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Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 10 Num. 45
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("Quid coniuratio est?")
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"PROJECT CENSORED" TOP 10 STORIES OF 1996
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(Source: "Metro Times" 3/26/97-4/1/97)
(Thanks to a CN reader for the following.)
10.) Facing Food Scarcity: Projected 90 million more people per
year on planet. Problem: the world's stock of rice, wheat, corn
and other grains has fallen to the lowest level in two decades.
"Solution?" Poor countries will have to feed their own people,
without help from wealthier nations. Will Bill Clinton "feel
their pain?"
9.) U.S. Troops Exposed To Depleted Uranium During Gulf War:
Highly toxic depleted uranium was used by Gulf War forces as both
armor-piercing bullets and as tank armor. U.S. Army is said to
have an as-yet unreleased report.
8.) Big Brother Goes High-Tech: New technologies are gaining on
civil liberties on an increasing scale. Hundreds of huge
databases are linking up and sharing "cyber-gossip."
7.) Cashing In On Poverty: Pawnshops, check-cashing outlets,
rent-to-own stores, finance companies and high-interest mortgage
lenders prey on the disadvantaged. These predators are often
bankrolled by such as Ford, Citibank, NationsBank and American
Express. In turn, stocks go up and yuppie puppies are pleased.
6.) New Mega-Merged Banking Behemoths = Big Risk: In U.S., top
1 percent of households controls almost one-third of the nation's
net worth. 71.5 percent of U.S. banking assets are now
controlled by the 100 largest banking organizations. Fewer banks
controlling more and more wealth means smaller, community banks
get squeezed out -- making it harder and harder for small
borrowers to get loans.
5.) Corporate Crime: Whitewash At The Justice Department: In
1987 alone, 50,000 to 70,000 workers died prematurely from
on-the-job exposure to toxins. Yet while such corporate/white
collar crime costs America 10 to 50 times *more* than street
crime, the Justice Department shows little interest in the
problem. Of more than 51,000 federal criminal indictments in
1994, only 250 involved criminal violations of the nation's
environmental, occupational health and safety, and consumer
product safety laws.
4.) The PR Industry's Secret War On Activists: The Public
Relations (PR) industry, by dipping into the deep pockets of
their giant corporate clients, vastly directs and controls
thought and policy. Watch out for "astroturf" campaigns --
strange "citizen groups" (really a false front) lending support
to corporate and elite causes. *True* dissenting voices tend to
get muffled in the process.
3.) Big Perks For Wealthy Hidden In Minimum Wage Bill: Among
provisions hidden in the bill, weakening of retirement and
pension protection. "Welfare reform" expands the supply of
low-wage applicants without expanding the supply of jobs. Wages
are essentially held down.
2.) Shell's Oil, Africa's Blood: Despite Royal Dutch/Shell
Group's intimate links to the Nigerian government, Shell seems
to have ignored worldwide pleas that it use its influence to stem
judicial violence in that African nation. In fact, Shell likely
helped instigate the violence. Shell's drilling in Nigeria
destroyed farmlands. When Ken Saro-Wiwa and the 300,000-member
Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People targeted Shell with
mass protests, there was a crackdown. Internal documents show
that Shell was more than a passive player in the affair.
1.) Nuclear Proliferation In Space: In October (apparently
1997), NASA plans to launch a space vehicle to Saturn. The
Cassini probe will carry 72 pounds of deadly plutonium-238.
Enroute, the probe will whip around Earth at 42,300 mph, 312
miles above the planet's surface. What if there is an accident
(certainly not unlikely)? Five billion people *could* receive
dangerous levels of radiation exposure. Solar power technology
would eliminate risk, yet NASA and corporate/government friends
ignore that solution. NBC (General Electric) and CBS
(Westinghouse) are "strangely" silent about it all on their
nightly "news" shows.
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(DIS)HONORABLE MENTION
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Stories In The "Project Censored" Top 25 For 1996
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