Freedom Lawyers of America

"You don�t know what�s going on
You�ve been away for far too long
You can�t come back and think you are the steal man
You�re out of touch my baby
My gorgeous, darling baby�.
Well baby baby baby you�re outta time
Cause baby baby baby you�re outta time" The Rolling Stones

We guess you could call us your pop culture analysts. While others quote Socrates, Churchill, Nixon and Smith we quote The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Iggy Pop and INXS. Maybe it is our need to be different or our "fun" approach to the markets. Either way we feel that this game should not be taken overly serious. Ironically, the only way to make a lot of money is not too care about money, as then you do not stress yourself out in the attempt to make a killing. After all we must remember that we enter the world with nothing and leave it with nothing and the only thing that really matters are our experiences and the people we meet along the way.

Anyhow like the character in the Rolling Stone�s "Out of Time" the market is running out of time. As we can see from the chart below both the Dow and S and P 500 have been in very sideways tight trading ranges since early December. Usually when such a tight range is set up the break in either direction is vicious. The market is RUNNING OUT OF TIME and should break shortly. For reasons outlined below we think the break will be to the downside.

Here are the reasons we feel that the market will break to the downside:
Overly Bullish Investors - Investor�s Intelligence (a gage of investment advisers and newsletter writers) is showing 50% bullishness and only 28% bearishness. This overly bullish and a sign that the market should drop. In addition, the VIX (CBOE Volatility Index) traded as low as 26 during this rally, showing us complacency in the market. We should also note that Put/Call ratios also reached levels normally seen near market tops.

Rising Inflation � Oil is approaching 33 dollars a barrel, Natural Gas 6 dollars, Gold 370 dollars an ounce and the CRB index is breaking out to near 5-year highs. With inflationary pressures on the rise there is no way interest rates can stay as low as they are for much longer.

Classic Bear Market Trading Action � It is often said that bear market rallies are fast and ferocious. We have noticed that every rally during this bear market has been basically the same. This being ferocious 2-week to 5-week rallies which are then followed by trading ranges of 1 or 2 months. The ranges serve as fodder to sucker the lambs in. Investors look at the range and say "Look at how well the market is holding its gains!" they then buy in and are slaughtered as the market turns lower. This is EXACTLY what we have seen over the past few months.

Long Term Technicals � We can see that the Dow has broke out of its long term topping pattern in the 10,000-11,700 area and that the S and P 500 and NASDAQ both possess massive head and shoulders topping formations. The shoulders on the S and P 500 are at 1,180 and on the NASAQ they are at around 2,000. These major technical formations are calling for much lower prices.

There is a Major Shift Going in Valuation of Stocks -- We are moving from one extreme to another in terms of valuations on stocks. Stocks are still overvalued and should fall from here.

We are also seeing a major breakdown in the U.S. Dollar. The dollar is very oversold but has been unable to muster rally. This is of course is classic bear market action.

As for gold. It has been on a tear. The shorts are panicking and covering left, right and center. Couldn�t happen to a nicer bunch of scumbags. The HUI index is having trouble with its intra-day high of 155 reached back in June 2002. However, if/when the HUI takes out this key resistance level it should be able to muster an additional rally of 20-30% before the next major pullback. We should note that there maybe a bit of a war premium in gold at the moment, but we must remember that gold is going up because of major secular technical, monetary and economic reasons and NOT just because of war if that is what the talking heads on the major networks would have us believe.

This article is taken from the January issue of Resource Opportunities, which discussed the gold exploration potential of the Botwood Basin area of Newfoundland. You can pick up a free copy of the entire recent Botwood Basin issue at the Resource Opportunities booth at the Cambridge House Gold show in Vancouver on January 26th and 27th.

Jan 24 2003
http://www.kitco.com/ind/Resopp/jan242003.html

The gold price has moved strongly through every resistance level and is now sitting above $350. This could be the start of the big move that we have all been waiting for. The outlook is very positive. However, I still urge caution. Remember September 1999, when the gold price spiked by $70, and then ultimately gave back all of that gain. This time looks different, as the market has built a stronger base leading to the current level. Still, the gold price is unlikely to keep moving straight up without some rest stops, and even pull backs, along the way.

A good strategy would be to lock in some profits on the larger and more closely followed companies, and rotate some capital into the emerging producers and the exploration companies. Many of the smaller companies have not yet enjoyed a big move in their share prices. These companies carry other benefits as well.

Companies that have already defined gold deposits, but which still need further work, offer investors exposure to many times more ounces of gold per dollar invested than do the larger companies. Carefully selected development companies can give you gold at $10 per ounce of gold in the ground, compared to $100 or more for the larger companies. The greater exposure to gold ounces offsets the risk of the earlier stage projects. Furthermore, these companies can generate profits for investors as they continue to add value to their deposits.

The earlier stage exploration plays are also beginning to attract investor interest. Much of that interest so far has been coming from industry players. The people that work in the industry, or have followed it closely for a long time, recognize that the gold explorers offer huge upside potential for exploration success. They also know that investor interest will soon be returning to this sector in a big way.

With the gold price now on a firm upward trend, all of the major gold producers have cranked up their exploration programs. The industry desperately needs to find new deposits to reverse a two-year decline in production; and in fact the industry must find 80 million new ounces each year to simply replace annual production.

All of the majors have made joint ventures with junior companies an important part of their exploration strategies. The reason is simple � the juniors have always been the most successful at making new discoveries: They are more adventurous, more creative and faster to react.

The wave of mergers that swept through the gold industry did nothing to find new deposits. However, it did increase the hurdle rate that new deposits must meet to have any impact on these ever-larger companies. As a result, the exploration focus for the major companies has shifted to areas that hold promise of delivering large deposits. When an area with the potential to deliver large new deposits happens to be in North America, so much the better.

This issue updates the Botwood Basin region of Newfoundland, an area that has the promise of replicating the enormous Carlin Trend of Nevada, the world�s second largest depository of gold. At least one major has made this region a part of its exploration strategy, and has done so by way of a joint venture with a junior. Any other major that wants to get involved in the region must work with the juniors, as virtually the entire region is now in the hands of junior companies.

The Other Precious Metals Also Look Promising

With the focus on gold, many investors have ignored the other important precious metals. In particular, platinum has already moved very strongly, having passed $600 per ounce. There aren�t very many good plays on platinum, but one of my favorites has had an important development recently. That development, coming on top of the strengthening platinum price, makes the company very important at this time, and that company is updated in this issue.

I will have more to say on silver, which I also believe is getting closer to a breakout, in the next issue. I am looking closely at some silver deals.

Coming In The Next Issue

This issue updates some of the gold companies that we have been following and introduces a new gold company. The next issue will include more updates and introduce one or two new gold companies.

I know many subscribers are anxious for updates and more will be coming in the next issue. I like to make direct contact with management of the companies before providing an update � at least a phone call. It is sometimes difficult to do that while traveling. I have only been at my home base of Vancouver for 5 days since the end of November. Once I�m back, in another week, I will be getting up to speed on the various companies.
This is starting off as an extremely exciting and profitable year. Lets hope it continues.

The Search For New Gold Deposits Gains Momentum

Spurred on by the rising gold price, the major gold producers are now firmly committed to finding new gold deposits. That search has taken the explorers around the world. However, North America remains the destination of choice for all of the gold companies, especially with rising tensions spreading to areas that were once considered safe. Even the overseas companies are bearing the pain of paying North American prices to get involved in exploration here.
As the gold companies continue to grow ever larger through mergers, the hurdle rate is moving up. The focus among the majors is now exclusively on finding massive deposits. Even deposits with a few million ounces are no longer of interest, as the bar has now been raised to 10 million ounces, or even larger in some companies. Those ounces don�t necessarily need to come in one deposit, but they must see that sort of potential in a district over which they are a dominant player.

Precious Metals - The Big Squeeze
by Jim Puplava
www.financialsense.com
Jan 28 2003
http://www.kitco.com/ind/Puplava/jan282003.html

The gold camp is divided into several investor classes. There are mainly four categories when it comes to investing in gold. They are as follows:

1.True Believers
2.Nonbelievers, Hedgers & Short-Sellers
3.Momentum Traders
4.Clueless John Q's

True Believers

The True Believers are the gold bugs. Their belief in gold borders on the religious. To true believers, gold represents real money, liberty and freedom. Gold isn�t a liability. Gold as real money doesn�t depend on any other entity to back it. It stands all by itself. Its value is universal, nonperishable, and non-depreciable. It has served as real money for more than 5,000 years of recorded history. Some of the first recorded manuscripts that we have in history contain commerce transactions in silver and gold. Precious metals, both gold and silver, have outlasted any government, empire, or fiat currency that tried to supplant it. Therefore, to gold bugs, precious metals represent real money and not a commodity used for industrial or jewelry uses. Gold bugs have held on to their gold and silver during the decades of famine. They still own it and are in the process of accumulating even more of it given the perilous monetary and economic storms that are swirling around the globe, especially here in the United States.

The True Believers category also includes The Smart Money, which is a class of investors who understand the monetary condition we now find ourselves in. They understand the oncoming deflationary forces that will be unleashed upon the financial system because of the implosion of credit. They also understand the supply/demand imbalances that exist for both silver and gold that have resulted from central bank selling, hedging, and short-selling.
They know that supply imbalances can�t last forever and that eventually prices will explode due to artificial price restraints that have kept gold from rising. Those restraints are being removed day by day as the rest of the world is getting rid of its paper, especially US dollars. In Japan, after more than a decade of deflation as a result of the huge Japanese monetary bubble of the 80�s, Japanese investors are getting out of paper and buying gold. Gold buying is increasing around the globe, in Europe, the Middle East and especially in Asia.
Company52-Week Return
Coeur d'Alene109.30%
Hecla Mining317.00%
Pan American80.24%
Silver Standard137.93%

The Smart Money is aware of this shift and it is one reason why they have been buying both bullion and precious metals stocks. In the last two years as the major averages have produced double-digit losses for investors, gold -- and more importantly silver -- stocks have been producing hefty gains for investors. In the last 52 weeks, the HUI Index is up 145%. That stands in stark contrast to the double-digit losses of the major indexes. The shares of high quality junior mining stocks have faired even better. They have gone up anywhere from 200-600%. Silver shares have produced triple�digit returns for investors as on the left.

Added to governments and their central banks, the list of Nonbelievers also includes much of Wall Street, which doesn�t believe in gold, does not understand it, and feels that it competes directly with its ability to sell paper assets to investors. Wall Street�s investment banks, bullion banks and hedge fund community are short the metal and the metals stocks. As shown in the table below, they are responsible for creating an enormous short position in the precious metals stocks. They are short major unhedged gold producers, junior gold producers and silver mining stocks. You can see this in the short positions that have built up in all major categories of precious metals stocks -- whether it is the majors or the juniors.

SHORT POSITIONS IN PRECIOUS METALS STOCKS

One would have to wonder, especially in the case of juniors and silver mining stocks, how they will cover their short positions when the ten-sigma event I see coming hits the morning newsstand. There are just too many financial and political storms rapidly building in force and they are in danger of colliding. To be short the metals at this time not only smacks of hubris, arrogance and stupidity, but is also equally suicidal.

Many have wondered why the precious metals stocks have lagged behind the rise in bullion. [See James Sinclair Editorial 01/27/03] The huge short position in metals stocks goes a long way towards explaining the difference. However, there are two sides to any short sale. Once a stock is sold short, the short seller eventually has to cover that short position by buying back that stock. It is going to be the covering of this huge short position that is going to send the price of precious metals stocks up like a NASA space launch, especially if a ten-sigma event occurs. Ten-sigma�s don�t appear on the charts until after they have occurred. The attacks on 9-11 weren�t� readable on any chart. The repercussions of September 11th were visible only after the event occurred, not before.

Gold investors, especially the True Believers, hold on to their shares. Therefore, liquidity is reduced. That is why you see metals stocks soar when investors rush to buy, because they drive demand up when supply is limited. Unfortunately for the hedge funds who are short the metals stocks the gold share, believers aren�t dumb like the technical traders who buy the actual bullion in the futures pit. For years now, the Smart Money commercials have been outsmarting the gold and silver traders by going long and short opposite the technical traders. Given the scarcity of precious metals, especially silver, the technical traders don�t realize they could start wining the battle by simply demanding delivery of their bullion positions. By taking gold and silver off the exchange, the game would be over very quickly. Instead, the technical traders get bushwhacked every time by the shorts who have greater financial staying power and enjoy special exchange privileges. Sun-Tzu once wrote that the simplest battle strategy is the most effective to deploy and execute. If only silver and gold traders would understand the position of the short-sellers, they could win the war in one battle by demanding delivery of the metal and taking it off the exchange. I have seen the short positions in silver and gold equal ten times the amount of paper shorts. It is the short sellers' worst nightmare that one day bullion investors would see the weak link that has robbed them of their profits. One day this will be obvious and I believe that "one day" is coming soon thanks to the Internet.

The Art of War for True Believers

Now back to this short position in silver and gold stocks. I believe there are two ways to look at the current situation. The best time to buy is when prices are down. So therefore, use the opportunity that the short seller has given you in shorting the stock and bringing down its price to take those shares off their hands. In effect, they are providing you with an investment subsidy. Take advantage of it. Our best buys in junior stocks over the last year took place at the expense of short sellers.

STEP ONE
Here�s how to play their game. First, find a stock you believe in -- especially if it is a junior. Make sure it is a credible junior. Look for large reserves that have been verified by a credible engineering company. Some juniors I know of are nothing more than a Potemkin village; heavily promoted and publicized with very little reserves. If they do have reserves, they become recoverable only under higher gold prices. You want to avoid owning these shares until the third phase of the gold bull market when John Q jumps on board. John Q will be buying anything the investment bankers sell them.

STEP TWO
Once you find a company you believe in, go to their web site and download their financials. Look at how management has run the company. Pay special attention to the reserves added each year. If possible, break it down to reserves per share. Then look at debt. In the case of juniors, avoid all companies with a heavy debt burden. Being debt-free gives a junior a greater chance of survival. In the exploration business, you don�t want to have the threat of a debt burden put the company into bankruptcy. Next, look at the shareholder dilution. What has management done for the shareholders in creating value? Value is accomplished by adding more ounces of reserves to the balance sheet per each dollar of equity. Also look at total shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis and the float and short interest.

STEP THREE
Once you have found a good company, then look at a chart of its stock. Pay particular attention to volume. Most juniors and second-tiered gold companies are thinly traded. It doesn�t take much to move the price of the stock. What you want to look for is the average trading volume of the shares. This becomes important when you begin your accumulation of the stock. Finally, find out the short position and how large it is to the average daily trading of the shares. I prefer to buy when the short position is huge. My orders are easier to fill since short sellers want to keep the price of the shares down. Once you begin building your position, move to STEP FOUR

STEP FOUR
Hold your position and don�t panic when shares prices correct. Instead, use those times to add to positions, especially when short positions build. There is a huge supply deficit that is going to have to be filled. The majors have stopped exploring for gold and the only way they are going to replace their reserves is through acquisitions. Your liquidity will come through a buyout. Think like Warren Buffett http://www.financialsense.com/Market/daily/monday.htm . Buy a good company at a good price, then have the good sense to hold on until your beliefs are recognized by the investment public or a major or second-tiered gold producer who will be looking out for smart acquisitions.

I have more to say about this in �The Perfect Option Part II� but first �Ten-Sigma." [See The Perfect Option]
http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/oldupdates/2002/0524.htm

Momentum Traders
Going back to my categories of gold investors, the last two categories momentum traders and John Q Public, ignore them. They will be your strongest ally as this long-term gold bull market unfolds. Momentum traders usually help to drive share prices up and down in a maniacal fashion. They are the equivalent to Ben Graham�s Mr. Market. One day they are optimistic, bidding shares prices up. The next day, they can turn manic-depressive, selling off their shares and driving prices down. Remain disciplined and take advantage of their manic-depressive state of mind. When they sell en masse, driving prices down, that is when you want to be a buyer.

Clueless John Q's
Finally, there is John Q. who remains clueless of the new bull market in metals. John Q doesn�t come into the market until its third and final stage. A good example is the 90�s mutual fund investors who stayed out of the market until 1995. John Q will eventually catch on to the fact that the emperor has no clothes. Right now John Q is borrowing the equity out of his home, spending money on consumables, and buying real estate. John Q is still holding on to his mutual funds out of sheer fright and confusion. He is like a deer in the face of headlights, frightened, and scared -- not knowing where to turn. Eventually John Q WILL GET IT RIGHT AND MOVE EN MASSE. WHEN HE DOES, HE�LL USHER IN THE THIRD STAGE OF THE BULL MARKET. That is when the price of bullion and equities will soar, handing you your biggest profits. When your neighbor starts talking to you about how he just got into the latest junior mining IPO and made a fortune, it will be your queue to sell. When your neighbor's wife starts appearing in public sporting heavy jewelry or recommends that they selling the family silver heirlooms, you will have another signal the end is near.

But be grateful. It is the public's participation en masse when it experiences a collective loss of its senses that the greatest fortunes are made. We�re still a long way away from that. This is still phase one and the time for accumulation while shares and bullion prices are still cheap. Take advantage of the gift that has been given to you by the short sellers. Stay focused and disciplined. A look at the charts of the HUI should keep you focused on your goal. Don�t be side tracked by Wall Street who is clueless and short. These same people have recommended that you stay invested in the market. Need I say more?

Today's Market

Finally, I come to today�s events. As I said yesterday http://www.financialsense.com/Market/daily/monday.htm with the Fed meeting in Washington, look for a flagpole rally. We got them throughout the day as shown in this graph of the Nasdaq. It was a similar situation in the Dow and the S&P 500. Since I�m getting ready to watch the State of the Union Address, I promised Mary that this day's wrap would be brief. I lied.

I need to end this shortly, so I�ll be brief.
There was nothing new today to keep the markets elevated. A list of some of today�s headlines tells the story:
� Consumer Confidence hits nine-year low in US
� Talk of another Fed Rate Cut because of a declining economy
� US pension agency loses $8 billion
� Nevada State jobless rate rises
� First equity outflow in 14 years
� At Davos economist predict falling US dollar
� Wall Street Analysts still coming up rosy
� Top Bankers wary of quarterly reports
� Credit rating agencies under SEC microscope
� SBC expects 2003 revenues to fall
� Retailers plod through dismal January
� I2 facing informal SEC inquiry
� Japanese bond yield falls to 1 basis pint of record low
� Venezuela keeps ban on currency trading
� China may bail out Banks for 2nd time in four years

In other words, it was a typical day in the neighborhood, earnings and the economy slowing down, currencies falling, debt problems, and more possible accounting improprieties. On Wall Street, they were calling it a 99-point blue chip special. The markets turned meager gains into an afternoon flagpole rally. The reason given was upbeat earnings from Merck and Procter & Gamble. P&G�s earnings rose 15% in the fourth quarter thanks to cutting 16,000 jobs in the last three years. The company forecasted lower earnings for this year. Merck beat Street estimates by reporting that Q4 profits rose 1.6%. There was nothing earth-shattering that would have gone along with the flagpole rallies other than companies and economic reports, including declining consumer confidence beat lower expectations.

Volume was light at 1.44 billion shares on the NYSE and 1.41 on the Nasdaq. Once again, momentum keeps declining. There doesn�t seem to be any force or conviction behind the rallies. Maybe that is because only Big Daddy is buying. Market breath was positive by 20-11 on the NYSE and 20-12 on the Nasdaq. The VXN ended the session slightly higher at 46.73 and the VIX fell to close out at 35.52.

Overseas Markets

European stocks advanced after brokerages raised recommendations for Deutsche Bank AG and GlaxoSmithKline Plc following share-price slumps. The Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index gained for the first day in 10. The Stoxx 50 added 0.9% to 2163.72, snapping its longest losing streak since Sept. 13, 1993. The Stoxx 600 Index gained 0.6%.
Asian stocks fell, led by exporters such as Canon Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., after U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the U.S. is prepared to act alone to disarm Iraq. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 1.4% to 8609.47. South Korea's Kospi index sank 2.7% and Singapore's Straits Times Index shed 2%, its biggest slide in almost three months. Exporters led declines on concern a war with Iraq may hurt consumer confidence, increase fuel prices and reduce corporate spending in the U.S.

Copyright � 2003 Jim Puplava
January 28, 2003
Further Archive Reference: 10/03/2002 Short Story on Silver - Part 1 http://www.financialsense.com/Market/archive/shortsilver_1.htm
and Short Story on Silver - Part 2
http://www.financialsense.com/Market/archive/shortsilver_2.htm

National Socialism (fascism) gave the government the power to determine what should be made, sold or purchased. This is at the root of it.


http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2773.html

Bong makers busted
by Dana Larsen and Ed Rosenthal (20 Jan, 2003)

America's Paraphernalia industry under attack, Chills
founder sentenced to 14 months in prison.

Chris Hill, founder and owner of Florida company
Chills, was sentenced to prison in August after
accepting a plea bargain for various charges related
to distributing drug paraphernalia.

Until his bust, Hill's Chills was a small-business
success story. Founded in 1993, the pipe and tobacco
accessory distributor expanded quickly, getting
mentioned in Inc magazine as one of America's 500
fastest-growing companies. Hill was chosen in 2001 as
one of America's top 500 young businessmen by the
National Republican Congressional Committee, and was
in the running for Republican Businessman of the Year.

In August 2001, DEA agents seized Chills pipes from
three Iowa tobacco shops. Iowa has a well-earned
reputation of strictly enforcing federal paraphernalia
laws, and the agents found Chills pipes in stores
which had pro-marijuana posters and books. Federal
agents then travelled to Florida to raid Hill's home
and business, bearing a warrant issued in Des Moines,
Iowa. Hill was handcuffed in front of his two infant
daughters and his home and vehicles were seized.

The prosecuting US Attorney cited Chills' logo, which
features a space alien with the words "World
Domination," as evidence of a criminal conspiracy to
take over the world. Hill responded that the
prosecutors had been watching too many James Bond
movies. "Maybe I should get a little white cat and
shave my head," joked Hill. "Next time, Mr Bond!"

But there won't be a next time for Chris Hill. Facing
a potential 20 year sentence, in August 2002 Hill
accepted a plea bargain, agreeing to 14 months in a
minimum security prison camp at Elin Air Force Base in
Florida, plus five years probation. Hill also suffered
a $500,000 fine, along with the loss of his warehouse
building and manufacturing equipment.

Chills remains in business, although they have stopped
selling pipes and have limited their product line to
rolling papers and smoking accessories only. Hill has
also stated that he might have to file for bankruptcy
from prison.

Chills isn't the only pipe-maker to get busted by
federal agents. In September 2001, Barmes Wholesalers
in Indiana was raided, and large parts of its
inventory seized. The action against Barmes was
launched by a District Attorney in Pennsylvania, after
Barmes pipes were found during a raid on a local hemp
store.

Under federal US law, merely making, distributing, or
selling non-traditional pipes is enough evidence to be
found guilty of paraphernalia offences.

Chills: www.chills.com

Rule By the Ridiculous

by Jeffrey A. Tucker
http://www.lewrockwell.com/tucker/tucker28.html


David Frum did not intend to write a send-up of the state. His goal was not to demystify the White House. But that is the effect of his chatty little book, The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush (NY: Random House, 2002).

It has very little substance, and no content of grave historical import. It mainly consists of goofy stories concerning what words Bush ought to use and how, what headlines are consuming the White House staff on a particular day, what issues were discussed before a certain press conference, etc. Petty stuff, mostly. To turn all this into a book underscores just how resourceful Frum is as a writer, and just how ridiculous the presidency (the patina on the state apparatus) really is.
You get the sense of what I mean from Frum's description of his new office.

The first time I sat on the sofa, I detonated a mushroom cloud of dust and insect fragments that hovered about my head for a quarter of a minute. The rest of the place as not much more hygienic: The phones were greasy to the touch, the carpet was spotted with dried chewing gum, and the surface of my desk was sticky with ancient coffee and soda spills. My wife was so horrified by her first visit to the place that she arrived the following weekend with disinfectant, vacuum cleaner, and scouring pads.

Frum blames Clinton for the mess (wait, the spills are "ancient"!). In fact, the filth is predictable. Take any public building (un-owned and un-saleable) and assign new management every four years and see what happens. It will be a mess, just as every older government building in Washington is a dump.

Now imagine putting the people who can't be bothered to wipe up a coffee spill � and have no reason to do so or care either way, only the incentive to use up what they can before their time is over � in charge of the whole country. What Frum doesn't realize is that it is not just his office or this building that is overutilized, unkempt, and vandalized. This is a metaphor for how the government treats the entire country.

What can we say about these interlopers, these temporary rulers of the world empire? What clowns these people are, funny but also gravely menacing because they take themselves and their role in history seriously.

They are not serious enough to put much thought into the effects of their actions on the country, on liberty, on the world, or much of anything else. Not a word in this book indicates that the White House has any sense of the moral and practical responsibilities associated with heading the world's biggest state. But they are serious enough to believe that they have somehow been blessed by the god democracy to make big, important decisions. Paul O'Neil, who was just fired as Treasury secretary, is right that it is all about "deluding the people" into believing something that is not true.

In his first meeting with Bush, soon after the inauguration, Frum reports that the president had only one firm policy item backed by real conviction: "his determination to dig Saddam Hussein out of power in Iraq." This was six months before 9-11, and two years before weapons inspections. Why should anyone take seriously the idea that Bush is waiting for Iraq to comply with anything? Though Iraq was not discussed much during the campaign, the secret plan for vengeance was always there.

Frum was hired as an economic speech writer, and out by the time it became clear that no one in the White House thinks that economics matters much. Of course, we've all noted the return of Keynesianism under Bush (did it ever go away?), as when he told an audience in Billings, Montana: "We want you to have more cash flow so you can expand your business when this economy is slowing down."

Well, Frum does not believe in demand-side theory; he just sees this as part of the necessary rhetorical apparatus. "As the nominal author of remarks like these, I would receive anguished telephone calls afterward from free-market theorists. 'He's spouting gibberish!' they would complain. 'You have to make him stop.' 'I have a better idea,' I'd reply. 'You make him stop.'"

Can you imagine? Centuries of writings on economic science! Hundreds of journals currently in publication! Thousands and thousands of students and professors studying economics in graduate school! And in the end, when it comes to actually making economic policy, it's all reduced to a flimflam man trying to create words that a guy like Bush can repeat with conviction. If you raise an objection, prepare to be dismissed.

There is more insight here concerning Bush's economics. We find out that Bush is against saving consumers money on gasoline, and, indirectly, that he has no plan to use the Iraqi oil fields to lower gas prices:

I once made the mistake of suggesting to Bush that he use the phrase cheap energy to describe the aims of his energy policy. He gave me a sharp, squinting look, as if he were trying to decide whether I was the very stupidest person he had heard from all day or only one of the top five. Cheap energy, he answered, was how we got into this mess. Every year from the 1970s until the mid-1990s, American cars burned less and less per mile traveled. Then in about 1995 that progress stopped. Why? He answered his own question: Because of the gas-guzzling SUV. And what had made the SUV craze possible? This time I answered. "Umm, cheap energy?" He nodded at me. Dismissed.

There is a nugget of information that may prove to be the fatal decision of the Bush administration. "Early in January [2002], the president summoned his writers into the Oval Office for a preview of the coming year. His message boiled downed to this: We're finished on the home front until November, boys�. The domestic agenda was the same as the foreign agenda: Win the war � then we'll see." A year later, the recession is still on, Osama is still loose, and Bush's ratings are falling.

Remember the famous "Axis of Evil" phrase? It was originally "Axis of Hatred," and it was written by Frum. Why? Frum writes: "Bush decided that the United States was no longer a status-quo power in the Middle East. He wanted to see plans for overthrowing Saddam, and he wanted a speech that explained to the world why Iraq's dictator must go. And from that presidential decision, bump, bump, bump down the hierarchy�.to me."

Again, what can this mean? Bush knew he wanted to get rid of Saddam but didn't know why? He hires people like Frum to drum up some, any, rationale? Talk about pulling back the curtain!

There's an interesting account of 9-11, how all White House staffers, there to protect the nation from its enemies, were running for their lives, clamoring for news, desperate to find a television set with CNN on, so they could find out what was happening.

The really chilling aspect of this book concerns the extent to which rhetoric as devised by speechwriters ends up determining policy. "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them." Nice phrase, a product of the speechwriters' office. Once uttered, it becomes the great excuse for the Garrison State.

In Frum's account, Bush has no core, no real understanding; he seems to wake up with a hankering for something and then order everyone to fall into line. Bush's nescience is matched only by his edgy arrogance, constantly on display. Page after page reports this kind of thing: an insular White House run by an "impatient," "dogmatic," "uncurious," and "ill-informed" president who believes he has been appointed by divine providence; a staff fixated mainly on what the mainstream media is saying day to day; advisers who specialize in election hokum and the art of propaganda; a widespread lack of clarity concerning what the administration believes on any issue; and a complete lack of concern about much of anything or anyone outside their immediate orbit.

Not that it really matters in the end. The state continues to burn through $2 trillion in private wealth every year, doing untold amounts of damage, and it will do so regardless of what the Bush administration believes or does.

Frum seems unaware of what a damning picture he is painting. You half expect him to report that Bush looked out the window one day and said, what are all those buildings and things out there? Are they part of the executive branch or the legislative branch? Can I tell the people in them what you do? Yes? Well, then, tell them to help with the War!!

How does the book contribute to understanding the state? As I read, I developed a picture in my mind of the state as a huge locomotive that forges ahead on auto-drive. At some point, Bush and his staff have the chance to sit in the front car of the train and pretend to be the drivers and affect various poses and rationales for why the train is moving and where it is going.
They are given a pot of cash to toss out the window as they see fit, and some guns to shoot people from the windows. They are also given a press corps to write up their every move. They are generally happier to be perceived as driving the thing rather than actually driving it, and they are glad to use whatever is at their disposal to make their turn in the cabin really meaningful, even historic.

Frum didn't set out to make the government look ridiculous. But by giving us a peek into the workings of the inner sanctum, that is what he has done. Meanwhile, the next inhabitant of his former office will find a bigger mess than the one he found, and leave it, and the country, even more of a dump.

Judge Excuses Half the Jury Pool in Federal Trial of Ed Rosenthal
Potential Jurors Speak Out In Favor of Medical Marijuana, Legalization and States' Rights

Tuesday, January 14, 2003 -- In what one defense attorney called the most remarkable day of jury selection he'd ever witnessed, more than half of the 52 potential jurors in the marijuana-cultivation trial of best-selling author and activist Ed Rosenthal were excused by the judge for cause. Even small-town murder trials where everyone knows everyone and emotions run high will see at most one or two jurors excused as being unable to give the proceeding a fair hearing.

Asked by Judge Charles Breyer if they had strong feelings on the legalization of marijuana, the legality of medical marijuana, or the conflict between federal law and California's voter initiative, Proposition 215, legalizing the medical use of marijuana, juror after juror either regaled the court with poignant anecdotes about how they or someone they knew used or had recommended to them medical marijuana, gave voice to passionate feelings about the need to legalize marijuana for all use, or expressed deep distaste for federal interference in California's laws. That these views were expressed by what appeared to be a representative cross-section of the Bay Area's populace was perhaps less surprising than that they were willing to give voice to such a call for reform at all, since potential jurors normally understate the strength of their views when speaking in front of strangers, for fear of how their peers might react.

At the end of the day, the judge called for another pool of 50 to be presented tomorrow morning and guaranteed completion of selection by lunchtime. Of those jurors who can get past the judge's questions, the defense is permitted to challenge ten and the prosecution six, so at least five more potential jurors are needed to seat twelve and two alternates.

The defense today also presented additional case authority in support of their pretrial motion on entrapment by estoppel, which argued that because local authorities had established a program to extend federal immunity from prosecution to those such as Rosenthal who were deputized to implement the city of Oakland's medical marijuana ordinance, and had told him he would be protected, he should not now be prosecuted. The judge said the additional cases cited in support of that argument would be considered.

Jury selection continues at 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, January 15, in U.S. District Court, with trial commencing on Tuesday, January 21, 2003.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Updates and background information on Ed Rosenthal's case are available on the web at www.green-aid.com or www.safeaccessnow.org.
ARON KAY-

The FBI, CIA and NSA have an
electronic spy system called "Carnivore" and "Eschelon".
The message called "SPAM the Spooks!" suggests a system for protecting privacy from these snoopers

I am not sure that it will do any good to just email the list of key words back
and forth
It cannot hurt anything to try it.

With Echelon, We could tell exactly which messages were being intercepted.
We would get a notice like this one:

Your message has been delayed and is still awaiting delivery
to the following recipient(s):

normolson@n...
Message delayed

If you read The Megiddo Report, you will have a good idea as to who the
identified priority targets are.
With Echelon, if you send the keyword list to a Meggido identified priority
target, you would always have a delayed message.

Now we do not know what the routine will be...YET. The reason that this new program is called "Carnivore" is because it ALLEGEDLY "goes after the meat" of the message. A guess is that it has the ability to dissect sentence structure, by looking for verbs in the right places.

SO WE JUST UPGRADE THE DECOYS.

We still have a lot to learn about Carnivore.
The key word list is not enough. Carnivore is an upgrade of Echelon.
We need to learn about how it filters out decoys.
That is supposedly the strength that it has over Echelon

The only problem is that there is an UNKNOWN in the idea.

We DID shut echelon down, by doing exactly this. That is WHY they developed "Carnivore".
It is only logical to conclude that "Carnivore" has a way of detecting decoy messages.
So how do we upgrade the DECOYS?

The next thing will be to compose some very normal sentences, that discuss
COMPLETELY LEGAL things, but that use high numbers of key words. EXAMPLE:
" I went to see the movie Air Force One, but I thought it was a real bomb. It did
have a few explosive scenes. After the movie, my battery was dead. I just
went to have a coke and a cracker, while the security gaurd put a charge on
it. "

Then there is the question concerning Carnivore's ability to "learn". This
would refer to the storing of word sequences that have been identified as
innocent. If it has that ability, then it would only flag an innocent sentence ONCE. But all we have to do is add or subtract a comma, OR ANY OTHER KEY STRIKE, and it becomes a new unique word group. Start with a paragraph that uses keywords in logical sentence structure. Then each person randomly modifies each sentence, and THEN passes it on. No progam can deal with INFINITE random variations.

What we really need is LEGAL protection of the right of privacy, that would apply "wire tapping" laws to email.


Pasted below is a message that includes effective spook bait.
It has complete sentences and also keywords:

Just cut and paste this and pass it on.

Dear Federal Snoop:

You are reading this message, only because of a portion of the message. You will have to read the entire message in order to find that important portion.
Try to LEARN SOMETHING from the rest of this message, while you look for the important part.

"Formerly we suffered from crimes;
now we suffer from laws."
Publius Cornelius Tacitus

"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the
tranquility of servitude better than the
animating contest of freedom, go home from
us in peace. We ask not your counsels or
arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which
feed you. May your chains set lightly upon
you, and may posterity forget that ye were
our countrymen." Samuel Adams, speech at the
Philadelphia State
House, August 1, 1776.

"If you will not fight for the right when you
can easily win without bloodshed, if you will
not fight when your victory will be sure and
not so costly, you may come to the moment when
you will have to fight with all the odds against
you and only a precarious chance for survival.
There may be a worse case. You may have to fight
when there is no chance of victory, because it is
better to perish than to live as slaves."
Winston Churchill

Can you imagine if the Constitution was the
supreme law of the land? No IRS or national
I.D. cards... no gun-grabbing politicians...
no socialized healthcare or 'health I.D.'
cards... no land-grabbing bureaucrats... no
NAFTA, GATT or WTO... no thought police or
'hate crimes' (what's a love crime?)... no
social engineering in schools... no debt-based
money system... no phony war on drugs
(aka war on the Bill of Rights)...
No alphabet soup of 'overseers' like OSHA,
BATF, MJTF, FDA...

"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would
not let our enemies have guns, why should we
let them have ideas." -- Joseph Stalin.

"The world is a dangerous place to live;
not because of the people who are evil,
but because of the people who don't do
anything about it."
- Albert Einstein

"If the American people ever allow private
banks to control the issue of their money,
first by inflation and then by deflation,
the banks and corporations that will grow
up around them (around the banks), will
deprive the people of their property until
their children will wake up homeless on
the continent their fathers conquered."
Thomas Jefferson

"A government that is big enough to give
you all you want is big enough to take it all away"
Barry Goldwater

"In Failing to Prepare, You are Preparing to Fail"
Benjamin Franklin

"Free the Slaves, Abolish the Federal Reserve"
Douglas Smith

"Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people,
and therefore deprive them of their arms."
-- Aristotle, "Politics"

"If a politician isn't perfectly comfortable with the
idea of his average constituent, any man, woman, or
responsible child, walking into a hardware store
and paying cash -- for any rifle, shotgun, handgun,
machinegun, anything -- without producing ID or
signing one scrap of paper, he isn't your friend no
matter what he tells you."
-L. Neil Smith

"God grants liberty only to those who love it,
and are always ready to guard and defend it."
DANIEL WEBSTER, Speech, June 3, 1834

A Knight is sworn to Valor...
His Heart knows only Virtue...
His Blade defends the Weak...
His Word speaks only Truth...
His *Wrath* undoes the Wicked...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Though he should conquer a thousand men in the
battlefield a thousand times, yet he, indeed, who would
conquer himself is the noblest victor." - Dhammapada (103)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an
invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building,
write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone,
comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate,
act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure,
program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die
gallantly. Specialization is for insects." Robert Heinlein

The only reason the US doesn't have a Gestapo is that the
FBI, BATF, DEA, EPA, IRS etc. can't speak German.

"Crooks are going to get guns regardless of what regulations we have."
- --The Honorable Kurt Schmoke, Mayor of Baltimore, March 13, 1999

If "con" is the opposite of "pro," then what is the opposite of
progress?

"The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny
individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities."
-- Ayn Rand

Scoundrels are predictable, but you're a
man of honor and that frightens me.
- Robert Heinlein in Glory Road.

IRS: "To claim a tax deduction or credit for a child, you must include
that child's Social Security number on your tax return."
SSA: "Getting a Social Security number for your baby is strictly
voluntary."
How can it be voluntary when not doing so results in several hundred
dollars in added income taxes?!? Social Security is a crime against
you, your children, and your grandchildren. Write your Senators and
Congressman telling them to forget saving Social Security. ELIMINATE
IT!

"The evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it." --
John Hay, 1872

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed--
and thus clamorous to be led to safety -- by menacing it with an endless
series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." -- H.L. Mencken

Dear Federal Snooper:

We got you to read all of the wisdom, that you see above, by
including the "Carnivore" key words list that you see below.
Learn something and repent. We know that the reason that they call
it "Carnivore" is because it "goes after the meat" of a message, and has the
ability to ignore words that are not in complete sentences. There is a nice
dissertation on Waco right after the key word list. ENJOY!

No one is spared, when freedom fails
The best men rot in filthy jails,
And those who cried appease. appease!
Are hanged by those that they tried to please.

http://members.xoom.com/nm_militia/spookbait.htm

To make a big bang at your next party use the following recipe: add equal
parts POSSE COMITATUS RANDY WEAVER, VICKIE WEAVER, SPECIAL FORCES, LINDA
THOMPSON, SPECIAL OPERATIONS GROUP, SOG and SOF. Mix all these ingredients
together and then fold in one each of the following: c4, TNT, White House
and nitro. Pour into a 13" cake pan and bake at 350 for an hour. Serve
piping hot with lots of black helicopters and Clinton. Some may find this
recipe too revolutionary, but a little MK ULTRA and those reactionaries
will fall right in line. This dish is da bomb.

FBI CIA NSA IRS ATF BATF DOD WACO RUBY RIDGE OKC OKLAHOMA CITY
MILITIA GUN HANDGUN MILGOV ASSAULT RIFLE TERRORISM BOMB DRUG HORIUCHI
KORESH DAVIDIAN KAHL POSSE COMITATUS RANDY WEAVER VICKIE WEAVER
SPECIAL FORCES LINDA THOMPSON SPECIAL OPERATIONS GROUP SOG SOF
DELTA FORCE CONSTITUTION BILL OF RIGHTS WHITEWATER POM PARK ON METER
ARKANSIDE IRAN CONTRAS OLIVER NORTH VINCE FOSTER PROMIS MOSSAD NASA
MI5 ONI CID C4 MALCOLM X REVOLUTION CHEROKEE HILLARY EXPLOSIVES AK47
M16 .50 CALIBER CLINTON UNITED NATIONS NEW WORLD ORDER HAARP MK ULTRA
COLD FUSION ARMOR EXPLOSIVES,GUNS,ASSASSINATION, CONSPIRACY,
PRIMERS,DETONATORS, INITIATORS, MAIN CHARGE, NUCLEAR CHARGES, AMBUSH,
SNIPING,MOTORCADE,IRS, BATF, JTF-6, MJTF, HRT, SRT, HOSTAGES, MUNITIONS,
WEAPONS,TNT, RDX, AMFO, HMTD, PICRIC ACID, SILVER NITRITE, MERCURY
FULMINATE,PRESIDENTIAL MOTORCADE, SALT PETER, CHARCOAL, SULPHER, C4,
COMPOSITIONB, AMATOL, PETN, LEAD AZIDE, LEAD STYPHANTE, DDNP, TETRYL,
NITROCELLULOSE,NITROSTARCH, MINES, GRENADES, ROCKETS, FUSES, DELAY
MECHANISM, IED, MORTARS,RPG7, PROPELLANTS, INCINDIARIES, INCINDIARY DEVICE,
THERMITE, SECURITYFORCES, INTELLIGENCE, AGENCIES, HRT, RESISITANCE, PSYOPS,
INFILTRATION,ASSAULT TEAM, DEFENSIVE ELEMENTS, EVASION, DETECTION, MISSION,
COMMUNICATIONS,THE FOOTBALL, PLATTER CHARGE, SHAPED CHARGES, M118,
CLAYMORE, BODY ARMOR,CHARGES, SHRAPNEL, TIMERS, TIMING DEVICES, BOOBYTRAPS,
DETCORD, PMK 40,SILENCERS, UZI, HK-MP5, AK-47, FAL, JATTI, SKORPION MP,
TEFLON BULLETS,CORDITE, NAPALM, LAW, STINGERS, RPK, SOCIMI 821 SMG, STEN,
BAR, MP40,HK-G3,FN-MAG, RPD,PzB39, AIR FORCE ONE, M60, RPK74, SG530, SG540,
GALILARM, WALTHER WA2000, HK33KE, PARKER-HALE MOD. 82, AKR, INGRAM
MAC10,M3, L34A1, WALTHER MPL,, AKS-74, HK-GR6, SUBSONIC ROUNDS, BALLISTIC
MEDIA,SPECIAL FORCES, JFKSWC, SFOD-D, SRT, Rewson, SAFE, Waihopai,
INFOSEC,ASPIC, Information Security, SAI, Information Warfare, IW, IS,
Privacy,Information Terrorism, Kenya,Terrorism Defensive Information,
DefenseInformation Warfare, Air Force One, Offensive Information,
OffensiveInformation Warfare, NAIA, SAPM, ASU, ECHELON, ASTS, National
InformationInfrastructure, InfoSec, SAO, Reno, Compsec, JICS, Computer
Terrorism,Firewalls, Secure Internet Connections, Gore, Clinton, Bush, JCS,
thefootball, Air Force 1, RSP, ISS, JDF, Passwords, NAAP, DefCon V,
RSO,Hackers, Encryption, ASWS, Espionage, USDOJ, NSA, CIA, S/Key, SSL,
FBI,Secret , Klinton , Butcher of Waco Service, USSS, Defcon, Military,
WhiteHouse, Undercover, NCCS, Mayfly, PGP, SALDV, PEM, resta, RSA,
Perl-RSA,MSNBC, bet, AOL, COMSAT, NSC, JCS, CICIS, TSCA , militia ,
survivalist, magic bullet , Jack Ruby , Kennedy , Koran , Torah , Bible ,
Jew ,Christian , Catholic, Pope , Islam , Aryan , Christian Identity ,
NAAWP,David Duke , White Power , WAR , The Order , Aryan Nations, Black
Power, Farakhan , Nation of Islam , Muslim , Moslem , Ku Klux Klan , KKK
,White Aryan Resistance , Resistance Records , Malcolm X , Honkey ,
whitecracker , nigger , jim crow , NAACP , Mohammed , cross burning ,
millionman march , race riot , race war , Israel , Rodney King , Bin Laden
,holy war , Allah , Syrian , Golen Heights , Goy , Hunter , Turner Diaries,
William Pierce , Andrew McDonald , white separatist , Axis , NAZI ,Adolph
Hitler , SS , Gestapo , brownshirts , Reitzstag , Martin LutherKing , James
Earl Ray , Uncle Tom , white boy , passphrase , AOL TOS,CIS, CBOT, AIMSX,
STARLAN, 3B2, BITNET, Tanzania, SAMU, COSMOS, DATTA,E911, FCIC, HTCIA,
IACIS, UT/RUS, JANET, Mark Koernake , MOM , ram, JICC,ReMOB, LEETAC, UTU,
VNET, BRLO, SADCC, NSLEP, SACLANTCEN, FALN, 877,NAVELEXSYSSECENGCEN,
BZ, WACO, A NEW REVELATION

Overview of the History of Cannabis Hemp

For the Purpose of Clarity in this Book: Explanations or documentations marked with an asterisk (*) are listed at the end of the related paragraph(s). For brevity, other sources for facts, anecdotes, histories, studies, etc., are cited in the body of the text or included in the appendices. The facts cited herein are generally verifiable in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, which was printed primarily on paper produced with cannabis hemp for over 150 years. However, any encyclopedia (no matter how old) or good dictionary will do for general verification purposes.

Cannabis Sativa L.
Also known as: Hemp, cannabis hemp, Indian (India) hemp, true hemp, muggles, weed, pot, marijuana, reefer, grass, ganja, bhang, "the kind," dagga, herb, etc., all names for exactly the same plant!

What's in a Name? (U.S. Geography)

HEMPstead, Long Island; HEMPstead County, Arkansas; HEMPstead, Texas; HEMPhill, North Carolina; HEMPfield, Pennsylvania, among others, were named after cannabis growing regions, or after family names derived from hemp growing.

American Historical Notes

In 1619, America's first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia, "ordering" all farmers to "make tryal of" (grow) Indian hempseed. More mandatory (must-grow) hemp cultivation laws were enacted in Massachusetts in 1631, in Connecticut in 1632 and in the Chesapeake Colonies into the mid-1700s.

Even in England, the much-sought-after prize of full British citizenship was bestowed by a decree of the crown on foreigners who would grow cannabis, and fines were often levied against those who refused.

Cannabis hemp was legal tender (money) in most of the Americas from 1631 until the early 1800s. Why? To encourage American farmers to grow more.1

You could pay your taxes with cannabis hemp throughout America for over 200 years.2

You could even be jailed in America for not growing cannabis during several periods of shortage, e.g., in Virginia between 1763 and 1767. (Herndon, G.M., Hemp in Colonial Virginia, 1963; The Chesapeake Colonies, 1954; L.A.Times, August 12, 1981; et al.)

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew cannabis on their plantations. Jefferson,3 while envoy to France, went to great expense - and even considerable risk to himself and his secret agents - to procure particularly good hempseeds smuggled illegally into Turkey from China. The Chinese Mandarins (political rulers) so valued their hempseed that they made its exportation a capital offense.

The United States Census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp "plantations"* (minimum 2,000-acre farm) growing cannabis hemp for cloth, canvas and even the cordage used for baling cotton. Most of these plantations were located in the South or in the border states, primarily because of the cheap slave labor available prior to 1865 for the labor-intensive hemp industry.

(U.S. Census, 1850; Allen, James Lane, The Reign of Law, A Tale of the Kentucky Hemp Fields, MacMillan Co., NY, 1900; Roffman, Roger, Ph.D. Marijuana as Medicine, Mendrone Books, WA, 1982.)

*This figure does not include the tens of thousands of smaller farms growing cannabis, nor the hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of family hemp patches in America; nor does it take into account that well into this century 80 percent of America's hemp consumption for 200 years still had to be imported from Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland, etc.

Benjamin Franklin started one of America's first paper mills with cannabis. This allowed America to have a free colonial press without having to beg or justify the need for paper and books from England.

In addition, various marijuana and hashish extracts were the first, second or third most- prescribed medicines in the United States from 1842 until the 1890s. It's medicinal use continued legally through the 1930s for humans and figured even more prominently in American and world veterinary medicines during this time.

Cannabis extract medicines were produced by Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis, Tildens, Brothers Smith (Smith Brothers), Squibb and many other American and European companies and apothecaries. During all the time there was not one reported death from cannabis extract medicines, and virtually no abuse or mental disorders reported, except for first-time or novice users occasionally becoming disoriented or overly introverted.

(Mikuriya, Tod, M.D., Marijuana Medical Papers, Medi-Comp Press, CA; Cohen, Sidney & Stillman, Richard, Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana, Plenum Press, Ny, 1976.)

World Historical Notes

"The earliest known woven fabric was apparently of hemp, which began to be worked in the eight millennium (8,000 - 7,000 B.C.)" (The Columbia History of the World, 1981, page 54.)

The body of literature (i.e., archaeology, anthropology, philology, economy, history) pertaining to hemp is in general agreement that, at the very least:

From more than 1,000 years before the time of Christ until 1883 A.D., cannabis hemp - indeed, marijuana - was our planet's largest agricultural crop and most important industry, involving thousands of products and enterprises; producing the overall majority of Earth's fiber, fabric, lighting oil, paper, incense and medicines. In addition, it was a primary source of essential food oil and protein for humans and animals.

According to virtually every anthropologist and university in the world, marijuana was also used in most of our religions and cults as one of the seven or so most widely used mood-, mind-, or pain-altering drugs when taken as psychotropic, psychedelic (mind-manifesting or -expanding) sacraments.

Almost without exception, these sacred (drug) experiences inspired our superstitions, amulets, talismans, religions, prayers, and language codes. (See chapter 10 on "Religions and Magic.")

(Wasson, R., Gordon, Soma, Divine Mushroom of Immortality; Allegro, J.M., Sacred Mushrooms & the Cross, Doubleday, NY, 1969; Pliny; Josephus; Herodotus; Dead Sea Scrolls; Gnostic Gospels; the Bible; Ginsberg Legends Kaballah, c. 1860; Paracelsus; British Museum; Budge; Ency. Britannica,, "Pharmacological Cults;" Schultes & Wasson, Plants of the Gods, Research of R.E. Schultes, Harvard Botanical Dept.; Wm EmBoden, Cal State U., Northridge; et al.)

Great Wars were Fought to Ensure the Availability of Hemp

For example, the primary reason for the War of 1812 (fought by America against Great Britain) was access to Russian cannabis hemp. Russian hemp was also the principal reason that Napoleon (our 1812 ally) and his "Continental Systems" allies invaded Russia in 1812. (See Chapter 12, "The (Hemp) War of 1812 and Napolean Invades Russia.")

In 1942, after the Japanese invasion of the Philippines cut off the supply of Manila (Abaca) hemp, the U.S. Government distributed 400,000 pounds of cannabis seeds to American farmers from Wisconsin to Kentucky, who produced 42,000 tons of hemp fiber annually until 1946 when the war ended.

Why Has Cannabis Hemp/Marijuana Been So Important in History?

Because cannabis hemp is, overall, the strongest, most-durable, longest-lasting natural soft-fiber on the planet. Its leaves and flower tops (marijuana) were - depending on the culture - the first, second or third most important and most-used medicines for two-thirds of the world's people for at least 3,000 years, until the turn of the century.

Botanically, hemp is member of the most advanced plant family on Earth. It is a dioecious (having male, female and sometimes hermaphroditic - male and female on the same plant), woody, herbaceous annual that uses the sun more efficiently than virtually any other plant on our planet, reaching a robust 12 to 20 feet or more in one short growing season. It can be grown in virtually any climate or soil condition on Earth, even marginal ones.

Hemp is, by far, Earth's premier, renewable natural resource. This is why hemp is so very important.

Footnotes:

1. Clark, V.S., History of Manufacture in the United States, McGraw Hill, NY 1929, Pg. 34.

2. Ibid.

3. Diaries of George Washington; Writings of George Washington, Letter to Dr. James Anderson, May 26, 1794, vol. 33, p. 433, (U.S. govt. pub., 1931); Letters to his caretaker, Williams Pearce, 1795 & 1796; Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson's Farm Books, Abel, Ernest, Marijuana: The First 12,000 Years, Plenum Press, NY, 1980; M. Aldrich, et al.

EVER WONDER????????????????/

Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?

Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

Why is it that to stop Windows 98 or XP, you have to click on "Start"?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made
with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it?

Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes?
Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?


In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed through
stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods.

On a Sears hairdryer: Do not use while sleeping. ( and that's the only time
I have to work on my hair).

On a bag of Fritos: You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details
inside. (the shoplifter special)?

On a bar of Dial soap: "Directions: Use like regular soap." (and that would
be how???....)

On some Swanson frozen dinners:
"Serving suggestion: Defrost." (but, it's "just" a suggestion).

On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom):
"Do not turn upside down." (well...duh, a bit late, huh)!

On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding:
"Product will be hot after heating." (...and you thought????...)

On packaging for a Rowenta iron: "Do not iron clothes on body." (but
wouldn't this save me more time)?

On Boot's Children Cough Medicine: "Do not drive a
car or operate machinery after taking this medication." (We
could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents if we could just
get those 5-year-olds with head-colds off those forklifts.)

On Nytol Sleep Aid: "Warning: May cause drowsiness."
(and...I'm taking this because???....)

On most brands of Christmas lights: "For indoor or outdoor use only." (as
opposed to...what)?

On a Japanese food processor: "Not to be used for the other use." (now,
somebody out there, help me on this. I'm
a bit curious.)

On Sunsbury's peanuts: "Warning: contains nuts." (talk about a news flash)

On an American Airlines packet of nuts:
"Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts." (Step 3: maybe, uh...fly Delta?)

On a child's superman costume:
"Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly." (I don't blame the
company. I blame the parents for this one.)

On a Swedish chainsaw: "Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or
genitals." (...was there a lot of this happening somewhere?)