The SPOTLIGHT October 4, 1999

Special Forces Placed Explosives at Waco?

Evidence gathered by the Texas Rangers shows that U.S. Special Forces may have been used to position explosives at the Branch Davidian church near Waco, Tex.

By Mike Blair

An elite U.S. military unit may have been responsible for the placement of special explosives within the Branch Davidian church at Mount Carmel, near Waco, Tex., during an FBI-directed attack on the religious community on April 19, 1993, according to a study by the Texas Rangers.

A 13-page report by Texas law enforcement, dated Sept. 10, reveals that "a 'shaped charge,' may have been placed on the concrete roof of the 'bunker' at the bottom of the tower, and that a bedroll found in the 'bunker' which was not totally consumed by the fire, may contain trace elements of the explosive compound."

A shaped charge is an explosive that has been expertly crafted and placed in such a manner to achieve maximum damage to the target.

The report also states that video tapes and pictures taken during the assault could be "key in identifying elite military personnel such as Delta Force personnel who were at the scene..."

EXPERT BACKS RANGERS

Steve Barry, a 20-year veteran with U.S. Army Special Forces with extensive training with Delta Force members, a top secret Army unit, told The SPOTLIGHT that he is certain that the shaped charge was placed within the compound by Delta Force soldiers.

Bary was a key source who assisted The SPOTLIGHT in preparing the article in last week's edition, which revealed extensive details of the April 19, 1993, Delta Force participation in the attack on the Branch Davidians.

Barry, a top authority on the tactics and history of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOC), said the FBI does not have the expertise to place such a charge.

"Delta Force does," Barry said, "and what I have gleaned from video tapes and other evidence of the 'bunker' area after the attack and resulting fire convinces me that Delta Force was responsible and that destruction of the bunker is consistent with the use of a shaped charge."

FBI and Justice Department officials claim that the explosion was of a propane tank located about three feet from the "bunker."

Barry disagrees.

"What they are claiming about the propane tank causing that damage defies the laws of physics," Barry said.

EXPERT WITNESS

Barry, who has provided expert sworn depositions for attorneys representing survivors of the Branch Davidians in a wrongful death suit being brought against the government in federal court in Texas, has pieced together the destruction of the "bunker."

"Those who have seen video tapes of the attack have witnessed a combat engineer vehicle (CEV), which utilizes the chassis of a M-60A2 heavy tank, ramming its wy through a wooden wall in the vicinity of the bunker and continuing on directly into the building," Barry said.

There it remained for sufficient time for a Delta Force unit to emerge and place the shaped charge on the "Bunker" roof, according to Barry.

As the tank exited the building there ware two distinct explosions, one from the shaped charge and the other from the subsequent detonation of the propane tank.

Barry said videos taken inside the "bunker" reveal that the bodies of the Branch Davidians there "were totally pulverized, which is consistent with what a shaped charge, so placed, would do."

The SPOTLIGHT October 4, 1999

Evidence Fingers Foreign Gunmen at Mt. Carmel

Unusual ammunition casings discovered by Texas Rangers suggest that foreign operatives may have been more than just observers at the Waco siege.

By Mike Blair

Texas Rangers at the Branch Davidian church at Mount Carmel, near Waco, Tex., unearthed evidence of 24 rifle cartridge casings, which raise the specter of foreign involvement in the April 19, 1993, holocaust that cost the lives of nearly 80 people.

After the church had been consumed in flames following the 51-day siege, Texas Rangers were assigned the task of combing through the debris at the scene to retrieve any evidence.

A 13-page report by Texas Rangers, released Sept. 10, reveals that among other evidence, 24 cartridge casings found at one of two neighboring "undercover houses" used by FBI agents bore the unmistakable head stamp "IMI," which stands for Israeli Military Industries, one of the largest producers of military arms and ammunition in that country.

The discovery of the cartridge casings was reported by Ranger Sgt. Ronny Griffith in Report No. RF093021-U.12.

The report raises serious questions about deeper involvement by Israel's Mossad, coming in the wake of an exclusive report in last week's edition of The SPOTLIGHT that at least one Israeli agent was assigned as a reported "observer to federal agents involved in the attack.

Congressional investigators and others, once again delving into the Waco tragedy, contend the FBI was using the two houses as cover for snipers shooting into the religious facility. It is believed that the snipers may have been "picking off" those within the flaming buildings attempting to escape.

In addition to the spent Israeli .223 caliber rounds, the Rangers picked up 12 .308 caliber casings from the rounds produced by Federal cartridge company, a U.S. firm, which is the principal NATO round used by the U.S. military and the FBI for sniper purposes.

During the deployment of a sniper team the unit consists of the primary sniper, armed with a .308 caliber rifle, usually a Remington Model 700 BDL, and a spotter who carries a faster firing weapon capable of dull automatic fire, very often an M-16 rifle, the standard rifle of the U.S. military, which fires the smaller .223 caliber round.

All of these casings were found by Rangers at what they designated as "Undercover House A" in their 13-page report.

In recorded radio transmissions between those involved in coordinating the Waco attack, the house was referred to as "Sierra 1."

Ironically the ammunition used by Federal Gold match quality ammunition, which propels a 168-grain Sierra hollow-point bullet with accuracy.

Among the strange discoveries by the Texas Rangers was a single 22-250 caliber round recovered from the driveway of what they describe n the report as "Undercover House B."

There is no known utilization of the 22-250 caliber round by either the U.S. military or federal law enforcement agencies.

The SPOTLIGHT October 4, 1999

Were Dead Soldiers Possible Waco Whistleblowers?

For members of the U.S. Army's special forces, believed to have been involved in the siege at Waco, died in purported accidents in the past few weeks. The military says it's a coincidence.

By Christopher J. Petherick

Four members of the elite U.S. Army Special Operations with possible links to the siege at the Branch Davidian church near Waco, Tex., died during training exercises, according to news reports received by an Austin, Tex., radio talk show host.

Alex Jones, a radio talk show host for KJFK-FM, said he has condirmed that at least three of the four members were part of the elite Combat Applications Group at Fort Bragg, N.C. known as "Delta force," and were at Mt. Carmel during the siege.

Last week, The SPOTLIGHT reported that Delta Force was involved in the assault on the church that left nearly 80 branch Dravidians, including children, dead.

The Fayetteville Times-Observer in North Carolina reported on the deaths of the four special forces members.

According to the report, two soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Special Forces Group are supposed to have "died when they were swept away during a water training exercise in the Savannah River in Georgia."

Officials identified the bodies of 40-year-old Lt. Col. Timothy A. Boyles and Sgt. Eric Ellingson as the two killed in the river accident.

The third special forces member to die was 36-year-old Master Sgt. Gaetano Cutino. Cutino supposedly died during a helicopter exercise at Fort Bragg.

Military officials told a reporter for the North Carolina newspaper that Cutino died while "exiting from an MH-6 'Little Bird' helicopter."

Cutino was assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

The fourth victim was 26-year-old Sgt. Jamey Dimase of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

Military officials said Dimase was participating in marksmanship training at the time of his death at Fort Benning.

Jones told The SPOTLIGHT that the three dead Delta force soldiers who were confirmed to have been at waco were Boyles, Ellingson and Cutino.

Cutino and Boyles reportedly served in Squadron II of Delta Force.

Jones has been unable to confirm the presence of Dimase at the assault on the compound.

Jones also told The SPOTLIGHT that he had spoken with an anonymous serviceman who loaded the military helicopters at Waco. Jones said the enlistee related to him that he and a number of others in the Army who were at Waco were concerned for their own safety.

Lt. Gen. William Tangney, commander of the United States Army Special Operations Command, has ordered a comprehensive safety review as a result of the deaths.

Military officials rebutted Jones' claims, telling the Fayetteville newspaper that the accidents were flukes and occurred as a result of the hazardous training the soldiers undertook on a daily basis.

"It's just a coincidence," Jimmy Dean, a spokesman for the Special Forces Association in Fayetteville, told the newspaper. "There might not be another death in five years.

The SPOTLIGHT October 4, 1999

Crusader Wants Companies Liable for Y2K Snafus

If your computer betrays you, call your lawyer.

By F.C. Blahut

Even as Congress debates legislation that would shield companies from class action lawsuits and liability claims in the event of Year 2000 (Y2K) computer failures, the first known millennium bug lawsuit has been filed.

The self-styled computer victim is Mark Yarsike, the owner of a produce market in the Detroit suburbs. According to published reports, he describes himself as "the first person in the world to ever file a Y2K suit."

Yarsike has told his story four times on capitol Hill.

Here's his tale of woe, taken from published testimony.

Yarsike's parents, he testified, came from Poland and set up a small store with a $500 cash register. When he opened his market. Yarsike said, he spent $100,000 for a computer system that could be used as a cash register and to track inventory.

But on opening day in August 1995, a credit card with a 2000 expiration date caused his registers to crash.

"We could not process a single credit card or take cash or checks. We could not make one sale. People began drifting out, leaving full carts of proceries behind," he said.

Yarsike told members of Congress he called the company that sold him the computer system. Technicians made more than 200 visits but could not keep the registers running. Yarsike junked the system and purchased a new one.

According to published reports, he also hired a lawyer and went to court, recouping some of his financial losses.

Yarsike says his financial near-disaster tuned him into a crusader against House and Senate bills to limit Y2K liability. Congress, Yarsike said, is trying to pass "a law on something that they shouldn't step into."

The SPOTLIGHT October 4, 1999

UN, U.S. Endorse Policy of World Intervention

The head of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, and bill Clinton speaking before the UN, endorsed ending national sovereignty through expanded internationalism.

By James P. Tucker

In a demonstration of how arrogant advocates of world government have become, the secretary-general opened the new United Nations assembly with a bold proclamation of the end of nationhood.

One day later, President Clinton, in his seventh speech before the UN, echoed the statement before the General Assembly.

Kofi Annan's speech was warmly greeted by Western leaders. The only voice to object to the end of national sovereignty came from the leader of an African country.

National borders will no linger be a barrier to UN intervention any time a "humanitarian' need is perceived, Annan said to applause.

"State sovereignty, in its most basic sense, is being redefined by the forces of globalization and international cooperation," Annan said.

"If states bent on criminal terror know that frontiers are not an absolute defense, if they know that the Security Council will take action to halt crimes against humanity, then they will not embark n such a course of action in expectations of sovereign impunity," Annan said.

Leaders of several nations, including France, Britain and Norway, expressed agreement. The cone voice objecting to the surrender of national sovereignty came form the newly elected president of Algeria, Abdelziz Bouteflika.

"We remain extremely sensitive to any undermining of our sovereignty, not only because sovereignty is our final defense against the rules of an unequal world," Bouteflika said. "But because we are not taking part in the decision-making process by the Security Council."

Annan's speech was otherwise warmly received.

"The United Nations' mission is not limited to the settlement of conflicts between states," said Lionel Jospin, prime minister of France. "Its mission extends to the protection of human dignity, within each state and when necessary -- as the charter allows -- against states."

The UN should "uphold the principle of international intervention under UN auspices," Jospin said. "The United Nations must try to respond to crises wherever they occur."

British Foreign Minister Robin Cook echoed Jospin's sentiments against national sovereignty because "we have a shared responsibility to act when confronted with genocide."

The idea of getting the UN more involved in patrolling Africa was praised by South African President Thabo Mbeki in his first speech to the assembly. The UN must "act with all necessary vigor" to end conflicts in Africa, he said.

CLINTON APPROVES

Clinton told the international community that groups of nations should have the right to launch military actions if it is in their areas of interest regardless of UN decisions.

Clinton echoed the UN secretary-general's bold statement pertaining to the demise of the sovereign nation.

Referring to NATO's intervention in Yugoslavia, Clinton said that countries should no longer be able to hide behind their national sovereignty to protect them form international intervention.

But Clinton differed from Annan, saying that UN authority was not always needed if the international community decided on intervention.

"The way the international community responds will depend upon the capacity of countries to act, and on their perception of their national interests," he said.

NATO has already proclaimed itself the UN's standing army at its summit in Washington last April, announcing that it could intervene anywhere in the world, specifically in reference to the Middle East. It would do so, it said, only under direction of the UN Security Council.

Nevertheless, the Council on Foreign Relations -- the propaganda ministry of the world shadow government led by Bilderberg and Trilateral Commission -- called for "a permanent UN standby force that can be rapidly deployed."

The SPOTLIGHT October 11, 1999

Waco Scandal Demands New Look at Oklahoma City Bombing

Former Oklahoma state Representative Charles Key is about to release a stinging 150-page report on the Oklahoma City bombing. Key say evidence surrounding the tragedy doesn't match up with the official government claims. Why, then, is the government lying about what happened?

By Charles Key

The "new" revelations concerning the Waco tragedy have caused the establishment media and elected officials to begin further inquires into how the Branch Dividians died April 19, 1993.

The relationships to the Oklahoma City Bombing are obvious. According to the Justice Department official line, the OKC tragedy was the result of Timothy McVeigh taking the law into his own hands by paying back the federal government for its illegal acts against the people at the Branch Davidian church. However, more importantly, Americans need to ask themselves; if some in the government have lied to us about Waco, what else the government is lying to us about?

After the Oklahoma City bombing, many people argued persuasively that the federal government's handling of the investigation before, during and after the trials, was narrowly focused. Others including victims, surviving family members, journalists, state legislators and over 13,000 people on OKC believed then and now that some in our government were intentionally trying to "cover-up" important aspects of the bombing to hide the truth about the bombing from the American people.

Glen and Kathy Eilburn and their daughter Edye asked reasonable questions concerning the tragedy that took Chase and Colton Smith, Edye's young sons. They, like V.Z. Lawton, who miraculously survived the bombing, and many other victims and family members, are convinced that the effect of the Fed's handling of the case was to limit the pursuit and prosecution of all those responsible and clouded the purpose and cause of the crime.

Consider these Glaring problems with the government's case

* 1,034 fingerprints were never checked against the national data base to discover their identity. These included prints from McVeigh's car, the Dreamland Motel and Eldon's Body Shop:

* Many eyewitnesses saw McVeigh with one or more "John Does." Some put him at tha scene of the crime with John Doe No. 2, but were intentionally ignored by prosecutors in the federal trials;

* Failure to properly heed warnings of at least two federal government informants prior to the bombing. Their revelations, if properly acted upon, could have stopped the tragedy and saved 168 innocent people;

* Numerous problems regarding forensic evidence related to the building, the absence of bomb residue on McVeigh and his clothing, and the scientific analysis and handling of evidence were so serious flawed and lacking that the FBI was reprimanded in an independent U.S. Inspector General's Report;

* Prosecutors improperly meeting with defense witnesses before their appearance in the Denver trials -- even in the face of court warnings against such actions;

* FBI agents' blatant falsification of witness statements;

* The FBI confiscated approximately 20 video surveillance tapes. Some show the Murrah building, but none have been shown in a legal or public proceeding. The Justice Department currently battles legal efforts to release the tapes. Sources claim that one of the videos show the often seen dark-complexioned John Doe with McVeigh in the Ryder Truck. This is the same John Doe the FBI has tried to claim doesn't exist;

* Federal prosecutors and agents attempting to convince witnesses to change their testimony to fit the government's official story;

* the Middle East connection. The original APB was for two to three Middle Eastern men driving a brown pickup truck. A call from an Islamic group claimed responsibility at 9:45 a.m. Many of the McVeigh witnesses describe John Doe as Middle Eastern, Arabic, or dark skinned.

The list goes on. But the most important aspect of this case is the information that points toward, at least, some level of prior knowledge. Cary Gagan, one of the informants, went to the Justice Department office in Denver six months before the OKC bombing to warn of plans to bomb a federal building. Another informant, Carol Howe, told her ATF handlers of specific people in Oklahoma who were threatening bombings and assassinations against the government and elected officials. ATF agents and other government employees admitted they were warned or had some knowledge of an impending threat. Federal Judge Wayne Alley admitted in an interview on April 20, 1995 that he had been alerted about people casing out the federal courthouse. This and other information demands this question: Why was there no significant security at the Alfred P. Murrah building on April 19, 1995?

It has become all too evident that the Justice Department, its sub agencies and even the courts do not operate under the rule of law as all other citizens are required to do. The examples of the blatant disregard of the law are overwhelming.

In a 10-part series on government misconduct in the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette, a law professor and former prosecutor states: "The courts used to be a buffer between prosecutors and defendants. They are now simply a rubber stamp.

The justice department has gotten so out of control that an increasing number of former prosecutors and judges are speaking out about the misconduct and regular violations of law. Hiding facts from the court and defense, lying in court, promoting perjury and acts of retribution against those who raise question are becoming commonplace.

In a recent editorial in The Daily Oklahoman regarding the Waco revelations, the statement was made: "Let the truth be found, and let the chips fall where thy may." I could not agree more. I suppose there will always be the cry "conspiracy theorists" from those with power in government and media, whenever people raise questions about tragedies such as JFK, Ruby Ridge, Waco, OKC, et al. But openness and truth are cornerstones of our republic that we must fight for, even against our own biases. I will never forget when Glen Wilburn interviewed Assistant OKC Fire chief Harvey Weathers. Weathers affirmed to Wilburn that the department had received a call from the FBI a few days before the bombing. They advised that some people would be coming through town over the weekend. When Wilburn told Weathers that a fellow assistant chief denied knowledge of the call, Weathers straightened up in his chair and said: "Well, I'm not going to lie for any body, that's what happened."

The Daily Oklahoman editorial closes with this question: "What else have they lied to us about lately? If past and present revelations about Waco justify media and congressional inquiry, Then certainly the glaring problems and holes left in the OKC case scream for a true independent accounting."

The Oklahoma Bombing Investigation Committee will be issuing its final report shortly. It has been a long and difficult task trying to expose this massive coverup. Unlike Kenneth Starr, we have gotten by on a shoestring budget and a "skeleton crew" staff. But also unlike the special prosecutor, we will let the facts speak for themselves. Our two primary goals have always been to first inform the American people and secondly cause Congress to hold hearings. We need the support of The SPOTLIGHT readers to help us put pressure on congress to investigate the OKC bombing and audit the Justice Department -- something that hasn't happened in more that 40 years.

To help, contact Charles Key at OK Bombing Investigation Committee (OK-BIC), P.O. Box 75697, OKC, OK 73147; Phone 405-879-2760; e-mail mail@okc-bombing.org

The SPOTLIGHT October 11, 1999

The Worst Single Act of Terrorism -- Editorial

The worst single act of terrorism in American history was the blowing up of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma city on April 19, 1995. Unfortunately, the official version of the crime cannot be supported by the facts.

The SPOTLIGHT and its publisher, Liberty Lobby, has an especial interest in the atrocity because certain elements have tried to involve them in the crime.

The facts show that the American news media -- including virtually every daily newspaper, television talking head and news-magazine has presented a confusing and inaccurate account of the incident - which has been the intention of rogue elements in the federal government.

The official version of what happened, according to the Bureau of alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) of the Treasury Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the Justice Department has been changed from the original version and moreover is simply no in accordance with the facts.

The official version is that two men -- acting because of hate - rented a truck, filled it full of homemade explosive, parked it in from of the Murrah building and detonated it. A total of 168 innocent men, women and children were killed and the building for some reason had to be immediately hauled away and hidden from view.

The explosion was so horrendous that it dug a hole in the ground 5 feet deep and 30 feet wide. It pulverized the entire truck including its motor block, tires and wheels into atoms and it has entirely disappeared.

In a nutshell, that is the government's case, and it is wholly fictitious -- a tissue of lies.

The clear facts show there were two explosions, not one. There was no way an external explosion could have brought down the steel-reinforced concrete columns in the building. There was no massive crater. There was no 4,800-lb. fertilizer bomb. There may not have even been a Ryder truck, as you have feard so often.

Debris from the two explosions blew out of the building, not in, as it would have if the explosion was outside.

For the first few hours after the explosions, the BATF reported that a bomb inside the building had caused the explosion. In fact, the agency and the FBI told the news media, which was duly reported, that there were two bombs, one of which had not exploded and "was bigger than the first bomb." Then they reported that they had found still another bomb -- a third one -- inside the building.

Soon, the story changed and the news media -- like a pack of trained dogs -- reported that the explosion was actually from a truck parked outside of the building, and that the work was done by a conspiracy of extremists, including foreigners.

To top off their lies, the entire building was torn down, loaded into trucks, taken to a dump, covered over with dirt and fenced. It is a crime if you want to inspect the remains.

That BATF knew about the planned bombing in advance is certain. They had even closed their office in that building for that morning so that no employees would be injured or killed. Even the notorious Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith (ADL) had knowledge of the conspiracy and, in fact, tried to implicate The SPOTLIGHT newspaper in it.

All the above -- and more -- is discussed in this issue.

The facts cry out for honest investigation. Are all of the elected officials and judges = not to mention thousands of lesser government and investigatory people involved -- participating in a monstrous criminal conspiracy to hide the facts?

Something went wrong in Oklahoma City on that terrible morning. All of the signs point to a "sting" operation designed to implicate "righ-wing extremists" in a "hate crime" to facilitate the terrorist bell at the time pending in Congress.

The truth about Oklahoma city is going to come out, just as the truth about the Waco massacre is emerging, and Ruby Ridge and the murder of Gordon Kahl before that.

It is the purpose of this issue of The SPOTLIGHT to hasten the day that a responsible investigation of the facts of this crime is undertaken, guilt assigned and the guilty parties punished.

The staff of The SPOTLIGHT has worked very hard to prepare this special issue. We are confident that Americans will use it to help direct the attention of their fellow citizens to the Oklahoma city tragedy and demand that the case be closed by appropriate indictments and convictions for THE WORST SINGLE ACT OF TERRORISM.

The SPOTLIGHT October 11, 1999

The following is reprinted from an earlier issue.

The Official Version of 'What Happened' Does Not Correspond with the Actual Facts

Strange new revelations about what really happened before, during and after the terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City were discussed on the June 6, 1995, broadcast of The SPOTLIGHT's nightly call-in talk forum, Radio Free America (RFA) with host Tom valentine.

The guest was David hall, owner of KPOC Television in Ponca City, Okla., which is roughly 90 miles from Oklahoma City. Hall and his news team investigated the Oklahoma bombing and uncovered fact which do not agree with the official government version of what supposedly happened. An edited transcript of Valentine's interview with Hall follows. Valentine's questions start with a "Q". Hall's responses start with an "R".

Q. Your station is located just about an hour and a half drive from Oklahoma City and you were covering "the bomb" from the beginning.

R. That's right. We had people on the scene by about 10:45 the morning of the bombing. We were covering it like any story that we would cover. However, after a week certain things started developing. So we started looking into it in a serious manner. Consequently we've hired three special investigators (two of them are former FBI agents) who are working for us for the last 30 days.

We're working on the McVeigh and John Doe No. 2 angles, trying to bring some inconsistencies into line and make some sense out of what we've been told.

Q. What have been some of these inconsistencies and other questions that have led you into investigating the bombing story further?

R. I think the thing that really bothered us is that we were told on the afternoon of April 19, the day of the bombing, that they had videotape of a brown Ford pickup with McVeigh getting in it, leaving the truck that was supposed to be carrying the bomb, and that there was another suspect in that brown Ford pickup with McVeigh. They also stated that a female witness had been driving away from the scene as the bomb exploded. She had her front car window blown out. She also saw these two individuals.

Then we find that McVeigh was arrested at 10:45 that morning by the Oklahoma highway patrolman, Charlie Hanger. McVeigh was in a 1978 cream colored Mercury. That caught our attention since this car was nothing like the vehicle that the authorities were supposed to be on the lookout for and for which they had put out an all-points bulletin.

About two weeks, ago we and another television station confronted them on this and asked why they were not continuing to look for the brown Ford pickup and John Doe N. 2. That seemed to have fallen by the wayside.

The authorities told us, though, that they had not put out an all-points bulletin for the brown Ford pickup and that we were totally in error. We videotaped the interview, by the way, and so did the other television station.

However, we then went to the police broadcast tapes that went out on April 19. We brought up the tape which indicated that there had been an all-points bulletin for a brown Ford pickup that had two occupants and that this bulletin was put out with the authority of the FBI. We played that tape for them and they said that they had "no comment" on it.

Now after Waco we had begun to wake up and realized that these people [the authorities] didn't tell us the truth all the time, so we started looking at the Oklahoma City bombing case a little harder.

At another point they indicated that McVeigh was arrested at 10:45 on the morning of Wednesday, April 19, and that the vehicle he was driving was the 1978 Mercury.

I happened to be sitting by my radio scanner on Friday, April 21, about one o'clock in the afternoon, and I heard a broadcast coming over from Oklahoma Highway Patrol that they had a car on I-35 and that the car most likely had been involved in the bombing.

I dispatched a crew over from the station and they got there and a lady then told us that she witnessed the arrest of a man about 1:30 p.m. She said he was taken out of the vehicle, put in a military helicopter and it went south with him. We broadcast that story as did Channel 4 in Oklahoma City as well as the Oklahoma News Network for radio.

If that wasn't enough, then, the following Monday we had our insurance agent for the station who came in that day to visit. He lives at Perry, Okla. I mentioned this report to him and he said, 'I was coming down I-35 on Friday and a highway patrolman passed me with his red lights and siren on at a high rate of speed."

He said that when he got up to where the patrolman had gone there were all sorts of vehicles and all sorts of police (including plain-clothesmen). There was a helicopter flying away. So that substantiates the story that the lady had told. Our insurance man is a former Oklahoma city police officer.

So we are trying to determine who was arrested on Friday. Was McVeigh arrested on Wednesday (as they say) or on Friday.

It may be that there is a reasonable explanation for this. It may be that the car McVeigh was driving was left on the spot for two days but that's not likely.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has a policy in the types of arrest that McVeigh was involved in. The car would be impounded and searched and taken off the highway. At any rate, they don't let a car sit for a 48-hour period on I-35.

Q. Are you suggesting that McVeigh's real arrest by a very lucky patrolman didn't really happen on the morning of April 21.

R. Well, we've been told by two witnesses that there was an arrest on that date. We're trying to clear this up with the FBI, but we can't get statements from them. They are not commenting on that. So it's a very real problem.

However, there's another real problem with this arrest.

If McVeigh left Oklahoma city at 9 in the morning (and he was arrested at Perry, Okla., at 10:20 that morning, according to official reports, he would have known from early reports that there were at least six people dead from the bombing since he had a radio in the car.

He was running 85 miles an hour down I-35, which has highway patrolmen all along the highway. He had no license plate on the car. He had a fully loaded gun strapped in a shoulder holster.

Now according to Patrolman Charlie Hanger, when he stopped McVeigh, the suspect got out of the car and said, "I've got a gun under my jacket," and gave himself up.

That doesn't make sense to me. At that point McVeigh would have nothing to lose if he shot the officer right there and gone on down the road.

Q. It doesn't make sense to a lot of people.

R. There are some real problems here. I'm not buying the story, nor does my television crew, not do the former FBI agents who we have on board. What we have are several problems with the stories put out by the FBI and even they are acknowledging that they have problems.

To build the bomb, rent the truck and stay in the motels that were used would have exceeded $10,000. How a man such as McVeigh, whom we might call a drifter, and just working to eat each day, could have come up with $10,000 raises questions.

We think we have the answer at this time, but I'd rather not go into it over the program at this time. We've interviewed many, many people who have actually been with McVeigh and actually know some of the things involved around this bombing and when all of it comes out, people are going to be astounded with what we've uncovered.

We actually know where McVeigh stopped along the way and talked with people and we've talked with some of those people. The FBI knows the same thing that we know.

They know that McVeigh was supposed to be in Oklahoma at 3 a.m. in the morning and was delayed because he got lost and we've talked to people who talked to him while he was lost and got him back on the road.

Then there are the stories that there were no ATF people in the bureau office the day of the bombing. A lot of people have heard those stories. The ATF has sent out a disclaimer saying that they had five agents who were dead.

However, there's a bad problem with that because two days prior to that, one agent told us that there were no ATF agents in the office that day. He even told us where they were. He told us that he was in Oklahoma city in court with a fellow named Fuzzy Warren.

Then, he said, there wre three agents in Newkirk, Okla., on an arson case and a couple others were involved in cases around the country. He said that five agents were up all night because they were involved in surveillance until 6:30 in the morning at which time they went home and went to bed. What he told us was that no agents were killed, but that there wa a secretary in the office and she didn't get hurt.

According to him, they were all out doing their jobs. I will tell you this much: We're going to have real problems with those five agents who were out all night and went home to go to bed.

Q. Whatever happened to the brown Ford pickup that McVeigh and the other suspect were supposedly spotted in just prior to the bombing?

R. We don't believe there ever was such a vehicle. They've never produced a videotape of the scene that was supposed to be Southwestern Bell's video surveillance camera in a building across the street from the federal building. No one has seen the video. It hasn't been released to anybody, although several people have made inquiries.

Q. What about the seismographic evidence in circulation that suggests that there were two explosions at the federal building?

R. There certainly were two explosions. At the onset we were told that those two seismic readings were the explosion going off and then the concrete from the building falling and hitting the ground. They retracted that and said that there was the explosion and then something following it like a sonic boom.

We have a former ATF agent who has looked at the charts and his conclusions, while not firm yet, are somewhat in concurrence with those or former FBI official Ted Gunderson who believes that the bomb had to be more powerful than what's officially been reported. We are not ready to draw a conclusion, but we are still working on this particular question.

Another thing that the authorities will have to address is that the demolition of the building by explosives did not register on the seismograph that suggested there had been two explosions on April 19. We had 60 million tons of concrete fall on April 19 at the time of the blast. Then when the building was brought down, there were some 200 million tons fall, but that shock wave didn't register.

Now here's something else that we broadcast as did other local Oklahoma stations and this didn't get outside the state in the national media reports.

The assistant Oklahoma city fire chief, John Hanson, told us that they had found two undetonated bombs in the building as well as one rocket launcher in the building.

We have confirmed that they were there, but we have not been able to get any comments from the FBI or the ATF. So there are some problems here.

Q. You've uncovered some other interesting things.

R. We think that we've found John Doe No. 2 and we have had him under surveillance for about six days. We know that John doe No. 2 was in tulsa, along with McVeigh, at a gun show on April 1.

McVeigh was attempting to buy some pistols over there and he said he was not going to register with the ATF. So we know about that. We talked at length with a man who was selling guns at the gun show and he reported this to the FBI and no action was taken on that.

Q. The FBI were certainly miracle people after the bombing. It was the day after the bombing that they were ransacking houses in Mexico and Arizona. Did they know ahead about all these people?

R. I think -- as do a lot of other people -- that McVeigh was under surveillance for a long time.

I think you could put that theory in the bank and draw money on it. We have evidence that would support that I think that there was prior knowledge of the bombing.

The SPOTLIGHT October 11, 1999

Where Was BATF When Bomb Went Off?

BATF officials were nowhere to be seen on the morning of April 19, 1995. Were they forewarned to stay clear of the Murrah building?

By Gregory Douglas

Since the bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City April 19, 1995, one aspect in the case has not received the news coverage it deserves.

The Bureau of alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) had a central office in the Oklahoma City federal building. The office was in charge of the Branch Davidian siege that ended in the fiery deaths of nearly 80 people, including children, and resulted in a wave of anger and revulsion throughout the country.

Approximately 30 BATF agents were assigned to the Oklahoma city office, which also employed clerical workers.

April 19 was a regular business day at the BATF office in Oklahoma city.

The BATF office opened at 8:15 a.m. on work days. When the bomb went off in the Murrah Building shortly after 9 a.m. April 19, the office, however, was completely empty and its doors were locked. Even with a flu epidemic or a staff picnic, there would had been personnel on duty. The office would certainly had been open to the public by 8:30 a.m.

Other federal agencies, such as the FBI, were open in the building. Several FBI agents as well as agents from other agencies were injured, some severely, from the explosion.

Following the blast, reports were complied by the local police department and federal officials. The reports, many of which are classified, note the empty and locked BATF office in the federal building on the day of the explosion.

INCREASE CONTROL

The Clinton administration proposed a number of anti-terrorist measures immediately after the blast. These measures were actually intended to increase law enforcement control and surveillance over individuals or groups viewed hostile by the administration.

Given the slowness with which bureaucratic Washington always addresses any issue, this instant, well-prepared response, coupled with the empty BATF office in Oklahoma city, is a matter that should give pause to any reflective person.

The SPOTLIGHT October 18, 1999

International Money Fraud Exposed

A scathing report by Congress' investigative body reveals the IMF has bilked billions from U.S. taxpayers in the name of global debt relief and forced Third World countries into servile debtor nations.

By Martin Mann

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the principal surveillance agency and enforcer of the globalist financial elites, has defrauded the U.S. government of tens of billions of dollars by cooking its books and lying about its own capital.

Those are the alarming conclusions of an investigation undertaken this year by the General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress.

The GAO's report, scheduled to be released in November, found that when the IMF told the Clinton administration last year it urgently needed a new infusion of capital -- some $18 billion - to continue operation, it was not telling the truth.

The IMF has repeatedly and fraudulently "understated its funding reserves and lending ability over the years...in order to obtain approval of large capital increases from its member governments,"GAO auditors have found.

While claiming "financial exhaustion," IMF Managing Director Michael Camdessus failed to account for at least $19 billion of his agency's liquid cash holdings, hidden in accounts listed only as untouchable "strategic reserves."

The IMF has squirreled away much more than that in working assets in order to be able to pretend that it was in danger of going broke. The GAO estimates that the total is nearer to $46 billion.

The GAO's disturbing discoveries come at a time when other researchers are raising doubts about the integrity of the IMF as a global financial overseer.

There is new evidence to refute the IMF's long-held claim that it played a helpful role in easing the so-called "debt Crunch" of the 1980s that hammered the economies of developing countries.

Far from it, asserts a recent study by Prof. Robin Broad of American University. International financial institutions actually promoted the crisis by encouraging "profligate lending and runaway debt financing" in the world's money markets.

Led by Mexico, one over-borrowed nation after another declared default in the early 1980s. "They were at the mercy of the international bankers," said Dr. Alastair Fermin-Smyth, a guest lecturer in international economics at the State University of New York.

Amid the spreading breakdown of the transnational payments systems, the IMF staged a "monumental power grab," related Fermin-Smyth.

That dramatic shift, with the IMF's polyglot bureaucracy replacing national governance around the world, has showered undreamed of wealth on international bankers, currency traders, stock market speculators, hot-money financiers and a number of transnational mega-conglomerates favored by the IMF, these sources noted.

But on hundreds of millions of working people from Bangkok to Brazil, it has "inflicted a nightmare os sweatshop labor, mass unemployment, miserly wages, inflated prices, endemic corruption, uprooted communities and the terror of being utterly powerless," Fermin-Smyth warned.

The SPOTLIGHT October 18, 1999

Moneymen's Meeting Urges Market Merging

A recent meeting of G-7, IMF and World Bank officials laid the groundwork for integrating global markets and strengthening one-worlders' powerbase.

By James P. Tucker

The rough outlines of the new "international financial architecture" are emerging as a meeting of the financial ministers of the seven leading industrialized nations in Washington rolls over into the annual gathering of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The first move came from Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, a Bilderberg regular, who won approval for the creation of a "Group of 20" that includes the world's wealthiest nations plus a geographic selection of poor nations to help determine "global economic policy." Summers said the group will represent 80 percent of the world's economy. "Much more needs to be done,' he said.

The new G-20 will meet in Berlin in December. More development of the new global "architecture" will come at the "Millennium Summit, planned for the dawn of the new century.

Summers said the new G-20 "will be a permanent mechanism for dialogue."

President Clinton, a long-time Trilateral commission member who was recruited for the white House at the 1991 Bilderberg meeting in Baden-Baden, Germany, obligingly used the occasion to seek forgiveness for all the $7 billion in loans the United states made to the poor countries, if they follow orders to use the savings for health care and education.

Clinton hoped to prod other nations to forgive more than the $27 billion already pledged by Europe and Japan.

Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) Has written colleagues urging them to support legislation permitting the U.S. forgiveness. Such legislation has been introduced by Sen Connie Mack (R-Fla.) and Rep Jim Leach (R-Iowa), chairman of the House Banking Committee.

The G-20 Chairman is Paul Martin, Canadian finance minister.

G-20 }will focus on translating the benefits of globalization into higher incomes and better opportunities every where," he said. "We're not talking about world government and all those kinds of things that upset the right wing press. What we're really talking about is just making the market work."

A high State Department official, who has been a reliable source for a decade, said Martin's comments bring to mind words of the wit, Will Rogers: "If a man says, this is not about money, you can be sure it's about money."

"You can be sure if Martin says "it's not about world government, it's about world government,'" the official said.

A new "Human Development" report by the United Nations was sidely and approvingly discussed at the IMF-World Bank meetings.

Stronger rules on "global governance" are needed, the report said. It called for a "global forum" of multinational corporations, governments, "non-governmental organizations" and trade unions to impose codes of conduct throughout the world.

"Global integration is proceeding at breakneck speed and with amazing reach," the UN report said. "But the process is uneven and unbalanced."

The "new rules of globalization -- and the players writing them -- focus on integrating global markets, neglecting the needs of the people that markets cannot meet," the report said. "The process is concentrating power and marginalizing the poor, including countries and people."

The UN report echoes the demands, made repeatedly over the years, by both Bilderberg and the Trilateral Commission to "redistribute the wealth" of the world.

They are not talking about spreading the riches of the Rockefellers or Rothschilds, but that of the taxpayers of the Western nations so the world shadow government can more efficiently exploit the cheap labor and natural resources of poor countries, the State Department official said.

The SPOTLIGHT October 18, 1999

Feds Report Minor Y2K Glitches

Do minor glitches and fixes associated with the Year 2000 (Y2K) indicate the government is ready?

By F.C. Blahut

Not everyone starts the new year on Jan. 1. The government, for instance, doesn't operate on a Jan.-Dec. Schedule. In Washington, it's Oct.1 to Sept. 30 -- the fiscal year.

Therefore, the federal government rolled over to the 2000 fiscal year on Friday, Oct. 1. And not unexpectedly, there were some minor computer glitches, which were repaired rapidly. At least, that's what Washington says.

But not everyone agrees with Washington that this test case proves that, come Jan. 1, 2000, problems will be minor and easy to fix. Doomsayers insist that it's smoke and mirrors, a sideshow to ease the minds of the general public and prevent a possible panic.

Here's what happened and what Washington said about it.

On Monday, Oct. 4, days after the start of its fiscal year 2000, the federal government reported "two more minor computer failures" blamed on the Y2K technology problem.

The Justice Department and Federal Aviation Administration each reported problems with budget-related computers caused by the date rollover, but -- according to the President's Council on Year 2ooo Conversion -- they were able to solve the failures with in hours.

The council, which monitored agencies through the first weekend of the new fiscal year for reports of problems, earlier cited minor failures at the Energy department and National Science Foundation.

The Justice department reported a problem with its financial management information system but was able to fix it by day's end, said Jack Gribben, a spokesman for the council. The FAA's national automated travel system also failed, but -- according to an FAA spokesman -- was quickly fixed.

Gribben told reporters on Monday, Oct. 4 that none of the failures threatened public safety. The council asked agencies to continue to report problems through this week because failures could occur days or even weeks after the date rollover.

Gribben was quoted: "There may be some agencies out there that haven't tried to use a fiscal application for the year. We don't expect we are going to hear much."

According to published reports, the Energy Department reported Oct. ! that a purchasing system temporarily failed, and the science foundation reported problems with a system that provides information to grant recipients.

Gribben told reporters it was unclear whether agencies had previously tried to repair those systems that had failed.

Some departments wouldn't be able to complete work before Jan. 1 on systems that weren't designated "mission critical."

The SPOTLIGHT October 18, 1999

FEMA Uses Floyd for Mass Evacuation

Hurricane Floyd provided federal officials with a "dry run" for mobilizing and evacuating Americans.

By Mike Blair

The massive evacuation of residents in several states along the Eastern seaboard during the approach of Hurricane Floyd was utilized by the Federal emergency Management agency (FEMA) as practice for evacuating large numbers of American citizens during a "national emergency."

FEMA, SPOTLIGHT readers will recall, is the shadowy all-powerful federal agency that has, through a pile of presidential executive orders (one of which created FEMA), been given the ability to take over the government in a national emergency.

According to word received by The SPOTLIGHT from emergency management at the state level, "FEMA played this one to the hilt."

As Floyd blustered -- and ultimately huffed and puffed himself out -- off the southern coast of the United states, FEMA managed, working with its state underling emergency management groups, the evacuation of more than 3 million Americans. This was easily the largest evacuation in U.S. history.

FEMA does have its critics.

Many state officials are upset that roads through their states were clogged with bumper-to-bumper evacuees. The hurricane would have been more dangerous for those stuck in traffic than if they had remained in their homes.

The British press is accusing Glory of causing the "panic of the century."

The London Times reported: "In evacuation 1 percent of its population, the most powerful nation in the world had demonstrated an astonishing ability to mobilize its people, even at a near-pointless cause."

The British concluded the FEMA trial run was "one of the more terrifying exercises the U.S. has indulged more than 3,000,000 people in...."

Reuters news service put it this way: "In greater Miami alone, 300,000 were ordered off Barrier Islands...yet Floyd left Miami twisting in a refreshing Breeze..."

The SPOTLIGHT October 25, 1999

Inside Information Says Feds Fired First at Waco

There are more revelations about a massive cover-up by the federal government in the massacre of 76 Branch Davidians at the religious sect's church and living quarters near Waco, Tex, in early 1993.

By Mike Blair

Allegations have reached The SPOTLIGHT that federal agents fired first during the initial attack by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and firearms (BATF) Feb. 28, 1993 at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Tex., where 76 people, including women and children, were killed.

Dozens of BATF agents descended on the religious community at Mount Carmel, near Waco, to serve a search warrant to examine the compound for illegal firearms and drugs. Gunfire immediately broke out. Television viewers across the country watched as BATF agents and Branch Davidians, defending their church and home, exchanged shots.

DEAD ON BOTH SIDES

When the smoke cleared, for BATF agents and six Branch Davidians were dead. Sect leader David Koresh was wounded.

The FBI, including the bureau's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), laid siege to the religious community, which ended 51 days later on April 19, when the compound and many of its inhabitants were consumed in a massive holocaust.

According to a SPOTLIGHT source in the law enforcement community, federal officials working with Texas Rangers who investigated the tragedy learned that just moments before the BATF agents went into action at the compound, other agents some 450 yards away directed fire on the Branch Davidian guards.

One guard was posted in the tower that rose above the center of the compound, who was armed with a .50 caliber Barrett rifle, the source said. Another armed guard walked a tree line outside of the structure.

The source said the sniper fire came from FBI HRT snipers - not from BATF agents. At the time there was not supposed to be an FBI presence at Mount Carmel.

SENTRIES KILLED

From what he learned from an officer at the scene, both Branch Davidian sentries were shot by the FBI snipers, the source told The SPOTLIGHT.

"I guess that my question to Attorney General Janet Reno and President Bill Clinton is: What part of serving a search warrant begins with the cold-blooded murder of two persons?" the source asked. "Since when is it proper procedure to just gun down two persons, even if they are armed?"

The SPOTLIGHT is seeking further details in its investigation of the Waco disaster, especially with the latest information that FBI Hrt snipers were assigned to the Mount Carmel operation as early as the initial BATF assault.

If federal agents fired first during the attempt to serve a search warrant at the compound in February, this information brings further culpability to the FBI, the Justice department and the White House, known to have directed the final attack at the Waco compound. (SPOTLIGHT, Sept.27.)

Evidence also has emerged from a recent 13-page report by the Texas Rangers, who combed the compound for material evidence after the fire. Across the road from the compound, the Rangers discovered numerous empty cartridge casings, known to be of calibers utilized by HRT snipers, at two "undercover houses" used by FBI sharpshooters. (SPOTLIGHT, Oct.4.)*

The SPOTLIGHT October 25, 1999

Court Orders ADL to Quit Spying

Once again the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of B'nai B'rith has been found guilty of illegal spying. But its troubles aren't over just yet. Here's the story...

By Michael Collins Piper

A federal judge has ordered the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of B'nai B'rith to cease and desist in engaging in any further illegal spying operations on American soil.

The ruling, issued in Los Angeles on Sept. 28 by U.S. district court Judge Richard Paez, effectively confirms by law -- as The SPOTLIGHT has said for years -- that the ADL had been conducting illegal spying on a wide variety of law-abiding American citizens.

Judge Paez handed down the ruling in approving a final settlement in a law suit that was first filed against the ADL in 1993 by the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (AAADC)

The lawsuit was filed by the AAADC on behalf of a diverse group of individuals and organizations all of whom had discovered in 1993 that they had been targeted by the ADL's so-called "fact finding" division.

A wide-ranging criminal investigation of the ADL conducted jointly in 1993 by the FBI and the San Francisco Police department (SFPD) determined that the ADL's chief longtime undercover operative, San Francisco-based Roy Bullock, had illegally received confidential, classified police files and other data on the ADL's spy targets from an SFPD officer.

Bullock complained in an interview with the authorities that it was The SPOTLIGHT's exposure of him as an ADL spy (in its issue of June 30, 1996( that set in motion the series of events that led to the SFPD-FBI investigation that led to the subsequent scandal.

In the early stages of the investigation, an SFPD-FBI raid on the ADL's offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles (as well as on Bullock's home) revealed that the ADL's spying operations were not just being conducted on the West Coast, but were actually national in scope, it was also determined that the ADL critics charged that the ADL maintained vast spy files on thousands of Americans, But those allegations were dismissed by some as "conspiracy theories" until the truth finally emerged. Ironically, even some of those who ultimately discovered that they were bing targeted by the ADL were among those who had previously dismissed the idea that the ADL would spy on anybody.

What is particularly interesting about this case was that it laid to rest the long-time myth (propagated by the ADL itself) that the ADL spied only on "right-with hate groups."

In fact, the ADL was proved to have spied on a wide variety of groups (which where represented in the lawsuit) including:

* Green peace -- an environmental group;
* The united Farm Workers Union -- a largely Hispanic group;
* ACT-UP -- a homosexual rights organization;
* Action for Animals -- an animal rights group; and
* The American Indian Movement -- a Native American civil rights organization.

The few "mainstream" newspaper report about the ADL court settlement that were published focused on the fact that an "Arab group" had filed the law-suit and sought to downplay the fact that many other "minority" groups had allied with the Arab organization to bring the ADL's spying activities to heel.

Although the ADL continues to insist that the suit itself was "without merit" and that it had committed no crimes and that it conducted its so-called "fact-finding" in a "serious, professional and lawful manner," Hussein Ibish, a spokesman for the AAADC said that the suit vindicates the view that the ADL had "engaged in illegal activities" and had attempted to undermine the work of other organizations.

There are two aspects to the judgment, however, that leave some ADL critics skeptical.

First, Judge Paez ruled that the ADL must provide an annual statement to its own legal counsel for the next for years to describe the steps it is taking to remain in compliance with the judge's order. This essentially permits the ADL to "police itself."

Secondly, although the ADL has been ordered to pay $25,000 toward a comunity relations fund to be administered by the groups targeted by the ADL, critics point out that the ADL will be permitted to help administer the fund.

This is the second such lawsuit to be settled out of court by the ADL stemming from the spy scandal.

A third lawsuit remains for the ADL to contend with and it is moving forward in the California state superior court in San Francisco, much to the ADL's dismay.

The remaining lawsuit was filed against the ADL in San Francisco by former U.S. Rep. Paul N. (Pete) McCloskey (R-Calif.) with the support of the Foundation to Defend the First Amendment, headed by SPOTLIGHT correspondent James P. Tucker Jr. (See The SPOTLIGHT, Aug. 16)

Unlike the two precious lawsuits, however, the McCloskey case against the ADL is almost certain to go to trial, which is something that the ADL wishes to avoid at all costs.

The SPOTLIGHT September/October

Here's to Your Health

New Study Evidence Indicts Fluoridation

Research links low levels of fluoride and aluminum to Alzheimer's and kidney damage.

By Jeff Green

The Presence of low levels of fluoride in the drinking water of test animals, equal to the amount of elemental fluorine found in fluoridated water, caused damage to the tissue of the brain that the authors identified as similar to the pathological changes found in humans with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the Journal of Brain Research, was conducted by Julie Varner, Karl Jensen William Horvath and Robert Isaacson.

While the purpose of this study was to assess the factors that enhance or inhibit the bioavailability of aluminum and its effects on the nervous system, the study looked at the effects of aluminum-fluoride and sodium-fluoride separately.

Histological evidence of glomerular distortion and other signs of kidney disorder were found in animals in both the aluminum-fluoride and sodium fluoride groups.

While the small amount of aluminum-fluoride in the drinking water of rats required for neurotoxic effects is surprising, perhaps even more surprising are the neurological results of the sodium-fluoride at the dose given in the present study (2.1 ppm). (This is the amount used to achieve 1 ppm of elemental fluorine used in fluoridation.)

Fluoride has diverse actions on a variety of cellular and physiological functions, including the inhibition of a variety of enzymes, a corrosive action in acid mediums, hypocalcemia, hyperkalemia and possibly cerebral impairment.

"Chronic administration of aluminum-fluoride and sodium-fluoride in the drinking water of rats resulted in distinct morphological alterations of the brain, including the effects on neurons and cerebrovasculature," the authors summarize.

The study adds further definition to a series of recent studies that have illuminated fluoride's adverse neurological impact and have anticipated the results from the research that focuses on the hippocampus region of the brain and interaction with other neurotoxins.

There are numerous studies linking fluoride to increased risk of hip fracture, cancer, genetic damage, bone pathology and dental fluorosis, as identified in July 1997 by the union which consists of all of the scientists and other professionals at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C.

A previous study by Mullenix, et al. In neurotoxicology and teratology in 1995, documents abnormal behavioral responses by animals exposed to fluoride at various stages of gestation, which resulted in the exposed animals exhibiting either permanent hyperactivity if exposed prenatally, or that laymen refer to as the rat version of a couch potato if exposed after birth.

In Psychopharmacology of Fluoride: A Review 1994, the author, A Spittle, concludes: "There would appear to be some evidence that chronic exposure to fluoride may be associated with cerebral impairment affecting particularly the concentration and memory of some individuals. These symptoms are reminiscent of those seen in the chronic fatigue syndrome."

In The Effect of Fluoride on the Physiology of the Pineal Gland, 1994, the author, J.S. Luke, suggests that fluoride also effects the gland in the brain that produces melatonin, which has been established as critical to those people suffering from sleep disorders.

In light of this scientific evidence, is it in the best interest of our nation to continue a public policy that forces each man, woman and child to ingest a known cumulative neurotoxin? Ninety-eight percent of Europe has already rejected fluoridated water.

The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act requires that each chemical that appears in our drinking water be reassessed with new criteria for assuring the safety of drinking water for the most susceptible segments of our population.

For more information, contact Jeff Green at e-mail, jgreen@abac.com, or write to Citizens For Safe Drinking Water at 3243 Madrid St., San Diego, CA 92110.

The SPOTLIGHT September/October

Here's to Your Health

Mass Inoculations Are Wrong Answer

The Center for Disease Control is preparing America for a coming "plague" caused by severe cases of influenza by pushing questionable flu vaccines.

By The SPOTLIGHT Staff

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) broadcast the program, "Preparing for the Next Influenza Pandemic," Feb. 25 to public health officials and public health students nationwide.

The purpose of the program was to alert health professionals and community leaders that a world-wide influenza pandemic is imminent and inevitable and that preparations must be made to handle what is expected to be millions of sick people.

"Influenza experts agree there will be another global epidemic of influenza -- an act of natural biological terrorism. The problem is that no one can predict when it will happen...but it will happen," said grogram host, Dr William Atkinson, of the national Vaccination Program.

"We hope that this program will be the catalyst...in the process of pandemic influenza preparedness," Atkinson said.

The program, which can be obtained as a videotape from your local health department, described the nature of influenza and why in the United States, "200 million could be affected...50 million people could require out-patient care...2 million people could be hospitalized...and 400,000 people could die."

Using graphic language and photographs for the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919, which according to the CDC originated at Fort Riley, Kan., and ultimately killed 20 million people world-wide, the program supported the inevitability of a pandemic by describing "the three influenza pandemics that have occurred in this century between 1918 and 1919, 1957 and 1958 and 1968 and 1969.

According to the Center for Disease Control, 150,000,000 swine flu vaccine doses were developed, created and tested in short order to mass vaccinate the public against the disease. The vaccination program inoculated 45,000 people in 77 days. The program was suspended after people began developing a different disease called Guillane Barre.

The swine flu experience taught the CDC to recognize the importance of an "ongoing vaccine program..." and that, "Having a pandemic preparedness plan is important."

It is interesting to note that, throughout the program, it was stressed that communities shale and must cooperate with the federal government in pandemic preparedness for an influenza epidemic that might inevitably transpire and that they must vaccinate people with vaccines that only may be effective.

THE GRIP

Kathleen Bensheimer, Ph.D., stated that the preparedness planning began in earnest in 1993 (apparently under order of President Clinton) when the Working Group on Influenza Preparedness and Emergency Response was formed. Bensheimer acknowledged that the acronym for th group of professionals and lay people was "the GRIP."

Bensheimer described the structure of "the Grip" plan as keying on "surveillance, vaccine delivery, emergency response and communications." She also highlighted the importance that appropriate statues be in place (through the adoption of "model legislation" if necessary). Bensheimer labored the importance of cooperation between national local government associations and the most intelligent use of local government resources to maximize the work of "the GRIP."

The CDC described the evolution of influenza viruses as "antigenic shift and drift." A flu would be the flu if it did not change form. A flu experiences an antigenic "shift" if it changes only a little, a situation that the CDC interprets as evidence that "repeated vaccinations are important."

An antigen "shift" is the formation of a brand new virus where "thousands, er even millions of deaths could result," Atkinson explained.

According to the CDC, "depending upon the recipient of the vaccine and the similarity of the vaccine to the circulating virus...if there is a good match," the effectiveness of the vaccine is 70 percent to 90 percent in healthy, younger people.

The CDC said flu vaccines are only 30 percent to 40 percent effective in older people but that they "may" lessen the impact of flu symptoms.

The duration of protection one receives from the flu vaccine is only one year.

The SPOTLIGHT September/October

Here's to Your Health

America's Forced Vaccination Policy Could Mean a Deadly Trip to Your Doctor

Feds Requiring Parents to Shoot Who Knows What Into Their Kids

A vaccine given to children to prevent severe epidemics of influenza can in some cases cause adverse reactions and in others may even trigger the infection.

By The SPOTLIGHT Staff

The haemophilus influenza type b (HIB) vaccine, administered in the United States tody, remains the subject of much controversy.

The HIB is the most common cause of bacterial meningitis affecting children between six months and four years old. It is not known how long the incubation period lasts.

Symptoms can begin with cough, fever, chills, lack of appetite, extreme sleepiness, vomiting and, as older children and adults can testify, a severe headache. A stiff neck or back can be a warning sign.

More serious signs are mental confusion, convulsions, shock and coma. In some extremely severe cases of HIB disease, a child can die within a few hours.

Some causes of sinusitis and bronchitis are also caused by HIB organisms.

THE HIB VACCINE

Common reactions to the HIB vaccine include fever, pain and swelling at the injection site. Rash, hives irritability, restless sleep, prolonged crying, diarrhea, vomiting, loss of appetite, convulsions, collapse, shock and Guillain-Barre syndrome also are reported.

Since most children receive a DPTH combination or a shot containing DPT and the HIB vaccine, some of the studies used to evaluate the reactivity of HIB vaccines were complicated by the fact that the HIB vaccine was given simultaneously with other vaccines, including the DPT and OPV vaccine. When a reaction occurs, it is difficult to determine which of the four vaccines in the shot were responsible for the reaction.

But in 1994, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that there is compelling scientific evidence that vaccination with earlier versions of the HIB vaccine resulted in early onset of HIB diseases in children over 18 years of age. Apparently, the early HIB vaccines caused children, who had been recently vaccinated, to be more vulnerable to becoming infected with HIB disease for at least seven days after vaccination.

The newer HIB vaccines being used are thought to be more effective, leaving children less vulnerable to HIB disease shortly after vaccination.

The IOM, however, reported that "because immunization with HIB vaccines may lead to a transient disease in protective antibody levels, unimmunized children are at increased risk [household or day-care contact with individuals with recent cases of HIB infection] and may require special protective measures."

One HIB vaccine manufacturer stated: "There have been rare reports to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS)of HIB disease following full primary immunization."

Because to few studies have ever been conducted to investigate HIB vaccine reactions, the IOM could not make a determination about whether HIB vaccine causes blood conditions, weakened immune response, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, or sudden infant death syndrome.

A manufacturer of HIB vaccine states in the product insert that the vaccine "has not been evaluated for it cancer causing, mutagenic potential or impairment of fertility" and "it is also not known whether the vaccine can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity."

The HIB bacteria was first isolated in 1892 from victims in an influenza epidemic. This bacteria lives in the human respiratory tract and can be recovered from the nasal and throat passages of up to 90 percent of healthy individuals.

Today, American children ages six to 48 months old are highly susceptible to developing HIB infection, especially if they are immune compromised or live in crowded, substandard living conditions. HIB disease is spread through sneezing, coughing or inhaling respiratory tract secretions of an infected person. HIB infections occur most often during the late winter or spring.

Historically, HIB disease has been rare in newborns and adults, although the incidence of HIB disease increased fourfold from 1946 to 1986 and more adults have become vulnerable. The reason for the sudden increase in the incidence and severity of HIB disease in this century is unknown. Some scientists, however, believe that excessive use of antibiotics may have caused the organism to change and become more deadly. Common antibiotics, such as ampicillin, which once were used to help people recover from the disease, are no longer effective treatment for HIB disease because the bacteria has become resistant to it.

Without immediate and adequate medical treatment, HIB disease has a significant death rate (5 to 10 percent) and a high rate of seizures and other neurological complications (30 percent). Other complications include pneumonia and heart conditions with long-term damage.

Antibiotic therapy using powerful antibiotics is only one part of the treatment, which may include respiratory and oxygen therapy, blood transfusions, fluid replacement, tracheotomy and anticonvalsant therapy.

When a HIB disease is confirmed, often unvaccinated and vaccinated children within the same family or class-room are given "preventive" antibiotic therapy in an attempt to stop infection. Recovery from HIB disease sometimes confers permanent immunity. For many others, especially those whose immune systems are compromised, there is the possibility for another HIB infection.

An estimated 20,000 cases of HIB disease occurred in the United States in 1984, the highest number in one year. In 1994, there were 1,174 cases of HIB diseases reported with 329 cases occurring in children under five years old. A total of 463 cases occurred in adults over age 60. Sixteen deaths were reportedly due to complications from HIB infection in 1972.

The SPOTLIGHT September/October

Here's to Your Health

'Chemical Avalanche' Affecting Behavior

Are the poisons we consume destroying our culture?

By Don Harkins

Murder, rape, road rage, homicidal schoolyard rampages, domestic violence and child abuse have become synonymous with the American experience. Science is proving that the sociopathic manifestations of a nation that has ost its moral compass are being exacerbated by the man-made poisons that are accumulating in our bodies.

Dr. Zane Gard and others have amassed evidence indication that most of our present sociological miseries are the result of a populace which has been rendered toxic from its exposure to millions of chemicals.

BETTER DYING?

The last four generations of Americans have wholeheartedly embraced the chemical company-promoted slogan, "Better Living Through Chemistry."

We Believe that crop yields have increased through the liberal use of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. We believe that paints, plastics, solvents and other chemicals that we use daily are safe to use. We also believe that chemically-processed food is healthy and nutritious. We are beginning to realize that with these beliefs come a high price.

"There has been a 10-fold increase in the use of pesticides on farmland over the past 30 years," wrote James P. Carter, MD, in the book Racketeering in Medicine. "In spite of this increased use, the average annual crop losses have remained constant, and the specific losses to insects have actually doubled. Furthermore, 99 percent of the pesticides applied to gardens and crops never hit their intended pest targets. After all of the spraying, the crop losses due to all pests, i.e. microorganisms, fungi, insects, rodents, etc., are about the same as they were years ago."

Our world is one where incidence of cancers are at an all-time high, chronic fatigue afflicts at least one member of almost every American family and a variety of immuno-suppressive and psychological disorders are epidemic all over the nation. According to the report, Why is Irritability, Anger and Viciousness Increasing? (Gard, et al., March 1994), since 1965 more than 4 million chemical compounds have been reported in scientific literature.

As of 1981, of over 70,000 chemicals currently in production, 3,000 have been intentionally added to our food supplies and over 700 can be found in municipal water supplies. Food and food storage processes utilize 10,000 other chemical compounds that can lessen the nutritional value of commonly consumed, prepackaged food.

We are also exposed to a long list of other chemicals that are potentially toxic to the body. The list includes petrochemicals, industrial waste, pharmaceutical drugs, street drugs, hormones, dental amalgams, vaccines, radiation (X-rays, radioactive waste), pesticides, herbicides and insecticides, paints and solvents.

"The result is an incredible chemical avalanche to have befallen the human race in a relatively short time," Gard wrote.

Gard, who exposed himself to toxic levels of dioxin in Sturgeon, Mo., in 1980, stated that the "full barrel" or overload" phenomenon can be explained by the fact that everyone has a specific level of tolerance which must not be exceeded in order to maintain health.