From the October 2004 Idaho Observer:

Amid a world of pain and suffering: Human spirits shine through

The following is from my notes taken at discussions before, during and after the MZE conference (Sept. 2-Sept. 6). One cannot help but to be horrified by the stories as we visit the plight of one dispossessed people after another; listen to lucid reports of one failed official policy after another and; bear witness to disastrous legacy after disastrous legacy. However, one also cannot not help but sense that there is hope for our world because, with every problem we face there, are those indefatigable souls who have dedicated their lives to fixing them.

Sept. 1, Sirnach, Switzerland

Borislav Curic, Architect, Sarajevo: This man has donated his expertise to restoration of historic buildings damaged during the 1990-1994 war. Since the Bosnia-Herzegovinia government is broke and hopelessly corrupt, restoration projects are accomplished almost entirely from donated capital, professional expertise, materials and labor.

The "peace" in this region was pushed by the U.S. Former Yugoslavia was divided into two parts—Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovnia. Curic explained that the two governments find it difficult to collaborate peacefully.

Bosnia today is a country of corruption, criminals and an impossible economic situation. "Some things work, most do not. Nine years after the war, only the fighting has stopped," said Curic.

Most factories have been sold and unemployment is very high. Crime, drugs, prostitution, anger, violence is the norm. He described institutionalized bribery and graft at the political level; poverty and no hope for a future for the people. Half of all Bosnians live outside the country—young people leave as soon as they can. "If you get used to this as if it’s normal, this is not good. I call it social engineering," said Curic.

Curic believes that certain global corporate interests were responsible for the war and responsible for the continued chaos in his country. Under the rule of Marshal Tito (1943-1980), the diverse peoples (Christians/Moslems) that comprised Yugoslavia were forced to live together in peace. After Tito’s death in 1980, the leaderless nation fell prey to divisive forces. Slobidan Milosevic attempted to politically regain what Tito had, but failed and, by 1989, accomplished his coup with force. This coup led to the four-year war.

Curic explained that the Bosnians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenians and Albanians of former Yugoslavia had learned to live together under Tito and had developed a culture that was relatively prosperous and, though socialistic, was much freer than the Soviet communist model. Curic believes that a unified, post-Tito Yugoslavia was seen as a threat to certain corporate oil interests who prefer that the region be kept in a state of upheaval and its people devoid of hope for a brighter future.

I asked if people could meet out in the open and discuss issues of mutual concern. He said, "Yes," but explained that years of war and strife have taken their toll and the level of social dysfunction does not give rise to solutions at this time.

Mike Jones observed that "Social engineering pits various groups against each other. Social engineering is less dangerous if you can explain it and understand it."

We talked many more times throughout the conference and shared a couple of meals. I liked Curic very much. He was intelligent, open, curious had a marvelous sense of humor and a genuine desire to help his people. He predicts that there will be no war in Bosnia, but expects the dysfunction among his people to worsen.

Sept. 2, Sirnach, Switzerland

Professors Nafez and Laila Nazzal, Ramallah: The Nazzals are university-level sociology professors from Palestine. They make their annual pilgrimage to the conference to give a first hand report on the state of Palestine and the West Bank.

Laila began: Last year, the situation was bad. This year, the situation is worse. There are now 163 checkpoints in the West Bank. Since the attack on Arafat’s compound last October, the West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation.

Last year the Nazzals were hopeful that the infamous "wall" would be a good thing; that good fences make good neighbors. However, this year the true purpose of the wall is to isolate Palestinians, cut them off from food, water and civil services.

According to the Nazzals, 30 wells have been destroyed by the Israelis. The ability to farm has been compromised and Palestinians are forced to purchase expensive Israeli produce while their own crops rot in the fields.

This is accomplished through the wall. School children and farmers line up at 7:30 to go through a security door in the wall manned by Israeli soldiers. The door is opened for 30 minutes then locked. It opens again for half an hour in the evening and is then locked for the night. Farmers cannot get from farm to market with their produce because of the wall.

Israelis now have a food monopoly situation. Prices are escalating and Palestinians are experiencing diminished ability to buy food.

Palestinian economy has lost $13 billion since 2000. Average wage is $2 a day; 50 percent receive "humanitarian" aid; 25 percent receive financial assistance from the International Red Cross or other humanitarian organizations.

The Palestinian leadership is almost bankrupt; administrators receiving 50 percent of salaries.

Laila mentions that Palestinian families have many mouths to feed.

(In a previous conversation, I asked what the Palestinian population was 10 years ago and what it is today. I was expecting fewer—not more—Palestinians. A decade ago there were 1 million Palestinians; today, there are 3 million. The average Palestinian woman bears seven children now. It appears that Palestinians are preparing to overrun the Israelis in another 20 years or so).

One-third Palestinian children suffer malnutrition; one-half are anemic.

Education system falling down. Schools to sixth grade are in villages; after that, children must take buses and go through checkpoints to attend high schools. It is expensive, time-consuming and dangerous. "Children are just not going to school," Laila said.

Dropout rate phenomenal. Eight and nine-year-old children on the streets instead of in school. They sell pencils, tissues, whatever, to earn a few coins to give to their families to buy bread, rice and lentils.

The children are becoming more violent and aggressive, playing war in the streets. Violence and aggression becoming normal—part of Palestinian children’s psycho-social makeup.

Domestic violence increasing because men are at home, not working, feeling useless and angry.

If Israelis decide to destroy a Palestinian home, the family has 30 minutes to gather their belongings, then the house is exploded. The Red Cross then gives the family a tent to live in.

Israelis have gone into occupied area banks, owned and patronized by Palestinians, seized the money and refuse to give it back. This makes it impossible for Palestinians to finance reconstruction.

It is a situation of total anarchy. The problems have become so severe Palestinians are committing violent crimes against each other. Palestinian police are not allowed to be armed, only direct traffic. Israeli soldiers only police Palestinians to protect Israelis.

Former Palestinian authority officials have lost their authority and have formed into gangs. One of their tactics is forcing people to sign their land over to them at gunpoint.

Laila ended on a positive note. She believes that, while violence and infighting are increasing apace with the many problems facing Palestinians in the West Bank, good people are becoming better, working harder, delivering each other’s babies, visiting, talking and joking about the tragic comedy that their lives have become.

Nafez begins to talk about the wall: After the 1967 war, the Israelis wanted to control the flow of people and water in the region. The concept of an artificial boundary to separate Israelis and Palestinians was born at that time. Likud Party, which is now led by Arial Sharon, does not believe in separation. They believe the entire region belongs to Israel and that to separate is an admission that Palestinians have a legitimate claim to the West Bank.

When suicide bombings began in 1996, Israel began planning to build a "security" wall.

Nafez was not against the wall last year. He thought that, if the Israelis would build it along the green line (the border between Israel and the West Bank), it would be a recognition of Palestinian territory mutually agreed upon previously.

However, the wall is not following the green line, which is 320 km. It is dipping in and out of the West Bank.

At the end of 2003, there were 421,565 Israeli settlers in the West Bank; 7,559 settlers in the occupied territories. By the time this first wall is completed, it will be 680 km long. It is estimated that 55 percent of Palestine and most illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank will be protected by the wall.

The wall will imprison Palestinians in three large blocs. In the north (Jenine) the wall (completed in August, 2003) is 151 km long. Thirty-one wells and 12 Palestinian villages with a total 1,200 people are now behind the Israeli wall. In some cases, the wall divides homes from farms, sleeping places from toilets and homes from schools and hospitals.

The second part of the wall embraces Ramallah and surrounding communities. It is still under construction but going up very fast. Nafez teaches in Jerusalem, a 10-minute commute by car. Now it takes him three hours each way to and from school.

The third part of the wall will go from east Jerusalem to Bethlehem.

Israel is currently planning to build another wall along the River Jordan. When complete, 28 percent of Palestine’s fertile land and 81 reservoirs will be behind the Israeli wall.

The wall is not just concrete and razorwire. It is a high-tech combination of barrier, surveillance equipment and motion sensors with gates, doors and guard towers.

The tension between Palestinians and Israelis and each other becomes more intense with each passing day. The omnipresent threat of bombings and retaliation has engulfed the Holy Land in violence.

Nafez has identified four effects that the constant tensions and violence has had on his people.

1. A gulf has formed between the old and new Palestinian leadership; problems even between Arafat and his PLO.

2. From 1994-1997, things were getting better for Palestinians and the relationship between Palestine and Israel was improving. Since that time, the situation has been devolving and there have been changes in the domestic balance of power. Over 55 percent of Palestinians used to support the PLO; only 15 percent today. People are not happy with the way things are going.

3. Young people believe leaders are corrupt, inefficient and inept profiteers who do not have interests of the people at heart. His students believe it is a time for a change in leadership.

4. When suicide bombings began in 1996, only 20 percent of Palestinians supported them. Today 80 percent support suicide bombings—a sign that most Palestinians have lost hope. Most believe that Hamas, the militant pro-Palestinian group is closest to God and faith in God is all that many Palestinians have left.

Israel is in perpetual violation of every Israeli/Palestinian agreement it has ever struck with the help of international mediation. "Sorry to say, we have nothing to lose. The worst thing that can happen to a human being is to lose hope," Nafez said, and added that hopelessness is a very strong feeling among the younger generations.

A woman named Renate mentioned the historical irony here: That Israel is turning Palestine into a concentration camp.

Note: To fully appreciate the wall, one must look at a few photos and see how it (actually "they") appear on a map. It is more than twice as high and eight times longer than the Berlin Wall—and very high-tech.

Nikolay Cherkas, Belarus: This man, who spoke Russian through a German translator, works in the 30 km zone around the April 26, 1986, Chernobyl nuclear accident. The region, established in 1988, is called the "Polessie Radiological Natural Reserve." He will not discuss the human health problems (as others will discuss them later), but will concentrate on how plant and animal life has been affected by the radioactive fallout.

The problems from Chernobyl are still being felt. Twenty European countries within 2000 km radius of ground zero have been effected—an area of 47,000 sq. km.

Cherkas and his small, understaffed, underpaid and underfinanced team have been observing the reserve as nature attempts to restore itself. They have no budget for scientific experiments.

Native plants are not able to compete with weeds and are being choked out. All plants, roots, fruits and berries are contaminated and eaten by the animals.

Animals (bears, boars, wolves and owls) now occupy abandoned villages. Migrating animals such as deer and birds spread radioactivity wherever they go through droppings and their bodies when they die. Lifespan of animals contaminated with radiation is short and their weakened systems create high mortality rates in wintertime.

There is a village of 12 people who refused to leave. They are not very healthy.

The military uses some of the contaminated areas to test bombs.

The government refuses to investigate the effects of Chernobyl because it does not want to be held liable. Every year on April 26, people gather to demonstrate in support of an investigation, but it never comes. Cherkas reported that nearly 600,000 people helped to build the barrier around the Chernobyl site and now all of them are sick or dying.

There is some speculation that the "accident" was planned. It took three days for an evacuation to be organized. Many believe that the exposure was precipitated to see how people would react and how the fallout would travel.

Another incident, reportedly larger than Chernobyl, was reported in the Ural Mountains. No one talks about it.

The government punishes anyone who tries to speak out on these issues.

Dr. Sebastian Pflugbeil, Physician, Berlin:

Dr. Pflugbeil is a dissident scientist whom I met last year and is president of the Society for Protection Against Radiation Poisoning.

According to Dr. Pflugbeil, over 100 international "experts" are working on the secret "International Chernobyl Project." These experts claim that reports of high incidence of tumors and other radiation-induced symptoms are rumors and that people in the affected area enjoy good health.

Dr. Pflugbeil’s presentation utilized overhead charts that he has been able to obtain. The truth is that people in the region suffer extremely high levels of many categories of sickness in all age groups—particularly thyroid tumors.

Concentrations of radioactive cesium is being deposited in hearts causing an epidemic of deformed hearts in infants.

The cumulative environmental and genetic effects of Chernobyl on the affected people is a problem that continues to worsen.

Additionally, people who grow up near Chernobyl and leave the region are not likely to tell others where they are from. It is common knowledge that it is harder to find a mate when your partner knows you have been contaminated and will likely produce deformed children.

Fred Nahas, MD, Surgeon, Philadelphia:

Dr. Nahas explained the history of modern medicine and why he organized some 500 physicians in his area in an attempt to undermine the insurance-driven HMO system.

According to Dr. Nahas, modern medicine’s 80-year devolution has hit bottom when government officials, insurance companies and bureaucrats have invaded the doctor/patient relationship.

For medicine to be effective, the doctor/patient relationship must remain central to the issue without outside forces influencing diagnosis, treatment and care. "It is unreasonable and unethical to interfere with the doctor/patient relationship," said Dr. Nahas.

He recounted how the first HMO was started by Kaiser Permanente in California how it has evolved to the present state of affairs: Malpractice insurance, malpractice suits, pharmaceutical drugs, expensive tests and care procedures prescribed by insurance companies—not physicians. "Only in America can patients be put to death for money," Dr. Nahas said.

Five years ago, Dr. Nahas attempted to break the bureaucratic stanglehold on medicine. Since starting a union was too difficult, he attempted to join one. The only union that would accept him was, ironically, the Meatcutters’ Union.

Under the Meatcutters’ banner, he took his case all the way to the National Labor Relations Review Board (NLRRB). In violation of antitrust laws, the NLRRB ruled that physicians cannot negotiate fees or protocols for proper care with HMOs.

A Swiss physician noted that the same situation was evolving in Switzerland.

Sept. 3: Feldkirch, preconference

Dr. Steven Sneigoski, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Sneigoski, who spoke at the conference last year, has an excellent handle on the political intrigue defining the directions the U.S. is taking internationally. His understanding of the neocons and future events in the "war on terror" is comprehensive.

The neocon agenda demands that war in the Middle East expand to other areas—Iran and Syria initially, so that the concept of "Greater Israel" can be realized. He predicted that, if Kerry gets elected, the war will expand more easily because he is seen as the new guy whose reputation has not been sullied by the current war in Iraq.

Dr. Robert Hickson, Point Royal, Virginia:

If a poet soldier is alive in America today, it is this man. West Point grad, retired army colonel, Dr. Hickson paints an honest, though it breaks his heart, picture of the American experience. "My country is irrational," he said, and then spoke a line of Latin that translates, "My country is so sick it cannot tolerate its diseases and will not consider a cure."

Dr. Hickson reiterated the neocon influence described by Sneigoski and admitted, "We are even more hated by the Arabs than Israel. We are stuck to Israel like a tarbaby."

His description as to the military/mercenary state of U.S. affairs in the Middle East and the dysfunction at home was as accurate as it was sobering: "This is what the U.S. really has become," I thought with great sadness.

Reiner Holter, lawyer, Sirnach:

The gist of his talk was that to understand law one must go back to the roots of law and the role of the state in history. Entities such as the European Union (EU) do not recognize law as it has come through the centuries but are only in place to enforce raw power obtained by bureaucratic consensus in deference to the real law—natural law.

F. William Engdahl, researcher, writer, Weisbaden, Germany:

Can the U.S. pay for its wars? Engdahl, who has become a close personal friend, gave a streamlined version of the article we published in the August edition of The IO.

The answer to the question is, "Yes"—the U.S. will pay for its wars, probably with the economic collapse of the dollar system.

He described how a series of temporary, stopgap measures have been implemented to protect the dollar. After the election, Engdahl believes dollar-protection activities will slow down. When the dollar fails, which is all but inevitable, it will likely cause a global depression. "U.S. economic policy is the greatest threat to world peace and human dignity," Engdahl said.

Dr. Bandolet, France:

His presentation was rather general, but he reiterated Engdahl’s outlook on the U.S. and global economic situation. He noted the cycles of economics and war throughout history. Dr. Bandolet also mentioned that China will be the economic and military force to be reckoned with in the near future.

My interim observations: Last year concerns were centered around the "New American Way of War" and apparent U.S. plans to take over the world. This year, concerns bypass U.S. imperialism and are more centered on global economic collapse, global social crisis and what may result from all that. The U.S., which is being humiliated in Iraq and is financially insolvent, is no longer perceived as a threat like it was last year.

Now it is obvious that Israel, through the neocons, is leading the U.S. around by a nosering and both will end up being defeated by China.

Nafez Nazzal:

He re-presented the talk he gave yesterday to a smaller group of us in Sirnach.

Renate Rapp:

As a Jewish woman who used to live in Israel, she spoke as a human on the strife between Israel and the Palestinians. She expressed her belief that, like the U.S. government does not represent the American people with regard to Iraqis, the Israeli government does not represent the Israeli people with regard to the Palestinians.

Professor Edmund Lengfelder, Institute of Radiation Biology, University of Munich:

This presentation indicated the real state of nuclear affairs in the world. He said we can view every nuclear reactor as a nuclear bomb and that "sleepers" capable of triggering meltdowns, are likely employed at nuclear reactors all over the world.

Dr. Lengfelder, using overhead projections, showed that, in 1990, the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) concluded that Chernobyl created no increased risk of cancer.

"This was an easily proven lie," Prof. Lengfelder said. Independent studies showed a 44 percent increase in cancer among children, for instance.

He then showed how every member of the international commission had an easily demonstrated conflict of interest.

Another commission, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), comprised of the same international board of conflicted "scientists" as comprised UNSCEAR, was formed in 1998 to arrive at the same conclusions they did in 1990.

Dr. Lengfelder’s charts on how the radiation from Chernobyl has been distributed throughout the world were truly eye-opening. He hinted that cheap energy for the public is a byproduct of nuclear weapons production.

Dr. Langfelder believes, "it is immoral to have atomic reactors in operation."

Europe is largely dependent upon electricity from nuclear power. When asked if alternative sources of energy could come online to meet demands if nuclear is taken offline, he said, "This is not a technical question, but a political one."

Professor Werner Gumpel, Gilching, Germany:

Dr. Gumpel spent his early 20s (1950-1955) in a Russian gulag. A truly marvelous man, he applied his tremendous socio/political/economic insight to the effect the European Union is having in Europe and the globe.

There is a rapid expansion of EU countries in the east. This is for military and political, not economic reasons. The east is so far behind the west technologically and economically, it will take decades for those former Soviet countries to catch up.

Six new member states border Russia; two more Russian border states will come in soon. U.S. bases still surround former Soviet Union, this is of concern to Russia. Russia fuels conflicts with its former states to keep them destabilized, further compromising the viability of these states as European partners in trade and commerce.

Turkey, now out of favor with the U.S., wants to be in the EU. "The further the EU expands east, the more we must question what advantages, if any, there is to be gained by continuing membership in the EU.

Klaus Schmidt, Europol, The Hague, Netherlands:

Schmidt is a policeman on loan as a consultant to Albania. His job is an attempt to bring law and order to an anarchic society. His total disdain for Albanians was obvious. He said that half of all Albanians live outside Albania, which is bad for the world because Albanians tend to be criminals.

Schmidt said that 80 percent of all cars in Albania are stolen. "See Albania, your car is already there," he said jokingly.

His presentation was the most generalized, prejudiced, full-spectrum attack I have ever witnessed since reading the Polish/Italian jokebook when I was a kid. He is obviously a very frustrated man whose job it is to bust the street criminals without having the authority to bust the power players and politicians who really profit from the trafficking in drugs, stolen goods, prostitution and slavery.

Manfred Paulus, retired detective consulting on the prostitution/slavery problem in Europe as trafficked through Albania:

Paulus’ appreciation for Albanians is similar to that of Schmidt. He describes a world where impoverished families sell their own children into the hell of slavery and prostitution. Children and young people, so desperate to get out of Albania, even volunteer themselves into slavery and prostitution as a means to get out of their hopeless situations at home.

In this world, $billions of dollars are made, by someone (obviously not the street-hustling Albanians) and the trade in human slaves is global in scope. He described how humans, mostly young, pretty girls, are stripped, judged and bought at auction like livestock.

Note: Several people with whom I discussed these matters confirmed that this is George Soros territory. It seems so unfair to me that Schmidt and Paulus would characterize Albanians as the lowest cultural lifeform on earth when the world’s most rich and powerful men supply both the supply and demand for the drugs and slaves trafficked through Albania.

Sept. 3: Feldkirch,

main conference

Professor Contessa Rivetti, Rome

This lovely and highly respected elder lady opened the main conference with a discussion of dialogue and how people thrive in an environment where they are respected, allowed to talk and have a voice in what happens around them.

Professor Wolfgang Waldstein, Salzberg, Austria:

Having just come from Alan Yurko’s evidentiary hearing where it was made obvious that Baby Alan’s death was hastened by the hospital to harvest his organs, Waldheim discussed a topic that has become quite personal to me: The politics and spirituality of organ transplantation.

He cited natural law that prohibits humans from taking the life of another and Biblical law which describes the sacred nature of human life.

Regarding the "legal" difference between biological death and brain death, Waldstein said, "Brain dead human beings are still alive by our laws...death becomes negotiable to satisfy the needs of the organ transplant business."

He described the arbitrary determination of death to be a "purposeful license to kill under a social order" and that braindead individuals are powerless themselves to object to the declaration of their deaths so that others may profit from the harvest of their organs.

In conclusion, Waldstein said that when we allow state officials to declare our death for profit, we are allowing another assault on human dignity.

Dr. Frederick Walthard, Esravayer-leLac, Switzerland:

Bigger may not be better—but that is the way the world is going. This 83-year-old has watched as the simplest things in life are now governed by a thousand regulations. He then launched into an extremely eloquent and passionate rant about how these regulations telling us what to do, how to do it and what not to do, grind humans and their dignity into a speck of dust.

The only way for people to overcome the regulatory schemes is to become bigger than them. Bigger, bigger and bigger until we are huge monster corporations. From the hugeness, we become "supernationality," no more national sovereignty—just "huge, huger and hugest."

And the symbol of this hugeness? The EU and a new form of dictatorship.

Dr. Walthard then quoted Neitsche: "We will one day all be one country called Germany."

Regarding the EU and the raw corporate power giving it authority, Dr. Walthard concluded, "I am very concerned about Europe."

Professor Hans-Ulrich Walder-Richli, Sempach, Switzerland:

This was a talk about "absolutism"—the tool used by governments and the media to condition our opinions based upon the fallacy that there is only one way of looking at things.

An excellent example: If you question the policies of Israel, you are an anti-Semite.

In this way public opinions are controlled—not by a movement of the people— but by manipulating them.

This is a modern variation of early absolutism: Believe as the king believes or off with your head. Modern absolutism is not as brutal; it is subtle and usually based on lies. For instance, to question Israel foreign policy does not mean you hate all Jews.

Professor Hans-Peter Aubauer, Physicist, Vienna, Austria:

His position is hard to deny: Societies evolve to exploit the people and, in the process, the people are ruined: drugs, violence and immorality.

He argued that God gave us a brain to make us superior to nature. With that brain also comes responsibility and the power to destroy ourselves. "It is apparent that the Creator is quite content in allowing us to destroy ourselves," Prof. Aubauer concluded.

Romauld Schaber, president, German Association of Dairy Farmers, Peterstal, Germany:

Farmers (food producers) in Germany and the EU countries are being adversely affected by agribusiness. Just like in this country, traditional farming lifestyles, economies and cultures are being destroyed by corporate farming. And, just like in the U.S., the economics of it all does not make sense. How can it be cheaper to bring beef all the way from Argentina when Cows are born, raised, fed and slaughtered locally? How can apples from Taiwan be cheaper in Germany than apples from Germany?

Another problem, agribusiness creates surpluses, driving prices down temporarily, effectively putting local family farmers out of business.

The EU is a big supporter of agribusiness.

Hans Stalder, president, New Farmers Cooperative, St. Gallen, Switzerland:

One thing that stands out when you are in Germanic parts of Europe is that the land is well-managed. That is because owning and working the land comes with the cultural responsibility of stewardship. Plus, a man takes care of his land so as not to damage the land of his neighbor and to pass good, working land onto his children.

The land is still productive because of the common people, the peasants, who have been working it for centuries. And now the government has its roads and bridges and doesn’t need us anymore," Stalder explained.

Government tells farmers what to do, how and to do it in order to be in compliance with the law. Most of what they tell us is ridiculous but family farms are dying, the land is dying and children grow up and move away because they do not want poverty as a reward for feeding the people and managing the land.

Note: Just wait until the government seizes control and begins managing large tracks of land in Europe. If the American example is any indication, European land will become overrun with noxious weeds, bug infestations and diseases under state control.

Stalder concluded by stating that a food crisis is coming to Europe.

September 4, Feldkirch,

main conference

Renate Hansel, teacher, Wallenwich, Switzerland:

As in the U.S., public education in Europe is not teaching children to be free-thinking, self-reliant, socially-responsible adults; it is teaching them to be mindless and malleable tools of the state. Party to this process is the duplicity of parents. Parents and other adults in the lives of children have a tendency to "withdraw from the education process" when we send them to school.

This is a crisis and it has to change. If parents want their children to grow up valuing their culture and its values, they must teach those things to them. If parents do not want their children to grow up valuing the state and its values, then...

Professor Robert Hickson, U.S. Army Colonel (ret.), Port Royal, Virginia:

The title of this poet/warrior’s talk was, "On Building Inner Courage—Forming Fortitude as if Hope Mattered: Two True Virtues and their Final Test.

Hope and Courage are the virtues to which he referred and he used several poignant examples from history to prove his point.

Professor Hickson writes well, speaks well and has deep insight into the forces that steer our world. He writes from the perspective of a man who has experienced the darkness of man and is, himself seeking light. What Hickson finds in our history are the most beautiful golden nuggets of thought and insight. Through the timeless thoughts of these men he finds the truth of our selves—for better and for worse; he shares them hoping they will inspire others as he himself has been inspired; hoping that from them humanity will achieve a nobler plane of existence.

Professor Thomas Naylor, Second Vermont Republic, Charlotte, Vermont:

What will happen after the collapse of the American Empire? All empires have collapsed, can we expect America to be an exception? "America is now in a political, economic and social death spiral," said Prof. Naylor.

Because the U.S. federal government’s foreign and domestic policies have become abhorrent to a free and compassionate people and; because it wields such power as to be deaf to the concerns of the people of Vermont, the state has little choice but to secede from the union. "The U.S. government has lost the moral authority to rule our nation," Prof. Naylor said.

We published a page of information regarding the Second Vermont Republic in the June, 2004 edition of The IO. Though his "movement" is an intellectual exercise at this time, Professor Naylor’s arguments are sound, well-intended and should be adopted, in spirit, by all Americans. We should secede as far as we can from the U.S. government because the policies its supports and enforces benefit large corporations at the expense of ordinary people. If that means seceding in our hearts and minds, then so be it; if we can inspire citizens to secede as a state, then that is what we should do.

Professor Naylor’s presentation was tight, powerful, received sustained applause and he nobly represented the best intentions of truly patriotic Americans.

Radek Vogl, Prague, Czech Republic:

Mr. Vogl has dedicated his life to healing his country of the many social, political and economic sicknesses it contracted as a Soviet-bloc nation. He believes that a brighter future for his country is contained in the hearts and minds of children.

The title of his talk was "The Spiritual Heritage of the Bertha von Suttner Society and Peace Education of the Younger Generation Today."

von Suttner was a Czech Baroness (1843—1914) and novelist whose system of pacifistic beliefs is credited with influencing Alfred Nobel to establish the Nobel Prize for Peace, of which she was the recipient in 1905.

"War is one of the greatest hindrances to the development of humankind," Vogl said.

Vogl and his associates formed a group to explore the significance of von Suttner and to discuss her ideas about peace and equality among men and women. The meetings are open to the public and children and young adults are encouraged to attend.

The intent of the group is to expand awareness, teach decency and lead by example.

Dr. Jana Hodorouva, president, Bertha von Suttner Society, Prague, Czech Republic:

Though a little patronizing of his own people in eastern Europe, Dr. Hodorouva reflected on the value of types of Europeans living on its continental land mass. He celebrated the free exchange of ideas among the many unique peoples of Europe and the cultural traditions and insights they represent.

Dr. Houdorouva stated exactly the purpose and intent of this year’s conference: Strengthening Human Beings—Actively live and cultivate democracy, values, education and dialogue.

Ewald Westkamp, teacher, Stockach, Germany:

A discussion of something that has been placed very close to my heart by the teachers and Adlerian psychologists in the ranks of MZE: Developing in children a sense of social interest so they mature into adults who have as a priority the desire to participate as fair and compassionate members of their local community and the greater community of man.

Since the 60s we have been experimenting with a laissez faire-style of teaching and parenting. This has allowed our children to be subjected to sick, violent and perverse influences very early in their lives. We are now experiencing the results: Sick, violent and perverse societies.

This is an exciting time in our understanding of human psychology, how children are influenced to develop. We now know exactly what types of experiences mold children into becoming angry and psychotic and how they grow up to become neurotic, socially-dysfunctional adults. We also know what experiences encourage children to grow up happy and well-balanced and how they can be encouraged to become fully functional psychologically and socially-interested as adults.

Father Brian MeKevitt, Dublin, Ireland:

Aside from his other duties as a Catholic priest with a congregation, Father McKevitt is the editor of "Alive"—a free monthly 16-page, pro-Catholic newspaper with a print run of 270,000.

The main thrust of Father McKevitt’s presentation was how we, as communities, have supported the mainstream media as it has systematically supported the government’s creating an environment of moral relativism. As government’s mouthpiece, "the media has become the main antagonists to human dignity, the sanctity of marriage, the family and morality," Father McKevitt said.

We have come to view the media as the enemy; seldom do they publish articles and letters that accurately and fairly represent our beliefs. We have a tendency to try to ignore them, leave them alone, let them continue debasing our culture all the while attempting to compete with them for the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

"It should be a central focus of all our groups not to ignore them, but to convert them," Father McKevitt said in his perfectly Irish brogue.

He suggests that we attack the media on its shaky legs—its pro-government, pro-moral relativism, pro-secular humanistic, pro-socialistic philosophies and their funding through their advertisers. With a little coordinated effort, "we will get them to listen," Father McKevitt said.

The media is anti-family, anti-marriage, anti-morality and anti-life. When articles appear which assault the values most people revere, we should politely bring these articles to the attention of the advertisers. We should write or email these advertisers and ask them if they realize the publications which they are supporting with their advertising dollars promote editorial ideals serving to undermine their own rights and needs and the futures of their children.

Note: This struck me as an excellent way for local groups and retired activists to coordinate newspaper/television surveillance schedules and streamline the delivery of mass mailings or emailings to those who advertise with entities whose editorial policies are systematically undermining our way of life.

I intend to expand upon this idea with the help of Father McKevitt in the near future.

Professor Stanislas Mararo, historian, Antwerp, Belgium:

Prof. Mararo, like so many intellectuals from the Congo, must live in exile or be killed.

His presentation was interesting, but a better discussion of the problems in Africa was held after the conference. Notes from this discussion will appear toward the end of this report.

Professor Laila Nazzal, sociologist, Ramallah:

The world’s understanding of sociological issues between Palestinians and Israelis through work published in scientific journals are often incorrect. Outside influences are able to screen and edit material that appears internationally in mainstream journals.

To me it is a lot like mainstream medical journals screening and editing material to promote the use of pharmaceutical drugs and disparage natural remedies.

On a positive note, Professor Nazzal said that cooperative efforts between Palestinian and Israeli sociologists is resulting in objective material being published in an independent journal.

Michael Jones, Ph.D, publisher, South Bend, Indiana:

Jones discussed the results of his recent, hands-on study of rooted cultures and the effect that uprooting has on society.

He took a group to Reis, Germany (The IO, May, 2004), where he had lived for several years in the 70s. Thirty years later, generations of the same families are still in the community and many people are still performing the same functions in the community they were performing when Jones left three decades ago.

Jones believes that uprooting people, as in times of war or famine, is more devastating to society than carpet bombing. He sees how the aim of social engineers is to uproot groups of people to achieve long-range political goals.

Reiner Rothe, lawyer, Radolfzell, Germany:

His discussion about international law would not be necessary if there was a real international body with the authority to punish violators—like the U.S.

International law is akin to natural law and just as historic. For international law to be observed, one must merely uphold traditional definitions and terms that outline the rights and responsibilities of states engaging in peaceful commerce and cooperative coexistence and prohibitions against states engaging in aggressive behavior.

Throughout history the basic tenets of international law have been violated and then warring states must come back to terms. The most recent time the provisions of international law were reaffirmed was after WWII.

But now one aggressive state in particular, the U.S., has blurred the lines of acceptable international conduct and people must again convene to reestablish the rules governing the relationships of nations.

F. William Engdahl, researcher, writer, Weisbaden, Germany:

See Engdahl’s paper on genetically modified (GM) foods republished in its entirety pages 16-17. There is no reason to mince words about the importance of the GM food issue: Change the food supply, change the organism—or kill it.

People had better stop supporting agribusiness and GM foods/seeds or it will be the death of them.

Jens Loewe, Stuttgart Water Forum, Stuttgart, Germany:

"Wars over Water" was the name of Loewe’s presentation. The planners of this conference knew what they were doing when they scheduled Engdahl and Loewe right after one another in the heart of the event. "Change the food supply, change the organism; control the water and people will beg for a drink.

Loewe began with a comment on how we can feel hopeless and overwhelmed by what we are hearing at the conference this year. But he said, to an enthusiastic round of applause, we have ethics and morality on our side—and we have us on our side.

In its 1995 Water Policy Paper, the World Bank referred to water as, "The last frontier of resource exploitation."

The privatization of clean water is happening very fast worldwide—as sources of clean water are becoming harder to find. In India, for example, corporations are drilling wells to bottle water and sell to people in the cities for maximum profits.

In an other example, Loewe explained how an Indonesian farmer, whose land was contaminated and no longer able to produce was forced to sell. His land was sold for pennies of its speculative value as it was purchased by investors who knew an aquifer of clean water flowed under the land. Now a factory bottles the water at a tremendous profit.

I am reminded of a quote from Forbes magazine, circa Oct. 2002: "Water will be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th."

We are talking about $billions in profits from monopolies over a substance upon which life depends. We have no choice but to leave control of water in the hands of the state. We must then control/monitor the state so that water remains a properly managed, not-for-profit public resource.

Note: I suggest that water originating on private land, in the form of surface water or well-water, is the private property of the landowner.

Loewe commented that the EU is one of the world’s most aggressive institutions when comes to advocating the privatization of water.

He also suggested that the significance of sales where water rights/control are sold by public entities to private enterprises is not lost on the conspirators (see page 18). Many of these transactions between state and industry are conducted in secret.

In the spirit of strengthening human beings, Loewe closed by stating that it is us who must become active—they are not going to give our water back.

We can now see in hindsight what they have done so far and what they are doing now. We must not stay one step behind the water barons, as we have been so far, we must anticipate their next moves and engage in coordinated activities intended to stop to their plans: They fully intend to make us beg them for a drink of water.

Cute intermission: About 20 children ages 2-6 came out on stage dressed as ladybugs. They did a not-so-well executed dance to a happy tune. It was really cute. "The children are what this is all about," commented Matthias Erna, a panel moderator.

Mr. Bandolet, journalist, France:

This man, who filled in for someone who could not come, is a veteran journalist who believes that widespread war is inevitable.

The U.S. was viewed as a "protector" during the Cold War. But troops usually leave after the war is over. "Why are U.S. troops still here," Bandolet asked.

American military bases still surround the former Soviet Union. The Americans now use the "Islamic threat" as an excuse to maintain its military presence in Europe.

Europe sees Israel as a threat to peaceful coexistence and it knows that Israeli policy is supported politically and economically by the U.S. This is not good public relations for the U.S. among Europeans.

The world is changing rapidly in the post-Cold War era, forcing the nations of Europe to rethink their relationships with other states. It appears that an alliance between Russia, France and Germany is being forged on the belief that continued U.S. military presence in Europe conflicts with Europe’s interests. He also said that Europe has 550 million people, the U.S. 294 million; the U.S. is $7 trillion in debt, Europe is not.

"This is not anti-Americanism or cultural arrogance; it is a political reality," Bandolet said.

Note: Other people throughout the conference were whispering the same tune—a Russian/French/German alliance to address the "American question." I think it is happening. I also think that the U.S. has no real European allies at this time.

September 5, Feldkirch

main conference

Dr. Freiderich Romig, university lecturer, lower Austria:

Dr. Romig began by commenting on how political reforms always turn out to be a joke. "Politics are not possible without ethics, ethics cannot be established without philosophy and philosophy must come from religion. Politics without religion is heresy," he said.

He quoted U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice as stating that superpowers, backed by military force, have the authority to determine values.

The state intends to supercede God and its values are guns, bombs, poverty, chaos, regulation and taxation. Dr. Romig believes God is the highest value and His values—love, honor, compassion and faith, are inconsistent with those installed by the state through military force.

In essence, the courage to take a moral stand is the courage to stand up to the state.

"Democracy is the greatest lie, the eyewash for the masses. The word itself is a lie. The people have never ruled the state. The state does not protect the rights of people. If it does, it is no longer performing its function," Dr. Romig said, much to the shocked disagreement of an audience largely comprised of dedicated voters.

He also commented on the farmers who expressed an unrealistic socialistic desire to have government tax people to subsidize their lives.

Professor Zoltan Adorjan, Bratislava, Slovakia:

"I can only report bad things. Everything is going wrong for my country," Prof. Adorjan stated to begin his presentation regarding the consequences of Slovakia joining the EU.

He describes central Europe being perpetually in "transition" since the end of WWI to present. However, following the model of MZE, scientists, experts and laypeople have begun holding discussions about the many problems—300 percent inflation, high unemployment and poverty, for example. In June, 2004, extremely helpful conferences took place.

Prof. Adorjan also sees the UN as a vehicle to continue ruining his country by enslaving his people and destroying the few Slovakian-owned businesses. He calls it, "The tender genocide of the Slovakian people."

His wish is that outside pressures from western states would leave Slovakia alone so that it may find its own sense of balance.

Don Harkins, publisher, The Idaho Observer, Spirit Lake, Idaho:

My presentation before some 300 people was like dropping a bomb on them. It was a much tighter version of what we published on pages 12-14 in the August, 2004 edition. It went around the world with evidence that vaccines are being used as genocidal weapons for 21st century wars.

Williams Kalume, president, Amicale Congo-Suisse, Luzerne, Switzerland:

This was a very interesting discussion of the socio/political realities of the day: We live in a time where entire cultures are subject to mass migrations due to wars and natural disasters.

Numerous cultural, language, racial and religious issues arise making it difficult for people to live together. Since this phenomenon is occurring today and not likely to end any time soon, we must assume the responsibility of understanding the dynamics of immigration to help assimilation occur in the most intelligent and compassionate manner.

Suely Nunes-Loewe, artist and teacher, Stuttgart, Germany/Brazil:

This woman was lovely and she discussed spirituality in a way that traditional Christians would have trouble accepting. She said that wars in the world start with people who are at war with themselves. Before we can talk about peace in the world, we first must find peace within our own minds, hearts, and bodies.

Professor John Rao, historian, St. John’s University, New Haven, Connecticut:

"Dialogue in our society means ‘do not dialogue." Professor Rao was as entertaining to listen to as he was accurate in his position. We are, in essence, so full of however we interpret the things we are told to believe that its almost impossible for different groups of people to discuss issues on any meaningful level. Pluralism (only two ways—my way or the highway, for example), the changing meanings of words and multiple layers of psychological warfare severely compromise contemporary communications between groups. "We are the ‘victims’ of an attempt to destroy meaningful dialogue," Professor Rao said.

The entire paper is a brilliantly-constructed rant with an excellent hypothetical exchange between a pro-Bush "pluralist" journalist and a regular guy wanting to really understand what is happening in Iraq.

"Only a wholehearted rejection of the pluralist ideological yoke can give us the kind of dialoguing democracy that it falsely claims to provide. Only this will allow us finally to begin to think like free men and hunt together for a wisdom that goes beyond teaching us how to overstuff our bellies and unjustly conquer the world. Long live a truth-seeking dialogue ennobling the human person. God punish a pluralist system that makes out of cultured nations prisons for their own peoples," Prof. Rao concluded.

Dr. Neils Ammitzboell, political scientist, Toble, Switzerland:

Talks of wars and dictatorships define our times. In contrast to Bandolet, he sees no alternative to direct democracy. He understands that various functions of society must be accomplished through representation but that power must be checked. The historical purpose of voting is to prevent government from becoming too powerful with the understanding that people will not "vote" themselves into slavery and that they will not "vote" in favor of armed conflict as an aggressor nation.

We know that, even in Switzerland, conspiracies are perpetually under way to undermine, pervert and destroy the direct democratic process. This knowledge rather describes exactly why people must always be checking the will of the state. "People must always endeavor to limit the power of government and frustrate its efforts to gain it," Dr. Ammitzboell said.

He also mentioned the need to develop social interest in children. The people, through their actions and their compassion, are each and individually responsible for keeping government in check. Failure to do so will inevitably result in what we are experiencing in the world today.

Sept. 6, Bazenheid, morning

After the conference closed by about 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept., 5, we all said our good-byes and vowed to see each other next year.

We made our way back to "base camp"—in Bazenheid, Switzerland—which is less than two hours away. After a good night’s sleep, we reconvened Monday morning for what is called "Bazenheid lite." The day was beautiful so we set up to hold discussions and lunch outside on the grassy grounds of a converted toy factory.

The item on the agenda was for Professor Mararo and Father Denis Ndikumana of Barundi to discuss the state of affairs in Africa.

This turned out to be a very enlightening discussion about the relationship between African leaders and the west. Its mineral wealth being the western excuse for being there. The entire African continent has been a case study in how to "westernize" a small elite, "privileged" African class willing to abuse their people and lead them into poverty; supply both sides of wars over disagreements fueled from the outside, while stealing valuable resources.

Prof. Mararo mentioned the name of William Sweng—a tool of Kissinger’s genocidal policies in Africa—and how he goes from place to place in as a policy advisor in Africa. Soon after Sweng leaves a country, within two or three years, bad things begin to happen.

He said that South Africa is viewed by the world as the "model of democracy" in Africa. He has extensively studied how Nelson Mandela came to power. Mandela spent 27 years in prison—no one survives 27 years in an African prison. Mandela was protected in there. The myth of Mandela began being created 30 years before he came to power.

Mandela is a tool of western elites to maintain their wealth, power and access to African resources. South Africa is the country supplying other African countries like Barundi and Congo with weapons.

David Rockefeller promoted the end to the era in South Africa called "apartheid" and used his influence to generate support for Mandela in the late 80s.

African Americans have no influence over U.S./African relations. Foreign policy in Africa is corporately—not racially-driven.

There is also no racial unity Among Africans. There are two classes of African blacks: Wealthy, western-educated elites with western values and appetites; poor, uneducated commoners with traditional values.

The long-range plan for Africa is to continue with the plan that is working: Create a small elite class of westernized black Africans willing to impoverish and terrorize their people. Destitute, and politically-ignorant Africans will then take their frustration out on each other. While warring, killing and arguing over artificially-inflamed, tribally-oriented side issues, nationalism cannot develop and strong leaders cannot come to power. In this environment, there can be no effective challenge to western exploitation of African people and resources.

Prof. Mararo is having trouble keeping up with the political intrigue in Africa today. He sees that there may be seeds of organized dissent brewing on the Congo, which has seen the deaths of over 2 million people since 1990. This organized dissent could be bad for the west, so, at this time, currently playing out is a really bizarre chess game/shell game of support/non-support of various African countries to keep the Congo destabilized.

Prof. Thomas Naylor asked if there is any answer to the African problem he has described short of the destruction of the American empire. "My friend, you raise a question by knowing the answer," Prof. Mararo said, and added, "Some aspects of western interest in Africa depend upon our misery."

Prof. Naylor then asked, "Who could have predicted the fall of the Soviet empire in 1989?" If Bush gets reelected, do not lose hope that the U.S. death spiral will accelerate dramatically."

Father Denis discussed how all suffering is from lack of money. Not that there has been a lack of largesse from the international community. The problem is that 80 percent of the money coming in through international organizations covers the cost of administrating the problems. Of the remaining 20 percent, about 15 percent lands in the cities and only 5 percent gets into the countryside.

Sept. 6, Sirnach, evening

Professor Oktay Sinanoglu, mathematician, Yale University (ret), New Haven, Connecticut:

On the surface, Prof. Sinanoglu’s 2-and-a-half-hour soliloquy was the incoherent ramblings of an old man speaking to a patiently respectful audience. In reality, however, he gave a masterful presentation placing into perspective what is really happening to us all, how it is happening and why it is happening. "I have been traveling for a long time. I have noticed a lot of things happening. I have seen a pattern, similarities. Once you put them all together, it is not that hard to see what is happening.

"Usually people become aware of what’s going on when it’s too late. Subtle things are always happening before they become headlines."

He described how his native country Turkey has been conquered, neutralized, through what he calls "Soft Power," a term coined by Joseph Nye, author of the 2004 book of the same name.

The brute force method is easy to see and understand: You get people to do what you want by killing them if they refuse. Soft power is getting people to do willingly what you want them to do without using brute force. "Contrary to what you have been told, you can fool all of the people all of the time."

In the case of Turkey, it’s political and economic power has been neutralized over time by the infiltration of western influences—a process not unlike that used so successfully in Africa. The nail in Turkey’s coffin, according to Prof. Sinanoglu, is the EU promise to, in another 20 years, discuss the possibility of Turkey’s desire to become part of the EU. But first, Turkey must westernize its language, its education and its political process. "It is a crime against a people, no, it is a crime against humanity to change in 20 years traditions and ways of life that took thousands of years to develop.

"Soft power causes people to forget their language, their history and their literature—causes them to forget their identity. Once people forget who they are and where they came from, they have nothing to honor and nothing to defend."

Prof. Sinanoglu continued for some time. His process was to completely frame a concept with seemingly unconnected comments then slam the point home with one or two sentences that are better described as strings of pearls.

"So, under the influence of ‘soft power’ people lose their culture; they lose everything.

"Language is the ship that floats all your culture. What happens when it sinks?

"Once a language comes under attack, it is dead in one-and-a-half generations.

"America was born without a culture. Look at it now."

Note: An estimated 30 million illegal Spanish-speaking people have arrived in the U.S. Many border towns reportedly conduct official business in Spanish. Voter ballots and information is available in Spanish and Spanish signage is popping up all over the country.

By the end of his talk, his voice was getting pretty loud and he warned the largely Germanic people in the room that the same thing that is happening in Turkey and the U.S. is happening to them and his presentation should be taken seriously as fair warning. Then he abruptly got up without answering any questions and left the room to light a cigar.