By John McGlynn
March 20 is destined to be another day of infamy. On this date this year, the US officially declared war on Iran. But it's not going to be the kind of war many have been expecting.
No, there was no dramatic televised announcement by President George W Bush from the White House. In fact, on this day, reports the Washington Post, Bush spent some time communicating directly with Iranians, telling them via Radio Farda (the US-financed broadcaster that transmits to Iran in Farsi, Iran's native language) that their government has "declared they want to have a nuclear weapon to destroy people". But not to worry, he told his listeners in Farsi-translated Bushspeak: Tehran would not get the bomb because the US would be 'firm'."
Over at the US Congress, no war resolution was passed, no
debate transpired, no last-minute hearing on the Iran "threat" was held. The Pentagon did not put its forces on red alert and cancel all leave. The top story on the Pentagon's website (on March 20) was: "Bush lauds military's performance in terror war", a feel-good piece about the president's appearance on the US military's TV channel to praise "the performance and courage of US troops engaged in the global war on terrorism". Bush discussed Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa, but not Iran.
But make no mistake. As of Thursday, March 20 the US is at war with Iran. So who made it official?
A unit within the US Treasury Department, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which issued a March 20 advisory to the world's financial institutions under the title: "Guidance to financial institutions on the continuing money laundering threat involving illicit Iranian activity."
FinCEN, though part of the chain of command, is better known to bankers and lawyers than to students of US foreign policy. Nevertheless, when the history of this newly declared war is one day written (assuming the war is allowed to proceed) FinCEN's role will be as important as that played by US Central Command (CENTCOM) in directing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In its March 20 advisory, FinCEN reminds the global banking community that United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSC) 1803 (passed on March 3, 2008) "calls on member states to exercise vigilance over the activities of financial institutions in their territories with all banks domiciled in Iran, and their branches and subsidiaries abroad".
UNSC 1803 specifically mentions two Iranian state-owned banks: Bank Melli and Bank Saderat. These two banks (plus their overseas branches and certain subsidiaries), along with a third state-owned bank, Bank Sepah, were also unilaterally sanctioned by the US in 2007 under anti-proliferation and anti-terrorism presidential executive orders 13382 and 13224.
As of March 20, however, the US, speaking through FinCEN, is now telling all banks around the world "to take into account the risk arising from the deficiencies in Iran's AML/CFT [anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism] regime, as well as all applicable US and international sanctions programs, with regard to any possible transactions" with - and this is important - not just the above three banks but every remaining state-owned, private and special government bank in Iran.
In other words, FinCEN charges, all of Iran's banks - including the central bank (also on FinCEN's list) - represent a risk to the international financial system, no exceptions. Confirmation is possible by comparing FinCEN's list of risky Iranian banks with the listing of Iranian banks provided by Iran's central bank.
full article
Asia Times Online :: Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairs
Sunday, April 6, 2008
The day the US declared war on Iran
Cardiac Arrhythmias and Marijuana - Salem-News.Com
Cardiac Arrhythmias and Marijuana
Dr. Phillip Leveque Salem-News.comPhillip Leveque has spent his life as a Combat Infantryman, Physician, Toxicologist and Pharmacologist.
 Image courtesy: aurorahealthcare.org |
(MOLALLA, Ore.) - Anybody who knows anything about marijuana knows that it causes blood vessel dilation followed by a drop in blood pressure and reflex tachycardia. This is not what I’m writing about.
I have seen and performed physical exams on at least 4,000 marijuana patients. I have also reviewed the physical exams performed by competent Nurse practitioners and Physicians Assistants. In no case did we ever find a cardiac arrhythmia such Auricular flutter or fibrillation and no ventricular arrhythmias except for slight tachycardia mentioned above.
I was a Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology for about 25 years and I wrote my Ph.D. thesis on Auricular fibrillation. In fact, I developed several experimental means for the physiologic production of Auricular fibrillation which I used to test antifibrillatory drugs. The most recent drug was Bretylium, which can be accessed on GOOGLE as "Bretylium Leveque", which also displays several of my research articles about Auricular fibrillation.
I performed no less than 500 procedures developing the experimental model and I was able to produce fibrillation at least 80 percent of the time.
After I published the article on Bretylium, it looks as if about a dozen research pharmacologists jumped on it and tried to patent the concept. Whether anyone was able to do this I do not know but Bretylium was one of the Cardiac arrhythmia drugs recommended by the American Heart Association in the manuals.
I am writing this explanatory information to let the reader know that I know what Auricular fibrillation is.
I probably used up 10 thousand feet of EKG paper during my studies. I found also that I, or my assistants, could produce fibrillation not only in dogs, but also rats, goats and one baboon. Bretylium also works in humans for both auricular and ventricular arrhythmias.
I am no longer surprised when someone finds a new medical use for cannabis / marijuana.
When the treatable lists for marijuana came out from California and the Oregon Dept of Human Services, I scoffed and thought “snake oil”. It appears that of the medical conditions many have a relationship to nerve tissue. Certainly the Purkinge fibers of the conducting system of the heart qualify as semi-nerve tissue.
Cardiac Arrhythmias and Marijuana - Salem-News.Com
Angels And Demons Revealed - US
Excellent documentary of the illuminate and masonic infiltration of the catholic church
Angels And Demons Revealed - US
