U.S. Bilderberg Attendees Violating Federal Law, Activists Say

The New American

As a shadowy collection of the world’s power brokers gathers in Chantilly, Virginia, for the elite Bilderberg conference this weekend under unprecedented media scrutiny, activists from across the political spectrum are arguing that U.S. citizens attending the controversial confab are potentially committing a felony by violating the Logan Act. And while the chances of charges being brought anytime soon are probably slim, anti-Bilderberg protesters admit, more than a few critics of the meeting are still loudly calling for federal prosecutions to bring any and all perpetrators to justice.

The yearly gathering includes media magnates, titans of industry, top bankers, influential politicians, royalty and nobility, prominent academics, military and “intelligence” chieftains, and many other members of the so-called “global elite.” And the 2012 conference is no different. According to a guest list released by the group — which analysts who study Bilderberg say typically omits certain key participants — there are about 50 Americans in attendance, all of them extraordinarily influential. Other participants hailed mostly from Europe, though even a high-ranking official from the Communist dictatorship ruling China was in attendance this year.

The legal problem raised by critics is that federal law specifically bars any U.S. citizen without government permission from working with foreign officials on matters of policy. Passed under the John Adams administration in 1799, the Logan Act was amended as recently as the 1990s and, despite almost never being used, remains on the books today. And that, Bilderberg opponents say, means that Americans meeting with foreign officials at the secretive gathering should be investigated and eventually prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. 

The Logan Act states, in part: “Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.” -[Full Article]

Does a CIA "Asset" Own the bin Laden Compound?

The New American

Apart from the extreme height of the walls and the barbed wire with which they were topped, there was nothing particularly distinctive about the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden was reported to have lived and died.

Located in the area of town known as Bilal Town, the now infamous walled three-story dwelling seems to more or less blend in with the other middle-class homes as revealed in the myriad satellite photos published in the aftermath of the events of May 1. The neighborhood is home to merchants, office workers, and more than a few refugees from Afghanistan.

There was even a garden growing within the walls of the compound. Reporters found cabbages and potatoes, along with other vegetables. There was one crop, however, that wasn’t exactly designed to be chopped and served on a salad.

According to a report filed by CNN's Nic Robertson, he found rows of marijuana growing among the other greenery. Not exactly a competitor to Pakistan’s huge cash crop of poppy, some speculate that the plant was used by Osama bin Laden to relieve the pain that comes from the various ailments from which he was believed to have suffered.

In light of the reports of a cache of pornography that was also discovered among bin Laden’s effects, the picture that emerges is one of a man who was not quite the zealous, Islamo-facist the government of the United States formerly forwarded as the ultimate “enemy of the state” and “public enemy number one.”

Putting aside the questionable plants growing in the garden and the questionable choice of viewing material hidden inside the house, there’s something much more sinister about the house where Osama bin Laden allegedly met his demise.

An article published by India Today describes a feature of the house that deserves much more attention than marijuana or pornography...[Full Article]

A Real Cost/Benefit Analysis of Libyan Intervention

The New American

President Obama has made the "decision" to put American soldiers into harm's way in Libya without the required permission under the U.S. Constitution (or even consulting Congress). American enforcement of the "no-fly zone" will doubtless cost U.S. taxpayers more in defense spending, but the real risk and cost of American military intervention is the risk to the lives of American servicemen and women. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul told George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America on February 22 of Libyan intervention that his standard for deploying U.S. military forces was: "I won't vote to go to war unless I'd send my kids there or go myself."...[Full Article]

CPAC: "Conservatism" at the Crossroads

The New American

President Barack Obama's first year in office has done much to stir broad and angry opposition to his autocratic rule and his efforts to nationalize and socialize virtually the entire American economy. However, as the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which met recently in Washington, D.C., demonstrated, the opposition is far from unified. The three-day event (February 18-20) at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel was a factious, inharmonious affair exposing the deep philosophical divisions and conflicting political goals within the loosely defined "conservative movement."...

[Full Article]