whitebeard

Don't curse the darkness, light a candle.

L'altra America

Il 5 Ottobre prossimo prova a dare la spallata.  

ENDLESS WARS! TORTURE! KATRINA! THEOCRACY!  BRING THIS TO A HALT!
Leggi qui

And here

Give a hand.

posted by: Whitebeard at 21:05 | link | comments |
civil rights, environment, war, censored news, nineleven

Military death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan passes Nine-Eleven toll
 
  PENTAGON War casualty numbers from the Pentagon show the number of U-S military deaths in the war on terror have now surpassed the death toll from Nine-Eleven. It happened today.

The latest dead include an as-yet unidentified soldier was killed Thursday after his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad.

Combined with 278 deaths in Afghanistan, that surpasses the 29-hundred-73 victims in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Almost ten times more Americans have died in Iraq than in Afghanistan.

The Pentagon reports 56 military deaths and one civilian Defense Department death in other parts of the world from Operation Enduring Freedom, the anti-terrorism war distinct from Iraq.

Altogether, three-thousand-31 have died abroad since Nine-Eleven.
Here

posted by: Whitebeard at 08:18 | link | comments |
iraq, war, censored news, nineleven

Blair knew the attack on Lebanon was coming but he didn't try to stop it, because he didn't want to. He has made this country an accomplice, destroying what remained of our influence abroad while putting us all at greater risk of attack. By John Kampfner

At a Downing Street reception not long ago, a guest had the temerity to ask Tony Blair: "How do you sleep at night, knowing that you've been responsible for the deaths of 100,000 Iraqis?" The Prime Minister is said to have retorted: "I think you'll find it's closer to 50,000." No British leader since Winston Churchill has dealt in war with such alacrity as the present one.
Israel's assault on Lebanon is, in many respects, as disastrous as the war in Iraq. But at least then the pre-war hubris and deceit were played out in parliament and at the UN. This latest act of folly took place suddenly, with only the barest of attempts to justify it to global public opinion. And it stems from the core Middle East problem: the decades-old conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.
follows

posted by: Whitebeard at 21:41 | link | comments |
iraq, civil rights, israel, war, palestine, nineleven

The great escape
Immediately after 9/11, dozens of Saudi royals and members of the bin Laden family fled the U.S. in a secret airlift authorized by the Bush White House. One passenger was an alleged al-Qaida go-between, who may have known about the terror attacks in advance. Our first excerpt from "House of Bush, House of Saud."
Editor's note: President Bush is campaigning for reelection as the Western world's leader in the war against terrorism. But the president's family has long been closely tied -- through a complex web of oil, money and power -- to the royal family of Saudi Arabia, which has maintained its despotic grip on the petroleum-rich kingdom through an alliance with the most militant strain of Islamic fundamentalism. Journalist Craig Unger has been covering the alliance between the Bush family and the House of Saud for years. His reporting raises crucial questions about the consequences of this personal, political and financial partnership for U.S. foreign policy, democracy and the future of the world. Salon is proud to present a series of excerpts from Unger's book "House of Bush, House of Saud," to be published on March 16 by Scribner.

Follows

posted by: Whitebeard at 21:37 | link | comments |
iraq, civil rights, israel, war, palestine, torture, censored news, nineleven

posted by: Whitebeard at 08:52 | link | comments |
us, civil rights, war, censored news

Impeach the President:

The Case Against Bush and Cheney
By Dennis Loo and Peter Philips

"In these desperate times, when lies and half-truths are official policy, when our young people and innocent Iraqi civilians pay with their lives for these lies, this book is a clear presentation of the crimes of Bush and Cheney.  The chapters in this strong, thoughtful collection not only powerfully detail these crimes, they point a way forward for us all.  I urge every thinking American to read this book."

—Cindy Sheehan, anti-war activist and author of Dear President Bush

 "An airtight case for impeaching Bush and Cheney for war crimes and domestic malfeasance. It's high time for legal regime change!"

—Marjorie Cohn, President-elect, National Lawyers Guild

"An eye-opening, multi-layered indictment of the lawless rule of the Bush White House reactionaries.  A well-edited, well-substantiated, an dwell-argued offering of hard-hitting truths that can serve as a manual for political action."

—Michael Parenti, author of The Culture Struggle and Superpatriotism

“A looming, new totalitarianism—that is the warning here. Citizens who feel uneasy owe it to themselves to read this important book and think about how to exercise their responsibilities. Citizenship, truth be told, isn't easy, nor free.”

—George Kenney, former State Department Official

"They can say that Homeland Security and FEMA are on the job, but New Orleans proves them wrong. They can claim they’re winning the war on terror and the war in Iraq, but everyday the facts belie their claims. They can assure us that they’re protecting our civil liberties and doing everything by the book, but nearly every week brings fresh revelations of their lawbreaking."

-from the Conclusion
 
In the face of the extraordinary and unprecedented threat the White House and its allies present to civil liberties, civil rights, the Constitution, international law, and the future of the planet, this persuasive collection makes the case that a drastically different political dynamic must be created right now.

Impeach the President is a comprehensive analysis of a criminal administration.  It unearths the stories behind voter fraud in 2000 and 2004, the overt lies used to justify pre-emptive war on Iraq, the extensive, ongoing commission of war crimes and torture, the tragic failures in the lead-up to and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and lesser-known but equally alarming offences of propaganda and disinformation, illegal spying, environmental destruction, and the violation of the separation of church and state.  Loo and Phillips chillingly reveal the full threat behind the radical right-wing force that has taken over the most powerful office in the world.

The collection includes a striking introduction by Howard Zinn and contributions from Dennis Loo, Peter Phillips, Judith Volkart, Dahr Jamail, Jeremy Brecher, Jill Cutler, Brendan Smith, Larry Everest, Greg Palast, Nancy Snow, Barbara J. Bowley, Mark Crispin Miller, Kevin Wehr, Richard Heinberg, Lyn Duff, Dennis Bernstein, Bridget Thornton, Lew Brown, Andrew Sloan, Cynthia Boaz, and Michael Nagler.

Impeach the President issues a clarion call for a popular movement even more powerful than the antiwar movement of the 1960s.  As the authors write in the preface, “Governments do not fall of their own weight; they must be driven out.”

DENNIS LOO is Associate Professor of Sociology at Cal Poly Pomona. His specialties include polls, public policy making, social movements, media and criminology. His recent article, “No Paper Trail Left Behind: the Theft of the 2004 Presidential Election,” has received wide acclaim

PETER PHILLIPS, director of Project Censored, is Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University. He is known for his op-ed pieces in the alternative press and independent newspapers nationwide, such as Z Magazine and Social Policy.

posted by: Whitebeard at 06:26 | link | comments |
civil rights, censored news

Dear Friends,

Today, as Bush appears at the United Nations, and in support of Bush Crime Days, The World Can’t Wait announces a full page ad to appear Wednesday, September 20 in USA Today in the midst of the coverage of Bush’s visit. What better answer for a torture-endorsing war criminal, delivered in a national paper, and sent out to the world?

The money for this ad was raised through the combined effort of thousands around the country – a testament to our collective strength when we act in concert!

Tomorrow, lets all buy lots of copies USA Today. They make instant posters! Use our combined power as thousands uniting to get the word out about Thursday October 5 protests everywhere.

A few comments on why people signed our Call and sent funds:

Washington DC : “Because I am outraged at what the Bush Administration is doing to my country.”

Austin TX: “The Bush regime is corrupt, criminal, and incompetent. It is creating untold suffering in the world.”

Wallingford CT : “Bush must be held accountable for his war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Minneapolis MN : “I do not feel represented by the current administration and I do not trust them to act in my name.”

Grand Terrace CA: “There comes a time when enough has become overwhelmingly too much.”

Evansville IN : “We NEED stem cell research! We NEED our right to birth control! We NEED our right to privacy! We DON'T NEED Bush and his band of idiots!”

posted by: Whitebeard at 22:02 | link | comments |
us, war, torture, nineleven

In Defense of Humanity

Expectations of the organizing committee for the debate in Rome 2006 
 
Today humanity lives in dramatic times of disregard of international rights, under the indifferent and accomplice look of the United Nations, while mediocrity and cowardice possess the minds of the leaders of some of the main economical and military powers of the world; the incompliance with the Geneva convention regarding war prisoners and protection of civil population, gives way to the violation of the most basic values and principles of human dignity, attacking the people’s right to self determination, the sovereignty of nations, the right to veracious and opportune information, all taken for granted in a systematic and unilateral way.    
Hundreds of millions of human beings are currently being subject to direct or indirect aggressions from world powers. Aggressions are consolidated with the aim of controlling every source of fossil energy in America, Africa and the Middle East. It is a spiral of madness and accomplice silence that affects many countries like Venezuela, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Palestine and Sudan, among others, all of them victims of the endless arrogance of the tendency to “only one way of thought” that assaults great part of the world with interventionism and State terrorism – mechanisms which have plagued the world with death, misery, poverty and hunger – while the rest of the nations which are not military invaded or attacked, are forced to pay immoral and unfair foreign debts, or are controlled through their primary sources of raw material, hydro sources and biodiversity, political servility, racism, xenophobia, discrimination, unilateral commercial treaties with unequal regulations for international commerce imposed by the WTO and the concentration of media at the service of disinformation, among others.  

The World Meeting of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity will take place from 11th to 13th October, 2006, at the building of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which conducts international activities oriented to eradicate hunger. By providing a service to both developed and underdeveloped countries, the FAO acts like a neutral forum in which all countries meet, with a common denominator of equality, to negotiate agreements and debate politics.

Found here

posted by: Whitebeard at 03:32 | link | comments |
civil rights, war, world trade

Dear Friends,

I wrote this afternoon that we were close to half way to the $100,000 needed to place a full-page ad in USA Today, September 19th, to rebuke Bush when he speaks before the United Nations.

In the 7 hours since then, through your efforts, we have drastically closed the gap! We’re almost there – only $15,000 left.

We need just $15,000 more by the end of Monday!

Think of the millions who are horrified by Bush’s open admission that if Congress doesn’t override the Supreme Court and the Geneva Conventions that his “professionals” are in danger of being tried as war criminals for torture… Think of all those who are heartsick over Bush’s saber-rattling and moves towards a new war – this time against Iran …

Now, think of what it will mean for these millions to open up the most widely read newspaper in Bush’s own “homeland” and see a firm repudiation of Bush’s whole program and a call for mass protest on October 5th!

No – Bush will not be allowed to speak in our names and we will drive his criminal regime from power! The money that has come in for this ad in the last 79 hours is a testament to the deep reseveroir of discontent and disgust against this regime – and of the potential strength that can be brought forward in a movement to drive it from power!!!

October 5th: Bring the Bush regime’s disastrous program to a HALT!!!

If you haven’t yet – give now.

If you can – give again.

In any case – get on the phone and call that aunt of yours who always complaining about Bush and zap this note to your friend who always emails you anti-Bush jokes. If you think about it – I’m sure you know at least a dozen people who would be willing to give to put this ad over the top!

$5…$25…$100...$500…$1,000…or more

Don’t let anyone you know miss this opportunity to make history!

Best,
Debra Sweet
National Director
World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime

Impeach the President:
The Case Against Bush and Cheney
Four Bay Area Locations September 22-23-24
Dennis Loo, Peter Phillips, Judith Volkart, Kevin Wehr, Dennis Bernstein, Michael Nagler
New College Auditorium, 777 Valencia St. San Francisco: September 22, 7:30 Pm
(Between 18-19th) (Bart: Mission & 16th exit)
Fund Raiser for New College Interns Reporting on Immigrant Issues Sponsors: FlashPoints, Laonda Bahita and Project Censored
Door: $10 and $5 students, no one turned away
North Light Books, Cotati, 12:00 Noon, September 23, 550 East Cotati Ave, Free
Black Oaks Books, 1491 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, September 23 7:30 PM, Free
Progressive Festival, Walnut Park, Petaluma, September 24, Signings; 11AM to 4:00 PM panel at 2:00, Free
In these desperate times, when lies and half-truths are official policy, when our young people and innocent Iraqi civilians pay with their lives for these lies, this book is a clear presentation of the crimes of Bush and Cheney.
Cindy Sheehan, anti-war activist and author of Dear President Bush
"An eye-opening, multi-layered indictment of the lawless rule of the Bush White House reactionaries. Michael Parenti, author of The Culture Struggle and Superpatriotism
_______________________________________________
Project-Censored-L mailing list
Project-Censored-L@sonoma.edu
https://webmail.sonoma.edu/mailman/listinfo/project-censored-l

posted by: Whitebeard at 07:35 | link | comments |
us, war

 
ABC/NINE ELEVEN
SPECULATIONS
 
 Saturday, September 16, 2006

By: Alan Stang

 As a piece of moviemaking, it was a masterpiece. The acting was superb. The direction was even better. To me, the best thing about it was the editing, tight and dramatic, for which "The Path to Nine Eleven" deserves an award. Of course, it did not tell the story of what really happened.

The fact that the towers fell because of bombs planted therein and that the purpose of the hijacked planes was to cover the explosions, was not mentioned. Neither was the now widely known fact that United 93 did not crash after a heroic battle between passengers and Muslim terrorists but that a U.S. Air Force fighter plane shot it down. So the production raised more questions than it answered.

ABC ran its two part docudrama without commercial interruption. Correct me if I’m wrong, but is this not unprecedented? The show did well in the ratings; ABC thereby gave up millions in prime time revenue, which doesn’t happen. Why? This would be somewhat akin to a Super Bowl without commercials, and ABC is not in the non-business of public television. Limbaugh says ABC couldn’t sell the time. Do you believe that? I don’t.

There was also the additional unprecedented fact that smack in the middle of the second evening, Communist world government traitor Jorge W. Boosh showed up for a fifteen plus minute speech about why he was right to trick us into the illegal war in Iraq and why we must stay there until your distant descendants are dead.

Of course he did not say exactly that, but the size of the new American embassy presently under construction in Baghdad – with more population than many U.S. cities – is all the proof you need to know we shall be there forever. About 3,500 inmates will be able to live there without ever coming out. Does that sound like we are trying to leave? It will be vulnerable only to direct nuclear attack.

All of which inspires the speculation that, for some unknown to me reason, ABC agreed to act as a Republicrud shill and shore up the Party’s weak flank – the war in Iraq – as we head into the Congressional elections. Why would ABC agree to do that? Was somebody up there at the network caught in a public men’s room stall with a little boy or in bed with the wrong wife? Was there some other scandal?
 

 
 
Has GOP promised ABC some favor or handout? We shall probably never know, but the sight of the American Bureau of Communism fronting for the Republicrud Party is bizarre, to say the least, so my questions are legitimate. Could the fact that Boosh presently is allowing Muslims to flood into this country as never before, while we are at war in Muslim countries, have something to do with it? This would be somewhat akin to allowing Germans or Japanese in large numbers to emigrate here in 1942.

Notice that while "Path" hinted that the usual "intelligence failures" continued into the Boosh administration, that hint was merely for the record, to cover ABC’s heinie. The main thrust of the movie was overwhelmingly to nail disgusting sleaze Bill "The Rapist" Clinton for being preoccupied with an intern’s talent for fellatio while Muslim terrorists were at work.

Bill was so upset he took time out from whichever ambitious female is stupid enough to be servicing him now to complain. So did Clinton factotum Sandy Burglar, the unconvicted criminal who stole documents from the National Archives, and said later that they "accidentally" wound up in his socks and underwear and then "accidentally" were burned at his home. Notice the revealing fact that the Prostitute National Press pays any attention to him.

Also portrayed was former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who is also complaining. The superb actress who did the job even resembled her closely, but I was in fear whenever she was on screen that she would portray Madeleine’s disgusting proclivity for mini-skirts that reveal gobs of fat descending like stalactites from her thighs when she crosses her legs.

No doubt because she is overcome with hubris, Madeleine is probably the only living woman of her age who does not understand that a woman of her age – and weight – should not be wearing mini-skirts, especially in the presence of Arabs you are trying to impress. Of course, such considerations do not trouble people like Madeleine. In the same category, she discovered for political purposes – like Democrud presidential candidate John Kerry, who made the same discovery – that she is Jewish.

Inspired by these clowns, Democrud lawyers pressured ABC to cancel the showing, even hinting that failure to comply could trigger cancellation of the network’s broadcast license. At the least, they demanded script changes and ABC made some. Part One finished abruptly twenty minutes short of the originally scheduled three hours.

In one scene, White House counterterrorism boss Richard Clarke is riding in a limousine with FBI agent John O’Neill. They are discussing the question of whether Clinton will go after Bin Laden, whose location U.S. forces have found. Originally, he tells O’Neill, "The Republicans are going all-out for impeachment. I just don't see in that climate the president's going to take chances."

In the edited version that actually aired, Clarke tells O’Neill, "The President has assured me this won’t affect his decision-making." Of course, remember that Clinton also assured the nation that he "did not have sex with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." As you will recall, she had sex, but he didn’t. So gifted was the President, so immune from the physiology that gets the rest of us into trouble, that she could have sex on her knees, while he conducted Oval Office business on his feet.

Another scene in the version given to the critics had O'Neill asking Clarke about bin Laden: "What's Clinton going to do?" Clarke replies, "I don't know. The Lewinsky thing is a noose around his neck." This exchange wound up on the cutting room floor.

Another scene in the critics’ version has a CIA team outside bin Laden’s Afghan headquarters waiting for clearance to "load the package," kidnap him. National Security Adviser Burglar hangs up on CIA boss George Tenet, who is seeking that authority. The version you saw did not show Burglar hanging up.

The effect of these changes is to soften the Clinton Cabal’s well-deserved blame for the fiasco. But more than enough remained to satisfy Jorge completely. O'Neill tells Clarke with contempt, "So it's OK if somebody kills bin Laden, as long as he didn't give the order. It's pathetic."

In Afghanistan, after permission to "load the package" is withheld, the Afghan chieftain who is working with Washington says bitterly, "Are there no men in Washington, or are they all cowards?" And the connection with Miss Monica is made, however tenuous it is.

Will the blatant pressure Democrud flacks put on ABC arouse overwhelmingly Democrud newsmen allegedly concerned about freedom of the press? No. The periodic screeching they make about the First Amendment is nothing more than that, intended to cover what they really want. They are working for totalitarian Communist dictatorship. After many decades, Communist infiltration of our media is just about complete.

Will the pressure boomerang in Peoria? Maybe. Of course that depends on how many people in Peoria hear about it. Are the Democruds too stupid to realize that such pressure could boomerang? Maybe. Maybe they are utterly blinded by their appetites. Or, because the possibility of boomerang is so obvious, is it possible that boomerang is what the powers-that-would-like-to-be want, because Boosh is doing such a "good" job?

Will it be enough to continue Republicrud control of the Congress? My answer will as always be clear, concise and completely comprehensible. I don’t know. As I said in an earlier piece, it doesn’t really matter. The Republicruds victimize us one way; the Democruds another. Both are steamrollering the country into world government.

I do know that the Achilles heel of the conspiracy for world government right now is the question of what really did happen on Nine Eleven. The ABC special didn’t tell us that, but constant pressure of another kind by indefatigable researchers around the world has certainly forced the conspirators to notice. Millions of Americans know the official version is a lie. We must keep that pressure up, keep tearing at the scab, until the disgusting wound reopens and the pus pours out.

And it's working. The Prostitute National Press used to ignore it. Now they are ridiculing it, desperately trying to discredit any assertion that the official concoction is a lie. Nine Eleven is the key.

"Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."

lan Stang has been a network radio talk show host and was one of Mike Wallace's first writers.  He was a senior writer for American Opinion magazine and has lectured around the world for more than 30 years. He is also the author of ten books.  Go to www.stangbooks.com to read about Alan Stang's blockbuster new novel, He, about the greatest hero of all time, Jesus Christ.

If you would like him to address your group, please email what you have in mind. He is a regular columnist for Ether Zone.

Alan Stang can be reached at: feedback@stangbooks.com

We invite you to visit his website at: www.stangbooks.com

Published in the September 15, 2006 issue of  Ether Zone.
Copyright © 1997 - 2006 Ether Zone. We invite your comments on this article in our forum!
 http://www.etherzone.com/2006/stang091506.shtml

posted by: Whitebeard at 07:06 | link | comments |
us, war, censored news, nineleven

Vho is Michael Ruppert?

Click on the picture.

Friends:

I wrote Monday to ask you to raise and send money to publish an ad in USA Today on Tuesday September 19, as George Bush goes to the UN to argue for an attack on Iran. I'm asking you now to send this message out much further. We haven't received enough to print yet.

Advertising in USA Today means bringing the news of October 5 not just to the converted, but to millions who are agonizing over Bush’s out-in-the-open “secret” torture camps, endless wars, and Orwellian repression.

We must reach millions quickly. Your contributions are very important. With the $50 and $100 donations, those with more money to give will see the base across this country for the mass, independent political action that can change everything.

Take a moment to contemplate what Daniel Ellsberg, who risked life in prison in 1971 to leak the “Pentagon Papers” helping to stop the Vietnam War said to the San Francisco October 5 organizing meeting Thursday:

“We're in a situation today that demands a lot of people in this country. We have to create a political situation like that in 1969 where 5,000 people went to jail rather than serve in Vietnam...I was contemplating releasing documents, which could have carried a sentence of 115 years.  Was that too much to take on?  I'd been to Vietnam.  In combat it's very common for people to risk their lives and their bodies for a lie.  Bravery in a bad cause is not uncommon, and often we see it on both sides.  Often both sides are bad causes. 

What we need at home of course is people who will change their lives, risk their careers and their jobs and their relationships with their families and their bosses and their church groups by taking a stronger stand than most people were ready to take; by saying truths that most people were not ready to hear. Without that courage things like this can't be changed.  With it, they may still not be changed, they may fail, but without it, and without mass mobilization there is no chance.” Read more

This is our moment to act. Momentum is gathering.  At worldcantwait.org you can read why Gore Vidal, Ralph Nader, and others are supporting protest on October 5. Recent ads in The New York Times, Chicago Reader, SF Bay Guardian, LA Weekly, and DC’s City Paper, and the first weeks on Air America Radio which you helped place have attracted many thousands.  Last Thursday more than 1300 people met in 50 cities and towns to make plans for October 5th. 

Spread the word. Spread this message. Send all you can today.
Debra Sweet
National Coordinator
The World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bush Crimes Commission to Release Verdict Today at the White House!

Hold a fund-raising house party. Show a DVD of the Bush Crimes Commission hearings. Order here

Thursday October 5 – Protests in 40 cities. Add yours today.

22 days until October 5! Join in Innovative and Bold Outreach and Massive Fund-raising 
World Can't Wait

info@worldcantwait.org

866-973-4463
305 W. Broadway #185
New York, NY 10013
 Local chapters

Donate now

To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit http://www.worldcantwait.net/ and use the form in the top right of the page.

posted by: Whitebeard at 10:40 | link | comments |
us, nineleven

Donate now to help print a full page ad in USA Today

8 days to begin to change how the world sees us!

It’s 9-11, and what has been shoved into world news this week? U.S. torture camps, justified by the Bush regime, and about to be accepted by Congress. Do we want to be seen by the world as torturers?

George Bush goes to the United Nations on Tuesday, September 19 to announce “we’re doing this all over again” – this time in Iran. What is the world going to see that day? There is the possibility of something different beginning to show itself in this country…

On September 19, the World Can’t Wait will publish a full page ad in USA Today, the nation’s largest circulation daily, saying “Bring the Bush Crimes to a Halt!” and joining with the protests of Bush at the United Nations, and with people acting around the country on “Bush Crimes Day”. The ad will contain the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime, announce mass protests on Thursday, October 5 to millions of people, and spread the spirit of “history will judge us sharply if we fail to act to stop this.”

No one is going to send this message to the world for us. WE must do it.

Debra Sweet
National Coordinator
The World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime

---

Be part of acting, wherever you are, by donating. $104,000 needed by Friday September 15. $500,000 by Thursday, September 21.

Forward this email to 10 of your friends with a personal note on why you are contributing.

Audio here

posted by: Whitebeard at 08:45 | link | comments |
us, civil rights, war, torture, censored news

Giacinto Facchetti

To speak ill of Facchetti at the moment is like blaspheming in church. Not even I will do that. But to talk about his death is a duty. The articles of the Great Signatures, are all the SameasmineeitheryouknowhimorIheldhiminhighesteemIhadhismobilenumberinmyphone’smemory, and would probably make Giacinto want to vomit. Alessandro Gilioli of l’Espresso last year published an interview entitled “Pasticca nerazzura” {black-white pill}, with Ferruccio Mazzola, brother of Sandro, who played for Inter for a short time. Here are a few paragraphs:
“… I myself experienced these practices that footballers had to go through. I saw the trainer Helenio Herrera giving out pills to put under your tongue. He tried them out on the reserves (I was often one of these) and then he also gave them to the team members.
Some took them, others spat them out secretly. It was my brother Sandro who said: if you don’t want to take it go to the bathroom and throw it away. That’s what lots did. However, then Herrera realised that we spat them out and so he started to dissolve them in coffee. From then on “Herrera’s coffee” became one of Inter’s practices.”
“From then on my companions got sick and perhaps have died. Lots. Too many. The first was Armando Picchi, the team captain. He died of a tumour to the spinal column at 36 years old.
Then it was Marcello Giusti’s turn. He played in reserve and was killed by cancer of the brain at the end of the 1990s. Carlo Tagnin, one who never refused the pills, because he wasn’t outstanding and he wanted to extend his career running like a young lad. He died of osteosarcoma in 2000.
Mauro Bicicli went in 2001. He had a tumour in his liver. Ferdinando Miniussi, the reserve goalkeeper, died in 2002 from Cirrhosis that evolved from Hepatitis C. Enea Masiero, with Inter from 1955 to 1964 is having chemotherapy. Pino Longoni, who was in Inter’s youth team before going to Fiorentina, has a vasculopathia and is in a wheelchair with no hope of recovery …”
"… in the amateur championships where there are no controls, there they are drugged to the eye balls. What really upsets me are the youngsters. They start to get pills and power drinks at 14-15 years. I’m working in Rome with the Borghesiana team, where my son Michele plays. I always say to the youngsters to watch out even for hot tea if they don’t know what’s in it.
I have also made a statement to the youth court of Milan: scores of statements are coming in from fathers and mothers whose sons are taking strange stuff. Perhaps they run like mad on the field and then they fall asleep at their desk the following day in school. There you go. It’s because of them that I’m talking about all this.”
If Ferruccio Mazzola is right there are delinquents who are administering drugs to youngsters. People who are inoculating them with tumours. Who are they? Which teams do they work for? Who do they get their orders from? Perhaps Facchetti would like to know. Perhaps we would too.

Found here

 

 

posted by: Whitebeard at 10:32 | link | comments |
italy