• Aiding the cause of peace, by the Master —
• Questions and answers
• Letters to the editor
• Peace is possible, peace is inevitable
  • By Monte Leach
• United Nations: A view from within (2)
  • By Carme Font
• Will a US dollar collapse end American hegemony?
  • By Scott Champion
• Signs of the time
• Magazine subscriptions
• Previous issues
• Next update 31 August 2003
• Remind me when this page is updated

Master's article:

Aiding the cause of peace

by the Master —, through Benjamin Creme

It is frequently the case that, in acting for what is seen by them as the good of the world, countries wreak havoc on a world scale. So dense are the fogs of glamour which surround their actions, so illusory is their thinking, that great harm may be done, and much pain and suffering caused, for the best of reasons.

Thus it is today. In recent times, the USA, under the banner of ‘the war against terrorism’, has invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, causing thousands of civilian deaths and great physical damage to their infrastructures. The Taliban, fanatical and rigid but, in the main, uninvolved in terrorism, are dispersed but are now regrouping, training in the skills of terror. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein is no more, but a terrible legacy of deprivation and suffering, lawlessness and chaos, has replaced his baleful regime.

Now the attention of the US administration has turned to Syria, Iran and North Korea; they are warned to change or face the wrath and might of the upholders of ‘peace’, and the champions of ‘liberty’ in the world.

Thus does America plunge the world into the atmosphere of stress and fear, and thus do these give fruit to epidemics and natural disasters, which, in turn, serve to increase the fear and stress.

Dangerous

What can be done to stabilize this dangerous situation? How can the nations keep America in check? By what means can ordinary people bring their weight to bear? These are large questions and have, indeed, no simple answers. They require wisdom of an exceptional order and a co-ordinated approach.

Firstly, the world must realize the true nature of the problem: the USA today is led by men responsive to a nefarious energy which prompts their actions and puts peace in jeopardy. It stimulates their glamour for power of an international extent, and threatens the peace of the world. It has outposts in Israel and Eastern Europe, Israel being the major focus. This destructive energy derives, though in diminished potency, from that which plunged the world into chaotic war during the twentieth century and which, men thought, was safely put to rest.

It can be seen, therefore, how necessary it is that there be peace in the Middle East; how necessary it is that the Palestinians have true justice and a viable homeland. This is the most important problem facing men today. Failure to solve it would be disastrous for the world.

Overcome

It will take the combined resources of wisdom and will of both Hierarchy and men to overcome, finally, this malignant force. A clear understanding by men of the true nature of the threat is thus imperative. Men must organize and act in unison. They must call for an end of oppression of the Palestinian people and so end the fear which haunts the people of Israel. The United Nations must bring all possible pressure to bear on both America and Israel, standing up to the superpower and aid the cause of peace. The peoples of the world are already on the march. They must raise their voices and demand that peace be theirs. They are the inheritors of the future and must fashion it in peace.

We, the Masters, your Elder Brothers, will do Our part but We are hampered by your lack of understanding and will. Hence these words.

Act without fear. Be wise and diligent in your actions and all will be well.

Questions & Answers:

The Iraq war

Q. How many Iraqi civilians have been killed in the so-called ‘liberation’ of their country?

A. So far, 5,073. [As of 8 June 2003.]

Q. Could the world have freed the Iraqi people from the tyranny of Saddam in another way than what has happened? The UN weapon inspections surely could not have prevented Iraqis that Saddam found offensive from being systematically murdered: hung, shot to death.

A. No, probably not, although there were, and still are, many groups in Iraq who have planned, when the opportunity arose, to rise against the Bath’ist party and take over the government of Iraq. That aside, Saddam Hussein would not have remained for ever. He was terminally ill and had, perhaps, another year of life. This was one of the reasons for the American pre-emptive invasion now. No-one knew what might follow his death.

Q. Now that the Iraq war is over, people are reported to be happy to be free! Whereas I could see no sense at all in the USA’s attack on Afghanistan, I could see some sense to the attack on Iraq’s cruel and depraved dictatorship. Even though America has the hidden agenda of oil control, in light of the quick ending to the war, and the fact that Americans at least attempted to not target civilians, and want to help with putting the country back on its feet, do you think that good has come of the war?

A. No, unfortunately, I do not. Some small good has come to some Iraqis in the abstract sense that they are, for the moment, full of hope that they will have a better life without Saddam Hussein’s vicious dictatorship. For the vast majority, there has been a catastrophic collapse of their living standards: no water, electricity, little food, and total social chaos and anarchy. Over 5,000 civilians have been killed and over 20,000 very seriously wounded. The American-led invasion of Iraq was unilateral, pre-emptive and without UN sanction. It was therefore illegal. It has had a disastrous effect on carefully nurtured UN relationships and has raised world tension immeasurably. This increased tension is responsible for new epidemics and so-called ‘natural’ disasters. No, to my mind it has been a disaster for the world — and this is only the second step of their plan!

United States

Q. How will the rampant bully — the USA — be stopped?

A. By the other members of the United Nations standing up to the bully and calling her to account. By the use of every diplomatic pressure that can be brought to bear, and above all by economic and financial pressure. For example: by a world boycott of US goods; by the withdrawal of loans to the US (in the form of buying US Government bonds) and by the selling of dollar reserves on a major scale; by a re-orientation of trade away from the USA towards other nations.

Q. It is alleged that the US has a deliberate policy to split Europe — weakening old alliances. (1) Is this accurate? (2) If so, what, in your opinion, is the thinking behind this?

A. (1) To some extent, yes. (2) The states of Europe, all of them, support the United Nations and have worked hard to strengthen its hands. The US distrusts those aspects of the UN which it cannot control, and so is ‘courting’ the ‘newer’ European countries like Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, the Czech Republic, etc, to gain bases and support where it can.

Syria

Q. Is Syria harbouring members of the Iraqi regime?

A. ‘Harbouring’ is not the right term for Syria’s actions. Syria has an absolute right to offer sanctuary to members of a neighbouring country, which is what she is doing. The fact that the US Government are displeased is beside the point. Syria is a member of the United Nations, has a seat on the Security Council and is an independent sovereign state. The US-led invasion of Iraq is illegal and without UN sanction.

Q. (1) Does Syria have weapons of mass destruction: chemical, nuclear or biological? (2) Is Syria a threat, as it is at present?

A. (1) Syria does have small amounts of chemical weapons as do 27 other countries in the world, including, and above all, the USA. (2) Absolutely not, not even to its neighbour, Israel. It is a small and relatively poor country.

Q. Does the Syrian administration support Hezbollah?

A. Yes. It sees Hezbollah as an Arab organization legitimately fighting for Palestinian Arab freedom. People seem to forget, or be unaware, that the state of Israel was created by terrorism: against the Palestinians and against the British as the mandatory power. Many of the Israeli Government members were terrorists in their youth. They showed the Palestinians the value of terror, and still carry it out now on a daily basis. Today they call it “reprisal” and “self-defence”.

Iran

Q. (1) Does Iran have weapons of mass destruction? (2) Is Iran a threat to the US, (3) to stability in the region, or (4) to the world?

A. (1) Some biological weapons in small quantity. Moving towards a nuclear possibility. (2) No. (3) No. (4) No. America is paranoid about Iran.

The ‘Road Map’

Q. Which is the most dangerous state in the Middle East?

A. Israel.

Q. What is your opinion of the so-called “Road Map” for peace? (1) Is it practicable? (2) Do you think it is fair?

A. (1) Yes, so far as it goes, it is practicable. It means, though, considerable sacrifices and compromises from both sides, especially from the Palestinians. (2) No, I do not think it meets, fairly, the Palestinian demands and needs, and so cannot be called just or fair. It should always be remembered that the creation of Israel on Palestinian soil is an infringement of Palestinian rights and some 4.5 millions are still refugees in Lebanon.

Q. The Indian newspaper The Hindu, dated 29 May 2003, reported on the turnaround in policy of the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon which puzzles Israelis. After pushing the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza for decades he conditionally accepted the US-backed “road map” for peace that envisages the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005. He managed to convince his hawkish Cabinet to conditionally endorse the deal, while in his Likud Party he faced down angry hard-liners with remarks that stunned many Israelis: “To keep 3.5 million people under occupation is bad for us and them. This can’t continue endlessly.” Mr Sharon was reported to have undergone a metamorphosis and transformation. Mr Sharon’s own office, however, issued a statement maintaining that in using the word ‘occupation’ he was not admitting that those areas are under occupation, but that Israel did not “want to control the Palestinian people that reside in disputed territories”.

(1) Did Lord Maitreya appear to Ariel Sharon? (2) What are the motives behind Sharon’s apparent change of heart? (a) Is he trying to secure his place in history? (b) Is he trying to deflect US pressure? (c) Is he trying to avoid blame, by assuming that the Palestinians will foil the plan by failing to stop their attacks on Israelis? (d) In a word, is Sharon sincere in his acceptance of the Peace Plan or (e) is this only another move in his game?

A. (1) No, Maitreya did not appear to Mr Sharon. (2) (a) Yes. (b) Yes. (c) Yes. (d) No. (e) Yes. He believes that the Palestinians will remain divided and thus scupper the ‘road-map’ plan themselves, letting him and the Israeli Government ‘off the hook’ of blame for its failure. He has not changed.

Q. (1) Is Mahmoud Abbas a US puppet? (2) Was his appointment a deliberate attempt to by-pass and sideline Yasser Arafat?

A. (1) Yes, that is the intention of his being chosen. But will he fulfil that intention? That is by no means certain. He is a Palestinian at heart. (2) Yes, of course. Mr Sharon has repeatedly made it known that he will never negotiate with Mr Arafat, for whom he harbours a personal hatred. Mr Arafat, however, is the legally elected leader of the Palestinian Authority and people. Mr Mahmoud Abbas will find it a hard job to by-pass him.

Q. It seems as if the tension in the world is really enormous at present. Do you think it has reached its most extreme stage?

A. No. There is a way to go yet before the pendulum swings the other way.

Letters to the editor:

Over a number of years, some of the Masters, in particular Maitreya and the Master Jesus, have appeared, in different guises, to large numbers of people around the world. They also appear at Benjamin Creme's lectures and meditations, giving people in the audience the opportunity to intuitively recognise Them. Some people recount their experiences to Share International magazine. If the encounters are authenticated by Benjamin Creme's Master, the letters are published. These experiences are given to inspire, to guide or teach, often to heal and uplift. Very often, too, the Masters draw attention to, or comment on, in an amusing way, some fixed intolerance (for example against smoking or drinking). Many times They act as saving 'angels' in accidents, during wartime, earthquakes and other disasters. The following letters, previously published in Share International magazine, are examples of this means of communication by the Masters.

Fan-club

The following four letters all relate to the same ‘old man and his wife’ seen at Benjamin Creme’s lecture in Tokyo.

Dear Editor,

On 10 May 2003, Benjamin Creme’s lecture took place at Hibiya Hall in Tokyo, an old brick building with around 30 wide steps up to the entrance. A few minutes before opening the door, I saw a strange scene outside. An old man with a bald head was sitting on the top level of the stairs talking joyfully to the crowd of about 80-100 people lined up on the steps below him, listening to the man very attentively. I smiled with amusement, for a lecture seemed to be already starting.

Suddenly a thought crossed my mind that the man might be a Master. I could not contain my curiosity to see his face, so I went out the back door and ran up the stairs to the top. By the time I got there, the man was not talking anymore, but an elderly woman told me in a loud voice: “We have come to this lecture MANY times. We know the story VERY WELL.” I said, feeling a bit overwhelmed: “Oh, is that so? Thank you very much.” Then she said again with a loud voice, as if to tell the crowd around her: “We also know Michiko Ishikawa VERY well.” A few steps away, the man was beaming with a heartfelt smile and chimed in: “That’s right, we have come to this lecture MANY times.” When I looked at the man I had a feeling I had seen him before. I told them that we would open the door very soon, and went back to my duty inside.
Mrs S. Y. Tokyo, Japan.

The bald truth

Dear Editor,

I went to hear Benjamin Creme’s lecture in Tokyo for the first time. I arrived quite early, and I saw an extraordinary couple among the waiting crowd. They looked quite elderly, over 80 years old, wearing shabby clothes, but they emanated a rich, magnanimous atmosphere. The woman was talking to the people around her: “I have been looking forward to hearing this story SO much … We have been married for so long that I have gotten tired of this old man … ha, ha, ha.” The old man promptly took his knitted hat off and revealed his completely bald head and said, laughingly pointing to his head: “Because I have become like this.” As the door opened and we began to walk inside, he said: “I LOVE Benjamin. Everything we heard last year has come true.” They made such an impression on me that I wondered if they might be Masters.
Ms T. S. Chiba, Japan.

Laughing matter

Dear Editor,

When we opened the door at Benjamin Creme’s lecture in Tokyo, among the first group of people I noticed an elderly couple walking falteringly, supporting each other while holding onto a shopping cart. The man went to the registration desk while the woman waited near a wall. After a while, the man came back, and together they went up the stairs. I heard him telling his wife: “His name is Creme (pronounced in Japanese “ku-ray-mu”) because he is always receiving ku-ray-mu (complaints, objections). That’s why he is called ku-ray-mu.” He said it so cheerfully with such a loud, lively voice that I could not help but laugh. The man turned towards me and said loudly: “Were you listening? Is it funny? It’s funny, isn’t it?” So we laughed together. That wobbly, faltering image of him I saw at first had disappeared from him completely, and I felt uplifted. The man was slim and had a chequered beret on. The woman looked stronger, almost masculine looking, and had a somewhat square, dark face.
Mrs H. A. Tokyo, Japan.

Comic turn

Dear Editor,

In a hallway near the bathroom at Benjamin Creme’s Tokyo lecture, I saw an elderly woman saying repeatedly to an elderly man (her husband): “Will you stay here while I go to the bathroom on the other side? Will you wait here?” But the old man did not seem to understand her, so I intervened and said: “I will stay here with him, so please go ahead.” While we were waiting, I told the man that his wife went to the other bathroom. He mumbled something but all I can remember was his word “kami-san” referring to his wife. In the meantime, he banged his head on the low slanted ceiling. I apologized to his wife when she came back. She said: “He has become a bit silly, you know.” Both were of small build and wearing simple, ordinary clothes. They had strings hanging around their necks with some kind of free passes for the bus or train.
Ms K. O. Gifu, Japan.

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that the old man in the above four letters was Maitreya, and the old woman was the Master Jesus.)

Peace is possible, peace is inevitable

An interview with US Congressman Dennis Kucinich

by Monte Leach

US Representative Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat from Ohio, first came to US national prominence in 1977 when he was elected mayor of Cleveland at age 31, the youngest person ever elected to lead a major American city. In 1978, Cleveland’s banks demanded that he sell the city’s municipally-owned electric power system to a privately-owned utility company as a precondition of extending credit to city government. Kucinich refused to sell, and in an incident unprecedented in American politics, the Cleveland banks plunged the city into default for a mere $15 million. Kucinich lost his re-election bid in 1979, but 15 years later won election to the Ohio Senate on the strength of the expansion of Cleveland’s electricity system which provides low-cost power to almost half the residents of the city. In 1998, the Cleveland City Council honoured him for “having the courage and foresight to refuse to sell the city’s municipal electric system”.

As a US Congressman, Kucinich led Congressional opposition to the 2003 war in Iraq. In his current campaign for the US Presidency, he combines a powerful activism with a spiritual sense of the essential interconnectedness of living things. Kucinich’s world view carries with it a passionate commitment to public service, peace, human rights and the environment.

Share International: Peace and justice issues are central to your presidential campaign and your entire political approach. Why have you chosen those areas to focus on?

Dennis Kucinich: All of us have a purpose in life that relates to trying to affirm the society in which we live. We do it in different ways. Some of us are doctors, lawyers, architects, teachers, mothers, fathers, municipal workers, bakers, waiters. All of us have a place and aspire to more and more possibilities. For myself, I have felt a commitment to social and economic justice from an early age. When we see the possibilities of life, reflected in our own life, the quest for peace in the external world has to be preceded by a quest for peace in one’s internal world. Having had the opportunity for such an activity in my own life, I understand that peace is possible, peace is inevitable, if we work towards it.

To share my understanding, my learning, which we all do with respect to our own experience, is a great joy. To work towards it in our own governmental structures is an important responsibility which I’ve undertaken because I believe we can create a more peaceful society, and certainly peace and justice go hand in hand. My commitment comes from an understanding of purpose, and a belief that one person can make a difference, and indeed each one of us can make a difference. Each person should consider carefully what we can do, in our own lives, to try to expand the potential of our own humanity. What can we do, each of us in our own lives, to each day reach a little bit higher and embrace more possibilities, to send more love into the world, and try to bring our talents and abilities to bear in each moment. There are such possibilities for creativity in our world. They all begin within us. We just have to have the confidence within ourselves, and in our ability to make a difference.

SI: You referred to some of them, but are there spiritual or religious ideals or principles that guide you in your approach to life and politics?

DK: My view of the world is a holistic one. I view the world as being interconnected and interdependent. All things have a way of expressing their identity through one powerful immanent reality. As each one of us makes a choice, that choice impacts the world. We can then come to a realization of the power that each individual has, and the tremendous expressiveness and potential of our existence. The principles that animate my life and involvement have to do with this understanding of the essential interconnectedness of all humanity. Therefore, we should be aware that we affect others in the choices that we make. We affect not only other people, we affect other species as well. So we must take care to be respectful of this planet and of all those who participate in the life of this planet.

SI: How did you arrive at such a profound view of the world? Was it a particular experience that you had, or did your views evolve over time?

DK: My views are consistent with the strains of thinking that created this nation, the thoughts about human liberty of Thomas Jefferson, the American Transcendental movement, the English Romantic poets, certainly my own connection to Catholicism, but beyond that, to all religions. All this results in a kind of synthesis, leading to a world view of the possibilities of human unity and human potential.

SI: What are your views regarding the role and importance of the United Nations and its various agencies in the world today?

DK: As president I would strengthen the United Nations and work to insure the US’s participation in all structures that affirm international order and international law. The UN has been a very powerful vehicle for human unity and it is so important that the United States works to assure that the United Nations is effective. Unfortunately, our nation in recent years has attempted to undermine the role of the United Nations and the Security Council in international decision-making. The war in Iraq was a glaring example of the destructive path that the present Administration has taken in ignoring the concerns expressed by the United Nations, ignoring the Security Council, ignoring the work of inspectors, and determining to proceed upon a unilateral path of action. I do not believe that such policies are consistent with the role of a great nation, nor are they consistent with trying to promote and assure human unity. As President of the United States, I would set aside policies of pre-emption and unilateralism and create policies for co-operation in order to assure the security of all nations and the security of this nation in particular.

SI: What changes would need to happen for the United Nations to fulfil its potential in the world?

DK: We have to look at what the United States can do. As president, I would ask the United Nations to work with the United States in facilitating and strengthening all areas of international law. The United States can lead the way by upholding the tenets of the Non-Proliferation treaty, which calls for the abolition of all nuclear weapons; through stopping the production of new nuclear weapons; through upholding and enacting a Test Ban Treaty; through setting aside plans for national missile defense, which anticipates nuclear war; through protecting space from the proliferation of weapons; participating in the space treaty and making certain that there will never be weapons in space; setting aside the doctrine of the Vision 20/20 programme which calls for the weaponization of space. The US can lead the way through international co-operation to assure that we can meet the challenge of terrorism. After 9/11 the world community was ready to participate with the United States on an ambitious undertaking that would combine the resources of the world community to systematically address the challenge of international terrorism and work co-operatively with state and local police agencies. Unfortunately, the US took it upon itself to go in its own direction, preferring bombs to detective work. I believe we can lead the way towards strengthening the United Nations through international co-operation on terrorism.

Furthermore, the US needs to promote internationally the concept which is so powerful in this nation — equal justice before the law. The way we can best do that is to participate in the International Criminal Court. As president, I would move forward with the US fully participating in the International Criminal Court. In addition, I would want the US to sign the biological weapons convention and chemical weapons convention, to participate in the Small Arms Treaty and the Landmine Treaty, and — in order to protect our global environment — participate in the Kyoto Climate Change Treaty, which brings with it the requirement that we begin to work towards sustainability. All of those areas bespeak of something that would support international order, international law, and thereby strengthen the United Nations.

SI: Our magazine is called Share International because we believe there is a need to share the food and resources of the world more equitably among rich and poor. What are your thoughts about that specifically, and more generally, how we can help lift people out of poverty here in the US and throughout the world?

DK: In the Gospels, there is a story about Christ challenging people, and creating an ethic for social consciousness, when he said: “When I was hungry did you feed me? When I was homeless did you shelter me?” And he went on to say, “Whatever you did for the least of the brethren you did for me.” He made a connection between the spiritual principle of sharing and the absolute requirement for an awareness that it is an immanent reciprocal fact of our being. We affirm our own existence through recognizing others and through sharing our lives, and what we have, with others. Our ability to spiritualize the material world depends on that recognition.

SI: Given your extensive political experience, what have you found to be the best way to manifest one’s spiritual ideals in the physical world?

DK: How I do it in government is looking for opportunities to create jobs so the people can be self-sufficient, or have the opportunity to create material wealth for themselves. I do it by promoting the idea of universal healthcare where everyone in this country will have the opportunity for a quality standard of healthcare. I do it by working to promote retirement security so that when people are in their twilight years they will have economic security through a fully guaranteed Social Security system. I do it through working to promote education, to make sure our children have the opportunity to develop their knowledge of the world, and of themselves. Everyday I am involved in the large issues.

My office in Cleveland [Ohio] is also involved in the smaller issues, which in some people’s lives are huge, by helping 10,000 people every year with a variety of concerns and requests for service. The business of government exists not only in the macrocosm; it also exists in the microcosm. It exists to provide services for those in this country, hundreds of millions of people, who wish to see their life affirmed, who wish to see the circumstances of their life respected, and who wish to participate in a society that values individual existence and community. Every day I try to see how I can help one person. And every day I see how I can try to help the entire world. The two actually flow into each other.

For more information: www.kucinich.us

UNITED NATIONS: A VIEW FROM WITHIN

An interview with Federico Mayor Zaragoza - Part Two
(part one)

by Carmen Font

Professor Federico Mayor Zaragoza (born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1934) is a respected figure in Spain and abroad for his tireless work for peace and development. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Professor Mayor, a biochemist by profession, held several senior ministerial posts in the Spanish transition governments and later as Member of the European Parliament. He gained widespread international recognition during his mandate as director-general of UNESCO from 1987 to 1999, a period in which he gave new momentum to the organization’s mission and worked towards creating the “Culture of Peace Program”. Following his guidelines, the United Nations General Assembly approved the ‘Declaration and Programme for Action on a Culture of Peace’ (September 1999) which constitutes, from a conceptual and practical standpoint, his highest aspirations. In 1999, he decided not to run for a third term with UNESCO and, on returning to Spain, created the Fundación Cultura de Paz, (the Foundation for the Culture of Peace) of which he is chairman.

I met Professor Federico Mayor in the Fundación Cultura de Paz headquarters in Madrid, where he elucidated the reasons behind the weakening of international institutions.

Share International: The United Nations system has been widely criticised in the media and in political circles, not only for its apparent inability to stop the war in Iraq, for instance, but also for being unable to solve the endemic poverty and political instability, in Africa in particular. What is the way ahead for Africa, in your opinion?

Federico Mayor Zaragoza: The first thing we need are moral guidelines, applicable throughout the world. We need to say: “Let’s get rid of dictatorships but let us work through the UN.” We need to ensure that oppressed people manage their own wealth, enabling them to develop their own resources. Otherwise, it is rather suspect that certain countries are only interested in overthrowing dictators of countries rich in natural resources.

You asked about Africa: I know and love Africa, maybe more than any other part of the world. For 12 years, I spent half of my time in Africa. I have learnt that we, in the developed world, have much knowledge, but little wisdom. I can say that the wisdom of the African woman, for example, is utterly amazing. These are people who have really lived. Many people in the wealthy quarter of the Global Village do not really live: they don’t have time to think, they don’t suffer, they don’t feel because they are inundated with information but they don’t create, they don’t invent new ways — because they don’t have the necessary human tension. But it exists in Africa where often, illiterate women have a wonderful wisdom because every day they have to invent ways to survive from dawn till dusk; it’s wonderful from a point of view of human maturity.

So we shouldn’t be arrogant; there have been many genocides in history which we have allowed. Nobody intervened when, from 1975 to 1979, Pol Pot eliminated 2 million people. We have to apply the same standards to everyone. We cannot go to the African continent and, as I’ve seen too often, tell them: “You have to do this and that, and be careful because we know that Africans are corrupt people.”

Well, let’s first put our own house in order, since the developed world is not exactly an example of transparency. There is corruption in Africa, of course — it is to be found in some of its leaders and large companies; but ordinary people are very different. We cannot say “black Africans are corrupt”. Those people who are in contact with impoverished (not poor) countries are corrupt. Also, we have not fulfilled our promises, such as 0.7 percent of our GDP and big investments. We have only exploited their wealth. Think, for instance, about the North African source of the gas and phosphates we use in Spain. Again, we cannot say ‘in Africa people are corrupt’; because we are impoverishing this continent, sometimes giving them ridiculously small compensation in exchange.

A few years ago in Canada, during a meeting to launch various projects in Africa, I asked the following question: “Who owns the diamonds, the gold, the mines and the fishing grounds of Africa?” Many delegates — all of whom represented developed countries — complained that it was extremely complex to act in Africa because of the high degree of corruption there. They didn’t believe in African citizens.

SI: Some weeks ago, we saw looting taking place in Iraqi museums, where invaluable historical pieces were lost. Soon after, delegates and experts from UNESCO, the British Museum, the Louvre, the Hermitage Museum and many other art institutions gathered to try to recover the lost pieces and restore damages. If you were still UNESCO director-general, would you also summon such a meeting, and so quickly?

FMZ: During the time that I had the honour to run UNESCO, I was very little concerned with museums. I’m really only interested in the human being. Frankly, I deeply regret that the current UNESCO, belonging to a system which is being silenced, has not protested about the number of victims, but instead complains about the museums.

That’s not the role of UNESCO. Its work is to “construct in the minds of men the defences of peace”. It is a mistake to exclude UNESCO from current world problems, as if its only competences were art and museums; it is a way to silence major international institutions.

The United Nations has a conscience which is UNESCO. Its charter states: “UNESCO must foster the intellectual and moral solidarity of humanity.” When I heard about the looting in Iraq, my first comment was: “Shame on the invading countries, which did not place proper guards at the entrance of museums.” Frankly, for me the looting is a technical issue, and I never paid much attention to these things. Some years ago, someone told me: “Federico, the Al Jizah pyramid has a broken ear.” “Well”, I answered, “don’t worry, we’ll put it back some day.” Fortunately, stones can be restored, and the end result is wonderful. But we cannot restore a lost human life. This has to be the main concern of UNESCO. As the conscience of the UN system, UNESCO should have criticized war in Iraq, and not raised its voice only when there is an art-looting.

SI: Establishing the “defences of peace” is much more than guaranteeing the absence of war. It’s rather a state of being.

FMZ: In a way, yes. Such defences must be rooted in education as well as in moral and ethical principles, as declared in the UNESCO charter. When the UN is used only as a humanitarian agency, it’s performing a task which doesn’t pertain to it. And when UNESCO is devoted to something different from establishing the defence of peace (through democracy, education and development), it is taking the wrong path.

The UNESCO charter is one of the most enlightening documents I have ever read. That’s why I said to my colleagues in the UNESCO headquarters in Paris: “You don’t have a job, you have a mission! If you are a bit depressed, read the preamble of UNESCO’s charter before going to bed.” We have a purely humane function, which includes telling officers and ordinary citizens: “Do not remain idle, do not be quiet; express your ideas, talk, disagree, propose, speak out. Otherwise, little by little people say: ‘Well, this world is like it is, there’s nothing that can be done.’”

That attitude fosters a marginalization and trivialization of the great functions of international institutions. The United Nations does not belong to the US, or to France, or to Russia; they are the United Nations of all peoples. We have to establish the principle that no country is too big to learn, and there is no country too small to have some lessons to teach. I always like to say that we are in a transitional phase from the reason by force to the force of reason.

SI: The United States is not a member of UNESCO now, basically because it rejected the ‘New Information Order’, a policy promoted in the 1980s by your predecessor at UNESCO, Senegal’s Amadou Mbow, and which claimed a vague right of censorship in public information. Do you think the US withdrawal from UNESCO was justified?

FMZ: In the Clinton era, they realized that it was a mistake to believe that UNESCO was a threat to the freedom of speech. The Americans thought that the best way to start discrediting the UN was by beginning to discredit its most intellectual institution. And they got it wrong because UNESCO is the only one that doesn’t need dollars, it has its own strength — its resources are its ideas and ideals. So, the US moved away from UNESCO, taking with them the 25 per cent of the budget in the 1980s. They dragged Margaret Thatcher along with them, thus removing the UK’s five per cent (incidentally, the UK ‘came back’ to UNESCO in 1997). They fully expected UNESCO to collapse. As it turned out, not only did it not founder, but it continues its work, funded by sources of support other than American dollars. It surprised the Americans to discover that UNESCO was not a place where censorship was fostered, but quite the reverse: UNESCO guarantees the free flow of ideas through words and images. It is the world’s guardian of freedom of expression.

SI: It was precisely the US which argued that the New Information Order challenged their freedom of expression, because it somewhat restricted it.

FMZ: Indeed, there was a UNESCO commission, influenced by the owners of some media outlets, who thought that such an order would be an attack on their freedom of expression. However, the excesses of freedom aren’t resolved with less freedom, but with more. I told them: “Don’t worry, if it is a matter of money, come back, because we will state again that we believe in the first article of UNESCO, namely, that we believe in freedom of expression.” No response. In 1995, however, the Clinton Administration said, after a series of studies and audits, that it is in the interest of the United States to be part of UNESCO again; they said the only problem was that the President of the Appropriations Committee was at that point against a change in the then status quo. I replied that it was wonderful that they decided to come back; that the financial aspect was not my concern, that we would manage. So, an explicit willingness from the US President to come back to UNESCO dates from 1995, although, as we know, it has not materialized yet. Recently, President Bush has announced his willingness to do so, at a time of clear political convenience because he wanted to centre himself in the UN system; however, as it turned out, he did not respect the UN’s resolutions.

SI: A flagrant example of unilateralism, according to many commentators and ordinary citizens.

FMZ: I would say that the US has passed from an oligarchy to a hegemony, and that it has assumed enormous responsibilities in an international framework which lacks guidelines and directions. It is unjustifiable that we have drug and arms traffic, for instance, but that we don’t have the capacity to punish trafficking at an international level, and so impunity prevails. At a local level, we have democracy and a judiciary; but at a higher level there’s nothing. And the US is responsible for this, because they wanted a single country — the US itself — to have the right to decide.

The United States cannot be the custodian of the world. There has been a Pax Romana, a Pax Hispanica, a Pax Britannica, and all of them failed because a single country cannot rule the world. The US created multilateralism. The best advice we can give to the US (and I admire the US as a country) is to tell them to take stock of their recent past, to establish a kind of Truth Commission, and try to see what American leadership has meant/done in recent years. Maybe the Americans themselves would say: “Let’s revive the spirit of the year 1945,” because at that time they were indeed the leaders of multilateralism, the leaders of democracy; now they want to be the leaders of plutocracy, hegemony, and I believe that is a terrible mistake which they must correct.

SI: Have you talked with government officials, from different countries, about these views?

FMZ: Yes, I have talked with French Government officials, to discuss this particular case and I have also talked with the French people who are proud of the position adopted by their government, in the same way Chileans and Mexicans are proud of theirs. They are proud of their countries because they believe their leaders did the right thing [with regard to war in Iraq]. You always tell the truth to a friend. If you are my friend, you won’t let me make mistakes, will you? A friend says what he/she thinks, although you may disagree. Here there’s no place for submission. I believe we are at a time when we can take decisions which would create a very dark future for humanity; or choose a brilliant horizon if we are able to make the best of these crises, because every crisis can eventually serve to shape something new, instead of going along well-worn paths.

SI: Do you think that globalization — in the limelight today in every debate about the Third World — is not only responsible for allowing an unjust economic system, but also for desensitizing us to the needs of others? And that brings to mind the question of sharing.

FMZ: That’s a great question. In its literal sense, sharing means to divide; it means that, when you have something, you have to give part of this to other people so that everyone enjoys the material goods, knowledge, resources, whatever. But this doesn’t take place today: we have this shame of people starving every day when we, in the developed world, have food surpluses. We are used to seeing in the news that “20 or 30 people have died in an accident”, for example, and we make a fuss about it.

Indeed, every human life counts, it’s a miracle — but we don’t realize that 30,000 people die of starvation every single day. That’s the world we have created with this famous so-called globalization which, I must say, is a lie, because not everything is globalized. My environment, the wealthy area of the global village, is indeed globalized. But when you go beyond that area (the 17 per cent of humanity), you realize that economic globalization has disappeared, because you only find hunger and misery. Only poverty is globalized — forgive me for this demagogic comment. I laugh, for instance, when some companies want to send mobile telephones to the Third World, when half the world’s population has never made a telephone call. Globalization is false. What is true is the massive worldwide marches on 15 February this year [2003]. That’s our hope, because we see that the world is beginning to talk.

SI: Can this strong voice of the people help to lay the basis of a stronger United Nations?

FMZ: Yes, if we are able to strengthen it — all of us together, governments and people — the United Nations will have a bright future. Because, I must insist on this fact: the United Nations is a group of nations that gathers together; it is not an institution by itself.

SI: The world will not be a better place, though, if it does not solve the Middle East crisis, it seems. In your view, what are the steps to follow in order to find a peaceful and satisfactory solution for Palestinians and Israelis?

FMZ: The only way is to continue the peace process, which I know very well, and never stop it. Let’s not forget that, after the initial gathering in Autumn 1993 in the White House, the first meeting took place in Granada, Spain, under the auspices of UNESCO. I was a great friend of Yitzhak Rabin, for example, and I only see a way forward if Israelis and Palestinians put into practice the Oslo peace accords (incidentally, derived from a meeting inspired by Marianne Holst, wife of the former Norwegian foreign affairs minister Jurgen Holst). Tell people like Ariel Sharon that it is not through provocation and state terrorism that these situations are solved. And tell the ones who immolate themselves, the fanatics, the ignorant who give away their lives killing Israelis, that this is not the way. It all creates a spiral of violence with no end.

In order to end the Middle East conflict we cannot displace a Palestinian leader and protect an Israeli one. The thing is to sit down at the same table and say: “Sirs, after an interruption, let’s continue as we agreed yesterday.” Yitzhak Rabin was on the right path, so the solution is to apply the Oslo Treaty.

SI: But the Oslo accord was possible basically because Rabin was open to the idea of creating a Palestinian state.

FMZ: Rabin was actually certain that creating a Palestinian state was necessary. Those leaders were sure that Jerusalem had to be a co-capital, because, among other considerations, Jerusalem doesn’t have a proper border, there are plenty of settlements, like a Gruyère cheese. The only feasible solution, then, is to live together. And, besides, most Israelis and most Palestinians want to live together in peace.

I will tell you a nice anecdote encapsulating what I mean. Once, I was visiting the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem, and its director was showing [me] a number of departments. Since he knew I was a scientist, he was particularly fond of showing me every detail, including a doctor in a cubicle performing a test on a woman. Then, one of the colleagues visiting with me said: “Doctor, that woman is Palestinian, isn’t she?” The doctor turned towards the woman, looked at her, and then replied to my colleague: “I don’t know, here we only have patients.” Beautiful, isn’t it? That’s precisely what we have to do, to realize that we are equals and that we must treat one another as such.

In 1988 Simon Peres shared with me something which everyone must understand: “Eventually, there will be peace because we have to live in peace. At the end of 1987, my first visit was to Yasser Arafat in Tunisia, at 3am. And he told me: ‘There will be peace, because we have to live together. We cannot continue fighting those we have to live with in the same house, in the same land.’ ”

For more information about Ubuntu: www.ubuntu.upc.es
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Will a US dollar collapse end American hegemony?

by Scott Champion

In the past 24 months, the US dollar has lost 25 per cent of its value relative to a basket of key currencies, including the Japanese yen, euro, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and British pound. A drop of this magnitude is not unusual in the cyclic swings of currency markets; however, what has changed is that the Bush administration appears to be actively seeking an even lower dollar. If so, this would be a sharp reversal of the Clinton administration’s strong dollar policy.

The US would like a lower dollar for several reasons. First, a cheaper dollar makes US goods more competitive in foreign markets, thus benefiting US-based multinational corporations. It also makes imports more expensive relative to goods produced in the US. In both cases, American companies would enjoy a distinct advantage.

Secondly, the imperialistic policies of the Bush administration are expensive and must be financed, which means borrowing in international capital markets. The US is currently running a $600 billion current-account deficit (trade deficit adjusted by unilateral transfers such as interest earned abroad). This means the US must borrow more than $1.5 billion per day on a net basis from international lenders. For borrowers such as the US, it is generally easier to pay back loans in a depreciating currency rather than an appreciating one. Due to the large sums involved and a weak domestic economy, a strong dollar would make it more difficult for the US to finance its self-appointed role as the “world’s policeman”.

The US’s increasingly desperate financial condition is not good news for the world. With short-term interest rates near zero, there is little additional economic benefit to be gained from lowering them further. This leaves a cheaper dollar as one of the last levers to stimulate the US economy. As long as lenders are willing to invest in dollar assets, the US can continue to borrow to maintain its current lifestyle. However, if foreign lenders begin to shun US markets because of a falling dollar, it could cause serious problems for the US Government, economy and people.

For many years the US has been the economic engine for the world, standing in as purchaser of last resort for the world’s supply of goods in times of global economic distress. Now the US itself is in trouble. If the US attempts to fight the rapidly gaining forces of deflation by encouraging a depreciating dollar, it will export deflation to the rest of the world because foreign currencies will rise relative to the dollar. This will damage foreign economies and inhibit their ability to buy goods and services, including those from the US. Since the short-term benefit of a weak dollar to US corporations’ earnings will show up quickly, while the long-term damage to the global economy will become apparent only with the passage of time, it is a fair assumption that the US will take the easy route and worry about the global fallout later.

The problem with this approach for the Bush administration is that there are great risks to a weak dollar policy. The world economy is awash in dollars, and when there is too much of something the price or value usually drops, sometimes precipitously. If confidence in the dollar or dollar assets, such as Treasury bonds, declines, the world may, at some point, reconsider its involvement with US assets. The results of such a reappraisal could be anything from mildly damaging to catastrophic. Seventy-five per cent of the world’s central-bank assets are held in US dollars (as Treasury bonds). These bankers do not want their primary asset to suffer a significant decline.

Many nations, like Japan, recycle their trade surpluses into US dollars by purchasing and holding US Treasury bonds. They do this out of self-interest. In the case of Japan, it helps to weaken the yen relative to the dollar. It is hard to imagine the Japanese reversing this policy, as it would harm their own corporations. However Japan, together with the rest of the world, holds nearly a third of total US Treasury debt. If these countries were to stop buying Treasuries, let alone start selling the ones they already own, the US would be in serious trouble. What should concern the US authorities about a weak dollar policy is that the decline could spin out of control.

When the global stock-market crash predicted in this magazine occurs, international support for the dollar will likely evaporate as countries sell dollar assets to shore up their own ailing economies. If this happens, the US will have great difficulty funding its historically large budget and trade deficits. At a most inopportune time, the US may be forced to raise interest rates sharply to attract the capital to meet its obligations. This would be a further blow to an ailing economy. A collapsing US stock market would almost certainly usher in a period of deflation for the American economy. Recent statements by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and New York ‘Fed’ governor Bernacke make clear that the Fed is concerned about deflation and stands ready to print an unlimited supply of dollars to fight this eventuality. These statements are unprecedented in the 90-year history of the US Federal Reserve Bank and are tantamount to a declaration that they stand willing to destroy the value of the dollar in the event of a serious crisis.

Today, many forces are coming together that could lead to a collapse of the US dollar. Among these are its oversupply, low interest rates, the need to fight deflation, continuing stock-market declines, and a potential derivatives meltdown [see Share International May 1990] It is highly likely that in the not-too-distant future all of these factors will come into play simultaneously. In addition, many of the world’s financiers, central bankers, and government officials cannot be pleased with the economic and foreign policies of the Bush administration. They well know that the continued recycling of capital into US assets serves, at least in part, to allow the US to dominate the world. If the people who control the world’s capital were to decide, for whatever reason, to cease buying Treasury securities and to liquidate those they own, the dollar would collapse and the US would experience an unprecedented economic shock. Were this to happen, the world would witness the end of American hegemony.

Signs of the time :

Holy water survives fire

A fire in Prestatyn, Wales, gutted a garage, destroying everything except a bottle of holy water. Doug and Anne Mangan were amazed to find the plastic bottle of holy water virtually untouched among the charred remains of their garage, which was destroyed after a neighbour’s touring caravan exploded and sparked an inferno. The blaze gutted next door’s conservatory and garage before spreading to the Mangan’s home. It took firefighters hours to control the fire, which was caused by faulty electrics in the caravan.

The couple believed everything in the garage had been destroyed until Doug Mangan made the miracle discovery as he started clearing the debris. His mother had brought the vial of water back from Lourdes, France, more than 10 years ago and it was kept in a canvas bag in the garage. He said: “It’s amazing, it’s the only thing to survive. There is nothing left of that garage. Everything melted in the fire — plastic, metal and glass — but then we found the little bottle of holy water with barely a drop gone.” (Source: Rhyl, Prestatyn and Abergele Journal, UK)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms this to be a miracle manifested by Maitreya.)

Weeping statue in Italy

A group of pilgrims from the parish of San Giovanni Battista witnessed a miraculous phenomenon during a visit to the sanctuary of San Gabriele della Maiella, a place of worship near Gran Sasso, in the Teramo region of Italy. While they prayed in front of the statue of Madonna dell’Addolorata, they saw a colourless liquid similar to human tears flow. There was a great commotion in the church, and priests intervened, confiscating the statue. Those who witnessed the phenomenon were held for a meeting with the rector, who asked them not to speak of the miracle and to be careful in the description of what they saw. The priests (who also witnessed the shedding of tears) isolated the statue inside the church and called photographers. Samples of the liquid were taken. (Source: Agenzia Italia, Italy)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that this is a genuine miracle manifested by the Master Who was the Madonna.)

Madonna appearance near Washington, DC

An apparition of the Madonna appears almost nightly to Gianna Talone Sullivan at her home near Emmitsburg, Maryland, to dispense words of wisdom, advice and, sometimes, warning. To believers, the details of Mary’s apparitions are well known: She wears a veil, has brown hair and blue eyes, and emerges from a bright light. Her visits vary in timing and duration.

Thousands have visited Talone Sullivan’s home in recent years to receive the Madonna’s messages, but visitors do not see the vision. Roman Catholic Church officials at the Vatican have ruled that the visions are definitively not supernatural, but many of Talone Sullivan’s supporters remain firm in their faith. Even doubters acknowledge that the apparitions have positively changed the local Catholic Church and the small town of Emmitsburg.

“I’ve been a priest for 45 years, and I had never experienced anything like this,” said the Reverend Al Pehrsson, pastor at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Emmitsburg from 1989 to 1996 and now a priest in Alabama. “There was a quiet joy among the hundreds of people who had come, from Rhode Island to Virginia…. There was no fanaticism at all.”

Two years ago, Catholic officials ordered Talone Sullivan to stop her weekly prayer meetings at the local church, but Talone Sullivan continues spreading the Madonna’s messages by word of mouth and the internet.

“It really was one of the most amazing religious experiences of my life,” said Marti O’Neill, who attended two of Talone Sullivan’s prayer services. “I met so many people who were sick…. People who really come looking for miracles. I dare say that everyone left with something.” (Source: The Washington Post, USA)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms this to be a genuine miracle manifested by the Master Who was the Madonna.)

Appearance of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Dozens of Catholic devotees and curious people gathered on 29 May 2003 to witness an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the trunk of an almond tree, in the community of La Vigía, in Dajabón district, Dominican Republic. The parishioners worshipped and prayed all afternoon and part of the night, placing candles and sacred images in front of the tree. Pablo Pichardo and Arcadio Alvarez, two parishioners of the community, said that these are good signs that appear in places blessed by God.

The miraculous image was found by a group of children playing in the courtyard of a house that had been abandoned for more than a year. However, the owner of the house, Areisi Rodríguez de García, explained that the image was in fact discovered by her younger son six months before, but she did not make it public to avoid a lot of curious people coming to the place. (Source: El Caribe, Dominican Republic)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that the image was a miracle manifested by the Master Jesus.)

Miracles reported in small Kentucky town

A quiet spot near Springfield, Kentucky, has been in the news intermittently for the past 10 years. Some residents claim miracles are occurring in an area known as Valley Hill.

Hazel Spalding, a local resident, has no doubt that the place holds special powers. “I had my rosary in my hand and it turned gold,” she said. “I smelled roses but there was no rose bush.”

In April 1995, seven young girls and their Catholic education teacher reported seeing spots of gold and apparitions of angels and the Virgin Mary. The occurrence was profiled on the television programme “Unsolved Mysteries”. Even though an “Unsolved Mysteries” expert debunked the visions and photographs, those at the centre of the mystery stood by their story. The visiting crowds grew large. But in the intervening years the crowds have diminished.

Amanda Terrell said of her experiences: “A lot of people don’t believe me. I tell them the story and they just think you’re crazy.” But Amanda still believes, and what she saw remains the keystone of her faith. “It gave me a more spiritual background,” she said. “It made me feel like I was closer to God.”

Many of those who were at Valley Hill in the spring of 1995 still make a pilgrimage to the area. They remain steadfast in what they saw and how it has changed their lives. “We saw spots all over each other,” Mandy Mattingly said. “The sun was just pulsating. It was a miracle. It was great.”

“I know what happened,” Phyllis Filiatreau said. “I know what I got out of it, and I know what my daughter got out of it. It will stay with us both for the rest of our lives.”

The woman who owns the land at Valley Hill says the miracles are most likely to be seen on the 2nd and 23rd of every month. (Source: Wave 3 Television, USA)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms this to be a genuine miracle manifested by Maitreya.)

Leopard befriends cow in Gujarat village

In a rare case of predator-prey friendship, a leopard coming to ‘visit’ a cow at night has literally become the talk of the town. The incredible ways of the two animals at Antoli village in Waghodia Taluka district have attracted the attention of one and all, including wildlife activists. Honorary wildlife warden Rohit Vyas has visited the village several times with other enthusiasts. He reports: “The leopard has been visiting the cow from October last year [2002] at regular intervals. After the villagers informed us about frequent visits of the leopard to the sugarcane field for its close encounter with the cow, our team, comprising forest conservationist H.S.Singh and wildlife specialists Manoj Thakkar and Kartik Upadhyay, visited the village for verification. It was unbelievable. They approached each other at very close proximity and the fearless cow would lick the leopard on its head and neck”.

Vyas added: “The dogs would start barking when the leopard came to meet the waiting cow every night between 9.30pm to 10.30pm.”

The Forest Department, which was trying to capture the beast, gave up its efforts after learning about the friendship. Moreover, said Vyas, the leopard has not harmed other animals in the village and its visits have benefited villagers as other animals kept away from damaging crops in the fields and crops yields went up by 30 per cent. (Source: www.expressindia.com)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that Maitreya is the instigator of this extraordinary phenomenon.)

Electromagnetic activity detected inside the earth

Two scientists said they have detected radioactive signatures, microwaves, levels of electricity and oscillations originating from inside the earth. Omar Hesse and Jorge Millstein are affiliated with the Fundación Instituto Biofísico de Investigaciones (FICI) headquartered in La Matanza, Argentina, and directed by UFO researcher Pedro Romaniuk.

The scientists surveyed the mountains surrounding the town of Cachi, 157 kilometres from the capital and 2,280 metres above sea level. After applying a testing device in the vicinity of the Nevado de Cachi mountain, they concluded that the signals are not natural in origin, and instead originate from machinery operated by intelligent beings.

“The oscillations clearly indicate that kilometres beneath the surface there is activity: alternating electrical waves, which means a power source,” said Hesse. “This could mean engines,” he added.

The area under study was not chosen at random: it was based on four film recordings made by local mountaineer Antonio Zuleta between June 2000 and November 2002. Hesse’s and Millstein’s recordings show analogous images — swiftly moving lights which appear to “plunge” into the ground at the same point. The researchers calculated the site’s location, and accompanied by Zuleta himself, visited the area 8 km to the south-west.

“We will have to return with equipment of higher sensitivity to achieve greater precision in the data,” observed Millstein. The two researchers estimate that Zuleta’s recordings and the signals recorded from the depths of the earth correspond to a technology not native to our world. “To those of us in this field, the possibility that vessels may penetrate the earth is nothing new in the Andes, as depicted by numerous stone records from Ecuador to Mendoza [Argentina],” they concluded. (Source: Paranormal News, www.paranormal.miningco.com/library)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that the signals come from underground UFO (Martian) activity which has been taking place in the area for many centuries.)

UFO seen over Azerbaijan

Hundreds of people in various parts of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, saw a UFO flying over the city in the early evening of 19 May 2003. It looked like a “drop of milk” in the cloudless sky, one witness reported. After remaining motionless for a time, the UFO sped off rapidly. Professor Elchin Khalilov, who studies abnormal phenomena, said: “It is already unequivocally clear that the fixed object is not [a] plane, helicopter or other flying means…. [It] is abundantly clear that it is an object of a technical origin…. I cannot tell exactly how far [away] the UFO was. [It] all depends on the size of [the] UFO…. [It] was rather low above ground and it was large … with symmetric elements on each side.” It is the second UFO to appear over Baku since January 2003. (Source: Baku Times, www.unknowncountry.com)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms this sighting as a genuine UFO of Martian origin.)

UFO experience in Georgia

Round red objects about the size of silver dollars suddenly appeared and seemed to scan three people travelling home on a rural stretch of highway called ‘Booger Bottom’ near Greenville, Georgia, USA, in April 2003. A 50-year-old man from Tucker, Georgia, his brother and sister-in-law from Warm Springs, Georgia, experienced the 25-second encounter.

One witness called the Mutual UFO Network of Georgia (MUFONGA), whose investigators Olivia Newton and Jim Clifford were assigned the case. Newton noted none of the witnesses gave them any reason to doubt the account. “We watch for body language, any discrepancies,” Newton recalled. “They looked at us right in the eye and were very forthright. They all said it was not of this world. They felt it was intelligent. They felt they had sought them out for the sole purpose of scanning them. Scan. That was the word they used.”

The witnesses called the approximately 50 red objects that appeared inside the car “lights” but described them to Newton as solid. They said they only occurred on their bodies and then the red objects vanished instantly. One witness, sitting in the back seat of a car, saw a red, swirling object next to the vehicle on the driver’s side before the lights appeared. (Source: Associated Press)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms these to be UFO (Martian) listening/sensory devices and quite harmless.)

Crop circles appear in US

Kansas — A crop circle appeared in the wheatfield of a Haysville, Kansas, farm in May 2003. Curtis Fletcher woke up to find what appeared to be a crop circle in the wheatfield next to his house. Similar crop formations were found in nearby fields during the same time period. (Source: www.wibw.com)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms this to be an authentic (Martian) crop circle.)

New Jersey — The New Jersey Express-Times newspaper reported that crop patterns appeared in a New Jersey field in May 2003. Pete and Lisa Andrews noticed patches of two-foot-tall grass lying flat in irregular shapes in a field next to their house in Lower Mt. Bethel Turnpike.

The stalks of grass were lying in a north-to-south direction, with their stems bent close to the ground and matted together. About two dozen patches were knocked down, ranging from a few feet to about 100 feet across. No tyre tracks or footprints could be seen leading into the field. The crop formations were not there the night before, and Pete Andrews said he was awake most of the night and did not hear or see anything unusual. The Andrews’ neighbours said they saw similar flat spots in the same field several years ago. (Source: New Jersey Express-Times, USA)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms these as authentic (Martian) crop-formations.)