "demands the U.S. side fulfill its international obligations and avoids causing damage to security in outer space and of relevant countries."

Liu, added, without elaboration, that China was studying "preventive measures."

In January last year, China tested an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon, launching a ground-based ballistic missile to destroy a Chinese weather satellite in orbit, more than 500 miles above the Earth.

The test troubled several countries that have interests in space and raised worries that the debris could pose hazards to other orbiting spacecraft. A top U.S. military officer said later that the test was "a confusing signal" from a country that says it desires a "peaceful rise."

What's different in this case, according to Cartwright, is that the U.S. aims to hit the defunct satellite just before it enters the atmosphere, far closer to the Earth than in the previous intercept. Debris resulting from intercepts higher up could orbit for 20-40 years.

Also, he said, the U.S. was meeting its obligations to notify other countries, a process that began "well over a month ago."

In the Chinese case, Beijing only confirmed the ASAT test almost two weeks after it took place.

The Chinese test was carried out on Jan. 11. The U.S. went public on the incident on Jan. 18, and both the Australian and Japanese government also voiced concern. The Chinese foreign ministry finally confirmed it on Jan. 23, saying in a statement that the test "was not directed at any country and does not constitute a threat to any country."

But in a later study of the Chinese operation, Prof. Desmond Ball of the Strategic and Defense Studies Center at the Australian National University said the ASAT test "has been widely viewed as a direct challenge to U.S. space superiority."

"China has been a prominent advocate of the 'prevention of an arms race in outer space,' " said Ball. "In one move, albeit fairly primitive, it has provided a major stimulus to such a race."

And in a May 2007 report to Congress on China's military capabilities, the Defense Department said the test had showed "China's ability to attack satellites operating in low-Earth orbit," adding that Beijing's space activities would have significant implications in the case of any future conflict over Taiwan.

In a statement delivered at a U.N. conference on disarmament in Geneva on Friday, U.S. ambassador Christina Rocca said Washington's response to the falling satellite and transparency in informing foreign governments were in line with its commitment to safe and responsible space operations.

"This extraordinary engagement is an emergency response to prevent the possible loss of life," she told the session. "This engagement is not part of an anti-satellite development and testing program."

Earlier in the week at the Geneva conference, China and Russia jointly tabled a new proposal for a treaty to prohibit space weapons.

In Beijing, Liu said the initiative was a bid "to prevent weaponization and arms race, and maintain peace and tranquility in outer space."

He said China hoped the conference would begin discussion and reach consensus quickly.

Under the draft treaty, states would "undertake not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying any kind of weapons, not to install such weapons on celestial bodies, and not to station such weapons in outer space in any other manner."
http://tinyurl.com/335lw7

Moneychangers Destroying America--And Christians Don't See It
by Chuck Baldwin
February 26, 2008

"And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables." John 2:13-15 (KJV)

The moneychangers of Jesus' day were the equivalent of the international bankers of our day. With the consent and approbation of the Jewish leaders, these bankers set up shop in the Temple. Their purpose was to exchange whatever currency the Jewish worshipper brought with him or her into Jewish currency, which would then be used to purchase whatever sacrifice the worshipper required. Of course, the exchange rates benefited only the bankers and Jewish leaders (and Caesar, who collected a tax on the exchange, of course). For everyone else, the system was nothing more than legalized extortion.

When Jesus saw what the bankers were doing, He was incensed. And throughout the Gospel narratives, this is the only occasion where Jesus is recorded as resorting to violence. He made a scourge (or whip) and drove the bankers out of the Temple by force and destroyed their tables, along with their records, receipts, etc.

It is too bad that today's pastors and Christians do not share Jesus' disdain for the current generation of moneychangers, because it is the moneychangers who are in the process of destroying these United States of America--and our pastors and Christians either do not see it, or, if they do see it, do not seem to care.

It is modern moneychangers who bully and bribe our spineless and greedy politicians (from both parties) into passing so-called "free trade" deals such as NAFTA, CAFTA, and the FTAA, which have all but destroyed America's manufacturing base and have put millions of American workers out of their jobs. It is the moneychangers who are the driving force behind the burgeoning North American Union, which sacrifices America's national sovereignty and independence.

Over the weekend, Dr. Jerry Corsi reported that a new North American Army has been created, without the approval of Congress or any mention by the American media. In World Net Daily, Corsi reports, "In a ceremony that received virtually no attention in the American media, the United States and Canada signed a military agreement Feb. 14 allowing the armed forces from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a domestic civil emergency, even one that does not involve a cross-border crisis.

"The agreement, defined as a Civil Assistance Plan, was not submitted to Congress for approval, nor did Congress pass any law or treaty specifically authorizing this military agreement to combine the operations of the armed forces of the United States and Canada in the event of a wide range of domestic civil disturbances ranging from violent storms, to health epidemics, to civil riots or terrorist attacks.

"In Canada, the agreement paving the way for the militaries of the U.S. and Canada to cross each other's borders to fight domestic emergencies was not announced either by the Harper government or the Canadian military, prompting sharp protest."

Corsi further writes, "The military Civil Assistance Plan can be seen as a further incremental step being taken toward creating a North American armed forces available to be deployed in domestic North American emergency situations.

"The agreement was signed at U.S. Army North headquarters, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, by U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, or USNORTHCOM, and by Canadian Air Force Lt. Gen. Marc Dumais, commander of Canada Command."

For the most part, the American media is blind, mute, and dumb regarding any of the issues relating to the merger of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The only notable media personality to give this matter any significant attention is CNN's Lou Dobbs. Obviously, the same moneychangers who control Congress also largely control the mainstream media.

The last three American Presidents, too, have been willing pawns in the hands of the moneychangers. Remember, it was Bill Clinton and Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole who collaborated to shove NAFTA down our throats. It was Bush 41 who first publicly promoted a "New World Order." But it has been George W. Bush who has done more to appease the globalist plans of the moneychangers than any President since Woodrow Wilson.

G.W. Bush has used the rubric of "the war on terrorism" to dismantle not only the personal liberties of the American people (most notably with his Gestapo-like Patriot Act), but also the constitutional principles of national sovereignty and independence. For example, back in 2006, G.W. Bush eviscerated one of America's most sacred doctrines protecting liberty and independence: the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which disallowed U.S. military troops from being used against U.S. citizens. (Of course, this did not stop Bill Clinton and Janet Reno from using U.S. troops against U.S. citizens at Waco, Texas. And thanks to G.W. Bush, the crime was permanently covered up.)

The expunging of Posse Comitatus becomes even more jeopardous when one considers the current merger of U.S. and Canadian military forces. Dr. Corsi explains:

"In an exclusive interview with WND during Vigilant Shield 2008, Gen. Renuart affirmed USNORTHCOM would deploy U.S. troops on U.S. soil should the president declare a domestic emergency in which the Department of Defense ordered USNORTHCOM involvement.

"In May 2007, WND reported President Bush, on his own authority, signed National Security Presidential Directive 51, also known as Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20, authorizing the president to declare a national emergency and take over all functions of federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments, without necessarily obtaining the approval of Congress to do so."

(See Jerry Corsi's complete report at http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57228 )

Are readers getting this? George W. Bush, on his own signature, with no approval from Congress and no input from the American people, has seized unlimited power for the Presidency; he has dismantled the constitutional protections of the American people; he has ignored the courts; he has begun creating the merger of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, including the merger of the U.S. and Canadian militaries; and he has refused to enforce U.S. immigration laws, thus facilitating a borderless North America. And all of this has been done at the behest of David Rockefeller and his cabal of moneychangers at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

When Jesus saw the moneychangers in the Temple, He drove them off with violence. Yet, today's pastors and Christians cannot even seem to see what these same moneychangers are doing to America. They support candidates simply because they have an "R" behind their names, vainly imagining that these candidates are somehow better than the ones with a "D" behind their names. The truth is, however, John McCain and Mike Huckabee are as beholden to the moneychangers as are Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Why can't Christians see this? Why are they so blind?

The one man who made it through the Republican Presidential primaries who was not only not beholden to the moneychangers, but who was vehemently opposed to them, was Congressman Ron Paul. But most pastors and leaders of the Religious Right, not seeing or understanding the evil being done by the moneychangers, not only did not support Ron Paul, but they actively supported (and continue to support) the moneychangers' puppet candidates.

I'm sure if Jesus had taken time to sit down and dialogue with those First Century moneychangers, they could have come up with very nice, flowery speeches as to how they were doing the Jewish people a service; how they were patriotic Romans and/or pious Hebrews. But Jesus did not need to dialogue with them: He knew what they were. And He knew what He needed to do; and He did it.

What Jesus did is exactly what every pastor, Christian, conservative, and every other real American should do: rise up against these moneychangers and drive them out of power! But we cannot accomplish this until we see them for what they really are: power-mad extortionists who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of America's freedom and independence. Do you think our fellow pastors and Christians will ever see it?
http://tinyurl.com/2nyz7k

Antidepressants 'not working'
ITN - 26.02.2008

Research suggests new-generation antidepressants are often no more effective than dummy pills.

A review has looked at four commonly-used antidepressants and the clinical trials submitted to gain licensing approval.

They included antidepressants regularly prescribed in the UK, including fluoxetine (Prozac), venlafaxine (Efexor) and paroxetine (Seroxat).

Researchers found that the drugs had no more effect than a placebo for mildly depressed patients, and for most people suffering severe depression.

They said even trials suggesting benefit for severely depressed people did not provide evidence of clear clinical benefit.

The pharmaceutical companies have argued their products are effective, and said that one study should not be used to cause unnecessary concern for patients.

The review was carried out by a group of experts, led by Professor Irving Kirsch, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Hull, who analysed 47 clinical trials using data released under Freedom of Information rules by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The researchers said their study was one of the most thorough investigations into the efficacy of new generation antidepressants, known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).

Professor Kirsch said: "The difference in improvement between patients taking placebos and patients taking antidepressants is not very great.

"This means that depressed people can improve without chemical treatments.

"Given these results, there seems little reason to prescribe antidepressant medication to any but the most severely depressed patients, unless alternative treatments have failed to provide a benefit.

"This study raises serious issues that need to be addressed surrounding drug licensing and how drug trial data is reported."

A spokesman for Eli Lilly, which makes Prozac, said: "Extensive scientific and medical experience has demonstrated that fluoxetine is an effective antidepressant.

"Since its discovery in 1972, fluoxetine has become one of the world's most-studied medicines.

"More than 40 million people suffering from depression have been treated with fluoxetine in over 100 countries around the world."

A spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline, which makes Seroxat, said: "The authors have failed to acknowledge the very positive benefits these treatments have provided to patients and their families dealing with depression and their conclusions are at odds with what has been seen in actual clinical practice.

"It is widely recognised by experts in the field that studies in depression are challenging and very difficult to conduct.

"This one study should not be used to cause unnecessary alarm and concern for patients."

Figures from the charity Mind show that 31 million prescriptions were written for antidepressants in the UK in 2006.

Of these, 16.2 million were for SSRIs.

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said: "If these results were upheld in further studies, they would be very disturbing.

"If validated, this research would mean that psychological therapies would be the only available treatments for the majority of people, but these do not work for everyone, particularly those with severe clinical depression."

She added: "These results are focused on clinical effectiveness rather than health risks.

"It is important that people should not stop taking the anti-depressants immediately, as doing so could lead to severe rebound depression."
http://tinyurl.com/32rntj